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I'li/'hj/ifd  Si    i'ro.ifr  ^  Brtwstcr  ■/'/  Washlit^n-n  St  fioSKm 


C  A  L  M  E  1  '  S 


DICTIONARY    OF    THE    HOLY    BIBLE, 


AS    PUBLISHED    BY    THE    LATE 


MR.   CHARLES    TAYLOR, 


THE  FRAGMENTS  INCORPORATED. 


THE  WHOLE  CONDENSED  AND  ARRANGED  IN  ALPHABETICAL  ORDER. 


American   llditioii. 


REVISED, 

WITH    LARGE    ADDITIONS, 

BY  EDWARD  ROBINSON, 

PROFESSOR    EXTRAORDINARY    OF    SACRED    LITERATURE    IN    THE    THEOLOGICAL    aRlVrtg/\RV,    ANDOVER. 


ILLUSTRATED 

Siaactf)  plapsj,  anti  35nflral)infls  on  a^Sootr. 


BOSTON: 

PUBLISHED  BY  CROCKER  AND  BREWSTER, 

47    WASHINGTON    STREET. 

NEW  YORK:  JONATHAN  LEAVITT, 
182  br,oad.w;ax. 


MDCCCXXXII. 


Q^  The   Publishers  of  this    work   have  in  press,  and  will  soon  publish,  an  Abridgment  oj   the 

present  edition  of  CalmeVs  Dictionary,  with  Engravings ,  for  the  use  of  Schools 

and  young  persons.     Prepared  by  Professor  Robinson. 


Note. — In  the  following  work,  the  letter  R.  at  the  close  of  a  paragraph,  indicates  that  the  \ 

whole  of  that  paragraph,  or  so  much  of  it  as  follows  the  mark  [,  has  been  added  by  the  v 

American  Editor.     The  same  letter,  preceded  by  an  asterisk,  *R.  indicates  that  the  whole  ^ 

of  the  preceding  article,  or  so  much  of  it  as  follows  the  mark  [,  is  by  him.  \ 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1832,  by 

Crocker  and  Brewster, 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  Massachusetts. 


STEREOTYPED  AT  THE 
BOSTON  TYP$;  AND  STEREOTYPE  FOUNDERY. 


PREFACE 

TO    THE    AMERICAN    EDITION 


The  American  public  being  here  presented  with  the  well-known  Dictionary  of  Calmet 
in  a  condensed  and  somewhat  abridged  form,  it  is  proper  to  state  the  circumstances  under 
which  this  edition  has  been  brought  forward,  and  the  principles  on  which  the  revision  of  the 
work  has  been  conducted  by  the  present  Editor. 

Augustin  Calmet  was  a  French  monk,  of  the  Benedictine  order,  and,  in  the  latter  part  of 
his  life,  abbot  of  Senones,  in  Lorraine.  He  devoted  himself  particularly  to  the  studies 
connected  with  Biblical  literature  ;  and  his  chief  works  were  a  Commentary  on  all  the  Books 
of  the  Old  and  Neio  Testament,  (Paris,  1707-16,  23  vols.  4to.  ;  reprinted  in  26  vols.  4to., 
and  also  in  9  vols,  folio,)  and  the  Historical  and  Critical  Dictionary  of  the  Bible,  (Paris 
1722-28,  4  vols,  folio  ;  reprinted  at  Geneva,  1730,  in  4  vols.  4to.,  and  again  at  Paris 
1730,  in  4  vols,  folio.)  He  published  a  few  other  works  of  a  similar  nature,  which  obtained 
less  notoriety,  and  died  at  Paris  in  1757,  at  the  age  of  seventy-five  years.  His  o-eneral 
character,  as  a  scholar  and  writer,  is  that  of  a  diligent  and  judicious  collector  and  compiler, 
with  more  of  tolerance  than  was  usual  among  the  Catholics  of  that  day,  but  without  any 
profound  skill  in  original  investigation,  or  any  distinguished  tact  or  taste  in  the  plan  and 
arrangement  of  his  works. 

His  Dictionary  is  justly  regarded  as  affording  a  popular  exhibition  of  the  learning  then 
extant  upon  the  subjects  of  which  it  treats  ;  without  making  in  itself  any  important  additions 
to  the  common  stock.  It  was  translated  into  English  by  D'Oyly  and  Colson,  and  pub- 
lished in  1732,  in  3  vols,  folio.  There  are  said  to  have  been  versions  of  it  also  in  the 
Latin,  Dutch,  Spanish,  and  Italian  languages.  But  no  further  edition  of  it  appeared  in 
England  until  1797,  when  it  was  again  published  under  the  direction  of  the  late  Mr.  Charles 
Taylor,  with  considerable  retrenchments  and  additions.  The  retrenchments  consisted, 
principally,  in  the  omission  of  articles  resting  on  the  authority  of  rabbinic  literature  and 
Catholic  tradition,  and  not  directly  illustrative  of  the  Bible.  The  additions  were  given  in  a 
separate  volume,  under  the  name  of  Fragments,  and  consisted  of  discussions  and  illustra- 
tions of  oriental  life,  character,  and  manners,  drawn  chiefly  from  travellers  in  the  East.  A 
second  edition  of  Mr.  Taylor's  revision  was  printed  in  1800-03;  and  afterwards  a  third 
from  which  the  American  edition  of  1812-16,  was  copied,  in  4  vols.  4to.  The  fourth 
London  edition  appeared  in  1823,  enlarged  by  a  second  volume  of  Fragments  ;  and  the  fifth 
edition  in  1830,  after  the  death  of  Mr.  Taylor,  in  5  vols.  4to.,  the  fifth  volume  consisting 
only  of  the  plates. 

The  character  of  Mr.  Taylor  as  an  editor,  and  the  value  of  his  additions  to  Calmet's 
work,  may  be  given  in  few  words.  Acquainted  with  oriental  philology  only  through  the 
meagre  system  of  Masclef  and  Parkhurst  ;  as  an  expounder  of  etymologies,  outstripping  even 
the  extravagance  of  the  latter;  and  as  a  theorist  in  the  ancient  history  of  nations,  ovei3tep- 
ping  the  limits  which  even  Bryant  had  felt  himself  constrained  to  observe  ; — his  remarks  on 
these  and  many  collateral  topics,  may  be  characterized  as  being  in  general  fanciful,  very 
often  rash,  and  sometimes  even  involving  apparent  absurdity.  They  must  ever  be  received 
by  the  student  with  very  great  caution.  His  chief  and  undoubted  merit  consists  in  diligently 
bringing  together,  from  a  variety  of  sources,  facts  and  extracts  which  serve  to  illustrate  the 
antiquities,  manners  and  customs,  and  geography,  of  oriental  nations. 


2011851 


iy  PREFACE. 

On  account  of  the  diffuse  and  heterogeneous  character  which  the  Dictionary  of  Cahnet 
had  thus  been  brought  to  assume,  it  was  a  judicious  step  to  undertake  a  new  revision,  in  which 
the  Fragments  should  be  incorporated  with  the  Dictionary  under  one  alphabet,  and  the  whole 
condensed  and  reduced  to  a  proper  form  and  order.  Such  a  work  has  been  published  in 
London,  during  the  present  year,  in  royal  octavo,  under  the  direction  of  the  editor  of  the  fifth 
quarto  edition.  In  order  to  comprise  the  work  within  this  compass,  the  plan  appears  to  have 
been  to  leave  out  all  articles  not  directly  illustrative  of  the  Scriptures  themselves  ;  and  also 
many  of  the  prolix  and  trivial  critical  discussions  of  the  Fragments  ;  omitting,  however, 
nothing  which  it  would  be  of  any  importance  to  retain.  This  plan  appears  to  have  been  acted 
upon  throughout — but  with  some  exceptions,  and,  as  it  would  seem,  in  great  haste.  I  am 
not  aware,  at  least,  that  any  thing  has  been  omitted,  which  it  would  have  been  in  any  degree 
advisable  to  have  retained. 

Such  was  the  work  which  the  enterprising  Publishers  put  into  my  hands,  with  the  request 
that  I  would  revise  it,  and  prepare  an  edition  for  the  American  public.  On  examining  it,  I 
found  that  many  retrenchments  might  still  be  made,  in  my  judgment,  with  advantage ;  while 
many  additions  also  might  be  introduced,  from  sources  with  which  the  English  editors  appear 
to  have  been  unacquainted. 

The  retrenchments  which  I  have  ventured  to  make,  have  been  chiefly  in  respect  to  such 
critical,  etymological,  and  mythological  discussions  of  Mr.  Taylor,  as  the  English  editor  had 
retained.  Believing  that  a  much  better  system  of  Hebrew  philology  is  beginning  to  be  prev- 
alent in  our  country,  and  also  a  more  sober  and  correct  view  of  Biblical  interpretation  in 
general,  I  felt  unwilling  to  sanction  the  circulation  among  us  of  any  such  crude  and  fanciful 
speculations  as  could  only  tend  to  divert  the  mind  of  the  Biblical  student  from  the  right  way. 
I  have,  therefore,  not  hesitated  to  strike  out  every  thing  of  thi's  kind,  which  seemed  to  me 
positively  wrong  and  of  injurious  tendency  ;  although  enough  still  remains  to  confirm  to  the 
sober-minded  student  the  correctness  of  the  preceding  remarks. 

In  the  place  of  these  retrenchments,  and  to  a  much  greater  amount,  I  have  made  such 
additions  as  seemed  to  be  desirable,  from  all  the  sources  within  my  reach.  The  whole  range 
of  German  labor,  in  the  department  of  Biblical  literature,  appears  to  have  been  almost  un- 
known to  the  English  editors  ;  I  have  drawn  copiously  from  it.  The  works  of  modern 
oriental  travellers  have  also  been  extensively  used.  During  the  whole  progress  of  the  work, 
the  latest  quarto  edition  of  the  Dictionary  has  been  open  before  me,  as  also  the  French  edition 
of  1730,  and  the  first  English  one  of  1732;  but  I  have  not  found  occasion  to  draw  from 
them  to  any  great  extent. 

The  present  work  contains  very  many  things  which  I  should  never  have  inserted,  but 
which,  being  once  there,  I  did  not  feel  myself  at  liberty  to  reject.  Such  a  course  would 
have  resulted  rather  in  the  compilation  of  a  new  work  ;  which  it  was  neither  my  wish  nor 
duty  to  undertake.  My  province  was  merely  to  prepare  a  revised  copy  of  the  English  work. 
This  I  have  done,  and  almost  every  page  bears  evidence  of  such  revision.  Of  the  very 
numerous  Scripture  references,  many  have  been  found  wrong,  and  have  been  corrected  ;  but 
no  systematic  collation  of  them  has  been  made.  Many  errors  also,  which  had  come  down 
through  all  the  previous  editions,  have- been  corrected.  At  my  request,  the  Publishers  have 
given  a  new  and  important  map  of  the  country  south  of  Palestine  ;  and,  at  their  own  sug- 
gestion, have  introduced  a  better  plan  of  Jerusalem,  and  also  added  another  map,  illustrative 
of  the  passage  of  the  Israelites  through  the  Red  sea. 

In  conclusion,  I  have  to  return  my  thanks  to  the  guardians  and  officers  of  Harvard  Uni- 
versity, and  the  Boston  Athenasum,  for  the  very  liberal  manner  in  which  they  met  my  wishes 
for  the  use  of  books  from  their  respective  libraries.  To  the  skilful  and  very  accurate  cor- 
rectors connected  with  the  Boston  Type  and  Stereotype  Company,  the  thanks  of  the  Editor 
and  of  the  readers  of  this  work  are  especially  due. 

The  plan  of  the  work,  it  will  be  perceived,  is  neither  doctrinal  nor  devotional.  The 
object  of  it  is  simply  to  explain  and  illustrate  the  meaning  of  the  Bible  itself,  leaving  to 
other  occasions  the  application  of  that  meaning,  as  it  regards  both  the  understanding  and  the 
heart.  That  the  work  may  have  the  eff'ect  to  facilitate  and  promote  the  study  of  the 
Sacred  Volume  in  our  land',  is  now  the   Editor's  fervent  prayer,  as  it  has  long  been  the 

ubiect  of  his  anxious  toil. 
••  EDWARD    ROBINSON. 

Theol  Sem.  Andover,  Oct.  15,  183-2. 


DICTIONARY 


THE   HOLY   BIBLE 


AARON 

A,  tlie  first  letter  in  almost  all  alphabets.  In  Hebrew 
it  is  called  aleph,  (n)  which  signifies  ox,  from  the 
shape  of  it  in  the  old  Pheuician  alphabet,  where  it 
somewhat  resemples  the  head  and  horns  of  that  ani- 
mal. (Plutarch.  Qusest.  Sympos.  ix.  2.  Gesenii 
Thesaur.  Heb.  p.  1  )  This  Hebrew  name  has  passed 
over  along  with  the  letter  itself,  into  the  Greek  alpha. 
Both  the  Hebrews  and  Greeks  employed  the  letters 
of  their  alphabets  as  numerals ;  and  A,  therefore, 
[aleph  or  alpha)  denoted  one,  the  first.  Hence  our 
Lord  says  of  himself,  that  he  is  [to  x)  Alpha  and[rd  il) 
Omega,  i.  e.  the  first  and  the  last,  the  beginning  and 
tlie  ending,  as  he  himself  explains  it.  Rev.  i.  8,  11 ; 
xxi.  6 ;  xxji.  13.     R. 

AARON,  the  sou  of  Amram  and  Jochebed,  of  the 
tribe  of  Levi,  (Exod.  vi.  20.)  was  bom  A.  M.  2430; 
that  is,  the  year  before  Phai-aoh's  edict  for  destroying 
tiie  Hebrew  mate  infants,  and  three  years  before  his 
jjrother  Moses,  Exod.  vii.  7.  He  married  Elisheba, 
the  daughter  of  Amminadab,  of  the  tribe  of  Judah, 
(Exod.  vi.  23.)  by  whom  he  had  four  sons,  Nadab  and 
Abihu,  Eleazar  and  Ithamar.  The  eldest  two  were 
destroyed  by  fire  from  heaven  ;  from  the  other  two 
the  race  of  the  chief  priests  was  contiiuied  in  Israel, 
1  Cliron.  xxiv.  2  seq. 

The  Lord,  having  appeared  to  Moses,  and  directed 
him  to  deliver  tlie  Israelites  from  tlieu*  oppressive 
bondage  in  Egypt,  appointed  Aaron  to  be  his  assistant 
and  speaker,  he  being  the  more  eloquent  of  the  two, 
Exod.  iv.  14 — 16;    vii.  1.     Moses,  having  been  di- 
rected by  God  to  return  into  Egj'pt,  quitted  Midian, 
with  liis  family,  and  entered  upon  his  journey.     At 
momit  Horeb  he  met  his  brother  Aaron,  who  had 
come  thither  by  a  divine  direction ;  (Exod.  iv.  27.) 
and  after  the  usual  salutations,  and  conference  as  to 
the  purposes  of  the  Ahnighty,  the  brothers  prosecuted 
their  journey  to  Egypt,  A.  M.  2513.     Upon  tlieir  ', 
arrival  in  Egypt,  they  called  together  the  eldei-s  of  | 
Israel,  and  hanng  announced  to  them  the  pleasure  | 
of  the  Almighty,  to  deUver  the  people  from  their 
bondage,  they  presented  themselves  before  Phai-aoh,  j 
and  exhibited  the  credentials  of  their  divine  mission,  ' 
1 


AARON 

by  working  several  miracles  in  his  presence.  Phara- 
oh, however,  drove  them  away,  and  for  the  purpose 
of  repressing  the  strong  hopes  of  the  Israelites  of  a 
restoration  to  liberty,  he  ordered  their  laborious  oc- 
cupations to  be  greatly  increased.  Ovei-%vhelmed 
with  despair,  the  Hebrews  bittei-ly  complamed  to 
Moses  and  Aaron,  Avho  encouraged  them  to  sustain 
their  oppressions,  and  reiterated  the  detennination 
of  God  to  subdue  the  obstinacy  of  Pharaoh,  and 
procure  the  deliverance  of  his  people,  ch.  v.  In 
all  their  subsequent  intercourse  with  Pharaoh,  dur- 
ing which  several  powerful  remonstrances  were 
made,  and  many  astonishing  miracles  performed, 
Aaron  appears  to  have  taken  a  very  prominent  part, 
and  to  have  pleaded  with  much  eloquence  and 
effect  the  cause  of  the  injured  Hebrews,  Exod. 
vi. — xii. 

Moses  having  ascended  mount  Smai,  to  receive 
the  tables  of  the  law,  after  the  ratification  of  the 
covenant  made  with  Israel,  Aaron,  his  sous,  and 
seventy  elders,  followed  him  partly  up.  They  saw 
the  symbol  of  the  divine  presence,  without  sustain- 
ing any  injury,  (Exod.  xxiv.  1 — 11.)  and  were  favor- 
ed ^^^th  a  sensible  manifestation  of  the  good  pleasure 
of  the  Lord.  It  was  at  this  tune  that  Moses  received 
a  divine  command  to  mvest  Aaron  and  his  four  sous 
with  the  priestly  office,  the  functions  of  wliich  they 
were  to  discharge  before  Jehovah  for  ever.  See 
Priest. 

During  the  forty  days  that  Moses  continued  in  the 
mount,  the  people  became  impatient,  and  tumultu- 
ously  addressed  Aaron :  "  Make  us  gods,"  said  they, 
"whicli  sliall  go  before  us:  for  as  to  this  Moses,  the 
man  that  iirought  us  up  out  of  the  laud  of  Egypt, 
we  know  not  what  is  become  of  him,"  Exod.  xxxii. 
1  seq.  Aaron  desired  them  to  bring  then*  pendants, 
and  the  ear-rings  of  their  wives  and  children  ;  which, 
being  brought,  were  melted  down  under  liis  du-ec- 
tion,  and  formed  into  a  golden  calf.  Before  this  calf 
Aaron  built  an  altar,  and  the  people  sacrificed, 
(lanced,  and  diverted  themselves  around  it,  exclaim- 
ing, "Tliese  be  thy  gods,  O  Israel,  which  brought 


V^v 


AARON 


[2  J 


AARON 


thee  up  out  of  the  laud  of  Egypt."  The  Lord  Jiaviug 
informed  Moses  of  the  siu  of  the  IsraeUtes,  (Exod. 
xxxii.  7.)  he  immediately  descended,  carrying  tlie 
tables  of  the  law,  which,  as  he  approached  the  camp, 
he  threw  upon  the  ground  and  broke,  (ver.  19.)  re- 
proaching the  people  with  their  transgression,  and 
Aai'on  with  his  weakness.  Aaron  at  first  endeavor- 
ed to  excuse  himself,  but  afterwards  became  penitent, 
humbled  himself,  and  was  pardoned.  The  taberna- 
cle having  been  completed,  and  the  offerings  prepar- 
ed, Aaron  and  his  sons  were  consecrated  with  the 
holy  oil,  and  invested  with  the  sacred  garments, 
Exod.  xl.  Lev.  viii.  Scarcely,  however,  Avere  the 
ceremonies  connected  with  this  solemn  service  com- 
pleted, when  his  two  eldest  sons,  Nadab  and  Abiliu, 
\vere  destroyed  by  fire  from  heaven,  for  j)resu]iiing 
to  burn  incense  in  the  tabernacle  with  strange  fire. 
Lev.  X. 

Subsequently  to  this  aftecting  occiUTence,  there 
was  little  in  the  life  of  Aaron  that  demands  particular 
notice.  During  the  foity  years  that  he  discharged 
tiie  priestly  office,  his  duties  were  appaj-ently  at- 
tended to  with  assiduity,  and  his  general  conduct, 
excepting  the  case  of  his  joining  Miriam  in  mur- 
muring against  Moses,  and  distrusting  the  divine 
power  at   Kadesli,  was  blameless,  Numb.   xii.   xx. 

8— n. 

Li  the  fortieth  year  after  the  departure  of  the 
Hebrev/s  out  of  Egyi)t,  and  while  they  were  en- 
camped at  Mosera,  Aaron,  by  the  divine  conmiand, 
ascended  mount  Hor.  Here  Moses  divested  him  of 
his  pontifical  robes,  which  were  placed  upon  his  son 
Eleazar ;  "  and  Aaron  died  on  the  top  of  .the  mount," 
at  the  age  of  one  himdred  and  twenty-three  years, 
"and  the  congregation  mourned  for  him  thirty  days," 
Numb.  XX.  2.3—29 ;  xxxiii.  38. 

There  is  an  apparent  discrepancy  in  the  scripture 
account  of  the  place  of  Aaron's  death.  In  the  pas- 
sages above  refen-ed  to,  it  is  said  that  it  occuri'ed  in 
mount  Hor ;  but  in  Deut.  x.  6.  it  is  stated  to  have 
been  at  Mosera,  or  more  properly,  according  to  the 
Hebrew  form  of  the  word,  at  Moser.  The  difficulty, 
however,  is  removed,  by  supposing  that  the  place 
Mosera  lay  near  the  foot  of  mount  Hor,  perhaps  on 
the  elevated  open  plain  from  which  the  mountain 
rises,  as  described  by  Burckhardt,  Travels  in  Syria 
and  the  Holy  Land,  p.  4-30.  Joscphus,  Eusebius, 
and  Jerome,  all  agree  in  ])lacing  the  sepulchre  of 
Aaron  upon  the  sunujiit  of  mount  Flor,  where  it  is 
still  ])reserved  and  venerated  by  the  Arabs.  When 
the  su])posed  tomb  was  visited  by  Mr.  Legh,  it  was 
attciuh'd  l)y  a  cripj)led  Arab  hermit,  about  eighty 
years  of  ag(%  who  conducted  the  travellers  into  a 
small  white  building,  crowned  by  a  cupola.  The 
moinunent  i\sAi'  is  about  three  feet  high,  and  is 
patciied  together  out  of  fragments  of  stone  and  niar- 
i)le.  The  proper  tomb  is  excavated  in  the  rock  be- 
low.    See  Hoa. 

I.  In  reviewing  the  life  of  Aaron,  we  can  scarcclv 
fail  to  remark  the  manner  of  bis  introduction  into 
the  history.  He  at  once  appears  ii.s  a  kind  of  assist- 
ant, and  so  far  an  inferior,  to  his  l)rot]ier  Moses  ;  yet 
he  iiad  some  advantages  whicii  seem  to  have  entitled 
him  to  |)rior  consideration.  He  was  the  elder  bro- 
ther, an  el()(|uent  speaker,  and  also  favored  by  di- 
vine inspiration.  \\'e  have  no  cause  assigned  why 
he  was  not  |)referred  to  Moses,  in  resj)ect  of  authori- 
ty;  and  therefore  no  other  cause  can  now  l;e  assign- 
ed tiian  the  divine  good  j)leasure,  acting  perlia])s  with 
reference  to  tin;  superior  education  and  consequent 
influence  of  Mf)ses. 


2.  Among  the  most  confirming  signs  given  by 
God  to  Moses,  may  be  placed  the  interview  with  his 
brother  Aaron  at  mount  Horeb.  This  being  predict- 
ed by  God,  and  directly  taking  place,  must  have  been 
very  convincing  to  Moses.  (See  something  similar 
in  the  case  of  Jeremiah,  chap,  xxxii.  8.)  It  should 
seem  also,  that  Aaron  would  not  have  imdertaken  a 
journey  of  two  months,  from  Egj'pt  to  mount  Sinai, 
at  great  hazard  and  exjjense,  unless  he  had  been  well 
assured  of  the  authority  A\hich  sent  him ;  neither 
could  he  have  expected  to  find  Moses  where  he  did 
find  him,  unless  by  divine  direction  ;  since  the  place, 
afterwards  called  the  mount  of  God,  was  then  undis- 
tinguished and  unfrequented.  Aaron,  therefore,  was 
a  sign  to  Moses,  as  Moses  was  a  sign  to  Aaron. 

3.  It  seems  probalile  that  Aaron  was  in  circumstan- 
ces above  those  of  the  lower  class  of  people  in  Egypt. 
Had  he  been  among  those  who  were  kept  to  their 
daily  bondage,  he  could  ill  have  spared  time  and 
cost  for  a  journey  to  Horeb.  Although  the  brothers, 
then,  had  no  pretension  to  sovereign  authority  by 
descent,  yet  they  were  of  consideration  among  the 
Israelites,  either  by  property,  or  office,  or  perhaps 
from  the  fact  of  Moses'  long  residence  and  education 
at  the  Egyptian  coint ;  which  could  not  tail  to  be  a 
source  of  influence  to  himself  and  to  his  family. 
Both  Moses  and  A.-.ron  seem  to  be  acknowledged  by 
Pharaoh,  and  by  many  of  his  servants,  as  persons  of 
consideration,  and  as  proper  agents  for  transacting 
business  between  the  Israelites  and  the  king.  Aaron 
performed  the  miracles  before  Pharaoh,  too,  without 
any  Avonder  being  expressed  by  him,  how  a  person 
like  him  should  acquire  such  skill  and  eloquence. 
Had  Moses  and  Aaron  been  merely  private  persons, 
Pharaoh  would,  no  doubt,  have  punished  their  intru- 
sion Jind  impertinence. 

4.  We  cannot  palliate  the  sin  of  whicli  Aaron  was 
guilty,  when  left  in  charge  of  Israel,  in  conjunction 
with  Hur,  while  Mos(>s  was  in  the  moimt  receiving 
the  knv.  His  aiuhorlty  should  have  been  exerted  to 
restrain  the  ])eople's  infatuation,  instead  of  forward- 
ing their  design.  (See  Calf.)  As  to  his  personal 
concern  in  the  affiiir,  we  may  remark,  that  if  his  own 
faith  or  patience  was  exhausted,  or  if  he  supposed 
Moses  to  be  dead,  then  there  coukl  have  been  no  col- 
lusion l)etween  them.  Nor  durst  he  have  done  as  he 
did,  had  he  expected  the  innnediate  return  of  Moses. 
His  activity  in  building  the  altar  to  the  calf  renders 
his  subsecjuent  submission  to  Moses  utt(>rly  inexpli- 
cable, had  not  a  divine  conviction  been  employed  on 
the  occasion.  It  is  to  be  remarked,  that  nothing  is 
said  of  the  interference  of  Hur,  the  coadjutor  of 
Aaron  in  the  govcrinnent  of  the  ])eo])le.  The  latter 
seems  to  have  shrunk  with  unlioly  timidity  from 
his  duty  of  resistance  to  the  proceedings  of  the 
))eople,  fearing  their  disposition,  as  "set  on  mis- 
chief," which  he  pleabs  in  excuse,  Exod.  xxxii. 
oo 24, 

5.  The  sedition  of  Aaron  and  INIiriam  agiiinst 
Moses,  (Ninnb.  xii.  1.)  affords  anotlnn-  argument 
against  the  supposition  of  collusion  between  the 
l)rothers.  Aaron  assumes,  at  first,  a  high  tone,  and 
[)retends  to  no  less  gifts  than  his  brother;  iiut  he 
aftenvanls  acknowledges  his  folly,  and,  with  jMiriam, 
submits.  Aaron  was  not  visited  with  the  leprosy, 
but  he  could  well  judge  of  Us  reality  on  his  sister: 
it  was  his  proper  office  to  exclude  her  from  the  camp 
for  seven  days;  and  by  his  expression  of  "flesh  half 
consumed,"  it  should  seem  that  it  was  an  inveterate 
kind  of  the  disease,  and  therefore  the  more  signal. 
Aaron's  ofiection,  ii;terest,  and   [tassion,  all   concur 


ABA 


[3  j 


AB*E 


red  to  harden  hhn  aguiust  uuy  thing  le»»  than  full 
con\'iction  of  a  divine  interposition.  But  he  well 
knew  that  it  was  not  m  tlie  power  of  Moses  to  in- 
flict this  disease,  in  so  sudden  and  decided  a  manner. 

6.  The  departure  of  Aaron  for  death,  has  some- 
thing in  it  very  singular  and  impressive.  In  the 
sight  of  all  the  congregation,  he  quits  the  camp  for 
the  mountain,  where  he  is  to  die.  On  the  way, 
Moses  his  brother,  and  Eleazar  his  sou,  divest  him 
of  his  pontifical  habits,  and  attend  him  to  the  last. 
We  view,  in  imagination,  the  feeble  old  man  ascend- 
ing the  mount,  there  transferring  the  insignia  of  his 
office  to  his  sou,  and  giving  up  the  ghost,  with  that 
faith,  that  resignation,  that  meekness,  which  became 
one  who  had  been  honored  with  the  Holy  Spirit, 
and  with  the  typical  representation  of  the  gi'eat  High- 
priest  himself. 

7.  In  the  general  character  of  Aaron  there  was 
much  of  the  meekness  of  his  brother  Moses.  He 
seems  to  have  been  willing  to  serv^e  liis  brethren, 
upon  all  occasions ;  and  was  too  easily  persuaded 
against  his  o\vn  judgment.  This  appears  when  the 
people  excited  him  to  make  the  golden  calf,  and  when 
Miriam  urged  him  to  rival  his  brother. 

8.  When  we  consider  the  talents  of  Aai-on,  his 
natural  eloquence,  and  his  probable  acquirements  in 
knowledge,  that  God  often  spake  to  him  as  well  as 
to  Moses,  and  that  Egjptiau  priests  were  scribes,  as  a 
duty  of  their  profession ;  it  is  not  very  unhkely,  that 
he  assisted  his  brother  in  ^vTiting  some  parts  of  the 
books  which  now  bear  the  name  of  Moses ;  that,  at 
least,  he  kept  journals  of  public  transactions ;  that 
he  transcribed,  perhaps,  the  orders  of  Moses,  espe- 
cially those  relating  to  the  priests.  If  this  be  admis- 
sible, then  we  account  at  once  for  such  difference  of 
style  as  appears  in  these  books,  and  for  such  smaller 
xariations  in  different  places, as  would  naturally  arise 
from  two  persons  recording  the  same  facts ;  we  ac- 
count for  this  at  once,  without,  in  any  degree,  lessen- 
ing the  authority,  the  antiquity,  or  the  real  value  of 
these  books.  It  accounts,  also,  for  the  third  person 
being  used  when  speaking  of  3Ioses :  pei'haps,  too, 
for  some  of  the  praise  and  commendation  of  Moses, 
which  is  most  remarkable  where  Aaron  is  most  in 
fault.  See  Numb.  xii.  3.  In  Deuteronomy,  Moses 
uses  the  pronouns,  /,  and  me :  "  I  said," — "  the  Lord 
said  to  me,"  Avhich  are  rarely  or  never  used  in  the 
former  books.     See  Bible. 

AARONITES,  Levites  of  the  family  of  Aaron  ; 
the  priests  who  particularly  served  the  sanctuary. 
Numb.  iv.  5  seq.  1  Chron.  xii.  27 ;  xxvii.  17.  See 
Levites. 

AB,  the  eleventh  month  of  the  civil  year  of  the 
Hebrews,  and  the  5th  of  their  ecclesiastical  year, 
which  began  with  Nisan.  It  had  thirty  days,  and 
nearly  answers  to  the  moon  of  Juty.  The  name 
does  not  occur  in  Scripture.  See  the  Jewish  Cal- 
EXDAR  at  the  end  of  the  volume. 

AB-\DDON,  or  APOLLYON,  the  destroyer;  the 
name  ascribed  (Rev.  ix.  11.)  to  the  angel  of  the  abyss, 
or  Tartarus,  i.  e.  the  angel  of  death.  He  is  repre- 
sented as  the  king  and  head  of  the  Apocalyptic 
locusts  under  the  fiflh  trumpet,  Rev.  ix.  11.  Sec 
Locust. 

ABANA,  or  AMANA,  (the  former  being  the  Kethib, 
or  readuig  of  the  Hebrew  text ;  and  the  latter  the  Keri, 
or  marginal  reading,)  the  name  of  one  of  the  rivers 
cited  by  Naainan  (2  Kings  v.  12.)  as  rivers  of  Damas- 
cus. The  latter  is  probably  the  true  name,  signifying 
perennial ;  the  change  of  m  into  b  being  very  common 
m  the  oriental  dialects. 


luterpretei-s  have  been  much  divided  in  regard  to 
the  streams  probably  designated  by  the  names  Abana 
and  Pharpar.  One  of  these  undoubtedly  is  the  pres- 
ent Barrada  [the  cold),  the  Chrysorrhoas  of  the  an- 
cients, which  rises  in  x\nti-Libauus  and  flows  through 
Damascus.  Just  above  the  city  it  is  divided  into 
several  branches,  (some  travellers  say  three,  and 
others  five,)  which  pass  around  the  city  on  the  out- 
side, and  afford  water  for  the  inunerous  gardens  by 
which  the  city  is  surrounded  ;  while  the  inaiii  stream 
passes  through  and  waters  the  city  itself.  Below 
the  city  they  again  mostly  unite,  and  the  river  loses 
itself  in  a  marsh  a  few  miles  S.  E.  from  Damascus. 
The  branches  here  mentioned  are  evidently  artificial ; 
and  if  we  now  suppose  that  originally  there  were 
but  two  branches  in  all,  (the  others  being  a  work  of 
later  times,)  these  two  branches  may  perhaps  have 
ijeeu  the  Abana  and  Pharpar. — Another  supposition, 
however,  is  more  probable,  viz.  that  one  of  the  streams 
is  the  Barrada ;  Awhile  the  other,  (perhaps  the  Amana, 
or  perennial  stream,)  may  be  the  httle  river  Fijih,  or 
Fege,  which  rises  near  the  village  of  like  name  in  a 
pleasant  valley  about  15  or  20  miles  N.  W.  of  Damas- 
cus. Dr.  Richardson  describes  it  as  issuing  at  once 
from  the  limestone  rock,  a  deep,  rapid  stream  of 
about  thirty  feet  wide.  It  is  pure  and  cold  as  iced 
water,  and  afler  coursing  down  a  rugged  channel  for 
above  a  hundred  yards,  falls  into  the  Barrada,  which 
comes  from  another  valley,  and  is  here  only  half  as 
wide  as  the  Fijih.  Its  waters,  also,  hke  those  of  the 
Jordan,  have  a  white,  sulphureous  hue.     *R. 

ABAGARUS,  sec  Abgar. 

ABARIM,  mountains  east  of  Jordan,  over  against 
Jericho,  on  the  northern  border  of  IMoab,  within  the 
limits  of  the  tribe  of  Reuben.  It  is  impossible  to  de- 
fine exactly  their  extent.  Eusebius  fixes  them  at  six 
miles  west  of  Heshbou,  and  seven  east  of  Li^^as.  The 
mountains  Nebo,  Pisgah,  and  Peor,  were  simimits 
of  the  Al)arim.  Numb,  xxvii.  12;  xxxiii.  47,  48. 
Dent,  xxxiii.  49. 

ABBA,  a  Syriac  word  signifying  father,  and  ex- 
pressive of  attachment  and  confidence.  When  the 
Jews  came  to  speak  Greek,  this  word  was  probablj' 
retained  from  their  ancient  language,  as  being  easier 
to  pronounce,  especially  for  children,  than  the  Greek 
pater.  Hence  Paul  says,  "Ye  have  received  the 
Spirit  of  adoption,  whereby  we  ciy,  Abba,  Father," 
Rom.  viii.  15. 

I.  ABDON,son  of  Hillel,  of  the  tribe  of  Ephraim, 
and  tenth  judge  of  Israel.  He  succeeded  Elon,  and 
judged  Israel  eight  years,  Judg.  xii.  13,  15.  He  died 
A.  iVl.  2848,  ante  A.'D.  1156. 

II.  ABDON,  son  of  Micah,  sent  by  king  Josiah  to 
Huldah  the  prophetess,  to  ask  her  opinion  concern- 
ing the  book  of  the  law,  lately  found  in  the  temple, 
2  Chrou.  xxxiv.  20.  Some  think  him  to  be  the  same 
as  Achbor,  son  of  Micaiah,  2  Kings  xxii,  12. 

III.  ABDON,  a  city  of  Aslier,  given  to  the  Le- 
vites of  Gcrshon's  family.  Josh.  xxi.  30.  1  Chron. 
vi.  74. 

ABEDNEGO,  a  Chaldee  name  given  by  the  king 
of  Babylon's  officer  to  Azariah,  one  of  Daniel's  com- 
panions, Dan.  i.  7.  Aliednego  was  thrown  into  the 
fiery  furnace  at  Babylon,  with  Shadrach  and  Me- 
shach,  for  refusing  to  adore  the  statue  erected  by 
command  of  Nebuchadnezzar,  Dan.  iii.  See  Daniel. 
Some  have  supposed  this  Azariah  to  be  Ezra,  but 
A\'ithout  sufficient  gi-ounds. 

I.  ABEL,  (Heb.  S^n.)  the  second  son  of  Adam 
and  Eve.  Cain  and  Al>el  having  been  instructed 
bv  their  father  Adam  in  the  duty  cf  worship  to  their 


A  B  E 


[  4 


ABI 


Creator,  each  oirered  the  first-fruits  of  his  labors. 
Cain,  as  a  husbaudman,  offered  the  fruits  of  the  field  ; 
Abel,  as  a  shepherd,  offered  fathngs  of  his  flock. 
God  Avas  pleased  to  accept  the  offering  of  Abel,  in 
preference  to  that  of  his  brother,  (Heb.  xi.  4.)  in  con- 
sequence of  which,  Cain  sank  into  melancholy,  and 
giving  himself  up  to  envy,  formed  the  design  of  kill- 
ing Abel ;  wjiich  he  at  length  effected,  having  invited 
him  to  go  into  the  field.  Gen.  iv.  8,  9.  1  John  iii.  12. 
It  should  be  remarked,  that  in  our  translation  no 
mention  is  made  of  Cain  inviting  his  brother  into  the 
field : — "  Cain  talked  with  xAbel  his  brother ;  and  it 
came  to  pass  when  they  were  in  the  field,  that  Cain 
rose  up  against  Abel  his  brother,  and  slew  him." 
But  in  the  Samaritan  text,  ilae  word?  are  express ; 
and  in  the  Hebrew  there  is  a  kind  of  chasm,  thus : 
"and  Cain  said  unto  Abel  his  brother," — "and  it 
came  to  pass,"  &c.  without  inserting  what  he  said 
to  his  brother. 

The  Jews  had  a  tradition  that  Abel  was  murdered 
in  the  plain  of  Damascus  ;  and  accordingly,  his  tomb 
is  still  shown  on  a  high  hill,  near  the  village  of  Sinie 
or  Seneiali,  about  twelve  miles  north-west  of  Damas- 
cus, on  the  road  to  Baalbek.  The  summit  of  the 
hill  is  still  called  J^'ebbi  Mel ;  but  circumstances  lead 
to  the  probable  supposition,  that  this  was  the  site,  or 
in  the  vicinity  of  the  site,  of  the  ancient  Abela  or 
Abila.  The  legend,  therefore,  was  most  likely  sug- 
gested by  the  ancient  name  of  the  place. 

Paul,  sjjeaking  in  commendation  of  Abel,  says, 
(Heb.  xi.  4.)  "By  faith  he  offered  unto  God  a  more 
excellent  sacrifice  than  Cain  ;  by  which  he  obtained 
witness  that  he  was  righteous,  God  testifying  of  his 
gifis ;  and  by  it  he  being  dead  yet  speaketh,"  even 
after  his  death.  Our  Saviour  places  Abel  at  the  head 
of  those  saints  who  had  been  persecuted  for  right- 
eousness' sake,  and  distinguishes  him  by  the  title 
righteous,  Matt,  xxiii.  35. 

n.  ABEL,  (Heb.  Sa^s,)  Abel-beth-Maacah,  or 
Abel-maim,  a  city  in  the  iionh  of  Palestine,  of  some 
considerable  size  and  importance,  since  it  is  called  "  a 
mother  In  Israel,"  2  Sam.  xx.  19.  For  the  identity  of 
the  city  under  these  three  different  names,  comp.  2 
Sam.  xx.  14,  15,  18 ;  1  Kings  xv.  20 ;  2  Chron.  xvi.  4. 
The  addition  of  Maacah  marks  it  as  belonging  to  or 
near  to  the  region  Maacah,  which  lay  eastward  of  the 
Jordan,  under  Anti-Lebanon.  It  is  perhaps  the 
Mela  mentioned  by  Eusebius  as  lying  between  Pa- 
neas  and  DauKiscus.     R. 

ABEL-BETH-MAACAH,  that  is  Abel  near  the 
house  or  citv  of  Maacah ;  the  same  as  Abel. 

ABEL-CARMAIM,  or  the  Place  of  the  Vineyards, 
a  \illagc  of  the  Ammonites,  about  six  miles  from 
Philadelphia,  or  Rabbath-Ammon,  according  to 
Eusebius,  and  in  his  time  still  rich  in  vineyards. 
Judges  xi.  'i'i. 

ABEL-MAIM,  tin;  same  as  Abel-beth-Maacah, 
1  Kings  XV.  20.    2  Chron.  xvi.  4.     Sec  Abel  II. 

ABEL-MEHOLAH,  the  birth-place  of  Elisha, 
1  Kings  xix.  !(!.  It  was  situated  about  ten  miles  south 
of  Sf-ytliopolis  or  Betlishan,  (!  Kings  iv.  12.)  and  was 
cflubratt'd  in  coiniexion  Avith  (iideon's  victory  over 
the,  Mi(li;uiit(>s,  Judires  vii.  22. 

ABEL-.'\IIZRAIM,  "tlie  |)laco  of  the  Egyptians," 
))reviously  <-aIled  "the  threshiug-floor  of  Atad,"  Gen. 
I.  11.  Jeroui  places  it  between  Jericho  and  the  Jor- 
dan ;  thre(!  miles  from  the  former,  and  two  from  the 
latter,  when;  Bellia;,'!.-!  afterwards  stood. 

ABEL-SHITTIM  was  in  the  plains  of  i\Ioa!j, 
beyond  Jordan,  o|)posite  to  Jericho.  It  is,  und<)ul)t- 
cdiy,  tli-.>  .Ihi'la  of  Josoplms,  (Ant.  \.  I.  1.     IJell.  Jud. 


iv.  7.  6.)  and  lay  according  to  him  about  60  stadia  or 
furlongs  from  the  Jordan.  Numb,  xxxiii.  49.  comp. 
xxii.  1.  It  is  more  frequently  called  Shittim  alone. 
Numb.  XV.  1.  Josh.  ii.  1.  Micah  \'i.  5.  Eusebius 
says,  it  was  in  the  neighborhood  of  mount  Peor. 
Moses  encamped  at  Abel-Shittim  before  the  Israel- 
ites passed  the  Jordan,  under  Joshua.  Here,  seduced 
by  Balak,  they  fell  into  idolatry,  and  worshipped 
Baal-Peor;  on  account  of  which  God  severely 
punished  them  by  the  hands  of  the  Levites,  chap. 

XXV. 

ABELA,  see  Abila. 

ABEZ,  a  city  of  Issachar,  Josh.  xix.  20. 

ABGAR,  a  king  of  Edessa,  and  of  the  district  Os- 
rhoene,  the  seventeenth  of  the  twenty  kings  who 
bore  this  name,  and  contemporary  with  Christ.  The 
name  does  not  occur  in  Scripture,  but  is  celebrated 
in  ecclesiastical  history,  on  account  of  the  corres- 
pondence which  is  said  to  have  passed  between  him 
and  Christ.  The  legend  is,  that  Abgar  wrote  to  the 
Saviour,  requesting  him  to  come  and  heal  him  of  the 
leprosy ;  to  which  Christ  replied,  that  he  could  not 
come  to  him,  but  would  send  one  of  his  disciples. 
Accorrhngly  he  is  said  to  have  sent  Thaddeus.  Both 
letters  are  apocryphal,  and  may  be  found  in  Fabric. 
Codex  Apoc.  N.  T.  p.  317.  See  also  the  quarto  ed. 
of  Calmet.     R. 

ABI,  mother  of  Hezekiah,  king  of  Judah ;  (2  Kings 
xviii.  2.)  called  Abijah,  2  Chron.  xxix.  1. 

ABIA,  in  the  N.  T.  the  same  as  Abijah  in  the  O. 
T.  which  see. 

ABIAH,  second  son  of  Samuel.  Being  intrusted 
with  the  administration  of  justice,  he  behaved  ill,  and 
induced  the  people  to  require  a  king,  1  Sam.  viii.  2. 

ABIATHAR,  son  of  Ahimelech,  and  high-priest 
of  the  Jews.  When  Saul  sent  his  emissaries  to  Nob, 
to  destroy  all  the  priests  there,  Abiathar,  who  was 
young,  fled  to  David  in  the  wilderness,  (1  Sam.  xxii. 
11,  seq.)  with  whom  he  continued  in  the  character 
of  high-priest.  Saul,  it  Avould  appear,  transferred 
the  dignity  of  the  high-priesthood  from  Ithamar's 
family  to  that  of  Eleazar,  by  conferring  the  office 
upon  Zadok.  Thus  there  were,  at  the  same  time, 
two  high-priests  in  Israel ;  Abiathar  with  David,  and 
Zadok  Avith  Saul.  This  double  priesthood  continued 
from  the  death  of  Ahimelech  till  the  reign  of  Solo- 
mon ;  Avhen  Abiathar,  attaching  himself  to  Adonijah, 
was  deprived  by  Solomon  of  his  priesthood,  1  Kings 
ii.  27.  The  race  of  Zadok  alone  exercised  this  min- 
isti-y  during  and  after  the  reign  of  Solomon,  exclud- 
ing the  family  of  Ithamar,  according  to  the  ])rediction 
made  to  Eli  the  high-priest,  1  Sam.  iii.  11,  &c. 

A  difliculty  arises  from  the  circumstance,  that  in 
1  Kings  ii.  27,  Abiathar  is  said  to  be  dejaived  of  the 
priest's  oflice  by  Solomon ;  while  in  2  Sam.  viii.  17, 
1  Chron.  xviii.  Iti,  xxiv.  3,  6,  31,  Ahimelech  the  son 
of  Abiathar  is  said  to  be  high-priest  along  with 
Zadok.  The  most  probable  solution  is,  that  both 
father  and  son  each  bore  the  two  names  Ahimelech 
and  Abiathar;  as  was  not  at  all  unusual  among  the 
Jews.  (See  one  example  under  Abigail.)  In  this 
Avay  also  wc  may  remove  the  difliculty  arising  from 
Mark  ii.  26,  where  Ahialhar  is  said  to  have  given 
David  the  shew  bread,  in  allusion  to  1  Sam.  xxi.  1, 
seq.  where  it  is  Ahimelech. — Others  suj)pose  the 
passage  in  Mark  to  be  merely  a  Jewish  mode  of 
quotation,  as  if  from  the  "History  of  Abiathar." 
This,  however,  does  not  remove  the  other  difliculty 
mentioned  above  ;  and  there  are  also  other  objections 
to  it,  arising  from  the  Greek  i<liom.  See  Kuinoel. 
Comm.  II.  p.  29.     R. 


ABI 


[5  ] 


ABI 


ABIB,  the  lii'sl  inonth  of  the  ecclesiastical  year  of 
the  Hebrews ;  afterwards  called  Nisan.  It  answered 
to  our  March,  or  pait  of  April.  Abib  signifies  green 
ears  of  corn,  or  liesh  fi'uits.  It  was  so  named,  be- 
cause corn,  particularly  barley,  was  in  ear  at  that 
tune.  It  was  an  early  custom  to  name  times,  such 
as  months,  from  observation  of  nature  ;  and  the  cus- 
tom is  still  in  use  among  many  nations.  So  it  was 
with  our  Saxon  ancestors ;  and  tlie  Germans  to  this 
day,  along  with  the  usual  Latin  names  of  the  months, 
have  also  others  of  the  above  character :  e.  g.  June 
is  also  called  Brachmonath,  or  month  for  ploughing ; 
Jidy,  Hcumonath,  or  Hay-month ;  November,  JVind- 
monath,  or  Wind-month,  &c.  See  Month,  and  the 
Jewish  Calendar. 

ABIGAIL,  formerly  the  wife  of  Nabal  of  Car- 
itiel,  and  afterwards  of  David.  Upon  receiving  in- 
formation of  Nabal's  ingratitude  to  the  king,  (1 
Sam.  XXV.  14,  &c.)  she  loaded  several  asses  with 
provisions,  and,  attended  by  some  of  her  dojnestics, 
went  out  to  meet  David.  Her  manners  and  conver- 
sation gained  for  her  his  esteem,  and  as  soon  as  the 
days  of  mourning  for  Nabal's  death,  which  happened 
soon  afterwards,  ^verc  over,  he  made  her  his  wife. 
The  issue  of  the  marriage  was,  as  some  critics  sup- 
pose, two  sons,  Chiliab  and  Daniel,  (2  Sam.  iii.  3 ;  1 
Chron.  iii.  1.)  but  it  is  most  probable  that  these  names 
were  borne  by  one  person. 

ABIGAIL,  sister  of  David,  wife  of  Jether,  and 
mother  of  Amasa,  1  Chron.  ii.  16,  17. 

ABIHU,  one  of  the  two  sons  of  Aaron  who  were 
destroyed  by  fire  from  heaven,  for  having  offered  in- 
cense with  strange  fire,  instead  of  taking  it  from  the 
altar  of  burnt-offerings,  Lev.  x.  1,  2. 

I.  ABIJAH,  son  of  Jeroboam,  the  first  king  of 
Israel.  Having  been  seized  Avith  a  dangerous  dis- 
ease, his  mother  disguised  herself,  and  visited  the 
prophet  Ahijah  to  know  Avhether  he  might  recover. 
Ahijah  answered  her  that  he  would  die,  and  be  the 
only  person  in  his  family  who  would  receive  funeral 
honors,  and  be  lamented  I)y  Israel,  1  Kings  xiv.  1. 

II.  ABIJAH,  called  Abijam,  (1  Kings  xv.  1.)  was 
tlie  sou  of  Rehoboasn,  and  second  king  of  Judah. 
He  succeeded  his  father,  A.  M.  3406,  ante  A.  D.  958, 
and  reigned  three  years  only.  In  the  first  book  of 
Kings  he  is  described  as  wallving  in  all  the  sins  of  his 
father,  and  as  waging  war  with  Jeroboam,  king  of 
Israel.  But  in  2  Chron.  xiii.  he  is  represented  as 
professedly  and  boastfully  zealous  for  the  honor  of 
God,  and  for  the  Levitical  priesthood.  He  is  also 
there  said  to  have  obtained  a  decisive  victory  over 
Jeroboam. 

III.  ABIJAH,  wife  of  Ahaz,  and  mother  of  Heze- 
kiah,  king  of  Judah  ;  (2  Chron.  xxix.  ].)  called  Abi, 
2  Kings  xviii.  2. 

IV.  ABIJAH,  a  descendant  of  Eleazar,  son  of 
Aaron,  and  head  of  the  eighth  of  the  twenty-four 
companies  of  priests,  1  Chron.  xxiv.  10 ;  Luke  i.  5. 

ABIJAM,  the  same  as  Abijah  II. 

ABILA,  or  ABELA.  There  were  several  towns 
of  this  name  in  Syria,  each  of  which  was  called  by 
the  Greeks,  Leucas,  or  Leiicadia,  "white."  But  the 
principal  one  was  a  toAvn  of  Ccelosyria,  and  the  cap- 
ital of  Abilene,  a  province  of  which  Lysanias  Avas 
tetrarch,  Luke  iii.  1.  It  was  situated  in  a  valley,  or 
rather  on  the  rocky  declivity  of  a  mountain,  adjacent 
to  the  river  Chi-ysorrhoas,  or  Barrada,  about  twelve 
miles  N.  W.  of  Damascus,  perhajjs  on  the  site  of  the 
present  village  Seneiah,  at  the  foot  of  the  hill  on  which 
Abel  is  said  to  have  been  buried.  (See  Abel.)  If 
these  rocks  were  whitish  in  color,  (and  most  of  those 


in  Judea  are  of  gray  limestone,)  they  would  fumieli 
the  Greeks  with  a  reason  for  giving  to  Abila  the 
name  of  Leucadia — "  White-rock-town."  Compare 
Jf'eissenfds,  i.  e.  White-rock,  the  name  of  a  German 
city  a  fe-w  miles  W.  of  Leipzig. — It  is  worthy  of 
remark,  too,  that  Strabo,  speaking  of  the  city  of  Leu- 
cadia, in  Acarnauia,  says  it  was  so  called  because  of 
a  great  white  rock  in  its  neighborhood. 

There  are  several  medals  of  Abila  extant,  two  of 
wliich  are  of  some  importance,  as  they  serve  to  iden- 
tify the  site  of  the  town.  On  the  reverse  of  one  of 
these  is  a  large  bunch  of  grapes,  from  which  it  is  to 
be  infeiTed  that  the  place  where  it  was  struck  abound- 
ed in  vineyards.  This  agrees  exactly  with  the  rocky 
eminence  or  decUvity  upon  which  we  have  assumed 
it  to  have  stood ;  besides  which,  Eusebius  and  Jeroni 
agree  that  its  vineyards  were  very  extensive  and  rich. 
But  the  most  remarkable  and  decisive  medal  extant, 
is  one  wliich  bears  a 
half-figure  of  the  river, 
with  the  inscription 
"  Clnysoroas  Claudiai- 
on,"  and  on  the  reverse, 
a  figure  of  Victory,  and 
the  inscription  "Ler.ca- 
diou,"  the  Greek  name  of  the  city.  We  may  also 
remark,  that  Abila  adding  the  name  of  Claudia  to 
its  other  appellations,  as  it  appears  from  this  medal 
it  did,  affords  a  presumption  that  it  was  of  some 
importance,  and  perhaps  of  considerable  magnitude 
also ;  and  the  conjecture  receives  confirmation  from 
some  antiquities  and  inscriptions  which  are  mentioned 
by  Pococke,  as  still  existing  in  the  neighborhood. 
See  Mod.  Traveller,  vol.  iii.  p.  65. 

ABILENE,  the  name  of  a  district  of  country  on 
the  eastern  dechvity  of  Antilibanus,  from  twelve  to 
twenty  miles  N.  W.  of  Damascus,  towards  Heliopohs, 
or  Baalbeck ;  so  called  from  the  city  Abila,  (which 
see,)  and  also  called  Abila,  or  Abilene  of  Lysanias,  to 
distinguish  it  from  others.  This  territory  had  for- 
merly been  governed  as  a  tetrarchate  by  a  certain 
Lysanias,  the  son  of  Ptolemy  and  grandson  of  Meu- 
ufEus,  (Joseph.  Ant.  xiv.  13.  3.)  but  he  was  put  to 
death,  (A.  C.  36.)  through  the  intrigues  of  Cleopatra, 
who  took  possession  of  his  province,  (ib.  xiv.  4.  1.) 
After  her  death  it  fell  to  Augustus,  who  hired  it  out 
to  a  certain  Zenodorus ;  but  as  he  suffered  the  coun- 
try to  be  infested  with  robbers,  it  was  taken  froin 
hini  and  given  to  Herod  the  Great,  (Joseph.  B.  J.  i. 
20.  4 ;  Ant.  xv.  10.  1.)  At  Herod's  death,  a  part  of 
the  territorv  was  given  to  Philip;  but  the  gi'eater 
part,  with  the  city  Abila,  seems  then,  or  shortly  after- 
wards, to  have  been  bestowed  on  another  Lysanias, 
Luke  iii.  1.  He  is  sui)i)Oscd  to  have  been  a  descend- 
ant of  the  former  Lysanias,  but  is  no  Avhere  men- 
tioned by  Josepluis. "  Indeed,  nothing  is  said  by  Jo- 
sephus,  or  by  any  other  profane  writer,  of  this  part  of 
Abilene,  until  about  teu  years  after  the  time  referred 
to  by  Luke,  when  Cahgiila  gave  it  to  Agrippa  Major 
as  ''the  tetrarchv  of  Lysanias,"  (Joseph.  Ant.  xvin. 
6.  10.)  to  whom  it  was  afterwards  confirmed  by 
Claudius,  (il).  xix.  5.  1.)  At  the  death  of  Agrippa,  it 
went,  with  his  other  possessions,  to  Agrippa  Mi- 
nor.    *  R, 

I.  ABIMELECH,king  of  Gerar  of  the  Phih>tmes. 
This  prii-.ce,  being  captivated  by  the  beauty  of  Sarah, 
took  her  into  his^haram,  Avith  the  design  of  makmg 
her  his  Avife.  In  a  dream,  however,  the  Lord  threat- 
ened him  with  death,  unless  he  inuuediately  restored 
her  to  her  husband.  Abimelech  pleaded  his  ignorance 
of  the  relation  betAveen  Sarah  and  Abram,  and  early 


ABI 


[6] 


ABI 


t'  e  uexl  da}'  returned  her  to  her  husband,  and  coni- 
plamed  of  the  deception  that  had  been  practised  upon 
him  by  Abrani,  who  had  described  Sarali  as  his 
sister.  The  patriarch  explained  tlie  motives  tor  his 
conduct,  stating,  at  the  same  time,  that  ahhough 
Sarah  Vvas  Iiis  wife,  she  was  also  his  sister,  being  of 
the  same  father  by  another  mother.  Abimelech 
dismissfd  them  with  presents,  giving  to  Sarah, 
through  her  husband,  a  thousand  pieces  of  silver, 
as  a  "  covering  of  the  eyes,"  i.  e.  an  atoning  present, 
and  as  a  testimony  of  her  innocence  in  the  eyes  of 
all,  Gen.  c.  xx.     See  Abraji. 

It  has  been  thought  strange  that  a  miraculous 
interference  should  have  been  necessary  here,  as  well 
as  in  the  case  of  Pharaoh,  (Gen.  xii.  14 — 20.)  to  con- 
vince Abimelech  of  his  cninmality  in  detaining  the 
wife  of  Ai)raham  ;  and  equally  sti-auge  that  Abraham 
could  not  procure  Sarah's  release  by  projjcr  ai)j)lica- 
tioa  and  request.  But  it  must  be  remembered  that 
God  favored  Abraham  with  his  constant  intercourse 
und  direct  protection,  and  in  cases  too  of  less  diffi- 
ci.lty  than  the  one  here  in  question.  It  is  well  known 
that  oriental  sovereigns  in  all  ages  have  exercised  the 
right  of  selecting  the  most  beautiful  females  of  their 
kingdoms  for  the  use  of  their  own  harams,  (Gen.  xii. 
15  ;  Esth.  ii.  3.)  and  that  whenever  a  woman  is  taken 
into  the  haram  of  a  prince  in  the  East,  she  is  secluded, 
without  possibility  of  coming  out,  at  least  during  the 
life  of  the  priuce  on  the  throne.  In  fact,  comnumi- 
cation  with  the  women  in  the  haram  is  hardly  to  be 
obtained,  and  only  by  means  of  the  keepers,  (Esth. 
iv.  5.)  and  certainly  not,  when  any  suspicion  occurs 
to  the  guards,  to  whom  is  intrusted  the  custody  of 
such  buildings.  The  whole  transaction,  then,  may 
be  placed  in  a  stronger  light  than,  perhaps,  it  has 
usually  ap])eared  in,  by  the  following  extract  from  a 
review  of  the  travels  of  Peter  Henry  Bruce,  Esq.,  an 
officer  in  the  Russian  arm)',  under  Czar  Peter. 

"The  retreat  of  the  Russians,  we  are  told,  was 
productive  of  an  unfortunate  incident  to  Colonel  Pitt, 
an  officer  in  that  army.  Immediately  on  decam])iug 
from  the  fatal  banks  of  the  Pruth,  he  lost  both  his 
wife  and  daughter,  beautiful  women,  by  the  breaking 
of  one  of  their  coach  wheels.  By  this  accident,  they 
were  left  so  far  in  the  rear,  that  the  Tartars  seized 
and  carried  them  off".  The  colonel  fq)plicd  to  the 
grand  vizier,  who  ordered  a  strict  inquiry  to  be  made, 
but  without  effect.  The  colonel  being  afterwards 
informed  that  they  were  both  carried  to  Constanti- 
nople, and  presented  to  the  grand  signior,  obtained  a 
passport,  and  went  thither  in  search  of  them.  Getting 
acquainted  with  a  Jew  doctor,  who  was  physician  to 
the  seraglio,  the  doctor  told  him  that  two  such  ladies 
as  he  described  had  lately  been  presented  to  the 
suhun  ;  but  that  ?(7ie?j  any  of  the  sex  ivere  once,  iakeyi 
into  the  seraglio,  they  tver-e  j^ever  suffered  to  quit  it  more. 
The  colonel,  however,  tried  every  expedient  he  could 
devise  to  recover  his  wife,  if  he  could  not  obtain 
both  ;  until,  becoming  outrageous  by  rejjeated  disap- 
pointments, tlicy  shut  him  up  in  a  dungeon,  and  it 
vvas  with  much  difficulty  he  got  released  by  the 
intercession  of  some  of  the  ambassadors  at  that  court. 
He  was  afterwards  told  by  the  same  doctor,  that  both 
the  ladies  had  died  of  the  plague  ;  with  which  infor- 
mation he  was  obliged  to  content  himself,  and  return 
lioine."     Critical  Review,  vol.  iii.  p.  3.32. 

II.  ABIMELECH,  another  king  of  Gerar,  proba- 
bly a  son  of  the  former,  and  contemporary  witli  Isaac. 
Having  accidentally  seen  Isaac  caressing  his  wife 
Rebekah,  whom  he  had  called  sister,  Abimelech 
reproved  him  for  his  dissimulation  ;  and,  at  the  same 


time,  forbade  his  people  to  do  any  injury  whatever 
to  Isaac  or  to  his  wife.  Isaac,  increasing  in  riches 
and  power,  excited  the  envy  of  the  Philistines ;  and 
Abimelech  said  to  him,  "  Go  from  us,  for  thou  art 
much  mightier  than  we."  Isaac,  therefore,  retired  to 
the  valley  of  Gerar,  and  afterwards  to  Beersheba, 
where  Abimelech,  with  Ahuzzath,  his  favorite,  and 
Phicol,  his  genei-al,  visited  him.  Isaac  inquired, 
"Wherefore  come  ye  to  me,  seeing  ye  hate  me,  and 
have  sent  me  away  from  your"  To  wliich  Abime- 
lech replied,  that  observing  how  much  he  was  favored 
by  God,  he  was  desirous  of  cultivating  his  friend- 
ship, and  had  come  to  make  a  covenant  with  him. 
Isaac  entertained  them  splendidly,  and  the  next  day 
concluded  a  treaty  with  Abimelech,  Gen.  xxvi. 
8—31. 

III.  ABIMELECH,  son  of  Gideon  by  a  concubine, 
assumed  the  government  of  Shechem  after  the  death 
of  his  father,  and  procured  himself  to  be  acknowl- 
edged king;  first,  by  the  inhabitants  of  Shechem, 
where  his  mother's  family  had  an  interest,  and  after- 
wards by  a  great  part  of  Israel.  At  Gideon's  house 
in  Ophrah,  he  killed  his  father's  seventy  sons,  now 
orphans,  on  one  sto)ie ;  the  youngest,  Jotham,  only 
remaining,  who,  when  the  people  of  Shechem  assem- 
bled to  inaugurate  Abimelech,  appeared  on  mount 
Gerizim,  and  reproved  tliem  by  his  celebrated  fable 
of  the  trees.  (See  Jotham.)  After  three  years,  dis- 
cord aiose  among  the  Shechemites,  who,  reflecting 
on  their  injustice,  and  detesting  the  cruelty  of  Abim- 
elech, revolted  from  him  in  his  absence,  and  laid  an 
ambuscade  in  the  mountains,  designing  to  kill  him 
on  his  return  to  Shechem.  Of  this,  Abimelech 
received  intelligence  from  Zebul,  his  governor  of 
Shechem.  The  Shechemites  invited  Gaal  to  theii 
assistance,  with  whom,  at  a  great  entertainment,  they 
uttered  many  imprecations  against  Abimelech  ;  who, 
having  assembled  some  troops,  marched  all  night 
towards  Shechem.  In  the  morning,  Gaal  went  out 
of  Shechem,  and  gave  battle  to  Abimelech,  but  was 
defeated,  and,  as  he  was  endeavoring  to  re-enter  the 
city,  Zebul  repulsed  him.  Abimelech  afterwards 
defeated  the  Shechemites,  destroyed  the  city,  and 
burnt  their  tower ;  but  at  the  attack  of  Thebez,  a 
town  about  thirteen  miles  to  the  N.  E.,  a  woman 
from  the  top  of  the  tower  threw  an  upper  mill-stone 
upon  his  head,  and  fractured  his  skull.  (See  Mill.] 
He  immediately  called  his  armor-bearer,  and  desirea 
him  to  slay  him,  "  that  men  say  not  of  me,  A  woman 
slew  him."     Judg.  ix. 

IV.  ABIMELECH,  a  high-priest  in  the  time  of 
David,  (1  Chron.  xviii.  16.)  the  same  as  Abimelech, 
(2  Sam.  viii.  17.)  and  probably  the  same  as  Abiathar, 
which  see. 

I.  ABIRAM,  the  eldest  son  of  Hiel  the  Bethelite. 
Joshua,  after  having  destroyed  Jericho,  uttered  this 
imprecation  :  "  Cursed  be  the  man  before  the  Lord, 
that  riseth  up  and  buildeth  this  city  Jericho:  he  shall 
lay  the  foundation  thereof  in  his  first-born,  and  in 
his  youngest  son  shall  beset  up  the  gate  of  it,"  Josh, 
vi.  26.  About  .537  years  after  this,  Hiel  imdertook 
to  rebuild  the  city ;  and  in  conformity  with  the  pre- 
diction, he  lost  his  children,  1  Kings  xvi.  34.  It  is 
not  expressly  said,  either  in  the  curse,  or  in  the  nar- 
ration, that  the  children  should  die  ;  but  this  is  clearly 
im])lied.  Hiel,  it  will  be  observed,  is  not  blamed  for 
his  proceeding ;  his  loss  is  mentioned  only  as  a 
remarkable  fulfilment  of  a  prediction  ;  and  it  is 
possible  that  the  prediction  was  unknown  to  him. 
See  Barren. 

II.  ABIRAM,  one  of  the  three  persons  who  con- 


ABO 


[7] 


ABRAHAM 


spired  witli  Korah  to  overthrow  the  authority  of 
Moses  in  the  wilderness,  and  upon  whom  God 
inflicted  an  awfid  punishment.  He  was  the  son  of 
Eliab,  of  the  tribe  of  Reuben,  Numb.  xvi. 

ABISHAG,  a  beautiful  wgin  of  Shunam,  in  the 
tribe  of  Issachar,  who  was  selected  to  chei-ish  David 
in  his  old  age.  The  king  made  her  his  wife  ;  but  the 
man-iage  was  never  consummated.  After  the  death 
of  David,  Adonijah  demanded  Abishag  in  marriage  ; 
but  Solomon,  justly  supposing  that  this  was  only  a 
step  towards  his  assumption  of  the  regal  power, 
refused  his  solicitation,  and  put  him  to  death,  1  Kings 
i.  3 ;  ii.  IS— 25. 

ABISHAI,  sou  of  Zeruiah,  David's  sister,  and 
brother  of  Joab  and  Asahel,  was  one  of  the  most 
vahant  men  of  his  time,  and  chief  general  in  David's 
armies.  He  vanquished  Ishbi-benob,  a  descendant 
of  the  Rephaim,  the  head  of  whose  lance  weighed 
300  shekels  of  brass,  (2  Sam.  xxi.  16.)  and  lifted  up 
his  spear  against,  and  slew,  300  enemies,  xxiii.  18. 
See  2  Sam.  ii.  18  ;  1  Chron.  ii.  16. 

ABISHUA,  son  of  Phinehas,  fourth  high-priest  of 
the  Hebrews ;  (1  Chron.  vi.  50.)  was  succeeded  by 
Bukld.  The  Chronicon  of  Alexandria  places  Abishua 
under  Ehud,  judge  of  Israel,  Judg.  iii.  He  is  called 
Abiezer  in  Josepluis. 

ABNER,  son  of  Ner,  uncle  to  Saul,  and  general 
of  his  armies,  1  Sam.  xiv,  51.  For  seven  years  after 
the  death  of  Saul  he  presented  the  crown  to  Ishbo- 
sheth,  the  son  of  that  prince,  though  generally  unsuc- 
cessful in  the  contests  that  arose  between  his  troops 
and  those  of  David,  who  reigned  at  Hebron,  in  Judah. 
Ishbosheth  havuig  accused  liim  of  taking  undue 
liberties  with  Rizpah,  a  concubine  of  Saul,  Abner 
went  over  to  David,  and  undertook  to  deliver  the 
whole  kingdom  into  his  hands.  In  this,  however,  he 
was  prevented,  for  immediately  after  quitting  Hebron, 
for  the  purpose  of  carrying  his  design  into  effect,  he 
was  slain  by  Joab,  the  general  of  David's  armies,  to 
revenge  the  death  of  his  brother  Asahel,  who  had 
fallen  by  the  hand  of  Abner,  (2  Sam.  ii.  20.)  or  more 
probably  from  jealousy.  The  king  was  deeply 
afflicted  at  the  perfidy  and  cruelty  of  Joab,  and 
attended  the  funeral  solemnities  of  Abner  in  per- 
son. He  also  composed  an  elegj'  on  his  death,  2 
Sam.  iii. 

ABOMINATION.  Shi,  being  the  reverse  of  the 
divine  perfections  and  law,  and  the  unchangeable 
object  of  the  divine  displeasure,  is  frequently  called 
abominable,  or  an  abomination,  Isa.  Ixvi.  3  ;  Ezek. 
xvi.  50.  Idolatry  and  Idols  are  also  designated  abom- 
inations, not  only  because  the  worship  of  idols  is, 
in  itself,  abominable,  but  because  the  ceremonies  of 
idolaters  were  almost  always  attended  with  licentious- 
ness, and  infamous  and  abominable  actions.  Shep- 
herds were  an  abomination  to  the  Egyptians,  (Gen. 
xlvi.  34.)  in  consequence,  probably,  of  the  tyranny 
which  had  been  exercised  over  them  by  the  hycassos, 
or  shepherd  kings,  a  horde  of  marauders,  whose 
occupations  were  of  a  pastoral  kind,  but  who  made 
a  powerful  irruption  into  Egjpt,  which  they  subdued, 
and  ruled  for  about  two  centuries  and  a  half.  Ever 
after  this  time  the  persons  and  very  name  of  shep- 
herds were  execi'ated,  and  held  in  great  abhorrence 
by  the  Egyptians. — The  Hebrews  were  to  sacrifice  tlie 
abominations  of  the  Egyptians,  (Exod.  viii.  26.)  that 
is,  those  creatures  which  they  venerated  as  the  syin- 
bols  of  deities,  and  which,  therefore,  they  could  not 
have  beheld  slain,  vv'ithout  the  utmost  indignation  and 
abhorrence.  Indeed  their  superstition  was  so  strong, 
that  even  to  kill  bv  accident  one  of  their  sacred  ani- 


mals, was  not  to  be  expiated  but  by  the  death  of  the 
offender.  Egypt  was  divided  into  parts,  each  of  which 
had  its  pecuhar  representative  deity  ;  m  one  district  a 
bull,  in  another  a  goat,  in  another  a  cat,  in  another 
a  monkey,  &c.  Undoubtedly,  these  were  strange 
creatures  to  receive  public  worship,  to  be  adored  as 
deities,  or  as  symbols  of  deity  ;  the  choice  of  such 
has  in  it,  certainly,  something  abommable  to  human 
nature  and  feelings. 

ABOMINATION  OF  DESOLATION,  foretold 
by  Daniel,  (chap.  ix.  27.)  denotes,  according  to  some 
interpreters,  the  image  of  Jupiter  Olympius,  erected 
in  the  temple  of  Jerusalem,  by  command  of  Anti- 
ochus  Epiphanes,  2  Mac.  vi.  2 ;  and  1  Mac.  vi  7. 
But,  by  the  Abomination  of  Desolation,  spoken  of  by 
our  Lord,  (Matt.  xxiv.  15 ;  Mark  xiii.  14  •)  and  fore- 
told as  about  to  be  seen  at  Jerusalem,  during  the  last 
siege  of  that  city  by  the  Romans,  under  Titus,  is 
meant  the  ensigns  of  the  Roman  army,  with  the 
images  of  their  gods  and  emperors  upon  them,  which 
surrounded  the  city,  and  were  lodged  in  the  temple 
when  that  and  the  city  were  taken."  The  evangehsts 
Matthew  and  Mark  add,  "  Whoso  readeth  let  him  un- 
derstand ;"  hereby  intimating,  that  this  event  was  ap- 
proaching, though  yet  future,  and  that  the  reader 
would  do  well  to  retire  speedily  from  a  city  which 
was  thus  threatened  with  the  execution  of  the  divine 
anger.  The  passages  were  therefore  written  before 
Jerusalem  was  destroyed,  and  were,  no  doubt,  the 
means  of  warning  many  to  escape  the  coming 
wrath. 

ABRAM,  afterwards  called  Abraham,  son  of 
Terah,  was  born  at  Ur,  a  citv  of  Chaldaea,  A.  M. 
2008,  ante  A.  D.  1996.  Gen.xi.  27.  He  spent  his 
early  years  in  his  father's  house,  where  idols  were 
worshipped.  Many  have  supposed  that  he  himself 
was  at  first  a  worshipper  of  idols,  but  that,  God  giv- 
ing him  a  better  understanding,  he  renoimced  it,  and 
on  that  account  sufi'ered  a  severe  persecution  from 
the  Chaldeans,  who  threw  him  into  a  fiery  furnace, 
fi-om  which  God  miraculously  saved  him.  The  Vul- 
gate rendering  of  2  Esd.  ix.  7.  expresses  that  he  was 
delivered  from  the  Jire  of  the  Chaldeans,  which  the 
Jews  generally  believe  ;  although  the  opinion  seems 
to  be  founded  only  on  the  ambiguity  of  the  word 
Ur,  which  signifiesj^re,  as  well  as  the  city  of  Ur,  from 
whence  God  directed  Abraham  mto  the  land  of 
promise.  It  seems  that  Terah  also  was  convinced 
of  the  vanity  of  idolatry,  since  he  accompanied 
Abraham  from  Ur,  where  he  was  settled,  to  go  to 
that  place  whither  the  Lord  had  called  him.  The 
first  city  to  which  they  came  was  Haran,in  Mesopo- 
tamia, where  Terah  died.  From  thence  Abraham 
went  into  Palestine,  at  that  time  inhabited  by  Canaan- 
ites.  Here  God  promised  to  bless  him,  and  to  give 
him  the  property  of  the  countiy.  The  patriarch, 
however,  did  not  ac(iuire  landed  property  here,  but 
lived  and  died  a  stranger.  Some  time  after  his  ar- 
rival in  Canaan,  a  great  famine  obliged  him  to  go 
down  into  Egypt ;  where,  fearing  that  the  Egyptians 
might  be  captivated  with  the  beauty  of  Sarah,  and 
iiot  only  force  her  from  him,  but  take  away  his  own 
life  also,  if  they  knew  her  to  be  his  toife,  he  deter- 
mined to  call  her  sister.  Durmg  their  stay  in  Egj'pt, 
her  beauty  being  reported  to  Pharaoh,  be  took  her 
forcibly  from  Abraham,  designing  to  make  her  one  of 
his  wives.  God,  however,  afflicted  him  with  great 
plagues,  and  obliged  him  to  restore  her.  After  the 
famine  had  ceased,  Abraham  returned  to  Canaan, 
accompanied  by  his  nephew.  Lot ;  and  pitched  his 
tents  between  Beth-el  and  Hai,  where  he  had  pre- 


ABRAIL^AI 


[8] 


ABRAHAM 


viously  raised  au  altar.  But,  as  both  Abraham  aud 
Lot  had  large  flocks,  thej'  could  not  conveniently 
dwell  together,  aud  therefore  separated  ;  Lot  retiring 
to  Sodom,  and  Abraham  to  the  plam  of  Mamre,  near 
Hebron,  Gen.  xJi.  xiii. 

Some  years  after  this.  Lot  being  taken  prisoner  by 
Chedorlaomer  and  his  allies,  then  warring  against 
the  kings  of  Sodom,  and  the  neighboring  places, 
Abraham  with  his  household  pui-sued  the  conquer- 
ors, overtook  and  defeated  them  at  Dan,  near  tlie 
springs  of  Jordan,  and  retook  the  spoil,  together 
with  Lot.  At  his  return,  passing  near  Salem,  (sup- 
posed to  be  the  city  afterwards  called  Jerusalem,) 
Melchisedek,  king  of  that  city,  and  priest  of  the 
Most  High  God,  came  out  and  blessed  him,  and  j)re- 
sented  him  with  bread  and  wine  for  his  own  refrcsli- 
ment  and  that  of  his  army  ;  or,  as  some  have  thought, 
offered  bread  and  wine  to  God,  as  a  sacrifice  of 
thanksgiving  on  Abraham's  behalf. 

After  this,  the  Lord  renewed  his  promises  to  Abra- 
)iam,  with  fresh  assurances  that  he  should  possess  the 
land  of  Canaan,  and  that  his  posterity  should  be  a.s 
numerous  as  the  stars  of  heaven. 

As  Abraham  had  no  chikh-en,  and  could  no  longer 
expect  any  by  his  wife  .Sarah,  he  complied  with  her 
solicitations,  and  took  her  servant  Hagai-  as  a  wife  ; 
imagining,  that  if  he  should  have  children  by  her, 
God  might  perform  the  promises  which  he  had  made 
to  him  of  a  numerous  posterity.  Soon  after  her 
marriage,  Hagar,  finding  she  had  conceived,  assumed 
a  superiority  over  her  mistress,  and  treated  her  with 
contempt ;  but  Sarah  complained  to  Abraham,  who 
told  her  that  Hagar  was  still  her  servant.  Hagar, 
therefore,  being  harshly  treated  by  Sai-ah,  fled ;  but 
an  angel,  appearing  to  her  in  the  wilderness,  com- 
manded her  to  return  to  her  master,  and  to  submit  to 
her  mistress's  authority.  Hagar  therefore  returned, 
and  gave  birth  to  Ishmael,  Gen.  xiv. 

Thirteen  years  after  the  birth  of  Ishmael,  the  Lord 
renewed  his  covenant  and  promises  with  Abraham, 
changing  his  name  from  Ahram,  or  an  elevated  father, 
to  Abraham,  or  father  of  a  great  multitude  ;  and  the 
name  of  Sarai,  my  princess,  into  Sarah,  the  princess  ; 
that  is,  of  many ;  no  longer  confined  to  one.  As  a 
token  and  confirmation  of  the  covenant  now  entered 
into,  he  enjoined  Abraham  to  be  himself  circum- 
cised, and  to  circumcise  all  the  males  in  his  famih'. 
He  also  promised  him  a  son  by  Sarah,  his  wife,  to  be 
born  within  a  year.  Gen.  xvii. 

The  enormous  sins  of  Sodom,  Gomorrha,  and  the 
neighl)oring  cities,  being  now  filled  up,  three  angels 
were  sent  to  inflict  upon  them  the  divine  vengeance. 
Abraham,  sitting  at  the  door  of  his  tent,  in  the  valley 
of  Mamre,  saw  three  persons  walking  by ;  and,  %vith 
true  oriental  hospitality,  immediately  invited  them  to 
take  refreshment,  washed  their  feet,  and  hasted  to 
prepare  them  meat.  When  they  had  eaten,  they 
asked  for  Sarah.  Abraham  answering  that  she  was 
in  her  tent,  one  of  them  said,  "  I  will  cehainly  return 
imto  thee,  according  to  the  time  of  life,  and  lo  ! 
Sarah  thy  wife  shall  have  a  son."  Upon  hearing  this, 
Sarah  laughed  ;but  one  of  the  angelic  visitors  rebuked 
her  unlx'iief,  by  remarking,  "  Wherefore  did  Sarah 
laugh  ?  Is  any  thing  too  hard  for  the  Lord  ?  In  a 
year  I  will  return,  as  I  promised,  and  Sarah  shall 
have  a  son,"  Gen.  xviii.  1 — 19. 

When  the  angels  were  ready  to  depart,  Abraham 
accompanied  them  towards  Sodom,  wliither  two  of 
them  (wlio  proved  to  be  divine  messengers)  continued 
their  journey.  Tlie  third  remained  with  Abraham, 
and  informed  him  of  the  approaching  de-itructiou  of 


Sodom  and  Gomorrha.  Abraham  interceded,  pray- 
ing, that  if  fifty  righteous  persons  were  found  therein, 
the  city  should  be  spared ;  he  reduced  the  number 
gi-adually  to  ten  ;  but  this  nmnbcr  could  not  be  found, 
or  God,  in  answer  to  his  prayers,  would  have  averted 
his  design.  Lot,  being  the  only  righteous  person  in 
the  city,  was  preserved  from  the  calamity  that  de- 
stroyed it,  Gen.  xviii.  xix.     See  Lot. 

Sarah  having  conceived,  according  to  the  divme 
promise,  Abraham  left  the  plain  of  Mamre,  and  went 
south,  to  Gerar,  where  Abimelech  reigned  ;  and  again 
fearing  that  Sarah  might  be  forced  from  him,  and 
himself  be  put  to  death,  he  called  her  here,  as  he  had 
done  in  f^gypt,  S25<er.  (See  Abimelech  I.)  Abime- 
lech took  her  to  his  house,  designing  to  many  her; 
but  God  having  in  a  dream  informed  him  that  she 
was  Abraham's  v.'ife,  he  restored  her  with  great 
presents.  Sm-ah  was  this  year  delivered  of  Isaac 
whom  Abraham  circumcised  according  to  the  cove- 
nant stipulation.  For  several  years  the  two  wives 
and  the  two  children  continued  to  live  together ;  but 
at  length  Ishmael  became  apparently  jealous  of  the 
affection  sho^sTi  to  Isaac  by  his  father,  so  that  Sarah 
insisted  that  he  and  his  mother  should  be  dismissed 
the  family.  After  very  gi'eat  reluctance,  Abraham 
complied  ;  as  God  informed  him  that  it  Avas  according 
to  the  appointments  of  ProAidence,  for  the  future 
ages  of  the  world.  About  the  same  time,  Abimelech 
came  with  Phicol,  his  general,  to  conclude  an  al- 
liance with  Abraham,  who  made  that  prince  a  present 
of  seven  ewe-lambs  out  of  his  flock,  in  consideration 
that  a  well  he  had  opened  should  be  his  own  prop- 
erty ;  and  they  called  the  place  Beer-sheba,  or  "  the 
well  of  sweai'ing,"  because  of  the  covenant  there 
ratified  with  oaths.  Here  Abraham  planted  a  grove, 
built  an  altar,  and  resided  some  time.  Gen.  xx.  xxi. 

About  the  year  A.  M.  2133,  God  directed  Abra- 
ham to  sacrifice  his  son  Isaac,  on  a  mountain  which 
he  would  show  him.  Obedient  to  the  divine  com- 
mand, Abraham  took  his  sen,  and  two  servants,  and 
w^eut  towards  mount  JMoriah,  on  whicli  the  temple 
afterwards  stood.  On  their  joiuney,  Isaac  said  to 
his  father,  "  Behold  the  fire  and  the  wood,  but  where 
is  the  victim  for  a  burnt-offering  ?"  Abraham 
answered,  that  God  woidd  provide  one.  When  they 
arrived  within  sight  of  the  mountain,  Abraham  left 
his  servants,  and  ascended  it  with  his  son  only.  Hav- 
ing bound  Isaac,  he  prepared  to  sacrifice  him ;  but 
when  about  to  give  the  blow,  au  angel  from  heaven 
cried  out  to  him,  "  Lay  not  thine  hand  upon  the  lad, 
neither  do  thou  any  thing  to  him.  Now  I  know 
that  thou  fearest  God,  since  to  oliey  him  thou  hast 
not  spared  thine  only  son."  Upon  looking  round 
him,  Abraham  saw  a  ram  entangled  in  the  bushes  by 
his  bonis,  which  he  offei-ed  as  a  burnt-offering,  in- 
stead of  his  son  Isaac.  He  called  the  place  Jehovah- 
jireh,  or  the  Lord  ivill  see,  or  provide,  Gen.  xxii. 
1—14. 

Several  years  afterwards,  Sarah  died  in  Hebron, 
where  Abraham  came  to  mouni  for  her,  and  to  per- 
form the  funeral  offices.  He  addressed  the  jieople 
at  the  city  gate,  entreating  them  to  allow  him  to  buiy 
his  wife  among  them  ;  for,  being  a  stranger,  and  hav- 
ing no  land  of  his  own,  he  could  claim  no  right  of 
intennent  in  any  sepulchre  of  that  country.  He, 
therefore,  bought  of  Ej)hron,  one  of  the  inhabitants, 
the  field  of  IMachpelah,  with  the  cave  and  sepulchre 
in  it,  at  the  price  of  four  hundred  shekels  of  silver ; 
(about  $200  ;)  and  buried  Sarah  with  due  solemni- 
ties, according  to  the  custom  of  the  country,  G«n. 
xxiii. 


ABRAHAM 


[9] 


ABRAHAM 


Abraham,  being  reminded  by  this  occurrence, 
probably,  of  his  oa\ti  great  age,  and  the  consequent 
uncertainty  of  Iiis  life,  became  solicitous  to  secui-e  an 
alliance  between  Isaac  and  a  female  branch  of  his 
own  family.  Ehezer  his  steward  was  therefore  sent 
into  Mesopotamia,  to  fetch  from  the  country  and 
kindred  of  Abraham  a  wife  for  his  son  Isaac.  Eli- 
ezer  executed  his  conmiission  with  prudence,  and 
returned  with  Rebekali,  daughter  of  Bethuel,  grand- 
daughter of  Nahor,  and,  consequently,  Abraham's 
niece.  The  life  of  the  patriarch  was  prolonged  for 
many  years  after  this  event,  and  he  died  at  the  age 
of  1/5  years.  He  was  buried  by  his  sons  Isaac  and 
Ishmael,  in  the  cave  of  Machpelah,  where  he  had 
deposited  the  remains  of  his  beloved  Sarah,  Gen. 
xxiv.  XXV.  A.  M.  2133,  ante  A.  D.  1821. 

It  ajjpears  from  the  thread  of  the  sacred  narrative, 
that  Abraham  took  Keturah  iiy  marriage,  and  had  by 
her  six  sons — Zimran,  Jokshan,  Medan,  Midian,  Ish- 
bak,  and  Shuali — after  the  death  of  Sarah,  Gen.  xxv. 
1.  This,  however,  is  in  itself  improbable,  his  age  at 
that  time  being  137  years,  and  his  infirmity,  long  be- 
fore, such  as  to  render  it  highly  improbable  that  he 
would  have  any  children.  On  these  grounds,  it  has 
been  thought  that  he  married  Keturah  while  Sarah 
was  Uving,  and  that  the  w  ords  may  be  rendered,  in 
the  pluperfect  tense,  "  and  Abraham  had  added,  and 
taken  a  wife."  It  is  worthy  of  remark,  in  support 
of -this  interpretation,  that  1  Chron.  i.  32,  33,  places 
the  sons  of  Keturah  before  Isaac,  and  calls  her  con- 
cubine, which  would  hardly  have  been  the  case  li^d 
she  been  his  legitimate  wife,  taken  after  the  death  of 
Sarah. 

In  re\dewdng  the  history  of  this  eminent  patriarch, 
there  are  sevei-al  things  worthy  attentive  considera- 
tion. 

1.  Abraham  is  introduced  rather  abruptly  in  the 
sacred  Scriptures ; — "  And  Jehovah  said  to  Abram  ;" 
(Gen.  xii.  1.)  but  it  may  rationally  be  concluded,  that 
before  a  man  would  undertake  a  long,  fatiguing,  and 
uncertain  journey,  at  the  command  of  another,  he 
would  be  well  assured  of  the  authority  which  com- 
manded him.  It  seems  reasonable,  therefore,  to  m- 
fer,  that  God  had  previously  spoken  to  Abraham — 
perhaps  often,  though  by  what  means  we  know  not. 
How^ever,  we  learn  from  other  sources  of  infonna- 
tion  besides  the  Scriptures,  that  about  this  time  Chal- 
dea  became  polluted  with  idolatry  ;  and  it  is  therefore 
most  probable  that  a  principal  reason  for  Abraham's 
quitting  his  own  country,  was  his  dread  of  this  evil. 
At  that  time  idolatry  was  not  equally  prevalent  in 
Egypt ;  and  the  countries  which  were  distant  fi"om 
the  gi-eat  cities,  or  had  but  little  intercourse  Avith 
them,  were  still  less  infected  with  it.  This  accounts 
for  Abraham's  travelling  northward,  instead  of  taking 
the  direct  road,  which  communicated  through 
Canaan,  between  Babylon  and  Egj'pt.  Undoubtedly, 
the  providence  of  God  called  Abraham,  for  his  own 
personal  quiet,  and  that  of  his  family,  to  seek  a 
country  less  polluted  than  the  dominions  of  Nimrod  ; 
and  so  far,  no  doubt,  he  may  be  said  to  have  had  a 
divine  direction ;  but  every  thing  leads  to  the  con- 
clusion, that  he  had  also  an  express  direction  to  the 
same  purpose. 

2.  Previous  to  his  journey,  Abraham  was  a  man  of 
property,  Gen.  xii.  5.  He  was  no  adventurer  for  a 
fortune,  but  was  already  rich  in  worldly  wealth  ;  and 
had  many  dependants,  most  of  whom,  probably,  ac- 
companied him  to  his  new  residence.  The  dignity 
and  power  of  Abraham  are  incidentally  stated  in  the 
8torv  of  his  rescuing  Lot.      He  must  have  been  a 

2 


man  of  no  trifling  possessions,  who  had  three  hun- 
dred and  eighteen  servants  bom  among  Ms  property, 
whom  he  could  enti-ust  with  arms.  Gen.  xiv.  14.  It 
implies,  that  he  also  had  many  not  born  in  his  house, 
but  bo\ight  with  his  money  ;  some  also,  doubtless, 
were  old  ;  some  were  women,  and  some  children  ; 
these  together  make  a  considerable  tribe.  In  fact, 
Abraham  appeai-s  to  correspond  exactly  to  a  modem 
emir  ;  to  possess  many  of  the  rights  of  sovereignty 
in  no  small  degree  ;  and  to  be  little  other  than  an 
independent  prince,  even  while  dwelling  on  the  terri- 
tories of  sovereign  piinces,  who  greatly  esteemed 
him. 

3.  As  the  incident  of  Abraham  calling  Sarah  sister 
is  Uable  to  ambiguity,  and  has  suffered  by  being 
placed  in  false  lights,  to  the  gi-eater  discredit  of  Abra- 
ham than  is  just  or  necessary,  a  few  thoughts  may 
be  well  bestowed  on  it.  It  has  been  affirmed  by 
some  writers,  that  by  this  conduct  Abraham  exposed 
Sai-ah  to  the  danger  of  adultery  ;  and  that  she  seemed 
too  easily  to  consent,  by  passing  for  his  sister,  and  not 
his  w^ife.  In  Abraham,  there  is  thought  to  have  been 
lying,  disguise,  and  too  great  easiness  in  hazarding 
iiis  wife's  chastity ;  and  in  her,  too  gi-eat  forwardness 
of  compliance.  '  Chrysostom,  who  seriously  en- 
deavored to  excuse  him,  acknowledges,  that  the 
patriarch  exposed  Sarah  to  the  danger  of  adulteiy ; 
and  that  she  consented  to  this  danger,  to  save  the 
life  of  her  husband.  It  deserves  consideration,  how- 
ever, how  far  this  might  be  a  custom  derived  from 
the  earhest  ages  of  mankind  ;  for  as  in  the  first,  so 
also  in  the  second  infancy  of  the  human  raf  e,  the 
relations  of  life  were  so  very  few,  and  so  very  inti 
mate,  that  it  was  little  short  of  inevitable  for  tho 
nearest  in  blood  to  intermaiTy  ;  and  it  is  by  no  means 
incredible,  that  some  famihes  had  made  a  point  of 
maintaining  themselves  distinct  from  others,  by  this 
custom  ;  and  that  they  chose  to  be  thus  restricted  to 
the  branches  of  their  own  family,  (cousins,  &c.)  as 
afterwards  among  the  Jews  the  restriction  was  en- 
larged to  their  own  tribe.  Augustine  makes  i\n 
apology  for  Abraham,  saying,  1st.  That  he  did  not 
he,  by  describing  Sarah  as  his  sister,  as  indeed  she 
was ;  he  only  concealed  a  truth  which  he  was  not 
obliged  to  discover,  by  not  calling  her  his  wife.  2dly. 
That  being  exposed  at  the  same  time  to  two  dangers, 
one  of  losing  his  life,  the  other  of  having  his  wife 
taken  from  him,  and  not  being  able  to  avoid  either 
by  acknowledging  her  as  his  wfe,  but  thinking  it  at 
least  probable  that  he  should  escape  death,  by  ac- 
knowledging her  for  his  sister  ;  of  two  evils  he  chose 
what  seemed  to  him  the  least. — But,  independent  of 
these  considei-ations,  it  should  be  recollected,  that 
every  nation,  and  often  every  family,  has  its  own 
manners ;  which  appear  not  merely  singular,  but  un- 
couth, to  those  not  accustomed  to  them,  and  which, 
occasionally,  are  mistaken  by  casual  observers.  It  is 
not  usual  in  England,  nor  does  it  appear  to  have 
been  so  in  Egj^it,  or  in  Canaan,  for  a  husband  to  call 
his  wife  sister ;  but  it  seems  to  have  been  customaiy 
among  the  Hebrew  families  to  use  tliis  term,  and 
others  of  near  consanguinity,  for  a  more  general  re- 
lation than  they  strictly  import,  (see  Father, 
Brother,  Sister,)  and  also  for  a  wife,  a  companion. 
— For  example:  We  find  Abram  twice  using  this 
mode  of  speech,  and  twice  experiencing  the  same 
inconvenience  from  it.  We  find  Isaac  using  the 
same  appellation,  with  at  least  equal  apparent  art, 
and  mider  the  same  apprehension,  in  the  same  place 
where  Abrajn  had  used  it.  We  recollect  no  other 
instances  equally  ancient ;  but  it  is  obsenable,  that 


ABKAH.V3I 


[  10 


A  BR  AH  AIM 


the  bridegroom,  ia  the  Canticles,  does  not  call  his 
bride  wife,  but  ahvays  sister.  Now,  whatever  allow- 
ances, or  of  whatever  kmd,  the  poetical  style  may 
requii-e  ;  or  whatever  liberties  of  speech  it  may  take, 
it  must  at  least  possess,  as  essentinl  to  it,  a  corres- 
pondence to  the  mimners  it  de])icts.  This  mode  of 
address,  then,  was  ceitaiidy  founded  on  those  man- 
ners. In  later  ages,  wc  find  Tobias  calling  his  wife 
sister;  (Tobit  viii.  4.)  "Sister,  arise,  and  let  us  pray:" 
— and  verso  7,  "  I  take  nor  this  my  sister  for  lust." 
These  instances  tcjul  to  jirove,  that  it  was  nothing 
unusual  for  husbands  to  express  aflcction  for  their 
wives,  by  calling  them  sister  m  fainiliarit)',  and  in 
private.  To  return  to  Al)rahani:  there  seems  to  be 
no  necessity  for  suj)posing,  that  the  use  of  this  appel- 
lation commenced  when  Abraham  was  about  to  enter 
Egypt  Avith  Sarah.  It  was  his  general  request  long 
belbre ;  (Gen.  xx.  13.)  but  he  now  again  desired 
Sarah  to  use  the  title  brother,  (as  had  been  customary 
between  them  in  {irivate,)  in  ordinary  discourse,  when 
speaking  to  him,  or  of  him,  to  ihe  Egjj)tian  women, 
with  whom  she  might  converse.  'What  these  Egyp- 
tiii!  women  reported  of  h(  r  beauty  and  mani^ers, 
\vith  such  accidental  sight  of  her  as  might  occur  to 
the  chief  officers  of  Pharaoh's  house,  induced  Pha- 
raoh to  take  her  into  his  palace,  and  give  her  apart- 
ments in  his  harani ;  but  it  does  not  appear  that  he 
ever  saw  her.  Thus  Sarah's  calling  Abraham  brother, 
was  as  likely  to  have  been  the  innnediate  cause  of 
her  being  taken  from  him,  as  his  calling  her  sister. — 
That  king's  conduct,  or  at  least  the  beliavior  of  his 
officefs,  seems  too  much  to  justify  Abraham's  sus- 
picions of  the  Egyptian  manners.  On  the  whole,  so 
far  as  relates  to  this  trajisaction  in  Egjpt,  while  it  is 
admitted,  that  the  fear  of  Abraham  induced  liim  to  use 
art  and  management,  it  nuist  be  equally  admitted, 
that  his  fear  was  too  well  founded.  Nor  does  it  seem 
to  have  overcome  his  faith,  a.s  some  have  said ;  nor 
to  have  put  him  out  of  the  regtilar  custom  of  his 
life ;  but  to  have  suggested  what  he  thought  a  pru- 
dential application  in  public  of  what  had  been  his 
custom  in  j)rivate,  tliough,  perhaps,  by  this  very  pru- 
dence, he  ran  at  lejist  as  gnat  a  i-isk  from  the  anger 
of  Pharaoh,  when  he  dismissed  him  with.out  delay, 
as  he  niight  havtuione,  had  he  trusted  entirely  to  the 
ordinary  course  of  things,  and  followed  the  simple 
path  of  his  duty.  The  same  efiects  seem  connected 
with  the  same  circumstances  in  the  story  of  Abime- 
Icch,  Gen.  xx.  2.     See  Abimei.ech  I. 

4.  However  customary  a  plurality  of  wives  might 
be  among  the  nations  around  him,  Abraham  took  no 
other  wife  than  that  of  his  youth  ;  and  this,  as  it 
should  seem,  from  his  very  great  affection  for  Sarah. 
His  connexion  with  H agar  was  not  jjroposed  by  him- 
self, but  by  Sarah  ;  and  Abraham  in  that  yicldc^d  to  her 
wishes,  rather  than  to  iiis  o\\  n.  The  same  we  find 
practised  by  Leah  and  Kachei,  the  wives  of  Jacob, 
who  gave  their  handmaids  to  their  husband,  and 
considered  themselves  as  having  children  by  this 
substitution.  (See  Adoptigx.)  As  to  Abraham's 
treatment  of  Hai'-ai-,  it  may  appear,  that  after  she  had 
become  his  wife,  he  ought  not  to  have  let)  her  so  en- 
tirely under  the  power  of  Sarah  ;  but  it  is  evident 
that  the  sending  away  of  Isbmael  and  his  mother  aj)- 
])eared  hard  to  Abraham  himself;  nor  did  he  com- 
ply with  the  demands  of  Sarah,  till  after  he  had  ob- 
tained the  divine  sanction  ;  with  a  rcTiewal  of  the 
promise  ofdivine  protection  to  Ishmnel.  See  Hagar, 
and  IsuMAKi,. 

5.  The  covenant  made  with  Abraham  is  a  subject 
well  worthy  of  consideration,  whether  as    it  regards 


the  solemnity,  the  occasion,  or  tlie  provisions  of  it. 
Its  history  is  related  in  t\Vo  parts  ;  the  first  is  previous 
to  the  birtli  of  Ishmael ;  the  second,  previous  to  the 
birth  of  Isaac.  The  first  foretells,  that  Abraham 
should  have  a  numerous  posterity,  and  that  he  need 
not  make  a  stranger  his  heir:  the  second  promises 
a  son  by  Sarah,  with  whom  the  covenant  was  to 
be  established.  (For  the  ceremonies  of  the  cove- 
nant, see  Covenant.)  Regarding  the  provisions  of 
the  covenant,  we  may  notice,  (1.)  The  posterity  of 
Abraham.  His  flunily  has,  from  remote  antiquity, 
been  extremely  numerous  ;  from  him  are  derived 
many  tribes  of  Arabs,  descending  through  Ishmael, 
and  others  by  Kefurah,  to  say  nothing  of  the  Jews ; 
neither  has  there  been  on  the  face  of  the  earth,  since 
Noah  and  his  sons,  any  man  whose  jjosterity  is 
equally  extensive, — any  man  to  whom  so  many  nations 
refer  their  origin.  Others  may  have  begotten  fami- 
hes,  but  Abraham  is  the  father  of  nation^.  (2.)  The 
change  of  names,  Abram  into  Abraham,  and  Sarai 
into  Sarah.  (3.)  The  sign  of  the  covenant — circum- 
cision. This  liad  reference  to  posterity.  See  Cir- 
cumcision. 

n.  The  history  of  Abraham's  entertaining  the  an- 
gels, deserves,  and  is  capable  of,  illustration.  We 
find  the  patriarch,  like  a  modern  hospitable  Arab  of 
dignity,  sitting  in  the  door  of  his  tent,  in  the  heat  of 
the  day ;  where  a  stream  of  refreshing  air  passed 
through,  and  M'here  the  shade  was  comfortable  end 
refreshing.  He  was  not,  however,  so  selfish  or  so 
indolent,  but  that  at  the  sight  of  strangers,  travelling 
during  those  sultiy  hours,  he  feit  for  their  fatigue. 
He  did  not  wait  till  tliej'  approached  him,  rs  if  he 
valued  his  ease  more  than  their  entertainment,  but 
ran  tov/ards  them,  invited  and  ])ressed  them  to  par- 
take of  hospitality,  and  then  hastily  (disregardhig  the 
heat  of  the  day,  now  he  could  serve  his  company) 
accommodated  them,  and  stood  b.y  them  under  the 
trees,  while  they  ate.  He  gave  them  a  repast  ac- 
counted noble,  a  liberal  meal ;  and  that  his  guests 
might  want  for  nothing,  he  himself  attended  ihem. 
Such  is  still  the  hospitality,  and  such  the  politeness, 
of  the  East. 

[The  extent  of  oriental  hosi)itality  may  properly 
be  here  illustrated  by  the  following  extracts  fi-om  dis- 
tinguished modern  travellers. 

Niebidu",  in  his  Description  of  Arabia,  (p.  4G, 
Germ,  ed.)  says,  "  The  hospitality  of  the  Arabs  is 
celebrated  of  old ;  and  I  believe  that  the  present 
Arabs  are  not  behind  their  ancestors  in  the  practice 
of  this  virtue. — A  mere  traveller,  who  wished  to  a  isit 
a  slieik  of  rank  in  the  desert,  might  expect,  accord- 
ing to  oriental  custon;,  to  live  at  the  expense  of  the 
sheik  dining  his  stay,  and  ])erha])s  to  r(;ceive  a  pres- 
ent at  his  departures — In  some  of  the  villages,  there 
ar(>  fi-ee  caravanseras,  or  taverns,  wliere  all  travfilois 
may  have  lodging,  food,  and  drink,  for  some  days, 
without  charge  ;  provided  they  will  put  up  with  the 
common  fare  of  the  .Arabs;  and  these  houses  are 
much  frequoited.  I  myself,  in  my  journey  from 
Loheia  to  licit  el  Fakili,  was  for  several  horns  in 
such  a  public  house  in  the  village  Mcneyre,  with  all 
my  fellow-travellers,  servants,  camel-drivers,  and  ass- 
drivers,  'i'he  sheik  of  this  village,  who  siqjportcd 
flu?  house,  was  not  oidy  so  civil  as  to  come  to  us 
himself,  and  cause  a  better  meal  tluui  usual  to  be  set 
before  us,  but  he  also  besought  us  to  remain  with 
him  for  the  night." 

The  following  is  more  specific,  from  La  Roque: 
(Voyage  dans  la  Palest.,  p.  124  seq.)  "When  strangei-s 
enter  a  village  wln-re  they  know  no  one,  they  inquire 


ABRAHAM 


[  11  ] 


ABRAH.UI 


for  the  Menzel,  (or  house  foi-  the  reception  of  stran- 
gers,) and  desire  to  speak  to  the  sheik,  who  is  the 
lord  of  it ;  after  sakitiug  hini,  they  signify  their  want 
of  a  dimier,  or  of  a  supper  and  lodging  in  the  village. 
The  sheik  says  they  are  welcome,  and  that  they 
could  not  do  him  a  greater  pleasure. — But  they  sel- 
dom have  occasion  for  all  this  ;  for  as  soon  as  the 
people  of  the  village  see  any  strangers  coming,  they 
mform  the  sheik  of  it,  who  goes  to  meet  them,  and 
having  saluted  them,  asks  if  they  would  dine  in  the 
village,  or  whether  they  choose  to  stay  the  whole 
night  there.  If  they  answer  they  would  oidy  eat  a 
morsel,  tmd  go  forward,  and  that  they  choose  to  stay 
under  some  tree  a  little  out  of  the  village,  the  sheik 
goes  or  sends  his  people  into  the  village,  to  cause  a 
collation  to  be  brought,  and  in  a  little  time  they  re- 
turn with  eggs,  butter,  curds,  honey,  olives,  fruit, 
fresh  or  dried,  according  to  the  season.  If  it  is  even- 
ing, and  the  strangers  would  lodge  in  the  ^illage,  the 
women  of  the  sheik's  house  never  fail  to  cause  fowls, 
sheep,  lambs,  or  a  calf  to  be  killed  and  prepared, — 
wjiieh  they  send  to  the  "Menzel  by  the  sheik's  ser- 
vants." 

To  the  same  purj)ose  is  the  ensuing  extract  from 
Burckhardt,  (Travels  in  Syria,  j).  384.)  describing  his 
visit  to  the  little  city  of  Kerek,  in  the  region  east  of 
the  Dead  Sea.  "  They  have  eight  Menzels  for  the 
reception  of  guests.  When  a  stranger  takes  up  his 
lodging  at  one  of  these,  one  of  the  people  present 
declares  that  he  intends  to  furnish  that  day's  enter- 
tainment, and  it  is  then  his  duty  to  provide  a  dimier 
or  supper,  which  he  sends  to  the  Menzel,  and  Avhich 
is  always  sufficient  for  a  large  company.  A  goat  or 
lamb  is  generally  killed  on  the  occasion  ;  and  barley 
for  the  guest's  horse  is  also  furnished.  When  a 
stranger  enters  the  town,  the  jieople  almost  come  to 
blows  with  one.  {mother  in  their  eagerness  to  have 
him  for  their  guest ;  and  there  are  Turks,  who  every 
other  day  kill  a  goat  for  this  hospitable  pin-pose." 

In  Carues's  Letters  from  the  East,  (i.  p.  283.)  we 
also  find  the  following  account :  "  We  were  belated 
a  few  miles  from  Acre,  and  were  obliged  to  stop  at 
an  Arab  village  on  a  hill ;  and,  on  entering  the  rude 
and  dirty  khan,  found  it  filled  with  the  inhabitants. — 
In  a  short  time,  the  sheik  stepped  up,  and  civilly 
invited  us  to  lodge  in  his  house,  which  we  very 
gladly  acceded  to.  He  asked  if  his  women  should 
prepare  a  repast  for  us,  or  if  we  chose  to  dress  it 
ourselves.  On  our  preferring  the  former,  in  aljout 
an  hour  a  very  decent  meal  made  its  appearance." 

"Abraham,"  remarks  Dr.  Richardson,  "  Avas  a  Be- 
douin ;  and  I  never  saw  a  fine,  venerable  looking 
sheik  busied  among  his  flocks  and  herds,  that  it  did 
not  remind  me  of  tlie  holy  patriarch  himself."     *R. 

But  to  return  to  Abraham.  To  obtain  accurate 
ideas  of  this  story,  it  may  be  further  observed,  that 
these  guests  were  eating,  not  in  the  tent  of  Abra- 
ham, but  under  the  shadow  of  the  oaks :  that  Abra- 
ham's tent  was  not  the  same  as  Sarah's  tent,  but 
placed  at  some  little  distance  from  it,  as  is  the  custom 
m  the  East ;  and  also,  that  his  guests  gradually  dis- 
covered themselves  to  AI)raham.  "  Where  is  Sarah 
thy  wife  ?"  How  should  entire  strangers  know  his 
wife,  and  her  name  ?  and  wherefore  interfere  in  his 
domestic  matters  ?  "  Sarah,"  says  Abraham,  "  is  in 
her  tent."  No  doubt  this  excited  Sarah's  attention  ; 
- — to  which  purpose  it  \vas  adajjted,  and  for  which 
it  was  intended.  Then  one  of  them  continued, 
"  When  I  come  this  way  again  next  year,  I  shall 
find  her  better  engaged ;  she  will  not  then  b(!  so 
much  at  Icisiu-e,  but  be  caressing  a  son."     Such  may 


be  thought  the  import  of  the  expressions,  freely 
taken.  On  hearing  this,  Sarah  laughed  ;  (Gen.  xviii. 
1 — 12.)  probably  from  a  notion  that  the  speaker  knew 
nothing  about  her.  Then,  for  the  first  time,  "  the 
Lord"  speaks,  reasoning,  that  the  Lord  could  do  any 
thing ;  and  repeating,  that  Sarah  should  have  a  son. 
Thus,  by  Sarah's  detection,  a  token  of  some  extra- 
ordinary person  as  the  speaker  %\as  given  to  her« 
and  to  Abraham  ;  and  the  circumstances,  though  not 
altogether  miraculous  as  yet,  are  well  calculated  to 
excite  attention  and  apprehension  in  the  minds  of 
those  interested  ;  especially  if  Abraham,  who  had 
so  lately  received  the  covenant  from  God,  understood 
any  allusion  to  it,  or  any  confirmation  of  it,  under 
these  ambiguous  expressions,  which  greatly  resem- 
ble those  used  not  loijg  before ;  if  so,  then  by  tliis 
time  he  might  begin  to  discern  something  of  the  dig- 
nity of  his  guests.  At  least,  he  nuist  now  have  re- 
garded his  guests  tis  extraordinary  personages ;  hut 
what  has  passed  hitherto,  does  not  demonstrate  that 
they  were  super-human.  Abraham,  therefore,  plers- 
ed  and  interested  with  their  conversation,  probably 
desirous  of  further  information,  as  also  of  doing 
honor  to  his  courteous  and  wcll-Avishing  guests,  ac- 
companied them  a  part  of  the  way  towards  Sodom  ; 
and  about  the  dusk  of  the  evening,  v.hen  the  day 
was  closing,  he  perceived  on  one  aaIio  staid  with  him, 
the  others  having  departed,  those  splendid  tokens, 
brightening  as  darkness  came  on,  which  designated 
a  celestial  being.  Some  have  thought,  that  beside 
the  person  sj)oken  to,  the  Shckiiiah  appeared :  it 
might  be  so  ;  but  it  seems  more  probable,  that  this 
person  gradually  suffered  the  radiance  of  the  sacred 
Shekitmh  to  appear,  and,  withoiU  leading  Abraliam 
to  suppose  he  had  seen  Jchoval),  might  yet  convince 
his  mind,  that  he  had  seen  his  conunissioned  mes- 
senger. If  such  honors  might  be  gained  l)y  hospi- 
tality, the  apostle  was  right  to  recommend  it,  by  the 
example  of  such  as  had  l\n'awares  entertained  an- 
gels. Such  an  afternoon,  such  an  evening,  amply  re- 
paid the  most  liberal  hospitality  !  Heb.  xiii.  2.  Tl  lis 
kind  of  ambiguity,  brightening  into  certainty,  seems 
well  suited  to  the  circumstances  of  the  subsequent 
conversation  betMeeii  Abraham  and  his  glorious 
visitor.  Had  Abraham  conceived  that  he  was  speak- 
ing immediately  to  Jehovah,  that  had  left  no  room 
for  reasoning,  or  representation ;  anil  he  could  not 
address  a  mere  stranger-traveller,  a  mere  casual,  un- 
distinguished guest,  by  such  honorable  tenfts  as  he 
bestows  on  the  person  with  whom  he  discoiuses. 
The  principle  of  thus  representing  this  part  of  the 
histoiy,  seems  to  be  confirmed  by  the  accuracy  of 
distinction  preserved  in  the  original.  The  narration 
says,  "  Abraham  stood  before  Jehovah,"  (ver.  22,) 
"and  Jehovah  spake,"  ver.  26,  &c.  Abraham, 
however,  never  uses  this  term  m  addressing  this 
person,  but  merely  Adonai,  "  Behold  I  have  spoken 
to  Adonai"  ver.  27,  &c.  Probably,  therefore,  here 
is  a  further  instance  of  the  "  unawaredness"  with 
which  Abraham  entertained  angels ;  since,  though 
he  perceived  the  diginty  of  his  guest  to  be  great,  it 
was,  in  reahty,  much  gi'eater  than  he  understood. 
He  saw  the  luunan  exterior  of  this  appearance  fully  ; 
but  the  interior,  or  super-human,  he  saw  very  imper- 
fectly and  ambiguously ;  as,  indeed,  human  nature 
coidd  see  it  no  othenvise. 

7.  Abraham's  faith,  respecting  his  son  Isaac,  when 
commanded  to  offer  him  for  a  burnt-sacrifice,  has 
been  so  often  m"gcd  and  illustrated,  as  to  need  no  en- 
largement here. — We  may,  however,  remaik,  thai 
Abraham,   under  these  circumstances — as  having  n 


ABRAHAM 


12] 


ABSALOM 


son  ill  his  old  age,  born  after  the  covenant,  and  in 
consequence  of  that  alhance,  on  whose  issue  de- 
pended invahiable  promises,  who  was  now  arrived 
at  man's  estate,  who  was  liis  heir,  who  was  his 
mother's  favorite — must  have  been  well  convinced, 
that  he  followed  no  idle  phantasy,  no  illusive  injunc- 
tion, in  proposing  to  slay  him.  The  common  feel- 
•ings  of  human  nature,  the  uncommon  feehngs  of 
the  aged  patriarch,  all  protested  against  such  a  deed. 
The  length  of  the  journey,  the  interval  of  time,  the 
discourse  of  Isaac,  all  augmented  the  anguish  of  the 
parent ;  unless  tliat  parent  were  well  satisfied  in  his 
own  mind,  that  he  acted  in  obedience  to  authority 
fully  and  completely  divine. 

8.  The  Orientals,'  Indians,  and  Infidels,  as  well  as 
Christians  and  3Iahommedans,  have  preserved  some 
knowledge  of  Abraham,  and  highly  commend  his 
character.  See  D'Herbelot,  Bib.  Orient,  p.  12. 
Indeed,  a  history  of  liis  life,  though  it  would 
be  highly  fanciful,  might  easily  be  compiled  from 
their  traditions.  The  Persian  magi  believe  him  to 
have  been  the  same  with  their  founder,  Zerdoust,  or 
Zoroaster  ;  while  the  Zabians,  their  rivals  and  oppo- 
nents, lay  claim  to  a  similar  honor.  Some  have 
affirmed  that  he  reigned  at  Damascus ;  (Nicol.  Da- 
masc.  apud  Joseph,  lib.  i.  cap.  7.  Justin,  lib.  xxxvi.) 
— that  he  dweh  long  in  Egypt ;  (Artapan.  et  Eupo- 
lem.  apud  Euseb.  Praepar.  lib.  ix.  cap.  17,  18.) — that 
he  taught  the  EgA'ptians  astronomy  and  arithmetic  ; 
(Joseph.  Antiq.  lib.  i.  cap.  8.) — that  he  invented  let- 
ters and  the  Hebrew  language,  (Suidas  in  Abraham,) 
or  the  characters  of  the  Syrians  and  Chald^ns ;  (Isi- 
dor.  Hispal.  Origg.  lib.  i.  cap.  3.) — tliat  he  was  the 
author  of  several  works ;  among  others,  of  the  fa- 
mous book  entitled  Jezira,  or  the  Creation,  a  work 
mentioned  in  the  Talmud,  and  gi-eatly  valued  by 
some  Rabbins ;  but  those  who  have  examined  it 
without  prejudice,  speak  of  it  Avitli  contempt.  In 
the  first  ages  of  Christianity,  the  heretics  called  Se- 
thians  published  "  Abraham's  Revelations ;"  (Epi- 
phan.  Hoeres,  39.  cap.  5.)  Athanasius,  in  his  Synopsis, 
speaks  of  the  "  Assumption  of  Abraham  ;"  and  Origen 
(in  Luc.  Homil.  35.)  notices  an  apocryphal  book  of 
Abraham's,  wherein  two  angels,  one  good,  the  other 
bad,  dispute  concerning  his  damnation  or  salvation. 
The  Jews  (Rab.  Selem.  in  Bava  Bathra,  cap.  1.)  at- 
tribute to  him  the  Morning  Prayer,  the  89th  Psalm, 
a  Treatise  on  Idolatry,  and  other  works. — The  author- 
ities on  all  those  points,  and  lor  still  other  traditions 
respecting  Abraham,  may  be  ff)iind  collected  in  Fa- 
bricii  Cod.  Pseudepigr.  V.  T.  I.  ]>.  344  se([. 

We  are  informed  (article  lien  Scholnian,  D'Her- 
belot) tliat,  A.  1).  1119,  Abraham's  tomi)  was  discov- 
ered near  Hebron,  in  which  Jacob,  likewise,  and 
Ismic,  were  interred.  Tlie  bodies  were  found  en- 
tire, and  many  gold  and  silver  lam])s  were  found  in 
the  place.  The  Mahommedans  have  so  great  a  respect 
for  liis  tomb,  that  they  make  it  tiieir  fourth  pilgrim- 
age (the  three  others  being  Mecca,  Medina,  and  Jeru- 
salem.) (See  Hkbuo.n.)  'I'lie  Cliristians  l)uilt  a  church 
over  tlie  cavt;  of  Macli|)elah,  where  Abraham  was 
buried ;  wiiicli  the  Tnrks  have  changed  into  a 
mosque,  and  fori)i(ld»'n  ("hristians  from  approaching. 
(Qiiaresin.  I'>lmi(l.  toni.  ii.  page  779.)  Tiie  supposed 
oak  of  Mature,  wlnii'  Aliraham  received  the  three 
angels,  was  likewise  honored  by  Christians,  as  also 
by  the  Jews  and  I'agans. 

Our  Saviour  iLssmes  us  that  Abraiiam  desired 
earnestly  to  see  his  day  ;  and  that  he  saw  it,  and  was 
glad,  John  viii.  5(i.  IClsfiwhere,  he  represents  tlie 
happiness  of  the  rigiiteous  as  a  sitting  with  Abraham, 


Isaac,  and  Jacob,  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven  ;  (Matt, 
viii.  1 J .)  also  a  reception  into  Abraham's  bosom,  as 
into  a  place  of  rest,  opposed  to  the  misery  of  hell, 
Luke  xvi.  22. 

The  emperor  Alexander  Severus,  who  knew  Abra- 
ham only  by  the  wonders  which  the  Jews  and  Chris- 
tians related  of  him,  conceived  so  high  an  idea  of 
him,  that  he  ranked  him,  with  Jesus  Christ,  among 
his  gods.     Lamprid.  in  Severo. 

ABSALOM,  son  of  David,  by  Maacah,  was  the 
handsomest  man  in  Israel,  and  had  the  finest  head 
of  hair,  2  Sam.  xiv.  25.  When  his  hair  was  cut  at  a 
certain  time,  because  it  incommoded  him,  its  weight 
was  200  shekels,  by  the  king's  standard ;  that  is, 
probably,  about  30  ounces — an  extraordinary,  but  not 
incredible,  weight.  Amnon,  another  of  the  king's 
sons,  havuig  violated  his  sister  Tamar,  Absalom  re- 
solved to  revenge  her  dishonor,  but  for  some  time 
had  no  opportunity  to  carry  his  design  into  efl^ect. 
At  the  end  of  two  years,  however,  he  invited  all  the 
royal  family  to  a  shearing-feast,  at  Baal-hazor,  where 
Amnon  was  assassinated  by  his  direction.  A})prc- 
hensive  of  his  father's  displeasure,  Absalom  retired 
to  Geshur,  where  he  continued  for  three  years,  under 
the  protection  of  the  king,  his  grandfather,  2  Sam. 
xiii.  Joab  having  procured  David's  consent,  Absa- 
lom returned  to  Jerusalem,  although  he  was  not  per- 
mitted to  come  into  the  presence  of  the  king.  For 
two  years  he  remained  in  disgrace,  but  at  length 
David,  at  the  intercession  of  Joab,  again  received  him 
into  favor,  ch.  xiv. 

Absalom  now,  considering  himself  as  presumptive 
heir  to  the  crown,  set  up  a  magnificent  equipage  ; 
and  everj'  morning  came  to  the  palace  gate,  where, 
calling  to  him  familiarly  all  Avho  had  business,  and 
came  to  demand  justice,  he  kindly  inquired  into  their 
case,  insinuated  the  gi"eat  difiiculty  of  obtaining  their 
suits,  and  thus  by  degrees  alienated  the  hearts  of  the 
people  from  his  father,  and  attached  them  to  him- 
self When  he  thought  he  might  ojienly  declare 
himself,  he  desired  permission  from  the  king  to  go 
to  Hebron,  under  pretence  of  performing  some  vow, 
which  he  had  made  during  his  abode  at  Geshur,  2 
Sam.  XV.  1 — 9.  He  went,  therefore,  to  Hebron,  at- 
tended by  two  hundred  men,  who  followed  him 
without  the  least  knowledge  of  his  rebellious  design. 
At  the  same  time,  he  sent  emissaries  throughout 
Israel,  with  orders  to  sound  the  trumpet,  and  jiro- 
claim  that  Absalom  was  king  at  Hebron.  There 
was  soon  a  great  resort  of  people  to  him,  and  he  was 
acknowledged  by  the  major  part  of  the  nation.  Da- 
vid and  his  oflicers  fled  from  Jerusalem,  Avhither 
Absalom  immediately  went,  and  was  received  as 
king.  Ahithophel  advised  him  publicly  to  abuse  hib 
father's  concubines,  to  convince  the  people  that  the 
breach  warf  beyond  reconciliation,  and  also,  that 
troops  might  bo  sent  instantly  in  pursuit  of  David  ; 
but  Hushai,  David's  friend,  who  feigned  to  follow  the 
po|)nlar  party,  diverted  him  from  complying  with 
this  counsel,  2  Sam.  xv.  10  seq. 

The  next  day,  Absalom  marched  against  David 
with  all  his  forces,  and  having  crossed  the  Jordan, 
prejiared  to  attack  the  king,  his  father.  David  put 
liis  tr()0|)s  iindei'  the  command  of  Joab;  the  rebel 
army  ^vas  routed,  and  20,000  were  killed.  Absa- 
lom, iiHumted  on  a  mule,  fled  through  the  forest  of 
Ephraim,  where,  jiassing  under  an  oak,  his  hair  be- 
came entangled  in  the  luanclies,  and  his  mule,  going 
swiftly,  left  him  susjiended.  A  soldier  informed 
.Foal)  of  the  occurrence,  who  took  three  darts,  and 
thrust  them  through   Absalom's  heart;  and  while  he 


ABY 


[13] 


ACC 


was  yet  breathing,  aiid  heinging  on  the  oak,  ten  of 
Joab's  armor-beai'ers  also  smote  him.  His  body  was 
cast  into  a  pit,  and  a  heap  of  stones  raised  over  it, 
2  Sam.  xviii.  1 — 17. 

Absalom,  having  lost  his  children,  and  being  de- 
sirous to  perpetuate  his  name  in  Israel,  erected  a 
pillar  in  the  king's  valley,  2  Sam.  xviii.  18.  Josephus 
says  (Ant.  vii.  10.  3.)  it  was  a  marble  column,  stand- 
ing about  two  furlongs  from  Jerusalem.  A  monu- 
ment bearing  his  name,  is  still  sho^vn  in  the  valley 
of  Jehoshaphat,  but  is  evidently  not  of  ancient  origin. 

ABSTINENCE,  a  voluntary  and  religious  for- 
bearance of  any  thing  towards  which  there  is  an  in- 
clination ;  but  generally  spoken  of  with  regard  to 
forbearance  from  necessary  food.  Many  persons 
have  supposed,  that  the  antediluvians  abstained  from 
wine,  and  from  flesh  as  food,  because  the  Scripture 
expressly  notices,  that  Noah,  after  the  deluge,  began 
to  plant  a  vineyard,  and  that  God  permitted  him  to 
eat  flesh;  (Gen.  ix.  3.  20.)  whereas  he  gave  Adam 
no  other  food  than  herbs  and  fruits,  i.  29.  But  the 
contrary  opinion  is  supported  by  Calmet  and  other 
interpreters,  who  beheve,  that  men,  before  the  deluge, 
abstained  from  neither  wine  nor  flesh.  The  Scrip- 
tures certainly  represent  violence  as  being  the  pre- 
vailing crime  before  the  deluge  ;  that  is,  the  unjusti- 
fiable taking  away  of  human  life  :  and  the  precepts 
given  to  Noah  against  the  shedding  of  blood,  seem  to 
confirm  this  idea.  The  Institutes  of  ftlenu  inform 
us,  that  animal  food  was  originally  used  only  after  sac- 
rifice, and  as  a  participation  consequent  upon  that  rite. 

The  Mosaic  law  ordained,  that  the  priests  should 
abstain  from  wine  during  the  time  they  were  em- 
ployed in  the  temple-service,  Lev.  x.  9.  The  same 
abstinence  was  enjoined  on  Nazarites,  during  the 
whole  time  of  their  separation.  Numb.  vi.  3,  4.  The 
Jews  abstain  from  several  sorts  of  animals,  specified 
by  the  law  ;  as  do  several  other  nations.  (See  Ani- 
mals.) Among  the  primitive  Christians,  some  ab- 
stained from  meats  prohibited  by  the  law,  and  from 
flesh  sacrificed  to  idols ; — others  disregarded  such  for- 
bearance, and  used  their  Christian  liberty.  Paul  has 
given  his  opinion  concei'uing  this,  in  1  Cor.  viii.  7 — 
10.  and  Rom.  xiv.  1 — 3.  The  council  of  Jerusalem, 
held  by  the  apostles,  enjoined  behevers,  converted 
from  heathenism,  to  abstain  from  blood,  from  meats 
strangled,  from  fornication,  and  from  idolatry.  Acts 
XV.  20. 

Paul  sajs,  (1  Cor.  ix.  25.)  that  wrestlers,  in  order 
to  obtain  a  corruptible  crown,  abstain  from  all  things ; 
or  from  every  thing  which  might  weaken  them.  In 
his  First  Epistle  to  Timothy,  (iv.  3.)  he  blames  cer- 
tain heretics,  vdio  condemned  marriage,  and  the  use 
of  meats,  which  God  hath  created.  He  requires 
Christians  to  abstain  from  all  appearance  of  evil ;  (1 
Thess.  V.  22.)  and,  with  much  stronger  reason,  from 
every  thing  really  evil,  and  contrary  to  religion  and 
piety. 

ABYSS,  or  Deep.  (1.)  Hell,  the  place  of  punish- 
ment, the  bottomless  pit,  Luke  viii.  31 ;  Rev.  ix.  1  ; 
xi,  7,  &c.  (2.)  The  connnon  receptacle  of  the  dead ; 
the  grave,  the  deep  (or  depths  of  the)  earth,  under 
which  the  body  being  deposited,  the  state  of  the  soul 
corresponding  thereto,  still  more  unseen,  still  deeper, 
still  further  distant  from  human  inspection,  is  that 
remote  country,  that  "bourn  from  whence  no  trav- 
eller returns."  Sec  Rom.  x.  7.  (3.)  The  deepest 
parts  of  the  sea,  Ps.  Ixviii.  22 ;  cvii.  26.  (4.)  The 
chaos,  which,  in  the  beginning  of  the  Avorld,  was 
unformed  and  vacant.  Gen.  i.  2. 

The  HebreAVS  were  of  opinion  (as  are  many  of  the 


orientals)  that  the  abyss,  the  sea  and  waters,  encom- 
passed the  whole  earth  ;  that  the  earth  floated  upon 
the  abyss,  Uke  a  melon  swimming  on  and  in  the 
water.  They  believe  that  the  earth  was  founded 
upon  the  waters,  (Psahn  xxiv.  2 ;  xxxiii.  6,  7 ;  cxxxvi. 
6, 1  or,  at  least,  that  it  had  its  foundation  on  the  abyss. 
Their  Sheol,  however,  or  place  of  the  dead,  is  in  the 
interior  of  the  earth,  in  those  dark  dungeons  where 
the  prophets  describe  the  kings  of  Tyre,  Babylon, 
and  Egypt,  as  lying  down,  that  is,  buried,  yet  suffer- 
ing the  punishment  of  their  pride  and  cruelty.  See 
Hell,  and  Giants. 

Fountains  and  rivers,  in  the  opinion  of  the  He- 
brews, are  derived  from  the  abyss,  or  sea ;  issuing 
from  thence  through  invisible  channels,  and  return- 
ing through  others,  Eccl.  i.  7. 

ACCAD,  a  city  built  by  Niinrod,  Gen.  x.  10.  The 
LXX  write  it  thread;  the  Syriac  Achar.  Ephraim 
the  Syrian  says,  Achar  is  the  city  Nisibis ;  and  in  this 
he  is  followed  by  Jerome  and  Abulpharagius.  The 
Targums  of  Jerusalem  and  Jonathan  read  Nesibin. 
The  antiquity  of  this  city  is  unquestionable. 

ACCEPT,  to  take  pleasure  in  ;  either  in  whole,  or 
in  part.  The  phrase  to  accept  the  person  of  any  one, 
as  also  to  respect  the  person,  &c.  (which  see)  is  a  He- 
brew idiom,  found  also  in  the  New  Testament,  and 
signifies  to  regard  any  one  tviih  favor  or  partiality.  It 
is  used  both  in  a  good  and  bad  sense  ;  e.  g.  in  a  good 
sense,  Gen.  xix.  21 ;  Job  xlii.  8  ;  Mai.  i.  8. ;  in  a  bad 
sense,  to  shoio  partiality,  Job  xiii.  8.  10 ;  xxxii.  21  ; 
Psalm  Ixxxii.  2 ;  Prov.  xviii.  5,  &c.     R. 

ACCHO,  a  city  of  the  tribe  of  Asher,  Judg.  i.  31. 
In  the  New  Testament,  Accho  is  called  Ptolemais, 
(Acts  xxi.  7.)  from  one  of  the  Ptolemies,  who  en- 
larged and  beautified  it.  The  Christian  crusaders 
gave  it  the  name  of  Acre,  or  St.  John  of  Acre,  fron 
a  magnificent  church  which  was  built  within  its 
walls,  and  dedicated  to  St.  John.  It  is  still  called 
Akka,  by  the  Turks.  When  Syria  was  subjected  by 
the  Romans,  Akka  was  made  a  colony  by  the  em- 
peror Claudius.  It  sustamed  several  sieges  during 
the  crusades,  and  was  the  last  fortified  place  wrested 
from  the  Christians  by  the  Turks. 

The  town  is  situated  on  the  coast  of  the  Mediter- 
ranean sea,  on  the  north  angle  of  a  bay  to  which  it 
gives  its  name,  and  which  extends  in  a  semicircle  of 
three  leagues,  as  far  as  the  point  of  mount  Carmel. 
The  town  was  originally  surrounded  by  triple  walls, 
and  a  foss6  cut  out  of  the  rock,  from  which,  at 
present,  it  is  a  mile  distant.  At  the  south  and  west 
sides  it  was  washed  by  the  sea ;  and  Pococke  thinks 
that  the  river  Belus,  which  flows  into  the  Mediter- 
ranean, was  brought  through  the  foss6,  which  ran 
along  the  ramparts  on  the  north ;  thus  making  the 
city  an  island.  Since  the  time  of  its  memorable 
siege  by  Buonaparte,  Accho  has  been  much  improved 
and  strengthened.  Its  present  population  is  estimated 
at  from  18,000  to  20,000.  See  Mod.  Traveller,  i.  p.  20. 
Accho,  and  all  beyond  it  northwards,  was  con- 
sidered as  the  heathen  land  of  the  Jews. 

There  are  several  medals  of  Accho,  or  Ptolemais, 
extant,  both  Greek  and  Latin.  Most  of  the  former 
have  also  the  Phenician  name  of  the  city,  "^V,  AK 
"       ^  or  Accho.    The 

one  here  given 
(as  also  others) 
represents  the 
head  of  Alexan- 
der the  Great, 
and  appears  to 
have  been  coin- 


ACH 


[14] 


ACH 


ed  in  consequence  of  favors  received  from  that 
prince,  perhaps  at  the  time  when  he  was  detained  in 
Syria  bv  the  siege  of  Tyre. 

\A.CELDAMA,  (the  tield  of  blood,)  a  small  lield, 
lying  south  of  Jerusalem,  which  the  priests  purchased 
with  the  thiity  pieces  of  silver  that  Judas  had  re- 
ceived as  the  price  of  our  Saviour's  blood,  Matt, 
xxvii.  8;  Acts  i.  19.  Pretending  that  it  was  not 
lawful  to  appropriate  this  money  to  sacred  uses,  be- 
cause it  was  the  price  of  blood,  they  purchased  with 
it  the  potter's  field,  to  be  a  burying-place  for  stran- 
gers. Helena,  the  mother  of  Constantine,  had  part 
of  the  field  covered  in,  for  the  ])urpose  of  receiving 
the  dead,  and  it  was  formerly  thought,  that  such  was 
the  sarcophagous  virtue  in  the  earth,  that  the  bodies 
were  consumed  within  the  space  of  two  or  three 
days.  It  is  now  used  as  the  sepulchre  of  the  Arme- 
nians, who  have  a  masrnificent  convent  on  mount 
Zion.  See  Mod.  Traveller,  i.  p.  152.  IMiss.  Herald, 
1S24.  p.  66. 

ACHAIA,  taken  in  its  largest  sense,  comprehended 
the  whole  region  of  Greece,  or  Hellas,  now  called 
Livadia.  Achaia  Projier,  however,  was  a  province 
of  Greece,  of  which  Corinth  was  the  capital ;  and 
embracing  the  whole  western  ]mn  of  the  Pelopon- 
nesus. It  is  worthy  of  remark,  that  Luke  speaks  of 
Gallic  as  being  depuUj  (proconsul)  of  Achaia,  at  the 
time  that  Paul  preached  there,  (Acts  xviii.  12.)  which 
was,  indeed,  tlie  title  borne  by  the  superior  officer  in 
AcJiaia  at  that  time,  but  which  did  not  long  continue, 
nor  had  it  long  been  so  at  the  time  he  wrote.  See 
Kuiuo;d  on  Acts  xviii.  12. 

ACHAICUS,  a  native  of  Achaia,  and  a  disciple 
of  the  apostle  Paul.  He,  with  Stephanus  and  Fortu- 
natus,  was  the  bearer  of  the  First  Epistle  to  the  Co- 
riuthians,  and  was  recommended  by  the  apostle  to 
their  special  respect,  1  Cor.  xvi.  17. 

ACHAN,  the  name  of  the  son  of  Carnii,  of  the 
tribe  of  Judah,  and  he  who  ])urloined  a  costly 
Babylonish  garment,  an  ingot  of  gold,  and  200  shek- 
els of  silver,  from  among  the  ?poils  of  Jericho, 
against  the  express  injunction  of  God,  who  had  de- 
voted to  lUter  destruction  the  city  aiid  all  that  it  con- 
tained. Josh.  vi.  18,  (Sec.  Some  days  after  this  trans- 
action, Joshua  sent  3000  men  against  the  town  of  Ai, 
which  stood  a  short  distance  from  Jericho,  but  .3(5  of 
them  were  killed,  and  the  ethers  obliged  to  flee.  This 
occurrence  was  the  catise  of  much  discouragement 
to  Joshua  and  the  peojjle,  and  they  addressed  them- 
selves to  the  Lord  by  prayer,  to  discover  the  reason 
of  their  discomfiture.  The  I^ord  answered,  that  one 
among  them  had  sinned  ;  and  commanded  them  to 
select  him  out,  Iw  the  use  of  the  sacred  lot,  and  to 
bura  him,  with  all  that  was  his,  vii.  3 — 1.">.  On  the 
ne";  day,  therefore,  Joshua  assembled  all  Israel ;  and 
having  ca;;t  lots,  the  lot  fell  first  on  the  tribe  of  Judah, 
then  on  the  fatnily  of  Zarlii,  then  on  the  house  of 
Zabdi,  anil  at  last  on  the  person  of  Aehan;  to  whom 
Joshua  said,  "  My  son,  give  glory  to  the  Lord,  con- 
f'PS  what  you  have  done,  without  concealing  any 
thing."  Achan,  being  thus  dctectf^d,  replied,  "Hav- 
ing seen  among  the  spoils  a  handsome  liabylonish 
cloak,  and  200  shekels  in  silver,  with  an  ingot  of 
gold,  of  fifty  shekels  weight,  I  took  tliein,  and  hid 
them  in  my  tent."  Messengers  were  immediately 
despatched  to  his  tent,  to  fetch  the  accursed  articles, 
and  the  proofs  of  the  crime  being  ])roduced  in  the 
presence  of  all  Israel,  Joshua  laid  them  out  before 
the  Lord.  Then  taking  Achau,  tin;  gold,  silver,  fur- 
nilure,  tent,  mul  all  l)clonglng  to  him,  into  the  valley 
cf  Aclror,  a  place  noilb  of  Jericho,  he  said  to  him, 


"  Since  tliou  hast  troubled  us,  the  Lord  shall  trouble 
thee,  this  day."  They  then  stoned  Achan  and  his 
family  and  all  his  property,  and  afterwards  consumed 
them  by  fire.  They  then  raised  over  them  a  great 
heap  of  stones,  ver.  16,  seq.  26. 

The  sentence  passed  on  the  family  of  Achan  may 
be  justified  by  reflecting,  (1.)  that  jnobably  he  was 
assisted  by  them  in  this  theft ;  for,  if  not,  (2.)  he  could 
never  have  secreted  such  articles  in  the  earth  under 
his  tent,  without  being  obsened  and  detected  by 
them,  who  ought  to  have  opposed  him,  or  immedi- 
ately to  have  given  notice  of  the  transaction  to  the 
elders.  As  they  did  not  do  this,  they  became,  by 
concealment,  at  least  partakei-s  of  his  ciime. 

xlCHIOR,  general  of  the  Ammonites,  who  joined 
Holofernes  with  auxiliary  troops,  in  that  general's 
expedition  into  Egypt.  Bethulia  having  shut  its 
gates  against  Holofernes,  he  called  the  princes  of 
Moab  and  Amnion,  and  demanded  of  them,  with 
great  passion,  who  those  people  were  that  opposed 
his  passage  ;  presuming  that  the  JMoabites,  and  Am- 
monites, being  neighbors  to  the  Hebrews,  could  best 
inform  him.  Achior  answered,  "My  lord,  these 
people  are  originally  of  Chaldea ;  but  because  they 
would  not  worship  the  gods  of  the  Chaldeans,  they 
were  obliged  to  leave  their  country."  He  related, 
also,  Jacob's  descent  into  Egj-jit,  the  miracles  of 
Moses,  and  the  conquest  of  Canaan ;  observing,  that 
the  people  were  visibly  protected  by  God,  while  they 
continued  faithful  to  him ;  but  that  God  never  failed 
to  take  vengeance  on  their  infidelity.  "  Now  there- 
fore," added  he,  "  learn  whether  they  have  committed 
any  fault  against  their  God  ;  if  so,  attack  them,  for 
he  will  deliver  them  up  into  your  hands :  if  not,  we 
shall  not  be  able  to  resist  them,  because  God  will  un- 
dertake their  defence,  and  cover  us  with  confusion," 
Judith  V.  2,  3,  &c.  Holofernes,  transported  with 
fury,  answered  him,  "  Since  you  have  tfdcen  upon 
you  to  be  a  prophet,  in  telling  us  that  the  God  of 
Israel  woidd  be  the  defender  of  his  people,  to  show 
you  there  is  no  other  god  besides  Nebuchodoncsor, 
my  master,  when  we  have  put  all  tliese  people  to  the 
edge  of  the  swoid,  we  will  destroy  you  likeAvise,  and 
you  shall  understand  that  Nebuchodonosor  is  lord  of 
all  the  earth."  Achior  was  then  carried  out  near  to 
the  city,  and  left  bound,  that  the  inhabitants  might 
take  him  into  the  city.  This  was  done,  and  Achior 
declaring  what  had  happened,  the  people  of  Bethu- 
lia fell  with  their  faces  to  the  ground,  and  with  great 
cries  begged  God's  assistance,  beseeching  him  to  vin- 
dicate the  honor  of  his  name,  and  to  humble  the 
pride  of  their  enemies.  After  this  they  consoled 
Achior,  and  Ozias,  one  of  the  leaders  of  the  jieople, 
received  him  into  his  house,  where  he  continued 
during  the  siege.  After  the  death  of  Holofernes, 
and  the  discomfiture  of  his  army,  Achior  abandoned 
the  heathen  superstitions,  and  was  received  into  Isriul 
by  circiuHcision,  .ludith  xiv.  (!,  so(|. 

"  ACHISIl,  king  of  Gath.  Davitl,  having  resolved 
to  withdraw  from  the  dominions  of  Saul,  who  sought 
his  life,  retired  to  Gath,  a  city  of  the  Philistines  ;  (I 
Sam.  xxi.  10.)  but  the  officers  of  Achish  having  dis- 
covered his  person,  and  expressed  their  jealousy  of 
his  character,  David  became  alarmed,  and  feigned 
madness,  and  by  this  stratagem  preserved  his 
life. 

Three  or  four  years  after  this,  David  desired  to  be 
received,  for  a  permanency,  either  into  the  rojal  city, 
or  elsewhere  in  the  dominions  of  Achish.  The  king, 
who  knew  bis  valor,  and  the  animosity  between  him 
and  Said,  willingly  received  him  into  Gath,  with  600 


ACT 


[15  ] 


ACT 


men,  and  their  families,  and  afterwards  gave  him 
Ziiilag,  1  Sam.  xxvii.  2,  seq.     See  David. 

ACHMETA.  Ezra  vi.  2,  "  There  was  found  at 
Achmeta  a  roll." — Achnieta  is  here  the  same  with 
Ecbatana,  the  royal  city,  where,  in  the  palace,  the 
rolls  were  kept.  So  the  Vulgate,  which  reads  Ecba- 
tanis ;  and  1  Esdras  vi.  23 ;  also  Joseplius,  Antiq. 
xi.  4 — 6. 

ACHOR,  -I13J',  troubling,  a  valley  in  the  territory 
of  Jericho,  and  in  the  tribe  of  Benjamin,  where 
Achan  was  stoned.  Josh.  vii.  24  ;  xv.  7  ;  Isaiah  Ixv. 
10 ;  Hosoa  ii.  15.  The  name  was  still  in  use  in  the 
time  of  Jerome. 

A  CHS  AH,  daughter  of  Caleb,  who  promised  to 
give  her  as  a  reward  to  him  wlio  should  take  Kirjath- 
Sepher.  (See  Dowrv.)  Othniel,  his  brother's  son, 
having  taken  that  to^Mi,  married  Achsah,  and  obtained 
from  Caleb  the  gift  of  a  field  having  upper  and 
nether  springs — a  valuable  addition  to  Kirjath- 
Sepher,  Josii.  xv,  16;  Judg.  i.  12.  See  Water, 
and  Wells. 

ACHSHAPH,  a  city  of  Asher,  Josh.  xii.  20 ;  xix. 
25.     Its  site  is  unknown. 

I.  ACHZIB,  a  city  in  the  plain  of  Judah,  Josh.xv. 
44 ;  Micah  i.  14. 

II.  ACHZIB,  a  city  on  the  seacoast  of  Galilee, 
assigned  to  the  tribe  of  Asher,  but  not  conquered  by 
them.  Josh.  xix.  29 ;  Judg.  i.  31.  According  to 
Eusebius  and  Jerome,  it  lay  about  nine  miles  north 
of  Ptolcinais,  or  Accho ;  and  was  afterwai'ds  called 
Ecdipna,  Jos.  B.  J.  i.  13.  4.  It  is  now  called  Zib. 
Mod  Traveller,  ii.  p.  29. 

ACRA,  a  Greek  word,  signifying,  in  general,  a 
citadel,  in  which  sense  it  is  also  used  in  the  Chaldee 
and  Syriac.  King  Antiochus  built  a  citadel  at  Jeru- 
salem, on  an  eminence  north  of  the  temple,  which 
commanded  the  holy  place  ;  and  for  which  reason  it 
was  called  Acra.  Joseplius  says  (Antiq.  hb.  xii.  cap. 
7.  &  14  ;  lib.  xiii.  cap.  11.)  that  this  eminence  was 
semicircular,  and  that  Simon  Maccabfeus,  having  ex- 
pelled the  Syrians,  wiio  had  seized  Acra,  demolished 
it,  and  s})ent  three  yt'ars  in  leveling  the  mountain  on 
which  it  stood;  that  no  situation  in  future  should 
command  the  temple.  On  mount  Acra  were  after- 
wards built  the  palace  of  Helena,  queen  of  the  Adia- 
bsnians ;  Agrippa's  palace,  the  place  where  the  public 
records  were  lodged,  and  that  where  the  magistrates 
of  Jerusalem  asseml)led,  Joseph,  de  Bello,  lib.  vii. 
caj).  15  ;  Antiq.  lib.  xx.  cap.  7. 

I.  ACRABATENE.  A  district  or  toparchy  of 
Jndea,  extending  l)etween  Shcchem  (now  Napolose) 
and  Jericho,  inclining  cast.  It  was  about  twelve 
miles  in  length.  The  name  is  not  found  in  Scrip- 
ture, but  occurs  in  Joseplius,  B.  J.  ii.  12.  4  ;  iii. 
3,  4,  5. 

II.  ACRABATENE,  or  Acrabatine,  aghstrict  on 
the  frontier  of  Idiuuea,  towards  the  southern  ex- 
tremity of  the  Dead  se;;.  It  seems  to  be  named  from 
the  Maaleh  Jlcrahbim,  or  Hill  of  Scorpions,  men- 
tioned (Josh.  XV.  3.)  as  the  southern  extremity  of  the 
tribe  of  Judah. — It  is  found  only  in  1  Maccab.  v.  3. 

ACTS  OF  THE  APOSTLES,  a  canonical  book 
of  the  New  Testament,  written  by  Lnke,  and  con- 
taining a  considerable  part  of  the  history  of  Peter 
and  Paul.  The  narrative  begins  at  the  ascension  of 
our  Saviour,  and  continues  to  Paul's  arrival  at  Rome, 
after  his  appeal  to  Csesar ;  with  his  residence  of  two 
years  in  that  capital ;  including  about  twenty-eight  or 
thirty  years.  After  Luke  had  given  the  histoiy  of 
Jesus  Christ  in  his  Gospel,  he  resolved  to  record  the 
actions  of  the  apostles,  and  the  wonderful  manner  in 


which  the  Holy  Spirit  established  that  church  which 
Christ  had  redeemed.  CEcumenius  (in  Acta,  page 
20.)  calls  the  Acts,  "  the  Gospel  of  the  Holy  Ghost ;" 
Chrysostoin  (in  Acta  Homil.  1.)  calls  it,  "the  Gospel 
of  our  Saviour's  resurrection,"  or  "  the  Gospel  of 
the  risen  Jesus  Christ."  It  narrates  most  miraculous 
instances  of  the  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  attending 
the  propagation  of  the  gospel ;  and  in  the  accounts 
and  instances  of  the  first  believers,  we  have  most 
excellent  patterns  of  a  truly  Christian  life.  So  that, 
though  Luke  seems  to  give  us  but  a  plain  narrative 
of  facts,  yet  this  divine  physician,  to  use  Jerome's  ex- 
pression, oflTers  as  many  remedies  to  heal  the  soul's 
diseases,  as  he  speaks  Avords,  Ep.  103. 

It  is  believed  that  Luke's  principal  design  in  vrrh- 
iug  the  Acts,  was  to  preserve  a  true  history  of  the 
apostles,  and  of  the  infancy  of  the  Christian  churci), 
in  opposition  to  false  acts  and  false  histories,  which 
were  beginning  to  obtain  circulation ;  and  accord- 
ingly, his  fidelity  and  intelligence  have  been  so  much 
valued,  that  all  other  Acts  of  the  Apostles  have  per- 
ished, and  his,  only,  been  adopted  by  the  church. 
Luke  wrote  this  book,  probably,  about  A.  D.  64 ;  i.  e. 
soon  after  the  point  of  time  at  which  the  uarraticn 
tenuinates.  The  place  where  it  was  written  is  u.n- 
luiowii. 

The  style  of  Luke  is  generally  more  pure  and  ele- 
gant than  that  of  other  parts  of  the  New  Testament. 
Epiphanius  says  (Hseres.  xxx.  cap.  3  &  6.)  that  this 
book  was  translated  by  the  Ebionites  out  of  Greek 
into  Hebrew ;  (that  is,  Syriac,  the  then  common  lan- 
guage of  the  Jews  in  Palestine ;)  but  that  those 
heretics  coiTupted  it  with  many  falsities  and  impie- 
ties, injurious  to  the  character  and  memory  of  the 
apostles. 

The  Book  of  the  Acts  has  alv/ays  been  esteemed 
canonical :  (Tertul.  1.  v.  cont.  Marc.  cap.  1, 2.)  though 
the  Marcionites,  the  Manichees,  and  some  other  here- 
tics rejected  it,  because  their  errors  were  too  clearly 
condemned  by  it.  Augustine  (Ep.  315.)  says,  the 
church  received  it  with  edification,  and  read  it  every 
year.  Chrysostom  complains,  that  in  his  time  it  was 
too  little  known,  and  the  reading  of  it  too  much 
neglected.  As  for  himself,  he  very  much  extols  the 
advantages  of  an  acquaintance  with  it,  and  main- 
tains, with  good  reason,  that  it  is  as  useful  as  tlu; 
Gospels. 

In  order  to  read  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  with  in- 
telligence and  profit,  it  is  necessary  to  have  a  suffi- 
cient acquaintance  with  geography,  with  the  manners 
of  the  times  and  people  referred  to,  and  with  the 
leading  historical  events.  The  power  of  the  Ro- 
mans, with  the  nature  and  names  of  tlie  public  ofll- 
cers  they  established,  and  the  distinctions  among 
them,  must  of  necessity  be  understood  ;  as  well  as 
the  disposition  and  political  conduct  and  opinions  of 
the  unconverted  Jewish  nation,  which  ol^tained,  too 
strongly,  among  the  Christianized  HebreAvs,  and 
maintained  themselves  as  distinctions,  and  causes  of 
separation  in  the  church,  during  many  ages.  In  fact, 
their  consequences  are  hardly  extinct  in  the  East  at 
this  day. 

There  were  several  Spurious  Acts  of  the  Apos- 
tles. (1.)  The  Acts  of  the  Apostles  supposed 
to  have  been  written  by  Abdias,  who  represents  him- 
self as  a  bishop,  ordained  at  Babylon,  by  the  apos- 
tles, when  they  were  on  their  journey  into  Persia ; 
but  which  is  neither  ancient  nor  authentic  ;  it  was 
not  known  to  Eusebius,  to  Jerome,  nor  to  any  earlier 
father.  The  author  says,  he  wrote  in  Greek,  and 
that  his  book  was  translated  into    Latin  by  Julius 


ADAM 


[  IG] 


ADAM 


Africanus ;  who  is  liiniself  a  Greek  writer.  He  cites 
Hegesippus,  who  Uved  in  the  second  century.  (2.) 
The  Acts  of  St.  Peter,  otherwise  called  Travels 
of  St.  Peter,  (Periodi  Petri,)  or  "  The  Recognitions 
of  St.  Clement,"  is  a  l)ook  filled  with  visions  and 
fables,  which  came  originally  from  the  school  of  the 
Ebionites.  See  Cotelerius,  iu  his  Fathers  of  the  first 
Century ;  likewise  Fabricius's  Cod.  Apocr.  N.  T. 
page  759,  «Scc.  (3.)  The  Acts  of  St.  Paul,  were 
composed  after  his  death,  as  a  supplement  to  St. 
Luke ;  continuing  his  narrative  from  the  second 
year  of  the  apostle's  first  voyage  to  Rome,  to  the  end 
of  his  life.  Eusebius,  who  had  seen  this  work,  calls 
it  spurious.  (4.)  The  Acts  of  St.  John  the  Evan- 
gelist, mentioned  in  Epiphanius  and  Augustine, 
contain  incredible  stories  of  that  apostle.  It  was 
used  by  the  Encratites,  Manichecs,  and  Prise illianists. 
They  are  thought  to  be  the  Acts  of  St.  John,  pub- 
lished among  the  forgeries  of  Abdias.  (Epiphan. 
Haeres.  47.  Aug.  de  Fide,  cap.  4.  and  405.  Contra 
adversar.  Legis  et  Prophet,  lib.  i.  cap.  20.)  (5.)  The 
Acts  of  St.  Andrew,  received  by  the  Manichees, 
Encratites,  and  Apotactics.  See  Epiphanius,  Hseres. 
42,  61,  and  62.  (6.)  The  Acts  of  St.  Thomas  : 
Augustine  cites  some  things  out  of  them,  and  says, 
the  ^lanichees  particularly  used  them.  (7.)  The 
Acts  of  St.  Philip,  was  a  book  used  by  the  Gnos- 
tics. (8.)  The  Acts  of  St.  Matthias.  See  M.  de 
Tillemont,  Feci.  Hist.  torn.  i.  p.  1186 ;  and  Fabricius's 
Cod.  Apoc.  N.  T.  p.  782. 

Tlie  authorities  respecting  all  these  spurious  works, 
as  well  as  of  the  Acts  of  Pilate,  are  collected 
in  Fabricii  Cod.  Apoc.  N.  T.  vol.  i,  ii. 

ADADA,  a  city  in  the  south  of  Judah,  Josh. 
XV.  22. 

ADAD-RIMMON,  or  Hadad-Rimmon,  a  city  in 
the  valley  of  Jezreel,  where  the  fatal  battle  between 
Josiah,  king  of  Judah,  and  Pharaoh-Necho,  king  of 
Egj'^pt,  (2  Kings  xxiii.  29 ;  Zech.  xii.  11.)  was  fought. 
Adad-rimmon  was  afterwards  called  Maximianopo- 
lis,  in  honor  of  the  emperor  Maximian.  It  is  seven- 
teen miles  from  Ceesarea  in  Palestine,  and  ten  miles 
from  Jezreel.     See  Bib.  Repository,  vol.  i.  p.  602. 

I.  ADAH,  one  of  Lamech's  two  wives ;  mother 
of  Jabal  and  Jubal,  Gen.  iv.  19.     See  Lamech. 

II.  ADAH,  daughter  of  Elon,  the  Hittite,  and  wife 
of  Esau  ;  the  mother  of  Eliphaz,  Gen.  xxxvi.  4. 

ADAM,  red,  the  proper  name  of  the  first  man. 
It  has  always  the  article,  and  is  therefore  originally 
an  appellative,  the  man.  The  derivation  of  it,  as  well 
as  adamah,  earth,  from  the  verb  ms,  to  be  red,  (in 
Ethiop.  to  be  beautiful,)  is  not  improbable,  when  we 
take  into  account  the  reddish  or  brown  complexion 
of  the  orientals.  But  the  word  Mam  may  also  be 
primitive.     R. 

The  Almighty  formed  Adam  out  of  the  dust  of 
the  earth,  breathed  into  his  nostrils  the  breath  of  life, 
and  gave  him  dominion  over  all  the  lower  creatures. 
Gen.  i.  26 ;  ii.  7.  He  created  him  in  his  own  image, 
and  having  pronounced  a  blessing  upon  hiin,  placed 
him  in  a  delijrhtfiil  garden,  that  he  might  cultivate 
it,  and  enjoy  its  fruits.  At  the  same  time,  however, 
he  gave  him  the  following  injunction: — "Of  the  tree 
of  knowledge  of  good  and  evil  thou  shalt  not  eat ; 
for  in  tbe  day  thou  eatest  thereof  thou  shalt  surely 
die."  The  first  recorded  exercise  of  Adam's  power 
and  intelligence  was  his  giving  names  to  the  beasts 
of  the  field,  and  fowls  of  the  air,  which  the  Lord 
brought  before  him  for  this  purpose.  A  short  time 
after  this,  the  Lord,  observing  that  it  was  not  good 
for  man  to  he  alone,  caused  a  deep  sleep  to  fall  upon 


Adam,  and  while  he  slept,  took  one  of  his  ribs,  and 
closed  up  the  flesh  ;  and  of  the  rib  thus  taken  from 
man  he  made  a  woman,  (womb-man,  Saxon,)  whom 
he  presented  to  him  when  he  awoke.  Adam  received 
her,  saying,  "This  is  now  bone  of  my  bone,  and 
flesh  of  my  flesh ;  she  shall  be  called  woman,  be- 
cause she  was  taken  out  of  man."  (Heb.  c>k,  mail, 
ns'iN,  tvomati.)  He  also  called  her  name  Eve,  nin, 
because  she  was  the  mother  of  all  living. 

This  woman,  being  seduced  by  the  tempter,  per- 
suaded her  husband  to  eat  of  the  forbidden  fruit. 
When  called  to  judgment  for  this  transgi-ession  be- 
fore God,  Adam  blamed  his  M'ife,  "  whom,"  said  he, 
"  THOU  gavest  me  ;"  and  the  woman  blamed  the  ser- 
pent-tempter. God  punished  the  tempter  by  degra- 
dation and  dread  ;  the  woman  by  painful  hopes,  and 
a  situation  of  submission  ;  and  the  man  by  a  life  of 
labor  and  toil ;  of  which  punishment  every  day  witnes- 
ses the  fulfilment.  As  their  natural  passions  now  be- 
came irregular,  and  their  exposure  to  accidents  great, 
God  made  a  covering  of  skin  for  Adam  and  for  his  w  ife. 
He  also  expelled  them  from  his  garden,  to  the  land 
around  it,  where  Adam  had  been  made,  and  Avhere 
was  to  be  their  future  dwelling ;  placing  at  the  east 
of  the  garden  a  flame,  which  turned  eveiy  way,  to 
KEEP  the  way  to  the  tree  of  life,  Gen.  iii. 

It  is  not  known  how  long  Adam  and  his  wife  con- 
tinued in  paradise  :  some  think,  many  years  ;  others, 
not  many  days ;  others,  not  many  hours.  Shortly 
after  their  expulsion.  Eve  brought  forth  Cain,  Gen. 
iv.  1,  2.  Scripture  notices  but  three  sons  of  Adam  : 
Cain,  Abel,  and  Seth,  and  omits  daughters:  but 
Moses  tells  us,  "Adam  begat  sons  and  daughters;" 
no  doubt  many.  He  died,  aged  930,  ante  A.  D.  3074. 
This  is  what  we  learn  from  Moses ;  but  interpreters, 
not  satisfied  with  his  concise  relation,  propose  a 
thousand  inquiries  relating  to  the  first  man  ;  and  cer- 
tainly no  historj'  can  furnish  more  questions,  as  well 
of  curiositj'  as  of  consequence. 

In  reviewing  the  histon'  of  Adam,  there  are  several 
things  that  demand  particular  notice. 

1.  Tlie  formation  of  Adam  is  introduced  with  cir- 
cumstances of  dignity  superior  to  any  which  at- 
tended the  creation  of  the  animals.  It  evidently  ap- 
pears (whatever  else  be  designed  by  it)  to  be  the 
intention  of  the  narrator,  to  mark  this  passage,  and 
to  lead  his  readers  to  reflect  on  it.  God  said,  "  Let 
us  make  man,  (1.)  In  our  image  ;  (2.)  According  to 
our  likeness ;  and  let  him  rule,"  &c.  Gen.  i.  26. 
These  seem  to  be  two  ideas  :  First,  "  In  our  image," 
in  our  similitude.  This  could  not  refer  to  his  figure : 
(1.)  Because  the  human  figure,  though  greatly  supe- 
rior in  formation  and  beauty  to  animals,  is  not  so  en- 
tirely distinct  from  them  in  the  j)rinciples  of  its  con- 
struction, as  to  require  a  special  consultation  about 
it,  after  the  animals  had  been  formed.  (2.)  If  all  the 
species  of  monkeys  were  made  l)cfore  man,  the  re- 
semblance in  some  of  them  to  the  human  form, 
greatly  strengthens  the  former  argument.  (3.)  The 
Scriptures,  elsewhere,  represent  this  distinction  as 
referring  to  moral  excellency  ;  "  in  knotdedee — after 
the  image  of  him  who  created  him,"  Col.  iii.  10. 
"  The  new  man,  which,  according  to  God,  {xaru  dim.) 
is  created  in  righteousness  and  true  holiness,"  Eph,  iv. 
24.  In  other  places,  also,  the  comparison  tin-ns  on 
his  purity,  his  station,  &c.  Secondly,  "  According  to 
our  likeness,"  is  a  stronger  expression  than  the  former, 
and  more  determinate  to  its  subject.  If  we  connect 
this  with  the  following  words,  and  let  him  rule — the 
import  of  the  passage  may  be  given  thus : — "  Man 
shall  have,  according  to  his  nature  and  capacity,  a 


ADARI 


[  17  ] 


ADAM 


general  likeuess  to  such  of  our  perfectious  as  fit  him 
for  the  purposes  to  which  we  design  him  ;  but  he 
shall  also  have  a  resemblance  to  us,  in  the  rule  and 
government  of  the  creatures  ;  for,  though  he  be  in- 
capable of  any  of  our  attributes,  he  is  capable  of  a 
purity,  a  rectitude,  and  a  station  of  dominion,  in 
\\hicli  he  may  be  our  vicegerent."  Thus,  then,  in  a 
lower  and  looser  sense,  man  was  the  image  of  God  ; 
possessing  a  likeness  to  him  in  respect  to  moral 
excellency,  of  which  the  creatures  were  absolutely 
void  ;  and  having  also  a  resemblance  to  God,  as  his 
deputy,  his  representative,  among  and  over  the  cre- 
ation ;  for  which  ho  was  qualified  by  holiness, 
knowledge,  and  other  intellectual  and  moral  attri- 
butes. 

As  the  day  on  which  creation  ended  was  imme- 
diately succeeded  by  a  sabbath,  the  first  act  of  man 
was  worship ;  hence  the  influence  and  extent  of  the 
custom  of  setting  apart  a  sabbath  among  his  poster- 
ity ;  since  not  in  paradise  only  would  Adam  main- 
tain this  rite. 

2.  "  Adam  became  a  livins;  soul ;"  by  which  we 
imdcrstanil  a  living  person,  (1.)  Because  such  is  the 
import  of  the  original,  simply  taken :  (2.)  Having 
mentioned  that  Adam  was  made  of  the  dust  of  the 
earth,  is  a  reason  why  the  sacred  WTiter  should  here 
mention  his  anhnation.  But,  (3.)  It  is  very  possible, 
tliat  it  implies  some  real  distinction  between  the  na- 
ture of  the  living  principle,  or  soul,  (not  spirit,)  in 
Adam,  and  that  of  animals.  IMay  we  suppose  that 
this  j)rincip|p,  thus  especially  imparted  by  God,  was 
capable  of  innnortality  ;  that,  however  the  beasts 
might  die  by  nature,  man  would  survive  by  nature  :^ 
that  he  had  no  inherent  seeds  of  dissolution  in  him, 
but  that  his  dissolution  Avas  the  consequence  of  his 
sin,  ;uid  the  execution  of  the  threatening,  "dying 
thou  shalt  die  V  In  fact,  as  Adam  lived  nearly  a 
thousaJid  years  after  eating  the  fruit,  which,  probably, 
poisoned  his  blood,  how  much  longer  might  he  not 
have  lived,  had  that  poison  never  been  taken  by 
hun  ?     See  Death. 

3.  The  character,  endoivments,  and  history  of  Mam, 
are  very  interesting  subjects  of  reflection  to  the  whole 
human  race ;  and  the  rather,  because  the  memorials 
respecting  him,  which  have  been  transmitted  to  us, 
are  but  brief,  and  consequently  obscure. 

In  considering  the  character  of  Adam,  the  great- 
est difficulty  is,  to  divest  ourselves  of  ideas  received 
fi'om  the  present  state  of  things.  We  cannot  suffi- 
ciently dismiss  from  our  minds  that  knoivledge  (rather, 
tiiat  subtUty)  which  we  have  acquired  by  experience. 
We  should,  nevertheless,  remember,  that  however 
Adam  might  be  a  man  in  capacity  of  understanding, 
yet  in  experience  he  could  be  but  a  child.  He  had 
no  cause  to  distrust  any,  to  suspect  fraud,  collusion, 
prevarication,  or  ill  design.  Where,  then,  is  the 
wonder,  if  entire  innocence,  if  total  unsuspicion, 
should  be  deceived  by  an  artful  combination  of  ap- 

Searances ;  by  fraud  and  guile  exerted  against  it  ? 
lut  the  disobedience  of  Adam  is  not  the  less  inex- 
cusable on  this  account ;  because,  as  was  his  situa- 
tion, such  was  the  test  given  to  him.  It  was  not  an 
active,  but  a  pa.ssive  duty ;  not  something  to  be  done, 
but  something  to  be  forlionie  ;  a  negaiive  trial  Nor 
did  it  regard  the  mind,  but  the  appetite ;  nor  was 
that  appetite  without  fit,  yea,  much  fitter,  supply  in 
abundance  all  around  it.  Unwarrantable  presump- 
tion, unrestrained  desire,  liberty  extended  into  licen- 
tiousness, was  the  principle  of  Adam's  transgi-ession. 

4.  The  breaking  of  a  beautiful  vase,  may  affiird 
some  idea  of  Adam  after  his  sin.     The  inte^'itv  of 

3 


his  mind  was  violated  ;  the  Jirst  compUance  with  sin 
opened  the  way  to  future  compUances;  grosser 
temptations  might  now  expect  success;  and  thus 
spotless  purity  becoming  impure,  perfect  uprightness 
becoming  warped,  lost  that  entirety  which  had  been 
its  glory.  Hereby  Adam  rehnquished  that  distinc- 
tion, which  had  fitted  hijn  for  mimediate  communion 
wdth  supreme  holiness,  and  was  reduced  to  the  ne- 
cessity of  sohciting  such  communion,  mediately,  not 
immediately ;  by  another,  not  by  liimself ;  in  prospect, 
not  instant ;  in  hope,  not  in  possession ;  in  time  fii- 
ture,  not  in  time  present ;  in  another  world,  not  in 
this.  It  is  worthy  of  notice,  how  precisely  the  prin- 
ciples which  infatuated  Adam  have  ever  governed 
his  posterity  ;  how  suitable  to  the  general  character 
of  the  human  race  was  the  nature  of  that  temptation 
by  which  their  father  fell ! 

5.  It  is  presumable  that  only,  or  chiefly,  in  the 
garden  of  Paradise,  were  the  prime  fruits  and  her- 
bage in  perfection.  The  land  around  the  garden 
might  be  much  less  fmished,  and  only  fertile  to  a 
certain  degree.  To  promote  its  fertility,  by  cultiva- 
tion, became  the  object  of  Adam's  labor ;  so  that  in 
the  sweat  of  his  brow,  he  himself  did  eat  bread. 
But  the  sentence  passed  on  our  first  parents,  doubt- 
less regarded  them  as  the  representatives,  the  very 
concentration,  of  their  posterity,  the  whole  human 
race  ;  and  afl;er  attaching  to  themselves,  it  seems,  pro- 
phetically also,  to  suggest  the  condition  of  the  sexes 
in  future  ages,  q.  d.  "  The  female  sex,  which  has 
been  the  means  of  bringing  death  into  the  world, 
shall  also  be  the  means  of  bringing  life — posterity — 
to  compensate  the  ravages  of  death  ; — and,  to  remind 
the  sex  of  its  original  transgi-ession,  that  which  shall 
be  its  gi-eatest  honor  and  happiness  shall  be  accom- 
panied by  no  slight  inconveniences.  But  the  male 
sex  shall  be  under  the  necessity  of  laboring  for  the 
support,  not  of  itself  only,  but  of  the  female  and  her 
family ;  so  that  if  a  man  could  with  little  exertion 
pro\dde  for  himself,  he  should  be  stmiulated  by  far 
greater  exertions,  to  toil,  to  sweat,  for  the  advantage 
and  suppoit  of  those  to  whom  he  has  been  the  means 
of  giving  life." 

6.  Death  closes  the  sentence  passed  on  mankind; 
and  was  also  prophetic  of  an  event  common  to  Adam, 
and  to  all  his  descendants.  But  see  how  the  favor 
of  God  mitigates  the  consequences  announced  in 
this  sentence !  It  inflicts  pain  on  the  Avoman,  but 
that  pain  was  connected  with  the  dearest  comforts, 
and  with  the  gi'eat  restorer  of  the  human  race  ;  it 
assigns  labor  to  the  man,  but  then  that  labor  was  to 
support  himself,  and  others  dearer  to  hhn  than  him- 
self, repetitious  of  himself;  it  denounces  death,  but 
death  indefinitely  postponed,  and  appointed  as  the 
path  to  life. — [The  curse  pronounced  on  man  in- 
cludes not  only  physical  labor  and  toil,  the  barren- 
ness of  the  earth,  and  its  tendency  to  produce  shrubs 
and  Aveeds,  Avhich  retard  his  exertions,  and  render 
his  toil  more  painful  and  difficult ;  it  includes  not 
only  the  physical  dissolution  of  the  body ;  but  also 
the  exposure  of  the  soul,  the  nobler  part,  to  '  ever- 
lasting death.'  There  is  no  where  in  Scripture  any 
hint  that  the  bodies  either  of  animals  or  of  man  in 
the  state  before  the  fall,  were  not  subject  to  dissolu- 
tion, just  as  much  as  at  present.  Indeed  the  whole 
physical  structure  goes  to  indicate  directly  the  con- 
trary. The  life  of  man  and  of  animals,  as  at  present 
constituted,  is  a  constant  succession  of  decay  and 
renovation  ;  and  so  far  as  physiology  can  draAV  any 
conclusion,  this  has  ever  been  the  case.  We  may 
tlir-refore  suppose,  that  the  death  denounced   upon 


ADAM 


[18] 


ADM 


man,  was  rather  moral  and  spiritual  death ;  in  that 
very  day,  he  should  lose  the  image  of  his  Maker,  and 
become  exposed  to  that  eternal  doom,  which  has 
justly  fallen  upon  all  his  race.  Such  is  also  the  view 
of  the  apostle  Paul ;  who  every  where  contrasts  the 
death  introduced  into  the  world  through  Adam  with 
the  life  which  is  procured  for  our  race  through  Jesus 
Christ,  Rom.  v.  12,  seq.  But  tliis  life  is  oidy  spiritual ; 
the  death,  then,  in  its  highest  sense,  is  also  spiritual. 
So  far,  too,  as  the  penalty  is  temporal  and  physical,  no 
specific  remedy  is  provided  ;  no  man  is  or  can  be 
exempt  from  it ;  and  it  depends  not  on  his  choice. 
But  to  remove  the  spiritual  punishment,  Christ  has 
died  ;  and  he  who  will,  may  avoid  the  threatened 
death,  and  enter  into  life  eternal. 

7,  In  regard  to  the  situation  of  Adam  before  the 
fall,  his  powers  and  capacities,  his  understanding  and 
acquirements,  very  much  has  been  said  and  written, 
but  all  of  coiu-se  to  no  purpose  ;  since  the  Scriptures, 
the  only  document  we  have,  are  entirely  silent  on 
these  points.  The  poetical  statements  of  Milton  in 
his  Paradise  Lost,  are  deserving  of  just  as  much 
credit  as  the  si)eculatious  of  Jewish  Rabbins  or 
Christian  theologians.  We  can  only  affirm,  that  the 
Scriptiu'es  recognize  man  as  being  formed  in  his 
full  strength  of  body  and  his  full  powers  of  mind  ; 
that  he  possessed  not  only  the  capacity  for  speech 
and  knowledge,  but  that  he  was  also  actually  in  the 
possession  and  exercise  of  language,  and  of  such 
knowledge  at  least  as  was  necessary  for  his  situation. 
There  is  no  suggestion  in  the  Bible,  that  he  was 
formed  merely  with  the  powers  requisite  for  ac- 
quiring these  things,  and  then  left  at  first  in  a  state  of 
ignorance  which  would  place  him  on  a  level  with 
the  brutes,  and  from  which  he  must  have  emerged 
simply  by  his  own  exertions  and  observation.  On 
the  contrary,  the  representation  of  the  Bible  is,  that 
he  was  at  first  formed,  in  all  respects,  a  full-grown 
man,  with  all  the  faculties  and  all  the  endowments 
necessaiy  to  qualify  him  for  his  station  as  lord  of  a 
new  and  beautiful  creation.     *R. 

8.  The  salvation  of  Adam  has  been  a  subject  of 
trivial  dispute.  Tatian  and  the  Eucratites  were 
positive  he  was  damned  ;  but  this  opinion  the  church 
condemned.  The  book  of  Wisdom  says,  (chap.  x. 
2.)  "  That  God  delivered  him  from  his  fall,"  and  the 
Fathers  and  Rabbins  believe  he  did  hard  penance. 
Some  of  the  ancients  beheved,  that  our  first  parents 
were  interred  at  Hebron,  which  opinion  they  Avhini- 
sically  grounded  on  Joshua  xiv.  15,  "  And  the  name 
of  Hebron  before  was  Kirjath-Aiba,  which  Arba 
was  a  great  man  (Adam,  qin)  among  the  Anakini." 
— Origen,  Epiphanius,  Jerome,  and  a  great  number 
hold  that  Adam  was  buried  on  Calvary  ;  and  this 
opinion  has  still  its  advocates.  There  is  a  chapel  on 
mount  Calvary  dedicated  to  Adam. 

Adam  has  been  the  reputed  author  of  several 
books,  and  some  have  believed  that  he  invented  the 
Hebrew  letters.  The  Jews  say  he  is  the  author  of 
the  ninety-first  Psalm  ;  and  that  he  composed  it  soon 
after  the  creation.  The  Gnostics  had  a  book  en- 
titled, "The  Revelations  of  Adam,"  which  is  placed 
among  the  apocryphal  writings  by  pope  Gelasius, 
who  also  mentions  a  book  called  "Adam's  Penance." 
Masius  spenks  of  another  "Of  the  Creation,"  said  to 
have  been  composed  by  Adam. — On  all  these,  see 
Fabricii  Cod.  Pseudepigi-.  V.  T.  vol.  i.  Hottinger, 
Histor.  Oriental,  pag.  22. — The  Arabians  inform  us, 
that  Adam  received  twenty  books  which  fell  from 
heaven,  and  contained  many  laws,  promise.s,  and 
prophecies. 


The  Tahnudists,  Cabalists,  Mahommedans,  Per- 
sians, and  other  Eastern  people,  relate  many  fabulous 
stories  relative  to  the  creation  and  life  of  Adam,  some 
of  which  may  be  seen  in  the  larger  edition  of  Calmet. 

11.  ADAJNl  was  the  name  of  a  city  near  the  Jor- 
dan, not  far  from  Zarethan  ;  at  some  distance  from 
which  the  waters  of  Jordan  were  collected  in  a  heap, 
when  the  children  of  Israel  passed  through.  Josh, 
iii.  10.  The  name  was  not  improbably  derived  from 
the  color  of  the  clay  in  its  neighborhood,  which  was 
used  for  casting  the  vessels  of  the  temple,  1  Kings 
vii.  46. 

ADAMAH,  a  city  of  Naphtali,  Josh.  xix.  3G.  The 
LXX  call  it  Armath  ;  the  Vulgate,  Edema. 

ADAMANT,  Tictf  shamir,  a  name  anciently  used 
for  the  diamond,  the  hardest  of  all  minerals.  It  is 
used  for  cutting  or  writing  upon  glass  and  other  hard 
substances,  Jer.  xvii.  1.  It  is  also  employed  figura- 
tively, Ezek.  iii.  9  ;  Zech.  vii.  12.  The  same  name 
of  the  diamond  is  common  in  Arabia. — Others  sup- 
pose it  to  be  the  smiris,  or  emery. 

ADAMI,  a  city  of  Naphtali,  Josh.  xix.  33. 

ADAMITES,  a  heretical  sect  of  the  second 
century,  who  afTected  to  possess  the  innocence  of 
Adam,  and  whose  nakedness  they  imitated  in  their 
churches,  which  they  called  Paradise.  Its  author 
was  Prodicus,  a  disciple  of  Carpocrates. 

I.  ADAR,  the  twelfth  month  of  the  Hebrew  ec- 
clesiastical year,  and  the  sixth  of  the  civil  year.  It 
has  twenty-nine  days  ;  and  nearly  answers  to  our 
February  and  March,  accoi'ding  to  the  Rabbins. 
(See  Months,  and  the  Jewish  Calendar.)  As  the 
lunar  year,  which  the  Jews  follow  in  their  calcula- 
tion, is  shorter  than  the  solar  year  by  eleven  days, 
which  after  three  years  make  about  a  month,  they 
then  insert  a  thirteenth  month,  which  they  call  Ve- 
Adar,  or  a  second  Adar,  to  which  they  assign  twenty- 
nine  days. 

II.  ADAR,  a  city  on  the  southern  border  of  Judah, 
Josh.  XV.  3.  In  Numb,  xxxiv.  4.  it  is  called  Hazar- 
Addar,  or  the  court  of  Adar. 

ADARSA,  or  Adas  a,  (1  Mace.  vii.  40.)  a  city  of 
Ephraim,  four  miles  from  Beth-horou,  and  not  far 
from  Gophna,  Joseph.  Antiq.  lib.  xii.  cap.  17  ;  Euseb. 
in  Adasa.  Perhaps,  between  the  upper  Beth-heron 
and  Diospolis ;  because  it  is  said  (1  Mace.  vii.  45.) 
the  victorious  army  of  Judas  pursued  the  Syrians 
from  Adasa  to  Gadara,  or  Gazara,  which  is  one  day's 
journey.  Adarsa  is  also  called  Adazer,  and  Adaco, 
or  Acedosa,  in  Josephus,  Antiq.  lib.  xii.  cap.  17.  and 
de  Bello,  lib.  i.  cap.  1.  Here  Nicanor  was  over- 
come, and  his  army  put  to  flight  by  Judas  Macca- 
ba?us,  notwithstanding  he  had  3000  men  only,  while 
Nicanor  had  35,000.  Josephus  tells  us,  that  Judas, 
in  another  war,  was  killed  in  this  place,  de  Bello, 
lib.  i.  cap.  1. 

ADDAR,  see  Adar  II. 

ADDER,  see  Asp,  and  Serpent. 

ADIABENE,  a  region  of  Assyria,  frequently  men- 
tioned by  Josephus,  whose  queen  Helena  and  her 
son  Izates  Avere  made  converts  to  Judaism,  Joseph. 
Antiq.  XX.  2. 

ADIDA,  a  city  of  Juuah,  where  Simon  Macca- 
bffius  encamped  to  dispute  the  entrance  into  the 
country  with  Tryphon,  who  had  treacherously 
seized  Jonathan  at  Ptolemais,  1  Mace.  xii.  38 ; 
xiii.  13. 

ADITHAIM,  a  city  of  Judah,  whose  situation  is 
not  known,  Josh.  xv.  3(3. 

ADMAH,  the  most  easterly  of  the  five  cities  of 
the  plain,  destroyed  by  fire  from  heaven,  and  after- 


ADO 


[  19] 


ADO 


\vards  overwhelmed  by  the  waters  of  the  Dead  sea, 
Gen.  xix.  24. 

ADONAI,  unN,  Lord,  Master,  old  plural  form  of 
tlie  noun  adon,  similar  to  that  with  the  suffix  of  the 
first  person  ;  used  as  the  pluralis  excdlenticR  by  way 
of  dignity  for  the  name  of  Jeh^ah.  The  similai* 
form,  with  the  suffix,  is  also  used  of  men  ;  as  of 
Joseph's  master,  Gen.  xxxix.  2,  3,  seq. — of  Joseph 
hunself,  Gen.  xlii.  30.  33 ;  so  Isaiah  xix.  4.  The 
Jews,  out  of  superstitious  reverence  for  the  name 
Jehovah,  always,  in  reading,  pronounced  Adonai 
where  Jehovah  is  written  ;  hence  the  letters  nini  are 
usually  written  with  the  points  belonging  to  Adonai. 
See  Jehovah.     R. 

ADONI-BEZEK,  i.  e.  the  lord  of  Bezek,  king  of 
the  city  Bezek,  in  Canaan,  seventeen  miles  N.  E. 
from  Napolose,  towards  Scythopolis. — Adoni-bezek 
was  a  powerful  and  cruel  prince,  who,  having  at 
various  times  taken  seventy  kings,  ordered  their 
tliumbs  and  gi-eat  toes  to  be  cut  off,  and  made  them 
gather  their  meat  under  his  table,  Judg.  i.  7.  After 
the  death  of  Joshua,  the  tribes  Judah  and  Simeon 
marched  against  Adoni-bezek,  who  commanded  an 
army  of  Canaauites  and  Perizzites.  They  vanquished 
him,  killed  ten  thousand  men,  and  having  taken  him, 
cut  off  his  thumbs  and  his  great  toes  ;  Adoni-bezek 
acknowledging  the  retributive  justice  of  this  punish- 
ment from  God.  lie  was  afterwards  carried  to  Jeru- 
salem, where  he  died,  Judg.  i.  4,  seq. 

Notwithstanding  that  the  barbarity  of  Adoni-be- 
zok,  in  tluis  mutilating  his  enemies,  was  so  enor- 
mous in  its  chaiacter,  there  is  reason  to  think  that 
similar  cruelties  are  by  no  means  uncommon  in  the 
East.  Much  more  severe,  in  fact,  is  the  cruelty 
contained  in  the  following  narration  of  Indian  war : 
— "  The  inhabitants  of  the  to^vn  of  Lelith  Pattan 
were  disposed  to  surrender  themselves,  from  fear  of 
having  their  noses  cut  off,  like  those  of  Cirtipur,  and 
also  their  right  hands ;  a  barbarity  the  Gorchians 
had  threatened  them  with,  imless  they  would  sur- 
render within  five  days !"  (Asiat.  Researches,  vol. 
ii.)  Another  resemblance  to  the  history  of  the  men 
of  Jabesh ;  who  desired  seven  days  of  melancholy 
rcsi)ite  from  their  threatened  affliction  by  Nahash,  of 
having  their  right  eyes  thrust  out,  1  Sam.  xi.  2. 

The  following  is  another  similar  scene  of  cruelty : 
"  Prithwinarayan  issued  an  order  to  Suruparatana  his 
brotlier,  to  put  to  death  some  of  the  principal  in- 
habitants of  the  town  of  Cirtipur,  and  to  cut  off 
the  noses  and  hps  of  every  one,  even  the  infants  who 
were  found  in  the  arms  of  their  mothers ;  order- 
ing, at  the  same  time,  all  the  noses  and  hps  that  had 
been  cut  off  to  be  preserved,  that  he  might  ascertain 
how  many  souls  there  were  ;  and  to  change  the 
name  of  the  town  to  JVashatapir,  which  signifies  the 
town  of  cut  noses.  The  oi-der  was  caiTied  into  exe- 
cution with  eveiy  mark  of  hoiTor  and  cruelty,  none 
escaping  but  those  who  could  play  on  wind  instru- 
ments ;  many  put  an  end  to  then*  Uves  in  despair ; 
others  came  m  gi'eat  bodies  to  us  in  search  of  medi- 
cines ;  and  it  Avas  most  shocking  to  see  so  many  liv- 
ing people  with  their  teeth  and  noses  resembhng  the 
skulls  of  the  deceased,"  i.  e.  by  being  bare ;  because 
deprived  of  their  natural  covering.  (Asiatic  Re- 
searches, vol.  ii.  page  187.)  The  learned  reader 
will  recollect  an  instance  of  the  very  same  barbarity, 
in  the  town  which,  from  that  circumstance,  was 
named  Rhinocohtra,  or  "  cut  noses,^''  between  Judea 
and  Egj'pt.     See  Rhinocolura. 

ADONIJAH,  fourth  son  of  David,  by  Haggith, 
was  born  at  Hebron,  while  his  father  was  acknowl- 


edged king  by  only  part  of  Israel,  2  Sam.  iii.  2,  4. 
His  elder  brothers,  Amnon  and  Absalom,  being  dead, 
Adonijali  believed  the  crown  by  right  belonged  to 
him,  and  made  an  effort  to  get  acknowledged  kuig 
before  his  father's  death.  For  this  purpose  he  set 
up  a  magnificent  equipage,  with  chariots  and  horse- 
men, and  fifty  men  to  run  before  him  ;  and  con- 
tracted very  close  engagements  with  Joab  the  gen- 
eral, and  Abiathar  the  priest,  who  had  more  interest 
with  the  king  than  any  others.  Having  matured  his 
plans,  Adonijali  made  a  great  entertainment  for  his 
adherents,  near  the  fountain  Rogel,  east  of  the  city, 
and  below  the  walls,  to  which  he  invited  all  the 
king's  sons,  except  Solomon  ;  and  also  the  principal 
persons  of  Judah,  except  Nathan,  Zadok,  and  Be- 
naiah,  who  were  not  of  his  party.  His  design  was 
at  this  time  to  be  proclaimed  king,  and  to  assume 
the  government  before  the  death  of  David.  Nathan, 
however,  having  obtained  a  knowledge  of  his  de- 
sign, went  with  Bathsheba  to  the  king,  who  informed 
him  of  Adonijah's  proceedings,  and  interceded  m 
favor  of  Solomon.  David  immediately  gave  orders 
that  Solomon  should  be  proclaimed  king  of  Israel, 
which  was  promptly  done,  and  the  intelligence  so 
alarmed  Adonijah  and  his  party,  that  they  dispersed 
in  great  confusion.  Fearing  that  Solomon  would 
put  him  to  death,  Adonijah  retired  to  the  tabei-nacle, 
and  laid  hold  on  the  horns  of  the  altar.  Solomon, 
however,  generously  pardoned  him,  and  sent  him 
home,  1  Kings  i. 

Some  time  after  David's  death,  Adonijah,  by  means 
of  Bathsheba,  the  mother  of  Solomon,  intrigued  to- 
obtain  Abishag,  the  recent  wife  of  his  father ;  but 
Solomon,  suspecting  it  to  be  a  project  to  obtain  the 
kingdom,  had  him  put  to  death,  ch.  ii.  13,  &c.  A.  M. 
2990,  ante  A.  D.  1014. 

ADONIRAM,  the  receiver  of  Solomon's  tributes, 
and  chief  director  of  the  30,000  men  whom  that 
prince  sent  to  Lebanon,  to  cut  timber,  1  Kings  v.  14. 
The  name  Adoram  is  made  from  this  word  by  con- 
traction, and  applied  to  the  same  person,  who  was 
receiver-general  from  David  until  Rehoboam,  2  Sam. 
XX.  24 ;  1  Kings  xii.  18.  He  is  also  called  Hadoram, 
2  Chr.  X.  18.     R. 

ADONIS.  According  to  the  Vulgate,  Ezek.  viii. 
14  imports  that  this  prophet  saw  women  sitting  in 
the  temple,  weeping  for  Adonis;  but  the  Hebrew 
reads,  for  Tammuz,  or,  the  hidden  one..  Among  the 
Egyptians,  Adonis  was  adored  under  the  name  of 
Osiris,  husband  of  Isis.  The  Greeks  worshipped 
Isis  and  Osiris  under  other  names,  as  that  of  Bac- 
chus ;  and  the  Arabians  under  that  of  Adonis : 

Ogygia  me  Bacchuni  canit ; 
Osyrin  iEgjptus  vocat ; 
Arabica  gens,  Adoneum. 

Ausonius. 

But  he  was  sometimes  called  Ammuz,  or  Tam- 
muz, the  concealed,  to  denote,  probably,  the  manner 
of  his  death,  or  the  place  of  his  burial.  ( Vide  Plu- 
tarch de  Defectu  OracTil.)  The  Syrians,  Phoeni- 
cians, and  Cyprians  called  him  Adonis.  The  He- 
brew women,  therefore,  of  whom  Ezekiel  is  speak- 
ing, celebrated  the  feasts  of  Tammuz,  or  Adonis,  in 
Jenisalem ;  and  God  showed  the  prophet  these 
women  weeping,  even  in  his  own  sacred  temple,  for 
tlie  supposed  death  of  this  infamous  god. 

The  Rabbins  tell  us,  that  Tammuz  was  an  idola- 
trous prophet,  who  having  been  put  to  death  by  the 
king  of  Bal)ylon,  all  the  idols  of  the  country  flocked 


ADO 


[20] 


ADO 


together  about  a  statue  of  the  suu,  which  this  prophet, 
who  was  a  magiciau,  had  suspended  between  heaven 
and  earth:  there  they  began  altogether  to  deplore 
the  prophet's  death ;  for  which  reason  a  festival  \^'as 
instituted  every  year,  to  renew  the  memory  of  this 
ceremony,  at  the  beginning  of  the  month  Tammuz, 
which  answers  prettj'  neai'ly  to  our  Jime.  In  tliis 
temple  was  a  statue,  repi-esenting  Tammuz.  It  Wcis 
hollow,  the  eyes  were  of  lead,  juid  a  gentle  lire  being 
kindled  below,  which  insensibly  heated  the  statue, 
and  melted  the  lead,  the  deluded  people  heheved 
that  the  idol  wept.  All  this  time  the  Babylonish 
women,  in  the  temple,  were  shrieking,  and  mak- 
ing strange  lamentations.  But  this  story  requires 
proofs. 

The  scene  of  Adonis's  history  is  said  to  have  been 
at  Byblos,  in  Phoenicia ;  and  this  pretended  deity  is 
supposed  to  have  been  killed  by  a  wild  boar  in  the 
mountains  of  Libanus,  whence  the  river  Adonis  de- 
scends, (Lucian  de  Dea  Syra,)  the  waters  of  which, 
at  a  certain  time  of  the  year,  change  color,  and  ap- 
pear as  red  as  blood.  (See  Maundrell,  March  17.) 
This  was  the  signal  for  celeljrating  tin  ir  Adonia,  or 
feasts  of  Adonis,  the  observance  of  which  it  was  not 
la^vful  to  omit. 

The  common  people  were  persuaded  to  beUeve, 
that,  at  this  feast,  the  Egj'ptians  sent  by  sea  a  box 
made  of  rushes,  or  of  Egyptian  papyrus,  in  the  form 
of  a  human  head,  in  which  a  letter  was  enclosed, 
acquainting  the  inhabitants  of  Byl>los,  a  city  above 
seven  days'  journey  from  the  coast  of  Eg}  pt,  that 
their  god  Adonis,  whom  they  apprehended  to  be 
lost,  had  been  discovered.  The  vessel  which  carried 
this  letter  arrived  always  safe  at  Byblos,  at  the  end 
of  seven  days.  Lucian  tells  us  he  was  a  witness  of 
this  event.  Procopius,  Cyril  of  Alexamhia,  (on 
Isaiah  xviii.)  and  other  learned  men,  arc  of  opinion, 
that  Isaifdi  alludes  to  this  superstitions  custom,  a\  hen 
he  says,  "Wo  to  the  land  shadowing  \\ith  wings, 
which  is  beyond  the  river  of  Ethi()])ia  ;  that  sendeth 
ambassadors  l)y  the  sea,  even  vessels  of  bulrushes 
upon  the  watei-s."  Some,  as  Bochart,  (Phaleg.  lib.  iv. 
cap.  2.)  translate — "  that  sendeth  images,  or  idols — by 
sea."  But  the  Hebrew  signifies,  properly,  ambassa- 
dors— dejjuted  tlijther  by  sea,  to  carry  the  noAvs  of 
Adonis's  resurrection.  [The  passage,  however,  has 
no  reference  to  Adonis.  See  (reseuius,  Commentar. 
in  loc.     R. 

From  these  remarks  we  are  ualiu-ally  led  to  inquire 
into  the  nature  of  the  cereinojiious  worship  of  Ado- 
nis, as  well  as  the  object  to  \vliich  they  referred. 
W'r  have  already  stated  that  th"  Mor^liij)  of  Adonis 
was  celebrated  at  Byblos,  in  Phrrnicia;  the  follow- 
ing is  Lucian's  account  of  the  al)()minatious  :  "The 
Syrians  alhrm,  fliat  what  the  boar  is  reported  to  have 
<lone  against  Adonis,  wjis  transacted  in  their  countiy  ; 
and  in  memory  of  this  accident  they  every  year  beat 
themselves,  and  lament,  juid  celebrate  frantic  rites; 
and  great  waitings  are  appointed  throughout  the 
countiy.  Afier  they  have  beat/n  themselves  and  la- 
mented, they  first  pert'orm  fnneral  obscfiuics  to  Ado- 
nis, as  to  one  dead  ;  and  afterwards,  on  a  following 
day,  they  feign  that  he  is  allse,  and  rtscended  into 
the  air,  [or  licaven,]  and  sliavc^  their  heads,  as  the 
Egyptians  do  at  the  death  of  Apis;  and  whatever 
women  will  not  consent  to  be  sliaved,  are  obliged, 
by  way  of  punishment,  to  prostitute  themselves  once 
to  strangers,  and  the  mon«'y  they  thus  earn  is  conse- 
crated to  Venus."  (See  Succoth  Bf.noth.)  We 
may  now  discern  tln^  flagrant  iniquity  connnitted, 
and  that  whicji  was  finilier   to  ln^  expected,  among 


the  Jewish  women  who  sat  weeping  for  Tammuz, 
that  is,  Adonis. 

The  fable  of  Adonis  among  the  Greeks  assumed 
a  somewhat  diiferent  form  from  that  which  it  bore 
in  the  East.  Among  the  Phoenicians  the  festival  of 
Adonis  took  placq^n  June,  (hence  called  the  mouth 
Tammuz,)  and  was  partly  a  season  of  lamentation, 
and  partly  of  rejoicuig;  see  above.  (Lucian  de  Dea 
Syra,  6.  seq.)  In  the  former,  the  women  gave  them- 
selves up  to  the  most  extravagant  wailings  for  the 
departed  god,  cut  off  their  hair,  or  offcird  up  their 
chastity  as  a  sacrifice  in  his  tenq)le.  The  solcnni 
burial  of  the  idol,  with  all  the  usual  ceremonies, 
concluded  the  days  of  mourning.  To  these  suc- 
ceeded, without  any  intermission,  several  days  of 
feasting  and  rejoicing,  on  account  of  the  returning 
god. — The  meaning  of  this  worship  seems  plainly  to 
be  symbolical  of  the  coiu^e  of  the  sun  and  his  influ- 
ence on  the  earth.  In  winter,  the  sun,  as  it  weje, 
does  not  act ;  for  the  inhabitants  of  the  earth,  l;e  is 
in  a  measure  lost,  and  all  vegetation  is  (itad  ;  but  in 
the  sunnner  months  he  diffuses  every  where  life  .•-•nd 
joy,  and  has,  as  it  were,  himself  returned  to  life.  See 
Creuzer's  Symbolik,  ii.  91.  Ed.  2.  Hug's  L'nter- 
such.  iib.  d.  Myth.  83  seq.     R. 

ADONI-ZEDEK,  i.  e.  lord  of  righteousness,  a  king 
of  Jerusalem,  who  made  an  alliance,  with  fbnr  other 
kuigs  of  the  Amorites,  against  Joshua.  A  great  bat- 
tle was  fought  at  Gibeon,  where  the  Lord  ai(!ed 
Israel  by  a  terrific  hail-storm,  and  Joshua  comniandc<l 
the  suu  to  stand  still.  The  five  kings  were  signally 
defeated,  and  havijig  hid  themselves  in  a  cave  at 
Makkedah,  were  taken  by  Joshua  and  put  to  dtath. 
Josh.  chap.  X.     R. 

ADOPTION  is  an  act  by  which  a  person  takes  a 
stranger  into  his  fiunily,  in  order  to  make  him  a  part 
of  it ;  acknowledges  him  for  his  sou,  and  constitutes 
him  heir  of  his  estate.  Adoption,  stricily  speaking, 
was  not  in  general  use  among  the  Hebrews,  as  Closes 
says  nothing  of  it  in  his  laws ;  and  Jacob's  adoptioji 
of  his  two  grandsons,  I'^^phraim  and  Manasseh,  (Gen. 
xlviii.  5.)  wiLS  a  kind  of  sul;stitutiou,  whereby  he  in- 
tended that  his  grandsons,  the  tv.o  sons  of  Joseph, 
shoidd  have  each  his  lot  in  Israel,  as  if  they  had 
been  his  own  sons:  '■'■  Ephraim  and  Manassch  iu-e 
mine ;  as  Reuben  and  Simeon  they  shall  be  mine." 
As  he  gives  no  inheritance  to  their  father  Josc]ih, 
the  effect  of  this  adoption  extendcnl  only  to  their  in- 
crease of  fortune  and  inheritance  ;  that  is,  instead  of 
one  ])art,  giving  them  (or  Joseph,  whoju  they  repre- 
sented) two  ])arts. 

Another  kind  of  adoption  in  ur^c  among  the  Israel- 
ites, consisted  in  the  oliligation  one  i)rotlu'r  was  under 
to  marry  the  widow  of  anotlx  r  who  died  without 
children  ;  so  that  the  ciiildren  l)orn  of  this  marriage 
were  regarded  as  belonging  to  the  deceased  brother, 
and  went  by  his  name,  Deut.  xxv.  5;  Matt.  xxii.  24. 
This  practice  was  also  customary  before  the  time  of 
Moses ;  as  we  see  in  the  history  of  Tamar,  (ieii. 
^xviii.  8.     Sec  Marriage. 

But  Scripture  aflbrds  instances  of  still  another 
kind  of  ado|)ti()n — tliat  of  a  father  having  a  daughter 
only,  and  adopting  her  children.  Thns,  ]  Chron.  ii. 
2L  Machir,  (grandson  of  Josei)h,)  called  "Father 
of  Gilcad,"  (that  is,  chief  of  that  town,)  gave  his 
daughter  to  Hezron,  ivho  took  her ;  and  he  teas  a  son 
of  sixty  years,  (sixty  years  of  age,)  and  she  bare  him 
Sescub  ;  and  Sef^ub  begat  Jair,  v\  ho  had  twenty-three 
cities  in  the  land  of  (Jilead,  which,  no  doubt,  was 
the  landed  estate  of  Alachir,  who  was  so  desirous  of 
a  male  heir.     Jair  acquired  a  number  of  other  cities, 


ADOPTION 


[  21  ] 


ADOPTION 


which  made  up  his  possessions  to  threescore  cities, 
(Josh.  xiii.  30 ;  1  Kings  iv.  13.)  however,  as  well  he, 
as  his  posterity,  and  their  cities,  instead  of  being 
reckoned  to  the  family  of  Judah,  as  they  ought  to 
have  been,  by  their  paternal  descent  from  Hezron, 
are  reckoned  as  sons  of  Machir,  the  father  of  Gilead. 
Nay,  more,  it  appears,  (Numbers  xxxii.  41.)  tJiat  this 
very  Jair,  who  was,  in  fact,  the  son  of  Segub,  the 
son  of  Hezron,  the  son  of  Judah,  is  expressly  called 
"  Jair,  the  sou  of  Manasseh,"  because  his  maternal 
great-grandfather  was  Machir,  the  son  of  Manasseh  ; 
luid  Jair,  inheriting  his  property,  \\'as  his  lineal  rep- 
resentative. So  that  we  should  never  have  suspected 
hiri  being  other  than  a  son  of  Manasseh,  naturally, 
had  only  the  passage  in  Numbers  been  extant. — In 
like  manner,  Sheshau,  of  the  tribe  of  Judah,  gives 
his  daughter  to  Jarha,  an  Egyptian  slave  ;  (whom 
he  hberated,  no  doubt,  on  that  occasion  ;)  the  pos- 
terity of  this  marriage,  hovvever,  Attai,  &c.  not  being 
reckoned  to  Jarha,  as  an  Egyptian,  but  to  Sheshan, 
as  an  Israelite,  and  succeeding  to  his  estate  and  sta- 
tion in  Israel,  1  Chron.  ii.  31,  &c.  So  we  read, 
that  Mordocai  adopted  Esther,  his  niece  ;  he  took  her 
to  himself  to  he  a  daughter  (Heb.  "/<;?•  a  daughter") 
This  being  in  the  time  of  Israel's  captivity,  Mordecai 
had  no  lauded  estate  ;  foi'  if  he  had  had  any,  he  would 
not  have  adopted  a  daughter,  but  a  son,  Esther  ii.  7. 
So  the  daughter  of  Pharaoh  adopted  Moses  ;  and  he 
li'Cis  to  her  for  a  son,  Exod.  ii.  10.  So  we  read,  Ruth 
iv.  17.  that  Naomi  had  a  son  ;  a  son  is  horn  to  JVaomi ; 
\\  hijn  indeed  it  was  the  son  of  Ruth,  and  only  a  dis- 
tant relation,  or,  in  fact,  none  at  all,  to  Naomi,  who 
v.'as  merely  the  wife  of  Eliinelech,  to  whom  Boaz  was 
a  kinsman,  but  not  the  neai-est  by  consanguinity.  In 
addition  to  these  instances,  we  have  in  Scripture  a 
passiige  which  includes  no  inconsiderable  difficulty 
in  regard  to  kindred ;  but  Avhich,  pei'haps,  is  allied  to 
some  of  these  principles.  The  reader  will  perceive 
it  at  once,  by  compai'ing  the  columns. 


2  Kings  xxiv.  17. 
"And  the  king  of  Ba- 
bylon made  I\Iattaniah, 
his  [Jehoiachiii^s]  fath- 
er's BROTHER,  king  in  his 
stead  ;  and  changed  his 
name  to  Zedckiah." 

1  Chron.  iii.  15. 
"  And  the  sons  of  Jo- 
siali  were,  the  first-born 
Johanan,  the  second  Jc- 
hoiakim,  the  third  Zedc- 
kiah," 

Jeremiah  i.  2,  n. 

"  In  the  days  of  Jehoia- 
kiin,  the  son  of  Josiah, 
king  of  Judah  ;  unto  the 
eleventh  year  of  Zedeld- 
ah,  the  son  of  Josiah,  king 
of  Judah."  Also,  chap, 
xxxvii.  1.  "And  king 
Zedekiah,  the  son  of  Jo- 
siah, reigned." 

Bij  this  it  appears  that 
Zedekiah  ivas  son  to  Jo- 
siah, the  father  of  Jehoia- 
kim  ;  and,  consequently, 
that  he  was  uncle  to  Je- 
hciachin. 


2  Chron.  xxxvi.  9,  10. 

"  Jehoiachiu  reigned 
three  months  and  ten 
days  in  Jerusalem,  a:id 
when  the  year  was  ex- 
pired, khig  Nebuchad- 
nezzar sent  and  brought 
him  to  Babylon,  v.ith  the 
goodly  vessels  of  the 
houso  of  the  Lord ;  and 
made  Zedekiali,  ins 
BROTHER,  king  over  Ju- 
dah and  Jerusalem." 

By  this  it  appears  that 
Zedekiah  ivas  son  to  Je- 
hoiakim. 


How  is  this  ?  Zedekiah  is  called,  in  Kings  and  J 
Chronicles,  "  the  son  of  Josiah  ;"  hi  2  Chronicles  he 
is  called,  "  the  son  of  Jehoiakim."  ...  By  way  of 
answer,  we  may  observe,  that  perhaps  Zedekiah  was 
son,  by  natural  issue,  of  Jehoiakim,  whereby  he  was 
grandson  to  Josiah ;  but  might  not  his  grandfather 
adopt  him  as  his  son  ?  We  find  Jacob  doing  this 
very  thing  to  Ephraim  and  Manasseh,  the  sons  of 
Joseph;  "as  Reuben  and  Simeon  they  shall  be 
mine  :"  and  they,  accordingly,  are  always  reckoned 
among  the  sons  of  Jacob.  In  like  manner,  if  Josiah 
adopted  Zedekiah,  his  grandson,  to  be  his  own  son, 
then  would  this  young  prince  be  reckoned  to  him  ; 
and  both  places  of  Scripture  are  correct ;  as  v.ell 
that  which  calls  him  son  of  his  real  father,  Jehoia- 
kim, as  that  which  calls  him  son  of  his  adopted 
father,  Josiah.  That  this  might  easily  be  the  fact, 
appears  by  the  dates;  for  Josiah  was  killed  a?i/e  A. 
D.  006,  at  which  time  Zedekiah  was  eight  or  nine 
years  old  ;  he  being  made  king  ante  A.  D.  594,  when 
he  was  twenty-one.  By  this  statement  the  whole 
ditliculty,  which  has  greatly  perplexed  the  learned, 
vanishes  at  once.  [This  mode  of  accounting  for  the 
apparent  discrepancy  in  question,  rests  wholly  on 
conjecture,  and  is  quite  unnecessary.  We  have 
only  to  take  the  word  brother  in  2  Chion.  xxxvi.  !(•. 
in  the  wider  and  not  unusual  sense  of  kinsman,  rela- 
tive, and  the  difiiculty  vanishes  much  more  easily 
than  before.  Thus  in  Gen.  xiv.  IG,  Abraham  is 
said  to  have  "  brought  back  his  brother  Lot,"  although 
Lot  was  really  his  nephew.  In  the  same  manner  iu 
Gen.  xxix.  12,  15,  Jacob  is  said  to  be  the  brother  of 
Laban,  his  uncle.     R. 

It  should  seem,  then,  that  in  any  of  the  instances 
above  quoted,  the  party  might  be  described,  very 
justly,  yet  very  contradictorily  : — as  thus. 


Jair  ^vas  son  of  Manasseh    ....     but, 

Jair  was  begotten  by  Judah. 

Attai  was  sou  of  Sheshan    ....     but, 

Attai  was  begotten  by  Jarha. 

Esther  was  daughter  of  Mordecai     .     but, 

Esther  was  begotten  by  Abihail. 

Moses  was  son  of  Pharaoh's  daughter    but, 

Moses  was  begotten  by  Amram. 

Obed  was  sou  of  Naomi      ....     but, 

Obed  was  the  child  of  Ruth. 


This  kind  of  double  pai'entage  would  be  very  per- 
plexmg  to  us,  as  we  have  no  custom  analogous  to  it ; 
and  possibly  it  might  be  somewhat  intricate  where  it 
was  practised  ;  hoAvevcr,  it  occurs  elsew  here,  beside 
in  Scripture. — We  have  a  singularly  strikhig  insjancc 
of  it  in  a  Palinyrenc  inscription,  copied  by  Mr. 
Wood,  &c.  who  remarks,  that  it  is  much  more  diffi- 
cult to  understand  than  to  translate  :  "  This,"  says 
he,  "will  appear  by  rendering  it  literally,  which  is 
easiest  done  into  liatin,"  thus  : 

"  Scnatus  populusque  Jllialamencr,i,  Pani  flium, 
Mocimi  nepotcm,  JEranis  pronepotcm,  JMathcs  abnepo- 
tcm;  ct  JEranem  patrem  ejus,  vtros  pios  ct  patricB  ami- 
cos,  ct  omnimodi placentes  pafri/E  patriisque  diis,  hono- 
ris gratia  :  JJnno  450,  mcnse  „^prili." 

"Our  difficulty  is,  that  .Eranes  is  called  the 
FATHER  of  Alialamenes  [whereas  Alialamenes  is  him- 
self called]  the  son  of  Panus."  Wood's  account  of 
Palmyra. 

The  sense  of  this  inscription  may  be  thus  ren- 
dei'ed : 

"  Erected  by  the  senate  and  the  people  to  A  liala- 
menes,  the  son  of  Panus,  grandson  of  Mocimus, 
great-grandson  of  /Eranes,  gi-eat-great-grandsou  of 


ADOPTION 


[22] 


ADOPTION 


Matlieus ;  and  to  yEraues,  hia  (that  is,  Alialainenes's) 
father  ;  pious  men,  and  friends  to  their  countrjV'  ^c- 

Now,  this  is  precisely  the  case  of  Joseph,  the  sup- 
posed father  of  Jesus  ; — of  whom  Mattliew  says, 
"  Jacob  begat  Joseph  ;"  but  Luke  calls  Joseph  "  the 
son  of  Heli ;" — unless,  as  is  more  probable,  Matthew 
gives  the  genealogy^  of  Joseph,  and  Luke  that  of 
Maiy.  This  contradiction  in  the  inscription  is  so 
very  glaring,  that  we  ai-e  persuaded  it  is  no  contra- 
cUction  at  all,  but  must  be  explained  on  principles  not 
yet  acknowledged  by  us ;  for  no  man  could  possiblj^, 
under  direction  of  the  senate  and  people,  in  a  public 
monumental  inscription,  and  in  the  compass  of  a  few 
short  lines,  call  Alialamenes  the  son  of  Panus,  and 
call  .Cranes  the  father  of  Jllialamenes,  without  per- 
ceiving the  gross  error  in  which  he  involved  as  well 
himself  as  his  countrj',  the  senate  and  people  his  em- 
ployers, and  ALL  his  readers ! 

Tliis  descent  struck  Dr.  Halifax  so  much,  who 
copied  the  same  inscription,  (Phil.  Trans.  No.  ccxvii. 
p.  83.)  that  he  observes  upon  it,  "  This  custom  of 
theirs,  of  running  up  their  genealogies  or  pedigrees 
to  the  4th  or  5th  generation,  shows  them  to  have 
borrowed  some  of  their  fashions  from  their  neigh- 
bors the  Jews,  with  whom  it  is  not  unhkely  they  had 
of  old  gi-eat  commerce  ;  and  perhaps  many  of  them 
were  descended  from  that  people,  Zenobia  herself 
being  said  to  have  been  a  Jewess ;  or  else  this  must 
have  been  the  manner  of  all  the  Eastern  nations." 
— The  reader  will  recollect  that  Palmyra  is  usually 
thought  to  be  the  "Tadmor  "  of  Solomon,  (1  Kings 
xix.  19  ;  2  Chron.  viii.  6.)  which  is  its  present  name. 

"The  date  is  that  of  the  Greeks,  from  the  death 
of  Alexander  the  Great ;  as  the  Syrians  generally 
date  ;  the  vei^  Christians,  at  this  day,  following  the 
same  usage.  It  is  450,  or  A.  D.  120."  So  that  it  is 
near  enough  to  the  age  of  Joseph  and  Mary.  But  it 
is  generally  thought  the  date  is  from  the  era  of  the 
Seleucidee,  some  years  later,  that  is,  beginning  ante 
A.  D.  312. 

We  think  this  yields  a  fair  argument,  and  worthy 
the  consideration  of  the  learned  among  the  Jews, 
who  have  objected  to  the  genealogies  in  the  evan- 
gelists. 

We  learn  from  various  writers  that  the  custom  of 
adoption  is  frequent  in  the  East.  Lady  Wortley 
Montaguf  says,  (Letter  xlii.)"Now  I  am  speaking 
of  their  law,  I  do  not  know  whether  I  have  ever 
mentioned  to  you  one  custom  peculiar  to  their 
countr}',  I  mean  Adoptio.v,  very  common  aviong  the 
Turks,  and  yet  more  among  the  Greeks  and  Armenians. 
Not  having  it  in  their  power  to  give  their  estate  to  a 
friend,  or  distant  relation,  to  avoid  its  falling  into  the 
grand  seignor's  treasury,  when  they  arc  not  likely  to 
have  any  chilcheu  of  their  o^\^l,  they  choose  some 
pretty   child   of   eith<r   sex,   amongst   the   meanest 

people,  AND  CARRY  THK  CHILD  AND  ITS  PARENTS  BE- 
FORE THE  CADI,  and  there  declare  they  receive  it  for 
their  heir.  The  ])arents  at  the  same  time  renounce 
all  future  claim  to  it ;  a  writing  is  drawn  and  ivit- 
ncssed,  and  a  child  thus  adopted  cannot  be  disin- 
herited. Yet  I  have  seen  some  common  beggars 
that  have  refused  to  part  with  thfir  children  in  this 
manner  to  some  of  the  richest  among  the  Greeks; 
(so  powerful  is  the  instinctive  affectiou  that  is  natural 
to  parents  ;)  though  the  adf>pting  fatiiers  are  geneially 
very  tender  to  tliose  children  of  their  souls,  as  they 
call  them.  I  own  tliis  custom  |)l('ases  me  much 
better  than  our  absurd  one  of  following  our  name. 
Methinks  it  is  much  more  reasonable  to  make  happy 
and  rich  an  infant  whom  I  educate  after  mv  own 


manner,  brought  up  (in  the  Turkish  phrase)  upon  my 
knees,  and  who  has  learned  to  look  upon  me  with  a 
filial  respect,  than  to  give  an  estate  to  a  creature 
without  merit  or  relation  to  me,  other  than  that  of  a 
few  letters.  Yet  this  is  an  absurdity  we  see  frequently 
practised." 

W^e  request  the  reader  to  note,  in  this  extract,  the 
phrase  "  brought  up  upon  the  parents^  knees."  Will 
this  give  a  detei-minate  sense  to  the  awkward  ex- 
pression (in  our  version,  at  least)  of  Rachel,  "My 
maid  Bilhah  shall  bear  upon  my  knees  T^  what  can  we 
understand  by  this  phrase  ?  but  may  we  take  it — 
"shall  bear  (children)  for  my  knees,"  that  is,  to  be 
nursed  by  me,  to  be  reared  by  me  as  if  I  were  their 
natural  mother — "  an  infant  whom  I  educate  after 
my  own  manner,"  as  Lady  Montague  explains  it. 
This  seems  a  proper  rendering  of  the  passage.  We 
think  also  the  ])hrase  (Gen.  1.  23.)  "the  children  of 
Machir,  the  son  of  Manasseh,  were  brought  up  on 
Joseph's  knees,"  expresses  a  greater  degree  of  fond- 
ness now  than  it  has  done  before  ; — was  not  this 
something  like  an  adoption  ?  does  it  not  imply  Jo- 
seph's partiality  for  Manasseh  ?  which  is  perfectly 
consistent  with  his  behavior  to  the  dying  Jacob, 
(Gen.  xlviii.  18.)  when  he  wished  his  "father  to  put 
his  right  hand  on  the  head  of  Manasseh,  the  eldest — 
to  whom,  and  to  whose  jiosterity,  he  still  maintains 
his  warmest  affection,  notwithstanding  the  prophetic 
notice  of  Ephraim's  future  precedence  given  him  by 
the  venerable  patriarch. 

Among  the  Mahommedans,  the  ceremony  of  adop- 
tion is  sometimes  performed  by  causing  the  adojjted 
to  pass  through  the  shirt  of  the  person  who  adopts 
him.  Hence,  to  adopt  is  among  the  Turks  expressed 
by  saying — "  to  draw  any  one  through  one's  shirt ;" 
and  they  call  an  adopted  sou,  Akietogli,  the  son  of 
another  life — because  he  was  not  begotten  in  this. 
(D'Herbelot,  Bibl.  Orient,  p.  47.)  Something  like 
this  is  observable  among  the  Hebrews :  Elijah  udojjts 
Elisha  by  throwing  his  mantle  over  him,  (1  Kings 
xix.  19.)  and  when  Elijah  was  carried  off"  in  a  fiery 
chariot,  his  mantle,  which  he  let  fall,  was  taken  up 
by  Elisha  his  disci|)le,  his  spiritual  son,  and  adoj)ted 
successor  in  the  office  of  prophet,  2  Kings  ii.  15.  It 
should  be  remarked  also,  that  Elisha  asks  not  merely 
to  be  adopted,  (for  that  he  had  been  already,)  but  to 
be  treated  as  the  elder  sou,  to  have  a  double  portion 
(the  elder  son's  prerogative)  of  the  spirit  conferred 
upon  him. 

There  is  another  method  of  ratifying  the  act  of 
adoption,  however,  which  is  worthy  of  notice,  as  it 
tends  to  illustrate  some  ])assages  in  the  sacred  writ- 
ings. The  following  is  from  Pitts : — "  I  Avas  bought 
by  an  old  bachelor;  I  wanted  nothing  with  him; 
meat,  drink,  and  clothes,  and  money,  I  had  enough. 
After  I  had  lived  with  him  about  a  year,  he  made 
his  pilgrimage  to  Mecca,  and  <-arried  me  with  him; 
but  l)ef()re  we  came  to  Alexanchia,  he  was  taken 
sick,  and  thinking  verily  he  should  die,  having  a 
woven  girdle  about  his  middle,  under  his  sash, 
(which  they  usually  wear,)  in  which  was  much  gold, 
and  also  my  letter  of  freedom,  (which  he  intended 
to  give  me,  when  at  Mecca,)  he  took  it  off,  and 
bid  me  put  it  on  about  me,  and  took  my  girdle, 
and  put  it  on  himself  My  patron  would  speak,  on 
occasion,  in  my  behalf,  saying.  My  son  will  never  run 
away.  He  seldom  called  me  any  thing  but  *07i,  and 
bought  a  Dutch  boy  to  do  the  work  of  the  house, 
who  attended  upon  me,  and  oljeyed  my  orders  as 
much  as  his.  I  otU'ii  saw  several  bags  of  his  money, 
a  great  part  of  wliich  he  said  he  would  leave  me. 


ADR 


[23] 


ADR 


He  would  say  to  me,  '  Thxtugh  I  was  never  married 
myself,  yet  you  shall  be  [married]  in  a  little  time,  and 
then  YOUR  children  shall  be  mine.'"  Travels  to 
Mecca,  p.  225. 

This  circumstance  seems  to  illustrate  the  conduct 
of  Moses,  who  clothed  Eleazar  in  Aaron's  sacred 
vestments,  when  that  high-priest  was  about  to  be 
gathered  to  his  fathers ;  indicating  thereby,  that  Ele- 
azar succeeded  in  the  functions  of  the  priesthood, 
and  was,  as  it  were,  adopted  to  exercise  that  dignity. 
The  Lord  told  Shebna,  captain  of  the  temple,  that 
he  would  deprive  him  of  his  honorable  station,  and 
substitute  Eliakim,  son  of  Hilkiah:  (Isaiah  xxii.  21.) 
^^  I  will  clothe  him  with  thy  robe,  saith  the  Lord,  and 
strengthen  him  with  thy  girdle,  and  I  will  commit 
thy  government  into  his  hand."  And  Paul  in  seve- 
ral places  says,  that  Christians — ^^put  on  the  Lord 
Jesus;  that  thej put  on  the  neiv  »ia?i,"  to  denote  then' 
adoption  as  sons  of  God,  Rom.  xiii.  14;  Gal.  iii.  27; 
Ephes.  iv.  24 ;  Col.  iii.  10.  The  saiue,  John  i.  12 ;  I 
Epist.  John  iii.  2.  (See  Son.)  When  Jonathan 
made  a  covenant  with  David,  he  stripped  himself  of 
his  girdle  and  his  robe,  and  put  them  upon  his  friend, 
1  Sam.  xviii.  3. 

By  the  propitiation  of  our  Saviour,  and  the  com- 
munication of  his  merit,  sinners  become  adopted 
children  of  God.  Thus  Paul  writes,  "Ye  have  re- 
ceived the  spirit  of  adoption,  whereby  we  cry,  Abba, 
Father."  Rom.  viii.  15. — "We  wait  for  the  adoption 
of  the  children  of  God."  And,  "  God  sent  forth  his 
Son  to  redeem  them  that  were  under  the  law,  that 
we  might  receive  the  adoption  of  sons."  Gal.  iv. 
4,5. 

ADORAIM,  a  city  in  the  southern  part  of  the 
tribe  of  Judah,  fortified  by  Rehoboam,  2  Chron.  xi. 
9.  In  the  time  of  Josephus,  it  belonged  to  the  Idii- 
ineans.  Ant.  viii.  3;  xiii.  17.  Compare  1  Mace, 
xiii.  20.     R. 

ADORAM,  see  Adoniram. 

ADRA,  see  Arad. 

I.  ADRAMMELECH,  magnificent  king,  son  of 
Sennacherib,  king  of  Assyria,  (Isaiah  xxx^^i.  38 ;  2 
Kings  xix.  37.)  who,  upon  returning  to  Nineveh, 
after  his  fatal  expedition  into  Judea,  against  Heze- 
kiah,  was  killed  by  his  two  sons,  Adrammelecli  and 
Sharezer,  who  fled  to  the  mountains  of  Armenia, 
A.  M.  3291,  ante  A.  D.  713. 

II.  ADRAMMELECH,  one  of  the  gods  adored 
by  the  inhabitants  of  Sepliarvaim,  who  settled  in 
Samaria,  in  the  stead  of  those  Israelites  who  were 
carried  beyond  the  Euphrates.  They  made  their 
children  pass  through  fire  in  honor  of  this  false 
deity,  and  of  another  called  Anammelech,  2  Kings 
xvii.  31.  The  Rabbins  say,  that  Adrammelecli  was 
represented  under  the  form  of  a  mule.  The  more 
general  opinion  is,  that  Adrammelecli  represented 
the  sun,  and  Anammelech  the  moon.  At  any  rate, 
they  seem  to  be  the  personifications  of  some  of  the 
heavenly  bodies.  See  Gesenius,  Thes.  Heb.  p.  29, 
Comm.  lib.  Jes.  iv.  p.  347. 

ADRAMYTTIUM,  a  maritime  town  of  Mysia,  in 
Asia  Minor,  opposite  to  the  island  of  Lesbos,  (Acts 
xxvii.  2.)  and  an  Athenian  colony.  It  is  now  called 
Adramyti.  From  some  of  the  medals  struck  in  this 
town,  it  appears  that  it  celebrated  the  worship  of 
Castor  and  Pollux,  (Acts  xxviii.  11.)  as  also  that  of 
Jupiter  and  Minerva. 

ADRIA,  an  ancient  city  of  Italy,  on  the  Tartaro, 
in  the  state  of  Venice.  It  gave  name  to  the  Adri- 
atic sea,  or  the  sea  of  Adria,  Acts  xxvii.  27. 

It  appears  from  the  narrative  of  Paul's  voyage, 


just  referred  to,  that,  ahhough  the  name  of  Adria  be- 
longed in  a  proper  sense  only  to  the  sea  withui  the 
Adriatic  gulf,  it  was  given  in  a  looser  manner  to  a 
larger  extent,  including  the  Sicilian  and  Ionian  sea. 
Thus  also  Ptolemy  says,  (lib.  iii.  cap.  4.)  that  Sicily 
was  bounded  east  by  the  Adriatic,  and  (cap.  16.)  that 
Crete  was  washed  on  the  west  by  the  Adriatic  sea  ; 
and  Strabo  says,  (lib.  vii.)  that  the  Ionian  gulf  is  a 
part  of  that  which  in  his  time  was  called  the  Adri- 
atic sea. 

ADRIAN,  the  fifteenth  emperor  of  Rome.  This 
prince  is  not  mentioned  in  the  New  Testament,  but 
some  interpreters  are  of  opinion  that  he  is  alluded 
to  in  Rev.  viii.  10.  11.  where  Barchochebas,  the  fa- 
mous Jewish  impostor,  is  thought  to  be  foretold,  [but 
without  sufficient  grounds.  R.]  The  Jews  having 
created  several  disturbances  in  the  reign  of  Trajan, 
Adrian  sent  a  colony  to  Jerusalem,  for  the  purpose 
of  keeping  them  in  subjection,  and  also  built  within 
the  walls  of  the  city  a  temple  to  Jupiter.  Not  en- 
during that  a  strange  colony  should  occupy  their 
city,  and  introduce  a  foreign  religion,  the  JeAvs  be- 
gan to  mutiny,  about  A.  D.  134,  and  Barchochebas, 
who  about  the  same  time  made  his  appearance  under 
the  assumed  character  of  the  Messias,  animated 
them  in  their  rebellion  against  the  Romans.  The 
presence  of  Adrian,  who  was  at  this  time  in  Syria 
or  Egj^pt,  restrained  in  some  measure  their  proceed- 
ings, but  after  his  return  to  Rome,  they  fortified 
several  places,  and  prepared  for  a  vigorous  resist- 
ance. Their  proceedings,  and  the  great  increase  in 
the  numbers  of  the  seditious,  induced  Adrian  to 
send  Tinnius  Rufus  into  Judea.  The  Roman  gene- 
ral marched  against  them,  and  a  di'eadful  slaughter 
ensued.  The  Jews  fought  desperately,  and  Rufus 
having  been  defeated  in  several  conflicts,  Adrian 
sent  to  his  assistance  Julius  Severus,  one  of  the 
gi-eatest  generals  of  his  age.  Severus  besieged  Be- 
ther  or  Bethoron,  where  the  Jews  had  entrenched 
themselves,  which  he  at  length  took,  and  put  many 
to  the  sword.  Others  were  sold  as  cattle,  at  the  fairs 
of  Mamre  and  Gaza ;  and  the  rest  were  sent  into 
Egypt,  being  forbidden,  imder  a  severe  penalty,  to 
return  to  their  own  city.  Jerome  (in  Zach.  xi.  7.) 
applies  to  this  calamity  of  the  Jews  the  words  of 
Zachariah:  "I  will  feed  the  flock  of  slaughter." 
And  the  Hebrew  doctors  apply  Jer.  xxxi.  15  :  "A 
voice  was  heard  in  Ramah,  lamentation  and  bitter 
weeping;  Rachel  weeping  for  her  children,"  &c. 
The  JeAvs  purchased  with  a  sum  of  money  the  lib- 
erty, not  of  entering  Jerusalem,  but  only  of  looking 
from  a  distance  on  it,  and  going  to  lament  its  fall  and 
desolation.     See  ^lias. 

The  number  of  Roman  soldiers  and  auxiliary 
troops  that  perished  in  the  course  of  this  war,  which 
lasted,  as  Jerome  and  the  Rabbins  say,  three  years 
and  a  half,  (Hieronym.  in  Dan.  ix.  Basnage  Hist,  des 
Juifs,  tom.  ii.  page  133.)  or,  as  others  suppose,  only 
two  years,  was  very  great.  Dio  remarks,  that  the 
emperor,  in  Avriting  of  the  termination  of  the  war  to 
the  senate,  did  not  use  the  common  fonii  in  the  be- 
giiming  of  his  letters,  "If  you  and  your  children  aro 
in  good  health,  I  am  glad  of  it ;  I  and  the  army  are 
in  good  condition ;"  in  consequence  of  the  great 
losses  he  had  sustained.     Dio.  lib,  69.  page  794. 

After  this  revolt,  Adrian  finished  the  building  of 
Jerusalem,  and  changed  its  name  to  ^lia,  Avhich 
see. 

ADRIEL,  son  of  Barzillai,  married  Merab,  daugh- 
ter of  Saul,  who  had  been  promised  to  David,  1 
Sam.  XA'iii.  19.     Adriel  had  five  sons  by  her,  who 


ADULTERY 


[24  ] 


ADULTERY 


were  delivered  to  the  Gibeonites  to  be  put  to  death 
before  the  Lord,  to  avenge  the  cruelty  of  Saul,  their 
grandfather,  against  the  Gibeonites.  2  Sam.  xxi.  8 
imports,  that  these  five  were  sons  of  ^Vichal  and 
Adriel ;  but  either  the  name  of  3Iichal  is  put  for 
Merab,  sister  of  Michal,  or,  more  probably,  Michal 
had  adopted  the  sons  of  her  sister  Merab,  who  was 
either  dead,  or  incapable,  fiom  some  cause,  of  bring- 
ing up  her  children.  Perhaps,  too,  both  sisters  may 
have  borne  the  name  of  Miolial. 

ADULLAM,  a  city  in  the  valley  or  plain  of  Juilah, 
the  king  of  which  was  killed  l)y  Joshua,  Josii.xii.  15. 
XV.  35.  Eusebius,  mistaking  it  for  Eglozi,  places  it 
ten  miles  east  of  Eleuthorojiolis  ;  Jerome,  eleven. 
Rehoboam  rebuilt  and  fortified  it,  [2  Chron.  xi.  7.) 
and  Judas  Maccabreus  encamped  in  the  adjacent 
plain,  2  ]Mac.  xii.  38.  When  David  withdrew  from 
Achish,  king  of  Gath,  he  retired  to  the  caveof  Adul- 
lum,  1  Sam.  xxii.  1 ;  2  Sam.  xxiii.  13. 

ADULTERY  is  a  criminal  connection  between 
persons  who  ai-e  engaged  to  keep  themselves  wholly 
to  othei-s  ;  and  in  this  it  differs  from,  and  exceeds  the 
guilt  of,  fornication,  which  is  the  same  intercoui-se 
between  unmarried  persons.  Fornication  maj'  l)e, 
ill  some  sense,  covered  by  a  subsequent  marriage  of 
the  parties  ;•  but  adultery  cannot  be  so  healed  ;  and 
hence  it  is  used  i)y  God  to  signify  the  dejiarting  of 
his  OA^ai  people  (that  is,  of  those  who  Avere  under  en- 
gagements to  him)  from  his  worship  to  that  of  other 
gods,  to  associate  with  strangers. — Hence  God  com- 
pares himself  to  a  liusband  jealous  of  his  honor ; 
and  hence  the  adoption  of  vile  opinions  and  practices 
is  compared  to  the  worst  kind  of  prostitution.  It  is 
an  argument  ad  hom{7icm,  not  merely  to  the  Jews, 
but  to  human  nature  at  large,  against  the  flagitious 
wickedness  of  forsaking  God  and  his  worship  for 
false  gods. 

By  the  law  of  Moses,  adultery  was  punished  with 
death,  lx)th  in  the  man  and  the  woman  who  were 
guilty  of  it,  (Lev.  xx.  10.)  and  a  most  extraordinary 
ordeal  was  prescrilied  for  the  trial  of  a  woman  whose 
husband  suspected  her  of  this  crime.  After  having 
been  duly  admonished  in  private,  to  induce  her  to 
confess  her  infidelity,  she  was  brought  before  the 
Sanhedrim  Jit  Jerusalem,  where  various  expedients, 
of  a  very  solemn  and  imposing  nature,  were  resorted 
to  for  the  .same  puqiose.  If  she  still  maintained  her 
innocence  of  the  charge,  and  lier  husband  continued 
to  press  it,  she  was  then  compelled  to  drink  the  wa- 
ters of  jealousy,  as  yjrescribcd  in  Numb.  v.  14,  seq. 

This  mode  of  trial  or  proof,  wiiich  is  described  by 
.Closes  in  so  exact  and  circumstantial  a  manner,  is 
one  of  the  most  cxtraordinarj'  things  that  can  be 
imagined,  and  could  not  iie,.j)ractised  without  a  con- 
stant and  perpetual  miracle.  It  cannot  be  doubted, 
but  that  the  wiser  men  of  the  nation  must  have  dis- 
approved of  it,  and  that  Moses  allowed  it  to  the  Jews 
only  liccause  of  the  hardness  of  their  iiearts  ;  having 
jM-obably  been  used  to  see  such  kinds  of  trials  among 
the  Egyptians,  or  other  nations,  and  fearing  m  orse, 
or  greater  Aiolence,  if  this  had  not  been  permitted. 

It  is  well  known  that  the  Eastern  people  have  long 
had  a  custom  of  making  those  undergo  several  kinds 
of  trial,  whom  they  suspected  of  crimes,  the  discov- 
ery of  which  could  not  be  effected  in  the  usual  wav. 
The  most  conmion  of  these  juoofs  are  those  by  red- 
hot  iron,  and  by  boiling  water.  They  are  veiy  fre- 
quent at  this  time  in  China.  When  a  man  is  accused 
of  a  capital  crime,  he  is  asked  whether  lie  is  willing 
to  undergo  either  of  these  trials.  If  he  submit,  they 
put  upon  his  hand  seven  leaves  from  a  certain  tree, 


and  upon  those  leaves  they  clap  a  red-hot  iron.  Ho 
holds  it  there  for  a  certain  time,  and  then  throws  it 
on  the  ground.  They  immediately  piU  his  hand  into 
a  leather  ])ouch,  which  they  seal  with  the  seal  of  the 
magistrate.  At  the  end  of  three  days,  if  the  hand  is 
found  to  be  sound  and  well,  he  is  declared  innocent, 
and  his  accuser  is  condemned  to  pay  a  mark  of  gold 
to  the  use  of  the  prince.  The  trial  by  v.ater  is  per- 
formed by  throwing  a  ring  into  a  kettle  of  boihng 
water:  if  the  person  accused  can  take  it  out  from 
thence  with  his  hand,  mthout  sufl^ering  any  harm, 
he  is  pronounced  innocent.  ("A  Voyage  to  China, 
in  the  Ninth  Age,"  page  37.  notes,  page  159.  Comp. 
Asiat.  Research,  vol.  iv.)  This  way  of  proof  was 
not  unknown  to  Sopliocles,  (Antigon.  vcr.  274.)  and 
it  was  long  used  among  Christians  in  Europe,  (Du- 
cange.  Lexic.  I'^errum  candens ;  Juret.  in  Not.  ad 
Yvon.  Carimt ;  Baluz.  in  Not.  ad  Capitular.)  who 
even  pretended  to  make  it  pass  for  a  harmless  and  a 
religious  rite  ;  and  Ave  find  masses  and  prayers  said 
on  these  occasions.  The  CalTres  oblige  those  who 
are  suspectedof  any  capital  crime  to  swallow  poison, 
to  hck  a  hot  iron,  or  to  drink  boiling  water  in  which 
certain  bitter  herbs  have  been  infused.  The  negroes 
of  Loango  and  of  Giunea,  the  Siamese  and  other  In- 
dians, have  the  same  superstition,  and  are  thoroughly 
persuaded  that  these  trials  do  no  harm  to  any  who 
are  innocent.  IVIr.  Hastings,  in  his  account  of  the 
ordeal  trials  of  the  Hindoos,  states  the  trial  by  tlie 
cosha  to  be  as  folioAvs  ; — "  Tlie  accused  is  made  to 
drink  three  draughts  of  the  water,  in  which  the  im- 
ages of  the  sun,  of  Devi,  and  other  deities,  have  been 
washed  for  that  purpose ;  and  if,  within  fourteen 
days,  he  has  any  sickness,  or  indisposition,  his  crime 
is  considered  as  proved."  vVsiatic  Researches,  vol. 
i.  p.  79. 

The  precise  import  of  this  ceremony  can  be  only 
matter  of  conjecture.  It  seems  to  have  contained 
the  essence  of  an  oath,  varied  for  the  purpose  of  pe- 
culiar solemnity  ;  so  that  a  woman  would  naturally 
hesitate  to  comply  with  such  a  form,  understood  to 
be  an  appeal  to  Heaven  of  the  most  solemn  kind, 
and  to  be  accompanied,  in  case  of  perjuiy,  by  most 
painfid  and  fatal  effects.  From  Mungo  Park,  we 
learn  that  a  similar  ordeal  still  obtains  in  Africa,  as 
the  following  passages  from  his  journal  serve  to 
show. 

"  At  Paniserile,  one  of  our  slatecs  (slave  merchants) 
returning  to  his  native  toAAii,  as  soon  as  he  had  seated 
himself  on  a  mat,  by  the  threshold  of  his  door,  a 
young  woman  (his  intended  bride)  brought  a  little 
water  in  a  calabash,  and  kneeling  down  before  him, 
desired  him  to  wash  his  hands;  wlien  lie  had  done 
this,  the  girl,  with  a  tear  of  joy  sparkling  in  her  eyes, 
drank  the  v/ater ;  this  being  considered  as  the  great- 
est proof  she  could  possibly  give  him  of  her  fidelity 
and  attachment."  Travels,  ji.  347.  This  action  of 
the  woman  Ave  understand  to  be  a  kitid  of  oath  ;  </.  d. 
"May  this  Avater  prove  poison  to  me  if  I  ImA'e  been 
unfaithful  to  my  al)sent  husband."  Tliis  th<'  innocent 
might  drink  "with  a  tear  of  joy,"  Avhile  a  guilty 
AA'oman  Avould  probably  have  avoided  such  a  trial 
Avith  the  utmost  snlicitude.  Another  instance  is  still 
more  ajiplicable.  "At  Koolkorro,  my  landlord 
brought  out  liis  Avriting-board,  or  Avalha,  that  I  might 
Avrite  hini  a  saphie,  to  protect  him  from  Avicked  men. 
I  Avrote  the  board  full,  from  top  to  bottom,  on  both 
sides;  and  my  landlord,  to  l)e  certain  of  having  the 
whole  force  of  the  charm,  Avashed  the  writing  from 
the  board  into  a  calabash,  Avith  a  little  Avater,  and 
having  said  a  fcAV  prayers  OA'er  it,  drank  this  power- 


ADULTERY 


[25  ] 


JELl 


ful  draught ;  after  which,  lest  a  single  word  should 
escape,  he  hcked  the  board  until  it  was  quite  dry." 
(Page  23G.)  Here  we  find  the  sentiments  expressed 
in  writing  supposed  to  be  communicated  to  water ; 
and  that  water,  being  drank,  is  supposed  to  commu- 
nicate the  effect  of  those  sentiments  to  him  who 
drank  it.  This  drinking,  then,  is  a  symbolical  action. 
In  like  manner,  we  suppose,  when  the  priest  of  Is- 
rael wrote  the  curses  in  a  sepher,  (book,  roll,)  and 
washed  those  curses  into  tlie  water  that  was  to  be 
drank,  the  water  was  understood  to  be  hnpregnated, 
as  it  were — to  be  tinctured  with  the  curse,  the  acri- 
mony of  which  it  received  ;  so  that  now  it  was  met- 
aphorically bitter,  containing  the  curse  in  it.  The 
drinking  of  this  curse,  though  conditionally  effective 
or  non-efiective,  could  not  but  have  a  great  effect  on 
the  woman's  mind  ;  and  an  answerable  effect  on  tlie 
huslmnd's  jealousy  ;  which  it  was  designed  to  cure 
and  to  dissipate. 

It  is  worthy  of  notice,  that  if  a  husband  loved  his 
wife  too  well  to  part  Avith  her  on  suspicion,  or  if  a 
woman  loved  her  husband  so  well  as  to  risk  this  ex- 
posure, to  satisfy  him,  then  the  rite  might  take  place  ; 
l)ut  if  either  did  not  choose  to  hazard  this  experi- 
uient,  the  way  of  divorce  was  open,  was  much 
easier,  much  less  hazardous,  more  private,  more 
honorable,  and  perhaps  more  satisfactory. 

Michaelis  has  well  remarked,  on  this  ceremony, 
that  to  have  given  so  accurate  a  definition  of  the 
punishment  that  God  intended  to  inflict,  and  still 
more.  One  that  consisted  of  such  a  rare  disease, 
would  have  been  a  step  of  incomprehensible  bold- 
ness in  a  legislator,  who  pretended  to  have  a  divine 
mission,  if  he  was  not,  with  the  most  assured  con- 
viction, conscious  of  its  reahty.  If  in  any  case  the 
oath  of  j)urgation  had  been  taken,  and  the  accused 
remained  unaffected  by  the  punishment,  and  yet 
af\envards  had  been  legally  convicted  of  the  crime,  all 
the  world  would  have  noticed  the  fraud  of  the  pre- 
tended prophet,  and  looked  upon  his  religion  and 
laws  as  mere  falsehood.  Even  the  adulteress  her- 
self, who  at  first  trembled  at  taking  such  an  oath, 
would,  in  the  event  of  not  exjieriencing  the  threat- 
ened punishment,  soon  look  upon  religion  as  an  im- 
posture, and,  in  process  of  time,  become  impudent 
enough  to  avow  her  crimes  publicly,  and  to  state  par- 
ticulars, merely  with  a  view  to  prostitute  religion, 
and  bring  it  into  disgrace.  At  any  rate,  she  would 
be  very  apt,  in  private,  with  her  paramours,  to  make 
merry  at  the  expense  of  Moses,  and  his  divine  laws, 
and  thus  a  contempt  of  religion  woidd  spread  more 
and  more  widely  every  day. 

The  Jews,  having  surprised  a  woman  in  adulter}', 
brought  her  to  our  Saviour,  (John  viii.  3.)  and  asked 
him  what  they  should  do  Avith  her,  Moses  having 
ordered  women  guilty  of  this  crime  to  be  stoned. 
This  they  said,  tempting  him,  to  find  accusation 
against  him.  Jesus,  stooping  down,  as  thougli  he 
heard  them  not,  Avi-ote  with  his  finger  on  the  gi-ound, 
and  then,  somewhat  raising  himself,  he  said,  "  Let 
him  who  is  without  sin  cast  the  first  stone ;"  and, 
stooping  again,  resumed  his  writing  on  the  ground, 
seeming  to  take  no  notice  of  those  around  him,  but 
leaving  them  to  the  operations  of  their  own  reflec- 
tions and  consciences.  Her  accusers,  self-convicted, 
retired  one  afler  another,  beginning  with  the  eldest. 
Jesus,  raising  himself  up,  and  seeing  himself  left 
alone  with  the  woman,  said,  "  Woman,  where  are 
thy  accusers  ?  Has  no  one  condemned  thee?"  She 
said,  "  No,  Lord."  Jesus  answered  her,  "  Neither 
do  I  (now)  condemn  thee ;  go,  and  sin  no  more." 
4 


From  this  narrative,  many  have  supposed,  that  the 
woman's  accusers  were  themselves  guilty  of  the 
crime  which  they  alleged  against  her ;  and  as  it  was 
not  just  to  receive  the  accusations  of  those  who  are 
guilty  of  the  evil  of  which  they  accuse  others,  our 
Lord  dismissed  them  with  the  most  obvious  propri- 
ety. But  it  seems  enough  to  suppose,  that  the  con- 
sciences of  these  witnesses  accused  them  of  such 
crimes  as  restrained  their  hands  from  punishing  the 
adulteress,  who,  perhaps,  was  guilty,  in  this  instance, 
of  a  less  enormous  sin  than  they  were  conscious  of, 
though  of  another  kind.  It  may  be,  too,  that  their 
malevolent  design  to  entrap  our  Lord,  was  appealed 
to  by  him,  and  was  no  slight  cause  of  their  confu- 
sion, if  they  wished  to  found  a  charge  which  might 
affect  his  hfe.  Their  intended  murder  was  worse 
than  the  woman's  adultery  ;  especially  if,  as  there  is 
reason  to  believe,  the  woman  had  suffered  some 
violence. 

Selden  and  Fagius  consider  this  case  as  that  sup- 
posed by  Moses  in  Deut.  xxii.  23 :  "  If  a  damsel,  a 
virgin,  be  betrothed  to  a  husband,  and  a  man  find 
her  in  the  city,  and  he  with  her,  then  ye  shall  bring 
them  both  unto  the  gate  of  that  city,  and  ye  shafi 
stone  them  with  stones  that  they  die ;  the  damsel, 
because  she  cried  not,  being  in  the  city,  and  the  man, 
because  he  hath  humbled  his  neighbor's  wife." 

The  genuineness  of  this  narrative  has  been  much 
disputed,  in  consequence  of  its  having  been  omitted 
in  many  ancient  MSS.,  and  being  much  varied,  in  its 
position,  in  others.  The  arguments  in  its  favor, 
however,  are  generally  admitted  to  prep^derate.  It 
is  found  in  the  greater  part  of  the  MSS.  extant,  of  all 
the  recensions  or  families  ;  and  Tatian  and  Ammo- 
nius  (A.  D.  172,  and  220)  inserted  it  in  their  Harmo- 
nies. The  author  of  the  Apostolical  Constitutions, 
(lib.  ii.  cap.  24.)  and  the  Synopsis  ascribed  to  Atha- 
nasius,  have  it.  Jerome,  Justin,  Ambrose,  and  the 
Latin  fathers  received  it,  though  they  were  not  un- 
acquainted with  the  differences  among  the  Greek 
copies.  Justin  conjectures,  that  some  Christian  of 
weak  judgment  expunged  it,  lest  our  Saviour  should 
be  thought  to  authorize  the  crime  of  adultery  by  for- 
giving it  so  easily.  Many  Syriac  manuscripts,  of 
good  antiquity,  read  it ;  and  it  is  found  in  all  printed 
copies,  Greek  and  Latin.  Griesbach  and  Knanp 
print  the  passage  between  [  ]  as  dubious ;  yet,  on  the 
whole,  admit  it.  For  a  review  of  all  the  arguments 
on  both  sides,  see  Kuinoel,  Comm.  in  loc. 

ADUMMIM,  a  town  and  mountain  on  the  border 
of  Judah  and  Benjamin,  (Josh.  xv.  7.  xviii.  17.)  west 
of  Jericho. 

ADVOCATE,  TTaoctyJ.t^-ioc,  signifies  one  who  ex- 
horts, defends,  comforts ;  also  one  who  prays  or  in- 
tercedes for  another.  It  is  an  appellation  given  to 
the  Holy  Spirit  by  our  Saviour,  (John  xiv.  16 ;  xv. 
26 ;  XA'i.  7.)  and  to  our  Saviour  himself,  by  John, 
1  Epist.  ii.  1.     See  Paraclete. 

iELIA  CAPITOLINA,  the  name  given  to  Jeru- 
salem, when  the  emperor  Adrian,  (whose  family 
name  was  ^Elius,)  about  A.  D.  134,  settled  a  Roman 
colony  there,  and  banished  the  Jews,  prohibiting 
their  return  upon  pain  of  death.  We  are  assured, 
that  Tinnius  Rufus,  or,  as  the  Rabbins  call  him, 
Turannus,  or  Tumus  Rufus,  ploughed  up  the  spot 
of  ground  on  which  the  temple  had  stood.  There 
are  medals  of  Adrian  extant,  struck  upon  this  occa- 
sion ;  on  the  reverse  of  which  Judea  is  represented 
as  a  woman,  holding  two  naked  children  by  her, 
and  sacrificing  upon  an  altar.  On  another  medal, 
we  see  Judea  kneeling,  submitting  to  the  emperor. 


^RA 


[26] 


AFR 


and  three  children  begging  mercy  of  him.  Jerome 
states,  tliat  in  his  lime,  the  Jews  bougln  from  the  Ro- 
man soldiers  permission  to  look  on  Jerusalem, and  to 
shed  tears  over  it.  (Paulin.  ad  Sever.  Ep.  11.)  Old 
men  and  women,  loaded  with  rags,  were  seen  to  go 
weeping  u})  the  mount  of  Olives,  (see  I\Iark  xiii.  3.) 
to  lament  trom  thence  the  ruin  of  the  temple. 

The  city  was  consecrated  by  Adrian  to  Jupiter 
Capitolinus,  after  whom  it  was  named  Capitoliua, 
and  a  tcm})le  was  built  to  him  on  the  spot  where 
Jesus  rose  from  the  dead.  A  statue  of  Venus  was 
also  set  up  on  Calvary,  a  marble  hog  was  placed  on 
the  gate  kading  toward  Bcthlehenj,  and  at  this  place 
a  grove  was  planted  in  honor  of  Adonis,  to  whom 
was  dedicated  the  cave  iii  which  our  Lord  was  sup- 
posed to  have  been  born.  (Hieron.  ad  PauHn.  Ep. 
13.)  Notwithstanding  these  degradations,  ll0^vever, 
the  places  consecrated  by  the  birth,  death,  and  res- 
urrection of  Jesus,  continued  to  be  held  in  repute, 
and  were,  in  fact,  identified  by  the  very  means  em- 
ployed to  destroy  their  locality,  and  jjut  out  their 
remembrance.  See  Calvary,  and  SEPULcniiE  of 
Christ. 

It  a))pears  that  Adrian's  order  for  expelling  the 
Jews  ii-om  Jerusalem  did  not  extend  to  the  Chris- 
tians. These  remained  in  the  cit}',  and  the  chin-ch, 
which  had  been  previously  composed  chiefly  of  con- 
verted Je^^•s,  who  had  connected  many  of  the  legal 
ceremonies  Avith  the  Christian  worship,  was  now 
formed  exclusively  of  Gentile  converts,  who  abol- 
ished the  Jewish  observances. 

From  this  ])eriod  the  name  yElia  became  so  com- 
mon, that  Jerusalem  was  preserved  only  among  the 
Jews,  and  better  informed  Christians.  In  the  time 
of  Constantine,  however,  it  resumed  its  ancient 
name,  which  it  has  retained  to  the  presoit  day. 

^1{A  is  nearly  the  same  thing  with  epocha,  a 
point  of  time  which  chronologcrs  call  a  fixed  point, 
or  chronological  rera.  So  the  first  Olympiad,  the 
foundation  of  Rome,  the  vera  of  Nabonassar,  of  Al- 
exander the  Great,  of  the  Seleucidre,  (or,  in  the  lan- 
gtiagc  of  the  books  of  Maccabees,  the  year  of  the 
Greeks,)  and  the  year  of  Jesus  Christ,  or  Anno 
Domini,  are  all  teras. 

The  JEr\o{  the  first  Olympiad  is  fixed  A.  M.  3228, 
before  Jesus  Christ  776. — (2.)  The  ^ra  o?  the  foun- 
dation of  Rome,  A.  M.  32.j;j,  before  A.  D.  751.— (3.) 
The  /Era  of^Vabonussar,  A.  M.  3257,  before  A.  D.  747. 
— (4.)  The  /Era  of  Jllcxandcr  the  Creed,  or  his  last  vic- 
torv  over  Darius,  A.  31.  3G74,  before  A.D.  330. — (5.) 
The  JERAortluiSeleucida-,  A.  M.  3602,  before  A.  D. 
312.  The  Jews  call  this  a?ra  the  .'Em  of  Contraets, 
because,  Avhen  subjected  to  the  government  of  the 
Syro-i\Taccdonian  kings,  they  were  obliged  to  insert 
it  in  the  dates  of  their  contracts  and  other  civil 
writings.  The  first  book  of  the  ]\Iaccabees  places 
the  bcgiimiiig  of  it  in  sjjring,  the  second  j)laecs  it  in 
autunui.  Ill  the  Maccabees,  it  is  called  "the  TEra 
of  th(!  kingdom  of  the  (jreeks."  All  other  nations 
that  comi)Uted  by  this  rcrn,  began  it  from  the  au- 
tunni  of  th(!  year  Ixrfbre  Ciirist  :>12,  but  the  Chal- 
deans began  it  from  tin-  spring  fi>l!owing,  because,  till 
then,  they  did  not  think  Scleucus  thoroughly  settled 
in  the  possession  of  Babylon. — ((>.)  The  ^ra  of  the 
birth  of  Jesus  Christ,  A.  M.  4000,  three  years  at 
east  before  oiu-  vidgar  jera,  in  which  we'  reckon 
t'le  year  1832;  whereas,  if  we  take  exactly  the  a'ra 
(four  Saviour's  l)irth,  we  should  reckon  it  1831;,  or  at 
least  1835.  S(;e  Epocha,  also  the  Chrnn(,lo<j;ical  Table. 
On  this  subject  there  arc  great  difliculties  to  obtain 
precision  ;  but  we  generally  add  three  years  to  A.  D. 


AFFINITY.  There  were  several  degrees  of 
affinity  among  the  Hebrews,  which  were  considered 
as  obstructions  to  matrimony.  (1.)  A  son  coidd  not 
marry  his  mother,  nor  his  fiather's  second  wife  ;  (2.) 
a  brother  could  not  marry  his  sister,  v.iiethcr  by  the 
father  only,  or  by  the  mother  only,  much  less  his 
sister  by  both  sides;  (3.)  a  grandfather  could  not 
marry  his  granddaughter,  cither  by  his  son  cr  b}'  his 
daughter ;  (4.)  no  one  could  marry  the  daughter  of 
his  father's  wife  ;  (5.)  nor  th.e  sister  of  his  father  cr 
mother;  (6.)  nor  the  uncle  his  niece,  nor  the  aiujt 
her  nephew ;  (7.)  nor  the  nephew  tlie  wife  of  his 
uncle  by  the  father's  side  ;  (S.)  a  fatlier-in-lav/  could 
not  niarry  his  daughter-in-law ;  (9.)  ncr  a  brother 
the  Avife  of  his  brothc  r,  Avhilc  living,  nor  after  the 
death  of  that  brother,  if  he  left  children;  if  he  leil; 
no  children,  the  surviving  brotiicr  w^s  to  raise  up 
children  to  his  deceased  brother,  by  marrying  his, 
widow;  (10.)  it  Avas  forbidden  to  marry  a  mother 
and  her  daughter  at  one  time,  or  the  daughter  of  the 
mother's  son,  or  the  daughter  of  her  daughter,  or 
two  sisters  together.  Lev.  xviii.  7 — 18. 

The  patriarchs,  before  the  law,  sometimes  mar- 
ried their  half-sisters,  as  Abraham  married  Sarah, 
his  father's  daughter  by  another  mother  ;  or  two  sis- 
ters together,  as  Jacob  married  Rachel  and  Leah.  But 
these  cases  are  not  to  be  considered  as  examples,  be- 
cause they  Avcre  authorized  by  necessity,  or  custom, 
and  the  law  did  not  then  ])rohit»it  them.  Since  the 
giving  of  the  law,  however.  Scripture  expressly  disap- 
proves of  matrimonial  connections  among  such  inti- 
mate relations  ;  as  may  be  seen  in  the  case  of  Reuben 
and  Bilhah,  his  father's  concubine  ;  Herod  Antijms 
and  Herodias  his  sister-in-law  ;  and  that  which  Paul 
reproves  and  punishes  among  the  Corinthians,  1  Cor. 
v.  1.     See  Marriage. 

AFRICA,  one  of  the  four  principal  diAisions  of 
the  globe,  and  the  third  in  magnitude.  The  oi-igin 
of  its  name  is  uncertain.  Bochart  derives  it  from 
the  Punic  Avord  nns  signifying  an  ear  of  corn,  Avith 
a  su])posed  reference  to  the  fertility  of  the  countrj^ ; 
Josephus  ti-aces  it  to  Ophir,  the  grandson  of  Abra- 
ham ;  Calmet  thinks  it  is  derived  from  the  Heb.  ncN 
ashes,  many  parts  of  the  country  being  mere  Avastf  s 
of  sand  ;  Taylor  prefers  to  derive  it  from  ,i-\o  to 
b)-eak  off,  or  void  asunder,  Avhich  certainly  describes 
the  African  peninsula  accurately  enough,  it  being 
really  brok(  n  off,  as  it  AA'crc,  from  Asia,  by  the  Red 
sea,  and  united  to  the  great  continent  only  at  the 
isthmus  of  Suez.  Of  these  deriA\ations,  hoAVCAer,  the 
first  is  the  most  j)lausible ;  though,  as  already  inti- 
mated, ojien  to  dispute. 

Africa  is  bounded  on  the  north  by  the  ISIediterra- 
nean  sea  ;  on  the  east  by  the  Indian  ocean,  the  Red 
sea,  and  part  of  Asia;  on  the  south  by  the  Southern 
ocean  ;  and  on  the  Avest  by  the  Atlantic.  Its  general 
form  is  triangular,  the  nonhern  part  being  the  base, 
and  the  southern  extremity  the  vertex.  Its  length 
may  be  reckoned  about  70  degrees  of  latitude,  or 
4il!l0  miles;  and  itsgi-eatest  breadth  something  more 
than  40!I0  miles. 

Africa  AAas  peopled  jjiincipally  by  Ham,  or  his  de- 
scendants;  hfnci>  it  is  called  the  "land  of  Ham,"  in 
several  of  the  Psalms.  IMizraim  peopled  Egypt, 
(Gen.  X.  6,  13,  14.)  and  the  Patlirusim,  the  Na|)htu- 
liim,  the  Casluhim,  and  the  Ludim,  jKopled  other 
parts;  but  the  situations  they  occuj>ied  are  not  noAV 
knoAvn  distinctly.  It  is  thought  that  many  of  the  Ca- 
naanites,  when  ex])elled  by  Josiiua,  retired  into  Africa  ; 
and  the  Mahonunedans  believe  that  the  Amalekitcs, 
who  d\A'elt  in  ancient  times  in  the  neighborhood  cf 


AGA 


[27] 


AGA 


Mecca,  were  forced  from  thence  by  the  Icings  de- 
scended from  Zioram.  Pococke,  Spec.  Hist.  Arab. 
See  Canaanites. 

The  gospel  is  thought  to  have  been  carried  to  Af- 
rica by  the  eunuch  of  Candace,  whom  Phihp  bap- 
tized ;  and  jirobably  also  by  some  of  those  wlio,  from 
different  })arts  of  it,  attended  the  feast  of  Pentecost, 
Acts  ii.  10.  In  after-limes,  very  flourishing  churches 
Avere  situated  on  various  points  of  the  Mediterranean 
chore  of  Africa ;  but,  at  present,  Mahommedanism,  or 
idolatry,-  involves  almost  the  whole  continent,  as 
has  l)een  the  case  ever  since  its  conquest  by  the 
Siu-acens. 

The  necessary  information  relative  to  those  places 
in  Africa,  which  are  spoken  of  in  Scripture,  will  be 
found  under  their  respective  names,  Abyssinia,  Al- 
EXA.xDRiA,  Egypt,  Ethiopia,  Libia,  Cyrene,  &c. 

AGABA,  a  fortress  near  Jerusalem,  v/hich  Gales- 
tup,  its  governor,  restored  to  Aristobulus,  son  of  Al- 
exander Januaeus.     Joseph.  Antiq.  lib.  xiii.  caj).  24. 

AGABUS,  a  pro})het,  and,  as  the  Greeks  suppose, 
one  of  the  seventy  disciples  of  our  Saviour.  While 
Paid  and  Barnabas  were  at  Antioch,  on  their  way 
to  Jerusalem,  certain  prophets  came  doAvn  from 
.f  udea,  among  whom  was  Agaluis,  Acts  xi.  28.  And 
he  stood  up,  and  signilied  by  the  Spirit  that  there 
would  be  a  great  famine  throughout  ail  the  world, 
or  Roman  empire.  This  famine,  which  Luke  in- 
forms us  happened  in  the  days  of  Claudius,  (A.  D. 
44.)  is  noticed  by  profane  historians,  and  Suetonius 
(in  Claudio)  observes  that  during  its  continuance  the 
emperor  was  himself  insulted  in  the  market-place, 
and  obliged  to  retire  to  his  palace. — About  ten  years 
after,  (A.  D.  54.)  as  Paul  was  at  Cesarea,  on  his  way 
to  Jerusalem,  for  the  last  time  before  his  imprison- 
ment, the  same  Agabus  came  down  from  Jerusalem  ; 
and,  having  bound  his  own  hands  and  feet  with 
Paul's  girdle,  prophesied  that  in  like  manner  Paul 
should  he  bound  at  Jerusalem  by  the  Jews,  and  de- 
livered over  to  the  Gentiles,  Acts  xxi.  10,  11. 

AGAG,  a  king  of  the  Amalekites,  a  tribe  that  at- 
tacked Israel  in  the  wilderness,  at  their  coming  out 
of  Egy[)t,  while  sinkhig  under  fatigue,  and  njassa- 
cred  ail  who  were  unable  to  keep  up  with  the  main 
body,  Exod.  xvii.  8 ;  Deut.  xxv.  17.  This  name, 
Agag,  seems  to  have  been  common  to  the  kings  of 
that  people  ;  at  least  there  was  one  of  the  name  as 
early  as  the  time  of  Moses,  Numb.  xxiv.  7. — The 
Lord  was  not  satisfied  with  the  victory  which  Joshua 
obtained  over  them,  but  declai-ed  that  he  would  de- 
stroy the  memory  of  Amalek  from  under  heaven, 
Exod.  xvii.  14.  16.  About  400  years  after  this,  Saul 
was  commanded  to  march  against  them,  and  to 
"spar3  neither  them,  nor  to  desire  any  thing  that  was 
theirs,  but  to  slay  both  man  and  woman,  infant  and 
suckling,  ox  and  sheep,  camel  and  ass."  Saul,  in 
obcdiiMice  to  his  orders,  invaded  the  country  of  the 
Amalekites,  and  cut  to  pieces  all  whom  he  met  with 
from  Havilah  to  Shur.  Agag,  however,  and  the  best 
of  the  sheep  and  oxen,  he  spared,  and  also  preserved 
the  most  valuable  of  the  spoil.  This  was  highly  dis- 
pleasing to  the  Lord,  and  the  prophet  Samuel  was 
sent  forAvard  to  Gilgal,  to  meet  him,  and  rc])rovc 
him  for  his  disobedience.  Having  denounced  pun- 
ishment upon  Saul,  Samuel  called  for  Agag,  for  the 
purj)ose  of  inflicting  upon  him  that  punishment 
which  his  cruelties  had  merited.  When  brought  into 
the  presence  of  the  prophet,  Agag  expressed  his 
hope  that  the  bitterness  of  death  was  passed,  to 
which  Samuel  repUed,  "As  thy  sword  hath  made 
mothers  childless,  so  shall  thy  mother  be  chUdless 


among  women."  Agag  was  then  hewed  in  pieces 
before  the  Lord  in  Giigal,  1  Sam.  xv. 

That  "  hewing  in  pieces"  is  not  unknown,  as  a 
punishment,  in  some  parts  of  die  world,  is  seen 
li-oni  a  relation  in  Bruce's  Travels  in  Abyssinia. 
"  The  bodies  of  those  killed  by  the  sword,"  he  re- 
marks, "were  hcivn  to  pieces,  and  scattered  about  the 
streets,"  where  they  were  devoured  by  the  hyaenas; 
(see  1  Kings  xxi.  23.)  and  upon  one  occasion,  when 
crossing  the  market-place,  he  saw  the  Ras's  door- 
keeper hacking  to  pieces  three  men,  who  were 
bound,  with  all  the  self-possession  and  coolness 
imaginable  !  Travels,  vol.  iv.  p.  81.  The  character 
of  Samuel  has  been  vilified  for  cruelty,  upon  this  oc- 
casion, with  how  nuich  reason  let  the  reader  judge. 

AGAP/E,  feasts  of  friendship,  love,  or  kindness, 
in  use  among  the  primitive  Christians.  It  is  very 
probable  that  they  vvere  instituted  in  memory  of  the 
last  supper  of  Jesus  Christ  with  his  disciples,  which 
supper  was  concluded  before  he  instituted  the  eu- 
charist. 

These  festivals  were  kept  in  the  assembly,  or 
church,  towards  evening,  after  prayers  and  worship 
were  over.  Upon  these  occasions,  the  faithful  ate 
together,  with  great  simphcity  and  union,  what  each 
had  brought ;  so  that  rich  and  poor  were  in  no  way 
distinguished.  After  a  supper,  marked  by  much 
frugality  and  modesty,  they  partook  of  the  sacra- 
mental signs  of  the  Lord's  body  and  blood,  and  gave 
each  other  the  kiss  of  peace. 

The  Agapte  are  placed  before  the  eucharist,  (1  Cor. 
xi.  21.)  and  if  they  did  refer  to  our  Lord's  supper 
be/ore  he  instituted  the  eucharist,  this  seems  to  be 
their  natural  order.  But  it  is  probable  that,  at  least 
in  some  places,  or  on  some  occasions,  the  holy  eu- 
charist preceded  the  Agapte  ;  perhaps  when  perse- 
cution rendered  extreme  caution  necessary ;  for  it 
seems  very  likely  that  Pliny  speaks  of  these  Agajjse 
in  his  famous  letter  to  Trajan:  "After  their  service 
to  Christ,  {quasi  Deo,)  they  departed,  and  returned 
to  take  a  harmless  repast  in  common." 

The  history  of  the  Agapse  anjoug  the  primitive 
Christians  is  so  closely  connected  with  the  manners, 
customs,  dnd  opinions  of  times  and  j)laces,  that  to 
treat  it  satisfactorily  would  lead  us  too  far ;  we  may, 
thei-efore,  only  offer  a  few  remarks.  There  seems 
reason  to  conclude,  that  the  social  intercourse  of 
early  believers  might  enable  them  to  discover  njany 
excellences  in  each  other,  which  might  contriijute 
to  justify  and  to  proniote  the  observations  of  heathen 
strangers,  "  See  how  these  Christians  love  one 
another  I" 

These  Agapfe  were  not  onlj^  very  powerful  means, 
among  the  priniitive  Christians,  of  cultivating  mutual 
affection  throughout  their  body,  and  cf  gaining  the 
good-will  of  those  who  observed  their  conduct;  but, 
in  all  probability,  they  contributed  to  promote  the 
Christian  cause,  by  leading  to  conversions,  and  by 
supporting  the  minds  of  young  converts  under  the 
difficulties  attending  their  situation.  Tertullian 
(Apol.  cap.  39.)  speaks  of  them  thus:  "Nothing  low 
or  unseemly  is  committed  in  them  ;  nor  is  it  till  after 
having  prayed  to  God,  that  they  sit  down  to  table. 
Food  is  taken  in  moderation,  as  wanted  ;  and  no 
more  is  drank  than  it  becomes  discreet  persons  to 
drink.  Each  takes  such  refreshment  as  is  suitable, 
in  connection  with  the  recollection  that  he  is  to  be 
engaged,  in  the  course  of  the  night,  in  adorations  to 
God  ;  and  the  conversation  iscondncted  as  becometh 
those  who  know  that  the  Lord  heareth  them.  After 
water  has  been  brought   for  the   hands,  and  fresh 


AGA 


[28] 


AGR 


lights,  every  one  is  invited  to  sing,  and  to  glorify 
God,  whether  by  passages  from  the  sacred  Scrip- 
tures, or  of  his  own  composition.  This  discovers 
whether  proper  moderation  has  been  observed  at 
the  table.  In  short,  the  repast  concludes  as  it  be- 
gan ;  that  is  to  say,  with  prayer." 

These  institutions,  however,  even  in  tlie  time  of 
the  apostles,  appear  to  have  degenerated,  and  be- 
come abused.  Paul  (1  Cor.  xi,  20,  21.)  complains, 
that  the  rich  despised  tlie  poor  in  these  assemblies, 
and  would  not  condescend  to  eat  with  them :  "  When 
ye  come  together,"  says  he,  "in  one  i)lace — this 
coming  together,  merely,  is  not  eating  the  Lord's 
supper ;  one  taking  before  another  his  own  supper ; 
one  being  hungrj',  another  over  full.  What !  have 
ye  not  houses  to  eat  and  to  drink  in  ?  or  despise  ye 
the  church  of  God,  and  shame  them  that  have  not  ?" 
In  this  discordant  state  of  its  members,  a  church 
could  not  but  be  unfit  to  celebrate  tlie  great  com- 
memoration of  divine  love.  (Jude  12.  "  Spots  in 
your  feasts  of  charity — Agapa? — feasting  themselves, 
&c.") 

It  certainly  seems  to  us  extraordinary,  that  on  any 
occasion,  much  more  on  occasion  of  a  Christian  in- 
stitution recently  attended  to,  and  a  solemn  Chris- 
tian ordinance  about  to  be  attended  to,  the  Corinthi- 
ans should,  any  of  them,  indulge  to  excess  of  any 
kind :  but  when  we  consider  that  public  suppers 
and  other  meals  were  customary  among  the  Greeks, 
(to  which  they  might  fissimilate  these  Agapje,)  and 
besides,  that  the  sacrifices  at  which  these  Corinthi- 
ans had  been  accustomed  to  attend,  were  followed 
(and  some  accompanied)  by  merriment,  we  shall  see 
less  reason  to  wonder  at  their  fallmg  into  intemper- 
ance of  behavior  so  very  different  from  the  genius 
of  the  gospel.  Certainly  the  eucharist  itself  is,  as 
the  name  implies,  a  feast  for  joy;  but  for  joy  of  a  much 
more  serious  kind.  However,  we  must,  in  justice, 
vindicate  the  Coriiuhians  from  that  gross  profana- 
tion of  the  eucharist  itself,  with  which,  from  our 
translation,  or  rather  from  the  common  acceptation 
of  the  phrase  "  Lord's  supper,"  they  have  been  re- 
proached. 

The  Agapas  were  abolished  by  the  Council  of  La- 
odicea.  Can.  28.  Synod  of  Trullo,  Can.  74.  and  the 
Council  of  Carthage,  Can.  42. 

The  Jews  had  certain  devotional  entertainments, 
In  some  degi-ee  related  to  the  Agapje.  On  their 
great  festival  djiys,  they  made  feasts  lor  their  family, 
for  the  priests,  tlie  ])oor,  and  orphans ;  or  they 
sent  portions  to  them.  Tliese  repasts  were  made 
in  Jerusalem,  before  the  Lord.  There  were  al.so 
certain  sacrifices  and  first-fruits  appointed  by  the 
law,  to  he  set  aj)art  for  tliat  purpose,  Deut.  xxvi. 
10—12;  Nell.  viii.  10,  12;  F.sth.  \x.  19.  A  similar 
custom  obtained  among  the  Iieatlien :  at  least,  so 
far  as  to  j):utake  convivially  of  what  had  been 
offered  in  sacrifice  ;  and  perhaps,  also,  sending  por- 
tions to  such  as  were  absent.  The  Essenes  also 
had  their  rcjiasts  in  common  ;  and  probably  many 
otiier  confraternities  or  sects.  To  this  fellowsliip, 
the  institution  of  tlie  Sodales  or  brotherhoods,  which 
had  become  popular  since  the  days  of  Augustus, 
might  greatly  contribute. 

AGATE,  a  precious  stone,  said  to  take  its  name 
from  the  river  Achates  in  Sicily,  where  it  was  first 
found.  Agates,  which  are  of  several  kinds,  are  like- 
wise procured  in  Phrygia,  in  India,  in  various  jiarts 
of  Europe,  and  at  tlio  Cape  of  Good  Ilopr.  The 
agate  was  the  second  stone  in  the  third  row  of  the 
high-priest's  breastplato,  Exod.  xxviii.  If);  xxxix.  12. 


AGE,  (1.)  a  period  of  time ;  (2.)  a  generation  of  the 
human  race;  (3.)  a  hundred  years ;  (4.)  maturity  of 
hfe ;  (5.)  the  latter  end  of  life ;  (6.)  the  duration  of 
life.     See  Chronology. 

AGRICULTURE,  see  Canaan,  Ploughing,  and 
Threshing. 

I.  AGRIPPA,  surnamed  Herod,  son  of  Aristobu- 
lus  and  Berenice,  and  grandson  of  Herod  the  Great, 
was  born  three  years  before  our  Saviour,  and  seven 
years  before  the  vulgar  sera.  After  the  death  of  his 
father  Aristobulus,  Herod,  his  grandfather,  under- 
took his  education,  and  sent  him  to  Rome,  to  make 
his  court  to  Tiberius.  The  emperor  conceived  a 
great  affection  for  Agrippa,  and  placed  him  near  his 
son  Drusus,  whose  favor  he  soon  obtained,  as  also 
that  of  the  empress  Antonia.  Drusus,  however,  dying 
soon  afterwards,  (A.  D.  23.)  all  who  had  been  his 
intimate  friends  were  commanded  by  Tiberius  to 
quit  Rome,  lest  their  presence  should  renew  his 
affliction.  Agrippa,  who  had  indulged  his  disposi- 
tion to  liberality,  was  obUged  to  leave  Rome  over- 
whelmed with  debts,  and  very  poor.  He  was  averse 
to  go  to  Jerusalem,  because  of  his  inability  to  make 
an  appearance  equal  to  his  birth ;  he  retired  there- 
fore to  the  castle  of  Massada,  where  he  lived  in  pri- 
vate. Herod  the  tetrarch,  his  uncle,  assisted  him  for 
some  time  with  great  generosity ;  made  him  the 
pruicipal  magistrate  of  Tiberias,  and  presented  him 
with  a  large  sum.  But  all  this  lieing  insufficient  to 
answer  the  excessive  profusion  of  Agrippa,  Herod 
became  weary  of  assisting  him,  and  reproached  him 
with  his  want  of  economy.  Agrippa  was  so  affected 
by  his  uncle's  reproof,  that  he  resolved  to  quit  Judea, 
and  return  to  Rome.     A.  D.  35. 

To  effect  his  purpose,  he  borrowed  from  Protus, 
a  freed-man  in  the  suite  of  Berenice,  the  sum  of 
20,000  drachmas,  and  from  Alexander,  the  Alabarch 
or  chief  of  the  Jews  at  Alexandria,  he  procured 
200,000  more.  When  Agrippa  landed  in  Italy,  Ti- 
berius was  with  his  court  at  Caprea,  whither  Agi'ip- 
pa  sent  intelhgence  of  his  arrival,  and  desired  leave 
to  present  himself.  Tiberius,  whom  time  had  cured 
of  his  affliction,  was  glad  to  hear  of  his  return,  re- 
ceived him  with  kindness,  and,  as  a  mark  of  distinc- 
tion, gave  him  an  apartment  in  his  palace. 

On  the  next  day,  letters  were  brought  to  the  em- 
peror from  Hereimius,  who  was  charged  with  his 
affairs  in  Judea,  in  which  it  was  stated  that  Agrippa, 
having  borrowed  300,000  pieces  of  silver  out  of  his 
exchequer,  had  fled  from  Judea,  without  repaying 
them.  This  intelligence  so  exasperated  Tiberius 
that  he  commanded  Agripjia  to  leave  the  palace,  and 
to  pay  what  he  owed.  Agripjia,  however,  addressed 
himself  to  the  empress  Antonia,  from  whom  he  ob- 
tained a  sum  of  money  sufficient  to  discharge  the 
claim;  and  was  restored  to  the  emperor's  favor. 
Agrippa  now  attached  himself  to  Cains  Caligula,  the 
son  of  Germanicus,  and  grandson  of  Antonia ;  as  if 
he  had  some  presentiment  of  the  future  elevation  of 
Caius,  who  at  that  time  was  beloved  by  all,  and 
whose  affection  he  so  engaged  that  the  prince  was 
not  able  to  live  without  him.  Joseph.  Ant.  xviii. 
6.  1—5. 

Upon  the  death  of  Tiberius,  Caligula  placed  a  dia- 
dem upon  the  head  of  Agrippa,  and  gave  him  the 
tetrarchy  which  Philip,  son  of  Herod  the  Great, 
had  possessed ;  that  is,  Batana?a  and  Trachonitis: 
to  this  he  added  that  of  Lysanias,  (see  Abilene,) 
and  Agrippa  returned  into  Judea,  to  take  possession 
of  his  new  kingdom,  A.  D.  39. 

Caius,  desiring  to  be  adored  as  a  god.  determined 


AGRIPPA 


[29] 


AGR 


to  place  his  statue  in  the  temple  at  Jerusalem,  but 
this  the  Jews  determinately  opposed.  Agrippa,  who 
was  at  Rome  at  the  time  that  Petronius,  the  empe- 
ror's lieutenant  in  Judea,  addressed  Caius  upon  the 
subject,  so  far  succeeded  in  his  entreaties,  that  the 
emperor  desisted,  at  least  in  appearance,  from  his 
design. 

After  the  death  of  Caligula,  Agi-ippa  espoused  the 
interest  of  Claudius,  who,  in  acknowledgment  for  his 
services,  bestowed  upon  him  all  Judea,  and  the 
kingdom  of  Chalcis,  which  had  belonged  to  Herod 
his  brother.  Thus  Agrippa  suddenly  became  one 
of  the  most  powerful  princes  of  the  East,  and  pos- 
sessed a  greater  extent  of  territory,  perhaps,  than 
had  been  enjoyed  by  his  grandfather,  Herod  the 
Great.  He  returned  into  Judea,  and  governed  to 
the  great  satisfaction  of  his  subjects.  The  desire  of 
pleasing  the  Jews,  however,  and  a  mistaken  zeal  for 
their  religion,  induced  him  to  commit  an  act  of  in- 
justice, the  memory  of  which  is  preserved  in  Scrip- 
ture, Acts  xii.  1,  &c.  Joseph.  Antiq.  lib.  xix.  cap.  4. 
About  the  feast  of  the  passover,  A.  D.  44,  James  the 
greater,  son  of  Zebedee,  and  brother  of  John  the 
evangelist,  was  put  to  death  by  his  orders ;  and 
Peter  was  thro^vn  into  prison,  with  a  view  to  his  ex- 
ecution, after  the  close  of  the  festival.  In  this  de- 
sign, however,  Agrippa  was  disappointed  ;  the  apos- 
tle being  miraculously  dehvered  from  his  confine- 
ment. A  short  time  afterwards,  Agrippa  went  from 
Jerusalem  to  Csesarea,  where  he  celebrated  games 
in  lionor  of  Claudius.  Antiq.  lib.  xix.  cap.  8.  and 
Acts  xii.  19,  &c.  Here  the  inhabitants  of  Tyre  and 
Sidon  waited  on  him,  to  sue  for  peace.  Agrippa, 
having  come  early  in  the  morning  to  the  theatre,  to 
give  them  audience,  seated  himself  on  his  throne, 
dressed  in  a  splendid  robe  of  silver  tissue.  The  rays 
of  the  rising  sun,  darting  upon  his  dress,  gave  it  such 
a  lustre  and  resplendence  as  the  eyes  of  the  specta- 
tors could  scarcely  endure.  When,  therefore,  the 
king  spoke  to  the  Tyrians  and  Sidonians,  the  people, 
urged  by  his  flatterers,  exclaimed,  "The  voice  of  a 
god,  not  of  a  man!"  Instead  of  rejecting  these  im- 
pious flatteries,  Agrippa  received  them  with  com- 
placency ;  but  at  that  instant  the  angel  of  the  Lord 
smote  him,  because  he  did  not  give  the  glory  to  God. 
He  was  carried  to  his  palace  by  his  attendants, 
where  he  died,  after  five  days,  racked  by  tormenting 
pain  in  his  bowels,  and  devoured  by  worms.  Acts 
xii.  20 — 23.  A.  D.  44.  Agrippa  had  reigned  seven 
years.  He  left  a  son,  of  the  same  name,  then  at 
Rome,  and  three  daughters — Berenice,  who  was 
married  to  her  uncle  Herod ;  Mariamne,  betrothed 
to  Julius  Archelaiis,  son  of  Chelcias ;  and  Drusilla, 
promised  to  Epiphanius,  son  of  Archelaiis,  king  of 
Comagena.    Joseph.  Ant.  xviii.  et  xix.  passim. 

II.  AGRIPPA,  the  younger,  son  of  tlie  above, 
was  at  Rome  with  the  emperor  Claudius,  when  his 
father  died.  Josephus  states  that  the  emperor  was 
at  first  inclined  to  bestow  upon  him  all  the  domin- 
ions of  his  father,  but  was  dissuaded  from  this  by  his 
ministers.  The  emperor,  therefore,  detained  Agrip- 
pa at  Rome  four  years  longer,  he  being  then  seven- 
teen years  of  age,  and  sent  Cuspius  Fadus  into  Ju- 
dea. The  year  following,  (A.  D.  45.)  the  governor 
of  Syria,  coming  to  Jerusalem,  designed  that  the 
high-priest's  ornaments  should  be  connnitted  to  the 
custody  of  Fadus,  intending  to  compel  the  Jews  to 
deliver  them,  to  be  kept  within  the  tower  of  Anto- 
uia,  where  they  had  formerly  been  deposited,  till 
Vitellius  intrusted  them  to  their  care.  But  the  Jews, 
giving  good  security,  were  permitted  to  send  depu- 


ties to  Ronie  on  this  affair,  who,  by  the  good  ofKceg 
of  young  Agrippa,  maintained  the  possession  of  their 
privilege,  and  the  pontifical  ornaments  were  contin- 
ued in  their  custody. 

Upon  the  death  of  Herod,  king  of  Chalcis,  (A.  D. 
48.)  uncle  to  young  Agi-ippa,  the  emperor  gave  hia 
dominions  to  this  prince ;  but  he  did  not  go  into  Ju- 
dea till  four  years  afterwards,  (A.  D.  53.)  when 
Claudius,  taking  from  him  Chalcis,  gave  him  the 
provinces  of  Gaulanitis,  Trachonitis,  Batanwa,  Pa- 
neas,  and  Abilene,  which  formerly  had  been  pos- 
sessed by  Lysanias.  After  the  death  of  Claudius, 
his  successor  Nero,  who  had  a  great  affection  for 
Agrippa,  added  to  his  dominions  Julias  in  Pereea, 
and  that  part  of  Galilee  which  included  Tarichsea 
and  Tiberias. 

Festus,  governor  of  Judea,  coming  to  his  govern- 
ment, A.  D.  60,  Agrippa,  and  Berenice  his  sister, 
went  as  far  as  Cesarea  to  salute  him.  As  they  con- 
tinued there  some  time,  Festus  conversed  with  the 
king  on  the  affair  of  Paul,  who  had  been  seized  in 
the  temple  about  two  years  before,  and  who  a  few 
days  ])rior  to  this  had  appealed  to  the  emperor  Clau- 
dius, then  reigning  at  Rome. 

Agrippa  being  desirous  himself  to  hear  Paul, 
(Acts  XXV.  13.)  the  apostle  was  brought  forth,  and 
Festus  introduced  his  case  to  the  king.  Having  ob- 
tained permission  to  speak,  the  apostle  related  his 
miraculous  conversion,  with  his  previous  persecu- 
tions of  the  Christians,  and  his  subsequent  labors 
and  suffering  for  the  gospel,  Avith  such  power,  that 
he  extorted  from  Agrijjpa  that  meznorable  exclama- 
tion,— "  Almost  thou  persuadest  me  to  be  a  Chris- 
tian." Agrippa  afterwards  said,  that  his  prisoner 
might  have  been  set  at  hberty  had  he  not  appealed 
to  Csesar,  Acts  xxvi. 

About  two  years  after  this,  Agrippa  gave  great 
offence  to  the  Jews,  by  depriving  Joseph  Cabei  of 
the  high-priesthood,  and  bestowing  it  upon  Ananus, 
a  man  of  a  severe  and  cruel  disposition,  by  whose 
influence  the  apostle  James  was  condemned  to  be 
stoned.  Acts  xii.  2.  Joseph.  Ant.  xx.  9.  1.  To  pro- 
pitiate them,  he  deposed  Ananus  after  he  had  en- 
joyed the  pontifical  dignity  only  three  mouths,  and 
conferred  it  upon  Jesus,  the  son  of  Damnseus. 
Some  time  after  this,  he  permitted  the  Levites  to 
wear  the  linen  robe,  which  had  been  hitherto  appro- 
priated to  the  priests,  inducing  those  who  had  not 
been  appointed  to  sing  in  the  temple  service,  to 
learn  vocal  music,  that  they  also  might  share  in  the 
privilege.     Jos.  Ant.  xx.  9.  6. 

While  every  thing  tended  to  rebellion  in  Judea, 
Agrippa  did  all  he  could  to  quiet  the  people,  and 
incline  them  to  peace :  but  his  endeavors  were  un- 
successful ;  he  indeed  suspended,  but  could  not  sup- 
press, the  passions  of  the  Jews,  exasperated  by  the 
cruelties  and  insolence  of  their  governors.  They 
declared  openly  against  the  Romans,  A.  D.  66,  and 
Agrippa  was  forced  to  join  his  troops  with  those  of 
Rome,  to  assist  in  taking  Jerusalem.  After  the  de- 
struction of  that  city  he  retired  to  Rome  with  his 
sister  Berenice,  with  whom  he  had  long  lived  in  a 
manner  that  had  given  occasion  for  reports  very 
little  to  their  advantage.  He  died  aged  about  sev- 
enty years,  towards  A.  D.  90.  Jos.  Ant.  xix.  c.  9. 
XX.  c.  7.  c.  8.  c.  9.     See  Herod  IV. 

AGRIPPIAS,  a  name  given  to  the  toAvn  of  An 
thedon,  on  the  Mediterranean,  between  Raphia  and 
Gaza,  by  Herod  the  Great,  in  honor  of  his  friend 
Agrippa,  the  favorite  of  Augustus.     Joseph.  Antiq. 
xiii.  21.     See  Antuedon. 


AHA 


[  30 


AHAB 


AGUR.     The  thirtieth  chapter  of  the  Proverbs  is 

entitled  "  The  words  of  Agur,  the  son  of  Jakeh," 
of  whom  nothing  further  is  kno^Mi.  He  was  proba- 
bly an  insj)ired  Jewish  writer,  whose  sentences  were 
incorporated  witli  those  of  Solomon,  in  consequence 
of  the  similarity  of  their  style  and  manner. 

I.  AHAIi,  king  of  Israel,  the  son  and  successor 
of  Omri,  ascended  the  throne  A.  M.  308G,  and  reigned 
22  years,  1  Kings  xvi.  29.  Ahab  married  Jezebel, 
the  daughter  of  Eth-baal,  king  of  the  Zidonians, 
who  introduced  the  idols  Baal  and  Astaite  into  Is- 
rael, and  engaged  Ahab  in  their  worship,  who  soon 
exceeded  in  impiety  all  his  predecessors.  Being 
displeased  at  his  conduct,  the  Lord  sent  the  jjrophet 
Elijah  to  reprove  him,  who  predicted  a  famine  of 
three  years'  continuance  ;  after  which  he  retired  to 
Zarephath,  lest  Ahab  or  Jezebel  should  procure  his 
death.  Towards  the  close  of  the  three  years,  Ahab 
sent  Obadiah,  the  governor  of  his  house,  to  seek 
j)astui-e  in  the  country,  that  he  might  preserve  part 
of  his  cattle.  In  his  progress  Obadiah  met  Elijah, 
who  directed  him  to  go  and  tell  Ahab  that  Elijah 
was  there.  Ahab  immediately  came,  and  said  to 
him,  "Art  thou  he  that  troubleth  Israel?"  The 
prophet  answered,  "  I  have  not  troubled  Israel,  but 
thou  and  thy  father's  house ;  in  that  thou  hast  for- 
saken the  commandments  of  the  Lord,  and  Ibllowed 
Baalim."  He  then  desired  Ahab  to  gather  all  the 
people,  with  the  prophets  of  Baal,  at  mount  Carmel ; 
and  when  they  were  assembled,  he  brought  iire  from 
heaven  on  his  sacrifice.  After  this  the  rain  descended 
on  the  earth,  and  it  recovered  its  former  fertihty,  1 
Kings  xviii. 

Some  years  after  this,  Ben-hadad,  king  of  Syria, 
besieged  Samaria,  and  sent  ambassadors  to  Ahab, 
who  was  in  the  city,  with  insolent  messages ;  but 
Ahab  significantly  reproved  him  by  saying,  "  Let 
not  him  that  girdeth  on  his  harness,  boast  himself  as 
he  that  putteth  it  oflV  Ahab  then  reviewed  the 
people  in  Samaria,  Avho  amounted  to  7000,  and  mak- 
ing a  sally  at  noon-day,  (while  Ben-hadad  and  his 
associates  were  carousing  in  their  tents,)  killed  all 
v.'ho  opposed  them,  j)Ut  the  Syrian  army  to  flight, 
and  took  a  considerable  booty,  1  Kings  xx.  21. 

Aha")  being  probably  much  elated  by  this  victory, 
a  prophet,  supposed  by  the  Jews  to  have  been  Wi- 
caiah,  was  sent  to  admonish  him  to  prepare  for  Ben- 
liadad's  return  in  the  following  year.  In  accordance 
with  the  prediction,  the  Syrian  rejjeated  his  in\  asion, 
and  encamped  with  his  arm}'  at  Ajihek,  designing  to 
give  Ahal)  battle.  Assured  of  victory,  by  the  ])rophet 
of  the  Lord,  the  king  of  Israel  marched  out  into  the 
plain,  and  encamped  over  against  his  enemies.  On 
tin;  seventh  day  they  joined  battle,  and  the  Israelites 
sluv/  100,000  Syrians.  The  rest  of  them  fled  to 
Aphck  ;  hut  as  they  were  pressing  to  enter  the  city, 
tho  walls  fl'il  upon  them,  and  killed  27,000  more. 
Ben-hadad,  throwing  himself  on  the  clemency  of 
Ahab,  was  received  by  him  into  his  chariot ;  after 
which  he  formed  an  aiiianre,  and  permitted  him  to 
retire,  on  condition  that  Ahah  should  be  allowed  to 
make  streets  in  Damascus,  as  Ben-hadad's  father  had 
previously  do)ie  in  Samaria,  1  Kings  xx.  22 — 34. 
This  alliance,  however,  was  displeasing  to  the  Lord, 
who  reproved  Ahab  by  his  i)ro])het,  and  the  king 
returned  to  Samaria  depressed  and  displeased,  ver. 
35—43. 

Upon  the  nature  of  the  streets  which  Ahab  pro- 
posed to  build  in  Damascus,  connnentators  are  di- 
vided in  opinion,  variously  understanding  the  ex- 
pression to  mean  markets,  courts  of  judicature,  pi- 


azzas, citadels,  and  fortifications,  for  the  purpose  of 
keeping  the  Syrians  in  check,  &c.  In  illustration 
of  the  passage,  Mr.  Harmcr  adduces  the  privileges 
gi'auted  to  the  Venetians  in  recompense  for  their 
aid,  by  the  states  of  the  kingdom  of  Jerusalem  ;  and 
observes,  that  it  Avas  customary  to  assign  churches, 
and  to  give  streets,  in  their  towns,  to  foreign  nations. 
These,  however,  are  rather  instances  of  rewards  for 
services  performed,  than  proofs  of  such  terms  as 
conditions  of  peace  ;  and  we  may  therefore  cite  the 
following  passage  from  Knolles's  "  History  of  the 
Turks,"  (p.  206.)  as  being  more  appUcable  to  the  his- 
tory of  Ben-hadad,  than  any  of  those  which  Mr. 
Harmer  has  })roduced:  "Baiazet  luiving  worthily 
relieued  his  besieged  citie,  returned  againe  to  the 
siege  of  Constantinople,  laying  more  hardly  vnto  it 
than  before,  building  forts  and  bulwarks  against  it 
on  the  one  side  towards  the  land ;  and  passing  ouer 
the  strait  of  Bosphorus,  built  a  strong  castle  vpon 
that  strait  ouer  against  Constantinople,  to  impeach, 
so  much  as  was  possible,  all  passage  thereunto  by 
sea.  This  streight  siege  (as  most  Avrite)  continued 
also  two  yeres,  which  I  suppose  by  the  circumstance 
of  the  historic,  to  haue  been  part  of  the  aforesaid 
eight  yeres.  Emanuel,  the  besieged  emperor, 
wearied  with  these  long  wars,  sent  an  ambassador  to 
Baiazet,  to  intreat  with  him  a  peace ;  Avhich  Baiazet 
was  the  more  wilhng  to  hearken  vnto,  for  that  he 
heard  newes,  that  Tamerlane,  the  great  Tartarian 
prince,  intended  shortly  to  warre  upon  him.  Yet 
could  this  peace  not  be  obtained,  but  vpon  condition 
that  the  emperor  should  grant  free  libcrtie  for  the 
Turks  to  dwell  together  in  one  street  o/  Constanti- 
nople, ivithfrec  exercise  of  their  own  religiontind  laives, 
vndcr  a  judge  of  their  own  nation  ;  ajid  further,  to 
pay  unto  the  Turkish  king  a  yeerely  tribute  of  tea 
thousand  duckats.  Which  dishonorable  conditions 
the  distressed  emperor  was  glad  to  accept  of.  So 
was  this  long  siege  broken  vp,  and  presently  o  great 
sort  of  Turks  loith  their  families  tcere  seiit  out  of  Bi- 
thijnia,  to  dwell  in  Constantinople,  and  a  church  there 
built  for  them;  which  not  long  after  was  by  the  em- 
j)eror  pulled  downe  to  the  ground,  and  the  Turks 
againe  driuen  out  of  the  citie,  at  such  time  as  Baia- 
zet was  by  the  mighty  Tamerlane  ouerthrowne  and 
taken  prisoner."  The  circumstances  of  these  two 
stories,  and  the  reniarks,  arc  so  much  alike,  that  it 
merely  remains  to  notice  the  propriety  with  which 
our  translators  have  chosen  the  word  streets,  ratlier 
than  any  other  projjosed  by  connnentators.  Com- 
pare the  bakers^  street,  Jer.  xxxvii.  21.  It  is  worthy 
of  observation,  that  there  are  extant  medals  of  Ptol- 
emais,  referring  to  "Antiocheans  in  Ptoleniais," 
meaning,  in  all  probability,  establishments  for  the 
pin-poses  of  commerce,  formed  by  companies  of 
merchants  from  Antioch  ;  not  unlike  our  ccn^.panies 
of  merchants  in  Smyrna,  and  other  cities  of  the 
East,  and  similar  to  the  streets  of  Ahab. 

In  the  year  following  the  events  just  narrated, 
Ahab,  desiring  to  possess  a  kitchen-garden  near  his 
])alace,  requested  Naboth,  a  citizen  of  Jezreel,  to  sell 
him  his  vineyard.  Naboth,  however,  refused  to 
alienate  any  part  of  his  paternal  inheritance,  which 
gready  incens  vl  the  king,  and  brought  down  upon 
the  patriotic  man  disgrace  and  death.  Jezebel  had 
him  arraigned  as  a  traitor,  and  by  means  of  false 
witnesses  procured  his  death.  As  Ahab  was  return- 
ing to  Samaria,  after  having  taken  possession  of  Na- 
both's  vineyard,  he  was  met  by  Elijah,  who  de- 
nounced the  judgment  of  God  against  him  and  his 
house.     Ahab  expressed  his  sorrow  and  contrition, 


AHA 


[31  ] 


AHASUERUS 


whereupon  the  Lord  promised  that  the  execution  of 
these  thrcateuings  should  be  defeired  till  the  days 
of  his  son,  1  Kings  xxi. 

About  two  years  after  this,  Ahab,  contrary  to  the 
word  of  the  prophet  Micaiah,  joined  his  forces  to 
those  of  Jehoshaphat,  king  of  Judah,  who  was  going 
up  to  attack  Ramoth-Gilead.  He  Avent  out  in  dis- 
guise, but,  being  wounded  by  an  arrow,  immediately 
left  the  field  of  battle.  He  continued  the  whole  day, 
however,  in  his  chariot,  the  blood  streaming  from 
his  wound,  and  in  the  evening  he  died.  lie  was 
earned  to  Samaria,  and  there  buried.  His  chariot, 
and  the  harness  of  his  horses,  were  v/ashed  in  the 
fish-pool  of  Samaria,  and  there  the  dogs  hcked  up 
his  blood,  according  to  the  prophet's  prediction,  1 
Kings  xxii.  A.  M.  3107.  See  Elijah,  Jezebel,  Mi- 
caiah, Naboth. 

n.  AHAB,  son  of  Kolaiah,  one  of  the  two  false 
prophets  who  seduced  the  Israehtes  at  Babylon,  Jci*. 
xxix.  21,  29.  The  Lord  threatened  them,  by  Jere- 
miah, with  delivering  them  up  to  Nebuchadnezzar, 
king  of  Babylon,  who  should  put  them  to  death  in 
the  presence  of  those  who  liad  been  deceived  by 
them ;  and  that  the  people  should  use  their  name 
proverbially,  when  they  would  curse  any  one,  say- 
ing, "The  Lord  make  thee  hkc  Ahab  raid  Zedekiah, 
whom  the  king  of  Babylon  roasted  in  the  fire."  The 
rabbins,  who  have  been  followed  by  several  exposi- 
tors, believe  these  to  be  the  two  elders  Avho  en- 
deavored to  corrupt  the  chaste  Susanna.  But  the 
punishment  annexed  to  the  crime  of  those  in  the 
apocryphal  history,  destroys  this  opinion  ;  for  Ahab 
and  Zedekiah  were  roasted  in  the  fire,  while  the 
others  were  stoned.  The  text  does  not  saj^  literally, 
they  Avere  stoned ;  but  that  they  were  treated  as  they 
would  liave  used  their  neighbor ; — that  they  were 
put  to  death  according  to  the  law  of  Moses ;  and  as 
that  law  condemns  adulterers  to  be  stoned,  which 
was  the  punishment  they  would  have  had  inflicted 
on  Susanna,  it  follows  that  this  was  the  punishment 
they  were  to  suffer  in  retaliation. 

L  AHASUERUS,  a  king  of  Persia  mentioned 
Dan.  ix.  1.  and  called  Astyages  in  the  Vulgate,  Dan. 
xiii.  Go.  He  is  evidently  to  be  distinguished  from  the 
Ahasuerus  of  the  book  of  Esther.    See  Astyages  II. 

II.  AHASUERUS,  a  king  of  Persia,  who  is  so 
conspicuous  in  the  book  of  Esther,  and  is  mentioned 
also  in  Ezra  iv.  6.  According  to  the  opinion  of 
those  who  identify  him  with  Darius  Hystaspes,  he 
was  a  descendant  of  the  royal  famih'  of  Achsemones, 
and  ascended  the  throne  of  Persia  in  the  28tli  year 
of  his  age,  A.  M.  3483;  anie  A.  D.  591.  In  the 
second  year  of  his  reign,  the  Jews  who  had  returned 
to  Palestine,  encouraged  by  the  exhortations  of  the 
prophets  Haggai  and  Zerhariah,  resinned  the  re- 
building of  tlie  temple,  which  had  been  interrupted 
under  the  reign  of  Cambyses.  On  this,  the  govern- 
ors of  the  province  for  the  Persians  demanded  liy 
what  authority  they  imdertook  this  woi-k,  Ezra  v. 
3 — 6,  13.  The  Jews  produced  the  edict  of  Cyrus ; 
the  governors  wrote  to  Ahasuerus,  who  gave  direc- 
tions to  seek  this  edict.  Having  found  it  at  Eclia- 
tana,  he  confirmed  it,  and  commanded  his  officers  to 
assist  in  the  design,  and  to  furnish  things  necessary 
for  sacrifices.  Ahasuerus  having  divorced  Vashti, 
his  queen,  (see  Vashti,)  Esther,  the  niece  of  Mor- 
decai,  a  Jew,  was  chosen  to  be  his  wife,  through 
whose  intercession  the  edict  appointing  the  massacre 
of  the  Jews  was  cancelled,  and  their  enemy,  Haman, 
disgraced  and  put  to  death.  See  Achmeta,  Esthek, 
and  Haman. 


The  i-est  of  Ahasuerus's  life  has  no  relation  to 
sacred  history.  He  died  A.  M.  3519,  ante  A.  D. 
485,  after  a  reign  of  six-and-thii-ty  years,  and  was 
succeeded  by  Xerxes,  his  son  by  Apharsa,  or  Vashti. 

The  foregoing  statement  is  in  conformity  with  the 
opinion  of  Usher  and  others,  which  supposes  Ahas- 
uerus to  be  Darius,  the  son  of  Hystaspes ;  but,  as 
this  opinion  has  its  difficulties,  we  shall  notice  what 
Dr.  Prideaux  has  suggested  in  support  of  his  opinion, 
that  Artaxerxes  Longimanus  Avas  the  Ahasuerus  of 
Scripture,  to  whom  Esther  was  queen.  Usher 
thought  Darius,  sou  of  Hj'staspes,  married  Atcssa, 
(who  is  Vashti,)  afterwards  divorced  by  him ;  and 
that  he  took  to  wife  Ai'istone,  daughter  of  Cyrus, 
and  widow  of  Cambyses,  who  is  Esther.  But  this 
is  contradicted  by  Herodotus,  Avho  informs  us,  that 
Aristone  was  daughter  of  Cyrus  ;  consequentlj-,  she 
could  not  be  Esther,  Avho  Avas  too  young.  He  says 
further,  that  Atossa  had  four  sons  by  Darius,  Avithout 
reckoning  daughters ;  and  that  she  had  so  great  an 
ascendency  over  him,  as  to  prevail  en  him  to  declare 
her  son,  Xerxes,  his  successor,  to  the  exclusion  of 
his  oAvn  sons.  We  foresaAv,  says  Caimet,  this  ob- 
jection, in  our  comment  en  Esther  i.  9.  and,  without 
A'enturiug  to  ascertain  the  Vashti  divorced  by  Ahas- 
uerus, Ave  have  sho\A-n  that  neither  Atossa,  Avhom 
Ave  take  to  be  the  daughter  of  Cyrus,  nor  Aristone, 
Avho  AA'as  a  virgin  Avhen  he  married  her,  and  might 
be  Esther, — that  neither  of  them  Avas  dismissed  by 
Ahasuerus.  Herodotus  says  expressly,  in  his  third 
book,  that  the  daughter  of  Cyrus,  and  Avife  of 
Darius,  AAas  Atossa,  lib.  iii.  cap.  68.  and  88.  Dr. 
Prideaux  adds,  (Hist,  part  i.  book  iv.)  that  the  prin- 
cipal reason  AAhich  influenced  Usher,  Avas  the  notice, 
in  the  book  of  Esther  (eh.  x.  1.),  "  that  Ahasuerus 
laid  a  tribute  on  the  land,  and  on  the  isles  of  the 
sea,"  AA-hich  Ave  read  also  in  Herodotus,  of  Darius, 
son  of  Hystaspes,  lib.  iii.  cap.  89.  But  Strabo  at- 
tributes this  to  Darius  Longimanus  ;  Avhile  our  author 
would  refer  it  to  Artaxerxes  Lonsimanus.  Strabo, 
fib.  XV. 

The  reasons  urged  by  Dr.  Prideaux  for  Artaxerxes 
Longimanus  are  these  :  (1.)  That  Joscphus  expressly 
affirms  Artaxerxes  to  have  been  Esther's  husband. 
(Antiq.  hb.  xi.  cap.  G.)  (2.)  The  Scptuagint,  and  the 
Greek  additions  to  the  book  of  Esther,  call  Ahasue- 
rus Artaxerxes.  (3.)  Several  circumstances  in  these 
additions  caimot  be  applied  to  Artaxerxes  3Iueincn. 
(4.)  The  extraordinary  favor  Avith  Avhich  Artaxerxes 
Longimanus  honored  the  JeAvs,  strengthens  the 
probabihty  that  he  had  married  a  JcAvess.  This 
opinion  is  maintained  by  Sulpitius  Sevcrus,  and 
many  other  AATiters,  both  ancient  and  modern.  Sec 
Artaxerxes  Lo>'Gi]vrANUS. 

Scaligcr  supposes  Xerxes  to  be  the  Ahasuerus  of 
Scripture,  and  his  Avife  Amestris  to  be  queen  Esther. 
(De  emendat.  Temp.  lib.  iv.)  He  grounds  his  belief  on 
the  resemblance  of  the  names ;  hut  the  circum- 
stances related  in  the  history  of  Amestris  prove,  in- 
disputably, that  she  is  not  the  Esther  of  Scripture ; 
for  Amestris,  Avife  of  Xerxes,  had  a  son  by  that 
prince,  Avho  Avas  of  age  to  marry  in  the  seventh  year 
of  his  father's  reign,  Herod,  lib.  ix.  She  could  not, 
therefore,  be  Esther,  Avho  Avas  not  married  till  the 
soA^enth  year  of  his  reign. 

[Thus"  far  Caimet.  The  opinions  of  interpreters 
respecting  the  Persian  king  designated  by  this  name 
in  the  books  of  Ezra  and  Esther^  have  been  exceed- 
ingly diverse ;  and  he  has  in  turn  been  supposed  to 
be  Astyages,  Cyaxares  II,  Cambyses,  Darius  Hystas- 
pes, Xerxes,  and  Artaxerxes  Longimanus,  i.  e.  each 


AHASUERUS 


[32] 


AHASUERUS 


of  the  whole  line  of  Persian  kings  from  Astyages  to 
Aitaxerxes  Longimanus,  ^vith  the  exception  of  Cyrus 
and  Smerdis.  In  Ezra  iv.  6.  the  order  of  time 
would  strictly  require  the  name  to  be  understood  of 
Cambyses  ;  nor  is  there  any  violence  or  improbabil- 
ity in  supposing,  that  this  monarch  had  assumed  this 
appellation  (i.  e.  lion  king,  see  below)  along  with  his 
other  titles.  Or,  on  the  supposition  that  Ahasuerus 
was  Xerxes,  we  have  only  to  suppose  that  the  sacred 
writer,  having  in  v.  5.  spoken  of  the  efforts  of 
the  enemies  all  tlie  days  of  Cyrus  and  urito  the 
reign  of  Darius  Hystaspes,  goes  on  to  mention  the 
continuance  of  their  efforts  in  general  in  the  days 
of  his  successor,  Xerxes  ;  while  in  v.  7.  he  goes  back 
to  describe  their  one  great  and  successful  effort  in  the 
days  of  Artaxerxes,  who  is  here  Smerdis. 

One  great  ditficulty  in  the  way  of  settling  this 
point,  seems  to  have  been  an  impression  on  the 
minds  of  the  learned  men  who  have  endeavored  to 
investigate  the  subject,  that  every  event  and  circum- 
stance mentioned  in  the  sacred  narrative,  must  also 
be  found  in,  or  made  out  from,  the  pages  of  profane 
historJ^  Thus  we  have  seen  above,  that  Usher  builds 
his  supposition  of  Darius  Hystaspes  chiefly  on  the 
fact,  that  the  imposition  of  a  tribute  mentioned  Esther 
X.  1.  is  also  mentioned  by  Herodotus,  and  ascribed 
to  Darius.  But  Strabo,  a-s  we  have  seen,  mentions  a 
similar  fact,  and  in  connection  with  another  monarch. 
Now,  was  the  imposition  of  a  tax  by  a  Pei-sian 
monarch  a  thing  of  such  rare  occurrence,  that  we 
must  expect  to  find  it  recorded  in  every  historian, 
and  especially  in  every  Greek  historian  ?  We  ought 
rather  to  assume — and  all  that  we  know  of  the  Per- 
sian monarchy  leads  us  to  assume — that  such  levies 
were  not  unfrcquent ;  and  we  surely  have  no  right 
to  suppose,  that  Greek  historians,  ^v^iting  about  the 
affairs  of  a  foreign  and  distant  empire,  would  neces- 
sarily mention  every  arrangement  of  its  internal 
policy.  Just  so,  too,  in  regard  to  Esther,  Inteqjret- 
ers  have  sought  to  identify  her  with  various  wives 
of  the  three  Persian  monarchs  mentioned  above  by 
Calmet.  In  this  they  have  as  yet  been  unsuccess- 
ful ;  nor  does  this  course  seem  necessary.  The 
Jews  were  then  a  conquered,  captive,  and  despised 
people.  That  an  oriental  monarch,  who  looked  only 
to  beauty,  should  make  a  selection  from  among  his 
female  slaves,  and  in  this  way  take  a  wife  from  this 
degraded  nation,  has  in  itself  nothing  unusual  or  of 
high  importance.  But  that  we  must  necessarily  ex- 
pect Greek  historians,  when  treating  of  the  external 
affairs  of  Persia,  to  describe  ])articularly,  or  even 
allude  to,  this  occurrence  in  the  monarch's  private 
life,  would  seem  to  be  unnecessaiy,  and  contrary  to 
sound  critical  judgment.  They  might  be  led  by 
circumstances  to  mention  other  wives  of  the  mon- 
arch, who  were  to  them  of  more  im|)ortance  ;  while 
they  might  cither  know  nothing  of  Esther,  or  have 
heard  of  iier  only  as  a  female  slave  who  had  been 
chosen,  like  hundreds  of  others,  for  her  beauty,  and 
who  had  for  them  no  furtiier  interest. 

The  objections,  therefore,  above  made  to  the  sup- 
position that  Xerxes  is  the  Ahasuerus  of  Scripture, 
would  seem  to  fall  away.  On  the  other  hand,  we 
may  remark,  that  both  Darius  Hystaspes  and  Arta- 
xerxes Longimanus  are  mentioned  in  Scripture  by 
their  usual  names,  (Ezra  iv.  5.  24;  v.  (5  etc.  vii.  1 
etc.  Neh.  ii.  1  etc.)  and  there  is  therefore  less  proba- 
bility that  they  would  also  be  mentioned  under 
another  name  ;  while  Xerxes  is  apparently  no  where 
spoken  of,  or  alluded  to,  unless  it  be  under  the  ap|)el- 
lation  of  Ahasuerus.     To  this  we  may  add,  tiiat  the 


character  of  Xerxes,  as  portrayed  by  Herodotus, — a 
monarch  not  more  cruel  than  he  was  imbecile  and 
vain, — corresponds  entirely  to  the  description  of 
Ahasuerus  in  the  book  of  Esther. — The  statements 
of  Josephus,  in  respect  to  the  ancient  history  of  his 
nation,  are  often  so  legendaiy,  as  to  render  here  his 
testimony  in  favor  of  Artaxerxes  Longimanus  less 
authoritative  than  it  otherwise  would  be. 

This  supposition  receives  also  a  strong  suppoit  in 
the  etymology  of  the  name  Xerxes,  as  recently  as- 
certained by  the  labors  of  Grotefend  and  Champol- 
lion.  The  former,  in  deciphering  a  cuneifonn  Per- 
sepolitan  inscription,  found  the  name  of  Xerxes  to 
be  there  written  Khsh-her-she,  or  Khsh-ver-she ; 
(Heeren  Ideen,  ed.  4.  i.  2.  p.  348.)  and  this  was  con- 
firmed by  the  latter  from  an  Egyptian  inscription  in 
hieroglyphics  and  in  Persian.  (Precis  du  Syst^me 
hieroglyphique,  p.  24.)  The  meaning  of  this  word 
is  the  lion  king.  For  the  initial  sound,  the  Greeks 
substituted  their  similar  letter  X,  and  gave  the  word 
their  usual  termination,  making  Xerxes.  The  He- 
brews, by  prefixing  their  not  unfrequent  prosthetic 
Aleph,  formed  the  name  Akhashverosh,  or  Akashverosh, 
c'niE'nN,  which  we  represent  by  Ahasuerus,  combin- 
ing the  Hebrew  and  the  Greek  '^aai^oog.  See  Ge- 
senius,  Thes.  Heb.  p.  74,  75. 

On  the  whole,  then,  we  may  conclude  with  a  good 
degi-ee  of  probability,  that  the  Ahasuerus  of  the 
i)ook  of  Esther  was  no  other  than  the  Xerxes  of 
profane  history,  who  succeeded  his  father  Darius 
about  B.  C.  485,  and  was  succeeded  by  his  son  Ar- 
taxerxes Longimanus,  about  B.  C.  464.  He  was  the 
second  son  of  Darius  Hystaspes;  and  is  chiefly 
known  in  history  by  the  vast  preparations  which  he 
made  for  the  invasion  of  Greece,  against  which  lie 
marched  at  the  head  of  an  army  (according  to  the 
Greek  historians)  of  more  than  five  millions  of  men. 
His  progress  was  first  checked  at  Thermopylae  by 
the  devoted  valor  of  Leonidas  and  his  three  hundred 
Spartans  ;  and  although  he  succeeded  in  burning  the 
deserted  city  of  Athens,  he  was  nevertheless  soon 
compelled  to  return  disgracefully  to  his  owai  do- 
minions, where  he  was,  not  long  after,  assassinated. 
The  only  trait  of  moral  feeling  or  humanity  recorded 
of  hiin,  is  the  circumstance  mentioned  by  Herodo- 
tus, (lib.  vii.)  that,  while  reviewing  his  vast  army 
and  fleet  from  an  eminence  on  the  shores  of  Aby- 
dos,  he  suddenly  burst  into  tears ;  and  on  being  asked 
the  reason  of  this  by  Artabanes  his  uncle,  he  replied, 
that  lie  wept  at  the  thought  of  the  shortness  of 
liuinan  life,  since,  of  all  the  vast  multitudes  before 
him,  not  one  would  be  alive  at  the  end  of  a  hundred 
years!     *R. 

The  description  given  of  Ahasuerus's  palace,  in 
our  translation  of  the  first  chapter  of  Esther,  is  any 
thing  Ijut  satisfactory,  and  most  of  the  conmienta- 
tors  have  been  embarrassed  in  their  attempts  to  make 
out  its  sense : — "  The  king  made  a  feast  to  all  the 
people  that  were  ])resent  at  Shushan,  the  palace; 
l)Oth  unto  great  and  small,  seven  <lays,  in  the  court 
of  th(!  garden  of  the  king's  jialace ;  where  were 
white,  green,  and  blue  hangings,  fastened  with  cords 
of  fine  linen,  and  i)uri)le,  to  silver  rings  and  pillars 
of  marble ;  the  beds  were  of  gold,  and  silver,  upon 
a  pavement  of  red,  and  blue,  and  white,  and  black 
marble."  What  are  we  to  understand  by  all  this  ? — 
Hangings  fastened  to  silver  rings — to  ])illars  of  mar- 
hie  ?' — cords  made  of  fine  linen.? — beds  of  gold  and 
silver — laid  on  the  pavement  ?  &c. 

The  following  remarks  arc  by  Taylor,  Frag- 
ment G79. 


AHASUERUS 


[33] 


AHASUERUS 


To  justify  this  description,  we  may  first  consider 
the  canopy ;  the  reader  will  judge  of  its  probability 
and  use  from  the  following  quotation : — "  Among 
the  ruins  remaining  at  Persepolis  is  a  court,  con- 
taining many  lofty  pillars ;  one  may  even  pi-esume 
that  these  colunms  did  not  support  any  architrave, 
as  Sir  John  Chardin  has  observed,  (p.  76.  torn,  iii.) 
but  we  may  venture  to  suppose,  that  a  covering  of 
tapestry,  or  linen,  was  drawn  over  them,  to  intercept 
the  perpendicular  projection  of  the  sun-beams.  It 
is  also  probable  that  the  tract  of  ground  where  most 
of  the  colunms  stand,  was  originally  a  court  before 
the  palace,  like  that  which  was  before  the  king's 
house  at  Susa,  mentioned  Esther,  chap.  v.  and 
through  which  a  flow  of  fresh  air  was  admitted  into 
the  apartments."  (Le  Bruyn,  vol.  ii.  p.  222.)  This 
idea,  formed  almost  on  the  spot,  supports  the  sug- 
gestion of  a  canopy  covering  the  court.  It  is  con- 
nnned  also  by  the  custom  of  India.  We  have  been 
told  by  a  gentleman  from  whom  we  i-equested  in- 
formation on  this  subject,  that,  "at  the  festival  of 
Durma  Rajah  in  Calcutta,  the  great  court  of  a  very 
large  house  is  overspread  with  a  covering,  made  of 
canvass  lined  with  calico ;  and  this  lining  is  orna- 
mented with  broad  stripes,  of  various  colors,  in 
which  (in  India,  observe)  green  predominates.  On 
occasion  of  this  festival,  which  is  held  only  once  in 
three  years,  the  master  of  the  house  gives  wine  and 
cake,  and  other  refreshments,  to  the  English  gentle- 
men and  ladies  who  wish  to  see  the  ceremonies ;  he 
also  gives  payment,  as  well  as  hospitality,  to  those 
wlio  perform  them."  That  such  a  covering  would 
be  necessary  in  hot  climates,  we  may  easily  suppose  ; 
nor  is  the  supposition  enfeebled  by  remarking,  that 
the  Cohseum,  or  Flavian  Amphitheatre  at  Rome,  has 
still  remaining  on  its  Avails  the  marks  of  the  masts, 
or  scaffoldings,  which  were  erected  when  that  im- 
mense area  was  covered  with  an  awning ;  as  it  was 
during  the  shows  exhibited  there  to  the  Roman  pub- 
lic.    See  House. 

In  the  lower  part  of  the  court,  the  preparations 
consisted  in  what  may  be  called  a  railed  platform  on 
a  mustaby ;  what  these  were  the  reader  will  under- 
stand, by  an  extract  from  Dr.  Russell's  History  of 
Aleppo: — "Part  of  the  principal  court  is  planted 
with  trees  and  flowering  shrubs ;  the  rest  is  paved. 
At  the  south  end  is  a  square  basin  of  water  with 
jets  (T  eau,  and  close  to  it,  upon  a  stone  mustaby,  is 
"built  a  small  pavihon ;  or,  the  mustaby  being  only 
railed  in,  an  open  divan  is  occasionally  formed  on 
it.  [A  mustaby  is  a  stone  platform,  raised  about  two 
or  three  feet  above  the  pavement  of  the  court.] 
This  being  some  steps  higher  than  the  basin,  a  small 
fountain  is  usually  placed  in  the  middle  of  the  divan, 
the  mosaic  jjavement  round  which,  being  constantly 
wetted  by  the  jet  iT  eau,  displays  a  variety  of  splendid 
colors,  and  the  water,  as  it  runs  to  the  basin,  through 
marble  channels  which  are  rough  at  bottom,  pro- 
duces a  pleasing  murmur.  Where  the  size  of  the 
court  admits  of  a  larger  shrubl)ery,  temporary  divans 
are  jjlaced  in  the  gi-ove ;  or  arbors  are  formed  of 
slight  latticed  frames,  covered  by  the  vine,  the  rose, 
or  the  jasmine  ;  the  rose,  shooting  to  a  most  luxuriant 
height,  when  in  full  flower,  is  elegantly  picturesque. 
Facing  the  basin,  on  the  south  side  of  the  court,  is  a 
wide,  lofty,  arched  alcove,  about  eighteen  inches 
higher  than  the  pavement,  and  entirely  open  to  the 
court.  It  is  painted  in  the  same  manner  as  the 
apartments,  but  the  roof  is  finished  in  plain  or  gilt 
stucco  and  the  floor  round  a  small  fountain  is  paved 
uiili  marble  of  sundry  colors,  with  &jet  (T  eau  in  the 
5 


middle.  A  large  divan  is  here  prepared,  but  being 
intended  for  the  summer,  chintz,  and  Cairo  mats, 
are  employed,  instead  of  cloth,  velvet,  and  carpets. 
It  is  called,  by  way  of  distinction.  The  Divan,  and  by 
its  north  aspect,  and  a  sloping  painted  shed  project- 
ing over  the  arch,  being  protected  from  the  sun,  it 
ofters  a  delicious  situation  in  the  hot  months.  The 
sound,  not  less  than  the  sight,  of  the  jets  d'  eau,  is 
extremely  refreshing ;  and  if  there  be  a  breath  of 
air  stirring,  it  arrives  scented  by  the  Arabian  jasmine, 
the  henna,  and  other  fragrant  plants  growing  in  the 
shrubbery,  or  ranged  in  pots  round  the  basin.  There 
is  usually  on  each  side  of  the  alcove  a  small  i-oom, 
or  cabinet,  neatly  fitted  up,  and  serving  for  retire- 
ment. These  rooms  are  called  kubbe,  whence,  prob- 
ably, the  Spaniards  derived  their  al  coba,  which  is 
rendered  by  some  other  nations  in  Europe  alcove." 
(Page  30.)  In  another  place.  Dr.  Russell  gives  a 
])rint  of  a  mustaby,  with  several  musicians  sitting 
upon  it,  on  which  he  observes,  "  The  front  of  the 
stone  mustaby  is  faced  with  marble  of  different  col- 
ors. Part  of  the  court  is  paved  in  mosaic,  in  the 
manner  represented  below."  The  view  which  we 
have  here  copied,  "  shows,  in  miniature,  the  inner 
court  of  a  great  house.  The  doors  of  the  kaah,  and 
part  of  the  cupola,  appear  in  front ;  on  the  side,  the 
high  arched  alcove,  or  divan,  with  the  shed  above ;  the 
marble  facing  of  the  mustaby,  the  mosaic  pavement 
between  that  and  the  basin,  and  the  fountain  playing." 


This  account  of  Dr.  Russell's  harmonizes  per- 
fectly with  the  history  in  Esther ;  and  we  have  only 
to  hnagine  that  the  railings,  or  smaller  pillars  of  the 
divan,  (the  balustrades,)  on  the  mustaby,  in  the  palace 
of  Ahasuerus,  were  of  silver,  (silver  gilt,)  while  the 
larger,  called  columns,  placed  at  the  corners,  (as  m 
our  print,)  or  elsewhere,  were  of  marble ;  the  flat 
part  of  the  mustaby  also  being  overspread  with  car- 
pets, &c.  on  which,  next  the  raihngs,  were  cushions 
richly  embroidered,  for  die  purpose  of  being  leaned 
against.— These  things,  mentioned  in  the  Scripture 
narration,  if  placed  according  to  the  doctor's  account, 
enable  us  to  comprehend  and  justify  the  whole  ot 
the  Bible  description. 


AHA 


[34] 


AHA 


AHAVA,  a  couutiy  and  river  of  Babylonia,  or  of 
Assyria,  where  Ezra  assembled  those  captives  who 
were  returning  to  Judea,  Ezra  ^'iii.  15.  21.  31.  It  is 
thought  by  some  to  have  rvm  along  the  province  of 
Adiabene,  where  a  river  Diava,  or  Adiava,  the  Zab, 
or  Lycus,  is  mentioned,  on  which  Ptolemy  places 
a  citj'  Abane,  or  Aavane.  The  history  of  Izates, 
king  of  the  Achabenians,  and  his  mother  Helena,  who 
became  converts  to  Judaism  some  years  after  the 
death  of  Clmst,  proves  that  there  were  many  Jews 
remaining  in  that  country.  Jos.  Ant.  xx.  c.  2. — 
[The  above  supposition  would  seem  not  to  be  well 
grounded ;  since  it  depends  solely  on  the  sunilarity 
of  the  names  in  Latin  ;  of  which  there  is  no  trace 
in  the  Hebrew.  Besides,  it  is  more  probable  that 
the  rendezvous  of  the  returning  Jews  would  be  in 
the  S.  W.  part  of  Babylonia,  rather  than  in  the  re- 
mote N.  E.  part  of  Assvria.  See  Rosenin.  Bib.  Geog. 
i.  2.  p.  93.     R. 

AHAZ,  son  of  Jotham,  and  twelfth  king  of  Judah. 
He  was  twenty  years  of  age  when  he  ascended  the 
throne,  and  reigned  sixteen  years  in  Jerusalem,  (2 
Kings  xvi.  12.)  that  is,  from  A".  M.  3262  to  3278. 

Ahaz  imitated  the  kings  of  Israel  and  Samaria,  in 
idolatry  and  all  manner  of  disorders.  He  oflcred 
sacrifices  and  incense  on  the  high  places,  and  in 
groves ;  and  consecrated  one  of  his  sons,  making 
him  to  pass  through  fire,  in  honor  of  JMoloch.  Shortly 
after  his  accession  to  the  throne,  his  kingdom  Avas 
invaded  by  the  united  forces  of  Rezin,  king  of  Sjria, 
and  Pekah,  king  of  Israel,  who  defeated  his  troops, 
and  besieged  Jerusalem,  2  Kings  xvi.  1 — 5  ;  2  Chron. 
xxAiii.  5,  seq. ;  Isa.  vii.  1.  When  they  found  they 
could  not  take  it,  they  divided  their  army,  plundered 
the  country,  and  made  prisoners  every  where.  Rezin 
and  his  party  retired  with  all  their  spoil  to  Damas- 
cus. But  Pekah,  having  in  one  battle  killed  120,000 
of  Ahaz's  army,  took  prisoners  200,000  persons, 
men,  women,  and  children.  As  thej^  were  carrying 
these  captives  to  Samaria,  the  prophet  Oded,  witli 
the  principal  inhabitants  of  the  city,  came  out  to 
meet  the  captors,  and  prevailed  on  them,  by  remon- 
strances, to  liberate  then*  prisoners,  and  restore  the 
booty.  Those  who  were  not  able  to  perform  the 
journey  homeward  on  foot,  were  conveyed  in  car- 
riages to  Jericho,  2  Chron.  xxviii.  The  following 
year,  Pekah  ;ind  Rezin  again  returned,  and  laid  waste 
the  kingdom  of  Judah.  The  Philistines  and  Edoin- 
ites  also  spread  themselves  like  an  inundation  ov(!r 
the  territories  of  Ahaz,  committed  great  disorders, 
killed  many  peo])]e,  and  carried  off  much  booty. 
In  these  circuinstances,  and  just  before  the  siege  of 
Jerusalem,  the  jjrojjhet  Isaiah,  witii  his  son  Shear- 
jashub,  went  to  meet  Ahaz,  and  foretold  the  deliver- 
ance of  his  countrj^,  and  the  destruction  of  his  ene- 
mies, offering  liim  the  choice  of  any  prodigy,  in  con- 
firmation of  the  prediction.  Under  the  ap})earance 
of  declining  to  tempt  the  Lord,  Ahaz  refused  to  se- 
lect a  sign.  "Hear,  then," said  Isaiali,  "  O  house  of 
David  ;  behold  tiie  sign  wliich  the  Lord  gives  you  ; 
a  virgin  coiicf-iving  and  l)earing  a  son,  whose  name 
shall  be  called  ]'>mniaiuicl.  (See  Emmanuel.) 
Butter  and  honey  shall  he  cat,  tliat  he  may  know 
to  refuse  the  evil,  and  choose  the  good."  Then, 
pointing  to  his  own  son,  Isaiah  assured  Ahaz' 
that  before  this  child  should  be  able  to  distinguish' 
good  and  evil,  the  two  kings  confederated  against 
Judah  should  be  slain  ;  which  accordingly  happened 
Isaiah  vii.  In  this  extremity,  Ahaz  applied  to  the' 
king  of  Assyria,  presenting  him  the  gold  and  silver 
from  the  temple  and  the  palace.     Tiglathpileser  ac- 


cepted the  presents,  and  marched  to  assist  Ahaz  ; 
attacked  and  killed  Rezui,  took  Damascus  his  capi- 
tal, and  removed  the  inhabitants  to  Cyrene,  that  part 
of  Iberia  where  the  river  Cyrus  runs.  Ahaz  went 
to  Damascus  to  meet  the  king  of  Assyria,  whence 
he  sent  a  model  of  an  altar  to  the  high-priest  Uri- 
jah,  that  he  might  place  one  hke  it  in  the  temple  at 
Jerusalem.  Upon  this  he  offered  sacrifices,  and 
commanded  its  exclusive  use.  He  ordercil  also  the 
bases  to  be  taken  away,  and  the  lavers  of  brass ;  the 
brazen  sea,  and  its  supporting  oxen  ;  and  commanded 
them  to  be  placed  below,  on  the  pavement  of  the 
temple,  2  Kings  xvi.  In  his  greatest  affliction,  Ahaz 
showed  the  highest  contempt  of  God  ;  he  sacrificed 
to  the  Syrian  gods,  to  render  them  propitious  ;  he 
broke  the  vessels  of  the  temple,  shut  the  gates,  and 
erected  altars  in  all  parts  of  Jerusalem,  and  in  all 
the  cities  of  Judah,  to  burn  incense  on  them,  2 
Chron.  xxviii.  22,  23,  &c.  He  died,  and  was  buried 
in  Jerusalem;  but  not  in  the  sepulchres  of  the  kings 
of  Judah,  because  of  his  iniquities.  Other  princes, 
his  predecessors,  as  Jehoram  and  Joash,  as  well  as 
Manasseh  and  Anion,  two  of  his  successors,  were 
treated  with  the  same  ignominy ;  and  denied  the 
privilege  of  being  interred  among  the  kings.  For 
some  remarks  on  the  dial  of  Ahaz,  see  Dial. 

I.  AHAZIAH,  son  and  successor  of  Ahab,  king 
of  Israel,  1  Kings  xxii.  40.  51.  He  reigned  two 
years,  alone  and  Avith  his  father,  who  associated  him 
in  the  kingdom  the  year  before  his  death,  A.  M. 
3106.  Ahaziah  imitated  Ahab's  impiety  ;  and  wor- 
shipped Baal  and  Astarte,  whose  rites  had  been  in- 
troduced into  Israel  by  Jezebel  his  mother.  In  the 
second  year  of  his  reign,  the  Moabites,  who  had 
been  subject  to  the  kings  of  Israel  since  its  separa- 
tion from  Judah,  revolted  against  Ahaziah,  and  re- 
fused to  pay  him  the  ordinary  tribute.  About  the 
same  time,  he  fell  from  the  tenace  of  his  house, 
and  being  considerably  hurt  thereby,  he  sent  to 
Ekron,  for  the  purpose  of  consulting  Beelzebub  con- 
cerning his  indisposition.  His  messengers  were  met 
on  their  way  by  the  prophet  Elijah,  reproved  for 
their  impiety,  and  sent  back  to  Ahaziah,  with  the 
assurance  that  his  illness  would  be  fatal.  Incensed 
at  the  interference  of  the  prophet,  Ahaziah  gave 
orders  to  have  him  apprehended.  Two  officers, 
with  fifty  men  each,  successively  perished  by  fire 
from  heaven,  while  endeavoring  to  execute  tliis  com- 
mand ;  but  Elijah  yielded  to  the  supplications  of  a 
third,  and  accompanied  him  into  the  presence  of  the 
king,  whom  he  again  reproved  for  resorting  to  idols, 
instead  of  betaking  himself  to  Jehovah,  and  re- 
peated his  declaration  that  he  should  not  recover. 
The  prophet's  words  were  verified  by  the  dejith  of 
zVliaziah,  after  a  short  reign  of  two  years,  A.  M. 
3108.  He  was  succeeded  by  his  brotlier  Jehoram, 
2  Kings  i ;  2  Chron.  xx.  35. 

II.  AHAZIAH,  otherwise  Jehoahaz,  or  Azariah, 
king  of  Judah,  son  of  Jehoram  and  Athaliah,  suc- 
ceeded his  father,  A.  M.  311!»,  2  Kings  viii.  25;  2 
Chron.  xxii.  2.  He  was  twenty-two  years  of  age 
when  lie  ascended  the  throne,  and  he  r(>igned  but 
one  year  at  Jerusalem.  He  followed  tin;  liouse  of 
Ahab,  to  which  he  wiis  allied  by  his  mother,  and 
did  evil.  Joram,  king  of  Israel,  having  attacked 
Ramoth-Gilead,  was  there  dmigerously  wounded  ; 
and  i)eing  carried  to  Jezreel  for  cure,  Ahaziah,  his 
friend  and  relation,  went  thither  to  visit  him.  In 
the  mean  time,  Jehu,  son  of  Niinshi,  whom  Joram 
had  left  besieging  Ramoth,  rebelled  against  him,  de- 
signing to  extirpate  the  house  of  Ahab,  according  to 


AHI 


[35  ] 


AHI 


tlie  commandment  of  the  Lord,  and  for  tliis  pur- 
pose set  out  for  Jezreel  witli  a  party  of  horsemen. 
Joram  and  Ahaziah,  ignorant  of  his  intentions,  went 
to  meet  him.  Jehu,  after  reproaching  Joram  with 
tlic  wickedness  of  his  family,  pierced  hixn  through 
tiie  heart  with  an  an-ow.  Aliaziah  fled ;  but  Jehu's 
people  overtook  him  near  Ibleam,  and  mortally 
wounded  him.  He  had  sufticient  strength,  how- 
ever, to  reach  Megiddo,  where  he  died,  (2  Kings  ix. 
21,  &c.)  or,  as  it  would  seem  from  2  Chron.  xxii.  8, 
9.  was  sought  out  and  put  to  death,  by  the  command 
of  Jehu.  The  text  of  the  book  of  Chronicles  im- 
ports that  Ahaziah  was  forty-two  years  of  age  when 
he  began  to  reign,  in  which  it  differs  from  that  of 
the  Kings.  This  difficulty,  however,  may  be  re- 
moved, by  reading  with  the  Septuagint,  Syriac,  and 
Arabic  versions,  twenty-two  instead  of  forty-two ; 
on  the  supposition  that  the  reading  in  Chronicles 
arose  ia  transcribing,  by  the  substitution  of  2~,  42, 
for  22,  22. 

AHIAH,  son  and  successor  to  the  high-priest 
Ahitub,  1  Sam.  xiv.  3.  His  son  Ahimelech  was 
put  to  death  by  Saul,  1  Sam.  xxii.  18.  There  are 
several  other  pei-sons  of  this  name  mentioned  in  the 
Scriptuie  history,  but  none  of  any  importance. 

AHIEZER,  son  of  Anmiishaddai,  and  chief  of 
the  tribe  of  Dan,  who  came  out  of  Egj'pt  at  the 
head  of  72,000  men  of  his  tribe.  His  offering  was 
the  same  as  that  of  his  fellow-chiefs,  Numb.  vii. 
m,  67. 

I.  AHI JAH,  a  prophet  of  the  Lord,  who  dwelt  at 
Shilo,  and  is  conjectured  by  some  to  be  the  person 
who  spoke  twice  to  Solomon  from  God,  1  Kings  vi. 
11 ;  xi.  11.  Ahijah  wrote  the  history  of  this  prince's 
life,  2  Chron.  ix.  29.  Jeroboam,  going  one  day  out 
of  Jerusalem,  was  mot  by  the  prophet  Ahijah,  (1 
Kings  xi.  29.)  Avho  took  a  new  mantle,  in  which  he 
liad  Avi-apped  hhnself,  (see  Veil,)  from  off  his  shoul- 
ders, and,  tearing  it  in  twelve  pieces,  gave  ten  of 
them  to  Jeroboam,  and  declared  that  God  would 
thus  rend  the  kingdom,  after  the  death  of  Solomon, 
and  give  ten  of  the  tribes  to  himself.  See  1  Kings 
xii.  2,  seq. 

Jeroboam's  son  having  fallen  sick,  his  wife  went 
in  disguise  to  Ahijah,  to  inquire  whether  he  would 
recover.  Notwithstanding  the  disguise  of  the  queen 
and  his  own  blindness,  however,  the  prophet  dis- 
covered her,  and  foretold  the  death  of  her  son,  and 
the  entire  extirpation  of  the  house  of  Jeroboam,  1 
Kings  xiv.  The  event  was  answerable  to  the  pre- 
diction. Aliijah,  in  all  probability,  did  not  long 
survive. 

H.  AHIJAH,  ftither  of  Baasha,  king  of  Israel,  1 
Kings  XV.  27.  Baasha  killed  Nadab,  son  of  Jero- 
boam, and  usurped  his  kingdom,  thereby  executing 
the  predictions  of  the  prophet  Ahijah. 

AHIKAM,  son  of  Shaphan,  and  father  of  Geda- 
liah,  sent  by  Josiah  to  consult  Huldah,  the  prophet- 
ess, concerning  the  book  of  the  law,  found  in  the 
temple,  2  Kings  xxii.  12 ;  xxv.  22 ;  Jer.  xxvi.  24 ; 
-xl.  6. 

AHIMAAZ,  son  of  Zadok  t!ie  high-priest,  succeed- 
ed his  father  about  A.  M.  3000,  under  Solomon.  He 
rendered  David  very  important  service  during  the 
war  with  Absalom,  2  Sam.  xv.  27,  seq.  xvii.  17. 
While  his  father,  Zadok,  was  in  Jerusalem  with 
Hushai  the  friend  of  David,  Ahimaaz  with  Jona- 
than continued  a  little  way  ^vithout  the  city,  near 
the  fountain  Rogel.  Being  infonned  of  the  resolu- 
tions of  Absalom's  council,  they  immediately  has- 
tened to  give  the  king  intelligence ;  but  being  dis- 


covered by  a  young  lad,  who  infonned  Absalom,  he 
sent  orders  to  pursue  them.  Ahimaaz  and  Jona- 
than, fearing  to  be  taken,  retired  to  a  man's  house  at 
Bahaiim,  in  whose  court-yard  was  a  well,  in  the 
sides  of  which  they  concealed  themselves.  Upon 
the  mouth  of  this  well  the  woman  of  the  house 
spread  a  covering,  and  on  the  covering,  corn  ground, 
or  rather  parched.  When  Absalom's  people  came, 
and  inquired  after  them,  the  woman  answered, 
"  They  have  passed  over  the  Uttle  brook  of  Avater." 
Deceived  by  this  answer,  the  pursuers  passed  over  a 
brook  at  no  great  distance,  but  not  finding  them,  re- 
turned to  Jerusalem,  and  Ahimaaz  and  Jonathan 
continued  their  journey  to  David.  After  the  battle 
in  which  Absalom  was  slain,  Ahimaaz  was  the  first 
who  arrived  with  the  fatal  intelhgence  to  the  king. 
Some  years  afterwards,  Ahimaaz  succeeded  his 
father  in  the  high-priesthood,  and  was  himself  suc- 
ceeded by  Azariah  his  son,  1  Chron.  vi.  9. 

AHIM  AN,  a  giant  of  the  race  of  Anak,  who  dwelt 
at  Hebron,  when  the  spies  visited  the  land  of  Ca- 
naan, Numb.  xiii.  22.  He  was  driven  from  Hebron 
with  his  brethren,  Sheshai  and  Talmai,  when  Caleb 
took  that  city.  Josh.  xv.  14. 

I.  AHIMELECH,  son  of  Ahitub,  and  brother  of 
Ahiah,  whom  he  succeeded  in  the  high-priesthood. 
David,  flying  from  Saul,  (1  Sam.  xxi.  1.)  went  to 
Nob,  where  Ahimelech,  with  other  priests,  then 
dwelt,  and  representing  to  the  liigh-priest  that  he 
was  on  pressing  business  from  the  king,  obtained  the 
shew-bread,  and  also  the  sword  which  he  had  won 
from  Gohah.  Doeg,  the  Edomite,  who  was  then  at 
Nob,  related  what  had  passed  to  Saul,  who  imme- 
diately sent  for  Ahimelech  and  the  other  priests, 
and,  after  accusing  them  of  having  conspired  with 
David,  commanded  his  guards  to  slay  them.  These 
having  refused  to  execute  the  sanguinary  man- 
date, the  king  commanded  Doeg  to  execute  the 
deed,  which  he  immediately  did,  and  massacred 
fourscore  and  five  persons.  He  went  afterwards 
to  Nob,  with  a  party  of  soldiers,  and  put  men, 
women,  children,  and  cattle,  to  the  sword.  One  of 
Ahimelech's  sons,  (Abiathar,)  however,  escaped  the 
carnage,  and  retired  to  David,  1  Sam.  xxi.  xxii. 
Probably  Ahmielech  himself  also  bore  the  name  of 
Abiathar.     See  Abiathar,  and  Abimelech  IV. 

II.  AHIMELECH,  or,  as  he  is  also  called,  Abi- 
melech, probably  the  same  as  Abiathar,  which 
see,  1  Chron.  xxiv.  3.  6.  31 ;  2  Sam.  \iii.  17.  Comp. 
1  Chron.  xviii.  16. 

AHINADAB,  son  of  Iddo,  governor  of  the  dis- 
trict of  Mahanaim,  beyond  Jordan,  under  Solomon, 
1  Kings  iv.  14. 

I.  AHINOAM,  daughter  of  Ahimaaz,  and  wife 
of  Saul,  1  Sam.  xiv.  50. 

II.  AHINO.AiM,  David's  second  wife,  and  mother 
of  Amnou,  was  a  native  of  Jezreel.  She  was  taken 
by  the  Amalekites  when  they  plundered  Ziklag,  but 
was  recovered  by  David,  1  Sam.  xxx.  5. 

AHIO,  with  his  brother  Uzzah,  conducted  the  ark 
from  the  house  of  Abinadab  to  Jerusalem,  1  Chron. 
xiii.  7.     See  Uzzah. 

AHIRA,  son  of  Euan,  chief  of  Naphtali,  (Numb, 
ii.  29.)  came  out  of  Egypt  at  the  head  of  53,400 
men. 

AHITHOPHEL,  a  native  of  Gillo,  and  a  person 
who  bore  a  conspicuous  part  in  the  war  between 
Absalom  and  his  father  David.  He  was  originally 
one  of  David's  most  intimate  and  valued  fi-iends,  but 
upon  the  defection  and  rebelUon  of  Absalom,  he  es- 
poused the  cause  of  that  prince,  and  became  one  of 


AI 


[36  ] 


AJ  A 


the  bitterest  enemies  to  liis  sovereign.  Upon  hear- 
ing of  Ahithophel's  position  in  the  party  of  Absalom, 
David  became  extremely  uneasy,  and  after  ])raying 
that  the  Lord  would  turn  his  counsel  into  foolisji- 
ness,  he  despatched  Hushai,  who  had  accompanied 
him  hi  his  flight,  to  Jerusalem,  for  the  {)urpose  of 
endeavoring  to  counteract  the  effects  of  Ahithophel's 
expected  advice.  The  anticipations  of  David,  as  to 
the  counsel  of  this  eminent  statesman,  were  not 
without  foundation,  for  the  measures  he  recom- 
mended were  of  u  description  the  most  calculated 
to  extinguish  all  the  authority  and  power  of  the 
king,  and  secure  the  success  of  the  usurper's  designs. 
Ahithophel  advised,  in  the  first  ])lace,  that  Absalom 
should  puljlicly  abuse  his  father's  concubines ;  for 
the  purpose,  no  doul)t,  of  impressing  the  public  mind 
with  an  idea,  that  the  breach  with  his  lather  was 
irreconcilable,  and  also  of  inducing  Absalom,  under 
the  impression  that  all  probability  of  pardon  was 
past,  to  follow  up  his  i)kms  witli  determination  and 
vigor.  In  addition  to  this,  lie  proposed  that  David 
should  be  innuediately  pursued  by  twelve  thousand 
chosen  men,  who  might  come  up  with  him  while  he 
was  weary,  and  fall  u|)on  him  while  oft'  his  guard. 
The  advice  was  a])proved  by  Absalom  and  his  chiefs, 
but  was  defeated  by  the  prompt  and  skilful  interpo- 
sition of  Hushai,  who  foresaw  its  consequences  uj)on 
David.  (See  Hushai.)  Ahithophel,  foreseeing  that 
the  plan  proposed  by  Hushai  woidd  most  probably 
issue  in  the  defeat  of  Absalom,  and  the  return  of 
the  king,  returned  to  Gillo,  where  he  hanged  him- 
self, and  thus  averted  that  ignominious  pimishment 
which  he  justly  apprehended  as  the  reward  of  his 
perfidy,  2  Sam.  xv.  12 ;  xvi.  15,  seq.  xvii.  Ahith- 
ophel seems  to  have  been  the  grandfather  of  Bath- 
sheba,  2  Sam.  xxiii.  34.  compared  with  xi.  3. 

I.  AHITUB,  the  son  of  Phinehas,  and  gi-and- 
8on  and  successor  of  Eli,  the  high-priest,  1  Sam. 
xiv.  3. 

n.  AHITUB,  son  of  Amariah,  and  father  of  Za- 
dok,  the  high-priest,  1  Chron.  vi.  8.  It  is  uncertain 
whether  he  ever  sustained  the  sacerdotal  character 
himself.     See  Amariah  I. 

AHIHUD,  the  son  of  Shelomi,  of  Aslier,  and  one 
of  the  conmiissioners  appointed  by  Moses  to  divide 
the  land  of  Canaan,  Num.  xxxiv.  27. 

AHOLAH,  and  AIIOLIBAH,  two  fictitious  or 
symbolical  names,  adojjted  by  Ezekiel,  (cha]).  xxiii. 
4.)  to  denote  the  two  kingdoms  of  .ludali  and  Sama- 
ria. They  are  represented  as  sisters,  and  of  Egyp- 
tian extraction.  ./Jliotith  stands  for  Samaria,  and 
Aholihah  for  Jtrusakm.  The  first  signifies  a  tent, 
(i.  e.  she  has  a  tent  or  tabernacle  of  her  own — her 
religion  and  worship  is  a  human  invention  ;)  tlu; 
second,  my  tent  i.i  mth  her,  (i.  e.  I,  the  Lord,  have 
given  to  lier  a  tabernacle  and  religious  service.) 
They  both  ])rostituted  themselves  to  the  Egyptians 
and  Assyrians,  in  imitating  their  abominations  and 
idolatries;  wherefore  the  I.ord  abandoned  tlicm  to 
the  power  of  those  very  |)eople,  for  whom  they 
showed  such  excessive  and  imi)ure  affection.  They 
were  carried  into  captivity,  and  reduced  to  the  se- 
verest servitude. 

AHOLIAB,  son  of  Ahisamach,  of  Dan,  appointed 
with  Itezaleel  to  construct  the  tabernacle,  p]xod. 
XXXV.  34. 

AHUZZATH,  tlie  friend  of  Abimelech,  king  of 
Gerar,  who  accompanied  him  with  Pliicol,  a  general 
in  his  army,  when  lie  visited  Isaac  at  Beer-sheba,  to 
make  an  alhance  with  him,  Gen.  xxvi.  20. 

I.  A  I,  a  city  near  Bethel,  eastward,  Josh.  vii.  2. 


The  LXX  call  it  /"ui,  '.^yyai',  and  Josephus,  ./lina; 
others  Jliah  and  Math.  Joshua  having  detached 
3000  men  against  Ai,  God  permitted  them  to  be  re- 
pidsed,  on  account  of  the  sin  of  Achan,  who  had 
violated  the  anathema  pronounced  against  Jericho, 
by  appropriating  some  of  the  spoil.  (See  Achan.) 
After  the  expiation  of  this  offence,  Joshua  sent  by 
night  30,000  men  to  lie  in  ambush  behind  the  city, 
and,  early  the  next  morning,  marched  upon  it  with 
the  remainder  of  his  army.  The  king  of  Ai  sallied 
hastily  out  of  the  town  with  his  troops,  and  attacked 
the  Israelites,  who  fled,  as  if  under  great  terror,  and 
by  this  feint  drew  the  enemy  into  the  plain.  When 
Joshua  saw  the  whole  of  them  out  of  the  gates,  he 
elevated  his  spear,  as  a  signal  to  the  ambuscade, 
which  immediately  entered  the  place,  now  without 
defence,  and  set  it  on  fire.  The  people  of  Ai,  per- 
ceiving the  rising  smoke,  endeavored  to  return,  but 
found  those  who  had  set  fire  to  the  city  in  their 
rear,  while  Joshua  and  his  army,  advancing  in  front, 
destroyed  them  all.  The  king  was  taken  alive, 
brought  to  Joshua,  and  afterwards  hanged.  Josh. 
viii.  Ai  was  aftenvards  rebuilt,  and  is  mentioned 
under  the  name  of  Aiath,  Is.  x.  28.  After  the  exile, 
its  former  inhabitants,  Benjamitts,  returned  again  to 
their  former  home,  Ezra  ii.  23  ;  Neh.  vii.  32  ;  xi.  31. 
In  the  time  of  Euscbius  and  Jerome,  its  ruins  only 
were  visible.    Euseb.  Onomast.  under  'Jyyui. 

A  difticulty  has  been  felt  in  reconciling  the  relations 
ill  ch.  viii.  ver.  3  and  12.  In  tlie  former  verse,  the 
writer  says,  that  Joshua  chose  out  30,000  men,  and 
sent  them  away  by  night,  to  lie  in  ambush  between 
Bethel  and  Ai ;  whereas  the  latter  states  that  he  ciiose 
5000  men  the  next  morning,  whom  he  sent  to  lie  in 
ambush  also  between  Bethel  and  Ai.  IMasius  allows 
5000  men  for  the  ambuscade,  and  25,000  for  the  attack 
of  the  city,  being  persuaded,  that  an  army  of  (;00,000 
men  could  only  create  confusion  on  this  occasion, 
without  either  necessity  for,  or  advantage  in,  such 
numbers.  The  generality  of  interpreters,  however, 
acknowledge  two  bodies  to  be  ))laced  in  ambuscade, 
both  between  Bethel  and  Ai,  one  of  25,000,  the  other 
of  5000  men.  Let  it  be  stated  thus:  Joshua  at  first 
sent  30,000  men,  who  marched  by  night,  and,  to 
avoid  discovery,  went  behind  the  eminences  of 
Bethel.  These  posted  themselves  at  the  place  ap- 
pointed for  the  aml)usca<le.  The  officer  at  the  head 
of  them  then  detached  5000  men,  who  lay  hid  as 
near  as  possible  to  the  town,  in  order  to  throw  them- 
selves into  it  on  the  first  o])portimity. — Interjireters 
are  divided  in  opinion,  Jis  to  the  nature  of  the  signal 
used  by  Joshua  iqion  this  occasion.  Some  suppose 
that  the  instrument  he  employed  was  a  shield  ele- 
vated on  the  point  of  a  spear,  and  others  that  it  was 
a  javelin  ;  the  ral)bins  i)elievc  it  to  have  been  a  staff' 
belonging  to  some  of  th(Mr  Cf)lors. 

If.  A  I,  in  Jer.  xlix.  3.  seems  to  have  been  a  city 
in  the  land  of  the  Ammonites,  not  far  from  Kab- 
bah. 

ALAH,  mother  of  liizpah,  who  was  Saul's  concu- 
bine. David  delivered  her  children  to  the  Gibeon- 
itcs,  to  lie  hanged  befon;  the  Lord,  2  Sam.  xxi.  8, 

AJALON,  (fi-om  ^^n  n  deer,  properly  deer-Jicld,) 
the  name  of  at  least  three  cities  in  Israel. 

1.  A.TAi.oN  in  Dan,  assigned  to  the  Levites  of  Ko- 
hath's  family,  Josh.  xix.  42  ;  xxi.  24.  It  lay  in  or 
near  a  valley,  not  fju-  fi-om  the  \alley  of  Gibeon,  be- 
tweeen  Bethshemesh  and  Timnatli,  (2  Chron.xxviii, 
18.)  and  is  the  jdace  in  which  Joshua  commanded 
the  light  of  the  moon  to  be  stayed,  Josh.  x.  12.  It 
is  jirobably  tlie  place  mentioned  by  Jerome  as  beinff 


ALA 


[37] 


ALE 


situated  near  Nicopolis,  about  20  miles  N.  W.  of  Je- 
rusalem. 

2.  Ajalon,  in  Benjamin,  fortified  by  Rehoboam, 
2  Chron.  xi.  10.  A  city  of  this  name  is  mentioned 
by  Eusebius  as  being  three  miles  east  of  Bethel. 

3.  Ajalo.v,  in  the  tribe  of  Zabulun,  where  Elon 
was  buried,  Judg.  xii.  12. 

AIN,  (a  fountain,)  a  city  first  given  to  the  tribe  of 
Judali,  and  then  to  the  Simeouites,  Josh.  xv.  32.  1 
Chron.  iv.  32. 

AIR.  The  air,  or  atmosphere,  surrounding  the 
earth,  is  often  denoted  by  the  w^ord  heaven ;  so  the 
birds  of  the  heaven — for  the  birds  of  the  air.  God 
rained  fire  and  brimstone  on  Sodom  from  heaven, 
that  is,  from  the  air,  Gen.  xix.  24,  "  Let  fire  come 
down  from  heaven,"  that  is,  from  the  air,  2  Kings  i. 
10.  3Ioses  menaces  Israel  with  the  effects  of  God's 
wrath,  by  destruction  with  a  pestilential  air,  (Deut. 
xxviii.  22.)  or  perhaps  with  a  scorching  wind,  pro- 
ducing mortal  diseases ;  or  with  a  blast  which  ruins 
the  corn,  1  Kings  viii.  37.     See  Wind. 

To  "l)oat  the  air,"  and  to  "speak  in  the  air,"  (1 
Cor.  ix.  2G;  xiv.  9.)  are  modes  of  expression  used  in 
most  languages,  signifying — to  speak  or  act  without 
judgment,  or  understanding;  or  to  no  purpose;  to 
fatigue  ourselves  in  vain.  "The  powers  of  the  air" 
(Eph.  ii.  2.)  probably  mean  devils,  who  exercise 
their  powers  principally  in  the  air;  exciting  winds, 
storms,  and  tempests,  or  other  malign  influences, 
(see  Job  i.  7.)  and  to  which,  perhaps,  the  apostle 
may  allude;  if  it  be  not  rather  an  accommodation 
to  the  Jewish  beUef  which  was  current  in  his  days, 
tliat  the  air  was  the  abode  of  evil  spirits.  See 
Angel. 

ALABARCHA,  a  term  not  found  in  Scripture, 
but  which  Josephus  uses  repeatedly,  to  signify  the 
ciiief  of  the  Jews  in  Alexandria.  Philo  calls  this 
magistrate,  /'t '"?/',?,  Genarches,  and  Josephus,  in 
some  places,  Ethnarches ;  which  terms  signify  the 
prince,  or  chief,  of  a  nation.  Some  believe,  that  the 
tcnn  alabarch  was  given,  in  raillery,  to  the  principal 
magistrate,  or  head  of  the  Jews  at  Alexandria,  by 
the  Gentiles,  who  despised  the  Jews.  Some  derive 
it  froui  AlcAa,  which  signifies  ink,  to  write  with ; 
Mabarcha  would  then  signify  the  "chief  secretary," 
or  collector  of  the  customs  and  duties  on  cattle  car- 
ried out  of  the  country.  Fuller  derives  it  from  the 
Syriac  Halaph,  and  Arcin,  or  Arcon,  that  is,  the  in- 
tendant,  or  the  sovereign's  delegate ;  for  in  places 
where  the  Jews  were  numerous,  a  princijjal  of  their 
own  nation,  or  some  other  to  whom  they  might  ad- 
dress themselves,  in  their  own  affairs,  was  placed 
over  them.  Perhaps  it  originally  signified  the  per- 
son Avho  had  the  custom  of  salt;  Init  was  wantonly 
given  to  the  head,  or  goveruoi",  of  the  Jews  at  Alex- 
andria. 

ALABASTER,  a  genus  of  fossils  having  the  color 
of  the  human  nail,  nearly  allied  to  marbles,  and, 
according  to  Pliny,  found  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Thebes,  in  Egypt,  and  about  Damascus,  in  Syria. 
This  material  being  very  generally  used  to  fabricate 
vessels  for  holding  unguents,  and  perfumed  liquids, 
many  vessels  were  called  alabaster,  though  made  of 
a  different  substance,  as  gold,  silver,  glass,  etc.  In 
Matt.  xxvi.  G,  7.  we  read,  that,  Jesus  being  at  table  in 
Bethany,  in  the  house  of  Simon  the  leper,  a  woman 
(Mary,  sister  of  Lazarus,  John  xii.  3.)  poured  an  ala- 
baster box  of  precious  ointment  on  his  head.  Mark 
eays  "she  brake  the  box,"  signifying,  probably,  that 
the  seal  upon  the  box,  or  upon  the  neck  of  the  vase 
or  bottle,  which  kept  the  perfume  from  evaporating. 


had  never  been  removed,  but  was,  on  this  occasion, 
frst  opened, 

ALCIMUS,  or,  as  he  is  called  by  Josephus,  Jaci- 
MU9,  or  Joachim,  high-priest  of  the  JeAvs,  A.  M. 
3842.  He  w-as  of  the  sacerdotal  race,  but  his  ances- 
tors had  never  enjoyed  the  high-priesthood.  Be- 
sides, he  had  been  polluted  wnth  idolatry,  during  the 
persecution  of  Autiochus  Epiphanes,  (2  Mace.  xiv. 
3.)  and  he  obtained  his  dignity  by  very  irreo^ular 
means.  After  the  death  of  Menelaus,  he  was  con- 
firmed in  his  office  by  Antiochus  Eupator,  but  did 
not  perform  its  functions  till  after  the  death  of  Judas 
Maccabanis.  Having  obtained  intelligence  that  De- 
metrius, son  of  Antiochus  Epiphanes,  had  privately 
left  Rome,  and  arrived  in  Syria,  he  put  himself  at 
the  head  of  the  apostate  Jews  who  were  then  at 
Antioch,  and  throwing  himself  at  the  feet  of  the  new 
king,  besought  him  to  defend  them  from  the  violence 
of  Judas  Maccabaeus,  whom  he  accused  as  an  op- 
pressor of  the  king's  i)arty,  and  who  had  dispersed 
and  driven  them  out  of  their  country.  He  also  en- 
treated him  to  send  some  one  into  Judea,  to  examine 
into  the  mischiefs  and  disorders  committed  by  Judan 
Maccabseus,  and  to  chastise  his  insolence.  Deme- 
trius immediately  sent  Bacchides  with  an  army  into 
Judea,  and,  confirming  Alcimus  in  his  office  of  high- 
priest,  charged  them  both  with  the  conduct  of  tlio 
war.  Upon  their  arrival  in  Judea,  they  endeavored 
to  ensnare  Judas  and  his  brethren,  under  the  pre- 
tence of  treating  with  them ;  but  suspecting  or  dis- 
covering the  snare,  the  brothers  happily  avoided  it. 
About  sixty  Assideans,  however,  and  many  scribes 
and  doctors  of  the  law,  relying  on  his  oath,  that  no 
injury  should  be  offered  to  them,  put  themselves  iu 
his  power,  and  were  all  murdered. 

Bacchides,  having  established  Alcimus  by  force 
in  Judea,  returned  into  Syria,  having  committed  the 
province  to  Alcimus,  and  left  troops  sufficient  for 
the  purpose.  Alcimus,  for  some  time,  successfully 
defended  himself,  but  Judas  soon  recovered  tlie  su- 
periority, and  Alcimus  returned  to  the  king,  with  a 
present  of  a  gold  crown,  a  palm-tree,  and  golden 
branches ;  which,  in  all  probability,  he  had  taken 
out  of  the  temple,  9  Mace.  xiv.  3,  4,  &c.  Having 
represented  to  Demetrius  that  his  authority  could 
not  be  established  in  Judea  so  long  as  Judas  lived, 
the  king  sent  another  army  against  him,  under  the 
command  of  Nicanor,  1  Mace.  vii.  25,  seq.  After 
several  ineffectual  attempts  to  secure  the  j)erson  of 
Judas,  Nicanor  was  killed  at  Capharsalama,  and  his 
army  routed.  Demetrius,  being  informed  of  this, 
again  sent  Bacchides  and  Alcimus,  with  a  strong  re- 
inforcement, formed  of  the  choicest  of  his  troops. 
Judas,  whose  little  army  had  been  so  reduced,  that 
he  had  not  above  eight  hundred  men,  ventured,  with 
this  small  force,  to  attack  the  enemy,  and  after  prod- 
igies of  valor,  died,  overwhelmed  by  numbers,  1 
Mace.  ix.  1—22. 

The  death  of  Judas  delivered  Alcimus  and  his 
party  from  a  formidable  enemy,  and  he  began  to  ex- 
ercise the  offices  of  the  high-priesthood  ;  but,  at- 
tempting to  pull  down  the  Avail  of  the  inner  court, 
which  had  lieen  built  by  the  prophets,  (that,  proba- 
bly, which  separated  the  altar  of  burnt-offerings  from 
the  priest's  court,)  God  punished  him  bj^  a  stroke  of 
the  palsy,  of  Avhich  he  died,  after  enjoying  the  pon- 
tificate three  or  four  years,  1  Mace.  vii.  9 ;  ix.  54. 
A.  M.  3844. 

ALEMA,  a  city  in  Gilead,  beyond  Jordan,  1  Mace. 
V.  26. 

ALEMETH,  a  city  of  refuge,  in  the  tribe  of  Ben- 


ALEXANDER 


[38] 


ALEXANDER 


jamin,  (1  Chroii.  vi.  60.)  called  Almon,  in  Josh, 
xxi.  18. 

ALEPH,  (n,)  the  name  of  the  first  letter  in  the  He- 
hrew  alphaljet,  whence  the  Alpha  of  the  Greeks  is 
derived.  (See  A.)  Certain  psalms,  and  other  parts 
of  Scripture,  begin  with  Meph ;  and  the  verses  fol- 
lowuig,  with  the  succeeding  letters  of  the  alphabet, 
in  then-  order.  These  are  called  alphabetic  psahns, 
etc.     See  Psalms,  and  Letters. 

L  ALEXANDER  the  Great,  son  and  successor 
of  Philip  king  of  Maccdon,  is  denoted  in  the  prophe- 
cies of  Daniel,  by  a  Icojjard  with  four  wings,  signi- 
fying his  great  strength,  and  the  unusual  rapidity  of 
his  conquests,  cli.  \-ii.  G ;  also  as  a  one-horned  he- 
goat,  running  over  the  earth  so  swiftly  as  not  to 
toucli  it ;  attacking  a  ram  -with  two  horns,  over- 
throwing him,  and  trampling  him  under  foot,  with- 
out any  being  able  to  rescue  him,  ch.  viii.  4 — 7.  The 
he-goat  prefigured  Alexander  ;  the  ram,  Darius  Codo- 
mannus,  the  last  of  the  Persian  kings.  In  the  statue 
beheld  by  Nebuchadnezzar,  in  a  dream,  (ch.  ii.  39.) 
the  belly  of  brass  was  the  emblem  of  Alexander,  and 
the  legs  of  iron  designated  his  successors.  He  was 
appointed  by  God  to  destroy  the  Persian  empire, 
and  to  substitute  the  Grecian  monarchy.  Alexan- 
<ler  was  born  at  Pella,  ante  A.  D.  355.  Philip  was 
killed  at  a  marriage  feast,  when  Alexander  was 
aliout  eighteen.  After  he  had  performed  the  last 
duties  to  his  father,  he  was  chosen  by  the  Greeks 
genei'al  of  their  troops  against  the  Persians,  and  en- 
tered Asia  with  an  army  of  34,000  men,  A.  M.  3670. 
In  one  campaign  he  subdued  almost  all  Asia  Minor. 
He  defeated  Orobates,  one  of  Darius's  generals ;  and 
Darius  himself,  whose  army  consisted  of  400,000 
foot,  and  100,000  horse,  in  the  narrow  passes  which 
load  from  Syria  to  Cilicia.  Darius  fled,  abandoning 
his  camp  and  baggage,  his  children,  wife,  and 
mother.  After  he  had  subdued  Syria,  Alexander 
came  to  Tyre,  and  the  Tyrians  opposing  his  en- 
trance into  their  city,  he  besieged  it.  At  the  same 
time  he  wrote  to  Jaddus,  high-priest  of  the  Jews, 
that  he  expected  to  be  acknowledged  by  him,  and  to 
i*eceive  those  suljmissions  Avhich  had  hitherto  been 
paid  to  the  king  of  Persia.  Jaddus  refusing  to  com- 
ply, as  having  sworn  fidelity  to  Darius,  Alexander 
resolved  to  march  against  Jerusalem,  when  he  had 
reduced  Tyre.  After  a  j)rotractcd  siege,  the  city 
was  taken  and  sacked.  This  done,  Alexander  en- 
tered Palestine,  and  reduced  it.  As  he  was  maich- 
ing  against  Jerusalem,  intending  to  punish  tlie  high- 
priest,  Jaddus,  fearing  his  resentment,  had  recoiu'se 
to  God  by  prayers  and  sacrifices.  The  Lord,  in  a 
dream,  commanded  Jaddus  to  open  the  gates  to  the 
conqueror,  and,  dressed  in  jiis  pontifical  ornaments, 
attended  by  the  priests,  in  their  Ibrmalities,  at  the 
head  of  iiis  peo])le,  to  receive  Alexander  in  triumph. 
Jaddus  obeyed  ;  and  Alexander,  seeing  from  a  dis- 
tance this  (•omj)any  advancing,  was  struck  with  ad- 
miration, and  approaching  tin;  high-priest,  he  saluted 
him  first,  then  adored  God,  whose  name  was  en- 
graven on  a  tiiin  (tlate  of  gold  worn  by  tin;  high- 
priest  on  his  forclicad.  Tin;  peopi",  in  the  mean 
Avhile,  surrouiuhid  Alexander,  with  gnat  acclama- 
tions. The  kings  of  Syria,  wjio  accompanied  him, 
and  the  gnat  officers  about  Alexander,  coidd  not 
comprehend  tiie  meaning  of  his  conduct.  Parmenio 
alone  ventured  to  ask.  Why  lie,  to  whom  all  ])eople 
prostrated  themselves,  had  jirostrated  hims-df  before 
the  high-priest  of  the  Jews?  Alexander  replied, 
that  he  paid  this  respect  to  God,  and  not  to  the  liigh- 
priest ;  "for,"  adde(l  he, '"  winle  I  was  yet. in  Mace- 


donia, I  saw  the  God  of  the  Jews,  who  appeared  to 
me  in  the  same  form  and  dress  as  this  high-priest , 
he  encouraged  me  to  march  my  army  with  expe- 
dition into  Asia,  promising,  under  his  guidance,  to 
render  me  master  of  the  Persian  empire.  For  tljis 
reason,  as  soon  as  I  perceived  this  habit,  I  recollect- 
ed the  vision,  and  understood  that  my  undertaking 
was  favored  by  God,  and  that,  under  his  protection, 
I  might  expect  very  soon  to  obtain  the  Persian  em- 
pire, and  happily  to  accomplish  all  my  designs." 
Having  said  this,  Alexander  accompanied  Jaddus 
into  the  city,  and  offered  sacrifices  in  the  temple, 
])unctually  conforming  to  the  directions  of  the  priests, 
and  leavmg  to  the  high-priest  the  honors  and  func- 
tions annexed  to  his  dignity.  Jaddus  showing  him 
the  prophecies  of  Daniel,  in  which  it  was  said  that 
a  Grecian  prince  should  destroy  the  Persian  empire, 
the  king  was  confirmed  in  his  opinion,  that  God  had 
chosen  him  to  execute  that  great  work.  At  his  de- 
parture, he  bade  the  Jews  ask  what  they  Avould  of 
him;  but  the  high-priest  desired  only  the  hberty  of 
living  under  his  government,  according  to  then*  own 
laws,  with  an  exemption  from  tribute  evei-y  seventh 
year,  because  in  that  year  the  Jews  neither  tilled 
their  grounds,  nor  reaped  their  products.  Alexan- 
der readily  granted  this  request ;  and  as  they  be- 
sought him  to  grant  the  same  favor  to  the  Jews  be- 
yond the  Euphrates,  in  Babylonia  and  Media,  he 
promised  that  pri^  ilege,  as  soon  as  he  had  conquered 
those  provinces.  This  done,  he  left  Jerusalem,  and 
visited  other  cities ;  being  every  where  received 
with  great  testimonies  of  friendship  and  submission. 
The  Samaritans  who  dwelt  at  Sichem,  observing 
how  kindly  Alexander  had  treated  tlie  Jews,  re- 
solved to  say  that  they  also  were,  by  religion,  Jews ; 
for  it  was  their  practice,  when  they  saw  the  aftairs  of 
the  Jews  prosper,  to  boast  that  they  were  descend- 
ed from  Manasseh  and  Ephraim  ;  but  when  they 
thought  it  their  interest  to  say  tlie  contrary,  they 
would  not  fail  to  affirm,  and  even  to  swear,  that  they 
had  no  relation  to  the  Jews.  They  came,  therefore, 
with  many  demonstrations  ef  joy,  to  nieet  Alexan- 
der ;  entreated  him  to  visit  their  temple  and  city, 
and  petitioned  him  for  an  exemption  from  taxes 
every  seventh  year,  because  they  also  neither  tilled 
nor  reaped  that  year.  Alexander  replied,  that  he 
had  granted  this  exemption  only  to  Jews;  but  at  his 
return,  he  would  inquire  into  the  matter,  and  do 
them  justice.     Joseph.  Ant.  xi.  c.  8. 

It  shoidd  here  be  observed,  that  these  accounts 
of  Alexander's  reverence  for  the  high-jjriest,  his 
dream,  etc.  rest  only  on  the  authority  of  Josc- 
phus,  and  are  probably  to  .be  regarded  as  a  Jewish 
legend.     R. 

Alexander,  having  conquered  Egypt,  and  regu- 
lated it,  gave  orders  for  the  continr.ation  of  his  new 
city,  Alexandria,  and  de])arteil  thence  about  spring, 
into  the  East,  in  pursuit  of  Darius.  Passing  through 
Palestine,  he  was  infbniied  that  the  Samaritans,  in 
a  general  insurrection,  had  killed  Androiuachus, 
governor  of  Syria  anil  Palestine,  v.lio,  coming  to 
Samaria,  to  regulate  sonn-  afiairs,  had  been  burned 
in  his  house  by  the  inhabitants.  This  action  highly 
incensed  Alexander,  who  loved  Andromnchus,  and 
he  therefore  ordered  all  who  were  concerned  in  his 
nun-der  to  be  executed  ;  the  rest  he  banished  from 
Samaria,  and  settled  a  colony  of  IMacedonians  in 
their  room.  The  Samaritans  who  escaped  this  ca- 
lamity, collected  in  Sichem,  at  the  foot  of  mount  Ge- 
rizim,  Avhich  became  their  capital,  as  it  still  contin- 
ues.    And  lest  the  8000  men  of  this  nation,  who 


ALEXANDER 


[39] 


ALEXANDER 


were  iu  his  service,  and  had  accompanied  hiin  since 
the  siege  of  Tyre,  if  sent  back  into  their  own  couu- 
tiy,  niiglit  renew  the  spirit  of  rebellion,  Alexander 
sent  them  into  Thebais,  the  most  remote  southern 
province  of  Eg}'pt,  and  there  assigned  them  lands. 
Joseph,  c.  Apion.  ii. 

After  Alexander  had  subdued  Asia,  and  opened  a 
v/ay  to  India,  with  incredible  rapidity,  he  gave  him- 
self up  to  intemperance  ;  and  having  drank  to  ex- 
cess., ho  fell  sick,  and  died,  after  he  had  obliged  "  all 
the  world  to  be  quiet  before  him,"  1  Mace.  i.  3. 
Being  sensible  that  his  end  was  near,  he  sent  for  his 
court,  and  declared,  that  "  he  gave  the  cmjiire  to  the 
most  deserving."  Some  afiirm,  however,  that  he 
regulated  the  succession  by  a  will.  The  autlior  of  the 
first  hook  of  Maccabees  (chap.  i.  G.)  says,  he  divided 
lii?  kingdom  among  his  generals  while  he  was  living; 
and  it  is  certain,  that  a  partition  was  made  of  his 
dominions  among  the  four  principal  officers  of  his 
aruiy.  He  died  A.  M.  3681,  ante  A.  D.  323,  at  the 
age  of  thirty-three,  after  reigning  twelve  yeai*s ;  six 
as  kirig  of  IMacedon,  and  six  as  monarch  of  Asia, 
He  was  buried  at  Alexandria. 

The  name  of  Alexander  is  equally  celebrated  iu 
the  \^Titings  of  the  orientals,  as  in  those  of  the 
Greeks  and  Romans ;  but  they  vary  extremely  from 
the  accounts  which  Avestern  historians  give  of  him. 
They  call  him  Iscanier  Dulliarnaira,  "  double- 
horned  Alexander,"  alluding  to  the  two  horns  of  his 
empire  (or  his  pov\'er)  in  the  east  and  v/est. 

n.  ALEXANDER  Balas,  so  called  from  Bala, 
his  mother,  was  the  natural  son  of  Antiochus  Epipha- 
ncs:  he  is,  on  medals,  surnamed  Theopator  Euer- 
getes.  Some  historians,  however,  will  not  allow  him 
to  be  even  the  natural  son  of  Antiochus  Epiphanes. 
Florus  calls  him  an  unknoAvn  person,  and  of  uncer- 
tain extraction.  Justin  says  that  the  enemies  of  De- 
metrius, king  of  Syria,  suborned  a  young  man,  from 
among  the  meanest  of  the  people,  to  declare  himself 
son  and  heir  of  Antiochus ;  and  that  he,  warring 
witli  success  against  the  king  of  Syria,  obtained  his 
kingdom.  Appian  affirms  that  Alexander  Balas  pre- 
tended to  be  of  the  family  of  the  Seleucidas,  without 
any  right  to  that  pretension  ;  and  Athona^us  says, 
that  he  was  the  supposed  son  of  Antiochus  E])iph- 
anes.  But  the  Roman  senate,  the  Jews,  the  Egj'p- 
tians,  and  the  Syrians,  acknowledged  him  as  son  and 
heir  of  that  prince.  Heraclides  of  Byzantium  was 
the  person  who  undertook  to  seat  Alexander  Balas 
on  the  throne  of  Syria,  and  to  displace  Demeti'ius, 
who  was  his  particular  enemy.  He  carried  Alexan- 
der, and  Laodicea,  a  daughter  of  Antiochus  Epi])h- 
anes,  to  Rome,  and  by  presents  and  intrigue  pre- 
vailed on  the  senate  not  only  to  acknowledge  Alex- 
ander as  the  heir  of  Antiochus,  but  also  to  afford  him 
assistance  in  recovering  the  dominions  of  his  father. 
Having  made  preparations  at  Ephesus  to  prosecute 
the  war  against  Demetrius,  Alexander  sailed  into 
Syria,  and  having  obtained  possession  of  Ptolemais, 
he  wrote  to  Jonathan  Maccaba?us,  sending  him  a 
purple  robe  and  a  crown  of  gold,  to  induce  him  to 
espouse  his  cause,  1  3Iacc.  x.  18.  Jonathan  yielded 
to  his  solicitation,  and,  notwithstanding  the  liberal 
promises  and  assurances  of  Demetrius,  declared  for 
Alexander. 

The  contending  kings  committed  the  determina- 
tion of  their  cause  to  a  decisive  battle,  in  which  De- 
metrius, after  being  deserted  by  his  troops,  and  per- 
forming prodigies  of  valor,  was  slain,  1  Mace.  x.  48, 
etc.  Jos.  Ant.  xiii.  2.  Alexander  Balas,  having  thus 
obtained  possession  of  the  kingdom,  determined  to 


strengthen  himselPby  an  alliance  with  the  king  of 
EgJTt,  whose  daughter  he  demanded  in  man-iage. 
Ptolemy  complied  with  the  demand,  and  the  mar- 
riage was  concluded  at  Ptolemais,  where  the  two 
kings  met,  1  ]\lacc.  x.  51—58.  Jos.  Ant.  xiii.  4, 
Jonathan  was  also  present,  and  received  marks  of 
distinction  from  both  the  princes. 

Alexander  Balas,  however,  did  not  long  remain 
undisturbed  in  possession  of  his  throne.  Within 
two  years,  Demetrius  Nicator,  the  eldest  son  of  the 
former  Demetrius  Soter,  at  the  head  of  some  troops 
which  he  had  received  from  Lasthenes,  of  Crete, 
passed  into  Cihcia.  Alexander  was  then  in  Phu;- 
nicia,  but  instantly  returned  to  Ajitioch,  that  he 
might  prepare  for  the  arrival  of  Demetrius.  In  the 
mean  time,  Apollonius,  who  had  received  the  com- 
mand of  Demetrius's  troops,  was  defeated  by  Jona- 
than Maccabajus  and  his  brother  Simon,  who  also 
took  Azotus  and  Ascalon,  and  returneU  laden  with 
spoil  to  Jerusalem.  Alexander,  in  reward  for  these 
services,  advanced  Jonathan  to  neAv  honors,  sent 
hhn  the  buckle  of  gold,  which  was  generally  given 
only  to  near  relations  of  the  king,  and  made  an  ad- 
dition to  his  territory,  1  I>Iacc.  x.  C9. 

While  this  was  transpiring  in  Syria,  Ptolemy  Plii- 
lometer  was  devising  how  to  unite  the  kingdom  of 
Syria  with  Egypt,  and  de'terniinod  uj)on  private 
measures  to  destroy  both  Demetrius  Nicator  and 
Alexander  Balas.  Under  pretence  of  assisting  his 
son-in-law  Alexander,  he  entered  Syria  with  a  pow- 
erful army,  and  after  having  seized  several  cities, 
he  represented  that  Balas  had  prepared  ambuscades 
for  him  in  Ptolemais,  Avith  intention  to  surprise  him. 
Ptolemy  advanced  to  Antioch  without  resistance, 
assumed  the  throne,  and  put  on  his  head  the  two 
diadems  of  Egj'pt  and  Syria,  1  Mace.  xi.  1 — 13. 
Jos.  Ant.  xiii.  4. 

Balas,  who  had  returned  into  Cihcia,  there  gath- 
ered a  numerous  armj-,  with  which  he  marched 
against  Ptolemy  and  Demetrius  Nicator,  now  con- 
federated against  him,  and  gave  them  battle  on  the 
river  Q^naeparas  ;  but  being  overcome,  he  fled,  with 
five  hundred  horse,  into  Arabia ;  where  Zabdiel,  a 
prince  of  the  Arabians,  cut  oft'  his  head,  and  sent  it 
to  Ptolemy.  Such  is  the  history,  at  least  iu  the  first 
book  of  JMaccabees,  (xi.  15 — 17.)  hut  other  histori- 
ans relate,  that  Alexander's  generals,  considering 
their  own  interests  and  security,  treated  privately 
with  Demetrius,  treacherously  kUled  their  master, 
and  sent  his  head  to  Ptolemy  at  Antioch,  A.  M. 
3359.  Alexander  Balas  left  a  son  very  young,  called 
Antiochus  Theos,  whom  Tryphon  raised  to  the 
throne  of  Syria. 

III.  ALEXANDER  Ja>n.eus,  third  son  of  John 
Hircanus,  who  left  three  sons,  or  five,  according  to 
Joscphus,  de  Bello,  i.  3.  The  father  was  particularly 
fond  of  Antigonus  and  Aristobulus,  but  could  not 
endui-e  his  third  son,  Alexander,  because  he  had 
dreamed  that  he  would  reign  after  him ;  which 
dream  extremely  afflicted  him,  inasmuch  as,  accord- 
ing to  the  law  of  nature,  it  implied  the  death  of  his 
two  brothers.  Events  justified  the  dream.  Antigo- 
nus never  reigned,  and  Aristobulus  reigned  but  for  a 
short  time.  After  his  death,  Salome,  or  Alexandra, 
his  Avidow,  liberated  Alexander,  whom  Aristobulus 
had  confined  in  prison  since  their  father's  death,  and 
made  him  king.  Alexander,  being  seated  on  the 
throne,  put  to  death  one  of  his  brothers,  who  had 
formed  a  design  on  his  life,  and  heaped  favors  on 
another,  called  Absalom,  who,  being  contented  with 
a    private    condition,   lived  peaceably,   and  retired 


ALEXANDER 


[40] 


ALEXANDER 


from  public  employments.  Alexander  was  of  a 
warlike,  enterprising  disposition  ;  and  when  he  had 
regulated  his  dominions,  he  marched  against  Ptole- 
mais,  but  a\  as  soon  compelled  to  relinquish  the  ob- 
ject of  his  expedition,  in  order  to  defend  his  own 
territories  against  Ptolemy  Lathyrus,  who  had 
marched  a  powerful  army  into  Galilee.  Alexander 
gave  him  battle  near  Asoj)hus,  not  far  from  the  Jor- 
dan ;  but  Ptolemy  killed  30,000,  or,  as  others  say, 
50,000  of  his  men.  After  this  \nctory,  he  met  with 
uo  resistance.  His  mother,  Cleopatra,  however,  ap- 
prehensive for  the  safety  of  Egypt,  determined  to 
stop  his  further  progi-ess,  and  for  this  purpose  levied 
a  mmierous  army,  and  equipping  a  large  fleet,  soon 
landed  in  Phoenicia.  Ptolemais  opened  its  gates  to 
receive  her;  and  here  Alexander  Jannjeus  presented 
liimself  in  her  camp  with  considerable  presents,  and 
was  received  as  an  unhaj)py  prince,  an  enemy  of 
Ptolemy,  who  had  no  i-efuge  but  the  queen's  protec- 
tion. Cleopatra  made  an  alliance  with  him  in  the 
city  of  Scythopolis,  and  Alexander  marched  with  his 
troops  into  Coelo-Syria,  where  he  took  the  town  of 
Gadara,  after  a  siege  of  ten  months,  and  after  that 
Amathus,  one  of  the  best  fortresses  in  the  country, 
where  Theodorus,  son  of  Zeno,  had  lodged  his  most 
valuable  pro))erty,  as  in  absolute  security.  This 
Theodorus,  falling  suddenly  on  Alexander's  army, 
killed  10,000,  and  plundered  his  baggage.  Alexan- 
der, however,  was  not  deterred  by  this  disaster  from 
prosecuting  his  purposes:  having  recruited  his  army, 
he  besieged  Raphia,  Anthedon,  and  Gaza,  towns  on 
the  Mediterranean,  and  took  them  :  the  latter,  after 
a  desperate  resistance,  was  reduced  to  a  heap  of 
ruins. 

After  this,  Alexander  returned  to  Jerusalem,  but 
did  not  find  that  peace  he  expected.  The  Jews  re- 
volted ;  and  on  the  feast  of  tabernacles,  while  he,  as 
high-]iriest,  was  preparing  to  sacrifice,  the  people 
assembled  in  the  temple  had  the  insolence  to  throw 
lemons  at  him,  taken  from  the  branches  which  they 
carried  in  their  hands.  To  these  insults  they  added 
reproaches,  crying  that  he  who  had  been  a  slave, 
was  not  worthy  to  go  up  to  the  holy  altar,  and  oflfer 
solemn  sacrifices.  Provoked  by  this  insolence, 
Alexander  jnit  the  seditious  to  the  sword,  and  killed 
about  (),000.  Afterwards  he  erected  a  partition  of 
wood  before  the  altar  and  the  inner  temple,  to  ]>re- 
vent  the  approach  of  the  i)eople  ;  and  to  defend  him- 
self in  fiiture  against  such  attempts,  he  took  into  his 
pay  guards  from  Pisidia  and  Cilicia.  Finding  Jeru- 
salem likely  to  continue  the  seat  of  clamor  and 
discontent,  Alexander  quitted  the  metropolis,  at  the 
liead  of  his  army  ;  and,  having  crossed  the  .Jordan, 
he  made  war  upon  the  ]\Ioabites  and  Anunonites, 
and  obliged  them  to  pay  tribute ;  attacked  Amathus, 
the  fortress  beyond  Jordan,  before  mentioned,  and 
razed  it ;  and  also  made  war  with  01)eda,  king  of  the 
Arabians,  whom  he  subdued.  On  liis  return  to  Je- 
rusalem he  found  the  Jews  more  incensed  against 
liim  than  r-ver ;  and  a  civil  war  shortly  ensued,  in 
which  he  killed  aliove  .50,000  persons.  '  All  his  en- 
deavors to  bring  about  a  reconciliation  proving  fi nit- 
less,  Alexander  one  day  asked  them  what  they  would 
have  him  do  to  acquire  their  good  will.  They  an- 
swered unanimously,  '  that  he  had  nothing  to  do  but 
to  kill  himself  After  this  they  sent  deputies  to  de- 
sire succors  from  Demetrius  Euca^rus,  against  their 
king,  who  marched  into  Judea,  with  3000  horse,  and 
40,000  infantry,  and  encamped  at  Sichem.  A  battle 
ensued,  in  which  Alexander  was  defeated,  and  com- 
pelled to  fly  to  the  mountains  for  shelter.     This  oc- 


cun-ence,  however,  contributed  to  his  re-establish- 
ment, for  a  large  number  of  the  Jews,  touched  with 
the  unhappy  condition  of  their  king,  joined  him  ;  and 
Deiiietrius,  retiring  into  Syria,  left  the  Je'\\  s  to  op- 
pose their  king  with  their  own  forces.  Alexander, 
collecting  his  army,  marched  against  his  rebellious 
subjects,  whom  he  overcame  in  every  engagement, 
and  having  shut  up  the  fiercest  of  them  in  Bethom, 
he  forced  the  town,  made  them  prisoners,  and  car- 
ried them  to  Jerusalem,  Avhere  he  ordered  eight 
hundred  of  them  to  be  crucified  before  him,  diu-ing 
a  great  entertainment  which  he  made  for  his  friends  ; 
and  before  these  unhappy  wretches  had  expired,  he 
commanded  their  wives  and  children  to  be  mur- 
dered in  their  presence — an  unheard-of  and  exces- 
sive cruelty,  which  occasioned  the  jieople  of  his  own 
party  to  call  him  "Thracidcs,"  meaning  "as  cruel  as 
a  Thracian."  Some  time  afterwards,  Antiochus, 
surnamed  Dionysius,  having  conquered  Damascus, 
resolved  to  invade  Judea ;  but  Alexander  defeated 
his  intention,  and  compelled  him  to  return  into 
Arabia,  where  he  Avas  killed.  Aretas,  the  succeed- 
ing king  of  Damascus,'  however,  came  into  Judea, 
and  defeated  Alexander,  in  the  plain  of  Sephala. 
A  peace  being  concluded,  Aretas  returned  to  Da- 
mascus ;  and  Alexander  ingratiated  himself  with  the 
Jews.  Having  given  himself  up  to  excessive  drink- 
ing, he  brought  on  a  violent  quartan  fever,  which 
terminated  his  life.  His  queen,  Alexandra,  observ- 
ing him  to  be  near  his  end,  and  foreseeing  all  she 
had  to  fear  from  a  mutinous  people,  not  easily  gov- 
erned, and  her  children  not  of  age  to  conduct  her 
affairs,  was  gi-eatly  distressed.  Alexander  told  her, 
that  to  reign  in  peace,  she  should  conceal  his  death 
from  the  army,  till  Ragaba,  which  he  was  then  be- 
sieging, was  taken  ;  that,  when  returned  to  Jerusa- 
lem, she  should  give  the  Pharisees  some  share  in 
the  government :  that  she  should  send  for  the  prin- 
cipal of  them,  show  them  his  dead  body,  give  them 
permission  to  treat  it  Avith  what  indignities  they 
pleased,  in  revenge  for  the  ill  treatment  they  had  re- 
ceived from  him,  and  promise  that  she  Avould  in  fu- 
ture do  nothing  in  the  government  without  their 
advice  and  participation,  "  If  you  do  thus,"  he  add- 
ed, "you  may  be  assured,  they  will  make  a  very 
honorable  funeral  for  me,  and  you  will  reign  in 
peace,  stqipoited  by  their  credit  and  authority  among 
the  people."  Having  said  these  words,  he  expired, 
aged  fortv-eight,  after  a  reign  of  twenty-seven  years, 
A.  M.  3926,  ante  A.  D.  78!  This  admission  of  the 
Pharisees  into  the  government,  demands  the  espe- 
cial notice  of  the  reader,  as  it  accounts,  not  only  for 
their  influence  over  the  minds  of  the  people,  but 
also  for  their  connection  Avith  the  rulers,  and  their 
poAver  as  pul)lic  governors,  wlich  appear  so  remark- 
ably in  the  history  of  the  Ctosjx'Is;  nnich  beyond 
Avhat  might  be  expected  from  a  sect  merely  reli- 
gious. Alexander  left  tAvo  sons,  Hircanusand  Aris- 
tobulus,  Avho  dis|)uted  the  kingdom  and  high-priest- 
hood, till  the  time  of  Herod  the  Great,  and  Avhose 
dissensions  caused  the  ruin  of  their  family,  and  Avere 
the  means  of  Herod's  elcAation.  Jose])h.  Ant.  xiii. 
c.  12— If).   [21—24.]     See  Alexandra. 

IV.  ALEXANDER,  son  of  Aristobulus  and  Al- 
exandra, and  grandson  of  Alexander  Janna-tis,  Avas  to 
have  been  carried  captive  to  l{ome,  Avith  his  brother 
Antigonus,  Avhen  Pompey  took  Jerusalem  from  Aris- 
tobulus. On  the  Avay,  hoAvever,  he  found  means  to  es- 
cape, and,  returning  to  Judea,  raised  an  army  of  10,000 
foot,  and  15,000  horse,  Avitli  which  he  performed 
many  gallant  actions,  and  .seized  the  fortresses  of 


ALEXANDER 


[41  ] 


ALEXANDER 


Alexandriuni  and  Machserus.  Gabinius,  the  general 
of  the  Roman  troops,  however,  drove  him  from  the 
mountains,  beat  him  near  Jerusalem,  killed  3000  of 
his  men,  and  made  many  prisoners.  By  the  mediation 
of  his  mother,  Alexandra,  matters  were  accommo- 
dated with  Gabinius,  and  the  Romans  marched  into 
Egj'pt,  but  were  soon  compelled  to  return,  by  the 
violent  proceedings  of  Alexander.  Wherever  he 
met  with  Romans,  he  sacrificed  them  to  his  resent- 
ment, and  a  number  were  compelled  to  fortify  them- 
selves on  mount  Gerizim,  where  Gabinius  found 
him  at  his  return  from  Egypt.  Being  apprehensive 
of  engaging  the  great  number  of  troops  who  were 
with  Alexander,  Gabinius  sent  Antipater  with  offers 
of  general  pardon,  if  they  laid  down  their  arms. 
This  had  the  desired  success ;  many  forsook  Alex- 
ander, and  retired  to  then-  own  houses ;  but  with 
30,000  still  remaining,  he  resolved  to  give  the  Ro- 
mans battle.  The  armies  met  at  the  foot  of  mount 
Tabor,  where,  after  a  very  obstinate  action,  Alexan- 
der was  overcome,  with  the  loss  of  10,000  men. 

Under  the  government  of  Crassus,  Alexander 
again  began  to  embroil  affairs ;  but  after  the  unhap- 
py expedition  against  the  Parthians,  Cassius  obUged 
him,  under  conditions,  to  continue  quiet,  while  he 
marched  to  the  Euphrates,  to  oppose  the  passage  of 
the  Parthians.  During  the  wars  between  Caesar 
and  Pompey,  .Alexander  and  Arlstobulus,  his  father, 
espoused  Caesar's  interest.  Aristobulus  was  poi- 
soned, and  Alexander  beheaded  at  Antioch,  A.  M. 
3945.     Joseph.  Ant.  xiv.     Bell.  Jud.  i.  c.  8.  [c.  6,  7.] 

V.  ALEXANDER,  son  of  Jason,  was  sent  to 
Rome,  to  renew  friendship  and  alliance  between  the 
Jews  and  Romans :  he  is  named  in  the  decree  of 
the  senate  directed  to  the  Jews,  in  the  ninth  year  of 
Hircanus's  pontificate,  A.  M.  3935 ;  B.  C.  69.  Jos. 
Ant.  xiv.  16. 

VI.  ALEXANDER,  son  of  Theodorus,  was  sent 
to  Rome,  by  Hircanus,  to  renew  his  alliance  with 
the  senate.  He  is  named  in  the  decree  of  the  senate, 
addressed  to  the  magistrates  of  Ephesus,  made  in 
the  consulship  of  Dolabella;  which  specified  that 
the  Jews  should  not  be  forced  into  military  service, 
because  they  could  not  bear  arms  on  the  sabbath  daj% 
nor  have,  at  all  times,  such  provisions  in  the  armies 
as  were  authorized  by  their  law.     Jos.  Ant.  xiv.  17. 

VII.  ALEXANDER,  son  of  Herod  the  Great 
and  Mariaimie.  The  history  of  this  prince  can 
hardly  be  separated  from  that  of  Aristobulus,  his 
brother,  and  companion  in  misfoi-tune.  After  the 
tragical  death  of  their  mother,  Mariamne,  Herod 
sent  them  to  Rome,  to  be  educated  in  a  manner 
suitable  to  their  rank.  Augustus  allowed  them  an 
apartment  in  his  palace,  intending  this  mark  of  his 
consideration  as  a  compliment  to  their  father  Herod. 
On  their  return  to  Judea,  the  people  received  the 
princes  with  great  joy  ;  but  Salome,  Herod's  sister, 
who  had  been  the  principal  cause  of  Mariamne's 
death,  apprehending  that  if  ever  the  sons  of  the  lat- 
ter possessed  authority,  she  would  feel  the  effects  of 
their  resentment,  resolved,  by  her  calumnies,  to 
alienate  the  affections  of  their  father  from  them. 
Til  is  she  managed  with  great  address,  and  for  some 
time  discovered  no  symptoms  of  ill-will.  Herod 
married  Alexander  to  Glaphyra,  daughter  of  Arche- 
laus,  king  of  Cappadocia,  and  Aristobulus  to  Bere- 
nice, daughter  of  Salome.  Pheroras,  the  king's 
brother,  and  Salome,  his  sister,  conspiring  to  destroy 
these  young  princes,  watched  closely  their  conduct, 
and  often  induced  them  to  speak  their  thoughts 
freely  and  forcibly,  concerning  the  manner  in  which 

6 


Herod  had  put  to  death  their  mother,  Mariamne. 
Whatever  they  said  was  immediately  reported  to 
the  king,  in  the  most  odious  and  aggravated  terms, 
and  Herod,  having  no  distrust  of  his  brother  and  sis- 
ter, confided  in  their  representations,  as  to  his  sons' 
intentions  of  revenging  their  mother's  death.  To 
check,  in  some  degree,  their  lofty  spirits,  he  sent  for 
his  eldest  son,  Antipater,  to  court, — he  having  been 
brought  up  at  a  distance  from  Jerusalem,  because 
the  quaUty  of  his  mother  was  much  inferior  to  that 
of  Mariamne — thinking  that  by  thus  making  Aristo- 
bulus and  Alexander  sensible  that  it  was  in  his  pow- 
er to  prefer  another  of  his  sons  before  them,  they 
would  be  rendered  more  circumspect  in  their  con- 
duct. The  contrary,  however,  was  the  case.  The 
presence  of  Antipater  only  exasperated  the  two 
princes,  and  he  at  length  succeeded  in  so  entirely 
ahenating  his  father's  affection  from  them,  that  Herod 
carried  them  to  Rome,  to  accuse  them  before 
Augustus,  of  designs  against  his  life,  B.  C.  11.  But 
the  young  princes  defended  themselves  so  well,  and 
affected  the  spectators  so  deeply  with  their  tears, 
that  Augustus  reconciled  them  to  their  father,  and 
sent  them  back  to  Judea,  apparently  in  perfect  union 
with  Antipater,  who  expressed  great  satisfaction  to 
see  them  restored  to  Herod's  favor.  When  returned 
to  Jerusalem,  Herod  convened  the  people  in  the 
temple,  and  publicly  declared  his  intention,  that  his 
sons  should  reign  after  him ;  first  Antipater,  then 
Alexander,  and  afterwards  Aristobulus.  This  dec- 
laration exasperated  the  two  brothers  still  further, 
and  gave  new  occasion  to  Pheroras,  Salome,  and 
Antipater,  to  represent  their  disaffection  to  Herod. 
The  king  had  three  confidential  eunuchs,  whom  he 
employed  even  in  affairs  of  great  importance.  These 
were  accused  of  being  corrupted  by  the  money  of 
Alexander,  and  being  subjected  to  the  rack,  the  ex- 
tremity of  the  torture  induced  them  to  confess,  that 
they  had  been  often  solicited  by  Alexander  and 
Aristobulus  to  abandon  Herod  and  join  them  and 
their  party,  who  were  ready  for  any  undertaking,  in 
asserting  their  indisputable  right  to  the  crown.  One 
of  them  added,  that  the  two  brothers  had  conspired 
to  lay  snares  for  their  father,  while  hunting ;  and 
were  resolved,  should  he  die,  to  go  instantly  to 
Rome,  and  beg  the  kingdom  of  Augustus.  Letters 
were  produced  likewise  from  Alexander  to  Aristo- 
bulus, wherein  he  complained  that  Herod  had  given 
fields  to  Antipater,  which  produced  an  annual  rent 
of  two  hundred  talents. 

This  intelligence  confirmed  the  fears  of  Herod, 
and  rendered  him  suspicious  of  all  persons  about 
his  court.  Alexander  was  put  imder  arrest,  and  his 
principal  friends  to  the  torture.  The  prince,  how- 
ever, was  not  dejected  at  this  storm.  He  not  only 
denied  nothing  which  had  been  extorted  from  his 
friends,  but  admitted  even  more  than  they  had  al- 
leged againts  him ;  whether  designing  to  confound 
the  credulity  and  suspicions  of  his  father,  or  to  in- 
volve the  whose  court  in  perplexities,  from  which 
they  should  be  unable  to  extricate  themselves.  He 
conveyed  letters  to  the  king,  in  which  he  represent- 
ed that  to  torment  so  many  persons  on  his  account 
was  useless ;  that,  in  fact,  he  had  laid  ambuscades 
for  him ;  that  the  principal  courtiers  were  his  ac- 
complices, naming,  in  particular,  Pheroras,  and  his 
most  intimate  friends;  adding,  that  Salome  came 
secretly  to  him  by  night,  and  that  the  whole  court 
wished  for  nothing  more  than  the  moment  when 
they  might  be  delivered  from  that  pain  in  which 
they  were  continually  kept  by  his  cruelties. 


ALEXANDER 


[42] 


ALE 


In  the  mean  time,  ^li-chelaus,  king  of  Cappadocia, 
and  father-in-law  of  Alexander,  intbrmed  of  what 
was  passing  in  Judea,  came  to  Jerusalem,  for  the 
purpose  of  effecting,  if  possible,  a  reconciliation  be- 
tween Herod  and  his  son,  Knowmg  the  violence 
of  Herod's  temper,  he  feigned  to  pity  his  present 
situation,  and  to  condemn  the  mmatural  conduct  of 
Alexander.  The  sympathy  of  Archelaus  produced 
some  relentings  in  the  hosoni  of  Herod,  and  linally 
led  to  his  reconciliation  with  Alexander,  and  the  de- 
tection of  the  guilty  parties.  But  this  calm  did  not 
long  continue.  One  Eurycles,  a  Lacedemonian, 
having  insinuated  himself  into  Herod's  favor,  gained 
also  the  contideuce  of  Alexander;  and  the  young 
prince  opened  his  heart  freely,  concerning  the 
grounds  of  his  discontent  against  his  father.  Eury- 
cles repeated  all  to  the  king,  whose  susjjicions 
against  his  sons  were  revived,  and  he  at  length  or- 
dered them  to  be  tortured.  Of  all  the  charges 
brought  against  the  young  princes,  nothing  could  be 
proved,  except  that  they  had  formed  a  design  to  re- 
tire into  Cappadocia,  where  they  might  be  freed 
from  their  father's  tyranny,  and  live  in  peace.  Herod, 
however,  having  substantiated  this  fact,  took  the 
rest  for  granted,  and  despatched  two  envoys  to 
Rome,  demanding  from  Augustus  justice  against 
Alexander  and  Aristobulus.  Augustus  ordered  them 
to  be  tried  at  Berytus,  before  the  governors  of 
Syria,  and  the  tributary  sovereigns  of  the  neigh- 
boring ])rovinces,  particularly  mentioning  Arche- 
laus as  one  ;  and  giving  Herod  permission,  shoiikl 
they  be  foimd  guilty,  to  punish  them  as  he  might 
deem  proper.  Herod  convened  the  judges,  but 
basely  omitted  Archelaus,  Alexander's  father-in- 
law  ;  and  then,  leaving  his  sous  under  a  strong  guard, 
at  Platane,  he  pleaded  his  own  cause  against  them, 
before  the  assembly,  consisting  of  150  ])ersons.  Af- 
ter adducing  against  them  every  thing  he  had  been 
able  to  collect,  he  concluded  by  saying,  that,  as  a 
king,  he  might  have  tried  and  condemned  them  by 
his  own  authority ;  l)ut  that  he  preferred  bringing 
them  before  such  an  assembly  to  avoid  tlio  imputa^ 
tion  of  injustice  and  cruelty.  Saturnius,  who  had 
been  formerly  consul,  voted  that  they  shoidd  he 
punished,  I)ut  not  with  death  ;  and  his  three  sons 
voted  with  him :  but  they  were  overruled  by  Volum- 
nius,  who  gi-itified  the  fatlier,  by  condemning  Ids 
sons  to  death,  and  induced  the  rest  of  the  judges  to 
join  with  him  in  tliis  cruel  and  unjust  sentence. 
The  time  and  manner  of  carrying  it  into  execution 
were  left  eiuirely  to  Heiod.  l)amascenus.  Tyro, 
and  other  friends,  interfered,  in  order  to  save  the 
lives  of  the  unfortunate  jninces,  but  in  vain.  They 
remained  some  time  in  confinement;  and,  after  the 
report  of  aiiother  ))lot,  Averc  conveyed  to  Sebastc,  or 
Samaria,  and  there  strangled,  A.  M.  3390,  one  year 
before  the  birth  of  J.  C.  and  four  before  the  usual 
computation  of  A.  D.     Joseph.  Ant.  xv.  xvi. 

The  reader  is  requested  to  j)ay  jiarticular  attention 
to  this  history  of  the  behavior  of  Herod  to  his  two 
ROUS,  because  it  has  a  strong  connection  witli  the 
gospel  histories  of  the  massacre  of  the  inf-uits — for 
the  king  wlio  could  slay  his  own  sons,  would  not 
scruple  to  slay  those  of  others  ;  and  it  suggests  good 
reasons  for  the  alarm  of  the  whole  city,  ;md  of  the 
priest-s,  from  whom  Herod  inquired  where  the  Mes- 
siah should  be  born  ;  also,  for  the  flight  of  Josepli 
and  Mary  into  Egypt,  and  for  their  fear  of  returning 
again  into  Judea,  under  the  power  of  his  successor 
who,  as  they  supposed,  might  very  probably  inherit 
this  king's  cruel  and  tyrannical  disposition. 


Vin.  ALEXANDER,  a  Jew,  apparently  an  ora- 
tor, mentioned  Acts  xix.  33.  The  people  of  Ephe- 
sus  being  in  uproar,  and  incensed  against  the  Jews 
for  despising  the  worship  of  Diana,  the  Jews  put 
Alexander  foi-ward,  to  plead  their  cause,  and  proba- 
bly to  disclaim  all  connection  with  Paul  and  the 
Christians.  The  mob,  however,  would  not  hear  him. 

IX.  ALEXANDER,  a  copper  smith  or  brazier, 
Avho  deserted  the  Christian  faith,  1  Tim.  i.  20 ;  2 
Tim.  iv.  14. 

X.  ALEXANDER,  a  man  who  had  apparently 
been  high-priest.  Acts  iv.  6. 

XI.  ALEXANDER,  the  son  of  Simon,  and 
brother  of  Rufus.  His  father,  Simon,  was  compelled 
to  aid  in  bearing  the  cross  of  Jesus,  IMark  xv.  21. 

ALEXANDRA,  or  Salome,  was  first  married  to 
Aristobulus,  and  afterwards  became  the  wife  of  Al- 
exander Jannjeus,  his  brother.  In  the  account  of 
this  prince,  we  have  noticed  the  advice  which  he 
gave  iqjon  his  death-bed  to  Alexandra,  with  a  view 
to  conciliate  the  Pharisees,  and  establish  herself  in 
the  kingdom.  Alexandra  folloAved  his  counsel,  and 
secured  the  object  of  her  wishes.  The  Pharisees, 
won  by  the  marks  of  respect  which  she  paid  to 
them,  exerted  then-  influence  over  the  people,  and 
Alexander  Jannseus  was  buried  with  great  pomp  and 
splendor,  and  x\lexandra  ruled  dining  the  space  of 
nine  years.  Under  her  government,  the  country 
enjoyed  external  peace,  but  was  distracted  by  in- 
ternal strife.  The  Pharisees,  having  obtained  an 
ascendency  over  the  mind  of  the  queen,  proceeded 
to  exact  from  her  many  important  advantages  for 
themselves  and  friends,  and  then  to  obtain  the  pun- 
ishment and  persecution  of  all  those  who  had  been 
opposed  to  them  during  the  king's  reign.  Many  of 
the  Sadducees,  therefore,  were  put  to  death  ;  and 
their  vindictiveness  proceeded  to  such  acts  of  cruelty 
and  injustice,  that  none  of  Alexander's  friends  could 
be  secure  of  their  lives.  Many  of  the  principal  per- 
sons wiio  had  served  in  the  late  king's  armies,  with 
Aristobulus  at  their  head,  entreated  permission  to 
quit  their  coimtry,  or  to  be  jilaced  in  some  of  the 
distant  fortresses,  where  they  might  be  sheltered 
from  the  persecution  of  their  enemies.  After  some 
dehberation,  she  adopted  the  expediejit  of  distributing 
them  among  the  difterent  garrisons  of  the  kingdom, 
cxceyjting  those,  however,  in  which  she  had  depos- 
iterl  her  most  valuable  property.  In  the  mean  time, 
her  son  Aristobulus  was  devising  the  n^cans  of  seiz- 
ing upon  the  throne,  and  an  opportunity  at  length 
presented  itself  for  carrying  his  project  "into  effect. 
The  queen  being  seized  with  a  dangerous  illness, 
Aristobulus  at  once  made  himself  master  of  those 
fortresses  in  which  his  friends  liad  been  placed,  and, 
before  the  necessary  measures  could  be  taken  to 
stay  his  progress,  he  was  placed  at  the  head  of  a 
large  number  of  troops.  Alexandra,  finding  her 
death  at  hand,  left  the  crovii  to  devolve  upon  Hir- 
canus,  her  eldest  son  ;  but  he,  being  opposed  by 
Aristobulus,  retired  to  i)rivate  lif>.  Alexandra  died, 
B.  C.  09,  aged  sevoity-three  years.  Jos.  Ant.  xiii. 
ult.  xiv.  1. 

ALEXANDRIA,  a  celebrated  city  in  Egypt,  sit- 
uated between  the  Mediterranean  sea  and  the  lake 
Mareotis,  the  basin  of  which  is  now  filled  up  by 
sand.  It  was  founded  by  Alexander  le  Great, 
under  Dinocrates,  the  architect  wlio  rebuilt  the 
temple  of  Diana  at  Ephesus,  B.  C.  332,  and  peopled 
by  colonies  of  Greeks  and  Jews.  Had  this  prince 
realized  his  ambitious  projects  for  becoming  the  un- 
disturbed master  of  the  world,  he  could  hardly  have 


ALEXANDRIA 


[  43] 


ALE 


selected  a  more  convenient  situation  for  command- 
ing and  concentrating  its  resources.  Alexandria 
rose  rapidly  to  a  state  of  prosperity,  becoming  the 
centre  of  commercial  intercoiu'se  between  the  East 
and  the  West,  and  in  pi-ocess  of  time  was,  botli  in 
point  of  magnitude  and  wealth,  second  only  to  Rome 
itself 

The  ancient  city,  according  to  Pliny,  was  about 
fifteen  miles  in  circuit,  peopled  by  300,000  free  citi- 
zens, and  as  many  slaves.  From  the  gate  of  the 
sea  ran  one  magnificent  street,  2000  feet  broad, 
through  the  entire  length  of  the  city,  to  the  gate  of 
Canopus,  aifording  a  beach,  and  a  view  of  the 
shipping  in  the  port,  whether  north  in  the  Mediter- 
ranean, or  south  in  the  noble  basin  of  the  Mareotic 
lake.  Another  street,  of  equal  width,  intersected 
this  at  right  angles,  in  a  square  half  a  league  in  cir- 
cumference. Thus  the  whole  city  appears  to  have 
been  divided  by  two  streets  intersecting  each 
other. 

L'pon  the  death  of  Alexander,  Avhose  body  was 
deposited  in  his  new  city,  Alexandria  became  the 
regal  capital  of  Egj'pt,  under  the  Ptolemies,  and  rose 
to  its  highest  splendor.  During  the  reign  of  the 
three  first  princes  of  this  name,  its  glory  was  at 
the  highest.  The  most  celebrated  philosophers 
from  the  East,  as  well  as  from  Greece  and  Rome, 
resorted  thither  for  instruction,  and  eminent  men,  in 
every  department  of  knowledge,  were  foimd  within 
its  walls.  Ptolemy  Soter,  the  first  of  that  line  of 
kings,  formed  the  museum,  the  library  of  700,000 
volumes,  and  several  other  splendid  works,  and  his 
son  Philadelphus  consummated  several  of  his  vmder- 
takings  after  his  decease.  At  the  death  of  Cleopa- 
tra, artte  A.  D.  26,  Alexandria  passed  into  the  hands 
of  the  Romans,  under  whom  it  became  the  theatre 
of  several  memorable  events,  and  after  having  en- 
joyed the  highest  fame  for  upwards  of  a  thousand 
years,  it  submitted  to  the  arms  of  the  caliph  Omar, 
A.  D.  64G.  Such  was  the  magnificence  of  the  city, 
that  the  conquerors  themselves  were  astonished  at 
the  extent  of  their  acquisition.  "I  have  taken," 
said  Aim'ou,  the  general  of  Omar,  to  his  master, 
"the  great  city  of  the  West.  It  is  impossible  for 
me  to  enumerate  the  variety  of  its  riches  and  beauty  ; 
I  shall  content  myself  with  observing  that  it  con- 
tains 4000  palaces,  4000  baths,  400  theatres  or  places 
of  amusement,  12,000  shops  for  the  sale  of  vegetable 
goods,  and  40,000  trilnitary  Jews."  With  this  event, 
says  a  modern  geogi-apher,  the  sun  of  Alexandria 
may  be  said  to  have  set:  the  bhghtiug  hand  of 
Islamism  Avas  laid  on  it ;  and  although  the  genius 
and  resources  of  such  a  city  could  not  be  iminedi- 
ately  destroyed,  it  continued  to  languish  until  the 
passage  by  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  in  the  fifteenth 
century,  gave  a  new  channel  to  the  trade  which  for 
so  many  centuries  had  been  its  support ;  and  at  this 
day,  Alexandria,  hke  most  Eastern  cities,  presents 
a  mixed  spectacle  of  ruin  and  wretchedness — of 
fallen  greatness  and  enslaved  human  beings. 

[The  present  Alexandria,  or,  according  to  the 
pronunciation  of  the  inhabitants,  .SAroTirferia,  occupies 
only  about  the  eighth  part  of  the  site  of  the  ancient 
city.  The  splendid  temples  have  been  exchanged 
for  wretched  mosques  and  miserable  churches,  and 
the  magnificent  palaces  for  mean  and  ill  built  dwell- 
ings. The  city,  which  was  of  old  so  celebrated  for 
its  commerce  and  navigation,  is  now  merely  the 
port  of  Cairo,  a  place  where  ships  may  touch, 
and  where  wares  may  be  exchanged.  The  modern 
citv  is  built  with  the  ruins   of  the   ancient.     The 


streets  are  so  narrow,  that  the  inhabitants  can  lay 
mats  of  reeds  from  one  roof  to  the  opposite,  to  pro- 
tect them  from  the  scorching  sun.  The  inhabitants 
consist  of  Turks,  Arabs,  Copts,  Jews,  and  Armeni- 
ans. Many  Europeans  have  counting  houses  here  ; 
where  the  factors  exchange  European  for  oriental 
merchandise. 

It  was  under  Ptolemy  Philadelphus,  according  to 
Aristseus,  that  the  Greek  or  Alexandrine  version  of 
the  Scriptures  was  made  here  by  learned  Jews, 
seventy-two  in  niunber ;  and  hence  it  is  called  the 
Septuagint,  or  version  of  the  Seventy.  But  this 
narration  is  entitled  to  little  credit.  It  is  true,  how- 
ever, that  the  Jews  established  themselves  in  great 
numbers  in  this  city,  very  soon  after  it  was  founded. 
Josephus  says,  (c.  Apion.  ii.  4,  Ant.  xiv.  7.  2.)  that 
Alexander  himself  assigned  to  them  a  particular 
quarter  of  the  city,  and  allowed  them  equal  rights 
and  privileges  with  the  Greeks.  Philo,  who  him- 
self lived  there  in  the  time  of  Christ,  affirms  (Opp. 
ii.  p.  525.  ed.  Mangey.)  that  of  five  parts  of  the  city, 
the  Jews  inhabited  two.  According  to  his  state- 
ments also,  there  dwelt  in  his  time  in  Alexandria, 
and  the  other  Egyptian  cities,  not  less  than  /e/i  hun- 
dred thousand  Jews.  (ib.  p.  523.)  This,  however, 
would  seem  exaggerated.  At  that  period  they  suf- 
fered cruel  persecutions  from  Flaccus,  the  Roman 
governor ;  which  Philo  has  described  in  a  sej)arate 
treatise. — Christianity  was  early  known  and  found 
professors  here.  According  to  Euse])ius,  (Hist. 
Ecc.  ii.  c.  17.)  the  apostle  Mark  first  introduced  the 
gospel  into  Alexandria ;  and  according  to  less  au- 
thentic accounts,  he  suffered  martyrdom  here,  about 
A.  D.  68.  A  church  dedicated  to  this  evangehst, 
belonging  to  the  Coptic  Jacobite  Christians,  still  ex- 
ists in  Alexandria.  See  Rosenmueller.  Bib.  Geog.  iii. 
p.  291,  seq.     *R. 

The  Jewish  and  Christian  schools  in  Alexandria 
were  long  held  in  the  highest  esteem,  and  there  is 
reason  to  believe  that  the  latter,  besides  producing 
many  eloquent  preachers,  paid  much  attention  to 
the  multiplying  of  copies  of  the  sacred  writings. 
The  famous  Alexandrian  manuscript,  now  deposited 
in  the  British  IMuseum,  is  well  knoAATi.  (See  Bible.) 
For  many  years  Christianity  continued  to  flourish 
at  this  seat  of  learning,  but  at  length  it  became  the 
source,  and  for  some  time  continued  the  strong- 
hold, of  the  Arian  heresy.  The  divisions,  discords, 
and  animosities,  which  were  thus  introduced,  ren- 
dered the  churches  of  Alexandria  an  easy  prey  to 
the  Arabian  impostoi-,  and  at  the  time  to  which  we 
have  already  referred,  they  were  swept  away  by  his 
followers. 

The  commerce  of  Alexandria  being  so  great,  es- 
pecially in  corn, — for  Egjqjt  was  considered  to  be 
the  granary  of  Rome — the  centurion  might  readily 
"  find  a  ship  of  Alexandria — corn-laden — sailing  into 
Italy,"  Acts  xxvii.  6;  xxviii.  11.  It  was  in  this  city 
that  Apollos  was  born.  Acts  xviii.  24. 

ALEXANDRIUM,  a  castle  built  by  Alexander 
Jannaeus,  king  of  the  Jews,  on  a  mountain,  near 
Corea,  one  of  the  principal  cities  of  Judea,  on  the 
side  of  Samaria,  in  the  direction  of  Jericho,  towards 
the  frontiers  of  Ephraim  and  Benjamin,  which  was 
demolished  by  Gabinius,  but  afterwards  rebuilt  by 
Herod.  Here  the  princes  of  Alexander  Janna?us's 
family  were  mostly  buried ;  and  hither  Herod  or- 
dered the  bodies  of  his  sons,  Alexander  and  Aristo- 
bulus,  to  be  carried,  after  they  had  been  put  to 
death  at  Sebaste,  or  Samaria.  Jos.  Ant.  xiii.  24 ;  xiv. 
6.  10.  27 ;  xvi.  2  and  ult. 


ALL 


[44] 


ALM 


ALGUM,  see  Almug. 

ALIEN,  a  stranger  or  foreigner.  Those  who  are 
without  an  interest  in  the  new  covenant,  or  who 
are  not  members  of  the  church  of  Christ,  are  said  to 
be  "ahens  from  the  commonwealth  of  Israel," 
Eph.  ii.  12. 

ALLEGORY,  a  figurative  discourse,  which  em- 
ploys terms  appropriate  to  one  tiling,  in  order  to 
express  another.  It  is  a  metaphor  prolonged  and 
pursued ;  as,  for  example,  when  the  prophets  repre- 
sent the  Jews  under  the  allegory  of  a  vine,  plant- 
ed, cultivated,  watered,  by  the  hand  of  God,  but 
which,  instead  of  producing  good  fruit,  brings  forth 
sour  grapes ;  and  so  of  others.  The  same,  when  the 
apostle  compares  the  two  covenants  of  Sinai  and  the 
gospel,  or  Jerusalem  that  now  is,  and  the  heavenly 
Jerusalem ;  "  which  things,"  he  says,  "  may  be  alle- 
gorized." As  this  was  common  among  the  Jews,  in 
writing  to  Jews,  he  adopts  their  custom,  in  which, 
having  been  deeply  learned,  he  could,  no  doubt,  have 
greatly  enlarged ;  but  then,  where  had  been  the 
power  of  the  cross  of  Christ ;  the  genuine  unsophis- 
ticated doctrines  of  the  gospel  ? 

Allegories,  as  Avell  as  metaphors,  parables,  simili- 
tudes, and  comparisons,  are  frequent  in  Scripture. 
The  Jews,  and  the  people  of  the  East  in  general, 
were  fond  of  this  sort  of  figurative  discourse,  and 
used  it  in  almost  every  thing  they  said.  One  chief 
business  of  a  commentator  is,  to  distinguish  between 
the  allegorical  and  hteral  meaning  of  passages,  and 
to  reduce  the  allegorical  to  the  literal  sense.  The 
ancient  Jews,  as  the  Therapeutse,  the  author  of  the 
Book  of  Wisdom,  Josephus,  and  Pliilo,  (and  in  imi- 
tation of  them,  many  of  the  fathers,)  turned  even 
the  historical  parts  of  Scripture  into  allegories  ;  al- 
though the  literal  sense  in  such  passages  is  most 
cleart  These  allegorical  explanations  may  interest, 
perhaps,  but  they  are  good  for  little ;  they  cannot 
justly  be  produced  as  proofs  of  any  thing;  unless 
where  Christ,  or  his  apostles,  have  so  applied  them. 

The  ancient  philosophers  and  poets  also  used  to 
deUvcr  doctrines,  and  to  explain  things  allegorically. 
Pythagoras  instructed  his  disciples  in  this  symbolical 
manner,  believing  it  to  be  the  most  proper  method 
of  explaining  religious  doctrines,  and  to  be  a  help  to 
memory.  Euclid  of  IMegaia  did,  indeed,  forbid  the 
use  of  allegories  and  emltlems,  as  fit  only  to  render 
plain  things  obscure ;  and  Socrates  taught  in  a  man- 
ner the  most  natural  and  simple,  excepting  those 
ironies  which  he  sometimes  interspersed  in  his  dis- 
courses. But  the  philosophers,  generally,  were  ex- 
cessively fond  of  allegories  and  mystical  theologj' ; 
and  they  Avere  too  closely  imitated  by  the  early 
Christians.     See  Symbols. 

ALLELUIA,  or  IIallklu-jah,  (praise  Jeho- 
vah.) This  word  occurs  at  the  beginning,  and  at 
the  end,  of  many  of  the  Psalms.  It  was  also  sung 
on  solemn  days  of  rejoicing:  "And  all  her  streets 
(t.  c.  of  Jenisidem)  shall  sing  alleluia,"  says  Tobit, 
speaking  of  the  rebuilding  of  Jerusalem,  Tob.  xiii. 
18.  John,  in  the  Revelation,  says,  (chap.  xix.  1.  3. 
4.  6.)  "  I  heard  a  great  voice  of  much  people  in 
heaven,  who  cried,  Alleluia;  and  the  four  living 
creatures  fell  down,  and  worshipped  God ;  saying. 
Alleluia."  This  expression  of  joy  and  praise  was 
trarraftrred  from  the  synagogue  to  the  church,  and 
it  is  still  occasionallv  used  in  devotional  psalmody. 

ALLON  BACHUTH,  the  oak  of  weeping,  a  place 
in  Bethel,  where  Rebekah's  nurse  was  buried,  Gen. 
XXXV.  8. 

ALLOPIIYLI,    ' .-n/.oipO.oi ,   a  Greek  term,  used 


by  the  LXX.  which  signifies,  properly,  strangers ; 
but  the  Hebrew  term,  to  which  it  corresponds,  is 
generally  taken,  in  the  Old  Testament,  to  signify  the 
Philistines. 

ALLUSH,  or  Alusu.  The  Israelites,  being  in  the 
wilderness  of  Shur,  departed  from  Dophkah  to  Al- 
lush,  and  from  thence  to  Rephidim,  Numb,  xxxiii.  13. 
In  Judith,  (chap.  i.  9.)  Chellus  or  Chains,  and  Kades, 
are  set  down  as  being  near  each  other.  Eusebius 
and  Jerome  fix  Allush  in  Idumea,  about  Gabala,  that 
is,  about  Petra,  the  capital  of  Arabia  Petrcea  ;  for,  ac- 
cording to  them,  the  Gabalene  is  near  Petra.  Allush 
is  also  called  Eluza,  or  Chaluza.  In  the  accounts  of 
the  empire,  it  is  situated  in  the  third  Palestine,  and 
is  placed  by  Ptolemy  among  the  cities  of  Idumea. 
The  Jerusalem  Targum  on  Genesis  xxv.  18.  and  on 
Exodus  XV.  22.  translates  Shur  and  the  desert  of 
Shur,  by  Allush.  [But  Shur  could  not  have  been  far 
from  the  present  Suez,  Exod.  xv.  22.  It  is  impossi- 
ble to  assign  definitely  the  position  of  Alush,  the  en- 
campment of  the  Israelites.     R. 

ALMON,  a  city  of  Benjamin,  given  to  Aaron's 
family.  Josh.  xxi.  18 ;  probably  the  Alameth  men- 
tioned 1  Chron.  vi.  CO. 

ALMON-DIBLATIIAIM,  one  of  the  stations  of 
the  Israelites  before  they  reached  mount  Nebo, 
Numb,  xxxiii.  46. 

ALMOND-TREE,  ipr,  shaked,  from  a  root  which 
signifies  to  ivatch ;  for,  in  fact,  the  almond-tree  is  one 
of  the  first  trees  that  blossom  in  the  spring,  and,  as 
it  were,  aAvakes,  while  most  are  asleep  by  reason  of 
winter.  This  tree  is  often  mentioned  in  Scripture. 
The  Lord,  intending  to  express  to  Jeremiah  (i.  11.) 
the  vigilance  of  his  wrath  against  his  people,  showea 
him  the  branch  of  an  almond-tree ;  where  the  du- 
plicity of  meaning  in  the  word  shaked  is  difficult  to 
express  in  a  translation.  "  What  seest  thou  ?  "  He 
answers,  "I  see  the  rod  of  an  almond-tree,"  (i.  e.  a 
ivatcher.)  The  Lord  replies :  "  I  will  watch  over  my 
word  to  fulfil  it." 

The  almond-tree  resembles  a  peach-tree,  but  ia 
larger.  In  Judea  it  blossoms  in  January,  and  by 
]March  has  fruit.  Aaron's  rod,  which  bore  blossoms 
and  fruit  in  the  Avildeniess,  (Numb.  xvii.  8.)  was  of 
the  almond-tree.  The  author  of  Ecclesiastes,  (xii.  5.) 
expressing  metaphorically  the  whiteness  of  an  old 
man's  hair,  says,  "  The  cdmond-tree  shall  flourish." 
The  blossoms  of  this  tree  arc  white. 

ALMS,  charitable  donation.  The  word  is  derived 
ultimately  from  the  Greek  "Ekfug,  mercy,  pity,  com- 
passion. 

ALMUG,  or  by  transposition  Algum,  a  kind  of 
wood  which  Hiram  brought  from  Ophir,  1  Kings  x. 
11 ;  2  Chron.  ii.  8.  The  rabbins  generally  render  it 
coral ;  others  ebony,  or  pine.  It  certainly  is  not  coral, 
for  this  is  not  proper  to  make  musical  instruments, 
nor  to  bo  used  in  rails,  or  a  staircase,  to  which  uses, 
the  Scripture  tells  us,  the  wood  almug  was  put.  The 
pine-tree  is  too  common  in  Judea,  and  the  neighbor- 
ing country,  to  search  for  it  as  far  as  Ophir.  The 
wood  thjimtm  (by  which  the  word  is  rendered  in 
the  Vulgate)  is  that  of  the  citron-tree,  known  to  the 
ancients,  and  much  esteemed  for  its  odor  and  beautj\ 
It  came  from  Mauritania.     Plin.  xiii.  1(5. 

Cahnet  is  of  o|»inion,  that  by  almug,  or  algum,or 
simply  gum,  taking  nl  for  an  article,  is  to  be  under- 
stood oily  and  gummy  wood,  particularly  of  the  tree 
which  prodiices  gum  Arabic.  It  is  said  gum  Ammo- 
niac proceeds  from  a  tree  rcsembUng  that  which 
bears  myrrh  ;  and  gum  Arabic  comes  from  the  black 
acacia,  which  he  takes  to  be  the  same  as  the  Shittim 


ALO 


I  45  ] 


ALP 


wood,  frequently  mentioned  by  Moses ;  if  so,  Solo- 
mon's Almug  and  Moses's  Shittim,  he  remarks,  would 
be  the  same  wood.     See  Shittim. 

[Some  have  supposed  the  Almug  to  be  Sandal- 
wood, (Santaluvi,)  which  is  a  native  of  the  East  In- 
dies, and  much  used  for  costly  work.  So  Rosenmuel- 
ler.  Kunchi  compares  the  Arabian  Almokam,  which  is 
theArabic  name  of  the  wood  usually  known  in  Europe 
by  the  apjiellation  Brazil-vfOoA,  from  the  tree  Casal- 
pinia  of  Linnaeus.  There  are  various  species  of 
this  tree.  That  called  tjie  CcEsalpinia  sappan  is  a 
native  of  the  East  Indies,  Siam,  the  Molucca  islands, 
and  Japan ;  as  are  also  several  other  species.  Its 
wood  is  very  durable,  and  is  used  in  fine  cabinet 
work.  It  yields  also  a  dye  of  a  beautiful  red  color, 
for  which  it  is  much  used.  Its  resemblance  in  color 
to  coral  may  have  given  occasion  for  the  name  Al- 
viug,  which,  in  Rabbinic,  still  signifies  coral ;  and  then 
the  meaning  of  the  name  would  be  coral-wood.  Ge- 
senius  adopts  this  supposition.  See  Rees's  Cyclop. 
Alt.  CfBsalpinia.     R. 

I.  ALOES,  or  Aloe,  an  East  Indian  tree,  that 
grows  about  eight  or  ten  feet  high.  At  the  Ifead  of  it  is 
a  large  bundle  of  leaves,  thick  and  indented,  broad 
at  bottom,  but  narrowing  towards  the  point,  and 
about  four  feet  in  length  ;  the  blossom  is  red,  inter- 
mixed with  yellow,  and  double  like  a  pink ;  from 
this  blossom  comes  fruit,  like  a  large  pea,  white  and 
red.  Tlie  juice  of  the  leaves  is  drawn  by  cutting 
them  with  a  knife ;  and  afterwards  it  is  received  in 
bottles.  The  eastern  geographers  tell  us,  that  the 
wood  of  aloes,  the  smell  of  which  is  exquisite,  is 
found  only  in  those  provinces  of  India  which  are 
comprehended  in  the  first  climate ;  that  the  best  is 
that  which  gi-ows  in  the  isle  of  Senf,  situated  in  the 
Indian  sea,  towards  China.  Others  are  of  opinion, 
that  the  wood  of  aloes,  produced  in  the  isle  of  Comar, 
or  at  Cape  Comorin,  is  the  best,  and  that  it  was  of  this 
kind  a  certain  king  of  India  made  a  present,  weigh- 
ing ten  quintals,  to  Nouschirvan ;  which,  when  ap- 
plied to  the  fire,  melted,  and  burned  hke  wax.  This 
wood  is  brought  Ukewise  from  the  islands  of  Su- 
matra and  Ceylon.  The  Siamese  ambassadors  to 
the  court  of  France,  in  1686,  brought  a  present  of  it 
from  their  sovereign  ;  and  were  the  first  to  commu- 
nicate any  consistent  account  of  the  tree.  It  is  said 
to  be  about  the  height  and  form  of  the  ohve-tree ; 
the  trunk  is  of  three  colors,  and  contains  three  sorts 
of  wood ;  the  heart,  or  finest  part,  is  called  tambac  or 
calambac,  and  is  used  to  perfume  dresses  and  apart- 
ments. It  is  worth  more  than  its  weight  in  gold  ; 
and  is  esteemed  a  sovereign  cordial  against  fainting 
fits,  and  other  nen'ous  disorders.  From  diis  account 
the  reader  will  perceive  the  rarity  and  value  of  this 
perfume,  implied  in  the  notice  taken  of  it  by  the 
spouse  in  the  Canticles,  (iv.  14.)  and  the  boast  of  the 
prostitute,  Prov.  vii.  17.  The  sandal-wood  ap- 
proaches to  many  of  its  properties ;  and  is  applied 
to  similar  uses,  as  a  perfume  at  sacrifices,  &c. 
The  aloes  of  Syria,  Rhodes,  and  Candia,  called 
Aspalathiis,  is  a  shrub  full  of  tliorns ;  the  wood 
of  which  is  used  by  perfumers,  after  they  have 
taken  off  the  bark,  to  give  consistency  to  their  per- 
fumes, 

[This  tree  or  wood  was  called  by  the  Greeks 
ayuX::o/oy,  and  later  'ivXu::vti,  and  has  been  known  to 
modems  by  the  names  of  aloe- wood,  paradise-wood, 
eagle-wood,  etc.  Modern  botanists  distinguish  two 
kinds ;  the  one  genuine  and  most  precious,  the  other 
more  common  and  inferior.  The  former  grows  in 
Cochin-China,  Siam,  and  China,  is  never  exported, 


and  is  of  so  great  rarity  in  India  itself,  as  to  be  worth 
its  weight  in  gold.  Pieces  of  this  wood  that  are 
resinous,  of  a  dark  color,  heavy,  and  perforated  as  if 
by  worms,  are  called  calambac  ;  the  tree  itself  is  called 
by  the  Chinese  siik-Iuang.  It  is  represented  as 
large,  with  an  erect  trunk,  and  lofty  branches.  The 
other  or  more  common  species  is  called  garo  in  the 
East  Indies,  and  is  the  wood  of  a  tree  growng  in 
tJie  Moluccas,  the  excoecaria  agallocha  of  Linnaeus. 
The  leaves  are  like  those  of  a  pear-tree ;  and  it  has 
a  milky  juice,  which,  as  the  tree  grows  old,  hardens 
into  a  fragrant  resin.  The  trunk  is  knotty,  crooked, 
and  usually  hollow.  The  domestic  name  in  India 
is  aghil ;  whence  the  Europeans  who  first  visited 
India  gave  it  the  name  of  lignum  aquilce,  or  eagle- 
wood.  From  this  same  agiiil  the  Hel^rew  name 
QiSnN  seems  also  to  be  derived.  But  as  this  is  also, 
as  to  form,  the  plural  of  SnN,  a  tent,  the  A'^ulgate  in 
Numb.  xxiv.  6.  has  translated  thus :  "  As  tents 
which  the  Lord  hath  spread  ;"  while  the  Hebrew  is : 
"  As  aloe-trees  which  the  Lord  hath  planted ;" — in 
om*  version,  "  Ugn-aloes." — Aloe- wood  is  said  by 
Herodotus  to  have  been  used  by  the  Egj'ptians  for 
embalming  dead  bodies ;  and  Nicodemus  brought  it, 
mingled  with  myrrh,  to  embahn  the  body  of  our 
Lord,  John  xix.  39.  See  Gesenius,  Thesaurus 
Ling.  Hcb.  p.  33.     R. 

II.  ALOES,  a  plant  or  herb,  the  leaves  of  which 
are  about  two  inches  thick,  prickly,  and  chamfered ; 
in  the  middle  rises  a  stem  ;  and  the  flower  yields  a 
white  kernel,  extremely  light,  and  almost  round. 
These  aloes  are  not  unconmion  among  us.  It 
has  been  said,  that  one  kind  of  aloes  flowers 
but  once  in  a  hundred  years,  and  that,  as  its  flower 
opens,  it  makes  a  great  noise ;  but  there  have  been 
several  seen  blowing  in  the  gardens  at  and  round 
London,  without  making  any  noise.  As  the  flowers 
have  six  stamina,  and  one  style,  Linnaeus  ranges 
this  plant  in  the  sixth  class,  called  hexandria  monogy- 
nia.  Our  knowledge  of  it  is  obtained  not  so  much 
from  oriental  specimens,  as  from  American,  which 
could  not  be  kno^vn  to  the  ancients.  The  Cape  of 
Good  Hope  furnishes  many  kinds. 

From  this  plant  is  extracted  the  common  drug 
called  aloes,  which  is  a  very  bitter  resin.  Some 
have  supposed  that  this  was  what  Nicodemus  brought 
for  embalming  the  body  of  Christ,  John  xix.  39. 
See  the  close  of  the  preceding  article. 

ALPHA,  (A,)  the  first  letter  of  the  Greek  alpha- 
bet. See  the  letter  A.  3Iartial,  in  imitation  of  the 
Greeks,  who  used  to  distinguish  the  rank  of  people 
by  letters,  says : 

Quod  Alpha  dixi,  Codre,  penulatorinn, 
Te  uuper,  aliqua,  cum  jocarer  in  charta: 
Si  forte  bilem  movit  hie  tibi  versus, 
Dicas  licebit  Beta  me  togatorum. 

Epig.  1.  V.  Ep.  26. 

ALPHABET,  see  Hebrew  Letters. 

I.  ALPH^US,  father  of  James  the  less,  (Matt.  x. 
3 ;  Luke  vi.  15.)  and  husband  of  the  Mary  who  was 
sister  to  the  mother  of  Christ ;  (John  xix.  25.)  for 
which  reason,  James  is  called  the  Lord's  brother. 
(See  Brother.)  By  comparing  John  xix.  25.  with 
Luke  xxiv.  10.  and  Matt.  x.  3.  it  is  evident  that  Al- 
l)hseus  is  the  same  as  Cleophas ;  Alpheeus  being  his 
Greek  name,  and  Cleophas  his  Hebrew  or  Syriac 
name,  according  to  the  custom  of  the  province,  or 
the  time,  where  men  often  had  two  names,  by  one 
of  Avhich    they  were  known  to  their  friends  and 


ALT 


[46] 


ALTAR 


countiymen,  and  by  the  other  to  the  Romans,  or 
strangers.  More  probably,  however,  the  double 
name  in  Greek  arises  from  a  diversity  in  pronouncing 
the  n  in  liis  Aramean  name,  •iD'?n ;  a  diversity  which 
is  common  also  in  the  Septuagint.  See  Kuiuoel  on 
John  xiv.  25.     See  also  Names. 

n.  ALPH.'EUS,  father  of  Levi,  or  Matthew,  the 
apostle  and  evangelist,  Mark  ii.  14. 

L  ALTAR,  the  place  on  which  sacrifices  were 
oftered.  Sacrifices  are  nearly  as  ancient  as  worship  ; 
and  altars  are  of  nearly  equal  antiquity.  Scripture 
speaks  of  altars,  erected  by  the  patriarchs,  without 
describing  their  form,  or  the  materials  of  which  they 
were  composed.  The  altar  which  Jacob  set  up  at 
Bethel,  was  the  stone  which  had  served  him  for  a 
pillow ;  and  Gideon  sacrificed  on  the  rock  before 
his  house.  The  first  altars  which  God  conunanded 
Moses  to  raise,  were  of  earth  or  rough  stones ;  and 
tlie  Lord  declared,  that  if  iron  were  used  in  con- 
structing them,  they  would  become  impure,  Exod. 
XX.  24,  25.  The  altar  which  Moses  enjoined  Joshua 
to  build  on  INIount  Ebal,  was  to  be  of  unpolished 
stones,  (Deut.  xxvii.  5 ;  Josh.  viii.  3L)  and  it  is  very 
probable,  that  such  were  those  built  by  Samuel,  Saul, 
and  David.  The  altar  which  Solomon  erected  in 
the  temple  was  of  brass,  but  filled,  it  is  believed, 
with  rough  stones,  2  Chron.  iv.  1.  That  built  at 
Jerusalem,  by  Zerubbabel,  after  the  return  from 
Babylon,  was  of  rough  stones ;  as  was  that  of  the 
Maccabees.  Josephus  says,  (De  Bello,  hb.  vi.  cap. 
14.)  that  the  altar  which  was  in  his  time  in  the  tem- 
ple, was  of  rough  stones,  fifteen  cubits  high,  forty 
long,  and  forty  wide. 

Among  the  ancient  Egyptian  pictures  that  have 
been  discovered  at  Herculaneum,  are  two  of  a  veiy 
curious  description,  representing  sacred  ceremo- 
nies of  the  Egyptians,  probably  in  honor  of  Isis. 
Upon  these  subjects  we  shall  lay  the  substance  of 
Mr.  Taylor's  remarks  before  our  readers. 

In  the  first  picture,  the  scene  of  the  subject  is  in 

the  area  before  a 
temple  ;  (as  usual ;) 
the  congregation  is 
numerous,  the  mu- 
sic various,  and  the 
priests  engaged  are 
at  least  nine  per- 
sons. The  temple 
is  raised,  and  an 
ascent  of  eleven 
steps  leads  up  to  it. 
On  this  altar  we 
observe,  (1.)  Its 
form  and  decora- 
lions.  (9.)  The  birds 
about  it.  In  the 
original,  one  Ibis  is 
lying  down  at  ease,  another  is  standing  up,  witliout  fear 
or  apprehension  ;  a  third,  perched  on  some  paling,  is 
looking  oVer  the  heads  of  tlie  peoj)le ;  and  a  fom-th 
is  standing  on  tlic  l)ack  of  a  Sphinx,  nearly  adjacent 
f^  the  temple,  in  tlie  front  of  it.  It  deserves  notice, 
that  this  altar  (and  the  other  also)  has  at  each  of  its 
four  corners  a  rising,  which  continues  square  to  about 
half  its  height,  Init  from  thence  is  gradually  slnped 
off  to  an  edge,  or  a  point.  These  are,  no  doubt,  the 
horns  of  the  allar ;  and  jnobably  this  is  tluir  true 
figure.  See  Exod.  xxvii.  2,  &c. ;  xxix.  12;  l^.ekiel 
xliii.  15.  On  these  Joub  caught  hold,  (I  Kin^^s  ii. 
28.)  and  to  these  the  Psalmist  alludes,  (cxviii.  27.) 
"Bind  the  sacrifice  with  cords  unto  the  horns  of  the 


altar."     It  is  probable  that  the  primaiy  use  of  these 
horns  was  to  retain  the  victim. 

(1.)  Observe  the  garland  with  which  this  altai-  is 
decorated.  (2.)  Observe  the  occupation  of  the  priest, 
who,  with  a  kind  of  fan,  is  blowing  up  the  fire.  No 
doubt  this  fim  is  employed,  because  to  blow  up  the 
sacred  flame  with  the  breath  would  have  been 
deemed  a  kind  of  polluting  it.  It  may  bear  a  ques- 
tion, whether  something  of  the  same  nature  were 
not  used  in  kindling  the  fire  on  the  Jewish  altar. 
That  fans  wei-e  known  anciently  in  the  East,  is  highlj' 
probable,  from  the  simplicity  of  the  instrument,  no 
less  than  from  its  use.  The  ancients  certainly  had 
fans  to  drive  away  flies  with,  (Greek  uriuao^ir,  Latin 
muscarium,  Martial,  xiv.  Ep.  67.)  We  do  not 
know  indeed  that  any  Jewish  writer  mentions  the 
use  of  a  fan  in  kindling  the  altar  fire ;  nor,  indeed, 
should  we  have  thought  of  it,  had  it  not  occurred  in 
this  Egyptian  representation. 

The  other  figure  shows  the  boms  of  the  altar, 
^^  formed  on  the  same  prin- 

ciple as  the  foregoing ;  but 
this  is  seen  on  its  angle, 
and  its  general  form  is 
more  elevated.  It  has  no 
garlands,  and  perfumes 
appear  to  be  burning  on 
it.  In  this  picture  the  as- 
sembly is  not  so  numer- 
ous as  in  the  other ;  but 
almost  all,  to  the  number 
of  ten  or  a  dozen  persons, 
are  playing  on  musical  in- 
struments. 

Both  these  altars  have 
a  simple  projecting  ornament,  running  round  them 
on  their  upper  parts  ;  but  this  has  also  a  cori'espond- 
ing  ornament  at  bottom.  Upon  the  base  of  it  stand 
two  birds,  which  desei-ve  notice,  on  account  of  their 
being  unquestionable  representations  of  the  true 
ancient  Egj'ptian  Ibis ;  a  bird  long  lost  to  naturalists. 
Perhaps  the  publication  of  these  ])ortraits  of  the  bird 
may  contribute  to  recover  and  identify  it ;  which 
will  be  deemed  a  service  to  natural  history.  They 
also  deserve  especial  notice,  on  account  of  their 
situations,  as  standing  on  the  altar  itself,  or  lying 
down  close  to  it,  even  while  the  sacred  fire  is  burn- 
ing, and  the  sacred  cei'emonies  being  jierformed  by 
the  |)riests,  close  around  them.  From  their  confident 
familiarity,  it  should  seem  that  these  birds  were  not 
only  tolerated,  but  were  considered  as  sacred  ;  and, 
in  some  sense,  as  aj)pertainiiig  to  the  altar.  Would 
it  not  have  been  a  kind  of  sacrilege  to  have  dis- 
turbed, or  exiiellcd  from  their  do7niciIe,  their  resi- 
dence, these  refugees,  if  refugees  they  were,  at  the 
altar  ?  (See  the  history  of  Aristodicus,  Ilerod.  lib.  i. 
cap.  1.59.)  Diodorus  Siculus  (lib.  i.)  rejjorts,  that  the 
Egj'jitians  were  very  severe  to  those  who  killed  a 
cat,  or  an  Ibis,  whether  jjurposcly,  or  inadvertently  ; 
the  populace,  he  says,  would  attack  them  in  crowds, 
and  jjut  them  to  death  by  the  most  cruel  means  ;  often 
without  observing  any  form  of  justice; — by  a  kind 
of  judgment  of  zeal. 

As  these  Ibises  were  ])rivileged  birds  in  Egyj)t,  so 
might  some  clean  species  of  birds  be  eqtially  priv- 
ileged among  the  .lews,  and  be  sutferecl  quietly  to 
build  in  various  ))arts  of  the  tem])le,  in  the  courts 
aromid  the  altar;  and  if  they  were  of  the  nature  of 
our  domestic  fowl,  they  might  even  make  nests,  and 
lay  their  eggs,  at  or  about  the  altar,  or  among  the 
interstices  and  projections  of  the  bottom  layer  of 


ALTAR 


[47] 


ALTAR 


large  rough  stones,  which  formed  the  base  of  it.  If 
they  were  the  property  of  the  priests,  or  of  their 
children,  or  of  any  constant  residents  in  the  temple, 
(alluded  to  in  the  next  verse,)  they  might  give  no 
more  offence,  by  stragghng  about  the  sacred  pre- 
cincts, than  the  vicar's  sheep  or  horse  gi-azing  in  the 
church-yard  does  among  ourselves.  We  know,  too, 
that  there  is  scarcely  a  country  church  among  our- 
selves, in  which  sparrows,  and  swallows  too,  do  not 
make  their  nests ;  and  yet,  though  we  dislike  the  de- 
filement they  occasion,  we  do  not  think  the  building 
the  less  sacred.  By  these  considerations,  we  may 
perhaps  illustrate  the  passage,  Psahn  Ixxxiv.  3.  The 
sparrow  hath  found  a  house,  and  the  swallow  a  nest/or 
heiself,  where  she  may  lay  her  young,  even  thine  altars, 
O  Lord  of  hosts. 

The  Altars  in  the  tabernacle  and  in  the  temple  at 
Jerusalem  were  as  follow: — (1.)  The  Altar  of  Burnt- 
ofFcrings,  (2.)  The  Altar  of  Incense.  (3.)  The 
Table  of  Shew-bread  ;  but  this  is  iinproperly  called 
an  altar.     See  Shevz-bread. 

1.  The  Altar  of  Burnt-offerings  is  thus  de- 
scribed by  Calmet.  It  was  a  kind  of  coffer  of  Shit- 
tim-wood,  covered  with  brass  plates,  (Exod.  xxvii.  1, 
seq.)  live  cubits  square,  and  three  in  height.     Moses 


placed  it  towards  the  east,  before  the  entrance  of  the 
Tabernacle,  in  the  open  air,  that  so  the  fire  which 
was  to  be  kept  perpetually  upon  it,  and  the  smoke 
arising  from  the  sacrifices  which  were  burnt  there, 
might  not  disligin-e  the  inside  of  the  Tabernacle. 
At  the  four  corners  were  four  horns,  of  a  cubit 
square,  covered  with  the  same  metal  as  the  rest  of 
the  Altar.  They  were  hollow,  that  part  of  the 
blood  might  be  poured  into  them.  Within  the  depth 
or  hollow  of  it  was  a  grate  of  brass,  on  which  the 
lire  was  made,  and  through  which  fell  the  ashes, 
which  were  received  in  a  pan  below.  At  the  four 
corners  of  this  grate  were  four  rings,  and  four  chains, 
which  kept  it  up  at  the  four  horns  of  the  xA-ltar  above 
mentioned.  As  this  Altar  was  portable,  Moses  had 
rings  made,  and  fastened  to  the  sides  of  it,  into 
which  wej-e  put  staves  of  Shittim-wood,  overlaid 
with  brass,  by  means  of  which  it  was  removed  from 
place  to  place. 

Such  was  the  Altar  of  Burat-ofFcrings  belonging 
to  the  tabernacle  erected  by  Moses  in  the  wilderness  ; 
but  in  Solomon's  temple  it  was  much  larger.  This 
was  a  kind  of  cube,  twenty  cubits  long,  as  many 
wide,  and  ten  in  height,  covered  with  thick  plates 
of  bi-ass,  and  filled  with  rough  stones ;  and  on  the 


east  side  there  was  an  easy  ascent  leading  up  to  it. 
When  the  Jews  returned  fi-om  the  captivity  of  Baby- 
lon, they  rebuilt  the  Altar  of  Burnt-offerings,  upon 
the  model  of  Solomon's ;  but  after  both  the  temple 
and  the  altar  had  been  profaned  by  the  orders  of 
Antiochus  Epiphanes,  tliis  altar  was  demolished, 
and  the  stones  of  it  laid  in  some  part  of  the  temple 


which  was  unpolluted,  till  a  prophet  should  be  raised 
up  by  God,  who  should  come  and  declare  the  use 
for  which  they  were  reserved,  1  Mace.  xiv.  41. 
Herod  the  Great,  having  built  a  new  temple,  raised 
an  altar  of  burnt-offerings  like  that  which  had  been 
there  before ;  but  Josephus  says,  that  the  ascent 
to  it  was  on  the  south  side.    B.  J.  vi.  p.  918.  edit.  Col. 


ALTAR 


[48] 


ALTAR 


The  Altar  of  Burnt-ofFerings,  according  to  the 
rabbius,  was  a  large  mass  of  rough  and  unpolished 
stones,  the  base  of  which  was  3*2  cubits,  or  48  feet 
square.  From  thence  the  altar  rose  one  cubit,  or  a 
foot  and  a  half ;  then  there  was  a  diminishing  of  one 
cubit  in  thickness ;  and  from  thence  the  altar,  being 
only  30  cubits  square,  rose  five  cubits,  and  received 
a  new  diminution  or  in-benching  of  two  cubits,  and 
consequently  Avas  reduced  to  28  cubits  square.  From 
thence  again  it  rose  three  cubits,  but  was  two  cubits 
smaller.  Lastly,  it  rose  one  cubit,  and  so  being  in 
all  24  cubits,  or  36  feet  square,  it  formed  the  hearth 
on  which  the  sacrifices  were  burnt,  and  the  perpet- 
ual fire  kept  up.  The  diminution  of  two  cubits, 
which  was  nearly  in  the  middle  of  the  Altar,  served 
as  a  passage  for  the  priests  to  go  and  come  about 
the  altar,  to  attend  the  fire,  and  to  place  the  sacrifice 
on  it. 

This  altar,  being  composed  of  large  plates  of  massy 
brass,  was  thence  called  the  brazen  altar,  1  Kings 
viii.  64.  The  ascent  was  by  a  sloping  rise  on  the 
south  side,  called  Kibbesh,  32  cubits  in  length,  and 
16  in  breadth ;  it  landed  upon  the  upper  benching- 
in,  near  the  hearth,  or  top  of  the  altar ;  because  to 
go  up  by  steps  was  forbidden  by  the  law.  The 
priests  might  go  round  about  the  altar,  and  perform 
their  offices  very  conveniently  upon  the  two  in- 
benchings  which  we  have  described ;  namely,  that 
of  the  niiddle,  and  that  above  it,  both  of  whicli 
were  a  cubit  broad. 

The  following  is  an  explanation  of  the  profile  of 
the  altar  of  burut-oflTerings  according  to  the  rab- 
bins, and  Dr.  Prideaux. 


iA 


llliili'ini:ifaiigi!'iii!^'i!iiiriiiiiiihiiiiini'iii;ii.ii!ii'ii!!!H!iiHiniiiinii': 


tCts 


a.  A  Trench  which  went  quite  round  the  Altar, 
wherein  was  thrown  the  blood  of  the  sacri- 
fices. 

a.  b.  The  Foundation  of  the  Altar,  one  cubit  high, 

and  .32  cubits  square. 

b.  c.  Tiie  first  in-benching,  one  cubit  broad. 

c.  d.  The  elevation  of  five  cubits. 

d.  e.  The  second  in-benching,  one  cubit  broad. 
e.f.  The  elevation  of  three  cubits. 

f.g.  The  third  in-benching,  one  cubit  broad. 
^.  h.  The  last  rising,  one  cubit. 
I.       The  Hearth  of  24  cubits,  or  36  feet  square. 
k.  k.  The  Horns  of  the  Altar,  of  one  cubit,  and  hol- 
low, half  a  cubit  square. 
I.       The  sloping   ascent  to  the  Altar,  32  cubits   in 

length, 
m.  d.  The  passage  on  botli   sides  the  Kibbesh,  to  the 
second  in-benching. 
The  altar  of  burnt-ofFerings,  both  in  the  taberna- 
cle and  ti'inplo,  was  regarded  as  an  asylum  or  place 
of  rcfiige.     1  Kings  i.  .50,  scq.  ii.  28,  scq. 

2.  The  Altar  of  Lncense  was  a  small  table  of 
Shittim-wood,  covered  with  plates  of  gold,  of  one 
cubit  in  length,  another  in  width,  and  two  in  height, 
Exod.  XXX.  1,  .scq.  At  the  four  (corners  were  four 
horns,  and  all  around  a  little  border  or  crown  over 
it.  On  each  side  were  two  rings,  into  which  staves 
might  be  inserted  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  it.  It 
stood  in  the  holy  place,  (not   in  the  holy  of  holies,) 


over  against  the  table  of  shew-bread.  Every  morn- 
ing and  evening  the  priest  in  waiting  for  that  week, 
and  appointed  by  lot  for  this  office,  oflTered  incense 
of  a  particular  composition  upon  this  altar ;  and  to 
this  end  entei-ed  with  the  smoking  censer  filled  with 
fire  from  the  altar  of  burnt-offerings  into  the  holy 
place.  The  priest,  having  placed  the  censer  on  it, 
retired  out  of  the  holy  place.  This  was  the  altar 
which  was  hidden  by  Jeremiah  before  the  capti\nty, 
2  Mace.  ii.  5,  6.  On  the  Altar  of  Incense  the  priest 
Zacharias  was  appointed  to  place  the  perfume  ;  and 
while  engaged  in  this  sei-vice  he  received  the  annim- 
ciation  of  the  birth  of  a  son,  Luke  i.  11. 

II.  ALTAR  at  Athens,  inscribed  "^yicioTco  ^tw, 
"  to  the  unknown  God."  Paul,  discoursing  in  that  city 
on  the  resurrection  of  the  dead,  was  carried  by  some 
of  the  philosophers  before  tlie  judges  of  the  Areop- 
agus, where  he  uses  this  expression:  (Acts  xvii.  22, 
23.)  "Ye  men  of  Athens,  I  perceive  that  in  all  things 
ye  are  too  superstitious,  over  fond  of  gods ;  for  as  I 
passed  by;  and  beheld  your  sacred  instruments,  I 
found  an  altar,  with  this  inscription — "To  the  un- 
known god  ;"  liim,  therefore,  whom  ye  worship  as 
^^iinknoicn" — hiui  declare  (represent,  announce)  I 
unto  you."  The  question  is.  What  was  this  altar, 
thus  consecrated  to  the  " unknown  god?"  Jerome 
says,  that  it  was  inscribed  "  to  the  gods  of  Asia,  Eu- 
rope, and  Africa  ;  to  the  unknowii  and  strange  gods ;" 
and  that  the  apostle  uses  the  singular  form,  because 
his  design  was  only  to  demonstrate  to  the  Atheni- 
ans, that  they  adored  an  unknown  god.  In  Ep.  ad 
Tit.  c.  i.  12. 

Some,  as  Grotius,  Vossius,  Beza,  believe  that  Paul 
speaks  of  altars  extant  in  several  places  of  Attica, 
without  any  inscription,  erected  after  a  solemn  expi- 
ation for  the  country,  by  the  philosopher  Epimeni- 
des ;  see  the  note  of  Dr.  Doddridge  below.  Others 
conceive  that  this  altar  was  the  one  mentioned  by 
Pausanias  and  Philostratus,  (Attic,  lib.  vi.  cap.  2.) 
who  speak  of  '.-//KofiToir  daoy  ^o-iioi  iSnvvTcii,  altars, 
at  Athens,  consecrated  "to  the  unknown  gods." 
Lucian,  in  the  Dialogue  attributed  to  him,  entitled 
Philopatris,  swears — "by  the  unknown  god,  at 
Athens."  He  adds,  "  Being  come  to  Athens,  and 
finding  there  the  unknown  god,  we  worshipped 
him,  and  gave  thanks  to  him,  with  hands  lifted  up 
to  heaven."  Another  statement  is  made  by  Peter 
Comestor.  He  relates,  that  Dionysius,  the  Areopa- 
gite,  observing,  while  he  was  at  Alexandria,  the 
eclipse,  which,  contrary  to  nature,  ha])pened  at  the 
death  of  our  Saviour,  from  thence  concluded,  that 
some  unknown  god  sufft'red  ;  and  not  being  then  in 
a  situation  to  learn  more  of  the  matter,  he  erected, 
at  his  return  to  Athens,  this  altar,  "  to  the  unknown 
god,"  whicli  gave  occasion  to  Paul's  discourse  at  the 
Areo))agus.  Thcophylact,  Q^cumenius,  and  others, 
give  a  different  account  of  its  origin  and  design,  but 
each  of  their  opinions,  as  also  those  we  have  no- 
ticed, has  its  difficulties. 

Chrysostom  thinks  the  altar,  entitled,  "  To  the 
gods  of  Asia,  Europe,  and  Africa,  to  the  imknown 
and  strange  gods,"  is  not  that  mentioned  by  Paul ; 
as  the  Areo|)agites  would  never  have  mulerstood 
this  altar  by  the  bare  designation  of  the  "  [Jnknown 
God."  He  conceives  it  to  be  more  jirobable  that  the 
Athenians,  who  were  a  people  extremely  super- 
stitious, being  apprehensive  that  they  had  forgotten 
some  divinity  and  omitted  to  worship  him,  erected 
altars  in  some  ])art8  of  their  city,  inscribed  "  To  the 
unknown  god ;"  whence  Paul  took  occasion  to 
preach,  first  Jehovah,  and  then  Jesus,  to  them,  as  a 


ALTAR 


[49] 


AMA 


God,  with  respect  to  them,  truly  unknoivn,  yet,  in 
some  sort,  adored  without  their  knowing  him. 
Chrysost.  in  Acta. 

Augustin  did  not  doubt  but  that  the  Athenians, 
under  the  appellation  of  the  unknown  God,  wor- 
sliipped  the  true  one.  Others  also  have  thought, 
that  the  God  of  the  Jews  was  the  object  of  this  altar, 
he  being  a  powerful  God,  but  not  fully  known,  as 
the  Jews  never  used  his  name  in  speech,  but  substi- 
tuted "the  Lord"  for  "Jehovah." 

The  following  is  Dr.  Doddridge's  note  on  the 
passage : — "  The  express  testimony  of  Lucian  (Phi- 
lopat.  ad  fin.)  sufficiently  proves  that  there  was  such 
an  inscription  at  Athens ;  and  shows  how  unneces- 
sary, as  well  as  unwarrantable,  it  was  in  Jerome  to 
supposo,  that  the  apostle,  to  serve  his  own  purpose, 
gives  this  turn  to  an  inscription,  which  bore  on  its 
front  a  plurality  of  deities.  Whence  this  important 
phenomenoi'  arose,  or  to  what  it  particularly  referred, 
it  is  more  difficult  to  say.  Witsius  (Melet.  p.  85.) 
with  Heinsius  (in  loc.)  understands  it  of  Jehovah, 
wliose  name,  not  being  pronounced  by  the  Jews 
themselves,  might  give  occasion  to  this  appellation  ; 
and  to  this  sense  Mr.  Biscoe  inclines.  (Boyle's  Lect, 
chap.  viii.  §  12.  p.  322.  325.)  Dr.  Welwood  (pref. 
to  the  Banquet  of  Xenophon,  p.  18,  19.)  supposes 
that  Socrates  reared  this  altar,  to  express  his  devo- 
tion to  the  one  living  and  true  God,  of  whom  the 
Athenians  had  no  notion  ;  and  whose  incomprehen- 
sil>le  being  he  insinuated,  by  this  inscription,  to  be 
far  beyond  the  reach  of  their  vmderstanding,  or  his 
own.  And  in  this  I  should  joyfully  acquiesce,  could 
I  find  one  ancient  testimony  in  confirmation  of  the 
fact.  As  it  is,  to  omit  other  conjectures,  I  must  give 
the  preference  to  that  which  Beza  and  Dr.  Ham- 
mond have  mentioned,  and  which  3Ir.  Hallet  (Disc, 
on  Script,  vol.  i.  p.  307,  308.)  has  labored  at  large  to 
confirm  and  illustrate  ;  though  I  think  none  of  these 
learned  writei-s  has  set  it  in  its  most  natural  and  ad- 
vantageous hght.  Diogenes  Laertius,  in  his  life  of 
Epimenides,  (vide  lib.  i.  p.  29,  C.  with  the  notes  of  J. 
Casaubon  and  Menagius,)  assures  us,  that  in  the  time 
of  that  philosopher  (about  600  years  before  Christ) 
there  was  a  terrible  pestilence  at  Athens ;  in  order  to 
avert  which,  when  none  of  the  deities  to  whom  they 
sacrificed,  appeared  able  or  willing  to  help  them, 
Epimenides  advised  them  to  bring  some  sheep  to  the 
Areopagus,  and  letting  them  loose  from  thence,  to 
follow  them  till  they  lay  down,  and  then  to  sacrifice 
them  (as  I  suppose  the  words  tw  nQoailxom  Gtu 
signify)  to  the  god  near  whose  temple  or  altar  they 
then  were.  Now  it  seems  probable,  that,  Athens  not 
being  then  so  full  of  these  monuments  of  supersti- 
tion as  afterwards,  these  sheep  lay  down  in  j>laces 
where  noiie  of  them  were  near ;  and  so  occasioned 
the  rearing  what  the  historians  call  anonymous  altars, 
or  altars,  each  of  which  had  the  inscription  <>y>  wwrw 
0tw,  to  the  unknown  god;  meaning  thereby,  the 
deity  who  had  sent  the  plague,  whoever  he  were ; 
one  of  which  altars,  at  least,  however  it  might  have 
been  repaired,  remained  till  Paul's  time,  and  long 
afler.  Now  as  the  God  whom  Paul  preached  as 
Lord  of  all,  was  indeed  the  deity  who  sent  and  re- 
moved this  pestilence,  the  apostle  might,  with  great 
[>ropriety,  tell  the  Athenians,  he  declared  to  them 
lim  whom,  without  knowing  him,  they  worshipped  ; 
as  I  think  the  concluding  words  of  the  23d  verse 
may  most  fairly  be  rendered." 

Dr.  Lardner  has  an  article  on  this  subject,  which 
may  be  consulted  with  advantage  ;  it  is  in  the  quarto 
edition,  vol.  iv.  p.  174. 

7 


[It  is  a  strong  objection  to  the  view  taken  above  by 
the  excellent  Dr.  Doddridge,  that  the  sacrifices  were 
to  be  offered,  not  to  an  uyv^arw  ^ew,  but  to  roJ  nQoa/,- 
xovTi  -diCj,  i.  e.  the  god  to  whom  the  affair  pertains, 
or  the  god  who  can  avert  the  pestilence,  whoever  he 
may  be  ;  so  that  the  uiscription  on  such  altars,  if 
any,  would  doubtless  have  been,  t<u  ttqoo'jXojti  ^tm. 
But  these  altars  are  expressly  said  by  the  Greek 
writer  to  have  been  (imfioi  avwwuoi,  i.  e.  anonymous 
altars, — though  evidently  not  in  the  sense  in  which 
Dr.  Doddridge  has  taken  it,  but  meaning  altars 
without  any  name  or  inscription. 

Eichhorn  conjectures  (Allgem.  Bibhoth.  iii.  p.  414.) 
that  there  were  standing  at  Athens  various  very  an- 
cient altars,  which  originally  had  no  inscription,  and 
which  were  aflervrards  not  destroyed,  for  fear  of  pro- 
voking the  anger  of  the  god  to  whom  each  had  been 
dedicated,  although  it  was  no  longer  knovvTi  who 
this  god  was.  He  supposes  that  therefore  the  in- 
scription, uyyt-oaria  Stia,  was  placed  upon  them,  which 
would  properly  signify,  "  to  an  unknown  god,"  and 
not  "  to  THE  unknown  god."  Of  these  altars,  Paul 
met  with  only  one,  and  spoke  accordingly.  That 
there  were  altars  with  this  inscription,  in  the  plural 
number,  appears  from  the  testimony  of  Pausanias, 
(V.  14.  p.  412.)  and  we  may  well  conclude,  on  the 
authority  of  Paul,  that  at  least  one  existed  at  Athens 
with  the  inscription  in  the  singular. 

Bretschneider  supposes  the  inscription  to  have 
been,  ayicioroi?  9ioit,  i.  e.  to  the  gods  of  foreign  na- 
tions, unknown  to  the  Athenians  ;  indicating  either 
that  foreigners  might  sacrifice  upon  that  altar  to  their 
own  gods,  or  that  Athenians  who  were  about  to 
travel  abroad,  might  first  by  sacrifices  propitiate  the 
favor  of  the  gods  of  the  countries  they  were  about  to 
visit.  He  quotes  the  following  sentiment  of  Tertul- 
lian :  "  I  find  indeed  altars  prostituted  to  unknoum 
gods,  but  idolatry  is  an  Attic  trait ;  also  to  uncertain 
gods,  but  superstition  is  a  trait  of  Rome."  (Adv. 
3Iarc.  i.  9.)  This  view  is  in  substance  similar  to  that 
of  Jerome,  first  above  mentioned.     Bretschn.  Lex. 

N.  T.  art.  uyrwOJoq. 

So  much  at  least  is  certain,  both  from  Paul's  as- 
sertion and  the  testimony  of  Greek  profane  writers, 
that  altars  to  an  unknoAvn  god  or  gods  existed  at 
Athens.  But  the  attempt  to  ascertain  definitely 
whom  the  Athenians  worshipped  under  this  appella- 
tion, must  ever  remain  fruitless  for  want  of  sufficient 
data.  The  inscription  afforded  to  Paul  a  happy  oc- 
casion of  proclaiming  the  gospel ;  and  those  who 
embraced  it,  found  indeed  that  the  Being  whom  they 
had  thus  '  ignorantly  worshipped,'  was  the  one  only 
living  and  true  God.  See  Kuinoel's  Comm.  in  Act. 
xvii.  23.     *R. 

ALUSH,  see  Allush. 

AMALEK,  son  of  Eliphaz  and  Timna  his  concu- 
bine, and  grandson  of  Esau.  He  succeeded  Gatam 
in  the  government  of  Edom,  south  of  Judah  ;  (Gen. 
xxxvi.  12,  16.  1  Chron.  i.  36.)  and  is  by  some  sup- 
posed to  have  been  father  of  the  Amalekites  who 
dwelt  on  the  south  of  Judah.  This,  however,  is 
very  disputable,  as  will  appear  from  what  follows. 

AMALEKITES,  a  powerfiil  people  who  dwelt 
in  Arabia  Petraea,  between  the  Dead  sea  and  the 
Red  sea,  or  between  Havilah  and  Shur  ;  (1  Sam.  xv. 
7.)  perhaps  in  moving  troops.  We  cannot  assign  the 
place  of  their  habitation,  except  in  general  it  is  ap- 
parent that  they  dwelt  south  of  Palestine,  between 
mount  Seir  and  the  border  of  Egypt ;  and  it  does 
not  appear  that  they  possessed  cities,  though  one  is 
mentioned  in  1  Sam.  xv.  5.     They  hved  generally 


AMALEKITES 


[  50 


AMALEKITES 


in  migrating  paities,  in  caves,  or  in  tents.  The  Is- 
raelites had  scarcely  passed  the  Red  sea,  when  the 
Amalekites  attacked  them  in  the  desert  of  Rephidim, 
and  slew  those  who,  through  fatigue  or  weakness, 
lagged  behind.  Moses,  by  God's  connnand,  directed 
Joshua  to  repel  this  assault ;  and  to  record  the  act 
of  inhumanity  in  a  book,  to  perpetuate  its  remem- 
brance for  future  vengeance.  Joshua  attacked  the 
Amalekites,  and  defeated  them,  while  Closes  was  on 
the  mountain,  and,  witli  Aaron  and  Hur  in  his  com- 
pany, held  up  his  lifted  hands  to  heaven,  A.  M.2513. 
According  to  the  SeM-i|)ture  mode  of  expression, 
Moses  required  all  the  virtue  of  his  rod  and  his 
prayers,  to  defeat  so  dreadful  an  enemy  ;  and  if  God 
had  not  interfered  on  behalf  of  his  people,  the  num- 
ber, valor,  and  advantage  of  Ainalek's  arms,  had 
given  them  the  victory.  3Ioreover,  victory,  which 
God  gives  or  withholds  at  his  pleasure,  had  certainly 
favored  the  x\rnalekites,  if  Aaron  and  Ilur,  who  ac- 
companied Moses  on  the  mount,  remote  from  dan- 
ger, had  not  sui)ported  the  extended  arms  and  hands 
of  that  legislator.  The  mystery  of  this  we  leave  to 
commentators.  The  battle  continued  till  the  ap- 
proach of  night;  for  Scripture  says,  (Exod.  xvii.  12.) 
"the  hands  of  Moses  were  steady  till  the  going  down 
of  the  sun."  As  the  success  of  this  action  was  the 
sole  work  of  God,  he  said  to  Moses,  "  Write  this  for 
a  memorial  in  a  book." 

Under  the  Judges,  (Judg.  vi.  3.)  we  see  the  Ama- 
lekites united  with  the  Midianites  and  Moabites  to  op- 
press Isi-ael ;  but  Ehud  dehvered  them  from  Eglon, 
(Judg.  iii.  13.)  and  Gideon  delivered  them  from  Mid- 
ian  and  Amalek.  Many  years  after,  the  Lord  di- 
rected Samuel  to  say  to  Saul,  "Thus  saith  the  Lord 
of  hosts,  I  remember  what  Amalek  did  to  Israel, 
how  he  laid  wait  for  him  in  the  way  when  he  came 
up  fi-om  Egjpt :  now  go  and  smite  Amalek,  and  ut- 
terly destroy  all."  Saul  marched  therefore  against 
the  Amalekites,  advanced  to  their  capital,  defeated 
and  drove  them  from  Havilah  (towards  the  lower 
part  of  the  Euphrates)  to  Shur,  (on  the  Red  sea 
towards  Egj'pt,)  destroying  the  people  :  but  he  spared 
the  best  of  the  cattle  and  movable's  ;  thereby  violat- 
ing the  command  of  God.  Nevertheless,  some  fugi- 
tives escaped  ;  for  though  they  appear  but  little  more 
in  history,  yet  some  years  after  Saul's  expedition 
against  them,  a  troop  of  Amalekites  pillaged  Ziklag, 
then  belonging  to  David,  where  he  had  left  his  wife 
and  his  projjerty.  David,  returning,  pursued,  over- 
took, and  dispersed  them,  and  recovered  all  the  booty 
which  they  had  carried  off,  1  Sam.  xxx.  L  lii 
Judges  X.  14.  and  xii.  I."),  we  read  of  an  Amalek  and 
a  mount  of  the  Amalekites  in  the  tribe  of  Ephraim. 
It  is  hence  probable  that  colonies  of  this  ])eople  had 
formerly  migrated  into  Canaan ;  and  that  one  of 
them  had  thus  maintained  itself  against  the  Ephraim- 
ites.     See  IJib.  Repos.  I.  p.  594. 

The  Arabians  have  a  tradition,  that  Amalek  was  a 
son  of  Ham ;  a  notion  which  we  are  not  disposed  to 
reject ;  for  certainly  it  is  not  easy  to  conceive  how 
the  Amalckit's,  if  only  the  posterity  of  the  son  of 
EUphaz,  grandson  of  Esau,  could  be  so  powerful  and 
numerous  as  this  tribe  was  when  the  Israelites  de- 
parted out  of  lOgypt.  Resides,  Mosos  relates,  (Gen. 
xiv.  7.)  that  in  Abraham's  time  the  five  confederate 
kings  invaded  Amalek's  country  ai)out  Kadesh,  as 
likewise  that  of  the  Amorites"  at  Ila/.ezon-tamar. 
Moses  also  (Numb.  xxiv.  20.)  relates,  that  Balaam, 
observing  from  a  distance  the  land  of  Amalek,  said, 
in  his  prophetic  style,  "Amalek  is  the  first  (the  head, 
the  original)  of  the  nations,  but  his  end  shall  be,  that 


he  perish  for  ever."  This  will  not  agree  with  the 
Amalekites,  if  they  were  so  modern  ;  for  the  gener- 
ation then  living  was  but  the  third  from  Amalek  him- 
self, as  appears  by  the  following  comparative  gene- 
alogj' : 

Esau,  Jacob, 

Eliphaz,  Levi, 

Amalek,  Koath, 

Amram, 

Aaron. 

It  is  Avorthy  of  notice,  also,  that  Moses  never  re- 
proaches the  Amalekites  with  attacking  the  Israel- 
ites, thei?-  brethren ;  an  aggi-avating  circumstance, 
which  it  is  probable  he  would  not  have  omitted  if 
they  had  been  descended  from  Esau,  and,  by  that 
descent,  brethren  to  the  Israelites.  Lastly,  we  see 
the  Amalekites  almost  always  joined  in  Scripture 
witli  the  Canaauites  and  Philistines,  and  never  with 
the  Edornites ;  and  when  Saul  destroyed  Amalek, 
the  Edoniites  neither  assisted  nor  avenged  them.  It 
is  therefore  probable  that  the  Amalekites,  so  often 
mentioned  in  Sacred  Histoiy,  were  a  people  descend- 
ed from  Canaan,  and  very  dift'erent  from  the  de- 
scendants of  Amalek,  the  gi'andson  of  Esau,  who 
perhai)s  might  be  but  a  small  tribe,  and  not  conspic- 
uous at  the  time  ;  if,  indeed,  they  ever  rose  to  much 
imjiortance. 

Of  the  Amalek  destroyed  by  Saul,  too,  the  Arabi- 
ans had  a  tradition,  that  he  was  the  father  of  an  an- 
cient tribe  in  Arabia,  which  contained  only  Arabians 
called  pure  ;  the  remains  of  which  were  mingled 
with  the  posterity  of  Joktan  and  Adnan,  and  so 
became  Mosarabes,  or  Mostcutrabes,  that  is,  mixed 
Arabians — blended  with  foreigners.  They  believe, 
also,  that  Goliath,  who  was  slain  by  David,  was  king 
of  the  Amalekites,  and  that  the  giants  who  inhabited 
Palestine  in  Joshua's  time,  part  of  whom  retired  into 
Africa  while  Joshua  was  living,  and  settled  on  the 
coasts  of  Barbaiy,  were  of  the  same  race  ;  an  account 
which  has  many  circumstances  of  credibility  about 
it.  The  son  of  Amalek  was  Ad,  a  celebrated  prince 
among  the  Arabians,  and  as  some  suppose,  the  son 
of  Uz,  and  gi-andson  of  Aram,  the  son  of  Shem. 
The  Mahommedans  say.  Ad  was  father  of  an  Arabian 
tribe  called  Adites,  who  were  exterminated  for  not 
hearkening  to  the  patriarch  Eber,  Avho  preached  the 
unity  of  God  to  them.  (D'llerbelot,  Biblioth.  Orient.) 
These  accounts  are,  indeed,  very  imjjerfect ;  but  on 
the  whole,  we  seem  to  be  warranted  in  suggesting, 
(1.)  That  there  were  more  kinds  of  Amalekites  than 
one  :  (2.)  that  the  tribe  which  Saul  destroyed  might 
not  be  very  numerous  at  that  time,  and  that  the  tract 
of  coimtry  mentioned  in  relation  to  them,  was  that 
of  their  lliglit,  not  that  of  their  jjossessiou,  unless  as 
rovers,  or  Bedouins :  (3.)  that  they  were  turbulent 
and  violent  toward  their  neighbors,  as  formerly  they 
had  been  toward  the  stragglers  of  Israel ;  which  sug- 
gests the  reason  why  their  neighbors  were  not  dis- 
pleased at  their  expulsion  :  (4.)  that  such  being  their 
character,  they  might  have  produced  a  war,  by  giving 
recent  cause  of  offence  to  Israel;  though  Scripture 
only  mentions  the  fulfilment  of  an  ancient  ])rophecy 
— perhaj)s  there  never  had  been  peace  between  the 
two  nations:  (5.)  that  Agag,  slain  by  Sanuiel,  had 
been  extremely  cruel — a  supposition  which  seems 
warranted  by  tlni  expression,  "  As  thy  sword  has 
made  mothers  childless;"  therefore  he  met  with  no 
more  than  his  just  punishment  in  the  death  he  re- 
ceived.    See  Agag  and  Samuel. 

Mr.  Taylor  arranges  the  diflferent  tribes  bearing 
the  name  of  Amalek   in  a  geographical  view,  thus: 


A  :>i  -V 


[51  ] 


AMA 


(1.)  AwALEK,  the  uncieut,  Genesis  xiv.  7.  where  the 
phrase  is  remarkable,  "cdlthe  country  of  theAnialek- 
ites,"  which  implies  a  great  extent.  This  people 
we  may  place  near  the  Jordan,  Numb.  xxiv.  20.  (2.) 
A  tribe'  in  the  region  east  of  Egypt ;  between  Egypt 
and  Canaan,  Exod.  xvii.  8 ;  1  Sam.  xv.  &c.  (3.)  The 
descendants  of  Eliphaz. — It  was  against  the  second 
of  these  that  Moses  and  Joshua  fought,  (Exod.  xvii. 
8 — 13.)  against  which  tribe  perpetual  hostility  was  to 
be  maintained,  ver.  16 ;  1  Sam.  xv.  It  was  also, 
most  probably,  to  the  ancient  Amalckites  (1.)  that 
Balaam  alluded  (Numb.  xxiv.  20.)  as  havhiw  been 
"Jirst  of  the  nations,"  for  the  descendants  of  Esau 
were  very  far  from  answering  to  this  title  ;  in  fact, 
they  were  but  just  appearing  as  a  tribe,  or  family. 
Even  at  this  day,  the  Arabs  distinguish  between 
families  oi'pure  Arab  blood,  and  those  of  mixed  de- 
scent ;  but  they  include  the  posterity  of  Ishmael 
among  those  of  mixed  descent,  while  they  reckon 
the  Amalekites  by  parentage  as  of  pure  blood.  The 
posterity  of  Esau,  therefore,  could  hardly  claim 
privilege  abo\'e  that  of  Ishmael,  either  by  antiquity, 
or  by  importance.  Neither  is  it  any  way  likely,  that 
the  Amalekites  of  Esau's  family  should  extend  their 
settlements  to  whei-e  we  find  those  Amalekites  (2.) 
wlio  attacked  Israel  at  the  very  borders  of  Egypt, 
and  on  the  shores  of  the  Red  sea.  Instead  ofMaa- 
chathi,  (Deut.  iii.  14:  Josh.  xii.  5 ;  xiii.  11, 13.)  the  LXX 
read,  "  the  kings  of  the  Amalekites,"  which  implies 
that  this  people  had  occupied  very  extensive  territo- 
ries. The  same  countries  seem  to  be  alluded  to  by 
David,  in  Psalm  Ixxxiii.  7.  where  he  had  already 
mentioned  Edom,  the  Ishmaelites,  Moab,  «S,sc.  yet 
distinct  from  these  he  mentions  Gebel,  Amnion,  and 
Amalek  ;  consequently  this  Amalek  was  not  of  the 
descent  of  Esau,  or  of  Ishmael. 

The  spies  sent  to  explore  the  land  of  Canaan 
(Numb.  xiii.  29.)  report,  that  the  Amalekites  inhabit- 
ed the  south  ;  which  agrees  exactly  with  the  equiv- 
ocation of  David  to  Achish,  1  Sam.  xxvii.  David 
invaded  the  x\malekites,  ver.  8.  but  in  ver.  10.  he 
says,  he  went  "against  the  soidh  of  J  udah,''^  the  south 
of  the  JerahmeeUtes,  the  south  of  the  Kenites;  which 
indeed  was  very  true,  as  he  went  against  the  Amalek- 
ites, who  were  south  of  all  those  places. 

I.  AMANA,  a  mountain,  mentioned  in  Cant.  iv.  8. 
and  by  some  supposed  to  be  mount  Amanus,  in  Ci- 
licia.  Jerome  and  the  rabbins  describe  the  land  of 
Israel  as  extending  northward  to  this  mountain  ;  and 
it  is  known  that  Solomon's  dominion  did  extend  so 
fai".  3Iount  Amanus,  with  its  continuations,  separates 
Syria  and  Cilicia,  and  reaches  from  the  Mediterra- 
nean to  the  Euphrates. — [The  Amana  of  the  Canti- 
cles, however,  is  rather  the  southern  part  or  sum- 
mit of  Antilibanus  ;  so  called  jierhaps  from  the  river 
Amana,  which  descended  from  it.  See  Gesenius 
Heb.  Lex.     Reland  Pal.  p.  320.     R. 

II.  AMANA,  a  river  of  Damascus.     See  Abana. 

I.  AMARIAH,  eldest  son  of  Meraioth,  and  father 
of  the  high-priest  Ahitub,  wjxs  high-priest  in  the  time 
of  the  Judges,  but  we  are  not  able  to  fix  the  years  of 
his  pontificate.  His  name  occurs  1  Chron.  vi.  7. 
and  if  he  actually  did  exercise  this  oflice,  he  should 
be  placed,  as  we  think,  before  Eli,  who  was  succeeded 
by  Ahitub,  who,  in  the  Chronicles,  is  put  after  Ama- 
riah,  ver.  7. — [There  was  another  of  this  name,viz. — 

II.  AMARIAH,  high-priest  at  a  later  period,  the 
son  of  Azariah,  but  also  the  father  of  a  second  Ahi- 
tub, 1  Chron.  vi.  11.  In  like  manner,  in  the  same 
list,  there  are  three  high-priests  bearing  the  name  of 
Azariah.     R. 


III.  AMARIAH,  great-grandfather  of  tlie  prophet 
Zephaniah,  and  father  of  Gedaliah,  Zeph.  i.  1. 

I.  AM  ASA,  son  of  Jether  or  Ithra  and  Abigail, 
David's  sister.  Absalom,  during  his  rebellion  against 
David,  i)laced  his  cousin,  Amasa,  at  the  head  of  his 
troops,  (2  Sam.  xvii.  25.)  but  he  was  defeated  by 
Joab.  After  the  extinction  of  Absalom's  party,  David, 
from  dislike  to  Joab,  who  had  killed  Absalom, 
oftered  Amasa  his  pardon  and  the  command  of  the 
army,  in  room  of  Joab,  whose  insolence  rendered 
him  insupportable,  2  Sam.  xix.  13.  On  the  revolt 
of  Sheba,  son  of  Bichri,  David  ordered  Amasa  to 
assemble  all  Judah  against  Sheba ;  but  Amasa  de- 
laying, Da-\  id  directed  Abishai  to  pursue  Sheba,  with 
what  soldiers  he  then  had  about  his  person.  Joab, 
with  his  people,  accompanied  him ;  and  when  thev 
had  reached  the  great  stone  in  Gibeon,  Amasa  joined 
them  with  his  forces.  Joab's  jealousy  being  excited, 
he  fonned  the  dastardly  and  cruel  purpose  of  assas- 
sinating his  rival — "Then  said  Joab  to  Amasa,  Art 
thou  in  health,  my  brother  ?  and  took  him  by  the 
beard  with  the  right  hand  to  kiss  him  ;"  but  at  the 
same  time  smote  him  with  the  sword.  Such  was  the 
end  of  Amasa,  David's  nephew,  ch.  xx.  4 — ]0. 
A.  M.  2982. 

II.  AMASA,  son  of  Hadlai,  opposed  the  admis- 
sion of  such  captives  as  were  taken  from  the  king- 
dom of  Judah,  in  the  reign  of  Ahaz,  into  Samai-ia,  2 
Chron.  xxviii.  12. 

AMASAI,  a  Levite,  who  joined  David  with  thirty 
gallant  men,  while  in  the  desert,  flying  from  Saul. 
David  went  to  meet  them,  and  said,  "  If  ye  be  come 
peaceably  to  help  me,  mine  heart  shall  be  knit  unto 
you :  but  if  ye  be  come  to  betray  me  to  mine  ene- 
mies, seeing  there  is  no  \vTong  in  mine  hands,  the 
God  of  our  fathers  look  thereon  and  rebuke  it." 
Then  said  Amasai,  "  Thine  are  we,  David,  and  on 
thy  side,  thou  son  of  Jesse:  peace  be  unto  thee,  and 
peace  be  to  thine  helpers."  David,  therefore,  re- 
ceived them  ;  and  gave  them  a  command  in  his 
troops,  1  Chron.  xii.  18. 

AMATH,  or  Emath,  a  city  of  Syria ;  the  same 
with  Emesa  on  the  Orontcs.     See  Hamath. 

'AMATHITIS,  a  district  in  Syria  with  the  capital 
city  Hamath,  on  the  Orontes,  1  Mace.  xii.  25.  See 
Hamath. 

I.  AMAZIAH,  son  of  Joash,  eighth  king  of  Judah, 
(2  Chron.  xxiv.  27.)  succeeded  his  father,  A.  M. 
3165.  He  was  twenty-five  years  of  age  when  he 
began  to  reign,  and  reigned  twenty-nine  years  at 
Jerusalem.  He  did  good  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord, 
but  not  with  a  perfect  heart.  When  settled  in  liis 
kingdom,  he  put  to  death  the  murderers  of  his  father, 
but  not  their  children ;  because  it  is  written  in  the 
law,  "  The  fathers  shall  not  be  put  to  death  for  the 
children,  neither  shall  the  children  be  put  to  death 
for  the  fathers ;  every  man  shall  be  put  to  death  for 
his  own  sin,"  Deut.  xxiv.  16 ;  2  Chron.  xxv.  2,  3,  4. 
Designing  to  proceed  against  Edom,  which  had  re- 
volted from  Judah,  in  the  reign  of  Joram,  about 
fifty-four  years  before,  (2  Kings  viii,  20.)  Amaziah 
mustered  .300,000  men  able  to  bear  arms.  To  these 
he  added  100,000  men  of  Israel ;  for  which  he  paid 
100  talents,  about  $150,000.  But  a  prophet  of  the 
Lord  came  to  him,  and  said,  "  O  king,  let  not  the 
army  of  Israel  go  with  thee ;  for  the  Lord  is  not 
with  Israel."  Amaziah,  hereupon,  sent  back  those 
troops ;  and  they  returned  strongly  irritated  against 
him.  They  dispersed  themselves  over  the  cities  of 
Judah,  from  Beth-horon  to  Samaria,  killed  3000  men, 
and  cai-ried  off  a  great  booty,  to  make  themselves 


AMB 


[52] 


AMM 


amends  for  that  they  had  expected  from  Edom. 
Amaziah,  with  his  own  forces,  gave  battle  to  the 
Edomites,  in  the  Valley  of  Salt,  killed  10,000,  and 
took  10,000  more,  who  had  saved  themselves,  in  all 
probability,  on  a  rock,  where  they  were  assaulted, 
and  from  whence  they  were  thro^vll  headlong,  and 
thereby  dashed  to  pieces.  In  2  Kings  xiv.  7.  it  is 
said,  "Amaziah  took  Selah,  pSc,  (Petra,)  and  gave  it 
the  name  of  Joctael ;"  i.  e.  probably  he  took  Petra, 
the  capital  of  Arabia  Petreea ;  others  are  of  opinion, 
that  he  only  took  the  rock  (Gr.  Petra)  to  Avliich  these 
ten  thousand  Edomites  had  retreated.  Amaziah, 
having  thus  punished  Edom,  and  taken  their  gods 
prisoners,  adored  them  as  his  owti  deities.  This 
provoked  the  Lord,  who,  by  a  prophet,  remon- 
strated with  him  ;  but  Amaziah  was  incorrigible,  and 
the  prophet  departed  foretelling  his  premature  end. 

From  this  time  Amaziah  appears  to  have  been  so 
greatly  infatuated  as  to  think  himself  invincible,  and 
sought  a  quarrel  with  the  king  of  Israel,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  showing  his  prowess,  2  Kings  xiv.  8,  9 ;  2 
Cliron.  XXV.  17,  seq.  Joash's  attempts  to  conciliate 
him  proving  unavailing,  the  two  armies  came  to 
battle  near  Bethshemesh,  where  Amaziah  was  de- 
feated, and  himself  carried  prisoner  to  Jerusalem, 
part  of  whose  walls  were  demolished  by  Joash,  and 
the  most  valuable  things,  including  the  gold  and  sil- 
ver vessels  belonging  to  the  temple,  taken  away  to 
Samaria,  ver.  11 — 14. 

Amaziah  reigned  after  this,  fifteen  or  sixteen 
years  at  Jerusalem ;  but  as  he  returned  not  to  the 
Lord  with  all  his  heart,  he  was  punished  by  a  con- 
spiracy formed  against  hun  at  Jerusalem:  He  en- 
deavored to  escape  to  Lachish  ;  but  was  assassinated, 
and  brought  back  on  horses,  and  buried  wth  his  an- 
cestors, in  the  city  of  David,  A.  M.  3194.  Uzziah, 
or  Azariah,  his  son,  about  sixteen  years  of  age,  suc- 
ceeded him,  ver.  19,  20,  21. 

II.  AMAZIAH,  the  priest  of  the  golden  calves  at 
Bethel,  who  procured  the  banishment  of  the  prophet 
Amos,  because  he  had  predicted  the  destruction  of 
the  high  places,  consecrated  to  idols,  and  also  of  the 
house  of  Jeroboam,  Amos  vii.  10,  seq.    See  Amos.  , 

AJVIBASSADOR.  The  ministers  of  the  gospel 
are  called  ambassadors,  because  they  are  appointed 
by  God  to  declare  his  will  to  men,  and  to  promote  a 
spiritual  alliance  with  him,  2  Cor.  v.  20. 

AMBER,  (sca-n,  chasmal,  Ezek.  i.  4,  27 ;  viii.  2.) 
is  a  yellow  or  straw-colored  ginnmy  substance, 
originally  a  vegetable  production,  but  reckoned  to  the 
mineral  kingdom.  It  is  found  in  lumps  in  the  sea 
and  on  the  shores  of  Prussia,  Sicily,  Turkey,  &c. 
Externally  it  is  rough ;  it  is  very  transparent,  and  on 
being  rubbed  yields  a  fragrant  odor.  It  was  fomicrly 
supposed  to  be  medicinal ;  but  is  now  employed  in 
the  manufacture  of  trinkets,  ornaments,  &c. 

In  the  above  passages  of  Ezckicl,  the  Hebrew 
word  chashmal  is  translated  by  the  Sept.  and  Vulgate 
eleclnim,  i.  e.  amber,  because  the  Heb.  word  denotes  a 
very  brilliant  metal;  composed  of  silver  and  gold,which 
was  nnich  prized  in  antiquity  ;  sec  Pliny  xxxiii.  4. 
p.  2.3.  Others,  as  Bof  hart,  compare  here  the  mixture 
of  gold  and  brass,  of  which  the  ancients  had  several 
kinds  ;  by  which  means  a  high  degree  of  lustre  Avas 
obtained;  e.  g.  a;s  pyropum,  res  Corinthium,  etc. 
Sometlring  similar  to  this  was  probably  also  the 
i\\{\M-A\\t^yit''xo>.:iuiot  in  Rev.  i.  15.  Sec  Bochart, 
Hieroz^ii.  p.  877.     *R. 

AlVtjJtVIUS,  (Marcus,)  succeeded  Cojwnius  in 
the  goyerhinent  of  Judea,  A.  D.  13.  Annius  Rufus 
was  hiaflnccessor,  A.  D.  17. 


AMEN,  jcK,  in  Hebrew,  signifies  true,  faithful,  cer- 
tain. It  is  used  Ukewise  in  allirmation ;  and  was 
often  thus  used  by  our  Saviour :  Amen,  Amen,  ver- 
ily, verily.  It  is  understood  as  expressing  a  wish, 
Amen !  so  be  it !  or  an  affirmation.  Amen,  yes :  I 
believe  it.  Numb.  v.  22,  She  shall  answer.  Amen ! 
Amen !  Deut.  xxvii.  15,  16,  17,  &c.  All  the  people 
shall  answer,  Amen !  1  Cor.  xiv.  16,  How  shall  he 
who  occupieth  the  place  of  the  unlearned  say.  Amen ! 
at  thy  giving  of  thanks?  seeing  he  undcrstandeth  not 
what  thou  sayest.  The  promises  of  God  are  Amen 
in  Christ;  i.  e.  certain,  confirmed,  granted,  2  Cor. 
i.  20.  The  Hebrews  end  the  five  books  of  Psahns, 
according  to  their  distribution  of  them,  with  Amen, 
Amen ;  which  the  Septuagint  translate  iVi  oito, 
yiroiTo,  and  the  Latins  Fiat,  fat.  The  gospels,  &:c. 
are  ended  ^vith  Amen.  The  Greek,  Latin,  and  other 
churches,  preserve  this  word  in  their  prayers,  as 
well  as  alleluia  and  hosanua.  At  the  conclusion  of 
the  public  prayers,  the  people  anciently  answered 
with  a  loud  voice.  Amen !  and  Jerome  says,  that,  at 
Rome,  when  the  people  answered,  Amen  !  the  sound 
was  like  a  clap  of  thunder.  Prref  in  Lib.  ii.  Ep.  ad 
Galat.  The  Jews  assert,  that  the  gates  of  heaven 
are  opened  to  him  who  answers  Amen!  with  all  his 
might. 

[The  word  ^mcn  is  strictly  an  adjective,  signifying 
frm,  and  metaph.  faithful.  So  in  Rev.  iii.  14,  our 
Lord  is  called  "  the  Avicn,  the  faithful  and  true  Wit- 
ness ;"  where  the  last  words  cxjilnin  the  preceding 
appellation.  So  Is.  Ixv.  16,  it  is  in  the  Heb.  "  the 
God  of  Amen,''^  which  our  version  renders  "God  of 
truth,"  i.  e.  of  fidelity.  In  its  adverbial  use  it  means 
certainly,  truly,  surely.  It  is  used  at  the  beginning  of 
a  sentence,  by  way  of  emphasis,  rarely  in  the  Old 
Testament,  (Jer.  xxvhi.  6.)  but  frequently  by  our 
Saviour  in  the  New,  where  it  is  commonly  translated 
Verily.  In  John's  Gospel  alone,  it  is  often  used  by 
him  in  this  way  double,  i.  e.  Verily,  verily.  In  the 
end  of  a  sentence  it  is  often  used,  singly  or  repeated, 
especially  at  the  end  of  hymns  and  prayers ;  as 
Atnen  and  Amen,  Ps.  xh.  14 ;  Ixxii.  19 ;  Ixxxix.  53. 
The  proper  signification  of  it  here  is,  to  confirm  the 
words  which  have  preceded  and  invoke  the  fulfil- 
ment of  them;  so  be  it,  fat,  Sept.  •noiro.  Hence  in 
oaths,  after  the  priest  has  repeated  the  words  of  the 
covenant  or  imprecation,  all  those  who  pronounce 
the  Amen,  bind  themselves  by  the  oath,  Num.  v.  22 ; 
Deut.  xxvii.  15,  seq.  Neh.  v.  13. ;  viii.  6. ;  1  Chron.  xvi. 
36.     Compare  Ps.  cvi.  48.     R. 

AMERUTHA,  a  town  of  Upper  Galilee,  which 
Josephus  fortified  against  the  Romans  ;  (Vita  sua, 
p.  101.3.)  probably  the  same  as  Mcrotli,  which  termi- 
nates Upper  Galilee  westward ;  (Jos.  Ant.  iii.  2.) 
perlia])s  the  Mearah  of  the  Sidonians,  Josh.  xiii.  4. 

AMETHYST,  a  precious  stone,  the  ninth  in  order 
on  the  high-priest's  breastplate,  bearing  the  name  of 
Issachar,  Ex.  xxviii.  19;  xxxix.  12.  Its  color  resem- 
bles that  of  new  wine,  and  reflects  a  violet.  Rev. 
xxi.  20. 

I.  AMINADAB,  of  Judah,  son  of  Aram,  and 
father  of  Naason  and  Elisheba,  wife  of  Aaron,  the 
high-priest,  Exod.  vi.  23  ;  Matt.  i.  4. 

II.  AMINADAB,  whose  chariots  are  mentioned. 
Cant.  vi.  12.  as  being  extremely  ligiit.  "Or  ever  I 
was  a%vare,  my  soul  made  me  like  the  chariots  of 
Aminadab."  Ho-  was  veiy  jHobably  a  celebrated 
charioteer,  whose  horses  were  singidarly  swift. 

AMMA,  a  hill  opposite  to  Giah,  not  far  from 
Gibeon,  where  Asahel  was  slain  by  Abner,  2  Sam. 
ii.  24. 


AMM 


[  53] 


AMM 


AMMAN,  the  capital  of  the  Ammonites,  called  in 
Scripture,  Rabbath  Amnion,  and  in  profane  authors, 
Philadelphia.     See  Rabbath. 

AMMANAH,  in  the  Jewish  writers,  is  the  same  as 
mount  Hor ;  a  mount  in  the  northern  boundary  of 
the  land.  In  the  Jerusalem  Targum,  mount  Hor  is 
called  mount  Manus;  Jonathan  writes  it  Umanis. 
Inwards  from  Ammanah  was  within  the  land,  beyond 
Animanali  was  without  the  land,  according  to  the 
opinions  of  the  Tahnudists. 

I.  AMMON,  or  No-Ammo>',  or  Amimon-No,  a  city 
of  Egj'pt.  The  Vulgate  generally  take  this  city  for 
Alexandria,  although  they  could  not  be  ignorant  that 
Alexandria  is  much  more  modern  than  Jeremiah, 
Ezekiel,  and  Nahum,  who  speak  of  No-Ammon. 
But  they  might  believe  that  this  city  had  stood  at  or 
near  the  place  where  Alexandria  now  stands  ;  though 
there  is  no  evidence  in  history  that  such  was  the  fact. 
The  prophets  describe  No-Ammon  as  being  situated 
among  the  rivers ;  as  having  the  waters  siwrounding 
it ;  having  the  sea  as  its  rampart ;  and  as  being  ex- 
tremely populous.  This  description  has  induced 
some  interpreters  to  consider  No-Ammon  as  having 
been  the  same  vnih  Diospohs,  or  the  city  of  Jupiter, 
in  Lower  Egypt.  The  ruin  of  this  city,  so  distinctly 
foi-etold  by  the  prophets,  occurred  ])artly  under 
Sargon  ;  and  more  ftilly,  though  still  not  completely, 
under  Cambyses. 

[The  name  of  the  city  is  properly  Ao-^mmoji,  i.  e. 
tlie  seat  or  dwelling  of  the  god  Amnion,  Nah.  iii.  8. 
In  Ezek.  xxx.  14 — 16  it  is  called  simply  JVo  ;  and  in 
both  Nah.  iii.  8.  and  Jer.  xlvi.25,  the  English  version 
has  also  only  JVo  ;  in  the  latter  case  with  a  misap- 
prehension of  the  sense.  See  the  next  article.  It 
means,  beyond  all  reasonable  doubt,  the  city  of 
Thebes,  the  ancient  and  renowned  capital  of  Egypt, 
called  also  Diospohs  by  the  Greeks,  and  the  chief 
seat  of  the  worship  of  Jupiter  Amnion.  The  vast 
ruins  of  the  temples  of  Luxor  and  Caruac  still  pro- 
claim the  grandeur  and  maguLficence  with  which 
this  worship  was  conducted.  Nahum  indeed  de- 
scribes No-Ammon  as  'situated  among  the  rivers, 
and  that  its  rampart  was  the  sea ;'  but  this,  in  the 
highly  figurative  language  of  the  prophet,  applies 
rather  to  Thebes  as  the  capital  of  Egjpt,  as  the  rep- 
resentative of  the  whole  countr\',  than  to  its  literal 
position. — The  other  Diospohs,  although  literally 
situated  among  the  branches  of  the  Nile,  was  not  of 
sufficient  importance  to  b^ar  the  comparison  with 
Nineveh  which  Nahum  institutes.  See  the  Mission- 
aiy  Herald  for  1823,  p.  347,  seq.  Greppo,  Essay  on 
the  Hieroglyphic  System,  Bost.  1830.  p.  1.50,  seq. 
Champollion,  Egypte  sous  les  Pharaons,  i.  p.  199,  seq. 
ii.  p.  198,  seq.  , 

The  ruins  of  the  ancient  city  of  'riiebes  are  the 
wonder  and  delight  of  all  modern  travellers,  for  their 
extent,  their  vastness,  and  their  sad  and  solitary  gran- 
deur. Mr.  Came,  in  his  Letters  from  the  Elast,  (vol.  i.  p. 
150,  seq.  Lond.  1826,)  gives  the  following  account  of 
them  :  "  It  is  difficult  to  describe  the  noble  and  stu- 
pendous ruins  of  Thebes.  Beyond  all  others  they 
give  you  the  idea  of  a  ruined,  yet  imperishable,  city  ; 
so  vast  is  their  extent,  that  you  Avander  a  long  time 
confused  and  perplexed,  and  discover  at  every  step 
some  new  object  of  interest.  From  the  temple  of 
Luxor  to  that  of  Karnac  the  distance  is  a  mile  and  a 
half,  and  they  were  formerly  connected  by  a  long 
avenue  of  sphynxes,  the  mutilated  remains  of  which, 
the  heads  being  broken  oft' the  greater  part,  still  line 
the  whole  path.  Arrived  at  the  end  of  this  avenue, 
you  come  to  a  lofty  gate-way  of  granite,  and  quite 


isolated.  About  fifty  yards  farther  you  enter  a  temple 
of  inferior  dimensions ;  you  then  advance  into  a  spa- 
cious area,  strewed  with  broken  pillars,  and  sur- 
rounded with  vast  and  lofty  masses  of  ruins, — all 
parts  of  the  great  temple  ;  a  little  on  your  right  is  the 
magnificent  portico  of  Karnac,  the  vivid  remem- 
brance of  which  will  never  leave  him  who  has  once 
gazed  on  it.  Its  numerous  colonnades  of  pillars,  of 
gigantic  form  and  height,  are  in  excellent  preserva- 
tion, but  without  ornament ;  the  ceiling  and  walls  of 
the  portico  are  gone  ;  the  ornamented  plat-stone  still 
connects  one  of  the  rows  of  pillars  with  a  slender 
remain  of  the  edifice  attached  to  it.  Passing  hence, 
you  wander  amidst  obelisks,  porticoes,  and  statues  ; 
the  latter  without  grace  or  beauty,  but  of  a  most 
colossal  kind.  If  you  ascend  one  of  the  hills  of  rub- 
bish, and  look  around,  you  see  a  gate-way  standing 
afar,  conducting  only  to  solitude, — and  detached  ami 
roofless  pillars,  while  others  lie  broken  at  their  feet ; 
the  busts  of  gigantic  statues  appearing  above  the 
earth,  while  the  rest  of  the  body  is  yet  buried,  or  the 
head  torn  away. 

"The  length  of  the  great  temple  of  Karnac  is  esti- 
mated at  1200  feet,  and  its  breadth  at  400 ;  and  among 
its  hundred  and  fifty  columns  are  two  rows,  eaf  h  pil- 
lar of  which  is  ten  feet  in  diameter.  On  the  left, 
spread  the  dreary  deserts  of  the  Thebais,  to  the  edge 
of  which  the  city  extends.  The  front  is  a  pointed  and 
baiTen  range  of  mountains.  The  Nile  flows  at  the 
foot  of  the  temple  of  Luxor;  but  the  ruins  extend  far 
on  the  other  side  of  the  river ;  to  the  very  base  of 
those  formidable  precipices,  and  into  the  wastes  of 
sand.  The  natural  scenery  around  Thebes  is  a3 
fine  as  can  possibly  be  conceived."  See  No  and 
Thebes.     *R. 

II.  AMMON,  Amoun,  or  in  later  times  Jupiter. 
Ammon,  the  supreme  god  of  the  Egyptians,  worship- 
ped also  by  the  Ethiopians  «nd  Lybiaiis,  and  held  bj' 
the  Greeks  and  Romans  to  be  the  same  Avith  their 
Jupiter.  (Herod,  ii.  42.  Diod.  i.  13.)  Macrobiua 
declares  the  god  Amnion  to  be  the  representative  c  f 
the  Sun ;  and  this  view  is  suppoi-ted  by  Egyptian 
inscriptions,  in  which,  besides  his  usual  name,  he  is 
also  called  Amon-Re,  i.  e.  Ammon,  the  Sun.  His  im- 
age sometimes  had  the  head  of  a  ram;  and  Jablon- 
sky  hence  supposed  this  to  have  been  an  emblem  of 
the  Sun  in  spring,  when  entering  the  sign  Aries. 
(Pantheon  -^gypt.  i.  p.  166.)  The  New  Platonists 
held  this  god  to  be  the  emblem  of  the  eternal 
and  hidden  source  of  light,  the  supreme  creator 
of  the  universe,  SiuiovnyU.  Euseb.  Prsep.  Evang. 
xi.  7. 

The  origin  and  etymology  of  the  name  are  upcer- 
tain.  Champollion  supposes  it  to  come  from  the 
Egyptian  word  AMOUN,  signifying  gloi-y,  sublimity ; 
(Egj'pte  sous  les  Pharaons  i.  p.  217.)  though  in 
another  place  (Pantheon  No.  1.)  he  folloAvs  Manetho, 
and  makes  the  word  Anion  signify  occult,  hidden. 

The  images  of  Ammon,  as  found  on  Egyptian  mon- 
uments, represent  a  human  figure,  with  a  youthful 
visage,  sitting  upon  a  throne  ;  or  sometimes  with  the 
head  and  sometimes  the  whole  body  of  a  ram. 
(Champollion,  Pantheon  No.  1.)  He  was  addressed 
also  by  the  Egyptians  with  the  epithets  Lord  of  the 
re^ons  of  the  tvorld,  supreme  Lord,  king  of  the  gods. 
This  name  also  occurs  in  the  epithets  bestowed  on 
the  Pharaohs  ;  e.  g.  Son  of  Ammon,  approved  of  Ain- 
mon,  beloved  of  Ammon,  &c.  He  was  worshipped  in 
temples  of  the  utmost  splendor  at  Meroe,  and  in  an 
oasis  of  the  Lybian  desert,  whither  Alexander  the 
Great  made  an  expedition  ;  but  the  chief  seat  of  his 


A  M  51 


[54] 


AMN 


worship  was  at  Thebes,  the  celebrated  capital  of 
E°-ypt,  which  on  this  account  was  called  No-Ammo.x. 
(See  the  preceding  article.)  The  god  himself  is  only 
once  referred  to  in  the  Bible,  vi/.  Jer.  xlvi.  ^o,  "The 
Lord  of  Hosts  saith.  Behold  I  will  punish  Jmman  of 
.Vo,  and  Pharaoh,  and  Egypt,  Avith  their  gods  and 
their  kings,"  &c.  The  English  v(>r.sion  has  here  in- 
correctly translated  the  word  Auuuon  by  a  multi- 
tude.—See  Geseniiis,  Thcs.  Ling.  Heb.  p.  115.  Grep- 
po.  Essay  on  the  Hieroglyphic  Syst.  Bost.  1830.  Ap- 
pendix M.  p.  225.     *R. 

in.  AMMON,  or  Ben- Annul,  (soji  o/mj/ ;?eo^/e,) 
son  of  Lot,  by  his  younger  daughter.  Gen.  xix.  34, 
38.  He  was  the  father  of  the  Ammonites,  a  famous 
people,  always  at  enmity  with  Israel. 

AMMONITES,  the  'descendants  of  Annnon,  or 
Beu-Annni,  a  son  of  Lot ;   and    called,  sometimes, 
Ammanites.      They  destroyed   an   ancient   race   of 
giants  called  Zamzunuuim,and  seized  their  country, 
which    lay   south-cast   of  Judea,    Deut.   ii.  19—21. 
Their  territory  extended  from  the  Arnon  to  the  Jab- 
bok,  and  from' the  Jordan  a  considerable  distance  into 
Arabia.     Their  cai)ital  city  was  Kabbah,  (also  Rab- 
batli  Amnion,  and   afterw'ards    Philadelphia,)  which 
stood  on  the  Jabbok.     They  were  gross   idolaters  ; 
their  chief  idol  being  Moloch,  supposed  to  he  the 
same  with  Saturn.     They  were  dispossessed  of  part 
of  their  territories  by  Sihon,  king  of  the  Amorites ; 
but  God  restrained  Moses  and  Israel  from  attacking 
them,  because  he  did  not  intend  to  give  any  of  the 
remaining  part  of  their  land  to  the  Hebrews.     Never- 
theless, as,  before  Israel  entered  Canaan,  the  Amo- 
rites had  conquered  a  great  part  of  their  country, 
Moses  retook  it,  and  divided  it  between  the  tribes  of 
Gad  and  Reuben.— After  the  death  of  Othniel,  the 
Anmionites  and  Amalekites  joined  with  Eglon,  king 
of  Moab,  to  oppress  Israel,  whom  they  governed  for 
18  years.     In  the  time  of  Jephthah  the  Annnonites 
declared  war  against  Israel,  under  the  pretence  that 
the  latter  detained  a  great  part  of  the  country  which 
had  formerly  l)een  theirs,  before  the  Amorites  pos- 
sessed it.     But  Jejihthah  defeated  them  with  great 
slaughter,  Judg.   xi.     In  the    beginning    of    Saul's 
reign,  Nahash,"  king  of  the  Annnonites,  having  at- 
tacked  Jabesh-Gilead,  reduced  it  to  a  capitulation, 
(1  Sam.  xi.  1.)  but  he  would  accept  of  no  other  con- 
ditions, than  the  inhabitants  submitting  to  have  every 
man   his  right   eye   jilucked  out,  as   a  re])roach  on 
Israel.     Saul,   however,  coming  seasonably  to  their 
aid,  delivered  the  people  from  this  intended  barbar- 
ity.    About  GO  years  after  this,  David,  who  had  been 
upon  friendly  terms  with  the  king  of  Amnion,  sent 
compliments  of  condolence,  after  his  death,  to  Hanun, 
his   son    and   successor.     The  Ammonite,  however, 
afr<cling  to  regard  the  ambassadors  as  spies,  treated 
them  in  a  very  degrading  manner.     David  avenged 
the  affront,  and  subdued  the  Ammonites,  the  Moab- 
ites,  and  the  Syrians,  their  allies,  2  Sam.  x.     From 
this  period  to  tiie   death   of  Ahab,  about  140  years. 
Amnion  and  Moal)  cotuiiiued  subject  to  tiie  kings  of 
Israel,  2  Kings  i.  1.     Two  years  after  the  death   of 
Ahab,  .Feiioram,  his  son,  defeated  the  Moabites,  (A. 
M.  310!»,  2  Kings  iii.  7,  to  end,)  but  it  does  not  ap- 
pear that  he  reduced  them  to  obedience.     At   the 
same  time  the  Annnonites,  Moabites,  and  other  peo- 
ple, made  an   irruption    into  Judah,  but,  according 
to  the  word  of  the  Lord   revealed  to  .Talia/iel,  the 
rombine^l    army   was    wholly  destroyed    by   mutual 
slaughter,  2  Chron.  xx. 

The  Ammonites  and  Moabites  seem  now  to  have 
been   reduced  to  a  condition  in  which  they  were  nn 


longer  able  to  harass  their  enemies,  the  Israelites; 
but  after  the  tribes  of  Reuben  and  Gad,  and  the  half- 
tribe  of  Manasseh,  had  been  carried  captive  by  Tig- 
lath-Pileser,  (A.  M.  32G4,)  they  took  possession  of  the 
cities  belonging  to  those  tribes  ;  and  for  this  they  were 
reprov&d  and  threatened  by  the  proj)liet  Jeremiah, 
Jer.  xlix.  1 — 6.  But  great  as  had  been  their  guilt  up 
to  this  time,  it  was  much  aggi-avated  by  their  "insolent 
triumph  over  the  people  of  Israel,  when  their  temple 
was  destroyed  and  themselves  carried  away  by  Nebu- 
chadnezzar. They  had  even  joined  w  ith  Nebuchad- 
nezzar in  making  war  on  the  Jews,  2  Kings  xxiv.  2. 
Urged  on,  too,  by  Baalis,  king  of  the  Ammonites, 
Ismael,  the  son  of  Nethauiah,  murdered  Gedaliah,  the 
governor  over  Judea  appointed  by  Nebuchadnezzar, 
Jer.  xl.  14,  seq.  xli.  1 — 10.  The  Lord,  however, 
showed  his  displeasure  at  their  conduct,  and  Ezekiel 
was  commissioned  to  foretell  that,  as  the  reward  of 
their  unfeeling  and  profane  triumph,  they  should 
themselves  be  delivered  to  the  men  of  the  East  for  a 
possession,  and  be  cut  off,  so  as  to  perish  out  of  the 
coimtries,  Ezek.  xxv.  3,  10.  We  believe  that  the 
former  part  of  this  prediction  was  fulfilled,  about  four 
years  afterwards,  when  Nebuchadnezzar  invaded  all 
the  countries  around  Judea,  and  carried  away  their 
people,  A.  M.  3420—1.  (Josephus.)  The  fulfilment 
of  the  latter  part  of  the  prediction  was  deferred  for  a 
time.  Cyrus,  it  is  probable,  gave  permission  to  the 
Ammonites  and  the  Moabites  to  return  into  their  o\mi 
country  ;  for  we  find  them  subsequently  in  their  for- 
mer settlements,  exposed  to  those  revolutions  by 
which  the  people  of  Syria  and  Palestine  were  visited  ; 
and  subject  sometimes  to  the  kings  of  Egypt,  and 
sometimes  to  those  of  Syria.  This  agrees,  too,  with 
Jer.  xlix.  6.  where  the  prophet  foretells  that  they 
should  be  for  a  time  restored.  But  the  calamities  to 
which  these  people  had  been  themselves  exposed, 
did  not  tend  in  any  degi-ee  to  allay  their  animosities 
towards  their  neighbors ;  and  hence  we  find  them 
ready  to  hinder  the  Jews  from  again  building  the 
walls  of  Jerusalem,  (Nehem.  iv.  3,  seq.)  and  to  attack 
them  when  exposed  to  the  ravages  of  Antiochus 
Ej)iphaues.  Judas  Maccabeus,  how^ever,  visited  them 
with  the  just  reward  of  their  conduct,  1  Mace.  v.  6 
— 45.  Their  power  was  broken,  their  hostility  ceased, 
and,  in  compliance  with  the  prophecy  already  cited, 
they  soon  after  became  extinct,  as  a  nation.  They 
were  gradually  blended  with  the  Arabs,  and  Origeu 
assures  us,  that  in  his  days  they  were  only  known 
under  this  general  name.     Origen  in  Job.  lib.  i. 

AMNON,  the  eldest  son  of  David,  by  Ahinoam 
his  second  wife,  having  conceived  a  violent  passion 
for  Taniar,  his  sister,  became  ill ;  Jonadab,  sou  of 
Shimeah,  David's  brother,  inquired  the  cause,  and 
Amnon  discovered  to  him  his  passion.  Jonadab 
advised  him  to  counterfeit  extreme  sickness,  and 
when  the  king  his  father  visited  him,  to  say,  "  I  pray 
thee,  let  my  sister  Tamar  come  and  dress  me  food  in 
my  sight,  that  I  may  see  it,  and  eat  it  at  her  hand." 
Amnon  followed  this  advice,  and  the  king  readily 
granted  hisre(]uest. — Tamar  came  to  Amnon's  apart- 
ment, "made  cakes  in  his  sight,  baked  them,  and 
poured  them  out  before  him."  Annion  would  eat 
nothing,  however  ;  but  calling  his  sister  into  the  most 
private  part  of  the  chamber,  and  obeying  only  the 
dictates  of  his  passion,  he,  by  violence,  abused  her. — 
After  committing  the  crime,  his  aversion  to  her 
became  more  excessive  than  had  been  his  love.  Ta- 
mar being  expelled  from  the  room  of  Amnon,  her 
brother  Absalom  met  her  in  the  street,  in  tears,  la- 
menting, and  having  her  head  covered  with  ashes. 


AMO 


[  55  ] 


AMP 


He  soothed  her,  and  advised  her  to  be  silent,  but 
formed  a  determination  to  avenge  her  insult.  David, 
when  informed  of  what  had  transpired,  was  extremely 
aftected ;  but,  as  he  tenderly  loved  Anmon,  wiio  was 
his  eldest  son,  he  refrained  from  punishing  him.  At 
the  end  of  two  jears,  Absalom,  who  had  restrained  his 
resentment  during  this  time,  determined  to  create  an 
opportunity  to  avenge  it,  and  for  thispurjjose  he  invited 
the  king,  his  father,  and  all  his  brothers,  to  an  entertain- 
ment, at  Baal-hazor.  David  declined  the  invitation,  but 
the  princes  went  down  to  the  festival,  where  Anmon 
was  assassinated  by  Absalom's  orders,  2  Sam.  xiii. 

AMON,  the  fourteenth  king  of  Judah,  son  of  j\la- 
nasseh  and  Meshullemeth  daughter  of  Haruz,  of  Jot- 
bah,  began  to  reign,  A.  M.  33G1,  ante  A.  D.  G43,  at 
the  age  of  twenty-two,  and  reigned  only  two  years  at 
Jerusalem.  He  did  evil  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord,  as 
his  father  Mauasseh  had  done,  by  forsaking  Jeho- 
vah, and  worshipping  idols.  His  servants  conspired 
against  him,  and  slew  him  in  his  own  house  ;  but  the 
people  killed  all  the  conspirators,  and  established  his 
son  Josiah  on  the  throne.  He  was  buried  in  the 
garden  of  Uzzah,  2  Kings  xxi.  19,  seq.  2  Chron. 
xjcxiii.  21,  seq. 

AMORTTES,a  people  descended  from  the  fourth 
sou  of  Canaan,  Gen.  x.  16.  They  first  peopled  the 
mountains  west  of  the  Dead  sea,  dwelling  in  Hazezon- 
tamar,  and  near  Hebron ;  but  afterwards  extended  their 
limits,  and  took  possession  of  the  finest  provinces  of 
Moab  and  Amnion,  on  the  east,  between  the  bi-ooks 
Jabbok  and  Anion,  Josh.  v.  1 ;  Numb.  xiii.  29 ;  xxi.  29. 
Moses  took  this  country  from  their  king,  Sihon,  (A.  M. 
2553,)  who  refused  the  Israelites  a  passage,  on  their 
way  out  of  Egypt,  and  attacked  them  with  all  his  force. 
The  lands  which  the  Amorites  possessed  on  this 
side  Jordan,  were  given  to  the  tribe  of  Judah, 
and  those  beyond  the  Jordan  to  the  tribes  of  Reuben 
and  Gad.  Amos  (ch.  ii.  9.)  speaks  of  their  gigantic 
stature  and  valor,  and  compares  their  height  to  the 
cedar,  their  strength  to  the  oak.  The  name  Amorite 
is  often  taken  in  Scripture  for  Canaanite  in  general, 
Gen.  XV.  16.  See  Rosenmueller,  Bibl.  Geog.  ii.  1.  p. 
255.     Reland,  Palaest.  p.  138. 

I.  AMOS,  DicN,  the  fourth  of  the  minor  prophets, 
belonged  to  the  little  town  of  Tekoah,  in  Judah, 
about  12  miles  south-east  of  Jerusalem.  He  was 
a  herdsman  ;  and  ffom  his  herds  and  flocks  came  for- 
ward as  a  prophet,  not  in  Judah,  but  in  Israel.  He 
prophesied  in  Bethel,  (where  the  golden  calves  were 
erected,)  under  Jeroboam  II.  about  A.  M.  3215  ;  and 
Amaziah,  high-priest  of  Bethel,  accused  him  before 
the  king,  as  conspiring  against  him,  and  ordered  the 
prophet  to  return  into  Judah.  Amos  answered  Ama- 
ziah, "  I  was  no  prophet,  neither  was  I  a  prophet's 
son  ;  but  I  was  a  herdsman,  and  a  dresser  of  sycamore 
fruit ;  and  the  Lord  took  me  as  I  followed  the  flock, 
and  the  Lord  said  unto  me.  Go,  prophesy  unto  my 
people  Israel,"  Amos  vii.  10,  to  end.  (See  Syca- 
more.) He  began  to  prophesy  the  second  year  be- 
fore the  earthquake,  in  the  reign  of  king  llzziah, 
(Amos  i.  1.)  which  Josephus  (with  most  conmienta- 
tors)  refers  to  that  prince's  usurpation  of  the  priest's 
office,  when  he  attempted  to  offer  incense.  The 
rabbins,  and  Procopius  of  Gaza,  are  of  opinion  that 
this  happened  in  the  twenty-fifth  year  of  Uzziah,  A. 
iM.  3219  ;  but  this  cannot  be,  for'  Jotham,  son  of  Uz- 
ziah, born  A.  M.  3221 ,  was  of  age  to  govern,  that  is, 
between  fifteen  and  twenty  years  old^when  his 
father  was  struck  with  a  leprosy. — It  is,  however,  im- 
possible to  determine  the  exact  date  of  this  earth- 
quake, although  it  is  also  referred  to  in  Zech.  xiv.  5. 


The  book  of  Amos  is  divided  into  two  parts.  The 
first  six  chapters  contain  admonitions  and  denuncia- 
tions ;  the  three  others,  visions.  The  former  are  di- 
rected partly  against  Israel  and  Judah,  and  partly 
against  foreign  nations,  viz.  the  Syrians,  Phenicians, 
Moabites,  and  Edomites.  Assyria  is  not  mentioned 
by  name,  but  is  clearly  implied  in  ch.  v.  17.  He 
employs  sharp  invectives  against  the  sins  of  Israel, 
and  especially  of  the  inhabitants  of  Samaria,  their 
efieminacy,  avarice,  and  harshness  to  the  poor  ;  the 
s])lendor  of  their  buildings,  and  the  delicacy  of  their 
tables.  He  reproves  Israel  for  going  to  Bethel,  Dan, 
Giigal,  and  Beersheba,  which  were  the  most  famoii.s 
pilgrimages  of  the  country;  and  for  swearing  by  the 
gods  of  those  places. 

The  time  and  manner  of  Anios's  death  are  not 
known.  Some  authors  relate,  that  Amaziah,  priest 
of  Bethel,  provoked  by  the  discourses  of  the  prophet 
to  silence  him,  had  his  teeth  broken  ;  (Cyril,  Proef  in 
Amos ;)  others  say,  that  Hosea,  or  Uzziah,  sou  of 
Amaziah,  struck  him  with  a  stake  on  the  temples, 
and  almost  killed  him  ;  that  in  this  condition  he  was 
carried  to  Tekoah,  where  he  died,  and  was  buried 
with  his  fathers.     Epiphan.  de  Vita  Prophet,  c,  13. 

[All  this,  however,  is  useless  dreaming.  From  the 
circumstance  that  Amos  was  a  herdsman,  we  cannot 
draw  the  conclusion  that  he  was  therefore  rude  and 
unpolished,  or  destitute  of  cultivation.  The  exam- 
ple of  David  had  shown  long  before,  that  even  among 
the  lower  classes  a  highdegi-ee  of  poetical  talent  and 
cultivation  was  sometimes  to  be  found.  In  regard  to 
style,  Amos  takes  a  high  rank  among  the  prophets. 
He  is  full  of  fancy  and  imagery,  concise,  and  yet  sim- 
ple and  perspicuous.  His  language  is  occasionally 
harsh.  His  prophecies  are  arranged  in  a  certain 
order ;  so  that  we  may  suppose  that,  after  having  ut- 
tered them,  he  had  carefully  written  them  out.  As 
interpreters  have  been  aware  of  his  having  been  a 
herdsman,  they  have  mostly  set  themselves  to  find 
only  pastoi-al  figures  and  imagery  in  his  writings, 
and  also  something  which  should  be  low  and  incor- 
rect. But  he  exhibits  no  more  imagery  from  pas- 
toral life  than  the  other  Hebrew  poets ;  and  as  to 
incorrectness,  there  is  nothing  which  can  be  taken 
into  account.  It  is  therefore  unjust,  when  Jerome 
calls  him  sennone  hnpentum,  i.  e.  rude  in  speech. — 
Such  is  the  judgment  of  Gesenius.     R. 

II.  AMOS,  yicx,  father  of  the  prophet  Isaiah, 
was,  it  is  said,  son  of  king  Joash,  and  brother  of 
Amaziah.  The  rabbins  pretend,  that  Amos,  Isaiah's 
father,  was  a  prophet,  as  well  as  his  son,  according  to 
a  rule  among  them,  that  when  the  father  of  a  prophet 
is  called  in  Scripture  by  his  name,  it  is  an  indication, 
that  he  also  had  the  gift  of  prophecy.  Augustin 
conjectured,  that  the  prophet  Amos  was  the  father  of 
Isaiah  ;  but  the  names  of^ these  two  persons  are  writ- 
ten differently  :  yirN,  father  of  Isaiah  ;  dcn,  amos,  the 
prophet  Amos.  Some  are  of  opinion,  that  the  man 
of  God  who  spake  to  king  Amaziah,  and  obliged  him 
to  send  back  the  hundred  thousand  men  of  Israel, 
whom  he  had  purchased  to  march  against  the  Edom- 
ites, (2  Chron.  xx\.  7,  8.)  was  Amos,  the  father  of 
Isaiah,  and  brother  of  king  Amaziah,  But  this  opin- 
ion is  supported  by  no  proofs.     See  Isaiah. 

III.  AMOS,  son  of  Nahum,  and  father  of  Mat- 
tathias,  in  the  genealogy  of  our  Saviour,  Luke 
iii.25. 

AMOZ,  see  Amos  II. 

AMPHIPOLIS,  a  city  of  Macedonia,  situated  not 
far  from  the  mouth  of  the  river  Strymon,  which 
flowed  around  the  city,  and  thus  occasioned  its  name. 


ANA 


[56] 


ANA 


It  w  as  originally  a  colony  of  the  Athenians,  founded 
by  Cimon.  Under  the  Romans  it  became  the  capital 
of  the  eastern  province  of  Macedonia.  Paul  and  Si- 
las passed  through  ^Vinphipohs  to  Tliessalonica,  after 
they  had  been  set  at  liberty  at  Pliilipi)i,  Acts  xvii.  1. 
In  the  middle  ages  it  received  the  name  of  Chryso- 
polis.  The  village  which  now  stands  upon  the  site 
of  the  ancient  city  is  called  Einpoli  or  Yamboli,a  cor- 
ruption of  Amphipolis.     R. 

AMRAM,  son  of  Kohadi,  of  Levi,  maiTied  Joche- 
bed,  l)y  whom  he  had  Aaron,  ftliriam,  and  Moses. 
He  died  in  Egypt,  aged  137,  Exod.  vi.  20. 

AMRAPHEL,  king  of  Shinar,  confederated  with 
Chedorlaomer,  kingof  Elam,  and  two  other  kings,  to 
make  war  against  the  kings  of  Sodom,  Gomorrha,  and 
the  three  neighl)oring  cities,  which  they  plundered, 
and  carried  oti"  many  captives,  among  whom  w  as  Lot, 
Abraham's  nephew.  Abraham  pursued  them,  retook 
Lot,  and  recovered  the  spoil.  Gen.  xiv.     A.  M.  2092. 

AMULETS  are  properly  certain  medicines  worn 
around  the  neck  or  on  other  parts  of  the  body,  as  a 
preservative  agaiust  diseases.  Among  oriental  na- 
tions they  exist  in  the  form  of  charms  or  talismans, 
not  only  against  disea.ses,  but  also  to  ward  off  danger, 
or  witchcraft,  or  the  influence  of  evil  spirits.  Such 
amulets  are  of  gi-eat  mitiquity,  (Pliny,  xxx.  24.)  and  are 
also  found  at  the  present  day  not  only  in  the  East,  but 
also  among  the  negi-o  tribes  of  Africa.  They  consist 
usually  of  strips  of  paper  written  over  with  sacred 
sentences,  etc.  or  of  gems  and  stones  or  pieces  of  metal 
prepared  for  this  purpose.  These  were  also  not  un- 
known to  the  Hebrews.  In  Isa.  iii.  20,  the  rings  or 
earrings,  there  mentioned,  appear  to  have  been  amu- 
lets of  this  kind,  made  thus  to  serve  also  the  purpose 
of  ornament.  These  were  probably  precious  stones, 
or  small  plates  of  gold  or  silver,  Avith  sentences  of  the 
law  or  magic  formulas  engraved  upon  them,  and 
worn  in  the  ears  or  suspended  by  a  chain  around  the 
neck.  It  is  certain  that  earrings  were  sometimes  in- 
struments of  superstition  in  this  way,  e.  g.  Gen.  xxxv. 
4.  where  Jacob  takes  away  the  earrings  of  his  family, 
along  with  their  false  gods.  Chardhi  says  (in  Har- 
mar's  Obs.  iv.  p.  248.)  "  I  have  seen  some  of  these 
earrings  with  figures  on  them  and  strange  chai-acters, 
which  I  believe  may  be  tahsmans  or  charms,  or  per- 
haps nothing  but  the  amusement  of  old  women. 
The  Indians  say  they  are  presen'ativcs  against  en- 
chantment. Perhaps  the  earrings  of  Jacob's  family 
were  of  this  kind."  Augustin  also  speaks  zealously 
against  earrings  which  were  worn  as  amulets  in  his 
time,  Ep.  73  ad  Posid.  See  Gesenius,  Connu.  on  Is. 
iii.  20.  Schroeder,  p.  168,  seq.  Fundgruben  des 
Orients,  iv.  p.  86.  p.  156,  seq. 

The  later  Jews  regarded  also  as  amulets  the  phy- 
lacteries, or  sentences  of  the  law  which  Closes  had 
commanded  them  to  wear  on  their  foreheads  and 
wrists  ;  although  this  command  of  Moses  is  probably 
to  be  understood  no  more  literally,  than  the  com- 
mand to  impress  them  upon  their  hearts.  Deut.  vi.  6, 
8.  There  are  also  various  cabalistic  amulets  among 
the  later  Jews.     *R. 

ANAB,  a  city  iu  the  mountains  of  Judah,  (Josh. 
xi.2]  ;xv.  50.)  which  Jerome  believed  to  be  the  same 
with  Beth-anaba,  ei<^ht  miles  east  of  Diospolis  or 
Lydda.  Eusebius  places  Betho-anab  four  miles  dis- 
tant from  tills  city.  But  neither  of  these  is  the  Anab 
mentioneil  I)y  Joshua,  which  he  places,  with  Hebron 
and  Del)ir,  more  to  the  south  of  Judah. 

ANAH,  son  of  Zibeon,  the  Hivite,  and  father  of 
Aholibamah,  Esau's  wife.  Gen.  xxxvi.  24.  While 
feeding  asses  in  the  desert,  he  discovered  "  springs 


of  wann  water,"  as  Jerome  translates  the  Hebrew 
crc^  The  English  version  has  nndes,  as  also  the 
Arab  and  Venetian  Greek  versions.  But  this  word 
does  not  signify  mules  in  any  oriental  dialect ;  while 
the  meaning  "  warm  springs"  is  supported  by  the 
Arabic  ;  see  Rosenin.  Comm.  in  loc.  Such  springs 
are  also  found  in  the  eastern  coast  of  the  Dead  sea, 
which  was  not  far  from  the  dwelling  of  the  Seirites, 
to  whom  Anah  belonged,  and  who  inhabited  at  that 
time  the  country  to  the  south-west  and  south  of  that 
sea.  Five  or  six  miles  south-east  of  the  Dead  sea, 
towards  Petra,  and,  consequently,  in  or  near  the  same 
region  in  which  the  Seirites,  and  afterwards  the 
Edomites,  dwelt,  is  a  place  celebrated  among  the 
Greeks  and  Romans  for  its  warm  baths,  and  called  by 
them  Callirhoc.  Jose{)hus  mentions  (B.  J.  i.  33.  5.)  that 
it  was  visited  by  Herod ;  and  says  that  the  waters 
empty  themselves  into  the  Asphaltus  sea,  and  are 
also  potable  on  account  of  their  sweetness.  Pliny 
also  mentions  these  baths.  Hist.  Nat.  v.  17.  Mr. 
Legh  also  visited  the  place.  In  a  deep  ravine,  a 
stream  of  considerable  size  tumbles  from  a  perpen- 
dicidar  rock  on  one  side,  the  face  of  which  is  of  a 
splendid  yellov/  from  the  sulj)hi:r  deposited  by  the 
water.  A  hot  rajjid  stream  flows  at  the  bottom,  and 
receives  the  suiailcr  streams  of  boiling  water  which 
rush  down  on  all  sides.  The  water  is  so  hot  that  it 
is  impossible  to  hold  the  hand  in  it  half  a  minute. 
The  deposit  of  sulphur  is  very  considerable. 
Rosenm.  Bibl.  Geog.  ii.  1.  p.  217,    seq.     R. 

ANAHARATH,  a  city  of  Issachar,  Josh.  xix.  19. 

ANAK,  Anakiji,  famous  giants  in  Palestine. 
Anak,  father  of  the  Anakini,  was  son  of  Arba,  who 
gave  name  to  Kirjath-Arba,  or  Hebron.  He  had 
three  sons,  Sheshai,  Ahiman,  and  Talmai,  Avhose  de- 
scendants were  terrible  for  their  fierceness  tuid  stat- 
ure. The  Hebrew  spies  rejjorted,  that  in  compar- 
ison to  those  monstrous  men,  they  themselves  were 
but  gi-assho]>pcrs,  Nmn.  xiii.  33.  Caleb,  assisted  by 
the  tribe  of  Judali,  took  Kirjath-Arba,  and  destroyed 
the  Anakim,  Josh.  xv.  13,  14.  Judges  i.  20.  A  few 
only  remained  in  the  cities  of  the  Philistines,  Ga/a, 
Gath,  and  Ashdod,  Josh.  xi.  22.     See  Giant, 

ANAMIM,  second  son  of  Mizraini,  Gen.  x.  13. 
He  peopled  the  Mareotis,  if  we  may  rely  on  the  para- 
jihrast  Jonathan,  son  of  Uzziel  ;  but  rather  the  Peii- 
tapolis  of  Cyrene,  according  to  tiie  jiaraphrast  of 
Jerusalem.  Bochart  was  of  ophiion,  that  these  Ana- 
mim  dwelt  in  the  countries  around  the  tai:ple  of 
Jui)iter  Amuion,  and  in  tho  Nasamonitis.  We  believe 
the  Anamians  and  Garamantes  to  be  descended  from 
Anamim.  The  Hebrew  Ger,  or  Gar,  signifies  a  pas- 
senger or  traveller.  The  tiame  of  Gctr-amantes  may 
be  derived  from  Ger-amanun :  their  capital  is  called 
Garamania,  in  Solinus.  All  this,  however,  is  mere 
conjecture. 

ANAMMELECH.  It  is  said  (2  Kings  xvii.  31.) 
that  the  inhabitants  of  Scpharvaim,  sent  from  beyond 
the  Euphrates  into  Samaria,  bunied  their  children  in 
honor  of  Anauuuelech  and  Adranunelech.  (See 
Adrammelech.)  The  god  Anannnelech  is  probably 
also  the  name  of  some  deified  heavenly  body.  Those 
who  make  tlie  former  to  be  the  sun,  suppose  the  latter 
to  be  the  moon  ;  but  this  's  not  well  sup|)orted.  Hyde 
understands  it  of  the  constellation  Cephcus,  which  in 
oriental  astronomy  is  called  the  Herdsman  and  caitle, 
or  the  Cattle-star.  This  accords  well  with  the  wor- 
ship of  the  stars,  &c.  which  was  prevalent  in  those 
regions.  (Hyde  de  Rel.  vet.  Persai-um,  p.  131.)  Th(! 
latter  part  of  both  these  names  is  the  oriental  word 
Melech,  i.  e.  king.     R. 


A  N  A 


[  57  1 


ANA 


I.  ANANIAS,  sou  of  Nebeclceiis,  and  high-priest 
ol"  tlie  Jews,  succeeded  Joseph,  sou  of  Camith,  A.  D. 
47.  He  was  sent  by  Qiiadratus,  governor  of  Syria, 
to  Rome,  to  answer  for  his  conduct  to  the  emperor 
Claudius  ;  but  he  justified  himself,  was  acquittecl,  and 
returned.  Jos.  Ant.  xx.  (i.  2.  [He  did  not,  however, 
again  recover  the  high  priesthood  ;  for  cku"ing  the 
lh)ie  that  Felix  was  procurator  of  Judea,  Jonathan, 
the  successor  of  Ananias,  was  high-priest.  But  Felix 
having  caused  him  to  be  assjxssinated  in  tiie  temple, 
(Jos.  Ant.  XX.  8.  5.)  the  office  remained  vacant,  until 
king  Agrippa  gave  it  to  Ismael  the  sou  of  Phabeus. 
(ib.  XX.  8.  8.)  During  tliis  interval  the  events  in  which 
Paul  was  conceruiMl  witJi  Ananias,  as  given  below, 
seem  to  have  taken  place.  Ananias  at  that  time  was 
not  iu  fact  high-priest,  but  had  usurped  the  dignity, 
or  acted  rather  as  the  high-priest's  substitute.     K. 

The  tribune  of  the  Roman  troops  which  guarded 
the  temj)lc  at  Jerusalem,  having  taken  the  a})OStle 
Paul  into  his  custody,  when  he  was  assaulted  by  the 
Jews,  (Acts  xxii.  23,  24  ;  xxiii.  1,  seq.)  convened  the 
priests,  and  placed  tht;  apostle  before  them,  that  he 
might  justify  himself.  Paul  commenced  his  address, 
but  the  high-priest  Ananias  immediately  connnand- 
ed  tliose  wiio  were  near  him  to  strike  him  on  the 
face.  To  this  injury  and  insult  the  apostle  replied, 
"  God  is  about  to  smite  thee,  thou  whited  wall ;  for 
thou  sittest  to  judge  me  according  to  the  law,  but 
commandest  me  to  ho,  smitten  contrary  to  the  law." 
Being  rebuked  for  tiius  adiiressing  himself  to  the 
high-priest,  the  apostle  excused  himself  by  alleging 
that  he  was  ignorant  of  his  office.     See  Paul. 

The  assembly  I)eing  divided  in  opinion,  the  ti-ibune 
ordered  Paul  to  Cesarea,  and  thither  Ananias,  and 
other  Jews,  went  to  accuse  him  before  Felix,  Acts 
xxiv.  Ananias  was  slain  by  a  seditious  faction,  at  the 
head  of  which  was  his  own  son,  at  the  conmiencement 
of  the  Jewish  wars.  Some  writers,  not  distinguishing 
what  Josephus  relates  of  Ananias,  when  high-priest, 
from  what  he  relates  of  him  after  his  deposition,  have 
made  two  persons  of  the  same  uidividual. 

n.  ANANIAS,  surnamcd  the  Sadducee,  was  one 
of  tlie  warmest  defenders  of  the  rebellion  of  the  Jews 
against  the  Romans.  He  was  sent  by  Eleazar,  leader 
of  the  mutineers,  to  Metilius,  captain  of  the  Roman 
troops,  then  shut  up  in  the  royal  palace  at  Jerusalem, 
to  promise  him  and  his  i)eople  their  lives,  provided 
they  would  leave  the  place,  and  surrender  their  arms. 
Metilius  having  surrendered  on  these  conditions,  the 
factious  murdered  all  the  Romans,  except  Metilius, 
who  escaped  on  promising  to  tuni  Jew,  A.  D.  G6. 
Ananias  was  also  sent  by  Eleazar  to  the  Idumajans, 
(A.  D.  GG.)  requesting  that  they  would  assist  the  rebels 
at  Jerusalem,  against  Ananus,  whom  they  accused  of 
designing  to  deliver  up  the  city  to  the  Romans.  Jos. 
B.  J.  ii.  18  or  .32. 

III.  ANANIAS,  one  of  the  first  Christians  of  the 
city  of  Jerusalem,  who,  in  concert  with  his  wife,  Sap- 
phira,  sold  an  estate,  and  secreting  part  of  the  pur- 
chase-money, carried  the  remainder  to  the  a])ostles, 
as  tiie  whole  price  of  his  inheritance,  Acts  v.  1.  Peter, 
knowing  the  falsehood  of  this  pretension,  reproved 
him  sharply,  telling  him,  "  that  he  had  lied  to  the 
Holy  Ghost,  not  to  men  only ;"  and  Ananias  fell  sud- 
denly dead  at  his  feet.  Shortly  after,  his  wife,  Sap- 
phira,  ignorant  of  what  had  transpired,  came  into  the 
assembly,  and  Peter,  having  put  the  same  question  to 
her,  as  he  had  before  put  to  her  husband,  she  also  was 
guilty  of  the  like  falsehood  ;  and  was  suddenly  struck 
dead  in  the  same  manner. 

A  number  of  conjectures  have  been  formed  as  to 


the  reasons  which  induced  tlie  Holy  Spirit  thus  to 
punish  the  falsehood  of  Ananias  and  Sapphira.  [But 
the  sin  committed  by  them  was  surely  of  no  ordinary 
dye.  They  had  feigned  the  appearance  of  piety  ;  they 
had  attempted  to  deceive  the  apostles ;  they  had  de- 
liberately undertaken  to  commit  a  fraud,  and  even  a 
sacrilegious  one,  inasmuch  as  the  money  destined  to 
the  use  of  the  church  of  God  was  itself  a  consecrated 
thing ;  in  short  they  had  '  lied  unto  the  Holy  Ghost.' 
Tlie  meanness  and  flagitiousness  of  their  crime  was 
also  aggi-avatcd  by  the  circumstance,  that  those  who 
thus  really  gave  up  their  possessions  for  the  common 
use,  appear  to  have  been  themselves  sustained  from 
the  public  treasury.  The  sacred  history  does  not  de- 
tail to  us  specifically  the  motives  which  impelled 
theni  to  this  course  ;  but  God  read  their  hearts  ;  and 
we  may  rest  assured  that  in  this  awful  doom,  as  well 
as  in  all  things  else,  the  '  Judge  of  all  the  earth  did 
right.'     R. 

IV.  ANANIAS,  a  disciple  of  Christ,  at  Damascus, 
whom  the  Lord  directed  to  visit  Paul,  then  recently 
converted  and  arrived  at  Damascus,  Acts  ix.  10.  Ana- 
nias answered,  "Lord,  I  have  heard  by  many  of  this 
man,  how  much  evil  he  hath  done  to  thy  saints."  But 
the  Lord  said,  "  Go  thy  way,  for  he  is  a  chosen  vessel 
unto  me."  Ananias  therefore  went  to  the  house  where 
Paul  resided,  and  putting  his  liauds  on  him,  said, 
"Brother  Saul,  the  Lord  Jesus,  Avho  appeared  unto 
thee  on  the  road,  hath  sent  me  that  thou  mightest  re- 
ceive thy  sight,  and  be  filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost." 
We  know  no  other  circumstance  of  the  life  of  Ana- 
nias. The  modern  Greeks  maintain,  that  he  was  one 
of  the  seventy  disciples,  bishop  of  Damascus,  a  martyr, 
and  biu-ied  in  that  city.  There  is  a  very  fine  church 
where  he  was  interi-ed ;  and  the  Turks,  who  have 
made  a  mosque  of  it,  preserve  a  great  respect  for  his 
monument. 

I.  ANANUS,  high-priest  of  the  Jews ;  called  An- 
nas, Luke  iii.  2;  John  xviii.  13.     See  Annas. 

II.  ANANUS,  son  of  Ananus,  the  high-priest  men- 
tioned above,  was  lugh-priest  three  months,  A.  D.  62. 
Josephus  (Antiq.  lib.  xx.  cap.  8.)  describes  him  as  a 
man  extremely  bold  and  enterprising,  of  the  sect  of 
the  Sadducees  ;  who,  thinking  it  a  favorable  oppor- 
tunity, after  the  death  of  Festus,  goveiuor  of  Judea, 
and  before  the  arrival  of  Albinus,  his  successor,  as- 
sembled the  Sanhedrim,  and  therein  procured  the 
condemnation  of  James  the  brother  (or  relative)  of 
Christ,  who  is  often  called  the  bishop  of  Jerusalem, 
and  of  some  others,  whom  they  stigmatized  as  guihy 
of  impiety,  and  delivered  to  be  stoned.  This  was 
extremely  displeasing  to  all  considerate  men  in  Jeru- 
salem, and  tliey  sent  privately  to  king  Agrippa,  who 
had  just  arrived  in  Judea,  entreating  that  he  would 
prevent  Ananus  from  taking  such  proceedings  in  fu- 
ture. He  was,  iu  consequence,  deprived  of  his  office  ; 
and  it  is  thought  that  he  was  put  to  death  at  Jerusa- 
lem, at  the  beginning  of  the  Jewish  wars,  A.  D.  67. — 
Several  other  Jews  of  this  name  are  mentioned  by 
Josephus  in  his  accounts  of  the  last  war  between  the 
Jews  and  the  Romans.     See  Agrippa  II. 

ANATHEMA,  'Avlt^tuu,  from  uiari&t^fu,  signifies — 
something  set  apart,  separated,  devoted.  It  is  under- 
stood principally  to  denote  the  absolute,  irrevocable, 
and  entire  separation  of  a  person  from  the  communion 
of  the  faithfid,  or  from  the  number  of  the  living,  or 
from  the  privileges  of  society  ;  or  the  devoting  of  any 
man,  animal,  city,  or  thing,  to  be  extirpated,  destroyed, 
consumed,  and,  as  it  were,  annihilated.  The  Hebrew 
ain,  chdram,  in  Hiph.  signifies  property  to  destroy, 
exterminate,  devote.     Moses  requires  the  Israelites  to 


ANATHEMA 


58  1 


AND 


devote,  and  utterly  extiqiate  those  who  saciifice  to 
false  gods,  Exod.  xxii.  20.  In  like  maimer  God  com- 
mands that  the  cities  belonging  to  the  Cmiaanites 
which  did  not  surrender  to  the  Israelites,  should  be 
devoted,  Deut.  vii.  2,  26 ;  xx.  17.  Achan,  liaving  pur- 
lomed  part  of  the  spoil  cf  Jericho,  which  had  been 
devoted,  was  stoned,  and  what  he  had  secreted  was 
consumed  with  fire.  Josh.  \  i.  17,  21 ;  vii.— The  word 
cherein,  or  anathema,  is  also  sometimes  taken  for  that 
which  is  irrevocably  consecrated,  vowed,  or  offered  to 
the  Lord,  so  that  it  may  no  longer  be  employexl  in, 
or  returned  to,  conmioii  uses.  Lev.  xxvii.  28,  29. 
"  No  devoted  thing  (absolutely  separated)  that  a  man 
shall  devote  (absohuely  separate)  to  the  Lord,  cf  man, 
beast,  or  field,  shall  be  sold  or  redeemed."  Some 
assert,  that  persons  thus  devoted  were  put  to  death, 
and  quote  Jephthah's  daughter  as  an  example.  (See 
Jephthah.)  In  the  old  Greek  writers,  anathema  is 
used  for  a  person,  who,  on  some  occasion,  devoted 
himself  for  the  good  of  his  country  ;  or  as  an  expia- 
tory sacrifice  to  the  infernal  gods. — Here  the  reader 
will  recollect  Codrus  and  Curtius.  Sometimes  par- 
ticular persons,  or  cities, were  devoted:  the  Israelites 
devoted  king  Arad's  country  ;  (Num.  xxi.  2,  3.)  the 
people  at  JMizpeh  devoted  all  who  should  not  march 
against  the  tribe  of  Benjamin  ;  (Judg.  xx.)  and  Saul 
devoted  those  who  should  eat  before  sunset,  while 
they  were  pursuing  the  Philistines,  1  Sam.  xiv.  24. 
It  appears  by  the  execution  of  these  execrations,  th.it 
those  involved  in  them  were  put  to  death. 

Sometimes  particular  persons  devoted  themselves, 
if  they  did  not  accomplish  somq^ specific  purpose. 
In  Actsxxiii.  12, 13,  it  is  said  that  above  forty  persons 
bound  themselves  with  an  oath,  that  they  would 
neither  eat  nor  drink  till  they  had  killed  Paul.  The 
Esseuians  were  engaged  by  oaths  to  observe  the 
statutes  of  their  sect;  and  those  wIjo  incurred  the 
guilt  of  excommunication,  were  driven  from  their 
assemblies,  and  generally  starved  to  death,  being 
obliged  to  feed  on  giass  like  beasts,  not  daring  to 
receive  food  which  might  bo  offered  them,  because 
they  were  bound  by  the  vows  they  had  made,  not  to 
eat  any.     Joseph,  dc  Bello,  ii.  12. 

Moses  (Exod.  xxxii.  32.)  and  Paul  (Kom.  ix.  3.)  in 
some  sort  anathematize  themselves.  Aloses  conjures 
God  to  forgive  Israel ;  if  not,  to  blot  him  out  of  the 
book  which  ho  had  written  ;  and  Paul  says  that  he 
could  wish  to  be  accursed  (anathematized,  ubsolutely 
separated  from  life,  devoted,  and  made  over  to  death 
— whether  stoning — burning — or  in  the  most  tremen- 
dous form — as  Achan,  &c.)  for  his  brethren,  the 
Israelites,  rather  than  see  them  excluded  from  the 
blessings  of  Christ's  covenant,  bj'  their  malice  and  ob- 
duracy. That  is,  he  would,  as  it  were,  change  places 
with  them.  They  w^erc  now  excluded  from  being 
the  peculiar  people  cfGod;so  would  he  be:  they 
were  devoted  to  wrath  in  the  destruction  of  their 
fitatc ;  so  would  he  be:  they  were  excluded  from 
Christian  society;  so  Avould  he  be,  if  it  would  bene- 
fit them. — I  coLLD  wish  myself  anathematized  from 
the  body  of  Christ,  if  that  mifrht  advantage  Israel:  so 
great  is  my  all'cction  to  my  nation  and  j)eople! 

Excommunication,  anathema,  and  excision,  are  the 
greatest  judgments  that  can  be  inflicted  on  any  man 
in  this  world  ;  whether  we  und'.'rstand  a  violent  and 
ignominious  death,  or  a  sci)arution  from  the  society 
of  saints,  with  exclusion  fiom  the  benefit  of  their 
prayers  and  coinmiinion.  IntcrpretiTS  are  much 
divided  on  the  tcxls  ubov('  cited,  but  they  agree, 
that  Modes  and  Paul  gave,  iu  these  instances,  the 
most  powerful  proofs   of  a  perfect  chai-ity,  anil  in 


the  strongest  manner  expressed  their  ardent  desire 
to  procure  or  to  promote  the  happiness  of  their 
brethren.  The  language  must  be  regarded  as  hy- 
perbolical, expressing  the  highest  intensity  of  feeluig. 

Another  kind  of  anathema,  very  peculiarly  ex- 
pressed, seems  to  mean  a  very  different  thing  from 
that  just  explained.  It  occurs,  1  Cor.  xvi.  22.  "If 
any  man  love  not  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  let  him  be 
Anathema  !  Maranatha."  This  last  word  is  made 
up  of  two  Syi-iac  words,  signifying,  "The  Lord 
cometh  ;"  i.  e.  the  Lord  will  surely  come  and  will 
execute  this  curse,  by  condemning  those  who  love 
him  not.  At  the  same  time  the  opposite  is  also  im- 
j)lied,  i.e.  the  Lord  cometh  also  to  reward  those  who 
love  him.  This  probably  was  not  now,  for  the  first 
time,  used  as  a  new  kind  of  ciu-sing  by  the  apostle, 
but  was  the  apphcation  of  a  current  mode  of  speech 
to  the  ])urpose  he  had  in  contemplation.  Perhaps, 
therefore,  by  inspecting  the  manners  of  the  East,  we 
may  illustrate  the  import  of  this  singular  passage. 
The  following  extract  from  Bruce,  (vol.  i.  p.  112.| 
though  it  does  not,  perhaps,  come  up  to  the  full 
power  of  the  apostle's  meaning,  will  j)robably  give 
the  idea  which  was  commonly  attached  to  the  phrase. 
Mr.  Bruce  had  been  forced  by  a  pretended  saint,  in 
Egypt,  to  take  him  on  board  his  vessel,  as  if  to  carry 
hiin  to  a  certain  place ;  Mr.  B.  however,  meant  no 
such  thing,  and  having  set  him  on  shore  at  some 
little  distance  (rom  Avhencc  he  came,  "  we  slacked 
our  vessel  down  the  stream  a  few  yards,  filling  our 
sails  and  stretching  away.  On  seeing  this,  our  saint 
fell  into  a  desperate  passion,  cursing,  blaspheming, 
and  stamping  with  his  feet ;  at  every  woril  crying 
"SuAPv  Ullah!"  i.  e.  "May  God  send,  and  do  jus- 
tice !"  This  appears  to  be  the  strongest  execration 
this  passionate  Arab  could  use,  q.  d.  "  To  punish  you 
adcquatelj"  is  out  of  my  power ;  I  remit  you  to  the 
vengeance  of  God  :" — Is  not  this  also  the  import  of 
Anathema  Maranatha  ? 

Excommunication  was  a  kind  of  Anathema  used 
among  the  Hebrews,  as  it  is  now  among  Christians. 
Anathema  was  the  gi-eatest  degree  of  excommunica- 
tion ;  and  by  it  the  criminal  was  deprived,  not  only 
of  communicating  in  prayers  and  other  holy  offices, 
but  of  admittance  to  the  church,  and  of  conversation 
with  believers.  Excommunicated  persons  cculd  not 
perform  any  public  duty ;  th.ey  could  bo  neither 
judges  nor  witnesses ;  they  could  not  be  present  at 
funerals,  nor  circumcise  their  own  sons,  nor  sit  down 
in  the  company  of  others,  nearer  than  four  cubits ; 
they  were  incapable  of  the  rites  of  burial ;  and  a  large 
stone  was  left  on  their  graves,  or  the  people  threw 
stones  on  their  sepulchres,  and  heaped  stones  over 
them,  as  over  Achan,  and  Absalom,  Josh.  vii.  26;  2 
Sam.  xviii.  17.     See  Excommunication. 

ANATHOTII,  a  city  of  Bv'njamin,  (Josh.  xxi.  18.) 
about  three  miles  from  Jerusalem,  according  to  Euse- 
bius  and  Jerome,  or  twenty  furlongs,  according  to  Jo- 
se])hus,  where  the  prophet  Jeremiah  was  born,  Jer. 
i.  \.  It  was  given  to  the  Levites  of  Kohath's  family, 
and  was  a  citv  of  refuge. 

ANCHOR,' sec  Ship. 

ANDREW,  the  apostle,  was  u  native  of  Bethsaida, 
and  brother  of  Peter.  He  was  first  a  disciple  of 
John  the  Baptist,  whom  he  left,  to  follow  our  Saviour, 
after  the  testimony  of  John,  John  i.  40,  44.  Andrew 
introduced  his  brother  Simon,  and  after  accompany- 
ing our  Saviour  at  the  marriage  in  Cana,  they  re- 
turned to  their  ordinary  occupation,  not  expecting, 
perhaps,  to  be  further  employed  in  his  service. 
Some  months  after,  Jesus  met  them  while  fishing. 


ANG 


[  59 


ANG 


and  called  them  to  a  regular  attendance  on  his  per- 
son and  ministry,  promising  to  make  them  fishers 
of  men,  Matt.  h\  18,  19  ;  John  vi.  8.  Of  his  subse- 
quent hfe  nothing  is  luioAvn ;  the  book  of  Acts  makes 
no  mention  of  him.  Some  of  the  ancients  are  of 
opinion,  that  Andrew  preached  in  Scythia ;  others, 
that  he  preached  in  Greece ;  others,  in  Epirus, 
Achaia,  or  Argos.  The  modern  Greeks  make  him 
founder  of  the  church  of  Byzantium,  or  Constanti- 
nople, ■which  the  ancients  knew  nothing  of  The 
Acts  of  his  Martyrdom,  which  are  of  considerable 
antiquity,  though  not  authentic,  affirm  that  he  suf- 
fered martyrdom  at  Patinas,  in  Achaia,  being  sen- 
tenced to  be  executed  on  a  cross  by  Egpeus,  procon- 
sul of  that  provmce.  See  Fabric.  Cod.  Apoc.  N.  T. 
vol.  ii. 

ANDRONICUS,  one  of  the  gi*eat  men  belonging 
to  the  court  of  Autiochus  Epij)]ianes,  was  left  by 
that  i)riuce  to  govern  the  city  of  Antioch,  while  he 
went  into  Cilicia,  to  reduce  certain  places  which  had 
revolted.  Menelaus,  the  pretended  higli-priest  of 
the  Jews,  thought  this  circumstance  might  favor  his 
design  of  getting  rid  of  Onias,  wliose  dignity  he  un- 
justly possessed,  and  who  had  arrived  at  Antiocli 
with  accusations  against  him.  He  therefore  addressed 
himself  to  Androuicus  with  large  presents ;  but 
Onias,  being  informed  of  it,  reproached  him  very 
sliarply,  secluding  himself  all  the  while  in  the  sanc- 
tuary at  Daphne,  (a  suburb  of  Antioch,  wherein  was 
a  famous  temple,  and  where  Julian  the  Apostate 
afterwards  sacrificed,)  lest  any  violence  should  be 
offered  to  him.  Menelaus  solicited  x'Vndronicus  so 
powerfully  to  despatch  Onias,  that  he  Avent  in  per- 
son to  Daphne,  and  promised,  wth  solemn  oaths, 
tliat  he  would  do  him  no  injury,  thereby  persuading 
liim  to  leave  his  place  of  refuge.  As  soon  as  Onias 
had  quitted  the  sanctuary,  however,  Menelaus  seized 
him  and  put  him  to  death.  When  the  king  returned 
from  his  expedition,  and  was  acquainted  with  the 
death  of  Onias,  he  shed  tears,  commanded  Androui- 
cus to  be  divested  of  the  purple,  to  be  led  about  the 
city  in  an  ignominious  manner,  and  to  be  killed  in 
tlie  very  place  where  he  had  kiUed  Onias,  2  Mace, 
iv.  A.  M.  3834. 

ANEM,  (lit.  two  fou7itai7is,)  a  city  of  Issachar, 
given  to  the  Levites,  1  Chron.  vi.  73.  In  the  paral- 
lel passage,  Josh.  xix.  21,  it  is  called  En-gannim,  i.  e. 
fountain  of  the  gardens. 

I.  ANER,  a  city  of  Manasseh  given  to  the  Levites 
of  Kohath's  family,  1  Chron.  vi.  70. 

II.  ANER,  Eshcol,  and  Mamre,  three  Canaanites 
who  joined  their  forces  with  those  of  Abraham,  in 
pursuit  of  the  kings  Chedorlaomer,  x'\mraphel,  and 
their  allies,  who  had  pillaged  Sodom,  and  carried  off 
Lot,  Abraham's  nephew.  Gen.  xiv.  24.  They  did  not 
imitate  the  disinterestedness  of  the  patriarch,  how- 
ever, but  retained  their  share  of  the  spoil. 

ANGARIARE.  The  evangelists  use  this  term  as 
equivalent  to  press  : — to  constrain  or  take  hy  force. 
The  word  angari,  whence  angariare  is  derived,  comes 
originally  from  the  Persians,  who  called  the  post- 
boys which  carried  the  letters  and  orders  of  the 
king  to  the  provinces,  angares.  As  these  officers 
compelled  the  people,  in  places  they  passed  through, 
to  furnish  them  witli  guides,  horses,  and  carriages, 
the  word  anirariare  became  expressive  of  constraints 
of  that  nature.  (See  Xen.  Cyr.  viii.  6.  17.  Herodot. 
viii.  98.  Compare  also  Esth.  viii.  10,  14.)  It  ajjpears 
that  tlie  Jews  were  subject  to  these  angairs  under 
the  Romans.  Jesus  said  to  his  disciples,  '"  Whoso- 
v\yi-   .shall    compel   thee  to  go  a  mile,  go  with  him 


twaui ;"  and  Simon,  the  Cyrenian,  was  compelled  to 
bear  our  Saviour's  cross.  Matt.  v.  41 ;  xxvii.  32. 

These  remarks  will  be  sufficient  to  convey  a  gen- 
eral idea  of  the  import  of  the  word  Axcariare,  but 
a  more  accurate  conception  may  be  formed,  from 
the  following  portrait  of  an  angare,  as  furnished  by 
Colonel  Campbell : — 

"  As  I  became  familiarized  to  my  Tartar  guide,  I 
found  his  character  disclose  much  better  traits  than 
his  first  a];peai-ance  bespoke.  The  first  object  he 
seemed  to  have  in  view  on  our  journey,  was  to  im- 
press me  with  a  Jiotion  of  his  consequence  and  au- 
tliority,  as  a  messenger  belonging  to  the  sultan.  As 
all  those  men  are  employed  bj'  the  first  magistrates 
in  the  country,  and  are,  as  it  were,  the  links  of  com- 
munication between  them,  they  think  themselves  of 
great  importance  to  the  state  ;  while  the  gixat  men, 
whose  business  tliey  are  employed  in,  make  them 
feel  the  weight  of  their  authority,  and  treat  them 
witli  the  greatest  contempt :  hence  they  become 
habitually  servile  to  their  superiors,  and,  by  natural 
consequence,  insolent  and  overbearing  to  their  infe- 
riors, or  those  who,  being  in  their  power,  they  con- 
ceive to  be  so.  As  carriers  of  despatches,  their 
power  and  authority,  wherever  they  go,  are  in  some 
points  undisputed ;  and  they  can  compel  a  supply 
of  provisions,  horses,  and  attendants,  wherever  it 
suits  their  occasion ;  nor  dare  any  man  resist  their 
right  to  taJic  the  horse  from  under  him,  to  proceed  on 
the  emperor's  business,  be  the  owner's  occasion 
ever  so  pressing.  As  soon  as  he  stopped  at  a  cara- 
venserai,  he  immediately  called  lustily  about  him  in 
the  name  of  the  sultan  ;  demanding,  in  a  menacing 
tone  of  voice,  fresh  horses,  victuals,  &c.  on  the 
instant.  The  terror  of  this  great  man  operated  like 
magic ;  nothing  could  exceed  the  activity  of  the 
men,  the  briskness  of  the  women,  and  the  terror  of 
the  children  ;  but  no  quickness  of  preparation,  no 
effort  could  satisfy  my  gentleman ;  he  would  show 
me  his  power  in  a  still  more  striking  point  of  view, 
and  fell  to  belaboring  them  with  his  whip,  and  kick- 
ing them  with  all  his  might."  (Campbell's  Travels, 
Part  ii.  pages  92.  94.)  If  such  were  the  behavior  of 
this  messenger,  whose  character  opened  so  favorably, 
what  may  we  suppose  was  the  brutality  of  those 
who  had  not  the  same  sensibility  in  their  composi- 
tion ?  and  what  shall  we  say  to  that  meekness,  which 
directed  to  go  double  what'  such  a  despot  should  re- 
quire ? — "if  he  compels  thee  to  go  a  mile  with  him — 
go  two,"  Matt.  v.  41.     See  Posts. 

I.  ANGEL,  a  messenger.  This  word  answers  to 
the  Hebrew  ixSr,  maldch.  In  Scripture,  we  fre- 
quently read  of  missions  and  appearances  of  angels, 
sent  to  declare  the  will  of  God,  to  correct,  teach,  re- 
prove, or  comfort.  God  gave  the  lav/  to  Moses,  and 
apj)eared  to  the  patriarchs,  by  the  mediation  of 
angels,  who  rejn-esented  him,  and  who  spake  in  his 
name,  Acts  vii.  30,  53  ;  Gal.  iii.  19. 

Origen,  Bede,  and  others,  think  that  angels  were 
created  at  the  same  time  as  the  heavens,  and  that 
Moses  included  them  under  the  expression — "In  the 
Ijeginning,  God  created  the  heavens;"  others  sup- 
pose tliat  they  are  intended  under  the  term  light, 
which  God  created  on  the  first  day ;  while  some  are 
of  opinion  that  they  were  created  before  the  world 
— which  seems  countenanced  by  Job  xxxviii.  4.  7. 
"  Where  wast  thou,  Avhen  I  laid  the  foundations  of 
the  earth ;— and  all  the  sons  of  God  shouted  for 
jov  ?" 

Many  of  the  fathers,  led  into  mistake  by  the  book 
of  Enoch,   and   bv  a   passage   in   Genesis,  (vi.  2.) 


AXiGEL 


Avherein  it  is  said,  "  The  sons  of  God  saw  the  daugh- 
ters of  men,  that  they  were  fair,  and  they  took  them 
wives  of  all  which  they  chose,"  iniagineil  that  angels 
were  corporeal,  and  capable  of  sensual  pleasures. 
It  is  true,  they  call  them  spirits,  and  spiritual  beings, 
but  in  the  same  sense  as  we  call  the  wind,  odors,  va- 
pors, &LC.  spiritual.  Others  of  the  fathers,  indeed,  and 
those  in  great  number,  have  asserted,  that  angels  were 
purely  spiritual ;  and  this  is  the  conmion  opinion. 

Before  the  cajjtivity  at  Babylon,  we  find  no  angel 
mentioned  by  name  ;  and  theTabnudists aftirm  that 
they  brought  their  names  thence.  Some  have  ap- 
propriated angels  to  empires,  nations,  provinces, 
cities,  and  persons.  For  instance,  Michael  is  con- 
sidered as  protector  of  Israel:  "Michael,  your 
prince,"  says  the  angel  Gabriel  to  Daniel,  ch.  x.  21. 
Gabriel  speaks  also  of  the  angel,  protector  of  Persia, 
according  to  the  majority  of  interpreters,  when  he 
says,  that  "the  prince  of  the  kingdom  of  Persia 
withstood  him  one-antl-twenty  days."  Luke  (Acts 
xvi.  9.)  tells  us,  that  a  man  of  Macedonia  apjjeared 
to  Paul  in  the  night,  and  said  to  him,  "  Come  over  into 
Macedonia  and  help  us ;"  which  has  been  [improper- 
ly] understood  of  the  angel  of  Macedonia  inviting  him 
into  the  province  committed  to  his  care.  The  LXX 
(Deut.  xxxii.  8.)  say,  that  "God  had  set  the  bounds 
of  the  peoples,  according  to  tlic  numljer  of  the 
angels  of  Israel ;"  which  has  been  sujiposetl  to  mean 
the  government  of  each  partictdar  country  and  na- 
tion, wherewith  God  had  intrusted  his  angels.  ,  But 
our  Enghsh  translators  keep  more  exactly  to  the 
original,  and  render  it,  "He  set  the  bounds  of  the 
peoples  according  to  the  number  of  the  children  of 
Israel." 

John  addressed  letters  to  the  angels  of  the  seven 
Christian  churches  in  Asia  Minor;  meaning,  in  the 
judgment  of  many  fathers,  not  the  bishops  of  those 
churches,  but  angels,  ^^  ho  were  appointed  by  God 
for  their  protection.  Hut,  as  the  learned  Prideaux 
observes,  the  minister  of  the  synagogue,  who  olfi- 
ciated  in  oft'ering  up  the  public  prayers,  being  the 
mouth  of  the  congregation,  delegated  by  them,  as 
their  representative,  messenger,  or  angel,  to  address 
God  in  prayer  for  them,  was  in  Hebrew  called  She- 
liach-Zibbor,  i.  e.  the  angel  of  the  diurch,  and  that 
hence  the  bishops  of  the  seven  cliiu'ches  of  Asia  are 
in  the  Revelation,  by  a  name  borrowed  from  the  syn- 
agogue, called,  angfds  of  those  churches.  Connect. 
6cc.  Part  i.  Book  vi. 

Guardian  angels,  however,  appear  to  be  alluded 
to  in  the  Old  Testanicnt.  .lacol)  speaks  ((.'en.  \h  iii. 
]{).)  of  the  angel  who  had  delivered  him  out  of  all  dan- 
gers. The  Psalmist,  in  several  |)laces,  mentions 
angels  as  protectors  of  tlie  righteous;  (Ps.  xxxiv.  7; 
xci.  11.)  and  this  was- the  common  opinion  of  the 
Jews  in  our  Saviour's  time.  Wben  I'eter,  having 
been  released,  came  from  prison  to  tli(!  house  where 
the  disciples  were  assembled,  Jind  knocked  at  the 
door,  those  within  thought  it  was  his  guardian  angel, 
and  not  himself,  Acts  xii.  ]^.  Oiu-  Saviour  enjoins 
us  not  to  des[)ise  Utile  ones,  (i.  e.  his  followers,)  be- 
cause their  angels  rontinualli/  behold  the  face  of  ovr 
hcavenhf  Father,  Matt.  wiii.  10.  IJotli'  .It-us  and 
heathen  believed  that  particular  angels  were  com- 
missioned to  attend  individuals,  and  had  the  care  of 
their  conduct  and  protection.  Hesiod,  one  of  the 
most  ancient  Greek  aiitlioi-s,  says,  that  there  are  good 
angels  od  earth  ;  whom  In-  thus  describes  : 

Aerial  spirits,  by  gnat  Jf>ve  design<>d 

To  be  on  cjuth  the  guardians  of  mankind  ; 


[  60  ]  ANGEL 

Invisible  to  mortal  eyes  they  go, 
.Vnd  mark  our  actions,  good  or  bad,  below; 
The  immortal  spies  with  watchfid  care  preside, 
And  thrice  ten  thousand  round  their  charges  glide. 
They  can  reward  with  glory  or  with  gold ; 
Such  power  divine  permission  bids  them  hold. 

Oper.  et  Dies,  Ub.  i.  ver.  121. 

Plato  says  (de  Lcgibus,  Ub.  x.)  that  every  person 
has  two  detmons,  or  genii,  one  jirompting  him  to 
evil,  the  other  to  good.  Apuleius  speaks  but  of  one 
dremon  assigned  to  every  man  by  Plato,  Ex  hac  suh- 
limiore  damonum  copiu,  Plato  cmtumat  singulis  ho- 
mijiihus  in  vita  agenda  testes,  cl  custodes  singidos  ad- 
ditos,  qui  nemini  conspicui  semper  adsint.  Libel,  de 
Deo  Socratis. 

The  apostle  Paul  hints  at  a  subordination  among 
the  angels  in  heaven,  one  differing  from  another, 
either  in  otHce  or  glory :  but  the  lathers  who  have 
interpreted  the  apostle's  words  arc  not  agreed  on 
the  number  and  order  of  the  celestial  hierarchy. 
Origen  was  of  opinion,  that  Paul  mentioned  pait 
oidy  of  the  choirs  of  angels,  and  that  there  were 
many  others  of  whicii  he  said  nothing;  and  this  no- 
tion may  be  observed  in  many  of  the  subsequent  fa- 
thers. Others  have  reckoned  u[)  nine  choirs  of  angels. 
The  author,  who  is  conunonly  cited  luider  the  nann' 
of  Dionysius  th»^  Areo|»agite,  admits  but  three  hie- 
rarchies, and  three  orders  of  angels  in  each  hierarchy. 
In  the  first,  are  sera|)him,  cherubim,  and  thrones; 
in  the  second,  donnnions,  mights,  and  powers ;  in 
the  third,  [)rincipalities,  archangels,  and  angels. 
Some  of  the  rabbins  reckon  four^-others  ten,  orders, 
and  give  them  different  names  according  to  their  de- 
grees of  power  and  knowledge;  but  this  rests  only 
on  the  imagination  of  those  wlio  amuse  themselves 
with  speaking  veiy  particularly  of  things  of  ■which 
they  know  nothing. 

Kai)hael  tells  Tobias,  (Tobit  xii.  l'\)  that  he  is  one 
of  the  seven  angels  who  attend  in  th<^  j)resence  of 
God.  Michael  tells  Daniel,  that  he  is  one  of  the 
chief  princes  in  the  court  of  the  Almighty,  Dan.  x. 
13.  In  the  Revelation,  (\  iii.  2,  3.)  John  saw  seven 
angels  standing  before  the  Lord.  In  the  Ajjocryphal 
Testament  of  the  Twelve  Patriarchs,  they  are  called 
angels  of  the  jiresence,  and  in  the  1/ife  of  Moses,  the 
eyes  of  the  Lord.  These  denominations  are,  j>roba- 
bly,  ijiiitations  of  w'hat  was  a  j)art  of  the  customary 
order,  in  the  courts  of  the  Assyrian,  Chaldeaji,  and 
Persian  kings,  where  there  Wi-rr  .seven  eunuchs,  or 
great  oflicers,  always  near  the  j)rince.  Ccmp. 
I'-sther  i.  V).  Dan.  v.  7. 

The  luiml'.er  of  angels  is  not  mentioned  in  Scrip- 
tun> ;  but  is  always  represented  as  very  great,  and, 
indeed,  innumerable.  Daniel  (vii.  10.)  says,  that  oti 
his  approach  to  the  throne  of  the  Ancient  of  Days, 
he  saw  a  fiery  stream  issuing  liom  it,  and  tliat 
"thousand  thousands  of  angels  ministered  unto  him, 
and  ten  thousand  times  teti  thousand  stood  before 
him."  Our  Lord  sjiid  that  "his  heavridy  Father 
coidd  give  him  more  than  twelve  l(>gions  of  an- 
gels" (Matt.  xx\i.  .").■?.) — more  than — seventy-two 
thousand.  The  I'salmist  describes  the  chariot  of 
God  as  attended  by  twenty  thousand  angtis.  Pp. 
Ixviii.  17. 

'I'lie  Sadducees  denied  the  existence  of  angels  and 
spirits;  (Acts  xxiii.  8.)  but  other  Jews  paid  them  a 
superstitious  worship,  Col.  ii.  18.  The  author  of 
the  book,  eiUitled,  "Of  St.  Peter's  Preaching,"  a 
a  work  of  great  antiquity,  cited  by  Clemens  of  Al- 
exandria, (Stromat.  lib.  vi.)  says,  the  Jews  pay  re- 


ANGEL 


[61  ] 


ANGEL 


ligious  worship  to  angels  and  archangels,  aud  even  to 
the  months  and  the  moon.  Celsus  reproached  them 
almost  in  the  same  manner.  (a})ud  Origen.  contra 
Gels,  lib.  V.)  Tertiillian  assures  us,  that  Simon  aud 
Gerinthus  prcfcnod  the  mediation  of  angels  to  that 
of  Christ.  (Lib.  de  praescript.  caj).  12.)  Josephus, 
and  atler  him  Porphyry,  says,  that  tlie  Esseues,  at 
tlieir  initiation,  eJigaged  themselves,  by  oath,  to  pre- 
serve faithfully  tlie  names  of  angels,  aud  the  books 
relating  to  their  sect.  De  Bello.  ii.  12.  Porphyry,  de 
Abstin.  lib.  iv. 

By  the  "  angeis  of  the  Lord,"  are  often  meant,  in 
Scripture — men  of  God — prophets  ;  for  example, 
(Judg.  ii.  1.)  "  An  angel  of  the  Lord  came  up  from 
Gilgal  to  Bochim,  and  said,  I  made  you  to  go  up  out 
of  Egy|)t,  &ic.  And  it  came  to  pass  when  the  angel 
of  the  Lord  spake  these  words,  they  Ufted  up  their 
voices  and  wept ;  and  they  sacrificed  there  to  the 
Lord,  and  Joshua  let  the  people  go."  It  has  been 
thought,  that  this  angel  was  Joshua,  or  the  high- 
})riest,  or  a  prophet ;  and  several  interpreters  have 
been  of  opinion,  that  Joshua  is  described  by  Moses, 
under  the  name  of  the  angel  of  the  Lord,  who  was 
to  introduce  Israel  into  the  promised  land.  Prophets 
are  ceilainly  called  angels  of  the  Lord ;  e.  g.  Haggai 
i.  3.  "Then  spake  Haggai,  the  angel  of  the  Lord, 
from  among  the  angels  of  the  Lord,"  (Heb.  ■^n'^!:,  Gr. 
..tyyfXo:,)  although  our  translation  agrees  with  the 
Vulgate,  in  interpreting  -\nhc,  messenger;  "  Thus  spake 
Haggai,  the  LorcVs  messenger,  in  the  Lord's  message, 
unto  the  people."  3Ialachi,  the  last  of  the  minor 
prophet.«,  is,  by  several  of  the  fathers,  called  "  the 
angel  of  God  ;"  as  his  name  signifies  in  Hel)rew ; 
but  sotne  believe  Ezra  to  be  designated  by  the  name 
Malachi,  or  angel  of  tlie  Lord.  (Jerome,  Praef.  in 
Mai.)  Eupolennis,  speaking  of  the  prophet  Nathan, 
who  convicted  David  of  his  sin,  calls  him  "an  angel," 
or  messenger,  from  the  Lord.  Calmet  remarks  that 
Manoah,  Samson's  father,  (Judg.  xiii.  2,  &c.)  calls, 
indifferently,  angel,  and  man  of  God,  him  who  ap- 
peared to  his  Avife  ;  till  liis  vanishing  with  the  smoke 
of  the  burnt-offering  convinced  him  it  was  aji  angel ; 
but  it  seems  evident,  that  neither  Manoah,  nor  his 
wife,  took  him  for  other  than  a  prophet,  till  after  his 
disappearance,  v.  16. 

Sometimes  the  name  of  God  is  given  in  Scripture 
to  an  angel.  The  angel  who  appeared  to  Moses  in 
the  bush,  (Exod.  iii.  2,  &c.  see  Acts  vii.  30,  31 ;  Gal. 
iii.  19.)  who  delivered  the  law  to  him,  who  spake  to 
him,  and  who  guided  tlio  j)eojtl;?  in  the  wilderness, 
is  often  called  by  the  name  of  God  ;  and  the  Lord 
snid,  "Mynamc  is  in  him,"  Exod.  x.xiii.  21.  The 
angel  who  appearf^d  to  the  i)atriarchs,  is  likewise 
termed  God :  (Gen.  xviii.  3,  17,  22,  etc.)  not  oidy 
Elohim  and  Adonai,  names  sometimes  attributed  to 
judges  and  to  princes,  but  also  by  the  name  Jr.no- 
VAH,  which  belonged  to  God  onl\'. 

II.  ANGEL,  Destroying  Angel,  Angel  of  Denth, 
Angel  of  Satan,  Angel  of  the  Bottomless  Pit.  Tliese 
terms  signify  the  devil  and  his  agents ;  evil  angels, 
miuistei-s  of  God's  wrath  and  vengeance.  God  smote 
Sennacherib's  army  with  the  sword  of  the  destroying 
angel ;  (2  Kings  xix.  35.)  also,  the  Israelites,  by  the 
sword  of  the  angel  of  death,  2  Sam.  xxiv.  16.  'The 
angel  or  messenger  of  Satan  linft'eted  Paul  ;  (2  Cor. 
xii.  7.)  the  same  angel  accused  the  high-})riest, 
Joshua,  l)efore  the  Lord;  (Zech.  iii.  1,2.)  and  dis- 
puted with  the  archangel  Micliae],  about  the  body  of 
Moses,  Jude  9.  The  angel  of  the  bottomless  pit, 
(Rev.  ix.  11.)  or  the  angel  king  of  the  bottomless  pit, 
as  John,  in  the  Revelation,  calls  him,  is  the  same  as 


tlie    prince    of  devils,  the   destroying   angel.     See 
Satan. 

The  Angel  of  Death  is  the  agent  which  God  com- 
missions to  separate  the  soul  from  the  body. — The 
Persians  call  him  Mordad,  or  Asuman  ;  the  rabbins 
and  Arabians,  x\zrael ;  and  the  Chaldee  paraphrasts, 
]Malk-ad  mousa.  The  book  concerning  the  As- 
sumption, or  death  of  Moses,  calls  him  Samael,  prince 
of  the  devils  ;  and  states  that  when  he  advanced 
towards  Moses,  with  a  design  of  forcing  the  soul  of 
that  co]iductor  of  God's  people  out  of  liis  body,  he 
was  so  struck  with  the  lustre  of  his  countenance, 
and  the  virtue  of  tlie  name  of  God  written  on  his 
rod,  that  he  was  obliged  to  retire. 

In  the  Greek  of  the  book  of  Job,  the  angel  of 
death  {"Ayyi/.o:  HLduTo^uoo?)  is  frequently  mentioned. 
See  chap,  xxxiii.  22;  xx.  15;  xxxvi.  14.  Solomon 
also  says,  "An  evil  man  seeketh  only  rebellion, 
therefore  a  cruel  angel  shall  be  sent  against  him," 
Prov.  xvii.  11.  This  is  supposed  to  be  the  evil  angel 
mentioned  Ps.  xxxv.  5,  6. 

The  devil  is  considered  m  Scrijiture  as  a  prince, 
who  exercises  dominion  over  other  devils  of  a  lower 
rank,  and  of  less  power.  In  this  sense,  the  gospel 
speaks  of  Satan's  kingdom.  Matt.  xii.  26.  Our 
Saviour  came  into  the  world  to  overthrow  the  power 
of  Satan  ;  and  at  the  day  of  judgment  he  Avill  ccu- 
demii  those  who  have  rejected  the  gospel,  to  that 
eternal  fii-e  which  is  prepared  for  the  devil  and  his 
angels ;  (ch.  xxv.  41.)  his  ministers  and  agents,  beings 
of  the  same  nature,  and  sentenced  to  the  same  pun- 
ishment with  himself. 

The  preceding  observations  are  derived  from  Cal- 
met ;  but  as  the  subject  to  which  they  relate  is  in 
itself  very  obscm-e,  all  Ave  know  of  it  being  gathered 
from  incidental  hints,  scattered  here  and  there  in  the 
Bible,  the  reader  is  ])resented  vvitli  the  folloAving 
additional  remarks  by  Mr.  Taylor. 

As  we  must  wholly  i-ely  on  Scripture  accounts, 
and  Avave  all  others,  except  so  far  as  they  are  per- 
fectly consonant  Avith  these,  AA'e  shall  do  Avell  to  ex- 
amine, first  of  all,  the  language  of  Scripture,  in  ref- 
erence to  angels,  ami  their  nature  ;  and  to  ascertain 
its  import  in  different  places  AA'here  it  occurs. 

I.  The  Avord  Angel  is  taken  rather  as  a  name  of 
office,  than  of  nature  ;  a  messenger,  an  agent,  an 
euA'oy,  a  dejjuty ;  (1.)  personaJh/  taken,  he  Avho  per- 
forms the  Avill  of  a  superior  ;  (2.)  impersonally  taken, 
THAT  Avhicli  ])erfbrnis  the  Avill  of  a  superior. 

(1.)  Personally  taken,  the  AA'ord  angel  denotes  a 
human  messenger:  for  instance,  in  the  Old  Testa- 
ment, 2  Sam.  ii.  5.  "And  David  sent  messengers 
(Heb.  angels)  to  Jabesh  Gilead  ;"  Prov.  xiii.  U.  "A 
Avicked  messenger  (in'^t,  angel)  falleth  into  evil;" — 
and  so  in  various  places.  Also,  in  the  Ncav  Testa- 
ment, Matt.  xi.  10.  "I  send  my  messenger  (Gr. 
my  angel,  toi  i(;;fA/<i  i^;;)  before  thy  face."  Also, 
Mark  i.  2;  Luke  vii.  24.  "And  when  the  messen- 
gei-s,  (Gr.  the  angels)  of  John  Avere  departed."  James 
ii.  25.  "Rahab  receiAcd  the  messengers,  [Gr.  the 
angels.)  Gal.  Ia'.  14.  "Ye  receiA-ed  me  as  the  angel 
of  God,  [dyyf/.or  (^fs ,)  as  Christ  Jesus,"  the  prime 
messenger  from 'God  to  man.  Some  commentators 
haA-e  referred  this,  which  is  the  simplest  idea  of  the 
Avord,  to  John  v.  4.  "  An  angel  Avent  doAvii  aud 
troubled  the  Avater ;"  as  if  this  Avere  a  messenger 
sent  (by  the  priests  or  others)  for  that  pur})ose.  So 
Acts  xii.  15.  "They  said.  It  is  the  angel  of  Peter  ; 
i.  e.  a  messenger  from  him.  But  this  conception 
fails  of  the  true  import  of  these  |)assages.  (See  Be- 
THESPA.)     It'  seems,    however,    certain,   from    the 


ANGEL 


[G2] 


ANGEL 


Scriptures  quoted,  and  from  many  others,  that,  per- 
sonally taken,  the  sense  of  a  messenger,  or  one  de- 
puted by  another  to  act  for  him,  is  the  genuine  idea 
of  the  word  angel,  both  in  the  Old  and  in  the  New 
Testament.  Hence,  therefore,  Christ  Jesus  may 
well  be  called,  "The  angel  of  God  :"  he  being  emi- 
nently the  deputy  from  God  to  man  ;  the  great  ^'liigel 
of  the  covenant ;  (Mai.  iii.  L)  the  agent  for  God. 

(2.)  Taken  impersonally,  the  word  Angel  impUes, 
that  agent  which  executes  the  will  of  another :  and, 
as  the  great  natural  agents  of  the  world  m-ound  us 
are  wholly  beyond  the  direction  of  man,  and,  there- 
fore, are  esteemed  as  exclusively  obedient  to  God, 
the  word  angel  imports  something  empowered  or 
commissioned  to  execute  his  will.  Now,  though  all 
the  powers  of  nature,  in  all  their  operations,  are,  in 
this  sense,  angels  of  God,  as  acting  for  him,  yet  their 
more  extraordinary  effects  are  principally  noticed,  as 
being  most  evidently  his  agents:  these  appearing 
most  remarkable  to  feeble  humanity,  and  most  ex- 
citing its  attention.  In  a  sense  greatly  analogous  to 
this,  we  say,  in  common  speech,  "  Providence  inter- 
posed so  and  so  ;"  such  a  thing  is  "  the  dispensation 
of  Providence."  But  we  rarely  express  ourselves 
thus,  in  respect  to  the  ordinary  occurrences  of  life. 
Extraordinary  operations  of  providence,  then,  though 
accomplished  by  natural  means,  are  in  Scripture 
considered  as  angels  (agents)  of  God:  and  so  the 
Psalmist  observes,  (civ.  4^)  that  God  can,  if  he  please, 
"  make  winds  his  angels,^'  to  conduct  his  dispensa- 
tions ;  "and  flames  of  fire  his  ministers,"  or  servants, 
to  perform  his  pleasure. 

IL  But,  beside  agencies  of  natural  powers,  or 
providential  angels,  we  have  reason  to  infer,  that 
there  exists  in  the  scale  of  beings,  a  series  of  crkated 
i.NTELLiGE.NT  POWERS,  who  are  angels,  inasmuch  as 
they  are  occasionally  agents  of  God  towards  man- 
kind. These,  in  capacity  and  dignity,  arc  vastly 
superior  to  oui-selves  ;  indeed,  they  are  so  much  our 
superiors,  that  in  order  to  render  them  in  any  de- 
gree comprehensible  by  us,  their  nature,  offices,  &c. 
are  illustrated  by  being  compared  to  what  occurs 
among  mankind.  Thus,  if  a  human  prince  have  his 
attendants,  his  servants,  his  guards,  tiiis  circumstance 
is  taken  advantage  of,  and  is  employed  to  illustrate 
the  nature  of  celestial  angels  ;  and  to  this  effect,  by 
way  of  similitude,  and  condescending  to  the  concep- 
tion of  humanity,  angds  are  represented  as  attend- 
ants, servants  of  God.  We  know  that  God  needs  no 
attendants  to  perform  his  commands,  being  omni- 

K resent ;  but  being  himself  likened  to  a  great  king, 
is  angels  are  compared  to  courtiers  and  ministers, 
subordinate  to  him,  and  employed  in  his  service. 
It  cannot  be  said,  God  does  not  need  angels,  there- 
for'" angels  do  not  exist ;  tor  God  does  not  need  man, 
yet  man  exists,  Thi.s  principle  is  evidently  the  foun- 
dation of  the  aj)ologue  wliich  prefaces  the  poetical 
part  of  the  book  of  Jol) :  (chap.  i.  (i.)  "  There  was  a 
day,  when  the  sons  of  God  came  to  present  them- 
selves (as  it  were,  at  coiut)  before  tiie  Lord  ;"  also, 
of  1  Kings  xxii.  \9.  "  I  saw  the  Lord  sitting  on  his 
throne,  and  all  the  host  of  licaven  standing  by  him, 
on  his  right  hand,  and  on  his  left."  Isaiah's  vision 
(chap,  vi.)  is  to  the  same  purj)ose ;  and  our  Lord 
continues  the  same  idea,  especially,  when  speaking 
of  his  glorious  return, — "  The  Son  nf  Man  sliall  si  nd 
his  angels,  to  expel  from  his  kingdom  all  tiiat  ortinds. 
He  sliall  sit  on  the  throne  of  liis  glory,  and  all  his  holy 
angels  around  him,"  Matt.  \\v.  'il,  seq.  Through- 
out the  Revelation,  many  coincident  representations 
may  be  observed.     In  reference  to  llie  seniccs  ren- 


dered by  angels  to  mankind,  wc  may  safely  aclopt 
the  idea  of  their  being  servants  of  this  Great  King, 
sent  from  before  his  throne  to  this  lower  world,  to 
execute  his  commissions :  so  far,  at  least,  Scripture 
warrants  us.  In  such  services,  some  of  them,  prob- 
ably, are  always  engaged,  though  invisible  to  us. 
We  may  receive  from  them  much  good,  or  evil, 
without  being  aware  of  any  angehc  interference. 
Thus  the  activity  of  Satan  (an  agent  of  evil)  in  Job, 
is  represented  as  producing  gi-eat  effects,  (by  storms 
and  other  means,)  but  Job  knew  not  that  it  was 
Satan :  he  refen-ed  all  the  calamities  he  felt,  or 
feared,  to  the  good  pleasure  of  God  acting  by  natu- 
ral causes;  and  thus  the  angel  might  long  have 
watched  Aljraham  invisibly,  before  he  called  out  to 
forbid  the  slaying  of  Isaac,  Gen.  xxii.  In  this  sense, 
angels  are  "ministering  spirits,  sent  forth  to  do 
a  variety  of  services  to  the  heirs  of  salvation," 
Hob.  i.  14. 

If  angels  are  thus  engaged  invisibly  in  the  care  or 
service  of  mankind,  then  we  can  find  no  difficulty  in 
admitting  that  they  have  had  orders,  on  particular  . 
occasions,  to  make  themselves  known,  as  celestial 
intelligences.  They  may  often  have  assumed  the 
human  appearance,  for  ought  we  can  tell ;  but  if 
they  assumed  it  completely,  (as  must  be  supposed, 
and  which  nothing  forbids,)  how  can  we  generally 
know  it.'  How  can  we  recognize  them  ?  This  is 
evidently  beyond  human  abilities,  unless  it  be  part 
of  their  commission  to  leave  indications  of  their  su- 
perior nature.  This  produces  the  inquiry — By  what 
tokens  have  angels  made  themselves  known  ? 

(1.)  Such  discovery  has  usually  been  aj^er  they 
had  delivered  their  message,  and  always  for  the 
purpose  of  a  sign,  in  confirmation  of  the  faith  of  the 
party  whom  they  liad  addressed.  It  is  evident,  that  the 
angel  which  appeared  to  Manoah,  was  taken  by  both 
Manoah  and  his  wife  only  for  a  prophet,  till  after  he 
had  dehvered  his  message,  he  took  leave  "  wonder- 
fully," to  convince  them  of  his  extraordinary  nature. 
Thus  the  angel  tliat  wrestled  with  Jacob,  at  last  put 
the  hollow  of  his  thigh  out  of  joint — a  token  that  he 
was  no  mere  man.  The  angel  that  spake  to  Zach- 
arias,  (Luke  i.  20.)  rendered  him  dumb — a  token  be- 
yond the  power  of  mere  man  (e.  g.  an  impostor 
speaking  falsely  in  the  name  of  God)  to  produce ; 
and  so  of  others. 

(2.)  But  sometimes  angels  did  not  reveal  them- 
selves fully ;  they  gave,  as  it  were,  obscure,  and 
very  indistinct,  though  powerful,  intimations  of  their 
presence.  When  angels  were  commissioned  to  ap- 
pear to  certain  persons  only,  others  who  were  in 
company  with  those  j)ersons,  had  sensations  Avhich 
indicated  an  extraordinary  occurrence.  Although 
the  appearance  was  not  to  them,  yet  they  seem  to 
have  felt  the  effects  of  it ;  as  Dan.  x.  7.  "  I,  Daniel, 
alone  saw  the  vision — the  men  that  were  with  me 
saw  not  the  vision  ;  hut  a  screat  quaking  fell  upon 
them,  so  that  they  fled  to  hide  themselves."  So  Acts  ix. 
7.  "The  men  which  journeyed  with  Saul  stood 
speechless,  hearing  a  \oice,  but  seeing  no  man." 
xxii.  9.  "They  that  were  with  me  saw  a  peculiar 
kind  of  light  and  were  afraid;  but  they  heard  not  the 
voice  (the  distinct  words)  addressed  to  me."  xxvi. 
14.  "We  were  Ar.i,  fallcTi  to  the  earth."  The  guards 
of  the  sepulchre  (Matt,  xxviii.  4.)  seem  to  have  been 
in  much  the  same  situation  ;  they  jirobably  did  not 
distinctly  (i.  e.  acrurntely,  steadily,)  see  the  angel ; 
but  only  saw  a  general  s|)lendid  ajqiearance,  enough 
most  thoroughly  to  terrif^v  them,  and  to  cause  them 
to  become  ns  dead  men,  but  not  enough  to  resist  the 


ANGEL 


[  m 


ANG 


craliy  explanations  ol"  the  priests,  and  the  inlluence 
of  their  money. 

(3.)  These  ijistauces evince,  that  angels  discovered 
themselves  to  be  angels,  with  difterent  degrees  of 
clearness,  as  best  suited  their  errand.  Sometimes 
they  were  conjectured  to  be  angels,  but  they  did  not 
advance  those  conjectures  into  certainty  ;  and  some- 
times they  left  no  doubt  who  and  what  they  were,  and, 
together  with  their  errand,  they  declared  their  nature. 

(4.)  The  general  token  of  angelic  presence,  seems 
to  have  been  a  certain  splcmhn-,  or  brightness,  accom- 
panying their  persons :  but  this  seems  to  have  had 
also  a  distinction  in  degree.  It  would  seem,  that 
sometimes  a  person  only,  not  a  splendor,  was  seen  ; 
sometimes  a  splendor  only,  not  a  person ;  and 
sometimes  both  a  person  and  his  splendor.  Of  the 
person  only,  we  have  already  given  instances ;  of  the 
splendor  only,  the  burning  bush  seen  by  Moses,  may 
be  one  instance ;  though  afterwards  a  person  spake 
from  it ;  the  splendor  in  the  sanctuary  might  be 
another.  This  splendor  seems  to  have  been  worn 
by  Jesus  at  his  transfiguration  ; — (Matt.  xvii.  2 ;  Mark 
ix.  2.)  at  his  appearance  to  Saul ; — (Acts  ix.  3 ;  xxvi. 
13.)  also  when  seen  by  John,  Rev.  i.  Was  not  this 
splendor,  when  worn  by  a  person,  indicative  of  the 
presence  of  the  great  angel  of  the  covenant  ? 

III.  Thus  we  trace  a  gradation  in  the  use  of  the 
word  angel,  which  it  may  be  proper  to  exhibit  in 
connection: — (1.)  Human  messengers;  t.  e.  agents 
for  others. — (2.)  Divine  messengers,  yet  human  per- 
sons ;  i.  e.  agents  for  God : — as  prophets  (Haggai  i. 
13.)  and  priests,  (Mai.  ii.  7 ;  Eccles.  v.  0.)— (3.)  OlK- 
cers  or  bishops  of  the  churches. — (4.)  Providence, 
i.  e.  the  agency  of  divine  dispensations,  conducting 
natural  causes,  ajjparent  on  remarkable  occasions. — 
(5.)  Created  hitelligences ;  i.  e.  agents  of  a  nature 
superior  to  man  ;  performing  the  divine  connnands, 
in  relation  to  mankind. — (6.)  The  great  angel  be- 
tween God  and  man  ;  {.  e.  the  deputed  agent  of  God, 
eminently  so.  Not  to  extend  this  very,  delicate  and 
obscure  subject  too  far,  it  is  sufficient,  if  this  mode 
of  representing  it  excite  the  reader's  considera- 
tion ;  we  should  be  cautious  of  intruding  into  things 
not  seen. 

IV'.  In  the  same  rank  as  to  nature,  though  very 
different  from  celestial  angels,  as  to  happiness. 
Scripture  seems  to  place  the  angels  "  who  kept  not 
their  first  esrate."  But  neither  their  number,  their 
economy,  nor  their  powers  are  expressed.  As  the 
nature  and  offices  of  good  angels  are  illustrated  by 
similitudes,  so  are  the  nature  and  disposition  of  evil 
angels ; — e.  g. 

fl.)  If  a  part  of  a  prince's  court  be  faithful  lo  his 
government,  and  under  his  obedience,  another  part 
may  be  imfaithful,  may  bo  in  rebellion,  may  hate 
him.  This  idea,  then,  is  that  of  rebels.  What  is 
said  of  Satan,  and  the  fallen  angels,  his  companions, 
is  analogous  to  such  a  revolt  in  a  prince's  court ; 
i.  e.  the  idea  of  what  passes  among  men,  is  trans- 
ferred to  spiritual  beings,  in  order  to  help  us  to 
some  conception  on  a  subject  othersvise  beyond  our 
powers. 

(2.)  As  revolters  in  provinces  distant  from  court 
may  sometimes  injure  loyal  subjects,  so  may  we  sup- 
pose that  evil  (rebel)  angels  arc  suffered  to  injure  in- 
dividuals among  mankind.  They  may  inflict  dis- 
eases, as  in  the  case  of  Job ;  i.  e.  having  the  dispo- 
sition, they  are  suffered  to  take  advantage  of  natural 
disease,  and  to  augment,  and  fix  it,  if  possible,  as  in 
the  case  of  Saul ;  or  to  render  it  fatal,  as  in  the  case 
of  the  lunatic,  Matt.  xvii.  15 :  Mark  v.    Luke  viii. 


Also,  if  the  thorn  in  the  flesh,  and  the  angel  of  Satan, 
lie  the  same,  in  the  case  of  Paul,  2  Cor.  xii.  7. 

(3.)  We  may  sui)pose,  that  evil  angels  would,  if 
])ermitted,  destroy  all  good  from  off"  the  earth ; — 
all  natural  good  ;  would  blast  the  fruits  of  the  earth, 
spread  diseases,  and  deform  the  face  of  nature  ; 
would  expel  all  thoughts  of  God,  all  emotions  of 
gratitude  to  him,  all  piety,  divine  or  human, — all 
moral  good. 

(4.)  Vv'e  may  suppose,  that  the  endeavors  of  these 
malignant  beings  to  destroy,  are,  when  they  attempt 
to  exceed  their  limits,  checked  and  counteracted  by 
the  agency  of  benevolent  spirits ;  or  that  these  are 
employed  to  ward  oft'  or  prevent  the  evils  designed 
by  Satan  and  his  angels. 

'v.  On  the  whole,  we  may  sum  up  the  contradic- 
tory characters  of  these  active  and  intelligent  agents, 
by  combining  those  particulars  in  which  Scripture 
supports  us.  No  doubt  but  many  parts  of  their  na- 
ture, powers,  and  offices,  must  remain  hidden  from 
us  here ;  but  when  we  exchange  earth  for  heaven, 
this  subject,  like  many  others,  may  he  infinitely  better 
understood  by  us ;  and  if  we  should  not  become 
such  agents  ourselves,  yet  we  may  witness  the  inex- 
pressibly beneficial  effects  arisiiig  among  our  fellow 
mortals  from  that  agency  which  now  we  call  super- 
natural, and  which  we  can  only  comprehend  in  a 
very  small  degree,  and  that  by  very  inadequate  coni- 
parisons. 

Good  angels  are  God's  host ;  innumerable  ;  they 
attend  and  obey  him  in  heaven,  but  they  occasion- 
ally do  services,  and  give  instructions,  to  the  sons  of 
men.  Good  angels  attended  on  Christ,  honored  him, 
ministered  to  him,  strengthened  him  ;  accompanied 
his  resurrection,  his  ascension,  and  will  attend  his 
second  coming,  when  they  will  separate  the  godly  to 
glory,  the  ungodly  to  perdition.  Good  angels  attend 
good  men,  defend  and  save  them,  direct  them,  carry 
their  souls  to  heaven,  will  rejoice  with  them  in  glory, 
&c.  They  are  humble  and  modest ;  obedient,  sym- 
pathizing, complacent,  &c. 

Evil  angels  are  unclean,  promoters  of  darkness 
— of  spiritual  wickedness ;  they  oppose  good  angels, 
and  good  men ;  they  are  under  punishment  now ; 
they  dread  severer  sufferings  hereafter,  everlasting 
fire  being  pre^iared  for  them. 

Angels  of  light,  and  angels  of  darkness. 
We  call  good  angels  angels  of  light,  their  habitation 
being  in  heaven,  in  the  region  of  light ;  they  are 
clothed  with  light  and  glory ;  they  stand  before  the 
throne  of  the  Most  High,  and  they  inspire  men  with 
good  actions,  actions  of  light  and  righteousness. 
Angels  of  darkness,  on  the  contrary,  are  the  devil's 
ministers,  whose  abode  is  in  hell,  the  region  of  dark- 
ness. Paul  says,  that  "  Satan  sometimes  transforms 
himself  into  an  angel  of  light,"  (2  Cor.  xi.  14.)  in 
like  manner  as  our  Saviour  says,  "  that  wolves  some- 
times put  on  sheep's  clothing,  to  seduce  the  simple," 
IMatt.  vii.  15.  They  are,  however,  discovered  by 
their  works ;  sooner  or  later  they  betray  themselves 
by  deeds  of  darkness,  wherein  they  engage  with 
their  followers. 

ANGER  is  in  Scripture  frequently  attributed  to 
God ;  not  that  he  is  capable  of  those  vioknt  emo- 
tions which  this  passion  produces ;  but  figuratively 
speaking,  after  the  manner  of  men,  and  because  he 
punishes  the  Avicked  with  the  severity  of  a  superior 
provoked  to  anger.  .  . 

"Anger"  is  often  used  for  its  effects,  i.  e.  punish- 
ment, chastisement.  The  magistrate  is  "  a  revenger 
to  execute  wrath,"  (Rom.  xiii.  4.)  that  is  to  say,  veu- 


.\  N  I 


[(;4  J 


ANIMALS 


geancc,  or  puiiishmciit.  "Is  God  unjust,  who  makrs 
people  sensible  of  the  eifects  of  his  anger?"  or  who 
taketh  vengeance,  (speaking  after  the  manner  of 
men,)  Rom.  iii.  5.  "  Anger  is  gone  out  noin  the 
Lord,  and  begins  to  be  felt,"  (IVunii).  xvi.  4().)  by  its 
effects,  iu  a  j)lague.  Anger  is  often  joined  with  fury, 
even  when  God  is  spoken  of;  but  this  is  l)y  way  of 
expressing  more  forcibly  the  effects  of  his  anger,  or 
what  may  be  expected  from  the  just  occasions  of  his 
indignation,  Dent.  xxix.  24.  "Turn  from  us  the  fury 
of  thine  anger,"  2  Chron.  x.\ix.  ]0;  Dan.  ix.  1<!. 

"The  day  of  wrath,"  is  the  day  of  (iod's  judg- 
ment, the  dciy  of  vengeance,  or  ])unishnRnt,  (Kom. 
ii.  5.) — "  the  wrath  to  come  ;"  (Matt.  iii.  7  ;  1  Thess. 
i.  10.)  "We  were  all  children  of  wrath,"  "vessels  of 
wrath,  fitted  to  destruction,"  Eph.  ii.  3;  Uom.  ix.  22. 

Paul  enjoins  the  Romans  to  "  give  way,  or  place, 
to  wrath  ;"  (Rom.  xii.  19.)  that  is,  provoke  not  the 
wicked,  who  are  already  sufficiently  exasperated 
against  you,  but  let  their  anger  of  itself  sink  and 
decline ;  also,  do  not  expose  yourselves  unseasona- 
bly to  their  passion  ;  as,  when  we  meet  a  furious  and 
unruly  beast,  we  go  out  of  the  way,  and  avoid  him  ; 
so  behave  toward  your  persecutors.  The  weapons 
of  God's  anger  (Jer.  1.  25.)  are  the  instriuiients  he 
uses  in  punishment,  war,  famine,  barrenness,  dis- 
eases, &c.  but  particularly  war,  which  is  the  con- 
junction of  all  misfortunes,  and  the  fulness  of  "the 
cup  of  God's  wrath."  To  consummate,  finish,  fill, 
his  anger,  is  to  cause  the  effects  of  it  to  !»"  felt  with 
the  utmost  i-igor. 

The  Hebrews  express  anger  by  the  same  word 
which  signifies  nose  and  nostnls,  borrowed  from  the 
idea  of  hard  breathing  or  smiffing,  and  the  conse- 
quent dilatation  of  the  nostrils,  which  accomj)anies 
violent  anger.  So  Theoc.  i.  8.  Martial  vi.  64. 
See  Nose. 

ANIM,  a  city  of  Judah,  (Josh.  xv.  50.)  probably 
the  Anam,  or  Anea,  mentioned  by  Eusebiiis  and  Je- 
rome, about  eight  or  ten  miles  east  of  IIe])ron. 

ANIMALS.  The  Hebrews  distinguish  dean  ani- 
mals, I.  e.  those  which  may  l)e  eaten  and  offered  in 
sacrifice  to  Jehovah,  from  those  which  arc  unclean., 
the  use  of  which  is  prohibited.  The  distinction  con- 
sists in  the  form  of  the  toot  or  hoof,  wliich  must  be 
thoroughly  cloven  into  two  parts,  and  no  more,  and 
in  chewing  the  cud.  Those  animals  which  possess 
both  these  qualities  arc  clean  ;  those  which  have  nei- 
ther, or  only  one,  of  them,  are  unclean. 

The  sacrifices  tlie  Hebrews  generally  offered  were, 
(1.)  of  the  beeve  kind  ;  a  cow,  bull,  or  calf.  When 
it  is  said  oxen  were  sacrificed,  we  are  to  understand 
bulls,  for  the  mutilation  of  animals  was  not  permitted 
or  used  among  the  Israelites,  Lev.  xxii.  18,  19.  (2.) 
of  the  goat  kind  ;  a  she-goat,  he-goat,  or  kid,  xxii.  24. 
(3.)  of  the  sheep  kind  ;  an  ewe,  ram,  or  lam!).  In 
burnt-off'eiings,  and  sacrifices  for  sin,  rams  were 
offered ;  for  peace-otferings,  or  sacrifices  of  pure 
devotion,  a  female  might  be  ofliered,  if  piu-e  and 
without  blemish,  iii.  1.  Besides  these  three  sorts  of 
animals  used  in  sacrifice,  many  others  might  be  eaten, 
wild  or  tame  ;  such  as  the  stag,  the  roe-J)uck,  and  in 
general,  nil  that  have  cloven  feet,  and  that  ciiew  the 
cud.  All  that  have  not  cloven  hools,  and  do  not 
chew  the  cud,  were  esteemed  impun>,  and  could  nei- 
ther be  ofl^ered  nor  eaten,  Lev.  xi.  .3,  4.  The  tiit  of 
all  sort.s  of  animals  sacrificed,  was  forbidden  as  food; 
as  was  the  blood  in  all  cases,  on  pain  of  deatii.  Nei- 
ther did  the  Israelites  eat  the  sinew  which  lies  on  the 
hollow  of  the  thigh,  because  the  angel  that  wrestled 
with  Jacob  at  Mahanaim,  touched  it,  and  occasioned 


it  to  shrink.  Neither  did  they  cat  animals  which 
had  been  taken,  or  touched,  by  a  ravenous  or  impure 
beast,  such  as  a  dog,  a  «olf,  or  a  boar ; — nor  the  ff  esh  of 
any  animal  that  died  of  itself  Whoever  touched  the 
carcass  of  it  was  imjnire  until  the  evening  ;  and  till 
that  time,  and  affer  he  had  washed  his  clothes,  he 
could  not  associate  with  others.  Lev.  xi.  39,  40. 

Fish  that  had  neither  fins  nor  scales  were  unclean, 
Lev.  xi.  10.  Birds  wliich  Avalk  on  the  ground  with 
four  feet,  such  as  bats,  and  ffies  that  have  many  feet, 
were  impure ;  but  the  law  (Lev.  xi.  21,  22.)  excepts 
locusts,  which  have  their  hind  teet  higher  than  those 
before,  and  rather  leap  than  walk. — These  are  clean, 
and  m.-iy  be  eaten  ;  as,  in  fact,  they  were,  and  still  are, 
in  Palestine,  and  other  eastern  countries. 

Interpreters  are  much  divided  with  relation  to  the 
legal  purity  or  impurity  of  animals.  It  is  believed  by 
some,  that  this  distinction  obtained  before  the  flood; 
since  God  commanded  Noah  (Geiv  vii.  2.)  to  carry 
seven  couple  of  clean  animals  into  the  ark,  and  onlj' 
two  of  unclean  ;  (see  Ark  ;)  but  others,  as  Augustiu, 
Origen,  Irciia^us,  are  of  opinion,  that  it  is  altogether 
symbolical,  and  that  it  denotes  the  moral  purity  which 
tlie  Hebrews  were  to  endeavor  after,  or  that  impu- 
rity which  they  were  to  avoid,  according  to  the  nature 
of  these  animals.  Thus,  if  a  hog,  for  example,  sig- 
nified gluttony  ;  a  hare,  lasciviousness ;  a  sheep,  gen- 
tleness ;  a  dove,  simplicity  ; — then  the  principal  design 
of  Moses  in  prohibiting  the  u.se  of  swine's  flesh,  was 
to  condemn  gluttony,  and  excess  in  eating  or  drink- 
ing; or  in  recommending  sheep,  or  doves,  it  was  to 
recommend  gentleness,  &c.  Others,  as  Theodoret, 
believe,  that  God  intended  to  preserve  the  Hebrews 
from  the  temptation  of  adoring  animals,  bj' permitting 
them  to  eat  the  generality  of  those  which  were  re- 
garded as  gods  in  Egypt ;  and  leading  them  to  look 
with  horror  on  others,  to  which,  likewise,  diA'ine 
honors  were  paid.  They  never  had  any  idea  of 
worslii|)|)iiigtlie  animals  they  ate  ;  still  less  of  adoring 
those  which  they  could  not  jiersuade  themselves  to 
use,  even  for  nourishment.  Tertullian  thought,  that 
God  pro])osed,  by  this  means,  to  accustom  the  He- 
brews to  tcmjicrance,  by  enjoining  them  to  deprive 
themselves  of  several  sorts  of  food.  Many  comment- 
ators, however,  discern  in  the;  animals  which  are  for- 
bidden as  unclean,  merely  some  natural  qualities 
which  are  really  hurtful,  or  which,  at  least,  are  un- 
derstood to  be  so  by  certain  j)eo))!c.  Mcsi  s  forbade 
the  use  of  those  beasts,  birds,  and  fislus,  the  flesh  of 
which  was  thought  pernicious  to  health  ;  those 
which  were  wild,  dangerous,  or  venomous,  or  that 
were  so  esteemed.  God,  likewise,  who  designed  to 
separate  the  Hebrews  from  other  peoj)le,  as  a  nation 
consecrated  to  his  service,  seems  to  have  interdicted 
the  use  of  certain  animals,  which  wire  considered 
as  unclean,  that  by  this  figurative  jiurity  thej-  might 
be  inclined  to  another  jnirity,  real  and  perfect,  as  is 
intimated,  Le\.  xx.  24. 

Most  nations  have  fixed  on  certain  animals  as  less 
fit  for  human  food  than  others  ;  in  other  words,  as 
unclean  ;  and  this,  indejiendent  of  their  jiroperties,  as 
more  or  less  salutary  or  injurious  to  health.  Yet  we 
find  considerable  variations  of  opinion  and  practice, 
even  among  nations  inhabiting  the  same  countries. 
The  horse,  held  unlawful  by  the  Hebrews,  is  eaten 
by  the  Tartars;  the  camel,  forbidden  to  the  Jews,  is 
eaten  by  the  Arabs;  as  is  also  the  hare,  and  others. 

In  general,  it  may  be  observed,  that  whatever  was 
forbidden  as  t)rdinary  food  was  still  more  strongly 
prohibited  from  the  altar;  and,  among  other  reasons, 
because  as  sacrifices  were  eaten  either  in  whole  or  in 


ANN 


[  65] 


ANN 


part,  by  tiie  priest  or  offerer,  or  both,  it  is  evident, 
that  the  admission  of  animals  legally  impure  would 
have  spread  impurity  under  the  sanction  of  the  altar 
itself.  And  further,  that  as  the  altar  partook  of  the 
sacrifice,  the  fat,  &c.  which  were  consumed  by  its 
fire,  that  fire,  with  the  sacred  implement  itself,  would 
have  been  absolutely  desecrated  by  such  unwan-aut- 
able  departure  from  the  instituted  rites.  See  the 
histories  of  this  in  the  Maccabees,  &c.  The  flesh  of 
the  swine  was  usually  the  pollution  forced  by  perse- 
cutors on  the  Jews ;  but  it  is  evident,  that  any  kind 
of  prohibited  food,  from  whatever  class  derived, 
would  have  produced  the  same  effect.  See  further 
under  Goat,  and  Sheep. 

We  cannot  determine  precisely  the  creatures  meant 
in  the  original,  under  certain  of  the  followug  names, 
as  the  eastern  parts  of  the  world  have  many  animals 
different  from  those  which  inhabit  Europe,  and  to 
which  no  English  names  can  properly  be  given :  but 
under  their  respective  articles,  what  infonnatiou  we 
have  been  able  to  procure,  will  appear.  The  Vul- 
gate has  been  followed  in  this  catalogue  ;  those  who 
please  may  considt  the  large  work  of  Bochart,  con- 
cerning the  animals  mentioned  in  the  Bible. 

UNCLEAN  ANIMALS. 

Quadrupeds, 

The  Camel.  The  Hare. 

The  Porcupine,  or  Hedge-hog.    The  Hog. 

Birds. 

The  Eagle.  The  Screech-owl. 

The  Ossifrage.  The  Cormorant. 

The  Sea-eagle.  The  Ibis. 

The  Kite.  The  Swan. 

The  Vulture,  and  all  its  species.  The  Bittern. 

The  Raven,  and  all  its  species.  The  Porphyrion. 

The  Ostrich.  The  Heron. 

The  Owl.  The  Curlew. 

The  Moor-hen.  The  Lap-wing. 

The  Spar-hawk.  The  Bat. 

Creeping  Quadrupeds. 


The  Weasel. 
The  Mouse. 
The  Shrew-mouse. 
The  Mole. 


The  Cameleon. 
The  Eft. 
The  Lizard. 
The  Crocodile. 


ANISE,  an  herb  well  known,  which  produces 
small  seeds  of  a  pleasant  smell.  Our  Lord  reproaches 
the  Pharisees  with  their  scrupulous  exactitude  in 
paying  tithe  of  anise,  mint,  and  cunamin,  while  they 
neglected  justice,  mercy,  and  faith,  which  were  the 
most  essential  principles  and  practices  of  religion. 
Matt,  xxiii.  23. 

I.  ANNA,  wife  of  Tobit,  of  the  tribe  of  Naphtali, 
carried  captive  to  Nineveh,  by  Shalinaneser,  king  of 
As^ria,  Tobit  i.  1,  2,  &c. 

II.  ANNA,  daughter  of  Phanuel,  a  prophetess  and 
vddow  of  the  tribe  of  Asher,  Luke  ii.  36,  37.  She 
was  married  early,  and  lived  but  seven  years  with 
her  husband,  after  which  she  continued,  wtliout 
ceasing,  in  the  temple,  serving  God,  day  and  night, 
with  fasting  and  prayers.  Dr.  Prideaux  remarks 
tliat  this  expression  is  to  be  understood  no  otherwise 
than  tliat  Anna  constantly  attended  the  morning  and 
evening  sacrifice  at  the  temple,  and  then  with  great 
devotion  offered  up  her  prayers  to  God ;  the  time  of 
the  morning  and  evening  sacrifice  being  the  most 
solemn  time  of  prayer  among  the  Jews,  and  the  tem- 

9 


pie  the  most  solemn  place  for  it.  Anna  was  fourscore 
and  four  years  of  age,  when  the  Virgin  came  to  pre- 
sent Jesus  in  the  temple ;  and  enteiing  there,  while 
Simeon  was  pronoimcing  his  thanksgiving,  Anna, 
hkewise,  began  to  praise  God,  and  to  speak  of  the 
Messiah  to  all  who  waited  for  the  redemption  of 
Israel. 

ANNAS,  a  high-priest  of  the  Jews,  Luke  iii.  2 ; 
John  xviii.  13,  24  ;  Acts  iv.  6.  He  is  mentioned  in 
Luke  as  being  high-priest  along  ivith  Caiaphas  his 
son-in-law.  He  is  called  by  Josephus,  Ananus  the 
son  of  Seth ;  and  was  first  appointed  to  that  ofiice  by 
Quirinus,  proconsul  of  Syria,  about  A.  D.  7  or  8,  (Jos. 
Ant.  xviii.  2.  1.)  but  was  afterwards  deprived  of  it  by 
Valerius  Gatus,  prociuator  of  Judea,  who  gave  the 
office  first  to  Ismael  the  son  of  Phabseus,  and  a  short 
time  after  to  Eleazar  the  son  of  Annas.  He  held  the 
oflice  one  year,  and  was  then  succeeded  by  Simon, 
who,  after  anotlier  year,  was  followed  by  Joseph,  also 
called  Caiaphas,  the  son-in-law  of  Annas,  about  A.  D. 
27  or  28,  who  continued  in  oflSce  until  A.  D.  35.  In 
the  passages  of  the  New  Testament  above  cited, 
therefore,  it  is  apparent  that  Caiaphas  was  the  only 
actual  and  proper  high-priest ;  but  Aimas,  being  his 
fatlier-in-law,  and  having  been  formerly  himself 
high-priest,  and  being  also  perhaps  his  substitute, 
(pD,)  had  great  influence  and  authoritj^  and  could 
with  great  propriety  be  still  termed  high-priest  along 
with  Caiaphas.  Jos.  Ant.  xviii.  2.  2.  Kuinoel  on 
Luke  iii.  2.     *R. 

ANNUNCIATION,  a  festival  on  which  Chris- 
tian churches  celebrate  the  conception,  or  incar- 
nation of  the  Son  of  God  in  the  womb  of  the  Virgin 
Mary.  It  falls  on  the  25th  of  March.  The  angel 
Gabriel  first  announced  the  approach  of  this  event  to 
Zacharias,  telling  him  that  his  son  should  be  the 
fore-runner  and  prophet  of  the  Messiah.  Six  months 
afterwai-ds  Gabriel  was  sent  to  Nazareth,  to  the  Vir- 
gin Mai-y,  of  the  tribe  of  Judah,  and  family  of  David, 
whom  he  saluted  by  saying,  "  Hail,  thou  highly-fa- 
vored of  the  Lord ;  the  Lord  is  with  thee ;  blessed 
art  thou  among  women !"  Mary,  being  greatly  per- 
plexed by  the  salutation,  the  angel  added,  "  Fear  not, 
Mary,  for  thou  hast  found  favor  with  God.  Thou 
shalt  conceive,  and  bring  forth  a  son,  and  shalt  call 
his  name  Jesus.  He  shall  be  great,  and  shall  be 
called  the  Son  of  the  Highest,"  &c.  Then  said 
Mary  to  the  angel,  "How  shall  this  be,  seeing  I 
know  not  a  man.'"  The  angel  answered,  "The 
Holy  Ghost  shall  come  upon  thee,  and  the  power  of 
the  Highest  shall  overshadow  thee ;  therefore,  also, 
that  Holy  thing  which  shall  be  born  of  thee,  shall  be 
called  the  Son  of  God.  And  behold  thy  cousin, 
Elisabeth,  she  also  hath  conceived  a  son  in  her  old 
age  ;  and  this  is  the  sixth  month  with  her ;  for  with 
God  nothing  shall  be  impossible."  And  Mary  said, 
"  Behold  the  handmaid  of  the  Lord,  be  it  unto  me 
according  to  thy  word,"  Luke  i.  5,  26.  The  angel 
then  depai-ted;  and  by  the  operation  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  Maiy  conceived  the  only  Sou  of  the  Father, 
who  had  been  four  thousand  years  expected;  and 
who  was  to  be  the  happiness,  the  light,  and  the  sal- 
vation of  men. 

In  the  Koran,  (third  Sura,)  there  is  tliis  remarkable 
passage :  "  Remember  what  is  written  of  Mary — We 
sent  to  her  our  Spirit,  in  the  human  form ;  she  was 
affrighted,  and  said, '  God  will  preserve  me  from  you, 
unless  you  have  his  fear  before  your  eyes.'  But  the 
angel  answered, '  O  Mary !  I  am  tlie  messenger  of 
thy  God,  and  of  thy  Lord,  who  will  give  thee  a  wise 
and  active  son !'     She  replied,  '  How  shall  I  have  a 


ANNUNCIATION 


[66] 


ANNUNCIATION 


son,  wiiliout  the  knowledge  of  man?'  'He  has  said 
it' — answered  the  angel:  'the  event  shall  be  as  I 
have  announced  to  thee.'  Then  she  became  preg- 
nant." The  history  of  the  annunciation,  as  a  part  of 
the  miraculous  conception,  having  been  impugned, 
this  extract  may  serve  to  show,  that  it  was  extant  in 
other  authorities,  beside  our  j)rcs(  nt  gospels.  Ma- 
homet certainly  found  it  in  some  ancient  writing, 
since  he  says,  "Remember  ivhat  is  un-itten,''^  an  ap- 
peal which  he  could  hardly  have  adopted,  had  not 
the  occurrence  been  the  general  belief,  prior  to  his 
time ;  a.s  its  primary  aspect  is  so  favorable  to 
Christianity.  [Mahomet  doubtless  borrowed  this 
passage  from  the  New  Testament  itself,  hkc  many 
other  parts  of  tlie  Koran.     R. 

1.  This  subject  has  been  so  often  placed  before 
our  eyes,  by  representations  (rather  misrepresenta- 
tions) of  the  pencil,  that  it  becomes  necessary  to 
guard  against  false  ideas  received  through  this  me- 
dium ;  to  dismiss  the  cloud  attending  the  angel — 
the  flowers — the  brilliancy — and  all  such  artful  and 
artificial,  but  unwarrantal)le,  accessories;  and  to 
reduce  the  story  to  the  simple  narrative  of  Luke. 
From  this  it  appears,  that  Maiy  was  in  a  house — 
probably  in  private  ;  (but  this  is  not  said,  nor  in  what 
part  of  her  house  ;)  for  the  angel  entered  and  ad- 
vanced towards  her.  Nor  did  he  apjiear  in  splen- 
dor, or  in  any  extremely  disturbing  manner,  so 
as  to  astonish  Mary,  but  gave  her  time  to  con- 
sider, to  reason  with  herself,  respecting  hi.t  .fny- 
ing :  Gr.  "what  kind  of  salutation  (not  what  kind  of 
person)  this  could  be" — and  to  recover  from  her  first 
surprise,  at  such  a  compliment  paid  her.  He  then 
proceeded  to  deUver  his  message ;  and  she  inquires 
of  him — if,  indeed,  her  exclamation,  "How  can  that 
be  !"  be  not  rather  the'  language  of  surprise.  It  does 
not  appear  that  she  knew  liim  to  be  an  angel ;  for 
then  she  would  have  acquiesced  in  his  words  \n\h- 
out  hesitation  ;  but  after  he  had,  as  a  sign,  given  her 
information  jhat  her  cousin  Elisabeth  was  pregnant, 
he  departed.  He  did  not  vanish  ;  but  went  away 
from  her.  Mary  went  "in  baste" — directly — to  visit 
Ehsabeth,  (a  considerable  journey,)  from  whom  she 
could  acquire  information  to  guide  her  conduct  in 
this  matter. — Had  Elisabeth  not  been  pregnant,  then 
Mary  might  have  thought  the  appearance  delusive  ; 
but  finding  Elisabeth  really  pregnant,  she  could 
learn  from  her  what  kind  of  vision  had  appeared  to 
Zacharias  in  the  temple,  whereby  to  identify  the  per- 
son seen  by  herself  She  would  thus  receive  abun- 
dant evidence  in  confirmation  of  her  own  experience, 
and  of  her  confidence  in  the  divine  interposition. 

Thus  simph'  considered,  this  narrative  has  much 
resemblance  to  that  of  the  annunciation  of  the  birth 
of  Samson,  wherein  the  angel  was  repeatedly  ad- 
flressed  as  a  mere  man — a  prophet ;  and  was  not 
discovered,  till  after  his  message  liad  taken  its  effect. 
In  like  manner,  an  angel  announced  to  Sarah  the 
birth  of  Isaac  ;  Jaut  was  not  known,  at  the  time,  to  be 
an  angel ;  Sarah  hesitated,  because  of  her  great  age  ; 
and  tlie  Virgin  Mary  hesitated,  because  of  her  (early) 
youth.  Mary,  being  a  person  of  a  reflective  turn  of 
mind,  co\dd  not  but  ponder,  and  consider  very  atten- 
tively the  language  and  expression  used  in  both 
instances,  the  similarity  of  ajipcaranccs,  and  other 
circumstances. 

It  is  wortiiy  of  remark,  that  as  Mary  was  referred 
to  Elisabeth,  so  ElisaJ)eth  was  in  some  sense  referred 
to  Mary.  How,  if  tliis  were  not  the  case,  should 
Elisabeth  know  that  .Mary  was  the  mother  of  her 
Lord — and  what  things  were  told   Mary  from  tlie 


Lord— and  how  should  she  know  that   Mary  had 
believed  ? — See  liUke  i.  42. 

2.  There  is  another  annunciation,  which  ought  not 
to  be  overlooked  here — that  made  in  a  dream  to  Jo- 
seph, (Matt.  i.  20.)  probably  by  the  same  celestial 
messenger  that  appeared  to  Mary  and  Elisabeth,  and 
certainly  to  the  same  import  as  the  former  annunci- 
ation to  Mary.  Now,  as  Joseph  appears  to  have 
been  a  thoughtful,  well-informed,  and  considerate 
man,  not  a  young  man,  and,  above  all,  a  just  man, 
(i.  e.  very  strict,)  we  may  be  assured  that  a  man  of 
his  understanding,  his  experience  in  life,  his  reputa- 
tion, (perhaps  his  family  pride  as  descended  from 
David,)  and  his  moderate  situation  in  the  world, 
would  not  degrade  and  burden  himself  with  a  suppos- 
ititious issue,  imless  he  had  been  fully  convinced  that 
the  case  was  miraculous. — Thus  the  mediocrity  of 
Joscjjh's  situation,  in  respect  to  property,  becomes  a 
reason  of  considerable  weight — since  he  could  sc 
easily  have  relieved  himself  from  the  attendant  ex- 
penses of  a  rising  family,  at  his  time  of  fife,  by  fulfil- 
ling his  first  design  of  putting  Mary  away  privily ; 
wlncl),  in  fact,  unless  under  complete  conviction, 
was  his  duty. 

It  should  be  remarked,  that  the  angel,  in  speaking 
to  Mary,  uses  language  which  may  be  taken  in  refer- 
ence to  a  temporal  Messiah — (He  shall  reign,  &c.) 
but  to  Joseph,  he  seems  to  be  more  explicit,  and  to 
speak  of  a  spiritual  Messiah, — "  He  shall  save  his 
people  from  their  sins."  He  also  refers  Joseph  to  the 
prophecy  resj)ecting  Emmanuel ;  and  informs  him, 
that  this  event  was  the  completion  of  that  prophecy : 
"This  also  all  is  come  to  pass,  that  it  might  he 
fulfilled."  Of  com-se  both  Joseph  and  Mary  Avell 
knew  the  prophetic  writings :  Mary,  as  appears  from 
the  allusions  to  them  in  her  song;  and  Joseph,  to 
whom,  otherwise,  the  appeal  to  Isaiah's  prophecy 
had  been  useless.     See  Joseph,  Mart,  &c. 

3.  As  the  annunciation  of  the  birth  of  John  the 
Baptist  appears  very  much  to  illustrate  and  to  con- 
firm that  respecting  Jesus,  it  demands  the  consider- 
ation of  some  of  its  circumstances: — 

(1.)  The  age  of  Zacharias  (probably  above  fifVy) 
rendered  it  milikely  that  he  should  be  imposed  upon  ; 
and  equally  unlikely  that  he  should,  through  warmth 
of  imagination,  impose  on  himself.  (2.)  Elisabeth  ap- 
parently was  near  the  same  age  as  her  husband,  which, 
for  a  woman  in  the  East,  is  a  much  more  advanced 
period  of  life  than  among  us.  Considering  the  early 
age  at  which  the  Jews  married,  this  couple  had  prob- 
ably lived  together,  ban-en,  thirty  or  more  years.  (3.) 
The  lot  determined  whose  duty  it  was  to  burn  in- 
cense. Zacharias,  then,  coidd  little  have  expected 
this  visit — at  this  time : — nothing  could  be  more 
contingent,  in  respect  to  him.  (4.)  Being  in  the 
sanctuary,  he  there  saw  a  person  standing  on  the 
right  side  of  the  altar  of  incense — that  being  the 
most  convenient  situation  to  permit  Zacharias  to 
fulfil  his  office  ;  and  (as  we  imderstand  it)  so  that  the 
altar  and  the  smoke  of  the  incense  was  between 
them.  (5.)  The  very  great  sanctity  of  this  place — 
no  person  was  ever  admitted  here,  but  the  priests 
who  had  duty  in  it ;  no  ordinary  Jew  ever  approached 
it ;  not  even  a  priest  had  duty  in  it  at  this  moment  of 
solemn  worship,  except  he  wlio  was  engaged  in  that 
worship  ;  and  Zacharias  not  only  must  have  person- 
ally known  any  intrusive  priest,  but  it  was  his  duty 
to  ])unish  his  intrusion.  The  appearance  of  the  an- 
gel, though  we  suppose  it  to  be  oomjdetely  human,  j'et 
was  certainly  diflerent  from  that  of  a  priest,  in  dress, 
manners,  &c.     (6.)  The  angel's  discourse  to  Zaehn- 


ANO 


[  67  ] 


ANOINTING 


rias.  (7.)  The  unbelief  of  Zachai-ias:  he  urges  not 
only  his  own  age — implying  the  extinction  of  corporal 
vigor  in  himself;  but  the  same  impediment  with 
respect  to  his  wife.  (8.)  The  angel's  answer :  "  I  am 
Gabriel,  who  stand  before  God."  (9.)  The  sign 
given  to  Zacharias,  "thou  slialt  be  dumb." — The 
effect  of  this  on  the  people ;  and  his  telling  them  by 
action,  and  dumb  show,  that  he  had  seen  a  vision. 
It  should  seem  that  he  was  deaf  also,  for  he  received 
information  by  signs,  ver.  62.  (10.)  lie  remained  in 
this  state  at  the  temple  some  days,  till  "  the  days  of 
his  ministration  were  accomplished ;"  so  tliat  all  the 
priests  in  waiting  might  be  informed  of  these  circum- 
stances: for  though  he  could  not  speak,  he  could 
write  the  story.  (11.)  The  conception  of  Elisabeth, 
which  is,  indeed,  the  main  incident  in  this  narrative. 
For  suppose  all  the  former  to  be  A'oid  of  truth — 
suppose  that  a  man  of  Zacharias's  character  and  time 
of  Ufe,  to  make  himself  famous,  (or  rather  infamous,) 
had  forged  all  the  former  parts  of  the  story — that  his 
dumbness  was  obstiuate,  and  wilful,  yet  what  effect 
could  all  this  have  had  to  recall  the  departed  vigor 
of  his  person  ?  That  is  not  all : — What  effect  could 
his  relation  of  these  things  to  Elisabeth,  by  ivriting, 
as  must  be  supposed,  have  had  on  a  woman  of  her 
time  of  hfe  ?  If  imagination  had  for  a  while  invig- 
orated Zacharias,  could  it  have  had  the  effect  of 
overcoming  even  nature  itself,  in  the  person  of  EUsa- 
beth  ?  A  woman  at  fifly,  or  more,  (equal  to  a  woman 
in  England  ten  years  older,  at  least,)  and  long  barren, 
was  surely  past  both  fears  and  hopes  of  child-bear- 
ing: let  this  be  duly  weighed.  (12.)  EUsabeth  liid 
herself  full  five  months.  This  deserves  notice  ;  be- 
cause her  condition  could  not  be  known,  much  less 
could  it  be  blazoned  abroad.  Now,  in  the  sixth 
month,  (i.  e.  while  Elisabeth's  pregnancy  was  j)ri- 
vate,)  Gabriel  visits  Mary  at  Nazareth,  and  tells  her 
the  secret  respecting  Elisabetli,  as  a  sign  that  he  was 
no  impostor.  Mary  believed  him ;  but  Mary  also 
took  rational  metliods  to  justify  that  belief:  she  went 
directly  to  visit  Elisabetli. — On  mquiry  and  inspec- 
tion, she  found  what  Gabriel  had  told  her  to  be  true ; 
and  from  the  accounts  of  Zacharias  and  Elisabeth, 
she  acquired  information  which  guided  her  conduct. 

Now,  if  it  be  made  a  question,  whether  Zacharias 
could  not  be  deceived,  either  by  others,  or  by  himself, 
it  is  best  answered,  by  asking — When  did  self-decep- 
tion produce  such  effects  ?  He  could  certainly  judge 
of  his  own  incapacity  (real  incapacity)  to  speak :  but, 
supposing  it  assumed,  or  fancied — what  influence 
could  this  have  had  in  forwarding  the  birth  of  John  ? 
The  general  inference  is  clear: — if  the  birth  of  John, 
the  forerunner  of  Jesus,  was  miraculous,  its  whole 
weight  is  in  favor  of  the  miraculous  conception, 
and  the  annunciation,  of  Jesus.  See  John  Bap- 
tist, &c. 

ANOINTING  was  a  ceremony  in  frequent  use 
among  the  Hebi-ews.  They  anointed  and  perfumed, 
from  principles  of  health  and  cleanness,  as  well  as 
religion.  They  anointed  the  hair,  head,  and  beard. 
Psalm  cxxxiii.  2.  x\t  their  feasts  and  rejoicings  they 
anointed  the  whole  body ;  but  sometimes  only  the 
head  or  the  feet,  John  xii.  3;  Luke  vii.  37;  Matt.  vi. 
17.  The  anointing  of  dead  bodies  was  also  practised, 
to  preserve  them  from  coiTuption,  Mark  xiv.  8 ;  xvi. 
1 ;  Luke  xxiii.  56.  They  anointed  kings  and  liigh- 
priests  at  their  inauguration,  (Exod.  xxix.  7,  29 ;  Lev. 
iv.  3 ;  Judg.  ix.  8 ;  1  Sam.  ix.  16 ;  1  Kings  xix.  15, 16.) 
as  also  the  sacred  vessels  of  the  taliernaclc  and  tem- 
ple, Exod.  XXX.  26,  &c. 

Anointing,  in  general,  was  emblematical  of  ii  par- 


ticular sanctification  ;  a  designation  to  the  service  of 
God,  to  a  holy  and  sacred  use.  God  prescribed  to 
Moses  the  manner  of  making  the  oil,  or  the  perfumed 
ointment,  with  which  the  priests  and  the  vessels  of 
the  tabernacle  were  to  be  anointed,  Ex.  xxx.  30,  seq. 
It  was  composed  of  the  most  exquisite  perfumes  and 
balsams,  and  was  prohibited  for  all  other  uses.  Eze- 
kiel  upbraids  his  people  with  haviug  made  a  like 
perfume  for  their  own  use,  chai).  xxiii.  41. 

The  anointing  of  sacred  persons  and  sacred  orna- 
ments, and  utensils  of  the  temple,  tabernacle,  ahars, 
and  basins,  removed  them  from  ordinary  and  com- 
mon use  ;  separated  them  to  an  appropriate  dignity, 
and  rendered  them  holy,  sacred,  and  reverend.  The 
anointing  received  by  Aaron  and  his  sons,  devolved 
on  his  whole  race,  whicli  thereby  became  devoted 
to  the  service  of  the  Lord,  and  consecrated  to  his 
worship.  Lev.  viii ;  Exod.  xxix.  7  ;  Psalm  cxxxii.  2. 
The  rabbins  think  the  holy  oil  was  poured  on  the 
head  of  Aaron  in  the  form  of  an  X ;  according  to 
others,  in  tlie  form  of  a  caph — o.  Many  are  of  opin- 
ion, that  of  the  ordinary  priests  the  hands  only  were 
anointed.  The  Levites  did  not  receive  any  unction. 
The  ceremonies  of  anointing  were  continued  for 
seven  days ;  and  the  rabbins  inform  us,  that  while 
the  ointment  or  perfume,  that  was  composed  by  Mo- 
ses, lasted,  they  thus  anointed  all  the  high-priests  that 
succeeded,  for  seven  days.  But  when  this  perfume 
was  exhausted,  they  contented  themselves  with  in- 
stalling the  high-priest  for  seven  days,  in  his  sacred 
habit.  The  former,  therefore,  were  called  high- 
priests  anointed,  (Lev.  iv.  3 ;  v.  16.)  the  latter  were 
said  to  be  initiated  in  their  habits.  They  say,  also, 
that  there  was  never  made  any  new  oil,  after  that  of 
Moses  was  spent,  whicli  they  think  lasted  to  the  cap- 
tivity of  Babylon.  But  the  Christian  fathers  beheve, 
that  the  unction  of  the  high-priests  continued  to  the 
coming  of  the  true  anointed,  the  Messiah,  Jesus 
Christ.  Besides,  Moses  nowhere  forbids  to  renew, 
or  compose  again,  tliis  ointment.  It  even  appears 
that  he  intended  it  sliould  be  repeated  as  oc- 
casion required,  by  setting  down  its  composition  so 
punctually. 

The  anointing  of  kings  is  not  commanded  by  Mo- 
ses ;  but  Ave  find  it  practised  in  sacred  history.  Sam- 
uel anointed  Saul,  (1  Sam.  x.  1.)  which  was  renewed 
some  time  after  at  Gilgal,  (1  Sam.  xi.  15.)  when  Saul 
had  delivered  Jabesh-Gilead  from  the  violence  of 
Nahash,  king  of  the  Ammonites.  Samuel  also  re-, 
ceived  orders  from  the  Lord  to  anoint  young  David, 
which  he  did  ;  (1  Sam.  xvi.  13.)  but  as  his  title  to  the 
crown  was  much  disputed  by  the  house  of  Saul,  the 
unction  was  given  him  three  times,  reckoning  this 
the  first.  He  was  afterwards  consecrated  at  Hebron, 
by  the  tribe  of  Judah,  after  the  death  of  Saul,  (2  Sam. 
ii.  4.)  and  lastly,  at  Hebron,  by  all  Israel,  after  the 
death  of  Abner,  2  Sam.  v.  When  Absalom  rebelled 
against  Ins  father,  he  caused  himself  to  be  anointed 
with  the  holy  oil ;  and  Solomon  also  was  anointed  by 
the  high-priest  Zadok,  and  the  prophet  Nathan,  2 
Sam.  xix.  10  ;  1  Kings  i.  39. 

But  we  do  not  find  that  the  kings  of  Israel  gener- 
ally practised  this  ceremony.  The  prophet  Elijah 
received  an  order  from  the  Lord  to  anoint  Hazael, 
importing  his  ruling  over  Syria ;  and  also  Jehu,  son 
of  Nimshi,  for  his  reigning  over  Israel,  1  Kings  xix 
15,  16.  Elijah  did  not  execute  this  commission  him- 
self; but  his  disciple  Elisha  performed  it  on  the 
person  of  Jehu,  who  is  the  only  king  of  Israel 
whose  anointing  is  expressly  mentioned  in  Scrip- 
ture.    Among  the  kings  of  Judah,  however,  we  find 


ANOINTING 


[68] 


ANT 


niauy  iustauces,  even  do^ii  to  the  fall  of  the  loBgdom ; 
especially  when  any  difficulty  occurred  about  the 
succession  to  the  crowxi ;  as  under  Joash  and  Jeho- 
ahaz,  sons  of  Josiah,  2  Kings  xi.  12.  After  the  re- 
turn from  the  captivity,  anointing  vvas  no  longer 
practised  on  the  kings ;  nor  even  on  tlie  priests,  if 
the  Jews  may  be  believed.  Lastly,  it  is  said  or  im- 
plied in  Scripture,  that  the  prophets  w  ere  anointed  ; 
but  we  have  no  particulars  of  the  manner.  It  is 
even  doubted,  whether  they  did  receive  any  real 
unction.  Elijah  is  sent  to  anoint  Ehsha,  (1  Kings 
.\ix.  19.)  but  as  to  the  execution  of  this  connnaud, 
Ehjah  did  nothing  to  Elisha  but  throw  liis  cloak 
over  his  shoulders.  It  is  tliercfore  \ery  probable 
that  the  word  anointing,  in  this  place,  only  imports  a 
pai'ticular  appointment,  designation,  or  call,  to  the 
office  of  prophet. 

The  unction  of  Christ  the  Mcssiali,  thk  anointed 
of  the  Lord,  was  represented  by  all  these  now  men- 
tioned. It  was  foretold  in  Psalm  xlv.  7.  "Thou 
lovest  righteousness,  and  hatest  iniquity ;  therefore 
God,  thy  God,  hath  anointed  thee  a\  ith  the  oil  of 
gladness,  above  thy  fellows."  And  in  Isaiah  Ixi.  1. 
"The  Spu'it  of  the  Lord  God  is  upon  me,  because 
the  Lord  hath  anointed  me,"  &c.  And  Dan.  ix.  24. 
"Seventy  weeks  are  determined  u])on  thy  people, 
and  upon  thy  holy  city  ....  to  seal  up  the  vision  and 
prophecy,  and  to  anoint  the  Most  Holy."  In  the 
Christian  dispensation  we  acknowledge  the  spiritual 
unction  of  Jesus  Christ,  the  true  anointed  of  the 
Father,  (Luke  vi.  18  ;  Acts  iv.  27 ;  x.  38.)  who  hath 
anointed  us  by  his  grace,  sealed  us  with  his  seal, 
and  given  us  the  pledge  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  which 
dwells  in  our  hearts,  2  Cor.  i.  21.  Our  Lord  was 
anointed  personally  ;  at  least,  some  parts  of  his  per- 
son ;  (see  Messiau  ;)  but  especially  at  his  baptism, 
when  the  Shekinah  settled  on  him.  Some  ancient 
sects  thought,  that  at  this  time  the  Christ,  i.  c.  the 
anointing,  was  peculiarly  communicated  to  him. 
Was  not  the  spitting  in  his  fare  l)y  the  soldiers  a 
mock  unction  ;  as  the  crown  of  thorns,  and  the  pur- 
I)le  robe,  were  mock  ensigns  of  royalty  ? 

Mark  (vi.  13.)  informs  us,  tiiat  when  the  apostles 
were  sent  by  Christ,  to  preach  throughout  Judea, 
they  worked  many  miracles,  aiiointed  the  sick,  and 
healed  them  in  the  name  of  ilie  Lord.  James  gives 
directions  tliat  the  sick  among  the  faitiiful  should 
send  for  the  priests  of  the  churcli,  who  should  pray 
foj-  them,  and  anoint  them  with  oil  in  the  name  of  the 
Ccird.  He  says,  tliat  jjrayer,  accoiiipanied  with  faith, 
sliall  heal  the  sick ;  tiiat  the  Lord  a\  ill  comfort  him, 
and  if  he  have  sinned,  it  shall  be  remitted  to  him. 
On  this  it  is  that  the  church  of  Rome  founds  her 
extreme  unction,  acknowledges  it  as  an  institution  of 
Jesus  Christ,  and  receives  it  as  one  of  Jier  seven  sac- 
raments, to  wliich  the  sanctifying  grace  is  pronnsed  ; 
forgetting  tliat  the  apostle  directs  this  anointing  for 
the  purpose  of  restorinir  the  sick  to  health;  i.  e.  for 
life  ;  whereas  the  cliurcli  of  Rome  emjjioys  it  for 
the  purpose  of  dismL<i3ing  tlu  expiring  soul :  i.  e.  for 
death. 

The  custom  of  anointing  is  common  in  the  East, 
where  it  is  used  civilly,  as  a  |)art  of  personal  elegance 
and  dress;  medically,  as  Iieing  beneficial  in  certaui 
disorders,  and  even,  as  some  say,  preventing  the 
plague.  It  is  also  used  officially,  as  ap])ears  in  the 
former  parts  of  this  article. 

[The  custom  of  ajiointing  with  oil  or  p<u-fumi;  was 
also  common  among  the  (ireeks  and  Romans;  espe- 
cially the  anointing  of  guests  at  feasts  and  otlior 
entertahiments.     Sec  Potter's  Grec.  Ant.  ii.  p.  385. 


Adam's  Rom.  Ant.  p.  444.  Hor.  Od.  ii.  7.  ii,  11. 
iii.  29.  Joseph.  Ant.  xix.  4.  1.  and  9.  1.  Iliad 
xiv.  171. 

The  same  custom  is  still  prevalent  in  the  East. 
Tavernier  says  that  "among  the  Arabs  oUa'c  oil  is 
regarded  as  a  very  agreeable  i)resent.  When  any 
one  oft'ers  it  to  them,  they  innnediately  take  off  their 
tm'ban  and  anoint  their  head,  face,  and  beard,  raising 
their  eyes  at  the  same  time  to  heaven  and  exclaiming  : 
'  Thanks  be  to  God.'  "  Rosenm.  A.  u.  N.  Morgenlaud, 
iv.  J).  117. — Sometimes  rosewater  and  perfumes 
are  substituted  instead  of  the" ancient  custom.  Nie- 
buhr  relates  the  following :  (Descript.  of  Arabia, 
Copeuh.  1772.  p.  59.)  "When  the  visitor  rises  to 
go  away,  a  sign  is  made  to  the  servants  to  bring 
rosewater  and  the  chafing-dish  of  perfumes.  This 
ceremony,  however,  is  seen  only  on  extraordmaiy 
occasions  ;  or  when  a  hint  is  very  civilly  to  be  given, 
that  the  master  of  the  house  has  other  business ;  for 
so  soon  as  a  guest  has  been  sprinkled  with  rosewater, 
or  has  had  his  beard  and  wide  sleeves  fumigated 
with  the  perfinne,  he  nuist  not  stay  any  longer.  We 
were  received  for  the  first  time  with  all  the  oriental 
ceremonies  at  Rosetta,  at  the  house  of  a  Greek  mer- 
chant. One  of  our  company  was  not  a  little  startled, 
as  a  servant  placed  himself  directly  before  him,  and 
began  to  throw  rosewater  into  his  face  and  upon  his 
clothes.  Foi-tunately  there  vvas  an  European  with 
us,  who  better  understood  the  customs  of  these 
countries,  and  explained  to  us  in  few  words  how  the 
thing  was ;  othei'wise  we  should  have  been  the 
laughing-stock  of  all  tlie  orientals  present."     *R. 

ANSWER.  In  addition  to  the  usage  of  the 
phrase,  to  ansiver,  in  the  sense  of  a  reply,  it  has  the 
following  significations : — (1.)  To  sing  in  two  cho- 
ruses, or  responses,  Exod.  xv.  21 ;  Numb.  xxi.  17 ;  1 
Sam.  xxix.  5. — (2.)  It  is  also  taken  in  the  sense  of  an 
accusation  or  defence.  Gen.  xxx.  33 ;  Dent.  xxxi.  21 ; 
Hos.  V.  5.  [But  the  chief  peculiarity  lies  in  the  cir- 
cumstance, that  the  word  to  ajisiver  is  frequently 
employed  in  the  beginning  of  a  discourse,  when  it 
does  not  indicate  a  response,  but  simply  the  commence- 
ment of  speaking.  The  Heb.  njj",  and  Gr.  u:ioy.n[yo- 
inci,  are  used  in  the  same  manner,  and  are  chiefly 
translated  in  the  English  version  by  to  answer,  e.  g. 
ZecJi.  iii.  4  ;  iv.  11,  12  ;  Matt.  xi.  25  ;  xii.  38  ;  xvii.  4  ; 
Mark  ix.  5;  Luke  vii.  40,  etc.  In  other  instances, 
they  are  translated  more  according  to  the  jjroper 
sense ;  e.  g.  .lob  iii.  2.  Heb.  "  Then  answered  Job 
and  said  ;"  Eng.  "And  Job  spake  and  said."  Cant. 
ii.  10.     R. 

ANT,  the  devourcr,  a  little  insect,  famous  for  its 
social  habits,  economy,  unwearied  industry,  and 
prudent  foresight.  Proverlis  vi.  (i — 8.  is  a  passage 
for  a  long  discourse :  "  Go  to  the  ant,  thou  sluggard, 
consider  her  ways,  Jind  be  wise.  Which  having  no 
guide,  overseer,  or  ruler,  jjrovideth  her  meat  in  the 
summer,  and  gathereth  her  food  in  the  liai-vest ;"  but 
a  long  discourse  would  be  misplaced  here.  The 
same  character  of  foresight  is  given  to  the  ant,  (aj)par- 
ently  by  a  dilferent  writer  from  Solomon,)  in  chap. 
xxx.  25:  "Tlie  ants  ari^  a  people  not  strong,  yet 
they  jirepare  their  meat  in  the  sinnmer."  From 
these  testimonies,  ajid  from  many  othei*s  among  the 
ancients,  we  conclude,  that  in  warmer  climates,  tlie 
ants  do  not  sleep  during  winter ;  but  continue  more 
or  less  in  activity,  and  during  this  season  enjo}'  the 
advantages  arising  from  their  summer  stores;  which 
does  not  invalidate  tlie  retnark  of  our  naturalists, 
that  in  tliis  colder  (;limate  ants  ju-e  torpid  during 
winter.     In  our  hot-houses — we  speak  from  observa- 


ANT 


[  69 


ANT 


tion — ants  are  not  torpid.  We  niay  appeal  (as 
Scheuchzer  does)  to  Aristotle,  Pliny,  Plutarch,  Vir- 
gil, and  Jerome;  (Life  of  Malchus;)  but  we  only 
quote  Horace,  who  says, 

Parv'ulfi  nam  exemplo  est  magui  formica  laboris : 
Ore  traliit  quodcunque  ])otest,  atque  addit  acervo 
Quem  struit,  hand  igiiara,  ac  uou  iucauta  futuri. 

Sat.  1. 

"  The  ant,  small  as  she  is,  sets  us  an  example  ;  she 
is  very  laborious,  she  can'ies  in  her  httle  mouth 
whatever  she  can,  and  adds  it  to  her  constructed 
store  heap,  providing  against  a  future  period,  with 
gi-eat  precaution." 

"Aller  the  example  of  the  ant,  some  have  learned 
to  provide  agciinst  cold  and  hunger ;"  says  Juvenal, 
Sat.  6.  These  testimonies  may  convince  us  that 
the  ant  in  warmer  chmates  provides  against  a  day 
of  want.  As  this  uisect  is  such  a  favorite  with 
both  naturalists  and  moralists,  we  shall  quote  Bar- 
but's  account  of  it,  in  his  work  on  British  insects, 
p.  277. 

"  The  oiUward  shape  of  this  insect  is  singular  and 
curious,  when  seen  through  the  microscope.  With 
good  reason  it  is  quoted  as  a  pattern  of  industry.  A 
nest  of  ants  is  a  small,  well  regulated  republic  ;  their 
peace,  union,  good  imderstandiug,  and  mutual  assist- 
ance, deserve  the  notice  of  an  observei*.  The  males 
and  females,  pro\'ided  witli  wings,  -enjoy  all  the 
pleasures  of  a  wandering  life  ;  while  the  species  of 
neutei-s,  without  wings  or  sex,  labor  unremittingly. 
Follow  with  your  eye  a  colony  that  begins  to  settle, 
which  is  always  in  a  stiff  soil,  at  tlie  foot  of  a  wall  or 
tree,  exposed  to  the  sun  ;  you  will  perceive  one,  and 
sometimes  several  cavities,  in  the  form  of  an  arched 
vault,  which  lead  into  a  cave  contrived  by  their 
removing  the  mould  Avitli  tlieir  jaws.  Great  policy 
m  their  little  labors  prevents  disorder  and  confusion  ; 
each  has  its  task ;  whilst  one  casts  out  the  particle 
of  mould  that  it  has  loosened,  another  is  returning 
home  to  work.  All  of  them  employed  in  forming 
themselves  a  retreat  of  the  depth  of  one  foot,  or  more, 
they  think  not  of  eating,  till  they  have  nothing  fur- 
ther left  to  do.  Within  this  hollow  den,  supported 
by  the  roots  of  trees  and  jilauts,  the  ants  come  to- 
gether, hve  m  society,  shelter  themselves  from  sum- 
mer storms,  from  winter  frosts,  and  take  care  of  the 
eggs  which  they  have  in  their  trust.  The  wood-ants 
are  larger  than  the  garden  ones,  and  also  more  for- 
midable. Armed  with  a  small  sting,  concealed  in 
the  hinder  part  of  their  al)domen,  they  woiuid  who- 
ever offends  them.  Their  puncture  occasions  a  hot, 
painful  itching.  They  are  carnivorous ;  for  they 
dissect,  with  the  utmost  neatness  and  delicacy,  frogs, 
lizards,  and  birds,  that  are  delivered  over  to  them. 
The  preservation  of  the  species  is  in  all  animated 
beings  the  most  important  care.  Behold,  with  what 
concern  and  caution  the  ants  at  the  beginning  of  the 
spring  load  themselves  between  their  two  jaws  with 
the  new-hatched  larvae,  iii  order  to  expose  them  to 
the  early  rays  of  the  beneficent  sun  !  The  milder 
weather  being  come,  the  ants  now  take  the  field. 
Fresh  cares,  new  labors,  great  bustling,  and  laying 
up  of  provisions.  Corn,  fruits,  dead  insects,  carrion, 
all  is  la>vful  prize.  An  ant  meeting  another,  accosts 
it  with  a  salute  worthy  of  notice.  The  ant  overloaded 
with  booty,  is  helped  by  her  fellow-ant.  One  chances 
to  make  a  discovery  of  a  valuable  cajjture,  she  giv  es 
information  of  it  to  another,  and  in  a  short  time  a 
legion  of  ants  come  and  take  possessi()n  of  the  new 


conquests.  No  general  engagement  with  the  inhab' 
itants  of  the  neighboring  nest,  only  sometimes  a  few 
private  skirmishes,  soon  determined  by  the  conqueror. 
All  those  stoz-es,  collected  with  so  much  eagerness 
during  the  day,  are  innnediately  consumed.  The 
subterraneous  receptacle  is  the  hall,  where  the  feast 
is  kept ;  every  one  repairs  thither  to  take  his  re- 
past ;  all  is  in  common  throughout  the  little  repub- 
lic, and  at  its  expense  are  the  larvse  fed.  Too  weak 
and  helpless  to  go  a  foraging,  it  is  chiefly  in  their 
behalf  the  rest  go  to  and  fro,  bring  home,  and  lay 
lip.  They  shortly  tuin  to  chrysalids,  in  which  state 
they  take  no  food,  but  give  occasion  to  new  cares 
and  sohcitudes.  All  hmnan  precautions  have  not 
hitherto  been  able  to  siqiply  that  degree  of  weu-mth 
and  minute  attention,  which  the  ants  put  in  practice 
to  forward  the  instant  of  their  last  metamorphosis. 
The  insect  issuing  forth  to  a  new  life,  tears  its  white 
transparent  veil ;  it  is  then  a  real  ant,  destitute  of 
wings,  if  it  has  no  sex ;  winged,  if  it  be  male  or 
female,  always  to  be  known  by  a  small  erect  scale 
placed  on  the  thread,  which  connects  the  body  and 
thorax.  The  males,  who  are  much  smaller,  seldom 
frequent  the  common  habitation ;  but  the  females, 
much  larger,  repau-  to  it  to  deposit  their  eggs,  which 
is  all  the  labor  they  undergo.  The  winter's  cold 
destroys  them.  The  fate  which  attends  the  males  is 
not  well  ascertained ;  do  they  fall  victims  to  the  se- 
verity of  winter  ?  or  are  they  made  over  to  the  rage 
of  the  neigliboring  ants  ?  These  latter  pass  the  win- 
ter in  a  toi-pid  state,  as  some  other  insects  do,  till 
spring  restores  them  to  their  wonted  activity :  they 
have,  therefore,  no  stores  for  winter,  no  consumption 
of  pro^^sions.  W^hat  are  commonly  sold  in  markets 
for  ants'  eggs,  are  grubs  newly  hatched,  of  Avhich 
pheasants,  nightingales,  and  partridges,  are  veiy 
fond.  In  Switzerland,  they  are  made  subservient  to 
the  destruction  of  caterpillars ;  which  is  done  by 
hanging  a  pouch  filled  with  ants  upon  a  tree ;  and 
they,  making  their  escape  through  an  aperture  con- 
trived on  purpose,  run  over  the  tree,  without  being 
able  to  reach  down  to  the  gi'ound,  because  care  has 
been  previously  taken  to  besmear  the  foot  of  the  tree 
with  wet  clay  or  soft  pitch  ;  in  consequence  of  which, 
compelled  by  himger,  they  fall  upon  the  caterpillars 
and  devour  them." 

Forskal,  speaking  of  the  red  ant,  says,  "  It  is  less 
tlian  the  former,  inhabits  wood,  and  is  in  reputation 
among  the  husbandmen  for  the  useful  hatred  with 
which  it  pursues  the  dharr,  which  gi'eatly  infests  the 
date  trees." 

ANTARADA,  a  city  of  Syria,  or  Phenicia,  on 
the  continent,  opposite  to,  and  east  of,  the  island 
Arada,  and  of^  the  city  Arada,  in  that  island.  Scrip- 
ture does  not  speak  expressly  of  the  city  Antarada; 
but  in  several  places,  it  mentions  Arada,  or  Arva,  or 
the  Arvadites,  who  are  reckoned  among  the  Canaan- 
itcs,  whose  country  God  gave  to  the  Hebrews,  Gen. 
X.  18 ;  1  Chron.  i.  16.  Antarada  is  at  present  called 
Tortosa,  and  is  still  considerable,  chiefly  on  account 
of  its  fine  harbor.     See  Aradus. 

ANTELOPE.  This  animal  is  not  mentioned  in 
the  English  Bible,  but  there  is  little  doubt  among  the 
best  interpreters  that  the  13s  tzebi,  which  our  trans- 
lators have  taken  for  the  roe,  is  really  the  gazelle  or 
antelope.  The  roe  is  extremely  rare  in  Palestine 
and  the  adjoining  countries,  but  the  antelope  is  very 
common  in  every  part  of  the  Levant ;  and  when  it 
is  recollected  that  the  >2-i  was  allowed  to  the  Hebrews 
as  an  article  of  food,  and  it  is  found  that  the  antelope 
answers  in  character  to  it,  we  shall  have  little  diffi- 


ANTELOPE 


70 


ANT 


cuhy  ill  acquiescing  in  tliis  interpretation.  The 
name  >3X,  from  the  verb  nax,  to  shine,  be  splendid,  is 
very  cliaracteristic  of  the  beauty  and  elegance  of  the 
gazelle,  to  which  the  ancients  were  accustomed  to 
compare  every  thing  which  was  beautiful  and  lovely, 
as  Cant.  ii.  9 ;  iv.  5 ;  vii.  4.  &c.  The  gazelle  or  ante- 
lope is  of  a  gregarious  character,  and  is  said  to  live 
together  in  large  troops,  to  the  number  of  two  or 
three  thousand  ;  (Russell's  Nat.  Hist,  of  Aleppo,  vol. 
ii.  p.  153.)  whereas  the  roe  is  an  animal  of  a  very 
difterent  disposition,  living  in  separate  faniihes,  and 
seldom  associating  with  strangers.  The  LXX  uni- 
formly ti"anslate  the  Hebrew  name  of  this  animal  by 
SoQxag^  dorcas,  as  it  primarily  signifies  beauty,  and  is 
so  translated  in  several  places.  In  corroboration  of 
the  vaUdity  of  this  interpretation.  Dr.  Shaw  observes, 
that  the  characteristics  which  are  attributed  to  the 
SoQxug,  both  in  sacred  and  profane  history,  will  well 
agree  with  the  antelope.  Thus,  j\j-istotle  describes  it 
to  be  the  smallest  of  the  honied  animals,  as  the  ante- 
lope certainly  is.  The  dorcas  is  described  to  have  fine 
eyes,  and  those  of  the  antelope  are  so  to  a  proverb. 
The  damsel  whose  name  was  Tabitha,  which  is  by 
interpretation  Dorcas,  (Acts  ix.  3(3.)  might  be  so  called 
from  this  circumstance.  David's  Gadites,  (1  Chron. 
xii.  8.)  together  with  Asahel,  (2  Sam.  ii.  18.)  are  said 
to  be  as  swift  of  foot  as  the  tzebi ;  and  few  creatures 
exceed  the  antelope  in  swiftness.  The  antelope  is 
also  in  great  esteem  among  the  eastern  nations  as  an 
article  of  Ibod,  having  a  very  musky  taste,  which  is 
highly  agreeable  to  their  palates ;  and  therefore  the 
tzebi,  or  antelope,  might  well  be  received  as  one  of 
the  dainties  at  Solomon's  table,  1  Kings,  iv.  23. 
From  Dr.  Russell,  we  learn  that  the  people  of  Syria 
distinguish  between  the  antelope  of  the  mountain  and 
that  of  the  plain.  The  former  is  the  most  beautifully 
formed,  and  it  bounds  with  surjirising  agility ;  the 
latter  is  neither  so  handsome,  so  strong,  nor  so  active. 
Both,  however,  are  so  fleet,  that  the  gieyhounds, 
though  reckoned  excellent,  cannot,  without  aid  of 
the  falcon,  come  u])  with  them,  excejn  in  soft,  deep 
ground.  It  is  to  the  former  species  of  this  animal, 
no  doubt,  that  the  sacred  writers  allude,  when  they 
speak  of  its  flectness  upon  the  mountain,  1  Chron. 
xii.  8;  Cant.  ii.  8,  0,  17;  viii.  14. 

[The  gazelle  or  anteIo|)e  of  the  Bible,  is  the  Jlnti- 
lopa  cervicapra  or  dorcas  of  Linna?us,  the  common 
antelope.  It  is  about  2.^  feet  in  heigiit,  of  a  reddish 
brown  color,  with  the  belly  and  feet  white,  has  long 
naked  ears,  and  a  short,  erect  tail.  The  horns  are 
black,  about  12  inches  long,  and  bent  like  a  lyre.  It 
inhabits  Barbary,  I^-gypt,  Arabia,  and  Syria,  and  is 
about  half  the  size  of  a  fallow  deer.  It  goes  in  large 
flocks,  is  easily  tamed,  though  naturally  very  timid ; 
and  its  flesh  is  reckoned  excellent  food. 

There  are  no  less  than  2!)  species  of  antelopes  in 
all.  This  animal  constitutes  a  genus  between  the 
deer  and  the  goat.  They  are  mostly  confined  to 
Asia  and  Africa,  inhai)iting  the  hottest  regions  of  the 
old  world,  or  the  temperate  zones  near  the  tropics. 
None  of  them,  except  the  chamois  and  the  saiga,  arc 
found  in  Europe.  In  America  only  one  species  has 
yet  been  found,  viz.  tin;  Missouri  antelope,  which  in- 
iial)its  the  country  west  of  the  lMississip])i.  Antelopes 
chiefly  inhabit  hilly  couiuriis,  though  some  reside  in 
the  plains;  and  some  species  form  herds  of  two  or 
three  thousand,  while  others  keeji  in  small  troops  of 
five  or  six.  These  animals  are  elegantly  formed, 
active,  restless,  timid,  shy,  and  astonishhigly  s^ift, 
running  Avith  vast  bounds,  and  springing  or  leaping 
with  surprising  elasticity;  they  frequently  stop  fin- a 


moment  in  the  midst  of  their  course  to  gaze  at  their 
pursuers,  and  then  resume  their  flight. 

The  chase  of  these  animals  is  a  favorite  diversion 
among  the  eastern  nations ;  and  the  accounts  that 
are  given  of  it,  supply  ample  proofs  of  the  swiftness 
of  the  antelope  tribe.  The  gi-eyhound,  the  fleetest 
of  dogs,  is  usually  outrun  by  them ;  and  the  sports- 
man is  obliged  to  have  recourse  to  the  aid  of  the 
falcon,  which  is  trained  to  the  work,  for  seizing  on 
the  animal  and  impeding  its  motion,  that  the  dogs 
may  thus  have  an  opportunity  of  overtaking  it.  In 
India  and  Persia  a  sort  of  leopard  is  made  use  of 
in  the  chase ;  and  this  animal  tal^es  its  prey  not  by 
swiftness  of  foot,  but  by  its  astonishing  springs,  which 
are  similar  to  those  of  the  antelope ;  and  yet  if  the 
leopard  should  fail  in  its  first  attempt,  the  game 
escapes. 

The  flectness  of  this  animal  has  been  proverbieJ 
in  the  countries  which  it  inhabits,  from  the  earliest 
time  ;  as  also  the  beauty  of  its  eyes.  So  that  to  say, 
"You  have  the  eyes  of  a  gazelle,"  is  used  as  the 
greatest  compliment  that  can  be  paid  to  a  fine 
woman.     *R. 

ANTHEDON,  a  city  of  Palestine,  lying  on  the 
]MediteiTanean,  about  twenty  furlongs  south  of  Ga- 
za. Herod  the  Great  called  it  Agrippias,  in  honor 
of  Agrippa.  See  Agrippias,  and  the  Map  of 
Canaan. 

ANTICHRIST,  the  name  of  that  Man  of  Sin  who 
is  expected  to  precede  the  second  coming  of  our 
Saviour ;  and  who  is  represented  in  Scripture,  and 
in  the  Fathers,  as  the  epitome  of  every  thing  impious, 
cruel,  and  abominable.  To  him  is  referred  Avhat 
the  prophets  have  said  of  Antiochus  Epiphanes,  of 
Gog  and  Magog,  of  the  son  of  perdition,  and  of  the 
man  of  sin,  mentioned  by  Paul,  which  many  have 
applied  historically  to  Nero.  For  it  may  be  said, 
that  Nebuchadnezzar,  Cambyses,  Antiochus  Epipha- 
nes, and  Nero,  were  so  many  antichrists,  or  fore- 
runners of  antichrist.  John  informs  us,  that  in  his 
time  there  were  many  antichrists  ;  meaning  heretics 
and  persecutors,  1  John  ii.  18.  But  antichrist,  the 
true,  real  antichrist,  who  is  to  come  before  the  uni- 
versal judgment,  will  in  himself  include  all  the  marks 
of  wickedness,  which  have  been  separately  extant  in 
diflferent  persons,  his  tjqjcs,  or  forerunners.  Paul 
(2  Thess.  ii.  3,  4.)  says,  "That  this  man  of  sin,  this 
son  of  perdition,  this  enemy  of  God,  shall  exalt  him- 
self above  all  that  is  called  God,  or  that  is  worship- 
f)ed ;  so  as  to  sit  in  the  temple  of  God,  showing 
himself  that  he  is  God."  This  terrible  picture  of 
antichrist  seemed  so  like  Nero,  that  many  of  the  an- 
cients thought  that  ]»rince  was  antichrist,  or  at  least 
his  forerunner,  and  that  antichrist  would  appear  very 
soon  after  him.  Others  thought,  that  Nero  would 
rise  again  before  the  consummation  of  ages,  to  ac- 
complish wliat  was  said  of  antichrist  in  the  Scrip- 
tures. John  (Rev.  xi.  7.)  describes  antichrist  imder 
the  name  of  the  "beast  that  ascendeth  out  of  the 
bottomless  pit,  and  killeth  the  two  witnesses ;  who 
maketh  war  with  the  saints ;  killeth  them,  and  leav- 
eth  their  dead  bodies  exposed  in  the  market-place  of 
the  great  city,  which  spiritually  is  called  Sodom  and 
Egypt,  where  also  our  Lord  was  crucified."  He 
afterward  (ch.  xiii.)  rejjresents  him  as  "  a  beast  rising 
up  out  of  the  sea,  with  ten  horns,  and  ten  crowns  on 
his  horns,  and  on  his  head  the  name  of  blasphemy. 
The  dragon  (or  the  devil)  gave  him  his  strength  and 
power.  The  beast  was  worshipped,  and  had  a 
mouth  given  him,  speaking  great  things,  and  blas- 
phemies, and  power  to  make  war  against  the  saints 


ANTICHRIST 


[71  ] 


ANTICHRIST 


for  two  and  forty  montlis :  the  beast  overcame,  and 
was  worshipped  for  two  and  fortj'  months."  In 
another  place  he  says,  "that  the  beast  should  oblige 
all,  both  small  and  gi'eat,  rich  and  jioor,  free  and 
bond,  to  receive  a  mark  in  their  right  hands,  or  in 
their  foreheads ;  so  that  no  one  might  buy  or  sell, 
save  he  that  had  the  mark,  or  the  name  of  the  beast, 
or  the  number  of  his  name.  Here  is  wisdom ;  let 
])im  that  hath  understanding  count  the  number  of  the 
beast ;  for  it  is  the  number  of  a  man  ;  and  his  numlx-r 
is  six  hundred  three  score  and  six."  Some  believe 
this  number  666,  to  be  that  of  the  letters  in  the  name 
of  antichrist,  according  to  their  numerical  valuation, — 
for  the  lettei-s  of  the  Hebrew,  Greek,  and  Latin  alpha- 
bets have  their  nimierical  values. 

It  has  greatly  perplexed  the  curious,  to  know 
whether  the  name  of  the  beast,  which  John  speaks 
of,  should  be  %vTitten  in  Hebrew,  Syriac,  Greek,  or 
Latin  ;  whether  this  name  be  that  of  his  person,  or  of 
his  dignitj',  or  that  which  his  followers  should  give 
him ;  or  that  which  he  will  deserve  by  his  crunes. 
There  are  many  conjectures  on  this  matter ;  and 
almost  all  commentators  have  tried  their  skill,  with- 
out being  able  to  say,  positively,  that  any  one  has 
succeeded,  in  ascertaining  the  true  mark  of  the  beast, 
or  the  number  of  his  name. 

The  number  666,  has  been  discovei'ed  in  the 
names — Ulpius  Trajanus  (a),  Dioclesian  (6),  Julian 
the  Apostate  (c),  Luther  (d),  Evanthas  (e),  Latinus 
(/),  Titan  {g),  Lampetis  (h),  Niketes  (i),  Kakos  Ho- 
degos  [k]  that  is,  bad  guide  ;  Amoumai  (/)  I  renounce ; 
Romiit  (?«)  Roman;  Abinu  Kadescha  Papa  [n)  our 
holy  father  the  pope;  and,  Ehon  Adonai  Jehovah 
Kadosch  (o)  the  Most  High,  the  Lord,  the  Holy  God. 

{a)  o       r     J    n     T     o    2 

70.  400.  30.  80.  10.  70.  6 666 

(t)  DiocLEs  Augustus dclxvi. 

(c)  C.  F.  JuLiANUs  Cesar,  atheus.      .     .     dclxvi. 

Or,  rather,  C.  F.  Jul.  Caes.  Aug.    .     .     dclxvi. 

(rf)     1       n       S      1     S 

200.  400.  30.  6.  30 666 

(e)  £     Y    A    N    0  A     S 

5.  400.  1.  50.  9.  ].  200 


(J)  J    A    T    E    I     N    o      S 
30.  1.  300.  5.  10.  50.  70.  200. 

{g)     T     E     T       TAN 

300.  5.  10.  300.  1.  50.     .     .    . 

(h)    A    A    M     n    E     T      I       2 
30.  1.  40.  80.  5.  300.  10.  200. 

(l)     ON      I      K    H      T     H     S 

70.  50.  10.  20.  8.  300.  8.  200. 


66Q 


666 


...  666 
.  .  .  666 
.    .    .    6m 

(k)    K  A   K     O      2       O    J    H  r    O      2 

20. 1.  20.  70.  200.  70.  4.  8.  3.  70.  200.   .     .    666 
{I)    A     r      N     O       Y     M    E 

1.  100.  50.  70.  400.  40.  5 666 

(m)    n      1       ^011 

400.  10.  10.  40.  6.  200 m6 

[n)    1      0     1     a     n  n    V     ii     pnij      laN 

10. 80. 10.  80. 1. 1. 300. 6.  4.  100.  5.  6.  50.  10.  2.  1. 
(o)B'Tpnin''      "I      i-\H]y>hy 
300. 4. 100. 5.  6.  5.  10.  10.  30.  4.  1.  50.  6. 10. 30.  70. 

This  last  name  could  have  been  invented  and  calcu- 
lated, only  to  show  the  vanity  of  all  the  pains  taken 
in  this  inquiry ;  since  the  number  666  is  found  in 
names  the  most  sacred,  the  most  opposite  to  anti- 
christ. The  wisest  and  the  safest  way  is,  to  be  silent. 
We  may  say  the  same  of  the  time  when  antichrist 
is  expected  to  appear.     We  know,  certainly,  that  he 


will  come  before  the  consummation  of  ages,  before 
the  second  commg  of  Jesus  Christ.  But  those  who 
have  attempted  to  determine  the  time  of  his  appear- 
ance, have  only  discovered  their  ignorance  and  rash- 
ness. Ever  since  Paul's  days,  impostors  have  ten-ified 
believers,  by  affirming,  that  the  day  of  the  Lord  was 
at  hand.  He  writes  to  the  Thessalonians,  (2  Epist. 
ii.  1,  2.)  "We  beseech  you,  brethren,  be  not  soon 
shaken  in  mind,  as  if  the  day  of  Christ  were  at  hand  ; 
for  that  day  shall  not  come,  except  there  come  a  fall- 
ing away  first,  and  that  man  of  sin  be  revealed,  the 
son  of  perdition."  John  says,  (1  Epist.  iv.  3.)  "  Eveiy 
spirit  that  confesseth  not  that  Christ  is  come  in  the 
flesh,  is  not  of  God ;  this  is  that  spirit  of  antichrist, 
whereof  you  have  heard  that  it  should  come,  and 
even  now  ah-eady  is  it  in  the  world."  The  heretics 
of  that  period  were  true  signs  of  antichrist ;  but  these 
cautions  show  the  expectations  of  the  Christians  of  that 
time.  The  same  opinions  and  dispositions  are  observa- 
ble in  the  generality  of  the  early  fathers.  The  churches 
of  Vienne,  and  Lyons,  in  Gaul,  seeing  the  violence 
of  the  persecution  under  Marcus  Aurelius,  beheved 
that  they  then  beheld  the  persecution  of  antichrist. 
An  old  ecclesiastical  author,  called  Judas,  who  lived 
under  Severus,  asserted,  that  antichrist  would  very 
soon  appear,  because  of  the  persecution  then  raging 
agauist  the  church.  Judas  Syrus,  Tertullian,  and 
Cyprian,  w ho  flomished  soon  after,  did  not  doubt  but 
that  the  coming  of  antichrist  was  very  near.  Hilary, 
observing  the  progress  of  Arianism,  believed  he  saw 
those  signs  which  were  the  forerunners  of  antichrist ; 
and  Basil,  Jerome,  Chrysostom,  and  Gregory  the 
Great,  were  of  opinion,  that  the  end  of  the  world 
was  at  hand,  and  the  coming  of  antichrist  not  distant. 
After  the  tenth  century,  which  concluded  the  sixth 
millenary,  according  to  that  opinion  which  reckoned 
the  birth  of  Jesus  Christ  to  have  happened  about 
A.  M.  5000,  people  began  to  get  the  better  of  this 
apprehension  of  the  end  of  the  world,  which,  accord- 
ing to  a  tradition  of  the  ancients,  was  to  take  place 
after  a  duration  of  6000  years.  They  began  to  build 
larger  churches  and  edifices.  Jerome's  translation  of 
the  Scriptures,  which  stated  the  world  to  have  existed 
not  above  4000  years  before  Christ,  contributed  like- 
wise to  the  persuasion,  that  the  final  period  of  the 
world,  and  the  coming  of  antichrist,  were  not  ex- 
tremely near:  this,  however,  did  not  hinder  some 
fi'om  attempting  to  fix  the  time  of  antichrist's  appear- 
ance. The  council  of  Florence  (A.  D.  1105)  con- 
demned Fluentius,  bishop  of  that  city,  for  maintain- 
ing that  antichrist  was  then  born.  Abbot  Joachim, 
who  Uved  in  the  twelfth  century,  pretended  that  an- 
tichrist was  to  appear  in  the  sixtieth  year  of  his  time. 
Arnaud  de  Villeneuve  said,  antichrist  would  come 
A.  D.  1326 ;  Francis  Melet  said,  in  A.  D.  1530,  or 
1540;  John  of  Paris,  A.  D.  1560;  Cardinal  de  Cusa, 
A.  D.  1730,  or  1734;  Peter  Daille  was  of  opinion, 
tliat,  according  to  his  calculations,  he  must  appear  in 
A.  D.  1789 ;  Jerome  Cardan,  in  A.  D.  1600 ;  John 
Pico,  of  Mirandola,  in  A.  D.  1994.  Events  have 
already  confuted  the  generality  of  these  predictions ; 
and  we  may  afiirm,  without  rashness,  that  the  rest 
are  not  superior  in  certainty.  A  tradition  seems  to 
have  been  received  among  the  ancients,  that  anti- 
christ should  be  born  of  some  Jewish  family,  and  of 
the  tribe  of  Dan.  The  most  ancient  commentators 
on  the  Revelation  were  of  opinion,  that  John's  omis- 
sion of  the  name  of  Dan,  in  his  enumeration  of  the 
tribes  of  Israel,  (Rev.  vii.  5.)  proceeded  from  his 
foreknowledge,  that  antichrist  should  arise  from  this 
tribe.      And  how  should   he  arise  from  tlus  tribe, 


ANTICHRIST 


[  7'i  ] 


ANT 


since  tlie  Jews  dwell  no  longer  in  Judea,  or,  at  least, 
are  no  longer  masters  of  that  country  ?  Why,  he 
will  come,  say  these  fathers,  from  the  other  side  of 
the  Euphrates,  from  Babylonia,  where  some  suppose 
that  the  remainder  of  the  ten  tribes  (and  in  ])artiou- 
lar  of  the  tribe  of  Dan)  subsists  still.  Tiiis  opinion  is 
followed  by  almost  all  who  have  written  since  Je- 
rome, in  whose  time  it  was  common.  As  to  the 
parents  of  antichrist,  interpreters  are  not  agreed. 
Some  think  his  father  will  be  a  devil,  and  his  mother 
some  corrupt  woman ;  others  think,  that  antichrist 
will  be  himself  a  devil  incarnate.  Hilary  thought 
that  Satan  would  appear  in  the  person  of  antichrist, 
and  endeavor  to  persuade  the  world  that  lie  is  God, 
by  working  false  miracles.  As  our  Lord  was  i)orn 
of  a  virgin,  says  Hippolytus,  so  will  antichrist  boast  of 
having  derivi.'d  his  birth  from  a  virgin  also ;  but, 
whereas  the  Son  of  God  took  upon  him  real  flesh, 
antichrist,  says  that  author,  will  assume  only  the  ap- 
pearance, the  image,  or  phantom  of  flesh.  Chrysos- 
tom,  Thoodoret,  Theophylact  and  others,  hold  that 
antichrist  will  be  a  real  jnan,  though  an  agent  of  Sa- 
tan, in  exercising  his  cruelty  and  malice  against  the 
faithful. 

^  It  remains  to  state  some  ideas  as  to  the  dominion 
of  antichrist.  It  has  been  supposed  by  some  writers, 
that  he  will  be  born  in  Babylonia — that  he  will  there 
lay  the  foundation  of  his  empire — that  the  Jews  will 
be  the  first  to  declare  for  him,  to  acknowledge  his 
dominion,  and  to  enjoy  the  principal  employments  in 
his  government.  He  ■will  win  them  by  his  delusion, 
his  false  miracles,  and  by  all  the  appearances  of 
goodness,  piety  and  clemency  ;  so  that  this  unhappy 
people  will  take  him  for  their  Messiah ;  and  will  flat- 
ter themselves  with  the  expectation  of  seeing  the 
kingdom  of  Israel  restored  by  his  means  to  its  for- 
mer splendor.  After  he  has  subdued  Egypt,  Ethio- 
pia, and  Libya,  say  the  same  authors,  he  will  march 
against  Jerusalem,  which  he  will  easily  conquer, — 
and  there  establish  the  seat  of  his  empire.  Gog  and 
Magog  will  then  oppose  him  ;  he  will  give  them  bat- 
tle, and  defeat  them  without  difficulty,  in  the  midst 
of  Palestine ;  see  Ezek.  xxxviii.  xxxix.  After  this, 
he  will  direct  all  his  endeavors  to  the  destruction 
of  Christ's  kingdom,  and  the  persecution  of  Chris- 
tians :  he  will  exalt  lumself  above  all  that  is  called 
God,  or  that  is  worshipped  ;  so  that  he,  as  God,  shall 
sit  in  the  temple  of  God  ;  (2  Thess.  ii.  4.)  in  the  tem- 
ple of  Jerusalem  ;  which  he  will  rebuild.  Some  of 
the  ancients  believed,  that  he  will  be  seated  in  the 
churches  of  Christians,  (the  temples  of  God,)  and 
there  receive  the  adoration  of  gi-eat  numbers  of 
apostates,  who  will  renounce  the  faith  of  Christ. 
Scripture  does  not  mention  the  duration  of  anti- 
christ's kingdom :  but  in  several  places,  it  seems  to 
allow  three  years  and  a  half,  for  the  continuance  of 
his  persecutions:  at  least  it  assigns  three  years  and  a 
half,  for  the  persecutions  of  those  who  are  considered 
as  figures  of  antichrist. 

Mussulmans,  as  well  as  Jews  and  Christians,  ex- 
pect another  Christ.  They  call  him  Daggiel,  or  Deg- 
giel,  froui  a  name  which  siguirtes  an  imimstor,  or  a 
liar;  and  thry  hold  that  their  prophet  Mahomet 
taught  one  of  his  disciples,  whose  name  was  Tamini- 
Al-Dari,  every  thing  relating  to  antichrist ;  and,  on 
his  authority,  they  tell  us,  that  antichrist  must  come 
at  the  end  of  the  world  ;  that  he  will  make;  his  entry 
into  Jerusalem,  like  Jesus  Christ,  riding  on  an  ass  ; 
but  that  Christ,  who  is  not  dead,  will  come  at  his 
second  advent  to  encounter  him:  and  that, after  hav- 
ing conquered  him,  he  will  then  die  indeed.  That  the 


beast,  described  by  John  in  the  Revelation,  will  ap- 
pear with  antichrist,  and  make  war  against  the  saints. 
That  Imam  Mahadi,  who  remains  concealed  among 
the  Mussulmans,  will  then  show  himself,  join  Jesus 
Christ,  and  with  him  engage  Daggiel ;  after  which 
they  will  unite  the  Christians  and  the  Mussulmans, 
.and  of  the  two  religions  will  make  but  one.  D'Her- 
belot,  Bibl.  Orient. 

This  subject  is  confessedly  obscure  :  there  are  some 
persons  in  the  present  day,  who,  observing  late  sur- 
prising and  interesting  events,  have  thought  they 
pointed  strongly  to  the  near  approach  of  antichrist : 
time,  however,  must  ascertain  whether  their  calcula- 
tions, observations,  and  determinations  are  coinci- 
dent with  those  appointed  by  Providence  ;  or  whether 
they  are  no  better  founded  than  those  propositions 
which  events  have  already  confuted. 

Many  Protestant  writers  have  held,  that  the  head 
of  the  Romish  church,  and  his  power,  is  the  "  man 
of  sin"  or  antichrist  of  the  apostle  ;  an  opinion  which 
Calmet,  of  course,  could  not  entertain.  Indeed,  why 
should  Ave  attempt  a  descriptive  delineation  of  a  per- 
son, whose  portrait  might,  after  a  little  patient  wait- 
ing, be  drawn  from  the  life  ?  especially  when  so  many 
others  have  failed  in  ascertaining  him,  as  appears  in 
this  article. 

The  apostle  John  asserts  (1  Epist.  ii.  18.)  that  in  his 
time  there  were  "  many  antichrists ;"  and  it  is  prob- 
able that,  did  we  accurately  know  the  number  of 
pretenders  to  a  divine  mission,  in  his  days,  (meaning 
before  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,)  we  should  see 
the  propriety  of  his  observation  in  the  strongest  light. 
Not  only  Judas  Gaulonitcs,  Theudas,  and  others  men- 
tioned in  Scripture,  as  making  such  pretences,  were 
antichrists,  but  even  the  disciples  of  John  the  Baptist, 
who  formed  a  numerous  sect,  not  entirely  extinct  at 
this  day.  As  the  term  occurs  only  in  the  writings 
of  John,  it  is  desirable  to  deduce  our  explanation  of  it 
from  his  authority.  He  uses  it  both  collectively  and 
individually:  whence  it  should  appear  to  be  a  power, 
or  an  operative  principle,  actuating  many  persons, 
rather  than  a  single  person  so  characterized  and  so 
denominated. 

I.  ANTIGONUS,  son  of  John  Hircanus,  and 
gi-andson  of  Simon  Maccabseus.  His  brother,  Aristo- 
bulus,  made  him  his  associate  in  the  kingdom  ;  but 
was  at  length  prevailed  upon  by  their  common  ene- 
mies to  put  him  to  death,  B.  C.  105. — Jos.  Ant.  xiii. 
18  and  19. 

IT.  ANTIGONUS,  son  of  Aristobulus,  who  was 
brother  to  Hircanus  and  Alexandra,  was  sent  as  a  pris- 
oner to  Rome,  with  his  father  ancl  brother,  by  Pom- 
pey,  who  had  taken  Jerusalem.  After  remaining  in 
Italy  for  some  time,  he  returned  to  Judea,  and  after  a 
variety  of  fortunes,  was  established  king  and  high- 
priest,  Herod  being  compelled  to  fly  to  Rome.  Hav- 
ing obtained  assistance  from  Antony  and  Ciesar, 
Herod  returned,  and,  after  a  firm  and  protracted  re- 
sistance on  the  i)art  of  Antigonus,  retook  Jerusalem, 
and  repossessed  himself  of  the  throne.  Antigonus 
was  carried  to  Antioch,  and,  at  the  solicitation  of 
H(M-od,  was  there  put  to  death  by  Antony,  B.  C.  37. — 
Jos.  Ant.  xiv.  c.  11  and  the  following. 

ANTI-LIBANUS,  see  Lebanon. 

I.  ANTIOCH,  of  Syria,  on  the  Orontes,  was  for- 
merly called  Riblath,  according  to  Jerome.  (On 
Ezek.  xlvii ;  Isa.  xiii.  1.)  It  is  mentioned  only  in  the 
books  of  the  Maccabees,  and  in  the  New  Testament ; 
but  Riblath,  or  Riblatha,  is  named  Numbers  xxxiv. 
11  ;  2  Kings  xxiii.  .3:3  ;  xxv.6,20,  21  ;  Jer.  xxxix.  5; 
lii.  9,  10,  26, 27.     This,  however,  could  not  have  been 


ANTIOCH 


[  73  ] 


ANT 


the  same  as  Antioch.  (See  Ribi.ah.)  Theodoret 
says,  that  in  his  time  there  Avas  a  city  of  Riblah,  near 
Emesa,  in  Syria ;  which  is  contrary  to  Jerome.  Hoav- 
ever  that  might  be,  it  is  certain  that  Antiocli  was  not 
known  under  this  name,  till  after  the  reign  of  Seleu- 
cus  Nicanor,  who  built  it,  and  called  it  Antioch,  in 
consideration  of  his  father  Antiochus,  ante  A.  D.  301. 
Being  centrally  situated,  it  became  the  seat  of  empire 
of  the  Syrian  kings  of  the  Macedonian  race,  and 
afterwards  of  the  Roman  governors  of  the  eastern 
provances.  There  also  the  disciples  of  Jesus  Clu-ist 
Avere  first  called  Christians,  and  making  it  a  principal 
station,  they  from  hence  sent  missionaries  out  in 
various  directions.  Acts  xi.  26.  Strabo  describes 
Antioch  as  being  in  power  and  dignity  not  much  in- 
ferior to  Seleucia  or  Alexandria.  Ammianus  Mar- 
celhnus  says  it  was  celebrated  throughout  the 
Avorld  ;  and  Josephus  characterizes  it  as  the  third 
city  of  the  Roman  provinces.  It  was  long,  indeed, 
the  most  powerful  city  of  the  East,  and  was  famous 
among  the  Jews  for  the  Jus  Civitatis,  or  right  of 
citizenship,  which  Seleucus  had  given  to  thejn  in 
common  with  the  Greeks  and  Macedonians,  and 
wliich  Josephus  informs  us  they  retained.  These 
privileges,  no  doubt,  contributed  to  render  Antioch 
so  desirable  to  the  Christians,  who  were  every  where 
considered  as  a  sect  of  Jews,  since  here  they  could 
perform  their  worship  in  their  own  way,  without 
molestation  or  interruption.  This  may  also  contrib- 
ute to  account  for  the  importance  attached  by  the 
apostles  to  the  introduction  of  the  gospel  into  Anti- 
och ;  and  for  the  interest  taken  by  them  in  its  promo- 
tion and  extension,  in  a  city  so  distant  from  Je- 
rusalem. 

Antioch  Avas  almost  square,  had  many  gates,  Avas 
adorned  Avith  fine  fountains,  and  possessed  great  fer- 
tihty  of  soil  and  commercial  opulence.  The  em- 
perors Vespasian,  Titus,  and  others,  granted  consid- 
erable priA'ileges  to  Antioch  ;  but  it  has  also  been  ex- 
posed to  great  calamities  and  revolutions.  In  the 
years  A.  D.  340, 394, 39G,  458,  526,  and  528,  it  Avas 
almost  demolished  by  earthquakes.  The  emjjeror 
Justinian  repaired  it,  A.  D.  529,  and  called  it  Theo- 
polis  ;  that  is,  "  The  City  of  God."  Cosrhoes,  king 
of  Persia,  took  it,  A.  D.  540,  massacred  the  inhabitants, 
and  burnt  it.  Justinian  ordered  it  to  be  rebuilt,  A. 
D.  552:  Cosrhoes  took  it  a  second  time,  A.  D.  574,  in 
the  reign  of  Justin,  and  destroyed  its  AAalls.  A.  D. 
588,  it  suffered  a  dreadful  earthquake,  in  Avhich  above 
60,000  persons  perished.  It  Avas  again  rebuilt,  and 
again  Avas  exposed  to  ncAv  calamities.  The  Saracens 
took  it,  A.  D.  638,  in  the  reign  of  Heraclius :  Nice- 
phorus  Phocas  retook  it,  A.  D.  966.  Cedrenus  re-, 
lates  that,  A.  D.  970,  an  army  of  100,000  Saracens 
besieged  it,  Avithout  success ;  but  they  afterAAards 
subdued  it,  added  ncAV  fortifications  to  it,  and  made 
it  ahnost  impregnable.  Godfrey  of  Bouillon,  Avhen 
engaged  in  the  conquest  of  the  Holy  Land,  besieged 
it,  A.  D.  1097.  The  siege  was  long  and  bloody  ;  but  at 
length  the  Christians,  by  their  zeal  and  by  treacherj', 
obtained  possession,  on  Thursday,  June  3,  A.  I). 
1098.  In  1268,  it  Avas  taken  by  the  sultan  of  Egypt, 
Avho  demolished  it,  destroyed  its  renoAvn  and  mag- 
nificence, and  placed  it  under  the  dominion  of  the 
Turk. 

Antioch  aboimded  with  great  men,  and  its  chiu-ch 
Avas  long  governed  by  illustrious  prelates.  It  suffered 
nuich,  hoAvever,  on  several  occasions,  sometimes 
being  exposed  to  the  violence  of  heretics,  and  at  other 
times  being  rent  by  deplorable  schisms.  The  bishop 
of  Antioch  has  the  title  of  Patriarch  ;  and  has  con- 
10 


stantly  had  a  great  share  in  the  aflfairs  of  the  Eastern 
church. 

Antioch  is  noAv  called  Antakia,  and,  till  the  year 
1822,  it  occupied  a  remote  corner  of  the  ancient 
enclosure  of  its  walls  ;  its  splendid  buildings  being 
reduced  to  hovels,  and  its  population  living  in  Turk- 
ish debasement.  At  that  period  it  was  revisited  by 
its  ancient  subterranean  enemy,  and  converted  by  an 
earthquake  into  a  heap  of  ruins.  It  contains  now 
about  10,000  inhabitants. 

From  the  medals  of  this  city  which  are  extant,  it 
appears  that  it  Avas  honored  as  a  Roman  colony,  a 
metropolis,  and  an  asylum.  It  was  also  Autonomos, 
or  governed  by  its  own  laAvs.  Among  these  medals, 
there  are  two  which  require  notice.  The  first  reads 
'Arrioyj<^f  tmv  TTQog  Jacptyj,  Avliich  affords  proof  that 
Antioch  valued  itself  on  its  relation  to  the  temple 
and  worship  established  in  that 
place.  Daphne  was,  indeed,  a 
league  from  the  city,  but  by  the 
zeal  of  the  devotees,  was  consid- 
ered as  a  suburb,  or  rather  as  a 
part  of  the  city  itself  But  by 
far  the  most  interesting  medal  to 
us  as  Christians,  is  one  on  which 
is  read,  "  Of  the  Antiocheans 
under  ^atuminus,"  who  was  governor  of  Syria  at  the 
time  of  our  Saviour's  birth.     See  Cyrenius. 

II.  ANTIOCH,  of  Pisidia,  a  city  belonging  to  the 
proATince  of  Pisidia  in  Asia  Minor,  but  situated  within 
the  limits  of  Phrygia.  It  Avas  also  built  by  Seleucus 
Nicanor.  Paul  and  Barnabas  preached  here ;  but 
the  JeAvs,  angry  to  see  that  some  of  the  Gentiles  re- 
ceived the  gospel,  raised  a  tumult,  and  obliged  the 
apostles  to  leave  the  city.  Acts  xiii.  14.  It  is  at  pres- 
ent called  Versategli,  according  to  some ;  but  as 
others  say,  Tahoya,  or  Sibi,  or  Antiochio. 

ANTIOCHIS,  concubine  of  Antiochus  Epiphanes, 
who  gave  her  the  cities  of  Tarsus  and  Mallo,  that  she 
might  receive  their  revenues  for  her  OAvn  use.  This 
Avas  regarded  by  their  inhabitants  as  an  insupport- 
able mark  of  contempt :  they  took  arms  against  Anti- 
ochus, Avho  marched  in  person  to  reduce  them,  2 
Mace.  iv.  30.  It  Avas  a  custom  Avith  the  Idngs  of 
Persia,  to  give  their  wives  particular  cities ;  some  for 
their  table,  some  for  their  head-dress,  for  their  attire, 
for  their  girdles,  &c.  The  idea  Avas  analogous  to  our 
pin-money.     Cicero  in  Verrem,  v. 

I.  ANTIOCHUS.  There  were  many  kings  of 
this  name  in  Syria,  after  Seleucus  Nicanor,  (the 
second  king  of  Syria,  Alexander  the  Great  being  the 
first,)  Avho  was  father  of  Antiochus  Soter,  so  named 
for  having  hindered  the  invasion  of  Asia  by  the 
Gauls. 

II.  ANTIOCHUS  Theos,  (the  divine,)  son  and 
successor  of  Antiochus  Soter,  was  poisoned  by  his 
Avife  Laodice,  and  succeeded  by  his  son  Seleucus 
Callinicus. 

III.  ANTIOCHUS  THE  Great,  so  celebrated  on 
account  of  his  AA'ars  against  the  Egyptians,  Romans, 
and  Jews,  Avas  the  son  of  Seleucus  Callinicus,  and 
brother  of  Seleucus  Ceraunus,  whom  he  succeeded, 
ante  A.  D.  223.  Having  resoh^ed  to  become  master 
of  Egypt,  Antiochus  seized  Coelo-Syria,  (the  province 
lying  betAveen  Libanus  and  Antilibanus,)  Phoenicia, 
and  Judea.  The  Jcavs  having  submitted,  and 
received  him  into  their  cities,  he  granted  them, 
as  a  reward,  20,000  pieces  of  silver,  to  purchase 
beasts  for  sacrifice,  1460  measures  of  meal,  375 
measures  of  salt,  to  be  offered  with  the  sacrifices,  and 
timber  to  rebuild  the  porches  of  the  temple.     The 


ANTIOCHUS 


[74  ] 


ANTIOCHUS 


senators,  priests,  scribes,  and  singers  of  the  temple, 
he  exempted  from  the  capitation  tax,  and  permitted 
the  Jews  to  Hve  according  to  their  own  laws,  through- 
out his  dominions.  He  remitted  the  third  part  of 
their  tribute,  to  indemnify  them  for  their  losses  in  the 
war;  forbade  the  heathen  from  entering  the  temple 
without  being  purified,  and  from  bringing  into  the 
city  the  flesh  of  mules,  asses,  ami  horses  to  sell,  under 
the  penalty  of  3000  drachmas.  Antiochus  married 
his  daughter  Cleopatra  to  Ptolemy  Ei)ii)lianes,  king 
of  Egypt,  (B.  C.  lt»;i,)  and  gave  Coelo-Syria,  Phanii- 
cia,  and  Judea,  as  her  dowry,  on  condition  that  the 
tribute  of  these  provinces  should  be  equally  dividetl 
between  himself  and  the  king  ol'  Egypt.  Three 
years  atlerwards  he  was  overcome  by  the  Romans, 
and  obliged  to  cede  all  his  possessions  beyond  mount 
Taurus,  and  to  give  twenty  hostages,  (among  \\  hom 
was  his  own  son,  Antiochus,  afterwards  surnamed 
Epiphanes,)  and  to  pay  a  tribute  of  13,000  Euljoic 
talents,  each  fourteen  Roman  pounds  in  weight.  To 
defray  these  charges,  he  resolved  to  seize  tlie  treas- 
ures of  the  temple  of  IJelus,  at  Elymais,  \\hich  were 
very  great ;  but  the  people  of  that  country,  informed 
of  his  design,  surprised  and  destroyed  him,  with  ail 
his  army,  ante  A.  D.  187.  He  left  two  sons,  Seleucus 
Philopator,  and  Antiochus  Epiphanes,  who  succeeded 
him.     Josephus  Ant.  xii.  3. 

IV.  ANTIOCHUS  Epiphanes,  sou  of  Antiochus 
the  Great,  of  the  former  article.  Having  continued 
as  a  hostage  at  Rome  fourteen  years,  his  brother 
Seleucus  resolved  to  procure  his  return  to  Syria,  and 
therefore  sent  his  own  son,  Demetrius,  as  a  hostage 
to  Rome,  instead  of  Antiochus ;  but  while  Antiochus 
was  on  his  journey  to  Syria,  Seleucus  died  ;  {ante  A. 
D.  175 ;)  so  that  when  he  landed,  the  people  received 
hun  as  some  propitious  deity,  come  to  assume  the 
government,  and  to  opi)ose  the  enterprises  of  Ptole- 
my, king  of  Egypt,  who  threatened  to  invade  Syria. 
It  was  upon  this  occasion  that  he  received  the  sur- 
name of  Epiphanes,  (the  illustrious,)  that  is,  of  one 
appearing  as  it  were  like  a  god. 

Antiochus  soon  directeit  his  attention  to  Egypt, 
which  he  invaded,  and  reduced  almost  entirely  to 
obedience,  2  Mace.  iv.  5.  ante  A.  D.  173.  During  his 
siege  of  Alexandria,  an  occurrence  took  place  Avhich 
exhibited  that  cruel  and  ferocious  temper  that  subse- 
quently exemphfied  itself  so  fully  in  the  person  of 
Antiochus  E{)iplianes.  While;  besieging  this  city,  a 
report  was  spread  of  his  death,  and  the  inhabitants 
of  Jerusalem,  among  others,  who  gi'oaned  under  his 
yoke,  gave  expression  to  their  feelings  of  joy,  upon 
the  receipt  of  the  intelligence.  The  consequence  of 
this  was,  that  Antiochus,  wli.'n  returning  from  Egypt, 
entered  the-  city  forcibly,  treated  the  Jews  as  rebels, 
and  commnnde<l  his  troo[>s  to  slay  all  they  met: 
80,000  weri!  killed  in  three  days'  time  ;  40,000  were 
made  captives  ;  and  as  many  sold,  2  Mace.  v.  14. 
He  entered  into  the  holy  of  holies,  being  conducted 
by  the  corrupt  high-priest,  iMenelaus,  from  whence  he 
took  and  carried  ofl'the  n^iost  {)recious  vessels,  to  the 
value  of  1800  talents.  In  the  year  A.  C.  171,  Anti- 
ochus again  entered  EgA'pt,  v/liich  he  com[)letely 
subdued,  and  in  the  year  following  he  sent  Ajtollo- 
nins  into  Judea  (2  Mace.  v.  21,  2.1.)  with  an  army  of 
22,000  men,  with  orders  to  destroy  all  who  were  of 
fidl  age,  and  to  sell  the  women  and  young  men. 
Ajwllonius  executed  his  commis.;iou  but  too  j)unc- 
tually.  It  was  at  this  timi,'  that  Judas  Maccabieus 
retired  into  the  wilderness,  with  his  father  and  his 
brethren,  2  Mace.  v.  29.  These  calamities,  however, 
were  but  preludes  of  what  they  were   to  suffer;  for 


Antiochus,  apprehending  that  the  Jews  would  never 
be  constant  in  obedience  to  him,  unless  he  obliged 
them  to  change  their  rehgion,  and  to  embrace  that 
of  the  Greeks,  issued  an  edict,  enjoining  them  to 
conform  to  the  laws  of  other  nations,  and  forbidding 
their  usual  sacrifices  in  the  temple,  their  festivals, 
and  tlieir  sabbath.  The  statue  of  Jupiter  Olympus 
was  placed  on  the  altar  of  the  temple,  and  the  abom- 
ination of  desolation  polluted  the  house  of  God. 
i>luny  corrupt  Jews  complied  with  these  orders,  but 
others  opposed  them  :  Mattathias  and  his  sons  retired 
to  the  mountains ;  and  old  Eleazar,  and  the  seven 
brethren,  IMaccabees,  suffered  death,  with  great  cour- 
age, at  Antioch,  2  Mace.  vU.  After  the  death  of 
Mattathias,  Judas  Maccabseus  put  himself  at  the 
head  of  those  Jews  who  continued  faithful ;  and  op- 
posed with  success  the  generals  who  were  sent 
against  him.  Finding  his  treasures  exhausted,  An- 
tiochus went  into  Persia  to  levy  tributes,  and  to 
gather  large  sums,  which  he  had  agi'eed  to  pay  the 
Romans.  Knowing  there  were  very  gi'eat  riches  in 
the  temple  of  Elymais,  he  determined  to  carry  them 
oft';  but  the  inhabitants  of  the  country  made  so  vigor- 
ous a  resistance,  that  he  was  compelled  to  retreat 
towards  Babylonia.  When  he  arrived  at  Ecbatana, 
he  received  news  of  the  defeat  of  Nicanor  and  Timo- 
theus,  and  that  Judas  MaccabaBus  had  retaken  the 
temple  of  Jerusalem,  and  restored  the  worship  of  the 
Lord.  On  receiving  this  intelligence,  transported 
with  indignation,  he  commanded  the  driver  of  his 
chai'iot  to  urge  the  horses  forward,  threatening  to 
make  Jerusalem  a  gi'ave  for  the  Jews.  He  fell  from 
his  chariot,  however,  and  died,  overAvhelmed  with 
pain  and  grief,  in  the  mountains  of  Paratacene,  ni 
the  little  town  of  Tabes,  A.  M.  3840,  ante  A.D.  1G4. 

V.  ANTIOCHUS  EuPATOR,  son  of  Antiochus 
Epiphanes,  was  but  nine  years  old  when  his  father 
died,  and  left  him  the  kingdom  of  Sjria.  Lysias, 
who  governed  in  the  name  of  the  young  jirince,  led 
against  Judea  an  army  of  100,000  foot,  20,000  horse, 
and  thirty  elephants,  1  Mace,  vi  ;  2  Mace.  xiii.  He 
besieged  and  took  the  fortress  of  Bethsura ;  from 
thence  he  marched  against  Jerusalem,  and,  notwith- 
standing the  valor  and  resistance  of  the  Maccabees, 
the  city  was  ready  to  fall  into  his  hands,  when  Ly 
sias  received  news  that  Philip  (whom  Antiochus 
Epijjhanes,  a  little  belbre  his  death,  intrusted  with 
the  regency  of  the  kingdom,  during  the  minority  of 
his  son)  was  arrived  at  Antioch  to  take  the  govern- 
ment, according  to  the  disposition  of  the  late  king. 
Lysias  ])roposed  an  acconunodation  with  the  Jews, 
that  he  might  retimi  speedily  to  Antioch,  and  oppose 
PhiHp  ;  and  having  thus  made  jjcace,  he  immediately 
led  the  young  king  and  his  army  into  Syria.  In  the 
mean  time  Demetrius  Soter,  son  of  Seleucus  Philo- 
pator, nephew  of  Antiochus  l''|»iphanes,  to  whom,  by 
right,  the  kingdom  belonged,  (for  Antiochus  Eijijih- 
anes  prociu'ed  it  by  usurpation  from  his  nejthew,) 
having  escaped  from  Rome,  where  he  had  been  a 
hostage,  came  into  Syria;  and  finding  the  people  dis- 
posed for  revolt,  he  lieaded  an  anny,  and  marched 
immediately  to  Antioch,  against  Antiochus  and  Ly- 
sias. The  inhabitants  did  not  wait  till  he  besieged  it, 
but  opened  the  gati  s,  and  delivenHl  to  him  Lysias, 
and  the  young  king,  Antiochus  Eu|)ator,  who  were 
put  to  death  bv  his  orders,  without  being  suffered  to 
appear  befonf  him.     A.  M.  3842,  ante  A.  D.  162. 

VL  ANTIOCIHS  Tuf.os,  or  the  Divine,  son  of 
Alexander  Balas,  was  placed  on  the  throne  of  Syria 
by  Diodotus,  or  Tryphon,  who  Imd  deposed  Deme- 
trius Nicanor,  and  compelled  him  to  retire  to  Seleu- 


ANTIOCHUS 


[  ?5] 


ANT 


cia,  1  Mace.  xi.  39,  Sec.  ante  A.  D.  145.  To  strejigtheu 
himself  in  his  new  dominions,  Auiiochus  secured 
the  friendship  and  assistance  of  Jonathan  JMacca- 
hseus,  whom  lie  confirmed  in  the  high-priesthood, 
and  also  granted  him  four  toparchies  (considerable 
districts)  in  Judea.  The  career  of  young  Antiochus, 
however,  was  but  short,  for  Tryphon,  to  whose  per- 
fidy he  owed  the  crown,  resolved  to  take  it  for  him- 
self. He  made  Jonathan  Maccabfeus  a  jn-isoner  at 
Ptolcmais,  and  put  him  to  death  at  Bascania,  after 
which  he  retm'ued  into  Syria,  and  procured  the 
death  of  Antiochus.  Thus  Tryphon  was  left  master 
of  Syria.  A.  M.  3861,  ante  A.'D.  143.  1  Mace,  xiii ; 
2  31acc.  xiv. 

VII.  ANTIOCHUS  SiDETEs,  or  Soter,  (the  sa- 
viour,) or  EusEBES,  (the  pious,)  was  son  of  Demetrius 
Soter,  and  brother  of  Demetrius  Nicanor.  Tryphon, 
the  usurper  of  the  lungdom  of  Syria,  having  rendered 
himself  odious  to  his  troops,  they  deserted  him,  and 
offered  their  services  to  Cleopatra,  wife  of  Demetrius 
Nicanor,  who  lived  in  the  city  of  Selcucia,  shut  up 
with  her  children,  while  her  husband,  Demetrius,  was 
a  prisoner  in  Persia,  where  he  had  married  Rodegima, 
daughter  ofArsaceSjldng  of  Persia.  (Jos.  Ant.  xiii.  12.) 
Ckopatni,  therefore,  sent  to  Antiochus  Sidetes,  her 
brother-in-law,  and  offered  him  the  crown  of  Syria,  if 
he  would  marry  her,  to  which  Antiochus  consented. 
He  was  then  at  Cuidus,  where  his  father,  Demetrius 
Soter,  b.ad  placed  him  with  one  of  his  friends :  he 
came  hito  Syria,  and  wrote  to  Simon  Maccabaeus,  to 
engage  him  against  Tryphon,  1  Mace.  xv.  He  con- 
firmed the  privileges  which  the  kings  of  Syria  had 
granted  to  Simon,  permitted  him  to  coin  money 
with  his  own  stamp,  declared  Jerusalem  and  the 
temple  exempt  from  royal  jurisdiction,  and  promised 
other  favors,  as  soon  as  he  should  become  peaceable 
possessor  of  the  kingdom  which  had  belonged  to  his 
ancestors. 

Antiochus  Sidetes,  being  come  into  Syria,  married 
his  sister-in-law,  Cleopatra,  A.  M.  3865.  Tryphon's 
troops  resorted  to  him  in  crowds,  and  Tryphon,  thus 
abandoned,  retired  to  Dora,  in  Phoenicia,  whither  An- 
tiochus j)ursued  him  with  an  army  of  120,000  foot, 
and  8000  horse,  and  wth  a  powerful  fleet.  Simon 
Maccaba?us  sent  him  2000  chosen  men,  but  Anti- 
ochus refused  them,  and  revoked  all  his  promises. 
He  sent  Athenobius  to  Jerusalem,  to  oblige  Simon  to 
restore  Gazara  and  Joppa,  with  the  citadel  of  Jerusa- 
lem, and  to  demand  500  talents,  as  tribute  for  the 
places  Simon  held  out  of  Judea  ;  and  500  talents 
more,  as  reparation  for  injuries  the  king  had  suffered, 
and  as  tribute  for  his  own  cities  ;  threatening  war 
against  him  if  he  did  not  comply.  Simon  showed 
Athenobius  all  the  lustre  of  his  wealth  and  powci-, 
told  him  he  had  no  place  in  his  ])ossession  which 
belonged  to  Antiochus,  and,  as  to  Gazara  and  Joijpa, 
which  cities  had  done  infinite  damage  to  his  people, 
he  would  give  the  king  one  hundred  talents  for  the 
property  of  them. 

Athenobius  returned  with  great  indignation  to  An- 
tiochus, who  was  extremely  offended  at  Simon's 
answer.  In  the  mean  time,  Tiyphon,  having  stolen 
privately  from  Dora,  embarked  in  a  vessel  and  fled. 
Antiochus  pursued  him,  and  sent  Cendebeus  with 
troops  into  the  maritime  parts  of  Palestine,  with 
orders  to  build  Cedron,  and  to  fight  the  Jews.  John 
Hircanus,  son  of  Simon  Maccabaeus,  being  then  at 
Gazara,  gave  notice  to  his  father  of  Ceudebeus's 
coming.  Simon  furnished  troops  to  his  sons,  John 
Hircanus  and  Judas,  and  sent  them  against  Cende- 
beus, whom  they  routed  in  the  plain,  and  pursued  to 


Azotus.  Antiochus  followed  Tryphon,  till  he  forced 
him  to  kill  himself,  after  five  or  six  years'  reign. 
Antiochus  now  thought  of  nothing  but  reducing 
those  cities  which,  in  the  beginning  of  his  brother's 
reign,  had  thrown  off  subjection.  Sunon  Macca- 
baeus, prince  and  high-priest  of  the  Jews,  being 
treacherously  killed  by  Ptolemy,  his  son-in-law,  in 
the  castle  of  Docus,  near  Jericho,  the  murderer  sent 
immediately  to  Antiochus  Sidetes  to  demand  troops, 
that  he  might  recover  for  him  the  country  and  cities 
of  the  Jews.  Antiochus  came  in  person  with  an 
army,  and  besieged  Jerusalem  :  John  Hircanus,  how- 
ever, defended  it  Avith  vigor,  and  the  siege  was  long 
protracted.  The  king  divided  his  army  into  seven 
parts,  guarding  all  the  avenues  to  the  city.  It  being 
the  proper  time  for  celebrating  the  Feast  of  Tab- 
eniacles,  the  Jews  desired  of  Antiochus  a  truce  of 
seven  days,  which  was  granted ;  and  sent  them  bulls 
with  gilded  bonis,  and  vessels  of  gold  and  silver, 
filled  with  incense,  to  be  offered  in  the  temple :  he 
also  ordered  such  provisions  to  be  given  to  the  Jew- 
ish soldiers  as  they  wanted.  This  courtesy  of  the 
king  so  won  the  hearts  of  the  Jews,  that  they  sent 
ambassadors  to  treat  of  peace,  and  to  desire  that  they 
might  live  according  to  their  o%vn  laws.  Antiochus 
required  of  them  to  surrender  their  arms,  to  demolish 
the  city  walls,  to  pay  tribute  for  Joppa,  and  the  other 
cities  they  possessed  out  of  Judea,  and  to  receive  a 
garrison  into  Jerusalem.  They  consented  to  these 
conditions,  the  last  excepted ;  for  they  could  not  sub- 
mit to  see  an  army  of  strangers  in  their  capital :  they 
rather  chose  to  give  hostages,  and  500  talents  of  silver. 
The  king  therefore  entered  the  city,  beat  down  the 
breast-work  above  the  walls,  and  returned  to  Syria, 
A.  M.  3870,  ante  A.  D.  134.  Three  years  afterwards, 
Antiochus  marched  against  the  Parthiaus,  demand- 
ing the  liberty  of  his  brother,  Demetrius  Nicanor, 
who  had  been  made  prisoner  by  Arsaces  ;  but,  being 
deserted  by  his  own  forces,  he  was  Idlled,  A.  M.  3874, 
A.  C.  130.  Demetrius  Nicanor,  or  Nicator,  re-ascend- 
ed the  throne,  after  the  death  of  Sidetes. 

VIII.  ANTIOCHUS  Gryphus,  or  Philometor, 
son  of  Demetrius  Nicanor,  ascended  the  throne  of 
Syria,  A.  M.  3881.  He  reigned  eleven  yeai-s  alone, 
and  fifteen  with  his  brother  Cyzicus,  and  died  A.  M. 
3907. 

IX.  ANTIOCHUS  Cyzicus,  having  obtained  from 
his  brother  Gryphus,  as  his  share  of  the  kmgdom, 
Coelo-Syria,  became  extremely  luxurious,  and  aban- 
doned himself  to  excesses  of  every  description. 

John  Hircanus,  prince  and  high-priest  of  the  Jews, 
besieged  Samaria,  A.  C.  109.  The  Samaritans  in- 
vited Antiochus  Cyzicus  to  their  assistance.  He 
advanced  speedily  to  help  them,  but  was  overcome 
by  Antigonus  and  Aristobulus,  sons  of  John  Hirca- 
nus, who  commanded  the  siege,  and  who  pursued 
him  to  ScythopoUs ;  after  which  they  resumed  the 
siege  of  Samaria,  and  blocked  up  the  city  so  closely, 
that  the  inhabitants  again  solicited  Cyzicus.  Having 
received  6000  men  from  Ptolemy  Lathyrus,  son  of 
Cleopatra,  queen  of  Egypt,  he  wasted  the  lands  be- 
longing to  the  Jews,  designing  thereby  to  obUge 
Hircanus  to  raise  the  siege  of  Samaria ;  but  his  troops 
were  at  last  dispersed,  and  Samaria  was  taken  by 
storm,  and  razed  by  Hircanus.  Antiochus  was 
also  conquered,  and  put  to  death  by  Seleucus,  A. 
C.  90,  after  a  reign  of  eighteen  years.  Jos.  Ant. 
xiii.  18. 

I.  ANTIPAS  HEROD,  or  Herod  Antipas,  son 
of  Herod  the  Great  and  Cleopatra  of  Jerusalem,  was 
declared  by  Herod,  in  his  fii-st  will,  to  be  his  succes- 


ANTIPAS  HEROD 


[76] 


ANT 


sor  in  the  kingdom ;  but  he  afterwards  siiljstituted 
Archelaus,  king  of  Judea,  givuig  to  Antipas  only  the 
title  of  tetrarch  of  Gahlee  and  Peraea.  Archelaus 
going  to  Rome,  to  petition  Augustus  to  confirm  his 
father's  will,  Antipas  went  also,  and  the  emperor 
gave  Archelaus  one  moiety  of  what  had  been  as- 
signed to  hmi  by  Herod's  will,  with  the  title  of  eth- 
narch,and  promised  to  grant  him  the  title  of  Iving, 
when  he  had  shown  himself  deserving  of  it,  by  his  vir- 
tuous conduct.  His  revenues  amounted  to  (iOO  talents. 
To  Antipas  Augustus  gave  Galilee  and  Periea,  w  Inch 
produced  200  talents ;  and  to  Pliilip,  Herod's  other  son, 
the  Batansea,  Trachonitis,  and  Auranitis,  and  some 
other  places,  whose  income  was  100  talents.  (Jos. 
Ant.  xvii.  13.)  Antipas,  having  returned  to  Judea,  took 
great  pains  in  adorning  and  fortifying  the  principal 
places  of  his  dominions;  he  gave  the  name  of  Juhas 
to  Bethsaida,  in  honor  of  Julia,  wife  of  Augustus  ;  and 
Cinnereth  he  called  Tiberias,  in  honor  of  Tiberius, 
afterwards  emperor.  He  married  the  rlaughter  of 
Aretas,  king  of  Arabia,  whom  he  divorced,  about  A. 
D.  33,  to  marry  his  sister-in-law,  Herodias,  who  was 
his  own  niece  and  wife  of  Philip,  his  brother,  who 
was  still  living.  (Jos.  Ant.  xviii.  2.)  (See  Herod  H.) 
John  the  Baptist,  exclaimhig  against  this  incest,  was 
seized  by  order  of  Antipas,  and  imprisoned  in  the 
castle  of  Machserus,  Matt.  xiv.  o,  4  ;  Mark  vi.  14, 
17,  18  ;  Luke  iii.  19,  20.  Even  Herod  feared  and 
respected  the  virtue  and  holiness  of  John,  and  did 
many  things  out  of  regard  to  him ;  l>ut  his  passion 
for  Herodias  had,  no  doubt,  much  sooner  prevailed 
against  his  life,  had  he  not  been  restrained  by  his 
feai-s  of  the  people,  Avho  universally  esteemed  John 
the  Baptist  as  a  prophet.  Matt.  xiv.  5,  6,  &c.  At  a 
time,  however,  when  the  king  was  celebrating  his 
birth-day,  with  the  principal  ])ersons  of  his  coui-t, 
the  daughter  of  Herodias  danced  before  them,  and  so 
much  pleased  him,  that  he  swore  to  give  her  whatever 
she  should  ask.  Her  mother,  Herodias,  who  Avas 
anxious  to  get  rid  of  the  Baptist,  advised  her  to  ask 
for  his  head.  The  king  was  vexed  at  the  request ; 
but,  in  consideration  of  his  oath,  and  of  the  [)ersons 
at  table  with  him,  he  sent  one  of  his  guards,  who  be- 
headed John  in  prison.  The  head  was  brought  in  a 
basin,  and  given  to  Herod's  favorite,  who  carried  it 
directly  to  her  mother. 

Aretas,  king  of  Arabia,  to  revenge  the  insult  which 
Herod  had  offered  to  his  daughter,  declared  A\ar 
against  him  ;  and  vanquished  him  in  a  very  ol)stinate 
fight.  Josephus  (Antiq.  xviii.  7.)  assures  us,  that  the 
Jews  considered  the  defeat  of  .Autipas  as  a  ))unish- 
ment  for  the  death  of  .Folm  the  Iia])tist.  Some  years 
afterwards,  (A.  D.  3!).)  Herodias,  being  jealous  of  her 
brother  Agri])pa's  prosperity,  (who,  from  a  private 
person,  had  become  king  of  Judea,)  j)ersuaded  her 
husband,  Antipas,  to  visit  Rome,  and  to  solicit  the 
same  dignity  from  the  emijeror  Caius.  Agrippa, 
however,  being  jealous  also,  though  on  another 
ground,  wrote  to  the  emperor  and  accused  Antipas. 
Agrippa's  messenger  arrived  at  the  very  time  when 
Hero(i  ol)tained  his  first  audience  with  the  emperor. 
Caius  read  Agrippa's  letters  witii  great  earnestness, 
and,  finding  Herod  Antipas  accused  of  liavitig  been 
a  party  in  Sejamis's  coiis|)iracy  against  Tiberius,  and 
of  still  carrying  on  a  corresi)ondence  with  Artabanus, 
king  of  Parthia,  against  the  Romans,  he  denvanded 
to  know  if  it  were  true.  Antijms,  not  daring  to  deny 
that  he  liad  a  larg«!  quantity  of  arms  in  his  arsenal, 
was  l)anished  instantly  to  Lyons  in  Gaul.  Herodias 
followed  her  husband,  aiul  shared  his  fortune  in 
banishment.     The   year  of  Antijias's   deatii    is  not 


known,  but  it  is  certain  he  died  in  exile,  as  well  as 
Herodias.     (Ant.  xviii.  9.) 

It  was  Herod  Antipas  who  mocked  Jesus  at  Jei-u- 
salem  before  his  condemnation,  sending  him  back  to 
Pilate  arrayed  in  a  gorgeous  robe,  Luke  xxiii.  7,  seq. 

The  manner  in  which  the  death  of  John  the  Bap- 
tist is  stated  in  this  narrative  to  have  been  procured, 
is  so  extraordinary,  as  compared  with  what  occurs 
among  European  nations,  that  a  few  remarks  upon 
it  may  not  be  without  their  use. 

In  tlie  East,  then,  it  is  customary  for  public  dan- 
cers at  festivals  in  great  houses  to  solicit,  from  the 
company  they  have  been  entertaining,  such  rewards 
as  the  spectators  may  choose  to  bestow.  These  are 
usually  small  pieces  of  money,  which  the  donor 
sticks  on  the  face  of  the  performer  ;  and  a  favorite 
dancer  will  sometimes  have  her  face  covered  with 
such  ])resents:  nothing  further  is  expected.  Herod 
the  Great,  hoAAever,  offered  half  his  kingdom  to  Sa- 
lome, the  daughter  of  Herodias,  Avho  had  danced  to 
pleasi!  him ;  and  in  this,  if  he  Avere  not  equal  in  wis- 
dom, he  Avas  certainly  superior  in  extravagance,  to 
a  monarch,  "  Shah  Abbas,  Avho,  being  one  day 
drunk,  [in  his  palace,]  gave  a  Avoman  that  danced 
much  to  his  satisfaction  the  fairest  Hhan  in  all  Ispa- 
han ;  Avhich  AA-as  not  yet  finished,  but  Avanted  little : 
this  Hhan  yielded  a  great  revenue  to  the  king,  to 
AA'hom  it  belonged,  in  chambei--rents."  So  far  the 
parallel  is  tolerably  exact ;  for  that  Herod  Avas  far 
from  lieing  solier,  is  a  pardonable  suspicion  ; — but 
the  sequel  is  different :  "  The  nazer,  having  put  him 
in  mind  of  it,  next  morning,  took  the  freedom  to  tell 
him,  that  it  AA'as  unjustifiable  prodigality  ;  so  the  king 
ordered  to  give  her  a  hundred  tomans,  (200Z.)  Avith 
AA'hich  she  Avas  forced  to  be  contented."  Thevenot, 
in  Persia,  p.  100.  This  may  assign  a  reason  for  the 
hurry  of  Herodias,  to  secure  tlie  execution  of  John 
the  Baptist ;  for,  had  she  Avaited  till  the  next  morn- 
ing for  the  fulfilment  of  the  king's  oath,  he  might 
have  been  by  that  time  calmer,  and  some  of  his  ser- 
Aants  might  have  remonstrated  Avith  him  on  the  vio- 
lence and  injustice  of  his  order,  as  the  Persian  na- 
zer did  Avith  his  master  ;  and  Salome,  Avho  noAV  in- 
sists, "Give  me  here  the  head  of  John  in  a  charger," 
might  have  been  otherAvise  forced  to  accept,  in  full 
payment  for  her  activity,  the  vacant  charger  only ; 
Avithout  accomplishiiig  that  death,  Avhich  AA'as  so 
vehemently  desired  by  Herodias  ;  or,  perhaps,  the 
))itifid  value  of  a  fcAV  tomans,  instead  of  the  half  of 
the  promised  kingdom. 

H.  ANTIPAS,  a  faitlfful  AA'itness,  or  martyr,  men- 
tioned Rev.  ii.  13.  It  is  said  that  he  Avas  one  of  our 
Saviour's  first  disciples,  luid  sufi'ered  mai-tyrdom  at 
Pergamus,  of  Avhich  city  he  was  bishop. 

I.  ANTIPATER,  an  Idunuean,  father  of  Herod 
the  CJreat,  A\'as  son  of  another  Antijias,  or  Antipater, 
Avho  had  been  appointed  governor  of  Idumaea,  by 
Alexander  Janna:'us,  king  of  the  Jcavs.  (Josephus, 
Antiq.  xiA-.  2.  de  Bello,  i.  ;").)  He  Avas,  both  for  au- 
ti(nnty  of  family  and  for  riches,  the  j)rincipal  person 
of  Idumiea,  and  ulxaininl  from  Julius  Csesar  the  gov- 
ernment of  Judea  for  himself,  and  that  of  Jerusalem, 
and  the  country  adjacent,  for  his  eldest  son  Phasael ; 
and  the  government  of  (Jalilee  for  his  other  son, 
Herod,  avIio  Avas  not  at  that  time  above  fifteen  years 
of  age.  He  Avas  poisoned  by  INIalichus,  who  after- 
Avards  took  pos.session  of  his  government,  ante  A. 
D.  43. 

II.  ANTIPATER,  son  of  Hen)d  the  Great,  and 
of  Doris  his  first  Avife,  Avas  educated  as  a  private  per- 
son, and  did  not  ap|)ear  at  rf)urt,  until   his  father  re- 


APA 


[77] 


APH 


solved  to  call  hiin  there,  in  consequence  of  hie  sus- 
picion regarding  the  conduct  of  his  two  sons  Alex- 
ander and  Aristohulus.  Antipater,  taking  advantage 
of  Herod's  jealousy,  plotted  the  destruction  of  his 
brothers,  which  he  accomplished,  A.  M.  3999.  (See 
Alexander.)  This  being  effected,  he  determined 
to  destroy  his  father  also,  that  he  might  the  sooner 
become  possessed  of  the  crown  ;  but  Herod,  having 
discovered  his  unnatural  proceedings,  had  him  put 
to  death,  by  permission  of  Augustus,  A.  M.  4001. 
Herod  died  a  few  days  afterwards.  Jos.  Ant.  xvii. 
c.  3,  6,  and  11.  B.  J.  i.  17. 

The  history  of  these  times,  and  of  the  troubles  in 
Herod's  family,  greatly  illustrixte  the  gospel  accounts 
of  the  tyranny  and  cruelty  of  this  prince.  They 
show,  that  his  bloody  jealousy  at  Bethlehem  was 
nothing  extraordinary  for  him ;  and  that  no  safety 
for  the  infant  Saviour  was  to  be  expected  from  his 
fury,  short  of  a  residence  in  Egypt.  In  what  times, 
and  under  what  tyranny,  was  the  Prince  of  Peace 
born ! 

ANTIPATKIS,  a  town  anciently  called  Cafar- 
Saba,  Acts  xxiii.  31.  Josephus  says  (Anti(i.  xiii.  2.3.) 
it  was  about  I.IO  furlongs,  or  17  miles,  from  Joppa. 
The  old  Itinerary  of  Jerusalem  places  it  ten  miles 
from  Lydda,  and  twenty-six  from  Cjesarea.  Herod 
the  Great  cliangi-d  its  name  to  Antipatris,  in  honor 
of  his  father  Antipater.  Antipatris  was  situated  in  a 
very  fruitful  and  agreeable  plain,  watered  with  many 
due  springs  and  rivulets,  and  near  the  mountains,  in 
the  way  from  Jerusidem  to  Ca^sarea.  Josephus,  de 
BcUo,  i.  16. 

ANTONIA,  a  tower  or  fortress  at  Jerusalem,  on 
tlic  west  and  north  angle  of  the  temple,  built  by 
Herod  the  Great,  (and  named  Antonia  in  honor  of 
I  lis  friend,  Mark  Antony,)  on  an  eminence,  cut  steep 
on  all  sides,  and  enclosed  by  a  wall  three  hundred 
cubits  high  ;  it  contained  many  ajiartments,  bagnios, 
and  halls,  so  that  it  might  pass  for  a  ]>alace.  It  was 
in  form  a  square  tower,  with  a  turret  at  each  of  the 
four  corners.  It  was  so  high,  that  persons  might 
look  from  thence  into  the  temple ;  and  there  was  a 
covered  way  of  connnunication  from  the  one  to  the 
other ;  so  that,  as  the  temple  was  in  some  sort  a  cit- 
adel to  the  town,  the  tower  of  Antonia  was  a  citadel 
to  the  temple.  Josephus,  Antiq.  xv.  14.  et  de  Bello, 
vi.  12.  There  is  frequent  mention,  in  Josephus,  of 
the  tower  of  Antonia,  particularly  in  his  history  of 
the  Jewish  war.  The  Romans  generally  kept  a  gar- 
rison in  it ;  and  from  hence  it  was,  that  the  tribune 
ran  with  his  soldiers,  to  rescue  Paul  out  of  the  hands 
of  the  Jews,  who  had  seized  him  in  the  tem})le, 
and  designed  to  kill  him,  Acts  xxi.  31,  32.  See 
Jerusalem. 

I.  APAMEA,  a  city  of  Syria,  on  the  Orontes, 
built,  as  is  believed,  by  Seleucus  I.  king  of  Syria; 
or  by  his  son,  Antiochus  Soter,  in  honor  of  queen 
Apamca,  wife  of  Seleucus,  and  mother  of  Antiochus. 
It  was  probably  the  same  with  Shephani,  a  city  of 
Syria,  Numb,  xxxiv.  10,  11. 

II.  APAMEA,  a  city  of  Phiygia,  on  the  river 
Marsyas,  near  which,  as  some  have  been  of  opinion, 
Noah's  ark  rested  ;  whence  the  city  took  the  sur- 
name oi' {Kibotos)  Ark.  The  Sibylline  verses  place 
the  mountains  of  Ararat,  where  "the  ark  rested,  on 
the  confines  of  Phrygia,  at  the  sources  of  the  Marsyas. 
On  a  medal,  struck  in  honor  of  Adrian,  is  the  fi^m-e 
of  a  man,  representing  the  river  3Iarsyas,  with  tliis 
inscription — ATTAjMEilN  KIBHTOS  MJP^^IJ 
— A  medal  of  the  Apameans — the  Ark  and  the  river 
Marsyas.     TJiat  this  was  one  of  the  commemorative 


notices  of  the  ark,  and  of  the  deluge,  tuere  is  little 
doubt ;  but  only  in  the  sense,  that  traditionary  me- 
morials of  the  ark,  were  here  very  ancient.  In  ref- 
erence  to  the  medal,  we  may  add  that  Strabo  affirmsi 
the  ancient  name  of  Apamea  to  have  been  Kibotos; 
by  which  name  the  ark  (probably  of  Noah)  was  un- 
derstood. Kibotos  is  apparently  not  a  Greek  term  : 
it  niight  be  the  name  of  a  temple,  in  which  com- 
memoration was  made  of  the  ark,  and  of  the  pres- 
ei-vation  of  man  by  it.  There  are  several  medals  of 
Apamea  extant,  on 
which  are  repre- 
sented  an  ark,  with 
a  man  in  it,  receiv- 
ing the  dove,  which 
is  fljing  to  him  ;  and 
part  of  their  inscrip- 
tion is  the  word 
NOE  :  but  either  this 
should  be  read  neo, 
an  abridgement  of 
Neokoron  ;  or,  it  is 
the  end  of  a  word, 
AnAMEnN  ;  or, 
(some  of)  the  med- 
als are  spurious ;  which  has  been  suspected.  Still, 
as  they  are  from  different  dies,  yet  all  referring  to 
Apamea,  it  seems  that  their  authors  had  a  knowl- 
edge of  the  tradition  of  commemoration  respecting 
the  ark  preserved  in  this  city.  (See  Are.)  Many 
more  such  commemorations  of  an  event  so  greatly 
affectuig  mankind  Avere  no  doubt  maintained  for 
many  ages,  though  we  are  now  under  great  difficul- 
ties in  tracing  them.  In  fact,  naany  cities  boasted  of 
these  memorials  ;  and  referred  to  them  as  proofs  of 
their  antiquitj-.     See  Ararat. 

APE.  Among  the  articles  of  merchandise  im- 
ported by  Solomon's  fleet  were  apes,  1  Kings  x.  22  ; 
2  Chron.  ix.  21.  The  Greek  writers  mention  a  sort 
of  ape,  native  of  Ethiopia,  and  around  the  Red  sea, 
called  Kephos,  or  Keipos,  or  ^e6o5,  which  comes  near 
to  the  Hebrew  Kiiph,  or  Koph.  It  was  about  the 
size  of  a  roe-buck.  The  Egyptians  of  Babylon,  hi 
Egj'pt,  adored  a  kind  of  ape,  which  Strabo  calls 
Keipos ;  and  they  are  still  Avorshipped  in  many 
places  of  India. 

APHARSACHITES,  Ezra  v.  6;  orApHARSAXH- 
chites,  Ezra  iv.  9;  the  name  of  an  Assyrian  people 
who  Avere  sent  to  inhabit  the  Aacant  cities  of  the 
Israelites.  They  are  elseAvhere  unknoAA'n.  Gese- 
nius  compares  the  name  of  the  Par(etace7ii,\vho  dwelt 
betAAcen  Persia  and  Media.     Herodot.  i.  101.     R. 

APIIEK.  There  are  seA^eral  cities  of  this  name 
mentioned  in  Scripture.  The  name  signifies  strength, 
hence  a  citadel,  fortified  city. — I.  A  city  in  the 
tribe  of  Aslier,  (Josh.  xiii.  4 ;  xix.  30.)  called  also 
Aphik  in  Jndg.  i.  31.  This  can  hardly  be  any  other 
than  the  Aphaca  of  Eusebius  and  Sozomenus,  situ- 
ated in  Libanus,  famous  for  a  temple  of  Venus.  A 
village  called  Afka  is  still  found  in  mount  Lebanon, 
situated  in  the  bottom  of  a  valley;  see  Burckhardt, 
p.  25,  or  p.  70.  493.  Germ.  ed". — II.  A  city  near 
Avhich  Bcnhadad  Avas  routed  by  the  Israelites,  (1 
Kings  XX.  26,  seq.)  to  Avhich  the  Aphaca  of  Eusebius 
corresponds,  situated  to  the  east  of  the  sea  of  Galilee, 
and  mentioned  by  Seetzen  and  Burckhardt,  under 
the  name  of  Feik.  Euseb.  Onom.  \.  '^Itf^xu.  Burckh. 
p.  279.  or  p.  438.  539.  Germ,  ed.— III.  A  city  in  the 
tribe  of  Issachar,  near  to  Jezreel,  AA'hcre  the  Philis- 
tines twice  encamped  before  battles  Avith  the  Israel- 
ites, 1  Sam.  iv.  1  ;  xxix.  1 ;  comp.  xxviii.  4. — Either 


API 


[78] 


APO 


this  or  the  Aphek  first  above  mentioned,  is  probably 
the  royal  city  of  the  Canaanites,  spoken  of  in  Josh, 
xii.  18. — Different  from  either  of  these  is  the  Aphekah 
mentioned  Josh.  xv'.  53 ;  which  was  situated  in  the 
mountains  of  Judah.     R. 

APHEREMA,  one  of  the  three  toparchies  added 
to  Judea,  by  the  kings  of  Syria,  1  Mace.  xi.  34. 
Perhaps,  the  Ephrfem,  or  Ephrahn,  mentioned 
John  xi.  54. 

APHSES,  head  of  the  eighteenth  sacerdotal  fam- 
ily, of  the  twenty-four  which  David  chose  for  temple 
service,  1  Chron.  xxiv.  15. 

APHUT^I,  Isn.elites,  who  returned  from  the 
capti\nty,  and  settled  in  their  own  country.  The 
name  AphutfEi  is  perhaps  derived  from  Jiphtah,  a  city. 
Josh.  XV.  43. 

APIS.  The  Egyptians  maintained,  at  Hthopolis, 
a  bullock  consecrated  to  the  sun,  which  tliey  called 
Mnevis ;  and  at  Memphis,  another,  iiam^d  A{)is, 
dedicated  to  the  moon,  and  under  whif-h  Osiris  v>as 
adored.  This  animal  was  not  ahoirethcr  a  common 
bull ;  but  wa.s  distinguished  by  the  following  marks: 
the  whole  body  was  black,  except,  as  some  think,  a 
white  square  spot  on  the  forehead ;  others  say,  a 
spot  like  the  figure  of  an  eagle  on  its  back  ;  but 
rather  a  crescent-like  spot.  The  hairs  of  the  tail 
were  double,  and  it  had  the  form  of  a  beetle  under 
its  tongue.  When,  after  a  very  dihgcnt  search,  a 
calf  of  tills  description  was  found,  it  was  carried  with 
great  joy  to  the  temple  of  Osiris,  where  it  was  fed, 
and  worshipped  as  a  representative  of  that  god,  so 
long  as  it  lived  ;  and  after  its  death,  it  was  buried 
with  great  solemnity  and  mourning.  This  done, 
they  carefully  sought  another  witli  the  same  marks. 
Sometimes  they  were  many  years  before  they  found 
one  ;  but  when  they  had  succeeded,  there  was  a 
great  festival  over  all  the  country.  It  has  been  gen- 
erally thought  that  the  golden  calf  which  Aaron 
made  for  Israel  in  the  wilderness,  and  the  calves  set 
up  by  Jeroboam,  to  be  worshipped  by  the  ten  tribes, 
were  imitations  of  the  Egjptian  Aj)is.     See  Calf. 

The  worship  of  Apis  was  not  improbably  derived 
from  India  to  Egypt;  and  the  resemblances  between 
the  two  hving  deities  are  well  stated,  from  personal 
observation,  by  Fra  Paolino  da  San  Bartolomeo. 
(Voyage  to  the  East  Indies,  chap.  2.  Eng.  edit.  p. 
21.)  He  says,  "On  the  day  of  my  return  to  Pondi- 
chery,  I  had  an  opportunity  of  seeing  a  very  singular 
scene ;  as  on  that  day  the  god  Ai)is  w;us  letl  in  pro- 
cession through  the  city.  This  deity  was  a  beautiftd 
fat,  red-colored  ox,  of  a  middle  size.  The  Brahmans 
generally  guard  liiin  the  whole  year  through,  in  the 
neighborhood  of  his  temple;  but  this  was  exactly 
the  period  at  which  he  is  exhibited  to  the  people  with 
a  great  many  solemnities.  He  was  preceded  by  a 
band  of  Indian  musicians;  that  is  to  say,  two  (h-um- 
mers,  a  fifer,  and  sf>veral  persons,  who,  with  pieces 
of  iron,  beat  upon  copper  basins.  Then  came  a  few 
Brahmans;  and  i)ehind  these  was  an  immense  nnd- 
titude  of  people.  The  pagans  had  all  opened  the 
doors  of  their  houses  and  slio|)s,  and  before  each 
stood  a  small  basket  willi  rice,  tliin  ciikcs,  herbs,  and 
other  articles  in  which  the  projirietors  of  these  houses 
and  shops  used  to  deal.  Every  one  beheld  A])is 
wth  reverence  ;  and  those  were  considerfd  fortunate 
of  whose  |)rovisions  he  was  pleased  to  t;iste  a  nioiuh- 
ful  as  he  passed.  Philarclius  conjei-tured,  as  we  are 
told  by  Phitarch,  in  his  treatise  on  Isis  and  Osiris, 
that  Apis  was  originally  brought  from  India  to  Egjpt 
by  the  inhabitants  of  th(>  latter.  Plutarch  himself 
asserts,  that  the  Egyptians  consiflered  Apis  as  an  em- 


blem of  the  soul  of  Osiris :  and,  perhaps,  he  here 
meant  to  say,  that  under  this  expression  they  under- 
stood that  plastic  power  by  which  Osiris  had  pro- 
duced and  given  life  to  every  part  of  the  creation. 
PUny,  in  his  Natural  History,  speaking  of  Apis,  uses 
the  following  remai'kable  words :  '  When  he  eats  out 
of  the  hand  of  those  who  come  to  consult  him,  it  is 
considered  as  an  answer.  He  refused  to  receive  any 
thing  from  the  hand  of  Germanicus  Ceesar,  and  the 
latter  soon  after  died.'  From  this  it  appears,  that  the 
Egj'ptians  entertained  the  same  opinions  respecting 
Apis  as  the  Indians  do.  In  Egyjjt,  as  well  as  in 
India,  people  were  accustomed  to  consider  him  as  an 
oracle  ;  to  place  food  before  him,  and,  according  as 
he  accepted  or  refused  it,  to  form  conclusions  in  re- 
gard to  their  good  or  bad  fortune.  The  ox  [bull] 
Avhich  represents  Apis  must,  every  three  years,  give 
place  to  another.  If  he  die  in  the  course  of  these 
three  jears  of  his  deification,  he  is  committed  to  the 
earth  with  all  that  pomp  and  ceremony  observed  at 
the  interment  of  persons  of  the  first  rank.  Various 
pagodas,  or  pagan  temples,  have  on  their  front  the 
figure  of  a  cow,  or  perhaps  two,  of  a  colossal  size." 

Dr.  Forster  (the  translator  of  Fra  Paolino)  points 
out  several  differences  between  the  practice  of  the 
Hindoos  and  the  Egyptians:  he  says,  " The  sacred 
ox  of  the  Indians,  for  example,  remains  only  three 
years  in  life;  whereas  that  of  the  Egyptians,  accord- 
ing to  Plutarch,  remained  twenty-five,  after  which 
he  was  drowned,  then  embalmed,  and  deposited  in 
a  subterranean  burying-place  destined  for  that  pur- 
pose, near  the  village  of  Abusir,  the  ancient  Busiris, 
not  far  from  Memphis.  The  cofiin  of  an  Apis  ox 
was  found  there  by  Paul  Lucas  and  Wortley  Mon- 
tague. [Belzoni  also  found  a  tomb  of  Apis  in  one 
of  the  caves  in  the  moimtains  of  Upper  Egypt,  which 
enclose  the  tombs  or  gates  of  the  kings.  In  one  of 
these  he  found  a  colossal  alabaster  sarcophagus, 
transparent  and  clear  toned,  sculptured  both  on  the 
inside  and  outside  Avith  hieroglyphics.  In  this  was 
the  body  of  an  ox  [bull]  embalmed  in  asphaltus. 
This  sarcopha^is  is  now  in  tlie  British  nmseum.   R. 

APOCALYPSE  signifies  i-cvelation,  but  is  j)ar- 
ticularly  referred  to  the  Revelations  which  John  had 
in  the  isle  of  Patnios,  whither  he  was  banished  by 
Domitian,  between  the  years  of  J.  C.  95  and  97. 
The  Apocalypse  was  not  at  all  times,  nor  in  all 
churches,  admitted  as  canonical.  Jerome,  Amphi- 
lochius,  ancj  Sulpitius  Severus  remark,  that  in  their 
time  many  chtirches  in  Greece  did  not  receive  it ;  it 
is  not  in  the  catalogues  of  the  councilof  Laodicea,  or 
of  Cyril  of  Jerusalem;  but  Justin,  Irena?us,  Origen, 
Cyprian,  Clemens  of  Alexandria,  T(M-tullifm,  and  after 
them  all  the  fathers  of  the  foiu'th,  fifth,  and  following 
ages,  quote  the  Revelation  as  a  book  acknowledged 
to  be  canonical.  Indeed,  as  Sir  Isaac  Nekton  has 
remarked,  there  is  no  book  of  the  New  Testament  so 
strongly  attested,  or  commented  so  early  upon,  as 
this. 

The  book  of  the  Revelation  contains  twenty-two 
chapters.  The  first  three  are  epistolary  admonitions 
and  instructions  to  the  angels  (or  bishops)  of  the 
seven  churches  in  Asia  Minor, — Ephesus,  Smyrna, 
Pcrgainus,  Thyatira,  Sardis,  Philadelphia,  and  Lao- 
dicea. The  fifteen  following  chaijters  contain  repre- 
sentations of  the  persecutions  which  the  church  was 
to  sufier  fi-oMi  Jews,  heretics,  and  heathens  ;  princi- 
pally from  the  emiterors  Dioclesian,  IVIaximian,  Ile- 
raclius,  (jlalerius  IMaximian,  Severus,  3Iaxentius 
Maximinus,  and  Licinius  ;  and,  lastly,  from  Julian 
tlie  Apostate.     After  this,  we  have  a  display  of  the 


APOCALYPSE 


[  79 


APOCALYPSE 


divine  vengeance  against  persecutors,  the  Roman 
empire,  and  the  city  of  Rome,  described  under  the 
name  of  Babylon,  tlie  gi-eat  whore  seated  on  seven 
hills :  and  the  whole  is  terminated  by  a  description 
of  the  victories  of  the  church,  and  its  triumph  over 
its  enemies ;  of  the  marriage  of  the  Lamb,  and  the 
celestial  happiness  of  the  churcli  triumphant. 

[The  book  of  Revelation  belongs,  in  its  cliaractor, 
to  the  prophetical  writings,  and  stands  in  intimate 
relation  with  the  prophecies  of  the  Old  Testament, 
and  more  especially  with  the  writings  of  the  later 
prophets,  as  Ezekiel,  Zechariah,  and  particularly 
Daniel ;  inasimich  as  it  is  almost  entirely  sym- 
bolical. This  circumstance  has  siuTounded  the 
interpretation  of  this  book  with  difficulties,  which  no 
inteqireter  has  yet  been  able  fully  to  overcome. 
Most  of  these  are  connected  with  the  questions  as  to 
the  author  and  the  time  when  the  book  was  com- 
posed. As  to  the  author,  the  weight  of  testimony 
throughout  all  the  history  of  the  church,  is  in  favor 
of  John,  the  beloved  apostle.  As  to  the  time  of  its 
composition,  we  may  better  judge  after  a  sjTioptic 
view-  of  its  contents. 

In  all  prophecy  there  is  a  twofold  object,  viz.  of  con- 
solution  and  of  exhortation.  So  here  ;  the  despond- 
ing Christian  community  are  admonished  to  fidelity 
and  perseverance  by  the  assurance  of  the  speedy 
commencement  of  the  kingdom  of  God,  or  at  least 
of  the  overthrow  of  its  most  potent  enemies.  The 
hortatory  part  is  chiefly  contained  in  the  epistles  to 
tlie  seven  churches  of  Asia  Minor.  The  book  may 
be  divided  into  three  parts,  \-iz. 

L  The  Introduction,  in  epistles  to  the  seven 
churches,  both  general  and  particular,  (i.  4. — iii.  22.) 

IL  Thejirst  Revelation,  (iv.  1.— xi.  19.)  The  book 
of  destiny,  sealed  with  seven  seals,  is  given  to  the 
Lamb  to  open.  (iv.  v.)  He  opens  four  of  the  seals, 
and  at  the  opening  of  each  there  appears  the  emblem 
of  a  war  or  plague;  at  the  opening  of  the  fifth  and 
sixth  is  announced  the  approach  of  the  gi*eat  day  of 
judgment. and  wrath  for  all  the  enemies  of  Chris- 
tianity, (vi.)  Before  the  seventh  seal  is  opened,  the 
Christians  receive  a  seal  as  a  mark  of  preservation 
against  the  impending  destruction,  (vii.)  The  sev- 
enth seal  is  now  opened,  but  the  catastrophe  is  still 
delayed,  being  made  dependent  on  the  sounding  of 
seven  trumpets.  At  the  sounding  of  the  four  first 
trumpets,  four  plagues  appear ;  and  three  woes  are 
announced  as  about  to  accompany  the  other  three 
trumpets,  (viii.)  At  the  sounding  of  the  fifth  appears 
the  strange  and  fearful  plague  of  the  locusts,  the  first 
wo  ;  (ix.  1 — 12.)  at  the  sixth,  comes  forth  a  terrible 
army  for  war,  the  second  wo.  (ix.  13 — 21.)  The 
annunciation  is  now  given,  that  with  the  soimding 
of  the  seventh  trumpet,  the  mystery  of  God  will  be 
finished ;  (x.)  and  the  prophet  is  commanded  to 
measure  the  temple  and  those  who  worship  therein, 
in  order  that  they  may  be  excepted  from  the  general 
calamity  of  the  city,  which  for  a  time  is  to  be  given 
to  the  Gentiles,  (xi.  1,  2.)  Before  the  final  catastro- 
phe, two  prophets  are  still  to  admonish  and  exhort 
to  repentance  ;  they  will,  however,  be  put  to  death  as 
martyrs,  and  the  holy  city  will  suffer  punishment  on 
account  of  then),  and  those  who  remain  will  re])-nt 
and  give  glory  to  God.  (xi.  3 — 13.)  Now  follows  the 
sounding  of  the  seventh  trumpet,  and  tlie  commence- 
ment of  the  gi-eat  judgment  against  all  enemies,  and 
the  api'roach  of  the  kingdom  of  God  is  announced, 
(xi.  14—19.) 

IIL  But  all  this  does  not  follow  at  once  ;  but  is 
described  at  large  in  the  second  Revelation,  which 


now  begins,  (xii. — xxii.)  The  theocracy,  out  of 
which  the  Messiah  sjn-ings,  is  jiersecuted  by  Satan, 
who,  being  cast  out  from  heaven,  is  actuated  for  a  time 
with  rage  so  mucli  the  more  vehement  against  the 
Christians,  (xii.  1 — 17.)  His  instruments  are  the 
heathen,  or  antichrist,  under  the  figure  of  a  beast 
with  seven  heads  and  ten  horns,  which  persecutes 
the  saints;  (xii.  18. — xiii.  10.)  and  also  the  false 
priestliood  which  is  subservient  to  him,  and  which 
is,  in  like  manner,  represented  under  the  image  of  a 
beast,  (xiii.  11 — 18.)  Then  follows  the  blissful  peace 
enjoyed  by  the  Christians  who  were  exempted  from 
tiie  plagues,  under  the  dominion  of  the  Lamb.  (xiv. 
1 — 5.)  Announcement  of  the  fall  of  Rome,  and  of 
the  judgment  upon  the  heathen,  (xiv.  6 — 20.)  The 
Avrath  of  God  is  to  be  poured  out  from  seven  vials 
upon  the  earth,  (xv.)  As  the  four  first  vials  are 
poured  out,  follow  four  plagues ;  (xvi.  1 — 9.)  the 
three  others  bring  down  destruction  upon  Rome, 
(xvi.  10 — 21.)  whose  destruction,  to  be  completed 
through  the  beast  himself,  is  now  more  minutely 
described  and  celebrated,  (xvii.  1. — xix.  10.)  At  last 
both  beasts  ai-e  subdued  by  the  Messiah,  and  Satan 
is  bound,  (xix.  11. — xx.  3.)  The  reign  of  a  thousand 
years  and  first  resuirection.  (xx.  4 — 6.)  The  last 
conflict  Avith  Gog  and  Magog,  the  final  overthrow  of 
Satan,  (xx.  6 — 10.)  and  the  last  judgment,  (xx.  11 — 
15.)  The  New  Jerusalem,  (xxi.  1 — xxii.  5.)  Epi- 
logue, (xxii.  6 — 21.) 

Since  Eichhom  published  his  commentary  upon 
this  book  in  1791,  (in  which  he  made  the  gi-eat  mis- 
take of  assigning  to  the  whole  a  dramatic  character,) 
most  interpreters  agree  with  him  in  finding  in  the 
Jirst  revelation  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  and 
consequent  overthrow  of  Judaism  ;  and  in  the  second 
revelation,  the  downfall  of  heathenism,  i.  e.  the  sub- 
version of  the  influence  of  pagan  Rome  and  the 
pagan  Roman  empire,  as  such,  before  the  advance 
and  general  diffusion  of  Christianity.  This  of  course 
implies  that  the  Apocalypse  was  written  at  an  earlier 
date  than  has  ofteii  been  assigned  to  it.  The  notices 
of  time  which  may  be  drawn  from  the  book  itself, 
are  the  following.  (1.)  In  c.  xi.  1,  2,  Jerusalem  is 
spoken  of  in  a  manner  which  pre-supposes  that  it 
was  still  standing.  (2.)  From  c.  xvii.  10,  it  would 
seem  that  it  was  written  under  the  sixth  Roman  em- 
peror, Vespasian  ;  unless  one  of  the  three  mock  em- 
perors, Galba,  Otho,  or  Vitellius,  is  to  be  reckoned 
as  the  sixth ;  which  would  make  but  the  difference 
of  a  year  or  two.  (.3.)  The  persecution  of  the 
Christians  imder  Nero  is  pre-supposed  ;  (vi.  9  ;  xvii. 
6.)  as  also  the  death  of  most  of  the  apostles,  (xviii. 
20.)  These  data  in  themselves  w^ould  seejii  to  fix 
the  time  of  the  composition  of  the  Apocalypse  from 
about  A.  D.  68  to  70;  and  as  Jerusalem  w^as  de- 
stroyed in  A.  D.  72,  this  date  would  accord  well 
with  Eichhorn's  theory. 

The  general  view  of  the  Apocalypse  given  by 
Hug  in  his  introduction  to  the  N.  T.  is  similar  to  the 
above,  but  with  some  modifications.  There  are  in 
the  book  three  cities,  on  account  of  which  all  these 
terrible  appearances  in  heaven  and  earth  take  place, 
viz.  Sodom  or  Eg}'pt,  Babylon,  and  the  New  Jeru- 
salem. Sodom  is  Jerusalem,  for  in  it  our  Lord  was 
crucified,  (xi.  8.)  and  there  also  is  the  temple,  xi.  1. 
liabylon  is  Rome,  for  it  stands  on  seven  hills,  (xvii. 
9.)  and  has  the  empire  of  the  world,  xvii.  18.  Jeru- 
salem and  Rome  therefore  are  the  cities  whose  over- 
throw is  foretold  ;  but  these  are  not  spoken  of  liter- 
ally, but  as  the  emblems  or  symbols  of  those  religions 
of  which  they  were  the  chief  scats  and  supporters, 


APOCALYPSE 


[  80 


APO 


viz.  Judaism  and  heathenism. — The  New  Jerusalem 
comes  down  from  heaven  in  place  of  those  cities 
which  are  overthrown ;  but  as  these  latter  are  sym- 
bols each  of  a  religion,  so  also  the  former  is  the  em- 
blem of  Christianity,  which  is  to  endure  forever,  and 
secure  the  eternal  bliss  of  man. 

Along  with  this  view,  however,  the  same  author 
holds  still  to  the  idea,  that  the  banishment  of  the 
apostle  John  to  Patmos,  and  the  consequent  compo- 
sition of  this  book,  did  not  occur  until  the  reign  of 
Domitian,  or  about  A.  D.  95,  and  more  than  twenty 
years  after  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem.  To  avoid 
this  anachronism,  lie  applies,  of  course,  aH  that  is 
said  of  Jerusalem,  symliolically,  to  the  Jewish 
religion,  which  still  prevailed  among  that  people, 
although  the  teinple  and  worship  wei'e  destroyed. 
But  this  seems  to  be  a  forced  construction,  and  is 
not  at  all  necessary,  since  the  historical  accounts 
respecting  the  time  of  John's  banishincnt  are  very 
uncertain. 

BiU  whatever  view  may  be  taken  of  this  book  in 
general,  the  following  remarks  of  Hug  are  well  de- 
serving of  the  attention  of  all  interpreters.  "  It  is 
hardly  necessary  to  remark,  that  all  the  strokes  and 
figures  in  this  great  work  are  by  no  means  signifi- 
cant. ]Many  are  inserted  only  to  give  life  and  ani- 
mation to  the  whole  ;  or  they  are  introduced  by  way 
of  ornament  oiU  of  the  jirophets  and  holy  books ; 
und  no  one  who  is  any  judge  of  such  mattei-s,  will 
deny,  that  the  filling  up  of  the  whole  is  in  an  extra- 
ordinary degree  rich,  and  for  occidental  readers  in 
the  highest  degree  splendid.  The  description  of  the 
chastisements  by  hail,  pestilence,  floods  which  are 
changed  into  blood,  by  insects  and  vermin,  ai-e  imita- 
tions of  the  plagues  of  Egypt ;  and  do  not  here  either 
require  or  admit  any  particular  historical  explanation 
or  application.  The  eclipses  of  the  sun  and  moon, 
the  falling  stars,  are  usual  figm-es  emjiktyed  by  the 
prophets,  in  order  to  represent  tli(^  overthrow  of 
states  and  empires,  or  the  full  of  renowned  ])ersons, 
by  means  of  great  and  terrible  physical  phenomena. 
And  in  general,  the  sublimest  and  most  api)roj)riate 
and  striking  figures  and  passages  of  the  projthets  are 
interwoven  by  the  author  in  his  work ;  and  they 
thus  impart  to  the  whole  an  oriental  splendor,  which 
leaves  all  Arabian  writers  far  behind. 

"The  numbers  also  arc  seldom  to  be  taken  arith- 
metically, unless  there  exist  si)eciul  grounds  for  it. 
Seven  seals,  seven  angels,  seven  trumi)ets,  seven  vials, 
seven  tiuuiders,— wiio  docs  not  here  see  that  this  is 
the  holy  ])r(>i)hetic  munber,  and  is  employed  only  as 
ornament  and  costume  ?  So  also  the  roimd  numbers, 
and  times,  and  half  times  ;  they  admit  neither  of  a 
chronological  nor  lunnerical  reckoning;  but  are  gen- 
erally put  for  indefinite  times  and  munbers. 

"  'IMierc  are  in  th(!  whole  only  two  historical 
events,  which,  consequently,  adnnt  of  a  historical 
interpretation.  Aside  from  tlie  general  prevalence 
of  Christiaiuty,  with  which  the  vision  closes,  the  de- 
struction of  Jerusalem  is  a  kiii)\Mi  fact, — and  by  the 
side  of  this  stands  also  the  downfall  of  Home. — ^Ilere 
we  are  necessarily  referred  to  the  historical  interpreta- 
tion, so  far  as  it  can  be  ap])rie(l  without  violence, 
and  so  far  as  history  voluntarily  aftt)rds  her  aid. 
But  every  thing  minute  and  frivolous,  and  every 
thing  far-fetched  or  forced,  must  be  cautiously 
avoided." 

Upon  the  foregoing  principles,  the  greater  part  of 
the  book  of  Revelation  must  be  i-eganled  as  having 
had  its  accomplishment  in  the  earlier  centuries  of 
the  church  ;  while  subsequent  ages  ar."*  sunnnarily 


described  in  the  latter  part  of  the  book,  of  which  the 
fulfilment  is  gradually  developing  itself.     *R. 

There  have  been  several  other  Apocaltpses 
attempted  to  be  imposed  on  the  church,  at  various 
times,  but  their  spuriousness  is  universally  main- 
tained. Calmet  eiuunerates  the  following: — (1.) 
The  Revelations  of  St.  Peter ;  an  apocryphal  book 
mentioned  by  Eusebius,  and  Jerome,  and  cited  by 
Clemens  of  Alexandria,  in  his  Hypotyposes. — (2.) 
The  Revelation  of  St.  Paul,  an  apocryphal  book, 
used  among  the  Gnostics  and  Cainites,  and  which 
contained,  as  they  pretended,  those  ineffable  things 
which  the  apostle  saw  during  his  ecstasy,  and 
which  he  informs  the  Corinthians  he  was  not 
])ermitted  to  divulge,  2  Cor.  xii.  4. — (3.)  The  Rev- 
elation of  St.  John,  different  from  the  true  Apoc- 
alyi)se  ;  and  of  which  Lambecius  says,  there  was 
a  MS.  in  the  emperor's  librarj'  at  Vienna. — (4.) 
The  Revelation  of  Cerinthus,  in  which  he  spoke  oi 
an  earthly  kingdom,  and  certain  sensual  pleasures, 
which  the  saints  should  enjoy  for  a  thousand  years 
at  Jerusalem.  It  is  probable  that  the  notion  enter- 
tained by  some  of  the  ancients,  that  Cerinthus  was 
the  aiulior  of  St.  John's  Revelation,  arose  from  this 
imitation  by  him  of  that  work,  and  the  ill  use  which 
he  had  made  of  the  apostle's  writings,  the  better  to 
authorize  his  own  visions. — (5.)  The  Revelation  ol' 
St.  Thomas  is  known  only  by  pope  Gelasius's  de- 
cree, which  ranks  it  among  apocryphal  books. — 
(G.)  The  Revelation  of  Adam,  forged,  probably  by 
the  Gnostics,  from  what  is  said  in  Genesis,  of  the 
Lord's  causing  a  deep  sleep  to  fall  on  Adam  ;  or,  as 
the  LXX  have  it,  an  ecstasy. — (7.)  The  Revelation 
of  Abraham,  possessed  by  the  Sethian  heretics,  and 
which  Epiphanius  describes  as  aboimding  with 
imi)in-ity. — (8.)  The  Revelation  of  Moses,  which, 
Cedremis  says,  some  authors  believe  to  be  the  same 
a])ocryphal  work  as  Genesis  the  Less,  which  was 
extant  among  the  ancients.  Syncellus,  speaking  of 
this  A])ocaly])se,  says,  the  passage  of  Paul  to  the 
Galatians  is  taken  from  it,  (ch.  vi.  15.)  "Neither  cir- 
cumcision availcth  any  thing,  nor  imcircumcision, 
but  a  new  creature." — (9.)  The  Revelation  of  Elias, 
from  which  Jerome  thinks  that  the  passage  in  1  Cor. 
i.  9,  "Eye  hath  not  seen,  nor  ear  heard,  neither  hath 
it  entered  into  the  heart  of  man  to  conceive,  what 
God  hath  ])rej)ared  for  them  that  love  him,"  is  bor- 
rowed. f)rigon,  in  his  citation  of  these  words,  tells 
us,  thiU  they  are  no  where  to  be  found,  but  in  the 
seci'ct  books  of  Elias. 

From  this  great  number  of  books  called  by  the 
name  of  A])ocaly])ses,  or  Revelations,  it  should  seem 
that  the  title,  and  perhaps  the  work  itself,  of  the 
Revelation  of  St.  John,  was  more  popular  among  the 
early  Christians,  than  is  usually  thought  to  be  the 
case  ;  it  is,  at  least,  certain  that  the  Mosaic  ornaments 
of  the  most  ancient  churches  now  existing,  have 
more  frequent  allusions  to  scenes  in  the  Revelation, 
than  to  ;uiy  other  book  iu  the  New  Testament. 
Imitations  so  luunerous  might  render  the  question 
of  geiniinent'ss  and  autht^uicity  difficult  in  those 
days;  but  this  lays  succeeding  ages  under  the  greater 
obligations  lo  the  considerate  and  sedate  decision  of 
the  early  Christians,  and  to  the  i)refi'rence  they  have 
adjiulged  to  the  book  now  universally  received. 

APOCRYPHAL  pro])erly signifies /nW^/en.  Books 
are  called  ai)Ocry|)hal  on  the  following  accounts: 
(1.)  when  the  ;iuthor  is  not  known;  whether  he 
has  affixed  no  name  to  his  work,  or  has  affixed  a 
feigned  name ;  (2.)  when  they  have  not  been  ad- 
mitted into  the  canon  of  Scri|)ture,  nor  publicly  read 


APOCRYPHAL 


[81  1 


APO 


in  the  congregation,  although  they  may  have  been 
read  in  private;  (3.)  when  they  are  not  authentic, 
and  of  divine  authority ;  even  tliough  tliey  may  be 
thought  the  works  of  eminent  or  of  sacred  authors ; 
e.  g.  the  Epistle  of  Barnabas  ;  (4.)  when  they  were 
composed  by  heretics,  to  authorize,  or  to  justify, 
their  errors. 

There  are  apocryphal  books,  therefore,  of  several 
degrees.  Some  are  absolutely  false,  dangerous,  and 
impious,  composed  to  defend  error  or  to  promote 
superstition  ;  such  as  the  Gospels  of  St.  Thomas, 
of  the  Valentinians,  Gnostics,  Marcion,  &c.  Others 
are  simply  apocryphal,  and  not  contrary  to  faith 
and  good  manners ;  as  the  l)ooks  of  Esdras,  IMacca- 
bees,  &c.  Others,  after  having  been  long  contested 
by  some,  have  been  by  others  received  as  canonical ; 
as  the  church  of  Rome  admits  many,  which  arc  by 
all  Protestants  regarded  as  apocryplial,  though 
printed  with  our  English  Bibles,  and  parts  of  them 
read  in  the  Episcopal  service  ;  all  of  which  Jerome 
reckons  among  apocryphal  writings,  and  says,  the 
church  reads  them,  but  without  receiving  them  into 
the  canon. 

.  There  arc  a  few  inconsiderable  parts  of  Scripture, 
^\hich  na-e  at  this  day  received  by  some  as  canonical, 
while  others  consider  them  as  apocryphal ;  such  as 
the  titles  to  the  Psalms,  the  preface  of  Jeremiah,  Ec- 
clesiasticus,  or  the  Wisdom  of  Sirach,  and  the  addi- 
tions to  Esther  and  Daniel. 

[Apocryphal  books,  in  the  Protestant  sense,  are 
of  two  classes,  viz.  (1.)  Those  which  were  in  exist- 
ence in  the  time  of  Christ,  but  were  not  admitted  by 
the  Jews  into  the  canon  of  the  Old  Testament ; 
eitlicr  because  they  had  no  Hebrew  original,  or  be- 
cause they  were  regarded  as  not  divinely  inspired. 
The  most  important  of  these  are  collected  in  the 
^ipocrypha  often  appended  to  the  English  Bible ; 
among  which  the  books  of  Ecclesiasticus  and  Mac- 
cabees are  the  most  valuable ;  the  former  as  con- 
taining many  excellent  maxims  of  wisdom,  and  the 
latter  as  being  for  the  most  part  true  history,  but 
written  in  a  diffuse  and  legendary  manner.  Most 
of  the  others  bear  the  stamp  of  legends  on  the  face 
of  them.  All  of  these  stand  in  the  Septuagint  and 
Vulgate  as  canonical.  But  besides  these  there  ex- 
isted veiy  many  pseudepigraphia,  or  writings  falsely 
attributed  to  distinguished  individuals ;  e.  g.  to  Adam, 
Setli,  Noah,  Abraham,  the  twelve  patriarchs,  &c. 
&c.  All  that  is  known  of  these  latter  may  be  seen 
in  Fabricii  Codex  Pseudepig.   V.  T. 

(2.)  Those  which  were  written  after  the  time  of 
Christ,  but  were  not  admitted  by  the  churches  into 
the  canon  of  the  New  Testameitt,  as  not  being 
divinely  inspired.  These  are  mostly  of  a  legendary 
character.  They  have  all  been  collected  by  Fabri- 
cius  in  his  Codex  Apoc.  .V.  T.  Among  them  are  no 
less  than  24  Gospels  ;  of  which  the  most  important 
are  those  of  the  Egyptians,  of  the  twelve  apostles,  of 
Cerinthus,  of  the  Ebionites,  of  the  Gnostics,  of  Mar- 
cion, of  Thomas,  and  the  Gospel  of  the  Infancy  of 
Jesus. — There  are  also  10  different  Books  of  Acts; 
and  six  Epistles,  or  rather  correspondences,  includ- 
ing the  letters  said  to  have  passed  between  Paul  and 
Seneca,  an  Epistle  of  Paul  to  the  Laodiceans,  one 
from  the  Corinthians  to  Paul,  and  his  reply.  Sec.  Sec. 
For  the  nine  Apocalypses,  see  that  article. — None 
of  all  these  are  received  as  canonical  at  tlie  present 
day  by  any  portion  of  the  Christian  church. 

Other  pseudepigraphia  of  this  kind,   though   not 
intended  to  be  put  foith  as  parts  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment, are  the  correspondence  of  Jesus  Christ  with 
11 


Abgar,  king  of  Edessa,  (see  Abgar,)  and  the  Epistle 
of  P.  Lentulus  to  the  Senate  of  Rome,  describing  the 
person  of  Clirist,  &c.     See  Lentulus.     *R. 

APOLLO,  one  of  the  gods  worshipped  by  the 
heathen,  to  whom  they  attributed  oracles  and  divi- 
nation.    See  Gospel,  Oracle,  and  Python. 

APOLLONIA,  a  city  of  Macedonia,  through 
which  Paul  passed  in  his  way  from  Amphipolis  to 
Thessalonica,  Acts  xvii.  1.  It  was  formerly  cele- 
brated for  its  trade. 

I.  APOLLONIUS,  an  officer  belonging  to  Anti- 
ochus  Epiphanes,  who  is  called  Misarches  in  the 
Greek,  (2  Mace.  v.  24.)  and  whom  Antiochus  Epiph- 
anes sent  into  Judea  to  execute  his  design  of  draw- 
ing large  sums  from  Jerusalem.  Antiochus  came 
thither  at  the  head  of  22,000  men,  and,  on  the  sab- 
bath-day, fell  on  the  people,  and  put  great  numbers 
to  the  sword.  Tlie  city  was  burnt  and  pillaged ; 
10,000  persons  were  taken,  carried  captive,  and  sold 
to  the  king's  profit.  Two  years  afterwards,  Judas 
Maccabfeus,  having  gathered  an  army  of  6C00  Jews, 
who  continued  faithful,  defeated  and  killed  ApoUo- 
nius,  dispersed  his  army,  and  carried  off  a  very 
rich  booty,  1  Mace.  i.*30,  31.  A.  M.  3838,  ante 
A.  D.  166. 

II.  APOLLONIUS  Daus,  governor  of  Coelo- 
Syria,  and  general  of  Demetrius  Nicanor,  having 
abandoned  the  party  of  Alexander  Balas,  and  es- 
poused that  of  Demetrius  Nicanor,  headed  a  power- 
ful army,  to  compel  the  Jews  to  declare  for  Deme- 
trius. A.  M.  3856,  ante  A.  D.  148.  He  was  defeated 
by  Jonathan  Maccabseus,  however,  and  8000  of  his 
men  killed,  1  Mace.  x.  69 — 76.  For  this  victory, 
Alexander  Balas  bestowed  new  favors  on  Jonathan  ; 
among  which  was  a  golden  buckle,  such  as  the 
king's  relations  wear,  and  the  property  of  Accaron, 
ver.  77—89. 

III.  APOLLONIUS,  son  of  Genneus,  was  one 
of  those  governors  whom  Lysias  had  left  in  Judea, 
after  the  treaty  formed  between  the  Jews  and  the 
young  king  Antiochus  Eupator,  and  who  endeav- 
ored,"by  their  ill  treatment,  to  compel  the  Jews  to 
break  it,  2  Mace.  xii.  2. 

APOLLOS,  a  Jew  of  Alexandria,  who  came  to 
Ephesus,  A.  D.  54,  during  the  absence  of  Paul,  who 
had  gone  to  Jerusalem.  He  was  "an  eloquent  man, 
and  mighty  in  the  Scriptures,"  (Acts  xviii.  24.)  but 
he  knew  only  the  baptism  of  John  ;  so  that  he  was, 
as  it  were,  only  a  catechumen,  and  not  fully  informed 
of  the  higher  branches  of  gospel  doctrine.  Never- 
theless, he  knew  Jesus  to  be  the  Messiah,  and  de- 
clared himself  openly  as  his  disciple.  At  ISphesus, 
where  he  began  to  speak  boldly  in  the  synagogue, 
demonstrating,  by  the  Scriptures,  that  Jesus  was  the 
Christ,  Aquiia  and  Priscilla  heard  him,  and  took 
him  home  with  tliem,  to  instruct  him  more  fully  in 
the  ways  of  God.  Some  time  after  this,  he  inclined 
to  go  into  Achaia,  and  the  brethren  w-rote  to  the  dis- 
ciples there,  desiring  them  to  receive  him.  At  Cor- 
inth he  Mas  very  useful  in  watering  what  Paul  had 
planted.  It  has  been  supposed,  that  the  great  affec- 
tion his  disciples  had  for  him,  almost  produced  a 
schism,  (1  Cor.  iii.  4 — 7.)  "some  saying,  I  am  of 
Paul ;  others,  I  am  of  Apollos  ;  others,  I  am  of 
Cephas."  But  this  division,  which  Paul  mentions 
and  reproves,  in  his  First  Epistle  to  the  Corintiiians, 
did  not  prevent  him  and  Apollos  from  being  closely 
united  in  the  bonds  of  Christian  charity  and  affec- 
tion. Apollos,  hearing  that  the  apostle  was  at  Eph- 
esus, went  to  meet  him,  and  was  there  when  he 
WTote  the  First  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians,  wherein 


•>' 


A  PO 


[82] 


APOSTLE 


he  obsen-es  that  he  had  earnestly  entreated  A  polios 
to  return  to  Corinth,  but  had  not  prevailed  upon 
him  ;  that,  nevertheless,  he  gave  him  room  to  hope, 
that  lie  would  visit  that  city  at  a  favorable  opportu- 
nity, ch.  xvi.  12.  Some  have  supposed  that  the 
apostle  nanifes  ApoUos  and  Ce[)has,  not  as  the  real 
persons  in  whose  names  ])arties  had  been  formed  at 
Corinth,  but  that,  in  order  to  avoid  jirovoking  a 
temper  which  he  desired  might  subside,  he  "trans- 
fers, by  a  figure,  to  Apollos,  and  to  hims;>lf,"  what  was 
said  really  of  other  parties,  whom,  out  of  prudence, 
he  declines  naming.  It  might  be  so  ;  but  the  reluc- 
tance of  Apollos  to  return  to  Corinth  seems  to  coun- 
tenance the  other,  which  is  tlie  general  opinion. 
Jerome  says,  (ad.  Tit.  iii.)  Apollos  wriS  so  dissatisfied 
Avith  the  division  which  had  happened  on  his  ac- 
count at  Corinth,  that  he  retired  into  Crete,  with 
Zeno,  a  doctor  of  the  law;  but  that  this  interruption 
of  Christian  harmony  having  been  appeased  i)y  the 
letter  of  Paul  to  the  Corinthians,  Apollos  returned  to 
that  city,  and  afterwards  became  bishop  there.  The 
Greeks  make  him  bishop  of  Duras  ;  but,  in  their 
Menaea,  they  describe  him  as  second  bishop  of  Col- 
ophon, in  Asia.  Ferrarius  says  he  was  bishop  of 
Iconium,  in  Phrygia ;  others  say  he  was  bishop  of 
Ctesarea ;  but  this  is  all  uncertain. 

APOLLYON,  'the  destroyer;'  answering  to  the 
Hebrew  Abaddon,  which  see.   Rev.  ix.  11. 

APOSTLE,  «.TO"ro,'.u;.  a  messenger, or  envoy.  The 
term  is  applied  to  Jesus  Christ,  who  was  God's  en- 
voy to  save  the  world,  (Heb.  iii.  1.)  though,  more 
commonly,  the  title  is  given  to  persons  'who  Averc 
envoys,  commissioned  by  him.  Those  also  who 
were  sent  on  any  errand  by  a  church  or  Christian 
community,  are  called  in  the  N.  T.  apostles.  Thus 
Paid  speaks  of  two  apostles,  Eng.  messengers,  1  Cor. 
Anii.  23.  So  also  Phil.  ii.  25,  where  he  calls  Epaph- 
roditus,  in  like  manner,  the  apostle,  i.  e.  messenger 
of  that  church. 

Herodotus  uses  the  word  to  denote  a  public  herald, 
an  ambassador,  or  nuncio.  Tiie  Hebrews  had  apos- 
tles sent  by  their  patriarch  to  collect  a  certain  yearly 
tribute,  which  was  called  aurum  roi-onnriuin.  (Cod. 
Theod.  xiv.)  Some  assert,  that,  before  Jesus  Christ, 
they  had  another  sort  of  apostle,  v>ho  collected  the 
half  shekel,  which  was  paid  by  every  Israelite  to  the 
temple.  These  might  be  called  apostles ;  but  we 
cannot  perceive  that  this  name  was  given  to  them, 
as  it  certainly  was  to  other  ofiicers,  belonging  to  the 
high-priests  and  heads  of  the  people,  who  were  sent 
to  carry  their  orders  to  distant  cities  and  provinces, 
in  affairs  relating  to  religion.  For  example,  Paul 
was  deputed  to  the  synagogues  of  Damascus,  with 
directions  to  seize  and  imprison  all  who  professed 
the  religion  of  Christ ;  that  is,  he  v.as  the  apostle  of 
the  high-priest,  and  others  at  Jerusalem,  for  this 
purpose:  and  he  alludes  to  this  custom, according  to 
Jerome,  in  the  beginning  of  his  Epistle  to  the  Gala- 
tians,  saying,  that  he  h  "  an  apostle,  not  of  man, 
neither  by  [coMimissioneil  from]  man,  hut  by  [com- 
missioned fi'om]  Jesus  ChriFJt:"'  as  if  he  had  said,  an 
a|)0Stle,  not  like  tho.?e  among  the  Jews,  wlio  derived 
their  mission  from  the  chief  priests,  or  from  the 
principal  men  of  the  nation  ;  but  an  apostle  s?nt  by 
Jesus  Christ  himsc!!'.  Euseliius  and  Jernine  speak 
likewise  of  a|)ostles  sent  iiy  tlic  Jews  to  defame  Jesus 
Christ,  his  doctrine,  and  hi:3  discifiles.  Justin  Mar- 
tyr, in  his  Dialocue  airain.t  Trypho,  says,  they  sent 
persons  whom  they  called  apostles,  to  disperse  cir- 
cular letters,  filled  with  calumnies  agaiust  the  Chris- 
tisms  :  and  to  this,  it  is  supposed,  there  is  a  reference, 


"  we  have  not  received  letters  concerning  thee  from 
Jerusalem  ; — but  this  sect  is  every  where  spoken 
against,"  Acts  xxviii.  21,  22.  Epiphanius,  speaking 
of  these  apostles,  observes,  that  theirs  was  a  very 
honorable  and  profitable  employment  atnong  the 
Jews. 

The  Ai'osTLES  of  Jesus  Christ  were  his  chief  dis- 
ciples, whom  he  invested  with  his  authority,  filled 
with  his  Spirit,  intrusted  particularly  with  his  doc- 
trines and  services,  and  chose  to  I'aise  the  edifice  of 
his  church.  After  his  resurrection,  he  sent  his  apos- 
tles into  all  the  world,  commissioned  to  preach,  to 
baptize,  to  work  miracles,  &c.  The  names  of  the 
twelve  are, — 

1.  Peter  6.  Bartholomew     10.  Jude  (Lebbeus, 

2.  Andrew       7.  Thomas  Thaddeus) 

3.  John  8.  Matthew  (Levi)  11.  James  3Iinor 

4.  Philip  9.  Simon  12.  Judas  Iscariot. 

5.  James  Major 

The  last  betrayed  his  Master ;  and,  having  hanged 
himself,  3Iatthias  was  chosen  in  his  place.  Acts  i. 
15—26. 

The  order  in  which  the  apostles  are  named  is  not 
the  same  in  all  the  gospels.  See  Matt.  x.  2 ;  INIark 
iii.  16 ;  Luke  vi.  14 ;  Acts  i.  13.  This,  though  a  very 
simj)le  fact  and  observation,  has  its  weight  in  show- 
ing that  the  evangelists  neither  wrote  in  concert,  nor 
copied  from  one  another.  Had  they  done  so,  nothing 
could  be  more  probable  than  their  repetition  of  a  list 
already  formed  to  their  hands,  of  a  number  of  names 
so  \^■ell  known  as  those  of  the  ajjostles  ;  and  the 
order  of  which  was  so  perfectly  indifferent  to  any 
personal  object.  They  all  begin  with  Simon  Peter, 
and  end  with  Judas  Iscariot. 

From  the  application  of  the  title  apostle,  as  given 
above,  we  may  jjcrceive  in  what  sense  Paul  claims 
it — "  Am  not  I  an  apostle  ?" — a  missionary,  an  envoy, 
a  person  authorized  by  Christ  to  pi-oclaim  his  will, 
1  Cor.  ix.  1.  In  the  same  sense  he  applies  the  title 
to  Barnabas,  whom  he  includes — "or  I  only  and 
Barnabas,  have  not  we  power  to  be  accompanied  by 
a  wife,"  &c.  ver.  6.  So  that  there  are,  perhaps, 
three  or  four  persons  called  apostles  in  this  sense, 
besides  the  twelve  mentioned  in  the  gospels,  as 
having  been  chosen  to  that  office  by  our  Saviour 
when  on  earth. 

[In  regard  to  the  apostles  of  our  Lord,  there 
are  some  particulars  deserving  of  a  moment's 
attention. 

1.  They  were,  for  the  most  part  at  least,  Galileans, 
and  from  the  lower  class  of  society.  The  greater 
part  of  them  were  fishermen,  who  prosecuted  their 
employiYiont  on  the  shores  of  the  lake  of  Tiberias. 
Matthew  was  a  publican  or  tax-gatherer  employed 
by  the  Romans ;  an  occupation  regarded  by  the 
Jews  in  general  with  the  utmost  contempt  and  ab- 
horrence. They  were  '  unlearned  and  ignorant 
men,'  (Acts  iv.  13.)  and  Paul  justly  regards  it  as  a 
proof  of  the  wisdom  and  power  of  God,  that  he  had 
chosen,  through  the  preaching  of  unlearned  men,  to 
overthrow  the  whole  edifice  of  human  wisdom, 
and  lead  the  world  to  the  light  of  truth,  1  Cor.  i. 
27,  seq. 

2.  The  apostles  all  received  instruction  from  Jesus 
in  common  ;  and  on  the  day  ol"  Pentecost  were  all 
furnished  with  ])ower  from  on  high,  for  their  great 
enter|)rise  and  destination,  through  the  outpouring 
of  the  Holy  Spirit.  In  respect  to  the  religious 
truths  which  they  were  to  teach,  therefore,  they  were 
infallible,  and  so  directed  and  assisted  by  the  Spirit, 
that   their  doctrines  were  not   nlloved   bv   human 


APP 


errors.  In  all  other  respects,  however,  they  were 
not  at  all  infallible,  nor  even  hispired,  as  tlieir  history 
clearly  shows.  Thus,  during  the  whole  ministry  of 
Jesus,  they  were  not  able  to  divest  themselves  of  the 
Jewish  notion,  that  the  Messiah  was  to  be  a  temporal 
prince,  and  the  dehverer  and  restorer  of  tlie  Jewish 
nation ;  so  that,  even  after  our  Lord's  resurrection, 
they  put  the  question  to  him  in  a  body,  "  Lord,  wilt 
thou  at  this  time  restore  again  the  kingdom  to 
Fsrael  ?"  Acts  i.  6.  But  even  after  the  extraordi- 
nary gifts  of  the  Spirit  on  the  day  of  Pentecost,  and 
afterwards,  we  still  find  Peter  needing  an  express 
direction  from  the  Spirit,  before  he  could  so  far 
overcome  his  Jewisii  prejudices,  as  to  preach  the 
gospel  to  the  Gentiles.  We  find,  too,  Paul  and 
Barnabas  disputing  and  separating  from  one  another ; 
(Acts  XV.  36,  seq.)  and  Paul  rebuking  Peter  and 
others  for  then"  want  of  consistency,  Gal.  ii.  11,  seq. 
In  respect,  also,  to  certain  parts  of  doctrine,  they 
received  only  by  degrees  a  fuller  illumination ;  see 
Acts  XV.  So  also  Paul  several  times  distinguishes 
between  what  is  merely  his  own  judgment  or  opin- 
ion, and  that  which  he  receives  directly  from  the 
Lord,  e.  g.  1  Cor.  vii.  6.  At  other  times  the  apostle 
laid  plans  and  attempted  to  execute  them  ;  which 
plans  citlier  remained  unfulfilled,  or  were  directly 
fi-ustrated  by  the  influence  of  the  Spirit ;  e.  g.  in  Rom. 
XV.  28,  Paul  expresses  the  intention  of  passing 
through  Rome  on  his  way  to  Spain  ;  in  Acts  xvi.  7, 
it  is  related  that  Paul  and  Silas  "  assayed  to  go  into 
Bithynia,  but  the  Spirit  suftered  thcui  not." 

3.  There  was  among  the  apostles  no  external  dis- 
tinction of  rank  ;  indeed,  the  whole  teaching  of 
Jesus  was  directed  to  do  away  all  such  distinc- 
tion, had  it  been  otherwise  possible  for  it  to  exist, 
Matt.  XX.  24,  seq.  xxiii.  11,  12;  Mark  x.  44.  Nev- 
ertheless, there  appears  to  have  been  a  difference  of 
character  and  standing  among  them  in  respect  to 
influence  and  activity,  so  far  as  this,  that  Peter,  and 
James,  and  John  act  a  more  prominent  part  than  any 
of  the  others,  both  during  the  Hfetime  of  Christ,  and 
also  after  his  death  ;  when  they  became  especially 
pillars  in  the  church  at  Jerusalem,  Gal.  ii.  9.  Among 
these  three,  again,  Peter  seems  to  have  had  a  special 
prominence,  aiisiug  from  his  zeal,  activity,  energj', 
and  decision  of  character.  He  also  was  the  first  to 
preach  the  gospel  to  the  Gentiles,  Acts  xv.  7.  But 
abo\e  all  the  apostles  who  had  personally  known  our 
Lord  and  received  his  instructions,  Paid,  who  after- 
wards became  an  apostle,  like  one  born  out  of  due 
time,  was  distinguished  for  a  widely  extended  and 
successful  activity,  particularly  among  the  heathen  ; 
and  he  it  was,  especially,  through  whose  instrument- 
ality Christianity  became  what  it  was  intended  by 
its  Founder  to  be,  the  religion  of  the  whole  human 
race.  If  it  was  the  zeal,  activity,  and  success  of 
Peter  which  gave  him  a  pre-eminence  iu  the  church, 
much  more  would  such  pre-eminence  be  due  to 
Paul. — Of  the  other  apostles  we  have  no  particular 
personal  accounts,  after  the  day  of  Pentecost.     *R. 

"APPII  FORUM,  a  city,  or  market  town,  founded 
by  Ai)pius  Claudius,  on  the  great  road  ( Via  Appii) 
whicli  he  constructed  from  Rome  to  Capua.  Some 
authors  suppose  it  to  have  occupied  the  site  of  the 
present  hamlet  of  Le  Case  Nuove.  But  it  is  more 
probably  to  be  found  in  the  present  Casarillo  di  Santa 
Maria,  situated  50  miles  from  Rome,  in  the  borders 
of  the  Pontine  marshes,  where  are  the  remains  of  an 
ancient  city.  Being  thus  situated  in  the  marshes, 
it  is  no  wonder  that  the  water  was  bad,  as  mentioned 
by  Horace. 


[  83  ]  APP 

Egressum  magna  me  excepit  Aricia,  Roma, 
Hospitio  modico. — 

— Inde  Forum  Appl 
Differtum  nautis,  cauponibus  atque  malignisi.— 
Hie  ego,  propter  aquam,  quod  erat  deterrima,  ventri 
Indico  bellum. — Hor.  Sat.  i.  5. 

The  "  Three  Taverns"  were  about  eight  or  ten 
miles  nearer  to  Rome  than  "  Appii  Forum,"  as  Cice- 
ro intimates,  who,  going  from  Rome,  writes,  "  ab 
Appii  Foro,  hora  quarta ;  dederam  aliam  paulo  ante 
a  Trihus  Tabeniis ,-"  a  little  before  he  came  to  the 
Forum  of  Appius  he  had  -written  from  the  Three 
Taverns ;  (ad.  Att.  ii.  10.)  so  that  probably  the  chief 
number  of  Christians  waited  for  the  apostle  Paul  at 
a  place  of  refreshment ;  while  some  of  their  num- 
ber went  forward  to  meet  him,  and  to  acquaint  him 
with  their  expectation  of  seeing  him  among  them, 
for  which  they  respectfully  waited  his  coming. 
See  Acts  xxviii.  15. 

APPLE  and  APPLE-TREE,  Heb.  man  tappuach, 
Cant.  viii.  5 ;  Joel  i.  12.  Commentators  have  been 
at  a  loss  what  tree  is  strictly  meant  under  this  name ; 
the  manner  in  which  it  is  employed  seeming  to  imply 
a  tree  of  gi-eat  and  distinguished  beauty  ;  thus  Cant, 
ii.  3,  "  As  the  apple-tree  among  the  trees  of  the  wood, 
so  is  my  beloved  among  the  sons;"  and  vii.  8,  "the 
smell  of  thy  nose  is  like  apples."  Hence  Harmar 
supposes  it  to  be  the  orange  or  citron-tree.  Obs. 
Ixxv.  The  coi-responding  Arabic  word,  tyffach,  sig- 
nifies not  only  apples,  but  also  generally  all  similar 
fruits,  as  oranges,  lemons,  quinces,  peaches,  apricots, 
etc.  and  it  is  a  common  comparison  to  say  of  any 
thing,  "  It  is  as  fragrant  as  a  tyffach.:'  The  Hebrew 
word  may,  perhaps,  have  been  used  in  the  same  gen- 
eral sense.  There  is,  however,  no  need  of  such  a 
supposition.  Apple-trees  were  not  very  common  in 
Palestine,  and  their  comparative  rarity  would  natu- 
rally give  them  a  poetical  value.  The  same  word", 
tappuach,  is  also  employed  as  the  name  of  a  person, 
(1  Chron.  ii.  43.)  and  of  two  cities,  one  in  Judah,  (Josh, 
xii.  17  ;  XV.  34.)  and  the  other  on  the  border  between 
Ephraim  and  Manasseh,  Josh.  xvi.  8. 

In  Prov.  XXV.  11,  it  is  said,  in  our  Enghsh  version, 
"  A  word  fitly  spoken  is  like  apples  of  gold  in  pic- 
tures of  silver."  This  is  translated  by  Gesenius  and 
others  thus  :  "  Like  golden  apples  inlaid  with  silver 
figures."  On  this  Rosenmueller  remarks,  that  it  is 
difticult  to  see  for  what  i)nrpose  such  apples  of  gold 
should  be  fabricated  ;  and  he  prefers,  therefore,  to 
refer  the  epithet  golden  to  their  color,  and  translates, 
"  like  golden  apples,  or  quinces,  in  vases  or  baskets 
of  silver  ;"  i.  e.  as  these  allure  the  eye,  so  a  fitly 
spoken  word  is  ple?isant  to  the  understanding.     *R. 

APPLES  OF  Sodom.  The  late  adventurous 
traveller,  M.  Seetzen,  who  went  round  the  Red  sea, 
notices  the  famous  Apple  of  Sodom ;  which  was  said 
to  have  all  the  appearance  of  the  most  inviting  apple, 
while  it  was  filled  with  nauseous  and  bitter  dust 
only.  It  has  furnished  many  moralists  with  allusions : 
and  also  our  poet  Milton,  in  whose  infernal  regions — 

A  grove  sprung  up — laden  with  fair  fruit — 

greedily  they  plucked 

The  fruitage,  fair  to  sight,  like  that  which  grew 
Near  that  bituminous  fake,  where  Sodom  flamed. 
This,  more  delusive,  not  the  touch,  but  taste 
Deceived.     They,  fondly  thinking  to  allay 
Their  appetite  with  gust,  instead  of  fruit 
Chewed  bitter  ashes,  which  the  oflfended  taste 
With  spattering  noise  rejected  :— 


APPLES 


[84] 


AQU 


Seetzen  thus  explains  this  pecuharity :  "  The  infor- 
mation which  I  have  been  able  to  collect  on  the  ap- 
ples of  Sodom  (Solanum  Sodomeum)  is  very  contra- 
dictory and  insufficient ;  I  believe,  however,  that  I 
can  give  a  very  natural  explanation  of  the  phenom- 
enon, and  that  the  following  remark  will  lead  to  it. 
While  I  was  at  Karrak,  at  the  house  of  a  Greek  cu- 
rate of  the  town,  I  saw  a  sort  of  cotton,  resembling 
silk,  which  he  used  as  tinder  for  his  match-lock,  as  it 
could  not  be  employed  in  making  cloth.  He  told 
me  that  it  grew  in  the  plains  of  el-G6r,  to  the  east 
of  the  Dead  sea,  on  a  tree  like  a  fig-tree,  called 
Aoeschaer.  The  cotton  is  contained  in  a  fruit  re- 
sembling the  pomegranate  ;  and  by  making  incisions 
at  the  root  of  the  tree,  a  sort  of  milk  is  procured, 
which  is  recommended  to  barren  women,  and  is 
called  Lebbin  Aoeschaer.  It  has  struck  me  that 
these  fruits,  being,  as  they  are,  without  ])ulp,  and 
which  are  uukuoAvn  throughout  the  rest  of  Pales- 
tine, might  be  the  famous  apples  of  Sodom.  I  sup- 
pose, likewise,  that  the  tree  which  produces  it,  is  a 
sort  of  fromager,  {Bombyx,  Linn.)  wliich  can  only 
flourish  under  the  excessive  heat  of  the  Dead  sea, 
and  in  no  other  district  of  Palestine." 

This  curious  subject  is  further  e.xplained,  in  a  note 
added  by  M.  Seetzen's  editor,  who  considers  the  tree 
to  be  a  species  of  Asclepias,  j)robably  the  Asclepias 
Gigantea.  The  remark  of  31.  Seetzen  is  coiToborat- 
ed  by  a  traveller,  who  passed  a  long  time  in  situa- 
tions where  this  plant  is  very  abundant.  The  same 
idea  occurred  to  him  when  he  first  saw  it  in  1792, 
though  he  did  not  then  know  that  it  existed  near  the 
lake  Asphaltites.  The  uml)ella,  somewhat  like  a 
bladder,  containing  from  half  a  pint  to  a  pint,  is  of 
the  same  color  with  tlie  leaves,  a  bright  green,  and 
may  be  mistaken  for  an  inviting  fruit,  without  much 
Btretch  of  imagination.  That,  as  well  as  the  other 
parts,  when  green,  being  cut  or  i)ressed,  yields  a 
milky  juice,  of  a  very  acrid  taste  :  but  in  winter, 
when  dry,  it  contains  a  yellowish  dust,  in  appearance 
resembling  certain  fungi,  connnon  in  South  Britain  ; 
but  of  pungent  quality,  and  said  to  be  particularly 
injurious  to  the  eyes.  The  whole  so  nearly  corre- 
sponds with  the  description  given  by  Solinus,  (Poly- 
histor,)  Josephus,  and  others,  of  the  Poma  SodomfP, 
allowance  being  made  for  their  extravagant  exagge- 
rations, as  to  leave  little  doubt  on  the  subject. 

Seetzen's  account  is  partly  confirmed  by  the  la- 
mented Burckhardt.  lie  says,  "  The  tree  Asheyr  is 
very  conmion  in  the  Ghor.  It  bears  a  fruit  of  a  "red- 
dish yellow  color,  about  three  inches  in  diameter, 
which  contains  a  white  substance,  resembling  the 
finest  silk.  The  Arabs  collect  the  silk,  and  twist  it 
into  matches  for  their  fire-locks,  preferring  it  to  the 
common  match  because  it  ignites  more  i-eadily. 
More  than  twentv  camel  loads  might  be  produced 
aimually."  p.  392": 

The  same  plant  is  also  to  be  seen  on  the  sandy 
borders  of  the  Nile,  above  the  first  cataracts,  the 
only  vegetable  production  of  that  barren  tract.  It 
is  about  three  feet  in  height,  and  the  fruit  exactly 
answering  the  above  descrii)tion.  It  is  there  called 
Oshoin.  The  dowiiy  sui)staiice  found  within  the 
etem  is  of  too  short  staple  prolmbly  for  any  mnnufac- 
ture,  for  which  its  silky  delicate" texture  and  clear 
whiteness  iniglit  otherwise  l)e  suitable.  It  is  used  to 
BtufT  pillows,  and  similar  articles. 

[Chateaubriand  supposes  the  apples  of  Sodom  to 
be  the  fruit  of  a  shrub  which  grows  two  or  three 
leagues  from  the  mouth  of  the  Jordan  ;  it  is  thorny, 
with  small  taper  leaves,  and  its  fruit   is  exactlv  like 


the  small  Egyptian  lemon  in  size  and  color.  Before 
the  fruit  is  ripe,  it  is  filled  with  a  coiTosive  and  sa- 
line juice ;  when  dried,  it  yields  a  blackish  seed, 
which  may  be  compared  to  ashes,  and  which  in  taste 
resembles  bitter  pepper. — Mr.  King  found  the  same 
shrub  and  fruit  near  Jericho,  and  seems  also  inclined 
to  regard  it  as  the  apple  of  Sodom.  Miss.  Herald 
for  1824,  p.  99.     Mod.  Traveller,  i.  p.  2CG. 

Most  probably,  however,  the  whole  story  in  Taci- 
tus and  Josephus  is  a  fable,  which  sprung  up  iu 
connection  with  the  singular  and  marvellous  char- 
acter of  this  region  and  its  history.  The  whole  ac- 
count of  the  Dead  sea  in  Tacitus  is  of  a  similar 
kind.  Even  to  the  present  day  a  like  fable  is 
current  among  the  Arabs  who  dwell  in  the  vicinity. 
Burckhardt  says,  "They  speak  of  the  spurious 
pomegranate-ti-ee,  producing  a  fruit  precisely  like 
that  of  the  pomegranate,  but  which,  on  being  open- 
ed, is  found  to  contain  nothing  but  a  dusty  powder. 
This,  they  pretend,  is  the  Sodom  apple-tree ;  other 
persons,  however,  deny  its  existence."  p.  392.     *R. 

APRIES,  king  of  Egjpt, called  Pharaoh-IIophrah, 
in  the  sacred  writings,  (Jer.  xliv.  30.)  was  son  of 
Psammis,  and  grandson  of  Nechos,  or  Necho,  who 
fought  Josiah  king  of  the  Jews.  He  i-eigned  twenty- 
five  years,  and  was  long  considered  as  one  of  the 
happiest  princes  in  the  world  ;  but  having  equipped 
a  fleet,  with  design  to  reduce  the  Cyrenians,  he  lost 
almost  his  whole  army  in  the  expedition.  The 
Egyptians,  exasperated  at  the  occurrence,  rebelled, 
and  proclaimed  Amasis,  one  of  his  chief  officers, 
king.  Aclasis  marched  against  Apries,  and  took 
him  prisoner,  and  he  was  afterwards  strangled  by 
the  people.  Such  was  the  end  of  Apries,  accorduig- 
to  Herodotus,     (ii.  c.  161,  162,  169.) 

This  prince  had  made  a  league  with  Zedekiah, 
and  pi-omised  him  assistance ;  (Ezek.  xvii.  15.) 
whereupon  Zedekiah,  relying  on  his  forces,  revolted 
from  Nebuchadnezzar,  A.  31.  3414,  aiite  A.  D.  580. 
Early  in  the  year  following,  the  Babylonians  march- 
ed into  Judea,  but  as  other  nations  of  Syria  had 
hkewise  shaken  ofl^  their  obedience,  he  first  reduced 
them  to  their  duty ;  and,  towards  the  end  of  the 
year,  he  besieged  Jerusalem,  2  Ivings  xxv.  5 ;  2 
Chron.  xxxvi.  17;  Jer.  xxxix.  1;  lii.  4.  Zedekiah 
defended  himself  long  and  obstinately,  in  order  to 
give  time  to  Hophrah,  or  Apries,  to  come  to  his  as- 
sistance. Apries  advanced,  with  a  powerful  army, 
and  the  king  of  Babylon  raised  the  siege,  to  meet 
him  ;  but,  not  daring  to  hazard  a  battle  against  the 
Chaldeans,  the  Egyptian  retreated,  and  abandoned 
Zedekiah.  Jeremiah  threatened  Apries  with  being 
delivered  into  the  hands  of  his  enemies,  as  he  had 
delivered  Zedekiah  into  the  hands  of  Nebuchad- 
nezzar; and  Ezekiel  (ch.  xxix.)  reproaches  him  se- 
verely with  his  baseness  ;  threatening,  since  Egypt 
had  been  "a  stafi' of  reed  to  the  house  of  Israel, 
and  an  occasion  of  falling,"  itself  should  be  reduced 
to  a  solitude  ;  that  God  would  send  the  sword  against 
it,  which  should  destroy  man  and  beast.  This  was 
afterwards  accomplished,  first,  in  the  person  of 
Apries  as  above  stated  ;  secondly,  in  the  conquest  of 
Egypt,  by  the  Persians.  Comp.  Greppo's  Essay  on 
the  Hieroglyphic  System,  p.  129. 

AQUILA,  a  native  of  Pontus,  iu  Asia  Minor, 
who,  with  his  wife  Priscilla,  (Acts  xviii.  2.)  enter- 
tained Paul  at  Corinth,  whither  they  had  been  driven 
by  the  edict  of  the  emperor  Claudius,  which  banished 
all  Jews  from  Koine.  (Sueton.  Claud,  c.  2.5.)  Paul 
afterwards  quitted  Aquila's  house,  and  lodged  with 
Justus,  near  the  Jewish  synagogue,  at  Corinth,  per- 


ARA 


[85] 


ARABIA 


haps,  because  Aquila  was  a  convert  from  Judaism, 
whereas  Justus  was  a  convert  from  paganism ;  on 
which  account  the  Gentiles  niiglit  come  and  hear 
him  with  more  liberty.  When  the  apostle  left  Cor- 
inth, Aquila  and  Priscilla  accompanied  him  to 
Ephesus,  where  he  left  them  to  edify  the  church  by 
their  instructions  and  exami)le,  while  he  went  to 
Jerusalem.  They  rendered  him  very  great  services 
in  this  city,  and  even  exposed  their  own  lives  to  pre- 
serve his,  (Rom.  xvi.  4.) — as  some  think,  on  occasion 
of  the  tumult  raised  by  Demetrius  and  his  crafts- 
men in  behalf  of  their  goddess  Diana.  They  had 
returned  to  Rome  when  Paul  wrote  his  Epistle  to 
the  Romans,  (A.  D.  58.)  in  which  he  salutes  them 
with  great  encomiums  ;  but  they  did  not  continue 
there  ;  for  they  were  at  Ephesus  again,  when  Paul 
wrote  his  Second  Epistle  to  Timothy,  (A.  D.  64.) 
chap.  iv.  19.  What  became  of  them  afterwards  is 
not  knoAvn. 

AR,  Areopolis,  Ariel  of  Moab,  or  Rabbath- 
MoAB,  names  which  signify  the  same  city,  the  capital  of 
the  territory  of  the  Moabitcs,  on  the  south  of  the  river 
Anion.  Eusebius  remarks,  that  the  idol  of  these 
people,  probably  JMoabites,  was  called  Ariel.     Epi- 

S)hanius  says,  that  a  small  tract  of  land,  adjoining  to 
Hoab,  Iturea,  and  the  country  of  the  Nabathaeaus, 
16  called  Arielitis.  Isaiah  (xvi.  7,  11.)  calls  it  "the 
city  with  walls  of  burnt  brick  ;"  in  Hebrew  Kirha- 
reschith,  or  Kirjathhans.  Jerome  says,  the  city  was 
destroyed  by  an  earthquake,  when  he  was  young. 
Burckhardt  found  a  place  still  called  Rabba,  about  20 
miles  soiuh  of  the  Arnon,  with  ruins  about  a  mile 
and  a  half  in  circuit ;  doubtless  the  site  of  the  an- 
cient Rabbah.  (p.  377,  or  p.  040  Germ,  ed.)  Ar  was 
not  attacked  by  Israel,  from  respect  to  the  memory 
of  Lot;  to  whose  postcrit}'  God  had  assigned  it, 
Deut.  ii.  9. 

ARAB,  a  city  of  Judah,  Josh.  xv.  52. 

ARABAH,  a  city  of  Benjamin,  Josh,  xviii.  22. 

ARABIA  is  a  considerable  country  of  Western 
Asia,  lying  south  and  south-east  of  Judea.  It  ex- 
tends 1.500  miles  from  north  to  south,  and  1200  from 
east  to  west.  On  the  north  it  is  bounded  by  part  of 
Syria,  on  the  east  by  the  Persian  gulf  and  the  Eu- 
phrates, on  the  south  by  the  Arabian  sea  and  the 
straits  of  Babelmandel,  and  on  the  west  by  the  Red 
sea,  &.C.  Arabia  is  distinguished  by  geogi-aphers 
into  three  parts,  Arabia  Descrta — PetraDa,  and — Felix. 

Arabia  Deserta  has  the  mountains  of  Gilead 
west,  and  the  river  Euphrates  east ;  it  con)preliends 
the  country  of  the  Itureans,  the  Edomites,  the  Naba- 
thteans,  the  peojjle  of  Kedar,  and  others,  who  lead  a 
wandering  life,  liaving  no  cities,  houses,  or  fixed  hab- 
itations ;  but  wholly  dwelling  in  tents  ;  in  modern 
Arabic,  such  are  called  Bedouins.  This  country 
seems  to  be  generally  described  in  Scripture  by  the 
word  "Arab,"  which  signifies,  properly,  in  Hebrew, 
the  west.  The}'  may  have  taken  the  name  of  Arabim, 
or  Jf'(strrns,  from  their  situation,  being  west  of  the 
river  Euphrates;  and  if  so,  their  name  ^Jrab  is  prior 
to  the  settlement  of  Israel  in  Canaan.  In  Eusebius, 
and  authors  of  that  and  the  following  ages,  the  coun- 
try and  the  greater  part  of  tlie  cities  beyond  Jordan, 
and  of  what  they  call  tlie  Third  Palestine,  are  con- 
sidered as  parts  of  Arabia. 

Arabia  Petr^a  lies  south  of  the  Holy  Land,  and 
had  Petra  for  its  capital.  This  region  contained  the 
southern  Edomites,  the  Amalekites,  the  Cushites, 
(improperly  called  Ethiopians,  by  our  translators,  and 
other  interpreters  of  Scripture,)  the  Hivites,  the  Me- 
onians,  or  Maouim,  &c.  people   at   present  known 


under  the  general  name  of  Arabians.  But  it  is  of 
consequence  to  notice  the  ancient  inhabitants  of  these 
districts,  as  they  are  mentioned  in  the  text  of  Scrip- 
ture. In  this  country  was  Kadesh-barnea,  Gerar, 
Beersheba,  Lachish,  Libnah,  Paran,  Arad,  Hasmona, 
Oboth,  Phunon,  Dedan,  Segor,  &c.  also  mount  Sinai, 
where  the  law  was  given  to  Moses. 

Arabia  Felix  lay  still  farther  south ;  being 
bounded  east  by  the  Persian  gulf;  south  by  the  ocean, 
between  Africa  and  India  ;  and  west  by  the  Red  sea. 
As  this  region  did  not  immediately  adjoin  the  Holy 
Land,  it  is  not  so  frequently  mentioned  as  the  former 
ones.  It  is  thought,  that  the  queen  of  Sheba,  who 
visited  Solomon,  (1  Kings  x.  1.)  was  queen  of  part  of 
Arabia  Felix.  This  country  abounded  with  riches, 
and  particularly  with  spices  ;  and  is  now  called  Hed- 
jaz.  It  is  much  celebrated,  by  reason  of  the  cities 
of  Mecca  and  Medina  being  situated  in  it. 

Arabia  is  generally  stony,  rocky,  and  mountainous ; 
princii)ally  in  the  parts  remote  from  the  sea.  In  the 
course  of  ages,  a  vast  plain  has  been  interposed  be- 
tween the  mountains,  now  in  the  midst  of  the  coun- 
try, and  the  sea,  which  has  gradually  retired  from 
them.  This  is  now  the  most  fruitful  and  best  culti- 
vated part,  but  it  is  also  the  hottest ;  for  up  'n  tho 
mountains  the  air  is  much  cooler  than  below  in  the 
plains.  The  plain  is  called  Tehama;  or  "the 
Levels." 

The  inhabitants  of  Arabia,  who  dwelt  there  before 
Abraham  came  into  Canaan,  are  supposed  to  have 
descended  from  Ham.  We  find  there  3Iidianites,  of 
the  race  of  Cush,  among  whom  Moses  retired.  Abim- 
elech,  king  of  Gerar,  is  known  in  the  time  of  Abra- 
ham ;  and  the  Amalekites,  in  the  time  of  IMoses.  The 
Hivites,  the  Amorites,  the  Kenites,  and  the  iMeonians, 
or  Mahonians,  extended  a  good  way  into  Arabia 
Petra!a;tlie  Horim  occupied  the  mountains  which 
he  south  of  the  land  of  Canaan,  and  east  of  the  Dead 
sea.  The  Rephaiin,  Emini,  Zuzim,  and  Zamzum- 
mim  (Gen.  xiv.  5  ;  Deut.  ii.  10,  11.)  inhabited  the 
country  called  afterwards  Arabia  Deserta,  and  which 
was  subsequently  peopled  by  the  Ammonites,  Moab- 
itcs, and  Edomites. 

The  Arabs  derive  their  remotest  origin  from  the 
patriarch  Heber,  whom  they  called  Iloud,  and  who, 
at  the  distance  of  four  generations,  was  the  father  of 
Abraham.  He  settled,  they  say,  in  the  southern  parts 
of  Arabia,  and  died  there  about  1817  years  before  A. 
D.  His  son  Joctan,  named  by  the  Arabs  Kathj.ii,  or 
Kahthan,  being  the  father  of  a  numerous  family,  be- 
came, also,  the  first  sovereign  of  the  country  :  his  pos- 
terity peopled  the  jieninsula,  and  from  him  many 
tribes  of  Arabs  boast  their  descent.  These  are  called 
piu-e  or  unmixed  Arabs.  They  say,  too,  that  tho 
name  Arabia  is  derived  from  Jarab,  one  of  his  sona. 
See  JoKTA.N. 

The  Arabs  of  the  second  race  derive  their  descent 
from  Ishmael,son  of  Abraham  and  Hagar,  who  camo 
and  settled  among  the  former  tribes.  Of  his  jjoster- 
ity,  some  applied  themselves  to  traffic  and  hus- 
bandry ;  but  the  far  greater  part  ke])t  to  the  deserts, 
and  travelled  from  place  to  place,  like  the  modern 
Bedouins.  It  is  probable  that  a  third  description 
of  Arabs  might  arise  from  the  sons  of  Abraham  by 
Keturah,  as  they  would  naturally  associate  more  or 
less  with  their  brethren  the  Ishmaelites.  Other  oc- 
casional accessions  of  a  like  nature  might  augment 
the  migratory  population.  The  present  Bedouins 
are  fond  of  tracing  their  descent  from  Ishmacl,  and 
consider  their  numbers  as  fulfilling  the  promise  made 
to  Hagar,  of  a  numerous  posterity  to  issue  from  her 


ARABIA 


[86] 


ARABIA 


son.  Their  character,  too,  agrees  with  that  of  their 
alleged  progenitor,  for  their  hand  is  against  every  man  ; 
and  every  man''s  hand  is  against  them.  Their  disposi- 
tion leads  them  to  the  exercise  of  ai-nis,  and  warlike 
habits ;  to  the  tending  of  flocks ;  and  to  the  keen  ex- 
amination of  the  tracts  and  passages  of  their  country, 
in  hopes  of  meeting  with  booty.  They  despise  the 
nj-ts  of  civilized  and  social  life;  nor  v.'ill  they  inter- 
marry with  settled  tribes,  nor  with  the  Turks,  nor 
with  the  Moors,  lest  they  should  degrade  the  dignity 
of  their  pedigree.  Their  families  are  now  dispersed 
over  Syria,  IMesopotamia,  Palestine,  Egypt,  and  great 
part  of  Africa,  beside  their  original  country,  the  Ara- 
bias.  They  have,  indeed,  but  few  kingdoms  in  which 
they  possess  absolute  power,  but  they  are  governed 
by  (princes)  emirs,  and  by  (elders)  sheiks  ;'dnd  though 
no  where  composing  an  empire,  yet  in  the  whole 
they  are  a  prodigious  multitude  of  men — an  unde- 
niable fullilment  (in  conjunction  with  the  Jews)  of 
the  promise  made  to  Abraham,  that  his  posterity 
should  be  innumerable,  as  the  stajs  in  heaven,  or  as 
the  sand  of  the  sea. 

To  us,  who  inhabit  to^\^^s,  and  have  fixed  resi- 
dences, the  wandering  and  migratory  lives  of  the  pa- 
triarchs have  a  j)cculiar,  and  somewhat  strange,  ap- 
pearance ;  but  among  the  Arabs,  that  very  kind  of 
life  is  customary  at  this  daj'.  In  Egypt,  "The  Be- 
douin Arabs  ai-e  distributed  into  little  companies, 
each  with  a  cliief,  Avhom  they  call  sheik;  they  dwell 
always  under  tents,  and  each  platoon  foinis  a  little 
camp.  As  they  have  no  land  belonging  to  them, 
they  change  their  abode  as  often  as  they  please. 
When  they  fix  themselves  any  where,  for  a  certain 
time,  they  make  an  agreement  with  the  Bey,  the 
Cachelf,  or  the  Caimakan,  and  purchase,  for  a  whole 
year,  the  permission  of  cultivating  a  certain  portion 
of  land,  or  of  feeding  theii-  flocks  there,  dm-ing  the 
time  they  agi-ee  for.  They  continue  there,  then,  veiy 
peaceably,  go  forwards  and  backwards  into  the  vil- 
lages, or  neighboring  towns,  sell  and  purchase  what 
tliey  please,  and  enjoy  all  the  liberty  they  can  de- 
sire." But  "they  often  establish  themselves  on  the 
laud  they  occupy,  scpjuviting  from  the  jurisdiction  of 
the  government  the  land  they  have  seized  on,  and 
taking  possession  of  it,  without  paying  the  tax.  This 
is  a  loss  for  the  govermnent,  which  is,  by  this  means, 
deprived  of  the  revenue  of  those  lands."  (Norden's 
Travels  in  EgApt,  p.  9().)  This  may  remind  us  of  the 
mode  of  life  of  the  patriarchs,  Al)raham,  Isaac,  and 
Jacob  :  and  so  we  fuul  Abimelech  jealous  of  Isaac's 
greatness — "  Go  from  us,  for  thou  ait  much  mightier 
than  we;  and  if  we  let  thee  stay  a  little  longer,  thou 
wilt  seize  the  land  as  tliy  property,  and  we  shall  lose 
the  revenue  of  it." — "They  go  into  the  villages  or 
neidiboring  towns  ;"  so  "  Dinah,  tiie  daughter  of  Ja- 
cob, went  out  to  see  tlie  daugiitcrs  of  the  kuul ;"' — 
i.  e.  into  the  town  of  Shechem,  as  th<'.  story  proves. 
This  may  also  remind  us  of  the  injmwtions  of  Jon- 
adnb,  son  of  Ri'rl-.ab,  on  liis  posterity  :  (Jer.  xxxv.  6.) 
"Ye  shall  not  buikl  a  house,  but  dwell  intents  all 
your  days."  ^  iN'everthelrss,  th"y  fled  for  .sliolter,  from 
the  army  of  tlr;  Chaldeans,  to  Jerusalem;  though 
even  there,  no  doul.'t,  tiu-y  contiinird  to  abide  in 
their  tents  ;  and  this  singularity  distinguislied  them, 
not  to  the  j)rophit  only,  but  to  all  lli(>  iidiabitants  of 
Jerusalem.  Col.  Capiicr,  in  his  "  Observations  on 
the  Passage  to  India,"  (1778,)  thus  describes  an  Arab 
encamj)nient: — "From  this  hill,  we  could  j^lainlv 
perceive,  at  the  distance  of  about  three  miles,  an  im- 
mense body  of  Arabs,  which,  as  they  had  their  fam- 
ilies and  florlcs  with  tlieni,  looked  like   nn   encamp- 


ment of  the  patriarchs  :  they  first  sent  out  a  detach- 
ment of  about  four  hundred  men  towards  us  ;  but, 
finding  Ave  were  drawn  up  to  receive  them,  five  men 
only  advanced  from  the  main  body,  seeminglj'  with 
an  intention  to  treat :  on  seeing  which,  we  also  sent 
five  of  our  people  on  foot  to  meet  them.  A  short 
conference  ensued  ;  and  then  both  parties  came  to 
our  camp,  and  were  received  with  great  ceremony 
by  our  sheik :  they  proved  to  be  Bedouins,  under 
the  command  of  sheik  Fadil,  amounting  together  to 
nearly  twenty  thousand,  including  icomen  and  chil- 
dren. After  much  negotiation,  our  sheik  agreed  to 
paj-  a  tribute  of  one  chequin  for  every  camel  carry- 
ing merchandise  ;  but  he  refused  to  pay  for  those 
cariying  tents,  baggage,  or  provisions : — they  promised 
to  send  arejeek  [a  protecting  companion  of  their  own 
party]  with  us,  till  we  were  past  ail  danger  of  being 
molested  by  any  of  their  detached  parties,"  (p.  G3.) 
This  extract  may  give  us  some  idea  of  the  Israelites 
encampment  in  the  wilderness,  under  ]Moses.  Here 
we  find  20,000  persons,  women  and  children  in- 
cluded. How  heavy  was  the  burden  of  Babylon  ! 
(Isaiah  xiii.  20.)  "  It  shall  never  be  inhabited,  neither 
shall  it  be  dwelt  in,  from  generation  to  generation; 
neither  shall  the  Arabian  pitch  tent  there ;  neither 
shall  the  shepherds  make  a  fold  there  :" — wander 
where  they  will,  they  shall  keep  aloof  from  Babylon. 
To  the  same  pin-pose  speaks  Niebulir : — "  Their  way 
of  living  is  nearly  the  same  as  that  of  the  otlur 
wandering  Arabs,  of  the  Kurds,  and  of  the  Tm'ce- 
mans.  They  lodge  in  tents  n-ade  of  coarse  str.ft', 
either  black,  or  striped  black  and  white ;  which  ia 
manufactured  by  the  women,  of  goats'  hair.  The 
tent  consists  of  three  apartments,  of  which  one  is  for 
the  men,  another  for  the  women,  and  the  third  for 
the  cattle.  Those  ■(\iio  are  too  poor  to  have  a  tent, 
contrive,  however,  to  shelter  themselves  from  the  in- 
clemencies of  the  weather,  either  with  a  piece  of 
cloth  stretched  upon  poles,  or  by  retiring  to  the 
cavities  of  the  rocks.  As  the  shade  of  trees  is  ex- 
ceedingly agreeable  in  such  torrid  regions,  the  Bed- 
ouins are  at  great  pains  in  seeking  out  shaded 
situations  to  encamp  in."  (Travels,  vol.  i.  p.  208.) 
"  I  am  black,  but  comely,"  says  the  spouse  ;  (Cant.  i. 
5.)  black,  as  the  tciUs  of  Kedar,  come]}',  as  the  tent-cur- 
tains of  Solomon.  It  should  be  remembered,  how- 
ever, that  those  who  are  able,  have  distinct  tents,  not 
apartments  only,  for  the  men,  the  women,  and  the 
cattle.     Sec  Tents. 

The  pure  and  ancient  Arabians  were  divided  into 
tribes,  as  well  as  the  sons  of  Ishmael.  Some  of 
these  tribes  still  exist  in  Arabia,  others  are  lost  and 
extinct.  The  Islnnaclitcs  formed  twelve  tribes,  ac- 
cording to  the  number  of  the  sons  of  Ishmael,  (Gen. 
XXV.  13,  14.)  viz.  Nebajoth,  Kedar,  Abdiel,  Mibsam, 
?dishma,  Dumah,  Massa,  Hadar,  Tenia,  Jetur,  Na- 
l)hish,and  Kedemah  ;but  although  those  people  very 
carefully  jireserve  their  genealogy,  yet  they  cannot 
trace  it  up  to  Ishmael;  they  are  obliged  to  stop  at 
Adnan,  one  of  his  descendants;  the  genealogj^-  even 
of  Mahomet  rises  no  higher.  Besides  the  descend- 
ants of  Ishmael,  who  ])eopled  the  greater  part  of 
Arabia,  the  sons  of  Almdiam  and  Keturah,  of  Lot,  of 
Ksau,ofNahor,  ami  others,dwelt  in  the  same  countr}', 
and  mixed  witli,  or  drovi'  out,  th("   old  inhabitants. 

The  inhabitants  of  Arabia  are  divided  into  those 
who  dwell  in  cities,  njul  those  who  live  in  the 
field  and  desert:  the  latter  al)ide  continually  in 
tents,  and  are  much  more  honest  and  simple  than  the 
Arabians  who  live  in  towns.  Of  these  some  are 
Gentiles,  others  Mussulmans;  the    fonner  preceded 


ARABIA 


[87  ] 


ARABIA 


Mahomet,  and  are  now  called  among  thorn  '•  Ara- 
bians of  the  Days  of  Ignorance ;"  the  others,  who 
have  received  the  doctri)ies  preached  by  Mahomet, 
arc  called  Moslcnioun,  or  Mussidnians,  that  is,  be- 
lievers; and  are  the  peoj)le  who  conquered,  and  who 
still  possess,  great  part  of  Asia  and  Africa  ;  and  who 
foiuided  the  four  great  monarchies  of  the  Turks,  the 
Persians,  3Iorocco,and  Mogul ;  not  lo  mention  less- 
er kingdoms. 

The  ancient  Arabians  were  idolaters  ;  worshipping 
a  stone,  says  Clemens  Alexandrinus.  3Iaximus  Tyr- 
ius  and  the  modern  Arabians  accuse  them  of  the 
same.  The  black  stone,  which  has  the  repute  of 
having  been  "from  time  innnemorial"  the  object  of 
their  worship,  is  still  to  be  seen  in  the  Caaba  at 
Mecca.  They  say  this  stone  was  originally  white, 
but  has  wept  itself  black,  on  account  of  the  sins  of 
mankind.  Herodotus  says  they  had  only  two  deities — 
Bacchus  and  Venus.  Strabo  tells  us  that  they  adored 
only  Jupiter  and  Bacchus ;  which  Alexander  the 
Great  being  informed  of,  resolved  to  subdue  them, 
that  he  might  oblige  them  to  worship  him  as  their 
third  deity.  The  modern  Arabians  mention  other 
names  of  ancient  deities  adored  in  Arabia ;  as  Lakiah, 
whom  die^  invoked  for  rain  ;  Hafedah,  for  preserva- 
tion from  serious  accidents  in  journeys  ;  Razora,  for 
the  necessaries  of  life :  Lath,  or  Allat,  which  is  a 
diminutive  of  Allah,  the  true  name  of  God  ;  Aza,  or 
Uza,  from  ^^ziz,  which  signifies  the  Mighty  God ; 
Menat,  from  .Menan,  distributor  of  favors.  It  is  very 
probable  that  they  adored  likewise  the  two  golden 
antelopes,  which  are  frequently  mentioned  in  their 
histories,  and  which  were  consecrated  in  the  temple 
at  Mecca.  The  ancient  Midianites,  among  whom 
Moses  retired  when  he  was  received  by  Jethro, 
worshipped  Abda  and  Hinda.  (D'Herbelot,  p.  47G.) 
Urotalt,  mentioned  by  Heiodotus,  denotes  probably 
the  sun  ;  and  Alilat,  the  moon.  The  first  of  these 
words  may  signify  the  God  of  Light ;  the  second, 
the  God,  or  Goddess,  eminently. 

The  Arabs  glory  in  the  fertility  of  their  language, 
which,  certainly,  is  one  of  the  most  ancient  in  the 
world  ;  and  is  remarkable  for  its  copiousness  and  the 
multitude  of  words  which  express  the  same  thing. 
We  read  in  Pococke's  Notes  ou  Abulpharagius,  that 
Ibn  Chalawaisch  composed  a  book  on  the  names  of 
the  lion,  which  amounted  to  .500;  and  those  of  the 
serpent  to  200.  Honey  is  said  to  have  80  names ; 
and  a  sword  1000.  The  greater  part  of  these  names, 
however,  are  poetical  epithets ;  just  as  we  say  the 
Almighty  for  God.  So  in  Arabic,  the  lion  is  the 
strong,  the  terrible,  &c.  Some  specimens  of  their 
poetry  are  thought  by  Schultens  to  be  of  the  age  of 
Solomon.  The  present  Arabic  characters  are  mod- 
ern. The  ancient  writing  of  Arabia  was  without 
vowels,  like  the  Hebrew  ;  and  so  is  also  the  modern 
Arabic,  except  in  the  Koran  and  other  specimens 
of  exact  chirograjjhy.  The  Ai"abs  studied  astron- 
omy, astrology,  divination,  &c.  Thej^  suffer  no  like- 
ness of  animated  nature  on  their  coins.  See  Ori- 
ental Languages. 

A  history  of  Arabia  is  that  of  human  nature  in  its 
earliest  stages  of  association,  and  with  as  little  change 
of  manners  from  generation  to  generation  as  may  l)e. 
"If  any  people  in  the  world,"  says  Niei)uhr,  "affoi-d 
in  their  histoiy  an  instance  of  high  antiquity  and  of 
great  simplicity  of  manners,  the  Arabs  surely  do. 
Coming  among  them,  one  can  hardly  help  fancying 
one'ii  self  suddenly  carried  backwards  to  the  ages 
which  immediately  succeeded  the  flood.  We  are 
tempted  to  imagine  ourselves  among  the  old  patri- 


archs, with  whose  adventures  we  have  been  so  much 
amused  in  our  infant  days.  The  language,  which  has 
been  spoken  from  time  immemorial,  and  which  so 
nearly  resembles  that  which  we  have  been  accustomed 
to  regard  as  of  the  most  distant  antiquity,  completes 
the  illusion  which  the  analogy  of  manners  began." 
(Travels,  vol.  ii.  p.  2.)  "All  that  is  known  concern- 
ing tlie  earliest  period  of  the  nistory  of  this  country, 
is,  that  it  was  governed  in  those  days  by  potent 
monarchs  called  Tobba.  This  is  thought  to  have 
been  a  title  common  to  all  those  princes,  as  the 
name  Pharaoh  was  to  the  ancient  sovereigns  of 
Egjpt."  (Ibid.  p.  10.)  "The  countiy  which  this 
nation  iidiabits  affords  many  objects  of  curiosity, 
equally  singular  and  interesting.  Intersected  by 
sandy  deserts,  and  vast  ranges  of  mountains,  it  pi'e- 
sents  on  one  side  nothing  but  desolation  in  its  most 
frightful  form,  while  the  other  is  adorned  with  all  the 
beauties  of  the  most  fertile  regions.  Such  is  its  posi- 
tion, that  it  enjoys,  at  once,  all  the  advantages  of 
sidtry  and  of  temperate  climates.  The  peculiar  pro- 
ductions of  regions  the  most  distant  from  one  an- 
other, are  produced  here  in  equal  perfection.  Hav- 
ing never  been  conquered,  Arabia  has  scarcely  knoA^Ti 
any  changes,  but  those  effected  by  the  hand  of  na- 
ture ;  it  bears  none  of  the  impressions  of  human  fury 
which  appear  in  many  other  places."  "  The  natural 
and  local  circumstances  of  Arabia  are  favorable  to 
that  spirit  of  independence  which  distinguishes  its 
inhabitants  from  ether  nations.  Their  deserts  and 
mountains  have  always  secured  them  from  the  en- 
croachments of  conquest.  Those  inhabiting  the 
plains  have  indeed  been  subdued,  but  their  servi- 
tude has  been  only  temporary ;  and  the  only  foreign 
])owers  to  whose  arms  they  have  yielded,  have  been 
those  bordering  on  the  two  gulfs  between  which 
this  country  lies."  (Ibid.  p.  99.)  "  The  most  ancient 
and  powerful  tribes  of  this  people  are  those  which 
easily  retire  into  the  desert  when  attacked  by  a  foreign 
enemy."  (Ibid.  p.  1C8.)  "The  Bedouins,  who  live  in 
tents  in  the  desert,  have  never  been  subclued  by  any 
conqueror;  but  such  of  them  as  have  been  enticed, 
by  the  prospect  of  an  easier  way  of  life,  to  settle 
near  towns,  and  in  fertile  provinces,  are  now,  in 
some  measure,  dependent  on  the  sovereigns  of  those 
provinces.  Such  are  the  Arabs  in  the  different  parts 
of  the  Ottoman  empire.  Some  of  them  pay  a  rent 
or  tribute  for  the  towns  or  paslurages  v/hich  they 
occupy.  Others  frequent  the  banks  of  the  Eu- 
phrates, only  in  one  season  of  the  year ;  and  in 
winter  return  to  the  desert.  These  last  acknowl- 
edge no  dependence  on  the  Porte."  (Ibid.  p.  164.) 
"Of  all  nations  the  Arabs  have  spread  farthest  over 
the  world,  and  in  all  their  wanderings  they  have,  better 
than  any  other  nation,  preserved  their  language, 
manners,  and  peculiar  customs.  From  east  to  west, 
from  the  banks  of  the  Senegal  to  the  Indus,  are 
colonies  of  the  Arabs  to  be  met  with  ;  and  between 
north  and  south,  thej'  are  scattered  from  the  Eu- 
phrates to  the  island  of  Madagascar.  The  Tartar 
hordes  have  not  occupied  so  wide  an  extent  of  the 
globe." 

The  Arabians  in  general  are  cunning,  witty,  gener- 
ous, and  ingenious ;  lovers  of  eloquence  and  poetry ; 
but  superstitious,  vindictive,  sanguinary,  and  given  to 
robbery,  (that  is,  of  those  not  under  the  protection  of 
some  of  their  own  people,)  which  they  think  allow- 
able, because  Abraham,  the  father  of  Ishmael,  say 
they,  gave  his  son  nothing.  Gen.  xxv.  5,  6. 

The  Arabs  have  various  traditions  among  them  of 
Scripture  personages  and  events.     They  relate  ad- 


ARABIA 


[88  ] 


ARA 


renlurcs  of  Abraham  their  progenitor,  of  Moses,  of 
Jcthro,  of  Solomon,  and  others.  They  have  seen 
originate  in  their  country  tliose  modes  of  rehgion  to 
wliich  a  great  portion  of  mankind  adhere:  the  Jew- 
ish, the  Clu'istiau,  and  the  Mahometan.  We  have 
no  complete  list  of  their  kings,  nor  history  of  their 
country  ;  but  some  few^xed  periods  have  been  dis- 
covered by  the  learnea,  of  which  the  mention  of 
a  part  may  be  acceptable.  A  complete  history 
would  throw  great  light  on  So  ipture  ;  and  notwith- 
standing the  broken  and  divided  nature  of  its  sub- 
ject, in  relation  to  various  governments,  yet  the  gen- 
eral picture  of  life  and  manners  which  it  would  ex- 
hibit, could  not  fail  of  being  both  interesting  and 
instructive. 

Ante  A.  D.  1817.  Jocta^,  son  of  Heber.  He  was 
succeeded  by  his  son,  his  gi*andson,  and  his  great- 
grandson. 

Kabr-Houd — the  tomb  of  Heber — is  said  to  be  ex- 
tant, at  the  extremity  of  a  district  named  Seger,  situ- 
ated between  Hadramaut  and  Marah. 

1698.     Hamyar,  son  of  Abd-elshams  ;  whose 

family  possessed  the  sovereignty  2'200  years ;  but  not 
without  intervals  of  privation. 

1458.     Afrikis,  contemporary  with  Joshua. 

The  Arab  writers  say  that  he  granted  an  asylum  to  a 
tribe  of  Canaanites  expelled  by  Joshua. 

980.  Balkis,  the  queen  of  Sheba,  who  visit- 
ed Solomon. 

Malek,   brother   of  Balkis  ;  who   lost  an 

army  in  the  moving  sands  of  the  desert. 

— - — 890.     Amram,  not  of  the  Hamyarite  family. 

860.     Al  Alkram,  of  the  Hamyarite  family. 

DnouHABSCHAN,  his  son.     In   his  reign  a 

prodigious  inundation,  from  a  collection  of  waters, 
overwhelmed  the  city  of  Saba,  the  capital  of  Yemen, 
and  destroyed  the  adjacent  country. 

A.  D.  436.  Dhou'lnaovas,  deprived  of  his  do- 
minions by  the  Ethiopians,  threw  himself  into  the  sea. 

502.  The  Hamyarites  cease  to  reign  in  Arabia, 
which  is  now  governed  by  Ethio])ian  viceroys. 

569.  Mahomet  bom  :  he  invents  and  propagates 
a  new  religion,  which  he  spreads  by  conquest.  In 
A.  D.  622,  he  flees  from  Mecca  to  Medina,  July  16th, 
which  constitutes  the  commencement  of  the  Ilcgira, 
or  Mahometan  era. 

The  early  successors  of  Mahomet  removed  the 
seat  of  empire  into  Syria,  and  afterwards  to  Bagdad  ; 
where  it  continued  till  the  taking  of  that  city  by  the 
Tartar  Houloga.n,  in  the  fouz'tcenth  century. 

The  customs  of  the  Arabians  are  alUed  in  many 
respects  to  those  which  we  find  in  Holy  Writ ;  and 
arc  greatly  illustrative  of  them  ;  many  being,  indeed, 
the  very  same,  retained  to  this  day.  Their  jiersonal 
and  domestic  maxims,  their  local  and  political  pro- 
ceedings, are  the  same  now  as  heretofore  ;  and  the 
general  character  anciently  attributed  to  them,  of 
being  plunderers,  yet  hos|)itable  ;  greedy,  deceitful, 
and  vindictive,  yet  generous,  trust-worthy,  and  hon- 
orable ;  is  precisely  the  description  of  their  nation 
at  present.  The  Scripture  frequently  mentions  the 
Arabians  (meaning  those  adjoining  Judca)  as  a  pow- 
erful peo])le,  who  valued  themselves  on  their  wis- 
dom. Their  riches  consisted  princi|)ally  in  flocks 
and  cattle ;  they  paid  king  Jehoshaphat  an  annual 
tribute  of  7700  sheep,  and  as  many  goats,  2  Cliron. 
xvii.  11.  The  kings  of  Arabia  fiunished  Solomon 
with  a  great  quantity  of  gold  and  silver,  2  Chron.  ix. 
14.  They  loved  war,  but  made  it  rather  like  thieves 
and  plunderers,  than  like  soldiers.  They  lived  at 
hberty  in  the  field,  or  the  desert,  concerned  them- 


selves little  about  cultivating  the  earth,  and  were  not 
very  obedient  to  established  governments.  This  is 
the  idea  which  Scripture  gives  of  them  ;  (Isa.  xiii. 
20.)  and  the  same  is  their  character  at  this  day. 

There  are  many  other  particulars  in  wliich  this 
people  appear  to  resemble  their  collateral  relations, 
the  Jews  ;  and  probably  the  worship  of  the  true  God 
was  long  j)reserved  among  them — to  the  time  of 
Jethro,  at  least ;  but  the  prevalence  of  Mahometan- 
ism  has  given  a  certain  cliaracter  to  them,  which 
renders  them  almost  obdurate  against  the  gospel. 
The  true  Arabians  are  not  so  intolerant  as  the  Turks, 
and  should  be  carefully  distinguished  not  only  from 
the  Turks,  the  Saracens,  and  the  IMoors,  but  also 
among  the  Arabs  themselves,  because  the  proportion 
of  vices  and  virtues  which  characterize  them,  dif- 
fers among  the  tribes,  no  less  than  among  indi- 
viduals. 

Since  the  propagation  of  the  gospel,  many  Ara- 
bians have  embraced  Christianity  ;  and  we  know  of 
some  bishops  and  martyrs  of  Arabia.  In  Origen's 
time  a  council  was  held  there  against  certain  her- 
etics. The  iNIahometans  acknowledge,  that  before 
]Mahomct  there  were  three  tribes  in  this  country 
which  professed  Christianity  ;  those  of  Thanouk,  Ba- 
hora,  and  Naclab.  That  of  Thanouk,  having  had 
some  difl^erence  with  their  neighbors  on  the  subject 
of  religion,  retired  to  the  province  of  Baliarain,  on 
the  Persian  gulf. 

[There  are  three  etymologies  usually  given  of  the 
name  Arabia  ;  one  of  which  is  mentioned  under 
Arabia  Deserta,  above ;  the  second  is  also  men- 
tioned above,  viz.  that  it  was  from  Jarab,  the  son  of 
Joktan  or  Kathan  ;  the  third  is  sanctioned  by  Rosen- 
mueller,  viz.  that  the  Heb.  3-1;;  has  the  same  meaning 
as  the  feminine  n3"\;',  i.  c.  a  plain,  a  desert. 

The  ancient  Hebrews  gave  to  all  the  countries 
afterwards  comprehended  under  the  name  Ara- 
bia, the  general  ap})cllation  of  the  East,  and  called 
the  inhabitants  children  of  the  East,  Gen.  xxv.  6 ; 
Judg.  vi.  3  ;  Job  i.  3,  Sec.  The  name  Arab  and 
Arabia  was  originally  apj)ljed  by  the  Hebrews  only 
to  a  small  portion  of  the  vast  temtory  now  known 
by  that  title.  In  Ezek.  xxvii.  21,  among  several 
Arabian  provinces  Avhich  traded  with  Tyre,  Arab 
(Arabia)  and  the  princes  of  Kedar  are  mentioned  ; 
compare  also  2  Chron.  xxi.  16,  17  ;  xxvi.  7.  Under 
cdl  the  kings  of  Arabia^  mentioned  1  Kings  x.  15,  Jer. 
xxv.  24,  are  doubtless  to  be  imderstood  chiefs  of 
Arab  nomadic  tribes  or  Bedouins.  The  Arabians 
spoken  of  in  Isa.  xiii.  20,  Jer.  iii.  2,  are  in  like  man- 
ner Bedouins,  who  wander  in  the  desert  and 
dwell  in  tents.  When  the  apostle  Paul  says,  (Gal. 
i.  17.)  that  he  tvent  i7ito  Arabia  aiid  returned  again  to 
Damascus,  he  means,  without  doubt,  the  northern 
part  of  Arabia  Deserta,  which  lay  adjacent  to  the 
territory  of  Damascus.  He  uses  the  name  in  a 
wider  sense,  when  he  remarks,  (Gal.  iv.  25.)  that 
mount  Sinai  lies  in  Arabia. 

For  full  and  ])articu!ar  accounts  of  Arabia  and  its 
inhabitants,  see  Niebuhr's  Travels ;  Burckhardt's 
Travels  in  Arabia,  Lond.  1829  ;  Kosenmueller's  Bibl. 
Gcogr.  vol.  iii  ;  and  also  the  3Iodcrn  Traveller  in 
Arabia,  which  contains  a  very  good  account  of  the 
history  and  geogi-aphy  of  Arabia,  and  especially 
of  the  peninsula  of  mount  Sinai,  compiled  from 
various  authors.     *R. 

ARACEANS,  or  Arkites,  a  people  descended  from 
Arak,  son  of  Canaan,  who  dwelt  in  the  city  Arco,  or 
Area,  at  the  foot  of  mount  Libanus.  Josephus  and 
Ptolemy  both  speak  of  this  city.     Antoninus's  Itine- 


ARA 


[89] 


ARARAT 


rary  i)laccs  it  between  Tripolis  and  Antaradus ;  and 
Josephus  produces  a  fragment  of  the  history  of  As- 
syria, wherein  it  is  related,  that  the  inhabitants  of 
Arce  submitted  to  the  Assyrians,  together  with  those 
of  Sidon  and  the  ancient  Tyre.  He  says,  also,  that 
tJie  river  Sabbaticus  empties  itself  into  the  Mediter- 
ranean, between  Arce  and  Raphansea.  This  is  prob- 
ably the  Arce  said  to  belong  to  the  tribe  of  Asher, 
and  otherwse  called  Antipas.  (Antiq.  book  v.  chap. 
1.)  In  Solomon's  time,  Baariah  was  superintendent 
of  the  tribe  of  Asher,  according  to  the  Hebrew,  (1 
Kings  iv.  16.)  but  Josephus  says,  he  was  governor  of 
the  country  around  the  city  of  Arce,  which  lies  on 
the  sea.  In  the  later  times  of  the  Jewish  common- 
wealth, this  city  was  part  of  Agrippa's  kingdom. 
See  Rosenm.  Bibl.  Geog.  II.  i.  10. 

ARAD,  Akada,  Arath,  Adraa,  or  Adra,  a  city 
south  of  the  tribe  of  Judah  and  the  land  of  Canaan,  in 
Arabia  Petra^a.  The  Israelites  having  advanced  to- 
wards Canaan,  the  king  of  Arad  opposed  their  pas- 
sage, defeated  them,  and  took  a  booty  from  them. 
But  they  devoted  his  country  as  accursed,  and  de- 
stroyed all  its  cities,  when  they  became  masters  of 
the  land  of  Canaan,  Numb.  xxi.  1.  Arad  was  re- 
built ;  and  Eusebius  places  it  in  the  neighborhood 
of  Kadesli,  four  miles  from  3Ialathis,  and  twenty 
from  Hebron. 

ARADUS,  in  the  Bible,  Arvad,  now  Ruad,  a  city 
and  island  in  the  Mediterranean,  on  the  coast  of 
PhcEuicia,  over  against  Antaradus.  The  isle  of  Ara- 
dus  is  but  seven  furlongs,  or  875  paces  about,  and 
is  200  paces  distant  from  the  continent.  The  Ara- 
diaus,  or  Arkites,  descendants  of  Canaan,  dwelt  at 
Aradus,  Gen.  x.  17.  This  country  was  jiromised  to 
the  Israelites ;  liut  thej-  did  not  possess  it  until,  per- 
haps, the  reign  of  David,  or  that  of  Solomon. 

I.  ARAM,  the  fifth  son  of  Shem,  (Gen.  x.  22.)  was 
the  father  of  the  people  of  Syria,  who,  from  him,  are 
called  Aramteans.  (See  Shem.)  Homer  and  Hesiod 
call  those  Aramaeans,  whom  the  more  modern  Greeks 
call  Syrians.  The  prophet  Amos  (ix.  7.)  seems  to 
say,  that  the  first  Aramaeans  dwelt  in  the  country  of 
Kir,  in  Iberia,  where  the  river  Cyrus  runs ;  and  that 
God  brought  them  from  thence,  as  he  did  the  He- 
brews out  of  Egypt :  but  at  what  time  this  happened 
is  not  known.  Moses  always  calls  the  Syrians,  and 
inhabitants  of  Mesopotamia,  Aramites.  The  Ara- 
maeans often  warred  against  the  Hebrews ;  but  Da- 
vid subdued  them,  and  obliged  them  to  pay  him  trib- 
ute. Solomon  preserved  the  sanie  authority  ;  but, 
after  the  separation  of  the  ten  tribes,  it  does  not  ap- 
pear that  the  Syrians  were  generally  subject  to  the 
kings  of  Israel ;  unless,  perhaps,  under  Jeroboam  II. 
who  restored  the  kingdom  of  Israel  to  its  ancient 
boundaries,  2  Kings  xiv.  25.  For  the  Aramaean  lan- 
guage or  dialect,  see  Oriental  Languages. 

II.  ARAM.  There  are  several  countries  of  this 
name  mentioned  in  Scripture  ;  as — Aram  Naharaim, 
or  Syria  of  the  Two  Rivere,  that  is,  of  Mesopotamia  ; 
Aram  of  Damascus  ;  Aram  of  Soba;  Aram  of  Beth- 
rehob;  and  Aram  of  Maachah.     See  Syria. 

ARARAT,  a  country  and  mountain  in  Armenia, 
on  which  the  ark  is  said  to  have  rested,  after  the 
deluge,  Gen.  viii.  4.  It  has  been  affinncd,  that  there 
are  still  remains  of  Noah's  ark  on  the  top  of  this 
mountain ;  but  M.  de  Tournefort,  who  visited  the 
spot,  assures  us  that  there  was  nothing  like  it ;  that 
the  top  of  the  mountain  is  inaccessible,  both  by  rea- 
son of  its  great  height,  and  of  the  snow  which  [)er- 
petually  covers  it.  Ararat  is  twelve  leagues  from 
Erivan,  east,  and  is  situated  in  a  vast  plain,  in  tlie 
12 


midst  of  which  it  rises.  The  Eastern  people  call 
mount  Ararat,  Ar-dag,  or  Parmak-dagh,  the  finger 
mountain,  because  it  is  straight,  and  stands  by  it- 
self, like  a  finger  held  up;  or  the  mountain  of  Dag. 
It  is  visiljle  at  the  distance  of  180  or  200  miles. 
Tavernier  says,  there  are  many  monasteries  on 
mount  Ararat  ;  that  the  Armenians  call  it  Mere- 
soussar,  because  the  ark  stopped  here.  It  is,  as  it 
were,  taken  off"  from  the  other  mountains  of  Arme- 
nia, which  form  a  long  chain :  fi-om  the  top  to  the 
middle,  it  is  often  covered  with  snow  three  or  four 
months  of  the  year.  He  adds,  that  the  city  of  Nek- 
givan,  or  Nakschivan,  three  leagues  from  mount 
Ararat,  is  the  most  ancient  in  the  world  ;  that  Noah 
settled  here,  when  he  quitted  the  ark ;  that  the  word 
JVak-schivan  is  derived  from  JVak,  which  signifies 
ship,  and  schivan,  stopped  or  settled,  in  memory  of 
the  ark's  resting  on  mount  Ararat. 

The  Armenians  maintain,  by  tradition,  that,  since 
Noah,  no  one  has  been  able  to  climb  this  mountain, 
because  it  is  perpetually  covered  with  snow,  which 
never  melts,  unless  to  make  room  for  other  snow, 
newly  fallen  ;  that  Noah,  when  he  left  the  ark,  set- 
tled at  Erivan,  twche  leagues  from  Ararat,  and  that 
at  a  league  from  this  city,  in  a  very  happy  aspect, 
that  patriarch  planted  the  vine  in  a  place  which  at 
present  jiekls  excellent  wine.  Mr.  Morier  describes 
Ararat  as  being  most  beautiful  in  shape,  and  most 
awful  in  height ;  and  Sir  Robert  Ker  Porter  has  fur- 
nished the  following  gi-aphic  picture  of  this  stupen- 
dous work  of  nature : — "  As  the  vale  opened  beneath 
us,  in  our  descent,  my  whole  attention  became  ab- 
sorbed in  the  view  before  me.  A  vast  plain  peopled 
with  countless  villages ;  the  towers  and  spires  of  the 
churches  of  Eitch-mai-adzen  arising  from  amidst 
them ;  the  glittering  waters  of  the  Araxes  flowing 
through  the  fresh  green  of  the  vale  ;  and  the  subordi- 
nate range  of  mountains  skirting  the  base  of  the 
awful  monument  of  the  antediluvian  world,  it  seemed 
to  stand  a  stupendous  link  in  the  liistoi-y  of  man, 
uniting  the  two  races  of  men  before  and  after  the 
flood.  But  it  was  not  until  we  had  arrived  upon 
the  flat  plain  that  I  beheld  Ararat  in  all  its  ampli- 
tude of  gi-andeur.  From  the  spot  on  which  I  stood, 
it  appeared  as  if  the  hugest  mountains  of  the  world 
had  been  piled  upon  each  other,  to  form  this  one 
sublime  immensity  of  earth,  and  rock,  and  snow. 
The  icy  peaks  of  its  double  heads  rose  majestically 
into  the  clear  and  cloudless  lieavens ;  the  sun  blazed 
bright  upon  them,  and  the  reflection  sent  forth  a 
dazzling  radiance  equal  to  other  suns.  This  point 
of  the  view  united  the  utmost  grandeur  of  plain  and 
height,  but  the  feelings  I  experienced  whilfe  looking 
on  the  mountain  are  hai-dly  to  be  described.  My 
eye,  not  able  to  rest  for  any  length  of  time  on  the 
blinding  glory  of  its  summits,  wandered  do^vn  the 
apparently  interminable  sides,  till  I  could  no  longer 
trace  their  vast  fines  in  the  mists  of  the  horizon ; 
when  an  inexpressible  impulse,  immediately  carry- 
ing my  eye  upwards  again,  refixed  my  gaze  on  the 
awftd  glare  of  Ararat ;  and  this  bewildered  sensibil- 
ity of  sight  being  answered  by  a  similar  feeling  in 
the  mind,  for  some  moments  I  was  lost  in  a  strange 
suspension  of  the  powers  of  thought." 

Of  the  two  separate  peaks,  called  Little  and  Great 
Ararat,  which  are  separated  by  a  chasm  about  seven 
miles  in  width.  Sir  Robert  Porter  thus  speaks  ;— 
"These  inaccessible  summits  have  never  been  trod- 
den by  the  foot  of  man,  since  the  days  of  Noah,  if 
even  then,  for  my  idea  is  that  the  ark  rested  in  the 
space  between  these  heads,  and  not  on  the  top  of 


ARARAT 


[90] 


ARARAT 


either.  V'arious  attempts  have  been  made  in  differ- 
ent ages  to  ascend  these  tremendous  mountain  pyra- 
mids, but  in  vain ;  their  form,  snows,  and  glaciers 
are  insurmountable  obstacles,  the  distance  being  so 
great  from  the  commencement  of  the  icy  regions  to 
the  highest  points,  cold  alone  Avould  be  the  destruc- 
tion of  any  person  who  should  have  the  hardihood 
to  persevere.  On  viewuig  mount  Ararat  from  the 
northern  side  of  the  plain,  its  two  heads  are  sepa- 
rated by  a  wide  cleft,  or  rather  glen,  in  the  body  of 
the  mountain.  The  rocky  side  of  the  greater  head 
rims  almost  perpendicularly  down  to  the  north-east, 
while  the  lesser  head  rises"  from  the  sloping  bottom 
of  the  cleft,  in  a  perfectly  conical  shape.  Both 
heads  are  covered  with  sno\\.  The  form  of  the 
greater  is  similar  to  the  less,  only  broader  and 
rounder  at  the  top,  and  shows  to  the  north-west  a 
broken  and  abrupt  front,  opening  about  half  way  down 
into  a  stupendous  chasm,  deep,  rocky,  and  peculiarly 
black.  At  that  part  of  the  mountain,  the  hollow  of 
the  chasm  receives  an  interruption  from  the  projec- 
tion of  the  minor  mountains,  which  start  from  the 
side  of  Ararat,  like  branches  from  the  root  of  a  tree, 
and  run  along  in  undulating  jirogression,  till  lost  in 
the  distant  vapors  of  the  plain." 

[The  following  interesting  and  graphic  account, 
both  of  the  province  and  mountain  of  Ararat,  is 
from  the  pen  of  the  Rev.  E.  Smith,  American  mis- 
sionary to  Palestine,  who  made  an  exjiloring  tour  in 
Persia  and  Armenia,  in  1830  and  1831.  It  was  writ- 
ten from  Tebreez  in  Persia,  under  date  of  Feb.  18th, 
1831,  and  is  here  extracted  from  the  Biblical  Repos- 
itory, vol.  ii.  p.  202. 

"The  name  of  Ararat  occurs  but  twice  in  the  Old 
Testament,  Gen.  viii.  4,  and  Jerein.  U.  27 ;  and  both 
times  as  the  name  of  a  country,  which  in  the  last  pas- 
sage is  said  to  have  a  king.  It  is  well  known,  that  this 
was  the  name  of  one  of  the  iifteen  provinces  of  Ar- 
menia. It  was  situated  nearly  in  the  centre  of  the 
kingdom ;  was  very  extensive,  reaching  from  a  point 
above  seven  or  eight  miles  east  of  the  modern  Erz- 
room,  to  within  thirty  or  forty  miles  of  Nakhchewau  ; 
yielded  to  none  in  fertility,  being  watered  froin  cue 
extremity  to  the  other  by  the  Araxes,  which  divided 
it  into  two  nearly  equal  parts  ;  and  contained  some 
eight  or  ten  cities,  which  were  successively  the  resi- 
dences of  the  kings,  princes,  or  governors  of  Arme- 
nia, from  the  commencement  of  its  jjolitical  exist- 
ence about  2000  years  B.  C.  according  to  Armenian 
tradition,  until  the  extinction  of  the  Pagi-atian  dy- 
nasty, about  the  middle  of  the  11th  century;  with 
the  exception  of  about  2-30  years  at  the  conimence- 
ment  of  the  Arsacian  dynasty,  when  Nisibis  and  Orfa 
were  the  capitals.  It  is  therefore  not  unnatural  that 
this  name  shoidd  be  substituted  for  that  of  the  whole 
kingdom,  and  thus  become  known  to  foreign  na- 
tions, and  tiiat  tlie  king  of  Armenia  should  bc'called 
the  king  of  Ararat.  This  |)rovince  we  have  seen 
almost  in  its  whole  extent,  first  entering  it  at  the 
western  and  then  at  its  e.istern  extreruity. 

"On  the  last  occasion  we  passed  very  near  the 
base  of  that  noble  mountain,  which  is  called  by  the 
Armr^nians,  ;\Iasis,  and  i)y  Etu-o|)eaMS  gencrallv  Ara- 
rat ;  and  for  more  than  twenty  days  had  it  constant- 
ly ill  sight,  except  when  olj"scurcd  by  clouds.  It 
consigts  of  two  peaks,  one  considerably  higher  than 
the  other,  and  is  connected  with  a  chain  of  moun- 
tains running  off  to  the  ufirth-west  and  west,  which 
though  high,  are  not  of  sutiicieiu  ehjvatioii  to  detract 
at  all  from  the  lonely  dignity  of  this  stupendous 
mass.     From   Nakhchewan,    nt  the  distance   of  at 


least  100  miles  to  the  south-east,  it  appeared  like  an 
immense  isolated  cone,  of  extreme  regularity,  rising 
out  of  the  valley  of  the  Araxes.  Its  height  is  said 
to  be  16,000  feet,  but  I  do  not  know  by  whom 
the  measurement  was  taken.  The  eternal  snows 
upon  its  summit  occasionally  form  vast  avalanches, 
Avhich  precipitate  themselves  down  its  sides  Avith  a 
sound  not  unlike  that  of  an  earthquake.  When  we 
saw  it,  it  AA'as  white  to  its  veiy  base  with  siioaw  And 
certainly  not  among  the  mountains  of  Ararat  or  of 
Armenia  generally,  nor  those  of  any  part  of  the 
world  where  I  have  been,  have  I  ever  seen  one 
whose  majesty  could  plead  half  so  powerfully  its 
claims  to  the  honor  of  having  once  been  the  step- 
ping stone  between  the  old  world  and  the  new.  I 
gave  myself  up  to  the  feehng,  that  on  its  summit  were 
once  congregated  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  earth,  and 
that,  while  in  the  valley  of  the  Araxes,  I  was  paying  a 
visit  to  the  second  cradle  of  the  human  race.  Nor 
can  I  allow  my  opinion  to  be  at  all  shaken  by  the 
Chaldee  paraphrasts,  the  Syrian  translators  and  com- 
mentators, and  the  traditions  of  the  whole  family  of 
Syrian  churches,  which  translate  the  passage  in  ques- 
tion mountains  of  the  Kurds.  The  Septuagint  and  Jo- 
sephus,  who  support  the  Hebrew  oi-iginal,  certainly 
speak  the  language  of  a  ti-adition  quite  as  ancient. 
Not  to  urge  the  names  of  places  around  moimt  INIa- 
sis  in  favor  of  its  claims,  as  I  think  in  the  case  of 
Nakhchewan  might  be  done  with  some  force,  there 
is  one  passage  of  Scripture  of  some  imjjortance, 
which  I  do  not  recollect  to  have  ever  seen  applied 
to  elucidate  this  subject.  In  Gen.  ii.  2,  where  the 
movements  of  the  descendants  of  Noah  are  first  al- 
luded to,  it  is  said  that  they  journeyed  from  the 
east  and  came  into  the  land  of  Shinar.  Now,  had 
the  ark  rested  upon  the  mountains  of  Kiu'distan, 
they  would  naturally  have  issued  at  once  into  Meso- 
potamia, and  have  made  their  way  down  to  Babylon 
from  the  north  ;  nor  would  they  have  been  obliged 
to  go  so  far  to  find  a  plain.  But  in  migrating  from 
the  valley  of  the  Araxes,  they  would  of  course  keep 
on  the  eastern  side  of  the  Median  mountains  until 
they  almost  reached  the  parallel  of  Babylon,  before 
they  would  find  a  convenient  place  for  crossing 
them.  Such  is  now  the  daily  route  of  caravans 
going  from  Tebreez  to  Bagdad.  They  go  south  as 
far  as  Kermanshah,  and  then,  making  almost  a  right 
angle,  take  a  western  direction  to  Bagdad  ;  thus  mak- 
ing their  journey  some  ten  or  twelve  days  longer 
than  it  would  be,  were  they  to  take  the  more  moun- 
tainous and  difficult  road  by  Soleymania.  It  has 
been  objected  to  this  location  of  mount  Ararat,  that 
there  are  now  no  olive  trees  near  enough  for  Noah's 
dove  to  have  plucked  her  leaf  from ;  and  perhaps 
this  opinion  gave  rise  to  the  tradition  in  favor  of  the 
Kurdish  mountains,  which  are  so  near  to  the  warm 
regions  of  Mesopotamia.  In  fact,  there  are  no  olive 
trees  in  the  valley  of  the  Araxes,  nor  of  the  Cyrus, 
nor  in  any  part  of  Armenia  we  have  seen,  nor  yet,  as 
we  have  been  told,  on  the  shores  of  the  Caspian. 
They  are  to  be  found  no  nearer  than  some  of  the 
warm  valleys  of  the  province  of  Akhaltzikhi  and 
the  basin  of  the  ancient  Colchis.  We  mentioned 
this  objection  in  a  circle  of  learned  monks  at  Etch- 
miazin.  They  shrewdly  replied  by  asking,  if  it 
would  be  very  hard  work  for  a  jjigeon  to  fly  to  Ak- 
haltzikhi and  back  again.  Their  ex])]anation  was 
in  fact  satisfactory.  The  distance,  in  the  direction 
taken  by  caravans,  is  about  1.30  miles,  and  in  a 
straight  line  must  be  less  ;  a  distance  which,  accord- 
ing to  some  recent  experiments  made  upon  the  flight 


ARC 


[  9]   1 


ARE 


of  carrier  pigeons  between  Loudon  and  Antwerp, 
might  be  easiij-  passed  over  twice  in  a  day  by  that 
bird."     *R. 

ARAUNAH,  or  Or>a>-,  an  ancient  inhabitant  of 
Jerusalem,  whose  threshing-floor  was  on  mount  Mo- 
riah,  where  the  temple  was  afterwards  built,  2  Sam. 
xxiv.  18 ;  1  Chron.  xxi.  18.     See  Jerusalem. 

ARBA,  otherwise  Hebron,  (Josh.  xiv.  15.)  was 
first  possessed  by  giants  of  the  race  of  Anak ;  after- 
wards given  to  the  tribe  of  Judah,  and  the  property 
of  it  transferred  to  Caleb.  The  rabbins  have  a  tradi- 
tion tliat  Heijron  was  called  ^irba,  that  is,  four,  be- 
cause the  four  most  illustrious  patriarchs,  Adaju, 
Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob,  were  buried  there ;  or, 
as  others  say,  because  four  of  the  most  celebrated 
matrons  of  antiquity  were  interred  there,  viz.  Eve, 
Sarah,  Rebecca,  and  Leah  :  but  there  is  no  account- 
ing for  these  rabbinical  traditions.     See  Hebron. 

ARBATTIS,  a  city  of  Galilee,  taken  and  destroyed 
by  Simon  IMaccabceus,  1  Mace.  v.  23. 

ARBELA,  the  name  of  several  places  in  Palestine. 
It  is  said  (1  Mace.  ix.  2.)  that  Bacchides  and  Alchnus 
came  into  Galilee,  and  encamped  at  Maseloth,  which 
is  in  Arbela.  The  city  Masai,  or  Misheal,  was  in  the 
tribe  of  Asher,  near  to  which  was  a  place  called  Ar- 
bela, Josh.  xix.  26. — Eusebius  and  Jerome  mention  a 
city  of  this  name,  in  the  great  plain  of  Esdraelon, 
nine  miles  from  Legio,  probably  east ;  and  the  former 
writer  mentions  another  belonging  to  the  region  of 
Pella.     See  Betu-arbel. 

ARCA,  a  city  of  Phosnicia,  allotted  to  Asher,  and 
situated  between  Ai-ad  and  Tripohs.    See  Araceaxs. 

ARCE,  [from  Arke,)  or  Rekem,  by  change  of 
pronunciation,  or  Petra,  the  capital  of  Arabia  Petrsea. 
See  Rekem,  and  Petra. 

ARCHANGEL.     See  Angel. 

I.  ARCHELAUS,  king  of  Cappadocia,  father  of 
Glaphjra,  wife  of  Alexander,  sou  of  Herod  the  Great. 
See  .Alexander  VII. 

II.  ARCHELAUS,  son  of  Herod  the  Great,  and 
Maltace,  his  fifth  wife.  Hei'od  having  put  to  death 
his  sons  Alexander,  Aristobulus,  and  Autipater,  and 
expunged  from  his  will  Herod  Antipas,  whom  he 
had  declared  king,  substituted  Archelaus,  giving  to 
Antipas  only  the  title  of  tetrarch.  ,  (See  Antipas.) 
After  the  death  of  Herod,  Archelaus  was  proclaimed 
king  by  the  populace,  and  aftei"\vards  went  to  Rome 
to  procure  from  Augustus  the  confirmation  of  his 
father's  will.  Antipas,  his  brother,  disputed  his  title 
before  the  emperor,  and  the  Jews  also  sent  a  solemn 
embassy  to  Rome,  to  desire  Augustus  to  permit  them 
to  live  according  to  their  own  laws,  and  on  the  foot- 
ing of  a  Roman  province ;  without  being  sul)ject  to 
kings  of  Herod's  family,  but  only  to  the  governors  of 
Syria.  Augustus,  having  heard  all  parties,  gave  to 
xVrchelaus  the  title,  not  of  king,  but  of  ethnarch,  with 
one  moiety  of  the  territories  which  his  father  Herod 
had  enjoyed  ;  promising  him  the  crown  likewise,  if 
his  conduct  should  deserve  it.  Archelaus  returned 
to  Judea,  and  tmder  pretence  that  he  had  counte- 
nanced the  seditious  against  him,  he  deprived  Joazar 
of  the  high-priesthood,  and  gave  that  dignity  to  his 
brother  Eleazar.  He  governed  Judea  with  so  much 
violence,  that,  at\er  seven  years,  the  chiefs  of  the  Sa- 
maritans and  Jews  accused  him  before  Augustus ; 
who  sent  for  him  to  Rome,  and  after  hearing  his 
defence,  banished  him  to  Vienne  in  Gaul,  where  he 
died.  His  territoiy  was  reduced  to  the  form  of  a  Ro- 
man ])rovincc,  Josephus,  de  Bello,  ii.  6  ;  Ant.  xvii.  ult. 

ARCHI,  a  city  of  Manasseh,  near  Bethel,  Josh. 
xvi.  2. 


ARCHIPPUS,  either  a  teacher  or  deacon  in  tlie 
church  at  Colosse,  of  whom  Paul  speaks,  as  his  fel- 
low-soldier. Col.  iv.  17  ;  Philem.  2. 

ARCHISYNAGOGUS,  or  ruler  of  the  synagogue, 
see  Synagogue. 

ARCTURUS  signifies,  properly,  the  Bear's  tail, 
and  denotes  a  star  in  the  tail  of  the  Great  Bear,  or 
constellation  Ursa  JNIajor. 

Job  is  supposed  to  speak  of  Arcturus,  or  the  Bear, 
under  the  name  of  Ash,  [a-;)  chap.  xi.  9;  xxxviii.  32. 

Niebuhr  observes,  that  the  Arabs  have  no  names 
in  their  language  related  to  those  HebreAv  names 
which  occur  in  Job  ix.  9,  yet  some  of  them,  he  adds, 
call  the  Great  Bear,  Aos/(,  or  Benat  .Ydsh ;  from 
which  the  Hebrew  Ash,  ::•;•,  is  probably  a  contrac- 
tion ;  and  from  a  conversation  he  held  with  a  Jewish 
astrologer,  at  Bagdad,  he  is  of  opinion  that  v;,  Ash, 
signifies  the  Great  Bear,  [Ursa  Major,)  which  is 
called  in  Europe,  bj^  the  common  people,  a  chariot — 
"  Charles's  Wain."  In  the  tables  of  Ulugh  Bey,  pub- 
lished by  Hyde,  the  stars  «  ■?  •/  tV,  of  the  Great  Bear, 
are  called  el  JK'ash ;  and  the  stars  i  !  »,,  el  Bendth. 
Aben  Ezra  says,  ^^Ash  is  the  wagon,  which  is  also 
called  the  Bear,  and  is  near  to  the  north  pole."  Aben 
Ezra  also  says,  "  The  ancients  have  assured  us,  that 
the  seven  small  stars  at  the  tail  of  the  Ram  compose 
the  A'lma,"  and  Rabbi  Isaac  Israel  says,  in  express 
terms,  '■^  Kima  is  the  Arabian  Thuraija — the  Pleia- 
des."   (Descript.  of  Arabia,  p.  114.  Gemi.  ed.) 

We  may  therefore  with  great  certainty  conclude, 
that  the  Ash,  tr-y,  in  Job,  is  Ursa  IMajor,  and  the  Kimah, 
n-'O,  the  Pleiades  or  seven  stars ;  although  the  LXX 
understand  Ash  to  be  the  Pleiades,  and  Kimah, 
Arcturus. 

That  the  course  of  the  stars  influenced  the  sea- 
sons, in  the  opinion  of  the  ancients,  is  well  kno\\"n ; 
whence  Phny  says,  (hb.  2.  cap.  39.)  "Arcturus  sel- 
dom rises  without  bringing  hail  and  tempests ;"  and 
(lib.  xviii.  cap.  28.)  "the  evils  which  the  heavens 
send  us  are  of  two  kinds ;  that  is  to  say,  tempests 
which  produce  hail,  storms,  and  other  like  things, 
which  is  called  Tas  Major,  and  which  are  caused,  as 
I  have  often  said,  by  dreadful  stars,  such  as  Arcturus, 
Orion,  and  the  Kids."  The  ancients,  however,  were 
mistaken  in  this  notion,  for  the  stai-s  only  marked  that 
time  of  the  year  when  such  things  might  naturally 
be  expected. 

AREOPAGUS,  the  place,  or  court,  in  which  the 
Areopagites,  the  celebrated  and  supreme  judges  of 
Athens,  assembled.  It  was  on  an  enunence,  for- 
merly almost  in  the  middle  of  the  city ;  but  nothing 
remains  by  which  we  can  detemiine  its  form  or  con- 
struction." "Going  out  of  the  gate,  which  is  the 
present  entrance  to  the  Acropolis,"  says  Mr.  Stuart, 
"we  had  just  before  us  the  Areopagus,  a  hill  which 
gave  name,  as  every  one  knows,  to  the  most  celebrated 
tribunal  of  Athens^  built  either  on  it,  or  contiguous  to 
it.  This  hill  is  almost  entirely  a  mass  of  stone  ;  its 
upper  surface  is  ■^^^thout  any  considerable  irregulari- 
ties, but  neither  so  level,  nor  so  spacious,  as  that  of 
the  Acropolis,  and  though  of  no  great  height,  not 
easily  accessible,  its  sides  being  steep  and  abrupt. 
On  this  hill  the  Amazons  pitched  their  tents,  when 
they  invaded  Attica  in  the  time  of  Theseus ;  and  in 
after-times,  the  Persians  under  Xerxes  began  from 
hence  their  attack  on  the  Acropohs.  Here  we  ex- 
pected to  find  some  vestiges  of  the  tribunal — but 
were  disappointed,  for  we  did  not  discover  tlie  least 
remaining  trace  of  building  upon  it.  At  the  foot  of 
this  rock,  on  the  part  facing  the  north-east,  are  some 
natural  caverns,  and  contiguous  to  them,  rather  the 


ARG 


[  9'-^  ] 


ARI 


rubbish  thaii  the  ruins  of  souie  considerable  build- 
ings. That  nearest  the  Acropolis,  according  to  tra- 
dition, was  the  palace  of  Dionysius  the  Areopagite. 
After  Christianity  was  estabUshed  at  Athens,  it  be- 
came a  church,  and  was  dedicated  to  him.  Near  it 
stood  the  archbishop's  palace,  but  that  is  at  present 
utterly  demoUshed.  It  is  not  improbable,  that  both 
the  church  and  the  palace  were  built  on  the  ruins 
of  the  ancient  tribunal  called  the  Areopagus." 

It  is  said,  the  Areopagites  pronounced  sentence  in 
the  dark,  that  they  might  not  be  affected  by  the  sight 
of  the  persons  engaged  in  the  prosecution.  It  is  also 
said,  that  before  any  person  could  be  elected  a  judge 
of  the  Areopagus,  he  must  have  discharged  the  office 
of  archon,  or  chief  magistrate  of  the  city ;  but  this 
was  not  attended  to  in  later  ages.  However,  it 
probably  gives  a  character  to  Dionysius,  who  was 
converted  by  Paul.  The  Areopagites  took  cog- 
nizance of  murders,  impieties,  and  immoralities ; 
they  punished  vices  of  all  kinds — idleness  included  ; 
they  rewarded  or  assisted  the  virtuous ;  they  were 
peculiarly  attentive  to  blasi)hemies  against  the  gods, 
and  to  the  performance  of  the  sacred  mysteries.  It 
was,  therefore,  with  the  greatest  })ropr!ety,  that  Paul 
was  questioned  before  this  tribunal.  Having  preached 
at  Athens  against  the  plurality  of  gods,  and  declared, 
that  he  came  to  reveal  to  the  Athenians  that  God 
whom  they  adored  without  knowing  him,  the  apostle 
was  carried  before  the  Areopagites,  as  the  introducer 
of  new  deities,  (Acts  xvii.  19,  22.)  where  he  spoke 
with  so  much  wisdom,  that  he  converted  Dionysius, 
one  of  the  judges,  and  was  dismissed,  \\'ithout  any 
interference  on  their  part.  Our  translation,  by  giving 
the  import  of  the  word  Areoj)agus,  "  Mars'  hill,"  has 
lost  the  coiTect  representation  of  the  passage  ;  since 
Mars'  hill  might  not  be  a  court  of  justice  ;  and  beside 
tliis,  the  station  of  Dionysius,  as  one  of  the  Areopa-^ 
gites,  is  lost  on  the  reader.  Comp.  Potter's  Antiqui-* 
tics  of  Greece,  b.  i.  c.  19.     Sec  Athens. 

AREOPOLIS,  the  same  as  Ar,  or  Ariei,,  or 
Rabbath-Moab.     See  Ar. 

ARETAS,  the  proper  name  of  several  kings  of 
Arabia  Petraea.  One  was  contemporary  with  Anti- 
pater.  (Jos.  Ant.xiv.  c.2, 3, 4.)  Another,  the  only  one 
mentioned  in  Scripture,  gave  his  daughter  in 'mar- 
riage to  Herod  Antipas  ;  but  she  being  repudiated  by 
Herod,  Aretas  made  war  upon  him  (A.  D.  37)  and 
destroyed  his  army.  In  consccpience  of  this,  the 
emperor  Tiberius,  indignant  at  tlie  audacity  of  Aretas, 
and  being  entreated  by  Herod  to  give  him'  assistance, 
directed  Viteliius,  tiiei'i  procoiisid  of  Syria,  to  make 
war  upon  the  Arabian  king,  and  bring  him  alive  or 
dead  to  Rome.  Ikit  while  Viteliius  was  in  the  midst 
of  preparation  for  the  war,  and  had  already  sent  for- 
ward some  of  his  troops,  Ik;  received  intelligence  of 
the  death  of  Tiberius;  on  whicli  he  immediately  re- 
called his  troo[)s,  dismissed  them  into  winter  quar- 
ter, and  then  left  thi;  province,  A.  D.  39.  (.Tos.  A;it. 
xvii.  c.  5.)  Aretas,  taking  advantage  of  this  supine- 
uess,  seems  to  have  made  an  incursion  and  got  pos- 
session of  Damascus;  over  which  he  then  appointed 
a  governor  or  ethnarch,  who,  at  the  instigation  of  the 
Jews,  attempted  to  put  Paul  in  i)rison,  2  Cor.  xi.  32, 
33;  comp.  Xrtn  iv.  24,  25.— Under  Nero,  liowever^ 
(A.  D.  54  to  07,)  Damascus  apfiears  again  on  coins  as 
a  Roman  city.  See  Kuinocl  on  Acts  1.  c.  and  Pro- 
legom.     *l{. 

I.  ARGOIJ,  (ajn.v,  with  proslli.  n  for  3n,  a  heap  of 
stones,  etc.)  a  district  ea.st  of  Jordan,  in  ihe  half-tribe 
of  Manassch,  and  in  the  country  of  Rashaii,  one  of 
the  most  fruitful  territories  ou  the  other  side  Jordan. 


In  this  district  were  the  sixty  toAVns  called  Havoth- 
Jair,  which  had  walls  and  gates;  without  reckoning 
villages  and  hamlets,  not  enclosed  ;  all  belonging  to 
Og,  king  of  Bashan.  There  are  some  remains  of  the 
A^'ord  Argolj  in  Ragab,  a  city  east  of  Jordan,  Deut. 
iii.  4,  14  ;  1  Kings  iv.  13. 

II.  ARGOB,  the  capital  of  the  region  of  Argob. 
Eusebius  says,  that  Argob  was  fifteen  miles  west 
from  Gerasa.  It  is  probably  the  same  as  Ragab,  or 
Ragabah,  mentioned  in  the  Mishna,  in  Menachoth, 
viii.  3.  and  in  Josephus,  Antiq.  lib.  xiii.  cap.  23.  The 
Samaritan  translation,  instead  of  Argob,  generally 
puts  Rigobah. 

ARIEL  (SxnN,  lion  of  God,  i.  e.  hero,  or  city  of 
heroes)  is  understood  of  the  altar  of  burnt-offer- 
ings; or  of  the  city  of  Jerusalem,  in  Isaiah  xxix. 

I,  2,  7. 

ARIMATHEA,  or  Ramah,  or  Ramatha,  a  city 
whence  came  Joseph  the  counsellor,  mentioned 
Luke  xxiii.  50.  and  often  supposed  to  be  the  modern 
Ramie,  or  Ranila,  a  pleasant  town,  standing  in  a  fer- 
tile plain,  about  thirty-five  miles  north-west  of  Jeru- 
salem, on  the  high  road  to  Jafia,  and  containing  a 
population  of  about  5000  souls,  who  are  principally 
occupied  in  Imsiiandry.  [This,  however,  is  a  mis- 
apprehension ;  fur  the  Hebrew  for  Arimathca  is 
Ramah,  not  Ranileh ;  and  besides,  this  latter  citj' 
could  not  be  mentioned  in  the  Scriptures,  since  it 
was  first  founded  about  A.  D.  71G,  by  Soliman  Ben 
Abdolmelek,  the  seventh  cahph  of  the  race  of  the 
Ommiadae.  See  Abulfedse  Tab.  Syr.  p.  79 ;  Rosenm. 
Bibl.  Geog.  II.  ii.  p.  338. 

Arimathea,  then,  is  the  Hebrew  Ramah  ;  but  as 
there  were  at  least  two  cities  of  this  name  in  Pales- 
tine, it  is  still  somewhat  uncertain  which  of  these 
is  meant.  Most  ])roljably,  however,  it  was  the  Ra- 
mah of  mount  Epliiaini,  (probal)ly  identical  A\'itli  that 
in  the  tribe  of  Benjamin,  see  Rosenm.  Bibl.  Geog. 

II.  ii.  p.  18G.)  the  biitli-place  and  residence  of  Sam- 
uel. This  was  called  also  Ramathahn-Zcphim,  (s-riti 
D1D1X,  heights  of  the  Zophim,  1  Sam.  i.  1  ;  comp.  v. 
19.)  from  which  name,  whh  the  article  j)refixed,  Ha- 
ramathaim,  (1  Sam.  i.  1.)  the  form  Arimathea  is  readily 
derived.  In  1  IMacc.  xi.  34.  it  is  called  Ramathem, 
and  by  Josephus,  Ramatha,  Ant.  vi.  11.  4,  5.  See 
Ramah.     *R. 

ARISTARCHUS,  a  disciple  mentioned  bv  Paul, 
(Col.  iv.  10;  Phil.  24.)  and  also  in  the  Acts,  (x'ix.  29; 
XX.  4  ;  xxvii.  2.)  was  a  Macrdoniau,  of  Thessalohica. 
I[e  accompanied  Paul  to  Ephesus,  and  continued  with 
him  the  two  years  of  his  abode  there,  partaking  of 
his  lal)ors  and  dangers.  He  was  nearly  killed  in  a 
tumult  raised  by  the  Ephesian  goldsmillis,  w  hose  city 
he  left  with  the  apostle,  and  accompanied  him  into 
Greece  and  Asia,  and  then  as  a  fellow-jjrisoncr  to 
Rome.  The  Greeks  say,  he  was  bishop  of  Apamea, 
in  Syria;  and  was  beheaded  with  Paul,  at  Rome, 
under  Nero. 

I.  ARISTOBULUS,  a  Jew,  of  the  race  of  the 
])riests,  a  |)liiloso|)lier,  and  preceptor  to  Ptolemy, 
king  of  Egypt,  2  Mac.  i.  10.  Clemens  and  Eusebius 
believe  him  to  be  the  same  as  is  mentioned  in  the 
preface  to  the  second  book  of  Maccabees,  called 
"king  Ptolemy's  master,  who  was  of  the  stock  of  the 
anointed  jtriests,"  that  is,  of  the  priests  of  the  God  of 
Israel,  consecrated  h\  holy  unction. 

II.  ARISTOB[T  LllS,  of  whom  Paul  speaks,  (Rom. 
xvi.  1 0.)  was,  according  to  ihe  modern  Greeks,  brother 
of  Barii;ii)as,  and  one  ot"  the  seventy  discijiles  ;  was 
^ordained  a  bishop  by  Barnabas,  or  by  Paul,  whom 
he  followed  in  his  travels;  was  sent  into  Britain, 


ARK 


[  93] 


ARK 


wheie  he  labored  much,  made  many  converts,  and 
at  last  died.     See  Christianity  ;  History. 

III.  ARISTOBULUS,  or  Judas,  or  Puilellen, 

(lover  of  the  Greeks,)  was  the  son  of'Hircanus,  whom 
ho  succeeded,  A.  M.  3898,  but  reigned  one  year  only. 
He  was  cruel  and  vindictive.  He  made  war  upon 
the  Itureans,  a  peojjle  descended  from  Jethur,  son 
of  Ishmael,  who  dwelt  in  Arabia,  between  Damascus 
and  the  half-tribe  of  Manasseh.  He  sid)dued  them, 
and  forced  them  to  receive  circumcision,  by  offering 
them  the  alternative  either  of  embracing  Judaism 
or  of  quitting  their  country.     Jos.  Ant.  xiii.  c.  18, 19. 

IV.  ARISTOBULUS,  second  son  of  Alexander 
jaunaeus,  and  youngest  brother  of  Hircanus  the  high- 
priest,  (see  Alexandra,)  whom  he  made  war  upon, 
but  was  taken  by  Pompey,  and  sent  prisoner  to  Rome, 
with  his  children,  where  he  remained  eight  years. 
Ho  at  length  escaped,  and  returned  to  Judea,  where 
he  levied  troops,  and  endeavored  to  establish  himself, 
but  was  severely  wounded  by  Gabinius,  the  Roman 
general,  and  again  sent  to  Rome,  where  he  was  kept 
iu  fetters.  He  was  set  at  liberty  by  Juhus  Caesar, 
after  a  captivity  of  seven  or  eight  years,  and  appointed 
to  oppose  Pompey's  pai'ty  in  Syria,  for  which  pur- 
pose two  legions  were  assigned  him.  He  was  poi- 
soned by  that  party,  however,  before  he  could  quit 
Rome,  and  received  the  honors  of  a  funeral  from 
those  in  the  interest  of  Csesar.  His  body,  being  em- 
balmed iu  honey,  remained  at  Rome,  till  Mai-k  An- 
tony caused  it  to  be  carried  to  Judea,  to  be  interred 
iu  the  sepulchres  of  the  kings.  He  died  A.  M.  3955, 
ante  A.  D.  49.     Jos.  Ant.  xiii.  xiv. 

V.  ARISTOBULUS,  son  of  Alexander,  and  gi-and- 
son  of  Aristo!)ulus,  second  son  of  Alexander  Jannaeus, 
was  the  last  of  the  Asmonaean  family.  Herod,  his 
brother-in-law,  exerted  himself  to  prevent  his  pos- 
sessing the  high-priesthood,  but  being  overjjowered 
by  the  solicitations  of  his  wife,  Mariamne,  and  his 
mother-in-law,  Alexandra,  he  invested  Aristobulus 
with  this  dignity,  who  was  then  but  seventeen  years 
of  age.  He  resolv-ed,  however,  to  procure  his  de- 
struction, and  had  him  drowned,  while  he  was  bathing 
near  Jericho,  A.  IM.  3970,  ante  A.  D.  34.  Jos.  Ant. 
XV,  c.  2,  3  ;  xvi.  3. 

VI.  ARISTOBULUS,  son  of  Herod  the  Great 
and  ]Mariamu;",  and  brother  of  Alexander.  See 
Alexander,  VII. 

AilIUS,  or  Areus,  king  of  Spaita,  mentioned  1 
iMacr.  xii.  7.  and  by  Josophus,  Antiq.  book  xii.  chap. 
5.  This  i)rince  wrote  a  letter  to  the  high-priest, 
Onias,  the  contents  of  which  are  given,  1  Mace.  xii. 
20.  One  particulai*  feature  iu  it  is,  that  the  Lace- 
drcmonians  are  acknowledged  as  brethren  of  tlic 
J*ws;  that  is,  spnuig  from  the  same  origin,  having 
Abraham  for  their  father. 

I.  ARK,  (Noah's,)  in  Hebrew  nan,  thebah;  Greek, 
/?',y.' IT (■..-,  a  chest,  or  ^-'^Qrui,  a  coffer.  The  term  thebah 
used  by  Moses  is  different  from  the  common  name 
by  which  he  describes  a  coffer;  and  is  the  same  that 
he  employs  when  speaking  of  the  little  wicker  basket 
ni  v/hich  he  was  exposed  on  the  Nile  ;  whence  some 
liavc  thought  that  the  Ark  was  of  wicker  work.  It 
was  a  sort  of  bark,  m  shape  and  appearance  much 
like  a  chest  or  trunk.  The  ancients  inform  us,  that 
tiio  Egyptians  used  on  the  Nile  barks  made  of  bul- 
ruslies,  which  were  so  light,  as  to  be  carried  on  their  I 
shoulders,  when  they  met  with  falls  of  water,  that 
prf'vented  their  passage.  Noah's  Ark  was,  in  all 
probability,  in  form  like  these  Egyptian  boats.  The 
greatest  difficulty  refers,  principally,  to  its  size  and 
capacity ;  and  how  Noah  was  able  to  build  a  vessel 


sulKcient  to  contain  the  men  and  beasts,  with  provis- 
ions requisite  for  their  support,  during  a  whole  yeaj-. 
To  resolve  these  difficulties,  it  has  been  requisite  to 
inquire  very  particularly  into  the  measure  of  the 
cubit  mentioned  by  Moses,  into  the  number  of  the 
creatures  admitted  into  the  Ark,  and  into  the  di- 
mensions of  this  vast  building.  After  the  nicest 
exaniination  and  conq)utation,  and  taking  the  dimen- 
sions with  the  greatest  geometrical  exactness,  the 
most  learned  and  acciu'ate  calculators,  and  those  nicst 
conversant  with  the  building  of  ships,  conclude,  that  if 
the  ablest  mathematicians  had  been  consulted  about 
proportioning  the  several  apartments  in  the  Ark,  they 
could  not  have  done  it  with  greater  correctness  than 
Moses  has  done ;  and  this  narration  in  the  sacred 
history  is  so  far  from  fiu'nishing  deists  with  arguments 
wherewith  to  weaken  the  authority  of  the  Holy  Scrip- 
tures, that,  on  the  contrary,  it  supplies  good  arguments 
to  confirm  that  authoi-ity  ;  since  it  seems,  in  a  manner, 
impossible  for  a  man,  in  Noah's  time,  when  naviga- 
tion Avas  not  perfected,  by  his  own  wit  and  invention, 
to  discover  such  accuracy  and  regularity  of  propor- 
tion, as  is  remarkable  in  the  dimensions  of  the  Ark. 
It  follows,  that  the  correctness  must  be  attributed  to 
diAine  inspiration,  and  a  supernatural  direction. 
(Wilkins's  Essay  towards  a  Real  Character,  part  ii. 
cap.  5.  Saurin,  Discours  Historique,  &c.  torn.  i.  p. 
87,  88.) 

If  we  reckon  the  Hebrew  cubit  at  twenty-one 
inches,  the  Ark  was  512  feet  long,  87  wide,  and  52 
feet  high  ;  and  the  internal  capacity  of  it  was  357,600 
cubical  cubits.  If  we  suppose  the  cubit  to  be  only 
eighteen  inches,  its  length  was  450  feet,  its  width  75, 
and  its  height  45.  Its  figure  was  an  oblong  square, 
but  the  covering  might  have  a  declivity  to  carry  off 
water.  Its  length  exceeded  that  of  most  churches  in 
Europe.  The  height  might  be  divided  into  four 
stories,  allowing  three  cubits  and  a  half  to  the  first ; 
seven  to  the  second  ;  eight  to  the  third  ;  and  five  and 
a  half  to  the  fourth ;  and  allotting  five  cubits  for  the 
thicloiess  of  the  top  and  bottom,  and  the  floors.  The 
first  story  might  be  the  bottom,  or  what  is  called  the 
hold  of  ships ;  the  second  might  be  a  gi-anary,  or 
magazine ;  the  thii'd  might  contain  the  beasts ;  and 
the  fourth  the  fowls.  But  the  hold  not  being  reck- 
oned as  a  stoiy,  and  sening  only  as  a  conservatoiy 
of  fresh  water,  Moses  says,  there  were  but  three  sto- 
ries in  the  Ark  :  and  when  interpreters  say  four,  they 
include  the  hold.  Some  reckon  as  many  stab!  s  as 
there  were  kinds  of  beasts,  which  is  not  necessary ; 
because  many  kinds  of  birds  and  beasts,  which  use 
the  same  food,  might  very  well  live  together. . 

The  number  of  beasts  received  into  the  Ark  is  nr  t 
so  great  as  some  have  imagined.  We  know  about  a 
hundred  and  forty,  or  a  hundred  and  fifty,  species  of 
quadrupeds  ;  of  birds,  more  in  number,  but  smaller  iu 
size  ;  of  reptiles,  thirty  or  forty  species.  We  know  not 
of  more  than  six  species  of  beasts  larger  than  a  horse  ; 
very  few  equal  to  a  horse,  and  many  nuich  sniallei', 
even  under  the  size  of  a  sheep:  so  that  all  the  four- 
footed  beasts,  including  3650  sheep,  if  they  be  sup- 
posed necessary  for  the  nourishment  of  such  animals 
as  live  on  flesh,  at  the  rate  often  sheep  daily,  scr.iceiy 
occupy  more  room  than  120  oxen,  3730  sheep,  and  80 
wolves.  Among  birds,  few  are  larger  than  a  swan, 
and  most  are  less.  Reptiles,  or  creeping  animals,  an- 
generally  small:  many  can  live  in  the  water,  ajid 
these  it  would  not  be  necessary  to  receive  into  the 
Ark.  All  the  beasts  might  easily  have  been  lodged 
in  36  stables,  and  all  the  birds  in  as  many  lofts ;  rl- 
lowing  to  each  apartment  52^  feet  in  length,  29  in 


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[94] 


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Width,  and  13i  in  height.  There  might  he  more 
than  31,174  hiishels  of  fresh  water  in  the  hold  ;  which 
is  more  than  is  sufficient  for  drink  to  four  times  as 
many  men  and  heasts,  for  one  year,  as  were  in  the 
Ark.  The  granary  in  the  first  story  might  contain 
more  pro\isions  than  were  necessary  for  ah  the  ani- 
mals in  the  Ark,  during  one  year  ;  whether  they  all 
lived  on  hay,  fruits,  and  herbs,  (which  is  very  proh.n- 
ble,  at  this  juncture,  there  being  none  which,  in  cases 
of  ueces:5ity,  might  not  subsist  well  enough  without 
flesh,)  or  whether  there  were  shee])  designed  for  the 
food  of  such  animals  as  hve  on  flesh.  Beside  places 
for  the  beasts  and  birds,  and  their  provisions,  Noah 
might  find  room  on  the  third  stoi-y  for  thirty-six  cab- 
ins occupied  by  household  utensils,  instruments  of 
husbandry,  books,  gi'ains,  and  seeds ;  for  a  kitchen,  a 
hall,  four  chandjers,  and  a  space  of  about  forty-eight 
cubits  in  length,  to  walk  in. 

Such  is  the  substance  of  Calmct's  reasoning,  and 
though  modern  discoveries  have  augmented  the  va- 
riety of  species  of  beasts  and  birds,  the  number  of 
them  is  not  sufficiently  great  to  annul  the  argument 
he  has  adduced.  Many  animals  which  feed  on  flesh 
can  endure  long  fasting;  others  are  torpid  in  certain 
degrees  of  cold  ;  others  fold  themselves  into  a  very 
small  compass,  and  jjass  their  time  with  little  or  no 
motion.  We  nuist  also  recollect,  that  the  innumera- 
ble varieties  of  sj)ecies  now  known,  are  greatly  tlic 
effect  of  climate,  of  food,  of  habit,  whether  roving  or 
domesticated,  and  these  would  allow  for  considerable 
deductions  from  the  general  mass  of  creatm-es  in  the 
Ark.  As  to  trees,  jdants,  and  vegetables,  in  general, 
we  know,  that  most  of  their  seeds  can  endure  water 
for  a  long  while  without  rotting  ;  that  the  taller  trees 
were  not  long  wholly  covered  with  the  water  of  the 
deluge  ;  and  that  the  eggs,  &c.  of  insects,  though 
extremely  numerous,  might  be  attached  in  various 
coiTiers  of  the  Ark,  and  occupy  very  little  space. 

Interpreters  generally  believe  that  Noah  was  one 
hundred  and  twenty  yeai-s  in  building  the  Ark  ;  an 
opinion  founded  on  Gen.  vi.  .'],  "  j\]y  spirit  shall  not 
always  strive  with  man  ;  his  days  sliall  be  a  hundred 
and  twenty  years."  They  suppos.;  that  God  here 
predicted  an  interval  of  only  one  hundred  and  twenty 
years  to  the  deluge  ;  and  that  this  lime  was  necessary 
for  Noah  to  make  pre]»arations,  to  Iniild  th("  Ark,  to 

fireach  repentance,  to  collect  provisions,  animals,  &l.c. 
Jut  how  shall  we  reconcile  this  with  Avhat  is  said 
Gen.  v.  32.  of  Noah's  being  five  hundred  yeai-s  old 
at  the  birth  of  Sliem,  Ham,  and  .Japheth  ?  And  when 
God  commands  him  to  build  the  Ark,  he  says,  "And 
thou  shalt  come  into  the  Ark,  thou,  and  tliy  sons,  and 
thy  wife,  and  thy  sojis'  wives  with  thee,"  Gen.  vi.  18. 
At  that  time,  his  three  sons,  who  were  not  born  till 
aft  r  the  five  hundredth  year  of  his  age,  were  all 
married;  though  the  deluge  hajjpeneci  in  the  six 
hundredth  year  of  Noah.  It  is  impossible,  therefore, 
that  he  should  have  received  orders  to  build  the  Ark 
a  hundred  and  twenty  years  before  the  deluge,  un- 
less he  had  other  sons,  though  only  these  tln-ee  at- 
tended to  his  orders. 

The  wood  used  fi)r  tlie  Ark  is  called  in  tin;  He- 
brew, gopher  wood,  (iWn.  vi.  14.)  ieu  v;  ;  in  the  LXX, 
£■  ;•«  TfTou>'(.>i«.  sijuare  pirrrs  of  U'ood.  Some  render 
it  cedar,  or  box,  or  woods  that  do  not  easily  perish. 
Bochart  maintains,  that  ^ro/'/if  signifies  c^jprcss  ;  and 
in  Artnenia  and  .Vssyria,  where  it  is  sup|)ose(l,  with 
reason,  that  the  Ark  was  constructed,  cypress  is  the 
only  wood  fit  to  make  so  long  a  vessel  of.  Others 
are  of  o|)inion,  tfiat  gopher  signifies,  in  general,  oily 
and  gunnny  woods;  sni^h  as  the  pine,  the  fir-tree. 


and  the  turpentine-tree.  The  word  goplait,  which 
comes  very  near  gopher,  sigififies  sulphur,  and,  in  a 
larger  sense,  maj'  be  taken  for  rosin,  pitch,  and  other 
combustible  matters  drawn  from  wood.  Jerome 
translates  it  here,  polished  wood,  but  elsewhere, 
wood  coated  over  with  bitumen.  The  jfoint  remains 
undecided  ;  but  Calmet  prefers  the  cypress. 

Some  pei'sons  have  started  diflicidties  with  regard 
to  the  square  and  oblong  figure  of  the  Ark  ;  but  they 
did  not  consider  that  this  vessel  was  not  designed  for 
sailing  or  rowing,  but  chiefly  for  floating  on  the  water 
a  considerable  time.  Besides,  it  may  be  proved,  by 
instances,  that  its  form  was  not  less  connnodious  for 
rowing,  than  capacious  for  carrying.  George  Hornins, 
in  his  "History  of  the  several  Empires,"  tells  us,  that 
in  the  beginning  of  the  17th  century,  one  Peter  Hans, 
of  Hornc,  had  two  ships  built  after  the  model  and 
proportions  of  the  Ark ;  one  was  120  feet  long,  20 
wide,  and  12  deep.  These  vessels  had  the  same  fate 
with  Noah's,  being  at  first  objects  of  ridicule  and  rail- 
lery ;  but  experience  demonstrated,  that  they  carried 
a  third  part  more  than  others,  though  they  did  not 
require  a  larger  crew :  they  were  better  sailers,  and 
made  their  way  with  much  more  swiftness.  The  only 
inconvenience  found  in  them  was,  that  they  were  fit 
only  for  times  of  peace,  because  they  were  not  proper 
to  carry  guns,  (l^e  Pelletier,  Dissert,  sin-  I'Arche  de 
Noe,  caf)*:  ii.  p.  2i»,  30.) 

The  number  of  men  and  animals  included  in  the 
x\rk,  plentifully  sujiplics  matter  of  dispute.  As  to  the 
number  of  men,  if  we  kept  to  the  texts  of  Moses  and 
Peter,  we  should  have  no  contest  about  it;  Moses 
expressly  says,  that  Noah  Avent  into  the  Ark,  himself, 
his  wife,  his  three  sons,  anc'  their  three  wives:  and 
Peter  tells  us,  that  there  were  I  I't  Liglit  persons  saved 
from  the  deluge.  But  the  mind  of  man,  fruitful  in 
imaginations,  always  curiou.-.  u\;d  j>erpetually  unquiet, 
has  considerably  augmented  this  i  lunber.  Some  have 
hereby  thought  to  do  God  servict  ;  supposing  eight 
persons  were  not  sufficient  to  sujjply  the  wants  of  so 
many  ainmals.  Others  have  imagined,  that  to  affirm 
eight  persons  only  to  have  been  ])reserved  from  the 
deluge,  was  to  set  too  narrow  bounds  to  God's  mercy. 
The  Mahometan  interpreters  believe,  that  beside 
the  eight  ])ei-sons  whom  we  have  mentioned,  there 
were  seventy-tA\o  more  who  etitered ;  not  the  sons 
only  of  Noah,  but  their  servants  likewse.  It  is,  be- 
yond conqjarison,  more  difficult  to  fix  the  number  of 
animals  than  that  of  men.  Moses  himself  helps  to 
perplex  us,  in  these  words:  "Of  every  clean  beast 
thou  shalt  take  to  thee  seven  seven,  the  male  iU)d  his 
female  ;  and  of  beasis  not  clean,  two,  the  male  and  his 
female."  He  places  two  here  but  once:  but  the  Sa- 
maritan, the  LXX,  and  Vtdgate,  read  two  twice  ;  and 
the  Hebrew  itself,  chap.  vii.  ver.  iX  reads  two  two, 
ivcnt  in — which  leaves  the  difhculty  in  all  hs  force  ;  the 
text  bearing  ecpially  to  be  construed  screjj  and  sei'tn, 
and  two  and  two;  or,  of  clean  beasts,  ybw?7rf?i,  or 
seven  pair ;  and  of  unclean,  two  pair,  or  only  one 
pair.  But  what  are  we  to  understand  by  elean  and 
unclean  beasts?  Was  this  distinction,  declared  by 
Moses  in  the  law,  known  and  ])ractised  before  the 
deluge;  or  did  Moses  mention  it  as  known  and  un- 
derstood by  the  ])ersous  for  whom  h(^  wrote  ?  It  is 
probable,  that  this  distinction  was  known  to  Noah; 
and  that  the  same  animals  were  esteemed  pure  (while 
others  were  iiiq)ure)  both  by  Noah  and  by  IMoses.  It 
is  manifi'st,  that  by  ])ure  or  dean  animals,  in  general, 
those  only  were  meant  which  might  be  oflfered  in 
sacrifice,  as  bull<,  sheep,  goats,  and  their  several  spe- 
cies ;  and  the  like  among  birds,  as  pigeons,  doves, 


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[95  ] 


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heiis,  aiid  sparrows.  For  the  common  uses  of  life, 
as  food,  &c.  Moses  allocs  a  great  number  of  animals  ; 
but  it  is  questionable,  whether  in  this  place  wc  are 
to  extend  the  pure  animals  beyond  those  admitted  in 
sacrifice.  The  pair  of  imclean  could  be  only  one 
male  and  one  female ;  Imt  the  seven  clean  beasts 
might  be  two  males  and  five  females ;  one  male  for 
sacrifice,  the  other  for  inultiphcation  of  tiie  species. 

[The  preceding  remarks  arc  from  Calmet.  Tiie 
English  editor  has  expended  niucli  time  and  fruitless 
labor,  in  attempting  to  ascertain  the  foi-ni  of  the  Ark  ; 
and  has,  for  this  pmpose,  compared  it  with  an  oriental 
liouse,  and  witii  a  variety  of  objects  in  heathen  my- 
thology. But  all  oriental  houses  are  not  alike.  We 
can  only  draw  the  conclusion  from  the  Scripture 
account,  that  the  Ark  wiis  not  a  ship,  but  a  building 
in  the  form  of  a  parallelogram,  300  cubits  long,  50 
cubits  broad,  and  30  cubits  high.  The  length  of  the 
cubit,  in  the  gi-eat  variety  of  measures  which  bore 
this  name,  it  is  impossible  to  ascertain,  and  useless  to 
conjecture.  The  Ark  is  called  in  Hebrew  thebah,  by 
the  Sept.  xi^iuiTv;.  kiboios ;  and  by  Josephus,  /.u(.iia?, 
larnax,  a  chest.  So  far  as  these  names  aflbrd  any  evi- 
dence, they  also  go  to  show  that  the  Ark  of  Noah 
was  not  a  regulai'ly  built  vessel ;  but  merely  in- 
tended to  float  at  large  upon  the  watei's.  We  may, 
therefore,  probably  with  justice,  regard  it  as  a  large, 
oblong,  floating  housf",  with  a  roof  either  flat,  or  only 
slightly  inclined.  It  was  constructed  with  three  sto- 
ries, anil  had  a  door  in  the  side.  There  is  no  men- 
tion of  wiiidows  in  the  si  !e  ;  but  above,  i.  e.  probably 
in  the  flat  root",  where  Noah  was  commanded  to 
make  them  of  a  cubit  in  size.  Gen.  v.  IG.  That  this 
is  the  meaning  of  the  passage,  seems  apparent  from 
Gen.  viii.  13 ;  where  Noah  removes  the  covering  of 
the  Ark,  in  order  to  behold  whether  the  gi-ound  was 
dry ; — a  labor  surely  imnecessary,  had  there  been 
windows  in  the  sides  of  the  Ark. 

The  form  and  dimensions  of  Noah's  Ark  have 
given  rise  to  an  infinite  amoimt  of  useless  speculation. 
Besides  the  practical  illustration  of  building  similar 
ships,  mentioned  above,  many  books  have  also  been 
written  on  the  subject.  One  of  the  most  important 
was  written  by  the  Jesuit  Kircher,  under  the  title 
"  Area  Nofe,"  published  at  Rome,  1669,  in  folio,  and 
republished  at  Amsterdam  in  1675,  fol.  pp.  250.  This 
work  is  divided  into  three  parts,  and  contains  an  il- 
lustration of  what  took  place  before,  during,  and  after 
the  deluge.  All  the  difl'erent  stories  and  compart- 
ments of  the  Ark  are  here  delineated  ;  and  the  beasts, 
birds,  and  reptiles,  are  all  appropriately  distributed ! 
The  plate  given  by  Calmet  to  represent  the  Ark,  does 
not  fall  much  short  of  the  same  fanciful  particularity. 

As  Noah  was  the  })rogenitor  of  all  tlie  nations  of 
the  earth,  we  might  naturally  expect  to  find  memo- 
rials of  him  also  among  heathen  nations,  and  espe- 
cially interwoven  into  their  mytholog-ical  traditions. 
This  appears  to  have  been  undoubtedly  the  fact. 
The  traces  of  the  deluge  in  heathen  mythology  have 
been  laboriously  collected  by  Mr.  Bryant,  in  his  My- 
thology, vol.  ii.  p.  193,  seq. 

It  appears,  from  many  circumstances,  that  the  great 
patriarch  was  highly  reverenced  by  his  ])osterity. 
They  styled  him  Prometheus,  Deucalion,  Theuth, 
Zuth,  Xuthus,  Inachus,  Dioimusus,  etc.  In  tiie 
East,  his  true  name  was  better  [)reserved ;  he  was 
there  called  Noas,  Nans,  and  sometimes  contracted. 
Nous.  Indeed,  it  must  ever  remain  a  striking  fact, 
that  throughout  the  whole  kindred  family  of  lan- 
guages, from  India  to  us,  the  syllable  Ao,  or  JVach, 
is  one  of  the  fundamental  sounds  by  which  xcater. 


and  a  multitude  of  ideas  connected  with  it,  arc  des- 
ignated;  as  la/fu,  iiiiiu,  rav:,  navis,  navigate,  nasSy 
.Yachen,  etc. 

Suidas  relates  an  account  of  this  personage,  whom 
he  calls  Annacus,  agreeing  in  its  main  points  with  the 
story  of  Noah,  and  which  is  further  illustrated  by 
Stephen  of  Byzantium.  Diodorus,  and  other  Greeks, 
call  him  Deucalion  ;  and  describe  the  deluge  as  uni- 
versal. We  are  assured  by  Philo,  (De  praemio  et 
poena,  vol.  ii.  p.  412.)  that  Deucalion  was  Noah. 
"The  Grecians  call  the  person  Deucalion,  but  the 
Chaldeans  style  him  Noe,  in  Avhose  time  there  hap- 
pened the  great  eruption  of  waters."  The  Chaldeans 
likewise  mentioned  him  by  the  name  of  Xisouthros. 
(Cedren.  p.  10.) — Eusebius  has  preserved  a  passage 
from  Abydenus,  (Prtef.  Evang.  ix.  12.)  in  which  he 
speaks  of  Noah  as  a  king  under  the  name  of  Sei- 
sithrus,  and  says  that  "during  the  prevalence  of  the 
flood,  Seisithrus  sent  out  birds,  that  lie  might  judge 
whether  the  waters  had  subsided  ;  but  that  the  birds, 
not  finding  any  resting  place,  returned  to  him  again. 
This  was  repeated  three  times  ;  when  the  birds  were 
found  to  return  with  their  feet  stained  with  soil ;  by 
which  he  knew  that  the  flood  was  abated.  Upon 
this  he  quitted  the  ark."  Abydenus  concludes  with 
a  particular  in  which  all  the  eastern  writers  are 
unanimous,  viz.  that  the  place  of  descent  from  the 
Ark  was  in  Armenia. — Plutarch  also  mentions  the 
dove  of  Noah,  (Deucahon,)  and  its  being  sent  from 
the  Ark.    (de  solert.  Animal,  v.  ii.  p.  968.) 

But  the  most  particular  account  of  the  deluge,  and 
the  nearest  of  any  to  that  of  Moses,  is  given  by  Lu- 
cian.  He  also  describes  Noah  under  the  name  of 
Deucalion,  (De  Dea  Syra,  v.  ii.  p.  882.)  and  says  he 
"put  all  his  family  into  a  vast  ark  which  he  had 
provided ;  and  Avent  into  it  himself.  At  the  same 
time  animals  of  every  species,  boars,  horses,  lions, 
serpents,  whatever  lived  upon  the  face  of  the  earth, 
followed  him  by  pairs  ;  all  of  which  he  received  into 
the  ark,  and  ex])erienced  no  evil  from  them.  Thus 
they  Avere  wafted  with  him  as  long  as  the  flood  en- 
dured." After  the  receding  of  the  waters,  Lucian 
says  Deucalion  went  out  from  the  Ark  and  raised  an 
altar  to  God  ;  but  he  transposes  the  scene  to  Hiera- 
polis  in  Syria ;  where  the  natives  pretended  to  have 
particular  memorials  of  the  deluge. 

Most  of  the  authors  who  have  transmitted  these 
accounts,  likewise  aflirm  that  the  remains  of  the  Ark 
were  visible  in  their  days  upon  one  of  the  mountains 
of  Armenia.  So  also  some  of  the  fathers.  This, 
however,  we  may  properly  assume  as  fabulous.  See 
Ararat. 

Part  of  the  ceremonies,  in  most  of  the  ancient  mj's- 
terics,  consisted  in  carrying  al)out  a  ship  or  boat ; 
which  may,  perhaps,  relate  to  nothing  else  but  Noah 
and  the  deluge.  So  the  ship  of  Isis,  so  celebrated 
among  the  Egyptians.     (Pitiscus  Lexicon.) 

Mr.'  Bryant  is  of  opinion  that  the  appellation  of 
many  cities,  as  of  Thebes  in  Egypt  and  in  Boeotia, 
and  also  of  others  in  Cilicia,  Ionia,  Attica,  Syria,  and 
Italy,  is  derived  from  the  Hebrew  thehah,  the  word 
signifying  ark.  But  this  we  may  justly  regard  as 
verging  too  much  upon  the  finiciful. 

The  Ark  was  also  called  by  the  Greeks  yifivnoc, 
kibotos,  which  would  seem  not  to  be  a  word  of  Greek 
origin.  It  is  in  this  way  that  the  city  Apamea  in 
Phrygia  seems  to  have  become  particularly  comiected 
with  the  memory  of  the  deluge.  This  city  was  an- 
ciently called  Cibotus,  whether  in  connnemoration 
of  the  deluge,  or  whether,  being  so  called,  the  name 
was  afterwards  referred  to  the  Ark,  it  is  difticuU  to 


ARK 


[%] 


ARK 


say.  At  any  rate,  the  people  of  this  city  seem  to 
have  collected  or  presei'ved  more  particular  aud 
authentic  traditions  concerning  tJie  flood,  and  of  the 
presen'ation  of  the  human  race,  than  are  elsewliere 
to  be  met  with  out  of  the  Bible.     *R. 

A  specimen  of  this  is  given  in  the  annexed  medal, 
which  is  j}reserved  ui  the 
cabinet  of  the  king  of 
France,  and  is  too  remark- 
able to  be  overlooked  ; 
aud  having  been  particu- 
larly scrutinized  by  the 
late  Abbe  BartJielcmy,  at 
the  desire  of  the  late  Dr. 
Combe,  was,  by  that  able 
antiquary,  pronounced 
authentic.  It  bears  on 
one  side  the  head  of  Se- 
verus  ;  on  the  otiier  a  history  in  two  j)arts  ;  represent- 
ing, first,  two  figures  enclosed  in  an  ark,  or  chest, 
sustained  l)y  stout  j)osts  at  the  corners,  and  well 
timbered  throughout.  On  tlie  side  are  letters ;  on  the 
toj)  is  a  dove  ;  hi  front.,  the  same  two  figures  wliicii 
we  see  in  tlie  ark  are  represented  as  come  oiU,  and 
tleparting  from  their  late  residence.  Hovering  over 
tlieni  is  the  dove,  with  a  sprig  in  its  bill.  (Double 
histories  are  conunon  on  medals.)  The  situation  of 
these  figures  implies  the  situation  of  the  door ;  and 
clearly  commemorates  an  escape  from  the  dangers 
of  water,  by  means  of  a  floating  vessel.  Whether 
tliese  particulars  can  be,  without  difliculty,  referred  to 
the  history  of  Deucalion  and  Pyrrha,  as  usually  un- 
ilerstood,  will  be  strongly  doubted  by  all  v>'ho  duly 
contemplate  the  subject.  Moreover,  the  Abbe  liar- 
thelemy  informs  us,  that  the  letters  on  the  ark  are — 
"the  letter  N,  followed  by  two  or  three  others,  of 
which  there  remain  only  the  slightest  traces  ;  or,  to 
.''peak  more  accurately,  there  is  nothing  but  the  con- 
tour of  the  second  letter  to  be  distinguished,  which, 
according  to  different  lights,  appears  somctinics  an 
iJ,  (O,)  sometimes  an  E.  There  are  traces  of  two  or 
three  otiiers;"  say  o^ two  others;  one  of  which  "in 
some  lights  appears  to  be  O  (i-')."  [These  letters 
Mr.  liryant  reads  as  MIF..  The  inscription  refers 
it  to  Apamea.  There  seems,  indeed,  to  have  been  a 
notion  that  the  ark  rested  on  the  hills  of  Cehena, 
where  the  city  Cibotus  was  founded  ;  aiul  the  Sibyl- 
line oracles,  wherever  they  were  written,  also  include 
these  hills  under  the  name  of  Ararat,  and  mention 
this  circumstance.  Sije  Apamea,  and  Ararat.  R. 
It  is  ])ossiI)le,  says  Mr.  Taylor,  that  the  reader  may 
not  at  Jirst  perceive  the  j)ropriety  of  attaching  so 
great  im])ortance  to  the  history  of  Noah's  deliverance 
and  its  commemoration.  The  outcry  of  a  certain 
class  of  reasoncru  against  Revelation  has  long  been, 
"Bring  us  facts  which  all  the  world  agree  in; 

FACTS  admitted,  ESTABLISHED,  BY  UNBIASED  EVI- 
DENCE," Sec.  Jf,  in  answer  to  this,  w<;  adduce  proof 
that  th<!  Christian  dispensation  is  from  a!)ove,  we 
are  reminded — "How  f<!W  of  mankind  receive  it! 
Christ's  own  nation  deny  the  subject  of  it ;  heathen 
lands  refiise  him."  If  we  advert  to  Moses — "  What ! 
a  leader  of  a  pitiful  horde  of  le])n)us  slaves!  at  most, 
a  legislator  acknowledged  by  a  single  nation !  and 
that  a  stupid  nation  too."  To  establish  the  assertion, 
therefore,  that  Deity  has  condescended  to  make 
known  his  intentions  to  man,  he  invites  such  persons 
to  investigate  the  instance  of  Noah  : — Was  the 
deluge,  Ik;  asks,  a  real  occurrence? — All  mankind 
acknowledge  it.  Wherever  tradition  has  been 
maintained,  wherever  ^vritte^  records  are  preserved. 


wherever  commemorative  rites  have  been  instituted, 
what  has  been  their  subject .'' — The  deluge  ;  dehver- 
ance  from  destruction  by  a  flood.     The  savage  and 
the  sage  agi-ee  in  this :  North  and  South,  East  and 
West,  relate  the  danger  of  their  great  ancestor  from 
ovenvhelming   waters. — But    he   was    saved :    and 
how? — By  personal  exertion?     By  long  supported 
swimming?     By  concealment  in  the  highest  moun- 
tains ?     No  :  but  by  enclosure  in  a  large  floating  edi- 
fice of  his  own  construction — his  own  construction, 
for  this    j)articidar   purpose.      But   this   labor   was 
long ;  this  was  not  the  work  of  a  day  ;  he  must  have 
FOREKNOWN  BO  astonisliiug  an  event,  a  considerable 
time  i)i"evious  to  its  actual  occurrence. — Whence  did 
he  receive  this  foreknowledge?     Did  the  earth 
inform  him,  that  at  twenty,  thirty,  forty  years'  dis- 
tance it  would  disgorge  a  flood  ? — Surely  not.     Did 
the  stars  announce  that  they  woidd  dissolve  the  ter- 
restrial atmosphere   in    terrific  rains? — Surely  not. 
Whence,  then,  had  Noah  his  foreknowledge  ?   Did 
he  begin  to  build  when  the  first  showers  descended  ? 
This  was  too  late.     Had  lie  been  accustomed  to  rains 
formerly— why  think  them  now  of  importance  ?  Had 
he    never    seen    rain — what   could    induce   him    to 
provide  against  it  ?     Why  this  year  more  than  last 
year? — why  last  year  more  than  the  year  before? 
These  inquii-ies  are  direct :  we  cannot  flinch  Ircm 
the  fact.     Erase  it  from  the  Mosaic  records ;  still  it 
is  recorded  in  Greece,  in  Egypt,  in  India,  and  in 
Britain  :  it  is  registered  in  the  very  sacra  of  the  pagan 
Vv'orld  ;  and  is  annually  renewed  by  commemorative 
imitation,  where  the  liberty  of  oi)inion  is  r.ot  lettered 
by  prejudices  derived  from  Hebrew  institutions,  or 
by  the  "soijhisticated"  inventions  of  Christianitj-. — 
"Go,  infidel,"  he  adds,  "turn  to  the  right  hand,  or  to 
the  left  hand  :  take  your  choice  of  difticiilties :  dis- 
parage all  mankind  as   fools,   as  willing  dupes  to 
superstitious  commemoration,  as  leagued  througliout 
the  world  to  delude  themselves  in  <  uier  to  impugn 
your  wisdom,  your  just-thinkin;.",  \(  ur  love  of  trutli, 
your  imbiased  integrity ;  or  allow  that  this  fact, 
at  least  this  one  fact,  is  established  by  testimony 
abundantly  sufiicient ;  but  remember,  that  if  it  be 
established,  it  implies  a  communication  from  GOD 
TOMAN. — Who  could  inform   Noah?     Why  did 
not   that   great   jiatriarch   provide   against   /Yre "? — 
against    Eatihquakes  ? — against   Explosions  :^ — Why 
against  a  Delus;e  ? — why  against  IVattr'} — Away  with 
subterfuge.     Say  frankly,  'This  was  the  dictation  of 
Deity;'  say,  'Only  HE  who  made  the  world  could 
predict  the  time,  the  means,  the  causes  of  this  devas- 
tation ;  only  HE  could  excite  the  hope  of  restoration, 
or  suggest  a  method  of  deliverance.'     Use  your  own 
language;  but   permit  a  bumble   believer  to  adopt 
language  already  recorded  :  '■Ih)  faith,  A'bfl/i — being 
loamcd  of  God — of  things  iievcr  see7i  as  yet — in  pious 
fear — prepared  the  Ark  (Kibotos)  to  the  saving  of  his 
fimilji — by  which  he  condemned  the   ivorld.^     Rlay  a 
similar  condemnation  never  rest  on  us,  who  must  at 
least  admit  the   truth  of  one  text  in  the  Bible — or 
stand  convicted  by  the  united  voice  of  all  mankind, 
and  by  the  testimony  of  the  eartli,  the  now  shattered, 
the  now  disordered  earth  itself!" 

II.  ARK  OF  the  Covenant.  The  Hebrew 
word  ]nN,  which  Moses  cmjiloys  to  denote  the 
sacred  coff'er  in  which  the  tables  of  the  law 
were  de])osited,  signifies  a  chest  or  box.  It  was 
of  Shittim-wood,  covered  with  plates  of  gold  ;  two 
cubits  and  a  half  in  length,  a  cubit  and  a  half 
wide,  aud  a  cubit  and  a  half  high.  On  the  top  of  it, 
all  round,  ran  a'kind  of  gold  crown  ;  and  two  cher- 


ARK 


[97  ] 


ARM 


iibim  were  over  the  cover.  It  had  four  rings  of 
gold,  two  on  each  side,  through  which  staves  were 
put,  by  which  it  was  carried,  Exod.  xxv.  10 — 22. 
After  the  passage  of  the  Jordan,  the  Ark  continued 
some  time  at  Gilgal ;  (Josh.  iv.  19.)  whence  it  was 
removed  to  Shiloh,  1  Sara.  i.  3.  From  hence  the 
Israehtes  took  it  to  their  camp ;  but  when  they  gave 
battle  to  the  Philistines,  it  was  taken  by  the  enemy, 
chap.  iv.  The  Philistines,  oppressed  by  the  hand 
of  God,  however,  returned  the  Ark,  and  it  was  lodged 
at  Kirjath-jearim,  chap.  vii.  1.  It  was  afterwards,  in 
the  reigii  of  Saul,  at  Nob.  David  conveyed  it  from 
Kirjath-jearim  to  the  house  of  Obcd-Edom ;  and  from 
thence  to  his  palace  at  Sion  ;  (2  Sam.  vi.)  and,  lastly, 
Solomon  brought  it  into  the  temple  at  Jerusalem,  2 
Chron.  V.  2.  (See  Armies.)  It  remained  in  the  tem- 
ple with  all  suitable  respect,  till  the  times  of  the  later 
kings  of  Judah,  who,  abandoning  themselves  to  idol- 
atry, were  so  daring  as  to  establish  their  idols  in  the 
holy  place  itself  The  priests,  unable  to  endure  this 
profanation,  removed  the  Ark,  and  carried  it  from 
place  to  place,  to  preserve  it  from  the  pollution  and 
impiety  of  these  princes.  Josiah  commanded  them 
to  bring  it  back  to  the  sanctuary,  and  forbade  them 
to  carry  it,  as  they  had  hitherto  "done,  into  the  coun- 
tiy,  2  Chron.  xxxv.  3. 

It  is  doubted,  with  good  reason,  whether  the  Ark 
was  replaced  in  the  temple,  after  the  return  of  the 
Jews  from  Babylon.  Dr.  Prideaux  is  of  opinion,  that 
as  the  Jews  found  it  necessaiy,  for  the  celebration  of 
their  worship  in  the  second  temple,  to  have  a  new 
altar  of  incense,  a  new  shew-bread  table,  and  a  new 
candlestick,  they  had  likewise  a  new  Ark ;  and  he 
asks,  Since  the  holy  of  holies,  and  the  veil  drawn  be- 
fore it,  were  wholly  for  the  sake  of  the  Ark,  Avhat 
need  had  there  been  of  these  in  the  second  temple, 
if  there  had  not  been  the  Ark  also  to  which  they 
refeiTcd  ?  Some  think  that  Nebuchadnezzar  con- 
veyed the  Ark  to  Babylon,  among  the  spoil  of  rich 
vessels  carried  off  by  him  from  the  temple  ;  others, 
that  Manasseh,  having  set  up  idols  in  the  temple, 
took  away  the  Ark,  which  was  not  returned  during 
liis  reign.  The  author  of  Esdras  (2  Esd.  x.  22.)  rep- 
resents the  Jews  lamenting,  that  the  Ark  of  the 
Covenant  was  taken  by  the  Chaldeans,  among  the 
plunder  of  the  temple.  The  Gemara  of  Jerusalem, 
and  that  of  Babylon,  both  acknowledge,  that  the  Ark 
of  the  Covenant  was  one  of  the  things  wanting  in  the 
second  temple.  The  Jews  flatter  themselves,  that 
it  will  be  restored  by  their  Messiah,  says  Abarbanel ; 
but  Jeremiah,  (chap.  iii.  16.)  speaking  of  the  time  of 
the  Messiah,  says,  they  shall  neither  talk  nor  think  of 
the  Ark,  nor  remember  it  any  more.  Esdras,  Nehe- 
miah,  the  Maccabees,  and  Josephus,  never  mention 
the  Ark  in  the  second  temple ;  and  Josephus  says 
expressly,  that  when  Jerusalem  was  taken  by  Titus, 
there  was  nothing  in  the  sanctuary.  Lastly,  the  rab- 
bins agree  in  saying,  that,  after  the  captivity  of  Baby- 
lon, the  Ark  was  not  at  Jerusalem ;  and  that  the 
foundation-stone,  which  they  believe  to  be  the  cen- 
tre of  the  holy  mountain,  was  placed  in  the  sanc- 
tuary in  its  room.  The  fathers,  and  Christian  com- 
mentators, agree  generally  with  the  Jews  on  this 
point. 

Beside  the  tables  of  the  covenant,  placed  by  Moses 
in  the  sacred  cofier,  God  appointed  the  blossoming 
rod  of  Aaron  to  be  lodged  there,  (Numb.  xvii.  10.) 
and  the  omer  of  manna  which  was  gathered  in  the 
wilderness,  Exod.  xvi.  33,  34. 

The  heathen,  likewise,  had,  in  their  religious  rites, 
little  chests,  or  cistcp,  in  which  they  locked  up  their 
13 


most  sacred  things.  Apuleius  says,  that  in  proces- 
sions in  Egypt  there  was  a  chest-bearer,  who  carried 
a  box,  enclosing  the  richest  things  for  their  rehgious 
uses.  Plutarch,  on  the  rites  of  Isis  and  Osiris,  says 
the  same.  Pausanias  mentions  a  chest,  in  which  the 
Trojans  locked  up  their  mysteries,  which,  at  the 
siege  of  Troy,  fell  to  Euripulus's  share.  The  an- 
cient Etrurians  had  also  cisttB ;  so  had  the  Greeks 
and  Romans  :  but  these  chests  often  enclosed  things 
profane,  superstitious,  and  ridiculous  ;  whereas  the 
Ark  of  God  contained  the  most  sacred  and  serious 
things  in  the  world. 

ARKITES,  (Gen.  x.  17.)  and  Archites,(1  Chron. 
i.  15.)  a  Canaanitish  tribe  inhabiting  the  city  ^rca 
(".ioxi)  in  Syria,  some  miles  north  of  Tripolis.  Ar- 
ea was  the  birth-place  of  Alexander  Severus.  Burck- 
hardt  found  here  ruins,  which  serve  to  show  its  an- 
cient importance.  Travels  in  Syr.  p.  162,  or  Germ. 
ed.  p.  520,  with  Gesenius's  note. 

ARM.  This  word  is  frequently  used  in  the 
Scriptures  in  a  metaphorical  sense,  to  denote  power, 
as  1  Sam.  ii.  31  ;  Ps.  x.  15;  Ezek.  xxx.21.  Hence, 
any  remarkable  or  striking  manifestation  of  God's 
power  is  referred  to  his  arm,  Exod.  vi.  6 ;  Ps.  xliv. 
3 ;  xcviii.  1  ;  Luke  i.  51 ;  Acts  xiii.  17.  The  prophet 
represents  God  as  the  arm  of  his  people,  (Isa.  xxxiii. 
2.)  in  affording  them  strength  and  protection.  In 
allusion  to  the  ancient  custom  of  warriors  making 
bare  the  ai-m  when  closely  engaged  in  combat,  God 
is  said  to  "  make  bare  his  arm,"  when  in  any  signal 
manner  he  interposes  his  power  for  the  deliverance 
of  his  people,  and  the  destruction^  of  his  enemies, 
Isa.  hi.  10. 

ARMAGEDDON,  [mountain  of  Megiddo,)  a  place 
mentioned  Rev.  xvi.  16.  Megiddo  is  a  city  in  the 
great  plain,  at  the  foot  of  mount  Carmel,  which  had 
been  the  scene  of  much  slaughter.  Under  this  char- 
acter it  is  referred  to  in  the  above  text,  as  the  place 
in  which  God  will  collect  together  his  enemies  for 
.destruction.     See  Megiddo. 

ARMENIA,  a  considerable  pro■^^nce  of  Asia ; 
having  Media  on  the  east,  Cappadocia  on  the  west, 
Colchis  and  Iberia  on  the  north,  Mesopotamia  on 
the  south,  and  the  Euphrates  and  Syria  on  the  south- 
west. Care  should  be  taken  to  distinguish  Arme- 
nia from  Aramsea,  or  Syria,  with  which  it  has  been 
sometimes  confounded. 

The  name  Armenia  is  probably  derived  from 
Harminni,  the  mountainous  country  of  the  Minni,  or 
Mineans,  who  are  noticed  Jer.  li.  27.  In  Gen.  viii. 
4,  Moses  says  the  ark  rested  on  the  mountains  of 
Annenia  ;  in  the  Hebrew,  the  mountains  of  Ararat : 
and  in  2  Kings  xix.  37,  it  is  said  the  two  sons  of 
Sennacherib,  after  having  killed  their  father,  es- 
caped into  Armenia ;  in  the  Hebrew,  the  land  of 
Ararat. 

ARMIES.  The  Lord,  in  Scripture,  assumes  the 
name  "Jehovah  of  Hosts:"  nif<ai  nn\  The  Hebrew 
nation,  in  many  places,  is  called  the  "  army  of  the 
Lord,"  because  God  was  considered  as  its  head  and 
general ;  who  named  the  captains  of  its  armies  ; 
who  ordained  war  and  peace  ;  whose  priests  sounded 
the  trumpets,  &c.  The  armies  of  Israel  were  not 
composed  of  regular  troops  kept  constantly  in  pay ; 
the  whole  nation  were  fighting  men,  ready  to  march 
as  occasion  required.  The  army  expected  no  re- 
ward beside  honor,  and  the  spoils  taken,  which  were 
divided  by  the  chiefs.  Each  soldier  furnished  him- 
self with  arms  and  provisions,  and  their  wars  were 
generally  of  short  dumtion:  they  fought  on  foot,  hav- 
ing no  horse,  till  the  reign  of  Solomon.     David  is 


ARMIES 


[  08 


ARMIES 


the  first  who  had  regular  troops ;  his  siiccessois,  for 
the  most  part,  had  onh' iniUtia,  excepting  their  body- 
guards, which  were  not  numerous.  Wlien  they 
expected  to  give  battle,  proclamation  A\as  made  at 
the  head  of  every  battalion,  according  to  Deut.  xx. 
5.  (See  War.)  The  ark  of  (iod  was  often  borne 
in  the  army,  (1  Sam.  iv.  4,  5  ;  2  Sam.  xi.  11;  xv. 
24.)  and  the  Israelites  of  the  ten  tribes,  in  imitation 
of  Judah,  carried  their  golden  calves  with  tliem  in 
their  camp,  as  the  Philistines  did  their  idols,  1  Cliron. 
xiv.  12  ;  2  Chron.  xiii.  8. 

Few  things  in  histor\-  are  more  surprising  than 
the  great  numbers  which  are  recorded  as  forming 
eastern  armies  ;  even  tlie  Scripture  accounts  oi"  the 
armies  that  invaded  Juilea,  or  were  raised  in  Judea, 
often  excite  the  wonder  of  their  readers.  To  i)aral- 
lel  these  great  numbers  by  those  of  other  armies,  is 
not  ALL  that  is  acceptable  to  the  inquisitive ;  it  is 
requisite  also  to  show  how  so  small  a  jirovincc  as 
the  Holy  Land  really  was,  could  furnish  such  mighty 
armies  of  fighting  men  ;  with  the  uncertainty  of  the 
proportion  of  these  fighting  men  to  the  whole  num- 
ber of  the  nation  ;  in  respect  to  which  many  un- 
founded conjectures  have  escaped  the  pens  of  the 
learned.  With  a  view  to  this,  Mr.  Taylor  has  at- 
tempted, by  adducing  instances  of  numerous  armies 
which  have  been  occasionally  raised,  to  show  \\hat 
may  be  done  by  despotic  power,  or  the  im])iilse  of 
military  glory ;  and  also  that  the  composition  of 
Asiatic  armies  is  such  as  may  render  credible  those 
numbers  which  express  their  gross  amount;  while 
no  just  inference  resjiecting  the  entire  popidation  of 
a  country  can  be  dra\\ai  from  the  numbers  stated  as 
occasionally  composing  its  armies. 

The  account  given  by  Knolles,  in  his  "  History  of 
the  Turks,"  of  the  contending  armies  of  Bajazet  and 
Tamerlane,  is  no  bad  specimen  of  the  "  I  will"  of 
military  power,  of  the  cares  and  anxieties  attending 
on  the  station  of  conmiand,  and  of  the  feelings  of 
great  minds  on  great  occasions.  "  So,  marching  on^ 
Tamerlane  at  length  came  to  Jiachichich,  where  he 
staid  to  refresh  his  army  eight  dales,  and  there  againe 
took  a  generall  nuister  thereof,  wherein  were  foimd 
(as  most  write)yb«r  hundred  thousand  horse,  and  sir 
hundred  thousand  foot ;  or,  as  some  others  that  were 
there  present  afhrme,  thre  hundred  thousaiid  horse- 
men, and  Jiue  hundred  thousand  foot  of  al  nations. 
Vnto  whom  he  there  gaue  a  generall  pay,  and,  as 
his  manner  was,  made  vnto  them  an  oration,  inform- 
ing them  of  such  orders  as  he  would  haue  kept,  to 
the  end  they  might  the  better  obserue  the  same: 
with  much  other  militaric  discipline,  whereof  he  was 
very  curious  with  his  cai)tains.  At  which  time,  also, 
it  was  lawfull  for  euery  conmion  soldier  to  behold 
him  with  more  boldness  than  on  other  dales,  foras- 
much as  be  difl  for  tliat  time,  and  such  like,  lay 
aside  inq)erial  niajestie,  and  shew  himselfe  more  fa- 
miliar unto  them."  p.  21.').  '' Male ozzius  hnumii 
mad<!  true  relation  vnto  liaiazct,  was  by  him  de- 
manded 'wliether  of  the  two  armies  he  thought  big- 
ger or  stronger  ?'  for  now  Baiazet  had  assembled  a 
mightie  armie  of  threr  hundred  thousand  mc7i,  or,  as 
some  report,  of  three  hundred  thousand  horse77ien  and 
two  hundred  thousand  fool.  WhcreuiUo  Maleozzius, 
hauing  before  craned  |)ardon,  answered,  '  That  it 
could  not  be,  but  that  Tamerlane  might  in  rca.son 
haue  the  greater  number,  I'or  that  he  was  n  com- 
mander of  farre  greater  i-ouiitries.'  Wherewith 
proufl  Baiazet  ofl'.-nded.  in  great  choller  repiieil, 
'  Out  of  doubt,  tiie  sight  of  the  Tartarian  hath  made 
this  coward  so  affraid,  thai  he  tiiiiiketh  euery  enemie 


to  be  two."  p.  216.  "  All  which  Tamerlane,  walk- 
ing this  night  vp  &  down  in  his  campe,  heard,  and 
nnicli  reioiced  to  see  the  hope  that  his  soldiers  had 
alreadie  in  general  couceiued  of  the  victorie.  W^ho 
aller  the  second  watch  returning  vnto  his  pauilhon, 
and  there  casting  himself  upon  a  carpet,  had  thought 
to  haue  slej)t  a  while  ;  hxd  his  cares  not  suffering  him 
so  to  do,  he  then,  as  his  manner  was,  called  for  a  booke, 
wherein  was  contained  the  Hues  of  his  fathers  and  an- 
cestors, and  of  other  valiant  ivorthies,  the  which  he  vsed 
ordinarily  to  read,  as  he  then  did:  not  as  therwith 
vainly  to  deceiue  the  time,  but  to  make  vse  thereof, 
by  the  imitation  of  that  which  was  by  them  worthily 
done,  &  declining  of  such  dangers  as  they  by  their'' 
rashness  or  ouersight  fel  into."  j).  218.  [See  the 
same  kind  of  occupation  of  Ahasuerus,  Esther  vi. 
1.]  "My  will  is,  said  Tamerlane,  'that  my  men 
come  forward  vnto  me  as  soon  as  they  may,  for  I 
will  aduance  forward  Avith  an  hundred  thousand  foot- 
men, tiftie  thousand  vpon  each  of  my  two  wings,  and 
in  the  middest  of  them  forty  thousand  of  my  best 
horsemen.  My  pleasure  is,  that  after  they  haue  tried 
the  fierce  of  these  men,  that  they  come  vnto  my 
avauntgju-d,  of  whom  I  wil  dispose,  Sz,ffty  thousand 
horse  more  in  three  bodies,  whom  thou  shalt  com- 
mand :  which  I  wil  assist  with  80,000  horse,  where- 
in slial  be  mine  own  person  :  hauing  100,000  foot- 
men behind  me,  who  shal  march  in  two  squadrons  : 
and  for  my  are  reward  I  appoint  40,000  horse,  and 
fiftie  thousand  footmen,  who  shal  not  march  but  to 
my  aid.  And  I  wil  make  choice  of  10,000  of  my 
best  horse,  whom  I  wil  send  into  eury  place  where 
I  shal  thinke  needfull  within  my  armie,  for  to  im- 
l)art  my  commands."  p.  218. 

It  is  imj)ossible,  on  this  occasion,  not  to  recollect 
the  immense  army  led  by  Napoleon  into  Russia, 
exceeding  six  hundred  thousand  troops ;  also,  the 
forces  engaged  around  Leipsic  ;  amounting  (includ- 
ing both  sides)  to  half  a  million  of  men. 

lint  it  may  be  said,  that  "  such    mighty  empires 
may  well  he  supposed  to  raise  forces,  to  which  the 
small  state  of  Judea  was  incompetent."     This  may 
safely  be  admitted  ;  l)ut  what  was,  in  all  jjrobability, 
the  nature  and  composition  of  the  Jewish,  as  of  other 
eastern   armies,  we  may  learn  from  the   following 
relations;  which  contribute  to  strengthen  the  cred- 
ibility of  the  greater   numbers  recorded  as  compos- 
ing them.     Baron  du  Tott  reports  as  follows  of  the 
ai-mies  raised  by  the  Cham  of  the  Crimea:  "It  may 
be   presumed  that  the  rustic  frugal  life  which  these 
pastoral    ]>eo])le    lead    favors  poj)ulation,  while  the 
wants  and  excesses  of  luxury,  among  jjolished  na- 
tions, strike  at  its  very  root.     In  fact,  it  is  observed, 
that  the  people  are  less  numerous  under  the  roofs 
of  the  Crimea,  and  the  province  ol'  Boodjack,  than 
in  the  tents  of  the   Noguais.     The   best  calculation 
we  can  mak(\  is  from  a  view  of  the  military  forces 
which   the   Cham   is   able    to    assemble.     We    shall 
soon  see  this  j)rince  raising  three  armies  at  the  same 
time  ;  one  of  a  hundred  thousand  men,  which  he  com-    | 
manded  in  person  ;  another  of  sixty  thousand,  com-    ! 
manded  by  the  Calga ;  and  a  third  of  forty  thousand, 
by  the    Nooradin.     He    had    tlu^  j)ower    of  raising 
double  the  7ii(»iier,  without  ])n'judice  to  the  necessary    | 
labors  of  the  state."  (Vol.  i.  p.  IIIJ.)     "The  invasion    | 
of  New  Servia,  which   had  been  d«'termined  on  at   | 
Constantinople,  was  consented  to  in  the  assembly  of  j 
the  Grand  \'assals  of  Tartary,  and  orders  were  ox-    [ 
])edited,  througiiout  the  |)ro\  inces,  for  the  necessary    , 
military  supplies.     Three  horsemen  were  to  be  fur-   j 
nished  by  eight  families ;  whicli  number  was  estlmat- 


ARiMIES 


[  99  ] 


ARMIES 


ed  to  be  sufficient  for  the  three  armies,  wliicli  were 
all  to  begin  their  operations  at  once.  That  of  the 
Nooradin,  consisting  of  forty  thousand  men,  had  or- 
ders to  repair  to  the  Little  Don ;  that  of  the  Calga, 
of  sixty  thousand,  was  to  range  the  left  coast  of  the 
Boristhenes,  till  they  came  beyond  the  Orela  ;  and  that 
Avhich  the  Cham  conunauded  in  person,  of  a  hundred 
thousand,  was  to  penetrate  into  New  Scrvia."  (V^ol. 
i.  p.  150.)  The  following  descriptive  account  of 
Asiatic  armies  is  from  Volney  : — "  Sixty  thousand 
men,  with  them,  ai'e  very  far  from  being  synonymous 
with  sixty  thousand soldieis,  as  in  our  armies.  That 
of  which  we  are  now  speaking  affords  a  proof  of 
this ;  it  might  amount,  in  fact,  to  forty  thousand  men, 
which  may  be  classed  as  follows : — Five  thousand 
Mamlouk  cavahy,  luhich  was  the  whole  effective  army ; 
about  fifteen  hundred  Barbary  Arabs,  on  foot,  and 
no  other  infantry,  for  the  Turks  are  acquainted  with 
none ;  with  thenj  the  cavalry  is  every  thing.  Be- 
sides these,  each  Mamlouk  having  in  his  suite  two 
footmen,  anned  ivith  staves,  these  would  form  a  bo<ly 
of  ten  thousand  valets,  besides  a  number  of  servants 
and  sen-adgis,  or  attendants  on  horseback,  for  the 
Bey  and  Kachefs,  whicli  may  be  estimated  at  two 
thousand :  all  the  rest  were  sutlers,  and  the  usual 
train  of  followers. — Such  was  this  army,  as  described 
to  be  in  Palestine,  by  j)ersons  who  had  seen  and 
followed  it."  (Travels,  vol.  i.  p.  124.)  "  The  Asiatic 
armies  ai"e  7nobs,  their  marches  ravages,  their  cam- 
paigns mere  inroads,  and  their  battles  bloody  frays. 
The  strongest,  or  the  most  adventurous  party,  goes 
in  search  of  the  other,  which  not  imfrequently  flies 
without  offering  resistance  :  if  they  stand  their 
ground,  they  engage  pell-mell,  discharge  their  car- 
bines, break  their  spears,  and  liack  each  other  with 
their  sabres ;  for  they  rarely  have  any  cannon,  and 
when  they  have,  they  are  but  of  little  service.  Jl 
panic  frequently  diffuses  itself  loithout  cause :  one 
party  flies  ;  the  other  pursues,  and  shouts  victory ; 
the  vanquished  submits  to  the  will  of  the  conqueror, 
and  the  campaign  often  termmates  without  a  battle." 
p.  126.  It  appears,  by  these  extracts,  that  the  num- 
bers which  compose  the  gross  of  Asiatic  annies  are 
very  far  from  denoting  the  true  munher  of  soldiers, 
fighting  men  of  that  army  ;  in  fact,  when  we  deduct 
those  whose  attendance  is  of  little  advantage,  it  may 
be  not  very  distant  from  truth,  if  we  say  nine  out 
of  ten  are  such  as,  in  Europe,  would  be  forbidden  the 
futny  ;  nor  is  the  suggestion  absolutely  to  be  rejected, 
that  when  we  read  40,  instead  of  400,  the  true 
fighting  corps  of  soldiers  only  are  reckoned  and 
stated.  However  that  may  be,  these  authorities  are 
sufficient  to  justify  the  possibility  of  such  numbers  as 
Scripture  has  recorded,  being  assembled  for  pur- 
poses of  warfare  ;  of  which  purposes  plunder  is  not 
one  of  the  least  in  the  opinion  of  those  who  usually 
attend  a  camj).  It  follows,  also,  that  no  conclusive 
estimate  of  the  population  of  a  kingdom  can  be 
drawn  from  such  assemblages,  under  such  circum- 
stances ;  and,  therefore,  that  no  calculation  ought  to 
be  liazarded  on  such  imperfect  data. 

But  there  is  another  circumstance  connected  with 
eastern  armies  that  ought  not  to  be  lost  sight  of,  es- 
pecially as  it  affords  an  opportunity  for  illustrating 
a  passage  of  Scripture.  We  mean,  the  apparently 
singular  request  made  by  Barak,  the  general  of  the 
Israelites,  to  Deborah  the  prophetess,  Judg.  iv.  (i. 
Deborah  commanded  him  in  the  name  of  the  Lord 
to  encamp  on  mount  Tabor,  with  ten  thousand  men  : 
"And  I  will  draw  unto  thee,  to  the  river  Kishon, 
Sisera,  the  captain  of  Jabin's  army,  with  his  chariots 


and  his  multitude ;  and  I  will  deliver  him  into  thine 
hand.  And  Barak  said  unto  her.  If  thou  wilt  go 
with  me,  then  I  will  go :  but  if  thou  wilt  not  go 
with  me,  theji  I  will  not  go."  Modern  warfare 
would  much  rather  decline  the  company  of  a  wo- 
man, who,  under  the  circumstances  stated',  was  httle 
other  tlian  conmiander-in-chief  But  we  learn  from 
Xeuophon,  (Cyrop.  lib.  iv.)  "that  most  of  the  in- 
habitants of  Asia  are  attended  in  their  military  ex- 
peditions by  those  whom  they  Uve  with  at  home." 

"  The  army  brought  chariots  which  they  had  taken  ; 

some  of  thorn  full  of  the  most  considerable  women, 

for  to  this  day  all  the  inhabitants  of  Asia,  in  time 

of  war,  attend  the  service  accompanied  with  what 
they  value  most ;  and  they  say,  that  they  fight  the 
better  when  the  objects  most  dear  to  them  are  pres- 
ent." Herodotus  (Polhymnia,  cap.  39.)  narrates  the 
following  history  :  "Pythius,  the  Lydian,  had  highly 
honored  king  Xerxes  by  contributions,  entertain- 
Jiients,  &c. — whom  he  thus  addressed:  'Sir,  I  have 
five  sons,  \\ho  are  all  with  you  in  this  Grecian  expe- 
dition ;  I  A\  oidd  entreat  you  to  pity  my  age,  and 
dispense  Avith  the  presence  of  the  eldest.  Take  with 
you  the  four  others,  but  leave  this  to  manage  my 
affairs.' — Xerxes  in  great  indignation  made  this 
reply  :  '  Infamous  man  !  you  see  me  embark  my  all 
in  this  Grecian  war  ;  myself,  my  children,  my  broth- 
ers, my  domestics,  and  my  friends ; — how  dare  you, 
then,  presume  to  mention  your  son,  you  who  are  my 
slave,  and  whose  duty  it  is  to  accompany  me  on 
this  occasion — with  all  your  family,  and  even  your 
wife  V  "  We  may  now  tbrm  a  better  notion  of  the 
policy  of  Barak,  in  stipulating  lor  the  presence  of  the 
projjhetess  who  judged  Israel  with  his  army.  She 
Avas  a  public  pereon,  was  well  known  to  all  Is- 
rael, and  her  appearance  would  no  less  stimulate 
the  valor  of  the  troops  to  "  fight  the  better  for 
an  oliject  most  dear  to  them,"  than  it  would  sanc- 
tion the  undertaking  determined  on  and  executed 
against  an  opj)ressor  so  powerful  as  Jabin,  king  of 
Canaan. 

This  notion  may  be  extended  somewhat  further  ; 
for  Deborah,  in  her  triumphant  song,  supposes  that 
Sisera's  mother  attributed  the  delay  in  his  return  to 
the  great  number  of  captives — female  captives — 
taken  from  the  enemy — "  to  every  man  a  damsel,  or 
two  ;" — families  of  the  warriors  of  Israel,  taken  pris- 
oners in  their  camp,  equally  with  seizures  made  in 
the  villages  and  towns.  Whether  this  be  coiTcct 
or  not,  no  striking  objection  seems  to  oppose  it — and 
we  are  sure  that  the  presence  of  women  of  rank  in 
the  camps  of  the  orientals  was  not  uncommon. 
Every  body  is  acquainted  with  the  generosity  of 
Alexander  in  the  tent  of  Darius,  when  the  royal 
fantily  ol'  Persia  became  his  captives  ;  and  the  story 
of  Panthea  is  so  beautifully  told  by  Xenophon, 
(Cyrop.  lib.  v.)  that  if  it  be  already  familiar  to  the 
reader,  he  cannot  be  displeased  with  its  repetition. 
The  generosity  ol'  Alexander  might  emulate,  but  it 
could  not  excel,  the  generosity  of  Cyrus.  "  When 
we  first  entered  her  tent  (that  of  Panthea)  we  did 
not  know  her ;  for  she  was  sitting  on  the  ground, 
with  all  her  women-servants  round  her,  and  was 
dressed  in  the  same  manner  as  her  servants  were : 
but  when  we  looked  around,  being  desirous  to  knOAV 
which  was  the  mistress,  she  immediately  appeared 
to  excel  all  the  others,  though  she  was  sitting  with , 
a  veil  over  her,  and  looking  down  upon  the  gi'ound. 
When  we  bid  lier  arise,  she  and  the  serA'ants  around 
her  rose.  Standing  in  a  dejected  posture,  her  team 
fell  at  her  feet,"  &c.     This  idea  of  women  attending 


ARM 


[  100 


ARMS 


soldiers  contributes  an  illustration  to  a  verse  in  that 
sufficiently  obscure  eflFiision,  Psalm  Ixviii.  12. 

Kings  of  armies  did  flee,  did  flee, 

And  she  who  tarried  at  home  divided  the  spoil. 

[Here  the  phrase  "  she  that  tarries  at  home,"  or, 
more  properly,  "that  abides  in  the  house,"  is  poet- 
ically put  for  female ;  since  in  the  East  it  is  custom- 
ary for  the  women  to  remain  within  doors.  The 
distribution  of  the  plunder  is  here,  therefore,  attribut- 
ed to  the  women ;  and  appropriately ;  for  it  was 
enough  for  the  men  to  have  vanquished  the  en- 
emies and  conquered  in  battle ;  the  spoil,  obtained 
through  their  valor,  was  left  to  the  equitable  division 
of  others ;  and  who  more  proper  for  this  than  the 
females  ?     Comp.  Judg.  v.  24.     R. 

ARiMS,  MILITARY,  and  ARMOR.  The  He- 
brews used  in  war  offensive  arms  of  the  same  kinds 
as  were  employed  by  other  people  of  their  time, 
and  of  the  East ;  swords,  darts,  lances,  javelins,  bows, 
arrows,  and  slings.  For  defensive  arms,  they  used 
helmets,  cuirasses,  bucklers,  armor  for  the  thighs, 
&c.  At  paiticular  periods,  especially  when  under 
servitude,  whole  armies  of  Israelites  were  without 
good  weapons.  In  the  war  of  Deborah  and  Barak 
against  Jabin,  there  were  neither  shields  nor  lances 
among  40,000  men,  Judg.  v.  8.  In  the  time  of  Saul 
{1  Sam.  xiii.  22.)  none  in  Israel,  beside  Saul  and 
Jonathan,  was  armed  with  swords  and  spears ;  be- 
cause the  Philistines,  Avho  were  then  masters  of  the 
country,  forbade  the  Hebrews  using  the  trades  of 
armorei-s  and  sword  cutlers ;  and  even  obliged  them 
to  employ  Philistines  to  sharpen  their  tools  of  hus- 
bandry ;  but  these,  being  their  masters,  would  make 
no  anns  for  them. 

We  have  in  Scripture,  not  only  histories  in  which 
armor  and  some  of  its  parts  are  described,  but  also 
allusions  to  complete  suits  of  armor,  and  to  the 
pieces  which  composed  them.  Without  any  formal 
attempt  to  expose  the  errors  of  critics,  whose  infor- 
mation on  this  article  might  have  been  improved  by 
greater  accuracy,  the  following  remarks  may  con- 
tribute to  our  better  acquaintance  with  tlie  subject. 
The  following  figure,  which  is  from  Calmet,  is 
usually  offered,  by  way  of  illustrating  the  armor  of 
the  famous  champion  Goliath.  As  it  is  drawn  from 
the  description  given  of  him,  and  according  to  the 
signification  of  the  words  used  to  describe  each 
separate  part,  it  7iiay  be  something  like  the  original. 
It  should  bo  observed, 
however,  ( 1 . )  that  swords 
so  long  as  this  are  not 
known  in  antiquity  ;  and 
that  had  it  i)een  of  the 
length  here  represented, 
David  would  have  found 
it  cuniborsome  to  use  af- 
terwards, constantly,  as 
we  l(>arn  he  did  f  (2.) 
that  this  figure  is  com- 
posed on  the  principle 
that  the  armor  wjis 
worn  without  any  other 
dress,  which  we  think 
may  be  questioned,  and 
is  not  e&sily  determined  ; 
(3.)  that  the  forms  of 
Roman  or  (ireek  armor 
are  not  decidedly  ap- 
plicable  to    the    Pales- 


tine history ;  yet    the    armor   of  these  people   has 
been  studied  for  this  figure. 

The  next  is  a  soldier  in  armor,  from  the  column 
usually  called  that  of  Anto- 
ninus, but  perhaps  more  prop- 
erly i-eferred  to  Aurelius.  The 
apostle  (Eph.  vi.  13,  14.)  ad- 
vises believers  to  "  take  unto 
themselves  the  whole  armor 
of  God ;"  and  he  separates 
this  panoply  into  its  parts : 
"your  loins,"  says  he,  "girt 
about  with  truth."  Now,  this 
figure  has  a  very  strong  com- 
position of  cinctures  round 
liis  waist  (loins) ;  and  if  we 
suppose  them  to  be  of  steel, 
as  they  appear  to  be,  the  de- 
fence they  form  to  his  person 
is  very  great ;  such  a  defence 
to  the  mind  is  truth.  Un- 
_  _  doubtenly  there  were,  as  we 

'  shall    see,    other    kinds    of 

girdles ;  but  none  that  could  be  more  thoroughly 
defensive  than  that  of  this  soldier.  Moreover,  these 
cinctures  surroimd  the  person,  and  go  over  the 
back,  also.  So  truth  defends  on  all  sides.  The  re- 
mark that  "  Paul  names  no  r.rmor  for  the  back," 
is  also  somewhat  impaired  ;  because  if  this  part  of 
the  dress  was  what  he  refeired  to  by  TfOf^ouiJi/fio/, 
"girded  round  ahout,"  then  its  passing  round  the 
back,  pretty  high  up,  at  least,  was  inij^lied. — The 
apostle  proceeds  to  advise  "  having  on  the  breast- 
plate of  righteousness,"  to  defend  the  vital  parts;  as 
our  figure  has  on  a  breast-plate ;  and  as  one  below 
has  a  covering  made  in  one  piece  for  the  whole 
upper  part  of  his  body.  "Having  the  feet  shod 
with  the  preparation  of  the  gospel  of  peace  ;"  not 
iron,  not  steel ;  but  ])atient  investigation,  calm  in- 
quiry ;  assiduous,  laborious,  lasting ;  if  not,  rather, 
w\x\\  firm  footing  in  the  gospel  of  peace.  Whether 
the  apostle  here  means  stout,  well-tanned  leather, 
leather  well  prepared,  by  his  "  preparation  of  the 
gospel  of  peace"  or  shoes  which  had  spikes  in  them, 
which,  running  into  the  grovmil,gave  a  steadfastness 
to  the  soldier  who  wore  them,  may  come  under  re- 
mark hereafter.  We  shall  only  add,  that  IMoseg 
seems,  at  least  according  to  our  rendering,  to  have 
some  allusion  to  shoes,  either  plated,  or  spiked,  on 
the  sole,  when  he  "feays,  (Dcut.  xxxiii.  25.)  "  Thy 
shoes  shall  be  iron  and  brass ;  and  as  thy  days  shall 
thy  strength  be." — "Above  all  taking  the  shield  of 
faith:"  not  ahovc  all  in  point  of  value;  but  of  situa- 
tion ;  over  all — hefore  all ;  as  our  soldier  holds  his 
shield  ;  for  his  ])rotection.  Faitli  may  be  a  prime 
gi-ace,  but  if  raised  too  high,  like  a  shield  over  ele- 
vated, the  parts  it  should  defend  may  become  ex- 
posed to  the  enemy.  "  Take  the  helmet  of  salva- 
tion ;"  security — safety.  So  far  our  figure  applies; 
however,  it  has  no  sword :  it  hatl  originally  a  spear, 
but  that  weapon  has  been  destroyed  by  time. 
"Praying,"  says  the  apostle,  "and  wateliiug;"  these 
are  duties  of  soldiers,  especially  of  Thristian  soldiers, 
but  they  are  not  of  a  nature  to  be  explained  by  this 
figure;  however,  we  very  frequently  meet  with  them 
in  monuments  of  antiquity  :  nothing  is  more  conunon 
than  sacrifices,  Scv.  in  camps,  and  the  very  first  sol- 
diers in  the  Antonine  pillar  are  sentinels.  It  may  be 
remarked,  that  this  soldier  has  no  armor  for  his 
legs,  or  thighs,  or  arms:  they  are  merely  sheltered 
by  clothing,  but  are  not   defended  by  armor.     We 


ARMS 


[  ICl  J 


ARiMB 


do  not  find  that  the  apostle  alludes  to  any  pieces  of 
defence  for  the  legs,  or  the  thighs,  of  his  Christian 
warrior. 

This  engraving  shows  the  parts  of  a  complete  suit 


of  armor,  separately  ;  from  an  ancient  gem:  as, (1.) 
the  Leg-pieces,  which  not  only  cover  the  legs  pretty 
low  down,  but  also  the  thighs,  up  above  the  knee  ; 
(2.)  the  Spear  stuck  in  the  gi-ound  ;  (3.)  the  Sword, 
m  this  instance  in  its  sheath ;  (4.)  the  Cuirass,  or 
defence  of  the  body :  this  appears  to  be  made  of 
leather,  or  some  pliant  material,  capable  of  taking 
the  form  of  the  parts :  (5.)  the  Shield  ;  upon  which, 
in  our  gem,  is  placed  (G.)  the  Helmet,  witli  its  flow- 
ing crest. 


The  next  is  among  the  most  curious  statues  of  an- 
tiquity remaining,  being  a  portrait  of  Alexander  the 
Great  fighting  on  horseback ;  and  probably,  also,  a 
portrait  of  his  famous  horse  Bucephalus.  Tlic 
figure  has  a  girdle  round  his  waist ;  in  wliich  it  is 
rather  suigular ;  and  close  to  this  girdle  falls  the 
sheath  for  his  sword  ;  his  loins  are  girt  about  with  a 
single  piece  of  armor,  buckled  at  the  sides ;  A\hicli 
answere  the  purposes  of  a  breast-plate,  by  covering 
high  up  on  the  thorax:  his  feet  arc  not  only  shod, 
but  ornamented  with  strajjs,  &c.  a  considerable  way 
up  the  leg.  He  has  neither  sliield  nor  helmet ;  and 
Mr.  Taylor  remarks,  that  ho  lias  not  foimd  a  com- 
manding officer — a  general — with  a  helmet  on, 
neither  during  his  actual  engagement    in  fighting. 


as  this  figure  is  represented,  nor  when  addressing 
his  soldiers,  though  that  could  hardly  be  the  fact. 
The  form,  size,  &c.  of  this  sword  deserve  notice ;  it 
is  very  different  from  the  ideal  sword  of  Gohath,  in 
the  first  figure  above.  That  girdles  were  of  several 
kinds  we  need  not  doubt ;  if  we  did,  the  entire  dif- 
ference between  that  of  this  figure  and  that  of  the 
second  above  would  justify  the  assertion.  In  that 
there  is  no  room  for  concealing,  or  for  carrying,  any 
thing,  but  we  know  that  one  use  of  the  girdle  in  the 
East  was,  and  still  is,  to  carry  various  articles.  So 
we  read,  2  Sam.  xx.  8.  that  "  Joab's  garment  that  he 
had  put  on,  was  girded  (close)  vmto  him,  and  upon 
it  a  sword-girdle,  (or  belt,)  that  is,  a  girdle  of  a  mili- 
tary nature,  fit  for  holding  a  sword :  and  in  this  gir- 
dle was  a  sword  in  its  sheath  ;  and  as  he  went  it 
fell  out."  Notwithstanding  that  there  was  much 
hypoc'-itical  baseness  in  Joab's  behavior,  we  ought 
to  observe,  that  a  sword  might  thus  fall  out  of  the 
girdle  which  contained  it ;  for  so  we  are  told  by 
Herodotus,  that  the  sword  of  Cambyses  fell  out  of 
the  girdle,  and  wounded  him  in  the  thigh,  of  whicJi 
wounds  he  died. 

We  read  of  swords  having  two  edges ;  and  of  the 
gi-eat  execution  expected  to  be  done  by  them.  See 
Psalm  cxlix.  6,  and  Prov.  v.  4.  That  a  sword  so  short 
as  that  of  this  figure  might  have  two  edges  seems 
probable  enough,  while  that  of  Gohath  would  be 
both  the  weaker  and  the  worse  for  such  a  form.  The 
shai-p  sword  issuing  out  of  the  mouth  of  our  Lord 
(Rev.  ii.  12.)  will  be  noticed  elsewhere  ;  we  only  ob- 
serve here,  that  to  imagine  a  long  sword  issuing  out 
of  the  mouth  of  a  person,  suggests  a  very  awkward 
image,  or  idea,  to  say  the  least  ;  an  idea  which 
hardly  could  have  its  prototype  in  nature. 

The  annexed  figures  represent 
Standards  or  Ensigns  of  the  Ro- 
man legions ;  and  explain  on 
what  principles  the  Jews  might 
regard  them  as  idolatrous,  not 
only  because  they  had  been  con- 
secrated to  idols,  and  by  heathen 
priests,  but  fis  they  have  images 
on  them  ;  which,  if  they  might 
be  those  of  the  emperor,  might 
also  be  those  of  idol  deities. 

The  passage  2  Sam.  i.  9.  has 
divided  inteiin-eters :  "  Slay  me," 
says  Saul,  "  for  anguish  (vertigo) 
is  come  upon  me  ;"  so  reads  our 
translation,  with  the  Vulgate ;  but 
the  LXX  and  Syriac  read,  "  deej) 
darkness  surrounds  me ;"  the 
Chaldee  parapluasi,  "I  am  wholly 
terrified  ;"  and  some  rabbins,  "  I 
have  the  cramp."  The  Hebrew  word  {]'2v,  shabatz) 
signifies  to  surround — enclose — interweaAC  :  it  occurs 
several  times  as  descriptive  of  a  coat,  or  covering; 
as  Exod.  xxviii.  4,  39  :  "  And  thou  shalt  make  an 
embroidered  coat ;"  a  close  coat,  says  the  Vulgate, 
Aquila,  Synunachus,  and  Theodotion  ;  the  LXX  to 
the  same  effect,  ;<oai  u.Jwroi  ;  and  elsewhere:  but  per- 
haps, a  coat  \vTought  with  eye-let  {oilet,  Fr.)  holes; 
whence  the  word  signifies,  the  holes  in  which  jew- 
els are  set.  Since,  then,  this  word,  or  its  derivatives, 
in  more  than  a  dozen  places,  describes  a  bodily  ves- 
ture, and  of  a  particular  kind, ,  should  it  in  this 
passage  be  understood  to  signify  mental  sufterings  ? 
Shoutd  it  not  rather,  as  rabbi  Levi  Ben  Gershon  and 
M.  Saurin  think,  be  rendered  a  close  coat,  made  of 
rings  [oilets)  in  the  nature  of  a  coat  of  mail,  worn  by 


ARMS 


[  102  ] 


ARMS 


Seul,  for  liiB  personal  security  and  clefoncc  in 
battle  ?  There  are  still  extant  among  our  anci(  jit 
armory  some  of  these  close  coats,  which  appear 
to  be  composed  of  small  steel  I'ings,  connected 
into  eacii  other  ;  and  thereby  permitting  a  free 
motion  of  the  body  on  all  sides.  It  is  difficult 
to  determine  this  ([uestion ;  for  though  it  can- 
not be  denied  that  the  ancient  Hebrews  might  use 
such  coats,  yet  we  camiot  prove  it  to  have  been  tlie 
case. 

The  nature  of  the  difficulties  arising  in  this  his- 
tory being  uuderetood,  the  reader  is  requested  to 
examine  the  annexed  engraving,  which  represents  a 
combat  between  a  person  on  horseback  and  another 


on  foot :  it  is  from  Montrau(;on,  {8iipplement,  vol.  iii. 
page  397.)  who  thus  remarks  on  it:  "The  horseman 
represented  on  an  Etruscan  vase,  of  Cardinal  Gual- 
teri,  is  armed  in  such  a  singular  manner,  that  I 
thought  it  necessary  to  give  the  figure  here.  This 
horseman  is  mounted  on  a  nakcni  horse  with  only 
a  bridle:  though  the  horse  seems  to  have  something 
on  his  neck,  which  |)asses  i)et^\'('eIl  his  two  ears, 
but  it  is  impossible  to  distinguish  \\  hat  it  is."  "  The 
armor  also  of  this  horseman  is  as  extraordinary  as 
that  of  the  .Samaritan  horseman  on  Trajan's  Pillar. 
His  military  habit  is  verif  dose,  and  fitted  to  his  hody, 
and  covers  him  even  to  his  ivrist,  and  below  his  ankles, 
HO  that  his  feet  remain  naked  ;  which  is  very  extra- 
ordinary. For,  I  think,  both  in  the  ancient  and 
modern  cavalry,  the  feet  were  a  princii)al  j)art  which 
they  guarded ;  excepting  only  the  Moorish  horse, 
who  have  for  their  whole  dress  only  a  short  tunic, 
which  reaches  to  the  middle  of  the  thigh  ;  and  the 
Numidians,  who  ride  quite  naked,  upon  a  naked 
liorse,  except  a  sliort  cloak  \\liich  they  hH\'e  fastened 
to  their  neck,  and  hanging  loose  behind  them  in 
warm  weather,  and  which  they  wrap  about  them- 
selves in  cold  wealh(>r.  Our  iMruscan  horseman 
here  hath  his  feet  naked  ;  but  he  hath  his  head  wvW 
covered  with  a  cap  folded  about  it,  and  large  sli|)s 
of  stuff  hanging  down  from  it.  He  wears  a  collar 
of  round  stones.  The  rlose  bodied  coat  he  \\eais,  is 
wrought  all  over  with  zigzags,  and  large  |)oints,  down 
to  the  girdle  ;  which  is  broad,  and  tied  round  the  mid- 
dle of  his  body;  the  same  flourishing  is  continued 
lower  down  his  habit  <|uite  to  his  ankle,  and  all  over 
his  arms  to  his  wrist.  Me  braTidislies  his  s))ear  against 
his  adversary,  who  is  a  nak<-d  man  on  for)t,  who 
hath  only  a  helmet  on,  and  holds  a  large  oval  shield 
in  his  left  hand,  and  a  spear  in  his  right,  which  he 
darts  at  his  enemy,  without  being  frighted  at  his 


being  so  well  equipped.  The  horseman,  besides 
his  spear,  hath  a  sword  fastened  to  his  belt,  or 
breast  girdle.  The  hilt  of  his  sword  terminates  in 
a  bird's  head.  Behind  the  man  on  foot,  is  a  man 
well  dressed,  witli  his  hat  (which  is  like  the  modern 
ones)  falling  from  his  head.  He  is  the  esquire  of 
the  horseman ;  and  holds  a  spear  ready  for  him, 
which  he  may  take  if  he  happens  to  break  his 
own."  This  may  assist  our  inquiries  on  the  sub- 
ject of  the  supposed  close  coat  of  Saul's  armor. 
(1.)  This  being  an  Etruscan  vase,  is  pi-obably  of 
pretty  deep  antiquity;  as  vases  of  the  kind  were  not 
majiufactured  in  later  ages.  (2.)  These  vases  have, 
very  often,  histories  depicted  on  them,  referring  to 
eastern  nations :  they  have  events,  deities,  fables, 
&c.  as  well  as  dresses,  derived  from  Asia ;  whence 
the  Etruscans  were  a  colony.  We  risk  little,  there- 
fore, in  supposing  that  our  subject  is  ancient,  even 
advancing  towards  the  time  of  King  Saul;  and  that 
it  is  also  Asiatic.  Our  next  inquiry  is.  What  it  re- 
presents.— Cci-tainly  we  may  consider  the  person  on 
horseback  as  no  common  cavalier  ;  he  is  an  officer 
at  least,  probably  a  general;  if  not  rather  a  king: 
in  whicli  case,  this  is  the  very  conmion  subject  of  a 
king  vanquishing  an  enemy  ;  a  subject  which  occurs 
in  munerous  instances  on  gems,  medals,  &c.  as  is 
well  known  to  antiquaries.  But  the  peculiarities  oi 
his  dress  are  what  demand  our  present  attention. 
(1.)  His  coat  is  so  close  as  to  cover  liis  whole  per- 
son. (2.)  It  seems  to  have  marks,  which,  though 
they  may  be  ornaments,  yet  are  analogous  to  quilt- 
ings,  and  raise  that  idea  strongly.  Now  supjjosing, 
that  under  these  quiltings  is  a  connected  chain  of 
iron  rings,  extending  throughout  the  whole,  it  pre- 
sents a  dress  well  known  in  later  ages,  and,  as  this 
exami)le  proves,  in  times  of  remote  antiquity ;  and 
to  which  agree  the  words  used  in  describing  Saul's 
shabatz,  as  already  noticed. 

In  order  further  to  justify  these  conjectures  on  the 
nature  of  the  defence  afforded  by  Saul's  coat  of  mail, 
Mr.  Taylor  copied  r^ne  of  the  Samaritan  horsemen 


from  the  Trajan  Pillar.  This  dress,  it  will  be  seen,  is 
\vholly  composed  of  scales,  ami  fits  the  wearer  with 
consunmiate  accuracy ;  even  his  feet  and  his  hands 
are  covered  with  scales :  and  though  his  dress  is 
divided  into  two  ])arts,  one  for  his  body,  the  other 
t'or  his  legs, } ct  tin;  whole  shows  not  only  his  shape, 
but  also  every  muscle  of  his  body.  This  dress  was 
made  of  horny  substances,  such  as  horses'  hoofs, 
(Pausanias  Attic,  cap.  21.)  or  other  materials  of  equal 
toughness  and  hardness:  but  scaly  coats  of  mail  were 
frcMpiently  made  of  iron,  and,  very  connnonly,  we 
find  |)arts  of  armor  of  defcMice  imbricated  in  this 
manner. 

[The  above  remarks  on  the  case  of  Saul  have  been 
permitted  to  remain,  partly  as  an  instance  of  the  fan- 
ciful, and  often  groundless,  speculations  of  Taylor; 
but  principally  for  the  sake  of  the  general  illustrations 
of  ancient  armor.     R. 

An  observation  or  two  on  the  story  of  Saul's  at- 
tempt to  dress  David  in  his  armor,  (1  Sam.  xvii.  38.) 
and  we  may  dismiss  this  subject.     That  youtli  being 


ARO 


[  103  ] 


ARR 


introduced  info  the  royal  prcHcnce,  in  consequence 
of  his  proposal  to  meet  Goliath,  our  translation  ,say.«, 
"  Saul  armed  David  with  his  armor,  and  he  i)ut  a 
liehnet  of  brass  on  his  head  ;  also  he  armed  him 
with  a  coat  of  mail."  [This  ought,  however,  to  he 
translated  :  "  Saul  clothed  David  with  his  garments  ; 
and  he  put  a  helmet  of  brass  ujion  his  head  ;  and 
clothed  him  also  with  a  coat  of  mail."  There  is  here 
no  difficidty.  David,  as  a  shepherd  youth,  had  been 
accustomed  to  rove  the  hills  and  deserts  in  his  simple 
dress,  with  all  his  limbs  at  full  liberty  ;  and  of  course 
he  could  not  at  once  feel  himself  at  ease  in  the  gar- 
ments and  close  armor  of  a  wariior.  lie  had  never 
tried  them,  i.  e.  he  was  not  accustomed  to  them,  and 
could  move  in  them  neither  with  case  nor  agility. 
Being,  too,  the  armor  of  Saul,  ^vho  was  taller  than  the 
rest  of  the  people,  they  might  also  be  too  large  for 
David.  At  any  rate,  he  preferred  to  lay  them  aside  ; 
and  to  go  against  the  Philistine  in  that  garb  to  which 
alone  lie  had  been  accustomed,  and  in  which  alone 
he  felt  himself  free,  and  able  to  act  with  energj'  and 
dexterity.     Can  we  wonder  at  his  preference  ?     R. 

ARNON,  a  river  frequently  mentioned  in  Scrip- 
ture, (Dciit.  ii.  94,  &c.)  and  which  rises  in  the  moun- 
tains of  Gilead  or  Moab,  and  runs  by  a  north-west 
course  into  the  eastern  part  of  the  Dead  sea.  It  is 
now  called  Wady  Mod-jeb,  and  divides  the  province 
of  Belka  from  tliat  of  Kerek,  us  it  formerly  divided 
the  kingdom  of  the  INIoabites  and  Amorites,  Numb, 
xxi.  1.3.  [It  flows  through  a  deep  and  wild  ravine 
of  the  same  name,  (in  the  Ileb.  Numb.  xxi.  1.5 ;  Dent, 
ii.  24 ;  iii.  9.)  and  in  a  narrow  bed.  Rurckhardt 
describes  it  as  follows :  "  From  the  spot  where  we 
reached  the  high  banks  of  the  3Iodjeb,  we  followed 
the  top  of  the  precipice  at  the  foot  of  which  the  river 
flows,  in  an  eastern  direction,  for  a  quarter  of  an 
hour ;  when  we  reached  the  ruins  of  Araayr,  the 
^i)-oer  of  the  Scriptures,  standing  on  the  edge  of  the 
])rccipice.  From  hence  a  footpath  leads  down  to 
the  river.  The  view  which  the  Modjeb  presents  is 
very  striking.  From  the  bottom,  where  the  river 
rmis  through  a  narrow  stripe  of  verdant  level  about 
forty  yards  across,  the  steep  and  barren  banks  arise 
to  a  great  height,  covered  with  immense  blocks  of 
stone  v.'hich  have  rolled  down  from  the  upper  strata ; 
so  that  when  viewed  from  above,  the  valley  looks 
like  a  deep  chasm,  formed  by  some  tremendous  con- 
vulsion of  th"  earth,  into  which  there  .seems  to  be  no 
possibility  of  descending  to  the  bottom.  The  distance 
from  the  edge  of  one  preci))ice  to  that  of  the  opposite 
one,  is  about  two  miles  in  a  straight  line. 

"We  descended  the  northern  bank  of  the  Wady 
by  a  footpatli  which  winds  among  the  masses  of 
rock,  dismounting  on  account  of  the  steepness  of  the 
road.  We  were  about  thirty-five  minutes  in  reach- 
ing the  bottom. — The  river,  which  flows  in  a  rocky 
bed,  was  almost  dried  up ;  but  its  bed  bears  evident 
marks  of  its  impetuosity  during  the  rainy  season,  the 
shattered  fragments  of  large;  pieces  of  rock  wliich 
had  been  brokoi  from  the  banks  nearest  the  river, 
and  carried  along  by  the  torrent,  having  been  depos- 
ited at  a  considerable  height  aljove  the  present  chan- 
nel of  the  stream.  A  few  Defle  and  willow  tree  s 
grew  on  its  banks. — The  ])rincipal  source  of  the 
iModje!)  is  at  a  short  distance  to  the  north-east  of  Ka- 
trane,  a  station  of  the  Syrian  Hadji  or  caravans  to 
Mecca."  Travels  in  Syria,  j).  372 ;  (Jesenius,  Comm. 
on  Is.  xvi.  2.     *R. 

ARNONA,  a  district  beyond  Jordan,  along  the 
river  Arnon.     See  Reland,  p.  495. 

AROER,the  name  of  various  cities,  (].)  A  citv  on 


the  north  side  of  the  river  Arnon,  which  was  the 
southern  border  of  the  Moabitish-Anmionitish  terri- 
tory, or  of  the  tribes  of  Reuben  and  Gad,  Dent.  ii.  36 ; 
iii.  12;  Josh.  xii.  3;  xiii.  16.  In  Jerem.  xlviii.  19.  it 
is  called  a  Moabitish  city.  Burckhardt  found  its 
ruins  on  the  Arnon,  under  the  name  Araayr;  see 
the  extract  trom  Burckhardt  in  the  jireceding  article. 
— (2.)  Another  city,  farther  north,  situated  over  again.st 
Habboth  Anunon,  (Josh.  xiii.  25.)  on  the  brook  Gad, 
i.  can  arm  of  the  Jabbok,  (2  Sam.  xxiv.  5.)  and  built 
by  the  Gadiles,  Num.  xxxii.  34. — (3.)  A  third  city,  in 
the  tribe  of  Judah,  1  Sam.  xxx.  28.     R. 

ARPAD  or  Arphad,  a  town  in  ScriiHure  always 
associated  with  Ilamath,  the  Epiphania  of  the  Greeks, 
2  Kings  xviii.  34,  &c.  Some  make  it  the  same  as 
the  Arphas  noticed  in  Josephus,  as  limithig  the 
jjrovinccs  of  Gamalitis,  Gaulanitis,  Batana^a,  and 
Trachonitis,  north-east ;  (Joseph.  Bel.  J.  iii.  c.  2  ;)  but 
this  is  improbable.  Michaelis  and  others  compare  the 
Raphan  or  Raphansea,  which  Stephen  of  Byzantium 
places  near  Epiphania. 

I.  ARPHx\XAD,  son  of  Shem,  and  father  of  Sa- 
lah  ;  born  one  year  after  the  deluge  ;  died  A.  M. 
2090,  aged  438  years.  Gen.  xi.  12,  &c, 

II.  ARPHAXAD,  a  king  of  Media,  mentioned 
Judith  i.  1.  Calmet  supposes  him  to  be  the  same 
with  Phraortes,  the  son  and  successor  of  Dejoces, 
king  of  Media.  But  in  this  he  differs  from  the 
learned  Prideaux,  who  thinks  Arpliaxad  to  be  Dejo- 
ces, and  not  Phraortes,  his  successor ;  for,  as  he 
obsenes,  Arpliaxad  is  said  to  be  that  king  of  Media 
who  was  the  founder  of  Ecbatane,  which  all  other 
writers  agree  to  have  been  Dejoces ;  and  the  begin- 
ning of  the  twelfth  year  of  Saosduchinus  exactly 
agrees  with  the  last  year  of  Dejoces,  when  the  battle 
of  Ragan  is  said  to  have  been  fought.  Herodotus 
says  that  Phraortes  first  subdued  the  Persians,  and 
afterwards  almost  all  Asia;  but  at  last,  attacking 
Nineveh,  and  the  Assyrian  empire,  he  was  killed,  in 
the  twenty-second  year  of  his  reign.  The  book  of 
Judith  informs  us,  that  he  built  Ecbatane,  and  was 
defeated  in  the  gi-eat  plains  of  Ragan,  those  probably 
about  the  city  of  Rages,  or  Rey,  in  Media,  Tobit  i. 
16;  iii.  7 ;  iv.  11. 

ARROW,  a  missile  offensive  weapon,  sharp,  slen- 
der, barbed,  and  shot  from  a  bow,  1  Sam.  xx.  36. 
Divination  with  arrows  was  a  practice  formerly  much 
in  use,  and  is  not  unknown  even  in  modern  times. 
Ezekiel  (chap.  xxi.  21.)  informs  us  that  Nebuchadnez- 
zar, marching  against  Zedekiah  and  the  king  of  the 
Ammonites,  when  he  came  to  the  head  of  two  ways, 
mingled  his  arrows  in  a  quiver,  to  divine  from  them 
in  which  direction  he  should  pursue  his  march  ;  that 
he  consulted  Teraphim,  and  inspected  the  livers  of 
beasts,  in  order  to  determine  his  resolution.  Most 
commentators  believe  that  he  took  several  arrows, 
and  on  each  of  them  wrote  the  name  of  the  king,  or 
city,  &c.  which  he  designed  to  attack ;  as  on  one — 
Jerusalem  ;  on  another — Rabbah  ;  on  another — 
Egypt,  &c. ;  and  that  these,  being  put  into  a  quiver, 
were  shaken  together,  and  one  of  them  drawn  out ; 
that  coming  first  being  considered  as  declarative  of 
the  will  of  the  gods  to  attack  first  that  city,  province, 
or  kingdfim,  whose  name  was  upon  the  arrow. 

This  notion  of  the  manner  in  which  the  divination 
was  performed,  may  be  correct ;  but  the  following 
mode  of  doing  it,  transcribed  from  Delia  Valle,  (p. 
276.)  is  worthy  of  notice: — "I  saw  at  Aleppo  a  Ma- 
hometan, who  caused  two  persons  to  sit  upon  the 
ground,  one  onposite  to  the  other;  and  gave  them 
four  arrows  into  their  ha)ids,  which  both  of  them 


ARS 


104  ] 


A  RT 


held  with  their  points  downward,  and,  as  it  \\ere,  in 
two  right  hnes  united  one  to  the  other.  Then  a  ques- 
tion being  put  to  him,  about  any  business,  he  fell  to 
murmur  his  enchantments,  and  thereby  caused  the 
said  four  arrows,  of  their  own  accord,  to  unite  tkcir 
points  together  in  tlie  midst,  (though  he  that  held  them 
stirred  not  his  hand,)  and,  according  to  the  future 
event  of  the  matter,  those   of  the  right  side   wei-e 

e laced  over  those  of  the  left,  or  on  the  contrary." — 
lella  Yalle  then  proceeds  to  refer  this  to  diabolical 
agency.  Without  affirming  that  this  mode  of  divina- 
tion was  that  practised  by  the  king  of  Babylon,  the 
passage  in  the  prophet  would  seem  to  be  entitled  to 
examination,  with  special  reference  to  it. 

There  %vere  many  other  ways  of  divination  by  ar- 
rows ;  such  as  shooting  one,  or  more,  into  the  air,  and 
watching  on  which  side  it  (or  the  greater  number) 
fell,  &c.  Comp.  2  Kings  xiii.  14 — 19.  [Pococke  in 
his  Spec.  Hist.  Arab.  (p.  329.)  relates,  that  when  one  is 
about  to  set  out  on  a  journey,  or  to  marry  a  wife,  or 
to  undertake  any  important  business,  he  usually  cori- 
sults  three  arrows  which  are  kept  in  a  vase  or  box. 
The  first  has  the  inscription  God  orders  it ;  the  sec- 
ond, God  forbids  it ;  and  the  third  has  no  inscription. 
Ho  draws  out  an  arrow  with  one  hand ;  and  if  it  be 
the  first,  he  prosecutes  his  purpose  with  alacrity,  as 
by  the  express  command  of  God  ;  if  it  be  the  second, 
he  desists ;  if  the  third,  he  puts  it  back  and  draws 
again,  until  he  obtains  one  of  the  other  two.  Comp. 
Rosenm.  Com.  in  Ezek.  xxi.  26.     R. 

The  word  arrow  is  often  taken  figuratively  for 
lightning,  and  other  meteors,  (the  same  as  the  heathen 
would  call  the  thunderbolts  of  their  Jupiter,)  but 
there  is  a  passage,  (Psalm  xci.  5.)  where  it  has  been 
thought  dubious  whether  it  should  be  taken  literally, 
for  wai-,  or  figuratively,  for  some  natural  evil : 

Tliou  shall  have  no  occasion  of  fear, 

From  the  teiTor  by  night ; 

Fi'oni  the  arrow  that  fiiclh  by  day; 

From  the  pestilence  in  darkness  walking ; 

From  the  destruction  wiiich  wastc:li  at  noon-day. 

[But  arrow  is  here  used,  no  doubt,  figuratively  for 
danger  in  general ;  terror  l)y  niglit  and  arroivs  by  day 
include  all  species  of  calamity  ;  while  the  next  lines 
go  on  to  specify  more  particularly  the  pestilence. 
This,  indeed,  like  every  other  calamity,  may  be 
reckoned  among  the  arroivs  of  divine  judgment.  So 
the  Arabs.     R. 

The  following  is  from  Busbequius:  (Eng.  edit.) 
"I  desired  to  remove  to  a  less  contagious  air.  ...  I 
received  from  Solymau,  the  emi)eror,  this  message  ; 
tliat  the  emperor  wondered  what  I  meant,  in  desiring 
to  remove  my  habitation.  Is  not  the  pestilence  God^s 
ARROW  which  ivill  always  hit  his  mark  ?  It'  God  woidd 
visit  me  herewith,  how  could  I  avoid  it?  Is  not  tlie 
jjlague,  said  he,  in  my  own  palace,  and  yet  I  do  not 
think  of  removing  ?"  We  find  the  same  opinion  ex- 
pressed in  Smith's  Remarks,  &c.  on  the  Tm-ks :  (p. 
109.)  "VV'hat,  say  they,  is  not  the  plague  the  dart  of 
Almighty  God?  and  can  we  escape  the  blow  he  lev- 
els at  us  ?  is  not  bis  hand  steady  to  hit  the  persons  he 
aims  at?  can  we  run  out  of  his  sight,  and  beyond 
his  power?"  So  Herbert,  (p.  99.)  speaking  of  "Cur- 
roon,  says,  "tiiat  year  his  emjdre  was  so  wounded 
with  God's  arrows  of  plague,  jicstilence,  and  famine, 
as  this  thousand  years  before  was  never  so  terrible." 
See  Ezek.  v.  15.  ''When  I  send  upon  them  the  evil 
arroivs  of  famine,"  &,c. 

ARSACES,  or  Mithriuates,  king  of  the  Parthi- 
ans,  1  Mace.  xiv.  ii.  Demetrius  Nicanor,  or  Nicator, 
king  of  Syria,  having  invaded  his  coimtry,  at  first 


obtained  several  advantages.  Media  declared  for 
him,  and  the  Elymseans,  Persians,  and  Bactrians 
joined  him  ;  but  Arsaccs  having  sent  one  of  his  offi- 
cers to  him,  under  pretence  of  treating  for  peace,  he 
fell  into  an  ambuscade  ;  his  army  was  cut  off  by  the 
Persians,  and  he  himself  fell  into  the  hands  of  Ar- 
saces.  Joseph.  Antiq.  lib.  xhi.  cap.  9;  Justin  lib. 
xxxvi.  and  xli. 

ARSENAL.  The  ancient  Hebrews  had  each  man 
his  owai  arms,  because  all  went  to  the  wars ;  they 
had  no  arsenals,  or  magazines  of  arms,  because  they 
had  no  regular  troops,  or  soldiers,  in  constant  pa)'. 
There  were  no  arsenals  in  Israel,  till  the  reigns  of 
David  and  Solomon.  David  made  a  large  collection 
of  arms,  and  consecrated  them  to  the  Lord,  in  his 
tabernacle.  The  high-priest,  Jehoiada,  took  them 
out  of  the  treasury  of  the  temple,  to  arm  the  people 
and  Levites,  on  the  day  of  the  young  khig  J  cash's 
elevation  to  the  throne,  2  Chron.  xxiii.  9.  Solomon 
collected  a  great  quantity  of  arms  in  his  palace  of  the 
forest  of  Lebanon,  and  established  well-provided  ar- 
senals in  all  the  cities  of  Judah,  which  he  fortified,  2 
Chron.  xi.  12.  He  sometimes  compelled  the  conquered 
and  tributary  people  to  forge  arms  for  lujii,  1  Kings 
X.  25.  Uzziah  not  only  furnished  his  arsenals  with 
sjJCiu-s,  helmets,  shields,  cuirasses,  swords,  bows,  and 
slings,  but  also  with  such  machines  as  were  proper 
for  sieges.  Hezekiah  had  the  same  ])recaution ;  he 
made  stores  of  ai'ms  of  all  sorts.  Jonathan  and  Simon. 
Maccaba?us  had  arsenals  stored  with  good  arms ;  not 
only  such  as  had  been  taken  from  their  enemies,  but 
others  which  they  had  purchased,  or  commissioned 
to  be  forged  for  them. 

ARTABA,  \-/i^Tu^ix'i.  a  measure  used  Ijy  the  Bab}'- 
lonians,  containing  seyenty-two  sextarii,  according 
to  Epiphanius,  (de  Ponderib.  et  IMens.)  and  Isidore 
of  Seville ;  (lib.  xvi.  Origen.)  or,  according  to  Dr. 
Arbutljiiot's  tables,  one  bushel,  one  gallon,  and  one 
pint ;  allowing,  with  him,  four  pecks  tuid  six  pints  to 
the  medimnus,  and  one  pint  to  the  choinix.  It  is 
found  oidy  in  the  apocryphal  Daniel,  or  Dan.  xiv.  3. 
Vulg. 

ARTAXERXES,  (.sn-j-cnmN,)  a  name  or  title  com- 
mon to  several  kings  of  Persia,  Ezra  iv.  7.  In  Ezra 
vii.  21.  the  same  name  is  written  Nfo'iiTin-tN. 

I.  ARTAXERXES,  a  name  given  by  Ezra  (iv.  7, 
8,  23;  comp.  24.)  to  the  Magus,  called  by  Justin 
Oropastcs;  by  Herodotus,  Smerdis ;  by  ^schylus, 
IMardus ;  and  by  Ctesias,  Sphendadates.  Afler  the 
death  of  Cambyses,  hc^  usurped  tlie  government  of 
Persia,  [ante  A.  D.  522,)  pretending  to  be  Smerdis, 
son  of  Cyrus,  whom  Cambyses  had  juit  to  death. 
He  probably,  also,  assmned  the  title  of  Artaxerxes, 
though  this  is  not  mentioned  by  the  Greek  historians. 
This"  is  tiie  Artaxerxes  who  v.rote  to  his  governors 
ijeyond  the  Euphrates,  signifying,  tliat,  having  re- 
ceived their  advices  relating  to  the  Jcavs,  he  required 
them  to  forbid  the  Jews  from  rebuilding  Jerusalem. 
Thus,  from  aliont  ante  A.  D.  522,  the  Jews  did  not 
dare  to  forward  the  repairs  of  the  city  avails,  till  about 
ante  A.  D.  520,  when  Darius  Hystaspes  renewed  the 
royal  ])ermission  to  build  them,  Ezra  iv.  24  ;  v.  vi. — 
Smerdis  reigned  oidy  about  six  months  ;  when  seven 
noblemen  consinred  against  him,  assassinated  him, 
and  ]jlaced  Darius  Ilystasjies,  one  of  their  number, 
on  the  throne,  ante  A.  D.  521. 

n.  ARTAXERXES  Longimanus,  the  second  son 
and  successor  of  Xerxes,  ascended  the  Persian  throne 
ante  A.  D.  4G4.  In  the  seventh  year  of  his  reign  he 
permitted  Ezra  to  return  to  Judea,  with  all  who  in- 
clined to  follow  him,  (Ezra  vii.  viii.)  and  in  the  twen- 


ASA 


[  105  1 


ASA 


tieth  year  of  his  reign  Nehemiah  also  obtained  leave 
to  return,  and  to  rebuild  the  walls  and  gates  of  Jeru- 
salem, Neh.  ii.  From  this  year  some  chronologers 
compute  Daniel's  seventy  weeks  of  years,  (Dan.  ix. 
24.)  but  Dr.  Prideaux,  who  discourses  very  copiousl}' 
and  with  great  learning  on  this  prophecy,  maintains 
that  the  decree  mentioned  in  it  for  restoring  and 
rebuilding  Jerusalem  cannot  be  understood  of  that 
granted  to  Nehemiah,  in  the  twentieth  year  of  Arta- 
xerxes ;  but  of  that  granted  to  Ezra,  by  the  same 
prince,  in  the  seventh  year  of  his  reign.  From  thence 
to  the  death  of  Christ,  are  exactly  four  hundred  and 
ninety  years,  to  a  month  ;  for  in  the  month  of  Nisan 
was  the  decree  granted  to  Ezra ;  and  in  the  middle 
of  the  same  month,  Nisan,  Christ  suffered;  just  four 
hundred  and  ninety  years  afterwards.  (Connect, 
part  1.  b.  V.)  [Others  suppose  the  Artaxerxes  men- 
tioned in  Ezra  vii.  viii.  to  have  been  Xerxes,  the 
predecessor  of  Artaxerxes  Longimanus ;  so  Winer 
and  others  following  Josephus.  But  the  Scripture 
name  of  Xerxes  is  Ahasuerus  ;  (see  this  article ;) 
and  the  authority  of  Josephus  in  this  respect  is  very 
slender ;  since  he  makes  Xerxes  reign  35  years ; 
whereas  we  know  from  other  accoimts  that  he  was 
assassinated  in  the  twenty-first  year  of  his  reign. — 
This  Artaxerxes  is  said  to  have  received  the  name 
of  Longimanus  from  the  imusual  length  of  his  arms, 
which  were  so  much  out  of  due  proportion,  that 
when  standing  erect,  he  could  touch  his  knees.  Oth- 
ers say  he  had  one  arm  or  hand  longer  than  the 
other.  He  died  ante  A.  D.  425,  after  a  mild  reign  of 
39  years.     R. 

ARTEMAS,  a  disciple  who  was  sent  by  the  apos- 
tle Paul  into  Crete,  in  the  room  of  Titus,  while  the 
latter  continued  witli  Paul  at  Nicopohs,  where  he 
passed  the  winter.  Tit.  iii.  12.  We  know  nothing 
particular  either  of  his  life  or  death. 

ARUBOTH,  or  Araboth,  a  city  or  country  be- 
longing to  Judah,  (1  Kings  iv.  10.)  the  situation  of 
which  is  not  known. 

ARUMAH,  otherwise  Rumah,  a  city  near  She- 
chem,  (Judges  ix.  41.)  where  Abimelech  encamped. 

ARVAD,  properly  Aradus,  the  name  of  a  Phoeni- 
cian city  upon  the  island  of  the  same  name,  not  far 
from  the  coast,  founded,  according  to  Strabo,  (xvi.  2. 
§  13,  14.)  by  Sidonian  deserters,  Ezek.  xxvii.  8,  11. 
Their  gentile  name  is  Arvadites,  Gen.  x.  18 ;  1 
Chron.  i.  16.     See  Aradus,  and  Antarada.     R. 

ARZA,  governor  of  Tirzah,  in  whose  house  Zimri 
killed  Elah,  king  of  Israel,  1  Kings  xvi.  9. 

ASA,  son  and  successor  of  Abijam,  king  of  Judah, 
(1  Kings  XV.  8.)  began  to  reign  A.  M.  3049,  ante  A.  D. 
955 ;  and  reigned  forty-one  years  at  Jerusalem.  Asa 
expelled  those  who,  from  sacrilegious  superstition, 
prostituted  themselves  in  honor  of  their  false  gods ; 
purified  Jerusalem  from  the  infamous  practices  at- 
tending the  worship  of  idols ;  and  deprived  his 
mother  of  her  office  and  dignity  of  queen,  because 
she  erected  an  idol  to  Astarte:  which  idol  he  burnt 
in  the  valley  of  Hinnom.  (See  King's  Mother.) 
Scripture,  however,  reproaches  him  with  not  de- 
stroying the  high  places,  which  he,  perhaps,  thought 
it  was  necessary  to  tolerate,  to  avoid  the  greater  evil  of 
idolatry.  He  carried  into  the  house  of  the  Lord  the 
gold  and  silver  vessels  which  his  father,  Abijam,  had 
vowed  he  woidd  consecrate ;  and  fortified  and  re- 
paired several  cities,  encouraging  his  people  to  this 
labor  while  the  kingdom  was  at  peace.  After  this, 
he  levied  300,000  men  in  Judah,  armed  with  shields 
and  pikes;  and  280,000  men  in  Benjamin,  armed 
with  shields  and  bows,  all  men  of  courage  and  valor. 
14 


About  this  time,  Zerah,  king  of  Ethiopia,  (or  of  Cush, 
that  is,  part  of  Arabia ;  see  Cush,  HI.)  marched 
against  Asa  with  a  million  of  foot,  and  300  chariots 
of  war,  and  advanced  as  fai-  as  Mareshah  ;  probably 
in  the  fifteenth  year  of  Asa's  reign.  See  2  Chron. 
xiv.  9.  A.  M.  3064.  Asa  advanced  to  meet  him,  and 
encamped  in  the  plain  of  Zephatha,  (or  Zephalah,) 
near  Mareshah.  Asa  prayed  to  the  Lord,  and  God 
terrified  Zerah's  army  by  a  panic  fear ;  it  began  to 
fly,  and  Asa  pursued  it  to  Gerah,  slaying  a  gi-eat 
number.  Asa's  army  then  returned  to  Jerusalem, 
loaded  with  booty,  (2  Chron.  xiv.  15 ;  xv.  1,  2.)  and 
were  met  by  the  prophet  Azariah,  who  encouraged, 
warned,  and  cxliorted  them.  Asa,  being  thus  ani- 
mated with  new  courage,  destroyed  the  idols  of  Ju- 
dah, Benjamin,  and  mount  Ephraim ;  repaired  the 
altar  of  burnt-ofTerings ;  assembled  Judah,  and  Ben- 
jamin, with  many  from  the  tribes  of  Simeon,  Ephraim, 
and  jNIanasseh ;  and  on  the  third  month,  in  the  fif- 
teenth year  of  his  reign,  celebrated  a  solemn  festival. 
Of  the  cattle  taken  from  Zerah,  they  sacrificed  700 
oxen,  and  7000  sheep ;  they  renewed  the  covenant 
with  the  Lord ;  and  declared,  that  whosoever  would 
not  seek  the  Lord  should  be  put  to  death.  God  gave 
them  peace  ;  and  the  kingdom  of  Judah,  according 
to  the  Chronicles,  was  quiet  till  the  thirty-fifth  year 
of  Asa.  But  there  are  difficulties  concerning  this 
year ;  and  it  is  thought  probable,  that  we  should  read 
the  twenty-fifth,  instead  of  the  thirty-fifth,  since 
Baasha,  who  made  war  on  Asa,  lived  no  longer  than 
the  twenty-sixth  year  of  Asa,  1  Kings  xvi.  8.  In  the 
thirty-sixth  (rather,  says  Calmet,  the  twenty-sixth) 
year  of  Asa,  Baasha,  king  of  Israel,  began  to  fortify 
Ramah,  on  the  frontiers  of  the  two  kingdoms  of  Ju- 
dah and  Israel,  to  hinder  the  Israelites  from  resorting 
to  the  kingdom  of  Judah,  and  the  temple  of  the  Lord 
at  Jerusalem.  Whereupon  Asa  sent  to  Benhadad, 
king  of  Damascus,  all  the  gold  and  silver  of  his  pal- 
ace, and  of  the  temple,  to  prevail  on  him  to  break  his 
alliance  with  Baasha,  and  to  invade  his  territories, 
that  Baasha  might  be  obhged  to  abandon  his  design 
at  Ramah.  Benhadad  accepted  Asa's  presents,  and 
invaded  Baasha's  country,  where  he  took  several 
cities  belonging  to  Naphtali ;  Baasha  being  forced 
to  retire  from  Ramah,  to  defend  his  dominions  nearer 
home,  Asa  immediately  ordered  his  people  to  Ra- 
mah, carried  off  all  the  materials  prepared  by 
Baasha,  and  employed  them  in  building  Geba  and 
Mizpah.  At  this  time,  the  prophet  Hanani  came  to 
Asa,  and  said,  (2  Chron.  xvi.  7.)  "  Because  thou  hast 
relied  on  the  king  of  Syria,  and  not  on  the  Lord  thy 
God,  herein  thou  hast  done  foolishly  ;  therefore,  from 
henceforth,  thou  shalt  have  wars."  Asa,  offended 
at  these  reproaches,  put  the  prophet  in  chains,  at 
the  same  time  ordering  the  execution  of  several  per- 
sons in  Judah.  Toward  the  latter  part  of  his  Ufe, 
he  was  afflicted  with  the  gout  in  his  feet,  and  the 
disorder,  rising  upward,  killed  him.  Scripture  re- 
proaches him  with  having  recourse  rather  to  physi- 
cians than  to  the  Lord.  His  ashes  were  buried  in 
the  sepulchre  which  he  had  provided  for  himself, 
in  the  city  of  David,  afler  his  body  had  been  burned. 
A.  M.  3090,  ante  A.  D.  914. 

ASAHEL,  son  of  Zeruiah,  and  brother  of  Joab; 
one  of  David's  thirty  heroes,  and  extremely  swifl  of 
foot ;  killed  by  Abner,  at  the  battle  of  Gibeon,  2 
Sam.  ii.  18,  19. 

ASAHIAH,  one  of  the  persons  sent  by  king  Jo- 
siah  to  consult  Huldah,  the  prophetess,  concerning 
the  book  of  the  law,  found  in  the  temple,  2  Kings 
xxii.  14. 


ASH 


KX) 


ASH 


ASAPH,  son  of  Barachias,  of  tlie  tribe  of  Levi, 
father  of  Zaccur,  Joseph,  Nethaniah,  and  Asarelah, 
and  a  celebrated  musician,  in  David's  time,  1  Chron. 
XXV.  1,  2.  In  the  distribution  of  the  Lcvites,  whicli 
that  prince  directed  for  the  service  of  the  temple,  he 
appointed  Kohath's  fainily  to  be  placed  in  the  mid- 
dle, about  the  altar  of  burnt  sacrifices;  Merari's 
family  to  the  left ;  and  Gerson's  family  to  the 
right.'  Asaph,  who  was  of  Gerson's  family,  presided 
over  this  band  ;  and  his  descendants  had  the  same 
place  and  rank.  There  are  twelve  Psalms  with 
Asaph's  name  prefixed,  viz.  the  50th,  and  from  the 
73d  to  the  83d ;  but  whether  Asaph  composed  the 
words  and  the  music  ;  or  David  the  words,  and 
Asaph  the  nuisic  ;  or  whetJier  some  of  Asaph's  de- 
scendants wrote  them,  and  prefixed  to  them  the  name 
of  that  eminent  master  of  the  music  of  the  temple, 
or  of  that  division  of  singers  of  which  Asaph's  fam- 
ily was  the  head,  is  not  certain.  Ail  these  psalms, 
though  generally  distinguished  for  their  beauty,  do 
not  suit  Asaph's  time ;  some  were  written  during 
the  captivit}',  others  in  Jehosha))hat's  time.  "A 
Psalm  for  Asaph,"  might  mean  a  Psalm  for  Asaph's 
family. 

ASENATH,  daughter  of  Potiphar,  priest  of  Heli- 
opolis,  and  the  wife  of  Joseph  (Gen.  xli.  45.)  and 
mother  of  Ephraim  and  Manasseh.  (See  Potiphar, 
ad  Jin.)  [The  Seventy,  whose  authority  is  worth 
something  in  Eg}'ptian  names,  write  'Atiivi^,  which 
is  equivalent  to  the  Egyptian  or  Coptic  As-JVeith, 
i.  e.  belonging  to  Mith,  the  Egyptian  goddess  of  wis- 
dom, corresponding  to  the  Minerva  of  the  Greeks. 
See  Greppo,  Hieroglyph.  Syst.  Append,  p.  226. 
Champollion,  Pantheon  Egj'ptien,  no.  6.     R. 

ASHAN,  {smoke,)  a  city  of  Judah,  (Josh.  xv.  42.) 
but  afterwards  apparently  yielded  to  Simeon,  Josh. 
xix.  7.  Eusebius  says  that,  in  his  time,  Beth-Ashan 
was  sixteen  miles  from  Jerusalem,  west.  In  1  Sam. 
XXX.  30,  it  is  called  Chor-ashan,  i.  c.  furnace  of 
smoke. 

ASIIDOD,  one  of  the  five  cities  of  the  Phihs- 
.tines,  assigned  to  the  tribe  of  Judah,  but  never  con- 
quered by  them,  Josh.  xiii.  8  ;  xv.  46,  47 ;  1  Sam.  v. 
1 ;  vi.  17,  etc.  It  was  called  by  the  Greeks  Azotus. 
Here  stood  the  temple  of  Dagon  ;  and  hither  the 
ark  was  first  brought,  after  the  fatal  battle  at  Eben- 
ezer,  I  Samuel  v.  1,  seq.  It  sustained  many  sieges, 
c.  g.  by  Tartau,  the  Assyrian  general,  in  the  time 
of  Ilezekiah  ;  (Is.  xx.  1.)  afterwards  by  Psannnet- 
ichus,  king  of  Egypt,  contemporary  with  Manasseh, 
Anion,  and  Josiali.  This  siege  is  said  by  Herodotus 
(ii.  157.)  to  have  lasted  twenty-nine  years !  It  was 
afterwards  taken  by  the  Maccabees,  and  destroyed 
by  Jonathan;  (1  Mace.  v.  16;  x.  77,  seq.)  but  was 
again  restored  by  the  Roman  general  Gabinius. 
(Jos.  Ant.  xiv.  5.  3.)  At  the  present  day,  it  is  a  mis- 
erable village,  still  called  Esdud.  See  also  the 
article  AzoTCs.     R. 

ASHDOTH,  a  city  in  the  tribe  of  Reuben,  called 
Ashdoth-pisgah,  (Josli.  xii.  3;  xiii.  20.)  because  it 
was  seated  in  the  plains  at  the  foot  of  mount  Pisgali. 
The  word  signifies  low  places,  or  ravines,  at  the  foot 
of  a  mouiUain. 

ASHER,  one  of  the  sons  of  Jacob  and  ZilfKili, 
Leah's  maid.  \M  had  fi)ur  sons  and  one  daughter, 
Gen.  xlix.  20;  Deut.  xxxiii.  24.  Tlie  iidieritance  of 
his  tribe  lay  in  a  very  fruitfid  country,  on  the  sea- 
coast,  with  liibanus  north,  Carmid  and  the  tribe  of 
Isaachar  south,  an<l  Zcbulun  and  Naphtali  east. 
Tyre  and  Sidon,  with  the  whole  of  Phoenicia,  were 
assigned  as  the  territory  of  thia  tribe,  (Josh.  xix.  25, 


seq.)  but  it  never  possessed  the  whole  range  of  dis- 
trict assigned  to  it,  Judg.  i.  31.     See  Canaan. 

ASHER,  a  city  between  Scythopolis  and  She- 
chem,  and,  consequently,  remote  from  the  tribe  of 
Asher,  Josh.  xvii.  7.  In  the  Old  Itinerary  to  Jeru- 
salem, it  is  placed  between  Scythopolis  and  Neapo- 
lis,  which  is  the  same  as  Shechem.  Eusebius  says, 
it  was  in  Manasseh,  15  miles  from  Neapolis,  towards 
Scythopolis. 

ASHES.  To  repent  in  sackcloth  and  ashes,  or 
to  lie  down  among  ashes,  was  an  external  sign  of 
self-aftliction  for  sui,  or  of  grief  under  misfortune. 
We  find  it  adopted  by  Job ;  (chap.  ii.  8.)  by  many 
Jews  when  in  great  fear  ;  (Esth.  iv.  3.)  and  by  the 
king  of  Nineveh,  Jonah  iii.  6.  Homer  describes  old 
Laertes  grieving  for  the  absence  of  his  son, — "sleep- 
ing in  the  apartment  where  the  slaves  slept,  in  the 
ashes  near  the  fire."  Coinpare  Jer.  vi.  26.  "  Daugh- 
ter of  my  people, — wallow  thyself  in  ashes."  "  I  am 
but  dust  and  ashes,"  said  Abraham  to  the  Lord; 
(Gen.  xviii.  27.)  indicating  his  deep  sense  of  his  own 
meanness  in  comparison  with  God.  God  threatens 
to  shower  down  dust  and  ashes  on  the  lands  instead 
of  rain  ;  (Dent,  xxviii.  24.)  thereby  to  make  them 
barren  instead  of  blessing  them.  (See  Rain.)  The 
Psalmist,  in  gi-cat  sorrow,  says,  poetically,  that  he 
had  "  eaten  ashes,"  Ps.  cii.  9.  He  sat  on  ashes,  and 
threw  them  on  his  head  ;  his  food  was  sprinkled 
with  the  ashes  wherewith  he  was  himself  covered. 
So  Jeremiah  (Lam.  iii.  16.)  introduces  Jerusalem, 
saying,  "  The  Lord  hath  covered  me  with  ashes." 
There  was  a  sort  of  ley  and  lustral  water,  made  with 
the  ASHES  of  the  heifer,  sacrificed  on  the  great  day 
of  expiation  ;  these  ashes  were  distributed  to  the 
people,  and  used  in  purifications,  by  sprinkling,  to 
such  as  had  touched  a  dead  body,  or  been  present  at 
funerals.  Numb.  xix.  17. 

The  ancient  Persians  had  a  punishment  which 
consisted  in  executing  certain  criminals  by  stifling 
them  in  ashes.  (V^alerius  Maximus,  fib.  ix.  cap.  2.) 
Thus  the  wicked  Menelaus  was  despatched,  who 
caused  the  troubles  which  had  disquieted  Judea ; 
(2  Mace.  xiii.  5,  6.)  being  thrown  headlong  into  a 
tower,  fifty  cubits  deep,  which  was  filled  with  ashes 
to  a  certain  height.  The  action  of  the  criminal  to 
disengage  himself,  plunged  him  still  deeper  in  the 
whirling  ashes  ;  and  this  agitation  was  increased  by 
a  wheel,  which  kept  them  in  continual  movement, 
till  he  was  entirely  stifled. 

ASIIIMA,  a  deity  of  very  uncertain  origin, 
adored  by  the  men  of  Hamath,  who  were  settled  in 
Samaria,  2  Kings  xvii.  30.  Some  of  the  rabbins 
say,  that  Ashima  had  the  shape  of  an  ape  ;  others 
that  of  a  lamb,  a  goat,  or  a  satyr.  (Selden,  de  Diis 
Si/r.  Syntag7n.  ii.  cap.  9.  et  Additiones  And.  Beyr, 
ibidem.)  They  who  think  this  divinity  was  an  ape 
seem  to  have  had  regard  to  the  sound  of  the  word 
Sima,  which  lias  some  relaticm  to  the  Greek  word 
for  an  a|)e,  .SVnim ;  but  the  Hebrews  have  another 
word  for  an  ajx",  Levit.  xvii.  7.  Both  llie  ape  and 
the  goat  were  worshipjied  in  I'lgypt,  and  in  the  East. 
(Diodor.  Sicul.  lib.  i.  Basnage,  Antici.  Jud.  torn.  i.  p 
1!>0.) — The  name  Asliima  may  very  well  be  com- 
pared with  the  Pi-rsian  nsuman,  heaven  ;  in  Zend, 
acmano ;  so  (Jcsr^iius,  in  his  Manual  Lex.  1832. 
This,  also,  according  to  the  magi,  is  the  name  of  the 
angel  of  deatb,  who  separates  the  souls  of  men  from 
their  l)odii's,  and  also  presides  over  the  27th  day  of 
every  solar  month  in  the  Persian  year  ;  which,  there- 
fore, is  called  by  his  name.  (I)'Herbelot,  Bibl.  Orient, 
p.  141.) — It  may  be  further  observed,  that  these  pec- 


oies  all  the  rest  of 
nor  contained  the 
alalia,  Cappadocia, 
lia,  Phi-ygia,  Mysia, 
d  in  the  New  Tcs- 
— which  are  soine- 
a,  Doris,  and  Lycia. 
jn  m  their  larger 
Doris — Mysia  and 
gia  Minor,  formed 
h  has  been  thought 
•ipture  Asia.  But, 
ident  that  Mysia, 
ed  by  the  sacred 
the  Asia  so  called 
re  reasonably  sup- 
'estament,  is  to  be 
Minor,  as  Acts  xix. 
:;.  or  (2.)  only  pro- 
fonia,  or  the  whole 
,vas  the  capital,  and 
.  xiv.)  thus  in  Acts 

i.  15 ;  1  Pet.  i.  1  ; 
)roconsular  Asia  as 
ygia,  Mysia,  Caria, 

Fam.  ii.  15.)  R. 
•ipes,  as  they  are 
16  Acts,  (chap.  xix. 
1,"  Eng.  tr.) — were 
xa  provinces  of  the 
lected  from  among 
ide  over  the  things 
id  to  exhibit  annual 
ts,  at  their  o^vn  ex- 
the  manner  of  the 
received  their  titles 
{  belonged,  as  Syr- 
'ariarch,eU\  and,  of 
y  were  called  Asi- 

annual,   and  was 

At  the  beginning 
lal  equinoXjthe  sev- 
c  assembly,  in  order 
is  Asiarch.  A  per- 
^ouncil  of  the  prov- 
[  cities,  as  Ephesus, 
sly  announced  the 
eeu  selected.  From 
the  different  cities, 
id  from   these  the 

to  preside  over  all 
vorsliip  of  the  gods, 
ed  .Isiarch  ;  while 
eld  the  office,  still 
t  was  also  borne  by 
^  designated  by  the 
agues  and  advisers 
;e  of  residence  was 
'yzicus,  or  at  any 
,vas  held.  See  on 
ond,  Poli  Synops. 
R. 

h  games  at  Ephe- 
for  Paul,  restrained 
)sed,  in  the  theatre, 
)emetrius,  the  gold- 
sus.  The  Asiarchs 
;ligion  whose  games 
lartyrdom  of  Poly- 
e  afterAvards  called 
t  out  a  lion  against 


3 


A  SI 


[  107  ] 


AS  I 


pie  came  from  Hamatli,  or  Emesa,  a  city  of  Syria, 
on  the  river  Orontes ;  and  we  I'ead,  in  Herodian,  that 
the  sun  was  adored  in  this  city,  under  the  name  of 
Elah- Gabalah ;  whence  the  emperor  Heliogal)akis 
took  liis  name.  The  god,  Elagabal,  was  represented 
by  a  large  stone,  round  at  the  bottom,  which,  rising 
insensibly  to  a  point,  terminated  in  a  conic  or  pyram- 
idal figure.  His  worship  became  celebrated  at 
Rome,  from  the  time  of  Heliogabalus,  who  caused  a 
magnificent  temple  to  be  erected  to  him.  Around 
this  temple  were  several  altars,  on  which  hecatombs 
ofbiUls,  and  great  numbers  of  sheep,  were  sacrificed 
every  morning,  and  abundance  of  excellent  wine  and 
spices  jwured  out. 

ASHCHEx\AZ,  (Jer.  h.  27.)  and  ASHKENAZ, 
(Gen.  X.  3.)  proper  name  of  a  son  of  Gomei-,  and  of 
a  tribe  of  his  descendants.  In  Jeremiah,  this  tribe  is 
mentioned  as  one  of  those  that  shall  execute  the  di- 
vine judgments  upon  Babylon,  and  is  placed  together 
with  Ararat  and  Minni,  provinces  of  Armenia. 
Hence  the  conjecture  is  not  improbable,  that  Ashke- 
naz  itself  was  also  a  tribe  and  province  of  Ar- 
menia ;  or,  at  least,  lay  not  fai'  from  it,  near  the  Cau- 
casus, or  towards  the  Black  sea.  Further  than  tliis 
we  can  have  no  data.  See  Rosenmueller,  Bib.  Geog. 
I.  i.  238.     R. 

ASHNAH,  a  city  of  Judah,  Josh.  xv.  33. 

ASHPENAZ,  iutendant,  or  governor  of  king  Neb- 
uchadnezzar's eunuchs,  who  changed  the  name  of 
Daniel  and  his  companions,  Dan.  i.  3. 

ASHTAROTH,  see  Astaroth. 

ASHUR,  a  son  of  Shem,  who  gave  name  to  As- 
syria. It  is  believed,  that  he  dwelt  originally  in  the 
land  of  Shinar,  and  al)Out  Babylonia;  but  was  com- 
pelled by  Nimrod  to  remove  thence,  higher  towai-ds 
the  springs  of  the  Tigris,  in  the  province  of  Assyria, 
where  he  built  Nineveh,  Rehoboth,  Calah,  and 
Resen.  This  is  the  sense  sometmies  given  to  Gen.  x. 
11, 12 :  "  Out  of  that  land  (Shinar)  went  forth  Ashur, 
and  builded  Nineveh,"  &c.  But  others  understand 
it  to  speak  of  Nimrod,  who  left  his  own  coimtry,  and 
attacked  Assyria,  which  he  overcame,  built  Nineveh, 
and  here  established  the  seat  of  his  empire.  The 
prophet  Micali  (chap.  v.  6.)  calls  Assyria  the  land  of 
Nuurod.  (See  Bochart,  in  Phaleg,  lib.  iv.  cap.  12.) 
See  Assyria. 

ASIA.  The  ancient  Hebrews  were  strangers  to 
the  division  of  the  earth  into  parts  or  quarters;  and 
hence  we  never  find  the  word  Asia  in  any  Hebrew 
book.  It  occurs  only  in  the  books  of  the  Maccabees, 
and  in  the  New  Testament. 


ated 


Asia  is  separated  from  Europe  by  the  Tanais  or 
Don,  the  Euxuie,  ^gean,  and  Mediterranean  seas  ; 
the  Red  sea  and  isthmus  of  Suez  divide  it  from  Africa. 
This  part  of  the  globe  is  regarded  as  having  been  the 
most  favored.  Here  the  first  man  was  created  ;  here 
tlie  patriarchs  lived  ;  here  the  law  was  given  ;  here 
the  greatest  and  most  celebrated  monarchies  were 
formed ;  and  from  hence  the  first  founders  of  cities 
and  nations  in  other  parts  of  the  world  conducted 
their  colonies.  In  Asia,  our  blessed  Redeemer  ap- 
peared, ^%Tought  salvation  for  mankind,  died,  and 
rose  again  ;  and  from  hence  the  light  of  the  gospel 
has  been  diffused  over  the  world.  Laws,  arts,  sci- 
ences, and  rehgions,  almost  all  have  had  their  origin  in 
Asia.  The  soil  is  fruitful,  and  abounds  with  all  the 
luxuries  as  well  as  necessaries  of  life. 

Asia  was  generally  divided  into  Major  and  Minor. 
Asia  Minor  was  a  large  eountrv,  (Acts  xix.  10.)  lying 
between  the  Euxine  or  Black  sea  northward, "and 
the  Mediterranean  southward.  It  is  now  called  Ana- 


tolia, or  Aatolia.  Asia  Major  denotes  all  the  rest  of 
the  Asiatic  continent.  Asia  Minor  contained  the 
provinces  of  Bithynia,  Pontus,  Galatia,  Cappadocia, 
Cihcia,  Pamphyha,  Pisidia,  Lycaonia,  Phrj  gia,  Mysia, 
Troas — all  of  which  are  mentioned  in  the  New  Tes- 
tament ; — Lydia,  Ionia,  andiEolis — which  are  some- 
times includeil  under  Lydia — Caria,  Doris,  and  Lycia. 
Of  these,  Lydia  and  Caria — taken  in  their  larger 
acceptations,  the  latter  including  Doris — ^lysia  and 
Phrj  gia,  including  Troas  or  Plirygia  jNIinor,  formed 
the  Roman  proconsular  Asia,  which  has  been  thought 
by  some  to  be  the  same  as  the  Scripture  Asia.  But, 
as  Dr.  ^\'clls  remarks,  it  is  evident  that  3Iysia, 
Phrygia,  and  Troas,  are  reckoned  by  the  sacred 
writer  as  distinct  provinces  from  the  Asia  so  called 
in  Scripture.  [It  is  therefore  more  reasonably  sup- 
posed, that  by  Asia,  in  the  New  Testament,  is  to  be 
understood,  (1.)  the  whole  of  Asia  Minor,  as  Acts  xix. 
20,  27 ;  XX.  4,  16,  18  ;  xxvii.  2,  &c.  or  (2.)  only  pro- 
consular Asia,  i.  e.  the  region  of  Ionia,  or  the  whole 
Avestern  coast,  of  which  Ephesus  was  the  capital,  and 
which  Strabo  also  calls  Asia;  (lib.  xiv.)  thus  in  Acts 
ii.  9 ;  A-i.  9 ;  xix.  10,  22  ;  2  Tim.  i.  15 ;  1  Pet.  i.  1  ; 
Rev.  i.  4,  11.  Cicero  speaks  of  proconsular  Asia  as 
containing  the  provinces  of  Phiygia,  Mysia,  Caria, 
and  Lydia.     (Pro.  Place.  27.   Ep.  Fam.  ii.  15.)    R. 

ASIARCH^^,  or  tisifs  Principes,  as  they  are 
called  in  the  Latin  version  of  the  Acts,  (chap.  xix. 
31,  "Certain  of  the  chief  of  Asia,"  Eng.  tr.)— were 
high-priests  of  Asia.  [In  the  eastern  provinces  of  the 
Roman  empire,  persons  were  selected  from  among 
the  more  opulent  citizens,  to  preside  over  the  things 
pertaining  to  religious  worship,  and  to  exhil)it  annual 
games  and  theatrical  amusements,  at  their  own  ex- 
pense, in  Iionor  of  the  gods,  m  the  manner  of  the 
sediles  at  Rome.  These  officers  received  their  titles 
from  the  province  to  which  they  belonged,  as  Syr- 
iarch,  (2  IMacc.  xii.  2.)  Lyciurch,  Cariarch,etc.  and,  of 
com-se,  in  proconsular  Asia,  they  were  called  ^st- 
arcJis.  Their  appointment  was  annual,  and  was 
made  in  the  following  manner :  At  the  beguaniug 
of  each  year,  i.  e.  about  the  autumnal  equinox,the  sev- 
eral cities  of  Asia  held  each  a  public  assembly,  in  order 
to  nominate  one  of  their  citizens  as  Asiarch.  A  per- 
son was  tlien  sent  to  the  general  council  of  the  prov- 
ince, at  some  one  of  the  principal  cities,  as  Ephesus, 
Smyrna,  Sardis,  etc.  who  publicly  announced  the 
name  of  the  individual  who  had  been  selected.  From 
the  persons  thus  nominated  by  the  different  cities, 
the  council  designated  ten ;  and  from  these  the 
Roman  j)roconsid  a])i)ointcd  one  to  j)reside  over  all 
that  pertained  to  the  honor  and  worship  of  the  gods. 
This  person  was  especially  called  Asiarch  ;  wliile 
those,  also,  who  had  formerly  held  the  office,  still 
retained  tiie  name  ;  or  perhaps  it  was  also  borne  by 
the  other  nine  persons  who  were  designated  by  the 
council,  and  who  were  the  colleagues  and  advisers 
of  the  chief  ./?5i'a?r/i.  Their  place  of  residence  was 
at  Ephesus,  Smyrna,  Sardis,  Cyzicus,  or  at  any 
other  city  where  the  council  was  held.  See  on 
Acts  xix.  31,  Kuinoel,  Hammond,  Poli  Synops. 
Also  Winer.  Bib.  Realw.  p.  61.     R. 

These  chiefs,  then  holding  such  games  at  Ephe- 
sus, out  of  friendly  consideration  for  Paul,  restrained 
him  from  appearing,  as  he  proposed,  in  the  theatre, 
during  the  sedition  raised  by  Demetrius,  the  gold- 
smith, respecting  Diana  of  Ephesus.  The  Asiarchs 
were  fre(]uently  priests  of  the  reUgion  whose  games 
they  celebrated :  thus,  in  the  martyrdom  of  Poly- 
carj),  Philip  the  Asiarch  (a  httle  afterwards  called 
the  high-priest)  is  solicited  to   let  out  a  lion  against 


ASK 


[  lOS 


AST 


Polycaip,  Avhich  he  declares  he  could  not  do,  because 
that  kuid  of  spectacle  was  over.  These  Asiarchs 
should  by  no  means  be  confounded  with  the  archou, 
or  chief  magistrate  of  Ephesus :  for  they  were  rep- 
resentatives, not  of  a  single  city,  luit  of  numy  cities 
united.  Tlie  dignity  wa5  great ;  but  the  expense 
also  was  gi-eat ;  so  that  only  men  of  wealtJi  could 
uniertake  it.  Hence  we  find  Aristides  exerting  him- 
seh'  strenuously  to  be  discharged  from  this  costly 
office,  to  wliich  he  had  been  three  or  four  times 
nominated.  This  notion  of  tlie  Asiarchs  is  con- 
firmed by  a  medal  of  Rhodes,  struck  under  Hadrian, 
on  the  reverse  of  which  we  read,  '*a  coin  struck  in 
common  by  thirteen  cities,  in  honor  of  the  magis- 
trate of  Rhodes,  Claudio  Fronto,  Asiarch  and  high- 
priest  of  the  thirteen  cities." 

The  consideration  of  these  Asiarchs  for  the  apos- 
tle Paul,  during  the  tumult,  is  not  only  extremely 
honorable  to  his  character,  and  to  theirs,  but  is  also 
a  strong  confirmation  of  the  remark  made  by  the 
evangelist,  (ver.  10.)  that  "all  they  who  dwelt  in 
Asia  heard  the  word  of  the  Lord,  both  Jews  and 
Greeks."  It  shows  also  in  ^^■hat  hght  the  tumult  of 
Demetrius  was  beheld,  since  he  took  especial  care 
to  observe  that  "  all  Asia"  worshipped  their  goddess. 
Yet  were  the  very  Asiarchs,  now  engaged  in  this 
worship,  intent  on  saving  the  man  whom  Deme- 
trius represented  as  its  most  formidable  enemy. 
Though  tliere  was,  properly  speaking,  only  one 
Asiarch  at  a  tune,  yet  those  v.ho  had  passed  through 
the  office  retained  the  title ;  for  which  reason  tliey 
are  mentioned  in  the  plural  by  the  evangelist. 

ASKELOX,  a  citj-  in  the  laud  of  the  Phihstines, 
between  Ashdod  and  Gaza,  on  the  coast  of  the  ^led- 
iterranean.  After  the  death  of  Joshua,  the  tribe  of 
Jiidsdi  took  Askelon ;  but  it  subsequently  became 
one  of  the  fi\  e  govermnents  belonging  to  the  PliiUs- 
tines,  Judges  i.  11.  [The  prophets"  Amos,  (i.  8.) 
Zephaniah,  (ii.  4.)  and  Jeremiah  (xlvii.  5, 7.)  announce 
destruction  to  it,  as  also  to  the  other  cities  of  the 
Philistines.  In  the  fourth  century,  Askelon,  like 
Ashdod,  became  the  seat  of  a  bishop;  and  remained 
till  the  middle  of  the  seventh  century,  when  the 
Arabs  took  possession  of  Palestine.  Tlie  cit}-  under- 
went various  fortunes  during  the  crusades,  till  at 
length  it  was  razed,  by  the  labors  of  Christians  and 
Mussulmans  in  common,  ui  accordance  vr\xh  the 
treaty  between  Richard  and  Saladin,  A.  D.  119*2. 
Since  that  time,  this  fonnerly  opulent,  splendid,  and 
strong  city,  has  remained  a  desolate  heap  of  ruins. 
Dr.  Richardson  thus  describes  its  present  state : 
"  Askelon  was  one  of  tlie  proudest  satrapies  of  the 
Phihstines ;  now  Uiere  is  not  an  hihabitaut  within  its 
walls :  and  the  prophecy  of  Zechariah  is  fulfilled, 
'The  king  shall  perish  from  Gaza,  and  Askelon 
.shall  not  be  inhabited,'  Zech.  ix.  (J.  When  tlie 
propiiecy  was  uttered,  both  cities  were  in  an  equally 
flourishing  condition,  and  nothing  but  the  prescience 
of  Heaven  could  pronounce  on  wjiich  of  the  two, 
and  in  what  manner,  the  vial  of  his  wrath  should 
thus  l>e  poured  out.  Gaza  is  truly  without  a  khig. 
The  lofty  towers  of  Askelon  lie  scattered  on  the 
ground,  and  the  ruins  witliin  its  walls  do  not  shelter 
a  human  lK>ing.  How  is  the  wrath  of  man  made  to 
praise  his  Creator!" 

The  ancients  mention  the  wine  of  Askelon   with 


m 

name 


applause ;  as  also  the  onions,  whii-h  grew  here 
abundance.  (Pliny,  H.  \.  xix.  tj.]  Indeed,  the  na 
shalot,  Fr.  echalotte,  Ital.  scaloscnw,  seems  to  be  cor- 
rupted out  of  .isralonin,  it  l>oing  properly  the  allium 
^^scalonirxtin.      According    to   an   auci-nt  tradition, 


Derceto,  the  mother  of  the  Babylonish  queen  Semi- 
ramis,  cast  herself  headlong  into  a  lake  in  the  ^^cin- 
ity  of  this  cit}',  in  order  to  preserve  her  honor  from 
a  young  man  who  was  pursuing  her :  and  was  there 
trajisformed  into  a  fish.  On  this  account,  the  SjtI- 
ans  ate  no  fish  ;  and  worshijiped  Derceto  as  a  god- 
dess in  the  form  of  a  fish  with  the  head  of  a  woman. 
This  same  divinity,  probably  the  emblem  of  the 
prohfic  powers  of  nature,  the  Greeks  seem  to  have 
adored  as  the  heavenly  Venus.  At  least  diis  latter 
had  a  temple  at  Askelon,  which  was  plundered  of  its 
riches  by  the  Scytliians.  (Herodot.  i.  10.5.)  Com- 
pare the  article  Dagox. 

Askelon  was  the  birthplace  of  Herod  the  Great, 
and  of  several  distingiushed  Mussulmans.     *R. 

AS3I0DEUS,  or  Asmodi,  an  e\i.\  spirit,  mentioned 
in  the  apocryphal  book  Tobit,  as  having  beset  Seu-ah, 
the  daughter  of  Raguel,  and  killed  her  seven  fi.rst 
husbands,  whom  she  had  married  before  Tobit.  (iii. 
8  ;  vi.  14  ;  viii.  2,  3.)  The  rabbins  have  various 
legends  respecting  this  spirit.  He  is  properly  the  same 
as  .ishmadai,  and  also  .ibaddon,  and,  therefore,  the 
same  as  the  Greek  .Ipollyon,  i.  e.  the  angel  of  death. 

AS3IONEAXS,  a  name  given  to  the  3Iaccabees, 
descendants  of  Mattathias,  who  was,  according  to 
Josephus,  (-\ntiq.  lil).  xii.  cap.  8.)  the  great-grandson 
ofAsmonaeus.  The  family  of  the  Asmonaeans  be- 
came ven,-  illustrious  in  the  later  times  of  the  He- 
brew connnonwealth :  it  was  the  support  of  the 
rehgion  and  libem^  of  the  Jews  ;  and  possessed  the 
supreme  authority,  from  Mattathias  to  Herod  the 
Great.  See  Maccabees.  It  is  no  where  said 
whether  the  Asmonaeans  were  of  the  race  of  Joze- 
deck,  in  whose  family  the  office  of  high-priest  con- 
tinued in  a  hneal  descent,  till  Alcimus  was  promoted 
to  that  dignity.  This  is  certain  of  the  Asmonaeans, 
that  they  were  of  the  course  of  Joarib,  which  was 
the  first  class  of  the  sons  of  Aaron  ;  and,  therefore, 
on  failure  of  the  former  pontifical  family,  (which  had 
now  happened  by  the  fiight  of  Onias,  son  of  Onias, 
into  Eg}  pt.)  they  had  the  best  right  to  succeed  to  that 
station.  Under  this  right  Jonathan  took  the  office, 
when  nominated  to  it  by  the  reigning  king  in  Syria : 
being  also  elected  thereto  by  the  general  sufirage  of 
the  people.     Prid.  Connect.  &c.  Part  II.  book  iv. 

ASXAPPER,  a  king  of  Assyria,  who  sent  the 
Cuthaeans  into  Israel,  Ezra  iv.  10.  IMany  think  this 
was  Salmaneser ;  but  others,  with  niore  probabilitj", 
think  it  was  Esar-haddon. 

ASP.  a  kind  of  serpent,  ^^  hose  poison  is  of  such  rapid 
operation,  that  it  kills  almost  the  instant  it  penetrates, 
without  a  possibility  of  remedy.  It  is  said  to  be  very 
small.  The  most  remarkable  mention  of  it  in  Scriptiu-e 
is  in  Psalm  Iviii.  4.  where  the  adder  or  asp  (;rc)  is  said 
to  "stoj)  its  ears,  that  it  may  not  hear  the  voice  of  the 
charmer."  This  is  supposed  by  Foi-skal  to  be  the  co- 
luber Baeiain,w'hoae  bite  causes  instant  death.  Some 
are  of  opinion  that  there  is  a  sort  of  asp  really  deaf. 
whi''h  is  the  most  dangerous  of  its  kind,  and  that  the 
Psalmist  here  speaks  of  this.  (Bochart,  de  Animal. 
Sacr.  Part  II.  lib.  iii.  cap.  G.)  Others  think  tliat  tlie 
asp,  when  old,  Ijecomes  deaf;  others,  that  it,  as  well 
as  other  serpents,  hears  exijuisitely  ^^  ell,  but  that, 
when  any  one  attempts  to  charm  it,  it  stops  its  ears, 
by  applying  one  very  close  to  the  earth,  and  stop- 
ping the  other  with  the  end  of  its  tail.  The  expres- 
sion is,  probably,  taken  from  actual  observation  of 
nature.  That  ser]>ents  are  overcome,  as  if  charmed, 
so  that,  while  they  would  bite  some  persons  with 
great  violence,  they  arc  haniiless  to  others,  is  .n 
known  fact:  but  the  mode  of  producing  this  etfcct 


ASS 


[  lO'J  ] 


ASS 


has  uot  yet  been  coinmujiicated  lo  European  travel- 
lers. A  Hottentot  informed  3Ir.  Taylor,  that  in  his 
country,  the  uaja,  or  hooded  snake,  was  charmed  by 
a  pecviliar  whistle,  which  he  repeated  several  times : 
but  from  his  description  of  the  attitude  and  situation 
of  the  creature,  as  hiding  itself  behind  rocks,  in  holes, 
&:c.  and  putting  out  its  head  from  its  retreat,  as  if 
to  listen,  he  could  conceive  no  idea  of  a  charm, 
strictly  so  called.  The  attention  of  the  creature 
seemed  to  be  excited  by  the  whistled  tune,  and  that 
instant  opportunity  was  taken  to  knock  him  on  the 
head.  But  if  there  bo  a  kind  of  asj),  over  which 
such  a  whistle,  &c.  has  no  power  to  excite  his  atten- 
tion, but  he  steadily  keeps  himself  safe  within  his 
hole  of  concealment,  this  may  coincide  with  the 
Psalmist's  idea,  and  justify  the  expression  used  by 
him.  Such  a  serpent,  so  hid  in  the  cleft  of  a  rock, 
may  look  at  his  enemy,  and  may  preserve  Imnself 
motionless  and  secure,  notwithstanding  everj'  art  to 
entice  him  from  his  hiding  place. 

[The  true  asp  of  the  ancients  seems  to  be  entirely 
unknown.  It  is  frequently  mentioned  bj'  ancient 
writers  ;  but  in  such  a  careless  and  indefinite  man- 
ner, that  it  is  impossible  to  ascertain  the  species  with 
precision.  Critics  are  still  undecided  with  respect 
to  the  species  by  which  Cleopatra  procured  her 
death  ;  and,  uideed,  whether  slie  was  bitten  or  stung 
at  all.  In  the  English  version,  the  word  is  uni- 
formly used  for  the  Heb.  jnc,  the  coluber  Badaen  of 
Forskal.  In  Rom.  iii.  14,  the  Greek  word  uo.Tlg  oc- 
cm-s,  and  it  is  also  used  by  the  Seventy  in  Ps.  cxl.  4. 
(3.)  where  it  is  for  the  Heb.  iiroy,  adder.     R. 

ASPHALTUS,  or  Jews'  Pitch,  bitumen,  a  gummy, 
inllanunable  mineral  substance,  with  a  smooth, 
shining  surface,  and  usually  of  a  dark  brown  color,  not 
unlike  common  pitch.  It  is  found  in  nature,  partly 
as  a  dry,  hard  fossil,  mingled  with  chalk,  marie, 
gj'psum,  or  slate  ;  and  partly  as  a  fluid,  tar-like  sub- 
stance, issuing  from  crevices  in  rocks,  and  from  the 
earth,  or  swinmiing  on  inland  lakes.  This  last  oc- 
curs most  frequently  on  the  Dead  sea;  compare 
Gen.  xiv.  10.  Tacitus  Hist. — The  ancients  used  this 
production,  among  other  things,  instead  of  mortar, 
and  the  walls  of  Babylon  were  cemented  by  it,  Gen. 
xi.  3.  In  the  neighborhood  of  Babylon  there  were 
abundant  springs  of  ai^phaltus,  at  the  i)lace  called  Is, 
or  Hit;  see  D'Herbelot,  Bib.  Orient,  art.  Hit.  It 
was  used  also  to  cover  Ijoats,  etc.  (Gen.  vi.  14 ; 
Ex.  ii.  2.)  and  was,  moreover,  much  employed  in  the 

1)reparation  of  medicines,  and  particularly  in  em- 
)alming  dead  bodies.  Joseph.  i\nt.  lib.  v.  de  Bello, 
cap.  iv.  sen  cap.  v.  in  Lat.  p.  892.  The  asphaltus  of 
the  Dead  sea,  which  rises,  at  i)articular  seasons,  from 
the  bottom  of  the  lake,  is  thought  to  be  superior  to 
every  other  kind.  The  Arabians  lish  for  it  diligently, 
or  gather  it  on  the  shore,  \\hither  the  wind  drives  it. 
It  is  shining,  dark,  heavy,  and  of  a  strong  smell 
when  burnt. 

ASPHAR,  a  lake  in  the  district  of  Tekoali,  (1  Mace, 
ix.  33.)  whicli  Cnlmet  takes  to  be  the  Dead  sea. 

I.  ASS,  an  animal  well  known  for  domestic  uses ; 
and  frequently  mentioned  in  Scripture.  People  of 
the  first  quality  in  Palestine  rode  on  asses.  Deborah, 
in  her  song,  describes  the  nobles  of  the  land  as  those 
trho  ride  on  tvhite  asses;  (Judg.  v.  10;  comp.  Bib. 
Repos.  i.  p.  588.)  Jair  of  Gilead  had  thirty  sons, 
\ylio  rode  on  as  many  asses,  and  commanded  in  thirty 
cities ;  (ib.  x.  4.)  and  Abdou,  one  of  the  judges  of  Israel, 
had  forty  sons  and  thirty  grandsons,  wlio  rode  on 
seventy  asses,  (Judg.  xii.  14;  comp.  2  Sam.  xvii. 
33.  etc.)      The  oriental  asses  are  not  to   be   com- 


pared with  those  of  northern  countries ;  but  ar6  ftr 
more  stately,  active,  and  lively.  Indeed  thev  were 
anciently,  as  still,  highly  ])rized ;  and  were  also  pre- 
ferred for  riding,  especially  the  she-asses,  on  account 
of  their  sure-footedness.  Hence  we  so  often  find 
mention  of  she-asses  alone. — The  ass  was  unclean 
by  the  law,  because  it  did  not  chew  the  cud.  To 
dra\v  with  an  ox  and  an  ass  together  was  prohibited. 
Lev.  xi.  26. 

We  read  in  Matt.  xxi.  4.  that,  in  order  to  accomplish 
a  prophecy  of  Zechariah,  (ix.  9.)  our  Saviour  rode  on 
an  ass  into  Jerusalem,  in  a  triumphant  manner.  This 
has  been  made  a  subject  of  ridicule  by  some  ;  but  we 
ought  to  consider,  not  only  that  the  gi-eatest  men  in 
Israel  rode  on  asses  anciently,  as  we  have  seen  above, 
but,  also,  that  God  had  thought  fit  absolutely  to  pro- 
hibit the  use  of  horses  and  of  chariots  for  war ; 
(Dent.  xvii.  10  ;  compare  Josh.  xi.  6.)  that  David  rode 
on  a  nmle,  and  ordered  Solomon  to  use  it  at  his  cor- 
onation ;  (1  Kings  i.  33,  34.)  that  aftei-Avards,  when 
Solomon  and  succeeding  princes  multiplied  horses, 
they  were  rebuked  for  it;  (Isaiah  ii.  6,  7;  xxxi.  1; 
Hosea  xiv.  3.)  and  that  the  removal  of  horses  is 
promised  in  the  days  of  the  Messiah,  Hosea  i.  7 ; 
Micah  v.- 10, 11 ;  Zech.  ix.  10.  So  that  on  the  whole 
we  find,  that  this  action  of  our  Lord  is  to  be  viewed 
not  merely  as  an  accomplishment  of  a  prophecy,  but 
also  as  a  revival  of  an  ancient  and  venerable  Hebrew 
custom.  An  imcertainty,  if  not  a  difficulty,  has  been 
started,  whether  to  adhere  to  the  opinion  of  Dr.  Dod- 
dridge, or  to  that  of  Mr.  Hervey,  in  respect  to  the 
kind  of  ass  on  which  our  Lord  rode  into  Jerusale«i. 
Dr.  Doddridge  observes,  that  the  eastern  assee  are 
larger  and  much  better  than  ours,  and  that  our 
Lord's  triumphant  entry  was  not  degraded  by  indig- 
nity ;  though  liumble,  it  was  not  mean.  Mr.  Hervey, 
on  the  contrary,  glories  in  va  hatever  of  meanness  and 
disrepute  attached  to  that  circumstance.  It  may, 
however,  be  remarked,  that  much  of  that  extreme 
meanness,  which  some  have  found  in  the  character 
and  situation  of  Jesus,  arises  from  their  imperfect 
acquaintance  with  local  customs  and  manners,  and 
is  greatly  diminished  on  closer  inspection  ;  for,  how- 
ever humble  might  be  his  appearance,  jet  it  was 
neither  vulgar  nor  mean.  How  far  the  following 
extracts  support  this  idea,  in  respect  to  the  kind  of  ass 
rode  by  our  I^ord  when  entering  Jerusalem,  is  left  to 
the  reader ;  but  this  is  uot  the  only  instance  in  which 
the  medium  is  safest  and  best.  Niebuhr  says,  "  Chrla- 
tiaus  cannot,  indeed,  repine  at  being  forbidden  to 
ride  on  horseback  in  the  streets  of  Cairo,  for  the  asses 
are  there  very  handsome;  and  are  used  for  riding,  by 
the  greater  part  of  the  Mahometans  ;  and  by  the  most  dis- 
tinguished women  of  the  country,"  p.  39.  (French  edition.) 
In  fact,  this  use  of  asses  is  general  in  the  East ;  and 
only  the  grandees  use  horee-s  in  the  cities.  This 
excepts  the  Arabs  of  the  countiy,  those  in  offices  of 
govermnent,  &c. 

In  the  gospel  is  mentioned  the  in'f.oc  unxoc.  (Matt. 
xviii.  6;  Mark  ix.  41.)  to  express  a  large  mill-stone, 
turned  by  asses,  heavier  than  that  turned  by  women, 
or  by  slaves.     See  Jahn's  Archseol.  §  138,  139. 

The  Jews  were  accused  by  the  pagans  of  wor- 
shipping the  head  of  an  ass.  Apion,  the  gi-ammariau, 
who  seems  to  have  been  the  author  of  this  slander, 
(Joseph,  lib.  ii.  contra  Apion,)  affirmed,  that  the  Jews 
kept  the  head  of  an  ass  in  the  sanctuary ;  that  it  was 
discovered  there  when  Antiochus  Epiphanes  took 
the  temple,  and  entered  into  the  most  holy  place. 
He  added,  that  one  Zabidus,  having  secretly  got  into 
the  temple,  carried  off  the  ass's  head,  and  conveyed 


ASS 


110  1 


ASS 


it  to  Dora.  Suidas  (in  Damocrito,  and  in  Juda)  says, 
that  Damocritus,  or  Deniocritiis,  the  historian,  aver- 
red that  the  Jews  adored  the  head  of  an  ass,  made 
of  gold ;  and  sacrificed  a  man  to  it  every  three,  or 
every  seven,  years,  after  having  cnt  him  in  i)ieces. 
Plutarch  (Symposia,  lib.  iv.  cap.  5.)  and  Tacitus, 
(Hist.  lib.  V.)  being  imposed  on  by  this  calumny,  re- 
port, that  the  Hebrews  adored  an  ass,  out  of  gratitude 
for  the  discovery  of  a  fountain  by  one  of  these  crea- 
tures in  the  wilderness,  at  a  time  when  the  army  of 
this  nation  was  parched  with  thirst,  and  extremely 
fatigued.  The  heathen  imputed  the  same  worship 
to  the  eai-ly  Christians  ;  and  Tcrtullian  (Apolog.  cap. 
16.)  reports,  that  certain  enemies  to  the  Christians 
exposed  to  public  view  a  picture,  wherein  was  rep- 
resented a  person  holding  a  book  in  his  hand,  dressed 
in  a  long  robe,  with  ass's  ears,  and  a  foot  like  an  ass, 
which  picture  was  inscribed,  "  The  God  of  the 
Christians  has  an  ass's  hoof."  Epiphanius,  (de  Haj- 
res.)  speaking  of  the  Gnostics,  says,  they  taught  that 
the  god  Sabaoth  had  the  shape  of  an  ass ;  but  that 
others  described  him  as  shaped  like  a  hog.  Learned 
men  who  have  endeavored  to  discover  the  origin  of 
this  slander,  are  divided  in  their  opinions.  The 
reason  which  Plutarch  and  Tacitus  give  for  it,  would 
be  the  most  plausible,  were  there  any  truth  in  the 
fact  on  which  they  ground  it.  But  nothing  in  the 
history  of  the  Jews  can  be  interpreted  to  favor  it. 
Tanaquil  Faber  has  attempted  to  prove,  that  this  ac- 
cusation proceeded  from  the  temple  in  Egypt,  called 
Onion,  after  Onias,  the  high-priest ;  (having  been 
built  by  him  at  Hehopolis,  B.  C.  150 ;)  as  if  this  name 
came  from  onos,  an  ass ;  which  is,  indeed,  a  plausi- 
ble conjecture.  Others  have  asserted,  that  the  mis- 
take of  the  heathen  proceeded  from  an  ambiguous 
mode  of  reading,  as  if  the  Greeks,  meaning  to  say 
that  the  Hebrews  adored  heaven,  Ouranon,  might  in 
abbreviation  write  Ounon  ;  whence  the  enemies  of 
the  Jews  concluded  that  they  worshipped  onos,  an 
ass.  Bochart  (de  Animal.  Sacr.  lib.  ii.  cap.  18.)  is 
of  opinion  that  the  eri'or  arose  from  an  expression 
of  Scripture:  (Isaiah  i.  20;  xl.  5;  Iviii,  14.)  "The 
mouth  of  the  Lord  hath  spoken  it ;"  in  the  Hebrew, 
Pi-Jehovah,  or  Pi-Jeo.  Now,  in  the  Egyptian  lan- 
guage, pieo  signifying  an  ass,  the  Alexandrian  Egyp- 
tians, hearing  the  Jews  often  pronounce  this  word 
pieo,  might  believe  that  they  called  on  their  god, 
and  thence  inferred  tliat  they  adored  an  ass.  But 
though  these  explications  are  ingenious,  they  are  not 
solid. — It  is  i)robablo  that  no  good  reason  can  be 
given  for  tlie  accusation,  which  might  have  arisen 
from  a  joke,  or  from  accident.  M.  Le  Moine  seems 
to  have  succeeded  best,  who  says,  that  in  all  jiroba- 
bility  the  golden  urn  containing  the  manna,  which 
was  preserved  in  the  sanctuary,  was  taken  for  tlu; 
head  of  an  ass;  and  that  the  omer  of  manna  might 
have  been  confounded  with  the  Hebrew  hamor, 
which  signifies  an  ass.     See  Assaro.v. 

II.  ASS  OF  Balaam.  In  the  article  Balaam, 
some  account  of  his  ass  may  be  seen.  Here  we 
shall  only  inquire,  whether  it  were  a  reality,  or  an  al- 
legory ;  an  imaiiiuation,  or  a  vision  of  Balaam.  Au- 
gustin,  with  the  greater  number  of  commentators, 
supposes  it  was  a  certain  fact,  and  takes  it  literally. 
(Qusest.  in  (ien.  48,  50.)  He  discovers  nothing  in 
the  whole  relation  more  surprising  than  the  stupidity 
of  Balaam,  who  heard  his  ass  speak  to  him,  and  who 
replied  to  it,  as  to  a  reasonaiiie  person  ;  and  adds,  as 
his  opinion,  that  God  did  not  give  tiie  ass  a  reasona- 
ble soul,  l)ut  permitted  it  to  pronounce  certain  wnnis, 
to  reprove  tiie  proj)het's  covcloi"<ness. 


Gregory  of  N^ssa  (in  Vita  Mosis)  seems  to  thmk, 
that  the  ass  did  not  utter  words ;  but  that  having 
brayed  as  usual,  or  a  little  more  thtm  usual,  the  di- 
viner, practised  in  drawing  presages  from  the  voices 
of  beasts,  and  of  birds,  easily  comprehended  the 
meaning  of  the  ass ;  and  that  Closes,  designing  to 
ridicule  this  superstitious  art  of  augury,  relates  the 
matter  as  if  the  ass  really  spoke  articulately.  (But 
see  2  Peter  ii.  16.)  Maimonides  asserts  the  whole 
dialogue  to  be  but  a  kind  of  fiction  and  allegory  ; 
whereby  Moses  relates  what  passed  only  in  Balaauj's 
imagination  as  real  history.  Philo,  in  his  life  of  Clo- 
ses, suppresses  it  entu'ely.  And  the  greater  part  of 
the  Jewish  authors  consider  it,  not  as  a  circumstance 
which  actually  took  place,  but  as  a  vision,  or  some 
similar  occurrence. 

Le  Clerc  solves  the  difficulty,  by  saying,  Balaam 
believed  in  the  transmigi-ation  of  souls,  passing  from 
one  body  into  another,  fi'om  a  man  into  a  beast, 
reciprocally  ;  and,  therefore,  he  was  not  surprised 
at  the  ass's  complaint,  but  conversed  with  it  as  if  it 
were  rational.  Others  have  imagined  different  ways 
of  solving  the  difficulties  of  this  history. 

In  considering  this  question,  Mr.  Taylor  assumes 
as  facts,  (1.)  That  Balaam  was  accustomed  to  au- 
gury and  presages,  (2.)  That  on  this  occasion  he 
would  notice  every  event  capable  of  such  interpret- 
ation, as  presages  were  supposed  to  indicate.  (3.) 
That  he  was  deeply  intent  on  the  issue  of  his  jour- 
ney. (4.)  That  the  whole  of  his  conduct  towards 
Balak  was  calculated  to  represent  himself  as  an  ex- 
traordinary personage.  (5.)  That  the  behavior  of 
the  ass  did  actually  prefigure  the  conduct  of  Ba- 
laam in  the  three  particulars  of  it  which  are  re- 
corded.— First,  the  ass  turned  aside,  and  went  into 
the  field ;  for  which  she  was  smitten,  punished,  re- 
proved :  so  Balaam,  on  the  first  of  his  i)erverse 
attempts  to  curse  Israel,  was,  as  it  were,  smitten, 
reproved,  j)unished,  (1.)  by  God,  (2.)  by  Balak.  The 
second  time  the  ass  was  more  harshly  treated  for 
hurting  Balaam's  foot  against  the  wall :  so  Balaam, 
for  his  second  attempt,  was,  no  doubt,  still  further 
mortified.  Thirdly,  the  ass,  seeing  inevitable  danger, 
fell  down  and  was  smitten  severely :  in  like  manner 
Balaam,  the  third  time,  was  overruled  by  God,  to 
speak  truth,  to  his  own  disgrace ;  and  esca))ed,  not 
without  hazard  of  his  life,  from  the  anger  of  Balak. 
Nevertheless,  as  Balaam  had  no  sword  in  his  hand, 
though  he  wished  for  one,  with  which  to  slay  his 
ass,  so  Balak,  notwithstanding  his  fury,  and  his 
seeming  inclination,  had  no  power  to  destroy  Balaam. 
In  short,  as  the  ass  was  opposed  by  the  angel,  but 
was  driven  forward  liy  Balaam,  so  Balaam  was  op- 
posed by  God,  but  was  driven  forward  by  Balak, 
against  his  better  knowledge.  Were  we  sure  that 
Balaam  wrote  this  narrative,  and  that  Moses  cojiied 
it,  as  the  rabbins  aflSrm,  (see  Balaam,)  this  view  of 
the  subject  wovdd  remove  the  difficulties  which  have 
been  raised  about  it.  It  might  then  be  entitled  "  a 
specimen  of  Balaam's  augury." 

III.  ASS,  Wild.  This  animal,  which  was  for- 
merly well  known  in  the  East,  and  is  frequently 
mentioned  in  Scripture,  is  a  much  handsomer  and 
more  dignified  animal  than  the  common  ass.  It  is 
called  N-io,  para,  by  the  Hebrews,  and  nyuyQo;:.  orojia- 
f^er,  i»y  the  Greeks.  That  the  wild  ass  was  known 
an(l  valued  for  its  mettle,  appears  from  a  passage  in 
Herodotus,  (Pol.  86.)  where  that  writer  says,  "The 
Indian  horse  were  well  armed  like  their  foot:  but, 
beside  led  horses,  they  had  chariots  of  war,  drawn 
bv  horses  and  wild  assis."     The  reference  of  theise 


ASS 


[  111  ] 


ASS 


aiiinials  to  the  troops  of  India  (a  j)roviuce  at  the  head 
of  the  Indus,  not  our  Hindoostan)  deserves  attention  ; 
because  the  troops  of  the  onager  are  said  by  GjneUn 
to  "  return  towards  India,  where  they  winter."  Aris- 
totle (Hist.  hb.  vi.  cap.  36.)  mentions  the  wild  ass, 
which  is  said  to  exceed  horses  in  swiftness ;  and 
Xenophon  says  (Cyrop.  lib.  i.)  that  he  has  long  legs, 
is  very  rapid  in  running,  swift  as  a  Avhirlwind,  hav- 
ing strong  and  stout  hoofs.  ^Eiian  says  the  same ; 
but  that  he  may  be  tired,  and  when  taken,  is  so  gen- 
tle that  he  may  easily  be  led  about.  Martial  gives 
the  epithet  "  handsome"  to  the  wild  ass — "  Pulcher 
adest  onager;"  (hb.  xiii.  Epig.  100.)  and  Oppiau 
describes  it  as  "  handsome,  large,  vigorous,  of  stately 
gait,  and  his  coat  of  a  silvery  color,  having  a  black 
band  along  the  spine  of  his  back  ;  and  on  his  flanks 
patches  as  white  as  snow."  Mr.  Morier  says,  "  We 
gave  chase  to  two  Avild  asses,  which  had  so  much 
the  speed  of  our  horses,  that  when  they  had  got  at 
some  distance,  they  stood  still  and  looked  behind  at  us, 
snorting  with  their  noses  in  the  air,  as  if  in  conteinpt 
of  our  endeavors  to  catch  them."  (Second  Journey 
in  Persia,  p.  200.)  The  latest  traveller  who  has  de- 
scribed the  onager  is  Sir  R.  K.  Porter,  in  his  "  Trav- 
els in  Persia,"  who  also  gives  a  figure  of  the  animal. 
The  mode  of  hunting  it  is,  as  it  was  in  Xenophon's 
time,  by  means  of  several  horses  relieving  each 
other,  till  the  onager  is  completely  tired.  The  color 
of  Sir  Robert's  figure  is  a  bright  jjay. 

[These  animals  inhabit  the  dry  and  mountainous 
parts  of  the  deserts  of  Great  Tartary,  but  not  higher 
than  about  lat.  48°.  They  are  migratory,  and  arrive 
in  vast  troops  to  feed  during  the  summer,  in  the 
tracts  to  the  east  and  north  of  the  sea  of  Aral.  About 
autiunn  they  collect  in  herds  of  hundreds,  and  even 
thousands,  and  direct  their  course  southward  towards 
India,  to  enjoy  a  warm  retreat  during  winter.  But 
they  more  usually  retire  to  Persia,  where  they  are 
found  in  the  mountains  of  Casbin,  and  where  part 
of  them  remain  the  whole  year.  They  are  also  said 
to  penetrate  even  to  the  southern  parts  of  India,  to 
the  mountains  of  Malabar  and  Golconda. — These 
animals  were  anciently  found  in  Palestine,  Syria, 
Arabia  Deserta,  Mesopotamia,  Phrygia,  and  Lycao- 
nia ;  but  they  rarely  occur  in  those  regions  at  the 
present  time ;  and  seem  to  be  almost  entirely  con- 
fined to  Tartary,  some  parts  of  Persia  and  India,  and 
Africa. — Their  manners  greatly  resemble  those  of 
the  wild  horse.  They  assemble  in  troops  under  the 
conduct  of  a  leader  or  sentinel ;  and  are  extremely 
shy  and  vigilant.  They  will,  however,  stop  in  the 
midst  of  their  course,  and  even  sufl^er  the  approach 
of  man  for  an  instant,  and  then  dart  off"  with  the  ut- 
most rapidity.  They  have  been  at  all  times  celebrated 
for  their  swiftness.  Their  voice  resembles  that  of 
the  common  ass,  but  is  shriller. 

The  Persians  catch  these  animals  alive  for  the 
sake  of  domesticating  them,  or  improving  the  breed 
of  tame  asses.  The  breed  of  asses  in  such  high  es- 
teeni  in  the  East,  is  produced  by  crossing  the  tame 
kind  with  the  ass  tluis  reclaimed  from  a  state  of 
wildness. — These  facts  rest  principally  on  the  au- 
thority of  the  Russian  professors  Pallas  and  Gme- 
lin.     »R. 

It  is  to  professor  Gmelin,  however,  who  brought 
a  female  and  a  colt  from  Tartary  to  St.  Petcrs!)urgh, 
that  we  are  principally  indebted  for  our  acquaintance 
with  the  wild  ass.  The  female,  which  had  been 
caught  when  very  young,  though  of  small  stature, 
and  probably  stinted  in  growth  by  its  captivity,  and 
by  want  of  suitable  food,  travelled  from  Astracan  to 


Moscow  (1400  werstes)  with  the  ordinary  post,  with- 
out any  other  repose  than  that  of  a  few  nights  ;  she 
also  travelled  from  Moscow  to  Petersburgh  (730 
werstes,)  and  did  not  seem  to  have  suffered  by  the 
journey ;  though  she  died  in  the  autumn  following, 
apparently  from  the  effect  of  the  hei'bage  of  a 
marshy  soil,  and  the  cold  and  humidity  of  so  north- 
ern a  climate.  She  had  nothing  of  the  dulness  and 
stupidity  of  the  conunon  ass.  "I  remarked  that  she 
often  passed  two  days  without  drinking,  especially 
in  moist  weather,  or  when  very  heavy  dews  fell. 
She  also  preferred  brackish  water  to  fresh ;  and 
never  drank  of  what  was  troubled.  She  loved  bread 
sprinkled  with  salt,  and  sometimes  would  eat  a  hand- 
ful of  salt.  I  was  told,  that  when  at  Derbent,  she 
always  ran  to  drink  of  the  Caspian  sea,  though  fresh 
water  was  nearer  to  her.  She  also  selected  plants 
impregnated  with  sahne  particles  ...  or  those  of 
bitter  juices.  She  loved  raw  cucumbers ;  and  some 
herbs,  which  she  refused  when  green,  pleased  her 
when  dried.  She  would  not  touch  odoriferous  or 
marsh  plants,  nor  even  thistles.  I  was  informed  that 
the  Persians,  when  taming  the  young  onagers,  feed 
them  with  rice,  barley,  straw,  and  bread.  Our  ani- 
mal was  extremely  familiar,  and  followed  persons 
who  took  care  of  her,  freely,  and  with  a  kind  of  at- 
tachment. The  smell  of  bread  strongly  attracted 
her ;  but,  if  any  attempt  was  made  to  lead  her  against 
her  will,  she  showed  all  the  obstinacy  of  the  ass : 
neither  would  she  suflfer  herself  to  be  approached 
behind,  and  if  touched  by  a  stick,  or  by  the  hand, 
on  her  hinder  parts,  she  would  kick  ;  and  this  action 
was  accompanied  by  a  slight  grumbling,  as  express- 
ive of  complaint.  The  male  onager,  which  was 
bought  at  the  same  time  as  the  female,  but  which 
died  in  the  voyage  from  Derbent  to  Astracan,  was 
larger  and  less  docile.  His  length  from  the  nape  of 
the  neck  to  the  origin  of  his  tail  was  five  feet ;  his 
height  in  front,  four  feet  four  inches ;  behind,  four 
feet  seven  inches ;  his  head  two  feet  in  length  ;  his 
ears  one  foot ;  his  tail,  including  the  tuft  at  the  end, 
two  feet  three  inches.  He  was  more  robust  than  the 
female ;  and  had  a  bar  or  streak  crossing  at  his 
shoulders,  as  well  as  that  streak  which  runs  along 
the  back,  which  is  common  to  both  sexes.  Some 
Tartars  have  assured  me  that  they  have  seen  the 
cross-bar  double  in  some  males.  Our  onager  was 
higher  on  her  legs  than  the  common  ass ;  her  legs 
also  were  more  slender  than  those  of  the  ass ;  and 
she  resembled  a  young  filly :  she  could  also  scratch 
her  neck  and  head  easily  with  her  hind  foot.  She 
was  weak  on  her  fore  legs,  but  behind  she  could  very 
well  support  the  heaviest  man.  Notwithstanding  her 
state  of  exhaustion,  she  carried  her  head  higher  than 
the  ass,  her  ears  well  elevated,  and  showed  a  vivacity 
in  all  her  motions.  The  color  of  the  hair  on  the 
greater  part  of  the  body,  and  the  end  of  the  nose,  is 
silvery  white  ;  the  upper  part  of  the  head,  the  sides 
of  the  neck,  and  the  body,  are  flaxen,  or  pale  Isabella 
color.  The  mane  is  deep  brown ;  it  commences 
between  the  ears,  and  reaches  the  shoulders ;  its  hair 
is  soft,  woolly,  three  or  four  inches  long,  hke  the 
mane  of  a  young  filly.  The  coat  in  general,  espe- 
cially in  winter,  is  more  silky  and  softer  than  that  of 
horses,  and  resembles  that  of  a  camel.  The  Arabs, 
no  less  than  the  Tartars,  esteem  the  flesh  of  the  ona- 
ger ;  and  the  Arab  writers,  who  permit  the  eating  of 
its  flesh,  make  the  same  difference  between  this  ass 
and  the  domestic  ass,  as  the  Hebrews  did,  whose  law 
did  not  permit  the  coupling  of  the  onager  with  the 
she  ass,  as  being  of  different  kinds." 


ASS 


[  11'^  ] 


ASSYRIA 


ASSlDiEANS,  a  term  occurring  in  the  books  of 
the  Maccabees,  which  some  think  comes  from  the 
Hebrew  dm^h,  chasidim,  merciful,  pious.  Ecclesi- 
nsticus,  (ch.  xliv.  10.)  praising  the  greatest  men  of 
his  nation,  calls  them  "  merciful  men  ;"  which  is 
equivalent  to  Assidreans,  taken  in  this  sense.  Others 
maintain,  that  the  Assidaeans  are  the  same  as  the  Es- 
senians,  whose  manner  of  living  is  so  much  com- 
mended by  Joscphus,  Philo,  Pliny,  and  others ;  an 
opinion  which  seems  confirmed  by  1  Mace.  vii.  13. 
which  calls  the  Essenians  .Isdanim.  Others  have 
tliought  the  Assidaeans  were  afterwards  divided,  and 
produced  the  Sadducees  and  Pharisees.  Tlie  name 
of  Sadducees  signifies ^1/5/ ;  that  of  Pliarisees,  sepa- 
rated;  to  indicate  their  distinction  above  other  Jews, 
by  their  justice  and  sanctity.  The  members  of  the 
Jewish  church,  after  the  captivity,  wei-e  divided  into 
the  Zadikinu,  or  righteous,  who  observed  only  the. 
written  law  of  Moses  ;  and  the  Chasidim,  or  pious, 
who  supei-added  the  constitutions  and  traditions  of 
the  elders.  These  Chasidim  Prideaux  supposes  to 
be  the  Assidfeans,  or  Cliassidasans ;  the  Hebrew 
cheth,  answering  to  our  ch,  being  expressed  some- 
times in  Greek  by  an  aspirate  ;  in  Latin  sometnncs 
by  an  h;  and  sometimes  being  entirely  omitted,  as 
in  ^'lssid(vans.  Scaliger  supposed  the  Assida?ans  to 
!)e  a  confraternity  of  Jews,  whose  principal  devotion 
consisted  in  keeping  up  the  edifices  belonging  to  the 
temple  ;  and  who,  not  content  with  paying  the  com- 
mon tribute  of  half  a  shekel  a  head,  appointed  for 
temple  reparations,  voluntarily  imposed  on  them- 
selves other  taxes.  They  swore  b3'the  temple  ;  every 
day,  except  tlie  eleventh  of  Tizri,  they  offered  a 
lamb  in  sacrifice,  which  was  called  the  sin-offering 
of  the  Assidfeans ;  and  from  this  sect  sprung  the 
Pharisees,  who  produced  the  Essenians.  1  Mace.  ii. 
42.  rciiresents  the  Assidfeans  as  a  numerous  sect, 
distinguished  for  valor  and  zeal.     See  Essenes. 

ASSOS,  a  maritime  city,  by  some  geographers 
described  as  belonging  to  Mysia,  by  others,  to  Troas. 
Luke,  and  others,  went  by  sea  from  Troas  to  Assos  : 
but  Paul  went  by  land  thither,  and  meeting  them  at 
Assos,  they  went  together  to  Mitylene,  Acts  xx.  13, 
14.  A.  D.  50.  But  there  were  many  cities  of  this 
name.  (1.)  A  maritime  city  in  Lycia.  (2.)  Another 
in  the  territory  of  Eolis.  (3.)  Another  in  Mysia.  (4.) 
Another  in  Lydia.  (5.)  x^nother  in  Epirus  Minor, 
the  native  country  of  Cleanthes  the  philosopher, 
wjiich  also  was  called  Apollonia,  as  Pliny  says.  To 
this  last  city  Paul  sailed.  Acts  xx.  13.  It  was  be- 
tween Troas  and  ^litylene,  therefore  in  the  district 
of  Troas ;  and  is  marked  accordingly  in  the  maps. 
Strabo  says,  that  the  luxurious  kings  of  Persia  had 
the  grain  of  which  their  bread  was  made  brought 
from  Assos,  the  wine  which  they  draidv  from  Syria, 
and  tiie  water  which  they  drank  from  the  river 
Ulreus.  This  need  not  be  taken  literally  ;  the  import 
of  the  phrase  being  that  their  power  extended 
over  these  places  ;  and  that  they  received  tribute 
from  them. 

ASSYRIA,  a  celebrated  territory  and  empire,  has 
its  name  from  ^^shur,  (nirx,)  or  Jlssur,  the  second 
son  of  Shem,  (Gen.  x.  22.)  who  settled  in  that  coun- 
try. But  as  the  Chaldeans  and  Syrians  in  their 
dialect  ])ronouncod  the  name  Athur,  (instead  of 
Ashur,)  so  it  is  also  called  by  the  Greeks  and  Ro- 
mans Alijria  and  Aturia.  The  name  Alhur  has 
maintained  itself  in  an  ancient  city  on  the  Tigris, 
not  far  from  Mosul,  which  already  lay  in  ruins  in 
the  time  of  Abulfcda.     R. 

The  boundaries  of  Assyria  have  varied  according 


to  its  success  in  arms.  It  was  at  first  bounded  by 
the  Lycus  and  Caprus ;  but  the  name  of  Assyria, 
more  generally  speaking,  is  applied  to  all  that  terri- 
tory which  lies  between  Media,  INIesopotamia,  Ar- 
menia, and  Babylon.  It  is  now  called  Kurdistan. 
The  empire  of  Assyria  is  generally  supposed  to  have 
been  founded  by  Ashur,  son  of  Shem,  who  was 
driven  from  Shinai-  by  Nimrod,  Gen.  x.  10,  11.  Bo- 
chart,  however,  adopts  the  marginal  reading  of  the 
passage — "Out  of  that  land,  he^Ninu-od)  went  forth 
into  Assur  or  Assyria,  and  builded  Nineveh," — in 
which  he  has  been  followed  by  Faber,  Hyde,  3Iarsh- 
am.  Wells,  the  authors  of  the  Universal  History, 
Hales,  Rosennuieller,  Gesenius,  and  others.  Tiiis 
opinion  is  supported,  too,  by  the  Targums  of  Onke- 
los  and  Jerusalem,  by  Tlieophilus  of  Antioch,  and 
Jerome  ;  and  though  not  free  from  difficulty,  appears 
to  I)e  the  more  consistent  of  the  two  interpretations. 
(See  NiaiROD.)  Nimrod,  then,  may  be  considered  as 
the  founder  of  the  ncAV  empire  at  Nineveh,  which, 
being  seated  in  a  country  almost  exclusively  peopled 
by  the  descendants  of  Ashur,  had  been  called  Ashur, 
or  Assj/na.  Of  Nimrod's  successors  we  are  igno- 
rant. We  read  (Gen.  xiv.)  that  in  Abraham's  time, 
about  A.  ?tl.  2092,  Chedorlaomer,  king  of  Elam,  in 
confederacy  Avith  certain  kings,  attacked  the  kings 
of  Sodom  and  Gomorrha,  and  the  neighboring  cities, 
which  had  rebelled.  Under  the  Judges,  (Judg.  iii. 
8.)  about  A.  M.  2591,  the  Lord  delivered  Israel  into 
the  hands  of  Cushan-rishathaim,  king  of  Mesopota- 
mia, who  oppressed  them  eight  years.  Julius  Afri- 
canus  says,  tliat  Evechoils  reigned  in  Chaldea  224 
years  before  the  Arabians,  (i.  e.  A.  IM.  2242,)  in  the 
time  of  Isaac.  Th.e  Arabians  conquered  the  Chal- 
dean empire,  A.  M.  2460,  and  kept  it  about  216  yeai"s, 
to  A.  31.  2682;  and  Belus,  the  Assyrian,  succeeded 
the  Arabians  fit\y-five  years  before  the  foundation  of 
the  latter  Assyrian  empire  by  Ninus.  Dionysius 
Halicarnassiis  (Antiq.  Rom.  lib.  i.)  justly  observes, 
that  the  Assyrian  empire  was,  in  the  beginning,  but 
of  small  extent ;  and  Avhat  we  have  said  confirn^.s 
this ;  since  we  see  kings  of  Shinar,  Elam,  Chaldea, 
and  Ellasar,  at  a  time  when  the  Assyrian  empire, 
founded  by  Nimrod,  must  have  subsisted ;  and  be- 
fore Ninus,  son  of  Belus,  had  founded,  or  rather  ag- 
gi-andized,  the  only  empire  of  Assyria  known  to 
profane  authors  ;  for  they  had  no  knowledge  of  that 
established  by  Nimrod.  During  the  reigns  of  David 
and  Solomon,  the  Assyrian  monarchs  possessed 
nothing  on  this  side  the  Euphrates.  David  subdued 
all  Syria,  without  their  concerning  themselves  about 
it ;  and  when  he  attacked  the  Annnonites,  they  sent 
for  succor  to  the  other  side  of  the  Euphrates ;  (2 
Sam.  X.  16.)  but  David  defeated  those  troops,  and 
even  obliged  certain  people  on  the  other  side  the 
river  to  pay  him  tribute. 

The  first  king  of  Assyria  mentioned  in  Scripture 
is  the  sovereign  who  reigned  at  Nineveh,  when  Jo- 
nah went  thither,  about  A.  M.  3180.  The  prophet 
does  not  ijiform  us  who  this  monarch  was  ;  but  he 
describes  the  city  as  being  prodigiously  large.  From 
2  Kings  XV.  19.  and  1  Chron.  v.  26.  we  learn  that 
about  50  years  after  this,  Pul,  king  of  Assyria,  invaded 
the  territories  of  Israel,  under  the  reign  of  Mena- 
liem.  It  is  conjectured  that  Pul  was  the  father  of 
Sardanapalus ;  who  began  to  reign,  according  to 
Usher,  A.  M.  .'3237,  and  under  whom  the  history  of 
Assyria  assumes  a  more  consistent  aspect. 

The  measure  of  Nineveh's  sins  being  completed, 
God  raised  uj)  enemies  against  Sardanapalus,  in  the 
persons  of  .\rbaces,  governor  of  Media,  and  the  Per- 


ASSYRIA 


[  113  ] 


ASSYRIA 


bians  and  other  of  his  allies,  who  besieged  and  took 
the  capital,  and  induced  the  king  to  put  himself  to 
death.  Thus  terminated  the  ancient  empire  of  the 
Assyrians,  which  had  lasted  from  Nimrod,  about 
2500  years,  and  from  Ninus,  son  of  Bclus,  about  520 
years,  A.  M.  3254.  (Herodot.  lib.  i.  c.  95.)  Upon 
the  death  of  Sardanapalus  the  empire  was  divided 
into  the  Assyrian,  properly  so  called,  and  the  Baby- 
lonian kingdoms.  Arbaces,  whom  Prideaux  believes 
to  be  the  Tiglath-pileser  of  the  Scriptures,  (2  Kings 
XV.  29,  &c.)  fixed  the  seat  of  his  government  at 
Nineveh,  which  continued  the  capital  of  the  Assyr- 
ian empire.  He  was  succeeded  by  Salnianescr, 
whose  son  and  successor,  Sennacherib,  is  so  famous 
in  sacred  and  profane  history.  He  was  killed  by 
two  of  his  sons,  and  succeeded  by  a  third,  Esarhad- 
don ;  who,  after  having  re-united  the  dissevered 
enemies  of  Chaldca  and  Assyria,  left  the  throne  to 
Saosduchinus,  who  reigned  twenty  years.  This  is 
supposed  by  some  to  be  the  prince  who  is  named 
Nabuchodonosor,  in  Judith,  but  without  probability. 
Saosduchinus  was  succeeded  by  Chyniladon,  the 
Nebuchodonosor  mentioned  in  the  Apocrypha,  upon 
whose  death  the  throne  was  filled  by  Sarachus,  or 
Chynaladanus,  the  true  Sardanapalus.  Sarachus 
having  rendered  himself  contemptible  to  his  sub- 
jects by  his  effeminacy,  Nabopolassar,  to  whom  he 
had  committed  the  government  of  Chaldea,  deter- 
mined upon  seizing  the  crown,  and  for  this  purpose 
formed  an  alliance  with  Astyages,  or  Ahasuerus,  son 
of  the  king  of  3Iedia.  With  their  united  forces  they 
besieged  Nineveh,  took  the  cit}',  and  terminated  the 
monarchy  of  the  Assyrians  ;  Sarachus  having  burned 
himself  to  death  in  his  palace.  Ante  A.  D.  612. — 
With  this  event  the  prophecies  of  Jonah,  Zephaniah, 
and  Nahum  against  Nineveh  were  fulfilled.  See 
Nineveh. 

[The  history  of  the  Assyrian  empire  is  one  of  the 
most  obscure  portions  of  ancient  biblical  literature  ; 
and  the  manner  in  which  it  has  hitherto  been  treat- 
ed, has  not  contributed,  in  any  measure,  to  dispel  the 
darkness.  In  the  want  of  all  native  historians,  the 
only  original  sources  from  which  the  fragments  of 
the  earlier  history  of  this  country  can  be  drawn,  are 
the  Old  Testament,  Herodotus,  and  Ctesias.  These 
sources  are  all  evidently  independent  of  each  other ; 
but  the  accounts  derived  from  them  are  so  far  from 
constituting  an  harmonious  whole,  that  they  are  in 
the  chief  points  entirely  discordant.  Indeed  the  two 
Greek  historians  are  so  much  at  variance  with  the 
bibhcal  WTiters,  and  also  with  themselves,  especially 
in  regard  to  the  origin  and  duration  of  the  Assyrian 
and  ]Median  empires,  that  most  critics  have  assumed 
a  double  Assyrian  dynasty  ;  the  first  closed  by  Sar- 
danapalus, about  888  B.  C.  and  followed  by  Arba- 
ces and  the  Median  kings ;  and  the  second  com- 
mencing about  800  or  775  B.  C.  and  subsisting 
along  with  the  Median  race.  But  as  Herodotus  and 
Ctesias  both  profess  to  have  drawn  from  genuine 
sources,  and  yet  differ  from  each  other  in  important 
particulai-s,  as  much  as  if  they  were  speaking  of 
different  states  ;  and  as  there  is  no  gi-ound  whatever 
for  distrusting  the  accounts  contained  in  the  Old 
Testament  respecting  the  nations  with  which  the 
Hebrews  came  in  contact,  it  would  seem  prefera- 
ble, on  every  critical  as  well  as  other  ground,  to 
make  the  biblical  accounts  the  foundation  of  the  As- 
syrian history,  illustrating  them,  nevertheless,  so  far 
as  possible,  by  the  Greek  accounts,  Avhenever  these 
latter  harmonize  with  them.  This  is  done  in  the 
following  synopsis ;  which  has  been  compiled  chiefiv 
15 


from  the  collections  made  by  Roscnmueller  and  Ge- 
senius.  (Rosenm.  Bibl.  Geogr.  I.  ii.  91,  seq.  Gesen. 
Comm.  zu  Isa.  xxxix.  1,  etc.  Thesaur.  Ling.  Heb. 
p.  1G3,  seq.) 

That  Assyria  was  one  of  the  most  ancient  empires 
of  Asia,  appeai-s  from  the  united  testimony  both  of 
the  Bible  and  of  foreign  historians.  In  the'  genealo- 
gical and  ethnographical  table  of  Genesis  it  is  said, 
(Gen.  X.  11.)  that  Nimrod  went  forth  from  Babylon 
to  Assyria,  i.  e.  conquered  it,  and  built  there  Nine- 
veh and  other  cities.  That  this  is  the  proper  trans- 
lation of  this  passage,  and  not  (as  in  the  English 
version)  that  Ashur  went  forth  and  built  Nineveh, 
is  apparent  from  the  connection  ;  which  is  entirely 
broken  up  and  destroyed  by  the  latter  mode  of  ren- 
dering,— Ashur,  a  sou  of  Shem,  being  thus  anoma- 
lously inserted  among  the  descendants  of  Ham,  and 
an  event  in  his  history  narrated  before  his  birth, 
which  is  first  mentioned  in  v.  22.  In  the  other 
mode,  the  narrative  is  uninterrupted  ;  and  hence  the 
prophet  Micah  calls  Assyria  the  land  of  JVimrod, 
3Iic.  V.  G.  The  native  accounts  preserved  by  Cte- 
sias (in  Diod.  Sic.  ii.  1,  seq.)  call  the  founder  of  the 
Assyrian  kingdom  JVinus ;  but  there  is  no  good 
reason  extant  for  I'egardmg  him  as  a  different  per- 
son from  Nimrod.  The  stories  related  by  Ctesias 
of  the  extraordinary  deeds  of  Ninus  and  his  queen 
Semiramis,  bear  the  stamp  of  exaggerated  tradition, 
in  which  the  actions  of  several  kings,  or  perhaps  of 
a  Avhole  dynasty,  would  seem  to  be  referred  to  a 
single  pair.  The  most  that  can  be  assumed  from 
these  accounts  as  true,  is  the  probable  fact,  that  the 
successors  of  Ninus  continued  to  extend  their  con- 
quests on  every  side.  Indeed,  as  early  as  the  time 
of  Moses,  the  Assyrians  appear  to  have  made  them- 
selves already  formidable  as  conquerors,  who  carried 
awaj'  the  nations  whom  they  subdued ;  for  Balaam, 
who  came  from  the  Euphrates,  announces  to  the 
Kenites,  a  Canaanitish  tribe  on  the  east  side  of  the 
Jordan,  that  they  should  be  carried  into  captivity  by 
the  Assyrians,  (Num.  xxiv.  22.)  and  adds  that  these 
conquerors  should  also  in  their  turn  be  subjugated 
by  ships  from  Chittim,  i.  e.  coming  from  the  west, 
xxiv.  24.  In  Ps.  Ixxxiii.  8,  the  Assyrians  are  men- 
tioned among  David's  enemies,  in  connection  Avith 
the  Moabites,  Edomites,  Philistines,  and  Tyrians  ;  a 
proof  that,  in  David's  time,  (1000  B.  C.)  the  Assyrian 
dominion  had  extended  itself  into  Syria. 

The  first  king  of  Assyria  mentioned  in  the  Old 
Testament  is  Pul,  who  made  his  appearance  on 
the  border  of  Israel  about  770  B.  C.  and  compelled 
king  Menahem  to  pay  him  a  thousand  talents  of  sil- 
ver to  spare  him  and  confirm  him  in  his  usurpation, 
2  Kings  XV.  19.  In  the  subsequent  internal  divisions 
of  the  kingdom  of  the  ten  tribes,  one  of  the  parties 
seems  also  to  have  appealed  to  the  Assyrians  for 
aid  ;  compare  Hos.  v.  13.  x.  6.  When,  at  a  later  pe- 
riod, Pekah  king  of  Israel,  and  Rezin  king  of  Syria, 
made  an  alliance  against  Judah,  king  Ahaz  invited 
Tiglath-pileser,  king  of  Assyria,  to  become  his 
ally,  and  sent  him  all  the  silver  and  gold  of  the  tem- 
ple as  a  present.  He  accordingly  besieged  and  took 
Damascus,  put  Rezin  to  death,  and  carried  the  in- 
habitants away  to  Kir,  or  Kur,  a  province  of  Assyr- 
ia, 2  Kings  xvi.  5 — 10.  He  did  the  same  also  with 
a  part  of  the  Israelites,  2  Kings  xv.  29.  Under  the 
following  king  Shalmaneser,  (Enemessar,  Tob.  i. 
2.)  the  Assyrian  empire  appeai-s  to  have  reached  its 
most  flourishing  point.  The  king  of  Israel,  Hoshea, 
became  his  tributary,  (2  Kings  xvii.  3.)  but  soon 
made  an  alliance  with  Egypt,  and  refused  to  pay  the 


ASSYRIA 


[  114  J 


AST 


promised  tribute.  Shalmaneser  now  invaded  Israel, 
(about  730  to  720  B.  C.)  besieged  Samaria  tln-ee 
years,  and  took  it ;  reduced  the  country  to  an  As- 
syrian province  ;  transported  the  former  inhabitants 
to  Mesopotamia,  Assyria,  and  Media  ;  and  introduced 
new  inhabitants  or  colonists  from  other  parts  of  his 
kingdom,  and  also  from  Babylonia,  2  Kings  xvii.  (J, 
24;  xviii.  9 — II.  He  subdued,  also,  all  Pha?nicia, 
except  the  island  of  Tyre.  (Jos.  Ant.  ix.  14.  2.)  At 
this  time,  therefore,  about  720  B.  C.  the  Assyrian 
empire  was  at  the  summit  of  its  power,  and  included 
all  Upper  Asia,  from  Persia  to  the  Meihterranean, 
and  from  the  Casjjian  to  tiie  Persian  gulf.  But  the 
monarchs  were  not  yet  satisfied  witii  these  colossal 
dominions.  Fearing,  it  would  seem,  that  the  south- 
western provinces  might  ally  themselves  with  Egj-pt, 
and  thus  help  to  augment  the  power  of  that  state, 
(as  was  actually  the  wish  of  a  large  party  among 
the  Jews  ;  see  Is.  xx.  5, 6  ;  xxx.  2,  seq.  xxxi.  1,  seq.) 
the  successor  of  Shahnanescr,  Sargo.x,  undertook 
the  conquest  of  Egypt.  Tartan,  his  general,  opened 
the  way  thither  by  the  siege  autl  capture  of  Ash- 
dod  ;  (Is.  XX.  1.)  and  that  about  this  time  an  Assyrian 
host  actually  penetrated  into  Egypt  and  captured 
No-Ammon,  i.  e.  Thebes,  or  Diospolis,  the  capital  of 
Upper  Egypt,  seems  ap])aront  from  the  passage  in 
Nalium  iii.  H — 10.  But  Sargon  must  soon  have  died, 
and  his  host  withdrawn  itself  from  Egj'pt  and  Pales- 
tine ;  for  llezekiah  ventured,  in  the  very  first  years 
of  his  reign,  to  fall  away  from  Assyria  and  ally  him- 
self with  Egypt,  2  Kings  xviii.  7.  Again,  therefore, 
Sargon's  successor,  Sennacherib,  made  his  appear- 
ance in  Judea  with  an  army,  on  his  way  to  Egypt, 
took  possession  of  all  the  Jewish  cities,  and  demand- 
ed the  surrender  of  Jerusalem,  Is,  xxxvi.  1 ;  2  Kings 
xviii.  14 — IG.  But  in  the  mean  time,  hearing  that 
Tirhakah,  king  of  Ethiopia,  was  advancing  against 
him,  (Is.  xxxvii.  !);  2  Kings  xix.  !).)  and  the  Lord 
also  having  almost  destroyed  his  army  by  a  pesti- 
lence, he  raised  thi;  siege  of  Jerusalem,  and  retired 
to  Nineveh,  2  Kings  xviii.  13,  seq.  xix ;  Isa.  xxxvi, 
xxxvii. 

Encouraged,  it  would  seem,  by  this  unsuccessful 
expedition  of  Sennacherib  against  the  western  coun- 
tries, the  eastern  ])rovinces  also  of  the  Assyrian  em- 
pire seized  this  moment  to  throw  of!"  the  yoke.  About 
this  time  Media  seems  to  have  become  independent 
under  Dejoces ;  and  also  in  Babylonia  ]\Ierodach-bala- 
dan  liad  set  himself  up  as  an  independent  sovereign, 
but  Wiis  nuirdercd  after  a  reign  of"  six  months.  His 
successor,  Belii)us,  was  vanquished  by  Seimacliei'ih 
in  a  battle,  wlio  took  him  prisoner,  and  thus  brought 
Babylonia  again  under  his  dominion.  He  ap[)ointed 
his  son  Esarhaddon  viceroy  over  it,  and  returned 
himself  to  Assyria.  He  now  made  an  exixnlitiou 
against  the  Greeks  as  far  as  to  Cilicia,  overcame 
them,  and  foundi^d  the  city  of  Tarsn>!.  (These  last 
circumstances  are  related  by  Berosus,  in  a  fragment 
preserved  in  the  Armenian  version  of  the  Chronicon 
of  Eusebins,  and  liitlirrto  not  ref"err('d  to.  See  Ge- 
sen.  (^onnn. '/.  Isa.  xxxix.  1.  p.  9!)!).)  Afler  a  reign 
of  eighteen  years,  Scmiaclierib  \%as  assassinated  by 
two  of  his  sons,  who  fled  to  Armenia;  and  Esar- 
haddon, the  viceroy  of  Babylon,  became  his  succes- 
sor, 2  Kings  xix.  37  ;  Isa.  xxxvii.  3H.  Of  this  mon- 
arch the  Biliic  makes  no  mention,  except  merely  the 
passing  notice,  (Ezra  iv.  2.)  that  he  sent  colonists  to 
Samaria.  It  is  the  not  im|»robable  conjecture  of 
many  learned  men,  that  I'",sarhaddon  is  tin-  Sakdan- 
APALUs  of  Ctesias,  (Diod.  Sic.  ii.  24 — 27.)  who, 
being    driven    back    by    the    rebellious    Medes    and 


Babylonians  into  Nineveh,  his  capital,  and  pushed  to 
extremities,  destroyed  himself,  his  wives,  and  his 
treasures,  in  one  common  conflagi-ation. 

Afler  Sennacherib,  however,  the  Hebrews  do  not 
appear  to  have  been  troubled  by  the  inroads  of  the 
Assyrians ;  except,  perhaps,  the  incursion  mentioned 
2  Chron.  xxxiii.  11,  when  Manasseh  was  carried  off 
as  a  captive.  But  the  name  of  the  Assyrian  king 
imder  whom  this  took  place,  is  not  mentioned  ;  and 
very  soon  after  Sennacherib,  certainly,  the  Chalde- 
ans appear  as  the  conquerors  of  Hither  Asia.  Mean- 
time, however,  Assyria,  although  weakened  and  re- 
duced perhaps  within  its  original  limits,  appears  to 
have  maintained  itself  as  a  se|)arate  state.  But  about 
120  years  after  Esarhaddon,  (.597  B.  C.)  Cyaxares, 
king  of  Media,  made  an  alliance  with  Nabopolassar 
vice-king  of  Babylon,  against  Assyria ;  and  the  two 
captured  and  destroyed  Nineveh,  and  divided  the 
kingdom  between  them.  Assyria  itself  became  a 
Median  province. 

As  to  the  interior  constitution,  and  the  civil  and 
social  institutions  of  the  Assyrian  state,  the  fragments 
of  its  liistory  that  have  come  down  to  us  are  en- 
tirely silent.  The  Assyrians  stand  out  on  the  historic  J 
page  solely  as  conquerors.  That  they  possessed  any  ■ 
important  commerce,  that  they  paid  any  attention  to 
arts  and  sciences,  that  they  exercised  any  influence 
on  the  moral  cultivation  of  the  nations  whom  they 
subdued,  we  find  no  trace.  Their  language  and  re- 
ligion, i.  e.  the  worship  of  the  Stars  and  of  nature, 
under  symbolic  forms,  they  appear  to  have  had 
in  common  with  the  Medo-Persian  tribes,  their 
neighbors. 

In  reference  to  this  historical  view  of  the  Assyrian 
em])ire,  we  find  that  the  name  Jissyria  is  emj)loyed 
in  the  Old  Testament  in  three  dift'erent  significa- 
tions, viz :  m 

1.  Assyria  ancient  and  proper,  lay  east  of  the  Ti-  fl 
gris,  between  Armenia,  Susiana,  and  Media ;  and  ^ 
appears  to  h:ive  comjirehended  tlie  six  j)rovinces  at- 
tributed to  it  by  Ptolemy,  (vi.  1.)  viz.  Arrapachis, 
(Heb.  Arj)haxad  ?)  Adiabene,  Arbelis,  (now  Erbil,) 
Calachene,  (Heb.  Halah  ?  2  Kings  xvii.  G.)  Apollo- 
nias,  and  Sittacene.  It  is  thei  region  which  mostly 
conq)rises  the  modern  Kurdistan  and  the  jjashalik 

of  Mosul.  Of  these  provinces  Adiabene  was  the 
most  fertile  and  important ;  in  it  was  situated  Nine- 
veh, the  capital ;  and  the  tenn  Assyria  in  its  most 
narrow  sense  seems  sometimes  to  liave  meant  only 
this  province.     Plin.  v.  12. 

2.  Most  genei-ally  Assyria  means  the  kingdom  of 
^^ssi/ria,  including  Babylonia  and  Mesopotamia,  and 
extending  to  the  Euphrates,  which  is  therefore  used 
by  Isaiali  as  an  image  of  this  em])ire,  Isa.  vii.  20  ;  viii. 
7.  In  one  instance  the  idea  of  the  empire  predomi- 
natxs  so  as  to  exclude  that  of  Assyria  ])roper,  viz. 
(iCU.  ii.  14,  wiiere  th<'  Hiddekel  or  Tigris  is  said  to 
flow  eastwanl  of"  Assyria. 

3.  Afier  tli(>  overthrow  of  the  Assyrian  state,  the 
name  continued  to  be  a])i)lic(l  to  those  countries 
which  had  i)een  formerly  under  its  dominion,  viz. 
(a)  To  Uahylonia,  2  Kings  xxiii.  29;  Jer.  ii.  18,  etc. 
So  Judith  i.  .5;  ii.  1;  v.  1.  etc.  where  Nebu- 
chadnezzar is  called  king  of  Assyria,  [h]  To  Persia,  j 
Ezra  vi.  22,  where  Darius  is  also  called  king  of  As- 
syria, (c)  Roman  writers  also  apply  this  name  toi 
Si/ria ;  but  this  use  of  it  is  unknown  to  the  orient- 
als ;  see  Bodiarti  Phaleg.  ii.  3 ;  Relandi  Falsest. 
1012,  seq.     *R. 

I.    ASTAROTII,    or   Astoreth,   or  Astartk, 
a     celebrated      Phaiiician      goddess.       In     Scrip- 


ASTAROTH 


[  115  ] 


ASTAROTH 


ture,  this  word  is  often 
plural,  nnnfy ;   some- 
times, mcN,  ascrah,  the 
grove ;    nn^'N,  aseroth, 
or       an^N,       aserim, 
woods ;    groves   were 
her  temples ;  in  groves 
consecrated     to     her, 
such  obscenities  were 
committed,  as  render- 
ed  her  worship   infa- 
mous.    She  w'as  god- 
dess of  the  woods,  the 
celestial  goddess,  and 
was  also  called  the  "queen  of  heaven ;"  (Jer.  xhv.  17, 
18.)  and  sometimes  her  worship  is  described  by  that 
of  the  "host  of  heaven."  (See  Meni.)   She  is  ahnost 
always  joined  with  Baal,  and  is  called  gods ;  Scrip- 
ture having  no  particular  word  for  expressing  a  god- 
dess.   It  is  supposed  that  the  moon  was  adored  under 
this  name.     Temples  of  the  moon  generally  accom- 
panied those  of  the  sun  ;  and  while  bloody   sacri- 
fices, or  human  victims,  were  offered  to  Baal,  bread, 
liquors,  and   perfumes  were  presented  to  Astarte ; 
tables  were  prepared  for  her  on  the  flat  terrace-roofs 
of  houses,  near  gates,  in  porches,  and  at  cross- ways, 
on  the  first  day  of  every  month,  which  the  Greeks 
called  Hecate's  supper.     Jerome,  in  several  places, 
translates  the  name  of  Jlstarte  by  Priapus,  as  if  to 
denote   the   hcentiousness   of  her   worship.       The 
eastern    people,   in   many  places,   worshipped    the 
moon  as  a  god,  and  represented  its  figm-e  with  a 
beard,  and  in  armor.     The  statue  in  the  temple  of 
Heliopolis,  in  Syria,  Pljuy  sajs,  was  that  of  a  woman 
clothed  like  a  man.   Solomon,  seduced  by  his  foreign 
wives,  introduced  the  worship  of  Astarte  into  Israel ; 
but  Jezebel,  daughter  of  the  king  of  Tyre,  and  wife 
of  Ahab,  principally  estaljlished  her  worshii).  Angus- 
tin  assures  us,  that  the  Africans  (descendants  from 
the    Phoenicians)   maintained    Astarte  to   be   Juno. 
But  Herodian  says,  the  Carthaginians  call  the  heaven- 
ly goddess,  the  moon,  Astroarche.     The  Phcsniciaus 
asserted  confidently,  says  Cicero,  that  their  Astarte 
was  the  Syrian  Venus,  bom  at  Tyre,  and  wife  of 
Adonis  ;  very  different  from  the  Venus  of  Cyprus. 
Lucian,  who  wrote  particularly  concerning  the  god- 
dess of  Syria,  (Astarte,)  says,  expressly,  that  she  is 
the  moon,  and  no  other ;  and   it  is  indubitable,  tliat 
this  luminaiy  was  worshipped  under  different  names 
in  the  East.     Astarte  was  probably  the  same  as  the 
Isis  of  Egypt,  who  was  repi'escnted  with  the  head 
of  an  ox,  or  with  horns  on  her  head.     But  the  man- 
ner of  representing  Astarte  on  medals,  is  not  always 
the   same.     Sometimes   she  is  in  a  long  hal)it ;  at 
other  times,  in  a  short  habit ;  sometimes  Iiolding  a 
long  stick,  with  a  cross  on  its  top ;  sometimes  she 
has  a  crown  of  rays  ;   sometimes  she  is  crowned 
with  battlements ;  or  by  a  victory.     In  a  medal  of 
Caesarea  Palcstina,  she  is  in  a  short  dress,  crowned 
with  battlements,  with  a  man's  head  in  her  right 
hand,  and  a  staff  in  her  lefl.     This  is  believed  to  be 
the  man's  head  mentioned  by  Lucian,  whicli  was 
every  year  brought  from  Egypt  to  Biblos,  a  city  of 
Phtrnicia.   Sanchoniathon  says,  she  was  represented 
witli  a  cow's  head,  the  horns'describing  royalty,  and 
the  lunar  rays. 

[Thus  far  Cahnct,  in  accordance  with  the  views 
of  most  of  the  earlier  commentatoi-s ;  compare  also 
Jahn,  Bibl.  Archseol.  §  409 ;  Miinter,  Religion  der 
Babylomer,  p.  20.  But  Gesenius,  Rosenmiiller,  and 
others,  who  have  devoted  particular  attention  to  the 


subject,  have  been  led  to  adoj)t  \icws  somewhat 
diflFerent,  and  of  the  following  purport.  See  Gese- 
nius, Thesaur.  p.  162.  Comm.  zu.  Isa.  ii.  p.  337,  seq. 

Astarte,  or  Heb.  Ashtoreth,  plur.  Ashtaroth,  is  the 
name  of  a  Phoenician  goddess,  (2  Kings  xxiii.  13.) 
whose  worship  was  also  introduced  among  the  Isra- 
ehtes  and  Philistines,  1  Kings  xi.  5,  33  ;  1  Sam.  vii. 
3  ;  xxxi.  10.  She  is  more  commonly  named  in  con- 
nection with  Baal,  Judg.  ii.  13 ;  x.  6  :  1  Sam.  vii.  4  ; 
xii.  10.  Another  Hebrew  name  of  the  same  goddess 
is  nifN,  Asherah,  i.  e.  the  happy,  the  fortunate ;  or 
more  simply /oriujic.  This  last  name  is  commonly 
rendered  in  the  English  version  grove  ;  as  also  in 
the  Septuagint,  Vulgate,  Luther,  and  others.  But 
after  reviewing  all  the  passages  in  which  the  word 
occurs,  Gesenius  comes  decidedly  to  the  conclusion, 
that  the  meaning  grove  cannot  be  supported  in  any 
one  of  them,  but  is  manifestly  contrary  both  to  the 
etymology  and  to  the  context.  Both  these  Hebrew 
names  of  Astarte,  when  used  in  the  plural,  often 
signify  images  or  statues  of  Astaiie ;  which  are  then 
said  to  be  broken  down,  destroyed,  &c.  In  connec- 
tion with  the  worship  of  Astarte  there  was  much  of 
dissolute  licentiousness ;  and  the  public  prostitutes 
of  both  sexes  were  regarded  as  consecrated  to  her. 
See  2  Kings  xxiii.  7 ;  comp.  Lev.  xix.  29 ;  Deut. 
xxiii.  18. 

As  now  Baal,  or  Bel,  denotes,  in  the  astrological 
mythology  of  the  East,  the  male  star  of  fortune,  the 
planet  Jupiter,  so  Ashtoreth  signifies  the  female  star 
of  fortune,  the  planet  Venus.  The  word  mrrj', 
Ashtoreth,  for  wliicli  an  etymology  has  long  been 
sought,  is  equivalent  to  the  Syriac  ashteruth  and  es- 
tero,  and  to  the  Persian  sitareh,  which  all  signify 
star;  and  it  therefore  denotes  by  way  of  eminence, 
the  STAR,  i.  e.  Vemis.  The  ancient  Orient  regarded 
this  planet  as  the  goddess  of  love  and  fortune ;  hence 
it  was  called  by  the  Babylonians  Meni,  (which  see,) 
and  by  the  Hebrews  also  Asherah,  the  fortunate ;  sec 
above.  It  was  also  worshipped  under  the  names  of 
Anaitis,  JVaneea,  Mylitta,  among  the  Babylonians  and 
Armenians,  with  many  licentious  rites,  which  are 
mentioned  in  the  Zabiau  books.  It  should  be  here 
remarked,  that  bishop  Miinter  concedes  this  view^ 
of  the  subject  only  in  resjject  to  a  later  age ;  but 
supposes  that  originally  Baal  and  Astarte  were 
the  representatives  of  the  sun  and  moon  ;  Rel.  der 
Babylonier,  p.  20.     See  Baal. 

A  part  of  the  Phoenician  rtiytlms  respecting  Astarte 
is  given  by  Sanchoniathon,  Euseb.  de  Prsep.  Evang. 
i.  10.  "  Astarte  the  most  liigh,  and  Jupiter  Dema- 
rous,  and  Adodus  king  of  the  gods,  reigned  over  the 
country,  with  the  assent  of  Saturn.  And  Astarte 
placed  the  head  of  a  bull  upon  her  own  head,  as  an 
emblem  of  sovereignty.  As  she  was  journeying 
about  the  world,  she  found  a  star  wandering  in  the 
air,  and  having  taken  possession  of  it,  she  conse- 
crated it  in  the  sacred  island  of  Tyre.  The  Phoe- 
nicians say  that  Astarte  is  Venus."  This  senes  to 
account  for  the  horned  figure  under  ^^  Inch  she  was 
represoited  ;  and  affords  testimony  of  a  star  conse- 
crated as  her  symbol.     ''R. 

II.  ASTAROTH,  Astaroth-Carnaim,  or  Kar- 
NAiM,(Gen.  xiv.  5.)  was  a  city  beyond  Jordan,  six  miles 
from  Adraa,  or  Edrei',  between  that  city  and  Abila, 
now  Mezaraib.  Astaroth-Caiiiaim  is  supposed  to 
be  derived  from  the  goddess  Astarte,  adored  there, 
who  was  represented  with  horns,  or  a  crescent ;  for 
carnahn  signifies  horns.  In  2  Mace.  xii.  26.  mention 
is  made  of  a  temple  of  the  goddess  Atargatis,  in 
Carnion,  which  is  doubtless  the  same  as  Astaroth- 


ASY 


[  116] 


ATH 


Camaim.  Atargatis,  (which  see,)  was  the  same  as 
Derceto,  of  Askelon,  represented  as  a  woman  with 
the  lower  parts  of  a  fish.  See  Askelon,  and  Dagon. 

AST  ARTE,  see  Astaroth,  I. 

ASTONISHMENT,  wi.xe  of.     See  Wine. 

I.  ASTYAGES,  otherivise  Cyaxares,  king  of  the 
Medes,  successor  of  Phraortes,  reigned  forty  years, 
and  died  A.  M.  3409,  ante  A.  D.  595.  He  had  a  son, 
called  Astyages,  or  Darius ;  and  two  daughters,  Man- 
dane  and  Ainyit.  For  Astyages,  or  Darius,  see  the 
following  article.  Amyit  married  Nebuchadnezzar, 
son  of  Nabopolassar,  king  of  Chaldea,  and  was 
mother  of  Evil-merodach.  Mandane  married  Cam- 
byses  the  Persian,  and  was  mother  of  Cyrus. 

n.  ASTYAGES,  otherwise  Ahasuerus,  (Tobit 
xiv.  15;  Dan.  ix.  l.)or  Artaxerxes,  (Dan.  vi.  1.  Gr.) 
or  Darius  the  Mede,  (Dan.  v.  31.)  or  Cyaxares,  (by 
his  father's  name,)  or  Apandas,  was,  by  his  father, 
Cyaxares,  appointed  governor  of  Media,  and  scut 
with  Nabopolassar,  king  of  Babylon,  against  Sara- 
chus,  (or  Chiniladanus,)  king  of  Assyria,  whom  they 
besieged  in  Nineveh,  took  that  city,  and  dismem- 
bered the  Assyrian  empire.  See  Assyria.  Astya- 
ges was  with  Cyrus  at  the  conquest  of  Babylon,  and 
succeeded  Belshazzar,  king  of  Babylon,  Dan.  v.  30, 
31.  A.  M.  3447.  Cyrus  succeeded*  him,  3456,  Dan. 
xiii.  65.  See  Isa.  xiii.  xiv.  xxi.  xlv.  xlvi.  xlvii.  Jer. 
1.  li. 

ASUPPBI,  house  of.  This  word  occurs  1  Chron. 
xxvi.  15.  but  considerable  diversity  of  opinion  exists 
among  learned  men  as  to  its  import.  Dr.  Geddes 
renders  it,  "the  store-rooms,"  and  understands  it 
of  the  upper  galleries  of  the  temple,  where  the 
stores  were  probably  kept.  Others  understand  by  it 
the  treasury  of  the  temple.  This  opinion  is  ground- 
ed— 1.  upon  the  import  of  the  word  ;  2.  because 
Obed-Edom  (whose  sons  are  said  to  be  placed  at 
Asuppim)  is  said  (2  Chron.  xxv.  24.)  to  have  the  cus- 
tody of  the  treasures.  Dr.  Lightfoot,  who  has  along 
discussion  on  the  subject,  concludes  that  Asuppim 
were  two  gates  in  the  western  wall,  which  stood 
most  south,  or  nearest  to  Jerusalem ;  and  that  the 
HOUSE  OF  Asuppim  was  a  large  building  which  ran 
between  them,  and  was  a  treasury  of  divers  rooms, 
for  laying  up  things  that  served  for  the  use  of  the 
temple.  (Temple  Service,  chap.  v.  sec.  3.)  [The 
meaning  of  the  word  is  collections,  i.  e.  stores ;  and 
Jiouse  oT Asuppim  is,  therefore,  a  store-house  connected 
with  the  temple,  prolmblv  on  the  southern  part,  1 
Chr.  xxvi.  15,  17.     R. 

ASYLUM,  Gr.  '' slovh>r.  from  «  and  fi'^i;,  prey. 
This  word  signifies  a  sanctuary,  whither  unfortunate 
persons  might  retire  for  security  from  their  enemies, 
and  from  whence  they  could  not  lie  forced.  It  has 
been  supposed,  that  Hercules's  grandsons  were  the 
institutors  of  these  places  of  refuge,  in  Greece,  if 
not  in  Europe  ;  for,  apprehending  the  resentment  of 
those  whom  Hercules  luul  ill-treated,  they  ap})oiiUed 
Hu  a.sylurn  or  temple  of  merey  at  Athens.  Cadmus 
erected  another  at  Thebes,  and  Romulus  another  at 
Rome,  on  mount  Palttine.  That  of  Daphne,  near 
Antioch,  was  very  famous,  2  Mace.  iv.  34.  Theseus 
built  an  asyltun  at  Athens  in  favor  of  slaves,  and  of 
the  poor  ulio  should  fly  thitlur,  IVom  the  oppression 
of  tlie  ricii.  There  was  one  iji  the  isle  of  Calauria. 
The  temples  of  Ai)ollo  at  Del|)hi,  of  .hmo  at  Samos, 
of  Escidapius  at  Dclns,  of  Baoehus  at  Kphesus,  and 
many  others  in  (ireeee,  had  the  privilege  of  being 
.nsyla.  Ronuilus  gave  tliis  rijrlit  to  a  wood  adjoin- 
ing the  temple  of  Vejovis.  (V'irgil,  .Eueid.  viii.  342.) 
Ovid  sjicaks  of  a  wood   near  Ostium,  that  enjoyed 


the  same  privilege,  (Fast.  1.1.)  Augustin  observes, 
(de  Civit.  hb.  i.  cap.  u4.)  that  the  whole  city  of  Rome 
was  an  asylum  to  all  strangers.  The  number  of 
these  privileged  places  was  so  much  increased  in 
Greece,  under  the  emperor  Tiberius,  that  he  was 
obliged  to  recall  their  licenses,  and  to  suppress  them. 
(Sueton.  in  Tiberio.  Tacit.  Annal.  lib.  iii.  cap.  6.) 
But  his  decree  was  little  observed  after  his  death. 

The  altar  of  burnt  sacrifices,  and  the  temple  at 
Jerusalem,  were  sanctuaries.  Hither  Joab  retired  ; 
(1  Kings  ii.  28,  29,  31.)  but  Solomon,  observing  that 
he  would  not  quit  the  altar,  ordered  him  to  be  killed 
there.  Moses  commands  (Exod.  xxi.  14.)  that  any 
who  had  committed  murder,  and  fled  for  protection 
to  the  altar,  should  be  dragged  from  thence.  Sanc- 
tuaries were  not  for  the  advantage  of  wicked  men, 
but  in  favor  of  the  innocent,  when  attacked  unjustly. 
When  criminals  retired  to  the  sanctuary  of  a  temple, 
they  were  either  starved,  or  forced  thence  by  fires 
kindled  around  them.     See  Refuge. 

ATAD.  At  Atad's  threshing  floor  (Gen.  1.  11.)  the 
sons  of  Jacob,  and  the  Egj^ptians  who  accompanied 
them,  mourned  for  Jacob,  whence  it  was  afterwards 
called  Abel-Mizraim,  "the  mourning  of  the  Egyp- 
tians."    See  Abel-3Iizraim. 

ATARGATIS,  a  goddess  of  the  Phihstines,  called 
by  the  Greeks  Derceto,  Plin.  v.  23.  She  was  repre- 
sented with  the  head  and  upper  parts  of  a  beautiful 
female,  and  the  tail  of  a  fish.  She  was  worshipped 
particularly  at  Askelon,  which  see.  She  had  also  a 
temple  at  Camaim,  i.  e.  Astaroth-Carnaim,  2  Mace, 
xii.  26;  comp.  1  Mace.  v.  43.  This  last  circumstance 
would  naturally  lead  to  the  conclusion,  that  Atarga- 
tis or  Derceto  was  the  same  as  Astaroth  or  Astarte  ; 
and  further,  Herodotus  expressly  calls  the  goddess 
worshipped  at  Askelon,  Venus,  (i.  105.)  i.  e.  Astarte. 
See  Jahn,  Bibl.  Archaeol.  iii.  509.  Gesen.     *R. 

ATAROTH.  There  are  several  cities  of  this 
name. — (1.)  One  in  the  tribe  of  Gad,  beyond  Jordan, 
(Numb,  xxxii.  3,  34.)  the  same,  probably,  with  Atroth- 
Shophan,  given  to  this  tribe,  verse  35. — (2.)  Another 
on  the  frontiers  of  Ephraim,  between  Janohah  and 
Jericho,  (Josh.  xvi.  7.)  probably  Ataroth-Addar,  xvi. 
5 ;  xviii.  13. — (3.)  Ataroth  Beth- Joab,  in  Judah, 
1  Chron.  ii.  54. 

ATHALIAH,  daughter  of  Ahab,  king  of  Israel, 
and  wife  of  Joram,  king  of  Judah.  Being  informed 
that  Jehu  had  slain  her  son  Ahaziah,  and  forty-two 
princes  of  his  family,  she  resolved  to  destroy  all  the 
princes  of  the  blood-royal  of  Judah,  that  she  might 
ascend  the  throne  without  a  rival,  2  Kings  xi.  1  ;  2 
Chr.  xxii.  10.  But  Jehosheba,  daughter  of  Joram, 
and  sister  of  Ahaziah,  took  Joash,  son  of  Ahaziah, 
and  kept  him  secretly,  for  six  years,  in  the  temple. 
In  the  seventh  year,  the  high-priest  Jehoiada  deter- 
mined to  place  him  on  the  throne  of  his  ancestors ; 
which  he  accompUshed  amid  the  acclamations  of  the 
muhitude.  Athaliah,  hearing  the  noise,  entered  the 
temple  ;  seeing  the  young  king  seated  on  his  throne, 
she  tore  her  clothes,  and  cried,  "  Treason  !  Treason  !" 
Jehoiada  commanded  the  Levites,  who  were  armed, 
to  carry  her  without  the  temple,  where  she  was  slain, 
A.  M.  3126;  «;i/e  A.  D.  884. 

ATHAR,  see  Ether. 

ATHENS,  a  celebrated  city  and  powerful  com- 
monwealth of  Greece,  distinguished  by  the  military 
talents,  learning,  elo(|uence,  and  politeness  of  its  in- 
habitants. AVhen  Paul  visited  it,  A.  D.  52,  he  found 
it  ])lunged  in  idolatry  ;  occu])ied  in  inquiring  and 
reporting  news;  curious  to  know  every  thing;  and 
divided  in  opinion  concerning  religion  and  hapj)ines.s. 


ATHExNS 


[  n?  ] 


ATO 


Acts  xvii.  The  apostle,  taking  opportunities  to 
preach  Jesus  Christ,  was  brought  before  the  judges 
of  the  Areopagus ;  where  he  gave  au  illustrious  tes- 
timony to  truth,  and  a  remarkable  instance  of  pow- 
erful reasoning.  (See  Areopagus.)  The  schools, 
professors,  and  philosophers  of  Athens  were  very 
famous.  The  Lyceum,  where  Aristotle  taught,  was 
on  the  banks  of  the  river  Ilissus.  The  academy 
was  part  of  the  Ceramicus,  which,  being  at  first 
marshy  and  unwholesome,  was  drained  and  planted ; 
iu  these  shady  walks  Plato  read  his  lectures  ;  whence 
his  disciples  were  called  Academics.  There  were 
other  sects  of  philosophers  at  Athens,  as  the  Stoics, 
the  <i;ynics,  and  the  Epicureans. 

As  the  customs  of  this  city  illustrate  certain  pas- 
sages of  Scripture,  we  shall  add  a  few  particulars 
relating  to  them  ;  principally  extracted  from  Stuart's 
Antiquities  of  Athens. 

On  the  architrave  of  a  Doric  portico,  yet  standing 
in  Athens,  are  inscriptions  to  the  following  pur- 
port : 

"The  people  [of  Athens]  out  of  the  donations 
bestowed  [on  them]  by  Caius  Julius  Caesar,  the  god ; 
and  by  the  emperor  Augustus  Cfesar,  the  son  of  the 
god  ;  [dedicate  this]  to  Minerva  Archegetia  [chief 
conductress]"  &lc. 

"  The  people  [honor]  Lucius  Caesar,  the  son  of  the 
emperor  Augustus  Csesar,  the  son  of  the  god." 

"The  senate  of  the  Areopagus,  and  the  senate  of 
the  six  hundred,  and  the  people  [honor  with  this 
statue]  Julia  goddess,  Augusta,  Providence,"  &c. 

The  reader  will  compare  these  public  memorials 
with  the  observation  of  the  apostle,  that  Athens  was 
too  much  addicted  to  the  adoption  of  objects  for  wor- 
ship and  devotion.  It  was  not,  indeed,  singular  in 
worshipping  the  reigning  emperor;  but  flattery 
could  be  carried  no  higher  than  to  characterize  his 
descendants  as  deities,  and  one  of  them  as  no  less 
a  deity  than  Providence  itself.  (Compare  Luke 
xxii.  25.) 

The  gi'eat  festival  at  Athens  in  honor  of  Minerva, 
called  the  Pan-Athenaic  procession,  deserves  partic- 
ular notice.  One  of  its  greatest  ornaments  was  a 
ship,  which  was  kept  in  a  repository  near  the  Areop- 
agus, and  is  mentioned  by  Suidas,  who  says,  among 
the  Athenians,  the  peplus  is  the  sail  of  the  Pan-Athe- 
naic ship,  which  every  fourth  year  they  prei)are  for 
Minerva,  conducting  it  through  the  Ceramicus  to 
the  Eleusiniuni,  The  peplus  was  also  esteemed  as 
the  veil  of  Minerva.  This  reference  of  a  ship  to  Mi- 
nei*va,  Mr.  Taylor  thinks,  is  not  without  its  meaning  ; 
and  indeed,  he  adds,  we  find  that  almost  every  an- 
cient divinity  is  directly,  or  indirectly,  related  to  the 
sea.  The  famous  statue  of  Minerva,  of  ivory  and 
gold,  was  the  work  of  Phidias.  Pausanius  says,  it 
was  standing  erect,  her  garment  reaching  to  her 
feet ;  she  had  a  helmet  on  ;  and  a  Medusa's  head  on 
her  breast ;  in  one  hand  she  held  a  spear,  and  on 
the  other  stood  a  Victory  of  about  four  cubits  high. 
Pliny  informs  us,  that  the  statue  was  twenty-six  cu- 
bits high  ;  iu  which,  perliaps,  he  included  the  pedes- 
tal, on  which,  they  both  say,  the  birth  of  Pandora 
was  represented.  '  It  is  jirobable  this  statue  was 
painted.  The  gold  about  it  weighed  forty  talents ; 
and  might  be  worth  120,000^  sterling.  Lachares 
stript  it  off  about  one  hundred  and  thirty  years  after 
the  statue  had  been  finished.  The  Areopagus  was 
not  far  from  the  ascent  and  entrance  to  the  An-ojio- 
lis,  called  the  Propylea  ;  but  this  is  described  in  its 
Ijroper  place.     See  "Arkopagus. 

From  the  invasion  of  Xerxes  to  t!u'  irrnpt  on  of 


Alaric  into  Greece,  (A.  D.  396,)  Athens  changed  tiiM- 
ters  upwards  of  twenty  times.  It  was  twice  burnt 
by  the  Persians ;  destroyed  by  Philip  II.  of  Mace- 
don  ;  again  by  Sylla ;  the  Acropolis  was  plundered 
by  Tiberius ;  desolated  by  the  Goths  in  the  reign  of 
Claudius  ;  and  the  whole  territory  ravaged  and  ruin- 
ed by  Alaric.  That  conqueror,  however,  spared 
much  of  Athens,  and  perhaps  most  of  the  antiqui- 
ties. From  the  reign  of  Justinian  to  the  thirteenth 
century,  the  city  remained  in  obscurity,  though  it 
continued  to  be  a  town,  and  the  head  of  a  small 
state.  It  supplied  Roger,  king  of  Sicily,  with  silk- 
worms, in  1130  ;  was  besieged  by  Sgure,  a  petty 
prince  of  the  Morea,  iu  1204  ;  but  was  successfully 
defended  by  the  archbishop.  It  was  seized  by  Bon- 
iface, marquis  of  Montsen-at,  who  appointed  one  of 
his  followers  duke  of  Athens.  It  was  a  fief  of  the 
kingdom  of  Sicily,  during  the  latter  part  of  the  four- 
teenth centurj' ;  and  then  fell  into  the  possession  of 
Reinier  Acciajuoli,  a  Florentine,  who  bequeathed  it 
to  the  Venetians.  Omar,  general  of  Mahomet  the 
Great,  seized  it  iu  1455.  It  was  sacked  by  the  Ve- 
netians in  1464  ;  was  bombarded  and  taken  by  them 
in  1687 ;  and  lost  to  the  Turks,  again,  in  1688.  It 
was  always  of  some  consideration ;  and  those 
writers  who  describe  it  as  reduced  to  a  village  [Boa 
Ant.  Grsec.  p.  20.]  were  misinformed.  The  name 
Settines,  which  they  give  it,  is  a  corruption  of  ttg 

•Jdi[ru?. 

The  population  of  Athens,  in  1812,  was  about 
12,000,  about  a  fifth  part  only  of  which  were  Turks ; 
but  the  sanguinary  contest  which  has  been  since 
carried  on  between  the  Greeks  and  the  Turks,  has 
left  it  but  a  mass  of  ruins. 

ATONEMENT,  i.  e.  reconciliation.  We  have 
evidently  lost  the  true  import  of  this  word,  by  our 
present  manner  of  pronouncing  it.  When  it  was 
customary  to  pronounce  the  word  one  as  own — (as 
in  the  time  of  our  translators)  then  the  Avord  atone- 
ment was  resolvable  into  its  parts,  at-one-ment,  or 
the  means  of  being  at  one,  i.  e.  reconciled,  united, 
combined  in  fellowship.  This  seems  to  be  precisely 
its  idea,  Rom.  v.  11.  "being  (to  God)  reconciled — or 
at-one-ed,  we  shall  be  saved  by  his  (Christ's)  life,  by 
whom  we  have  i-eceived  the  at-one-ment"  or  means 
of  reconciliation.  Here,  it  appears,  the  word  atone- 
ment does  not  mean  a  ransom,  price,  or  purchase  paid 
to  the  receiver,  but  a  restoration  of  accord,  which  is, 
perhaps,  the  most  correct  idea  we  can  affix  to  the 
term  expiation  or  utontment  under  tlie  Mosaic  law. 
Sacrifices,  &c.  were  appointed  means  for  restoring 
fellowship  and  accord  between  God  and  the  nation 
of  Israel ;  in  other  a\  ords,  of  rendering  God,  or  cer- 
tain of  tlie  divine  attributes,  as  justice,  &c.  ritu- 
ally  propitious,  capable  of  holding  (i.  e.  satisfied  to 
hold)  communion  with  the  people  ;  by  their  interpo- 
sition effectually  restoring  that  one-ness  which  trans- 
gression had  violated. — In  Job  xxxiii.  24.  where  our 
translators  have  placed  in  the  text  ransom,  and  in 
the  margin  atonement,  the  marginal  word  seems 
preferable — "  deliver  him  from  going  down  to  the  pit 
of  death,  for  I  have  accepted  an  atonement  for  his 
life  ;  therefore  his  youth  shall  return — his  flesh  be- 
come fairer  than  a  child's."  To  justify  these  ideas, 
we  may  refer  to  Numb.  xvi.  46 :  "  Go  quickly,  make 
reconciliation,  for  wrath  is  gone  out."  Lev.  xvi.  11. 
"  Aaron  shall  make  reconciliation  for  himself  and 
his  house."  Lev.  iv.  20.  et  al.  "The  priest  shall 
make  reconciliation  for  him,  and  he  shall  be  forgiv- 
en." 2  Sam.  xxi.  3.  David  said  to  the  Gibeonites, 
"  Wherewith  shall  I  make  the  reconciliation,  that  ye 


ATONEMENT 


[  lis  ] 


AVE 


may  bless  ihe  inheritance  of  the  Lord  r" — i.  c.  that 
ye  may  be  at  one  with  the  people  of  Israel.  Eng. 
Ir.  reads  atonement.  From  all  this  it  is  evident, 
that  tlie  expiatory  sacrilice  offered  by  our  Saviour 
on  Calvary,  was  the  price  or  ransom,  on  the  efficacy 
of  which  the  at-one-ment  of  the  race  of  mankind 
depended  ;  but  to  call  that  sacrilice  the  atonement, 
instead  of  the  means  of  atonement,  is  an  incoirect 
application  of  the  word.  See  Sacrikick,  and  Mer- 
cy-seat. 

ATONEMENT,  DAY  OF,  was  the  tenth  of  Tiz- 
ri,  which  nearly  answers  to  our  September.  The 
Hebrews  call  it  Kippitr,  pardon,  or  expiation,  because 
the  faults  of  the  year  were  then  expiated.  The 
principal  ceremonies  were  the  following:  (Lev.  xvi.) 
The  high-priest,  after  he  had  washed,  not  only  his 
hands  and  his  feet,  as  usual  at  common  sacritices, 
but  his  whole  body,  dressed  himeelf  in  ])lain  linen 
like  tlie  other  priests,  wearing  neither  his  purple 
robe,  nor  the  ej^liod,  nor  tlie  pectoral,  because  he 
was  to  expiate  his  own  sins,  together  with  those  of 
the  people.  lie  first  offered  a  bullock  and  a  ram 
for  his  own  sins,  and  those  of  the  i)riests,  putting  his 
hands  on  the  heads  of  the  victims,  and  confessing 
bis  own  sins,  and  the  sins  of  his  bouse.  Afterwards, 
he  received  from  the  princes  of  the  people  two 
goats  for  a  sin-offering,  and  a  ram  for  a  burnt-offer- 
ing, to  be  offered  in  the  name  of  the  whole  nation. 
The  lot  dctei'miued  Avhich  of  the  two  goats  should 
be  sacrificed,  and  which  set  at  liberty.  After  tliis, 
the  high-priest  put  some  of  the  sacred  fire  of  the 
altar  of  burnt-offerings  into  a  censer,  threw  incense 
upon  it,  and  entered  with  it,  thus  smoking,  into  the 
sanctuary.  After  liaving  perfumed  the  sanctuary 
with  this  incense,  he  came  out,  took  some  of  the 
blood  of  the  yoimg  bullock  he  had  sacrificed,  carried 
that  also  into  the  sanctuary,  and,  dipping  his  fingers 
in  it,  sprinkled  it  seven  times  between  the  ark  and 
the  veil,  which  separated  tlie  lioly  from  the  sanctu- 
ary, or  most  holy.  Then  he  came  out  a  second 
time,  and  beside  the  altar  of  bunit-ofieriugs  killed 
the  goat  which  the  lot  had  determined  to  be  the  sac- 
rifice. The  blood  of  this  goat  he  carried  into  the 
most  holy  place,  and  sprinkled  it  seven  times  be- 
tween the  ark  and  the  veil,  which  separated  the  holy 
from  the  sanctuary;  from  thence  be  returned  into 
the  court  of  the  tabernacle,  and  s])rinkled  both  sides 
of  it  with  the  blood  of  the  goat.  During  this  time, 
none  of  the  priests,  or  peoj)le,  were  admitted  into 
the  tabernacle,  or  into  the  court.  This  being  done, 
the  high-priest  came  to  the  altar  of  burnt-ofi'erings, 
wetted  the  four  horns  of  it  with  the  blood  of  the 
goat,  and  young  bullock,  and  s|>iiiikled  it  seven  times 
with  the  same  blood.  The  sanctninT,  the  court,  and 
tb'  altar  being  thus  jHirified,  he  directed  the  goat 
which  was  set  at  liberty  l)y  the  lot,  to  be  brought  to 
him,  which  being  done,  he  put  his  hand  on  the  goat's 
head,  confessed  bis  own  sins,  and  the  sins  of  the 
people,  and  then  delivered  it  to  a  person  to  carry  it 
to  some  desert  place,  *".nd  let  it  loose,  or  throw  it 
down  some  precij/ice.  (See  Scape  Goat.)  This 
being  done,  the  high-])riest  washed  himself  all  over 
in  the  tabernacle,  and,  putting  on  other  clothes,  (some 
think  his  pontifical  dress,  his  robe  of  purple,  the 
ephod,  and  the  pectoral,)  sacrificcfl  two  ratns  for 
burnt-offering,  one  for  himself,  and  the  other  for  the 
people.  The  day  was  a  gi-eat  solemnity  of  the  He- 
iirews ;  a  day  of  rest,  and  of  strict  fasting.  Leo  of 
Modena,  Buxtorf,  and  others,  have;  collected 
many  particulars  relative  to  the  solemnities  of  this 
day,    from    the   rabbins,    as    may  be   seen    in    the 


larger  edition  of  this   work,   art.    ExriATiG>-,  Aza- 
ZEL,  &c. 

ATROTH,  see  in  Ataroth. 

ATTALIA,  a  maritime  city  of  Pamphylia,  which 
.Paul  and  Barnabas  visited.  Acts  xiv.  25.  A.  D.  45.  It 
still  subsists  under  the  name  of  Antuli.  It  was  built 
(or  refounded)  by  Attains  Philadelphus,  king  of  Per- 
gamus,  who  gave  to  it  his  own  name. 

ATTALUS,  a  king  of  Pergamus,  surnamed  Phila- 
delphus, (I  Mace.  XV.  22.)  to  whom  the  Romans 
wrote  in  favor  of  tlie  Jews.  The  arrival  of  the  Jew- 
ish ambassadors  at  Rome,  to  renew  their  alliance,  in 
consequence  of  which  the  Roman  senate  wrote  to 
Attalus,  is  fixed  to  A.  M.  3865  ;  and  Attalus  Phila- 
delphus began  to  govern  in  3845.  He  governed 
twenty-one  years ;  and,  in  38G6,  resigned  the  king- 
dom to  his  nephew  Philometor,  to  whom  of  right  it 
belonged. 

ATTITUDE  at  table,  see  Eating. 

AUGUSTUS,  emperor  of  Rome,  succeeded  Julius 
Cajsar,  nineteen  years  before  A.  D. — A.  M.  3985.  Au- 
gustus was  the  emperor  who  appointed  the  enrol- 
ment (Luke  ii.  1.)  which  obliged  Joseph  and  the  Vir- 
gin to  go  to  Bethlehem,  the  place  where  the  Messiah 
was  to  be  born. 

Augustus  procured  the  crown  of  Judfca  for  Herod, 
whom  he  loaded  with  honors  and  riches  ;  and  was 
pleased  also  to  undertake  the  education  of  Alexan- 
der and  Aristobulus,  his  sous,  to  whom  he  gave  apart- 
ments in  bis  palace.  When  he  came  into  Syria, 
Zenodorus,  and  the  Gadarenes,  waited  on  him  with 
complaints  against  Herod  ;  but  he  cleared  himself 
of  the  accusations,  and  Augustus  added  to  bis  hon- 
ors and  kingdom  the  tetrarchy  of  Zenodorus.  He 
also  examined  into  the  quarrels  between  Herod  and 
bis  sons,  and  reconciled  them.  (Joseph.  Antiq.  lib. 
XV.  cap.  13.)  Sylteus,  minister  to  Obodas,  king  of 
the  Nabatheans,  having  accused  Herod  of  invading 
Arabia,  and  destroying  many  people  there,  Augus- 
tus, in  anger,  wrote  to  Herod  about  it ;  but  he  so 
\vell  justified  his  conduct,  that  the  emperor  restored 
him  to  favor,  and  continued  it  ever  after.  He  dis- 
ap[)roved,  lioAV(>ver,  of  the  rigor  exercised  by  Herod 
toAvard  his  sons,  Alexander,  Aristobulus,  and  Antipa- 
ter  ;  and  when  they  were  executed  he  is  said  to  have 
oliscrved,  "  that  it  were  better  a  gieat  deal  to  be 
Herod's  hog  than  his  son."  (Macrob.  Satinn.  lib.  ii. 
cap.  4.)  After  the  death  of  Lepidus,  Augustus  as- 
sumed the  office  of  higli-jjriest ;  a  dignity  which 
gave  him  the  insjiection  over  ceremonies  and  reli- 
gious concerns.  One  of  his  first  j)roceedings  was, 
an  examination  of  the  Sibyls'  books,  many  of  which 
he  burnt,  and  placed  the  others  in  two  gold  boxes, 
under  the  pedestal  of  Apollo's  statue,  whose  temple 
\\as  within  the  enclosure  of  the  palace.  See  Sibyl. 
This  is  worthy  of  note,  if  these  iirophecics  had  ex- 
cited a  geiKMal  exjiectntion  of  some  gi'cat  person 
about  that  time  to  be  born,  as  there  is  reason  to  sup- 
jiose  was  the  fact.  It  should  be  remembered,  also, 
that  Augustus  bad  the  honor  to  shut  the  temple  of 
Jamis,  in  token  of  universal  jieace,  at  the  time  when 
the  Prince  of  Peace  was  born.  This  is  remarkable, 
because  that  temple  was  shut  but  a  very  few  times. 
Augustus  died  A.  D.  14. 

AURANITIS,  see  Haura.n. 

AURIT.-E,  sons  of  Cush.     See  I^r. 

AVEN,  a  ])lain  in  Syria  ;  the  same,  probably,  as  the 
jilain  of  Baal-beck,  or  valley  of  Baal,  where  there  was 
a  magnificent  temple  dedicated  to  the  sun.  It  is  sit- 
uate between  Lebanon  and  Anti-Lebanon,  and  hence 
called  the  valley  of  Lebjiiion,  Josh.  xi.  17;  Amos  i.  5. 


AZA 


t  119  ] 


AZO 


AVENGE.     See  Revenge. 

I.  AVI3I,  a  city  of  Benjamin,  Josh,  xviii.  3. 

II.  AVIM,  a  people  descended  from  Hcvteus,  son  of 
Canaan,  who  dwelt  originally  in  the  countrj'  after- 
wards possessed  by  the  Caphtorim,  or  Philistines, 
Deut.  ii.  23;  Josh.  xiii.  3.  There  were  also  Avim, 
or  Hivites,  at  Shechem,  or  Gibeon,  Josh.  ix.  7  ;  Gen. 
xxxiv.  2.  There  were  some  also  beyond  Jordan,  at 
the  foot  of  mount  Ilermon,  Josh.  xi.  3.  Bochart 
thinks  that  Cadmus,  who  conducted  a  colony  of 
Phoenicians  into  Greece,  was  a  Hivite ;  his  name, 
Cadmus,  deriving  from  the  Hebrew  Kedem,  the  East, 
because  he  came  from  the  eastern  parts  to  Canaan  ; 
and  the  name  of  his  wife,  Hermione,  from  mount 
Hermon,  at  the  foot  of  which  the  Hivites  dwelt.  In 
this  case,  the  metamorphosis  of  Cadmus's  compan- 
ions into  serpents,  is  founded  on  the  signification  of 
the  name  Hivites ;  which,  in  the  Phoenician  language, 
signifies  serpents.  The  country  of  the  Avim  was  also 
called  Hazerim  ;  (Deut.  ii.  23.)  in  the  eastern  inter- 
preters and  Pliny,  Raphia.  Tlicir  territory  ended  at 
Gaza,  beginning  at  the  river  of  Egj'pt ;  and  thus  ex- 
tending forty-four  miles.  Sometimes  this  country 
appears  to  be  called  Shur ;  which  the  Arabic  ren- 
ders Gerarim,  Gen.  xx.  1.     See  Gerar. 

AVITH,  the  capital  city  of  Hadad,  king  of  Edom, 
Gen.  xxxvi.  35. 

AXE,  a  well-known  instrument  of  iron,  used  for 
cutting ;  and  often  metaphorically  employed  in 
Scripture,  for  a  person  or  power,  who,  as  a  cutting 
instrument  in  the  hand  of  God,  is  employed  to  lop 
off  branches  and  boughs,  and  sometimes  to  cut 
down  the  tree  itself.  Thus,  if  sinners  be  compared 
to  trees  in  a  forest,  he  who  smiles  them  is  compared 
to  an  axe,  Isa.  x.  15.  This  is  especially  apparent  in 
the  proverbial  phraseology  used  by  John  the  Bap- 
tist :  (3Iatt.  iii.  10 ;  Luke  iii.  9.)  "  The  axe  is  laid  to 
the  root  of  the  trees" — irresistible  punishment,  de- 
struction, is  near.  We  risk  little  in  referring  this 
(ultimately)  to  the  Roman  power  and  armies  ;  which, 
as  an  axe,  most  vehemently  cut  away  the  very  ex- 
istence of  the  Jewish  polity  and  state.  In  this 
sense  it  coincides  with  our  Lord's  expression,  "  I  am 
come  to  send  a  sword  on  the  earth" — ^more  properly  on 
the  land;  that  is,  of  Judea.  See  Judges  ix.  8:  Psalm 
Ixxiv.  5 :  Isa.  xiv.  6 — 8 :  Ezek.  xvii.  29 — 24  :  xxxi.  3. 

AZA.  Gaza  and  Azoth  are  sometimes  so  called. 
Josephus  notices  a  mountain  of  tliis  name,  near  to 
which  Judas  Maccabseus  fought  against  Bacchides, 
in  his  last  encounter.  In  1  Mace.  ix.  15,  it  is  called 
mount  Azotus. 

I.  AZARIAH,  high-priest  of  the  Jews,  (1  Chron. 
vi.  9.)  and  perhaps  the  same  with  Amariali,  who 
lived  under  Jehoshaphat,  king  of  Judah,  2  Chron. 
xix.  11.  about  A.M.  .3092. 

II.  AZARIAH,  son  of  Johanan,  high-priest  of  the 
Jews,  1  Chron.  vi.  10.  Perhaps  the  same  with 
Zechariah,  son  of  Jehoiada,  killed  A.  M.  3164,  2 
Chron.  xxiv.  20,  22. 

III.  AZARIAH,  the  high-priest  who  opposed 
Uzziah,  king  of  Judah,  in  offering  incense  to  the 
Lord,  2  Chron.  xxvi.  17, 

IV'.  AZARIAH,  a  higli-jn-iest  in  the  reign  of 
Hezekiah,  2  Chron.  xxxi.  10. 

V.  AZARIAH,  the  father  of  Seraiah,  the  last 
high-priest  before  the  captivity,  1  Chron.  vi.  14. 

A  I.  AZARIAH,  son  of  the  high-priest  Zadok ; 
but  we  do  not  read  that  he  succeeded  his  father,  1 
Kings  iv.  2. 

V  n.  AZARIAH,  captain  of  Solomon's  guards,  1 
Kinirn  iv.  .5. 


VIII.  AZARIAH,  or  Uzziah,  a  king  of  Judah, 
began  to  reign  at  sixteen  years  of  age,  and  reigned 
fifty-two  years  at  Jerusalem,  2  Kings  xv.  27.  2  Chron. 
xxvi.  18,  19.  The  beginuiiig  of  Uzziah's  reign  was 
very  happy.  Having  obtained  great  advantages  over 
the  Phihstines,  Ammonites,  and  Arabians,  he  added 
to  the  fortifications  of  Jerusalem,  and  kept  up  an 
army  of  307,500  men,  with  great  magazines  of  arms. 
He  was  also  a  great  lover  of  agriculture,  had  nu- 
merous husbandmen  in  the  plains,  vine-dressers  in 
the  mountains,  and  shepherds  in  the  valleys.  Pre- 
suming to  offer  incense  in  the  temple,  however, 
which  office  was  peculiar  to  the  priests,  he  was 
struck  with  a  leprosy,  and  continued  without  the 
city,  separated,  to  his  death,  A.  31.  3246. 

IX.  AZARIAH,  a  prophet,  who,  by  God's  ap- 
pointment, met  Asa,  king  of  Judah,  when  returning 
after  his  success  against  Zerah,  king  of  Ethiopia,  or 
Cush,  2  Chron.  xv.  1. 

X.  AZARIAH,  a  person  to  whom  the  high-priest, 
Jehoiada,  discovered  that  the  young  prince,  Joash, 
was  living ;  and  who  contributed  to  place  him  on 
the  throne,  2  Chron.  xxiii.  1. 

XI.  AZARIAH,  the  name  of  two  sons  of  Jehosha- 
phat, king  of  Judah,  2  Chron.  xxi.   2. 

XII.  AZARIAH,  the  son  of  Hoshaiah,  who  ac- 
cused the  prophet  Jeremiah  (chap,  xliii.  2.)  of  de- 
ceiving the  people  ;  because  he  advised  the  Jews, 
who  remained  after  the  transportation  to  Babylon, 
against  going  into  Egypt.  He  carried  Jeremiah  and 
Baruch  into  Egypt,  with  the  people  who  had  been 
left  behind. 

XIII.  AZARIAH,  the  Chaldean  name  of  Abed- 
nego,  who  was  cast  into  the  fiery  furnace  by  Nebu- 
chadnezzai-,  for  refusing  to  adore  his  golden  statue, 
Dan.  i.  7.  iii.  19. 

AZAZEL.     See  Goat,  scape. 

AZEKAH,  a  city  of  Judah,  (Josh.  xv.  35 ;  1  Sam. 
xvii.  I.)  which  Eusebius  and  Jerome  place  between 
Jerusalem  and  Eleutheropolis. 

AZEM,  a  city  of  Simeon,  Josh.  xix.  3.  The  same, 
perhaps,  as  Esmonia,  or  Asmona. 

AZMAV^ETH,  or  Azmoth,  or  Beth-azmoth,  a 
city,  probably  in  Judah,  adjacent  to  Jerusalem  and 
Anathoth,  Nebcin,  vii.  28  ;  xii.  29. 

AZMON,  or  Jeshimon,  a  city  in  the  wilderness  of 
3Iaon,  south  of  Judah,  belonging  to  the  tribe  of 
Simeon,  Numb,  xxxiv.  4  ;  Josh.  xv.  4. 

AZNOTH  TABOR,  or  simply  Azanoth,  or  Az- 
NOTH,  a  city  of  Naphtali,  (Josh.  xix.  34.)  which  Euse- 
bius places  in  the  plain,  not  far  distant  from  Dio- 
csesarea. 

AZOTUS  is  th(>  Greek  name  of  the  same  city  which 
is  called,  in  the  Hebrew,  Ashdod.  It  was  not  taken 
by  Joshua,  and,  being  surrounded  with  a  wall  of 
great  strength,  it  became  a  place  of  great  impor- 
tance, and  one  of  the  five  governments  of  the  Philis- 
tines. Hither  was  sent  the  ark  of  God,  when  taken 
from  the  Israelites ;  and  here  was  Dagon  cast  down 
before  it,  1  Sam.  v.  2,  3.  Uzziah,  king  of  Judah, 
broke  down  its  wall,  and  built  cities,  or  watch-tow- 
ers, about  it,  2  Chron.  xxvi.  6.  It  was  taken  by 
Tartan,  general  of  the  king  of  Assyria,  (2  Kings 
xviii.  17.)  when  it  appears  to  have  been  very  severely 
treated  ;  as  Jeremiah  (chap.  xxv.  20.)  gives  the  cup  of 
desolation  to  be  drunk  by  "  the  remnant  of  Ashdod." 
It  was  not  wholly  destroyed,  however,  for  Amos  (chap, 
i.  8.)  mentions  "  the  inhabitant  of  Ashdod  ;"  Zepha- 
niah(chap.  ii.  4.)  says,  "Ashdod  shall  be  driven  out  at 
noon-day  ;"  and  Zechariah  (ix.  6.)  says, "  a  bastard  shall 
dwell  in  Ashdod."     From  these  notices,  it  appears, 


AZOTUS 


[  120] 


AZOTUS 


that  Ashdod  was  a  place  of  great  strength  aud  conse- 
quence. Its  New  Testament  name  is  Azotus,  and  here 
Philip  was  found,  after  his  conversion  of  the  eunuch 
at  Gaza,  distant  about  thirtyniiles.  Acts  viii.  40. 

Azotus  was  a  port  on  the  Mediterranean,  between 
Askalon  and  Ekron,  or  between  Jamnia  and  Aske- 
lon,  (Judith  iii.  2.  Gr.)  or  between  Gaza  and  Jamnia, 
(Josephus,  Antiq.  xiii.  23.)  i.  e.  it  lay  between  these 
cities,  but  not  directly,  nor  in  the  same  sense.  The 
present  state  of  the  town  is  thus  described  bv  Dr. 
Wittman  :  (Travels  in  Syria,  &c.  p.  28o.)  ""Pur- 
suing our  route  through  a  deUghtful  country,  we 
came  to  Ashdod,  called  by  the  Greeks  Azotus,  and 
under  that  name  mentioned  in  the  Acts  of  the  Apos- 
tles ;  a  town  of  great   antiquity,  provided  with   two 


small  entrance  gates.  In  passing  through  this  place, 
we  saw  several  fragments  of  columns,  capitals,  cor- 
nices, &c.  of  marble.  Towards  the  centre  is  a  hand- 
some mosque,  with  a  minaret.  By  the  Arab  inhab- 
itants Ashdod  is  called  IMezdel.  Two  miles  to  the 
south,  on  a  hill,  is  a  ruin,  having  in  its  centre  a  lofty 
column  still  standing  entire.  The  delightful  verdure 
of  the  surrounding  plains,  together  with  a  gi'eat 
abundance  of  fine  old  olive  trees,  rendered  the  scene 
charmingly  picturesque.  In  the  villages,  tobacco, 
fruits  and  vegetables  are  cultivated  abundantly  by 
the  inhabitants ;  and  the  fertile  and  extensive  plains 
yield  an  ample  produce  of  corn.  Ashdod  may  be 
seen  from  the  'sloping  hill  of  easy  ascent,'  near 
Jaffa,  or  Joppa."     See  Ashdop. 


B 


BAAL 


BAAL 


L  BAAL,  or  Bel,  {governor,  ruler,  lord,)  a  god  of 
the  Phoenicians  and  Canaanites.  Baal  and  Astaroth 
are  commonly  mentioned  together;  and,  as  it  is  be- 
lieved that  Astaroth  denotes  the  moon,  Calmet  con- 
cludes that  Baal  represents  the  sun.  The  name 
Baal  is  used,  in  a  generical  sense,  for  the  superior 
god  of  the  Phoenicians,  Chaldeans,  Moabites,  and 
other  people,  and  is  often  compounded  with  the 
name  of  some  place  or  quality  ;  as  Baal-Peor,  Baal- 
zebub,  Baal-Gad,  Baal-Zephon,  Baal-Berith.  Baal 
is  the  most  ancient  god  of  the  Canaanites,  and,  per- 
haps, of  the  East ;  and  the  Hebrews  too  often  im- 
itated the  idolatry  of  the  Canaanites,  in  adoring  him. 
They  offered  human  sacrifices  to  him,  and  erected 
altars  to  him,  in  groves,  on  high  places,  and  on  the 
terraces  of  houses.  Baal  had  priests  and  prophets 
ooni^ecrated  to  his  service ;  and  many  infamous 
actions  were  committed  in  his  festivals.  Some 
learned  men  nave  maintained  that  the  Baal  of  Pho'- 
nicia  was  the  Saturn  of  Greece  and  Rome  ;  and  cer- 
tainly there  was  great  conformity  between  their  ser- 
vices and  sacrifices.  Others  are  of  opinion  that 
Baal  was  the  Phoenician  (or  Tyrian)  Hercules,  (an 
opinion  not  inconsistent  with  the  other,)  but  it  is 
generally  concluded  that  Baal  was  the  sun  ;  and,  on 
this  admission,  all  the  characters  which  he  assumes 
in  Scripture,  may  be  easily  explained.  The  great 
luminary  was  adored  over  all  the  East,  and  is  the 
most  ancient  deity  acknowledged  among  the  hea- 
then.    See  Idolatry. 

The  Hebrews  sometimes  called  the  sun  Baal- 
Shemesh; — Baal  the  sun.  Manasseh  adored  Baal, 
planted  groves,  and  worshipped  all  the  host  of 
heaven;  but  Josiah,  desirous  to  repair  the  evil  in- 
troduced by  Manasseh,  put  to  death  "  the  idolatrous 
priests  that  burnt  incense  unto  Baal,  to  the  sun,  and 
to  the  moon,  and  to  the  planets,  and  to  all  the  host 
of  heaven.  He  commanded  all  the  vessels  that 
were  made  for  Baal,  and  for  the  grove,  (Ashreh,  or 
Astaroth,]  and  for  all  the  host  of  heaven,  to  be 
brought  forth  out  of  the  temple.  He  took  away  the 
horses  that  the  kings  of  Judah  had  given  to  the 
sun,  and  burnt  the  chariots  of  the  sun  with  fire." 
Here  the  worship  of  the  sun  is  particularly  described  ; 
and  the  sun  itself  is  clearly  expressed  by  the  name 
of  Baal,  2  Kings  xxiii.  IL  The  temples"  and  altars 
of  the  sun,  or  Baal,  were  generally  on  eminences. 
Manasseh  placed  in  the  two  courts  of  the  temple  at 
Jenisalem  altars  to  all  the  host  of  heaven,  and,  in 


particular,  to  Astarte,  or  the  moon,  2  Kings  xxi.  5. 
7.  Jeremiah  threatens  those  of  Judah,  who  had 
sacrificed  to  Baal  on  the  house-top,  (ch.  xxxii.  29.) 
and  Josiah  destroyed  the  altars  which  Ahaz  had 
erected  on  the  terrace  of  his  palace,  2  Kings  xxiii.  12. 

Human  victims  were  offered  to  Baal,  as  they  were 
to  the  sun.  The  Persian  Mithra  (who  is  also  the 
sun)  was  honored  with  like  sacrifices,  as  was  also 
Apollo.  Jeremiah  reproaches  the  inhabitants  of  Ju- 
dah and  Jerusalem  with  "building  the  high  places 
of  Baal,  to  burn  their  sons  with  fire  for  burnt-offer- 
ings unto  Baal,"  (chap.  xix.  5.) — an  expression  which 
appears  to  be  decisive,  for  the  actual  slaying  by  fire 
of  the  unhapp)'^  victims  to  Baiil. 

The  Scripture  calls  temples  consecrated  to  Baal, 
i.  e.  to  the  sun,  chamanim,  Lev.  xxvi.  SO ;  Isa.  xvii. 
8  ;  xxvii.  9 ;  Ezek.  vi.  4,  G,  and  2  Chron.  xxxiv.  4. 
They  were  places  enclosed  w  ith  walls,  in  which  a  per- 
petual fire  was  maintained  :  they  were  frequent  in  the 
East,  particularly  among  the  Persians  ;  and  the  Greeks 
called  them  pijreia,  or  pyratheia,  from  the  Greek 
pyr,  fire,  or  pyra,  a  funeral  pile.  There  was  in  them, 
says  Strabo,  (lib.  xv.)  an  altar,  abundance  of  ashes, 
and  a  fire  never  suft'ered  to  go  out.  Maundrel,  iu 
his  journey  from  Aleppo  to  Jerusalem,  observed 
some  remains  of  them  in  Syria.  [The  word 
□'j-n,  c/(aHifl?n';H,  signifies,  to  judg(^  from  the  clearest 
passage,  (2  Chr.  xxxiv.  4.)  a  species  of  idol  statues,  or 
images,  which  stood  upon  the  altars  of  Baal.  The 
word  is,  therefore,  always  properly  rendered  in  the 
English  version  images.  The  exi)lanation  of  Jarchi 
is  not  improbably  the  correct  one,  viz.  solar  pillars, 
sun-columns.  The  god  Baal  Chaman  (|-:n)  is  not 
unfrcquently  mentioned  in  Phoenician  inscriptions, 
which  is  best  explained  by  Baal  i.  e.  Deus  Solaris.  R. 

Some  critics  have  thought  that  the  god  Belus  of 
the  Chaldeans  and  Babylonians  was  Nimrod,  their 
first  king ;  others,  that  he  \\as  Belus  the  Assyri- 
an, father  of  Ninus ;  and  others,  a  son  of  Semi- 
ramis.  Many  have  supposed  Belus  to  be  the  same 
with  Jupiter ;  but  Calmet  concludes  that  Baal  was 
worshipped  as  the  sun  among  the  Phoenicians  and 
Canaanites  ;  and  that  he  was  often  taken  in  general 
for  the  great  god  of  the  eastern  people. 

[The  preceding  observations  are  mostly  from  Cal- 
met himself;  but  a9  very  much  of  the  idolatry  al- 
luded to  in  the  Old  Testament  is  derived  from,  or 
connected  with,  the  rites  of  Baal,  it  seems  in)portant 
to  give  here  the  views  of  later  commentators,  who 


BAAL 


[  121  ] 


BAAL 


have  been  led  to  investigate  the  subject  with  par- 
ticular care.  The  principal  of  these  are  Gesenius, 
(in  his  Thesaurus  Ling.  Heb.  p.  224,  and  in  his  Com- 
mentar  zu  Isa.  ii.  p.  335.)  and  bishop  Miinter,  of  Co- 
penhagen, in  his  work  entitled  "  Rehgion  der  Baby- 
lonier,"  Copenh.  1827,  p.  16,  seq. 

The  word  BaaJ,  in  the  Old  Testament,  when  em- 
ployed with  the  article,  and  without  further  addition, 
i.  e.  the  Baal,  i.  q.  the  Lord,  denotes  an  idol  of  the 
Phcenicians,  and  particularly  of  the  Tyrians,  whose 
worship  was  also  introduced,  with  great  solemnities, 
among  the  Hebrews,  and  especially  at  Samaria, 
along  with  that  of  Astarte  ;  Judg.  vi.  25,  seq.  2  Kings 
X.  18,  seq.  (See  Astaroth  I.)  In  the  plural,  fiaoym, 
the  word  signifies  images  or  statues  of  Baal,  Judg. 
ii.  11 ;  X.  10,  &c. — Of  the  extent  to  which  the  wor- 
ship of  this  idol  was  domesticated  among  the  Phce- 
nicians and  Carthaginians,  we  have  an  evidence  in 
the  proper  names  of  persons ;  as  among  the  former 
Ethbaal,  Jerubbaal  ;  and  among  the  latter,  Hannibal, 
Asdnibal,  &c. — Among  the  Babylonians  the  same 
idol  was  worshipped  under  the  name  of  Bel ;  which 
is  only  the  Aramaean  form  of  Baal,  i.  e.  ^2  for  h-;2, 
e.  g.  Isa.  xlvi.  1  ;  Jer.  1.  2 ;  11.  44,  &c.  His  worship 
wo?  established  in  that  city  in  the  famous  tower  of 
Babel,  the  uppermost  room  of  which  served  at  the 
same  time  as  an  observatory,  and  was  the  re- 
pository of  a  collection  of  ancient  astronomical  ob- 
servations. (Herodot.  i.  181 — 183.  Diod.  ii.  10. 
Strabo,  xvi.  1.  6.)  See  also  the  article  Babel. — By 
Greek  and  Roman  \VTiters  the  Phoenician  Baal  is 
called  Hercules  and  Hercules  Tyrius.  (Her.  ii.  14. 
Arrian,  Exp.  Alex.  ii.  16.    2  3Iacc.  iv.  18,  20.) 

That  in  the  astronomical,  or  rather  astrological 
mythology  of  the  East,  we  are  to  look  for  the  origin 
of  this  worship  in  the  adoration  of  the  heavenly 
bodies,  is  conceded  by  all  critics.  But,  in  conse- 
quence of  the  varying  statements  of  ancient  authors, 
who  lived  at  different  periods,  a  considerable  di- 
versity of  opinion  has  arisen  in  respect  to  what 
heavenly  body  we  are  to  regard  Baal  as  represent- 
ing. The  more  common  opinion  has  been,  that 
Baal,  or  Bel,  is  the  sun  ;  and  that,  under  this  name, 
this  luminary  received  divine  honors.  Bishop  Miinter 
supposes  that  this  was  the  case  at  least  originally ; 
(p.  17.)  that  the  fundamental  idea  of  all  oriental 
idolatry, — which  may  also  be  traced  from  India  to 
the  north  of  Europe, — is  the  primeval  poiver  of  nature, 
which  divides  itself  into  the  generative,  and  the  C07i- 
ceptive  or  productive  power.  Of  these  two,  the  male 
and  female  powers  of  nature,  he  supposes  (with 
others)  the  sun  and  moon  to  have  been  worshipped 
as  the  representatives  under  the  names  of  Baal  and 
Astarte,  at  least  by  the  most  ancient  Babylonians 
and  other  Semitish  tribes. — Gesenius,  fixing  his 
view  more  particularly  on  a  later  period,  finds  that 
the  Greek  and  Roman  writers  give  to  the  Babylonian 
Bel  the  muue  of  Jupiter  Belus.  (Plin.  H.  N.  xxxvii. 
10.  Cic.  de  Nat.  Deor.  iii.  16.  Diod.  ii.  8,  9.)  By 
this  name,  however,  they  did  not  mean  the  "  father 
of  the  gods,"  but  the  planet  Jupiter,  s<eWo  Jovis,  (Cic. 
de  Nat.  Deor.  ii.  20.)  which  was  regarded,  along  with 
the  planet  Venus,  as  the  principle  of  all  good,  the 
guardian  and  giver  of  all  good  fortune ;  and  forms 
with  Venus  the  most  fortunate  of  all  constellations, 
imder  which  alone  fortunate  sovereigns  can  be  born. 
(Comm.  z.  Isa.  ii.  p.  355,  seq.)  Hence  it  is  also  called, 
by  the  Arabians,  Fortuna  major.  (See  Gad,  and  Me.vi.) 
This  planet,  therefore,  Gesenius  supposes  to  have 
been  the  object  of  worship  under  the  name  of  Baal ; 
na  also  the  planet  Venus  under  that  of  Astarte. 
16 


Not  that  the  sun  was  not  an  object  of  idolatrous 
worship  among  these  nations ;  but  in  that  case  he  is 
represented  under  his  own  name,  Shemesh,  also  Baal- 
shamaim,  (lord  of  the  heavens,)  Baal-hamman,  Baal- 
shemesh,  &c.  (Thesaur.  p.  224,  col.  2.) — This  view,  it 
will  be  observed,  is  directly  controverted  by  Miinter, 
only  in  reference  to  the  very  earliest  ages. 

The  following  passages  have  been  retained  from 
the  Enghsh  edition  of  this  work,  not  as  illustrating, 
in  any  way,  the  Bible  or  the  idolatrous  worship  of 
Baal,  but  as  being  in  themselves  interesting,  and  as, 
perhaps,  casting  a  faint  light  on  the  remark  of  bishop 
Miinter  above,  in  reference  to  the  worship  of  the 
male  and  female  powers  of  nature,  "from  India  to 
the  north  of  Europe."     *R. 

The  worship  of  Bel,  Belus,  Belenus,  or  Belinus, 
was  general  throughout  the  British  islands  ;  and  cer- 
tain of  its  rites  and  observances  are  still  maintained 
among  us,  notwithstanding  the  spread  and  the  es- 
tablishment of  Christianity  during  so  many  ages.  It 
might  have  been  thought,  that  the  pompous  rituals 
of  popery  would  have  superseded  the  Druidical 
superstitions ;  or  that  the  reformation  to  Protestant- 
ism would  have  banished  them  ;  or  that  the  prev- 
alence of  various  sects  would  have  reduced  them 
to  oblivion :  but  the  fact  is  otherwise.  Surely  the 
roots  of  Druidism  were  struck  extremely  deep ! 
What  charm  could  render  them  so  prevalent  and 
permanent  ? — "  A  town  in  Perthshire,  on  the  borders 
of  the  Higli  lands,  is  called  Tillie-  [or  Tullie-)  beltane, 
i.e.  the  einbcnce,  or  rising- gi-ound,  ©/"f/ie^re  of  Bard. 
In  the  neighborhood  is  a  Druidical  temple  of  eight 
upright  stones,  where  it  is  supposed  the  fire  was 
kindled.  At  some  distance  from  this  is  another 
temple  of  the  same  kind,  but  smaller,  and  near  it  a 
well  still  held  in  great  veneration.  On  Beltane 
morning,  superstitious  people  go  to  this  well,  and 
drink  of  it ;  then  they  make  a  procession  round  it, 
as  we  are  informed,  nine  times.  Afl:er  this  they  in 
hke  manner  go  round  the  temple.  So  deep-rooted 
is  this  heathenish  superstition  in  the  minds  of  many 
who  reckon  themselves  good  Protestants,  that  they 
will  not  neglect  these  rites,  even  when  Beltane  falls 
on  sabbath."  (Statist.  Accounts  of  Scotland,  vol.  iii. 
p.  105.)  "On  the  first  day  of  May,  which  is  called 
Beltan,  or  Bal-tein,  day,  all  the  boys  in  a  township, 
or  hamlet,  meet  in  the  moors.  They  cut  a  table 
in  the  green  sod,  of  a  round  figure,  by  casting  a 
trench  in  the  ground  of  such  circumference  as  to 
hold  the  whole  company.  They  kindle  a  fire,  and 
dress  a  repast  of  eggs  and  milk  in  the  consistence 
of  a  custard.  They  knead  a  cake  of  oatmeal,  which 
is  toasted  at  the  embers  against  a  stone.  After  the 
custard  is  eaten  up,  they  divide  the  cake  into  so 
many  portions,  as  similar  as  possible  to  one  another 
in  size  and  shape,  as  there  are  persons  in  the  com- 
pany. They  daub  one  of  these  portions  all  over 
with  charcoal,  until  it  be  perfectly  black.  They  put 
all  the  bits  of  cake  into  a  bonnet.  Every  one, 
blindfold,  draws  out  a  portion.  He  who  holds  the 
bonnet  is  entitled  to  the  last  bit.  Whoever  draws 
the  black  bit,  is  the  devoted  person  who  is  to  be 
sacrificed  to  Baal,  whose  favor  they  mean  to  implore, 
in  rendering  the  year  productive  of  the  sustenance 
of  man  and  beast.  There  is  httle  doubt  of  these 
inhuman  sacrifices  having  been  once  offered  in  this 
country,  as  well  as  in  the  East,  although  they  now 
pass  from  the  act  of  sacrificing,  and  only  compel  the 
devoted  person  to  leap  three  times  through  the 
flames ;  with  which  the  ceremonies  of  this  festival 
are  closed."     (Id.  vol.  xi.  p.  621.) 


BAA 


[  122  1 


BAA 


This  pagan  ceremony  of  lighting  fires  in  honor 
of  tlic  Asiatic  god  Belus,  gave  its  name  to  the  entire 
month  of  May,  which  is  to  this  day  called  mi  na 
Bealtine,  in  the  Irish  language.  Dr.  Keating,  speak- 
ing of  this  fire  of  Beal,  says,  that  the  cattle  were 
driven  through  it,  and  not  sacrificed  ;  and  that  the 
chief  design  of  it  was  to  keep  off  all  contagious  dis- 
orders from  them  for  that  year ;  and  lie  also  says, 
that  all  the  inhabitants  of  Ireland  quenched  their 
fires  on  that  day,  and  kindled  them  again  out  of 
some  part  of  that  fire.  He  adds,  from  an  ancient 
glossary :  "  The  Druids  lighted  two  solemn  fires 
every  year,  and  drove  all  four-footed  beasts  through 
them  in  order  to  preserve  them  from  all  contagious 
distempers  during  the  current  year."  In  AVales  this 
annual  fire  is  kindled  in  autuiim,  on  the  first  day  of 
November.  In  North  Wales,  especially,  this  fire  is 
attended  by  man\  ceremonies ;  such  as  running 
through  the  fire  and  smoke,  each  participator  casting 
a  stone  into  the  fire,  6cc. 

ihis  superstition,  says  Dr.  .Maci)herson,  prevailed 
throughout  the  North,  as  well  as  throughout  the  West. 
"Although  the  name  ol'Bd-lein  is  unknown  in  Swe- 
den, yet,  on  the  last  day  of  April,  i.  e.  the  evening 
preceding  our  Bel-lein,  the  country  peo])le  light  gi-eat 
fires  on  the  hills,  and  spend  the  night  in  shooting. 
This  with  them  is  the  eve  of  Walburgh's  Mess." 
Leopold  Von  Biich,  Avho  travelled  through  Norway 
in  1807,  noticed  this  jiractice  at  Lodingen,  N.  lat. 
()8i.  His  words  are — "  It  was  Hansdagsaften,  the 
eve  of  St.  John's  day.  The  people  flocked  together, 
on  an  adjoining  hill,  to  keep  up  St.  John's  fire  till 
midnight,  as  is  done  throughout  all  Germany  and 
Norway.  It  burnt  very  well,  but  it  did  not  render 
the  night  a  whit  more  light.  The  midnight  sun 
shone  bright  and  clear  on  the  fire,  and  we  scarcely 
could  see  it.  The  St.  John's  fire  has  not  certainly 
been  invented  in  these  regions,  for  it  loses  here  all 
the  power  and  nightly  splendor  which  extend  over 
whole  territories  in  Germany,  Notwithstanding  this 
circumstance,  we  surrounded  the  fire  in  great  good 
humor,  and  danced  in  continual  circles  the  wliole 
night  through."  This  extract  informs  us,  not  only 
that  this  custom  maintains  itself  in  the  extreme 
north,  but  also  throughout  Germany :  in  short,  we 
see  that  it  involves  all  Euro|)e.  It  can,  therefore, 
occasion  no  surprise  that  we  find  it  so  inveterately 
established  in  the  countries  mentioned  in  Scrijnure, 
where  the  sun  had  infinitely  more  jiower  and  in- 
lluence,  and  which  are  nuich  nearer  to  the  seat  of 
the  original  observances.  The  world  was  then 
l)lunged  in  idolatry,  and  we  cannot  wonder  that 
tiiis  branch  of  it  ])revailed,  since  many  of  its  cere- 
monies and  superstitious  rites  still  exist,  notwith- 
standing the  influence  of  the  gospel. 

There  were  many  cities  in  Palestine,  into  whose 
name  the  word  Baal  entered  by  com])Osition. 

I.  BAALAH,  otherwise  KiRjATH-jEARiM,or  Kir- 
jath-Baal,  or  Baai.k-Judah,  (Josh.  xv.  J),  GO;  2 
Sam.  vi.  2;  1  Chron.  xiii.  (J.)  a  city  of  Judah,  not  far 
tiom  Gibeah  and  (Jiiu'on,  and  where  the  ark  was 
stationed  after  the  Philistines  returned  it,  1  Sam.  vi.21. 
It  lay  about  !•  or  10  miles  north-west  of  Jerusalem. 

II.  BAALAH,  a  mountain  on  the  border  of  the 
lot  of  the  tribe  of  Judah,  Josh.  xv.  IL 

BAALATH,  a  city  of  Dan,  Josh.  xix.  41:  J 
Kings  ix.  18.  Jftsephus  speaks  of  I?aleth,  not  far 
from  Gazara,  Anti(|.  lib.  viii.  cap.  2.  It  was  fortified 
bv  Solomon,  2  Chron.  viii.  G. 

*  BAALATH-BEER,  a  city  of  Simeon,  Josh.   xix. 
S,  probably  the  same  as  Bnnl,   1  Dnon.  iv.  .?.'}. 


BAAL-BERITH,  Lord  of  the  covenant,  a  deity  of 
the  Shechemites,  (Judg.  vhi.  33;  ix.  4.)  which  the 
Israelites  made  their  god  after  the  death  of  Gideon. 
There  w  as  at  Shechem  a  temple  of  Baal-Berith,  in 
whose  treasurj'  they  accumulated  that  money  which 
they  afterwards  gave  to  Abimelech,  son  of  Gideon. 
The  most  simple  explanation  of  the  name  Baal- 
Berith,  is  to  take  it  generally  for  the  god  who  pre- 
sides over  alliajices  and  oaths.  In  this  sense  the 
true  God  may  be  termed  the  God  of  covenants; 
and  if  Scripture  had  not  added  the  name  Baal  to 
Ba-ith,  it  miglit  have  been  so  understood.  The  most 
barbarous  nations,  as  well  as  the  most  superstitious, 
the  most  religious,  and  the  most  intelligent,  have 
always  invoked  the  Deity  to  witness  oaths  and  cove- 
nants. The  Greeks  hacl  their  Zens  Horkios,  Jupiter 
the  witness  and  arbitrator  of  oaths  ;  and  the  Latins 
had  their  Dens  Fidius,  or  Jupiter  Pistitis,  whom  they 
regarded  a.s  the  god  of  honesty  and  integiity,  and 
wiio  ])resided  over  treaties  and  alliances. 

BAAL-GAD,  a  city  at  the  foot  of  mount  Hermon, 
which  derived  its  name  from  the  deity  Baal,  there 
adored,  Josh.  xi.  17.  Some  have  erroneously  sup- 
posed it  to  be  the  same  as  Heliopolis,  or  Baalbeck. 
It  is  probably  i.  q.  Baal-Hermon,  which  see. 

BAAL-GUR,  or  Gur-Baal,  i.  e.  sojown  of  Baal. 
We  read,  2  Chron.  xxvi.  7.  "the  Lord  assisted  Uz- 
ziah  against  the  Philistines,  and  against  the  Ara- 
bians, that  dwelt  at  Gur-Baal."  The  Septuagint  has, 
"  the  Arabians  that  dwelt  above  Petra."  It  seems  to 
have  been  a  town  in  Arabia  Petrsea,  where  was 
probably  a  temple  to  Baal. 

BAAL-HAZOR,  a  city  of  Ephraim,  where  Absa- 
lom kept  his  flocks,  2  Sam.  xiii.  23. 

BAAL-HERMON,  Judg.  iii.  3 ;  1  Chron.  v.  23. 
See  Hermon,  and  Baal-Gad. 

BAALIS,  a  king  of  the  Ammonites,  who  sent  Ish- 
mael  to  kill  Gedaliah,  who  governed  the  remnant  of 
the  Jews,  not  carried  captive  to  Babylon,  Jer. 
xl.  14. 

BAAL-MEON,  a  city  of  Reuben,  (Numb,  xxxii. 
38  ;  1  Chron.  v.  8.)  sometimes  called  Beth-Baal- 
Meon,  (Josh.  xiii.  17.)  the  house,  or  temple,  of  Baal- 
Meon;  and  also  Beth-Meon,  Jer.  xlviii.  23.  The 
Moabites  took  it  from  the  Reubenites,  and  were 
masters  of  it  in  the  time  ofEzekiel,  Ezek.  xxv.  9. 
Eusel)ius  and  Jerome  place  it  nine  miles  from  Es- 
bus,  or  Esehon,  at  the  foot  of  moimt  Baaru,  or 
Abarim. 

BAAL-PEOR.  The  import  of  this  name  is  un- 
certain. Simon  takes  it  to  denote  "  the  lord  of 
momu  Peor"  where  this  deity  was  worshipped ;  as 
th(!  heathen  had  their  Jupiter  Ohpnpins,  Apollo 
Clarius,  Mercurius  Cylknius,  Sec.  It  has  been  taken 
in  an  obscene  sense,  and  with  too  nuich  truth  ;  for 
it  is  certain  that  the  deities  of  the  heathen  were, 
and  still  are,  often  of  the  grossest  kind  ;  not  that 
we  know  their  worshippers  to  have  thought  them 
scandalous,  or  to  have  connected  them  with  any 
oft'ence  against  decency,  or  with  that  sense  of  shame 
and  indignation  which  they  excite  in  us.  They  may 
have  considerefl  them  as  commemorative  inemorials 
of  distant  ])ersoiis  and  times,  or  as  employed  to 
bring  to  recollection  truths,  in  themselves  perfectly 
innoxious;  although  such  means  of  recording  his- 
torical facts,  of  wliatever  nature,  fire  in  our  opinion 
crin)inally  indecorous,  and  utterly  unfit  for  public 
exi)osure.  Of  this  the  compound  of  the  Lmgam 
and  Yoni,  among  the  Hindoos,  affords  open  and 
popular  ])roof;  but  there  are  other  observances  in 
some  of  their  festivals,  usually  postponed  till  after  all 


UAA 


[  1-23  ] 


BAB 


Europeans  arc  departed,  which  too  obscenely  justify 
the  most  offensive  derivation  of  the  name. 

This  false  god  is,  by  some,  supposed  to  be  the 
Adonis,  or  Orus,  adored  by  the  Egyptians,  and  other 
eastern  people.  Scripture  informs  us  (Numb.  xxv. 
1 — 3.)  tliat  tlie  Israehtes,  being  encamped  in  the 
wilderness  of  Sin,  were  seduced  to  worship  Baal- 
Peor,  to  partake  of  his  sacrifices,  and  to  sin  with  the 
daughters  of  Moab  ;  and  the  Psalmist,  (Psahn  cvi. 
28.)  adverting  to  the  same  event,  says,  "they  ate  the 
offerings  of  the  dead."  Peor  is  Or,  or  Orus,  if  we 
cut  off  the  article  Pe,  which  is  of  no  signification. 
Orus  is  Adonis,  or  Osiris.  The  feasts  of  Adonis 
were  celebrated  at\cr  the  maimer  of  funerals;  and 
the  worshippers  at  that  time  connnitted  a  thousand 
dissolute  actions,  particularly  after  they  were  told 
that  Adonis,  whom  they  had  mourned  for  as  dead, 
was  alive  again.  (See  Adoms.)  Origen  believed 
Baal-Peor  to  be  Priapus,  or  the  iilol  of  turpitude, 
adored  principally  by  women,  and  that  Moses  did 
not  think  proper  to  express  more  clearly  what  kind 
of  turpitude  lie  meant ;  and  Jerome  says,  this  idol 
was  represented  and  worshipped  in  the  same  ob- 
scene manner  as  Priapus.  His  opinion  is,  that  effem- 
inate men  and  women,  who  prostituted  themselves 
in  honor  of  idols,  as  fretiuently  mentioned  in  Scrip- 
ture, were  consecrated  to  Baal-Peor,  or  Priapus. 
Maimonides  asserts  that  Baal-Peor  was  adored  by 
the  most  immodest  actions  ;  and  there  is  no  doubt 
that  he  wius  the  god  of  impurity.  We  know  Avith 
what  impudence  the  daughters  of  Moab  engaged  the 
Israehtes  to  sin ;  (Numb.  xxv.  3.)  and  the  prophet 
Hosea,  (chaj).  ix.  10.)  speaking  of  this  crime,  says, 
"They  went  unto  Baal-Peor,  and  separated  them- 
selves unto  that  shame."  Selden  suggests  that  Baal- 
Peor  is  Pluto,  the  god  of  the  dead,  founding  his  con- 
jecture on  Psalm  cvi.  28,  where  "  offerings  to  the 
dead"  are  mentioned,  and  which  he  takes  to  be 
those  that  were  offered  to  appease  the  manes  of  the 
dead.  Apollinarius,  in  his  paraphrase  on  this  Psalm, 
says,  the  Hebrews  polluted  themselves  in  the  sacri- 
fices of  Baal-Peor,  by  eating  hecatombs  offered  to 
the  dead ;  and  some  afhrm  that  Saturn  ranked  his 
son  IMuth,  whom  he  had  by  Rhea,  among  the  gods, 
and  that  he  was  adored  by  the  Phcsnicians,  some- 
times under  the  name  of  Death,  (which  is  the  sig- 
nification of  the  word  Muth,)  and  sometimes  by  that 
of  Plulo.  (Sanchon.  apud  Euseb.  Pra?par.  lib.  i.  cap. 
viii.)  But  these  opinions  seem  less  jirobable  than  that 
above  proposed,  that  this  deity  was  (the  dead)  Ado- 
nis, or  O&iris.  It  may  be  added,  that  some  believe 
Adonis  to  have  been  the  father  of  Priapus  ;  and  that 
funeral  entertainments  were  made  in  his  honor, 
which  may  well  be  understood  by  the  name  of  sacri- 
fices :  "  The  priests  roar  and  cry  before  their  gods, 
as  men  do  at  the  fea-st  when  one  is  dead,"  Baruch 
vi.  32.  The  Psalmist  expresses  himself  in  the  plural 
number  ;  "  they  ate  the  sacrifices," — for  the  sacrifices 
of  Baal-Peor  were  repasts,  such  as  were  used  at 
funerals ;  with  this  difference,  that  the  latter  were 
oflen  accompanied  with  real  and  sincere  sorrow; 
whereas,  in  those  of  Adonis,  the  tears  were  feigned, 
and  the  debauchery,  afterwards  indulged,  real.  See 
Chiu.n,  and  Adonis. 

BAAL-PERAZIM,  a  place  in  the  valley  of  Re- 
phaim,  not  very  far  distant  from  Jerusalem,  2  Sam. 
V.  20;  1  Chion.  xiv.  11  ;  comp.  Is.  xxviii.  11.  Here 
David  gained  a  victory  over  the  Philistines. 

BAAL-SHALISHA,  (2  Kings  iv.  42 ;  1  Sam.  ix. 
4.)  a  district  placed  by  Jerome  and  Eusebius  fifteen 
miles  from  Dioapolis  north,  near  mount  Ephraim. 


BAAL-TAMAR,  lord  of  the  palm-tree,  a  village 
near  Gibeah,  where  the  children  of  Israel  engaged 
the  tribe  of  Benjamin,  Judg.  xx.  33. 

The  palm-tree  occurs  on  many  coins  as  a  symbol 
attending  Astarte  ;  a  branch  of  palm  is  held  by  the 
goddess  sitting  on  the  rock ;  and  often  by  Jupiter, 
who,  most  probably,  answers  to  the  character  of  the 
lord  of  the  palm-tree.  It  may  be  sujjposed  that 
this  symbol  was  chiefly  adopted  where  the  palm  was 
best  known  ;  nevertheless,  we  find  it  applied  where 
it  cannot  be  restrained  to  the  idea  of  a  production 
of  the  country  merely,  and  therefore,  most  proba- 
bly, it  was  introduced  from  where  this  symbol  was 
locally  applicable. 

BAALTIS,  the  same  as  Astarte,  or  the  moon  ;  next 
to  Baal,  the  god  most  honored  by  the  Phoenicians. 
See  Astarte,  and  Astaroth. 

BAAL-ZEBUB,  see  Beel-zebub. 

BAAL-ZEPHON,  a  station  of  the  Hebrews, 
(Exod.  xiv.  2,9;  Numb,  xxxiii.  7.)  near  Clysma,  or 
Colsuiii.  Baal-Zephon  was,  probably,  a  temple  to 
Baul,  at  the  northern  point  of  the  Red  sea;  and,  most 
likely,  in  or  near  an  cstabhshment,  or  to\vn,  like  the 
present  Suez.  [See,  on  this  point,  Stuart's  Course  of 
Heb.  Study,  ii.  ji.  186,  seq.  Rosenmueller  and  Ge- 
senius  suppose  the  name  to  mean  place  or  temj)le  oj 
Tijphon,  the  evil  genius  of  Egypt  and  enemy  of  fer- 
tility, who  was  worshipped  at  Heroopohs.  R.] — Some 
describe  this  deity,  viz.  Baal-Zephon,  as  a  dog  in  shape, 
(seeAxuBis,)  signifying  his  vigilant  eye  over  this 
place,  and  his  office"  by  barking,  to  give  notice  of  an 
enemy's  arrival ;  and  to  guard  the  coast  of  the  Red 
sea,  on  that  side.  It  is  said,  he  was  placed  there, 
principally,  to  stop  slaves  that  fled  from  their  masters. 
The  Jerusalem  Targum  assures  us,  that  all  the  statues 
of  the  Egyptian  gods  having  been  destroyed  by  the. 
exterminating  angel,  Baal-Zephon  alone  resisted; 
whereupon,  the  Egyptians,  conceiving  great  ideas  of 
his  power,  redoubled  their  devotion  to  him.  Moses, 
observing  that  the  people  flocked  thither  in  crowds, 
pethioned  Pharaoh  that  he,  too,  might  make  a  jour- 
ney thither  with  the  Israehtes ;  which  Pharaoh  per- 
mitted ;  but  as  they  were  employed  on  the  shore  of 
the  Red  sea,  in  gathering  up  the  precious  stones 
which  the  river  Pliison  had  carried  into  the  Gihon, 
and  from  thence  were  conveyed  into  the  Red  sea, 
(a  notable  instance  of  rabbinical  geography  !)  Pha- 
raoh surjirised  them,  and  sacrificed  to  Baal-Zephon, 
waiting  till  the  next  day  to  attack  Israel,  whom  he  be- 
lieved his  god  had  delivered  into  his  hands :  but,  in  the 
mean  time,  they  passed  the  Red  sea  and  escaped. 

BAANAH  and  RECIIAB,  officers  of  Ishbosheth, 
son  of  Saul,  who  privately  slew  that  prince  while 
reposing,  and  were  punished  for  it  by  David,  2  Sam. 
iv.  2,  seq.^ 

BAASHA,  son  of  Ahijah,  and  commander  of  the 
armies  of  Nadab,  king  of  Israel.  He  killed  his  mas- 
ter treacherously  at  the  siege  of  Gibbethon,  and 
usurped  the  kingdom,  which  he  possessed  twenty- 
four  years.  He  exterminated  the  whole  race  of  Jer- 
oboam, as  God  had  commanded  ;  but  by  his  bad 
conduct,  and  his  idolatry,  incurred  God's  indigna- 
tion, 1  Kings  XV.  27;  xvi.  7.  A.  M.  3051.  Baasha, 
instead  of  making  good  use  of  admonition,  trans- 
ported Avith  rage  against  a  prophet,  the  messenger 
of  it,  killed  him. 

BABEL,  or  Babylon,  a  city  and  province,  which 
received  this  name,  because,  when  the  tower  of  Babel 
was  building,  God  confounded  the  languages  of 
those  who  were  employed  in  the  undertaking,  (Gen. 
x.  10.)  about  A.  M.  1775,  120  years  after  the  deluge. 


BABEL 


[  124] 


BABEL 


Others  derive  the  name  from  the  Arabic  word  bdb,  a 
door  or  gait,  compounded  with  Bel,  e.  g.  the  gate  or 
city  of  Bel. — For  an  accoimt  of  the  city  of  Babylon, 
see  the  next  article  ;  and  for  the  geographical  descrip- 
tion, as  well  as  an  historical  notice  of  the  province 
or  kingdom,  see  Babylonia.  Here  we  confine  our- 
selves to  the  tower. 

Very  different  conceptions  have  been  formed  on 
the  nature  and  figure  of  the  tower  of  Babel.  Some 
have  delineated  it  as  being  round  in  shape,  with  a 
spiral  pathway  leading  up  to  the  top ;  but  it  appears 
more  credible  that  it  was  square ;  and  that  certain 
buildings,  yet  remaining  in  various  parts  of  the 
world,  may  be  considered  as  transcripts,  or  imita- 
tions, of  it.  To  enable  the  reader  to  judge  of  this 
proposition,  Mr.  Taylor  copied  several  instances, 
apparently  nearly  related  to  it  in  form  and  destina- 
tion, from  which  we  select  the  following. 

This  pyramid,  rising  in  several  steps  or  stages,  is 


at  Tanjore,  in  the  East  Indies  ;  and  affords,  it  is  pre- 
sumed, a  just  idea  of  the  tower  of  Babel.  It  is,  in- 
deed, wholly  constructed  of  stone,  in  which  it  differs 
from  that  more  ancient  edifice,  which,  being  situated 
in  a  country  destitute  of  stone,  was,  of  necessity,  con- 
structed of  brick.  On  the  top  of  this  pyramid  is  a 
chapel  or  temple  ;  aftbrding  a  specimen  of  the  gen- 
eral nature  of  this  kind  of  sacred  edifices  in  India. 
These  amazing  structures  are  conunonly  erected  on, 
or  near,  the  l)anks  of  great  rivers,  for  the  adviuitage 
of  ablution.  In  the  courts  tliat  suri'ound  them,  in- 
numerable multitudes  assemble  at  the  rising  of  the 
sun,  after  having  batlied  in  the  stream  below.  The 
gate  of  tlie  ])ago(la  uniformly  fronts  the  east.  The 
internal  cliamber  coniiiiouly  receives  light  only  Irom 
the  door.  An  external  pathway,  for  the  purpose  of 
visiting  the  chapel  at  the  top,  merits  observation. 
Tliis  is  an  ancient  pyramid,  built  by  the  Mexicans 
in  America  ;  it  agrees 
in  figun;  with  the 
i'nrmer  ;  and  has,  on 
tlie  outside, an a.scent 
of  stairs  leading  tip 
one  side  to  the  upper 
story,  |troceeding  to 
tlie  chapels  on  its 
sunnnit.  This  ascent 
implies  tiiat  tin;  chap- 
els were  used,  from 
time  to  time  ;  and  no 
doubt,  it  marks  the 
shortest  track  for  tiiat 
purjiose,  as  it  occu- 
pies one    side    only. 


That  the  tower  of  Belus  had  a  chapel  on  the  top,  ap- 
peal's from  Herodotus,  who,  after  mentioning  the 
spiral  ascent,  says,  "In  the  last  tower  is  a  large 
chapel,  but  no  statue,"  &c.  (See  in  Baal.)  Diodo- 
rus  implies  the  same,  when  he  says,  there  were  stat- 
ues of  gold,  of  which  one  was  forty  feet  high :  it 
must  have  been  a  large  chapel  that  could  be  sup- 
posed to  contain  such  a  figure.  The  ideas  collected 
from  the  foregoing  subjects  lead  us,  (1.)  to  a  pyra- 
mid of  sohd  construction,  in  its  principal  parts,  but 
of  less  laborious  materials  internally  :  (2.)  to  a  chapel, 
or  temple,  on  the  top  of  such  pyramid :  (3.)  to  one 
or  more  passages  leading  to  the  summit.  There  are 
certain  points  of  comparison  between  the  pyramids 
of  Egypt  (see  Pyramids)  and  the  tower  of  Babel  to 
which  our  attention  may  be  directed.  (1.)  A  river 
runs  before  the  pyramids,  which  agrees  with  the 
notion  of  their  being  sacred  structures,  since  the 
stream  was  suitable  to  purposes  of  ablution ;  in 
hke  manner,  a  river  ran  before  the  tower  of  Babel. 
(2.)  The  general  form  of  these  structures  were  alike, 
that  is,  broad  at  bottom,  rising  very  high,  tapering 
at  top.  (3.)  The  internal  construction  was  of  less 
costly  materials  than  the  external ;  being  of  smi- 
baked  bricks,  at  best ;  while  the  external  was  fur- 
nace-baked bricks  at  Babel,  but  immense  stones  in 
Egypt,  which  insured  the  durability  of  the  Egj'ptian 
edifices.  (4.)  A  city  extended  on  each  side  of  the 
river  in  both  instances.  (5.)  The  royal  palace  was 
separated  from  the  temple  by  a  considerable  width 
of  water.  (6.)  Thei-e  were  apartments,  or  chapels, 
in  each.  (7.)  There  were  sacred  cloisters  or  courts 
around.  (8.)  There  was  (or  was  intended  to  be)  at 
the  top  a  great  image  :  there  arc  indications  of  such 
an  intention  on  the  top  of  the  open  pyramid.  This 
thought  is  not  new ;  the  Jerusalem  Targum  asserts 
it  of  Babel,  and  says  that  the  image  was  to  have 
held  a  sword  in  its  hand,  as  a  kind  of  protector 
against  men  and  demons — Faciamus  nobis  Imaginem 
adoratio.ms  ill  ejus fastigio,  et ponamus  Gladiumin 
manu  ejus,  ul  conferat  contra  acies  pr<tlium,prius  quam 
dispergamur  de  superjicie  tcrrcE.  These  obvious  agree- 
ments sufliciently  evince  that  the  structures  were 
alike  in  form  and  in  destination  [?]  so  that  we  may 
judg(!  j)retty  accurately  on  what  we  do  not  know  of 
the  one  by  Avhat  Ave  do  know  of  the  other.  They 
contribute,  also,  to  establish  the  inference,  that  the 
same  people  (tliough  not  the  same  branch  of  that 
people)  were  the  builders  of  both. 

Being  now  enabled,  by  means  of  these  points  of 
comparison,  to  comprehend  the  intention  of  the 
builders  of  the  tower  of  Babel,  we  proceed  to  con- 
sider the  mode  of  its  construction.  We  read  (Gen. 
xi.  3.)  that  they  proposed  to  make  bricks  and  to 
biuii  them  thoroughly  ;  that  th(  se  bricks  were  cm- 
ployed  by  them  as  stones,  of  \\  hich  it  should  ap- 
pear tlie  country  was  destitute; — "instead  of  (mor- 
tar) chomar  they  had  chemar,"  where  the  reader  will 
observe,  that  tlie  same  word  is  used  under  two  pro- 
nunciations, and  this,  probably,  ought  to  be  thus 
tmderstood — "  insteatl  of  clay-mortar,"  which  is  the 
kind  used  in  countries  east  of  Shinar  for  build- 
ings not  expected  to  exceed  ordinary  duration, 
these  determined  builders  em})loyed  the  bitiuneu 
which  rises  in  tlie  lands  adjacent  to  this  tower,  or 
was  brought  from  sources  higher  up  the  Euphrates: 
— bitumen-mortar,  to  resist  moisture  from  morasses 
formed  by  the  river.  The  quantity  of  bitumen  that 
must  have  been  employed  in  building  Babylon  is 
scarcely  credible.  Most  probably  it  was  procured 
from  Hit  on  the  Euphrates,  where  it  still  abounds. 


BABEL 


[  125  ] 


BABEL 


"The  master-mason  told  me,  (says  M.  Beauchamp,) 
that  he  found  some  in  a  spot  where  he  was  digging, 
about  twenty  years  ago  ;  which  is  by  no  means  strange, 
as  it  is  common  enough  on  the  banks  of  the  Euphra- 
tes, I  have  myself  seen  it  on  the  road  from  Bagdad 
to  Juba,  an  Arabian  village,  seated  on  that  river." 

The  men  engaged  at  Babel  had  two  objects  in 
view  ;  (1,)  to  build  a  city,  and  (2.)  a  tower.  There 
could  be  no  impiety  in  proposing  to  build  a  city ; 
yet  it  is  expressly  stated,  that,  in  consequence  of  the 
divine  interposition,  the  continuation  of  the  city  was 
relinquished.  On  the  other  hand,  the  tower  was 
certainly  intended  as  a  place  for  worship,  but  not  of 
the  true  God ;  yet  it  is  no  where  said  in  Scripture 
that  it  was  destroyed,  or  its  works  suspended.  This 
is  not  easily  explained  ;  and  the  circumstance  is 
rendered  the  more  obscure,  by  the  accounts  of  its 
overthrow  which  have  been  presei-ved  in  heathen 
writers.  Eupolemus,  quoted  by  Eusebius,  (Prsep. 
lib.  ix.)  says,  "The  city  Babel  was  first  founded, 
and  afterwards  the  celebrated  tower ;  both  which 
were  built  by  some  of  the  people  who  had  escaped 
the  deluge. — The  tower  was  eventually  ruined  by 
the  power  of  God."  Abydenus,  in  his  Assyrian 
Annals,  also  mentions  the  tower ;  which,  he  says, 
was  carried  uj)  to  heaven ;  but  that  the  gods  ruined 
it  by  storms  and  whirlwinds,  frustrated  the  purpose 
for  which  it  was  designed,  and  overthrew  it  on  the 
heads  of  those  who  were  engaged  in  the  work.  The 
ruins  of  it  were  called  Babylon.  (Euseb.  Cliron.  p.  13.) 
The  reader  \\\l\  bear  this  in  mind,  as  it  will  assist  in 
determining  our  judgment  on  the  character  of  the 
ruins  still  extajit. 

We  do  not  find  in  Scrij)tin-e  any  subsequent  al- 
lusion to  the  tower  of  Babel ;  but  there  is  in  the 
LXX  a  remarkable  variation  from  our  Hebrew 
copies  in  Isaiah  x.  9,  where  we  read.  Is  not  Calno  as 
Carchemish  ?  those  translators  read,  "  Have  I  not 
taken  the  region  which  is  above  Babylon  and  Cha- 
lane,  where  the  tower  was  built  ?"  That  they  re- 
ferred to  the  ancient  attempt  of  the  sons  of  men 
cannot  be  doubted  ;  and  the  passage  is  so  under- 
stood by  the  Christian  fathers,  as  may  be  seen  in 
Bochart.  The  latest  accounts  by  our  travellers,  es- 
pecially the  tract  of  Mr.  Rich,  with  his  plates,  had 
raised  a  doubt  whether  the  original  tower  of  Babel 
were  the  same  with  that  known  to  us  by  the  de- 
scriptions of  ancient  authors  as  tiie  tower  of  Bejus, 
at  Babylon.  The  same  doubt  had  occurred  to  Fa- 
ther Kircher,  (Turris  Babel,  lib.  ii.  cap.  3.)  but  he 
)>roduces  no  authority  in  su])port  of  his  conjecture, 
that  a  second  tower  was  built  by  Ninus  and  Semi- 
ramis.  Certain  it  is,  that  no  ancient  author  men- 
tions two  towers  ;  but  if  we  might  be  allowed  to  ad- 
mit the  supposition,  it  would  obviate  almost  every 
difficulty  that  at  present  appears  insurmountable,  in 
attempting  to  reconcile  ancient  accounts  with  actual 
appearances. — [The  supposition  of  Calmet  and  others 
is  not  improbable,  viz.  that  the  tower  of  Behis  ^^  as 
not  the  tower  of  Babel  itself,  but  Avas  rather  I)uilt 
upon  the  old  foundations  of  the  latter.     R. 

We  submit  here  an  instance  of  a  building  \ery 
f^imilar  in  fonn  and  proportions  to  the  original 
tower ;  and  producing  effects  on  the  eye  and  mind 
of  a  British  traveller  analogous  to  what  it  may  be 
presumed  was  intended  by  the  priests  and  the 
builders  of  Babel.  It  is  Mr.  Wathen's  account  of 
the  great  pagoda  at  Conjeveram,  the  Dewal,  or  tem- 
ple of  Vurdaraujah ;  extracted  from  his  voyage  to 
Madras.  "  The  tower,  or  most  elevated  part  of  this 
buUdiuff.  consisted  of  fifteen   stories,  or  stages ;  the 


floor  of  the  lowest  of  these  was  covered  with  boards 
somewhat  decayed,  and  was  about  twenty  feet 
square,  having  much  the  appearance  of  the  belfry 
of  a  country  church  in  England.  A  ladder  of  fifteen 
rounds  conducted  us  to  the  next  stage,  and  so  on, 
from  story  to  storj',  until  we  reached  the  top,  each 
stage  or  floor  diminishing  gradually  in  size  to  the 
summit.  Here  our  labor  was  most  amply  repaid ; 
for  never  had  I  witnessed  so  beautiful  and  so  sub- 
lime a  prospect.  It  so  far  surpassed  evei-y  idea  I 
had  or  could  have  formed  of  its  grandeur  and  effect, 
that  I  was  almost  entranced  in  its  contemplation. 
1  forgot  all  the  world  beside,  and  felt  as  if  I  could 
have  continued  on  this  elevated  spot  for  ever." 

3Iodern  travellers  vary  in  their  descriptions  of  the 
remains  of  the  tower  of  Babel.  Fabricius  says,  it 
might  have  been  about  a  mile  in  circumference. 
Guicn  says  the  same.  Benjamin,  who  is  much  more 
ancient,  informs  us,  that  the  foundations  were  two 
thousand  paces  in  length.  The  Sieur  de  la  Bonlaye 
le  Gour,  a  gentleman  of  Anjou,  who  says  he  made 
a  long  stay  at  Babylon,  or  Bagdad,  declares,  that 
about  three  leagues  from  that  city,  is  a  tower,  called 
Megara,  situated  between  the  Tigris  and  Euphrates, 
in  an  open  field,  which  is  solid  within,  and  more 
like  a  mountain  than  a  tower.  The  compass  of  it  is 
above  five  hundred  paces ;  and  as  the  rain  and 
winds  have  very  much  ruined  it,  it  cannot  be  more 
than  about  a  hundred  and  thirty-eight  feet  high.  It  ia 
built  of  bricks  four  inches  thick  ;  and  between  every 
seven  courses  of  bricks  there  is  a  course  of  straw, 
three  inches  thick,  mixed  with  pitch  and  bitumen ; 
from  the  top  to  the  bottom  are  about  fifty  coui-ses. 

The  following  particulars  of  the  tower  of  Belus 
are  from  Dr.  Prldeaux : — "  Till  the  time  of  Nebu- 
chadnezzar, the  temple  of  Belus  contained  no  more 
than  the  [central]  tower  only,  and  the  rooms  in  it 
served  all  the  occasions  of  that  idolatrous  worship, 
that  he  enlarged  it  by  vast  buildings  erected  round 
it,  in  a  square  of  two  furlongs  on  every  side,  and  a 
mile  in  circumference,  which  was  one  thousand 
eight  hundred  feet  more  than  the  square  at  the  tem- 
ple of  Jerusalem,  for  that  was  but  three  thousand 
feet  round ;  whereas  this  was,  according  to  this  ac- 
count, four  thousand  eight  hundred ;  and  on  the 
outside  of  all  these  buildmgs,  was  a  uall  enclosing 
the  whole,  which  may  be  sup))csed  to  have  been  of 
equal  extent  with  the  square  in  which  it  stood,  that 
is,  two  miles  and  a  half  in  compass,  in  ^^ Inch  v,cre 
several  gates  leading  into  the  temple,  all  of  solid 
brass ;  and  the  brazen  sea,  the  brazen  |)illars,  and 
the  other  brazen  vessels,  which  were  carried  to  Bab- 
ylon, from  the  temple  of  Jerusalem,  seen)  to  have 
been  employed  in  the  making  of  them  ;  for  it  is  said, 
that  Nebuchadnezzar  did  put  all  the  t^^acred  vessels, 
which  he  carried  from  Jerusalem,  into  the  house  of 
his  god  at  Babylon,  that  is,  into  this  house  or  tem- 
ple of  Bel.  This  temple  stood  till  the  time  of 
Xerxes,  but  on  his  rctinni  from  the  Grecian  expedi- 
tion, he  demolished  the  whole  of  it,  and  laid  it  all 
in  rubbish,  Jiaving  first  ])lundered  it  of  its  innneuse 
riches,  among  which  were  several  images  or  statues 
of  massy  gold  ;  and  one  of  them  is  said  by  Diodorus 
Siculus  to  have  been  forty  feet  high,  which  might 
perchance  have  been  that  which  Nebuchadnezzar 
consecrated  in  the  plains  of  Dura." 

[A  succinct  account  of  the  tower  of  Belus  may 
be  given  as  follows ;  and  it  will  also  serve  as  an  il- 
lustration of  the  worship  of  Bel,  or  Baal,  i.  e.  of  the 
l)lanet  Jupiter.  (See  Baal.)  Herodotus  saw  this 
temple,  still  unimpaired.     (Herodot.  i.  181,  seq.)     It 


BAB 


126  ] 


BABYLON 


stood  •.viihin  ibe  city,  iu  the  niidst  of  a  square  area, 
surrounded  by  walls  which  were  furnished  with 
iron  gates.  It  was  built  of  burnt  bricks  laid  in 
bitumen,  and  rose  to  the  height  of  a  stadium,  i.  e. 
according  to  Volney,  (Recherches,  P.  iii.  p.  72,  seq.) 
about  320  feet.  There  were  eight  stages  or  stories  ; 
to  which  the  ascent  was  by  slanting  stairs  along  the 
external  walls.  These  stories  gradually  diminished  hi 
breadth  from  the  base  upward ;  thus  giving  to  the 
tower  the  form  of  a  pyramid.  Hence  Strabo  also  calls 
it  a  square  pyramid,  (xvi.  1.  5.)  The  upper  story 
contained  a  chamber,  with  a  bed,  before  which 
stood  a  golden  table.  In  this  chamber  Herodotus 
eays  no  one  slept  at  night  except  a  female,  whom 
the  god  Belus,  according  to  the  Chaldeans  the 
priests  of  this  temple,  had  selected  from  the  females 
of  the  city.  Diodorus  Siculus  says,  this  chamber 
served  also  for  astronomical  observations.  In  the 
next  story  below  v/as  a  chapel,  with  a  gigantic  statue 
of  Belus,  sitting  upon  a  throne  with  a  table  be- 
fore it.  The  image,  throne,  and  table,  throughout, 
were  of  pure  gold. — Niebuhrand  R.  K.  Porter  sup- 
pose that  the  remains  of  this  temple  are  extant  in 
the  ruin  Birs  JVimrood ;  and  to  this  Rosenmueller 
also  gives  his  assent.  Bib.  Geog.  I,  ii.  p.  24.  See 
under  Babylo:*.     R. 

It  is  highly  probable,  that  the  remains  of  towers, 
shown  in  Babylonia,  are  only  ruins  of  old  Babylon, 
built  by  Nebuchadnezzar.  See  further  in  the  next 
article. 

"  Babel,"  says  Ibn  Haukal,  "  is  a  small  village, 
but  the  most  ancient  spot  in  all  Ii-ak.  The  whole 
region  is  denominated  Babel,  from  this  place.  The 
kings  of  Canaan  resided  there,  and  ruins  of  great 
edifices  still  remain.  I  am  of  opinion,  that,  in  for- 
mer times,  it  was  a  very  considerable  place.  They 
say  that  Babel  was  founded  by  Zokah  Piurasp ;  and 
there  was  Abraham,  to  whom  be  peace  !  thrown  into 
the  fire.  There  are  two  heaps,  one  of  which  is  in 
a  place  called  Koudi  Fereik,  the  other  Koudi  Der- 
bar :  in  this  the  ashes  still  remain  ;  and  they  say 
that  it  was  the  fire  of  Ninirod  into  which  Abraham 
was  cast ;  may  peace  ha  on  him  !"  Now,  as  it  is 
evidently  impossible  that  a  monarch  of  the  Peishda- 
dian,  or  first  dynasty  of  the  Persian  kings,  supposed 
to  have  reigned  ante  A.  D.  780,  sliould  have  seen  Abra- 
ham, may  not  this  tradition  have  some  reference  to 
the  story  of  Shadrach,  and  his  companions,  cast  into 
the  fiery  furnace,  as  recorded  in  Daniel  ?  The  cir- 
ciunstances  of  the  miraculous  delivery  are  the  same, 
and  the  memory  of  this,  so  nmcli  later  miracle,  is 
more  likely  to  have  been  preserved  than  the  other. 
At  all  events,  these  traditions  of  deliverance  trom 
the  power  of  fire,  show  that  the  memory  of  a  his- 
tory, of  which  that  was  the  subject,  was  strongly  and 
generally  impressed  on  the  minds  of  the  inhab'  ants 
iu  neighboring  countries ;  though  they  mighi  not 
accurately  report  ail  the  particulars  of  it. 

I.  BABYLON,  (derived  from  Babel,  which  see,) 
the  capital  of  Babylonia,  or  Chaldea,  was  probably 
built  by  Nimroil ;  but  it  was  long  before  it  obtained 
its  subsequent  size  and  splendor.  It  was  enlarged 
by  Belus ;  and  Semiramis  added  so  many  and  so 
very  considerable  works,  that  she  might  be  called, 
not  improperly,  the  foundress  of  it ;  as  Constantine 
is  called  the  founder  of  Constantinople,  although 
that  city  had  long  been  the  city  Byzantium.  It  was, 
long  afterwards,  embellished  l)y  Nebuchadnezzar  ; 
and  hither  a  considerable  portion  of  the  Jewish 
captives  were  led  by  their  haughty  and  politic  con- 
queror.    In   consequence   of  this  transportation  to 


the  chief  city  of  the  empire,  the  name  Babylon  ijc- 
came  symbolical  among  the  Jews  for  a  state  of  suf- 
fering and  calamity  ;  and  is,  accordingly,  used  in  this  . 
figurative  sense  in  the  Revelations ;  not  for  the  city 
of  Babylon  in  Chaldea,  but  for  another  place  and 
state  which  might  justly  be  compared  to  the  ancient 
Babylon.  [But  see  under  Apocalypse.]  The  Jews 
carry  this  notion  still  further,  and  give  the  name  of 
Babylon  to  any  place,  whether  in  Babylonia  Proper, 
or  out  of  it,  where  any  division  of  their  nation  had 
been  held  in  a  state  of  captivity. 

BehiH  the  Assyrian  is  said  to  have  reigned  at  Baby- 
lon A.  M.  2()82,  'ante  A.  D.  1322,  in  the  time  of  Sham- 
gar,  judge  of  Israel  ;  and  to  have  been  succeeded 
by  Ninus,  Semiramis,  Ninyas,  and  others:  but  none 
of  these  princes  arc  noticed  in  Scripture,  at  least 
not  under  the  title  of  kings  of  Babylon.  Ninus,  ac- 
cording to  Herodotus  (lib.  i.  cap.  95.)  founded  the 
Assyrian  empire,  which  subsisted  in  Upper  Asia  520 
years.  During  this  interval,  the  city  and  province 
of  Bal)ylon  was  under  a  governor  appointed  by  the 
king  of  Assyria,  till  the  reign  of  Sardanapalus,  (A. 
M.  3257,)  when  Arbaces,  governor  of  the  Medes, 
and  Belesis,  or  Nabonassar,  governor  of  Babylon, 
are  said  to  have  revolted  against  him.  Sardanapa- 
lus burnt  himself  in  his  palace  ;  and  the  insurgents 
divided  the  monarchy ;  Arbaces  reigning  in  Media, 
and  Belesis  at  Babylon.  (See  Assyria.)  Nebu- 
chadnezzar the  Great,  who  destroyed  Jerusalem, 
was  the  most  magnificent  king  of  Babylon  known. 
Evilmerodach  succeeded  him,  and  Belshazzar  suc- 
ceeded Evilmerodach.  (Beros.  apud  Joseph,  lib.  1. 
contra  Apion.  p.  1045.)  Darius  the  Mede  succeeded 
Belshazzar,  and  Cyrus  succeeded  Darius,  otherwise 
called  Astyages.  The  death  of  Belshazzar  is  fixed 
to  A.  M.  3448,  and  the  first  year  of  Cyrus's  reign  at 
Babylon,  to  A.  M.  3457.  The  successors  of  Cyrus 
are  well  known  :  the  followng  is  their  order :  Cam- 
byses,  the  Seven  3Iagi,  Darius  son  of  Hystaspes, 
Xerxes,  Artaxerxes  Longimanus,  Xerxes  II.  Secun- 
dianus  or  Sogdianus,  Ochus,  or  Darius  Nothus,  Ar- 
taxerxes Mnemon,  Ochus,  Arses,  Darius  Codoman- 
nus,  who  was  overcome  by  Alexander  the  Great  A. 
M.  3673,  ante  A.  D.  331.  For  a  fuller  sketch  of 
the  history,  Sec.  of  Babylon,  see  the  next  article, 
Babylonia. 

Scripture  often  speaks  of  Babylon,  particularly 
after  the  reign  of  Hezckiah,  who,  on  his  recovery, 
Avas  visited  by  ambassadors  from  Merodach-Bala- 
dan,  king  of  Babylon,  2  Kings  xx.  12.  Isaiah,  who 
lived  at  the  time,  especially  foretells  the  calamities 
which  the  Babylonians  should  bring  upon  Palestine  ; 
the  captivity  of  the  Hebrews  at  Babylon,  and  their 
return  ;  the  fall  of  the  gi'eat  city,  and  its  capture  by 
the  Medes  and  I'ersians.  The  prophets  who  lived 
after  Isaiah,  in  the  reign  of  Nebuchadnezzar,  and 
who  sav."  the  desolation  of  Jerusalem,  and  the  sur- 
rounding country,  enlarge  still  further  on  the  gran- 
deur of  Babylon,  its  cruelty,  and  the  desolation 
with  which  God  would  overwhelm  it. 

Babylon  is  described  as  the  greatest  and  most 
powerful  city  in  the  world — Babylon  the  Great.  Of 
what  other  city  are  terms  used  equally  haughty, 
equally  magnificent  ? — the  Golden  City !  (Is<niah  xiv. 
4.) — the  Glorxj  of  Kingdoms  ! — the  Beauty  of  the  Chal- 
dees'  excellency !  (xiii.  19.) — the  Tender  and  Delicate! 
the  Lady  of  Kingdovis!  a  Lady!  a  Qiieen  for  ever ! 
who  says,  /  am  ;  and  none  else  beside  me !  (xlvii.) 
These  and  other  terms,  altogether  peculiar,  express 
her  beauty ;  and  as  for  her  power,  she  is  called, — 
the   Hammer  of  the   tvhole    Earth!  (Jer.  1.  23.) — the 


BABYLON 


r  i27 1 


BABYLON 


Baltic  Ate!  the  weapons  of  war !  proper  to  break  in 
pieces  nations,  and  to  destroy  kingdoms,  li.  20. 
Kingdoms  and  nations  she  did  destroy  ;  but,  after  a 
wliiio,  her  turn  came  ;  and  we  now  contemplate  in 
her  ruins  a  speaking  instance  of  the  vioissitude  of 
human  affairs ;  a  most  impressive  evidence  of  the 
fulfilment  of  prophecies  wherein  were  foretold  the 
devastations  which  those  ruins  now  witness. 

Herodotus,  who  visited  Babylon,  and  is  the  most 
ancient  author  who  has  written  upon  it,  has  left  the 
following  description  of  this  celebrated  city.  It  was 
square ;  120  furlongs  every  way,  i.  e.  fifteen  miles, 
or  five  leagues  square  ;  and  the  whole  circuit  of  it 
was  480  flu-longs,  or  twenty  leagues.  The  walls 
were  built  with  large  bricks,  cemented  with  bitu- 
men ;  and  were  87  feet  thick,  and  350  feet  high.  The 
city  was  encompassed  with  a  vast  ditch,  which  was 
filled  with  water  ;  and  brick  work  was  carried  up  on 
both  sides.  The  earth  which  was  dug  out  was 
employed  in  making  the  bricks  for  the  walls  of  the 
city  ;  so  that  one  may  judge  of  the  depth  and  width 
of  the  ditch  by  the  extreme  height  and  thickness  of 
the  walls.  There  were  a  hundred  gates  to  the  city, 
twenty-five  ou  each  of  the  four  sides  ;  these  gates, 
with  their  posts,  &c.  were  of  brass.  Between  every 
two  of  them  were  three  towers,  raised  ten  feet  above 
the  walls  where  necessar}^  A  street  answered  to 
each  gate,  so  that  there  were  fifty  streets  in  all,  cut- 
ting one  another  in  right  angles ;  each  fifteen  miles 
in  length,  and  151  feet  wide.  Four  other  streets, 
having  houses  only  on  one  side,  the  ramparts  being 
on  the  other,  made  the  whole  compass  of  the  city  : 
each  of  these  streets  was  200  feet  wide.  As  the 
streets  of  Babylon  crossed  one  another  at  right  an- 
gles, they  formed  676  squares,  each  square  four  fur- 
longs and  a  half  on  every  side,  making  two  miles 
and  a  quarter  in  circuit.  The  houses  of  these 
squares  were  three  or  four  stones  high,  their  front's 
were  adorned  with  embellishments,  and  the  inner 
space  was  courts  and  gardens.  The  Euphrates 
divided  the  city  into  two  parts,  running  from  north 
to  south.  A  bridge  of  admirable  structure,  about  a 
furlong  in  length,  and  60  feet  wide,  formed  the  com- 
munication over  the  river  ;  at  the  two  extremities  of 
this  bridge  were  two  palaces,  the  old  palace  on  the 
east  side  of  the  river,  the  new  palace  on  the  west ; 
and  the  temple  of  Belus,  which  stood  near  the  old 
palace,  occupied  one  entire  square.  The  city  was 
situated  in  a  vast  plain  ;  and  to  people  it  Nebuchad- 
nezzar carried  thither  an  abiiost  infinite  number  of 
his  captives  of  all  nations.  The  famous  hanging 
gardens  which  adorned  the  palace  in  Babylon,  and 
which  are  ranked  among  the  wonders  of  the  world, 
contained  four  liundred  feet  square  ;  and  were  com- 

Kosed  of  several  large  terraces,  the  platform  of  the 
ighest  terrace  equalling  the  walls  of  Babylon  in 
height,  i.  e.  350  feet.  From  one  terrace  to  that 
above  it,  was  an  ascent  by  stairs  ten  feet  wide.  This 
whole  mass  was  supported  by  large  vaults,  built  one 
upon  another,  and  strengthened  by  a  wall  twonty- 
tAvo  feet  thick,  covered  with  stones,  rushes,  and  bitu- 
men, and  plates  of  lead  to  j)rcvent  leakage.  On  tli<; 
highest  terrace  was  an  aqueduct,  said  to  be  supplied 
with  water  from  the  river,  by  a  punq>,  (probably  the 
Persian  luheel,)  from  whence  the  whole  garden  \\as 
watered.  It  is  affirmed,  that  Nebuchadnezzar  un- 
dertook this  wonderful  and  famous  edifice  out  of 
complaisance  to  his  wite  Amjtis,  daughter  of  Asty- 
ages  ;  who,  being  a  native  of  Media,  retained  strong 
inclinations  for  mountains  and  forests,  which  abound- 
ed in  her  native  countn-.     (Dlod.  Sicul.  ii.  Strabo, 


xvi.  2.  Quint.  Curt.  v.  1.)  Scripture  no  where  no- 
tices these  celebrated  gardens ;  but  it  speaks  of  wil- 
lows planted  on  the  banks  of  the  rivers  of  Babylon : 
"  We  hanged  our  harps  on  the  willows  in  the  midst 
thereof,"  says  Ps.  cxxxvii.  2.  Isaiah,  describing,  in 
a  prophetic  style,  the  captivity  of  the  Moabites  by 
Nebuchadnezzar,  says,  "  They  shall  be  carried  away 
to  the  valley  of  willows,"  xv.  7.  The  same  prophet, 
(ch.  xxi.  1.)  describing  the  calamities  of  Babylon  by 
Cyrus,  calls  this  city  the  desert  of  the  sea ;  where 
the  word  sea  is  applied  to  the  river  Euphrates, 
(comp.  xxvii.  1.)  as  also  to  the  Nile,  Is.  xix.  5  ;  Nah. 
iii.  8.  [See  also  the  additions  under  Babylonia.] 
Jeremiah,  to  the  same  piu-port,  says,  (li.  36,  42.)  "  I 
will  dry  up  the  sea  of  Babylon,  and  make  her  springs 
dry.  The  sea  is  come  up  upon  her:  she  is  cov- 
ered with  the  multitude  of  the  waves  thereof." 
Megasthenes  (ap.  Euseb.  Prsep.  ix.  41.)  assures  us, 
that  Babylon  was  built  in  a  place  which  had  before 
abounded  so  greatly  with  water,  that  it  was  called 
the  sea.  But  the  language  of  the  Psalmist,  above 
quoted,  suggests  the  idea  that  the  chy  of  Babylon 
was  refreshed  by  a  considerable  number  of  streams; 
"  By  the  rivers  [streams,  flowing  currents]  of  Baby- 
lon we  sat  down." — "  On  the  willows  (plural)  in  the 
midst  thereof  we  hanged  our  harps"  (plural).  There 
must  then  have  been  gardens  visited  by  these 
streams,  easily  accessible  to  the  captive  Israelites; 
not  the  royal  gardens,  exclusively,  but  others  less 
reserved.  We  know,  also,  that  there  was  but  one 
river  at  Babylon  then,  as  there  is  but  one  now,  the 
Euphrates ;  so  that  when  these  captives  represent 
themselves  as  "sitting  by  the  rivers  of  Babylon,"  in 
the  plural,  they  inform  us,  that  this  river  was  divided 
into  several  branches,  or  canals ;  and  these  were, 
doubtless,  works  of  art.     See  under  Babylonia. 

From  the  history  in  Daniel,  (chap,  iii.)  of  the  con- 
secration of  Nebuchadnezzar's  "  Golden  Image,"  we 
know  that  Babylon  [i.  e.  the  province]  contained  a 
vast  plain,  capacious  enough  to  accommodate  the 
assembled  ofticers  of  his  empire,  with  all  the  pomp 
and  preparations  in  the  power  of  this  mighty  mon- 
arch, and,  beyond  all  doubt,  also  a  very  great  propor- 
tion of  the  prodigious  population  of  Babylon.  This 
is  called  the  plain  of  Diira,  snn ;  and,  deducing  its 
name  from  the  meaning  of  the  root,  it  imports  the 
round,  or  circular,  enclosure.  As  the  occasion  was 
the  consecration  of  a  statue,  it  is  natural  to  suppose 
that  the  ceremony  would  take  place  as  near  as  might 
be,  and,  if  possible,  immediately  before,  the  temple, 
or  sacred  station,  in  which  this  idol  deity  was  to  re- 
main :  it  would  not  be  dedicated  in  a  distant  place, 
and  afterwards  conveyed  to  its  appointed  residence  ; 
but  the  homages  of  its  Avorshippers  would  be  more 
appropriate  on  its  arrival  at  home,  and  its  inhabita- 
tion of  its  destined  residence.  This  enables  us  to 
afiix  a  character  to  a  large  circular  enclosure,  of 
which  the  remains  are  still  visible  at  Babylon,  and 
which  surrouixls  the  principal  mounds,  which  may 
be  those  of  the  temple  of  Belus,  and  the  royal  palace. 
In  fact,  admitting  this  very  natural  supposition, 
[wliicIi,however,  is  entirely  fanciful,  R.]  it  contributes 
at  the  same  time  an  argument,  not  without  its  use, 
in  attempting  to  identify  and  distinguish  these  exten- 
sive structures.  We  do  not  find  that  this  plain  is 
described  by  ancient  authors,  unless  it  be  included 
in  what  they  report  of  the  accommodations  and 
enceinte  of  the  palace.  Diodorus  says  that  the  tem- 
ple occupied  the  centre  of  the  city  ;  Herodotus  says, 
the  centre  of  that  division  of  the  city  in  which  it 
stood ;  as  the  palace  in  the  centre  of  its  division. 


BABYLON 


[128] 


BABYLON 


But  the  descriptiou  of  Diodoriis  is  pointed  with  re- 
spect to  the  fact  of  the  palace  beiug  near  to  the 
bridge,  and,  consequently,  to  the  river's  bank  :  and  he 
is  borne  out  by  the  descriptions  of  Strabo  and  Cur- 
tius,  both  of  whom  represent  the  hanging  gardens  to 
be  very  near  the  river ;  and  all  agree  that  they  were 
within,  or  adjacent  to,  the  square  of  the  fortified  palace. 

Great  boastings  have  been  made  of  the  antiquity 
of  the  astronomical  observations  taken  by  the  Baby- 
lonians. Josephus  tells  us,  (c.  Apion.  i.  p.  1044.) 
that  Berosus,  the  Babylonian  historian  and  astrono- 
mer, agreed  with  Moses  concerning  the  corruption 
of  mankind,  and  the  deluge  ;  and  Aristotle,  who  was 
curious  in  examining  the  truth  of  what  was  reported 
relating  to  these  observations,  desired  Calisthenes  to 
send  him  the  most  certain  accounts  that  he  could 
find  of  this  particular,  among  the  Babylonians.  Ca- 
listhenes sent  him  observations  of  the  heavens,  which 
had  been  made  during  1903  years,  computing  from 
the  origin  of  the  Babylonish  monarchy  to  the  time 
of  Alexander.  This  carries  up  the  account  as  high 
as  the  one  hundred  and  fifteenth  year  after  the  flood, 
which  was  within  fifteen  years  after  the  tower  of 
Babel  was  built.  For  the  confusion  of  tongues, 
which  followed  immediately  afl;er  the  building  of 
that  tower,  happened  in  the  year  in  Avhich  Peleg  was 
born,  101  years  after  the  flood,  and  fourteen  years 
before  that  in  which  these  observations  begin. 

In  ancient  authors  much  confusion  is  occasioned 
by  a  too  general  application  of  the  name  Babel :  it 
has  denoted  the  original  tower,  the  original  city, 
the  subsequent  tower,  the  palace,  the  later  city, 
and  we  shall  find  it  expressing  the  province  of 
Babylonia :  in  fact,  it  stands  connected  in  that  sense 
with  the  plain  of  Dura,  which  is  said  to  be  in  the 
province  of  Babylon,  and  which  might  be  placed  at 
a  distance  from  the  city,  were  it  not  for  considera- 
tions already  recited.  Ancient  authors  have  raised 
the  wonder  of  their  readers,  by  allowing  to  the  walls 
of  Babylon  dimensions  and  extent  which  confound 
the  imagination,  and  rather  belong  to  a  province  than 
to  a  city.  But  that  they  really  were  of  extraordi- 
nary dimensions,  should  appear  from  references 
made  to  them  by  the  prophet,  who  threatens  them 
with  destruction.  Jeremiah  (i.  15.)  says,  "Her  foun- 
dations are  fallen :  her  walls  are  thrown  down  ;"  and 
again,  (li.  44.)  "  The  very  wall  of  Babylon  shall  fall :" 
and  (verse  58.)  "the  broad  wall  of  Babylon  shall  be 
utterly  broken  :" — observe,  the  broad  wall ;  and  in 
verse  53.  we  read,  "Though  Babylon  shall  mount 
up  to  heaven,  [that  is,  her  defences,]  and  though  she 
should  fortify  the  height  of  her  strength,"  [that  is, 
her  wall.]  Thus  we  find  allusions  to  the  height, 
the  breadth,  and  the  strength,  of  the  walls  of  Baby- 
lon :  but,  before  we  proceed  to  examine  these  pas- 
sages more  fully,  we  shall  avail  ourselves,  in  part  at 
least,  of  what  descriptions  are  afforded  by  heathen 
writers. 

Public  belief  has  been  staggered  by  the  enormous 
dimensions  allowed  to  Babylon  by  the  difl^erent  au- 
thors of  ancient  times — Herodotus,  Strabo,  Diodorus, 
Pliny,  and  Quintus  Curtius  ;  because,  even  if  the 
most  confined  of  those  measures  reported  by  the  fol- 
lowers of  Alexander  (who  viewed  it  at  their  fullest 
leisure)  be  adopted,  and  the  stadia  taken  at  a  moder- 
ate standard,  thc^y  will  give  an  area  of  72  square 
miles.  We  therefore  conceive,  that,  with  respect  to 
the  extent  of  the  buildings  and  population  of  Baby- 
lon, we  ought  not  to  receive  the  above  measure  as  a 
scale  ;  from  the  gi-eat  improbability  of  so  vast  a  con- 
tigtious  space  having  ever  been  built  on  :  but  that  the 


wall  might  have  been  continued  to  the  extent  given, 
does  not  appear  so  improbable,  for  we  cannot  sup- 
pose that  so  many  ancient  writers  could  have  been 
misled  concerning  this  point.  But,  although  we  may 
extend  our  belief  to  the  vastness  of  the  enceinte,  it 
does  not  follow  that  we  are  to  believe  that  80,  or 
even  72  square  miles,  contiguous  to  each  other,  were 
covered  with  buildings.  The  different  reports  of 
the  extent  of  the  walls  of  Babylon  are  given  as  fol- 
low : — By  Herodotus,  at  120  stadia  each  side ;  or 
480  stadia  in  circumference.  By  Pliny  and  SoUnus, 
at  60  Roman  miles ;  which,  at  8  stadia  to  a  mile, 
agrees  with  Herodotus.  By  Strabo,  at  385  stadia. 
By  Diodorus,  from  Ctesias,  360 :  but  from  Clitarchus, 
who  accompanied  Alexander,  365.  And,  lastly,  by 
Curtius,  at  368.  It  appears  highly  probable  that  360, 
or  365,  wjis  the  true  statement  of  the  circumference. 
That  the  area  enclosed  by  the  walls  of  Babylon  was 
only  partly  built  on,  is  proved  by  the  words  of  Quin- 
tus  Curtius,who  says  (lib.  v.  cap.  4.)  that '  the  buildings 
(in  Babylon)  are  not  contiguous  to  the  walls,  but  some 
considerable  space  was  left  all  rourid  ....  Nor  do 
the  houses  join ;  perhaps  from  motives  of  safety. 
The  remainder  of  the  space  is  cultivated ;  that,  in 
the  event  of  a  siege,  the  inhabitants  might  not  be 
compelled  to  depend  on  supplies  from  without.' 
Thus  far  Curtius.  Diodorus  describes  a  vast  space 
taken  up  by  the  palaces  and  public  buildings.  The 
enclosure  of  one  of  the  palaces  (which  appears  to  be 
what  is  called  by  others  the  citadel)  was  a  square  of 
15  stadia,  or  near  a  mile  and  a  half;  the  other  of 
five  stadia:  here  are  more  than  two  and  a  half 
square  miles  occupied  by  the  palaces  alone.  Be- 
sides these,  there  were  the  temple  and  tower  of  Belus, 
of  vast  extent ;  the  hanging  gardens,  &c.  But,  after 
all,  it  is  certain,  and  we  are  ready  to  allow,  that  the 
extent  of  the  buildings  of  Babylon  was  gi-eat,  and  far 
beyond  the  ordinary  size  of  capital  cities  then  known 
in  the  Avorld  ;  which  may  indeed  be  concluded  from 
the  manner  in  which  the  ancients  in  general  speak 
of  it.  The  population  of  this  city,  during  its  most 
flourishing  state,  exceeded  twelve  hundred  thousand  ; 
or  perhaps  a  million  and  a  quarter. 

The  hanging  gardens,  (as  they  are  called,)  which 
had  an  area  of  about  three  and  a  half  acres,  had 
trees  of  a  considerable  size  growing  in  them  :  and  it 
is  not  improbable  that  they  were  of  a  species  differ- 
ent from  those  of  the  natural  growth  of  the  alluvial 
soil  of  Babylonia.  Curtius  says,  that  some  of  them 
were  eight  cubits  in  the  girth  ;  and  Strabo,  that 
there  was  a  contrivance  to  prevent  the  large  roots 
from  destroying  the  superstructure,  by  building  vast 
hollow  piers,  which  were  filled  with  earth  to  receive 
them.  These  trees  may  have  been  per])etuated  in 
the  same  spot  where  they  grew,  notwithstanding 
that  the  terraces  may  have  subsided,  by  the  crum- 
bhng  of  the  piers  and  walls  that  supported  them. 

Now,  it  appears  that  we  ought  to  make  a  distinc- 
tion here.  That  the  province  of  Babylonia  should 
be  surrounded  by  a  wall  of  immense  thickness,  for 
the  purpose  of  a  fortification,  is  little  less  than  ridicu- 
lous ;  but  that  an  enclosure  or  wall  might  embrace 
a  large  extent  of  country,  is  credible.  Ibn  Haukal 
speaks  of  villages  "extending  for  nearly  twenty  far- 
sang  by  twelve  farsang ;  all  about  this  space  is  a 
wall,  and  within  it  the  people  dwell  winter  and  sum- 
mer."— This  may  be  allowed  to  justify  the  extent 
assigned  to  the  walls  of  Babylonia,  as  a  province ; 
while  those  more  proximate  to  the  city  of  Babylon 
were  certainly  constructed  with  wonderful  labor, 
skill,  and  solidity,  according  to  the  duty  demanded 


BABYLON 


[  129  ] 


BABYLON 


of  them  in  protecting  a  narrower  space.  This  seems 
rather  to  militate  against  the  sentiment  of  Dr.  Blay- 
ney,  who  would  keep  to  the  singular,  wall,  where 
the  term  occurs;  as  Jer.  h.  58:  "The  walls  [plural] 
of  Babylon ;  the  broad  [wall,  singular]  shall  be 
utterly  broken."  It  would  be  hazardous  to  insist 
that  the  prophet  intended  a  distinction  from  nar- 
rower walls  by  using  the  tenii  hroad ;  but  those  who 
observe  that  in  chap.  1.  15.  we  have  also  walls,  in  the 
plural — "  her  walls  are  thrown  down,"  as  the  doctor 
himself  renders,  will  hesitate  on  reducing  this  term 
in  this  place  to  the  singular. 

We  are  now  j^repared  to  examine  somewhat 
more  closely  the  predictions  quoted  from  the 
prophet.  With  regard  to  the  first,  (Jer.  1.  15.)  "Her 
foundations  are  fallen,"  Dr.  Blayney  observes,  very 
justly,  that  foundations  cannot  fall :  they  are  already 
deep  in  the  ground  ;  they  may  be  razed,  or  uprooted, 
but  they  can  go  no  lower.  He  therefore  renders, 
with  the  LXX,  i.Tu>.ifig,  her  battlements,  or  the  turrets 
filled  with  men  who  fought  in  defence  of  the  walls. 
They  might  be  somewhat  analogous  to  the  bastions 
of  modern  fortification;  but,  most  likely,  they  were 
raised  higher  than  the  wall  itself  Another  passage 
deserves  remark,  as  being  manifestly  intended  by  the 
WTiter  to  display  uncommon  emphasis,  (H.  58.)  "The 
broad  wall  of  Babylon  shall  be  utterly  broken." 
These  last  words  are  but  a  feeble  resemblance  of 
the  original,  which  is  very  difficult  to  be  rendered 
into  English,  ijnj'nn  ^v^i',  in  utterly  razing  it  most 
utterly  raze  if,— -doubly  destroy  it  with  double  de- 
struction. And  this  is  denounced  on  the  broad  wall 
of  Babylon.  If,  therefore,  traces  should  be  found  of 
any  narrow  wall  of  this  ill-fated  city,  they  may  be 
allowed  to  possess  their  interest :  but  hitherto  no  in- 
dications of  the  broad  wall  have  been  so  much  as 
suspected  by  the  most  inquisitive,  and  probably  no 
such  discovery  ever  will  be  achieved. 

We  have  now  touched  on  the  particulars  connected 
with  Babylon,  except  one  that  has  puzzled  all  com- 
mentators, Jer.  li.  41.  "  How  is  Sheshach  taken  !  and 
how  is  the  praise  of  the  whole  earth  surprised  !  how 
is  Babylon  become  an  astonishment  among  the  na- 
tions !"  On  which  Dr.  Blayney  says, "  That  Babylon 
is  meant  by  Sheshach  is  certain  ;  but  why  it  is  so 
called,  is  yet  matter  of  doubt."  We  have  this  term, 
also,  chap.  xxv.  26.  "And  the  king  of  Sheshach 
shall  drink — after  the  other  kings  of  the  earth." 
[That  it  is  a  name  for  Babylon,  there  can  be  no 
doubt,  from  the  first  passage  above ;  but  the  deriva- 
tion is  extremelj'  obscure.  The  Jewish  commenta- 
tors, and  Jerome,  suppose  it  to  be  the  name  Saj, 
Babel,  written  in  the  cabalistic  manner  called 
^itbash,  i.  e.  in  which  n  is  put  for  n,  c  for  2,  etc. 
But  even  supposing,  though  not  admitting,  that  this 
secret  mode  of  writing  is  really  so  ancient,  there 
eeems  to  be  no  good  reason  why,  in  the  very  same 
verse,  (li.  41.)  Babel  should  be  mentioned  once  by 
its  true  name,  and  then  again  by  a  concealed  one. 
Others  suppose  it  to  be  for  Shikshak,  xaz-xunt/o.-,  i.e. 
the  city  of  iron  plated  gates.  But  the  most  apt  and 
probable  derivation  is  that  of  Von  Bohlen,  (Symbol. 
ad  Interp.  S.  Cod.  ex  Ling.  Pers.  p.  22.)  viz.  tliat  it  is 
the  same  as  the  Persian  Shih-Shdh,  or  Shah-Shdh, 
i.  e.  house  or  court  of  the  prince,  an  appellation  which 
could  be  more  suitable  to  no  city  than  to  Babylon.     R. 

[Thus  far  the  mingled  contributions  of  Calmet  and 
Taylor,  in  regard  to  the  ancient  Babylon.  Before 
proceeding  to  give  an  account  of  the  mighty  ruins, 
which  at  the  present  day  alone  mark  its  former  site, 
it  mav  not  be  improper  to  subjoin  a  few  particulars 
17 


relating  more  especially  to  the  decline  and  fall  of 
tliis  proud  city ;  leaving  the  more  detailed  account 
of  the  geographical  character  of  the  surrounding 
country,  and  of  the  history  of  the  state,  to  be  added 
under  the  article  Babylonia. 

The  original  foundation  of  the  city  is  referred,  in 
the  Bible,  to  the  attempt  of  the  descendants  of  Noah 
to  build  "a  city  and  a  tOAver ;"  on  account  of  which 
their  language  was  confounded  and  they  were  scat- 
tered, by  the  interposition  of  God  himself.  Gen. 
xi.  1,  seq.  Hence  the  name  Babel,  i.  e.  confusion. 
With  this  coincide  the  traditions  related  by  other 
ancient  ^Titers,  and  professedly  extracted  from  As- 
syrian historians.  (See  the  extract  froir.  Abydenus, 
under  the  article  Babel,  and  compare  the  Armeniaii 
Hist,  of  Moses  Choren.  i.  c.  8. — Josephus,  Ant.  i.  4, 
3.  quotes  a  similar  tradition  from  the  Sibylline  ora- 
cles, which  is  found  in  the  edition  of  Gallaeus,  lib. 
iii.  p.  336,  seq.  with  which  compare  also  Gallsei 
Dissertat.  de  Sibyllis,  p.  459.)  Another  Assyrian 
account,  handed  down  by  Ctesias,  (Diod.  Sic.  ii.  7.) 
makes  Semiramis,  the  queen  of  Ninus,  to  be  the 
founder  of  Babylon ;  and  a  later  Chaldean  ac- 
count, given  by  Megasthenes  and  Berosus,  describes 
Nebuchadnezzar  as  its  builder.  (In  Euseb.  Presp. 
Evang.  ix.  41.  Joseph,  c.  Apion.  i.  19.)  These  ac- 
counts may  all  be  reconciled,  by  supposing  that 
Semiramis  rebuilt  or  greatly  extended  the  ancient 
city  ;  and  that  Nebuchadnezzar  afterwards  enlarged 
it  still  farther,  and  rendered  it  more  strong  and 
splendid.  The  description  of  the  city  itself  by  He- 
rodotus, who  personally  visited  it,  has  already  been 
given  above. 

Under  Nebuchadnezzar,  at  any  rate,  Babylon  reach- 
ed the  summit  of  her  greatness  and  splendor.  She 
was  now  the  capital  of  the  civilized  world,  and  into 
her  lap  flowed,  either  through  conquest  or  commerce, 
the  wealth  of  almost  all  knoAvn  lands.  Justly,  there- 
fore, might  the  prophets  call  her  the  great,  (Dan.  iv. 
30.)  the  praise  of  the  whole  earth,  (Jer.  li.  41.)  the 
beauty  of  the  Chaldees'  excellency,  (Is.  xiii.  19.)  the  lady 
of  kingdoms,  (Is.  xlvii.  5.)  but  also  the  tender  and  del- 
icate, and  given  to  pleasures.  Is.  xlvii.  1.  8.  Indeed, 
these  last  epithets  are  gentle,  in  comparison  with  the 
real  state  of  the  case ;  for,  in  consequence  of  the 
opulence  and  luxury  of  the  inhabitants,  the  corrupt- 
ness and  licentiousness  of  manners  and  morals  were 
carried  to  a  frightful  extreme.  Herodotus  assures 
us,  (i.  199.)  that  the  daughters  even  of  the  nobles 
prostituted  themselves  in  the  temple  of  Mylitta,  i.  e. 
the  planet  Venus,  or  Ashtaroth.  Quintus  Curtius 
gives  us  the  following  picture  of  the  horrid  profli- 
gacy and  beastly  indecency  of  the  inhabitants,  which 
is  quite  too  bad  to  be  translated  :  (fib.  v.  1.)  "Nihil  ur- 
bis  ejus  corruptius  moribus,  nee  ad  irritandas  illicien- 
dasque  immodicas  voluptates  instructius.  Liberos 
conjugesque  cum  hospitibus  stupro  coire,  modo  pre- 
tium  flagitii  detur,  parentes  maritique  patiuntur. — 
Feminarum  convivia  ineuntium  in  principio  modes- 
tus  est  habitus  ;  dein  summa  quaeque  amicula  exu- 
unt,  paulatimque  pudorem  profanant ;  ad  ultimum 
(lionos  auribus  sit)  ima  corporum  velamenta  proji- 
ciunt :  nee  meretricium  hoc  dedecus  est,  sed  matro- 
narum  virginumque,  apud  quas  comitas  habetur 
vulgati  corporis  vihtas."  Well,  therefore,  might  the 
prophets  proclaim  woes  against  her !  Well  might 
we  expect  Jehovah  to  bring  down  vengeance  on  her 
crimes !  Indeed,  the  woes  denounced  against  Bab- 
ylon by  the  prophets,  constitute  some  of  the  most 
o.wfully  splendid  and  subhme  portions  of  the  whole 
Bihle,  Is.  xiii;  xlvii;  Jer.  1:   h.  et  al.  saep.     Hence, 


BABYLON 


[  130] 


BABYLON 


too,  as  the  great  capital,  in  which  all  the  corruptions 
of  idolatry  were  concentrated,  Babylon,  in  the  Rev- 
elation of  St.  John,  is  put  symbolically  for  Rome,  at 
that  time  the  chief  seat  and  capital  of  heathenism. 

The  city  of  Babylon,  however,  did  not  long  thus 
remain  the  capital  of  the  world  ;  for  already,  imder 
the  reign  of  Nebuchadnezzar's  /Grandson,  Nabonnid, 
the  Belshazzar  of  the  Scriptures,  it  was  l)esieged  and 
taken  by  Cyrus.  The  accounts  of  Greek  historians 
harmonize  here  with  that  of  the  Bible,  that  Cyrus 
made  his  successful  assault  on  a  night  when  the 
whole  city,  relying  on  the  strength  of  the  walls,  had 
given  themselves  up  to  the  riot  and  debauchery  of  a 
grand  public  festival,  and  tlie  king  and  his  nobles 
vycre  revelling  at  a  splendid  entcrtainnioiit.  Cyrus 
had  previously  caused  the  Pallacopas,  a  canal  which 
ran  west  of  the  city,  and  carried  oft'  the  sui)ei-fluous 
water  of  the  Euphrates  into  the  lake  of  Nitocris, 
(see  under  Babylonia,)  to  be  cleared  out,  in  order 
to  turn  the  river  into  it  ;  which,  by  this  means,  was 
rendered  so  shallo^^•,  that  his  soldiers  were  able  to 
penetrate  along  its  bed  into  the  city.  From  this 
time  its  importance  declined  ;  for  Cyrus  made  Susa 
the  capital  of  his  kingdom  ;  and  Babylon  thus  ceased 
to  be  the  chief  city  of  an  independent  state.  He  is 
said  also  to  have  torn  doAvn  the  external  walls ;  be- 
cause the  city  was  too  strongly  fortified,  and  might 
easily  rebel  against  him.  It  did  thus  revolt  against 
Darius  Hystaspes ;  who  again  subdued  it,  broke 
down  all  its  gates,  and  reduced  its  walls  to  the  height 
of  fifty  cubits.  (Herod,  iii.  159.)  According  to 
Strabo,  (xvi.  1,  5.)  Xerxes  destroyed  the  tower  of 
Belus.  The  same  writer  mentions,  that  under  the 
Persians,  and  under  Alexander's  successors,  Baby- 
lon continued  to  decline ;  especially  after  Seleucus 
Nicator  had  founded  Seleucia,  and  made  it  his  resi- 
dence. A  great  portion  of  the  inhabitants  of  Baby- 
lon removed  thither ;  and  in  Strabo's  time,  i.  e.  under 
Augustus,  Babyldn  had  become  so  desolate,  that  it 
might  be  called  a  vast  desert.  Diodorus  Siculus,  in 
the  same  centurj',  says,  (ii.  27.)  that  only  a  small  por- 
tion of  Babylon  was  inhabited  ;  and,  in  the  time  of 
Pausanias,  in  the  first  half  of  the  second  century, 
only  the  walls  remained.  (Arcad.  c.  33.)  After  this, 
the  sole  mention  of  Babylon,  (and  only  as  a  village 
on  that  site,)  until  the  time  of  Delia  Valfe,  (see  below,) 
is  in  the  last  half  of  the  fourth  century,  and  at  the 
beginning  of  the  fourteenth.     *R. 

We  shall  now  direct  our  attention  to  the  remains  of 
those  once  magnificent  structures  which  distinguished 
Babylon  as  the  wonder  of  the  world  :  of  their  elegance 
we  cannot  judge,  as  that  has  cetfsed  to  exist ;  of  their 
magnitude  we  can  form  some  esthnate,  though  not 
of  their  connection,  or  mutual  dependence  ;  we  shall, 
nevertheless,  find,  on  examination,  sufficient  partic- 
ulars attached  to  these  monuments  of  persevering 
labor,  to  justify  the  predictions  of  the  prophets,  and  to 
clear  them  from  the  charge  of  inconsistency,  or  pre- 
varication ;  which  is  our  ])rincipal  object. 

[For  the  easier  understanding  of  the  subjoined 
quotations,  it  should  be  borne  in  mind,  that  all  the 
principal  ruins  yet  discovered,  are  on  the  east  bank 
of  the  Euphrates.  They  lie  within  a  triangular  area, 
of  which  the  river  is  the  ba.se,  and  the  two  sides  are 
formed  by  the  ruins  of  the  ancient  wall,  which  com- 
mence at  the  river  above  and  below,  and  meet  in  a 
right  angle  at  the  most  eastern  point.  The  latest 
traveller  who  has  visited  these  stupendous  ruins  is 
Sir  R.  K.  Porter,  who  has  examined  them  wth  more 
anention  than  any  former  traveller.     R. 

The  first  traveller  who  communicated  an   intel- 


ligible account  of  these  antiquities  was  Delia  Valle, 
who,  in  1616,  examined  them  more  minutely  and 
leisurely  than  some  who  went  before  him.  His  ac- 
count of  the  more  northerly  of  these  ruins,  which 
he  calls  the  tower  of  Belus,  is  instructive,  notwith- 
standing later  information:  "In  the  n)idst  of  a  vast 
and  level  plain,  about  a  quai'ter  of  a  league  from  the 
Euphrates,  appears  a  heap  of  ruined  buildings,  like 
a  huge  mountain,  the  materials  of  which  are  so  con- 
foimded  together,  that  one  knows  not  what  to  make 
of  it.  Its  figiu'c  is  square,  and  it  rises  in  form  of  a 
tower  or  jjyramid,  with  four  fronts,  which  answer 
to  the  four  quarters  of  the  compass,  but  it  seems 
longer  from  north  to  south  than  from  east  to  west, 
and  is,  as  far  as  I  could  judge,  by  my  pacing  of  it,  a 
large  quarter  of  a  league.  Its  situation  and  form 
correspond  with  that  pyramid  which  Strabo  calls  the 
tower  of  Belus.  The  height  of  this  mountain  of 
ruins  is  not  in  every  part  equal,  but  exceeds  the 
highest  palace  in  Naples;  it  is  a  mis-shapen  mass, 
wherein  there  is  no  appearance  of  regularity ;  in 
some  places  it  rises  in  sharp  points,  craggy  and 
inaccessible  ;  in  others  it  is  smoother  and  of  easier 
ascent ;  there  are  also  traces  of  torrents  from  the 
summit  to  the  base,  caused  by  violent  rains.  It  is 
built  with  large  and  thick  bricks,  as  I  carefully  ob- 
served, having  caused  excavations  to  be  made  in 
several  places  for  that  purpose  ;  but  they  do  not  ap- 
pear to  have  been  burned,  but  dried  in  the  sun, 
which  is  extremely  hot  in  those  parts.  These  sun- 
baked bricks,  in  whose  substance  were  mixed  bruised 
reeds  and  straw,  and  which  were  laid  in  clay  mor- 
tar, compose  the  great  mass  of  the  building,  but 
other  bricks  were  also  perceived  at  certain  intervals, 
especially  where  the  strongest  buttresses  stood,  of 
the  same  size,  but  baked  in  the  kiln,  and  set  in  good 
lime  and  bitumen."  (Vol.  ii.  Let.  17.)  He  paced  the 
circumference,  and  found  it  to  be  1134  of  his  ordi- 
nary steps ;  say  about  2552,  or  2600,  feet :  conse- 
quently the  dimensions  of  each  side  should  have 
been  about  640  or  650  feet.  He  observed  founda- 
tions of  buildings  around  the  great  mass,  at  the  dis- 
tance of  fifty  or  sixty  paces.  This  ruin  has  subse- 
quently been  known  under  the  appellation  of  "  Delia 
Valle's  Ruin  ;"  it  is  the  same  as  the  natives  call 
Makloube,  Mujelibe,  that  is,  overturned;  or  "the 
pyramid  of  Haroot  and  Maroot." 

M.  Beauchamp,  Vicar  General  of  Babylon,  and 
CoiTesponding  Member  of  the  French  Academy  of 
Sciences,  visited  these  celebrated  ruins  several  times 
within  the  (then)  last  twenty  years  [1799.]  He  says, 
"The  ruins  of  Babylon  are  very  visible  a  league 
north  of  Hellah.  There  is,  in  particular,  an  eleva- 
tion which  is  flat  on  the  top ;  of  an  irregular  figure  ; 
and  intersected  by  ravines.  It  would  never  have 
been  suspected  for  the  work  of  human  hands,  were 
it  not  proved  by  the  layers  of  bricks  foimd  in  it.  Its 
height  is  not  more  than  60  yards.  It  is  so  little  ele- 
vated, that  the  least  ruin  we  pass  in  the  road  to  it 
conceals  it  from  the  view.  To  come  at  the  bricks 
it  is  necessary  to  dig  into  the  earth.  They  are 
baked  with  fire,  and  cemented  with  zepth,  or  bitu- 
men :  between  each  layer  are  found  osiers.  Above 
this  mount,  on  the  side  of  the  river,  are  those  im- 
mense ruins  which  liave  served,  and  still  serve,  for 
the  building  of  Hellah,  an  Arabian  city,  containing 
10  or  12,000  souls.  Here  are  found  those  large  and 
thick  bricks,  imprinted  with  unknown  characters, 
specimens  of  which  I  have  ])resented  to  the  Abb6 
Barthelemy.  This  place,  and  the  mount  of  Babel, 
are  commonly  ctilled  by  the  Arabs  ]Makloul)e,  that 


BABYLON 


[  131] 


BABYLON 


is,  turned  topsy-turvy.  I  was  informed  by  the  mas- 
ter mason  employed  to  dig  for  bricks,  that  the  places 
from  which  he  procured  them  were  large,  thick 
walls,  and  sometimes  chambers.  He  has  frequently 
found  earthen  vessels,  engraved  marbles,  and,  about 
eight  years  ago,  a  statue  as  large  as  life,  which  he 
threw  among  the  rubbish.  On  one  wall  of  a  cham- 
ber he  found  the  figures  of  a  cow,  and  of  the  sun 
and  moon,  formed  of  varnished  bricks.  Sometimes, 
idols  of  clay  are  found,  representing  human  figures. 
I  found  one  brick  on  which  was  a  lion,  and  on 
others  a  half-moon  in  relief.  The  bricks  are  ce- 
mented with  bitumen,  except  in  one  place,  which  is 
well  preserved,  where  they  are  united  by  eC  very  thin 
stratum  of  white  cement,  which  appears  to  me  to  be 
made  of linje  and  sand.  The  bricks  are  everywhere 
of  the  same  dimensions,  one  foot  three  lines  square 
by  three  inches  thick.  Occasionallj^,  layers  of  osiers 
in  bitumen  are  found,  as  at  Babel.  The  master  ma- 
son led  me  along  a  valley,  which  he  dug  out  a  long 
while  ago,  to  get  at  the  bricks  of  a  wall,  that,  from 
the  marks  he  showed  me,  I  guess  to  have  been  sixty 
feet  thick.  It  ran  perpendicular  to  the  bed  of  the 
river,  and  was  probably  the  wall  of  the  city.  I  found 
in  it  a  subterranean  canal,  which,  instead  of  being 
arched  over,  is  covered  with  pieces  of  sand-stone, 
six  or  seven  feet  long,  by  three  wide.  These  ruins 
extend  several  leagues  to  the  north  of  Hellah,  and 
incontestably  mark  the  situation  of  ancient  Babylon." 
The  increasing  cariosity  of  travellers,  with  the 
arrival  iu  Europe  of  several  inscribed  bricks,  and 
other  instances  of  the  kind  of  letters  used  in  these 
inscriptions,  induced  the  visits  of  others :  the  follow- 
ing are  extracts  from  Kinneir's  Memoir  on  Persia. 
"  In  the  latitude  of  .32  deg.  25  min.  north,  and,  ac- 
cording to  my  reckoning,  fifty-four  miles  from  Bag- 
dad, stands  the  modern  town  of  Hilleh,  on  the  banks 
of  the  Euphrates.  It  covers  a  very  small  portion  of 
the  space  occupied  by  the  ancient  capital  of  Assyria, 
the  ruins  of  which  have  excited  the  curiosity  and 
admiration  of  the  few  European  travellers,  whom 
chance  or  business  has  conducted  to  this  remote 
quarter  of  the  globe,  and  have  been  partially  de- 
scribed by  Benjamin  of  Tudela,  Beauchamp,  and 
Pietro  Delia  Valle.  p.  2G9.  The  town  of  Hilleh  is 
said,  by  the  people  of  the  country,  to  be  built  on  the 
site  of  Babel ;  and  some  gigantic  ruins,  still  to  be 
seen  in  its  vicinity,  are  beUeved  to  be  tlie  remains  of 
that  ancient  metropolis.  I  visited  these  ruins  in 
1808 ;  and  my  friend,  captain  Frederick,  whose 
name  I  have  had  frequent  occasion  to  mention  in  this 
Memoir,  spent  six  days  in  minutely  examining  every 
thing  worthy  of  attention,  for  many  miles  ro\md 
Hilleh.  I  shall,  therefore,  without  noticing  the  de- 
scription given  by  former  ti-avellers,  state  fii-st  what 
was  seen  by  myself;  and  afterwards  the'  result  of 
captain  Frederick's  inquiries.  The  principal  ruin, 
and  that  which  is  thought  to  represent  the  temple  of 
Belus,  is  four  miles  north  of  Hilleh,  and  a  quar- 
ter of  a  mile  from  the  east  bank  of  the  Euphrates. 
This  stupendous  monument  of  antiquity  is  a  huge 

fyramid,  nine  hundred  paces  in  circumference. 
Captain  Frederick  measured  the  east  and  south 
faces  at  the  top,  and  found  the  former  to  be  one 
hundred  and  eighty,  and  the  latter  one  hundred  and 
ninety,  paces,  at  two  feet  and  a  half  each  pace,]  and, 
as  nearly  as  I  could  guess,  about  two  hundred  and 
twenty  feet  in  height  at  the  most  elevated  part.  It 
is  an  exact  quadrangle.  Three  of  its  faces  are  still 
perfect ;  but  that  towards  the  south  has  lost  more  of 
its  regularity  than  the  others.     This  pyramid  is  built 


entirely  of  brick  dried  in  the  sun,  cemented  in  some 
places  with  bitumen  and  regular  layers  of  reeds,  and 
in  others  with  slime  and  reeds,  which  appeared  to 
me  as  fresh  as  if  they  had  been  used  only  a  few 
days  before.  [All  that  captain  Frederick  saw  were 
cemented  with  bitumen.  On  entering  a  small  cav- 
ern, however,  about  twenty  feet  in  depth,  I  found 
that  the  bricks  in  the  interior  of  the  mass  were  inva- 
riably cemented  with  slime  and  layers  of  reeds  at 
each  course.]  Quantities  of  furnace-baked  brick 
were,  however,  scattered  at  the  foot  of  the  pyramid : 
and  it  is  more  than  probable  that  it  was  once  faced 
with  the  latter,  which  have  been  removed  by  the 
natives  for  the  construction  of  their  houses.  Tlie 
outer  edges  of  the  bricks,  from  being  exposed  to  the 
weather,  have  mouldered  away :  it  is,  therefore, 
only  on  minute  examination  that  the  nature  of  the 
materials  of  which  it  is  composed  can  be  ascertained. 
When  viewed  from  a  distance,  the  ruin  has  more 
the  appearance  of  a  small  hill  than  a  building.  The 
ascent Js  in  most  places  so  gentle  that  a  person  may 
ride  all  over  it.  Deep  ravines  have  been  sunk  by 
the  periodical  rains ;  and  there  are  numerous  long, 
narrow  cavities,  or  jjassages,  which  are  now  the  un- 
molested retreat  of  jackals,  hysenas,  and  other  nox- 
ious animals.  The  bricks  of  which  this  structure  is 
built  are  larger,  and  much  inferior  to  any  other  I 
have  seen ;  they  have  no  inscriptions  on  them,  and 
are  seldom  used  by  the  natives,  on  account  of  their 
softness.  The  name  given  by  the  Arabs  to  this  ruin 
is  Ilaroot  and  Maroot ;  for  they  beheve  that,  near 
the  foot  of  the  pyramid,  there  still  exists  (although 
invisible  to  mankind)  a  well,  in  which  those  two 
wicked  angels  were  condemned  by  the  Almighty  to 
be  suspended  by  the  heels  until  the  end  of  the 
world,  as  a  punishment  for  their  vanity  and  pre- 
sumption. Delia  Valle  mentions  several  smaller 
mounds,  as  being  situated  in  the  plain  in  the  imme- 
diate vicinity  of  the  pyramid.  Captam  Frederick 
and  myself  looked  in  vain  for  these  mounds ;  we 
could  only  discern  the  high  banks  of  a  canal,  run- 
ning parallel  to  the  S.  W.  face  of  the  square,  and  a 
mound,  about  half  a  mile  distant,  of  which  I  shall 
speak  hereaftex-. 

"  On  the  opposite  [the  W.]  side  of  the  river,  about 
six  miles  S.  W.  of  Hilleh,  a  second  eminence,  not 
quite  so  large  as  that  just  mentioned,  but  of  greater 
elevation,  would  seem  to  have  escaped  the  observa- 
tion of  modern  travellers ;  with  the  exception  of 
Niebuhr,  by  whom  it  is  slightly  mentioned.  It  ia 
formed  of  furnace-baked  and  sun-dried  brick,  about 
one  foot  in  diameter,  and  from  three  to  four  inches 
thick.  This  pyramid  is  styled  Nimrood  by  the 
Arabs  ;  and  on  its  summit  are  the  remains  of  a  small 
scpiare  tower,  the  wall  of  which  is  eight  feet  thick, 
and,  as  nearly  as  I  could  guess,  about  fifty  in  height. 
It  is  built  of  furnace-baked  bricks,  of  a  yellowish 
color,  cemented  with  slime,  but  no  reeds  or  bitumen 
were  ])erccptiblc.  From  tliis  tower  there  is  a  most 
extensive  view  of  the  windings  of  the  Euphrates, 
through  the  level  plain  of  Shinar.  Its  banks  are 
lined  with  villages  and  orchards,  and  here  and  there 
a  few  scattered  hamlets  in  the  desert  appeared  like 
spots  on  the  surface  of  the  ocean.  On  the  top  and 
sides  of  the  mound  I  observed  several  fragments  of 
different  colors,  resembling,  in  appearance,  pieces 
of  mis-shapen  rock.  Captain  Frederick  examined 
these  curious  fragments  with  much  attention,  and 
was  at  first  inclined  to  think  that  they  were  consoli- 
dated pieces  of  fallen  masonry  ;  but  this  idea  was 
soon  laid  aside,  as  they  were  found  so  hard  aa  to 


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BABYLON 


resist  iron,  in  the  manner  of  any  other  very  hard 
stone,  and  the  junction  of  the  bricks  was  not  to  be  dis- 
cerned. It  is  difficult  to  form  a  conjecture  concern- 
ing these  extraordinary  fragments,  (some  of  which 
are  six  and  eight  feet  in  diameter,)  as  there  is  no 
stone  of  such  a  quahty  to  be  procured  any  where  in 
the  neighboring  country,  and  we  could  see  or  hear 
of  no  builduig  of  which  they  could  form  a  part. 
Here  those  bricks  which  have  inscriptions  on  them 
are  generally  found  by  the  Arabs,  wlio  are  constantly 
employed  in  digging  for  them,  to  build  the  houses 
at  Hilleh.  About  a  hundred  and  twenty  paces  from 
this  pyramid  is  another,  not  so  high,  but  of  greater 
circumference  at  the  base.  Bricks  are  dug  in  great 
quantities  from  this  place ;  but  none,  I  believe,  wth 
inscriptions. 

"  [To  return  to  the  E.  side.]  About  one  mile  and 
a  half  from  Hilleh,  on  the  eastern  bank  of  the  Eu- 
phrates, captain  Frederick  discovered  a  longituduial 
mound,  close  on  the  edge  of  the  river ;  and  two 
miles  further  up,  in  an  easterly  direction,  a  second, 
more  extensive  than  the  first.  He  was  given  to  un- 
derstand that  the  Arabs  were  in  the  habit  of  procur- 
ing vast  quantities  of  burnt  bricks  from  this  mound, 
none  of  which,  however,  had  any  inscription.  He 
perceived,  on  examination,  a  wall  of  red  bricks,  in 
one  part  even  with  the  surface  of  the  ground,  and 
open  to  the  depth  of  thirty  feet  in  the  mound,  the 
earth  having  been  moved  for  the  purpose  of  procur- 
ing the  bricks.  At  another  place,  not  far  distant, 
were  the  remains  of  an  extensive  building.  Some 
of  its  walls  were  in  great  preservation,  ten  feet  above 
the  surface  of  the  rubbish ;  and  the  foundation,  at 
another  part,  had  not  been  reached  at  the  depth  of 
forty-five  feet.  It  was  six  feet  eight  inches  thick, 
built  of  a  superior  kind  of  yellowish  brick,  furnace- 
baked,  and  cemented,  not  with  bitumen  or  reeds, 
but  lime  mixed  with  sand,  A  decayed  tree,  not  far 
from  this  spot,  was  shown  by  the  country  people,  as 
being  coeval  with  the  building  itself.  Its  girth,  two 
feet  from  the  ground,  measured  four  feet  seven 
inches,  and  it  might  be  about  twenty  feet  in  height : 
it  was  hollow,  and  apparently  very  old.  [Former 
travellers  have  asserted  that  "they  saw  a  number  of 
very  old  and  uncommon  looking  trees  along  the 
banks  of  the  river  :  but  neither  captain  Frederick 
nor  myself  saw  any  but  this  one ;  and  it  certainly 
differed  from  the  other  trees  wliich  grow  in  the 
neighborhood.]  The  great  pyramid,  first  mentioned, 
is  only  about  half  or  three  quarters  of  a  mile  from 
this  mound.  Captain  Frederick,  having  carefully 
examined  every  mound  or  spot,  described  by  the 
natives  as  belonging  to  Babel,  endeavored  to  dis- 
cover if  any  thing  remained  of  the  ancient  city  wall. 
He  commenced  by  riding  five  miles  down  the  bank 
of  the  river,  and  then  by  following  its  windings  six- 
teen miles  north  of  Hilleh,  on  the  eastern  side.  The 
western  bank  was  explored  witii  the  same  minute- 
ness ;  but  not  a  trace  of  any  deej)  excavation,  or  any 
rubbish,  or  mounds,  (excepting  those  already  men- 
tioned,) were  discovcretl.  Leaving  the  river,  he 
proceeded  from  Hilleh,  to  a  village  named  Kara- 
kooli,  a  distance  of  fifteen  iniles  in  a  N.  W.  direc- 
tion, without  meeting  any  tiling  wortliy  of  remark. 
He  next  rode  hi  a  parallel  line,  six  miles  to  the  west, 
and  as  many  to  the  east  of  the  pyramid  of  Haroot 
and  Maroot,  and  returned  to  Hilleh,  disappointed  in 
all  his  expectations;  for,  within  a  s|)ace  of  twenty- 
one  miles  in  length  and  twelve  in  breadth,  he  was 
unable  to  discover  any  thing  that  could  admit  of  a 
conclusion,  that  either  a  wall  or  ditch  had  ever  ex- 


isted within  this  area.  [Captain  Fiederick  mformed 
us,  that  he  dedicated  eight  or  ten  hours  each  day  to 
his  inquiries,  during  his  stay  at  Hilleh.]  The  size, 
situation,  and  construction  of  the  pyramid  of  Haroot 
and  Maroot  have  led  major  Rennell  and  D'Anville 
to  suppose  it  to  be  the  remains  of  the  temple  of 
Belus.  The  latter,  as  we  have  already  stated,  is 
described  as  being  a  square  of  a  stadium  in  breadth, 
and  of  equal  dimensions  at  the  base,  and  built  of 
brick  cemented  with  bitumen.  The  mass  Avhich  we 
now  see,  is  an  exact  quadrangle,  which,  ten  feet 
within  the  outer  edge  of  the  rubbish,  measured  nine 
hundred  paces,  or  two  thousand  tAvo  hundred  and 
fifty  feet,  exceeding  the  circuit  of  the  base  of  the 
tower  of  Belus  by  two  hundred  and  fifty  feet — a 
trifling  excess,  when  we  consider  how  much  it  must 
have  increased  by  the  fallen  ruins.  Its  elevation,  at 
the  S.  W.  angle,  is  still  upwards  of  two  hundred 
feet ;  which  is  very  great,  considering  its  antiquity, 
and  the  soft  materials  of  which  it  is  composed. 
Strabo  represents  the  temple  of  Belus  as  having  an 
exterior  coat  of  burnt  brick  ;  and,  as  I  have  before 
said,  there  is  every  reason  to  believe,  from  the  ac- 
cumulation of  pieces  of  furnace-baked  bricks  at  the 
foot  of  each  face,  that  this  was  the  case  with  the 
great  pyramid  to  the  north  of  Hilleh.  We  are,  how- 
ever, left  in  some  doubt  respecting  the  situation  of 
the  temple.  Diodorus  says,  that  it  stood  in  the 
centre  of  the  city :  but  the  text  is  obscure ;  and  it 
may  be  inferred,  that  the  palace  on  the  east  bank  of 
the  Euphrates  and  [the]  temple  were  the  same.  If 
this  be  the  case,  we  may  be  permitted  to  conjecture, 
that  the  Euphrates  once  pursued  a  course  different 
from  that  which  it  now  follows,  and  that  it  flowed 
between  the  pyi-amid  of  Haroot  and  Maroot,  and  the 
mound  and  the  ruins,  already  mentioned  as  half  a 
mile  farther  to  the  west.  The  present  course  of  the 
river  would  appear  to  justify  this  conclusion  ;  for  it 
bends  suddenly  towards  these  mounds,  and  has  the 
appearance  of  having  formerly  passed  between  them. 
Should  this  conjecture  be  admitted,  then  will  the 
ruins  just  mentioned  be  found  to  answer  the  de- 
scription given  by  the  ancients  of  the  materials,  size, 
and  situation  of  the  two  principal  edifices  in  Baby- 
lon. But  if  not,  we  shall  continue  in  ignorance 
concerning  the  remains  of  the  palace  ;  for  the  pyra- 
mid is  far  too  distant  from  the  river  and  the  other 
ruins,  to  incline  us  to  suppose  it  to  have  been  the 
royal  residence."     p.  279. 

To  Mr.  Rich,  Resident  at  Bagdad  for  the  East 
India  Company,  we  are  indebted  for  a  still  more 
particidar  account  of  these  monuments  of  antiquity  ; 
his  tracts  Iiave  greatly  engaged  the  attention  of  the 
public,  and  have  given  occasion  to  much  investiga- 
tion. The  following  are  extracts  from  his  first 
work.  (Lond.  1815.)  "The  ruins  of  Babylon  may 
in  fact  be  said  almost  to  commence  from  IMohawil, 
a  very  indifferent  khan,  close  to  which  is  a  large 
canal,  with  a  bridge  over  it,  the  whole  country  be- 
tween it  and  Hellah  exhibiting  at  intenals  traces  of 
building,  in  which  are  discoverable  burnt  and  un- 
burnt  bricks  and  bitumon.  Three  mounds  in  par- 
ticular attract  attention  from  their  magnitude.  The 
district  called  l)y  the  natives  El-Aredh  Babel  ex- 
tends on  both  sides  of  the  Eu])hratos.  The  ruins  of 
the  eastern  quarter  of  Babylon  commence  about  two 
miles  above  Hcllali,  and  consist  of  two  large  masses 
or  mounds  connected  with,  and  lying  N.  and  S.  of, 
each  other  ;  and  several  smaller  ones  which  cross  the 
plain  at  different  intervals.  [At]  the  northern  ter- 
mination of  the  plain  is  Pietro  Delia  Valle's  ruin  ; 


BABYLON 


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BABYLON 


from  the  S.  E.  (to  which  it  evidently  once  joined, 
being  only  obliterated  there  by  tAvo  canals)  proceeds 
a  narrow  ridge  or  mound  of  earth,  wearing  the  ap- 
pearance of  having  been  a  boundary  wall.  This 
ridge  forms  a  kind  of  circular  enclosure,  and  joins 
the  S.  E.  point  of  the  most  southerly  of  the  two 
grand  masses.  The  whole  area,  enclosed  by  the 
boundary  on  the  east  and  south,  and  the  river  on  the 
west,  is  two  miles  and  six  hundred  yards  from  E.  to 
W. — as  much  from  Pietro  Delia  Valle's  ruin  to  the 
southern  part  of  the  boundary,  or  two  miles  and  one 
thousand  yards  to  the  most  southerly  mound  of  all. 
The  first  grand  mass  of  ruins  [south]  is  one  thou- 
sand one  himdred  yards  in  length,  and  eight  hundred 
in  the  greatest  breadth.  The  most  elevated  part 
may  be  about  fifty  or  sixty  feet  above  the  level  of 
the  plain,  and  it  has  been  dug  into  for  the  purpose 
of  procuring  bricks.  On  the  north  is  a  valley  of 
five  hundred  and  fifty  yards  in  length,  the  area  of 
which  is  covered  with  tussocks  of  rank  grass,  [is 
longest  from  E.  to  W.]  and  crossed  [from  S.  to  N.] 
by  a  line  of  ruins  of  very  little  elevation.  To  this 
succeeds  [going  N.]  the  second  grand  heap  of  ruins, 
the  shape  of  which  is  nearly  a  square  of  seven  hun- 
dred yards  length  and  breadth.  This  is  the  place 
where  Beauchamp  made  his  observations ;  and  it 
certainly  is  the  most  interesting  part  of  the  ruins  of 
Babylon :  every  vestige  discoverable  in  it  declares  it 
to  have  been  composed  of  buildings  far  superior  to 
all  the  rest  which  have  left  traces  in  the  eastern 
quarter  :  the  bricks  are  of  the  finest  description,  and, 
notwithstanding  this  is  the  grand  store-house  of  them, 
and  that  the  greatest  supplies  have  been  and  are  now 
constantly  drawn  from  it,  they  appear  still  to  be 
abundant.  In  all  these  excavations  Avails  of  burnt 
brick,  laid  in  lime  mortar  of  a  very  good  quality,  are 
seen ;  and  in  addition  to  the  substances  generally 
streAved  on  the  surfaces  of  all  these  mounds,  aa'c  here 
find  fragments  of  alabaster  vessels,  fine  earthen  AA'are, 
marble,  and  great  quantities  of  varnished  tiles,  the 
glazing  and  coloring  of  which  is  sui-prisingly  fresh. 
In  a  holloAV,  near  the  southern  part,  I  found  a 
sepulchral  urn  of  earthen  Avare,  Avhich  had  been 
broken  in  digging,  and  near  it  lay  some  human 
bones,  Avhich  puh'erized  AAith  the  touch. 

"  To  be  more  particular  in  my  description  of  this 
mound : — not  more  than  tAvo  hundred  yards  from 
its  northern  extremity  is  a  ravine,  hollowed  out  by 
those  Avho  dig  for  bricks,  in  length  near  a  hundred 
yards,  and  thirty  feet  Avide  by  forty  or  fifty  deep. 
On  one  side  of  it  a  feAV  yards  of  Avail  remain  stand- 
ing, the  face  of  Avhich  is  Aery  clear  and  perfect,  and 
it  appears  to  have  been  the  front  of  some  building. 
The  opposite  side  is  so  confused  a  mass  of  rubbish, 
fliat  it  should  seem  the  ravine  had  been  AA'orked 
through  a  solid  building.  Under  the  foundations  of 
tlie  southern  end,  an  opening  is  made,  Avhich  dis- 
covers a  subteiTanean  passage,  floored  and  Availed 
Avith  large  bricks  laid  in  bitumen,  and  covered  over 
Avith  pieces  of  sand  stone,  a  yard  thick  and  several 
yards  long,  on  Avhicli  the  whole  [Aveiglit  rests]  being 
so  great  as  to  haAC  given  a  considerable  degree  of 
obliquity  to  the  side  Avails  of  the  passage.  It  is  half 
full  of  brackish  Avater ;  (probal)ly  rain  water  impreg- 
nated Avith  nitre,  in  filtering  through  the  ruins,  Avhich 
are  all  very  productiA^e  of  it;)  and  the  Avorkmen  say 
that  some  AA^ay  on  it  is  high  enough  for  a  horseman 
to  pass  upright :  as  much  as  I  saAV  of  it,  it  Avas  near 
seA-en  feet  in  height,  and  its  course  to  the  south. — 
This  is  described  by  Beauchamp,  avIio  most  unac- 
countably imagines  it  must  have  been  part  of  the 


city  wall.  The  supej-stmcture  over  tne  passage  i« 
cemented  with  bitumen  ;  other  parts  of  the  ravine 
[are  cemented]  with  mortar,  and  the  bricks  have  all 
AATiting  on  them.  The  northern  end  of  the  ravine 
appears  to  have  been  crossed  by  an  extremely  thick 
Avail  of  yelloAvish  brick,  cemented  Avith  a  brillitint 
white  mortar,  Avhich  has  been  broken  through  in 
holloAving  it  out ;  and  a  little  to  the  north  of  it  I  dis- 
covered Avhat  Beauchamp  saAv  imperfectly,  and  un- 
derstood from  the  natives  to  be  an  idol.  I  was  told 
the  same,  and  that  it  AA'as  discoA-ered  by  an  old  Arab 
in  digging,  but  that,  not  knoAving  Avhat  to  do  AA'ith  it, 
he  covered  it  up  agam.  [It  is  probable  that  many 
fragments  of  antiquity,  especially  of  the  larger  kind, 
are  lost  in  this  manner.  The  inhabitants  call  all 
stones  with  inscriptions  or  figures  on  them  idols.] 
On  sending  for  the  old  man,  I  set  a  number  of  men 
to  work,  who,  after  a  day's  hard  labor,  laid  open 
enough  of  the  statue  to  shoAv  that  it  AA-as  a  lion  of 
colossal  dimensions,  standing  on  a  pedestal  of  a 
coarse  kind  of  gray  granite,  and  of  rude  Avorkman- 
shij) ;  in  the  mouth  Avas  a  circular  aperture  into 
Avhich  a  man  might  uitroduce  his  fist.  A  little  to 
the  Avest  of  the  ravine  is  the  next  remarkable  object, 
called  by  the  natives  the  Kasr,  or  Palace,  by  Avhich 
appellation  I  shall  designate  the  Avhole  mass.  It  is 
a  very  remarkable  ruin,Avhich,  being  uncovered  and 
in  part  detached  from  the  rubbish,  is  visible  from  a 
considerable  distance  ;  but  so  surprisingly  fresh  in 
its  appearance,  that  it  Avas  only  after  a  minute  in- 
spection that  I  Avas  satisfied  of  its  being  in  reality  a 
Babylonian  lemain.  It  consists  of  several  walls  and 
piers,  (which  face  the  cardinal  points,)  eight  feet  in 
thickness,  in  some  places  ornamented  Avith  niches, 
and  in  others  strengthened  by  pilasters  and  buttresses, 
built  of  fine  burnt  brick,  (still  perfectly  clean  and 
sharp,)  laid  in  lime-cement  of  such  tenacitj',  that 
those  Avhose  business  it  is  have  given  up  AAorking,  on 
account  of  the  extreme  difficulty  of  extracting  them 
Avhole.  The  tops  of  these  Avails  are  broken,  and 
many  have  been  much  higher.  On  the  outside  they 
have  in  some  places  been  cleared  nearly  to  the  foun- 
dations, but  the  internal  spaces  formed  by  them  are 
yet  filled  Avith  rubbish  ;  in  some  parts  almost  to  their 
summit.  One  part  of  the  AAall  has  been  split  into 
three  parts,  and  overthrown  as  if  by  an  earthquake  ; 
some  detached  Avails  of  the  same  kind,  standing  at 
different  distances,  shoAv  what  remains  to  haA'e  been 
only  a  small  part  of  the  original  fabric  ;  indeed  it 
appears  that  the  passage  in  the  ravine,  together  Avith 
the  Avail  Avhich  crosses  its  u])per  end,  Avere  connected 
Avith  it.  There  are  some  holloAvs  underneath,  in 
which  seA'eral  persons  have  lost  their  lives ;  so  that 
no  one  Avill  noAV  venture  into  them,  and  their  en- 
trances ha\'e  become  choked  up  Avith  rubbish.  Near 
this  ruin  is  a  heap  of  rubbish,  the  sides  of  AA'hich  are 
curiously  streaked  by  the  alternation  of  its  materials, 
the  cliief  part  of  Avhich,  it  is  probable,  Avas  unburnt 
brick,  of  Avhich  I  found  a  small  quantity  in  the 
neighborhood,  but  no  reeds  Avere  discoverable  in  the 
interstices.  There  are  tAvo  paths  near  this  ruin, 
made  by  the  Avorkinen  Avho  carry  doA\Ti  their  bricks 
to  the  rJA'cr  side,  Avhence  they  ai-e  transported  by 
boats  to  Hellah  ;  and  a  little  to'  the  N.  N.  E.  of  it  is 
the  famous  tree  AA'hich  the  natives  call  Athele,  and 
maintain  to  ha\'e  been  flourishing  in  ancient  Baby- 
lon, from  the  destruction  of  Avhich  they  say  God 
purposely  preserved  it,  that  it  might  aflbrd  Ali  a  con- 
venient place  to  tie  up  his  horse  after  the  battle  of 
Hellah  !  It  stands  on  a  kind  of  ridge,  and  nothing 
more  than  one  side  of  its  trunk  remains ;  (by  Avhich 


BABYLON 


[  134  1 


BABYLON 


It  appears  to  have  been  of  considerable  girth  ;)  yet 
the  branches  at  the  top  are  still  perfectly  verdant, 
and,  gently  waving  in  the  wind,  produce  a  melan- 
choly rustling  sound.  It  is  an  evergreen,  something 
resembling  the  lignum  vii(B,  and  of  a  kind,  I  believe, 
not  common  in  this  part  of  the  country,  though  I  am 
told  there  is  a  tree  of  the  same  description  at  Bassora. 
All  the  people  of  the  country  assert  that  it  is  ex- 
tremely dangerous  to  approach  this  mound  after 
night-fall,  on  account  of  the  multitude  of  evil  spirits 
by  which  it  is  haunted. 

"  A  mile  to  the  north  of  the  Kasr  [palace]  and  nine 
hundred  and  fifty  yards  from  the  river  bank,  is  the 
last  ruin  of  this  series,  described  by  Pietro  Delia 
Valle.  The  nniives  call  it  Mukallib«^,  (or,  according 
to  the  vulgar  Arab  proniuiciation  of  these  parts,  Mu- 
jelibe,)  meaning  overturned.  It  is  of  an  oblong 
shape,  irregular  in  its  height  and  the  measurement 
of  its  sides,  which  face  the  cardinal  points ;  the 
northern  side  being  two  hundred  yards  in  length ; 
the  southern  two  hundred  and  nineteen  ;  the  eastern 
one  hundred  and  eighty-two  ;  and  the  western  one 
hundred  and  thiity-six ;  the  elevation  of  the  S.  E. 
or  highest  angle,  one  hundred  and  forty-one  feet. 
Near  the  summit,  W.  appears  a  low  wall,  built  of 
unburnt  bricks,  mixed  up  with  chopped  straw  or 
reeds,  and  cemented  with  clay-mortar  of  great  thick- 
ness, having  between  every  layer  a  layer  of  reeds. .  .  . 
All  are  worn  into  furrows  by  the  weather  ; — in  some 
places  of  gl-eat  depth.  The  summit  is  covered  with 
heaps  of  rubbish  ; — whole  bricks  with  inscriptions 
on  them  are  here  and  tliere  discovered :  the  whole  is 
covered  with  innumerable  fragments  of  pottery, 
brick,  bitumen,  pebbles,  vitrified  brick,  or  scoria,  and 
even  shells,  bits  of  glass,  and  mother-of-pearl. 
There  are  many  dens  of  wild  beasts  in  various  parts, 
in  one  ol  which  I  found  the  bones  of  sheep  and  other 
animals,  and  perceived  a  strong  smell  like  that  of  a 
lion.  I  also  found  quantities  of  porcupine  quills,  and 
in  most  cavities  are  numbers  of  bats  and  owls.  It  is 
a  curious  coincidence,  that  I  here  first  heard  the 
oriental  account  of  satyrs.  I  had  always  imagined 
the  belief  of  their  existence  was  confined  to  the  West : 
but  a  Choadar,  who  was  with  me  when  I  examined 
this  ruin,  mentioned,  by  accident,  that  in  this  desert 
an  animal  is  found  resembling  a  man  from  the  head 
to  the  waist,  but  having  the  thighs  and  legs  of  a  sheep 
or  goat ;  he  said,  also,  that  the  Arabs  hunt  it  with 
dogs,  and  eat  tiie  lower  parts,  al)staining  from  the 
upper,  on  account  of  their  resemblance  to  those  of  the 
human  species.  '  But  the  wild  beast  of  the  desert  shall 
lie  there,  and  their  houses  shall  be  full  of  doleful  crea- 
tures ;  and  owls  shall  dwell  there,  and  satyrs  shall 
dance  there,'  Is.  xiii.  21." 

It  was  in  this  iMujelib^  that  a  quantity  of  marble 
was  found,  some  years  ago,  and  afterwards  a  coffin 
of  mulberry-wood,  containing  a  human  body,  en- 
closed in  a  tight  wrapper,  and  apparently  partially 
covered  with  bitumen.  The  report  of  this  induced 
Mr.  R..  to  set  laborers  to  work,  for  the  purpose  of 
discovery.  "  They  dug  into  a  shaft  or  hollow  pier, 
sixty  feet  square,  lined  with  fine  brick  laid  in  bitu- 
men, and  filled  up  with  earth  ;  in  this  they  found  a 
brass  s])ike,  some  earthen  vessels,  (one  of  which  was 
very  thin,  and  had  the  remains  of  fine  white  var- 
nish on  the  outside,)  and  a  beam  of  date-tree  wood. 
On  the  third  day's  work  they  made  their  way  into 
the  opening,  and  discovered  a  narrow  jiassage 
nearly  ten  feet  high,  half  filled  with  rubbish,  flat  on 
the  top,  and  exhibiting  both  burnt  and  unburnt 
bricks  ;   the  former  with  inscriptions  on  them,  and 


the  latter,  as  usual,  laid  with  a  layer  of  reeds  be- 
tween every  row,  except  in  one  or  two  courses  near 
the  bottom,  where  they  were  cemented  with  bitu- 
men ;  a  cinnous  and  unaccountable  circumstance. 
This  passage  appeared  as  if  it  originally  had  a  lining 
of  fine  burnt  brick,  cemented  with  bitumen,  to  con- 
ceal the  unburnt  brick,  of  which  the  body  of  the 
building  was  principally  composed.  Fronting  it  is 
another  passage,  (or  rather  a  continuation  of  the 
same  to  the  eastward,  in  which  direction  it  probably 
extends  to  a  considerable  distance,  perhaps  even  all 
along  the  northern  front  of  the  Mujelibe,)  choked  up 
with  earth,  in  digging  out  which  1  discovered,  near 
the  top,  a  wooden  cofliu,  containing  a  skeleton  in 
high  preservation.  Under  the  head  of  the  coffin 
was  a  round  pebble ;  attached  to  the  coffin,  on  the 
outside,  a  brass  bird,  and  inside  an  ornament  of  the 
same  material,  which  had  apparently  been  suspend- 
ed to  some  part  of  the  skeleton.  These,  could  any 
doubt  remain,  place  the  antiquity  of  the  skeleton 
beyond  all  dispute.  This  being  extracted,  a  little 
further  in  the  rubbish  the  skeleton  of  a  child  was 
found ;  and  it  is  probable  that  the  w  hole  of  the  pas- 
sage, whatever  its  extent  may  be,  was  occupied  in  a 
similar  manner.  No  skulls  were  found,  either  here 
or  in  the  sepulchral  urns  at  the  bank  of  the  river." 

These  are  all  the  great  masses  of  ruins  on  the 
eastern  side  of  the  river.  The  western  side  affords 
none  immediately  adjacent  to  the  river ;  hut  about 
six  miles  south-west  of  Hellah  is  a  vast  mass,  pre- 
viously known  to  us  only  by  the  cursoi-y  report  of 
Niebuhr,  who  had  not  opportunity  to  examine  it. 
It  is  called  by  the  Arabs  Birs  jYimrood,  by  the  Jews, 
Nebuchadnezzar's  Prison.  Of  this  Mr.  Rich  says, 
"I  visited  the  Birs  under  circumstances  peculiarly 
favorable  to  the  grandeur  of  its  effect.  The  morning 
was  at  first  stormy,  and  threatened  a  severe  fall  of 
rain  ;  but  as  we  approached  the  object  of  our  jour- 
ney, the  heavy  cloud  separating  discovered  the  Birs 
frowning  over  the  plain,  and  presenting  the  appear- 
ance of  a  circular  hill,  crowned  by  a  tower,  with  a 
high  ridge  extending  along  the  foot  of  it.  Its  being 
entirely  concealed  from  our  view  during  the  first 
part  of  the  ride,  prevented  our  acquiring  the  gradual 
idea,  in  general  so  prejudicial  to  effect,  and  so  par- 
ticularly liimeiited  by  those  who  visit  the  pyramids. 
Just  as  we  were  within  the  proper  distance,  it  burst 
at  once  upon  our  sight  in  the  midst  of  rolling  masses 
of  thick  black  clouds,  partially  obscured  by  that  kind 
of  haze  whose  indistinctness  is  one  great  cause  of 
sublimity,  whilst  a  few  strong  catches  of  stormy 
light,  thrown  upon  the  desert  in  the  back  ground, 
served  to  give  some  idea  of  the  immense  extent,  and 
dreary  solitude,  of  the  wastes  in  which  this  venera- 
ble ruin  stands.  It  is  a  mound  of  an  oblong  figure, 
the  total  circuniference  of  which  is  seven  hundred 
and  sixty-two  yards.  At  the  eastern  side  it  is  not 
more  than  fifty  or  sixty  feet  higii ;  at  the  western 
it  rises  in  a  conical  figure  to  one  hundred  and  ninety- 
eight  feet  *,  and  on  its  summit  is  a  solid  pile  of  brick, 
thirty-seven  feet  high,  by  twenty-eight  in  breadtli, 
diminishing  in  thickness  to  the  top,  which  is  irreg- 
lUar.  It  is  built  of  fine  burnt  bricks,  which  have 
inscriptions  on  them,  laid  in  lime-mortar  of  admira- 
ble cement.  The  other  parts  of  the  summit  of  this 
hill  are  occiii)icd  by  immense  fragments  of  brick- 
work of  no  determinate  figure,  tumbled  together, 
and  converted  into  solid  vitrified  masses,  as  if  they 
had  undergone  the  fiercest  fire,  or  been  blown  up 
with  gunpowder,  the  layers  of  bricks  being  perfectly 
discernible — a  curious  fact,  and  one  for  which  I  am 


BABYLON 


[  135  ] 


BABYLON 


utterly  incapable  of  accounting.  The  whole  of  this 
mound  is  itself  a  ruin,  channeled  by  the  weather, 
and  strewed  with  the  usual  fragments,  and  with 
pieces  of  black  stone,  sand  stone,  and  marble.  No 
reeds  are  discernible  in  any  part.  At  the  foot  of  the 
mound  a  step  may  be  traced,  scarcely  elevated  above 
the  plain,  exceeding  in  extent  by  several  feet  the 
base  :  and  there  is  a  quadrangular  enclosure  round 
the  whole,  as  at  the  Mujelibe,  but  much  more  per- 
fect and  of  greater  dimensions.  At  a  trifling  distance 
from  the  Birs,  and  parallel  with  its  eastern  face,  is  a 
mound  not  inferior  to  the  Kasr  in  elevation  ;  much 
longer  than  it  is  broad.  Round  the  Birs  are  traces 
of  ruins  to  a  considerable  extent." 

[This  ruin  was  afterwards  examined  by  Sir  R.  K. 
Porter,  who  gives  some  additional  facts  and  notices. 
He  found  the  base  of  the  brick  wall,  which  is  still 
standing,  to  be  entirely  free  from  marks  of  fire, 
and  apparently  still  in  its  original  condition.  He 
thence  draws  the  not  improbable  conclusion,  that 
the  destroying  agent,  wliatever  it  was,  must  have 
acted  from  above,  in  a  downward  direction  ;  and 
that  the  immense  fragments  of  vitrified  brick-work 
which  lie  strewed  around,  must  have  fallen  from 
some  point  higher  than  the  summit  of  the  remnant 
of  wall  at  present  standing.  The  fire  which  pro- 
duced these  remarkable  effects,  must  have  had  the 
glow  of  the  hottest  fiu-nace  ;  and  from  the  character 
of  the  disruption  or  fissure  of  the  wall,  and  of  the 
vitrified  masses,  he  is  disposed  to  beliese  that  the 
destruction  was  effected  by  lightning.  (Travels, 
vol.  ii.  p.  312.) 

Through  the  researches  of  Ker  Porter  and  Mr. 
Rich,  the  former  suggestion  of  Niebuhr,  that  this 
ruin  is  the  remains  of  the  tower  of  Belus,  is  sup- 
posed by  Rosenmueller  to  be  placed  nearly  beyond 
doubt.  (Bib.  Geog.  I.  ii.  p.  24.)  The  traditional 
name,  also,  Birs  JVimrood,  tower  of  Nimrod,  favors 
the  supposition,  so  far  as  this  species  of  proof  is  of 
any  value.  The  mound  to  the  eastward  of  the  Birs 
may  then  be  the  ruins  of  ancient  buildings  occupied 
by  the  numerous  priests  and  servants  of  the  temple. 
— All  these  heaps  of  ruins  occupy  the  area  of  a  large 
parallelogram,  around  which  the  remains  of  a  strong 
wall  or  mound  are  still  distinctlj^  to  be  traced. 

Delia  Valle,  major  Rennell,  and  others,  as  may  be 
seen  in  the  preceding  extracts,  have  supposed  that 
the  tower  of  Belus  is  to  be  sought  for  in  Delia  Valle's 
ruin,  situated  on  the  east  side  of  the  river  at  the  most 
northern  point  of  all  the  ruins.  Against  this  sup- 
position, K.  Porter  brings  very  cogent  reasons  ;  (ii.  p. 
346.)  biu  supposes  that  ruin  to  have  been  formerly  the 
royal  palace  or  castle.  The  objection  urged  by 
Rosenmueller  against  this  latter  conjecture  is  a  strong 
one,  viz.  that  this  ruin  lies  quite  out  of  the  city 
itself,  being  connected,  according  to  the  drawings, 
wth  the  wall  which  here  sweeps  aroimd  it ;  while 
it  is  also  too  remote  from  the  river,  which  divided 
the  palace  or  castle  into  two  parts.  The  latter 
vn-iter,  with  great  probability,  conjectures,  that  we 
see  here  the  ruins  of  a  fortification  or  citadel,  Avhich 
commanded  and  protected  the  walls  of  the  city  on 
this  side.     *R. 

Descending  from  this  ruin  southward,  we  arri\t'  at 
that  grand  mass  of  ruins,  called  by  tradition  the  Kasr, 
or  palace.  There  is  no  difficulty  in  deferring  to  this 
tradition  ;  or  even  in  believing  that  perhaps  the  sin- 
gle remaining  tree,  the  Arhele,  may  be  a  descend- 
ant of  some  wiiich  formerly  composed  the  ornaments 
of  the  famous  hanging  gardens.  This  building  has, 
evidently,  been  constructed  with  the  greatest  care  ; 


and  its  peculiar  "freshness,"  on  which  major  Ren- 
nell founds  an  argument  against  its  Babylonish 
origin,  appears  to  be  nothing  beyond  what  might  be 
expected  from  more  careful  selection  of  materials, 
better  manipulation  and  workmanship,  and,  in  one 
word — from  royal  liberality  and  patronage.  Uni- 
formity of  plan  is  seldom  consulted  in  the  palaces  of 
eastern  monarchs,  nor  is  the  arrangement  of  their 
several  offices,  such  as  European  judgment  would 
prefer.  Unless,  therefore,  we  could  suppose  that  tlie 
palace  of  Semiramis,  or  of  Nebuchadnezzar,  or  of 
any  other  Babylonish  monarch,  with  the  additions 
of  later  times,  was  conceived  on  principles  of  more 
than  common  correctness,  we  must  allow  that  in  its 
best  condition  it  was  little  other  than  a  labyrinth ; 
and,  consequently,  its  ruins  can  be  nothing  but 
confusion. 

Mr,  Rich  says,  (Second  Memoir,  p.  10.)  "The 
strong  embankment  built  by  the  Babylonian  mon- 
archs was  intended  to  prevent  the  overflow,  not  to 
secure  its  running  in  one  channel ;  and  ever  since 
the  embankment  was  ruined,  the  river  has  expended 
itself  in  periodical  inundations.  This  is  the  case  in 
many  parts  of  its  progress ;  for  instance  at  Feluja, 
the  inundation  from  whence  covers  the  whole  face 
of  the  country  as  far  as  the  Avails  of  Bagdad,  .... 
with  a  depth  of  water  sufficient  to  render  it  navigable 

for  rafts  and  flat-bottomed  boats At  Hellah, 

notwithstanding  the  numerous  canals  drawn  from  it, 
when  it  rises  it  overflows  many  parts  of  the  western 
desert ;  and  on  the  east  it  insiimates  itself  into  the 
hollows  and  more  level  parts  of  the  ruins,  converting 
them  into  lakes  and  morasses."  The  reader,  who 
has  seen  the  overflowing  Nile  called  sea,  by  Nahum, 
in  the  instance  of  Memphis,  will,  without  reluctance, 
allow  the  same  appellation  to  the  overflowing  Eu- 
phrates ;  and  truly  enough  may  it  be  said,  that  the 
sea  has  come  up  over  Babylon  ;  since  the  more  level 
parts  of  the  ruins  are  converted  into  lakes  and  mo- 
rasses, during  the  seasons  of  the  river's  swelling; 
though  at  intervals  these  swamps  may  be  tolera- 
bly dry. 

It  is  evident  fi*om  what  has  been  adduced,  that  no 
other  remains  of  ancient  Babylon  than  those  of  its 
public  buildings  can  now  be  discovered  or  distin- 
guished :  the  houses  of  individuals,  which  Herodotus 
describes  as  being  three  stories  in  height,  have  dis- 
appeared, with  all  their  accommodations  and  accom- 
panimeius.  No  doubt  they  had  gardens  and  pleasure 
grounds,  embellished  and  refreshed  by  streams  of 
water,  and  by  plantations  affording  shade  and  pri- 
vacy, those  indispensable  luxuries  in  the  East.  These 
are  destroyed ;  no  trace  of  them  exists ;  and,  there- 
fore, we  cannot  Avonder  that  more  accessible  retreats, 
in  Avhich  those  aaIio  carried  them  captiA'e  demanded 
of  the  forlorn  Israelites  to  sing  the  Lord's  song  in 
this  foreign  land,  should  have  shared  in  the  general 
fate.  We  see  by  Avhat  means  the  A\'illoAA-s  on  AA-hich 
they  hanged  their  harps  might  groAv  among  the  wa- 
ter-courses ;  but  the  AAater-courses  are  ruined,  and 
the  AvilloAvs  are  extinct. 

Whether  Ave  should  seek  the  exterior  Avails  of  the 
province  of  Babylon  in  the  direction  taken  by  cap- 
tain Frederick  is  of  small  importance,  since  Ave  haA'e 
ventured  to  conjecture  that  they  VA'ere  not  distin- 
guished by  magnitude  or  solidity:  whether  those 
more  proximate  to  the  city,  and  especially  Avhether 
those  Avhich  have  left  long  mounds,  in  ruins,  but 
Avhich  evidently  enclosed  the  temple  and  the  palace, 
may  be  any  part  of  the  broad  AA'alls,  is  a  question 
of  greater  importance,  and,  at  present,  of  difficult 


BABYLON 


[  13G 


BAB 


solution.  Whether  these  long  enclosures  have  ever 
been  faced  with  brick,  whether  they  have  ever  had  a 
ditch  before  them,  and  whether  their  breadth  answers 
to  that  assigned  to  the  famous  walls  of  Baljylon  by 
ancient  writers,  we  can  neither  affirm  nor  deny,  till 
possessed  of  more  accurate  information. 

Mr.  Rich  has  very  properly  called  the  attention  of 
his  readers  to  the  accomplishment  of  that  prophecy 
of  Isaiah  which  predicts  the  overthrow  of  Babylon, 
"  as  when  God  overthrew  Sodom  and  Gomorrha.  It 
shall  never  be  inhabited,  neither  shall  it  be  dwelt  in 
from  generation  to  generation :  neither  shall  the 
Arabian  pitch  tent  there  ;  neither  shall  the  shepherds 
make  their  fold  there :  but  wild  beasts  of  the  desert 
shall  Ue  there  ;  and  their  houses  shall  be  full  of  dole- 
ful creatures ;  and  owls  shall  dwell  there,  and  satyi-s 
shall  dance  there :  and  the  wild  beasts  shall  ci-y  in 
their  desolate  houses,  and  dragons  in  their  pleasant 
palaces."  The  prophet  adds  in  the  following  chap- 
ter: (xiv.  23.)  "I  will  make  it  a  possession  for  the 
bittern,  (see  Bittern,)  and  pools  of  water" — rather, 
stagnant  marshes  of  reeds.  Almost  every  word  of 
these  prophecies  may  be  justified  from  iVIr.  Rich  him- 
self: he  mentions  his  perception  of  a  strong  smell 
like  that  of  a  lion  ; — his  finding  bones  of  sheep,  &c. 
doubtless  of  ajiimals  carried  there  and  devoured  by 
the  wild  beasts,  many  dens  of  which  are  in  various 
paits ;  he  found  quantities  of  porcupine  quills ; — 
numbers  of  bats  and  owls  ; — and,  to  close  the  list  of 
these  doleful  creatures,  here  he  learned  the  existence 
of  satyrs ; — here  he  was  cautioned  against  the  vio- 
lence of  evil  spirits  after  night-fall ; — and,  in  shoi-t, 
his  "tussocks  of  rank  grass"  are  no  other  than  the 
"reeds  of  the  stagnant  marshes"  of  the  prophet. 

There  would  be  something  extremely  melancholy 
in  the  fate  of  Babylon,  its  desolation,  its  disaj)pear- 
ance,  its  external  annihilation,  after  so  vigorous  and 
so  long  continued  exertion  to  raise  it  to  pre-eminence, 
did  we  not  know  that  its  pride  was  excessive,  and  its 
power  was  cruel.  The  fierceness  of  war  was  the 
delight  of  its  kings.  Nebuchadnezzar  himself  had 
been  a  warrior  of  no  limited  ambition  ;  the  Chaldeans 
were  bitter,  hasty,  sanguinary,  ferocious  ;  and  to  read 
the  accounts  of  their  inhumanity  jirepares  us  for  a 
reverse,  which  we  await,  but  do  not  regret.  There 
is  something  in  the  idea  of  retaliation  from  which 
the  human  mind  is  not  averse — "  As  she  hath  done, 
so  do  to  her ;"  is  the  language  not  of  prophecy  or  of 
poetry  only,  but  of  "even-handed  justice,"  in  the 
common  acceptation  of  mankind.  It  is  not  only  be- 
cause we  are  better  acquainted  with  the  miseries  in- 
flicted on  Jerusalem  and  the  sanctuary  that  we  admit 
these  feelings  in  respect  to  Babylon :  there  can  be 
no  doubt,  but  what  other  nations  had  equally  suffered 
imder  her  oppression :  the  people  who  are  emphat- 
ically called  on  to  execute  the  vengeance  determined 
against  her,  had  certainly  been  galled  under  her  yoke. 
Cyrus  and  Xerxes,  who  captured  her  city  and  de- 
stroyed her  temple,  were  but  the  avengers  of  their 
country.  Alexander  considered  himself  in  the  same 
light.  It  is  rather  from  a  deficiency  of  historical 
accounts  than  from  the  facts  of  the  case,  that  Babylon 
has  been  supposed  to  have  been  reduced  by  a  gradual 
decay  only.  Already  have  more  symptoms  of  vio- 
lence been  discovered  than  were  formerly  supposed, 
and  it  is  more  than  possible,  that  our  intercourse  with 
eastern  writers  may  bring  us  acquainted  with  events, 
which  will  enable  us  to  account  for  appearances  that 
now  present  nothing  but  uncertainties.  Idolatry  took 
its  rise  at  Babylon,  was  fostered  and  protected  there, 
and  from  thence  was  diffused  throughout  (at  least) 


the  western  world  :  the  liberal  arts,  the  more  recon- 
dite sciences,  with  every  power  of  the  human  mind, 
were  rendered  subservient  to  systematic  idolatry.— 
Its  doom,  therefore,  must  correspond  with  its  crimes 
It  is  enough  for  us,  that  we  know  its  punishment  to 
be  just;  and  that  we  are  happily  enabled  to  trace  in 
its  ruins  the  unequivocal  and  even  the  verbal  accom- 
plishment of  those  predictions  which  denounced  its 
calamities — the  monuments  of  miseries  long  deserved, 
but  not  remitted  though  postponed. 

The  following  are  the  comparative  dimensions  of 
the  principal  ruins  of  ancient  Babylon. 

Mujeli!)e,  circumference  2111  feet;  height  remain- 
ing on  the  S.  E.  141  feet. 

Kasr,  or  Palace,  square,  700  yards. 

Sea,  or  Lake,  by  the  plain,  length  800  yards;  breadth 
550  yards,  by  measurement. 

Bridge,  (supposed,)  length  600  yards ;  breadth  nearly 
100  yards,  ruins. 

Temj)lo  of  Belus,  (Herodotus,)  square,  500  feet. 

Temj)le  of  Belus,  (supposed,)  with  the  buildings  near 
it,  ruins,  length  1100  yards;  breadth  800  yards; 
height  remaining  50  or  60  feet. 

Birs  Nimrood,  circumference  2286  feet ;  height  re- 
maining, E.  50  or  60  feet;  W.  198  feet;  tower, 
235  feet. 

Extent  of  the  whole  enclosure,  above  two  miles  and 
a  half,  N.  and  S. — the  same  E.  and  W. 

II.  BABYLON,  a  city  in  Egypt,  on  the  borders 
of  Arabia,  not  far  from  Helicpolis  and  Aphrodisiopo- 
lis,  and  not  very  distant  from  Cairo.  It  is  mentioned 
by  Ptolemy,  who  calls  it  Babylis.  (Compare  Josephus, 
Antiquities  of  the  J(nvs,  book  ii.  chap.  13.)  Diodorus 
Siculus  says  it  was  built  by  the  cajjtives  brought  by 
Sesostris  from  Chaldea ;  but  Josephus  says  it  was 
built  in  the  time  of  Cambyses,  by  some  Persians 
whom  he  permitted  to  settle  there.  Some  critics 
have  supj)0sed  that  Peter  wrote  his  first  Epistle  from 
this  Babylon  ;  but  we  have  no  evidence  that  he  ever 
was  in  Egyi)t ;  and  probability  leads  to  the  contrary 
conclusion. 

[BABYLONIA,  the  province  of  which  Babylon 
was  the  capital ;  now  the  Babylonian  or  Arabian 
Irak,  which  constitutes  the  pashalik  of  Bagdad.  This 
celebrated  province  included  the  tract  of  country 
contained  between  the  Euphrates  and  the  Tigris, 
bounded  north  by  Mesopotamia  and  Assyria,  and 
south  by  the  Persian  gulf.  This  gulf  was  indeed  its 
only  definite  and  natural  boundary ;  for  towards  the 
north,  towards  the  ea-st  or  Persia,  and  towards  the 
west  or  desert  Arabia,  its  limits  were  quite  indefinite. 
It  is,  however,  certain,  that  both  in  ancient  and  mod- 
ern times,  important  tracts  on  the  eastern  bank  of  the 
Tigris,  and  on  the  western  bank  of  the  Euphi-ates, 
and  still  more  on  both  banks  of  their  imited  stream, 
the  ancient  Pasitigris  and  modern  Shatt  el- Arab,  were 
reckoned  to  Babylonia,  or  Ir;.k  el- Arab. 

The  most  ancient  name  of  the  country  is  Shinctr, 
Gen.  X.  10;  Dan.  i.  1,  2.  Afterwards  Babel,  Baby- 
lon, and  Babylonia,  became  its  common  appellation  ; 
witli  which,  at  a  later  period,  Chaldea,  or  the  land  of 
the  Chaldeans,  was  used  as  synonymous,  after  this 
people  had  got  the  whole  into  their  possession.  Isaiah, 
in  the  superscription  of  one  of  his  prophecies  re- 
specting the  destruction  of  Babylon,  (xxi.  1.)  calls 
this  land  the  desert  or  plain  of  the  sea.  This  we  must 
regard  as  a  poetical,  or  rather,  perhaps,  a  symbolical, 
epithet,  derived  probably  from  the  circumstance,  that 
before  the  erection  of  dikes  and  mounds  by  Semira- 


BABYLONIA 


[  137  ] 


BABYLONIA 


mis,  the  whole  of  this  flat  region  was  often  over- 
flowed by  the  adjacent  rivers,  and  thus  actually  re- 
sembled, and  might  with  propriety  be  called,  a  sea. 
See  Gesen.  and  Rosenni.  on  Is.  xxi.  1. 

Babylonia  is  an  extensive  plain,  interrupted  by 
no  hill  or  mountain,  consisting  of  a  fatty  brownish 
soil,  and  subject  to  the  annual  inundations  of  the  Ti- 
gi'is  and  Euphrates,  more  especially  of  the  latter,  whose 
banks  are  lower  and  flatter  than  those  of  the  Tigris. 
The  Euphrates  conmionly  rises  about  twelve  feet 
above  its  ordinary  level ;  and  continues  at  this  height 
from  the  end  of  April  till  June.  These  frequent  inun- 
dations of  course  compelled  the  earhest  tillers  of  the 
soil  to  provide  means  for  drawing  off  the  superabun- 
dant water,  and  so  distributing  it  over  the  whole  sur- 
face, that  those  tracts  which  were  in  themselves  less 
well-watered,  might  receive  the  requisite  irrigation. 
From  this  cause,  the  whole  of  Babylonia  came  to  be 
divided  up  by  a  multitude  of  larger  and  smaller  ca- 
nals ;  in  part  passing  entirely  through  from  one  river 
to  the  other ;  in  pail,  also,  losing  themselves  in  the 
interior,  and  serving  only  the  purposes  of  iri'igation. 
(Herodot.  i.  193.)  These  canals  seem  to  be  the  rivers 
of  Babylon  spoken  of  in  Ps.  cxxxvii.  1.  The  most 
important  of  these  were  the  JVahar  Malca,  or  the 
king's  river,  which  flowed  from  the  Euphrates  S.  E. 
into  the  Tigris;  the  Pallacopas,  drawn  from  the 
Euphrates,  above  Babylon,  and  emptying  its  waters 
into  the  lakes  or  marshes  formed  by  it  on  the  S.  W. 
borders  of  the  province  towards  Arabia ;  (into  which 
channel  Cyrus  turned  the  main  stream  of  the  Eu- 
phrates in  his  assault  upon  the  city  ;)  and  the  Maar- 
sares,  which  flowed  parallel  to  the  Euphrates,  at  the 
distance  of  some  miles  from  it  toward  the  west. 

Besides  this  multitude  of  canals,  which  are  now 
mostly  vanished  without  trace.  Babylonia  contained 
several  large  lakes,  formed  partly  by  the  inundations 
of  the  two  gi-eat  rivers,  and  partly  the  work  of  art. 
The  largest  of  these  is  described  by  Herodotus,  (i. 
185.)  and  was  the  work  of  the  celebrated  queen  Ni- 
tocris.  It  was  situated  in  the  northern  part  of  Baby- 
lonia, far  above  the  city,  not  very  remote  from  the 
river,  to  which  it  ran  parallel  for  a  great  distance. 
The  earth  which  was  excavated  from  it,  served  to 
build  the  dikes  and  mounds  along  the  river ;  and  the 
whole  shore  of  the  lake  was  encased  by  a  wall  of 
stone.  Besides  this,  at  a  distance  below  the  city, 
there  were  on  the  west  side  of  the  Euphrates,  tracts 
of  low  marshy  land,  which  were  filled  with  water 
from  the  river  and  canals,  and  extended  far  into  the 
Arabian  desert.  Babylonia,  therefore,  was  a  land 
abounding  in  water ;  and  Jeremiah  might  therefore 
well  say  of  it,  that  it  dwelt  upon  many  waters,  Jer. 
h.  13. 

Notwidistanding  the  extreme  heat  which  reigns 
here  for  the  gi-eater  portion  of  the  year,  and  which 
compels  the  inhabitants  to  pass  the  most  of  the  day 
in  subterraneous  apartments,  called  Serdaps,  the  air 
is  in  general  pure  and  wholesome,  excepting  around 
Basra  and  the  low  regions  in  the  vicinity.  In  sum- 
mer the  atmosphere  is  so  clear,  that  at  a  very  short 
distance  from  the  river,  neither  dampness  nor  dew- 
is  to  be  perceived  ;  and  were  it  not  for  the  morasses 
formed  by  the  inundations,  which  might  easily  be 
reclaimed,  the  country  might  still  be  what  it  was 
anciently,  the  most  fertile,  perhaps,  on  earth.  Thus 
Herodotus  describes  it,  (i.  193.)  as  rewarding  the  dil- 
igent irrigation  and  tillage  of  its  ancient  cultivators 
by  a  return  of  two  hundred  and  even  three  hundred 
fold.  On  the  other  hand,  the  country  was  destitute 
of  large  trees,  and  had  neither  the  fig,  olive,  nor 
18 


vine ;  though  date  and  palm  trees  were  common. 
But  the  want  of  timber  for  building  was  made  up  by 
abundant  supplies  of  the  best  of  clay  for  bricks, 
which,  whether  burned,  or  dried  in  the  sun,  acquired 
such  hardness,  that  they  have  endured  without  injury 
the  storms  and  violence  of  ages,  although  scattered 
and  exposed  to  the  weather  in  the  utmost  degree. 
Mortar,  also,  was  abundantly  prepared  and  furnished 
by  the  hand  of  nature  herself.  Eight  days'  journey 
above  Babylon,  on  the  small  river  Is,  near  the  city 
Hit,  were  copious  fountains  of  naphtha,  or  bitumen, 
which  was  used  for  cement,  by  intermingUngwith  it 
layers  of  straw  or  reeds.  This  process  is  described 
by  Herodotus ;  and  the  present  ruins,  of  Babylon 
exhibit  this  cement  and  these  layers  in  perfect 
preservation. 

The  cities  and  places  mentioned  in  the  Bible  as 
lying  in  Babylonia,  besides  Babylon  the  capital,  are 
Dura,  the  gi-eat  plain  around  Babylon,  where  Nebu- 
chadnezzar set  up  the  gigantic  golden  image,  (Dan.  iii. 
1.)  Erech,  Accad,  Calneh  or  Calno,  etc.  which 
may  be  seen  under  these  articles  respectively. 

The  geogi-aphical  situation  of  Babylon  was  un- 
commonly favorable  for  commercial  pursuits.  By 
means  of  its  great  navigable  watei*s,  it  received  from 
above  the  productions  of  Syria  and  Asia  Minor,  of 
Media  and  Armenia ;  and  from  below,  through  the 
Persian  gulf,  those  of  India,  Persia,  Arabia,  Egypt, 
and  the  whole  of  Africa.  Thus  Babylon  became 
the  repository  of  all  the  treasures  of  Asia  and  Africa ; 
and  is,  therefore,  justly  termed  by  Ezekiel,  a  city  of 
merchants,  Ezek.  xvii.  4.  Babylonian  garments  or 
mantles,  reno^vned  for  their  fineness  and  splendor, 
seem  early  to  have  been  articles  of  exportation  ;  see 
Josh.  vii.  21.  Indeed,  the  Babylonians,  from  all  the 
hints  contained  in  the  Bible,  and  also  fi-om  the  more 
detailed  accounts  of  Herodotus,  (i.  195.)  seem  to  have 
been  a  people  who  loved  splendor,  and  who  had  be- 
come accustomed  to  a  multitude  of  artificial  wants, 
which  could  not  be  satisfied  without  a  commer- 
cial intercourse  with  manj'  and  even  distant  nations. 

The  Babylonians  were  celebrated,  even  in  the 
earliest  ages,  for  their  knowledge  of  the  sciences ; 
and,  more  especially,  they  had  cultivated  astronomy 
to  a  very  important  extent.  Professor  Idelcr,  of  Berlin, 
has  shown,  that  in  the  ancient  calculations  of  the 
ecUpses  of  the  moon,  quoted  by  Ptolemy  from  the 
observations  of  the  Chaldeans,  they  are  found  to  dif- 
fer from  modern  calculations  of  the  same  echpses 
only,  at  most,  in  the  minutes.  (Memoirs  of  the  Berlin 
Acad,  for  1814  and  1815.)  It  was  not  all,  however, 
a  pure  love  of  science,  that  thus  led  them  to  the  culti- 
vation of  astronomy  ;  but  the  belief  in  the  power  of  the 
stars  over  the  fates  of  men  and  over  the  weather ;  in 
short,  an  astrological  faith,  which  could  not  but  easily 
lead  them  to  pay  divine  honors  to  the  heavenly  bodies. 
(See  Baal,  Astaroth,  Babel.)  This  sort  of  astro- 
nomical and  astrological  knowledge,  transmitted  do\^^l 
through  many  centuries,  was  the  exclusive  possession 
of  a  caste  of  priests  or  learned  men,  which,  as  also  in 
Egypt  and  Persia,  was  divided  into  different  classes, 
Tiiey  are  called,  generally,  ivisc  inen,  learned ;  also 
Chaldeans,  (Dan.  ii.  4,  5,  10.)  from  the  nation  with 
which  they  probably  migrated  to  Babylon.  As 
Nebuchadnezzar  made  his  entry  into  Jerusalem,  after 
the  capture  of  the  city,  there  was  among  his  train  of 
nobles  the  Rab-mag,\\hich,  although  treated  in  the 
English  version  as  a  proper  name,  means,  doubtless, 
the  chief  of  the  inasi ;  (Jcrem.  xxxix.  3,  13.)  but 
whether  this  term  was  a  general  name  for  the  whole 
caste  of  the  priests,  or  only  of  a  particular  class,  can- 


BABYLONIA 


[  138] 


BAC 


not  be  determined.  To  them  belonged  also,  no 
doubt,  the  astrologers  and  star-gazers  mentioned  in 
Isa.  xlvii.  13. 

The  language  of  the  ancient  Babylonians  was  un- 
doubtedly a  branch  of  the  great  Semitish  stock,  to 
which,  also,  the  Hebrew  and  Arabic  belong  ;  and  was 
probably  not  very,  if  at  all,  difterent  from  the  East 
Aramaean,  or  Chaldee.  The  written  character  was 
also  the  same  as  that  of  the  Chaldeans.  Later  Jew- 
ish writers  indeed  inaccurately  call  this  the  Assyrian, 
inasmuch  as  they  take  the  name  Assyria  in  its  most 
extensive  sense,  as  including  Babylonia  and  Chaldea, 
etc.     See  Assyria. 

According  to  the  Bible,  the  kingdom  of  Babylonia 
was  tlie  earliest  founded  after  the  flood.  Nimrod  was 
its  founder;  and  he  afterwards  extended  his  con- 
quests over  Assyria,  Gen.  x.  8,  9,  10.  The  Gi-eek 
and  Roman  writers  knew  nothing  of  Nimrod  ;  with 
them  Behis  was  the  founder  of  Babel  and  the  Baby- 
lonish kingdom.  But  as  Bel,  (Baal,)  which  signifies 
lord,  may  very  jjrobably  have  been  the  general  title 
of  the  earliest  kings,  so  Belus  and  Nimrod  can  easily 
have  been  one  person.  Several  centuries  later,  in 
the  time  of  Abraham,  we  hear  of  a  king  of  Shiuar,  or 
Babylon,  Amraphel,  Gen.  xiv.  1.  From  this  time 
onward,  there  is  no  mention  of  Babylonia  in  the  ear- 
lier historical  books  of  the  Old  Testament.  Ptolemy 
of  Alexandria,  in  the  second  century  of  our  era,  gives 
us  a  catalogue  of  the  kings  of  Babylonia,  which  he 
probably  took  from  the  writings  of  Berosus.  This 
begins  with  Naeoxassar,  in  747  B.  C.  who  was 
without  doubt  a  vassal  of  Assyria ;  for  among  the 
colonists  sent  by  Shalmanesur  king  of  Assyria  to  Sa- 
maria, about  730  B.  C.  there  were  also  Babylonians ; 
a  proof  that  Babylonia  at  that  time  was  dependent  on 
Assyria,  although  it  might  have  its  own  king.  Such 
a  vassal  or  viceroy  was  also  Merodach-balada.v, 
who  about  71 1  B.  C.  sent  messengers  to  Hezekiah, 
to  congratulate  him  on  his  restoration,  and  form  an 
alliance  with  him  against  the  Assyrians,  2  Kings  xx. 
12 ;  Isa.  xxxix.  1.  This  Merodach-baladan  is  also  men- 
tioned under  the  same  name  by  Berosus,  (see  Gese- 
nius.  Com.  z.  Isa.  i.  p.  999.)  who  relates  of  him,  that 
he  usurped  the  throne  after  having  murdered  his 
predecessor  Acises  ;  that  after  six  months  he  him- 
self was  slain  I)y  Belibus,  or  Elibus,  \\  ho  undertook 
to  maintain  himself  as  an  independent  king.  But  in 
the  third  year  of  his  reign,  he  \\as  conquered  by 
Sennacherib,  who  made  his  son,  Esar-haddon,  vice- 
roy of  Babylon.  Nevertheless,  before  the  lapse  of  a 
century,  the  empire  of  Assyria  was  destined  to  be 
overthrown  by  a  power  from  Babylonia,  viz.  the 
Chaldeans.  (See  this  article.)  This  warlike  people, 
called  in  Scripture  the  Chasdim,  wlio  Jiad  formerly 
inhabited  the  mountainous  tracts  in  the  north  of 
Mesopotamia  and  Assyria,  had  now  become  fixed  in 
Babylonia,  anrl  must,  in  a  very  short  tune,  have  ac- 
quired tlie  upper  hand  in  tho  Assyrian  empire.  For 
about  a  century  after  1  Isar-haddon,  tlie  Baliylonian 
viceroy  Nabopolassar  made  himself  independent 
of  Assyria,  and,  in  alliance  with  Cyaxares  of  Media, 
made  war  upon  and  conquered  that  country.  (See 
Assyria.)  That  Naboj)olassar  was  a  Chaldean,  is 
manifest,  from  the  riiTiimstance  that  there  is  no  fur- 
ther mention  whatever  of  A.-syrian  kinjis,  but  onlv 
of  Chaldean  sovereigns.  In  iiis  old  age  he  assumed 
as  the  partner  of  his  tbrone  his  son,  t!ie  celebrated 
NEBUCHAn.\j://ZAR.  (S'>e  this  article.)  Under  liis 
reign  the  city  of  Babylon  rmd  the  empire  of  Babylo- 
nia attained  to  their  highest  pitch  of  splendor.  H(^ 
died  after  a  r?ign  of  35  vears,  in  the  vear  5G2  B.  C. 


After  his  death  the  Babylonish-Chaldee  empire  has- 
tened rapidly  to  its  ruin.  His  son  and  successor, 
Evil-merodach,  (2  Kings  xxv.  7 ;  Jerem.  lii.  31.) 
whose  queen  was  probably  the  celebrated  Nitocris, 
became  so  odious  by  his  vices,  that  he  was  murdered 
in  the  second  year  of  his  reign,  by  his  brother-in-law, 
Neriglissar,  who  then  mounted  the  throne.  He 
was  followed,  after  a  reign  of  four  years,  by  his  son 
Laborosoarchod,  a  minor,  who,  after  nine  months, 
was  murdered  by  several  of  his  nobles.  These 
placed  Nabo^jnid,  or  Labynet  (the  Belshazzar  of 
Daniel)  upon  the  throne,  who  was  a  son  of  Evil- 
merodach  and  grandson  of  Nebuchadnezzar  ;  and 
during  his  minority  his  mother  Nitocris  seems  to 
have  acted  as  regent.  But  at  this  time  the  Medo- 
Persian  kingdom  was  every  where  acqiuring  strength 
and  extent  under  Cyrus  ;  and  at  length  Babylon,  and 
with  it  the  Chaldean  empire,  fell  before  his  arms,  and 
became  incorporated  with  the  empire  of  the  Persians, 
about  the  year  538  B.  C.     See  Babylon. 

Of  the  internal  constitution  of  the  Babylonian  em- 
pire, we  only  know,  in  general,  that  its  provinces  were 
under  governors,  or  viceroys,  pachas, — a  constitution 
which  seems  to  be  common  to  all  the  oriental  states 
of  ancient  and  modern  times.  But  the  number  of 
provinces  is  unknown.     *R. 

BACA,  THE  VALLEY  OF,  Or  of  tcais,  (Psalm  Ixxxiv. 
6.)  perhaps  the  same  as  the  valley  of  Tears,  or  Weep- 
ers, or  Bochim,  Judg.  ii.  1 ;  2  Sam.  v.  23.  In  a  moral 
sense  the  vale  of  tears  signifies  this  world,  which,  to 
good  men,  presents  only  an  occasion  of  grief  and 
tears,  because  of  the  disorders  that  prevail,  of  the 
continual  dangers  to  which  we  are  exjjosed,  and  the 
absence  of  those  eternal  good  things  which  Ave  ought 
to  long  after.  The  Psalmist  says,  "  Blessed  is  the 
man  whose  strength  is  in  thee,  in  whose  heart  are  the 
ways  of  them,  who,  passing  through  the  valley  of 
Baca,  or  tears,  make  it  a  well,  the  rain  also  filletli  tho 
pools  ;"  from  which  it  has  been  generally  inferred 
that  the  valley  of  Baca  was  a  dreary,  thirsty,  uude- 
su-able  place — the  very  reverse  of  what  appears  to  be 
the  fact.  The  following  is  from  De  la  Roque  :  (Voy. 
de  Syrie,  p.  116.)  "  I  was  extremely  satisfied  with  our 
walk;  which,  besides,  gave  me  an  opportunity  of 
admiring  the  most  agreeable  territory,  and  the  best 
cultivated,  i)erhaps,  in  all  Syria,  lying  the  length  of 
the  plain  from  north  to  south,  to  the  mountains  which 
separate  it  from  that  of  Damascus.  This  plain,  or, 
more  properly  sjieaking,  the  whole  territory  of  Baal- 
bec,  to  the  mountains,  is  named  in  Arabic,  Al-bkaa, 
which  we  express  by  Bekaa.  It  is  watered  by  the 
river  Letanus,  and  by  many  other  streams ;  it  is  a 
delicious,  I  might  say  an  enchanted,  coiuitry,  and  in 
nothing  inferior  to  the  country  of  Damascus,  which 
is  so  renowned  among  the  orientals.  Beka  produces, 
among  other  tilings,  those  ixautifui  and  excellent 
grapes  which  are  sent  to  various  parts,  luider  the 
name  of  grapes  of  Damascus."  This  seems  to  be  the 
very  same  place  meant  by  the  Psalmist,  and  to  have 
retained  (or  recovered,  as  many  i)laccs  have,  under 
the  present  Arab  government)  its  ancient  ap])ellatioii. 
It  is  among  the  mountains  of  Lebanon,  north  of 
Judea.  [It  need  not,  however,  be  understood,  that 
there  was  really  a  valley  called  Baca,  or  the  valley  of 
loeepintr.  The  I'saimist  in  exile,  or  at  least  at  a  dis- 
tance from  Jerusalem,  is  speaking  of  the  privileges 
and  happiness  of  those  who  are  permitted  to  make 
the  usual  pilgrimages  to  that  city  in  order  to  worship 
Jehovah  in  the  tenqile:  ''They  love  the  ways  which 
lead  thither;  yea,  though  they  must  pass  through 
roueh  and  dreary  paths,  even  a  vale  of  tears,  yet  such 


BAD 


L  1:59  ] 


BAL 


are  their  hope  and  joy  of  heart,  tJjat  all  tliis  is  to  them 
as  ft  well  watered  countrj',  a  laud  crowned  with  the 
blessings  of  the  early  rain."  Something  like  this 
\vould  seem  to  be  the  sense  of  the  passage.  The 
{)lain  or  valley  of  Baalbec,  referred  to  above,  could 
not  of  coiu-sc  Ue  in  the  way  of  any  Israehtes  on  such 
a  pilgrimage ;  while  its  fertility  is  utterly  inappro- 
l)riate  to  the  sentiment  of  the  Psalmist.     11. 

BACCfllDES,  the  general  of  the  Syrian  king 
Demetrius,  and  go\eruor  beyond  the  river,  i.  e.  the 
Euphrates,  1  Mace.  vii.  8.  The  king  sent  him  with 
an  army  against  Judea,  to  establish  the  notorious 
Alcimus  (q.  v.)  by  force  in  the  dignity  of  high-priest, 
161  B.  C.  He  left  with  Alcimus  a  body  of  troops, 
that  he  might  maintain  himself  against  Judas  Macca- 
bajus.  But,  as  Judas  continued  to  make  progress, 
Bacchides  returned  the  next  year  with  a  chosen  ar- 
my, vanquished  and  slew  Judas  at  Laisa,  (1  Mace, 
ix.  18.)  held  Jonathan  afterwards  at  bay,  and  fortified 
Jerusalem ;  (ix.  49,  50.)  but  after  the  death  of  Alcimus, 
in  the  next  year,  he  again  withdrew  his  forces.  In 
the  following  year,  (158  B.C.)  however,  he  returned 
to  Jiidea  on  the  invitation  of  some  of  the  discontented 
Jews ;  but  concluded  a  peace  with  Jonathan  on  rea- 
sonable terms,  and  left  him  to  govern  the  Jewish 
state,  1  Mace.  ix.  70,  seq.     *R. 

BACKBITE,  to  speak  evil  of  an  absent  person. 
Paid  classes  this  sin  with  several  others  of  a  heinous 
nature,  Rom.  i.  30. 

BACKSLIDE,  to  depart  gradually  and  insensibly 
from  the  faith,  love  and  practice  of  God's  truth,  Jer. 
iii.  G— 14  ;  Hos.  iv.  16. 

BADGERS'  SKINS.  Among  those  inadvertent 
renderings,  which,  for  want  of  better  information  on 
oriental  natural  history,  have  been  adopted,  in  our 
public  translation,  that  of  "badgers'  skins"  for  the 
covering  of  the  tabernacle,  (Exod.  xxv.  5,  etal.)  and 
for  shoes,  (Ezek.  xvi.  10.)  has  been  liable  to  great 
exception.  The  badger  is  an  inhabitant  of  cold 
countries,  certainly  not  of  Arabia,  and  is  rare,  even 
where  it  breeds ;  as  in  England.  It  is  a  small,  in- 
otfensive  animal,  of  the  bear  genus,  and  remains 
torpid  all  winter. 

The  ancient  versions,  for  the  most  part,  took  the 
word  Tahash  to  signify  a  color,  a  violet  color,  to  which 
the  rams'  skins  were  dyed ;  and  for  this  opinion  Bo- 
chart  contends:  but  the  rabbins  insist  on  its  being 
an  animal ;  and  Aben  Ezra  thinks  it  to  be  of  the 
bull  kind;  some  animal  which  is //(iVA:  and ya/;  and 
in  this  sense  the  word  appears  to  be  the  same  as  the 
Arabic  Dahash,  fat,  oily.  The  conjecture,  then,  of 
those  who  refer  the  Tahash  to  the  seal,  is  every  way 
credible ;  as  in  our  own  island  the  seal  is  famous 
for  its  fat  or  oil,  which,  in  default  of  whale  oil,  is 
used  for  similar  purposes.  Moreover,  seal-skins,  on 
account  of  their  durability,  are  used  to  cover  trunks 
and  boxes,  to  defend  them  from  the  weather ;  and 
as  the  skin  of  the  Tahash  was  used  for  making  shoes, 
(Ezek.  xvi.  10.)  so  the  skin  of  the  seal  may  be,  and  is, 
tanned  into  a^j  good  leather  as  calf-skin  itself. 

It  remains,  then,  to  be  proved  that  an  animal,  fit 
for  the  purpose,  was  readily  ])rocurable  by  the  Israel- 
ites in  the  wilderness ;  for  this  we  quote  Thevenot, 
(p.  166.)  who,  being  at  Tor,  a  port  on  the  Red  sea, 
says,  "But  they  could  not  furnish  me  with  any 
thing  of  a  certain  fish,  which  they  call  a  sea-man. 
However,  I  got  the  hand  of  one  since.  This  fish  is 
taken  in  the  Red  sea,  about  little  isles,  that  are  close 
by  Tor.  It  is  a  great,  strong  fish,  and  hath  nothing 
extraordinary  but  two  hands,  which  are  indeed  like 
the  hands   of  a   maJ),   saving   that  the  fingers   are 


joined  together  whh  a  skin  like  the  foot  of  a  goose  ; 
but  the  skin  ofthejishis  like  the  skin  of  a  iinld  ^oat,  or 
cha7nois.  When  they  spy  that  fish,  they  strike  him 
on  the  back  with  harping  irons,  as  they  do  whales, 
and  so  Idll  him.  They  use  the  skin  of  it  for  making 
bucklers,  which  are  musket  proof."  A\'hether  this  be 
a  species  of  seal  must  be  left  undetermined  ;  as 
nothing  is  said  of  its  coming  ashore,  or  being  am- 
phibious ;  nevertheless,  it  may  be  the  Tahash  of  the 
Hebrews.  Niebuhr  says,  (j).  157,  Fr.  edit.)  "  A  mer- 
chant of  Abushahr  called  Dahash  that  fish  which  the 
captains  of  English  vessels  called  porpoise,  and  the 
Germans  sea-hog,  or  dolphin.  In  n)y  voyage  from 
Maskat  to  Abushahr,  I  saw  a  prodigious  quantity  to- 
gether, near  Ras  Mussendom,  who  all  were  going 
the  same  way,  and  seemed  to  swim  with  gicat  ve- 
hemence." 

[Gesenius  adopts  the  same  opinion,  on  account  of 
the  similarity  of  the  Arabic  name  Dahash,  which 
means,  projjerly,  the  dolphin,  but  is  also  applied  to 
the  seal  genus.  On  many  of  the  small  islands  of 
the  Red  sea,  around  the  peninsula  of  Sinai,  are 
found  seals ;  (hence  insula  phocarum,  Strab.  xvi.  p. 
776.)  likewise,  a  sj)ecics  of  sea-cow,  called  also  sea- 
man or  sea-camel,  the  skin  of  which  is  an  inch 
thick,  and  is  used  by  the  Arabs  of  the  present  day 
for  shoe-leather.  Burckhardt  remarks  that  he  "  saw 
parts  of  the  skin  of  a  large  fish,  killed  on  the  coast, 
which  was  an  inch  in  thickness,  and  is  employed  by 
the  Arabs  instead  of  leather  for  sandals."  (Travels 
in  Syria  and  the  Holy  Land,  p.  582.) — Rosenmuel- 
ler(on  Ex.  xxv.  5.)  inclines  to  the  ancient  rendering, 
which  makes  the  word  denote  some  color.     R. 

BAGOAS,  Holofernes'  chamberlain,  who  intro- 
duced Judith  hito  his  master's  tent.  The  word  Ba- 
goas  is  used  for  eunuchs  in  general,  and  often  oc- 
curs in  the  history  of  the  East. 

BAHURIIM,  a  town  of  Benjamin,  (2  Sam.  iii.  16  ; 
xvii.  5;  xvi.  18.)  probably  buih  by  the  young  men 
who  escaped  the  destructioit  of  their  tribe.  It  is 
thouglit  to  have  been  also  named  Almon,  (Josh.  xxi. 
18.)  and  Alemath,  1  Chron.  vi.  60. 

BAJITH,  a  tower  of  Moab,  Isaiah  xv.  2. 

BALA,  a  city  of  the  tribe  of  Simeon,  Josh.  xix.  3; 
called  also  Bilhah,  1  Chr.  iv.  29.  Josephus  also 
speaks  of  a  place  7.\<au.  Ant.  vi.  6. 

BALAAM,  a  prophet,  or  diviner,  of  the  city  Pe- 
thor,  on  the  Euphrates,  Numb.  xxii.  Balak,  king  of 
Moab,  luuing  seen  the  multitude  of  Israel,  and  fear- 
ing they  would  attack  his  country,  sent  for  Balaam, 
tocome  and  curse  them.  His  messengers  having 
declared  their  errand,  Balaam,  during  the  night,  con- 
sulted God;  who  forbade  his  going.  Balak  after- 
wards sent  others,  of  superior  quality  :  Balaam  still 
declined,  but  kept  them  in  his  house  that  night; 
during  which  the  Lord  said  to  him,  "  If  the  men 
COME  TO  CALL  THEE,  risc  up  aud  go  with  them  ;  but 
yet  the  word  that  I  shall  say  unto  thee,  that  slialt 
thou  do."  Balaam,  therefore,  rose  up  in  the  morning, 
(not  staying  for  the  signal  appointed  to  him,  of 
l)eing  called  by  the  inessengers,  as  appears,)  aud 
went  with  the  envoys  of  Balak.  God,  i)erceiving 
this  froward  evil  dis])osition  of  his  heart,  was  angry  ; 
and  an  angel  stood  in  the  way  to  stop  him.  This, 
Balaam's  ass  seeing,  while  the  diviner  himself  was, 
probably,  lost  in  thought,  turned  out  of  the  road- 
way, into  the  fields.  Balaam,  however,  forced  her 
into  the  way  again,  and  this  occurred  a  second  and 
a  third  tiine.  "^  (See  Ass  of  Balaam.)  At  length, 
Balaam  was  made  sensible  of  the  divine  interposi- 
tion, and  offered  to  retmn  home:  but,  receiving  oer- 


BALA.\M 


[140] 


BAL 


mission,  lie  continued  bis  journey  to  Balak,  who 
complained  of  his  reluctance  in  coming.  "  Now  I 
am  come  (said  Balaam)  I  can  say  nothing:  the  word 
that  God  putteth  into  my  mouth,  that  must  I  speak." 
Balak  conducted  him  to  a  feast  in  his  capital,  (Kir- 
jath  Huzoth,)  and  the  next  morning  carried  him  to 
the  high  places  of  Baal,  and  showed  him  the  ex- 
tremity of  the  Iraelitish  camp.  Here  Balaam  de- 
sired seven  altars  to  be  built,  and  a  bullock  and  a 
ram  to  be  offered  on  each  altar,  Numb,  xxiii.  ad  Jin. 
Balak  stood  by  the  burnt  offering,  while  Balaam 
withdrew  to  his  enchantments.  God  bade  him  re- 
turn, and  utter  an  oracular  blessing  on  Israel,  and 
not  a  curse.  This  he  did  a  second  and  a  third  time, 
to  the  extreme  mortification  of  Balak,  who  dismissed 
hijii  in  great  anger ;  Balaam  declaring,  that  he  could 
not  "go  beyond  the  commandment  of  the  Lord,  to 
do  either  good  or  bad  of  his  own  mind."  He  sub- 
sequently foretold  what  Israel  should,  in  future 
times,  do  to  the  nations  round  about ;  and,  after  hav- 
ing advised  Balak  to  engage  Israel  in  idolatry  and 
whoredom,  that  they  might  offend  God  and  be  for- 
saken by  him,  quitted  his  territories  for  his  own 
land.  Numb.  xxiv.  14  ;  Mic.  vi.  5  ;  2  Pet.  ii.  15  ;  Jude 
ii ;  Rev.  ii.  14.  This  I)ad  counsel  was  pursued : 
the  young  women  of  Moab  inveigled  the  Hebrews 
to  the  feasts  of  Baal-Peor:  persuaded  them  to  idol- 
atry and  seduced  them  to  impurity.  God  com- 
manded Moses  to  avenge  this  insidious  procedure, 
and  he  declared  war  against  the  Midianites,  of  whom 
he  slew  many,  and  killed  five  of  their  princes.  Numb. 
XXV.  17,  18.  Among  those  who  fell  on  this  occa- 
sion was  Balaam,  xxxi.  2,  7,  8. 

The  rabbins  relate  many  other  particulars  of  Ba- 
laam ;  as  that  at  first  he  was  one  of  Pharaoh's  coun- 
sellors ;  according  to  others,  he  was  the  father  of  Jan- 
nes  and  Jambres,  two  eminent  magicians  ;  that  he 
squinted,  and  was  lame  ;  that  he  was  the  author  of 
that  passage  in  JVumbers,  xohertm  his  history  is  re- 
lated ;  and  that  Moses  inserted  it,  in  like  manner  as 
he  inserted  other  writings. 

It  has  been  much  questioned  whether  Balaam 
were  a  true  prophet  of  the  Lord,  or  a  mere  diviner, 
magician,  or  fortune-teller.  Origen  and  others  say, 
that  all  his  power  consisted  in  magic  and  cursing ; 
because  the  devil,  by  whose  infiucuce  he  acted,  can 
only  curse  and  injure.  Theodorcf,  Cyril  of  Alexan- 
dria, and  Ambrosi',  think  he  prophesied  without 
being  aware  of  the  import  of  what  he  said;  but  Je- 
rome seems  to  ha\  e  adopted  tlie  opinion  of  the  He- 
i)rews — that  Balaam  knew  the  true  God,  and  was  a 
true  proplict,  tliougli  coiTupted  by  avarice.  Moses 
certainly  says,  h<!  constdted  the  Lord ;  and  calls  the 
Lord,  his  God,  (Numl).  xxii.  18.)  but  this  might  have 
been  merely  Ix'causc  he  was  of  the  j)osterity  of 
Sheni,  which  jiatriarch  maintained  the  worship  of  the 
Lord  among  his  descendants :  so  that,  while  the 
j)Osterity  of  Ham  fell  into  idokur}-,  and  the  posterity 
of  Japheth  were  settle»l  at  a  distance,  in  Em-ojx!,  tlie 
Shemites  maintained  the  worshij)  of  Jeliovah,  and 
knew  his  holiness  and  jealousy.  Tliis  appears 
in  the  proliigatc;  advice  which  Balaam  gives  Ba- 
lak, to  seduce  the  Israelites  to  transgress  against 
.lehovah,  witli  the  holincfs  of  whose  nature  the 
perverted  ))roplict  seems  to  have  been  well  ac- 
quainted. 

It  is  worthy  of  notice  in  the  account  of  Balaam's 
divinations,  (Numb.  xxiv.  L)  that  "  When  he  saw  that 
it  pleaded  tlie  I^onl  to  bless  Israel,  he  went  not  as 
at  other  times  to  sick  for  eiichimtminls  ;"  i.  e.  ho  did 
not  pretend  to  go   away   and    seek   for  omens   and 


practise  incantations,  but  began  at  once  to  speak  in 
the  name  of  the  Lord. 

BALADAN,  the  father  of  Meroch-Baladan,  the 
king  of  Babylon,  who  sent  messengers  to  Hezekiah, 
2  Kings  XX.  12 ;  Isa.  xxxix.  1.  He  is  by  many  sup- 
posed to  have  been  the  same  as  Nabonassar,  a  for- 
mer king  of  Babylon  ;  but  this  does  not  accord  %vith 
the  account  of  Berosus.  See  in  Babylonia,  and 
Assyria.     R. 

BALAK,  son  of  Zippor,  king  of  Moab,  being  terri- 
fied at  the  multitude  of  Israel  who  were  encamped  on 
the  confines  of  his  coimtry,  sent  deputies  to  Balaam 
the  diviner,  desiring  him  to  come  and  curse  them,  or 
devote  them  to  destruction,  Numb.  xxii. — xxv.  (See 
Balaam.)  Balaam  having  advised  him  to  engage 
the  Israelites  in  sin,  Balak,  politically,  as  he  thought, 
followed  his  counsel ;  which  proved  equally  per- 
nicious to  him  who  gave  it,  to  those  who  followed 
it,  and  to  those  against  whom  it  was  intended.  The 
Israehtes,  who  were  betrayed  by  it,  were  slain  by 
their  brethren  who  continued  unperverted  ;  Balaam, 
the  author  of  it,  was  involved  in  the  slaughter  of  the 
Midianites ;  and  Balak,  who  had  executed  it  by 
means  of  the  Midianite  women,  saw  his  allies  at- 
tacked, their  country  plundered,  and  himself  charged 
with  being  the  cause  of  their  calamity. 

BALANCE,  in  Scripture,  an  instrument  much  of 
the  same  nature,  probably,  as  the  Roman  steelyard, 
where  the  weight  is  hung  at  one  end  of  the  beam, 
and  the  article  to  be  weighed  at  the  other  end. 
Balances,  in  the  plural,  generally  appear  to  mean 
scales, — a  pair  of  scales.     See  Weighing. 

BALDNESS  is  a  natural  effect  of  old  age,  in 
which  period  of  life  the  hair  of  the  head,  wanting 
nourishment,  falls  off,  and  leaves  the  head  naked. 
Baldness  Avas  used  as  a  token  of  mourning ;  and  is 
threatened  to  the  voluptuous  daughters  of  Israel, 
instead  of  well-set  hair ;  (Isa.  iii.  24.  see  also  Mic.  i. 
16.)  and  instances  of  it  occur,  Isa.  xv.  2 ;  Jer.  xlvii. 
5 ;  Ezek.  vii.  18 ;  Amos  viii.  10. 

BALM,  see  Balsam. 

BALSAM-TREE,  or  Balsam.  The  word  Balsa- 
mon  may  be  derived  from  Baal-shemen,  jtr-Sya,  i.  e. 
lord  of  oil  ;  or  the  most  precious  of  perfumed  oils. 
The  word  is  not  in  the  Hebrew  of  the  Song  of 
Solomon,  but  we  find  the  vineyards  of  Engedi,  (i. 
14.)  which  are  believed  to  have  been  gardens  of  the 
balsam-tree.  In  Ezek.  xxvii.  17.  we  find  the  word 
pannag ;  which  the  Vulgate  translates  Balsamum  ;  and 
which  is  so  understood  by  the  Chaldee,  and  other  in- 
terpreters. [The  usual  Hebrew  word  is  Tzen*,  the 
opohulsam,  which  was  found  particularly  in  Gil- 
ead.      R. 

The  Balsam  tree,  though  not  a  native  of  Judea, 
was  cultivated  in  great  perfection  in  the  gardens 
near  Jericho,  on  the  banks  of  Jordan.  Josephus, 
speaking  of  the  vale  of  Jericho,  says,  "  Now  here  is 
the  most  fruitful  country  of  Judea,  which  bears  a 
vast  number  of  jifilm  trees,  besides  the  balsam  tree, 
whose  sprouts  they  cut  with  sh.'up  stones,  and  at  the 
incisions  they  gather  the  juice,  which  drops  doAvn 
like  tears."  'De  Bell.  Jud.  hb.  i.  c.  7.  sect.  6.  The 
balsam  produced  by  these  trees  was  of  such  conse- 
quence as  to  be  noticed  by  all  the  writers  who 
treated  of  Judea.  Pliny  says,  "This  tree,  which 
was  peculiar  to  Juris,  or  the  vale  of  Jericho,  was 
more  like  a  vine  than  a  myrtle.  Vespjisian  and  Ti- 
tus carried  each  of  them  one  to  Rome  as  rarities, 
and  Ponipcy  boasted  of  bearing  them  in  his  triumph. 
When  Alexander  the  Great  was  in  Juria,  a  spoonful 
of  the  balsam  was  all  to  be  collected  on  n  summer's 


BALSAM 


[141] 


BALSAiM 


day  ;  and  in  the  most  plentiful  year  the  great  royal 
park  of  these  trees  yielded  only  six  gallons,  and  the 
smaller  one  only  one  gallon.  It  was,  consequently, 
60  deal-,  that  it  sold  for  double  its  weight  in  silver. 
But,  from  the  great  demand  for  it,  adulteration  soon 
followed,  and  a  spurious  sort  grew  into  common  use, 
at  a  less  price."  Pliny,  Natural  History,  c.  xxv. 
Justin,  indeed,  makes  this  tree  the  source  of  all  the 
national  wealth  ;  for  in  speaking  of  this  part  of  the 
country  he  says,  "  The  wealth  of  the  Jewish  nation 
did  arise  from  the  opobalsamum,  which  doth  only 
grow  in  those  countries,  for  it  is  a  valley  like  a  gar- 
den, which  is  environed  in  continual  hills,  and,  as 
it  were,  enclosed  with  a  wall.  The  space  of  the 
valley  contaiueth  200,000  acres,  and  is  called  Jericho. 
In  that  valley  there  is  a  wood  as  admirable  for  its 
fruitfulness  as  for  its  delight,  for  it  is  intermingled 
with  palm  trees  and  opobalsamum.  The  trees  of 
the  opobalsamum  have  a  resemblance  to  the  fir- 
tree ;  but  they  are  lower,  and  are  planted  and  hus- 
banded after  the  manner  of  vines,  and  on  a  set 
season  of  the  year  they  sweat  balsam.  The  darkness 
of  the  place  is,  besides,  as  wonderful  as  the  fruit- 
fulness  of  it.  For  although  the  sun  shines  no  where 
hotter  in  the  world,  there  is  naturally  a  moderate 
and  perpetual  gloominess  of  the  air."  Justin's  His- 
tory, lib.  xxxvi.  In  the  estimate  of  the  revenues 
which  Cleopatra  derived  from  the  region  round 
about  Jericho,  which  had  been  given  to  her  by  An- 
tony, and  which  Ilerod  afterwards  farmed  of  her,  it 
is  ?aid,  "  that  this  country  bears  that  balsam  which 
is  the  r^ost  precious  drug  that  is  there,  and  grows 
there  only."  Josephus,  Ant.  Jud.  lib.  xv.  c.  4.  sect. 
2.  And  in  the  account  of  Shoba's  visit  to  Solomon, 
from  a  desire  to  see  a  person  so  celebrated  for  his 
wisdom,  it  is  said  that  she  gave  him  twenty  talents 
of  gold,  and  an  immense  quantity  of  spices  and  pre- 
cious stones ;  and  "  they  say,"  adds  the  Jewish  his- 
torian, "  that  we  are  indebted  for  the  root  of  that 
balsam,  which  our  country  still  bears,  to  this  woman's 
gift."  Josephus,  Ant.  Jud.  lib.  viii.  c.  6.  sect.  6.  This 
balsam  is  mentioned  in  the  Scriptures  under  the 
name  of  balm  of  Gilead,  Jer.  viii.  22  ;  xlvi.  11  ;  li.  8. 
Since  the  conquest  of  Palestine  by  the  Romans,  says 
Mr.  Buckingham,  "  the  balsam-tree  has  entirely 
disappeared ;  not  one  is  now  to  be  found."  The 
following  account  of  the  balsam-tree  is  extracted,  by 
Dr.  Harris,  from  Mr.  Bruce.  The  Balessan,  balsam, 
or  balm,  is  an  ever-green  shrub,  or  tree,  which 
grows  to  about  14  feet  high,  spontaneously  and  with- 
out culture,  in  its  native  country  Azab,  and  all  along 
the  coast  to  Babelmandel.  The  trunk  is  about  eight 
or  ten  inches  in  diameter,  the  wood  light  and  open, 
gummy,  and  outwardly  of  a  reddish  color,  incapable 
of  receiving  a  polish,  and  covered  with  a  smooth 
bark,  like  that  of  a  young  cherry-tree.  It  flattens  at 
top,  like  trees  that  are  exposed  to  snow  l)lasts,  or  sea 
air,  which  gives  it  a  stunted  appearance.  It  is  re- 
markable for  a  penury  of  leaves ;  the  flowers  are 
like  those  of  the  acacia,  small  and  white,  only  that 
three  hang  upon  those  filaments  or  stalks  where  the 
acacia  has  but  one.  Two  of  these  flowers  fall  off" 
and  leave  a  single  fruit ;  the  branches  that  liear 
these,  ai-e  the  shoots  of  the  present  year ;  they  are 
of  a  reddish  color,  and  rougher  than  the  old  wood. 
After  the  blossoms,  follow  yellow,  fine  scented 
seed,  enclosed  in  a  reddish-black  pulpj'  nut,  very 
sweet,  and  containing  a  yellowish  licpior  like  hone}'. 
They  are  bitter,  and  a  little  tart  upon  the  tongue,  of 
the  same  shape  and  size  of  the  fruit  of  the  turpen- 
tine-tree, thick  in  the  middle,  and  pointed  at   the 


ends.  There  were  three  kinds  of  balsam  extracted 
from  this  tree.  The  first  was  called  opobalsamum, 
and  was  most  highly  esteemed.  It  was  that  which 
flowed  spontaneously,  or  by  means  of  an  incision, 
from  the  trunk  or  branches  of  the  tree  in  summer 
time.  The  second  was  carpobalsamum,  made  by 
pressing  the  fruit  when  in  maturity.  The  third, 
and  least  esteemed  of  all,  was  hylobalsamum,  made 
by  a  decoction  of  the  buds  and  small  young  twigs. 

The  great  value  set  upon  this  drug  in  the  East  is 
traced  to  the  earliest  ages.  The  Ishmaelites  or 
Arabian  carriers  or  merchants,  trafficking  with  the 
Arabian  commodities  into  Egjpt, brought  with  them 
"■IK,  balm,  as  a  part  of  their  cargo,  Gen.  xxxvii.  25  ; 
xliii.  11. 

Strabo  alone,  of  all  the  ancients,  has  given  us  the 
truest  account  of  the  place  of  its  origin.  "  In  that 
most  happy  land  of  the  Sabseans,"  says  he,  "  grow 
the  frankincense,  myrrh,  and  cinnamon ;"  "  and 
in  the  coast  that  is  about  Saba,  the  balsam  also." 
Among  the  myrrh-trees  behind  Azab,  all  along  the 
coast,  is  its  native  country.  We  need  not  doubt  that 
it  was  transplanted  early  into  Arabia,  that  is,  into 
the  south  part  of  Arabia  Felix,  immediately  fronting 
Azab,  where  it  is  indigenous.  The  high  coiuitry  of 
Arabia  is  too  cold  to  receive  it,  being  all  mountain- 
ous ;  water  freezes  there.  The  first  plantation  that 
succeeded  seems  to  have  been  at  Petra,  the  ancient 
metropolis  of  Arabia,  now  called  Beder,  or  Bader 
Hunim.  Notwithstanding  the  positive  authority  of 
Josephus,  and  the  great  probability  that  attends  it, 
that  Judea  was  indebted  to  Sheba  for  this  tree,  we 
cannot  put  it  into  competition  with  what  we  have 
been  told  in  Scripture,  as  we  have  just  now  seen, 
that  the  place  where  it  grew  and  was  sold  to  mer- 
chants was  Gilead  in  Judea,  more  than  17.30  years  be- 
fore Christ,  or  1000  before  the  queen  of  Sheba  ;  so 
that,  in  readuig  the  verse,  nothing  can  be  plainer  than 
that  it  had  been  transplanted  into  Judea,  flourished, 
and  had  become  an  article  of  commerce  in  Gilead, 
long  before  the  period  he  mentions.  "  A  company 
of  Ishmaelites  canie  from  Gilead  with  their  camels 
bearing  spices,  and  balm,  and  myrrh,  going  to  cany 
down  to  Egypt,"  Gen.  xxxvii.  25.  Now  the  spicery 
or  pepper  was  certainly  purchased  by  the  Ishmael- 
ites at  the  mouth  of  the  Red  sea,  where  was  the 
market  for  Indian  goods ;  and  at  the  same  place  they 
must  have  bought  the  inyrrh,  for  that  neither  grew 
nor  grows  any  where  else,  than  in  Saba,  or  Azabo, 
cast  of  cape  Gardefan,  where  were  the  ports  of  India, 
and  whence  it  Mas  dispersed  over  all  the  Avorld. 

Theophrastus,  Dioscorides,  Pliny,  Strabo,  Diodo- 
rus  Siculus,  Tacitus,  Justin,  Solinus,  and  Serapion, 
speaking  of  its  costliness  and  medicinal  virtues,  all 
say  that  this  balsam  came  from  Judea.  The  words 
of  Pliny  are,  "but  of  all  other  odors  whatever, 
balsam  is  preferred,  produced  in  no  other  part  but 
in  the  land  of  Judea,  and  even  there  in  two  gardens 
only,  both  of  them  belonging  to  the  king,  one  no 
more  than  20  acres,  and  the  other  still  smaller." 
Pliny's  History,  1.  xxii.  c.  25. 

"At  this  time,"  continues  Mr. Bruce,  "I  suppose 
it  got  its  name  of  balsamum  Judaicum,  or  balm  of 
Gilead,  and  thence  became  an  article  of  merchandise 
and  fiscal  revenue,  which  probably  occasioned  the 
discouragement  of  bringing  any  more  from  Arabia, 
whence  it  was  very  probably  prohibited  as  contra- 
band. We  should  suppose  that  30  acres  planted  wth 
this  tree  would  have  produced  more  than  all  the 
trees  of  Arabia  do  at  this  day.  Nor  does  the  planta- 
tion  of  Beder  Hulsin  amount  to  much  more  than 


BAM 


[  142] 


BAP 


that  quantity  ;  for  we  are  still  to  ol^serve,  that  even 
when  it  had  been,  as  it  were,  naturalized  in  Judea, 
and  acquired  a  name  in  that  country,  still  it  bore 
evident  marks  of  its  being  a  stranger  there  ;  and  its 
bemg  confined  to  two  royal  gardens  alone,  shows 
that  it  was  maintained  there  by  force  and  culture,  and 
was  by  no  means  a  native  of  the  country  ;  and  this 
is  confirmed  by  Strabo,  who  speaks  of  it  as  being 
in  the  king's  palace  and  garden  of  Jericho :  the 
place  being  one  of  the  warmest  in  Judea,  indicates 
these  apprehensions  about  it."  Briice's  Travels, 
vol.  V.  p.  23.  edit.  8vo.  Carpenter's  Scrip.  Nat. 
Hist. 

Nothing  is  more  inexplicable  to  us  than  the  re- 
mai-k  of  the  bride,  (Cant.  v.  5.)  who,  rising  from  bed, 
says,  "  her  hands  dropped  myrrh,  (balsam,)  and  her 
fingers  sweet-smelling  myrrh,  on  the  handles  of  the 
lock."  But  we  think  this  extract  may  assist  our 
conjectures  on  the  subject.  Observe,  the  word 
rendered  sweet-smdling  signifies  self-Jloiuing — drop- 
ping— what  comes  over  (as  a  chemist  would  say) 
freely.  Now  as  wc  are  not  bound,  that  we  know  of, 
to  restrain  this  to  a  juice,  we  may  take  it  for  this 
very  "red,  sweet-smelling  powder,  shed  sponta- 
neously by  the  tree  itself"  Moreover,  as  the  women 
of  Ahu  Arisch  cannot  possibly  use  a  powder,  simply, 
to  wash  themselves  with,  but  must  combine  it  with 
water  or  fluid,  or  essence  of  some  kind,  we  shall, 
we  apprehend,  need  only  to  admit,  that  with  such  an 
essence  as  the  bride  calls  balsam,  she  had  recently 
washed  herself,  (that  is,  before  going  to  rej)ose,)  to 
perceive  that  this  uicident,  so  perplexing  to  us,  be- 
cause unlike  our  customs,  is  perfectly  agreeable  to 
the  customs  of  eastern  countries,  and  what  in  Ara- 
bia would  be  thought  nothing  extraordinary.  If  the 
bride  had  only  washed  her  head  with  such  an  es- 
sence, yet  some  of  it  might  remain  on  her  hands  ; 
but  if  she  had,  which  nothing  forbids,  washed  her 
ai"ms  and  hands  also,  [vide  Al  Henxa,)  then  it  might 
naturally  occur  to  a  person,  fancying  herself  in  a 
dream  to  be  acting,  that  she  should  suppose  her 
hands  and  fingers  to  shed  some  of  this  fluid,  wher- 
ever, and  on  whatever,  they  touched.  It  appears 
that  fragrant  essences  of  several  kinds  are  used  by 
the  women  in  Arabia  ;  of  which  professor  Forskal 
affords  sufficient  instances. 

As  the  opobalsam  grows  in  Arabia,  we  see  no 
reason  wliy  it  may  not  be  the  famous  balm  of  Judea, 
mentioned  Gen.  xxxvii.  25.  and  Jer.  xlvi.  11.  et  al. 
the  2\cri.  There  being  several  other  balmy  trees, 
perhaps,  may  have  been  the  reason  why  this  has 
any  difficulty  in  it,  since  certainly  we  must  admit 
the  ])ossibility  of  its  being  one  of  them. 

BA  MA H,  an  eminence,  or  high  place,  where  the 
Jews  worshii)pcd  their  idols,  Ezek.  xx.  29. 

BAMIAN,  says  Ibii  Haukal,  "  is  a  town  half  as 
large  as  Balkli,  situated  on  a  hill.  Before  this  hill 
runs  a  river,  the  stream  of  which  flows  into  Gurjes- 
tan.  Bamian  has  not  any  gardens  or  orchards, 
and  it  is  the  only  town  in  this  district  situated  on  a 
iiill.  The  cold  part  of  Kliorasan  is  about  Bamian." 
(Sir  VV.  Oiiselcy's  Trans,  p.  225.)  Tliis  town  is 
affirmed  to  iiave  been  the  residence  of  Shem.  Sec 
Chaldea. 

BAMOTH,  a  station  of  the  Israelites,  Numb.  xxi. 
19,  20.  Eusebius  says,  Bamoth  is  a  city  of  Moab, 
on  the  river  Arnon.  It  was  the  same  place  as  the 
following  Bamoth-Baal. 

BMlOTll-liKAUiht  high  places  of  Baal,  or  the 
heights  sacred  to  Baal,  was  a  city  east  of  tin;  river 
Jordan,  given  to  Reuben,  Josh.  xiii.   17.     Eusebius 


says  it  was  situated  on  the  plains  of  the  Arnon.  Sec 
Bamoth. 

BANNER,  see  Ensign. 

BAPTISM,  Bix7iTiai.(og,  from  ^anrltw,  to  wash,  to 
dip,  or  immerge. 

I.  BAPTISM  BY  WATER.  The  law  and  history 
of  the  Jews  abound  with  lustrations  and  baptisms 
of  diflferent  sorts.  Moses  enjoined  the  people  to 
wash  their  ganiients,  and  to  purify  themselves,  by 
way  of  preparation  for  the  reception  of  the  law, 
Exod.  xix.  10.  The  priests  and  Levites,  before  they 
exercised  their  ministry,  washed  themselves,  Exod. 
xxix.  4  ;  Levit.  viii.  6.  All  legal  pollutions  were 
cleansed  by  baptism,  or  by  plunging  into  water. 
Certain  diseases  and  infirmities,  natural  to  men  and 
to  women,  were  to  be  purified  by  bathing.  To  touch 
a  dead  body,  to  be  present  at  funerals,  &c.  required 
purification.  But  these  purifications  were  not  uni- 
form :  generally,  people  dipped  themselves  entirely 
under  the  water,  and  this  is  the  most  simple  notion  of 
the  word  baptize :  but,  very  commonly,  ritual  bap- 
tism was  performed  by  aspersion,  or  such  a  lustra- 
tion as  included  no  more  than  the  reception  of  some 
lustral  blood  and  water  scattered  lightly  on  the  per- 
son ;  as,  when  Moses  consecrated  the  priests  and 
altar;  (Exod.  xxix.  21.)  when  the  tabernacle  was 
spi-inkled  with  blood,  on  the  day  of  solemn  expia- 
tion ;  (Lev.  viii.  11.)  or  when  the  sacrifice  was  offer- 
ed by  him  for  the  sins  of  the  high-priest  and  the 
multitude,  (Lev.  xvi.  14,  15.)  and  he  wetted  the  horns 
of  the  altar  with  the  blood  of  the  victim.  Wlieu 
a  leper  was  purified  after  his  cure,  or  when  a  man 
was  polluted  by  touching  or  by  meeting  a  dead 
body,  they  lightly  sprinkled  such  persons  with  lus- 
tral water.  Numb.  xix.  13,  18,  20. 

The  more  strict  professors  among  the  Jews  washed 
then-  arms  up  to  their  elbows,  when  returned  homo 
from  market,  or  out  of  the  street,  fearing  they  might 
have  touched  some  polluted  thing,  or  person.  They 
washed  their  hands,  likewise,  with  great  exactness, 
before  and  after  meals  ;  also,  the  furniture  and  uten- 
sils of  their  table  and  kitchen,  as  often  as  they  had 
the  least  suspicion  of  their  having  been  jjolhued, 
Mark  vii.  2  ;  John  ii.  6.  The  following  description 
of  a  sect  of  Christians  Avill  remind  the  reader  of  the 
notice  taken  by  the  Evangelist  Mark  (chap.  vii.  4.) 
of  the  ceremonial  washings  of  the  Pharisees:  "For 
the  Pharisees,  and  all  the  Jews,  except  they  wash 
their  hands  oft,  eat  not  ;  holding  the  tradition  of 
the  elders.  And  when  they  come  from  market,  ex- 
cept they  wash,  they  eat  not." — "  The  Kemmont 
were  once  the  same  as  the  Falasha.  .  .  .  They  have 
great  abhorrence  to  fish,  which  they  not  only  refrain 
from  eating,  but  cannot  bear  the  sight  of;  and  the 
reason  they  give  for  this  is,  that  Jonah  the  prophet 
(from  whom  they  l)oast  they  are  descended)  was  swal- 
lowed by  a  whale,  or  some  otiier  such  great  fish. 
They  are  hewers  of  wood,  and  carriers  of  water,  to 
Gondar,  and  are  held  in  great  detestation  by  the 
Abyssinians.  They  hold  that,  having  been  once 
baptized,  and  having  once  comnnuucated,  no  sort  of 
prayer,  or  other  attention  to  divine  worship,  is  neces- 
sary. They  icash  themselves  from  head  to  foot,  after 
coming  from  market  or  any  public  place,  ivhere  they 
may  have  touched  any  one  of  a  sect  different  from 
their  otvn,  esteeming  all  such  unclenny  Bruce,  vol.  iv. 
p.  275. 

It  may  be  at  least  amusing  to  trace  the  ideas  of  in- 
terpreters on  the  force  of  the  original  words  nvyuij^ 
)ii/t')>ri<'.  (Mark  vii.  3.)  which  express,  say  some,  to 
wash  "with  the  fist,"  i.  e.  by  rubbing  water  on    the 


BAPTISM 


143 


BAPTISM 


palm  of  one  hand  with  the  doubled  fist  of  the  other. 
Lightfoot  explains  the  phrase  by  "  washing  the  hand 
as  far  as  the  fist  extends,"  i.  e.  up  to  the  Avrist ;  and 
Theophylact  enlarged  its  meaning  still  fm-ther,  "  up 
to  the  elbow."  We  little  need  to  fear  that  this  en- 
largement of  Theophylact  should  be  too  gi-eat,  if 
the^e  Kemmont  might  be  the  commentators ;  for 
thev,  it  seems,  washed  themselves  from  head  to  foot, 
after  coming  from  market.  May  wc  not  suppose  that 
some  of  the  stricter  kind  of  Pharisees  did  thus  en- 
tirely wash  themselves,  though  the  Evangelist  only 
notices  \vhat  was  general  and  notorious,  or,  rather, 
what  he  thought  best  adapted  to  the  conception  of 
the  foreigners  for  whose  use  he  WTOte,  and  for  whom 
he  was  under  the  necessity  of  explaining  the  phrases 
relating  to  this  matter,  as  "defiled,  i.  e.  unwashed — 
hands  ?"  ver.  2.  So  he  glances  at  their  "washing  of 
cups  and  pots,  brazen  vessels  and  tables,"  which 
might  be  washed  all  over ;  whatever  be  taken  as  the 
import  of  the  word  baptism,  in  this  place.  We  see, 
also,  in  this  instance,  how  consistent  is  the  idea  of 
persons  being  excessively  scrupulous  in  some  things, 
while  excessively  negligent  in  others;  as  these  Kem- 
mont, though  super-accurate  in  washing  themselves, 
think  attendance  on  divine  worship  unnecessary  ;  in 
which,  also,  they  remind  us  of  the  Pharisees,  who 
neglected  "the  weightier  matters  of  the  law,  justice, 
mercy,  and  truth,"  Matt,  xxiii.  23. 

But  by  what  means  did  the  Israelites  in  the  wilder- 
ness, where  water  was  so  scarce  that  a  miracle  was 
necessary  to  procure  sufficient  for  their  sustenance, 

[)erform  the  numerous  ablutions  required  by  their 
aw  ? — If  the  priests  could  obtain  sufficient  for  their 
eacred  ser\'ices,  which  no  doubt  required  a  consider- 
able quantity,  how  should  the  whole  camp,  men, 
women,  and  children,  be  furnished,  beside  their  sup- 
ply for  drinking,  cooking,  &c.  with  that  winch  was 
requisite  for  natural  and  for  ceremonial  washings  ? 
This  to  each  person  was  no  trifluig  quantity  daily, 
and  in  the  whole  was  a  vast  consumption  :  add  to 
it,  the  quantity  necessary  for  supplying  the  herds  of 
cattle,  &c.  which  are  represented  as  numerous  ;  and 
we  know,  beneath  a  burning  sky,  they  must  have 
been  thirsty,  whether  at  rest  or  in  motion.  The 
present  question,  however,  only  regards  a  supposed 
waste  of  water  in  personal  and  ceremonial  ablu- 
tions :  which  those  who  have  observed  the  frequen- 
cy of  them  will  not  esteem  trivial,  under  the  circum- 
stances of  a  prodigious  multitude  stationary  in  an 
arid  desert. 

The  following  quotations  may  assist  in  regulating 
our  conceptions  of  this  matter.  " — If  they  [the  Arab 
Algerines]  cannot  come  by  any  water,  then  they 
must  ivipe  [them^lves]  as  clean  as  they  can,  till 
water  may  conveniently  be  had,  or  else  it  suffices  to 
take  Ahdes  iijion  a  stone,  which  I  call  an  imaginary 
Ahdes  ;  i.  e.  to  smooth  their  hands  over  a  stone  two  or 
three  times,  and  rub  them  one  toith  the  other,  as  if  they 
icere  ivashiiig  ivith  water.  (The  like  Abdes  sufficeth, 
when  any  arc  sickly,  so  that  water  might  endanger 
their  life)  and  after  they  have  so  wiped,  it  is  Gaise, 
1.  e.  lawful"  to  esteem  themselves  clean.  (Pitts' 
Account  of  the  Mahometan  Religion,  &c.  p.  44.) 
Perfectly  agreeable  to  this  description  is  Aaron  Hill's 
notice  :  (Travels,  p.  50.)  "  If  the  time  be  cold  and 
rigirl,  'tis  enough  to  make  mi  outward  motion,  (i.  e.  of 
washing,)  and  the  will  is  taken  for  the  duty  of  the 
action."  So  in  the  Mahometan  treatise  of  Prayer, 
published  by  De  la  Motraye,  (vol.  i.  p.  360.)  it  is  said, 
"  In  case  water  is  not  to  be  had,  that  defect  may  be 
supplied  with  earth,  a  stone,  or  any  other  product 


of  the  earth  ;  and  this  is  called  Tayamum  ;  atid  is 
performed  by  cleaning  the  insides  of  the  hands  upon 
the  same,  rubbing  therewith  the  face  once  ;  and  then 
again  rubbing  the  hands  upon  the  earth,  stone,  or 
whatever  it  is  ;  stroking  the  right  arm  to  the  elbow 
with  the  left  hand  ;  and  so  the  left  with  the  right." 
Now,  if  such  ideas  prevailed  among  the  Israelites, 
we  see  how  the  whole  camp  might  obtain  a  suf- 
ficient degree  of  purity,  yet  waste  no  water.  So 
might  single  travellers  in  the  desert,  as  David,  Eli- 
jah, &c.  perform  their  ablutions,  at  the  times  when 
the  law  more  particularly,  or  when  custom  more 
generally,  directed  them ;  although  they  were  dis- 
tant from  pool,  fountain,  or  spring. — But  the  princi- 
pal object  of  reference  here  is  one  which,  being  sin- 
gular, has  always  been,  in  consequence,  perplexing  : 
We  find  Naaman  (2  Kings  v.  17.)  requesting  of  the 
prophet  Elisha,  "two  mules'  burthen  of  earth,"  evi- 
dently for  some  religious  purpose,  but  what  that  pur- 
pose could  be,  has  embarrassed  commentators.  The 
opinion  has  prevailed,  that  he  meant  to  form  this 
earth  into  an  altar ;  or  to  spread  it  for  a  floor,  to 
pray  upon,  as  if  he  w^ere  thereby  constantly  resident 
in  that  holy  country  whence  he  had  brought  it. 
But  it  is  not  impossible,  that  there  is  here  a  refer- 
ence to  the  same  custom  of  using  earth  instead  of 
VA^ater  for  purifications. 

There  is  a  description  of  Elisha  the  prophet,  by  a 
part  of  his  office  when  servant  to  Elijah,  which  ap- 
pears rather  strange  to  us.  "  Is  there  not  here  a 
prophet  of  the  Lord  ?"  says  king  Jehoshaphat ;  and  he 
is  answered,  "Hei-e  is  Elisha  ben  Shaphat,  icho  poured 
water  on  the  hands  of  Elijah,"  (2  Kings  iii.  11.)  i.  e. 
who  was  his  servant  and  constant  attendant.  So 
Pitts  tells  us:  (p.  24.)  "The  table  being  removed, 
before  they  rise,  [from  the  ground  whereon  they 
sit,]  a  slave,  or  servant,  who  stands  attending  on  them 
with  a  cup  of  water  to  give  them  drink,  steps  into 
the  middle,  with  a  basin,  or  copper  pot  of  water 
soinething  like  a  cofFce-pot,  and  a  little  soap,  and 
lets  the  water  run  upon  their  haiids  one  after  another, 
in  order  as  they  sit."  Such  service,  it  appears,  Elisha 
performed  for  Elijah :  what  shall  we  say  then  to  the 
remarkable  action  of  our  Lord,  who  "poured  w^ater 
into  a  basin,  and  washed  his  disciples'  feet,"  after 
supper?  Was  he  indeed  among  them  as  one  who 
serveth  ?  On  this  subject  D'Ohsson  says,  (p.  309.) 
"Ablution,  Abdesth,  consists  in  washing  the  hands, 
feet,  face,  and  a  part  of  the  head  ;  the  law  mentions 
them  by  the  term — "  the  three  parts  consecrated  to 
ablution."  ...  "The  Mussulman  is  generally  seated 
on  the  edge  of  a  sopha,  with  a  pewler  or  copper  ves- 
sel lined  with  tin  placed  before  him  upon  a  round 
piece  of  red  cloth,  to  prevent  the  carpet  or  mat  from 
being  Avet :  a  servant,  kneeling  on  the  ground,  pours 
out  water  for  his  master ;  another  holds  a  cloth  des- 
tined for  these  purifications.  The  person  who  puri- 
fies himself  i)egins  by  baring  his  arms  as  far  as  the 
elbow.     As    he  washes  his  hands,  mouth,  nostrils, 

face,  arms,  &c.  he  repeats  the  projier  prayers It 

is  probable  that  3Iohammed  followed  on  this  subject 
the  book  of  Leviticus."  It  is  well  known  that  there 
was  in  England  an  officer,  who,  at  the  coronation, 
and  fonnerly  at  all  public  festivals,  held  a  basin 
of  water  for  the  king  to  wash  his  hands  in,  after  din- 
ner ;  but  it  is  not  equally  well  known,  tht.t  cardinal 
Wolsey,  one  tune,  when  the  duke  of  Buckingham 
held  the  basin  for  Henry  VIII.  after  the  king  had 
washed,  put  his  own  hand  into  the  basin ;  the  duke, 
resenting  this  intrusion,  let  some  of  the  water  fall  on 
the  habit  of  the  cardinal,  who  never   forgave  the 


BAPTISM 


[  144 


BAPTISM 


Bction,  but  brought  the  duke  to  the  block,  in  conse- 
quence of  his  resentment. 

When  the  Jews  received  a  proselyte  to  their  re- 
hgion,  they  both  circumcised  and  baptized  him ; 
affirming  that  this  baptism  was  a  kmd  of  regenera- 
tion, whereby  he  was  made  a  new  man  ;  from  being 
a  slave,  he  became  free  ;  and  his  natural  relations 
before  this  ceremony  were,  after  it,  no  longer  ac- 
counted such.  See  on  Matt.  iii.  6,  Kuinoel  and 
Lightfoot  Hor.  Heb.  also  Jahn's  Bib.  Archseol. 
§  325.  and  his  large  German  work,  vol.  iii.  p.  218. 
Buxtorf,  Lex.  Chald.  Rab.  Talm.  col.  408.— Jesus  is 
supposed  to  refer  to  this  species  of  baptism  in  his 
discourse  with  Nicodemus,  John  iii.  1 — 12. 

When  John  Baptist  began  to  preach  repentance, 
he  practised  a  baptism  in  the  waters  of  Jordan. 
He  did  not  attribute  to  this  service  the  virtue  of  for- 
giving sins,  but  used  it  as  a  preparation  for  the  bap- 
tism of  Jesus  Christ,  and  for  remission  (forsaking)  of 
sins.  Matt.  iii.  2  ;  Mark  i.  4.  He  not  only  exacted 
sorrow  for  sin,  but  a  change  of  life,  manifested  by 
such  practices  as  were  worthy  of  repentance.  The 
baptism  of  John  was  more  perfect  than  that  of  the 
Jews,  but  was  less  perfect  than  that  of  Christ.  "  It 
was,"  says  Chrysostom,  "  as  it  were,  a  bridge,  wjiich, 
from  the  baptism  of  the  Jews,  made  a  way  to  that  of 
our  Saviour ;  it  was  superior  to  the  first,  but  inferior 
to  the  second."  That  of  John  promised  what  that  of 
Jesus  performed.  Notwithstanding  that  John  did 
not  enjoin  his  disciples  to  continue  his  baptism  after 
his  death — it  being  superseded  by  the  manifestation 
of  the  Messiah,  and  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost — 
many  of  his  followers  administered  it,  several  years 
after  the  death  of  Christ,  and  some  did  not  even 
know  that  there  was  any  other  baptism.'  Among 
this  number  was  ApoUos,  a  learned  and  zealous  man 
of  Alexandria,  who  came  to  Ephesus  twenty  years 
after  the  resurrection  of  our  Saviour,  Acts  xviii.  25. 
And  Paul,  coming  afterwards  to  the  same  city,  found 
many  Ephesians,  who  had  received  no  other  bap- 
tism than  that  of  John,  and  knew  not  that  there 
were  any  influences  of  the  Holy  Ghost  communi- 
cated by  baptism  into  Christ,  Acts  xix.  1.  Our  Sa- 
viour, when  sending  his  apostles  to  preach  the  gos- 
pel, said,  "  Go,  teach  all  nations  ;  baptizing  them 
in  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and 
of  the  Holy  Ghost,  Matt,  xxviii.  19.  Whosoever 
believeth  and  is  baptized  shall  be  saved ;  but  he  that 
believeth  not  shall  be  damned,"  Mark  xvi.  16  ;  John 
iii.  18.  Baptism,  therefore,  is  the  first  mark  by  which 
the  disciples  of  Jesus  Christ  are  distinguished. 

Baptism  is  taken  in  Scripture  for  sufferings  :  "Can 
ye  drink  of  the  cup  that  I  drink  of,  and  be  baptized 
with  tlie  baptism  which  I  am  baptized  with  ?"  Mark 
X.  38.  And,  Luke  xii.  50,  "  I  have  a  baptism  to  be 
baptized  with,  and  how  am  I  straitened  till  it  be 
accomplished  ?"  We  find  traces  of  similar  phrase- 
ology in  the  Old  Testament  (Ps.  Ixix.  2,  3.)  where 
waters  often  denote  tribulations  ;  and  where,  to  be 
swallowed  up  by  the  waters,  to  pass  through  great 
waters,  &,c.  signifies,  to  be  overwhelmed  by  mis- 
fortunes. 

II.  BAPTISM  BY  FIRE.  The  words  of  John, 
Matt.  iii.  11.  have  given  occasion  to  inquire  what 
is  meant  by  baptism  by  fire.  Some  of  the  fathei-s 
believed,  that  the  faithful,  before  they  entered  Para- 
dise, would  pass  through  a  certain  fire,  to  purify 
them  from  remaining  pollutions.  Others  explain 
the  term  fire  of  an  abundance  of  graces ;  others 
by  the  descent  of  the  Holy  Ghost  on  the  apostles,  in 
the  form  of  fiery  tongues.     Others  have  said,  that 


the  word  fire  is  an  addition,  and  that  we  should  read, 
"  I  baptize  you  with  water,  but  he  that  cometh  after 
me,  will  baptize  you  with  the  Holy  Ghost."  It  is  cei'- 
tain  the  word^re  is  not  in  several  MSS.  of  Matthew  ; 
but  we  read  it  in  Luke  iii.  17.  and  in  the  oriental 
versions  of  Matthew.  Some  old  heretics  understood 
the  passage  literally,  and  maintained,  that  material 
fire  was  necessary  in  the  administration  of  baptism ; 
but  we  are  not  told  either  how  or  to  what  part  of  the 
body  they  appUed  it ;  or  whether  they  obliged  the 
baptized  to  pass  over  or  through  the  flames.  Va- 
lentinus  re-baptized  those  who  had  received  bap- 
tism out  of  his  sect,  and  drew  them  through  the 
fire.  Hcraclion,  cited  by  Clemens  Alexandrinus, 
says,  that  some  applied  a  red-hot  iron  to  the  ears  of 
the  baptized,  as  if  to  impress  some  mark  on  them. 

It  deserves  notice,  that  in  both  the  evangelists 
this  prediction  is  expressed  in  the  same  manner  ;  that 
is  to  say,  there  is  no  article,  nor  any  sign  of  disjunc- 
tion, between  the  terms  Holy  Ghost  and  Jire.  Ac- 
cording, therefore,  to  the  power  of  the  Greek  lan- 
guage, these  two  terms  form  but  one  act,  or  thing ; 
or,  in  other  words,  this  one  baptism  was  to  be  con- 
ferred at  the  same  time,  not  separately,  though  under 
two  species ;  the  first  that  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  the 
second,  that  of  fire ;  and  to  this  agi-ees  the  history, 
Acts  ii.  "  there  was  the  sound  as  of  a  rushing 
mighty  wind,"  this  was  the  first ;  and  "  the  cloven 
tongues  like  as  of  fire,  which  sat  on  each  of  them," 
this  was  the  second  ; — strictly  the  baptism  by  fire. 
Immediately  after  the  appearance  of  the  cloven 
tongues,  it  is  said,  "they  were  all  filled  with  the 
Holy  Ghost,  and  began  to  speak  with  other  tongues :" 
— The  same  we  read,  also,  in  the  histoiy  of  Corne- 
lius, (Acts  X.  45.)  "  on  the  Gentiles  also  was  poured, 
out  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost ;  for  they  heard  them 
speak  with  tongues."  And  Peter,  in  narrating  the 
history,  (Acts  xi.  15.)  says,  "the  Holy  Ghost  fell  on 
them  as  [he  fell]  on  us  at  the  beginning" — and  they 
were  "  baptized  with  the  Holy  Ghost."  Yet,  as  we 
read  nothing  of  ivind  in  this  history,  it  should  seem 
that  the  symbohcal  Jire  only  appeared  ;  and  that 
these  Gentiles  were  baptized  by  fire  faUing  from 
heaven  ;  and  afterwards  by  water,  as  directed  by 
Peter. 

[After  all  that  is  said  above,  the  question,  respect- 
ing the  baptism  by  Jire  in  Matt.  iii.  11,  and  Luke  iii. 
16,  must  still  be  determined  by  a  simple  reference 
to  the  succeeding  verse  in  each  case.  The  whole 
passage  is  as  follows :  (and  John  said,)  "  I  indeed 
baptize  you  with  water  unto  repentance  ;  but  there 
cometh  one  mightier  than  I,  whose  shoes  I  am  not 
worthy  to  bear ;  he  shall  baptize  you  with  the  Holy 
Ghost  and  with  fire  :  Whose  fan  is  in  his  hand,  and 
he  will  thoroughly  purge  his  floor,  and  gather  his 
wheat  into  his  gamer ;  but  the  chaff  he  will  burn 
with  unquenchable  fire."  Here  tlie  ivheat  are  evi- 
dently those  who  receive  Christ  as  the  JNIessiah,  and 
embrace  his  doctrines ;  these  he  will  baptize  with 
the  Holy  Ghost,  i.  e.  he  will  impart  to  them  spiritual 
gifts,  the  teachings  and  consolations  of  the  Holy 
Spirit :  while  the  chaff  arc  as  evidently  those  who 
reject  Christ  and  his  doctrines,  and  live  in  sin ; 
these  he  will  baptize  with  Jire  "  unquenchable ;" 
they  shall  "go  away  to  everlasting  punishment." 
Compare  also  Matt.  iii.  10.     R. 

III.    BAPTISM    IN    THE    NAME    OF  JeSUS  ChRIST. 

Many  difificulties  have  been  raised  on  the  words  of 
Luke:  (Acts  x.  48.)  "Be  baptized  in  the  name  of 
Jesus  Christ,  for  the  remission  of  sins."  And 
again,  (chap.  viii.  16.)  "They  were  baptized  in  the 


BAPTISM 


[  145] 


BAPTISM 


.NAME  OF  THE  LORD  Jesus."  It  lias  beeu  questioned, 
whether  baptism  was  ever  administered  in  the  name 
of  Jesus  only,  without  express  mention  of  the 
Father  and  the  Spirit ;  and  whether  such  baptism 
could  be  valid  or  lawful.  ]Many  fathers,  and  some 
councils,  believed  tliat  the  apostles,  occasionally,  had 
baptized  in  the  name  of  Jesus  only ;  and  Ambrose 
asserts  that  though  one  person  only  of  the  Trinity 
were  expressed,  the  baptism  is  perfect.  "  For,"  adds 
he,  "  whosoever  names  one  person  of  the  Trinity, 
means  the  whole."  But,  as  this  opinion  is  founded 
only  on  a  dubious  fact,  and  an  obscure  text,  it  is  not 
impossible  that  these  fathers  and  councils  might  be 
mistaken ;  first,  as  to  the  fact,  and  explanation  of 
the  text ;  and  secondly,  in  the  consequences  they 
drew  from  it.  It  may  be  shown,  (I.)  that  the  text 
in  the  Acts  is  not  clear  for  this  opinion  ;  (2.)  that  it 
is  very  dubious  whether  the  apostles  ever  baptized 
in  the  name  of  Jesus  only.  By  baptizing  in  the 
name  of  Jesus,  may  be  signified,  (1.)  either  to  bap- 
tize with  invocation  of  the  name  of  Jesus  alone, 
without  mentioning  the  Father  and  the  Spirit ;  or 
(2.)  to  baptize  in  his  name,  by  his  authority,  with 
liis  baptism,  and  into  his  rehgion,  (making  express 
mention  of  the  three  persons  of  the  Trinity,)  as  he 
has  cleai'ly  and  plainly  commanded  in  Matthew, 
Since,  therefore,  we  have  a  positive  and  explicit  text 
for  this  service, — what  should  induce  us  to  leave  it, 
and  to  follow  another  capable  of  different  senses  ? 
Who  will  believe  that  the  apostles,  forsaking  the  form 
of  baptisni  prescribed  to  them  by  Jesus  Christ,  had 
instituted  another  form,  quite  new,  and  without  ne- 
cessity ?  In  fact,  the  opmion  that  baptisjn  ought  to 
be  administered  in  the  name  of  the  whole  Trinity, 
and  with  express  invocation  of  three  persons,  has  a 
clear  text  of  Scripture  in  its  favor,  where  the  rite  is 
instituted,  as  it  were,  and  expressly  treated  of;  and 
this  against  an  incidental  mention  of  it  in  a  historical 
relation,  among  other  things,  and  capable  of  several 
senses. 

There  is  a  very  sudden  turn  of  metaphor  used  by 
the  apostle  Paul,  in  Rom.  vi.  3 — 5.  "  Know  ye  not  that 
so  many  of  us  as  were  baptized  into  Jesus  Christ  wei-e 
baptized  into  his  death?  therefore  we  are  buried  ivith 
hivi  by  baptism  into  death  .  .  .  that  we  should  walk  in 
ne^vuess  of  life.     For  if  we  have  been  planted  to- 

f  ether  [with  him]  in  the  likeness  of  his  death,  we  shall 
e  also  planted  in  the  likeness  of  his  resurrection." 
Now  what  has  baptism  to  do  with  planting  ?  Wherein 
consists  their  similarity,  so  as  to  justify  the  resem- 
blance here  implied  ?  In  1  Pet.  iii.  21.  we  find  the 
apostle  speaking  of  baptism,  figuratively,  as  "saving 
us;"  and  alluding  to  Noah,  who  long  lay  buried  in 
the  ark,  as  corn  long  lies  buried  in  the  earth.  Now, 
as  after  having  died  to  his  former  course  of  life  in 
being  baptized,  a  convert  was  considered  as  rising  to 
a  renewed  life,  so  after  having  been  separated  from 
his  former  connections,  his  seed-bed  as  it  were,  after 
having  died  in  being  planted,  he  was  considered  as 
rising  to  renewed  life  also.  The  ideas,  therefore, 
convej^ed  by  the  apostle  in  these  verses  are  precisely 
the  same ;  though  the  metaphors  are  different. 
Moreover,  if  it  were  anciently  common  to  speak  of  a 
person,  after  baptism,  as  rising  to  renewed  life,  and 
to  consider  corn  also  as  sprouting  to  a  renewed  life, 
then  we  see  how  easily  Hymeneus  and  Philetus  (1 
Tim,  i,  18.)  "  concerning  the  truth  might  err,  saying, 
tliat  the  resurrection  was  past  already ;"  that  is,  in 
baptism,  [quasi  in  planting,  that  is,  in  being  transfer- 
red to  Cliristianity,]  in  which  error  they  did  little 
more  than  annex  their  old  heathen  notions  to  the 
19 


Christian  institution.  The  transition  was  extremely 
easy ;  but,  unless  checked  in  time,  the  error  might 
have  become  very  dangerous.  We  think  this  more 
likely  to  have  been  the  fact  respecting  these  errone- 
ous teachers,  than  any  allusion  to  vice,  as  death,  and  to 
a  return  to  virtue,  as  life  ;  which  Warburton  proposes, 
(Div.  Leg.  vol.  i.  p.  435.)  and  the  notion  seems  to  have 
been  adopted  by  Menander,  who  taught  (Irenteus,  lib. 
i.  cap.  21.)  that  his  disciples  obtained  resurrection  by 
his  baptism,  and  so  became  immortal.  How  easily 
figurative  language  suffers  under  the  misconstructions 
ot  gross  conception ! 

IV.  BAPTISM  FOR  THE  DEAD.  The  apostle  Paul, 
(1  Cor.  XV.  29.)  proving  the  resurrection  of  the  dead, 
says,  "  If  the  dead  rise  not  at  all,  what  shall  they  do 
who  are  baptized  for  the  dead  ?"  The  question  is, 
W^liat  is  meant  by  "  baptism  for  the  dead  ?"  No  one 
pretends,  that  the  apostle  approves  the  practice,  or 
authorizes  the  opinion.  It  is  sufiicient,  that  there 
were  people  who  thus  thought  and  acted  at  the  time. 
Observe,  also,  he  does  not  say,  the  Corinthians  caused 
themselves  to  be  baptized  for  the  dead  ;  but — "  what 
shall  THEY  do,  who  are  baptized  for  the  dead  ?"  How 
will  THEY  support  this  practice,  upon  what  will  they 
justify  it,  if  the  dead  rise  not  again,  and  if  souls  de- 
parted rise  not  after  death  .'  We  might  easily  show, 
that  some  at  this  time,  who  called  themselves  Chris- 
tians, were  baptized  for  the  dead, — for  the  advantage 
of  the  dead.  When  this  epistle  to  the  Corinthians 
was  ^^Titten,  twenty-three  years  after  the  resurrection 
of  our  Saviour,  several  heretics  (as  the  Simoniaus, 
Gnostics,  and  Nicolaitans)  denied  the  real  resurrec- 
tion of  the  dead,  and  acknowledged  only  a  metaphor- 
ical resuiTection  received  in  baptism.  The  Marcion- 
ites,  who  appeared  some  time  afterwards,  embraced 
the  same  principles;  they  denied  the  resurrection  of 
the  dead,  and,  which  is  more  particular,  they  received 
baptism  for  the  dead.  This  we  learn  from  Tertullian, 
who  tells  the  Marcionites,  that  they  ought  not  to  use 
Paul's  authority,  in  favor  of  their  jiractice  of  receiving 
"  baptism  for  the  dead ;"  and  that  if  the  apostle  no- 
tices this  custom,  it  is  only  to  prove  the  resurrection 
of  the  dead  against  themselves.  In  another  place,  he 
confesses  that  in  Paul's  time,  some  were  baptized  a 
second  time  for  the  dead, — on  behalf  of  the  dead ; 
hoping  it  would  be  of  service  to  others,  as  to  their 
resurrection,  (contra  Marcion,  v,  10;  Dc  Resurrect. 
Carnis,  c.  48.) 

Chrysostom  says,  that  among  the  Marcionites, 
when  any  of  their  catechumens  die,  they  lay  a  living 
person  under  the  bed  of  the  deceased  ;  then,  advanc- 
ing toward  the  dead  body,  they  ask  whether  he  be 
willing  to  receive  baptism.  The  person  under  the 
bed  answers  for  him,  that  he  desires  earnestly  to  be 
baptized  ;  and,  accordingly,  he  is  so,  instead  of  the 
dead  jjerson  ;  thus  making  a  mimimery  of  this  sacred 
administration.  (In  1  Cor.  Ilomil.  40.)  Epiplianius  also 
asserts  that  the  Marcionites  received  baptism  not  only 
once,  but  frequently,  as  often  as  they  thought  proper  ; 
and  they  procured  themselves  to  be  baj)tized  in  the 
name  of  tbose  among  them  who  died  without  bap- 
tism, as  substituted  representatives  of  such  persons  ; 
and  that  Paul  had  these  heretics  in  view,  (Hseres,  42. 
et  28.) 

Bochart  has  collected  no  less  than  fifteen  senses  in 
which  this  passage  has  been  taken  by  the  learned, 
such  is  its  obscurity  ;  but  it  is  only  obscure  to  us,  by 
reason  of  our  ignorance  of  ancient  customs.  It  was 
clear  to  the  apostle ;  and  equally  clear  to  those  to 
whom  he  wrote.  He  refers  to  a  rite  well  known, 
openly  and  avowedly  practised ;  not  by  a  few,  nor  by 


BAPTISM 


146  ] 


BAPTISM 


a  petty  sect  of  Christians,  but  by  a  whole  people :  hi 
short,  it  was  familiar  to  the  Corinthians,  and  needed 
no  explanation.  It  is  somewhat  singular,  that  the 
import  of  the  Jewish  practice  in  cases  of  pollution 
by  a  dead  body,  should  have  been  so  imperfectly 
applied  in  explanation  of  this  subject ;  but  we  have 
taken  the  liberty  to  apply  the  idea  to  the  illustration 
of  the  text.  The  first  office  jjerformed  to  a  dead 
body  was  washing:  and  this  was  common  to  the 
heathen, 

Tarquinii  corpus  bona  famina  lavit  ct  unxit; 

and  to  the  Jews,  as  appears  from  the  Talmud ;  and 
to  the  early  Christians,  Acts  ix.  37.  Accordingly, 
the  person  who  laid  out,  and  washed,  a  dead  body, 
and  consequently  participated  in  the  pollution  occa- 
sioned by  death,  participated  also  in  the  customary 
interment  of  the  dead.  Death  was,  as  it  were,  im- 
puted to  him  ;  and  he  continued  iii  a  state  of  seclusion 
from  society  till  the  third  day.  On  that  day  he 
washed  himself  thoroughly  in  water,  and  was  bap- 
tized by  the  sprinkling  of  the  ashes  of  the  red  heifer  ; 
which  restored  him  to  his  place  among  the  living, 
and  was  to  him  a  release  from  his  sepulchral  state  ; 
in  other  words,  a  resurrection.  This  sprinkling  is 
expressly  enumerated  among  the  Jewish  baptisms  by 
the  apostle,  Heb.  ix.  10,  13.  See  also,  in  Gr.  Ecclus. 
xxxiv.  25.  Suppose,  then,  a  person  to  be  polluted  by 
a  dead  body  on  Friday  afternoon,  he  would  be  synj- 
bolically  dead  the  remainder  of  the  day,  the  whole 
of  Saturday,  and  until  he  was  baptized  by  the  ashes 
on  the  Sunday  morning:  such  being  the  Hebrew 
manner  of  reckoning  three  days.  It  is  evident,  that 
he  sympathized  with  the  death  of  the  party  who  oc- 
casioned his  pollution,  by  symbolizing  with  his  inter- 
ment, and  with  his  washing;  and  if  the  Jews  imder- 
stood  the  symbol,  and  attached  to  the  subsequent 
baptism  the  idea  of  an  illustration  of  the  national 
hope  of  a  resurrection,  (Acts  xxiii.  G.)  then  the  apos- 
tle's argument  is  extremely  cogent  on  that  people : 
"What  shall  thty — the  Jews — do,  who  are  baptized 
for  the  dead  ;  [literally,  instead  of  the  dead,  as  sub- 
stitutes for  the  dead,  vtxnioy,  plural,]  if  there  is  not, 
if  there  cannot  be,  any  such  thing  as  a  resurrection 
of  the  dead,  why  do  they  undergo  a  ceremony  the 
very  purport  and  intention  of  which  is  the  prefigura- 
tion  of  a  resurrection?  Why  are  they  baptized  as 
substitutes  for — as  r(>])resentatives  of — the  dead  ?" 
From  this  argument  the  Sadducees  among  the  Jews 
must  be  excepted  ;  and  also  the  heathen.  The  apos- 
tle's words,  therefore,  are  not  general,  but  an  argn- 
mentum  ad  homincm.  The  reader  will  aUjo  oljscrve 
the  force  of  the  article  before  the  term  dead,  T('n- 
vfx-y^n-,  not  any  dead,  nor  the  dead  in  general,  but, 
those  dead  well  known  to  the  parties ; — as  the  cus- 
tO!n  was  well  known  to  the  Corinthians.  That  the 
Jews  really  did  attach  the  idea  of  regeneration  to 
baptism  in  th(!  case  of  conv(;rts,  as  observed  by  Cal- 
met,  in  the  early  part  of  this  article,  is  well  known 
from  Maimonides,  and  other  rab])ins:  and  the  resem- 
blance between  regnirration,  i;n])nrting  a  renewal  of 
life,  and  resurrertion,  imporlln;,'  also  a  renewal  of  life, 
is  so  close,  that  they  migiit  almost  be  considered  as 
two  words  expressing  the  sanio  thing;  and,  probably, 
they  were  so  used  among  the  .lews. 

[This  passage  respecting  hnpllum  for  the  dead  (1 
Cor.  XV.  29.)  has  been  a  stumbling-hlock  to  interpret- 
ers in  eveiy  age.  Neither  of  the  explanations  above 
given  is  satisfactory ;  and  it  may  not,  thert>fore,  be 
uninteresting  to  the  reader,  to  have  the  subject  pm'- 
su;"<l  to  a  greater  extent.     In  doing  this,  the  writer 


is  happy  in  being  able  to  avail  himself  of  manuscript 
notes  of  lectures  delivered  on  this  epistle  by  the 
learned  and  pious  professor  Neander  of  Berlin  ;  and, 
more  particularly,  the  judgments  passed  upon  the 
testimony  of  the  fathers  in  the  following  paragraphs, 
rest  upon  his  authority. 

The  most  ancient  interpretation  which  we  have  of 
the  passage,  follows  the  simple  and  literal  meaiiing  of 
the  words:  ^ianriita-S-at  mio  rixq<T,y,  to  be  baptized,  for, 
instead  of,  the  dead.  In  this  it  is  assumed,  that  at  the 
time  when  Paul  wrote,  many  Christians  had  con- 
ceived superstitious  notions  in  respect  to  the  efficacy 
of  the  external  rite  of  baptism ;  they  supposed  that 
those  catechumens  and  others  who  died  without  bap- 
tism, were  exposed  to  certain  damnation  ;  and  there- 
fore they  had  adopted  a  vicarious  mode  by  which 
they  might  still  receive  the  benefit  of  the  rite,  viz.  the 
relatives  or  friends  of  such  deceased  persons  were 
baptized  in  their  stead.  Paid  (it  is  admitted)  cannot 
of  coin-se  assent  to  such  a  superstition  ;  but  he  argues 
here  only  ad  hominem,  or  ex  concessis ;  i.  e.  "  this  very 
superstition  shows,  how  deeply  the  belief  in  a  resiu'- 
rection  is  grounded  in  the  very  nature  of  man."  Ter- 
tullian  (as  quoted  above)  remarks,  that  this  superstition 
would  be  something  entirely  heathenish  ;  and  he 
compares  it  with  the  lustrations  of  the  heathen  for 
the  dead  on  the  first  of  February.  This  interpreta- 
tion is  also  found  in  the  commentary  of  Hilarius. — 
There  are,  indeed,  many  things  to  be  said  in  favor  of 
the  supposition  of  the  existence  of  such  a  supersti- 
tion ;  but  the  passage  of  Tertidlian  cannot  properly 
be  thus  applied  ;  because  he  conies  to  this  conclusion 
only  through  an  exegetical  inference.  Epiphaniiis 
is  of  opinion,  that  among  the  sect  of  Cerinthus  the 
usage  was  prevalent,  that  living  persons  were  baptized 
in  place  of  the  dead ;  and  he  appeals  to  an  ancient 
tradition,  which  related  that  Paul  had  condemncfl 
such  a  superstition.  But  the  accounts  which  are 
given  by  Epiphanius  are  to  be  received  with  giTat 
caution  and  sus])icion.  Chrysostom  also  relates  of 
the  Marcionites  the  story  which  has  been  already 
quoted  above.  But  in  respect  to  this  alleged  custom 
of  the  Marcionites,  it  may  be  said,  that  it  is  not  so  old 
as  the  sect  of  Marcion.  At  least,  the  customs  which 
were  prevalent  among  the  Marcionites  of  Chrysos- 
tom's  day,  and  in  Syria,  camiot  justly  be  charged 
upon  Marcion  himself  and  his  inmiediate  disciples. 
The  whole  rests  upon  conjecture  ;  and  this,  so  far  as 
it  concerns  the  a])ostolic  age,  is  improbable.  Indeed, 
the  probability  is,  that  the  Marcionites  would  never 
have  introduced  such  a  custom,  had  it  not  been  for 
their  misa))prehension  of  this  passage  of  the  apostle. 
But  even  if  there  was  actually  such  a  sujierstitious 
custom  extant,  we  are  by  no  means  entitled  to  as- 
sume, that  Paul  would  feel  himself  warranted  to 
deduce  from  it  an  argument  in  favor  of  the  resurrec- 
tion. A  practice  so  sui)crstitious  ajid  unchristian 
Paul  would  never  have  alluded  to,  without  con- 
denuiing  and  coiUesting  it.  Besides,  it  is  quite  ini- 
pro!)al)le,  that  at  so  early  a  period  there  was  any  such 
a  class  of  persons  as  c;itechumens. 

Another  intcrpretalion,  ado])ted  by  many,  takes 
the  word  baptize  in  its  literal  sense;  but  gives  to 
v.Tln  the  sense_/()7'  the  sake  of,  and  supposes  tlu;  j)lural 
ytxno:v  to  \)i'.  j)ut  by  enallage  for  the  singular  u^oor. 
Then  the  sense  is,  "  What  do  they,  who  ai'c  baptized 
for  the  dead  ?"  i.  e.  for  the  sake  oi"  Christ,  the  cruci- 
fied Saviotn-.  The  argmnent  would  here  be  good  ;  but 
the  use  of  r/itii  would  i)e  unusual,  since  it  must  then 
mean  in  faith  on  a  deceased  Jesus.  But  the  use  of 
the  plural  for  the  singular  is  here  inadmissible ;  both 


BAPTISM 


[  147  1 


BAR 


on  account  of  the  great  heirshness,  and  particularly 

because  of  tlje  followiug  plural  pronoun  at  ro">) . 

It  has  also  been  proposed  to  take  '  (ty  in  the  sense 
of  over,  "  to  baptize  over  the  dead  ;"  i.  e.  either  upon 
the  graves  of  Christian  martyrs,  or  by  the  deathbeds 
of  expiring  Cln-istians.  But  there  is  no  evidence  of 
the  existence  of  any  such  custom  ;  nor  would  there 
be  any  force  whatever  in  such  an  argument.  It 
could,  at  most,  be  only  as  before,  an  argumentum  ad 
homine^n. 

Tlierc  remain,  however,  two  modes  of  explanation 
here,  both  of  Avhicli  are  natural,  and  give  an  easy  and 
satisfactory  sense.  It  is  perhaps  more  a  matter  of 
taste  tlian  of  argument,  wliich  of  the  two  is  to  be 
l)referred. 

The  one  method  sets  out  from  the  literal  and  perhaps 
original  meaning  of  the  word  ('Ju.t  r/l'f  n,  to  immerse,  im- 
vierge,  i.  e.  so  as  to  be  entirely  sunk  or  immersed  in  any 
thing.  Thus  in  Isa.  xxi.  4.  instead  of  "  tearfulness 
aflrighted  me,"  the  Septuagint  reads,  "iniquity  bap- 
tized me,"  i.  e.  overwhelmed  me,  so  that  I  was 
wholly  immersed  in  it.  Hence,  also,  metaphorically, 
^ia.rTitiaSat,  to  be  immersed  in  calamities ;  as  in  Matt. 
XX.  22,  and  3Iark  x.  38,  "  Can  ye  be  baptized  with  the 
baptism  that  I  am  baptized  with  ?"  and  also  Luke 
xii.  50,  "  I  have  a  baptism  to  be  baptized  with  ;  and 
how  am  I  straitened  till  it  be  accomplished !"  So 
also  Josephus,  (B.  J.  iv.  3.  3.)  in  speaking  of  bands 
of  robbers  who  had  crept  into  Jerusalem,  which  was 
then  defenceless,  says,  voTfoov  iiu.iriaur  tm  .7i'.w>', 
"afterwards  they  baptized  the  city,"  i.  e.  filled  it  v/ith 
confusion  and  suffering,  immersed  it  in  calamities. 
This  meaning  now  furnishes  a  very  appropriate  sense 
in  the  passage  in  question.  The  argument  of  the 
apostle  then  is:  "If  the  dead  rise  not  at  all,  of  Avhat 
avail  is  it  to  expose  oui-selves  to  so  many  dangers  and 
calamities  in  the  hope  of  a  resurrection  and  future 
reward  ?  in  the  hope  that  we  shall  rise  again  and 
enter  into  rest  ?  since,  if  the  supposition  be  true,  we 
are  oi  ny.Qoi,  dead,  and  are  never  to  rise."  Compare 
verses  30  and  31,  where  xirSwivw,  to  be  in  jeopardy, 
and  a.io9ri[oy.v),  to  die,  are  substituted  for  liuririCtn,  to 
baptize ;  compare  also  the  use  of  the  word  dead  in 
Luke  XX.  38. 

The  objections  which  may  be  suggested  to  this 
interpretation,  are  the  following :  (1.)  The  word  baj)- 
tize  is  thus  taken  here  in  a  figurative  signification, 
while  there  is  in  fact  nothing  which  requires  it  to  be 
so  taken.  (2.)  It  is  remarkable,  that  Paul  should 
here  use  baptize  twice  in  this  sense,  instead  of  using 
some  other  word, — especially  as  he  re])eats  no  other 
word  in  the  same  manner.  (3.)  The  baptizing  in  v. 
29  seems  to  be  something  common  to  all  Christians ; 
whereas  the  dangers  spoken  of  in  v.  30,  etc.  are 
tliose  of  Paul  himself,  or,  at  most,  those  of  the 
preachers  of  Christianity. 

The  other  remaining  method  retains  the  literal  and 
usual  sense  of  baptize,  as  designating  the  oi-dinaiy 
religious  rite ;  and  gi-ounds  itself  particularly  on  the 
circumstance,  that  in  the  previous  verses,  as  well  as 
elsewhere,  Paul  makes  the  relation  between  the 
resurrection  of  Christ  and  the  resurrection  of  believ- 
ers an  object  of  great  prominency.  "  They  are  buried 
with  him  in  baptism  unto  death ;  wherein  also  they 
are  risen  with  him  unto  newness  of  life,"  etc.  Rom. 
vi.  4  ;  Col.  ii.  12.  Bajjtism,  therefore,  is  to  them  not 
only  the  symbol  of  a  present  resurrection  to  a  new 
life,  but  also  the  symbol  of  a  |)articij)ation  in  the 
future  resurrection.  Keeping  this  idea  in  view,  the 
question  very  nattjrally  and  cogently  arises:  "If  th^ 
(io;i(l  rise  not,  wlmt  do  they  who  are  baptized  for  the 


dead .»"  i.  e.  who  are  baptized  into  a  belief  in  Christ 
and  a  resurrection,  and  into  the  hope  of  partici- 
pating in  that  resurrection,  while  yet  they  are  never 
to  rise  again,  but  for  ever  to  remain  dead.  Why  are 
they  baptized  into  a  belief,  in  which,  after  all,  they 
do  not  beUeve  ?  What  means  such  baptism  as  this  ? 
and  what  is  the  benefit  of  it  either  here  or  hereafter .' 

The  objections  to  be  suggested  here  are :  (1.)  That 
the  argument  of  the  apostle  is  thus  reduced  ad  homi- 
7iem,  though  more  extensive  and  stronger  than  in  the 
cases  above  considered.  (2.)  That  the  transition 
from  verse  29  to  verse  30  is  thus  rendered  quite  ab- 
rupt and  unusual. 

It  shoidd  be  remarked,  that  verse  29  is  to  be  taken 
in  immediate  connection  with  verse  19 ;  the  inter- 
vening nine  verses  being  a  digression  or  parenthesis. 
Taking  into  view  this  connection  of  verse  29  with 
both  the  verses  19  and  30,  the  writer  has  ever  been 
inclined  to  prefer  the  former  of  these  two  interpreta- 
tions ;  since  in  this  way  verse  29  forms  with  those 
two  verses  a  continuous  whole,  in  which  the  idea  of 
calamity  and  danger  is  dwelt  upon  throughout ;  while 
in  the  other  mode,  a  new  and  less  forcible  appeal  is 
interposed  between  the  two  parts  of  one  and  the 
same  argument  expressed  in  verses  19  and  30.  The 
excellent  ?\^eander  inclines  to  the  latter  method ; 
which  is  also  that  of  Wetstein.     *R. 

BARABBAS,  a  remarkable  thief,  guilty  also  of 
sedition  and  murder ;  jet  preferred  before  Jesus 
Christ,  by  the  Jews,  John  xviii.  40.  Origen  says, 
that  in  many  copies,  Barabbas  was  called  Jesus 
likewise.  The  Armenian  has  the  same  reading : 
"Whom  will  ye  that  I  deliver  unto  you  ;  Jesus  Ba- 
rabbas, or  Jesus  who  is  called  Christ  ?"  This  gives 
an  additional  spirit  to  the  history  ;  and  well  deserves 
notice. 

BARACHIAS,  father  of  Zechariah,  mentioned 
Matt,  xxiii.  35.  [There  are  two  persons  to  whom 
this  name  is  referred  with  greater  or  less  probability 
by  commentators ;  since  there  are  two  Zechariahs 
mentioned  in  history  as  having  been  slain  by  the 
people  in  the  midst  of  the  temple.  The  first  is 
Zechariah  the  sou  of  Jehoiada,  mentioned  in  2  Chron. 
xxiv.  20,  seq.  as  having  been  slain  in  the  court  of  the 
temple  by  the  command  of  king  Joash.  If  this  was 
the  Zechariah  intended  by  Jesus,  then  his  father  must 
have  borne  two  names ;  a  thing  not  uncommon 
among  the  Jews.  The  other  is  Zechai-iah  the  son 
of  Baruch,  mentioned  by  Josephus  (B.  J.  iv.  G.  4.) 
as  having  been  slain  by  the  zealots  in  the  midst 
of  the  temple,  just  before  the  taking  of  Jerusalem. 
The  name  Baruch,  and  the  circumstances,  correspond 
here  entirely ;  but  the  difficulty  lies  in  the  fact,  that 
this  Zechariah  was  not  thus  murdered  until  long 
aflcr  the  death  of  Christ,  who  must  then  have  spoken 
prophetically,  whereas  he  evidently  appears  to  speak 
only  of  the  past.  To  avoid  this  difficulty,  which  is 
the  only  one,  some,  as  Hug,  (Einl.  ii.  p.  10.)  have 
supposed  that  Jesus  did  in  I'act  sjjeak  {prophetically 
ajid  prospectively ;  but  that  when  Matthew  penned 
his  Gospel,  after  the  event  thus  predicted  had  actu- 
ally taken  place,  he  chose  to  make  the  Saviour  em- 
ploy an  aorist  instead  of  a  fiiture  tense  in  respect  to 
it ;  in  order  to  call  the  atttntiou  of  his  rcatlers  to  it 
as  an  historical  fact,  rather  than  as  a  prophetical  allu- 
sion.   R. 

BARAK,  the  son  of  Abinoam,  who  was  chosen 
by  God  to  deliver  the  Hebrews  from  that  bondage 
under  which  tiiey  were  lield  by  Jabin,  king  of  the 
Canaanites,  Judg.  iv.  4.  He 'refused  to  obey  the 
Lord's   orders,   signified   to   him   by  Deborah,   the 


BAR 


[  148  ] 


BAR 


prophetess,  unless  she  consented  to  go  with  him. 
Deborah,  therefore,  accompanied  him  towards  Ke- 
desh  of  Naphtah  ;  and  having  assembled  10,000  men, 
they  advanced  to  mount  Tabor.  Sisera,  being  in- 
formed of  this  movement,  marched  with  900  chariots 
of  war,  and  encamped  near  the  river  Kishon ;  but 
Barak  rapidly  descending  from  mount  Tabor,  and 
the  Lord  having  spread  terror  through  Sisera's  army, 
a  complete  victory  was  easily  obtained.  Sisera  was 
killed  by  Jael,  and  Barak  and  Deborah  composed  a 
hymn  of  thanksgiving.     See  Deborah. 

BARBARIAN,  a  word  used  by  the  HcbreAVS  to 
denote  a  stranger ;  one  who  knows  neither  the  holy 
language  nor  the  law.  According  to  the  Greeks,  all 
other  nations,  however  learned  or  polite  they  might 
be  in  themselves  and  in  their  manners,  were  barba- 
rians. Hence  Paul  comprehends  all  mankind  under 
the  names  of  Greeks  and  barbarians,  (Rom.  i.  14.) 
and  Luke  calls  the  inhabitants  of  the  island  of  Malta, 
barbarians.  Acts  xxviii.  2,  4.  In  1  Cor.  xiv.  11.  the 
apostle  says,  that  if  he  who  speaks  a  foreign  language 
in  an  assembh',  be  not  understood  by  those  to  whom 
he  discourses,  with  respect  to  them  he  is  a  barbarian  ; 
and,  reciprocall}',  if  he  understand  not  those  who 
speak  to  hitn,  thej'  are  to  him  barbarians.  Barbarian, 
therefore,  is  used  in  Scri])turc  for  every  stranger,  or 
foreigner,  who  does  not  speak  our  native  language, 
and  includes  no  implication  whatever  of  savage  nature 
or  manners  in  tliose  respecting  whom  it  is  used. 

BAR-CHOCHEBA,  or  Chochebas,  or  Chochi- 
Bus,  a  famous  impostor.  It  is  said,  he  assumed  the 
name  of  Bar-Choclieba,  that  is.  Son  of  the  Star,  from 
the  words  of  Balaam,  Avhich  he  applied  to  himself  as 
the  Messiah:  "There  shall  come  a  star  [cocdb)  out 
of  Jacob,  and  a  sceptre  out  of  Israel."  Bar-Chochelm 
engaged  the  Jews  to  revolt,  (A.  D.  136,)  under  the 
reign  of  Adrian,  who  sent  Julius  Severus  against 
him.  The  Roman  shut  him  up  in  Bether,  the  siege 
of  which  Wiis  long  and  obstinate.  The  town,  how- 
ever, was  at  length  taken,  and  the  war  tinished.  Bar- 
Chocheba  perished,  and  the  nndtitude  of  Jews  put 
to  death,  or  sold  during  the  war,  and  in  consequence 
of  it,  was  almost  innumerable.  After  this,  Adrian 
published  an  edict,  forbidding  the  Jews,  on  ])ain  of 
death,  to  visit  Jerusalem  ;  and  guards  were  placed  at 
the  gates,  to  prevent  their  entering.  The  rebellion 
of  Bar-Chocheba  happened  A.  D.136,  in  the  19th 
year  of  Adrian. 

BAR-JESUS,  a  Jewish  magician  in  the  isle  of 
Crete,  Acts  xiii.  (i.  Luke  calls  him  Elymas,  which 
in  Arabic  is,  the  sorcerer.  He  was  with  the  procon- 
sul, Sergius  Paulns,  who,  sending  for  Paul  and  Bar- 
nabas, desired  to  hear  the  word  of  God.  Bar-Jesus 
endeavoring  to  hinder  the  proconsul  from  embracing 
Christianity,  Paul,  filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost,  said, 
"Thou  enemy  of  all  righteousness,  wilt  thou  not 
cease  to  pervert  the  ways  of  the  Lord  ?  Behold,  the 
hand  of  the  Lord  is  upon  thee,  and  thou  sjialt  be  blind, 
not  seeing  the  sun,  for  a  season;"  which  took  place 
immediately.  The  proconsul  was  converted,  and 
Origen  and  (Jhrysostom  s\ippose,  that  Elyinas  was 
also  converted,  and  that  Paul  restored  his  sight. 

BAR-JONA,  a  name  by  which  onr  Saviour  some- 
limes  calls  Peter;  (Matt.  xvi.  17.)  i.  q.  son  of  Jonah. 

B.\RIS,  the  name  of  a  j)alace  begun  by  John  Hir- 
canus,  on  the  mountain  of  the  tejni)le;'and  which 
afterwards  was  used  for  the  residence  of  the  Asmo- 
naean  princes.  Herod  the  Great  made  a  citadel  of  it, 
which  he  called  Antonia,  in  honor  of  his  friend  Mark 
Antony.     See  Axtoma. 

BARI^EY.     In  Palestine,  barley  was  sown  in  au- 


tumn, and  reaped  in  spring,  that  is,  at  the  passover. 
The  rabbins  sometimes  called  barley  the  food  of 
beasts,  because  they  fed  their  cattle  with  it,  1  Kings 
iv.  28.  In  Homer,  we  find  barley  always  given  to 
horses.  Herodotus  tells  us,  that  the  Egyptians  ate 
neither  wheat  nor  barley,  using  a  particular  sort  of 
corn  instead  of  them.  Nevertheless,  the  Hebrews 
frequently  used  barley  bread,  2  Sam.  xvii.  28.  Da- 
vid's friends  brought  him  in  his  flight,  wheat,  barley, 
&c.  and  Solomon  sent  wheat,  barley,  wine,  and  oil, 
to  the  servants  whom  king  Hiram  had  furnished 
him,  for  the  works  at  Libanus,  2  Chron.  ii.  15.  See 
also  John  vi.  9 ;  2  Kings  iv.  42. 

Moses  remarks,  that  when  the  hail  fell  in  Egypt, 
the  flax  and  the  barley  were  bruised  and  destroyed, 
because  the  flax  was  full  grown,  and  the  barley  form- 
ing its  gi-een  ears ;  but  the  wheat  and  the  rye  were 
not  damaged,  because  they  were  only  in  the  blade, 
Gen.  ix.  31.  This  was  some  days  before  the  depart- 
ure of  the  Israelites  out  of  Egypt ;  or  b-efore  the 
passover.  In  Egypt,  barley  harvest  does  not  begin 
till  toward  the  end  of  April. 

BARNABAS,  Joseph,  or  Joses,  a  disciple  of  Je- 
sus, and  a  companion  of  the  apostle  Paul.  He  was 
a  Levite,  and  a  native  of  the  isle  of  Cyprus,  and  is 
believed  to  have  sold  all  his  property,  and  laid  the 
price  of  it  at  the  apostles'  feet.  Acts  iv.  36.  It  is  said 
he  was  brought  up  with  Paul  at  the  feet  of  Gamaliel. 
When  that  apostle  came  to  Jerusalem,  three  years 
after  his  conversion,  Barnabas  introduced  him  to  the 
other  apostles,  Acts  ix.  26,  27.  about  A.  D.  37.  Five 
years  afterwards,  the  church  at  Jerusalem,  being  in- 
formed of  the  jirogress  of  the  gospel  at  Antioch,  sent 
Barnabas  thither,  who  beheld  Avith  great  joy  the 
wonders  of  the  grace  of  God,  Acts  xi.  22,  24.  He 
exhorted  the  faithful  to  jjerseverance,  and  some  time 
afterwards  went  to  Tarsus,  to  seek  Paul,  and  bring 
him  to  Antioch,  where  they  dwelt  together  two  years, 
and  converted  great  numbers.  They  left  Antioch, 
A.  D.  44,  to  convey  alms  from  this  church  to  that  at 
Jerusalem,  and  at  their  return  they  brought  John 
Mark,  Barnabas's  cousin,  or  nephew.  While  they 
were  at  Antioch,  the  Holy  Ghost  directed  that  they 
should  be  separated  for  those  labors  to  which  he  had 
appointed  them  ;  i.  e.  the  planting  of  new  churches 
among  the  Gentiles.  After  three  years  they  returned 
to  Antioch.  In  their  second  journey  into  Asia  Mi- 
nor, Barnabas,  at  Lystra,  was  taken  for  Jupiter,  but 
was  afterwards  persecuted  by  the  same  peojjle.  In 
A.  D.  51,  he  and  Paul  were  appointed  delegates  from 
the  Syrian  church  to  Jerusalem,  and  '.hen  to  carry 
the  apostolic  decrees  to  the  Gentile  cluirches.  At 
Antioch  he  was  led  into  dissimulation  by  Peter,  and 
was,  in  consequence,  reproved  by  Paul.  In  their 
return  to  Asia  Elinor,  Paul  and  Barnabas  having  a 
dispute  relative  to  Mark,  Barnabas's  ncphcAv,  they 
separated.  Paid  going  to  Asia,  and  Barnabas,  wth 
Mark,  to  Cyprus,  Acts  xiii — xv ;  Gal.  ii.  13.  A 
spurious  gospel  and  ejjistle  an;  ascribed  to  Barnabas. 
See  Fabn  Cod.  Apoc.  N.  T. 

BARRENNESS,  sterility,  want  of  issue  or  fruit, 
Gen.  xi.  30;  2  Kings  ii.  19,  21.  Barrenness  is  ac- 
coiuited  a  great  misfortune  among  the  eastern  people  ; 
and  was  esj)ecially  so  among  the  Jews.  Professore 
of  Christianity  are,  figuratively,  said  to  be  barren, 
when  they  are  destitute  of  the  fruits  of  the  Spirit, 
or  do  not  abound  in  good  works,  Luke  xiii.  6 — 9;  2 
Pet.  i.  8. 

In  the  description  of  Jericho,  2  Kings  ii.  19.  we 
read  in  the  Phiglish  version  as  follows:  The  men  of 
Jericho  said  to  Elisba,  "  Behold,  T  pray  thee,  the  situ- 


BARRENNESS 


[  149 


BARRENNESS 


atiou  of  this  city  is  pleasant,  as  my  lord  seeth  ;  but  the 
water  is  naught,  and  the  ground  barren ;" — where 
the  margin  reads,  "  causing  to  miscarnj,"  Our  trans- 
lators seem  to  have  been  startled  at  such  a  property 
in  the  ground ;  and,  therefore,  placed  the  literal 
rendering  in  the  margin.  Again,  (v.  21.)  "  Thus 
saith  the  Lord,  I  have  healed  these  waters :  there 
shall  not  be  from  thence  any  more  death,  or  barren 
land" — literally,  aboHion.  The  import  of  the  root  of 
the  word  here  translated  barren  (nS3!:'c)  is,  to  bereave, 
as  of  children :  (Gen.  xlii.  8G.) — to  lose,  as  by  abor- 
tion ;  to  miscarry;  (Gen.  xxxi.  38.)  "thy  she-goats 
have  not  cast  their  young."  It  is  here  in  Piel,  and 
has  a  causative  sense,  to  cause  abortion.  This  is  here 
ascribed  to  the  soil ;  though  in  verse  21  it  is  imphed 
that  the  water  was  the  cause  ;  since  that  being  healed, 
the  cause  of  aboilion  ceased.  It  cannot  well  refer 
here  to  any  effect  upon  natural  productions ;  because 
Jericho  was  celebrated  for  its  fertility,  is  pronounced 
pleasant,  and  is  called  "the  city  of  palm-trees,"  2 
Chron.  xxviii.  15.  We  must  rather,  therefore,  refer 
it  to  a  destructive  influence  on  animal  life,  arising 
partly,  jjcrhaps,  from  the  drinking  of  the  water,  and 
partly  from  the  eftects  of  the  water  upon  the  adjacent 
ti'act  of  country. 

Nor  is  this  an  isolated  case ;  nor  is  it  peculiar  to 
Jericho  alone.  Even  at  the  present  day  there  are 
cities  in  the  same  predicament  as  that  in  which  Jeri- 
cho was;  namely,  where  animal  life  of  certain  sorts, 
p.iues,  and  decays,  and  dies ;  cities  where  that  pos- 
terity which  should  replace  the  current  mortality,  is 
either  not  conceived,  or  if  conceived,  is  not  brought 
to  the  birth,  or  if  brought  to  the  birth,  is  fatal  in  de- 
livery, both  to  the  mother  and  her  otispring.  That 
this  is  the  case  appears  from  the  following  relations: 
"The  inclemency  of  the  climate  of  Porto  Bello  is 
sufficiently  known  all  over  Europe  ;  not  only  strangers 
who  come  thither  are  affected  by  it,  but  even  the 
natives  themselves  suffer  in  various  manners.  It 
destroys  the  vigor  of  nature,  and  often  untimely  cuts 
the  thread  of  life.  It  is  a  current  opinion,  that  for- 
merly, and  even  not  above  twenty  years  since,  partu- 
rition was  here  so  dangerous,  that  it  was  seldom  any 
woman  did  not  die  in  child-bed.  As  soon,  therefore, 
as  they  had  advanced  three  or  four  months  in  their 
pregnancy,  they  were  sent  to  Panama,  where  they 
continued  till  the  danger  of  delivery  was  past.  A 
few,  indeed,  had  the  tirrnness  to  wait  their  destiny 
in  their  own  houses;  but  much  the  greater  number 
thought  it  more  advisable  to  undertake  the  journey, 
than  to  run  so  great  a  hazard  of  their  lives.  The 
excessive  lo\e  which  a  lady  had  for  her  husband, 
blended  with  the  dread  that  he  would  forget  her 
during  her  absence,  his  emi)loyment  not  permitting 
him  to  accompany  her  to  Panama,  determined  her  to 
set  the  first  example  of  acting  contrary  to  their  gen- 
eral custom.  The  reasons  for  her  fear  were  sufficient 
to  justify  her  resolution  to  run  the  risk  of  a  probable 
danger,  in  order  to  avoid  an  evil  which  she  knew  to 
be  certain,  and  must  have  cml)ittered  the  whole  re- 
mainder of  her  life.  The  event  was  hap|)y ;  she 
was  delivered,  and  recovered  her  former  health  ;  anil 
the  example  of  a  lady  of  her  rank,  did  not  fail  of  in- 
spiring others  with  the  like  courage,  though  not 
founded  on  the  same  reasons;  till,  by  degrees,  the 
di-ead  which  former  melancholy  cases  had  impressed 
on  the  mind,  and  which  gave  occa-^iion  to  this  climate's 
being  [reported]  fatal  to  pregnant  women,  was  entirely 
dispersed.  Another  opinion,  equally  strange,  is,  that 
the  animals  from  other  climates,  on  their  being 
brought  to   Porto   Bello,  cease   to   procreate.     The 


inhabitants  brhig  instances  of  hens,  brought  from 
Panama  or  Carthagena,  which,  immediately  on  their 
arrival,  grew  barren,  and  laid  no  more  eggs;  and 
even  at  this  time  the  horned  cattle  sent  from  Panama, 
after  they  have  been  here  a  short  time,  lose  their 
flesh  in  such  a  manner  as  not  to  be  eatable,  though 
they  do  not  want  for  plenty  of  good  pasture.  It  is 
certain,  that  there  are  no  horses  or  asses  bred  here  ; 
which  tends  to  confirm  the  opinion,  that  this  climate 
checks  the  generation  of  creatures  produced  in  a  more 
benign  or  less  noxious  air.  However,  not  to  rely  on 
the  common  opinion,  we  inquired  of  some  intelligent 
persons,  who  differed  but  very  little  from  the  vulgar ; 
and  even  confirmed  what  they  asserted,  by  many 
known  facts  and  experiments,  performed  by  them- 
selves."    Don  Ulloa,  Voy.  S.  Anier.  vol.  i.  p.  93. 

This  seems  to  be  a  clear  instance  of  a  circumstance 
very  similar  to  the  genuine  import  of  the  Hebrew 
word,  "causing  to  miscarry,"  and  of  the  circum- 
stances attending  it.  How  far  the  situation  of  Porto 
Bello  and  of  Jei-icho  might  be  similar,  Ave  need  not 
inquire ;  nor  whether  Don  Ulloa  be  correct  in  re- 
garding the  air  as  the  cause  of  this  peculiarity. 

A  second  extract  is  from  Sir.  Bruce's  Travels, 
(vol.  iv.  p.  469,  471,  472.) — "No  horse,  mule,  ass,  or 
any  beast  of  burden,  will  breed,  or  even  live,  at  Sen- 
naar,  or  many  miles  about  it.  Poultiy  does  not  live 
there ;  neither  dog  nor  cat,  slieep  nor  bidlock,  can 
be  preserved  a  season  there.  They  must  go,  every 
half  year,  to  the  sands ;  though  all  possible  care  be 
taken  of  them,  they  die  in  every  place  where  the  fat 
earth  is  about  the  town,  during  the  first  season  of  the 
rains.  Two  greyhounds  which  I  brought  from  At- 
bara,  and  the  nudes  which  I  brought  from  Abyssinia, 
lived  onlj'  a  few  weeks  after  I  an-ived.  They  seemed 
to  have  an  inward  complaint,  for  nothing  appeared 
outwardly ;  the  dogs  had  abundance  of  water,  but  I 
killed  one  of  them  from  apprehension  of  madness. 
Several  kings  have  tried  to  keep  lions ;  but  no  care 
could  prolong  their  lives  beyond  the  first  rains. 
Shekh  Adelan  had  two,  which  were  in  great  health, 
being  kept  with  his  horses  at  grass  in  the  sands,  but 
three  miles  from  Sennaar.  Neither  rose,  nor  any 
species  of  jessamine,  grows  here ;  no  tree,  but  the 
lemon,  flowers  near  the  city,  that  I  ever  saw :  the 
rose  has  been  often  tried,  but  in  vain.  The  soil  of 
Sennaar,  as  I  have  already  said,  is  very  unfavorable 
both  to  man  and  beast,  and  particularly  adverse  to 
their  i)ropagation.  This  seems  to  me  to  be  owing 
to  some  noxious  quali.ry  of  the  fat  earth  with  which 
it  is  every  way  surrounded,  and  nothing  may  be  de- 
pended u}>on  more  surely  than  the  fact  already  men- 
tioned, that  no  marc,  or  other  beast  of  burden,  ever 
foaled  in  tlie  town,  or  in  any  village  within  several 
miles  round  it.  This  remarkable  quality  ceases  upon 
removing  from  the  fi'rtile  country  to  the  sands.  Aira, 
between  three  and  four  miles  off  Sennaar,  with  no 
water  near  it  but  the  Nile,  surrounded  with  white 
barren  sand,  agrees  perfectly  with  all  animals,  and 
here  are  the  (juarters  Avhere  I  saw  Shekh  Adelan  the 
minister's  horse,  (as  I  suppose  for  their  numbers,)  by 
tar  tlie  finest  in  the  world ;  where  in  safety  he 
watched  the  motions  of  his  sovereign,  who,  shut  up 
in  his  capital  of  Sennjiar,  could  not  there  maiiUain 
one  hors(?  to  oppose  him.  But,  however  unfavorable 
this  soil  may  be  for  the  propagation  of  animals,  it 
contributes  very  abundantly  both  to  the  nourishment 
of  man  and  beast.  It  is  positively  said  to  render 
three  hundred  for  one,  [see  Gen.  xxvi.  12.]  which, 
however  confidently  advanced,  is,  I  think,  both  from 
reason  and  ap])earance,  a  great  exaggeration.     It  is 


BAR 


150  ] 


BAR 


all  sown  with  dora  or  millet,  the  principal  food  of 
the  natives.  It  produces  also  Avheat  and  rice,  but 
these,  at  Sennaar,  are  sold  by  the  pound,  even  in  yeai-s 
of  plenty.  The  salt  made  use  of  at  Sennaar  is  all 
extracted  from  the  earth  al)out  it,  especially  at  Hal- 
faia,  so  strongly  is  the  soil  impregnated  with  this 
useful  fossil." 

This  instance  presents  a  city,  a  royal  city,  in  some 
respects  very  fertile,  which,  nevertheless,  in  other 
respects,  reminds  us  of  Jericho  :  like  that  city,  it  was 
pleasant,  but  adverse  to  propagation ;  and  this  Mr. 
Bruce  atti'ibutes  to  the  nature  of  the  earth,  or  soil 
around  it.  We  find  also  this  eftect  ceasmg  at  a  small 
distance,  which  deserves  notice ;  because  it  is  very 
possible,  that  this  property  of  the  soil  was  the  means, 
in  the  hand  of  Providence,  to  accomplisli  the  predic- 
tion of  Joshua,  respecting  the  rebuilding  of  Jericho, 
Josh.  vi.  26.     See  Abiram. 

I.  BARS  ABAS,  (Joseph,)  suruamed  The  Just,  was 
au  early  disciple  of  Jesus  Christ,  and,  probably, 
among  the  seventy.  Acts  i.  21,  22,  &c.  x'ifter  the 
ascension  of  our  Saviour,  Peter  proposed  to  fill  up 
the  place  of  Judas,  the  traitor,  by  one  of  those  dis- 
ciples who  had  been  constant  eye-witnesses  of  our 
Saviour's  actions.  Two  pereons  were  selected,  Bar- 
sabas  and  Matthias  ;  the  lot  determined  for  Matthias. 

II.  BARSABAS,  (Judas,)  one  of  the  principal 
disciples,  (Acts  .xv.  22,  et  seq.)  who,  with  others,  was 
sent  from  Jerusalem  to  Autioch,  can-jing  a  letter 
with  the  council's  decree. 

BARTHOLOMEW,  one  of  the  twelve  apostles, 
was  of  Galilee ;  (Acts  i.  13.)  but  we  know  Uttle  of 
him.  It  is  generally  believed  that  he  preached  the 
gospel  iu  the  Indies ;  (Euseb.  lib.  v.  cap.  10.)  and 
that  he  carried  thither  the  Gospel  of  Matthew,  in 
Hebrew,  where  Pantenus  found  a  copy  of  it  a  him- 
dred  j'cars  after.  We  are  told,  likewise,  that  he 
preached  iu  Arabia  Felix,  and  Persia,  which  he 
iTiiglit  do,  in  passing  through  those  countries  to  In- 
(Ua.  Many  are  of  opinion,  that  Nathanael  and  Bar- 
tholomew are  the  same  person ;  and  they  support 
this  opinion  by  these  rea'<ous: — (1.)  No  notice  is 
taken  of  Bartholomew's  caUing,  unless  his  and  A^a- 
thanael's  lie  the  same.  (2.)  The  evangelists  who 
speak  of  Bartholomew,  say  nothing  of  Nathanael ; 
and  John,  who  speaks  of  Nathanael,  says  nothing  of 
BarlholonioW.  (8.)  Bartholomew  is  not  a  proper 
name ;  it  signifies  son  of  Tolmai,  i.  e.  Ptolemij,  be- 
sides which  he  might  be  named  Nathanael,  i.  e.  Na- 
thaniel, .son  of  Ptolemy.  (4.)  John  seems  to  rank 
Nathanael  among  the  apostles,  when  he  says,  that 
Peter,  Thomas,  the  two  sons  of  Zebedee,  Nathanael, 
and  two  other  disciples,  being  gone  a  fishing,  Jesus 
Hho'.v:  d  himself  to  them,  John  xxi.  2. 

'i'he  Syrian  writers,  who  are  of  this  opinion,  call 
him  "  Nathanael-bar-Tholemy,"  and  "  Nathanael- 
ebji-Tholemy."  They  say  he  accompanied  his 
brother-aposrle,  Thomas,  into  the  East;  that  they 
preached  at  Nisibis,  Mosul,  (or  Nineveh,)  Hazath, 
and  in  Persia ;  that  Thomas  went  on  to  India :  but 
we  do  not  ])crceive  that  they  generally  affirm  the 
same  of  Bartholomew.  Yet  Amrus,  a  Syriac  aythor, 
quoted  by  Asscmanni,  writes,  that  "Nathanael-ebn- 
Tholemy,  the  disciple  of  Thomas,  (rather  fellow-dis- 
ciple witii  Thomas,)  and  Lel)l>eus,  of  the  twelve, 
with  Addeus,  (or  Tliaddcus,)  Marus,  and  Agheus, 
who  had  been  of  the  seventy,  tauglit  Nisibis,  al- 
Gzeirat,  (i.  e.  Mesopotamia,)  Mosul,  Bal)y Ionia,  and 
Chaldea ;  also  Arabia,  the  East  counti^,  Nebaioth, 
Huzzath,  and  Persia.  Also,  going  into  the  greater 
Armenia,  he  converted  the  inhabitants  to  Ch.ristian- 


ity,  and  there  built  a  church.  Lastly,  he  removea 
to  India,  as  far  as  China."  This  last  particular  may 
be  true  of  Thomas  ;  but  is  very  questionable  as  to 
his  associate  Bartholomew.  All  other  writers  place 
the  scene  of  this  apostle's  labors  in  the  regions 
around  Persia  and  Armenia.  The  Syrian  canons 
place  the  fifth  seat  of  ecclesiastical  honor  at  Baby- 
lon, in  consideration  of  "  Thomas,  the  apostle  of  the 
Hindoos  and  Chinese ;  and  of  Bartholomew,  who  is 
also  the  Nathanael  of  the  Syrians."  So  that  it  may 
be  taken,  generally,  that  BartholomeAv  was  the  apos- 
tle of  Mesopotamia  and  Persia. 

A  spurious  Gospel  of  Bartholemew  is  mentioned 
by  pope  Gelasius.  Bernard,  and  Abbot  Rupert, 
were  of  opinion,  that  he  was  the  bridegroom  at  the 
marriage  of  Cana.  Fabric.  Cod.  Apoc.  N.  T.  i.  p. 
341,  seq. 

BAR-TIMEUS,  a  blind  man  of  Jericho,  who  sat 
by  the  side  of  the  public  road,  begging,  when  our 
Saviour  passed  that  way  to  Jerusalem.  Mark  (x. 
4G — 52.)  says,  that  "Jesus  coming  out  of  Jericho, 
with  his  disciples,  and  a  great  crowd,  Bar-Timeus, 
when  he  heard  it,  began  to  cry  out,  Jesus,  Son  of 
David,  have  mercy  on  me !"  and  Jesus  restored  him 
to  sight.  But  Matthew,  (xx.  30.)  relating  the  same 
story,  says,  that  tAvo  blind  men,  sitting  by  the  way- 
side, understanding  that  Jesus  was  passing,  began  to 
cry  out,  &c.  and  both  received  sight.  Mark  notes 
Bar-Timeus  only,  because  he  was  more  known,  and 
not  injprobably  (as  his  name  is  preserved)  was  born 
in  a  superior  rank  of  life,  therefore  was  no  common 
beggar ;  if,  besides,  his  blindness  had  been  the  cause 
of  reducing  him  to  poverty,  no  doubt  his  neighbors 
would  mention  his  name,  and  take  great  interest  in 
his  cin"e.  Probably,  Timeus,  his  father,  was  of  note 
in  that  place ;  as  such  was  generally  the  case,  Avhen 
the  father's  name  was  taken  by  the  son ;  and,  per- 
haps, some  of  the  neighbors  who  had  known  Bar- 
Timeus  in  better  circumstances,  who  had  often 
pitied,  but  could  not  relieve  him,  were  the  persons 
to  encourage  the  blind  man  ;  "  Be  of  good  comfort ! 
Rise  ;  he  calleth  thee."  This  does  not  contradict 
the  supposition,  that  on  this  occasion  he,  principally, 
expressed  his  w  armth  and  zeal ;  that  he  spake  of 
Jesus  Christ,  and  distinguished  himself  by  his  alac- 
rity, faith,  and  obedience.  However,  this  two  in 
Matthew  may  be  nothing  more  than  a  literal  adhe- 
sion to  the  Syriac  dual  form  of  expression  ;  there 
being  in  this  evangelist  other  instances  of  the  same 
idiom ;  as  the  two  thieves  (xxvii.  44.)  who  reviled 
Jesus  ;  whereas  Luke  mentions  only  one  ;  and  says, 
the  other  rebuked  his  companion.  The  cure  of  an- 
other blind  man,  mentioned  Luke  xviii.  35, 43.  is  differ- 
ent from  this  ;  that  happened,  when  Jesus  w  as  entering 
mfo  Jericho  ;  this,  the  next  day,  as  he  A\as  coining  out. 
[It  should,  however,  be  remarked,  that  the  miracle 
recorded  by  Luke  is  apparently  the  same  as  that 
mentioned  by  Matthew  and  Mark,  and  is  so  regarded 
by  commentators  in  general.  The  apparent  discre- 
pancy of  Luke's  statement  vanishes,  on  the  suppo- 
sition of  Newcome  and  others,  that  Jesus  remained 
perhaps  several  days  at  Jericho,  and  in  that  time 
made  one  or  more  excursions  from  the  city  and  re- 
turned to  it  again.     R. 

BARUCII,  son  of  Neriah,  and  grandson  of 
Maaseiah,  was  of  the  tribe  of  Judali,  and  the  faith- 
ful disciple  and  scribe  of  Jerennah  the  prophet,  Jer. 
xxxii.  12 — 16  ;  xUii.  3,  6  ;  h.  61.  There  is  an  apoc- 
ryphal book  ascribed  to  him. 

I.  BARZILLAI,  a  native  of  Rogelim,  in  Gilead, 
and  one  who  assisted   David   when   expelled  from 


BAS 


[  151  ] 


BAS 


Jerusalem  by  Absalom,  2  Sam.  xvii.  27,  28.  When 
David  returned  to  Jerusalem,  Barzillai  attended  him 
to  the  Jordan. 

II.  BARZILLAI,  a  native  of  Meholath,  father  of 
Adriel,  who  mairied  IMichal,  formerlvwife  of  David, 
2  Sam.  xxi.  8. 

III.  BARZILLAI,  a  priest,  who  mai-ricd  a  daugh- 
ter of  Barzillai  the  Gileadite,  Ezra  ii.  61 ;  Nehem. 
vii.  63. 

BASCA,  or  Bascama,  a  town  near  Bethshan, 
where  Jonathan  INIaccabreus  was  killed,  1  Mace.  xiii. 
23  ;  Jos.  xiii.  1. 

BASHAN  signifies  a  sandy,  soft  soil,  from  the 
Arabic  ;  and  this  agrees  with  the  character  of  the 
country,  as  fit  for  pasturing  cattle  ;  and  is  applicable 
to  an  extensive  province. 

The  land  of  Bashan,  otherwise  the  Batantea,  is 
east  of"  the  river  Jordan,  north  of  the  trilies  of  Gad 
and  Reuben,  and  in  the  half-tribe  of  Manasseh.  It 
is  bounded  east  by  the  mountains  of  Gilead,  the  land 
of  Ammon,  and  East  Edom  ;  north  by  mount  Her- 
mon  ;  south  by  the  brook  Jabbok  ;  west  by  the  Jor- 
dan. Og,  king  of  the  Amoritcs,  possessed  Bashan 
when  Moses  conquered  it.  Bashan  was  esteemed 
one  of  the  most  fruitful  countries  in  the  world  ;  its 
rich  pastures,  oaks,  and  fine  cattle,  are  exceedingly 
commended,  Numb.  xxi.  33 ;  xxxii.  33 ;  Isa.  ii.  13 : 
Dent.  iii.  1 ;  Psal.  xxii.  12. 

The  following  description  of  this  region  is  by  Mr. 
Buckingham:  "We  had  noAV  quitted  the  land  of 
Sihon,  king  of  the  Amorites,  and  entered  into  that 
of  Og,  the  king  of  Bashan,  both  of  them  well  known 
to  all  the  readers  of  the  early  Scriptures.  We  had 
quitted,  too,  the  districts  apportioned  to  the  tribes  of 
Reuben  and  Gad,  and  entered  that  which  was  allot- 
ted to  the  half-tribe  of  Manasseh,  beyond  Jordan, 
eastward,  leaving  the  land  of  the  children  of  Am- 
mon on  our  right,  or  to  the  east  of  the  Jabbok,  which 
divided  Annnon,  or  Philadelphia,  from  Gerasa.  The 
mountains  here  are  called  the  land  of  Gilead  in  the 
Scriptures ;  and  in  Josephus,  and  according  to  the 
Roman  division,  this  was  the  country  of  the  Decap- 
olis  so  often  spoken  of  in  the  New  Testament,  or 
the  province  of  Gaulouitis,  from  the  city  of  Gaulon, 
its  early  capital.  We  continued  our  way  over  this 
elevated  tract,  continuing  to  behold,  with  surprise 
and  admiration,  a  beautiful  country  on  all  sides  of 
us ;  its  plains  covered  with  a  fertile  soil,  its  liills 
clothed  with  forests,  and  at  every  new  turn  present- 
ing the  most  magnificent  landscapes  that  could  be 
imagined.  Amongst  the  trees,  the  oak  was  fre- 
quently seen  ;  and  we  know  that  this  territory  pre- 
sented them  of  old.  In  enumerating  the  sources 
fi-om  which  the  supplies  of  Tyre  were  drawn  in  the 
time  of  her  gi-eat  wealth  and  naval  splendor,  the 
projjhet  says,  'Of  the  oaks  of  Bashan  have  they  made 
thine  oars,'  Ezek.  xxvii.  6.  Some  learned  comment- 
ators, indeed,  believing  that  no  oaks  grew  in  these 
supposed  desert  regions,  have  translated  tlie  \\  ord  by 
alders,  to  prevent  the  appearance  of  inaccuracy  in 
the  inspired  writer.  The  expression  of '  the  fat  bidls 
of  Bashan,'  which  occurs  more  than  once  in  the 
Scriptures,  seemed  to  us  equally  inconsistent,  as  ap- 
plied to  the  beasts  of  a  country  generally  thought  to 
be  a  desert,  in  connnon  with  the  whole  tract  which 
is  laid  down  in  the  modern  maps  as  such,  between 
the  Jordan  and  the  Euphrates  ;  but  we  could  now 
fully  comprehend,  not  only  that  the  bulls  of  this  lux- 
uriant country  might  be  ])roverbially  fat,  but  that  its 
possessors,  too,  might  be  a  race  renowned  for  strength 
and  comeliness  of  person.  .  .  .  The  general  face  of 


this  region  improved  as  we  advanced  further  in  it ; 
and  every  new  direction  of  our  path  opened  upon 
us  views  which  surprised  and  charmed  us  by  their 
graiideur  and  beauty.  Lofty  mountains  gave  an 
outhne  of  the  most  magnificent  character  ;  flowing 
beds  of  secondary  hills  softened  the  romantic  wild- 
ness  of  the  picture  ;  gentle  slopes,  clothed  with  wood, 
gave  a  rich  variety  of  tints,  hardly  to  be  imitated  by 
the  pencil :  deep  valleys,  filled  with  murmuring 
streams,  and  verdant  meadows,  ofiTered  all  the  luxu- 
riance of  cultivation,  and  herds  and  flocks  gave  life 
and  animation  to  scenes  as  grand,  as  beautiful,  and 
as  highly  picturesque,  as  the  genius  or  taste  of  a  Claude 
could  either  invent  or  desire." 

[Similar  to  this  is  also  the  account  given  by 
Burckhardt  of  the  Belka,  which  lies  south  of  the 
Jabbok,  constituting  the  northern  part  of  the  ancient 
Gilead,  and  of  course  adjacent  to  Bashan.  "  We 
had  now  entered  a  climate  quite  different  from  that 
of  the  Ghor,  [or  valley  of  the  Jordan.]  During  the 
whole  of  3'esterday  we  had  been  much  oppressed 
by  heat,  which  wa?  never  lessened  by  the  slightest 
breeze ;  iu  the  Belkan  mountains,  on  the  contrary, 
we  were  refreshed  by  cool  winds,  and  every  where 
fovmd  a  gi'ateful  shade  of  fine  oak  and  wild  pista- 
chio trees,  with  a  scenery  more  like  that  of  Europe 
than  any  I  had  yet  seen  in  Syria.  The  superiority 
of  the  pasturage  of  the  Belka  over  that  of  all  south- 
ern Syria,  is  the  cause  of  its  possession  being  much 
contested.  The  Bedouins  have  this  saying:  'Thou 
canst  not  find  a  country  like  the  Belka.' "  Travels  in 
Syria,  etc.  p.  348,  368.     R. 

BASON,  or  Laver,  of  the  tabernacle,  and  of  the 
temple.     See  Temple. 

BASTARDS,  children  begotten  out  of  the  state 
of  matrimony.  The  law  forbade  the  adnnssion  of 
bastards  into  the  congi-egation  of  Israel,  to  the  tenth 
generation,  Deut.  xxiii.  2.  The  rabbins  distinguish 
bastards  into  three  kinds  ;  (1.)  those  born  in-  mar- 
riage, of  parents  contracted  in  cases  prohibited  by 
the  law  ;  (2.)  those  bom  from  a  criminal  conjunction, 
punishable  by  the  judges,  as  are  the  children  of 
adulterers:  (3.)  those  born  in  incest,  and  condemned 
by  the  law.  They  also  distinguish  between  bastards 
certain  and  uncertain.  The  first  are  those  whose 
birth  is  notoriously  corrupted,  and  who  without  diffi- 
culty are  excluded  from  the  congi-egatiou  of  the 
Lord.  Doubtful  bastards  are  those  whose  birth  is 
imcertain.  These  could  not  be  excluded  in  strict- 
ness, yet  the  Scribes  Avould  not  admit  them,  for  fear 
that  any  certain  bastards  should  slip  in  among  them. 
But  the  Vulgate,  the  LXX,  and  the  authors  of  the 
canon  law,  take  tl;e  Hebrew  mamzer,  (Deut.  xxiii.  2.) 
for  the  child  of  a  jji'ostitute  ;  while  some  interpret- 
ers take  it  for  a  generic  tenn,  which  signifies  ille- 
gitimate children,  whose  birth  is  impure  in  any 
manner  whatever.  Others  believe  the  Hebrew 
mamzer  rather  signifies  a  stranger  or  foreigner  than 
a  bastard.  Jephthah,  who  was  the  son  of  a  concu- 
bine, (Judg.  xi.  1.)  became  head  and  judge  in  Israel. 
Pharez  and  Zarah,  sons  of  Tamar,  conceived  from 
a  kind  of  incest,  are  reckoned  among  the  ancestors 
of  David.  Among  the  Hebrews  the  children  followed 
the  condition  of  the  mother.  How  then,  it  is  asked, 
could  a  bastard  son,  born  of  a  mother  an  Israelite, 
be  excluded  the  congi-egation  of  Israel  to  the  tenth 
generation,  since  the  Egyptians  and  Idumaeans  might 
be  admitted  after  the  third  generation  ?  This  con- 
sideration renders  it  probable  that  mamzer  means 
more  than  barely  a  bastard,  perhaps  a  bastard  bom 
of  a  woman  a  stranger  and  an  idolater.     The  LXX 


BAT 


[  153] 


BDE 


render  the  word  in  Zech.  ix.  6.  a  stranger,  or  an 
alien ;  and  in  Deut.  xxiii.  2.  the  son  of  a  prostitute. 
The  Hebrew  word  occurs  only  in  these  two  places, 
and  its  signification  is  by  no  means  certain.  The 
words,  "  They  shall  not  enter  into  the  congregation 
of  the  Lord,  even  to  the  tenth  generation,"  cannot 
mean  that  this  sort  of  children  might  not  be  convert- 
ed, or  be  admitted  into  Judaism,  till  after  ten  genera- 
tions ;  but  that  they  should  not  enjoy  the  employments, 
dignities,  or  privileges  of  true  Hebrews,  till  the 
blemish  of  their  birth  was  entirely  obliterated  and 
forgotten. 

BAT,  an  unclean  creature,  having  the  body  of  a 
mouse,  and  wings  not  covered  with  feathers,  but  of 
a  leathery  membrane,  expansible  for  the  purpose  of 
flying.  These  wings  consist  in  a  very  curious  form- 
ation, which  cannot  be  contemj)lated  without  ad- 
miration, the  bones  of  the  extremities  being  con- 
tinued into  long  and  thin  processes,  connected  by  a 
most  delicate  membrane  or  skin,  capable,  from  its 
thinness,  of  being  contracted  at  pleasure  into  innu- 
merable wrinkles,  so  as  to  lie  in  a  small  space  when 
the  animal  is  at  rest,  and  to  be  stretched  to  a  very 
wide  extent  for  occasional  flight.  It  produces  its 
}  oung  alive,  and  suckles  them  like  four-footed  ani- 
mals. The  bat  is  extremely  well  described  in  Deut. 
xiv.  19.  "Moreover,  the  bat,  and  every  creeping  thin^ 
thatjlieth,  is  unclean  to  you  ;  they  shall  not  be  eaten." 
This  character,  which  fixes  to  the  bat  the  name  used 
in  both  passages,  is  omitted  in  Leviticus  ;  neverthe- 
less, it  is  very  descriptive  ;  and  places  this  creature 
at  the  head  of  a  class,  of  which  he  is  a  very  clear, 
and  a  very  well  known  instance.  There  are  bats  in 
the  East  much  larger  than  ours  ;  and  they  are  salted 
and  eaten.  The  bat  never  becomes  tame ;  it  feeds 
on  flies,  insects,  and  fat  things,  such  as  candles,  oil, 
and  grease.  It  appears  only  by  night,  nor  then,  un- 
less the  weather  be  fine,  and  the  season  warm.  Some 
of  the  bats  of  Africa  and  Ethiopia  have  long  tails, 
like  those  of  mice,  which  extend  beyond  their  wings. 
Some  have  four  ears,  others  only  two ;  they  build 
no  nests,  but  bring  forth  their  young  in  a  hole  or 
cleft,  or  cave,  in  tops  or  coverings  of  houses ;  some 
are  black,  some  white,  sallow  and  ash-colored.  The 
old  one  suckles  its  young,  as  they  arc  fastened  to  its 
teats ;  and  when  she  is  obliged  to  leave  them,  in 
order  to  go  out  and  seek  food,  she  takes  them  from 
her  teats,  and  hangs  them  up  against  the  v.all,  where 
they  adhere  by  clinging.  There  are  bats  in  China, 
some  say,  as  large  as  pullets,  and  as  delicate  eating ; 
those  of  Brazil,  Madagascar,  and  the  Maldives,  called 
Vampire  bats,  are  very  large,  and  suck  the  blood  of 
men,  while  they  sleep,  fastening  upon  some  uncov- 
ered part,  while,  at  the  same  time,  they  refresh  the 
suflierer  by  the  fanning  of  their  wings,  who  is  in 
very  great  danger,  unless  he  awakes. 

BATANiEA  was  the  same  as  the  ancient  king- 
dom of  Bashan,  (which  see,)  and  was  jjart  of  the 
territory  given  to  Herod  Antipas,  at  the  death  of 
Herod  the  Great. 

BATH,  or  Ephah,  a  Hel)rew  measure,  containing 
seven  gallons,  fonr  pints,  liquid  measure  ;  or  three 
pecks,  three  pints,  dry  measure.  Some  have  imagin- 
ed that  there  was  a  sacred  bath,  diftVrent  from  the 
common,  containing  a  bath  and  iialf  of  the  other  ; 
which  they  endeavor  to  prove  by  what  is  said,  1 
Kings  vii.  26.  of  Solomon's  molten  sea,  that  it  con- 
tained 2000  baths ;  compared  with  2  Chron.  iv.  5. 
which  says  that  it  held  3000  baths ;  but  this  differ- 
ence is  easily  reconciled.  (See  Sea.)  The  LXX 
render  this  word  sometimes  j9ai5^ ;  sometimes  utrqr,- 


T)c;  (2  Chron.  iv.  5.)  sometimes  xiQuuwg,  Isaiah  v.  10. 
The  ancient  Latin  version  translates  it  lagena.  It 
was  the  tenth  part  of  the  homer,  in  liquid  things,  as 
tlie  ephah  was  in  dry  measure,  Ezek.  xlv.  11. 

BATH-KOL,  daughter  of  the  voice,  the  name  by 
which  the  Jewish  writers  distinguish  w  hat  they  called 
a  revelation  from  God,  after  verbal  prophecy  had 
ceased  in  Israel ;  i.  e.  after  the  prophets  Haggai, 
Zechariah,  and  Malachi.  The  generality  of  their 
traditions  and  customs  are  founded  on  this  Bath- 
Kol,  which,  as  Dr.  Prideaux  has  shown,  was  a  fan- 
tastical way  of  divination,  like  the  Sortes  Virgiliause 
among  the  heathen.  For,  as  with  them,  the  words 
first  opened  upon  in  the  works  of  that  poet,  were  the 
oracle  whereby  they  prognosticated  those  future 
events  which  they  desired  to  be  informed  of;  so 
with  the  Jews,  when  they  appealed  to  Bath-Kol,  the 
next  words  which  they  should  hear  drop  from  any 
one's  mouth  were  taken  as  the  desired  oracle. 

BATH-SHEBA,  or  Bathshua,  (1  Chr.  iii.  5.)  the 
daughter  of  Eliam,  or  Ammiel,  and  wife  of  Uriah 
the  Hittite.  David  having  found  the  means  of  grati- 
fying his  guilty  passion  with  Bath-sheba,  in  conse- 
quence of  which  she  became  pregnant,  he  further 
added  to  his  crime  by  procuring  the  death  of  Uriah 
her  husband,  2  Sam.  xi.  After  her  husband's  death, 
Bath-sheba  mourned  as  usual ;  which  ceremony  being 
over,  David  brought  her  to  his  house,  and  married 
her;  soon  after  which  she  was  delivered  of  a  son. 
The  Lord  sent  Nathan  to  David,  to  convince  him  of 
his  sin,  and  to  threaten  his  punishment  by  the  death 
of  this  child,  which  occurred  on  the  seventh  day. 
After  this,  Bath-sheba  became  the  mother  of  Solo- 
mon, Shammuah,  Shobab,  and  Nathan,  1  Chron.  iii. 
5  ;  2  Sam.  v.  14. 

BATH-ZACH ARIAS,  a  place  near  Bethsura, 
celebrated  for  a  battle  fought  between  Antiochus 
Eupator,  and  Judas  Maccabaeus,  1  3Iacc.  vi.  30.  Epi- 
phanius  says,  the  prophet  Habakkuk  was  born  in  the 
territories  of  Bath-zacharias. 

BATTLEMENT,  a  wall  round  the  top  of  flat- 
roofed  houses  ;  as  were  those  of  the  Jews,  and  other 
eastern  people.  (See  House.)  The  Jews  wei-e  en- 
joined to  adopt  this  precaution  against  accidents,  un- 
der the  penalty  of  death,  Deut.  xxii.  8.  In  Jer.  v. 
10,  the  term  appears  to  denote  towers,  walls,  and 
other  fortifications  of  a  city. 

BAY-TREE.  This  is  mentioned  once  in  the 
Ejiglish  Bible,  (Psalm  xxxvii.  35,  36.)  biU  the  origi- 
nal Hebrew  word  (mis)  denotes  rather  an  indigenous 
tree,  one  not  transplanted,  but  growing  in  its  own 
native  soil. 

BDELLIUM,  [n^-^z,)  occurs  Gen.  ii.  12 ;  Numbers 
xi.  7.  Compare  Exod.  xvi.  31.  It  is  commonly 
supposed  that  the  bdellium  is  a  gum  from  a  tree, 
common  in  Arabia  and  the  East.  Pliny  (lib.  xii. 
cap.  9.)  says,  the  best  bdellium  comes  from  Bac- 
tria ;  that  the  tree  which  produces  it  is  black,  as 
large  as  an  olive-tree,  its  leaves  like  those  of  an  oak, 
and  hs  fruit  like  that  of  the  caper-tree.  There  is 
bdellium  likewise  in  the  Indies,  in  jMedia,  and  in 
Babylonia.  Moses  says  the  manna  of  the  Israelites 
was  of  the  color  of  bdellium.  Numb.  xi.  7.  [But 
this  substance,  ^^■hatever  it  was,  is  mentioned  along 
with  gold  and  gems ;  while  bdellium  is  certainly  not 
so  remarkable  a  gift  of  natiu"e  as  to  deserve  this 
classification,  or  as  that  the  jiroduction  of  it  should 
confer  on  Ilavilah  a  peculiar  celebrity.  Hence  the 
opinion  of  the  Jewish  writers  is  not  to  be  contemn- 
ed, which  Bochart  has  discussed,  (Hieroz.  ii.  G74, 
seq.)  viz.  that  pearls  are  to  be  here  understood,  of 


BEA 


[  153  ] 


BEARD 


which  great  quantities  are  found  on  the  shores  of 
the  Persian  gulf  and  in  India,  and  which  might  not 
inaptly  be  compared  with  manna,  as  in  Num. 
xi.  7.     R. 

BEAM,  see  Eye,  adjin. 

BEAM,  the  cylindrical  piece  of  wood  belonging 
to  a  weaver's  loom,  on  which  the  web  is  gradually 
rolled  as  it  is  woven,  Judg.  xvi.  14  ;  1  Sam.  xvii.  7. 

BEAR,  (iin.)  Bears  were  common  in  Palestine  ; 
David  says,  (1  Sam.  xvii.  34,  36.)  he  had  often  fought 
with  bears  and  hons.  Elisha  having  prophetically 
cursed  some  lads  of  Bethel,  for  insulting  him,  two 
she  bears  issued  from  a  neighboring  forest,  and 
wounded  forty-two  of  them,  2  Kings  ii.  23,  24.  (See 
Elisha.)  The  sacred  writers,  to  express  the  sensa- 
tions of  a  man  transported  by  passion,  say,  "  He  is 
chafed  in  his  mind,  as  a  bear  bereaved,"  2  Sam.  xvii. 
8.  There  are  white  bears  in  the  north  ;  but  they 
were,  probably,  unknown  in  Palestine. 

The  prophet  Isaiah  (xi.  7.)  describing  the  happi- 
ness of  the  Messiah's  reign,  says,  the  ox  and  the  bear 
shall  feed  together.  Daniel,  (vh.  5.)  in  his  descrip- 
tion of  the  four  great  monarchies,  represents  that  of 
the  Persians  under  the  figure  of  a  bear  having  three 
rows  of  teeth  ;  by  this,  perhaps,  principally  intend- 
ing Cyrus. 

BEARD.  The  Hebrews  wore  their  beards,  but 
had,  doubtless,  in  common  with  other  Asiatic  na- 
tions, several  fashions  in  this,  as  in  all  other  parts  of 
dress.  Moses  forbids  them  (Lev.  xix.  27.)  "  to  cut 
off  entirely  the  angle,  or  extremity,  of  their  beard," 
that  is,  to  avoid  the  manner  of  the  Egyptians,  who 
left  only  a  little  tuft  of  beard  at  the  extremity  of 
their  chins.  The  Jews,  in  some  places,  at  this  day 
suffer  a  little  fillet  of  hair  to  grow  from  below  the 
ears  to  the  chin  ;  where,  as  well  as  upon  their  lower 
lips,  their  beards  are  long.  When  they  mourned 
they  entirely  shaved  the  hair  of  their  heads  and 
beards,  and  neglected  to  trim  their  beards,  to  regu- 
late them  into  neat  order,  or  to  remove  Avhat  gi-ew 
on  their  upper  lips  and  cheeks,  Jer.  xli.  5  ;  xlviii.  37. 
In  times  of  grief  and  afthction,  they  plucked  away 
the  hair  of  their  heads  and  beards  ;  a  mode  of  ex- 
pressing gi-ief  common  to  other  nations  under  great 
calamities.     See  Shaving. 

The  customs  of  nations,  in  respect  to  this  part  of 
the  human  countenance,  have  differed  so  Avidely, 
that  it  is  not  easy,  among  us,  who  treat  the  beard  as 
an  encumbrance,  to  conceive  properly  of  the  impor- 
tance which  is  attached  to  it  in  the  East.  The  terms 
in  wliich  most  of  the  Levitical  laws  that  notice  the 
beard  are  expressed,  are  obscure  to  us,  by  the  very 
reason  of  their  being  familiar  to  the  persons  to  whom 
they  were  addressed.  Perhaps  the  following  quota- 
tions may  contribute  to  throw  a  light,  at  least  upon 
some  of  them  :  "  The  first  care  of  an  Ottoman  prince, 
when  he  comes  to  the  throne,  is,  to  let  his  beard 
grow,  to  wliicli  sultan  ]VIustapha  added,  the  dyeing 
of  it  black,  in  order  that  it  might  be  more  apparent 
on  the  day  of  his  first  appearance,  when  he  was  to 
gird  on  the  sabre ;  a  ceremony  by  which  he  takes 
possession  of  the  throne,  and  answering  the  corona- 
tion among  us."  (Baron  du  Tott,  vol.  i.  p.  117.)  So, 
De  la  3Iotraye  tells  us,  (p,  247.)  "That  the  new  sul- 
tan's beard  had  not  been  permitted  to  grow,  but  only 
since  he  had  been  proclaimed  emperor ;  and  was 
verj'  sliort,  it  being  customary  to  shave  the  Ottoman 
princes,  as  a  mark  of  their  subjection  to  the  reign- 
ing emperor."  Niebuhr  says,  "In  the  year  17G4, 
Kerim  Khan  sent  to  demand  payment  of  the  tribute 
due  for  his  possessions  in  Kermesir ;  but  Mir  3Ia- 
20 


henna  maltreated  the  officer  who  was  sent  on  the 
errand,  and  caused  his  beard  to  be  cut  off."  (Vol. 
ii.  p.  148.  Eng.  edit.)  This  will  remind  the  reader 
of  the  insult  offered  to  the  ambfissadors  of  David, 
by  Hanun,  (2  Sam.  x.)  which  insult,  however,  seems 
to  have  had  a  peculiarity  in  it — of  shaving  one  half 
of  the  beard ;  i.  e.  the  beard  on  one  side  of  the  face. 
On  this  subject,  we  translate  from  Niebuhr  (French 
edit.)  the  following  remarks :  "  The  orientals  have 
divers  manners  of  letting  the  beard  grow  ;  the  JeAVs 
in  Turkey,  Arabia,  and  Persia,  presen'e  their  heard 
from  their  youth  ;  and  it  differs  from  that  of  the 
Christians  and  Mahometans,  in  that  they  do  not 
shave  it  either  at  the  ears  or  the  temples.  The  Aral^s 
keep  their  whiskers  verj^  short ;  some  cut  them  oft' 
entirely  ;  but  they  never  shave  off  the  beard.  In 
the  mountains  of  Yemen,  where  strangers  are  sel- 
dom seen,  it  is  a  disgrace  to  appear  shaven  ;  they 
supposed  our  European  sen'ant,  Avho  had  only  whis- 
kers, had  committed  some  crime,  for  which  we  had 
punished  him,  by  cutting  off  his  beard.  On  tlie 
contrary,  the  Turks  have  commonly  long  whiskers  ; 
the  beard  among  them  is  a  mark  of  honor.  The 
slaves  and  certain  domestics  of  the  great  lortls,  are 
forced  to  cut  it  off,  and  dare  not  keep  any  part  of  it, 
but  whiskers  ;  the  Persians  have  long  whiskers,  and 
clip  their  beard  short  Avith  scissors,  Avhich  has  an  un- 
pleasant appearance  to  strangers.  The  Kurds  shaAe 
the  beard,  but  leaA'e  the  Avhiskers,  and  a  band  of  hair 
on  the  cheeks.  The  true  Arabs  have  black  beards, 
yet  some  old  men  dye  their  Avhite  beards  red  ;  but 
this  is  thought  to  be  to  hide  their  age ;  and  is  rather 
blamed  than  praised.  The  Persians  blacken  their 
beards  much  more  ;  and,  probably,  do  so  to  extreme 
old  age,  in  order  to  pass  for  younger  than  they  really 
are.  The  Turks  do  the  same  in  some  cases.  [Hoav 
differentlj'  Solomon  thought!  Prov.  xx.  29.  "The 
gloiy  of  young  men  is  their  strength,  and  the 
beauty  of  old  men  is  the  gray  head."]  When  the 
younger  Turks,  after  having  been  shaven,  let  their 
beards  gi'OAV,  they  recite  afatha,  which  is  considered 
as  a  A'OAV  never  to  cut  it  off;  (compare  Numb.  vi.  18  ; 
Acts  xxi.  24.)  and  Avhen  any  one  ^uts  off  his  beajd, 
he  may  be  very  severely  punished,  (at  Basra,  at 
least,  to  300  blows  Avith  a  stick.)  He  Avould  also  be 
the  laughing  stock  of  those  of  his  faith.  A  3Ia- 
hometan,  at  Basra,  having  shaved  his  beard 
Avhen  drunk,  fled  secretly  to  India,  not  daring  to 
return,  for  fear  of  public  scorn,  and  judicial  punish- 
ment." 

"Although  the  Hebrews  took  gi-eat  care  of  their 
beards,  to  fashion  them  Avhen  they  AAcre  not  in 
mourning,  and  on  the  contrary,  did  not  trim  them 
Avhen  they  Avere  in  moiu'uing;  j'et  I  do  not  obserAe 
that  their  regard  for  them  amounted  to  any  Acnera- 
tion  for  their  beard.  On  the  contrarj',  the  Arabians 
liaA'e  so  nuich  respect  for  their  beards,  that  they  look 
on  them  as  sacred  ornaments  given  by  God  to 
distinguish  them  from  AAomen.  They  never  shave 
them ;  nothing  can  be  more  infamous  than  for  a 
man  to  be  shaved ;  they  make  the  preservation  of 
their  beards  a  capital  point  of  religion,  because  Ma- 
homet ncA'er  cut  oft'  his ;  it  is  likeAAise  a  mark  of 
authority  and  liberty  among  them,  as  aa'cII  as  among 
the  Turks ;  the  Persians,  Avho  chp  them,  and  shaA  e 
above  the  jaAA',  are  reputed  heretics.  The  razor  ia 
never  draAvn  over  the  grand  signior's  face  ;  they  Avho 
serve  in  the  seraglio,  have  their  beard  shaved,  as  a 
sign  of  servitude ;  they  do  not  suffer  it  to  gi-OAv  till 
the  sultan  has  set  them  at  liberty,  which  is  bestoAved 
as  a  rcAA^ird  upon  them,  and  is  ahAays  accompanied 


BEARD 


[  154] 


BEA 


with  some  employment.  Unmarried  young  men 
may  cut  their  beards ;  but  when  married,  especially 
if  parents,  they  forbear  doing  so,  to  show  that  they 
are  become  wiser,  have  renounced  tlie  vanities  of 
youth,  and  think  now  of  superior  things.  When 
they  comb  their  beards,  they  hold  a  handkerchief  on 
their  knees,  and  gather  carefully  the  hah-s  that  Ikil ; 
and  when  they  have  got  together  a  projjer  quantity, 
they  fold  them  up  in  paper,  and  carry  them  to  the 
place  where  they  bury  the  dead.  Among  them  it 
is  more  infamous  for  any  one  to  have  his  beard  cut 
oflj  than  among  us  to  be  publicly  whipped,  or  brand- 
ed Avith  a  hot  iron.  I\lany  men  in  that  country 
would  prefer  death  to  such  a  punishment.  The 
wives  kiss  their  husbands'  beards,  and  children  their 
fathers',  when  tliey  come  to  salute  them  ;  the  men 
kiss  one  another's  beards  reciprocally,  when  they 
salute  in  the  streets,  or  come  fi-om  a  journey.  They 
say,  that  the  beard  is  the  perfection  of  the  human 
face,  which  would  be  more  disfigured  by  having  tliis 
cut  off,  than  by  losing  the  nose.  They  admire  and 
envy  those  who  have  fine  beards:  'Pray  do  but  see, 
they  cry,  that  beard ;  the  very  sight  of  it  woukl  per- 
suade any  one  that  he,  to  whom  it  belongs,  is  an 
honest  man.'  If  any  one  witii  a  fine  beard  is  guilty 
of  an  unbecoming  action,  '.What  a  disadvantage  is 
this,  they  say,  to  such  a  beard  !  How  much  such  a 
beard  is  to  be  pitied !'  If  they  would  correct  any 
one's  mistakes,  they  will  tell  him, '  For  shame  of  your 
beard !  Does  not  the  confusion  that  follows  such  an 
action  light  on  your  beard  ?'  If  they  entreat  any 
one,  or  use  oaths  in  affirming,  or  denying,  any  thing, 
they  say,  'I  conjure  you  by  your  beard, — by  the  life 
of  your  beard, — to  gi'ant  me  this,' — or,  '  by  your 
beard,  this  is,  or  is  not,  so.'  They  say  further,  in 
the  way  of  acknowledgment,  '  3Iay  God  preserve 
your  blessed  beard !  May  God  pour  out  his  bless- 
ings on  your  beard  !'  And  in  comparisons,  'This  is 
more  valuable  than  one's  beard.' "  Moeurs  des  Arabes, 
par  M.  D'Arvieux,  chap.  vii. 

These  accounts  may  contribute  to  illustrate  several 
passages  of  Scripture.  The  dishonor  done  by  Davifl 
to  his  beard,  of  letting  his  spittle  fall  on  it,  (1  Sam. 
xxi.  13.)  seems  at  once  to  have  convinced  Achish  of 
his  being  distempered:  q.  d.  "No  man  in  good 
healtl),  of  body  and  mind,  would  thus  defile  wiiat 
we  esteem  so  honorable  as  his  beard."  If  the  beard 
be  thus  venerated,  we  perceive  the  import  of  Mepiii- 
bosheth's  neglect,  in  his  not  trimming  it,  2  Sam.  xix. 
24.  If  men  kiss  one  another's  beards,  when  they  sa- 
lute in  the  streets,  or  when  one  of  them  is  lately 
come  from  a  journey,  then  we  may  discover  traces 
of  deeper  dissimulation  in  the  behavior  of  Joab  to 
Amasa  (2  Sam.  xx.  [).)  than  has  generally  been  no- 
ticed :  "  And  Joab  held  in  his  right  hand  the  beard 
of  Amasa,  that  he  might  give  it  a  kiss."  No  wonder 
that  while  this  act  of  friendship,  of  gratulation  after 
long  absence,  occupied  Amasa's  attention,  he  did  not 
perceive  the  sword  tliat  was  in  Joab's  le/l  hand.  The 
action  of  Joab  was,  indeed,  a  high  compliment,  but 
neither  suspicious  nor  unusual  ;  and  to  this  compli- 
ment Amasa  paying  attention,  and,  no  doul)t,  return- 
ing it  with  answeral)le  politeness,  he  could  little  ex- 
pect the  fatal  event  that  Joab's  perfidy  j)roduced. 
(See  furtlier  on  this  perfidy  of  Joab  under  Arms  and 
Armor.)  Was  perhaps  the  behavior  of  Judas  to 
Jesus  sometliing  like  this  behavior  of  Joab  to  Ama- 
sa?— a  worthy  example  worthily  imitated  ! 

The  cutting  off  the  beard  is  mentioned  (Isaiah  xv. 
2.)  as  a  token  of  mourning;  and  as  sucli  it  ajjpcars 
to  be  very  expressive:  (Jcr. xli.  5.)  "  Foui-score  men 


came  from  Samaria,  having  their  beards  shaven,  and 
their  clothes  rent." — See,  also,  chap,  xlviii.  37.  Is 
not  this  custom  somewhat  illustrated  by  the  idea 
which  the  Arabs  attached  to  the  shaven  servant  of 
Niebuhr,  i.  e.  as  a  kind  of  punishment  suffered  for 
guilt,  expressed  or  implied  ? 

BEAST,  an  animal  destitute  of  reason  ;  but  the 
word  is  usually  employed  to  signify  a  quadruped 
living  on  land.  God  created  the  beasts  of  the  eartii, 
and  man,  on  the  sixth  day ;  and  brought  the  fowls 
and  the  beasts  to  Adam,  to  receive  then-  names ; 
that  he  might  begin  his  exercise  of  that  dominion 
which  was  given  to  him  over  the  infei'ior  creatures. 
After  the  deluge  the  flesh  of  beasts  was  given  toman 
as, food,  but  the  blood  was  forbidden  to  be  eaten,  or 
even  to  l)e  shed  with  violence.  By  the  law  (Exod. 
xxi.  28,  29.)  every  beast  which  shoidd  kill  a  man,  or 
become  abominably  polluted,  was  to  be  put  to  death, 
Lev.  XX.  1.5,  16.  In  the  law  of  the  sabbath,  provision  is 
made  for  the  rest  of  domestic  animals  ;  and  as  a 
memorial  of  the  saving  of  the  first-born  Hebrews, 
and  the  first-born  among  their  cattle,  in  the  last  of 
the  plagues  of  Egypt,  the  first-born  of  each  were  to 
be  consecrated  to  the  Lord.  The  Egyptians,  and 
other  idolatrous  people,  adored  beasts,  tJie  souls  of 
which  they  thought  to  be  endowed  with  reason. 
The  doctrine  of  transmigration  was  common  in  the 
East,  and  prevailed  among  the  Hebrews,  as  is  mani- 
fest from  some  passages  in  the  New  Testament. 
Father  Pardies,  a  Jesuit,  wrote  concerning  the 
knowledge  of  beasts ;  to  show,  that  they  are  not 
destitute  of  thought  or  understanding.  Willis  like- 
wise wrote  on  the  souls  of  beasts.  Solomon,. in  Ec- 
clesiastes,  whether  he  proposes  his  own  thoughts, 
or  those  of  the  philosophers  and  free-thinkers  of  his 
time,  expresses  himself  in  a  manner  which  might 
be  understood  to  insinuate  that  beasts  possess  under- 
standing, and  reasonable  souls.  "  I  have  said  in  my 
heart  concerning  the  sons  of  men,  that  they  might 
see  that  tliey  themselves  are  beasts ;  for,  as  one 
dieth,  so  dieth  the  other;  yea,  they  have  all  one 
breath ;  so  that  a  man  hath  no  pre-eminence  above  a 
beast.  Who  knoweth  the  spirit  of  man  that  gc^eth 
upward,  and  the  spirit  of  the  beast  that  goeth  down- 
ward to  the  eardi  ?"  Eccl.  iii.  18,  19,  21.  But  we 
shoidd  widely  mistake  the  import  of  such  passages, 
should  we  infer  from  them,  that  beasts  are  equal  to 
man,  in  reason,  or  in  a  capacity  of  religion,  of  know- 
ing God,  of  attaining  celestial  felicity,  and  of  acting 
on  spiritual  principles.  The  knowledge,  reasoning, 
desires,  designs  of  beasts,  are  limited  to  the  discern- 
ment of  what  may  contribute  to  their  inunediate 
and  instant  enjoyment,  their  temporal  happiness,  and 
the  multiplication  of  their  specios.  Thev  can  and 
do,  indeed,  determine  between  hot  and' cold,  be- 
tween enjoyment  and  pain,  safety  and  danger ;  but 
not  between  moral  good  and  evil,  between  just  and 
unjust,  lawful  and  unlawlid.  But,  it  is  asked,  Avliat 
becomes  of  the  animating  principle  of  beasts,  when 
separated  from  matter?  We  have  no  j)riuciplcs 
whereby  we  can  discover  this.  We  know  that  God 
created  all  things  for  his  glory  ;  but  can  beasts  be 
capable  of  an  active  knowledge  and  love  of  their 
Creator?  If  not,  he  must  be  glorified  In'  them  some 
other  way ;  as,  doubtless,  he  is  glorified  ])assively  by 
simple  matter ;  but  surely  not  in  any  other  sense, 
than  as  showing  forth  his  glory,  his  wisdom,  and 
his  power.  On  this  subject,  we  shoidd  recur  to  the 
distinctions  of  life ; — body,  soul,  spirit.  Body  we 
grant  them  ;  soul,  i.  e.  animal  life,  we  also  grant  them  ; 
his  they  '  njoy  up  to  fixed  degrees,  each  possessing 


BED 


[  155  ] 


BED 


that  kind,  de^ee,  power,  and  duration,  appropriate 
to  its  species  ;  transmitting  that  to  its  posterity,  but 
without  inijjrovcinent  as  without  variation.  Herein 
the  animal  life,  or  soul,  is  distinct  from  reason  ;  which 
is  infinitely  various,  capable  of  unlimited  improve- 
ments, and  of  strong  desires  after  still  further  acqui- 
sitions. Instinct,  then,  is  a  confined,  contented, 
satisfied  quality ;  reason  is  directly  the  contrary  ;  and 
this  strongly  characterizes  the  active  nature  of  spirit, 
which  is  a  higher  principle  of  life,  bestowed  on  man 
for  higher  purposes  of  existence.  (See  Animals.) 
Our  translators  have  rendered  lwu  (Rev.  iv.  6,  &c.) 
beasts,  instead  of  living  creatures,  as  the  word  de- 
notes. 

BEATEN-WORK,  see  Idol. 
BED.   This  word  frequently  occurs  in  the  English 

version  of  the  Scrip- 
tures, and  is  in  many 
cases  calculated  to 
mislead  and  perplex 
the  reader.  The 
beds  used  in  the 
East  are  very  differ- 
ent from  those  in  this 
part  of  the  world  ; 
and  an  attention  to 
this  is  indispensable 
to  the  right  appre- 
hension of  several 
passages  of  Holy 
Writ.  It  should  be 
observed  that  the  use 
of  chairs  is  unknown 
in  the  East.  The 
orientals  sit  or  recline  on  a  diian,  divan,  or  sofa,  that 
is,  a  part  of  the  room  raised  above  the  floor,  and 
sjjread  with  a  car|)et  in  winter,  and  in  summer  with 
fine  mats,  and  having  cushions  or  bolsters  placed 
along  the  back  to  lean  against.  These  divans  fre- 
quently serve  the  purpose  of  a  bed,  with  the  addi- 
tion of  two  thick  cotton  quilts,  one  of  which,  folded 
double,  serves  as  a  n)attrass,  the  other  as  a  covering. 
Such  a  bed  was  that  of  David,  1  Sam.  xix.  15. 
This  will  help  us  to  understand  several  passages  of 
Scripture  otherwise  unintelligible :  Amos  iii.  12. 
"  As  the  shepherd  taketh  out  of  the  mouth  of  the 
lion  two  legs,  or  a  piece  of  an  ear ;  so  shall  the  chil- 
dren of  Israel  be  taken  out  that  dwell  in  Samaria 
in  the  corner  of  a  bed;"  that  is,  in  the  corner — which 
is  the  place  of  honor,  the  most  easy,  voluptuous,  in- 
dulging station — of  the  divan.  Will  it  not  also  help 
us  to  ascertain  the  true  attitude  of  the  dying  Jacob, 
who,  when  Joseph  brought  his  two  sons  to  him, 
"strengthened  himself  and  sat  upon  the  bed," — the 
<livan  ;  and  who,  after  blessing  his  sons,  not  "gather- 
ed up  his  feet  into  the  bed,"  but  "  drew  them  up  on 
the  divan  ?"  Sometimes  the  beds  are  laid  on  the 
floor,  as  we  learn  from  Sir  J.  Chardin,  Mr.  Hanway, 
Dr.  Russell,  and  other  travellers.  Mr.  Hanway 
describes  the  beds  in  Persia  as  consisting  "only  of 
two  cotton  quilts,  one  of  which  was  folded  double, 
and  served  as  a  mattrass,  and  the  other  as  a  cover- 
ing, with  a  large  flat  pillow  for  the  head."  Was  it 
not  on  such  a  bed  that  Saul  slept,  1  Sam.  xxvi.  7.  ? 
Also,  that  on  which  the  paralytic  was  let  down, 
Lukev.  19.?  The  Psalmist  says,  (Psal.  vi.  6.)  "I 
am  weary  with  my  groaning,  all  the  night  I  make 
my  bed  to  swim  ;  (the  divan  on  which  I  am  placed  ;) 
I  water  my  couch  (or  the  divan  furniture)  with  my 
tears."  Is  it  not  good  sense  to  say,  "  My  tears  not 
only  copiously  wet  the  divan,  or  mattrass — the  upper 


part  on  which  I  lie,  but  they  run  over  it,  and  even 
extend  to  the  lower  part — the   broad  part — of  the  di- 
van, and  wet  that  also  ?"  i.  e.  the  bed's  feet  of  our 
translators.     It  is  said,  Deut.  iii.  11.  "The   bedstead 
{•^-\-;)  of  Og  was  a  bedstead   of  iron."     It  may  be 
thought,  that  our  translators,  in  rendering  this  word 
bedstead,  intended  the  broad  smooth  ])art,  or  floor, 
of  the  divan  ;  unless  it  should  rather  be  referred  to 
the  covering  of  that  part,  i.  e.  the   carpet,  or  scarlet 
cloth,  though   it  possibly  might  denote  both   floor 
and  covering,  as  we  say  in  common   speech,  "  the 
floor  of  a  room,"  notwithstanding  the  room  may  be 
covered  by  a  carpet.      Either  sense  of  the  word 
takes  off  much  occasion  for  wonder  on  account  of 
the  dimensions  of  this  bedstead,  or  divan,  of  Og, 
which  appears  to  have  been  about  fifteen  feet  and  a 
half  long,  and  six  feet  ten  inches  broad  ;  and  to  have 
been  made  of  iron  (its  sujjporters,  at  least)  instead 
of  wood,  as  was  customary.      English  ideas  have 
measured  this  huge  piece  of  furniture  by  English 
bedsteads ;  but,  had  it  been  recollected  that  neither 
the  divan,  nor  its  covering,  is  so  closely  commensu- 
rate to  the  usual  size  of  a  person   as  our  bedsteads 
in  England  are,  no  inconsiderable  allowance  would 
have  been  made  in  the  dimensions  of  the  bed  for 
the  repose  of  this  martial  prince.     We  may  now 
also  explain  that  very  diflicult  passage,  Ezek.  xiii. 
18.   "Wo  to  those    women  that  sew  pillows  to  all 
arm-holes,  and  make  kerchiefs  on  the  head  of  every 
stature,  to  hunt  souls !"  «Scc.     These  words  seem  to 
contain  these  ideas  ;  those  who   utter  false  prophe- 
cies, to  soothe  the  mind  of  the  wicked,  are  compared 
by  the  prophet  to  women  who  study  and  emj)Ioy 
every  art  to  allure  by  voluptuousness  ; — against  sucli 
he    declares  wo :    "  Wo    to    those    who  sew,  em- 
broider, luxurious  cushions  for  all  elbows,  i.  e.  to 
suit  the  dimensions  of  persons  of  all  ages  ;  those 
who  make  pillows,  bolsters,  or  perhaps  quilts,  cover- 
ings, (not  kerchiefs,)  for  heads  of  every  stature,  stu- 
diously suiting  themselves  to  all  conditions,  capaci- 
ties, ages,  making  eflTeminacy  more  effeminate,"  &:c. 
The  cushions,  then,  were  not  to  be  sewed  to  all  arm- 
holes,  and  carried  about  the  person,  as  our  transla- 
tion seems  to  imply  ;  but  they  were  to  be  so  soft  in 
their  texture,  so  nicely  adapted  in  their  dimensions 
to  suit  all  leaning  arms,  as  to  produce  their  full  vo- 
luptuous  effect.      These  the  prophet  compares  to 
toils,  snares,  &c.  in  which  the  persons  were  caught, 
into  which  they  were  chased,  decoyed  ;  like  animals 
hunted  by  a  surrounding  company,    which   drives 
them  into  a  narrow  space,  or  trap,  where  their  cap- 
ture, or  destruction,  is  inevitable,  according  to  the  , 
eastern  mode  of  hunting;  from    these  compulsive 
seducers  he  foretells  delivery,  &c.  ver.  20.     Under- 
stood thus,  the  passage  becomes  easy  and  plain,  and 
analogous  to  the  usages  of  the   country  wherehi  it 
was  delivered.     Comp.  Prov.  vi.  26. 

This  also  explains  how  Haman  (Esther  vii.  8.) 
not  only  "stood  up  to  make  request  for  his  life,"  but 
was  "  fallen  on  the  bed — the  divan — whereon  Es- 
ther" was  sitting.  We  see,  too,  the  nature  of  the 
order  of  Saul  to  bring  up  David  to  him,  that  he 
might  "  kill  him  in  his  bed."  (1  Sam.  xix.  15.)  Was 
the  pillow  of  goats'  hair  a  divan  cushion,  perhaps, 
stuffed  with  goats'  hair  instead  of  cotton  ;  and  laid 
in  such  a  manner  as  to  resemble  the  disorderly  atti- 
tude and  appearance  of  a  sick  man  ? — Other  passages 
the  reader  will  observe  for  himself. 

Nothing  sounds  more  uncouth  to  English  ears,  than 
to  hear  of  a  person  carrying  his  bed  about  with  him. 
To  order  a  man,  miraculously  healed,  to  do  this,  is 


BED 


[  156] 


BED 


so  strange  to  us,  that  although  we  discover  in  it  a 
couvincingproof  of  his  restoration  to  bodily  strength, 
yet  we  are  almost  tempted  to  ask,  with  the  Phari- 
sees, "  Who  bade  thee  cany  thy  bed  ?"  But,  wlien 
properly  explained,  the  apparent  iucongiaiity  vanish- 
es before  our  better  understanding.  Such  a  kind 
of  mattrass,  or  even  the  simple  quilt,  above  spoken 
of,  might  be  the  bed  [xoaiifiaroi)  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment ;  and  was  often,  we  may  conclude  from  the 
circumstances  of  the  occujjier,  without  the  accom- 
paniment of  a  cushion,  to  complete  it.  So,  Mark  ii. 
4,  11.  "Arise,  take  up  thy  bed,"  i.  e.  thy  mattrass — 
the  covering  spread  under  thee.  Acts  ix.  34.  Peter 
said  to  Eneas,  "  Arise,  and"  hereafter  "  spread"  thy 
bed  "for  thyself;" — thy  palsy  being  cured,  thou 
shah  be  able  not  only  to  do  that  service  for  thj'self, 
but  to  giA'e  assistance  rather  than  to  ask  it.  Krahhaton, 
then,  is  the  meanest  kind  of  bed  in  use  :  our  truckle- 
bed,  or  any  other  which  is  supported  by  feet,  &c. 
cannot  justly  represent  it.  Perhaps  our  sailors' 
hammocks  are  the  nearest  to  it.  But  we  are  not  to 
suppose  that  all  beds  were  alike ;  no  doubt,  that 
when  David  wanted  warmth,  his  attendants  would 
put  matti-asses  below,  and  coverlets  above,  to  pro- 
cure it  for  him.  Neither  are  we  to  understand,  when 
a  bed  is  the  subject  of  boasting,  that  it  consisted 
merely  of  the  krahhaton,  or  plain  divan.  In  Prov. 
vii.  lis.  the  harlot  vaunts  of  her  bed,  as  highly 
ornamented  "with  tapestry- work — with  brocade 
1  have  brocaded,  bedecked  my  bed ;  the  covering 
of  it  is  of  the  fine  yarn  of  Egypt,  embossed  with  em- 
broidery." This  description  may  be  much  illus- 
trated by  the  account  which  Baron  du  Tott  gives 
of  a  bed ;  in  which  he  was  expected  to  sleep,  and  in 
which  he  might  have  slept,  had  not  European  habit 
incapacitated  him  from  that  enjoyment.  "  The  time 
for  taking  our  repose  was  now  come,  and  we  were 
conducted  into  another  large  room,  in  the  middle  of 
which  was  a  kind  of  bed  ;  without  bedstead,  or  cur- 
tains. Though  the  coverlet  and  pillows  exceeded  in 
magnificence  the  richness  of  the  sofa  which  likewise 
ornamented  the  apartment,  I  foresaw  that  I  could 
expect  but  little  rest  on  this  bed,  and  had  the  curi- 
osity to  examine  its  make  in  a  more  particular  man- 
ner. Fifteen  mnttrasses  of  quilted  cotton,  ahout  three 
iyiches  thick,  placed  one  upon  another,  formed  the 
ground-work,  and  were  covered  by  a  sheet  of  In- 
dian linen,  sewed  on  the  last  mattress.  A  coverlet 
of  green  satin,  adorned  with  gold  emhroidered  in  em- 
bossed work,  was  in  like  manner  fastened  to  the  two 
sheets,  the  ends  of  which,  turned  in,  were  sewed 
down  alternately.  Two  large  pillows  of  crimson 
satin,  covered  with  the  like  einbroiden/,  in  which  there 
was  no  loant  of  gold  or  spangles,  rested  on  two  cush- 
ions of  the  sofa,  brought  near  to  serve  for  a  back, 
and  intended  to  support  our  heads.  The  taking  of 
the  pillows  entirely  away,  would  have  been  a  good 
resource,  if  we  had  had  any  bolster ;  and  the  expe- 
dient of  turning  tlie  other  side  upwards  having  only 
served  to  show  they  wi^re  embroidered  in  the  same 
manner  on  the  bottom,  we  at  last  determined  to  lay 
our  handkerchiefs  over  them,  which,  however,  did 
not  prevent  our  being  very  sensible  of  the  embossed 
ornaments  underneath."  (Vol.  i.  p.  95.)  Here  wc 
have  many  mattrasses  of  quilted  cotton  ;  a  sheet  of 
Indian  linen,  {qnen/,  nnislin,  or  the  fine  linen  of 
Eg>'])t?)  a  coverlet  of  green  satin,  enibossod  ;  two 
large  pillows,  embossed  also  ;  two  cushions  from  the 
sofa,  to  form  a  back.  So  that  we  see,  an  eastern 
bed  may  be  an  article  of  furniture  sufficiently  com- 
plicated. 


This  description,  compared  with  a  note  of  De  la 
Motraye,  (p.  172.)  leads  to  the  supposition,  that  some- 
thing like  what  he  speaks  of  as  called  makass,  i.  e.  a 
brocaded  covering  for  show,  is  what  the  harlot  boasts 
of,  as  being  the  upper  covering  to  her  divan.  "  On 
a  rich  sofa,"  he  says,  "was  a  false  covering  of  plain 
gi'een  silk,  for  the  same  reason  as  that  in  the  hall ; 
but  I  hfted  it  up,  while  the  two  eunuchs  who  were 
with  us  had  their  backs  turned,  and  I  found  that  the 
MAKASS  of  the  minders  were  a  very  rich  brocade,  with 
a  gold  ground,  and  flowered  with  silk  of  several  col- 
ors, and  the  cushions  of  green  velvet  also  grounded 
with  gold,  and  flowered  like  them."  JVote. — "  The 
minders  have  two  covers,  one  of  which  is  called 
MAKASS,  for  ornament ;  and  the  other  to  presence 
that,  especially  when  they  are  rich,  as  these  were." 
This  was  in  the  seraglio  at  Constantinople.  It  is 
perfectly  in  character,  for  the  harlot,  who  (Prov.  ix. 
14.)  "  sits  on  a  kind  of  throne  at  her  door,"  and  who 
in  this  passage  boasts  of  all  her  showy  embellish- 
ments, to  mention  whatever  is  gaudy,  even  to  the 
tinsel  bedeckings  of  her  room,  her  furniture  and  her 
makasses,  assuming  nothing  less  than  regal  dignity 
in  words  and  description  ;  though  her  apartment  be 
the  way  to  hell,  and  the  alcove  containing  her  bed 
be  the  very  lurking  chamber  of  death. 

A  query  may  be  added,  whether  the  ivory  beds  of 
Amos  (vi.  4.)  were  not  the  divan  whereon  the  cover- 
ings were  laid.  These  might  be  ornamented  with 
ivory ;  and  to  this  sense  the  use  of  the  Hebrew  word 
miiteh  agrees.  In  this  acceptation  there  is  no  repeti- 
tion in  the  prophet's  words,  when  he  mentions 
voluptuaries  "  lying  upon  mittehs — divans — their 
frame-work  ornamented  with  ivory  ;  and  stretching 
themselves  (yawning?)  upon  the  couches — coverings 
of  those  divans;  meaning  carpets,  splendid  cushions, 
&c.  All  these  embellishments,  these  enervating  lux- 
uries, the  nature,  the  enjoyments,  and  the  actions  of 
these  voluptuaries,  agree  with  the  expected  delights 
of  an  alcove  ;  they  agree  also  with  what  has  been 
collected  from  those  ancient  writers  who  censured 
the  luxury  of  which  they  were  witnesses  in  their 
time ;  luxury  which,  it  must  not  be  forgotten,  was 
lirouglit  from  the  East,  from  Persia,  from  Syria, 
from  the  land  of  silk,  of  calico,  and  of  canopies. 

We  are  now,  it  is  evident,  at  liberty  to  suppose 
that  as  much  elegance  (or,  at  least,  show  and  pom- 
posity) was  displayed  on  the  divans  and  their  furni- 
ture, which  served  for  repose  by  night,  as  on  those 
used  by  day.  And  as  perhaps  the  same  furniture 
did  not  serve  both  day  and  night,  all  the  year  round, 
but  was  occasionally  changed,  it  seems  natural  to 
conclude,  that  in  a  great  house  there  must  be  con- 
siderable stores  of  such  furniture  ;  which,  being  not 
a  little  cumbersome,  must  require  proper,  and  even 
large,  rooms  and  warehouses,  in  which  to  keep  it. 
This  leads  to  the  true  sense  of  the  passage,  (2  Kings 
xi.  2.)  Joash  and  his  nurse  ivere  hidden  six  years  in  the 
house  of  the  Lord — in  the  bed-chamber,  (niarn  mns,) 
i.  e.  the  repository — or  store-room — for  the  beds — 
for  the  mattrasses  and  their  numerous  accompani- 
ments ;  which,  being  bulky,  afforded  the  means  of 
forming  space  among  them  sufficient  to  receive  the 
(^hild  and  his  nurse,  and  to  conceal  them  effectually. 
This  was  within  the  precincts  of  the  house  of  the 
Lord,  a  sacred  place,  where  none  but  priests  could 
enter  ;  and  where,  probably,  none  did  enter  but  the 
high-priest,  Jehoiada,  and  his  wife  Jehosheba.  This 
explanation  banishes  all  ideas  of  an  English  bed- 
room in  the  house  of  die  Lord  ;  (which,  to  keep  un- 
visited  during  six  years,  would  have  been  very  sus- 


liEE 


[157] 


BEE 


picious  ;)  it  renders  the  concealment  extremely  easy 
and  natural,  since,  certainly,  this  repository  was 
mider  the  charge  of  its  proper  keeper,  who,  only, 
managed  its  concerns ;  and  it  agrees  to  the  forma- 
tion of  the  Hebrew  woi-ds.  Moreover,  if  the  infant, 
Joash,  were  wounded,  apparently  to  death,  (as  Atha- 
liah,  no  doubt,  thought  him  irrecoverably  dead  be- 
fore she  left  him,)  this  large  room  might  afford  more 
conveniences  while  he  was  under  cure  from  his 
wounds  than  any  other  room  coidd  do  ;  and  having 
been  safe  here  for  a  time,  where  better  could  they 
place  him  afterwards? 

In  closing  this  article,  we  should  note  the  various 
acceptations  of  the  word  divan,  or  duan  :  (1.)  for  the 
raised  floor  ;  (2.)  for  the  whole  settle  on  wliich  a 
j)erson  (or  several  persons)  sits ;  (3.)  for  the  room 
tliat  contains  the  divan  ;  (4.)  for  the  hall,  or  council 
chamber ;  so  called,  because  the  council  usually  sits 
on  the  duan  constructed  around  the  room ;  (5.)  for 
the  council  itself;  who  are  said  when  in  consulta- 
tion to  be  "in  divan."     See  Sitting. 

BED  AN.  We  read  in  1  Sam.  xn.  11.  that  the 
Lord  sent  several  deliverers  of  Israel ;  Jerubbaal,  Be- 
dan,  Jephthah,  Samuel.  Jerubbaal  we  know  to  be 
Gideon ;  but  we  no  where  find  Bedan  among  the 
judges  of  Israel.  The  LXX,  instead  of  Bedan,  read 
Barak  ;  others  think  Bedan  to  be  Jair,  of  Manasseh, 
who  judged  Israel  twenty-three  years,  Judg.  x.  3. 
There  was  a  Bedan,  great-grandson  to  Machir,  and 
Jair  was  descended  from  a  daughter  of  Machir. 
The  Chaldee,  the  rabbins,  and  after  them  the  gene- 
raUty  of  commentators,  conclude  that  Bedan  was 
Samson,  of  Dan ;  but  the  opinion  which  supposes 
Bedan  and  Jair  to  be  the  same  person  seems  the 
most  probable.  The  names  of  Samson  and  Barak 
were  added  in  many  Latin  copies,  before  the  cor- 
rections of  them,  by  the  Roman  censors,  were  pub- 
lished. The  edition  of  Sixtus  V.  reads,  "  Jerobaal, 
et  Baldan,  et  Samson,  et  Barak,  et  Jephte." 

BEE,  an  insect  producing  honey.  (See  Honey.) 
Bees  were  unclean  by  the  law.  Lev.  xi.  23. 

BEEL-ZEBUB.  The  form  and  quahty  of  this 
ridiculous  god  have  been  much  disputed.  Beel-ze- 
bub,  or,  as  he  is  called  in  the  Greek  and  Latin,  Beel- 
zebul,  or  Beel-zebut,  had  a  famous  temple  and  ora- 
cle at  Ekron,  and  Ahaziah,  king  of  Israel,  having 
fallen  from  the  terrace  of  his  house,  and  received 
dangerous  bruises,  sent  to  consult  him,  whether  he 
should  recover,  2  Kings  i.  In  the  New  Testament, 
Beel-zebub  is  called  "  prince  of  the  devils,"  Matt.  xii. 
24  ;  Mark  iii.  22  ;  Luke  xi.  15.  Some  are  of  opinion, 
that  the  name  of  Achor,  the  god  invoked  at  Cyrene 
against  flies,  comes  from  Accaron,  the  city  where 
Beel-zebub  was  worshipped ;  others,  that  the  true 
name  which  the  Philistines  gave  to  their  deity,  was 
Beel-zebach,  god  of  sacrifice  ;  or  Beel-zebnoth,  gdd  of 
hosts,  or  Beel-zebul,  god  of  the  habitation,  or  of 
heaven  ;  and  that  the  Jews,  who  deUghted  in  disfig- 
uring the  names  of  false  gods,  by  a  play  of  words, 
or  punning  upon  them,  and  who  were  scrupulous 
of  calling  them  by  their  proper  appellations,  gave 
him,  in  derision,  that  ofjly  god,  or  god  of  ordure. 
The  name  of  Beel-zebuth  is  not  very  different  from 
that  of  Beel-zebaoth,  god  of  hosts.  Some  comment- 
ators suppose,  that  the  true  name  of  the  deity  was 
Belsamin,  the  god  of  heaven ;  others,  that  he  ^'^•as 
called  the  "  god  of  flies,"  because  he  defended  people 
from  these  insects ;  as  the  Eleans  adored  Jupiter  ; 
and  the  Romans  too,  though  not  under  the  name  of 
Jupiter,  but  of  "  Hercules  Apomyius."  We  no  where 
read,  however,  that  killing  flies  was  one  of  the  la- 


bors of  Hercules.  Others  think  that  the  fly  or  beetle 
accompanied  the  unage  of  Baalzebub,  and  gave 
name  to  it :  "  Baal  with  the  fly  ;"  and  the  Egyptians, 
(who  lived  near  the  Philistines,)  we  know,  paid  di- 
vine honors  to  the  beetle.  It  is  said  in  the  book  of 
Wisdom,  (chap.  xii.  8.)  that  God  sent  flies  and  wasps 
to  drive  the  Canaanites  and  Anmionites  by  degrees 
out  of  Canaan ;  and  then  adds,  that  God  made  those 
very  things,  to  which  they  paid  divine  honors,  the 
instruments  of  their  punishment ;  which  indicates, 
that  they  adored  flies  and  wasps.  Besides,  it  really 
does  appear,  that  Ekron  and  its  neighborhood  is  pes- 
tered with  a  kind  of  fire-fly,  or  cincinnellce,  whose 
stings  occasion  "  a  most  violent  burning  tumor,"  at 
some  seasons  of  the  year.  Why  the  Jews,  in  our 
Saviour's  time,  called  Beelzebub  the  "  prince  of  the 
devils,"  we  know  not.  The  Jews,  however,  accused 
him  of  driving  out  devils,  in  the  name  of  Beelzebub, 
prince  of  the  devils,  that  is,  of  Satan,  Lucifer,  or 
the  chief  of  the  rebel  angels,  as  appears  by  our 
Lord's  answer :  "  If  Satan  cast  out  Satan,  he  is  di- 
vided against  himself;  how  then  can  his  kingdom 
stand  ?"  Matt.  xii.  24. 

[Those  who  write  BaXti^ovli,  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment, derive  the  form  from  am  Vya  the  name  of  an 
idol  deity  among  the  Ekronites,  signifying  lord  of 
flits,  fly-baal,  fly-god,  whose  office  it  was  to  protect 
his  worshippers  from  the  torment  of  the  gnats  and 
flies  with  which  that  region  was  infested,  like  the 
ZiC'i  u:roiivio?  of  the  Greeks,  or  of  the  Myagrius  of 
the  Romans ;  2  Kings  i.  2,  3,  16.  Those  who  write 
Bte/.ii(iovX,  derive  it  from  Sm  Sj.'2,  i.  e.  either  lord  of 
the  dwelling,  region,  sc.  of  the  demons,  the  air ;  or, 
with  more  probabihty,  deus  stercoris,  from  Sai  stercus, 
(Buxtorf,  Lex.  Rab.  Tal.  641.)  They  suppose  the 
Jews  to  have  applied  this  appellation  to  Satan  as 
being  the  author  of  all  the  pollutions  and  abomina- 
tions of  idol  worship.  See  Jahn,  §  408.  iii.  Kuinoel 
on  Matt.  X.  25.     See  the  article  Baal.     R. 

BEER,  a  well,  a  town  about  12  miles  from  Jeru- 
salem, in  the  way  to  Shechem,  or  Napolose.  It  is 
probable,  that  Jotham,  son  of  Gideon,  retired  to  this 
place,  to  avoid  falling  into  the  hands  of  his  brother 
Abimelech,  Judg.  ix.  21. 

BEER-ELIM,  (Isaiah  xv.  8.)  the  well  of  the 
princes,  probably  the  same  with  that  mentioned 
Numb.  xxi.  18. 

BEER-RAMATH,  the  well  on  the  heights,  Josh, 
xix.  8.  (See  Rama.)  Eng.  tr.  Baalath-beer,  Ramath 
of  the  south. 

BEER-LAHA-ROI,  a  well  between  Kadesh  and 
Shur,  where  the  angel  of  God  appeared  to  Hagar, 
Gen.  xvi.  14. 

I,  BEEROTH,  a  city  of  the  Gibeonites,  after- 
wards belonging  to  Benjamin,  (Josh.  Lx.  17 ;  xviii. 
25  ;  2  Sam.  iv.  2 ;  Ezra  ii.  25.)  seven  miles  fi-ora 
Jerusalem,  toward  Nicopohs. 

II.  BEEROTH,  of  the  children  of  Jaakon,  (Dent. 
X.  6.)  a  station  of  the  Israelites  ten  miles  from  the 
city  of  Petra,  according  to  Eusebius.  Numb,  xxxiii. 
31.  reads  only  Bene-Jaakan,  instead  of  Beeroth- 
bene-Jaakan,  Deut.  x.  6.  Where  water  is  scarce, 
wells  would  naturally  induce  settlements,  and  give 
name  to  them ;  so  Puteoli,  the  wells,  Acts  xxviu.  13. 
The  property  of  wells  would  also  be  claimed  by  the 
residents  around  them  ;  hence.  Beer oth-beni- Jaakon, 
the  wells  of  the  sons  of  Jaakan. 

BEER-SHEBA,  the  ivell  of  an  oath.  (See  Cove- 
nant.) The  place  where  Abraham  made  an  alliance 
with  Abimelech,  king  of  Gerar,and  gave  him  seven 
ewe-lambs,  in  token  of  that  covenant  to  which  they 


BEH 


[158] 


BEHEMOTH 


had  sworn,  Gen.  xxi.  31.  The  to-\vn  subsequently 
built  here  was  given  by  Joshua  to  Judah  ;  but  was 
afterwards  transferred  to  Sinieon,  Josh.  xv.  28.  It 
was  twenty  miles  south  of  Hebron,  and  at  the  ex- 
treniitv  of  the  Holy  Land. 

BEESHTERAH,  a  city,  belonging  to  the  half- 
tribe  of  Manasseh,  beyond  Jordan,  Avhich  was  given 
to  the  Levites,  Josh.  xxi.  27.  Compare  1  Chron.  vi. 
71,  where   it   is   called   Asiaroth.      Vulgate,   Bozra. 

BEETLE,  see  Canker-worm,  and  Locust. 

BEEVES,  the  generical  name  for  a  class  of  clean 
animals.     Collectively,  herds.     See  Heifer. 

BEGGING.  Moses,  exhorting  the  Israelites  to 
alms-giving,  says  :  (Deut.  xv.  4,  7.)  "  To  the  end  that 
there  be  no  poor  among  you  ;  for  the  Lord  shall 
gi-eatly  bless  thee ;"  and,  a  little  lower,  "  If  there  be 
among  you  a  jjoor  man,  thou  shalt  not  harden  thine 
heart,  nor  shut  thine  hand  from  thy  poor  brother." 
These  texts  do  not  speak  of  begging ;  but  Ave  know 
that  there  were  at  all  times  beggars,  among  the  Jews, 
as  well  as  other  nations.  God  himself  says,  (Deut. 
XV.  11.)  "The  poor  shall  never  cease  out  of  the 
land  ;"  and  there  were  beggars  in  Jerusalem,  and 
other  places,  Mark.  x.  4G  ;  Luke  xviii.  3.5.  The  true 
sense  of  the  passage  in  Moses  is,  that  God  would  so 
bless  the  lands  of  the  Hebrews  in  the  sixth  year, 
that  though  there  should  be  no  harvest  in  the  sab- 
batical year,  yet  none  among  them  should  be  desti- 
tute, if  tiiey  observed  his  precepts  ;  or,  it  was  his 
design  to  recommend  charity  and  alms-giving 
most  effectually  ;  q.  d.  "  Be  so  charitable  and 
liberal,  that  there  may  be  no  indigent  person  in 
Israel." 

BEHE3IOTH,  the  animal.  The  author  of  the  book 
of  Job  has  evidently  taken  great  pains  to  delineate 
highly  finished  poetical  pictures  of  two  remarkable 
animals — behemoth  and  leviathan — with  which 
he  closes  his  description  of  animated  nature,  and 
terminates  the  climax  of  that  discourse  which  he 
j)uts  into  the  mouth  of  the  Creator,  The  passage 
stands  thus  in  our  translation  : — 

Behold,  now,  behemoth,  which  I  made  with 
thee ; 

1.  He  eateth  grass  as  an  ox; 

2.  His  strength  is  in  his  loins, 

3.  His  force  in  the  navel  of  his  belly ; 

4.  He  movetli  his  tail  like  a  cedar ; 

5.  The  sinews  of  his  stones  are  wrapt  together. 
0.  His  bones  are  strong  pieces  of  brass, 

7.  His  bones  like  bars  of  iron. 

8.  He  is  the  chief  of  the  ways  of  God  ; 

9.  He  that  made  him,  can  make  his  sword  to  ap- 

j)roach  him. 

10.  Surely  the  mountains  bring  liini  forth  food, 

11.  Where  all  the  l)easts  of  the  field  play: 

12.  He  lieth  under  the  shady  trees, 

13.  In  the  covert  of  the  reeds  and  fens; 

14.  The  shady  trees  cover  him  with  their  shadow, 
1.5.  The  willows  of  the  Ijrook  coni|)ass  him  about; 
IG.  Behold,  he  drinkcth  up  a  river  ;  he  hasteth  not ; 

17.  He  trusteth  that  he  can  draw  up  Jordan  into  his 

mouth  ; 

18.  He  taketh  it  with  his  eyes; 

19.  His  nose  picrccth  through  snares. 

Bochart  has  taken  gi'cat  pains  to  prove  that  this  is 
the  hi|)popotamu«,  or  river-horse  ;  Sanctius  thinks  it 
was  an  ox  ;  the  Fathers  suppose  it  was  the  devil ;  and 
Calniet,  with  the  generality  of  the  older  interpreters, 
believes  that  it  is  the  elephant.  In  adopting  the 
opinion  of  Bochart,  we  may  offer  the  following  sug- 


gestion in  support  of  that  interpretation.  The  levi- 
athan is  described  at  still  greater  length  than  the  be- 
hemoth, and  they  evidently  appear  to  be  presented 
as  companions  ;  to  be  reserved  as  fellows  and  asso- 
ciates. Under  this  idea,  which  is  almost  undeniable, 
we  may  inquire  what  were  the  creatures  most  likely 
to  be  companionized  in  early  ages,  and  in  countries 
bordering  on  Egj'pt,  where  the  scene  of  the  book  of 
Job  is  laid  ;  and  from  the  "Antiquities  of  Hercula- 
neum,"  the  "  Prseuestine  Pavement,"  and  the  famous 
"  statue  of  the  hill,"  it  is  apparent  that  they  must 
have  been  the  crocodile,  now  generally  allowed  to 
be  the  leviathan,  and  the  hippopotamus,  or  river- 
horse. 

After  these  authorities,  we  may,  without  hesitation, 
conclude,  that  this  association  was  not  rare  or  un- 
common, but  that  it  really  was  the  customary  manner 
of  tliinking,  and,  consequently,  of  speaking,  in  an- 
cient times,  and  in  the  countries  where  these  creatures 
were  native  ;  we  may  add,  that  being  well  known  in 
Egypt,  and  in  some  degree  popular  objects  of  Egyp- 
tian pride,  distinguishing  natives  of  that  country, 
from  their  magnitude  and  character,  they  could  not 
escape  the  notice  of  any  curious  naturalist,  or  writer 
on  natural  history ;  so  that  to  suppose  they  were 
omitted  in  this  })art  of  the  book  of  Job,  would  be  to 
suppose  a  blemish  in  the  book,  implying  a  deficiency 
in  tlie  author.  And  if  they  are  inserted,  no  other 
description  can  be  that  of  the  hippopotamus. 

It  has  been  above  stated,  that  many  learned  men 
have  taken  the  elephant  for  behemoth  ; — but  to  this 
it  may  be  replied,  that  no  pictorial  authority  which 
has  hitherto  been  published,  has  represented  the  ele- 
phant as  known  in  Egypt ;  much  less  as  peculiar  to 
that  country,  though  it  has  been  repeatedly,  indeed, 
we  believe,  constantly,  adopted  as  a  symbol  of  Africa. 
Till,  therefore,  some  instances  be  produced,  in  which 
the  elephant  is  not  only  rejjresented  as  an  inhabitant 
of  Egypt,  but  also  as  associated  with  the  crocodile, 
we  presume  we  may  consider  the  weight  of  evidence 
as  decisive  in  favor  of  the  hippopotamus  as  being 
behemoth.  Omitting,  therefore,  what  might  be  said 
against  the  elephant,  such  as  the  difficulty  of  recon- 
ciling certain  particulars  with  the  descri])tion  of  be- 
hemoth by  the  sacred  writer,  &c.  let  us  now  examine 
the  description  somewhat  closely,  in  the  order  of  the 
verses  in  the  y)assage. 

1.  He  eateth  grass  like  an  ox.  It  is  evident  from 
all  the  i-epresentations  selected,  that  the  hippopota- 
mus feeds  on  vegetables.  In  one  of  the  ])lates  in 
the  Antiquities  of  Herculaneuin,  (vol.  ii.  p.  295.)  he 
is  in  the  very  act  of  feeding  on  such  provisions. 

2.  His  strens-th  is  in  his  loins.  3.  His  force  in  the 
navel  of  his  belhj.  Each  of  these  delineations  repre- 
sents him  as  powerfully  built  ;  and  shows  prodigious 
strength  of  construction. 

4.  He  moveth  (bendeth)  his  tail  like  a  cedar,  \.  e. 
shaken  by  the  wind ;  not,  we  suppose,  rapidly,  Avith 
a  tremulous  motion,  but  slowly,  as  it  were  solennily, 
ill  a  stately  manner.  This  ajjpeai-s,  in  some  degree, 
from  representations,  where  his  tail  is  seen  to  advan- 
tage, and  is  evidently  in  motion. 

5,  6,  7.  Are  implied  in  his  general  form  ;  but  are 
incapable  of  illustration  by  these  subjects.  We  shall 
merely  para])hrase  the  version  :  "His  smaller  bcncs 
arc  like  compact  bars  of  brass  :  his  larger  bones  like 
forged  bars  of  iron." 

9.  He,  (God,)  in  making  him,  has  tnadefaH  (fixed)  his 
iveapon.  None  of  the  j)lates  exhibit  the  tusks  of^the 
hip[)opotanius  like  what  they  are  in  nature ;  yet  this 
part  of  the  animal  had  not  entirely  escaped  notice. 


BEHEMOTH 


I  159  ] 


BEHEMOTH 


10.  The  swellings  (risings)  produce  him  food ;  not 
mountains,  strictly  speaking,  but  any  elevations,  such 
as  those  on  wiiich  he  is  represented  feeding,  in  some 
ol*  these  j)lates. 

11.  J  f  here  play  all  the  beasts  of  the  field.  It  may 
bo  thought  suHiciently  remarkable,  that  in  several  of 
these  representations,  where  so  formidable  a  creature 
as  the  hippopotamus  is  depicted  as  drinking,  roaring, 
tScc.  there  sliould  be  a  duck  in  perfect  quiet,  and 
without  any  fright,  or  fear  of  injury  from  him,  as  is 
the  case.  Is  it  not  the  chief  intention  of  this  verse, 
to  express  the  seciu'ity  of  the  lesser  creatures  from 
injury  by  this  inoffensive  animal,  ■which  permits 
even  their  frolics  and  sportiveness  without  interrup- 
tion ? 

12.  He  lieth  under  the  shady  trees ;  14.  The  shady 
trees  compass  him  with  their  shadow.  Here  the  prints 
fail ;  Egyj)t  being  a  country  not  abounding  in  trees : 
but,  as  amends,  verses  13,  15  (He  lieth  in  the  coved 
of  the  reeds  and  fens)  are  strongly  illustrated  by 
them. 

16.  He  dnnketh  up  a  river ;  he  hasteth  not.  One  of 
the  plates  seems  to  be  a  direct  connnent  on  this  verse  ; 
and  on  verses  17,  18.  He  is  cojfident  though  Jordan 
rush  against  his  mouth,  he  taketh  it  with  his  eyes.  The 
ancient  artist  has  well  expressed  the  eagerness  in  this 
animal.  (The  j)lates  may  be  seen  in  the  large  edition 
of  this  work.) 

It  should  be  remembered,  that  the  subjects  from 
Herculaneum  were  the  connnon  ornaments  of  com- 
mon houses ;  their  merit,  therefore,  as  instances  of 
art,  is  by  no  means  considerable  ;  but  their  common- 
ness (as  seems  to  be  a  fair  inference  from  the  situa- 
tions in  which  they  were  found)  deserves  notice,  in 
support  of  principles  adopted  on  this  subject  and 
otliers. 

These  remarks  are  independent  of  the  general 
natural  histoiy  of  the  hippopotamus  ;  and  are  merely 
meant  to  show,  that  the  chief  particulars  of  his  jiian- 
ners  were  well  understood  in  ancient  times ;  that 
they  are  comformable  to  the  accounts  of  travellers, 
will  appear  to  any  who  peruse  BufTon's  account  of 
this  animal ;  and  especially  the  more  recent "  Travels 
in  Africa"  of  M.  Vaillant: — but,  as  our  present  de- 
sign is  not  to  write  the  natural  history  of  the  crea- 
ture, but  merely  to  ascertain  and  identify  the  behe- 
moth of  the  book  of  Job,  with  what  success  this 
design  has  been  fulfilled  must  be  left  to  the  reflective 
reader.    See  Elephant,  and  Hippopotamus. 

[That  the  behemoth  of  the  book  of  Job  is  the  hip- 
popotannis,  or  river  horse,  is  now  fully  conceded  by 
all  recent  commentators  of  any  note  ;  and  for  the 
following  reasons  among  others:  (1.)  That  it  is  an 
aquatic  animal  follows  from  the  whole  plan  and  order 
of  the  two  discourses  of  Jehovah  ;  (c.  xxxviii,  etc.) 
in  which  the  appeal  is  made,  first,  tr>  the  phenomena 
of  nature,  and  then  to  the  beasts  of  the  earth  and 
birds  of  the  air  ;  all  these  are  reviewed  in  the  for- 
mer address,  and  there  remain  for  the  second  only 
the  aquatic  animals.  (2.)  The  description  of  behe- 
moth is  immediately  lollowed  by  that  of  the  croco- 
dile. But  the  crocodile  and  hippopotamus,  as  being 
Egyynian  wonders,  are  constantly  and  every  where 
so  joined  by  the  ancient  writers  ;  see  Herodot.  ii.  (i!) 
—/I.  Dio'd.  Sic.  i.  35.  Plin.  H.  N.  xxviii.  8.  (3.) 
That  it  is  amphibious  follows  necessarily  from  the 
antitiiesis  and  contrast  expressed  in  verses  15,  20 — 
22,  and  verses  23,  34.  The  probability  is  that  the 
name  behemoth  is  properly  an  Egyptian  word,  sig- 
nifying river-ox  ;  just  as  the  same  animal  is  still 
sometimes  called  by  us  sea-cow. 


The  appearance  of  the  hijipopotainus  when  on  the 
land  is  altogether  uncouth,  the  body  being  extremely 
large,  flat,  and  round,  the  head  enormously  large  in 
proportion,  and  the  legs  as  disproportionately  siiort. 
Authors  vary  in  describing  the  size  of  this  animal. 
The  length  of  a  male  has  been  known  to  be  seven- 
teen feet,  the  height  seven  feet,  and  th(!  circumference 
fifteen  ;  the  liead  three  feet  and  a  half,  and  the  girt 
nine  feet ;  the  mouth  in  width  about  two  feet.  The 
general  color  of  the  animal  is  brownish  ;  the  ears 
small  and  pointed,  and  lined  verj'  thickly  with  fine, 
short  hairs ;  the  eyes  small  in  proi)ortion  to  the 
creature,  and  black  ;  the  \\\)s  very  thick,  broad,  and 
beset  with  a  few  scattered  tufts  of  short  bristles ;  the 
nostrils  small.  The  armament  of  teeth  in  its  mouth 
is  truly  formidable  ;  more  j)articular]y  the  tusks  of 
the  lower  jaw,  which  are  of  a  curved  form,  some- 
what cylindrical ;  these  are  so  strong  and  hard  that 
they  will  strike  fire  with  steel,  are  sometiujes  more 
than  two  feet  in  length,  and  weigh  upwards  of  six 
pounds  each.  The  other  teeth  are  nuich  smaller  ; 
those  in  the  lower  jaw  are  conical,  pointed,  and  pro- 
jecting forwards  almost  horizontally.  The  whole 
surface  of  the  body  is  covered  with  short  hair  ;  but 
more  sparingly  on  the  under  parts  than  on  the  upper. 
The  tail  is  short,  thick,  and  a  little  hairy.  The  feet 
are  large,  and  each  of  the  four  lobes,  or  toes,  fur- 
nished with  a  hoof.  The  color  of  the  hipnopotanms, 
when  just  emerging  from  the  water,  is  paiish  brown, 
or  mouse  color,  inclining  to  a  bluish  tinge,  with  the 
skin  appearing  through  the  hair ;  but  this  aj)pear- 
ance  vanishes  as  the  skin  becomes  dry. 

The  following  account  of  the  capture  of  a  hippo- 
potamus serves  greatly  to  elucidate  the  descrijition 
in  the  book  of  Job,  and  to  show  its  correctness,  even 
in  those  points  which  have  formerly  been  regarded 
as  poetical  exaggerations.  It  is  translated  from  the 
travels  of  M.  Riippell,  the  German  naturalist,  who 
visited  Upper  Egjpt  and  the  countries  still  farther  up 
the  Nile,  and  is  the  latest  traveller  in  those  regions. 
(Reisen  in  Nnbien,  Kordofan,  etc.  Frankf.  Ib29.  p. 
52,  seq.)  "  In  the  province  of  Dougola,  the  fishermen 
and  hippopotamus  hunters  form  a  distinct  class  or 
caste  ;  and  are  called  in  the  Berber  language  Hauauit 
(pronounced  Howowit).  They  make  use  of  a  small 
canoe,  formed  from  a  single  tree,  about  10  feet  long, 
and  capable  of  carrying  two,  and  at  most  three  men. 
The  harpoon  which  they  use  in  himting  the  hippo- 
potamus, has  a  strong  barb  just  back  of  the  blade  or 
sharp  edge ;  above  this  a  long  and  strong  cord  is 
fastened  to  the  iron,  and  to  the  other  end  of  this 
cord,  a  block  of  light  wood,  to  serve  as  a  buoy  and 
aid  in  tracing  out  and  following  the  animal  when 
struck.  The  iron  is  then  slightly  fastened  upon  a 
wooden  handle,  or  lance,  about  eight  feet  long. 

"The  hunters  of  the  hi|)popotamus  harpoon  their 
prey  either  l)y  day  or  by  night ;  but  they  prefer  the 
former,  because  they  can  then  better  parry  the  fero- 
cious assaults  of  the  enraged  animal.  The  hunter 
takes  in  his  right  hand  the  handle  of  the  harpoon, 
with  a  part  of  the  cord  ;  in  his  left,  the  remainder  of 
the  cord,  with  the  buoy  ;  in  this  manner  he  cautious- 
ly approaches  the  creature  as  it  sleeps  by  day  upon 
a  small  island  ;  or  he  watches  at  night  on  those  parts 
of  the  shore,  where  he  hojies  the  animal  will  come 
up  out  of  the  water,  in  order  to  feed  in  the  fields  of 
grain.  When  he  has  gained  the  desired  distance, 
(about  seven  paces,)  he  throws  the  lance  with  his  full 
strength  ;  and  the  harpoon,  in  order  to  hold,  must 
penetrate  ihe  thick  hide  and  into  the  flesh.  The 
wounded  beast  commonly  makes  for  the  water,  and 


BEHEMOTH 


[160] 


BEL 


plunges  beneath  it  in  order  to  conceal  himself;  the 
handle  of  the  harpoon  falls  off,  but  the  buoy  swims, 
and  indicates  the  direction  which  the  animal  takes. 
— The  harpooning  of  the  hippopotamus  is  attended 
with  great  danger,  when  the  hunter  is  perceived  by 
the  animal,  before  he  has  thrown  the  harpoon.  In 
such  cases  the  beast  sometimes  rushes,  enraged,  upon 
his  assailant,  and  crushes  him  at  once  between  his 
wide  and  formidable  jaws, — an  occurrence  that 
once  took  place  during  our  residence  near  Shendi. 
Sometimes  the  most  harmless  objects  excite  the 
rage  of  this  animal ;  thus  in  the  region  of  Amara,  a 
hippopotamus  once  crauuched,  in  the  same  way, 
several  cattle  that  were  fastened  to  a  water-wheel. 

"  So  soon  as  the  animal  has  been  successfully 
struck,  the  hunters  hasten  in  their  canoe  cau- 
tiously to  approach  the  buoy,  to  which  they  fasten 
a  long  rope ;  with  the  other  end  of  this  they  pro- 
ceed to  the  large  boat  or  bark,  on  board  of  which 
are  their  companions.  The  rope  is  noAV  drawn  in  ; 
the  pain  thus  occasioned  by  the  barb  of  the  har- 
poon, excites  the  rage  of  the  animal,  and  he  no 
sooner  perceives  the  bark,  than  he  rushes  upon  it  ; 
seizes  upon  it,  if  possible,  %vith  his  teeth ;  and  some- 
times succeeds  in  shattering  it,  or  oversetting  it. 
The  hunters  in  the  mean  time  are  not  idle  ;  they 
fasten  five  or  six  other  harpoons  in  his  flesh,  and 
exert  all  their  strength,  by  means  of  the  cords  of 
these,  to  keep  him  close  alongside  of  the  bark,  in 
order  thus  to  diminish,  in  some  measure,  the  effects 
of  his  violence ;  they  endeavor,  with  a  long  sharp 
iron,  to  divide  the  Ugamentum  jugi,  or  to  beat  in  the 
skull, — the  usual  modes  in  which  the  natives  kill  this 
animal.  Since  the  carcass  of  a  fuU-grown  hippopot- 
amus is  too  large  to  be  drawn  out  of  the  water 
without  quite  a  number  of  men,  they  commonly  cut 
up  the  animal,  when  killed,  in  the  water,  and  draw 
the  pieces  ashore.  In  the  whole  Turkish  province 
of  Dongola,  there  are  only  one  or  two  hippopotami 
killed  annually.  In  the  years  1821 — 23  inclusive, 
there  were  nine  killed ;  four  of  which  were  killed  by 
us.  The  flesli  of  the  young  animal  is  very  good 
eating ;  when  full-gro\vn  they  are  usually  very  fat, 
and  their  carcass  is  commonly  estimated  as  equal  to 
four  or  five  oxen.  The  hide  is  used  only  for  making 
whips,  whicli  are  excellent ;  and  one  hide  furnishes 
from  350  to  500  of  them.     The  teeth  are  not  used. 

"  One  of  the  hippopotami  which  we  killed  was  a 
very  old  male,  and  seemed  to  have  reached  his  ut- 
most growth.  He  measured,  from  tlie  snout  to  the 
end  of  the  tail,  about  15  feet ;  and  his  tusks,  from 
the  root  to  the  point  along  the  external  curve,  28 
inches.  In  order  to  kill  him,  we  had  a  battle  with 
him  of  four  hours  long,  and  that  too  in  the  night. 
Indeed,  he  came  very  near  destroying  our  large 
bark  ;  and  with  it,  perhaps,  all  our  lives.  The  mo- 
ment he  saw  tlie  hunters  in  the  small  canoe,  as  they 
were  about  to  fasten  the  long  rope  to  the  buoy,  in 
order  to  draw  him  in,  he  threw  himself  with  one 
rush  upon  it,  dragged  it  with  hiin  under  water,  and 
sliattered  it  to  j/ieccs.  The  two  hunters  escaped 
this  extreme  danger  with  great  difficulty.  Out  of  25 
musket  balls,  which  were  fired  into  the  monster's 
head,  at  the  distance  of  five  feet,  only  one  penetrated 
the  hide  and  the  hones  near  the  nose  ;  so  that  eveiy 
time  he  breathed,  he  snorted  streams  of  blood  upon 
the  bark.  All  the  other  balls  remained  sticking  in 
the  thickness  of  the  hide.  We  had,  at  last,  to  em- 
ploy a  small  cannon  ;  the  use  of  which  at  so  short  a 
distance  had  not  before  entered  our  minds  ;  but  it 
was  only  after  five  of  its  balls,  fired  at  the  distance 


of  a  few  feet,  had  mangled,  most  shockingly,  the 
head  and  body  of  the  monster,  that  he  gave  up  the 
ghost.  The  darkness  of  the  night  augmented  the 
horrors  and  dangers  of  the  contest.  This  gigantic 
hippopotamus  dragged  our  large  bark  at  his  will  in 
every  direction  of  the  stream  ;  and  it  was  in  a  fortu- 
nate moment  for  us  that  he  yielded,  just  as  he  had 
drawn  the  bark  among  a  labyrinth  of  rocks,  which 
might  have  been  so  much  the  more  dangerous,  be- 
cause, from  the  gi-eat  confusion  on  board,  no  one 
had  observed  them. 

"  Hippopotami  of  the  size  of  the  one  above  de- 
scribed cannot  be  killed  by  the  natives,  for  want  of 
a  cannon.  These  anunals  are  a  real  plague  to  the 
land,  in  consequence  of  their  voraciousness.  The 
inhabitants  have  no  permanent  means  of  keeping 
them  away  from  their  fields  and  plantations ;  all  that 
they  do  is,  to  make  a  noise  during  the  night  with  a 
drum,  and  to  keep  up  fires  in  different  places.  In 
some  parts  the  hippopotami  are  so  bold,  that  they 
will  yield  up  their  pastures  or  places  of  feeding,  only 
when  a  large  number  of  persons  come  rushing  upon 
them  with  sticks  and  loud  cries."     *R, 

BEKAH,  half  a  shekel ;  in  Dr.  Arbuthnot's  Ta- 
ble, 13d.  ll-16ths;  in  Dr.  Prideaux's,  Is.  6d.  [The 
true  value  was  about  25  cents.  R.]  The  half- 
shekel  was  called  bekah,  from  the  verb  baka,  Avhich 
signifies,  to  divide  into  two  parts.  Every  Israelite 
paid  one  bekah  yearly,  for  the  support  and  repaiis 
of  the  temple,  Exod.  xxx.  13.     See  Didrachma. 

BEL,  the  Chaldean  Baal.  (See  Baal.)  They  at- 
tributed to  Bel  the  gift  of  healing  diseases ;  and  be- 
lieved that  he  ate  and  drank  like  a  living  person. 
Daniel  (Apoc.)  relates  his  detection  of  the  cheat  of 
Bel's  priests,  who  came  eveiy  night  through  private 
doors,  to  eat  what  was  offered  to  their  deity. 

BELA,  Bala,  or  Zohar,  Gen.  xiv.  8.     See  Zoar. 

BELIAL  is  plainly  Hebrew,  from  >'?3,  not,  and 
S}",  advantage,  xdility ;  hence,  strictly,  Belial  means 
u'orthlessness,  and  is  always  so  used  in  a  moral  sense. 
A  man  or  son  of  Belial,  therefore,  is  a  wicked,  worth- 
less man;  one  i-esolved  to  endure  no  subjection;  a 
rebel ;  a  disobedient,  uncontrollalile  fellow.  The  in- 
habitants of  Gibeah,  who  abused  the  Levite's  wife, 
have  the  name  "men  of  Belial"  given  to  them,  Judg. 
xix.  22.  Hojjhui  and  Phineas,  the  high-])riept  Eli's 
sons,  are  likewise  called  "sons  of  Belial,"  because  of 
their  crimes,  and  their  unbecoming  conduct  in  the 
temple  of  the  Lord.  In  later  writings,  Belial  is  put 
for  the  power  or  lord  of  evil,  i.  e.  for  Satan.  Paul 
says,  (2  Cor.  vi.  15.)  "What  concord  hath  Christ 
with  Belial  ?"  Whence  it  is  inferred,  that  in  his 
time  the  Jews,  by  Belial,  understood  Satan,  as  the 
patron  and  epitome  of  licentiousness. 

BELL.  Moses  ordered  that  the  lower  part  of 
the  blue  robe,  which  the  high-priest  wore  in  religious 
ceremonies,  should  be  adorned  with  poniegianates 
and  bells,  intermixed,  alternately,  at  ffjual  distances. 
The  pomegranates  were  of  wool,  blue,  ])urple,  and 
crimson  ;  the  bells  were  of  gold,  Exod.  xxviii.  33,34.  / 
The  legislator  adds,  "And  it  shall  be  upon  Aaron  \/ 
to  minister;  and  his  sound  shall  be  heard  win  n  be  , 

goeth  in  imto  the    holy  ])lace  before    the  Lord,  and  j 

when  he  cometh  out ;  that  he  die  not."     The  kings  ' 

of  Persia  are  said  to  have  had  the  hem  of  their 
roi)es  adorned  like  that  of  the  Jewish  high-priest, 
with  pomegranates  and  golden  bells.  The  Arabian 
ladies,  who  are  about  the  king's  person,  have  little 
gold  bells  fastened  to  their  legs,  their  necks,  and 
elbows,  which,  when  they  dance,  make  a  very 
agreeable    harmony.      The  Arabian  princesses  also 


BEL 


[  161  ] 


BELSHAZZAR 


wear  on  tlieir  legs,  and  suspended  from  their  hair, 
which  is  plaited,  and  hangs  long  behind,  a  number 
of  little  bells,  wliich,  when  they  walk,  give  notice  that 
the  mistress  of  the  house  is  passing,  that  so  the 
servants  may  behave  themselves  respectfully,  and 
strangers  retire,  to  avoid  seeing  the  person  who  ad- 
vances. It  wzis  therefore,  in  all  probability,  with  some 
such  design  of  giving  notice  that  the  high-priest 
was  passing,  that  he  also  wore  these  bells  at  the  hem 
of  his  robe  ;  it  was  a  kind  of  public  notice  that  he 
was  about  to  enter  the  sanctuary.  In  the  court  of 
the  king  of  Persia  no  one  might  enter  the  apart- 
ments without  giving  warning ;  not  by  knocking,  or 
speaking,  but  by  the  sound  of  something,  Judith  xiv. 
8,  9.  Thus  the  high-priest,  out  of  respect,  did  not 
knock  by  way  of  notice,  when  he  entered  the  sanc- 
tuary ;  but,  by  the  sound  of  the  little  bells  at  the 
bottom  of  his  robe,  he,  as  it  were,  desired  permis- 
sion to  enter,  "  that  the  sound  of  the  bells  might  be 
heard,  and  he  be  not  punished  with  death."  The 
prophet  Zechariah  speaks  (chap.  xiv.  20.)  of  "bells 
of  the  horses ;"  probably  such  as  were  hung  to  the 
bridles,  or  foreheads,  or  belts  round  the  neck,  of  war- 
horses,  that  thereby  they  might  be  accustomed  to 
noise.  (See  Burder's  Oriental  Customs.  Rosenmiil- 
ler's  Alt.  u.  Neues  Morgenland,  iv.  p.  412.)  A  horse 
which  had  not  been  trained,  nor  used  to  wear 
bells,  was  by  the  Greeks  called — one  that  had  never 
heard  the  noise  of  bells.  The  mules  employed  in 
the  funeral  pomp  of  Alexander  the  Great  had,  at 
each  jaw,  a  gold  bell. 

BELLY.  This  word  is  often  used  as  synon- 
ymous with  gluttony  ;  "  The  Cretans  are  always 
liars,  evil  beasts,  slow  bellies ;"  (Tit.  i.  12.)  and, 
"There  are  many  whose  god  is  their  belly,"  (Philip. 
iii.  19.)  and  (Rom.  xvi.  18.)  "They  serve  not  the 
Lord  Jesus,  but  their  own  bellies."  It  is  used,  like- 
wise, for  the  heart,  the  bottom  of  the  soul :  "  The 
words  of  a  tale-bearer  go  down  into  the  innermost 
parts  of  the  belly,"  and  wound  the  very  bottom  of 
the  soul,  Prov.  xviii.  8,  and  ch.  xx.  27.  "  The  spirit 
of  man  is  the  candle  of  the  Lord,  searching  all  the 
inward  parts  of  the  belly  ;"  the  spirit  of  man  is  like 
the  light  of  God,  which  penetrates  the  very  bottom 
of  the  soul.  And  ch.  xxii.  18.  "  Preserve  the  les- 
sons of  wisdom  ;  if  thou  keep  it  within  thy  belly," 
in  thy  heart,  "it  will  not  break  out  upon  thy  lips." 
{Vulgate.)  The  "belly  of  hell"  is  the  gi-ave,  or  im- 
minent danger  of  death.  The  author  of  Ecclesiasti- 
cus  says,  that  he  was  delivered  from  the  deep  belly 
of  hell :  and  Jonah,  that  he  cried  to  the  Lord  "  out 
of  the  belly  of  hell," — from  the  bottom  of  the  sea. 
See  IIeli.. 

BELMA,  or  Belmon,  a  place  near  the  valley  of 
Esdraelon,  Judith  vii.  3. 

BELMAIM,  the  waters  of  Bel,  or  Belus,  Judith 
vii.  3. 

BELIMEN,  (Judith  iv.  4.  Gr.)  the  same,  probably, 
as  Beel-maim  ;  and,  perhaps,  Abel-maim,  (Abel-me- 
hira,  Syriac,)  of  Naphtali,  2  Chron.  xvi.  4.  So  that 
Belmen,  Belma,  Belmaim,  and  Abel-mehola  may  be 
the  same  place. 

BELSHAZZAR,  the  son  of  Evil-merodach,  and 
grandson  of  Nebucliadnezzar,  ascended  the  throne 
of  Chaldea,  A.  M.  3444.  He  made  the  great  and 
fatal  entertainment  for  a  thousand  of  his  courtiers 
in  3449  ;  so  that  he  reigned  but  four  years,  Dan.  v. 
The  king,  when  warmed  by  wine,  commanded  the 
gold  and  silver  vessels  which  Nebuchadnezzar,  his 
grandfather,  had  brought  from  the  temple  of  Jeru- 
salem, to  be  produced  before  him,  that  he  might 
21 


drink  out  of  them,  with  his  court ;  but  he  was  quick- 
ly terror-stricken  by  an  appearance,  as  it  were,  of  a 
man's  fingers,  writing  on  the  wall  over  against  the 
candlestick.  Belshazzar  was  greatly  astonished,  and 
commanded  all  the  diviners  and  sages  of  Babylon 
to  be  fetched,  to  explain  the  writing.  He  promised 
great  honors ;  but  the  Magi  could  comprehend 
nothing  of  the  writing,  which  increased  the  disorder 
and  uneasiness  of  the  king  and  his  court.  The 
queen-mother  [probably  Nitocris]  informed  the 
king  of  Daniel  and  his  prophetic  spirit,  who  was 
quickly  sent  for.  The  prophet  performed  what  was 
required,  was  clothed  with  scarlet,  received  a  gold 
chain,  and  was  proclaimed  the  third  person  in  the 
kingdom.  But  on  that  very  night  Belshazzar  was 
killed,  and  Darius  the  Mede  [Cyrus]  took  possession 
of  his  kingdom. 

We  are  considerably  perplexed  to  reconcile  pro- 
fane history  with  this  account  in  the  sacred  writings. 
It  is  generally  believed  that  Evil-merodach  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Neriglissor;  Neriglissor  by  Laborasoar- 
doch ;  and  that  Belshazzar  is  the  same  with  Nabonidas, 
orLabynites.  (See  the  article  Babylonia,  ck/^«.)  All 
the  marks  whereby  Nabonidas  is  described  in  history, 
agi-ee  with  Belshazzar.  Hei'odotus  says,  (1. 1.)  that  he 
was  the  last  king  of  Babylon  ;  that  he  was  not  of 
Neriglissor's  or  of  Laborasoardoch's  family ;  but  was 
the  son  of  the  great  queen  Nitocris.  Belshazzar,  m 
like  manner,  is  in  Daniel  the  last  king  of  the  Chal- 
deans, son  of  a  king  of  Babylon,  (who  can  be  no 
other  than  Evil-merodach,)  and  of  whom  the  queen 
dowager,  by  her  influence  over  him,  would  seem  to 
have  been  mother.  Daniel  (v.  2.)  calls  Belshazzar 
the  son  of  Nebuchadnezzar ;  but  in  the  style  of  the 
Hebrews,  grandsons  or  descendants  are  often  named 
sons.  Jeremiah  (xxvii.  6,  7.)  says  expressly,  "  The 
nations  shall  be  subject  to  Nebuchadnezzar,  to  his 
son,  and  to  his  grandson,  till  the  time  come  for  ven- 
geance on  himself,  and  his  country."  But  whatever 
variations  may  be  observed  in  historians,  the  result 
of  their  accounts  is  uniform — that  the  prophecies 
against  Babylon  were,  for  the  most  part,  literally  ful- 
filled at  the  death  of  Belshazzar  ;  (it  was  then  be- 
sieged by  an  army  of  Medes,  Elamites,  and  Arme- 
nians, according  to  the  predictions  of  Isaiah,  xiii. 
17  ;  xxi.  2.  and  Jeremiah  1.11,27—30.)  that  the 
fords  of  the  river  should  be  seized ;  that  confusion 
and  disturbance  should  prevail  throughout  the  city  ; 
that  the  bravest  of  the  inhabitants  should  be  dis- 
heartened ;  that  the  river  Euphrates  should  be  made 
dry ;  (1. 38 ;  li.  36.)  that  the  city  should  be  taken  in 
a  time  of  rejoicing;  that  its  princes,  sages,  and  cap- 
tains should  be  overwhelmed  with  drunkenness,  and 
should  pass  from  a  natural  to  a  mortal  sleep  ;  (li. 
39,  57.)  that  the  city  which  was  formerly  so  beauti- 
ful, so  ])owerful,  and  so  flourishing,  should  become 
a  dwelling  for  bitterns  and  unclean  birds,  Isaiah 
xiv.  23.  These  particulars  not  only  deserve  the 
reader's  notice  in  themselves,  but  also  in  the  circum- 
stance of  tJieir  being  delivered  in  progressio7i ;  not 
altogether  ;  not  all  by  the  same  prophet ;  but  at  dif- 
ferent times ;  the  succeeding  adding  what  a  former 
had  omitted,  yet  all  agreeing  in  the  same  general 
issue  and  description. 

It  must  have  appeared  to  the  mind  of  every  care- 
ful reader  of  the  description  of  the  miracle  at  Bel- 
shazzar's  feast,  (Dan.  v.)  that  some  of  the  circum- 
stances attending  it  require  explanation.  This  has 
been  attempted  by  Mr.  Taylor,  the  substance  of 
whose  remarks  we"  lav  before  the  reader.  [But  it 
must  be  borne  in  mind,  that  this  is  all  mere  conjee- 


BELSHAZZAR 


[  162] 


BEN 


ture.  R.]  By  inspecting  the  engraving  accompanying 
the  article  House,  one  of  the  courts  will  be  seen  to 
be  a  square  area,  with  pillars  around  it,  supporting 
a  gallery.  In  such  an  area,  Mr.  T.  supposes  the  king 
to  have  been  enteilaining  a  select  party  of  his 
guests  ;  that  the  candlestick,  giving  a  great  light,  was 
situated  in  the  centre  of  the  area  ;  tiie  tables  placed 
around  it,  and  at  the  upper  end  the  king  to  have 
been  seated.  Having  thus  arranged  the  premises,  he 
proceeds  to  inquire,  (1.)  Where,  in  what  part  of  the 
court,  did  the  miracle  occur.'  and,  (2.)  In  what  did 
it  consist  ?  In  order  to  approach  toward  an  answer 
to  these  questions,  he  thus  minutely  analyzes  the 
narration  of  the  sacred  writer  : — 1.  In  that  same 
hour  came  forth  fingers  (n  di)  according  to — of— a  hu- 
man hand,  writing  (that  is,  they  wrote)  over  against — 
that  is,  near  to  (not  in  the  comparatively  obscure 
angles  of  the  court ;  but  in  the  part  nearest  to)  the 
candlestick,  where  the  principal  force  of  the  light 
struck;  in  a  bright  situation;  upon  the  plaster  [in- 
spect  the  engraving;  above,  or  below,  the  painted 
tiles  marked  O)  of  the  wall,  enclosure,  partition, 
which  surrounded  the  court;  (that  which  in  our 
engraving  is  supported  by  the  pillars  ;  see  Marriage 
Processions  ;)  (n  di)  according  to — of,  the  royal 
palace  :  then  the  king  was  terrified,  and  sent  for 
Daniel.  T/te?i  (ver.  24.)  from  before  him  [God]  was 
sent  the  part  (n  di)  of  a  hand,  that  is,  like  unto  a 
hand  ;  and  this  writing  appeared  to  be  traced  upon 
the  ivall. 

Thus  the  first  question  is  answered  : — The  writing 
was  upon  the  plaster,  over  a  central  pillar  in  the 
coiu't ;  (say,  in  our  plan,  on  that  next  to  the  opening 
D,  on  the  right  hand  side  ;)  in  the  most  conspicuous 
situation  the  wall  could  afford. 

2.  The  miracle  is  supposed  to  have  consisted  in 
tracings,  marks,  or  delineations,  on  the  plaster: — 
now  such  might  be  made  by  various  means  ;  as  (1.) 
by  lines,  drawn  with  a  black  substance  on  a  white 
ground  ;  or  (2.)  by  fissures,  cracks,  or  crevices, 
wrought,  as  it  were,  in  the  plaster ;  or  (.3.)  as  a  finger 
might  write  on  soft  plaster,  Ijy  tracing  its  coru'se 
along  it ;  thereby  forming  hollows,  little  furrows, 
indented  marks  on  its  surface  ;  much  like  those 
made  by  the  impression  of  a  seal ;  for  so  the  word 
(n^c^)  is  used,  ch.  vi.  8. — JK'ow,  O  king,  establish  the 
decree  and  stamp  {zD'<:.'-\r^)  mark  by  stamping  with  thy 
seal,  as  the  custom  in  the  East  is,  for  confirmation, 
the  writing.  This  may  be  accepted  as  answering  the 
second  question. 

So  far  we  are  justified,  no  less  by  oin-  plate,  than 
by  the  narration  itself:  there  remains  another  ques- 
tion, which  is  rather  to  be  answered  by  conjecture 
than  by  facts.  The  following  crude  ideas  on  the  sub- 
ject are  offered  that  the  reader  may  improve  them 
into  a  better  clKiracter. 

Why  could  not  the  Chaldean  wise  men  read  the 
writing  ?  They  could  not  ascertain  its  meaning, 
probably,  because,  if  it  consisted  in  indented  tracings, 
as  with  a  finger,  on  sofi  plaster,  there  vfds  no  dis- 
coloration, whereby  to  distinguish  them  as  letters  (i. 
e.  well-drawn,  well  formed  letters)  li-oni  the  rest  of 
the  plaster;  at  most,  perhaps,  the  Chaldeans  saw 
merely  a  mnnbcr  of  (to  them  confused)  lines  ;  or  if 
the  marks  were  delineated  by  means  of  cracks  or 
fissures,  in  tlie  plaster  itself,  the  effect  was,  to  the 
Chaldeans,  mu<'h  the  same.  When  Daniel  insjiect- 
ed  the  inscription,  he  jierceived  that  it  formetl  let- 
ters and  words ;  he  was  enabled  to  combine  and 
arrange  them  ;  also,  to  perceive  their  hidden  mean- 
ing and  application   to  pej-sons  and  things  ;  which 


he  had  the  fortitude  to  tell  the  king ;  and  to  apply 
to  him,  personally.  These  ideas  go  far  in  explana- 
tion of  this  matter.  But  if  it  be  thought  the  letters, 
as  letters,  were  clear  to  the  eyes  of  the  wise  men,  as 
they  were  to  Daniel,  there  still  remains  a  question,  in 
what  characters  were  they  written  ?  Not  in  the 
Chaldee  character,  it  is  presumed  ;  but,  probably,  in 
the  sacred  language ;  the  ancient  Hebrew  ;  which 
for  the  present  we  call  the  Samaritan.  This  was  a 
character  not  likely  to  be  familiar  to  the  Chaldeans : 
they  would  not  readily  think  of  combining  into  let- 
ters and  words,  in  this  character  of  the  ancient  He- 
brews, (now  their  vanquished  subjects  and  slaves,)  a 
few  iiTegular  scrawling  lines:  //)a<  character  was  no 
sacred  character  to  them ;  nor  were  they  in  the 
habit  of  investigating  it ;  while  to  Daniel,  this  very 
description  of  writing  had  been  his  daily  study 
from  his  youth, — his  daily  perusal,  in  the  holy  Scrip- 
tures. 

We  see  no  objection  against  uniting  these  ideas. — 
As  thus:  suppose  the  Imes  might  be  formed  by  hol- 
lows or  tracings  in  the  plaster  ;  these,  though  they 
appeared  to  the  Cljaldean  wise  men  to  be  no  better 
than  those  random  veins  which  are  occasionally  ob- 
served in  marble,  &c.  yet,  when  inspected  by  the 
learned  eye  of  Daniel,  he  saw  they  were  letters,  in 
that  sacred  language  to  which  he  had  been  ac- 
customed ;  he  read  them  without  difficulty,  he  com- 
bined them,  and,  more  than  that,  he  explained  them. 
The  text  says  expressly,  that  the  Chaldeans  could 
not  read  them ;  but  even  if  they  had  happened  to 
possess  the  power  of  reading  them,  they  might  have 
been  none  the  nearer  toward  ascertaining  their  pro- 
phetic import.  We  see  daily  instances  of  foreign 
characters,  and  foreign  words,  which  are  unintel- 
hgible  to  most  persons,  much  like  what  these  char- 
acters were  to  the  Chaldeans. 

There  is  a  species  of  eastern  wit  which  consists  in 
forming  letters  and  sentences  into  enigmas,  of  va- 
rious kinds  :  no  doubt  Belshazzar  considered  this 
inscription  as  something  of  the  same  nature,  and 
therefore  expected  his  profound  decipherers  to  ex- 
plain it.  This  kind  of  puzzle  is  more  common  in 
the  East  than  we  are  aware  of;  and  we  find  Nadir 
Shah  had  coins  struck  with  the  same  play  of  words 
upon  them,  "  .'?/  kherfi  ma  vacheh,  '  What  has  hap- 
pened is  best :'  the  numerical  letters  of  this  motto 
n)ake  up  1148,  the  year  he  usurped  the  crown," 
Frazer's  Histoi-y,  p.  119. 

Thus  we  have  endeavored  to  deflect  a  few  scat- 
tered rays  on  the  nature  of  this  miracle  ;  always 
meaning  to  insist  on  the  distinction  between  inquu*- 
ing  in  what  a  miracle  consisted  ;  and  by  what  ])0wer 
it  was  accomplished.  The  first  is  tiie  proper  duty 
of  rational  minds :  the  latter  is  confessedly  above 
them. 

BELTESHAZZAR,  the  name  given  to  Daniel,  at 
the  court  of  Nebuchadnezzar,  Dan.  i.  7. 

BELUS,  TEMPhE  OF,  see  Babel. 

BEN-Ai3INAi)AB,  governor  of  the  country  of 
Dor ;  he  married  Taphath,  daughter  of  Solomon,  1 
Kings  iv.  11. 

BEN  AT  AIT,  son  of  Jehoiada,  captain  of  David's 
guard.  He  slew  "the  two  lions  of  3Ioab,"  that  is, 
two  Moabitish  champions,  2  Sam.  xxiii.  20.  He  also 
killed  a  lion  in  a  pit,  in  time  of  snow.  He  killed  a 
giant  five  cubits  high,  who  was  armed  with  sword 
and  spear,  though  he  himself  had  a  staff"  only  in 
his  hand.  He  adhered  to  Solomon  against  Adoni- 
jah  ;  was  sent  by  Solomon  to  kill  Joab ;  and  was 
made  generalissimo  in  his  place,  1  Kings  i.  36 ;  ii. 


BEN 


163  ] 


BEO 


29. — Some  pei-sons  of  this  name  returned  from 
Babvlon,  with  Ezra  ;  x.  25,  30,  35,  43. 

BIEN-AxMMI,  a  son  of  Lot  by  his  daughter,  (Gen. 
xix.  38.)  and  the  father  of  the  Ammonites. 

BEN-DEKAR,  a  governor  of  several  cities  under 
Solomon,  1  Kings  iv.  9. 

BEx\E,  or  BeiNE-Berak,  (Josh.  xix.  45.)  a  city  in 
the  tribe  of  Dan  ;  probably  where  the  "  sons  of  Berak" 
were  established.  The  Vulgate  makes  two  cities  of 
it.  Bane  and  Barak. 

BENE-JAA^AN,  the  sons  of  Jaakan ;  (Numb, 
xxxiii.  31.)aud  in  Dent.  x.  6.  Beeroth-bene- Jaakan 
is  the  wells  of  the  sons  of  Jaakan. 

BEN-GEBER,  a  son  of  Geber,  of  Manasseh,  who 
possessed  tlie  cities  of  Jair,  and  the  region  of  Argob, 
beyond  the  Jordan,  1  Kings  iv.  13. 

I.  BEN-HADAD,  a  son  of  Tabrimon,  king  of  Sy- 
ria, who  came  to  assist  Asa,  king  of  Judah,  against 
Baasha,  king  of  Israel,  and  obliged  him  to  return 
and  succor  his  own  country,  and  to  abandon  Ra- 
mah,  which  he  had  undertaken  to  Ibi-tify,  1  Kings 
XV.  18.  This  Ben-hadad  is  probably  Hadad,  the 
Edomite,  who  rebelled  against  Solomon,  1  Kings 
xi.  25. 

II.  BEN-HADAD,  a  king  of  Syria,  son  of  the 
above  Ben-hadad,  who  made  war  against  Ahab,  A. 
M.  3103.  (See  Ahab.)  Ben-hadad  being  defeated, 
his  generals  told  him  that  the  God  of  the  Hebrews 
was  god  of  the  mountains  only,  and  that  he  must 
attack  Israel  in  the  plain,  where  he  had  no  power. 
Ben-hadad  pursued  this  advice  the  year  following  ; 
but  the  Israehtes  killed  100,000  of  his  people,  and 
he  concealed  himself,  to  avoid  falling  into  the  hands 
of  Ahab,  1  Kings  xx.  1 — 30.  The  king  of  Israel, 
however,  received  him  into  his  chariot,  and  accept- 
ed his  conditions  of  peace,  ver.  31 — 34.  About 
twelve  years  afterwards,  Ben-hadad  declared  war 
against  Jehoram,  son  of  Ahab ;  but  the  prophet 
Elisha  discovered  his  plans  to  Jehoram,  and  thereby 
disappointed  them,  2  Kings  vi.  8,  to  end.  Ben-hadad 
suspected  treachery  in  his  officers  ;  but  learning, 
after  a  while,  that  his  projects  were  revealed  by 
Elisha,  he  resolved  to  seize  the  prophet ;  and  under- 
standing that  he  was  at  Dothan,  he  sent  thither  a 
detachment  of  his  best  troops,  whom  the  prophet 
struck  with  blindness,  and  led  into  Samaria.  Some 
years  afterwards,  Ben-hadad  again  besieged  Sama- 
ria, and  the  famine  became  extreme  in  the  place : 
but,  in  the  night-time,  a  panic  fear  struck  the  Syrian 
host ;  they  imagined  that  Jehoram  had  procured  an 
army  of  Hittites  and  Egyptians,  and  thought  only  of 
saving  themselves  by  flight.  The  next  year,  Ben-ha- 
dad, being  sick,  sent  Hazael  with  presents  to  the  man 
of  God,  to  learn  from  him  whether  there  were  hopes 
of  his  recovery.  He  answered.  Go,  tell  him  thou 
mayest  certainly  recover ;  hmvever,  the  Lord  hath  showed 
me  that  he  shall  surely  die.  Hazael  returned  to  Da- 
mascus, and  told  Ben-hadad  that  his  health  would 
be  restored  ;  but  the  next  day  he  took  a  tJiick  cloth, 
which  he  dipped  in  water,  and  spread  it  over  the 
king's  face,  so  that  he  speedily  died.  Hazael  suc- 
ceeded him,  viii.  7—15.  A.  M.  3120,  ante  A.  D.  884. 
See  Hazael. 

III.  BEN-HADAD,  a  son  of  Hazael,  above  men- 
tioned, from  whonj  Jelioash,  king  of  Israel,  recover- 
ed all  that  Hazael  had  taken  from  his  predecessor, 
2  Kings  xiii.  3,  24,  25.  Jehoash  defeated  him 
three  times,  and  compelled  him  to  surrender  all 
the  country  beyond  Jordan,  namely,  the  lands  be- 
longing to  Gad,  Reuben,  and  Manasseh,  which  Ha- 
zael had  taken. 


Josephus  calls  those  princes  Hadad,  who,  in  Scrip- 
ture, are  named  Ben-hadad,  or  son  of  Hadad ;  adding 
that  the  Syrians  of  Damascus  paid  divine  honors  to 
the  last  Hadad,  and  Hazael,  in  consideration  of  the 
benefits  of  their  government,  and  particularly  be- 
cause they  adorned  Damascus  with  magnificent  tem- 
ples.    (Ant.  viii.  8  ;  ix.  2.) 

BEN-HAIL,  a  prince  sent  by  Jehoshaphat  to  the 
cities  of  his  dominions  to  instruct  the  people,  2 
Chron.  xvii.  7. 

BEN-HINNOM,  or  Geh-hinnom,  or  Geh-bene- 
HiNXOM,  that  is,  "  the  valley  of  the  children  of 
Hinnom,"  or,  "the  son  of  intense  lamentation," 
south-east  of  Jei-usalem,  Josh.  xv.  8  ;  2  Kings  xxiii. 
10.  Some  say,  it  was  the  common  sewer  to  Jerusa- 
lem, and  an  emblem  of  hell ;  which  is  railed  Ge- 
henna. (See  Gehenna.)  This  valley  was  likewise 
called  Tophet.      See  Tophet. 

BEN-HESED,  governor  of  Sochoh,  and  Hepher, 
under  Solomon,  1  Kings  iv.  10,  margin. 

BEN-HUR,  governor  of  Ephraim,  under  Solomon, 
1  Kings  iv.  8,  margin. 

BENJAMIN,  the  youngest  son  of  Jacob  and  Ra- 
chel, Gen.  XXXV.  16,  17,  &c.  Rachel  died  imme- 
diately after  he  was  born,  and  with  her  last  breath 
named  him  Ben-oni,  the  son  of  my  sorrow :  but  Ja- 
cob called  him  Benjamin,  the  son  of  my  right  hand. 
He  is  often  called  in  Scripture  Jemini  only,  that  is, 
my  right  hand.  During  the  famine  which  aftlicted 
Canaan,  Jacol),  sending  Ids  sons  into  Egjpt  to  buy 
corn,  kept  Benjamin  at  home.  Joseph,  who  well 
knew  his  brethren,  though  they  did  not  dis^over 
him,  not  seeing  Benjamin  among  them,  inquired 
whether  he  were  living ;  and  gave  them  corn,  only 
on  condition  that  they  would  bring  Benjamin  to 
Egypt.  Jacob,  after  great  reluctance,  permitted  Ben- 
jamin to  undertake  the  journey  into  Egypt,  Gen.  xlii ; 
xliii.  1 — 15.  Joseph,  now  seeing  Benjamin  among  his 
brethren,  carried  them  to  his  house,  made  them  eat 
Avith  him,  but  not  at  his  own  table  ;  and  sent  Ben- 
jamin a  portion  five  times  larger  than  tliat  of  any 
other.  After  this,  he  commanded  his  steward  to 
fill  their  sacks  with  corn  ;  and  in  the  sack  belonging 
to  the  youngest,  to  put  the  silver  cup  which  he  used, 
and  the  money  which  Benjamin  had  brought  to 
pay  for  his  corn.  When  the  brethren  had  left  the 
city,  he  sent  his  steward  after  them,  who  re])roach- 
ed  them  with  their  robbery,  searched  all  their 
sacks,  and  in  that  of  Benjamin  found  the  cup.  They 
returned  to  Joseph,  who,  after  much  solicitation  on 
their  part,  and  tears  on  his,  discovered  himself  to 
them,  fell  on  Benjamin's  neck,  kissed  him,  and  all 
his  brethren ;  and  invited  them  into  Egypt,  with 
their  father.  He  gave  to  each  of  them  two  suits  of 
raiment ;  but  to  Benjamin  five  suits,  with  three  hun- 
dred pieces  of  silver,  xliii.  16. — xlv.24.  After  this, 
Scripture  says  nothing  of  Benjamin.  Of  his  tribe 
Jacob  says,  "Benjamin  shall  raven  as  a  wolf;  in  the 
morning  he  shall  devour  the  prey,  and  at  night  he  shall 
divide  the  spoil ;"  (Gen.  xlix.  57.)  and  Moses,  in  hia 
last  song,  says,  "  The  beloved  of  the  Lord  shall 
dwell  in  safety  by  him ;  and  the  Lord  shall  cover 
him  all  the  day  long,  and  he  shall  dwell  between 
his  shoulders,"  Dent,  xxxiii.  12.  The  words  "  Ben- 
jamin is  a  ravening  wolf,"  are  allusively  applied  to 
Paul,  Avho  was  of  the  tribe  of  Benjamin ;  but  much 
more  properly  to  the  valor  of  the  tribe.  See  Judg. 
XX.  and  Canaan. 

BEN-ONI,  see  Benjamin. 

BEON,  otherwise  Bean,  a  city  of  Reuben,  beyond 
Jordan,  Numb,  xxxii.  3. 


BER 


[  164  ] 


BET 


I,  BERA,  a  town  in  Judah,  about  eight  miles  from 
Eieutheropolis,  north,  Judg.  ix.  21.    See  Beer. 

II.  BERA,  a  king  of  Sodom,  in  the  time  of  Abra- 
ham ;  who  was  tributary  to  Chedorlaomer,  king  of 
Elam,  and  with  four  other  kings  rebelled  against 
him,  Gen.  xiv.  2. 

I.  BEREA,  (1  Mace.  ix.  4.)  probably  the  saine 
town  as  Bera. 

II.  BEREA,  a  city  of  Macedonia,  near  mount  Ci- 
thanes ;  where  Paul  preached  the  gospel  with  suc- 
cess. Acts  xvii.  11 — 13.  There  is  a  medal  of  Berea 
extant,  which  is  remarkable  for  being  inscribed,  "  of 
the  second  Macedonia,"  and  also  for  being  the 
only  Macedonian  medal  of  the  date  (A.  U.  C.  70G.) 
inscribed  with  the  name  of  the  city  where  it  was 
struck.     Compare  Acts  xvii.  11,  '■hioble  Bereans." 

BERED,  a  city  in  Judah,  near  Kadesh,  Gen.  xvi. 
14.  The  Chaldec  calls  it  Agara  ;  the  Syriac,  Gedar  ; 
the  Arabic,  Jader ;  it  Avas  the  same,  perhaps,  as 
Arad,  or  Arada,  (Numb,  xxxiv.  4.)  in  the  south  of 
Judah. 

BERENICE,  or  Ber.mce,  daughter  of  Agrippa 
the  Great,  king  of  the  Jews,  and  sister  of  Agrippa 
the  younger,  also  king  of  the  Jews.  She  was  first 
betrothed  to  ]Mark,  son  of  Alexander  Lysimachus, 
alabarch  of  Alexandria  ;  but  afterwards  she  married 
Herod,  king  of  Ghalcis,  her  own  nncle,  by  the  father's 
side.  After  the  death  of  Herod,  she  proposed  to 
Polemon,  king  of  Pontus  and  part  of  Cilicia,  that  if 
he  Avould  be  circumcised  she  would  marry  him. 
Polemon  complied,  but  Berenice  did  not  continue 
long  with  him.  She  returned  to  her  brother  Agrip- 
pa, with  whom  she  lived  in  such  a  manner  as  to 
excite  scandal.  She  was  present  with  him,  and 
heard  the  discourse  of  Paul  before  Festus,  at  Csesa- 
rea  of  Palestine,  Acts  xxv.  23. 

BERITH,  or  Baratres,  a  city  of  PhcBnicia,  on 
the  Mediterranean,  between  Biblos  and  Sidon,  400 
furlongs  north  of  Sidon.  It  is  doubtful  whether 
Scripture  speaks  of  this  place  ;  but  there  are  several 
cities  of  the  same  name  in  Palestine.  David  car- 
ried off  a  great  quantity  of  brass  from  the  towns  of 
Betah  and  Berothai,  in  Syria,  2  Sam.  viii.  8. 

BERODACH-BALADAN,  son  of  Baladan,  king 
of  Babylon,  sent  ambassadors  to  Hczekiah,  king  of 
Judah,  with  letters  and  presents,  on  receiving  infor- 
mation that  he  had  been  sick,  and  was  recovered 
in  a  miraculous  manner.  Hezekiah,  extremely 
pleased,  showed  them  the  riches  of  his  palace  ;  but 
God  sent  Isaiah  to  forewarn  him  that  every  thing  in 
his  palace,  with  the  sight  whereof  he  had  entertained 
the  foreigners,  woidd  be  carried  aAvay  to  Babylon, 
2  Kings  XX.  12 — 18.  [In  Isa.  xxxix.  1,  he  is  called 
Merodach-baladan,  (q.  v.)  and  under  this  name  he 
is  also  mentioned  by  Berosus.  See  Assyria,  and 
Babylonia.     R. 

BEROSUS,  the  Babylonish  historian,  was,  by  na- 
tion, a  Chaldean  ;  and  by  office  a  jjriest  of  Belus. 
Talian  says,  he  lived  in  the  time  of  Alexander  the 
Great,  and  dedicated  his  work  to  king  Antiochus, 
the  third  after  Alexander,  that  is,  Antiociius  Theos, 
or,  perhaps,  Antiochus  Soter ;  for  tlie  many  years 
between  Alexander  and  Antiochus  "^I'lieos  (some 
reckoning  G4  from  tiie  death  of  Alexander  to  tlie  first 
year  of  Antiochus  Theos)  might  inchice  us  to  prefer 
this  sense.  Berosus,  having  hiariujd  Greek,  went 
first  to  the  isle  of  Cos,  where  lie  taught  astronomy 
and  astrology  ;  and  afterwards  to  Athens,  wliere  he 
;i.-<inir(;(l  so  much  rc|)utation  by  his  astrok)gical  pre- 
dictions, that  in  the  Gymnasium,  wbere  the  youth 
p'Tf^>nti('d  tlieir   exercises,  a  statue,  witli  u  golden 


tongue,  was  erected  to  him.  Josephus  and  Euse- 
bius  have  preserved  some  valuable  fragments  of 
Berosus's  history,  which  greatly  elucidate  many 
places  in  the  Old  Testament ;  and  without  which  it 
would  be  difficult  to  produce  an  exact  series  of  the 
kings  of  Babylon.  [A  very  important  fraginent  of 
Berosus,  which  is  refeiTed  to  by  Josephus,  (Ant.  x.  y 
1. 4.)  but  not  inserted  by  him,  has  recently  been 
brought  to  light  in  the  Armenian  version  of  the 
Chronicon  of  Eusebius,  published  at  Venice,  1818. 
tom.  i.  p.  42,  43.  It  is  important  as  illustrating  the 
history  of  Merodach-Baladan  ;  and  has  been  used  for 
this  purpose  by  Gesenius,  in  his  Com.  on  Is.  xxxix. 
1,  where  it  is  quoted  in  full.     R. 

BEROTHAI,  (2  Sam.  viii.  8.)  a  city  conquered 
by  David ;  supposed  by  some  to  be  Berytus,  or 
Beyroot,  in  Phoenicia.  But  it  is  probably  the  same 
as  the  following. 

BEROTHAH,  one  of  the  boundary  towns  of  Is- 
i-ael,  between  Hethalon  and  Emesa,  Ezek,  xlvii.  16. 
[It  is  probably  the  same  as  the  preceding  Berothai, 
and  from  the  mention  of  it  here  would  seem  not  to 
be  a  maritime  place  ;  therefore  not  Beyroot.  See 
Roseum.  Bib.  Geog.  I.  ii.  p.  292.     R. 

BERYL,  the  eighth  stone  in  the  high-priest's  pec- 
toral, Exod.  xxviii.  20.  The  Vulgate  "and  LXX  call 
it  Beryl ;  the  Hebrew,  Shoham.  The  projjcr  signi- 
fications of  the  Hebrew  names  of  precious  stones 
are  unknown. 

BESOR,  or  Bosor,  a  brook  which  falls  into  the 
Mediterranean,  near  Gaza,  1  Sam.  xxx.  9,  10,  21. 
This  is  "  the  brook  of  the  wilderness,"  (Amos  vi. 
14.)  or  the  river  of  Egypt,  mentioned  in  Scripture, 
Josh.  XV.  4 — 17 ;  2  Chron.  vii.  8. 

BETAH,  a  city  of  Syria-Zobah  ;  taken  by  David 
from  Hadadezer,  2  Sam.  viii.  8.  In  the  parallel 
passage,  1  Chr.  xviii.  8,  it  is  called  Tihhath. 

BETEN,  a  city  of  the  tribeof  Asher,  Josh.  xix.  25. 

BETH,  in  Hebrew,  signifies  house  ;  and  is  pre- 
fixed to  very  many  proper  names  and  other  words, 
thus  forming  with  them  the  name  of  a  place  ;  as 
Beth-el,  '  house  of  God ;'  Beth-lehein,  '  house  of 
bread,'  &c.  Most  of  these  names  follow  here  in 
their  order.     R. 

BETHABARA,  beyond  Jordan,  where  John  bap- 
tized, (John  i.  28.)  was  the  common  ford  of  the  river, 
and  probably  the  same  as  Beih-harah,  Judg.  vii.  24. 

BETH-ACHARA,  or  Beth-haccerem,  a  city  of 
Benjamin,  situated  on  an  eminence,  between  Jerusa- 
lem and  Tekoa,  Neh.  iii.  14;  Jer.  vi.  1. 

BETH-ANATH,  a  city  of  Naphtali,  Josh.  xix.  38  ; 
Judg.  i..33. 

BETHANY,  (John  xi.  18.)  a  village,  distant  about 
two  miles  east  from  Jerusalem,  beyond  the  mount  of 
Olives,  and  on  the  way  to  .foriclio.  Here  Martha 
and  Mary  dwelt,  with  their  l)rotlier  Lazarus,  whom 
Jesus  raised  from  the  ilead  ;  and  here  Mary  poured 
perfume  on  our  Saviour's  head.  See  Mod.  Travel- 
ler in  Palestine,  p.  157. 

BP:THANIM,  a  village  four  miles  from  Hebron, 
and  two  miles  fi-om  Abndiani's  tiuj)entine-trce. 

BETII-ARABAH,  a  city  on  the  confines  of  Ju- 
dah and  B<Mijnmin,  Josh.  x\.  (i ;  xviii.  22. 

BETH-ARA.M,  a  city  in  Gad,  Josh.  xiii.  27 

BETH-ARBEL,  a  plac(!  mentioned  Ilosea  x.  14. 
where  we  read  in  the  Vulgate,  "  As  Shalmana  was 
overcome  by  him  \\lio  made  war  against  him,  after 
having  destroyed  the  altar  of  Baal,"  designing  to  de- 
scribe Gideon  ;  (Jud.  vi.  25;  vii.  8,  10,  etc.)  but  the 
Hel)n,'w  iiu|)orls,  "AsSlialmau  spoiled  Beth-ar- 
v.vhy  ill  the  day  of  i)attle."     Some  explain   tliis   pas- 


BET 


[  165] 


BETHESDA 


sage  as  relating  to  the  taking  of  the  city  Arbela,  by 
Saimaneser ;  but  this  event  is  not  noticed  in  history. 
Jerome,  and  the  Alexandrian  MS.  read  Jerobaal; 
and  understand  it,  with  the  Vulgate,  of  the  victory 
obtained  by  Gideon  over  Zahnunna.  Arbda,  or  Ar- 
bah-el,  signifies  fine  countries,  countries  of  God  ;  for 
which  reason,  we  find  many  places  so  named.  It 
is  said,  1  3Iac.  ix.  2.  that  Bacchides  and  Alcimus 
came  into  Gahlee,  and  encamped  at  Maseloth,  which 
is  in  Arbela.  The  city  Masai,  or  Misheal,  was  in  the 
tribe  of  Ashcr,  near  to  which  were  very  fine  fields, 
and  a  place  called  Arbela,  Josh.  xix.  26. 

BETH-AVEN-,  a  city  of  the  tribe  of  Benjamin, 
eastward  of  Bethel,  Josh.  vii.  2  ;  1  Sam.  xiii.  5.  There 
was  also  a  desert  of  the  same  name.  Josh,  xviii.  12. 
The  Talmudists  have  confounded  it  with  Bethel; 
because  after  Jeroboam,  son  of  Nebat,  had  set  up  his 
golden  calves  at  Bethel,  the  Hebrews,  who  adhered 
to  the  house  of  David,  in  derision,  called  this  latter 
city  Beth-aven,  that  is,  the  house  .of  nothing,  or  the 
house  of  vanity,  instead  of  Bethel,  "  the  house  of 
God,"  as  Jacob  had  formerly  named  it,  Hosea  iv. 
1.5;  X.  5;  Amos  v.  5.     See  Bethel. 

BETH-AZMAVETH,  the  same  !is  Azmaveth, 
which  see. 

BETH-BAA L-MEON,  a  city  of  Reuben,  Josh, 
xiii.  17. 

BETH-BARAH,  a  place  beyond  Jordan,  (Judg. 
vii.  24.)  probably  Bethabara. 

BETH-BASI,  a  city  of  Judah,  which  the  two 
Maccabees,  Simon  and  Jonathan,  fortified,  1  Mac.  ix. 
62—64. 

BETH-BIREI,  a  city  of  Judea,  1  Chron.  iv.  31. 

BETH-CAR,  a  city  of  Dan,  1  Sam.  vii.  11. 

I.  BETH-DAGON,  temple  of  Dagon,  a  city  of 
Asher,  Josh.  xix.  27.     Compare  1  Sam.  v.  2 — 5. 

II.  BETH-DAGON,  a  city  of  Judah,  (Josh.  xv. 
41.)  so  called,  probably,  because  here  was  a  temple 
of  Dagon,  before  the  Israelites  took  it. 

BETH-DIBLATHAIM,  see  Diblatha. 

BETHEKED,  or  Beth-akad,  (2  Kings  x.  12, 
14.)  which  some  construe  in  a  general  sense — a 
shearing-house,  or,  the  house  of  shepherds  binding 
sheep  ;  but  tlie  LXX  take  it  for  a  place  between 
Jezreel  and  Samaria. 

BETHEL,  a  city  Avest  of  Hai,  on  the  confines  of 
the  tribes  of  Ephraim  and  Benjamin,  (Gen.  xii.  8 ; 
xxviii.  10.)  and  occupying  the  sjwt  where  Jacob 
slept,  and  had  his  memorable  dream.  (See  Jacob.) 
Eusebius  places  Bethel  twelve  miles  from  Jerusa- 
lem, in  the  way  to  Sichem,  or  Napolose.  Bethel 
was  also  called  Beth-aven  by  the  prophets  in  de- 
rision of  the  worship  of  the  golden  calves  established 
tbere.     See  Beth-aven. 

BETHER,  THE  mountains  of,  Cant.  ii.  17 ;  viii.  14. 
The  Vulgate  reads  "  mountains  of  perfume."  Some 
take  this  place  to  be  Bethoron  ;  others,  Betharis,  be- 
tween Cpesarea  and  Diospolis  ;  or  Bether,  mentioned 
by  the  LXX,  Josh.  xv.  60.  among  the  cities  of  Judah. 
Calmet  believes  it  to  be  Upper  Bethoron,  or  Bethora, 
between  Diospolis  and  Ca^sarea.  Eusebius  speaks  of 
Betharim,  near  Diospolis,  and  when  he  mentions 
Bether,  taken  by  vVdrian,  he  says,  it  was  in  tlie 
neighborhood  of  Jerusalem.  [The  word  Bether 
means,  \)ro\Vdr\y,  dissection  ;  the  mountains  of  Bether 
then  may  be  moimtains  of  disjunctio7i,  disritption, 
i.  e.  mountains  cut  up,  divided  by  valleys,  etc.  Tlie 
word  is  no  where  else  found  as  a  proper  name  ; 
should  it,  then,  be  so  taken  in  the  Canticles  ?     R. 

BETHESDA,  in  the  Vulgate  Bethsaida,  other- 
wise called  Pisnnaprobntica,hec!\i\se  the  sliecp  wen- 


washed  in  it  which  were  designed  for  the  sacrificea, 
in  Greek  probata.  Bethesda  signifies  "  the  house  ol 
mercy,"  probably  because  the  sick  who  lay  under 
the  porticos  that  surrounded  h,  here  found  shelter. 
The  Gospel  informs  us,  that  there  were  five  porches 
about  this  pool,  and  many  sick  persons  constantly 
waiting,  in  order  to  descend  into  the  water  when  it 
was  stirred  ;  for  an  angel  came  down  at  a  certain 
season  and  stirred  the  water ;  the  first  who  then 
plunged  into  it  was  ciu-ed,  be  his  disease  what  it 
might,  John  v.  1 — 4. 

The  majority  of  writers  have  regarded  the  cures 
wrought  at  the  Pool  of  Bethesda  as  a  standing  mira- 
cle among  the  Jews ;  and  yet  they  have  been  sur- 
prised that  Jose[)hus  should  omit  to  mention  a  fact 
so  honorable  to  his  nation.  Dr.  Doddridge  calls 
this  "  the  greatest  of  difficidties  in  the  history  of  the 
evangelists ;  and  that  in  which,  of  all  others,  the 
learned  answerers  of  Mr.  Woolston  had  given  liim 
the  least  satisfaction."  Mr.  Fleming,  to  avoid  some 
difliculties  in  tlie  narrative,  supposed  the  latter  part 
of  the  third  verse,  and  the  whole  of  the  fourth,  to 
be  spurious:  it  is  wanting  in  Beza's  MS.  and  is  add- 
ed, in  a  later  hand,  to  a  MS.  in  the  French  king's 
hbrary  :  howcA-er,  it  is  in  all  other  MSS.  in  tlie  Sy- 
riac,  and  the  other  versions  in  the  Polyglot. 

The  learned  Dr.  Hammond  supposed  that  the 
blood  of  the  great  number  of  sacrifices  which  were 
washed  in  this  pool  communicated  a  salutary  ef- 
ficacy to  the  water,  on  its  being  stirred  up  by  a  mes- 
senger from  the  high-priest : — a  very  unphilosophi- 
cal  suggestion,  surely  !  and  yet  Dr.  Pococke  was  so 
far  captivated  by  it,  as  to  seek  at  Jerusalem  for  the 
pool  of  Bethesda,  on  the  wrong  side  of  the  city, 
where  it  is  not ;  and  where  it  is,  he  could  not  see  it ; 
for  reasons  which  we  shall  state  presently.  We  in- 
sert one  of  Dr.  Doddridge's  notes  on  this  history ; 
partly  from  respect  to  his  memory,  and  deference  to 
his  difficulties ;  partly,  as  it  sets  the  idea  of  a  stand- 
ing miracle  in  a  very  strong  light ;  and  partly,  as  an 
instance  how  greatly  learning  and  piety  might  some- 
times profit,  by  a  more  intimate  acquaintance  with 
things,  as  well  as  words. 

"  I  imagine  this  pool  might  have  been  remarkable 
for  some  mineral  virtue  attending  the  water  ;  which 
is  the  more  probable,  as  Jerome  tells  us,  it  was  of  a 
very  high  color  ;  this,  together  with  its  being  so  very 
near  the  temple,  where  a  bath  was  so  much  needed 
for  religious  puqioscs,  may  account  for  the  building 
such  stately  cloisters  round  it,  three  of  which  re- 
main to  this  day.  (See  Jerusalem.)  Some  time 
before  this  passover,  an  extraordinary  connnotion 
was  probably  observed  in  the  water :  and  Providence 
so  ordered  it,  that  the  next  person  who  accidentally 
bathed  here,  being  under  some  great  disorder,  found 
an  immediate  and  unexpected  cure.  The  hke 
phenomenon,  in  some  other  desperate  case,  was 
probably  observed  on  a  second  commotion ;  and 
these  commotions  and  cures  might  happen  period- 
ically, perhaps  every  sabbath,  (lor  that  it  was  yearly 
none  can  proAe,)  for  some  weeks  or  months.  This 
the  Jews  would  naturally  ascribe  to  some  angelic 
power,  as  they  did  afterwards  the  voice  from  heaver, 
(John  xii.  29.)  lliough  no  angel  appeared  ;  and  they 
and  St.  John  had  reason  to  do  it,  as  it  was  the  Scrip- 
ture scheme,  that  tliese  benevolent  spirits  had  been, 
and  frequently  are,  tlie  invisible  instruments  of  good 
to  the  children  of  men,  Ps.  xxxiv.  7;  xci.  11  ;  Dan. 
iii.  28 ;  vi.  22.  On  their  making  so  ungrateful  a  re- 
turn to  Christ,  for  this  miracle,  and  those  wrought  at 
the  former  passover,  and  in  the  internicdiate  space. 


BETHESDA 


[  166] 


BETHESDA 


this  celestial  visitant,  probably  from  this  time,  re- 
turned no  moi*e :  and  therefore,  it  may  be  observed, 
that  though  the  evangelist  speaks  of  the  pool  as  still 
at  Jerusalem  when  he  wrote,  yet  he  mentions  the 
descent  of  the  angel  as  a  thing  which  had  been,  but 
not  as  still  continuing.  (Comp.  ver.  2  and  4.)  Tliis 
may  account  for  the  surprising  silence  of  Josephus 
in  a  story  which  made  so  much  for  the  honor  of 
his  nation.  He  was  himself  not  born  when  it  hap- 
pened ;  and  though  he  might  have  heard  the  report 
of  it,  he  would,  perhaps,  (as  in  tlie  modern  way,) 
oppose  speculation  and  hypothesis  to  fact,  and  have 
recourse  to  some  indigested  and  unmeaning  ha- 
rangues, on  the  unkno\vn  force  of  imagination  ;  or, 
if  he  secretly  suspected  it  to  be  true,  his  dread  of  the 
marvellous,  and  fear  of  disgusting  his  pagan  read- 
ers with  it,  might  as  well  lead  him  to  suppress  this, 
as  to  disguise  the  passage  through  the  Red  sea,  and 
the  divine  voice  from  mount  Sinai,  in  so  coAvardly 
and  ridiculous  a  manner  as  it  is  knowii  he  does. 
And  the  relation  in  which  this  fact  stood  to  the  his- 
tory of  Jesus,  would  make  him  peculiarly  cautious 
in  touching  upon  it,  as  it  would  have  been  so  dif- 
ficult to  handle  it  at  once  with  decency  and  safety." 

Having  noticed  these  remarks,  Mr.  Taylor  gives 
the  following  analysis  and  illustration  of  the  words 
of  the  evangelical  history. 

J\^3W  there  is — in  Jerusalem,  over  against  the  she.ep- 
(gate)  a  pool  (or  place  for  swimming,  xo::viifii,9oa,) 
blamed  in  Hebreiv,  Bethesda,  having  Jive  porches  (por- 
ticoes, walking  places).  In  these  lay  a  multitude  of 
(^.75?)  01  Vrci?)  debilitated  persons,  blind,  contracted,  wast- 
ed, wailing  forihe  moving  of  the  water  ;for  an  angel,  ac- 
cording to  the  season,  (occasioxallv,  xutU  xaiQoy.) 
descended  into  the  pool,  and  troubled  the  water :  ivho- 
cver  then  first  ivent  down  (into  the  pool)  a/ler  the  mov- 
ing of  the  water,  was  cured  of  ivhatevcr  disease  (of  the 
nature  of  those  above  enumerated)  had  seized  him. 

1.  JVoiv  there  is — these  words  do  not  determine 
that  tiie  evangelist  wrote  his  gospel  before  the  de- 
struction of  Jerusalem,  as  has  been  inferred  from 
them  ; — for  there  are  remains  of  the  pool  to  this 
day,  and,  as  it  is  sunk  in  the  rock,  it  may  still  re- 
main for  ages.  Dr.  Doddridge  says,  "  he  does  not 
find  satisfactory  proof  (though  many  have  asserted 
it)  that  the  sheep  to  be  sacrificed  Avere  washed  here ; 
or  that  the  blood  of  the  sacrifices  ran  into  it." — And 
indeed  tli  n"e  are  no  traces,  or  channels,  in  the  rock 
which  forms  the  groTUid,  (if  in  fact  there  were  a  pos- 
sibility,) of  the  blood  from  the  altar  having  ever  ran 
toward,  or  into,  the  pool.  This  obliged  Pococke, 
who  adopt(;d  that  idea,  to  seek  for  the  pool  of  Be- 
thesda in  lower  ground,  on  the  other  side  of  the  tem- 
ple. The  error  lias  consisted  in  supposing  that  the 
sheep  were  washed  here,  after  they  wore  slain : 
whereas,  they  were  washed  in  it,  (if  at  all,)  as  soon  as 
bought  in  tlie  adjoining  market ;  after  which,  they 
were  driven  into  the  temple.  The  place  now  shown 
for  the  pool  of  Bethesda,  is  square  :  nevertheless  it 
might  have  had  five  porches;  one  on  each  hand  at 
entering,  the  entrance  being  in  the  middle  of  one 
side ;  and  three  on  the  other  sides.  (See  the  con- 
jcctm-al  plans  on  the  plate  of  the  Plan  of  Jerusalem.) 
This  difiiculty,  therefore,  is  removed  merely  by  an 
appropriate  construction.  It  was,  probably,  very 
simple,  and  neither  "  stately"  nor  fit  for  "  purifica- 
tion for  religious  purposes,"  notwithstanding  its 
vicinity  to  the  temple. 

2.  The  diseases  mentioned  are  of  the  nervous 
kind.  We  pretend  not  to  sufficient  acquaintance 
with    the    Greek    medical     writers,    to    determine 


whether  rvipXwv,  blind,  is  used  in  the  sense  of  dim' 
sighted,  i.  e.  so  weak  in  the  nerves  &c.  serving  the 
eye,  as  to  be  nearly,  yet  not  hopelessly,  blind.  But 
we  submit  whether  somewhat  very  like  this  sense  of 
the  word,  is  not  its  import  in  Acts  xiii.  11.  "  Thou 
shalt  be  blind  (nc/i-ui?)  not  seeing  the  sun  for  a  sea- 
son [it^Qi-  y-ci'Qa)."  Also,  2  Peter  i.  9.  "  These  are — 
blind,  (tl(//.u;  e(tti,)  not  seeing  afar  off,  myops,  short- 
sighted, iivconuLwv  :"  where  it  should  seem,  that  the 
latter  word  is  used  by  way  of  explaining  the  former; 
as  there  could  be  no  need  to  describe  a  person  to- 
tally blind  as  short-sighted.  1  John  ii.  11. — He  tvho 
walketh  in  darkness, — darkness  hath  blinded  [iTr(p?.waf) 
— suspended  the  ofiices  of — his  eyes;  not  that  his 
eyes  are  deprived  of  the  power  of  seeing ;  but  that 
they  cannot  exert  that  power  to  advantage,  because 
of  surrounding  darkness.  The  other  diseases  men- 
tioned by  the  evangelist,  are  evidently  such  as  cold 
bathing,  especially  in  medicinal  water,  would  be  es- 
teemed a  remedy  for.  For  the  angel,  see  the  article 
Angel,  i.  e.  a  providential  agent  of  God. 

3.  But  what  if  here  were,  in  fact,  two  distinct 
waters  ?  first,  the  constant  body  of  water,  of  a  cer- 
tain depth  ;  the  pool,  wherein  the  sheep  were  washed 
— the  bath :  secondly,  an  occasional  and  inconstant 
issue  of  water,  the  source  of  which  was  on  one  side 
of  the  bath,  faUiug  from  a  crevice  of  the  rock  where- 
in this  basin  was  sunk,  from  the  height  of  several 
feet.  What  \^  this  were  the  medicinal  water  which 
"was  troubled  at  the  season?"  and  falling  perhaps 
in  no  very  large  quantity,  the  person  who  could  first 
get  to  it,  received  the  full  benefit  of  it,  because  he 
had  it  fresh  and  pure  from  the  rock,  which  the 
water  in  the  pool,  if  it  were  supplied  from  the  same 
source,  could  not  be ;  because  there  was  no  super- 
fluity of  it,  of  which  other  patients  might  partake ; 
because  such  of  it  as  fell  into  the  pool,  became  in- 
stantly diluted,  mingled  with  the  body  of  water  con- 
stantly there,  and  was  thereby  deprived  of  its  ef- 
ficacy, and  its  concentrated  virtues ;  and  this  mixture 
was  sure  to  be  completed  by  the  nmnber  of  pei'sons 
who  would  rush  into  the  pool,  desirous  of  being 
first,  or  very  early,  in  it.  It  should  be  observed,  that 
if  the  water  fell  from  above  into  the  pool,  the  people 
might  easily  watch  it ;  and  would  not  fail  to  force 
their  way  towards  it,  when  they  perceived  signs  of 
it  gushing  out :  whereas,  had  the  jiool  itself  been 
the  water  that  was  moved,  would  not  the  sheep  have 
been  prohibited  from  polluting  it  ?  partly  from 
ideas  of  holiness  and  virtue  connected  with  it ; 
partly  from  apprehension  that,  while  they  were  wash- 
ing, the  water  might  be  troubled,  at  a  moment  when 
nobody  could  benefit  by  it ;  if,  indeed,  its  being 
troubled  could  be  distinguished  from  the  commo- 
tion occasioned  by  the  sheep. 

Let  us  now  accept  assistance  from  travellers  who 
have  visited  the  place.  "  A  little  above,  we  entered 
the  city  at  the  gate  of  St.  Stephen,  (where,  on  each 
side,  a  lion  retrograde  doth  stand,)  called,  in  times 
past,  the  port  [gate]  of  the  valley,  and  oi'thefiock;  for 
that  the  cattle  came  in  at  this  gate  which  were  to  be 
sacrificed  in  the  temple,  and  were  sold  in  the  mar- 
ket adjoining.  On  the  left  hand  is  a  strong 
bridge,  which  passcth,  at  the  east  end  of  the 
north  wall,  into  th(^  court  of  the  temple  of  Solomon  ; 
the  head  [of  the  i)ridge]  to  the  ])ool  of  Bethesda 
(underneath  wJiich  it  [the  wat<>r  of  the  pool]  had  a 
conveyance)  called  aho  probaticum,  for  that  the  sac- 
rifices were  therein  washed,  ere  delivered  to  the 
priests.  Now,  it  is  a  great  square  profundity,  green 
and  uneven  at  the  bottom :  into   which  a  barren 


BET 


[  167  ] 


BET 


8PRi:«G  doth  drill  between  the  stones  of  the  north- 
ward wall ;  and  stealeth  away  almost  undiscovered. 
The  place  is  for  a  good  depth  hewn  out  of  the  rock  ; 
confined  above  on  the  north  side  with  a  steep  wall, 
on  the  west  with  the  high  buildings,  (perhaps  a  part 
of  the  castle  of  Antonia ;  where  are  two  doors  to 
descend  by,  now  all  that  are,  half  choked  with  rub- 
bish,) and  on  the  south  with  the  wall  of  the  coin-t  of 
the  temple."  Such  is  the  account  of  Sandys,  who 
was  there  in  1611.  He  found  the  spring  running, 
but  in  small  quantities;  and  "stealing  away"  un- 
noticed. But  it  should  seem,  that  when  Mr.  Maun- 
drell  was  there,  1697,  this  stream  did  not  run — as  he 
does  not  mention  that  circumstance — so  that,  pos- 
sibly, it  is  still  intermitting ;  and  to  this  day  runs 
(xaT«  yatoijy)  occasionally.  We  have  every  reason  to 
suppose,  that  the  spring  was  formerly  more  copious 
and  abundant,  as  well  as  medicinal ;  as  the  rubbish 
which  now  chokes  up  the  passage  for  its  waters, 
may  not  only  diminish  their  quantity,  but  injure  their 
quality.  "  On  the  9th  [April,  1697]  we  went  to  take 
a  view  of  what  is  now  called  the  Pool  of  Bethesda, 
which  is  120  paces  long,  40  broad,  and  8  deep :  at 
the  west  end  are  some  old  arches,  now  dammed  up, 
which,  though  there  are  but  three  in  number,  some 
will  have  to  be  the  five  porches,  hi  which  sat  the 
lame,  halt,  and  blind."  (Maundrell's  Journey.) 
From  the  account  of  Sandys,  it  appears,  that  the 
basin  being  hewn  deep  in  the  rock,  and  upon 
{"  above")  that  rock  the  northern  wall  standing,  and 
the  spring  issuing  from  between  the  stones  of  this 
wall,  the  place  whence  the  spring  issues  must  be 
several  feet  above  the  level  of  the  water  in  the  ba- 
sin ;  which  basin,  being  deeper  in  some  places  than 
in  others,  "  uneven  at  the  bottom,"  might  be  deep 
enough  to  swim  in,  in  some  parts,  while,  in  others,  it 
might  merely  serve  to  wash  the  sheep. 

Thus,  by  means  of  the  accounts  of  travellers,  and 
their  representations,  this  history  appears  in  what 
may  be  thought  a  new  light,  (and  apparently  a  just 
one,  since,  so  far  as  we  perceive,  it  accounts  strictly 
for  every  thing  in  the  text,)  and,  perhaps,  a  more  ac- 
curate idea  is  annexed  to  the  name  of  this  place, 
than  those  who  derived  it  from  mrx  n^^  "the 
house  of  issuing  of  waters,"  "the  house  of  efllision," 
were  aware  of.  That  it  was  not  in  any  probability 
the  drain  fi-om  the  temple  is  proved  ;  but  may  not 
"the  spring  house"  be  a  title  very  descriptive  of  the 
porticoes  around  this  gushing,  medicinal,  and  intermit- 
ting spring?  and  as  the  water  was  salutary,  this  der- 
ivation is  in  fact  analogous  with  that  from  n-^c^n, 
n'3  the  "  house  of  mercy,"  or  kindness  ;  from  ion, 
chesed,  exuberant  bounty.  See  Jahn's  Bib.  Arch. 
§  198. 

We  close,  by  reflecting  that  it  was  John's  design 
to  relate  a  miracle  wrought  by  his  Master;  to  honor 
Jesus,  and  Jesus  solely:  he  had,  therefore,  no  in- 
ducement to  allude  to  any  miracidous  (angelical, 
spiritual)  interference,  previous  to,  or  distinct  from, 
that  of  Jesus ;  and  it  is  submitted  to  the  reader, 
whether  his  words,  properly  taken,  do  really  import 
any  such  interference  ;  especially  if  we  advert  to  the 
various  senses  of  the  word  Angel ;  of  which  several 
ai*e  given  under  that  article. 

BETH-EZEL,  a  place  mentioned  Mic.  i.ll.  It 
was,  according  to  Ephrem  Syrus,  not  far  from  Sa- 
maria. 

BETH-GADER,  a  city  of  Judah,  1  Chron.  ii.  51. 
See  Gadara. 

BETH-GAMUL,  a  city  of  the  Moabites,  in  Reu- 
ben, Jer.  xlviii.  23. 


BETH-HACCEREM,  see  Beth-achara. 

BETH-HANAN,  one  of  the  cities  over  which  Sol- 
omon placed  Ben-dekar,  (1  Kings  iv.  9.)  but  the 
situation  of  which  is  unknown. 

BETH-HARAN,  (Num.  xxxii.  36.)  or  Beth-ha- 
RAM,  (Josh.  xiii.  27.)  a  city  of  Gad  beyond  the  Jor- 
dan, afterwards  called  Livias,  or  Julias. 

BETIi-HOGLAH,  a  town  of  Benjamin,  on  the 
confines  of  Judah,  Josh.  xv.  16;  xviii.  19,  21. 

BETH-HORON,  the  name  of  two  cities  or  to\vns 
lying  apparently  near  each  other,  and  distinguished 
by  the  names  of  Upper  and  Lower  Beth-horon,  Josh, 
xvi.  3,  5  ;  1  Chron.  vii.  24.  They  would  seem  to  bo 
sometimes  spoken  of  as  only  one  place  ;  and  were 
situated  on  the  confines  of  Benjamin  and  Ephraim, 
about  12  Roman  miles  north-west  from  Jerusalem, 
according  to  Eusebius  and  Jerome,  on  the  way  to 
Nicopolis.  At  first  they  were  assigned  to  Ephraim, 
but  afterwards  to  the  Levites,  Josh.  xvi.  3 ;  xxi.  22. 
From  the  distinction  in  the  names,  we  may  draw  the 
conclusion,  that  the  one  lay  on  a  hill,  and  the  other 
in  a  valley ;  and  this  is  confirmed  by  Josephus,  (B. 
J.  ii.  19.  8.)  who  describes  here  a  narrow,  steep  and 
rocky  hollow  way  or  pass,  exceedingly  dangerous  to 
an  army  ; — the  same,  no  doubt,  which  is  called  in 
Josh.  X.  11,  the  descent  or  going  doum  of  Beth-horon  ; 
and  which  is  also  described  in  the  same  manner  iu 
1  Mace.  iii.  15,  24.  It  therefore  often  proved  disas- 
trous to  flying  troops.  (See  in  Joshua,  Josephus,  and 
Maccabees,  last  above  quoted.)  The  place  was 
strongly  fortified  by  Solomon,  1  Kings  ix.  17 ;  2 
Chron.  viii.  5. — Dr.  Clarke  found  an  Arab  village, 
Bethoor,  on  the  way  from  Jaflli  to  Jerusalem,  on  a 
hill  about  12  miles  from  the  latter  place ;  Avhich  he 
reasonably  supposes  may  be  the  site  of  Beth-horon 
the  Upper.     *R. 

BETH-JESHIMOTH,  a  city  of  Reuben,  between 
the  mountains  of  Abarim  and  the  Jordan,  about  ten 
miles  south-east  of  Jericho,  (Josh.  xii.  3  ;  xiii.  20.) 
afterwards  possessed  by  the  Moabites,  Ezek.  xxv.  9. 

BETH-LEBAOTH,  a  city  of  Simeon,  (Josh.  xix. 
6.)  called  Lebaoth,  chap.  xv.  32. 

I.  BETH-LEHEM,  the  house  of  bread,  a  city  of 
Judah  ;  (Judg.  xvii.  7.)  generally  called  Be.thlehem 
of  Judah,  to  distinguish  it  from  another  Bethlehem 
in  Zebulun.  It  is  also  called  Ephratah,  (Bethlehem 
Ephratah,)  and  its  inhabitants  Ephrateans,  Gen. 
xlviii.  7  ;  Mic.  v.  2.  It  was  six  miles  south  of  Jeru- 
salem, in  the  way  to  Hebron  ;  and  was  fortified  by 
Rehoboam,  2  Chron.  xi.  6  ;  Ezra  ii.  21. 

In  this  city  David  was  born,  and  dwelt,  until  his 
combat  with'  Goliath  introduced  him  to  the  court  of 
Saul,  and  opened  for  him  a  new  career.  But  that 
which  imj)arts  to  Bethlehem  the  highest  interest,  is, 
that  here  the  Saviour  of  the  world,  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  was  born.  INIicah,  (chap.  v.  2.)  extolling  this 
pre-eminence  of  Bethlehem,  says,  "Thou  Bethlehem 
Ephratah,  though  thou  he  li"ttle  among  the  thou- 
sands of  Judah,  yet  out  of  thee  shall  He  come  forth 
unto  me,  who  is  to  be  ruler  in  Israel ;"  or,  who  is 
the  Messiah,  as  the  Chaldee  paraphrast  has  trans- 
lated it.  Several  difliculties  are  started  relating  to^ 
this  prophecy  of  INIicah,  which  foretells  the  birth  of 
the  Messiah  at  Bethlehem.  Matthew  (ii.  6.)  reads, 
"And  thou,  Bethlehem  of  Judah,  art  not  the  least  of 
the  cities  of  Judah  ;"  whereas  the  text  of  Micah  runs, 
"  And  thou,  Bethlehem,  though  thou  he  little  among 
the  thousands  of  Judah."  It  is  objected  that  here  is 
a  contrariety  between  Matthew  and  Micah,  one  of 
whom  says,  that  Bethlehem  is  small  among  the  cities 
cf  Judah;  the  other  that  it  is  not  the  least  of  the  cities 


bp:t 


[  168  ] 


BET 


of  Judah.  But  to  this  it  is  answered,  that  a  city  may 
be  little,  yet  not  the  least.  [Or  we  have  only  to  sup- 
pose, (what  was  evidently  the  fact,)  that  the  apostle 
quoted  from  memory  ;  and  that,  therefore,  while  the 
sense  remains  the  same,  there  is  a  slight  variation  in 
the  words.     R. 

The  cave  in  which  it  is  said  our  Saviour  was  born, 
was  not  strictly  in  the  city.  The  original  church, 
built  by  the  empress  Helena  over  it,  still  exists,  but 
blended  with  tlie  necessary  repairs  and  restorations 
from  the  devastations  of  inimical  hordes  of  Mahome- 
tans and  others,  during  the  Crusades,  and  especially 
at  the  close  of  the  thirteenth  century.  Near  it  ai-e 
said  to  be  the  chapel  of  the  innocents  and  their  sep- 
ulchre ;  also  the  sepulchres  of  Jerome,  of  Eusebius, 
and  of  Paula  and  Eustochius.  The  tomb  of  Rachel, 
near  Bethlehem,  is  of  no  antiquity. 

The  inn  in  which  our  Saviour  was  born  was  prob- 
ably a  caravanserai,  where  guests  were  received  gra- 
tis ;  but  where  notliing  was  found  them  but  shelter. 
It  is  generally  supposed  that  the  caravanserai  being 
full,  Joseph  and  Mary  were  obliged  to  repose  in  a 
cave,  or  grotto  cut  out  of  the  rock,  which  usually 
served  as  a  stable ;  but  this  idea,  as  the  intelligent 
author  of  the  Modern  Traveller  remarks,  is  an  out- 
rage on  common  sense.  The  gospel  narrative  af- 
fords no  countenance  to  the  notion  that  the  Virgin 
took  refuge  in  any  cave  of  this  description.  On  the 
contrary,  it  was  evidently  a  manger  belonging  to  the 
inn,  or  khan  ;  in  other  words,  the  upper  rooms  being 
occupied,  the  holy  family  were  compelled  to  take  up 
their  abode  in  the  court  allotted  to  the  mules  and 
horses,  or  other  animals. 

The  following  is  Volney's  description  of  the  vil- 
lage :  (Trav.  vol.  ii.  p.  332.)  "  The  second  place 
deserving  notice,  is  I>ait-el-lahm,  or  Bethlehem,  so 
celebrated  in  the  history  of  Christianity.  This  vil- 
lage, situated  two  leagues  south-east  of  Jerusalem,  is 
seated  on  an  eminence,  in  a  country  full  of  hills  and 
valleys,  and  might  be  rendered  very  agreeable.  The 
soil  is  the  best  in  all  these  districts ;  fruits,  vines, 
olives,  and  scsamum  succeed  here  extremely  well  ; 
but,  as  is  the  case  every  where  else,  cultivation  is 
wanting." 

Dr.  Clarke  found  Bethlehem  a  larger  place  than 
he  expected,  and  describes  the  first  view  of  it  as  im- 

f)osing.  It  is  built  on  the  ridge  of  a  hill  which  over- 
ooks  the  valley  reaching  to  the  Dead  sea,  of  which 
it  commands  a  distinct  prospect ;  so  that  any  phe- 
nomenon elevated  over  Bethlehem,  would  be  seen 
from  afar  in  the  East  country,  beyond  the  Dead  sea. 
The  convent  is  not  in  the  town,  but  adjacent :  it  has 
the  air  of  a  fortress ;  and  might  even  stand  a  siege 
against  the  Turks.  The  inmates  manufacture  cru- 
cifixes and  beads  for  the  devout,  and  mark  religious 
emblems  on  the  persons  of  pilgrims,  by  means  of 
gunpowder.  The  doctor  descended  into  the  valley 
of  Bethlehem,  whore  he  found  a  well  of  "pure  and 
delicious  water,"  which,  he  thinks,  is  that  so  ardently 
longed  for  by  David,  2  Sam.  xxiii.  15. 

II.  RETII-LEHEM,  a  city  of  Zebulun,(Josh.  xix. 
15;  Judg.  xii.  10.)  which  is  scarcely  known,  but  by 
its  bearing  the  same  name  as  the  above. 

BETH-MAON,  see  Baal-Meon. 

BETH-MARCABOTH,  a  city  of  Simeon,  Josh, 
xix.  5;  1  Chron.  iv.  31. 

BETH-MILLO,  a  place  near  Shechem,  2  Kings 
xii.  20. 

BETH-NIMRAH,  a  city  of  Gad ;  (Numb,  xxxii. 
36 ;  Josh.  .xiii.  27.)  possibly  Nimrim,  ( Jer.  xlviii.  34.) 
or  Bethnabris,  five  miles   north    from  Livias.     The 


difficulty  lies  in  extending  the  tribe  of  Gad  so   far 
as  Nimrim  south,  or  Bethnabris  north. 

BETH-OANNABA,  or  Beth-hannabah,  a  town 
which  Eusebius  places  four  miles  east  from  Diospo- 
lis  ;  but  Jerome  says  it  is  placed,  by  many,  eight 
miles  distant.  Beth-oannaba  seems  to  preserve 
some  remains  of  the  word  JVob,  where  the  taberna- 
cle continued,  some  time,  in  the  reign  of  Saul ;  (1 
Sam.  xxi.  1.)  and  Jerome  says  Nob  was  not  far  from 
Diospolis. 

BETH-ORON,  see  Beth-horon. 

BETH-PALET,  or  Beth-pheleth,  a  city  in  the 
most  southern  part  of  Judah,  Josh.  xv.  27 ;  Neh. 
xi.  26. 

BETH-Px\ZZEZ,  a  city  of  Issachar,  Josh.  xix.  21. 

BETH-PEOR,  acity  ofMoab,  given  to  Reuben, 
and  famous  for  the  worship  of  Baal-Peor  ;  which 
see,  Deut.  iii.  20 ;  iv.  46  ;  xxxiv.  6 ;  Josh.  xiii.  20. 

BETHPHAGE,  a  little  village  at  the  foot  of  the 
mount  of  Olives,  between  Bethany  and  Jerusalem, 
Luke  xix.  29.  Jesus,  being  come  from  Bethany  to 
Bethphage,  commanded  his  disciples  to  procure  an 
ass  for  his  use,  in  his  triumphant  entrance  into  Jeru- 
salem, John  xii.  The  distance  between  Bethphage 
and  Jerusalem  is  about  fifteen  furlongs.  The  Tal- 
mudists  say  that  Bethphage  was  within  the  walls  of 
Jerusalem,  but  at  the  very  utmost  circuit  of  them  ; 
and  it  is  probable  that  there  was  a  street  or  district 
so  called,  because  it  led  immediately,  and  indeed 
adjoined,  to  the  Bethphage  which  produced  figs,  and 
was  out  of  the  city.  It  is  probable,  too,  that  the  figs 
of  this  district  were  brought  into  Jerusalem,  and  sold 
on  the  spot.  But  the  district  itself  was,  no  doubt,  at 
the  descent  of  the  mount  of  Olives  next  to  Jerusa- 
lem ;  and  seems  rather  to  have  been  so  named  from  a 
house  of  figs  ;  a  house  where  figs  were  sold,  or  in  the 
garden  of  which  they  were  cultivated ;  and  this 
might  extend  a  good  way  up  the  mountain.  It  is, 
perhaps,  uncertain,  whether  or  not  there  was  a  vil- 
lage, or  niunber  of  other  houses,  beside  those  of  the 
gardeners  who  attended  to  the  cultivation  of  this 
fruit;  as  also  of  ohve-trees,  and  of  palm-trees  ;  most 
probably,  also,  of  various  other  esculents  for  the 
use  of  the  inhabitants  of  Jerusalem. 

I.  BETHSAIDA,  a  city  on  the  north-eastern  shore 
of  the  sea  of  Galilee,  near  the  spot  where  the  Jordan 
enters  that  sea.  It  was  enlarged  and  adorned  by 
Philip  the  Tetrarch,  who  called  it  Julias,  though  it 
is  not  known  by  this  name  in  the  New  Testament. 
[This  place  is  mentioned  Luke  ix.  10,  where  Jesus 
is  said  to  have  withdrawn  himself  to  a  desert  place 
belonging  to  Bethsaida,  after  the  execution  of  John 
the  Baptist ;  from  whence,  also,  after  the  miracle  of 
the  five  loaves,  he  is  said  to  have  rotiuned  across 
the  lake  to  Capernaum,  Matt.  xiv.  22,  34  ;  John  vi.  17. 
Some  also  reckon  here  Mark  viii.  22.     R. 

n.  BETHSAIDA  of  Galilee  (John  xii.  21.)  lay 
somewhere  in  the  vicinity  of  Caj)ernaum,  on  the 
west  side  of  the  lake  of  Tiberias ;  as  we  conclude 
from  its  being  often  mentioned  with  Capernaum  as 
one  of  the  chief  places  of  resort  for  Christ  and  his 
disciples.  Matt.  xi.  21  ;  Luke  x.  13.  Eusebius  says, 
merely,  it  lay  on  the  shore  of  the  lake.  The 
apostles  Peter,  Andrew  and  Philip  were  of  this 
city,  (John  i.  44.)  and  are  hence  called  Galileaiis, 
Mark  xiv.  70,  al.  John  i.  43.     *R. 

BETH-SHE  AN,  more  generally  known  by  the 
name  of  Scythopolis,  was  a  town  of  Manasseh,  but 
situated  in  Issachar,  Josh.  xvii.  11,  16  ;  Judg.  i.  27  ; 
1  Kings  iv.  12.  In  2  Mac.  xii.  29,  it  is  reckoned  to 
be  600  furlongs,  or  75  miles,  from  Jerusalem.     Jose- 


BET 


[  169 


BEZ 


phus  says  it  was  120  furlongs  from  Tiberias ;  so  that 
It  cauuot  be  so  near   the  lake  of  Tiberias   as  some 

feographers  have  supposed.  It  was  on  the  west  of 
ordan,  at  tlie  south-west  extrenjity  of  the  great 
plain  of  Esdraelon.  The  name  of  Scythopolis,  or 
the  city  of  the  Scythians,  came,  according  to  George 
Syncellus,  from  the  Scythians,  who  invaded  Pales- 
tine in  the  reign  of  Josiah,  son  of  Amos,  king  of  Ju- 
dah.  Stephens  the  geographer,  and  Pliny,  call  it 
Nvsa;  tiie  Hebrews  name  it  Bethshean,  or  Beth- 
shan;  the  LXX,  (Judg.  i.  27.)  "Bethshan,  other- 
wise Scythopolis."  After  the  battle  of  Giiboa,  the 
Philistines,  having  taken  the  bodies  of  Saul  and 
Jonathan,  hung  them  on  the  walls  of  Bethshan  ;  but 
the  inhabitants  of  Jabesh-Gilead,  on  the  other  side 
Jordan,  came  in  the  night,  carried  off  the  bodies, 
and  interred  them  honorably  under  a  grove  of  oaks 
near  their  city,  1  Sam.  xxxi.  10. 

The  fruits  of  Bethshan  were  the  sweetest  in  the 
land  of  Israel ;  and  fine  hnen  gannents  were  made 
here.  Before  the  Babylonish  captivity  it  was  in- 
cluded tvithin  the  land  of  Israel ;  but  after  that 
period  it  was  reckoned  without  the  land  ;  and  none 
of  its  productions  were  tithed.  Probably  the  pos- 
terity of  the  Scythians  retained  their  property  in  it, 
and  its  demesnes. 

Bethshan  is  now  called  Bysan,  and  is  described 
by  Burckhardt  as  situated  on  rising  ground,  on  the 
west  of  the  river  Jordan,  about  24  miles  south  of 
Tiberias.  The  present  village  contains  70  or  80 
houses,  the  inhabitants  of  which  are  in  a  miserable 
condition,  owing  to  the  depredations  of  the  Be- 
douins. The  ruins  of  the  ancient  city  are  of  con- 
siderable extent,  along  the  banks  of  the  rivulet  which 
ran  by  it,  and  the  valley  formed  by  its  bi-anches ;  and 
bespeak  it  to  have  been  nearly  three  miles  in  cir- 
cuit.    See  Bib.  Repos.  vol.  i.  p.  599. 

I.  BETH-SHF:MESH,  a  city  belonging  to  the 
tribe  of  Judah,  (Josh.  xv.  10.)  afterwards  given  to  the 
Levites,  Josh.  xxi.  16.  In  Eusebius  it  is  placed  ten 
miles  from  Eleutlieropolis,  east,  in  the  way  to  Nicop- 
olis,  or  Emails ;  that  is,  about  30  miles  north-west 
of  Jerusalem.  This  city  is  not  to  be  confounded 
with  Ir-shemesh,  mentioned.  Josh.  xix.  41,  as  belong- 
ing to  Dan.  Ir-shemesh  signifies  the  City  of  the  su7i, 
and  Beth-shemesh  signifies  the  House  of  the  sun.  As 
the  tribes  of  Dan  and  Judah  were  adjacent,  the 
same  city  is  reckoned  sometimes  to  one  tribe,  some- 
times to  the  other.  The  Philistines  returning  the 
ark  of  the  Lord  into  the  land  of  Israel,  it  came  to 
Beth-shemesh ;  and  some  of  the  people  looking 
with  too  much  curiosity  into  it,  the  Lord  smote 
seventy  principal  men  of  the  city,  and  50,000  of  the 
common  people,  1  Sam.  vi.  12 — 20. 

II.  BETH-SHEMESH,  a  city  of  Issachar,  Josh. 
xix.  22. 

III.  BETH-SHEMESH,  a  city  of  Naphtali,  Josh. 
xix.  38 ;  Judg.  i.  33. 

IV.  BETH-SHEMESH,  a  city  in  Egypt,  Jer.  xliii. 
13.  This  is,  no  doubt,  the  Heliopolis  of  the  Greeks ; 
called  On,  Gen.  xli.  45,  50,  and  Onion  by  Ptolemy  ; 
which  name  it  retained  in  the  days  of  Ezekiel,  chap. 
xxx.  17.  It  had  a  temple  in  which  there  was  an 
annual  festival  in  honor  of  the  sun. 

BETH-SHITTAH,  a  place  south-west  of  the  sea 
of  Tiberias,  to  which  Gideon  pursued  Midian,  Judg. 
vii.  22. 

BETH-SIMOTH,  called  also  Betii-Jesimoth, 
which  see. 

BETH-SURAH,  see  Beth-zur. 

BETH-TAPPUAH,  a  city  of  Judah,  (Josh.  xv.  53.) 
22 


which  Eusebius  says  is  the  last  city  of  Palestine,  in 
the  way  to  Egypt,  fourteen  miles  from  Raphia. 

BETHUEL,  son  of  Nahor  and  Milcah,  was  Abra- 
ham's nephew,  and  father  of  Laban,  and  of  Rebecca, 
Isaac's  wife.  Bethuel  does  not  appear  in  the  affair 
of  Rebecca's  marriage,  but  Laban  only,  Gen.  xxiv. 
50.     See  Laban. 

BETHUL,  or  Bethuel,  a  city  of  Simeon ;  (Josh, 
xix.  4 ;  1  Chron.  iv.  30.)  the  same,  probably,  as  Be- 
thelia,  which  Sozomen  speaks  of,  as  a  tow7]  belong- 
ing to  the  inhabitants  of  Gaza,  well  peopled,  and 
having  several  temples  remarkable  for  their  struc- 
ture and  antiquity  ;  particularly  a  pantheon,  (or  tem- 
ple dedicated  to  all  the  gods,)  situated  on  an  em- 
inence made  of  earth,  brought  thither  for  the  pur- 
pose, which  commanded  the  whole  city.  He  con- 
jectures that  it  was  named  Bethelia,  which  signifies 
the  House  of  God,  by  reason  of  this  temple. 

BETHULIA,  a  city  celebrated  for  its  siege  by 
Holofernes,  at  which  he  was  killed  by  Judith,  Ju- 
dith vii.  1.  Calmet  thinks  it  to  be  the  Bethul,  or 
Bethuel,  above  noticed,  and  believes  that  this  idea 
maybe  reconciled  with  Judith  iv.  6;  vii.  3,  which 
say  that  Bethulia  was  near  Dothaini  and  Esdraelop, 
cities  in  the  great  plain,  very  remote  from  Bethulia, 
by  supposing  that  the  author  of  the  book  of  Judith 
describes  the  march  of  Holofernes'  army,  and  the 
camp  which  he  left  when  he  broke  up  to  go  and 
undertake  the  siege  of  Bethulia ;  not  the  camp  of 
which  he  took  possessio7i,  when  he  sat  down  before 
the  place. 

BETH-ZUR,  a  city  of  Judah,  (Josh.  xv.  58.)  which 
was  fortified  by  Rehoboam,  2  Chron.  xi.  7.  Lysias,  re- 
gent of  Syria,  under  young  Antiochus,  son  of  Antiochus 
Epiphanes,  besieged  Bethzur  with  an  army  of  60,000 
foot  and  5000  horse  ;  but  Judas  Maccabseus  coming 
to  succor  the  place,  Lysias  was  obliged  to  raise  the 
siege,  1  Mac.  iv.  28 ;  vi.  7.  Judas  put  his  army  to 
flight,  and  afterwards,  making  the  best  use  of  the 
arms  and  booty  found  in  the  enemy's  camp,  the 
Jews  became  stronger  and  more  formidable  than 
they  had  heretofore  been.  Bethzur  lay  south  of 
Jerusalem,  on  the  way  to  Hebron,  and  not  far  from 
the  latter  city.  It  was  a  fortress  against  Idumsea,  and 
defended  the  passages  into  Judea  from  thence.  We 
read,  2  Mac.  xi.  5,  that  Bethzur  was  five  furlongs 
from  Jerusalem ;  but  this  is  evidently  a  mistake. 
Eusebius  places  it  twenty  miles  from  that  city, 
toward  Hebron,  and  Dr.  Pococke  speaks  of  a  vil- 
lage on  a  hill  hereabouts,  called  Bethsaon. 

BETONIM,  a  city  of  Gad,  towards  the  north  of 
this  tribe,  bordering  on  Manassch,  Josh.  xiii.  26. 

BETROTHING,  see  Marriage. 

BEULAH,  married ;  a  name  given  to  the  Jewish 
church ;  importing  its  marriage  with  God,  as  their 
husband  and  sovereign  Lord,  Isa.  Ixii.  4. 

BEZALEEL,  a  famous  artificer,  son  of  Uri,  (Exod. 
xxxi.  2 ;  XXXV.  30.)  of  whom  it  is  said,  that  he  was 
filled  with  the  Spirit  of  God,  to  devise  excellent 
works  in  gold,  silver,  and  all  other  workmanship — 
a  remarkable  testimony  to  the  antiquity  of  the  arts, 
to  the  esteem  in  Avhich  they  were  held,  to  the  source 
whence  they  were  imderstood  to  spring,  and  to  the 
wisdom  (bv  inspiration)  of  this  artist. 

BEZEK,  a  city  over  which  Adoni-Bezek  was 
king,  (Judg.  i.  4.  seq.)  and  where  Saul  reviewed  his 
army,  before  he  marched  against  Jabesh-Gilead,  1 
Sam.  xi.  8.  Eusebius  says  there  were  two  cities  of 
this  name  near  one  another,  seven  miles  from  Si- 
chem,  in  the  way  to  Scythopolis. 

BEZER,  a  city  east  of  the  Jordan,  given  to  the 


BIB  [  170  J 

Reubenit)"S ;  aiul  afterwards  to  tlie  Lcvites  oi"  Gi-r- 
shoiii's  family,  Dent.  iv.  4.}.  It  was  also  one  of  the 
cities  of  refuge,  Josh.  xx.  8.  The  site  of  it  is  not 
known. 

BEZETH,  a  city  on  this  side  Jordan,  which  Bac- 
chides  surprised,  and  threw  all  the  inhabitants  into  a 
gi-eat  pit,  1  Mac.  vii.  19. 

BEZETHA,  or  Betzeta,  a  division  or  district  of 
Jerusalem,  situated  on  a  mountain,  encompassed  with 
good  walls;. being,  as  it  were,  a  new  city  added  to 
the  old.  Bezetha  was  north  of  Jerusalem  and  the 
temple.     See  the  Map  of  Jerusalem. 

BIBLE,  from  the  Greek  Bl  i/.og,  book,  a  name 
given  to  our  collection  of  sacred  writings,  which  we 
call  THE  Bible,  or  the  Book,  by  way  of  eminence 
and  distinction.  The  Hebrews  call  it  mpc,  mikrah, 
lesson,  lecture,  or  scripture.  They  acknowledge  only 
twenty-two  books  as  canonical,  which  they  place  in 
the  following  order  : — 

Order  of  the  Books  of  the  BIBLE,  according  to  the 
Hebrew. 

The  Law. 

1.  Genesis,  in  Hebrew,  Bereschith  (in  the  begin- 
ning). 2.  Exodus,  in  Hebrew,  Ve-elle  Schemoth 
{these  are  the  names).  3.  Leviticus,  in  Hebrew,  Vay- 
ikra  {and  he  ccdled).  4.  Numbers,  in  Hebrew,  Bam- 
midbar  {in  the  desert).  5.  Deuteronomy,  in  Hebrew, 
EUe  haddebarim  {these  are  the  tvords). 

The  former  Prophets. 

6.  Joshua.  7.  Judges.  8.  Samuel  I.  and  II.  as 
one  book.     9.  Kings  I.  and  II.  as  one  book. 

The  latter  Prophets. 

10.  Isaiah.  11.  Jeremiah.  12.  Ezckiel.  13. 
The  twelve  minor  Prophets  make  one  book,  viz. : — 
Hosea,  Joel,  Amos,  Obadiah,  Jonah,  Micah,  Na- 
hum,  Hal)akkuk,  Zephaniali,  Haggai,  Zechariali, 
Malaclii. 

The  Sacred  Books ;  or,  Hagiographa. 

14.  The  Psalms.  (Divided  into  five  books.)  15. 
The  Proverbs.  10.  Job.  17.  Solomon's  Song. 
(The  Jews  place  the  Lamentations  and  the  book  of 
Ruth  after  the  Song  of  Solomon.)  18.  Ecclesiastes. 
19.  Esther.  20.  Daniel.  21.  Ezra  and  Nehemiah. 
22.  The  two  liooks  of  Chronicles. 

Catalogue  of  the  Sacred  Writings,  as  received  by  the 
Jews;  from  Origen. 

Books  of  the  Old  Testanient. 

1.  Genesis.  2.  Exodus.  3.  Leviticus.  4.  Num- 
bers. 5.  DeutfM'onomy.  G.  Joshua.  7.  Judges  and 
Ruth.  8.  The  First  and  Second  Book  of  Samuel. 
9.  The  First  and  Second  Book  of  Kings.  10.  The 
First  and  Second  Book  of  Chronicles.  11.  The 
First  and  Second  Book  of  Esdras.  12.  The  Psalms. 
13.  The  Book  of  Proverbs.  14.  Ecclesiastes.  1.5. 
Solomon's  Song.  Hi.  Isaiah.  17.  Jeremiah,  with 
the  Lamentations,  and  the  Ei)istl(!  to  the  Captives. 
18.  Ezekiel.  19.  Daniel.  20.  Job.  21.  Esther.  22. 
The  Minor  Prophets. 

The  above  and  the   following  list,  botli   from  Ori- 


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gen,  are  im])ortant,  as  showing  the  canon  of  Scrip- 
ture in  the  third  century. 

Books  of  the  New  Testament. 

The  Gospels  of  Matthew,  Mark,  Luke,  John.  The 
Acts  of  the  Apostles. 

Epistles  of  St.  Paul. 

To  the  Romans.  To  the  Corinthians.  To  the 
Galatians.  To  the  Ephesia)is.  To  the  Philippiaus. 
To  the  Colossians.  To  the  Thessalonians.  To 
Timothy.  To  Titus.  To  Philemon.  To  the  He- 
brews. 

Catholic,  or  General  Epistles. 

The  Epistle  of  James.  The  Epistles  of  Peter. 
The  Epistles  of  John.  The  Epistle  of  Jude.  The 
Revelation  by  St.  John. 

The  books  of  the  Old  Testament  were  written  for 
the  most  part  in  Hebrew.  Some  parts  of  Ezra  and 
Daniel  are  written  in  Chaldee.  The  books  of  the 
New  Testament  were  all  written  in  Greek,  except, 
perhaps,  Matthew,  whose  Gospel  is  by  some  sup- 
posed to  have  been  first  ^vl•itten  in  Hebrew,  or  Syriac, 
the  language  then  spoken  in  Judea. 

Lost  Books. — There  are  some  Books  cited  in  the 
Old  Testament,  which  are  supposed  to  be  lost. 
These  are,  (1.)  the  "Book  of  the  Wars  of  the  Lord," 
Numb.  xxi.  14.  (2.)  the  "Book  of  the  Righteous,  or 
Jasher,"  Josh.  x.  13.  and  2  Sam.  i.  18.  (3.)  the  "  Chron- 
icles," or  "Annals  of  the  Kings  of  Judah  and  Israel," 
1  Kings  xiv.  19.  We  have  also  only  a  part  of  Solo- 
mon's 3000  Proverbs,  and  of  liis  1005  Songs,  (1 
Kings  iv.  32,  33.)  and  none  of  his  writings  on  Natu- 
ral History.  It  is  justly  doubted  whether  we  have 
the  Lamentations  which  Jeremiah  composed  on  the 
death  of  Josiah,  king  of  Judah,  (2  Chron.  xxxv.  25.) 
because  the  taking  of  Jerusalem,  and  the  destruction 
of  that  city  by  Nebuchadnezzar,  appear  to  be  the 
subjects  of  those  extant. 

(i.)  "The  Book  of  the  Wars  of  the  Lord."  This 
is  cited  by  Moses,  Numb.  xxi.  14,  and  appears  to 
have  related  some  particulars  which  happened  when 
the  Hebrews  passed  the  brook  of  Anion.  Some 
think  it  was  a  work  of  greater  antiquity  than  Moses, 
containing  a  recital  of  wars,  to  which  the  Israelites 
were  parties,  before  their  Exodus  under  Moses.  In- 
deed, it  is  most  natural  to  quote  a  book,  which  is 
more  ancient  than  the  author  who  is  writing,  par- 
ticularly in  sup))ort  of  any  extraordinary  and  mi- 
raculous fact.  The  Hebrew  of  this  passage  is  per- 
plexed :  "As  it  is  written  in  the  Book  of  the  Wars 
of  the  Lord;  at  Vahch,  in  Siiphah;  and  in  the  brooks 
of  Arnon,"  &c.  We  know  not  who  or  what  this 
Vahch  is.  M.  Boivin,  senior,  thought  it  meant  .some 
prince  who  had  the  government  of  the  country,  and 
was  defeated  by  the  fsraelit"S  before  they  came  out 
of  Egypt ;  others  think  Vahet>  was  a  king  of  Moab, 
overcome  by  Sihon  king  of  th(;  Amorites.  Grotius, 
instead  of  J'ahcb,  reads  .Moab,  and  translates  it, 
^'' Sihon  b(-at  Moab  at  Siiphnh."  Calmet  prefers 
Zared,  instead  of  Valiel),  ;;fter  this  manner:  "As  it 
is  written  in  the  Book  of  the  Wars  of  the  Lord,  the 
Hel)rewscame  from  Zared,  and  (uicampedat  Suphah, 
and  about  the  stnam  of  the  brook  of  Arnon." 
Zared  we  know,  (Numb.  xxi.  12,  13.)  from  whence 
they  came  to  Suphah,  which  is  mentioned  Dent.  i.  1, 
and,  perhaps,    Numb.   xxii.   '.Ml.     From   hence  they 


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canic  to  ihc  brook  of  Aruoii,  which  flows  dowu  to 
Ar,  the  capital  of  the  Moabites.  This  is  cited  very 
seasonably  in  this  place,  to  confirm  what  is  said  in 
j)recedin{^  verses.  Others  are  of  opinion,  that  the 
"  Book  of  the  Wars  of  the  Lord"  is  the  book  of 
Niniibers  itself,  wherein  this  passage  is  cited;  or 
that  of  Joshua  or  the  Judges  ;  and  they  translate, 
"  It  is  saiil  in  the  recital  of  ike  wars  of  the  Lord." 
f)thers,  that  this  narration  of  the  wars  of  the  Lord 
is  contained  in  the  135th  and  the  13Gth  Psalms; 
others,  that  the  "  Book  of  the  Wars  of  the  Lord," 
and  the  "Book  of  Jasher,"  (Josh.  x.  13.)  are  the 
same.  Cornelius  a  Lapide  conjectures,  that  this  ci- 
tation is  added  to  the  text  of  Moses,  and  that  the 
"  Book  of  the  Wars  of  the  Lord,"  related  the  wars 
of  the  Israelites,  under  Moses,  Joshua,  and  the 
judges ;  and  therefore  was  later  than  Moses.  Lastly, 
it  is  said,  that  Moses  either  Avrote  himself,  or  pro- 
cured to  be  written,  a  book,  wherein  he  related  all 
the  wars  of  the  Lord  ;  that  it  was  continued  under 
the  judges  and  the  kings,  and  was  called  Chronicles, 
or  Annals  ;  and  that  from  these  annals  were  com- 
posed those  sacred  books,  which  contained  the  his- 
tories of  the  Old  Testament.  The  wiiole  passage, 
however,  is  exceedingly  obscure  ;  and  tliere  is  no 
end  to  conjecture  concerning  it. 

(9.)  "The  Book  of  Jaslier,  or  the  Upright,"  is 
cited.  Josh.  x.  13.  and  2  Sam.  i,  18,  and  the  same 
difficulties  are  proposed  concerning  this  as  concern- 
ing the  former.  Some  thudc  it  to  be  the  same  with 
that  of  the  Wars  of  the  Lord ;  others,  that  it  is  the 
book  of  Genesis,  which  contains  the  lives  of  the 
patriarclis,  and  other  good  men  ;  others,  the  "  Books 
of  Moses."  But  the  opinion  which  seems  most  proba- 
ble, is,  that  there  were  from  the  beginning  persons 
among  the  Hebrews,  who  were  employed  in  writing 
the  annals  of  their  nation,  and  recording  the  memo- 
rable events  in  it.  These  annals  were  lodged  in  the 
tabernacle,  or  temple,  where  recoui'se  was  had  to 
them  as  occasion  requiyed.  The  "  Book  of  the  Wars 
of  the  Lord,"  the  "  Book  of  Days,  or  Chronicles," 
and  the  "  Book  of  Jasher,  or  the  Righteous,"  are 
therefore,  properly  speaking,  the  same,  but  differ- 
ently denominated,  according  to  the  diffierence  of 
times.  Before  there  were  kings  over  the  Hebrews, 
these  recoi'ds  might  be  entitled,  the  "  Book  of  the 
Wars  of  the  Lord,"  or  the  "  Book  of  Jashei-,  or 
Right."  After  the  reign  of  Saul,  they  might  be 
called  the  "  Book  of  the  Chronicles  of  the  Kings  of 
Israel,  or  of  Judah."  Grotius  is  of  opinion,  that 
this  book  was  a  triumphant  song,  made  purposely  to 
celel)rate  the  success  of  Joshua,  and  the  miracle  at- 
tending it.  M.  Dupin  prefers  this  opinion,  as  most 
prol)able,  because,  (1.)  the  words  cited  by  Joshua  are 
poetical  expressions,  not  very  proper  for  historical 
memoirs;  and,  (2.)  because  a  book  under  the  same 
title  is  referred  to  in  Samuel,  where  David's  song  is 
repeated  on  the  death  of  Said  and  Jonathan,  2  Sam. 
i.  18.  But  may  not  these  opinions  coincide,  if  we 
suppose  this  book  contained  a  collection  of  pieces 
of  poetrj',  made  on  occasion  of  remarkable  events  ? 
In  this  view,  the  appeal  to  the  book  of  Jasher  for  a 
copy  of  David's  ode,  called  "  The  Bow,"  is  very 
pertinent.  Might  it  not  contain  the  Songs  of  Moses, 
of  Deborah,  and  others  ?  Dr.  Geddes  will  not  allow 
that  Josh.  X.  13.  is  a  quotation,  but  it  seems  clearly 
to  be  such. 

It  is  well  known  to  all  readers  of  English  histoiy, 
that  not  ojdy  are  our  most  ancient  chroniides  in 
vei-se,  but  also  that  many  national  events  are  record- 
ed in  historical  songs,  wliich,  though  unquestionably 


genuine  and  authentic,  yet  are  no  vvliere  else  to  be 
met  with.  The  Saxon  Chronicle,  and  several  oth- 
ers, prove  this  ;  but  the  most  popular  instances  are 
the  "  border  songs,"  or  events  narrated  in  rhyme,  of 
the  wars  and  contests  between  the  English  and  the 
Scots  on  the  "  debatable  lands,"  before  the  union  of 
the  two  crowns. 

(3.)  "  The  Book  of  Chronicles,  or  Days,"  con- 
tained the  annals  and  journals  written  by  jjublic  re- 
corders, in  the  kingdom  of  Israel  and  Judah.  They 
are  not  now  in  being,  but  are  cited  very  frequently 
in  the  books  of  Kings  and  Chronicles,  which  are 
abstracts  chiefly  from  such  ancient  memoirs  and 
records,  as,  in  all  probability,  were  subsisting  after 
the  return  of  the  Jews  from  the  Babylonisli  captivity. 
The  authors  were  generally  prophets. 

As  it  is  of  the  utmost  importance  to  every  pro- 
fessor of  that  religion  which  is  founded  on  the  Bible, 
that  the  Bible  itself  should  not  only  be  well  under- 
stood by  him,  but  that  its  authority,  as  a  work  com- 
municated by  inspiration  from  Heaven,  should  be 
well  ascertained ;  and,  moreover,  that  the  authen- 
ticity of  such  copies  of  it  as  are  now^  procurable, 
and  the  correctness  of  those  translations  from  such 
copies  as  are  usur.lly  read  and  appealed  to  by  us, 
should  be  established,  we  have  thought  it  might  be 
proper  to  offer  an  inquiry  of  some  length  into  these 
latter  particulars,  not  less  for  the  use  of  the  bibhcal 
student,  than  for  the  satisfaction  of  general  readers. 

Of  the  AUTHORITY  of  the  Bible,  as  received  by 
inspiration  from  God,  we  shall  at  present  say  noth- 
ing, presuming  it  to  be  fidly  admitted  by  the  reader  ; 
being  also  aware  that  the  proofs  requisite  to  do  this 
subject  toleral)le  justice  would  extend  these  sum- 
mary hints  to  an  inconvenient  length.  As  to  the 
AUTHENTICITY  of  sucli  copics  of  the  Bible  as  are 
now  procurable,  we  refer  the  reader  to  the  article 
Scripture. 

Of  the  original  writers  of  the  Bible. — It 
is  very  credible  that  the  patriarch  Abraham,  to  go 
no  higher  into  antiquity,  possessed  and  brougiit  away 
what  inibrmation  the  books  or  records  of  his  origi- 
nal country,  Kedem,  could  communicate.  We  are 
not  aware  tliat  we  sliould  say  any  thing  improbable, 
if  we  considered  Noah  himself  as  practising  the  art 
of  writing ;  but  as  great  doubts  have  been  enter- 
tained, whether  this  art  were  more  ancient  than  the 
intercourse  of  Moses  with  the  Deity  on  mount  Horeb, 
we  are  unwilling  to  be  tliought  too  sanguine,  or  as 
taking  too  much  for  granted. 

The  remarks  suggested  under  the  article  Seals, 
are  deteiminate  for  the  nature  of  the  seal  of  Judah, 
(Gen.  xxxviii.  18.)  that  it  contained  his  name,  or  ap- 
propriate mark,  engraved  on  it.  We  assume  this  as 
fact.  But  we  discern  traces  of  a  still  more  early 
enqdoyment  of  diis  noble  art,  in  the  days  of  Abra- 
ham. We  have  in  Gen.  xxiii.  17,  18.  a  passage 
which  has  all  the  air  of  an  abridgment  of  a  title- 
deed,  or  conveyance  of  an  estate  ;  which,  indeed,  is 
its  import.  "  And  the  field  of  Ephron,  which  was 
in  Machpelali,  which  was  before  Mamre,  the  field  and 
the  cave  which  was  therein,  and  all  tlie  trees  in  the 
field,  that  were  in  all  the  borders  thereof  round 
about,  were  made  sure  to  Abraham,  for  a  possession, 
in  the  presence  of  the  children  of  Heth,  before  all 
that  went  in  at  the  gate  of  his  city."  The  whole 
history  of  this  purchase  and  payment  strikes  us  as 
being'not  only  according  to  the  local  usages  of  the 
country,  in  the  present  day,  but  also  to  be  so  mi- 
nutely" described,  that  we"  scarcely  think  it  would 
have  "been  so  amply,  and  even  jjunctiliously,  inserted 


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into  an  epitomized  history  of  the  times,  had  not  the 
original  lain  before  the  writer  ;  who,  finding  himself 
able  to  communicate  this  ancient  document  to  his 

fosterity,  embraced  the  opportunity  of  abridging  it. 
f  this  be  admitted  as  an  instance  of  the  art  of  writ- 
ing, and  of  that  art  being  practised  in  the  days  of 
Abraham,  we  may  justly  consider  whetlier  that  pa- 
triarch could  be  the  fii'st  possessor  of  it.  We  thuik  not : 
and  if,  as  the  rabbins  say,  Abraham  himself  learned 
of  Shem, — and  they  say,  decidedly,  that  "  Isaac  went 
to  Shem's  school," — then  we  may  hesitate  belbre  we 
deny  the  possibility,  at  least,  that  Sliem  had  pre- 
served histories  of  former  events,  which  histories  he 
communicated  to  Abraham,  from  whom  they  de- 
scended to  Isaac,  to  Jacob,  to  Levi,  to  Moses.  We 
are  not  singular  in  supposing  a  difference  of  style 
between  the  early  parts  of  the  book  of  Genesis  and 
the  original  writings  of  Moses.  No  injury  is  done 
to  the  just  arguments  on  behalf  of  the  inspiration 
of  Scripture,  if  we  suppose  that  Shem  wrote  the 
early  history  of  the  world  ;  that  Abraham  wrote 
family  memoirs  of  what  related  to  himself;  that 
Jacob  continued  what  concerne<l  himself;  and  that, 
at  length,  Moses  compiled,  arranged,  and  edited,  (to 
use  a  modern  word,)  a  copy  of  ihe  holy  works  ex- 
tant in  his  time.  A  procedure  perfectly  analogous 
to  this,  was  conducted  by  Ezra  in  a  later  age  ;  on 
whose  edition  of  Holy  Scripture  our  faith  now  rests, 
as  it  rests,  in  like  manner,  on  the  prior  edition  of 
Moses,  if  he  were  the  editor  of  some  parts  ;  or  on 
his  aiithoritj',  if  he  wer-e  the  writer  of  the  whole. 

Accepting  Moses  as  the  writer  of  the  Pentateuch, 
though  not  without  the  probable  concurrence  of 
Aaron,  we  may  nevertheless  consider  Joshua  as  add- 
ing some  minor  matters  to  it,  such  as  the  history  of 
the  death  of  Moses ;  and  Ezra,  also,  in  his  edition,  as 
adding  some  other  minor  matters  to  it,  such  as  va- 
rious explicatory  observations,  changes  of  names 
which  had  happened  during  the  lapse  of  many  ages, 
and  particular  directions  where  such  or  such  objects 
were  situated,  for  the  benefit  of  his  readers,  and  of 
remote  posterity.  When  we  come  to  the  days  of 
Moses,  we  have  clear  evidence  of  written  documents 
being  composed,  purposely,  to  deliver  down  to  i)os- 
terity  the  history  of  events.  Moses  not  only  was 
willing  to  write,  but  he  is  specifically  directed  to 
write,  by  way  of  record  ;  and  to  take  special  care  for 
the  preservation  of  those  records,  by  placing  them  in 
the  most  sacred  national  repository  ;  and  under  the 
immediate  care  of  those  persons  who,  by  birth,  edu- 
cation, and  office,  were  most  intimately  concerned  in 
their  preservation. 

This  custom  of  composing  public  records  was 
contiiuied  in  after-ages  in  Isi-aei,  under  the  judges 
and  the  kings  ;  and  when  the  division  took  place  be- 
tween Israel  and  Judah,  each  of  those  kingdoms 
preserved  copies  of  the  writings  esteemed  sacred, 
whetiier  historical  or  devotional.  We  have,  indeed, 
reason  to  be  thaidtful,  that  beside  the  Pentateuch 
preserved  by  tlie  Jewish  people,  tlu!  Samaritans  have 
preserved  a  copy,  which,  if  it  l)e,  as  many  learned 
men  have  supposed,  written  in  the  ancient  Hebrew 
character,  is  so  much  the  more  valuable,  as  it  has 
had  less  danger  and  less  of(  nsiDii  of  error,  than  a 
copy  transcribed  into  another  ali)hal)et,  to  meet  an- 
other dialect.  IJut  this  is  not  the  only  use  which  we 
should  make  of  this  circumstance;  we  oiigiit  to  rec- 
olii'ct  the  natural  cllects  of  party  in  matters  of  re- 
ligion, especially  when  heightened  by  |)olitical  ran- 
cor; we  may  be  satisfied  that  the  Samaritans  would 
BuflTer  no  alterations  to   be  made  in  their  copies,  i)y 


any  authority  from  the  Jewish  governors ;  and  the 
Jews,  we  well  know,  woidd  have  hardly  received  a 
palpable  truth  from  "  that  foolish  people  which 
dwelt  in  Samaria."  When,  therefore,  we  find  the 
copies  preserved  by  these  opposing  and  inimical 
people  generally  correspondent,  and  differing  only 
in  some  minor  matters,  we  ought  to  admire  the 
providence  of  God,  which  has  thus  "  made  even  the 
wrath  of  man  to  praise  him,"  by  transmitting  more 
than  one  copy  of  this  leading  portion  of  Holy  Writ, 
in  a  manner  more  certain,  and  much  less  liable  to 
doubt,  or  collusion,  or  equivocation,  than  if  a  single 
copy  had  come  through  tlie  hands  of  one  set  of 
friends  only,  or  had  been  preserved  only  by  those 
whose  luisupported  testimony  might  have  been  sus- 
pected of  undue  partiality,  or  of  improper  bias.  We 
find  the  kings  of  Judah  attentive  to  the  arrangement 
of  their  sacred  code  in  after-ages  :  David,  no  doubt, 
authenticated  the  books  of  the  prophet  Sanuiel  ;  and 
we  read  that  Hezekiah  employed  several  j)ersous  to 
collect  and  arrange  the  Proverbs  of  Solomon ;  and 
even  to  add  to  them  others  which  that  prince  had 
left  behind  him.  It  is  usually  understood  that  the 
Psalms,  the  Proverbs,  and  Ecclesiastes,  were  added 
imder  Hezekiah  ;  and  probably  the  books  of  Job  and 
Isaiah  also.  The  jjrophecies  of  Jeremiah  were  pub- 
lic ;  a  large  number  of  them  were  read  to  all  the 
people,  and  before  the  king,  so  that  many  copies 
might  be  in  circulation.  The  same  may  be  said  of 
most  of  the  minor  proj)hets,  and,  in  short,  of  all  that 
were  near  to  the  days  of  Nehemiah  and  Ezra.  It  is 
very  natural  to  suppose  that  the  chiefs  of  the  Jewish 
people,  afler  their  return  from  captivity,  would  do 
their  utmost  to  collect,  preserve,  and  maintain  the 
dignity  and  integrity  of  the  writings  of  their  sacred 
code  ;  and,  indeed,  excepting  the  prophet  Malachi, 
we  may  confidently  consider  Ezra  as  not  only  col- 
lecting, but  collating  the  copies  of  former  writings, 
and  composing  additions  to  the  historical  narrations; 
not  in  the  books  themselves,  (except  here  and  there 
a  few  words,)  withheld  perhaps  by  their  prior  sanc- 
tity, but  in  that  separate  history  which  we  call  the 
Chronicles. 

Here  we  ought  to  pause ;  because  here  om-  faith 
rests  on  Ezra's  edition  ;  and  we  doubt  not  that  this 
"scribe,  well  instructed  in  the  law,"  had  not  only 
good  reasons  for  what  he  did,  and  for  his  manner  of 
doing  it,  but  also  divine  guidance  to  preserve  him 
from  erring.  We  susi)ect  that  we  have  as  many  in- 
stances of  Ezra's  caution  as  we  have  marginal  read- 
ings in  our  Hebrew  Bibles ;  which,  in  the  whole, 
amount  to  840.  These  occur  in  various  places  of 
the  works  extant  l)efore  Ezra  ;  but  there  are  none  in 
the  prophet  Malachi,  who  has  been  supposed  to  be 
Ezra  himself;  if  so,  the  reason  for  this  exception 
from  various  readings  is  evident.  From  the  time  of 
Ezra  the  Hebrew  canon  was  esteemed  as  comi)leted : 
but,  between  this  time  and  our  Lord,  the  books  or 
the  Jews  became  objects  of  inquiry  among  neighbor- 
ing nations ;  and  translations  of  tliem  being  under- 
taken by  those  whose  language  we  also  study,  these 
translations  become  very  important  to  us,  who,  by 
their  means,  hav(!  additional  sanction  to  the  articles 
of  om-  inquiry,  and  additional  means  of  answering 
the  purposes  to  which  our  inquiry  is  directed. 

Jewish  labors  on  Hebrkw  Copies.  The  at- 
tention of  the  Jews  \vas  by  no  means  confined  to 
writing  copies  of  the  Holy  Word ;  they  also  made 
most  incredible  exertions  to  preserve  the  genuineness 
and  integrity  of  the  text ;  which  produced  what  has 
been  termed  the  Mnsora,  the  most  stupendous  mon- 


BIBLE 


[173  1 


BIBLE 


unient  in  the  whole  history  of  literature,  of  minute 
and  persevering  labor.  (See  Masora.)  In  the  Jew- 
ish manuscripts  and  printed  editions,  a  word  is  often 
found  with  a  small  circle  annexed  to  it,  or  with  an 
asterisk  over  it,  and  a  word  written  in  the  margin  of 
the  same  line.  The  former  is  called  the  Kethibh,  the 
latter  the  Keri.  In  these,  much  mystery  has  been 
discovered  by  the  Masorites.  The  prevailing  opinion 
is,  that  they  are  partly  various  readings,  collected 
from  the  time  of  Ezra,  and  partly  critical  observa- 
tions, or,  as  they  have  been  called,  insinuations,  of 
the  Masorites,  to  substitute  proper  or  regular,  for  im- 
proper and  irregular  words,  and  sometimes  decent 
for  indecent  expressions,  in  the  text.  As  to  the 
vowel  points,  which  Calmet  has  considered  as  Maso- 
retical,  the  reader  may  see  sufficient  information 
under  the  article  Points. 

OiX  THE  PRESENT  STATE  OF  THE  HeBREW  MANU- 
SCRIPTS.— No  extensive  collation  of  the  Hebrew 
manuscripts  of  the  sacred  text  was  made  till  the  last 
century  ;  owing,  in  a  great  measure,  to  a  notion  which 
had  prevailed  of  the  integrity  of  the  sacred  text,  in 
consequence  of  its  supposed  preservation  from  error, 
by  the  wonder-working  Masora.  The  rabbins  boldly 
asserted,  and  the  Christians  implicitly  believed,  that 
the  Hebrew  text  was  free  from  error,  and  that,  in  all 
the  manuscripts  of  it,  not  an  instance  of  a  various 
reading  of  importance  could  be  produced.  The 
tirst  who  combattL'd  this  notion,  in  the  form  of  regu- 
lar attack,  was  Ludovicus  Capellus.  From  the  dif- 
ferences he  observed  betAveen  the  Hebrew  text  and 
the  version  of  the  Seventy,  and  between  the  Hebrew 
and  the  Samaritan  Pentateuchs ;  from  the  manifest 
and  palpable  corruptions  he  thought  he  saw  in  the 
text  itself;  and  from  the  many  reasons  which  made 
him  suppose  the  vowel  points  and  the  Masora  were 
both  a  modern  and  a  useless  invention,  he  was  led 
to  question  the  general  integrity  of  the  text ;  and 
even  his  enemies  allowed,  that,  in  his  attack  upon  it, 
he  discovered  great  learning  and  ingenuity.  Still, 
however,  he  admitted  the  uniformity  of  the  manu- 
scripts ;  and  when  this  was  urged  against  him  by 
Buxtorf,  he  had  little  to  reply.  But  at  length,  (what 
should  have  been  done  before  any  thing  had  been 
said  or  written  on  the  subject,)  the  manuscripts 
themselves  were  examined,  and  inmunerable  various 
readings  were  discovered  in  them.  From  this  time 
biblical  criticism  on  the  sacred  text  took  a  new  turn. 
Manuscripts  were  collated,  and  examined  with  atten- 
tion, their  various  readings  were  discussed  with  free- 
dom, and  their  respective  merits  ascertained  by  the 
rules  of  criticism.  The  celebrated  collation  of  Dr. 
Kennicott  was  begun  in  the  year  1760.  He  under- 
took to  collate  all  the  manuscripts  of  the  sacred  text 
in  England,  and  in  Ireland  ;  and  while  he  should  be 
employed  in  tiiis,  (which  he  su|)posfd  miglit  be  about 
ten  years,)  to  collate,  as  far  as  the  expense  would  ad- 
mit, all  the  Hebrew  manuscripts  of  inmortance,  in 
foreign  countries.  The  first  volume  of  this  great 
work  was  printed  in  1776 ;  the  second  in  1780.  Dr. 
Kennicott  himself  collated  two  hundred  and  tifty 
manuscripts  ;  and  under  his  direction  and  at  his  ex- 
pense, Mr.  Bruns  collated  aiiout  three  hundred  and 
fifty  ;  so  that  the  whole  number  of  manuscripts  col- 
lated, on  this  occasion,  was  nearly  six  hundred.  In 
his  opinion,  fifty-one  of  the  manuscripts  collated  for 
his  edition  were  from  600  to  800,  and  one  hundred 
and  seventy-four  from  480  to  .580,  years  old.  Four 
quarto  volumes  of  various  readings  have  since  been 
published  by  De  Rossi,  from  more  than  four  hundred 
manuscripts ;  some  of  which  are  said  to  be  of  the 


seventh  or  eighth  century,  as  well  as  from  a  con- 
siderable number  of  rare  and  unnoticed  editions. 
The  consequence  of  these  extensive  collations  has 
been,  to  raise  a  general  opinion  among  the  learned, 
1st,  that  all  manuscript  copies  of  the  Hebrew  Scrip- 
tures now  extant  may,  in  some  sort,  be  called  Maso- 
retic  copies,  because  none  of  them  have,  entirely,  es- 
caped the  labors  of  the  Masorites ;  2dly,  that  the 
most  valuable  manuscripts,  generally  speaking,  are 
those  which  are  oldest,  written  at  first  without  points 
or  accents,  containing  the  gi-eatest  number  of  vowel 
letters,  exhibiting  marks  of  an  accurate  transcriber, 
and  conforming  most  to  the  ancient  versions,  and, 
with  regard  to  the  Pentateuch,  conforming  most  to 
the  Samaritan  exemplar,  and  the  Greek  uninterpo- 
lated  version  ;  3dly,  that  the  Masoretic  copies  often 
disagree  (and  that,  the  further  back  they  go,  the 
greater  is  their  disagreement)  from  the  present  printed 
copy ;  4thly,  that  the  synagogue  rolls  disagree  the 
least  from  the  printed  copies,  so  that  they  are  of 
little  value  in  ascertaining  the  text.  From  this  com- 
bination of  reasons  they  conclude,  that  the  surest 
sourcesof  emendation,  are  a  collation  of  manuscripts 
and  parallel  places ;  a  comparison  of  the  text  with 
the  ancient  versions,  and  of  these  with  one  another ; 
and  granunatical  analogy ;  and  where  all  these  fail, 
even  conjectural  criticism. 

The  ancient  opinions,  however,  have  some  advo- 
cates. They  do  not  go  so  far  as  to  assert,  that  a  col- 
lation of  Hebrew  manuscripts  is  perfectly  useless ; 
but  they  think  it  may  be  prized  higher  that  it  de- 
serves ;  that,  when  manuscripts  of  an  earlier  date 
than  the  Masora  are  sought  for,  it  should  not  be  for- 
gotten, that  the  Masorites  had  those  manuscripts, 
when  they  settled  the  text ;  and  what  hopes  can 
there  be,  they  ask,  that,  at  the  close  of  the  eighteenth 
century,  after  the  Hebrew  has  long  ceased  to  be  a 
spoken  language,  a  Christian,  so  much  of  whose 
time  is  employed  in  other  jjursuits,  and  distracted  by 
other  cares,  can  make  a  better  use  of  those  manu- 
scripts than  was  actually  made  of  them,  by  the  Ma- 
soretic literati,  whose  whole  time,  whose  every 
thought,  from  their  earliest  years  to  their  latest  age, 
was  devoted  to  that  one  object ;  who  hved  among 
the  people,  and  almost  in  the  country,  where  the 
events  recorded  by  them  happened,  who  saw  with 
their  own  eyes  the  luanners  they  describe,  and  daily 
and  hourly  spoke  and  heard  a  language  kindred  to 
that  in  which  they  are  written  ?  But  if  there  must 
be  a  collation  of  manuscripts,  then,  say  they,  no 
manuscript  written  by  any  otlier  than  a  Jew,  or  want- 
ing any  one  of  the  Jewish  marks  of  authenticity, 
should  be  taken  into  account ;  and,  trying  the  ques- 
tion of  the  integi-ity  of  the  text  by  these,  which  they 
call  the  only  authentic  manuscripts,  no  question,  they 
assert,  will  remain  of  the  ])erfect  integrity,  and  per- 
fect freedom  from  corruption,  of  the  present  text. 
Where  it  can  be  shown,  that  the  text  of  the  Masora 
is  corrupt,  the  genuineness  of  the  Bible  reading  may 
be  doubted  ;  but  where  there  is  no  reason  to  impeach 
the  Masora,  the  text,  as  they  assert,  is  fixed  beyond 
controversy.  Such  is  the  state  of  the  manuscripts 
of  the  Hebrew  Scriptures. 

Of  the  PRINTED  Hebrew  Bibles.  Those 
printed  editions  Avhich  deserve  particular  attention, 
are  that  of  Soncino,  in  1488,  from  its  being  the  first 
l)riuted  edition  of  the  whole  Bible  ;  the  edition  at 
Brescia,  in  1494,  from  its  being  the  edition  used  by 
Luther,  in  his  translation ;  and  a  third,  printed  in 
1517,  without  the  name  of  any  place.  These  three 
editions  are  called  the  Soncinates,  being  printed  by 


BIBLE 


[  IJ'4  1 


BIBLE 


Jews,  ot'  a  family  which  came  origiually  from  Ger- 
many, and  established  themselves  at  Soncino,  a  to^vn 
in  Lombardy.  They  were  the  first  Hebrew  printers. 
Bomberg's  edition  was  printed  five  times,  and  is  dis- 
tinguished by  the  beauty  of  the  type  ;  but,  not  being 
divided  into  chaptei's  and  verses,  is  unfit  for  general 
use.  The  first  of  his  editions  was  printed  in  1518, 
the  last  in  1545  ;  they  were  all  printed  at  Venice, 
and  are  all  in  4to.  Robert  Stephens's  16mo.  edition, 
in  seven  volumes,  was  printed  at  Paris,  1544 — 1546. 
He  had  before  printed  a  4to.  edition  at  Paris,  in  four 
volumes,  1539 — 1544.  The  celebrated  edition  of 
Athias  was  published  at  Amsterdam,  first  in  16G1, 
and  afterwards  in  16G7  ;  and  is  remarkable  for  being 
the  first  edition  in  Hebrew,  in  which  the  verses  are 
numbered.  It  was  beautifully  republished  by  Van 
der  Hooght,  8vo.  1705.  This  edition  has  the  general 
reputation  of  great  accuracy.  His  text  was  adopted 
by  Dr.  Kenuicott.  A  stereotype  edition  of  Van  der 
Hooght  is  now  printed  in  London,  edited  by  Judah 
D'AUemande,  wlio  also  translated  the  New  Testa- 
ment into  Hebrew,  at  the  request  of  the  London  So- 
ciety for  promoting  Christianity  among  the  Jews. 
Great  pains  have  been  bestowed  to  i-ender  it  accu- 
rate. The  historical  summaries  of  Van  der  Hooght 
have  been  omitted,  and  the  various  readuigs  and  Ma- 
fioretic  notes  are  exhibited  at  the  foot  of  each  page. 
The  Plantiniau  editions  have  consideral)le  merit  for 
their  neatness  tuid  accuracy.  The  edition  of  Nimes 
Torres,  Avith  the  notes  of  Rasche,was  begun  in  1700, 
was  printed  in  1705,  and  was  the  favorite  edition  of 
the  Jews.  Most  of  the  former  editions  were  sur- 
passed, in  accuracy,  by  that  of  Michaehs  in  1720. 
A  critical  edition  was  published  by  Raphael  Cha- 
jim  Basila,  a  Jew  at  Mantua,  in  four  parts,  1742 — 
1744. 

The  most  celebrated  edition  of  the  Hebrew,  with 
a  Latin  translation,  was  that  of  Sebastian  Muiister. 
The  first  volume  of  the  first  edition  was  prhited  in 
1534,  the  second  volume  in  1535 ;  the  second  edition 
was  printed  in  1546.  It  was  the  first  Latin  trans- 
lation by  any  of  the  separatists  from  the  see  of  Rome. 
Sauctes  Pagninus  was  the  first  of  the  Catholics  who 
made  an  entirely  new  Latin  version.  It  was  pub- 
lished at  Lyons,  in  1528,  and  has  often  been  repub- 
lished. That  the  liUtinity  is  barbarous  camiot  be 
denied ;  but,  as  it  was  the  author's  design  to  frame  a 
verbal  translation,  in  the  strictest  and  most  literal 
sense  of  that  word,  its  supposed  barbarism  was  una- 
voidable. The  celebrated  edition  of  Houbigant, 
with  a  Latin  version  and  prolegomena,  was  published 
in  four  volumes  folio,  in  1753,  at  Paris.  The  merit 
of  this  edition  is  celebrated  by  all  who  are  not  advo- 
cates for  the  Masora ;  by  them  it  is  spoken  of  in  the 
har.-ljost  terms.  Several  manuscripts  were  occa- 
.sionally  consulted  by  the  author ;  but  it  is  evident, 
that  he  did  not  collate  any  one  mamiscript  through- 
out. Prior  to  Ilouhigant's  edition,  was  that  of  Rei- 
neccius,  at  Leipsic,  in  1725,  reprinted  there  in  1739. 
A  new  edition  of  it  was  |)rinted  in  1793,  under  the 
inspection  of  Dr.  Doederlein,  and  professor  Meisner. 
It  contains  tlie  most  important  of  the  various  read- 
ings collected  by  Kenuicott  and  De  Rossi  ;  printed 
under  the  text.  For  the  ]>Mrpo»^  of  common  use  it 
is  an  excellent  edition,  and  supplies  the  want  of  the 
splendid  but  exi)ensive  editions  and  collations  of 
Houbigant,  Kennicott,  and  De  Rossi. 

[To  the  above  list  should  be  added,  the  edition  of 
Simonis  in  8vo.  Halle,  1752,  1767,  1822,  and  Amst. 
1753 ;  the  edition  of  Jahn  in  4  vols.  8vo.  Vieima 
1806,  in  which  nil  the  passages  that  arc  parallel  an' 


printed  side  by  side  in  the  manner  of  a  harmony  ; — 
and  the  stereotype  edition  of  Tauchnitz,8vo.  Leipsic, 
1831,  printed  under  the  supervision  of  professor  Hahn, 
and  one  of  the  most  correct  and  beautiful  editions  ex- 
tant. For  a  complete  account  of  the  editions  of  the 
Hebrew  Bible,  the  reader  is  referred  to  Le  Long's  Bib- 
liotheca  Sacra,  Par.  1723,  fol.  or  to  Masch's  edition 
of  the  same  work,  in  quarto,  Halle,  1778 — 85.     R. 

Translations  of  the  Hebrew  Scriptures. — 
The  first  translation  in  order  of  time,  and  indeed  in 
point  of  importance  to  us,  is  that  Greek  version  usu- 
ally called  the  Seventy,  or  the  Septuagint ;  but  we 
have  nothing  to  add  to  the  account  given  of  it  inider 
Septuagint.  The  Chaldee  translations  come  next 
in  order :  they  are  not  so  much  translations,  howev- 
er, as  paraphrases.  (See  Jonathan,  Takgum,  Ver- 
sion, &c.)  The  Syriac  translation  has  been  by  some 
referreil  to  the  time  of  Solomon  ;  by  others  to  the 
time  of  Abgarus,  king  of  Edessa;  v\'hich  is  certainly 
more  probable,  but  is  not  universally  admitted.  It 
unquestionably  is  ancient.  Dr.  Prideaux  thinks  it 
was  made  within  the  first  century,  and  that  it  is  the 
best  of  all  translations.  (See  Syria,  ad  fin.)  Latin 
translations  do  not  date  before  the  introduction  of 
Christianity  into  Rome.  Of  these  the  Vulgate  is 
the  chief. 

We  are  now  to  add  to  our  consideration,  the  sev- 
eral books  which  compose  the  New  Testament ;  and 
which  were  studied,  copied,  and  translated,  together 
with  the  Hebrew  Scriptures,  by  Christians,  while 
the  Jews  continued  to  study  and  copy  those  only 
which  contained  the  principles  of  their  ancient 
system. 

Of  the  present  state  of  the  Greek  JManu- 
scRiPTS. — The  Greek  manuscripts,  according  to 
Wetstein's  accoimt,  are  v/ritteu  either  on  parchment 
(or  vellum)  or  on  paper.  The  parchment  or  vellum 
is  sometimes  purple-colored.  Manuscripts,  written 
in  capital  letters  of  the  kind  commonly  found  on  the 
ancient  monuments  of  Greece,  are  generally  snpj)os- 
ed  to  be  of  the  sixth  century,  at  the  latest :  those 
written  in  an  ornamental,  semi-barbarous  character, 
are  generally  supposed  to  be  of  the  tenth  century. 
Manuscripts  written  in  small  letters  are  of  a  still 
later  age.  But  the  Greek  manuscripts  copied  by  the 
Latins,  after  the  reign  of  Charlemagne,  are  in  anoth- 
er kind  of  alphabet ;  the  c,  the  f,  and  the  y,  in  them, 
are  inflected,  in  the  form  of  the  letters  of  the  Latin 
alphabet.  Even  in  the  earliest  manuscrijjts  some 
words  are  abbreviated.  At  the  beginning  of  a  new 
book,  the  first  four  or  five  lines  arc  often  written  iu 
vermilion.  There  are  very  few  manuscripts  con- 
taining tlie  entire  New  Tegtament.  The  greater  jtart 
contain  the  Gospels  only  ;  veiy  few  have  the  Apoc- 
alypse. The  curious  and  extensive  collations,  which 
ha\e  been  made  of  manuscripts  within  the  last  cen- 
tury, have  shown,  that  certain  nianuscri])ts  have  an 
affinity  to  each  other,  and  that  their  text  is  distin- 
guished from  others  by  characteristic  marks.  This 
has  enabled  the  writers  on  this  subject  to  arrange 
them  under  certain  general  classes.  They  have  ob- 
served, that,  as  difterent  countries  had  different  ver- 
sions, according  to  their  respective  languages,  their 
manuscripts  naturally  resemble  their  respective  ver- 
sions, as  the  versions,  generally  speaking,  were  made 
from  the  manuscripts  in  common  use.  Pursuing 
this  idea,  they  liav(!  supposed  fcMU-  principal  exem- 
plars :  1st,  the  fVesttni  exemplar,  or  that  used  in  the 
countries  where  the  Ijatin  language  was  spoken  ; — 
with  this,  the  Latin  versions  coincide:  2d,  the  Al- 
exandrine  exemplar; — with    this,   the   (piotations  of 


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BIBT.K 


Origen  coiueide  :  3tl,  the  Eckssene  exemplar,  from 
which  the  Syriac  versiou  was  made  :  and  4th,  the 
Byzantine  or  Constantinopolitan  exemplar :  the  great- 
est number  of  manuscripts  written  by  the  monks  of 
mount  Athos,  the  Moscow  manuscripts,  the  Sclavo- 
nian  or  Russian  versions,  and  the  quotations  of  Chry- 
sostom  and  Theophylact,  bishop  of  Bulgaria,  are  re- 
fenible  to  this  edition.  The  readings  of  this  exem- 
plar are  remarkably  different  from  those  of  the  oth- 
er exemplars ;  between  which  a  striking  coincidence 
appeai-s.  A  reading  supported  by  all  three  of  them 
is  supposed  to  be  of  the  very  highest  authority ;  yet 
the  true  reading  is  sometimes  found  only  in  the  fourth. 

From  the  coincidence  observed  between  many 
Greek  manuscripts  and  the  Vulgate,  or  some  other 
Latin  translation,  a  suspicion  arose  in  the  minds  of 
several  writers  of  eminence,  that  the  Greek  text  had 
been  assimilated  throughout  to  the  Latin.  This 
seems  to  have  been  lirst  suggested  by  Erasmus  ;  but 
it  does  not  appear  that  he  supjjosed  the  alterations 
were  made  before  the  fifteenth  century :  so  that  the 
charge  of  Latinizing  the  manuscripts  did  not,  in  his 
opinion,  extend  to  the  original  writers  of  the  manu- 
script, or,  as  they  are  called,  the  writers  a  prima 
vianu,  but  affected  only  the  subsequent  interpolators, 
or,  as  they  are  called,  the  writers  a  secimdd  manu. 
Father  Simon  and  Mill  adopted  and  extended  this 
accusation  ;  and  it  was  urged  by  Wetsteiu  with  his 
usual  vehemence  and  abihty ;  so  that  it  came  to  be 
generally  received.  Bengel  expressed  some  doubts 
of  it ;  and  Semler  formally  calletl  it  in  question.  He 
was  followed  by  Griesbach  and  Woide  ;  and  finally 
brought  over  Michaelis ;  who,  in  the  first  edition  of 
his  Litroduction  to  the  New  Testament,  had  taken 
part  with  the  accusers  ;  but,  in  the  fourth  edition  of 
the  same  work,  w^th  a  candor  of  whicli  there  are 
too  few  examples,  he  declaied  himself  persuaded 
that  the  charge  was  imfounded  ;  and  totally  aban- 
doned his  former  opinion. 

Besides  the  manuscripts  which  contain  whole 
books  of  the  New  Testament,  other  manuscripts  have 
been  consulted  :  among  these  are  the  Lectionaria,  or 
collections  of  detached  parts  of  the  New  Testament, 
appointed  to  be  read  in  the  service  of  the  church. 
Tliese  are  distinguished  into  the  Evangelistaria,  or 
lessons  from  the  Gospels ;  and  the  Apostoli,  or  les- 
sons from  the  Acts  and  Epistles.  The  quotations 
from  the  New  Testament,  in  the  works  of  the  an- 
cients, have  also  been  consulted. 

The  principal  Greek  manuscripts  now  extant, 
are  the  Codex  Alexandrinus,  in  the  British  Muse- 
um ;  the  Codex  Cantabrigiensis,  or  Codex  Bez^  ; 
and  the  Codex  Vaticands.  The  Codex  Alexandri- 
nus  consists  of  four  volumes:  the  first  three  contain 
the  Old  Testament ;  the  fourth,  the  New  Testament, 
together  with  the  first  Epistle  of  St.  Clement  to  the 
Corinthians,  and  a  fragment  of  the  Second.  The 
Codex  Cantabrigiensis,  or  the  Codex  Bczfe,  is  a  Greek 
and  Latin  manuscript  of  the  four  Gospels  and  the 
Acts  of  the  Apostles.  The  Codex  Vaticanus  contain- 
ed, originally,  the  whole  Greek  Bible.  The  respect- 
ive ages  of  these  venerable  manuscripts  have  been 
a  sul»ject  of  gi-eat  controversy,  and  have  employed 
the  ingenuity  and  learning  of  several  biblical  writers 
of  gi-eat  renown.  After  a  profound  investigation  of 
the  subject.  Dr.  Woide  fixes  the  age  of  the  Codex  Al- 
txandrinus  between  the  middle  and  the  end  of  the 
fourth  century ;  afler  a  similar  investigation.  Dr. 
Kipling  fixes  the  age  of  the  Codex  Cantabrigiensis, 
or  the  Codex  Bezcv,  to  the  second  century  ;  but  bish- 
op Marsh,  in  his  notes  to  Michaelis,  (vol.  ii.  p.  708 — 


715.)  seems  to  prove  that  it  was  not  written  earilef 
than  the  fifth  century.  Montfaucon  and  Blanchini 
refer  the  Codex  Vaticanus  also  to  the  fifth  century. 
In  1786,  a  fac-simile  edition  of  the  New  Testament 
in  the  Codex  Alexandnnus  was  published  in  London, 
by  Dr.  Woide.  In  1793,  a  fiic-simile  edition  of  the 
Codex  Cantabrigiensis,  or  the  Codex  Bezce,  was  pub- 
lished at  Cambridge,  at  the  expense  of  the  Universi- 
ty, by  Dr.  Kiphug.  These  editions  exhibit  their  re- 
spective prototypes,  line  for  line,  and  word  for  word, 
to  a  degree  of  similarity  hardly  credil)le.  The  types 
wTre  cast  for  the  purpose,  in  alphabets  of  various 
forms,  that  they  might  be  varied  with  those  of  the 
manuscript,  and  represent  it  more  exactly ;  and  the 
ink  was  composed  to  suit  the  color  of  the  faded  pig- 
ment. Nothing  equal  to  them  had  appeared  in  the 
world  of  letters.  The  Alexandrian  manuscript  is  an 
article  of  such  great  curiosity,  and  the  labor  and  ex- 
pense bestowed  on  it  is  so  truly  honorable  to  the 
country  which  possesses  it,  that  some  further  account 
of  it  may  be  looked  for  here  by  the  intelligent  reader. 
This  celebrated  manuscript,  w'hich  had  been  re- 
vered as  a  treasure  by  the  Greek  church  for  several 
ages,  was  presented  to  king  Charles  I.  by  Cyril  Lu- 
car,  patriarch  of  Alexandria,  and  was  transmitted  to 
England  by  sir  Thomas  Roe,  ambassador  at  the  Ot- 
toman Porte,  in  1628.  It  was  placed  in  tlie  Royal 
Library  at  St.  James's,  whence  it  was  suljsequently 
removed  to  the  national  collection  in  the  British  Mu- 
seum ;  of  which  it  forms  one  of  the  glories.  The 
writer  of  it  is  said  to  have  been  Thccla,  an  Egyptian 
lady,  who  lived  early  in  the  fourth  century  ; — but 
here  ends  our  knowledge  of  her.  She  was,  no  doubt, 
a  person  of  eminence,  probably  of  consequence,  since 
her  copy  is  complete,  as  to  its  contents ;  though  now 
bearing  marks  of  accidents,  to  which  it  has  been  ex- 
posed. Its  value  is  further  enhanced,  by  observing, 
that,  whatever  opinions  in  subsequent  ages  agitated 
the  Christian  world,  they  have  had  no  influence  on 
this  copy  ;  it  neither  omits,  not  inserts,  nor  dismem- 
bers a  word  to  accommodate  a  passage  to  such  senti- 
ments. It  was  not  many  removes  distant  from  the 
originals,  of  which  it  is  a  transcript :  the  language 
was  still  spoken  ;  and  whatever  ambiguities  occurred, 
(as  some  will  always  occur  in  all  Avritings,)  they  were 
then  easily  explained,  and  properly  understood  by 
the  copyist ;  so  that  one  princijial  cause  of  literary 
and  verbal  errors  did  not  exist.  It  had  not  been  long 
in  England,  before  its  value,  as  an  important  docu- 
ment in  behalf  of  Christianity,  became  known.  Mr. 
Patrick  Young,  the  learned  keeper  of  the  king's  h- 
braiy  at  that  time,  soon  discovered  the  Epistles  of 
Clement,  the  only  copy  known  of  the  second  of  them  ; 
and  was  commanded  by  the  king  to  publish  them, 
which  he  did  in  1633,  with  a  Latin  ti-anslation.  Dr. 
Grabe,  being  commanded  by  queen  Anne  to  publish 
the  manuscript,  communicated  to  the  world,  in  1707 
— 1710,  the  Old  Testament  part  of  it;  being  the  Sep- 
tuagint  translation.  We  have  noticed  Di-.  Woide's 
New  Testament  in  1786.  Some  years  aflerwards, 
Mr.  Baber,  of  the  British  IMuseum,  published  the 
book  of  Psalms,  with  equal  accuracy ;  and  in  the 
year  1814,  proposed  to  publish  a  fac-simile  copy  of 
the  remaining  i)artp,  so  that  the  whole  will  be  before 
the  world.  The  number  of  copies  to  be  printed  is 
two  hundred  and  fifty  ;  and  the  expense  will  be  near- 
ly eight  thousand  pounds,  which  has  been  voted  by 
the  British  parliament. 

Punctuation  of  the  Bible. — The  numerous 
mistakes  of  the  Fathers,  and  their  uncertainty  how 
j>articidar  passages  were  to  be  read  and  understood, 


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clearly  prove  that  there  was  uo  regular  or  accustom- 
ed mode  of  punctuation  in  use  in  the  fourth  century. 
The  majority  of  the  points  or  stops  now  in  use  are 
unquestionably  of  modern  date,  not  being  generally 
adopted  earlier  than  the  ninth  century.  It  seems  to 
have  baen  a  gradual  improvement,  commenced  by 
Jerome  and  continued  by  succeeding  critics.  At  the 
invention  of  printing,  the  editors  placed  the  points 
arbitrarily,  probably  (Michaehs  thinks)  without  be- 
stowing the  necessary  attention ;  and  Stephens  in 
particular,  it  is  well  known,  varied  his  poims  in  every 
edition. 

Division  of  the  Bible  into  Verses. — On  the 
death  of  Edward,  when  Mary  came  to  the  crown, 
many  of  the  reformed  fled  into  divers  parts  of  Ger- 
many :  some  of  them,  who  resided  at  Geneva,  setting 
about  a  new  translation  of  the  Scriptures,  in  1557, 
the  New  Testament  was  printed  at  Geneva,  by  Con- 
rade  Badius,  and  is  said  to  be  the  first  English  Tes- 
tament divided  into  verses.  Whatever  the  antiquity 
of  the  Hebrew  vowel  points  may  be,  the  division  of 
verses  in  the  Old  Testament  is  antecedent  to  the  dis- 
covery of  printing,  or  to  any  manuscripts  that  are 
known  to  exist ;  but  in  the  Greek  manuscripts  of  the 
New  Testament  there  is  no  distinction  of  verses,  and 
the  time  when  they  were  first  used  by  printers  is 
perhaps  not  very  accurately  ascertained.  Robert 
Stephens  is  thought  to  have  been  the  author  or  in- 
ventor of  verses  in  the  New  Testament,  which  he  is 
said  to  have  performed  during  a  journey  on  horse- 
back from  Paris  to  Lyons.  Calmet  says,  "the  first 
division  of  the  New  Testament  was  made  by  Robert 
Stephens  in  1551,  and  of  the  whole  Bible  in  1555." 
Michaelis  says,  "  verses  were  first  used  in  the  New 
Testament  by  Robert  Stephens  in  1551,  and  in  the 
Old  Testament  by  Hugo  de  St.  Caro,  a  Dominican 
monk,  in  the  twelfth  c'entury."  But  a  Latin  Bible, 
translated  by  Sanctes  Pagninus,  and  printed  at  Ly- 
ons in  1527,  before  Robert  Stephens  had  printed  any 
Bible  on  his  own  account,  is  divided,  the  verses  be- 
ing numbered  in  tlie  margin,  and  distinguished  in 
the  text  by  paragraphical  marks,  both  in  the  Old  and 
New  Testament,  and  in  the  Apocrypha.  The  books 
are,  indeed,  made  into  fewer  divisions.  Matthew's 
Gospel,  for  example,  in  this  edition,  is  divided  into 
576  verses  ;  whereas  the  present  division  amounts  to 
1071.  Calmet  notices  this  edition,  but  not  the  di- 
vision of  verses.  There  is  reason  to  conclude,  that 
Robert  Stephens  had  seen  this  Bible,  jierceived  the 
utility  of  verses,  and  imitated  and  improved  thereon. 
The  great  advantage  of  such  a  division  is  allowed  by 
all  who  know  the  use  of  a  concordance. 

Editions  of  the  Greek  New  Testament. — The 
first,  in  point  of  time,  was  that  of  Erasmus,  with  a 
new  Latin  translation,  of  which  he  })ublished  five 
editions— 1516,  1519,  1522,  1527,  and  1535.  The 
edition  of  1519  is  most  esteemed.  In  fact,  the  edi- 
tions by  Enisinus,  with  a  slight  intermixture  of  the 
text  in  the  Compiutensian  polyglot,  are  the  principal 
editions  from  which  almost  all  the  subsequent  copies 
have  been  taken.  Tlic  next  edition  of  the  New  Tes- 
tament in  Greek,  is  that  insi;rted  in  the  Compiuten- 
sian polyglot.  The  Icarnc:!  agree  in  wishino'  that 
the  editors  had  described,  or  specified,  the  manu- 
8(  ripts  they  made  use  of  The  editors  speak  highly 
of  them;  but  this  was  when  the  number  of  known 
manuscripts  was  small,  and  manuscript  criticism  was 
in  its  infancy  ;  so  that,  without  impeaching  either 
the  r  candor  or  their  judgment,  their  assertions,  in 
this  respect,  must  be  understood  with  much  limita- 
tion.   It  has  been  charged  on  them,  that  they  some- 


times altered  the  Greek  text,  without  the  authority 
of  a  single  manuscript,  to  make  it  conform  to  the 
Latin.  But  against  this  charge  they  have  been  de- 
fended by  Goeze,  and  Michaelis,  and,  to  a  certain  ex- 
tent, by  Griesbach.  For  exquisite  beauty  and  deli- 
cacy of  type,  elegance  and  proper  disposition  of  con- 
tractions, smoothness  and  softness  of  paper,  liquid 
clearness  of  ink,  and  evenness  of  lines  and  letters, 
the  editions  of  Robert  Stephens  have  never  been  sur- 
passed, and,  in  the  opinion  of  many,  never  equalled. 
There  were  four  editions  published  by  himself,  m 
1546,  1549,  1550,  and  1551.  His  son  published  a 
fifth  edition  in  1569.  The  third  of  these  is  in  folio, 
and  has  the  readings  of  sixteen  manuscripts  in  the 
margin.  The  first  two  are  in  16mo.  and  of  those, 
the  first  (1546)  is  the  most  correct.  The  first  edition 
of  Beza  was  printed  in  1565 ;  he  jirincipally  follow- 
ed the  third  edition  of  Robert  Stephens.  He  print- 
ed other  editions  in  1582,  1589,  1598 ;  but  they  do 
not  contain,  every  where,  the  same  text.  In  his 
choice  of  readings  he  is  accused  of  being  influenced 
by  his  Calvinistic  sentiments.  The  celebrated  edi- 
tion of  the  Elzevirs  was  first  printed  at  Leyden,  in 
1624.  It  was  taken  from  the  third  edition  of  Robert 
Stephens :  where  it  varies  from  that  edition,  it  fol- 
lows, generally,  the  edition  of  Beza.  By  this,  the 
text,  which  had  previously  fluctuated,  acquired  a 
stability,  it  being  generally  followed  in  all  subsequent 
editions.  It  has  deservedly,  therefore,  obtained  the 
appellation  of  editio  recepta.  The  editors  of  it  are 
unknown. 

Editions  with  various  Readings. — The  cele- 
brated edition  of  Mill  was  published  at  Oxford  in 
1707,  after  an  assiduous  labor  of  thirty  years.  He 
inserted  in  his  edition  all  the  collections  of  various 
readings  which  had  been  made  before  his  time ;  col- 
lated several  original  editions ;  procured  extracts 
fi-om  Greek  manuscripts,  which  had  never  been  col- 
lated ;  and,  in  many  instances,  added  readings  from 
the  ancient  versions,  and  from  the  quotations  in  the 
works  of  the  ancient  Fathers.  The  whole  of  the  va- 
rious readings  collected  by  him,  is  said,  without  any 
improbability,  to  amount  to  thirty  thousand.  He  has 
enriched  his  work  with  learned  prolegomena,  and  a 
clear  and  accurate  description  of  his  manuscripts. 
He  took  the  third  edition  of  Stephens  for  his  text. 

The  edition  of  Bengel  was  published  in  1734.  He 
prefixed  to  it  his  "  Introdudio  in  Cnsin  JVovi  Testa- 
7ne7iti ;"  and  subjoined  to  it  his  ^^  Apparatus  Criticus 
et  Epilogusy  He  altered  the  text,  where  he  thought 
it  might  be  improved  ;  but,  excepting  the  Apocalypse, 
studiously  avoided  inserting  any  reading  which  was 
not  in  some  printed  edition.  Under  the  text  he 
placed  some  select  readings,  reserving  the  whole  col- 
lection of  various  readings,  and  his  own  sentiments 
upon  them,  for  his  Apparatus  Criticus.  He  express- 
ed his  opinion  of  these  marginal  readings  by  the 
Ch-eck  letters  u,  fi,  y,  <\  and  t. 

But  all  former  editions  of  the  Greek  Testament 
were  surpassed  by  that  of  Wetstein,  Avhich  was  pub- 
lished in  two  volumes  folio,  in  1751,  at  Amsterdam. 
He  adopted  for  his  text  the  editio  recepta  of  the  El- 
zevirs. His  collection  of  various  readings  far  sur- 
passes that  of  Mill  or  Bengel,  and  his  notes  are  par- 
ticularly valuable,  for  the  copious  extracts  he  has 
made  from  rabbinical  writers.  These  greatly  serve 
to  explain  the  idiom  and  turn  of  expression  used  by 
the  apostolic  writers  and  evangelists. 

The  first  edition  of  Griesbach's  New  Testament 
was  published  in  1775 — 1777,  in  two  volumes  octa- 
vo, at  Halle,  in  Germany.     In  the  year  1796,  the 


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first  volume  was  reprinted,  under  the  patronage  and 
at  the  expense  of  his  grace  the  duke  of  Grafton, 
having  extracts  from  two  hundred  manuscripts,  in 
addition  to  those  quoted  in  the  former  edition.  He 
collated  all  the  Latin  versions  published  by  Sabatier 
and  Blanchini.  His  object  was  to  give  a  select  and 
choice  collection  of  the  various  readings  produced 
bv  Mill,  Bengel,  and  Wetstein,  and  of  his  own  ex- 
tracts ;  ouiittiug  all  such  as  are  trifling  in  themselves, 
supported  by  questionable  autiiority,  or  evidently  only 
errata.  Gricsbach's  edition  has  been  reprinted  in  Eng- 
land in  a  smaller  form,  for  the  use  of  schools  ;  also 
in  America.  Knapp's  Greek  Testament  is  the  text- 
book commonly  used  by  the  students  in  the  German 
universities  ;  mid  is  gradually  acquiring  that  authority, 
which,  in  all  probability,  will  render  it  the  general 
book  of  scholars,  tutors,  and  the  literati  in  general. 

There  are  many  other  respectable  editions  of  the 
Greek  Testament ;  but  those  we  liave  mentioned  are 
confessedly  the  principal.  The  study  of  Greek  learn- 
ing is  at  this  time  pursued  with  great  ardor  in  the 
British  empire  ;  and  English  travellers  take  oppoitu- 
uities  of  obtaining  copies  of  MSS.  from  abroad,  which 
greatly  increase  the  literary  riches  at  home.  Eng- 
land and  America  repay  the  obligation,  by  printing,  or 
by  contributing  assistance  in  printing,  the  sacred 
books  for  all  the  world. 

PoLYGi,oTT  Editions  of  the  Bible, — that  is.  Bi- 
bles published  in  several  languages,  or  at  least  in 
three,  of  A\liich  the  texts  are  ranged  in  difterent  col- 
umns. Some  polyglotts  contain  all  the  books  of  the 
Bible,  others  contain  but  a  part. — The  following  are 
the  principal  editions  : — 

L517.] — The  first  polyglott  is  that  of  Complutum, 
or  Alcala.  It  is  divided  into  six  parts,  and  compris- 
ed in  four  volumes  folio.  It  has  the  Hebrew,  Latin, 
and  Greek,  in  three  distinct  columns ;  the  Chaldee 
paraphrase,  with  a  Latin  interpretation,  is  at  the  bot- 
tom of  the  page,  and  the  margin  is  filled  with  the 
Hebrew  and  Chaldee  i-adicals.  The  fourth  volume 
contains  the  Greek  Testament,  with  no  other  trans- 
lation than  the  Latin.  The  expense  of  the  work, 
which,  it  is  said,  amounted  to  fifty  thousand  ducats, 
was  wholly  paid  by  cardinal  Ximenes,  of  Spain.  It 
is  certain,  that  the  cardinal  spared  no  expense  in 
collecting  manuscripts  ;  but  whether  he  had  any  that 
were  truly  valuable  has  been  much  doubted.  In 
1784,  when  professor  Birch  was  engaged  in  his  edi- 
tion of  the  Bible,  professor  Moldenhawer  went  to 
Alcala,  for  the  purpose  of  discovering  the  manu- 
scripts used  in  the  Ximenian  polyglott.  After  much 
inquiry,  he  ascertained,  that  about  thirty-five  years 
before,  they  had  been  sold  to  a  rocket  maker,  of  the 
name  of  Toryo.     But  this  is  now  doubted. 

1518.] — The  Bible  of  Justinian,  bishop  of  Nebio, 
of  the  order  of  St.  Dominic,  in  five  languages ;  He- 
brew, Chaldee,  Greek,  Latin,  and  Arabic.  Only  the 
Psalter  was  printed. 

1546.] — John  Potken,  provost  of  the  collegiate 
church  of  St.  George,  at  Cologne,  caused  the  Psalter 
to  be  printed  in  four  languages ;  Hebrew,  Greek, 
Chaldee,  or  rather  Ethiopic,  and  Latin. 

1546.] — The  Jews  of  Constantinople  printed  tlie 
Pentateuch,  in  Hebrew,  Chaldee,  Persian,  and  Ara- 
bic, wiili  the  Commentaries  of  Solomon  Jarchi. 

1547.] — The  same  Jews  caused  also  to  be  printed, 
the  Pentateuch,  in  four  languages  ;  Hebrew,  Chal- 
dee, vulgar  Greek,  and  Spanish. 

1565.1 — John  Draconhis,  of  Carlostad  in  Franco- 
nia,  published  an  edition  of  the  Psalter,  tlie  Proverbs 
of  Solomon,  and  the  i>rophets  Micah  and  Joel,  in 
23 


five  languages ;  Hebrew,  Chaldee,  Greek,  Latin,  and 
German.  The  death  of  the  author  prevented  the 
completion  of  this  work. 

1572.] — The  polyglott  of  Antwerp  was  printed  in 
that  city  in  1569 — 1572,  in  eight  volumes  folio,  under 
the  direction  of  Arias  Moutanus.  It  contains,  beside 
the  whole  of  the  Complutensian  edition,  a  Chaldee 
paraphrase  of  part  of  the  Old  Testament,  which  car- 
dinal Ximenes,  having  particular  reasons  for  not 
publishing,  had  deposited  in  the  theological  library 
at  Complutum.  The  New  Testament  has  the  Syri- 
ac  version,  and  the  Latin  translation  of  Pagninus,  as 
revised  by  Montanus. 

1586.] — There  appeared  at  Heidelberg  an  edition 
of  the  books  of  the  Old  Testament,  in  Hebrew  and 
Greek,  with  two  Latin  vei-sions  ;  one  by  Jerome, 
and  the  other  by  Sanctes  Pagninus,  ranged  in  four 
columns,  at  the  bottom  of  which  were  notes  ascribed 
to  Vatablus.  Hence  it  obtained  the  name  of  the  poly- 
glott Bible  of  Vatablus.  This  book  is  rare,  but 
held  in  little  estimation. 

1596.] — David  Wolder,  a  Lutheran  minister  at 
Hamburg,  caused  to  be  printed,  by  James  Lucias,  a 
Bible  in  three  languages  ;  Greek,  Latin,  and  German. 

1599. — Elias  Hutter,  a  German,  printed  several 
polyglotts.  The  first  is  in  six  languages,  printed  at 
Nuremberg. — There  were  only  printed  the  Penta- 
teuch, the  books  of  Joshua,  Judges,  and  Ruth  ;  in 
Hebrew,  Chaldee,  Greek,  Latin,  and  the  German  of 
Luther:  the  sixth  language  varied  according  to  what 
nation  the  copies  were  designed  for.  Some  had  the 
Sclavonian  version,  of  the  edition  of  Wittemberg ; 
others  the  French,  of  Geneva;  others  the  Italian,  al- 
so of  Geneva;  others  the  Saxon  version,  from  the 
German  of  Luther.  This  work  is  very  rare.  Hut- 
ter also  published  the  Psalter  and  the  New  Testa- 
ment, in  Hebrew,  Greek,  Latin,  and  German.  But 
his  chief  work  is  the  New  Testament,  in  twelve  lan- 
guages ;  Syriac,  Greek,  Hebrew,  Italian,  Spanish, 
French,  Latin,  German,  Bohemian,  English,  Danish, 
and  Polish.  This  polyglott  was  printed  at  Nurem- 
berg, m  two  volumes,  folio ;  and  in  four  volumes, 
quarto.     It  has  no  critical  value. 

1645.]_The  Bible  of  M.  le  Jay,  in  seven  lan- 
guages, was  printed  at  Paris  by  Anthony  Vitre,  in  ten 
volumes,  large  folio.  It  contains  the  Hebrew,  Sa- 
maritan, Chaldee,  Greek,  Syriac,  Latin,  and  Arabic. 
He  followed  the  Greek  version  printed  at  Antwerp, 
also  the  Chaldee  and  Latin.  The  Hebrew  text  is 
extremely  inaccurate,  but  it  is,  nevertheless,  the 
most  beautiful  polyglott  extant. 

1657.] — Less  beautiful,  but  more  accurate,  and 
comprehending  more  than  any  of  the  preceding  poly- 
glotts, is  that  of  London,  edited  by  Dr.  Bryan  Wal- 
ton, and  printed  in  1653—1657,  in  six  volumes,  to 
which  the  Lexicon  Heptaglotton  of  Castell,  in  two 
volumes  folio,  is  usually  added.  This  edition  of  the 
Scriptures  contains  learned  prolegomena,  and  sever- 
al other  treatises,  new  oriental  versions,  and  a  very 
large  collection  of  various  readings.  Twelve  copies 
Averc  printed  on  large  paper :  one,  of  great  beauty, 
is  in  the  library  of  St.  Paul's  cathedral ;  another  was 
in  iliat  of  the  count  de  Lauragais  ;  and  another  is  in 
the  library  of  St.  John's  college,  Cambridge.  It  is 
said  to  have  been  the  first  book  printed  by  subscription 
in  England.  Dr.  Walton  had  leave  from  Cromwell 
to  import  his  paper  duty  free. 

1831.]— Most  of  the  polyglotts  we  have  noticed 
are  of  great  rarity,  and,  bearing  a  high  price,  are  to 
be  found  only,  or  chiefly,  in  public  libraries,  and  in 
those  of  the 'curious.     It  gives  ns  much   pleasure, 


BIBLE 


I  178  1 


bible: 


therefore,  to  be  .able  to  add  to  this  list  another 
work  of  the  same  class,  which  has  been  })ublish- 
ed  by  Mr.  Bagster,  of  London,  at  a  price  which 
places  it  v/ithin  the  reach  of  all  who  desire  to  possess 
themselves  of  a  most  important  aid  in  the  interpre- 
tation of  Scripture.  It  is  published  in  folio,  exhibit- 
ing,  at  one  view,  the  Old  Testament  in  Hebrew, 
Greek,  English,  Latin,  Spanish,  Italian,  French,  and 
German.  The  Hel)rew  text  is  from  Vander  Hooght, 
with  the  Keri,  and  the  Sam.  Pentateuch,  from 
Kennicott's  edition ;  the  Greek  from  Bos,  with  the 
readings  of  Grabe ;  the  Vulgate  from  the  edition  of 
Clement  VIII ;  the  Spanish  from  Padre  Scio  ;  the 
Itahah  from  Diodati ;  the  French  from  Ostervald  ; 
the  German  from  Luther.  The  New  Testament 
embraces  the  same  languages,  excepting  the  Hebrew, 
the  place  of  which  is  occupied  by  the  Portuguese : 
the  Greek  is  the  text  of  Mill,  with  Griesbach's  read- 
ings. It  also  contains  the  Peshito  Syriac  translation, 
with  the  Epistles  and  Apocalypse  from  the  Philox- 
enian  version.  Each  language  is  published  in  a  sep- 
arate form  in  small  octavo. 

The  two  last-mentioned  editions  have  made  a  no- 
ble addition  to  the  materials  for  studying  Holy  Scrip- 
ture, and  the  learned  are  daily  augmenting  this  as- 
sistance, by  collations  of  ancient  versions,  with  their 
various  readings;  which  may  be  esteemed  as  so 
many  polyglotts. 

Every  person,  to  whom  the  sacred  writings  are 
dear,  must  wish  them  edited  in  the  most  perfect 
manner.  It  would  reflect  disgrace  on  the  learned 
of  the  Christian  world,  that  any  pagan  author  should 
be  published  in  a  more  perfect  manner  than  the 
word  of  God.  An  Englishman  must  view  with 
pleasure  the  useful  and  magnificent  exertions  of  his 
countrymen  in  this  respect.  Bishop  Walton's  poly- 
glott  ranks  first  in  that  noble  and  costly  class  of  pub- 
lications ;  foreign  countries  can  show  nothing  equal 
to  Dr.  Kennicott's  edition  of  the  Bible,  or  similar  to 
Dr.  Woide's  edition  of  the  Codex  Alexandrinus,  Dr. 
Kipling's  edition  of  the  Codex  Bezse,  or  Dr.  Holmes 
and  Mr.  Parsons's  edition  of  the  Septuagint. 

Where  the  word  of  God  is  concerned,  the  greatest 
moderation  should  be  used  ;  and  care  should  be 
taken,  that  the  assertions  made,  are  expressed  accu- 
rately, and  in  such  terms  as  prevent  improper  con- 
clusions being  drawn  from  them.  Where  the  num- 
ber of  the  various  readings  is  mentioned  before  per- 
sons to  whom  the  subject  is  new,  or  in  any  Avorks 
likely  to  have  a  general  circulation,  it  should  be  add- 
ed, that  their  importance  is  rather  of  a  literary  than 
a  religious  kind  ;  and  that,  whether  considered  col- 
lectively or  individually,  they  do  not  affect  the  gen- 
uineness of  the  text,  or  the  substance  of  its  history 
or  doctrine.  The  improvements,  whicli  proposed 
altenitions  are  thought  to  make,  should  not  be  exag- 
gerated ;  it  should  be  remarked,  that  alterations  of 
that  description  are  confessedly  few  ;  and  that  none 
of  them  atfect  the  gospel  as  a  historj',  as  a  rule  of 
faith,  or  as  a  body  of  morality.  Conjectural  emen- 
dations should  be  reslraiiKMl,  and  almost  always  be 
resisted. 

English  TiiANsi.ATm.vs  oi'  thk  Biblk. — We 
proceed  now  to  a  sulijert  more  ji.-irticularly  interest- 
ing to  us,  which  is,  the  liistory  of  our  English  trans- 
lations. It  would  be  very  diflicult  to  ascertain  every 
English  translator,  or  when  the  Scriptures  were  first 
translated  into  the  language  of  this  country.  That 
the  Saxons  read  the  Bil)lc  in  their  own  language,  is 
an  opinion  well  authenticated  ;  some  parts,  at  least, 
having  been  translated  by  Adhehn,  Itishop  of  Sher- 


borne, Eadfrid,  (e,r  Ecbcit,)  bishop  of  Lindisferue, 
the  venerable  Bede,  and  king  Alfred.  ^Ifric,  abbot 
of  IMalmesbury,  translated  the  Pentateuch,  Judges, 
and  Job ; — which  were  printed  at  Oxford  in  the 
year  1699.  And  the  four  Gospels  were  printed  fi-om 
an  ancient  Saxon  MS.  now  in  the  Bodleian  library, 
in  1571,  under  the  care  of  the  martyrologist  John  Fox, 
assisted  and  encouraged  by  Matthew  Parker,  arch- 
bishop of  Canterbury.  It  would  ap})ear  that  the 
Saxons  had  more  than  one  translation,  of  parts  at 
least,  of  the  Bible  among  them ;  though  no  version 
particularly  sanctioned  by  public  authority.  They 
had  also  glosses  and  comments.  Besides  these  early 
versions,  several  parts  of  the  Scriptures  had  been 
from  time  to  time  translated  I>y  difi'erent  persons  ; 
proofs  of  which,  if  not  the  very  translations  them- 
selves, exist  in  difi'erent  libraries  of  Great  Britain. 
In  particular,  in  1349,  the  Psalms  were  translated  by 
Richard  Rolle,  a  hermit  of  Hampole  in  Yorkshire  ; 
and  in  the  Harleian  and  the  king's  libraries,  are 
specimens  of  other  and  different  versions.  Soon 
afterwards  John  Wycliff"  translated  the  New  Testa- 
ment, several  copies  of  which  are  in  different  libra- 
ries, both  public  and  private,  though  with  some  de- 
gi'ee  of  variation.  In  the  year  1731,  it  was  printed 
in  folio,  v.'ith  a  glossary,  under  the  care  of  the  Rev. 
John  Lewis,  minister  of  Margate,  and  chaplain  to 
Lord  Malton,  and  again,  in  1810,  m  quarto,  by  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Baber. 

In  1526,  WiUiam  Tyndal  printed  the  first  edition  of 
his  New^  Testament,  at  Antwerp,  in  octavo,  without  a 
name,  with  an  epistle  at  the  end,  wherein  he  desired 
them  that  were  learned  to  amend  if  aught  were  found 
amiss.  This  edition  is  very  scarce  ;  for  soon  after  its 
appearance,  the  bishop  of  London,  being  at  Antwerp, 
desired  an  English  merchant  to  buy  uj)  all  the  copies 
that  remained  unsold,  which,  with  many  other 
books,  were  burned  at  Paul's  Cross.  This  Dr.  Jor- 
dan thinks  was  done  by  the  bishop  to  serve  Tyndal, 
which  it  certainly  did,  bj'  putting  a  good  sum  of 
money  into  his  pocket,  and  enabling  him  to  prepare 
another  edition  for  the  press  more  correct  than  the 
former,  which,  however,  was  not  printed  till  15.34. 
From  the  first  edition  five  thousand  copies  were  re- 
printed by  the  Dutch  in  1527,  1528,  and  in  1530  ; 
but  all  these  editions  are  represented  to  be  exceed- 
ingly incorrect.  In  1534,  they  printed  a  fifth  edition, 
corrected  by  George  Joye,  who  not  only  corrected 
the  typographical  errors,  but  ventured  to  alter,  and 
amend,  as  he  thought,  the  translation.  Soon  after- 
wards, the  second  edition  by  Tyndal  himself  ap- 
peared, in  which  he  complains  of  Joye's  forestalling 
him,  and  altering  his  translation.  Besides  purchas- 
ing the  co])ies  of  Tyndal  at  Antwerp,  orders  and 
monitions  were  issued  by  the  archbishop  of  Can- 
terbury, and  the  bishoj)  of  liondon,  to  bring  in  all 
the  New  Testaments  translated  into  the  vulgar  tongue, 
that  they  might  be  burned  ;  and  to  prohibit  the  read- 
ing of  them.  In  1523,  (lenry  VIII.  ordered  "all 
the  books  containing  several  errors,  etc.  with  the 
translation  of  the  Scri|)tures  corru])ted  by  William 
Tyndal,  as  well  in  the  Old  Testament  as  in  the  New, 
to  be  utterly  expelled,  rejected,  and  put  away  out  of 
the  hands  of  his  peoi)Ie,  and  not  to  go  abroad  among 
his  subjects."  Tyndal's  translation  of  the  Penta- 
teuch was  printed  at  Marlborough,  in  Hesse,  the 
\'ear  before  ;  and  that  of  .ronah  this  year.  Some 
are  of  opinion  these  were  all  he  translated,  and  Fox 
mentions  no  more ;  but  Hall  and  Bale,  his  contem- 
jjoraries,  say,  that  he  likewise  translated  the  books 
from  Joshua  to  Nehemiah  ;  which,  unless  Matthew's 


BIBLE 


[  179  1 


BIBLE 


be  so  far  a  new  translatiou,  is  moat  probable.  Ful- 
ler presumes,  that  he  translated  the  Old  Testament 
from  the  Latin,  as  his  friends  allowed  that  he  had 
no  skill  in  Hebrew  :  but  in  this  Fuller  might  be  mis- 
taken. He  finislied  his  translation  of  the  Penta- 
teucii  in  the  year  1528 ;  but,  going  by  sea  to  Ham- 
burgl),  he  suti'enxl  shipwreck,  with  the  loss  of  all 
his  book?;,  pajiers,  etc.  so  that  he  was  obhged  to 
begin  the  whole  again.  Tyndal  himself,  in  a  letter 
to  John  Frith,  written  January,  1583,  says,  "  I  call 
God  to  record,  against  tlio  day  we  shall  appear  be- 
fore our  Lord  Jesus,  to  give  a  reckoning  of  our 
doings,  that  I  never  altered  one  syllable  of  God's 
word  against  my  conscience  ;  nor  w  oidd  do  this  day, 
if  all  that  is  in  earth,  whether  it  be  honor,  pleasure, 
or  riches,  might  be  given  me.  Moreover,  I  take  God 
to  witness  to  my  conscience,  that  I  desire  of  God  to 
myself  in  this  world,  no  more  than  that  without 
which  I  cannot  keep  his  laws."  It  appears,  how- 
ever, that  the  king,  in  pursuance  of  his  own  settled 
judgment,  thinking  much  good  might  come  from 
people  reading  the  New  Testament  with  reverence, 
and  following  it,  commanded  the  bishops  to  call 
to  them  the  most  learned  of  the  two  universi- 
ties, and  to  cause  a  new  translation  to  be  made  ;  but 
nothing  l)eing  done,  the  people  still  read  and  studied 
Tyndal's.  It  was  tlierefore  determined  to  get  rid  of 
so  dangerous  a  heretic ;  and  the  king  and  council 
employed  one  Henry  Philips,  who  insinuated  him- 
self into  the  acquaintance  of  Tyndal,  and  of  Pointz, 
an  English  merchant,  at  ^vhose  house  he  lodged : 
and  at  a  favoral)le  opportunity  he  got  the  procura- 
tor-general of  the  emperor's  court  to  seize  on 
Tyndal,  by  whom  he  was  brought  to  Vilvorden,  about 
18  miles  from  Antwerp.  After  being  imprisoned  a 
year  and  a  half,  notwithstanding  letters  in  his  favor 
from  secretary  Cromwell,  and  others,  to  the  court 
at  Brussels,  he  was  tried,  and  none  of  his  reasons  in 
his  defence  being  admitted,  he  Avas  condemned,  by 
virtue  of  the  emperor's  decree,  made  in  the  assem- 
bly at  Augsburgh,  in  the  year  1536.  Being  brought 
to  the  place  of  execution,  he  was  first  strangled, 
calling  out  in  his  last  moments,  "  Lord,  open  the 
king  of  England's  eyes  !" — and  then  he  was  burned. 
Thus  died  William  Tyndal,  with  this  testimony 
to  his  character  given  him  by  the  emperor's  pro- 
curator or  attorney-general,  though  his  adversaiy, 
that  he  was  "  homo  dodus,  plus,  ct  bonus ;"  and 
others,  who  conversed  with  him  in  the  castle,  re- 
ported of  him,  that  "  if  he  were  not  a  good  Chi-is- 
ten  man,  they  could  not  tell  whom  to  trust." 

The  first  English  Bible,  or  complete  translation  of 
the  Scriptures,  printed,  was  that  by  Myles  Covcrdale, 
the  first  edition  of  which  bears  date  1535.  It  was 
dedicated  to  Henry  V^III.  and  is  printed  in  folio.  A 
copy  is  in  the  British  Museum.  In  bishop  Cover- 
dale's  Bible  we  meet  with  the  following  judicious 
remark,  which  shows  the  very  respectable  knowledge 
and  temper  of  that  great  man.  "Now  whereas  the 
most  famous  interpreters  of  all  geve  sondrye  judg- 
mentes  on  the  texte,  (so  far  as  it  is  done  by  the 
spiryte  of  knowledge  in  the  Holye  Gooste,)  methynke 
no  man  shoulde  lie  offended  thereat,  for  they  referre 
theyr  doyngs  in  mekenes  to  the  spiryte  of  trueth  in 
the  congregation  of  God:  and  sure  I  am,  that  there 
conmiethe  more  knowledge  and  imderstondiuge  of 
the  Scripture  by  their  sondrye  translacions,  than 
by  all  the  gloses  of  our  sophisticall  doctours.  For 
that  one  interpreteth  somthynge  obscurely  in  one 
place,  the  same  translateth  another  (or  els  he  himselfe) 
more  manifestly  by  a  more  playne   vocalile  of  the 


same  meaning  in  another  place."  More  than  com- 
mon care  seems  to  have  been  taken  by  Coverdale 
in  the  language  of  his  translation.  We  have  some 
instances  of  barbarism,  Ijut  they  are  very  few,  and 
none  which  are  not  authorized  by  die  purest  writers 
of  the  times  in  which  he  wrote.  To  him,  and  to 
other  translators  of  the  Scriptures,  especially  of  the 
present  authorized  version,  our  language  OAves,  per- 
haps, more  than  to  all  the  authors  who  have  written 
since :  and  even  though  some  of  the  expressions 
may  appear  uncoutli,  their  fewness  renders  them  in- 
offensive ;  they  are  never  vulgar ;  they  preserve 
their  ancient  simplicity  pure  and  midefiled  ;  and,  in 
their  circumstance  and  connection,  perhaps  l)ut  sel- 
dom could  be  exchanged  for  the  better.  Nor  will 
this  ojjinion  be  condenmed  when  it  is  considered, 
that  tliat  elegant  writer  and  learned  prelate,  bishop 
Lowth,  has  constantly  used  the  words  where  he  has 
not  differed  from  the  translation ;  and  whenever 
amendments  have  been  intended  in  the  language 
of  the  Scriptures,  if  we  have  gained  any  thing  in 
elegance,  we  have  almost  assuredly  lost  in  dignity. 

At  the  convocation  (1536,  probably)  the  clergy 
agreed  on  a  petition  to  the  king,  that  he  would  be 
graciously  pleased  to  grant  unto  the  laity  the  reading 
of  the  Bible  in  the  English  tongue ;  and  that  a  new 
translation  might  be  made  for  that  purpose ;  and 
soon  after  injunctions  wei'c  issued  to  the  clergy  by 
the  authority  of  the  king's  highness,  the  seventh  ar- 
ticle of  which  conmiands, — "  That  every  person  or 
j)roprietary  of  any  parish  chinch  within  this  realm, 
at  this  great  feast  of  St.  Peter  ad  vinciUa,  (Aug.  1,) 
next  coming,  provide  a  book  of  the  whole  Bible, 
both  in  Latin  and  also  in  English,  and  lay  the  same 
in  the  quire  for  every  man  that  will  look  thereon  : 
and  shall  discourage  no  man  from  the  reading  any 
part  of  the  Bible,  either  in  Latin  or  English  ;  but 
rather  comfort,  exhort,  and  admonish  every  man  to 
read  the  same,  as  the  very  word  of  God,  and  the 
spiritual  food  of  man's  soul;  whereby  they  n^.ay 
better  know  their  duties  to  God,  to  the  sovereign 
lord  the  king,  and  theii-  neighbor ;  ever  gentilly  and 
charitably  exhorting  them,  that  using  a  sober  and 
modest  behavior  in  the  reading  and  inquisition  of 
the  true  sense  of  the  same,  they  do  iit  no  wise  stifly 
or  eagerly  contend  or  strive  one  with  another  about 
the  same,  but  refer  the  declaration  of  those  places 
that  be  in  controversy  to  the  judgment  of  them  that 
be  learned." 

The  first  edition  of  Matthew's  Bible  generally 
known,  was  printed  in  the  year  1537.  The  name  of 
Thomas  Matthew  is  said  to  have  been  fictitious,  and 
used  by  the  real  editor,  John  Rogers,  from  motives  of 
prudence  or  fear  ;  for  although  no  clamor  was  raised 
against  Myles  Coverdale  for  his  translation,  the  name 
of  Tyndal  was  exceedingly  odious  to  the  clergy  ;  and 
much  trouble  might  reasonably  have  been  expected 
from  an  acknowledged  rejjublication  of  his  transla- 
tion. "  None  will  deny,  says  Fuller,  but  that  many 
faults  needing  amendment  are  fovmd  in  the  (Tyndal's) 
translation,  ^vhich  is  no  wonder  to  those  who  con- 
sider; first,  such  an  undertaking  was  not  the  task  of  a 
man,  but  men.  Secondly,  no  gnat  design  is  invented 
and  perfected  at  once.  Thirdly,  Tyndal,  being  an 
exile,  wanted  many  necessary  accommodations. 
Fourthly,  his  skill  in  Hebrew  was  not  considerable  : 
yea,  generally,  learning  in  languages  Avas  then  but 
in  tlie  infancie  thereof  Fifthly,  our  English  tongue 
was  not  improved  to  that  ex})ressiveness  whereat,  at 
this  day,  it  is  arrived.  However,  what  he  undertook, 
was  to  be  admired  as  glorious ;  what  he  performed, 


BIBLE 


180  ] 


BIBLE 


to  be  coinmeuded  as  profitable ;  wbereiu  he  failed, 
is  to  be  excused  as  pardonable,  and  to  be  scored 
on  the  account  rather  of  that  age,  tha)i  of  the  author 
himself  Yea,  Tyndal's  pains  were  useful,  had  his 
translations  done  no  other  good  than  to  lielj)  towards 
the  making  of  a  better ;  our  last  translators  having 
in  express  charge  from  king  James  to  consult  the 
translation  of  Tyndal."  JMatthew's  Bible  is  composed 
partly  from  Tyndal's  and  partly  from  Coverdale's 
translations,  with  some  alterations  ;  taking  Tyndal's 
New  Testament,  and  such  parts  of  the  Old  as  were 
translated  by  him,  except  that  the  prophecy  of  Jonah 
is  of  Coverdale's  translation  ;  ueidier  is  Tyndal's  pref- 
ace prefixed  to  Jonah,  or  any  other  preface  inserted, 
except  to  the  Romans,  in  that  Avhich  is  supposed  to 
be  the  first  edition.  Sundry  alterations  are  made 
from  Covcrdale,  ami  some  have  been  of  opinion, 
that  it  was  a  new  work  undertaken  by  Coverdalc, 
Tyndal,  and  Rogers,  and  that  the  latter  translated 
the  Apocrypha  ;  but  Mr.  Le%vis  thinks  that  Cover- 
dale  had  none  to  assist  him  in  his  translation,  and 
that  he  was  not  concerned  in  that  called  Matthew's, 
but  only  John  Rogers,  who  made  a  few  alterations, 
but  not  a  new  ti'anslation.  Grafton  was  called  to  an 
account  for  piinting  Matthew's  Bible,  1537,  and  ex- 
amined as  to  the  great  Bible,  what  notes  he  intended 
to  set  to  it ;  to  which  he  replied,  "  that  he  added 
none  to  the  Bible  he  printed,  when  he  ])erceived 
the  king  and  the  clergy  not  willing  to  have  any." 
Yet  he  was  confined  a  prisoner  in  the  Fleet  six 
weeks,  and  then  released,  on  being  bound  in  a  bond 
of  £300,  neither  to  imprint  nor  sell  any  more  Eng- 
lish Bibles,  till  the  king  and  clergy  should  agree  on 
a  translation. 

In  the  year  1538,  Grafton  and  Whitchurch  had 
obtained  permission  of  Hemy  VIII.  to  print  the 
Bible  at  Paris  ;  but  when  the  work  was  nearlj"  finish- 
ed, by  an  order  of  the  Inquisition,  dated  the  17th  of 
December  the  same  year,  the  printers  were  inhibited, 
under  canonical  pains,  to  proceed ;  and  the  whole 
impression  of  two  thousand  five  hundred  copies  was 
seized  and  confiscated.  By  the  cncoiu'agement  of 
the  lord  Cromwell,  however,  some  Englishmen  re- 
turned to  Paris,  recovered  the  presses,  types,  etc. 
and  brought  them  to  London,  where  the  work  was 
resumed,  and  the  Bible  finished  in  1539.  This  was 
called  Cranmer's  Bil)le,  on  account  of  the  preface, 
which  was  written  by  the  archbishop.  In  this,  the 
translations  of  Covcrdale  and  Matthew  seem  to  be 
revised  and  corrected.  The  Psalms  are  those  now 
used  in  the  liturgy  of  the  estal)hshed  cluu-ch.  There 
are  several  editions  of  this  Bible  ;  in  particular,  one 
in  15  U,  under  the  cai'e  of  Tonstal,  blsjiop  of  Durham, 
and  Heath,  !)isho])  of  Rochester ;  and  another,  printed 
at  Rouen,  at  the  charge  of  Richard  Carmarden,  155<j. 

In  Novemlicr,  1539,  the  king  appointed  lord  Crom- 
well to  take  sj)ecial  care  and  charge  that  no  manner 
of  person  or  jjcrsous  should  print  any  Bible  in  the 
English  tongue  during  the  ^^pace  of  five  years,  but 
only  sucii  !!s  shall  be  d(>puted,  assigned,  and  admitted 
by  the  said  lord  Cromwell:  it  is  not  improbable  but 
this  might  have  been  done  in  f-ivor  of  Taverner's 
Bible,  Avhich  appeared  at  this  time  ;  Bale  calls  it, 
Saa-orum  rccognitio,  svu  polivs  nova  ;  but  Mr.  Le^vis 
says,  that  it  is  neither  a  ban-  revisal  nor  a  correct 
edition  of  the  English  Bilile  ;  nor  yet  strictly  a  new 
version,  but  between  both  ;  it  is,  what  may  be  called, 
a  correction  of  Matthew's  Bible,  wherever  the  (;ditor 
thought  it  needfiil.  He  takes  in  a  great  part  of  Mat- 
thew's marginal  notes,  but  oniits  sevrral,  and  inserts 
others  of  his  own. 


In  the  convocation  held  February  6,  1542,  the 
archbishop,  in  the  king's  name,  required  the  bishops 
and  clergy  to  revise  the  translation  of  the  Scriptures; 
and  for  that  purpose  difierent  parts  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment were  put  into  the  hands  of  several  bishops  for 
perusal.  Many  objections  were  raised  on  various 
pretences,  and  bishop  Gardiner  read  a  list  of  ninety- 
nine  Latin  words,  which  he  said  would  not  admit  of 
being  translated  into  English.  By  this  it  was  found 
that  this  motion  or  translation  would  come  to  nothing ; 
and  a  determination  of  the  king,  to  wrest  the  work 
from  the  bishops,  and  place  it  in  the  hands  of  the 
universities,  seems  to  have  had  a  similar  fate  ;  for 
the  next  jear  an  act  was  passed  which  condemned 
Tyndal's  translation  as  crafty,  false,  and  untrue  ;  and 
enacted,  that  all  books  of  the  Old  and  New  Testa- 
ment of  his  translation  should,  by  authority  of  this 
act,  be  abolished,  extinguished,  and  forbidden  to  be 
kept  and  used  in  this  realn),  oi"  elsewhere  in  his 
majesty's  donunions.  But  it  was  provided,  "that 
the  Bibles  and  New  Testaments  in  English,  not  being 
of  Tyndal's  translation,  shoidd  stand  in  force,  and 
not  be  comprised  in  this  abolition  or  act.  Nevcrthe- 
lesse,  if  there  should  be  foiuid  in  anie  such  Bibles  or 
New  Testamentes  anie  amiotations  or  i)reambles,  that 
then  the  owners  of  them  should  cut  or  blot  the 
same  in  such  wise  as  they  cannot  be  perceived  or 
read,  on  pain  of  losing  or  forfeiting  for  every  Bible, 
etc.  40s.  Provided,  that  this  article  should  not  ex- 
tend to  the  blotting  any  quotations  oi*  summaries  of 
chapters  in  any  Bibles."  It  was  likewise  enacted, 
"  That  no  manner  of  person  or  persons  after  the  first 
day  of  October,  the  next  ensuing,  should  take  upon 
him  or  them  to  read  openly  to  other  in  any  church 
or  open  assemblj-,  within  any  of  the  king's  domin- 
ions, the  Bible  or  any  j)art  of  the  Scripture  in  Eng- 
lish, unless  he  was  so  appointed  thereunto  by  the 
king,  or  any  ordinarie,  on  jiain  of  suffering  a 
month's  imprisonment.  Proviiled,  that  the  chancel- 
lor of  England,  captaines  of  the  warres,  the  king's 
justices,  the  recorders  of  any  city,  borough,  or  town, 
the  speaker  of  the  parliament,  etc.  which  heretofore 
have  been  accustomed  to  declare  or  teaclie  any 
good,  vertuous,  or  godly  exhortations  in  anie  assem- 
blies, may  use  any  part  of  the  Bible  or  holie  Scrip- 
tures as  they  have  been  wont  ;  and  that  every  jioble- 
man  and  gentleman,  being  a  householder,  may  read, 
or  cause  to  be  read  by  any  of  his  familie  servants  in 
his  house,  orchardes,  or  garden,  and  to  his  own  fami- 
lie, anie  text  of  the  Bible  or  New  Testament,  and 
also  every  merchant-nian,  being  a  householder,  and 
any  other  persons  other  than  women,  prentises,  &c. 
might  read  to  themselves  privately  the  Bible.  But 
no  woman,  (except  noblewomen  and  gentlewomen, 
who  might  read  to  themselves  alone,  and  not  to 
others,  any  texts  of  the  liible,)  nor  artificers,  pren- 
tises, journeymen,  ser\ing-men  of  the  degrees  of 
yomen  or  under,  husbandmen,  oi-  laborers,  were  to 
read  the  Bible  or  New  Testament  in  Englishe  to 
himself,  or  any  other,  i)rivately  or  o])enly,  upon  paine 
of  one  month's  im])risonnient."  Wlien  we  read 
enactments  like  these,  and  contrast  sucii  hinderances 
to  the  spread  of  sacred  kno\\ledge  with  the  present 
state  of  religious  liberty,  ])ublic  and  jtrivate,  what 
intense  sensations  of  gratitude  to  the  Divine  Author 
of  this  holy  book  shoidd  fill  the  mind  of  every 
Christian!  Another  act  was  ])assed,  Jidy  8,  1546, 
whereby  the  having  and  reading  of  Tyndal's  and 
Coverdale's  translations  were  jirohibited,  as  well  as 
the  use  of  any  other  than  what  was  allowed  by  act 
of  parliament. 


BIBLE 


[  IBl  ] 


BIBLE 


In  this  state  mattei-s  continued  so  long  as  Henry 
VIII.  lived  ;  but  on  the  accession  of  his  sou  Edward 
VI.  (1547,)  they  took  another  turn  ;  the  reformation 
being  encouraged,  and  the  acts  whicli  prohibited  the 
translation  of  the  Scriptures  being  repealed.  In- 
junctions were  issued,  and  sent  into  every  part  of 
the  kingdom,  among  other  things  enjoining,  that 
within  three  months  a  Bible  of  the  larger  volume  in 
English,  and  within  twelve  months  Erasmus's  Para- 
phrase on  the  Gospels,  be  provided,  and  convenient- 
ly placed  in  the  churches  for  the  people  to  read  in. 

The  reign  of  queen  jMary  was  too  unfavorable  for 
any  translation  of  the  Scriptures  to  be  printed  in 
England  ;  and,  except  the  Geneva  Testament,  Ave 
meet  with  nothing  but  a  quarto  primer,  Latin  and 
English,  according  to  the  use  of  Sarum,  ,with  the 
epistles  and  gospels  in  English,  printed  by  John 
Kingston  and  Henry  Sutton,  1557.  Bishop  Cover- 
dale,  being  compelled  to  leave  England,  during  the 
reign  of  j\Iary,  took  up  his  residence  principally  at 
Geneva,  where  he  engaged  Avith  some  Protestant 
refugees  in  a  newvei-sion  of  the  Scrijnures,  from  the 
Hebrew  and  Greek  languages,  Avith  notes;  called 
irom  the  place,  the  Geneva  Bible.  That  Avhich  Avas 
done  in  this  Bible  Avas  as  folloAvs: — "(1.)  Because 
some  translations  read  after  one  sort  and  some  after 
another,  they  noted  in  the  margin  the  diAcrsities  of 
speech  and  reading,  especially  according  to  the  He- 
brcAV. — (2.)  Where  the  HebrcAV  speech  seemed  hard- 
ly to  agree  Avith  ours,  they  noted  in  the  margin, 
using  that  Avhich  Avas  more  intelligible. — (.3.)  Though 
many  of  the  HebreAV  names  AA'ere  altered  from  the 
old  text,  and  restored  to  the  true  Avriting,  and  first 
original,  yet  in  the  usual  names,  little  Avas  changed, 
for  fear  of  troubling  the  simple  readers. — (4.)  Where 
tJie  necessity  of  the  sentence  required  any  thing  to 
be  added,  Avhether  verb  or  other  Avord,  they  put  it 
in  the  text  Avith  another  kind  of  letter,  that  it  might 
easily  be  discerned  from  the  connnon  letter  of  the 
text.— (5.)  As  touching  the  division  of  the  A'erses,  they 
folloAved  the  HebrcAv  examples,  adding  the  number 
to  each  verse. — (6.)  The  principal  matters  AA^ere 
noted  ;  and  the  arguments,  both  for  each  book  and 
for  each  chapter. — (7.)  They  set  OA'er  the  head  of 
CA'ery  page  some  notable  Avord,  or  sentence,  for  the 
help  of  memory. — (8.)  They  set  brief  annotations 
ui)on  all  the  hard  places,  as  aa-cII  for  the  under- 
standing of  obscure  Avords,  as  for  declaration  of  the 
text.  And  for  this  purpose  they  diligently  read  the 
best  commentaries ;  and  had  much  confereiice  Avith 
godly  and  learned  brethren. — (9.)  They  set  forth 
Avith  figures  certain  places  in  the  books  of  Moses, 
of  the  Kings,  and  Ezekiel,  Avhich  seemed  so  dark, 
that  by  no  other  description  they  could  be  made  easy 
to  the  reader. — (10.)  They  added  certain  iDaps  of 
cosmograjjliy,  of  diA'ers  places  and  countries,  partly 
described,  and  partly  by  occasion  touched,  both  in 
the  Old  and  Ncav  lY'Stament.  (11.)  They  adjoined 
two  profitable  tables ;  the  one  of  interpretations  of 
HebreAV  names,  and  the  other  containing  all  the 
chief  and  principal  matters  of  the  Avhole  Bible." 
The  NeAV  Testament  Avas  published  in  1557,  and  the 
Avhole  Bible  in  1560. 

In  the  lirst  parliament  of  queen  Elizabeth,  held 
January,  1558,  an  act  passed  for  restoring  to  the 
croAATi  the  ancient  jurisdiction  over  the  state,  eccle- 
siastical and  spiritual  ;  and  another  for  the  uniform- 
ity of  connnon  prayer,  and  service  in  the  church. 
The  queen  also  appointed  a  royal  visitation,  and 
gave  her  injunctions,  as  Avell  to  the  clergy  as  the 
laity,  by  Avhich   it  Avas  ordered,  as  in   the   reign    of 


Edward  VI.  that  tliey  should,  at  the  charge  of  tk« 
parish,  Avithin  three  months,  provide  one  book  of  the 
Avhole  Bible,  of  the  largest  volume  in  English  ;  and 
Avithin  tAvelve  months,  the  Paraphrase  of  Erasmus. 
The  folloAving  year  the  Liturgy  Avas  reviewed,  and 
altered  in  some  passages ;  and",  being  presented  to 
parliament,  Avas  by  that  authority  received  and  es- 
tablished. And,  soon  after,  a  design  Avas  formed 
to  make  a  ncAV  translation  of  the  Scrijitures,  under 
the  direction  of  archbishop  Parker  ;  Avhich,  Iioaa- 
ever,  Avas  not  printed  before  the  year  1568,  Avheu  it 
first  appeared  in  folio.  This  is  called  the  Bishops^ 
Bible.  The  Avork  Avas  divided  into  several  parcels, 
and  assigned  to  men  of  learning  and  character,  se- 
lected for  the  purpose.  Archbishop  Parker  had  the 
chief  direction  of  the  affair,  rcA'ieAved  the  perform- 
ance, and  gave  the  finishing  hand  to  it.  He  em- 
jjloyed  several  ci-itics  in  the  HebrcAv  and  Greek 
languages  to  revieAv  the  old  translation,  and  com- 
pare it  AA'ith  the  original.  There  is  a  peculiaaity  ob- 
servable in  the  Psalms  of  this  translation,  for  Avhich 
there  seems  no  apparent  reason,  viz.  the  Avord  cn^x 
is  translated  Lord,  and  mn'  is  translated  God  ;  con- 
trary to  general,  if  not  (otherAA'ise)  imiversal  custom. 
It  is  not  unlikely,  that  this  circumstance  prevented 
the  bishops'  Psalms  from  being  read  in  the  church 
service,  in  Avhich  the  Psahiis  of  archbishop  Cranmer's 
Bible  Avere  used,  and  are  continued  to  this  day. 
Cranmer's  Psalms  AA'ere  often  printed  in  the  Bishops' 
Bible,  and  sometimes  in  the  Geneva,  either  by  them- 
selves, or  Avith  the  proper  Psahns  of  those  transla- 
tions in  oj)posite  columns. 

Davies,  bishop  of  St.  DaAid's,  Avas  noAV  engaged  in 
translating  the  Bible  into  Welsh,  together  Avith  Wil- 
liam Salisbury,  bishop  of  Man,  aa'Iio  Avas  A'ery  learned 
in  British  antiquities.  A  translation  of  tlie  rSeAV 
Testament  by  LaAA'rence  Tomson,Avho  Avas  under 
secretary  to  sir  Francis  Walsingham,  AAas  printed  in 
1576.  This  AAas  afterAvards  reprinted  frequently  in 
the  Geneva  Bible,  instead  of  the  former  translation. 

These  labors  of  the  Pi'otestants  had  their  effect  on 
the  Catholics ;  AA'ho,  as  they  Avould  not  use  the  ver- 
sions of  those  Avhom  they  cousidei-ed  as  heretics, 
and  being  Act  ashamed  of  having  no  Aversion  of 
Scripture  for  their  use,  set  themselves  to  translate,  as 
far  as  they  laAvfully  might.  In  1582,  the  Ncav  Testa- 
ment, translated  by  the  English  college  at  Rheims,  AA'as 
printed  ;  tAventy-seven  years  after,  in  1609,  appeared 
the  first  Aolume,  and  in  1610,  the  second  Aolunio  of 
the  Old  Testament  and  Apocrypha,  printed  at  Douay, 
and  thence  called  the  Douay  Bible.  Both  these  have 
been  reprinted  several  times ;  but  an  edition  in  five 
volumes,  12mo.  1750,  is  much  inq)roved  in  point  of 
language,  especially  from  the  Douay,  AA'hich  is  in 
many  instances  very  obscure.  The  translators  AA'ere 
William  Allen,  Henry  Holland,  George  Martin,  and 
Richard  Bristol.  The  notes  Avere  by  Dr.  Worthing- 
ton.  Le  Long  says,  the  Ncav  Testament  AA^as  ])rinci- 
pally  translated  by  William  Raynokl,  or  Reynolds. 

Account  of  the  presext  English  authorized 
Version. — At  a  convocation  in  1603,  soon  after  the 
accession  of  James  I.  complaints  Avere  made  that 
many  and  great  faults  existed  in  the  translation  au- 
thorized to  be  read  ;  and  Fuller  says,  one  of  the  best 
things  produced  by  the  Ham])ton-Court  conference 
AA'as,  a  resolution  in  his  majesty  for  a  ncAv  transla- 
tion of  the  Bible :  to  this  purpose  the  king  Avrote  to 
the  archbishops  and  bishops,  enjoining  them  to  pro- 
vide benefices  as  speedily  as  they  could,  for  so  many 
of  the  learned  men  selected  to  prepare  the  ncAV 
translation,  as  had  not  previously  adequate   ecclesi- 


BIBLE 


[182] 


BIBLE 


astical  preferment ;  and,  also,  to  inform  themselves  of 
all  persons  in  their  respective  dioceses,  who  under- 
stood the  Hebrew  and  Greek  languages,  and  had 
studied  the  Scriptures  in  their  original  tongues,  ex- 
horting them  to  send  the  results  of  their  private  stud- 
ies to  Mr.  Lively,  Hebrew  reader  at  Cambridge,  Dr. 
Harding,  Hebrew  reader  at  Oxford,  or  Dr.  Andrews, 
dean  of  Westminster,  "  that  so  our  said  intended 
translation  may  have  the  help  and  furtherance  of  all 
our  principal  learned  men  within  this  our  kingdom." 
Fuller's  list  of  the  translators  amounts  to  forty-seven, 
which  number  was  ranged  under  six  divisions.  The 
names  of  the  persons,  tiie  places  where  they  met,  to- 
gether with  the  portions  of  Scripture  assigned  to 
each  company,  are  as  follows  : — 

Ten  at  Westminster.  The  Pentateuch ;  the  his- 
tory, from  Joshua  to  the  first  book  of  the  Chronicles, 
exclusively.  Dr.  Andrews,  afterwards  bishop  of 
Winchester;  Dr.  Overall,  afterwards  bishop  of  Nor- 
wich ;  Dr.  Saravia,  prebendary  of  Canterbury ;  Dr. 
Clarke,  fellow  of  Cin-ist's  college,  Cambridge  ;  Dr. 
Laifield,  fellow  of  Trinity,  Cambridge — being  skilled 
in  architecture,  his  judgment  was  much  relied  on  for 
the  description  of  the  tabernacle  and  temple  ;  Dr. 
Leigh,  archdeacon  of  3Iiddlesex ;  Mr.  Burgley ; 
Mr.  King ;  Mr.  Tompson  ;  Mr.  Bedwell,  of  Cam- 
bridge. 

Eight  at  Cambridge.  From  the  first  of  Chroni- 
cles, with  the  rest  of  the  history,  and  the  Hagiogra- 
pha,  viz.  Job,  Psalms,  Proverbs,  Canticles,  Ecclesi- 
astes.  Mr.  Lively  ;  Mr.  Richardson,  fellow  of  Eman- 
uel ;  j\Ir.  Chadderton ;  Mr.  Dillingham,  fellow  of 
Christ  college  ;  Mr.  Andrews,  afterwards  master  of 
Jesus  college ;  Mr.  Harrison,  the  Rev.  vice-master 
of  Trinity  college ;  Mr.  Spalding,  fellow  of  St. 
John's,  Cambridge,  and  Hebrew  professor  there  ;  Mr. 
Bing,  fellow  of  Peter-house,  Cambridge,  and  He- 
brew professor  there. 

Seven  at  Oxford.  The  four  greater  prophets, 
with  the  Lamentations,  and  the  twelve  lesser  proph- 
ets. Dr.  Harding,  president  of  Magdalen  college  ; 
Dr.  Reynolds,  president  of  Corpus  Christi  college  ; 
Dr.  Holland,  rector  of  Exeter  college,  Regius  pro- 
fessor ;  Dr.  Kilby,  rector  of  Lincoln  college,  and 
Regius  professor  ;  Mr.  Smith,  afterwards  bishop  of 
Gloucester,  who  composed  the  learned  and  religious 
preface  to  the  translation ;  Mr.  Brett ;  Mr.  Fan- 
clowe. 

Cambridge.  The  prayer  of  Manasseh,  and  the 
rest  of  the  Apocry])ha.  Dr.  Duport,  prebendary  of 
Ely,  and  master  of  Jesus  college ;  Dr.  Braiuthwaite, 
afterwards  master  of  Gonvil,  and  Caius  college ; 
Dr.  Radclyfte,  a  senior  fellow  of  Trinity  college  ; 
Mr.  Ward,  afterwards  D.  D.  and  Margaret  professor  ; 
Mr.  Uo\\iies,  fellow  of  St.  John's,  and  Greek  pro- 
fessor ;  Mr.  Boyse,  fellow  of  St.  John's  ;  Mr.  Ward, 
of  King's  college,  afterwards  D.  D.  prebendary  of 
Chichester. 

Oxford.  The  four  Gospels,  Acts  of  the  Apostles, 
and  Apocalypse.  Dr.  Ravis,  afterwards  bishop  of 
London  ;  Dr.  Abbot,  afterwards  archbishop  of  Can- 
terbury ;  Dr.  Eedes  (instead  of  whom  Lewis  has 
James  Montague,  bishop  of  Bath  and  Wells) ;  Mr. 
Thompson  ;  Mr.  Savill ;  Dr.  Peryn  ;  Dr.  Ravens  ; 
Mr.  Harmer. 

Westminster.  The  Epistles  of  St.  Paul,  and  the 
other  canonical  Epistles.  Dr.  Barlowe,  afterwards 
bishop  of  Lincoln;  Dr.  Hutchinson;  Dr.  Spencer ; 
Mr.  Fenton ;  Mr.  Rabbet ;  Mr.  Sanderson ;  Mr. 
Fakins. 

And  that  they  might  proceed  to  the   best  advan- 


tage in  their  method  and  management,  the  king 
suggested  the  instructions  following : — (1.)  The  Bible 
read  in  the  chiu'ch,  commonly  called  the  Bishops' 
Bible,  was  to  receive  as  few  alterations  as  might  be ; 
and  to  pass  throughout,  unless  the  original  called 
plainly  for  an  amendment. — (2.)  The  names  of  the 
prophets  and  the  inspired  writers,  with  the  other 
names  in  the  text,  to  be  kept  so  near  as  may  be  as 
they  stand  recommended  at  present  by  customary 
use. — (3.)  The  old  ecclesiastical  words  to  be  re- 
tained. For  instance,  the  word  church  not  to  be 
translated  congregation,  &c. — (4.)  When  any  word 
has  several  significations,  that  which  has  been  com- 
monly used  by  the  most  celebrated  Fathers  should 
be  preferred ;  provided  it  be  agreeable  to  the  context, 
and  the  analogy  of  faith. — (5.)  As  to  the  chapters, 
they  were  to  continue  in  their  present  division,  and 
not  be  altered  without  apparent  necessity. — (6.)  The 
margin  not  to  be  charged  with  any  notes,  ex- 
cepting for  the  explanation  of  those  Hebrew  or 
Gi-eek  words,  which  cannot  be  turned  without  some 
circumlocution ;  and,  thei'cfore,  not  so  proper  to  be 
inserted  in  the  text. — (7.)  The  margin  to  be  furnished 
with  such  citations  as  serve  for  a  reference  of  one 
place  of  Scripture  to  another. — (8.)  Every  member 
of  each  division  to  take  the  chapters  assigned  for  the 
whole  company  ;  and  after  having  gone  through  the 
version  or  corrections,  all  the  division  was  to  meet, 
examine  their  respective  performances,  and  come  to 
a  resolution  which  parts  of  them  should  stand. — (9.) 
When  any  division  had  finished  a  book  in  this  man- 
ner, they  were  to  transmit  it  to  tlie  rest  to  be  further 
considered. — (10.)  If  any  of  the  respective  divisions 
should  doubt  or  dissent  upon  the  review  of  the  book 
transmitted,  they  were  to  mark  the  places,  and  send 
back  the  reasons  of  their  disagreement ;  if  they 
happened  to  differ  about  the  amendments,  the  dis- 
pute was  to  be  referred  to  a  general  committee,  con- 
sisting of  the  best  distinguished  persons  drawn  out 
of  each  division.  However,  this  decision  was  not 
to  be  made  till  they  had  gone  through  the  work. — 
(IL)  When  any  place  was  remarkably  obsciue,  let- 
ters were  to  be  directed  by  authority  to  the  most 
learned  persons  in  the  uuivei'sities,  or  country,  for 
their  judgment  upon  the  text. — (12.)  The  directors 
in  each  company  were  to  be  the  deans  of  Westmin- 
ster and  Chester,  and  the  king's  professors  in  He- 
brew and  Greek  in  each  university. — (13.)  The 
translations  of  Tyudal,  Matthew,  Coverdale,  White- 
church,  and  Geneva,  to  Ije  used  when  they  come 
closer  to  the  original  than  the  Bishops'  Bible. — 
Lastly,  Three  or  four  of  the  most  eminent  divines  in 
.".■;ch  of  the  imiversities,  though  not  of  the  number 
of  the  translators,  were  to  be  assigned  by  the  vice- 
chancellor,  to  consult  with  other  heads  of  houses  for 
reviewing  the  whole  translation. 

Almost  three  years  were  spent  in  this  service,  the 
entering  on  which  was  somewhat  delayed  by  Mr.  || 
Edward  Lively's  death.  The  whole  work  being  fi 
finished,  and  three  copies  of  the  whole  Bible  sent  to 
London,  viz.  one  from  CaniL'ridgc,  a  second  from 
Oxford,  and  a  third  from  Westminster,  a  new  choice 
was  made  of  two  out  of  each  conijiany,  six  in  all, 
to  review  the  whole  work  and  revise  it,  and  extract 
one  out  of  all  the  three  copies,  to  be  committed  to 
the  press.  They  went  daily  to  Stationers'  Hall,  and 
in  three  quarters  of  a  year  fulfilled  their  task.  Last 
of  all,  Bilson,  bishop  of  Winchester,  and  Dr.  Myles 
Smith,  who,  from  the  beginning,  had  been  very 
active  in  the  aflfaii-,  reviewed  the  whole  work,  and 
prefixed  arguments  to   the  seveial  books ;  and  Dr. 


BIBLE 


[  183 


BIBLE 


Smith,  who,  for  his  hidefatigable  pains  taken  in  this 
work,  ^^•as  soon  after  the  printing  of  it  deservedly 
made  bishop  of  Gloucester,  was  ordered  to  write  a 
preface  to  it,  the  same  which  is  now  printed  in  the 
folio  editions  of  the  Bible.  This  translation  was 
first  printed  in  J  611,  in  black  letter.  The  title-page 
in  the  Old  Testament  is  a  copper-plate,  with  an  em- 
blematical border,  engi-aved  by  Boel.  The  title  of 
the  New  Testament  is  in  a  border  cut  in  wood,  with 
heads  of  the  twelve  apostles,  tents  of  the  tribes, 
&:c.  In  1G12,  a  quarto  edition  was  printed  on  Ro- 
man type,  A\itli  an  engraved  title,  copied  from  the 
folio,  by  Jasper  Isac. 

Marginal  Referexces. — In  1664,  John  Canne,  a 
leader  of  the  English  Brownists  at  Amsterdam,  pub- 
lished a  Bible  of  the  present  translation  in  octavo, 
with  many  marginal  references.  Dr,  Blayney  ex- 
amined these  for  his  edition  of  the  Oxford  Bible, 
in  1769. 

In  1677,  a  Bible  was  printed  by  Hayes,  at  Cam- 
bridge, witii  many  references  added  to  the  first  edi- 
tion ;  and  in  1678,  one  was  printed  at  Cambridge 
with  many  more  references,  the  labor  of  Dr.  Scatter- 
good,  rector  of  Wilwick  and  Elverton,  in  Northamp- 
tonshire, and  one  of  the  compilers  of  the  Critici 
Sacri.  Several  editions  of  this  Bible  were  printed. — 
In  1699,  a  new  edition  of  the  royal  Bible,  in  quarto, 
was  printed  at  London,  with  a  great  addition  of  par- 
allel texts ;  and  a  new  chronological  index,  by  Dr. 
Tenison,  archl)ishop  of  Canterbury,  and  Dr.  Lloyd, 
bishop  of  Worcester.  This  has  been  many  times 
reprinted.  It  is  not  to  be  understood  that  archbishop 
Tenison  and  bishoj)  Lioyd  were  concerned  in  the 
printing  or  editing  of  this  Bible,  further  than  furnish- 
ing the  additional  parallels  and  new  tables ;  having 
no  superintendence  of  the  press ;  and  this  it  is  but 
justice  to  their  memories  to  declare ;  for  the  first 
edition  was  so  full  of  typographical  errors,  that  a 
complaint  was  exhibited  against  the  printers  by  the 
clerg}'  of  the  lower  house  of  convocation. 

The  progressive  but  veiy  considerable  increase  of 
parallels  from  the  first  edition,  by  diflferent  editors, 
will  appear  by  the  following  scale. 

Old  Tes. 
First  edition,  1611  .  .  6588 
Hayes's  edition,  1677  .  14629 
Dr.  Scattergood,  1678  20357 
Bishops  Tenison  and 

Llovd,  1699 24352 

Dr.  Biavnev,  1769  .  .  .  4.3318 
Bishop  "Wilson,  1785  .  45190 


Apoc.  N.  Tes.  Total. 

885  1.527      9000 

1409  9857  25895 

1417  11371  a3145 

1419  13717  39488 
1772  19893  649^3 
1772  19993  66955 

]\Ir.  Purver's  translation  of  the  Bible  was  published 
in  1764,  in  two  volumes  folio  ;  he  afterwards  revised 
the  Avliolo,  and  made  consideraJjle  alterations  and  cor- 
rections f  )r  a  s(^cond  edition,  which,  however,  has  not 
yet  been  published  ;  but  the  MS.  remains  in  the  pos- 
session of  his  grandson,  John  Purver  Bell. 

Concordances  to  the  Bible — are  of  two  kinds ;  con- 
cordances of  words,  and  concordances  of  parallel 
passages.  Of  the  former  class,  those  of  Cruden  and 
Buttenvorth  arc  by  far  the  best — Cruden's  is  the 
standard  book  ;  and  of  the  latter,  Crutwell  and  Bag- 
ster  t.ake  the  precedence.  These  concordances  of 
parallels,  however,  have  been  in  a  great  measure 
superseded  by  a  later  published  work,  entitled, 
"  Scientia  Bililica,  containing  a  copious  collection  of 
parallel  passages  for  the  illustration  of  the  New  Tes- 
tament, printed  in  words  at  length."  This  valuable 
work  will,  it  is  hoped,  be  extended  to  the  whole  of 
the  Scriptures.     It  is  extremely  useful  to  the  biblical 


student.  For  the  Hebrew  Bible,  Dr.  Taylor's  con- 
cordance is  the  most  extensive,  but  the  price  being 
very  high,  Buxtorf's  may  be  substituted  with 
great  advantage.  For  the  Septuagint,  the  con- 
cordance of  Trommius  is  unrivalled ;  and  for  the 
Greek  New  Testament,  Schmidius  and  Dr.  Williams, 

Concluding  Remarks. — Thus  we  have  endeav- 
ored to  set  before  the  reader  such  a  history  of  the 
Bilile  as  may  answer  most  of  the  principal  questions 
usually  asked  on  the  subject.  The  length  of  the  ar- 
ticle must  be  justified  by  its  imi)oi-tance.  There  are 
many  collateral  inquiries  which  might  be  entered 
into ;  but  a  hint  nuist  suflice.  Let  us  admire  the 
providence  of  God,  which  first  caused  the  preserva- 
tion of  two  copies,  the  Samaritan  and  the  Jewish  ; 
then  translations  into  several  languages,  which  may 
be  regarded  as  so  many  copies,  and  especially  the 
Greek  translation,  because  we  have  many  helps 
among  our  classical  studies  for  acquiring  a  compe- 
tent intimacy  ^Aith  this  language.  Nor  let  us  with- 
hold the  acknowledgments  of  our  most  weighty 
obligations  to  our  predecessors  in  Britain  ;  whose 
laboi-s  have  transmitted  their  names  to  their  religious 
posterity,  and  to  the  religious  world  at  large,  with  im- 
mortal honor.  To  say  that  their  translation  is  free 
from  faults,  w^ould  be  to  speak  of  them  as  more  than 
men  ;  nevertheless,  let  no  one  despise  their  perform- 
ance, till  he  has  qualified  himself  to  undertake  such 
another, — and  then,  two  pages  of  translation,  at- 
tempted by  himself,  Avill  make  liini  fully  sensible  of 
the  advantages  we  receive  from  those  who  sustained 
that  labor  before  us. — But  after  acknowledging  that 
much  has  been  done,  we  must  also  admit  that  much 
remains  to  be  done  ;  and  we  take  this  opi)oi-tunity  of 
suggesting  a  few  brief  hints  on  the  subject,  which  is 
confessedly  of  great  importance. 

It  is  not  to  be  denied,  that  a  ti-anslation  of  Holy 
Scripture,  if  undertaken  in  the  present  day,  would 
have  many  advantages  superior  to  those  which  at- 
tended king  James's  translation.  The  state  of 
knowledge  is  much  improved,  by  the  labors  of 
learned  men,  in  the  succeeding  intenal  of  time  ;  and, 
without  determining  whether  religious  knowledge 
be  improved  or  injured,  by  what  variations  in  opinion 
have  been  since  introduced,  we  are  certain  that  geo- 
graphical knowledge  is  much  more  correct,  as  well 
as  extensive  ;  that  the  knowledge  of  natural  histor}' 
and  of  natural  philosophy,  of  the  customs,  manners, 
modes  of  thinking,  and  tinns  of  expression,  among 
the  orientals,  and  many  other  requisite  subjects,  are 
better  understood  at  present  than  they  were  formerly, 
and  these  are  always  of  consequence,  and  occasion- 
ally of  the  utmost  importance  for  conveying  the 
true  meaning  of  many  passages  of  Scripture.  The 
principles  of  general  science,  also,  are  more  widely 
diffiised  than  they  formerly  were  among  students 
professedly  attached  to  divinity ;  and  ■we  may  ob- 
serve, with  confidence,  that  knowledge  limited  to 
divinity,  or  the  principles  which  lead  to  salvation, 
though  drawn  from  the  Bible  itself,  however  indis- 
pensable, absolutely  indispensable,  it;  may  be,  is  not 
sufficient  to  enable  any  one  to  understand,  so  far  as 
correctly  to  translate  the  Bible,  which  furnishes  it ; 
because,  though  the  chief,  and  to  us  every  Avay  the 
most  important,  intention  of  the  Bible  is,  to  make 
men  wise  to  salvation,  yet  there  are  in  it,  and  con- 
necned  with  it,  so  many  collateral  circumstances,  so 
many  incidents,  observations,  and  notices  of  various 
kinds,  that  if  these  be  neglected,  or  ill-performed,  or 
misunderstood,  and  consequently  misrepresented, 
not  only  is  Scripture  injured  by  such  mistakes,  but 


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[  184 


BIBLE 


a  stumbling-block  is  put  in  the  way  of  those  more 
enlightened  I'eaders,  who,  when  they  observe  these 
errors,  may  be  too  apt,  on  their  account,  to  reject 
the  whole  ^vork  in  which  they  are  found.  By  de- 
tecting blemishes,  which  need  little  beyond  bare  in- 
spection to  be  detected,  they  may  conceive  that  con- 
tempt for  the  sacred  WTitings,  whicli,  under  a  more 
favorable  and  correct  version,  never  would  have  en- 
tered their  minds.  We  ought  also  to  remai-k,  that 
our  language  has  undergone  some  changes  in  the 
course  of  two  centuries,  by  which  it  has  varied  from 
being  precisely  the  same  as  when  our  translators 
A^rote.  Many  words  which  Ave  re  then  polite  and 
elegant,  are  now  vulgar,  to  say  the  least ;  and  some, 
perhaps,  wliich  were  perfectly  correct  or  innocent 
at  the  period  when  those  learned  men  employed 
them,  are  now  considered  as  gross,  if  not  indelicate. 
Other  words  also  which  were,  more  or  less,  equivo- 
cal or  ambiguous  in  the  days  of  James,  are  now  set- 
tled to  a  decisive  and  certain  meaning  ;  if  that  mean- 
ing be  what  our  translators  had  in  view,  no  harm  en- 
sues ;  but  if  it  be  contrary  to  their  intention,  the 
fault  lies  not  in  the  original  translators,  but  in  the 
later  application  of  the  language.  And  this  is  more 
noticeable  still,  in  ^Aords  which  have  changed  their 
import,  (as  some  have,)  and  are  now  used  in  senses 
contrary  to  what  our  forefathers  annexed  to  them. 
Nor  can  we  refrain  from  complaining  also  of  the 
negligent  manner  in  which  the  press  has  been  con- 
ducted in  all  our  public  editions;  what  should  be 
printed  in  poetry  is  set  as  prose ;  what  should  be 
marked  as  a  quotation,  or  a  speech,  reads  like  com- 
mon narration ;  and  if  the  nature  of  the  original 
language  allowed  of  sudden  and  rapid  transitions 
without  falsification  or  confusion,  (which  perhaps 
was  not  so  frequent  as  some  have  supposed,)  yet,  in 
a  translation,  these  are  very  often  causes  of  gi"eat 
apparent  perplexity.  And  this  perplexity  is  occa- 
sionally increased  by  improper  divisions  of  chapters 
and  verses,  which  but  too  often  separate  immediate 
coimection.  It  is  nuich  more  easy  to  notice  these 
and  other  obstacles  to  perfection,  in  our  ])ublic  ver- 
sion, than  it  is  to  prevent  them,  or  to  jjrovide  against 
them  in  future  translations.  Whether  the  difficulty 
of  removing  them  entirely  be  sufficient  to  justify  the 
suspension  of  every  attempt  to  correct  them,  we  do 
not  determine.  Undoubtedly,  the  present  version  is 
sufficient  to  all  ])urposes  of  piety  ;  and  our  observa- 
tions rather  refer  to  the  finishing  of  the  already  ex- 
tant superstructure,  than  to  laying  new  foimdations 
for  such  an  edifice ;  or  rather,  perhaps,  to  the  re- 
moval of  some  Gothic  peculiarities,  which  disfigure 
the  appearance  of  the  edifice,  and  which  at  least  are 
unpleasant  to  beholders,  although  they  be  not  danger- 
ous to  the  stability  of  the  building. 

We  ought  not  to  pass  over  without  ap[)lause  the 
labors  of  those  learned  men,  who,  by  translating 
portions  of  Scripture,  have  greatly  facilitated  the  un- 
dertaking of  a  version  entirely  new  and  complete, 
whenever  that  shall  be  thought  proper  to  be  done. 
In  fact,  it  seems  to  be  one  previous  condition  neces- 
sary to  the  success  of  so  extensive  a  design,  that 
every  part  of  the  sacred  voluine  shall  have  been 
critically  examined,  carefully  rendered,  and  its  true 
meaning  given  by  individual  study,  i)efore  a  general 
revision  of  the  whole  should  be  undertaken  and 
adopted;  because,  such  versions  having  been  sub- 
mitted to  the  ojiinion  of  capable  judges  long  before 
the  text  is  definitively  settled,  and  having  been  sub- 
ject to  the  investigation  and  correction  of  numerous 
readei-s  among  the  learned,  their  merits  are  more 


likely  to  be  fairly  appreciated,  and  to  be  established 
or  rejected,  than  by  a  smaller  number  of  judges, 
though  such  may  be  very  competent ;  or  on  the  spur 
of  an  occasion,  when  the  impatience  of  the  religious 
world  may  be  unfavorable  to  sedate  deliberation. 

We  have  thrown  out  these  hints,  byway  of  show- 
ing the  magnitude  of  the  subject ;  far  from  wishing 
to  discourage  even  the  luuiiblest  endeavors  which 
may  have  the  illustration  of  Scripture  for  their  ob- 
ject. On  the  contrary,  we  rejoice  when  any  exer- 
tions are  made  to  accomplish  that  desirable  purpose : 
and  though  all  may  not  be  eminently  successful,  yet, 
as  each  may  contain  something  valuable,  (according 
to  the  nature  and  course  of  those  remarks  which 
arise  from  the  habits  of  life  of  the  author,  and  his 
opportunities  of  personal  information,)  and  may  con- 
sequently prove  advantageous  to  the  whole  mass, 
and  to  the  general  body  of  biblical  learning,  we  are 
tempted  to  accommodate  the  words  of  Moses, 
"  Would  God  that  all  the  Lord's  people  were  proph- 
ets !"  A  very  correct  and  extensive  acquaintance 
with  the  English  language  itself,  is  a  quahty  by  no 
means  to  be  omitted  in  a  translator ;  we  wish  this 
were  strictly  attended  to,  as  then  the  choice  of  words, 
among  many  which  appear  synonymous,  or  which 
seem  equally  to  express  the  imj)ort  of  the  original, 
would  be  not  only  more  copious,  but  more  significant, 
more  harmonious,  and  more  dignified.  It  is  for 
want  of  this  qualification,  perhaps,  rather  than  from 
actual  incompetence  for  translation,  arising  from 
ignorance  of  the  original  languages,  that  many 
laborious  effiarts  appear  more  faulty  than  they 
really  are. 

It  gives  us  pleasure  to  notice  the  progress  made 
in  biblical  learning  since  these  remarks  were  sub- 
mitted to  the  public,  in  the  former  editions  of  this 
work.  Several  learned  men  have  engaged  in  new 
translations  of  the  whole,  or  parts,  of  the  Sacred 
Scriptures.  Much  pains  has  been  taken  to  obtain  a 
correct  copy  of  the  public  version  ;  an  account  of 
which  the  reader  will  not  be  displeased  to  see  in 
this  place ;  and  it  will  conclude  the  present  article. 

Of  the  various  editions  of  king  James's  version, 
that  which  was  published  at  Oxford  in  1769,  under 
the  care  of  Dr.  Blayncy,  has  been  considered  as  the 
standard  edition.  This,  however,  now  yields  the 
palm  of  accuracy  to  the  very  beautit\d  and  correct 
edition  published  by  Messrs.  Eyre  and  Strahan,  his 
majesty's  printers,  but  printed  by  Mr.  Wcodfall,  in 
1806,  and  again  in  1812.  In  collating  the  edition  of 
1806  with  Dr.  Blayney's,  not  fewer  than  one  hun- 
dred and  sixteen  errors  were  discovered,  and  one  of 
these  was  an  omission  of  several  words ;  after  thp 
expression  "no  more"  in  Rev.  xviii.  22.  the  words 
"at  all  in  thee;  and  no  craftsman,  of  whatsoever 
craft  lie  be,  shall  be  found  any  more,"  being  omitted. 
Only  one  erratum,  we  believe,  has  been  discovered 
in  the  edition  of  1806.  The  copy  printed  from  was 
the  current  Cambridge  edition,  with  which  Mr. 
Woodfall's  edition  agi'ces  page  for  page.  It  was 
aftenvards  read  twice  i)y  the  Oxford  impression  then 
in  use  ;  and  the  proofs  were  transmitted  to  the  Rev. 
Lancelot  Sharpc,  bj'  whom  they  were  read  by  Dr. 
Blayney's  4to.  edition  of  1769.  After  the  proofs  re- 
turned by  3Ir.  Sharpe  for  press  had  been  corrected, 
the  forms,  or  sheets  of  type,  were  placed  upon  the 
press  at  which  they  were  to  b(!  printed,  and  another 
proof  was  taken.  This  was  read  by  Mr.  Woodfall's 
superintendent,  and  afterwards  by  Mr.  Woodfall 
himself,  with  Dr.  Blayney's  edition,  and  any  errors 
that  had   previously  escaped,  were  corrected  ;  the 


BIN 


[  185  ] 


BIR 


forms  not  having  been  removed  from  the  press  after 
the  last  proofs  had  been  taken  off.  By  this  pre- 
caution they  avoided  the  danger  of  errors  (a  danger 
of  very  frequent  occurrence,  and  of  no  small  mag- 
nitude) arising  from  the  removal  of  the  forms  from 
the  proof  press  to  the  presses  on  which  the  sheets 
are  finally  worked  off.  Of  this  edition,  which  was 
ready  for  publication  in  1806,  five  hundred  copies 
were  printed  on  imperial  4to.  two  hundred  on  royal 
4to.  and  three  thousand  on  medium  4to.  size.  In  the 
course  of  printing  this  edition  from  the  Cambridge 
copy,  a  niunber  of  very  gross  errors  were  discovered 
in  the  latter ;  and  the  errors  (since  corrected)  in  the 
common  Oxford  edition  above  noticed,  were  not  so 
few  as  1200.  The  London  edition  of  1806  being 
exhausted,  a  new  unpression  was  put  to  press  in 
1810,  and  was  completed,  with  equal  beauty  and 
accuracy,  in  1812 ;  but  this  also  is  now  out  of 
print. 

In  the  year  1804,  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible 
Societ)"  was  formed  for  the  purpose  of  circulating 
the  Holy  Scriptures,  without  note  or  comment,  not 
only  throughout  the  British  dominions,  but  also,  ac- 
cording to  its  ability,  in  other  countries,  whether 
Christian,  Mahometan,  or  pagan.  The  success  which 
has  attended  this  glorious  object  has  by  far  exceeded 
the  most  sanguine  expectations  of  its  founders  and 
supporters.  "  Their  voice  has  gone  out  through  all 
the  earth,  and  their  woYds  to  the  end  of  the  world." 
During  the  twenty-one  years  this  society  has  been 
established,  it  has  expended  upwards  of  one  million 
two  hundred  and  sixty  thousand  pounds  ;  has  print- 
ed, or  assisted  in  printing,  the  Scriptures  in  140 
languages,  in  fifty-five  of  which  they  had  never  be- 
fore been  printed  ;  and  has  issued  upwards  of  four 
milUons  five  hundred  thousand  copies  of  the  Sacred 
Writings  !  Other  similar  associations  have  followed 
nobly  this  glorious  example  ;  and  of  these  none  has 
labored  with  more  effect  than  the  American  Bible 
Society. 

BIGTHAN,  an  officer  belonging  to  Ahasuerus, 
who,  having  conspired  against  the  king,  was  discov- 
ered by  Mordecai,  Esth.  ii.  21. 

BILDAD,  the  Shuhite,  and  one  of  Job's  friends, 
was  descended  from  Shuah,  son  of  Abraham  and 
Keturah,  whose  family  hved  in  Arabia  Deserta. 

BILEAM,  a  city  of  Manasseh,  on  the  east  of  Jor- 
dan ;  given  to  the  Levites  of  Kohath's  family,  1 
Chron.  vi.  70.  Elsewhere  called  Ibleam,  Josh.  xvii. 
11  ;  Judg.  i.  27  ;  2  Kings  ix.  27. 

I.  BILHAH,  Rachel's  handmaid,  given  by  her  to 
her  husband  Jacob,  that  through  her  means  she  might 
have  children.  Billiah  had  Dan  and  Naphtali.  See 
Adoption. 

II.  BILHAH,  a  city  of  Simeon,  see  Baxa. 
BIND,  TO,  AND  LOOSE,  is  a  figurative  expression 

derived  from  carrying  burdens ;  that  is,  confirming 
or  removing  a  burden  of  the  mind.  It  is  also  taken 
for  condemning  or  absolving :  (Matt.  xvi.  19.)  "  I 
will  give  unto  you  the  key  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven, 
and  whatsoever  ye  shall  bind  on  earth,  shall  be 
bound  in  heaven  ;  and  whatsoever  ye  shall  loose  on 
earth,  shall  be  loosed  in  heaven."  Binding  and 
loosing,  in  the  language  of  the  Jews,  expressed  per- 
mitting, or  forbidding,  or  judicially  declaring  any 
thing  to  be  permitted,  or  forbidden.  In  the  promo- 
tion of  their  doctors,  they  put  a  key  into  their  hands, 
with  these  words :  "  Receive  the  power  of  binding 
and  loosing;"  whence  the  allusion,  "Ye  have  taken 
away  the  key  of  knowledge,"  Luke  xi.  52.  "  I  am 
not  come  to  unloose  the  law,  but  to  complete  it,"  says 
24 


our  Saviour,  Matt.  v.  17.  that  is,  as  in  our  translation, 
"  not  to  destroy  the  law,  but  to  fulfil  it,"  The  re- 
ligion of  Jesus  has  perfected  the  law  of  Moses,  dis- 
covered its  true  spirit,  unfolded  its  secret  meanings, 
and  accomplished  all  its  types  and  figures.  If  it 
have  also  abrogated  some  of  its  ceremonial  institu- 
tions, it  is  only  for  the  purpose  of  accommodating 
mankind  at  large,  and  causing  the  essential  princi- 
ples of  it  to  be  better  observed.  "  To  bind  the  law 
upon  one's  hand  for  a  sign  ;"  to  "  wear  it  like  a 
bracelet  on  one's  arm,"  (Deut.  vi.  8.)  was  meant  figu- 
ratively to  imply  an  intimate  acquaintance  witli  its 
precepts ;  but  the  Jews  took  it  literally,  and  bound 
parts  of  the  law  about  their  wrists.  (See  Phylac- 
teries.) In  Isaiah  viii.  16,  "Bind  up  the  testimony, 
seal  the  law,"  is  to  be  understood  thus,  "  Seal  what 
thou  hast  been  writing,  bind  it  about  with  thread  or 
riband,  and  set  thy  seal  upon  it ; — for  closure  and 
confirmation  of  its  contents ;  to  witness  thy  confi- 
dence in  its  veracity,  and  thy  expectation  of  com- 
pletion." It  is  said  that  Daniel  was  the  most  learned 
of  the  Magi,  interpreters  of  dreams,  &c.  "  for  show- 
ing (explaining)  hard  sentences,  and  dissolving  of 
doubts  ;"  (Heb.  in'^rp  Niirci,  untying  of  knots  ;)  also, 
chap.  V.  16.  where  "  loosing"  things  which  were 
bound  is  used  to  express  the  explanation  of  things 
concealed.     See  Daniel. 

BIRD,  or  Fowl.  It  has  been  very  uselessly  dis- 
puted, whether  birds  came  originally  out  of  the  earth, 
or  out  of  the  water ;  and  whether,  as  to  the  use  of 
them  on  fast-days,  they  may  be  placed  among  fishes  ; 
or  whether  they  are  really  fiesh-meat  as  much 
as  quadriqieds.  Moses,  speaking  of  the  creation  of 
birds,  says,  (Gen.  i.  20.)  "Let  the  waters  produce 
living  fishes,  and  fowls  upon  the  earth,  under  the 
firmament  of  heaven  ;"  but  the  Hebrew  runs  thus  ; 
"  Let  the  waters  produce  creeping  things  that  have 
fife,  and  let  the  birds  fly  over  the  earth  ;"  and  chap, 
ii.  19.  intimates  that  birds  are  from  the  earth :  "  Out 
of  the  ground  the  Lord  God  formed  every  beast  of 
the  field,  and  every  fowl  of  the  air." 

Birds  are  classed  into  clean  or  unclean,  see  Lev. 
xi.  1.3—24.  and  Deut.  xiv.  11,  &c. 

From  the  legislator  who  had  issued  the  strictest 
injunctions  on  the  subject  of  clean  and  unclean 
beasts,  we  might  naturally  expect  directions  equally 
strict  respecting  birds,  a  class  no  less  distinguished 
among  themselves,  by  their  qualities,  and  their  modes 
of  life.  But  here  his  characteristics  of  animals  de- 
rived from  the  feet  (see  Animals)  failed;  nor  was  it 
easy  to  fix  on  marks  which  should,  in  every  instance, 
guide  the  learned  and  the  unlearned,  the  country  rus- 
tic and  the  respectable  citizen.  Hence  we  meet  in 
the  Mosaic  institutes  with  no  reference  to  conforma- 
tion, as  the  means  of  distinguishing  birds  into  clean 
or  unclean,  lawful  or  imlawful ;  but  a  hst  of  excep- 
tions forms  the  sacred  directory,  and  ceilain  kinds 
are  forbidden,  without  a  word  concerning  those 
which  are  allowed. 

It  will  be  observed,  that  the  number  of  species  of 
birds  is  greater  than  that  of  beasts ;  that  the  latter 
are  more  fixed  to  places,  more  resident,  more  home- 
stead ;  whereas  birds,  possessing  greater  powers  of 
extensive  migration,  and  many  of  them  being,  in 
fact,  temporary  visitants,  in  their  passage  to  various 
distances,  according  to  the  seasons,  they  might  give 
rise  to  many  difficulties  on  tlieir  lawfulness  as  food. 
Sec.  which  without  fixed  regulations  would  become 
not  a  little  perplexing.  Birds,  also,  are  less  confined 
in  their  mode  of  life  than  beasts  are ;  some  are  at- 
tached to  the  land,  and  even  to  the  desert ;  others 


BIRD 


[  186 


BIRD 


take  to  the  water  naturally,  and  speud  their  lives, 
mostly,  on  that  element ;  while  not  a  few  are  free  to 
the  eujoj^meut  of  both  laud  and  water,  and  derive 
their  sustenance  from  either,  as  accident  or  inclina- 
tion leads  them.  The  sacred  legislator  was  not  un- 
acquainted with  these  diversities,  and  he  has,  virtu- 
ally, rendered  them  subsenient  to  his  leading  inten- 
tions. In  effect,  it  may  be  taken  as  certain,  that 
birds  which  live  on  grain  are  not  prohibited;  and 
these,  as  is  well  known,  comprise  the  species  which 
have  been  domesticated  by  mankind ;  the  wilder 
game  are  lawful,  or  not,  according  to  the  nature  of 
their  food.  Birds  of  prey,  whetlier  they  subsist  on 
lesser  fowls,  or  on  animals,  or  on  reptiles,  or  on  any 
other  creature  having  life,  or  havuig  had  life,  are  de- 
cidedly rejected ;  this  includes  all  with  crooked 
beaks  and  strong  talons  ;  it  takes  in  also  those  which 
are  now  known  under  the  appellation  of  loaders ; 
birds  of  the  marshes,  or  the  shores,  and  many  of 
the  open  sea,  as  well  as  of  lakes  and  rivers.  The 
same  principle,  of  admitting  no  second  digestion  of 
flesh,  which  had  its  influence  in  distinguishing  ani- 
mals, has  its  influence  also  here  ;  though  we  caimot 
trace  it  in  all  cases,  and,  indeed,  in  some  cases,  the 
exception  seems  to  have  been  occasioned  by  less  ob- 
vious causes. 

The  reader  Avill  not  be  surprised,  if,  under  these 
circumstances,  considerable  difficulty  should  be 
found  in  identifying  the  birds  enumerated  in  the 
Mosaic  hst  of  exceptions ;  they  have  occasioned  no 
small  diversity  of  opinion  among  the  learned  ;  and 
no  one  who  is  competently  acquainted  with  the  sub- 
ject, will  pi-onounce,  without  hesitation,  on  the  spe- 
cies under  consideration,  though  his  opinion  may  in- 
cline to  this  or  the  other,  and  he  may  reckon  gene- 
ral probabilities  in  his  favor.  Feeling  the  weight  of 
these  difficuhies,  we  submit  the  following  remarks 
in  elucidation  of  the  prohibitory  hst  inserted  in  Le- 
viticus xi.  13,  et  seq. 

The  Eagle. — This  bird  is  well  known,  as  taking 
a  kind  of  pre-eminence  among  birds  of  prey. 
There  is  no  difliculty  in  determining  the  genus  in- 
tended. 

The  OssiFRAGE. — Interpreters  are  not  agreed  on 
this  bird  ;  some  read  vulture,  others  the  black  eagle, 
others  the  falcon ;  the  name  Peres,  by  which  it  is 
called  in  the  Hebrew,  denotes  to  crush,  to  break;  and 
with  this  agrees  our  version,  which  implies  "tiie 
bone-l)reaker."  This  name  is  given  to  a  kind  of 
eagle,  from  its  habit  of  breaking  the  bones  of  its 
prey,  after  it  has  eaten  the  flesh ;  some  say  also,  that 
he  swallows  the  bones  thus  broken.  Onkelos  uses 
a  Avord  which  signifies  naked,  and  leads  to  the  vxd- 
ture  ;  indeed,  if  we  take  the  classes  of  birds  in  natu- 
ral order,  in  the  passage  before  us,  the  vulture  should 
follow  the  eagle  as  unclean.  The  Septuagint  and 
Vulgate  also  render  vulture;  and  so  do  Munstcr, 
Schindler,  and  the  Zurich  versions. 

The  OspREY  is  most  probably  the  Halietus,  or  sea- 
eagle ;  or  perhaps  the  black  eagle,  which,  though 
among  the  smallest  of  its  tribe,  is  among  the  strongest. 
So  Homer  speaks,  (II.  xxi.  verso  252.)  "Ilavhig  the 
rapidity  of  a  black  eagle,  {ui'.ur<„.)  tliat  bird  of 
I)rey  which  is  at  the  same  time  the  strotigest  and  the 
.swiftest  of  birds."  If  this  hint  bn  admissible,  then 
the  vulture,  distinguished  by  ils  bald  head  and  neck, 
is  excluded,  on  one  side  ;  wliiie  the  class  of  e:i"-les 
wliich  have  a  superfluity  of  featliers  on  the  throat 
and  head,  are  exchided  on  the  other  side.  Of  iliese 
Bruce  offers  two,  tlie  ^/'isser  JVcrk,  which  has  a  kiud 
of  beard  of  feathers  under  his  chin  ;  and  the  jVisser 


Tokoor,  which  has  a'  long  crest,  or  tuft,  on  the  back 
of  his  head. 

The  Vulture. — This  word  is  written  with  ^, 
Daali,  (hnt)  in  Lev.  but  in  Deut.  xiv.  with  •\,  Raah, 
(hn-i)  :  if  the  first  of  these  be  correct,  it  leads  us,  not 
to  the  vidture,  but  to  the  hawk ;  as  the  import  of  it  is 
the  sivift  or  rapid ;  and  this  is  countenanced  by  the 
Samorltan  version,  wliich  reads  Daithah.  This 
tends  much  to  support  the  opinion,  that  the  second 
eagle  of  the  list  is  the  vulture ;  since  the  vulture 
could  hardly  be  omitted ;  and  its  station  among  its 
associates  should  seem  to  be  earlier  than  this.  As 
modern  naturalists,  this  is  the  proper  place  where 
we  should  expect  to  find  the  hawk ;  and  the  order 
is  so  natural,  that  little  seems  to  be  risked  in  assuming 
it  for  the  days  of  Moses ;  for,  though  we  are  well 
aware  that  the  natiu-al  history  of  that  ancient  writer 
nuist  ziot  be  judged  by  the  principles  of  the  Linnsean 
system ;  yet  where  nature  has  appointed  an  ordei-,  as 
we  may  safely  say,  in  this  instance,  what  should  for- 
bid the  earliest  naturalists  from  observing  it  ?  In 
favor  of  the  hawk  are  Jerome,  the  Arabic  vei-sions, 
Munster,  Castaho,  Junius,  Diodati,  Buxtorf,  Schind- 
ler, and  others. 

The  Kite  follows  the  hawk  with  propriety.  As 
there  are  several  kinds  of  these  birds,  no  doubt  but 
all  their  classes  were  intentionally  included  under 
one  name  that  was  best  known.  Whoever  should 
have  eaten  one  species  of  eagle,  or  of  hawk,  because 
another  species  was  named  in  the  text,  would  have 
found  the  consequence  of  his  transgression  in  the 
punishment  of  his  prevarication. 

Every  Raven  after  his  kind. — This  genus  no  doubt 
includes  the  crow,  the  pie,  &c.  and  therefore,  com- 
ing after  the  hawk  and  kite,  closes  this  list  of  birds 
of  jirey  with  great  propriety. 

It  will  be  observed  that  the  foregouig  are  birds  of 
wing,  high-flyers,  such  as  roam  to  great  distances, 
and  prey  wherever  they  can.  Sir.  Bruce  describes 
multitudes  of  birds  as  following  the  armies  in  Abys- 
sinia ;  and  it  is  likely  that  among  them  would  be 
found  most  or  all  of  those  here  enumerated.  Per- 
haps some  are  not  only  birds  of  prey,  biU  feed  on 
human  carcasses ;  which  wovdd  be  a  further  cause  of 
their  pollution  and  prohibition. 

We  are  now  directed  to  a  very  different  class  of 
birds,  Avliich  commences  with — the  Owl, — say  our 
translators ;  but  this  is  clearly  a  mistake ;  the  Avord 
describes  "  the  daughter  of  greediness,^''  i.  e.  the  Os- 
trich. Is  it  not  astonishing  tliat  this  bird,  whatever 
it  be,  sliould  have  been  described  as,  (1.)  the  ostrich, 
by  the  liXX ;  (2.)  the  Sirenes,  apj)arently  creatures 
of  fancy  ;  (3.)  the  owl ;  and  (4.)  the  nightingale  ? — 
What  have  these  birds  in  common,  that  can  justify 
such  variations?  The  three  Chaldce  versions,  On- 
kelos, Jonathan,  and  the  Jerusalem  paraphrase,  read 
JVaamah,  which  is  the  Arabic  name  for  the  ostrich  ; 
jMaimonides  and  the  Talnuid  agree  with  them. 

The  Night  Hawk. — Tliat  a  voracious  bird  is  in- 
tended seems  clear  from  the  import  of  its  name, 
which  signifies  violence.  Bochart  supposes  it  to  be 
the  male  ostrich,  and  then  the  ])receding  word  must 
be  restricted  to  the  female  ostrich.  The  LXX  and 
Vulgate  not  im|)roperIy  make  it  the  Night  Owl, 
{Slrix  Orientalis,)  which  Hassciquist  thus  describes: 
"  It  is  of  the  size  of  the  common  owl,  and  lodges  in 
the  large  buildings  or  ruins  of  I'^-gypt  and  Syria, 
and  sometimes  even  in  the  dwelling-houses.  The 
Arabs  settled  in  Egypt  call  it  .Massasu,  and  the  Syr- 
ians, Banv.  It  is  extremely  voracious  in  Syria  ;  to 
such  a  degree,  that  if  great  care  is  not  taken  to  shut 


BIRD 


187 


BIRD 


the  windows  at  the  coming  on  of  night,  he  enters 
the  houses  and  kills  the  children  ;  the  women,  there- 
fore, are  very  mucii  afraid  of  him." 

Tlie  Cuckoo. — The  strength  of  the  versions  is  in 
favor  of  the  sea-metc ;  the  original  name  may  de- 
note a  shnJa;  lean  liird  ;  but  the  sea-meiv,  as  a  water- 
bird,  seems  to  be  very  ill  placed  in  this  part  of  the 
list.  "  The  Rhaad,  or  Sqf-Saf,  is  a  granivorous  and 
greetmous  bird,  which  wanteth  the  hinder  toe.  There 
are  two  species  of  it ;  the  smaller  whereof  is  of  the 
size  of  an  ordinary  pullet,  but  the  larger  is  near  as 
big  as  the  Hoobaara,  differing  also  from  the  lesser  in 
having  a  l)lack  head,  with  a  tuft  of  dark  blue  feathers 
unniediately  l)elow  it.  The  belly  of  them  both  is 
white,  the  back  ami  the  wings  of  a  buff  color,  spot- 
ted with  iirown  ;  wliilst  the  tail  is  lighter,  marked  all 
along  Avith  bltick  transverse  streaks.  The  beak  and 
the  legs  are  stronger  than  in  the  partridge  kind. 
Rhaad,  which  denotes  thunder,  in  the  language  of  this 
country,  is  supposed  to  be  a  name  that  hath  been 
given  to  this  bird  from  the  noise  it  maketh  in  spring- 
ing from  the  ground ;  as  Saf-Saf,  the  other  name, 
verj''  naturally  expresses  the  beating  of  the  air,  when 
it  got  upon  the  wing ;" — "And  is  not  unlike  in  name 
to  the  Sahaph,  or  Sah-haf,  which,  in  liev.  xi.  16,  we 
translate  Clckow."  (Shaw's  Travels,  p.  252.  fol. 
edit.  Note.)  Dr.  Geddes  renders,  "the  Horn-Owl ;" 
but  is  this  distinct  enough  from  the  foregoing  ? 

The  Hawk,  after  his  kind. — This  Vjird  seems  to  be 
strangely  placed  here ;  we  had  kites  of  all  sorts  in 
the  former  lists ;  (verse  14.)  now,  after  the  ostrich, 
and  the  owl,  birds  of  no  flight  comparatively,  we 
have  the  haivks,  a  genus  much  more  likely  to  have 
been  included  before,  following  the  eagles  and  vul- 
tures. The  ibis,  a  bird  so  common  in  Egj-^it,  coidd 
hardly  be  omitted  in  the  list ;  or,  can  it  be  the  plov- 
er ?  Hasselquist  mentions  the  plover  of  Egypt, 
and  the  three-toed  plover.  We  should  seem  to  want 
a  A\ild  bird.  If  Mr.  Bruce's  Abou  Hcmnes  (vol.  v.  p. 
172.)  be,  as  he  supposes,  the  ancient  Ibis  of  Egypt, 
perhaps  it  still  retains  the  Hebrew  name  JVetz,  for 
Abou  is  merely  the  Arabic  word  for  father,  and  Han- 
7ies  resembles  the  Hebrew  appellation  here  used,  q. 
han-J\''etz.  He  begins  his  account  of  the  Abou 
Hannes  by  saying,  "The  ancient  and  true  name  of 
this  bird  seems  to  be  lost ;  the  present  is  fancifidly 
given  to  it,"  &:c.  Perhaps  it  is  rather  disguised 
than  lost ;  but  this  is  conjecture,  and  nothing  more. 
This  bird  is  not  now  foimd  in  Egypt,  though  an- 
ciently it  was  worshipped  there,  and  was  very  nume- 
rous ;  it  is  therefore  not  the  ibis  of  Hasselquist.  The 
Arabic  title,  father,  is  probably  a  vestige  of  the  ancient 
idolatry,  of  wliich  this  bird  was  the  object.  [But  all 
the  ancient  versions  favor  the  hawk.     R. 

The  Little  Owl. — Such  is  the  translation  of  the 
LXX,  Aquila,  Theodotion,  and  Jerome ;  but  why 
should  the  owl  be  introduced  here  ?  he  was  named 
in  the  former  verse.  Our  translators  seem  to  have 
thought  the  owl  a  convenient  bird,  as  we  have  three 
owls  in  two  verses.  Dr.  Geddes  thinks  this  bird  is 
the  cormorant,  and  that  the  following  is  the  sea-s^ull ; 
but  we  incline  to  transpose  them.  It  begins  tht;  list 
of  water-birds,  whatever  bird  it  be.  Bochart  sup- 
poses it  to  be  the  pelican. 

The  Cormorant. — Dr.  Geddes  renders,  the  "sea- 
gull ;"  and  observes,  "  That  this  is  a  pluns;ins:  bird,  I 
have  little  doubt.  Some  modern  critics  think  it  is 
the  Pelican  Bassanus  of  Linnaeus.  The  Chaldee 
and  Syriac  versions,  fsh-catcher,  favor  this  rendering ; 
nor  less  the  Greek  Cataractes,  which,  according  to 
Aristotle,  draws  for  its  food  fishes  from  the  bottom 


of  the  sea."  This  seems  to  be  a  clear  description  of 
the  cormorant,  which  certainly  is  one  of  the  best  of 
plungers ;  and  lives  wholly  on  fish ;  moreover,  this 
bird  in  some  parts  of  Asia  is  used  as  fish-catcher  for 
its  master,  who,  by  putting  a  collar  round  its  neck, 
prevents  it  from  swallowing  the  fish  it  has  caught, 
which  the  bird,  therefore,  brings  to  the  boat,  and  is 
afterwards  fed  with  a  part  of  its  prey.  To  this  also 
agrees  the  description  of  Aristotle.  Suidas  says, 
"the  Cataractes  is  a  kind  of  sea  bird;"  Aristotle 
says,  "  smaller  than  a  hawk."  Appian  (in  Ixeuticis) 
describes  the  Cataractes  exactly  according  to  the 
manner  of  the  Gannet,  or  Soland  goose,  on  the  coast 
of  Scotland.  At  any  rate  the  Hebrew  legislator  in- 
tended a  water-bird ;  and  therefore  the  impropriety 
of  rendering  the  preceding  and  following  bird  "owl" 
is  evident. 

The  Great  Owl. — This  is  strangely  placed,  after 
the  little  owl,  and  among  water-birds.  The  LXX 
render  Ibis ;  and  the  place  seems  to  be  very  proper 
for  the  Ibis ;  which  yet  is  not  likely  to  be  the  ancient 
Ibis  of  Egypt,  but  that  which  in  later  ages  received 
the  name.  The  followng  is  Hasselquist's  account 
of  this  bird  : — "The  Ardea  Ibis  is  about  the  .'^ize  of  a 
raven-hen.  It  is  found  in  Lower  Egypt,  especially 
in  places  not  ovei-flowed  by  the  Nile;  and  also  in 
those  from  which  the  water  is  withdra^\'n.  He  feeds 
on  insects  and  small  frogs,  which  abound  in  Egypt, 
both  before  and  after  the  inundation  of  the  Nile ;  in 
which  he  is  of  great  service  to  the  country.  They 
assemble  morning  and  evening,  especially  in  the 
gardens^,  iu  such  gi-eat  numbers,  that  the  palm-trees 
are  covered  with  them.  When  he  reposes  himself, 
he  sits  upright,  so  as  to  cover  his  feet  Avith  his  tail, 
and  to  straighten  his  neck  and  breast."  As  a  bird  of 
this  character  and  description  suits  the  situation  as- 
signed him  here,  it  is  much  preferable,  at  any  rate, 
to  "the  great  owl."  [But  the  Chaldee  and  Syriac 
versions  make  it  the  common  "owl,"  in  Avhich  they 
are  followed  by  Bochart.  In  Isaiah  xxxiv.  11,  also, 
this  bird  is  mentioned  with  the  raven,  as  inhabiting 
a  desert.     R. 

The  Swan. — This  bird,  in  Hebrew  Tinshemeth,  is 
extremely  doiditful ;  the  LXX  render  Porphynon,  or 
purple  hen,  which  is  a  water-bird,  not  imlike  in  form 
to  those  which  have  preceded  it.  His  name  is  de- 
rived from  his  general  color.  Dr.  Geddes  observes, 
that  "  the  root  signifies  to  breathe  out,  to  respire.  If 
etymology  were  our  guide,  it  would  point  to  a  well 
known  quality  in  the  swan,  that  of  being  able  to 
respire  a  long  time  with  his  bill  and  neck  under 
water,  and  even  plunged  in  the  mud."  The  conjec- 
ture of  Michaelis  may  not  l)e  improbable,  "  that  it  is 
the  goose,  which  every  one  knows  is  remarkable  for 
its  manner  of  breatlmig  out,  or  hissing,  when  pro- 
voked ;  or  even  when  uiuler  a  small  degree  of  ap- 
prehension, Anthout  being  provoked.  Michaelis 
says,  (p.  221.)  "What  makes  me  conjecture  this  is, 
that  the  same  Chaldee  interpreters,  who,  in  Leviti- 
cus, render  Obija,  do  not  employ  this  word  in  Deut- 
eronomy, but  substitute 'the  ivhite  A'aA:,' which,  ac- 
cording to  Buxtorf,  denotes  the  goose."  Perhaps 
Egypt  has  birds  of  the  wild-goose  kind  ;  one  of 
which  is  here  alluded  to.  Norden  (vol.  ii.  p.  36.) 
mentions  "a  goose  of  the  Nile,  whose  plumage  was 
extremely  beautiful.  It  was  of  an  exquisite  aro- 
matic taste,  smelled  of  ginger,  and  had  a  great  deal 
of  flavor."  Can  a  bird  of  this  kind  be  the  Hebrew 
Tinshemeth  ? 

The  Pelican;  in  Hebrew  Kaat,  iu  the  eastern 
versions,  Kik^  Kok,  or  Kak.     As  the  preceding  bird 


BIRD 


[  188 


BIRD 


was  called  the  white  Kak,  it  seems  to  suppose  a  simi- 
larity between  that  and  this,  through  it  infers  a  differ- 
ence of  color.  The  Talmud  describes  it  as  a  water- 
bird,  with  a  long  neck  ;  and  it  also  inhabits  deserts, 
Isa.  xxxiv.  11 ;  Zeph.  ii.  14;  Ps.  cii.  6.  The  LXX 
read  Palecas,  and  the  Vulgate,  Orwcrotalus ;  on  the 
whole  this  bird  is  pretty  well  determined. 

The  Gier-Eagle. — No  eagle  is  a  water-bird,  and 
for  this  reason,  were  there  no  other,  in  this  list  of 
water-birds,  we  ought  not  to  expect  an  eagle.  Most 
interpreters,  however,  are  willing  to  render  the  He- 
brew Racham  by  that  kind  of  Egyptian  vulture 
which  is  now  caUed  Rachami,  and  is  abundant  in 
the  streets  of  Cairo,  Viiltur  percnopterus.  The 
description  which  Hasselquist  gives  of  this  bird  is 
horrible ;  but,  especially,  it  does  not  agree  with  a 
ivater-bird,  which  is  here  wanted :  "  It  is  hardly  ever 
seen  in  the  fields,  or  around  the  lakes  ;  it  is  an  im- 
pure bird,  and  a  carrion-eater."  Dr.  Geddes  says, 
"  It  is  not  easy  to  conceive  how  this  bird  came  by 
its  name,  Racham."  By  tracing  it,  however,  we  may 
perhaps  advance  some  way  toAvard  ascertaining  the 
bird.  Jonathan  and  the  Syrian  interpreter  translate, 
Serakreka ;  Onkelos,  Jerakreka ;  the  Tahnud,  Sera- 
krak.  Dr.  Shaw  mentions  "  the  Shaga-rag,  of  the 
bigness  and  shape  of  a  jay,  though  with  a  smaller 
bill,  and  shorter  legs.  The  back  is  brownish  ;  the 
head,  neck,  and  belly  of  light  green  ;  and  upon  the 
wings  and  tail  there  are  several  spots  or  rings  of  a 
deep  blue.  It  makes  a  squalling  noise  ;  and  builds 
in  the  banks  of  the  SliellifF,  Booberak,  and  other 
rivers."  This  description  approaches  that  of  the 
king-Jisher,  or  Alcyone ;  the  name  is  sufficiently  co- 
incident with  those  of  the  versions ;  and  if  the  Al- 
cyone may  represent  the  Racham,  we  see  at  once  that 
it  is  a  water-bird  ;  and  the  stories  of  this  bird's  ten- 
der affection  unite  in  the  character  of  the  Racham. 
"  The  king-lisher  frequents  the  banks  of  rivers,  and 
feeds  on  fish.  To  compare  small  things  with  great, 
it  takes  its  prey  after  the  manner  of  the  osprey, 
l)alancing  itself  at  a  certain  distance  over  the  water  for 
a  considerable  space,  then,  darting  below  the  surface, 
brings  the  prey  up  in  its  feet.  It  inakes  its  nest  in 
holes  in  the  sides  of  the  cliffs.  The  nest  is  very 
foetid,  by  reason  of  the  remains  of  fish  brought  to 
feed  the  young."  (Pennant's  British  Zoology,  vol. 
ii.  p.  247.)  See  Ovid,  (Metam.  lib.  xi.)  for  the  ten- 
derness of  the  Alcyone.  Also  Thcoc.  Idyll,  vii.  57. 
Virg.  Georg.  iii.  338.  Silius  Ital.  lib.  xiv.  275.  There 
are  many  kinds  of  Alcyoncs  ;  that  some  are  knoAvu 
in  Egypt  we  are  informed  by  Hasselquist,  who  gives 
this  account  of  them :  ^^Alcedo  Rudis  frequents  the 
banks  of  the  Nile,  and  takes  the  fish  by  thrusting  his 
long  bill  into  the  water  like  the  gull.  Alcedo  .^gyp- 
tica  is  found  in  Lower  Egypt,  makes  his  nest  on  the 
date-trees,  and  the  sycamores,  which  grow  around 
Cairo.  Feeds  on  frogs,  insects,  and  fish  which  it 
finds  in  the  fields.  Its  voice  resembles  that  of  the 
raven."  Without  determining  on  the  probability  of 
this  conjecture,  wc  may  be  sure  that  the  Rachami  of 
Cairo  is  not  the  Racham  of  Moses ;  as  a  bird  so  well 
known,  and  hardly  capable  of  being  lost,  would  cer- 
tainly have  i)een  acquiesced  in  liy  commentators, 
were  it  the  bird  designed,  notwithstanding  the  re- 
marks of  Bruce,  vol.  v.  I(i3,  &c. 

The  Stork. — It  is  pretty  well  agreed  that  the  He- 
brew Chasidah  is  either  the  stork  or  the  heron ;  the 
stork  is  by  nuich  the  more  probable  ;  and  indeed,  as 
the  heron  is  not  a  bird  of  passage,  which  the  stork  is 
well  known  to  be,  we  may  acquiesce  in  this  bird  as 
the  Chasidah. 


The  Heron. — This  bird  should  rather  be  included 
among  the  storks,  as  it  resembles  them  closely.  As 
commentators  cu-e  quite  at  a  loss  on  this  subject,  in- 
somuch that  Dr.  Geddes  retains  the  original  word, 
"  Anaphas  of  every  kind,"  we  shall  be  excused  if 
we  extract  from  Dr.  Shaw  the  description  of  a  bird 
which  answers  to  what  the  passage  and  order  re- 
quire. It  is  probable  some  bird  very  near  akin  to 
this  was  the  reference  of  the  sacred  writer.  "  The 
Boo-onk,  or  long-neck,  is  of  the  bittern  kind,  some- 
what less  than  the  lapwing.  The  neck,  the  breast, 
and  the  belly  are  of  a  light  yellow  ;  but  the  back 
and  upper  part  (pf  the  wings  are  of  a  jet  black.  The 
tail  is  short ;  the  feathers  of  the  neck  are  long,  and 
streaked  with  white,  or  a  light  yellow.  The  bill, 
which  is  three  inches  long,  is  green,  in  fashion  like 
the  stork's ;  and  the  legs,  which  are  short  and  slen- 
der, are  of  the  same  color.  In  walking  and  search- 
ing for  food,  it  throweth  out  its  neck  seven  or  eight 
inches  ;  whence  the  Arabs  call  it  Boo-onk,  the  long- 
neck,  or,  the  father  of  the  neck."  This  is  reckoned 
by  the  doctor  among  water-birds ;  it  seems  to  be  a 
smaller  bird,  but  allied  in  form  and  manners  to  the 
kinds  under  prohibition. 

The  Lapwing,  Hoopoe,  or  Ui'UPa,  is  generally 
considered  as  the  bird  designed  by  the  original  word 
Dukiphath,  so  called  from  its  crest.  It  seems,  that 
the  Egyptians  call  the  hoopoe,  Kukupha,  and  the 
Syrians,  Kikupha ;  both  are  near  enough  to  the  He- 
brew Dukiphath ;  which,  thei'efore,  we  conclude,  is 
the  hoopoe. 

The  Bat. — This  rendering  has  the  authority  of 
most  versions  and  commentators. 

The  number  of  birds  prohibited  by  Moses  is 
twenty,  which  he  ranges  most  systematically. 
Those  which  we  have  tolerable  authority  to  believe 
are  correctly  rendered,  are  distinguished  by  small 
capitals. 


Birds  of  the  Air. 


Eng.  Trans. 

Eagle 

Ossifrage, 

Osprey 

Vulture 

Kite 

Raven 


Owl 

Night  Hawk 

Cuckoo 

Hawk 


Little  Owl 

Cormorant 

Great  Owl 

Swan 

PeUcan 

Gier-Eagle 

Stork 

Heron 

Lapwing 


Birds  of  the  Land. 


Birds  of  the  Water. 


Probable  Species. 
Eagle. 
Vulture. 
Black  Eagle. 
Hawk. 
Kite. 
Raven. 


Ostrich. 
Night    Owl. 
Saf-Saf. 
Ancient  Ibis. 


Sea-Gull. 
Cormorant. 
Ibis  Ardea. 
Wild  Goose. 
Pelican. 
Alcyone. 
Stork. 
Long  Neck. 
Hoopoe. 


Bat Bat. 

For  further  description  see  the  respective  articles. 


BIRD 


[  189  ] 


BIR 


Moses,  to  inculcate  humanity  ou  the  IsraeUtes,  or- 
ders, if  they  find  a  bird's  nest,  not  to  take  the  dam 
with  the  young,  but  to  suffer  the  old  one  to  fly  away, 
and  to  take  the  young  only. 

Birds  were  offered  in  sacrifice  on  many  occasions : 
in  the  sacrifices  for  sin,  he  who  had  not  a  lamb,  or  a 
kid,  (Lev.  v.  7,  8.)  "might  offer  two  turtles,  or  two 
young  pigeons,  one  for  a  sin-offeruig,  the  other  for 
a  burnt-offering."  Moses  relates  at  length  the  man- 
ner of  the  sacrifice  of  fowls  in  Lev.  i.  14,  15,  16. 
Some  interpreters  insist,  that  the  head  of  the  bird 
was  pulled  off;  others,  that  there  was  only  an  open- 
ing made  with  the  larger  finger-nails,  between  the 
head  and  the  tlu'oat,  without  separating  entirely  the 
head  from  the  body.  The  text  does  not  intimate 
what  was  done  with  the  head,  if  it  were  separated. 
It  is  observed,  that  when  Abraham  offered  birds 
(Gen.  XV.  10.)  for  a  burnt-offering,  he  did  not  divide 
them,  but  placed  them  entire  ou  the  other  victims. 
In  other  places,  whei'e  Moses  speaks  of  the  sacrifice 
of  birds,  he  does  not  command  the  head  to  be  pluck- 
ed off.  (See  Lev.  v.  7,  8.)  When  a  man  who  had 
been  smitten  with  a  leprosy  was  healed,  he  came  to 
the  entrance  of  the  camp  of  Israel,  and  the  priest 
went  out  to  inspect  him,  whether  he  were  entirely 
cured.  Lev.  xiv.  5,  6.  After  this  inspection,  the  lep- 
rous person  came  to  the  door  of  the  tabernacle,  and 
offered  two  living  sparrows,  or  two  pure  birds,  those 
of  which  it  was  lawful  to  eat.  He  made  a  wisp  with 
branches  of  cedar  and  hyssop,  tied  together  with  a 
thread,  or  scarlet  riband  ;  and  after  he  had  filled  an 
earthen  pot  with  running  water,  that  the  blood  of 
the  bird  might  be  mingled  with  it,  the  priest,  dipping 
the  bunch  of  hyssop  and  cedar  into  the  water, 
sprinkled  with  it  the  leper  who  was  healed  ;  after 
which,  he  set  the  living  bird  at  liberty. 

In  Palestine,  dead  bodies  were  sometimes  left  ex- 
posed to  birds  of  prey,  as  appears  from  Scripture  ; 
but,  generally,  they  were  buried  in  the  evening. — 
The  ancients  hunted  birds ;  Baruch  (iii.  17.)  speak- 
ing of  the  kings  of  Babylon,  says,  "  They  had  their 
pastime  with  the  fowls  of  the  air."  Daniel  tells 
Nebuchadnezzar,  that  "  God  had  made  the  fowls  of 
the  air  subject  to  him  ;"  (Dan.  ii.  38.)  very  much  as 
the  art  of  hawking  was  formerly  in  great  repute  in 
Britain,  as  it  continues  to  be  in  some  parts  abroad. 

The  prophets  speak  often  of  birds  of  passage,  of 
the  swallow,  and  of  the  stork,  that  return  to  their 
habitation.  In  allusion  to  this  circumstance,  God 
says  that  he  will  recall  his  captive  people  lik»  a  bird 
from  a  far  country.  The  Lord,  speaking  of  his  peo- 
ple, says,  "  Mine  heritage  is  unto  me  as  a  speckled 
bird ;  the  birds  round  about  are  against  her :  come 
ye,  assemble  all  the  beasts  of  the  field,  come  to  de- 
vour," Jer.  xii.  9.  A  speckled,  or  striped  bird,  that 
is,  unnaturally  speckled,  or  striped,  as  if  by  having 
been  dyed  ;  it  being  very  conformable  to  the  nature 
of  birds,  that  such  an  appearance  should  draw  to- 
gether the  neighboring  birds,  (as  an  owl  does,  by 
day-light,)  and  that  they  should  molest  and  injure 
the  sufferer,  often  fatally. — Joseph  Kimchi,  who  is 
followed  by  Calmet,  takes  the  idea  in  a  somewhat 
different  sense,  saying,  a  Chaldec  word  nearly  re- 
lated, signifies  to  dip,  or  stain : — may  the  idea  import 
here,  a  bird  stained,  or  sprinkled  with  her  own  blood  ? 
The  LXX  and  Bochart  translate  the  Hebrew — "  Is 
not  mine  heritage  become  like  a  hyena  against  me  ? 
Is  not  all  mine  heritage  surrounded  by  Avild  beasts  ?" 
and  the  latter  justly  observes,  that  the  original  will  bear 
the  sense  of  a  ravenous  wild  beast ;  while  the  Arabs 
call  the  hyena  by  a  name  entirely  similar,  and  so  may 


apply' either  to  bird  or  to  wild  beast.  In  confirmation 
of  this  rendering,  it  is  remarked,  that  this  agrees  well 
with  the  foregoing  verse,  wherein  the  heritage  is  com- 
pared to  a  yelling  lion.  But  may  it  not  be  said,  that 
the  prophet,  having  taken  one  metaphor  from  wild 
beasts,  now  selects  another  from  among  birds  ?  An 
owl  by  day-hght  is  followed  and  provoked  by  num- 
bers, even  of  the  smaller  birds.  May  then  this  ex- 
pression signify  a  bird  streaked,  wounded,  and 
sprinkled  with  its  own  blood,  surrounded  by  ene- 
mies, who,  themselves  not  being  able  completely  to 
devour  it,  call  on  the  beasts  of  the  field  to  complete 
their  purpose  ?  [The  most  suitable  version  of  this 
passage  seems  to  be  the  following  :  "  Lo,  a  ravenous 
beast,  a  hyena,  is  my  heritage  !  lo,  ravenous  beasts 
are  against  it  on  every  side !"  i.  e.  the  Jews  are 
wild  beasts,  rather  than,  men,  but  I  will  bring  against 
them  other  wild  beasts,  viz.  the  Chaldeans,  &c.  This 
comports  well  with  verse  8,  and  also  with  what 
inunediately  follows.  See  Rosenmiiller  Com.  in 
Jerem.  xii.  9.     R. 

The  Hebrew  word  zippor,  translated  generally 
sparrow,  is  likewise  taken  for  any  small  bird.  Tlie 
Preacher,  speaking  of  old  men,  says,  (Eccl.  xii.  4.) 
"  They  rise  up  at  the  voice  of  the  bird,"  that  is,  very 
early.  The  Greek,  ornis,  signifies  a  bird,  a  hen  ;  and 
the  translator  of  Origen  has  used  pullet  for  bird. 

One  of  the  engravings  given  under  the  article  Al- 
tar has  shown  that  the  Ibis,  a  kind  of  stork,  was  so 
venerated  in  Egypt,  as  to  be  an  allowed  inmate  in 
sacred  structures  :  something  of  the  same  kind  oc- 
curs also  in  Persia,  for  Thevenot  says,  (p.  122.) 
"  Within  a  mosque,  at  Ourljioun,  lyes  interred  the 
son  of  a  king,  called  Schah-Zadeh-Imam-Dgiafer, 
whom  they  reckon  a  saint ;  the  dome  is  rough  cast 
over ;  before  the  mosque  there  is  a  court,  well  plant- 
ed over  with  high  plane-trees,  on  which  we  saw  a 
great  many  storks,  that  haunt  thereahout  all  the  year 
7-ound."  This  should  be  compared  with  the  reason- 
ing at  the  close  of  the  article  referred  to. 

BIRTH  is  taken  for  the  natural  descent  of  oft- 
spring  from  its  pai-ent :  figuratively,  New  Birth  im- 
ports an  entire  change  of  principles,  manners  and 
conduct.     See  Regeneration. 

There  have  been  great  difficulties  started,  on  the 
nature  of  the  instrument  rendered  stools  in  our  trans- 
lation, Exod.  i.  16.  "And  the  Idng  of  Egypt  said  to 
the  Hebrew  midwives,  When  ye  do  the  office  of  a 
midwife  to  the  Hebrew  women,  and  see  them  upon 
the  stools,  if  it  be  a  son,  then  ye  shall  kill  him  ;  but 
if  it  be  a  daughter,  then  she  shall  live."  According 
to  this  rendering,  the  women  in  labor  were  to  be 
seated  on  stools,  for  their  more  easy  delivery.  Now, 
(L)  this  is  contrary  to  the  attitude  adopted  in  the 
East  for  women  in  labor,  wliicli  is  standing;  (2.) 
the  Hebrew  word  D'JJX,  obnayim,  dual,  implies, 
from  its  very  etymology,  instruments  of  stone  ;  which 
surely  would  not  be  adapted  for  such  occasions. 
[The'  difficulty,  however,  is  avoided  by  a  correct 
translation  of  the  passage,  as  follows:  "When  ye 
deliver  the  Hebrew  women,  and  ye  look  upon  the 
bathing-troughs,  (i.  e.  upon  the  children  while  bath- 
ing them,)  if  it  be  a  son,  ye  shall  kill  him,  etc."  Not 
but  that  the  midwives  would  know  the  sex  of  the 
cliild  before  they  came  to  bathe  it ;  but  the  intention 
and  spirit  of  the  command  seem  to  be,  that  they 
should  destroy  the  male  infants  tvhile  thus  bathing 
them,  by  drowning  them  privately,  or  as  if  by  acci- 
dent. That  the  word  is  in  the  dual  form,  may  have 
arisen  from  the  circumstance  that  such  a  laver  was 
composed  of  two  stones,  one  of  which  served  as  a 


BIRTH 


[  190  ] 


BIRTH 


cover.  A  practice  entirely  similar  is  described  by 
Thevenot,  (ii.  p.  98.)  as  prevailing  at  the  Persian 
court.  R.]  "  The  kings  of  Persia  are  so  afraid  of 
being  deprived  of  that  power  which  they  abuse,  and 
are  so  apprehensive  of  being  dethroned,  that  they 
destroy  tlie  children  of  their  female  relations,  when 
they  are  brought  to  bed  of  boys,  by  putting  them  into 
an  earthen  trough,  where  they  suffer  them  to  starve :" 
that  is,  we  suppose,  under  pretence  of  preparing  to 
wash  ihem,  they  let  them  piue  aAvay,  or  contrive  to 
destroy  them  in  the  water. 

This  expression  of  Thevenot  carries  the  matter 
further  than  most  authors  whom  we  have  perused. 
That  eastern  sultans  liave  ocrasionly  deprived,  and 
still  do  occasionally  deprive,  children  born  in  their 
seraglios  of  life,  directly  after  their  birth,  even  though 
themselves  be  the  fathers,  is  well  authenticated  :  we 
find,  also,  that  the  internal  management  of  a  seraglio 
is  greatly  influenced,  or  directed,  by  the  head  sultana- 
mother  ;  who  usually  sways  the  black  eunuchs,  and 
who  often,  as  soon  as  the  child  is  born,  appoints  its 
destruction,  that  it  may  not  interfere  with  others, 
whom  she  favors  in  their  prospects  of  the  succession. 
But  that  this  should  extend  to  children  of  the  sul- 
tan's female  relations  is,  no  doubt,  to  be  referred  to 
extraordinary  circumstances,  such  as  political  suspi- 
cions, rather  than  to  the  regular  com-se  of  things. 
"They  pointed  us  to  some  handkerchiefs,  like  cra- 
vats, round  the  necks  of  certain  figures,  in  number 
120,  being  representations  of  that  emperor's  children, 
which  were  all  strangled  in  one  day,  by  order  of  his 
successor."  This  was  done  in  the  seraglio  at  Con- 
stantinople, as  we  learn  from  Tournefort.  The  fact 
is  confirmed  by  others;  and,  indeed,  it  comes  much 
to  the  same,  if  it  be  not  rather  less  compassionate,  to 
suffer  a  number  of  young  persons  to  arrive  at  a  cer- 
tain degree  of  maturity,  and  then  to  destroy  them 
through  political  jealousy,  than  to  put  them  out  of 
their  misery  directly  after  they  enter  upon  it,  and  to 
close  at  once  that  hf(?  which  is  destined  to  know  lit- 
tle good,  perhaps  to  know  much  evil ;  and,  very 
probably,  to  a  melancholy  dissolution,  at  a  time  when 
it  is  intimately  susceptible  both  of  hopes  and  of  fears. 
See  Judges  ix.  5  ;  2  Kings  x.  7. 

These  remarks  are  introductory  to  the  inferences, 
(1.)  that  children  -who  arc  born  from  branches  of 
blood  royal,  or  in  such  stations  as,  by  an  ungracious 
forecast,  may  be  regarded  as  capable  of  aspiring  to 
the  crown,  or  the  government,  are  the  objects  of  sus- 
picion ;  not  those  of  the  commonalty  in  general. 
Children  of  grandees,  or  chiefs,  that  is,  of  leading 
men,  are  exposed  to  this  danger,  not  those  of  peas- 
ants and  slaves.  Apply  this  to  the  situation  of  Israel 
in  Egypt ;  it  was  not  every  child,  every  sou  born 
thn/ughout  all  Israel,  as  well  those  in  the' country  of 
Goshen  as  those  in  the  capital  of  Egypt,  that  was  in- 
cluded in  the  directions  of  Pharaoji ;  but  those  of 
the  chiefs,  the  principals ;  for,  had  Pharaoh  thus 
treated  all  Israel,  he  had  vmdoubtedly  raised  a  re- 
bellion ;  he  had  diminished  his  stock  of  slaves,  which 
was  his  jiroperty  ;  whereas,  the  depriving  that  peo- 
ple of  chiefs  answered  his  jiurpose  equally  well. 
He  acted  much  according  to  the  custom  of  his  own 
court  and  seraglio,  and  did  not  very  greatly  extend 
it,  except  by  including  a  distinct  race,  and  a  sojourn- 
ing people.  (2.)  It  was  impossible  that  two  Hebrew 
midwives  could  olhcially  attend  all  the  women  of 
Israel  in  Goshen,  &c.  but  they  might  be  sufficient 
for  those  in  the  royal  city,  at  least  for  the  wives  of 
chiefs,  and  such,  we  apprehend,  resided  here  only 
during  their  turn  to  share  in  the  labors  assigned  to 


their  people.  These  considerations  coincide  with 
the  idea  previously  suggested,  that  Moses  and  Aaron 
were  of  note  and  rank,  among  the  Israelites,  by  birth 
and  by  natural  condition  ;  and  they  agi'ee  perfectly 
with  the  account  of  Josephus,  who  relates  that  the 
birth  of  Moses  was  predicted,  as  of  a  child  who 
should  wear  the  crown  of  Pharaoh,  taking  it  from 
him :  that  is,  Pharaoh  feared  some  illustrious  youth 
would  rise  up  to  destroy  him,  and  to  deliver  Israel, 
which  fear  became  his  torment.  Pharaoh,  being 
deluded  by  the  midwives,  "directed  all  his  people," 
his  officers,  his  superintendents,  his  guards,  &c.  to 
watch  the  Israelites,  men  as  well  as  women,  and  to 
scrutinize  strictly  what  rites  of  circumcision  were 
going  forward,  as  these  indicated  the  birth  of  boys  ; 
and,  on  discovering  such  male  infants,  they  should 
dro\Mi  them  in  the  Nile ;  meaning,  infants  in  and 
around  the  royal  city ;  for  in  the  open  countrj'  of 
Goshen,  this  watching  had  been  impossible,  the  ex- 
ecution of  the  order  had  been  attended  with  hazard 
to  the  officers,  opportunities  of  concealment  were  in- 
finitely more  numerous,  and  the  mention  of  the  I'iver 
seems  to  imply  nearness  to  it,  which  might  not  be 
the  fact  in  some  parts  of  Goshen ;  and  could  not  be 
the  fact  in  any  great  part  of  it,  if  the  situation  usually 
assigned  to  that  country  be  adopted,  that  is,  between 
Egypt  and  the  Red  sea. 

These  extracts  serve  to  illustrate  the  conduct  of 
Herod;  first,  toward  his  own  sons;  (see  Herod  ;) 
secondly,  toward  the  infants  at  Bethlehem ;  for,  if 
the  kings  of  Persia  destroy  the  infants  of  their  own 
relations,  and  if  the  king  of  Egypt,  fearing  the  birth 
of  Moses,  was  peculiarly  jealous  and  vigilant,  where 
is  the  wonder,  that  Herod  destroyed  the  infaifts  of 
Bethlehem,  under  the  idea,  that  among  them  was 
concealed  a  pretender  to  his  crown  ?  He  did  no 
more  than  was  approved  and  practised  in  the  East 
in  such  cases ;  nay,  perhaps  he  might  ajiplaud  his 
own  clemency  in  that  he  did  not  destroy  the  parents 
also,  with  their  elder  offspring,  but  only  infants  en- 
tering on  their  second  year. 

In  confirmation  of  the  proposition,  that  the  chil- 
dren, not  the  mothers,  were  washed  in  stone  vessels 
containing  water,  Mr.  Taylor  has  given  in  his  Frag- 
ments an  engraving  from  an  ornamental  basso  re- 
lievo on  a  sepulchral  urn,  which  sho^^■s  a  midwife 
in  the  act  of  placing  a  new-born  infant  in  a  vessel, 
apparently  of  the  same  nature,  and  for  the  same  pur- 
pose, as  the  Hebrew  laver :  her  intention  is,  evident- 
ly, to  wash  the  child ;  Avhile  the  mother  sits  in  an 
enfeebled  attitude,  looking  on.  An  attendant  holds 
a  capacious  swather,  to  receive  the  child  after  wash- 
ing; and  the  notice  of  the  time  of  the  child's  birth, 
and  perhaps  its  horoscope,  occupies  a  female,  who 
stands  behind,  and  who  inscribes  it  with  a  stijlus  on 
a  globe.  This  rej)resentation,  he  remarks,  proves 
that  children  were  committed  to  the  midwife  for  the 
purpose  of  being  washed  ;  Pharaoh  might,  therefore, 
say  to  the  Hebrew  midwives,  or  to  these  Egyptian 
women  who  were  mid^^■ives  to  the  Hebrew  women, 
as  was  the  opinion  of  Josephus,  "Vvlien  jou  are 
engaged  in  washing  the  Israelite  infants,  if  they  be 
boys,  contrive  to  drown  them  in  the  water."  This 
order  not  succeeding  to  his  mind,  he  directed  Lis 
officers  to  seize,  and  to  drown  by  force,  whatever 
young  Israelites  (boys)  they  could  lay  their  hands  on. 

The  ancients  bestowed  considerable  attention  on 
the  washing  of  a  new-born  infant ;  and,  indeed,  it 
was  in  some  degree  ceremonious.  "The  Lacede- 
monians," says  Plutarch,  in  his  Life  of  Lycurgus, 
"  washed  the  new-born  infant  in  yiine,  (principally, 


BIRTH 


[  191  ] 


BIR 


no  doubt,  persons  of  property,)  meaning  thereby  to 
strengthen  the  infant ;"  but  generally  they  washed 
the  child  in  water ;  warmed,  perhaps,  in  Greece  ; 
cold,  perhaps,  in  Egypt ;  or  according  to  the  season. 
We  see,  tlien,  that  the  washing  of  a  child  newly  born 
was  a  business  of  some  consideration  :  how  easily, 
therefore,  did  the  hearers,  and  readers,  of  Christ  and 
his  apostles  comprehend  the  phrases  "  the  washing 
of  regeneration  ;"  or  "  the  new  birth  ;"  the  being 
born  "  a  second  time,  of  water ;"  the  initiatory,  and, 
as  it  were,  the  reviviftcatory,  ordinance  of  baptism  ! 

The  above  mentioned  engi-aviug  suggests  another 
subject  of  inquiry,  respecting  the  swaddling  clothes 
appropriate  to  infants ;  an  article  but  imperfectly 
known  by  us.  Our  translation  has,  as  it  may  be 
thought  somewhat  improperly,  used  the  term  swad- 
dling bands;  which  implies  a  number  of  small 
pieces — narrow  rolls — strips — bands :  but  the  true 
import  of  the  word  is,  more  probably,  that  of  a  large 
cloth  or  wrapper  ;  such  as  the  female  figure  in  the 
engraving  holds  up,  extended,  ready  to  receive  the 
child  ;  an  envelope  of  considerable  capacity  and  am- 
plitude. With  this  idea  agree  what  accounts  have 
reached  us  of  this  part  of  attention  to  children  among 
the  ancients :  "  The  child  being  washed,  it  was  wrap- 
ped in  a  cloth,  woven  for  this  purpose  by  the  mother 
in  the  time  of  her  virginity ;  as  may  be  conjectured 
by  that  which  Creusa  made  for  Ion."  This,  we 
may  conceive,  was  lined  throughout  for  gi-eater 
warmth ;  we  may  suppose,  too,  the  lining  was  soft 
and  comfortable,  while  the  outside  was  richly  orna- 
mented. "  On  this  side,"  that  is,  the  outside  of  it, 
"the  Erecthidse  had  worked  the  representation  of 
Medusa's  head,  and  the  snakes  of  her  hair  ;  besides 
two  dragons,  drawn  in  gold,  with  other  ornaments." 
This  description  evidently  implies  that  considerable 
labor  and  care  had  been  bestowed  on  this  article ; 
80  that  a  handsome  cloth  of  the  kind  could  be  pro- 
curable only  by  a  parent  in  easy  circumstances.  But, 
however  that  might  be,  the  inference  is  clear,  that 
this  cloth  was  large ;  that  it  was  not  properly  bands, 
but  of  some  extent ;  otherwise,  it  could  not  have 
contained  all  these  decorations,  nor  would  it,  we 
may  suppose,  have  been  esteemed  worthy  of  receiv- 
ing them. 

Let  us  combine  the  supposition  of  size,  or  ampli- 
tude of  dimension,  with  a  swaddling  cloth ;  while 
we  examine  places  where  the  word  occurs  in  Scrip- 
ture.— Job  xxxviii.  8,  9.  "  Who  closed  the  opening 
made  by  the  sea,  in  its  bursting  forth  as  from  the 
womlj ;  when  I  placed  my  cloud  as  its  vestment, 
and  thick  darkness  as  its  swaddling  doth  ?" — when  I 
enveloped  it  in  thick  clouds,  for  its  immediate  cloth- 
ing, and  surrounded  it  by  extensive  darkness,  as  a 
wrapper — involving  it  wholly.  Surely,  the  idea  of 
a  broad,  ample  covering  better  suits  this  passage 
than  that  of  narrow  belts,  or  bands. 

Having  hinted  that  not  every  woman  could  pro- 
cure this  ample  covering,  it  remains  to  connect  the 
idea  of  a  mother  in  easy  circumstances  with  the  fol- 
lowing passages.     Lam.  ii.  20.    "  Behold,  O  Lord, 
and  consider  to  whom  thou  hast  done  this:  shall  the 
women  eat  their  fruit,  their  little  ones  wliom  they 
have  swaddled'^  in  costly  robes ;  apd  to  whom  they 
have  paid  every  attention  tliat  delicacy  could  sug- 
gest to  persons  of  consequence  ;  persons  fit  to  be  as- 
sociated with  the  "  priest  and  the  prophet,"  honor- 
1     able  by  condition  of  life.     Surely,  this  raises  the  sen- 
\     timent,  and  is  perfectly  coincident  with  a  similar  af- 
;     flictive  prophecy,  (Deut.  xxviii.  56,  57;  Jer.  xix.  9.) 
and  with  the  well-known  melancholy  histor}'  in  Jo- 


sephus.  So,  in  the  same  chapter,  verse  22,  "  those 
whom  I  had  swaddled,  with  great  care  and  solici- 
tude, and  had  reared  them  to  a  hopeful  time  of  life, 
my  enemy  hath  consumed."  Tliough  nature  knows 
no  difference  between  the  loss  of  a  child  to  a  poor 
person,  and  the  same  loss  to  a  rich  person,  yet  poe- 
try heightens  its  figure,  by  contrasting  former  deli- 
cacy with  present  distress  ;  and  such  seems  to  be 
the  mode  adopted  by  the  prophet  in  this  passage,  to 
increase  the  pathos  of  his  representation.  [The  He- 
brew word  in  these  passages  is  not  that  which  com- 
monly signifies  to  swaddle,  although  so  translated ; 
but  it  means  rather  to  carry  on  the  arm,  to  dandle,  &c. 
The  above  remarks,  therefore,  are  apjjUcable  only  to 
the  English  version.     R. 

Ezek.  xvi.  4.  "  And  as  for  thy  nativity"  it  was  the 
very  reverse  of  respectable;  "for  in  the  day  thou 
wast  born  thy  navel  was  not  cut,  neither  wast  thou 
washed  in  water,  to  supple  thee :  in  salting  thou  wast 
not  salted  ;  in  swaddling  thou  wast  not  swaddled" — in 
a  large,  capacious  swaddling  cloth,  as  a  rich  person's 
child  would  have  been.     Tliis  is  certainly  the  sense 

of  the  prophet.      LXX,  xal  n  a.ranyuroi;  ovx  ioTTaoya- 

rwx'^t,c.  The  idea  may  be  applied  to  an  occurrence 
in  the  New  Testament ;  of  the  propriety  of  which 
application  the  reader  will  judge  with  candor. 
Lidve  ii.  7.  "  The  virgin  mother  brought  forth  her 
son,  the  first-born ;  and  she  enveloped  him  in  an 
ample  swaddling  robe,  such  as  befitted,  at  least  in 
some  degree,  the  heir  of  David's  house  ;  and  she 
took  that  kind  of  care  of  him  which  persons  in  com- 
petent circumstances  take  of  their  new-born  infants." 
If  this  be  a  fact,  observe,  how  it  became  o  sign  to 
the  shepherds :  "You  shall  find  the  babe  wrapped 
in  a  handsome  swaddling  cloth — though  lying  in  a 
manger,"  Luke  ii.  12.  For  aught  we  know,  they 
might  have  found  in  Bethlehem,  then  crowded  to 
excess,  a  dozen  or  a  score  of  infants  lying  in  man- 
gers ;  but  none  with  those  contradictory  marks  of 
dignity  and  indignity  ;  of  noble  descent,  and  of  per- 
sonal inconvenience ;  of  respectable  station,  and  of 
refuge-taking  poverty  ;  in  short,  the  comfortable  and 
lined  swaddling  cloth,  which  no  doubt  the  mother 
brought  with  her,  and  the  rocky,  inconvenient,  out- 
cast-looking residence  in  which  for  the  time  being 
the  object  of  their  patriotic  hopes,  and  of  their  pious 
researches,  was  secluded.  This  carries  us  a  little 
further:  if  it  were  customary  for  "mothers  in  their 
virgin  state"  to  work,  and  ornament,  this  article  of 
future  expectanc}',  and  if  the  Virgin  IMary  had  actu- 
ally worked  such  a  one,  then  she  was  not  without 
leisure,  means,  and  skill  equal  to  the  performance  ; 
consequently,  she  could  not  have  lieen  excessively 
poor,  nor  under  the  control  of  others,  that  is,  in  ser- 
vitude ;  but  must  have  enjoyed  advantages  not  be- 
low those  of  the  medium  rank  of  women  in  her  time 
and  nation.     All  this,  however,  is  only  conjecture. 

BIRTHRIGHT,  the  privilege  of'first-boru  son. 
(See  FiRST-BORX.)  Among  the  Hebrews,  as,  in- 
deed, among  most  other  nations,  the  first-born  en- 
joyed particular  privileges  ;  and  wherever  polygamy 
was  tolerated,  it  was  highly  necessary  to  fix  them. 
(See  Deut.  xxi.  15 — 17.)  They  consisted,  first,  in  a 
right  to  the  priesthood,  which,  before  the  law,  was 
in  the  eldest  of  the  family ;  but  when  brethren  sepa- 
rated into  families,  each  became  ])riest  and  head  over 
his  own  house.  Secondly,  the  birthright  consisted 
in  receiving  a  double  portion  of  the  father's  property 
above  his  brethren.  This  is  explained  two  ways: 
some  suppose  that  half  the  whole  inheritance  was 
given  to  the  elder  brother,  and  the  other  half  shared 


BIT 


[  192  1 


BIT 


in  equal  parts  among  the  rest.  But  the  rabbins  in- 
form us,  on  the  contrarj^,  that  the  first-born  took  for 
his  share  twice  as  much  as  any  of  his  brethren.  If 
the  first  born  died  before  the  division  of  the  father's 
inheritance,  and  left  any  children,  his  right  devolved 
to  his  heirs.  First-born  daughters  were  not  invest- 
ed with  these  privileges.  Esau  sold  his  birthright 
to  Jacob,  who,  in  consequence,  had  a  right  to  de- 
mand from  his  father  the  privileges  annexed  to  it ; 
Jacob  transferred  the  right  of  the  first-born  from 
Reuben  to  Joseph ;  and  David  from  Adonijah  to 
Solomon.     See  Inherftance. 

BISHLAM  MITHRIDATH,  one  of  the  king  of 
Persia's  officers  on  this  side  the  Euphrates,  who 
wrote  to  king  Artaxerxes,  desiring  him  to  forbid 
the  Jews  to  rebuild  the  temple,  Ezra  iv.  7. 

BISHOP,  in  Greek,  'Entnt^v.^o;,  in  Latin,  episcopus, 
an  overseer,  one  who  has  the  inspection  and  direction 
of  any  thing.  Nehemiah  speaks  of  the  overseer  of 
the  Levites  at  Jerusalem:  (Neh.  xi.  22.)  Uzzi  had 
the  inspection  of  the  other  Levites.  The  Hebrew 
pdkid,  rendered  episcopus,  has  the  same  signification. 
The  Athenians  gave  this  name  to  the  person  who 
presided  in  their  coiu-ts  of  justice  ;  and  the  Digest 
gives  it  to  those  magistrates  who  had  the  inspection 
of  the  bread  market,  and  other  things  of  that  nature  : 
but  the  most  common  acceptation  of  the  word  bish- 
op, is  that  which  occurs  Acts  xx.  28.  and  in  Paul's 
epistles,  (Phil.  i.  L)  where  it  signifies  the  pastor  of  a 
church.  Peter  calls  Jesus  Christ,  "the  Shepherd 
and  Bishop  of  our  souls,"  1  Pet.  ii.  25.  Paid  de- 
scribes the  qualities  requisite  in  a  bishop,  I  Tim.  iii. 
2;  Tit.  i.  7,  &c. 

BITHRON,  2  Sam.  ii.  29.  This  word  means  the 
same  as  Bether,  which  see.  It  probably  denotes 
here  a  region  of  hills  and  valleys,  and  not  any  definite 
place.     R. 

BITHYNIA,  (1  Pet.  i.  1.)  a  province  of  Asia  Mi- 
nor, in  the  northern  part  of  that  peninsula ;  on  the 
shore  of  the  Euxine,  having  Phrygia  and  Galatia  to 
the  south.  It  is  famous  as  being  one  of  the  prov- 
inces to  which  the  apostle  Peter  addressed  his  first 
epistle  ;  also,  as  having  been  under  the  government 
of  Pliny,  who  describes  the  manners  and  characters 
of  the  Christians  there,  about  A.D.  106;  also  for  the 
holding  of  the  most  celebrated  council  of  the  Christian 
church  in  the  city  of  Nice,  its  metropolis,  about  A.  D. 
325.  It  should  seem  to  be,  with  some  justice,  con- 
sidered as  a  province  taught  by  Peter ;  and  we  read 
(Acts  xiv.  7.)  that  when  Paul  attempted  to  go  into 
Bithynia,  the  Spirit  suffered  him  not.  It  is  directly 
opposite  to  Constantinople. 

BITTER.  BITTERNESS.  The  Lord  says  to 
the  Jews,  "  I  will  send  the  Chaldeans  against  you, 
that  bitter  nation,"  Hab.  i.  6.  "  Take  care,  lest  peo- 
ple who  are  bitter  of  soul  run  upon  thee,"  Judg. 
xviii.  2.5.  David  in  his  flight  (2  Sam.  xvii.  8.)  was 
accompanied  by  men  bitter  of  soul,  or  chafed  in  their 
minds  as  a  bear  bereaved.  The  energy  of  these  ex- 
pressions is  sulficiendy  discernible  ;  denoting  vexa- 
tion, anger,  fiiry.  Sometimes  bitterness  of  soul  sig- 
nifies only  grief,  1  Sam.  i.  10  ;  2  Kings  iv.  27.  The 
waters  of  jealousy,  wliicii  women  suspected  of  adul- 
tery were  obliged  to  drink,  are  called  bitter  waters, 
Numb.  v.  19.  (See  Jealousy.)  "Bitter  envying,'' 
(Jam.  iii.  14.)  denotes  mortal  and  permanent  hatred. 
King  Hezekiah  in  Iiis  hynm  says  (Isa.  xxxviii.  17.) 
that,  "in  the  midst  of  his  peace,  he  was  attacked 
with  great  bitterness,"  a  very  dangerous  disease 

BITTER  HERBS.  The  Hebrews  were  com- 
manded to  eat  the  Passover  with  bitter  herbs ;  (Exod. 


xii.  8.)  but  what  kind  of  herbs  or  salad  is  intended 
by  the  Hebrew  word  merorim,  which  literally  signi- 
fies hitters,  is  not  well  known.  The  Jews  think 
cichory,  wild  lettuce,  hoarhound,  and  the  like. 
Whatever  may  be  implied  under  the  term,  whether 
bitter  herbs,  or  bitter  ingi'edients  in  general,  it  was 
designed  to  remind  them  of  their  severe  and  bitter 
bondage  in  Egypt,  from  which  God  was  now  about 
to  dehver  them. 

BITTERN,  a  fowl,  about  the  size  of  a  heron,  and 
of  that  species.  Nineveh  and  Babylon  became  a 
possession  for  the  bittern  and  other  wild  birds,  (Isa. 
xiv.  23;  xxxiv.  11;  Zeph.  ii.  14.)  according  to  the 
English  Bible,  but  it  is  very  doubtful  whether  this 
be  correct. 

"  Three  elements,"  says  Scheuzer,  "  may  dispute 
tlie  property  of  the  kippod ;  earth,  air,  and  water." 
The  weight  of  interpreters  is  in  favor  of  the  hedge- 
hog, or  the  porcupine,  which  may  stand  at  the  head 
of  the  hedge-hog  species.  It  must  be  acknowledg- 
ed, that  the  Arabic  terms  kenfud,  kunj)hud,  canfed, 
&c.  sufficiently  resemble  the  Hebrew  kippod,  which, 
possibly,  was  pronounced  with  n  inserted,  as  lampad, 
written  lappad,  &c.  It  may  be  thought  different 
from  the  common  hedge-hog,  because  the  manners 
of  that  creature  do  not  agree  with  those  attributed  to 
the  kippod;  for  the  hedge-hog  is  resident  in  more 
verdant  and  cultivated  places  than  we  are  led  to 
place  the  kippod  in.  It  appears,  however,  from  Dr. 
Russel's  Aleppo,  (vol.  ii.  p.  159.)  that  the  porcupine 
is  called  kunfud :  "  It  is  sometimes,  though  rarely, 
brought  to  town  by  the  peasants."  "  The  notion  of 
his  darting  his  quills  still  prevails  in  Syria.  I  never 
met  with  any  person  who  had  seen  it ;  but  it  stands 
recorded  in  books,  and  the  fact  is  not  doubted." 
"The  hedge-hog  is  regarded  by  the  natives  as  the 
same  species ;  is  foimd  in  the  fields  in  abundance, 
but  serves  only  for  medicinal  purposes."  It  is  con- 
cluded, from  these  hints,  that  the  porcupine  is  wilder 
than  the  hedge-hog,  in  Syria.  The  same  inference 
arises  from  comparing  the  accoimts  of  these  animals 
given  by  Buffon  ;  hedge-hogs  he  placed  in  his  gar- 
den :  and  they  are  kept  in  kitchens  as  devourers  of 
black  beetles ;  they  al)ound  most  in  temperate  cli- 
mates ;  the  north  being  too  cold  for  them.  The 
porcupine  is  a  native  of  the  hottest  climates  of  Africa 
and  India,  perhaps  is  originally  of  the  East,  yet  can 
live  and  multiply  in  less  sultry  situations,  such  as 
Persia,  Spain,  and  Italy.  Agricola  says,  the  species 
has  been  in  late  ages  transported  into  Europe.  It  is 
now  found  in  Spain,  and  in  the  Apennine  moun- 
tains, near  Rome.  Plinj'  and  the  naturalists  say, 
that  the  porcupine,  like  the  bear,  hides  itself  in  win- 
ter. It  eats  crums  of  l)read,  cheese,  fruits,  and, 
when  at  hberty,  roots,  and  wild  grain ;  in  a  garden  it 
makes  great  havoc,  and  eats  pulse  with  greediness ; 
it  becomes  fat  toward  the  close  of  summer,  and  its 
flesh  is  not  bad  eating. 

We  should  now  inquire  what  associates  Scripture 
has  given  to  the  kippod.  It  is  connected  with  "pools 
of  water,"  in  Isa.  xiv.  23,  according  to  our  transla- 
tion. This  we  shall  consider  hereafter.  In  chap, 
xxxiv.  11,  it  is  associated  with  Kaat,  the  pelican: 
with  lanshuph,  whicii  is  siqiposed  to  be  the  lesser 
bittern  or  Ardea  Ibis  ;  and  with  Oreb,  or  the  raven 
kind  ;  together  with  thorns,  nettles,  and  brambles ; 
witii  Tannim,  and  with  ostriches.  If  only  water- 
birds  had  been  connected  with  it  here,  we  might 
have  been  led  to  conclude  that  it  denoted  a  water- 
bird  also  ;  but  as  ravens  and  ostriches,  to  say  noth- 
ing of  the  thorns  and  netdes,  are  found  in  dry  places, 


BITTERN 


[  193  ] 


BLA 


nothing  prevents  this  from  being  an  animal  of  dry 
places  also.  In  Zephaniah  ii.  14,  the  kippod  is  coupled 
only  witii  the  Kaat,  or  pelican  ;  hut,  though  th;^  peli- 
can be  a  water-bird,  yet  she  builds  iier  nest  in  open 
places  distant  from  water ;  and  the  prophet  had  said, 
in  the  former  verse,  "Nineveh  sliall  lie  dry  like  a 
wilderness  ;"  so  that  creatures  inhabiting  dry  places, 
may  readily  be  supposed  to  reside  there.  This  as- 
sociation, therefore,  is  not  conclusive  for  a  water- 
Sird  ;  thougli  it  must  be  admitted  that  it  looks  rather 
like  a  bird  of  some  kind  as  a  fellow  to  the  pelican, 
with  which  it  is  matched.  It  appears,  then,  that 
both  Babylon  and  Nineveh  are  threatened  with  des- 
olation, and  witii  becoming  the  residence  of  the 
kippod.  To  ascertain  this  kippod,  Mr.  Taylor  has 
taJcen  some  pains  to  discover  what  creatures  breed 
in  ruins  in  these  countries.  The  result  has  proved 
not  very  satisfactory.  Storks,  owls,  Ijats,  and  a  bird, 
which  is  probably  the  locust  bird,  are  all  he  finds 
identified.  Bats  we  might  naturally  expect  in  vaults 
and  caverns ;  but  whether  j)orcupines  also,  may  be 
questioned.  The  following  extracts  are  submitted 
to  the  reader;  if  they  do  not  determine  the  question, 
they  may  give  hints  for  further  inquiries.  At  Chytor 
— "The  mines  of  above  an  hundred  [temples]  to  this 
day  remain  of  stone,  white,  and  well  polished,  albeit 
now  inhabited  by  storks,  owls,  bats,  and  like  birds." 
— (G.  Herbert,  Travels,  p.  95.) 

"Nineveh  was  built  on  the  left  shoar  of  the  Tigris, 
upon  Assyria  side,  being  now  only  a  heap  of  rubbish, 
extending  almost  a  league  along  the  river.  There 
are  abundance  of  vaidts  and  caverns  uninhabited ; 
nor  could  a  man  well  conjecture,  whether  they  were 
the  ancient  habitations  of  the  people,  or  whether  any 
houses  were  built  upon  them  in  former  times  ;  for 
most  of  the  houses  in  Turkie  are  like  cellars,  or  else 
but  one  storie  high."  (Tavei-nier,  book  ii.  p.  72.) 
M.  Beauchamp,  in  his  account  of  the  ruins  of  Baby- 
lon, (European  Magazine,  May,  1792,)  informs  us, 
that  "this  place  and  the  mount  of  Babel  are  com- 
monly called  by  the  Arabs  Mak-Coube,  that  is,  ^topsy- 
turvy ;' "  which  is  almost  the  same  as  Thevenot 
mentions  respecting  Nineveh  and  its  inhabitants ; 
and  which,  could  we  trace  it  to  its  origin,  very  prob- 
ably Avould  be  found  deserving  our  notice.  "  The 
master  mason  led  me  along  a  valley — I  found  in  it 
a  subterranean  canal — these  ruins  extend  several 
leagues."  Vaults  and  under-groimd  constructions 
then  remain  of  ancient  Babylon,  and  these  may  well 
afford  shelter  for  bats.  We  understand  that  trees  grow 
in  parts  of  the  space  formerly  occupied  by  Babylon  ; 
and,  if  so,  they  may  afford  slielter  for  porcupines. 
Against  this  interpretation  of  kippod  it  must  be  ob- 
served, tliat  in  the  Chaldce  this  word  denotes  a  bird 
— taken  for  the  bittern,  as  by  our  translators ;  and  so 
in  the  Talmud.  The  root  of  the  word  signifies,  to 
draw  together,  contract,  shrink ;  which,  as  applied  to 
animals,  teaches  nothing;  for  we  cannot  admit  with 
Scheuzer,  that  "  the  beaver  is  what  best  agrees  to 
the  import  of  the  word."  It  is  probable  that  the 
porcupine  does  not  inhabit  dusty  ruins,  or  dry  or 
desert  places  ;  l)ut  rather  conmion  lands  or  forests, 
where  vegetal)les  and  gi-ain  may  be  its  food  :  yet,  as 
vegetables  may  gi-ow  wiiere  towns  have  stood,  per- 
haps this  is  not  a  decisive  objection.  Moreover,  this 
objection  becomes  still  less  decisive,  if  the  nnnark  of 
Bochart  be  correct,  that  the  (now)  pools  of  icatcr  are 
to  be  (liereafter)  a  possession  for  the  kippod;  and 
these  "  pools  of  water"  are,  according  to  the  most 
probable  notion  of  the  word,  artificial,  or  Jish-ponds, 
as  in  Isa.  xix.  10.  If  so,  we  may  understand  them 
25 


here  of  garden-canals,  forming  parts  of  pleasure 
grounds ;  fed,  no  doubt,  originally  from  the  river ; 
and  long  after  the  destruction,  or  rather  the  aban- 
doning, of  the  city,  retaining  moisture  enough  to 
support  vegetables,  on  which  porcupines  might  feed. 
In  fact,  Babylon  became  a  park,  wherein  the  kings 
of  Parthia  hunted  in  after  ages,  and  the  same  land 
which  supported  wild  boars,  might  equally  well  sup- 
port other  wild  animals,  including  those  native  of 
hot  climates,  such  as  the  porcupine  undoubtedly  is. 
In  a  former  chapter,  the  prophet  takes  some  pains 
to  consort  creatures  of  the  drj^  desert  with  creatures 
of  the  Vvatery  marshes ;  and  from  the  local  situation 
of  Babylon,  all  these  classes  might  dwell  there 
together. 

It  would  have  lieen  fortunate,  if  the  etymology  of 
this  word  had  afforded  means  of  determining  the 
creature  intended ;  as  applied  to  the  hedge-hog,  it 
can  only  refer  to  his  contracting  or  draiving  himself 
together,  at  the  apj^roach  of  an  enemy ;  and  perhaps 
this  reference  is  suflicient.  It  is  necessary  only  to 
add,  that  iii  Arabic,  the  class  Kanfad,  or  Kenfud,  in- 
cludes three  kinds: — (1.)  Kanfad  al  bari,  the  land- 
hedge-hog. — (2.)  Kanfad  al  bachari,  the  sea-hedge- 
hog ;  what  we  call  the  urchin,  as  indeed  we  call  the 
former  also  by  this  name. — (3.)  Kanfad  al  gebeli,  the 
hedge-hog  of  the  mountains;  which  is,  no  doubt,  the 
poi-ctqihie.  Seeing,  then,  the  determination  of  this 
language  in  favor  of  this  word,  can  we  do  better  than 
be  guided  by  it  in  this  instance  ?  Yet,  with  some  re- 
luctance, as  this  is  not  precisely  that  creature  which, 
on  principles  of  arrangement,  seem  to  answer  the  re- 
quisitions of  every  place  in  Scripture. 

AVe  conclude,  therefore,  though  wishing  for  fur- 
ther information,  with  the  idea  of  Bochart : 

And  I  will  make  it  [Babylon]  a  possession  for  tlie 

porcupine  ; 
Even  the  garden-canals  of  water. 

The  general  reasoning  of  this  article  is  now  re- 
duced to  a  certainty,  by  the  testimony  of  the  late  Mr. 
Rich,  who  says  expressly,  in  his  "Memoir  on  Baby- 
lon," (p.  30.)    "  I    found    QUANTITIES   OF  PORCUPINE- 

quills ;  and  in  most  of  the  cavities  are  numbers  of 
bats  and  owls."  Quantities  of  quills  imply  the  ex- 
istence of  many  porcupines,  in  these  deserted  des- 
olations. 

BITUMEN,  a  fat,  combustible,  oily  matter,  found 
in  many  places,  particularly  above  Babylon,  and  in 
Judea,  in  the  lake  Asphaltites,  or  the  Dead  sea.  Noah 
coated  oyer  the  ark  with  bitumen ;  (Gen.  vi.  14.)  the 
builders  of  the  to^\  er  of  Babel  used  it  for  a  cement ; 
(Gen.  xi.  3.)  and  the  little  vessel  in  which  Moses  was 
exposed,  near  the  banks  of  the  river  Nile,  was  daub- 
ed over  with  it,  Exod.  ii.  3.  See  Asphaltus,  and 
also  under  Babylonia,  p.  137. 

BIZ.TOTHJAH,  a  city  of  Judah,  Josh.  xv.  28. 

BIZTHA,  (Esth.  i.  10.)  a  eunuch  at  the  court  of 
Ahasuerus,  or  Xerxes. 

BLACKNESS  of  the  face.  We  have  an  ex- 
pression, Joel  ii.  6,  "  Before  their  approach  [the 
locusts']  the  people  shall  be  much  pained  ;  all  faces 
shall  gather  blackness  ;"  which  is  also  ;idopted  by  the 
prophet  Nahum  :  (ii.  10.)  "the  heart  melteth,  the 
knees  smite  together,  much  pain  is  in  all  loins,  and 
the/oce5  of  them  all  gather  blackness."  This  j)hrase, 
which  sounds  uncouth  to  an  Enghsh  ear,  is  elucidat- 
ed by  the  following  history,  from  Ockley's  Hist,  of 
the  Saracens,  (vol  ii.  p.  319.)  which  we  the  rather 
introduce,  as  Mr.  Harmer  has  referred  this  blackness 


BLE 


[  l'J4  ] 


BLl 


to  the  effect  of  hunger  and  thirst ;  and  Calniet,  to  a 
bedaubing  of  the  face  with  soot,  &c.  a  proceeding 
not  very  consistent  with  the  hurry  of  flight,  or  the 
terror  of  distress.  "  Kuniiel,  the  son  of  Ziyad,  was 
a  man  of  tine  wit.  One  day  Hejage  made  Ijini  come 
before  liim,  and  reproached  liini,  because  in  sucli  a 
garden,  and  before  such  and  such  persons,  whom 
he  named  to  him,  he  had  made  a  great  many  im- 
precations against  him,  saying,  the  Lord  blacken  his 
face,  that  is,  Jill  him  ivith  shame  aiid  confusion  ;  and 
wished  that  his  neck  was  cut  oftj  and  his  l)lood  shed." 
The  reader  will  observe  how  perfectly  this  explana- 
tion agi-ees  with  the  sense  oi"  the  passages  quoted 
above :  to  gather  blackness,  then,  is  equivalent  to 
suffering  extreme  confusion,  and  being  overwhelmed 
with  shame,  or  with  terror  and  dismay. 

BLASPHEMY.  A  man  is  guilty  of  blasphemy, 
when  he  speaks  of  God,  or  his  attributes,  injurious- 
ly ;  when  he  ascribes  such  qualities  to  him,  as  do  not 
belong  to  him,  or  robs  him  of  those  which  do.  The 
law  sentences  blasi)hemers  to  death.  Lev.  xxiv.  12 — 
16.  Whosoever  heard  another  blaspheming,  and 
witnessed  his  offence,  laid  his  hand  on  the  criminal's 
head,  to  express  that  he  was  to  bear  the  whole  blame 
and  punishment  of  his  crime.  The  guilty  person 
was  led  out  of  the  c^ity  and  stoned. 

BLASTUS,  an  officer  of  king  Agrippa,  who  fa- 
vored the  peace  with  Tyre  and  Sidon,  Acts  xii.  20. 

BLEMISHES  were  of  various  kinds  on  men, 
and  also  on  animals.  Blemishes,  personal  deformi- 
ties, excluded  priests  from  performing  their  sacred 
functions :  blemishes  on  animals  excluded  them 
from  being  offered  on  the  altar,  &c.,  Lev.  xxii.  20, 
21,  &c. ;  xxiv.  19,  20 ;  Deut.  xv.  21. 

BLESS,  BLESSING,  is  referred,  (1.)  to  God, 
and,  (2.)  to  man.  Without  doubt  the  inferior  is 
blessed  by  the  superior.  When  God  blesses,  he 
bestows  that  virtue,  that  efficacy,  which  renders  his 
blessing  effectual,  and  which  his  blessing  expresses. 
His  blessings  are  either  temporal  or  spiritual,  bodily 
or  mental ;  but  in  eveiy  thing  they  are  productive  of 
that  which  they  imjjort:  whereas,  the  blessings  of 
men  are  only  good  wishes,  personal  or  official,  and, 
as  it  were,  a  peculiar  kind  of  prayer  to  the  Author 
of  all  good,  for  the  welfare  of  the  subject  of  them. 
God's  blessings  extend  into  the  future  life  ;  but  no 
gift  of  one  man  to  another,  even  of  a  parent  to  his 
child,  can  exceed  the  limits  of  the  present  state. 
Blessing  was  an  act  of  thanksgiving  to  God  for  his 
mercies  ;  or,  rather,  for  that  special  mercy,  which,  at 
the  time,  occasioned  the  act  of  blessing;  as  for  food, 
for  which  thanks  were  rendered  to  God,  or  for  any 
other  good. 

Those  predictions  of  the  ancient  patriarchs,  which 
we  usually  call  lilessings,  are  much  rather  jjrophetic 
hints  or  suggestions  as  to  what  should  be  the  char- 
acter, disposition,  or  circumstances  of  those  to  whom 
they  referred.  They  were  i)robably  grounded,  in 
some  degree,  on  oliservations  made  respecting  the 
temper  and  conduct  of  the  party  himself  who  im- 
mediately receivfid  them.  So,  if  Benjamin,  son  of 
Jacob,  were  iiimself  |)ersonally  sharp,  wolf-like,  bold, 
predatory,  his  nature  might  be  expected  to  descend 
in  his  posterity;  and  sd  of  others.  But  often,  the 
spirit  of  prophecy  |)ronipted  tlie  mind  of  the  sj)eaker, 
writer,  or  composer,  to  utter  sentiments  which,  in 
the  event,  were  to  be  fulfilled  strictly,  literally,  or 
verbally,  yet  in  a  maimer  different  from  what  was 
most  prominent  on  the  mind  f)f  the  sj)t'aker.  So 
when  Jacob  says  of  Simeon  and  Levi,  "I  will  dis- 
perse thein  in  Jacob,  and  scatter  thein  in  Israel  ;" 


since  he  intended  this  dispersion  by  way  of  degra- 
dation and  punishment,  it  is  not  likely  that  he  fore- 
saw that  one  tribe  should  furnish  men  of  letters — 
MTiters,  in  the  futm-e  kingdom  of  his  descendants ; 
that  the  other  shoidd  lie  invested  with  the  priesthood, 
and  thereby  both  be  allotted  into  various  districts, 
and  cities,  throughout  the  land  of  Israel :  yet  the 
fact  was  so ;  and  Providence  accomplished  his 
prophecy,  by  dispersing  and  scattering  these  tribes 
after  a  manner  which,  ])erhaps,  did  not  occur  to  th© 
mind  of  the  dying  patriarch,  at  the  instant  when  he 
delivered  the  prediction.  When  Isaac  foretold  the 
different  natures  and  properties  of  the  countries 
which  should  be  possessed  by  Jacob  and  by  Esmi, 
he  did  not  confer  on  the  persons  of  his  sons  any  real 
possession  ;  he  merely,  as  it  were,  divided  to  them, 
by  prediction,  the  places  of  the  future  habitations  of 
their  posterity :  and  these  places  he  described  pro- 
phetically, and  prophetically  referred  to  the  nations, 
rather  than  to  the  persons,  of  Jacob  and  Esau. 

Blessing  is  sometimes  put  for  salvation — for  conse- 
cration— lor  a  promise  of  future  good — for  the  re- 
ception of  a  good — for  a  gift  or  present — for  praise — 
for  alms — for  adoration — for  a  lean's  blessing  him- 
self; in  short,  it  implies  a  fehcity,  either  expected, 
promised,  received,  or  bestowed.  The  manner  of 
blessing  is  appointed  in  the  Mosaic  ritual,  by  the  lift- 
ing up  of  hands.  Our  Lord  lifted  up  his  hands,  and 
blessed  his  disciples.  This  action  appears  to  have 
been  constant :  as  the  palm  of  the  hand  held  up- 
wards, was  precatory,  so  the  palm  turned  outwards 
or  downwards,  was  benedictory.  Moses  says  to 
x\aron,  "  Thus  shall  ye  bless  the  children  of  Israel, 
saying  unto  them.  The  Lord  bless  thee  and  keep 
thee ;  the  Lord  make  his  face  to  shine  upon  thee, 
and  be  gracious  unto  thee  ;  the  Lord  lift  up  his  coun- 
tenance unto  thee,  and  give  thee  peace,"  Numb.  vi. 
23.  He  pronounced  these  words  standing,  with  a 
loud  voice,  and  his  hands  elevated  and  extended. 
God  ordains  that,  on  the  arrival  of  Israel  in  the 
promised  land,  the  whole  multitude  should  be  con- 
vened between  the  mountains  Ebal  and  Gerizim, 
and  that  blessings  should  be  published  on  mount 
Gerizinj,  for  those  who  should  observe  the  laws  of 
God,  and  curses  on  mount  Ebal  against  the  violators 
of  those  laws.  This  was  performed  by  Joshua,  af- 
ter he  had  conquered  part  of  the  land  of  Canaan, 
Josh.  viii.  30,  31. 

BLESSING,  Valley  of.  This  was  in  the  tribe 
of  Judah,  near  the  Dead  sea  and  Engedi,  not  far 
from  Tekoa,  and  was  called  the  valley  of  Beracha, 
or  Blessing,  after  the  miraculous  victory  of  Jehosha- 
phat  over  the  confederated  army  of  Amnion,  Moab, 
and  Edom,  2  Chron.  xx.23— 2ti. 

BLIND.  Blindness  is  sometimes  taken  for  a  real 
privation  of  sight,  sometimes  for  dimness  of  sight ; 
so  the  blindness  of  the  man  in  the  gospel,  who  was 
born  blind,  and  that  of  Tobit,  were  real :  they  had 
truly  no  sight.  The  men  of  Sodom,  who  endeavor- 
ed to  fmd  Lot's  door,  and  could  not;  (Gen.  xix.  11.) 
and  Paul,  during  the  first  three  days  of  his  being  at 
Damascus,  (Acts  ix.  9.)  lost  the  use  of  their  sight  only 
for  a  time  ;  the  offices  of  their  eyes  were  suspended. 
The  LXX  well  represent  the  situation  of  the  in- 
habitants of  Sodom,  by  saying  they  were  struck 
{aorasid,  q.  d.  avidentid)  with  an  inability  of  seeing, 
sightless.  Moses  says,  (Lev.  xix.  14.)  "Thou  shalt 
not  put  a  stumbling  block  before  the  blind,"  which 
may  be  understood  literally,  or  figuratively ;  as 
if  he  recommended  that  charity  and  instruction 
.'^honld  be  shown  to  them  who  want  light  and  conn- 


BLINDNESS 


195  ] 


BLINDNESS 


sel,  or  to  those  who  are  m  danger  of  going  wrong  ; 
to  instruct  the  ignorant,  &c.  He  says  also,  (Deut. 
xxvii.  18.)  "  Cursed  be  he  who  maketh  the  bUnd  to 
wander  out  of  his  way ;"  whicli  may  also  be  taken 
in  the  same  manner.  The  Jebusites,  to  insuh  David, 
wlio  besieged  Jerusalem,  mocked  him,  saying,  (2 
Sam.  V.  6.)  "Thou  shalt  not  come  in  liither,  except 
thou  take  away  tiie  blind  and  tlie  lame,"  as  if  they 
desired  none  but  the  blind  and  the  lame  to  defend 
their  city.  Job  says,  (xxix.  15.)  he  had  been  eyes  to 
the  blind,  had  given  good  advice  to  those  who  need- 
ed it,  had  taken  pains  to  set  them  right,  who,  through 
want  of  light  and  understanding,  had  gone  astray. 
Our  Saviour,  almost  in  the  same  sense,  says,  (Matt. 
XV.  14.)  "If  the  blind  lead  the  blind,  they  will  both 
fall  into  the  ditch  ;"  designing  to  describe  the  pre- 
sumption of  the  Pharisees,  who,  blind  as  they  were 
in  the  ways  of  God,  yet  pretended  to  lead  others. 
He  tells  them,  (John  ix.  40,  41.)  that  he  came  into 
the  world,  that  "  they  who  see  not  might  see,  and 
that  they  who  see  might  be  made  blind."  Tlie 
Pharisees,  perceiving  that  this  alluded  to  them,  re- 
plied, "Are  we  blind  also?"  He  answered  them, 
"If  ye  were  blind,  (naturally  or  inevitably,  or  dicl 
you  acknowledge  your  ignorance,)  ye  should  have 
no  sin  :  but  now  ye  say.  We  see,  therefore  your  sin 
remaineth."  A  principal  character  of  the  Messiah 
predicted  in  the  prophets  is,  that  the  eyes  of  the 
blind  should  be  enliglitened  by  him,  Isaiah  xxix.  18  ; 
XXXV.  5  ;  xlii.  16.  This,  therefore,  our  Lord  propos- 
ed to  the  observation  of  John's  disciples,  who  came 
from  their  master,  to  inquire  whether  he  were  the 
person  whom  they  expected.  "  Tell  John,"  says  he, 
"the  blind  see."  The  evangelists  have  preserved 
the  memory  of  several  miraculous  cures,  wrought  by 
our  Saviour  on  the  blind. 

On  the  pool  of  Bethesda  it  has  been  suggested, 
that  a  great  dimness  of  sight  might  be  one  degree 
of  blindness  ;  or,  at  least,  that  a  temporary  suspen- 
sion of  sight  might  be  expressed  by  the  term  blind- 
ness ;  other  instances  of  such  suspension  might  have 
been  adduced  in  tlie  Syrians,  who  w^ei-e  smitten  in 
this  manner  by  Elisha,  2  Kings  vi.  18. 

It  is  also  hinted  in  the  article  on  Eastern  Veils, 
that  the  face  of  Moses  was  covered  with  a  veil,  the 
effect  of  which  was  little  different  from  a  slight  de- 
gree of  blindness,  or  dimness  of  perception  ;  and 
this  degree  of  blindness  is,  by  the  apostle,  referred 
to  the  heart  of  the  Jews ;  (2  Cor.  iii.  14.)  that  being, 
at  present,  under  this  veil ;  but  when  it  (that  is,  the 
heart  of  the  nation)  shall  turn  to  the  Lord,  the  veil 
shall  be  taken  away — taken  off,  from  round  about  it, 
TTiniaiQiCrai.  A  few  further  thoughts  on  this  subject 
may  be  acceptable,  because  it  apparently  contains 
an  allusion  to  an  eastern  custom,  of  which  the  west- 
ern reader  can  have  no  conception.  They  are  by 
Mr.  Taylor. 

Sultan  Coobsurroo  moiuited  the  throne  by  order 
of  his  grandfather  ;  his  father  opposed,  defeated,  and 
took  him  prisoner;  "impaled  many  of  his  folloAvers, 
and  bid  his  son  behold  the  men  in  whom  he  trusted." 
His  son  told  him,  "  he  should  not  have  served  him 
80  ....  he  had  no  joy  in  life,  after  the  beholding 
of  so  many  gallant  men  dead."  Notwithstanding, 
the  king  spared  his  life,  casting  him  into  prison, 
where  his  eyes  were  sealed  up  [by  something  put 
before  them,  which  might  not  be  taken  off)  for  the  space 
of  three  years ;  after  which  time  that  seal  was  taken 
away,  that  he  might  with  freedom  enjoy  the  light, 
though  not  his  liberty."  (Sir  Thomas  Roe's  Em- 
bassy to  India,  p.  477.)   Delia  Valle  (p.  29.)  describes 


the  same  fact  in  terms  somewhat  different ;  and,  in- 
deed, without  the  foregoing  explanation,  his  account 
might  have  led  us  into  perplexity  : — "  He  caused  hia 
eyes  to  be  sewed  up,  as  it  is  so'metimes  the  custom 
here  ;  to  the  end  to  deprive  him  of  sight,  without  ercffi- 
cating  him,  that  so  he  might  be  unfit  to  cause  any  more 
commotions  ;  which  sewing,  if  it  continue  long,  they 
say  it  wholly  causes  loss  of  sight ;  but  after  a  while, 
the  father  caused  this  prince's  eyes  to  be  unripped 
again,  so  that  he  was  not  blinded,  but  saw  affain,and 
it  was  only  a  temporal  [temporary]  penance""  Now, 
what  could  this  be,  that  was  thus  put  betbi-e  the  eyes 
of  this  young  prince,  and  sealed,  or  sewed  up,  but  a 
kind  of  hood,  or  veil,  which  covered  his  head  and 
face,  and  most  probably  enclosed  the  whole  upper 
part  of  both.  If  this  notion  of  a  hood,  or  veil,  be 
correct, — and  nothing  seems  to  oppose  it, — then  ob- 
serve, (1.)  This  was  the  punishment  of  a  father  to 
his  son,  for  rebellion  and  disobedience  ;  moreover,  it 
was  an  abated  punishment.  (2.)  It  was  accomplished 
by  the  ministry  of  others,  who  scaled  this  wrapper 
on  the  young  prince.  (3.)  It  was  to  endure  for  a 
limited  time  ;  afler  which  the  father  directed  its  re- 
moval. (4.)  After  its  removal,  the  son  went  about 
again,  in  partial  liberty,  though,  we  are  informed, 
"  strongly  guarded ;"  and  as  it  was  generally  believed 
to  be  the  intent  of  his  father  (for  he  would  often 
presage  so)  to  make  this  prince,  his  first-boni,  his 
successor ;  though  for  the  present,  out  of  some 
jealousy,  (he  being  so  much  beloved  of  the  people,) 
he  denied  him  his  entire  liberty. 

Waving  the  jealousy  of  this  father,  is  not  this  his- 
tory an  accurate  coiuiterpart  to  the  dealings  of  God 
with  Israel,  as  hinted  at  by  the  apostle  ?  The  veil 
was  on  the  lieart  of  that  people,  as  a  punishment, 
not  a  destruction  ;  moreover,  it  was  to  continue  for 
a  limited  time  only,  and  then  that  nation  would  be 
again  acknowledged  by  him,  as  his  son,  his  ffrst- 
born,  and  be  restored  to  liberty,  and  eventually  to 
favor. 

Mr.  Harmer  (vol.  ii.  p.  277.)  has  quoted  the  above 
extract  to  illustrate  Isaiah  vi.  10.  "  SMit  the  eyes  of 
this  people  ;"  but  the  Hebrew  word  yi'z-,  Hiphil  im- 
per.  yvn,  does  not  strictly  mean  to  shut,  close,  but  to 
besmear,  plaster  over,  &c.  and  thus  prevent  from 
seeing.  This  is  the  strict  signification  of  the  root ; 
and,  evidently,  its  translations  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment may  bear  this  meaning,  y.i(tuii'v>,conniveo,  {Matt. 
xiii.  15  ;  Acts  xxviii.  27.)  i.  c.  they  have  haljf  sMit 
their  eyes,  like  those  who  wish  to  keep  out  too  strong 
a  glare  of  light.  The  sentiment  therefore  of  the  New 
Testament  word  will  be  this,  These  people  have  de- 
sisted from  seeing  ;  us  we  say,  they  overlook,  that 
is,  do  not  sec  a  thing  ;  or,  as  it  is  well  expressed, 
"  seeing  they  do  not  perceive  ;"  which  agrees  with 
the  import  of  the  Hebrew. 

Blindness,  as  a  disease  of  the  organ  of  vision,  may 
be  produced  by  drying  up  the  natural  humors  of  the 
eyes,  through  which  the  rays  of  light  pass;  and  this 
may  be  the  effect  of  old  age,  which  produces  dim- 
ness and  at  length  blindness  ;  or  it  may  be  the  con- 
sequence of  great  heat,  applied  to  the  eyes  ;  and  in 
this  manner  one  of  the  kings  of  England  is  said  to 
have  been  blinded,  by  the  holding  of  a  heated  brass 
basin  before  his  eyes,  which  gradually  exiialed  their 
moisture.  If  the  eyes  are  dried  up,  they  nnist  be 
hardened.  Or  blindness  may  pi-oceed  from  a  cata- 
ract, or  thick  skin,  growing  over  a  part  of  the  eye, 
and  preventing  the  passage  of  the  rays  of  light  to 
the  interior,  the  proper  seat  of  vision ;  this  might 
anciently  be  thought  to  give  the  appearance  of  hard- 


BLINDNESS 


[  196  ] 


BLINDNESS 


iiess  to  the  eye  ;  and  we  ourselves  call  such  an  ap- 
pearance a  wall-eye. — The  reader  may  recollect 
other  instances. 

By  these  considerations  we  may,  perhaps,  account 
for  the  seeming  contrariety,  which  appears  some- 
times between  the  margin  and  the  text  in  our  trans- 
lation, (and  in  other  translations  also,)  which  ren- 
ders the  same  word  blindness  and  hardness  ;  for  it  is 
by  no  means  unusual,  for  young  persons  especially, 
to  discover  the  strong  distinction  between  the  ternis 
blindness  and  hardness ;  while  the  cause  of  their 
adoption  to  express  the  same  distemper  entirely  es- 
capes them.  So  we  read,  Mark  iii.  5,  "  Being  grieved 
for  the  blindness — hardness — of  their  hearts."  So 
Rom.  xi.  25,  ^^  Blindness — hard7iess— in  part  hath 
happened  to  Israel."  Ephesians  iv.  18,  "Because 
of  the  blindness — hardness — of  their  hearts."  2  Cor. 
iii.  14,  "Their  minds  were  blinded — hardened:" 
and  elsewhere.  Now,  if  in  these  and  other  j)laces, 
the  disorder  advei-ted  to  were  a  blindness  occasioned 
by  desiccnlion  of  the  visual  agents,  or  any  of  their 
parts,  whether  arising  fi-om  causes  already  suggested, 
or  from  any  other,  then  we  readily  jierceive  by  what 
means  the  two  ideas  oi  bli7idness  and  hardness  might 
originate  from  the  same  word  ;  and  that,  in  fact,  both 
renderings  may  be  correct,  since  by  one  we  are  led 
to  tlie  cause,  hardness;  and  by  the  other  to  the 
effect,  blindness. 

These  observations  are  intended  to  parry  remarks 
which  have  been  raised  from  this  commission  given 
by  God  to  the  prophet.  Some  have  said,  God  com- 
mands the  prophet  to  do  a  certain  thing  to  this  peo- 
ple, and  then  punishes  the  people  :  nay,  this  appears 
stronger  still,  where  the  passage  is  quoted,  as,  (John 
xii.  40.)  He  hath  blinded  their  eyes  and  hardened 
their  hearts ;  which  seems  to  be  contradictory  to 
Matt.  xiii.  1.5,  where  the  people  themselves  are  said 
to  have  closed  their  own  eyes:  and  so  Acts  xxviii. 
27.  These  seeming  contradictions  are  very  easily 
reconciled.  God,  by  giving  plenty  and  abundance, 
affords  the  means  of  the  people's  abusing  his  good- 
ness, and  becoming  both  over-fat  with  food,  and  in- 
toxicated with  drink ;  and  thus,  his  very  beneficence 
may  be  said  to  make  their  heart  fat,  and  their  ej'es 
heavy:  while  at  the  same  time,  the  peo))le  by  their 
own  act,  their  over-feeding,  become  unwieldy — in- 
dolent— bloated — o\er-fat  at  heart ;  and,  moreover, 
so  stupified  by  liquor  and  strong  drink,  that  their 
eyes  ;md  ears  inay  be  useless  to  them  :  with  wide 
open  eyes,  "staring,  they  may  stare, but  not  perceive  ; 
and  listening,  they  may  hear,  but  not  understand ;" 
and  in  this  lethargic  state  they  will  continue ;  pre- 
femng  it  to  a  more  sedate,  rational  condition,  and 
refusing  to  forbear  from  prolonging  the  causes  of  it, 
lest  at  any  sober  interval  they  should  see  truly  with 
their  eyes,  and  hear  acciuately  with  their  ears  ;  in 
consequence  of  which  they  should  be  shocked  at 
theinselves,  be  conveited,  be  changed  from  such 
misconduct,  and  T  shoidd  heal  them ;  should  cure 
these  delusory  effecls  of  their  surfeits  and  dissolute- 
ness. Company  Isaiah  v.  11  ;  xxviii.  7.  Where  is 
now  the  contradiction  between  these  diftereut  repre- 
Gentations  of  the  sani?  event  ? — Is  it  not  an  occurrence 
of  daily  notoriety,  that  (Jod  gives,  but  the  sinner  abuses 
Jiis  gitis  to  his  own  injury,  of  body  and  mind  ? 

This  may  also  hint  a  reason  why  our  Lord  spoke 
in  parables  ;  that  is,  t'je  jjeoplt!  were  too  much  stu- 
])ified  to  see  the  plain  and  r-linple  truth  ;  but  their 
attention  might  possibly  be  gained  by  a  tale,  or  be 
caught  by  an  inference. 

liccause  the  customs  of  our  countrv  do  neither 


authorize,  nor  tolerate,  the  maiming  of  a  criminal  by 
way  of  punishment,  we  are  (happily  for  us)  incapable 
of  entering  into  the  spirit  of  several  passages  of  Scrip- 
ture ;  for  instance,  those  which  speak  of  not  merely 
loss  of  sight,  but  loss  of  the  eyes,  also,  the  organs  of 
sight ;  that  is,  of  blindness,  occasioned  by  a  forcible 
extraction  of  the  eye  itself:  nevertheless,  till  we 
proj)erly  understand  this  dej)lorable  condition,  we 
shall  not  adequately  compi-ehend  the  exertion  of 
that  power  which  could  restore  the  faculty  of  sight, 
by  restoring  the  organ  of  that  inq)ortant  sense.  We 
wish  to  impress  this  on  the  i-eader  ;  and  to  present 
to  his  conception  the  inevitable  and  remediless  mis- 
ery of  the  unhappy  sufferers  under  such  a  calamity; 
winch  is  a  punishment  constantly  used  in  the  East 
for  rebellion  or  treason. 

"  Mahommed  Khan  ....  not  long  after  I  left 
Persia,  his  eyes  were  cut  out.  (Hanway,  p.  924.) 
The  close  of  this  hideous  scene  (of  punishment)  was 
au  order  to  cut  out  the  eyes  of  this  unhappy  man  : 
the  soldiers  were  dragging  him  to  this  execution, 
while  he  begged  with  bitter  cries  that  he  might 
rather  suffer  death,  (p.  203.)  Sadoc  Aga  had  his 
beard  cut  off,  his  face  rubbed  with  dirt,  and  his  eyes 
were  cut  out.  (p.  201.)  The  Persians  regard  blind 
men  as  dead  ;"  and  indeed  they  are  ever  after  a  dead 
weight  on  their  families,  who  maintain  them,  with 
gi-eat  trouble,  and  who  ever  have  them  l)efore  their 
eyes.  Tliis  is  the  reason  why  they  are  not  put  to 
death  at  once. 

"As  we  approached  Astrabad,  we  met  several 
armed  horsemen  carrying  home  the  peasants  whose 
eyes  had  been  ])Ut  out,  the  blood  yet  running  down 
their  faces."  (p.  201.)  Chardin  relates  an  instance 
of  a  king  of  Imiretta,  who  lived  in  this  condition. 
(p.  180.)  Hearing  a  conqilaint  of  continual  wars, 
"  I  am  sorry  for  it,  re])lietl  the  king,  but  I  cannot  help 
it :  for  I  am  a  poor  blind  man  ;  and  they  make  me  do 
what  they  themselves  please.  I  dare  not  discover 
myself  to  any  one  whatever ;  I  mistrust  all  the 
world  ;  and  yet  I  surrender  myself  to  all,  not  daring 
to  offend  any  bodj^,  for  fear  of  being  assassinated  by 
every  body.  This  poor  prince  is  young  and  well 
shaped :  and  he  always  wears  a  handkerchief  over 
the  upper  part  of  his  face,  to  wipe  up  the  rheum 
that  distils  from  the  holes  of  liis  eyes  ;  and  to  hide 
such  a  hideous  sight  from  those  who  come  to  visit 
him." 

Let  us  now  consider  tlie  anaioinical  force  of  some 
expressions  in  the  prophet  Isaiah :  he  speaks  of  a 
person  who  was  to  bind  up  the  broken  hearted,  also, 
to  open  the  eyes  that  were  blinded,  i.  e.  total  blind- 
ness itself,  as  the  word  seems  to  imply,  2  Kings  xxv. 
7.  for  did  not  Nebuchadnezzar  punish  Zedekiah 
with  the  usual  punishment  for  high  treason,  or  re- 
bellion, (as  we  have  seen  above,)  bj^  ciuting  out  his 
eyes,  in  order  to  blind  him  efl'ectually  ?  See  also  Jer. 
xxxix.  7  ;  Iii.  11. 

The  evangelist  Luke  (iv.  18.)  seems  to  allude  to 
such  an  inq)ort  of  the  word,  and  to  such  a  fact: 
"The  Spirit  of  the  Lord  is  upon  me  .  .  to  give  to 
the  blind  restoration  of  sight,  remobility  of  the  eyes," 
uvui).iii-ir.  The  j)ower  which  could  bind  up  the 
broken  heart,  coidd  also  restore  the  eye-balls  to  their 
deprived  sockets,  and  give  them  every  faculty  which 
th(\v  had  long  lost.  L<-'t  the  reader  well  consider  and 
admire  this  j)ower.  Let  him  also  ai)j)laud  the  cor- 
rect and  happy  ])hrascology  of  the  evangelist,  whom 
tradition  reports  to  have  been  the  "beloved  physi- 
cian." In  perfect  coincidence  with  this,  Mr.  Ches- 
selden    observes,   (Philosoi)hical    Transactions,  No. 


BLINDNESS 


[  197  1 


BLO 


402.)  that  he  had  couched  several  bhud  persons ; 
and  they  all  had  been  "  mightily  perplexed  after  the 
operation,  how  to  move  their  eyes,  iiaviug  had  no 
occasion  to  move  them  during  their  blindness ;  and 
they  were  a  long  time  before  they  could  attain  this 
faculty,  and  before  they  could  direct  them  to  any 
object  which  they  wished  to  inspect :"  that  is,  they 
were  long  in  recovering  that  uruiiXupir  which  our 
Lord  communicated  perfectly  in  an  instant.  The 
same  evangelist  uses  a  very  descriptive  expression 
of  our  Lord's  manner  of  doing  such  a  kindness  : 
(Luke  vii.  2L)  "And  to  many  who  were  blind  he 
freely  made  a  present  of  sigiit ;  [f/atJiauTu  t'u  [i/.f.uiy  ;) 
the  word  is  not  now  inu,-(/.fi/ n,  but  simply /J-U',iEn' ; 
which  seems  to  justify  the  stronger  import  we  have 
ascribed  to  the  former  word  :  while  the  term  f/uQiauTo 
expresses  the  graceful  readiness  of  the  donor's 
action. 

Mr.  Pope  has  two  lines  which  have  been  much 
applauded:  speaking  of  the  Messiah,  he  says, 

He  from  thick  films  shall  purge  the  visual  ray, 
And  on  the  sightless  eye-ball  pour  the  day. 

Critics  might  remark  the  fallacy  of  the  metaphor 
in  the  first  hue,  since  the  visual  ray  (that  is,  of  light) 
has  no  film  from  which  to  be  purged,  whatever  the 
visual  waij  (the  passage  for  light  into  the  eye)  might 
have.  But  our  observations  lead  us  to  the  second 
line,  which,  however  happily  expressed,  is  inferior  in 
strength  to  the  prophet ;  who  not  only  includes  the 
restoration  of  ability  for  vision  to  the  sightless  eye- 
ball, but  also,  perhaps,  the  restoration  of  the  eye-ball 
itself  to  its  proper  place,  and  to  its  rolling  activity : 

He  from  thick  films  shall  clear  the  visual  course. 
The  rolling  ball  restore,  with  all  its  former  force. 

Whether  the  application  of  the  instances  above 
quoted  to  the  case  of  Zedekiah,  and  to  the  word 
used  in  reference  to  him,  may  be  admitted  without 
hesitation,  we  will  not  determine.  But  an  instance 
of  wluit  may  certainly  be  considered  as  a  loss  of  the 
eye-ball  itself,  occurs  in  the  case  of  Samson, 
Judges  xvi.  21.  "The  Philistines  took  him  and 
(iij^y-rN  npji)  bored — dug  out — his  very  eyes:"  treat- 
ing him  as  a  rebel.  Well  might  he,  therefore,  after- 
wards speak  of  being  "avenged  on  them  for  the 
loss  of  his  two  eyes,"  verse  28.  "  O  dark,  dark,  dark, 
beyond  the  reach  of  light !"  This  shows  also  the 
barbarity  of  Nahash,  (1  Sam.  xi.  2.)  who  proposed  to 
"  thrust  out,"  scoop  out — hollow  out — the  right  eyes 
of  the  inhabitants  of  Jabesh  Gilcad.  This  shows, 
too,  the  severity  of  the  punishment  assigned  to  "the 
eye  that  mocketh  at  his  father,  and  desi)iseth  to  oI)ey 
his  n)other  ;  the  ravens  of  the  valley  shall  pick  it  out ; 
and  the  young  eagles  shall  eat  it :" — that  is,  it  shall 
suffer  the  pimishment  of  rebellion  and  treason.  And 
finally,  this  shows  the  strong  language  of  the  rebels 
in  the  conspiracy  of  Korah,  Numb.  xvi.  14.  "  Wilt 
thou  (Moses)  bore  out  the  eyes  of  these  men  ?" — wilt 
thou  subject  them  to  total  and  irrejiarable  blindness  ? 
— otherwise,  q.  d.  "  Is  it  in  thy  power  to  punish  so 
extensive  a  conspiracy,  as  thou  mightest  punish  a 
!•  ingle  reljcl  ?" 

If  therefore  the  instances  mentioned  by  Hanway 
and  Chardin  are  not  to  l)e  considered  as  altogctiier 
coincident  with  that  of  Zedekiah,  since  then  the  his- 
torian might  have  used  the  jMoper  word  to  express 
such  a  forced  extraction  of  the  eye-ball,  yet  they  will 
apply   to   the    passages   subsequently   quoted ;    an  1 


they  will  justify  the  different  senses  of  the  word  blind- 
ness, according  to  the  nature  and  origin  of  its  cause. 

The  idea  of  blindness  seems  evidentiv  to  varv  in 
its  strength  :—( John  ix.  40.)  "I  am  come  into  "this 
world  that  they  who  see  not  might  see ;  and  that 
they  who  see  might  become  blind;"  not  totally 
blind,  as  those  who  have  lost  their  eye-balls,  but  in  a 
smaller  degree.  "  The  Pharisees  said,  Are  we  blind 
also  ? — If  ye  were  bhnd — absolutely,  inevitably  bhnd 
— blind  through  any  calamitous  disjjensation  of 
Providence — ye  should  have  no  sin  ;  but  now  ye 
say.  We  see ;  therefore  your  sin  remaineth." 

Ignorance  is  a  kind  of  blindness  often  no  less  fatal 
tlian  privation  of  sight ;  and  partial  or  deficient  in- 
formation is  Uttle  better  than  ignorance :  so  we  find 
Closes  saying  to  Hobab,  "  Leave  us  not,  I  pray  thee  ; 
forasmuch  as  thou  knowest  how  we  ought  to  encamp 
in  the  wilderness,  and  thou  mayest  be  to  us  instead 
of  eyes,"  Numb.  x.  3L  The  necessity  and  propriety 
of  such  a  guide  will  appear  from  considerations 
easily  gathered  from  the  following  extract ;  and  the 
description  of  a  person  of  this  character  will  be  inter- 
esting, though  it  cannot  be  equally  interesting  to  us 
who  travel  on  hedge-bounded  turnpike  roads,  as  to 
an  individual  about  to  take  his  passage  across  the 
Great  Desert.  If  it  be  said,  in  the  case  of  Moses,  the 
angel  who  conducted  the  camp  might  have  ap[)ointed 
its  stations,  without  the  assistance  of  Hobab ;  we  an 
swer,  it  might  have  been  so  ;  but,  as  it  is  now  the 
usual  course  of  Providence  to  act  by  means,  even  to 
accomplish  the  most  certain  events  ;  and  as  no  man 
who  has  neglected  any  means,  has  now  the  smallest 
right  to  expect  an  interposition  of  Providence  on  his 
behalf;  so  we  strongly  doubt,  wliether  it  would  not 
have  been  a  failing,  an  act  of  presumption,  in  Rloses, 
had  he  omitted  this  application  to  Hobab  ;  or,  indeed, 
any  other,  suggested  by  his  good  sense  and  under- 
standing. "  A  Hybeer  is  a  guide ;  from  the  Arabic 
word  Hubbar,  to  inform,  instruct,  or  direct,  because 
they  are  used  to  do  this  office  to  the  caravan  travel- 
ling through  the  Desert,  in  all  its  directions,  whether 
to  Egypt  and  back  again,  the  coast  of  the  Red  sea,  or 
the  countries  of  Sudan,  and  the  western  extremities 
of  Africa.  They  are  men  of  great  consideration, 
knowing  perfectly  the  situation  aud  properties  of  all 
kinds  of  vvater,  to  be  met  on  the  route  ;  the  distances 
of  wells  ;  whether  occupied  by  enemies  or  not ;  and 
if  so,  the  way  to  avoid  them  with  the  least  inconve- 
nience. It  is  also  necessary  to  them  to  know  the 
places  occupied  by  the  simoom,  aufl  the  seasons  of 
their  blowing  in  those  parts  of  the  desert ;  likewise 
those  occu])ied  by  moving  sands.  He  generally  be- 
long- to  some  powerful  tribe  of  Arabs  inhabiting 
these  deserts,  whose  protection  he  makes  use  of,  to 
assist  his  canivans,  or  protect  them  in  time  of  dan- 
ger;  and  handsome  rewards  ai'c  ah\a}'s  in  his  power 
to  dislribute  on  such  occasions ;  but  now  that  the 
Arabs  in  these  deserts  are  every  where  without  gov- 
ernment, the  trade  between  Abyssinia  and  Cairo 
given  over,  that  between  Sudan  and  the  metropohs 
much  diminished,  the  importance  of  that  office  of 
Hybeer,  and  its  consideration,  is  fallen  in  ])roportiou, 
and  with  these  the  safe  conduct ;  and  Me  shall  see 
])resently  a  caravan  cut  off  by  the  treachery  of  the 
ver}'  Hybeers  that  conducted  them ;  the  first  in- 
stance of  the  kind  that  ever  happened."  Bruce,  vol. 
iv.  p.  5SG. 

BLOOD  was  forbidden  to  the  Hebrews,  either  alone, 
or  mixed  with  flesh  ;  that  is,  creatures  suffocated,  or 
killed  without  discharging  the  blood  from  them  ;  iDe- 
cause  the  life  of  the  creature  is  in    its  blood.  Lev. 


BLOOD 


[  193] 


BLOOD 


Xvii.  11.  According  to  this  notiou  is  Virgil's  ex- 
pression, describing  the  death  of  Rhastus, 

Pui*puream  vomit  ille  animam.     ^neid.  ix.  349* 

and  from  hence  proceed  several  acceptations  of  the 
word  blood  : 

(1.)  For  life,  Gen.  ix.  5  ;  Matt,  xxvii.  25  ;  Gen.  iv. 
10  ;  Dent.  xix.  6 ;  Numb.  xxxv.  24,  27.— (2.)  Rela- 
tionship, or  consanguinity.  Lev.  xviii.  6  ;  Esth.  x^  i. 
10.  Apoc.—{S.)  Flesh  and  blood  (signifying  the  ani- 
mal frame)  are  placed  in  opposition  to  superior 
nature,  Matt.  xvi.  17 ;  1  Cor.  xv.  50,  &c. — (4.)  David 
said  he  would  not  drink  the  blood  of  his  heroes,  who 
had  exposed  their  lives  to  bring  him  water  from  the 
well  of  Bethlehem ;  (1  Chron.  xi.  19.)  the  water 
which  had  been  so  near  costing  them  their  lives. — 
(5.)  God  reserved  to  himself  the  blood  of  all  sacri- 
fices ;  he  being  absolute  master  of  life  and  death. 
The  blood  of  animals  was  poured  upon  his  altar,  or 
at  the  foot  of  his  altar,  according  to  the  nature  of  the 
sacrifice  ;  and  if  the  teinj)le  were  too  remote,  it  was 
poured  upon  the  gi-ound,  and  covered  with  dust. 
The  blood  of  the  sacrifice  in  the  Old  Testament  was 
figurative  of  that  blood  which  our  Redeemer,  as  the 
great  sacrifice,  poured  fortli  tor  us,  for  the  forgive- 
ness of  sins.  "  A  man  of  blood,"  "  a  husband  of 
blood,"  is  a  cruel  and  sanguinary  man,  a  husband 
purchased  with  blood,  or  who  is  tlie  occasion  and 
cause  of  the  effusion  of  his  sou's  blood  ;  thus,  Zip- 
porah  called  her  husband,  Moses,  when  she  had 
circumcised  her  son  ;  because  she  had  to  redeem 
the  life  of  her  husband  by  circumcising  her  son,  by  a 
bloody  rite,  Ex.  iv.  25  ;  or,  as  others  render  it,  "  Thou 
art  now  a  husband  to  me  by  blood,"  that  is,  by  the 
blood  of  the  covenant,  by  circumcision.  "  To  build 
one's  house  with  blood  ;"  (Hab.  ii.  12.)  with  oppres- 
sion, and  the  blood  of  the  unhappy.  "To  wash 
one's  feet  in  blood,"  to  obtain  a  signal  and  bloody 
victory,  Ps.  Iviii.  10.  The  Vulgate  reads,  to  ivash 
his  hands  ;  the  Hebrew,  he  shall  ivash  his  feet.  "  I 
will  visit  the  blood  of  Jezreel,"  I  will  avenge  the 
blood  which  Jezebel  hath  shed  there.  "The  moon 
shall  be  changed  into  blood,"  (Joel  ii.  31.)  shall  ap- 
pear red  like  blood,  as  it  does,  in  some  degree, 
during  a  total  eclipse.  Ezek.  xvi.  G,  "I  said  unto 
thee,  even  when  thou  wast  in  thy  blood,  Live."  I 
saw  thee  polluted  with  the  blood  of  thy  birth,  and, 
notwithstanding  this  impurity,  I  gave  thee  life. 

Tlie  reader,  probably,  has  never  remarked,  in  the 
expression  of  David  respecting  Joab,  (1  Kings  ii.  5.) 
any  thing  beyond  a  simple  idea  of  shedding  blood 
luilawfully  ;  and  that  viay  be  a  sufiicient  acceptation 
of  tlie  passage  ;  yet,  we  think,  it  may  acquire  a 
spirit  at  least,  if  not  an  illustration,  by  comparison 
with  the  following  history.  Tlie  dying  king  says  to 
Solomon,  his  successor,  "Thou  kuowest  what  Joab, 
the  son  of  Zeniiah,  did  to  me  and  to  the  two  chiefs 
of  Israel,  Aimer  and  Amasa,  tiiat  lie  slew  them,  and 
shed  the  blood  of  war  (blood  which  only  might  be 
shed  in  fair  and  open  warfare)  in  peace,  under 
friendly  professions,  and  put  (sjjriukled)  the  blood  of 
war  into  his  girdle,  which  was  on  liis  loins ;  (that  is, 
on  the  very  front  of  his  girdle  ;)  and  into  the  shoes 
which  were  on  his  feet,"  that  is,  into  the  front  of  his 
shoes.  It  is  evident  that  David  means  to  describe 
the  violence  of  Joab,  the  eflects  of  which  seem  to 
have  been  coincident  with  the  sentiment  of  the 
valiant  Abdollali,  "  wlio  went  out  and  definided  him- 
self, to  the  terror  and  astonishment  of  his  enemies, 
killing  a  great  many  with  his  own  hand,  so  that  they 


kept  at  a  distance,  and  threw  bricks  at  him,  and  made 
him  stagger;  and  when  he  felt  the  blood  run  down 
his  face  and  beard,  he  repeated  this  verse  : 

'  The  blood  of  our  Avounds  doth  not  fall  down  on  our 
heels,  but  on  our  feet ;' 

meaning,  that  he  did  not  turn  his  back  on  his  ene- 
mies ;  but  that  his  blood  fell  in  front,  not  behind." 
(Ockley's  Hist.  Saracens,  vol.  ii.  p.  291.)  In  like 
manner,  the  blood  shed  by  Joab  fell  on  his  feet,  "  on 
his  shoes,"  says  David ;  it  was  not  inadvertent- 
ly, but  purposely  shed ;  shed  in  a  hardened,  un- 
feeling manner ;  with  malice  aforethought ;  with 
ferocity,  rather  than  valor.  This  explanation  is  very 
different  from  Mr.  Harmer's,  vol.  iii.  p.  312.  [and 
must  be  regarded  as  far-fetched.     R. 

The  blood  of  Jesus  Christ  is  the  price  of  our  salva- 
tion; "his  blood  has  purchased  his  church,"  Acts  xx. 
28.  "We  are  justified  by  his  blood,"  Rom.  v.  9. 
"We  have  redemption  through  his  blood,"  Eph.  i. 
7  ;  Col.  i.  14.  "  By  his  blood  he  hath  pacified  all 
things  in  heaven  and  earth,"  Col.  i.  20.  "  By  his 
own  blood  he  entered  in  once  into  the  holy  place,  hav- 
ing obtained  eternal  redemption  for  us,"  Heb.  ix.  12. 
— For  the  phrase  Avenger  of  Blood,  see  Revenge. 

No  discovery  made  more  noise  in  the  inquisitive 
world,  than  the  accounts  given  by  Mr.  Bruce  relat- 
ing to  the  eating  of  blood.  Many  were  the  ill- 
advised  conmients  and  additions  to  which  the  first 
reports  of  this  custom  gave  rise ;  and  it  was  proba- 
bly attributable  to  these  comments  that  the  publica- 
tion of  his  work  was  so  long  delayed.  The  reader 
will  find  below  that  particular  incident,  which  was 
related  very  differently,  by  reporters,  from  what  Mr. 
B.  himself  relates  it ;  it  is  given  partly  as  an  act  of 
justice  to  that  travellei-'s  memory,  as  well  as  because 
it  elucidates  a  striking  passage  in  Holy  Writ. 

Not  only  did  the  Mosaic  law  forbid  the  eating  of 
blood,  but  the  prohibition  appears  to  be  one  of  the 
earliest  injunctions  given  to  renovated  mankind ;  (Gen. 
ix.  4.)  "The  fife,  i.e.  the  blood  thereof,  shall  you  not 
eat."  This  was  renewed  in  most  positive  terms,  in  Lev. 
xvii.  10.  and  remarkably  in  verses  12.  and  15.  where 
the  stranger  also  is  included  in  the  prohibition,  under 
the  most  rigorous  penalty.  Now  it  is  reasonably 
asked,  Unless  tins  custom  had  been  known  to  Moses, 
or  used  in  his  time,  wherefore  insert  the  regulation  ? 
wherefore  forbid  what  was  never  practised  ?  That 
this  is  now  actually  ordinarily  jjractised  in  Abyssinia, 
we  have  the  testimony  of  Mr.  Bruce  ;  and  Mr.  Hodges 
also  (Travels  in  India,  j).  93.  4to.)  i-elates,  that  he  was 
present  at  a  sacrifice  among  the  mountaineers  of  Hin- 
dostan,  where  those  assembled  at  their  annual  cere- 
mony, after  the  head  of  tlie  ox  was  separated  by  the 
chief  with  a  sabre,  ate  the  still  bleeding  flesh,  and 
the  blood  which  remained  in  it.  It  appears,  also, 
that  there  are  tribes  in  Africa,  whose  slight  manner 
of  roasting  their  food  is  little  different  from  eating  it 
raw  ;  and  if  it  were  not  personal  to  ourselves,  as  a 
nation,  it  might  be  said,  that  we  ate  various  kinds  of 
fish,  as  oysters,  &c.  raw  ;  while  yet  we  are  surprised 
at  those  who  feed  on  snails,  and  at  those  who  feast 
on  locusts. — So  difterent  are  the  manners  of  man- 
kind !  and  so  startling  are  their  apprehensions  of 
the  customs  of  others!  For  the  rest  let  us  hear  Mr. 
Bruce  : — 

"  Not  long  aft;er  our  losing  sight  of  the  ruins  of  this 
ancient  capital  of  Abyssinia,  we  overtook  three  trav- 
ellers, driving  a  cow  before  them ;  they  had  black 
goat-skins  upon    their    shoulders,  and  lances  and 


BLOOD 


[  199 


BOA 


shields  iu  their  hands  ;  in  other  respects  they  were 
but  thinly  clothed;  they  appeared  to  be  soldiers. 
The  cow  did  not  seem  to  be  fatted  for  killing,  and  it 
occurred  to  us  all  that  it  had  been  stolen.  This, 
however,  was  not  our  business,  nor  was  such  an  oc- 
currence at  all  remarkable  iu  a  country  so  long  en- 
gaged in  war.  We  saw  that  our  attendants  attached 
themselves,  in  a  particular  manner,  to  the  three  sol- 
diers that  were  driving  the  cow,  and  held  a  short 
conversation  with  thein.  Soon  after,  we  arrived  at 
the  hithermost  bank  of  the  river,  where  I  thought 
we  were  to  pitch  our  tent ;  the  drivers  suddenly 
tripped  up  the  cow,  and  gave  the  poor  animal  a  very 
rude  fall  upon  the  gi-ound,  which  was  but  the  begin- 
ning of  her  sufferings.  One  of  them  sat  across  her 
neck,  holding  down  her  head  by  the  horns,  another 
twisted  the  halter  about  her  fore  feet,  while  the  third, 
who  had  a  knife  in  his  hand,  to  my  very  great  sur- 
prise, in  place  of  taking  her  by  the  throat,  got  astride 
upon  her  belly,  before  her  hind  legs,  and  gave  her  a 
very  deep  wound  in  the  upper  part  of  the  buttock. 
From  the  time  I  had  seen  them  throw  the  beast 
upon  the  ground,  I  had  rejoiced,  thinking  that  when 
three  people  were  kilhng  a  cow,  they  must  have 
agreed  to  sell  part  of  her  to  us ;  and  I  was  much 
disappointed  at  hearing  the  Abyssinians  say,  that  we 
were  to  pass  the  river  to  the  other  side,  and  not  en- 
camp where  I  intended.  Upon  my  proposing  they 
should  bargain  for  part  of  the  cow,  my  men  answer- 
ed, what  they  had  already  learned  in  conversation — 
'  that  they  were  not  then  to  kill  her,  that  she  was 
not  wholly  theirs,  and  they  could  not  sell  her.'  This 
awakened  my  curiosity  ;  I  let  my  people  go  forward, 
and  staid  myself,  till  I  saw,  with  the  utmost  aston- 
ishment, two  pieces,  thicker  and  longer  than  our 
ordinary  beef  steaks,  cut  out  of  the  higher  part  of 
the  buttock  of  the  beast :  how  it  was  done  I  cannot 
positively  say,  because,  judging  the  cow  was  to  be 
killed  from  the  luoment  I  saAv  the  knife  drawn,  I 
was  not  anxious  to  view  that  catastrophe,  which  was 
by  no  means  an  object  of  curiosity  ;  whatever  way  it 
was  done,  it  surely  was  adroitly  ;  and  the  two  pieces 
were  spread  upon  the  outside  of  one  of  their  shields. 
One  of  them  still  continued  holding  the  head  while 
the  other  two  were  busied  in  curing  the  A\ound. 
This,  too,  was  not  done  in  an  ordinary  manner ;  the 
skin,  which  had  covered  the  flesh  that  was  taken 
away,  was  left  entire,  and  flapped  over  the  wound, 
and  was  fastened  to  the  corresponding  part  by  two 
or  more  small  skewers  or  pins  :  whether  they  had 
put  any  thing  under  the  skin,  between  that  and  the 
wounded  flesh,  I  know  not ;  but,  at  tiie  river  side 
where  they  were,  they  had  prepared  a  cataplasm  of 
clay,  with  whicli  they  covered  the  wound  ;  they 
then  forced  the  animal  to  rise,  and  drove  it  on  be- 
fore them,  to  furnish  them  with  a  fuller  meal  when 
thev  should  meet  their  companions  in  the  evening." 
Travels,  vol.  iii.  p.  J  42. 

In  various  jjarts  of  his  Travels,  Mr.  B.  asserts  the 
eating  of  flesh  raw,  the  animal  being  killed  on  the 
outside  of  the  door,  for  the  entertainment  of  a 
company  within.  Thig  raw  flesh,  he  says,  is  called 
"6nnrf,-"  he  mentions  it  as  given  even  to  the  sick  by 
their  friends ;  and  he  explains  a  disorder  which  it 
produces.  He  says,  he  ate  of  it  himself,  and  (to  no- 
tice the  force  of  custom)  on  this  he  lived  a  long 
time  together ; — in  fact,  the  soldiery  scarcely  have, 
or  can  have,  any  other  food.  The  following  hints 
are  introductorv  to  his  remarks  on  the  historv  of 
Saul :  (1  Sam.  xiv.  33.) 
f    «  Wp  have   an  instance,  in   the  life  of  Saul,  that 


shows  the  propensity  of  the  Israelites  to  this  crime. 
Saul's  army,  after  a  battle,/eu',  that  is,  fell  voraciously, 
upon  the  cattle  they  had  taken,  and  threw  them  upon 
the  ground  to  cut  off  their  flesh,  and  eat  them  raw; 
so  that  the  army  was  defiled  by  eating  blood,  or  liv- 
ing animals.  To  prevent  this,  Saul  caused  to  be 
rolled  to  him  a  great  stone,  and  ordered  those  that 
killed  their  oxen,  to  cut  their  throats  upon  that  stone. 
This  was  the  only  lawful  way  of  killing  animals  for 
food  ;  the  t}'ing  of  the  ox,  and  throwing  it  upon  the 
ground,  was  not  permitted  as  equivalent.  The  Is- 
raelites did,  probably,  in  that  case,  as  the  Abyssinians 
do  at  this  day  :  they  cut  a  part  of  its  throat,  so  that 
the  blood  might  be  seen  on  the  ground,  but  nothing 
mortal  to  the  animal  followed  from  that  wound. 
But  after  laying  its  head  upon  a  large  stone,  and  cut- 
ling  its  throat,  the  blood  fell  from  on  high,  or  was 
poured  on  the  ground  like  water,  and  sufficient 
evidence  appeared  that  the  creature  was  dead,  be- 
fore it  was  attempted  to  eat  it.  We  have  seen  that 
the  Abyssinians  came  from  Palestine,  a  very  few 
years  after  this  ;  and  we  are  not  to  doubt,  that  they 
then  carried  with  them  this,  with  many  other  Jewish 
customs,  which  they  have  continued  to  this  day." 
(Travels,  vol.  iii.  p.  299.)  This  fact  has  since  beeu 
confirmed  bj^  Mr.  Salt ;  it  is  termed  in  Abyssinia 
"  eating  the  shidada." 

BLUE,  see  Purple. 

BOANERGES,  that  is.  Sons  of  Thunder;  a 
name  given  by  our  Saviour  to  the  sons  of  Zebedee, 
James  and  John,  (Mark  iii.  17.)  on  the  occasion, 
probably,  of  their  request,  that  he  would  call  for  fire 
from  heaven,  and  destroy  a  certain  village  of  the 
Samaritans,  who  had  refused  to  entertain  them,  Luke 
ix.  53,  54.  It  is  applied  to  them  no  where  else  in  the 
New  Testament. 

BOAR.  The  wild  boar  is  usually  thought  to  be 
the  parent  of  the  swine  kind.  It  inhabits  Asia  as 
well  as  Europe,  and  retains  its  character  and  man- 
ners in  almost  every  climate.  On  the  feet,  as  mark- 
ing distinction,  it  may  be  observed  that,  though  their 
outward  appearance  resembles  that  of  a  cloven-footed 
animal,  yet  internally  they  have  the  same  number  of 
bones  and  joints  as  animals  which  have  fingers  and 
toes ;  so  that  the  arrangement  of  their  feet-bones 
is,  into  first,  and  second,  and  third  phalanges,  or 
knuckles,  no  less  than  that  of  the  human  hand. 
Beside,  therefore,  the  absence  of  rumination  in  the 
hog  kind,  the  feet  of  the  species  do  not  accord  with 
those  of  such  beasts  as  are  clean,  according  to  the 
established  Levitical  regulations.  (See  Animals.) 
It  will  be  found,  also,  that  no  carnivorous  quadru- 
peds are  placed  by  nature  in  the  class  of  animals 
having  feet  divided  into  two  parts  only.  Such  could 
not  have  been  acceptable  on  the  sacred  altar ;  the 
second  digestion  of  food  (as  nuist  be  the  case  with 
creatin-es  that  feed  on  flesh,  which  flesh  has  been 
already  supported  by  the  digestion  of  food,  vegetable 
or  animal)  being  absolutely  excluded.  Even  honey 
was  prohibited  from  the  altar,  probably,  because  it 
had  undergone  a  process  not  unlike  digestion,  in 
the  stomach  of  the  bee.  It  was  lawful  as  food  to 
man  ;  but  not  as  an  accompaniment  to  sacrifice. 

The  prophet  figuratively  complains  (Ps.  Ixxx. 
13.)  that  the  wild  boar  of  the  forest  had  rooted  up 
the  Lord's  vine ;  which  is  understood  either  of  Sen- 
nacherib, or  Nebuchadnezzar,  or  Antiochus  Epiph- 
anes,  who  rava^d  Judea.  The  Hebrew  word  ziz 
is  taken  generally  for  wild  beasts,  see  Ps.  1.  11. 
The  Syriac  understands  it  in  that  place  of  the  wild 
ass  ;  the  Chaldee  of  the  wild  cock.     [The  language 


BOD 


[  200 


BOO 


in  this  passage,  however,  is  only  highly  figurative ; 
aud  cannot  with  ])ropriety  be  thus  definitely  applied 
to  any  individual  animal.     R. 

I.  BOAZ,  or  Booz,  the  husband  of  Ruth.  See 
Booz. 

II.  BOAZ,  the  name  of  one  of  those  brazen  pillars 
which  Solomon  erected  in  tlie  porch  of  the  temple, 
1  Kings  vii.  21.  The  other,  called  Jachin,  was  on 
the  right  hand  of  the  entrance,  Boaz  on  the  left. 
Boaz  (r;-i:i)  signifies  strength,  firmness.  They  wore 
to^gether  thirty-five  cubits  high,  as  in  2  Chron.  iii. 
15.  i.  e.  each  separately  Vas  seventeen  cubits  and  a 
half:  1  Kings  vii.  15,  and  Jer.  Iii.  21,  say  eighteen 
cubits,  in  round  numbers.  Jeremiah  says  the  thick- 
ness of  these  columns  was  four  fingers,  for  they  were 
hollow  ;  the  circumference  of  them  was  twelve  cu- 
bits, or  four  cubits  diameter ;  the  chapiter  of  each 
was  in  ail  five  cubits  high.  These  chapiters,  in  dif- 
ferent parts  of  Scripture,  are  said  to  be  of  different 
heights,  of  three,  four,  or  five  cubits ;  because  they 
were  composed  of  different  ornaments  or  members, 
which  were  sometimes  considered  as  omitted,  so'me- 
times  as  included.  The  body  of  the  chapiter  was  of 
three  cubits,  the  ornaments  with  which  it  was  joined 
to  the  shaft  of  the  pillar,  were  of  one  cubit:  these 
make  four  cubits  ;  the  row  which  was  at  the  top  of 
the  cha|)iter  was  also  of  one  cubit ;  in  all  five  cubits. 

BOCHIM,  the  place  of  mourners,  or  of  iveepings,  a 
place  near  Gilgal,  where  the  Hebrews  celebrated 
their  solemn  feasts.  Here  the  angel  of  the  covenant 
appeared  to  them,  and  denounced  the  sinfulness  of 
their  idolatry,  which  caused  bitter  weeping  among  the 
peo])le  ;  v/hence  the  place  had  its  name,  Judg.  ii.  10. 

BODY,  the  animal  frame  of  man,  as  distinguished 
from  his  spiritual  nature.  James  says  (iii.  6.)  the 
tongue  pollutes  the  whole  body  ;  the  whole  of  our 
actions:  or  it  influences  the  other  members  of  the 
body.  Our  Saviour  says,  (Matt.  vi.  22.)  "  If  thine 
eye  be  single,  thy  whole  body  shall  be  fidl  of  light" 
— if  thy  intentions  be  upright,  thy  general  conduct 
will  be  agreeable  to  that  character:  or,  "if  thine 
eye  be  single,"  if  thou  art  liberal  and  beneficent,  all 
thy  actions  will  be  good  ;  at  least,  thou  wilt  avoid 
many  sins  A\'liich  attend  avarice.  Paul  speaks  of  a 
spiritual  body,  in  opposition  to  the  animal,  1  Cor.  xv. 
44.  The  body  which  we  animate,  and  which  re- 
turns to  the  earth,  is  an  animal  body ;  but  that 
which  will  rise  hereafter,  will  be  spiritual,  neither 
gross,  heavy,  frail,  nor  subject  to  the  wants  which 
oppress  the  j)resent  body. 

Body  is  opposed  to  a  shadow,  or  figure,  Colos.  ii. 
17.  The  ceremonies  of  the  law  are  figures  and 
shadows  realized  in  Christ  and  the  Christian  re- 
ligion :  e.  g.  the  Jewish  passover  is  a  figure  of  the 
(Jnristian  passover;  the  sacrifice  of  the  paschal 
lamb  is  a  shadow  of  the  sacrifice  of  Christ.  The 
fulness  of  the  godhead  resides  bodily  in  Jesus 
Christ ;  (Colos.  ii.  9.)  really,  essentially.  'God  dwells 
in  the  saints,  as  in  his  temi)le,  by  his  Spirit,  his 
light,  his  grace  ;  but  in  Jesus  Cin-ist  the  fulness  of 
the  godhead  dwelt  not  allegorically,  figuratively,  and 
cursorily,  but  really  and  essentiallv. 

The  l)ody  of  any  thing,  in  the  style  of  the  He- 
brews, is  the  very  reality  of  the  thing.  The  "  body 
of  day,"  "the  body  of  piu-ity,"  "the  body  of  death," 
"the  body  of  sin,"  signify— broad  day,'  iimocence 
itself,  &c.  "The  body  of  death"  signifies  cither 
our  mortal  body,  or  the  body  which" violently  en- 
gages us  in  sin  by  concu|)iscencc,  and  which  domi- 
neers in  our  members.  An  assembly  or  connnunity 
is  called  a  body,  1  Cor.  x.  17. 


"  Where  the  body  is,  there  the  eagles  assemble," 
(Matt.  xxiv.  28.)  is  a  sort  of  proverb  used  by  our 
Saviour.  In  Job  xxix.  30,  it  is  said  that  the  eagle — 
viewing  its  prey  from  a  distance — as  soon  as  there  is 
a  dead  body,  immediately  resorts  thither.  Our 
Saviour  compares  the  nation  of  the  Jews  to  a  body, 
by  God,  in  his  wrath,  given  up  to  birds  and  beasts  of 
prey ;  wherever  are  Jews,  there  will  be  likewise 
enemies  to  pillage  them.  Corpus,  in  good  Latin 
aiuhors,  is  sometimes  used  to  signify  a  carcass,  or 
dead  body.  But  in  this  passage,  it  seems  to  be  an 
allusion  to  the  body  of  the  Jews,  preyed  on  by  the 
Roman  eagles ;  the  eagle  being  the  standard  of  that 
people. 

BOHAN,  {the  thumb,)  a  Reubenite,  who  had  a 
stone  erected  to  his  honor,  on  the  frontier  between 
Judah  and  Benjamin,  jjerhaps  to  commemorate  his 
exploits  in  the  conquest  of  Canaan,  Josh.  xv.  6; 
xviii.  17. 

BOND,  BONDAGE,  see  Slaves,  Slavery. 
BOOK,  in  Hebrew,  noD,  sepher,  in  Greek,   plri^-og, 
in  Latin,  liber.     Several  sorts  of  materials  were  an- 
ciently used  in  making  books.     Plates   of  lead  or 
copper,  the  bark  of  trees,  brick,  stone,  and   wood, 
were  originally  employed  to  engrave  such  things  and 
documents  upon,  as  men  desired  to  transmit  to  pos- 
terity.    Josephus  (Antiq.  lib.  i.  cap.  3.)  speaks  of  two 
columns,  one  of  stone,  the  other  of  brick,  on  which 
the  children  of  Seth  wrote  their  inventions,  and  their 
astronomical   discoveries.      Porphyry  mentions  pil- 
lars preserved  in  Crete,  on  which  were  recorded  the 
ceremonies   practised    by   the    Corybautes   in    their 
sacrifices.     Hesiod's  works  M'ere  at  first  written  on 
tablets  of  lead,  in  the  temple  of  the  Muses  in  BcBotia. 
God's  laws  were  written  on  stone ;  and  Solon's  laws 
on  wooden  planks.     Tablets  of  wood,  box,  and  ivory 
were  common  among  the  ancients ;  Avhen  they  were 
of  wood  only,  they  were  oftentimes  coated  over  with 
wax,  which  received  the  writing  inscribed   on  them 
with  the  point  of  a  style,  or  iron  pen  ;  and  what  was 
written  might  be  effaced  by  the  broad  end  of  a  style. 
AfterAvards,  the  leaves  of  the  palm-tree  were  used 
instead  of  wooden  planks;  and  also  the  finest  and 
thinnest  bark  of  trees,  such  as  the  lime,  the  ash,  the 
maple,  the  elm  :  hence,  the  word  liber,  which   de- 
notes the  inner  bark  of  trees,  signifies  also  a  book. 
As  these  barks  were  rolled   up,  to  be  more  readily 
carried    about,   the    rolls    were    called   volumen,  a 
volimie  ;  a  name  given  likewise  to  rolls  of  paper,  or 
of  parchment.     The    ancients    wrote    likewise  on 
linen.     But  the  oldest  material  commonly  employed 
for  writing  upon,  appears  to  have  been  the  papyrus, 
a  reed  very  conmion  in  Egypt,  and  other  places.     A 
considerable  collection  of  MSS.  written  on  this  sub- 
stance, which  were  discovered  in  the   overwhelmed 
city  of  Herculaneum,  and  which,  under  the   munif- 
icence of  George   IV,  while  prince  regent,  uncom- 
mon   pains    were   taken    to    restore,  are    thus    de- 
scribed by  the  Hon.  Grey  Bennet :  ^^  The  papyri  are 
joined  together,  and  form  one  roll,  on   each  sheet  of 
which  the  characters  are   printed,  standing  out  in  a 
species  of  bas-relief,  and  singly  to  be  read  with  the 
greatest  ease.     As  there    me    no    stops,  a  difliculty, 
however,  is  found   in  joining  the  letters,  in  making 
out  the  words,  and  in  discovering  the   sense  of  the 
phrase.     The  MSS.  were  found  in  a  chamber  of  an 
excavated    house,   in   the   ancient  Hcrcidaneum,  to 
the  number   of  about    1800,  a  considerable  part  of 
which  are  in  a  state  to  be  unrolled.     Herculaneum 
was  buried  for  the  most  part  under  a  shower  of  hot 
ashes.     (August   24,  A.  D.  79.)     The   MSS.  were, 


BOOK 


[  201  ] 


BOOK 


from  the  heat,  reduced  to  a  state  of  thider,  or,  to 
speak  more  properly,  resemblhig  paper  which  had 
been  burnt.  WJiere'  the  baking  has  not  been  com- 
plete, and  where  any  part  of  the  vegetable  juice  has 
remained,  it  is  almost  impossible  to  unroll  them,  the 
sheets  towards  the  centre  being  so  closely  united. 
In  the  others,  as  you  approach  the  centre,  or  conclu- 
sion, the  3ISS.  become  smoother,  and  the  work  pro- 
ceeds with  greater  rapidity.  At  present  there  are 
about  fifteen  men  at  work,  each  occupied  at  a  MS.  .  .  . 
The  papyri  are  very  rough  on  the  outside.  They 
are  of  different  sizes,  some  containing  only  a  few 
sheets,  as  a  single  play,  othere  some  hundreds,  and  a 
few,  perhaps,  two  thousand."  (Archaeologia,  vol. 
XV.  art  9.) 

The  papyrus  reed  is  still  known  in  Sicily ;  and 
a  small  manufactory  of  it  is  estabhshcd  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Syracuse,  to  gratify  the  curious.  It 
has  been  also  found  in  great  plenty  in  Chaldea,  in 
the  fens,  at  the  confluence  of  the  Tigris  and  Eu- 
phrates. Another  quarter  affording  ancient  papyri, 
is,  as  already  stated,  Egypt ;  scrolls  of  it  containing 
inscriptions  were  found  by  the  French,  during  their 
invasion  of  that  country  ;  and  Denon  has  given  plates 
of  more  than  one.  He  says,  "  I  was  assured  of  the 
proof  "of  my  discovery,  by  the  possession  of  a  manu- 
script, which  I  found  in  the  hand  of  a  fine  nmmmy, 
that  was  brought  me :  I  perceived  in  its  right  hand, 
and  resting  on  the  left  arm,  a  roll  of  papyrus,  on 
which  was  a  manuscript,  the  oldest  of  all  the  books 
in  the  known  world.  The  pap^^rus  on  which  it  is 
written,  is  prepared  in  the  same  way  as  that  of  the 
Greeks  and  Romans ;  that  is  to  say,  of  two  layers  of 
the  medulla  of  this  j)lant  glued  to  each  other,  with 
the  fibres  made  to  cross,  to  give  more  consistence  to 
the  leaf  The  writing  goes  from  right  to  left,  be- 
ginning at  the  top  of  the  page.  Above  the  figure  is 
an  inscription  composed  of  seven  vertical  and  four 
horizontal  lines :  the  writing  is  here  different  from 
the  rest  of  the  manuscript,  of  which  this  is  part ;  and 
the  characters  appear  to  be  infinitely  varied  and 
numerous.  Various  colors  appear  in  the  several 
parts  of  the  original  figures — red,  blue,  green,  and 
black."  The  common  name  for  book,  sepher,  or 
fii^Xoc,  seems  to  be  taken  generally ;  it  is  used  by 
Herodotus  (lib.  v.  cap.  58.)  to  denote  the  Egyptian  pa- 
pyrus, and  it  certainly  means  books  made  of  that  plant, 
though  the  term  has  been  thought  sometimes  to  de- 
scribe those  made  of  skins,  as  Mark  xii.  26 ;  Luke  iii.  4, 
et  al.  Papyrus  being,  however,  more  common  and  less 
costly  than  dressed  skins,  it  should  appear,  that  notes, 
memoranda,  and  first  draughts  of  writings,  to  be 
afterwards  more  carefully  revised  and  finished,  were 
made  on  j)apyrus  sheets,  not  on  skins,  which  were 
used  for  n^ceiving  the  finished  performance ;  as 
among  our  lawyers.  This  distinction  gives  a  direct- 
ly contrary  import  to  the  directions  of  the  apostle — 
(2  Tim.  iv.  13.)  "Bring  with  thee  the  books,  (?i,«A<'«, 
but  especially  the  parchments,  i(fi((9oui«," — (another 
Latin  word  in  Greek  characters) — from  what  has 
usually  been  supposed.  The  learned  bishop  Bull, 
and  others,  have  thought  that  the  memhrana  were 
Paul's  common-place  book,  in  which  he  had  writ- 
ten extracts  from  various  authors,  sacred  or  profane  ; 
but  according  to  the  above  view  we  may  suppose 
that  the  memhrana  contained  finished  pieces,  of 
whatever  kind,  (which  accounts  for  the  apostle's  so- 
licitude about  them,)  while  the  papyrus  books  were 
of  less  value  and  importance,  being  imperfect.  It 
appeal's  that  Herodotus  uses  the  term  hihlion  for  a 
letter  of  no  gi-eat  length,  (lib.  i.  cap.  124,  5.)  and  it  is 
2G 


used  to  mark  a  bill  or  billet  of  divorcement,  which, 
if  Lightfoot  be  right,  was  always  of  twelve  hnes  in 
length  ;  neither  more  nor  less.  Matt.  xiv.  7  ;  Mark  x. 
4.  It  is  possible  that  hiUos  expresses  a  catalogue,  or 
list  of  names,  (Matt.  i.  1.)  and  this  gives  the  true  im- 
port of  the  phrase  "  book  of  life,"  meaning,  the  list 
of  Christian  professors,  (allusive  to  those  records  of 
names  kept  in  the  churches,  comp.  Acts  i.  15  ;  Phil, 
iv.  3  ;  Rev.  iii.  5,  &c.^  and  these,  most  likely,  were 
not  written  on  parcnment,  meinbrana,  but  on  the 
paper  most  common,  and  least  costly.     (See  below.) 

Book  is  sometimes  used  for  letters,  memoirs,  an 
edict,  or  contract.  The  letters  which  Rabshakeh  de- 
livered from  Sennacherib  to  Hezekiah,  are  called  a 
book.  The  English,  indeed,  reads  letter,  but  the 
LXX  reads  ,^(,^A/oi,  and  the  Hebrew  text  n^iDDn /lasc- 
phdrim,  2  Kings  xix.  14.  So  is  the  contract  which 
Jeremiah  confirmed  for  the  purchase  of  a  field,  Jer. 
xxxii.  10.  Also  Ahasuerus's  edict  in  favor  of  the 
Jews,  Esth.  ix.  20 ;  Job  (xxxi.  35.)  wishes,  that  his 
judge,  or  his  adversary,  would  himself  write  his  sen- 
tence, his  book.  The  writmg,  likewise,  which  a  man 
gave  to  his  wife  Avhen  he  divorced  her,  was  called  a 
book  of  divorce. 

We  read  in  Gen.  v.  1,  "the  book  of  the  genera- 
tion of  Adam,"  that  is,  the  history  of  his  hfe  ;  and 
elsewhere,  "  the  book  of  the  generation  of  Noah,"  or 
of  Jesus  Christ ;  that  is,  their  history. 

Book  of  Life,  or  Book  of  the  Laving,  or  Book  of 
the  Lord,  Ps.  Ixix.  28.  It  is  very  probable,  that 
these  descriptive  phrases,  which  are  frequent  in 
Scripture,  are  taken  from  the  custom  observed  gen- 
erally in  the  courts  of  princes,  of  keeping  a  list  of 
persons  who  are  in  their  service,  of  the  provinces 
which  they  govern,  of  the  officers  of  their  armies,  of 
the  numl)er  of  their  troops,  and  sometimes  even  of 
the  names  of  their  soldiers.  Thus  when  Moses  de- 
sires God  rather  to  blot  him  out  of  his  book,  than  to 
reject  Israel,  (Exod.  xxxii.  32.)  it  is  the  same  almost  as 
Paul's  expi-essiou,  in  some  sort,  to  be  accursed,  (Rom. 
ix.  3.)  separated  from  the  company  of  the  saints,  and 
struck  out  of  the  book  of  the  Lord,  for  the  benefit 
of  his  people.  (See  Anathema.)  When  it  is  said, 
that  any  one  is  written  in  the  book  of  life,  it  means 
that  he  particularly  belongs  to  God,  is  enrolled  among 
the  numljer  of  his  friends  and  servants.  When  it  is 
said,  "blotted  out  of  the  book  of  life,"  this  signifies, 
erased  from  the  list  of  God's  friends  and  servants  ;^ 
as  those  who  are  guilty  of  treacheiy  are  struck  off 
the  roll  of  officers  belonging  to  a  prince.  It  is  prob- 
able, also,  that  the  primitive  Christian  churches 
kept  lists  of  their  members,  in  which  those  recently 
admitted  were  enrolled :  these  would  take  a  title 
analogous  to  that  of  the  book  of  life,  or  the  Lamb's 
book  of  life  :  as  this  term  occurs  principally  in  the 
Revelation,  it  seems  likely  to  be  derived  from  such  a 
custom.  Something  of  the  same  nature  we  have  in 
Isaiah  iv.  3,  where  the  prophet  alludes  to  such  as 
were  "  wTitten  among  the  living  in  Jerusalem  ;"  that 
is,  enrolled  among  the  citizens  of  that  city  of  God  ; 
to  which  the  Christian  church  was  afterwards  com- 
l)ared.  In  a  more  exalted  sense,  the  book  of  life 
signifies  the  book  of  predestination  to  glory,  faith, 
and  grace  ;  or  the  register  of  those  who  through 
grace  have  persevered  to  eternal  life. 

Book  of  Judgment.  Daniel  says,  "Judgment 
was  set,  and  the  books  were  opened,"  vii.  10.  This 
is  an  allusion  to  what  is  practised,  when  a  prince 
calls  his  servants  to  account.  The  accounts  are  pro- 
duced, and  inquired  into.  It  is  possible  he  might 
allude  also  to  a  custom  of  the  Persians,  among  whom 


BOOK 


[  202  ] 


BOOK 


it  was  a  constant  practice  every  day  to  write  down 
what  had  happened,  the  senices  done  for  the  king, 
and  the  rewards  given  to  those  who  had  performed 
them  ;  as  we  see  in  the  histoiy  of  Ahasuerus  and  Mor- 
decai,  Esth.  ii.  23  ;  vi.  1,  2.  When,  therefore,  the 
king  sits  in  judgment,  the  books  are  opened,  and  he 
compels  all  his  servants  to  reckon  with  hini ;  he 
punishes  those  who  have  been  failing  in  their  duty, 
compels  those  to  pay  wJio  are  indebted  to  hiin,  and 
rewards  those  who  have  done  liini  services.  There 
will  be,  in  a  manner,  a  similar  proceeding  at  the  day 
of  God's  final  judgment. 

For  the  book  of  Jasher : — of  the  wars  of  the  Lord  : 
— of  the  Chronicles  of  the  Kings  of  Israel,  and  the 
respective  books  of  Scripture.     See  Bibl.e,  ad  iiiit. 

The  Book,  or  Flying  Roll,  spoken  of  in  Zecha- 
riah,  (v.  1,2.)  twenty  cubits  long,  and  ten  wide,  was  one 
of  those  old  rolls,  composed  of  many  skins,  or  parch- 
ments, glued  or  sewed  together  at  the  end.  Though 
some  of  the  (rolls)  volumes  were  very  long,  yet  none, 
probably,  was  ever  made  of  such  a  size  as  this. 
This  contained  the  curses  and  calamities  which 
should  befall  the  Jews.  The  extreme  length  and 
breadth  of  it,  show  the  excessive  number  and  enor- 
mity of  their  sins,  and  the  extent  of  their  punish- 
ment. 

Isaiah,  describing  the  effects  of  God's  wrath,  says, 
"  The  heavens  shall  be  folded  up  like  a  book," 
[scroll,]  Isa.  xxxiv.  4.  He  alludes  to  the  way  among 
the  ancients,  of  rolling  up  books,  when  they  purposed 
to  close  them.  A  volume  of  several  feet  in  length 
was  suddenly  rolled  up  into  a  very  small  compass. 
Thus  the  heavens  should  shrink  into  themselves,  and 
disappeai-,  as  it  were,  from  the  eyes  of  God,  when  his 
wrath  should  be  kindled.  These  ways  of  speaking 
are  figurative,  and  very  energetic. 

It  is  related  in  the  books  of  the  Maccabees,  that 
the  Jews,  when  suffering  persecution  from  Antiochus 
Epiphanes,  laid  open  the  book  of  the  law,  wherein 
the  Gentiles  endeavored  to  find  delineated  figures  of 
idols,  1  Mace.  iii.  48.  Some  believe,  that  the  Jews 
laid  open  before  the  Lord  the  sacred  books,  wherein 
the  Gentiles  had  in  vain  sought  for  something  where- 
by to  support  their  idolatry  ;  others  think,  tliey  laid 
open  the  sacred  writings,  wherein  the  Gentiles  were 
desirous  to  paint  figm-es  of  tlieir  idols : — otherwise, 
the  Hebrews  laid  o|)pn  their  sacred  books,  wherein 
the  Gentiles  had  sought  diligently  whether  they  could 
not  find  figures  of  some  of  the  deities  adored  by  the 
Jews  ; — for  the  Gentiles  were  very  uneasy  on  this  sub- 
ject, some  believing  that  the  Jews  worshipped  an  ass, 
or  a  living  man,  or  Bacchus,  or  a  something  which 
they  would  not  own.  With  some  small  variation  ia 
the  Greek  text,  it  might  be  translated  thus:  "They 
laid  open  the  book  of  the  law,  at  the  same  time  that 
the  Gentiles  consulted  the  images  of  their  false 
gods." 

Books  eaten.  "Insomuch  that  the  Turks  said 
frequently  and  justly  of  them,  that  other  nations 
had  their  learning  in  their  books,  but  the  Tartars 
HAD  EATEN  THEIR  BOOKS,  au'l  hail  thcir  tvisdotii  in 
their  breasts,  from  whence  they  could  draw  it  out  as 
they  had  occasion,  as  divine  oracles."  (Busbequius, 
Trav.  p.  245.Kng.tr.)  This  may  lead  us  to  the 
true  idea  of  the  prophets,  when  they  mention  the 
eating  of  books  presented  to  them  ;  i.  e.  that  the 
knowledge  tliey  had  received  should  be  communi- 
cate<l  to  others,  from  time  to  time,  as  wanted :  they 
were  treasures  (nor  for  themselves,  but  for  otiiers)  of 
wisdom  and  knowledge. 

It  may  lie   added,  that  as  iIk-  papyrus    plant  Avas 


(and  is)  eaten,  at  least  in  part,  the  idea  of  eating  a 
book  made  of  it,  is  not  so  completely  foreign  from 
the  nature  of  the  article,  as  it  would  be,  if  such  a 
thing  Avere  proposed  among  ourselves  ;  or,  as  eating 
a  book  made  of  skins  would  be. 

Captain  Clapperton  mentions  a  most  remarkable 
custom  which  he  found  in  the  interior  of  South 
Africa,  that  is  worthy  of  notice,  in  connection  with 
this  subject.  It  is  this ;  where  the  Mahometan  con- 
verts do  not  understand  the  Arabic  language,  the 
most  appi-oved  mode  of  imbibing  the  contents  of 
the  Koran  is  by  tracing  the  characters  with  a  sub- 
stance on  a  smooth,  black  board,  then  Avashiug  them 
off,  and  swallowing  the  liquid ! 

The  Sealed  Book,  mentioned  Isaiah  xxix.  11, 
and  the  book  sealed  with  seven  seals  in  the  Reve- 
lation, (chap.  V.  1 — 3.)  are  the  prophecies  of  Isaiah, 
and  of  John,  which  were  written  in  a  book,  after 
the  manner  of  the  ancients,  and  were  sealed ;  that 
is,  they  were  unknown,  and  mysterious ;  they 
had  respect  to  times  remote,  and  to  future  events, 
so  that  no  knowledge  could  be  derived  from  them, 
till  the  time  should  come,  and  the  seals  were  taken 
off.  In  early  times,  letters,  and  other  writings  that 
were  to  be  sealed,  were  first  wrapped  round 
with  thread  or  flax,  and  then  wax  and  the  seal  were 
applied  to  them.  To  read  them,  it  was  necessary  to 
cut  the  thread,  or  flax,  and  to  break  the  seals.  With 
regard  to  this  particular  book,  however,  Mr.  Taylor 
thinks  he  has  found  something  of  the  kind  among 
the  pictures  discovered  at  Herculaneum.  It  repre- 
sents a  book  of  a  considerable  size,  the  leaves  bound 
together  at  the  back,  and  two  of  them  joined  to- 
gether, so  that  only  their  external  faces  are  visible, 
or  open  for  the  inspection  of  writing  ;  their  internal 
faces  being  either  blank,  or,  if  written  on,  their  con- 
tents not  to  be  read,  till  after  the  leaves  are  separat- 
ed. The  book  of  Avhich  he  gives  an  engraving 
actually  does  disclose  the  writing  on  two  pages, 
those  leaves  being  opened,  while  two  other  pages 
continue  closed  by  the  union  of  the  two  leaves  on 
which  they  are  inscribed.  It  is  generally  thought, 
that  the  phrase  "  written  Avithin  and  without"  de- 
notes writing  on  both  sides  of  the  rolled  skin,  but 
if  the  book  were  of  this  form,  it  is  doubtful ;  but  it 
may,  very  probably,  be  questioned,  Avhether  it  mean 
any  thing  beyond  being  written  on  both  pages. 
Certainly,  no  part  of  the  subject  treated  of  in  the 
book  was  written  on  the  outside  ;  nothing  more  than 
the  title,  if  that;  since,  in  that  case,  it  must  have  been 
exposed  to  view,  as  the  sealing  of  the  leaves  did 
not  enclose  it. 

There  is  a  phrase  in  Ps.  xl.  which  Mr.  Taylor 
has  attempted  to  illustrate.  "  In  the  volume  of  the 
book  it  is  written  of  me" — which  the  LXX  render, 
in  the  head  (zf </«/(';.■)  of  the  book.  Chrysostom  has 
described  this  cephalis  as  a  wrapper  (fi'-'ti/a  );  and 
supposed,  that  on  this  was  written  a  Avord,  or  Avords, 
Avhich  imported,  "about  the  coming  of  the  Mes- 
siah ;"  and  Aquila  uses  the  sam<!  Avord  to  express 
what  Ave  render  volume.  Ajiplying  this  idea,  Mr. 
Harmer  says,  (Obs.  Aol.  iv.  p.  10;  c.  viii.  Obs.  4.) 
"The  thought  is  not  only  clear  and  distinct,  but  very 
energetic  ;  amounting  to  this,  that  the  sum  and  sub- 
stance of  the  sacred  l)ooks  is,  'The  Messiah  Com- 
eth ;'  and  that  those  AVords  accordingly  might  be 
Avritten,  or  embroidered,  Avith  great  ])ropriety  on  the 
Avrapper,  or  cas(\  Avherein  they  Avere  kept."  Noaa', 
admitting  iNIr.  Ihirmer's  conclusion  to  be  just,  3Ir. 
Taylor  thinks  he  has  discovered  better  premises  for 
it  in  a  picture  foiuid  at  Herculaneum,  than  Mr.  H. 


BOO 


[  203  ] 


BOS 


had  assigned.  This  painting  represents  a  portable 
book-case,  apparently  made  of  leather,  and  of  the 
description  kno^\^l  to  the  Romans  by  tlie  name  of 
scrinium.  It  is  tilled  with  rolled  books,  each  of 
which  has  a  ticket  or  label  ajipended  to  it,  and  which 
is  probably  the  genuine  capituluni  or  argiuncnt  of 
the  book. "  The  words  of  the  Psalm,  then,  may  l)e 
taken  to  intimate  that  the  head,  cephalis,  capitulum, 
label  or  ticket  appended  to  the  volume,  or  roll,  was  thus 
inscribed  ;  and  in  this  view,  the  capitulum  answered 
the  purpose  of  the  lettering  on  the  l)acks  of  our  books. 
The  passage,  then,  may  be  thus  understood : — Burnt- 
ofl'ering  and  sacrifice  were  not  what  thou  didst  re- 
quire ;  they  were  not  according  to  thy  will.  Then 
said  I,  Lo,  I  come,  as  in  the  roll  (label)  of  the  book  is 
written  concerning  nie  ; — I  delight  to  accomplish  thy 
will.  The  engraving  given  by  jMr.  Taylor  shows, 
that  these  small  labels  were  capable  of  being  rolled 
up,  till  they  were  close  to  the  gi-eater  roll  to  Avhich 
they  belonged ;  as  seems  to  be  the  meaning  of  the 
Hebrew  term. 

[The  suggestion  of  Mr.  Harmer  above  is  ingenious, 
i)Ut  seems  hardly  to  be  required,  or  even  admitted,  by 
the  words  of  the  context.  The  roll  of  the  book,  by 
way  of  eminence,  would  seem  to  refer  to  the  book  of 
the  law ;  nor  is  anv  different  tei-m  given  to  it  in  Heb. 
X.  7.     R. 

BOOTH,  a  tent  made  of  poles,  and  used  as  a 
lem|Jorary  residence.     See  Tent. 

BOOTY,  spoil.  It  was  appointed  by  Moses,  that 
booty  taken  from  the  enemy  should  bo  divided 
equally  between  those  who  w^ere  in  the  battle  and 
the  rest  of  the  people  ;  (Numb.  xxxi.  27.)  that  is,  into 
two  parts,  the  first  for  those  who  had  been  in  the 
action  ;  the  other  for  those  who  had  continued  in  the 
camp.  He  adds,  "  Ye  shall  likewise  separate  the 
Lord's  share,  which  ye  shall  take  out  of  the  whole 
booty  belonging  to  the  men  of  w'ar ;  and  of  everj'  five 
hundred  men,  oxen,  asses,  or  sheep,  ye  shall  take  one 
and  give  it  to  the  high-priest,  because  these  are  the 
Lord's  first-fruits.  As  to  the  other  moiety,  which  shall 
belong  to  the  children  of  Israel,  who  did  not  fight ;  out 
of  every  fifty  men,  oxen,  asses,  or  sheep,  or  other  ani- 
mals, whatsoever,  ye  shall  take  one  and  give  it  to  the 
Levites,  who  have  the  charge  of  the  tabernacle  of  the 
Lord."  So  that  the  share  of  Eleazar,  and  of  the 
priest,  was  nuich  larger  in  proportion  than  that  of  anj^ 
one  of  the  12,000  soldiers  who  had  been  in  action, 
and  than  that  of  the  Levites.  And  what  was  prac- 
tised on  this  occasion  became  a  law^  for  ever  after ; 
an  instance  of  which  appears  in  what  happened  un- 
der David,  after  the  defeat  of  the  Amalekites,  who 
had  plundered  Ziklag.  The  captives  given  to  the 
high-priest,  no  doubt,  became  slaves ;  were  they 
slaves  of  the  high-priest  personally,  or  of  the  temple  ? 
If  to  the  temple,  were  they  not  like  the  Gibeonites, 
the  Nethinim,  and  others  engaged  in  menial  ofiices, 
as  hewers  of  wood,  and  drawers  of  water  ?  Did  their 
descendants  also  occupy  the  same  stations  ? 

The  rabbins  allege  that  under  the  kings  of  Israel, 
another  rule  was  followed  in  distributing  the  spoil. 
First,  every  thing  was  given  to  the  king,  which  had 
belonged  to  the  conquered  king ;  his  tent,  his  slaves, 
his  cattle,  his  spoils,  his  treasure.  After  this,  the  re- 
mainder of  the  booty  being  divided  into  two  equal 
parts,  the  king  had  one  moiety,  and  the  soldiers  had 
the  other.  This  last  part  was  distributed  equally 
between  the  soldiers  who  had  been  in  the  action,  and 
those  who  continued  behind  to  guard  the  cfunj). 
They  assert,  that  these  rules  had  been  established 
ever  since  the  time  of  Abraham.     It  is  difl^cult,  in- 


deed, to  prove  this;  but  we  know  that  Abraham 
offered  to  the  Lord  the  tenth  of  what  he  had  taken 
from  the  five  kings,  and  this  tithe  he  made  a  present 
to  Melchiscdek. 

BOOZ,  or  BoAZ,  one  of  our  Saviour's  ancestors 
according  to  the  flesh,  son  of  Salmon  and  Rahab,  a 
Canaanitess  of  Jericho,  whom  Sahnon,  of  the  tribe  of 
Judah,  married.  Some  say,  there  were  three  of  this 
name,  the  son,  grandson,  and  great-grandson  of  Sal- 
mon ;  the  last  being  husband  of  Ruth,  and  father  of 
Obed.  This  they  believe  to  be  the  only  way  in 
which  Scripture  can  be  reconciled  with  itself,  since 
it  reckons  366  years  between  Salmon's  marriage  and 
the  birth  of  David,  and  yet  mentions  only  three  per- 
sons between  Salmon  and  David,  viz.  Booz,  Obed, 
and  Jesse.  But  though  it  is  difficult  to  fill  so  great  a 
space  with  four  persons  from  father  to  son,  succeed- 
ing one  another,  and  though  it  is  imcommon  to  see 
four  persons  in  the  same  family  successively,  living 
very  long,  and  having  children  when  far  advanced 
in  age,  yet,  as  Calmet  remarks,  there  is  nothing  im- 
possible in  it ;  particularly  at  that  time,  when  many 
persons  lived  above  a  hundred  years.  Suppose  Sal- 
mon, at  the  age  of  a  hundred  and  twenty,  might  be- 
get Booz ;  Booz,  at  a  hundred,  might  beget  Obed, 
who,  at  something  more  or  less,  might  have  Jesse ; 
and  Jesse,  when  a  hundred  years  old,  might  have 
David.  This,  he  adds,  is  only  supposition,  but  it  is 
sufficient  to  show,  that  there  is  no  contradiction  or 
impossibility  in  the  Scripture  account.  IMr.  Taylor, 
however,  prefers  the  solution  of  Dr.  Allix.  The 
Targum  on  Ruth  says,  that  Salmon  is  styled  Salmon 
the  Just ;  his  works  and  the  works  of  his  children 
were  very  excellent ;  Boaz  was  a  righteous  person,  by 
whose  righteousness  the  jieople  of  Israel  were  deliv- 
ered from  the  hands  of  their  enemies,  &c.  There  were 
but  366  years  fl-om  the  first  year  of  Joshua  to  the  birth 
of  David — for  from  the  Exodus  to  the  building  of  the 
temple  were  480  yeare ;  add  to  366  the  40  years'  wan- 
dering in  wilderness,  the  life  of  David  seventy  yeai-s, 
and  four  years  of  Solomon — the  total  is  480  years.  He 
therefore  supposes  that  Salmon  might  beget  Boaz 
when  he  was  96  years  old ;  Boaz  begat  Obed  when  be 
was  90  years  old  ;  Obed  at  90  begat  Jesse  ;  and  Jesse 
at  85  begat  David.  We  know  that  long  life  often  de- 
scends in  a  family ;  old  Pair  had  a  son  who  lived  to 
be  veiy  old ;  and,  what  is  no  less  remarkable,  old 
men  of  ;-uch  families  liave  had  children  very  late  in 
life,  as  after  the  age  of  a  hundred  years ;  of  which 
old  PaiT  himself  is  one  example. 

Some  rabbins  maintain,  that  Ibzan,  judge  of  Israel, 
(Judges  xii.  8.)  is  the  same  as  Booz  ;  the  foundation 
of  which  opinion  is,  that  Ibzan  \\as  of  Bethlehem, 
and  that  there  is  some  relation  between  the  names. 
But  Ibzan  having  governed  Israel  from  A.  M.  2823 
to  2830,  he  cannot  be  the  same  as  Booz,  who  could 
not  be  born  later  than  A.  M.  2620,  his  father  Salmon 
having  married  Ruth  in  2553.  Now,  supposing  him 
to  be  born  in  2620,  he  must  have  lived  210  years; 
which  appears  incredible. 

BORITH,  or  Berith,  rendered  fuller's  soap,  in 
Mai.  iii.  2.  is  thought  to  be  the  herb  kali.  But  we 
should  not  forget,  that  the  East  pi-oduces  a  kind  of 
fat  earth,  used  in  scouring  cloth,  like  our  fuller's 
earth.     See  Soap. 

BOSCATH,  see  Bozkath. 

BOSOM,  the  front  of  the  upper  part  of  the  body — 
the  breast.  The  orientals  generally  wore  long,  wide, 
and  loose  garments ;  and  when  about  to  carry  any 
thing  away  that  their  hands  would  not  contain,  they 
used  for  the  purpose  a  fold  in  the  bosom  of  their  robe. 


BOT 


[  204 


BOTTLE 


To  this  custom  our  Lord  alludes — "  Good  measure 
shall  men  give  into  your  bosom,"  Luke  vi.  38.  To 
have  one  "  in  our  bosom,"  imphes  kindness,  secrecy, 
intimacy.  Gen.  xvi.  5 ;  2  Sam.  xii.  8.  Christ  is  in  the 
bosom  of  the  Father ;  that  is,  possesses  the  closest 
intimacy,  and  most  perfect  knowledge,  of  the  Father, 
John  i.  18.  Our  Saviour  is  said  to  caiTy  his  lambs 
in  his  bosom,  which  beautifully  represents  his  tender 
care  and  watchfulness  over  them,  Isa.  xl.  11. 

BOSPHORUS.  There  were  two  places  of  this 
name  ;  (1.)  The  Cimmerian  Bosphorus,  which  joined 
the  lake  Mosotis,  now  sea  of  Azof,  to  the  Euxine  sea. 
(2.)  The  Thracian  Bosphorus,  that  of  Constantinople, 
or  the  arm  of  the  sea  between  Chalcedon  and  Con- 
stantinople. Each  of  these  straits  is  called,  in  Greek, 
Bosphorus,  or  rather  Bosporus,  because  an  ox  may 
swim  over  them.  Interpreters  are  much  divided 
concerning  the  (supposed)  straits  of  which  Obadiah 
(ver.  20.)  speaks.  The  Jew  whom  Jerome  consulted 
on  such  difficulties  as  occurred  to  him  in  the  Hebrew, 
told  him,  that  the  Bosphorus  mentioned  by  the 
prophet  was  the  Cinnnerian  Bosphorus,  whither  the 
emperor  Adrian  had  banished  many  of  those  Jews 
whom  he  had  taken  prisoners  during  the  war  in 
Palestine.  So  the  Vulgate.  Others  believe,  with 
more  reason,  that  the  captives  taken  notice  of  by 
Obadiah,  were  such  as  Nebuchadnezzar  had  sent 
away  as  far  as  the  Palus  Mceotis,  about  which  the 
countiy  is  generally  thought  to  be  the  most  frightful 
in  the  world ;  and  hither  the  great  persecutors  of 
Christianity  frequently  sent  the  professors  of  our  re- 
ligion. Lastly,  many  others  imdei-stand  the  Hebrew 
as  meaning  Spain,  and  translate  thus: — "The  cap- 
tives of  Jerusalem  which  are  at  Se])harad  [that  is  to 
say,  in  Spain]  shall  possess  the  cities  of  the  south." 
Profane  historians,  as  Megasthenes  and  Strabo,  assert, 
that  Nebuchadnezzar  extended  his  conquests  as  far 
as  Africa  and  Iberia,  beyond  the  pillars ; — which  we 
apprehend  to  be  those  called  Hercules'  pillars.  Now, 
in  this  expedition  against  Spain,  some  say  that  he 
transported  many  of  the  Jews  thither. — But  we  may 
question  whether  Sepharad  signifies  Spain.  Some 
suppose  France  to  be  denoted  by  it.  The  old  Greek 
interpreters  have  kept  the  Hebrew  term,  without 
changing  it  in  their  translation.  The  Septuagint 
read  Ephratha,  instead  of  Sepharad.  Calmet  supposes 
some  country  beyond  the  Euphrates  to  be  meant  by 
Sepharad,  such  as  that  of  the  Sapircs,  or  Saspircs, 
towards  Media,  or  the  city  of  Hij)j)ara,  in  Mesopota- 
mia. But  the  most  judicious  conmientators  do  not 
undertake  to  determine  the  country  definitely.  See 
Obadiah,  Spai.v,  Sepharad. 

BOSSES,  the  thickest  and  strongest  parts  of  a 
buckler,  Job  xv.  20. 

BOTTLE.  The  difference  is  so  great  between 
the  properties  of  glass  bottles,  such  as  are  in  common 
use  among  us,  and  bottles  made  of  skin,  which  were 
used  anciently  by  most  nations,  and  still  are  used  in 
the  East,  that  wlien  we  read  of  i)ottles,  without  care- 
fidly  distinguisliiiig  in  ouv  minds  one  kind  of  bottle 
from  the  otiier,  mist.'ike  is  sure  to  ensue.  For  in- 
stance, (Josh.  ix.  4.J  the  Gibconites  "did  work  wilily  ; 
they  took  u])on  their  asses  wine-bottles,  old,  and  rent, 
and  bound  u])" — patched.  So,  ver.  13,  "These  bot- 
tles of  wine  were  new,  and  l)ehold  they  be  rent." 
Surely  to  connnon  readers  this  is  uniiueiiigible !  So, 
Matt.  ix.  17,  "Neither  do  men  put  nrw  wine  into  old 
bottles ;  else,  the  bottles  break,  and  the  wine  ruiuicth 
out,  and  the  bottles  perish  :" — "  but  new  wine,"  says 
Luke,  (v.  38.)  "must  be  i)ut  in  new  bottles,  and 
both  arc  preserved."     Now,  what  idea  have  English 


readers  of  old,  and  rent,  and  patched  (glass)  bottles  .•' 
or  of  the  necessity  of  7ieif>  glass  bottles  for  holding 
neiv  wine  ?  Nor  should  we  forget  the  figure  em- 
ployed by  Job:  (xxxii.  19.)  "My  belly  is  as  wine 
which  hath  no  vent ;  it  is  ready  to  burst,  like  neio 
bottles."  To  render  these,  and  some  other  passages, 
clear,  we  must  understand  some  of  the  properties  of 
the  bottles  alluded  to. 

The  accompanying  engraving,  which  is  copied 
from  the  Antiquities 
of  Herculaueum,  (vol. 
vii.  p.  197.)  shows, 
very  clearly,  the  form 
and  nature  of  an  an- 
cient bottle ;  out  of 
which  a  young  wo- 
man is  pouring  wine 
into  a  cup,  which  in 
the  original  is  held  by 
Silenus.  It  appears 
from  this  figure,  that 
after  the  skin  has  been 
stripped  off  the  ani- 
mal, and  properly 
dressed,  the  places 
where  the  legs  had 
been  are  closed  up ;  and  where  the  neck  was,  is  the 
opening  left  for  receiving  and  discharging  the  con- 
tents of  the  bottle.  This  idea  is  very  simple  and 
conspicuous  in  the  figure.  Such  bottles,  when  full, 
in  which  state  this  is  represented,  differ  of  course 
from  the  same  when  empty ;  being,  when  full,  swol- 
len, round,  and  firm ;  when  empty,  flaccid,  weak, 
anfl  bending.  By  receiving  the  liquor  poured  into  it, 
a  skin  bottle  must  be  greatly  swelled,  and  distended  ; 
and  no  doubt,  it  must  be  further  swelled  by  the  fer- 
mentation of  the  liquor  within  it,  while  advancing  to 
ripeness ;  so  that,  in  this  state,  if  no  vent  be  given  to 
it,  the  Uquor  may  overpower  the  strength  of  the  bot- 
tle ;  or,  by  searching  every  crevice,  and  weaker  part, 
if  it  find  any  defect,  it  may  ooze  out  by  that. 
Hence  arises  the  propriety  of  {)utting  neiv  wine  into 
neiv  bottles,  which,  being  in  the  prime  of  their 
strength,  may  resist  the  expansion,  the  internal  press- 
ure of  their  contents,  and  preserve  the  wine  to  ma- 
turity ;  while  old  bottles  may,  without  danger,  con- 
tain old  wine,  whose  fermentation  is  already  past, 
Matt.  ix.  17  ;  Luke  v.  38 ;  Job  xxxii.  19. 

[The  Hebrews  employed  several  words  signifying 
bottle ;  but  there  seems  not  to  have  been  any  generic 
difference  in  the  idea  expressed  by  them  ;  unless, 
perhaps,  the  bottles  or  skins  may  have  been  of  differ- 
ent sizes.  (1.)  In  Gen.  xxi.  14,  Abraham  is  described 
as  giving  to  Hagar  a  bottle  of  water,  ncn,  chemeth, 
which  she  carried  with  her,  and  which,  therefore, 
could  not  have  been  of  a  large  size. — (2.)  The  bottle 
of  wine  which  Samuel's  mother  brought  to  Eli  (1 
Sam.  i.  24.)  is  called  Vjj,  iicbel ;  which  is  also  repre- 
sented as  being  transported  on  horses,  (1  Sam.  x.  3 ;  2 
Sam.  xvi.  1.)  and  was,  tlierefbre,  larger.  This  word 
seems  to  have  been  rather  a  general  term  like  our 
word  vessel,  because  it  is  the  word  used  in  Isa.  xxx. 
14.  and  Lam.  iv.  2.  where  the  epithet  eaiihen  is  joined 
with  it. — (3.)  The  word  inj,  nod,  seems  to  imply  a 
skin  or  botde  similar  to  the  preceding  one ;  it  was 
from  such  an  one  that  Jael  gave  milk  to  Sisera,  (Judg. 
iv.  19.)  and  in  this  also  Jesse  sent  wine  by  David  to 
Saul.  The  same  word  is  employed  in  Ps.  cxix.  83. 
"  I  am  like  a  bottle  in  the  smoke,"  i.  e.  black  and 
dried  up,  like  a  bottle  of  wine  suspended  in  the 
smoke,   in  order  to  ripen   it,  as   was  the  common 


BOTTLE 


[  205  ] 


BOW 


practice  of  the  ancients. — (4.)  Another  name  is  2W, 
6b,  mentioned  in  the  plural  noN,  oboth,  Job  xxxii.  19. 
where  Elihu  says  he  "  is  ready  to  burst  like  neiv  bot- 
tles" i.  e.  like  those  filled  with  new  wine  in  a  state  of 
fermentation.  These  would  seem,  therefore,  to  have 
been  used  for  the  preservation  of  wine,  as  was  com- 
mon in  the  East ;  comp.  Matt.  ix.  17.  It  is  not  im- 
possible that  this  was  a  larger  species  than  the  others ; 
at  least  this  supposition  is  favored  by  the  use  of  the 
same  word  (jin)  to  signify  a  necromancer,  sorcerer,  (1 
Sam.  xxviii.  7 — 19.)  or  the  spirit  which  was  supposed 
to  dwell  in  such  persons.  These  were  chiefly  en- 
gastrimythi,  or  ventriloquists,  respecting  whom  it  was 
supposed  they  had  in  them  a  demon  who  thus  spoke 
from  within  them.  Hence  the  person  himself  was 
as  it  were  an  aiN,  6b,  vessel,  bottle,  into  which  the 
demon  had  entered,  and  which  contained  him.  This 
is  the  most  common  meaning  of  the  word  ;  indeed  it 
occurs  in  the  sense  of  bottle  only  once  in  the  whole 
Old  Testament,  Job  xxxii.  19.     K. 

Bottles,  then,  of  skins,  would  naturally  be  propor- 
tioned to  the  size  of  the  animal  which  yields  them, — 
kid-skins,  goat-skins,  ox-skins.  The  larger  were, 
perhaps,  not  unlike  Avhat  the  Arabs  now  name  the 
Girbu,  thus  described  by  Mr.  Bruce: — "A  girba  is 
an  ox's  skin,  squared,  and  the  edges  sewed  together 
very  artificially,  by  a  double  seam,  which  does  not 
let  cut  water,  much  resembling  that  upon  the  best 
English  cricket  balls.  An  openuig  is  left  at  the  top 
of  the  girba,  in  the  same  manner  as  the  bung-hole 
of  a  cask.  Around  this  the  skin  is  gathered  to  the 
size  of  a  large  handful,  which,  when  the  girba  is  full 
of  water,  is  tied  round  with  whip-cord.  These  gir- 
bas  generally  contain  about  sixty  gallons  each,  and 
two  of  them  are  the  load  of  a  camel.  They  are  then 
all  besmeared  on  the  outside  with  grease,  as  well  to 
hinder  the  water  from  oozing  through,  as  to  prevent 
its  being  evaporated  by  the  heat  of  the  sun  upon  the 
girba,  which,  in  fact,  happened  to  us  twice,  so  as  to 
put  us  in  imminent  danger  of  perishing  with  thirst." 
(Travels,  vol.  iv.  p.  334.)  "  There  was  great  plenty 
of  shell-fish  to  be  picked  up  on  every  shoal.  I  had 
loaded  the  vessel  with  four  skins  of  fresh  water,  equal 
to  four  hogsheads,  with  cords  of  buoys  fixed  to  the 
end  of  each  of  them ;  so  that  if  we  had  been  ship- 
wrecked near  land,  as  rubbing  two  sticks  together 
made  us  a  fire,  I  was  not  afraid  of  receiving  suc- 
cors before  we  were  driven  to  the  last  extremity, 
provided  we  did  not  perish  in  the  sea."  (Vol.  i. 
p.  205.) 

[Such  bottles,  or  vessels  of  skins,  are  almost  mii- 
versally  employed  at  the  present  day  in  travelling  in 
the  East.  Niebuhr  gives  the  following  account  of 
liis  baggage,  when  setting  out  from  Cairo  for  Suez : 
(Trav.  vol.  i.  p.  212.  Clerm.  ed.)  "  We  had  each  of  us  a 
vessel  of  thick  leather  to  drink  out  of;  and  because  we 
should  find  no  water  for  some  days,  we  took  also 
(juite  a  number  of  goat-skins  filled  with  water  with 
us.  Our  wine  we  had  in  large  glass  bottles,  {Damas- 
janen,  demi-johns  ?)  which  seemed  to  us  to  be  the  best 
for  this  purpose  ;  but  when  a  camel  happens  to  fall,  or 
strikes  with  his  load  against  another  one,  these  ves- 
sels easily  break ;  and  therefore  it  is  better,  in  orien- 
tal journeys,  to  carry  both  wine  and  spirits  in  goat- 
skins. The  skins  that  arc  thus  used  to  transport 
water,  have  the  hair  outwards ;  those  that  are  in- 
tended for  wine,  have  the  hair  inwards,  and  are  so 
well  covered  with  pitch,  that  the  drink  acquires  no 
bad  taste  whatever.  And  although  for  an  European 
it  may  be  at  first  somewhat  disgusting  to  keep  his 
drink  in  such  vessels,  yet  he  has  not  to  fear  that  his 


wne  will  be  spilled  and  lost  by  the  way,  as  was  th« 
case  with  a  part  of  ours."  Mr.  King  also  mentions, 
when  departing  from  Cairo  for  Jerusalem,  that  they 
"  purchased  four  goat-skins  and  four  leather  bottles 
to  carry  water."  Three  days  after,  they  found  that,  as 
"  the  goat-skins  were  new,  they  had  given  the  water 
a  reddish  color,  and  an  exceedingly  loathsome  taste." 
Missionary  Her.  1824,  p.  34,  35.     R. 

BOUNDS,  BOUNDARIES,  limits.  Moses  for- 
bids any  one  to  alter  the  bounds  of  his  neighbor's 
inheritance  :  (Dent.  xix.  14.)  "  Thou  shalt  not  remove 
thy  neighbor's  land-mark,  which  they  of  old  time 
have  set  on  thine  inheritance,  which  thou  dost  in- 
herit," &c.  All  the  people  curse  the  man  who 
should  remove  the  bounds  planted  by  their  ancestors, 
Deut.  xxvii.  17.  Job  (xxiv.  2.)  reckons  those  who 
are  guilty  of  this  crime  among  thieves  and  robbers, 
and  oppressors  of  the  poor.  Josephus  (Antiq.  lib.  iv. 
cap.  8.)  has  interpreted  the  law  of  Moses  in  a  very 
particular  sense.  He  says,  "  that  it  is  not  lawful  to 
change  the  limits,  ehher  of  the  land  belonging  to  the 
Israelites,  or  that  of  their  neighbors  with  whom  they 
are  at  peace  ;  but  that  they  ought  to  be  left  as  they 
are,  having  been  so  placed  by  the  order  of  God  him- 
self; for  the  desire  which  avaricious  men  have  to 
extend  their  limits  is  the  occasion  of  war  and  divis- 
ion ;  and  whosoever  is  capable  of  removing  the 
boundaries  of  lands  is  not  far  from  a  disposition  to 
violate  all  other  laws." 

Among  the  Romans,  if  a  slave,  with  an  evil  design, 
changed  any  boundary,  he  Avas  punished  with  death. 
Men  of  condition  were  sometimes  banished,  and  pri- 
vate persons  punished  according  to  the  circumstances 
of  their  crime,  by  pecuniary  fines,  or  corporal  pun- 
ishment. The  respect  of  the  ancients  for  boundaries 
proceeded  almost  to  adoration.  Numa  Pompilius, 
king  of  the  Romans,  ordained,  that  offerings  should 
be  made  to  boundaries,  with  thick  milk,  cakes,  and 
first-fruits.  Ovid  says,  that  a  lamb  was  sacrificed  to 
them,  and  that  they  were  sprinkled  with  blood  ;  and 
Juvenal  speaks  of  cake  and  pap,  which  were  laid 
every  year  upon  the  sacred  bounds. 

The  Scripture  reckons  it  among  the  effects  of  God's 
onmipotence,  to  have  fixed  bounds  to  the  sea,  Ps.  civ. 
9 ;  Job  xxvi.  10 ;  Prov.  viii.  29 ;  Jer.  v.  22. 

BOW,  a  kind  of  weapon  well  known.  The  Israel- 
ites had  many  very  expert  archers  among  their  troops. 
When  there  is  mention  in  Scripture  of  bending  the 
bow,  the  verb  tread  underfoot  is  generally  used ;  be- 
cause it  was  the  custom  to  put  the  feet  upon  the  bow, 
to  bend  it.  [The  phrase  a  deceitful  boio,  to  which 
the  people  of  Israel  are  compared,  (Ps.  Ixxviii.  57 ; 
Hos.  vii.  16.)  means  a  bow  which  shoots  the  arrow  in 
a  wrong  direction,  not  as  it  is  aimed ;  and  the  com- 
parison is  just,  because  Israel  swerved  from  the 
course  which  God  had  marked  out  for  them  and  di- 
rected them  to  pursue. 

In  2  Sam.  i.  18.  we  read  in  the  English  version, 
"  Also  be  (David)  bade  them  teach  the  children  of 
Judah  the  use  o/the  bow."  Here  the  words  'Hhe  use 
of"  are  not  in  the  Hebrew,  and  convey  a  sense  en- 
tirely false  to  the  Enghsh  reader.  It  should  be, 
"teach  them  the  bow,"  i.  e.  the  song  of  the  bow,  the 
lamentation  over  Saul  and  Jonathan  which  follows ; 
and  which  is  called,  by  way  of  distinction,  the  bow, 
from  the  mention  of  this  weapon  in  verse  22.  This 
mode  of  selecting  an  inscription  to  a  poem  or  work 
is  common  in  the  East ;  so  in  the  Koran  the  second 
Sura  is  entitled  the  cow,  from  the  incidental  mention 
in  it  of  the  red  heifer,  comp.  Numb.  xix.  2.  In  a 
similar  manner,  the  names  of  the  books  of  the  Penta- 


BOZ 


[  206  ] 


BRA 


teuch  in  the  Hebrew  Bibles,  are  merely  the  Jirst  word 
in  each  book.     *R. 

God  is  represented  in  Scripture  wth  his  bow  and 
arrows,  as  warriors  and  conquerors  are  described, 
Hab.  iii.  9.  The  Persians,  in  Scripture  called  Elani- 
ites,  were  the  most  expert  archers  in  the  world.  See 
War,  machines  and  instruments  of. 

BOWELS,  the  inward  parts  of  a  human  body. 
According  to  the  Jews,  these  are  the  seat  of  mercy, 
tenderness,  and  compassion ;  and  hence  the  Scrip- 
ture expressions  of  the  bowels  being  moved,  bowels 
of  mercy,  sh-aitened  in  your  bowels,  &c.  The  He- 
brews sometimes  place  wisdom  and  understanding 
also  in  the  bowels.  Job  xxxviii.  36 ;  Psal.  li.  10 ; 
Isaiah  xix.  3,  &:c.  [The  reason  of  this  is,  that  1)otoels 
is  often  put  by  the  Hebrew  writers  for  the  internal 
parts  generally,  the  inner  man,  and  so  also  for  heart 
as  we  use  it.     R. 

BOX-TREE,  nicND,  tashiir ;  so  called  from  its 
flourishing,  or  perpetual  viridity — an  evergreen. 
Isaiah  says,  "  I  will  plant  in  the  wilderness  the  ce- 
dar, the  shittah-tree,  and  the  myrtle,  and  the  oil-tree  ; 
I  will  set  in  the  desert  the  fir-tree,  and  the  pine,  and 
the  box-ti-ee  together,"  ch.  xli.  19.  The  nature  of  the 
box-tree  might  lead  us  to  look  for  evergi'eens  among 
the  foregoing  trees,  and  perhaps  by  tracing  this  idea 
we  might  attain  to  something  lik?  satisfaction  respect- 
ing them,  which  at  present  we  cannot.  A  plantation 
of  evergi-eens  in  the  wilderness  is  not  inilikely  to  be 
the  import  of  this  passage.  The  contrast  between  a 
perpetual  verdure,  and  sometimes  universal  browu- 
ness,  not  enlivened  by  variety  of  tints,  must  be  very 
great ;  }ievertheless  we  must  be  careful  not  to  group 
unnaturally  associated  vegetation. — Some  suppose  a 
species  of  cedar  to  be  meant. 

BOZEZ,  the  name  of  a  rock  which  Jonathan 
climbed  up  to  attack  the  Philistines,  1  Sam.  xiv.  4. 
It  was  situated  between  Myron  and  Michmash,  and 
foi-med,  with  a  similar  rock  opposite,  called  Seveh,  a 
defile,  or  strait. 

BOZKATH,  a  city  of  Judah,  Joshua  xv.  39 ;  2 
Kings  xxii.  1. 

BOZRAH,  a  city  of  gi-eat  antiquity,  known  also  to 
the  Greeks  and  Romans  by  the  name  of  Bostra.  In 
most  of  tlie  passages  of  the  Old  Testament  where  it 
is  mentioned,  it  appears  as  a  chief  city  of  the  Edom- 
ites ;  (Is.  xxxiv.  6 ;  Ixiii.  12 ;  Amos  i.  12 ;  Jer.  xlix. 
13,  22.)  only  in  Jer.  xlviii.  24.  it  is  named  among  the 
cities  of  Moab.  It  does  not  hence  follow,  that  we 
must  consider  these  as  difterent  cities ;  for  in  con- 
sequence of  the  continual  wars,  incursions  and 
conquests,  whicli  were  common  among  the  small 
kingdoms  of  that  region,  the  possession  of  particular 
cities  often  passed  into  different  hands.  Thus  Sela, 
i.  e.  Petra,  the  capital  of  the  Edomites,  taken  from 
them  by  Amaziah  king  of  Judah,  (2  Kings  xiv.  7.)  is 
also  mentioned  by  Isaiah  among  the  Moabitish  cities, 
xvi.  1.  Since  now  Bozrah  lay  not  in  the  original 
territory  of  the  Edomites,  i.  e.  south  of  Judea,  but 
north  of  tlie  territory  of  the  Ammonites,  in  Auranitis, 
or  Haouran  ;  we  must  suppose  that  the  Edomites  had 
become  masters  of  it  l)y  conquest;  and  that  it  was 
afterwards  taken  from  them  liy  the  ]Moabites,  and 
held  for  a  time  l)y  these  latter. — Bozrah  lay  south- 
easterly from  Edrei,  one  of  the  capitals  of  Bashan, 
and,  according  to  Eusebius,  twenty-four  Roman 
miles  distant  from  it ;  with  this  agi-ees  also  the 
specification  of  Ptolemy.  The  Romans  reckoned 
Bozrah  to  desert  Araliia ;  thus  Ammianus  Marcellinus 
eays,  (xiv.  27.)  "Arabia  has  among  her  towns  several 
large  cities,  as  Bostra,  and  Gerasa,  and  Philadelpliia." 


Alexander  Severus  made  it  the  seat  of  a  Roman 
colony.  In  the  acts  of  the  Nicene,  Ephesian,  and 
Chalcedonian  synods,  mention  is  made  of  bishops  of 
Bozrah  ;  and  at  a  later  period  it  became  an  important 
seat  of  the  Nestorians.  (See  Assemani's  Bibloth.  Ori- 
ent, tom.  iii.  pt.  ii.  p.  595,730.)  Abulfeda  calls  it  the 
chief  city  of  Auranitis,  or  Haouran.  And  even  at  the 
present  day,  according  to  Burckhardt,  it  is  one  of  the 
most  important  places  in  the  Haouran.  (Travels  in 
Syria,  &c.  p.  326.)  "  Bozrah  is  situated,"  he  says, 
"  in  the  open  plain,  and  is  at  present  the  last  inhabited 
place  in  the  south-east  extremity  of  the  Haouran  ;  it 
was  formerly  the  capital  of  Arabia  Provincia,  and  is 
now,  including  its  ruins,  the  largest  town  in  the 
Haouran.  It  is  of  an  oval  shape,  its  greatest  length 
being  from  east  to  west ;  its  circumference  is  three 
quarters  of  an  hour.  It  was  anciently  enclosed  by  a 
thick  wall,  which  gave  it  the  reputation  of  great 
strength.  Many  parts  of  this  wall,  especially  on  the 
west  side,  still  remain  ;  it  was  constructed  with  stones 
of  a  moderate  size  strongly  cemented  together.  The 
principal  buildings  in  Bozrah  were  on  the  east  side, 
and  in  a  direction  from  thence  towards  the  middle  of 
the  town.  The  south  and  south-cast  quarters  are 
covered  with  ruins  of  private  dwellings,  the  walls  of 
many  of  which  are  still  standing,  but  most  of  the  roofs 
have  fallen  in.  On  the  west  side  are  springs  of  fresh 
water  ;  of  which  I  counted  live  beyond  the  precincts 
of  the  town,  and  six  within  the  walls. — The  castle 
of  Bozrah  is  a  most  important  post  to  protect  the 
harvests  of  the  Haouran  against  the  hungry  Bedou- 
ins ;  but  it  is  much  neglected  l)y  the  pachas  of  Damas- 
cus, and  this  year  the  crops  of  the  inhabitants  of 
Bozrah  have  been  almost  entirely  consumed  by  the 
horses  of  the  Aeneze,  a  tribe  encamped  in  the  vicin- 
ity.— Of  the  vineyards  for  whicli  Bozrah  was  cele- 
brated, and  which  are  commemorated  by  the  Greek 
medals  of  the  colonia  Bostrcf,  not  a  vestige  remains. 
There  is  scarcely  a  tree  in  the  neighborhood  of  the 
town  ;  and  the  twelve  or  fifteen  families,  who  now 
inhabit  it,  cultivate  nothing  but  Avlieat,  barley,  horse- 
beans,  and  a  little  dhourra.  A  number  of  fine  rose- 
trees  gi-ow  wild  among  the  ruins  of  the  town,  and 
were  just  beginning  to  open  their  buds."  The  an- 
cient importance  of  tiie  city  is  still  demonstrated  by 
tlie  ruins  of  temples,  theatres,  and  palaces ;  of  which 
Burckhardt  gives  a  full  description.     *R. 

BRACELET,  an  ornamental  chain,  or  a  clasp,  made 
of  various  metals,  always  meant  to  adorn  tlie  })art  on 
whicli  it  was  worn.  [The  word  bracelet  comes  prop- 
erly from  the  Latin  brachiale,  meaning  an  ornament 
for  the  arm;  and  to  this  corresj)onds  the  Hebrew 
i^cx,  tsdmid.  Tliis  is  too  common  to  need  any  de- 
scription. But  there  is  another  kind  of  oruameut 
called  in  Hebrew  nij'^j  tscddcih^  or  n-i;'XN,  etsddah,  which 
is  also  often  rendered  bracelet  in  our  P^nglisli  version  ; 
sometimes  improperly.  The  Hebrew  words  come 
from  a  root  which  signifies  to  step,  to  ivalk ;  hence 
the  proper  signification  seems  to  be  step-chain,  or 
foot-chain,  i.  e.  small  chains  which  the  oriental 
women  wear  fastened  to  the  ornaments  of  the  ankles, 
so  as  to  unite  the  feet,  and  thus  cause  them  to  walk  iu 
a  measured  pace ;  an  affectation  which  is  strongly 
reproved  by  Isaiah,  (iii.  16.)  who  describes  the  females 
of  Jerusalem  as  "walking  and  mincing  as  they  go, 
and  making  a  tinkling  with  their  feet."  So  in  the 
enumeration  of  female  ornaments,  Isa.  iii.  20 ;  and 
also  Num.  xxxi.  50,  where  the  Israelites,  after  having 
defeated  the  Midianites,  offered  to  the  Lord  the 
"/oo<-chains,  and  bracelets,  rings,  ear-rings,"  etc.  taken 
from  the  enemy.     The  \vord  etsddah,  however,  seems 


BRA 


[207  ] 


BRE 


Bometimes  to  have  been  taken  in  a  more  general 
sense,  and  to  have  also  included  the  sense  of  brace- 
let; as  in  2  Sam.  i,  10,  where  the  Amalekite  who 
had  slain  Saul,  says,  that  he  took  off  the  bracelet 
[etsddah)  that  was  upon  the  arm  of  that  prince.  So 
the  Septuagiut  here  has  x/.iS,:nu.  But  this  is  not  the 
specific  or  usual  meaning.  R.]  The  Chaldee 
properly  translates  it  chaiiis  of  the  foot.  Clemens 
Alexandrinus  (Praedag.  lib.  ii.  cap.  12.)  calls  those 
silver  or  golden  circlets  that  women  put  about  their 
legs,  rifdit;  niQiOipioiov;,  i.  c.  fetters  or  bonds,  as  do 
other  profane  authors.  The  women  of  Syria  and 
.■\jabia  at  this  day  wear  great  rings  round  their  legs, 
to  whicii  are  fastened  many  other  lesser  rings,  which 
make  a  tinkling  noise,  like  Uttle  bells,  when  they 
walk  or  stir.  These  rings  are  fixed  above  the  ankle, 
and  are  of  gold,  silver,  copper,  glass,  or  even  of  var- 
nished earth,  according  to  the  substance  and  con- 
dition of  the  wearer.  The  princesses  wear  large 
hollow  rings  of  gold,  within  which  are  enclosed  little 
pebbles,  that  tinkle.  Others  have  lesser  rings  called 
Kelkal,  hung  round  them,  which  have  the  same 
effect.  The  larger  circles,  or  rings,  are  open  in  one 
place,  in  form  of  a  crescent,  by  which  they  pass  the 
small  of  the  leg  through  them.  (See  Dresses.) 
The  Egyptian  ladies  wore  also  very  valuable  leg- 
rings  ;  for  we  read  in  an  inscription  found  in  Spain, 
that  the  statue  of  Isis  had  ornaments  of  gold  on  its 
legs,  set  with  two  emeralds,  and  with  eleven  other 
precious  stones.  The  Roman  and  Grecian  Avomen 
also  used  them.  Trimalchio,  (in  Petronius,)  speak- 
ing of  his  spouse,  says.  See  what  she  wears  on  her 
legs  ;  Videtis  midieris  compedes  ;  by  way  of  complaint 
at  her  extravagance. 

BRAMBLE,  Judg.  ix.  14, 15.  The  word  nax,  dtdd, 
which  is  here  translated  bramble,  is  in  Ps.  Iviii.  9. 
rendered  thorn.  The  most  proper  name  in  Enghsh 
would  be  buck-thorn.  The  LXX  and  Josephus 
translate  it  numo:,  and  the  Vulgate  rhamnus.  Theo- 
dorus  says  the  rhamnus  is  the  largest  of  thorns,  and 
is  furnished  with  the  most  dreadful  darts ;  and  Dios- 
corides,  as  cited  by  Bochart,  remarks,  that  the  Afri- 
cans, or  Carthaginians,  called  the  rhamnus  '-^-ZraJ/u, 
which  is  the  plural  of  the  Hebrew  atad.  As  to  the 
nature  of  the  trees  of  which  Jephthah  speaks,  we  are 
pretty  sure  of  most  of  them.  The  olive-tree,  the  fig- 
tree,  the  vine,  are  well  known  ;  and  the  bramble 
seems  to  be  very  well  chosen  as  a  representative  of 
the  original  atad ;  for  probably  that  vegetable  should 
be  a  tree,  bearing  a  fruit  of  some  kind,  (like  the 
thorn-ap|)le,)  which  is  associated,  though  by  oi)posi- 
tion,  witli  the  vine,  &c.  That  this  atad  was  used  for 
the  purpose  of  burning,  we  have  the  evidence  of  the 
Psalmist.  The  bramble  of  Britain  is  a  kind  of  rasp- 
berry ;  whether  this  atad  of  Judea  is  of  the  same 
class,  we  do  not  determine.  Hasselquist  does  not 
mention  it ;  and  the  rendering  of  the  LXX  seems  to 
hint  at  a  diflfercnt  kind  of  thorn.  Scheuchzer  gives 
the  preference  on  this  occasion  to  the  Rhamnus,  or 
JVabca  Paliurus  Athenei,  which  Hasselquist  selected 
for  the  crown  of  thorns  of  oin*  Saviour.  It  is  cer- 
tain that  such  a  tree  is  required  as  may  well  denote 
a  tyrant ;  one  who,  instead  of  affording  shade  and 
shelter  to  such  as  seek  his  protection,  strips  them  of 
their  property,  as  a  bramble-bush  does  the  sheep 
which  come  near  it,  or  he  down  under  its  shadow. 
At  the  same  time  this  tree  being  associated  with 
those  which  bear  valuable  fruit,  it  should  appear 
necessary  to  fix  on  some  bush  producing  fruit  also, 
as  most  properly  answering  to  this  atad. 

While  transcribing  this  article,  a  passage  in  Hol- 


land's translation  of  Plutarch  occurred  to  our  recol- 
lection, which  seems  admirably  illustrative  of  the 
above  idea  of  the  character  of  the  tree  which  should 
represent  the  atad, — which,  instead  of  affording 
shelter,  should  strip  of  their  property  those  who 
sought  its  shade  and  protection.  "Whereupon  is 
thought  that  he  [Demosthenes]  forsook  his  colors 
and  lied  ;  now,  as  he  made  haste  away,  there  chanced 
a  bramble  to  take  hold  of  his  cassock  behind,  whereat 
he  turned  back  and  said  to  the  bramble,  '  Save  my 
life,  and  take  my  ransom.'"  (Cai-penter's  Scripture 
Natural  History,'  p.  428.) 

BRANCH.  The  prophets  give  this  name  to  the 
3Iessiah :  "  Behold  the  man,  whose  name  is  the 
Branch,"  says  Zechariah,  chap.  vi.  12.  also  chap.  iii. 
8.  "Behold,  I  will  bring  forth  my  servant  the 
Branch."  The  Vulgate  translates  Oriens.  Jesus 
Christ  is  the  Branch  of  the  house  of  David  ;  he  is 
likewise  Oriens,  the  Sun  of  Righteousness,  which  is 
risen  in  order  to  enlighten  us,  and  to  deliver  us  out 
of  the  shadow  of  death.  The  Messiah  is  likewise 
called  by  this  name  m  Isaiah  iv.  2  ;  Jer.  xxiii.  5 ; 
xxxiii.  15.  as  a  kind  of  prophecy  of  his  miraculous 
birth  of  a  virgin. 

BRASS  is  frequently  mentioned  in  the  English 
Bible,  but  there  is  little  doubt  thai  copper  is  in- 
tended ;  brass  being  a  mixed  metal,  for  the  manu- 
facture of  which  we  are  indebted  to  the  Germans. 
The  ancients  knew  nothing  of  the  art.    See  Copper. 

BREAD,  a  word  which  in  Scripture  is  taken  for 
food  in  general,  Gen.  iii.  19;  xviii.  5;  xxviii.  20; 
Exod.  ii.  20.  INIaima  is  called  bread  from  heaven, 
Exod.  xvi.  15. 

The  ancient  Hebrews  had  several  ways  of  baking 
bread ;  they  often  baked  it  under  the  ashes,  upon  the 
hearth,  upon  round  copper  plates,  or  in  pans  or  stoves 
made  on  purpose.  At  their  departure  out  of  Egypt, 
they  made  some  of  these  unleavened  loaves  for  their 
journey,  Exod.  xii.  39.  Elijah,  when  fleeing  from 
Jezebel,  found  at  his  head  a  cake,  which  had  been 
baked  on  the  coals,  (properly  upon  hot  stones,)  and  a 
cruse  of  water,  1  Kings  xix.  5.  The  same  prophet 
desired  the  widow  of  Sarepta  to  make  a  little  bread 
(cake)  for  him,  and  to  bake  it  under  the  ashes,  1 
Kings  xvii.  13.  The  Hebrews  call  this  kind  of  cake 
uggoth;  and  Hosea  (vii.  8.)  compares  Ephraim  to 
one  of  them  which  was  not  turned,  but  was  baked 
on  one  side  only.  Busbequius  (Coustantinop.  p.  36.) 
says,  that  in  Bulgaria  this  sort  of  loaf  is  still  very 
common.  They  are  there  called  hugaces.  As  soon 
as  they  see  a  guest  coming,  the  women  immediately 
prepare  these  unleavened  loaves,  which  are  baked 
under  the  ashes,  and  sold  to  strangers,  there  bemg 
no  bakers  in  this  country. 

The  Arabians,  (D'Arvieux  Coutumes  des  Arabes, 
cap.  xiv.)  and  other  eastern  people,  among  whom 
wood  is  scarce,  often  bake  their  bread  between  two 
fires  made  of  cow-dung,  which  burns  slowly,  and 
bakes  the  bread  very  leisurely.  The  crumb  of  it  is 
very  good,  if  it  be  eaten  the  same  day  ;  but  the  crust 
is  black,  and  burnt,  and  retains  a  smell  of  the  fuel 
used  in  baking  it.  This  explains  Ezek.  iv.  9,  10, 
12,  15.  which  is  extremely  shocking  to  the  generaHty 
of  readers.  The  Lord  commands  this  prophet  to 
make  a  paste  composed  of  wheat,  barley,  beans,  len- 
tils, millet,  and  fitches,  and  of  this  to  make  a  loaf,  to 
bake  it  with  human  excrements  in  the  sight  of  all 
the  people.  The  prophet  expressing  extreme  rehic- 
tance  to  this,  God  permitted  him  to  bake  it  with 
cow-dung,  instead  of  human  dung.  We  are  not  to 
imagine  that  it  was  God's  design  to  make  the  prophet 


BREAD 


208  ] 


BREAD 


eat  man's  dung ;  he  only  enjoined  him  to  bake  liis 
bread  with  such  excrements:  but,  afterwards,  he 
allowed  him  to  bake  it  with  cow-dung,  as  the  Ara- 
bians do.  See  Fuel,  and  the  extract  from  Niebuhr 
below. 

The  Hebrews,  and  other  eastern  people,  have  a 
kind  of  oven,  called  tanour,  which  is  like  a  large 
pitcher,  of  gray  stone,  open  at  top,  in  which  they 
make  a  fire.  When  it  is  well  heated,  they  mingle 
flour  in  water;  and  this  paste  they  apply  to  the  out- 
side of  the  pitcher.  It  is  baked  in  an  instant,  and 
being  dried,  is  taken  off  in  thin,  "fine  pieces,  like  our 
wafers.  The  orientals  believe  Eve's  oven  to  have 
been  of  this  kind  ;  that  it  was  left  to  Noah,  and  they 
say  that  the  boiling  water  which  ran  over  from  it, 
occasioned  the  deluge  ; — metaphorical  of  the  exten- 
sive spread  and  effects  of  her  sin. 

A  third  sort  of  bread  used  among  the  people  of 
the  East,  is  baked  (according  to  Corvieux)  in  a  great 
pitcher  half  full  of  certain  little  flints,  which  are 
white  and  glistering,  on  which  they  cast  the  paste  in 
the  form  of  little  flat  cakes.  The  bread  is  white,  and 
smells  well,  but  is  good  only  for  the  day  on  which  it 
is  baked,  unless  there  be  leaven  mingled  with  it  to 
preserve  it  longer.  This  is  the  most  common  way 
in  Palestine. 

[Another  kind  of  oriental  oven  consists  of  a  round 
hole  in  the  earth ;  the  bottom  is  first  covered  over 
with  stones,  upon  which  fire  is  made  ;  and  when  the 
stones  are  hot  enough,  the  coals  and  ashes  are  re- 
moved, and  the  dough  laid  in  thin  flakes  upon  the 
hot  stones,  and  turned  several  times.  Su,ch  are  the 
cakes  of  stones,  1  Kings  xix.  6.  In  Persia,  according 
to  Tavernier  and  Chardin,  those  ovens  are  about 
three  feet  in  diameter,  and  five  or  six  feet  deep. 
Sometimes  a  whole  sheep  is  thus  baked  or  roasted  in 
them,  by  hanging  it  over  the  hot  stones  or  coals. 
Comp.  Jahn  Bib.  Arch.  Pt.  ii.  p.  181,  Germ.  ed. 
4  140,  Am.  ed. 

Niebuhr  gives  the  following  description  of  the 
bread  and  the  mode  of  baking  it  in  the  East :  (De- 
script,  of  Arab.  p.  51.  Germ,  ed.)  "  The  Arabs  have 
different  ways  of  baking  bread.  On  board  of  the 
ship  in. which  we  took  passage  from  Djidda  to  Lo- 
heia,  one  of  the  sailors  every  afternoon  prepared  as 
much  durra,  i.  e.  made  it  into  dough,  as  was  neces- 
sary for  one  day.  Mean  time  the  oven  was  heated. 
This  was  nothing  more  than  a  large  Avater-pot  bot- 
tom upwards,  about  three  feet  high,  without  a 
bottom,  plastered  over  thick  with  clay,  and  standing 
on  a  movable  foot-piece.  When  this  was  hot 
enough,  the  dough,  or  rather  the  cakes,  were  clapped 
upon  the  sides  of  the  oven  internally,  without  taking 
out  the  coals,  and  the  oven  was  then  covered.  The 
bread  was  afterwards  taken  out,  when,  for  a  Euro- 
pean it  was  not  half  baked,  and  so  eaten  as  warm  as 
possible.  The  Arabs  of  the  desert  use  a  plate  of  iron 
for  baking  their  cakes  of  brcatl.  Or  they  lay  a  round 
lump  of  dough  among  hot  coals  of  wood  or  of 
camel's  dung,  and  cover  it  over  with  them  entirely, 
till,  as  they  sujjpose,  the  bread  is  enough  baked ; 
they  then  knock  off  the  ashes  from  it,  and  eat  it  hot. 
The  Arabs  of  the  cities  have  ovens  not  unlike  our 
own.  These  also  are  not  without  wheat  bread.  It 
has  likewise  the  form  and  size  of  our  [German]  pan- 
cakes, (i.  e.  of  a  dough-nut,  or  a  middling-sized 
apple,)  and  is  seldom  sufficiently  baked.  The  other 
food  of  the  orientals  consists  chiefly  in  rice,  milk, 
butter,  cheimak,  or  thick  cream,  and  all  kinds  of  gar- 
den fruits.  Nor  have  they  any  deficiency  of  animal 
food."      In  another  place,  after  relating  the  same 


facts,  this  writer  remarks,  that  "  the  principal  suste- 
nance of  the  orientals  in  general  is  new  bread,  just 
baked  in  this  manner ;  and  on  this  account  they  fur- 
nish themselves  on  their  journeys  in  the  desert  es- 
peciallv  with  meal."  (Travels,  vol.  i.  p.  234,  Germ. 
ed.)     *R. 

The  forms  given  to  bread  in  different  countries, 
however,  are  varied  according  to  circumstances, 
whether  it  be  required  to  sustain  keeping  for  a  longer 
or  a  shorter  time ;  that  bread  which  is  to  be  eaten 
the  same  day  it  is  made,  is  usually  thin,  broad,  and 
flat ;  that  which  is  meant  for  longer  keeping  is 
larger,  and  more  bulky,  that  its  moisture  may  not  too 
soon  evaporate.  So  far  as  we  recollect,  the  loaves 
most  generally  used  among  the  Jews  were  round  ; 
though  the  rabbins  say  the  shew-bread  was  square. 
We  have  representations  of  loaves  divided  into  twelve 
parts ;  we  cannot  affirm,  that  the  loaf  used  by  our 
Lord  at  the  eucharist  was  thus  divided ;  but  if  it 
were,  it  shows  how  conveniently  it  might  be  dis- 
tributed among  the  disciples ;  to  each  a  part.  We 
conceive,  too,  that  such  a  divided  loaf  gives  no  im- 
proper comment  on  the  passage,  "  We  being  many 
are  one  bread" — many  partakers,  each  having  his 
portion  from  the  same  loaf,  1  Cor.  x.  17. 

Moses  enjoined  the  Israelites,  on  their  arrival  in 
the  promised  land,  "  to  oflTer  up  a  cake  of  the  first 
of  their  dough,  for  a  hcave-ofteriug  in  their  genera- 
tions," Numb.  XV.  20.  These  first-fniits  of  bread,  or 
dough,  were  given  to  the  priest  or  Levite,  who  dwelt 
in  the  place  where  the  bread  was  baked ;  if  no  priest 
or  Levite  dwelt  there,  that  part  of  the  dough  de- 
signed for  the  Lord,  or  his  minister,  was  thrown 
into  the  fire,  or  the  oven.  The  quantity  of  bread  to 
be  given  for  first-fruits  was  not  settled  by  the  law; 
but  custom  and  tradition  had  determined  it  to  be  be- 
tween the  fortieth  part  of  the  whole  mass  at  most,  and 
the  sixtieth  part  of  the  mass  at  least.  Philo  remarks, 
that  something  was  set  apart  for  the  priest,  when- 
ever they  kneaded,  but  he  does  not  say  how  much. 
Leo  of  Modena  tells  us,  that  the  modern  custom  of 
the  Jews  is,  when  the  bread  is  kneaded,  and  a  piece 
of  dough  made  as  big  as  forty  eggs,  to  take  a  small 
part  from  it,  and  make  a  cake,  which  is  instead  of 
the  first-fruits  appointed  by  the  law.  It  had  been  a 
custom  to  give  this  cake  to  the  priest ;  but,  at  pres- 
ent, it  is  thrown  into  the  fire,  to  be  consumed.  This 
is  one  of  the  three  precepts  which  should  be  ob- 
served by  the  women,  as  they  generally  make  the 
bread.  The  prayer  to  he  recited  by  them,  when  they 
throw  this  httle  portion  of  dough  into  the  oven,  or 
the  fire,  is  as  follows : — "  Blessed  art  thou,  O  Lord 
our  God,  the  King  of  the  world,  who  hast  sanctified 
us  by  thy  precepts,  and  hast  commanded  us  to  sepa- 
rate a  cake  of  our  dough." 

It  appears,  from  several  places  of  Scripture,  that 
there  stood  constantly  near  the  altar  a  basket  full  of 
bread,  to  be  offered  with  the  ordinary  sacrifices, 
Exod.  xxix.  32;  Numb.  vi.  15.  Moses  forbids  the 
priests  to  receive  from  the  hands  of  strangers  bread, 
or  any  thing  else  that  they  proposed  to  give  ;  because 
all  these  gifts  are  corrupted,  Lev.  xxii.  25.  There 
are  different  opinions  concerning  the  meaning  of 
this  law.  Some  think  that  under  the  name  of  bread, 
we  should  understand  all  sorts  of  sacrifices  and 
offerings,  because  the  victims  that  were  slain  ai-e,  in 
Scripture,  sometimes  called  the  bread  of  God. 
Others  imagine,  that  God  forbids  the  receiving  sacri- 
fices of  any  kind,  or  any  real  offering  immediately 
from  the  hands  of  infidel  people ;  but  that  he  per- 
mits the  reception  of  money  wherewith  to  purchase 


BREAD 


[  209  ] 


BREAD 


offerings  and  victims.  Others  explain  it  literally,  of 
offerings  of  flour,  bread,  or  cakes  ;  that  none  of  these 
were  to  be  received  in  the  temple  from  the  hands 
of  idolaters,  or  infidels. 

God  threatens  to  break  the  staff  of  bread,  that  is, 
to  send  famine  among  the  Israelites,  Ezek.  iv.  16. 
Our  Saviour  says, after  the  Psalmist,  "Man  doth  not 
live  by  bread  only,  but  by  every  word  which  pro- 
ceedetii  out  of  tiie  mouth  of  God,"  Matt.  iv.  4.  God 
can  sustain  us,  not  only  with  bread,  or  ordinary  food, 
but  with  any  thing  else,  if  lie  tiiink  fit  to  communi- 
cate a  nourishing  virtue  to  it.  Thus  he  fed  the  Is- 
raelites in  the  Avilderncss  with  manna  ;  and  thus  five 
thousand  men  were  fed  witli  five  loaves,  distributed 
by  the  hands  of  Christ  and  his  apostles.  Bread  and 
water  are  used  for  sustenance  in  general.  Dent.  ix.  9, 
18,  &c.  "  Bread  of  affliction,  and  water  of  afflic- 
tion," (1  Kings  xxii.  27.)  are  the  same  as  a  little  bread 
and  a  little  water,  or  prison-bread  and  prison-water, 
prison  allowance  ;  as  one  partakes  of  them  in  a 
season  of  affliction. 

As  the  Hebrews  generally  made  their  bread  verj' 
thin,  and  in  the  form  of  little  flat  cakes,  or  wafers, 
they  did  not  cut  it  with  a  knife,  but  broke  it ;  which 
gave  rise  to  that  expression  so  usual  in  Scripture,  of 
breaking  bi-ead,  to  signify  eating,  sitting  doAvn  to 
table,  taking  a  repast.  In  the  institution  of  the 
eucharist,  our  Saviour  broke  the  bread  which  he  had 
consecrated  ;  whence,  to  break  bread,  and  breaking 
of  bread,  in  the  New  Testament,  are  used  for  cele- 
brating the  eucharist. 

The  Psalmist  speaks  of  the  bi-ead  of  tears,  and 
the  bread  of  soitows.  Psalm  xlii.  3 ;  cxxvii.  2. 
Meaning  continual  sorrow  and  tears,  instead  of  food  ; 
or  which  make  us  lose  the  desire  of  eating  and 
drinking.  "Bread  of  wickedness,  bread  of  deceit," 
is  bread  acquired  by  fraudulent  and  criminal  prac- 
tices.    These  metaphors  are  very  energetic. 

Bread,  daily  ;  to  show  an  entire  dependence  on 
our  heavenly  Father's  care,  we  are  instructed  to  pray 
day  by  day  for  our  daily  bi-ead.  Matt.  vi.  11.  The 
Greek  word  fmoi'aio:,  sufficient,  used  by  the  evange- 
lists, may  be  understood  as  opposed  to  neoioiaio;,  su- 
perfluous. Many  conunentators  include  in  this  pe- 
tition, a  prayer  for  the  daily  supply  for  the  spiritual 
wants  of  the  believer  by  Divine  Grace,  as  well  as  a 
daily  supply  for  his  temporal  need  by  Divine  Provi- 
dence. 

Shew-bread,  (Heb.  bread  of  presence,)  was  bread 
offered  every  sabbath  day  to  God  on  the  golden  table 
placed  in  the  holy  place,  Exod.  xxv.  30.  The  He- 
brews affirm,  that  the  loaves  were  square,  having 
four  sides,  and  covered  with  leaves  of  gold.  They 
were  twelve  in  number,  in  ziiemory  of  the  twelve 
tribes  of  Israel,  in  whose  names  they  were  offered. 
They  must  have  been  quite  large,  since  every  loaf 
was  composed  of  two  assarons  or  omers  of  flour, 
which  make  about  ten  pints  2-lOths.  The  loaves 
had  no  leaven  ;  were  presented  hot  every  sabbath 
day,  the  old  loaves  being  taken  away,  which  were  to 
be  eaten  by  the  priests  only.  With  this  offering 
there  was  salt  and  incense  ;  and  even  wine,  accord- 
ing to  some  commentators.  Scripture  mentions  only 
salt  and  incense  ;  but  it  is  presumed  wine  was  added, 
because  it  was  not  wanting  in  other  sacrifices  and 
'offerings.  It  is  believed  that  the  loaves  were  ])laced 
one  upon  the  other  in  two  piles,  of  six  each  ;  and 
that  between  every  loaf  there  were  two  thin  plates 
of  gold,  folded  back  in  a  semicircle,  the  whole  length 
of  them,  to  admit  air,  and  to  hinder  the  loaves  from 
growinsr  mouldv.     These  golden  plates,  thus  turned 

07 


in,  were  supported  at  their  extremities  by  two 
golden  forks  which  rested  upon  the  ground,  Lev. 
xxiv.  5,  seq. 

As  there  is  much  difference  of  opinion  among 
commentators  as  to  the  manner  in  which  these 
loaves  were  placed  upon  the  table,  it  may  be  neces- 
saiy  to  offer  some  remarks  on  the  subject.  The 
following  quotation  from  Lightfoot,  (of  the  Temple,) 
however,  may  be  previously  perused  \vith  advan- 
tage :— 

"  On  the  north  side  of  the  house,  which  was  on 
the  right  hand,  stood  the  shew-bread  table  of  tsvo 
cubits  long,  and  a  cubit  and  a  half  broad,  (Exod. 
xxv.  23.)  in  the  tabernacle  of  Moses,  but  wanting  that 
half  cubit  in  breadth  in  the  second  temple  (the  reason 
of  the  falling  short,  not  given  by  them  that  give  the 
relation.)  It  stood  lengthwise  in  hs  place,  that  is, 
east  and  west,  and  had  a  crown  of  gold  round  about 
it,  toward  the  upmost  edge  of  it,  which  [see  Baal 
Hatt.  in  Ex.  xxv.]  the  Jews  resemble  to  the  crown 
of  the  kingdom.  Upon  this  table  there  stood  con- 
tinually twelve  loaves,  which,  because  they  stood 
before  the  Lord,  were  called  cjcn  arh.  Matt.  xii.  4, 
''  jIqtoi  TTooSiriivK,  the  bread  of  setting  before,  [the 
bread  of  presence,]  for  which  our  English  has  found 
a  very  fit  word,  calling  it  the  sheiv-bread ;  the  man- 
ner of  inaking  and  placing  of  which  loaves  was 
thus,  says  Maimonides:  (in  Tamidin,  per.  .5.)  "Out 
of  four  and  twenty  hnd,  seah,  (three  of  which  went 
to  an  ephah,)  that  is,  out  of  eight  bushels  of  wheat 
being  ground,  they  sifted  out  (Lev.  xxiv.  5.)  four  and 
twenty  tenth-deals,  (Exod.  xvi.  36.)  or  omers,  of  the 
purest  flour ;  and  that  they  made  into  twelve  cakes, 
two  omers  in  a  cake  ;  or  the  fifth  part  of  an  ephah 
of  corn  in  every  cake ;  they  made  the  cakes  square, 
namely,  ten  hand-breadths  long,  and  five  broad,  and 
seven  fingers  thick. 

"  On  the  sabbath  they  set  them  on  the  table  in 
this  manner ;  four  priests  went  first  in  to  fetch  away 
the  loaves  that  had  stood  all  the  week,  and  other  four 
went  in  after  them  to  bring  in  new  ones  in  their 
stead  ;  two  of  the  four  last  caiTied  the  two  rows  of 
the  cakes,  namely,  six  a-piece,  and  the  other  two 
carried  in,  either  of  them,  a  golden  dish,  in  which  the 
frankincense  Avas  to  be  put,  to  be  set  upon  the 
loaves ;  and  so  those  four  that  went  to  fetch  out  the 
old  bread,  two  of  them  were  to  carry  the  cakes,  and 
the  other  two  the  dishes ;  these  four  that  came  to 
fetch  the  old  bread  out  stood  before  the  table  with 
their  faces  towards  the  north,  and  the  other  four  that 
brought  in  the  new  stood  betwixt  the  table  and  the 
wall  Xvith  their  faces  towards  the  south  ;  those  drew 
off  the  old  cakes,  and  these,  as  the  others  went  off, 
slipped  on  the  new,  so  that  the  table  was  never  with- 
out bread  upon  it,  because  it  is  said,  they  should 
stand  before  the  Lord  continually.  They  set  the 
cakes  in  two  rows,  six  and  six,  one  upon  another, 
and  they  set  them,  the  length  of  the  cakes  crossover 
the  breadth  of  the  table,  (by  which  it  appears,  that 
the  crowni  of  gold  about  the  table  rose  not  above  the 
surface  of  it,  but  was  a  border  below  edging  even 
with  the  plain  of  it,  as  is  well  held  by  Rabbi  Solo- 
mon, in  Exodus  xxv.)  and  so  the  cakes  lay  two  hand- 
breadths  over  the  table  on  either  side  ;  for  the  table 
was  I)ut  six  hand-breadths  broad,  and  the  cakes  were 
ten  hand-bretidths  long ;  now  as  for  preventing  that 
that  which  so  lay  over  should  not  break  off,  if  they 
had  no  other  way  to  prevent  it,  (which  yet  they  had, 
but  I  confess  that  the  descrijnion  of  it  in  their 
authors  I  do  not  understand,)  yet  their  manner  of 
laying  the  cakes  one  upon  another  was  such  as  that 


BREAD 


210  ] 


BREAD 


the  weight  rested  upon  the  table,  and  not  upon  the 
pohits  that  hung  over.  The  lowest  cake  of  either 
row  they  laid  upon  the  plain  table ;  and  upon  that 
cake  they  laid  three  golden  canes  at  distance  one 
from  another,  and  upon  those  they  laid  the  next 
cake ;  and  then  three  golden  canes  again,  and  upon 
them  another  cake;  and  so  of  the  rest,  save  only 
that  they  laid  but  two  such  canes  upon  the  fifth  cake, 
because  there  was  but  one  cake  more  to  be  laid  upon. 
Now  these  which  I  call  golden  canes  (and  the  He- 
brews call  them  so  also)  were  not  like  reeds  or  canes, 
perfectly  round  and  hollow  through,  but  they  were 
like  canes  or  kexes  slit  up  the  middle  ;  and  the  reason 
of  laying  them  thus  betwixt  cake  and  cake  was,  that 
by  their  hollowness  air  might  come  to  every  cake, 
and  all  might  thereby  be  kept  the  better  from  mould- 
iness  and  corrupting;  and  thus  did  the  cakes  lie 
hollow,  and  one  not  touching  another,  and  all  the 
golden  canes  being  laid  so,  as  that  they  lay  within 
the  compass  of  the  breadth  of  the  table ;  the  ends 
of  the  cakes  that  lay  over  the  table  on  either  side 
bare  no  burthen  but  their  own  weight. 

"  On  the  top  of  either  row  was  set  a  golden  dish 
with  a  handful  of  frankincense,  which,  when  the 
bread  was  taken  away,  was  burnt  as  incense  to  the 
Lord,  (Lev.  xxiv.  7.)  and  the  bread  went  to  Aaron 
and  his  sons,  or  to  the  priests,  as  their  portiakis  to  be 
eaten." 

So  far  this  learned  author 

This  is  a  representation  of  this  table,  as  usually 
acquiesced  in,  on  rab- 
binical autliority.  The 
table  itself  is  a  parallel- 
ogram ;  in  the  middle 
stands  a  vase  with  its 
covering,  which  vase  is 
understood  to  contain 
incense  ;  at  each  end  of 
the  table  stands  a  pile, 
formed  by  the  loaves 
of  shew-bread  ;  this 
jjile  is  upheld  by  gold- 
en prongs,  which  pre- 
vent the  loaves  from 
slipping    out    of   their 

!)laces  ;  and  between  the  loaves  arc  golden  pipes, 
aid  for  the  admission  of  air,  to  prevent  any  kind  of 
mouldincss,  &.c.  from  attaching  to  the  bread.  The 
reader  will  observe  the  gi-eat  height  of  these  piles. 
We  cannot  but  wonder  at  the  conduct  of  whoever 
originally  made  the  design  for  this  table ;  by  what 
authority  could  he  place  on  these  prongs  the  head 
of  any  animal,  whether  ox  or  sheep  ?  or  was  it  in 
allusion  to  the  four  heads  of  the  cheru!)?  (as  there 
were  four  of  thesn  jjrongs,  two  on  each  side  of  the 
table.)  It  sliould  seem  to  l)c  the  head  of  a  young 
bull ; — but,  if  so,  if  tlicn;  were  really  any  tradition 
of  such  a  head,  might  it  not  l)econie  theorigin  of 
that  calunniy  which  reported,  that  the  Jews  wor- 
shipped an  ass's  head?  (see  Ass  ;)  for  it  is  remarka- 
ble that  the  calumny  does  not  say  a  complete  ass 
but  the  head  of  an  ass ;  and,  possibly,  some  such' 
mistake  might  give  occasion  to  it: — for,  had  it  said 
an  ox's  head,  the  report  had  not  been  far  from  the 
truth,  if  this  re[)n-.s;Mitatinn  bo  authentic.  However  ! 
that  must  rest  on  the  rabbins,  whoso  accounts  are 
its  authorities  ;  or  on  whatever  authority  the  original 
flesigner  might  have  to  pl.-ad.  It  shouhl  appear  by 
this  figure,  that  the  cro^^•n  of  carved  work  around  | 
the  rim  of  the  table  roso  above  the  su])crficial  level  I 
of  the  table  ;  if  so,  as  Lightfoot  justly  remarks,  the  ' 


loaves  could  not  exceed  it,  so  as  to  overhang  its  edge, 
but  must  be  confined  within  its  limits.  It  will  be 
observed,  that  the  legs  of  this  table  are  distinct 
and  insulated  ;  not  being  strengthened  by  a  rail, 
or  any  similar  connection  with  each  other,  in  any 
part. 

As  the  foregoing  figure  has  no  authority  beside 
description,  we  have 
here  given  a  representa- 
tion of  the  shew-bread 
table,  as  it  is  delineated 
on  the  arch  of  Titus,  but 
restored  to  somewhat  of 
its  true  appearance.  This 
shows  no  loaves  placed 
upon  it ;  and  probably 
Titus  found  it  thus  va- 
cant, when  it  became  his 
prey ;  but  it  shows  a  cup, 
standing  at  one  end  of  the 
table,  nearly,  or  altogeth- 
er, on  the  spot  where,  according  to  the  rabbins,  one 
of  the  piles  of  bread  should  be  ;  and  in  fact,  in  such 
a  part  that  it  would  be  impossible  to  place  one  of 
those  piles,  without  removing  the  cup.  We  observe, 
too,  nothing  of  the  supposed  golden  props,  or  sup- 
ports to  those  piles,  in  this  figure.  From  this  situa- 
tion of  the  cup  we  have  ventured  to  surmise  the 
possibility,  that  there  was  on  the  table  a  second  cup, 
(which  we  have  hinted  at  by  dotted  lines,)  in  a  part 
of  the  table  answerable  in  point  of  symmetry  to 
that  of  the  first  cup.  It  is  true,  however,  that  a  sin- 
gle cup  might  stand  in  the  middle  of  the  front  of 
the  table ;  but  what  if  there  were  in  the  middle  a 
small  box  of  incense  and  a  cup  standing  on  each 
side  of  it  ? 

It  is  probable  the  reader  will  be  struck  with  the 
manner  of  ranging  the 
loaves  in  this  engrav- 
ing, which  appears  to 
difter  altogether  from 
the  rabbinical  pile ; 
that  supj:)osing  them 
to  be  laid  one  upon 
another  in  height ;  this 
supposing  them  to  be 
laid  by  the  side  of  one 
another  in  length. 

We  gather  this  or- 
der of  the  loaves,  (1.) 
from  the  use  of  the 
Hebrew  word  itself,  {-\-\';^irek,)  which  our  translators 
certainly  understood  in  this  sense,  and  have  very 
properly  rendered,  in  Lev.  xxiv.  6.  "  two  rows,  six 
in  a  row" — not  two  piles,  six  in  a  pile ;  but  a  row, 
that  is,  at  length,  one  loaf  by  the  side  of  its  fellows. 
The  word  denotes  an  orderly  arrangement  of  the 
sid)jects  to  which  it  refers;  so,  Prov.  ix.  2,  "  Wis- 
dom hath  furnish(>d,  arranged  the  proinsioiis  on  the 
table ;  but  provisions  are  not  arranged  on  a  table  in 
piles,  one  upon  another;  but  in  rows,  one  by  the 
side  of  another,  or  one  row  before,  one  behind,  an- 
other. So,  Numb,  xxiii.  4,  "/  have  arranged  seven 
altars  j'^  surelj'  not  one  over  the  other,  but  in  a  line. 
It  denotes  also  an  army,  that  is,  rows  of  soldiers, 
standing  side  l)y  side ;  the  inference,  therefore,  is 
that  the  word  is  conclusive  against  the  rabbinical  no- 
tion of  piles  of  shew-bread,  since  it  denotes  distribu- 
tions or  arrangements,  and  tliose  in  ranks  or  rows. 
(2.)  As  these  twelve  loaves  represented  an  offering 
from  each  of  the  twelve  tribes,  it  was  fit  that  each 


BREAD 


[211  ] 


BREAD 


tribe  should  be  equally  open  to  the  view  of  the  per- 
Bon  to  whom,  as  it  was  understood,  the  present  was 
presented,  that  no  tribe  might  seem  to  be  slighted  or 
neglected  ;  but  in  piles  this  could  not  be,  as  the  under 
loaf  would  necessarily  appear  pressed,  and  concealed 
by  those  above  it ;  consequently,  the  tribe  it  referred 
to  would  bo  symbolically  injured  and  disgraced  by 
such  a  situation  of  its  representative.  (3.)  The  very 
construction  and  form  of  the  table,  as  it  appears  in 
the  arch  of  Titus,  shows  the  impossibility  of  adopt- 
ing the  prongs  of  the  first  engraving  aliove,  because 
that  stena  which  reaches  from  the  table  to  the  ground, 
at  the  very  nearest  possible  situation  for  it  to  the  end 
of  the  table,  must  have  run  down  directly  before  the 
leg  of  the  table,  (which  is  very  unlikely,  considering 
the  situation  of  the  cup,)  by  reason  of  the  absence 
of  that  part  of  the  table  which  was  cut  away ;  and 
these  piles  could  not  be  placed  nearer  to  the  centre 
of  the  table  because  of  the  covercle  containing  in- 
cense, &c.  which  stood  there,  as  in  that  engraving. 
On  the  whole,  therefore,  probability  leads  to  the 
opinion,  that  the  loaves  were  placed  in  two  rows,  six 
in  each  row;  that  they  were  of  a  certain  convenient 
breadth,  conmiensurate  to  the  surface  of  the  table, 
but  of  a  more  considerable  height,  as  suggested  by 
dotted  lines ;  and  they  might  be  as  much  higher, 
above  the  full  height  of  the  cup,  as  Avas  necessary. 
This  is  supposing  that  they  contained  the  whole 
quantity  of  tlour  understood  to  be  allotted  to  them 
in  Leviticus.  They  might  resemble  our  half-peck 
or  peck  loaves ;  or  what  are  called  bricks,  by  our 
bakers.  This  arrangement  of  the  loaves,  too,  admits 
perfectly  of  that  diminution  of  the  table  in  front, 
which  appears  in  what  we  have  considered  as  the 
authentic  representation  ;  it  admits  also  a  place  for 
the  conjectural  cup  on  the  other  side  of  the  table ; 
and  it  leaves  a  space  between  these  two  cups,  which 
might  be  occupied  by  something  else  to  complete 
the  table  ;  such  as  incense,  salt,  &c.  It  is  indifferent 
to  this  arrangement,  whether  the  loaves  were  round 
or  square. 

This  plan  shows,  by  the  strong  lines,  what  were 
the  limits  of  the  table 
as  taken  by  Titus  ;  and 
its  dotted  lines  hint  at 
its  limits  as  made  by 
Moses.  It  is  natural  to 
ask.  Who  directed  these 
alterations?  Did  they 
obtain  under  Solomon, 
the  Maccabees,  or  Herod  ?  They  seem  to  imply  a 
spirit  of  innovation,  which  one  should  little  expect 
to  find  among  a  people  so  attached  as  the  Jews  were, 
to  the  peculiarities  of  their  ritual,  and  to  their  reli- 
gious services.  Moses  seems  to  say,  (Lev.  xxiv.  8.) 
that  the  Israelites  furnished  the  loaves  presented  be- 
fore the  Lord  ;  but  this  ought  to  be  understood  only, 
as  they  paid  the  first-fruits  and  tenths  to  the  priests 
(which  was  the  chief  of  their  income.)  And  of  these 
tenths  and  first-fruits  the  priests  took  wherewith  to 
make  the  shew-bread,  and  whatever  else  it  was  their 
duty  to  furnish,  in  the  sei'vice  of  the  temple.  In  the 
time  of  David,  (1  Chron.  ix.  32.)  the  Levites  of  the 
family  of  Kohath  had  the  care  of  the  shew-brcad,  or, 
as  it  is  called  in  the  Chronicles,  "the  bread  of  order- 
ing." Probably  the  Levites  baked  and  prepared  it  ; 
but  the  priests  offered  it  before  the  Lord,  1  Chron. 
xxiii.  28.  However,  Jerome  says,  from  a  tradition 
of  the  Jews,  that  the  priests  sowed,  reaped,  ground, 
kneaded,  and  baked  the  shew-bread. 

It  is  more  difficult,  however,  to  ascertain  the  use 


of  the  shew-bread,  or  what  it  represented,  than  al- 
most any  other  emblem  in  the  Jewish  economy. 
The  learned  Dr.  Cudworth  has  the  following  remarks 
on  the  subject  in  his  treatise  on  the  Lord's  supper : 
"  When  God  had  brought  the  children  of  Israel  out 
of  Egypt,  resolving  to  manifest  himself  in  a  peculiar 
manner  present  among  them,  he  thought  good  to 
dwell  amongst  them  in  a  visible  and  external  man- 
ner ;  and,  therefore,  while  they  were  in  the  wilder- 
ness, and  sojourned  in  tents,  he  would  have  a  tent  or 
tabernacle  built,  to  sojourn  with  them  also.  This 
mystery  of  the  tabernacle  was  fully  understood  by 
the  learned  Nachmanides,  who,  in  few  words,  but 
pregnant,  expresseth  himself  to  this  purpose  :  '  The 
mystery  of  the  tabernacle  was  this,  that  it  was  to  be 
a  place  for  the  Shekinah,  or  habitation  of  Divinity, 
to  be  fixed  in ;'  and  this,  no  doubt,  as  a  special  type 
of  God's  future  dwelling  in  Christ's  human  nature, 
which  was  the  true  Shekinah ;  but  when  the  Jews 
were  come  into  their  land,  and  had  there  built  them 
houses,  God  intended  to  have  a  fixed  dwelling-house 
also  ;  and,  therefore,  his  movable  tabernacle  was  to 
be  turned  into  a  standing  temple.  Now,  the  taber- 
nacle, or  temple,  being  thus  as  a  house,  for  God  to 
dwell  in  visibly,  to  make  up  the  notion  of  dwelling 
or  habitation  complete,  there  must  be  all  things 
suitable  to  a  house  belonging  to  it.  Hence  in 
the  holy  place,  there  must  be  a  table  and  a  can- 
dlestick, because  this  was  the  ordinary  furniture 
of  a  room,  as  the  fore-commended  Nachmanides 
observes.  The  table  must  have  its  dishes,  and  spoons, 
and  bowls,  and  covers  belonging  to  it,  though  they 
were  never  used  ;  and  always  furnished  with  bread 
upon  it.  The  candlestick  must  have  its  lamps  con- 
tinually burning.  Hence  also  there  must  be  a  con- 
tinued fire  kept  in  this  house  of  God  upon  the  altar, 
as  the  focus  of  it ;  to  which  notion,  I  conceive,  the 
prophet  Isaiah  doth  allude,  (chap.  xxxi.  9.)  '  Whose 
fire  is  in  Ziou,  and  his  furnace  in  Jerusalem  ;'  and 
besides  all  this,  to  carry  the  notion  still  further,  there 
must  be  some  constant  meat  and  provision  brought 
into  this  house ;  which  was  done  in  the  sacrifices 
that  were  partly  consumed  by  fire  upon  God's  own 
altar,  and  partly  eaten  by  the  priests,  who  were  God's 
family,  and  therefore  to  be  maintained  by  him. 
That  which  Avas  consumed  upon  God's  altar,  was 
accounted  God's  mess,  as  appeareth  from  Malachi, 
(i.  12.)  where  the  altar  is  called  God's  table,  and  the 
sacrifice  upon  it,  God's  meat :  '  Ye  say.  The  table 
of  the  Lord  is  polluted,  and  the  fruit  thereof,  even 
his  meat,  is  contemptible.'  And  often,  in  the  law, 
the  sacrifice  is  called  God's  iz^nS  lehem,  that  is,  his 
bread  or  food.  Wherefore  it  is  further  observable, 
that,  besides  the  flesh  of  the  beast  oflered  up  in  sac- 
rifice, there  was  a  mincah,  that  is,  a  meat  or  rather 
bread-oficring,  made  of  flour  and  oil ;  and  a  liba- 
men,  or  drink-offering,  which  was  always  joined 
with  the  daily  sacrifice,  as  the  bread  and  drink  which 
was  to  go  along  with  God's  meat.  It  was  also  strictly 
connnandcd,  that  there  should  be  salt  in  every  sacri- 
fice and  oblation,  because  all  meat  is  unsavory  with- 
out salt,  as  Nachmanides  hath  here  also  well  ob- 
served :  '  Because  it  was  not  honorable  that  God's 
meat  should  be  unsavory,  without  salt.'  Lastly,  all 
these  things  were  to  be  consumed  on  the  altar  only 
by  the  holy  fire,  which  came  down  from  heaven, 
because  they  were  God's  portion,  and  therefore  to 
be  eaten  or  consumed  by  himself,  in  an  extraordinary 
manner." 

We  have  remarked,  that  the  shew-bread  was  eaten 
by  none  but  priests ;  nevertheless,  David,  having  re- 


BRE 


[212] 


BRE 


ceived  some  of  these  loaves  from  the  high-priest 
Abimelech,  ate  of  them,  without  scruple,  in  his  ne- 
cessity ;  (1  Sam.  xxi.  6 — 9.)  and  our  Saviour  uses  his 
example  to  justify  the  apostles,  who  had  bruised  ears 
of  corn,  and  were  eating  them  on  the  sabbath  day, 
Matt.  xii.  3,  seq. 

BREAST,  BOSOM.  The  females  in  the  East  are 
moi'e  anxiously  desirous  than  those  of  northern  cli- 
mates of  a  full  and  swelling  breast ;  in  fact,  they 
study  embonpoint  of  appearance,  to  a  degree  uncom- 
mon among  ourselves ;  and  what  in  the  temperate 
regions  of  Europe  might  be  called  an  elegant  slen- 
derness  of  shape,  they  consider  as  a  meagre  appear- 
ance of  starvation.  They  mdulge  these  notions  to 
excess.  It  is  necessary  to  premise  this,  before  we 
can  enter  thoroughly  into  the  spirit  of  the  language 
in  Cant.  viii.  8 — 10.  which  Mr.  Taylor  renders  some- 
what diifFerently  from  our  public  ti'anslation. 

Bride.  Our  sister  is  little,  and  she  hath  no 

breasts ;  being  03  yet  too  young ; 
immature  ; 
What  shall  we  do   for  our  sister,  in 
the  day  when  she  shall  be  spoken 
for  .5 

Brideoroom.  If  she  be  a  wall,  we  will  build  on  her 
[ranges]  turrets  of  silver ; 
If  she  be  a  door-way,  we  will  frame 
around  her  panels  of  cedar. 

Bride.  I   am  a  wall  and   my   breasts    like 

Kiosks, 
Thereby  I  appeared  in  his  ej^es  as 
one  who  offered  peace   [repose ; 
enjoyment]. 

This  instance  of  self-approbation  is  peculiarly  in 
character  for  a  female  native  of  Egypt ;  in  which 
country,  Juvenal  sneeringly  says,  it  is  nothing  un- 
common to  see  the  breast  of  the  nurse,  or  mother, 
larger  than  the  infant  she  suckles.  The  same  con- 
formation of  a  long  and  pendent  breast  is  marked  in 
a  group  of  women  musicians,  foimd  by  Denon 
painted  in  the  tombs  on  the  mountain  to  the  west  of 
Thebes ;  on  which  he  observes,  that  the  same  is  the 
shape  of  tlie  bosom  of  the  present  race  of  Egyptian 
females.  The  ideas  couched  in  these  verses  appear 
to  l)e  these,  "  Om-  sister  is  quite  young,"  says  the 
^ride  ; — "But," says  the  bridegroom,  "  she  is  upright 
as  a  wall ;  and  if  her  breasts  do  not  project  beyond 
her  person,  as  Kiosks  project  beyond  a  wall,  we  will 
ornament  her  dress  [head-dress  ?]  in  the  most  mag- 
nificent manner  with  turret-sliaped  diadems  of  sil- 
ver." This  gives  occasion  to  the  reflection  of  the 
bride,  understood  to  be  speaking  to  herself  aside — 
"As  my  sister  is  compared  to  a  wall,  I  also  in  my 
person  am  upright  as  a  wall ;  but  I  have  this  further 
advantage,  that  my  bosom  is  ample  and  full,  as  a 
Kiosk  projecting  lieyond  a  wall;  and  though  Kiosks 
offer  repose  and  indulgence,  yet  my  bosoni  offers  to 
my  spouse  infinitely  more  effectual  enjoyment  than 
they  do."  This,  it  may  be  conjectured,"  is"  the  simple 
idea  of  the  i)assage  ;  the  difference  being  that  turrets 
are  built  on  the  to|)  of  a  wall ;  !(;iosks  project  from 
the  front  of  it.  The  name  Kiosk  is  not  restricted  to 
this  construction,  but  includes  most  of  what  are 
commonly  called  suminer-lionses  or  pavilions.  [This 
exposition  forms  a  part  of  Mr.  Taylor's  translation 
of  the  whole  book  of  Canticles,  which  is  inserted 
under  that  article.  See  the  remarks  there  pre- 
fixed.    R. 


I.  BREASTPLATE,  a  piece  of  defensive  armor 
to  protect  the  heart.  The  breastplate  of  God  is 
righteousness,  which  renders  his  whole  conduct  un- 
assailable to  any  accusation.  Christians  are  exhorted 
to  take  to  themselves  "  the  breastplate  of  righteous- 
ness," (Eph.  vi.  14.)  and  "the  breastplate  of  faith  and 
love,"  1  Tliess.  v.  8.  Being  clothed  with  these 
graces,  they  will  be  able  to  resist  their  enemies,  and 
quench  all  the  fiery  darts  of  the  wicked  one ;  a 
beautiful  simile. 

II.  BREASTPLATE,  a  piece  of  embroidery 
about  ten  inches  square,  (Exod.  xxviii.  15,  seq.)  of 
very  rich  work,  which  the  high-priest  wore  on  his 
breast.  It  was  made  of  two  pieces  of  the  same  rich 
embroidered  stuff  of  which  the  ephod  was  made, 
having  a  front  and  a  lining,  and  forming  a  kind  of 
purse,  or  bag,  in  which,  according  to  the  rabbins, 
the  Urim  and  Thununim  were  enclosed.  The  front 
of  it  was  set  with  twelve  precious  stones,  on  each  of 
which  was  engraved  the  name  of  one  of  the  tribes. 
They  were  placed  in  four  rows,  and  divided  from 
each  other  by  the  little  golden  squares  or  partitions 
in  which  they  were  set,  according  to  the  following 
order. 


The  names  given  to  the  stones  here  are  not  free 
from  doubt,  lor  we  are  very  imperfectly  acquainted 
with  this  j)art  of  natural  science.  The  breastplate 
was  fastened  at  the  four  corners  ;  those  on  the  top 
to  each  shoulder,  by  a  golden  hook,  or  ring,  at  the 
end  of  a  wreathed  chain  ;  those  below  to  the  girdle 
of  the  ephod  by  two  strings  or  ribands,  which  also 
had  two  rings  and  hooks.   This  ornament  was  never 


BUB 


[213] 


BUR 


to  be  severed  from  the  priestly  garments ;  and  it  was 
called  "the  memorial,"  (Ex.  xxvdii.  15.)  being  de- 
signed to  remind  tlie  priest  how  dear  those  tribes 
should  be  to  him,  whose  names  he  bore  upon  his 
heart.  It  was  also  named  the  "  breastplate  of  judg- 
ment," probably  because  by  it  was  discovered  the 
judgment  aiid  the  will  of  God  ;  or  because  the  high- 
priest  who  wore  it  was  the  fountain  of  justice,  and 
put  on  this  ornament  when  he  exercised  his  judicial 
capacity  m  matters  of  great  consequence,  which 
concerned  the  whole  nation.  Compare  Urim  and 
Thummim. 

BRIDE,  a  new-married  female.  In  the  typical 
language  of  Scripture,  the  love  of  the  Redeemer  to 
the  church  is  energetically  alluded  to  in  the  ex- 
pression, "  the  bride,  the  Lamb's  \vife,"  Rev.  xxi.  9. 
See  Marriage,  and  Canticles. 

BRIDEGROOM,  see  Marriage,  and  Canti- 
cles. 

BRIERS,  see  Thorns. 

BRLAISTONE,  a  well  kiio\\Ti  substance,  extremely 
inflammable,  tliat  may  be  melted  and  consumed  by 
fire,  but  not  dissolved  iu  water.  God  destroyed  the 
cities  of  the  plain  by  raining  upon  them  fire  and 
brimstone.  Gen.  xix.  2i.  The  wicked  are  threatened 
with  this  punishment,  Psal.  xi.  6 ;  Rev.  xxi.  8. 

BROOK,  properly  torrent,  in  Greek,  Xeliiwjoo; : 
in  Helirew,  s,-!j  nachal.  A  brook  is  distmguished  from 
a  river,  for  a  river  flows  at  all  times,  but  a  brook  at 
some  times  only  ;  as  after  great  rains,  or  the  melting 
of  snows.  As  the  Hebrew  nachal  signifies  a  valley, 
as  well  as  a  brook,  one  is  oflen  used  for  the  other ; 
as  the  brook  of  Gerar,  for  the  valley  of  Gerar.  But 
this  ambiguity  is  of  little  consequence,  since  gene- 
rally there  are  brooks  in  valleys. 

BROTHER  is  taken  in  Scripture  for  any  rela- 
tion, a  man  of  the  same  country,  or  of  the  same  na- 
tion, for  our  neighbor,  for  a  man  in  general.  It  is 
probable  that  James,  Joses,  and  Judas,  (Matt,  xxvii. 
56.)  thougli  called  brethren  of  Jesus,  were  not  strictly 
his  natural  brothers ;  but  (according  to  the  usage  of 
the  Hebrews,  in  extending  names  of  affection  from 
the  proper  kin  to  which  they  acciu-ately  applied,  to 
more  distant  relatives)  cousins.  James  and  Joses 
were  sons  of  Mary,  (certainly  not  the  Virgin,)  ^latt. 
xxvii.  56.  James  and  Judas  were  sons  of  Alpheus, 
(Luke  vi.  15,  16.)  and  AJphcus  is  most  probably  Cle- 
ophas,  husliand  of  Mary,  sister  of  the  Virgin,  John 
xix.  25.  Brother  is  one  of  the  same  nation  (Rom. 
ix.  3,  &c.) — one  of  the  same  faith,  (fii-st  Epistle  of  St. 
John,)  one  of  the  same  nature,  Heb.  ii.  17.  Thus 
we  see  a  regular  gradation  in  the  api)Iication  of  the 
word  brother  in  Scripture,  and  most,  perhajjs  all, 
languages  employ  some  equivalent  extension  of  it. 
We  say  in  English,  a  brother  of"  the  same  trade — a 
brother  of  the  same  color — "brother  black,"  &c.  Of 
the  same  disposition — "brother  miser."  Of  the 
same  vice — "brother  thief,"  &:c.  And  to  express 
many  other  ideas  of  similarity,  we  often  attach 
meanings  no  less  extensive  to  this  word,  than  are  de- 
noted by  it  when  it  occurs  in  its  loosest  sense  in  holy 
writ. 

By  the  law,  the  brother  of  a  man  who  died  mth- 
out  children  was  obliged  to  marrj'  the  widow  of 
the  deceased,  to  raise  up  children  "to  liim,  that  his 
name  and  memory  might  not  be  extmct.  See 
Marriage. 

BUBASTIS,  a  famous  city  of  Egj'pt.  Ezekiel 
(xxx.  17.)  calls  it  Pibeseth.  It"  stood  on  the  eastern 
shore  of  the   eastern    arm  of  the  Nile.      See  Pi- 

BZSETH. 


BUCKET,  see  Water. 

BUCKLER.  (See  Arms,  Armor.)  It  was  a  de- 
fensive piece  of  armor,  of  the  nature  of  a  shield  ;  and 
is  spoken  figiu-atively  of  God,  (2  Sam.  xxii.  31  ;  Ps, 
xviii.  2,  30 ;  Prov.  ii.  7.)  and  of  the  truth  of  God, 
Ps.  xci.  4. 

To  BUILD.  In  addition  to  the  proper  and  Uteral 
signification  of  this  word,  it  is  used  with  reference 
to  children  and  a  numerous  posterity.  Sarah  desires 
Abraham  to  take  Hagar  to  wife,  that  by  her  she  may 
be  budded  up,  i.  e.  have  children  to  support  her 
family.  Gen.  xvi.  2.  The  midwivcs  who  refused 
obedience  to  Pharaoh's  orders,  when  he  commanded 
them  to  put  to  death  all  the  male  children  of  the 
Hebrews,  were  rewarded  for  it ;  God  built  them 
houses — gave  them  a  numerous  posterity,  says  Cal- 
met.  But  some  think  the  passage  signifies  that  the 
houses  of  the  Israelites  were  established  by  the 
numbers  of  children  which  the  midwives  saved. 
The  LXX  read,  "  they  (the  midwives)  made  them- 
selves houses,"  more  extensive  than  mere  families ; 
and  Jose[)hus  says,  they  were  Egj-ptian  women  ;  if 
so,  the  phrase  expresses  the  accumulation  of  wealth, 
or  great  fortunes,  Exod.  i.  21.  [This  last  is  the  more 
probable  meaning.     R. 

BUL,  the  eighth  month  hi  the  Hebrew  calendar, 
afterwards  called  Marchesvan  ;  answering  nearly  to 
our  October,  O.  S.  According  to  some,  (which  is 
the  more  probable  supposition.)  it  corresponded  to 
the  lunar  month  from  the  new  moon  of  November 
to  that  of  December.  The  name  signifies  rain 
month.  It  is  the  second  month  of  the  civil  year, 
and  the  eighth  month  of  the  ecclesiastical  year.  It 
has  twenty-nine  days.  (See  Jewish  Calendar.)  We 
only  find  the  name  Bui  in  1  Kings  vi.  38.  under  the 
reign  of  Solomon. 

BULL,  Bullock.  This  animal  was  reputed  clean, 
and  was  generally  used  in  sacrifice.  The  Septua- 
gint  and  Vulgate  oflen  use  the  word  ox ;  compre- 
hending under  the  word  rather  the  species,  than  the 
sex  or  quahty,  of  the  animal ;  like  our  word  bullock. 
The  ancient  Hebrews,  in  general,  never  mutilated 
any  creature ;  and  where  in  the  text  we  read  ox,  we 
are  to  understand  a  bull.  Lev.  xxii.  24. 

The  beauty  of  Joseph  is  compared  to  that  of  a 
bullock.  The  Egyptians  had  a  particular  veneration 
for  this  animal ;  they  paid  divine  honors  to  it ;  and 
the  Je\\'sare  supposed  to  have  imitated  them  in  their 
woi-shij)  of  the  golden  calves.  Jacob  reproaches  his 
sons,  Simeon  and  Levi,  for  having  dug  doAvn  the 
wall  of  the  Sichemites;  but  the  LXX  translate  the 
Hebrew,  "  for  hamstringing  a  bull,"  Gen.  xlix.  6. 
Many  of  the  ancient  fathers  explained  this  j)as.^age 
of  Cln-ist,  and  referred  it  to  his  being  put  to  death 
by  the  Jews.  The  Hebrew  signifies  either  a  wall  or 
a  bull.  Bull,  in  a  figurative  and  allegorical  sense,  is 
taken  for  powerful,  fierce,  insolent  enemies.  "  Fat 
bulls  (bulls  of  Bashan)  surrounded  me  on  every 
side,"  says  the  Psalmist,  Ps.  xxii.  12.  and  Lxviii. 
•30.  "Rebuke  the  beast  of  the  reeds,  the  multitude  of 
the  bulls ;"  Lord,  smite  in  thy  wrath  these  animals 
which  feed  in  large  pastures,  these  herds  of  bulls. 
And  Isaiah  says,  (cliap.  xxxiv.  7.)  "The  Lord  shall 
cause  his  victims  to  be  slain  iu  the  land  of  Edom,  a 
terrible  slaughter  will  he  make,  he  ^^■ill  kill  the  uni- 
corns, and  the  bulls,"  meaning  those  proud  and  cruel 
princes  who  oppressed  the  weak. 

BURDEN,  a  heavy  load.  The  word  is  common- 
ly used  in  the  prophets  for  a  disastrous  prophecy. 
The  burden  of  Babylon,  the  burden  of  Nineveh,  of 
Moab,  of  Egj'pt.     The  Jews  asking  Jeremiah  cap- 


BUR 


[214] 


BURIAL 


tiously,  What  was  the  burden  of  the  Lord  ?  he 
answered  them,  You  are  that  burden ;  you  are,  as  it 
were,  insupportable  to  the  Lord  ;  he  will  throw  you 
on  the  ground,  and  break  you  to  pieces,  and  you 
shall  become  the  reproach  of  the  people,  Jer.  xxiii. 
33 — 40.  The  burden  of  the  desert  of  the  sea 
(Isaiah  xxi.  1.)  is  a  calamitous  prophecy  against 
Babylon,  which  stood  on  the  Euphrates,  and  was 
watered  as  by  a  sea ;  and  which,  from  being  great 
and  populous,  as  it  then  was,  would  soon  be  reduced 
to  a  solitude.     See  Babylo.v. 

The  burden  of  the  valley  of  vision,  (Isaiah  xxii. 
1.)  is  a  denunciation  against  Jerusalem,  called,  by 
way  of  irony,  "  The  Valley  of  Vision,"  though  it 
stood  on  an  eminence.  It  is  tailed  "  of  Vision,"  or 
"of  Moriah,"  because  it  is  thought  that  on  mount 
Moriah  Abraham  was  about  to  sacrifice  Isaac.  The 
burden  of  the  beasts  of  the  south,  (Isa.  xxx.  6.)  evi- 
dently respects  Judea,  but  we  cannot  perceive  on 
what  account  it  has  this  inscription.  It  may  be,  that 
copiers  supplied  it ;  for  it  seems  to  make  no  sense 
with  the  context,  but,  on  the  contrary,  interrupts  and 
suspends  it.  The  text  may  be  thus  read,  (ver.  4,  5.) 
— The  Jews  sent  their  ambassadors  as  far  as  Tanis 
and  Haues ;  but  they  were  confounded  when  they 
saw  that  these  people  were  not  in  a  condition  to  as- 
sist them.  (The  burden  of  the  beasts  of  the  south.) 
They  went,  I  sa}-,  ''into  the  land  of  trouble  and  an- 
guish, from  whence  come  the  young  and  old  lion, 
the  viper  and  ticry  flying  serpent ;  they  will  carry 
their  riches  upon  the  shoulders  of  young  asses,  and 
their  treasures  upon  the  bunches  of  camels,  to  a 
people  that  shall  not  profit  them."  It  may  then  be  a 
mai-ginal  note  or  inscription,  crept  into  the  text,  and 
drawn  from  the  mention  of  the  beasts  of  burden 
that  go  down  to  Egypt,  i.  e.  the  south. — Zechariah 
says,  (xii.  3.)  "In  that  day  will  I  make  Jerusalem  a 
burdensome  stone  for  all  jjeoplc.  All  that  t^n-den 
themselves  with  it  shall  be  cut  in  pieces,  though  all 
the  people  of  the  earth  be  gathered  together  against 
it."  Those  that  would  lift  it  shall  be  hurt  [strain 
themselves]  by  it.  All  nations  around  Jerusalem 
tried  their  strength  against  it ;  the  Assyrians,  the 
Chaldeans,  the  Persians,  the  Egyptians,  &c.  but  all 
these  had  been  hurt  by  tlie  Jews.  They  have  taken 
the  city,  it  i^s  true,  but  they  paid  dearly  for  their  vic- 
tory by  then-  losses.  Jerome  observes,  that  in  the 
cities  and  villages  of  Palestine,  there  was  an  old  cus- 
tom, wliich  continued  even  to  his  time,  to  have  great 
and  heavy  round  stojies,  which  the  young  people 
lifted  up  as  high  as  they  could,  by  way  of  exercise, 
and  to  try  their  strength.  He  assures  us,  moreover, 
that  in  the  citadel  at  Atliens,  near  the  statue  of  Mi- 
nerva, lie  had  seen  an  iron  ball  of  very  great  weight, 
and  >vhich  he' could  not  move  but  with  difiiculty, 
with  which  they  heretolbre  used  to  try  the  strength 
of  the  athlcta^,  tliat  their  powers  might  be  known, 
and  that  they  might  not  be  too  unequally  matched. 
Many  think  that  "the  stone  of  Zoheleth,"  (1  Kings 
i.  9.)  was  one  of  these  stones  of  burden  ;  and  Ec- 
clesiasticus  (vi.  91.)  alludes  to  this  custom,  when  he 
says,  "Slie  will  lie  upon  him  as  a  migiity  stone  of 
trial,  and  he  will  cast  her  from  him  ere  it  be  long." 
The  weight,  or  burden  of  the  day,  (Matt.  xx.  12.) 
expresses  the  labor  and  toil  of  the  day,  during 
many  hours,  especially  the  meridian  heat. 

BURIAL.  The  Hebrews  were,  at  all  times,  very 
careful  in  the  burial  of  their  dead  ;  to  be  deprived  of 
burial,  was  thought  one  of  the  greatest  dishonors,  or 
causes  of  unhappiness,  that  could  befall  any  man  ; 
(Eccl.  vi.  3.)  being  denied  to  none,  jiot  even  to  ene- 


mies ;  but  it  was  withheld  from  self-murderers  till 
after  sunset,  and  the  souls  of  such  persons  were  be- 
lieved to  be  plunged  into  hell.  This  concern  for 
burial  proceeded  from  a  persuasion  of  the  soul's  im- 
mortahty.  Jeremiah  (viii.  2.)  threatens  the  kings, 
priests,  and  false  prophets,  who  had  adored  idols, 
that  their  bones  should  be  cast  out  of  their  graves, 
and  be  thrown  like  dung  upon  the  earth.  The  same 
prophet  foretold  that  Jehoiakim,  king  of  Judah,  who 
built  his  house  by  unrighteousness,  and  who  aban- 
doned himself  to  avai'ice,  violence,  and  all  manner 
of  vice,  among  other  severe  punishments,  should  be 
buried  with  "  the  burial  of  an  ass ;"  that  he  should 
be  cast  out  of  the  gates  of  Jerusalem  into  the  com- 
mon sewer,  ch.  xxii.  18,  19.  It  is  observed,  (2  Mace. 
V.  10.)  that  Jason,  who  had  denied  the  privilege  of 
burial  to  many  Jews,  was  himself  treated  in  the  same 
manner;  that  he  died  in  a  foreign  land,  and  was 
thrown  like  carrion  upon  the  earth,  not  being  laid 
even  in  a  stranger's  grave.  Good  men  made  it  part 
of  their  devotion  to  inter  the  dead,  as  we  see  by  the 
instance  of  Tobit. 

A  remarkable  expression  of  the  Psalmist  (Ps. 
cxli.  7.)  appears  to  have  much  poetical  heightening 
in  it,  which  even  its  author,  in  all  probability,  did  not 
mean  should  be  accepted  literally  ;  while,  neverthe- 
less, it  might  be  susceptible  of  a  literal  acceptation, 
and  is  sometimes  a  fact.  He  says,  "  Our  bones  are 
scattered  at  the  grave's  mouth,  as  when  one  cutteth 
and  cleaveth  ivood  upon  the  earth."  This  seems  to 
be  strong  eastern  painting,  and  almost  figurative 
language  ;  but  that  it  may  be  strictly  true,  the  fol- 
lowing extract  demonstrates: — "At  five  o'clock  we 
left  Garigana,  our  journey  being  still  to  the  east- 
ward of  north  ;  and,  at  a  quarter  past  six  in  the  even- 
ing, arrived  at  the  village  of  that  name,  whose  in- 
habitants had  all  perished  with  hunger  the  year  be- 
fore ;  their  wretched  bones  being  all  unburied  and  scat- 
tered upon  the  surface  of  the  ground,  wXiCYG  the  village 
formerly  stood.  We  encamped  among  the  bones  of 
the  dead  ;  no  space  could  be  found  free  from  them  ; 
and  on  the  23d,  at  six  in  the  morning,  full  of  horror 
at  this  miserable  s])ectacle,  we  set  out  for  Teawa ; 
this  was  the  seventh  day  from  Has  el  Feel.  After 
an  hour's  travelling,  we  came  to  a  small  river,  which 
still  had  Avater  standing  in  some  considerable  pools, 
although  its  banks  were  destitute  of  any  kind  of 
shade.'"^"  (Bruce's  Travels,  vol.  iv.  p.  349.)  The 
reading  of  this  account  thrills  us  with  horror ;  what 
then  must  have  been  the  sufferings  of  the  ancient 
Jews  at  such  a  sight? — when  to  have  no  burial  was 
reckoned  among  the  greatest  calamities ;  M'hen  tlieir 
land  was  thought  to  be  polluted,  in  which  the  dead 
(even  criminals)  were  in  any  manner  exposed  to 
view  ;  and  to  whom  the  very  touch  of  a  dead  bodj', 
or  part  of  it,  or  of  any  thing  that  had  touched  a  dead 
bodj^,  was  esteemed  a  defilement,  and  required  a 
ceremonial  ablution  ? 

There  was  nothing  determined  ])articularly  in  the 
law  as  to  the  i)lacc  of  burying  the  dead.  There 
were  sepulchres  in  town  and  country,  by  the  high- 
ways, in  gardens,  and  on  mountains ;  those  belong- 
ing to  the  kings  of  Judah  were  in  Jerusalem,  and 
the  king's  gardens.  Ezekiel  intimates  that  they  were 
dug  under  the  mountain  upon  Avhich  tiie  temple 
stood  ;  since  God  says,  that  in  future  this  holy  moun- 
tain should  not  be  polluted  witli  the  dead  bodies  of 
their  kings.  The  sepulchre  which  Joseph  of  Ari- 
m.athea  had  provided  for  himself,  and  in  which  he 
placed  our  Saviour's  body,  was  in  his  garden  ;  that 
of  Rachel  was  adjacent  to  the  highway  from  Jeru- 


BURIAL 


[  215  1 


BUT 


ealem  to  Bethlehem.  That  of  the  Maccabees  was 
at  Modin,  upon  an  eminence,  whence  it  was  visible 
at  a  great  distance  both  by  sea  and  land.  The  kings 
of  Israel  had  their  biirying-places  in  Samaria. 
Samuel  was  interred  in  his  own  house,  (1  Sam.  xxv. 
1.)  Moses,  Aaron,  Eleazar  and  Joshua  were  buried 
in  mountains  ;  Saul  and  Deborah  (Rebekah's  nurse) 
were  buried  under  the  shade  of  trees.  It  is  affirmed, 
that  the  sepulchres  of  the  inhabitants  of  Jerusalem 
were  in  the  \alley  of  Kidron.  Here  likewise  was 
the  burying-place  for  foreigners. 

[Tiie  following  extract  from  Dr.  Jowett's  Christian 
Researches  in  Syria,  etc.  (p.  207.)  may  cast  some 
light  on  the  Hebrew  modes  of  burial:  "While 
walking  out  one  evening,  a  few  fields  distance  from 
Deir  el  Kamr,  with  the  son  of  my  host,  to  see  a  de- 
tached garden  belonging  to  his  father,  he  pointed 
out  to  me,  near  it,  a  small,  solid  stone  building,  ap- 
parently a  house ;  very  solenmly  adding,  "  Kabbar 
oeity, — the.  sepulchre  of  my  faintly."  It  had  neither 
door  nor  window.  He  then  directed  my  attention 
to  a  considerable  number  of  similar  buildings  at  a 
distance ;  which  to  the  eye  are  exactly  like  houses, 
but  which  are  in  fact  family  mansions  for  the  dead. 
They  have  a  most  melancholy  appearance,  which 
made  him  shudder  while  ho  explained  their  use. 
They  seem,  by  their  dead  walls,  which  must  be 
opened  at  each  several  interment  of  the  members  of 
a  family,  to  say, '  This  is  an  unkindly  house,  to  which 
visitors  do  not  willingly  throng;  but,  one  by  one, 
they  will  be  forced  to  enter ;  and  none  who  enter 
ever  come  out  again.'  Perhaps  this  custom,  which 
prevails  here  and  in  the  lonely  neighboring  parts  of 
the  mountains,  may  have  been  of  great  antiquity, 
and  may  serve  to  explain  some  Scripture  phrases. 
The  prophet  Samuel  was  bui-ied  "  in  his  house  at 
Ramah  ;"  (1  Sam.  xxv.  1.)  it  could  hardly  be  in  his 
dwelling-house.  Joab  "was  buried  in  his  own  house 
in  the  wilderness;"  1  Kings  ii.  34.  This  was  "the 
house  appointed  for  all  living,"  Job  xxx.  23.  Carp- 
zov  remarks,  (Apparat.  p.  643.)  '  It  is  hardly  to  be 
supposed  that  the  sepulchres  were  in  the  houses 
themselves,  and  under  the  roof;  and  we  are  there- 
fore rather  to  understand  by  the  term  every  thing 
which  belongs  or  appertains  to  the  house,  as  a  court 
or  garden,  in  a  corner  of  which  perhaps  such  a 
monument  was  erected.'  The  view  of  these  sepul- 
chral houses  at  Deir  el  Kamr  puts  the  matter  be- 
yond conjecture."     R. 

The  Jews  call  what  we  term  a  church-yard  or 
cemetery,  "  the  house  of  the  living,"  to  show  their 
belief  of  the  immortality  of  the  soul,  and  of  the 
resurrection  of  the  body ;  and  when  they  come 
thither  bearing  a  corpse,  they  address  themselves  to 
those  who  lie  there,  as  if  tiiey  were  still  alive,  say- 
ing, "Blessed  bo  the  Lord  who  hath  created  you, 
fed  you,  brought  you  up,  and  at  last,  in  his  justice, 
taken  you  out  of  the  woi-Id.  He  knows  the  number 
of  you  all,  and  will  in  time  revive  you.  Blessed  be 
the  Lord  who  causeth  death,  and  restoreth  life." 
(Buxtorf,  Synag.  Jud.  cap.  xxxv.)  Their  respect  for 
sepulchres  is  so  great,  that  they  build  synagogues 
and  oratories  near  those  of  great  men  and  prophets, 
and  go  and  pray  near  them.  The  rabbins  teach, 
that  it  is  not  lawful  to  demolish  tombs,  nor  to  dis- 
turb the  repose  of  the  dead,  by  burying  another 
corpse  in  the  same  grave,  even  after  a  long  time  ; 
nor  to  carry  an  aqueduct  across  the  common  |)lace 
of  burial  ;  nor  a  highway;  nor  to  go  and  gatlicr 
wood  there,  nor  to  suffer  cattle  to  feed  there.  When 
the  Jews  come  with  a  funeral  to  a  burying-place. 


they  repeat  the  blessing  directed  to  the  dead,  as 
above  mentioned ;  the  body  is  then  put  down  upon 
the  ground,  and  if  it  be  a  person  of  consideration,  a 
kind  of  funeral  oration  and  encomium  is  made 
over  him.  This  being  done,  tliey  walk  round  the 
grave,  reciting  rather  a  long  prayer,  beginning  whh 
Deut.  xxxii.  4.  which  they  call  the  righteousness  of 
judgment;  because  therein  they  return  thanks  to 
God  for  having  pronounced  an  equitable  judgment 
concerning  the  life  and  person  of  the  deceased.  A 
little  sack  full  of  earth  is  then  put  under  the  dead 
person's  head,  and  the  coffin  is  nailed  down  and 
closed.  If  it  be  a  man,  ten  persons  take  ten  turns 
about  him,  and  say  a  prayer  for  his  soul ;  the  near- 
est relation  tears  a  corner  of  his  clothes,  and  the 
dead  body  is  let  down  into  the  grave,  with  his  face 
towards  heaven,  the  mourners  crying  to  him,  "Go  in 
peace,"  or  rather,  according  to  the  Talmudists,  "  Go 
to  peace."  The  nearest  relations  first  throw  earth 
on  the  body ;  and  afterwards  all  present.  This  done, 
they  retire,  walking  backwards ;  and  before  they 
leave  the  burying-ground,  they  pluck  bits  of  grass 
three  times,  and  cast  them  behind  their  backs,  say- 
ing, "they  shall  flourish  like  grass  on  the  earth," 
Ps.  Ixxii.  16. 

Calmet  is  of  opinion,  that  there  is  no  instance  of 
an  epitaph  inscribed  on  the  tomb  of  an  ancient  He- 
brew ;  and  remarks,  that  that  which  is  reported  of 
Adoniram's,  found  in  Spain,  and  some  others  of  like 
authority,  are  not  deserving  of  notice.  If  a  monu- 
ment were  erected  in  memory  of  a  king,  a  hero,  a 
prophet,  or  a  warrior,  the  tomb  itself,  he  remarks, 
spoke  sufficiently,  and  the  memory  of  the  person 
was  perpetuated,  together  with  his  history,  among 
the  people.  Nevertheless,  they  might  have  inscrip- 
tions, distinguishing  the  party  they  contained;  and 
if  the  hieroglyphics  mentioned  in  the  article  on 
tombs  be  so  ancient  as  there  hinted,  they  may  be 
regarded  as  proofs  that  monumental  inscriptions 
were  not  unusual  in  (perhaps  Jewish)  antiquity. 

BURNING  BUSH,  wherein  the  Lord  appeared 
to  Moses,  at  the  foot  of  mount  Horeb.  (See  Moses.) 
As  to  the  person  who  appeared  in  the  bush.  Scrip- 
ture, in  several  places,  calls  him  by  the  name  of 
God,  Exod.  iii.  2,  6,  13,  14,  &c.  He  calls  himself 
the  Lord  God ;  the  God  of  Abraham,  Isaac,  and 
Jacob ;  the  God  who  was  to  deliver  his  people  from 
their  bondage  in  Egypt.  Moses,  blessing  Joseph, 
says,  "Let  the  !.'lc::sii"ig  of  him  who  dwelt  in  the 
bush  .come  on  the  head  of  Josej)h,"  Deut.  xxxiii.  16. 
But  in  the  places  of  Exodus  which  we  are  examin- 
ing, instead  of  "the  Lord  appeared  to  him,"  the  He- 
brew and  the  Septuagint  import,  "the  angel  of  the 
Lord  appeared  to  him."  Stephen,  in  the  Acts,  (vii. 
30.)  reads  it  in  the  same  manner;  Jerome,  Augustin 
and  Gregory  the  Great  teach  the  same  thing.  It 
Avas  an  angel,  agent,  messenger,  who,  representing 
the  Lord,  spoke  in  his  name.  The  ancients  gene- 
rally hold  the  Son  of  God  to  be  the  person  who  ap- 
peared in  the  bush. 

BURNT-OFFERINGS,  see  Offerings;  and 
for  the  Altar  of  Bcrnt-offerings,  see  Altar. 

BUSHEL  is  used  in  our  English  version  to  express 
the  Greek  word  fUhog,  Latin  modius,  a  measure  con- 
taining about  a  peck.  Matt.  v.  15. 

BUTTER  is  generally  taken,  in  Scripture,  for 
cream,  or  liquid  butter."  Children  were  fed  with 
butter  and  honey ;  fisa.  vii.  15,  22.)  with  milk-diet, 
with  cream,  and  with  honey,  which  was  common  in 
Palestine.  D'Arvieux,  (p.  205.)  speaking  of  the 
Arabs,  says,  "  One  of  their  chief  breakfasts  is  cream 


BUTTER 


[  216 


BUTTER 


—or  fresh  butter — mixed  in  a  mess  of  honey. 
These  do  not  seem  to  suit  very  well  together,  but 
experience  te>iches  that  this  is  no  bad  mixture,  nor 
disagreeable  in  its  taste,  if  one  is  ever  so  little  accus- 
tomed to  it."  The  last  words  seem  to  indicate  a 
delicacy  of  taste,  of  which  D'Arvieux  was  sensible  in 
himself,  which  did  not,  at  once,  relish  this  mixture  ; 
and,  very  possibly,  the  prophet  alludes  to  son;ething 
of  the  same  hesitation  in  children,  who  must  be  some 
time  before  they  fancy  this  mixture ;  but,  having 
been  accustomed  to  it,  they  find  it  pleasant,  and 
know  how  to  prefer  the  good  and  agreeable,  before 
what  is  evil ;  i.  e.  less  suited  to  their  palate.  We 
presume,  therefore,  that  this  food  was,  as  near  as 
conveniently  might  be,  an  immediate  substitute  for 
the  mother's  milk.  Thevenot  also  tells  us,  "The 
Arabs  knead  their  bread-paste  afresh  ;  adding  thereto 
butter,  and  sometimes  also  honey."  (Part  i.  p.  173.) 
We  read  in  2  Sam.  xvii.  2!).  of  honey  and  butter  be- 
ing brought  to  David,  as  well  as  other  refreshments, 
"because  the  people  were  hungry,  weary,  and  thirsty." 
Considering  the  list  of  articles,  there  seems  to  be 
nothing  adapted  to  moderate  thirst,  except  this  honey 
and  butter ;  for  we  may  thus  arrange  the  passage : 
the  people  were  hungry, — to  satisfy  which  were 
brought  wheat,  barley,  flour,  beans,  lentiles,  sheep, 
cheese  ;  the  people  were  weary, — to  relieve  this  were 
brought  beds ;  the  people  were  thirsty, — to  answer 
the  purpose  of  drink  was  brought  a  mixture  of  butter 
and  honey ;  food  fit  for  breakfast,  light  and  easy  of 
digestion,  pleasant,  cooling,  and  refreshing.  That 
this  mixture  was  a  delightful  liquid  appears  from  the 
maledictory  denunciation  of  Zophar:  (Job  xx.  17.) 
The  wicked  man  "shall  not  see  the  rivers,  the  floods, 
the  brooks  [torrents]  of  honey  and  butter ;"  honey 
alone  could  hardly  be  esteemed  so  flowing  as  to 
afford  a  comparison  to  rivers  and  torrents  ;  but  cream, 
in  such  abundance,  is  much  more  fluid  ;  and  mixed 
with  honey,  may  dilate  and  thin  it  into  a  state  more 
proper  for  rumiins; — poetically  speaking,  as  freely  as 
water  itself.  "  Honey  and  milk  are  under  thy 
tongue,"  says  the  spouse,  in  Cant.  iv.  11.  Perhaps 
this  mixture  was  not  merely  a  refreshment,  but  an 
elegant  refreshment;  which  heightens  the  inference 
from  the  ])rcdictions  of  Isaiah,  and  the  description  of 
Zophar,  w'lo  speak  of  its  abundance  ;  and  it  in- 
creases the  respect  ])aid  to  David,  by  his  failliful  and 
loyal  subjects  at  JMahanaim. 

It  is  evident,  however,  from  Prov.  xxx.  33.  that 
churned  butter  was  not  unknown  in  Judea.  Jackson 
saAV  it  made  in  Curdistau  in  the  following  manner : 
"The  milk  was  put  into  a  sort  of  bottle,  made  of  a 
goat's  skin,  every  part  of  which  was  sewed  up  except 
the  neck,  which  was  tied  witli  a  string  to  prevent  llie 
milk  running  out.  They  then  fixed  three  strong 
sticks  in  the  groimd,  in  a  form  somewhat  like  what 
we  often  use  in  raising  weights,  only  on  a  smaller 
scale.  From  these  they  suspend  the  goat's  skin  tied 
by  each  end,  and  continue  shaking  it  backwards 
and  forwards  till  it  becomes  butter;  and  they  easily 
know  this  liy  the  noise  it  makes.  They  then  empty 
the  skin  into  a  large  vessel,  and  skim  off  the  butter." 
(Journey  over  land  from  India  to  England,  ]>.  188.) 

Hasselquist  mentions  the  following  custom  of  the 
Greek  ecclesiastics  at  Magnesia:  "The  priests,  hav- 
ing washed  and  dried  the  feet  of  the  guests,  anointed 
them  with  fresh  biUter,  which,  as  they  told  me,  was 
made  of  the  first  milk  of  a  young  cow;" — perhaps 
the  first  milk  of  a  cow  which  had  recently  calved. 
Bruce  says  the  king  of  Abjssinia  a)ioints  his  head 
with  butter  daily- 


[Job,  (chap.  xxix.  6.)  speaks  of  "  washing  his  steps 
with  butter ;  and  the  rock  poured  him  out  rivers  of 
oil ;"  where  to  bathe  the  footsteps  in  butter,  or  rather 
"  in  thick  curdled  milk,  means,  to  walk  in  a  country 
overflowing  with  milk ;  and  this,  with  the  subse- 
quent parallelism,  denotes  a  land  abounding  vdth 
milk  and  oil. 

A  singular  custom  is  described  by  Burckhardt,  as 
being  prevalent  in  Modern  Arabia.  (Travels  in  Ara- 
bia, Lond.  1829.  p.  27.)  "  There  are  in  Djidda  twen- 
ty-one butter-sellers,  who  likewise  retail  honey,  oil, 
and  vinegar.  Butter  forms  the  chief  article  in  Arab 
cookery,  which  is  more  greasy  than  even  that  of 
Italy.  Fresh  butter,  called  by  the  Arabs  zebde,  is 
very  rarely  seen  in  the  Hedjaz.  It  is  a  common 
practice  among  all  classes,  to  drink  every  morning  a 
coftee-cup  full  of  melted  butter  or  ghee,  after  which 
cofTee  is  taken.  They  regard  it  as  a  powerful  tonic, 
and  are  so  much  accustomed  to  it  from  their  earliest 
youth,  that  they  would  feel  gi-eat  inconvenience  in 
discontinuing  the  use  of  it.  The  higher  classes  con- 
tent themselves  with  drinking  the  quantity  of  butter, 
but  the  lower  orders  add  a  half-cup  more,  which 
they  snuff  up  their  nostrils,  conceiving  that  they 
prevent  foul  air  from  entering  the  body  by  that 
channel.  The  practice  is  universal,  as  well  with  the 
inhabitants  of  the  toAvn  as  with  the  Bedouins.  The 
lower  classes  are  likewise  in  the  habit  of  rubbing 
their  breasts,  shoulders,  arms,  and  legs,  with  butter, 
as  the  negroes  do,  to  refresh  the  skin.  During  the 
late  war,  the  import  of  this  article  from  the  interior 
almost  ceased ;  but  even  in  time  of  peace  it  is  not 
sufficient  for  the  consumption  of  Djidda;  some  is, 
therefore,  brought  also  from  Sowakin ;  but  the  best 
sort,  and  that  which  is  in  greatest  plenty,  comes  from 
Massowah,  and  is  called  here  Dahlak  butter ;  whole 
ships'  cargoes  arrive  from  thence,  the  greater  part  of 
which  is  again  carried  to  Mekka.  Butter  is  likewise 
imported  from  Cosseir ;  this  comes  from  Upper 
Egypt,  and  is  made  from  buffalo's  milk  ;  the  Sowa- 
kin and  Dahlak  ghee  is  from  sheep's  milk. — The 
Hedjaz  abounds  with  honey  in  every  part  of  the 
mountains.  Among  the  lower  classes,  a  common 
breakfast  is  a  mixture  of  ghee  and  honey  poured  over 
crumbs  of  bread,  as  they  come  quite  hot  from  the 
oven.  The  Arabs,  who  are  very  fond  of  paste,  never 
eat  it  without  honey." 

The  Hebrew  word  (-Ncn)  usually  rendered  butter, 
denotes  rather  cream,  or  more  properly  sour  or  curdled 
milk.  (See  Bibl.  Repos.  i.  p.  G05.)  This  last  is  a 
fiivorite  beverage  in  the  East  to  the  ])resent  day. 
Burckhardt,  when  crossing  the  desert  from  the  coun- 
try south  of  the  Dead  sea  to  Egypt,  says,  "  Besides 
flour,  I  carried  some  butter  and  dried  leben,  [sour 
milkS  which,  when  dissolved  in  water,  forms  not  only 
a  refreshing  beverage,  but  is  nnich  to  be  recom- 
mended as  a  preservative  of  health  when  travelling 
in  summer."  (Travels  in  Syria,  p.  439.)  In  Djidda 
he  says  there  were  "  two  sellers  of  leben,  or  soin*  milk, 
which  is  extremely  scarce  and  dear  all  over  the  Hed- 
jaz. It  may  appear  strange,  that,  among  the  shep- 
lierds  of  Arabia,  there  should  be  a  scarcity  of  milk, 
yet  this  was  the  case  at  Djidda  and  Mekka;  but,  in 
fact,  the  immediate  vicinity  of  these  towns  is  ex- 
tremely barren,  little  suited  to  the  pasturage  of  cattlii, 
and  very  few  people  are  at  the  expense  of  feeding 
them  for  their  milk  only.  When  I  was  at  Djidda, 
the  pound  of  milk  (for  it  was  sold  by  weight)  cost 
one  piastre  and  a  lialf,  and  could  be  obtained  only 
by  favor.  What  the  northern  Turks  call  yoghori, 
and  the  Syrians  and  Egyptians  leben-hamed,  i.  e.  very 


BUZ 


[217  ] 


BUZ 


thick  milk,  rendered  sour  by  boiling  and  the 
addition  of  a  strong  acid,  does  not  appear  to 
l)e  a  native  Arab  dish ;  the  Bedouins  of  Arabia,  at 
least,  do  not  prepare  it."  (Travels  in  Arabia,  p. 
31.]     *R. 

BUZ,  sou  of  Nahor  and  Milcah,  and  brother  of 


Huz,  Gen.  xxii.  21.  Elihu,  one  of  Job's  friends,  was 
descended  from  Buz,  son  of  Nahor.  Scripture  calls 
him  an  Aramean,  or  Syrian,  (Job  xxxii.  2.)  where 
Ram  is  put  for  Aram.  The  prophet  Jeremiah  (chap. 
XXV.  23.)  threatens  the  Buzites,  who  dwelt  in  Arabia 
Deserta,  with  God's  wrath. 


C 


CAD 


CMS 


CAB,  a  Hebrew  measure,  according  to  the  rabbins, 
the  sixth  part  of  a  seah,  or  satum ;  and  the  eighteenth 
part  of  an  ephah.  A  cab  contained  three  pints  l-3d 
of  our  wine  measure ;  or  two  pints  5-6ths  of  our 
corn-measure,  2  Kings  vi.  25. 

CABALA,  (nS3|">,  tradition.)  The  Cabala  is  a  mys- 
tical mode  of  expounding  tlie  law,  which  the  Jews 
say  was  discovered  to  Moses  on  mount  Sinai,  and 
has  been  from  him  handed  down  by  tradition.  It 
teaches  certain  abstruse  and  mysterious  significations 
of  a  word,  or  words,  in  Scripture ;  from  whence  are 
borrowed,  or  rather ybrcerf,  explanations,  by  combin- 
ing the  letters  which  compose  it.  This  Cabala  is  of 
tliree  kinds:  the  Gematry,  the  Motaricon,  and  the 
Themurah,  or  change. 

The  first  consists  in  taking  the  letters  of  a  Hebrew 
word  for  arithmetical  numbers,  and  explaining  every 
word  by  the  aritlimetical  value  of  the  letters  which 
compose  it — e.  g.  the  Hebrew  letters  of  n'^v^-  }<3>,  Ja- 
bo-Shiloh,  (Gen.  xlix.  10.)  Shiloh  shall  come,  when 
reckoned  arithmetically,  make  up  the  same  number 
as  those  of  the  word  n-^cv,  Messiah ;  whence  they 
infer,  that  Shiloh  signifies  the  Messiah.  The  second 
consists  in  taking  each  letter  of  a  word  for  an  entire 
diction  or  word  ;  e.  g.  Bereshith,  the  first  word  of  Gen- 
esis, composed  of  B.R.  A.Sh.I.Th.  of  which  they  make 
Kara-Kakia-AretzShamaim-latn-Thehomoth.  "  He 
created  the  firmament,  the  earth,  the  heavens,  the  sea, 
and  the  deep."  This  is  varied  by  taking,  on  the 
contrary,  the  first  letters  of  a  sentence  to  form  one 
word :  as  Attah-Gibbor-L,e-olam-Adonai.  "  Thou  art 
strong  for  ever,  O  Lord."  They  unite  the  first  let- 
ters of  tliis  senteuce,  A.G.L.A.  and  make  AGLA, 
which  may  signify  "I  will  reveal,"  or  "a  drop  of 
dew."  The  third  kind  of  Cabala  consists  in  transpo- 
sitions of  letters,  placing  one  for  another,  or  one  be- 
fore another,  much  after  the  manner  of  anagrams. 

CABBON,  a  city  of  Judah,  Josh.  xv.  40. 

I.  CABUL,  a  city  of  Asher,  Josh.  xix.  27. 

n.  CABUL,  a  district,  given  to  Hiram  by  Solo- 
mon, (1  Kings  ix.  13.)  in  acknowledgment  for  his 
great  services  in  building  the  temple.  Some  place 
the  cities  of  Cabul  beyond  Jordan,  in  the  Decapolis ; 
Grotius  is  of  opinion,  that  the  cities  which  Pharaoh 
had  conquered  from  the  Philistines,  and  yielded  to 
Solomon,  were  among  the  cities  of  Cabul.  Most 
commentators  are  persuaded,  that  the  city  of  Cabul 
(Josh.  xix.  27.)  was  one ;  and  probably  Hiram  gave 
this  name  to  the  other  cities  which  Solomon  had 
ceded  to  him.  Cabul  was  perhaps  the  same  as  Cha- 
balon,  or  Chabul,  which  Josephus  places  near  Ptole- 
mais,  south  of  Tyre.  [The  district  of  Cabul  was 
then  probably  in  the  north-west  part  of  Galilee,  adja- 
cent to  Tyre.     R. 

CAD,  or  Cadus,  in  Hebrew,  signifies  a  water- 
pitcher  or  bucket ;  but  in  Luke,  a  particular  measure : 
"  How  much  owest  thou  to  my  lord  ? — A  hundred 
(Vulg.  cados)  measures  of  oil."  The  Greek  reads 
28 


"  a  hundred  baths."  The  bath,  or  ephah,  contained 
full  ten  gallons,  Luke  xvi.  6. 

CADUMIM,  a  brook,  (Vulg.  Judg.  v.  21.)  which 
many  think  ran  east,  from  the  foot  of  mount  Tabor, 
into  the  sea  of  Tiberias :  but  we  have  no  evidence 
of  any  such  brook  in  that  ])lace.  The  English  trans- 
lators call  it  "  the  river  of  Kishon."  We  know  there 
was  a  city  in  these  parts  called  Cadmon,  mentioned 
Judith  vii.  3,  whence  the  brook  Cadumim,  or  Kishon, 
might  be  named.  [The  Vulgate  alone  has  retained  the 
epithet  cadumim  as  a  proper  name.  It  is  properly 
descriptive  of  the  Kishon,  and  should  be  translated 
either  as  in  our  English  version,  "  that  ancient  river," 
or,  "  that  stream  of  battles."  (See  the  Bibl.  Repos. 
vol.  i.  p.  605.)     R. 

C^SAR,  the  name  assumed  by,  or  conferred 
upon,  all  the  Roman  emperors  after  Julius  Caesar. 
In  the  New  Testament,  the  reigning  emperor  is  gen- 
erally called  Caesar,  omitting  any  other  name  which 
might  belong  to  him.  Christ  calls  the  emperor  Ti- 
berius simply  Cajsar,  (Matt.  xxii.  21.)  and  Paul  thus 
mentions  Nero,  "  I  appeal  to  Coesar."  [The  Csesars 
mentioned  in  the  New  Testament  are,  Augustus; 
(Luke  ii.  1.)  Tiberius;  (Luke  iii.  1 ;  xx. 22.)  Claudius; 
(Actsxi.28.)  Nero  ;  (Acts  XXV.  8.)  Caligula,  who  suc- 
ceeded Tiberius,  is  not  mentioned.     R. 

I.  C^SAREA,  in  Palestine,  formerly  called  Stra- 
to's  Tower,  was  situated  on  the  eastern  coast  of  the 
Mediterranean,  and  had  a  fine  harbor.  It  is  reckoned 
to  be  36  miles  south  of  Acre,  30  north  of  Jaffa,  and 
62  north-west  of  Jerusalem.  Csesarea  is  often  men- 
tioned in  the  New  Testament.  Here  king  Agrippa 
was  smitten,  for  neglecting  to  give  God  the  glory, 
when  flattered  by  the  people.  Cornelius  the  cer.tu- 
rion,  who  was  baptized  by  Peter,  resided  here.  Acts 
X.  At  Csesarea,  the  prophet  Agabus  foretold  to  the 
apostle  Paul,  that  he  would  be  bound  at  Jerusr.lem, 
Acts  xxi.  10,  11.  Paul  continued  two  years  prisoner 
at  Csesarea,  till  he  could  be  conveniently  conducted 
to  Rome,  because  he  had  appealed  to  Nero.  When- 
ever Coesarea  is  named,  as  a  city  of  Palestine, 
without  the  addition  of  Philippi,  we  suppose  this 
Csesarea  to  be  meant. 

Dr.  Clarke  did  not  visit  Csesarea ;  but  viewing  it 
from  off  the  coast  he  says,  "  By  day-break  the  next 
morning  we  were  off  the  coast  of  Csesarea;  and  so  near 
with  the  land  that  we  could  very  distinctly  perceive 
the  appearance  of  its  numerous  and  extensive  ruins. 
The  remains  of  this  city,  although  still  considerable, 
have  long  been  resorted  to  as  a  quarry,  whenever 
building  materials  are  required  at  Acre.  Djezzar 
Pasha  brought  from  thence  the  columns  of  rare  and 
beautiful  marble,  as  well  as  the  other  ornaments  of 
his  palace,  bath,  fountain,  and  mosque  at  Acre.  The 
place  at  present  is  only  inhabited  by  jackalls  and 
beasts  of  prey.  As  we  were  becalmed  during  the 
night,  we  heard  the  cries  of  these  animals  until  day- 
break.    Pococke  mentions  tike  curious  fact,  of  the 


C^SAREA 


218 


CAI 


existence  of  crocodiles  in  the  river  of  Csesarea.  Per- 
haps there  has  not  been  in  tlie  liistory  of  the  world 
an  example  of  any  city,  that  in  so  short  a  space  of 
time  rose  to  such  an  extraordinary  height  of  splendor 
as  did  this  of  Csesarea,  or  that  exhibits  a  more  awful 
contrast  to  its  former  magnificence,  by  the  present 
desolate  appearance  of  its  ruins.  Not  a  single  inhab- 
itant remains.  Its  theatres,  once  resounding  with 
the  shouts  of  multitudes,  echo  no  other  sound  than 
the  nightly  cries  of  animals  roaming  for  their  prey. 
Of  its  gorgeous  palaces  and  temples,  enriched  with 
the  choicest  works  of  art,  and  decorated  with  the 
most  precious  marbles,  scarcely  a  trace  can  be  dis- 
cerned. Within  the  space  of  ten  years  after  laying 
the  foundation,  from  an  obscure  fortress  it  became 
the  most  celebrated  and  flourishing  city  of  all  Syria. 
It  was  named  Csesarea  by  Herod,  in  honor  of  Au- 
gustus, and  dedicated  by  him  to  that  emperor,  in  the 
twenty-eighth  year  of  his  reign.  Upon  this  occasion, 
that  the  ceremony  might  be  rendered  illustrious,  by 
a  degree  of  profusion  unknown  in  any  former  in- 
stance, Herod  assembled  the  most  skilful  musicians 
and  gladiators  from  all  parts  of  the  world.  The  so- 
lenmity  was  to  be  renewed  every  fifth  year.  But,  as 
we  viewed  the  ruins  of  this  memorable  city,  every 
other  circumstance  resjjecting  its  history  was  ab- 
sorbed in  the  consideration  that  we  were  actually 
beholding  the  very  spot  where  the  scholar  of  Tarsus, 
after  two  years'  imprisonment,  made  that  eloquent 
appeal,  in  the  audience  of  the  king  of  Judea,  which 
must  ever  be  remembered  with  piety  and  delight.  In 
the  history  of  the  acts  of  the  holy  apostles,  whether 
we  regard  the  internal  evidence  of  the  narrative,  or 
the  interest  excited  by  a  story  so  wonderfully  ap- 
pealing to  our  passions  and  aifections,  there  is  nothing 
that  we  call  to  mind  with  fuller  emotions  of  sublimity 
and  satisfaction.  '  In  the  demonstration  of  the  Spirit, 
and  of  power,'  the  mighty  advocate  for  the  Christian 
faith  had  before  reasoned  of  righteousness,  temper- 
ance, and  judgment  to  come,  till  the  Roman  governor, 
Felix,  trembled  as  he  spoke.  Not  all  the  oratory  of 
Tertullus,  nor  the  clamor  of  his  numerous  adversaries, 
not  even  the  countenance  of  the  most  profligate  of 
tyrants,  availed  against  the  firmness  and  intrepidity 
of  the  oracle  of  God.  The  judge  had  trembled  be- 
fore his  prisoner ;  and  now  a  second  occasion  of- 
fered, in  which,  for  tlie  admiration  and  triumph  of 
the  Christian  world,  one  of  its  bitterest  persecutors, 
and  a  Jew,  appeals,  in  the  public  tribunal  of  a  large 
and  populous  city,  to  all  its  chiefs  and  its  rulers,  its 
governor  and  its  king,  for  the  truth  of  his  conversion, 
founded  on  the  highest  evidence,  delivered  in  tiie 
most  fair,  open,  and  illustrious  manner." 

Caesarea  Palestina  Avas  inhabited  by  Jews,  heathen, 
and  Samaritans ;  hence  parts  of  it  were  esteemed 
unclean  by  the  Jews ;  some  of  whom  would  not  pass 
over  certain  jilaces  ;  others,  however,  were  less  scru- 
pulous. Perpetual  contests  were  maintained  between 
the  Jews  and  the  Syrians,  or  the  Greeks ;  in  which 
many  thousand  persons  were  slain. 

The  Arab  interpreter  thinks  this  city  was  first 
named  Hazor,  Joshua  xi.  ].  Rabl)i  Abhu  says,  "Cse- 
sarea  was  the  daughter  of  Edoni ;  situated  among 
things  profane ;  she  was  a  goad  to  Israel  in  the  days 
of  the  Grecians;  but  the  Asmonean  family  over- 
came her."  Herod  the  Groat  built  the  city  to  honor 
the  name  of  Caesar,  and  adorned  it  with  most  splendid 
houses.  Over  against  tlie  mouth  of  the  haven,  made 
by  Herod,  was  the  temi)le  of  Caesar,  on  a  rising 
ground,  a  superb  structure  ;  and  in  it  a  statue  of  Cae- 
sar the  emperor.     Here  was  also  a  theatre,  an  amphi- 


theatre, a  forum,  &c.  all  of  white  stone,  &c.    (Joseph, 
de  Bell.  lib.  i.  cap.  13.) 

After  he  had  finished  rebuilding  the  to\vn,  Herod 
dedicated  it  to  Augustus ;  and 
prociu-ed  the  most  capable 
workmen  to  execute  the  med- 
als struck  on  the  occasion,  so 
that  these  are  of  considerable 
elegance.  The  port  was  call- 
ed Sebastus,  that  is,  Augus- 
tus. The  city  itself  was  made 
a  colony  by  Vespasian  ;  and 
is  described  on  its  medals,  as 

COLOXIA    PRIMA    FLAVIA    AU- 
GUSTA  CJESAREA  ;   Caesarea,  the  first  colony  of  the 
Flavian  (or  Vespasian)  family. 

II.  CAESAREA  PHILIPPI,  (before  called  Paneas, 
and  now  Banias,)  was  situated  at  the  foot  of  mount 
Paneus,  or  Hermon,  near  the  springs  of  the  Jordan.  It 
has  been  supposed,  that  its  ancient  name  was  Dan, 
or  Laish  ;  and  that  it  was  called  Paneas  by  the  Phoe- 
nicians only.  Eusebius,  however,  distinguishes  Dan 
and  Paneas  as  diflferent  places.  Caesarea  was  a  day's 
journey  fi-om  Sidon,  and  a  day  and  a  half  from  Da- 
mascus. Phihp  the  tetrarch  built  it,  or,  at  least,  em- 
bellished and  enlarged  it,  and  named  it  Caesarea,  in 
honor  of  the  emperor  Tiberius ;  but  afi;erwards,  in 
compliment  to  Nero,  it  was  called  Neronias.  The 
woman  who  had  been  troubled  with  an  issue  of 
blood,  and  was  healed  by  our  Saviour,  (Matt.  ix.  20; 
Luke  vii.  43.)  is  said  to  have  been  of  Caesarea  Phi- 
lippi,  and  to  have  returned  thither  after  her  cure,  and 
erected  a  statue  to  her  benefactor.  The  present 
town  contains,  according  to  Burckhardt,  about  150 
houses,  inhabited  mostly  by  Turks.  The  goddess 
Astarte  was  worshipped  here, 
as  appears  from  the  medals 
extant.  The  annexed  en- 
graving represents  one  of  Al- 
exander Severus ;  in  which 
the  emperor  is  crowning  the 
goddess  with  a  wreath.  The 
Greek  language  was  more 
used  in  this  city  than  the 
Latin ;  yet  it  struck  medals 
in  each  language.  It  seems 
to  have  been  made  a  Roman  colony ;  though  not 
mentioned  as  such  by  any  writer.  It  is  likely  that 
Caesarea  Phihppi  was  among  the  most  forward  cities 
to  compliment  Severus,  since  several  authors  report 
that  it  was  his  birth-place.  Lampridius  even  says, 
that  he  was  named  Alexander,  because  his  mother 
was  delivered  of  him  in  a  temple  dedicated  to  Alex- 
ander the  Great,  on  a  festival  in  honor  of  that  hero, 
at  which  she  had  assisted  with  her  husband.  The 
editor  of  the  Modern  Traveller  has  industriously 
collected  and  judiciously  compared  the  several  no- 
tices of  this  place  which  are  fovmd  in  modern  writers. 
Palestine,  pp.  353 — 363,  Engl.  cd. ;  pp.  327,  seq. 
Am.  cd. 

CAIAPHAS,  a  high-priest  of  the  Jews,  succeeded 
Simon,  son  of  Camith,  and  after  possessing  this  dignity 
nine  years  (from  A.  IM.  4029  to  4038)  he  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Jonatlian,  son  of  Ananas,  or  Annas.  He 
married  a  daughter  of  Annas,  who  also  is  called 
high-priest  in  the  Gospel,  l)ecause  he  had  long  en- 
joyed that  dignity.  When  the  jiriests  deliberated  on 
the  seizure  and  death  of  oiu-  Saviour,  Caiaphas  told 
them,  there  was  no  room  for  debate  on  that  matter ; 
"that  it  was  expedient  for  one  man  to  die,  instead 
of  all  the  people, — that  the  whole  nation  might  not 


CAI 


[219  ] 


CAIN 


perish,"  John  xi.  49,  50.  This  sentiment  was  a  kind 
of  prophecy,  which  God  suffered  to  proceed  from  the 
mouth  of  tiie  high-priest  on  this  occasion,  importing, 
though  not  by  his  intention,  that  the  death  of  Jesus 
would  be  the  salvation  of  the  world.  When  Judas 
had  betrayed  Christ,  he  was  first  taken  before  Annas, 
who  sent  him  to  his  son-in-law,  Caiaphas,  who  pos- 
sibly hved  in  the  same  house,  (John  xviii.  24.)  and 
here  the  priests  and  doctors  of  the  law  assembled  to 
judge  Jesus  and  to  condemn  him.  (See  Jerusalem.) 
The  depositions  of  certain  false  witnesses  being  found 
insufficient  to  justify  a  sentence  of  death  against  him, 
and  Jesus  continuing  silent,  Caiaphas,  as  high-priest, 
adjured  him  by  the  living  God  to  say  whether  he 
was  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  God.  Jesus  having  an- 
swered to  this  adjuration  in  the  affirmative,  Caiaphas 
rent  his  clothes,  and  declared  him  to  be  worthy  of 
death.  Two  years  afterwards  (A.  D.  38.)  he  was 
deposed  by  Vitellius ;  but  we  know  nothing  of  him 
afterwards.  His  house  is  still  professedly  sho\\Ti  in 
Jerusalem.     See  Annas.  ' 

CAIN,  possession,  or  possessed,  the  eldest  son  of 
Adam  and  Eve,  and  brother  of  Abel.  Cain  applied 
to  agi'iculture,  and  Abel  to  feeding  of  flocks,  Gen.  iv. 
2,  vtc.  Cain  offered  the  first-fruits  of  his  grounds  to 
the  Lord,  but  Abel  the  fat  of  his  flock  ;  the  latter  was 
accepted,  but  the  former  rejected,  which  so  enraged 
Cain  that  his  countenance  was  entirely  changed.  The 
Lord,  however,  said  unto  him,  "  Why  is  thy  counte- 
nance so  dejected  ?  If  thou  doest  well,  shalt  thou  not 
be  accepted  ?"  But  Cain,  unrestrained  By  this  ad- 
monition, killed  his  brother  Abel ;  and  for  it  became 
an  exile  and  a  vagabond.  Nevertheless,  he  received 
an  assurance,  that  he  himself  should  not  be  murder- 
ed ;  of  which  God  gave  to  him  a  token  ;  for  so  may 
the  words  be  understood,  though  commonly  they  are 
considered  as  expressing  a  token  of  guilt,  strongly 
marked  on  his  person.  Cain  quitted  the  presence 
of  the  Lord,  and  retired  to  the  land  of  Nod,  east  of 
Eden,  where  he  had  a  son,  whom  he  named  Enoch, 
and  in  memory  of  whom  he  built  a  city  of  the  same 
name.  Josephus  says,  that  having  settled  at  Nod, 
he,  instead  of  being  reformed  by  his  punishment  and 
exile,  became  more  wicked  and  violent,  and  headed 
a  band  of  thieves,  whom  he  taught  to  enrich  them- 
selves at  the  expense  of  others  ;  that  he  qujte  changed 
the  simplicity  and  honesty  of  the  wor|d,  into  fraud 
and  deceit ;  invented  weights  and  measures,  and  was 
the  first  who  set  bounds  to  fields,  and  built  and  forti- 
fied a  city. 

The  learned  Shuckford  was  not  only  dissatisfied 
with  the  usual  notion,  that  God  set  a  mark  upon  Cain, 
in  consequence  of  his  having  killed  his  brother  Abel, 
but  he  makes  himself  merry  with  the  ludicrous  na- 
ture of  some  of  those  marks  wliich  fancy  had  ap- 
pointed to  be  borne  about  by  him.  Without  attempt- 
ing to  defend  those  conjectures,  and  without  adding  to 
their  number,  Mr.  Taylor  endeavors  to  show,  that 
the  customary  rendering  of  the  passage  (Gen.  iv.  15.) 
may  perhaps  be  supported. 

Among  the  laws  attributed  to  Menu  is  the  follow- 
ing appointment,  which  is  more  worthy  notice,  be- 
cause it  is  directly  attributed  to  Menu  himself,  as  if  it 
were  a  genuine  tradition  received  fromhim.  It  de- 
scribes so  powerfully  and  pathetically  the  distressed 
situation  of  an  outcast,  that  one  is  led  to  think  it  is 
drawn  from  the  recollection  of  some  real  instance, 
rather  than  from  foresight,  of  the  sufferings  of  such 
a  supposed  criminal.  Crimes,  in  general,  have  been 
thought  by  mankind  susceptible  of  expiation,  more 
or  less,  according  to  the  degrees  of  their  guilt ;  but 


some  are  of  so  flagi-ant  a  nature  as  to  be  supposed 
atrocious  beyond  expiation.  Though  murder  be 
usually  considered  as  one  of  those  atrocious  crimes, 
and  consequently  inexpiable,  yet  there  have  been 
instances  wherem  the  criminal  was  punished  by 
other  means  than  by  loss  of  life.  A  judicial  inflic- 
tion, of  a  commutatory  kind,  seems  to  have  been 
passed  on  Cain.  Adam  was  punished  by  a  dying 
life ;  Cain  by  a  living  death. 

"  For  violating  the  paternal  bed. 

Let  the  mark  of  a  female  part  be  impressed  on 

THE   FOREHEAD   WITH  A   HOT   IRON; 

For  drinking  spirits,  a  vintner's  flag ; 

For  stealing  sacred  gold,  a  dog's  foot ; 

For  murdering  a  priest,  the  figure  of  a  headless 
corpse. 

With  none  to  eat  with  them, 

AVith  none  to  sacrifice  with  them. 

With  none  to  be  allied  by  marriage  to  them ; 

Abject,  and  excluded  from  all  social  duties, 

Let  them  wander  over  the  earth; 

Branded  with  indelible  marks. 

They  shall  be  deserted  by  their  paternal  ^iiid  ma- 
ternal relations. 

Treated  by  none  with  affection  ; 

Received  by  none  with  respect. 

Such  is  the  ordinance  of  Menu." 

"Criminals  of  all  classes,  having  performed  an 
expiation,  as  ordained  by  law,  shall  not  be  marked  on 
the  forehead,  but  be  condemned  to  pay  the  highest 
fine."     This  also  is  from  Menu. 

These  principles  are  thus  applied  by  Mr.  Taylor, 
in  illustration  of  the  history  of  Cain.  Cain  had  slain 
Abel  liis  brother ;  this  being  a  very  extraordinary  and 
embarrassing  instance  of  guilt,  and  perhaps  the  Jirst 
enormous  crime  among  mankind  which  required 
exemplary  punishment,  the  Lord  thought  proper  to 
interpose,'  and  to  act  as  judge  on  this  singularly 
affecting  occasion.  Adam  might  be  ignorant  of  this 
guilt,  ignorant  by  what  process  to  detect  it,  and 
ignorant  by  what  penalty  to  punish  it ;  but  the  Lord 
(metaphorically)  hears  of  it,  by  the  blood  which  cried 
from  the  ground  ;  and  he  detects  it,  by  citing  the 
murderer  to  his  tribunal ;  where,  after  examination 
and  conviction,  he  passes  sentence  on  him  : — "  Thou 
art  cursed  from  the  earth,  which  hath  opened  her  mouth 
to  receive  thy  brother's  blood;  a  fugitive  and  a  vaga- 
bond shalt  thou  be  in  the  earth,"  (>nvS3,  be-aretz.)  And 
Cain  said  to  the  Lord,  "/s  my  iniquity  too  great  for 
expiation  ?  Is  there  no  fine,  no  suffering,  short  of 
such  a; vagabond  state,  that  may  be  accepted?  Be- 
hold, thouMst  banished  me  this  day  from  the  face  of  the 
land  {no-M<n,  adamah)  where  I  AViis  born,  where  my 
parents  dwell,  my  native  country!  and  from  thy 
presence  also,  in  thy  public  worship  and  institutions ; 
/  must  now  hide  myself  from  all  my  heart  holds  dear, 
being  prohibited  from  approaching  my  former  iiiti- 
mates,  and  thy  venerated  altar.  I  shall  be  a  fugitive, 
a  vagabond  on  the  earth ;  and  any  one  tvho  findeth  me 
may  slay  me  without  compunction,  as  if  I  were  rather 
a  wild  beast  than  a  man."  The  Lord  said,  "  I  men- 
tioned an  expiation  formerly,  on  account  of  your 
crime  of  ungovernable  malice  and  anger,  bidding 
you  lay  a  sin-offering  before  the  sacred  entrance; 
but  then  you  disregarded  that  admonition  and  com- 
mand. Nevertheless,  as  I  did  not  take  the  fife  of 
your  father  Adam,  though  forfeited,  when  I  sat  in 
judgment  on  him,  but  abated  of  that  rigorous  penalty ; 
so  I  do  not  design  that  you  should  be  taken  off  by 


CAl 


[  220  ] 


CAL 


sudden  death  ;  neither  immediately  from  myself,  nor 
mediately  by  another.  I  pronounce,  therefore,  a 
much  heavier  sentence  on  whoever  shall  destroy 
Cain.  Moreover,  to  show  that  Cain  is  a  person  suf- 
fering under  punishment,  since  no  one  else  has 
power  to  do  it ;  since  he  resists  the  justice  of  his 
fellow-men  ;  since  his  crime  has  called  me  to  be  his 
judge,  I  shall  brand  his  forehead  with  a  mark  of  his 
crime ;  and  then,  whoever  observes  this  mark  will 
avoid  his  company  ;  they  will  not  smite  him,  but  they 
will  hold  no  intercourse  with  him,  fearing  his  irasci- 
ble passions  may  take  offence  at  some  unguarded 
word,  and  should  again  transport  him  into  a  fury, 
which  may  issue  in  bloodshed.  Beside  this,  all 
mankind,  wherever  he  may  endeavor  to  associate, 
shall  fear  to  pollute  themselves  by  conference  with 
him." — The  uneasiness  continually  arising  from  this 
state  of  sequestration  led  the  unhappy  Cain  to  seek 
repose  in  a  distant  settlement. 

If  this  conception  of  the  history  be  just,  and  if  the 
quotation  from  Menu  be  genuine,  we  have  here  one 
of  the  oldest  traditions  in  the  world,  in  confirmation, 
not  only  of  the  history,  as  related  in  Genesis,  but  of 
our  public  version  of  the  passage. 

I.  CAINAN,  son  of  Enos,  born  A.  M.  325,  when 
Enos  was  ninety  years  of  age,  Gen.  v.  9.  At  the  age 
of  seventy,  Cainan  begat  Mahalaleel ;  and  died,  aged 
910,  A.  M.  1235. 

II.  CAINAN,  a  son  of  Arphaxad,  and  father  of 
Salah.  He  is  neither  in  the  Ilebrew  nor  in  the  Vul- 
gate of  Gen.  xi.  12 — 14.  but  is  named  between  Salah 
and  Arphaxad,  in  Luke  iii.  36.  The  LXX,  in  Gen. 
X.  24 ;  xi.  12.  admit  him.  Some  have  suggested,  that 
the  Jews  suppressed  the  name  Cainan  out  of  their 
copies,  designing  to  render  the  LXX  and  Luke  sus- 
pected. Others,  that  Moses  omitted  Cainan,  being 
desirous  to  reckon  ten  generations  only  from  Adam  to 
Noah,  and  from  Noah  to  Abraham.  Others,  that  Ar- 
phaxad was  father  of  both  Cainan  and  Salah  ;  of  Sa- 
lah naturally,  of  Cainan  legally.  Others,  that  Cainan 
a)id  Salah  were  the  same  person,  under  two  names  ; 
this  they  allege  in  support  of  that  opinion  which 
maintains  Cainan  to  be  really  son  of  Arphaxad, 
and  father  of  Salah.  Many  learned  men  believe, 
that  this  name  was  not  originally  in  the  text  of  Luke, 
but  is  an  addition  by  inadvertent  transcribers,  who, 
remarking  it  in  some  copies  of  the  LXX,  added  it. 
See  Kuinoel  on  Luke  iii.  36. 

CAIPIIA,  a  town  at  the  foot  of  mount  Carmel, 
north,  on  the  gulf  of  Ptolema'is  ;  the  ancient  name  of 
which  was  Sycaminos,  or  Porpliyreon.  Sycaminos 
was  derived  probably  from  the  sycamore-trees  which 
grew  here,  as  Porpliyreon  might  be  from  catching 
here  the  fish  used  in  dyeing  purple.  Perhaps  Cepha, 
or  Cdipha,  was  derived  from  its  rocks  ;  in  Syriac, 
Kepha :  but  the  Hebrews  write  Hepha,  not  Kepha. 
This  city  was  sei)arated  from  Acco,  or  Ptolemais,  by 
a  large  and  beautiful  harbor,  the  distance  to  which, 
by  sea  direct,  is  not  more  than  fifteen  miles ;  though 
by  land  the  distance  is  double. 

CAIUS  CALIGULA,  emperor  of  Rome,  succeeded 
Tiberius,  A.  D.  37 ;  and  reigned  three  years,  nine 
montiis,  and  twenty-eight  days.  It  does  not  appear 
that  he  molested  the  Christians.  Cains  having  com- 
manded Petronius,  governor  of  Syria,  to  place  his 
statue  in  the  temple  at  Jerusalem,  for  tlie  purpose  of 
adoration,  the  Jews  so  vigorously  ojiposed  it,  that, 
fearing  a  sedition,  he  suspended  the  order.  He 
was  killed  by  Cha?n;as,  one  of  his  guards,  while 
coming  out  of  the  theatre,  A.  D.  41,  in  the  fourth 
year  of  his    reign ;    and   was   succeeded  by  Clau- 


dius. He  is  not  mentioned  in  the  New  Tes- 
tament. 

CAKES.  The  Hebrews  had  several  sorts  of 
cakes,  which  they  offered  in  the  temple,  made  of 
meal,  of  wheat,  or  of  barley ;  kneaded  sometimes 
with  oil,  sometimes  with  honey  ;  sometimes  only  rub- 
bed over  with  oil  when  baked,  or  fried  with  oil  in  a 
fryingpan.  At  Aaron's  consecration,  "  they  offered 
unleavened  bread,  and  cakes  unleavened,  tempered 
with  oil ;  and  wafers  unleavened,  anointed  with  oil ; 
the  whole  made  of  fine  wheaten  flour,"  Exod.  xxix. 

I,  2.  The  Hebrew  calls  all  offerings  made  of  grain, 
flour,  paste,  bread,  or  cakes,  nnjir,  mincha.  These 
offerings  were  made  either  alone,  or  with  other 
things.  Sometimes  fine  flour  was  offered,  (Lev.  ii. 
1.)  or  cakes,  or  other  things  baked,  (verse  4.)  or  cakes 
baked  in  a  fryingpan,  (verse  5,)  or  in  a  fryingpan  with 
holes,  or  on  a  gridiron,  verse  7.  Ears  of  corn  were 
sometimes  offered,  in  order  to  be  roasted,  and  the 
corn  to  be  got  out  from  them.  These  offerings  were 
instituted  principally  in  favor  of  the  poor.  This, 
however,  is  understood  of  voluntary  offerings,  not  ap- 
pointed by  the  law ;  for,  as  to  certain  sacrifices,  the 
law,  instead  of  two  lambs  and  a  ewe,  permits  the 
poor  to  ofler  only  one  lamb,  and  two  young  pigeons. 

For  offering,  these  cakes  were  salted,  but  unleav- 
ened. If  the  cakes  which  were  offered  were  baked 
in  an  oven,  and  sprinkled  or  kneaded  with  oil,  the 
whole  was  presented  to  the  priest,  who  waved  the 
offering  before  the  Lord,  then  took  so  much  of  it  as 
was  to  be  burned  on  the  altar,  threw  that  into  the 
fire,  and  kept  the  rest  himself,  Lev.  ii.  4.  If  the 
offering  were  a  cake  kneaded  with  oil,  and  dressed 
in  a  fryingpan,  it  was  broken,  and  oil  was  poured  on  it : 
then  it  was  presented  to  the  priest,  who  took  a  hand- 
ful of  it,  which  he  threw  on  the  altar-fire,  and  the 
rest  was  his  oavu.  It  should  be  observed,  that  oil  in 
the  East  answers  the  purpose  of  butter  among  us  in 
Europe. 

Cakes  or  loaves,  offered  with  sacrifices  of  beasts, 
as  was  customary,  (for  the  great  sacrifices  were  al- 
ways accompanied  by  offerings  of  cakes,  and  liba- 
tions of  wine  and  oil,)  were  kneaded  with  oil.  The 
wine  and  oil  were  not  poured  on  the  head  of  the  an- 
imal about  to  be  sacrificed,  (as  among  the  Greeks 
and  Ronians,)  but  on  the  fire  in  which  the  victim 
was  consutued.  Numb,  xxviii.  1,  &c.  The  law  reg- 
ulated the  quantity  of  meal,  wine,  and  oil,  for  each 
kind  of  victim.     See  Bread. 

CALAH,  a  city  of  Assyria,  built  by  Ashur,  or 
Nimrod ;  (see  Assyria  ;)  for  the  phrase  in  Gen  x. 

II,  12.  is  ambiguous.  It  was  distant  from  Nineveh; 
the  city  Resen  lying  between  them.  Bochart  thinks 
it  is  the  same  city  as  is  called  Halali  in  2  Kings  xvii. 
6,  and  Cellai'ius  understands  Ilolwan,  a  famous  town 
in  the  ages  of  the  caliphs,  in  the  Syriac  dialect  called 
Hhulon,  but  in  the  Syriac  dociunents  written  Hha- 
lach ;  but  the  difi'erent  initial  letter  in  the  Hebrew 
militates  against  this  mutation  ;  since  c  is  too  strong 
a  sound  to  be  ea.sily  changed.  Ei)hraini  the  Syrian 
understands  Hatra,  a  city  in  the  region  of  the  Zab, 
which  falls  into  the  Tigris;  or  perhaps  he  intends 
the  city  called  Chatrncharla  by  Ptolemy,  which  im- 
ports, "  Chntra,  the  city  ;"  but  then,  as  Michaclis  ob- 
serves, this  city  was  east  of  the  s])rings  of  the  Lycus, 
or  Zab.  [Rosenmiiller  prefers  the  opinion  of  Cella- 
rius,  that  Calah  is  the  same  as  the  Cholivan,  or  Holwan, 
of  the  Arabs,  and  the  Chalach  of  the  Syrians.  It  was 
situated  in  the  north-east  part  of  the  present  Irak, 
towards  Persia,  at  the  foot  of  the  mountains  which 
now  separate  the  Ottoman  and  Persian  empires  in 


CAL 


[221  ] 


CAL 


this  quarter.  It  probably  gave  name  to  the  province 
Chcdnchene  of  Strabo.  (Rosenm.  Bib.  Geog.  I.  ii.  p. 
98.  R.]  Holwan  would  suit  the  geographical  inten- 
tion of  the  text  completely,  in  reference  to  its  con- 
nection with  the  other  cities  mentioned. 

CALAMUS,  see  Cane. 

L  CALEB,  {dog,)  son  of  Jephunneh,  of  Judah,  was 
sent  \vith  Joshua  and  others  to  view  the  laud  of  Ca- 
naan, Numb.  xiii.  They  brought  with  them  some  of 
the  finest  fruits  as  specimens  of  its  productions  ;  but 
some  of  the  spies  discouraging  the  people,  they  openly 
declared  against  the  expedition.  Joshua  and  Caleb 
encouraged  them  to  go  forward,  and  the  Lord  sen- 
tenced the  whole  multitude  except  these  two  to  die 
in  the  desert,  xiv.  1 — 10.  When  Joshua  had  invaded 
and  conquered  great  part  of  Canaan,  Caleb  with  his 
tribe  came  to  Gilgal,  and  asked  for  a  particular  pos- 
session, which  Joshua  bestowed  upon  him  with  many 
blessings,  chap.  xiv.  6 — 15.  Caleb,  therefore,  with 
his  tribe,  marched  against  Kirjath-arba,  (afterwards 
Hebron,)  took  it,  and  killed  three  giants  of  the  race 
of  Anak ;  from  thence  he  went  to  Debir,  or  Kirjath- 
sepher,  which  was  taken  by  Othnicl,  xv.  13 — 19. 
Caleb  is  thought  to  have  survived  Joshua. 

H.  CALEB,  son  of  Uur,  whose  sons  Shobal,  Sal- 
ma,  and  llcrepli,  peopled  the  country  about  Bethle- 
hem, Kirjath-jecirini,  Beth-Gader,  &c.  1  Chron.  ii. 
50—55. 

III.  CALEB,  the  name  of  a  district  in  Judah,  in 
which  were  the  cities  of  Kirjath-sepher  and  Hebron, 
belonging  to  the  family  of  Caleb,  1  Sam.  xxx.  14. 

IV.  CALEB,  son  of  Hesron,  who  married  first 
Azuba,  and  afterwards  Ephrath,  1  Chron.  ii.  9, 18,24. 

I.  CALF,  the  young  of  a  cow,  of  which  there  is 
frequent  mention  in  Scripture,  because  calves  were 
commonly  used  for  sacrifices.  A  "calf  of  the  herd" 
is  probably  so  distinguished  from  a  sucking  calf. 
The  fatted  calf  (Luke  xv.  23.)  was  a  calf  fatted  par- 
ticularly for  some  feast.  In  Hos.  xiv.  2.  the  expression, 
"  we  will  render  the  calves  of  our  lips,"  signifies  sac- 
rifices of  praise,  prayer,  &c.  The  LXX  read  "  the 
fruit  of  our  lips,"  as  does  the  Syriac ;  and  the  apostle, 
Heb.  xiii.  15. 

II.  CALF,  THE  Golden,  which  the  Israelites  wor- 
shipped at  the  foot  of  mount  Sinai,  Exod.  xxxii.  4. 
(See  Aaron.)  When  the  people  saw  that  Moses  de- 
layed to  come  down  from  the  mount,  they  demanded 
of  Aaron  to  make  them  gods  which  should  go  before 
them.  Aaron  demanded  their  ear-rings ;  which  were 
melted,  and  cast  into  the  figure  of  a  calf.  When  this 
was  about  to  be  consecrated,  Moses,  being  divinely 
informed  of  it,  came  down  from  the  mount,  and  hav- 
ing called  on  all  who  detested  this  sin,  the  sons  of 
Levi  armed  themselves,  and  slew  of  the  people  about 
23,000,  according  to  our  version  ;  but  the  Hebrew,  Sa- 
maritan, Clialdee,  LXX,  and  the  greater  part  of  the 
old  Greek  and  Latin  fathers,  read  .3000. 

There  are  some  hints  in  the  account  of  the  golden 
calf,  which  are  usually  overlooked:  as  (1.)  Aaron 
calls  the  calf  in  tlie  plural,  "gods" — "  These  are  thy 
gods — they  who  brought  thee  out  of  Egjpt."  So  the 
peojile  say,  "  Make  us  god-s,''^  yet  only  one  image  was 
made.  (2.)  Although  the  second  conunandmeut  for- 
bids the  making  "to  thyself"  any  graven  image, 
yet,  in  the  instances  of  the  cherubim,  graven  images 
were  made ;  though  not  for  any  private  individual, 
nor  for  the  purpose  of  visible  worship,  but  for  inte- 
rior emblems,  in  the  most  holy  j)lace,  never  seen  by 
the  people.  (3.)  Aaron  did  not  make  this  calf  with 
his  own  hands,  most  probably ;  but  committed  it  to 
Borne  sculptor,  who  wrought  not  openly  in  the  midst 


of  the  camp,  but  in  his  workshop.  The  Jews  report, 
that  the  image  was  made  into  the  form  of  a  calf  by 
some  evil  spirits  who  accompanied  the  Israelites  from 
Egj'pt ;  and  if  they  mean  evil  human  spirits,  they  are 
right  enough.  The  sacred  writers  in  succeeding  ages 
plainly  speak  of  the  golden  calf  as  a  very  great  sin. 
Ps.  cvi.  19,  20 ;  Acts  vii.  41 ;  Deut.  ix.  1(>— 21.  (4.) 
Aaron,  though  greatly  misled,  must  have  meant  by  this 
worship,  something  more  than  the  mere  worship  of 
the  Egyptian  calf.  Apis ;  for  in  what  sense  had  Apis 
"  brought  Israel  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt"  ?  an  ex- 
pression which  Jeroboam  subsequently  used ;  (1 
Kings  xii.  28.)  which  is  strange,  if  Apis,  an  Egyptian 
deity,  had  been  the  object  of  his  calves.  The  LXX 
say,  in  Exod.  xxxii.  4.  that  Aaron  described  the  calf 
with  a  graving  tool,  but  that  the  people  made  and  cast 
it.  The  Chaldee  paraphrast  says,  "Aaron  received 
the  ear-rings,  tied  them  up  in  pUrses,  and  made  the 
golden  calf  of  them,"  and  Bochart  maintains,  that 
this  is  the  best  translation,  the  Hebrew  chanet  signi- 
fying a  purse,  and  not  a  graving  tool. — It  should  seem, 
therefore,  that  Aaron  had  given  the  gold  of  which  he 
had  the  custody,  to  a  workman  appointed  by  the 
people  ;  that  he  followed  the  people  throughout  this 
transaction  ;  and  that  he  endeavored  to  guide  (per- 
haps, even  to  control)  their  opinion,  in  varying  and 
appointing  to  the  honor  of  Jehovah,  what  many,  at 
least  "the  mixed  multitude,"  would  refer  to  the  honor 
of  the  gods  they  had  seen  in  Egypt.  In  this  view, 
his  expression  deserves  notice — "  to-morrow  is  a 
solemnity  to  Jehovah ;"  not  to  Apis,  or  to  any  other 
god,  but  to  Jehovah.  Such  was  the  sentiment  of 
Aaron,  whatever  sentiments  some  of  the  people  might 
entertain  ;  and  his  confession  to  Moses  (ver.  24.)  may 
be  so  taken :  "  I  cast  it,"  i.  e.  I  gave  it  to  be  cast. 
Certainly,  the  making  of  the  calf  was  a  work  of  time, 
it  was  not  cast  in  a  moment,  nor  in  the  midst  of  the 
camp,  hut  in  a  jjroper  workshop,  or  other  convenient 
place  ;  and  evt  ii  perhaps  was  forwarded  more  rapidly 
than  Aaron  knew,  or  wished.  He  might  use  all 
means  of  delay,  though  he  sinfully  yielded  to  a  pre- 
varication, or  to  a  worship  of  Jehovah  by  an  image ; 
an  impure  medium  of  worship,  which  was  explicitly 
forbidden  in  the  second  commandment,  Exod.  xx.  4. 
Augustin  says,  Aaron  demanded  the  personal  orna- 
ments of  the  women  and  children,  in  hopes  they 
would  not  part  with  those  jewels,  and  consequently, 
that  the  calf  could  not  be  made.  What  means  of 
resistance  to  the  people  he  might  possess,  we  cannot 
tell ;  perhaps  the  people  satisfied  themselves  by 
fancying,  that,  in  referring  this  image  to  God,  they 
avoided  the  sin  of  idolatry.  Did  Aaron  imagine  the 
same  ?  not  understanding  the  commandment  already 
given  as  a  prohibition  of  worshipping  God  by  me- 
diatorial representations,  or  pubUc  symbols  of  his 
presence. 

The  termination  of  this  melancholy  occurrence 
was  as  extraordinary  as  its  commencement :  "  And 
Moses  took  the  calf  which  they  had  made,  and  burnt 
it  in  the  fire,  and  ground  it  to  powder,  and  strewed  it 
upon  the  water,  and  made  the  children  of  Israel  drink 
of  it,"  Exod.  xxxii.  20. 

Calves,  Golden,  of  Jeroboam.  This  prince, 
in  order  to  separate  the  ten  tribes  more  effectually 
from  the  house  of  Djwid,  set  up  objects  of  worship 
in  the  land  of  Israel,  that  the  people  might  not  be 
compelled  to  go  up  to  Jerusalem,  1  Kings  xii.  26 — 
28.  He  made  two  calves  of  gold,  and  said,  "  Behold 
thy  gods,  O  Israel,  which  brought  thee  up  out  of  the 
land  of  Egypt.  And  he  set  the  one  iu  Bethel,  and 
the  other  he  put  in  Dan,  at  the  two  extremities  of  his 


CAL 


[322 


CAL 


kingdom.  And  this  thing  became  a  sin ;  for  the 
people  went  to  worship  before  these  calves  to  Dan 
and  to  Bethel."  Monceau  thought-  t.hat  these 
calves,  as  well  as  the  calf  of  Aaron,  were  imitations 
of  the  cherubim,  and  that  they  occasioned  i-ather  a 
schismatic  than  an  idolatrous  worship.  We  know, 
indeed,  that  all  Israel  did  not  renounce  the  woi-ship 
of  the  Lord  for  tliat  of  the  calves,  but  it  is  highly 
probable  that  the  majority  did  so.  See  1  Kings 
xix.  10. 

It  is  certain  Jeroboam's  golden  calves  were  not 
images  of  Baal  ;  (see  1  Kings  xvi.  31,  32 :  2  Kings 
X.  28,  31.)  neither  does  Elijah  say,  "  Choose  between 
these  calves  (as  emblems  of  Apis)  and  Jehovah." 
Nevertheless,  most  commentators  think  Jeroboam 
designed,  by  his  golden  calves,  to  imitate  the  worship 
of  Apis,  which  he  had  seen  in  Egypt,  1  Kings  xi.  40. 
Scripture  reproaches  him  frequently  with  having 
made  Israel  to  sin ;  (2  Kings  xiv.  9.)  and  when  de- 
scribing a  bad  prince,  it  says,  he  imitated  the  sin  of 
Jeroboam,  2  Kings  xvii.  21.  The  LXX  and  the 
Gi-eek  fathers  generally  read  (feminine)  golden 
cows,  instead  of  golden  calves.  Josephus  speaks  of 
the  temple  of  the  golden  calf  as  still  in  being  in  his 
time,  somewhere  towards  Dan  ;  but  he  omits  the  his- 
tory of  the  sin.  The  glory  of  Israel  was  their  God, 
their  law,  and  their  ark ;  but  the  worshippers  of  the 
golden  calves  considered  those  idols  as  their  glory : 
"The  priests  thereof  rejoiced  on  it,  for  the  glory 
thereof,"  Hosea  x.  5.  Hosea  foretold  the  destruc- 
tion and  captivity  of  the  calves  of  Samaria,  (Hosea 
viii.  5,  6.)  and  the  Assyrians,  having  taken  Samaria, 
carried  off  the  golden  calves,  with  their  worshippers. 

CALIGULA,  see  Caius. 

To  CALL  frequently  signifies  to  be  ;  but,  perhaps, 
includes  the  idea  of  admitted  to  be,  acknowledged  to 
be,  well  known  to  be,  the  thing  called ;  since  men  do 
not  usually  call  a  thing  otherwise  than  what  they 
conclude  it  to  be.  "He  shall  be  called  Wonderful, 
Counsellor,  the  Mighty  God,  Father,"  &c.  He  shall 
possess  all  these  qualities;  he  shall  be  truly  the 
Wonderful,  the  Mighty  God,  &c.  Isaiah  ix.  6.  "  He 
shall  be  called  the  Son  of  the  Most  High,"  Luke  i.  35. 
He  shall  be  truly  so.  So  of  John  the  Baptist,  "Thou 
shalt  be  called  the  prophet  of  the  Highest ;" — Thou 
shalt  be  acknowledged  under  that  character.  To 
Call  any  thing  by  its  name  ;  to  affix  a  name  to  it,  is 
an  act  of  authority :  the  father  names  his  son  ;  the 
master  names  his  servant ;  "  God  calleth  the  stars  by 
their  names,"  Psalm  cxivii.  4.  To  call  on  God 
sometimes  signifies  all  the  acts  of  religion,  the  whole 
public  worship  of  God.  "  Whosoever  shall  call  on 
the  name  of  the  Lord," — whoso*ver  shall  believe, 
trust,  love,  pray,  and  p)-aise  as  he  ought  to  do, — 
"shrill  be  saved,"  Rom.  x.  13.  "Men  began  to  call 
on  the  name  of  the  Lord,"  Gen.  iv.  26.  Others  trans- 
late, "  The  name  of  God  was  profaned,"  that  is,  by 
giving  it  to  idols.  (Sec  Exos.)  God  is  in  some  sort 
jealous  of  our  adoration  ;  he  requires  that  we  should 
call  on  no  otlier  god  beside  himself. 

CALLISTHENES,  an  officer  of  the  king  of  Syria, 
who  set  fire  to  the  temple  gates,  and  was  afterwards 
burned  by  the  people,  2  Mace.  viii.  .33. 

CALNEH,  a  city  in  the  land  of  Shinar,  built  by 
Nimrod,  and  formerly  the  seat  of  liis  empire.  Gen.  x. 
10.  Probai)ly  the  Caino  of  Isaiah,  (x.  9.)  and  the 
Canneh  of  Ezek.  xxvii.  23.  It  must  have  been  situ- 
ated in  Mesopotamia,  since  these  prophets  join  it  with 
Haran,  Eden,  Assyria,  and  Chilmad,  which  traded 
with  Tyre.  [According  to  tlie  Targums,  Eusebius, 
Jerome,  and  others,  Calneh,  or  C  dno,  was  Ctesiphon. 


a  large  city  on  the  east  bank  of  the  Tigris,  opposite 
to  Seleucia.     R. 

CALVARY,  or  Golgotha,  that  is,  the  place  of  a 
skull,  a  httle  hill  north-west  of  Jerusalem,  and  so 
called,  it  is  thought,  from  its  skull-like  form.  It 
formerly  stood  outside  of  the  walls  of  Jerusalem,  and 
was  the  spot  upon  which  our  Saviour  was  crucified. 
When  Barchochebas  revolted  against  the  Romans, 
Adrian,  having  taken  Jerusalem,  entirely  destroyed 
the  city,  and  settled  a  Roman  colony  there,  calling  it 
^lia  Capitolina.  The  new  city  was  not  built  exactly 
on  the  ruins  of  the  old,  but  further  north ;  so  that 
Calvary  became  almost  the  centre  of  the  city  of 
iElia.  Adrian  profaned  the  mount,  and  particularly 
the  place  where  Jesus  had  been  crucified,  and  his 
body  buried  ;  but  the  empress  Helena,  the  mother  of 
Constantine  the  Great,  erected  over  the  spot  a  stately 
church,  which  is  still  in  being. 

The  objections  to  the  location  of  Calvary,  which 
were  m-ged  at  an  early  period  of  the  Christian  his- 
tory, have  been  lately  renewed  by  some  intelligent 
ti-avellers  and  writers,  whose  high  character  gives  to 
their  decisions  a  degree  of  authority,  and  renders  an 
examination  of  them  necessary  in  a  work  like  the 
preseiit.  Among  these  .writers  Dr.  E.  D.  Clarke 
stands  foremost,  whose  objections  to  the  identity  of 
the  present  Calvary  with  the  place  of  our  Saviour's 
crucifixion  and  sepulture  may  be  thus  summed  up : — 
(1.)  All  the  evangelists  agree  in  representing  the  place 
of  crucifixion  as  "  the  place  of  a  skull ;"  that  is  to  say, 
"a  public  cemetery,"  whereas  the  spot  now  assumed 
as  Calvary  does  not  exhibit  any  evidence  which 
might  entitle  it  to  this  appellation.  (2.)  The  place 
called  "  Golgotha,"  or  "  Calvary,"  was  a  mount  or  hill, 
of  which  the  place  now  exhibited  under  this  name 
has  not  the  slightest  appearance.  (3.)  The  sepulchre 
of  Joseph  of  Arimathea,  in  which  our  Saviour  was 
laid,  was  a  tomb  cutout  of  a  rock,  instead  of  which, 
the  modern  sepulchre  is  a  building  of  comparatively 
modern  date,  and  above  ground. 

To  these  objections  captain  Light  has  given  his  as- 
sent, and  adds,  "  When  I  saw  mount  Calvary  within 
a  few  feet  of  the  alleged  place  of  sepulture,  and  the 
apparent  inclination  to  crowd  a  variety  of  events 
under  one  roof,  I  could  not  help  imagining  that  the 
zeal  of  the  early  Christians  might  have  been  the  cause 
of  their  not  seeking  among  the  tombs  further  from 
the  city  the  real  sepulchre."  Dr.  Richardson,  who 
also  questions  the  identity  of  these  sacred  places, 
considers,with  captain  Light,  that  the  contiguity  of  the 
present  tomb  of  Christ  to  mount  Calvary  is  another 
objection  to  its  identity  Avith  the  original  one. 

To  these  objections,  which  are  urged  at  great 
length,  and  with  much  ingenuity,  Mr.  Taylor  has 
devoted  considerable  attention.  The  following  re- 
marks comprise  the  substance  of  his  arguments,  in 
reply  to  them. 

1.  The  name  Golgotha — Calvary — the  place  of  a 
skull — given  to  the  scene  of  our  Saviour's  crucifixion 
by  the  evangelists,  does  not  necessarily  signify,  as 
Dr.  Clarke  interprets  it,  after  Stockius,  "a  place  of 
sepulture" — "  a  ])ublic  cemetery."  It  is  always  used 
in  the  singular — "the  ])lace  of  a  skull,"  which  would 
have  been  a  very  improper  designation  for  a  place 
of  many  skulls.  The  language  of  Luke,  however,  is 
peculiar,  and  places  it  beyond  doubt  that  skxdl  was 
the  proper  name  of  the  place.  This  evangelist, 
without  mentioning  Golgotha,  writes,  y.al  nri  ant]X&ov 
in'i  Tov  Tu/ror  y.a/.Hiifrov  xourlor — "  and  when  they  Were 
come  to  a  place  called  skull,"  chap,  xxiii.  33. — Luke  j 
therefore  appears  to  have  strictly  translated  the  word 


CALVARY 


[  223  ] 


CALVARY 


Golgotha,  which  signifies,  not  xQccviu  zo.-ros,  "place  of 
a  skull,"  but  simply  xQcnlor,  skull.  Now,  this  name 
was  probably  given  from  the  peculiar  form  of  the 
place,  and  not  in  consequence  of  any  purpose  to 
which  it  was  devoted.  [It  appears,  however,  to  have 
been  the  place  where  malefactors  were  commonly 
executed,  and  where  their  bodies  were  left  im- 
buried.     R. 

2.  It  is  not  a  little  curious  that  Dr.  Clarke  should 
not  have  perceived  that  his  objection  to  the  present 
site  of  Calvary — that  it  has  no  appearance  of  a  mount 
— imposes  an  insuperable  difficulty  in  the  way  of  his 
own  hypothesis,  which  places  Calvary  in  "  a  deep 
trench" — the  valley  Tyropaeon — between  Acua  and 
Sion.  Not  to  dwell,  however,  upon  this  glaring  in- 
consistency, we  proceed  to  consider  whether  the 
spot  now  shown  as  Calvary  does  not  exhibit  the  ap- 
pearance of  a  mount,  and  also  that  peculiar  form, 
from  which  it  has  been  as  probable  that  Calvary  de- 
rived its  name.  In  this  inquiry  father  Bernardino 
may  be  a  guide.  He  says,  "  The  space  occupied  by 
mount  Calvary  is  now  divided  into  two  parts,  form- 
ing chapels;  the  first  of  these  is  twenty-one  palms  in 
width,  and  forty-seven  in  length.  .  .  .  The  second  di- 
vision of  mount  Calvary  is  eighteen  palms  in  width, 
and  forty-seven  in  length."  Speaking  of  the  chapels, 
he  says,  they  are  not  on  the  same  level ;  but,  "  the 
MOUNT  is  in  height  towai'ds  the  north  two  palms  and 
a  half;  and  towards  the  S.  W.  two  palms  and  ten 
inches:  and  the  smaller  kishsg  [il  poggiolo)  \s  in 
height  seven  inches  two  minutes  and  a  half.  This  was 
the  place  of  the  bad  thief.  Towards  the  north,  the 
place  of  the  good  thief, — it  is  in  height  one  palm  and 
six  inches.  .  .  ."  "  The  steps  under  the  arch  towards 
the  north  leading  to  the  little  hill,  are  in  height — 
the  first,  two  palms, — the  second,  one  palm  ten  inches. 
.  .  ."  "The  letter  H.  is  the  proper  mount  Calva- 
RT  ;" — This  letter  H.  is  placed  on  the  rising  described 
as  il  poggiolo,  the  little  hill  ;  marked  by  a  circle, 
as  the  place  of  the  cross  of  Jesus.  This  is  evidence 
that  this  ignorant  and  superstitious  monk,  as  Dr. 
Clarke  [and  others]  would  probably  call  him,  distin- 
guished TWO  risings  in  mount  Calvary  ;  though  Dr. 
Clarke  passed  the  distinction  over  without  notice. 
How  greatly  his  observation  confirms  the  derivation 
traced  in  the  name,  may  safely  be  left  to  the  reader's 
intelligence.  To  obtain  a  clear  idea  of  mount  Calvary, 
we  must  imagine  a  rising,  now  about^i!ce7i  feet  high. 
— The  ascent  comprises  eighteen  stairs.  The  first 
flight  contains  ten  stairs,  the  second  flight  contains 
eight.  There  are  also  two  others,  in  length  more 
thanfortyfeet ;  and  in  width  more  than  thirty  feet ;  and 
upon  this,  nearly  in  the  centre,  a  smaller  rising  about 
seventeen  inches  in  height ;  which  smaller  rising  is,  says 
Bernardino,  "  il  proprio  Monte  Caluario."  After 
this,  how  can  Dr.  Clarice  affirm  that  there  exists  no  evi- 
dence in  the  church  of  the  holy  sepulchre  ;  "nothing 
that  can  be  reconciled  with  the  history  of  our  Saviour's 
suflerings  and  burial  ?"  It  is  affirmed  that  mount  Cal- 
vary was  leveled  for  the  foundations  of  the  church. 

3.  In  reply  to  Dr.  Clarke's  last  objection,  Mr.  Tay- 
lor adopts  a  course  of  reasoning  to  the  following 
eflfect : — The  first  step  to  be  taken  in  the  inquiry  is, 
to  determine  what  kind  of  sepulchral  edifice  was 
constructed  by  Joseph  of  Arimathea;  and  tiiis  can 
only  be  accomplished  by  strictly  examining  the 
words  of  the  original  writers  who  describe  it.  Dr. 
Clarke  having  inspected  a  great  number  of  ancient 
tombs  cut  in  the  rock,  in  various  jjarts  of  the  coun- 
tries through  which  he  had  travelled,  and  not  a  few 
at  Jerusalem  itself,  had  suffered  this  idea  to  take  en- 


tire possession  of  his  mind  :  he  looked  for  an  exca- 
vation in  a  rock,  and  nothing  more.  But  before  we 
determine  that  there  really  was  nothing  more,  we  are 
bound  to  examine  whether  the  terms  employed  by 
the  evangelists  to  describe  the  eventually  sacred 
sepulchre,  are  completely  satisfied,  by  this  restricted 
acceptation. 

Matthew  uses  two  words  to  describe  Joseph's 
intended  place  of  burial ;  chap,  xxvii.  verse  60  he 
says,  he  laid  the  body  of  Jesus  in  his  own  new  tmueiw, 
(tomb,  Eng.  tr.) — and  they  rolled  a  great  stone  to  the 

door  Tn"  ini^iKiu  [of  the    sepulchre,  Eng.  tr.) ^nd 

there  luere  Mary  Magdalene,  Sfc.  sitting  over  against 
Tu  Tacps  [the  sepulchre,  Eng.  tr.)  This  rendering 
of  the  same  word,  ,i/)i,i'f'~oi ,  by  both  tomb  and  sepid- 
chre,  is  injudicious.  Campbell  more  prudently  con- 
tinues to  each  term  of  the  original  that  by  which  he 
had  first  chosen  to  express  it,  in  English :  "  he 
deposited  the  body  in  his  own  monument — Mary  Ma<^- 
dalene,  &c.  sitting  over  against  the  sepulchre." — 
" Command  that  the  sepidchre  [rl>v  rut/ioi)  be  guard- 
ed."— "Make  the  sepidchre  [tuv  Tutpui)  as  secure  as 
ye  can." — Mary  Magdalene,  &.c.  went  to  visit  the  sep- 
ulchre, [r'of  Tu<j>uy.) — "  Come,  see  the  place  where  the 
Lord  lay ; — they  went  out  from  the  monument,  to" 
,i()i,Kf<'B."  It  is  inferred,  then,  that  what  is  rendered 
monument  implies  a  kind  of  frontispiece,  or  orna- 
mental door-way,  (the  stone  poiial  of  captain  Light,) 
and  the  evangelist  may  include  the  chambers  in  this 
term,  as  from  these  the  women  came  out.  Neither  of 
the  other  evangelists  uses  more  than  one  term — the 
monument.  The  nature  of  this  will  justify  a  closer 
inspection  of  it. 

The  evangelist  Matthew  says,  this  monument  was 

iXaTLin^nir  ir  rS^iTifToa,  cut   Old — hollowcd   Out — SCOOpcd 

out  of  the  rock,  which  formed  the  substratum  of  the 
soil ;  while  his  other  term  [taphos)  intends  the  exter- 
nal hillock,  or  mound-like  form  of  the  rock,  rising 
above  the  general  level  of  the  ground.  There  is  no 
occasion  for  going  beyond  the  volumes  of  Dr.  Clarke 
for  proof  of  this  acceptation  of  the  term  taphos; 
whether  we  accompany  him  among  the  tumuli  of  the 
Steppes,  or  those  in  the  plain  of  Troy, — to  the  tomb 
of  Ajax, — to  the  tomb  of  ^syetes,  (which  are  coni- 
cal mounds  of  earth,  like  our  English  barrows,)  all 
are  taphoi.  Mark  repeats  nearly  the  words  of  Mat- 
thew, in  reference  to  the  monument :  but  Luke  uses 
the  term  /.uhvTai.  This  sepulchre  of  the  "rich  man 
of  Arimathea"  may  perhaps  be  compared  to  the  sep- 
ulchres discovered  at  Telniessus;  of  which  Dr.  Clarke 
says, — "  In  such  situations  are  seen  excavated  cham- 
bers, worked  with  such  marvellous  art  as  to  exhibit 
open  facades,  porticoes  with  Ionic  columns,  gates  and 
doors  beautifully  sculptured,  on  wliich  are  carved  the 
representation  as  of  embossed  iron-work  bolts,  and 
hinges."  Those  ornaments  were  hewn  in  the  rock  ; 
but  Luke's  words  are  not  restricted  to  this  sense  ;  for, 
it  should  scom  that  the  very  term  rendered  monument, 
leads  us  to  building  of  some  kind,  prefixed  lo  the  rock  ; 
or  even  standing  above  it.  This  evangelist's  phrase 
(chap.  xi.  47.)  is  express  to  the  point;  o/xuJoiafre  r'a 
■ini^iiiia — "ye  build  the  7no7ii(7?i€?i<5  of  the  prophets," 
where  the  term  build  is  explicit.  Perhaps  even  this 
term,  iM>;iiEfoi,  includes  or  implies  some  kind  oi' con- 
struction, not  merely  excavation  ;  so  in  the  tomb  of 
which  Dr.  Clarke  gives  a  delineation,  p.  244.  Helen 
"constructed  this  monument  for  herself," — to  intjinrov 
XLtTeoxfiuniv, —  but  th'is  monument  iS  "composed  of  five 
immense  masses  of  stone,"  wrought  into  conjunction  ; 
and  forming  an  upper  chamber,  "  which  seemed  to 
communicate  with  an  inferior  vault."  The  sepulchre 


CALVARY 


[  224 


CALVARY 


of  David  (Acts  ii.  29.)  was  a  monument ;  not  an  exca- 
vation in  the  rock  of  Sion.  The  rocks  were  rent, 
(Matt,  xxviii.  32.)  but  the  monuments  in  which  the 
dead  were  deposited  were  opened. 

It  is  concluded,  then,  on  the  authority  of  Matthew, 
that  the  intended  burial-place  of  Joseph  of  Arimathea 
presented  two  distinctions,  a  taphos — sepulchre,  and 
a  mnemeion — monument. 

Not  unlike  is  the  tomb  now  shown  for  that  of  the 
Saviour.  It  is  affirmed  to  be  a  rock  encased  with 
building.  Heartily  do  we  wish  the  building  were  not 
there ;  heartily  do  we  agi-ee  with  honest  Sandys, — 
"  those  uaturall  formes  are  vtterly  deformed,  which 
would  haue  better  satisfied  the  beholder;  and  too 
much  regard  hath  iijade  them  lesse  regardable.  For, 
as  the  Satyre  speaketh  of  the  fountaine  of  ^Egeria, 

How  much  more  venerable  had  it  beene. 

If  grasse  had  cloth'd  the  circling  banks  in  greene, 

Nor  marble  had  the  native  tophis  marr'd." 

Yet  Sandys  speaks  expressly  of  "  a  compast  roofe 
of  the  SOLID  ROCKE,  but  lined  foi-  the  most  part  with 
white  marble."  This  distinction  is  not  noticed  by 
Dr.  Clarke  ;  neither  has  he  noticed  that  the  frontis- 
piece to  this  tomb  is  confessedly  modern ; — that  in 
this  exterior  building  the  arch  of  the  roof  is  pointed ; 
whereas,  in  the  interior  chamber,  the  arch  is  circular ; 
— proof  enough  of  reparation,  without  consulting  the 
monks.  But  if  Mr.  Hawkins's  History  of  this  Ciiurch 
be  correct,  in  which  he  says,  "  Hequen,  caliph  of 
Egypt,  sent  Hyaroc  to  Jerusalem,  who  took  effectual 
care  that  the  church  should  be  pulled  down  to  the 
ground,  conformably  to  the  royal  command" — if  this 
be  true,  no  doubt  the  sepulchre,  which  was  the  princi- 
pal object  of  veneration  in  the  church,  was  demolish- 
ed most  unrelentingly.  It  would,  therefore,  be  no 
wonder  to  find,  that  the  present  building  is  little  other 
than  a  shell  over  the  spot  assigned  to  the  tomb  ;  and 
this  without  any  reflection  on  the  character  of  Hele- 
na, -who  could  not  foresee  what  the  Saracens  would 
do  nearly  nine  hundred  years  after  her  death. 

So  much  for  the  similarities  between  the  evange- 
lists'description  of  the  sacred  places  and  those  ap- 
pearances which  they  now  present :  it  remains  to 
inquire,  what  proof  we  have  that  their  localities 
were  accurately  preserved.  It  is  certain  that  many 
thousands  of  strangers  resorted  every  year  to  Jerusa- 
lem, for  purposes  of  devotion,  who  would  find  them- 
selves interested,  in  a  more  than  ordinary  degree,  in 
the  transactions  whicli  that  city  had  lately  witnessed, 
and  with  the  multitudinous  reports  concerning  them, 
which  were  of  a  nature  too  stupendous  to  be  con- 
cealed. The  language  of  Luke  (xxiv.  28.)  plainly 
imports  wonder  that  so  much  as  a  single  pilgrim  to 
the  holy  city  could  be  ignorant  of  late  events :  and 
Paul  appeals  to  Agrippa's  knowledge  that  "these 
thing*;  were  not  done  in  a  corner."  It  is,  in  short, 
impossible,  that  the  natural  curiosity  of  the  human 
mind — to  adduce  no  superior  principle — should  be 
content  to  undergo  the  fatigues  of  a  long  journey  to 
visit  Jerusalem,  and  yet,  when  there,  should  refrain 
from  visiting  the  scenes  of  the  late  astonishing  won- 
ders. So  long  as  access  to  the  temple  was  free,  so 
long  would  Jews  and  proselytes  from  all  nations  pay 
their  devotions  there  ;  and  so  long  would  the  inquisi- 
tive, whether  converts  to  Christianity  or  not,  direct 
their  attention  to  mount  Calvary,  with  the  garden  and 
sepulchre  of  Joseph.  The  apostles  were  at  hand,  to 
direct  all  inquirers ;  neither  James  nor  John  could 
be  mistaken  ;  and  during  more  than  thirty  years  the 


localities  would  be  ascertained  beyond  a  doubt,  by  the 
participators  and  the  eye-witnesses  themselves. — 
Though  the  fact  is  credible,  yet  we  do  not  read  of 
any  attempt  of  the  rulers  of  the  Jews  to  obstruct  ac- 
cess to  them,  or  to  destroy  them  :  but  it  is  likely  that 
they  might  be  in  danger  on  the  breaking  out  of  the 
Jewish  war,  (A.  D.  66,)  and  especially  on  the  circum- 
vallation  of  Jerusalem,  A.  D.  70.  The  soldiers  of 
Titus,  who  destroyed  every  tree  in  the  country  around 
to  employ  its  timber  in  the  consti-uction  of  their  works, 
would  effectually  dismantle  the  garden  of  Joseph ; 
and  we  cannot  from  this  time  reckon,  with  any  cer- 
tainty, on  more  of  its  evidence  than  what  was  afforded 
by  the  chambers  cut  into  the  rock  ;  and,  possibly,  the 
portal,  or  monument,  annexed  to  them. 

At  the  time  of  the  conmiotions  in  Judea,  and  the 
siege  of  Jerusalem,  the  Christians  of  that  city  retired 
to  Pella,  beyond  the  Jordan.  These  must  have  known 
well  the  situation  of  mount  Calvary  ;  nor  were  they 
so  long  absent,  as  might  justify  the  notion  that  they 
could  forget  it  when  they  returned  ;  or  that  they 
were  a  new  generation,  and  therefore  had  no  previous 
acquaintance  with  it.  They  were  the  same  persons  ; 
the  same  church  officers,  with  the  same  bishop  at 
their  head,  Simeon  son  of  Cleophas  ;  and  whether  we 
allow  for  the  time  of  their  absence  two  years,  or  five 
years,  or  seven  years,  it  is  morally  impossible  that 
they  could  make  any  mistake  in  this  matter.  Simeon 
lived  out  the  century  ;  and  from  the  time  of  his  death 
to  the  rebellion  of  the  Jews  under  Barchochebas,  was 
but  thirty  years — too  short  a  period,  certainly,  for  the 
successors  of  Simeon  at  Jerusalem,  to  lose  the  knowl- 
edge of  places  adjacent  to  that  city.  That  Barcho- 
chebas  and  his  adherents  would  willingly  have 
destroyed  every  e\'idence  of  Christianity,  with  Chris- 
tianity itself,  we  know ;  but  whether  his  power 
included  Jerusalem,  in  which  was  a  Roman  garrison, 
may  be  doubted.  The  war  ended  some  time  before 
A.  D.  140;  and  from  the  end  of  the  war  we  are  to 
consider  the  emperor  and  his  successors  as  intent  on 
establishing  his  new  city,  ^lia,  and  on  mortifying  to 
the  utmost  both  Jews  and  Christians,  who  were  gen- 
erally considered  as  a  sect  of  the  Jews.  It  is  worth 
our  while  to  examine  the  evidence  in  proof  of 
the  continued  veneration  of  the  Christians  for  the 
holy  places,  which  should  properly  be  divided  into 
two  periods  ;  the  first  to  the  time  of  Adrian's  ^lia  ; 
the  second  from  that  time  to  the  days  of  Constantine. 
Jerome,  writing  to  Marcella  concerning  this  custom, 
has  this  remarkable  passage :  Longum  est  nunc  ah 
ascensu  Domini  usque  ad  prccsentcm  diem  per  singidas 
(States  currere,  qui  Episcoporum,  qui  Martyrum,  qui 
eloquentiam  in  doctrina  Ecclcsiastica  virorum  venerint 
Hierosolymam,  j)utantes  se  minus  religionis,  minus  ha- 
bere scientifP,  nisi  in  illis  Christum  adurussent  locis,  de 
quibus  primum,  Evangdium  de  patibulo  coruscaverat. 
{Ep.  17.  ad  Marcell.)  "During  the  whole  time  from 
the  ascension  of  the  Lord  to  the  present  day,  through 
every  age  as  it  rolled  on,  as  well  bishops,  martyrs,  and 
men  eminently  eloquent  in  ecclesiastical  learning, 
came  to  Jerusalem  ;  thinking  themselves  deficient  in 
religious  knowledge,  unless  they  adored  Christ  in 
those  places  from  which  the  gospel  dawn  burst  from 
the  cross."  It  is  a  pleasing  reflection  that  Uie  lead- 
ing men  in  the  early  Christian  communities  were  thus 
diligent  in  acquiring  the  most  exact  information. 
They  spared  no  pains  to  obtain  the  sacred  books  in 
their  complete  and  perfect  state,  and  to  satisfy  them- 
selves by  ocular  inspection,  so  far  as  possible,  of  the 
truth  of  those  facts  on  which  they  built  the  doctrine 
they  delivered  to  their  hearers.     So  Melito,  bishop 


CALVARY 


[  225  ] 


CALVARY 


of  Sardis,  [A.  D.  170,]  writes  to  Onesimus,  When  I 
went  into  the  East,  ami  was  come  to  the  place  where 
those  things  were  preaclied  and  done  :" — so  we  read 
that  Alexander,  bishop  of  Cappadocia,  (A.  D.  211,) 
going  to  Jerusalem  for  the  sake  of  prayer,  and  to  visit 
the  sacred  places,  was  chosen  assistant  bishop  of  that 
city.  This  seems  to  have  been  the  regular  phraseol- 
ogy ou  such  occasions ;  for  to  this  cause  Sozomen 
ascribes  the  visit  of  Helena  to  Jerusalem,  "  for  the 
sake  of  prayer,  and  to  visit  the  sacred  places." 

This  may  properly  introduce  the  second  period  in 
this  history,  on  which  wc  lay  great  stress  ; — it  is  no 
longer  the  testimony  of  friends  ;  it  is  the  testimony  of 
enemies  ;  it  is  the  record  of  their  determination  to 
destroy  to  their  utmost  every  vestige  of  the  gospel  of 
Christ.  On  that  determination  we  rest  our  confidence ; 
they  could  not  be  mistaken  ;  and  their  endeavors 
guide  our  judgment.  Jerome  says,  ^ib  Hadriani 
temporibus  usque  ad  imperium  Constantini,  per  annos 
circiter  centum  octoginta,  in  loco  resurrectioms  simula- 
crum Jovis,  in  crucis  rupe  statua  ex  marmore  Veneris 
agentibus  posita  colebatur,  existimantibus pcrsecutionis 
auctoribus,  quod  tollerent  nobis  Jidem  resurrectionis  et 
crucis,  si  loca  Sancta  per  idola  polluissent.  Bethlehem 
mine  nostrum  et  augustissimum  oi-bis  locum,  dc  quo 
Psalmista  canit,  Veritas  dc  Terra  orta  est,  lucus  inum- 
brabat  Thamuz,  i.  e.  Adoiiidis  ;  et  in  specu,  ubi  quon- 
dam Christus  parvidus  vagiit.  Veneris  Amasius  plan- 
gebatur.  [Ess.  13.  ad  Paulin.)  "  From  the  time  of 
Hadrian  to  that  of  the  government  of  Constantine, 
about  the  space  of  one  hundred  and  eighty  years,  in 
the  place  of  the  i-esurrection  was  set  up  an  image  of 
Jupiter ;  in  the  rock  of  the  cross  a  marble  statue  of 
Venus  was  stationed,  to  be  worshipped  by  the  peo- 
ple ;  the  authors  of  these  persecutions  supposing  that 
they  should  deprive  us  of  our  faith  in  the  resurrec- 
tion and  the  cross,  if  they  could  but  pollute  the  holy 
places  by  idols.  Bethlehem,  now  our  most  venera- 
ble place,  and  that  of  the  whole  world,  of  which  the 
Psalmist  sings,  '  Truth  is  sprung  out  of  the  earth,'  was 
overshadowed  by  the  grove  of  Thammuz,  i.  e.  of 
Adonis  ;  and  in  the  cave  where  once  the  Messiah  aj)- 
peared  as  an  infant,  the  lover  of  Venus  was  loudly 
lamented."  This  is  a  general  account  of  facts  ;  a  few 
additional  hints  may  be  gleaned  from  other  writers. 
Socrates  (Hist.  Eccl.  lib.  i.  cap.  17.)  says,  "  Those  who 
followed  the  faith  of  Christ,  after  his  death,  held  in 
gi'eat  reverence  the  monument  of  that  wonderful 
work ;  but  those  who  hated  the  religion  of  Christ, 
filled  up  the  place  with  a  dyke  of  stones,  and  built  in 
it  a  temple  of  Venus,  with  a  figiu-e  standing  up  on  it ; 
by  which  they  intended  to  dissipate  all  recollection 
of  the  holy  place.  ^-4(pQo5tr}ig  KixT'uihir  vaov  xuTuaxev- 
uauiTft  f.Tt(Trj;(i«i'  ctyaXiia,  utj  notovvTt?  ■  urr^uiiov  rov 
Ti'i.rov. 

Sozomen  is  more  particular.  We  learn  from  him 
that  "The  Gentiles  by  whom  the  church  was  jierse- 
cuted,  in  the  very  infancy  of  Christianity,  labored  by 
every  art,  and  in  every  manner,  to  abolish  it :  the 
holy  place  they  blocked  up  with  a  vast  heap  of  stones  ; 
and  they  raised  that  to  a  great  height,  which  before 
had  been  of  considerable  depth  ;  as  it  may  now  be 
seen.  And,  moreover,  the  entire  place,  as  well  of  the 
resurrection  as  of  Calvary,  they  surrounded  by  a 
wall,  stripping  it  of  all  ornament.  Anfl  first  tliey  over- 
laid the  gi-ound  with  stones,  then  they  built  a  temple 
of  Venus  on  it,  and  set  up  an  image  of  the  goddess — 

IIiQiXii;iuyTig  Si  Tifiji:  nuvra  Tor  T>]g  avaOTaOtvii  /w()o>' 
xal  Tou  Koutitt,  Sitxliautiaav,  y.a'i  ?.i&(a  tmv  iirnfuritav  xa- 
rioTQviOav  : — xa'i  'yJtpQoStTijg  yahv  xaTtny.et'aoar,  xa't  lm- 
diov  HqvaavTo.  their  intention  being,  that  whoever  there 
29 


adored  Christ,  snould  seem  to  be  worshipping  Venus ; 
so  that,  in  process  of  time,  the  true  cause  of  this  wor- 
ship in  this  place  should  be  forgotten  ;  and  that  the 
Christians  practising  this  should  become  also  less  at- 
tentive to  other  religious  observances ;  while  the 
Gentile  temple  and  image  worship  should  be,  on  the 
centrary,  established. 

If  any  credit  be  due  to  these  historians,  the  heathen 
levelers  had  left  but  little  to  be  done  by  Helena  in 
the  way  of  deforming  these  sacred  objects.  They 
had,  with  the  most  violent  zeal,  changed  the  features 
of  every  part :  what  was  originally  a  hollow  they 
raised  into  a  hill ;  what  was  high  they  cut  down  and 
leveled  ;— -{to  use  a  homely  phrase,  they  turned  evei-y 
thing  topsy-turvy.  Helena  could  only  cause  these 
places  to  be  cleared  and  cleansed :  to  reinstate  them 
in  their  first  forms  was  out  of  her  power.  And  that 
the  evidence  of  this  desecration  should  not  rest  on 
"  monkish  historians,"  Providence  has  preserved  in- 
contestible  witnesses  in  the  medals  of  Adrian,  which 
mark  him  as  the  founder  of  the  new  city,  JEAm,  and 
exhibit  a  temple  of  Jupiter,  another  of  Venus,  and 
various  other  deities,  all  worshij)ped  in  it. 

It  is  evident,  that  if  the  rock  of  Calvary  and  the 
holy  sepulchre  were  suiTounded  by  the  same  wall,  as 
Sozomen  asserts,  they  could  not  be  far  distant  from 
each  other  ;*  and  this  wall,  with  the  temples  and  other 
sacra  it  enclosed,  would  not  only  mark  these  places, 
but,  in  a  certain  sense,  would  preserve  them  ;  as  the 
mosque  of  Omar  preserves  the  site  of  the  temple  of 
Solomon,  at  this  day.  While,  therefore,  we  abandon 
to  Dr.  Clarke  and  captain  Light  the  commemorative 
altars  and  stations,  which  we  think  it  not  worth  while 
to  defend,  and  while  we  heartily  wish  that  all  these 
places  had  been  left  in  their  original  state  to  tell  their 
OA\ii  story,  we  must  be  allowed  to  relieve  the  memory 
of  the  Christian  empress  from  the  guilt  of  deforming 
by  intentional  honors  these  sacred  localities  ;  and  the 
monks,  however  ignorant  or  credulous,  from  the  im- 
putation of  imposing  on  their  pilgrims  and  visitors,  in 
respect  to  the  site  of  the  places  they  now  show  as 
peculiarly  holy. 

On  the  whole,  we  are  called  to  admire  the  proofs  yet 
preserved  to  us  by  Providence,  of  transactions  in  these 
localities  nearly  two  thousand  years  ago.  Facts  which, 
for  centuries,  employed  the  artifices  and  the  power  of 
the  supreme  government  in  church  and  state,  of  the 
Jewish  hierarchy,  and  of  the  Roman  emperors,  to  sub- 
vert, to  destroy  the  evidences  of;  yet  the  evidences 
defied  their  malignity  ; — of  the  barbarians — Saracens 
and  Tiu'ks,  to  demolish  ;  but  they  still  survive ; — of 
heathen  philosophy,  and  soi-disant  modern  philoso- 
phy, to  annul,  but  in  vain.  The  labors  of  Julian  to 
re-edify  the  temple  continue  almost  living  witnesses 
of  his  discomfiture.  The  sepulchres  of  the  soldiers 
who  fell  in  assaulting  Jerusalem  remain  speaking 
evidences  of  the  destruction  of  the  city,  according  to 
jjrediction,  by  the  Komans.  The  holy  sepulchre 
stands  a  traditional  memorial  of  occurrences  too  in- 
credible to  obtain  credit,  unless  supported  by  super- 
human testimony.  Or  if  that  be  thought  dubious, 
mount  Calvary  certainly  exists,  with  features  so  dis- 
tinct, so  peculiar  to  itself,  and  unlike  everything  else 

*  This  meets  tlie  remaining-  objection,  urged  by  Dr.  Ricliard- 
son  and  captain  Light ;  namely,  the  contigriity  of  the  holy  sepul- 
ciire  to  mount  Calvary.  The  language  of  John,  too,  is  decisive 
upon  this  point :  "  Now,  there  was  in  the  place  (iv  t6tii^)  where 
he  was  crucified  a  garden,  and  in  the  garden  a  new  sepulchre. — 
There  they  laid  Jesus,"  chap.  xix.  41.  And  he  repeats, 
that  the  sepulchre  was  idgh  at  hand — iyyii — close  by,  adjoin' 
ing. 


C  A  M 


[  226  ] 


CAMEL 


aroiiml  it,  that  in  spite  of  the  ill-judged  labors  of  hon- 
est enthusiasm,  of  the  ridiculous  tales  of  superstition, 
and  the  mummery  of  ignorance  and  arrogance,  we 
have  only  to  compare  the  original  records  of  our 
faith  with  circumstances  actually  existing ;  to  demon- 
strate that  the  works  on  which  our  belief  relies  were 
actually  written  in  the  country,  at  the  times,  and  by 
the  persons,  eye-witnesses,  which  they  purport  to  be. 
See  further  on  Sepulchre  of  Christ. 

[It  is  necessary  here  only  to  remark,  that  the  spec- 
ulations of  Dr.  Clarke,  respecting  the  sepulchre,  are 
regarded  by  other  travellers  as  wholly  imtenable  ;  and 
that  the  general  position  of  Calvary  rests  upon  the 
unbroken  tradition  of  more  than  eighteen  centuries. 
The  more  specific  designations  of  the  sites  of  various 
holy  places  are  well  understood  to  be  without  any 
such  authority.     R. 

CAMBYSES,  the  son  of  Cyrus,  succeeded  his 
father,  A.  M.  3475.  In  the  Old  Testament  he  is  call- 
ed Ahasuerus,  Ezra  iv.  6 ;  and  at  the  solicitation  of 
the  Samaritans,  prohibited  the  Jews  from  proceeding 
in  rebuilding  their  temple.  What  Ezekiel  says 
(chap,  xxxviii.  xxxix.)of  the  wars  of  Gog  and  Magog 
against  Israel,  and  the  judgments  of  God  against  the 
enemies  of  his  people,  Calmet  thinks  may  be  referred 
to  the  time  of  Cambyses.  Also,  what  the  prophets 
say  of  the  misfortunes  of  the  Israelites,  after  their 
return  from  captivity.  See  Joel  ii.  30,  31 ;  iii.  2,  3, 
4,  5,  15,  16 ;  Isa.  xli.  15, 16 ;  Micah  iv.  11.  12,  13. 
Some  authors  refer  the  history  of  Judith  to  the  time 
of  Cambyses. 

CAMEL,  an  animal  common  in  the  East,  and 
placed  by  Moses  among  ujiclean  creatures,  Deut.  xiv. 
7.  We  may  distinguish  three  sorts  of  camels.  Some 
are  large  and  full  of  flesh,  fit  only  to  carry  burdens ; 
(it  is  said,  1000  pounds  weight ;)  others,  which  have 
two  hunches  on  the  back  like  a  natural  saddle,  are  fit 
either  to  carry  burdens  or  to  be  ridden  ;  and  a  third 
kind,  leaner  and  smaller,  are  called  dromedaries,  be- 
cause of  their  swiftness  ;  and  are  generally  used  by 
men  of  quality  to  ride  on.  Bruce  has  the  following 
remarks  on  this  creature  :  "  Nature  has  fm-nishedthe 
camel  with  ])arts  and  qualities  adapted  to  the  ofiice 
he  is  employed  to  discharge.  The  driest  thistle  and 
the  barest  thorn  is  all  the  food  this  useful  quadruped 
requires  ;  and  even  these,  to  save  time,  he  eats  while 
advancing  on  his  journey,  witliout  sto])j)ing,  or  occa- 
sioning a  moment  of  delay.  ^Vs  it  is  his  lot  to  cross 
immense  deserts,  where  no  water  is  found,  and  coun- 
tries not  even  moistened  by  the  dew  of  heaven,  he  is 
endued  with  the  power,  at  one  watering-place,  to  lay 
in  a  store,  with  which  he  supplies  himself  for  thirty 
days  to  come.  To  contain  this  enormous  quantity 
of  fluid,  nature  has  formed  large  cisterns  within  him, 
from  which,  once  filled,  he  draws,  at  pleasure,  the 
([uantity  he  wants,  and  pours  it  into  his  stomach  with 
the  same  ofl<>ct  as  if  he  then  drew  it  from  a  spring; 
and  with  this  he  travels  patiently  and  vigorously  all 
day  long,  carrying  a  prodigious  load  upon  him, 
through  coimtries  infected  with  poisonous  winds,  aiul 
glowhig  with  parching  and  never  cooling  sands." 
We  attem|)tcd  to  raise  our  camels  at  Saflieha  by 
every  method  that  we  could  devise,  but  ail  in  vain  ; 
only  one  of  them  coidd  get  upon  his  legs  ;  and  tliat 
one  did  not  stand  two  minutes  till  he  kneeled  down, 
and  could  never  be  raised  afterwards.  This  the 
Arabs  all  dedarcul  to  be  the  elVects  of  cold  ;  and  yet 
Fahreidieit's  thermometer,  an  hoiu-  befon^  day,  stood 
at  42''.  Every  way  we  turned  ourselves,  death  stared 
us  in  the  face.  We  had  neither  time  nor  strength  to 
vA\st  •,  nor  provisions  to  support  us.     We  then  took 


the  small  skins  tliat  had  contained  our  water,  and 
filled  them,  as  far  as  we  Jiought  a  man  could  carry 
them  with  ease ;  but,  after  all  these  shifts,  there  was 
not  enough  to  serve  us  three  days,  at  which  I  had 
estimated  our  journey  to  Syene,  which  still,  however, 
was  uncertain.  Finding,  therefore,  the  camels  would 
not  rise,  we  killed  two  of  them,  and  took  so  much 
flesh  as  might  serve  for  the  deficiency  of  bread,  and 
from  the  stomach  of  each  of  the  camels,  got  about 
four  gallons  of  water,  which  the  Bishareen  Arab 
managed  with  great  dexteritj^  It  is  kuoAvn  to  peo- 
l)le  conversant  with  natural  history,  that  the  camel 
has  within  him  reservoirs,  in  which  he  can  presei've 
drink  for  any  number  of  days  he  is  used  to.  In 
those  caravans  of  long  course,  which  come  from  the 
Niger  across  the  desert  of  Selima,  it  is  said  that  each 
camel,  by  cb-inking,  lays  in  a  store  of  Avater,  that  will 
support  him  for  forty  days.  I  will  by  no  means  be  a 
voucher  of  this  account,  which  carries  with  it  an  air 
of  exaggeration ;  but  fourteen  or  sixteen  days,  it  is 
well  known,  an  ordinary  camel  will  live,  though  he 
hath  no  fresh  supply  of  water.  When  he  chews  his 
cud,  or  when  he  eats,  you  constantly  see  him  throw 
from  his  repository,  mouthfuls  of  water  to  dilute  his 
food  ;  and  nature  has  contrived  this  vessel  with  such 
properties,  that  the  water  within  it  never  putrefies, 
nor  turns  imwholesome.  It  was  indeed  vapid,  of  a 
bluish  cast,  but  had  neither  taste  nor  smell."  (Vol. 
iv.  p.  596.) 

The  Arabians,  Persians,  and  others,  eat  the  flesh 
of  camels,  and  it  is  served  up  at  the  best  tables  of 
the  country.  Wlien  a  camel  is  born,  the  breeders 
tie  his  four  feet  imder  his  belly,  and  a  carpet  over  his 
back.  Thus  they  teach  him  the  habit  of  bending 
his  knees  to  rest  himself;  or  when  being  loaded,  or 
unloaded.  The  camel  has  a  large  solid  Toot,  but  not 
a  hanl  one.  In  the  spring  of  the  year  all  his  hair 
falls  oft' in  less  than  three  days'  time,  and  his  skin  re- 
mains quite  naked.  At  this  time  the  flies  are  ex- 
tremely troublesome  to  him.  lie  is  dressed  with  a 
switch,  instead  of  a  curry  comb ;  and  beaten  as  one 
would  beat  a  carpet,  to  clear  it  of  dust.  On  a  jour- 
ney his  master  goes  before  him  piping,  singing,  and 
whistling;  and  the  louder  he  sings  the  better  the 
camel  follows. 

[Tlie  following  is  Niebuhr's  account  of  the  drom- 
edary of  Egypt :  (Trav.  vol.  i.  \>.  215,  Germ,  ed.) 
"My  four  companions  took  horses  for  this  journey, 
[from  Cairo  to  Suez]  ;  I  chose  from  curiosity  a 
dromedary,  and  found  myself  very  well  oft"  although 
I  feared  at  first  I  should  not  be  able  to  ride  comfort- 
ably upon  so  high  a  beast.  The  dromedary  lies  down, 
like  the  camel,  in  order  to  let  his  rider  mount.  In 
getting  u]),  he  rises  upon  his  hind  legs  first,  so  that 
the  rider  must  take  care;  not  to  fall  down  over  his 
head  ;  he  has  also  the  same  jjace  as  the  camels,  while 
horses  have  to  go  sometimes  faster,  sonietimes  slow- 
er, in  order  to  keep  along  with  the  caravan.  When 
on  the  march,  he  must  not  be  sto{t])ed  even  to  mount : 
and  to  avoid  the  ntn^d  of  this,  he  is  taught  on  a  cer- 
tain signal  to  lower  his  head  to  the  ground,  so  that 
his  rider  can  set  his  foot  upon  his  neck  ;  and  when 
he  again  raises  his  head,  it  requires  but  little  practice 
to  be  able  easily  to  jjjace  one's  self  upon  the  saddle. 
The  saddle  of  the  camels  that  carry  heavy  loads,  is 
oj)en  on  the  top,  and  tlu^  load  hangs  down  on  each 
side,  in  order  that  the  hump  of  fat  upon  the  back  of  the 
animal  may  not  be  subjected  to  pressure.  A  riding 
saddle  for  a  camel  or  (h-omedary  is  not  very  difler- 
ent  from  the  conunon  saddle,  and  consequently  cov- 
f)  s  he  hump  on  his  back.     Upon  this  saddle  I  slung 


CAMEL 


[227  ] 


CAMEL 


my  mattresses ;  and  could  thus  set  myself  on  one 
side  or  the  other,  or  upright,  according  as  I  wislied 
to  avoid  the  sun's  rays,  which  at  this  season  are  very 
oppressive.  JMy  companions,  on  tlie  contrary,  could 
only  remain  in  one  position  upon  their  horses,  and 
were  tlierefore  greatly  fatigued  ;  while  at  evening  I 
was  commonly  not  much  more  weary  from  riding, 
than  if  I  had  had  to  sit  still  all  day  upon  a  chair.  II", 
however,  one  had  to  trot  upon  so  high  a  beast,  it 
would  hideed  be  inconvenient.  But  the  camels  take 
Jong  and  slow  steps  ;  and  the  motion  Avhich  one  feels 
upon  them  is,  therefore,  more  like  that  of  a  cradle." 
Burckhardt  says,  too:  "When  mounted  on  a  camel, 
which  can  never  be  stopi)cd  while  its  comjjanions 
are  moving  on,  I  was  obhged  to  jump  off  when  I 
wished  to  take  a  Ijearing.  The  Arabs  are  highly 
pleased  with  a  traveller  who  jumps  off  his  beast  and 
remounts  without  stop])ing  it ;  as  the  act  of  Icueeling 
down  is  troublesome  and  fatiguuig  to  the  loaded 
camel,  and  before  it  can  rise  again,  the  caravan  is 
considerably  ahead."     (Trav.  in  Syr.  p.  445.) 

The  hardiness  of  the  camel,  and  the  slender  and 
coarse  fare  with  which  he  is  contented,  during  long 
and  severe  journeys,  are  truly  surprising.  Burck- 
hardt, in  his  route  from  the  country  south  of  the 
Dead  sea,  directly  across  the  desert  to  Egjpt,  was 
with  a  party  of  Bedouins,  who  heard  that  a  troop 
from  a  hostile  tribe  was  in  the  vicinity.  "  It  was, 
therefore,  determined  to  travel  by  night,  until  we 
should  be  out  of  their  reach  ;  and  we  stopped  at 
sunset,  after  a  day's  march  of  eleven  hours  and  a 
half,  merely  for  the  purpose  of  allowing  the  camels 
to  eat.  Being  ourselves  afraid  to  light  a  fire,  lest  it 
should  be  descried  by  the  enemy,  we  were  obliged 
to  take  a  supper  of  dry  flour  mixed  with  a  little  salt. 
During  the  ivhole  ofihisjournei/,  the  camels  had  no  oth- 
er provender  than  the  imthered  shrubs  of  the  desert,  my 
dromedary  excepted,  to  which  I  gave  a  few  hand- 
fuls  of  barley  every  evening.  Loaded  camels  are 
scarcely  able  to  perform  such  a  journey  without  a 
daily  allowance  of  beans  and  barley. — Aug.  31st. 
We  set  out  before  midnight,  and  continued  at  a  quick 
rate  the  whole  night.  In  these  northern  districts  of 
Arabia  the  Bedouins,  in  general,  are  not  fond  of  pro- 
ceeding by  night ;  they  seldom  travel  at  that  time, 
even  in  the  hottest  season,  if  they  are  not  in  very 
large  numbers,  because,  as  they  say,  during  the  night 
nobody  can  distinguish  the  face  of  his  friend  from 
that  of  his  enemy.  Another  reason  is,  that  camels 
on  the  inarch  never  feed  at  their  ease  in  the  day  time, 
and  nature  seems  to  require  that  they  should  have 
their  principal  meal  and  a  few  hours'  rest  in  the  even- 
ing. The  favorite  mode  of  travelluig  in  these  pans 
is,  to  set  out  about  two  hours  before  sunrise,  to  stop 
two  hours  at  noon,  when  ever}'  one  endeavors  to  sleep 
under  his  mantle,  and  to  alight  for  the  evening  at 
about  one  hour  before  sunset.  We  always  sat  round 
the  fire,  in  conversation,  for  two  or  three  hours  after 
supper."  (Trav.  in  Syr.  p.  451.)  Similar  to  this  is 
the  account  given  by  Messrs.  Fisk  and  King,  dur- 
ing their  journey  from  Cairo  to  Palestine,  under  date 
of  April  10,  182.3  :  "  When  the  caravan  stops,  the 
camels  are  turned  out  to  feed  on  the  thistles,  weeds 
and  grass  which  the  desert  produces.  At  sunset 
they  are  assembled,  and  made  to  lie  down  around 
the  encampment.  Yesterday  afternoon  four  of  them, 
which  carried  merchandise  for  an  Armenian,  went 
off,  and  could  not  be  found.  Two  or  three  men 
were  despatched  in  search  of  them.  This  mornhig 
they  were  not  found,  and  we  arranged  our  baggage 
BO  as  to  give  the  Armenian  one  of  ours.     The  rest  of 


the  company  also  gave  him  assistance  in  carrying  his 
baggage,  and  we  set  off  at  seven.  In  the  course  of 
the  day,  the  four  camels  were  found  at  a  distance, 
and  brought  into  the  encampment  at  evening." 
(Missionary  Herald,  1824,  p.  35.) 

The  value  of  the  camel  to  the  Arabs,  and  indeed 
to  all  the  oriental  nations,  is  inestimable  ;  and  indeed 
they  regard  it  as  the  peculiar  gift  of  Heaven  to  the 
people  of  their  race.  Their  wealth  often  consists 
solely  in  their  camels.  So  Job  is  said  to  have  had 
three  thousand  of  them  at  first,  and  afterwards  six 
thousand,  i.  3  ;  xlii.  12.  An  anecdote  mentioned  by 
Chardin  in  his  3IS.  (Harmar's  Obs.  iv.  p.  318.)  illus- 
trates this,  and  shows  that  the  wealth  of  Job  was 
truly  princely.  "The  king  of  Persia  being  in  Ma- 
zanderan,  in  the  year  1676,  the  Tartars  set  upon  the 
camels  of  the  king  in  the  month  of  February,  and 
took  three  thousand  of  them ;  which  was  a  great 
loss  to  him,  for  he  has  but  seven  thousand  in  all,  if 
their  number  should  be  complete  ;  especially  con- 
sidering it  was  winter,  when  it  was  difficult  to  pro- 
cure others  m  a  country  that  was  a  stranger  to 
commerce  ;  and  considering,  too,  their  importance, 
these  beasts  can-jing  all  the  baggage,  for  which  rea- 
son they  are  called  the  ships  of  Persia.  Upon  these 
accounts  the  king  presently  retired." 

The  camel  is  here  most  graphically  compared  with 
a  ship,  and  this  epithet  is  justly  applied  to  him,  as 
being  the  mecUum  of  commerce,  the  bearer  of  bur- 
dens across  the  pathless  deserts  of  the  East,  which 
may  well  be  likened  to  the  trackless  ocean.  This  is 
also  further  illustrated  by  the  following  extracts.  *R. 

Sandys  writes  thus  :  (p.  138.)  "  The  whole  Caruan 
being  now  assembled,  consists  of  a  thousand  hoi-ses, 
inules,  and  asses;  and  of  five  hundred  camels. 
These  are  the  ships  of  Arabia ;  their  seas  are  the 
deserts,  a  creature  created  for  burthen,"  &c.  It  does 
not  clearly  appear  in  this  extract,  though  it  might  be 
gathered  from  it,  that  the  camel  has  the  name  of  "the 
ship  of  Arabia  :"  but  Mr.  Bruce  comes  in  to  our  as- 
sistance, by  saying,  (p.  388,  vol.  i.)  "What  enables 
the  shepherd  to  perform  the  long  and  toilsome  jour- 
neys across  Africa,  is  the  camel,  emphatically  called, 
bj'the  Arabs,  the  ship  of  the  desert!  He  seems 
to  liave  been  created  for  this  very  trade,"  &c. 

[From  the  above  extracts  it  is  manifest,  that  the 
camel  is  thus  poetically  called  the  ship  of  the  desert, 
from  the  circumstance  of  his  being  a  beast  of  bur- 
den, and  not  with  any  reference  to  his  speed,  which 
is  not  great.  The  dromedary,  on  the  contrary,  is 
celebrated  for  its  fleetness  ;  or  rather  on  account  of 
its  being  able  to  hold  out  for  so  long  a  time  in  a  liard 
rapid  trot.  R.]  In  Morgan's  History  of  Algiers, 
this  writer  states,  that  the  dromedary  in  Barbary, 
called  Aashare,  will,  in  one  night,  and  through  a  lev- 
el country,  traverse  as  much  ground,  as  any  single 
horse  can  in  ten.  The  Arabs  affirm  that  it  makes 
nothing  of  holding  its  rapid  pace,  which  is  a  most 
violent  hard  trot,  for  four  and  tA\enty  hours  on  a 
stretch,  without  showing  the  least  sign  of  weariness, 
or  inclination  to  bait;  and  that  having  then  swallow- 
ed a  ball  or  two  of  a  sort  of  paste  made  up  of  barley- 
meal,  and  may  be  a  httle  powder  of  dry  dates  among 
it,  with  a  bowl  of  water  or  camel's  milk,  the  indefat- 
igable animal  will  seem  as  fresh  as  at  first  setting 
out,  and  be  ready  to  run  at  the  same  scarcely  credi- 
ble rate,  for  as  many  hours  longer,  and  so  on  from 
one  exti-emitv  of  the  African  desert  to  the  other ; 
provided  its  rider  could  hold  out  without  sleep  and 
other  refreshments.  During  his  stay  in  Algiers,  Mr. 
Morgan  was  a  party  in  a  diversion  in  which  one  of 


CAMEL 


[  228  ] 


CAM 


these  Aashari  ran  against  some  of  the  swiftest  Barbs 
in  the  whole  Neja,  Avhicli  is  famed  for  having  good 
ones,  of  the  true  Libyan  breed,  shaped  hke  grey- 
hounds, and  which  will  sometimes  run  down  an 
ostrich. 

"  We  all  started,"  he  remarks,  "  like  racers,  and  for 
the  first  spurt  most  of  the  best  mounted  amongst  us 
kept  pace  pretty  well,  but  our  grass-fed  horses  soon 
flagged :  several  of  the  Libyan  and  Numidiau  run- 
ners held  pace,  till  we,  who  still  followed  upon  a 
good  round  hand  gallop,  could  no  longer  discern 
them,  and  then  gave  out ;  as  we  were  told  after  their 
return.  When  the  dromedary  had  been  out  of  sight 
about  half  an  hour,  we  again  espied  it  flying  towards 
us  with  an  amazing  velocity,  and  in  a  very  few  mo- 
ments was  among  us,  and  seemingly  nothing  con- 
cerned ;  while  the  horses  and  mares  were  all  on  a 
foam,  and  scarcely  able  to  breathe,  as  was  likewise  a 
fleet,  tall  greyhound  bitch,  of  the  young  prince's,  who 
had  followed  and  kept  pace  the  whole  time,  and  was 
no  sooner  got  back  to  us,  but  lay  down  panting  as  if 
ready  to  expire."     p.  lOL 

[With  reference  to  these  facts,  Mr.  Taylor  has  at- 
tempted to  illustrate  the  passage  in  Job  ix.  26,  "They 
(my  days)  are  passed  away  like  swift  ships  ;"  where 
the  proper  version  is  either  "ships  of  desire,"  i.  e. 
eager  to  arrive  at  their  place  of  destination  ;  or,  accord- 
ing to  Gesenius  and  others,  "shi])s  of  papyrus,"  in 
allusion  to  the  light  and  rapid  skiffs  made  of  this  ma- 
terial, aud  which  are  celebrated  in  ancient  histo- 
ry. Mr.  Taylor  supposes  the  writer  to  allude  to 
these  ships  of  the  desert,  or  dromedaries.  But,  in  the 
first  place,  neither  the  camel  nor  dromedary  is  ever 
called  directly  a  ship,  i.  e.  merely  the  word  ship 
alone  never  denotes  a  camel  or  a  dromedary  ;  and 
then,  too,  the  qualifying  word  ebeh  (h^n)  does  not 
here  point  to  any  such  use  of  the  word.  3Ioreover, 
it  is  not  the  dromedary,  which  is  so  called  on  ac- 
count of  its  speed ;  but  the  camel,  on  account  of  its 
usefulness  as  a  beast  of  burden.     R. 

Our  Lord's  words  in  Matt.  xix.  24,  "  It  is  easier 
for  a  camel  to  go  through  the  eye  of  a  needle,  than 
for  a  rich  man  to  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven," 
have  given  rise  to  nuicli  discussion.  Theophylact, 
with  man}'  ancient  and  some  modern  commentators, 
read  x.anf.or,  or  at  least  interpret  z,'<i,);;.oi,  a  cable,  as 
does  Whiti)y.  But  Euthymius,  and  some  ancient 
versions,  with  Grotius,  Erasjuus,  Drusius,  Lightfoot, 
Michaelis,  RoscnmiiUer,  and  KuiuocI,  contend  that 
the  x.'iiiti^.ov  is  to  be  retained.  Campbell  has  well  de- 
fended the  common  reading ;  aud  the  rabbinical 
citations  adduced  by  Lightfoot,  Schocttgen,  and  oth- 
ers, prove  that  there  was  a  similar  proverb  in  use 
among  the  Jews  :  "  Perhaj)s  thou  art  one  of  the 
Pampedithians,  who  can  make  an  elephant  pass 
through  the  eye  of  a  needle;"  that  is,  says  the  Aruch, 
who  speak  things  impossible.  Biu  the  very  proverb 
itself  is  found  in  the  Koran  :  "  The  impious  shall 
find  the  gates  of  heaven  shut ;  nor  shall  he  enter 
there  till  a  camel  shall  pass  through  the  eye  of  a 
needle."  The  design  of  our  Lord  was  evidently  to 
hint  to  the  rich  their  danger,  in  order  that  they  may 
exert  tiiemseives  to  surmount  the  peculiar  temi)ta- 
tions  by  which  they  are  assailed  ;  and  learn  not  to 
trust  in  imcertain  riches,  l)ut  in  the  living  God. 

Li  Matt,  xxiii.  24,  there  is  anotlier  |)r(jver!)ial  ex- 
pression, which  also  has  been  much  mismiderstood  : 
"Ye  strain  at  a  gnat,  and  swallow  a  camel."  Dr. A. 
Clarke  has  shown  that  there;  is  an  error  of  the  jiress 
in  the  English  translation,  in  which  at  has  been  sub- 
stituted for  out.     The  expression  alludes  to  the  Jew- 


ish custom  of  filtering  wine,  for  fear  of  swallowing 
any  insect  forbidden  by  the  law  as  unclean  ;  and  is 
applied  to  those  who  are  snperstitiously  anxious  in 
avoiding  smaller  faults,  yet  do  not  scruple  to  commit 
the  greater  sins.  To  make  the  antithesis  as  strong  as 
may  be,  two  things  are  selected  as  opposite  as  possi- 
ble ;  the  smallest  insect,  and  the  largest  animal. 

CAMELS'  HAIR,  an  article  of  clothing.  John 
the  Baptist  was  habited  in  raiment  of  camels'  hair, 
and  Chardin  states,  that  such  garments  are  worn  by 
the  modern  dervishes.  There  is  a  coarse  cloth  made 
of  camels'  hair  in  the  East,  which  is  used  for  manu- 
facturing the  coats  of  shepherds,  and  camel-drivers, 
and  also  for  the  covering  of  tents.  It  was,  doubtless, 
this  coarse  kind  which  was  adopted  by  John.  By 
this  he  was  distinguished  from  those  residents  in 
royal  palaces  who  wore  soft  raiment.  Elijah  is  said 
in  the  Eng.  Bible  to  have  been  "  a  hairy  man  ;"  (2 
Kings  i.  8.)  but  it  should  be  "a man  dressed  in  hair ;" 
that  is,  camels' hair.  In  Zech.  xiii.  4,  "a  rough  gar- 
ment," that  is,  a  garment  of  a  hairy  manufacture,  is 
characteristic  of  a  prophet. 

CAMELEON,  a  kind  of  lizard,  the  flesh  of  which 
Moses  forbids  the  Hebrews  to  eat.  Lev.  xi.  30.  There 
is  no  reason  for  supposing  that  the  Hebrew  word  mj 
means  the  real  cameleon,  but  some  kind  of  lizard 
distinguished  for  its  strength. 

CAMELO-PARDUS,  or  Camelo-Pardalus,  an 
animal  like  a  camel  in  form  ;  and  like  a  panther  in 
colors,  or  spots.  The  Hebrews  were  allowed  it  as 
food,  Deut.  xiv.  5,  6,  according  to  the  Vulgate ;  in 
the  English  version  it  is  translated  chamois,  which 
see.  The  camelo-pardalus  has  been  supposed  the 
giraffe,  an  animal  found  in  the  East  Indies,  beyond 
the  Ganges ;  also  in  Africa,  though  rarely  in  the  north 
of  that  continent.  Its  neck  is  very  long  and  slender ; 
its  ears  are  slit ;  its  feet  are  cloven  ;  its  tail  is  round 
and  short ;  its  legs,  especially  its  fore  legs,  are  taller 
than  those  of  any  other  animal,  so  that  it  cannot 
drink  without  straddling ;  and  it  has  two  little  horns, 
Bochart  is  of  opinion,  however,  that  Moses  did  not 
intend  the  girafie,  or  carnelo-pardus,  because  the  res- 
idence of  this  animal  is  in  countries  too  remote  ;  and 
further,  that  the  camel  being  imclean,  it  was  not 
likely  the  giraffe  should  be  allowed.  He  thinks  the 
Hebrew  zemer  signifies  a  wild  goat.  Others  translate 
it  an  elk.     See  Chamois. 

I.  CAMON,  a  city  west  of  the  Jordan,  according 
to  Eusebius,  in  the  great  plain,  six  miles  from  Legio, 
inclining  north  ;  jierhaps  Cadmon. 

II.  CAMON,  a  city  of  Manasseh,  east  of  the  Jor- 
dan, in  the  country  of  Gilead,  Judg.  x.  5. 

CAMPHIRE,  Cant.  i.  14 ;  iv.  13.  The  Hebrew 
copher  is  rendered  cypress  in  the  LXX  and  the  Vul- 
gate. It  is  an  odoriferous  shrub,  common  in  the  isle 
of  Cyprus,  where  it  is  called  henna,  or  al-henna,  and 
the  purposes  for  which  it  is  employed  are  thus  de- 
scribed by  Sonnini : — (Travels  in  Egypt,  vol.  i.  p. 
264,  &c.) 

"  If  large  black  eyes,  which  they  are  at  pains  to 
darken  still  more,  be  essential  to  Egyptian  female 
beauty,  it  likewise  requires,  as  an  accessory  of  first 
rate  importance,  that  the  hands  and  nails  should  be 
dyed  red.  This  last  fashion  is  fully  as  general  as 
the  other,  and  not  to  conform  to  it  would  be  reckon- 
ed indecent.  The  women  could  no  mon;  (lisj)ense 
with  this  daubing  than  with  their  clolhcs.  Of  what- 
ever condition,  of  \\iiatever  religion  they  may  be,  all 
emyjioy  the  same  means  to  ac(|uire  this  species  of  or- 
nauKUit,  which  the  empire  oi"  fashion  alone  could 
perpetuate,  for  it  assuredly  sjioils  fine  hands  much 


CAMPHIRE 


[  229  ] 


CAN 


more  than  it  decorates  them.  The  animated  white- 
ness of  the  pahn  of  the  hand,  the  tender  rose-color 
of  the  nails,  are  effaced  by  a  dingy  layer  of  a  red- 
dish or  orange-colored  drug.  The  sole  of  the  foot, 
tlie  epidermis  of  which  is  not  hardened  by  long  or 
frequent  walking,  and  which  daily  friction  makes 
still  thinner,  is  likewise  loaded  A\ith  the  same  color. 
It  is  with  the  greenish  powder  of  the  dried  leaves  of 
the  henna  that  the  women  procure  for  themselves  a 
decoration  so  whimsical.  It  is  prepared  chiefly  in 
the  Said,  from  whence  it  is  distributed  over  all  the 
cities  of  Egypt.  Tlie  markets  are  constantly  sup- 
plied with  it,  as  a  commodity  of  habitual  and  indis- 
pensable use.  They  dilute  it  in  water,  and  rub  the 
soft  paste  it  makes  on  the  parts  which  they  mean  to 
color :  they  are  wrapped  up  in  linen,  and  at  the  end 
of  two  or  three  hours  the  orange  hue  is  strongly  im- 
pressed on  them.  Though  the  women  wash  both 
hands  and  feet  several  times  a  day  with  lukewarm 
water  and  soap,  this  color  adheres  for  a  long  time, 
and  it  is  suflicient  to  renew  it  about  every  fifteen 
days :  that  of  the  nails  lasts  much  longer  ;  nay,  it  passes 
for  ineffaceable.  In  Turkey,  likewise,  the  women 
make  use  of  henna,  but  apjily  it  to  the  nails  only,  and 
leave  to  their  hands  and  feet  the  color  of  nature.  It 
would  appear,  that  the  custom  of  dyeing  the  nails 
was  known  to  the  ancient  Egyptians,  for  those  of 
mimnnies  are,  most  commonly,  of  a  reddish  hue. 
But  the  Egyptian  ladies  refine  still  further  on  the 
general  practice  ;  they,  too,  paint  their  fingers,  space 
by  space  only,  and,  in  order  that  the  color  may  not 
lay  hold  of  the  whole,  they  wrap  them  round  with 
thread  at  the  ])ro]iosed  distances,  before  the  applica- 
tion of  the  color-giving  paste ;  so  that,  when  the 
operation  is  finished,  they  have  the  fingers  marked 
circularly,  from  end  to  end,  with  small  orange-color- 
ed belts.  Others — and  this  practice  is  more  common 
among  certain  Syrian  dames — have  a  mind,  that  their 
hands  should  present  the  sufficiently  disagreeable 
mixture  of  black  and  white.  The  belts,  which  the 
henna  had  first  reddened,  become  of  a  shining 
black,  by  rubbing  them  with  a  composition  of  sal-am- 
moniac, Ume  and  honey."  This  ))ractice  of  staining 
the  hands  and  nails  explains,  perhaps,  the  phraseol- 
ogy in  Deut.  xxi.  12. 

"You  sometimes  meet  with  men,  likewise,  who 
apply  tincture  of  henna  to  their  beards,  and  anoint 
the  head  with  it :  they  allege,  that  it  strengthens  the 
organs,  that  it  prevents  the  falling  off  of  the  hair  (the 
followers  of  Mahomet,  it  is  well  known,  ])reserve,  on 
the  crown  of  the  head,  a  long  tuft  of  hair)  and  beard, 
and  banishes  vermin." 

The  plant  is  thus  described: — "The  henna  is  a 
tall  shrub,  endlessly  multi])lied  in  Egy])t ;  the  leaves 
are  of  a  lengtiiened  oval  Ibrm,  opposed  to  each  oth- 
er, and  of  a  faint  green  color.  The  flowers  grow 
at  the  extremity  of  the  branches,  in  long  and  tufted 
bouquets;  the  smaller  ramifications  which  support 
them  are  red,  and  likewise  opposite  :  from  their  arm- 
pit cavity  [axill(t)  springs  a  small  leaf  almost  round, 
but  terminating  in  a  point :  the  corolla  is  formed  of 
four  petals  cm-ling  u)),  and  of  a  light  yellow.  IJe- 
tween  each  petal  are  two  whitestamina  with  a  yellow 
summit;  there  is  only  one  white  pistil.  The  pedicle, 
reddish  at  its  issuing  irom  the  bough,  dies  liwuy  into 
a  faint  green.  The  calix  is  cut  into  four  pieces,  of  a 
tender  green  up  toward  tlieir  extremity,  which  is 
reddish.  The  fruit  or  berry  is  a  green  capsule  pre- 
vious to  its  maturity  ;  it  assumes  a  red  tint  as  it 
ripens,  and  becomes  brown  when  it  is  dried :  it  is 
divided  into  four  compartments,  in  which  are  enclos- 


ed the  seeds,  triangular  and  brown-colored.  The 
bark  of  the  stem  and  of  the  branches  is  of  a  deep 
gray,  and  the  wood  has,  internally,  a  light  cast  of 
yellow.  In  truth,  this  is  one  of  the  plants  the  most 
grateful  to  both  the  sight  and  the  smell.  The  gently 
deepish  color  of  its  bark,  the  light  green  of  its  Ibliage, 
the  softened  mixture  of  white  and  yellow,  with  w  hich 
the  flowers,  collected  into  long  clusters  like  the  lilac, 
are  colored,  the  red  tint  of  the  ramifications  which 
support  them,  form  a  combination  of  the  most  agree- 
able effect.  These  flowers,  whose  shades  are  so  del- 
icate, dift'use  around  the  sweetest  odors,  and  em- 
balm the  gardens  and  the  apartments  which  they 
emltellish  ;  they  accordingly  form  the  usual  nosegay 
of  beauty ;  the  women,  ornament  of  the  prisons  of 
jealousy,  whereas  they  might  be  that  of  a  whole 
country,  take  pleasure  to  deck  themselves  with  these 
beautiful  clusters  of  fragrance,  to  adorn  their  apart- 
ments with  them,  to  carry  them  to  the  bath,  to  hold 
them  in  their  hand,  in  a  word,  to  perfume  their  bosom 
with  them.  They  attach  to  this  possession,  which  the 
mildness  of  the  climate,  and  the  facility  of  culture, 
seldom  refuses  them,  a  value  so  high,  that  they  Avould 
willingly  appropriate  it  exclusively  to  themselves,  and 
that  they  suffer  with  impatience  Christian  women 
and  Jewesses  to  partake  of  it  with  them.  The  hen- 
na grows  in  great  quantities  in  the  vicinity  of  Rosetta, 
and  constitutes  one  of  the  principal  ornaments  of  the 
beautiful  gardens  which  surround  that  city.  Its  root, 
which  penetrates  to  a  great  depth  \A'ith  the  utmost 
ease,  swells  to  a  large  size  in  a  soil,  soft,  rich,  mixed 
with  sand,  and  such  as  every  husbandman  would 
have  to  work  upon  ;  the  shrub,  of  course,  acquires  a 
more  vigorous  growth  there  than  any  where  else  ;  it 
is,  at  the  same  time,  more  extensively  multiplied  ;  it 
grows,  however,  in  all  the  other  cultivated  districts 
of  Egypt,  and  princii)ally  in  the  upper  part.  There 
is  much  reason  to  presvune,  that  the  hernia  of  Egypt 
is  the  kupros  of  the  ancient  Greeks.  The  descrip- 
tions, incomplete  it  is  admitted,  which  authors  have 
given  of  it,  and  particularly  the  form  and  the  sweet 
perfume  of  its  flowers  which  they  have  celebrated, 
leave  scarcely  any  doubt  respecting  the  identity  of 
these  two  plants.  [The  name  of  kupros  is  no  longer 
in  use  among  the  modern  Greeks  ;  they  give  to  the 
henna  the  corrupted  denominations  of  khi^,  kna,  &c. 
The  seamen  of  Provence,  Avhose  vessels  were  em- 
ployed in  carrying  the  powder  of  henna,  called  it 
quene.]  Besides  that,  the  clusters  of  cypriis,  botr^is 
cypri,  of  the  Song  of  Songs,  (chap.  i.  13,  14.)  can  be 
nothing  else  but  the  very  clustcrsof  the  flowers  of  the 
henna  ;  this  is,  at  least,  the  opinion  of  the  best  com- 
mentators. It  is  not  at  all  astonishing,  that  a  flower  so 
delicious  should  have  furnished  to  oriental  poesy 
agreeable  tdlusions  and  amorous  comparisons.  This 
fm-nishes  an  answer  to  part  of  the  forty-fifth  question 
of  Michaelis ;  for  the  flower  of  henna  is  disposed  in 
clusters,  and  the  women  of  Egvpt,  who  dearly  love 
the  smell  of  it,  are  fond  of  carrying  it,  as  I  have  said, 
in  the  spot  which  the  text  indicates — in  their  bosom." 
CANA,  the  city  in  which  our  Lord  performed  his 
first  miracle,  was  in  Galilee,  and  pertained  to  the 
tribe  of  Zebulun.  The  village  now  bearing  the 
name,  and  supposed  to  occupy  the  site  of  the  ancient 
town,  is  ]»leasantly  situated  on  the  descent  of  a  hill, 
about  sixteen  miles  north-west  of  Tiberias,  and  six 
north-east  of  Nazareth.  Dr.  Richardson  states  that, 
in  a  small  Greek  church  in  this  place,  he  was  shown 
an  old  stone  pof,  made  of  the  connnon  coni])act  lime- 
stone of  the  country,  which  the  hierojihant  informed 
him  was  one  of  the*  original  pots  that  contained  the 


CAN 


230  ] 


CANAAN 


water  which  underwent  the  miraculous  change  at 
the  wedding,  which  was  here  honored  by  the  pres- 
ence of  Christ.  "  It  is  worthy  of  note,"  says  Di-. 
Clarke,  "that,  walking  among  the  ruins  of  a  church, 
we  saw  large  massy  stone  pots,  answering  the  de- 
scription given  of  the  ancient  vessels  of  the  country  ; 
not  preserved  nor  exhibited  as  reliques,  but  lying 
about,  disregarded  by  the  present  inhabitants,  as  an- 
tiquities with  whose  original  use  they  were  unac- 
quainted. From  their  appearance,  and  the  number 
of  them,  it  was  quite  evident,  that  a  practice  of  keep- 
ing water  in  large  stone  pots,  each  holding  from 
eighteen  to  twenty-seven  gallons,  was  once  connnon 
in  the  country."  (Travels,  p.  ii.  ch.  14.)  Cana,  or, 
as  it  is  now  called,  Refer  Kenna,  or  Cane  Galil,  con- 
tains about  300  inhabitants,  who  are  chiefly  Catho- 
lic Christians.  There  was  another  place  bearing  the 
same  name,  belonging  to  the  tribe  of  Asher,  which 
was  situated  in  the  neighborhood  of  Sidon. 

I.  CANAAN,  son  of  Ham.  The  Hebrews  believe 
that  Canaan,  having  first  discovered  Noah's  naked- 
ness, told  his  father  Ham  ;  and  that  Noah,  when  he 
awoke,  having  understood  what  had  passed,  cursed 
Canaan,  the  first  reporter  of  his  exposure.  Others 
are  of  opinion,  that  Noah,  knowing  nothing  more 
displeasing  to  Ham,  than  cursing  of  Canaan,  resolved 
to  punish  him  in  his  son,  Gen.  ix.  25.  The  posterity 
of  Canaan  Avas  numerous;  his  eldest  son,  Sidon,  was 
the  father  of  the  Sidonians,  or  Phoenicians;  and  his 
other  ten  sons  tlie  fathers  of  as  many  tribes,  dwelling 
in  Palestine  and  Syria ;  namely,  the  Hittites,  Jehu- 
sites,  Amorites,  Girgasites,  Hivites,  Arkites,  Sinites, 
An'adites,   Zemarites,   and    Hamathites.      See   Ca- 

NAA>'ITES. 

II.  CANAAN,  the  name  of  the  land  peopled  by 
Canaan  and  his  posterity,'' and  afterwards  given  to  the 
Hebrews.  It  signifies  p]-operly  level  or  loiv  cotmtry, 
as  lying  on  the  coast,  in  opposition  to  din,  ardm,  Syria, 
or  a  higher  country.  This  country  has,  at  difterent 
periods,  been  called  by  various  names,  either  from 
Us  inhabitants  or  some  circumstances  connected  with 
its  history.— (1.)  The  Land  of  Canaan,  from  Canaan, 
the  son  of  Ham,  who  divided  it  among  his  eleven 
sons,  each  of  whom  became  the  head  of  a  numerous 
tribe,  and  ultimately  of  a  distinct  people,  Gen.  x.  15. 
—(2.)  The  Land  of  Promise,  (Heb.  xi.  9.)  from  the 
promise  given  to  Abraham,  that  his  posterity  should 

Sossess  it.  Gen.  xii.  7  ;  xiii.  15.  These  being  termed 
[ebrews,  the  region  in  which  they  dwelt  was  called 
—(3.)  The  Land  of  the  Hehrnvs,  Gen.  xl.  15.— (4.) 
The  Land  of  Israel,  ivoni  the  Israelites,  or  posterity 
of  Jacob,  having  settled  themselves  there.  This 
name  is  of  frequent  occurrence  in  the  Old  Testa- 
ment. In  its  larger  acceptation,  it  comprehends  all 
that  tract  of  ground  on  each  side  of  Jordan,  which 
God  gave  for  an  inheriiance  to  the  children  of  Israel. 
—(5.)  The  Land  of  Judcih.  Under  this  appellation 
was  at  first  comprised  only  that  part  of  the  region 
which  was  allotted  to  the  tribe  of  Judah  ;  but  in  sub- 
sequent times,  when  their  tribe  excelled  the  others 
in  dignity,  it  w{is  applied  to  the  whole  land.  After 
the  separation  of  the  ten  tribes,  that  portion  of  the 
land  which  iielonged  to  Judah  and  Benjamin,  which 
formed  a  separate  kingdoiu,  was  distinguished  by  the 
appellation  of  "the  laud  of  Judah,"  or  of  Ju'dea ; 
which  latter  nanii;  the  whole  country  retained  duriu" 
the  existence  of  the  second  tfuiplf,  and  under  the 
dominion  of  the  Romans.— ^C.)  The  Hulij  Land. 
This  name  does  not  appear  to  have  been  used  I)v  the 
Hebrews  themselves,  till  after  the  Babylonish  captiv- 
ity, when   it  is  applied  to  the  land  by  the  prophet 


Zechariah,  ii.  12.  The  land  of  Canaan  was  supposed 
by  the  Jews  to  be  peculiarly  holy,  inasmuch  as  it 
furnished  holy  offerings  for  the  temple  ;  but  not  all 
parts  of  it  indiscriminately.  They  supposed,  also, 
that  neither  the  Shechinah,  nor  the  sacred  Spirit, 
dwelt  on  any  person,  even  a  prophet,  out  of  this  land. 
In  Canaan,  say  the  rabbins,  (Sheviith,  cap.  ix.  hal. 
2.)  are  three  countries — Judea,  the  region  beyond 
Jordan,  and  Galilee.  This  division  designedly  ex- 
cludes Samaria,  which  was  considered  as  unclean  by 
reason  of  its  inhabitants.  Its  land,  waters,  dwellings 
and  paths  were  clean. — (7.)  Palestine,  by  which 
name  the  whole  land  appears  to  have  been  called  in 
the  time  of  Moses,  (Exod.  xv.  14.)  is  derived  from 
the  Philistines,  a  people  who  migi'ated  from  Egypt, 
and,  having  exj)elled  the  aboriginal  inhabitants,  set- 
tled on  the  borders  of  the  Mediterranean,  where  they 
became  so  considerable,  as  to  give  their  name  to  the 
whole  country,  though  they  in  fact  possessed  only  a 
small  part  of  it.  By  heathen  writers,  the  Holy  Land 
has  been  variously  termed,  Syrian  Palestine.  Syria, 
and  Phoenicia.     (Reland.  Palest,  cap.  i.) 

The  boundaries  of  this  country  are,  the  Mediter- 
ranean sea  on  the  west ;  Lebanon  and  Syi'ia  on  the 
north  ;  Arabia  Deserta,  and  the  lands  of  the  Anunon- 
ites,  Moabites,  and  Midianites,  on  the  east ;  the  river 
of  Egypt,  the  wilderness  or  desert  of  Zin,  the  south- 
ern shore  of  the  Dead  sea,  and  the  river  Arnon,  on 
the  south ;  and  Egypt  on  the  south-west.  Near 
mount  Lebanon  stood  the  city  of  Dan,  and  near  the 
southern  extremity  of  the  land,  Beersheba  ;  and  hence 
the  expression  "  from  Dan  to  Becrsheba,"  to  denote 
the  whole  length  of  the  land  of  Canaan.  Its  extreme 
length  was  about  170  miles,  and  its  width  a!x)Ut  80. 
By  the  Abrahamic  covenant,  recorded  in  Gen.  xv.  18. 
the  original  grant  of  land  to  the  Israelites  was  "from 
the  river  of  Egypt  to  the  Euphrates."  The  bounda- 
ries of  it  are  most  accurately  described  by  Moses  in 
Numb,  xxxiv.  1 — 16. 

Tlie  land  of  Canaan  has  been  variously  divided. 
Under  Joshua  it  w  as  apportioned  out  to  the  twelve 
tribes ;  under  Solomon  it  was  distributed  into  twelve 
provinces;  (1  Kings  iv.  7 — 10.)  and  upon  the  acces- 
sion of  Rehoboam  to  the  throne,  it  was  divided  into 
the  two  kingdoms  of  Israel  and  Judah.  After  this 
period,  it  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Babylonians,  the 
Greeks,  the  Syrians,  and  the  Romans.  During  the 
time  of  our  Saviour,  it  was  under  the  dominion  of  the 
last-mentioned  peo])!e,  and  was  divided  into  five 
provinces,  viz.  Galilee,  Samaria,  Judea,  Persea,  and 
Idumaea.  Perfea  was  again  divided  into  seven  can- 
tons, viz.  Abilene,  Trachonitis,  Itura?a,  Gaulouitis, 
Batansea,  Peraea,  and  Decajjolis. 

The  Israelites  do  not  appear  to  have  restricted 
themselves  to  this  country  ;  and  in  the  time  of  the 
kings,  their  power  extended  over  distant  districts. 
On  their  return  from  Babylon,  they  did  not  regain 
the  whole  land  ;  not  even  the  whole  of  what  was 
marked  by  the  boundaiy  hue  of  Moses ;  the  district 
south  of  Gaza,  and  of  aline  drawn  from  Gaza  to  Ka- 
desh-Barnea,was  excluded  from  tlie  Jiational  tcrritorJ^ 
The  Idumreans,  also,  diu'ing  the  Babylonish  captiv- 
ity, h<ad  encroached,  and  settled  themselves  in  many 
towns  on  the  south  of  Judah  ;  so  that  Iduniaea  was 
considered  as  divided  into  the  greater  and  the  lesser, 
or  the  upper  and  the  lower:  but  these  being  subdued 
by  Hyrcanus,  (Joseph.  Ant.  lib.  xiii.  cap.  17.)  the  in- 
habitants embraced  Judaism,  and  were  afterwards 
reckoned  as  Jews.  Palestine,  says  Pomponius  Mela, 
was  divided  into  five  countries  ;  Idunisea,  Judea,  Sa- 
maria, Galilee,  and  beyond  Jordan. 


o 


CANAAN 


[  231  ] 


CANAAN 


Moses  draws  a  line  from  Sidon  to  Laslia,  and  from 
Sidon  to  Gaza:  the  rabbins  also  draw  a  line  "from 
the  mountains  of  Amana  to  the  river  of  Egjpt ; 
whatever  is  within  that  line  belongs  to  the  laud  of 
Israel ;  but  whatever  is  without  that  line  is  without 
the  land :"  their  meaning  is,  that  the  islands  in  the 
Mediterranean,  as  Arvad,  Tyre,  &c.  never  were  oc- 
cupied by  the  Hebrew  nation.  These  appear  to  have 
been  strongly  fortified,  and  not  only  inhabited  by  a 
hardy  race  of  people,  but  capable  of  being  supplied, 
by  sea,  with  reinforcements,  and  necessaries  of  all 
kinds,  so  tiiat  they  resisted  the  power  of  tlie  Israel- 
ites ;  and  the  conquest  of  them  is  particularly  boast- 
ed of  by  a  subsequent  invader,  2  Kings  xviii.  34 ; 
xix.  13. 

The  surface  of  the  land  of  Canaan  is  beautifully 
divereiiied  with  mountains  and  plains,  rivers  and  val- 
leys, and  must  have  presented  a  delightful  appear- 
ance when  the  Jewish  nation  was  in  its  prosperity, 
and  under  the  special  providence  of  God.  The 
principal  mountains  are  Lebanon,  Carmel,  Tabor, 
the  mountains  of  Israel,  Gilead,  and  Hermon,  the 
mount  of  Olives,  Calvaiy,  Sion,  and  Moriah.  Of  the 
valleys,  those  of  Hinnom,  Jehoshaphat,  Siddim,  Re- 
phaiin,  and  Mamre,  are  the  most  known.  The  plain 
of  the  Mediterranean,  of  Esdraelon,  and  the  region 
round  about  Jordan,  are  celebrated  as  the  scenes  of 
many  important  events.  Tiie  chief  brooks  and  riv- 
ers are  the  Jordan,  the  Arnon,  the  Sihor,  the  Jabbok, 
the  Bezor,  or  river  of  Egypt,  the  Kishon,  the  Kedron, 
the  lake  Asphaltites,  orthe  Dead  sea,  and  the  lake  of 
Tiberias,  or  the  sea  of  Galilee.  For  a  description  of 
these,  see  their  respective  articles. 

The  land  of  Canaan  is  situated  in  the  fifth  climate, 
between  the  31st  and  34th  degrees  of  north  latitude  : 
hence  the  heat  during  the  summer  is  intense.  The 
surface  of  the  land,  however,  being  so  greatly  diver- 
sified with  mountains  and  plains,  renders  the  climate 
unequal  and  variable.  On  the  south,  it  is  sheltered 
by  lofty  mountains,  which  separate  it  from  the  sandy 
deserts  of  Arabia.  Breezes  from  the  Mediterranean 
cool  it  on  the  west  side.  IMount  Lebanon  keeps  off 
the  north  wind,  while  mount  Hermon  intercepts  the 
north-east.  During  the  summer  season,  in  the  inte- 
rior of  the  country,  particularly  in  the  plains  of 
Esdraelon  and  Jericho,  the  heat  is  intense.  Gener- 
ally speaking,  however,  the  atmosphere  is  mild  ;  the 
summers  are  commonly  dry,  the  days  extremely  hot, 
but  the  nights  sometimes  intensely  cold. 

The  soil  of  Canaan  was  of  tlie  richest  description  ; 
a  fine  mould,  without  stones,  and  almost  without  a 
pebble.  Dr.  Shaw  informs  us,  that  it  rarely  requires 
more  than  one  pair  of  beeves  to  plough  it.  Moses 
speaks  of  Canaan  as  of  the  finest  country  in  the 
world — a  land  flowing  with  milk  and  honey.  Pro- 
fane authors  also  speak  of  it  much  in  the  same  man- 
ner. Hecatfeus,  (Joseph,  contr.  Ap.  p.  1049.)  who 
had  been  brought  up  with  Alexander  the  Great,  and 
who  wi'Ote  in  the  time  of  Ptolemy  I.  mentions  this 
country  as  very  fruitful  and  well-peopled,  an  excel- 
lent province,  that  bore  all  kinds  of  good  fruit.  Pliny 
gives  a  similar  description  of  it,  and  says,  Jerusalem 
was  not  only  the  most  famous  city  of  Judea,  but  of 
the  whole  East.  He  describes  the  course  of  the 
Jordan,  as  of  a  delicious  river ;  he  speaks  advaii- 
tagoously  of  the  lake  of  Genesareth,  of  the  balm  of 
Judea,  its  palm-trees,  &c.  Tacitus,  (Hist.  lib.  xv. 
cap.  6.)  Ammianus  Marcellinus,  and  most  of  the 
ancients,  who  have  mentioned  Canaan,  have  spoken 
of  it  with  equal  commendations.  The  Mahometans 
speak  of  it  extravagantly.     They  tell  us,  that  besides 


the  two  principal  cities  of  the  countrj%  Jerusalem 
and  Jericho,  this  province  had  a  thousand  villages, 
each  of  which  had  many  fine  gardens.  That  the 
gi-apes  were  so  large,  that  five  men  could  hardlv  car- 
ry a  cluster  of  them,  and  that  five  men  might' -hide 
themselves  in  the  shell  of  one  pomegranate  !  That 
this  country  was  anciently  inhabited  by  giants  of  the 
race  of  Amalek. 

Notwithstanding  these  testimonies  of  the  ancients, 
we  find  people  very  incredulous  as  to  the  fruitfulness 
of  the  Holy  Land.  Some  travellers  said  little  to  its 
advantage.  The  country,  they  say,  appears  to  be 
dry  and  barren,  ill  watered,  and  has  but  few  cultivat- 
ed plains.  Strabo,  (Hb.  xvi.)  among  the  ancients, 
speaks  of  it  with  contempt.  He  says  that  this  prov- 
ince is  so  barren,  that  it  moves  nobody's  envy,  that 
there  is  no  need  of  fighting  for  it,  in  order  to  obtain 
it,  and  that  Jerusalem  stands  on  a  dry  and  barren 
spot.  Jerome  was  an  eye-witness  of  it,  and  very  well 
acquainted  with  those  qualities  which  Scripture  as- 
cribes to  it.  He  says  that  Canaan  is  full  of  moun- 
tains, that  dryness  and  drought  are  very  common, 
that  they  had  only  rain  water,  which  they  caught 
and  preserved  in  cisterns,  Avhich  supplied  the  ab- 
sence of  fountains.  Yet  Jerome,  speaking  of  the  fer- 
tility of  Canaan,  says  no  country  could  dispute  with 
it  in  fruitfulness. 

Having  given  a  general  outline  of  the  countrj',  we 
may  now  proceed  to  describe  it  more  particularly. 
And  first,  with  reference  to  its  divisions  among, the 
tribes. 

"From  the  mountains  of  Quarantania,"  says  Dr. 
Shaw,  "  we  have  a  distinct  view  of  the  land  of  the 
Amorites,  of  Gilead,  and  of  Bashan,  the  inheritance 
of  the  tribes  of  Reuben  and  Gad,  and  of  the  half-tribe 
ofManasseh.  This  tract,  in  the  neighborhood  partic- 
ularly of  the  river  Jordan,  is,  in  many  places,  low  and 
shaded — for  want  of  culture,  perhaps — with  tamarisks 
and  willows:  but  at  the  distance  of  two  or  three 
leagues  from  the  stream,  it  appears  to  be  made  up  of 
a  succession  of  hills  and  valleys,  somewhat  larger,  and 
seemingly  more  fertile,  than  those  in  the  tribe  of  Ben- 
jamin. Beyond  these  plains,  over  against  Jericho, 
where  we  are  to  look  for  the  mountains  of  Abarim, 
the  northern  boundary  of  the  land  of  Moab,  our  pros- 
pect is  interrupted  by  an  exceeding  high  ridge  of  des- 
olate inountaius,  no  otherwise  diversified  than  by  a 
succession  of  naked  rocks  and  precipices,  rendered 
in  several  places  more  frightful,  by  a  multiplicity  of 
torrents  which  fall  on  each  side  of  them.  This  ridge 
is  continued  all  along  the  eastern  coast  of  the  Dead 
sea,  as  far  as  our  eye  can  conduct  us,  affording,  all  the 
way,  a  most  lonesome  and  melancholy  prospect,  not 
a  little  assisted  by  the  intermediate  view  of  a  large, 
stagnating,  imactive  expanse  of  water,  rarely  if  ever 
enlivened  by  any  flocks  of  birds  that  settle  upon  it,  or 
by  so  much  as  one  vessel  of  passage  or  conmierce 
that  is  known  to  frequent  it.  Such  is  the  general  plan 
of  that  jjart  of  the  Holy  Laud  which  fell  under  my 
observation."  But  quitting  the  land  of  Moab,  the 
scene  is  greatly  improved  as  we  proceed  further  north- 
ward, and  advance  toward  the  injmense  and  fertile 
plains  of  the  Haoiiran.  Ibn  Haucal  gives  the  same 
name,  Masharik,  to  the  country  of  Haouran,as  to  the 
plains  near  Damascus,  which  have  always  been  con- 
sidered by  the  orientals  as  a  terrestrial  jiaradise.  The 
Arabs  report  of  that  citj',  that  Mahomet  should  say, 
on  a  distant  sight  of  it,  "  he  would  not  enter  it ;  as 
there  was  but  one  paradise  for  man,  and  he  woidd  not 
have  his  in  this  world."  "  Beyond  the  mountain,  and 
to  the  south-west  of  Damascus,"  says  a  Catholic  mis- 


CANAAN 


[23^] 


CANAAN 


BJonary,  "  the  plain  of  Haouran  begins.  Its  fertility 
is  so  great,  that  it  is  called  the  granary  of  the  Turks. 
In  fact,  there  arrive,  ahnost  daily,  caravans  from  all 
parts  of  the  empire,  which  cany  away  the  corn. 
The  meal  made  of  it  is  excellent,  wiiereof  they 
make  loaves  about  two  feet  long,  and  half  a  foot  in 
thickness.  It  will  keep  a  whole  year  without  cor- 
rupting. When  it  gi-ows  dry,  they  steep  it  in  water, 
and  tind  it  as  good  as  if  new  made.  Both  rich  and 
poor  prefer  it  to  all  other  sorts  of  bread."  (Journey 
from  Aleppo  to  Damascus.  1736.  8vo.  p.  66.)  Vol- 
ney,  too,  describes  them  as  "  the  immense  plains  of 
Haouran  ;"  their  length,  as  "  live  or  six  days' journey  ;" 
and  their  soil  as  most  fruitful.     See  Bashan. 

With  this  description  agrees  the  request  of  the 
tribes  of  Reuben,  Gad,  and  the  half-tribe  of  Manas- 
seh  to  Moses:  (Numb,  xxxii.  1 — 5.)  "  This  country  is 
a  land  for  cattle, — if  we  have  found  gi-ace  in  thy  sight, 
give  us  this  laud  for  a  possession."  The  tribe  of  Reu- 
ben lay  to  the  south  ;  east  of  this  tribe  was  the  desert ; 
west  of  it  the  Jordan  and  the  Dead  sea  ;  north  of  it 
was  the  tribe  of  Gad  ;  and  southward  a  tract  overrun 
by  the  Israelites,  but  afterwards  recovered  by  the  Mo- 
abites.  This  tribe  appears  to  have  had  mountains 
accompanying  the  side  of  the  Jordan  ;  hvn  as  moun- 
tains supply  streams,  it  may  be  presumed  that  they 
had  many  intervals  of  great  fertility.  The  tribe  of 
Gad  lay  north  of  Reuben  ;  and  it  would  appear  that 
the  mouutalns  receded  from  the  Jordan,  in  the  terri- 
tories of  this  tribe.  The  eastern  parts  of  these  moun- 
tains were  habitable  ;  but  whether  the  descendants  of 
these  Israelites  possessed  those  parts  may  be  doubt- 
ed ;  perhaps,  only  partially.  The  half-tribe  of  Ma- 
nasseh,  or  Eastern  Manasseh,  extended  north  to  the 
southern  ridge  of  Lebanon,  and  the  springs  of  Jor- 
dan :  the  same,  no  doubt,  may  be  affirmed  of  these 
parts  as  of  those  pertaining  to  the  tribe  of  Naphtali ; 
which  we  shall  next  proceed  to  describe. 

Dandini,  speaking  of  mount  Lebanon,  says,  "This 
couutry  consists  in  elevated  and  stony  mountains,  ex- 
tending north  and  south.  Nevertheless,  the  industry 
and  labor  of  man  have  made  it  one  uniform  plain  ; 
for,  gathering  into  dikes  the  stones  which  are  scattered 
aboin,they  form  continued  walls,  and  constantly  going 
forwards,  they  raise  others  in  succession  higher ;  so 
that  at  length,  by  means  of  equalizing  hills  and  val- 
leys, they  co))vert  a  barren  mountain  into  a  beautiful 
level,  easily  susceptible  of  culture,  aud  at  once  fertile 
and  dr-liglitful.  It  abounds  in  corn,  excellent  wine, 
oil,  cotton,  silk,  wax,  wood,  animals  wild  and  tame, 
especially  goats.  There  are  but  few  small  animals, 
the  winter  being  severe,  and  the  snow  perpetual. 
There  are  many  sheep,  fat  and  large  as  those  of  Cy- 
prus, and  others  in  the  Levant.  In  the  forests  are 
wild  boars,  bears,  tigers,  and  other  animals  of  the  same 
nature.  The  rest  of  the  plains  abounds  in  partridges, 
which  arc  as  large  as  common  hens.  There  are  no 
dove-cotes,  but  ciuantities  of  pigeons,  turtle  doves, 
thrushes,  becca-figos,  and  other  kinds  of  birds.  There 
are  also  eagles.  They  do  not  dig  around  the  vines, 
but  till  the  ground  with  oxen  ;  the  plants  being  set  in 
straight  lines,  at  proper  distances.  Neither  do  they 
prop  them,  but  let  tiiem  trail  on  the  ground.  The 
wine  they  produce  is  delicate  and  agreeable.  There 
are  grapes  as  large  as  plums.  The  siz.e  of  the  bunches 
of  grapes  issm-prising  :  and  when  I  saw  them,  I  easi- 
ly discovered  why  the  Hebrews  had  so  great  long- 
ing to  taste  them,  and  why  they  so  y)assionately  de- 
sired to  conquer  the  Promised  Land,  after  having 
seen  the  specimen  which  the  spies  brought  from  the 
neighboring  district.     These  mountains,  then,  do  not 


only  aboimd  in  stones,  but  in  all  sorts  of  provisions." 
De  la  Roque  describes  the  western  face  of  Libanus, 
and  the  valley  between  Libanus  and  Anti-Libanus,  in 
the  highest  terms,  as  to  fruitfuhiess,  pleasantness,  and 
salubrity  ;  but  the  south  aspect  of  Lebanon  he  did  not 
visit.  The  following  account  of  the  Jordan,  which 
takes  its  rise  in  these  mountains,  is  principally  extract- 
ed from  that  writer ;  who  has  taken  much  pains  on 
the  subject.  The  source  of  the  river  Jordan  is  incon- 
testably  in  the  mountains  of  Anti-Libanus,  in  the  re- 
gion now  called  Wad-et-tein ;  it  is  subject  to  the  pa- 
cha of  Damascus,  and  comprehends  the  mount 
Hermon  of  the  ancients.  The  Jordan  rises  near  the 
district  anciently  called  Panium,  or  Paneas,  where 
the  city  Paueades  stood,  which  was  afterwards  called 
Cesarea  Philippi.  Josephus  indeed  says  the  true 
source  of  the  Jordan  was  at  Phiala,  in  the  Trachoni- 
tis,  from  whence  it  flowed  by  subterranean  passages, 
till  it  appeared  at  Panium.  Phiala  was  a  round  ba- 
sin, always  full,  never  running  over.  Panium,  says 
the  same  writer,  was  a  gi'otto,  excavated  by  nature  at 
the  foot  of  a  high  mountain  ;  it  is  extremely  deep,  and 
filled  with  a  standing  water ;  and  from  below  issue 
the  fountains  of  Jordan.  Pliny  says  much  the  same  ; 
to  which  Eusebius  adds,  that  the  mountain  also  was 
named  Panium.  But  in  another  place,  he  says,  the 
river  Joi-dau  rose  at  a  small  town  called  Dan,  four 
thousand  paces  distant  from  Paneas.  So  that  two 
fountains  uniting  their  streams  united  also  their  names 
— Jor-Dan.  Eugene  Roger,  who  travelled  in  the  Holy 
Land  in  IG36,  says,  Jor  is  a  small  village  in  the  tribe 
of  Naphtali,  at  the  foot  of  mount  Libanus,  south, 
whence  the  {)rincipal  source  of  the  Jordan  issues, 
about  a  league  from  Dan.  These  two  villages,  he 
says,  are  inhabited  by  Druses,  who  breed  many  goats. 
Notwithstanding  these  testimonies,  however,  some 
modern  critics  have  thought  that  only  one  source  is 
entitled  to  the  honor  of  originating  the  Jordan.  We 
have  hinted  that  the  region  of  Wad-et-tein,  where 
all  the  inhabitants  of  mount  Libanus  ])lace  the  sources 
of  the  Jordan,  included  the  mount  Hermon  of  the  an- 
cients,— or  a  part  of  this  mountain  ; — as  the  whole 
was  of  great  extent,  and  had  various  appellations. 
Among  others,  that  part  of  it  where  the  grotto  Pa- 
neas was  received  the  name  of  Panion,  being  conse- 
crated to  the  god  Pan,  the  deity  of  mountains,  forests, 
and  chases.  Here  his  image  was  worslii])ped,  and  a 
temple  probably  erected,  which  became  the  cause  of 
establishing  a  small  town  ;  which  in  succeeding  ages 
received  various  names,  as  Cesarea  Philippi,  Claudia 
Cesarea,  and  Neroniadas  ;  but  this  last,  being  odious, 
was  not  permanent ;  the  town  recovered  its  name  of 
Cesarea  Philippi,  then  of  Paneades,  or  Banias,  which 
it  retains,  though  some  of  the  Mahometans  call  itBe- 
lina.  William  of  Tyre  informs  us  that  near  to  this 
city  was  a  vast  forest,  named,  in  his  time,  the  forest  of 
Paneades  ;  a  very  proper  place  for  feeding  sheep  ;  aud 
that  a  ])ro(ligiousnniltitu(le  of  Aralisand  Turcomans, 
after  having  made  a  jjeace  with  Godfrey  of  Bologne, 
retired  thither.  The  Jordan  is  InU  an  inconsiderable 
stream,  till,  after  receiving  several  rivulets,  and  by  the 
nature  of  the  country,  after  running  two  or  three 
leagues,  it  forms  what  is  now  called  the  marsh  of 
Jordan,  anciently  lake  Merom  ;  which  extends  about 
two  leagues  in  circvunference,  when  the  snows  melt 
on  mount  Libanus,  but  is  dry  in  the  heats  of  simimer. 
This  marsli  is  almost  wholly  overgrown  with  reeds, 
of  that  kind  which  is  used  for  writing  with,  and  for  the 
fledging  of  arrows.  The  environs  of  the  lake  are  full 
of  tigers,  bears,  and  even  lions,  which  descend  from 
the  neighboring  mountains.    Coming  out  of  this  lake, 


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CANAAN 


the  Jordau  resumes  its  course  southwards,  and,  at 
half  a  league's  distance,  is  crossed  by  a  stone  bridge, 
which  the  inhabitants  call  Jacob's  bridge,  because 
they  say  it  was  in  this  place  that  the  patriarch  wres- 
tled with  the  angel.  Alter  a  course  of  eight  or  nine 
leagues,  the  river  enters  the  lake  of  Genesareth,  or 
the  sea  of  Galilee,  or  of  Tiberias.  Having  passed 
through  this  lake,  it  issues  near  the  ruins  of  Scy- 
thopolis,  and,  after  about  thirty  leagues,  loses  itself  in 
the  Dead  sea.     See  Jordax. 

Volney  says,  "As  we  approach  the  Jordan,  tlie 
country  becomes  more  hilly  and  better  watered  ;  the 
valley  through  which  this  river  flows  abounds,  in 
general,  in  pasturage,  esjiecially  in  the  upper  part  of 
it.  As  for  the  river  itself,  it  is  very  far  from  being  of 
that  importance  which  we  are  apt  to  assign  to  it.  The 
Arabs,  who  are  ignorant  of  the  name  of  Jordan,  call 
it  El-Sharia.  Its  breadth  between  the  two  principal 
lakes,  in  few  places  exceeds  sixty  or  eighty  feet ;  but 
its  depth  is  about  ten  or  twelve.  In  winter  it  over- 
flows its  naiTOw  channel ;  and,  swelled  by  the  rains, 
forms  a  sheet  of  water  sometimes  a  quarter  of  a  league 
broad.  The  time  of  its  overflowing  is  generally  in 
March,  when  the  snows  melt  on  the  mountains  of  the 
Shaik ;  at  which  time,  more  than  any  other,  its  wa- 
ters are  troubled,  and  of  a  jellow  hue,  and  its  course 
is  impetuous.  Its  banks  are  covered  with  a  tiiick 
forest  of  reeds,  willows,  and  various  shrubs,  which 
serve  as  an  asylum  for  wild  boars,  ounces,  jackalls, 
hares,  and  different  kinds  of  birds."  See  Jer. 
xUx.  19. 

The  reader  will  consider  the  Dead  sea  as  being 
originally  divided  into  several  streams,  running  among 
low  grounds,by  which  they  were  absorbed ;  and  among 
which  they  fertilized  the  fields,  the  gardens,  and  oth- 
er delights  of  the  inhabitants.  The  present  vicinity 
of  Damascus  is  the  nearest  approach  to  this  idea  of 
the  "cities  of  the  plain."  The  waters  which  render 
this  city  so  enchanting  terminate  in  a  marsh,  as  we 
presume  those  of  the  Jordan  did ;  without  reaching 
the  ocean,  or  falling  into  any  other  river.  The  fol- 
lowing extract  may  elucidate  this  tonception:  "Da- 
mascus is  the  capital  and  residence  of  the  pacha. 
Tlie  Arabs  call  it  El-Sham,  agreeably  to  their  custom 
of  bestowing  the  name  of  the  country  on  its  capital. 
Tlie  anci(.'Ut  oriental  name  of  Demeslik  is  known 
c  .'.ly  to  geographers.  The  city  is  situated  in  a  vast 
plain,  open  to  the  south  and  east,  and  shut  in  toward 
the  Avest  and  the  north  by  mountains,  which  limit  the 
view  at  no  great  distance  ;  but,  in  return,  a  number 
of  rivulets  rise  from  these  mountains,  which  render 
the  territory  of  Damascus  the  best  watered  and  most 
delicious  p'rovince  of  all  Syria  ;  the  Arabs  speak  of  it 
with  enthusiasm  ;  and  think  they  can  never  suffi- 
ciently extol  the  freshness  and  verdure  of  its  orchar^ls, 
the  abundance  and  variety  of  its  fruits,  its  numerous 
streams,  and  the  clearness  of  its  rills  and  fountains. 
No  city  contains  so  many  canals  and  fountains  ;  each 
house  hfis  one  ;  and  all  these  waters  are  furnished  by 
three  rivulets,  or  branches  of  the  same  river,  which, 
after  feniliziiig  the  gardens  for  a  course  of  three 
leagues,  flow  into  a  hollow  of  the  desert,  to  the  south- 
east, where  they  form  a  morass  called  Behairat-el- 
Mardj,  or  the  Lake  of  the  INIeadow."  (Volney,  vol. 
ii.  p.  269.)  Another  writer  says,  "  This  lake  is  three 
leagues  from  Damascus,  toward  the  east,  ten  or 
twelve  leagues  long,  and  five  or  six  broad.  It  pro- 
duces excellent  fish,  and  the  copse  which  surrounds 
it,  a  great  quantity  of  game.  The  wonder  is,  that 
though  it  receives  not  only  the  above-mentioned  river, 
but  many  stray  waters  besides,  yet  it  never  overflows. 
30 


Returning  now  to  the  head  of  the  Jordan,  we  find 
the  tribes  of  Naphtah  and  Asher.  To  Naphtali  we 
have  attended  in  part,  ftlaundrell  gives  us  reason  to 
suppose,  that  Asher,  lying  on  the  sea-coast,  had  some 
advantages  which  Naphtali  had  not.  He  says,  "A 
very  fertile  plain  extends  itself  to  a  vast  compass  be- 
fore Tyre."  "  The  plain  of  Acra  extends  itself  in 
length  from  moimt  Saron  as  far  as  Carmel,  whit  h  i 
at  least  six  good  hours  ;  and  in  breadtii,  between  the 
sea  and  the  mountains,  it  is  in  most  jilaces  two 
hours  over.  It  enjojs  good  streams  of  water  at  con- 
venient distances,  and  every  thing  else  that  nii^d.t 
render  it  both  pleasant  and  fruitful.  But  this  ciLJi- 
cious  plain  is  now  almost  desolate,  being  sufl't- rt  d,  l(..r 
want  of  culture,  to  run  up  to  rank  weeds,  which  v.ere, 
at  the  time  wliou  we  passed  it,  as  high  as  our  horses' 
backs.  The  plain  of  Esdmelon  is  of  vast  extern, 
and  very  fertile,  but  uncultivated;  only  serving  xha 
Arabs  for  pasturage." — "We  turned  out  of  the  plain 
of  Esdraelon,  and  entered  the  precincts  of  the  ha'f- 
tribe  of  ]Manassch.  From  hence  our  road  lay,  i'or 
about  lour  hours,  through  narrow  valleys,  plcasoutly 
wooded  on  both  sides."  As  to  Zebulun,,  3iai:ndreil 
only  mentions  in  one  place  his  being  "  an  hour  Li-d 
a  half  in  crossing  the  delicious  plain  of  Zebulun," — to 
that  of  Acra.  "  Our  stage  this  day  was  somewhat 
less  than  seven  hours  ;  it  lay  aliout  W.  by  N.  through 
a  country  very  dehghtful,  and  fertile  beyond  imagi- 
nation." 

Dr.  E.  D.  Clarke,  speaking  of  this  district,  says, 
"  After  leaving  Shef 'hamer,  the  mountainous  territo- 
ry begins,  and  the  road  winds  among  valleys  covcicd 
with  beautiful  trees.  Passing  these  hills,  we  entered 
that  part  of  Galilee  which  belonged  to  the  tribe  of 
Zabulun  ;  whence,  according  to  the  triumphal  song 
of  Deborah  and  Barak,  issued  to  the  battle  against 
Sisera  '  they  that  handled  the  pen  of  the  writer.'  The 
scenery  is,  \o  the  full,  as  delightful  as  in  the  rich  vales 
upon  the  south  of  the  Crimea:  it  reminded  us  of  tlie 
finest  parts  of  Kent  and  Surrey.  The  soil,  although 
stony,  is  exceedingly  rich,  but  now  entirely  neglected. 

Had  it  pleased  Djezzar  to  encourage  the  labors  of 

the  husbandman,  he  might  have  been  in  possession  cf 
more  wealth  and  power  than  any  pacha  in  the  grana 
signior's  dominions.  The  delightful  plain  of  Zabu-** 
lun  appeared  every  where  covered  with  spontaneous 
vegetation,  flourishing  in  the  wildest  exuberance." 
(p.  400.)  .  .  ."  We  left  our  route  to  visit  the  elevated 
mount  where  it  is  believed  that  Christ  preached  to  his 
disciples  that  memorable  sermon,  concentrating  tlie 
sum  and  substance  of  every  Christian  virtue.  Hav- 
ing attained  the  highest  point  of  it,  a  view  was  pre- 
sented, which,  for  hs  grandeur,  independently  of  the 
interest  excited  by  the  different  objects  contained  in 
it,  has  no  parallel'in  the  Holy  Land.  From  diis  situ- 
ation we  perceived  that  the  plain,  over  which  we  had 
been  so  long  riding,  was  itself  very  elevated.  Far 
beneath  appeared  other  plains,  one  lower  than  the  oth- 
er, in  hat  regular  gradation  concerning  which  obser- 
vations were  recently  made,  and  extending  to  the  sur- 
face of  the  sea  of  Tiberias,  or  sea  ofGahlee.  This  im- 
mense lake,  almost  equal,  in  the  grandeur  of  its  appear- 
ance, to  that  of  Geneva,  spreads  its  waters  over  all  the 
lower  territory,  extending  from  the  north-east  towards 
the  south-west,  and  then  bearing  east  of  us.  Its  east- 
ern shores  present  a  sublime  scene  of  mountains,  ex- 
tending toward  the  north  and  south,  and  seeming  to 
close  it  in  at  either  extremity  ;  both  towards  Chora- 
zin,  where  the  Jordan  enters  ;  and  the  Anion,  or  Cam- 
pus Magnus,  through  which  it  flows  to  the  Dead  sea. 
The  cultivated  plains  reaching  to  its  borders,  which 


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234 


CANAAN 


we  beheld  at  an  amazing  depth  below  our  view,  re- 
sembled, by  the  various  hues  their  different  produce 
exhibited,  the  motley  pattern  of  a  vast  carpet.  To  the 
north  appeared  snowy  summite,  towering  beyond  a 
series  of  intervening  mountains,  with  unspeakable 
greatness.  We  considered  them  as  the  summits  of 
Libanus  ;  but  the  Arabs  belonging  to  our  caravan 
called  the  principal  eminence  Jebel  el  Sieh,  saying  it 
was  near  Damascus ;  probabi\ ,  therefore,  a  part  of 
the  chain  of  Libanus.  This  summit  was  so  lofty, 
that  the  snow  entirely  covered  the  upper  part  of  it ; 
not  lying  in  patches,  as  I  have  seen  it,  during  sum- 
mer, upon  the  tops  of  very  elevated  mountains,  (for 
instance,  that  of  Ben  Nevis  in  Scotland,)  but  invest- 
ing all  the  higher  part  with  that  perfect  white  and 
smooth  velvet-like  ajjpearance  which  snow  only  ex- 
hibits when  it  is  very  deej) ;  a  striking  spectacle  in 
such  a  climate,  whei-e  the  beholder,  seeking  protec- 
tion from  a  burning  sun,  almost  considers  the  firma- 
ment to  be  on  fire.  The  elevated  ])lains  upon  the 
mountainous  territory  beyond  the  northern  extremi- 
ty of  the  lake  are  called  by  a  name,  in  Arabic,  which 
signifies  'the  Wilderness.'  To  the  south-west,  attlie 
distance  of  only  twelve  miles,  we  beheld  mount  Tha- 
bor,  having  a  conical  form,  and  standing  quite  insu- 
lar, upon  the  northern  side  of  the  plain  of  Esdraelon. 
The  mountain  whence  this  superb  view  was  present- 
ed consists  entirely  of  limestone  ;  the  prevailing  con- 
stituent of  all  the  mountains  in  Greece,  Asia  Minor, 
Syria,  Phoenicia,  and  Palestine."  (p.  456.)  "As  we 
rode  towards  the  sea  of  Tiberias,  the  guides  pointed 
to  a  sloping  spot  from  the  heights  upon  our  right, 
whence  we  had  descended,  as  the  place  where  the 
miracle  was  accomphshed  by  which  our  Saviour  fed 
the  multitude  ;  it  is,  therefore,  called  '  The  Multipli- 
cation of  Bread  ;'  as  the  mount  above,  where  the 
sermon  was  preached  to  the  disciples,  is  called  '  The 
Mountain  of  Beatitudes,'  from  the  expressions  used 
in  the  beginning  of  that  discourse.  This  part  of  the 
Holy  Land  is  very  full  of  wild  animals.  Antelopes 
are  m  great  number.  We  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing 
these  beautiful  quadrupeds  in  their  natural  state, 
feeding  among  the  thistles  and  tall  herbage  of  these 
plains,  and  bounding  before  us  occasionally,  as  we 
disturbed  them.  The  Arabs  frequently  take  them  in 
the  chase.  The  lake  now  continued  in  view  upon 
our  left.  The  wind  rendered  its  surface;  rough,  and 
called  to  mind  the  situation  of  our  Saviour's  disciples, 
when,  in  one  of  the  small  vessels  which  traverse  these 
waters,  they  were  tossed  in  a  storm,  and  saw  Jesus, 
in  the  fourth  watch  of  the  night,  walking  to  them 
upon  the  waves.  Matt.  xiv.  24.  Often  as  this  subject 
has  been  painted,  combining  a  number  of  circum- 
stances adapted  for  the  representation  of  sublimity, 
no  artist  has  been  aware  of  the  uncommon  grandeur 
of  the  scenery,  memorable  on  account  of  the  transac- 
tion. The  lake  of  Genesareth  is  surrounded  by  ob- 
jects well  calculated  to  heighten  the  solemn  impres- 
sion made  by  such  a  picture  ;  and,  independent  of  the 
local  feelings  likely  to  be  excited  in  its  contemplation, 
affords  on(!  of  the  most  striking  prospects  in  the  Ho- 
ly Land.  It  is  by  comparison  alone  that  any  due  con- 
ception of  the  appearance  it  presents  can  be  convey- 
ed to  the  minds  of  those  wlio  have  not  seen  it:  and 
speaking  of  it  comparatively,  it  may  be  described  as 
longer  and  finer  than  any  of  our  Cumberland  and 
Westmoreland  lakes,  although,  perhaps,  it  yields  in 
majesty  to  the  stupendous  features  of  Loch  Lomond, 
in  Scotland.  It  does  not  possess  the  vastncss  of  the' 
lake  of  Geneva,  although  it  much  resembles  it  in  par- 
ticular points  of  view.   The  lake  of  Locanio,  in  Italy 


comes  nearest  to  it  in  point  of  picturesque  beauty,  al- 
though it  is  destitute  of  any  thing  similar  to  the  islands 
by  which  that  majestic  piece  ot  water  is  adorned.  It 
is  inferior  in  magnitude,  and,  perhaps,  in  the  height 
of  its  surrounding  mountains,  to  the  lake  Asphaltites ; 
but  its  broad  and  extended  surface,  covering  the  bot- 
tom of  a  profound  valley,  environed  by  lofty  and  pre- 
cipitous eminences,  added  to  the  impression  of  a 
certain  reverential  awe  under  which  every  Christian 
pilgi-im  api)roaches  it,  give  it  a  character  of  dignity 
unparalleled  by  any  siniilai-  scenery."  (p.  4G2.)  "  On 
the  plain  of  Esdraelon,  in  the  most  fertile  part  of  all 
the  land  of  Canaan,  (which,  though  a  solitude,  we 
found  like  one  vast  meadow,  covered  with  the  richest 
pasture,)  the  tribe  of  Issachar  rejoiced  in  their  tents." 

"  The  road  was  mountainous,  rocky,  and  full  of 
loose  stones ;  yet  the  cultivation  was  every  where 
marvellous  :  it  afforded  one  of  the  most  striking  pic- 
tiu-es  of  human  industry  which  it  is  possible  to  be- 
hold. The  limestone  rocks  and  stony  valleys  of 
Judea  were  entirely  covered  with  jilantations  of  figs, 
vines,  and  olive  trees ;  not  a  single  spot  seemed  to  be 
neglected.  The  hills,  from  their  bases  to  their  uj)most 
summits,  were  entirely  covered  with  gardens;  all  of 
these  were  free  from  weeds,  and  in  the  liighest 
state  of  agricultural  perfection.  Even  the  sides  of 
the  most  barren  mountains  had  been  rendered  fer- 
tile, by  being  divided  into  tei'races,  like  steps  rising 
one  above  another,  whereon  soil  had  been  accumu- 
lated with  astonishing  labor.  Among  the  standing 
crops,  Ave  noticed  millet,  cotton,  linseed,  and  tobac- 
co, and,  occasionally,  small  fields  of  barley.  A  sight 
of  tliis  territory  can  alone  convey  any  adequate  idea 
of  its  surprising  produce  ;  it  is  truly  the  Eden  of  the 
East,  rejoicing  in  the  abundance  of  its  wealth.  Un- 
der a  wise  and  a  beneficent  government,  the  produce 
of  the  Hoi}'  Land  would  exceed  all  calculation.  Its 
perennial  harvest ;  the  salubrity  of  its  air  ;  its  limpid 
s|)rings  ;  its  rivers,  lakes,  and  matchless  plains  ;  its 
hills  and  vales  ; — all  these,  added  to  the  serenity  of 
the  climate,  prove  this  land  to  be  indeed  '  a  field 
which  the  Lord  hath  blessed :  God  hath  given  it  of 
the  dew  of  heaven,  and  the  fatness  of  the  earth,  and 
plenty  of  corn  and  wine.' "  The  reader  will  recol- 
lect iliat  this  account  refei-s  to  the  territory  passed 
through  in  the  route  from  Acre  to  Tiberias  and  Je- 
rusalem. A  less  flattering  picture  is  drawn  of  the 
direct  road  from  Jerusalem  to  Joppa  ;  and  of  the 
countries  bordering  on  the  desert  to  the  south.  It 
must,  however,  be  confessed,  that  these  parts  main- 
tained numerous  flocks  and  herds,  anciently,  and  that 
places  are  not  wanting  where  the  same  might  be 
maintained,  at  this  day,  did  circumstances  admit  the 
necessary  safety  and  protection. 

Pi-.  Shaw  gives  the  following  account  of  the  tribes 
of  Issachar,  Benjamin,  Judah,  and  Dan  :  "  Leaving 
mount  Carmel  to  the  N.  W.  we  pass  over  the  S.  W. 
corn(>r  of  the  ])lain  of  Esdraelon,  the  lot  formerlj'  of 
the  tribe  of  Issachar,  and  the  most  fertile  portion  of 
the  land  of  Canaan.  The  most  extensive  jiart  of  it 
lieth  to  the  eastward,  where  our  prospect  is  bound- 
ed, at  about  fiih^'ii  miles'  distance,  by  the  mountains 
of  Ilermon  and  Tabor,  and  by  those  upon  which 
the  city  of  Nazareth  is  situated.  Advancing  further 
into  the  half-tribe  of  Manasseh,  we  have  still  a  fine 
arable  coimtry,  though  not  so  level  as  the  former  ; 
where  the  landscape  is  changed  every  hour  by  the 
intervention  of  some  piece  of  rising  ground,  a  grove 
of  trees,  or  the  ruins  of  some  ancient  village.  The 
country  begins  to  be  rugged  and  uneven  at  Samaria, 
the  north  boundary  of  the  tribe  of  Ephraijn  ;  from 


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[  235  ] 


CANAAN 


whence,  through  Sichern,  all  the  way  to  Jerusalem, 
we  have  nothing  but  mountains,  narrow  dejilees,  and 
valleys  of  different  extents.  Of  the  former,  the 
moMiitains  of  Ephraim  are  the  largest,  being  most 
oi' them  shaded  with  large  forest  trees;  whilst  the 
valleys  below  are  long  and  spacious,  not  inferior  iu 
fertility  to  the  best  part  of  the  tribe  of  Issachar. 
The  mountains  of  the  tribe  of  Benjamin,  which  lie 
still  further  to  the  soutiiward,  are  generally  more 
nuked,  having  their  ranges  much  shorter,  and  con- 
sequently their  valleys  more  li-equent.  In  the  same 
disposition  is  the  district  of  the  tribe  of  Judah ; 
tliough  the  mountains  of  Quarautania,  those  of  Eu- 
gaddi,  and  others  that  border  on  the  plains  of  Jericho 
and  the  Dead  sea,  are  as  high,  and  of  as  gi-eat  ex- 
tent, as  those  iu  the  trilje  of  Ephraim.  Some  of  the 
valleys,  likewise,  which  belong  to  this  tribe,  such  as 
that  of  Kephaim,  Eschol,  aud  others,  merit  an  equal 
regard  with  that  parcel  of  ground  whicli  Jacob  gave 
to  his  son  Joseph,  Gen.  xlviii.  22.  But  the  neighbor- 
hood of  Ramah  and  Lydda  is  nearly  of  the  same 
arable  and  fertile  nature  with  that  of  the  half-tribe 
of  3Ianasseh,  and  equally  inclineth  to  be  plain  and 
level.  The  latter  of  these  circumstances  agreeth 
also  with  the  tribe  of  Dan,  whose  country,  notwith- 
standing, is  not  so  fruitful,  having  in  most  parts  a 
less  depth  of  soil ;  and  boi-dereth  upon  the  sea-coast 
iu  a  range  of  mountains." 

Of  tlie  tribe  of  Benjamin,  Maundrell  says,  "  All 
along  this  day's  travel  from  Kane  Lebau  to  Beer, 
and  also  as  far  as  we  could  see  round,  the  country 
discovered  a  quite  different  face  from  what  it  had 
before ;  presenting  nothing  to  the  \iew,  in  most 
places,  but  naked  rocks,  mountains,  and  precipices. 
At  sight  of  which,  pilgiims  are  apt  to  be  much  as- 
tonished and  balked  in  their  expectations ;  finding 
that  country  in  such  an  inhospitable  condition,  con- 
cerning whose  pleasantness  and  plenty  they  had  be- 
fore formed  in  their  minds  such  high  ideas,  from  the 
description  given  of  it  in  the  Word  of  God  ;  inso- 
much that  it  almost  startles  their  faith,  when  they 
reflect,  How  could  it  be  jjossible  for  a  land  like  this 
to  supply  food  for  so  prodigious  a  number  of  in- 
habitants as  ai'e  said  to  have  been  polled  in  the  twelve 
tribes  at  one  time  ?  the  sum  given  in  by  Joab,  2  Sam. 
xxiv.  amounting  to  no  less  than  thirteen  hundred 
thousand  fighting  men,  besides  women  and  children. 
But  it  is  certain  that  any  man,  who  is  not  a  little 
biased  to  infidelity  before,  may  see,  as  he  passes 
along,  arguments  enough  to  support  his  faith  against 
such  scruples.  For  it  is  obvious  for  any  one  to  ob- 
serve, that  these  rocks  and  hills  must  have  been 
anciently  covered  with  earth,  and  cultivated,  and 
made  to  contribute  to  the  maintenance  of  the  inhab- 
itants no  less  than  if  the  country  had  been  all  plain, 
nay,  perhaps,  much  more  ;  forasmuch  as  such  a 
mountainous  and  uneven  surface  affords  a  larger 
t^pace  of  ground  for  cultivation  than  this  country 
would  amount  to,  if  it  Avere  all  reduced  to  a  perfect 
level.  For  the  husbanding  of  these  mountains,  their 
manner  was  to  gather  up  the  stones,  and  place  them 
in  several  lines,  along  the  sides  of  the  hills,  in  form 
of  a  wall.  By  such  borders,  they  supported  the 
mould  from  tumbling,  or  being  washed  down ;  and 
formed  many  beds  of  excellent  soil,  rising  gradually 
one  above  another  from  the  bottom  to  the  top  of  the 
mountains.  Of  this  form  of  culture  you  see  evi- 
dent footsteps  wherever  you  go  in  all  the  mountains 
of  Palestine.  Thus  the  verj^  rocks  were  made  fruit- 
fid.  And  perhaps  there  is  no  spot  of  ground  in  this 
wliole  land  that  was  not  formerly  improved,  to  the 


production  of  something  or  other  ministering  to  the 
sustenance  of  human  life.  For,  than  the  plain 
countries  nothing  can  be  more  fruitful,  whether  lor 
the  jjroduction  of  corn  or  cattle,  and  consequently 
of  milk.  The  hills,  though  improper  for  all  cattle, 
except  goats,  yet  being  disposed  into  such  beds  as 
are  afore  described,  served  very  ■v\ell  to  bear  corn, 
melons,  gourds,  cucumbers,  and  such  like  gar.len 
stuff,  which  makes  the  principal  food  of  tiiese  coun- 
tries for  several  months  Ln  the  year.  The  most 
rocky  parts  of  all,  which  could  not  well  be  adjusted 
in  that  manner  for  the  production  of  corn,  might 
yet  serve  for  the  plantation  of  vines  and  olive-trees ; 
which  delight  to  extract  the  one  its  fatness,  the  other 
its  sprightly  juice,  chiefly  out  of  such  dry  aud  flinty 
places.  And  the  great  plain  joining  to  the  Dead 
sea,  which,  by  reason  of  its  saltness,  niight  be  thought 
unserviceable,  both  for  cattle,  corn,  ohves,  and  vines, 
had  yet  its  proper  usefulness,  for  the  nourishment  of 
bees,  and  for  the  fabric  of  honey  ;  of  which  Josephus 
gives  us  his  testimony.  (De  Bell.  Jud.  lib.  v.  cap.  4.) 
And  I  have  reason  to  believe  it,  because  when  I  was 
there,  I  perceived  in  many  places  a  smell  of  honey 
and  wax,  as  strong  as  if  one  had  been  in  an  apiary. 
Why,  then,  might  not  this  country  very  well  main- 
tain the  vast  number  of  its  inhabitants,  being  in  every 
part  so  productive  of  either  milk,  corn,  wine,  oil,  or 
honey  ?  which  are  the  principal  food  of  these  east- 
ern nations ;  the  constitution  of  their  bodies,  and  the 
nature  of  their  clime,  inclining  them  to  a  more  ab- 
stemious diet  than  we  use  in  England,  and  other 
colder  regions." 

The  following  description  from  Volney,  includes 
the  tribes  of  Shneon  and  Judah :  "  Palestine,  in  its 
present  state,  comprehends  the  whole  country  in- 
cluded between  the  Mediterranean  to  the  west,  the 
chain  of  mountains  to  the  east,  and  two  lines,  one 
drawn  to  the  south,  by  Kan  Younes,  and  the  other 
to  the  north,  between  Kaisaria  and  the  rivulet  of 
Yasa.  This  whole  tract  is  almost  entirely  a  level 
plain,  without  either  river  or  rivulet  in  summer,  but 
watered  by  several  torrents  in  winter.  Notwi  1  - 
standing  this  dryiiess,  the  soil  is  good,  aud  may  even 
be  termed  fertile  ;  for  Avheu  the  winter  rains  do  not 
fail,  every  thing  springs  up  in  abundance ;  and  the 
earth,  which  is  black  and  fat,  retains  moisture  siifii- 
cient  for  the  growth  of  grain  and  vegetables  during 
the  summer.  More  dourra,  sesamum,  water-melons, 
and  beans,  are  sown  here  than  in  any  other  part  of 
the  country.  They  also  raise  cotton,  barley,  aud 
wheat ;  but,  though  the  latter  be  most  esteemed,  it  is 
less  cultivated,  for  fear  of  too  much  inviting  the  ava- 
rice of  the  Turkish  governors,  and  the  rapacity  of 
the  Arabs.  This  countiy  is  indeed  more  frequently 
plundered  than  any  other  in  Syria ;  for,  being  veiy 
proper  for  cavalry,  and  adjacent  to  the  desert,  it  lies 
open  to  the  Arabs,  who  are  far  from  satisfied  with 
the  mountains ;  they  have  long  disputed  it  with 
every  power  estabhshed  in  it,  and  have  succeeded 
so  far  as  to  obtain  the  concession  of  certain  places, 
on  paying  a  tribute,  from  whence  they  infest  the 
roads,  so  as  to  render  it  unsafe  to  travel  from  Gaza 
to  Acre." 

From  these  testimonies  the  reader  may  collect  the 
general  character  of  this  country,  and  of  those  par- 
cels of  it  which  fell  to  the  lot  of  the  different  tribes 
respectively.  But  there  is  one  character  of  it  Avhich 
has  never  been  properly  estimated  ;  that  is,  its  strength 
in  a  military  point  of  view,  and  as  military  science 
stood  in  ancient  days.  If  we  examine  it  as  originally 
described,  and  promised  to  the  sons  of  Israel,  we 


CANAAN 


[  236  ] 


CANAAN 


find  it  bounded,  and  at  the  same  time  effectually  de- 
feuded,  on  the  east  by  the  whole  length  of  the  river 
Jordan,  and  the  Dead  sea;  on  the  north  by  the 
mountain  of  Lebanon,  and  its  branches,  which,  of 
course,  afford  strong  grounds  on  which  to  resist  an 
invading  enemy;  on  the  west  by  the  Great  sea, 
where  its  ports  were  not  favorable  to  an  assailant, 
being  but  of  moderate  capacity,  and  ill  calculated  to 
accommodate  a  fleet ;  and  on  the  south  by  the 
wearisome  desert,  with  hills,  at  which  the  Israelites 
themselves  liad  been  repulsed.  We  conclude,  then, 
that  the  first  departure  from  the  plan  of  settUng  this 
peculiar  people  was  a  fatal  error,  since  it  deprived 
the  intended  country  of  so  great  a  proportion  of 
population  as  two  tribes  and  a  half;  whereas,  that 
density  of  population  which  these  tribes  must  havS 
produced,  would  have  been  the  security  of  the  whole, 
and  would  have  rendered  it  impregnable.  We  may 
also  infer,  that  had  these  two  tribes  and  a  half  settled 
in  Canaan,  they  would  have  enabled  the  Israelites  to 
have  driven  out  the  inhabitants  of  those' towns  which 
eventually  maintained  their  situations ;  so  that  the 
entire  country  would  have  been  completely  Israelite, 
and  the  consequent  uniformity  of  opinion  and  of 
interest  would  have  contributed  greatly  to  the  per- 
manency of  this  compact  and  confirnied  common- 
wealth. The  country  was  also  so  situated,  that  it 
possessed  the  power  of  choosing  what  intercourse  it 
thought  proper  with  surrounding  nations.  For  in- 
stance, caravans  for  traffic  might  rendezvous  at  Da- 
mascus, and  pass  into  Arabia,  or  into  Egypt,  without 
entering,  or  but  little,  the  Israelite  dominions  ;  and 
so  from  Egypt,  to  Damascus,  to  the  Euphrates,  and 
even  to  Bozra ;  while  the  intercourse  between 
Egj'pt,  Greece,  and  the  whole  of  Europe,  by  sea, 
was  maintained  without  any  interference  with  the 
ports  of  Palestine.  We  conclude,  then,  that  Balaam 
was  perfectly  correct  when  he  said,  "  This  people 
shall  dwell  alone''' — secluded,  having  little  commu- 
nication with  other  nations.  That  the  Hebrews  were 
not  likely  to  perform  voyages  of  long  continuance, 
may  be  inferred  from  the  established  peculiarities  of 
their  food  ;  and  this  may  contribute  to  account  for 
the  employment  of  Tyrians  by  Solomon,  in  his  ex- 
peditions to  Ophir.  In  short,  eveiy  thing  leads  us 
to  consider  this  nation  as  intended  for  an  agricultural, 
sedentary,  recluse  peojjle ;  whose  country  was  com- 
pact, and  almost  insulated,  Hke  themselves  ;  but  these 
intend^'d  advantages  were  rendered  ineffectual  by 
the  dcpartm-e  of  n 'considerable  portion  of  tlie  nation 
from  the  original  plan  of  their  settlement,  by  wliich 
it  was  mutilated,  if  not  destroyed;  and  the  common- 
wealth dcj)rived  of  that  federal  bond,  that  imity  of 
interest,  of  design,  of  religion,  and  of  fraternity, 
which  might  have  resisted  the  efforts  of  enemies  to 
subjugate  separate  parts,  and  so,  by  degrees,  the 
whole. 

Of  the  peculiarities  of  the  country  east  of  the 
Jordan,  we  have  some  interesting  though  imperfect 
notices.  We  have  a  nunil)(;r  of  travels  in  the  conn- 
try  west  of  the  Jordan,  from  the  Mediterranean  to 
Jerusalem,  whether  from  Acre,  from  Joppa,  or  from 
EgJ'l)t ;  but  for  several  centuries  the  east  of  the  Jordan 
has  remained  almost  unknown.  The  present  inhab- 
itants are  such  banditti,  that  Europeans  are  justified 
in  deeming  it  the  height  of  imprudence  to  venture 
among  them.  Yet  it  seems  possible,  by  obtaining 
powerful  protection,  greatly  to  diminish  this  danger. 
The  late  adventurous  M.  Seetzen  visited  this  re- 
gion in  the  early  part  of  this  century.  His  account 
is  to  this  effect : — "  I  had  intended  from  Acre  to  visit 


the  ancient  town  of  Edrei,  now  called  Draa,  and  the 
two  Decapolitan  cities  of  A'.jiJa,  now  Abil,  and  Ga- 
dara.  The  first  of  these  places,  Edrei,  is  often  men- 
tioned in  the  Hebrew  Scriptures,  as  one  of  the  most 
important  tov.ns  in  the  teiTitory  of  the  king  of  Ba- 
san,  who,  in  the  time  of  Moses,  lived  at  Astaroth, 
the  present  Busra.  But  the  country  was  so  infested 
by  the  nomad  Arabs,  that  I  could  procure  neither 
horse,  nor  mule,  nor  ass.  Yussuf  [his  servant]  even 
declared  to  me  a  second  time  that  he  could  not  ven- 
ture to  go  with  me.  It  was  not  without  difficulty 
that  I  at  last  found  a  guide ;  but  to  save  the  only 
coat  which  I  had  to  my  bacK,  and  wliich  the  Arabs 
would  not  have  failed  to  have  taken  from  nie,  I  was 
obliged  to  make  use  of  a  precaution  sufficiently 
strange,  which  was  to  cover  myself  with  rags  ;  in 
fact,  to  assume  the  disguise  of  a  i.aesloch,  or  com- 
mon beggar.  That  nothing  about  me  might  tenj{)t 
the  rapacity  of  the  Arabs,  I  put  over  my  siiirt  an  old 
kombaz,  or  dressing  gown,  and  above  that  an  old 
blue  and  ragged  shift — I  covered  my  head  with  some 
shreds,  and  my  feet  with  old  slippers.  An  old  tat- 
tered Abbai,  thrown  over  my  shoulders,  protected 
me  from  the  cold  and  rain,  and  a  branch  of  a  tree 
served  me  for  a  walking  stick.  My  guide,  a  Greek 
Christian,  put  on  nearly  the  saine  dress,  and  in  this 
trim  we  traversed  the  countiy  nearly  ten  days,  often 
stopped  by  the  cold  rains,  which  wetted  us  to  the 
skin.  I  was  also  obliged  to  walk  one  whole  day  in 
the  mud  with  my  feet  bare,  since  it  was  impossible 
to  use  my  slippers  on  that  marshy  land,  completely 
softened  by  the  water.  The  town  of  Draa,  situ- 
ated on  the  eastern  side  of  the  route  of  the  ])ilgrinis 
to  ]Mecca,  is  at  present  uninhabited  and  in  ruins. 
No  remains  of  the  beaiuifid  ancient  architecture 
could  be  found,  except  a  sarco])}iagus,  very  well  exe- 
cuted, which  I  saw  near  a  fountain,  to  which  it  serves 
as  a  basin.  Most  of  the  houses  are  built  with  ba- 
salt. The  district  of  El  Eotthin  contains  many 
thousand  caverns  made  in  the  rocks,  l)y  the  ancient 
inhabitants  of  the  country.  Most  of  the  houses, 
ev<Mi  in  these  villages,  which  are  yet  inhabited,  areli 
kind  of  grotto,  composed  of  walls  placed  against  the 
projecting  points  of  the  rocks,  in  such  a  manner  that 
the  W!'.liS  of  the  inner  chamber,  in  which  the  iuliab'- 
itauts  live,  are  partly  of  bare  rock,  and  partly  of 
mason-work.  Besides  these  retreats,  there  are,  in 
this  neighborhood,  a  number  of  very  large  caverns,  the 
construction  of  which  must  have  cost  isifinite  labor, 
since  they  are  formed  in  the  hard  rock.  Tliere  is 
only  one  door  of  entrance,  which  is  so  regularly 
fitted  into  the  rock,  that  it  shuts  like  the  door  of  a 
house.  It  appears,  then,  that  this  coimtry  was  for- 
merly inhabited  by  Troglodytes,  without  reckoning 
the  villages  whose  inhab.itants  may  be  regarded  as 
such.  There  are  still  to  bi^  ibimd  many  families  liv- 
hig  in  caverns,  sufficiently  spacious  to  contain  them 
and  all  their  cattle.  These  immense  caverns  are 
moreover  to  be  found,  in  considerable  numbers,  in 
the  district  of  Al-Jednr,  some  leagues  to  the  south- 
ward  of  M'kess,  where   also   we  met  with  seveial 

fatnilics  of  the  Troglodytes Besides  my  guide, 

I  had  taken  with  me  au  armed  jjeasant,  and  alter  a 
troublesome  walk  we  arrived  at  night  at  a  vast  natu- 
ral cavern,  inhabited  by  a  IMohammedan  family. 
After  going  through  a  wide  and  pretty  l(U)g  passage, 
Ave  j)crceived  at  *lie  other  end  a  part  of  the  family 
assembled  rotmd  a  fire,  and  employed  in  j-reparing 
supper,  which  consisted  princi|)ally  of  a  kind  of 
bouilli,  mixed  with  wild  herbs,  and  giuel  made  of 
wheat.     I  was  wet  through   by  the  rain,  and  had 


CANAAN 


[  23/ 


CANAAN 


walked  all  day  barefooted.  This  fire  was,  therefore, 
insufficient  to  warm  me,  although  the  persons  and 
cattle  which  came  in  at  sun-set  filled  nearly  all  the 
cavern.  I  should  probably  have  passed  a  bad  night, 
if  the  old  father  of  the  family  had  not  kindly  thought 
of  conducthig  us,  after  supper,  to  another  cavern  at 
a  small  distance.  After  having  passed  a  door  of  or- 
dinaiy  size,  we  found  there  all  the  flock  of  goats  be- 
longing to  this  Troglodyte,  and  at  the  end  a  large 
empty  space,  where  they  had  lighted  for  us  the  im- 
mense trunk  of  a  tree,  whose  cheerful  blaze  invited 
us  to  sleep  around  it.  The  fire  w  as  kept  in  all  night, 
and  the  chief  of  this  hospitable  family  brought  us 
also  a  good  mess  of  rice.  The  first  appearance  of 
these  fierce  inhabitants  of  the  rocks  had  given  me 
some  uneasiness,  but  I  afterwards  found  that  they 
were,  not  more  barbarous  than  other  peasants  of 
these  districts.  The  old  father  of  the  family  appeared, 
on  the  contrary,  to  be  a  sensible  and  humane  man. 
....  Several  artificial  gi-ottoes  have  been  worked  in 
the  rocks  around  Kairak,  where  wheat  is  preserved 
for  ten  years." 

The  immense  caverns  mentioned  in  Scripture,  in 
which  a  number  of  armed  men  were  hidden,  with 
cattle,  (Sec.  need  no  longer  excite  surprise.  We 
learn  also  that  the  wonderful  caves  of  the  dead,  the 
last  of  houses  appointed  for  all  living,  were  close  re- 
semblances to  these  dwellings :  so  that  the  house,  or 
the  chambers,  of  death,  is  correct,  as  a  literal  descrip- 
tion of  these  dreary  mansions.  Many  transactions 
might  pass  in  caverns,  in  that  country,  which  would 
appear  common  and  ordinary  there,  though  we 
think  them  wonderfully  strange.  Compai-e  the  resi- 
dence of  Lot  in  one  of  these  caves,  in  this  very 
neighborhood.  Gen.  xix.  30. 

After  Seetzen,  the  next  traveller  who  has  \'isited 
these  districts  is  Burckhardt,  who  extended  his 
course  much  farther  south  than  Seetzen,  and,  in- 
deed, traced  very  nearly  the  whole  of  the  route 
taken  by  Moses  and  the  Israelites,  anciently,  when 
traversing  these  countries,  in  their  advance  to  Ca- 
naan. We  shall  give  his  relation  in  his  own  words, 
in  a  letter  (dated  Cairo,  September  12,  1812)  ad- 
dressed to  the  secretaiy  of  the  African  institution : 
"Myfii-st  station  from  Damascus  was  SafTad,  (Ja- 
phet,)  a  few  hours  distant  from  Djessr  Beni  Yakoub, 
a  bridge  over  the  Jordan  to  the  south  of  the  lake 
Samachonitis.  From  thence  I  descended  to  the 
shore  of  the  lake  of  Tabai-ya,  (Tiberias,)  visited  Ta- 
barya,  and  its  neighboring  districts,  ascended  mount 
Tabor,  and  tarried  a  few  days  at  Narazeth.  I  met 
here  a  couple  of  petty  merchants  from  Szalt,  a  castle 
in  the  mountains  of  Balka,  which  I  had  not  been 
able  to  see  during  my  late  tour,  and  which  lies  on 
the  road  I  had  pointed  out  to  myself  for  passing  into 
the  Egj  ptian  deserts.  I  joined  their  caravan  ;  after 
eight  hours'  march,  we  descended  into  the  valley  of 
th.-  Jordan,  called  El  Ghor,  near  Bysan  ;  (Scythopo- 
lis ;)  crossed  the  river,  and  continued  along  its  ver- 
dant banks  for  about  ten  hours,  until  we  reached  the 
river  Zerka,  (Jabbok,)  near  the  place  where  it  emp- 
ties itself  into  the  Jordan.  Turning  then  to  our 
left,  we  ascended  the  eastern  chain,  formerly  part  of 
the  district  of  Balka,  and  arrived  at  Szalt,  two  long 
days'  journey  from  Nazareth.  The  inhabitants  of 
Szalt  arc  entirely  indejjendent  of  the  Turkish  gov- 
ernment ;  they  cultivate  the  ground  for  a  considera- 
ble distance  round  their  habitations,  and  part  of  them 
live  the  whole  year  round  in  tents,  to  watch  their 
harvest  and  to  pasture  their  cattle.  Many  luined 
places  and  mountains  m  the  district  of  Balka  pre- 


serve the  names  of  the  Old  Testament,  and  eluci- 
date the  topography  of  the  i)rovinces  that  fell  to  the 
share  of  the  tribes  of  Gad  and  Reuben.     Szalt  is  at 
present  the  only  inhabited  place  in  the  Balka,  but 
numerous  Arab  tribes  pasture  there  their  camels  and 
sheep.     I  visited  from  thence  the  ruins  of  Aman,  or 
Philadelphia,  five  hours  and  a  half  distant    from 
Szalt.     They  are  situated  in  a  valley  on  both  sides 
of  a  rivulet,  which  empties  itself  into  the  Zerka.     A 
large  amphitheatre  is  the  most  remarkable  of  these 
ruins,  which  are  much  decayed,  and  in  everj-  respect 
inferior  to  those  of  Djerash.     At  four  or  five  hours 
south-cast  of  Aman,  are  the  ruins  of  Om  En-esas 
and  El  Kotif,  which  I  could  not  see,  but  which,  ac- 
cording to  report,  are  more  considerable  than  those  of 
Philadelphia.    The  want  of  communication  between 
Szalt  and  the  southern  countries  delayed  my  depart 
ure   for  upwards  of  a  week ;  i  found  at  last  a  guide, 
and  we  reached  Kerek  in  two  days  and  a  half,  after 
having  passed  the  deep  beds  of  the  toiTcnts  El  Wale 
and  El  IModjeb,  which  I  suppose  to  be  the  Nahaliel 
and  Anion.   The  Modjeb  divides  the  district  of  Balka 
from  that  of  Kerek,  as  it  formerly  divided  the  Mo- 
abites  from  the  Amorites.     The  ruins  of  Eleale,  He- 
sebon,   Meon,   Medaba,   Dibou,    Arver,    [for    these 
names  see  Numb.  ch.  xxi.  xxxii.]  all  situated  on  the 
north  side  of  the  Arnon,  still  subsist,  to  illustrate  the 
history  of  the  Beni  Israel.     To  the  south  of  tl^.e  wild 
torrent  jModjeb  I   found  the  considerable  ruins  of 
Rabbat  Moab,  and,  three  hours  distant  from  them, 
the  town  of  Kerek,  situated  at  about  tv*elve  hours' 
distance  to  the  east  of  the  southern  extremity  of  the 
Dead  sea.     Kerek  is  an  important  position,  and  its 
chief  is  a  leading  character  in  the  affairs  of  the  des- 
erts of  southern  Syria ;  he  commands   about  12G0 
match-locks,  which  are  the  terror  of  the  neighboring 
Arab  tribes.   About  200  families  of  Greek  Christians, 
of  whom  one  third  have  entiiely  embraced  the  nom- 
ad   life,  live    here,   distinguished    only    from    their 
Arab  brethren  by  the  sign  of  the  cross.      The  treach- 
ery of  the  Shikh  of  Kerek,  to  whom  I  had  been  par- 
ticularly recommended  by  a  grandee  of  Damascus, 
obliged  me  to  stay  at  Kerek  about   twenty  days. 
After  having  annoyed  me  in  different  ways,  he  per- 
mitted me  to  accompany  him  southvrard,  as  he  had 
himself  business  in  the  mountains  of  Djebal,  a  dis- 
trict which  is  divided  from  that  of  Kerek  I)y  the  deep 
bed  of  the  torrent  El  Ansa,  or  El  Kahaiy,  eight  hours 
distant  from  Kerek.     We  remained  for  ten  days  in 
the  villages  to  the  north  and  south  of  El  Ansa,  which 
are  inhabited  by  Arabs,  who  have  become  cultiva- 
tors, and  who  sell  the  produce  of  their  fields  to  the 
Bedouins.     The  Shikh,  having  finished  his  business, 
left  me  at  Beszeyra,  a  village  about  sixteen  hours 
south  of  Kerek,  to  shift  for  mjself,  after  having  ma- 
liciously recommended  me  to  the  care  of  a  Bedouin, 
with  whose  character  he  must  have  been  acquainted, 
and  who  nearly  stripped  me  of  the  remainder  of  my 
money.     I  encountered  here  many  difticulties,  was 
obliged  to  walk  from  one  encampment  to  another, 
until  I  found  at  last  a  Bedouin,  wlio  engaged  to  carry 
me  to  ]'>gypt.     In  liis  company  I  continued  south- 
ward, in  the  mountains  of  Sliera,  \\hich  are  divided 
from  the  north  of  Djebal  by  the  broad  valley  called 
Ghoseyr,  at  about  five  hours'  distance  from  Beszeyra. 
The  chief  place  in  Djebal  is  Tatyle,  and  in  Shera 
the  castle  of  Shobak.     This  chain  of  mountains  is 
a  continuation  of  the  eastern  Syrian  chain,  which 
begins  Avith   the  And-Libanus,  joins  t!)e  Djebel  el 
Slnkh,  forms  the  valley  of  Ghor,  and  borders  the 
Dead  sea.     The  valley" of  Ghor  is  continued  to  the 


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south  of  the  Dead  sea;  at  about  sixteen  hours'  dis- 
tance from  the  extremity  of  the  Dead  sea,  its  name 
is  changed  into  that  of  Araba,  and  it  runs  in  ahiiost 
a  straight  Une,  dechning  somewhat  to  the  west,  as 
far  as  Akaba,  at  the  extremity  of  the  eastern  branch 
of  the  Red  sea.  The  existence  of  this  valley  ap- 
pears to  have  been  unknown  to  ancient  as^  well  as 
modern  geogi-aphers,  although  it  is  a  very  remarka- 
ble feature  in  the  geography  of  Syria,  and  Arabia 
Petrtea,  and  is  still  more  interesting  lor  its  produc- 
tions. In  this  valley  the  manna  is  still  found  ;  it 
drops  from  the  sprigs  of  several  trees,  but  principally 
from  the  Gliarrab  ;  it  is  collected  by  the  Arabs,  who 
make  rakes  of  it,  and  who  eat  it  with  butter  ;  they 
call  it  Assal  Beyrouk,  or  the  honey  of  Beyrouk.  In- 
digo, gum  arable,  tlie  silk  tree  called  Asheyr,  whose 
fruit  encloses  a  white  silky  substance,  of  wliich  the 
Arabs  twist  tlieir  matches,  grow  in  this  valley.  It  is 
inhabited  near  the  Dead  sea  in  sununer  time  by  a 
few  Bedouin  pe;isants  only,  but  during  the  winter 
months  it  becomes  the  meeting  place  of  upwards  of 
a  dozen  powerful  Arab  tribes.  It  is  probable  that 
the  trade  between  Jerusalem  and  the  Red  sea  was 
carried  on  through  this  valley.  The  caravan,  loaded 
at  Eziongeber  with  the  treasures  of  Ophir,  might, 
atl:er  a  march  of  six  or  seven  days,  deposit  its  loads 
in  the  warehouses  of  Solomon.  This  valley  de- 
serves to  be  thoroughly  known ;  its  examination  will 
lead  to  many  interesting  discoveries,  and  would  be 
one  of  the  most  important  objects  of  a  Palestine 
traveller.  At  the  distance  of  a  two  long  days'  jour- 
ney north-east  li-om  Akaba,  is  a  rivulet  and  valley 
in  the  Djebel  Shera,  on  the  east  side  of  the  Araba, 
called  Wady  3Iousa.  This  place  is  very  interesting 
for  its  antiquities  and  the  remains  of  an  ancient  city, 
which  I  conjecture  to  be  Petra,  the  capital  of  Arabia 
Petrcea,  a  place  which,  as  far  as  I  know,  no  Europe- 
an traveller  has  ever  visited.  In  the  red  sand-stone 
of  which  the  valley  is  composed  are  upwards  of  two 
hundred  and  tifty  sepulchres,  entirely  cut  out  of  the 
rock,  the  greater  part  of  them  with  Grecian  orna- 
ments. There  is  a  mausoleum  in  the  sliape  of  a 
temple,  of  colossal  dimensions,  likewise  cut  out  of 
the  rock,  Avith  all  its  apartments,  its  vestibule,  peri- 
style, &CC.  It  is  a  most  beautiful  specimen  of  Gre- 
cian architecture,  and  in  perfect  preservation.  There 
are  other  mausolea  with  obelisks,  apparently  in  the 
Egyptian  style,  a  whole  amphitheatre  cut  out  of  the 
rock,  with  the  remains  of  a  palace  and  of  several 
temidts.  U|)ou  the  summit  of  the  mountain  which 
closes  the  narrow  valley  on  its  western  side,  is  the 
tomb  of  Ilaroun,  (Aaron,  brother  of  3Ioses.)  It  is 
held  in  great  veneration  by  the  Arabs.  (If  I  recol- 
lect right,  there  is  a  passage  in  Eusebius,  in  which 
he  says  that  the  tomb  of  Aaron  was  situated  near 
Petra.)  The  information  of  Pliny  and  Strabo  on 
the  site  of  Petra,  agree  with  the  position  of  Wady 
Mousa.  (See  Sela.)  I  regi-etted  most  sensibly  that 
I  was  not  in  circumstances  that  admitted  of  my 
observing  these  antiquities  in  all  their  details,  but  it 
was  necessary  foi-  my  saf(-ty  not  to  inspire  the  Arabs 
with  suspicions  that  might  probably  have  impeded 
the  progress  of  my  journey,  for  I  was  an  unprotect- 
ed stranger,  known  to  be  a  townsman,  and  thus  au 
object  of  constant  curiosity  to  the  Bedouins,  who 
watched  all  my  steps  in  order  to  know  why  I  had 
preferred  that  road  to  Egypt,  to  the  shorter  one  along 
the  Mediterranean  coast.  It  was  the  intention  of 
my  guide  to  conduct  me  to  Akaija,  where  we  might 
hope  to  meet  with  some  caravan  for  Egy|)t.  On  our 
way  to  Akaba,  we  were,  however,  informed  that  a  few 


Ai-abs  were  preparing  to  ci'oss  the  desert  direct  to 
Cauo,  and  I  preferred  that  route,  because  I  had 
reason  to  apprehend  some  disagreeable  adventures 
at  Akaba,  where  the  pacha  of  Egypt  keeps  a  garri- 
son to  watch  the  Waliabi.  His  ollicers  I  knew  to 
be  extremely  jealous  of  Ai-abian  as  well  as  Syrian 
strangers,  and  I  had  nothing  with  me  by  which  I 
might  have  proved  the  nature  of  my  business  in  these 
remote  districts,  nor  even  my  Frank  origin.  We 
therefore  joined  the  caravan  of  Arabs  Allowein,  who 
were  carrying  a  few  camels  to  the  Cairo  market. 
We  crossed  the  valley  of  Araba,  ascended,  on  the 
other  side  of  it,  the  barren  mountains  of  Beyane,  and 
entered  the  desert  called  El  Ty,  which  is  the  most 
barren  and  horrid  tract  of  country  I  had  ever  seen  ; 
black  flints  cover  the  chalky  or  sandy  gi-ound,  which 
in  most  places  is  without  any  vegetation.  The  tree 
which  produces  the  gum  arable  grows  in  some  spots  ; 
and  the  tamarisk  is  met  with  here  and  there  :  but  the 
scarcity  of  water  forbids  much  extent  of  vegetation, 
and  the  hungry  camels  are  obliged  to  go  in  the  even- 
ing for  whole  hours  out  of  the  road  in  order  to  find 
some  withered  shrubs  upon  which  to  feed.  During 
ten  days'  forced  marches,  we  passed  only  four  springs 
or  wells,  of  which  one  only,  at  about  eight  hours 
east  of  Suez,  was  of  sweet  water.  The  others  were 
brackish  and  sulphureous.  We  passed  at  a  short 
distance  to  the  north  of  Suez,  and  arrived  at  Cairo 
by  the  pilgrim  road." 

The  account  transmitted  by  Burckhardt  has  been 
subsequently  verified  by  ]Mr.  Legh,  a  gentleman  well 
known  by  his  travels  in  Egypt.  His  narration  forms 
an  interesting  portion  of  Dr.  Macmichael's  Journey 
to  Constantinople,  in  1818.  The  perplexities  of  the 
learned  in  their  endeavors  to  ascertain  the  site  of 
Petra,  a  city  once  so  fanjous  and  so  powerful,  are  now 
removed  ;  and  we  have  discovered  demonstrations 
of  a  seat  of  government,  a  considerable  population, 
and  a  respectable  state  of  the  arts,  in  the  midst  of  a 
vast  accunmlation  of  rocks,  and  (apparently)  an'un- 
productive  desert.  The  existence  of  a  rivulet,  or 
stream  of  water,  at  this  place,  cannot  escape  the 
reader's  notice  ;  and  he  has  been  partly  prepared  for 
residences,  and  even  extensive  dwellings,  among 
rocks,  cut  out  of  them,  or  annexed  to  them,  by  the 
description  Seetzen  has  given  of  the  modern  Trog- 
lodytes by  w  horn  he  was  received.  The  importance 
of  thest!  discoveries  is  indisputable  ;  and  the  whole, 
as  already  known,  justifies  the  inference  of  a  state 
of  things,  of  national  poAver,  and  of  intercourse,  in 
ancient  times,  (and,  probably,  in  the  most  remote  an- 
tiquity with  which  we  are  acquainted,)  entirely  dif- 
ferent from  any  conception  we  could  previously  form. 
It  is  pleasant  to  see  the  accounts  of  ancient  writers 
justified  ;  and  still  more  to  see  the  allusions  and  his- 
torical facts  of  Scripture  supported  l)y  existing  evi- 
dences, to  which  no  possible  imputation  of  inaccu- 
racy can  be  attached.  It  will  be  observed,  that 
mount  Sinai  was  seen  from  mount  Ilor;  also  its  dis- 
tance, three  days'  journey ;  undoubtedly,  therefore, 
mount  Hor  was  visible  fi-om  Sinai ;  and  Burck- 
hardt places  Wady  Mousa  (Petra)  at  two  long  days' 
journey  north-east  from  Akaba  ;  and  north  of  it 
he  places  the  valley  of  Ghor.  The  reader  may 
now  compare  the  ]Mosaic  history  with  this  naiTative 
to  great  advantage. 

Passing  on  by  Roman  ruins,  and  occasionally  Ro- 
man roads,  Mr.  Legh  arrived  at  Shubac  the  20th  of 
May.  "On  the  2.3d,  the  sheikh  of  Shubac,  Mahomet 
Ebn-Raschid,  arrived,  and  with  him  also  came  the 
sheikh  Abou-Zeitun,  (Father  of  the  Ohvc-tree,)  tlie 


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governor  of  Wadi  Mousa.  The  latter  proved  after- 
wards our  most  formidable  enemy,  and  we  were  in- 
debted to  the  courage  and  unyielding  spirit  of  the 
former  for  tiie  accomplishment  of  our  journey,  and 
the  sigiit  of  the  wonders  of  Petra.  When  we  related 
to  tlie  two  sheikhs,  who  had  just  entered  the  camp, 
our  eager  desire  to  be  permitted  to  proceed,  Ahou- 
Zeitun  swore,  'by  the  beard  of  the  i)ro|)het,  and  by 
tlie  Creator,'  that  the  CafFrees,  or  infidels,  should  not 
come  into  his  country."  Mahomet  Ebn-Raschid  as 
warmlv  supported  tliem,  and  "Now,  there  arose  a 
groat  dispute  between  the  two  sheikhs,  in  the  tent, 
which  assumed  a  serious  aspect:  the  sheikh  of  Wadi 
JMousa,  at  length  starting  up,  vowed  that  if  we  should 
«lare  to  pass  through  his  lands,  we  should  be  shot 
like  so  many  dogs.  Our  friend  31ahomet  mounted, 
and  desired  us  to  follow  his  example,  which,  when 
he  saw  we  had  done,  he  gi-asped  his  spear  and  fierce- 
ly exclaimed,  '  I  have  set  them  on  their  horses  :  let 
me  see  who  dare  stop  Ebn-Raschid.'  We  rode 
along  a  valley,  the  people  of  Wadi  Mousa,  with  their 
sheikh  at  tlieir  head,  continuing  on  the  high  ground 
to  the  left  in  a  parallel  direction,  watching  our  move- 
ments. In  half  an  hour  we  halted  at  a  spring,  and 
were  joined  by  about  twenty  horsemen  provided 
with  lances,  and  thirty  men  on  foot,  with  matchlock 
guns,  and  a  few  double-mounted  dromedaries,  whose 
riders  were  well  armed.  On  the  arrival  of  this  rein- 
forcement, the  chief,  Ebn-Raschid,  took  an  oath  in 
the  presence  of  his  Arabs,  swearing, '  by  the  honor  of 
tlieir  women,  and  by  the  beard  of  the  prophet,  that 
we,'  pointing  to  our  party,  '  should  drink  of  the  wa- 
ters of  AVadi  Mousa,  and  go  wherever  we  pleased  in 
their  accursed  country.' "  Soon  after  they  left  the 
ravine,  the  rugged  peak  of  mount  Hor  was  seen 
towering  over  the  dark  mountains  on  their  right, 
with  Petra  under  it,  and  Djebeltour,  or  mount  Sinai, 
distant  three  daj's'  journey,  like  a  cone  in  the  hori- 
zon. They  reached  Ebn-Raschid's  camp  of  about 
seven  tents,  (usually  25  feet  long  and  14  feet  wide,) 
in  three  circles,  and  next  morning  attempted,  but  in 
vain,  to  obtain  the  consent  of  the  hostile  sheikh  to 
pass  through  his  territory.  They  did  not,  ho^vever, 
come  to  blows,  and  at  length  they  passed  the  much 
contested  sti-eam  on  which  stood  the  mud  village  of 
Wadi  Mousa  ;  Ebn-Raschid,  with  an  air  of  triumph, 
insisting  on  watering  the  horses  at  that  rivulet. 
"  While  we  lialted  for  that  purpose,  we  examined  a 
sepulchre  excavated  on  the  right  of  the  road.  It  was 
of  considerable  dimensions:  and  at  the  entrance  of 
the  open  court  that  led  to  the  inner  chamber  were 
represented  two  animals  resembling  lions  or  sphinxes, 
but  much  disfigured,  of  colossal  size.  As  this  was 
the  first  object  of  curiosity  that  presented  itself,  we 
began  to  measure  its  dimensions  ;  but  our  guides 
grew  impatient,  and  said,  that  if  we  intended  to  be  so 
accurate  in  our  survey  of  all  the  extraordinary  places 
we  should  see,  we  should  not  finish  in  ten  thousand 
\ears." 

They  therefore  remounted,  and  rode  on  through 
niches  sculptured  in  the  rocks,  frequent  representa- 
tions of  rude  stones,  mysterious  symbols  of  an  indef- 
inite figure  detached  in  relief,  water  courses  or  earth- 
en pipes,  arches,  aqueducts,  and  all  the  signs  of  a 
wonderful  ])eriod  in  the  ancient  annals  of  this  mem- 
orable scene.  "We  continued  (says  the  narrative)  to 
explore  the  gloomy  winding  passage  for  the  distance 
of  about  two  miles,  gradually  descending,  when  the 
beautifiil  facade  of  a  temple  burst  on  our  view.  A 
statue  of  Victory  with  wings,  filled  the  centre  of  an 
aperture  like  an  attic  window  ;  and  groups  of  colos- 


sal figures,  representing  a  centaur  and  a  young  man, 
were  placed  on  each  side  of  a  portico  of  loftv  propor- 
tion, comprising  two  stones,  and  deficient  in  nothing 
but  a  single  column.  The  temple  was  entirely  exca- 
vated from  the  solid  rock,  and  preserved  from  the  rav- 
ages of  time  and  the  weather  by  the  massive  projections 
of  the  natural  clifl's  above,  in  a  state  of  excjuisite  and 
inconceivable  perfection.  But  the  interior  chambers 
were  comparatively  small,  and  appeared  unworthy 
of  so  magnificent  a  portico.  On  the  siuiiujit  of  the 
front  was  ])laced  a  vase,  hewn  also  out  cf  the  solid 
rock,  conceived  by  the  Arabs  to  be  filled  with  the 
most  valuable  treasure,  and  showing,  in  the  numerous 
shot-marks  on  its  exterior,  so  many  proofs  of  their 
avidity  ;  for  it  is  so  situated  as  to  be  inaccessible  to 
other  attacks.  This  was  the  hasna,  or  treasure  of 
Pharaoh,  as  it  is  called  by  the  natives,  which  Ebn- 
Raschid  swore  we  should  behold."  A  colossal  vase 
belonging,  probably,  to  another  temple,  was  seen  by 
captains  Irby  and  3Iangles,  at  some  distance  to  the 
westward,  and  many  excavated  chambers  were  found 
in  front  of  this  temple  of  Victory.  About  three  hun- 
dred yards  farther  on  was  an  amphitheatre.  "  Thir- 
ty-three steps  (gradini)  were  to  be  counted,  but,  un- 
fortunately, the  j)roscenium,  not  having  been  excavat- 
ed like  the  other  parts,  but  built,  was  in  ruins." 
Th-j  remains  of  a  palace,  and  immense  numbers  of 
bricks,  tiles,  &.c.  presented  theinselves  on  a  large 
open  space,  while  "  the  rocks  which  enclosed  it  on 
all  sides,  with  the  exception  of  the  north-east,  were 
hollowed  out  into  innumerable  chambers  of  difl^erent 
dimensions,  whose  entrances  were  variously,  richly, 
and  often  fantastically,  decorated  with  every  imagi- 
nable order  of  architecture."  Petra  was,  in  the  time 
of  Augustus,  the  residence  of  a  king  who  governed 
the  Nabathsei,  or  inhabitants  of  Arabia  Petrsea,  who 
were  conquered  by  Trajan,  and  annexed  to  Pales- 
tine. More  recently,  it  was  possessed  by  Baldwin 
I.  king  of  Jerusalem,  and  called  by  him  IMous  Re- 
galis. 

Should  any  European  traveller  be  so  fortunate  as 
to  be  allowed  to  accompany  the  caravan  from  Gaza 
to  meet  the  Mecca  pilgrims  ;  or  to  examine  the  district 
of  Beersheba,  and  of  Paran,  south  of  the  Dead  sea, 
our  account  of  the  Holy  Land  would  be  more  com- 
plete than  it  is  at  present ;  and  we  might  possess  the 
means  of  clearing  up  man}'  points  connected  with 
the  residence  of  Israel  in  the  wilderaess,  and  other 
Scripture  histories,  which  continue  involved  in  ob- 
scurity, from  want  of  such  information.  [The  castle 
of  Akaba,  the  site  of  the  ancient  Elath,  was  after- 
wards visited  by  M.  Riippel.  For  his  account  of 
this  region  see  the  article  Elath.     R. 

In  addition  to  what  has  been  already  said,  we  may 
remark,  that  as  storms,  in  Palestine,  come  from  the 
3Iediterranean  sea,  the  prophet  Elijah  was  perfectly 
correct  in  choosing  mount  Carmel,  on  the  edge  of 
that  sea,  for  the  scene  of  his  contest  with  the  priests 
of  Baal  before  Ahab,  1  Kings  xviii.  Also,  in  his  go- 
ing up  the  mount,  and  sending  Gehazi  to  look  toward 
the  sea  for  that  rain  which  he  had  predicted,  (ver. 
41.)  but  of  which  there  was  then  no  appearance.  It 
would  seem  possible,  too,  that  this  rain  was  accom- 
panied by  thunder ;  for  Elijah  hints  prophetically  at 
"the  sound  of  abundance  of  rain  :" — this,  hoAvever, 
is  not  determinate.  Volney  says  that  rain  is  to  be 
expected  "  in  the  evening :"  it  was  toward  evening 
when  Elijah  foretold  rainto  Ahab;  and  it  was  quite 
evening  when  the  rain  fell. 

The  same  WTiter  says,  "  Thunder  is  extremely  rare 
in  summer  in  the  plain  of  Palestine  :"  yet  Samuel,  by 


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his  prayers,  obtained  it  from  the  Lord  in  the  time  of 
wheat  harvest,  1  Sam.  xii.  18. 

Perhaps  something  of  the  nature  of  thunder  is  al- 
luded to  in  2  Sam.  v.  24.  "  When  thou  hearest  the 
voice  of  proceeding — advancing — in  the  heads  of  the 
Becaiin." — What  are  these  hecaim  ?  Certainly  not 
mulberry-trees ; — but  probably  a  kind  of  balsam-ti-ee 
or  shrub.  The  word  signifies  to  ooze,  to  distil  in 
small  quantities,  to  weep.  "  The  valleys  of  rills,"  or 
rivulets,  or  moisture. 

It  rains  on  the  mountains  in  Syria  when  it  does 
not  rain  on  the  plains.  Thus,  when  Elisha  foretold 
a  supply  of  water  to  the  army  of  Jehoshaphat,  per- 
ishing by  thirst,  (2  Kings  iii.)  though  they  saw  nei- 
ther wind  nor  rain,  yet  both  might  have  occurred  at 
a  distance,  "  by  the  way  of  Edom  ;"  which  rain,  run- 
ning from  the  mountains,  was  providentially  directed 
to  fill  the  drains  and  ditches  made  by  the  Israelites. 
Now,  as  no  signs  of  rain  had  been  observed  by  the 
P.Ioabitcs,  tlicy  concluded,  wlicn  the  sunbeams  were 
reflected  by  the  water,  that  it  was  blood  ;  and  their 
hasty  conclusion  ruined  them.  The  suddenness  of 
rains  among  the  mountains,  with  their  effects,  is  wliat 
perhaps  we,  at  least  in  some  parts  of  England,  can 
hardly  conceive  of.  We  have  seen  that  they  fall 
evening  and  morning:  Mr.  Maundrell  also  tells  us,  (p. 
8.)  "  At  Shofatia  we  were  obliged  to  pass  a  rive  ■  — 
a  river  we  might  call  it  now,  it  being  swollen  so  high 
by  the  late  rains  that  it  was  impassable :  though  at 
other  times  itnnght  be  but  a  snaall  brook,  and  in  sum- 
mer perfectly  dry.  These  mountain-rivers  are  ordi- 
narily very  inconsiderable ;  but  they  are  apt  to  swell 
upon  sudden  rains,  to  the  destruction  of  many  a  pas- 
senger, who  will  be  so  hardy  as  to  venture  unadvis- 
edly over  them." 

This  may  also  exhibit,  perhaps,  the  true  import  of 
the  history  of  the  destruction  of  Sisera's  army  :  (Judg. 
iv.) — Barak,  by  divine  assistance,  having  routed  that 
army,  the  fugitives  endeavored  to  escape,  by  passing 
the  torrent  Kishon,  which  they  supposed  to  be  forda- 
ble  ;  but,  in  the  night,  a  heavy  rain  had  sn  elled  it  to  a 
great  overflow,  so  that  many  were  drowned  in  at- 
tempting to  pass  it.  Sisera,  perceiving  this,  would 
iiot  attempt  tlie  passage  in  his  chariot,  but  fled  on 
foot  in  another  direction,  which  iirought  him  to  Jacl. 
Thus,  it  being  by  night,  "the stars  in  their  courses" 
nfight  be  said  to  "fight  against  S.isera."  Bloreover, 
if  the  rain  fell  on  the  tops  of  the  mountains  adjacent,  or 
distant,  the  glinnner  of  star-light  just  visible  might 
deceive  Sisera's  flying  army  to  attempt  passing  the 
su{)poscd  brook  ;  and  to  this  rapidity  of  the  Kishon 
the  poetess  adverts,  "  The  river  Kishon  swept  them 
away" — as  such  "  mountain-brooks  are  apt  to  swell  on 
sudden  rains,  to  the  destruction  of  many  passengers." 
There  is  no  reference  here  to  judicial  astrology.  But 
see  the  Bil)lical  Rei)ositorj^,  vol.  i.  j).  5G8,  seq. 

Mr.  Ilarmer  much  wished  for  such  an  account  of 
the  various  times,  seasons,  and  events  of  the  year,  in 
Palestine  or  Syria,  as  might  form  a  calendar,  to  reg- 
ulate our  notions  of  the  employments  and  duties  of 
the  inhabitants ;  of  their  expectations  concerning 
what  seasons  they  thought  likely  to  occur;  and 
of  those  numerous  occupations  which  depend  on 
the  vicissitudes  of  suuuner  and  winter,  of  seed- 
time and  harvest.  The  same  wishes  animated  the 
directors  of  the  Royal  Society  ofGottingen,  and  beiu"- 
persuaded  of  the  advantages  to  be  derived  in  the 
study  of  Scripture  li-om  such  a  work,  they  proposed  it 
as  a  prize  question  ;  to  be  selected  from  travellers  of 
acknowledged  authority.  The  successful  competi- 
tor was  J.  G.  Buhle  ;  and  his  work,  entitled  "  Calen- 


darium  Palestinae  CEnomicum,"  communicates  muchi 
valuable  information.  Of  this  Mr.  Taylor  has  made 
a  translation,  and  inserted  it  among  the  Fragments 
to  the  larger  edition  of  this  work  ;  but  as  it  contains 
nuich  that  is  useless  to  the  general  reader,  and  occu- 
pies considerable  space,  we  have  made  the  follow- 
ing abridgment.  In  the  larger  work  the  names  of 
the  several  productions  are  given  in  detail,  and  all 
the  authorities  upon  which  the  statements  are  found- 
ed, inserted  at  full  length,  with  a  specification  of  the 
particular  editions  of  the  works  to  which  reference  is 
made. 

January. 

JFeather. — This  may  be  called  the  second  winter 
month.  On  the  elevated  parts  of  Palestine,  the  cold 
is  intense  during  the  early  part  of  the  month.  There 
is  generally  a  considerable  tall  of  snow,  which  is  dis- 
solved in  a  few  hours.  In  the  plain  of  Jcri<*ho  the 
cold  is  scarcely  felt.  The  western  winds,  which 
generally  blow  during  winter,  bring  heavy  rains,  es- 
pecially during  the  night :  these  swell  the  rivers, 
lakes,  and  jiools,  which  are  dried  up  during  the  sum- 
mer. In  the  morning  the  merciuy  is  generally  be- 
tween 40°  and  4G°,  and  does  not  rise  above  3°  or  4° 
in  the  afternoon.  On  rainy  or  cloudy  days,  it  sel- 
,dom  exceeds  1°  or  2°  of  rise,  and  frequently  remains 
the  same  during  the  whole  day.  Towards  the  latter 
end  of  the  month,  when  the  sky  is  clear,  it  is  so  hot 
that  travellers  with  difficulty  prosecute  their  journey. 
The  winds  blow  gently,  and  chiefly  from  the  north 
or  east. 

Productions. — All  kinds  of  corn  are  sown  this 
month.  Beans  blossom,  and  the  trees  are  again  in 
leaf.  The  almond-tree  blossoms  earliest,  and  even 
before  it  is  in  leaf.  If  the  winter  be  mild,  the  winter 
fig,  which  is  generally  gathered  the  beginning  of 
spring,  is  still  found  on  the  trees,  though  stripped  of 
their  branches.  Blistleto,  and  the  cotton-tree,  flour- 
ish. Among  the  garden  herbs  and  flowers  of  this 
month  are  caulitlowei',  hyacinth,  violet,  gold- 
streaked  daffodil,  tulip,  wormwood,  leutisc-tree, 
anemonies,  ranunculuses,  and  colchicas,  a  genus  of 
lilies. 

February. 

Weather. — -The  >veather  is  the  same  as  last  month, 
except  that,  towards  the  latter  end,  at  least  in  the 
more  southern  parts,  the  snows  and  winter  cold  are 
observed  to  cease.  Chiefly  remarkable  for  rains  ; 
these,  however,  do  not  continue  man}'  days  together : 
but  the  weather  varies  about  the  4th  or  6th.  Some- 
times it  changes  to  cold,  with  snow.  The  sky  is  fre- 
quently covered  with  clear  light  clouds :  tlie  atmos- 
phere grows  warm  ;  the  wind  continuing  north  or  east, 
but,  latterly,  changing  westward.  The  first  14  days, 
the  mercury  usually  stands  between  42°  and  47°.  In 
the  afternoon  it  does  not  rise  above  1,  2,  or  3  degrees, 
but  afterwards,  except  the  weather  should  become 
cold,  it  rises  gradually  to  50°. 

Productions. — The  latter  crops  now  appear  above 
ground ;  barley  is  sown  until  the  middle  of  the 
month.  Beans  acquire  a  husk,  and  may  be  gathered 
all  the  spring.  Cauliflowers  and  water-parsnips  are 
gathered.  The  jjeach  and  apple-trees  blossom,  and 
a  great  variety  of  herbs  captivating  the  sight  by  their 
delightful  appearance  in  the  fields. 

March. 

IFeathcr. — This  month  is  the  forerunner  of  spring  ; 


CANAAN 


[241  ] 


CANAAN 


but  rains,  with  thunder  and  hail,  are  not  yet  over. 
Tiie  weather  is  generally  warm  and  temperate; 
sometimes  extremely  hot,  especially  in  the  plain  of 
Jericho.  The  western  winds  ollen  blow  with  great 
force,  and  the  sky  is  cloudy  and  obscured.  In  the 
middle  of  the  month,  the  mercury  stands  at  52° ; 
towards  the  end,  between  56^  and  58°.  In  the  begin- 
ning of  the  month,  it  does  not  rise  in  the  afternoon 
above  5° ;  towards  the  end,  8°  or  9°  ;  in  rainy  weath- 
er, there  is  scarcely  any  variation  during  the  whole 
day.  Towards  the  end  of  the  month,  the  rivers  are 
much  swollen  by  the  rain,  and  by  the  thawing  of  the 
snow  on  the  tops  of  the  mountains.  Earthquakes 
are  sometimes  felt  at  this  time. 

Productions. — Rice,  Indian  wheat,  and  corn  of  Da- 
mascus are  sown  in  Lower  Egypt.  Beans,  chick- 
peas, lentils,  kidney-beans,  and  geivansos  are  gather- 
ed. Every  tree  is  in  full  leaf.  The  fig,  palm,  apple, 
and  pear-trees  blossom ;  the  former,  frequently, 
while  the  winter  fig  is  on  the  tree.  The  Jericho 
plum-tree  presents  its  fruit.  The  vine,  which  has  a 
triple  pioduce,  having  yielded  its  first  clusters,  is 
pruned  of  the  barren  wood.  Thyme,  sage,  rosemary, 
artichoke,  fennel,  &c.  flourish. 

April. 

Weather. — The  latter  rains  now  fall ;  but  cease 
about  the  end  of  the  month.  The  sun's  heat  is  ex- 
cessive in  the  plain  of  Jericho,  the  small  streams  in 
which  are  dried  up.  But  in  other  parts  of  Palestine, 
the  spring  is  now  delightful.  Heavy  dews  sometimes 
fall  in  the  night.  The  mercury  rises  gradually,  as 
the  month  advances,  from  60°  to  66°  ;  in  the  after- 
noon, it  does  not  rise,  when  the  sky  is  clear,  above 
8°  or  10°.  The  sky  is  always  without  clouds,  except 
those  small  bright  ones  that  rise  in  the  afternoon. 
Never  is  the  sky  observed  to  be  cloudy  or  obscured, 
except  when  tliere  is  rain,  which  is  accompanied 
with  thunder  much  seldomer  than  in  the  last  month. 
A  hoar-frost  is  seen,  for  several  days  together,  the 
beginning  of  the  month  ;  especially  when  the  winds 
blow  from  the  north  or  east.  The  air  grows  very 
hot,  but  the  mornings  and  evenings  are  cooler.  The 
snows  on  the  summits  of  Libanus,  and  other  moun- 
tains, begin  to  thaw. 

Productions. — The  harvest  depends  upon  the  du- 
ration of  the  rainy  season.  After  the  rains  cease,  the 
corn  soon  arrives  at  maturity.  Wheat,  zea  or  spelt, 
and  barley  ripen.  The  spring  fig  is  still  hard.  The 
almond  and  the  orange-trees  produce  fruit.  The 
turpentine-tree  and  the  charnubi  blossom.  A  new 
shoot,  bearing  fruit,  springs  from  the  branch  of  the 
vine  that  was  left  in  the  preceding  month,  which 
must  also  be  lopped.  Sugar-canes  are  planted  at 
Cyprus. 

Grass  being  very  high,  the  Arabs  lead  out  their 
horses  to  pasture. 

Mat. 

Weather. — The  summer  season  commences :  the 
excessive  heat  of  the  sun  renders  the  earth  barren. 
Rain  has  been  observed  even  in  the  first  part  of  this 
month.  Egmont  found  the  air  of  the  town  of  Safet 
most  pure  and  salubrious,  while  the  heat  was  insup- 
portable in  the  parts  adjacent.  The  sky  is  generally 
serene  and  fair,  except  that  small,  bright  clouds  some- 
times rise.  The  winds  blow  generally  from  the 
west.  At  the  beginning  of  the  month,  the  mercury 
reaches  70°  ;  then  it  rises  gradually  from  76°  to  80°. 

I      In  the  afternoon,  it  does  not  rise  above  6°  or  9°.   The 

I  31 


air  becomes  hotter  in  proportion  as  the  western  winds 
abate,  especially  if  they  are  calm  for  several  days  to- 
gether :  but  even  then  the  violence  of  the  heat  is  not 
so  great  as  when  the  wind  blows  from  the  north  or 
east.  When  the  heat  is  very  great,  there  is  frequent- 
ly observed  a  dry  mist,  which  obscures  the  sun. 
The  snows  on  Libanus  thaw  rapidly,  but  the  cold  is 
still  sharp  on  its  summit. 

Productions. — Harvest  continues.  Wheat,  barley, 
rice  and  rye  are  cut  down.  The  early  aj)j)les  are 
gathered.  Hasselquist  and  Pococke  state  that  cotton 
is  so\vn  this  month  ;  but  Mariti  and  Korte  affirm, 
that  the  cotton-tree  bears  the  winter  in  Syria,  and 
now  puts  forth  a  yellow  blossom.  Mandrakes  yield 
ripe  fruit.  Sage,  rue,  garden  purslain,  the  yellow 
cucumber  and  the  white  now  flourish.  They  con- 
tinue, after  harvest,  to  sow  various  garden  herbs : 
many  of  the  vegetables  come  to  maturity  twice  in 
the  same  year,  in  spring  and  in  autumn.  The  giass 
and  herbs  reach  their  greatest  height  at  this  tune. 

June. 

Weather. — During  this  month  the  sky  is  generally 
clear,  and  the  weather  extremely  hot.  As  the  month 
advances,  the  mercury  gradually  rises  in  the  morn- 
ing, from  76°  to  80° ;  in  the  afternoon,  it  stands  be- 
tween 84°  fuid  92°.  The  winds,  generally  blowing 
from  the  west,  refresh  the  air  in  the  afternoon :  and, 
by  blowing  sometimes  during  the  night,  they  assuage 
the  heats,  which  are  now  excessive.  The  inhabit- 
ants pass  their  nights  in  sunmier  upon  the  roofs  of 
their  houses,  wliich  are  not  rendered  damj)  by  any 
dew.  The  snow,  however,  is  still  frozen  on  Libanus, 
in  some  parts  of  which  it  is  so  cold,  as  to  compel 
travellers  to  ])ut  on  their  winter  garments. 

Productions. — Rice,  early  figs  and  ap])les,  plums, 
cherries  and  mulberries  ripen.  The  cedar  gum  dis- 
tils spontaneously,  and  the  bacciferous  cedar  yields 
berries.  The  palm-tree  produces  opobalsamum,  or 
balm  of  Gilead,  during  this  and  the  two  following 
months.  The  melon  is  gathered,  and  rosemary 
flourishes. 

The  Arabs,  as  the  summer  advances,  lead  their 
flocks  to  the  hills  and  mountains  situated  more  to 
the  north. 

July. 

Weather. — Heat  more  intense.  There  is  no  rain, 
Libanus  is  free  from  snow,  except  where  the  sun 
cannot  penetrate.  The  snows  on  die  tojis  of  the 
mountains  thawing  gradually  during  the  summer, 
Libanus  yields  a  perpetual  sujiply  of  water  to  the 
brooks  and  fountains  in  the  countries  below.  The 
mercury  usually  stands  in  the  beginning  of  the 
month  at  80°  ;  towards  the  end,  85°  or  86°.  It  does 
not  rise  in  the  afternoon  above  8°  or  10°.  The  winds 
generally  blow  from  the  west ;  but,  when  they  fail, 
the  heat  is  excessive. 

Productions. — Dates,  apples,  pears,  nectarines, 
peaches,  grapes,  and  the  gourd  called  citrul  ripen. 
Cauliflower  and  water-parsnip  are  sown.  There  is 
no  longer  a  sufficient  supply  of  pasturage  for  the 
cattle. 

August. 

Weather.— The  sky  is  serene  and  fair,  and  the  heat 
extreme.  The  weather  is  entirely  the  same  during 
the  first  twenty  days,  as  in  the  preceding  months  : 
afterwards  white  clouds,  commonly  called  niliaca, 
larger  than  those  which  are  generally  observed  in 


CANAAN 


[  242  ] 


CAN 


Bummer,  rise,  for  the  most  part,  till  the  end  of  the 
month.  Mr.  Burckhardt,  who  was  at  Shobak,  a  vil- 
lage a  few  miles  north  of  mount  Seir,  in  Arabia  Pe- 
trea,  on  the  20th  of  this  month,  states,  that  in  the  af- 
ternoon there  was  a  shower  of  rain,  with  so  violent 
a  gust  of  wind,  that  all  the  tents  were  thrown  .down 
at  the  same  moment.  The  mercury,  until  those  days 
when  the  clouds  rise,  continues  the  same  as  in  the 
last  month  ;  afterwards,  it  falls  4°  or  5°.  Dew  falls, 
but  not  in  any  great  quantities.  Snow  has  been  seen 
on  the  summits  of  Libanus  during  this  month,  but  it 
was  wet  and  slipper}\ 

Productions. — Figs,  olives,  and  pomegranates  are 
ripe.  The  winter  fig,  or  the  third  jjroduce, 
which  does  not  ripen  before  winter,  appears  this 
month.  The  shrub  al-kenna,  or  al-henna,  (see  Cam- 
PHiRE,)  brought  out  of  Egypt,  puts  forth  leaves,  and 
its  fragrant  blossoms.  The  first  clusters  of  the  vine, 
which  blossomed  in  March,  come  to  maturity,  and 
are  ready  for  gathering. 

September. 

Weather. — During  this  month  the  days  are  very 
hot,  and  the  nights  extremely  cold.  The  rainy  sea- 
son commences  towards  the  end  of  the  month.  The 
mercury  remains  the  same  in  the  beginning  of  this 
month  as  it  was  at  the  latter  end  of  the  preceding 
one  ;  except  that  it  rises  higher  in  the  afternoon.  In 
rainy  weather  it  falls  3°  or  4°,  till  it  gets  down  to  65°  ; 
but  the  variation  of  one  day  does  not  exceed  3°  or 
4°  ;  and  when  it  rains,  1°  or  2°.  Lightnings  are  very 
frequent  in  the  night-time  ;  and  if  seen  in  the  western 
hemisphere,  they  portend  rain,  often  accompanied 
with  thunder.   The  winds  blow  chiefly  from  the  west. 

Productions. — Towards  the  end  of  tlie  month 
ploughing  begins.  Ripe  dates,  pomegranates,  pears, 
plums,  citrons,  and  oranges  are  now  obtained.  The 
sebastus,  also,  yields  fruit,  and  the  charnubi  ripe 
pods.  Cotton  is  now  gathered  ;  and  also  the  second 
clusters  of  grapes,  which  blossomed  in  April. 

October. 

Weather. — The  rainy  season  now  commences;  the 
extreme  heat  is  abated,  (although  still  great  in  the 
day-time,)  the  air  being  much  refreshed  by  cold  in 
the  night,  by  which  the  dew  is  frozen.  The  rains 
which  now  fall,  called  the  early  or  former  rains,  are 
sometimes  accoiniianied  with  thimder.  The  winds 
are  seldom  very  strong,  but  variable.  The  mercuiy 
in  the  morning  stands,  for  the  most  part,  before  the 
rainy  days,  at  72°.  It  does  not  rise,  in  the  afternoon, 
above  5°  or  6°.  After  the  rains,  it  descends  gradu- 
ally to  60°.  The  variation  of  one  day,  seldom,  on 
rainy  days  never,  exceeds  .3°  or  4°. 

Productions. — About  the  middle  of  this  month 
wheat  and  barley  ai-e  sown,  as  also  during  the  two 
following  months.  White-blossoming  chick-pea,  len- 
tils, purjile  flowering  garden  spurge,  small  smooth- 
podded  vetches,  sesannum,  green-rinded  melons,  an- 
guria,  (gourds,)  cucumbers,  fennel,  garden  fenugreek, 
and  bastard  safl"ron  are  likewise  sown.  The  ))ista- 
chio,  a  tree  peculiar  to  I'alestine,  Syria,  and  Egyi)t, 
yields  its  fruit.  The  chaniubi  still  presents  its  ])ods  ; 
and  the  olive  and  pomegranate  trees  jn-oduce  ripe 
fruit.  The  Jericho  rose  blossoms ;  the  third  clusters 
of  grapes,  which  in  IVTay  had  produced  another 
small  branch  loaded  with  the  latter  grapes,  are  gath- 
ered ;  as  an!  also  cotton,  lettuces,  endives,  cresses, 
wild  chervil,  spinage,  beet,  garden  artichoke,  and 
wild  artichoke. 


November. 

Weather. — The  rains,  if  not  already  fallen,  certain- 
ly fall  this  month.  The  heat,  although  not  so  great  in 
the  day-time,  is  still  violent ;  but  the  nights  are  very 
cold.  The  rivers  and  lakes  are,  at  this  period,  for  the 
most  part,  dried  up.  The  winds  are  chiefly  from 
the  north  ;  but  seldom  blow  with  force.  The  mer- 
cury, as  the  month  advances,  gradually  falls  from 
60°  to  50°.  The  variation  of  one  day  is  not  more 
than  from  2°  to  5°. 

Productions. — This  is  the  time  for  the  general  sow- 
ing of  corn.  The  trees  retain  their  leaves  till  the  mid- 
dle of  the  month.  Dates  are  gathered.  The  napleia, 
or  cenoplia,  yields  its  delicious  fruit ;  in  shape,  re- 
sembling the  crab-apples,  and  containing  a  nut  as 
large  as  olives.  At  Aleppo,  the  vintage  lasts  to  the 
15th  of  the  month. 

December. 

Weather. — This  is  the  first  winter  month  :  the  cold 
is  piercing,  and  sometimes  fatal  to  those  not  inured 
to  the  climate  ;  but  rain  is  more  common  than  snow, 
which,  when  it  falls,  seldom  remains  all  the  day  on 
the  ground,  even  in  the  midst  of  winter.  The  winds 
blow  from  the  east  or  the  north,  but  are  seldom  vio- 
lent. When  the  east  winds  blow,  the  weather  is  dry, 
though  they  sometimes  bring  mist  and  hoar-frost,  and 
are  accompanied  with  storms.  When  the  sun  shines, 
and  there  is  a  calm,  the  atmosphei-e  is  hot.  The 
mercury  usually  stands  at  46°:  it  frequently  gets  up 
3°  in  the  afternoon,  if  there  be  no  rain. 

Productions. — Pulse  and  corn  are  sown.  Sugar- 
canes  ripen,  and  are  cut  down  at  Cyprus. 

The  grass  and  herbs  springing  up  after  the  rains, 
the  Arabs  drive  their  flocks  fi-om  the  mountains  into 
the  plains. 

For  a  description  of  each  of  these  natural  produc- 
tions the  reader  is  referred  to  their  respective  ar- 
ticles. 

With  regard  to  the  various  birds,  animals,  reptiles, 
&c.  indigenous  to  the  land  of  Canaan,  or  such  as  are 
mentioned  in  the  sacred  writings,  there  is  necessari- 
ly some  difficulty,  in  consequence  of  our  not  possess- 
ing a  description  of  them  under  their  original  names. 
Some  of  them  are  satisfactorily  identified,  but  others 
remain  in  a  state  of  great  uncertainty.  For  a  de- 
scription of  them  the  reader  is  referred  to  the  respect- 
ive articles,  and  for  an  account  of  the  biblical  ar 
rangement,  to  the  outlines  of  natural  history,  at  the 
end  of  the  volume. 

CANAANITES,  the  descendants  of  Canaan. 
Their  first  habitation  was  in  the  land  of  Canaan, 
where  they  multijilied  extremely,  and  by  trade  and 
war  acquired  great  riches,  and  settled  colonies  over 
almost  all  the  islands  and  coasts  of  the  Mediterrane- 
an. When  the  measure  of  their  idolatries  and  abom- 
inations was  conijileted,  God  delivered  their  coimtry 
into  the  hands  of  the  Israelites,  who  conquered  it  un- 
der Joshua.  He  destroyed  great  numbers  of  them, 
and  obliged  the  rest  to  fly,  some  into  Africa,  others 
into  Greece.  Proco])ius  says,  they  first  retreated  into 
Egypt;  but  gradually  advanced  into  Africa,  where 
they  built  many  cities,  and  spread  themselves  over 
those  vast  regions,  which  reach  to  the  Straits,  pre- 
serving their  old  language,  with  little  alteration.  He 
adds,  that  in  the  ancient  city  of  Tingis,  (Tangiei-s,) 
founded  by  them,  wen;  two  great  pillars  of  white 
stone,  near  a  large  fountain,  inscribed  in  Phoenician 
characters,  "  We  are  people  preserved  by  flight  from 


CANAANITES 


[  243 


CANAANITES 


that  robber  Jesus,  [Joshua,]  the  son  of  Nave,  who 
pursued  us."  In  Athauasius's  time,  the  Africans 
continued  to  say,  they  were  descended  from  tlie  Ca- 
/laanites  ;  and  when  asked  their  origin,  they  answer- 
ed Canani.  It  is  generally  agreed,  that  the  Punic 
tongue  was  nearly  the  same  as  the  Canaanitish  and 
Hebrew  ;  and  this  seems  to  be  confirmed  by  several 
ancient  inscriptions  found  at  IMalta,  which  are  in 
Phoenician  characters,  but  may  be  read  by  means  of 
the  Hebrew.  The  colonies  which  Cadmus  carried 
to  Thebes,  in  Boeotia,  and  his  brother  Cilex  into  Cili- 
cia,  were  from  the  stock  of  Canaan.  Sicily,  Sar- 
dinia, 3Ialta,  Cyprus,  Corfu,  Majorca  and  Minorca, 
Gadcs,  and  Ebusus  are  thought  to  have  been  peopled 
by  Cauaanites.  Bochart,  in  his  Canaan,  has  set  this 
niatter  in  a  clear  light. 

This  name  was  given  to  the  Canaanites,  not  only 
by  the  Hebrews,  but  they  themselves  adopted  it ;  as 
appears  from  inscriptions  on  Phoenician  coins,  in 
Phoenician  letters,  (first  read  by  Dr.  Swinton,  of  Ox- 
ford,) on  one  of  which  (in  Gent.  Mag.  Dec.  1760)  we 
have,  "  Laodicea,  mother  in  Canaan ;"  where  we 
also  remark,  that  this  city  claims  the  dignity  of  (am) 
metropolis,  or  mother,  like  certain  otiiers  which  we 
read  of  in  Scripture.  This  removes  an  error  of  Bo- 
chart, who  imagined  that  the  Canaanites  were  asham- 
ed of  the  name  of  their  ancestor,  by  reason  of  his  un- 
filial  conduct,  Gen.  ix.  22,  25.  We  read  in  the  life  of 
Abraham,  (Gen.  xii.  6 ;  xiii.  7.)  that  the  Canaanites 
were  then  in  the  laud.  It  appears,  also,  that  Esau 
took  to  wife  two  Canaanitish  women,  (Gen.  xxxvi.  2.) 
which  implies  that  the  parents  and  relations  of  these 
women  were  Canaanites,  as  Anah  and  Zibeou,  (ver. 
24,  25.)  though  of  Hittite  or  Hivite  families. 

[The  Canaanites,  who  partly  expelled  the  original 
inhabitants  of  Palestine,  and  partly  incorporated 
themselves  with  them,  were  descended  from  Canaan, 
according  to  the  genealogical  table  in  Gen.  x.  6, 15,  seq. 
Hence  they  must,  like  the  Hebrews,  though  earlier, 
have  advanced  from  the  eastern  parts  of  Asia  towards 
the  western  ;  and  that  they  really  were  kindred  to  the 
Semitish  tribes,  and  had  been  with  them,  is  shown  by 
their  common  language,  the  Hebrew  and  the  Phoeni- 
cian languages  being  only  dialects  of  one  great  stock. 
Canaan  had  eleven  sons,  viz.  Sidou,  Heth,  Jebusi, 
Amori,  Girgashi,  Hivi,  Arki,  Sini,  Arvadi,  Zemari,  and 
Hamathi ;  and  these  all  became  tlie  heads  of  as  many 
tribes,  which,  according  to  Gen.  x.  19,  occupied  the 
whole  country  from  Sidon  to  Gaza.  Five  of  these 
tribes  settled  in  Syria  and  Phoenicia,  viz.  the  Zidoni- 
ans,  Arkites,  Arvadites,  Hamathites,  and  Sinites.  The 
other  six,  viz.  the  Hittites,  or  children  of  Heth,  Jebu- 
sites,  Amorites,  Girgashites,  Hivites,  and  Zemarites, 
fixed  themselves  in  Canaan  proper,  and  were  divided 
up  into  many  small  districts  or  domains,  of  which 
thirty-one  are  enumerated  in  Josh.  xii.  9 — 24.  But 
in  the  various  passages  of  the  Old  Testament  where 
these  tribes  are  spoken  of,  there  is  no  uniformity  in 
regard  to  the  number  of  them.  Sometimes  they  are 
all  included  under  the  general  name  of  Canaanites  ; 
(Ex.  xiii.  11  ;  Deut.  xi.  30.)  sometimes  two  are  named, 
the  Canaanites  and  Perizzites,  (Gen.  xiii.  7.)  of  which 
names  the  first  is  a  general  patronymic,  and  the  oth- 
er signifies  inhabitants  of  plains ;  sometimes  three,  the 
Hivites,  Canaanites,  and  Hittites ;  (Ex.  xxiii.  28.)  then 
again^re  ,•  (Ex.  xiii.  5;  2  Chron.  viii.  7.)  six  ;  (Ex.  iii.  8, 
17.)  seven,  Deut.  vii.  1  ;  Acts  xiii.  19.  Finally,  in  Gen. 
XV.  19,  seq.  ten  tribes  are  named,  the  Kenites,  Keni- 
zites,  Kadmonites,  Hittites,  Perizzites,  Rephaims, 
Amorites,  Canaanites,  Girgashites,  and  Jebusites, — 
among  which,  however,  several,  as  the  Rephaims, 


Kenites,  and  Kenizites,  belong  to  the  original  inhabit- 
ants of  the  land,  who  still  dwelt  among  the  Canaan- 
ites, when  Abraham  niigi-ated  into  that  country.  It 
IS  probable  that  this  ditibrence  in  the  number  speci- 
fied IS  entirely  casual,  without  any  definite  design. 

1.  The  Hivites  dwelt  in  the  northern  part  of 
the  country,  at  the  foot  of  mount  Hermon,  or  Anti- 
lebanon,  according  to  Josh.  xi.  3,  where  it  is  related 
that  they,  along  with  the  united  forces  of  northern 
Canaan,  were  defeated  by  Joshua.  They  were  not 
however,  entirely  driven  out  of  their  possessions;  for 
according  to  Judg.  iii.  3,  they  still  dwelt  upon' the 
mountains  of  Lebanon,  from  Baal-Hermon  to  Ha- 
math.  In  David's  time  they  still  existed,  2  Sam. 
xxiv.  7  ;  1  Kings  ix.  20.  Of  the  tribes  or  race  of  the 
Hivites  were  also  the  Shechemites  and  Gibeonites, 
xxxiv.  2  ;  Josh.  xi.  19. 

2.  The  Canaanites,  in  a  stricter  sense,  in  so 
far  as  they  constituted  one  of  the  various  tribes  which 
were  included  under  this  general  name,  inhabited 
partly  the  plains  on  the  west  side  of  the  Jordan,  and 
partly  the  plains  on  the  coast  of  the  Mediterranean 
sea.  Hence  they  are  divided  into  the  Canaanites  by 
the  sea  and  by  the  coast  of  Jordan,  (Num.  xiii.  29.) 
and  into  those  of  the  east  and  of  the  west.  Josh.  xi.  3. 

3.  The  Girgashites  dwelt  between  the  Canaan- 
ites and  the  Jebusites  ;  as  may  be  inferred  from  the 
order  in  which  they  are  mentioned  in  Josh.  xxiv.  11. 

4.  The  Jebusites  had  possession  of  the  hill  coun- 
try around  Jerusalem,  and  of  that  city  itself,  of  which 
the  ancient  name  was  Jebus,  Josh.  xv.  8.  63  ;  xviii.  28. 
The  Benjamites,  to  whom  this  region  was  allotted, 
did  not  drive  out  the  Jebusites,  Judg.  i.  21.  David 
first  captured  the  citadel  of  Jebus,  2  Sam.  v,  6,  seq. 
Still  the  Jebusites  continued  to  dwell  there  in  quiet ; 
as  appears  from  the  transaction  of  David  with  Arau- 
nah,  a  Jebusite  chief,  2  Sam.  xxiv.  23,  seq. 

5.  The  Amorites  inhabited,  in  Abraham's  time, 
the  region  of  Hazazon-tainar,  afterwards  En-gedi, 
south  of  Jerusalem,  on  the  western  side  of  the  Dead 
sea,  Gen.  xiv.  7.  At  a  later  period,  they  spread 
themselves  out  over  the  mountainous  country  which 
forms  the  southern  part  of  Canaan,  between  the 
Dead  sea  and  the  Mediterranean,  and  which  was 
called  from  them  the  "  mountain  of  the  Amorites," 
and  afterwards  the  "  mountain  of  Judah,"  Deut. 
i.  19,  20  ;  Num.  xiii.  29  ;  Josh.  xi.  3.  They  ex- 
tended themselves  also  towards  the  north  ;  for  Ja- 
cob speaks  (Gen.  xlviii.  22.)  of  the  "piece  of  gi-ound 
which  he  took  from  the  Amorites,"  and  which, 
according  to  Gen.  xxxiii.  18,  lay  near  Shechem. 
Sometimes  the  name  Amorites  is  used  in  a  wider 
sense  for  Canaanites  in  general ;  as  Gen.  xv.  16. 
From  Josh.  v.  1,  it  appears,  that  the  name  Amorites 
was  applied  especially  to  those  Canaanitish  tribes 
which  dwelt  in  the  mountainous  region  of  the  south, 
as  above  described.  This  is  confirmed  by  Josh.  x. 
5,  6,  where  it  is  said  that  the  kings  of  Jerusalem, 
Hebron,  &c.  were  kings  of  the  ^.'imorites,  although 
Jerusalem,  as  we  know,  belonged  to  the  Jebusites. 
How  widely  the  Amorites  had  extended  themselves 
in  the  land  of  Canaan,  appears  also  from  Judg.  i.  34, 
seq.  where  they  are  said  to  have  compelled  the  Dan- 
ites  to  remain  in  the  mountains,  and  also  to  have  es- 
tablished themselves  at  Aijalon  and  Shaalbim,  places 
within  the  territory  of  Ephraim,  and  consequently  in 
the  middle  of  the  land ;  while,  according  to  verse  19, 
their  southern  border  was  the  hill  Akrabbim.  On  the 
east  side  of  the  Jordan,  also,  they  had,  before  the  time 
of  Moses,  founded  two  kingdoms,  that  of  Basban  on 
the  north,  and  the  other,  bounded  at  first  by  the  Jab- 


CANAANITES 


[  244  ] 


CAN 


bok,  on  the  south.  But  under  Sihon  they  crossed  the 
Jabbok,  and  took  from  the  Amorites  and  Moabites 
all  the  country  between  the  Jabbok  and  the  Arnon  ; 
so  that  this  latter  stream,  now  became  the  southern 
boundary  of  the  Amorites,  Num.  xxi.  13,  14, 2G ;  xxxii. 
33, 39  ;  Deut.  iv.  46, 47  ;  xxxi.  4.  This  last  tract  the  Is- 
raelites took  possession  of  after  their  victoiy  over 
Sihon,  and  defended  themselves  in  it  by  the  right  of 
conquest  against  the  claims  of  the  Ammonites,  Judg. 
xi.  8,  seq. 

6.  The  HiTTiTES,  or  children  of  Heth,  ac- 
cording to  the  report  of  the  spies,  (Num.  xiii.  29.) 
dwelt  among  the  Amorites,  on  the  mountainous  dis- 
trict of  the  south,  afterwards  called  the  "mountain 
of  Judah."  In  the  time  of  Abraliam  they  possess- 
ed Hebron ;  and  the  patriarch  purchased  from  them 
the  cave  of  Machpelali  as  a  sepulchre.  Gen.  xxiii ; 
XXV.  9,  10.  We  may  also  infer  that  they  dwelt  at  or 
near  Beersheba ;  for  it  was  while  Isaac  was  residing 
there,  that  Esau  married  two  wives  of  the  Hittites, 
Gen.  xxvi.  23,  34.  After  the  Israelites  entered  Ca- 
naan, the  Hittites  seem  to  have  moved  farther  north- 
ward. The  country  around  Bethel  (Luz)  is  called 
the  land  of  the  Hittites,  Judg.  i.  26.  But  even  at  a  far 
later  period  thej-  continued  to  maintain  themselves  in 
the  land  ;  for  Uriah  the  Hittite  was  one  of  David's 
officers,  (2  Sam.  xi.  3.)  and  Solomon  was  the  first  to 
render  them  tributary,  1  Kings  ix.  20.  He  also  had  Hit- 
tite females  in  his  harem,  1  Kings  xi.  1.  Under  his 
reign,  too,  tlicre  is  still  mention  of  kings  of  the  Hit- 
tites, 1  Kings  ix.  29  ;  2  Kings  vii.  6.  So  late  also  as  the 
return  of  the  Jews  from  the  Babylonish  exile,  the  Hit- 
tites are  mentioned  as  one  of  the  heathen  tribes  from 
which  the  children  of  Israel  unlawfully  took  wives, 
Ezra  ix.  1. 

7.  The  Perizzites  were  found  in  various  parts 
of  Canaan.  The  name  signifies  inhabitants  of  the 
plains.  According  to  Gen.  xiii.  7,  they  dwelt  with 
the  Canaanites,  between  Bethel  and  Ai ;  and  accord- 
ing to  Gen.  xxxiv.  30,  in  the  vicinity  of  Shechem. 
It  would  seem  also  from  Josh.  xvii.  15,  that  they 
were  sf)read  out  towards  the  north  into  the  territo- 
ries of  Ephraimand  Manasseh  ;  since  Joshua  recom- 
mends to  these  tribes,  to  hew  down  the  forests  in  the 
district  of  the  Perizzites  and  Rcphaims,  and  establish 
themselves  there.  There  dwelt  Perizzites  in  the 
southern  part  of  Judah  also  ;  as  appears  from  Judg. 
i.  4,  s  q. 

The  Canaanites,  like  their  neighbors  the  Phceni- 
oians,  with  whom,  indeed,  they  constituted  one  race 
or  people,  appear  very  early  to  have  attained  to  a  not 
unimportant  degree  of  cultivation.  Moses  informs 
the  Hebrews,  (Deut.  vi.  10,  11.)  that  they  will  find 
"great  and  goodly  cities,  and  houses  full  of  all  good 
things,  wells,  vineyards,  and  olive-trees."  Like  the 
Syrians  and  Phoenicians,  the  Canaanites  also  consti- 
tuted no  single  and  independent  state  ;  like  the  for- 
mer, these,  too,  were  divided  up  into  many  small  dis- 
tricts and  communities,  under  kings  or  chiefs.  The 
form  of  govenunent  seonis,  in  the  earliest  times,  to 
have  been  aristocratic,  under  a  chief  with  very  limit- 
ed powers.  This  is  plain  from  Gen.  xxxiv.  where 
Hamor,  the  chief  of  the  Hivitcs,  could  not  contract 
an  alliance  with  Jacob  and  his  family,  before  he  had 
laid  the  matter  l)efore  the  eld*  is  anil  the  people,  and 
obtained  their  consent.  So  also  in  the  case  of  Abra- 
ham and  Ephron,  Gen.  xxiii.  As  being  peculiar  in 
his  relations,  appears  jMelchiscdck,  king  of  Salem 
and  at  the  same  time  priest  of  tiie  ftlost  Hi'di  to 
whom  Abraliam  gave  a  tenth  of  thf  spoil,  Gen.  xiv. 
18,  seq.     That  tliere  were  frequent  wars  anion"  this 


multitude  of  smaller  kings  and  states,  (of  which  thirty- 
one  are  enumerated,  Josh.  xii.  9,  seq.)  is  not  only  prob- 
able in  itself,  but  also  evident  from  Judg.  i.  7,  where 
Adoni-bezek  is  said  to  have  cut  off  the  thumbs  an4 
great  toes  of  seventy  kings  vanquished  by  him,  and 
then  caused  them  to  gather  the  crumbs  under  his 
table.  Several  of  the  Canaanitish  kings  appear  to 
have  had  a  sort  of  superior  dominion  over  others 
around  them ;  as  Adoni-zedek,  king  of  Jerusalem, 
(Josh.  X.  1 — 4,)  and  also  Jabin,  king  of  Hazor,  Josh, 
xi.  1 — 5. — See,  on  this  whole  subject,  Rcsenmiiller's 
Bibl.  Geograph.  vol.  ii.  part  i.  p.  251,  seq.     *R, 

CANDACE,  an  Ethiopian  queen,  Avhose  eunuch, 
having  been  at  Jerusalem  to  worship,  was  met,  and, 
being  converted,  was  baptized  by  Philip  the  Deacon, 
near  Bethsura,  as  he  was  returning  to  his  own  coim- 
try.  Acts  viii.  26.  (See  Philip.)  It  is  thought  that 
Candace,  or  Chendaqui,  was  the  general  name  of  the 
queens  of  Ethiopia,  in  the  age  of  Christ.  (Plinv  vi. 
29.  Ludolf.  Comment,  ad  Hist.  ^Ethiop.  89.  Light- 
foot.  Hor.  Heb.  85.) 

CANDLESTICK  of  gold,  made  by  Moses  for  the 
service  of  the  temple,  (Exod.  xxv.  31,  32.)  consisted 
wholly  of  pure  gold,  and  had  seven  branches ;  that 
is,  three  on  each  side,  and  one  in  the  centre.  These 
branches  were  at  equal  distances,  and  each  one  was 
adorned  with  flowers,  like  lilies,  gold  knobs  after  the 
form  of  an  apple,  and  smaller  ones  resembling  an  al- 
mond. U])on  the  extremities  of  the  branches  were 
seven  golden  lamps,  which  Avere  fed  with  pure  olive 
oil,  and  lighted  every  evening  by  the  priests  on  duty, 
and  extinguished  every  morning.  The  candlestick 
was  placed  in  the  holy  place,  and  served  to  illumine 
the  altar  of  incense  and  the  table  of  shew-bread, 
which  stood  in  the  same  chamber.  The  golden  can- 
dlestick has  been,  sometimes,  erroneously  represent- 
ed as  seven  golden  candlesticks,  placed  individually 
in  the  sanctuary  ;  and  the  passage  in  Rev.  i.  12,  13, 
has  been  thought  to  countenance  this  idea  of  separate 
candlesticks  ;  but  the  repiesentation  there  given  is  of 
an  entirely  different  nature,  and  has  no  reference  to 
the  golden  candlestick  of  the  temple ;  like  the  de- 
scription in  Zechariah  mentioned  below. 

The  word  ?.r/r'iu  constantly  answers  in  the  LXX  to 
the  golden  lamji-sconces  of  the  tabernacle  and  tem- 
ple, i.  e.  of  the  golden  candlestick. 

The  following  is  from  rabbis  Kimchi  and  Levi 
Gerson.  The  concluding  thought  of  Kimchi  is  cer- 
tainly ingenious :  These  lamps  were  called  the  candle 
of  the  Lord,  in  1  Sam.  iii.  3,  where  it  is  said,  "  before 
the  candle  of  the  Lord  went  out,  the  I^n-d  called  to 
Samuel,"  upon  which  words,  David  Kimchi  gives 
this  gloss  :  "If  this  bespoken  concerning  tlie  lamps 
in  the  candlestick,  this  was  somewhat  before  day  ;  for 
the  lamps  burnt  from  even  till  moining,  yet  did  they 
sometimes  some  of  them  go  out  in  the  night.  They 
put  oil  into  them  by  such  a  measure  as  should  keep 
them  burning  from  even  till  morning,  and  many 
times  they  did  burn  till  morning;  and  they  always 
found  the  western  \i\m\)  burning.  Now  it  is  said, 
that  this  prophecy  came  to  Sanmol,  'before  the  lamp 
went  out,'  while  it  was  yet  night,  about  the  time  of 
cock-crowing ;  for  it  is  said,  afterward,  that  Samuel 
lay  till  morning:  or,  allegorically,  it  speaks  of  the 
candle  of  prophecy;  as  they  say  the  sun  ariseth,  and 
the  sun  sets :  before  the  holy  blessed  God  cause  the 
sun  of  one  righteous  man  to  set,  he  causeth  the  sun 
of  anotlier  righteous  man  to  rise.  Before  Moses' 
sun  set,  Jophua's  sun  arose  ;  before  Eli's  sun  set, 
Samuel's  sun  arose  ;  and  this  is  that  which  is  said, 
before  the  candle  of  the  Lord  icent  out.'''' 


CANDLESTICK 


[  245  ] 


CANDLESTICK 


In  Zechariah,  chap.  iv.  there  is  an  account  of  the 
splendid  and  significant  emblem  presented  in  vision 
to  the  prophet,  which  will  abundantly  reward  an  at- 
tentive examination.  The  principal  object  that  met 
the  eyes  of  Zechariah,  was  a  candelabrum,  a  candle- 
stick or  lampbearer,  entirely  of  gold,  pure,  solid,  cost- 
ly, precious,  consisting  of  a  tall,  upright  shaft,  sur- 
mounted by  a  bowl,  and  of  a  number  of  branches, 
each  of  which  supported  a  lamp,  springing  out  of  it, 
as  boughs  from  the  trunk  of  a  tree,  but  only  on  two 
sides.  The  image  is  evidently  taken  from  the  can- 
dlesticks in  the  tabernacle  and  temple,  but  differed 
widely  from  them.  The  difference  is  very  closely 
examined  by  Dr.  Stonard,  in  his  commentary  on  the 
prophet :  and  very  remarkable  it  is.  In  the  firet 
place,  there  was  a  bowl  or  basin  on  the  top  of  the 
shafl,  intended  to  contain  oil  for  the  nourishment  of 
the  lights  of  the  lamps ;  "  and  its  seven  lamps  upon 
it,  seven  and  seveu."  From  the  bowl  proceeded 
pipes  conveying  oil  to  the  lamps;  and  beside  the  can- 
dlestick stood  two  olive-trees,  one  on  each  side  of  it, 
whose  branches  shed  their  produce  into  spouts  or 
gutters,  from  Avhicli  the  bowl  was  sujjplied.  This  is 
thus  explained  by  Dr.  Stonard,  who  has  followed  it 
at  great  length,  with  a  minuteness,  and  often  a  felici- 
tj'  of  expression,  that  shoAV  the  taste  and  admiration 
with  which  he  contemplates  the  magnificent  picture. 
Light,  in  general,  is  the  emblem  of  excellence,  dis- 
cerned, acknowledged,  and  admired  by  the  world. 
A  material  lamp  is  an  instrument  formed  to  yield  an 
artificial  light,  which,  being  sustained  by  oil,  is  really 
nothing  but  oil  kindled  into  a  flame.  When  a  lamp 
is  taken  for  the  emblem  of  spiritual  and  intellectual 
excellence,  truth  must  be  its  oil,  the  pabulum  of  its 
light,  which,  in  reality,  is  nothing  else  thau  truth  dis- 
played showing  itself  to  the  world.  Accordingl}%  the 
oil,  which  is  food  of  the  symbolical  lainp  set  before 
us  in  the  pait  of  the  vision,  is  truth  ;  divine,  moral, 
religious,  or  saving  truth.  When  the  truth  is  receiv- 
ed by  any  man,  he  has  then  the  mystic  oil  in  himself; 
and  when  that  oil  is  kindled  into  a  flame,  not  only  is 
he  internally  enlightened,  but  he  conducts  himself 
accordingly,  and  becomes  truly  good  and  holy.  It  is 
the  property  of  light  to  diffuse  itself  upon  all  objects 
within  its  reach.  He  that  hath  in  himself  that  spirit- 
ual light,  who  acts  and  lives  according  to  the  truth, 
makes  it  shine  before  men  ;  he  gives  light  to  the 
world. 

A  material  candlestick  is  an  instrument  construct- 
ed to  bear  a  lamp,  or  many  lamps,  for  the  purpose  of 
giving  light.  A  symbolical  or  spiritual  candlestick, 
with  many  branches  and  lamps,  represents  a  body  or 
assemblage  of  persons  enlightened  and  shining,  as  be- 
fore mentioned,  collected  into  a  regular  society,  for 
the  purpose  of  dissipating  the  sjjiritual  dulness  of  a 
world  lying  in  sin,  and  enveloped  in  ignorance.  Such 
a  society  is  the  church,  which  alone  containing  in  it- 
self the  principles  of  saving  truth,  of  holiness,  of 
solid  comfort,  and  everlasting  happiness,  is  the  in- 
strument constructed  and  appointed  by  God,  to  hold 
forth  the  light,  which  may  guide  the  steps  of  men 
into  the  way  of  peace.  Every  true  member  of  it  is 
luminous,  at  once  enlightened  and  enlightening;  so 
speaking  and  so  living,  as  to  show  forth  to  othere  the 
light  that  is  in  himself.  And  not  only  is  the  symbol 
of  a  candlestick  well  adapted  to  represent  the  church 
of  God,  but  the  chuixh  is  actually  rej)resented  by  it, 
as  we  have  seen,  in  other  parts  of  Scripture.  Since, 
then,  a  candlestick,  in  general,  is  the  scriptural  sym- 
bol of  a  church,  a  candlestick  with  seven  branches 
and  lamps  must  be  the   symbol  of  the   univei-sal 


church,  (see  Seven,)  spread  abroad  through  all  its 
numerous  congiegations,  having  and  giving  light ;  at 
the  same  time  that,  being  fixed  upon  branches  pro- 
ceeding from  one  shaft,  they  plainly  imply  that  all 
those  congregations  are  united  in  one  body  of  the 
universal  chu"rch. 

The  church  of  Israel  was  represented  by  this  fig- 
ure of  a  candlestick,  in  the  tabernacle  and  temple  ; 
and  since  the  Gentile  church  was,  on  every  account, 
entitled  to  be  represented  by  a  like  symbol  as  the 
Jewish,  the  two  great  divisions  of  the  church  woukl 
be  properly  represented  by  two  candlesticks  of  seven 
branches  each.  But  since  these  churches  have  been 
made  one,  what  symbol  could  be  so  apt  and  so 
consistent  with  Scripture  doctrines  and  imagerj',  as 
that  of  a  candlestick  bearing  fourteen  lamps  on  as 
many  branches,  issuing  in  two  septenaries  from  its 
opposite  sides  ?  Such,  exactly,  was  the  candlestick 
exhibited  to  Zechariah. 

The  candlestick  must  have  had  some  base  or  foot, 
which  would  represent  the  foundation  on  which  the 
church  stands.  This  is  no  other  than  Jesus  Christ, 
and  the  base,  therefore,  must  have  been  the  stone 
with  seven  eyes,  mentioned  in  this  and  the  foregoing 
vision  of  the  prophet.  The  shaft  of  a  candlestick 
springs  up  imniediately  from  the  base,  and  is,  in  re- 
ality, nothing  more  than  the  elongation  or  elevation 
of  it.  In  the  one,  Christ  is  represented  as  the  foun- 
dation of  the  church  ;  in  the  other,  he  appeai-s  as  the 
principle  of  spiritual  vitality  to  all  its  congregations 
and  members. 

The  branches  of  the  candlestick  growing  out  of  the 
shaft  intimate  the  closest  union  and  absolute  depend- 
ence of  all  of  them  upon  him;  in  exact  correspond- 
ence with  that  other  figure,  under  which  our  Lord 
is  pleased  to  represent  himself,  as  the  trunk  of  the 
spiritual  vine,  and  his  disciples  as  the  branches. 

On  the  right  and  left  sides  of  the  cmndlestick  were 
two  olive-trees,  which  attracted  the  particular  atten- 
tion of  the  prophet ;  and  he  inquired,  "  What  are 
those  two  olive-trees  ?"  and  again,  "  What  are  the 
two  branches  of  the  olive-trees,  which,  through  two 
oil  gutters,  drain  off  the  oil  from  them  ?"  The  an- 
swer of  the  interpreting  angel  seems  to  imply  an  al- 
most culpable  ignorance  in  the  prophet.  "  Knowest 
thou  not  what  these  be?  These  are  the  sons  of  oil, 
which  stand  before  the  Lord  of  the  whole  earth." 
An  olive-tree  is  used  as  an  emblem  of  the  Jewish 
church.  (See  Olive.)  But  the  church  compounded 
of  Jewish  and  Gentile  believers  is  already  set  before 
us  in  the  significant  emblem  of  the  golden  candle- 
stick. We  must,  therefore,  find  for  the  two  ohve- 
trees  a  different  interpretation,  which  shall  join  the 
subjects  represented  by  them  in  the  most  intimate 
relation  to  the  church.  Dr.  Blayney  presumes  them 
to  be  "no  other  than  the  two  dispensations  of  the 
law  and  the  gospel,  under  which  were  communicat- 
ed the  precious  oracles  of  divine  truth,  which  illu- 
minate the  soul,  and  make  men  wise  to  salvation." 
The  dispensations  of  God  in  the  Scriptures  of  the 
Old  and  New  Testaments,  are  the  sole  fountains  of 
the  spiritual  oil,  the  only  sources  whence  divine  or 
moral,  religious  or  saving,  truth  is  derived  to  men  in 
perfect  ])urity.  The  olive-trees  give  out  their  oil  by 
two  peculiar  and  conspicuous  branches,  and  of  coui-se 
are  intended  to  represent  some  eminent  and  especial 
instruments  for  the  jiropagation  of  the  true  religion. 
These  are  the  ministers  of  the  law  and  the  gospel, 
considered  as  two  distinct  bodies  of  men,  following, 
in  analog}-  to  the  candlestick,  the  grand  division  of  the 
universal  church  into  its  tM'o  primitive  and  principal 


CANDLESTICK 


[  246  ] 


CAN 


branches,  the  Jewish  and  the  Gentile.  The  two 
branches  shed  forth  the  juice  of  the  trees  to  the  sup- 
port of  the  Hghts  on  the  candlesticks  ;  so  do  the  min- 
isters of  rehgion  convey  to  their  congregations  the 
sacred  truths  contained  in  the  dispensations  of  the 
law  and  the  gospel.  "These,"  said  the  angel,  "are 
the  two  sons  of  oil,  which  stand  before  the  Lord  of 
the  whole  earth."  These  two  sons  of  oil  possess 
abundantly,  and  are  capable  of  supplying  adequately 
to  the  wants  of  the  church,  those  divine  and  moral 
truths  which  enlighten  men's  minds  with  the  knowl- 
edge, and  touch  their  hearts  with  the  love,  of  God, 
and  of  the  things  which  are  conducive  to  salvation. 
They  are  said  to  stand  before  the  Lord  of  the  whole 
earth — the  whole  territory  of  Christendom — as  min- 
isters of  his  presence,  strengthened  by  his  might ;  as 
stewards  of  his  mysteries,  to  act  the  part  of  the  wise 
householder,  who  bringeth  forth  out  of  his  treasures 
things  new  and  old.  The  flow  of  juice  from  these 
symbolical  trees  is  not  limited  to  any  particular  sea- 
sons, but  is  perennial  and  perpetual.  This  is  quite 
suitable  to  the  nature  of  the  subjects  represented  by 
them,  which  continually  send  forth  their  sacred 
streams  of  truth  without  intermission  or  failure,  in  all 
places,  at  all  seasons  and  periods,  through  the  hands 
and  instruments  appointed  to  convey  the  same. 
Again,  the  two  branches  send  out  the  oil  through 
two  oil  gutters  or  spouts.  These  must  represent  the 
channels,  as  it  were,  through  which  the  ministers  of 
the  divine  dispensations  convey  the  blessings  of  reli- 
gious, saving  truth  ;  those  institutions  which  afford  to 
the  ministry  the  most  convenient  and  edifying  means 
of  making  known  the  truth. 

The  bowl,  which  is  the  reservoir  of  all  the  oil 
poured  forth  from  the  two  olive-trees,  must  necessa- 
rily signify  something  which  is  the  recipient  of  the 
whole  body  of  truth,  made  known  by  the  two  dis- 
pensations. Now,  such  a  recipient  is  nowhere  to  be 
found,  but  in  the  body  of  the  church  universal.  The 
bowl,  indeed,  cannot  typify  the  church,  as  it  is  known 
to  the  world  in  the  outward  and  visible  persons  and 
actions  of  its  members  ;  but  as  it  is  discernible  in 
contemplation  only  to  the  eye  of  the  understanding. 
It  represents  the  church  at  unity,  having  all  its  ])arts 
nourished  by  the  same  food,  pervaded  by  the  same 
circulating  blood,  animated  by  the  same  living  sjiirit, 
according  to  the  image  repeatedly  cmjjloyed  by  Paul 
to  represent  the  unity  of  the  church.  The  pipes, 
which  are  the  media  between  the  lamps  and  the  bowl, 
answer  the  same  pur])ose  to  the  dishes  and  cups  of 
the  former,  as  the  oil  gutters  do  to  the  latter.  They 
consequently  represent  the  same  things  Avith  respect 
to  the  several  congregations,  as  the  others  do  with 
respect  to  the  whole  body  of  the  catholic  church  ; 
that  is,  the  ministry  of  the  two  dispensations  convey- 
ing the  doctrines  of  truth  and  salvation  to  their  re- 
spective flocks. 

But  it  may  be  asked,  since  the  lamps  are  supposed 
to  be  aligiit,and  they  could  not  light  themselves.  Who 
is  it  that  kindled  their  fljunes  ?  The  work,  being  not 
represented  by  any  symbol,  is  plainly  intended  to  be 
conceived,  as  Dr.  Stonard  remarks,  as  that  of  an  in- 
visible hand  of  one  who  operates  by  natural  secret 
influence.  This  answers  precisely  to  the  eflT^ct  of 
the  Holy  Spirit  upon  Christians.  In  vain  will  the 
truth  be  heard  with  their  eai-s  and  received  by  their 
understandings  by  tiie  two  dispensations,  if  the  Holy 
Ghost,  by  his  iufiuenres,  did  not  give  eff'ect  to  the 
word,  and  to  the  lal)or  of  those  who  publish  it.  All 
that  is  well  pleasing  in  the  sight  of  God  and  tndy 
useful  to  man,  all  proceed  from  the  operation  of  the 


Holy  Spirit,  bringing  the  principle  of  truth  into  ac- 
tion, kindUng  the  sacred  oil  into  a  bright  and  steady 
flame. 

CANE,  or  Calamus,  sweet,  an  aromatic  reed, 
mentioned  among  the  drugs  of  which  the  sacred  per- 
finnes  were  comyjounded,  Exod.  xxx.  23.     Acorus 
calamus  of  Linnieus.     It  is  a  knotty  root,  of  a  red- 
dish color,  and  containing  a  soft,  white  pith.     The 
true  odoriferous  cane  comes   from  India;  and  the 
prophets  sj)eak  of  it  as  a  foreign  commodity,  of  great 
value,  Isa.  xliii.  24.   Theophrastus  and  Phny  mention 
a  sweet  cane,  which  grows  in  Syria,  beyond  Libanus, 
in  a  lake  ;   probably  the  lake   Semechon ;  but  this 
being  too  near  Judea,  to  enhance  its  value  as  a  for- 
eign commodity,  it  has  been  more  reasonably  suppos- 
ed that  it  came  from  Saba,  where  it  grew,  as  is  report- 
ed by  Strabo  and  Diodorus  Siculus.   Pliny  also  speaks 
of  it  as  being  a  native  of  Arabia  ;  and  it  is  enumerat- 
ed among  the  fragrant  productions  of  that  country 
by  Dionysius.     Hjisselquist  says  it  is  common  in  the 
deserts  of  the  two  Arabias.    It  is  gathered  near  lam- 
bo,  a  ])ort  town  of  Arabia  Petrsea,  from  whence  it  is 
brought  into  Egypt.     The  Venetians  pui-chase  it,  and 
use  it  in  the  composition  of  their  theriaca.   This  plant 
was  probably  among  the  number  of  those  which  the 
queen  of  Sheba  presented  to  Solomon  ;  it  is  still  very 
much  esteemed  by  the  Arabs,  on  account  of  its  fra- 
grance.    They  call  it  helsi  meccavi,  and  idhir  mecchi. 
This,  in  all  probability,  is  the  sweet  cane  of  Jeremi- 
ah, (vi.  20.)  where  it  is  called  prime,  or  excellent,  and 
is  associated  with  incense  from  Sheba  ;  the  same  in 
Exod.  xxx.  23,  where  our  translation  renders  "  sweet 
calamus;"  see  also  Isaiah  xliii. 24,  where  the  best  is 
supposed  to  come  from  India,  which  agi-ees  with  the 
"  far  country"  of  the  prophet. 

CANKER-WORM.  Our  translators  have  render- 
ed the  Hebrew  pS"',  ijilek,  "canker-worm,"  in  Joel  i. 
4;  ii.  25  ;  Nahum  iii.  15.  and  "caterpillar,"  in  Ps. 
cv.  34 ;  Jer.  li.  27.  Being  frequently  mentioned  with 
the  locust,  it  is  thought  by  some  to  be  a  species  of 
that  insect.  In  Nahum  it  is  said  to  have  wings,  and 
to  fly ;  to  encamp  in  the  hedges  by  day,  and  commit 
its  depredations  in  the  night.  The  LXX  interpret 
it,  the  hruchus,  or  hedge-chafer. 

In  the  Philosophical  Transactions,  (vol  xix.)  Dr. 
Molyneaux  has  described  a  prodigious  flight  of  in- 
sects, which  appeared  on  the  south-west  coast  of  the 
county  of  Galway,  in  the  year  1668,  and  from  his  ac- 
count of  their  depredations  they  appear  greatly  to 
have  resembled  the  Hebrew  yclck.  It  belonged  to 
the  tribe  called  by  naturalists  coleoptcros,  or  vigini- 
pennis,  the  scaraheus,  or  beetle  kind,  which  has  strong 
thick  cases  to  defend  and  cover  its  tender  and  thin 
wings,  which  lie  out  of  sight  and  next  to  the  body. 
It  is  thought  to  be  the  same  species  of  beetle  which 
is  called  by  Aristotle  melolanthc,  from  its  devouring 
the  blossoms  of  apple-treos;  and  is  the  scaraheus  ar- 
boreus  of  Monfet  and  Charleton,  called  by  us  dori'S  or 
hedge-chafers.  We  give  the  close  of  Dr.  Molyneaux's 
interesting  paper : — 

"Thisperniciousinsect,  I  am  fully  convinced,  from 
good  reasons,  is  that  self-same  (so  often  mentioned  in 
Holy  Scripture,  and  commonly  joined  in  company 
with  the  locust,  as  being  both  great  destroyers  of  the 
fruits  of  the  earth)  to  which  the  Septuagint  and  the 
Vulgar  Latin  translation,  retaining  the  Greek  word, 
give  the  name  of  bruchos,  or  bruchus,  derived  from 
briicho,  frendo,  vel  stn'deo,  intimating  the  remarkable 
noise  it  makes  both  in  its  eating  and  flying;  from 
whence,  likewise,  it  has  got  its  French  name,  hanne- 
ton,   by  corruption  from   aliton,  quasi,   alls   tonans, 


CAN 


[  247 


CAN 


thundering  tvin^s.  I  meet  with  this  sort  of  fly 
spoken  of  in  the  Bible,  (Lev.  xi.  22  ;  Joel  i.  4  ;  ii.  25  ; 
Nahum  iii.  16,  17.)  but  I  find  our  English  version  al- 
most constantly  translates  this  word,  [bruchos,]  though 
improperly,  as  I  think,  canker-tvonn,  since  this  de- 
notes only  a  reptile  or  creeping  vermin,  whereas  that 
word  imports  certainly  a  flying  insect.  For  the  bru- 
chos  in  chap.  iii.  16,  17.  of  the  prophet  Nahum  is  ex- 
pressly said  to  fly,  and  have  wings,  and  its  nature 
and  properties  are  most  truly  and  particularly  de- 
scribed in  these  words :  '  It  spoileth  and  fleeth  away  ; 
they  camp  in  the  hedges  in  the  day,  and  when  the 
sun  ariseth  they  flee  away,  and  their  place  is  not 
known  where  they  are  ;'  that  is,  they  then  retire  again 
to  the  hedges  and  trees,  where  they  lie  quiet  and  con- 
cealed till  the  sun  sets  again.  If  this  passage  be  com- 
pared with  what  I  have  said  above  of  our  Irish  bru- 
chos,  we  must  allow  Nahum  played  the  natural  phi- 
losopher here,  in  this  short  but  accurate  description, 
as  well  as  the  divine  prophet  in  denouncing  God's 
judgments.  In  one  of  the  forementioned  texts,  I 
find,  indeed,  the  word  bruchos  more  rightly  translat- 
ed locust  or  beetle  in  our  English  Bibles  ;  and  this 
place,  on  another  account,  seems  so  apposite  and 
agreeable  to  something  I  said  before,  that  I  cannot 
avoid  taking  particular  notice  of  it,  and  giving  my 
thoughts  more  fully  concerning  the  rationale  of  that 
odd  clause  in  the  Jewish  law,  where  Moses  tells  the 
Israelites,  (Lev.  xi.  21,  22.)  'These  may  ye  eat,  of 
every  flying  creeping  thing  that  goeth  on  all  four, 
which  have  legs  above  their  feet,  to  leap  withal  upon 
the  earth ;  even  these  of  them  ye  may  eat ;  the  lo- 
cust after  his  kind,  and  the  bald  locust  after  his  kind, 
and  the  grasshopper  after  his  kind.'  Now  I  must 
confess,  notwithstanding  all  that  the  learned  com- 
mentators have  said  on  this  passage,  it  hitherto  has 
seemed  to  me  (and  I  believe  to  most  readers)  very 
strange  and  imaccountable,  that  here,  among  the 
pure,  wholesome  creatures,  proper  for  human  nour- 
ishment, beetles,  and  those  other  nasty,  dry,  unprom- 
ising vermin,  should  be  thought  fit  to  be  reckoned  up 
as  clean  and  proper  for  the  food  of  man.  But  since 
I  have  had  some  little  experience  of  what  has  hap- 
pened among  ourselves,  I  cannot  but  admire  the  j)rov- 
idence  of  God,  and  the  sagacious  prudence  of  his 
lawgiver,  Moses,  who,  foreseeing  the  great  dearth  and 
scarcity  that  these  vermin  might  one  day  bring  upon 
his  people,  had  a  particular  regard  to  it,  and  there- 
fore gives  them  here  a  permissive  precept,  or  a  sort 
of  hint  what  they  should  do  when  the  corn,  grass,  olive 
trees,  fruit  trees,  vines,  and  other  provisions  were 
destroyed  by  the  locust  and  bruchos,  or  beetle,  swarm- 
ing in  the  land  ;  why,  then,  for  want  of  other  nour- 
ishment, and  rather  than  starve,  he  tells  them  they 
might  eat,  and  live  upon,  the  filthy  destroyers  them- 
selves, and  yet  be  clean.  And  thus  we  see  the  na- 
tive Irish  [they  dressed,  and  lived  upon  them  during 
the  time  of  scarcity  occasioned  by  the  depredations 
of  the  insect]  were  (though  unknown  to  themselves) 
authors  of  a  practical  commentary  on  this  part  of  the 
Levitical  law,  and  by  matter  of  fact  have  explained 
Avhat  was  the  sense  and  meaning  of  this  otherwise 
so  dark  and  abstruse  text." 

CANNEH,  (Ezek.  xxvii.  23.)  probably  Calneh, 
(Gen.  X.  10.)  which  see. 

CANON,  a  Greek  term  which  signifies  the  rule.  It 
is  used  in  ecclesiastical  language,  to  signify  a  rule 
concerning  faith,  discipline  or  manners  :  also  to  dis- 
tinguish those  books  of  Scrii)tnre  which  are  received 
as  inspired,  and  indisputable,  from  profane,  apocry- 
phal, or  disputed  books.     (See  Bible.)     The  He- 


brews admit  twenty-two  books  into  their  canon,  or,  at 
most,  twenty-four,  supposing  Ruth  to  be  separated 
from  the  Judges,  and  the  Lamentations  from  Jere- 
miah. They  believe,  generally,  that  the  canon  of 
Scripture  was  not  closed,  nor  the  number  of  inspired 
books  fixed,  till  Ezra,  with  the  consent  of  the  gener- 
al council  of  the  nation,  collected  all  those  which 
were  acknowledged  as  sacred  and  inspired,  compos- 
ed one  body  of  them,  and  regulated  what  we  call  the 
sacred  canon  of  Scripture ;  since  which  time,  Jose- 
phus  states,  that  the  Jews  have  not  admitted  any 
book  as  canonical.  Dr.  Prideaux,  however,  with 
great  appearance  of  reason,  says  it  is  more  likely  that 
the  two  books  of  Chronicles,  Ezra,  Nehemiah,  and 
Esther,  as  well  as  Malachi,  were  afterwards  added, 
in  the  time  of  Simon  the  Just,  and  that  it  was  not 
till  then  that  the  Jewish  canon  of  the  Holy  Scriptures 
was  fully  completed.  See  Connect,  part  i.  book  5. — 
For  the  number  and  arrangement  of  the  books  of  the 
Hebrew  canon,  see  the  article  Bible. 

Genebrard  and  Serranus  are  of  opinion,  that,  after 
Ezra,  the  Jews  of  the  great  sj^nagogue  admitted  into 
their  canon  books  which  were  composed  after  this 
time,  such  as  Wisdom,  Ecclesiasticus,  Tobit,  Judith, 
and  Maccabees  ;  nevertheless,  they  did  not  obtain 
authority  equal  to  that  of  the  old  ones.  But  this  is 
not  without  difficulty  ;  for,  first,  the  books  of  Tobit 
and  Judith  might  be  written  before  the  captivity ; 
secondly,  if  the  Jews  thought  them  inspired,  why  did 
they  not  receive  them  into  the  canon  as  of  equal  au- 
thority with  the  rest  ? 

It  may  be,  perhaps,  suspected  that  the  Jews,  who 
retained  the  Hebrew  tongue,  might  exclude  these 
books  from  the  canon,  because  they  were  not  writ- 
ten [extant]  in  Hebrew,  the  sacred  language  :  but 
they  received  Daniel  and  Ezra,  wherein  are  large 
passages  written  in  Chaldee  :  now  Ecclesiasticus, 
Tobit,  Judith,  and  at  least  the  first  book  of  3Iacca- 
bees,  were  originally  written  in  this  language  ;  j'et 
they  do  not  appear  to  have  been  received  into  the 
canon. 

If  particular  churches  have  sometimes  deliberated 
whether  they  should  admit  certain  writings  among 
the  sacred  books  ;  if  some  doctors  and  councils  have 
not  included  them  in  their  catalogues  of  the  Scrip- 
tures ;  and  if  others  have  rejected  them  ;  such  con- 
duct is  proof  of  the  gi'eat  circumspection  which  was 
used  in  receiving  into  its  canon  only  what  really  was 
deemed  to  be  authentic  and  inspired.  This  very 
hesitation  should  convince  us,  that  if  at  last  those 
books  were  received,  that  determination  was  foimd- 
ed  on  good  reasons.  Time  was  necessarj'  to  exam- 
ine, to  be  well  assured,  and  to  fix  the  doubts  of  par- 
ticular churches. 

CANTHARA,  (Simon,)  succeeded  Theophilus, 
son  of  Jonathan,  in  the  high-priesthood  ;  and  enjoy- 
ed this  dignity  about  two  years,  at  two  several  times. 
After  the  death  of  Agrippa,  Herod,  king  of  Chalcis, 
deprived  him  of  his  office,  to  confer  it  on  Joseph,  son 
of  Camith.     (Jos.  Ant.  xix.  5.  xx,  1.) 

CANTICLES,  or  Songs,  were  frequently  compos- 
ed by  the  Hebrews  on  important  occasions.  Moses 
composed  one  of  rejoicing  after  the  passage  of  the 
Red  sea,  in  honor  of  that  miracle,  Exod.  xv.  David 
composed  a  mournful  song  on  the  death  of  Saul  and 
Jonathan  ;  (2  Sam.  i.  17.)  and  another  on  the  death 
of  Abner,  iii.  33.  Jeremiah  wrote  his  Lamentations, 
a  song,  or  series  of  elegies,  in  which  he  deplore;:  the 
ruin  of  Jerusalem  ;  he  wrote  also  others  on  tlie  death 
of  Josiah,  king  of  Judah,  2  Chron.  xxxv.  25.  Deb- 
orah and  Barak  made  a  triumphant  song  after  the 


CANTICLES 


[248] 


CANTICLES 


defeat  of  Sisera,  (Judg.  v.)  and  Judith  after  the  de- 
feat of  Holofernes,  Judith  xvi.  Hannah,  the  mother 
of  Samuel,  and  king  Hezekiah,  returned  thanks  to 
God  in  solemn  hynms,  and  spiritual  songs,  1  Sam.  ii. 
Isa.  xxxviii.  9.  The  Canticles,  composed  by  the  Vir- 
gin Mary,  by  Zachariah,  and  by  old  Simeon,  are  of 
the  same  nature.  In  1  Kings  iv.  32,  we  read  that 
Solomon  composed  1005  songs  or  verses ;  but  we 
have  only  remaining  his  Song  of  Songs. 

Canticles,  the  Book  of,  {the  Song  of  Songs,)  is 
thought  by  many  to  have  been  composed  by  Solo- 
mon, and  it  is  believed  on  occasion  of  his  marriage 
with  the  king  of  Egypt's  daughter.  According  to 
most  commentators,  it  is  a  continued  allegory,  in 
which  a  divine  and  spiritual  nuu'riage  between  the 
Redeemer  and  his  church  is  expressed. 

Seven  nights  and  seven  dajs  are  distinctly  marked 
in  this  song,  (because  weddings  among  the  Hebrews 
were  celebrated  seven  days,)  and  it  relates  poetically 
the  transactions  of  each  day.  The  Hebrews,  appre- 
hending it  might  be  understood  grossly,  forbade  the 
reading  of  it  by  any  person  before  the  age  of  thirty. 

The  church  generally,  as  well  as  the  synagogue, 
received  this  book  as  canonical.  To  the  objection, 
that  neither  Christ  nor  his  apostles  have  cited  it,  and 
that  the  name  of  God  is  not  found  in  it,  it  is  answer- 
ed, that  there  are  several  other  sacred  books  which 
our  Saviour  has  not  quoted  ;  and  that  in  an  allegory, 
in  which  the  Sou  of  God  is  concealed  under  the 
figure  of  a  husband,  it  is  not  necessaiy  that  he  should 
be  expressed  by  his  proper  name  ;  it  would  then,  in 
fact,  cease  to  be  an  allegory. 

[There  is,  perhaps,  no  book  in  the  whole  Bible 
which  has  given  rise  to  such-  a  variety  of  interpreta- 
tion as  the  Canticles.  All  these  different  modes, 
however,  may  be  arranged  under  three  classes: — (1.) 
One  class  of  interpreters  regard  the  book  as  founded 
on  the  relation  of  Jehovah  to  the  Jewish  people,  and 
they  find  in  every  figure  a  reference  to  some  particu- 
lar event  in  Jewish  history.  According  to  these,  the 
whole  i)ook  is  an  allegorical,  figurative  history  of  the 
divine  government  in  respect  to  the  nation  of  Israel. 
This  mode  of  interpretation  we  find  among  the  Jews 
as  early  as  there  are  any  traces  of  the  book  itself. 
Indeed,  Jesus  the  son  of  Sirach  seems  to  have  fol- 
lowed it,  200  years  before  Christ,  when  he  praises 
Solomon  for  having  composed  dark  parables,  Ec- 
cles.  xlvii.  13 — 17.  These  are  not  to  be  referred 
to  the  Proverbs  of  Solomon  ;  for  the  Proverbs  are 
separately  mentioned. — (2.)  According  to  a  second 
mode  of  interj)retation,  which  has  been  current  in 
the  Christian  chiu'ch  in  all  ages,  Christ  is  the  princi- 
pal subject  of  the  Canticles.  This  mode  assumes 
two  forms  ;  in  both,  Cln-ist  is  assumed  as  the  Lover  or 
Bridegroom  ;  but  the  Beloved,  or  the  Bride,  is  in  one 
the  whole  Christian  church,  and  in  the  other,  each 
individual  Christian  soul.  Many  have  sought  to  com- 
bine these  two  modifications. — (3.)  A  third  class  of 
interpreters  suppose  the  book  to  contain  throughout 
a  description  of  eaithly  love.  This  view  has  sprung 
up  and  gained  admittance  chiefly  since  the  middle  of 
the  eighteenth  century.  From  tiiat  time  onward  it 
obtained  vory  general  currency,  and  was  supported 
in  a  great  variety  of  modifications.  One  sought  to 
defend  the  honor  of  the  book,  by  maintaining  it  to 
be  a  description  of  a  hap[)y  wedded  life,  or  a  defence 
of  monogamy ;  another  afiirmed,  it  v/as  worthy 
of  admission  into  the  canon,  although  it  might  only 
describe  a  chaste,  un  wjdded  love.  One  invented  this 
history, — another  that, — in  order  by  this  means  to  be 
able  to  explain  the  poem ;  and  where  all  this  iell 


short,  they  had  recourse  to  dreams.  One  declared 
the  whole  to  be  a  collection  of  unconnected  poetical 
fragments  ;  another  undertook  to  point  out  a  plan 
running  through  the  whole.  The  reproach,  there- 
fore, of  arbitrary  interpretation,  which  the  followers 
of  the  literal  and  physical  interpretation  have  so  often 
brought  against  those  of  the  other  classes,  because  of 
their  want  of  unanimity,  falls,  with  equal  weight,  upon 
themselves ;  for  there  are  no  two  of  them  who  ac- 
cord with  one  another  in  their  views.  Both  of  the 
two  first  classes  of  interpreters  liannonize  with  each 
other  in  this  respect,  that  they  regard  the  Canticles 
as  the  description  of  a  spiritual  relation  by  means  of 
figures  drawn  from  sensible  objects. 

In  order  to  show  the  possibility  of  such  a  spiritual 
interpretation  of  the  book  in  question,  we  may  re- 
mark, that  it  is  neitlier  unworthy  of  God,  nor  at  all 
at  variance,  with  the  usual  manner  of  the  Holy  Scrip- 
tures, to  expi-ess  a  spiritual  relation  through  such 
sensible  figures.  God  himself,  when  he  addresses 
mankind  through  his  prophets  and  through  his  Son, 
enqjloys  such  figures  and  expressions  as  are  drawn 
from  human  relations.  He  calls  himself  a  Father  and 
a  Shepherd  ;  he  describes  his  love  towards  them,  in 
order  to  express  its  strength,  under  the  metaphor  of 
wedded  love  ;  he  speaks  of  longings  and  pinings,  of 
sorrowonaccount  of  unfaithfulness,  and  of  jealousy. 
Thus,  in  numerous  passages  of  the  Old  Testament, 
the  relation  of  Jehovah  to  the  Jewish  people  is  ex- 
hibited in  figurative  language,  borrowed  from  the 
relation  of  a  lover  to  his  beloved,  i.  e.  of  a  bridegroom 
to  his  bride,  of  a  husband  to  his  wife,  etc.  In  the 
departure  from  Egypt,  Israel  was  a  bride  ;  when  the 
nation  at  Sinai  entered  into  a  solemn  covenant  with 
Jehovah,  it  was  married  to  him ;  every  subsequent 
falling  away  to  idolatry  is  represented  as  adultery 
and  fornication  ;  and  every  return  to  God,  as  the  tak- 
ing back  of  one  divorced.  See  Isa.  liv.  5;  Ixii.  5: 
Jer.  iii.  1  :  Ezek.  xvi.  xxiii :  John  iii.  29  :  Rom.  vii: 
Eph.  V :  1  Cor.  xi. 

In  respect  to  the  propriety  of  such  an  interpreta- 
tion of  this  book  as  shall  give  a  s])iritual  character  of 
this  kind  to  the  representations  contained  in  it,  there 
are  several  considerations  which  go  to  show  that 
such  an  allegorical  interpretation  is  here  the  only 
correct  one.  The  first  reason  is  drawn  from  external 
circumstances,  and  is  of  some  importance.  Among 
a  people  who  hold  so  much  to  the  authority  of  tra- 
dition as  do  the  Jews,  we  arc  not  at  liberty  wholly  to 
neglect  such  tradition  ;  although  we  cannot  receive 
it  as  of  any  decisive  authority.  Now,  all  the  Jewish 
teachers,  so  far  as  we  have  any  knowledge  of  their 
writings,  are  uniformly  of  one  accord  in  giving  to  the 
Canticles  an  allegorical  interjjretation.  In  doing  this, 
they  every  where  appeal  to  tradition  ;  of  which  the 
principal  witness  is  the  Chaldee  translator.  We  can- 
not here  pursue  the  testimony  any  further  ;  but  there 
can  be  no  question,  that  those  who  made  the  collec- 
tion of  the  writings  of  the  Old  Testament,  followed, 
in  respect  to  this  book,  the  allegorical  inethod  of  in- 
terpretjxtion.  Even  a  hasty  glance  at  these  writings 
shows  that  it  could  not  have  been  the  object  of  those 
who  collected  them,  to  include  all  the  remains  of  the 
Hebrew  national  literature.  They  iiad  constantly  in 
view  the  Hebrew  theocracy,  and  admitted  into  their 
collection  only  that  which  had  reference  to  the  rela- 
tion in  which  God  stood  towards  the  Hebrev/  nation, 
— that  which,  either  as  history,  prediction,  the  out 
gushings  of  devotion,  or  as  doctrinal  instruction,  was 
adapted  to  quicken  the  theocratic  feeling  and  pro- 
mote a  godly  life.     In  receiving,  therefore,  the  book 


CANTICLES 


[  249  ] 


CANTICLES 


of  Canticles  into  the  canon,  they  must  liave  had  the 
firm  conviction,  that  its  strains  described  not  a  com- 
mon eaithly  love,  but  the  love  of  Jehovah  towards 
his  people.  What  the  moderns  have  here  to  say  in 
conmiendation  of  human  aftectiou,  and  that  a  poem 
which  treats  of  this  was  worthy  of  admission  among 
the  sacred  writings,  is  nothing  to  the  purpose  ;  for 
the  only  question  here  is,  On  what  principles  was 
the  book  actually  received  into  tlie  canon  ?  And  this 
question  is  purely  historical,  and  must  be  answered 
from  the  evidence  afforded  by  the  character  of  the 
writings  of  the  Old  Testament.  But  if  it  be  once 
shown,  that  those  who  fonned  this  collection  of  these 
writings,  understood  the  book  of  Canticles  allcgori- 
calty,  it  would  surely  be  a  most  violent  assumption 
to  affirm,  that  in  their  time  the  true  interpretation  of 
the  book  was  already  lost ;  especially  since  the  time 
of  its  composition  could  not  have  been  far  remote 
from  that  age  ;  and  since  the  fact  of  their  thus  adopt- 
ing it,  shows  that  the  allegorical  interpretation  must 
in  their  day  have  been  the  connnon  one. 

To  this  external  argument  we  may  add  another 
and  a  stronger  one,  derived  from  passages  of  the  po- 
em itself,  which  compel  us  to  believe  that,  under  the 
images  of  nuptial  love,  the  highest  spiritual  love  is 
described.  We  do  not  here  press  the  consideration, 
that  the  supporters  of  the  physical  mode  of  interpret- 
ation are  obliged  to  supply,  arbitrarily,  a  multitude  of 
historical  circumstances,  in  order  to  give  to  their 
explanations  even  an  appearance  of  probability ; 
since  it  might  be  replied,  that  this  obscuritj^  arises 
only  from  our  ignorance  of  the  situation  in  which  the 
nuptial  pair  were  ])laced.  We  refer  only  to  some 
passages,  which,  literally  taken,  are  either  destitute  of 
sense,  or  must  be  subjected  to  violence  in  order  to 
obtain  one  ;  while,  in  the  allegorical  method,  they 
present  a  sense  at  once  easy  and  elegant.  From  c.  i. 
4,  it  appears  that  the  name  of  the  beloved  must  be  a 
collective  name.  The  passages  in  c.  i.  5,  iii.  4,  viii.  2, 
and  V.  3 — 7,  are  entirely  at  variance  with  oriental 
usages  and  customs,  when  taken  in  the  literal  sense ; 
figuratively  taken,  they  are  beautiful  and  appropriate. 
So  also  the  following  passages,  if  literally  taken,  are 
without  meaning  ;  c.  vi.  4,  10 — 12.  iv.  8.  et  al.  step. 
To  those  grounds  in  favor  of  the  allegorical  inter- 
pretation, we  may  also  subjoin,  as  a  subsidiary  one,  the 
names  of  the  two  principal  persons.  The  Bridegroom 
is  called  Sulomoh,  (masc.)  the  peaceful,  or  the  Prince  of 
peace ;  (Is.  ix.  G.)  the  Bride,  Sulamith,  (fem.)  the 
peaceful,  or  the  happy,  vii.  1.  A  coincidence  like 
this  can  hardly  be  accidental. 

We  may  then  properly  assume  the  allegorical  in- 
terpretation of  the  book  of  Canticles  as  the  correct 
one,  and  as  supported  by  sufficient  arguments.  The 
objection,  and  tlie  only  one,  commonly  urged  against 
it,  viz.  the  great  want  of  coincidence  among  those 
who  have  followed  this  method,  must  be  laid,  not  to 
the  account  of  the  book  itself,  but  of  its  interpreters. 
It  has  arisen  from  the  fact,  that,  mistaking  the  figu- 
rative character  of  the  Old  Testament,  raid  ha\  ing 
themselves  no  poetic  feelings,  they  have,  without  any 
fixed  principles,  attempted  to  explain  every  siiigh; 
figure,  and  have  found  in  every  one  an  allusion  to 
some  real  circumstance,  either  of  history  or  of  the 
internal  spiritual  life.  This  method  stands  in  direct 
opposition  to  the  whole  character  of  the  Canticles; 
in  which  there  is  so  much  of  ornament  and  mere 
costume.  One  must  not  expect  to  find  something 
corresponding  to  each  single  figure  in  this  book  ;  but 
he  must  first  unite  all  the  single  figures  into  one  gen- 
eral image,  and  then  the  corresponding  realitv  will 
32 


be  easily  found.  Thus,  e.  g.  in  the  descriptions  of 
the  beauty  and  gracefulness  of  the  Bride,  we  should 
look  for  nothing  further  than  the  expressions  of  the 
love  and  complacency  of  Jehovah  towards  the  peo- 
ple of  Israel.  The  comparison  of  other  oriental 
poets,  who,  in  like  manner,  describe  a  higher  love 
under  the  images  of  a  lower,  especially  among  the 
Persians  and  Arabians,  is  full  of  instruction  on  this 
point.  So  soon  as  this  principle  becomes  establish- 
ed, we  shall  avoid  that  arbitrariness  with  which  all 
the  earlier  and  later  interpreters  may,  in  some  degree, 
be  charged  ;  and  also  that  variety  of  explanation, 
which  has  so  often  been  adduced  as  an  argument 
against  the  allegorical  method  of  interjiretation. 

If,  now,  the  spiritual  interpretation  of  this  book  be 
the  coi-rect  one,  this  poem  must,  of  course,  maintain 
its  place  in  the  canon  of  the  Old  Testament ;  from 
which,  of  late,  many  attempts  have  been  made  to  ex- 
clude it.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  many,  in  former 
times,  have  gone  too  far  in  their  estimation  of  the 
Song  of  Songs,  when  they  have  placed  it  above  all 
the  other  books  of  the  Old  Testament.  Had  it  really 
this  pre-eminence  of  value,  how  comes  it  that  neither 
Christ  nor  the  apostles  have  ever  cited  it  ?  Although 
the  writer  of  this  book  acted  under  the  same  divine 
influence  as  the  other  inspired  penmen,  yet,  so  far  as 
the  Christian  world  is  concerned,  we  cannot  but  re- 
gard the  prophetic  writings  as  of  moi-e  direct  impor- 
tance. Indeed,  we  cannot  avoid  the  im})ression,  that, 
for  our  modern  and  occidental  modes  of  thinking, 
and  for  our  manners  and  customs,  the  figurative,  the 
human,  the  physical,  is  in  this  poem  too  prominent. 
The  projihets,  indeed,  often  employ  the  same  figures  ; 
but  witi)  them  the  fact,  the  substratum,  the  moral  re- 
lation of  Jehovah  to  his  people,  is  always  apparent ; 
while,  in  the  Canticles,  some  of  those  figures  are,  for 
our  times  and  circumstances,  carried  out  too  far. 

To  recur,  for  a  moment,  to  the  difference  of  opin- 
ion which  exists  among  the  supporters  of  the  allegor- 
ical interpretation,  viz.  whether  the  relation  of 
Jehovah  to  his  people,  as  described  in  this  poem,  is 
his  relation  to  the  Jewish  or  to  the  Christian  church, 
or  to  the  souls  of  individuals  ;  we  may  observe  that, 
in  general,  the  very  grounds  which  lead  us  to  adopt 
the  allegorical  interpretation  of  the  book,  compel  us 
also  to  assume  the  relation  of  Jehovah  to  the  Jewish 
people,  as  the  subject  of  the  representation.  The 
question,  whether,  in  this  book,  the  relation  of  Christ 
to  his  church  is  the  subject  of  description,  must, 
therefore,  receive  a  negative  answer,  if  it  lie  meant 
thereby  to  imply,  that  the  book  of  Canticles  has  no 
special  reference  to  the  times  of  the  Old  Testament, 
or  that  it  must  be  torn  away  from  all  historical  con- 
nections, and  regarded  solely  as  describing  proj)heti- 
cally  the  love  of  Christ  to  his  church  under  the  new 
dispensation.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  we  must  an- 
swer this  question  affirmatively,  in  so  far  as  Jehovah, 
whose  love  to  his  ]>eople  of  the  old  covenant  is  de- 
scribed, is  also  no  other  than  Christ,  who,  in  all  times, 
has  rc\'ealcd  to  mankind  the  glory  of  God,  and  offer- 
ed up  himself  a  sacrifice  for  them,  in  order  to  estab- 
lish the  new  covenant.  We  must  also  answer  it 
affirmatively,  in  so  far  as  the  church  of  the  Old  Tes- 
tament, and  the  church  of  the  New,  stand  in  the 
same  general  relation  to  Christ;  and  so  far  as  sin  and 
grace,  defection  and  reunion,  which  constitute  the 
subject  of  description  in  the  Canticles,  are  often  re- 
peated in  the  history  of  both  these  churches.  To 
the  relations  of  an  individual  soul  with  Christ,  the 
descriptions  of  this  book  can  only  be  ajiplied  by  way 
of  accommodation  ;  and  here  the  greatest  caution  is 


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CANTICLES 


aeeessaiy.  A  false  iutei-pretation  may  here  easily 
mislead  to  a  mysticism,  which  has  far  more  connection 
with  the  dogmas  of  the  Persian  Sujism  than  with  the 
gospel  ;  to  a  degradation  of  that  which  is  most  holy, 
inasmuch  as  the  moral  relation  of  the  soul  to  Christ 
is  perverted  into  a  matter  of  taste  ;  to  a  spiritual  in- 
toxication, which  cannot  but  be  fatal  to  Christian 
humility  and  self-denial.  It  is  assuredly  not  an  ac- 
cidental circumstance,  that  in  the  whole  of  the  Scrip- 
tures, both  of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments,  the 
relation  of  God  or  of  Christ  to  the  souls  of  individu- 
als is  never  described  wider  the  figure  of  marriage. 
Although,  indeed,  the  relation  of  Christ  to  his  church 
and  to  individual  souls  is  essentially  the  same,  still 
in  the  former  case  there  is  less  room  for  the  excite- 
ment of  physical  or  carnal  feelings  than  in  the  latter. 
The  preceding  remarks  are  chiefly  drawn  from  an 
able  essay  upoii  the  Song  of  Songs,  by  professor 
Hengstenberg,  of  Berlin,  contained  in  the  Evange- 
lische  Kirchenzeitung  for  1827.  They  cannot  fail  to 
meet  the  approbation  of  every  candid  and  intelligent 
inquirer.  Many  attempts  have  been  made,  of  late 
years,  to  invest  this  poem  with  a  merely  literary  and 
worldly  character,  as  an  idyl,  a  pastoral,  a  descrip- 
tion of  nuptial  love,  &c.  Among  these  last  must  be 
ranked  the  following  translation  by  the  former  editor 
of  Calmet,  Mr.  Taylor.  It  exhibits  a  good  deal  of 
research  and  ingenuity  ;  but  also  very  much  that  is 
fanciful  and  unfounded,  especially  in  all  that  relates 
to  philology.  He  does  indeed  suggest  that  the  poem 
may  be  allegorical,  and  may  be  applied  to  the  union 
of  the  Jewish  and  Gentile  churches, — a  suggestion 
which  the  preceding  remarks  have  shown  to  be 
without  ground,  and  which  he  no  where  attempts  to 
carry  out  in  practice.  His  whole  endeavor  is  direct- 
ed to  the  illustration  of  the  poem  as  a  description  of 
nuptial  affection.  It  forms  indeed  a  separate  treatise, 
distinct  from  Calmet's  Dictionary ;  which,  there- 
fore, the  writer  of  these  lines  does  not  feel  himself 
at  liberty  to  meddle  with.  The  general  impression  left 
by  both  the  version  and  the  illustrations  of  Mr.  Tay- 
lor is,  that  he  has  given  to  the  poem  a  dress  too  stiffly 
dramatic,  and  imjiarted  to  it  a  character  of  modern 
orieiualism  and  of  lusciousness,  not  to  say  sensuality, 
which  is  luiknown  to  the  Hebrew  original.     *R. 

The  Book  of  Canticles,  By  Mr.  C.  Taylor. 

Introduction. — The  first  principle  to  be  considered 
in  analyzing  this  poem  is,  the  arrangement  of  its 
parts  ;  for  it  evidently  af)pears  to  be  not  one  contin- 
ued or  uniform  ode,  but  a  composition  of  several 
odes  into  one  connected  series.  In  addition  to  the 
termination  of  the  poem,  there  are  three  places 
where  the  author  has  decidedly  marked  the  close  of 
a  subject.  These  are,  the  lively  adjurations  address- 
ed by  the  Bride  to  the  daughters  of  Jerusalem. 
These  three  periods  close  by  the  same  words,  utter- 
ed by  the  same  person,  (the  Bride,)  who,  when  she 
is  the  last  speaker,  concludes  in  the  same  manner 
with  very  slight  variations.  They  occur  at  t.he 
end  of  the  first  day,  the  end  cf  the  second  day,  and 
the  end  of  the  fifth  day  ;  l)ut  at  tlio  end  of  the  "poem, 
this  conclusion  is  not  maintained.  If,  then,  these 
passages  lie  admitted  as  divisions  of  the  poem  origi- 
nally intended  to  be  marked  as  closes,  we  have  oidy 
to  ascertain  two  other  divisions,  in  order  to  render 
the  ])arts  of  the  poem  pn^tty  nearly  commensurate  to 
each  other  iu  length,  and  complete  in  the  subject 
which  each  includes.  IJy  attending  to  the  sentiments 
and  expressions,  wo  shall  find  little  difficulty  in  per- 


ceiving such  a  change  of  person  and  occurrence,  that 
the  ending  of  the  third  day  must  be  where  we  have 
jilaced  it ;  because  the  following  words,  relating  to  a 
dream  of  the  over-night,  imply  that  they  are  spoken 
in  a  morning  ;  and  they  are  so  totally  distinct  from 
the  foregoing  sentiments,  as  to  demonstrate  a  total 
change  of  scene  and  of  subject.  The  same  may  be 
said  of  the  close  of  the  fourth  day.  There  is  such  a 
determinate  change  of  style,  subject,  and  person 
speaking,  in  the  succeeding  verses,  that  every  feeling 
of  propriety  forbids  our  uniting  them.  These  prin- 
ciples, then,  divide  the  poem  into  six  divisions,  each 
of  which  we  have  considered  as  one  day.  It  has 
been  usual  with  commentators  to  regard  these  six 
days  as  succeeding  the  day  of  marriage  ;  a  mistake, 
as  we  suppose,  which  has  misled  them  into  many 
mazes  of  error.  On  the  contrary,  they  are  here  con- 
sidered as  preceding  the  day  of  marriage  ;  and,  we 
think,  the  poet  has  distinctly  marked  the  sixth  day, 
as  being  itself  the  day  of  that  union  ;  which  accounts 
for  its  termination  with  the  morningcclogue,  and  the 
omission  of  the  evening  visit  of  the  Bridegroom  to 
the  Bride  ;  as  then  the  sabbath,  to  which  no  allusion 
appears  in  any  preceding  day,  Vtoidd  be  beginning, 
in  whose  solemnities  the  Jewish  bridegioom  would 
be  attentively  engaged.  Other  interpreters  have  sup- 
posed these  eclogues  to  be  so  absolutely  distinct  as  to 
have  no  connection  with  each  other,  and  not  to  form 
a  regular  series — a  supposition  that  considerably  im- 
pairs their  beauty,  as  a  whole,  and  the  effect  of  each 
of  them  singly  ;  wuile  it  leaves  imdecided  the  reason 
for  their  association,  or  for  their  appearance  and 
preservation  in  one  book. 

Of  the  time  of  the  year. — That  the  time  of  the  year 
is  spring,  has  always  been  supposed ;  and,  indeed,  it 
is  so  clearly  marked  as  to  need  no  support  from  rea- 
sonings. The  mention  of  several  particulars  in  the 
poem  demonstrates  it.  Mr.  Harmer  has  identified 
the  month  to  be  April ;  and,  in  Judea,  we  may  say 
of  April,  as  in  England  has  been  said  of  May,  that 
"April  is  the  mother  of  love." 

Of  the  divisions  of  each  day. — We  have  supposed  it 
right  to  divide  each  day  into  two  parts,  morning  and 
evening ;  because  there  appears  to  be  such  appropri- 
ations of  persons  and  sentiments,  as  detach  each 
eclogue  from  its  companion.  It  should  be  remem- 
bered that  the  7100/1  of  the  day  is  too  liot  in  Judea  to 
permit  exertion  of  body  or  mind  ;  and  that  no  per- 
son of  the  least  degree  of  respectability  is  abroad  at 
that  time  of  the  day.  The  Turks  have  r.  proverb 
importing,  that  "only  Franks  and  dogs  walk  about 
at  noon."  And  in  Europe  itself,  as  in  Spain  and 
Portugal,  while  the  natives  at  noon  sleep  the  siesta, 
"  the  streets,"  say  the}',  "  are  guarded  by  Englishmen 
and  dogs."  Since,  then,  7ioon  is  the  time  for  repose 
m  the  East,  (see  2  Sam.  iv.  5.)  we  are  not  to  expect 
that  an  eastern  ])oct  should  depart  from  the  man- 
ners of  his  country  by  representing  this  part  of  the 
day  as  a  fit  time  for  visiting,  or  conversation,  or  en- 
joyment. Neither  can  we  sujjpose  that  7iight  is  a  fit 
time  for  visiting,  or  conversation,  among  recent  ac- 
quaintances especially.  Whatever  our  own  imhappy 
manners  may  ordain,  in  respect  of  encroaching  on 
the  proper  repose  of  night,  the  East  knows  nothing 
of  such  revels  ;  nor  of  those  assignations,  which, 
under  favor  of  night,  furnish  too  much  occasion  for 
repentance  on  the  morrow.  Sudi  considerations 
restrict  these  eclogues  to  two  parts  of  the  day,  morn- 
ing and  evening.  The  morning,  among  the  oriental 
nations,  is  very  early;  the  cool  of  the  day,  day-break, 
before  the  heat  comes  on  ;  and  the  evening  is  also 


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CANTICLES 


the  cool  of  the  day,  after  the  heat  Ls  over.  The 
mornings  of  this  poem  are  mostly  occupied  by  con- 
versations of  the  Bride  with  lier  female  ^  isitors,  or 
with  her  attendants,  in  her  own  apartments.  But  on 
the  morning  of  the  second  day,  the  Bride,  observing 
her  beloved  engaging  in  a  himting  party,  is  agreeably 
surf)risod  by  a  visit  from  Jiini,  and  sees  him  from 
tlie  upper  story  of  her  apartments,  and  through  the 
cross-bars  of  her  windows.  He  solicits  a  view  of 
her  countenance:  but  the  poem  seems  to  insinuate 
his  further  waiting  I'or  that  till  the  next  morning ; 
when  she,  l)cing  intent  on  considering  his  palanquin, 
sulfers  herself  to  be  surju-isod  ;  and  tlie  Bridegroom 
compliments  her  beauty,  wliich,  for  the  first  time,  he 
has  ."111  opportunity — not  properly  of  considenng — 
but  merely  of  glancing  at.  The  evening  is  the  reg- 
ular time  when  the  Bride  expects  to  be  visited  by 
her  Spouse ;  accordingly,  lie  visits  her  on  the  first 
evening ;  but  on  the  second  evening  she  describes 
her  anxiety,  occasioned  by  his  failure  in  this  expect- 
ed attention,  for  which  she  had  v.aited  even  into 
night,  when  it  was  too  late  to  suppose  he  woidd 
come,  and  she  must  needs  relinquish  all  thoughts  of 
seeing  him.  On  the  other  evenings  he  punctually 
pays  his  attendance  ;  and  though  the  inqiort  of  the 
conversation  between  them  is  usually  to  the  same 
effect,  yet  the  variety  of  phraseology  and  metaphor 
employed  by  both  parties  gives  a  characteristic  rich- 
ness, elegance,  and  interest  to  this  poem ;  in  which, 
if  it  be  equalled,  it  is  by  very  few  ; — but  certainly  it 
is  not  surpassed  by  any. 

Of  tilt  persons  tvho  speak. — It  is  natural  to  inquire, 
in  the  next  i)lace,  who  are  the  interlocutors  in  this 
poem.  That  it  consists  of  conversation  is  an  opin- 
ion derived  from  the  earliest  times  ;  from  the  Jewish 
synagogue,  no  less  than  from  the  Christian  church  : 
but  opinions  have  varied  as  to  the  ])ersons  engaged 
in  this  conversation.  There  evidently  are  two  prin- 
cipals ;  first,  the  lady  herself,  whom  we  distinguish 
as  the  Bride ;  meaning  a  person  betrothed  to  her 
spouse,  but  not  yet  married  to  him.  She  evidently 
comes  from  a  distant  country,  and  that  country  south 
of  Judea,  and  more  exposed  to  the  heat  of  the  sun. 
She  is  accompanied  by  her  mother,  or  by  a  representa- 
tive of  her  mother,  and  by  proper  female  attendants, 
whom  we  shall  denominate  Bridemaicls.  The  second 
principal  in  the  poem  is  the  Bridegroom,  who  is  de- 
scribed in  terms  which  can  agree  only  with  a  prince  ; 
and  this  prince  is  accom])anied,  on  his  part,  by  a 
number  of  companions,  with  Avliom  he  can  be  free, 
and  who  in  return  can  be  hearty.  In  addition  to 
these,  as  the  Bride  is  but  recently  arrived  froui  a  dis- 
tant land,  it  is  very  natural  that  some  of  the  ladies 
of  her  present  residence  (the  Royal  Haram)  should 
visit  her  ;  no  less  to  rougratulatc  and  to  compliment 
her,  than  to  engage  a  share  in  her  good  graces,  and 
to  commence  that  friendship  which  may  hereafter 
prove  valuable  and  pleasant  to  both  parties.  The 
Queen  Mother  of  the  Bridegroom  jjcrhaps  heads 
this  group. 

Received  o|)inion,  founded  on  a  pretty  general  tra- 
dition, has  called  the  prince,  Solomon,  king  of  Isra- 
el ;  and  tradition  almost,  or  altogether  equally  general, 
has  called  the  jirincess,  his  Egyptian  spouse,  the 
daughter  of  Pharaoh.  As  we  acquiesce  in  this  opin- 
ion, we  pass  it  with  this  slight  njention  only. 

Of  the  place  ivhere  the  action  passes. — The  ])lace  is 
the  city  of  David.  This  will  follow,  in  some  de- 
gree, from  the  mention  already  made  of  the  parties  ; 
but  further  proof  may  be  found  in  the  history  of  this 
connection,  1  Kings  iii.  1.      Solomon  made  affinity 


with  Pharaoh,  king  of  E^pt,  a^d  took  Pharaoh's 
daughter,  and  brought  her  into  the  City  of  David, 
until  he  had  made  an  end  of  building  his  own  house. 
Solomon  made  also  a  house  for  Pharaoh's  daughter," 
1  Kings  vii.  8.—"  Pharaoh's  daughter  came  up  out  of 
the  City  of  David,  to  the  hoiuse  which  Solomon  had 
built  for  her,"  1  Kings  ix.  24.  From  these  passages 
it  is  cleai-,  that  Solomon  lodged  his  bride  in  the  city 
of  David,  directly  as  he  received  her;  consequently  at 
the  time  described  in  this  poem.  Tracing  the  an- 
cient boundaries  of  the  city  (or  palace)  of  David,  we 
find  it  connects  on  one  side  with  the  city  of  Jerusa- 
lem ;  on  the  other  side  it  is  surrounded  by  the  open 
countrj',  the  hills,  &c.  in  the  neighborhood.  Its  in- 
ternal distribution,  we  are  not  to  imagine,  was  wholly 
like  that  of  a  city  ;  that  is,  a  series  of  streets  thi-ough- 
out,  leading  from  end  to  end ;  but  comprising  the 
palace  of  David,  its  courts  and  appurtenances,  the 
gardens  and  pleasure-grounds  belonging  to  that 
place,  in  various  and  irregular  forms.  If  there  were  a 
few  continued  lines  of  houses  in  it,  thej'  might  be 
adjacent  to  the  city  of  Jerusalem,  say,  to  where  the 
iron  gate  is  marked  in  our  plan  ;  and,  for  the  sake  of 
perspicuity,  we  shall  admit  (but  without  believing  it) 
that  I,  K,  L,  M,  were  streets,  or  other  buildings ;  and 
further,  where  the  wall  of  the  present  city  passes,  we 
shall  sujjpose  a  pile  of  buildings,  the  palace  of  Da- 
vid ;  having  one  front  toward  Jerusalem,  and  another 
toward  the  gardens,  into  which  the  rest  of  the  ground 
was  formed.  These  gardens,  thus  occupying  full 
half  the  area  of  the  city  of  David,  or  the  whole  of 
what  is  marked  mount  Sio7i  on  our  plan,  must  be 
supposed  to  be  amply  furnished  with  the  most  ad- 
mired plants,  shrubs,  trees,  evergreens,  &c. ;  with 
water,  in  basins,  streams,  and  fountains ;  with  a 
smooth-mowed  sward  of  the  most  vivid  green,  that 
is,  grass  ;  and  with  a  variety  of  flowers  in  pots,  vases, 
&c. ;  in  short,  with  whatever  of  decoration  art  and 
expense  couhl  ])rocure  ;  and  the  whole  so  disposed 
as  to  be  seen  to  the  greatest  advantage  from  the  w  in- 
dows,  balconies,  galleries,  pavilions,  and  internal 
walks  of  the  palace.  Nor  is  this  all ;  for  unless  we 
observe  how  fitly  the  risings  and  hills  of  mount  Sion 
were  adapted  to  communicate  pleasure,  by  views  of 
them,  (that  is,  being  looked  towards,)  and  by  the  situa- 
tions they  afforded  for  prospects  ;  (that  is,  being  looked 
from ;)  also,  what  is  implied  in  these  risings,  the  hol- 
lows, dells,  &c.  their  counterparts,  which  yielded  at 
once  both  coolness  and  shadow,  we  shall  lose  the 
satisfaction  arising  from  several  of  the  allusions  in 
the  poem  :  these  liillocks,  then,  the  reader  will  bear 
in  mind.  We  must  add  the  su])})Osition  of  various 
gates  around  this  enclosure,  some  communicating 
with  the  town,  others  with  the  country  ;  all  of  them 
more  or  less  guarded  by  proj)er  officers  and  attend- 
ants. We  must  also  include  in  our  ideas  of  the  pal- 
ace, that  king  Solomon  himself  resided  in  a  part  of 
it ;  say,  for  distinction  sake,  the  part  below  e :  and 
his  Brid(>,  her  mother,  and  attendants,  lodged  in 
another  part  of  it ;  say  the  pai't  above  e.  These 
parts  of  the  same  palace  may  easily  be  understood  as 
possessing  a  ready  connnunication  with  each  other: 
some  of  them  were  surromuled  by  corridors  ;  others 
were  open  pavilions,  or  colonnades,  according  to  the 
nature  and  composition  of  a  royal  residence  in  the 
East,  and  adapted  to  the  various  purposes  of  the 
aj»artments.  Add  guards — former  residents — proper 
officers — sei-vants,  &c. 

Thus  we  have  stated  our  notions  of  the  time,  the 
place,  the  persons,  of  this  conversation  poem.  We 
desire  the  reader  to  transport  himself  and  his  con- 


CANTICLES 


[  252  ] 


ceptions  into  the  palace  of  the  highly-favored  king 
of  Israel ;  to  make  one  among  those  honored  with  a 
station  in  the  train  of  Solomon,  when  his  betrothed 
spouse,  newly  amved  from  Egj'pt,  with  her  mother, 
surrounded  by  all  the  pomp  which  the  superb  Pha- 
raoh himself  coidd  depute  to  aggraudize  his  daugh- 
ter in  the  eyes  of  beholders.  Egypt  was  at  this  time 
in  its  glory,  as  to  riches  and  power ;  and  Solomon 
was  rising  into  the  greatest  repute  for  magnificence, 
and  iuto  a  proverbial  fame  for  wisdom.  Thus  in- 
troduced, let  us  attend  the  conversations  of  these  il- 
lustrious lovers ;  but  let  us  remember  that  they  are 
expressed  and  transmitted  in  the  energetic,  the  im- 
passioned, the  figurative  language  of  poetry,  of  east- 
ern poetry  ;  comprised  in  metaphors,  easy,  familiar, 
and  even  constant,  in  the  place  and  country  where 
we  hear  them  ;  that  a  gi-eat  part  of  the  gallantry  at- 
tending a  courtship-conversation  is  (by  usage)  in- 
cluded in  them  ;  and  that  the  promptitude  of  the  rep- 
artee to  such  allusions,  metapliors,  similes,  compar- 
isons, &.C.  is  accepted  as  no  small  test  of  the  spright- 
ly wit,  felicity  of  fancy,  readiness  of  reply,  and  men- 
tal dexterity,  of  the  pereons  between  whom  they  pass. 

Allegorical  meaning  of  the  poem. — Upon  this  topic 
Mr.  Taylor  merely  suggests,  that  the  Song  may  al- 
legorize the  imion  of  the  Jewish  and  Gentile 
churches.  The  Jewish  church,  in  that  view,  would  be 
the  Bridegroom,  which  (1.)  resides  at  Jerusalem,  (y.) 
whose  chief,  and  whose  prolocutor,  is  the  Messiah, 
(3.)  whose  dignity  is  superior.  The  Gentile  church 
would  be,  (1.)  from  a  distance,  (2.)  new  in  this  inti- 
mate relation,  (3.)  swarthy  in  some  respects,  yet  fair 
in  others,  (4.)  modest,  yet  afl^ectionate  ;  elegant,  yet 
rustic  ;  (5.)  willing  to  yield  obedience,  property,  &c. 
to  her  lord.  (G.)  This  union  would  naturally  be  re- 
ferred to  the  days  of  the  Messiah  ;  but,  (7.)  there 
would  be  many  countries  not  directly  informed  of 
his  coming;  may  these  be  the  little  sister  not  yet 
mature  in  person  ? — And  to  close  the  whole,  (8.)  may 
the  absence  of  the  chief  of  tlie  Jewish  church,  and 
the  earnest  desire  of  the  Gentile  church  for  his  re- 
turn, with  which  the  poem  closes,  be  in  any  way 
related  to  the  actual  state  of  things,  or  allude  to  the  still 
expecting  Hebrews,  and  the  still  inmiature  heathen  ? 

The  reader  will  remember,  that  Mr.  Taylor's  at- 
tempt professes  to  illustrate  6^  plaics  ;  no  other  mean- 
ing, therefore,  is  to  be  expected  in  it,  than  what  plates 
can  illustrate;  and  indeed  it  seems  absolutely  neces- 
sary, as  a  dictate  of  common  sense,  that  not  till 
AFTER  the  verbal  rendering  is  clearly  established, 
any  more  elevated  import  should  be  constructed 
upon  it.  Neither  is  the  reader  to  expect  critical  re- 
marks, variations  of  versions,  MSS.,  &c.  The  ob- 
ject is  only  arrangement. 

Arrangement. 

TIME.  At,  and  after,  the  Bride's  recent  ar- 

rival from  Egypt. 
The  Marriage    Week  :   six    days 
previous  to  the  completion  of  the 
marriage  ;  the  sixth  day  being  the 
day   of  marriage.     Each  day  di- 

^  vided  info  two  eclogues.  Morning 

I  and  Evening;    except    the  sixih, 

ivhich  is  Morning  only. 
Time  of  the  year  :  Spring. 

PLACE.  A  Palace  of  Solomon  in  Judea ; 

idth  its  haram,  gardens,  ^c.  that 
is,  the  City  of  David,  adjacent  to 
Jerusalem. 


TIME. 
PLACE. 

PERSONS. 


Bride. 


Ladies. 


Bride. 
Ladies. 
Bride. 
Ladies 


Bride. 

Ladies. 

Bride. 


Ladies. 
Bride. 


CANTICLES 

First  Day.     Eclogue  I. 

Morning. 

The  Bride's  parlor  and  apartments 
in  the  haram. 

Bride.  Ladies  of  the  haram,  or 
Q,UEEN  Mother,  visiting  the 
Bride,  to  compliment  and  to  ac- 
company her. 

May  he  salute  me  with  affectionate 
salutations!  (1) 

Or,  May  he  think  me  worthy  to  re- 
ceive his  addresses — his  compli- 
ments of  kindness. 

Yes,  most  certainly  ; — Expect,  as- 
suredly, his  kindest  addresses. 

So  much  are  thy  (2)  love-favors 
excellences  above  wine. 

By  the  exquisite  odor  of  thy  per- 
fumes  

(Like  perfume  widely  diffused  is 
thy  renown ybr  beauty.) 

The  A'irgins'  affections  are  concili- 
ated to  thee. 

Pray  lead  the  way — [(3)  precede  me ; 
go  before  me.] 

.  .  .  .  O  no, — We  follow  in  thy 
train  [close  after  thee.] 

The  king  hath  introduced  me  into 
his  palace  [(4)  Haram,  chaviber.] 

We  shall  be  happy  and  rejoice  in 
thee  : 

We  shall  commemorate  thy  love- 
favors  more  than  wine : 

Most  consummately  shall  we  love 
thee  : 

Or,  With  perfect  integrity  shall  we 
love  thee. 

I  am  swarthy 

But     attractive — [engaging] 

swarthy,  O  ye  daughters  of 


Ladies. 


Jerusalem, 

As  the  tents  of  Kedar ! 

attractive — as  the  tent-cur- 
tains of  Solomon ! 

Do  not  too  accurately  scrutinize 
my  swarthiness. 

For  indeed  the  sun  hath  darted  his 
direct  rays  upon  me. 

The  sons  of  my  mother  treated  me 
contemptuously ;  (5) 

They  appointed  me  (6)  inspect- 
ress  of  the  (7)  fruiteries  [or- 
chards ;] 

But  my  fruitery — my  own — I  have 
not  inspected. 

Tell  me,  O  thou  beloved  of  my  (8) 
heait  [person,]  where  thou  feedest 
thyfock. 

Where  thou  makest  i7  to  repose  at 
noon  : 

For  why  siiould  I  be  like  a  rover, 
[a  straggler  in  confusion,] 

Beside  the  flocks  of  thy  compan- 
ions ? 

If  indeed  thou  shouldest  not  know 
of  thyself, 

O  most  (J))  elegant  of  women ! 

Trace  thou  thy  way  along  the  tracks 
of  the  flock ; 


CANTICLES 


[  253  ] 


Or  feed  thou  thy  kids  beside  the 
shepherds'  tents. 

First  Day.     Eclogue  II. 

TIME.  EvENi?JG. 

PLACE.  Bride's  Parlor. 

PEKSONS  Bride  and  her  Atte.ndants. 

Bridegroom  and  his  Attendamts. 

Ladies  of  the  Haram. 


Bridegroom. 


Ladies  ;  or 
Bridegroom's 

C0MPA-M0>'S. 

Bride,  [aside) 


Bridegroom. 


Bride. 


To  a  chief  (rider)  ui  the  cavahy  of 
Pliaraoh, 

(10)  Have  I  compared  thee,  my 
cousort. 

Thy  cheeks  are  so  elegantly  deco- 
rated with  bauds  of  pearls  ; 

Tliy  neck  is  so  resplendent  with  col- 
lets of  gems. 
I  We    will    make    for    thee   golden 

bands, 
I  With  spotted  edges  of  silver. 

Wliile  the  king  is  surrounded  by  his 
(11)  circle 

My  spikenard  diffuses  delightful 
fragrance. 

A  scent-bag  of  balsam  is  my  love 
to  me, 
.  In  my  bosom  he  shall  constantly 
rest: 

A  cluster  of  Al-Henna  (12)  is  my 
beloved  to  me, 

\^0f  M-Henna^  from  the  plantations 
of  E>-gedi. 

Behold,  thou  ait  elegant,  in  thy  taste, 
my  consort  ! 

Behold,  thou  art  elegant!  Thine 
eyes  are  Doves ! 

Behold,  thou  art  (13)  magnificent, 
my  associate  friend ; 

How  delightful,  how  exquisitely 
green  [orfowery]  is  our  (14)  car- 
pet covering ! 

The  beams  of  thy  palaces  are  ce- 
dars ! 

Their  ornamental  inlayings  are  firs  ! 
( 15  bridim, or brushim. q.  Cypress?) 

1  am  a  rose  of  the  mere 

field: 

A  hly  of  the  mere  valley. 

As  the  lily  among  thorns. 

So  is  my  cousort  among  the  maid- 
ens. 

As  the  citron-tree  among  the  wild 
underwood, 

So  is  my  associate  friend  among 
the  youths. 


Bridegroom   having  retired.     Bride  sola;  or  (16) 
speaking  to  the  Ladies, 

Bride.  When  I  delight  in   his    (17)    deep 

shadow,  and  sit  down  beneath  it. 
And   his  fruit  is  dehcious  to   my 

taste ; — 
When  he   introduces  me  into  his 

house  of  wine. 
And    "Affection"    is    his    banner 

bright-blazing  above  me; 
When  he  cheers  me  with  refreshuig 

cordials, 


Bridegroom. 
Bride. 


TIME. 
PLACE. 


PERSONS. 


Bride. 


Bridegroom, 
speaking  to 
Bride. 


To  his  Com- 
panions, 


CANTICLES 

And  revives  me  with  fragrant  (18) 

citrous ; — 

(I  am  so  wounded  to  fainting  by 

affection ! ) 
When  his   left   arm    is    under  my 

head, 
And     his     right     arm     embraces 

me  ; 

I  adjure  you,  O  daughters  of  Je- 

rusalenj. 
By  the  startling  antelopes,  by  the 

timid  deer  ot  the  field. 
If  ye  disturb,  if  ye  discompose  this 

complete  afiection, 
Till  [affection]  herself  desire  it ! 

Second  Day.     Eclogue  I. 

Morning,  early. 

Bride''s  chamber.  Bride  at  her  [\) 
window  hears  the  [huiiting  horn, 
S)'c. '?]  music  of  her  beloved,  very 
early  in  the  morning. 

Bride,  her  Attendants. 

Bridegroom,  below. 

Bridegroom's  Companions,  in  at- 
tendance, ivithin  hearing. 


The  (2)  music  [sounds]  of  my  be- 
loved ! 

Behold,  he  himself  approaches ! 

Lightly  traversing  the  hills. 

Fleetly  bounding  over  the  rising 
grounds. 

My  beloved  is  swift  like  an  ante- 
lope, or  a  fawn  ! 

Behold  him  stopping  [(3)  seated, 
placed,]  in  his  (4)  carriage  ; 

Looking  through  the  apertures ; 
(5)  [windows,] 

Gleaming  between  the  blinds !  (6) 
[lattices ;] 

My  beloved  addresses  me,  and  says, 

"Kise,  my  consort,  my  charmer, 
and  come  away  ; 

For  lo  !  the  winter  is  over,  the  rains 
are  passed,  are  gone. 

The  flowers  appear  in  the  meads, 

The  singing-time  [of  the  nightin- 
gale] is  come, 

And  the  voice  of  the  turtle  re- 
echoes in  our  gi'ounds : 

The  fig-tree  forwards  into  sweet- 
ness its  sivellirrg  fruit. 

And  the  vines  advance  into  fra- 
grance their  just  setting  grapes. 

Arise,  my  consort,  my  charmer, 
and  come  away ! 

My  dove  (7)  hid  in  the  clefts  of  the 
rocks, 

Concealed  in  the  fissures  of  the 
cliffs, 

Show  me  thy  (8)  swelling  neck 
[turgid  crop,] 

Let  me  hear  thy  [cooing]   call ;  (9) 

For  sweet  is  thy  call, 

And  thy  swelhng  neck  is  beauti- 
ful." 

"  Catch  the  jackals,  the  little  jack- 
als which  damage  our  fruit- 
eries 


CANTICLES 


[  254  1 


CANTICLES 


Ere  their  productions  come  to  ma- 
turity. 
[Or,  IVhilt  they  have  tender  fruits.]" 

Bridegroom  being  idthdraicn. 

Bride.  My  beloved  is  mine,  and  I  am  his  ! 

(10) 

Feeding  among  hhes ! 

When  the  day  breezes,  ^yheu  the 
leiigthening  shadows  glimmer, 

Then  return,  then,  my  beloved, 
show  thyself  like  the  antelope, 

Or  the  young  hart,  on  the  moun- 
tains of  Bether  (11)  [crags.] 


Second  Day.     Eclogue  II. 


TIME. 

PLACE. 

PERSONS. 

Bride. 


Vejy  late  in  the  Evening. 
Bride^s  apartment. 
Bride,  sola,  [or  ivith  the  Ladies  of 
the  Haram.] 

Reclined  on  my  sofa  till  dusky  night 

/  look  around, 
I   seek   him — the   beloved  of   my 

heart  : 
[Or,    I  have   sought    all    the    long 

evening  till  dusk;   or,  till  night, 

(12)] 
I  seek  him — but  I  find  him  not. 
JVhat  if  I  rise  now,  and  take  a  turn 

[a  round]  in  the  city,  (13) 
In  the  streets,  in  the  squares  : 
Seeking  him — the   beloved  of  my 

heart  ? 

I  7nay  geek  him,  but  not  find  him. 
JVhat  if  the  watchmen,  going  their 

rounds  through  all  the  city,  find 

me  ? 
"Have  ye  seen  him — the  beloved 

of  my  heart?" 
/  shoidd  ask  of  them  : — I  might  ask 

in  vain. 
But,  ivhat  if,  passing  ever  so  little  a 

way  beyond  them, 
I   find   him — the    beloved    of   my 

heart  ? — 
I  would  clasp  him,  I  would  not  let 

him  go ; 
Until   i   had   brought   him   to   the 

house  of  my  mother. 
To    the   apartment   of  my    parent 

herself. 
Then  tvould  I  adjure  you,  O  daugh- 
ters of  Jerusalem, 
By  the  startling   antelopes,  by  tlic 

timid  deer  of  the  field, 
If  ye  distiu-b,  if  ye  discompose  this 

complete  aflection. 
Till  [.']ffection]  herself  desire  it ! 

Third  Day.     Eclogue  I. 

Morning. 

Bridc^s  chamhcr-ivindow  ;  looking  to- 
wards the  country. 

Bride,  and  her  Attendants  of  the 
Haram  ;  looking  through  the 
window. 

Bride,  {above)     (1)  What  is  that,  coming  up  from 
the  common  fields, 


TIME. 
PLACE. 

PERSONS. 


Like  a  vast  (2)  column  of  smoke  ? 

Fuming  with  balsams  and  frankin- 
cense, 

Suri)assing  all  powders  of  the  per- 
fumer. 
Ladies,  or  That  is  the    (3)  palanquin  appro- 

Attendants.  priate  to  Solomon  himself! 

Sixty  stout  men  surround  it ; 

The  stoutest  heroes  of  Israel ; 

Every  one  of  them  grasping  a 
sword ;  every  one  of  them  ex- 
pert at  arms  ; 

Ready  on  his  thigh  the  sword  of 
the  commander, 

[A  chief  (4)  fearless]  from  fear  in 
the  night. 

Superior  to  fear  at  all  tiines. 
Bride.  A  nuptial  palanquin  hath  king  Solo- 

mon made  for  himself? 
Ladies,  or  O  yes !  He  hath  made  (5)  of  Leba- 

Attendants.  non-wood  [cedar]  its  pillars  ; 

Of  silver  its  top  covering  [canopy ;] 

Of  gold  its  lower  carriage ; 

With  purple  [aregainen]  its  middle 
part  [Jloor]  is  spread, 

A  present  from  the  daughters  of  Je- 
rusalem. 
Bride.  Go  forth,  O  daughters  of  Zion,aud 

behold  king  Solomon 

Wearing  the  (6)  head-circlet  with 
which  his  mother  encircled  him 

In  the  day  of  his  espousals, 

In  the  day  of  the  gladness  of  his 
heart. 

Bridegroom  (7)  having  seen  the  face,  or  person,  of 
his  Bride,  for  the  first  time,  from  a  distance — inci- 
dentcdly  at  her  ivindow — hy  means  of  this  visit,  takes 
advantage  of  this  opportunity  to  praise  her  beauty. 

Bridegroom.       Behold,  thou  art  elegant,  my  con- 
[below)  sort,  behold,  thou  art  elegant ! 

Thine  eyes  are  doves  peering  be- 
tween thy  (8)  locks : 

Thy  hair  is  like  a  flock  of  goats,  (9) 

Long-haired  glistering  goats  [de- 
scending] at  mount  Gilead  ; 

Thy  teeth  like  a  shorn  flock  (10)  o/ 
sheep, 

Coming  up  on  (11)  mount  Cassius. 

All  of  them  twins  to  each  other! 

And  not  one  lias  lost  its  fellow 
twin. 

Like  a  braid  of  scarlet  are  thy  lips ; 

And  the  organ  of  thj^  voice  [mouth] 
is  loveliness. 

Blushing  (12)  like  the  iimer  part  of 
a  piece  of  jiomegranate 

Is  thy  cheek  [temple]  beneath  thy 
locks ; 

White  (13)  like  the  tower  of  David 
is  thy  neck, 

(14)  Built  on  a  conmiandmg  emi- 
nence ; 

A  thousand  shields  are  suspended 
around  it,  as  trophies  of  conquest, 

All  of  them  arms  of  dignity  of 
valiant  heroes. 

Thy  (15)  two  nipples  are  hke  two 
twhi  fawns  of  the  antelope. 

Nibbling  lily  flowers. 


CANTICLES 


[  255  ] 


CANTICLES 


When  the  day  breezes,  when  the 

hngtliening  shadows  glhiimer, 
1  will  visit  the  mountain  of  balsam, 
The  hill  of  frankincense. 

Third  Day.     Eclogue  II. 

TIME.  Evening. 

PLACE.  Bnde's  parlor ;  in  ivhich  her  Ladies, 

8fC.  are  in  waiting. 

PERSONS.  Bridegroom,  accompanied  by  At- 
tendants, visiting  his  Bride. 

Bridegrcom.  ThoLi  ait  my  entire  elegance,  my 
consort, 

Not  a  blemish  is  in  thee. 

Be  of  my  party  (16)  to  Lebanon, 
my  spouse. 

Accompany  me  to  Lebanon,  come : 

See  the  prospect  from  the  head  of 
Amanah, 

From  the  head  of  Shenir,  and  of 
Hermon, 

From  Lions'  Haunts,  from  Pan- 
ther Mountains. 

Thou  hast  (17)  carried  off  captive 
my  heart,  my  sister,  spouse,  (19) 
[partner.]  Thou  hast  carried  off 
captive  my  heart,  [literally,  Thou 
hast  dishearted  ine.\ 

By  one  (18)  sally  of  thine  eyes. 

By  one  link  [of  the  chainette]  of  thy 
neck. 

How  handsome  are  thy  love-favors, 
my  sister,  my  spouse  !  (19)  [be- 
trothed ] 

How  exquisite  are  thy  love-fa- 
vors ! 

How  much  beyond  wine  ! ' 

And  the  fragrance  of  thine  es- 
sences ! — 

Beyond  all  aromatics ! 
Bride.  Sweetness — as  liquid  [palm]  honey 

drops,  such  drop  thy  hps,  [speech] 
O  spouse : 

[Bee]  honey  and  milk  are  under 
thy  tongue  : 

And  the  scent  of  thy  garments  is 
the  sweet  scent  of  cedar. 
Bridegroom.       A  garden  locked  up  is  my  sister, 
spouse, 

A  spring  strictly  locked  up,  a  foun- 
tain closely  sealed. 

Thy  plants  are  shoots  of  Paradise : 

[Or,  Around  thee  shoot  plants  of 
Paradise.  [^Q)] 

Pomegranates,  with  delicious  fruits ; 

The  fragrant  henna,  with  the 
nards, 

(21)  The  nard,  and  the  crocus, 

And  sweet-scented  reed,  and  cinna- 
mon ; 

With  every  tree  of  incense  ; 

The  balsam  and  the  aloe  ;  (22) 

With  every  prime  aromatic. 

Thou  fountain  of  gardens !  thou 
source  of  living  waters  ! 

Thou  source  of  streams — even  of 
Lebanon  streams  ! 
Bride.  North  wind,  awake  !  (but  (23)  sink, 

thou  soutliern  gale) 


Blow  on  my  garden,  waft  around 
its  fragrances, 

The7i  let  my  beloved  come  into  his 
garden, 

And  taste  the  fruits  t^Atc^i  he  praises 
as  his  delicacies ! 
Bridegroom.       I  am  (24)  come  into  my  garden,  my 
sister,    spouse,    [betrothed,   troth- 
plight.] 

I  gather  my  balsam  with  my  aro- 
matics, 

I  eat  my  liquid  honey  with  my  firm 
honey, 

I  drink  my  wine  with  my  milk. 
To  his  Eat,  my  companions :  drink,  drink 

Companions.  deeply. 

My  associate  friends ! 

Fourth  Day.     Eclogue  I. 

TIME.  Morning. 

PLACE.  Bride's  chamber. 

PERSONS.         Bride  and  her  Attendants  : 
Ladies  of  the  Haram. 

Bride,  I  was  sleeping,  (1)  but  my  [heart] 

relating  a  imagination  was  awake  : 

dream  to  JVhen  methought  I  heard 

her  visitors.        The   (2)  voice   [sound]  of  my  be- 
loved, knocking,  and  saying: 
"Open  to  me  !  my  sister !  my  consort  l 
]My  dove  !  my  perfect !  [or  immacu- 
late beauty!] 
For  my  head  is  excessively  filled 

with  dew. 
My  locks  with   the    drops  of  the 

night." 
But  I  ansivered : 
"  I  have  put  off  my  vest ; 
How  can  I  put  it  on .' 
I  have  washed  my  feet ; 
How  can  I  soil  them  ?" 
My  beloved  put  his  hand  to  open 

the  door  by  the  lock,  (3) 
( — My  heart  in  its  (4)  chamber  pal- 
pitated on  account  of  him  ! 
I  rose  to  open  to  my  beloved, 
( — My  hand  dropi)ed  balsam,  and 

my  fingers  self-flowing  balsam. 
On  the  handles  of  the  lock ;) 

I  did  open  to  my  beloved  ; 

But  my  beloved  was  turned  away 

— was  gone — 
( — My  soul  [pei-so7i,  affection]  sprung 

forwards  to  meet  his  address.) 
I  sought   him,   but  could  not  find 

hini ; 
I  called  him,  but  he  answered  me 

not. 
The  watchmen  going  their  rounds 

in  the  city  discovered  me. 
They  struck  me,  they  wounded  me  ; 
They  snatched  my  deep  veil  itself 

from  off  me. 
Those  surly  keepers  of  the  walls  ! 
I  adjure  you,  O  daughters  of  Jeru- 
salem, 

If  ye  should  find  my  beloved, 

What  should  ye  tell  him  ! — 
— That  I  am  wounded  to  fainting 
by  Affection. 


CANTICLES 


[  256  1 


CANTICLES 


Ladies. 


Bride, 

describes  his 
countenance. 


Describes  his 

dress. 


Wherein  is  thy  beloved  superior 
to  other  beloveds, 

Most  elegant  of  women, 

Wherein  is  thy  beloved  superior  to 
other  beloveds, 

That  thou  dost  thus  adjure  us  ? 

My  beloved  is  white  and  ruddy  ; 

The  (5)  bright-blazing  standard  of 
ten  thousand  ! 

His  head  is  wrought  gold — of  the 
purest  quality  ! 

His  locks  are  pendent  curls — black 
as  the  raven  ! 

His  eyes  like  (6)  doves  at  a  ivMte- 
foaming  water-fall ; 

Or,  dipping  themselves  in  a  [garden 
canal — basin]  streamlet  q/milk. 

And  [turning  themselves,  rolling] 
sporting  in  the  fulness  [depth]  of 
the  pool. 

His  temples  arc  shrubberies  of  odo- 
riferous plants, 

Clumps  of  aromatic  trees: 

His  lij)s  are  hUes  dropping  self-flow- 
ing balsam ; 

His  wrists  [bands,  bracelets]  are  cir- 
clets of  gold. 

Full  set  with  topazes  ; 

His  waist  [girdle]  is  bright  ivory. 

Over  which  the  sapphire  plays  ; 

His  legs  [d}-aivers,  &(c.]  are  columns 
of  marble, 

Rising  from  bases  of  purest  gold 
[his  shoes]  : 

His  figure  is  noble  as  the  cedars  of 
Lebanon  ; 

Majestic  as  the  cedars  of  Paradise, 

His  address  is  sweetness  ! 

[The  vej-y  concentration  of  sweet- 
ness !] 

His  wliole  person  is  loveliness ! 

[TVie  I'e/T/  concentration  of  loveliness!] 

Such  is  my  beloved,  such  is  my 
consort, 

0  daughters  of  Jerusalem  ! 
Whither  may  thy  beloved  be  gone. 
Most  elegant  of  women  ? 
What  course  may  tiiy  beloved  have 

taken, 
That  we  might  bring  him  to  rejoin 

thee  ? 
My  beloved  is  gone  down  to   his 

garden, 
To  his  shrubberies  of  odoriferous 

plants  ; 
To  feed  in  his  gardens, 
And  to  gather  lilies. 

1  am  my  beloved's,  and  my  beloved 

is  mine  : 

Feeding  among  lilies ! 

Fourth  Day.    Eclogue  II. 

TIME.  Evening. 

PLACE,  Bride's    parlor;    in   which   art  the 

Ladies  in  waiting,  Sfc. 
PERSONS.  Bridegroom,  ?{'i7?i /its  Attendants, 

visiting  his  JJride. 

Bridegroom.       Thou  art  wholly  (8)  decorated,  my 
Fortifed  cities.         love,  like  Tirzah  ; 


Ladies 


Bride. 


Adorned  as  Jerusalem ; 

Dazzling  as  flaming-bannered  ranks. 

Wheel  about  (9)  thine  eyes  [glances] 
from  off"  my  station. 

For,  indeed,  they  overpower  me  ! 
A  repetition  of    "  Thy  (10)  hair  is  as  a  flock  of  goats 
Third  Day.  thai  appear  from  Gilead  : 

Eclogue  I.        Thy  teeth  are  as  a  flock   of  sheep 
Common  trans-         which  go  up  from  the  ivashing  ; 
lation.  Whereof    every   one    beareth    twins, 

and  there  is  not  one  barren  among 
them. 

^s  a  piece  of  pomegranate  are  thy 
temples  withm  thy  locks." 

Sixty  are  those  queens,  and  eighty 
those  concubines. 

And  damsels  beyond  number ; 

But  my  dove  is  the  very  one  alone  ; 

To  me  she  is  my  perfect  one  ! 

The  very  one  is  she  to  her  mother ; 

The  faultless  favorite  of  her  pa- 
rent : 

The  damsels  saw  her  ; 

And  the  queens  admired  her. 

And  the  concubines  extolled  her, 
saying, 

"  Who  is  this,  advancing  [in  bright- 
ness] like  day-break. 

Beauteous  as  the  moon,  clearly  ra- 
diant as  the  sun. 

Dazzling  as  the  streamer-flames  of 
heaven  ?"  [q.  a  comet  ?] 

To  the  garden  of  filberts  I  had  gone 
down, 

To  inspect  the  fruits  of  the  brook 
side  ; 

Whether  the  grape  were  setting; 

W^hether  the  pomegranate  flow- 
ered ; 

Unawares  to  my  mind,  my  person 
[]  1 ,  .'Iffection]  bcglided  itself  back 
again, 

More  siviftly  than  the  chariots  of 
mypeo])le  at  a  (12)  charge  [pour- 
ing out.] 

Bride  lises  to  go  away. 

Face  about,  (13)  face  about,  Selo- 

MEH  ! 

Face  about,  face  about ! 

That    we    may    (14)    reconnoitre 

thee 

What  would  you  reconnoitre  in  Se- 

LOMEH  ? 

Or,  How  ivould  you  reconnoitre  Se- 

lomch  ? 
Like  [as  we  do]  reti-enchments  (15) 

around  camps ! 


Bridegroom's 
Companions. 


Ladies  of  ^ 
Haram,  or  I 
Bride's  At-  j 
tendants.  J 
Brideg.  Com. 


Fifth  Day.     Eclogue  I. 

TIME.  Morning. 

PLACE.  Bride's  toilette :  Bride  dressing,  or 

recently  dressed. 

PERSONS.  Bride,  and  her  Attendants  ;  La- 

dies of  the  Haram. 

Ladies  of  the  Haram  ;  admiring  the 
Bride's  [Egyptian  ?]  dress. 

How  handsomely  decorated  are  thy 
(1)  feel  in  sandals, 


CANTICLES 


[257  ] 


O    daughter   of    [liberality]    (2) 

princes  !  [  pouring  out.] 
[i.  e.  O  liberal  rewarder  of  ingenui' 

ty  and  merit.'] 
The  (3)  selve-edges  {returns]  of  thy 

drawers  iire  hike  (5)  open-work, 

[pinked,] 
The  performance  of  excellent  hands! 
Thy   (6)   girdle-clasp    is  a    round 

goblet, 
H)  Rich  in  mingled  wine  : 
Tny  [bodice]  body-VEST  is  a  sheaf 

of  wheat, 
Bound  about  with  lihes  : 
Thy  two  (8)  nipples  are  two  twva. 

fawns  of  the  antelojje, 
Feeding  among  lilies. 
Thy  neck  is  like  an  ivory  tower : 


Thine  eyes  [dark  with  stibium]  are 
like  the  fish-pools  in   Heshbon, 

(9) 

By  the  gate  of  Beth-rabbim  : 

Thy  nose  is  hke  the  tower  of  Leba- 
non, 

(10)  Which  looketh  toward  Damas- 
cus: 

Thy  head-dress  upon  thee  resem- 
bles (11)  Carmel; 

And  the  tresses  of  thy  hair  are  like 
(12)  Aregamen  ! 

The  king  is  (13)  entangled  in  these 
meanderings  !  (14)  [foldings  ; 
plaitings ;  intricacies.] 

Fifth  Day.     Eclogue  IL 

TIME.  Evening. 

PLACE.  Bride^s    parlor ;    with  Ladies,  &c. 

in  ivaiting. 
PERSONS.         Bridegroosi  visiting  his  Bride. 

Bridegroom.       How  beautiful,  and  how  rapturous, 
O  love, art  thou  in  delights! 
Thy  very  (15)  stature   equals  the 

palm  ; 
And  thy  breasts  resemble  its  clus- 
ters : 
I  said,  I  would  climb  this  palm, 
And  would  clasp  its  branches : 
Now  shall  thy  bosom  be  odoriferous 

as  clusters  of  grapes. 
And  the  sweetness  of  thy   breath 

like  the  fragrance  of  citrons. 
Yes,  thy  [palate]   (IG)  address  re- 
sembles    exquisite     wine,    [cor- 
dial.] 
(17)  Going  as  a  love-favor  to  asso- 
ciate friends,  to  consummate  in- 
tegrities of  love, 
[or,  to  friends  ivhose  stanch  friend- 
ship has  been  often  experienced.] 
It  might  make  the  very  lips  of  the 
sleeping  [of  age]  to  discourse. 

Bride.  I  am  my  beloved's, (18) 

And  toward  me  are  his  desires, 
[or,  And   my   dependence    is    upon 
him.] 
Bridegroom.       Come,  my  beloved,  let  us  go   out 
into  the  fields. 
Let  us  abide  in  the  villages, 
33 


Brids. 


Brideoroom. 
Bride. 


TIME. 

PLACE. 
PERSONS. 


Attendants 
at  the  House. 


Bbidegroom. 


Bride. 


CANTICLES 

We  will  rise  early  to  inspect  tho 
vineyards, 

Whether  the  vine  be  sotting  itt 
fruit, 

Whether  the  smaller  grape  protrude 
itself. 

Whether  the  pomegranates  flower, 

Whether  the  (19)  dudaim  [man- 
drakes] diffuse  their  fragrance. 

There  will  I  make  thee  complete 
love-presents  ; 

For  our  lofts  (20)  contain  all  new  del- 
icacies [fruits,] 

But  especially  preserved  delicacies, 

Stored  up,  my  beloved,  for  thee. 

0  wert  thou  my  brother, 
Sucking  my  mother's  breasts, 
Should  I   find  tliee   in  the  public 

street, 

1  would  kiss  thee  ; 

Yes,  and  then  would  they  [by-$tand- 
ers]  not  contemn  me  : 

I  would  take  thee,  I  would  bring 
thee 

To  the  house  of  my  mother 

Thou  shouldest  conduct  me  (21); 
i.  e.  show  me  the  way  thither, 

1  would  give  thee  to  drink 

scented  wine, 

Wine  I  myself  had  flavored  with 
the  sweetness  of  my  pomegran- 
ate. 

Then,  were  his  leil  arm  under  my 
head. 

And  his  right  arm  embracing  me, 

I  would  charge  you,  daughters  of 
Jerusalem, 

(22)  By  the  startling  antelopes,  by 
the  timid  deer  of  the  f  eld, 

Wherefore  disturb,  wherefore  dis- 
compose this  complete  Affection, 

Till  [Affection]  herself  desire  it  ? 

Sixth  Day.    Eclogue  I. 

Morning  :  cfter  the  marriage  cere- 
mony had  recently  taken  place. 

Front  of  the  palace. 

Bride,  her  Attendants  :  Bride- 
groom, his  Attendants  :  all  in 
procession  before  and  after  the 
Royal  palanquin,  in  which  the 
Royal  Pair  are  seated. 

Who  is  this  coming  up  from  the 
common  fields. 

In  full  (1)  sociability  with  her  be- 
loved ? 

Under  the  citron-tree  (2)  I  urged 
thee  [overcame  thy  bashfulness.] 

There  thy  mother  (3)  deUvered  thee 
over  to  me. 

There  thy  parent  solemnly  deliver- 
ed thee  over  to  me. 

Wear  me  as  a  seal  on  thy  heart  [in 
thy  bosom], 

(4)  As  a  seal-ring  on  thine  arm. 

For  strong  as  death  is  Affection  ; 

Its  passion  unappeasable  as  the 
grave : 

Its  shafts  are  shafts  of  fire, 


CANTICLES 


[  258  ] 


CANTICLES 


The  flame  of  Deity  itself!   [vehe- 
ment as  lightning.] 
Bridesrooh.        Mighty  waters  cannot  quench  this 
complete  Affection ; 

Deluges  cannot  overwhelm  it : 

If  a  chief  (man)  give  all  the  wealth 
■■  of  his  house 

In  affection,  it  would  be  despised  as 
despicable  in  him. 
Bridc  Our  [cousi7i,  relation]  sister  is  little, 

And  (5)  her  bosom  is  immature  : 

Wl^t  shall  we  do  for  our  sister, 

In  the  day  when  her  concerns  shall 
be  treated  of? 
Bridekroom.        If  sl>e  be  a  wall, 

We  will  build  on  her  turrets  of 
silver : 

If  she  be  a  door- way. 

We   will  frame  around  her  soffits 
of  cedar. 
Brii>£.  [aside)       I  am  a  wall — and  my  breasts  are 
like  kiosks  (6) ; 

Thence  I  appeared  in  his  eyes  as 
one  in  whom  he  might  find 
peace  (7), 

[Msolute  Repose  ;  or  Prosperity  of 
all  ki7ids.] 
ji^o  Bridegroom.    Solomon  himself  7iow)  has  a  fruitery 
at  (8)  Baal-Ham-aun ; 

That  fruitery  is  committed  to  (9)  in- 
spectors ; 

The  chief  (10)  tenant  shall  bring  as 
rent  for  its  fruits, 

A  thousand  silverlings. 

My  fruitery,  my  own,  my  o^vn  in- 
spection. 

Will  yield  a  thousand  to  thee,  Solo- 
\  mon : 

But  (11)  two  hundred  are  due  to 
the  inspectors  of  its  fruits.) 
Bridegroom.       O  thou  [Dove]  who  resides!  in  gar- 
dens. 

Thy  companions  listening  await  thy 
[cooing]  voice, 

Let  me  especially  hear  it ! 

Fly  to  me  swiftly,  my  beloved, 

And  show  thyself  to  be  like  the 
antelope  or  the  young  hart. 

On  the  mountains  of  aromatics ! 


Briok. 


Illustrations  of  the  proposed  Version. 

We  are  now  prepared  to  review  the  characters  of 
the  principal  speakers  in  this  interesting  poem.  The 
Bride  has  been  a  ranger  of  parks,  plantations,  &c. 
is  fond  of  gardens  and  rural  enjoyment,  and  has  a 
property  of  her  own,  of  the  same  nature ;  yet  is  a 
person  of  complete  elegance  of  taste  and  of  maimers  ; 
magnificent  in  her  personal  ornaments,  and  liberal 
with  princely  liberality  in  her  disposition.  She  lias 
been  educated  i)y  her  niotlicr  with  the  tenderast  affec- 
tion, and  is  her  only  daugiiler ;  though  her  mother  has 
several  sons.  The  Bridegroom  is  noh!<!  in  his  per- 
son, magnificent  in  his  equipage,  palace,  and  pleas- 
ures ;  active,  military,  of  pleasing  address  and  com- 
pliment, and  one  on  whom  his  exalted  rank  and  sta- 
tion sit  remarkably  easy.  The  Bride's  Mother 
does  not  speak  in  any  part  of  the  poem  ;  it  is  only  by 
what  is  said  of  her  that  we  find  she  accompanied  her 


daughter:  whether  this  personage  be  her  natural 
modier,  or  any  confidential  friend,  deputed  to  that  of- 
fice, might  engage  conjecture.  The  Bride's  Compan- 
ions speak  but  little  ;  we  think  only  once,  at  the  closa 
of  the  fourth  day,  if  then.  The  Bridegroom's  Com- 
panions speak,  also,  only  on  the  same  occasion.  The 
Ladies  of  the  Haram,  or  visitors  to  the  Bride, 
are  the  first  persons  to  compliment  and  to  cheer  her ; 
and  we  think  they  seem  to  accompany  in  her  train 
throughout  the  poem.  It  is  likely  that  these  visitors 
praise  her  in  the  first  day,  describe  the  palanquin  in 
the  third  day,  converse  with  the  Bride  in  the  fourth 
day,  and  admire  her  dress  in  the  fifth  day.  These 
parts  have  hitherto  been  attributed  to  the  Bride's 
Egyptian  attendants  ;  but  we  rather  suppose  the  in- 
formation they  give,  and  the  sentiments  they  com- 
municate, imply  persons  well  acquainted  with  the 
Bridegi-oom  and  his  court — that  is,  Jcivish  attendants, 
maids  of  honor  to  the  Bride : — or,  May  these  pas- 
sages be  spoken  by  the  Queen  Mother  of  the 
Bridegroom  ?  (See  Queen  Mother.)  Some  other 
persons  also  speak  once  at  the  opening  of  the  sixth 
day  ;  their  remark  indicates  that  they  stand  near,  or 
at  the  palace  :  for  want  of  more  precise  knowledge 
of  them,  they  are  called  "  Attendants  at  the  house :" 
say,  the  chief  officers  of  the  palace.  But  is  this 
spoken  by  the  ladies  of  the  Haram  ?  or  by  the  queen 
mother  ? 

Thejirsl  day. — 1.  May  he  salute  me  ivith  affectionate 
salutations  !  Though  the  import  of  the  Avord  neshek 
undoubtedly  is  to  kiss,  yet,  in  several  passages  of 
Scripture,  it  implies  no  more  than  mere  salutation  or 
addressing — a  compliment  paid  on  view  of  a  per- 
son or  object.  So  those  who  are  said,  in  our  trans- 
lation, to  have  "  kissed  the  image  of  Baal,"  did  not 
kiss  that  image,  strictly  speaking,  but  kissed  toivard 
it ;  that  is  to  say,  they  kissed  their  liands,  and  refer- 
red that  action  to  the  image ;  or  kissed  at  a  distance 
from  it — addressed  it  respectfully  by  the  salaam  of 
the  East.  (See  Adore,  and  Kiss.)  This  expression 
of  the  Bride,  then,  implies,  simply,  an  apprehension 
or  fear,  (united  with  a  wish  to  the  contrary,)  that 
when  the  Bridegroom  sees  her,  he  may  think  slight- 
ly of  her  person,  her  qualities,  or  attractions,  and  may 
refrain  from  paying  his  addresses  to  her.  In  reply, 
the  ladies  commend  her  beaut}',  and  cheer  her  mod- 
est sohcitudc,  by  praising  her  attractions  and  her  ele- 
gances. They  do  not  indeed  pi-aise  her  person,  be- 
cause, according  to  the  customs  and  decencies  of  the 
country,  the  Bridegi-oom  cannot  yet  see  that ;  they 
only  praise  her  general  appearance,  and  what  must 
first  strike  a  beholder — what  are  most  noticeable  at 
the  earliest  interview — at  a  first  ajjproach — that  is, 
her  polite  manners  and  deportment ;  also  her  per- 
fumes, to  the  diffusion  of  which  they  compare  her 
renown  for  beauty.  The  importance  of  perfumes  in 
the  East  is  veiy  great;  the  lovers  of  the  Arabian 
poets  never  omit  to  notice  this  attraction  of  their 
mistresses. 

"When  the  two  nymphs  arose,  they  diffused  fragrance      I 

around  them. 
As    the   zejihyr  scatters  perfimie  from    the  Indian 

flower. 

Do  not  the  perfumes  of  Khozami  breathe  ? 
Is  it  the  fragrance  of  Hazer  from  Mecca,  or  the  odor      ji 
diffusing  from  Azza  ?  '' 

She  resembled  the  moon,  and  she  waved  like  the 
branches  of  Myrobalan, 


CANTICLES 


[  259  ] 


CANTICLES 


She  diffused  perfume  like  tlie  ambergris,  and  looked 
beautiful  like  the  fawn." 

Agreeably  to  this,  we  find  in  Scripture  the  remark, 
that,  "  Ointment  and  perfume  rejoice  the  heart ;" 
(Prov.  xxvii.  9.)  and  Isaiali,  describing  a  female  de- 
sirous of  pleasing  her  paramour,  represents  Jier  as 
"  increasing  her  perfumes,"  cliap.  Ivii.  9.  (See  also  Es- 
ther ii.  12  ;  Psalm  xlv.  8  ;  Prov.  vii.  17.)  The  reader 
will  observe  the  distance  to  which  these  jierfumes  are 
understood  to  extend  their  fragrance  ;  and,  relatively, 
that  to  which  the  liride's  beauty  was  famous. 

2.  Love-favors.  It  is  usual  to  render  this  word 
(dudi)  loves — but,  by  considering,  (1.)  Tiiat  the  la- 
dies say,  THEY  shall  commemorate  the  (dudi)  loves  of 
the  bride  ;  (2)  that  (dudi)  loves  are  said  to  be  poured 
out  as  from  a  bottle,  or  to  be  sent  as  presents  to  per- 
sons of  integrities  [plural);  (3.)  that  the  spouse  in- 
vites the  bride  into  the  country,  where  he  would  give 
her  his  (dudi)  ioyes  ;  it  appears  that  Iovc-presents 
of  some  kind  are  the  articles  meant  by  the  word. 
Suppose,  for  instance,  tlie  bride  presented  the  ladies 
with  curiousiy-worked  handkerchiefs,  [as  is  custom- 
ary in  the  East,]  the  ladies  might  look  on  them,  at  a 
distance  of  time  afterwards,  with  a  pleasing  recollec- 
tion of  tlic  j)crson  by  whom  they  were  given  ;  as  is 
customary  among  ourselves.  Such  tokens  are  not 
valued  for  their  intrinsic  worth,  but  for  the  sake  of 
the  giver ;  and,  were  it  not  trivial,  we  might  quote  a 
common  inscription  on  this  subject  as  coincident 
with  the  spirit  of  this  passage,  "  When  this  you  see, 
rcmeniber  me."  What  other  than  a  present  of  love 
can  be  poured  out  from  a  bottle — delicious  wine,  that 
might  rouse  the  drowsy  to  discourse  ?  or  why  does 
the  Spouse  invite  his  Bride  into  the  country,  but  in 
order  to  present  her  with  its  best  productions  ;  some 
of  which,  he  tells  her,  were  stored  up,  and  expressly 
reserved  for  her  reception  ?  Such  is  the  meaning  of 
this  word,  in  this  place  :  favors  bestowed  as  the  ef- 
fect of  love — to  remunerate  love  ;  or  designed  to 
conciliate  love,  to  excite  regard  toward  the  presenter 
of  the  gift.  We  have  used  the  word  favors,  since 
that  word  im[)lies,  occasionally,  personal  decorations  ; 
as  at  marriages,  ribands,  &c.  given  by  the  bride  to 
the  attendants,  or  others,  are  termed  bnde-favors,  or 
eimitly  favors. 

3.  The  bride  proceeds  to  invite  her  visitors  (as  we 
Buijpose)  into  the  interior  of  her  apartments ;  and, 
from  good  manners,  desires  them  to  precede  her ; 
which  they,  with  equal  good  manners,  decline.  The 
word  meshck  signifies  to  advance  toward  a  place ;  as 
Judg.  iv.  G,  "Go  and  draiv  toward  mount  Taijor,  and 
take  with  thee  ten  thousand  men  ;"  that  is,  go  frst 
to  mount  Tabor,  and  be  followed  by  thine  army — 
head  thine  army — precede  it.  Job  xxi.  .'^'3,  "  Ho 
goeth  to  tlie  grave,  where  he  [meshuk)  precede.^  a 
great  many  men  ;  and  so  draws  them  toward  Imn  ; 
as  he  himself  has  \mc\\  preceded  ^^y  many  who  have 
died  before  him."  Job  xxvi".  18,  "The  price,  [me- 
shch;)  the  precedence  of  .visdom— its  attraction— is 
preferable  to  rubies."  Jer.  xxxi.  3,  "  I  have  loved 
thee  witli  an  everUstiiig  love  :  therefore  with  loving- 
kindness  hav<^  1  preceded  thee  ;"  as  we  say,  been  be- 
forehand "ith  thee,  "  drawn  thee  toward  me."  Such 
appear  to  be  the  import  of  the  word,  which,  there- 
fore, is  in  this  place  rendered — lead  the  way,  that  is, 
precede  me. 

4.  Tlie  king^s  chamber.  This  word,  though  usually 
rendered  chamber,  can  only  mean,  in  general,  his 
apartments,  his  residence  ;  the  word  is  used  to  this 
purport,  Deut.  xxxii.  25 ;  Prov.  xxiv.  4  ;  Jer.  xxxv.  2  ; 


anrl  we  have  among  ourselves  an  instance  of  a  simi- 
lar application  of  the  word  chamber.  In  Richard  III. 
Shakspeare  makes  Buckingham  say  to  the  young 
king,  "  Welcome,  sweet  prince,  to  Loudon,  to  your 
CHAMBER :"  the  reason  is,  London,  from  being  the 
usual  residence  of  the  king,  was  called  camera  regis, 
"  the  king's  chamber."  It  might  justly  be  rendered 
"  rooms ;"  so  we  have  the  rooms  at  Bath,  at  Mar- 
gate, &c.  or  chambers  in  a  palace — as  the  ever-mem- 
orable Star  chamber,  the  Jerusalem  chamber,  the 
painted  chamber,  &c.  that  is,  apartments.  But  here 
it  evidently  means  the  Haram,  or  women's  apart- 
ment, the  secluded  chamber,  into  which  the  Bride 
invites  tlie  ladies ;  and  where  the  latter  part  of 
this  eclogue  j)asse8,  being  ti-ansferred,  as  we  suppose, 
from  the  parlor  below  to  the  Haram  above  ;  or  from 
the  parlor  exterior,  to  the  Haram  interior. 

5.  Treated  vie  contemptuously,  literally,  "  snorted  at 
me  ;"  which  perhaps  might  be  rendered  by  our  Eng- 
lish phrase,  "  turned  up  their  noses  at  me  ;" — but 
how  would  that  read  in  a  poem  ?  To  spurn  does 
not  correctly  express  the  idea,  as  that  action  rather 
refers  to  a  motion  of  the  foot;  whereas,  this  term 
expresses  a  movement  of  a  feature,  or  of  the  entire 
countenance. 

6.  Inspcctressofthefruiteries.  This,  we  imagine,  is 
somewhat  analogous  to  our  office  of  ranger  of  a  royal 
park  ;  an  office  of  some  dignity,  and  of  more  emol- 
ument :  it  is  bestowed  on  individuals  of  noble  families 
among  ourselves  ;  and  is  sometimes  held  by  females 
of  the  most  exalted  rank  ;  as  the  princess  Sophia  of 
Gloucester,  who  is  ranger  of  a  part  of  Bagshot  park; 
the  princess  of  Wales,  who  was  ranger  of  Greenwich 
park,  &c.  and  the  office  is  consistent  even  with 
royal  dignity.  This  lady,  then,  was  appointed  ran- 
ger— governess,  directress  of  these  plantations  ;  which 
appears  to  have  been  perfectly  agreeable  to  her  nat- 
ural taste  and  disposition,  although  she  alludes,  with 
great  modesty,  to  her  exposure  to  the  sun's  rays,  in  a 
more  southern  climate,  by  means  of  this  office,  as  an 
apology  for  a  complexion  which  might  be  thought  by 
Jerusalem  females  to  be  somewhat  tanned. 

7.  Fruiteries.  The  word  signifies  not  restrictively 
vineyards,  but  places  producing  various  kinds  of 
plants;  for  we  find  the  al-henna  came  from  "the 
fruiteries  of  En-gedi,"  the  plantations,  not  merely 
vineyards,  of  "the  fountain  of  Gadi,"  orthe  "springs 
of  Gadi,"  chap.  i.  14.     See  No.  12.  below. 

8.  Beloved  of  my  heart,  strictly,  beloved  by  my  per- 
S071  •  but  as  (h's  is  rather  an  uncouth  phrase  in  Eng- 
lish the  reader  will  excuse  the  substitution  of  one 
more  familiar.  The  word  is  very  improperly  ren- 
dered soul,  by  our  translators,  throughout  the  Old 
Testament,  though  the  usage  of^  their  time,  as  appears 
from  the  best  w  riters,  pleads  strongly  in  their  ex- 
cuse.— "That  soul  shall  die" — "that  soul  shall  be  cut 
off,"  read  person  ;  for  in  many  places  the  actions  and 
functions,  or  qualities,  of  the  body,  are  attributed  to 
it ;  sometimes  those  of  a  living  body,  sometimes  those 
of  a  dead  body;  where  we  cannot  suppose  it  means  a 
dead  soul.  It  may  be  considered  as  a  general  word, 
expressing  a  person's  sc?/" :  and  sir  Wilham  Jones 
was  obliged  to  use  this  term  self,  on  more  than  one 
occasion,  in  translating  a  cognate  word  from  the 
Arabic  ;  as  for  instance — "  he  threw  his  self  into  the 
water,"  where  it  would  be  extremely  erroneous  to 
say,  "  his  soul,"  in  our  common  acceptation  of  that 
term. 

9.  Elegant.  We  observed,  in  considering  the 
Ship  of  Tyre,  that  the  word  ipi  might  refer  less  to 
beauty  of  person  than  has  been  thought.     We  sup- 


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[  260  ] 


CANTICLES 


■pose  our  word  handsome  may  answer  to  it,  in  a  gen- 
eral sense ;  and  we  say,  not  only  a  handsome  per- 
son, but  a  handsome  dress,  handsome  behavior, 
speecli,  &c.  We  have  preferred  the  term  elegant  as 
implying  all  these  ideas,  but  as  being  more  usually  con- 
nected with  person  and  manners  ;  for  we  rather  say,  "  a 
lady  of  elegant  manners,"  than  of  handsome  manners. 

10.  This  passage  is  examined  in  the  article  on 
Marriage  Processions.  The  principles  of  that  ex- 
planation seem  to  be  just.  Otherwise,  the  comparison 
might  be, "  To  my  own  mare,  tvhich  is  the  prime  among 
the  high-bred  horses  I  have  received  from  Pharaoh.'''' 

11.  Circle.  This  is  precisely  according  to  the 
usage  of  the  East;  the  royal  personage  sits  on  liis 
seat,  and  his  friends  stand  round  him,  on  each  side, 
forming  a  segment  of  a  circle.  The  friends  of  the 
Bridegroom  are,  we  suppose,  his  companions ;  but 
on  this  first  visit  he  might,  perhaps,  ha  accompanied 
by  other  attendants,  for  the  greater  dignity  and  bril- 
liancy of  the  interview.     Nevertheless,  thirty  com- 

E anions  might  form  a  sufficient  circle  :  and  one  can 
ardly  suppose  the  king  of  Israel  had  fewer  than 
Samson,  (at  that  time  a  private  person,)  Judg.  xiv. 
10.  and  Ps.  cxxviii.  3. 

12.  Al-Henna ;  see  Camphire.  "  The  planta- 
tions, or  fruiteries,  of  En-gedi."  These  were  not  far 
from  Jericho  :  they  did  not  so  much  contain  vines  as 
aromatic  shrubs,  including,  perhaps,  the  famous  bal- 
sam of  Judea.  It  may  be  thought  from  Ezek.  xlvii. 
10.  that  En-gedi  was  a  watery  situation  ;  perhaps  not 
far  from  the  river,  beside  being  itself  a  fountain. 
This  agi'ees  wth  Dr.  Shaw's  account  of  al-henna :  he 
says,  it  requires  much  water ;  as  well  as  the  palm,  for 
which  tree  Jericho  was  famous,  and  from  which  it 
derived  an  appellation. 

13.  Elegant ;  magnificent.  We  think  the  Bride- 
groom here  compliments  his  Bride  on  the  general 
elegance  of  her  appearance  (ipi) ;  for,  as  she  is  veil- 
ed all  over,  he  cannot  see  the  features  of  her  counte- 
nance :  he  catches,  however,  a  glimpse  of  her  eyes 
through  her  veil,  and  those  he  praises,  as  being 
doves'* ;  for  wliich  we  refer  to  a  following  remark. 
(See  Veil.)  She  returns  the  compliment,  by  prais- 
ing his  elegance  (ipi);  but  as  this  elegance  refers  to 
his  palace,  it  seems  here  to  be  properly  rendered  mag- 
nificence; which,  indeed,  as  we  have  observed,  is  its 
meaning  elsewhere.  She  notices  this  magnificence, 
as  displayed  in  the  cedar,  and  other  costly  woods, 
which  adorned  those  apartments  of  ihe  })alace  into 
which  she  had  lieen  conducted ;  not  forgetting  that 
ever-accej)table  ornament  in  the  East,  the  green 
grass-plat  before  the  door,  which,  beside  being  green, 
was  also  in  this  palace  adorned  with  the  most  state- 
ly and  brilliant  flowers,  compared  to  which,  says  the 
Bride,  I  am  not  worthy  of  mention  ;  I  am  not  a 
palace-flower,  not  a  fragrant  rost;,  carefully  cultivat- 
ed in  a  costly  vase  ;  or  a  noble  lily,  planted  in  a  rich 
and  favorable  soil ;  I  am  a  rosy  of  the  field,  a  lily 
from  the  side  of  the  bumble  water-course,  the  sim- 
ple— the  sliadiMl  valley.  To  this  her  self-degrada- 
tion, the  Bridcgi-oom  n'turus  an  affectionate  dissent ; 
and  here  concludes  their  first  interview  ;  whose  chief 
characteristics  may  be  gathered  Irom  observing,  that 
it  is,  (1.)  short,  (2.)  distant,  (3.)  general,  (4.)  that  not 
the  slightest  approach  to  any  freedom  between  the 
parties  is  discoverable  in  it ;  which  perfectly  agrees 
with  our  ideas  on  the  import  of  the  opening  line  of 
this  eclogue. 

14.  Green  ;Jlowerif.  It  has  bcrn  remarked,  that 
the  word  here  used  lias  both  these  significations  ;  and 


if,  as  we  suppose,  it  refers  to  the  green  grass  before 
the  pavilion,  and  to  the  flowers,  and  flowering 
sln-ubs,  in  pots  and  vases,  standing  close  by  the  pa- 
vilion, it  is  applicable  to  both  ideas.  On  this  subject 
there  is  an  appropriate  passage  in  Tavernier :  "  I  never 
left  the  court  of  Persia,  but  some  of  the  lords,  es- 
pecially four  of  the  white  eunuchs,  begged  of  me  to 
bring  some  flowers  out  of  France  ;  for  they  have  evei-y 
one  a  garden  before  their  chamber  door ;  and  happy  is  he 
that  can  present  the  king  with  a  posy  of  flowers  in  a 
crystal  flower-pot."  We  know,  also,  that  banquets, 
«Scc.  are  held  in  gardens  adjoining  the  residences  of 
persons  of  opulence,  in  the  East:  and  when  Ahasue- 
rus,  rising  from  table,  went  into  the  palace-garden, 
(Esther  vii.  7.)  he  had  not  far  to  go ;  but  might  quit 
the  banquet  chamber,  dnd  return  to  it  in  an  instant ; 
for,  evidently,  the  garden  was  adjacent.  The  idea  of 
flowery  verdure  also  applies  to  the  rendering  of  oixsh 
— carpet,  or  covering ;  not  bed.  (See  Bed.)  That  a 
bed  for  sleeping  on  should  be  green,  is  no  great  proof 
of  magnificence  ;  but  an  extensive  bed  of  flowers,  as 
it  were,  in  full  view  of  a  parlor  opening  into  it, 
would  at  once  delight  the  senses  of  sight  and  smell, 
and  would  deserve  mention,  when  elegances  were 
the  subjects  of  discourse. 

IG.  After  the  Bridegroom  is  ^^  ithdrawn,  the  Bride 
expresses  herself  to  the  ladies  with  less  reserve.  Her 
conversation  no  longer  refers  to  the  palace,  but  to 
her  beloved  ;  she  resumes  the  recently  suggested 
simile  of  the  citron-tree,  which,  being  a  garden  plant, 
naturally  leads  her  thoughts  to  a  kiosk  in  a  garden, 
where,  when  they  should  be  in  jirivate  together, 
they  might  partake  of  refreshments ;  and  while 
they  should  be  sitting  on  the  Duan,  (see  Bed,) 
he  might  rest  his  arm  on  the  cushion,  which 
supported  her  head,  while  his  right  arm  was  free 
to  offer  her  refreshments,  citrons,  &c.  or  to  em- 
brace her.  She  concludes  by  saying,  that  in  such  a 
pleasing  seclusion  she  would  not  choose  their  mutu- 
al affection  should  be  interrupted  ;  and  alludes  to  the 
very  startling  antelopes  and  deer,  as  the  most  timid 
creatures  she  could  select,  and  those  most  likely  to 
be  frightened  at  intrusion  on  their  retreats. 

17.  Deep  shadow.  As  the  tirange-tree  does  not 
grow  to  any  height,  or  extent,  in  Britain,  answerable 
to  this  idea  of  a  deep  shadow,  we  must  take  the  opin- 
ion of  those  who  have  seen  it  in,  or  near,  perfection: 
a  single  witness  may  be  suflicient,  if  the  orange-trees 
of  Judea  may  be  estimated  by  those  of  Spain.  No 
doubt  but  the  Bride's  comparison  implies  a  noble 
tree,  a  grand  tree  of  its  kind.  The  following  are 
from  ]Mr.  Swinburne's  travels  in  Spain  :  "The  day 
Was  sultry,  and  I  could  with  pleasure  have  lolled  it 
out  in  the  prior''s  g-art/cn,  uisder  the  shade  of  a 
KOBLE  i-EMON-TREE,  rcfrcshcd  by  the  soft  perfumes 
ascending  on  every  side,  from  the  neighboring  or- 
chards." ,  .  .  "Being  very  hot  and  hungry,  we  made 
the  best  of  our  way  Lome,  through  large  plantations 
of  orange-trees,  which  Iwe  grow  to  the  size  of 
moderate  TIMBER  trees;  the  fruit  is  much  more 
pleasing  to  the  eye,  if  less  so  i^  the  palate,  than  the 
oranges  of  Portugal,  as  the  rich  'bUiod  color  is  ad- 
mirably contrasted  with  the  bright  tint  of  the  leave*!  " 
Pages  250,  2t!0. 

18.  That  the  fruit  here  meant  is  not  "  applt^c,"  but 
citrons,  is  now  so  generally  admitted,  that  we  heed 
not  stay  to  prove  it:  nevertheless,  it  is  proper  to 
mention  it,  that  this  rendering  may  not  seem  to  be 
adopted  without  authority.  Almost  every  writer  has 
proofs  on  this  subject.     See  Apple-Tree. 


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[261  1 


CANTICLES 


77ie  second  day. — 1.  Bride  at  her  tvindoiv  hears  the 
hunting-horn.  This  we  think  probable,  from  what 
follows  ;  the  directions  of  the  Bridegroom  to  his  com- 
panions to  catch  the  jackals,  partly  prove  it ;  perhaps, 
however,  the  poet  hints,  that  though,  when  he  set 
out,  the  i)rince  designed  to  be  of  their  party,  yet,  af- 
ter conversation  with  his  Beloved,  he  is  tempted  to 
send  them  alone  on  that  expedition.  It  is  very  nat- 
ural that  this  passing  by  the  Brido'a  whidows  should 
occur,  if  Solomon  dwelt  below,  and  was  going  out 
at  a  gate  above,  in  the  palace ;  or  even  if  his  chase 
were  restricted  to  the  area  within  the  walls,  it  might 
easily  lead  him  to  pass  the  upper  wing  of  the  palace, 
and  the  windows  of  the  liaram. 

2.  Music.  This  is  considered  in  the  article  on 
Marriage  Processions.  Are  not  these  hills,  these 
rising  grounds,  within  the  park  of  the  palace  ?  If  so, 
then  perhaps  the  Bridegroom,  in  a  following  day,  in- 
vites his  Bride  to  no  very  distant  or  very  dangerous 
"  lions'  haimts,"  or  "  panther  mountains  ;" — hut  to 
hillocks,  &CC.  in  his  park,  known  by  these  appella- 
tions. Wc  say  pa-haps,  because,  though  such  names 
are  given  to  i)arts  of  a  royal  palace  in  the  East,  yet 
the  mention  of  Lebanon  seems  to  infer  a  more  dis- 
tant excursion. 

3.  Seated  in  his  {i)  carriage.  See  the  Plate  of  Ve- 
hicles, p.  269.  Also  for  (5)  the  windows  ;  and  for 
(6)  the  blinds,  or  lattices. 

7.  Mij  Dove  hid  in  (he  clej^s  of  the  rocks.  To  im- 
derstand  this  simile,  consider  the  Bridegroom  as  be- 
ing in  the  garden,  htlow  the  windows  of  the  cham- 
ber, within  which  openings  the  Bride  is  seen  by  him  ; 
now,  windows  in  the  East  are  not  only  narrow,  but 
they  have  cross-bars,  like  those  of  our  sashes,  in 
them  :  the  interposition  of  these  prevents  a  full  view 
of  the  lady's  person  ;  so  that  she  resembles  a  dove 
peeping,  as  it  were,  over,  or  from  within,  the  clefts 
in  a  rock  ;  and  only  partly  visible  ;  that  is,  retiring, 
her  head  and  neck,  or  crop,  "  which,"  says  the  Bride- 
groom, "though  I  can  but  just  discern,  I  perceive  is 
lovely."  Observe,  too,  that  she  is  closely  veiled  ;  the 
retiring,  timid  dove,  therefore,  is  the  comparison. — 
The  Bridegroom  continues  the  simile  of  the  dove, 
praises  (8)  her  turgid  crop,  and  her  pleasant  voice  ; 
this,  in  a  dove,  can  only  be  the  (9)  cooing,  or  call,  of 
that  bird,  which,  under  this  simile,  he  desires  to  hear 
directed  toward  himself. 

10.  M}/  Beloved  is  mine,  and  I  am  his.  Does  this 
mean,  "  1  ain  all  obedience  to  his  requests  ?  Our  en- 
joyments now  are  mutual,  and  it  shall  be  my  happi- 
ness to  accomplish  his  desires."  What  is  the  import 
of  the  phrase  "  feeding  among  lilies  ?" — Who  feeds? 
— who  is  fed? — why  among  lilies? 

11.  Bether.  This  might  be  rendered  "  the  craggy 
moiuitains ;"  and  if  it  were  certain  that  the  ibex  or 
roek-goat,  or  the  chamois,  was  that  particular  species 
of  gazelle  which  we  have  rendered  "  antelope,"  it 
might  be  very  proper  to  preserve  that  translation  ; 
but  as  Egypt  is  not  a  mountainous  country,  but  a 
valley,  could  the  Bride  know  any  thing  of  the  rock- 
goat  ?  On  the  other  hand,  were  the  moiuitains  of 
Bether  funous  for  swift  goats  ? — and  how  should  the 
Bride  know  that  particular  ? 

12.  Till  night  I  seek  him ;  meaning,  I  have  waited 
for  my  Beloved  all  the  evening ;  and  now,  though  it 
be  too  late  to  expect  his  com])any,  still  I  seek  him  : 
my  disappointment  is  great ; — hut  how  to  remedy 
it  ? — Shall  I  go  into  the  city  ?  for  I  am  sure  he  is  not 
at  home ;  I  am  sure,  if  he  were  in  his  palace,  ho 
would  visit  me.  The  whole  of  this  speech  is  under- 
stood to  be  in  the  optative  mood  ;  we  have  rather  used 


the  subjunctive  English  mood,  as  more  likely  to  COB- 
vey  its  true  import. 

13.  City.  See  the  article  on  Jerusalem,  where 
we  have  suggested  the  probability  of  the  term  City, 
in  Acts  xii.  denoting  the  City  of  David.  We  would 
suggest  the  same  here  ;  and  submit,  that  the  Bride 
does  not  mean  the  City  of  Jerusalem,  but  the  streets, 
the  broad  places,  the  haiKlsome  courts,  squares,  &c. 
of  the  City  of  David,  her  present  royal  residence. 
Under  this  idea,  should  she  venture  on  an  evening 
promenade,  she  would  be  near  her  apartments,  and 
never  beyond  the  walls  of  her  palace  :  but  even  this 
she  declines;  not  choosing  to  expose  herself  to  inci- 
dental meetings  with  the  guards  or  watchmen.  To 
suppose  that  she  has  any  inclination  to  ramble  in  Je- 
rusalem at  large,  is  to  forget  that  she  is  a  foreigner, 
and  very  recently  arrived  :  how  could  she  know  her 
way  about  that  city  ? 

The  third  day. — 1.  What  is  that — ?  In  the  origi- 
nal, "  JFho  is  that" — ?  But  this  has  been  regarded  as 
an  error  of  transcribers.  If  the  original  word  were 
ivhat,  then  the  palanquin  is  the  subject  of  this  inquiry ; 
and  to  this  the  answer  is  given  ;  if  the  original  word 
were  who,  then  the  answer  implies  that  the  royal  own- 
er Mas  seated  in  this  vehicle.  But  there  appears  no 
subsequent  reference  to  him.  We  have  rather 
thought  that  the  general  turn  of  the  question  leads 
to  the  word  what :  the  reader  will  take  his  choice,  as 
either  word  implies  the  same  import,  and  will  justify 
the  same  answer. 

2.  Vast  column  of  smoke.  This  strong  expression 
[plural]  is  by  no  means  too  strong  for  the  poet's  de- 
sign :  the  Avord  is  used  in  Joel  ii.  30.  to  denote  the 
smoke  of  a  volcano,  or  other  abundant  discharge  of 
smoke,  rising  high  in  the  air  like  a  cloud.  The  im- 
mense quantity  of  perfumes  burning  around  the  ap- 
proaching visitor  is  alluded  to  with  very  great  address, 
under  this  prodigious  comjiarison.  The  burning  of 
perfumes  in  the  East,  in  the  preceding  part  of  pro- 
cessions, is  both  veiy  ancient,  and  very  general. 
Deities  (images)  were  probably  the  first  honored 
with  this  ceremony,  and  afterwards  their  supposed 
vicegerents,  human  divinities.  W^e  have  a  relic  of 
the  same  custom  still  existing  among  ourselves,  in  the 
flowers  strewed  or  borne  in  public  pi-ocessions,  at  cor- 
onations, &c.  and  before  our  great  officers  of  state  ; 
as  the  lord  chancellor,  the  speaker  of  the  House  of 
Commons ;  and  in  some  corporations  the  mace,  as  an 
ensign  of  office,  has  the  same  origin,  though  now  re- 
duced to  a  gilded  ornament  only. 

3.  Palanquin.     See  the  Plate  of  Vehicles,  below, 

4.  Fearless.  We  rather  think  this  epithet  describes 
the  commander  of  these  guards,  "  the  man,"  that  is,  the 
head  man,  or  chief,  (see  No.  10.  of  the  Sixth  Day,) 
as  a  brave  fellow;  of  tried  courage,  void  of  fear,  in 
the  very  darkest  night,  or  rather,  at  all  times:  the 
composition  of  the  Hebrew  word  (with  r)  favors 
this  thought ;  and  we  think,  had  not  the  bed,  the  sleep- 
ing bed,  unluckily  ])recedcd  it,  this  word  Avould  not 
have  been  deviated  by  translators  from  its  proper  im- 
port ;  to  which  we  have  endeavored  to  restore  it, 

5.  This  passage  would  startle  the  reader  if  he  ha<l 
not  been  ])repared  for  it  by  AA'hat  we  have  already 
said.  This  arrangement  of  the  words  is  imusual  in 
Hebnnv,  yet  in  poetry  is  very  natural  ;  it  mere!}'  re- 
fers the  subject  described  to  the  following  words  de- 
scribing it,  instead  of  the  foregoing  words,  to  which 
it  has  hitlierto  been  usual  to  refer  it.  We  shall  see 
by  the  Plates  the  proprieties  which  accompany,  as 
natural  inferences,  this  manner  of  regulating  the  pas- 
sage.    See  the  Plate  of  Vehicles, 


CANTICLES 


[  262  ] 


CANTICLES 


6.  Head-Circlet.  This  might  be  rendered  bandeau; 
but  then  we  could  not  have  preserved  the  play  of 
words  ;  for  to  have  said,  "  the  bandeau  with  which 
his  mother  banded,  or  bandaged,  his  head,"  would  have 
been  intolerable :  the  expression  in  our  language  be- 
comes ludicrous  ;  we  have  therefore  preferred  circlet, 
with  which  his  mother  encircled  him.  What  this  aV- 
clet  was,  we  may  see  on  another  occasion  more  fully  ; 
but  the  Plate  of  the  Bridegroom's  Drkss  will  assist 
us  in  part.     (See  p.  271.) 

7.  Bridegroom  having  seen  his  Bride  for  the  first 
time.  This  we  infer,  because  this  is  his  first  descrip- 
tion of  her,  or  the  first  compliniciit  he  pays  to  her 
person ;  he  praised,  in  the  first  day,  her  general  de- 
portment ;  in  the  second  day,  he  only  compared  her 
neck  to  that  of  a  dove,  that  being  all  he  had  yet  seen  ; 
but  now,  the  poet  seems  to  say  that  he  takes  advan- 
tage of  her  contemplation  of  the  royal  palanquin  to 
ius])cct  her  countenance  ;  which  also  she  has  suflTcred 
to  be  seen,  partially  at  least.  (See  Nos.  7.  8.  of  the 
Second  Day.)  Observe,  he  only  praises  so  much  of 
her  person  as  we  may  suppose  he  could  discern, 
while  she  was  standing  behind  the  window ;  that  is 
to  say,  her  face,  her  hair,  (seen  in  front,)  her  neck, 
and  her  bosom  ;  having  caught  a  glimpse  of  these,  he 
praises  them  ;  but  his  Bride  has  modestly  stolen  away, 
and  returns  no  answer.  She  hears  him,  no  doubt, 
with  internal  pleasure  ;  but  the  complete  sight  of  her 
being  a  favor  not  }  et  to  be  granted,  she  withholds 
her  approbation  from  the  incident  which  had  been 
too  much  his  friend.  Observe  the  art  of  the  poet, 
who  introduces  an  incident,  whereby  he  favors  the 
Lover  with  a  gratification  to  which  he  was  not,  strict- 
ly speaking,  entitled  ;  yet  contrives  to  save  the  delica- 
cy of  his  Bride  entirely  harmless  and  irreproachable: 
he  gives  to  the  Bride  the  choice  of  what  time — how 
long — she  would  continue  at  the  window ;  yet  from 
the  accident  of  her  going  to  the  window  without  her 
veil,  if  the  introduction  of  his  palanquin  were  a  plot 
in  the  Bridegroom,  we  perceive,  by  his  subsequent 
xliscourse,  that  his  plot  had  succeeded ; — and  this 
without  the  smallest  imputation  on  the  delicacy  of  the 
person  who  was  the  object  of  his  contrivance. 

8.  Between  thj  locks.  The  word  rendered  locks 
seems  to  imply  that  portion  of — those  curls  of — the 
hair  whicti  ])Iays  around  the  forehead  :  whereas,  the 
word  rendered  tresses  seems  to  denote  those  braids 
which  fall  down  the  back  of  the  wearer.  (See  the 
Plate  of  the  Bride's  Dress,  below.)  Agreeably  to 
this  supposition,  we  do  not  recollect  that  the  king  has 
praised  her  tresses,  because  he  had  not  seen  them  ; 
jiaving  only  seen  his  Lady  in' front ;  but  he  praises 
her  locks,  tvto  or  three  times  ;  they  being  such  parts 
of  her  hair  as,  in  beholding  her  person  in  front,  nat- 
lu'ally  met  his  inspection. 

9.  10.  There  is  an  oj)])osit:on  in  this  passage  Avhich 
requires  elucidation.  Thy  hair,  or  braids  of  hair, 
falling  on  thy  shoulders,  arc  like  the  long  hairs  of  the 
Angora  species  of  goat,  whose  staple  is  of  great  length, 
and  very  silky,  (some  of  them  have  been  made  into 
muffs  for  our  ladies,)  which  hang  down,  but  bend  and 
wave  in  hanging.  Opposed  to  tliis  is  a  flock  of  sheep, 
closely  shorn,  trimmed  of  their  wool ;  no  superflu- 
ity, but  unifortn  and  perfect  neatness.  The  goats 
are  descending  at  mount  Gilcad ;  wher<-,  we  sujipose, 
tlie  way  was  winding  and  tortuous,  making  the  flock 
appear  the  longer,  and  more  ninnerous,  to  a  person 
standing  at  the  foot  of  the  mount:  the  sheep  are  com- 
ing up  on  mount  Cassiua ;  suppose  such  a  road,  as 
apparently  or  really  compresses  them  into  one  com- 
pany; (especially  if  seen  by  a  person  standing  on  the 


top  of  the  mount ;)  or  which  only  admits  two  at  a 
time  to  pass  along  it.  Mount  Gilead  was  at  the  ex- 
tremity of  J  udea,  north  :  mount  Cassius  was  at  the 
extremity  of  Judea,  south.  The  contrast  is,  that  of 
long  hair  lengthened  by  convolutions  of  descent ;  op- 
posed to  the  utmost  smoothness  contracted  into  the 
narrowest  space. 

11.  As  to  the  rendering  of  "mount  Cassius,"  in- 
stead of  "the  washing:" — (1.)  It  rises  from  reading 
the  original  as  two  words,  instead  of  one  ;  which,  in 
fact,  does  not  deserve  the  name  of  an  alteration  :  (2.) 
as  mount  Gilead  is  a  i)lace,  the  parallelism  requires  a 
place  for  this  verse  ;  which,  (3.)  the  o))positions  we 
have  above  remarked  fully  justify.  This  correction 
restores  the  poetry  of  the  passage ;  and  is  perfectly 
agreeable  to  the  usages  of  Hebrew  poetry  in  general, 
and  of  this  Song  in  particular. 

12, 13.  Blushing  ;  tchite.  These  verses,  we  appre- 
hend, maintain  an  opposition  of  a  nature  similar  to 
that  illustrated  in  the  foregoing  remarks:  blushing 
like  a  pomegi-anate  ; — ivhite  as  a  marble  tower.  We 
presume,  that  the  inference  of  blushing  is  not  to  the 
flower  of  the  pomegranate,  but  to  the  inner  part  of 
its  rind  when  the  fruit  is  cut  open  ;  Avhich  certainly  is 
sufticiently  blushing.  The  comparison  of  the  female 
complexion  to  the  rind,  or  skin,  of  ruddy  fruits  is 
Gonnnon  in  all  nations.  It  is  among  ourselves  a  com- 
pliment rather  popular  than  elegant,  to  say  of  a  young 
woman,  "  She  blushes  Yiko  a  Catharine  pear :"  but 
comparisons  derived  from  the  blushes  of  the  peach  are 
used  not  only  in  good  company  but  by  good  writers. 

14.  The  tower  of  David,  built  on  a  commanding  em- 
inence. Probably  this  tower  was  part  of  the  palace 
of  David;  or  it  might  be  a  guard-house,  which  stood 
alone,  on  some  hillock  of  his  royal  residence.  The 
allusion,  we  presume,  is  to  the  lady's  neck  rising  from 
her  shoulders  and  bosom,  majestically  slender,  grace- 
ful, and  delicate  as  the  clearest  marble  ;  of  which  ma- 
terial, probably,  this  tower  of  David  was  constructed. 
On  the  neck  of  this  lady  was  hung,  by  way  of  orna- 
ment, a  row  or  collet  of  gems,  some  of  which  were 
polished,  prominent,  and  oval  in  shaj)e  ;  these  the 
speaker  assimilates  to  the  shields  which  were  hung 
round  the  tower  of  David,  as  military  embellishments. 
We  would  ask,  however,  whether  these  shields,  thus 
hung  on  the  outside  of  this  lower,  were  not  troj)hie3 
taken  from  the  vanquished  ; — if  so,  antiquity  explains 
this  custom  at  once,  and  the  royal  lover  may  be  un- 
derstood as  saying,  "  3Iy  father  David  hung  many 
shields  of  those  warriors  whom  he  had  subdued, 
many  shields  of  the  mighty,  as  trophies  of  his  proAvess, 
around  the  tower  which  he  built  as  an  arniory ; 
trophies  no  less  splendid,  and  of  conquests  no  less 
numerous  over  princes  vanquished  by  yoin-  beauty, 
adorn  your  neck."  (See  1  Mace.  iv.  57.)  This  is  not 
all ;  as  the  word  for  shields  seems  to  imply  a  shield 
borne  before  a  warrior  ;  as  before  Goliath,  when  sub- 
dued by  David,  1  Sain.xvi.  7. 

15.  Thy  tivo  7iipplcs.  Here  we  cannot,  we  appre- 
hend, adopt  any  otlier  rendering  ;  for  the  simile  seems 
to  allude  to  two  young  red  antelopes,  who,  feeding 
among  lilies,  and  being  much  shorter  than  the  flow- 
ers, arc  wholly  obscured  by  them,  except  the  tips  of 
their  noses,  Avhich  lliey  put  up  to  reach  the  flowers, 
growing  on  their  majestic  stems.  As  these  red  tips 
are  seen  among  the  white  lilies,  so  are  the  nipples 
just  discernible  through  the  transparent  gauze,  or 
muslin,  which  covers  the  lady's  bosom.  Otherwise, 
the  breast  itself  is  compared  to  lilies,  on  account  of 
its  whiteness  ;  above  which  peeps  up  the  red  nose  of 
the  beautiful  gazelle. 


CANTICLES 


16.  Lebanon.  This  may  be  understood  as  if  he 
had  said,  "  Your  Egypt  is  a  low,  a  level  country  ;  but 
we  have  here  most  delightful  and  extensive  prospects. 
What  a  vast  country  we  see  from  mount  Lebanon  !" 
&c.  And  this  may  veiy  possibly  be  the  true  sense  of 
the  in\  itation  ;  but  we  submit,  whether  these  appel- 
lations were  not  names  of  places  within  the  precincts 
of  the  royal  park.  Such  occur  in  the  East ;  and  to 
such,  we  suspect,  is  the  allusion  of  this  passage. 

17.  Carried  captive  my  heart ;  robbed  me  of  my 
heart,  and  carried  it  oft,  as  a  prisoner  of  war,  into 
slavery :  so  we  say  among  ourselves,  such  a  one  has 
"  lost  his  heart," — "  his  heart  is  captivated  ;"  which  is 
tiie  idea  here. 

18.  By  one  sally  of  thine  eyes  ;  that  is,  of  which  I 
just  get  a  glimpse,  behind  or  between  thy  veil  -,  or,  of 
which  the  sparkles,  shooting  through  thy  veil,  reach 
me  ;  and  that  with  irresistible  effect ;  even  to  my 
heart's  captivity,  as  above.  The  comparison  of 
glances  of  the  eyes  to  darts,  or  other  weapons,  is 
common  in  the  poets. 

19.  Spoiise.  The  first  time  we  meet  with  this  word, 
calah,  it  implies  bi-ide  :  but,  we  think,  it  is  capable 
of  being  referred  to  either  sex,  like  our  word  spouse. 
The  Bridegroom  adds,  viy  sister,  (see  Abraham,)  but 
the  Bride,  in  her  answer,  though  she  adopts  the  word 
spouse,  yet  omits  the  term  brother ;  we  suppose,  be- 
cause that  was  understood  to  convey  a  freedom  not 
yet  becoming  her  modesty  to  assume  ; — she  goes  so 
far ;  but  uo  farther.  The  reader  will  perceive  several 
words  altaclied,  in  elucidation  of  this  appellation,  to 
the  places  where  it  occurs. 

20.  Around  thee  shoot  plants  ;  literally,  "  thy  shoots 
are  plants,"  &c.  By  means  of  this  supplement,  we 
presume,  the  ideas  of  the  poet  are,  for  the  first  time, 
rendered  clear,  correct,  and  connected.  The  impor- 
tance of  water,  fountains,  springs,  &c.  in  the  East,  is 
well  knowTi ;  but  the  peculiar  importance  of  this  arti- 
cle to  a  garden,  and  that  garden  appropriated  to  aro- 
matic plants,  must  be  very  striking  to  an  oriental 
reader.  By  way  of  meeting  some  ideas  that  have  been 
suggested,  we  shall  add,  that  the  Bride  is  a  fountain, 
&c.  securely  locked  up  from  the  Bridegroom,  at  pres- 
ent ;  that  is,  he  is  not  yet  privileged  to  have  complete 
access  to  her.  What  the  advantages  of  water  to  a 
garden  of  aromatics  might  be,  we  may  guess  from 
the  nature  of  the  plants;  the  following  extract  from 
Swinburne  may  contribute  to  assist  our  conjectures  : 
"A  large  partj'  of  sprightly  damsels  and  young  men 
that  were  walking  here  were  much  indebted  to  us 
for  making  the  water-works  play,  by  means  of  a 
small  bribe  to  the  keeper.  Nothing  can  be  more  de- 
licious than  these  sprinklings  in  a  hot  day  ;  all  the 
flowers  seemed  to  acquire  new  vigor ;  the  odors  exhaled 
from  the  orange,  citron,  and  lemon  trees,  grew  more 
poignant,  more  balsamic,  and  the  company  ten  times 
more  alive  than  they  were  ;  it  was  a  true  April  show- 
er. We  sauntered  near  two  hours  in  the  groves,  till 
we  were  quite  in  ecstasy  with  sweets.  It  is  a  most  heav- 
enly residence  in  spring,  and  I  shoidd  think  the  sum- 
mer heats  might  be  tempered  and  rendered  supjjort- 
able  enough  by  the  profusion  of  water  that  they  en- 
joy at  Seville."  (Travels  in  Spain,  p.  252.)  The 
following  description  of  his  mistress,  by  an  Arabian 
lover,  in  Richardson's  Arab.  Gram.  (p.  15L)  bears 
much  similitude  to  several  allusions  in  the  poem  be- 
fore us : — 

Her  mouth  was  like  the  Solomon's  seal, 
And  her  cheeks  like  anemonies, 
And  her  lips  like  two  carnations, 


[  263  ]  CANTICLES 

And  her  teeth  like  pearls  set  in  coral, 
And  her  forehead  like  the  new  moon ; 
And  her  hps  were  sweeter  than  honey, 
And  colder  than  the  pure  water. 

How  very  different  from  our  own  is  that  climate, 
wherein  the  coldness  of  pure  water  is  a  subject 
of  admiration  ! — a  comparison  to  the  lips  of  the 
fair! 

21.  Qj^The  nard.  As  this  plant  occurs  in  the 
close  of  the  former  verse,  should  it  again  occur  here  ? 
Can  the  words  be  differently  connected  ?  or  is  a 
word  unfortunately  dropped  ?  or  what  fragiant  shrub 
should  be  substituted  for  the  nard7  but  observe, 
that  in  one  passage  the  word  nard  is  singular,  in  the 
other  it  is  plural. 

22.  We  are  so  accustomed  to  consider  the  aloe  as 
a  hitter,  because  of  the  medical  drug  of  that  name,  (an 
inspissated  juice,)  that  we  are  hardly  prepared  to  re- 
ceive this  allusion  to  the  delicious  scent  of  the  flowers 
of  this  plant ;  but  that  it  justly  possesses  and  main- 
tains a  place  among  the  most  fragrant  aromatics,  we 
are  well  assured  :— "This  morning,  like  many  of  tho 
foregoing  ones,  was  delicious;  the  sun  rose  glorious- 
ly out  of  the  sea,  and  the  air  all  around  was  perfum- 
ed with  the  effluvia  of  the  aloe,  as  its  rays  sucked  up 
tho  dew  from  the  leaves."  (Swinburne's  Travels 
through  Spain.    Letter  xii.) 

23.  Sink,  thou  southern  gale.  On  this  avertive  sense 
of  the  word  ba,  see  the  article  Shiloh.  Had  this 
sentiment  been  uttered  in  England,  we  should  have 
reversed  the  injunction  ;  but,  in  Judea,  the  heat  of  the 
south  wind  would  have  suffocated  the  fragrancy  of 
the  garden,  to  which  the  north  \vind  would  have  been 
every  way  favorable.  To  desire  the  north  wind  to 
blow  at  the  same  time  when  the  south  wind  blows,  is 
surely  perverted  philosophy,  inconsistent,  poetry,  and 
miserable  divinity. 

24.  /  am  come  into  my  garden  ;  that  is,  "  I  already 
enjoy  the  pleasure  of  your  company  and  conversa- 
tion ;  these  are  as  grateful  to  my  mind  as  delicious 
food  could  be  to  my  palate :  I  could  not  drink  wine 
and  milk  with  greater  satisfaction  :  I  am  enjoying  it. 
And  3'ou,  my  friends,  partake  the  relisli  of  those  pleas- 
ures Avhich  you  hear  iron)  the  lips  of  my  beloved,  and 
of  those  elegances  which  you  behold  in  her  deport- 
ment and  address." 

The  fourth  day. — 1.  The  Bride  says  explicitly,  that 
these  occurrences  haj)pened  in  a  dream,  ^^  I  slept  f^ — 
which  at  once  removes  all  ideas  of  indelicacy,  as  to 
the  Bridegroom's  attempt  to  visit  her,  her  going  to 
the  door,  standing  there,  calling  him,  being  found  by 
t!ie  watchmen,  beaten,  wounded,  &c.  Moreover, 
she  seems  to  have  supposed  herself  to  be  previously 
married,  by  mentioning  her  ra^/irf,  or  deep  veil,  which 
in  reality,  we  presume,  she  had  not  yet  worn,  as  the 
marriage  had  not  actually  taken  place ;  and,  though 
betrothed,  she  probably  did  not  wear  it  till  the  wed- 
ding. That  the  word  heart  in  this  passage  means 
imagination,  dreaming  imagination,  fancy,  appears 
from  Eccles.  ii.  23  :  "  The  days  of  laborious  man  are 
sorrows  ;  his  doing  vexations,  yea,  even  in  the  night- 
time his  HEART  does  not  rest ;"  he  is  still  cireaming  of 
still  engaged  about,  the  subject  of  his  daily  labors. — 
This  sense  of  the  word  heart  is  not  uncommon  in  the 
Proverbs. 

2.  TTie  voice,  that  is,  sound,  of  my  beloved,  knocking. 
For  the  same  reasons  for  which  we  have  rendered 
voice,  music,  in  the  Second  Day,  (2)  we  have  rendered 
voice,  sound,  in  this  place  ;  since  the  sound  of  a  rapping 
against  a  door  is  not  properly  a  voice ;  and  since  the 


CANTICLES 


[264  ] 


CANTICLES 


word  bears  a  more  general  sense  than  voice,  restrict- 
ively. 

3.  Lock.  On  the  nature  of  the  locks  used  in  the 
East,  Mr.  Harmer  has  said  something,  and  we  mean 
to  say  more  elsewhere,  with  a  Plate  and  explana- 
tion. 

4.  Chamber  of  my  heart.     See  the  article  Ship. 

5.  Standard  of  ten  thousand : — chief  say  many  ; — 
standard,  say  others ; — he  for  tvhom  the  standard  is 
borne,  say  some,  observing,  that  the  word  has  a  pas- 
sive import ;  (the  standard  was  a  fiery  beacon  ;) — he 
who  caiTies  this  beacon — no,  that  is  too  laborious — he 
for  ivhom,  in  whose  honor,  to  light  whom,  this  stan- 
dard is  carried ;  he  who  shines,  glitters,  dazzles,  by 
the  light  of  it:  and,  lastly,  comes  the  present  elucida- 
toi- — what  forbids  that  this  royal  Bridegroom  should 
himself  be  the  standard  that  leads,  that  precedes,  that 
is  followed  by — imitated  by — ten  thousand  ?  So 
Shakspeare  describes  Hotspur — 

His  honor  stuck  upon  him,  as  the  sun 

In  the  gray  vault  of  heaven,  and  by  his  light 

Did  all  the  chivalry  of  England  move 

To  do  brave  acts :  "he  was  indeed  the  glass 

Wherein  the  noble  youth  did  dress  themselves. 

So  that,  in  speech,  in  gait. 

In  diet,  in  afiections  of  delight. 

In  military  rules,  humors  of  blood. 

He  was  the  mark  and  glass,  copy  and  book. 

That  fashioned  others ! — And  him O  wondrous 

him ! 
O  miracle  of  men  ! 

6.  His  eyes  are  like  doves.  Nothing  can  more  strik- 
ingly evince  the  necessity  for  acquaintance  with  the 
East,  as  well  in  its  natural  histoiy  as  in  other  articles, 
than  this  passage,  and  the  other  passages  in  which 
eyes  are  compared  to  doves  ;  our  translators  say,  "  to 
the  eyes  of  doves,"  which,  as  it  may  be  understood  to 
imply  meekness,  tenderness,  &c.  has  usually  passed 
without  correction:  but  the  facts  are,  (L)  that  our 
translators  have  added  the  word  eyes  ;  and  (2.)  that 
they  took  l)lack  for  Avhite.  They  had  in  their  mind 
the  ivhiie  pigeon,  or,  at  least,  the  light-colored  turtle- 
dove ;  whereas  the  most  connnon  pigeon,  or  dove,  in 
the  East,  is  the  deep  blue,  or  blue-gray  pigeon,  whose 
brilliant  plumage  vibrates  around  his  neck  every 
sparkling  hue,  every  dazzling  flash  of  color :  and  to 
this  pigeon  the  comparison  of  the  author  refers. 
The  deep  blue  ])igeon,  standing  amid  the  foam  of  a 
water-fall,  would  bo — a  blue  centre  surrounded  by  a 
white  space  on  each  side  of  him,  analogous  to  the  iris 
of  the  eye,  surrounded  by  the  white  of  the  eye.  But, 
as  the  foam  of  this  water-fall  is  not  brilliant  enough 
to  satisfy  the  poet,  he  has  placed  this  deep  blue  pigeon 
in  a  pond  of  milk,  or  in  a  garden  basin  of  milk, 
where,  he  says,  he  turns  himself  round,  to  parallel  the 
dipping  of  tlic  former  verse :  lie  wantons,  sports, 
frisks  :  so  sportive,  rolling,  and  glittering,  is  the  eye, 
the  iris  of  my  beloved.  The  milk,  then,  denotes  the 
white  of  the  eye,  and  the  i)igeon  surrounded  by  it 
the  iris  :  that  is,  "the  iris  of  his  eye  is  like  a  deep  blue 
pigeon,  standing  in  the  cenU-c  of  a  pool  of  milk." 
The  comjjarison  is  certainly  extremely  poetical  and 
pictiu-esquc.  Those  who  can  make  sense  of  our 
public  translation  are  extretn(!ly  favored  in  point  of 
ingenuity.  This  idea  had  not  esca})ed  the  poets  of 
Hindostan  ;  for  wo  have  in  the  Gitagovinda  the  fol- 
lowing passage :  "  The  glances  of  licr  eyes  played 
like  a  pair  of  water-birds  of  azure  plumage,  that  sport 
near  a  full-blown  lotos  on  a  pool  in  the  season  of  dew." 


The  pools  of  Heshbon  afford  a  different  comparison 
to  the  eyes  of  the  Bride  ;  dark,  deep,  and  serene,  are 
her  eyes  ;  so  are  those  pools,  dark,  deep,  and  serene  : 
— but  were  they  also  surrounded  by  a  border  of  dark- 
colored  marble,  analogous  to  the  border  of  stibium 
drawn  along  the  eye-lids  of  the  spouse,  and  render- 
ing them  apparently  larger,  fuller,  deeper.^  As  this 
comparison  is  used  where  ornaments  of  dress  ai-e  the 
particular  subjects  of  consideration,  we  tliink  it  not 
impossible  to  be  correct ;  and  certainly  it  is  by  no 
means  contradictory  to  the  ideas  contained  in  the 
simile  recently  illustrated.  (See  No.  9.  in  the  Fifth 
Day.)  For  the  particulars  of  the  Dress,  sec  the  Plates 
of  dresses  and  their  explanations,  infra. 

7.  Decorated  as  Tirzah,  &c.  Th«  whole  of  this 
eclogue,  we  apprehend,  is  composed  of  military  allu- 
sions and  phrases  ;  consequently  the  cities,  with  the 
mention  of  which  it  opens,  were  those  most  famous 
for  handsome  fortifications.  "  Thou  art  [ipi]  decorat- 
ed as  Tirzah  ; — [naweh]  adorned  as  Jerusalem; — 
[aimeh]  ornamented  in  a  splendid,  sparkling,  radiant 
manner,  as  bannered  ranks,  or  corps  of  soldiers,  are 
ornamented  ;  which  is  not  far  from  the  compliment 
formerly  paid  her  as  resembling  an  officer  of  cavalry, 
riding  with  dignity  among  the  horse  of  Pharaoh  :  nor 
is  it  unlike  the  reference  of  the  prince  himself  to  a 
[fiery]  standard,  in  the  preceding  eclogue.  See  what 
is  said  on  the  banner  of  the  heavens  in  a  following 
verse :     these    banners,    we    must    recollect,    were 

flaming  fire-pots,  usually  carried  on  the  top  of  a 
staff: 

8.  Jflieel  about  thine  eyes :  literally,  do  that  return, 
or,  at  least,  turn  round:  but  this  phrase  is  not  in  our 
language  either  military  or  poetical ;  we  have,  there- 
fore, adopted  a  word  of  command,  whose  import  is 
of  the  same  nature,  and  Avhose  application  has  been 
sufliciently  familiar  to  us  of  late. 

9.  My  station,  literally,  my  region,  the  ground  I 
occupy  with  my  troops,  my  post,  in  a  military  sense  ; 
which  station  you  attack,  and  by  your  attack  force 
me  to  give  ground,  to  retire  ;  you  drive  me  off",  over- 
power me,  advance  into  my  territories,  and,  in  spite 
of  my  resistance,  add  them  by  victory  and  conquest 
to  your  own.  These  are  clearly  military  ideas,  and 
therefore,  we  suppose,  are  expressed  in  military 
terms. 

10.  Here  follow  four  lines,  or  verses,  repeated  from 
the  second  eclogue  of  the  second  day.  They  have 
every  appearance  of  being  misplaced  ;  a  mere  dupli- 
cate of  the  former  passage.  It  should  seem  rather 
unlikely  that,  in  so  short  a  poem,  such  a  duplication 
should  be  inserted  intentionally.  Whether  these 
lines  replace  othere  which  should  be  here,  or  merely 
are  a  repetition,  the  reader  will  judge  for  himself 
by  the  connection,  or  want  of  connection,  of  the 
passage. 

*  Dazzling  as  the  streamers  7  a  comet.  The 
reader  will  probably  be  startled  at  this  idea,  as  we 
also  should  have  been,  had  we  not  accidentally  met 
with  the  following  Arabic  verses  in  Richard- 
son:— 

When  I  describe  your  beauty,  my  thoughts  are 

perplexed. 
Whether  to  compare  it 
To  the  sun,  to  the  moon,  or  to  the  wandering  star 

[a  comet]. 

Now  this  idea  com])letes  the  climax  of  the  pas- 
sage, which  was  greatly  wanted ;  so  that  the  com- 
parisons stand,  (1.)  day-break,  a  small  glimmering 


CANTICLES 


[  2G5  ] 


CANTICLES 


light ;  (2.)  the  moon  ;  (full  moon  ?)  (3.)  the  sun  clear- 
ly shinhig  ;  (4.)  the  comet ;  which,  seen  by  night,  is 
dazzling ;  as  it  were,  the  fiery  banner,  or  streamer  of 
the  hosts  of  heaven  ;  such  a  phenomenon  has  ever 
been  among  the  most  terrific  objects  to  the  eyes  of 
the  simple  Aral),  on  whose  deep  blue  sky  it  glows  in 
tremendous  perfection.  Is  this  word  plural  hy  em- 
phasis ? — meaning,  the  chief  of  streamers ;  the 
STREAMER,  par  excellence. 

The  comparison  of  a  lady  to  the  full  moon  is  fre- 
quently adopted  in  Arabia : 

She  appeared  like  the  full  moon  in  a  night  of  joy, 
Delicate  in  limbs,  and  elegant  of  stature. 

We  cannot  refrain  from  observing  how  happily 
this  comet  illustrates  the  simile,  in  Jude  18 :  "  JVan- 
dering  stars,  to  whom  is  reserved  the  blackness  of 
darkness  for  ever."  As  the  apostle  uses  the  word 
planetai,  it  has  been  usual  to  suppose  he  alludes  to 
neighboring  orbs,  the  planets,  whose  motions  appear 
very  irregular  ;  sometimes  direct,  sometimes  station- 
ary, sometimes  retrograde  ;  but,  if  we  refer  his  ex- 
pression to  comets,  then  we  see  at  once  how^hey 
may  be  said  to  remain  in  perpetual  darkness,  after 
their  briHiancy  is  extinct ;  which  idea  is  not  ai)plica- 
ble  to  the  planets.  We  may  add,  tliat  the  Chaldeans 
held  comets  to  be  a  species  of  planets,  (Senec. 
Quest.  Nat.)  that  the  Pythagoreans  included  com- 
ets among  planets  which  a])pear  after  veiy  long  in- 
tervals, (Arist.  Meteor,  lib.  i.)  and  that  the  Egyp- 
tians calculated  their  periods  and  predicted  tlieir 
return. 

IL  Jiffection,  heart.  The  Bride  had  told  us  be- 
fore, in  No.  L  that,  while  she  slept,  her  affection, 
heart,  imagination,  was  awake  ;  the  heart,  among  the 
Hebrews,  was  the  seat  of  the  affections ;  but,  here, 
the  Bridegroom  says,  while  he  was  really  awake, 
and  therefore  fully  master  of  his  senses,  and  of  his 
actions,  his  affection  overcame  his  intentions,  and 
brought  him  back,  uuawai-es  to  himself,  unconscious- 
ly, or  nolens  volcns,  as  we  say  ivill  he  nil  he,  toward 
the  object  of  his  regard.  This,  then,  is  a  stronger 
idea  than  the  former ;  and  is  heightened  by  his  no- 
tice of  the  swiftness  with  which  he  was  brougiit 
back  ;  equal  to  that  of  the  rapid  chariots  of  his  peo- 
ple, flying  to  engage  the  enemy  ;  literally,  chariots  of 
my  people  pouring  oid  (12):  now,  this  pouring  oid 
hardly  means  a  review  ;  but,  if  it  do,  it  must  point, 
especially,  to  the  most  rapid  movement  of  that  ex- 
ercise ;  that  is,  the  charge ;  if  it  mean  poured  oid  in 
battle,  it  amounts  to  the  same  ;  a  charge  on  the  ene- 
my, executed  with  great  velocity ;  but  some  say, 
"chariots  of  the  princes  of  my  people."  (See  Amin- 
ADAit.)  Wiio  are  "the  people"  of  monarchs?  The 
phrase  is  used  by  Pharaoh,  in  Gen.  xli.  40,  and  by 
Solomon  here. 

13.  Face  about :  literally,  turn  round :  but  as  this 
is  no  military  phrase,  as  already  observed,  the  ex- 
pression adopted  seems  to  be  more  coincident  with 
the  general  tenor  of  this  eclogue. 

14.  This  phrase,  which  literally  is,  that  we  may 
fasten  our  eyes  on  thee,  we  have  ventured  to  render 

reconnoitre  thee ;  for  it  appears,  that  they  would 
"  fasten  their  eyes"  on  her,  as  they  did  on  entrench- 
ments around  camps ;  which  can  be  nothing  but 
what  modern  military  language  would  term  recon- 
noitring. 

1.5.   iniat,  or  how,  woidd  you  fasten  your  eyes  on 
Selomeh  ? — Like  as  ive  do  on  the  ditches,   fosses,  or 
entrenchments  of  the  camps.     In  this  sense  the  root  is 
34 


used,  in  2  Sam.  xx.  15;  1  Kings  xxi.  23;  Isa.  xxvi. 
1  ;  Lam.  ii.  1.  On  the  whole,  then,  it  appears,  that 
these  are  military  terms  ;  and  it  must  be  owned  that 
they  prodigiously  augment  the  variety  of  the  poem, 
and  give  a  highly  spirited  air  to  this  eclogue  in  par- 
ticular ;  they  account,  too,  for  the  lively  interference 
of  the  Bridegroom's  companions,  and,  by  the  rapid 
repartee  they  occasion,  they  close  it  very  differently 
from  all  the  others,  and  with  the  greatest  animation 
and  vivacity. 

Thcffth  day. — 1.  Feet  in  sandals.  See  the  Plate 
of  the  Bride's  Dress. 

2.  Z)aKjg/iicr  o/ Liberality  :  or  of  princes.  Here 
the  same  word  occurs  as  we  observed  signified 
(Fourth  D ay,  No.  12.)  powing  out ;  it  is  usually  ren- 
dered princes,  from  the  opportunity  enjoyed  by  per- 
sons of  high  rank,  of  pouring  out  their  liberality  on 
pro|)er  occasions  ;  and  perhaps  such  is  its  import  in 
this  })lace.  Daughter,  in  the  looser  sense  of  the  word, 
not  descendant,  huX  patroness  of  pouring  out,  of  libe- 
rality, who  hast  spared  no  expense,  on  this  occasion, 
to  adorn  thyself  with  the  most  costly  apparel ;  q.  d. 
"  Daughter  of  liberahty,  how  magnificent !  how  ele- 
gant !  how  attractive  is  thy  dress !  the  whole  to- 
gether is  beautiful ;  the  parts  separately  are  rich  and 
ornamental !  We  shall  consider  and  commend  them 
in  their  order." 

As  the  Bride  stands  up,  the  ladies  begin  with  de- 
scribing her  sandals ;  and  they  not  only  praise  her 
sandals,  but  her  feet  in  them.  The  reader  will  per- 
ceive, by  inspecting  the  prints,  that  this  is  extremely 
accurate  ;  as  sandals  do  not  hide  the  feet,  but  permit 
their  every  beauty  to  be  seen  ;  and  although  our  la- 
dies, being  accustomed  to  wear  shoes,  may  think 
more  of  a  handsome  shoe  than  of  a  handsome  foot, 
the  taste  in  the  East  is  different.  We  know  that  the 
Roman  emperor  Claudius  decorated  his  toes  with 
gems,  no  less  than  his  fingers  ;  and  was  so  proud  of 
his  handsome  foot,  that  whereas  other  sovereigns 
used  to  give  their  hands  to  be  kissed  by  their  sub- 
jects, on  certain  occasions,  he  gave  his  foot  for  that 
purpose  ;  which  some  historians  have  attributed  to 
pride  of  station  ;  others  to  pride  of  person,  as  if  his 
handsome  foot  would  otherwise  have  been  over- 
looked, and  deprived  of  its  due  admiration.  Ob- 
serve, these  ladies  begin  at  the  Bride's  sandals, 
her  feet,  and  their  descriptions  ascend ;  the  Bride- 
groom always  begins  with  her  locks,  her  hair,  &c. 
and  his  descriptions  descend,  but  not  so  low  as  the 
feet. 

3.  The  selvedges  of  thy  drawers.  This  word 
[chemuk]  is  derived  from  the  same  root  as  that  in 
the  Second  Day  rendered  "  my  beloved  was  tuimcd 
away ;"  it  signifies,  therefore,  to  turn,  to  return,  to 
turn  back  ;  now,  what  can  more  correctly  describe 
the  selvedge  of  a  piece  of  cloth,  &c.  which  is  made 
by  the  return  of  the  threads  back  again,  to  where 
they  came  from,  that  is,  across  the  cloth?  Thus 
threads,  by  perpetually  turning  and  returning,  com- 
pose the  edge  of  the  cloth  ;  which  we  conceive  to 
be  the  very  article  described  by  the  use  of  the  word 
in  this  pface ;  but  if  it  be  the  edge  of  the  gar- 
ment, the  thought  is  the  same ;  since  that  is  the 
natm-al  situation  for  an  ornamental  pattern  of  open- 
work. 

4.  Drawers.  This  word  can  never  mean  thighs ; 
as  thighs  have  no  selvedges,  it  must  mean  drawers, 
or  the  dress  of  the  thighs.  See  the  Plate  of  Egyp- 
tian Dresses,  jjiyra. 

5.  Open-ivork ;  pinked.  AVhich  of  these  words 
should  be  adopted  depends  on  what  materials  these 


CANTICLES 


[  266 


CANTICLES 


drawers  were  made  of:  if  they  were  of  muslin,  then 
the  open-tvork  is  ^\^•ollght  with  a  needle,  as  muslin 
will  not  bear  pinking  ;  but  if  they  were  of  silk,  then 
they  might  be  adorned  with  flowers,  &c.  cut  into 
them  by  means  of  a  sharp  iron,  struck  upon  the 
silk,  and  cutting  out  those  parts  wliich  formed  the 
pattern.  And  this,  we  apprehend,  is  the  correct 
meaning  of  the  word  ;  it  signities  to  pi'ick  full  of 
holes — to  wound — to  pierce — to  make  an  open- 
ing— to  run  through,  as  with  a  sword :  all  which 
ideas  agi-ee  perfectly  with  our  rendering,  pinking; 
which  consists  in  piercing  silk  full  of  holes,  with 
a  steel  instrument,  forcibly  struck  through  its  sub- 
ject. This  detei-mines  for  silk  drawers ;  howev- 
er, open-work  pinkings  do  not  disagree  in  phrase- 
ology. 

6.  Girdle-clasp.  See  the  Plate  of  Egyptian 
Dresses,  Nos.  6,  9. 

7.  Rich  in  mingled  nine  :  the  original  is,  not  poor ; 
an  expression  doubtless  adopted  by  the  poet  for  the 
sake  of  his  verse  ;  the  difference  between  rendering 
"rich,"  and  "not  poor,"  needs  no  ajjology.  The 
idea  is,  that  this  clasp  was  set  ^^■ith  rubies  ;  and  sir 
William  Jones  tells  us,  it  is  very  common  among  the 
Arabian  poets  to  compare  rubies  to  wine ;  hence  he 
begins   one   of  his   translations    from    the   Arabic, 

"  Boy,  bid  yon  liquid  ruby  flow ;" meaning  that 

he  should  pour  out  wine  from  the  vessel  which  con- 
tained it. 

8.  jyipples.  See  No.  15.  Third  Day,  where  this 
allusion  has  already  occurred. 

9.  Eyes  like  the  pools  of  Heshbon ;  (see  No.  6.  in 
Fourth  Day  ;)  that  is,  darkened  by  a  streak  of  stib- 
ium di'awn  all  round  them ;  as  those  pools  are 
encompassed  by  a  border  of  black  marble.  Proba- 
bly, too,  the  form  of  these  pools  was  oval  rather  than 
circular. 

10.  Thy  nose  like  the  toivcr  of  Lebanon.  If  the 
former  line  had  not  alluded  to  a  place,  whereby  this 
line  should  require  allusion  to  a  place  also,  we 
should  have  inclined  to  risk  a  version  derived  from 
the  roots  of  these  words;  which  would  stand 
thus : — 

Thy  nose  like  a  tower  of  whiteness  itself. 
Which  overlooks  the  levels  [thy  cheeks,  &c.]. 

We  are  persuaded  that  this  gives  the  true  concep- 
tion of  the  passage,  even  if  referred  to  a  structure 
called  the  tower  of  Lebanon ;  for  Damascus  is  situ- 
ated on  a  level  plain ;  or  this  tower  might  stand  so 
as  to  overlook  some  of  those  level  plains  which  are 
interspersed  in  the  mountains  of  Lebanon.  Such, 
however,  is  the  general  idea ;  an  erect  tower,  but  of 
whatever  other  qualities  is  not  determined.  It  might 
be  desirable  to  render  the  foregoing  verse  also  ac- 
cording to  its  roots ;  but  the  mention  of  the  gate  of 
Balhrahhim  forbids ;  and  if  Heshbon  be  of  necessity 
retained,  then,  for  the  sake  of  the  parallelism,  we 
think  we  must  retain  also  Lebanon  and  Damascus ; 
of  course,  the  comparisons  are  entirely  local.  See 
No.  11.  Third  Day. 

11.  Carmel.  (12.)  Areganien.  We  confess  our 
embarrassment  on  tlie  subject  of  these  words. 

13.  Entangled.  This  word  {assur)  is  used  to  sig- 
nify the  entangling  power  of  love.  Air.  Harmer  in- 
terprets Eccles.  vii.  26:  "I  find  more  bitter  than 
death  the  woman  whose  hands  are  [assurini)  bands  ;" 
the  general  sense  of  the  word  is  confinement, 
restraint,  bondage  ;  so  that  our  word  entangled  seems 
to  express  the  idea  sufficiently. 


The  idea  that  the  king's  heart  was  entangled  in 
the  numerous  and  beautiful  braids  of  hair  which 
adorned  the  head  of  his  spouse,  seems  plausible 
enough,  from  the  customs  of  oriental  females,  and 
the  general  scope  of  the  passage  ;  but  a  particular 
and  applicable  authority  is  furnished  in  an  ode  of 
the  Pend-Nameh,  (p.  287,  288.)  translated  from  the 
Persian  by  baron  Silvestre  de  Sacy.  Ode  of  Jami 
ON  THE  Tresses  of  his  Mistress. — "O  thou,  who 
hast  entangled  my  heart  in  the  net  of  thy  ringlets  ! 
the  name  alone  of  thy  curling  hair  is  become  a  snare 
for  hearts.  Yes,  all  hearts  are  enchained  (as  in  the 
links  of  a  chain)  in  the  (Unks)  ringlets  of  thy  hair  ; 
each  of  thy  curls  is  a  snare  and  chains.  O  thou, 
whose  curls  hold  me  in  captivity,  it  is  an  honor  for 
thy  slave  to  be  fettered  by  the  chains  of  thy  ringlets. 
What  other  veil  could  so  well  become  the  fresh  roses 
of  thy  complexion,  as  that  of  thy  black  curls  [fra- 
gi-ant]  like  musk  ?  Birds  fly  the  net ;  but,  most 
wonderful !  my  never  quiet  soul  delights  in  the  chains 
of  thy  tresses !  Thy  curls  inhabit  a  region  higher 
than  diat  of  the  moon.  Ah  !  how  high  is  the  region 
of  thy  tresses !  It  is  from  the  deep  night  of  thy 
curl^hat  the  day-break  of  felicity  rises  at  every  in- 
stant for  Jami,  thy  slave  !" 

The  reader  will  probably  think  this  rhapsody 
sufficiently  exalted  ;  it  is,  however,  a  not  im- 
modest specimen  of  the  poetical  exuberance  of 
fancy  and  figurative  language  in  which  the  orientals 
envelope  their  ideas,  when  inspired  by  the  pow- 
er of  verse,  and  frenzied  by  the  fascinations  of 
beauty. 

14.  Meandenngs.  This  word  [rehethim)  signifies 
to  run  down,  with  a  tremulous  motion,  or  winding 
way,  as  of  a  stream,  or  rill  of  water  ;  so  Jacob's  rods 
were  placed  in  the  rills,  rivulets,  gutters;  in  the 
watering-troughs:  (Gen.  xxx.  38,  46.)  so  the  daugh- 
ters of  Reuel  filled  the  troughs,  watering-places,  for 
the  sheep  to  drink  from  ;  (Exod.  ii.  16.)  not  raised 
wooden  troughs,  such  as  our  horses  drink  out  of,  but 
rills  running  among  the  stones,  &c.  This  we  have 
expressed  by  the  word  mcanderings ;  derived  from 
the  numerous  hendings  of  the  river  Meander,  and 
now  naturalized  in  our  language,  in  reference  to 
streams  and  winding  rivulets,  &c.  The  trough  into 
which  Rebekah  emptied  the  contents  of  her  pitcher 
(Gen.  xxiv.  20.)  is  described  by  a  diflerent  Avord,  and 
might  be  properly  a  trough. 

15.  Thy  stature  equals  the  palm.  See  the  Plate  of 
the  Bride's  Dress,  infra. 

16.  Thy  address  ;  literally,  thy  palate ;  but  this 
must  refer  to  speech  of  some  kind  ;  the  Bride  had 
formerly  told  her  spouse,  that  "  his  lips  dropped 
honey ;"  and  now  he  says,  "  her  palate  dropped 
wine — prime  wine  ;"  we  have  the  lips  and  the  palate 
noticed  together,  to  tiie  same  purjjose,  in  Prov. 
V.  3  :— 

The  lips  of  a  strange  woman  drop  liquid  honey, 
^Vnd  her  palate  drops  what  is  smoother  than  oil. 

It  is  evident  the  writer  means  her  flattering  words, 
her  seductive  discourses.  The  rendering  "  thy  ad- 
dress" seems  to  coincide  with  the  cheering  and  per- 
vading eflects  of  wine. 

17.  Going  to  be  presented,  as  a  special  token  of 
affectionate  regarcf,  to  persons  whose  consununate 
integrity  has  been  experienced  ;  literally,  going  for 
love  favors  to  uprights  [persons].  Now,  in  such  a 
case,  a  ])erson  would  naturally  select  the  very  best 
wine  in  his  power ;  he  would  not  send  the  tait,  or 


CANTICLES 


[267  ] 


CANTICLES 


the  vapifl,  but  the  most  cordial,  the  most  vahiable  he 
could  procure.  We  suspect  that  the  Bridegi'oom 
compliments  himself,  under  the  character  of  a 
friend  whose  integiity  could  not  be  doubted.  (For 
the  sense  of  consummate  or  complete,  as  that  of  the 
word   Jashur,  or  Jeshurun,  see  the  article   Jeshu- 

RUN.) 

18.  Should  this  chasm  be  filled  up  with 


and  he  is  mine  ? 


19.  Dudaim.     See  the  article  Mandrake. 

20.  Our  lofts ; — that  is,  the  upper  part  of  our 
gates  or  openings.  As  it  is  evident  they  were 
places  to  contain  stores  of  fruit  froin  the  last  year's 
gathering,  the  word  lofts  is  as  projier  as  any  to  con- 
vey that  idea.  It  might  be  added,  that  presents  of 
fruit,  especially  app-Jes,  by  youths  to  their  beloveds, 
are  well  known  among  the  Greek  poets  ;  indeed,  the 
practice  almost  became  a  custom,  and  originated  a 
proverb,  "He  loves  her  with  apples;" — as  we  say 
"  w"ith  cakes  and  comfits." 

21.  Thou  shouldst  conduct  vie.  The  reader's  at- 
tention has  already  been  drawn  to  this  passage ; 
without  departing  from  the  usual  translation  of  the 
words,  we  have  merely  referred  them  to  the  proper 
gpeaker. 

22.  Should  this  chasm  be  filled  up  with 

B%'  the  startling  antelope,  by  the  timid  deer  of  the 
field  ? 

It  is  inserted  by  the  LXX,  and  the  passage  is  miper- 
fect  without  the  usual  termination. 

TTie  sixth  day. — 1.  Sociability.  This  seems  to  be 
pretty  nearly  the  import  of  the  original  term,  which 
occurs  only  in  this  place.  Since,  as  we  conceive, 
the  parties  sat  in  the  palanquin  opposite  to  each 
other,  the  Bride  could  hardlj'  be  said  to  be  leaning 
on  her  beloved,  nor  joining  herself  to  her  beloved,  as 
some  have  proposed  to  render  it ;  nevertheless,  that 
a  kind  of  free  intercourse  after  marriage  is  meant 
here,  which  would  not  have  been  so  proper  before 
marriage,  admits  of  no  doubt;  and  we  think  the  chit- 
chat of  sociability  may  answer  the  meaning  of  the 
word.  The  following  conversation  is  probably  a 
continu.ition  of,  or  at  least  is  of  the  nature  of,  that 
intended  by  the  term  sociability. 

2.  /  urged  thee  ;  that  is  to  say,  I  -would  not  let  thee 
indulge  tliy  bashfulness,  but  brought  thee  forward  to 
the  marriage  ceremony,  and  overcame  thy  maiden 
dilatoriness,  "That  would  be  w^oo'd,  and  not  un- 
sought be  won." 

3.  Thy  mother  delivered  thee.  The  word  signifies 
to  deliver  over,  as  a  pledge  is  delivered  over,  to  the 
]7erson  who  receives  it,  or  to  be  brought  forward,  or 
brought  out  for  that  purpose.  The  reader  may  dis- 
cover, under  the  uncouth  idiom  of  our  translators, 
this  very  idea ;  "  There  thy  mother  brought  thee 
forth  ;"  that  is,  as  a  pledge  is  brought  forth  to  be  de- 
livered to  a  person  who  stands  out  of  the  house  to 
receive  it.  (Sec  Deut.  xxiv.  10,  11.)  That  this  is 
sufficiently  unhappily  expressed,  we  suppose  no  ju- 
dicious reader  will  hesitate  to  admit.  But  w4iat 
shall  we  say  to  the  Romish  rendering  of  this  pas- 
sage :  "  There  thy  mother  was  corrupted  ;  there  she 
was  deflowered  that  bare  thee  !" — and  then — such 
mysteries !  in  reference  to  Eve,  the  general  moth- 
er, &c. 

4.  As  a  signet  on  thy  arm.     See  the  article  Seals. 

5.  Our  sister,  or  cousin,  or  friend,  &c.     The  word 


sister  is  not  always  used— strictiv— in  the  Hebrew,  in 

reference  to  consanguinity. iThe  youth  of  this 

party  is  denoted  by  the  phrase— her"  breast  is  not 
grown  to  its  proper  mature  size.  In  Egvpt  this  part 
of  the  person  was  extremely  remarkable ;  Juvenal 
describes  the  breasts  of  an  Egjptian  woman  as  being 
larger  than  the  child  she  suckled. 

6.  Kiosks  are  pavihons,  or  little  closets  projecting 
from  a  wall  for  the  purpose  of  overlooking  the  sur- 
rounding country  ;  like  our  summer-houses,  &c.  In 
the  East  they  are,  also,  the  indispensable  places  of 
repose,  and  of  that  voluptuous,  tranquil  gi-atifi cation 
to  which  the  inhabitants  are  urged  by  the  heats  of 
the  climate. 

7.  As  one  ivho  offered  peace ;  \i\.exs\\y,  as  one  finding 
peace  ;  but,  perhaps,  the  sentiment  is — "  I  ajjpeared 
to  him  as  inviting  as  the  most  delightful  kiosk  ;  a 
kiosk,  in  which  he  might  be  so  delighted,  that  he 
would  go  no  farther  in  search  of  enjoyment."  That 
peace  often  means  prosperity  is  well  known ;  in- 
deed all  good  is,  in  the  Hebrew  language,  as  it 
were,  combined  and  concentrated  in  the  term 
peace. 

8.  Baal  Ham  Aun.  We  take  this  to  be  altogether 
an  Egyptian  term  ;  Ham  Aun  is  "  progenitor  Ham  ;" 
— Baal  is  "  lord" — "  The  lord  Ham  our  progenitor." 
This  agrees  perfectly  with  Egvptian  principles.  (See 
Ammon-No.)  In  fact,  no  other  nation  so  long  main- 
tained, or  had  so  just  authority  to  maintain,  its  rela- 
tion to  Ham,  who  was  commemorated  in  this  coun- 
try during  many  ages.  This  name  of  a  place,  de- 
cidedly Egjptian,  confirms  the  general  notion  that 
the  Bride  was  daughter  to  Pharaoh. 

9.  Inspectors.  This  is  the  office  which  had  been 
held  by  the  Bride,  when  in  her  own  country ;  but 
here  it  is  expressed  in  the  plural ;  implying,  probably, 
an  inferiority  from  that  of  the  princess,  though  to 
the  same  purposes,  &c. 

10.  The  tenant ;  literally,  the  man ;  that  is,  as  we 
understand  it,  the  chief  man,  the  first  tenant,  the  oc- 
cupier ;  the  same  here  as  we  have  taken  "  the  man" 
for  the  commander,  in  No.  4.  Third  Day,  that  is,  the 
chief,  or  head  man,  as  we  speak ;  not  each  man  dis- 
tributively,  but  the  man  emphatically  ;  for,  if  there 
were  many  tenants,  did  each  bring  a  thousand  silver- 
lings  ?  so  as  to  make,  say  ten  thousand  ;  then,  why 
not  state  the  larger  number  ?  or,  did  all  which  the 
tenants  brought  make  up  one  thousand  ?  then,  why 
not  use  the  phu'al  form  men  ?  Moreover,  since  two 
hundred,  which  is  one  fifth  of  a  thousand,  was  due 
to  the  inspectors,  it  reminds  us,  that  this  is  the  veiy 
proportion  established  in  Egypt  by  Joseph,  Gen. 
xlvii.  24.  This  is  convincing  evidence  that  this  prin- 
cess was  from  Egypt ;  and  proves  that,  for  purposes 
of  protection,  &c.  this  due  was  constantly  gathered 
by  the  reigning  prince.  We  suppose  she  hints  at 
her  father's  government,  under  this  allusion  to  these 
inspectors  ;  and  is  still  Egyptian  enough  to  insist  on 
the  propriety  of  paying  the  regidai-  tribute  to  his 
sovereignty,  as  governor  in  chief.  An  extract  from 
Mr.  Swinburne's  account  of  a  similar  estate  among 
the  Spanish  Arabs  may  explain  the  nature  of  these 
fruiteries,  and  their  profits :  "  I  cannot  give  you  a 
more  distinct  idea  of  this  people  than  by  translathig 
a  passage  in  an  Arabic  manuscript,  in  the  library  of 
the  Escurial,  entitled,  '  The  Histoiy  of  Granada,  by 
Abi  Abdalah  ben  Alkalhibi  Aboaneni,'  written  in  the 
year  of  the  Hegira  778,  A.  D.  1378  ;  Mahomet  Lago, 
being  then,  for  the  second  time,  king  of  Granada. 
It  begins  by  a  description  of  the  city  and  its  envi- 
rons, nearly  in  the  following  terms:  'The  city  of 


CANTICLES 


[268  ] 


CANTICLES 


Granada  is  surrounded  with  the  most  spacious  gar- 
dens, where  the  trees  are  set  so  thick  as  to  resemble 
hedges,  yet  not  so  as  to  obstruct  the  view  of  the 
beautiful  towers  of  the  Alhambra,  which  glitter  hke 
so  many  bright  stars  over  the  green  forests.  The 
plain,  stretching  far  and  wide,  produces  such  quanti- 
ties of  gi"ain  and  vegetables  that  no  revenues  bnt 
those  of  the  first  families  in  the  kingdom  are  equal 
to  their  annual  produce.  Each  garden  is  calculated 
to  bring  in  a  nett  income  of  five  hundred  pieces  of  gold, 
(aui-ei,)  ouf  of  ivhich  it  pays  thirty  miiiEe  to  the  king. 
Beyond  these  gardens  lie  fields  of  various  culture,  at 
all  seasons  of  the  year  clad  in  the  richest  verdure, 
and  loaded  with  some  valuable  vegetable  production 
or  other ;  by  this  method  a  perpetual  succession  of 
crops  is  secured,  and  a  great  annual  rent  is  produced, 
ivhich  is  said  to  amount  to  twenty  thousand  aurei.  Ad- 
joining you  may  see  the  sumptuous  farms  belonging 
to  the  royal  demesnes,  ivonderfully  agreeable  to  the  be- 
holder, from  the  large  quantity  of  plantations  of  trees 
and  the  variety  of  plants.  The  vineyards  in  the 
neighborhood  bring  fowieen  thousand  aurei.  Immense 
are  the  hoards  of  all  species  of  dried  fruits,  such  as 
fgs,  7-aisi)is,  plums,  ^'c.  They  have  also  the  se- 
cret of  preserving  grapes  sound  and  juicy  from 
one  season  to  another.'' "  [Comp.  Fifth  Day,  No. 
20.]  "N.  B.  I  was  notable  to  obtain  any  satis- 
factory account  of  these  Granada  aurei,  gold 
coins."  (Swinburne's  Travels  in  Spain,  Letter 
xxii.  p.  1G4.) 

We  have  supposed  that  this  Sixth  Day  is  the  day 
of  marriage ;  as  this  has  not  usually  been  imder- 
stood,  we  shall  connect  some  ideas  which  induce  us 
to  consider  it  in  that  light.  Leo  of  Modena  says, 
that  (1.)  "The  Jews  marry  on  a  Friday,  if  the  spouse 
be  a  maid  ;"  (Thursday,  if  a  widow.) — Now  Friday 
morning  is  the  time  of  this  eclogue,  supposing  the 
poem  began  with  the  first  day  of  the  week. — (2.) 
"  The  Bride  is  adorned,  and  led  out  into  the  open 
air ;"  so,  in  this  eclogue,  the  Bride's  mother  "  brings 
her  out,"  for  that  purpose; — (3.)  "into  a  court  or 
garden ;"  so,  in  this  eclogue,  the  ceremony  passes 
"  under  a  citron-tree ;"  conse({uently  in  a  garden. 
This  eclogue,  then,  opens  with  observation  of  the 
nuptial  procession  after  marriage  ;  and  we  learn  that 
the  ceremony  had  taken  place  by  the  following  con- 
versation, in  which  the  Bridegroom  alludes  to  the 
maiden  bashfuhiess  of  his  Bride,  as  having  required 
some  address  to  overcome.  Moreover,  the  Bride 
sohcits  the  maintenance  of  perpetual  constancy  to 
herself,  as  implied  in  the  connection  now  completed  ; 
with  attention  to  the  interests  of  a  particular  friend, 
she  transfers  all  her  private  property  to  lier  husband, 
yet  reserves  a  government-due  to  her  royal  parent 
io  Egypt ;  and  the  eclogue  closes,  both  itself  and 
the  poem,  by  nuitual  wishes  for  more  of  each  other's 
conversation  and  company.  See  the  article  Mar- 
riage. 

It  is  now  time  to  conclude  our  investigation  of 
this  poem  ;  but  we  nuist  previously  observe,  how 
perfectly  free  it  is  from  the  least  soil  of  indelicacy  ; 
that  allusions  to  matrimonial  privacies  which  have 
been  fancied  in  it,  are  absolutely  groundless  fancies  ; 
and  tliat,  not  till  the  Fiftii  Day,  is  there  any  allusion 
to  so  nuich  as  a  kiss,  and  then  it  is  covered  by  as- 
similation of  the  party  to  a  sucking  infant  brother. 
The  First  Day  is  distance  itself,  in  point  of  conver- 
sation ;  the  Second  has  no  conversation  but  what 
passes  from  the  garden  below  up  to  tJio  first-floor 
window ;  the  Third  Day  is  the  same  in  tlic  morning- 
and  the  evening  is  an  invitation  to  take  an  excursion' 


and  survey  prospects ;  as  to  the  comparison  to  a 
well,  delicacy  itself  must  admire,  not  censure,  the 
simile.  The  Fourth  Day  opens  with  a  dream,  by 
which  the  reader  perceives  the  inclination  of  the 
dreamer,  and  the  progress  of  her  aflection ;  but  the 
Bridegroom  himself  does  not  hear  it,  nor  is  he 
more  favored  by  it,  or  for  it ;  on  the  contraiy,  the 
lady  permits  him  in  the  evening  to  sport  his  military 
terms  as  much  as  he  thinks  proper ;  but  she  does 
not,  by  a  single  word,  acquaint  him  of  any  breach 
he  had  made  in  her  heart.  We  rather  susjject,  that 
she  rises  to  retire  somewhat  sooner  than  usual, 
thereby  counterbalancing,  in  her  own  mind,  those 
effusions  of  kindness  to  which  she  had  given  vent 
in  the  morning.  The  Fifth  morning  is  wholly  oc- 
cupied by  the  ladies'  praises  of  the  Bride's  dress ; 
she  herself  does  not  utter  a  word  ;  but,  in  the  evening 
of  that  day,  as  the  marriage  was  to  take  place  on  the 
morrow,  she  merely  hints  at  what  she  coidd  find  in 
her  heart  to  do,  ivere  he  her  infant  brother ;  and  for 
the  first  time  he  hears  the  adjuration,  "  if  his  left 
arm  was  under  her  head,"  on  the  duan  cushion,  &c. 
and  the  discourse,  though  evidently  meant  for  her 
lover,  yet  is  equivocally  allusive  to  her  supposed 
fondling.  It  must  be  admitted,  that  after  the  mar- 
riage they  make  a  procession,  according  to  the  cus- 
tom of  the  place  and  station  of  the  parties,  in 
the  same  palanquin  together,  and  here  they  are 
a  little  sociable ;  but  modesty  itself  will  not  find 
the  least  fault  with  this  sociabilitj',  nor  with  one 
single  sentence,  or  sentiment,  uttered  on  this 
occasion. 

We  appeal  now  to  the  candor,  understanding,  and 
sensibility  of  the  reader,  whether  it  be  possible  to 
conduct  a  six-day  conversation  between  persons 
solemnly  betrothed  to  each  other,  with  greater  deli- 
cacy, gi-eater  attention  to  the  most  rigid  vii'tue,  with 
greater  propriety  of  sentiment,  discourse,  action,  de- 
meanor, and  deportment. — The  dignity  of  the  per- 
sons is  well  sustained  in  the  dignity  of  their  lan- 
guage, in  the  coiTectness  of  their  ideas  and  ex- 
pressions ;  they  are  guilty  of  no  repetitions ;  what 
they  occasionally  repeat  they  vary,  and  improve  by 
the  variation  ;  they  speak  in  poetry,  and  poetry  fur- 
nishes the  images  they  use ;  but  these  images  are 
pleasing,  magnificent,  varied,  and  appropriate  ;  they 
are,  no  doubt,  as  they  should  be,  local,  and  we  do 
not  feel  half  their  propriety  because  of  their  locality  ; 
bnt  we  feel  enough  to  admit,  that  few  are  the  authors 
who  could  thus  happily  conduct  such  a  poem  ;  few 
are  the  personages  who  could  sustain  the  characters 
in  it ;  and  few  are  the  readers  in  any  nation,  or  in 
any  time,  who  have  not  ample  cause  to  admire  it, 
and  to  be  thankful  for  its  preservation  as  the  Song 
OF  Songs ! 


Being  well  persuaded  that  the  reader  has  never 
truly  seen  this  poem  before,  and  that  (though  it  has 
always  been  in  our  Bibles  in  prose)  under  the  present 
arrangement  it  becomes  a  new  poem,  we  have  di- 
rected more  attention  to  be  given  to  the  Plates  than 
perhaps  otherwise  might  have  been  done ;  these 
must  speak  for  themselves;  we  only  say,  further, 
that  in  regard  to  the  arrangement  of  the  poem, 
oiu"  opinion  advances  toward  a  pretty  strong  per- 
suasion of  its  correctness ;  but  as  to  the  ver- 
sion, our  endeavor  has  been  to  make  that  speak 
English. 


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[  269  ] 


CANTICLES 


Explanation  of  the  Plates. 

Vehicles. — Mr.  Taylor  has  collected  representa- 
tions of  several  descriptions  of  those  carriages  which 
ai-e  nsed  in  the  East,  and  which  are  supposed  to  be 
alluded  to  in  the  opening  of  the  Second  Day  of  this 
poem.     We  select  the  most  important. 

Behold  him  seated,  placed  in   his  carriage,  thus  ; 
_  looking  out  through  the 

«^^S=S^fc.  apertures,  or  front  win- 

^         -  >-  dows.    Gleaming,  s/wtt;- 

ing  himself,  or  rather, 
being  just  visible,  just 
glimpsing  through,  or 
between  the  lattices,  per- 
haps appended  to  the 
apertures  in  front  of  the 
carriage.  This  engrav- 
ing represents  a  travel- 
ling carriage  ;  not  a  car- 
riage for  state  or  splen- 
dor. But  in  the  Third  Day  we  have  the  description 
of  a  superb  and  stately  equipage,  different,  no  doubt, 
from  the  former,  because  built  expressly  by  the  i-oyal 
lover,  to  suit  the  dignity  of  his  intended  nuptials. 
Such  a  palanquin  we  have  in  the  accompanying  en- 
graving, and  this  is  what  may  be  more  particularly 
examined  by  the  description  given  in  the  poem. 
"  King  Solomon  hath  built  for  himself  a  nuptial  pal- 
anquin ;  its  pillars"  (or  what  we  should  call  iXs  poles) 
"  are  made  of  cedar  wood  ;" — Lebanon  wood  :  per- 
haps, indeed,  the  whole  of  its  wood-work  might  be 
cedar  ;  but  the  poles,  as  being  most  conspicuous,  are 
mentioned  in  the  first  place.  Now,  it  is  every  way 
unlikely  that  Solomon  would  make  these  pillars  of 
silver,  as  we  read  in  our  common  version  ;  the  use 
of  silver  poles  does  not  appear ;  but  the  top,  cover- 
ing, roof,  canopy — literally  the  rolling  and  unrolling 
part,  that  which  might  be  rolled  up — was  of  silver  tis- 
sue. This  canopy,  or  roof,  is  clearly  seen  in  the 
engraving  ;  and  it  is  ornamented  with  tassels,  and  a 
deep  kind  of  hanging  fringe,  perhaps  of  silver  also. 
But  the  lower  carriage,  or  bottom,  was  of  golden  tis- 
sue, meaning  that  })art  which  hangs  by  cords  from 
the  pillars  or  poles  ;  that  part  in  which  the  person 
sat — literally,  the  ridden-in  part,  which  we  have  ren- 
dered the  carriage — was  of  gold.  The  internal  part 
of  this  carriage  was  spread  witli  aregamcn.  Was 
this  a  finely-wrought  carpet,  adorned  with  flowers, 
inottos,  &c.  in  colors,  as  some  have  supposed  ?  How, 
then,  was  it  purple  ?  as  the  word  is  always  held  to 
denote.  We  see  at  each  end  of  the  carriage  a  kind 
of  bolster  or  cushion,  or  what  may  ansAver  the  pur- 
pose of  easy  rechning.  Is  this  covered  with  chintz  ? 
or  very  fine  calico? — Was  such  the  carriage-lining  of 
Solomon's  palanquin,  but  worked  with  an  ornament- 
al pattern  of  needle-work,  and  presented  to  the  kiytg 
by  the  daughters  of  Jerusalem?  We  presume  we 
have  now  approached  nearly  to  a  just  understanding 
of  this  poetical  description :  no  doubt,  the  royal  ve- 
hicle was  both  elegant  and  splendid.  We  have 
attempted  to  distinguish  its  parts,  with  their  j)articu- 
lar  applications.  The  propriety  of  our  departing 
from  the  customary  mode  of  understanding  these 
verses  must  now  be  left  to  the  reader's  decision  ; 
but  if  the  words  of  the  original  be  so  truly  descrip- 
tive of  the  parts  of  this  carriage,  as  we  have  sup- 
posed, we  may  anticipate  that  decision  with  some 
satisfaction. 

Egyptian  Dresses. — There  are  two  ideas  which 
ought  to  be  examined  before  we  can  justly  ascertain 


the  particulai-s  of  the  Bride's  appearance  :  Jirst,  Was 
her  dress  con-espondent  to  those  of  the  East  in  gen- 
eral ?  01-,  secondly,  as  she  was  an  Egj-ptian,  was  her 
dress  pecuharly  in  the  Egjptian  taste.?  To  meet 
these  inquiries,  we  propose  to  offer  a  few  remarks  on 
the  peculiarities  of  Egjptian  dress,  presuming  that 
some  such  might  belong  to  the  dress  worn  by  this 
lady  ;  and  indeed,  that  these  are  what  give  occasion 
to  the  admiration  of  the  ladies  of  the  Jerusalem  ha- 
ram  ;  who,  observing  her  magnificent  attire,  compli- 
ment every  part  of  that  attire,  as  they  proceed  to 
inspect  it,  in  the  following  order.  See  the  notes  in 
illustration  of  the  Fifth  Day. 

1.  Sandals.     See  Bride's  Dress,  infra. 

2.  Selvedges  of  thy  thigh  apparel. — We    have  al- 
ready examined  the  import  of 

this  word.  If  we  look  at  the 
accompanying  figure,  we  shall 
find,  that,  in  front  of  the  drape- 
ry which  descends  down  the 
thigh,  from  the  waist  to  the 
ankle,  that  is  to  say,  where  the 
edges  of  the  drapery  meet  in 
front,  is  a  handsome  border  of 
open-work ;  this  is  very  dis- 
tinct, and  it  answers  exactly 
to  the  description  and  words 
used  to  denote  it  in  the  poem ; 
it  is,  (1.)  at  the  return — the 
selvedge — of  the  drapery  ;  (2.) 
it  appertains  to  the  thigh,  and 
accompanies  it  hke  a  petticoat ; 
(3.)  it  is  pinked,  or  open-ivorkcd, 
into  a  pattern,  which  has  evi- 
dently cost  great  labor,  the  per- 
formance of  excellent  hands  ! 
This  figure  is  truly  Egyptian  ; 
for  it  is  from  the  Isiac  Table. 
We  find  the  same  kind  of  orna- 
ment worn  by  Grecian  ladies,  but  on  the  oidside  of 
the  thigh,  as  appears  in  the  Hamilton  vases.  Wheth- 
er we  read  returning  edge,  selvedge,  or  front  borders, 
&c.  of  this  drapery,  is  indifferent  to  the  idea  here 
stated. 

6.  TTiy  girdle  clasp.     See  Bride's  Dress,  infra. 

Bodice,  body  vest.     See  Bride's  Dress,  infra. 

8.  Nipples.  (I.)  See  the  engraving  under  the  ar- 
ticle Bed,  where  the  nipples  are  just  discernible 
through  the  very  fine  gauze,  which  covers  the  bo- 
som. (2.)  Observe  that  the  Egyptian  figures  above 
have  the  breast  and  nipple  entirely  naked :  each  has 
a  kind  of  neckinger,  which  crosses  the  bosom,  and  is 
brought  between  the  breasts,  so  that  the  wearer 
might  have  covered  the  breast  had  she  pleased  ; 
but  the  breast  itself  is  lefl — as  if  carefully  left — un- 
covered, in  all  these  figures :  we  presume,  therefore, 
that  this  was,  anciently,  a  customary  mode  of  dress, 
rendered  necessary  by  the  heat  of  the  country.  It 
appears  on  various  munnnies,  and  on  many  other 
Egyptian  representations.  Sonnini  says,  (vol.  iii.  p. 
204.)  "  The  Egyptian  women  have  no  other  cloth- 
ing than  a  long  shift,  or  jacket,  of  blue  cloth,  with 
sleeves  of  an  extraordinary  size. — This  manner  of 
dressing  themselves  by  halves,  so  that  the  air  lyiay  circu- 
late over  the  body  itself,  and  refresh  evci-y  part  of  it,  is 
very  comfortable  in  a  country  where  close  or  thick  hab- 
its tvould  make  the  heat  intolerable."  We  must  not 
judge  of  the  propriety  of  Egyptian  costume  by  the 
necessary  defences  against  the  variations  and  chills 
of  northern  climates.  The  reader  will  obsene  the 
head-dress  in  this  figure  ;  the  hair,  which  we  pre- 


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[  270] 


CANTICLES 


sume  is  meant  to  represent  curls ;  the  pectoral ;  the 
covering  of  the  bosom  ;  the  petticoat,  its  border,  or- 
naments, &c. 

Bride's  Dress. 

This  figure  represents  an  oriental  lady  in  full  dress, 
from  Le  Bruyn.  The  read- 
er will  observe  the  head- 
dress, which  consists  of  a 
cap  set  with  pearls  in  vari- 
ous forms,  the  centre  haug- 
mg  over  the  forehead.  On 
the  top  of  this  cap  rise  a 
number  of  sprigs  of  jew- 
elry work,  which  imitate, 
in  precious  stones,  the  nat- 
ural colors,  &c.  of  the  flow- 
ers they  are  meant  to  rep- 
resent. The  stems  are 
made  of  gold  or  silver 
wires  ;  and  the  leaves,  we 
suppose,  are  made  of  color- 
ed foil.  We  saw,  in  the 
former  plate,  that  Egyptian 
ladies  wore  a  high-rising 
composition  of  ornaments  ; 
and  we  see  in  this  figure,  a  composition  little,if  at  all, 
less  aspiring.  In  fact,  then,  this  head-dress  i-enders 
very  credible  the  idea  of  our  translators,  "  thy  head- 
dress upon  thee  is  like  Cannel .'" — whether,  by  Car- 
mel,  we  understand  mount  Carmd,  in  which  case  the 
allusion  may  be  to  the  trees  growing  on  it ;  or,  as  the 
Avord  signifies,  a  fruitful  field,  whose  luxuriant  vege- 
tation displays  the  most  captivating  abundance. 
From  the  cap  of  this  head-dress  hangs  a  string  of 
pearls,  which,  passing  under  the  chin,  surrounds  the 
countenance.  We  observe,  also,  on  the  neck,  a  col- 
let of  gems,  and  three  rows  of  pearls.  These  are 
common  in  the  East ;  and  something  of  this  nature, 
we  presume,  is  what  the  Bridegroom  alludes  to,  when 
he  sa^'s.  Eclogue  II.  in  the  First  Day,  "  Thy  cheeks 
are  bright,  or  splendid,  with  bands,  thy  neck  with  col- 
lets:" meaning  bands  of  pearls,  surrounding  the 
countenance,  and  glistening  on  the  cheeks;  and  col- 
lets of  gems,  or  other  si)lendidor  shining  substances, 
disposed  as  embellishments.  Observe,  also,  the  or- 
naments suspended  by  a  gold  chain,  which  hangs 
from  th*  neck.  These,  though  not,  strictly  speak- 
ing, girdle-clasps,  yet  have  nuich  the  same  effect  in 
point  of  decoration  ;  and  are  composed  of  precious 
stones,  including,  no  doubt,  rubies,  "  rich  in  mingled 
wine."  Observe  the  rings  worn  on  the  fingers  ;  the 
wrist-bands  of  the  vest,  the  flowers  brocaded  on  it, 
on  the  veil,  &c.  The  figure  also  shows  distinctly 
the  difference  between  locks  and  tresses  of  hair.  The 
locks  are  those  which  hang  loosely  down  the  temples 
and  cheek :  the  tresses  are  those  braids  which  natu- 
rally hang  down  the  back,  but  which,  in  order  to 
show  their  length,  are  in  this  instance  brought  for- 
ward over  the  shoulder.  The  reader  will  observe 
how  these  arc  plaited.  Now,  this  mode  of  dressing 
the  hail  seems  to  have  little  allusion  to  the  color  of 
puri  le,  or  to  require  pur|)le-colored  ribands,  or  rib- 
ands of  any  color.  It  may  rather  be  fancied  to  re- 
semble a  mode  of  weaving,  such  as  might  be  practised 
at  Arcch,  or  Erech,  whence  it  might  be  denominaited 
Jlrechmen,  that  is,  '\froin  the  city  of  Arech ;"  and, 
could  this  be  admitted,  we  should  perliaps  find  some- 
thing like  the  following  ideas  in  this  passage  :  "Thy 
head-dress  is  a  difiuse,  spreading  appearance,  like 
vegetation  and  flowers  [q.  chenille  ?] ;"     "  Thy  tresses 


are  close,  compact,  stuck  together  like  an  intimately 
woven  or  woi-ked  texture  ;"  say  a  carpet,  diaper, 
calico,  &c.  It  is  true,  this  figure  shows  only  a 
few  tresses  ;  but  we  ought  to  extend  our  conception 
to  a  much  gi'eater  number  ;  for  lady  Montague  says, 
"I  never  saw,  in  my  life,  so  mscay  fine  heads  of  hair. 
In  one  lady's  I  have  counted  a  hundred  and  ten 
tresses,  all  natural."  Now,  what  numerous  m<?i'canes, 
meanderings,  convolutions,  &c.  would  a  hundred  and 
ten  Presses  furnish  by  dexterous  plaiting!  And  as 
long  hair,  capable  of  such  ornamental  disposition, 
was  esteemed  a  capital  part  of  personal  beauty,  how 
deeply,  how  inextricably,  was  the  king — his  afiiiction 
— entangled  in  such  a  labyrinth  of  charms,  adorned 
in  the  most  becoming  manner,  and  displayed  to  the 
greatest  advantage  !  The  sex  has  always  been  proud 
of  this  natural  ornament ;  and,  when  art  and  taste 
have  well  arranged  it,  all  know  that  its  effects  are  not 
inconsiderable.  The  reader  Avill  recollect,  that  we 
have  already  stated  embarrassments  on  the  subject 
of  the  word  Aregamen.  We  have  taken  some  pains 
to  examine  passages  where  it  occurs  ;  but  we  cannot 
acquiesce  in  the  ojjinion  that  it  means  purple ;  that 
is,  the  color  o?  purple  oulj'.  Nevertheless,  as  all  the 
dictionaries,  and  lexicons,  and  concordances,  are 
against  us,  we  suspend  our  determination. 

There  is  a  figure  in  Sandys,  Avhich  shows  the  san- 
dals; not  only  adorned 
with  flowers,  wrought 
on  them,  but  which,  be- 
ing sandals  only,  permit 
the  whole  foot  to  be 
seen  ;  and  being  height- 
eners,  they  make  the 
wearer  seem  so  much 
taller  than  otherwise  she 

would  be,  that  the  Bridegroom  may  weU  compare 
his  bride  to  a  palm-ti'ee,  up  to  whose  toj)  he  designs 
to  climb,  that  he  may  procure  its  fruit.  This  figure 
also  shows  an  ornament  around  the  aiikle,  and  a  gii*- 
dle,  perhaps  of  silver  embroidery. 

This  engi'aving  is  fi-om  "Estampes  du  Levant," 
and  will  assist  to  illus- 
trate the  comparison 
which  our  public  trans- 
lation (chap.  ii.  2.)  ren- 
ders, "  thy  belly  is  a  heap 
of  wheat  set  about  ^vith 
lilies."  In  the^ra^  place, 
instead  of  heap,  read 
s/feq/",  of  wheat.  Second- 
ly, for  belli/,  read  bodice, 
or  vest ;  that  is,  the  cov- 
ering of  the  belly.  Third- 
ly, for  set  about,  read 
bound  about,  or  lied  im 
ivith  a  band  of  lilies.  In 
short,  the  comparison  is — a  vest  of  gold  tissue,  tied 
up  with  a  broad  girdle  of  white  satin,  or  of  silver  tis- 
sue, like  that  of  this  figin-e,  to  a  sheaf  of  wheat 
standing  on  its  end,  and  tied  round  its  middle  by  a 
broad  band  of  lilies,  twisted  into  itself,  whose  heads 
would  naturally  hang  down  loosely,  like  the  end  of 
the  girdle  of  this  figiu'c.  Having  given  the  above  as 
our  idea  of  this  comparison,  it  may  be  proper  to  say, 
that  if  the  words  set  about  be  absolutely  retained,  then 
the  silver  flowers  on  this  ground  of  gold  tissue  may 
answer  that  idea  ;  but  this  does  not  appear  to  be  so 
correct  a  translation.  Wc  may  be  allowed  also  to 
ol)i-erve,  hoAV  entirely  this  explanation  removes  every 
indelicacy  to  which  our  public   translation  is   ex- 


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CANTICLES 


posed  ;  aud  how  gi-eatly  it  is  recommended  by  its  sim- 
plicity. 

This  investigation  of  the  Bride's  dress  may  be  clos- 
ed witli  propriety  by  the  following  description  of  a 
dress  \\orn  by  lady  Montague  as  given  by  herself; 
also,  that  of 'the  fair  Fatinia,  of  whom  she  says, 
"  She  was  dressed  in  a  caftan  of  gold  brocade,  flow- 
ered with  silver,  very  well  fitted  to  her  shape,  and 
showing,  to  admiration,  tlio  beauty  of  her  bosom, 
only  shaded  by  the  thin  gauze  of  her  shift.  Her 
drawers  were  pale  pink,  her  waistcoat  green  and  sil- 
ver; her  slippers  white  satin,  finely  endjroidered ; 
her  lovely  anns  adorned  with  bracelets  of  diamonds  ; 
and  her  broad  girdle  set  around  with  diamonds  ; 
ujjon  her  head  a  rich  Turkish  handkerchief  of  pink 
and  silver,  her  own  fine  black  hair,  hanging  a  great 
length,  in  various  tresses ;  aud  on  one  side  of  her  head 
some  bodkins  of  jewels.  When  I  took  my  leave,  two 
maids  brought  in  a  fine  silver  basket  of  embroidered 
handkerchiefs  ;  she  begged  I  would  wear  the  richest 
for  her  sake,  and  gave  the  others  to  my  woman  and 
intcr|)retess."  (The  dudi,  love-favors,  of  our  poem, 
passim.)  "The  first  part  of  my  dress  is  a  pair  of 
di'awers ;  very  full,  that  reach  to  my  shoes,  aud  con- 
ceal the  legs  more  modestly  than  yoiu*  petticoats. 
They  are  of  a  thin  rose-colored  damask,  brocaded 
with  silver  flowers.  My  shoes  are  of  white  kid 
leather,  emiji'oidered  with  gold.  Over  this  hangs 
my  smock,  of  a  fine  white  silk  gauze,  edged  with 
embroidery.  This  smock  has  wide  sleeves,  hanging 
half  way  down  the  arm,  and  is  closed  at  the  neck 
with  a  diamond  button  ;  but  the  shape  and  color  of 
the  bosom  are  very  well  to  be  distinguished  through 
it.  The  antery  is  a  waistcoat,  made  close  to  the 
shape,  of  white  and  gold  damask,  Avith  very  long 
sleeves  falling  back,  and  fringed  with  deep  gold 
fringe,  and  should  have  diamond  or  pearl  buttons. 
3Iy  caftan,  of  the  same  stuflT  with  my  drawers,  is  a 
robe  exactly  fitted  to  my  shape,  and  reaching  to  my 
feet,  with  very  long,  straight,  falling  sleeves.  Over 
this  is  my  girdle,  of  about  four  fingers  broad,  which 
all  that  can  afford  it  have  entirely  of  diamonds  and 
other  precious  stones.  Those  who  will  not  be  at 
that  expense  have  it  of  exquisite  embroidery  on  sat- 
in ;  but  it  must  be  fastened  before  with  a  clasp  of 
diamonds.  The  curdee  is  a  loose  robe  they  throw 
off,  or  put  on,  according  to  the  weather,  being  of  a 
rich  brocade,  (mine  is  green  and  gold,)  either  lined 
with  ermine  or  sables  ;  the  sleeves  reach  very  little 
below  the  shoulders.  The  head-dress  is  composed 
of  a  cap,  called  talpock,  which  is,  in  winter,  of  fine 
velvet  embroidered  with  pearls  or  diamonds,  and  in 
summer  of  a  light  shining  silver  stufl'.  This  is  fixed 
on  one  side  of  the  head,  hanging  a  little  way  down, 
with  a  gold  tassel,  aud  bound  on,  either  with  a  cir- 
cle of  diamonds  (as  I  ha^e  seen  several)  or  a  rich 
embroidered  handkerchief.  On  the  other  side  of 
the  head,  the  hair  is  laid  flat ;  and  here  the  ladies  are 
at  liberty  to  show  their  fancies  :  some  putting  flow- 
ers, others  a  plume  of  heron's  feathers,  and  in  short 
what  they  please  ;  but  the  most  general  fashion  is  a 
large  6oi<7ue<  of  jewels,  made  like  ilatural  flowers; 
that  is,  the  buds  of  pearl ;  the  roses  of  different  col- 
ored rubies  ;  the  jessamines  of  diamonds  ;  the  jon- 
quilles  of  topazes,  &c.  so  well  set  and  enamelled,  it 
is  hard  to  imagine  any  thing  of  that  kind  so  beauti- 
ful. The  hair  hangs  at  its  full  length  behind,  divided 
into  tresses  braided  with  pearls  or  ribands,  which  is 
always  in  great  quantity.  I  never  saw  in  my  life  so 
many  fine  heads  of  hair.  In  one  lady's  I  have 
counted  a  hundred  and  ten  of  these  ti-esses,  all  nat- 


ural ;  but  it  must  be  o%ATied,  that  cveiy  kind  of  beau- 
ty is  more  common  here  than  with  us.  They 
generally  shape  their  eyebrows  ;  and  both  Greeks 
and  Turks  have  the  custom  of  putting  round  their 
eyes  a  black  tincture,  that,  at  a  distance,  or  by  can- 
dle light,  adds  very  much  to  the  blackness  of  them. 
They  dye  their  nails  a  rose  color  ;  but,  I  own,  I  can- 
not enough  accustom  myself  to  the  fashion  to  find 
any  beauty  in  it."     Letters  xxix.  xxxiii. 

Bridegroom's  Dress. 

We  have  elsewhere  (see  Crown)  bestowed  some 
thoughts  on  the  nature  and  shape  of  the  royal  crown 
of  the  kings  of  the  Jews,  and  we  wish  now  to  recall 
those  thoughts  to  the  mind  of  the  reader.  AVe  ob- 
served, that  the  crown  of  king  Saul  was  called  na- 
zer,  or  separated ;  but  a  very  different  word,  othar,  is 
used  to  express  the  circlet,  with  which  the  mother  of 
Solomon  encircled  his  head  on  the  day  of  his  mar- 
riage. Our  translation  renders  both  these  words  by 
one  English  appellation,  crown ;  and  the  word  othar 
is  thus  rendered,  where,  as  it  seems,  it  gives  incor- 
rect notions  of  the.subject  intended.  In  distinguish- 
ing the  different  forms  of  this  part  of  dress,  we 
consider  the  cap  or  crown, 
(or  both  ideas  in  one,  the 
crowned  cap,)  in  the  an- 
nexed figure,  as  being  the 
nazer,  or  "separated"  cap 
of  Scripture.  This  is  a 
])ortrait  of  Tigranes,  king 
of  Armenia ;  and  it  con- 
tributes, with  others,  to 
authorize  our  distinction. 
In  addition,  however,  to 
these,  we  have  also  repre- 
sentations of  a  cap,  the  separations  of  Avhich  are  very 
evident  behind ;  and  one  of  these  separated  parts 
falls  on  each  shoulder  down  the  back  of  the  wearer. 
This  goes  not  only  in  corroboration  of  the  proposed 
distinction  in  the  form  and  nature  of  the  crowns  of 
Jewish  monarchs,  but  also  strongly  tends  to  es- 
tablish the  nature  of  the  shcbetz,  or  royal  coat  of  close 
armor. 

It  was  not,  then,  a  royal  cap  of  state,  with  which 
the  mother  of  Solomon  decorated  his  head  at  his 
nuptials  ;  that  was  probably  made  by  a  more  pro- 
fessed artist :  neither  was  it  proper  to  be  worn  at  such 
a  personal  ceremony,  but  onlj'  on  state  occasions : — 
but,  if  the  queen  mother  had  taken  pains  to  embroi- 
der a  muslin  fillet ;  if  she  had  worked  it  with  her  own 
hands,  and  had  embellished  it  with  a  handsome  pat- 
tern, then  it  was  paying  her  a  compliment,  to  wish 
the  daughters  of  Jerusalem  should  go  forth  to  ad- 
mire the  happy  effects  of  this  instance  of  maternal 
attention  and  decorative  skill. 

The  accompanying  portrait  of  Nadir  Shah  of  Per- 
sia, from  Frazer,  shows  his  dress  to  abound  in  pearls, 
precious  stones  and  golden  embroidery.  The  man- 
ner of  the  king's  sitting  and  the  kind  of  throne  on 
which  he  sits,  may  perhaps  give  some  hint  of  the 
7nanner  of  the  Bridegroom's  sitting  in  the  First  Day. 
This  is  not  the  royal  throne  of  state,  the  mus7ind  of 
India ;  that  is  usually  stationed  in  one  place,  where 
it  is  fitted  up  with  all  imaginable  magnificence,  and 
to  which  it  is  fixed:  whereas  this  seat  is  movable, 
and  is  carried  from  place  to  place,  as  wanted.  Some 
such  settee  was  perhaps  occupied  by  Solomon,  a\  hen 
he  visited  his  Bride  ;  so  that  the  king  sat,  while 
his  companions  stood  on  each   hand  of  him,  form- 


CANTICLES 


[  272  ] 


CAP 


ing  a  cii'cle.  It 
is  necessaiy  to  dis- 
tinguish the  kind 
of  throne  ;  because 
there  are  (1.)  the 
musmid  itself,  or 
throne  of  state — (2.) 
this  kind  of  seat  or 
settee — (3.)  a  kind 
of  palanquin  (call- 
ed takht  rcvan, 
that  is,  moving- 
throne) — and  oth- 
ers, all  of  which 
are  thrones  ;  but 
their  names  and  ap- 
plication are  not  the 
same  in  the  original 
text  of  Sci'ipture. 
This  figure  is  copied  from  De  la  Valle,  and  is  a 
portrait  of  Aurengzebe,  the 
Mogul  of  India.  Observe 
the  pearls,  &c.  in  his  tur- 
ban ;  the  collets  of  pearls 
and  gems  hanging  from  his 
neck  ;  the  same  at  his  wrists : 
so  tlie  Bride  says  of  her 
Prince,  "liis  wrists,  that  is, 
his  wrist-bands,  the  orna- 
ments at  his  wrists,  are  cir- 
clets of  gold  full  set  with 
topazes."  Tliese  topazes 
occupy  the  place  of  the 
pearls  in  our  figure.  Ob- 
serve, also,  his  shoes,  which, 
being  gold  embroidery,  are 
the  bases  of  purest  gold.,  from 
which  rise  his  legs,  like  pil- 
lars of  marble.  Observe, 
too,  that  the  stockings,  fitting  pretty  closely  to  the 
fegs,  give  them  an  appearance  much  more  analo- 
gous to  pillars  or  columns,  that  when  the  draw- 
ers are  full,  and  occupy  a  considerable  space,  as  they 
are  commonly  worn  in  the  East.  The  reader  will 
remark  the  nature  and  enrichments  of  this  girdle, 
which  is,  no  doul>t,  of  gold  embroidery.  The  tent 
may  give  some  idea  of  that  of  Solomon,  to  which 
the  ladies'  coinpare  the  Bride  ;  they  say  she  is  "  at- 
tractive as  the  tent  of  Solomon  ;"  and  certainly  a 
tent  so  ornamented  and  enriched,  so  magnificently 
embellished,  is  attractive ;  attractive  in  the  same 
manner  as  a  magnificent  dress,  when  worn  by  a 
person.  If  this  tent  l)e  of  black  velvet,  the  golden 
enrichments  embossed  upon  it  must  have  a  grand  ef- 
fect. It  should  be  recollected,  that  the  passage  de- 
mands the  strongest  contrast  possible  to  the  "  tents 
of  Kedar,"  or  the  black  tents  of  wandering  Arabs  ; 
and,  were  it  not  for  a  following  verse,  the  reference 
should  be  to  the  Bride's  dress — discomposed — all  in 
a  fiuttcr — after  a  long  journey,  from  which  she  is 
but  alighted  at  the  moment — rather  than  to  her  per- 
son, or  comi)lexion,  whicli  subsequently  is  described 
as  fair,  &c.  by  terms  absolutely  incompatible  with 
blackness  or  swartbincss.  The  coverings  anmially 
sent  by  the  grand  seignior  for  the  holy  lious(>  at 
Mecca,  are  always  black.  Mr.  Moricr  has  delineated 
a  tent,  intended  to  represent  that  of  the  prophet,  the 
front  of  which  is  all  but  covered  with  jewels  ;  the 
whole  sides  and  the  toj)  with  ornaments,  shawl-jiat- 
terns,  &c.     (Travels  in  Persia,  vol.  ii.  p.  181.) 

This  is  a  portrait  of  the  grand   seignior,  sultan 


Achmet.  But  it  shows 
a  girdle,  or  rather  the 
clasp  which  fastens  it, 
of  a  different  nature 
from  the  former.  This 
appears  to  be  made  of 
some  solid  material, 
(ivory,perhaps,)  thick- 
ly studded  over  with 
precious  stones, where- 
by it  corresponds  per- 
fectly with  that  de- 
scribed by  the  Bride, 
as  bright  ivory  over 
ivhich  the  sapphire 
plays :  for  these  gems 
may  as  well  be  sap- 
phires as  any  other.  The  general  appearance  of  the 
sidtan's  figure  is  noble  and  majestic,  and  may  answer, 
not  inadequately,  to  the  description  given  of  her  be- 
loved by  the  Bride. 

It  would  be  a  considerable  acquisition  to  sacred 
literature  if  those  incidents  which  are  furnished  by 
the  Greek  poets,  and  which  resemble  certain  inci- 
dents in  this  poem,  were  collected  for  the  purpose  of 
comparison :  they  would  be  found  more  frequent 
and  more  identical  than  is  usually  imagined.  But 
this  purpose  would  be  still  more  completely  accom- 
plished, by  a  comparison  with  those  productions  of 
the  Persian  and  Hindoo  poets,  which  have  been 
brought  to  our  knowledge  by  the  diligence  and  taste 
of  our  coimtrymen  in  India.  It  may  safely  be  said, 
that  every  line  of  the  Hebrew  poem  may  be  illustrat- 
ed from  Indian  sources.  Even  that  incident,  so  re- 
volting to  our  manners,  of  the  lady's  going  out  to 
seek  her  beloved  by  night,  is  perfectly  correct,  ac- 
corduig  to  Indian  poetical  costume,  as  appears  by 
Calidasa's  Megha  Dida,  (line  250,  of  Mr.  Wilson's 
translation,)  also  the  Gitagovinda,  translated  by  sir 
William  Jones,  (Asiatic  Researches,  vol.  iii.)  and  oth- 
ers, which  have  been  subsequently  added  to  the 
stores  of  English  literature.  Admitting,  as  the  read- 
er has  seen  supposed  in  this  work,  that  the  Egyp- 
tians were  from  India,  and  that  Abraham,  the  father 
of  the  Hebrew  nation,  was  also  from  the  East ;  this 
conformity  to  the  manners  of  the  original  country 
by  an  Egyptian  princess,  consort  of  a  Hebrew  king, 
could  include  no  difficulty  arising  from  any  imputa- 
tion of  indelicacy ;  especially  as  tlie  poet  explicitly 
assigns  the  entire  occurrence  to  a  dream. 

CAPERNAUM,  a  city  on  the  western  shore  of  the 
sea  of  Galilee,  on  the  borders  of  Zebulun  and  Naph- 
tali,  and  in  which  our  Saviour  principally  dwelt  dur- 
ing the  three  years  of  his  public  ministry.  Matt.  iv. 
13  ;  Mark  ii.  1  ;  John  vi.  17.  Buckingham,  Burck- 
hardt,  and  some  other  writers,  believe  it  to  have  been 
the  place  now  called  Talhheum,  or  Tel  Hoom,  which 
is  upon  the  edge  of  the  sea,  from  !)  to  12  miles  N.  N. 
E.  of  Tiberias,  and  where  there  are  ruins  indicative 
of  a  considerable  place  at  some  former  period.  Dr. 
Richardson,  however,  in  passing  through  the  plain 
of  Gennesareth,  inquired  of  the  natives  whether  they 
knew  such  a  i)lace  as  Ca])ernaum  ;  to  which  they 
replied,  "Cavernahum  wa  Clionasi,  they  are  quite 
near,  but  in  ruins."  Tliis  should,  perlia])s,  induce  us 
to  fix  the  site  of  Capernaum  fiu-tlicr  south  ;  but  our 
Saviour's  denunciation  against  it  seems  to  have  been 
literally  accom])lislied  ;  and  it  has  been  cast  down  into 
the  grave,  for  hitherto  no  satisfactory  evidence  has 
been  found  of  the  place  on  which  it  stood.  Matt.  xi.  23. 


CAP 


[  273  ] 


CAP 


CAPHAR,  in  Hebrew,  signifies  a  field,  or  village ; 
and  hence  we  often  find  it  in  composition  with  other 
words,  as  a  proi)er  name,  and  sometimes  annexed  to 
the  name  of  a  city  ;  because  what  had  been  a  village, 
when  augmented,  becomes  a  city. 

CAPHAR-SALAMA,  or  Caphar-Sarama  ;  the 
same,  perhaps,  as  Caphar-Semelia ;  not  far  from 
Jerusalem,  1  Mac.  vii.  31.  Afterwards  called  .An- 
tij)atns. 

CAPHAR-SOREK.  In  Jerome's  time  there  was 
a  town  of  this  name,  noith  of  Eleutheropolis,  near 
Saraa.  It  is  thought  to  have  been  named  from  the 
brook  or  valley  of  Sorek,  where  Delilah  lived,  Judg. 
xvi.  4. 

CAPHTOR,  CAPHTORIM.  There  is  great  diffi- 
culty in  properly  analyzing  thisappellation;  some  think 
it  imports,  "  islands,  every  way  surrounded  by  wa- 
ter." Henius  refers  it  to  one  of  the  islands  in  the  Nile  ; 
Abel  thinks  it  is  tlie  same  as  Rib,  or  Rihib,  the  Del- 
ta of  Egypt.  Bochart,  following  the  Septuagint  and 
the  Targums  of  Jerusalem  and  Jonathan,  takes 
Caphtor  to  be  Cappadocia,  on  the  Euxine ;  Calmet 
and  others  suppose  the  island  of  Crete  to  be  the 
Caphtor  of  the  Scriptvu'es,  chiefly  on  account  of  the 
resemblances  between  the  laws  and  manners  of  the 
Cretans  and  Caphtorim,  or  Philistines.  So  also 
Gesenius  and  Rosenmiiller.  In  Gen.  x.  13,  14,  it  is 
.'aid  that  the  Philistines  and  Caphtorim  went  out 
irom  Egypt,  (probably  to  Crete,)  and  from  thence 
ihe  Philistines  migrated  to  Canaan  ;  see  Amos  ix.  7. 
Hence  Jeremiah  calls  them  (xlvii.  4.)  "the  remnant 
of  the  island  Caphtor."  This  opinion  is  also  confirm- 
ed by  the  circumstance,  that  the  Philistines  ai-e  also 
called  Cherdliim,  or  Chcrethitcs,  equivalent  to  Cretans. 
That  the  Caphtorim,  or  Cherethim,  and  the  Philis- 
tines, are  the  same  people,  is  beyond  doubt.  Ezekiel 
says,  (ch.  xxv.  16.)  "  I  will  stretch  out  mine  hand 
upon  the  Philistines,  and  I  will  cut  off  the  Chere- 
thim." Zephaniah  also  says,  (ii.  5.)  "  Wo  unto  the 
inhabitants  of  the  sea-coast,  the  Cherethites  :"  and 
1  Sam.  XXX.  14, 15.  "The  Amalekitesmadean  irrup- 
tion into  the  country  of  the  Cherethites  ;"  that  is,  of 
the  Philistines,  as  the  sequel  proves.  Afterwards, 
the  kings  of  Judah  had  foreign  guards  called  Chere- 
thites and  Pelethites,  who  were  Philistines.  See 
Philistines. 

CAPITATION  OF  THE  Jews.  Moses  ordained, 
(Exod.  XXX.  13.]  that  every  Israelite  should  pay  half 
a  shekel  for  his  soid,  or  person,  as  a  redemption, 
"that  there  might  be  no  plague  among  the  peop  e, 
when  they  were  numbered."  Many  interpreters  a:e 
of  opinion,  that  this  payment  was  designed  to  take 
place  as  often  as  the  people  Avere  numbered  ;  and 
that  this  payment  of  the  half  shekel  per  head  being 
evaded  when  David  numbered  his  subject  God  pun- 
ished the  neglect  with  a  pestilence,  2  Sam.  xxiv.  1. 
But  it  is  more  generally  thought  that  Moses  laid  this 
tax  on  all  the  jjcople,  payable  j'early,  for  the  main- 
tenance of  the  tabernacle,  for  the  sacrifices,  wood, 
oil,  wine,  flour,  habits,  and  subsistence  of  the  priests 
and  Levites.  In  our  Saviour's  time,  the  tribute  was 
punctually  paid.  (See  Didrachma.)  The  Israelite?, 
when  returned  from  Babylon,  paid  one  third  jtart  of 
a  shekel  to  the  temple ;  being  disabled  probably  at 
that  time,  by  poverty,  from  doing  more,  Nehem.  x. 
32.  The  rabbins  observe,  that  the  Jews  in  general, 
and  evi  n  the  priests,  except  women,  children  under 
thirteen  years  of  age,  and  slaves,  were  liable  to  pay 
the  half  shekel.  The  collectors  demanded  it  in  the 
beginning  of  Nisan,  but  used  no  compulsion  till  the 
passover,  when  thev  either  constrained  its  payment, 
35 


or  took  security  for  it.  After  the  destruction  of  the 
temple,  the  Jews  were  compelled  to  pay  the  half 
shekel  to  the  temple  of  Jupiter  Capitolinus. 

CAPPADOCIA,  a  region  of  Asia,  adjoining  Pon- 
tus,  Armenia,  Phrygia,  and  Galatia,  (Acts  ii.  9  ;  1  Pet. 
i.  1.)  between  the  Halys,  the  Euphrates,  and  the 
Euxine.  Ptolemy  mentions  the  Cap])iid(  cians,  and 
derives  their  name  from  a  river,  Cuj.jiadoi.  They 
were  formerly  called  Lcuco-Syn,  or  "  \\  lute  Svrians," 
in  opposition  to  those  who  lived  south  of  the' moun- 
tains, and  more  exposed  to  the  sun.  Such  was  their 
character  for  dulncss  and  vice,  that  the  following 
virulent  epigram  was  written  upon  them : — 

"  V^ipera  Cappadocem  nocitura  momordit ;  at  ilia 
Gustato  periit  sanguine  Cappadocis." 

Cappadocia  was  also  placed  first  in  the  proverb 
which  cautioned  against  the  three  K's — Kappadocia, 
Kilicia,  and  Krete. 

CAPTIVITY.  God  generally  punished  the  sins 
of  the  Jews  by  captivities  or  servitudes.  The  first 
captivity,  however,  from  which  Moses  delivered  them, 
should  be  considered  rather  as  a  permission  of  Pro\i- 
dence,  than  as  a  punishment  for  sin.  There  were  six 
captivities  during  the  government  by  judges:  (1.) 
imder  Chushan-Rishathaim,  king  of  Mtsopotamia, 
which  continued  about  eight  years  ;  (2.)  under  Eglon, 
king  of  Moab,  from  which  they  were  delivered  by 
Ehud  ;  (3.)  under  the  Philistines,  out  of  which  they 
were  rescued  by  Shamgar ;  (4.)  lu-der  Jabin,  king  cf 
Hazor,  from  which  they  were  delivered  by  Deborah 
and  Barak  ;  (5.)  under  the  Midianites,  froin  which 
Gideon  freed  them  ;  (6.)  under  the  Amnionites  i.ud 
Philistines,  during  the  judicatures  of  Jephlhali,  Ib:zan, 
Elon,  Abdon,  Eli,  Samson  and  Samuel.  Eia  the 
most  remarkable  captivities  of  the  Ht  brews  were  these 
of  Israel  and  Judah,  under  their  regal  government. 

Captivities  of  Israel. — (1.)  Tiglath-Pilezer  tock 
several  cities,  and  carried  away  cajitives,  principally 
from  the  tribes  of  Reuben,  Gad,  and  the  half-tribe  of 
Manasseh,  A.  M.  3264.  (2.)  Salmaneser  destroyed 
Samaria,  after  a  siege  of  three  years,  (A.  M.  3263,) 
and  transplanted  the  tribes  which  had  been  spared 
by  Tiglath-Pilezer,  to  provinces  beyond  the  Eu- 
phrates. (See  further,  infra.)  It  is  usually  believed, 
that  there  was  no  general  return  of  the  ten  tribes 
from  this  captivity  ;  but  the  prophets  seem  to  speak 
of  the  return  of  at  least  a  great  part  of  Israel.  (See 
Hos.  xi.  11;  Amos  ix.  14;  Obad.  20  ;  Isa.  x.  Ir; 
Ezek.  xxxvii.  16;  Jcr.  xlvi.  27  ;  xlix.  2,  &c.  ;  IMicah 
ii.  12  ;  Zech.  ix.  13  ;  x.  6,  10.)  From  the  histrriral 
books  we  see  that  Israelites  of  the  tc7i  tribes,  as  wi  11 
as  of  Judah  and  Benjamin,  returned  from  thecajitivi- 
ty.  Among  those  wlio  returned  with  Zerubbabel, 
are  reckoned  some  of  Ephraiin  and  Manasseh,  who 
settled  at  Jerusalem,  among  the  tribe  of  Jueah. 
When  Ezra  numbered  those  who  had  returned,  he 
only  inquired  whether  they  were  of  the  race  of  Is- 
rael ;  and  at  the  first  passover  celebrated  in  the  tem- 
ple after  the  return,  was  a  sacrifice  of  twelve  he- 
goats  for  the  whole  house  of  Israel,  according  to  the 
number  of  the  tribes,  Ezra  vi.  16,  17:  viii.  35.  Un- 
der the  Maccabees,  and  during  the  time  of  our  Sa- 
viour, we  see  that  Palestine  was  peopled  by  Israelites 
of  all  the  tribes,  indifferently.  The  Samaritan  chron- 
icle asserts,  that  in  the  35th  year  of  the  ])ontificate  of 
Abdelus,  3000  Israelites,  by  permission  of  king 
Sauredius,  returned  from  captivity,  under  the  con- 
duct of  Adus,  son  of  Simeon. 

Captivities  of  Judah. — These  are  generally 
reckoned  four:  (1.)  A.  M.  3398,  under  king  Jehoia- 


CAPTIVITY 


[  2-4 


CAPTIVITY 


kiiu,  when  Daniel  and  others  were  carried  to  Baby- 
lon ;  (2.)  A.  M.  3401,  in  the  seventh  year  of  Jehoia- 
kim,  when  Nebuchadnezzar  carried  3023  Jews  to 
Babylon  ;  (3.)  A.  M.  3406,  under  Jehoiachim,  when 
this  prince,  with  part  of  his  people,  was  sent  to  Baby- 
lon ;  (4.)  A.  M.  3416,  under  Zedekiah.  From  this 
period  Ijegins  the  seventy  years  of  captivity  foretold 
by  the  prophet  Jeremiah.  At  Babylon  they  had 
judges  and  elders  who  governed  them,  and  decided 
matters  in  dispute  juridically  according  to  their  laws. 
Cyrus,  in  the  first  year  of  his  reign  at  Babylon,  (A. 
M.  3457,)  permitted  the  Jews  to  return  to  their  own 
country ;  (Ezra  i.  1.)  but  they  did  not  obtain  leave 
to  rebuild  the  temjile ;  and  the  completion  of 
those  prophecies,  wiiich  foretold  the  termination  of 
their  captivity  after  seventy  years,  was  not  till  A.  M. 
3486,  Avhen  Darius  Hystaspes,  by  an  edict,  allowed 
them  to  rebuild  the  temple. 

It  is  worthy  of  inquiry,  as  involving  the  illustration 
of  several  passages  of  Scripture,  whether  the  depor- 
tations of  the  Israelites  and  Judeaus  were  total,  or 
only  partial.  The  following  is  the  result  of  Mr.  Tay- 
lor's investigations. 

Under  the  article  Canaan  it  has  been  suggested 
that  the  river  Jordan,  as  it  divided  the  country  pos- 
sessed by  the  Isi-aelites,  so  it  divided  the  interests  and 
the  politics  of  that  people.  Hence  it  happened,  occa- 
sionally, that  the  south  was  invaded,  while  the  north 
was  m  peace  ;  and  ofteii  the  districts  eastward  of  Jor- 
dan were  oppressed  or  even  subdued,  before  the 
shock  was  felt  on  the  coasts  of  the  RIediterranean 
sea.  This  at  length  proved  the  ruin  of  the  whole 
nation.  The  two  tribes  and  a  half,  settled  cast  of  the 
Jordan, — as  most  exposed  to  inroads,  yet  least  readi- 
ly assisted,  dwelling,  too,  in  a  country  so  very  desira- 
ble as  to  attract  the  eye  of  avidity,  yet  calculated  rath- 
er to  breed  pacific  than  warlike  inhabitants,  being 
also,  we  inay  conjectm-e,  best  known  by  means  of 
passengers, — were  the  first  to  be  carried  into  captivi- 
ty by  invaders  from  the  north.  From  these  districts, 
if  once  occupied  by  enemies,  the  transit  was  easy 
over  the  Upper  Joi-dan  ;  and  the  northern  tribes  of 
Israel  were  of  course  exposed  to  inroads  of  the  con- 
querors ;  by  whom,  in  the  issue,  they  were  displaced. 
Judah  retained  its  independence  longer;  but  Judali 
at  length  was  invaded  from  the  north,  was  subjugat- 
ed to  a  foreign  power,  and  its  inhabitants  treated  like 
those  of  other  conquered  countries,  being  led  away 
by  the  conqueror  at  his  pleasure.  But  though  we 
say  the  inhai)itants  were  removed  from  their  native 
country,  yet  it  appears  from  incidental  observations 
in  Scrij)ture  that  some  remained  ;  and  major  Rennell 
has  offered  several  reasons  for  believing  that  only 
certain  classes  of  this  people  were  carried  to  Assyria, 
or  to  Babylon  ;  and  as  this  is  an  inquiry  of  some  con- 
sequence, and  leads  to  the  consideration  of  that  pro- 
portion of  the  people  which  returned  to  the  land  of 
Judea  in  after-ages,  we  give  the  major's  remarks  ])rct- 
ty  ftilly : — 

"The  chronology  of  Usher  and  Newton  allow  the 
following  dates,  for  the  events  under  consideration  : 

Ante  A.  n.     Ditr. 

Captivity  of  the  two  and  half  tribes,  and  ^ 

of  the  Svrians  of  Damascus,  >  740 
by  Tiglath-Pilezer     .     .     .  ) 

of  the  ten  tribes  by  Slialmaneser     721       19 

of  Judah  by  Nebi'ichadnezzar  .  .  606    134 

Destruction  of  Jerusalem .589     151 

D-.  cree  of  Cvnis  for  nu' lelurn  of  ijie  Jews    .'i.^O    904 


"  The  eastern  tinbes  were  taken  away  by  Tiglath- 
Pileser,  about  740  B.  C. :  and  this  was  done,  it  ap- 
pears, at  the  solicitation  of  the  king  of  Judea,  against 
those  of  Israel  and  Syria,  who  threatened  him.  It  is 
said  (2  Kings  xvi.  9.)  that  '  the  king  of  Assyria  took 
Damascus,  slew  their  king  Resin,  and  carried  the 
people  captive  to  Kir;'  by  which  the  country  of  As- 
syria is  unequivocally  meant.  But  Josephus  says 
(Antiq.  ix.  cap.  12.  3.)  that  tliey  were  sent  to  Upper 
Media ;  that  Tiglath-Pileser  sent  a  colony  of  Assyr 
ians  in  their  room ;  and  that,  at  the  same  time,  he 
afflicted  the  land  of  Israel,  and  took  away  many  cap- 
tives out  of  it.  In  2  Kings  xv.  29.  it  is  said,  that 
'  Tiglath-Pileser,  king  of  Assyria,  took  Ijon,  and 
Abel-beth-Maachah,  Janoah,  Kadesh  and  Hazor,  and 
Gilead  and  Galilee  ;  all  the  land  of  Naphtali,  and  car- 
ried them  captive  to  Assyria.'  But,  in  the  account 
of  the  sanic  transaction,  in  1  Chron.  v.  26,  it  is  said, 
that  Tiglath-Pilezer  'carried  away  the  Reubenites, 
the  Gadites,  and  (the  half-tribe  of  Manasseh,  and 
brought  them  to  Halah,  and  Hahor,  and  Hara,  and 
to  the  river  of  Gozan,  unto  this  day.'  Josephiis,  re- 
lating the  same  transaction,  (Antiq.  lib.  ix.  cap.  11. 
1.)  says,  that  Tiglath-Pileser  'carried  away  the  in- 
habitants of  Gilead,  Galilee,  Kadesh,  and  Hazor,  and 
transplanted  tliem  into  his  own  kingdom  ;'  by  which, 
in  strictness,  Assyria  should  be  understood  :  but  it 
appears  from  the  book  of  Tobit,  that  Media  was  also 
subject  to  him  ;  so  that  there  is  no  contradiction. 
We  come,  iiext  in  order,  to  the  jn'oper  sidijcct  of  the 
ten  tribes.  In  2  Kings  xvii.  6,  Shalnmncscr,  king  of 
Assyria,  is  said  to  have  carried  a\Aay  Israel  into  As- 
syria, and  to  liave  'placed  them  in  Halah,  and  in  Ha- 
hor,  by  the  river  of  Gozan,  and  in  the  ciiies  of  the 
Medes.^  Josephus,  speaking  of  the  same  event,  sa3^s, 
(Antiq.  ix.  cap.  14.  ].)  that  Shalmaneser  took  Sama- 
ria,  (that  is,  the  capital  of  the  Israelites,)  demolished 
the  government,  aiid  transplanted  all  the  peo- 
ple into  Media  and  Persia ;  and  that  they  Avere  re- 
placed by  other  people  out  of  Cuthah  ;  which,  he 
says,  (in  section  3  of  the  same  chapter,)  is  the  name 
of  a  country  in  Persia,  and  which  has  a  river  of  the 
same  name  in  it.  Of  the  Cutheans,  he  continues, 
there  were  Jive  tribes,  or  nations  ;  each  of  which  had 
its  own  gods  ;  and  these  they  bi-ought  with  them  in- 
to Samaria.  These,  he  observes,  were  the  people 
afterwards  called  Samaritans ;  and  who,  although 
they  had  no  pretensions,  affected  to  he  kinsfolk  of 
the  Jews. 

"  The  Cutheans  (he  says)  had  formerly  belonged 
to  the  inner  parts  of  Persia  and  Media.  In  2  Kings 
xvii.  24,  it  is  said,  that  the  people  brought  to  supply 
the  place  of  the  Israelites,  were  from  iive  places  ; 
i.  e.  Babylon,  Cuthah,  Ava,  Hamath,  and  Sepharvaim  ; 
and  also  that  they  worshipped  as  many  different  dei- 
ties. Thus,  we  have  the  history  of  the  removal  of 
the  ten  triix-s  of  Israel,  at  different  j)eriods  ;  as  also  of 
the  people  of  Damascus,  to  the  same  countries ;  all 
of  which  was  effected  by  the  kings  of  Assyria,  whose 
capital  was  at  Nineveh.  But  ])revious  to  the  second 
captivity  (or  that  of  Judah)  by  the  Babylonians,  these 
last  had  become  masters  of  all  Assyria:  Nineveh  had 
been  destroyed,  and  Babylon  had  become  the  capita! 
of  the  empire  of  Assyria,  thus  enlarged  by  conquest. 
There  are  no  particulars  given,  respecting  the  carry- 
ing away  of  Israel  to  Nineveh,  as  of  Judah  to  Baby- 
lon ;  bin  we  may.  jierhaps,  b(^  allowinl  to  consider 
both  as  parallel  cases  ;  and  thence  infer  that  the  con- 
duct of  the  kingof  Nineveh  was  much  the  same  with 
that  of  the  king  of  Babylon.  Josephus  says,  that  all 
the  nation  of  Israel  was  taken  away,  and  their  places 


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[  275 


CAPTIVITY 


supplied  by  the  Cutheans.  2  Kings  xvii.  leaves  us 
to  understand  the  same,  if  taken  literally ;  that  is, 
that  Shalnianeser  'carried  Israel  away  into  or  unto 
Assyria  ;'  and  that  people  were  brought  from  divers 
countries,  and  '  placed  in  the  cities  of  Samaria,  in- 
stead of  the  children  of  Israel :  and  they  possessed 
Samaria,  and  dwelt  in  the  cities  thereof.'  Certainly, 
if  these  accounts  are  to  be  taken  literally,  we  must 
suppose  no  other,  than  that  the  ivhole  nation  was  car- 
ried away ;  which  supposition,  however,  occasions 
some  difficulty,  not  only  from  the  munbers  to  be  car- 
ried away,  but  from  the  obvious  difficulty  o{  feeding 
by  tiie  way,  and  of  finally  placing  in  a  situation  where 
they  could  be  fed,  so  vast,  and  in  a  great  degree  so 
useless,  a  multitude,  when  removed  to  a  strange  coun- 
try. Wheresoever  they  came,  they  must  either  have 
been  starved  themselves,  or  they  must  virtually  have 
displaced  nearly  an  equal  number  of  the  king's  sub- 
jects, who  were  already  settled,  and  in  habits  of 
maintaining  themselves,  and  probably  of  aiding  the 
state.  They  were  said  to  be  carried  to  Nineveh. 
This  residue  of  the  ten  tribes  (that  is,  seven  and  a 
half)  cannot  be  estimated  lower  than  t^vo  thirds  of 
the  population  of  Nineveh  itself.  And  it  may  be 
asked,  W)io  fed  them,  in  their  way  across  Syria  and 
Mesopotamia  to  Nineveh  ?  And  admitting  an  ex- 
change of  the  Cutheans  for  the  Israelites,  on  so  ex- 
tended a  scale,  as  to  include  the  agricultural  and 
working  people  of  all  classes,  a  sovereign  who 
should  make  such  an  exchange,  where  an  interval  of 
space  of  nearly  a  thousand  miles  intervened,  would 
at  least  discover  a  different  kind  of  policy  from  that 
which,  in  our  conception,  was  followed  by  the  king 
of  Assyria.  Were  we  to  avail  ourselves  of  the  Bible 
statement,  and  take  between  'Sh  and  four  millions,  for 
the  i)eople  of  Israel ;  and  of  these,  three  fourths  for 
liie  seucn  a/irf  a /ig//"  tribes  carried  away  by  Shalma- 
nezer,  that  is,  more  than  2|  millions,  we  might  well 
rest  the  argument  there.  But  even  reduced  to  the 
more  probable  number  of  700,000,  and  upwards, — 
how  was  such  a  multitude  to  be  provided  for  ? 
Nor  is  this  stated  to  be  an  act  of  necessity,  but  of 
choice ! 

"  We  shall  now  state  the  particulars  that  are  given, 
respecting  the  Babylonish  captivity.  It  appears,  then, 
that  Nebuchadnezzar  carried  away  the  principcd  in- 
habitants, tlie  warriors,  and  artisans  of  every  kind, 
and  these  classes  only  ;  leaving  l)ehind  the  husbaiid- 
mcn,  the  laborers,  and  the  poorer  classes  in  general ; 
that  is,  the  great  body  of  the  people.  May  it  not  be 
concluded,  that  nuich  the  same  mode  of  conduct  was 
pui-sued  by  the  king  of  Nineveh,  as  by  him  of  Bal)y- 
lon  ;  although  it  is  not  particularized  ?  It  cannot  i)e 
supposed  that  either  Media  or  Assyria  wanted  hus- 
bandmen. The  history  of  Tobit  shows,  not  only 
that  the  Jews  were  distributed  over  Media,  but  that 
they  fill(;d  situations  of  trust  and  confidence.  And, 
on  the  whole,  it  may  be  conceived  that  the  persons 
brought  away  from  the  land  of  Israel  were  those 
from  whom  the  conqueror  expected  useful  services, 
in  his  country,  or  feared  disturbances  from,  in  their 
own  ;  in  effect,  that  the  classes  were  much  the  same 
with  those  brought  away  from  Judea,  by  the  king  of 
Babylon  ;  and  that  the  great  body  of  the  people  re- 
mained in  the  land,  as  being  of  use  there,  but  would 
have  been  burthensome  if  removed.  Consequently, 
those  aVIio  look  for  a  nation  of  Jews,  transplanted  in- 
to Media,  or  Persia,  certainly  look  for  what  was 
never  to  be  found  ;  since  no  more  than  a  select  part 
of  the  nation  was  so  transplanted.  In  the  distribu- 
tion of  such  captives,  it  might  be  expected  that  a 


wise  monarch  would  be  governed  by  two  considera- 
tions :  first,  to  profit  the  most  by  their  knowledge  and 
industry  ;  and,  secondly,  to  place  them  in  such  a  situa- 
tion, as  to  render  it  extremely  difficult  for  them  to  re- 
turn to  their  own  country.  The  geographical  position 
of  31  edia  appears  favorable  to  the  latter  circumstance, 
there  being  a  great  extent  of  country,  and  deep  rivers 
between. 

"  One  circumstance  appears  very  remarkable.  Al- 
though it  is  positively  said,  that  only  certain  classes 
of  the  JeAvs  were  carried  to  Babylon,  at  the  latter 
captivity  ;  and  also  that,  on  the  decree  of  Cyrus, 
which  permitted  their  return,  the  principal  part  did 
return,  (perhaps  50,000  in  all,)  yet  so  great  a  number 
was  found  in  Babylonia,  in  after-times,  as  is  really 
astonishing.  They  are  spoken  of  by  Josephus,  as 
possessing  towns  and  districts,  in  that  country,  so  late 
as  the  reign  of  Phraates  ;  about  forty  years  before 
Christ.  They  were  in  great  numbers  at  Babylon  it- 
self; also  in  Seleucia  and  Susa-  Their  iuci'ease 
must  have  been  wonderful ;  and  in  order  to  maintain 
such  munbers,  their  industry  and  gains  also  must 
have  been  great.  But  it  must  also  have  been,  that  a 
very  great  number  were  disinclined  to  leave  the 
country  in  which  they  were  settled,  at  the  date  of  the 
decree.  Ammianus  Marcellinus,  so  late  as  the  ex- 
pedition of  Julian,  speaks  of  a  Jews'  town  at  the 
side  of  one  of  the  canals  between  the  Euphrates  and 
Tigris." 

Such  are  the  prhicipal  arguments  of  major  Ren- 
nell :  there  are  others  to  which  he  has  not  advened. 
From  2  Chron.  xxx.  we  find  that  the  pious  Hezekiah 
wrote  to  "  all  Israel,  E])hraim,  and  Manasseh  ; — and 
that  divers  of  Asher,  Manasseh,  Issachar,  and  Zebu- 
lun"  obeyed  his  injunctions,  and  came  to  Jerusalem 
to  keep  his  passover  ;  so  that,  "  since  the  time  of  Sol- 
omon, son  of  David,  there  had  not  been  the  like  in 
Jerusalem."  Moreover,  we  read  in  2  Chron.  xxxiv. 
3,  4,  5,  that  king  Josiah  not  only  "  purged  Judah 
and  Jerusalem,"  in  the  first  place,  from  idolatry,  but 
that  he  went  in  person,  and  did  the  same  "  in  the 
cities  of  IManasseh,  (the  half-tribe  west  of  Jordan,) 
Epliraim,  Simeon,  and  even  unto  Naplitali,  "  through- 
out all  the  laud  of  Israel."  This  he  could  not  have 
done,  had  he  not  possessed  some  authority  over  tlie 
country  he  visited  ;  and  had  not  the  people  of  this 
country  acquiesced  in  tlie  propriety  of  what  he  was 
doing,  knowing  it  to  be  agreeable  to  their  ancient 
laws  and  institutions.  But  this  implies  a  population 
of  Hebrews  by  descrent.  Now,  as  Josiah  »teuded 
his  reformation  throughout  Israel,  as  he  was  killed 
at  Megiddo,  a  town  in  the  centre  of  Israel,  and  de- 
fending Israel  against  an  invader,  there  is  no  room  to 
doubt,  but  that  tiie  main  body  of  the  population  of 
Israel  at  that  time  was  descended  from  those  who 
had  been  lefl  in  the  country,  when  the  principals  of 
the  nation,  its  to  station  and  quality,  were  led  into 
captivity.  It  can  hardly  be  supposed  that  Israel  was 
treated  at  that  time  more  severely  than  Judah  was 
afterwards  ;  on  the  contrary,  one  would  imagme,  that 
repeated  revolts  woidd  be  tlie  most  signally  punish- 
ed. Yet  we  find  that  Nebuchadnezzar  left  some  Ju- 
deans  behind,  although  he  carried  off  whoever  could 
be  of  any  service  to  him,  in  adorning  his  new  capi- 
tal ;  that  city  which  he  so  greatly  improved,  as  to 
render  it  the  subject  of  liis  pride  : — "  this  great  Baby- 
lon, which  I  have  built." 

If  these  suggestions  be  founded  on  truth,  they  may 
assist  our  endeavors  to  discern  the  real  character  of 
the  Samaritans.  It  will  be  recollected,  that  what  his- 
tory we  have  of  these  people  is  not  fi-om  Israelite 


CAPTIVITY 


[  276] 


CAPTIVITY 


writers  or  from  themselves,  but  from  their  rivals,  the 
Jews,  whose  description  of  them  contains  no  equivo- 
cal tokens  of  national  animosity  and  dislike.  Where- 
as, if  the  bulk  of  the  Israelites  were  left  in  their  na- 
tive land,  if  the  population,  though  decimated,  were 
not  wholly  deported,  then  the  descent  claimed  by 
the  Samaritans  from  the  tribe  of  Ephraim,  may  well 
be  allowed  them  ;  and  then  it  is  neither  more  nor  less 
than  injustice,  to  deny  their  general  relation  to  the 
Hebrew  community.  This  does  not  exclude  the 
fact,  that  a  number  of  Ciitheans  was  intermingled 
among  them,  who,  probably,  occupied  advantageous 
situations;  whether  as  to  office  or  property:  but 
these  must  always  have  been  known,  must  always 
have  been  distinguished,  as  the  Turks  are,  at  this 
day,  in  their  vai-ious  lines  of  descent,  among  the 
Greeks.  Nor  is  it  by  any  means  unlikely,  that  these 
different  peo|)le  should  employ  different  arguments, 
according  to  events.  When  the  affairs  of  the  Jews 
were  prosperous,  the  Israelite-Samaritans  might 
claim  atiinity  with  them,  and  truly  ;  when  the  Jewish 
people  were  in  difficulties,  the  Cuthealis  would  nat- 
urally endeavor  to  ingratiate  themselves  with  the 
heathen  governors  and  sovereigns  who  despotized 
Judea.  So  far  as  they  appear  in  the  gospel  histo- 
ry, we  do  not  see  that  the  Samaritans  were  Avorse 
than  tlie  Jews  ;  indeed  they  seem,  on  the  whole,  to 
have  been  more  open  to  conviction  than  the  zealots 
of  the  southern  tribes.  This  is  clear  from-  their  his- 
tory,— that  while  the  temple  of  Jerusalem  is  destroy- 
ed, and  the  national  rites  are  abolished,  the  Samari- 
tans are  still  preserved  as  a  people,  though  inglorious  ; 
they  maintain  their  ancient  observances,  though  im- 
perfectly ;  they  derive  their  descent  from  their  pro[)er 
patriarchs,  in  their  own  country,  though,  probably, 
not  without  considerable  breaches  and  intervals  in 
their  means  of  proof;  they  possess  authentic  copies 
of  the  Mosaic  institutes,  free  from  Babylonish  muta- 
tions, and  under  which  they  act;  and  Provi- 
dence has  continued  them  to  the  present  time, 
as  evidence  of  various  points  of  history,  and  inci- 
dental facts,  connected  with  holy  writ.  So  little 
cause  had  the  Jewish  zealot  to  despise  "those 
who  reside  in  the  mount  of  Samaria ;  and  that 
foolish  people  which  dwell  in  Shechem,"  Ec- 
clus.  1.  28. 

Another  question  for  de'.ermination,  and  one  of 
some  difficulty,  relates  to  the  country  whither  the  ten 
tribes  were  transplanted.  Scripture  informs  us,  as  we 
have  i^en  above,  that  Tiglath-Pileser  carried  away 
Naphtali,  Reuben,  Gad,  and  the  half-tribe  o^f  lAIanas- 
seh,  to  Halah,  to  Habor,  and  to  Hara ;  (1  Chron.  v. 
26.)  and  that  Sahnaneser  carried  off' the  rest  of  Israel 
into  Assyria,  to  Halah,  to  Habor,  on  the  river  of  Gozan, 
and  into  the  cities  of  the  IMedcs,  2  Kings  xvii.  6. 
Laliela  and  Halah  are  certainly  the  same,  and  proba- 
bly denote  the  land  of  Havilah,'  or  Colchis.  Habor,  or 
Chabor,  is  the  river  Chabonis,  and  the  country  water- 
ed by  it,  as  Gozan,  or  Gauzan,  is  the  name  of  the  prov- 
ince through  which  the  river  Chaboras  flows.  [But 
see  GozAN.]  There  is  also  a  district  in  Media  called 
Gauzan,  between  the  rivers  Cyrus  and  Cambyses,and 
is  placed  ijy  Benjamin  of  Tudcla  four  days' journey 
from  llemdam.  Hara,  or  Ara,  is  in  Media,  and  is  prob- 
ably the  province  of  the  Arcans,  known  to  the  ancient 
geographers.  Benjamin  of  Tudela  assures  us  that  there 
were  in  iMedia  fifty  cities  |)eopled  by  Israelites.  Wc 
sec  by  Tobit  i.  11,  "l6 ;  iii.  7 ;  v.  8.  that  there  were  Is- 
raelites at  Nineveh,  at  Rages  in  Media,  at  Shushim,  or 
Susa,  and  at  Ecbatana.  In  our  Saviour's  time  there 
were  Israelites  scattered  through  the  provinces  of  the 


!imrm  that  the  . 
many  of  them  ^  / 
vy,  Lithuania,    y  " 


East,  Acts  ii.  9 — 11 ;  James  i.  1.  Philo  describes  the 
Jews  as  being  very  numerous  throughout  the  East, 
under  the  empu-e  of  the  Persians ;  and  Josephus, 
(Ant.  lib.  xi.  cap.  v.)  speaking  of  the  ten  tribes,  says, 
in  his  time  they  were  in  great  multitudes  beyond  the 
Euphrates.  The  second  book  of  Esdras  (xiii.  41,  &c.) 
advances  a  notion,  that  the  Israelites  carried  captive 
by  Shalmaneser,  resolved  on  withdrawing  from  the 
nations,  that  they  might  serve  God  with  gi-eater  liber- 
ty ;  and  that  for  this  purpose  they  passed  over  the 
Euphrates,  God  having  opened  the  channel  of  the 
river,  by  a  miracle  in  their  favor,  like  that  when  he 
gave  them  passage  over  the  Jordan.  They  marched 
a  year  and  a  half  before  they  arrived  at  the  place 
they  intended,  and  at  last  settled  at  Arzeret,  where 
they  are  to  remain  to  the  latter  ages,  when  the  Al- 
mighty will  recall  them,  and  again  open  a  passage 
for  them  through  the  Euphrates.  But  where  is  this 
country  of  Arzeret  ?  Josephus  Ben-Gorion  says, 
that  when  Alexander  the  Great  would  have  passed 
over  the  dark  mountains  which  separate  the  country 
of  the  Israelites  from  the  other  nations,  he  was  pre- 
vented by  a  voice  which  cried  to  him,  "Take  care 
that  you  enter  not  into  the  house  of  God."  Benja- 
min of  Tudela  reports  that  after  a  journey  of  one  and 
twenty  days,  as  he  travelled  towards  the  north,  he 
airived  at  the  kingdom  of  the  Rechabites,  the  extent 
of  which  was  sixteen  days'  journey.  Of  the  cities 
of  this  kingdor.-.  he  relates  many  jjarticulars,  but  does 
not  say  that  this  was  the  kingdom  of  Arzeret.  Ma- 
nasseh-ben-Israel  and  other  writers  affirm  that  the 
ten  tribes  retired  into  Tartary,  whence 
passed  into  America,  Russia,  Muscov; 
and  China.  Olaus  Rudbek,  son  of  the  famous  M. 
Rudbek,  author  of  the  "Atlantica,"  in  his  "  Laponia 
Illustrata,"  maintains,  that  we  must  not  expect  to  find 
the  remains  of  the  ten  tribes  of  Israel  either  in  Asia, 
or  in  Africa,  and  much  less  in  America;  but  in  the 
utmost  northern  climes,  even  in  his  own  country, 
Lapland.  These  surmises  he  supports  by  some  gen- 
eral probabilities,  and  by  the  conformity  between  the 
manners  and  ceremonies  of  the  Laplanders  and 
those  of  the  Jews.  But  upon  this  foundation,  there 
can  be  no  country  in  the  world  in  which  the  Jews 
of  the  ten  tribes  may  not  be  found. 

Sir  William  Jones  inclines  to  the  opinion  that 
the  ten  tribes  migrated  to  India,  aboiU  Thibet,  and 
Cashmire,  and  such  opinion  derived  support  from 
several  circimistances.  In  the  year  1828  the  follow- 
ing statement  appeared  in  the  German  papers : — 
"  Leipsic,  Ju>e  30. — After  having  seen,  for  some 
years  past,  merchants  from  Tiflis,  Persia,  and  Arme- 
nia, among  the  visitors  at  our  fair,  we  have  had,  for 
the  first  time,  two  traders  from  Bucharia,  with  shawls, 
which  are  there  manufactured  of  the  finest  wool  of 
the  goats  of  Tibet  rjid  Cashmire,  bj-  the  Jeivish  fami- 
lies, wlio  form  a  third  part  of  the  population.  In 
Bucharia  (formerly  the  capital  of  Sogdiana)  the  Jews 
have  been  very  numerous  ever  since  the  Babylonian 
captivity,  and  are  there  as  remarkable  for  their  indus- 
tiy  and  manufactm-es,  as  they  are  in  England  for 
their  nxoney  transactions.  It  was  not  till  last  year 
that  the  Russian  government  succeeded  in  extending 
its  diplomatic  missions  far  into  Bucharia.     The  above  I 

traders  exchanged  their  shawls  for  coarse  and  fine  } 

woollen  cloths  of  such  colors  as  arc  most  esteemed 
in  the  East."  The  number  of  these  Jews  must  be 
very  great,  if  this  account  be  at  all  correct,  as  to  the 
proportion  which  they  bear  to  the  whole  population, 
this  being  stated  by  the  most  accurately  informed 
writers  to  be  from  15,000,000  to  18,000,000.     But  this 


CAPTIVITY 


[277  1 


CAR 


informatiou  is  confirmed,  in  a  very  satisfactory  man- 
ner, from  other  sources. 

In  the  year  1822,  a  3Ir.  Sargqn,  one  of  the  agents, 
we  beheve,  to  the  Lon^JoiTSociety  for  converting  the 
Jews,  communicated  to  England  some  interesting  ac- 
counts of  a  number  of  persons  resident  at  Boni^bav, 
Cannanore,  and  the  vicinity,  who  were  evidently  tlie 
descendants  of  Jews,  calhng  themselves  Beni-Israel, 
and  bearing,  almost  uniformly,  Jewish  names,  but 
with  a  Persian  termination.  Feelilig  very  desirous  to 
obtain  all  possible  knowledge  of  their  condition,  3Ir. 
Sargon  undertook  a  mission  to  Cannanore  for  this 
purpose,  and  the  result  of  his  inquiries  was  a  convic- 
tion, that  they  were  not  Jews  of  the  one  tribe  and  a 
half,  being  of  a  difterent  race  from  the  white  and 
black  Jews  at  Cochin,  and  consequently  that  they 
were  a  remnant  of  the  long-lost  ten  tribes.  He  also 
concluded,  from  the  information  obtained  respecting 
the  Beni-Israel,  that  they  existed  in  great  numbers  in 
countries  between  Cochin  and  Bombay,  the  north  of 
Persia,  among  the  hordes  of  Tartary,  and  in  Cash- 
mire  ;  the  very  countries  in  which  the  German  ac- 
counts state  the  recent  discovery  to  have  been  made. 
So  far,  then,  these  accounts  confirm  each  other,  and 
there  is  every  probability  that  the  Beni-Israel,  resident 
on  the  west  of  the  Indian  peninsula,  had  originally 
proceeded  from  Bucharia.  It  will  therefore  be  in- 
teresting to  know  something  of  their  moral  and  re- 
ligious character ;  and  we  have  collected  the  follow- 
ing particulars  from  Mr.  Sargon's  accounts:  (1)  In 
dress  and  manners  they  resemble  the  natives  so  as 
not  to  be  distinguished  from  them,  but  by  attentive 
observation  and  incpiiry.  (2.)  They  have  Hebrew 
names  of  the  same  kind,  and  with  the  same  local  ter- 
mination, as  the  sepoys  in  the  9th  regiment  Bombay 
native  infantry.  (3.)  Some  of  them  read  Hebrew, 
and  they  have  a  faint  tradition  of  the  cause  of  their 
original  exodus  from  Egypt.  (4.)  Their  conmiou 
language  is  the  Hindoo.  (5.)  They  keep  idols  and 
worship  them,  and  use  idolatrous  ceremonies  inter- 
mixed with  Hebrew.  (6.)  They  circumcise  their  own 
children.  (7.)  They  observe  the  Kippoor,  or  great 
expiation  day  of  the  Hebrews,  but  not  the  sabbath, 
uor  any  feast  or  fastdays.  (8.)  They  call  themselves 
Gorah  Jehudi,  or  white  Jews  ;  and  they  term  the  black 
Jews,  Collah  Jehudi.  (9.)  They  speak  of  the  Ara- 
bian Jews  as  their  brethren,  but  do  not  acknowledge 
the  European  Jews  as  such,  because  they  are  of  a 
fairer  complexion  than  themselves.  (10.)  They  use, 
on  all  occasions,  and  at  the  most  trivial  circumstances, 
the  usual  Jewish  prayer,  "  Hear,  O  Israel,  the  Lord 
our  God  is  one  Lord."  (11.)  Tliey  have  no  cohen 
(priest),  levite,  or  kasi,  among  them,  under  those  terms, 
but  they  have  a  kasy,  (reader,)  who  performs  prayers 
and  conducts  their  religious  cerenjonics,  and  they 
appear  to  have  elders  and  a  chief  in  each  community, 
who  determine  in  their  religious  concerns.  (12.) 
They  expect  the  Messiah  soon  to  arrive,  and  rejoice 
in  the  belief  that  at  Jerusalem  they  will  see  their  God, 
worship  him  only,  and  be  despised  no  more.  This 
is  all  the  information  that  can  be  collected  from  JMr. 
Sargon's  accounts,  but  the  very  region  in  which  these 
people  have  been  discovered,  has  been  described  by 
the  celebrated  oriental  geographer,  Ibn  Haukal,  Avith 
great  minuteness,  under  the  appellation  of  Mawer-al- 
nahr.  He  speaks  of  it  as  one  of  the  most  flourisliing 
and  productive  provinces  within  the  regions  of  Islam, 
and  describes  its  inhabitants  as  a  people  of  i)robity 
and  virtue,  averse  from  evil,  and  fond  of  peace. — 
"Such  is  their  liberality,  that  no  one  turns  aside  from 
the  rites  of  hospitality  ;  so  that  a  person  conteinplat- 


nig  them  in  this  light,  would  imagine  that  all  the 
families  in  the  land  were  but  one  house.  When  a 
traveller  arrives  there,  every  person  endeavors  to 
attract  him  to  himself,  that  he  may  have  opportuni- 
ties of  performing  kind  offices  for  "the  stranger ;  and 
the  best  proof  of  their  hospitable  and  generous  dis- 
position is,  that  every  peasant,  though  possessing  but 
a  bare  sufficiency,  allows  a  portion  of  his  cottage  for 
the  reception  of  his  guest.  Thus,  in  acts  of  hospital- 
ity, they  expend  their  income.  Never  have  I  heard  of 
such  things  in  any  other  country.  . . .  You  cannot  see 
any  town  or  stage  [station],  or  even  desert,  without  a 
convenient  inn  or  stage-house,  for  the  accommodation 
of  travellers,  with  every  thing  necessary.  I  have 
heard  that  there  are  above  20C0nebatsor  inns,  where 
as  many  persons  as  may  arrive  shall  find  sufficient 
forage  for  their  beasts,  and  meat  for  themselves." 

The  Hebrews  affirm,  that  since  the  destruction  of 
the  temple  by  the  Romans,  they  have  always  liad  their 
heads,  or  princes,  both  in  the  East  and  West,  imder 
the  name  of  Princes  of  the  Captivity  ;  that  of  the 
East,  governing  the  Jews  of  Babylon,  Chaldea,  As- 
syria, and  Persia  ;  that  of  the  West,  those  of  Judea, 
Egy})t,  Italy,  and  the  Roman  empire. 

CARAVAN,  a  name  given  in  the  East  to  a  com- 
pany of  travellers  or  merchants,  who,  for  their  greater 
security,  march  in  a  body  through  the  deserts,  and 
other  places,  infested  with  Arabs  or  robbers.  (See 
Gen.  xxxvii.  25.)  "As  the  collection  of  such  a  num- 
ber of  persons  [to  form  a  caravan]  requh'es  time,  and 
the  imbodying  of  them  is  a  serious  concern,  it  is  con- 
certed with  gi'eat  care  and  preparation,  and  is  never 
attempted  without  permission  of  the  prince  in  whose 
dominions  it  is  formed,  and  of  those  also  through 
whose  dominions  it  is  to  pass,  expressed  in  ivriting. 
The  exact  number  of  men  and  carriages,  mules, 
horses,  and  other  beasts  of  burthen,  are  specified  in 
the  license  ;  and  the  merchants  to  whom  the  caravan 
belongs  regulate  and  direct  every  thing  appertamiug 
to  its  government  and  police,  during  the  journey,  and 
appoint  the  various  officers  necessary  for  conducting 
it.  Each  caravan  has  four  principal  officers  :  (1.)  the 
Caravan  Bachi,  or  head  of  the  caravan;  (2.)  the 
Captain  of  the  March  ;  (3.)  the  Captain  of  the  Stop, 
or  Rest  ; — and  (4.)  the  Captain  of  the  Distributio>-. 
The  frst  has  the  uncontrollable  authority  and  com- 
mand  over  all  the  others,  and  gives  them  his  orders  : 
the  second  is  absolute  during  the  march ;  but  his 
authority  immediately  ceases  on  the  stoj)ping,  or  en- 
camping, of  the  caravan,  wlien  the  third  assumes  his 
share  of  the  authority,  and  exerts  it  during  the  time 
of  its  remaining  at  rest :  and  the  fowth  orders  the  dis- 
position of  every  ])art  of  the  caravan,  in  case  of  an 
attack  or  battle.  This  last  officer  has  also,  during  the 
march,  the  inspection  and  direction  of  the  distribu- 
tion of  provisions,  which  is  conducted,  under  his 
management,  by  several  inferior  officers,  who  are 
obliged  to  give  security  to  the  master  of  the  caravan  ; 
each  of  them  having  the  care  of  a  certain  number  of 
men,  elephants,  dromedaries,  camels,  &.c.  which 
they  imdertake  to  conduct,  and  to  furnish  with  pro- 
A  isions,  at  their  own  risk,  according  to  an  agi-eement 
stii)ulated  between  them.  A  fifth  officer  of  the  car- 
avan is  the  pay-master,  or  treasurer,  who  has  under 
him  a  great  many  clerks  and  interijietcrs,  a])p^nted 
to  keep  accurate  journals  of  all  the  material  incidents 
that  may  occur  on  the  journey  ;  and  it  is  by  these 
journals,  signed  by  the  superior  officers,  that  the 
owners  of  the  caravan  judge  whether  they  have  been 
Avell  or  ill  served  or  conducted."  This  description 
is   from    colonel    Campbell,   who  jjroceeds   to   say, 


CARAVAN 


[  278  ] 


C  AE 


"Another  kind  of  officers  are  mathematicians,  with- 
out wliom  no  caravan  will  presume  to  set  out.  There 
are  commonly  three  of  them  attached  to  a  caravan  of 
a  large  size  ;  and  they  perform  the  offices  both 
of  quarter-master  and  aids-de-camp,  leading  the 
troops  when  the  caravan  is  attacked,  and  assigning 
the  quarters  where  the  caravan  is  appointed  to  en- 
camp. There  are  no  less  than  five  distinct  [kinds 
of]  caravans:  first,  the  heavy  caravans,  which  are 
composed  of  elephants,  dromedaries,  camels,  and 
horses ;  secondly,  the  light  caravans,  whicli  have  but 
few  elephants ;  thirdly,  the  common  caravans,  where 
are  none  of  those  animals;  fourthly,  the  horse  cai"a- 
vans,  where  are  neither  dromedaries  nor  camels  ;  and 
lastly,  sea  caravans,  consistmg  of  vessels ;  from 
whence  you  will  observe,  that  the  word  caravan  is 
not  confined  to  the  land,  but  extends  to  the  water  also. 
The  proportion  observed  in  the  hea\'y  caravan  is 
as  follov/s  : — When  there  are  five  hundred  elephants, 
they  add  a  thousand  dromedaries,  and  two  thousand 
horses  at  the  least :  and  the  escort  is  composed  of 
four  thousand  men  on  horseback.  Two  men  are  re- 
quired for  leading  one  elephant,  five  for  three  drom- 
edaries, and  seven  for  eleven  camels.  This  multitude 
of  servants,  together  with  the  officers  and  passengers, 
whose  number  is  uncertain,  serve  to  support  the 
escort  in  case  of  a  fight ;  and  render  the  caravan  more 
formidaljle  and  secure.  The  passengers  are  not  ab- 
solutely obliged  to  fight ;  but,  according  to  the  laws 
and  usages  of  the  caravans,  if  they  refuse  to  do  so, 
they  are  not  entitled  to  any  provisions  whatever  from 
the  caravan,  even  though  they  should  agree  to  pay 
an  extravagant  price  for  them.  The  day  of  the  car- 
avan setting  out,  being  once  fixed,  is  never  altered  or 
postpotied  ;  so  that  no  disappointment  can  possibly 
ensue  to  any  one.  Even  these  powerful  and  well- 
armed  bodies  are  way-laid  and  robbed  by  the  Arabian 
princes,  who  keep  spies  in  all  jiarts  to  give  notice 
when  a  caravan  sets  out :  sometimes  they  plunder 
them  ;  sometimes  they  make  slaves  of  the  whole  con- 
voy."    (Travels  to  India,  p.  ii.  p.  40.) 

This  account  may  be  made  very  materially  to  assist 
in  ilhistrating  the  history  of  the  exodus.  In  order 
to  apply  it  to  that  event,  we  i)remise,  that  the  manners 
of  the  East,  because  resulting  from  the  nature  and 
the  peculiarities  of  the  countries,  have  ever  been  so 
permanent,  that  what  Avas  anciently  adopted  into  a 
custom  is  still  conformed  to,  with  scarcely  any  (if  any) 
variation. 

1.  "A  caravan  is  too  serious  a  concern  to  be  at- 
tempted without  the  permission  of  the  king,  in  whose 
dominions  it  is  formed  ;  and  of  those  })Owers,  also, 
through  whose  dominions  it  is  to  pass."  This  ex- 
plains the  urgency  of  Moses  to  obtain  permission 
fro!;i  Pharaoh  ;  and  the  power  of  Pharaoh  to  prevent 
the  assemljlage  necessary  for  the  purpose  of  Israel's 
deliverance  :  it  accounts,  also,  for  the  attack  made  by 
Anialek  :  (Exod.xvii.  8.)  which  tribe,  not  having  been 
solicited  for  a  free  passage,  intended  revenge  and 
plunfler  for  this  omission,  in  a  "formidable  body,  as 
large  as  an  army  ;"  lint  Moses  could  not  have  previous- 
ly negotiated  for  their  consent,  without  alarming 
Pharaoh  too  highly,  as  to  the  extent  of  his  proposed 
excursion  with  the  people. 

2.  The  nature  of  the  "mixed  nudtitude"  which 
accomjianied  the  caravan  of  Israel  clearly  appears  in 
this  extract. 

3.  "The  exact  number  of  men,  carriages,  nudes," 
&c.  This  we  find  was  the  custom  also  in  the  time  of 
Moses  ;  as  the  returns  made,  and  registered,  in  the 
book  of  Numbers  sufficiently  demonstrate. 


4.  The  time  necessary  for  the  formation  of  a  cara- 
van justifies  the  inference,  that  the  Israelites  did  not 
leave  Egypt  in  that  extreme  haste  which  has  been 
sometimes  supposed  ;  they  must  have  had  time  to 
assemble  ;  many,  no  doubt,  from  distant  parts,  which 
would  require  several  days  :  they  might  be  expelled 
in  haste  from  the  royal  city  ;  but  to  collect  them  all 
together  at  the  place  of  rendezvous,  nuist  have  been 
a  work  of  time :  wc  see  it  is  so  at  this  day.  For 
further  information  on  this  subject,  see  the   article 

ExODUS. 

5.  Another  consideration,  not  unimportant,  arises 
from  the  nature,  the  departments,  and  the  powers  of 
these  officers.  It  appears  from  various  passages  of 
Scripture,  that  the  Lord,  or  Jehovah,  was  consider- 
ed as  the  chief  guide,  conductor,  or  commander  of 
the  Israelites,  at  the  time  of  their  exodus  from 
Egypt:  he,  therefore,  was  understood  to  be,  as  it 
were.  Caravan  Bachi  to  this  jieople ;  in  his  name 
3Ioses  acted  as  the  cliief  of  the  caravan.  [As  to  the 
other  officers,  if  they  existed  at  all,  we  have  no  ac- 
count of  them ;  except  that  Joshua  was  ordered  to 
go  and  fight  Amalek,  (Ex.  xvii.)  who  attacked  Israel 
when  encamped.  R.]  It  is  cdso  not  improbable  that 
Aaron,  who  assisted  Moses  in  all  things,  and  was  his 
substitute  when  absent,  had,  as  a  part  of  his  duty,  to 
keep  "accurate  journals  of  all  material  incidents," 
&c.  This  accounts  why,  in  his  penitence  and  fideh- 
ty,  he  has  given  an  ampla  relation  of  his  share  in  the 
transaction  of  the  golden  calf,  and  of  the  anger  it  ex- 
cited against  him  ;  while  lie  has,  ptrhayjs,  declined  to 
transmit  to  posterity  the  name  or  the  ch.aracter  of  the 
principal  in  it.  As  a  parallel  instance,  the  reader  may 
recollect,  how  much  more  circumstantially  Peter's 
fall  is  related  in  Peter's  Gospel  (i.  e.  Blark's)  than  in 
any  other.  It  accounts,  also,  for  the  commendation 
of  Moses,  as  the  meekest  of  men,  in  the  very  instance 
of  Aaron's  rebellion  against  him  ;  and  it  accounts,  to(>, 
for  the  use  of  the  third  person  in  the  narration,  in- 
stead of  the  first  person,  which  Moses  himself  uses  in 
Deuteronomy,  composed,  or  at  least  published,  after 
Aaron's  death.  It  results  from  the  whole,  that  the 
history  of  tlie  exodus,  &c.  w^as  comjnled  from  the 
public,  ofiicial,  authentic  register,  kept  in  the  camp 
daily ;  that  the  original  was  not  private  memoranda, 
but,  to  use  a  modern  phrase,  the  Gazette  of  the  time. 

Mathematicians,  mentioned  by  colonel  Campbell, 
were  completely  sujierfluous  in  the  caravan  of  Israel. 

The  reader  will  observe  other  particulars  for  him- 
self: those  here  suggested  are  offered  only  as  hints 
to  lead  inquiry ;  this  is  not  the  place  to  enlarge  on 
them.  The  remark,  however,  is  obvious,  that  the 
most  intricate  transactions  ai)pcar  ]>lain,  w  lien  set  in 
their  proper  light ;  and  that  what  we  noiv  find  ob- 
scure, is  so,  evidently,  not  Irom  any  real  obscurity  in 
the  original  narration,  but  from  our  imperfect  knoAvl- 
edge  of  the  sulijects  to  which  it  refers. 

CARAVANSERAI,  a  building  in  the  East,  which 
is  expressed  in  our  version  of  the  Scriptures  by  the^- 
term  Inn.     There  appear  to  be  three  descriptions  ol^ 
these  buildings.     Some  are  simply  jjlnces  of  rest,  (by 
the  side  of  a  foimtain,  if  possible,)  which,  being  at 
proper  distances  on  the  mad,  are  thus  named,  though 
they  are  mere  naked  walls;  others  have  an  attend- 
ant, who  sidtsists  either  by  some  charitable  donation, 
or  the  benevolence  of  passengers;  and  others  are      j) 
more  considerable  establishments,  where  families  re-      j 
side  and  take  care  of  them,  and  furnish  many  neces-      I 
sary  j)rovisions.      Conformably   to  these  ideas,   the     (S 
Scripture  uses  at  least  two  words  to  express  a  cara- 
vanserai, though  our  translators  have  rendered  both 


CARAVANSERAI 


[  279  ] 


CARAVANSERAI 


by  the  same  term  inn.  Thus,  Luke  ii.  7,  There  was 
no  room/or  them  in  the  inn,  (zura/i  nan.)  "  tlie  place  of 
untying,"  of  beasts,  &c.  for  rest.  Luke  x.  34,  The 
good  Samaritan  brought  him  to  the  (rrurih;^ftut)  inn, 
(whose  keeper  is  called  in  the  next  verse pandokeius,) 
a  receptacle  open  to  all  comers.  It  may  reasonably 
be  suj)pose(l,  that  a  caravanserai  in  a  town  should  be 
better  furnished  than  one  in  the  country,  in  a  retired 
place,  and  where  few  travellers  pass ;  and  Mr.  Tay- 
lor therefore  inclines,  against  Harmer,  (Obs.  vol.  iii. 
p.  248.)  to  think  that  the  inn,  to  which  the  good  Sa- 
maritan is  represented  as  conducting  the  wounded 
traveller,  was  intentionally  described  of  an  inferior 
kind.  If  so,  we  may  reasonably  take  the  other  word, 
"  the  untying  place,"  as  denoting  a  larger  edifice ; 
and  this  accounts  for  the  evangelist  Luke's  mention 
of  there  being  no  room  (rv.io:)  in  it:  q.  d.  "though  it 
was  large  enough  for  such  occasions  as  usually 
occurred  in  the  town  of  Bethlehem,  yet  now  every 
apartment  in  this  receptacle  was  occupied  ;  so  that 
no  privacy  fit  for  a  woman  in  the  situation  of  Marj^ 
could  be  had:" — especially  as,  colonel  Campbell  has 
informed  us,  "they  are  continually  attended  by  num- 
bers of  the  very  lowest  of  the  people" — very  unfit 
associates  for  Mary  at  any  time,  and  certainly  in  her 
present  condition.  "  Caravanserais  were  originally 
intended  for,  and  are  now  pretty  generally  applied 
to,  the  accommodation  of  strangers  and  travellers ; 
though,  like  every  other  good  institution,  sometimes 
perverted  to  the  purposes  of  private  emolument,  or 
public  job.  They  are  built  at  proper  distances 
through  the  roads  of  the  Turkish  dominions,  and 
afford  to  the  indigent  and  weary  traveller  an  asylum 
from  the  inclemency  of  the  weather.  They  Jiave 
commonly  one  story  above  the  ground-floor ;  the 
lower  story  is  arched,  and  serves  for  warehouses 
to  store  goods,  for  lodgings,  and  for  stables,  while  the 
upper  is  used  merely  for  lodgings;  besides  which 
they  are  always  accommodated  with  a  fountain,  and 
have  cooks'-shojis  and  other  conveniences  to  supply 
the  wants  of  lodgers."  (Campbell's  Travels,  p.  ii.  p. 
8.)  This  description  appUes,  of  course,  to  the  better 
sort  of  caravanserais. 

The  nearest  construction  amongst  us  to  a  caravan- 
serai, appears  in  some  of  our  old  inns,  where  galle- 
ries, with  lodging  rooms  in  them,  run  round  a  court, 
or  yard ;  but  then,  as  travellers  in  the  East  always 
carry  with  them  their  own  bedding,  &c.  it  is  evident 
that  our  inns  are  better  provided  than  the  best  east- 
ern caravanserais.  It  is  necessary  to  keep  this  in 
mind  ;  because  we  must  not  suppose  that  .Tosei)li 
and  Mary  travelled  without  taking  the  necessary 
utensils  with  them  ;  or  that  they  could  have  procined, 
ill  this  inn,  any  thing  beyond  provisions  and  lodging. 
Perhaps  even  they  could  not  have  procured  provis- 


ions. But  of  the  poverty  of  their  easteni  inns,  we 
shall  obtain  a  pretty  distinct  idea  from  the  following 
extract : — 

"  There  are  no  inns  any  where  ;  but  the  cities,  and 
commonly  the  villages,  have  a  large  building  called 
a  khan,  or  kervatiserai,  which  serves  as  an  asylum  for 
all  travellers.  These  houses  of  reception  are  always 
built  without  the  precincts  of  towns,  and  consist  of  four 
wings  round  a  square  couit,  which  serves,  by  way  of 
enclosure,  for  the  beasts  of  burthen.  The  lodgings 
are  cells,  where  you  find  nothing  but  bare  walls,  dust, 
and  sometimes  scorpions.  The  keeper  of  this  khan 
gives  the  traveller  the  key  and  a  mat ;  and  he  pro- 
vides himself  the  rest.  He  must,  therefore,  carry 
with  him  his  bed,  his  kitchen  utensils,  and  even  his 
provisions  ;  for  frequently  not  even  bread  is  to  be 
found  in  the  villages.  On  this  account  the  orientals 
contrive  their  equipage  in  the  most  simple  and  port- 
able form.  The  baggage  of  a  man  who  wishes  to  be 
completely  provided,  consists  in  a  carpet,  a  mattress, 
a  blanket,  two  saucepans  with  lids,  contained  within 
each  other,  two  dishes,  two  i)lates,  and  a  cofFee-pot, 
all  of  copper  well  tinned ;  a  small  wooden  box,  for 
salt  and  pepper ;  a  round  leathern  table,  which  he 
suspends  from  tlie  saddle  of  his  horse  ;  small  leathern 
bottles  or  bags  for  oil,  melted  butter,  water,  and 
brandy  (if  the  traveller  be  a  Christian) ;  a  pipe,  a  tin- 
der-box, a  cup  of  cocoa-nut,  some  rice,  dried  raisins, 
dates,  Cyprus  cheese,  and,  above  all,  cofl^ee-berries, 
with  a  roaster,  and  wooden  mortar  to  pound  them. 
I  am  thus  particular,  to  prove  that  the  orientals  are 
more  advanced  than  we,  in  the  art  of  dispensing  with 
many  things,  an  art  which  is  not  without  its  use 
Our  European  merchants  are  not  contented  with 
such  simple  accommodations."  (Volney's  Travels, 
vol.  ii.  p.  419.  Eng.  edit.)  The  reader  will  bear  this 
account  in  mind  :  for  we  shall  find  that  he  is  not  a 
poor  man  in  the  East,  who  possesses  this  quantity  of 
utensils.  One  would  hope  that  at  Bethlehem,  "the 
house  of  bread,"  it  was  not  difficult  to  procure  that 
necessary  of  fife. 

[The  following  graphic  description  of  a  scene  in 
the  large  khan  or  caravanserai  at  Acre,  is  from  the 
pen  of  Dr.  Jowett,  under  date  of  Nov.  3,  1823: 
(Christ.  Researches  in  Syria,  etc.  p.  115.  Am.  ed.) 
"  Looking  out  of  oin-  window  upon  the  large,  open, 
quadrangular  court  of  the  khan,  we  beheld  very 
much  such  a  scene  as  would  illustrate  the  'Ara- 
bian Nights'  Entertainments.'  In  the  centre  is  a 
spacious  fountain,  or  reservoir,  the  fir-st  care  of 
every  builder  of  great  houses  or  cities  in  the  East. 
On  one  side  is  a  row  of  camels,  each  tied  by  the 
slenderest  cord  to  a  long  string;  to  which  a  small 
bell  is  appended,  so  that,  by  the  slightest  motion,  they 
keep  u])  one  another's  attention,  and  the  attention 
also  of  ail  the  inmates  of  the  khan,  tliat  of  weary 
travellers  especially,  by  a  constant  jingle.  On  an- 
other side,  horses  and  nuiles  are  waiting  for  orders ; 
while  asses,  breaking  loose,  biting  one  another,  and 
throwing  up  their  heels,  give  variety  to  the  scene. 
Goats,  geese,  poultry,  &c."are  on  free  quarters.  In 
the  midst  of  all  these  sights  and  soimds,  the  groom, 
the  muleteer,  the  iDcrchant,  the  pedlai-,  the  passers- 
by,  and  the  by-standers,  most  of  them  wretchedly 
dressed,  though  in  coats  of  many  colors,  all  looking 
like  idlers,  whatever  they  may  have  to  do,  contrive 
to  make  themselves  audible ;  generallj'  lifting  up 
their  voices  to  the  pitch  of  high  debate,  and  very  often 
much  higher.  Noise,  indeed,  at  all  times,  seems  to  be 
the  proper  element  of  the  people  of  these  countries; 
their  throats  are  formed  for  it,  their  ears  are  used  to 


CAR 


[  280 


CAR 


it;  neither  the  meu  uor  the  females,  growu-up  per- 
sons nor  children,  the  rich  uor  the  poor,  seem  to 
have  any  exclusive  privilege  in  making  it ;  and,  what 
is  very  annoying  to  a  Frank  traveller,  the  party  with 
whom  he  is  treating,  and  who  wishes  most  probably 
to  impose  on  him,  will  turn  round  to  make  an  appeal 
to  all  the  by-standers,  who  are  no  less  ready  with 
one  voice  to  strike  in  with  their  opinion  on  all  mat- 
ters that  come  before  them. 

"The  immense  khan,  of  which  the  consul's  rooms 
form  a  sinall  part,  is  inhabited  by  a  great  variety  of 
families.  It  is  three  stories  high ;  and  in  so  dilapi- 
dated a  state,  that  it  seems  to  me  to  wait  only  for  a 
gentle  shock  of  an  earthquake — no  improbable  event 
— to  bring  it  all  down." 

The  same  travellei-,  in  passing  from  Saide  (Sidon) 
to  Acre,  came,  near  evening,  to  the  foot  of  the  line  of 
mountains  "which  forms  a  midway  barrier  betwixt 
Tyre  and  Acre.  After  ascending  it  a  little  way,  we 
reached,  just  after  sunset,  a  poor  hovel,  called  Khan 
Nahoura  ;  the  owner  of  which,  having  several  guests 
already  arrived,  made  many  difficulties  about  receiv- 
ing us.  A  little  money,  however,  changed  his  heart 
towards  us.  Happily,  just  before  our  arrival,  we 
were  hailed  by  some  fishermen  on  the  water  side, — 
men  who,  probably,  at  this  day,  are  unconsciously  ful- 
filling the  prophecy  of  Ezekiel,  cxxvi.  5,  14, — from 
whom  we  bought  some  excellent  fish.  With  no 
other  preparation  than  that  of  putting  them  whole 
into  the  burning  embers,  they  furnished  us  with 
a  very  seasonable  and  refreshing  supper."  (Ibid. 
p.  112.) 

Khan  appears  to  be  the  Turkish  name  for  caravan- 
serai. On  the  great  roads,  where  there  are  long 
intervals  between  the  cities  or  settled  parts  of  the 
country,  these  establishments  are  maintained  by  the 
government ;  particularly  in  Persia.  Indeed,  this  is 
a  custom  of  very  high  antiquity ;  for  Xenophon  in- 
forms us  that  Cyrus,  "observing  how  far  a  horse 
could  well  travel  in  a  day,  built  stables  at  those  dis- 
tances, and  supplied  them  with  persons  to  keep  them 
in  charge."  (See  sir  R.  K.  Porter's  Trav.  in  Persia, 
vol.  i.  p.  482.)     *R. 

CARBUNCLE,  a  precious  stone,  like  a  large  ruby, 
or  garnet,  of  a  dark,  deep  red  color,  something  like 
bullock's  blood  ;  said  to  glitter  even  in  the  dark,  and 
to  sparkle  more  than  the  ruby :  but  Braun  observes, 
after  Boptius,  that  the  carbuncle  of  the  ancients  is  the 
ruby.  [The  Hebrew  word  n,-i-i3,  bdreketh,  translated 
carbuncle  in  the  English  version,  Ex.  xxviii.  17.  Ezek. 
xxviii.  13,  is  rendered  smaragdtts  by  Josephus,  the 
Seventy,  and  the  Vulgate ;  an"d  this  is  vindicated  by 
Braun.  (I)c  V>st.  sacerd.  Hcb.  p.  517,  seq.)  In  Is. 
liv.  12,  our  translators  have  put  carbuncle  for  the 
Heb.  n-i-i!',  ekddh  ;  of  which  it  can  only  ])e  said,  that 
its  root  indicates  something  bright,  shining ;  but  the 
specific  kind  of  stone  is  not  known.     R. 

CARCHEMISH,  a  city  of  great  strength  on  the 
Eupluatos,  belonging  to  Assyria,  which  was  taken  by 
Necho,  king  of  Egypt,  and'  retaken  by  Nebuchad- 
nezzar, in  tlic  fourth  year  of  Jehoiachin,  king  of 
Judah,  2  Chron.  xxxv.  20  ;  2  Kings  xxiii.  29.  Isaiah 
ppcaks  of  Carcbemish,  and  seems  to  say  that  Tiglath- 
Pilczor  couqu.-red  it;  perliaps  froui  tlio  Egyptians. 
Probably  Carrboniisb  is  Cerrusium,  Circesium,  or 
Kirkisia,  which  is  situated  in  tlie  angle  formed  by 
the  junction  of  the  Chaboras,  or  Chebar,  and  the 
Euphrates. 

CARIA,  a  country  of  Asia  Minor,  to  which  the 
Romans  wrote  in  favor  of  the  Jews,  1  Mac.  xv.  23. 
It  has  been  called  Phoenicia,  because  a  Phoenician 


colony  first  settled  there.     Its  chief  town  was  Hali- 
carnassus. 

I.  CARMEL,  a  city  of  Judah,  on  a  mountain  of 
the  same  name,  in  the  south  of  Palestine,  10  miles 
east  of  Hebron.  Here  Nabal  the  Carmelite,  Abigail's 
husband,  dwelt.  Jerome  says,  that  in  his  time  the 
Ron)ans  had  a  garrison  at  Carmel.  On  this  moun- 
tain Saul,  returning  from  his  expedition  against 
Amalek,  erected  a  trophy,  1  Sam.  xv.  12.  [This 
mountain  still  retains  its  ancient  name ;  Seetzcu 
found,  on  the  west  side  of  the  Dead  sea,  a  limestone 
mountain,  called  el-Carmel,  which  is  without  doubt 
the  same.     R. 

II.  CARMEL,  a  celebrated  range  of  hills  rimning 
north-west  from  the  plain  of  Esdraclon,  and  ending 
in  the  promontory,  or  cape,  which  forms  the  bay  of 
Acco.  Its  height  is  about  1500  feet,  and  at  its  foot, 
north,  runs  the  brook  Kishon,  and  a  little  farther 
north,  the  river  Belus.  Josephus  makes  Carmel  a 
part  of  Galilee  ;  but  it  rather  belonged  to  Manasseh, 
and  to  the  south  of  Asher.  Carmel  signifies  the  vine- 
yard ;  and  Jerome  informs  us,  that  this  mountain 
had  good  pastures.  Toward  the  sea  is  a  cave,  where 
it  has  been  supposed  that  the  prophet  Elijah  desired 
Ahab  to  bring  Baal's  false  prophets,  and  where  fire 
from  heaven  descended  on  his  Ijurnt  sacrifice,  1 
Kings  xviii.  21 — 40.  Pliny  mentions  "  the  promon- 
tory Carmel,"  and  on  this  mountain  a  town  of  the 
same  name,  formerly  called  Ecbatana. 

[Mount  Carmel  is  an  object  of  so  much  celebrity 
and  impo)-tance,  that  some  more  particular  notice  of 
it  seems  desirable.  It  is  the  only  great  promontory 
upon  the  coast  of  Palestine.  The  foot  of  the  north- 
ern part  approaches  the  water,  so  that,  seen  from  the 
hills  north-east  of  Acre,  mount  Carmel  appears  ns  if 
"  dipping  his  feet  in  the  western  sea  ;"  farther  south 
it  retires  more  inland,  so  that  between  the  mountain 
and  the  sea  there  is  an  extensive  plain  covered  with 
fields  and  olive-trees.  Carmel  consists  rather  of 
several  connected  hills,  than  of  one  ridge  ;  the  north- 
ern and  eastern  part  being  somewhat  higher  than 
the  southern  and  western.  The  western  side  of  the 
mountain,  towards  the  sea,  is  five  or  six  miles  long, 
not  running  in  a  straight  line ;  but  (according  to 
Pococke  and  Volney)  the  two  extremities  jut  out  and 
stand  over  against  each  other,  forming,  in  the  middle, 
a  bow.  The  mountain,  according  to  the  reports  of 
the  great  majority  of  travellers,  well  deserves  its  He- 
brew name  ;  (Carmel,  count?-!/  of  vineyards  and  gar- 
dens ;)  Mariti  describes  it  (Trav.  p.  274,  seq.)  as  a 
delightful  region,  and  says  the  good  quality  of  its 
soil  is  apparent  from  the  fiict,  that  so  many  odorifer- 
ous plants  and  flowers,  as  hyacinths,  jon(]uilles,  ta- 
zpttos,  anemonies,  &c.  grow  wild  ujion  the  motm- 
tain.  O.  von  Richter  in  his  "Pilgrimage"  (p.  65.) 
says :  "  Mount  Carmel  is  entirely  covered  with  green  ; 
on  its  sunnnit  are  pines  and  oaks,  and  farther  down 
olive  and  laurel-trees ;  every  where  jilentifully 
watered.  It  gives  rise  to  a  multitude  of  crystal 
brooks,  the  largest  of  which  issues  from  the  so  called 
fountain  of  Elijah  ;  and  they  all  hurry  along,  between 
banks  thickly  overgrown  with  bushes,  to  the  Kishon. 
Every  species  of  tillage  succeeds  here  admirably, 
under  this  mild  and  cheerful  sky.  The  prospect 
from  the  sunnnit  of  the  mountain  out  over  the  gulf 
of  Acre  and  its  fcM'tllc  shores,  and  over  the  l)lue  heights 
of  Lebanon  to  the  Wiiite  ca])e,  is  enchanting."  Mr. 
Carne  also  ascended  the  mountain  and  traversed  the 
whole  summit,  which  occupied  several  hours.  (Let- 
ters from  the  East,  Lond.  1824,  vol.  i.  p.  286.)  Ho 
savs  :  "  It  is  the  finest  and   most  beautiful  mountain 


CAR 


[281  ] 


CAT 


in  Palestine,  of  gi'eat  length,  and  in  many  parts  cov- 
ered with  trees  and  flowers.  On  reaching,  at  last,  the 
opposite  summit,  and  coming  out  of  a  wood,  we  saw 
the  celebrated  plain  of  Esdraelon  beneath,  with  the 
river  Kishon  flowing  through  it ;  mounts  Tal)or  and 
Hermon  were  in  front ;  and  on  the  left  [S.  E.]  the 
prospect  was  bounded  by  the  hills  of  Samaria.  This 
scene  certainly  did  not  fulfil  the  descriptions  given 
of  the  desolation  and  barrenness  of  Palestine,  al- 
though it  was  mournful  to  behold  scarcely  a  village 
or  cottage  in  the  whole  extent ;  yet  the  soil  appeared 
so  rich  and  verdant,  that,  if  diligently  cultivated, 
there  is  little  doubt  it  would  become,  as  it  once  was, 
'  like  the  garden  of  the  Lord.'  In  another  place  he 
says :  (ibid,  vol.  ii.  p.  119.)  "  No  mountain  in  or  around 
Palestine  retains  its  ancient  beauty  so  much  as  Car- 
mel.  Two  or  three  villages,  and  some  scattered  cot- 
tages, are  found  on  it ;  its  groves  are  few,  but  luxu- 
riant; it  is  no  place  for  crags  and  precipices,  or 
'  rocks  of  the  wild  goats ;'  but  its  surface  is  covered 
with  a  rich  and  constant  verdure." 

These  descriptions  admirably  illustrate  the  vivid 
representations  of  the  inspired  Hebrew  poets  and 
prophets  in  respect  to  Carmel.  Thus  Isaiah,  in  de- 
scribing the  gospel  times,  (xxxv.  2.)  affirms  that  "  to 
the  desert  shall  be  given  the  excellency  (splendid  or- 
naments) of  Carmel."  So,  on  account  of  the  gi-ace- 
ful  form  and  verdant  beauty  of  its  sunmiit,  the  head 
of  the  bride,  in  Cant.  vii.  5,  is  compared  to  Carmel. 
It  was  also  celebrated  for  its  pastures,  and  is  there- 
fore ranked  with  Bashan,  Jer.  1.  19  ;  Is.  xxxiii.  9 ; 
Amos  i.  2. 

There  are  in  mount  Carmel  very  many  caves ; 
it  is  said  more  than  a  thousand ;  chiefly  on  the  west 
side.  They  are  said  to  have  formerly  been  inhabited 
by  monks.  In  one  tract,  called  the  Monks'  cavern, 
there  arc  four  hundred  adjacent  to  each  other,  and 
furnished  with  windows  and  places  for  sleeping 
hewn  in  the  rock.  A  peculiaritj^  of  many  of  these 
caverns  is  mcutioned  by  Schulz,  (Leitungen,  &c.  v. 
p.  187,  383.)  viz.  that  the  entrances  to  them  are  so 
narrow,  that  only  a  single  person  can  creep  in  at  a 
time  ;  and  that  the  caves  are  so  crooked  that  a  per- 
son is  immediately  out  of  sight  to  one  who  follows, 
and  can  conceal  himself  This  may  serve  to  give  us 
a  clearer  idea  of  what  is  intended  in  Amos  ix.  3. 
where  Jehovah  says  of  those  who  endeavor  to  es- 
cape from  punishment,  "Though  they  hide  them- 
selves in  the  top  of  Carmel,  I  will  search  and  take 
them  out  thence."  That  the  grottoes  and  caves  of 
Carmel  were  already  in  very  ancient  times  the  resort 
and  dwelling  of  prophets  and  other  religious  persons, 
is  well  known.  The  prophets  Elijah  and  Elisha  often 
resorted  thither.  (See  1  Kings  xviii.  19,  seq.  42 ;  2 
Kings  ii.  25  ;  iv.  2.5 ;  and  compare,  perhaps,  1  Kings 
xviii.  4,  13.)  At  the  present  day,  is  sho\\ii  a  cavern, 
called  the  cave  of  Elijah,  a  little  below  the  iMonks' 
cavern  mentioned  above.  It  is  now  a  3Ia]iome- 
tan  sanctuary.  Comp.  Rosenin.  Bibl.  Geogr.  II.  i. 
p.  101,  seq. ,.  *R. 

CARNAIM,  see  Astaroth  II, 

CARNAL,  fleshly,  sensual.  Wicked  or  uncon- 
verted men  are  represented  as  under  the  domination 
of  a  "carnal  mind,  which  is  enmity  against  God," 
and  which  must  issue  in  death,  Rom.  viii.  6,  7. 
Worldly  enjoyments  are  carnal,  because  they  only 
minister  to  the  wants  and  desires  of  the  animal  j)art 
of  man,  Rom.  xv.  27 ;  1  Cor.  ix.  11.  The  ceremo- 
jiial  parts  of  the  Mosaic  dispensation  were  carnal ; 
they  related  immediately  to  the  bodies  of  men  and 
beasts,  Heb.  vii.  16 ;  ix.  10.  The  u  eapons  of  a 
36 


Christian's  warfare  are  not  carnal ;  they  are  not  of 
human  origin,  nor  are  they  directed  by  human  wis- 
dom, 2  Cor.  X.  4. 

CARPUS,  a  disciple  of  Paul,  who  dwelt  at  Troas, 
2  Tim.  iv.  13. 

CART,  for  threshing,  a  machine  still  used  in  the 
East,  Amos  ii.  13.     See  Threshing. 

CARTHAGE,  a  celebrated  city  on  the  coast  of 
Africa  ;  a  colony  from  Tyre.  According  to  the  Vul- 
gate, Ezekiel  says,  (xxvii.  12.)  the  Carlhagiuians 
traded  to  Tyre  ;  but  the  Hebrew  reads  Tarshish, 
which  rather  signifies  Tarsus  in  Cilicia,  or  Tar- 
tessus  in  Spain,  formerly  famous  for  trade.  See 
Tarshish. 

CASIPHIA.  Ezra  says,  that  when  returning  to 
Judea,  he  sent  to  Iddo,  who  dwelt  at  Casiphia  ;  per- 
haps mount  Caspius,  near  the  Caspian  sea,  between 
Media  and  Hyrcania,  where  were  many  captives, 
Ezra  viii.  17. 

CASLUHIM,  a  son  of  Mizraim,  from  whom  came 
the  Caplitorim,  or  Philistines.     See  Caphtor. 

CASPIS,  a  city  in  Arabia,  inhabited  by  people  of 
various  nations,  who,  having  menaced  Judas  Macca- 
beus and  his  troops,  were  slaughtered  by  them,  2 
3Iac.  xii.  13—16. 

CASSIA,  a  spice  mentioned  by  Moses  as  an  ingre- 
dient in  the  composition  of  the  holy  oil,  used  in  the 
consecration  of  the  sacred  vessels  of  the  tabernacle, 
Exod.  XXX.  24.  [The  word  cassia  comes,  undoubt- 
edly, from  the  Hebrew  n;''i,r',  ketsiah,  which  occurs 
once  in  this  sense  in  the  Hebrew  Scriptures,  in  the 
plural ;  Ps.  xlv.  8,  "All  thy  garments  smell  q/'myirh, 
a7id  aloes,  and  cassia."  The  plural  was  very  proba- 
bly used  by  the  Hebrews  on  account  of  the  small 
detaclied  pieces  into  which  the  bark  is  usually  di- 
vided in  commerce  ;  but  the  Seventy,  in  conformity 
to  the  general  usage  of  Greek  ^viiters,  give  it  in  the 
singular  number,  and  write  it  with  one  sigma,  y.an[a. 
The  meaning  of  the  word  in  Hebrew  is,  something 
stripped  off,  i.  e.  !>ark  separated  from  the  trunk  ;  and 
it  was  not  unnatural  that  a  precious  commodity  of 
this  kind  from  the  remotest  East  should  thus  be 
called  by  the  general  name  bai-k,  just  as  in  modern 
times  a  different  species  of  bark  is  thus  distinguished. 
The  word  cassia  occurs  also  in  two  other  passages 
of  our  English  version,  viz.  Ex.  xxx.  24 ;  Ezek. 
xxvii.  19 ;  where  it  corresponds  to  the  Heb.  n-ip,  kid- 
ddh.  In  the  former  passage,  the  Seventy  have  I'qic, 
a  species  of  lily  ;  in  the  latter,  they  appear  not  to 
have  read  the  same  Hebrew  word.  That  the  He- 
brew ntp  really  means  cassia,  is  somewhat  doubtful  ; 
but  from  its  connection,  in  Exodus,  with  myrrh,  cinna- 
mon, and  sweet  calamus,  it  would  seem  at  any  rate 
to  have  come  from  the  same  countries,  and  to  have 
possessed  the  same  properties. 

This  oriental  aromatic  is  the  cassia  of  modem 
cookery,  but  not  of  modern  botany.  It  is  the  Laurus 
cassia  of  Linnaeus,  a  native  of  Malabar,  Sumatra, 
Java,  &c.     *R. 

CATERPILLAR  (Heb.  cMsil)  is  improperly  put, 
by  the  English  translators,  for  a  species  of  locust  now 
unknown.  In  several  passages  of  Scripture  this  in- 
sect is  distinguished  from  the  locust,  properly  so 
called ;  and  in  Joel  i.  4.  is  mentioned  as  "eating  up" 
what  the  other  species  had  left,  and  may,  therefore, 
bo  called  "  the  consumer"  by  way  of  eminence.  But 
the  ancient  interpreters  are  far  from  being  agreed  as 
to  what  particular  species  it  signifies.  The  LXX, 
Aquila,  the  Vulgate,  and  Jerome  understand  it  of 
"  the  chafer,"  which  is  a  great  devourer  of  leaves. 
Michaelis,  from  the   Syriac,  supposes  it  to  be  the 


C  AU 


[  282  ] 


CAUCASUS 


"mole  cricket,"  which  in  its  grub  state  is  very  de- 
structive to  corn,  and  other  vegetables,  by  feeding  on 
then-  roots. 

I.  CATHOLIC.  This  term  is  Greek  ;  signifying 
universal,  or  general.  The  church  of  Christ  is  called 
cathoUc,  because  it  extends  throughout  the  world, 
and  diu-ing  all  time.  We  call  some  truths  catliolic, 
because  they  are  generally  received,  and  are  of  gene- 
ral influence ;  so  the  catholic,  that  is,  the  general, 
chiuTh. 

II.  CATHOLIC,  i.  e.  general.  Epistles,  are  seven 
in  number,  viz.  one  of  James,  two  of  Peter,  three  of 
John,  and  one  of  Jude.  They  are  called  catholic, 
because  directed  to  Christian  converts  generally, 
and  not  to  any  particular  church.  The  principal 
design  of  these  epistles  is  to  warn  the  reader  against 
fhe  heresies  of  the  times,  and  to  establish  Christian 
converts  against  the  efforts  made  to  reduce  them  to 
Judaism,  or  to  a  mixture  of  legal  notions  with  Chris- 
tianity, or  of  idolatrous  principles  and  practices  with 
the  gospel. 

CAVES  were  often  used  as  dwellings  in  Pales- 
tine.    See  Rock,  and  Carmel. 

CAUCASUS,  the  name  of  a  range  of  mountains 
in  Asia.  [The  modern  Caucasus  is  that  immense 
chain  of  mountains  whicli  runs  from  about  the  mid- 
dle of  the  western  shore  of  the  Caspian  sea,  north- 
west, to  the  northern  side  of  the  Euxine,  or  Blaclc 
sea.  In  ancient  times,  the  name  appears  to  have 
been  applied  to  the  whole  of  that  vast  tract  of  ele- 
vated and  mountainous  country,  commencing  in 
India  and  extending  to  the  Mediterranean  and 
Euxine  seas,  forming  the  highest  elevation  or  region 
of  Asia,  the  Hindu  Koh,  and  comprehending, 
among  many  other  ranges,  those  of  Ararat  and  Tau- 
rus. These  two  last  names  were  applied  very  in- 
definitely to  denote  ranges  of  mountains  beyond  the 
limits  to  which  these  names  jiroperly  belonged ; 
and  thus  they  were  sometimes  probably  intei-- 
changed,  or  employed  by  different  writers  to  express 
the  same  mountains.  This  whole  subject  has  strict- 
ly no  connection  with  the  illustration  of  the  Bible, 
because  none  of  these  names  (except  Ararat)  are 
found  in  Scripture  ;  but  as  the  Greek  word  Caucasus 
was  probably  derived  from  India,  and  the  tracing  of 
it  to  its  source  is  connected  with  some  important 
geographical  views,  it  may  not  be  uninteresting  to 
sec  here  subjoined  the  following  extract  from  ca])tain 
Wilford,  in  the  Asiat.  Res.  vol.  vi.  p.  455.     R. 

"The  true  Sanscrit  name  of  this  mountain  is 
C^hasa-girt,  or  the  moimtain  of  the  C^hasas,  a  most 
ancient  and  powerful  tribe,  who  inhabited  this  im- 
mense range,  from  the  eastern  limits  of  India  to  the 
confines  of  Persia ;  and  most  ])roba'oly  as  far  as  the 
Euxine  and  Mediterranean  seas.  They  are  often 
mentioned  in  the  sacred  books  of  the  Hindus.  Their 
descendants  still  inhal)it  the  same  regions,  and  are 
called  to  tiiis  day  C'hasas,  and  in  some  places  C^ha- 
sijas  and  Cossais.  They  belonged  to  the  class  of 
warriors,  or  Csheilris  ;  but  )io\v  they  are  considered 
as  the  lowest  of  the  four  classes,  and  were  thus  de- 
graded, according  to  the  institutes  of  Menu,  by  their 
omission  of  the  holy  rites,  and  by  seeing  no  Brah- 
mins. However,  the  vakeel  of  the  rajah  ofComanh, 
or  Minora,  wlio  is  a  learned  Pandit,  informs  me,  that 
the  greatest  jiart  of  the  zemindai-s  of  that  country 
are  C'hasas ;  and  that  they  are  not  considered,  or 
treated,  as  outcasts.  They  are  certainly  a  very  an- 
cient tribe  ;  for  they  are  mentioned  as  such  in  the  in- 
stitutes of  Menu  ;  and  their  great  ancestor  C'hasa,  or 
Chasya,  is  mentioned  by  Snnchoniathon  under  the 


name  of  Cassiu-s.  He  is  supposed  to  have  lived  be- 
fore the  flood,  and  to  have  given  his  name  to  the 
mountains  he  seized  upon.  The  two  countries  of 
Cashgar,  those  of  Cash-viir,  Castwar,  and  the  famous 
peak  of  Chas-gar,  are  acknowledged  in  India  to  de- 
rive their  names  from  the  Cltasas.  The  country 
called  Casia  by  Ptolemy,  is  still  inhabited  by  C^ha- 
sijas ;  and  Pliny  informs  us,  (lib.  vi.  cap.  20.)  that 
the  inhabitants  of  the  mountainous  region  between  the 
Indus  and  the  Jumna,  were  called  Cesi,  a  word  ob- 
viously derived  from  C^hasa,  or  Chesai,  as  they  are 
denominated  in  the  vulgar  dialects.  The  appella- 
tion of  Caucasus,  or  Coh-CAS,  extended  from  India 
to  the  shores  of  the  Mediterranean  and  Euxine  seas; 
most  probably,  because  this  extensive  range  was  in- 
habited by  C^hasas.  Certain  it  is,  that  the  mountains 
of  Persia  were  inhabited  by  a  race  of  people  called 
CossfRi,  Cusseei,  and  Cissii ;  there  was  a  mount  Casius 
on  the  borders  of  Egypt,  and  another  in  Syria  ;  the 
Caspian  sea,  and  the  adjacent  moimtains,  were  most 
probably  denominated  from  them.  Jupiter  Cassius, 
like  Jupiter  Peninus  in  the  Alps,  was  worshipped  in 
the  mountains  of  Syria,  and  on  the  borders  of  Egypt ; 
moreover,  we  find  that  the  titles  of  Cassius  and  Cas- 
siopseus,  given  to  Jupiter,  -were  synonymous,  or 
nearly  so.  In  Sanscrit  the  words  Chasapa,  Chasy- 
apa,  and  Chasyapati,  signify  the  lord  and  sovereign 
ruler  of  the  Chasyas  ;  Chasyapiya,  or  Chasapeya,  in 
a  derivative  form,  implies  the  country  of  Chasapa. 

"The  original  country  of  the  Chusas  seems  to 
have  been  the  present  country  of  Cashgar,  to  the 
north-east  of  Cabul ;  for  the  C'hasas,  m  the  Institutes 
of  Menu,  are  mentioned  with  the  Daradas,  who  are 
obviously  the  Dardce  of  Ptolemy,  whose  country, 
now  called  Darad  by  the  natives,  and  Dawurd  by 
Persian  authors,  is  to  the  north-west  of  Cashmir, 
and  extends  towards  the  Indus ;  hence  Ptolemy  with 
great  propriety  asserts,  that  the  mountains  to  the 
north-east  of  Cabul  are  the  real  Caucasus.  The 
country  of  Cashcar  is  situated  in  a  beautiful  valley, 
watered  by  a  large  river,  whicli,  after  passing  close 
to  Chaga-Seray,  Cooner  and  Noorgul,  (Cooner  and 
Noorgul  are  called  Guz-noorgul  in  the  Aj^een  Ak- 
bery,)  joins  the  Landi-Sindh,  or  little  Sindh,  below 
Jalalabad,  in  the  small  district  of  Cameh,  (for  thei-e  is 
no  town  of  that  name,)  and  from  this  circumstance 
the  little  Sindh  is  often  called  the  river  Cameh.  The 
capita]  city  of  Cashcar  is  called  Chatraul,  or  Cha- 
tram-,  and  is  the  place  of  residence  of  a  petty  Ma-  v 
homedan  prince,  who  is  in  great  measure  tributary 
to  the  emperor  of  China,  for  the  Chinese  are  now  in 
possession  of  Badacshan  as  far  as  Baglan  to  the  north- 
west of  Anderab." 

"  Pliny  (lib.  vi.  cap.  30.)  informs  us,  that  mount 
Caucasus  was  also  called  Graucasus  ;  an  appellation 
obviously  Sanscrit ;  for  Grava,  which,  in  conversa- 
tion, as  well  as  in  the  spoken  dialects,  is  invariably 
pronounced  Grau,  signifies  a  mountain,  and  being  a 
monosyllable  (the  final  being  surd)  according  to  the 
rules  of  grammar,  it  is  to  lie  prefixed  thus,  Grava- 
Chasa,  or  Grau-Chasa.  Isidorus  says  that  Caucasus, 
in  the  eastern  languages,  signifies  white  ;  and  that  a 
mountain,  close  to  it,  is  called  Costs  by  the  Scythians, 
in  whose  language  it  signifies  snoio  and  whiteness. 
The  Casis  of  Isidorus  is  obviously  the  Casian  ridge 
of  Ptolemy;  where  the  genuine  appellation  appears 
stripped  of  its  adjunct.  In  the  language  of  the  Cal- 
muck  Tartars,  Jasu  and  Chctsu  signify  snow  ;  and  in 
some  dialects  of  the  same  tongue,  towards  Badac- 
shan, they  say  Jusha  and  Chusha,  Tusha,  and  Tu- 
rhi'i,  or  Tuca.    Tliese  words,  in  the  opinion  of  my 


CAU 


[  283  ] 


CAUSEWAY 


learned  friends  here,  arc  obviously  derived  from  the 

Sanscrit  Tiishnrci,  ijy  droppinjr  the  final  ra The 

words  Ch/isu,  or  C'hasa,  me  jjronounced  Chasa,  or 
Cos  ;  Chusa,  or  Cusa,  by  the  inhabitants  of  the  coun- 
tries between  Bahlac  and  the  Indus ;  for  they  inva- 
riably substitute  cli  or  c  in  the  room  of  sh This 

imnrense  range  is  constantly  called  in  Sanscrit  Him- 
dchel,  or  '  Snowy  Mountain  ;'  and  Himalaya,  or  the 
'Abode  of  Snow.'  From  Hiina  the  Greeks  made 
Imaiis :  Einodus  seems  to  be  derived  from  Himoda, 
or  '  snowy ;'  Himana,  Ilaimdna,  and  Haiindnus, 
wiiich  are  apijcllations  of  the  same  import,  are  also 
found  in  the  Puranas ;  from  these  is  probably  de- 
rived .'linanus,  which  is  the  name  of  a  famous  moun- 
tain in  Lesser  Asia,  and  is  certainly  part  of  the  Hima- 
laya mountains;  which,  according  to  the  Puranas, 
extend  from  sea  to  sea.  The  western  part  of  this 
range  was  called  Taurus ;  and  Strabo  says  (lib.  xi.  p. 
SlU.)  that  mount  Imaus  was  called  also  Taurus.  The 
etymology  of  this  last  appellation  is  rather  obscure  ; 
l)ut  since  the  Brahmins  insist  that  Toc^hdrestdn  is 
corrupted  from  Tushdra-sthdn,  by  which  appella- 
tion that  country  is  distinguished  in  the  Puranas ; 
and  that  Tiinan  is  derived  from  Tusharan,  its  San- 
scrit name,  the  sh  being  quiescent ;  may  we  not 
equally  suppose,  that  Taiirics  is  derived  from  Tu- 
shara,  or  Tusharas  ?  for  this  last  form  is  used  also, 
but  only  in  declensions,  for  the  sake  of  derivation. 
Tushara  signifies  '  snow  ;'  Tushara-sthan,  or  Tuc^ha- 
ras-sthan,  the  place  or  abode  of  snow  ;  and  Tusha- 
ran,  in  a  derivative  form,  the  country  of  snow." 

CAUSEWAY,  a  raised  way,  or  path,  1  Chron. 
xxvi.  16 ;  2  Chron.  ix.  4.  One  of  these  prepared 
ways  is  no  doubt  refeiTed  to  in  Isa.  Ixii.  10,  which 
Mr.  Taylor  thus  renders — 

Pass,  pass,  the  gates  ; 

Level  (even)  the  way  for  the  people  ; 

Throw  up,  throw  up,  the  causeway — lit.  raise,  raise, 

'  the  raised  way,  (Eng.  ver.  highway,) 
Clear  it  from  every  stone  ; 
Display  a  standard  to  the  people. 

■\Ir.  Manner  would  refer  the  fourth  member  of 
this  sentence,  to  the  heaping  up  stones  by  the  Avay 
of  land-marks,  to  direct  travellers  in  their  way. 
AVithout  impugning  his  instances,  Mr.  Taylor  veiy 
properly  hints  that  where  a  causeway  had  already 
levelled  and  fixed  the  road,  that  further  labor  of 
raising  mounts  was  unnecessary.  As  to  the  nature 
of  these  causeways,  (called  iii  this  jjlace  nSoc,  mesil- 
Idh,)  George  Herbert  gives  this  information  :  (p,  170.) 
"  A  word  of  our  last  night's  journey,  [in  Hyrcania, 
i.  e.  Persia ;  the  country  to  which  Isaiah  alludes.] 
The  most  part  of  the  night  avc  rode  upon  a  paved 
cawse\',  broad  enough  for  ten  horses  to  go  abreast ; 
built  by  extraordinary  labor  and  expense,  over  a  part 
of  a  great  desert ;  which  is  so  even  that  it  affords 
a  large  horizon ;  howbeit,  being  of  a  boggy,  loose 
ground  upon  the  surface,  it  is  covered  with  white 
salt,  in  some  places  a  yard  deep,  a  miserable  pas- 
sage !  for,  if  either  the  Avind  drive  the  loose  salt 
abroad,  which  is  like  dust ;  or  that  by  accident  the 
horse  or  camel  forsake  the  cawsey,  the  bog  is  not 
strong  enough  to  uphold  them,  but  suflfers  them  to 
sink  past  all  recovery ;" — he  then  compares  this  to 
the  Roman  vi(e  militares,  whose  foundations  were 
laid  with  huge  piles,  or  stakes,  pitched  into  a  bog, 
and  fastened  together  vvith  branches  or  withes  of 
wood ;  upon  which  rubbish  was  spread,  and  gravel 
or  stones  afterwards  laid,  to  make  the  ground  more 


firm  and  solid.  Now,  if  the  prophet  Isaiah  meant 
such  a  causeway  as  Herbert  describes,  passing  over 
a  bog,  the  nature  of  the  passage  afforded  no  stones 
to  be  gathered  into  a  heap  for  the  purpose  of  form- 
ing land-marks  ;  but,  if  it  passed  where  stones  or 
gi-avel,  dust,  &c.  might  take  the  place  of  the  loose 
salt  in  Herbert's  narration,  then  we  see  the  import 
of  the  prophet's  expressions :  "  Sweep  away  every 
izupediment ;  whatever  may  render  travelling  incom- 
modious ;  to  the  very  stones  and  dust  which  may 
occasionally  accumulate,  even  on  a  solidly  construct- 
ed causeway."  Thevenot  and  Hanway  also,  occa- 
sionally, mention  causeways  in  Persia.  The  reader 
cannot  but  have  observed  the  reduplication  of  the 
commanding  words,  "Pass,  pass;  throw  up,  throw 
up  ;"  i.  e.  continue  passing  till  all  be  passed  ;  continue 
throwing  up,  for  a  considerable  distance,  a  long  way. 
So  sir  John  Chardin,  translating  a  Persian  letter, 
renders  thus,  "  To  whom  I  wish  that  all  the  world 
may  pay  homage  ;"  but  he  says,  "  In  the  Persian  it  is, 
That  all  souls  may  serve  his  name,  his  name."  He 
adds,  "Repetition  is  a  figui-e  very  frequent  in  the 
oriental  languages,  and  without  question  is  borrowed 
from  the  sacred  language,  of  which  there  are  a 
thousand  examples  in  the  original  Bible  ;  as  in  Ps. 
Ixviii.  12,  '  They  are  fled,  they  are  fled ;'  that  is,  they 
ai-e  absolutely  fled. 

[The  whole  of  the  preceding  illustration  is  found- 
ed upon  the  false  supposition,  that  the  Hebrew  nSo-, 
mesilldh,  means  every  where  causeway,  or  elevated 
road.  This  is,  no  doubt,  its  original  meaning ;  but 
there  can  be  also  no  doubt  that,  like  our  word  high- 
ivay,  it  had  departed  from  its  primitive  sense,  and 
signified,  in  general,  any  public  ivay  or  high-road. 
This  is  its  meaning  in  Judg.  xx.  31,  32 ;  1  Sam.  vi. 
12.  In  like  manner  it  is  used  Prov.  xvi.  17,  in  a 
metaphorical  sense,  for  ivay,  i.  e.  walk  or  manner  of 
life.  In  the  passage  of  Isaiah,  therefore,  above 
quoted,  (Ixii.  10.)  the  rendering  of  the  English  ver- 
sion, highway,  is  more  appropriate  than  the  one  pro- 
posed. In  other  respects,  too,  it  would  be  difiicult 
to  see  in  what  the  proposed  version  of  the  whole 
passage  is  in  any  way  superior  to  that  of  our  com- 
mon EngUsh  Bible  ;  since  the  sense  is  pi-ecisely  the 
same. 

The  same  praise  of  simplicity  and  directness  can- 
not, however,  be  given  to  the  English  version  of  Ps. 
Ixxxiv.  5,  in  which  the  same  Hebrew  word  occurs, 
and  is  there  rendered  ivays.  To  help  out  the  sense, 
as  they  supposed,  the  translators  have  interpolated 
the  words  of  them ;  making  the  clause  read,  "in 
whose  heart  are  the  ways  of  them  ;"  a  passage  which 
is  probably  not  less  inexplicable  to  the  English  reader, 
than  if  it  had  remained  in  the  original  Hebrew. 
This  Psalm  was  apparently  composed  while  the  in- 
spired writer  was  at  a  distance  from  Jerusalem,  either 
in  exile  or  detained  by  other  causes,  and  thus  de- 
prived of  the  privilege  of  worshipping  Jehovah  in 
his  sanctuary.  He  is  thus  led  to  pour  out  his  heart 
before  God,  and  express  his  longing  dcsncs  again  to 
be  present  at  the  public  national  worship  of  the  tem- 
ple at  Jerusalem.  "Even  the  birds,"  he  says,  "  may 
dwell  around  thine  altars ;  (see  Altar  ;)  and  how 
happy  are  they  who  inliabit  thy  house,  who  may 
worship  thee  continually  !  Happy  they  whose  glory 
is  in  thee,  and  in  whose  heart  the  ways !"  i.  e.  the 
liighways  which  lead  to  Jerusalem,  where  the  tem- 
ple is,  and  the  pleasure  of  thy  worship  is  to  be  en- 
joyed. The  sense  here  is,  "  Happy  are  those  who 
glory  in  thee,  and  who  delight  to  tread  the  ways 
which  lead  to  thy  presence  ;"  in  allusion,  no  doubt, 


CED 


[284] 


CEDAR 


to  the  journeys  made  to  Jeiusalem,  when  "  the  tribes 
went  up  to  worship."  Such  are  their  joy  and  confi- 
dence in  God,  that  tlie  most  desolate  tracts  beconje 
to  them  as  a  fruitful  country,  (See  under  Baca.) 
They  go  on  from  strength  to  strength,  i.  e.  increasmg 
in  strength, — not  hke  other  travellers,  wasting  away 
with  fatigue,  but  gaining  strength  daily  as  they  ad- 
vance towards  Zion,  through  the  rejoicing  of  their 
hearts  in  view  of  the  delights  of  the  temple  wor- 
ship. Thus  the  Psalmist  describes  the  emotions  of 
those  who  thus  dwell  in  Zion,  or  who  may  visit  it 
when  they  will ;  and  he  expresses  his  longing  desire, 
that  this  privilege  may  again  be  his.  In  accordance 
with  this  view,  the  Psalm  may  be  translated  as 
follows : — 

How  lovely  are  thy  tabernacles,  Jehovah  of  Hosts  ! 

My  soul  longeth,  yea,  fainteth,  for  the  courts  of  Je- 
hovah ; 

My  heart  and  my  flesh  cry  out  for  the  living  God ! 

Even  the  sj)arrowhath  found  a  dwelling. 

And  the  swallow  a  nest  for  herself,  where  she  may 
place  her  young, 

Even  thine  altars,  Jehovah  of  Hosts,  my  King,  and 
my  God ! 

Happy  the  dwellers  in  thine  house,  who  continually 
praise  thee  ! 

Hapjjy  those  who  glory  in  thee ;  in  whose  hearts 
are  the  ways  to  Zion. 

Passing  through  a  vale  of  weeping  (or  desolate  val- 
ley) they  convert  it  into  a  fountain. 

Yea,  with  blessings  the  early  rain  doth  cover  it ! 

They  go  from  strength  to  strength  ;  they  a})pear  each 
before  God  in  Zion.     *R. 

It  is  usually  understood  that  the  prophet  Isaiah 
(chap.  xl.  3.)  alludes  to  the  custom  of  sending  per- 
sons, as  we  might  say,  laborers,  pioneers,  before  a 
great  prince,  to  clear  the  way  for  his  passage. 

The  voice  of  him  that  crieth  in  the  wilderness, 

"Prepare  (even)  ye  the  way  of  the  Lord  ; 

Make  straight  in  the  desert  a  highway  for  our 

God  ; 
Evejy  valley  shall  be  raised ; 
And  every  mountain  and  hill  shall  be  lowered ; 
And  the  winding  paths  shall  be  made  straight ; 
Ami  the  broken  (rough)  places  level." 

It  was  the  connnon  practice,  when  monai"chs 
travelled,  that  the  ways  were  made  or  repaired  be- 
fore them.  (See  Arrian.  Exped.  Alex.  M.  iv.  30. 
Diod.  Sic.  ii.  13.)  The  following  is  from  sir  Thomas 
Roe's  chaplain,  (p.  468.)  and  affords  a  happy  com- 
ment on  th<!  passage  :  "  I,  waiting  upon  my  lord 
embassador  two  years,  and  part  of  a  third,  and  trav- 
elling with  him  in  progress  with  that  king,  [the 
Mogul,]  in  the  most  temperate  months  there,  'twixt 
September  and  April,  were  in  one  of  our  progresses 
'twixt  Maiuloa  and  Amadavar,  nineteen  days,  making 
but  short  journeys  in  a  wilderness,  where  (by  a  very 
great  company  sent  i)efore  us,  to  make  those  passages 
and  places  fit  to  receive  us)  a  way  was  cut  out 
AND  MADE  EVEN,  l)road  cuough  for  our  conve- 
nient passage  ;  and  in  the  place  where  we  pitched 
our  tents  a  great  compass  of  ground  was  rid,  and 
made  i)lain  for  them,  by  grubhiug  a  mnnher  of  trees 
and  bushes  ;  yet  there  we  went  as  readily  to  our 
tents  as  we  did  when  tJiey  were  set  up  in  the 
plains." 

CEDAR,  a  tree  gi-eatly  celebrated  in  the  Scrip- 


tures, A  few  are  still  standing  on  mount  Lebanon, 
above  Byblos  and  Tripoli  east ;  but  none  elsewhere 
in  these  mountains.  In  former  times  there  must 
have  been  a  great  abundance  of  them,  since  they 
were  used  in  so  many  extensive  buildings.  These 
trees  are  remarkably  thick  and  tall  ;  some  among 
them  are  from  thirty-five  to  forty  feet  in  girth.  The 
cedar-tree  shoots  out  branches  at  ten  or  twelve  feet 
from  the  ground  ;  they  are  large  and  distant ;  ita 
leaves  are  sometliing  like  those  of  rosemary  ;  it  is 
always  gi-eeii ;  and  distils  a  kind  of  gum,  to  which 
different  effects  are  attributed.  Cedar  wood  is  re- 
puted incorruptible  ;  it  is  beautiful,  solid,  free  from 
knots,  and  inclining  to  a  red-brown  color.  It  bears 
a  small  cone,  like  that  of  the  pine. 

The  cedar  grows  not  only  on  mount  Lebanon,  but 
in  Africa,  in  Cyprus,  in  Crete,  or  Candia.  The  ^vood  . 
was  used  in  making  statues  designed  for  duration. 
The  temple  of  Jerusalem  and  Solomon's  palace  were 
finished  with  cedar.  The  roof  of  the  temple  of  Di- 
ana at  Ephesus  was  of  cedar,  according  to  Pliny. 
In  1  Kings  x,  27,  it  is  said  that  Solomon  multiplied 
cedars  in  Judea,  till  this  tree  was  as  common  as 
sycamores  ;  which  are  very  general  there  ;  compare 
2  Chron.  i.  15 ;  ix.  27. 

The  cedar  loves  cold  and  mountainous  places  ; 
if  the  top  is  cut,  it  dies.  The  branches  which  it 
shoots,  lessening  as  they  rise,  give  it  the  form  of  a 
pyramid.  Le  Bruyn,  in  his  journey  to  the  Holy 
Land,  says  the  leaves  of  the  tree  point  upwards,  and 
the  fruit  hangs  downwards  ;  it  grows  like  the  cones 
of  the  pine,  but  is  longer,  harder,  and  fuller,  and  not 
easily  separated  from  the  stalk.  It  contains  a  seed 
like  that  of  the  cypress,  and  yields  a  glutinous,  thick 
sort  of  resin,  transparent,  and  of  a  strong  smell, 
which  does  not  run,  but  falls  drop  by  drop.  This 
author  tells  us,  that  having  measured  two  cedars  on 
mount  Lebanon,  he  found  one  to  be  fifty  palms  in 
girth  ;  the  other  forty-seven.  Naturalists  distinguish 
several  sorts  of  cedars ;  but  we  speak  here  only  of 
that  of  Lebanon,  the  only  one  mentioned  in  the  Bi- 
ble. The  wood  was  used  not  only  for  beams,  for 
planks  which  covered  edifices,  and  for  ceilings  to 
apartments,  but  likewise  for  beams  in  the  walls,  1 
Kings  vi.  36 ;  vii.  12 ;  Ezra  vi.  3,  4. 

In  the  purification  of  a  leper,  cedar-wood,  togeth- 
er with  hyssop,  was  to  be  used,  in  sprinkling  the 
leper.  Lev,  xiv.  4,  6. 

[This  celebrated  tree,  the  Piniis  cedrus  of  botanists, 
is  not  peculiar  to  mount  Lebanon,  but  grows  also 
upon  mounts  Amanvis  and  Taurus  in  Asia  Minor, 
and  in  other  parts  of  the  Levant ;  but  does  not  else- 
where reach  the  size  and  height  of  those  on  Leba- 
non. It  has  also  been  cultivated  in  the  gardens  of 
Emope  ;  two  venerable  individuals  of  this  species 
exist  at  Chiswick  in  England  ;  and  there  is  a  very 
beautiful  one  in  the  Jardin  des  jjlantes  in  Paris.  The 
beauty  of  this  tree  consists  in  the  proportion  and 
synnnetry  of  its  wide-spreading  branches.  The  gum, 
which  exudes  both  from  the  trunk  and  the  cones  or 
fruit,  is,  according  to  Schulz,  (Leitungen,  &.c.  v.  p. 
459.)  "soft  like  balsam;  its  fragrance  is  like  that  of 
the  balsam  of  Mekka.  Every  thing  about  this  tree 
has  a  strong  balsamic  odor;  and  hence  the  whole 
grove  is  so  pleasant  and  fragrant,  that  it  is  delightful 
to  walk  in  it."  This  is  probably  the  smell  of  Leba-  i 
non  s[)oken  of  in  Cant.  iv.  11  ;  Hos.  xiv.  6,  The  I 
wood  is  peculiarly  adajHod  to  building,  because  it  is  ' 
not  subject  to  decay,  nor  to  be  eaten  of  worms ; 
hence  it  was  much  used  for  rafters,  and  for  boards 
with  which  to  cover  houses  and  form  tlie  floors  and 


CEDAR 


[  285  ] 


CEDAR 


ceilings  of  rooms.  The  palace  of  Persepolis,  the 
temple  at  Jerusalem,  and  Solomon's  palace,  were  all 
in  this  way  built  witli  cedar  ;  and  the  latter  especially 
appears  to  have  had  in  it  such  a  quantity  of  this 
wood,  that  it  was  called  "  the  house  of  the  forest  of 
Lebanon,"  1  Kings  vii.  2  ;  x.  17.  The  ships  of  the 
Tyrians  had  also  masts  of  cedar,  Ezek.  xxvii.  5. 

Of  the  forests  of  cedars  which  once  covered 
Lebanon,  only  a  small  remnant  is  left.  A  single 
grove  only  is  now  found,  lying  a  little  off  from  the 
road  which  crosses  mount  Lebanon  from  Baalbec  to 
Tripoli,  at  some  distance  below  tiie  summit  of  the 
mountain  on  the  western  side, — at  the  foot,  indeed, 
of  the  highest  summit  or  ridge  of  Lebanon.  This 
grove  consists  of  a  few  very  old  trees,  intermingled 
with  a  large  number  of  younger  ones.  The  former 
are  the  patriarchs  of  the  vegetable  world  ;  it  is  cer- 
tain that  they  were  ancient  three  hundred  years  ago  ; 
but  their  number  is  decreasing,  as  the  oldest  decay 
or  are  destroyed.  Li  1550,  the  number  of  these  an- 
cient trees  is  stated  by  Bellonius  at  28  ;  from  that 
time  down  to  1818,  they  are  stated  at  24,  23,  16,  12, 
and  7.  3Ir.  Fisk,  in  1823,  says  there  arc  G  or  8  of 
the  largest ;  but  does  not  see  the  propriety  of  the 
statements  just  enumerated.  See  the  extract  from 
his  journal  below.  As  the  subject  is  interesting,  the 
following  extracts  from  various  travellers  who  have 
visited  the  spot,  are  subjoined.  It  will  be  seen  that 
the  account  given  by  Mr.  Fisk  is  the  most  full  and 
satisfactory. 

Mauudrell  writes,  in  1(J96,  as  follows:  "These 
noble  trees  grow  amongst  the  snow,  near  the  higliest 
part  of  Lebanon,  and  arc  remarkable,  as  well  for 
their  own  age  and  largeness,  as  for  those  frequent 
allusions  made  to  them  in  the  word  of  God.  Here 
are  some  of  them  very  old,  and  of  a  prodigious 
bulk,  and  others  younger,  of  a  smaller  size.  Of  the 
former  I  could  reckon  up  only  sixteen,  and  the  latter 
are  very  immerous.  I  measured  one  of  the  largest, 
and  found  it  twelve  yards  six  inches  in  giith,  and 
yet  sound,  and  thirty-seven  yards  in  the  spread  of  its 
boughs.  At  about  five  or  six  yai'ds  from  the  ground, 
it  was  divided  into  five  limbs,  each  of  which  was 
equal  to  a  great  tree." 

Pococke,  in  1738,  describes  them  with  greater 
minuteness :  "  The  cedars  form  a  gi'ove  about  a 
mile  in  circumference,  which  consists  of  some  large 
cedars,  that  are  near  to  one  another,  a  gi'eat  number 
of  young  cedars,  and  some  pines.  The  great  ce- 
dars, at  some  distance,  look  like  very  large  spread- 
ing oaks;  the  bodies  of  the  trees  are  short,  dividing 
at  bottom  into  three  or  four ;  some  of  which,  gi-ow- 
ing  up  together  for  about  ten  feet,  appear  something 
like  those  Gothic  columns  Avhich  seem  to  be  com- 
posed of  several  pillars.  Higher  up,  they  begin  to 
spread  horizontal!}'.  The  young  cedars  are  not 
easily  known  from  pines ;  I  oliserved,  they  bear  a 
gi-eater  quantity  of  fruit  than  the  large  ones.  The 
wood  does  not  differ  from  white  deal  in  appearance, 
nor  does  it  seem  to  be  harder.  It  has  a  fine  smell, 
but  not  so  fragrant  as  the  juniper  of  America,  which 
is  commonly  called  cedar  ;  and  it  also  falls  short  of 
it  in  beauty.  I  took  a  piece  of  the  wood  from  a 
great  tree  that  was  blown  down  by  tlie  wind,  and 
left  there  to  rot.  There  arejifteen  large  ones  stand- 
ing."    (Dcscr.  of  the  East,  b.  ii.  c.  5.) 

Burckiiardt  speaks  of  the  cedars,  in  1810,  as  fol- 
lows :  "  They  stand  on  uneven  ground,  and  form  a 
small  wood.  Of  tiie  oldest  andbest  looking  tr(?es,  I 
counted  eleven  or  twelve ;  twenty-five  were  very 
large  ones,  about  fifty  of  middling  size,  and  more 


than  three  hundred  smaller  and  young  ones.  The 
oldest  trees  are  distinguished  by  having  the  foliage 
and  small  branches  at  the  top  only,  and  by  four,  five, 
or  even  seven  trunks  springing  fiom  one  base.  The 
branches  and  foliage  of  the  others  were  lower  ;  but 
I  saw  none  whose  leaves  touched  the  ground,  like 
those  in  Kew  gardens.  The  trunks  of  the  old  trees 
ai*e  covered  with  the  names  of  travellers  and  other 
persons  who  have  visited  them.  I  saw  a  date  of  the 
seventeenth  century.  The  trunks  of  the  oldest  trees 
seem  to  be  quite  dead ;  the  wood  is  of  a  gray  tint.  I 
took  off  a  piece  of  one  of  them,  but  it  was  after- 
wards stolen."    (Travels  in  Syr.  p.  19.) 

Dr.  Richardson  visited  the  cedars  in  his  way  from 
Baalbec  to  Tripoli,  in  1818.  From  the  summit  of 
the  mountain,  the  descent  towards  the  west,  he 
says,  "is  rather  precipitous,  and  Avinds,  by  a  long, 
circuitous  direction,  down  the  side  of  the  mountain. 
In  a  few  minutes  we  came  in  sight  of  tlie  far-famed 
cedars,  that  lay  down  before  us  on  our  right.  At 
first,  they  appeared  like  a  dark  spot  on  the  bate  of 
the  mountain,  and  afterwards  like  a  clump  of  dwarf- 
ish shrubs  that  possessed  neither  dignity  nor  beauty, 
nor  any  thing  that  entitled  them  to  a  visit,  but  the 
name.  In  about  an  hour  and  a  half,  we  reached 
them.  They  are  large,  and  tall,  and  beautiful,  the 
most  picturesque  productions  of  the  vegetable  world 
that  we  had  seen.  There  are  in  this  clump  two 
generations  of  trees  ;  the  oldest  are  large  and  massy, 
rearing  their  heads  to  an  enormous  height,  and 
spreading  their  branches  afar.  We  measured  one 
of  them,  which  we  afterwards  saw  was  not  the 
largest  in  the  clump,  and  found  it  thirty-two  feet  in 
circumference.  Seven  of  these  trees  have  a  particu- 
larly ancient  appearance  ;  the  rest  are  younger,  but 
equally  tall,  though,  for  want  of  space,  tlieir  branches 
are  not  so  spreading.  The  clump  is  so  small,  that  a 
person  may  walk  round  it  in  half  an  hour.  The  old 
cedars  are  not  found  in  anj^  other  part  of  Lebanon. 
Young  trees  are  occasionally  met  with ;  they  are 
very  productive,  and  cast  luany  seeds  annually.  The 
surface  all  round  is  covered  with  rock  and  stone, 
with  a  partial  but  luxuriant  vegetation  springing  up 
in  the  interstices." 

Under  date  of  October  4, 1823,  the  American  njis- 
sionaries,  Messrs.  Fisk  and  King,  record  in  their 
journal  the  following  description  of  the  cedars  of 
Lebanon  :  "  Taking  a  guide,  Ave  set  out  for  the  ce- 
dars, going  a  little  south  of  east.  In  about  two  hours 
we  came  in  sight  of  them,  and  in  another  hour 
reached  them.  Instead  of  being  on  the  highest 
summit  of  Lebanon,  as  has  sometimes  been  said, 
they  are  situated  at  the  foot  of  a  liigli  mountain,  in 
what  may  be  considered  as  the  arena  of  a  vast  am- 
phhheatre,  opening  to  the  west,  with  high  mountains 
on  the  north,  south,  and  east.  The  cedars  stand  on 
five  or  six  gentle  elevations,  and  occupy  a  spot  of 
ground  about  three  fourths  of  a  mile  in  circumfer- 
ence. 1  walked  around  it  in  fifteen  minutes.  We 
measured  a  number  of  the  trees.  The  largest  is  up- 
wards of  40  feet  in  circumference.  Six  or  eight 
others  arc  also  very  large,  several  of  them  nearly 
thi'  size  of  the  laVgest."  But  each  of  these  was 
nuuiilestly  two  trees  or  more,  Avhich  have  groAvn 
together,  "and  noAV  form  one.  They  generally  sepa- 
rate a  fcAV  feet  from  the  ground  into  the  original 
trees.  The  handsomest  and  tallest  are  those  of  tAAO 
or  three  feet  in  diameter,  the  body  straight,  the 
branches  almost  horizontal,  forming  a  beautiful  cone, 
and  casting  a  goodly  shade.  We  measured  the 
length  of  tAA-o  by  the  shade,  and  found  each  about 


CEN 


286  ] 


CENSER 


90  feet.  The  largest  ai-e  not  so  high,  but  some  of 
the  otliers,  I  think,  are  a  Httle  higher.  They  produce 
a  conical  fruit,  in  shape  and  size  like  that  of  the  pine. 
I  counted  them,  and  made  the  whole  number  389. 
Mr.  King  counted  them,  omitting  the  small  saplings, 
and  made  the  number  321.  I  know  not  why  trav- 
ellers and  authors  have  so  long  and  so  generally 
given  28,  20,  15,  5,  or  7,  as  the  number  of  the  cedars. 
It  is  true,  that  "  of  those  of  superior  size  and  antiqui- 
ty," there  are  not  a  great  number ;  but  then  there 
is  a  regular  gradation  in  size,  from  the  largest  down 
to  the  merest  sapling.  One  man,  of  whom  I  inquir- 
ed, told  me  that  there  are  cedars  in  other  places  on 
mount  Lebanon,  but  he  could  not  tell  where.  Sev- 
eral others,  to  whom  I  have  put  the  question,  have 
unanhnously  assured  me  that  these  are  the  only 
cedars  which  exist  on  the  mountain.  They  are  call- 
ed in  Arabic  arij.  The  Maronites  tell  me  that  they 
have  au  annual  feast,  which  they  call  the  Feast  of  the 
Cedars.  Before  seeing  the  cedars,  I  had  met  with  a 
European  traveller  who  had  just  visited  them.  He 
gave  a  short  account  of  them,  and  concluded  with 
saying,  "  It  is  as  with  miracles  ;  the  wonder  all  van- 
ishes when  you  reach  the  spot."  What  is  there  at 
which  an  inrtdel  cannot  sneer?  Yet  let  even  an  in- 
fidel put  himself  in  the  place  of  an  Asiatic  passing 
from  barren  desert  to  barren  desert,  traversing  oceans 
of  sand  and  mountains  of  naked  I'ock,  accustomed  to 
countries  like  Egypt,  Arabia,  Judea,  and  Asia  Minor, 
abounding,  in  the  best  places,  only  with  shrubbery 
and  fruit  trees ;  let  him,  with  the  feelings  of  such  a 
man,  climb  the  ragged  rocks,  and  pass  the  open  ra- 
vines of  Lebanon,  and  suddenly  descry,  among  the 
hills,  a  grove  of  300  trees  such  as  the  cedai's  actually 
are,  even  at  the  present  day,  and  he  will  confess  that 
a  fine  comparison  in  Amos  ii.  9,  "  Whose  height  was 
as  the  height  of  the  cedars,  and  he  was  strong  as  the 
oaks."  Let  him,  after  a  long  ride  in  the  heat  of  the 
sun,  sit  down  under  the  shade  of  a  cedar,  and  contem- 
plate the  exact  conical  form  of  its  top,  and  the  beau- 
tiful symmetry  of  its  branches,  and  he  will  no  longer 
wonder  that  David  compared  the  people  of  Israel, 
in  the  days  of  their  prosperity,  to  the  "goodly  ce- 
dars," Psalm  Ixxx.  10.  A  traveller,  who  had  just 
left  the  forests  of  America,  might  think  this  little 
grove  of  cedars  not  worthy  of  so  nnich  notice,  but 
the  man  who  knows  how  rare  largo  trees  are  in  Asia, 
and  how  difficult  it  is  to  find  timber  for  building, 
will  feel  at  once  that  what  is  said  in  Scripture  of 
these  trees  is  perfectly  natural.  It  is  probable  that 
in  the  days  of  Solomon  and  Hiram,  there  were  ex- 
tensive forests  of  cedars  on  Lebanon.  A  variety  of 
causes  may  have  contributed  to  their  diminution  and 
almost  total  extinction.  Yet,  in  comparison  with  all 
the  other  trees  that  1  have  seen  on  the  mountain,  the 
few  that  remain  may  still  be  called  "the  glory  of 
Lebanon."     (Missionary  Herald,  1824.  p.  270.)    '*R. 

CENCHREA,  a  ])ort  of  Corinth,  whence  Paul  sail- 
ed for  E])hesus,  Acts  xviii.  18.  [It  was  situated  on 
the  eastern  side  <Tf  the  isthmus,  about  70  stadia  from 
the  city.  The  other  jiort,  on  the  Avestern  side  of  the 
isthmus,  was  Lecha'um.     R. 

CENSER,  a  vessel  in  which  fire  and  incense  were 
carried  in  certain  parts  of  the  Hebrew  worship.  It 
appears,  from  inunerous  instances,  that  the  services 
of  divine  worslii]),  under  the  Mosaic  dispensation, 
resembled  those  usually  addressed  to  monarchs  and 
sovereigns  among  the  orientals;  and  there  can  be 
little  doubt,  that  the  Hebrews  diiected  them  to  a 
person  understood  to  be  resident  in  the  sanctuary, 
before  which,  and   in  which,  they  were  performed. 


This  notion  of  Jewish  services  was  so  strong  among 
the  heathen,  that  we  find  they  reported  the  object 
of  worship  in  the  temple  at  Jerusalem  to  be  an  old 
man  with  a  long  beard.  That  report  might  possibly 
originate  in  the  description  of  the  Ancient  of  days,hy 
the  prophet  Daniel.  However  that  might  be,  it  is 
genei'ally  concluded  that  the  attendants  on  the  tem- 
ple were  nearly  similar  to  the  attendants  on  royalty 
and  dignity  in  general ;  and  many  external  acts  of 
worship  were  of  the  same  appearance  and  import. 
We  have  no  custom  of  biuniing  perfumes,  as  a  mode 
of  doing  honor ;  and  though  the  church  of  Rome 
has  adopted  the  use  of  the  censer,  and  fiunigation,  it 
is  as  a  part  of  sacred  worship,  not  of  civil  gratulation. 
On  the  contrar)',  in  the  East,  fumigation  forms  a  part 
of  civil  entertainment;  and  is  never  omitted  when  it 
is  intended  to  compliment  a  guest.  Being  thus  gen- 
eral, and  indeed  indispensable,  in  Asiatic  njanners,  it 
was  received  anciently  into  divine  worship;  and  the 
priests  in  their  ordinary  service,  as  well  as  the  high- 
priest  in  the  most  solemn  acts  of  his  public  ministra- 
tion, used  incense — a  cloud  of  incense,  in  approach- 
ing to  the  more  innnediate  presence  of  God. 

Little  is  known  on  the  form  and  nature  of  the  an- 
cient Hebrew  censer.  The  censers  which  have 
been  received  from  heathen  antiquity,  and  those 
used  in  the  Romish  worslii]j  also,  being  suspended  by 
chains,  give,  not  unfrequently,  erroneous  ideas  of  this 
sacred  utensil,  as  employed  among  the  Jews.  The 
Hebrew  has  two  words,  both  rendered  censer  in  our 
translation.  The  first  (nnnr,  machiah)  describes  the 
censers  of  Aaron,  and  of  Korah  and  his  company, 
Lev.  X.  1  ;  Numb.  xvi.  6.  It  appears,  that  these  wei-e 
of  brass,  or  copper  ;  also,  that  after  the  death  of  those 
who  had  presumptuously  used  them,  they  were  beaten 
into  hroad  plates  for  a  covering  to  the  altar.  From 
this  application  of  them,  we  infer  that  they  Avere  not 
cast,  nor  of  great  thickness,  nor  made  of  small 
pieces ;  but  that  they  were  thin,  and  their  jjlates  of 
considerable  surface.  This  term  continued  to  denote 
a  censer  under  the  monarchy ;  for  we  read,  1  Kings 
vii.  50,  and  2  Chron.  iv.  22,  o(  censers  (nirnr,  macldoth) 
of  gold,  made  by  Solomon.  [This  Hebrew  Avord, 
according  to  its  etymology,  Avould  signify  a  fire-pan, 
or  coal-pan,  and  AAas  ])robably  not  nuich  different,  as 
to  form,  from  a  fire  shovel ;  which  agrees  well  with 
the  above  suggestions.     R. 

From  2  Chron.  xxvi.  19,  we  learn  that  king  Uzziah 
attempted  to  "bm-n  incense  hi  the  house  of  the  Lord, 
having  a  censer  in  his  hand."  The  Avord  is  different 
from  the  former,  (mrpr,  miktereth)  and  seems  to  im- 
port an  implement  of  another  shape.  It  AA^as  proba- 
bly of  a  civil,  if  not  a  profane,  (possibly,  of  an  idola- 
trous,) nature  ;  for  Ezekiel  says,  (viii.  11.)  that  the 
seventy  apostate  JeAvs  engaged  in  idolatrous  Avorship 
had  every  man  his  censer  {miktereth)  in  his  hand. 
The  same  may  be  inferred  from  2  Chron.  xxx.  14, 
Avhere  it  is  recorded,  that  Hezekiah  and  his  people 
took  aAvay  the  idolatrous  altars  that  Avere  in  Jerusa- 
lem ;  with  all  the  censers  for  incense.  HoAvever,  it 
nuist  not  hastily  be  concluded  that  this  article  Avas 
ivholly  idolatrous;  fi)r  Ave  read,  in  Exod.  xxx.  1, 
"  Thou  slialt  make  an  altar  {n-\a,-i  Tr;^r,  miktar  kctureth) 
to  fume  Avith  perfume,  i.  e.  to  burn  incense  thereon  :" 
so  that  this  kind  also  Avas  legally  adopted  in  divine 
Avorship.  It  deserves  notice,  that  those  avIio  used 
these  censers  are  described  as  holding  them  in  their 
hands  ;  but  this  ])osition  is  not,  that  Ave  recollect,  as- 
cribed to  the  machtdh,  or  censer  of  Aaron.  This 
leads  to  the  conclusion,  that  the  miktereth  may  be 
considered  as  a  kind  of  censer,  carried  in  the  hand ; 


CENSER 


[287  ] 


CER 


not  alone,  as  tlie  heat  arising  from  the  burning  em 
bers  it  contained  would  be  disagreeably  great,  but  in 
a  kind  of  dish,  which  dish,  with  the  censer  in  it,  was 
placed  on  the  altar  of  incense,  and  there  left,  diffiis- 
mg  a  smoke,  morning  and  evening,  during  the  trim- 
ming of  the  lamps,  &c.  Exod.  xxx.  7,  8.  Apparently, 
this  ^vas  regarded  as  an  inferior  kind  of  censer,  ap- 
propriate to  the  priests,  and  common  to  them  all ; 
but  whether  the  other  kind  (the  machtdh)  was  pecu- 
liar to  the  high-priest,  is  not  clear :  we  find  it  used 
by  the  sons  of  Aaron,  (Lev.  x.  i.)  l)ut  that  was  an  ir- 
regularity, and  was  punished  as  sucii.  It  is  men- 
tioned, also,  as  being  employed  by  250  of  the  associ- 
ates of  Kor.ih  ;  but  that  was  in  rebellion,  and  proved 
fatal  to  the  transgressors. 

[The  Hebrew  word  for  this  species  of  censer 
(mapc)  signifies,  properly,  incense-pan,  i.  e.  a  vessel 
for  burning  incense.  It  differs  from  the  former  kind, 
therefore,  in  the  etymology  of  its  name  ;  but  that  it  dif- 
fei-s  from  it  in  any  other  way,  we  have  no  means  of 
ascertaining.  The  difference  which  it  is  here  at- 
tempted to  establish,  rests,  therefore,  merely  on  con- 
jecture. The  two  names  may  have  not  improbably 
signified  the  same  identical  instrument;  being  called 
in  one  case,  fire-pan,  because  it  contained  fire ;  and  in 
the  other,  smoke-pan,  or  incense-pan,  because  incense 
was  put  upon  the  fire  within  it.  So  of  the  remarks 
which  follow,  except  that  the  Greek  (fu'c?.t;  means 
not  vial,  but  bowl,  dish.     R. 

A  similar  distinction  of  censers  is  observed  in  the 
New  Testament ;  for  the  twen- 
-^vii        ty-four  elders  (Rev.  v.  8.)  had 
^Isiffr'        golden     vials     full     of   odors ; 
((fiu/.ai;) — but  (chap.  viii.  3.)  the 
,~-f  angel    had    a     golden    censer, 

(^?.iiayv)Toy.)  These  vials  were 
not  small  bottles,  such  as  we 
call  vials;  which  idea  arises  in- 
stantly by  association  in  our 
minds ;  but  they  were  of  the 
nature  of  the  censers  and  dish- 
es, above  spoken  of,  (compared 
by  Doddridge  to  a  tea-cup  and 
saucer.)  This  gives  a  very  different  idea  to  chap. 
XV.  8  ;  xvi.  1,  &c.  of  the  same  book,  where  the  vials 
having  the  wrath  of  God,  are  poured  out ;  for  if  they 
contained  fre,  that  is  a  fit  emblem  of  wrath ;  and 
burning  embers  may  be  described  as  ^ourec^  otti  from 
a  censer,  with  great  pro- 
priety. Nothing  can  be 
more  apparent,  if  we 
suppose,  for  instance,  the 
covering  of  the  censer  to 
be  wholly  removed ;  in 
which  state  the  bowl  of 
it,  perhajjs,  may  be  that 
described  by  the  Apoca- 
lyptic writer  as  a  vial ; 
and  it  might  convenient- 
ly contain  the  fire  to  be 
poured  out  from  it.  This  is  perfectly  agi-eeable  to  its 
form  and  services  as  a  censer,  and  to  the  nature  and 
use  of  the  ancient  censers. 

We  ought  also  to  remark,  that  bearing  censers  is 
an  office  of  servants,  in  attendance  on  their  superi- 
ors ; — the  same  office  anciently,  in  the  temple,  no 
doubt,  denoted  wahing  on  the  Deity — being  occu- 
pied in  his  service — in  attendance  on  him.  This 
action,  therefore,  demonstrates  the  devotedness  to  false 
gods,  of  those  who  worshipped  them,  by  bearing  cen- 
sei*s   to   honor  their  images  ;  especially  when    it  is 


recollected,  that  offering  incense  was  connected  with 
addresses  and  prayers. 

CENTURION,  an  officer  conmiandiug  a  hundred 
soldiers :  similar  to  our  captain  in  modern  times.  (See 
Adam's  Rom.  Antiq.  p.  370.) 

CEPHAS,  a  Syriac  name  given  to  Peter,  which  by 
the  Greeks  was  rendered  Petros,  and  by  the  Latins 
Petrus,  both  signifying  stone,  ovroc/c.     See  Peter. 

CERASTES,  a  serpent  so  called,  because  it  has 
horns  on  its  forehead.  It  hides  in  the  sand,  is  of  a  sandy 
color,  crawls  slanting  on  its  side,  and  seems  to  hiss 
when  in  motion.  The  word  occurs  only  in  Gen.  xlix. 
17  :  "  Dan  shall  be  a  serpent  by  the  way,  a  cerastes, 
(in  the  English  text  adder,  in  the  margin  arrow-snake, 
that  is,  the  dart-snake,  or  jaculus,)  in  the  path."  The 
Hebrew  ps>Dr,  shephiphon,  is  by  some  interpreted  asp, 
by  others  bctsilisk  ;  but  Bochart  prefers  the  cerastes. 

CEREMONIES,  the  external  rites  of  religion. 
Essential  worship  is  that  of  the  heart  and  mind — 
worship  in  spirit  and  in  truth ;  but  still,  ceremonies 
and  external  worship  make  a  part,  and  a  necessary 
part,  of  religion.  Without  them,  religious  services 
would  be  confusion,  and  worship  would  degenerate 
into  supei'stition.  Under  the  old  covenant,  God  first 
deUvered  the  great  precepts  of  his  law.  No  ceremonies 
were  prescribed  till  afterwards  ;  and  they  were  then 
intended  to  check  that  inclination  which  the  Hebrews 
had  discovered  for  idolatry,  and  to  burthen  them 
with  the  yoke  of  ceremonies,  (Acts  xv.  10.)  that  they 
might  be  induced  to  desire,  with  more  ardor,  the 
coming  of  their  great  DeUverer.  In  the  new  cove- 
nant, few  ceremonies  are  enjoined ;  and  they  are 
employed  as  means  only,  not  as  the  end  ;  and  in  con- 
descension to  the  weakness  of  the  worshippers,  who 
are  men,  and  not  angels. 

It  has  been  questioned  whether  the  ceremonies  of 
the  Jews  were  imitated  from  the  Egj^ptians,  or  vice 
versa.  Sir  John  Mirsham  and  Dr.  Spencer  have  at- 
tempted to  prove  the  former ;  and  they  have  had 
many  followers.  Indeed  there  is  great  resemblance 
between  certain  ceremonies,  which  were  common  to 
both  people  ;  while  in  other  particulars  there  are  dif- 
ferences which  appear  to  be  even  studied.  Moses, 
from  condescension  to  the  customs,  prejudices,  hu- 
mors, inclinations,  and  even  hardness  of  the  Hebrews' 
hearts,  may  have  permitted  or  prohibited  certain 
practices,  which  were  permitted  or  prohibited  among 
the  Egyptians  ;  and  he  might,  for  the  same  reasons, 
borrow  something  from  the  forms  of  their  temples 
and  their  altars. 

But  there  is  another  consideration,  which  has  been 
suggested,  and  that  ought  not  to  be  overlooked  in 
the  determination  of  this  question.  It  should  be  re- 
membered, that  the  origin  of  many  religious  rites  is 
to  be  assigned  to  a  period  anterior  to  the  establish- 
ment either  of  the  Egyptian  or  the  Jewish  polity. 
Now,  it  was  by  no  means  fit  that  Moses  should  re- 
ject such  merely  because  they  had  been  adopted  by 
the  Egyptians.  Why  should  he,  for  instance,  refuse 
to  adopt  the  rite  of  sacrifice,  because  this  rite  was 
conmion  among  heathen  nations  ?  Was  it  not  also 
a  traditionary  mode  of  worship  derived  from  the  ear- 
liest ages,  and  the  most  sacred  sources  ?  AVas  it  not 
transmitted  to  the  Hebre\\s  from  their  ancestors 
also  ?  Was  it  not  practised  by  all  whose  memory 
they  venerated  ?  Why  should  he  omit  to  notice  the 
new  moons?  Such  had  been  the  custom — the  patri- 
archal custom — from  time  in)memorial.  In  short,  it 
should  ajjpear  that,  in  fact,  God  had  given  to  man 
certain  ordinances ;  and  his  posterity  throughout  the 
world   retained   more  or  less  of  them.     So  much  of 


CHA 


288  ] 


CHALDEANS 


them  as  the  Egyptians  had  retained,  though  inter- 
mingled among  otliers  not  so  authorized,  Moses 
adopted — so  far  he  was  the  instrument  of  reform- 
ing the  religious  worship  of  his  time — and  to  these 
institutions,  thus  sifted  from  the  chaff  of  human  ad- 
ditions, he  added  others  congenial  in  their  nature, 
particularly  adapted  to  the  temper,  circumstances, 
and  future  situation  of  the  Jewish  people.  These 
additions  are  truly  the  Mosaic,  and  were  intended  to 
preserve  that  people  distinct  and  separate  from  all 
others.  How  well  they  have  answered  this  purpose, 
appears  not  only  from  the  evidences  of  it  in  their 
history,  but  from  what,  in  their  present  dispersed 
state,  they  daily  offer  to  our  eyes.  Are  they  not  now 
a  distinct  people,  still  preserved  as  memorials  con- 
firming historic  truth,  while  nations  much  more  pow- 
erful, and  which  long  triumphed  over  them,  are 
extinct — mingled  among  those  who  have  conquered 
them — and  no  longer  nations  ? — This  leads  us  to  re- 
flect, that  the  design  of  these  rites  was  not  merely  to 
keep  the  Jews  from  idolatry,  but  that,  after  they 
were  no  longer  exposed  to  that  temptation,  they 
should  be  thereby  preserved  as  a  standing  evidence 
of  the  truth  of  prophecy,  of  the  providence  of  God 
displayed  toward  them,  and  especially  of  the  verity 
of  Jesus  Christ,  of  his  apostles,  and  of  the  Christian 
religion  in  general.  Such  they  will  continue,  so  long 
as  their  testimony  continues  to  be  needful. 

CESAR,  CESAR^A,  see  C^sar,  C^sarea. 

CESTIUS  GALLUS,  a  Roinan  governor  of  Sy- 
ria, under  whose  government  the  Jews  began  their 
rebellion,  A.  D.  66. 

CHAFF,  the  refuse  of  winnowed  corn.  The  un- 
godly are  represented  as  the  chaff;  a  simile  most 
forcible  and  appropriate.  Whatever  defence  they 
may  afford  to  the  saints,  who  are  the  wheat,  they  are 
in  themselves  worthless  and  inconstant,  easily  driven 
about  with  false  doctrines,  and  will  ultimately  be 
driven  away  by  the  blast  of  God's  wrath.  Psalm  i.  4  ; 
Matt.  iii.  12,  iScc.  False  doctrines  are  called  chaff: 
they  are  unproductive,  and  cannot  abide  the  trial  of 
the  word  and  Spirit  of  God,  Jer.  xxiii.  28.  See  Bap- 
tism BY  Fire. 

CHALCEDONY,  a  precious  stone,  in  color  like  a 
carbuncle,  Rev.  xxi.  19.  It  is  said  to  have  derived 
its  name  from  Chalcedon,  a  city  of  Rithynia,  oppo- 
site to  Byzantium.  It  comprises  several  varieties, 
one  of  which  is  the  modem  carnelian.  Some  have 
supposed  this  to  be  the  stone  also  called  nophec,  Exod. 
xxviii.  18.  translated  "emerald." 

CHALDEA,  a  country  in  Asia,  the  capital  of 
which,  in  its  widest  extent,  was  Babylon.  (See 
Babvlo.n.)  It  was  originally  of  small  extent,  but  the 
empire  being  afterwards  very  much  enlarged,  the 
name  is  generally  taken  in  a  more  extensive  sense, 
and  includes  Babylonia.     See  Chaldeans. 

CHALDEANS.  This  name  is  taken,  (1.)  for  the 
people  of  Chaldea,  and  the  subjects  of  that  empire 
generally.  (2.)  For  philosophers,  naturalists,  or 
soothsayers,  whost;  principal  employment  was  the 
study  of  mathematics  and  astrology  {  by  which  they 
pretended  to  foreknow  the  destiny  of  men  born  un- 
der certain  constellations. 

The  difficulty  of  determining  the  name  and  deriva- 
tion of  the  Chaldeans  JKnng  great,  it  may  be  proper 
to  introduce  a  few  considerations  on  the  subject ; 
some  of  them,  for  their  matter,  are  principally  taken 
from  Mr.  Bryant ;  though  the  conclusion  they  are 
intended  to  support,  will  differ  considerably  from  the 
hypothesis  of  that  very  learned  writer.  '  Scriptiwe 
docs  not  afford  any  name  from  which  the  appellation 


Casdim  can  be  regularly  derived ;  but,  Mr.  Taylor 
thinks,  we  may  safely  consider  the  Babylonians  and 
the  Casdim  as  being  in  whole,  or  in  jjart,  the  same 
people  ;  for  we  read  that — "  Nebuchadnezzar,  king 
of  Babylon,  was  a  Chaldean,  (Casdia,)"  Ezra  v.  12. 
that — when  Darius  the  Mede  obtained  the  throne  of 
Babylon,  he  was  made  king  over  the  realm  of  the 
Chaldees,  {Casdini,)  Dan.  ix.  1.  that — when  the  Baby- 
lonian army  besieged  Jerusalem,  it  was  the  army  of 
the  Chaldees,  (Casdim,) {2  Kings  xxv.  4,  10  ;  Jer.  Iii. 
8.)  and — Babylon  being  called  "the  beauty  of  the 
Chaldees'  excellence,"  (Isa.  xiii.  19.)  is  evidence  suf- 
ficient to  this  point.  By  inquiring  who  were  the 
Babylonians,  we  may  approach,  he  remarks,  toward 
determining  who  were  the  Chaldeans ;  and  if  we 
look  to  Gen.  xi.  2.  we  shall  find  that  the  inhabitants  ;  / 
of  this  country  journeyed  from  the  East,  Kcdcm,  j  ' 
which  Kcdem  he  fixes  in  the  neighborhood  of  Cau- 
casus. We  are  next  to  remember  that  these  Chal- 
dees worshipped  fire,  and  light,  under  the  name  of 
^ur,  Ur,  Or,  or  Our,  all  words  of  the  same  sound, 
and  varied  only  in  spelling  or  in  writing,  by  different 
nations;  so  that, whether  we  find  Aurrtoi,  or  Ourita, 
the  meaning  is  the  same.  The  following  are  testi- 
monies to  our  piu-pose  : — 

Upon  the  banks  of  the  great  river  Ind 

The  southern  Scuthfe  dwell :  which  river  pays 

Its  watery  tribute  to  that  mighty  sea, 

Styled  Erythrean.     Far  removed  its  source, 

Amid  the  stormy  chfTs  of  Caucasus  : 

Descending  thence  throu.gh  many  a  winding  vale, 

It  separates  vast  nations.     To  the  west 

The  Orit^  live. 

Meaning,  that  the  Aurita?  live  west  of  the  source  of 
the  Indus,  in  mount  Caucasus  ;  which  the  reader 
will  find  agrees  with  our  position  of  Kedem.  This 
is  Mr.  Bryant's  version  of  a  passage  in  the  poet  Di- 
onysius.  (Anc.  Myth.  vol.  iii.  p.  226.)  He  says, 
(Obs.  253.)  "  The  Chaldeans  were  the  most  ancient 
inhabitants  of  the  country  called  by  their  name  ; 
there  are  no  other  principals,  to  whou)  we  may  refer 
their  original.  They  seem  to  have  been  the  most 
early  constitiued  and  settled  of  any  people  on  earth. 
They  seem  to  be  the  only  people  which  did  not  mi- 
grate at  the  general  dispersion.  They  extended  to 
Egypt  west ;  and  eastward  to  the  Ganges."  Mr. 
Taylor  is  of  opinion,  however,  that  by  means  of  captain 
Wilford's  account  of  Caucasus,  under  that  article, 
we  may  conceive,  with.out  nnich  danger  of  error,  of 
the  Sanscrit  C^hasas,  Chasyas,  and  the  Scripture 
Casdim,  as  being  closely  related,  if  not  the  same 
people,  originally ;  for  we  learn,  as  he  adds,  that 
"they  are  a  very  ancient  tribe,"  are  mentioned  ui  the 
Institutes  of  Menu  ;  and  that  their  ancestor,  Zeus 
Cassios,  is  sup])osed  to  liave  lived  before  the  flood; 
and  to  have  given  name  to  the  mountains  he  seized. 
Their  station,  then,  is  Caucasus.  But  when  a  con- 
siderable division  of  mankind  withdrew  to  Shinar, 
they  Were  accompanied  by  a  certain  proportion  of 
C'liasyas,  or  Casdim,  who,  being  a  su])erior  caste,  or 
inheriting  stations  of  trust  and  dignity,  (i.e.  priests, 
if  not  governors  also  ;  or  u  body  out  of"  which  the 
kings  wei'c  elected,)  gave  name  to  the  Babylonian 
kingdom  ;  which  is  called  the  kingdom  of  the  Chas- 
dim,  or  Cliasyas.  Something  of  this  distinction  is 
connected  with  the  jtatriarch  Abraham.  We  know 
he  was  of  Kedem  ;  not  of  Babylonia ;  yet  Eusebius 
says,  Abraham  was  a  Chaldean  by  descent  (to  y*ioe 
Xa::dafo:).     Admitting,  then,  the  Casdim   to   be  de- 


CHALDEANS 


[  289 


CHALDEANS 


scendants  in  the  direct  line  of  Sheui,  (sec  Shem,)  a 
priest  himself,  this  branch  of  his  posterity  might  re- 
tain their  right  to  the  priestly  office,  transmitted  from 
father  to  son  in  succession,  according  to  their  cus- 
tom. Diodorus  Siculus  (lib.  ii.  cap.  21.)  gives  the 
character  of  the  Chaldeans  at  large  ;  we  select  the 
following  passages : — 

"The  Chaldeans  are  descended  from  the  most  an- 
cient families  of  Babylon,  and  they  maintain  a  man- 
ner of  life  resembling  that  of  the  priests  of  Egypt. 
For  in  order  to  become  more  learned,  and  more 
equal  tc  the  service  of  the  gods,  they  continually  apply 
themselves  to  philosophy,  and  have  procured,  above 
all,  a  great  reputation  in  astronomy.  They  study  with 
great  care  the  art  of  divination.  They  foretell  the 
future,  and  believe  themselves  able  to  ward  off  evils, 
and  to  procure  benefits,  by  their  expiations,  by  their 
sacrifices,  and  by  their  enchantments.  They  have  also 
experience  in  presages  by  the  flight  of  birds  ;  and  are 
versed  in  the  interpretation  of  dreams  and  prodigies. 
Beside  this,  they  consult  the  entrails  of  victims,  and 
inffer  predictions,  which  are  considered  as  certain. 
Among  the  Chaldeans  this  philosophy  remains  con- 
stantly the  possession  of  the  same  family  ;  passing 
from  father  to  sons,  and  this,  only,  they  study.  .  .  . 
They  consider  matter  as  eternal,  neither  needing 
generation,  nor  subject  to  corruption.  But  they  be- 
lieve that  the  arrangement  and  order  of  the  world  is 
the  effect  of  divine  intelligence,  and  that  all  which 
appears  in  the  heavens,  or  on  earth,  is  the  eflect,  not 
of  a  casual  or  of  a  fatal  necessity,  but  of  the  wisdom 
and  power  of  the  gods.  The  Chaldeans  also  having 
made  numerous  observations  on  the  stars,  and  know- 
ing more  perfectly  than  other  astrologers  their  mo- 
tions and  their  influences,  they  foretell  to  men  the 
most  part  of  those  events  which  will  hereafler  befall 
them.  They  consider,  above  all,  as  a  point  of  diffi- 
culty and  of  consequence,  the  theory  of  the  five  stars, 
which  they  call  interpreters,  and  we  call  planets,  es- 
pecially Saturn.  Nevertheless,  they  say  that  the  sun 
is  not  only  the  most  splendid  of  the  heavenly  bodies, 
but  also  that  from  which  may  be  drawn  most  indi- 
cations of  great  events. . . .  They  conceive  that  the 
five  planets  command  thirty  subaltern  stars,  which 
they  call  counsellor-gods,  of  which  one  half  rules 
over  what  is  above  the  earth,  or  what  passes  in  heav- 
en, the  other  half  observes  the  actions  of  men.  Every 
ten  days  a  messenger-star  is  despatched,  to  know 
what  passes  above,  and  what  in  the  regions  below. 
They  reckon  twelve  superior  gods,  who  preside  each 
over  a  month,  and  a  sign  in  the  zodiac.  The  sun, 
the  moon,  and  the  five  planets,  go  through  these 
twelve  signs  ;  the  sun  takes  one  year  to  perform  this 
coiu-se  ;  the  moon  performs  it  in  one  month.  Each 
planet  has  his  proper  period,  but  the  revolutions  of 
these  bodies  differ  greatly  in  times  and  rapidity.  The 
stiirs,  they  affirm,  influence  particularly  over  men  at 
their  birth  ;  and  the  knowledge  of  their  aspects  at 
that  moment,  contributes  much  to  reveal  the  bless- 
ings or  the  evils  which  they  may  expect. . . .  They 
form,  beyond  the  limits  of  the  zodiac,  twenty -four 
constellations,  twelve  northern  and  twelve  southern  ; 
the  twelve  visible  together  rule  over  the  living  ;  the 
twelve  invisible  rule  over  the  dead ;  and  they  con- 
sider them  as  judges  over  all  men.  The  moon,  say 
they,  is  below  all  the  stars  and  all  the  planets  ;  and 
her  revolution  is  complete  in  a  shorter  time. . . . 
The  Chaldeans,  in  short,  are  the  most  eminent  as- 
trologers in  the  world,  as  having  cultivated  this  study 
more  carefully  than  any  other  nation.  But  wo  can- 
not easilv  believe  what  thev  advance  on  the  great 
37" 


antiquity  of  their  early  observations  :  for,  according 
to  them,  they  began  473,000  years  before  the  passage 
of  Alexander  into  Asia." 

These  extracts  show  the  Chaldeans  to  hold  very 
smnlar  notions  with  the  ancient  Persian  Magi.  The 
interpreter-stars  of  one  are,  evidently,  the  mediator- 
stars  of  the  other :  the  messenger-stars  are  the  watch- 
ers of  Daniel;  or  analogous  to  the  Satan  of  Job: 
and  on  the  reports  of  such  messengers,  no  doubt,  the 
coiuisellor-gods  formed  their  decrees ;  as  in  the  in- 
stance of  Nebuchadnezzar.  From  this  account,  the 
reader  wll  also  understand  by  what  right  the  Baby- 
lonian monarch  called  on  his  Chaldeans,  his  wise  men, 
and  astrologers,  to  explain  that  revelation  which  he 
conceived  had  been  made  to  him  by  the  celestial  guar- 
dians of  his  person  and  kingdom.  Philostratus  (Vit. 
ApoUon.  lib.  ii.)  says,  the  ludi  ai-e  the  wisest  of  all 
mankind.  The  Ethiopians  (the  oriental  Ethiopians) 
are  a  colony  from  them  ;  and  they  inherit  the  wisdom 
of  their  forefathers.  The  hieroglyphics  on  the  obe- 
lisks, says  Cassiodorus,  (lib.  iii.  epist.  2.  51.)  are  Chal- 
daic  signs  of  words,  which  were  used,  as  letters  are, 
for  the  pm-pose  of  information.  Zonaras  (v.  i.  p.  22.) 
says,  the  most  approved  account  is,  that  the  arts  came 
from  Chaldea  to  Egypt ;  and  from  thence  passed  in- 
to Greece.  The  philosophy  of  this  people  was 
greatly  celebrated.  Alexander  visited  the  chief  per- 
sons of  the  country,  who  were  esteemed  professors 
of  .science.  Consider  the  pre-eminence  given  to 
Solomon,  (1  Kings  iv.  30.)  "and  fuller — more  exten- 
sive— was  the  wisdom  of  Solomon,  beyond  the  wis- 
dom of  all  the  sons  of  Kedem,  and  beyond  all  the 
wisdom  of  Mizraim :"  and  with  this  character  com- 
pare that  of  the  Chaldeans,  as  above,  and  that  of  the 
original  Indi,  who  are  Chaldeans,  and  sons  of  Kedem 
too.  We  find  they  worshipped  fire,  so  that  they  were 
Auritoe  ;  and,  in  short,  that  Ur  of  the  Chaldees  might 
be  the  residence  of  such  professors,  and  such  devo- 
tees; for  which  reason  Abraham  was  directed  to 
quit  it.  On  the  whole,  we  may  consider  the  Chas- 
dim,  or  Chaldeans,  as  the  philosophic  or  the  priestly 
order,  among  the  Babylonians ;  and  rather  a  caste 
among  a  nation,  than  a  nation  of  themselves ;  much 
as  the  Brahmins  of  India  (a  race  by  their  own  ac- 
knowledgment not  truly  Indian)  are  at  this  day; 
who  preserve  knowledge,  if  any  be  preserved ;  who 
perform  religious  functions,  and  are  supposed  to 
maintain  the  truth  of  religion  officially,  and  whose 
order  sometimes  furnishes  kings  and  nobles.  Inso- 
much that  if  we  should  say  of  Abraham — he  came 
from  Ur,  a  city  of  the  Brahmins  ;  or  if  we  should 
say — the  Brahmins  were  the  wisest  of  all  mankind, 
yet  Solomon  was  wiser  than  they  were  ;  though  we 
should  certainly  offend  against  terms  and  titles,  yet 
we  should  possibly  be  tolerably  near  to  a  fair  notion 
of  the  Chasdim  of  Scripture,  and  of  their  character. 

[The  view  above  taken  of  the  Chaldeans,  can 
hardly  be  termed  satisfactory ;  and  the  character  as- 
signed to  them  as  a  people  is  certainly  not  accordant 
throughout  with  the  representations  of  Scripture. 
They  are,  indeed,  described  as  wise  and  learned,  so 
that  the  name  Chaldean  is  also  taken  directly  for  a 
learned  man,  an  astrologer,  &c.  but  they  are  also  de- 
scribed as  being  warlike,  fierce,  and  inured  to  hard- 
ship, Hab.  i.  It  will  therefore  not  be  inappropriate 
to  exhibit  here  the  views  entertained  respecting  the 
origin  of  this  people  by  Vitringa ;  (Comm.  in  Jes. 
tom.  i.  p.  412,  ad  Jes.  xiii.  19.)  and  after  him  by 
Gesenius,  Rosenmiiller,  and  others.  (Gesen.  Com.  z. 
Jes.  xxiii.  13.     Rosenm.  Bibl.  Geogr.  I.  ii.  p.  36,  seq.) 

The  Chaldeans,  called  every  where  in  the  Hebrew 


CHALDEANS 


290  ] 


CH  A 


Scriptures  Casdiin,  were  a  warlike  i)eoplt3,  who  origi- 
nally inhabited  the  Carduchian  niountains,  north  of 
yissyria,  and  the  northern  part  of  Mesopotamia. 
According  to  Xenophon,  (Cyrop.  iii.  2.  7.)  the  Chal- 
deans dwelt  in  the  mountains  adjacent  to  Armenia  ; 
and  they  are  found  in  this  same  region  in  the  cam- 
paign of  the  younger  Cyrus,  and  the  retreat  of  the 
ten  thousand  Greeks.  (Xen.  Anab.  iv.  3,  4  ;  v.  5.  9  ; 
vii.  8.  14.)  That  they  were  genealogically  allied  to 
the  Hebrews  appears  from  (Jen.  xxii.  22 ;  where 
Chesed,  {iv:i,  whence  Casdim,)  tlie  ancestor  of  this 
people,  is  mentioned  as  a  .son"  of  Nahor,  and  was, 
consequently,  the  nephew  of  Abraham.  And  further, 
Abraham  himself  emigrated  to  the  land  of  ("anaan 
from  Ur  of  the  Chaldeans,  Ur-Casdi'in  ;  [Gvu.  xi.  28 ; 
Neh.  ix.  7.)  and  in  Judith  v.  G,  the  Hebrews  are  sai(l 
to  be  descendunls  of  the  Chaldeans.  The  region 
around  the  river  Chaboras,  in  the  norlii  of  Mesojw- 
tamia,  is  called  by  Ezekiel  (i.  'S.)  the  Land  of  tlit 
Chaldeans  ;  althoiigli  this  may  i)e  perhaps  taken  in  a 
wider  sense  for  the  Chaldean  or  iJabylonian  empire. 
Jeremiah  calls  them  (v.  15.)  "an  ancient  nation."  As 
the  Assyrian  monarchs  extended  their  conquests  to- 
wards the  north  and  west,  the  Chaldeans  came  also 
under  their  dominion  ;  and  this  rough  and  energetic 
people  appear  to  have  assumed,  under  the  sway  of 
their  conquerors,  a  new  character,  by  means  of  the 
removal  of  a  part  of  them  to  Babylon;  where  they 
were  probably  placefl  to  ward  off  the  irruptions  of 
the  neighboring  Arabians.  We  may  suppose,  too, 
that  some  special  form  of  government  was  assigned 
to  them,  ill  order  to  convert  them  from  a  rude  horde 
into  a  civilized  peoi»le.  Still  an  important  part  of 
the  Chaldeans  must  ha\e  remained  in  their  ancient 
country,  and  continued  true  to  their  ancient  modes 
of  life  ;  for  in  the  time  of  Xenophon  they  appear  un- 
der the  same  primeval  character  and  manners,  (see 
above,)  and  enjoyed,  also,  imder  the  Persians,  a  certain 
degree  of  liberty.  (Are  not  the  Kurds,  who  have  in- 
habited these  regions,  at  least,  since  the  middle  ages, 
and  \vliose  character  and  mode  of  life  agree  with  Xen- 
ophon's  description  of  the  Chaldeans,  probably  the 
descendants  of  that  people?  See  GeseniusComm.  z. 
Jes.  Th.  i.  p.  747.)  That  this  establishment  of  the  Chal- 
deans in  Babylon  did  not  tak(;  pl;ice  long  before  the 
time  of  Shalmaneser,  (about  730  B.  C.)  may  be  infer- 
red from  the  fact,  that  Isaiah  (xxiii.  13.)  calls  the 
Chaldeans  a  people  newly  founded  by  the  .hsj/rians. 
A  very  vivid  and  graphic  description  of  the  Chaldeim 
warriors  is  given  l)y  the,  prophet  Habakkuk,  wlio 
probably  lived  about  the  time  when  they  first  made 
incursions  into  Palestine  or  the  adjacent  regions, 
c.  i.  (i— n, 

t).  For  lo,  I  nii.sc  up  the  Chaldeans. 

A  bitter  and  hasty  nation. 

Which  marches  far  and  wide  in  the  earth, 

To  possess  the  dwellings  that  are  not  theirs. 
7.  They  ar<'  terrible  and  dreadiiil, 

Their  decrees  and  their  judgments  proceed  only 
from  themselve-. 
fi.  Swifter  than  leopards  are  their  horses, 

And  fiercer  than  the  evening  wolves. 
.         Th(!ir  horsemen  ])rance  proudly  around; 

And  their  horsemen  shall  come  from  afar  and  fly, 

Like  the  eagle  when  he  pounces  on  his  prey. 
9.  They  all  shall  come  for  violence. 

In  troops, — their  glance  is  gwy forwaril! 

They  eather  captives  like  the  sand  ! 
10,    \nd  tliey  scoff  at  kings, 


And  j)rinces  are  a  scorn  unto  them. 
They  deride  every  strong  hold  ; 
They  cast  u\)  [mounds  of]  earth  and  take  it. 
11 .  Then  renews  itself  his  spirit,  and  transgresses  and 
is  guilty  ; 
For  this  his  pow  er  is  his  God. 

This  warlike  people  must,  in  a  short  time,  and  in 
an  important  degree,  have  obtained  the  upper  hand 
in  the  Assyrian  empire.  For  about  120  years  after 
Esarhaddon,  (see  Babylonia,  and  Esarhaddon,)  i.  e. 
about  597  B.  C.  Nabopolassar,  a  viceroy  of  Babylon, 
made  himself  independent  of  Assyria,  contracted  an 
•nlliance  with  Cyaxares,  king  of  Media,  and  with  his 
aid  subdued  Nineveh  a)](l  the  whole  of  Assyria. 
That  Nabopolassar  was  u  Chaldean,  may  be  iftferred 
from  the  fact,  that  there  is  afterwards  no  more  men- 
tion of  Assyrian  kings,  but  only  of  Chaldean  mon- 
archs. Nabopolassar  had  a  powerfid  enemy  in 
Necho,  the  king  of  Egypt,  who  penetrated,  victori- 
ous, even  to  the  banks  of  the  Euphrates;  while  in 
Syria,  Pha'nicia,  and  Judea,  all  espoused  his  party. 
Under  tliese  circmnstances,  Nabopolassar,  being  al- 
ready advanced  in  age,  assumed  his  son  Nebuchad- 
nezzar as  the  partner  of  his  throne.  From  this 
period  onward,  the  history  of  the  Chaldeans  is  given 
under  the  article  Babylonia.     *R. 

CHAM,  Egypt ;  but  whether  so  called  from  the 
patriarch  Ham  may  be  doubted,  although  the  Eng- 
lish translation  says  "  Land  of  Ham."  It  denotes 
heal,  heated;  hlaek,  or  sun-burnt,  Vsalm  cv.  23,  27; 
cvi.  22.  Tlie  heathen  writers  called  this  country 
Chemia,  and  the  native  Copts,  at  this  day,  call  it  Che- 
mi.     See  Ham,  and  Egypt. 

CHAMELEON,  see  Cameleox. 

CHAMOIS.  Our  translators  have  evidently  erred 
ill  inserting  the  chamois  in  Deut.  xiv.  .5.  The  He- 
brew word  is  zemer,  which  the  LXX  render  "  Came- 
lopardalis ;"  the  Vulgate  and  the  Arabic  do  the  same, 
the  latter  rendering  "  Zirafte."  The  ziraffe,  or  gi- 
raft'e,  however,  being  a  native  of  the  torrid  zone,  and 
of  Southern  Africa,  it  is  equally  unlikely  that  it  should 
be  abundant  in  Judea,  and  used  as  an  article  of  food, 
as  that  the  chamois,  which  inhabits  tlie  chilly  regions 
of  mountains  only,  and  seeks  their  most  retired 
heights,  to  shelter  it  from  the  warmth  of  summer, 
j)referring  those  cool  retreats  where  snow  and  ice 
pnnall,  should  be  known  among  the  population  of 
Israel.  We  must  yet  wait  for  authorities  to  justify 
a  conclusive  opinion  on  this  animal.  The  class  of 
antelopes  bids  fairest  to  contain  it. 

(MIAMOS,  see  Chkmosh. 

CHAOS,  a  term  expressive  of  that  confusion 
which  overspread  matter  when  first  produced  ;  and 
before  Go<l,  by  his  almighty  word,  had  reduced  it  to 
order. 

CHAR  AC  A,  a  city  of  Gad,  whence  Judas  Macca 
hens  drove  Timotheus,  2  Mac.  xii.  17.  Probably  the 
same  as  Charac-!\Ioal).     See  Selah. 

CHARIOT.  The  history  of  conveyance  by 
means  of  vehicles,  carried  or  drawn,  is  a  subject  too 
extensive  to  be  treated  of  fidly  here. — There  can 
be  no  doubt,  after  men  had  accustomed  cattle  to 
submit  to  the  control  of  a  rider,  and  to  support  the 
incumbent  weight  of  a  person,  or  persons,  whether 
the  animal  were  ox,  camel,  or  horse,  that  the  next 
step  was  to  load  such  a  creature,  jtroperly  trained, 
with  a  litter,  or  portable  conveyance  ;  balanced,  per- 
haps, on  each  side.  This  might  be  long  before  the 
mechanism  of  the  wheel  was  em|)loycd  ;  as  it  is  still 
practised  among  pastoral   i)eople.     Nevertheless,  we 


CHARIOT 


[  2<J1  ] 


CHARIOT 


find  that  wheel  carriages  are  of  great  antiquity  ;  tor 
we  read  of  ivagons  so  early  as  Gen.  xlv.  19,  and 
iuihtary  carriages,  perhaps  for  chiefs  and  oflicers, 
first  of  all,  in  Exodus  xiv.  25,  "  The  Lord  took  off  the 
chariot-jt'Aee/s  of  the  Egj^ptians  ;"  and,  as  these  were 
the  fighting  strength  of  Egypt,  this  agrees  with  those 
ancient  writers,  who  report  that  Egypt  was  not,  in 
its  early  state,  intersected  by  canals,  as  in  latter  ages  ; 
after  the  fonnation  of  whicli,  wheeled  carriages 
were  laid  aside,  and  little,  if  at  all,  used. 

The  first  mention  of  chariots  occiu's  (Jen.  xli.  4.3. 
"  I'haraoh  caused  Joseph  to  ride  {rdcub)  in  the  second 
chariot  [merktbeih]  that  belonged  to  him."  This,  most 
likely,  was  a  chariot  of  state,  not  an  ordinary,  or  trav- 
elling, but  a  handsome,  ecjuipagc  ;  becoming  the  rep- 
resentative of  the  monarch's  ])erson  and  power.  \V<,' 
find,  as  already  suggested,  that  Egypt  had  anothei- 
kind  of  wheel-carriage,  better  adapted  to  the  convey- 
ance of  burdens ;  "  take  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt 
(niSjy  egiiloih)  ivagons,  wlieel-carriages,  lor  convey- 
ance of  yoin-  little  ones,  and  your  women."  These 
were  family  vehicles,  for  the  use  of  the  feeble  ;  in- 
cluding, if  need  be,  Jacob  himself:  accordinglj',  we 
read,  ver.  27,  of  the  tvagons  which  Joseph  had  sent  to 
carry  him,  (Jacob,)  ami  whicli,  perhaps,  the  aged  patri- 
arch knew  by  their  construction  to  be  Egypt-built; 
for  as  soon  as  he  saw  them,  he  believed  the  reports 
from  that  coimtry,  though  he  had  doubted  of  them 
before,  when  delivered  to  him  by  liis  sons.  This 
kind  of  chariot  deserves  attention,  as  we  find  it  after- 
wards employed  on  various  occasions  of  Scripture, 
among  which  are  the  follow  ing:^"/-s/,  it  \vas  intended 
by  the  princes  of  Israel  for  carrying  parts  of  the  sa- 
cred utensils:  (Num.  vii.  3.)  "They  brought  their 
offering — six  covered  wagons  {fgaluth)  and  twelve 
oxen," — (two  oxen  to  each  wagon  ;) — here  these 
wagons  are  expressly  said  to  be  covered :  and  it  should 
appear,  that  they  were  so,  generally ;  beyond  ques- 
tion, those  sent  by  Joseph  for  the  w^omen  of  Jacob's 
family  were  so  ;  among  other  jjin-poses,  for  that  of 
seclusion.  Perha])s  these  wagons  might  be  covered 
with  circular  headings,  spread  on  hoops,  like  those 
of  our  own  wagons ; — what  wv  call  a  tilt.  Consider- 
able imjjortance  attaches  to  tliis  heading,  or  tilt,  in 
the  history  of  the  cia-iosity  of  the  men  of  Bethslie- 
niesli,  (1  Sam.  vi.  7.)  where  we  read  that  the  Philis- 
tines advised  to  make  a  new  (covered)  wagon,  or  carl 
{egdldh); — and  the  ark  of  the  Lord  wiis  ]iut  into  it, 
— and,  no  doubt,  was  carefully  covered  over — conceal- 
ed— secluded  by  those  who  sent  it. — It  came  to  Betb- 
sheniesh,  and  the  men  of  that  town,  a\  ho  were  reaping 
in  the  fields,  perceiving  the  cart  coming,  went  and  ex- 
amined what  it  contained  ;  "  and  they  saw  the  ark, 
and  were  joyful  in  seeing  it."  Those,  jierliaps,  who 
first  examined  it,  instead  of  carefully  covering  it  up 
again,  as  a  sacred  utensil,  suffered  it  to  lie;  o|)en  to 
conmion  inspection,  which  they  encouraged,  in  or- 
der to  triumidi  in  the  votive  offerings  it  had  acquir- 
ed, and  to  gratify  profane  curiosity  ; — the  Lord  tliere- 
fore  punisiied  the  people,  (ver.  19,)  "  because  they 
had  inspected,  looked  ui)on,  the  ark."  This  affords 
a  clear  view  of  the  transgi-ession  of  these  Israelites, 
who  had  treated  the  ark  with  less  reverence  than  the 
Philistines  themselves  ;  for  those  heathen  conquer- 
prs  had  at  least  behaved  to  Jehovah  with  no  less  re- 
spect than  they  did  to  their  own  deities ;  and  being 
accustomed  to  cany  them  in  covered  wagons,  for 
privacy,  they  maintained  the  same  privacy  as  a  mark 
of  honor  to  the  God  of  Israel.  The  Levites  seem  to 
have  been  equally  culpable  with  the  common  peo- 
ple ;  they  ought  to  have  conformed  to  the  law,  and 


not  to  have  suffered  their  triumi)h  on  this  victoriouf* 
occasion  to  beguile  them  into  a  transgression  so  con- 
trary to  the  very  first  ininci|)Ies  of  the  theocracy. 

That  this  word  egiUdU  describf^s  a  covered  wagon, 
we  learn  from  a  third  instance,  that  of  Uzzah,  (2  Sam. 
vi.  3.)  for  we  cannot  suppose  that  Davitl  could  so  far 
forget  the  dignity  of  the  ark  of  the  covenant,  as  to 
suffer  it  to  be  exposed,  in  a  public  piocession,  to  the 
eyes  of  all  Israel  ;  especially  after  the  ])unishment  of 
the  people  at  Bethshemesh.  "They  carried  the  ark 
of  (jod  on  a  new  'covered  cart' — and  Uzzah  put 
forth  [his  hand,  or  some  catching  instrument]  to  the 
ark  of  God,  and  laid  liold  of  it,  'lor  the  oxen  shook 
it ;  and  tin,'  Lord  smote  him  there,  and  he  died  on 
the  spot,  with  the  ark  of  God  u])on  him.  And  David 
called  the  place  'the  breach  of  Uzzah'  " —  i.  e.  where 
the  anger  of  the  Lord  broke  out  agahist  Uzzah. 

\Ve  may  now  notice  the  })roportionate  severity  of 
the  ])unishments  attending  profanation  of  the  ark — 
(L)  the  Philistines  suffered  by  diseases,  from  which 
they  were  relieved  after  theii-  oblations  ; — (2.)  the 
Bethshemeshites  also  suffered,  but  not  fatally,  by  dis- 
eases of  a  different  nature,  which,  after  a  time,  passed 
off.  These  were  inadvertencies  ;  but,  (3.)  Uzzah — 
who  ought  to  have  been  fully  instructed  and  correct- 
ly obfHlient,  who  conducted  the  procession,  who  was 
himself  a  Levite — was  punished  fatally,  for  his  re- 
missness— his  inattention  to  the  law,  which  express- 
ly directed  tliat  the  ark  should  be  carried  on  the 
shoulders  of  the  priests,  the  Kohathites,  (Num.  iv.  4, 
19,  W.)  dislinct  from  those  tlii)igs  carried  in  wagons, 
<"hap.  vii.  9. 

That  this  khiil  of  wagon  was  iisetl  for  carrying 
considerable  weights,  and  even  cumbersome  goods, 
(and,  therefore,  was  fairly  analogous  to  our  own  tilted 
wagons,)  we  gather  from  the  expression  of  the  Psalm- 
ist, xlvi.  9 :—  t 

He  maketh  wars  to  cease  to  the  end  of  the  earth ; 
The  bow  he  breaketh  ;  and  cutteth  asunder  the  spear  ; 
The  chariots  {cgdl6th)\ie  burneth  in  the  fire. 

'J'he  writer  is  mentioning  the  instrmnents  of  war 
— the  I)ow — the  spear — then,  he  says,  the  wagons 
(plinai)  which  used  to  return  home  loaded  with 
plunder,  these  share  the  fate  of  their  companions,  the 
how  and  the  spear;  and  are  burned  in  the  fire — the 
very  idea  of  the  classical  allegory,  Peace  burning  the 
im|>lements  of  war  ! — introduced  here  with  the  hap- 
piest effect ;  not  the  general's  merkebelh  ;  but  the  plun- 
dering wagons.  This  is  still  more  expressive,  if  these 
wagons  carried  captives ;  w  hich  \vc  know  they  did 
i)i  other  instances  ;  women  and  children.  "  The  cap- 
tive-canying  wagon  is  burnt."  There  can  be  no 
.stronger  descri])tion  of  the  cdc'Ct  of  peace :  and  it 
closes  the  period  witli  pecidiar  emi)hasis. 

[This  attempt  to  determine  the  form  and  use  of  the 
Hebre\v  m'^y;  rests  on  mere  conjecture,  and  is  op- 
jiosed  l)y  all  tlie  evidence  whicli  the  nature  of  the 
case  admits.  Especially  in  Ps.  xlvi.  9,  it  is  obvious, 
that  tli(^  meaiiing  is  siiu})ly  chariots  of  war :  Jehovah 
is  described  as  desolating  the  enemy  by  destroying 
their  inq)lements  of  war,  of  battle, — the  bows,  the 
spears,  the  chariots  of  the  warriors.  How  tame  in 
conqiarison  is  here  the  idea  of  a  baggage-ivagoni — Be- 
sides, there  is  no  evidence  whatever,  that  this  kind  of 
vehicle  was  a  covered  one  ;  certainly  it  is  not  neces- 
sarily to  be  so  understood,  at  least  in  the  case  of  war- 
chariot.s.  The  ark,  too,  is  said  above  to  have  been  al- 
ways covered,  when  transported  in  a  vehicle  or 
borne  on  the  shoulders;  but  this  surely  does  not  fol- 


CHARIOT 


[293  1 


CHARIOT 


low  from  aiiy  thing  that  is  said  in  Scripture.  That 
the  egdldh  may  sometimes  have  been  covered,  is  also 
doubtless  true.  The  name  is  derived  from  a  root 
signifying  to  roll,  and  means  simply  a  vehicle  on 
tohcels,  whether  chariot  or  wagon,  for  the  transport- 
ation of  goods  or  persons ;  and  nuiy,  for  aught  we 
loiow,  have  included  as  many  forms  and  kinds,  as 
our  word  car,  or  wagon,  or  carriage.     R. 

Having  thus  shown  the  antiquity  and  use  of  cover- 
ed wagons,  which,  in  most  instances,  perhaps  indeed 
in  all,  were  drawn  by  oxen,  we  [)roceed  to  notice 
chariots  of  equal  antiquity,  but  for  a  different  pur- 
pose ;  and  among  these  we  may  perceive  a  distinc- 
tion, as  we  find  two  names  employed  to  denote 
them :  (1.)  the  receb,  (2.)  the  mercahah,  the  latter 
evidently  a  derivative  from  the  former.  The  first 
may  be  thought  the  inferior,  and  drawn  by  two 
horses  only ;  the  second  was  the  more  splendid, 
and  drawn  by  four  liorses.  Joseph,  as  we  have 
seen,  rode  in  the  second  state-chariot  {mercahah) 
of  Pharaoh's  kingdom : — that  this  was  a  handsome 
equipage,  need  not  be  doubted  ;  that  it  was  a  public 
vehicle,  appears  from  the  proclamation  and  honors 
attending  the  statesman  who  rode  in  it.  Joseph,  also, 
when  going  to  meet  his  father,  rode  as  vizier  in  his 
mcrcdbdh.  We  find,  moreover,  that  Sisera,  when 
expected  to  make  his  triumphant  entry,  was  equally 
expected  to  ride  in  such  a  chariot ;  for  his  mother 
says,  "  Why  tarry  the  wheels  of  his  mercdboth  ?" 
Judg.  V.  28.  This  vehicle  he  had  also  used  in  battle, 
chap.  iv.  15.  Perhaps  this  conception  adds  a  spirit 
to  the  history  of  Naaman,  2  Kings  v.  9.  That  hero 
of  Syria  came  to  the  prophet  Elisha,  with  his  horse 
and  attendants,  a  great  retinue  ;  but  being  in  a  state 
of  disease,  he  occupied  a  humble  7-eceb ;  being  a  leper, 
he  was  secluded ;  not  so,  when  he  went  away  healed  ; 
then,  in  a  state  of  exultation,  he  rode  in  his  mercd- 
bdh  ;  for  so  says  verse  21,  he  ahghted  from  his  mer- 
cdbdh  to  meet  Gehazi.  (See  also  vei'se  26.)  This  kind 
of  chai-iot  was  not  omitted  by  the  ambitious  Absa- 
lom, among  his  preparations  for  assuming  the  state 
of  royalty  ;  (2  .Sam.  xv.  1.)  and  that  this  was  a  char- 
iot of  triumjjh,  or  of  magnificence,  is  decided  by  a 
passage  of  the  prophet  Isaiah,  (chap.  xxii.  18.)  "the 
chariots — mercdboth — ov  thy  glory  sJiall  be  the 
shame  of  thy  Lord's  house."  (See  also  1  Kings  xii. 
18;  XX.  33  ;  2  Kings  ix.  27.)  It  may  further  be  ob- 
served, that  these  vurcdboth  ^verc  used  in  battle,  by 
kings  and  by  general  officers  ;  so  we  read  in  2Chron. 
XXXV.  24,  that  king  Josiali  was  mortally  wounded  in 
battle  ;  his  servants  therefore  took  him  out  of  that 
mtrcdbah  wliich  he  had  used,  as  conmiander  against 
Pharaoh-Necho,  and  put  him  in  a  second  receb, 
which  belonged  to  him,  to  convey  him  to  Jerusalem. 
The  same  is  related  of  Ahab,  1  Kings  xxii.  35.  And 
the  king,  who  was  disguised  as  an  officer,  was  stayed 
up  in  his  mercdbdh  against  Syria ;  but  he  died  in  the 
evening.  And  the  blood  from  his  wound  ran  into  the 
bosom  of  his  receb.  That  is  to  say,  Ahab  had 
been  removed,  like  Josiah,  from  a  chariot  of  dig- 
nity to  a  common  litter,  (for  such  might  be  the 
rdceh  here,)  for  the  more  easy  and  private  carriage 
of  Ins  body,  now  de;ul ;  and  the  l)lood  from  his  wound 
ran  into  this  vehicle, — which,  therefore,  was  washed 
in  the  pool  of  Samaria  ;  (verse  .38.)  and  thus  the  min- 
gling of  his  blood  with  the  water  of  the  pool,  of  which 
the  dogs  drank,  fulfilled  the  jn-ophet's  prediction. 
That  the  word  chariot  souietimes  means  the  horses 
whici)  drew  the  vehicle,  api)ears  from  2  Sam.  viii.  4 
"  And  David  houghed  all  the  chariot  horses  ;  but  re- 
served to  himself  a  hundred  chariot  horses  ;"  here  the 


horses  must  be  the  subject  of  this  operation,  not  the 
chariots;  and  so  the  passage  is  always  understood, 
though  the  word  chariot  only  is  used. 

[Of  the  distinction  here  attempted  to  be  made 
between  the  Hebrew  aoi,  receb,  and  naair,  mercdbdh, 
the  same  must  be  said  as  above  ;  it  is  not  only  with- 
out evidence,  but  contrary  to  all  the  evidence  which 
exists.  In  the  case  of  Naaman  the  Syrian,  (2  Kings 
V.)  no  one,  who  had  not  a  theoiy  to  support,  would 
ever  suspect  that  the  chariot  mentioned  in  verse  21 
was  not  the  very  same  vehicle  just  before  mentioned 
in  verse  9 ;  and  which  in  one  case  is  called  receb,  and 
in  the  other  mercdbdh.  So,  also,  in  the  case  of  Ahab, 
(1  Kings  xxii.  35.)  where  there  is  no  hint  of  his  re- 
moval from  one  vehicle  to  another,  and  yet  both 
terms  are  used  of  the  same  vehicle.  The  word  33i, 
receb,  is  the  abstract  noun  from  the  verb  signifying 
to  ride,  to  be  borne,  and  means,  in  general,  any  vehicle 
in  which  one  is  transported  ;  just  as  our  word  carriage 
designates,  in  general,  that  in  which  one  is  carried.  It  is 
also  more  generally  a  noun  of  nudtitude,  signifying  a 
plurality  of  such  vehicles ;  while,  on  the  contrary,  the 
word  mercdbdh  is  a  noun  of  unity,  designating  only  one 
vehicle,  under  the  idea  of  the  instru7ne7it  of  one's  being 
carried.  It  is  also  not  im})roi)able,  that  this  Avord 
may  have  been  limited  to  a  more  definite  significa- 
tion, and  applied  to  some  particidar  forms  or  kinds  of 
chariots.  The  other  word,  receb,  was  exceedingly  gen- 
eral in  its  application,  standing  sometimes  for  char- 
iots of  war  ;  (Exod.  xiv.  9.)  sometimes,  possiblj^,  for  a 
litter  borne  by  horses,  as  in  the  case  of  Josiah ;  (2 
Chi'on.  XXXV.  24.)  sometimes  for  the  horses  them- 
selves, as  2  Sam.  viii.  4  ;  x.  18  ;  and  again  for  the  riders 
on  horses  and  other  anirnals,  Is.  xxi.  7,  9.  That  it, 
however,  designates  any  where  a  litter,  is  certainly 
very  difficult  to  be  made  out,  and  is  contradicted  by 
Gesenius  and  all  tlie  other  best  interpreters.     R. 

At  any  rate  it  is  not  easy  to  determine  Avhen  it  means 
a  wheeled  chariot,  drawn  by  two  horses,  or  when  it 
means  a  litter,  carried  by  two  horses ;  but  this  is  of 
small  consequence,  as  we  may  rationally  conclude, 
that  vehicles  with  two  horses  Avere  {»rior  to  those 
with  four  ;  the  second  pair  being  added  for  greater 
pomp  and  dignity.  The  following  may  perhaps  af- 
ford some  hints  on  the  subject  of  chariots  drawn  by 
two  horses.  2  Kings  ii.  1 1,  "  There  appeared  to  the 
prophet  Elisha  a  receb,  chariot,  of  fire,  and  horses 
of  fire."  Ps.  Ixxvi.  6,  "In  a  dead  sleep  are  both 
7*ece6,  chariot,  and  horse  f^  if  this  be  a  single  horse, 
it  must  needs  be  a  wheeled  chariot,  which  he  draws ; 
not  a  litter.  Is.  xliii.  17,  "  Who  bringeth  forth  r^ceb 
— chariot,  and  horse,^^  (singular).  2  Kings  vii.  13, 
14.  "  Take,  I  pray  thee,  Jive  [it  should  be  a  few] 
of  the  horses  which  remain  ; — tliey  took,  therefore, 
two  receb,  chariot  horses,"  i.  c.  the  jiroper  number 
for  a  receb  :  and,  that  the  rendering  jive  is  here  im- 
proper, is  evident,  because  only  two  were  sent ;  yet 
this  was  clearly  according  to  the  proposal,  and  fully 
as  much  to  the  purpose  oh  Jive ;  the  mention  oi^Jive  is 
evidently  intended  as  a  sort  of  round  niunber,  a 
few. 

A  passage  in  the  second  part  of  Dr.  E.  D.  Clarke's 
Travels  throws  additional  light  on  the  construction 
of  the  ancient  chariot.  That  traveller  says,  (p.  112.) 
— "  The  women  of  the  place  (the  hot  sjjrings,  at  Bour- 
nabashi)  bring  all  their  garments  to  be  washed  in 
these  springs,  not  according  to  the  casual  visits  of 
ordinary  industry,  but  as  an  ancient  and  established 
custom,  in  the  exercise  of  which  they  proceed  with 
all  the  pomp  and  songs  of  a  public  ceremony.  The 
remains  of  customs  belonging  to  the  most  remote 


CHA 


[  993  ] 


CHE 


ages  are  discernible  in  the  shape  and  couetructiou  of 
the  wicker  cars,  in  which  the  Hnen  is  brought  on 
these  occasions,  and  whicli  are  used  all  over  this 
country.  In  the  first  of  them,  I  recognized  the  form 
of  an  ancient  car,  of  Grecian  sculpture,  in  the  Vati- 
can collection  at  Rome  ;  and  which,  although  of  Pa- 
rian marble,  had  been  carved  to  resemble  wicker 
work ;  while  its  wheels  were  an  imitation  of  those 
solid,  circular  planes  of  timber  used  at  this  day, 
in  Troas,  and  in  many  parts  of  Macedonia,  and 
Greece,  for  the  cars  of  the  country.     They  are  ex- 

f)re8sly  described  by  Homer,  in  the  mention  of  Priam's 
itter,  when  the  king  commands  his  son  to  bind  on 
the  chest  or  coflor,  which  was  of  wicker  work,  upon 
the  body  of  the  carriage.  (Iliad  xx^v.)  This  wicker 
chest,  being  movable,  is  used  or  not,  as  circumstances 
may  require."  This  particular  formation  did  not 
escape  the  notice  of  Dr.  Sibthorp,  when  at  Troy.  He 
says,  "  The  wains  wei-o  of  a  singular  structiu-e,  and 
probably  of  very  ancient  origin,  and  had  received 
none  of  the  improvements  of  modern  discoveries.  A 
large  wicker  basket,  eight  feet  long,  mounted  on  a 
four-wheeled  machine,  was  supported  by  four  later- 
al props,  which  were  inserted  into  holes  or  sockets. 
The  wheels  were  made  of  one  solid  piece,  round  and 
convex  on  each  side."  (Walpole.  Trav.  Asia,  vol. 
ii.  p.  114.) 

[If  we  might  suppose  that  the  Hebrew  rtceb  ever 
designated  a  litter,  the  following  descrij)tion  of  a 
scene  in  the  khan  at  Acre  would  afford,  perhaps,  an 
apt  illustration:  "The  bustle  was  increased  this 
morning,  by  the  departure  of  the  wives  of  the  govern- 
or of  Jaffa.  They  set  off  in  two  coaches,  of  a  curi- 
ous construction,  connnon  in  this  country.  The 
body  of  the  coach  was  raised  on  two  parallel  poles, 
some^vhat  similar  to  those  used  for  sedan-chairs, 
only  that  in  these  the  poles  were  attached  to  the  low- 
er part  of  the  coach, — throwing,  consequently,  the 
centre  of  gravity  much  higher,  and  appai-ently  ex- 
posing the  vehicle,  with  its  veiled  tenant,  to  an  easy 
overthrow,  or  at  least  to  a  very  active  jolt.  Between 
the  poles,  strong  mules  were  harnessed,  one  before 
and  one  behind  ;  who,  if  they  should  prove  capri- 
cious, or  have  very  uneven  and  mountainous  ground 
to  pass,  would  render  the  situation  of  the  ladies  still 
more  critical.  But  there  is  nothing  to  which  use 
may  not  reconcile  us,  and  they  who  can  be  brought 
to  endure  the  trot  of  the  camel,  may  consider  them- 
et'lves,  as  franked  for  every  other  kind  of  convej - 
ance."  (Jowett's  Chr.  Res.  in  Syria,  p.  115,  116.  Am. 
cd^R. 

CHARIOTS  OF  War.  Scripture  speaks  of  two 
sorts  of  these,  one  for  princes  find  generals  to  ride  in, 
the  other  to  break  the  enemy's  battalions,  by  rush- 
ing in  among  them,  being  armed  with  iron,  [i.  c.  iron 
hooks  or  scythes,  curru^  falcati,]  which  made  terri- 
ble havoc.  The  Canaauites,  whom  Joshua  engaged  at 
the  waters  of  3Ierom,had  horsemen,  and  a  nuiltitude  of 
chariots,  Josh.  xi.  4.  Sisera,  general  of  Jahin,  king  of 
Hazor,  had  900  chariots  of  iron.  Judah  could  not  get 
possession  of  the  lands  belonging  to  their  lot,  because 
the  ancient  inhabitants  of  the  country  were  strong  in 
chariots  of  iron,  Judg.  i.  19.  The  Philistines,  in  their 
war  against  Saul,  had  30,000  chariots,  and  (iOOO 
horsemen,  1  Sam.  xiii.  5.  David,  having  taken  1000 
chariots  of  war  from  Hadadezer,  king  of  Assyria,  ham- 
strung the  horses,  and  burned  900  chariots,  reserv- 
ing only  100,  2  Sam.  viii.  4.  It  does  not  appear  that 
the  kings  of  the  Hebrews  used  chariots  in  war. 
Solomon  had  a  considerable  number,  but  we  know 
not  of  any  military  expedition  in  which  they  were 


employed,  1  Kings  x.  26.  As  Judea  was  a  nioufl. 
tainous  country,  chariots  were  of  no  use.  In  2  Mac. 
xiii.  2,  there  is  mention  of  chariots  armed  with 
scythes,  which  the  king  of  Syria  led  against  Judea. 

CHEBAR,  a  river  of  Assyria,  which  falls  into  the 
Euphrates,  in  the  upper  part  oflVIesopotamia,  Ezek.  i. 
1.     The  same  as  the  Chaboras. 

CHEDORLAOiMER,  king  of  the  Elymseane,  or 
Elamites,  (i.  e.  either  the  Persians,  or  a  people  bor- 
dering on  them,)  was  one  of  four  kings  who  confed- 
erated against  the  five  kings  of  the  Peutapohs  of  Sod- 
om, who  had  revolted  from  his  power,  A.  M.  2092. 
See  Elam. 

CHELMON,  a  city  ojjposite  to  Esdraelon ;  near 
to  which  part  of  Holofernes'  army  encamped  before 
he  besieged  Bethulia.  It  is,  perhaps,  the  Salmon  of 
Ps.  Ixviii.  14  ;  Judg.  ix.  48 ;  or  Cammon,  noticed  by 
Eusebius,  seven  miles  north  from  Legio. 

CHEMOSH,  the  national  god  of  the  Moabites,  and 
of  the  Ammonites,  worshipped  also  under  Solomon 
at  Jerusalem,  Judg.  xi.  24 ;  1  Kings  xi.  7 ;  2  Kings 
xxiii.  13  ;  Jer.  xlviii.  7.  Some  confound  Chemosh 
with  Ammon.  Jerome  and  others  take  Chemosh  and 
Peor  for  the  same  divinity  :  but  Baal-Peor  was  Tam- 
muz,  or  A  donis. 

CHENANIAH,  a  master  of  the  temple  music,  who 
conducted  the  music  at  the  removal  of  the  ark  from 
Obed-edom,  1  Chron.  xv.  22. 

CIIEPHIRAH,  a  city  of  the  Gibeonites,  given  to 
Benjamin,  Josh.  ix.  17  ;  xviii.  26.  It  appears  to  have 
been  a  village  of  the  Hivites,  and  to  have  retained  its 
name,  to  whatever  size  it  might  afterwards  have  at- 
tained. 

CHEREIM,  see  A.vathema. 

CHERETHIM,  or  Cretim,  the  Philistines.  (See 
Caphtor.)  David,  and  some  of  his  successors,  had 
guards  which  were  called  Cherethites  and  Pelethites, 
(2  Sam.  viii.  18.)  whose  office  was  of  the  same  na- 
ture as  thnt  of  Capigis  among  the  Turks  and  other 
orientals,  ^vho  are  bearers  of"  the  sultan's  orders  for 
punishing  any  one,  by  decapitation,  or  otherwise  ; 
an  office  ^vhich  is  very  honorable  in  the  East,  though 
considered  as  degrading  among  us.  It  appears  that 
Herod  made  use  of  an  officer  of  this  description 
in  beheading  John  the  Baptist.  Of  a  like  na- 
ture, probably,  were  the  "footmen"  of  Saul,  1  Sam. 
xxii.  17. 

CHERITH,  a  brook  beyond  Jordan,  which  falls 
into  that  river,  below  Bethsan,  1  Kings  xvii.  3.  See 
Elijah. 

CHERUB,  jL(/ara/  Cherubim,  a  particular  order  of 
angels;  (Ps.  xviii.  10,  &c.)  but,  more  particularly, 
those  symbolical  representations  wliich  are  so  often 
referred  to  in  the  Old  Testament,  and  in  the  book 
of  Re\  elation.  On  no  subject,  perhaps,  have  there 
been  so  many  unavailing  conjectures  as  the  form  and 
design  of  these  figures.  Grotius  says,  the  cherubim 
were  figures  like  a  calf.  Bocliart  and  Spencer  think 
they  were  nearly  the  figure  of  an  ox.  Josephus 
says,  they  were  extraordinary  creatures,  of  a  figure 
imknown  to  mankind.  Clemens  of  Alexandria  be- 
lieves that  the  Egyptians  imitated  the  cherubim  of 
the  Hebrews  in  their  sphinxes  and  hieroglyphical 
animals.  The  descriptions  which  Scripture  gives  of 
cherubim  differ ;  but  all  agree  in  representing  a  fig- 
ure composed  of  various  creatures — a  man,  an  ox,  an 
eagle,  and  a  lion.  Such  were  the  cherubim  describ- 
ed by  Ezekiel,  chap.  i.  5,  to  the  end,  and  x.  2. 
Those  which  Solomon  placed  in  the  temple  must 
have  been  nearly  the  same,  1  Kings  yi.  23.  Those 
which   Moses  placed   on   the   ark  of  the  covenant 


CHERUBIM 


[994  ] 


CHE 


^Exod.  Axv.  18,  19,  20,)  are  not  clearly  described; 
nor  are  those  which  God  posted  at  the  entrance  of 
Paradise,  Gen.  iii.  14.  Ezekiel  (xxviii.  14.)  says  to 
the  king  of  Tyre,  "  Thou  art  the  anointed  cherub 
that  covereth :  thou  wast  upon  the  holy  mountain  of 
God;"  like  that  cherub,  resplendent  with  glory. 
Moses  says,  the  two  cherubim  covered  the  mercy- 
seat,  with  their  wings  extended  on  both  sides, 
and  looked  one  upon  another,  having  their  faces 
turned  towards  the  mercy-seat,  which  covered 
the  ark. 

Amidst  these  conflicting  opinions  Mr.  Taylor  has 
steered  his  course,  and  from  a  number  of  indepen- 
dent and  historical  data  he  has  elicited  much  that  is 
plausible,  if  it  cannot  be  said  to  be  altogether  con- 
clusive, as  to  their  general  form.  But  as  the  disser- 
tation will  not  admit  of  abridgment,  we  must  refer 
the  reader  to  the  Fragments  of  wliich  it  is  com- 
posed. The  following  remarks,  however,  may  not 
be  without  their  use. 

Each  cherub  had  four  faces:  (1.)  that  of  a  man  ; 
(2.)  that  of  a  lion  ;  (.3.)  that  of  an  ox  ;  (4.)  that  of  an 
eagle.  These  four  faces  were  probably  attached  to 
one  head,  and  seen  by  the  beholder  in  union,  being 
joined,  each  by  its  back  part  to  the  others.  Their  body, 
from  the  neck  downwards,  was  human  ; "  the  likeness 
of  a  man."  This  human  part  first  meeting  the  spec- 
tator's eye,  had  he  seen  nothing  else,  he  might  from 
thence  have  supposed  the  whole  form  to  be  human. 
Ezekiel  describes  the  cherub  as  having  four  wings  ; 
— Isaiah  describes  the  seraph  as  having  six  wings  ; 
say,  two  on  his  head,  two  on  his  shoulders,  two  on 
his  flanks.  Their  arms,  rendered  in  our  translation 
hands,  were  four,  one  on  each  side  of  the  creature. 
The  remainder,  or  lower  part,  of  their  figure,  was, 
from  the  rim  of  the  belly  downwards,  either,  (1.)  hu- 
man thighs,  legs,  and  feet,  to  which  were  appended,  at 
the  posteriors,  the  body  and  hind  legs  of  an  ox  ;  or, 
rather,  (2.)  the  body  and  the  fore  legs  of  an  ox,  out 
of  which  the  human  part  seemed  to  rise,  so  that  all 
below  the  rim  of  the  belly  was  ox-like,  and  all  above 
that  division  was  human.  From  which  forination  a 
spectator  paying  most  attention  to  their  lower  parts, 
miglit  have  Ijeen  inclined  to  think  them  oxen  ;  or  at 
least  bestial.  With  regard  to  their  services,  or 
what  they  appeared  to  do,  we  may  ask.  Was  the 
vision  seen  by  the  jjrophet  Ezekiel,  as  well  as  that 
by  the  prophet  Isaiah,  the  resemblance  of  a  mova- 
ble throne  or  chariot,  of  prodigious  dimensions,  on 
which  the  sovereign  was  understood  to  sit ;  and  to 
which  the  wheels  were  annexed,  in  much  the  same 
manner  as  to  the  royal  travelling  (or  military)  thrones 
of  the  Persian  kings  ;  while  die  four  cherubim  occu- 
pied the  places  of  four  horses  to  draw  this  magnifi- 
ceiit  machine  ?  This  he  thinks  probable,  and  illus- 
trates the  idea  at  some  length. 

The  wheels  described  in  Ezek.  i.  15 — 21,  in  con- 
nection with  tlie  cherubim,  he  conceives  to  have  been 
representative  of  the  throne  of  the  Deity  ;  the  con- 
struction— wheel  within  wheel — being  for  the  piu*- 
pose  of  their  rolling  every  way  with  perfect  readi- 
ness, and  without  any  occasion  of  turning  the  whole 
machine.  The  cherubim  having  the  conducting  of 
this  throne,  it  is  ol)vious  to  remark  how  well  adapt- 
ed their  figure  was  to  their  s.-n-vice  ; — their  faces  look- 
ing every  way,  so  that  tiicro  Avas  no  occasion  for 
turning  (as  a  horse  must)  in  obedience  to  directions, 
to  proceed  to  the  right,  or  to  the  left,  instead  of  going 
straight  forward. 

[Much  misapprehension  respecting  these  appear- 
ances, has  arisen  from  the  idea  of  the  wheels  and 


"^TilTi 


the  cherubim  bemg  full  of  eyes,  Ezek.  i.  18  ;  x.  12. 
So  in  Rev.  iv.  6,  8,  the  four  beasts  are  said  to  have 
"eyes  before  and  behind,"  and  "whhin."  This  is 
doubtless  intended  as  a  symbol  of  the  alacrity  with 
which  the  ministei-s  of  Jehovah  perform  his  will, — 
of  that  keen-sighted  sense  of  duty  which  lets  nothing 
escape  unseen,  unnoticed,  unfulfilled.     R. 

The  accompanying  engraving  represents  a  crea- 
ture which  ornaments  the  jiortal  of  the  palace  of 
Persepolis :  the  legs  and  the  body  resemble  those  of 
an  ox ;  and  it  lias  the  tail  of  an  ox :  on  the  body  are 
grafted  a  large  pair  of  wings, — no  doubt  those  of  an 
eagle  ;  and  its  whole  front  and  shoulders  are  studded, 
either  with  feathers,  or 
with  rising  knobs. — What 
its  head  was,  it  is  now  im- 
possible to  determine  ;  but 
by  its  form,  by  the  cap 
upon  it,  and  by  what 
seems  to  be  drapery,  at- 
tached to  it,  it  is  probable 
that  the  countenance  was 
human.  The  statues  are 
greatly  damaged  ;  partly 
by  age,  and  more  by  fire  ; 
still  more,  perhaps,  by  the 
barbarity  of  their  possess- 
ors. But  if  this  subject 
rejiresent   an   ox's    body, 

eagle's  wings,  and  a  human  countenance,  then  it 
closely  approaches  the  ancient  composition  of  the 
cherub ;  and  it  is  the  more  satisfactory,  because, 
being  extant  in  Persia,  it  proves  that  such  emblems 
were  not  confined  to  Egypt ;  but  might  be  of  Chal- 
dean, or,  at  least,  of  Asiatic,  origin.  In  fact,  it  is  evi- 
dent that  they  were  adopted  throughout  a  very  exten- 
sive poi'tion  of  the  East;  and  Ezekiel  being  resident 
in  Persia,  his  reference  to  them  might  be  easily  un- 
derstood by  his  readers,  to  whom  such  symbols  were 
familiar. 

In  conclusion,  was  the  ofi^euce  given  to  Judali,  by 
Israel,  by  the  erection  of  the  golden  calves,  (which 
certainly  were  allied  to  the  cherubim,  in  figure  and 
import,  if  they  were  not  absolutely  the  same,)  be- 
cause this  was  a  profession  of  having  the  throne  of 
God  among  that  division  of  the  sons  of  Jacob  ?  Waa 
it  also  because,  in  Judali,  these  emblems  were  kept 
private,  in  the  temple  ;  wliereas,  in  Israel,  they  were 
exposed  to  public  view,  as  objects  of  worship  ? 
Were  the  figures  erected  by  Jeroboam  truly  cheru- 
bim, but  called  calves,  i.  e.  their  name  being  taken 
from  the  inferior  part  of  their  comjiosition  by  way 
of  indignity ;  or  were  they  an  imperfect  association 
of  emblems,  some  being  omitted,  and  what  remained 
being  chiefly  those  jiarts  which  referred  to  the  ox,  or 
calf?  or,  as  these  are  sometimes  called  heifers,  waa 
the  sex  feminine  instead  of  masculine'?  or  had  they 
compound  parts  of  both  sexes  ?  as  many  Egyptian 
sjjhinxes  had,  as  what  remain  fullj'  demonstrate. 
[These  are  all  riucstions  which  no  man  can  ever  an- 
swer afliirmatively  ;  and,  therefore,  it  is  better  at  once 
to  say,  No.     11. 

In  2  Kings  xix.  15 ;  Ps.  Ixxx.  1  ;  Isaiah  xxxvii.  16, 
God  is  spoken  of  as  dwelling — residing — between  the 
cherubim  ;  but  tin;  word  helwcen  is  supplied  by  our 
translators:  should  they  not  rather  have  supplied  the 
word  above  or  over  the  cherubim,  or  some  similar  ex- 
pression ? — since  such  is  the  relative  situation  of  the 
Divine  Majesty  in  these  visions. 

CHESALO'N,  a  city  of  Judah,  Josh.  xv.  10. 

I.  CHESIL,a  city  of  Judah  ;  (Josh.  xv.  30.)  Euse- 


CHI 


[  295  ] 


CHITTIM 


bins  calls  it  Xil ;  and  places  it  in  the  south  of  Judah. 
— II.  A  constellation.     See  Orion. 

CHESTNUT-TREE,  (p-i;)  Gen.  xxx.37;  Ezek. 
xxxi.  8.  In  these  places,  the  LXX  and  Jerome  trans- 
late, "  plane-tree  ;"  and  most  of  the  modern  interpret- 
ers follow  their  authority.  The  Hebrew  is  derived 
from  a  root  which  signifies  nakedness  ;  and  it  is  often 
observed  of  the  plane-tree,  that  the  bark  peels  off 
from  the  trunk,  leaving  it  naked  ;  Platanus  orientalis. 

CHIDON,  the  threshing-floor  where  Uzzah  was 
suddenly  struck  dead,  1  Chron.  xiii.  9.  In  2  Sam. 
vi.  6,  it  is  called  "  the  threshing-floor  of  Nachon ;" 
but  we  know  not  whether  the  names  of  Nachon  and 
Chidon  are  those  of  men  or  of  places. 

CHILD,  CHILDREN.  The  descendants  of  a 
man,  generally,  are  called  his  sons,  or  children,  in 
the  Hebrew  idiom  ;  as  the  children  of  Edom,  of  Mo- 
ab,  of  Israel.  Disciples,  also,  are  often  called  chil- 
dren or  sons.  The  children  of  the  devil,  the  sons  of 
Belial,  arc  those  who  follow  the  maxims  of  the  world 
and  of  the  devil.  The  expressions,  "children  of  tlie 
wedding,"  "children  of  light,"  "children  of  dark- 
ness," signify  those  invited  to  the  wedding,  those 
who  follow  light,  those  who  remain  in  darkness; 
as  the  children  of  the  kingdom  describes  those  who 
belong  to  the  kingdom.  The  holy  angels  are  some- 
times described  as  sons  of  God,  Job  i.  6  ;  ii.  1  ;  Psalm 
Ixxxix.  G.  Good  men,  in  opposition  to  wicked  men, 
arc  likewise  thus  called  ;  as  the*  family  of  Seth  in 
opposition  to  the  descendants  of  Cain,  Gen.  vi.  6. 
Judges,  magistrates,  and  priests  are  likewise  termed 
children  of  God,  Psalm  Ixxxii.  6;  xxix.  1.  Israelites 
are  called  sons  of  God,  in  o{)position  to  the  Gentiles, 
Hosea  i.  10;  John  xi.  52.  In  the  New  Testament, 
believers  are  called  children  of  God,  in  virtue  of 
their  adoption,  John  i.  12;  Rom.  viii.  14  ;  Gal.  iii.  26. 
See  Birth. 

CHILMAD,  a  citv  of  Asia,  Ezek.  xxvii.  23. 

L  CHIMHAM,  a'  son  of  Barzillai,  the  Gileadite, 
and  one  who  followed  David  to  Jerusalem,  after  the 
war  with  Absalom  ;  and  Avho  was  enriched  by  David, 
in  consideration  of  his  father  Barzillai,  whose  gene- 
rous assistance  he  had  experienced,  2  Sam.  xix.  37, 
38. — II.  A  place  near  Bethlehem,  Jer.  xli.  17. 

CHIOS,  or  Coos,  an  island  in  the  Archipelago, 
between  Lesbos  and  Samos,  on  the  coast  of  Asia 
Minor,  now  called  Scio.  Paul  passed  this  way  as 
he  sailed  southward  from  Mitvlene  to  Samos,  Acts 
XX.  15. 

CHISLOTH,  or  Chisloth-Tabor,  a  city  on  the 
side  of  mount  Tabor,  (Josh.  xix.  12,  18.)  which  Eu- 
sebius  and  Jerome  call  Casalus,  or  Exaliis,  and  place 
ten  miles  from  Diocsesarea,  east. 

It  is  called  Tabor,  only,  in  verse  22,  and  there  is  at 
this  day  a  village  so  called  by  the  Arabs,  at  the  foot 
of  the  mountain.  It  is,  however,  probable  that  this 
was  a  fortification  higher  up  the  mountain,  perhaps 
on  the  top  of  it ;  whence  it  might  be  called  the  con- 
fidence of  Tabor. 

CHINNERETH,  see  Cinnereth. 

CHISLEU,  the  ninth  month  of  the  Hebrews,  be- 
ginning with  the  new  moon  of  December,  Neh.  i.  1 ; 
Zech.  vii.  1.  Others  make  it  equivalent  to  our  No- 
vember.    See  CiSLEU. 

CHITTIM.  Writers  on  Scripture  antiquities  are 
not  agreed  as  to  the  country  or  countries  implied 
under  this  name.  Josephus  is  for  Cyprus,  Bochart 
and  Vitringa  for  Italy  and  Corsica,  Grotius,  Le  Clerc, 
and  Calmet  understand  Macedonia,  Jerome  the 
islands  of  the  Ionian  and  ^Egean  sea,  while  Lowth  and 
Hales  understand  all  the  islands  and  coasts  of  the 


Mediterranean.  It  is  proper  to  examine  critically 
the  various  passages  of  Scripture  in  which  the  word 
occurs,  for  the  purpose  of  ascertaining  whether  more 
than  one  region  or  country  may  not  be  intended. 
We  have  then  the  following  references: — (1.)  Chit- 
tim,  mentioned  by  Moses,  Numb.  xxiv.  24.  (2.)  Chit- 
tim,  mentioned  by  Daniel,  xi.  30.  Bochart  is  of 
opinion  that  the  ships  of  Chittim,  here,  refer  to  the 
Roman  fleet,  jjresuming  that  Chittim  signifies  Italy 
l)ut,  as  Mr.  Taylor  remarks,  he  calls  the  Roman  fleet 
that  of  the  Chittim,  because  it  lay  in  the  harbors  of  the 
3Iacedonians  ;  thus  the  fleet  of  Chittim,  and  of  Mace- 
donia, was,  in  fact,  the  Roman  fleet  also.  (3.)  Chethim 
in  the  isle  of  Cyprus ;  from  whence,  as  Josephus 
says,  the  Hebrews  called  all  islands  Chethim,  though 
he  restrains  that  title,  principally,  to  a  city  called 
(Citius)  Kitios;  now  Larnica.  (4.)  In  Ezek.  xxvii. 
6,  some  of  the  Arabs  translate  the  word  chetcim  "the 
isles  of  India  ;"  the  Chaldee,  "the  province  of  Apu- 
lia," meaning  the  region  of  elephants,  and  probably 
intending  Pul  in  Egypt.  The  Syriac  version  reads 
Chettboje,  which  has  some  resemblance  to  Cataya ; 
and  by  which  we  are  directed  towards  India.  (5.) 
Isaiah,  speaking  of  the  destruction  of  Tyre,  by  Neb- 
uchadnezzar, says,  "Howl,  ye  ships  of  Tarshish,  for 
it  is  laid  waste — from  the  land  of  Chittim  it  is  reveal- 
ed to  them,"  ch.  xxiii.  1.  This  Calmet  understands 
of  Macedonia  ;  but,  then,  how  is  it  said,  that  the  de- 
struction of  Tyre,  occasioned  by  Nebuchadnezzar, 
should  come  from  Chittim  ?  Might  not  the  passage 
be  more  properly  interpreted,  as  relating  to  the  de- 
struction of  this  city  by  Alexander  the  Great?  Bas- 
uage,  by  Chittim,  understands  the  Cuthceans,  inhab- 
itants of  the  Suziana,  near  Babylon,  who  marched 
under  Nebuchadnezzar,  and  assisted  at  the  siege  of 
Tyre.  But  where  are  the  Cuthseans  named  Chittim  ? 
Upon  the  whole,  there  is  reason  to  think  that  the 
word  Chittim  implies,  as  Lowth  and  Hales  suppose, 
all  the  coasts  and  islands  of  the  Mediterranean  sea. 

[The  following  is  the  note  of  Gesenius  upon  the 
word  Chittim,  in  his  commentary  upon  Is.  xxiii.  1 : 
"Among  the  three  different  opinions  of  ancient 
and  modern  interpreters,  according  to  which  they 
sought  for  the  land  of  the  Chittim  in  Italy,  Macedo- 
nia, and  Cyprus,  I  decidedly  prefer  the  latter,  w^hich 
is  also  that  of  Josephus.  (Ant.  i.  6.  1.)  According  to 
this,  Chittim  is  the  island  Cyprus,  so  called  from 
the  Phoenician  colony  Klnor,  Citium,  in  the  southern 
part  of  this  island  ;  but  still  in  such  a  sense,  that  this 
name  Chittim  was  at  a  later  period  employed  also,  in 
a  wider  sense,  to  designate  other  islands  and  coun- 
tries adjacent  to  the  coasts  of  the  Mediterranean  ;  e.  g. 
Macedonia,  Dan.  xi.  30  ;  1  IMac.  i.  1 ;  viii.  5.  This  is 
also  mentioned  by  Josephus.  That  A'lTioiAvas  some- 
times used  for  the  whole  of  Cyprus,  and  also  in  a 
wider  sense  for  other  islands,  as  Rhodes,  is  expressly 
asserted  by  Epiphanius,  who  himself  lived  in  Cyprus, 
as  a  w^oll  known  fact.  (Adv.  Hseres.  xxx.  25.)  It 
could  also,  he  adds,  be  used  of  the  Macedonians,  be- 
cause they  were  descended  from  the  Cyprians  and 
Rhodians.  That  most  of  the  cities  of  Cyprus  were 
Phoenician  colonies,  is  expressly  afiirmed  by  Diodo- 
rus,  (ii.  p.  114.  comp.  Herodot.  vii.  90.)  and  the  prox- 
imity of  the  island  to  Phoenicia,  together  with  its 
aliundant  supply  of  the  utmost  variety  of  productions, 
especially  of  such  as  were  essential  to  ship-building, 
would  lead  us  to  expect  nothing  else.  In  respect  to 
Citium,  at  least,  it  is  clear,  that  it  was  settled  by  the 
Phoenicians,  and  not  by  the  Greeks.  (Here  follows 
a  variety  of  citations  in  proof  of  this  point,  e.  g.  Cic. 
de  Fin.'iv.  20.  Diog.  Laert.  vita  Zenonis,  etc.)     One 


CHI 


296  ] 


CHIUN 


of  the  few  passages  iu  the  Bible  which  gives  a  more 
definite  hint  in  respect  to  the  Chittim,  is  Ezek.  xxvii. 
6,  which  agrees  very  well  with  Cyprus :  '  Of  the  oaks 
of  Bashan  do  they  make  thine  oars;  thy  ships' 
benches  do  they  make  of  ivory,  encased  with  cedar 
from  the  isles  of  Chittim  ;'  where  the  word  Jlshurim 
means  probably  the  same  as  Teashitr,  a  species  of  ce- 
dar or  pine,  which  is  found  abundantly  in  the  noble 
forests  of  Cyprus.  The  opinion  that  Italy  was  the 
land  of  the  Chittim,  which  is  adopted  by  Bochart  and 
Vitringa,  seems  to  me  to  be  wholly  untenable ;  be- 
cause, in  Is.  xxiii.  12,  (comp.  verse  6,)  the  Chittim 
appear  evidently  to  be  a  Phoenician  possession  ;  while 
in  Italy  especially,  no  colonies  of  this  people  ever 
existed.  In  the  present  passage,  (Is.  xxiii.  1.)  we 
must  understand  the  sense  to  be,  that  the  fleets  com- 
ing from  Tarshish  (Tartessus)  to  Tyre,  would  on  their 
w^ay  learn  from  the  inhabitants  of  Cyprus  the  news 
of  the  downfall  of  Tyre."  (See  Gesen.  Comm.  zu 
Isa.  Th.  ii.  p.  721 ;  Rosenm.  Bibl.  Geogi-.  iii.  p. 
378.)  R. 

CHIUN,  [the  name  of  a  god  worshipped  by  the 
Israelites  in  the  desert.  The  name  occurs  only  in 
Amos  V.  26,  "  But  3'e  have  borne  the  tabernacle  of 
your  Moloch  and  Chiun  your  images,  the  star  of 
your  god,  which  ye  made  to  yourselves."  This  is 
quoted  somewhat  differently  in  Acts  viii.  43,  "  Ye 
took  up  the  tabernacle  of  Moloch,  and  the  star  of 
yoiu"  god  Remphan,  figures  which  ye  made  to  wor- 
ship them."  According  to  Syriac  and  Hebrew  inter- 
preters, it  is  the  same  as  the  Araliic  Chevdn,  the 
planet  Saturn  ;  respecting  the  worship  of  which  by 
the  Semitish  nations,  sec  Gesenius  Comm.  zu  Jesaia, 
Th.  iii.  p.  343.  They  regarded  and  worshipped  the 
planets  Saturn  and  Mars,  as  evil  principles,  sources 
of  ill ;  as  they  held  Jupiter  and  Venus  for  sources  of 
good.     The  use  of  the  word  stctr,  especially  as  ap- 

Slied  in  the  Acts,  refers  us  directly  to  a  star-god. 
lichaelis  not  inaptly  proposes  to  change  the  reading 
of  the  Hebrew  points  to  Chevdn  instead  of  Chiun. 
The  Seventy,  and  Stephen  quoting  from  them,  have 
here  simply  substituted  'Fca<iiiv,  or  ' Pffupicv,  Rephan, 
or  Remphan,  the  Coptic  name  of  Saturn.  R.]  Some 
think  that  three  deities  are  named  here — Moloch, 
Chiun,  and  Remphan :  others,  that  the  three  names 
mean  only  one  god  ;  that  is,  Saturn,  and  his  planet. 
Salmasius  and  Kircher  assert,  that  Kiion  is  Saturn, 
and  that  his  star  is  called  Keiran  among  the  Persians 
and  Arabians,  and  that  Remphan,  or  Rephan, signified 
the  same  among  tlie  Egjptians.  They  add,  that  the 
Seventy,  writing  in  Egypt,  changed  the  word  Chiun 
into  Remphan,  because  it  had  the  same  signification. 
Jablonsky  and  Basnage  conclude,  that  Moloch  was 
the  sun,  and  Chion,  or  Chiun,  and  Rephan,  the 
moon. 

[The  illustration  of  this  subject  is  attempted  by 
Mr.  Taylor,  by  the  following  references  to  Hindu 
mythology,  and  to  the  Sanscrit  language.  They  may 
stand  here  for  what  they  are  worth.  It  is  no  doulit 
true,  that  the  very  striking  analogies  which  are  foimd 
to  exist  between  the  ancient  Sanscrit,  and  the  Per- 
sian, the  Greek,  and  other  western  tongues,  go  very 
far  to  prove  an  original  relation  between  the  race's 
which  spoke  these  languages  ;  but  it  should  also  be 
borne  in  mind,  that  between  the  Sanscrit  and  the 
various  Semitish  languages  no  such  analogy  exists ; 
the  resemblances  between  tJiem  being  in  fact  verv 
slight,  and  not  sufficient  to  warrant  any  inference  of 
primeval  kindred.     R. 

It  is  suggested  by  Mr.  Taylor,  that  this  Chiun  may 
be  the  Chtven  of  the  ancient  Sanscrit  and  the  modern 


Bramius.  Wo  know,  indeed,  that  Kijun  is  the  name 
of  a  Persian  deity  ;  and  also  that  Keiivan  denotes  the 
planet  Saturn  ;  but  the  reasons  for  identifying  Chiun 
\^ith  Saturn  are  not  satisfactory.  What,  then,  is 
Chiven'? — Mr.  Taylor  answers,  The  power  of  de- 
struction and  reproduction.  Brama,  Vistnou,  and 
Chiven  are  the  triple  power  of  the  Supreme  Being,  in 
manifestation  ;  in  other  words,  creation,  conservation, 
destruction,  and  reproduction.  Nor  was  it  otherwise 
understood  by  the  Seventy,  who,  in  translating  the  pas- 
sage in  Amos,  offer  a  remarkalile  variation  ;  to  'uaxQov 
Tov  ftfoii  riioiy'  Panpuf  ;  which  is  adopted  by  Stephen. 
(Acts  vii.  43.)  "  The  star  of  your  god  Remphan,  fig- 
lU'es  which  ye  made  to  v\orship  them."  Now,  what 
can  Remphan  be .''  This  question  has  been  foiuid 
difficult  of  solution  ;  but  the  following  passage  from 
the  Essay  of  sir  W.  Jones  on  the  gods  of  India, 
(Asiatic  Researches,  p.  251.  Calcutta  edit.)  may  be 
more  determinate :  "  Mahadeva,  in  his  generative 
character,  is  the  husband  of  Bhavani,  whose  relation 
to  the  waters  is  evidently  marked  by  her  image  being 
restored  to  them  at  the  conclusion  of  her  great  festi- 
val called  Durgotsava :  she  is  known  also  to  have 
attributes  exactly  similar  to  those  of  Venus  Ma- 
rina, Avhose  birth  from  the  sea-foam  and  splendid 
rise  from  the  couch,  in  whicli  she  had  been  cradled, 
have  afforded  so  many  charming  subjects  to  ancient 
and  modern  artists  ;  and  it  is  very  remarkable  that 
the  Rembha  of  India's  court,  who  seems  to  corre- 
spond with  the  poi)ular  Venus,  or  goddess  of  beauty, 
was  produced,  according  to  the  Indian  fabulists,  from 
the  froth  of  the  churned  ocean."  ....  "Bhavani 
now  demands  our  attention ;  and  in  this  cliaracter 
we  suppose  her  to  be. ..Venus  herself;  not  theldalian 
queen  of  laughter  and  jollity,  who,  with  her  nymphs 
and  graces,  was  the  beautiful  child  of  poetical  imagi- 
nation, and  answers  to  the  Indian  Rembha,  with  her 
celestial  train  of  Apsaras,  or  damsels  of  paradise;  but 
Venus  Urania,  so  luxuriously  painted  by  Lucretius, 
and  so  proj^erly  invoked  by  him  at  the  opening  of  a 
poem  on  nature  ;  Venus  presiding  over  generation, 
and,  on  that  account,  exhil)ited  sometimes  of  both 
sexes;  (an  union  very  common  in  the  Indian  sculp- 
tures ;)  as  in  her  bearded  statue  at  Rome,  in  the 
images,  perhaps,  called  Ilermathena,  and  in  those 
figures  of  her,  which  had  the  form  of  a  conical  mar- 
ble, 'for  the  reason  of  which  figure  we  are  left,'  says 
Tacitus,  '  in  the  dark.' — The  reason,  however,  ap- 
pears too  clearly  in  the  temples  and  paintings  of 
Hindustan  ;  where  it  never  seems  to  have  entered  the 
heads  of  the  legislators  orj)eop!e  that  any  thing  natu- 
ral could  be  offensively  obscene  ;  a  singularity  which 
pervades  all  their  writings  and  conversation,  but  is 
no  proof  of  depravity  in  their  morals."  (p.  254.)  The 
decorous  sensibility  of  this  elegant  writer  has  imagined 
a  distinc'.lon  without  an  cssenlial  diiference;  it  is 
enough  for  our  pur])ose,  how("V(>r,  that  Rembha  and 
Rempha  are  evidently  the  same  ;  that  Rembha  is  the 
popular  Venus,  or  goddess  of  reproduction  ;  and  that 
Chiven  is  the  reproductive  j)Ower:  the  Seventy,  and 
Stephen  following  them,  therefore,  in  preferring  one 
name  to  the  odier,  have  merely  substituted  an  appel- 
lation better  known,  to  express  the  same  character: 
— but  both  these  terms  are  Sanscrit ;  and  the  infer- 
ence that  these  deities,  worshi])ped  in  the  West,  were 
adopted  from  the  East,  follows,  unquestionably,  from 
the  use  of  these  terms  to  ex|)ress  them. 

It  will,  no  doubt,  be  observed,  that  Chiven  is  a 
term  used  many  ages  afier  the  events  to  which  the 
prophet  refers,  which  are  those  connected  with  the 
history  of  Balaam,  (Niunb.  xxii.  &c.)  and  that  the 


CHO 


[  297  ] 


CHR 


term  in  Numbers  is  not  Chiven  but  Baal-peor,  chap. 
XXV.  3.  Referring  to  this  same  occurrence,  the 
Psahnist  says,  (Ps.  cvi.  28.)  "The  Israehtes  joined 
themselves  to  Baal-peor,  and  did  eat  the  sacrifices  of 
the  dead  (otic,  methim)." — What  means  th.js Methim  ? 
Some  refer  to  sacrifices  offered  to,  or  in  honor 
of,  the  dead ;  such,  probably,  as  were  afterwards, 
though  in  very  early  times,  offered  by  the  Greeks 
and  Trojans.  But  this  does  not  meet  the  parallelism 
of  the  place  :  as  Baal-peor  is  a  deity,  we  must  look 
for  a  deity  in  Methim,  a  deity  analogous  to  Baal- 
peor,  and  this  we  find  in  Chiven,  who  is  lord  of  de- 
struction as  well  as  of  reproduction.  In  Isaiah  xxviii. 
15.  we  read  of  "  a  covenant  made  with  death,  (n?,  in 
the  singular,)  and  with  hell  (the  grave,  Sinc)  are  we 
at  agreement."  Here  the  reference  is  to  death  in  a 
general  sense,  the  termination  of  life,  as  appears  from 
mention  of  the  grave ;  whereas,  in  the  text  of  the 
psalm,  the  term  is  read  in  the  plural ;  deaths  [per- 
haps, intensively,  for  the  Supreme  Power  of  death] : 
but  the  Keri  (margin)  is  correct,  which  reads  death, 
in  the  singular ;  and,  therefore,  allows  us  to  include 
a  reference  to  the  Power  of  destruction  (Moth)  with 
that  of  generation,  Baal-peor ;  which  powers  co- 
alesce in  the  character  of  the  Hindu  Chiven.  Sir 
William  Jones  has  hinted  at  the  union  of  both  sexes 
in  the  statues  of  Venus;  the  same  is  most  notorious 
in  Cliiven :  his  figure  in  Sonnerat  is  half  man,  half 
woman  ;  and  his  emblem,  in  the  same  author,  is  of 
the  grossest  description.  In  fact,  it  combines  and 
displays  what  Tacitus  has  left  obscure  ;  and  is  a 
compound  symbol,  which,  as  sir  William  observes, 
appears  too  clearly  in  the  temples  and  paintings  of 
Hindustan.  This  afibrds  a  just  notion  of  Baal-peor ; 
and  explains  the  comparisons  to  which  Jerome  and 
Augustin  have  had  recourse  in  their  A\Titings.  Chi- 
ven, in  India,  is  "  adorned  in  the  temples  with  tlie 
best  sweet  herbs  and  flowers,"  says  Baldfpus,  in 
Churchill,  (vol.  iii.  p.  831.)  Augustin  says  the  same 
of  Phalli,  carried  in  procession  in  honor  of  Bacchus, 
in  the  cities  of  Italy,  [at  Rome,  in  the  month  of  Au- 
gust,] crowned  with  garlands  by  the  matrons ;  (De 
Civitate  Dei,  lib.  \"ii.  cap.  2.)  and  Jerome,  on  Hosea, 
accuses  the  Jewish  women  of  worshipping  Baal- 
peor,  ob  obsceni  magnitudinem  membri,  quem  uos 
Priapum  possumus  appellare.  This  hesitating  phra- 
seology shows,  that  the  Christian  father  was  aware  of 
the  want  of  precision  in  his  language  ;  but  he  did 
not  choose  more  fully  to  describe  what  the  Latins 
called  fascini,  and  what  to  this  day  is  worn  as  a 
talisman  by  the  Joguis  of  India. 

[The  somewhat  ostentatious  display  in  the  preced- 
ing j)aragraph  might  have  been  spared,  had  the 
writer  been  satisfied  with  the  simple  and  obvious 
meaning  which  the  text  presents.  In  the  passage  in 
Ps.  cvi.  28,  "They  [the  Israelites]  joined  themselves 
to  Baal-peor,  and  ate  the  sacrifices  of  the  dead  :" — the 
sacrifices  are  simply  those  of  idols  in  general,  who 
are  called  dead  in  contrast  to  the  only  living  and  true 
God.  Just  so  in  Ps.  cxv.  3,  seq.  In  like  manner 
idols  are  also  called  "lying  vanities;"  (Ps.  xxxi.  6, 
Jonah  ii.  9.)  and  other  terms  of  the  utmost  contempt 
and  despite  are  often  apphed  to  them.     R. 

That  the  Israehtes  brought  with  them  from  Egypt 
various  Egyptian  words,  which  they  had  ado})ted 
during  their  residence  in  that  country,  is  generally 
admitted.  The  appellation  Peor  has  been  thought 
of  foreign  origin,  and  not  Hebrew;  and  the  deriva- 
tion of  it  from  the  Egjptian  has  lately  been  urged 
with  considerable  learning  and  force. 

CHORAZIN  a  town  in  Galilee,  near  to  Caperna- 
38 


um,  not  far  distant  from  Bethsaida,  and,  consequently, 
on  the  western  shore  of  the  sea  of  Galilee.  Pococke 
speaks  of  a  village  called  Gerasi,  among  the  hills 
west  of  the  place  called  Telhoue,  10  or  12  miles  north- 
north-east  of  Tiberias,  and  close  to  Capernaum.  The 
natives,  according  to  Dr.  Richardson,  call  it  Chorasi. 
It  is  upbraided  by  Christ  for  its  impenitence.  Matt, 
xi.  21  ;  Luke  x.  13. 

CHOZEBA,  a  to-sra  in  Judah,  1  Chron.  iv.22. 

CHRIST,  a  Greek  word,  answering  to  the  Hebrew 
nTc,  Messiah,  the  consecrated,  or  anointed  one,  and 
given  pre-eminently  to  our  blessed  Lord  and  Saviour. 
Hannah,  the  mother  of  Samuel,  plainly  alludes  to 
him,  when,  at  the  end  of  her  hynni,  and  in  a  time 
when  there  was  no  king  in  Israel,  she  says,  (1  Sam. 
ii.  10.)  "The  Lord  shall  judge  the  ends  of  the  earth, 
and  he  shall  give  strength  unto  his  King,  and  exalt 
the  hom  of  his  Anointed  ;"  that  is,  the  glory,  the 
strength,  the  power  of  his  Christ,  or  Messiah. "  And 
the  Psalmist,  (ii.  2.)  "The  kings  of  the  earth  set 
themselves  against  the  Lord,  and  against  his  Messi- 
ah," or  Anointed.  And  Ps.  xlv.  7,  "Therefore 
God,  thy  God,  hath  anointed  thee  with  the  oil  of 
gladness  above  thy  fellows."  Also  Jeremiah,  (Lam. 
iv.  20.)  "The  breath  of  our  nostrils,  the  anointed  of 
the  Lord,  was  taken  in  their  pits."  Daniel  foretells 
the  death  of  Christ  under  the  name  of  Messiah  the 
Lord:  "And  after  threescore  and  two  weeks  shall 
Messiah  be  cut  off,  but  not  for  himself,"  chap.  ix.  2G. 
Lastly,  Habakkuk  says,  (iii.  13.)  "Thou  wentest  forth 
for  the  salvation  of  thy  people,  even  for  salvation 
with  thine  anointed."  It  would  be  needless  to 
bring  testimonies  from  the  New  Testament  to  prove 
Jesus  to  be  the  Messiah,  since  they  occur  in  almost 
everj-  line. 

The  ancient  Hebrews,  being  thus  instnicted  bj-tlie 
prophets,  had  clear  notions  of  the  Messiah  ;  but  these 
became  gradually  depraved,  so  that  when  Jesus  ap- 
peared in  Judea,  the  Jews  entertained  a  false  con- 
ception of  the  Messiah,  expecting  a  temporal  monarch 
and  conqueror,  who  should  reinove  the  Roman  yoke, 
and  subject  the  whole  world.  Hence  they  Avere 
scandalized  at  the  outward  appearance,  the  humility, 
and  seeming  weakness  of  our  SaA'iour.  The  modern 
Jews,  indulging  still  greater  mistakes,  fonii  to  them- 
selves chimerical  ideas  of  the  Messiah,  utterly  un- 
known to  their  forefathers.  (Comp.  Bibl.  Repos. 
vol.  ii.  p.  330,  seq.) 

The  ancient  prophets  had  foretold,  that  the  Messi- 
ah should  be  God  and  man,  exalted  and  abased, 
master  and  servant,  priest  and  victim,  prince  and 
subject ;  involved  in  death,  yet  victor  over  death ; 
rich  and  poor ;  a  king,  a  conqueror,  glorious  ;  a  man 
of  griefs,  exposed  to  infirmities,  unknown,  in  a  state 
of  abjection  and  hiuniiiation.  All  these  contrarieties 
were  to  he  reconciled  in  the  person  of  the  Messiah  ; 
as  they  i-eally  were  in  the  pei-son  of  Jesus.  It  was 
known  that  the  3Iessiah  was  to  be  born,  (1.)  of  a  vir- 
gin, (2.)  of  the  tribe  of  Judah,  (3.)  of  the  race  of  David, 
(4.)  in  the  village  of  Bethlehem.  That  he  was  to 
continue  for  ever,  that  his  coming  was  to  be  con- 
cealed, that  he  was  the  great  prophet  promised  in  the 
law,  that  he  was  both  the  Son  and  Lord  of  David, 
that  he  was  to  perform  great  miracles,  that  he  ehould 
restore  all  things,  tliat  he  should  die  and  rise  again, 
that  Elias  should  be  the  forerunner  of  liis  appear- 
ance, that  a  i)roof  of  his  verity  should  be  the  cure 
of  lepers,  life  restored  to  the  "dead,  and  the  gospel 
preached  to  the  poor.  That  he  should  not  destroy 
the  law,  but  shouhl  perfect  and  fulfil  it;  that  he 
should  be  a  stone  of  offence,  and  a  stumbling-block, 


CHRIST 


[  298  ] 


CHRIST 


against  which  many  should  bruise  themselves ;  that 
he  should  suffer  iufinite  oppositions  and  contradic- 
tions ;  that  from  his  time  idolatry  and  impiety  should 
be"  banished,  and  that  distant  people  should  submit 
themselves  to  his  authority. 

When  Jesus  appeared  in  Judea,  these  notions  were 
common  among  the  Jews.  Our  Saviour  appeals  even 
to  themselves,  and  asks,  if  these  are  not  the  charac- 
ters of  the  Messiah,  and  if  they  do  not  see  their 
completion  in  himself.  The  evangelists  take  care 
to  put  the  Jews  in  mind  of  them,  proving  hereby, 
that  Jesus  is  the  Christ  whom  they  expected.  They 
quote  the  prophecies  to  them,  which  then  were  ac- 
knowledged to  belong  to  the  Messiah,  though  they 
have  been  controverted  by  the  Jews  since.  It  may 
be  seen  in  the  early  fathers  of  the  church,  and  in  the 
most  ancient  Jewish  authors,  that  in  the  beginning 
of  Christianity,  they  did  not  call  in  doubt  several 
prophecies,  which  their  forefathei"s  understood  of  the 
Messiah.  But  in  after-ages  they  began  to  deny  that 
the  passages  we  quote  against  them  should  be  under- 
stood of  the  Messiah,  endeavoring  to  defend  them- 
selves from  arguments  out  of  their  own  Scrij)tures. 
After  this  they  fell  into  new  schemes,  and  new  no- 
tions concerning  the  Messiah.  Some  of  them,  as  the 
famous  Hillel,  who  Uved,  according  to  the  Jews,  be- 
fore Christ,  maintain  that  the  Messiah  was  already 
come  in  the  person  of  king  Hezekiah ;  others,  that 
the  belief  of  the  coming  of  the  Messiah  is  no  article 
of  faith.  Buxtorf  says  that  the  greater  part  of  the 
modern  rabbins  believe,  that  the  Messiah  has  been 
come  a  good  while,  but  keeps  himself  concealed  in 
some  part  of  the  world  or  other,  and  will  not  mani- 
fest himself,  because  of  the  sins  of  the  Jews.  Jarchi 
affirms,  that  the  Hebrew^s  believed  the  Messiah  was 
born  on  the  day  of  the  last  destruction  of  Jerusalem 
by  the  Romans.  Some  assign  him  the  terrestrial 
paradise  for  liis  habitation  ;  others  the  city  of  Rome, 
where,  according  to  the  Talmudists,  he  keeps  him- 
self concealed  among  the  leprous  and  infirm,  at  the 
gate  of  the  city,  expecting  Elias  to  come  to  manifest 
him.  A  great  number  believe  he  is  not  yet  come  ; 
but  they  are  strangely  divided  about  the  time  and 
circumstances  of  his  coming.  Some  expect  him  at 
the  end  of  six  thousand  years.  They  suppose  Jesus 
Christ  to  be  born  A.  M.  3761.  Add  to  this  number 
1800,  it  will  make  5561  ;  consequently  they  have  439 
years  to  expect  still.  Kimchi,  who  lived  in  the 
twelfth  century,  was  of  opinion,  that  the  coming  of 
the  Messiah  was  very  near.  Maimonides  pretended 
to  have  received  certain  prophecies  from  his  ances- 
tors, importing  that  the  gift  of  prophecy  should  be 
restored  to  Israel,  after  the  same  number  of  years 
from  the  time  of  Balaam,  as  had  passed  from  the  be- 
ginning of  the  world  to  Balaam's  time.  According 
to  him,  Balaam  prophesied  A.  M.  2488.  If  we  double 
this  number,  we  find  the  restoration  of  the  gift  of 
prophecy  should  be  A.  M.  4976,  that  is,  A.  D.  1316. 


But  this  conclusion  has  been  found  false.  Some 
have  fixed  the  end  of  their  misfortunes  to  A.  D.  1492, 
others  to  A.  D.  1598,  others  to  A.  D.  16C0,  others  yet 
later.  Last  of  all,  tired  out  with  these  uncertainties, 
they  have  pronounced  an  anathema  against  any  who 
shall  pretend  to  calculate  the  time  of  the  coming  of 
the  Messiah.  (Gemara  Tit.  Sauhedr.  cap.  xi.)  See 
Messiah. 

As  the  holy  unction  was  given  to  kings,  priests, 
and  prophets,  by  describing  the  jjromised  Saviour  of 
the  world  under  the  name  of  Christ,  anointed,  or 
Messiah,  it  was  sufficiently  evidenced,  that  the  qual- 
ities of  king,  projjhet,  and  high-priest,  would  emi- 
nently centre  in  him  ;  and  that  he  would  exercise 
them,  not  only  over  the  Jews,  but  over  all  mankind ; 
and  particularly  over  those  who  should  receive  him 
as  their  Saviour.  Peter  and  the  other  believers,  being 
assembled  together,  (Acts  iv.  27.)  apply  psalm  ii.  to 
Jesus ;  and  Luke  says,  (iv.  18.)  that  our  Saviour,  en- 
tering a  synagogue  at  Nazareth,  opened  the  book  of 
the  prophet  Isaiah,  where  he  read,  "The  Spirit  of 
the  Loi'd  is  upon  me,  because  he  hath  anointed  me 
to  preach  the  gospel  to  the  poor,"  and  proceeded  to 
show  that  this  prophecy  was  accomplished  in  his 
own  person. 

It  is  not  recorded,  however,  that  Jesus  ever  re- 
ceived any  external,  official  unction.  The  unction 
that  the  prophets  and  the  apostles  speak  of  is  the 
spiritual  and  internal  unction  of  grace,  and  of  the 
Holy  Ghost,  of  which  the  outward  unction,  with 
which  kings,  priests,  and  projihets  were  anciently 
anointed,  was  but  the  figure  and  symbol.  Neverthe- 
less, many  have  supposed, — and  we  see  no  objection 
to  it, — that  when  the  Spirit  visibly  descended  on  Jesus 
at  his  baptism,  he  received  a  peculiar,  solemn,  and 
appropriate  unction. 

The  Jewish  nation  entertained  a  very  general  ex- 
pectation of  the  appearance  of  the  3Iessiah,  about  the 
time  of  our  Lord's  birth  ;  and  it  is  very  credible  they 
had  more  ways  than  one  of  computing  the  period  of  i 
the  Messiah's  advent,  so  that  their  expectation  was  ) 
justly  founded.  One  of  these  modes  of  calculation  ' 
may  be  seen  under  the  article  Generation,  and  it 
may  not  be  unpleasant  to  the  reader  to  inspect  some 
of  those  indications  of  this  national  feeling,  which 
Providence  has  happily  preserved.  On  this  subject 
we  shall  accept  assistance  from  an  able  "defender 
of  Christianity,"  Dr.  Chandler.  "  The  expectation 
of  this  ^reat  King  could  not  be  rooted  out  of  the 
minds  of  the  (Jewish)  ])eople  to  Vespasian's  days, 
whose  sudden  rise  to  the  emjjire,  and  conquest  of  the 
Jews,  so  turned  the  heads  of  many,  as  to  make  them 
imagine  he  must  be  the  king  that  had  been  spoken 
of.  This  account  we  have  in  two  Gentile  and  one 
Jewish  writers.  For  the  readier  comparing  their 
accounts,  we  have  placed  them  in  three  columns,  to 
be  seen  at  one  view : — 


" Plmibus  persuasio  inerat,  anti- 
quis  snrerdotum  libris  contineri,  eo 
ipso  tempore  fore,  ut  valesceret 
Oriens,  ])rofectique  Judea,  rerum 
potirentur.  Qua;  ambages  Ves- 
pasianum  et  Titum  predixerunt. 
Sed  vulgus,  [Judftorum,]  more  hu- 
manse  cupidinis,  sibi  tanturn  fato- 
rum  magnitudinem  interprctati,  ne 
adversis  quidem  ad  vera  mutabnn- 
tur.  Tacitus,  Hist.  cap.  13. 

"  The  generality  had  a  strong 


'^Percrebuerai  oriente  toto  constans 
opinio  esse  in  fatis  ut  eo  tempore, 
Juda?i  profecti  rerum  potirentur. 
Id  de  imperio  Romano,  quantimi 
postea  eventu  patuit,  prtedictum, 
Judaei,  ad  se  habentes,  rebellarunt. 
Suetonius,  Vespasian,  c.  4. 

"  There  had  been  for  a  long  time 
all  over  the  East  a  constant  per- 
suasion, that  it  was  [recorded]  in 
the  Fates  [books  of  the  Fates,  de- 


"  That  which  chiefly  excited  them 
(the  Jews)  to  war,  was  an  ambigu- 
ous jiropliecy,  which  was  also 
foimd  in  the  sacred  books,  that  at 
that  time  some  one  within  their 
country  should  arise,  that  should 
obtain  the  empire  of  the  ivhole 
world  [('•>?  xarltToy  xaipov  tutiroy,  ano 
Ti~s  /wQitc,  rijc  avTviv  aQiei  ti,v  ofxov- 
fiitrp).  For  this  they  had  received, 
(by  tradition,  we  otxtCor  iii?.a(ior,) 
that  it  was  spoken  of  one  of  their 


CHRIST 

persuasion,  that  it  was  contained  in 
tlie  ancient  writings  of  the  priests, 

tliat   AT  THAT  VJERY  TIME    the  EaSt 

sliould  prevail ;  and  that  some  who 
sliould  come  out  of  Jiidea  should 
obtain  the  empire  of  the  world. 
\Vhich  ambiguities  foretold  Ves- 
pasian and  Titus.  But  the  com- 
mon j)cople,  [of  the  Jews,]  accord- 
ing to  the  usual  influence  of  human 
wisiies,  apj)ropriated  to  themselves, 
by  their  intcrjjretation,  this  vast 
grandeur  foretold  by  the  Fates, 
nor  could  be  brought  to  change 
their  opinion  for  the  true  by  all 
their  adversities." 


[  299  ] 

crees,  or  foretellings]  that  at  that 
TIME,  some  who  should  come  out 
of  Judea  should  obtain  universal 
dominion.  It  appeared,  by  the 
event,  that  this  prediction  referred 
to  the  Roman  emperor ;  but  the 
Jews,  referring  it  to  themselves, 
rebelled." 


CHRIST 

nation  ;  and  many  wise  men  {noifol, 
or  Chachams)  were  deceived  with 
the  interpretation.  But  in  truth 
Vespasian's  empire  was  designed 
in  this  prophecy ;  who  was  cre- 
ated emperor  [of  Rome]  in  Judca. 
Joseph,  de  Bello  lib.  vii.  cap.  31. 


"  From  the  collation  of  these  passages,  thus  com- 
pared together,  it  will  be  observed,  (1.)  That  all  three 
historians  agree,  that  there  was  a  general  expectation 
of  a  new  kingdom  to  appear  about  that  time, 
which,  from  Judea,  should  extend  itself  over  the 
whole  earth.  It  wa3  a  rooted  persuasion  in  many, 
saith  one :  It  was  commonhf  known  throughout  the 
whole  East,  saith  another  :  It  was  the  principle  that 
chicjlif  stirred  up  the  Jeicish  nation  to  war  m  ith  the 
Romans  ;  and  many  of  their  wise  men,  rabbins,  or 
learned  in  their  Scrij)tures  and  traditions,  trusting  to 
it,  were  deceived,  saith  the  third.  (2.)  This  persua- 
sion was  ancient  and  coristant,  or  uninterrupted,  saith 
Suetonius  :  Derived  down  by  tradition,  as  the  sense  of 
the  sacred  prophecies  of  the  Jews,  and  so  understood 
by  their  wise  men,  saith  Josephus.  (3.)  This  per- 
suasion was  contained  in  the  sao-ed  books  of  the 
priests,  saith  Tacitus :  In  the  holy  books  of  the  proph- 
ets, saith  Jose|)hus:  In  the  Fates,  saith  Suetonius; 
meaning  the  libri  fatales,  or  prophetic  books.  (4.) 
The  opinion  that  went  abroad,  according  to  Sueto- 
nius, of  the  Jews  possessing  this  empire,  is  expjained 
by  Tacitus,  that  the  East  shoidd  prevail ;  and  by  Jo- 
sephus, that  a  certain  man  of  their  nation  should  rule 
the  world.  (5.)  From  the  agreement  of  the  three 
historians,  that  at  that  time  this  king  should  appear, 
it  may  be  collected,  that  there  were  times  marked  in 
tlic  sacred  books  for  his  coming,  which  [times)  were 
then  thought  to  be  expired.  Nor  could  Josephus 
have  erred  so  grossly,  in  applying  the  prophecy  to 
Vespasian,  but  for  this.  The  period  fixed  was  over. 
He  could  find  no  new  reckoning  to  protract  the  ex- 
pectation. Despairing,  then,  of  a  Messiah  in  his  own 
nation,  [tiie  Jews,]  he  pitches  upon  one  in  the  Ro- 
man. That  time  appears  further  from  the  number 
of  impostors,  (Ant.  lib.  xx.  cap.  6,  7  ;  de  Bello,  lib.  vii. 
cap.  31.)  which  were  not  known  in  any  age  before  ; 
from  the  readiness  of  the  people  to  join  them  at  any 
hazard;  from  the  vigor  with  which  they  opposed  tlie 
Romans  in  the  siege,  without  and  against  all  hopes 
of  success,  beside  that  which  this  expectation  inspired 
tliem  with.  (Joseph,  de  Bello,  iii.  27.  Gr.)  All  the 
time  of  the  siege  they  were  assured  of  help  in  some 
extraordinary  way  (lib.  vi.  cap,  35).  False  prophets 
in  Jerusalem  promised  the  people  that  the  day  of 
salvation  Mas  come,  even  to  the  last  hour  of  their 
ruin.  (lb.  lib.  vii.  cap.  4.).  Eyen  when  the  Romans 
were  mastei-s  of  the  temjile,  one  pf  them  led  up  6,000 
men  to  certain  destruction,  in  confidence  of  some 
surjirising  interposition  at  their  last  extremity.  From 
this  persuasion  they  rebelled  ;  from  this  persuasion 
the  hearts  of  the  common  people  were  kept  up  under 
all  the  miseries  of  the  siege ;  and  even  their  disap- 


pointments did  not  cause  them  to  forsake  it.  (lb.  lib.  vi. 
cap.  30.)  (6.)  Though  Josephus  calls  this  prophecy 
an  ambiguous  (or  dark]  oracle,  because  the  event  did 
not  answer  to  his  sense  of  it,  yet  he  owns  it  was  un- 
derstood in  the  sense  I  am  speaking  of,  by  their  wise 
men  ;  and  by  those  before  them,  who  had  delivered 
down  this  sense  of  it.  Veiy  dark  indeed  it  must  be, 
if,  describing  one  of  the  royal  house  of  David  to  be 
their  king,  it  intended  a  Roman  of  an  obscure  family : 
if,  describing  him  as  the  converter  of  the  Gentiles  to 
the  knowledge  of  the  true  God,  it  was  to  be  under- 
stood of  one  that  lived  and  died  an  idolater;  if,  de- 
scribing him  as  the  person  that  should  put  an  end  to 
the  Roman  empire,  in  belief  whereof  the  Jews  took 
up  arms  against  them,  it  meaned  a  Romayi  should 
destroy  the  Jeuxish  nation  and  religion.  Josephus, 
therefore,  whatever  motives  he  had  for  so  applying 
the  prophecy,  on  writing  his  Antiquities,  returned 
to  his  first  belief;  and  fairly  hints  there,  as  do  the 
rest  of  his  nation,  that  Daniel's  Messiah  was  yet  to 
come  and  subdue  the  Romans." 

The  conception  of  our  Saviour  occurred  at  Naza- 
reth, a  small  city  in  Galilee,  where  his  virgin  mother 
was  visited,  and  informed  of  the  extraordinary  event 
by  the  angel  Gabriel.  (See  An>-unciation.)  About 
nine  months  afterwards  an  edict  was  issued  by  Au- 
gustus, enjoining  all  persons  throughout  his  domin- 
ions to  be  registered  in  the  ])Iace  of  their  uativitj'. 
This  led  Joseph  and  Mary  to  Bethlehem,  and  while 
there  the  infant  Jesus  was  born,  in  the  year  of  tlie 
world  4000.  On  the  eighth  day  he  was  circumcised, 
in  conformity  with  the  law,  and  called  Jesus,  in  com- 
pliance with  the  divine  injunction  laid  upon  his 
mother  before  his  birth.  As  Joseph  and  3Iary  were 
preparing  to  return  to  Nazareth,  they  were  warned 
by  a  divine  messenger  to  fly  with  their  infant  son 
into  Egypt,  to  avoid  the  cruelty  of  Herod,  whose 
jealousy  was  roused  by  the  news  of  the  biith  of  the 
King  of  the  Jews,  and  who  had  ordered  all  the  male 
children  about  Bethlehem,  under  two  years  old,  to 
be  slain.  This  cruel  tj'rant,  however,  soon  afterwards 
died,  and  Joseph  was  admonished  to  return  into  Ju- 
dea. The  holy  family  retired  to  Nazareth,  and  there 
Jesus  abode,  subject  to  his  earthly  parents,  till  A.  D. 
30,  when  be  was  baptized  by  John  in  the  river  Jor- 
dan, and  publicly  declared,  by  a  voice  from  heaven, 
to  be  the  Son  of  God,  and  the  teacher  of  the  world. 
After  having  been  subjected  to  the  assaults  of  Satan, 
in  the  wilderness,  Jesus  entered  upon  his  public  min- 
istry of  teaching  the  people,  making  discii)les,  and 
working  miracles,  during  which  he  traversed  the 
land  nearly  from  one  extremity  to  the  other,  vis- 
iting also  the  Samaritans,  and  the  Gentiles  in  the 


CHR 


[  300  ] 


CHRISTIANITY 


coasts  of  Tyre  and  Sidou.  At  length,  however,  one 
of  his  own  disciples,  Judas  Iscariot,  giving  place  to 
the  devil,  undertook  to  deliver  him  up  to  his  impla- 
cable enemies,  the  Jews.  This  he  effected,  and 
Jesus,  after  having  been  subjected  to  every  species 
of  indignity,  was  crucified  on  Calvary  as  a  common 
malefactor.  He  remained  in  the  tomb  for  three  days, 
when  he  rose  from  the  dead,  and,  after  continuing 
with  his  disciples  for  the  space  of  forty  days,  he  led 
them  out  to  Bethany,  where  he  blessed  them,  and 
visibly  ascended  up  into  heaven. 

For  some  account  of  the  genealogy  of  Christ,  see 
the  articles  Adoption,  and  Genealogy. 

As  to  the  personal  appearance  of  Christ,  some 
have  asserted  that  he  was  the  most  beautiful  of  men, 
while  others  have  maintained  that  he  was  without 
handsome  form  and  comeliness.  Is  there  any  au- 
thentic memorial  of  his  human  form  ? — Nicephorus 
has  given  a  description  of  his  features  ;  but  Nicepho- 
rus is  too  late  to  be  much  depended  on  ;  and  so  are 
all  representations  of  the  person  of  Jesus.  So  also 
the  epistle  of  Lentulus,  which  is  evidently  spurious. 
(See  the  Biblical  Repository,  vol.  ii.  p.  367,  seq.)  Tra- 
dition is  an  ill  guide  in  matters  of  personal  descrip- 
tion ;  and  if  it  may  convey  a  general  idea,  that  idea 
is  too  general,  and  too  loose,  to  attach  to  the  descrip- 
tion of  any  individual  whatever.  There  are,  on 
some  of  the  coins  of  the  later  emperors,  heads  of 
Christ,  with  the  motto  Rex  Regnantium,  King  of 
Idngs.  Whether  it  would  be  possible,  in  the  exami- 
nation of  a  complete  series,  to  fix  on  any  ^vhich 
might  approach  to  a  credible  degree  of  verisimility, 
we  know  not.  We  cannot  suppose  that  so  late  as 
Constantine,  and  less  still,  so  late  as  the  successors  of 
his  name  and  family,  there  should  be  any  accurate  por- 
traits extant  of  this  venerable  and  illustrious  Person, 
that  is,  three  hundred  years,  or  later,  after  his  decease. 

We  expect  a  time,  when  He  shall  appear  to  all  na- 
tions under  that  illustrious  character — the  Prince 
OF  Peace  ;  and  the  humble  form  of  the  man,  who 
hsd  no  personal  beauty  to  attract  applause,  shall  be 
lost  in  the  dignity  and  glory  of  liis  exalted  station. 

CHRISTIAN,  a  name  given  at  Antioch  to  those 
who  believed  Jesus  to  be  the  Messiah,  Acts  xi.  26. 
They  generally  called  themselves  brethren,  faithful, 
saints,  believers ;  and  were  named  by  the  Gentiles, 
Nazarenes  and  Galileans.  It  has  been  the  opinion 
of  several,  that  Christian  was  originally  derived  from 
the  Greek  Chrestos,  good,  useful ;  and  Tertullian 
says,  "  Tlie  name  of  Christian  comes  from  the  unc- 
tion received  by  Jesus  Christ ;  and  that  of  Chres- 
tianus,  which  you  sometimes  through  mistake  give 
us,  (for  you  are  not  particularly  acquainted  with  our 
name,)  signifies  that  gentleness  and  benignity  whereof 
we  make  profession." 

CHRISTIANITY,  the  religii.u  taught  by  Jesus 
Christ,  the  Saviour  of  the  world,  and  comprised  in 
the  witings  of  the  New  Testament.  The  evidences 
of  the  truth  of  Christianity  are  usually  divided  into 
two  classes,  external  and  internal,  and  they  furnish, 
in  their  details,  the  highest  degree  of  proof  of  which 
such  a  subject  is  capable. 

To  be  able  to  communicate  a  clear  and  distinct 
idea  of  that  extent  to  which  the  gospel  of  Christ 
was  proiniilgated  in  the  early  ages  of  the  church 
would  afford  great  pleasure  ;  and  it  is  of  some  con- 
sequence, in  justification  of  several  predictions  which 
seem  to  announce  its  general  propagation  :  but  our 
authorities  are  so  incompetent,  or  the  facts  they  re- 
port are  so  uncertain,  that  not  much  which  may  be 
depended  upon,  can  be  considered  as  having  come 


down  to  us.  We  have  seen  that  the  Old  Testament 
may  be  understood  as  affording  references  to  the  ex- 
tremes of  the  ancient  continent,  as  well  eastward  as 
westward  ;  and  if  we  might  rely  on  occasional  hints 
of  ecclesiastical  writers,  the  spread  of  the  gospel  was 
commensurate  T\ith  the  indications  of  the  ancient 
prophets.  In  attempting  this  subject,  we  cannot 
avoid  remarking  how  effectually  Divine  Providence 
had  prepared  the  way  for  circulating  the  "glad 
tidings  of  great  joy,"  by  the  achievements  of  that  vic- 
torious madman,  Alexander  the  Great,  in  the  East, 
and  by  the  extended  dominion  of  the  Roman  empire 
in  the  West.  By  the  first  of  these  circumstances,  the 
Greek  language  was  carried  almost  to  the  centre  of 
India  ;  and  the  Greek  power  was  estabhshcd,  and 
long  maintained  itself,  in  those  provinces  which  de- 
pended on  Babylon,  or  Seleucia,  as  the  seat  of  their 
government.  This  is  the  more  worthy  of  notice,  as 
in  these  very  provinces  the  captive  Jews  were  sta- 
tioned by  their  conquerors,  Nebuchadnezzar  and 
others ;  and  their  posterity  maintained  the  expecta- 
tion of  a  Messiah  from  their  ow  n  nation,  descended 
from  a  king  of  their  own  blood,  of  whose  character 
and  qualities  they  had  information  from  the  sacred 
books,  which  they  carefully  preserved  as  their  com- 
panions wherever  they  went,  and  from  the  religious 
institutions  on  which  they  attended,  though  under 
many  disadvantages.  Addresses  to  these  Jews, 
whether  by  discourse  or  by  writing,  Avould  be  intel- 
ligible to  them,  either  in  the  Syriac,  in  the  Chaldee, 
or  in  the  Greek  tongue ;  while  the  latter  would  be 
the  medium  of  communication  to  the  descendants  of 
Alexandei''s  companions  in  arms,  who  were  very 
numerous  in  these  parts.  Beside  the  perusal  of  the 
sacred  books,  and  the  maintenance  of  their  national 
rites,  by  these  Jews,  we  know  that  their  pilgi-ims 
visited  Judea ;  and  the  natural  curiosity  of  the  hu- 
man mind  would  keep  alive  a  spirit  of  inquiry  after 
the  holy  places,  and  the  sacred  customs  of  their  na- 
tion as  practised  in  the  Holy  Land.  We  must  add, 
that  every  pious  Jew  would  willingly  pay  the  half- 
shekel  contribution  to  the  sanctuary,  Avhich  was  for- 
warded by  every  opportunity  ;  and  if  any  inclined 
to  withhold  it,  they  would  be,  by  shame  or  by  force, 
compelled  to  that  duty.  Moreover,  pilgrims  who 
had  visited  Jerusalem  would  be  distinguished  among 
their  brethren ;  and,  much  like  the  Hadgis  among 
the  Mahometans  at  present,  would  tenaciously  retain 
the  tokens  of  that  distinction.  This  fact  of  pilgrim- 
age is  sufiiciently  proved  in  the  narration,  (Acts  ii.  9.) 
where  we  find  visitors — "  Parthiaus,  Medes,  Elamites, 
Mesopotamians," — but  the  next  description  of  per- 
sons, "  dwellers  in  Judea,"  is  certainly  liable  to  cor- 
rection. Judea,  properly  speaking,  was  not  intended, 
because  the  whole  enumeration  consists  of  foreign 
countries,  among  which  Judea  could  not  possibly  be 
ranked.  On  the  question  whether  instead  of  Judea 
we  should  read  India,  or  Lydia,  opinions  are  divided. 
It  may  be  strongly  objected,  that  Lydia  is  greatly 
misplaced  in  being  separated  from  Phrygia  and  Pam- 
phylia,  to  which  it  was  neighbor;  while  it  was 
remote  from  Mesopotamia,  Cai)padocIa,  and  Pontus, 
with  which  it  is  ranged.  It  is  acknowledged  that 
the  same  objection  apphes  in  some  degi-ee,  though 
not  so  strongly,  to  the  reading  of  India,  between 
Mesopotamia  and  Cappadocia :  we  know  of  no  India 
between  those  provinces,  as  usually  understood.  If, 
indeed,  we  might  take  3Iesopotaniia  for  the  original 
country  of  that  name,  as  the  proto-inartyr  Stephen 
appears  to  have  done,  then  we  may,  without  hesita- 
tion, read  India  in  this  text ;  and  this  enumeration  by 


CHRISTIANITY 


[301  ] 


CHRISTIANITY 


Luke,  thus  understood,  would  be  a  correct  list  of 
countries  to  which  the  gospel  was  early  sent;  of 
wliicli  we  have  credible,  though  not  abundant,  evi- 
dence. It  would  be  rash  to  affirm  that  as  actually 
the  case,  yet  tiie  reader  will  not  reject  the  suggestion, 
till  he  has  well  considei-ed  what  may  be  stated  in 
sup|)ort  of  it.  [It  is  only  necessary  here  to  remark, 
that  the  reading  Judca  is  uniformly  supported  by  the 
unanimous  authority  of  all  the  manuscripts  and  ver- 
sions.    R. 

We  should  also  obser\'e  the  different  phrase  em- 
ployed by  the  sacred  writer  in  this  passage :  he  men- 
tions Parthians,  Medes,  and  Elamites,  as  if  they  were 
natives  of  those  countries,  by  their  direct  appellations ; 
but  he  describes  those  of  Mesopotamia,  Judea,  &c. 
as  dwellers,  using  the  same  word  as  in  verse  5.  "  Now 
there  were  at  Jerusalem  dwellers,  Jews,  devout  men, 
out  of  every  nation  under  heaven."  It  is  clear  that 
these  were  only  temporary  residents  at  Jerusalem  ; 
and  it  ijiay  be  supposed  that  the  same  word  in  verse 
9.  intended  only  temporary  residents  in  Mesopotamia. 
This  distinction  contributes  to  support  what  has  been 
proposed,  since  it  cannot  for  a  moment  be  admitted 
that  in  the  Greek  Mesopotamia  (between  the  rivers 
Euphrates  and  Tigris)  the  Jews  were  in  any  degree 
unsettled  ;  on  the  contrary,  here  they  were  firmly 
fixed  and  established ;  whereas  in  India,  they  might 
be  considered  as  residents  only,  as  they  certainly 
were  in  Rome,  in  Gyrene,  Libya,  and  elsewhere. 

As  the  sacred  S})irit  has  directed  Luke  to  place 
the  eastern  parts  of  the  world  first  in  his  list,  we  shall 
first  ofier  a  few  words  in  reference  to  the  promulga- 
tion of  the  gospel  among  them. 

It  is  certain  that  the  apostle  Peter  had  visited  the 
provinces  addressed  hi  his  First  Epistle, — Poutus, 
Galatia,  Cappadocia,  Asia,  and  Bithynia: — these  lay 
north  of  Antioch,  at  which  city  he  left  the  apostles 
Paul  and  Barnabas.  Antioch  was  half  way  from 
Jerusalem  to  these  provinces,  and  no  more  conve- 
nient opportunity  for  this  visit  of  Peter  to  them  can 
be  pointed  out,  nor  any  employment  for  this  apostle 
be  so  probaljle  as  such  a  journey.  We  therefore 
place  his  excursion  thither  about  A.  D.  50.  From 
Cappadocia  and  Pontus,  perhaps,  Peter  descended 
into  3Iesopotamia,  where  the  gospel  is  supposed  by 
many  writers  to  have  been  introduced  directly  after 
the  ascension  of  our  Lord.  Be  this  as  it  may,  the  Syr- 
ian writers  inform  us,  that  Bartholomew  the  apostle 
(whom  they  assert  to  be  the  same  as  Nathanael,  the 
friend  of  Philip,  and  named  Bar-Tolmai,  from  his  fa- 
ther Tolmai,or  Ptolemy)  visited  Mesopotamia, where 
he  contril)uted  to  the  establishment  of  the  gospel. 
They  say,also,that  the  apostle  Thomas  passed  through 
Mesopotamia,  and  spread  the  gospel  in  its  vicinity ;  in 
which  service  he  was  assisted  by  the  apostle  Jude, 
the  i)rotlier  of  James.  Whether  these  fellow-evan- 
gelists acted  in  conjunction,  whether  the  times  of 
their  labors  were  concurrent,  is  not  easily  ascertain- 
ed, nor  is  it  of  moment  here.  Yet  we  attach  some 
importance  to  the  proposition,  that  the  apostle  Jude 
labored  far  eastward,  because  it  contributes  to  ex- 
plain the  similarity  of  his  Epistle  with  some  parts  of 
the  Second  of  Peter ;  which  seems  strongly  to  con- 
firm the  idea  that  both  were  addressing  much  the 
same  people.  In  fact,  the  style  of  imagery,  eleva- 
tion, and  metaphor  which  they  adopt,  is  altogether 
oriental ;  a  phraseology  to  which  tlie  western  world 
reconciles  itself  with  dilficulty,  and  rarely  sanctions 
in  regular  and  correct  composition.  Jude  certainly 
bad  preached,  previously,  in  various  parts  of  Syria  ; 
at  Antaradus,  Laodicea,  Palmyra,  Callinicimi,  now 


Racca,  and  Circeum,  now  Kerkisieh  ;  then,  as  we 
have  said,  he  visited  Thomas  in  Mesopotamia,  whence 
they  made  an  excursion  into  Media  and  Parthia ; 
after  which  Jude  returned  to  Mesopotamia  and 
Syria,  but  Thomas,  who  appears  to  have  devoted  his 
life  to  the  service  of  the  gospel  in  the  East,  remained 
in  Parthia ;  or  continued  pressing  on  still  farther 
eastward,  till  he  reached  India,  where  he  first  propa- 
gated the  doctrine  of  the  cross.  But  here  it  is  proper 
to  inquire,  What,  and  where,  was  this  country  de- 
nominated India  ? — and  this  we  shall  attempt  to 
determine,  by  considering  the  application  of  the 
name  in  the  Bible,  rather  than  among  heathen 
^vi'iters. 

The  first,  and,  indeed,  the  only  mention  (as  usually 
understood)  of  India,  in  Scripture,  is  in  Esther  i.  1, 
and  viii.  9,  where  we  read  that  Ahasuerus  ruled  from 
India  eastward,  to  Cush  westward.  Bactria  was, 
usually,  the  most  eastern  province  of  the  Persian 
empire ;  but  that,  under  some  fortunate  sovereigns, 
the  Persian  dominion  included  the  bank  of  the  In- 
dus, may  readily  be  granted  :  beyond  this,  its  posses- 
sions rarely,  if  ever,  extended.  Semiramis,  indeed, 
crossed  the  Indus  at  Attock,  (the  prohibited  river,) 
but  was  defeated.  Alexander  also  crossed  the  Indus, 
and  ndvanced  some  distance  beyond  it,  but  a  perpet- 
ual succession  of  obstacles,  mountain  after  mountain, 
and  river  after  river,  disheartened  his  troops  and  en- 
forced his  return.  We  conclude,  therefore,  that 
Ahasuerus  did  not  rule  over  India,  meaning  Hindus- 
tan, but  his  empire  might  include  a  province  beyond 
Bactria,  on  the  bank  of  the  Indus,  and  deriving  its 
name  from  that  river.  Nor  should  we  forget  that 
the  original  India  of  the  Hindus,  or  the  primary 
settlement  of  the  Brahmins,  was  not  the  modern 
India  :  into  this  coimtry  they  came,  as  they  acknowl- 
edge, through  the  pass  of  Hurdwar ;  nevertheless, 
the  name  India,  if  derived  from  them,  might  distin- 
guish the  regions  where  they  had  been  established, 
north  and  west  of  their  present  situation  ;  and  such  a 
province  might  at  times  form  part  of  the  Persian 
territories.  This  would  restrict  the  appellation  India 
to  a  province  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Indus,  while  it 
favors  the  supposition  that  the  spread  of  the  gospet 
was  co-extensive  with  the  power  of  tlie  Persian  em- 
pire. This  hypothesis  is  consistent  with  those  opin- 
ions which  have  hitherto  been  reckoned  discordant, 
namely,  that  Matthew  is  bj'  some  reported  to  have 
extended  his  labors  to  India,  while  others  confine 
them  to  Assyria.  These  parts  were  inhabited  by 
Jews,  who,  though  in  captivity,  occasionally  furnish- 
ed zealous  adherents  to  their  country,  and  to  their 
Kaaba,  who  willingly  sufl'ered  no  little  fatigue,  to 
manifest  their  attachment  to  the  law  of  Moses,  and 
their  endeavors  to  fulfil  all  righteousness.  These, 
having  heard  the  gospel  at  Jerusalem,  at  the  great 
national  feasts,  would  be  partly  prepared  to  receive 
the  apostles  at  their  own  residence  ;  while  the  apos- 
tles would  naturally  choose  to  visit  countries  of 
which  they  had  some  previous  knowledge,  and  where 
they  might  flatter  themselves  in  favor  of  their  nation, 
that  the  good  seed  might  fall  on  good  gi-ouud.  They 
would  also,  no  doubt,  offer  the  gospel,  in  the  first  in- 
stance, to  Jews,  wherever  they  went ;  and,  (not 
excluding  the  Gentiles,)  probably,  would  expect  their 
chief  harvest  of  converts  among  those  whom  they 
still  regarded  as  their  countrymen. 

It  is  probable  that  Matthew,  Peter,  Thomas,  and 
Jude,  though  equally  inspired  with  Paul,  lessojienly 
opposed  Judaism  than  he  did  ;  considering  them- 
selves as  apostles  of  the  circumcision,  and  paying 


CHRISTIANITY 


[  302  ] 


CHRISTIANITY 


some  deference  to  institutions  indifferent  in  regard  to 
the  gospel,  tliey  might  less  excite  opposition  than  the 
apostle  of  the  Gentiles,  who  magnified  his  office,  not 
without  incessant  hazard  to  his  person,  principally 
from  his  own  countrymen.  We  may  reasonably 
conclude,  also,  that  however  some  of  these  distant 
residents  might  defy  difficulties  when  their  religion 
was  concerned,  yet,  that  the  main  body  of  the  dis- 
persion would  feel  a  diminished  regard  to  places 
which  they  never  could  behold,  and  to  services  of 
which  they  never  could  partake.  So  that  by  combi- 
nation of  this  abated  zeal  with  apostolic  nwderation, 
the  propagators  of  the  gospel  eastward  might  expe- 
rience fewer  perplexities,  less  severe  sufferings,  per- 
haps less  animosities  and  contentions,  on  the  whole, 
than  their  fellow-laborers  in  the  West ;  notwith- 
standing that  some  of  them  ended  their  lives  by 
martyrdom. 

If  it  be  asked,  whether  the  course  of  the  gospel 
absolutely  terminated  at  the  Indus,  the  question  is 
difficult  to  answer.  There  is  an  obscure  report  that 
China  itself  received  the  gospel  very  early,  (see 
Thomas,)  but  the  authority  on  which  it  rests  is  slen- 
der, and  the  true  country  understood  by  that  appel- 
lation is  uncertain.  Though  perfectly  willing  to 
admit  the  possibility  of  the  fact,  yet  it  must  he  al- 
lowed that  the  same  passage  of  Isaiah  which  has 
been  quoted  as  mentioning  the  land  of  Sinim,  or 
Tsin,  i.  e.  China,  might  be  the  chief  stay  of  such  re- 
port. More  might  be  said  in  favor  of  that  opinion 
which  supposes  the  gospel  to  have  reached  the 
peninsula  of  India,  the  coast  of  Malabar  particularly, 
where  we  trace  an  ancient  establishment  of  Christi- 
anity under  the  title  of  "  Christians  of  St.  Thomas." 
But'this  Thomas  appears  to  have  been  later  than  the 
apostle  of  that  name  ;  we  are  disposed  therefore  to 
terminate  the  personal  labors  of  the  apostles  with  the 
boundary  of  the  Persian  emjjire.  To  this  boundary 
they  had  the  company  of  their  nation,  the  protection 
of  the  same  government  as  protected  that  nation,  the 
same  language,  manners,  observances  religious  and 
civil,  with  the  innumerable  facilities  derivable  from 
Ihat  "  more  sure  word  of  prophecy,"  which  furnish- 
<ed  a  proper  introduction  on  all  occasions,  private  or 
•  public.  If  farther  progress  were  really  made  east- 
ward so  early,  we  may  attribute  it  to  converts  deput- 
ed for  that  purpose,  rather  than  to  the  personal 
exertions  of  the  apostles. 

We  return  now  to  Jerusalem,  as  to  the  centre 
whence  the  doctrine  of  the  gospel  diverged  in  all 
directions.  In  the  journeys  of  Peter  we  have  seen  it 
reach  northward  to  An'rioch,  Pontus,  Cappadocia, 
and  Bithynia  ;  these  provinces  formed  the  shore  of 
the  Euxine  or  Black  sea.  The  travels  of  Paul  were 
partly  parallel  to  these,  but  south  and  west  of  them. 
A  mere  enumeration  of  the  jjlaces  he  passed  through 
in  his  several  journeys,  as  recorded,  may  suffice  to 
show  what  parts  were  visited  by  his  means  with  evan- 
gelical blessings.  His  first  expedition  for  the  pur- 
pose of  communicating  light  to  those  who  sat  in 
darkness,  was  that  witli  Barnabas,  (Acts  xiii.)  usually 
placed  A.  D.  44,  the  fourth  year  of  the  Roman  em- 
peror Claudius ;  and  supposed  to  extend  into  A.  D. 
47.  The  places  enumerated  have  been  ah-eady  no- 
ticed. Afler  the  council  at  Jerusalem,  (Acts  xv.) 
about  A.  D.  49,  or  50,  Peter  went  to  Antioch,  where 
he  met  with  Paul  and  Barnabas ;  not  long  afler 
which  Paul's  second  journey  coirmiences,  and  ex- 
tends to  A.  D.  54  (in  conqjany  with  Silas.)  Paul's 
third  journey,  from  Antioch  in  Syria,  A.  D.  54,  to 
A.  D.  57,  or  58,  the  fourth   year  of  Nero,  Acts 


xxviii.  23.  At  Jerusalem  Paul  is  apprehended,  and 
sent  away  guarded,  A.  D.  58,  or  59.  His  voyage  to 
Rome,  A.  D,  60,  ends,  Avith  his  history,  about  A.  D.  63. 
We  have  ■■  the  direct  testimony  of  the  Acts  of  the 
Apostles  for  these  several  journeys  ;  the  following 
can  only  be  inferred  from  incidental  expressions  in 
different  parts  of  Paul's  Epistles  : — 

Italy. — No  doubt,  when  Paul  was  liberated  from 
his  first  imprisonment  at  Rome,  he  would  visit  differ- 
ent parts  of  the  country  around  tliat  metropolis. 

Spain. — Paul  mentions  (Rom.  xv.  24,  25.)  his  in- 
tention of  visiting  this  country.  Clemens  Romanus, 
in  his  first  Ejiistle  to  the  Corinthians,  observes,  that 
the  apostle  jjreached  in  the  West,  to  its  utmost  bounds, 
which  no  doubt  includes  Spain.  -  Theodoret  adds, 
that  he  visited  "  the  islands  of  the  sea  ;"  which  ap- 
pear to  correspond  with  the  islands  afar  off,  in  Isaiah 
Ixvi.  19.  The  same  writer  mentions  Gaul  and  Britain 
among  the  disciples  of  the  tent-maker.  There 
seems,  therefore,  to  be  no  period  more  convenient  in 
the  short  remainder  of  Paul's  life,  than  soon  after  his 
liberation,  for  an  excursion  from  Italy  to  Spain, 
probably  by  sea  ;  from  Spain  to  Britain,  also  by  sea  ; 
from  Britain  through  Gaul  to  Italy,  by  land,  for  the 
most  part.  Whether  he  ever  returned  into  the  East 
is  uncertain  :  fiuiii  Pliilemoii  "Z^l,  he  ajjpears  to  have 
expected  it.  Some  writers  have  supposed  a  fifth 
journey,  which  they  thus  arrange :  Italy,  Spain, 
Crete,  Jerusalem,  Antioch  in  Syria  ;  then,  after  some 
residence  there,  Colosse,  Philippi,  Nicopolis  in  Epi- 
rus,  Corinth,  Troas,  Miletum  in  Crete,  Rome.  Ade- 
quate proof  of  this  last  route  is  wanting;  but  as  he 
might  easily  from  Gaul  or  Italy  pass  over  into 
Greece,  it  is  possible  he  might  revisit  Philippi,  Troas, 
Colosse,  Corinth,  and  Nicopolis  before  he  returned 
to  Rome  ;  where  he  was  seized,  and  with  Peter  suf- 
fered martyrdom.  [It  must  here  be  borne  in  mind, 
that  all  these  alleged  journeys  of  Paul  rest  onlj'  on 
the  reports  of  later  writers,  and  are  of  very  doubtful 
credit.     R. 

We  may  now  tui-n  to  a  question  peculiarly  inter- 
esting; namely,, the- early  introduction  of  Christianity 
among,  the  ancient  Britons,  Although  antiquity,  in 
ordinary  cases,  is  but  a  weak  plea  for  either  power 
or  purity,  since  we  know  that  corruptions  sprung  up 
early  in  the  church,  yet,  in  the  present  case,  it  is 
most  probable  that  the  nearer  we  approach  to  the 
times  of  the  apostles,  and  the  more  directly  we  de- 
rive from  them,  or  their  immediate  agents,  the  prin- 
ciples of  faith  and  manners,  with  the  greater  satisfac- 
tion may  we  rely  on  their  correctness  and  authority. 
It  is,  indeed,  impossible  to  suppose,  that  while  Chris- 
tianity was  alloyed  with  notions  retained  by  those 
who  quitted  various  sects  to  embrace  it, — while  the 
Judaizing  Christians  deferred  nuich  to  their  ancient 
Judaism,  and  the  Gentile  philosophers,  though  con- 
verted, continued  to  be  tinctured  with  their  long- 
studied  philosophy, — it  is  inqiossible  to  suppose  that 
the  Druidical  converts  should  so  completely  relin- 
quish their  national  Druidism  that  they  should  never 
n)ore  be  influenced  by  it,  either  personally  or  in  com- 
munity. This,  however,  may  be  said  in  favor  of 
Britain,  that  its  distance  from  the  jirincipal  scenes  of 
ecclesiastical  ambition  secured  it  in  no  inconsidera- 
ble degree  from  the  disastrous  consequences  of  that 
fatal  fascination  ;  nor  did  the  various  persecutions 
suffered  by  the  churches  on  the  continent  I'age  with 
equal  violence  in  this  island,  which  often  continued 
in  jieace,  while  flames  and  fury  involved  the  Cliris- 
tians  of  other  parts. 

At  what  time  the  Christian  religion  was  first  intro- 


CHRISTIANITY 


[  303  ] 


CHRISTIANITY 


duced  into  Britain,  is  a  question  on  which  our  eccle- 
siastical historians  have  been  divided.  3Iost  of  them, 
however,  seem  to  agree  in  fixing  that  event  before 
the  expiration  of  tlie  first  century  ;  and  the  testimo- 
nies of  several  of  the  ancients  have  been  produced 
in  suj)port  of  this  opinion.  Both  Tertullian  and 
Origen  speak  of  Christianity  as  having  made  its  way 
into  Britain  ;  nor  do  they  represent  it  as  a  recent 
event,  so  that  it  may  be  presumed  to  have  taken 
place  long  before  their  time.  The  former  says, 
"  There  are  places  among  the  Britons  which  were  in- 
accessible to  the  Romans,  but  yet  are  subdued  by 
Christ."  (Adv.  Judaeos,  cap.  7.) — The  latter  says, 
"  Tlic  power  of  God  our  Saviour  is  even  with  them 
in  Britain,  who  are  divided  from  our  world."  (In 
Luc.  ca[).  i.  Hom.  6.) — It  was  usual  with  the  ancients, 
long  before  Origen's  time,  to  speak  of  Britain  as  di- 
vided from  the  ivorld.  Even  king  Agrii)pa,  in  his 
speech  to  the  Jews  at  Jerusalem,  (as  related  by  Jose- 
pluis,)  about  the  beginning  of  the  revolt,  uses  a  similar 
language.  Eusebius  is  more  explicit :  speaking  of 
the  pious  labors  of  the  apostles,  he  declares,  that 
some  of  them  "  had  passed  over  the  ocean,  and 
preached  to  those  which  are  called  the  Britannic 
islands."  From  his  connection  with  the  imperial 
court,  and  his  intimacy  with  the  emperor  himself, 
who  was  a  native  of  Britain,  he  may  well  be  sup- 
posed to  have  possessed  the  best  informjition  ;  and, 
as  much  of  l-.is  reasoning  depends  on  the  truth  of 
the  above  allegation,  it  is  natural  to  presume  that  he 
was  well  assured  of  the  fact.  Theodoret,  also,  another 
ancient  and  respectable  ecclesiastical  historian,  ex- 
pressly names  the  Britons  among  the  nations  whom 
the  apostles  (the  fishermen,  publicans,  and  tent- 
makers,  as  he  calls  them)  "  had  persuaded  to  embrace 
the  religion  of  him  who  was  crucified."  (Tom.  iv. 
Serm.  9.]  To  these  testimonies  may  be  added  that  of 
Gildas,  tlie  earliest  of  the  British  historians.  Ac- 
cording to  him,  (Epist.  c.  i.)  the  gospel  began  to  be 
published  in  Britain  about  the  time  of  the  memorable 
revolt  and  overthrow  of  the  Britons  under  Boadicea, 
(A.  D.  GO,  or  Gl,)  and  was  followed  by  a  long  inter- 
A'al  of  peace.  Speaking  of  this  revolt,  with  its  dis- 
astrous termination  and  consequences,  Gildas  adds, 
"In  the  mean  time,  Christ,  the  true  Sun,  afforded 
his  rays,  that  is,  the  knowledge  of  his  precepts,  to 
this  island,  benumbed  with  extreme  cold,  having 
been  at  a  great  distance  from  the  Sun,  not  the  sun  in 
the  firmament,  but  the  Eternal  Sun  in  heaven."  On 
what  authority  Gildas  places  this  event  at  that  time, 
he  does  not  say.  From  domestic  or  British  records 
he  appears  to  have  derived  no  assistance  ;  and  he 
was  of  opinion  that  no  documents  of  that  kind  re- 
mained then  in  the  country.  And  if  there  ever  had 
been  any  such,  he  thought  they  had  either  been  burnt 
by  the  enemy,  or  were  carried  into  foreign  parts  by 
his  exiled  or  emigrated  countrymen  ;  so  that,  to  his 
great  regret,  he  had  not  been  able  to  discover  any. 
He  nuist,  therefore,  have  relied  on  the  authority  of 
some  foreign  records ;  or  he  might  follow  the  tradi- 
tion of  the  country.  However  that  might  be,  his 
statement  appears  on  the  whole  correct,  and  is  re- 
markably supported  by  the  Triades  of  the  Isle  of 
Britain,  some  of  the  most  curious  and  valuable  frag- 
ments preserved  in  the  Welsh  language,  and  relating 
to  persons  and  events  from  the  earliest  times  to  the 
beginning  of  the  seventh  century.  These  ancient 
British  documents,  which  are  of  undoubted  credit, 
though  but  little  known  till  lately,  state  that  the 
famous  Caractacus,  who,  afl^er  a  war  of  nine  yeare  in 
defence  of  the  liberties  of  his  country,  was  basely 


betrayed  and  delivered  up  to  the  Romans  by  Areg* 
wedd  Foeddig,  (the  Caitismandua  of  Roman  au- 
thors,) was,  together  with  his  father  Bran,  and  the 
whole  family,  carried  captive  to  Rome,  about  A.  D. 
52,  or  53,  where  they  were  detained  seven  years,  or 
more.  At  this  time  the  gospel  was  i)rcached  at 
Rome;  and  Bran,  with  others  of  the  family,  became 
converts  to  Christianity.  After  about  seven  years, 
they  had  permission  to  return,  and  were  the  means 
of  introducing  the  knowledge  of  Christ  among  their 
countiymen ;  on  which  account  Bran  was  long  dis- 
tinguished as  one  of  the  three  blessed  soverci^ns^ 
and  his  family  as  one  of  the  holy  lineages  of  Britain. 
At  the  return  of  these  earliest  Britisii  converts,  it 
might  be  expected  that  some  of  the  Christians,  with 
whom  they  had  associated  at  Rome,  would  be  pre- 
vailed on  to  accompany  them  to  their  native  countiy. 
Several  of  the  disciples  of  Christ,  whose  names  are 
recorded  in  the  New  Testament,  were  probably  at 
Rome  when  the  Britons  quitted  that  city  ;  but  it  does 
not  appear  that  any  of  them  did  at  this  time  visit  Brit- 
ain. We  find,  however,  that  certain  Christians  from 
Rome  did  actually  accompany  the  liberated  captives  ; 
and  the  names  of  three  have  been  preserved.  One 
was  called  Hid,  and  is  said  to  have  been  an  Israelite ; 
the  other  two  were  Cyndav,  and  Arwystli  Hen,  both 
of  them  probably  Gentiles.  What  their  Roman 
names  were,  it  is  now  impossible  to  say.  They  are 
supposed  to  have  been  all  preachers,  and  are  said  to 
have  been  instrumental  (the  former  especially)  in 
turning  great  numbers  of  the  Britons  from  the  error 
of  their  ways,  and  persuading  them  to  believe  in 
Christ.  Their  names  are  the  more  remarkable,  as 
they  were,  if  not  the  first,  yet,  doubtless,  among  the 
veiy  first.  Christian  preachers  that  ever  set  foot  on 
the  British  island. 

As  Bran  and  Caradoc  (otherwise  Bi'ennus  and 
Caractacus)  were  Silurian  or  Welsh  princes,  we 
may  safely  conclude  that. Christianity  made  its  way 
into  Wales  as  early  as  into  any  part  of  the  kingdom. 
When  Bran  returned  to  his  native  land,  some  of  his 
family,  it  is  thought,  staid  behind  and  settled  at 
Rome.  Of  these  Claudia,  mentioned  with  Pudens 
and  Linus,  in  2  Tim.  iv.  21,  is  deemed  to  have  been 
one,  and  supposed  to  be  the  same  with  Claudia,  the 
wife  of  Pudens,  mentioned  by  Martial  the  poet,  who 
speaks  of  her  as  a  British  lady  of  extraordinary  vir- 
tue, wit,  and  beauty.  (Epig.  lib.  iv.  13  ;  lib.  xi.  54.) 
Some  have  thought  her  to  be  the  daughter  of  Carac- 
tacus ;  and  Mr.  Taylor  has  rendered  this  highly 
probable.  (See  Fragment,  No,  608.)  Besides  these 
royal  captives,  Pomponia  Grtecina,  the  wife  of  Aulus 
Plautius,  Claudius's  lieutenant,  and  the  first  Roman 
governor  here,  has  also  been  thought  a  Briton  and  a 
Christian,  consequently  one  of  the  earliest  British 
Christians.  Of  her  Tacitus  says,  "  An  illustrious 
lady,  married  to  Plautius,  who  was  honored  with  an 
ovation,  (or  lesser  triumph,)  for  his  victories  in 
Britain,  was  accused  of  having  embraced  a  strange 
foreign  superstition  ;  and  her  trial  for  that  crime  was 
conmiitted  to  her  husband.  He,  according  to  an- 
cient law  and  custom,  convened  her  whole  family 
and  relations  ;  and  having  in  their  presence  tried  her 
for  her  life  and  fame,  pronounced  her  innocent  of 
any  thing  immoral.  Pomponia  lived  [to  a  great 
age]  many  years  after  this  trial,  but  always  led  a 
gloomy,  melancholy  kind  of  life."  (Annal.  lib.  xiii. 
c.  32.)  On  this  it  has  been  remarked  that  Tacitus, 
no  doubt,  deemed  the  lives  of  the  prinilcive  Chris- 
tians gloomy  and  melancholy ;  and  had  he  been 
called  on  to  describe  them,  he  would,  in  all  proba- 


CHRISTIANITY 


[304] 


CHRISTIANITY 


bility,  have  represented  their  religion  as  a  vile  foreign 
superstition  ;  and  the  sobriety  and  severity  of  their 
lives  (abstaining  from  pagan  rites  and  excesses)  as  a 
continual  solitude,  and  intolerable  austerity.  "  It 
was  the  way,"  says  bishop  Stillingfleet,  "  of  the  men 
of  that  time,  such  as  Suetonius  and  Pliny,  as  well  as 
Tacitus,  to  speak  of  Christianity  as  a  barbarous  and 
wicked  superstition,  (as  appears  by  their  writings,) 
being  forbidden  by  their  laws,  which  they  made  the 
only  rule  of  their  religion."  (Orig.  Britannicse,  p. 
44.)  This  trial  of  Pomponia  happened,  it  seems, 
while  Nero  and  Calpurnius  Piso  were  consuls;  [A. 
D.  57.]  after  the  apostle  Paul's  coming  to  Rome  the 
first  time  ;  and  therefore  she  may,  not  unreasonably,  be 
supposed  to  have  been  one  of  his  converts.  It  appears 
that  there  were  other  persons  of  distinction  among 
the  apostle's  friends  then  at  Rome  ;  for  instance,  those 
of  Caesar's  household,  among  whom  might  be  some 
of  the  British  captives. 

It  does  not  appear  by  the  Triades,  that  the  whole 
of  Caractacus's  family  embraced  Christianity  at 
Rome,  or  even  that  he  himself  did  so ;  but  a  son 
and  a  daughter  of  his  are  mentioned,  as  well  as  his 
father,  as  very  eminent  Christians.  The  name  of 
the  son  was  Cyllin,  (see  Linus,)  and  that  of  the 
daughter  Eigen ;  both  classed  among  the  British 
saints.  That  son  is  said  to  be  the  gi-andfather  of 
Lleurwg,  commonly  called  king  Lucius,  who  greatly 
exerted  himself,  at  a  later  period,  to  promote  Chris- 
tianity in  Britain,  or  at  least  in  Wales,  the  country 
of  his  ancestors,  and  where  he  himself  also  reigned 
by  the  favor  or  permission  of  the  Romans.  Even 
the  famous  king  Arthur  appears  to  be  a  descendant 
of  this  illustrious  family. 

"  That  St.  Paul  did  go  to  Britain,  we  may  collect 
from  the  testimony  of  Clemens  Romanus,  Theodo- 
ret,  and  Jerome,  who  relate,  that  after  his  imprison- 
ment he  preached  the  gospel  in  the  ivestern  parts  ; 
that  he  brought  salvation  to  the  islands  that  lie  in  the 
ocean,  and  that,  in  preaching  the  gospel,  he  went  to 
the  utmost  bounds  of  the  ivest.  What  was  meant  by 
the  west,  and  the  islands  that  lie  in  the  ocean,  we  may 
judge  from  Plutarch,  Eusebius,  and  Nicephorus, 
who  call  the  British  ocean  the  western ;  and  again 
from  Nicephorus,  who  says,  that  one  of  the  apostles 
went  to  the  extreme  countries  of  the  ocean,  and  to 
the  British  isles,  but  especially  from  the  words  of 
Catullus,  who  calls  Britain  the  utmost  island  of  the 
west ;  and  from  Theodoret,  who  describes  the  Brit- 
ons as  inhabiting  tlie  utmost  parts  of  the  west. 
When  dement,  therefore,  says  that  Paul  went  to 
the  utmost  boitnds  of  the  west,  we  do  not  conjecture, 
but  are  sure,  that  he  meant  Britain,  not  only  because 
Britain  was  so  designated,  but  because  Paul  could 
not  have  gone  to  the  utmost  bounds  of  the  west 
without  going  to  Britain.  It  is  almost  unnecessaiy, 
therefore,  to  appeal  to  the  express  testimony  of  Ve- 
nantius  Fortunatus  and  Sophronius,  for  the  apostle's 
journey  to  Britain.  Vcnantius  Fort,  quoted  by  God- 
win, says,  Sophronius  Patriarcha  Hierosolymitanus 
disertis  verbis  asserit  Britanniam  nostrum  eum  invi- 
sisse."  (Burgess's  Seven  Epochs  of  the  Ancient 
British  Church,  p.  7.) 

There  is  a  force  in  the  expressions  of  Clemens 
Romanus  (1  Epist.  Cor.  cap.  5.)  that  is  seldom  justly 
appreciated,  inasmuch  as  he  repeats  his  assertion. 
His  words  are,  "  Paul  received  the  reward  of  his 
patience — He  preached  both  in  the  east  and  in  the 
west ; — and  having  taught  the  whole  world  righteous- 
ness, and  for  that  end  travelled  to  the  utmost  bounds 
OF  THE  WEST,  ....  he  Suffered  martyrdom."    Had 


not  the  writer  been  well  assured  of  his  facts,  he 
would  have  been  contented  with  his  first  assertion, 
— "  he  preached  in  the  west ;"  whereas,  he  greatly 
strengthens  this  assertion  by  repetition  and  addition, 
"  He  travelled  to  the  utmost  bounds  of  the  west  ;" 
a  mode  of  expression  rising  greatly  in  energy  above 
the  former ;  and  evidently  intended  to  mark  out  to 
the  reader  a  determinate,  specific,  and  well-known 
proposition  as  the  object  of  the  phrase.  The  later 
writers  may  be  dispensed  with,  after  this  unequivo- 
cal testimony ;  the  moi-e  powerful  because  inci- 
dental. 

In  the  judgment  of  Mr.  Taylor,  the  resemblance 
between  the  British  name  Arwystli  and  the  Greek 
Aristobulus  (Rom.  xvi.  10.)  deserves  more  consider- 
ation than  it  has  hitherto  received.  It  is  certain,  he 
remai-ks,  that  the  formation  of  this  name  [from  the 
Greek]  is  according  to  the  analogy  of  the  ancient 
British  language  ;  it  is  certain,  also,  that  the  apostle 
does  not  salute  Aristobulus  himself,  personally  and 
directly,  but  those  related  to  him.  It  is  not  absolute- 
ly clear  that  Aristobulus  was  a  Christian,  any  more 
than  Narcissus,  mentioned  in  the  same  manner,  in 
the  following  verse,  who  is  by  some  thought  to  have 
been  the  emperor's  freed-man,  and  dead  some  time 
before  the  date  of  this  epistle.  We  may,  however, 
observe  a  difference,  if  we  attend  closely  to  the  pur- 
port of  the  phrase  used.  The  apostle  salutes  so 
many  (restrictively)  of  those  attached  to  Narcissus 
as  were  in  the  Lord ;  therefore,  some  were  not  in 
the  Lord ;  but  he  uses  no  such  restriction  concern- 
ing Aristobulus's  family,  but  salutes  them  generally  ; 
therefore,  they  were  all  in  the  Lord ;  and  the  proba- 
biUty  may  pass  for  nothing  less  than  certainty,  that 
where  all  the  family  was  Christian,  the  head  of  the 
family  was  so,  especially  and  primarily.  The  ex- 
pression employed  by  the  apostle  implies,  further, 
that  Aristobulus  was  not  at  Rome  when  this  epistle 
was  composed,  or  when  it  was  expected  to  reach 
that  capital ;  and  if,  as  is  customary,  we  date  it  A.  D, 
58  or  59,  it  reduces  within  narrow  limits  the  ques- 
tion whether  Aristobulus  accompanied  Bran  to 
Britain.  If  Bran  were  sent  to  Rome  A.  D.  52,  and 
kept  there  seven  years,  we  are  brought  to  A.  D.  59, 
for  the  time  of  his  release.  It  was  very  late  in  58, 
or  early  in  59,  when  Paul  sent  off  his  Epistle  to  the 
Romans ;  it  appears  by  the  breaks  in  the  last  chap- 
ter, that  he  laid  it  aside,  and  resumed  it,  several 
times,  and  that  he  retained  it  to  the  moment  of  his 
[or  its]  departure  from  Corinth,  where  it  was  written. 
If,  then,  Paul  had,  at  this  time,  intelligence  of  the  in- 
tention of  Aristol)ulus  to  quit  Rome  for  Britain,  or 
of  his  having  actually  done  so,  very  lately,  his  mode 
of  expression  is  accounted  for,  correctly  and  com- 
pletely. 

It  further  appears  (see  Aristobulus)  that  the 
Greeks  say,  this  preacher  "  tvas  sent  into  England, 
ivhere  he  labored  very  vmch,  made  many  co7iverfs,  and 
at  last  died."  As  it  is  impossible  that  the  Greeks 
should  have  known  any  thing  aboiU  the  British  Tri- 
ades; and  on  the  other  hand,  that  the  Triades  should 
have  known  any  thing  about  the  Greeks,  these  wit- 
nesses appear  to  be  not  only  very  distant,  but  per- 
fectly distinct  and  independent ;  their  combined  tes- 
timony, therefore,  h  the  more  con-oborative,  and  the 
more  striking.  And  it  may  now  be  asserted,  with 
the  utmost  appsarance  of  truth,  that  whoever  were 
employed  in  introducing  Christianity  into  Britain, 
Aristobulus  was  one  of  the  earliest  missionaries,  and 
under  the  royal  protection  of  the  Silurian  princes. 
We  are  enabled  also  by  this  statement  to  explam  and 


CHRISTIANITY 


[  305  ] 


CHR 


to  verify  the  words  of  Tertulliau,  which  some  have 
considered  as  a  mere  flourish  of  rhetoric,  Bntanno- 
rum  inaccessa  Romanis  loca,  Christo  vero  suhdita. 
Places  in  Britain,  which  were  inaccessible  to  the 
Roman  arms,  might,  nevertheless,  be  subdued  to 
Christ,  in  Wales,  where,  amid  the  recesses  and  re- 
treats furnished  by  the  mountains,  there  were,  no 
doubt,  many  who  had  fled,  after  the  capture  of  Ca- 
ractacus,  and  who  there  continued  to  resist  the  Ro- 
mans. In  fact,  Ostorius,  who  had  taken  Caractacus 
captive,  sunk  under  the  fatigue  of  the  succeeding 
war ;  Manlius  Valens,  with  a  legion  of  Romans, 
was  attacked  and  defeated  by  the  Britons,  and  the 
war  continued  with  various  success.  Nero  even  en- 
tertained thoughts  of  withdrawing  his  army  from 
Britain,  says  Suetonius.  In  A.  D.  62,  Petronius 
Turpillianus  succeeded  to  the  government  of  Britaiu  ; 
who,  says  Tacitus,  "  gave  the  name  of  peace  to  his 
own  inactivity,  and,  having  composed  former  disturb- 
ances, attempted  nothing  further."  Is  it  impossible 
that  this  inactivity,  during  three  jears,  should  be 
tlie  result  of  the  return  of  the  principal  royal  Brit- 
ons to  their  homes? — Britain  fell  to  the  lot  of  Ves- 
pasian in  A.  D.  71,  and  to  Agricola  in  A.  D.  78.  By 
this  time,  we  may  safely  say  with  the  Greeks,  that 
Arxstohulus  had  made  many  co7iverts  in  Britain,  We 
may  now  also  attach  a  stronger  sense  to  the  expres- 
sion of  Theodoret,  who  reckons  Gaul  and  Britain 
among  the  disciples  of  the  tent-maker.  For,  say  the 
Greeks,  Aristobulus  "  was  brother  to  Barnabas, — 
was  ordained  by  Barnabas,  or  by  Paul,  ivhom  he  fol- 
lowed in  his  travels  ;"  so  that  the  Britons,  converted 
by  Aristobulus,  might  witli  propriety  l)e  called  the 
disciples  of  Paul,  even  if  tliat  apostle  never  set  foot 
in  Britain.  But  it  will  be  acknowledged,  at  the 
same  time,  that  if  Paul  did  follow  Aristobulus,  and 
confinn  his  converts  in  Britain,  the  comfort  of  his 
visit  was  greatly  increased,  and  the  necessity  of  his 
prolonged  residence  was  greatly  diminished,  by  the 
previous  success  of  his  disciple.  Might  he  come 
during  the  peaceful  government  of  Petronius  Tur- 
pilhanus .' 

But  we  may  adopt  a  chronology  still  more  con- 
venient ;  for  it  appears  that  Ostorius  arrived  as  gov- 
ernor in  Britain,  A.  D.  50,  and  immediately  opened 
a  winter  campaign  against  the  Britons.  Ailowng  a 
proportionate  time  for  the  events  of  war,  as  urged  by 
this  active  general,  Caractacus  might  be  sent  prisoner 
to  Rome  in  A.  D.  51,  instead  of  A.  D.  52,  which 
would  give  the  following  dates : 

A.  D. 

Aulus  Plautius  governor  in  Britain 4'i 

Bran  and  Caradoc  at  Rome 51 

Bran  liberated  after  7  years'  captivity        ...     58 
Paul  writes  to  the  Romans,  at  the  end  of  58,  or 
early  in  59 ;   Aristobulus  gone  from  Rome  to 
Britain    with    Bran,   at   the   date   of   Paul's 
letter. 

Paul  visits  Britain 63 

The  apostle  mentions  sundiy  British  Christians, 
residing  at  Rome,  when  writing  to  Timothy. 
Had  Timothy  a  personal  acquaintance  with 
them  ?  It  should  appear  so,  from  the  tenor 
and  mode  of  the  salutation 65  or  66 

Thus  we  have  seen  that  to  the  extent  of  the 
prophecies  of  the  Old  Testament,  either  the  records 
of  the  New  Testament  expressly  aflirm,  or  very 
credible  testimony  leads  us  to  believe,  that  the  gos- 
pel quickly  communicated  its  salutary  influence; 
39 


and  so  far  the  investigation  of  biblical  geography 
demonstrates  the  authority  of  the  Bible  itself,  by  the 
fulfilment  of  its  prophecies,  and  the  general  estab- 
lishment of  its  truth.  If  it  be  asked,  whether  the 
parts  thus  favored  have  not  lost  their  first  faith,  we 
confess  that  the  charge  implied  in  the  question  is 
too  true  ;  nevertheless,  they  seem  in  general  to  have 
retained  some  tincture  at  least  of  the  principles  they 
had  imbibed ;  and,  though  greatly  debased  by  eiTor, 
or  discouraged  by  oppression,  yet  the  faith  of  Jesus 
Christ,  even  in  countries  remote  from  its  origin,  is 
professed,  is  retained,  in  spite  of  a  thotisand  disad- 
vantages, and  notwithstanding  a  thousand  oppositions, 
secular  or  religious,  national  or  local.  IMay  the 
happy  time  soon  come,  when  no  doubt  shall  remain 
whether  the  most  distant  nations  have  or  have  not 
been  favored  with  the  gospel ;  but  when  evident  and 
notorious  facts  shall  justify  an  appeal  in  proof  of  that 
felicity;  and  the  whole  earth  shall  acknowledge 
that  "the  Lord  is  One,  and  his  name  One,  from 
the  rising  of  the  sun  to  the  going  down  of  the 
same  !" 

CHRONICLES,  Books  of.  This  name  is  given 
to  two  historical  books  of  Scripture,  which  the  He- 
brews call  Dihre-hayamim,  {Words  of  Days,  i.  e.  Di- 
aries, or  Journals,)  and  make  but  one  book  of  them. 
They  are  called  in  the  LXX  Paralipomena,  {things 
omitted,)  as  if  they  were  a  supplement  of  what  had 
been  omitted,  or  too  much  abridged,  in  the  other 
historical  books.  But  it  must  not  be  thought  that 
these  are  the  records,  or  books  of  the  acts  of  the 
kings  of  Judah  and  Israel,  so  often  referred  to. 
Those  were  the  original  memoirs,  and  the  Chroni- 
cles make  long  extracts  from  them.  The  Hebrews 
ascribe  the  Chronicles  to  Ezra,  after  the  return  from 
the  captivity,  assisted  by  Zechariah  and  Haggai.  But 
if  there  be  some  things  which  seem  to  determine  for 
Ezra  as  the  author,  others  seem  to  prove  the  con- 
trary. (1.)  The  author  continues  the  genealogy  of 
Zerubbabel  down  to  the  tAvelfth  generation  ;  but 
Ezra  did  not  live  late  enough  for  that.  (2.)  In  seve- 
ral places  he  supposes  the  things  ^^  hich  he  mentions 
to  be  then  in  the  same  condition  as  they  had  for- 
merly been,  for  example,  before  Solomon,  and  before 
the  captivity,  2  Chrou.  v.  9,  and  1  Kings  viii.  8.  (See 
also  1  Chron.  iv.  41,  43 ;  v.  22,  26 ;  2  Chrou.  viii.  8, 
and  xxi.  10.)  (3.)  The  Avriter  of  these  books  was 
neither  a  contemporary  nor  an  original  writer ;  but 
a  compiler  and  abridger.  He  had  before  him  ancient 
memoirs,  genealogies,  annals,  registers,  and  other 
pieces,  which  he  often  quotes  or  abridges.  It  seems 
that  the  chief  design  of  the  author  was  to  exhibit 
correcdy  the  genealogies,  the  rank,  the  functions, 
and  the  order  of  the  priests  and  Levites  ;  that,  after 
the  captivity,  they  might  more  easily  resume  their 
])roi)er  ranks,  aud  reassume  their  ministries.  He  had 
also  in  view  to  show  how  the  lands  had  been  dis- 
tributed among  the  families  before  the  captivity  ;  that 
subsequently  each  tribe,  so  far  as  was  possible,  might 
obtain  llio  ancient  inheritance  of  their  fathers.  He 
quotes  old  records  by  the  name  of  ancient  things,  1 
Chron.  iv.  22.  He  recites /oj(r  several  rolls,  or  num- 
bcrings  of  the  people  ;  one  taken  in  the  time  of  David, 
a  second  in  the  time  of  Jeroboam,  a  third  in  the  time 
of  Jotham,  and  the  fourth  in  the  time  of  the  captivity 
of  the  ten  tribes.  He  speaks  elsewhere  of  the  numbers 
taken  by  order  of  king  David,  and  which  Joab  did  not 
finish.  Jerome  truly  observes,  that  these  books  contain 
a  very  great  number  of  things  important  for  the  expli- 
cation of  Scripture  ;  that  all  the  scriptural  traditions  are 
contained  in  them ;  and  that  it  is  deceiving  ourselves  to 


CHR 


[  306 


CHU 


imagine  we  have  any  knowledge  of  the  lioly  books, 
if  we  are  ignorant  of  these.  Also,  that  in  the  Chron- 
icles we  may  find  the  solution  of  a  great  number  of 
questions  that  concern  the  gospel. 

There  are  many  variations,  as  well  in  facts  as  in 
dates,  between  the  books  of  Kings  and  the  Chroni- 
cles, which  are  to  be  explained  and  reconciled, 
chiefly  on  the  principle,  that  the  latter  are  supple- 
mentary to  the  former ;  not  forgetting  that  the  lan- 
guage was  slightly  varied  from  what  it  jiad  been ; 
that  various  places  had  received  new  names,  or  had 
undergone  sundry  vicissitudes;  that  certain  things 
were  now  better  known  to  the  returned  Jews,  under 
other  appellations  than  wliatthey  formerly  had  been 
distinguished  by  ;  and  that,  from  the  materials  before 
him,  which  often  were  not  the  same  as  those  used 
by  the  abridgers  of  the  histories  of  the  kings,  the 
author  takes  those  passages  wliich  seemed  to  him 
best  adapted  to  his  purpose,  and  most  suital^le  to  the 
times  in  which  he  wrote.  It  must  be  considered,  too, 
that  he  often  elucidates  obsolete  and  ambiguous 
words,  in  forjiier  books,  by  a  difterent  mode  of  spell- 
ing them,  or  by  a  difterent  order  of  the  words  used  ; 
even  when  he  does  not  use  a  distinct  phraseology  of 
narration,  which  he  sometimes  does.  The  first  book 
contains  a  recapitulation  of  sacred  history,  by  gene- 
alogies, from  the  i)eginning  of  the  world  to  the 
death  of  David,  A.  M.  2289.  The  second  book  con- 
tains the  history  of  the  kings  of  Judah,  without  those 
of  Israel,  from  the  beginning  of  the  reign  of  Solo- 
mon only,  A.  M.  2290,  to  the  retm-n  from  the  cap- 
tivity of  Babylon,  A.  M.  3468. 

CHRONOLOGY  is  the  science  of  computing 
and  adjusting  periods  of  time,  and  is,  necessarily,  of 
considerable  importance  in  relation  to  Scripture  his- 
tory.    See  Time. 

The  chronology  adopted  by  the  English  transla- 
tors, and  placed  in  the  margin  of  the  larger  Bibles, 
is  that  of  the  Masoretic,  or  common  Hebrew  text ; 
but  of  the  authenticity  of  this,  strong  doubts  are  en- 
tertained by  the  best  biblical  critics.  Compared  with 
the  more  extended  chronology  of  the  Septuagint,  it 
is  of  modern  adoption ;  the  venerable  Bede,  who 
flourislied  in  the  eighth  century,  having  been  the  first 
(christian  writer  who  manifested  a  predilection  for 
it.  It  has  been  observed,  however,  tliat  prior  to  the 
reformation,  tlie  views  of  the  celebrated  monk  of 
Durham  had  made  init  little  progress  among  the 
clergy,  and  that  when  Luther  roused  the  attention 
of  Europe  to  tlie  errors  of  the  ancient  communion, 
the  authority  of  the  Greek  version  and  tlie  imani- 
mous  consent  of  the  primitive  writers  were  still 
found  to  regulate  all  the  calculations  concerning  the 
age  of  the  world.  In  the  warmth  of  the  contro- 
versy which  ensued,  the  more  rigid  Protestants  were 
induced  to  rank  among  the  corruptions  of  the  west- 
ern church,  the  chronology  of  the  Samaritan  Penta- 
teuch, of  the  Sevf^nty,  and  of  Joseplnis  ;  and  with- 
out taking  time  or  pains  to  examine  the  groimds  of 
their  opinion,  they  resolutely  pronounced  that  the 
numbers  of  tiie  original  text  were  to  be  preferred 
to  those  of  any  vei-sioji  ;  and  fortiiwith  bestowed 
the  weight  of  their  autliority  upon  the  Jewish 
side  of  the  (juestion,  and  opposed  tliat  which  the 
Christians  had  maintained  from  the  days  of  the 
apostles. 

The  chief  difl'erence  between  these  two  schemes 
of  chronology,  is  fotmd  in  those  periods  which  ex- 
tend from  the  creation  to  the  deliifre,  and  from  thence 
to  the  birth  of  Abraham.  Acconling  to  the  Hebrew 
com|)Utation,  the  number  of  years  comprised  in  the 


first  period,  amounts  only  to  1656 ;  and  the  second 
to  292.  But  in  the  Septuagint,  the  numbers  respect- 
ively are  2262  and  10/2  ;  thus  extending  the  interval 
between  the  creation  and  the  birth  of  Christ,  from 
4000  to  nearly  6000  years.  These  variations  have 
not  yet  been  satisfactorily  accounted  for,  but  much 
light  has  been  thrown  upon  the  subject  by  the  labo- 
rious investigations  of  Hayes,  Jackson,  and  Hales  ; 
and  the  result  has  been  to  give  a  somewhat  increased 
degree  of  confidence  in  the  larger  computations  of 
the  Septuagint. 

Ages  of  tue  World. — The  time  preceding  the 
birth  of  Jesus  Christ  has  generally  been  divided  into 
six  ages:  (1.)  from  the  beginning  of  the  Avorld  to  the 
deluge,  comprehending  16.56  years  ;    (2.)  from  the 
deluge  to  Abraham's  entering  the  land  of  promise, 
in  A.  M.  2082,  comprehending  426  years  ;  (3.)  from 
Abraham's  entrance  of  the  promised   land,  to  the 
exodus,  A.  M.  2513,  comprehending  431  years  ;  (4.) 
from  tlie  exodus  to  the  foundation  of  the  temple  by 
Solomon,   A.  M.   2992,   comprehending  479  years  ; 
(5.)  from  the  foimdation  of  the  temple  to  the  Baby-     ^a 
lonish   captivity,  in  A.  M.  3416,  comprehending  424-^,  / 
years  ;  (6.)  from  the  captivity  to  the  birth  of  Christ,     ' 
A.  M.  4000,  the  fourth  year  before  the  vulgar  era,     ^ 
or  A.  D.  comprehending  584  years.  ^ 

We  need  not  enlai-ge  on  tiie  difterent  systems  of 
ancient  and  modern  chronologers,  concerning  the 
years  of  the  world.  Those  who  would  study  these 
matters,  must  consult  those  authors  who  have  ex- 
pressly treated  the  subject.  We  have  followed  Usher 
in  the  chronology  of  the  Old  Testament,  with  some 
trifling  differences  only ;  and  among  the  appendices 
is  a  Chronological  Table,  with  the  dates  inserted  ac- 
cording to  D]-.  Hales. 

CHRYSOLITE,  a  precious  stone,  probably  the 
tenth  on  the  high-priest's  pectoral ;  bearing  the  name 
of  Zebulun,  Exod.  xxviii.  20 ;  xxxix.  19.  It  is 
transparent,  the  color  of  gold,  with  a  mixture  of 
green,  which  displays  a  fine  lustre.  The  Hebrew 
B'^Din  (tarshish)  is  translated  by  the  LXX,  and  by  Je- 
rome, sometimes,  carbuncle ;  by  the  rabbins,  beryl ; 
it  was  the  seventh  foundation  of  the  New  Jerusalem, 
Rev.  xxi.  20.  Some  suppose  it  to  be  the  topaz  of  the 
moderns. 

CHRYSOPRASUS,  the  tenth  of  those  precious 
stones  which  adorned  the  foundation  of  the  heaven- 
ly Jerusalem  ;  its  color  was  green,  inclining  to 
gold,  as  its  name  imports,  Rev.  xxi.  20.  See  Rees' 
Cyclop. 

CHUB,  a  word  which  occius  only  in  Ezek.  xxx. 
5.  and  probably  signifies  the  Cubians,  placed  by 
Ptolemy  in  the  Mareotis.  Bochart  takes  it  to  be 
Paliurus,  a  city  in  JMarinorica,  because  the  Syriae 
word  denotes  paliurus,  a  sort  of  tiiorn.  It  would 
seem  to  be  a  southern  country,  from  the  circum- 
stance of  its  being  mentioned  with  Egypt  and  Ciish. 

CHUN,  a  city  of  Syria,  conquered  by  David,  1 
Chron.  xviii.  8.  In  the  parallel  passage,  2  Sam.  viii.8, 
it  is  called  Berothai,  (which  see,)  i.  e.  probably  Be- 
7-ytns,  now  Beirout. 

CHURCH.  The  Greek  word  iy.y.'Ai\aia  signifies 
an  assembly,  wliether  common  or  religious ;  it  is 
taken,  (1.)  for  tlie  place  where  an  assembly  is  held  ; 
(2.)  for  the  persons  assembled.  In  the  New  Testa- 
ment it  generally  denotes  a  congregation  of  believers. 
By  the  church  is  sometimes  meant  the  faithful  who 
have  preserved  the  true  religion  from  the  beginning, 
and  will  preserve  it.  The  history  of  this  church  is 
narrated  by  Moses,  from  the  Iieginning  to  his  time  ; 
from  Moses  to  Christ,  we  iiave  the  sacred  writings 


CIR 


[  307 


CIRCUMCISION 


of  the  Hebrews.  Moses  is  our  guide  from  Siiein  to 
Abraham,  but  he  does  not  inform  us  whetlier  the 
true  rehgion  were  preserved  l)y  the  descendants  of 
Ham  and  Japheth  ;  nor  how  long  it  subsisted  among 
them.  We  see,  that  Abraham's  ancestors  worshipped 
idols  in  Chaldea,  Josh.  xxiv.  2.  On  the  other  hand, 
we  know,  that  the  fear  of  the  Lord  was  not  entirely 
banished  out  of  Palestine  and  Egypt  wlien  Abra- 
ham came  thither  ;  for  the  king  of  Egypt  feared 
God,  (Gen.  xii.  17  ;  xx.  3.)  and  had  great  abhorrence 
of  sin.  Abraham  imagined,  that  there  were  at  least 
ten  or  twenty  righteous  persons  in  Sodom,  (Gen.  xviii. 
23,  24,  25.)  and  it  is  probable,  that  the  sons  of  Abra- 
ham, by  Hagar  and  Keturah,  for  some  time  pre- 
served the  faith  wliich  they  had  received  from  their 
father.  Job,  who  was  of  Esau's  posterity,  and  his 
friends,  knew  the  Lord,  and  the  Ammonites  and  Mo- 
abites,  who  descended  from  Lot,  did  not,  probably, 
fall  inunediately  into  idolatry.  The  Ishmaelites, 
sons  of  Hagar  and  Abraham,  value  themselves  on 
having  always  adhered  to  the  worship  of  the  true 
God,  and  having  extended  the  knowledge  of  him  ui 
Arabia,  as  Isaac  did  in  Palestine ;  but  we  are  cer- 
tain, that  in  the  time  of  Mahomet,  and  long  before, 
they  had  forsaken   the   true    faith.       See    Chris- 

TIAXITV. 

CHL  SHAN-RISHATHAIM,  king  of  Mesopota- 
mia, oppressed  the  Israelites  eight  years  ;  from  A. 
M.  2591,  to  2599,  Judges  iii.  8,  9,  10. 

CHUZA,  steward  to  Herod  Agrippa,  and  husband 
of  Joanna,  Luke  viii.  3. 

CILICIA,  a  country  of  Asia  Minor,  on  the  sea- 
coast,  at  the  north  of  Cyprus,  south  of  mount  Tau- 
rus, and  west  of  the  Euphrates.  Its  capital  was 
Tarsus.  A  synagogue  of  this  province  is  mentioned. 
Acts  vi.  9,  and  as  Paul  was  of  this  country,  and  of  a 
city  so  considerable  as  Tarsus,  it  may  be  thought  that 
he  was  also  of  this  synagogue ;  so  that  it  is  probable 
he  was  one  of  those  who  had  been  disputing  with  Ste- 
phen, and  were  overcome  by  the  arguments  of  that 
proto-martyr.     See  Tarsus. 

CINNAMON,  one  of  the  ingi-edients  in  the  per- 
fumed oil  with  which  the  tabernacle  and  its  vessels 
were  anointed,  Exod.  xxx.  23.  The  cirinamotmim  is 
a  shrub,  the  bark  of  which  has  a  fine  scent ;  several 
of  the  moderns  confound  it  with  the  rinnamon-tree, 
and  cassia  aromatica;  but  others  distinguish  three 
species.  It  is  now  generally  agreed,  that  the  cinna- 
momum  spoken  of  so  confusedly  by  the  ancients,  is 
our  ciyinamon;  it  is  a  long,  thin  bark  of  a  tree,  rolled 
up,  of  a  dark  red  color,  of  a  poignant  taste,  aromatic, 
and  very  agreeable.  The  finest  description  comes 
from  Ceylon  ;  but  there  might  formerly  have  been 
cinnamon  in  Arabia,  or  Ethiopia ;  or  it  might  be  im- 
ported then  into  Egypt,  Arabia,  &c.  as  it  is  now  into 
Europe ;  so  that  it  might  come  originally  from 
Ceylon. 

CINNERETII,  or  Ceneroth,  or  Cix.neroth,  a 
city  of  Naphtali,  south  of  which  lay  a  great  valley  or 
plain,  which  reached  to  the  Dead  sea,  all  along  the  river 
Jordan,  Josh.  xix.  35.  Many  believe,  and  with  proba- 
bility, that  Cimiereth  was  the  same  as  Tiberias  ;  for, 
as  the  lake  of  Gennesareth  (in  Hebrew,  the  lake  of 
Cinnereth)  is,  without  doubt,  that  of  Tiberias,  it 
seems  reasonable  that  Cinnereth  and  Tiberias  should 
also  be  the  same  city,  Deut.  iii.  17.  See  Tiberias, 
and  Gennesareth. 

CIRCUMCISION,  a  Latin  term,  signifying  'to 
cut  around,'  because  the  Jews,  in  circumcising 
their  children,  cut  off,  after  this  manner,  the  little 
Bkin  which  formis  the  prepuce.    God  enjoined  Abra- 


ham to  use  circumcision,  as  a  sign  of  hie  covenant ; 
and,  in  obedience  to  this  order,  the  patriarch,  at  nine- 
ty-nine years  of  age,  was  circumcised,  as  also  his 
son  Ishmael,  and  all  the  males  of  his  property,  Gen. 
xvii.  10.  God  repeated  the  precept  to  Moses;  and 
ordered  that  all  who  intended  to  partake  of  the  pas- 
chal sacrifice  should  receive  circumcision  ;  and  that 
this  rite  should  be  performed  on  children  on  the 
eighth  day  after  their  birth.  Tlic  Jews  have  always 
been  very  exact  in  observing  this  ceremony,  and  it 
appears  that  they  did  not  neglect  it  when  in  Egypt. 
But  Moses,  w  hile  in  3Iidian,  with  Jethro,  his  father- 
in-law,  did  not  circumcise  his  two  sous  born  in  that 
country  ;  and  during  the  journey  of  the  Israelites  in 
the  wilderness  their  children  were  not  circumcised  ; 
probably  by  reason  of  the  danger  to  which  they 
might  have  been  exposed  in  sudden  removals,  &,c. 
because  of  their  unsettled  state,  and  manner  of  life. 

The  law  mentions  nothing  of  the  minister,  or  the 
instrument,  of  circumcision ;  which  were  left  to 
the  discretion  of  the  people.  They  generally  used 
a  knife  or  razor,  or  sharp  stone,  Exod.  iv.  25 ; 
Josh.  v.  3. 

The  ceremonies  observed  in  circumcision  are 
particularly  described  by  Leo  of  Modena,  (cap. 
viii.)  and  may  also  be  seen  in  Allen's  Modern  Ju- 
daism. 

The  Arabians,  Saracens,  and  IshmaeUtes,  who,  as 
well  as  the  Hebrews,  sprung  from  Abraham,  prac- 
tised circumcision,  but  not  as  an  essential  rite  to 
which  they  were  bound,  on  pain  of  being  cut  oft" 
from  their  people.  Circumcision  was  introduced 
with  the  law  of  Moses  among  the  Samaritans,  Cuthe- 
ans,  and  Idinneans.  Those  wlio  assert  that  the 
Phoenicians  were  circumcised,  mean  probably  the 
Samaritans  ;  for  we  know,  from  other  authority,  that 
the  Phoenicians  did  not  observe  this  ceremony.  As 
to  the  Egyptians,  circumcision  never  w'as  of  general 
and  indispensable  obligation  on  the  whole  nation ; 
certain  priests  only,  and  particular  professions,  were 
obliged  to  submit  to  it. 

Circumcision  is  never  repeated.  When  the  Jews 
admitted  a  proselyte  of  another  nation,  if  he  had 
received  circumcision,  (co?j^isioH,)  they  were  satisfied 
with  drawing  some  drops  of  blood  from  the  part 
usually  circumcised ;  which  blood  was  called  "  the 
blood  of  the  covenant." 

The  Jews  esteemed  the  foreskin  or  uncircumcision 
as  a  very  great  impurity  ;  and  the  greatest  offence 
they  could  receive  was  to  be  called  "  uncircumcised." 
Paul  (Rom.  ii.  26.)  frequently  mentions  the  Gentiles 
under  this  term  in  opposition  to  the  Jews,  whom  he 
names  "  circumcision."  He  also  alludes  to  an  im- 
perfect mode  of  circumcision,  or  a  partial  removal 
of  the  foreskin,  which  ap})arently  was  practised  by 
the  Edomites,  Egyptians,  &c.  This  he  calls  con- 
cision; and  associates  those  who  practised  it  with 
dogs,  Phil.  iii.  2.  He  probably  here  turns  the  appli- 
cation of  Jewish  terms  of  contempt  and  ridicule 
against  the  Jews  themselves. 

As  a  conasquence  of  the  opinion  entertained  by  tlie 
Jews,  that  uncircumcision  was  unclean  and  dis- 
honorable, but  circumcision  the  contrary  ;  they 
sometimes  use  the  word  uncircumcision  in  a  figura- 
tive sense,  to  signify  something  impiu'e,  superfluous, 
useless,  and  dangerous  :  e.  gr.  Moses  says  of  himself 
he  is  "  of  uncircumcised  lips,"  (Exod.  vi.  12,  30. 
that  is,  he  had  an  impediment  in  his  speech.  Jere- 
miah (vi.  10.)  says  of  the  Jews,  they  had  "  uncircum- 
cised em-s,"  that  is,  they  would  not  hear  instruction. 
He  exhorts  them  (chap.  iv.  4  ;  ix.  26.)  to  "  circumcise 


CLA 


[  308  ] 


CLE 


their  hearts ;"  hterally,  to  take  away  the  foreskins  of 
their  hearts ;  to  be  tractable  and  attentive.  Moses 
inveighs  against  the  uncircumcised  hearts  of  the 
Jews,  who  would  not  obey  the  Lord ;  and  we  have 
similar  expressions  in  the  New  Testament.  Stephen 
reproaches  the  Jews  with  the  hardness  of  their  heart, 
and  their  indocility.  Acts  vii.  51. 

Jews  who  renounced  Judaism,  sometimes  endeav- 
ored to  erase  the  mai-k  of  circumcision :  "  They 
made  themselves  uncircumcised,  and  forsook  the 
holy  covenant,"  1  i\Iac.  i.  15.  Some  are  of  opinion, 
that  the  Israelites  in  the  wilderness  had  done  so, 
which  obliged  Joshua  to  circumcise  them  a  second 
time.  Josh.  v.  2.  Under  the  persecutions  of  the 
Romans,  after  the  destruction  of  the  temple,  many 
Jews  were  guilty  of  this  ;  and  it  seems  as  if  Paul 
alluded  to  the  same  thing,  1  Cor.  vii.  18. 

CIRCUMSPECT,  cautious,  seriously  attentive  to 
every  part  of  the  revealed  will  of  God,  and  very 
careful  not  to  cast  stumbling-blocks  in  the  way  of 
others,  Exod,  xxiii.  13  ;  Eph.  \'.  15. 

CISLEU,  the  ninth  month  in  the  ecclesiastical 
year,  and  the  third  in  the  civil,  or  political,  year  of 
the  Hebrews.  It  is  supposed  to  answer  nearly  to 
our  November,  O.  S.  See  Chisleu,  and  Jewish 
Calendar. 

CISTERN.  There  were  cisterns  throughout 
Palestine,  in  cities  and  in  private  houses.  As  the 
cities  were  mostly  built  on  mountains,  and  the  rains 
fall  in  Judea  at  two  seasons  only,  (spring  and  au- 
tumn,) people  were  obhged  to  keep  water  in  vessels. 
There  are  cisterns  of  very  large  dimensions,  at  this 
day,  in  Palestine.  Two  hours  distant  from  Bethle- 
hem are  the  cisterns  or  pools  of  Solomon.  They  are 
three  in  munber,  situated  in  the  sloping  hollow  of  a 
mountain,  one  above  another ;  so  that  the  waters  of  the 
uppermost  descend  into  the  second,  and  those  of  the 
second  descend  into  the  third.  The  breadth  is  near- 
ly the  same  in  all,  between  eighty  and  ninety  pac<;s, 
but  the  length  varies.  The  first  is  about  160  paces  long; 
the  second  200  ;  the  third  220.  These  pools  formerly 
supplied  the  town  of  Bethlehem  and  the  city  of  Je- 
rusalem with  water.  Wells  and  cisterns,  fountains 
and  springs,  are  seldom  distinguished  accurately  in 
Scripture.  Worldly  enjoyments  are  called  "  broken 
cisterns  that  can  hold  no  water,"  (Jer.  ii.  13.)  from 
their  unsatisfying  and  unstable  nature.  (See  Mod. 
Traveller,  Palestine,  \).  165.) 

[Dr.  Jowett  .says :  (Chr.  Res.  in  Syria,  p.  225.) 
"With  regard  to  water,  some  parts  of  the  Holy  Land 
appeared,  in  the  months  of  October  and  November, 
to  labor  under  great  {)rivation.  Yet  even  in  this  re- 
spect art  might  furnish  a  remedy,  in  the  tanks  and 
cisterns,  which  a  little  industry  would  form  and  pre- 
serve. The  cities  and  villages  have  such  supplies  ; 
and  in  every  stage  of  seven  or  eight  hours,  there  are 
usually  found,  once  or  twice,  at  least,  cisterns  or 
muddy  wells.  In  some  places,  a  person  at  the  well 
claimed  jjayment  for  the  water,  which  he  drew  for 
us  and  our  animals  ;  but  this  was  probably  an  impo- 
Bition,  although  by  us  willingly  paid."     R'. 

CITIES  OF  REFUGE,  see  Refuge. 

CITRON,  sr>e  Apple. 

CLAUD  A,  a  small  island  towards  the  south-west 
of  Crete,  Acts  xxvii.  16, 

CLAUDIA,  a  Roman  lady  converted  by  Paul,  2 
Tim.  iv.  21.  Some  think  sJie  was  the  wife  of  Pu- 
dens,  who  is  named  innnediately  before  her;  others 
conjecture,  that  she  was  a  British  lady,  sister  of  Li- 
nus.    See  Christianity. 

I.  CLAUDIUS,  the  emperor  of  Rome,  mentioned 


in  the  New  Testament,  succeeded  Caius  Caligula, 
A.  D.  41,  and  reigned  upwards  of  thirteen  years. 
He  gave  to  Agi-ippa  all  Judea ;  and  to  his  brother 
Herod,  the  kingdom  of  Chalcis.  He  terminated  the 
dispute  between  the  Jews  and  the  other  inhabitants  of 
Alexandria,  confirming  the  former  in  the  freedom  of 
that  city,  and  in  the  free  exercise  of  their  religion  and 
laws  ;  but  not  permitting  them  to  hold  assemblies  at 
Rome.  Agrippa  dying  in  the  fourth  year  of  Claudius, 
A.  D.  44,  the  emperor  again  reduced  Judea  into  a  prov- 
ince, and  sent  Cuspius  Fadus  as  governor.  About 
this  time  happened  the  famine,  as  foretold  by  the 
prophet  Agabus,  (Acts  xi.  28, 29,  30.)  and  at  the  same 
period,  Herod,  king  of  Chalcis,  obtained  from  the 
empei'or  the  authority  over  the  temjjle,  and  the 
money  consecrated  to  God,  with  a  power  of  depos- 
ing and  estabhshing  the  high-priests.  In  the  ninth 
year  of  Claudius,  (A.  D.  49.)  he  published  an  order, 
expelling  all  Jews  from  Rome,  (Acts  xviii.  2.)  and 
it  is  probable  that  the  Christians,  being  confounded 
with  the  Jews,  were  banished  hkewise.  Suetonius 
plainly  intimates  this,  when  he  says  that  Claudius  ex- 
pelled the  Jews,  by  reason  of  the  continual  disturb- 
ances excited  by  them,  at  t!ie  instigation  of  Chres- 
tus  : — an  ancient  waj'  of  spelling  the  title  of  Christ. 
Claudius  was  poisoned  by  his  wife  Agrippina,  and 
was  succeeded  by  Nero. 

II.  CLAUDIUS  LYSIAS,  tribune  of  the  Roman 
troops,  which  kept  guard  at  the  temple  of  Jerusalem. 
Observing  the  tumult  raised  on  account  of  Paul, 
whom  the  Jews  had  seized,  and  designed  to  mur- 
der, he  rescued  him,  and  (Acts  xxi.  27;  xxiii.  31.) 
carried  him  to  fort  Antonia,  and  afterwards  sent  him 
guarded  to  Csesarea. 

in.  CLAUDIUS  FELIX,  successor  of  Cumanus 
in  the  government  of  Judea,  and  husband  of  Drusil- 
la,  sister  of  Agrippa  tlie  younger.  Felix  sent  to 
Rome  Eleazer,  son  of  Dineeus,  captain  of  a  band  of 
robbers,  who  had  committed  great  ravages  in  Pales- 
tine ;  he  procured  the  death  of  Jonathan,  the  high- 
priest,  who  occasionally  represented  his  duty  to  him, 
with  great  freedom,  and  defeated  a  body  of  3000 
men,  which  an  Egyptian,  a  false  prophet,  had  assem- 
bled on  the  mount  of  Olives.  Paul  being  brought  to 
Csesarea,  Felix  treated  him  well,  permitted  his 
friends  to  see  him,  and  to  render  him  services,  hoping 
he  would  procure  his  redemption  by  a  sum  of 
money,  Acts  xxiii.  Felix,  with  his  wife  Diaisil- 
la,  who  was  a  Jewess,  having  desired  Paul  to  explain 
the  religion  of  Jesus  Christ,  the  apostle  spoke  with 
his  usual  boldness,  and  discoursed  to  them  concern- 
ing justice,  chastity,  and  the  last  judgment.  Felix, 
being  terrified,  remanded  the  apostle  to  his  confine- 
ment, and  detained  him  two  years  at  C?esarea,  to 
oblige  the  Jews.  He  was  recalled  to  Rome,  A.  D. 
60,  and  was  succeeded  by  Portius  Festus.  (Joseph. 
Ant.  1.  XX.  c.  7.) 

CLAY,  a  substance  frequently  mentioned  in  Scrip- 
ture, and  universally  known.  It  was  formerly  used 
in  the  East,  as  it  is  to  this  day,  for  sealing.  Norden 
and  Pococke  both  observe  that  the  inspectors  of  the 
granaries  in  Egypt,  after  having  closed  the  door,  put 
their  seal  ujjon  a  handful  of  clay,  with  which  they 
cover  the  lock.  This  may  tend  to  explain  Job 
xxxviii.  14,  where  the  earth  is  represented  as  assum- 
ing form  and  imagery  from  the  brightness  of  the 
rising  sun,  as  rude  clay  receives  a  figure  from  the 
impression  of  a  signet. 

CLEAN,  CLf^ANSE,  see  Purifications,  and 
also  Animals. 

CLEMENT,  whose  name  is  in  the  Book  of  Life, 


CLO 


[  309  ] 


CO  A 


Phil.  iv.  3.  Most  interpretere  conclude  that  this  is 
the  same  Clement  who  succeeded  in  the  government 
of  the  church  at  Rome,  commonly  called  Clemens 
Roman  us. 

The  church  at  Corinth  having  been  disturbed  by 
divisions,  Clement  wrote  a  letter  to  the  Corinthians, 
which  was  so  much  esteemed  by  the  ancients,  that 
they  read  it  publicly  in  many  churches.  It  is  still 
extant,  and  some  have  inclined  to  rank  it  among  the 
canonical  writings.  We  have  no  authentic  accounts 
of  what  occurred  to  Clement  during  the  persecution 
of  Domitian ;  we  are  assured,  that  he  lived  to  the 
third  year  of  Trajan,  A.  D.  100. 

CLEOPAS,  according  to  Eusebius  and  Epipha- 
nius,  was  brother  of  Joseph,  both  being  sons  of  Ja- 
cob. He  is  probably  the  same  person  with  Alpiieus, 
which  see.  He  was  the  father  of  Simeon,  bishop  of 
Jerusalem,  of  James  the  Less,  of  Jude,  and  of  Joseph, 
or  Joses.  Cieopas  married  Mary,  sister  of  the  Vir- 
gin ;  so  that  he  was  uncle  to  Jesus  Christ.  He,  his 
wife,  and  sons,  were  disciples  of  Christ ;  but  Cieopas 
did  not  sufficiently  understand  what  Jesus  had  so 
often  told  his  disciples,  that  it  was  expedient  he 
should  die,  and  return  to  the  Father.  Having  beheld 
our  Saviour  expire  on  the  cross,  he  lost  all  hope  of 
seeing  the  kingdom  of  God  established  by  him  on 
earth ;  but  going  to  Emmaus  with  another  disciple, 
thoy  were  joined  by  our  Lord,  who  accompanied 
them,  and  on  his  breaking  bread  they  recognized 
him,  Luke  xxiv.  13,  to  end. 

L  CLEOPATRA,  daughter  of  Antiochus  the 
Great,  and  wife  of  Ptolemy  Epiphancs,  king  of 
Egypt.  Some  are  of  opinion,  that  this  princess  is 
described  in  Dan.  xi.  17,  under  the  title  "Daughter 
of  Women." 

IL  CLEOPATRA,  daughter  of  the  above  Cleopa- 
tra and  Ptolemy  Epiphanes.  She  married  Ptolemy 
Philometor,  her  own  brother;  and  is  mentioned  Es- 
ther xi.  1.  Apoc. 

\\\.  CLEOPATRA,  daughter  of  Ptolemy  Philo- 
metor, and  the  latter  Cleopatra,  married  first  to  Alex- 
ander Balas,  king  of  Syria,  then  to  Antiochus  Side- 
tes ;  and  afterwards  to  Demetrius  Nicauor.  She 
is  named  in  Mac.  x.  She  designed  to  jjoison  her  son 
Gryphus,  but  he  prevented  her,  and  obliged  her  to 
drink  the  draught  she  had  provided  for  him,  A.  M. 
3882. 

IV.  CLEOPATRA,  sister  and  v/ife  of  Ptolemy 
Physcon.     See  Alexander  III. 

V.  CLEOPATRA,  the  last  queen  of  Egj'pt,  and 
daughter  of  Ptolemy  Auletes,  celebrated  for  her 
beauty  and  accomplishments.  When  Cleopatra 
pjisscd  through  Judea,  in  her  return  from  a  jour- 
ney she  had  made  with  Antony  to  the  Eujjhratcs, 
Herod  received  her  with  all  imaginable  maguificoice. 
Cleopatra  killed  herself  by  the  sting  of  an  asp, 
A.  M.  3974. 

CLOTHES,  see  Dresses. 

CLOUD,  (1.)  a  collection  of  vapors:— (3.)  the 
morning  mists,  Hos.  vi.  4  ;  xiii.  3.  When  the  Is- 
raelites liad  left  Egypt,  "  The  Lord  went  before  them 
in  a  pillar  of  cloud,"  to  direct  their  march,  Exod.  xiii. 
21,  22.  This  pillar  was  commonly  in  front  of  the 
tribes ;  but  at  Pihahiroth,  when  the  Egyptian  ar- 
my approached  behind  them,  it  placed  itself  be- 
tween Israel  and  the  Egyptians,  so  that  the  Egyptians 
could  not  come  near  the  Israelites  all  night.  "The 
angel  of  God,  whieh  went  before  the  canip  of  Israel, 
removed  and  went  behind  them  ;  and  the  inllar  of 
the  cloud  went  from  before  their  face,  and  stood 
behind  them,"  Exod.  xiv.  19.      In  the  morning,  the 


cloud  mo\ing  on  over  the  sea,  and  following  the 
Israelites  who  had  passed  through  it,  the  Egvp- 
tians  followed  the  cloud,  and  were  drowned.  This 
cloud  fronj  that  time  attended  the  Israelites :  it  was 
clear  and  bright  during  night,  in  order  to  give  them 
light,  but  in  the  day  it  was  thick  and  gloomy, 
to  defend  them  from  the  excessive  heats  of  the  desert. 
The  cloud  by  its  motions  gave  the  signal  to  Israel, 
either  to  encamp,  or  to  decamp ;  so  that  where  that 
stayed,  the  people  stayed,  till  it  rose  again  ;  then  they 
broke  up  their  camp,  and  followed  it  till  it  stopped. 
It  was  called  a  pillar,  from  its  form,  rising  high  and 
elevated,  as  it  were  a  pile,  or  heap  of  mists ;  as  we 
say,  a  pillar  of  smoke.  Rabbi  Solomon  and  Aben 
Ezra  suppose  that  there  were  two  clouds,  one  to 
enlighten,  the  other  to  shade  the  camp. 

The  Lord  appeared  at  Sinai  in  the  midst  of  a 
cloud  ;  (Exod.  xix.  9;  xxxiv.  5.)  and  after  Mosea  had 
built  and  consecrated  the  tabernacle,  a  cloud  filled 
the  court  around  it,  so  that  neither  Moses  nor  the 
priests  could  enter,  xl.  34,  35.  The  same  occuiTed 
at  the  dedication  of  the  temple  by  Solomon,  2  Chron. 
V.  13 ;  1  Kings  viii.  10. 

When,  then,  the  cloud  appeared  on  the  tent,  in  front 
of  which  were  held  the  assemblies  of  the  people,  in 
the  desert,  it  was  believed  that  God  was  then  present, 
for  the  motion  of  the  cloud  which  rested  on  the  tent 
was  a  sign  of  the  divine  presence,  Exod.  xvi.  10; 
xxxiii.  9;  Num.  xi.  25.  The  angel  descended  in  the 
cloud,  and  from  thence  spoke  to  Moses,  without 
being  seen  by  the  people,  Elxod.  xvi.  10 ;  Num.  xi. 
25  ;  xxi.  5.  It  is  usual  in  Scripture,  when  mention- 
ing the  presence  of  God,  to  represent  him  as  encom- 
passed with  clouds,  serving  as  a  chariot,  and  veiling 
his  dreadful  majesty.  Job  xxii.  14  ;  Isaiah  xix.  1  ; 
Matt.  xvii.  5  ;  xxiv.  30,  &:c.  Ps.  xviii.  11, 12 ;  xcvii.  2 ; 
civ.  3.  The  Son  of  God  is  described  as  ascending  to 
heaven  in  a  cloud ;  (Acts  i.  9.)  and  at  his  second 
advent,  as  descending  upon  clouds,  Matt.  xxiv.  30 ; 
Rev.  xiv.  14,  16. 

CLYSMA,  or  Cliska,  or  Colsum,  the  place 
where  the  Israelites  i)nssed  the  Red  sea.  According 
to  Epiphanius,  it  was  one  of  the  three  ports  which 
lay  on  the  Red  sea:  Suez  is  now  its  representative. 
See  Exodus. 

CNIDUS,  a  city  standing  on  a  promontory  of  the 
same  name,  in  that  part  of  the  province  of  Caria 
which  -was  called  Doris,  a  little  north-west  from 
r;!r-des.  It  was  remai-kable  for  the  worship  of  "W'- 
i:'os,  and  for  possessing  the  celebrated  statue  of  this 
ao.'dcss,  made  by  the  tamous  artist  Praxiteles.  The 
I'onians  wrote  to  this  city  in  favor  of  the  Jews,  (1 
Mac.  XV.  23.)  and  Paul  passed  it  i;i  his  way  to 
Rome,  Acts  xxvii.  7. 

COA.  In  1  Kings  x.  28,  and  2  Chron.  i.  10.  it  is 
said  that  horses  were  brought  to  Solomon  from  Coa, 
at  a  certain  price.  The  Septuagint  read,  «>f  f.^f^oi't. 
Some,  by  Coa,  understand  the  city  of  Coa,  in  Arabia 
Felix  ;  others  Co,  a  city  of  Egypt,  and  cajiital  of  the 
jirovince  called  Cypopolitana.  The  Hebrew  may 
be  translated,  "  They  brought  horses  to  Solomon 
from  Egypt  and  from  Michoe;"and  Pliny  (lib.  \\. 
cap.  29.)  "assures  us,  that  the  country  of  the  Troglo- 
dytes, near  Egypt,  was  formerly  called  Michoe. 
Others  translate,  "They  brought  horses,  and  spun 
thread  ;"  (lineii-yam,  Eng.  trans.)  supposing  that  the 
Hebrew  mikoa  signifies  thread.  Jarchi  supposed  it 
to  mean  a  string  of  horses,  fastened  from  the  tail 
of  one  to  another; — they  brought  horses  in  strings-— 
at  a  settled  duty  or  price  ;  and  this  interpretation  is 
followed  by  several  expositors.     Bochart,  by  mikoa, 


coc 


[310  1 


COH 


understands  tribute  ;  and  translates,  "  They  brought 
horsea — and  as  to  the  tributes,  this  prince's  farmers 
received  them  at  certain  rates."  The  usual  manner 
of  tying  camels  together,  by  four  or  five,  in  the  way 
that  we  tie  horses,  is  favorable  to  this  interpretation ; 
and  we  may  read  : — "  And  Solomon  had  horses 
brought  out  of  Egj'pt,  even  (literally,  draivings-out — 
prolongations,)  strings,  that  is,  of  horses,  and  the  king's 
broker  received  the  strings,  that  is,  of  horses — in 
commutation — exchange — barter.  And  a  chariot  came 
up  from  Egypt  for  six  hundred  shekels  of  silver,  and 
a  single  horse  for  one  hundred  and  fifty  ;"  and  these 
he  sold  again  at  a  great  profit  to  the  neighboring 
kings. — As  the  whole  context  seems  rather  apphca- 
ble  to  horses  than  to  linen-yarn,  this  idea  preserves 
the  unity  of  the  passage,  while  it  strictly  maintains 
the  import  of  the  words  used  in  it. 

[The  word  coa  is  found  only  in  the  Vulgate.  The 
Hebrew  is  nipv,  mikveh,  the  same  word  which,  in 
Gen.  i.  10,  is  rendered  the  gathering  together,  collec- 
tion, of  the  waters.  How  the  Septuaguit  and  Vul- 
gate could  here  make  a  proper  name  of  it,  is  difficult 
to  see  ;  it  may  best  be  applied  here  in  the  same  sense 
as  in  Genesis,  viz.  "  And  Solomon  had  horses  brought 
out  of  Egypt ;  and  a  collection,  caravan,  {mikveh,)  of 
the  king's  merchants  brought  a  collection,  caravan, 
{mikveh,  of  horses,)  for  money."  In  verse  17,  the 
writer  proceeds  in  the  same  manner  to  state  the  cost 
of  them, — a  chariot  for  six  hundred  shekels  of  silver, 
and  a  horse  for  one  hundred  and  fifty.  In  this  way 
the  woi"d  is  used  both  of  the  merchants  and  of  the 
horses, — just  as  our  word  caravan  may  be  used  in  the 
same  manner ;  and  there  is  thus  a  sort  of  paronoma- 
sia.    R. 

COCK,  a  well  known  and  tame  bird.  He  gene- 
rally crov/s  three  times  in  the  night — at  midnight,  two 
hours  before  day,  and  at  break  of  day. 

COCK-CROWING,  a  division  of  time.  See  Hour. 

COCKATRICE,  a  fabulous  species  of  serpent, 
supposed  to  be  hatched  from  the  egg  of  a  cock.  The 
translators  of  the  English  Bible  have  variously  ren- 
dered the  Hebrew  jjdx,  or  ijjjdx,  by  adder  and  cocka- 
trice ;  and  we  are  by  no  means  certain  of  the  partic- 
ular kind  of  serpent  to  Avhich  the  original  term  is 
applied.  In  Isa.  xi.  8,  "  the  tziphoni,"  says  Dr.  Har- 
ris, "  is  evidently  in  advance  in  malignity  beyond  the 
pethen  which  precedes  it ;  and  in  ch.  xiv.  29,  it  must 
mean  a  worse  kind  of  serpent  than  the  nachash  ;" 
but  this  stilj  leaves  us  ignorant  of  its  specific  charac- 
ter. Mr.  Taylor  is  of  opinion  that  it  is  the  naja,  or 
cobra  di  capello,  or  hooded  snake,  of  the  Portuguese, 
which  we  rind  thus  described  by  Goldsniith  : — 

"Of  all  others  the  cobra  di  capello,  or  hooded  ser- 
i)ent,  inflicts  the  most  deadly  and  incurable  wounds. 
Of  tills  formidable  creature  there  are  five  or  six  dif- 
ferent kinds  ;  but  they  are  all  equally  dangerous,  and 
their  bite  is  followed  by  speedy  and  certain  death. 
It  is  from  three  to  eight  feet  long,  with  two  long 
fangs  hanging  out  of  the  upper  jaw.  It  has  a  broad 
neck,  and  a  mark  of  dark  brown  on  the  forehead  ; 
which,  when  viewed  frontwise,  looks  like  a  pair  of 
spectacles  ;  but  behind  like  the  head  of  a  cat.  The 
eyes  are  fierce  and  full  of  fire  ;  the  head  is  small,  and 
the  nose  flat,  though  covered  with  very  large  scales, 
of  a  yellowish  Jish-color;  the  skin  is  white,  and  the 
large  tumor  on  the  neck  is  flat,  and  covered  with  ob- 
long, smooth  scales.  The  l)ite  of  this  animal  is  said 
to  be  incurable,  the  jjatient  dying  in  about  an  hour 
afl;er  the  wound  ;  the  whole  frame  being  dissolved 
into  one  jHitrid  mass  of  corruption."  The  effects 
here  attributed  to  the  bite  of  this  creature  answer 


very  well  to  what  is  intimated  of  the  tziphoni  in 
Scripture.  Thus,  in  Isa.  xi.  9,  "They  (the  tziphoni) 
shall  not  hurt  nor  destroy  (corrupt)  in  all  my  holy 
mountain."  And  Prov.  xxiii.  32,  "  At  the  last  it  biteth 
hke  a  serpent,  and  stingeth  (spreads,  difiiises  its 
poison;  so  the  LXX  and  Vulgate)  like  an  adder." 
See  Serpent  and  Inchantments. 

The  greatest  diflSculty,  at  first  sight,  against  accejjt- 
ing  the  naja  as  the  tzepha,  is,  that  it  is  said,  that  ser- 
pent shall  not  be  tamed,  but  shall  resist  encliantment, 
whereas  the  naja  is  in  some  sort  domesticated.  But 
Mr.  Taylor  remarks,  (1.)  that  though  the  naja  is 
managed  by  human  contrivance  and  art,  yet  it  is  not 
tamed,  but  would  as  readily  bite  its  master  as  any 
other ;  (2.)  that  we  may  take  the  prophet  to  mean, 
"  though  this  kind  of  serpent  be  occasionally  subdued, 
yet  those  I  send  shall  be  proof  against  such  manage- 
ment;  more  venomous,  more  ferocious  ;  of  the  same 
species,  but  of  greater  ])owers  and  malignity." — [But 
a  still  more  formidable  objection  to  this  sujjpositiou 
is,  that  the  naja,  or  cobra  di  capello,  is  found  only  in 
India,  and  never  in  Palestine  or  the  adjacent  countries. 
(See  Rees's  Cyclop,  art.  Coluber.)  The  Hebrew  terms 
tzepha  and  tziphoni  designate  the  adder  race  in  gene- 
ral ;  not,  apparently,  any  particular  species.     R. 

The  unyielding  cruelty  of  the  Chaldean  armies, 
under  Nebuchadnezzar,  who  were  appointed  minis- 
ters of  Jehovah's  vengeance  on  the  Jewish  nation, 
whose  iniquities  had  made  him  their  enemy,  is  ex- 
pressively alluded  to  in  the  following  passage  :  "  For 
behold,  I  will  send  serpents,  cockatrices,  among  you, 
which  shall  not  be  charmed,  and  they  shall  bite  you, 
saith  the  Lord,"  Jer.  viii.  17. 

COCKLE.  This  herb  is  only  mentioned  Job  xxxi. 
40.  By  the  Chaldee  it  is  rendered  "  noxious  herbs  ;" 
and  our  translators  have  placed  in  the  margin  "noi- 
some weeds."  Michaelis,  after  Celsius,  understands 
it  of  the  aconite,  a  poisonous  plant,  growing  sponta- 
neously and  luxuriantly  on  sunny  hills,  such  as  are 
used  for  vinej'ards.  This  interpretation  suits  the 
passage,  where  it  is  mentioned  as  growing  instead  of 
barley.  [The  Hebrew  word  signifies  siipply  ivccds 
in  general,  "  noisome  weeds."     R. 

CCELE-SYRIA,  Hollow-Syria,  is  properly  the 
valley  between  Libanus  and  Antilibanus,  extending 
from  north  to  south,  from  the  entrance  of  Hamath 
beyond  Heliopolis,  or  Baal-beck.  But,  in  the  larger 
sense,  the  country  south  of  Seleucia,  to  Egypt  and 
Arabia,  is  called  Coele-Syria.  Joscphus  (Antiq.  lib. 
i.  cap.  11.)  j)laces  the  country  of  Annuon  in  Coele- 
Syria  ;  and  Stephens,  the  geographer,  fixes  the  city 
of  Gadara  in  it,  which  was  east  of  the  sea  of  Tibe- 
rias. The  following  is  a  list  of  the  cities  in  Ccele- 
Syria,  according  to  Ptolemy :  Abila,  Lysanium,  Saana, 
Inna,  Damascus,  Samulis,  Abida,  Hippos,  CajntoUas, 
Gadara,  Adra,  vScythopolis,  Gerasa,  Pella,  Dium, 
Philadelphia,  and  Caiiatha.  Hence  we  see  that  it 
included  several  cities  of  the  Pera-a. 

Coele-Syria  has  no  particular  name  in  Scripture, 
but  is  c-omprised  under  the  general  one  of  Aram ; 
and,  perhaps,  Syria  of  Zoba,  or  Aram  Zoba,  extended 
to  Ccele-Syria  ;  of  which,  however,  we  know  not  any 
good  proofs ;  for  we  cannot  tell  where  the  city  of  Zoba 
was,  from  which  Aram  of  Zoba  is  supjjosed  to  take 
its  name;  unless  it  be  the  same  with  Hobah,  (Gen. 
xiv.  15.)  or  Chobai,  a.-^  the  LXX  read  it.     See  Syria. 

COHORT,  a  military  term  used  by  the  Romans,  to 
denote  a  company  generally  composed  of  600  foot  sol- 
diers :  a  legion  consisted  of  ten  cohorts,  every  cohort 
being  composed  of  three  maniples,  and  every  mani- 
ple of  200  men  ;  a  legion,  consequently,  contained  in 


CON 


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CON 


all  6,000  men.  Others  allow  but  500  men  to  a  cohort, 
which  would  make  5,000  in  a  legion.  It  is  probable, 
that  cohorts  ainong  the  Romans,  as  companies  among 
the  moderns,  often  varied  as  to  their  number. 

COLONY.  This  word  does  not  always  imply  that 
any  considerable  body  of  citizens  from  Rome  had  left 
their  native  cit)',  and  had  founded  a  new  town  where 
there  had  been  none,  as  the  first  colonies  in  America 
were  founded.  No  doubt,  a  settlement  of  Romans 
might  give  rise  to  Roman  colonies ;  and  maiiy  bodies 
of  their  troops,  after  they  were  dismissed  from  mili- 
tary service,  received  allotments  in  distant  towns. 
But  anciently  many  cities  were  favored  with  the 
character  of  colonies,  by  which  they  became  entitled 
to  the  privileges  of  Roman  citizens,  and  were  consid- 
ered as  being  in  a  manner  Roman,  in  reward  for  ser- 
vices which  they  had  rendered  to  the  government  of 
Rome,  or  to  the  emperors.     See  Philippi. 

COLOSSE,  a  city  of  Phrygia,  which  stood  not  far 
from  the  junction  of  the  river  Lycus  with  the  Mean- 
der; being  situated  at  an  equal  distance  between 
Laodicea  and  Hierapolis.  These  three  cities  were 
destroyed  by  an  earthquake,  according  to  Eusebius, 
in  the  tenth  year  of  Nero,  that  is,  about  two  years  after 
the  date  of  Paul's  epistle.  Some  believe,  that  the 
apostle  never  visited  this  place,  though  he  preached  in 
Phrygia  ;  but  that  the  Coiossians  received  the  gospel 
from  Epaphias.  Paul  having  been  informed,  either 
by  Epaphras,  then  prisoner  with  him  at  Rome,  (A.  D. 
(52.)  or  by  a  letter  from  the  Laodiceans,  that  false 
l)rophets  at  Colosse  had  preached  the  necessity  of 
legal  observances,  wrote  that  epistle  to  Colosse  which 
we  now  have,  in  which  he  insists  on  Jesus  Christ 
l)eing  the  only  mediator  with  God,  and  true  head  of 
the  church.  His  letter  was  carried  to  the  Coiossians 
by  Tychicus,  his  faithful  minister,  and  Onesimus. 

COMFORTER,  {Paracletus,)  an  exhorter,  defend- 
er, interceder.  This  title  is  given  to  the  Holy  Spirit 
by  our  Saviour,  John  xiv.  16,  and  John  gives  it  to 
our  Saviour  himself;  "  we  have  an  advocate  (jparacle- 
tus)  with  the  Father,  Jesus  Christ  the  I'ighteous,  1  Ep. 
ii.  1.     But  the  title  is  chiefly  given  to  the  Holy  Spirit, 

COMMON,  profane,  ceremonially  unclean,  Mark 
vii.  2,  5  ;  Acts  x.  14,  15  ;  Rom.  xiv.  14. 

COMMUNION,  fellowship,  concord,  agreement, 
1  Cor.  X.  16  ;  2  Cor.vi.  14  ;  1  John  i.  3.  The  com- 
munion of  a  number  of  persons  in  the  same  religious 
service  is  frequently  adverted  to  in  Scripture  ;  and  it 
is  usually  understood,  that  the  twelve  tribes  of  Israel 
were  virtually  represented,  at  the  time  of  offering  up 
the  daily  sacrifice  in  the  temple  at  Jerusalem,  by 
twelve  ))ersons  called  stationary  men,  who  constantly 
attended  this  duty,  and  who  composed  a  congrega- 
tion. Besides  this,  we  read  of  the  apostle  Paul's  par- 
taking in  the  service  to  be  performed  on  accoimt  of 
certain  Nazarites ;  (Acts  xxi.  24.)  so  that  joining  in 
their  expenses  was  considered  as  partaking  in  some 
degree  in  the  sanctity  and  merit  of  their  offerings. 
As  we  have  no  sacrifices  among  ourselves,  Ave  are 
little  able  to  appreciate  the  usages  attending  such 
consociations. 

CONCUBINE,  a  term  which,  in  western  authors, 
commonly  signifies  a  woman  who,  without  being 
married  to  a  man,  lives  with  him  as  his  wife  :  but,  in 
the  sacred  writers,  the  word  concubine  is  understood 
in  another  sense  ;  meaning  a  lawful  wife,  but  one  of 
the  second  rank ;  inferior  to  the  first  wife,  or  mistress 
of  the  house.  She  differed  from  a  proper  wife  in 
that  she  was  not  married  by  solemn  stipulation,  but 
only  betrothed  ;  she  brought  no  dowry  with  her ;  and 
lind  no  share  in  the  government  of  the  family.   Chil- 


dren of  concubines  did  not  inherit  their  father's 
property  ;  but  he  might  provide  for  them,  and  make 
presents  to  them.  Thus  Abraham,  by  Sarah  his 
wife,  had  Isaac,  his  heir ;  but  by  his  two  concubines, 
Hagar  and  Keturah,  he  had  other  children,  whom  he 
did  not  ujake  equal  to  Isaac,  Gen.  xxv.  6.  As  polyg- 
amy was  tolerated  in  the  East,  it  was  common  to  see 
in  every  family,  beside  lawful  wives,  several  concu- 
bines; but  since  the  abrogation  of  polygamy  by 
Christ,  and  the  restoration  of  marriage  to  its  primi- 
tive institution,  the  admission  and  maintenance  of 
concubines  has  been  condemned  among  Christians. 

CONCUPISCENCE,  a  term  used  by  the  apostle 
John,  to  signify  an  irregular  love  of  pleasure,  wealth, 
or  honors,  1  John  ii.  16.  Concupiscence  is  both  the 
effect  and  cause  of  sin:  bad  desires,  as  well  as  bad 
actions,  are  forbidden  ;  and  the  first  care  of  those 
who  would  please  God,  is  to  restrain  concupiscence. 
When  the  Hebrews  demanded  change  of  diet,  in 
mutinous  terms,  with  excessive  and  irregular  desire, 
God  pimished  many  of  them  with  death,  and  the 
place  of  their  burial  was  called  the  graves  of  lust, 
Num.  xi.  34.  God  prohibits  the  desiring  with  con- 
cupiscence any  thing  which  belongs  to  our  neighbor. 
Concupiscence  is  generally  taken  in  a  bad  sense ; 
particularly  for  carnal  incHnations, 

CONDEMN,  to  declare  guilty ;  an  expression  which 
is  used  not  only  in  judicial  acts,  but  in  whatever  re- 
lates to  them.  The  priests  condemned  lepers  of  im- 
purity ;  that  is,  they  declared  them  unclean.  So  Dan, 
i.  10,  "Ye  shall  condemn  my  head  to  the  kiug(Eng. 
trans,  make  me  endanger) ;  and  Job  ix,  20,  "  My 
mouth  shall  condemn  me  :"  God  shall  judge  me  by 
my  own  words.  "  The  righteous  that  is  dead,  shall 
condemn  the  ungodly  which  are  living,"  Wisd.  iv.  16. 

CONEY,  [shaphdn,)  an  unclean  animal.  Lev.  xi.  5. 
There  is  little  doubt 
thatthe  shaphan  is  the  -'  '^  -'^ 

gaiinim  Israel,  or,  as  it 
is  called  by  Bruce,  the 
ashkoko,  a  harmless 
animal,  of  nearly  the 
same  size  and  quality 
as  the  rabbit,  but  of  a 
browner  color,  small- 
er eyes,  and  a  more  pointed  head.  Its  feet  are  round, 
and  very  fleshy  and  pulpy  ;  notwithstanding  which, 
however,  it  bu'ilds  its  house  in  the  rocks,  Prov.  xxx. 
26.  [The  word  coney  is  an  old  name  for  the  rabbit, 
and  the  Jewish  rabbins  say  that  the  Heb.  shaphdn  is 
the  same  animal.  It  is  described  as  chewing  the  cud, 
(Lev.  xi,  5,)  as  inhabiting  mountains  and  rocks,  (Ps, 
civ.  18.)  and  as  gregarious  and  sagacious,  Prov.  xxx. 
26,  All  these  seem  best  to  designate  the  Arabian 
jerboa,  or  mountain  rat ;  inus  v.  dipus  jacidus  of 
Linnaeus.  It  is  about  the  size  of  a  large  rat ;  the  hind 
feet  are  very  long,  and  enable  them  to  make  prodi- 
gious bounds  ;  and  with  their  fore  feet  they  carry 
food  to  their  mouths  like  the  squirrel.  They  buiTow 
in  hard,  clayey  ground,  not  only  in  high  and  dry  spots, 
but  also  even  in  low  and  salt  places.  They  dig  holes 
with  their  fore  feet,  forming  oblique  and  winding 
burrows  of  some  yards  in  length,  ending  in  a  large 
hole  or  nest,  in  which  a  store  of  provision,  consisting 
of  herbs,  is  preserved.  These  burrows  are  conceal- 
ed and  defended  with  great  sagacity ;  indeed,  the 
Hebrew  name  implies  cunning.  At  the  approach  of 
danger,  they  spring  forward  so  swiftly,  that  a  man 
well  mounted  can  hardly  overtake  them.  The  figure 
of  this  animal  is  given  under  the  article  Mouse.     R, 

CONFESSION,  a  public  or  private  declaration 


CON 


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COP 


which  any  one  makes  of  his  sins.  Mattliew  says, 
(chap.  iii.  6.)  that  the  Jews  came  to  receive  baptism, 
confessing  their  sins.  James  (chap.  v.  16.)  requires 
us  to  confess  om*  faults  one  to  another  ;  and  John 
eays,  that  if  we  confess  our  sins,  God  is  faitliful  and 
just  to  forgive  them,  1  John  i.  9.  We  see,  in  the 
Acts  of  the  Apostles,  that  many  Gentiles  who  were 
converted,  came  and  confessed  their  sins,  ch.  xix.  18. 

In  the  ceremony  of  the  solemn  expiation,  under 
the  Mosaic  law,  the  high-priest  confessed  in  general 
his  own  sins,  the  sins  of  other  ministers  of  the  tem- 
ple, and  those  of  all  the  people  ;  and  when  an  Israel- 
ite offered  a  sacrifice  for  sin,  he  put  his  hand  on  the 
head  of  the  victim,  and  confessed  his  faults.  Lev.  iv.  4. 

CONFESSOR,  a  name  given  to  those  who  con- 
fessed the  doctrine  of  Christ  before  heathen,  or  per- 
secuting, judges  ;  or  to  those  who  firmly  endured 
punishment  for  defending  the  faith  ;  if  they  died  un- 
der their  torments  they  were  called  martyrs.  Our 
Lord  says,  he  will  confess  before  his  heavenly  Father, 
those  who  shall  have  confessed  him  before  men  ; 
(Matt.  X.  32.)  and  Paul  commends  Timothy  (1  Tim. 
vi.  12.)  for  having  confessed  a  good  confession  (Eug. 
trans,  profession ;)  for  having,  at  the  hazard  of  his  life, 

fiven  a  glorious  and  steady  testimony  to  the  truth, 
'he  same  apostle  says,  that  Jesus  Christ  witnessed  a 
good  confession  before  Pontius  Pilate,  1  Tim.  vi.  13. 
CONIAH,  see  Jeconiah. 

CONSCIENCE,  the  testimony,  or  judgment  of  the 
Boul,  approving  its  actions  which  it  judges  to  be  good, 
or  reproaching  itself  with  the  commission  of  those 
which  it  judges  to  be  evil.  Conscience  is  a  moral 
jjrinciple,  which  determines  on  the  good  or  evil  ten- 
dency of  our  actions.  In  Rom.  xiii.  5,  Christians  are 
required  to  be  submissive  to  secular  powers,  "not 
only  for  wrath,  but  also  for  conscience'  sake."  Paul 
permits  them,  also,  to  eat  at  the  houses  of  Gentiles,  if 
invited  thither,  and  to  partake  of  what  is  served  at 
their  tables,  without  making  particular  inquiries  from 
any  scrupulosity  of  conscience  ;  asking  no  questions 
for  conscience'  sake.  But  if  any  one,  meaning  to 
inform  them,  say,  "  This  has  been  sacrificed  to  idols," 
eat  not  of  that  meat,  says  the  apostle,  for  his  sake 
who  gave  you  this  information ;  and,  likewise,  lest 
you  should  wound  another's  conscience,  1  Cor.  x.  25 
— 29.  If  he  who  gives  you  this  notice  be  a  Chris- 
tian, and,  notwithstanding  the  information  he  gives 
you,  you  eat,  he  will  condenui  you  in  his  heart,  or 
will  eat  of  it  after  your  example,  and  thereby  will 
wound  his  own  conscience :  if  he  be  a  heathen,  and 
he  sees  you  eat  of  it,  contrary  to  Christian  custom, 
he  will  conceive  a  contempt  for  you  and  your  reli- 
gion, which  iiad  not  power  to  induce  you  to  refrain 
from  so  small  a  gratification. 

CONSECRATE,  Consecration,  the  offering  or 
devoting  any  thing  to  God's  worship  and  service.  In 
the  law,  God  ordained  that  the  first-born  of  man  and 
beast  should  be  consecrated  :  he  consecrated,  also,  the 
race  of  Abraham,  particularly  the  tribe  of  Levi,  and 
more  especially  the  family  of  Aaron.  The  whole 
Hebrew  commonwealth,  however,  was  consecrated, 
on  their  arrival  in  the  land  of  Canaan.  (See  Ebal.) 
Consecrations  depended  on  the  good  will  of  men, 
who  consecrated  themselves,  or  things,  or  persons 
depending  on  them,  to  the  service  of  God,  whether 
for  a  time  only,  or  in  perjjetuity.  Joshua  devoted, 
or  set  apart,  the  Gibeonites  to  the  service  of  the  tab- 
ernacle. Josh.  ix.  27.  David  and  Solomon  devoted 
the  Nethiniui,  or  remains  of  the  ancient  Canaanites. 
Hannah  consecrated  her  son  Samuel  to  the  Lord,  to 
e«rve  all  his  life  in  the  tabernacle.     The  angel  who 


promised  Zechariah  a  son,  (Luke  i.  15.)  commanded 
him  to  consecrate  him  to  the  Lord,  and  to  take  care 
that  he  observed  those  laws  during  his  whole  life, 
which  the  Nazarites  (who  were  consecrated  to  God, 
though  but  for  a  time)  observed  during  their  conse- 
cration. 

The  Hebrews  sometimes  devoted  fields  or  cattle  to 
the  Lord  ;  after  which  they  were  no  longer  in  their 
own  power.  Did  not  Jacob  do  the  same  ?  Gen. 
xxviii.  22.  If  they  desired  to  possess  them  again, 
they  were  obliged  to  redeem  them.  David,  and  other 
kings,  often  consecrated  to  the  Lord  the  arms  and 
spoils  of  their  enemies,  or  their  enemies'  cities,  and 
country.  (See  Anathema,  and  Devoting.)  In  the 
New  Testament  we  also  see  consecrations.  Believ- 
ers are  consecrated  to  the  Lord,  as  a  holy  race,  a 
chosen  people,  1  Pet.  ii.9.  Bishops  and  other  sacred 
ministers  are  devoted  more  pcculiarlj^,  &c. 

CONTRITION,  sorrow  for  sin,  attended  with  a 
sincere  resolution  of  reformation.  Scripture  never 
uses  this  term  in  this  sense,  but  has  many  equivalent 
expressions ;  without  contrition  there  is  no  repent- 
ance, and  without  repentance  no  remission  of  sins. 
Ps.  li.  17. 

CONVERSION,  a  turning  from  one  state,  man- 
ner of  life,  course  of  conduct,  or  principles,  to  an- 
other ;  as  from  the  worship  of  idols  to  that  of  the 
true  God.  In  the  gospel  it  means  a  change  of  mind, 
spirit,  disposition,  or  behavior.  So  the  apostles  are 
advised  to  forsake  the  haughty,  ambitious,  and 
worldly  views  of  men,  to  become  like  children,  to 
entertain  child-like  sentiments,  Matt,  xviii.  3.  Sin- 
ners are  converted  when  they  turn  from  sin  to  God, 
(Psalm  li.  13.)  when  they  forsake  their  old  courses, 
and  practise  holiness  in  heart  and  life.  "When  thou 
art  converted,  strengthen  thy  brethren,"  (Luke  xxii. 
32.) — when  thou  art  changed  and  recovered  from  thy 
feebleness  of  mind,  to  sentiments  of  greater  fortitude, 
to  feelings  of  stronger  faith,  and  more  devout  assur- 
ance, then  strengthen  those  who  may  be  read}'  to 
sink  into  despondency,  error,  or  apostasy,  and  en- 
deavor to  prevent  the  prevalence  of  these  evils  over 
their  minds,  by  recollecting  those  hazards  to  which 
thou  hast  felt  thine  own  exposure. 

COOS,  a  small  island  of  the  Grecian  Archipelago, 
at  a  short  distance  from  the  south-west  point  of  Lesser 
Asia,  1  3Iac.  xv.  23.  Paul  passed  it  in  his  voyage  to 
Jerusalem,  Acts  xxi.  1.  It  is  nov/  called  Stan-co. 
The  Coan  vests,  which  probably  were  not  unlike  our 
gauzes,  or  transparent  muslins,  are  alluded  to  by 
Horace  and  Tibullus.  It  Avas  celebrated  for  its  fer- 
tility, for  the  wine  and  silk-worms  which  it  produced, 
and  for  the  manufacture  of  silk  and  cotton  of  a  beau- 
tiful texture. 

COPONIUS,  the  first  governor  of  Judea,  estab- 
lished by  Augustus,  after  the  banishment  of  Arche- 
laus  to  Vienne,  in  France.     (Joseph.  Ant.  xviii.  1. 1.) 

COPPER,  one  of  the  j)iimitive  metals,  and  the 
most  ductile  and  malleable  after  gold  and  silver.  Of 
this  metal  and  lapis  calaminaris  is  made  brass,  which 
is  a  modern  invention.  There  is  little  doubt  but  that 
copper  is  intended  in  those  ])as8ages  of  our  transla- 
tion of  the  Bible  which  speak  of  brass.  Copper  was 
known  prior  to  the  flood,  and  was  wrought  by  Tubal- 
Cain,  the  seventh  from  Adam,  Gen.  iv.  22.  It  ap- 
pears to  have  been  used  for  all  the  purposes  for  which 
we  now  use  iron.  Job  speaks  of  bows  of  copper; 
(xx.  24.)  and  the  Philistines  bound  Samson  with  fet- 
ters of  copper,  Judg.  xvi.  21.  In  Ezra  viii.  27,  there 
is  mention  of  "two  vessels  of  fine  copper,  precious 
as  gold."    The  LXX,  Vulg.  Castaho,  and  Arabic, 


COR 


[313] 


COR 


render  "  vases  of  shining  brass ;"  the  Syriac,  "  vases 
of  Corinthian  brass."  It  is  more  probable,  however, 
that  this  brass  was  from  Persia,  or  India,  wliich  Aris- 
totle describes  as  being  so  shining,  so  i)ure,  and  so 
free  from  tarnish,  that  its  color  differs  nothing  from 
that  of  gold.  Bochart  takes  this  to  be  the  chasmal  of 
Ezek.  i.  27.  and  the  fine  brass  of  the  Revelation,  (i. 
15;  1).  18.)  the  eZec<r«»i  of  the  ancients.  (See  Amber.) 
Ezekiel  (xxvii.  13.)  speaks  of  the  merchants  of  Javan, 
Jubal,  and  Meshech,  as  bringing  vessels  of  brass 
(copper)  to  the  markets  of  Tyre.  According  to  Bo- 
chart and  Michaehs,  these  were  people  situated  to- 
wards mount  Caucasus,  where  copper  mines  are 
worked  at  this  day. 

CORAL,  a  hard,  cretaceous,  marine  production, 
produced  by  the  labors  of  millions  of  insects,  and  re- 
seniblhig  in  figure  the  stem  of  a  plant,  divided  into 
branches.  It  is  of  various  colors,  black,  white,  and 
red.  The  latter  is  the  most  valuable.  It  is  ranked 
by  the  author  of  the  book  of  Job,  (xxviii.  18.)  and  by 
the  prophet  Ezekiel,  (xxvii.  1(3.)  among  precious 
stones. 

CORBAN,  a  gift,  ^  present  made  to  God,  or  to  his 
temple.  The  Jews  sometimes  swore  by  corban,  or 
by  gifts  offered  to  God,  Matt,  xxiii.  18.  Theophras- 
tus  says,  that  the  Tyrians  forbade  the  use  of  such 
oaths  as  were  peculiar  to  foreigners,  and  particularly 
of  corban ;  Avhich,  Josephus  informs  us,  was  used 
only  by  the  Jews.  Our  Saviour  reproaches  the  Jews 
with  cruelty  towards  their  parents,  in  making  a  cor- 
ban  of  what  should  have  been  appropriated  to  their 
use.  Matthew  expresses  this  reply  from  childi-en  to 
their  parents :  "  It  is  a  gift — whatsoever  thou  miglit- 
est  be  profited  by  me,"  i.  e.  I  have  already  devoted  to 
God  that  which  you  request  of  me.  Is  not  the  idea 
to  this  effect :  "  That  succor  which  you  request  of  me 
is  already  devoted  to  God ;  therefore  I  cannot  pro- 
fane it  by  giving  it  to  you,  ahhough  you  are  my  pa- 
rent, and  such  might  be  my  duty  ?" — Now,  this  might 
take  place  in  particular  articles,  without  the  child's 
whole  property  being  so  devoted ;  or  it  might  be  a 
])retence  to  put  off  the  sohciting  parent  for  the  time. 
This  the  Jewish  doctors  esteemed  binding ;  yet  easily 
remitted.  The  form  of  the  vow  is  in  express  terms 
mentioned  in  the  Talmud ;  and  though  such  a  vow 
is  against  both  nature  and  reason,  yet  the  Pharisees, 
and  the  Talmudists,  their  successors,  approve  it.  To 
ficilitate  the  practice  of  these  vows,  so  contrary  to 
natural  duty,  to  charity  and  religion,  to  confirm  and 
increase  the  superstition  of  then-  people,  the  Jewish 
doctors  did  not  requii-e  them  to  be  pronounced  in  a 
formal  manner ;  it  was  of  little  consequence  whethoi- 
the  word  corban  were  mentioned,  though  this  was 
most  in  use,  provided  something  was  said  which 
came  near  it.  They  permitted  even  debtors  to  de- 
fraud their  creditors,  by  consecrating  their  debt  to 
God ;  as  if  the  projjcrty  were  their  own,  and  not 
rather  the  rigiit  of  their  creditor.  Josephus  remarks, 
that,  among  the  Jews,  men  and  women  sometimes 
made  themselves  corban ;  that  is,  consecrated  them- 
selves to  God,  or  to  certain  offices  in  his  service.  If 
they  were  aflerwards  desirous  to  cancel  their  obliga- 
tion, they  gave  to  the  priest,  for  a  man  fifty,  for  a 
woman  thirty,  shekels.     (Antiq.  iv.  4.) 

Moses  speaks  of  different  sorts  of  corban,  or  dedica- 
tions by  the  Hebrews,  of  part  of  their  estates,  which 
might  be  aflerwards  redeemed,  or  if  it  were  cattle, 
sanctified.  Lev.  xxvii.  29. 

They  wiio  made  a  vow  neither  to  eat  nor  drink  till 
they  had  killed  Paul,  (Acts  xxiii.  12.)  in  some  sort 
made  every  thing  corban  that  belonged  to  them ;  or 
40 


every  thing  that  might  supply  them  with  meat  and 
drink. 

CORBONA,  the  treasury  of  the  temple,  so  called 
because  the  offerings,  made  in  money,  were  there 
deposited.  The  Jews  scrupled  to  deposit  the  money, 
returned  by  Judas,  in  the  temple  treasury,  because  it 
had  been  the  price  of  blood ;  and  as  such  was  esteem- 
ed impure,  Matt,  xxvii.  6. 

CORD.  To  put  cords  about  one's  reins,  to  gird 
one's  self  with  a  cord,  was  a  token  of  sorrow  and 
humiliation.  Job  xii.  18 ;  1  Kings  xx.  31,  32.  Cord 
is  often  used  for  inheritance  :  "I  will  give  thee  the 
land  of  Canaan,  the  cord  of  thine  inheritance,"  Psalm 
cv.  ll,margin.  "Joseph  hath  a  double  cord,"  (Ezek. 
xlvii.  13.  Lug.  tr.  two  portions);  which  expression 
originated  from  the  custom  of  measuring  land  with  a 
cord.  So  Joshua  distributed  to  every  tribe  a  certain 
number  of  cords,  or  acres.  "  My  cords  (Eng.  tr.  the 
lines,  that  is,  my  lot)  are  fiiUen  unto  me  in  pleasant 
places,"  Psalm  xvi.  G.  "  The  waves  of  death  com- 
passed me  about,"  (2  Sam.  xxii.  5.)  Heb.  the  cords  of 
hell  (of  the  gi'ave) ;  alluding  to  the  fillets  bound  about 
dead  bodies  :  he  also  calls  them  the  bands  of  death. 
The  LXX,  instead  of  coi-ds  of  death,  translate  it,  pains 
of  death.  Psalm  xviii.  5.  "The  bands  (cords)  of  the 
wicked,"  (Psalm  cxix.  61.)  the  snares  with  which 
they  catch  weak  people.  "The  cords  of  sin"  (Prov. 
V.  22.)  are  the  consequences  of  crimes  and  bad  hab- 
its ;  bad  habits  are,  as  it  wei"e,  indissoluble  bands, 
from  which  it  is  almost  impossible  to  extricate  our- 
selves. To  stretch  a  cord  or  line  about  a  city  signifies, 
to  ruin  it,  to  destroy  it  entirely,  to  level  it  with  the 
gi-ound,  Lain.  ii.  8.  The  cords  extended  in  setting 
up  tents  furnish  several  metaphors,  Isa.  xxxiii.  20  ; 
Jer.  x.  20. 

CORIANDER,  a  small,  round  seed  of  an  aromatic 
plant.  Moses  says,  that  the  manna  which  fell  in  the 
wilderness  was  like  coriander-seed  ;  its  color  was 
white,  Exod.  xvi.  21 ;  Numb.  xi.  7.     See  ]Ma>-\a. 

CORINTH,  the  capital  of  Achaia,  called  ancient 
ly  Ephyra,  and  seated  on  the  isthmus  which  separates 
the  Peloponnesus  from  Attica,  and  hence  called  bi- 
maris,  on  two  seas.  The  city  itself  stood  a  little 
inland,  but  it  had  two  ports,  Lechaeum  on  the  west, 
and  Cenchrea  on  the  east.  It  was  one  of  the  most 
populous  and  wealthy  cities  of  Greece  ;  but  its  riches 
produced  pride,  ostentation,  effeminacy,  and  all  the 
vices  generally  consequent  on  plenty.  Lascivious- 
ness,  particularly,  was  not  only  tolerated,  but  conse- 
crated here,  by  the  worship  of  Venus,  and  the  noto- 
rious prostitution  of  numerous  attendants  devoted  to 
her.  Such  was  here  the  expense  at  which  these 
pleasures  were  procured,  as  to  give  occasion  to  the 
proverb:  "  Nou  cuivis  homini  contingit  adire  Corm- 
thum."  Corinth  was  destroyed  by  the  Romans,  B.  C. 
14() ;  and  during  the  conflagration,  several  metals  in 
a  fused  state  accidentally  running  together,  produced 
the  composition  named  JEs  Corinthium,  or  Corinth- 
ian brass.  It  was  afterwards  restored  by  Julius 
Cfesar,  who  planted  in  it  a  Roman  colony  ;  but  while 
it  soon  regauied  its  ancient  splendor,  it  also  relapsed 
into  all  its  former  dissipation  and  licentiousness. 
Paul  arrived  at  Corinth,  A.  D.  52,  (Acts  xviii.  52.) 
and  lodged  with  Aquila  and  his  wife  Priscilla,  who, 
as  well  as  himself,  were  tent-makers.  He  preached 
in  the  Jewish  synagogue,  and  converted  some  to  the 
faith  of  Christ;  and  fi-om  hence  he  wrote  two  Epis- 
tles to  the  Thessalonians.  Finding  that  the  Jews  of 
Corinth,  instead  of  being  benefited,  o])posed  him 
with  blasphemv,  he  shook  his  raiment,  and  turned  to 
the  Gentiles,  lo'dging  whh  Justus,  surnamed  Titus,  a 


COR 


[314  ] 


CORN 


Gentile,  but  one  who  feared  God.  Many  of  these 
embraced  the  faith.  Paul  suffered  much  here  ;  but 
continued  in  the  neighborhood  eighteen  months. 

From  Corinth  he  went  to  Jerusalem ;  and  about 
A.  D.  56,  wrote  liis  First  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians, 
from  Ephesus,  in  which  he  reproves  some  persons 
who  disturbed  the  peace  of  that  church  ;  complains 
of  disorders  in  their  assemblies,  of  lawsuits  among 
them,  and  of  a  Christian  who,  by  taldng  his  father's 
wife,  had  committed  incest  with  his  mother-in-law. 
This  letter  pi-oducing  in  the  Corinthians  deep  sorrow, 
gi-eat  vigilance  against  the  vices  reproved,  and  a  very 
beneficial  dread  of  God's  anger,  they  removed  the 
scandal,  and  expi'essed  determined  zeal  against  the 
crime  committed,  2  Cor.  vii.  9,  10,  11.  The  apostle, 
having  ascertained  the  good  effects  which  his  first 
letter  had  produced  among  the  Corinthians,  wrote  a 
second  to  them,  from  Macedonia,  probably  from 
Philippi,  (A.  D.  57.)  in  which  he  expresses  his  satis- 
faction at  their  conduct,  justifies  himself,  and  com- 
forts them :  he  glories  in  his  sufferings,  and  exhorts 
them  to  liberality.  There  is  great  probability  that 
Paul  visited  Corinth  a  second  time,  towards  the  end 
of  this  year,  (Acts  xx.  2  ;  and  2  Cor.  xii.  14  ;  xiii.  1.) 
and  a  third  time,  on  his  second  return  to  Rome, 
2  Tim.  IV.  20.  '  See  further  on  the  date  of  these 
epistles  under  Paul. 

CORMORANT,  an  unclean  water-bird.  Lev.  xi. 

17,  &c.  The  Chaldee  and  Syriac  versions  render 
the  Hebrew  ijhz',  fish-catcher,  and  the  LXX,  cata- 
rades,  which  bird,  according  to  Aristotle,  agrees  well 
enough  with  the  cormorant.  In  Isa.  xxxiv.  11,  we 
have  the  cormorant  in  our  translation,  instead  of  the 
pelican.     See  Birds. 

CORN.  The  generic  name  for  grain,  in  the  Old 
Testament  writings,  is  pi,  dagdn,  corn,  so  named  for 
its  abundant  increase.  In  Gen.  xxvi.  12,  and  Matt, 
xiii.  8,  grain  is  spoken  of  as  yielding  a  hundred-fold; 
and  to  the  ancient  fertility  of  Palestine  all  authorities 
bear  testimony.  Of  the  difference  in  quantity  of 
produce  in  different  parts,  Wetstein  has  collected 
many  accounts. 

It  is  evident  from  Ruth  ii.  14,  2  Sam.  xvii.  28,  29, 
&c.  that  parched  corn  [i.  e.  grain]  constituted  part  of 
the  ordinary  food  of  the  Israelites,  as  it  still  does  of 
the  Arabs  resident  in  Syria.  Their  methods  of  pre- 
paring corn  for  the  manufacture  of  bread  were  the 
following :  The  threshing  was  done  cither  by  the 
staff"  or  the  flail,  (Isa.  xxviii.  27,  28.) — by  the  feet  of 
cattle,  (Deut.  XXV.  4.) — or  by  "a  sharp  threshing  in- 
strument having  teeth,"  (Isa.  xli.  15.)  which  was  some- 
thing resembling  a  cart,  and  drawn  over  the  corn  by 
means  of  horses  or  oxen.  When  the  corn  is  threshed, 
it  is  separated  from  the  chaff"  and  dust,  by  throwng  it 
forward  across  the  wind,  by  means  of  a  winnowing 
fan,  or  shovel ;  (Matt.  iii.  12.)  after  which  the  grain  is 
sifted  to  separate  all  impurities  from  it,  Amos  ix.  9 ; 
Luke  xxii.  3l.  Hence  we  see  that  the  threshing- 
floors  were  in  the  open  air,  Judg.  vi.  11  ;  2  Sam.  xxiv. 

18.  Tlie  grain  thus  obtained  was  conunonly  reduced 
to  meal  by  the  hand-mill,  which  consisted  of  a  lower 
mill-stone,  the  upper  side  of  which  was  concave,  and 
an  upper  null-stone,  the  lower  surface  of  which  was 
convex.  The  hole  for  receiving  the  corn  was  in  the 
centre  of  the  upper  mill-stone  ;  and  in  the  operation 
of  gi-inding,  the  lower  was  fixed,  and  the  upper  made 
to  move  round  upon  it,  with  considerable  velocity, 
by  means  of  a  handle.  Tliese  mills  are  still  in  use 
in  the  East,  and  in  some  parts  of  Scotland.  Dr.  E. 
1).  Clarke  says,  "  In  the  island  of  Cyprus  I  observed 
upon  the  ground  the  sort  of  stones  used  for  grinding 


corn,  called  queiiis  in  Scotland,  common  also  in  Lap- 
land, and  in  all  pai-ts  of  Palestine.  These  are  the 
primeval  mills  of  the  world;  and  they  are  still  found 
in  all  corn  countries,  where  rude  and  ancient  customs 
have  not  been  liable  to  those  changes  introduced 
by  refinement.  The  employment  of  grinding  with 
these  mills  is  confined  solely  to  females ;  and  the  prac- 
tice illustrates  the 
prophetic  obser- 
vation of  our  Sa- 
viour, concerning 
the  day  of  Jerusa- 
lem's destruction : 
"  Two  women 
shall  be  grinding 
at  the  mill ;  one 
shall  be  taken,and 
the  other  left," 
Matt.  xxiv.  41. 
Mr.  Pennant,  in 
his  Tour  to  the 
Hebrides,  has  given  a  particular  account  of  these 
hand-mills,  as  used  in  Scotland,  in  which  he  observes 
that  the  women  always  accompany  the  grating  noise 
of  tlie  stones  with  their  voices ;  and  that  when  ten 
or  a  dozen  are  thus  employed,  the  fury  of  the  song 
rises  to  such  a  pitch,  that  you  would,  without  breach 
of  charity,  imagine  a  troop  of  female  demoniacs  to  be 
assembled.  As  the  operation  of  grinding  was  usual- 
ly performed  in  the  morning  at  day-break,  the  noise 
of  the  females  at  the  hand-mill  was  heard  all  over 
the  city,  which  often  awoke  their  more  indolent  mas- 
ters. The  Scriptures  mention  the  want  of  this  noise 
as  a  mark  of  desolation  in  Jer.  xxv.  10,  and  Rev.  xviii. 
22.  There  was  a  humane  law,  that  "  no  man  shall 
take  the  nether  or  upper  mill-stone  in  pledge,  for  he 
taketh  a  man's  life  in  pledge,"  Deut.  xxiv.  6. — He 
could  not  grind  his  daily  bread  without  it. 

The  close  of  life  at  mature  age  is  compared  to  a 
shock  of  corn  fully  ripe ;  "  Thou  shalt  come  to  thy 
grave  in  a  full  age,  Hke  as  a  shock  of  corn  cometh  in 
(to  the  garner)  in  its  season,"  Job  v.  26.  (See  also 
Gen.  xxv.  8,  and  Job  xiii.  17.)  Our  Lord  compares 
himself  to  a  corn  of  wheat  falling  into  the  ground, 
but  afterwards  producing  much  fruit,  John  xii.  24. 
The  prophet  Hosea  (xiv.  7.)  speaks  of  "gi-owing  as 
the  vine,  and  reviving  as  the  corn  ;"  and  we  have 
seen  already  that  the  return  of  vegetation  in  the 
spring  of  the  year,  has  been  adopted  very  generally, 
as  an  expressive  symbol  of  a  resurrection.  The 
apostle  Paul  uses  this  very  simile,  in  reference  to  a 
renewed  life ;  "  The  sower  sows  a  bare — naked — 
grain  of  corn,  of  whatever  kind  it  be,  as  wheat,  or 
some  other  grain,  but  after  a  proper  time,  it  rises  to 
light,  clothed  with  verdure  ;  clothed  also  with  a  husk, 
and  other  appurtenances,  according  to  the  nature 
which  God  has  appointed  to  that  species  of  seed : — 
analogous  to  this  is  the  resurrection  of  the  body,"  &c. 
1  Cor.  XV.  37.  Our  reference  is,  that  if  tliis  compar- 
ison were  in  use  among  the  ancients,  (and  a  gem,  in 
Montfau^on,  declares  its  antiquity,)  it  could  hardly 
be  unknown  to  the  Corinthians,  in  their  learned  and 
polite  city,  "  The  Eye  of  Greece  ;"  neither  could  it 
be  well  confined  to  the  philosophers  there,  but  must 
have  been  known  by  tliose  to  whom  the  apostle 
wrote,  generally  ;  if  so,  then  not  only  was  the  sacred 
writer  justified  in  selecting  it  by  way  of  illustration, 
but  he  had  more  reason  for  calling  them  "  fools" 
who  did  not  ])roperly  reflect  on  what  was  acknowl- 
edged and  admitted  among  themselves,  tlian  modern 
inconsiderates  have  supposed  ;  and  whatever  of  iiarsh- 


COR 


[  315 


cov 


ness  may  be  fancied  in  this  appellation,  it  was  nothing 
beyond  what  they  might  both  deserve  and  expect. 

The  apostle  might,  no  doubt,  have  instanced  the 
power  of  God  in  the  progress  of  vivilication  ;  and 
might  have  inferred,  that  the  same  power  which 
could  confer  life  originally,  could  certainly  restore  it 
to  those  particles  which  once  had  possessed  it.  It  is 
possible  he  has  done  this  covertly,  having  chosen 
to  mention  vegetable  seed,  that  being  most  obvious 
to  common  notice ;  yet  not  intending  to  terminate 
his  reference  in  any  quality  of  vegetation.  We  find 
the  same  manner  of  expression  in  Menu,  who,  dis- 
coursing of  children,  says,  "Whatever  be  the  quahty 
of  the  seed  scattered  in  a  field  prepared  in  due  sea- 
son, a  plant  of  the  same  quality  s[)rings  in  that  field, 
with  peculiar  visible  properties.  That  one  plant 
should  be  sown  and  another  produced,  cannot  hap- 
pen ;  whatever  seed  may  be  sown,  even  that  pro- 
duces its  proper  stem.  Never  must  it  be  sown  in 
another  man's  field."  By  this  metaphor  he  forbids 
adultery,  as  he  immediately  states  at  large.  There  is 
a  veiy  sudden  turn  of  metaphor  used  by  the  apostle 
Paul,  in  Rom.  vi.  3 — 5  :  "  Know  ye  not  that  so  many 
of  us  as  were  baptized  into  Jesus  Christ  were  bap- 
tized into  his  death  ?  therefore  we  are  buried  with 
him  by  baptism  into  death — that  we  should  walk  in 
newness  of  life.  For  if  we  have  been  planted  to- 
gether [with  him]  in  the  likeness  of  his  death,  we 
shall  be  also  planted  in  the  hkeness  of  his  resurrec- 
tion." But  what  has  baptism  to  do  with  planting  ? 
Wherein  consists  their  similarity,  so  as  to  justify  the 
resemblance  here  implied .-'  In  1  Pet.  iii.  21,  we  find 
the  apostle  speaking  of  baptism,  figuratively,  as 
"  saving  us  ;"  and  alluding  to  Noah,  who  long  lay 
buried  in  the  ark,  as  corn  lies  buried  in  the  earth. 
Now,  as,  after  having  died  to  his  former  course  of 
life,  in  being  baptized,  a  convert  was  considered  as 
rising  to  a  renewed  life,  so,  after  having  been  sepa- 
rated froTR  his  former  connections,  his  seed-bed,  as  it 
were,  after  having  died  in  being  planted,  he  was  con- 
sidered as  rising  to  renewed  life  also.  The  ideas, 
therefore,  conveyed  by  the  apostle  in  these  verses  are 
])recisely  the  same,  though  the  metaphors  are  differ- 
ent. Moreover,  if  it  were  anciently  common  to  speak 
of  a  person  after  baptism,  as  rising  to  renewed  life, 
and  to  consider  corn  also  as  sprouting  to  a  renewed 
life,  then  we  see  how  easily  Hymeneus  and  Philetus 
(2  Tim.  ii.  17,  18.)  "  concerning  the  truth  might  en-, 
saying,  that  the  i-esurrection  was  past  already,"  in 
baptism,  [quasi  in  planting — that  is,  in  being  trans- 
ferred to  Christianity,)  in  which  error  they  did  little 
more  than  annex  their  old  heathen  notions  to  the 
Christian  institution.  The  transition  was  extremely 
easy  ;  but  unless  checked  in  time,  the  error  might 
have  become  very  dangerous.  We  think  this  more 
likely  to  have  been  the  fact  respecting  these  errone- 
ous teachers  than  any  allusion  to  vice,  as  death,  and 
to  a  return  to  virtue,  as  life :  which  Warburton  pro- 
poses, and  the  notion  seems  to  have  been  adopted  by 
JMenander,  who  taught  that  his  disciples  obtained 
resurrection  by  his  baptism,  and  so  became  immor- 
tal. How  easily  figurative  language  suffers,  under 
the  misconstructions  of  gross  conception !  [See  Bap- 
TiRif,  where  the  same  illustration  is  found.     R. 

CORNELIUS,  centurion  of  a  cohort,  belonging  to 
the  legion  surnamed  Italian,  Acts  x.  He  was  a 
Gentile  ;  one  who  feared  God  ;  of  constant  devotion, 
and  much  charity.  His  whole  family  served  God, 
and  it  pleased  God  to  favor  him,  in  a  miraculous  man- 
ner, with  a  knowledge  of  the  gospel,  through  Peter, 
from  whom  he  received  instruction.     As  the  apostle 


was  speaking,  the  Holy  Spirit  fell  upon  Cornelius 
and  his  family,  and  they  were  added  to  the  Christian 
church,  as  the  first-fruits  of  the  Gentiks.  It  deserves 
notice,  that  Juhan  the  Apostate  reckons  only  two 
persons  of  consideration,  who  were  converted  to 
Christianity  on  its  first  promulgation : — Sergius  Pau- 
lus  the  proconsul,  and  Cornelius  the  centurion. 
From  this  reference,  it  is  probable  that  Cornelius  was 
a  person  of  greater  distinction  than  he  is  usually  sup- 
posed to  be.  X 

CORNER,  the  extremity  of  any  thing,  according 
to  the  Hebrews.  "Ye  shall  not  round  the  comers  of 
your  head,  neither  shalt  thou  mar  the  corners  of  thy 
beard,"  Lev.  xix.  27. — 1  Sam.  xiv.  38.  "  Draw  near,  all 
ye  chief  (Heb.  corners)  of  the  people."  "  They  have 
seduced  Egypt,  even  they  who  are  the  stay  [comer) 
of  the  tribes  thereof,"  Isa.  xix.  13.  And  Zeph.  iii.  6. 
"  I  have  cut  off"  the  nations,  their  comers  are  deso- 
late." The  comer  sometimes  signifies  the  most  dis- 
tinguished place,  that  part  of  an  edifice  which  is  most 
in  sight.  Zechariah,  speaking  of  Judah,  after  the 
return  from  captivity,  says,  "  Out  of  him  came  forth 
the  corner,  out  of  him  the  nail,"  x.  4.  This  tribe  shall 
afford  corners,  heads ;  it  shall  produce  the  comer- 
stone,  tlie  Messiah.  Corner  is  taken,  likewise,  for  the 
most  retired  part  of  a  house,  Prov.  xxi.  9.  The  cor- 
ner of  a  bed  or  divan  (Amos  iii.  12.)  is  the  place  of 
honor.     See  Bed. 

CORNER-STONE,  Greek  ay.noywmto?,  Heb.  px 
njo.  Is.  xxviii.  G..  Our  Lord  is  compared  in  the  New 
Testament  to  a  corner-stone,  in  three  different  points 
of  view.  First,  as  this  stone  lies  at  the  foundation 
and  serves  to  give  support  and  strength  to  the  build- 
ing, so  Christ,  or  the  doctrine  of  a  Saviour,  is  called 
az()o/w>aroc,  sc.  A(5^o?,^Eph.  ii.  20.)  because  this  doctrine 
is  the  most  important  feature  of  the  Christian  reli- 
gion, and  is  the  ftmdamental  object  of  all  the  precepts 
given  by  the  apostles  and  other  Christian  teachers. 
Further,  as  the  corner-stone  occupies  an  important 
and  conspicuous  place,  Jesus  is  compared  to  it  (1  Pet. 
ii.  6.)  because  God  has  made  him  distinguished,  and 
has  advanced  him  to  a  dignity  and  conspicuousness 
above  all  others.  Lastly,  since  men  often  stumble 
against  a  projecting  corner-stone,  Christ  is  therefore 
so  called,  (Matt.  xxi.  42.)  because  his  gospel  will  be 
the  cause  of  aggi'avated  condemnation  to  those  who 
reject  it.    *R. 

COTTAGE,  see  Tent. 

COTTON,  a  white  woolly  or  downy  substance, 
found  in  a  brown  bud,  produced  by  a  shrub,  the 
leaves  of  which  resemble  those  of  the  sycamore-tree. 
The  bud,  which  grows  as  large  as  a  pigeon's  egg, 
turns  black,  when  ripe,  and  divides  at  top  into  three 
parts ;  the  cotton  is  as  white  as  snow,  and  with  the 
heat  of  the  sun  swells  to  the  size  of  a  pullet's  egg. 
Scripture  speaks  of  cotton  under  the  Hebrew  name 
tt'e-,  shesh,  (Exod.  xxv.  4.)  [where  the  English  version 
has  Jine  linen.  The  Heb.  shesh  designates  generally 
cotton,  afterwards  called  butz,  y\2.  Both  words,  how- 
ever, are  also  used  of  linen.  The/7je  byssus,  a  cotton 
cJoth  of  the  Egyptians,  to  judge  of  the  specimens 
found  on  mummies,  was  much  like  the  sheetings  of 
the  present  day ;  certainly  not  finer.     R. 

COUCH,  see  Bed. 

COVENANT.  The  word  testamentum  is  often 
used  in  Latin,  and  Sta.'^,l■^rl  in  Greek,  to  express  the 
Hebrew  nna,  berith,  which  signifies  covenant ;  whence 
the  titles  Old  and  JVeiv  Testaments  are  used  improp- 
erly to  denote  the  Old  and  jVetv  Covenants-  Gram- 
marians remark  that  the  alliance  which  we  term  a 
covenant  is  expressed  in  Greek  by  two  words :  (I.) 


COVENANT 


[316] 


COVENANT 


When  both  parties  are  equal,  so  that  each  may  stand 
upon  terms,  or  canvass  the  terms  of  the  other,  pro- 
pose his  own,  agree  or  disagree,  &c.  the  word  used  is 
^YNSHKH  ;  but,  (2.)  when  the  covenant  is  of  that 
nature,  when  one  party  being  greatly  the  superior, 
proposes,  and  the  other,  willing  to  come  to  agreement, 
accepts  his  propositions ;  then  the  word  used  is 
JIA&HKH ;  which  signifies  an  appointment — dis- 
pensation— institution  ;  whereby  tlie  proposer  pledges 
himself,  but  does  not  bind  the  acceptor,  by  the  prop- 
ositions, till  he  has  actually  accepted  them.  If  this 
distinction  be  well  founded,  ....  then  it  will  imme- 
diately appear,  that  there  is  great  propriety  in  tlie 
title  given  to  our  "  Book  of  the  New  Covenant,"  the 
new  JIAGHKH ;  inaccurately  termed  by  us  "the 
New  Testament,"  since  herein  the  proposals  of  God 
to  man  are  made,  and  recorded  ;  but  these  proposals 
imply  that  the  party  to  be  benefited  by  them,  should 
accept  and  appeal  to  them,  in  a  personal  and  a  bind- 
ing manner. 

Thei-e  is  an  importance  attached  to  the  term  cove- 
nant, which  must  justify  a  little  further  enlargement 
on  it.  That  it  sometimes  signifies  simply  a  pi-oposal, 
the  folIoAving  instances  will  determine.  1  Kings  xx. 
34.  Bcnhadad  said  to  Ahab,  "  The  cities  which  my 
father  took  from  thy  father,  I  will  restore,"  &c.  Then 
said  Ahab — I  take  thee  at  thy  word,  I  accept  tliy 
proposals,  "  I  will  send  thee  away  with  this  cove- 
nant." "  And  the  king  stood  by  a  pillar,  and  made 
a  covenant  ....  to  keep  the  commandments  of  the 
Lord,  with  all  the  heai't,  and  all  the  soul ;  and  all  the 
people  stood  to  the  covenant,"  2  Kings  xxiii.  3.  They 
agreed  to  the  proposals  made  ; — they  assented  to 
what  was  required  of  them.  This  seems  to  be  the 
import  of  the  apostle's  reasoning,  2  Tim.  ii.  13.  "  If 
we  believe  not,"  and  will  not  accept  his  proposals, 
made  with  a  view  to  our  believing,  and  acceptance 
of  them,  "  yet  he  abideth  faithful,"  and  will  strictly 
adhere  to  whatever  he  has  offered,  or  proposed  to  us : 
"  he  cannot  deny  himself;"  he  cannot  withdraw  those 
proposals  to  which  he  has  invited  us  to  accede  :  i.e. 
our  unbelief  does  not  diminish  the  good  faith,  or  the 
perpetuity  of  God's  offers.  (See  Rom.  iii.  3.)  Thus 
we  see  that  the  word  covenant  implies,  (1.)  an  ap- 
pointment to  which  the  respondent  could  agree  pas- 
sively, oidy,  by  obedience  ;  as  a  covenant  made  with 
day  and  night ;  (Jer.  xxxiii.  20.)  or  with  the  earth, 
and  the  beasts  of  the  earth,  Gen.  ix.  10.  (2.)  A  law, 
a  constituted  regulation,  and  appointment ;  given  to 
intelligent  agents.  (-3.)  A  proposalmade,  and  offered 
to  the  acceptance  of  intelligent  agents :  not  to  be  va- 
jied,  or  diversified  by  them  ;  but  to  be  accepted  in 
Into.  (4.)  Proposals  made  by  two  equal  parties, 
which,  after  being  ])roperly  canvassed  and  examined, 
are  finally  adjusted  by  them,  and  deliberately  con- 
firmed. (5.)  The  ratification-ofiering  ;  customary  on 
such  occasions. 

It  may  be  proper  here  to  hint  at  the  signs  of  cov- 
enants, i.  e.  memorials,  tilings  never  to  be  looked  on 
without  bringing  to  rccollectio)i  the  agreement  made 
on  the  original  and  ])rimary  occasion  of  their  ap- 
poiutiiiPiit.  ( 1 .)  Was  not,  perhaps,  the  tree  of  knowl- 
edge such  a  sign  to  Ad;un  ?  (2.)  God  says  expressly 
of  the  rainbow,  (Gen.  ix.  12.)  "  This  is  the  sign  which 
I  give  of  the  covenant  (the  dispensation  which  I  ap- 
point) between  myself  and  all  flesh.  And  when  I 
becloud  with  clouds  (i.  c.  storms,  rains,  &c.)  the  earth, 
the  bow  shall  appear  in  the  clouds,  and  I  will  recol- 
lect my  agreement,  and  there  sliall  be  no  deluge"  to 
destroy  the  earth,  &c.  (3.)  Abraham  received  the 
sign — seal — memorandum — of  circumcision.    (4.)  Ja- 


cob and  Laban  raised  "  the  heap  of  witnesses,"  as  a 
memorial  of  an  agi'eement  made  ;  and  this  heap  was 
not  to  be  passed  at  any  future  time,  even  to  the  re- 
motest ages,  without  reminding  themselves,  or  their 
posterity,  of  the  original  agreement  thereby  com- 
memorated. (5.)  As  such  a  sign  the  Israelites  received 
circumcision,  and  the  sabbath,  Exod.  xxxi.  16.  The 
first  covenant  with  the  Hebrews  was  that  made  when 
the  Lord  chose  Abraham  and  his  posterity  for  his 
people  ;  a  second  covenant,  or  a  solemn  renewal  of 
the  former,  was  made  at  Sinai,  comprehending  all 
who  observe  the  law  of  Moses.  The  new  covenant, 
of  which  Christ  is  the  Mediator  and  Author,  and 
which  Avas  confirmed  by  his  blood,  comprehends  all 
who  believe  in  him,  and  are  in  his  church. 

The  first  covenant  between  God  and  man  was 
made  with  Adam,  at  his  creation,  Avhen  he  was  pro- 
hibited to  eat  a  certain  fruit.  Gen.  ii.  17.  A  second 
covenant  God  made  with  man  after  his  fall,  prom- 
ising not  only  forgiveness,  on  his  repentance,  but  also 
a  Messiah,  who  should  redeem  the  human  race  from 
the  death  of  sin,  and  from  the  second  death,  Rom.  v. 
12,  19.  A  third  covenant  God  made  with  Noah, 
when  he  directed  him  to  build  the  ark,  (Gen.  vi.  18.) 
and  which  was  renewed.  Gen.  ix.  The  covenants 
between  the  patriai-chs  Adam  .and  Noah,  and  their 
posterity,  were  general ;  that  made  with  Abraham 
was  limited  ;  concerning  that  patriarch  and  his  fam- 
ily by  Isaac  exclusively  ;  Gen.  xii.  1  ;  xv.  4,  5,  18. 
The  seal  or  confirmation  of  it,  was  the  circumcision 
of  all  the  males  in  Abraham's  family.  The  effects  of 
this  covenant  appear  throughout  the  Old  Testament ; 
the  coining  of  the  Messiah  is  the  consummation  and 
end  of  it.  The  covenant  of  God  with  Adam  forms 
what  we  call  the  state  of  nature  ;  that  with  Abraham, 
explained  further  under  Moses,  constitutes  the  law ; 
that  ratified  through  the  mediation  of  Jesus  Christ  is 
the  kingdom  of  grace. 

In  common  discourse,  we  usually  say  the  Old  and 
New  Testaments  ;  the  covenant  between  God  and 
the  posterity  of  Abraham  ;  and  that  which  he  has 
made  with  believers  by  Jesus  Christ ;  because  these 
two  covenants  contain  eminendy  all  the  rest,  which 
are  consequences,  branches,  or  explanations  of  them. 
The  most  solemn  and  perfect  of  the  covenants  of 
God  with  men,  is  that  made  through  the  mediation 
of  our  Redeemer ;  which  must  subsist  to  the  end  of 
time.  The  Son  of  God  is  the  guarantee  of  it ;  it  is 
confirmed  with  his  blood ;  the  end  and  object  of  it  is 
eternal  life,  and  its  constitution  and  laws  are  infinitely 
more  exalted  than  those  of  the  former  covenant. 

The  prophet  Jeremiah  (chap,  xxxiv.  18.)  speaks  of 
a  remarkable  ceremony  attending  a  covenant.  The 
Lord  says,  "I  will  give  (to  punishment)  the  men 
who  have  trfinsgresscd  my  covenant,  which  have  not 
performed  the  words  of  the  covenant  which  they  had 
made  before  me,  when  they  cut  the  calf  in  twain, 
and  passed  between  tlie  parts  thereof."  The  custom 
of  cutting  fi  victim  in  two,  of  placing  the  several 
moieties  upon  two  different  altars,  and  making  those 
who  contracted  pass  between  both,  is  well  known  in 
Scripture,  and  in  ])rofanc  authors.  The  instance  of 
the  covenant  made  with  Abraham  may  serve  to  con- 
firm this  sense  ;  the  burning  lamp  (the  shechinah) 
passed  between  the  separated  parts  ;  as  Abraham 
jn-obably  had  already  done.  (See  Gen.  xv.  9,  10,  17.) 
It  is  not  easy  to  determine,  however,  in  what  manner 
the  victim  was  anciently  divided  ;  whether  crosswise, 
i.  c.  across  the  loins  ;  or  lengthwise,  i.  e.  from  the 
front  of  the  belly,  through  the  whole  length  of  the 
back  bone,  and  down  the  spinal  marrow.     The  latter 


COVENANT 


[317  ] 


COVENANT 


mode  would  be  iiiucli  the  niost  expressive  and  sol- 
emn. May  there  not  be  an  allusion  to  this  in  Heb. 
iv.  12,  "  The  word  of  God  is  lively  and  efficacious, 
and  more  penetrating  than  any  double-edged  sword  ; 
piercing  even  to  the  dividing  of  soul  and  spirit,  and 
joi.\TS°and  MARROW?"  Oh,  for  that  sincerity  of 
heart  and  mind,  which  may  be  found  acceptable  un- 
der so  critical  an  examination  ! 

Among  other  descriptions  of  a  covenant,  there  is 
one  which  demands  explanation  :  Numb,  xviii.  10, 
•  "  The  oflerJugs  I  have  given  to  thee,  and  thy  sous 
and  thy  ilaughters  with  thee,  by  a  statute  for  ever  ;  it 
is  a  covenant  of  salt,  for  ever,  before  the  Lord."  2 
Chron.  xiii.  5,  "  Ought  you  not  to  know  that  the 
Lord  God  of  Israel  gave  the  kingdom  over  Israel  to 
David,ybr  cvei;  to  him  and  to  his  sons  by  a  covenant  of 
salt?" 

It  is  generally  thought  that  salt  is  here  made  an 
emblem  of  perpetuity  ;  but  the  covenant  of  salt  seems 
to  refer  to  an  agreement  made  in  which  salt  was  used 
as  a  token  of  confirmation.  Baron  du  Tott  says, 
"  [Moldovanji  Pacha]  was  desirous  of  an  acquaint- 
ance with  me,  and  seeming  to  regret  that  this  busi- 
ness would  not  permit  him  to  stay  long,  he  departed, 
promising  in  a  short  time  to  return.  I  had  already 
attended  him  half  way  down  tlic  staircase,  when, 
stopping,  and  turning  briskly  to  one  of  my  domestics 
who  followed  me,  '  Biing  me  directly,'  said  he,  '  some 
BREAD  AND  SALT.'  I  was  uot  Icss  surprised  at  this 
fancy,  than  at  the  haste  which  was  made  to  obey 
liim.  What  he  requested  was  brought ;  when,  tak- 
ing a  little  salt  between  his  fingers,  and  putting  it 
"with  a  mysterious  air  on  a  bit  of  bread,  he  ate  it 
WITH  A  DEVOUT  GRAVITY  ;  assuriug  me,  that  I  might 
now  rely  on  him.  I  soon  procured  an  explanation 
of  this  significant  ceremony ;  but  this  same  man, 
when  become  visir,  was  tempted  to  violate  his  oath, 
thus  taken  in  my  favor.  Yet  if  this  solemn  con- 
tract be  uot  always  religiously  observed,  it  serves, 
at  least,  to  moderate  the  spirit  of  vengeance  so  natural 
to  the  Turks."  The  baron  adds  in  a  note :  "  The 
Turks  think  it  the  blackest  ingi-atitude,  to  forget  the 
man  from  whom  we  have  I'cceived  food  ;  which  is 
signified  by  the  bread  and  salt  in  this  ceremony." 
(Trav.  part  i.  p.  214.  Eng.  edit.)  The  baron  al- 
ludes to  this  incident  in  part  iii.  p.  36.  Moldovanji 
Pacha,  being  ordered  to  obey  the  baron,  was  not 
pleased  at  it.  "  I  did  uot  imagine  I  ought  to  put  any 
great  confidence  in  the  mysterious  covenant  of  the 
bread  and  salt,  by  which  this  man  had  formerly  vowed 
inviolable  friendship  to  me."  Yet  he  "dissembled 
his  fliscontent,"  and  "  his  peevishness  only  showed 
itself  in  his  first  letters  to  the  Porte." 

It  will  now  appear  ci'edible,  that  the  phrase  "a 
covenant  of  salt"  alludes  to  some  such  custom  in  an- 
cient times  ;  and  without  meaning  to  symbolize  very 
deeply,  we  take  the  liberty  of  asking,  whether  the 
precept,  (Lev.  ii.  13.)  "W^ith  all  thine  offerings  thou 
shalt  offer  salt,"  may  have  any  reference  to  ideas  of  a 
similar  nature.  Did  the  custom  of  feasting  at  a 
covenant-making  include  the  same,  according  to  the 
sentiment  of  the  Turks  hinted  at  in  the  baron's 
note  ? 

We  ought  to  notice  the  readiness  of  the  baron's 
domestics,  in  proof  that  they  well  understood  what 
was  about  to  take  place.  Also,  that  this  covenant  is 
usually  punctually  observed  ;  and  where  not  so,  has  a 
restraining  influence  on  the  party  who  has  made  it ; 
and  his  non-observance  of  it  disgraces  him. 

We  proceed  to  give  a  remarkable  instance  of  the 
power  of  this  covenant  of  salt  over  the  mind  ;   it 


seems  to  imply  a  something  attributed  to  salt,  which 
it  is  very  ditficult  for  us  completely  to  explain,  but 
which  is  not  the  less  real  on  that  account : 

"  Jacoub  ben  Laith,  the  founder  of  a  dynasty  of 
Persian  princes  called  the  Saffarides,  rising,  like 
many  others  of  the  ancestors  of  the  princes  of  the 
East,  from  a  very  low  state  to  royal  power,  being,  in 
his  first  setting  out  in  the  use  of  arms,  no  better  than 
a  freebooter  or  robber,  is  yet  said  to  have  maintained 
some  regard  to  decency  in  his  depredations,  and 
never  to  have  entirely  stripped  those  that  he  robbed, 
always  leaving  them  something  to  soften  their  afflic- 
tion. Among  other  exploits  that  are  recorded  of 
him,  he  is  said  to  have  broken  into  the  palace  of  the 
prince  of  that  country,  and  having  collected  a  very 
large  booty,  which  he  was  on  the  point  of  carrying 
away,  he  found  his  foot  kicked  something  which 
made  him  stumble  ;  he  imagined  it  might  be  some- 
thing of  value,  and  putting  it  to  his  mouth,  the  better 
to  distinguish  what  it  was,  his  tongue  soon  infonned 
him  it  was  a  lump  of  salt.  Upon  this,  according  to 
the  morahty,  or  rather  superstition,  of  the  country, 
where  the  people  considered  salt  as  a  symbol  and 
pledge  of  hospitality,  he  was  so  touched,  that  he  left 
all  his  booty,  retiring  without  taking  any  thing  away 
with  him.  The  next  morning,  the  risk  they  had  run 
of  losing  many  valuable  things  being  perceived,  great 
was  the  surprise,  and  strict  the  inquiry,  what  could 
be  the  occasion  of  their  being  left.  At  length  Jacoub 
was  found  to  be  the  person  concerned  ;  who  having 
given  an  account,  very  sincerely,  of  the  whole  trans- 
action to  the  prince,  he  gained  his  esteem  so  feffectu 
ally,  that  it  might  be  said  with  truth,  that  it  was  his 
regard  lor  salt  that  laid  the  foundation  of  his  after- 
fortune.  The  prince  employed  him  as  a  man  of 
courage  and  genius  in  many  enterprises,  and  finding 
him  successful  in  all  of  them,  he  raised  him,  by  httle 
and  little,  to  the  chief  posts  among  his  troops  ;  so 
that,  at  that  prince's  death,  he  found  himself  possess- 
ed of  the  command  in  chief,  and  had  such  interest 
in  their  affections,  that  they  preferred  his  interests  to 
those  of  the  children  of  the  deceased  prince,  and  he 
became  absolute  master  of  that  province,  from 
whence  he  afterwards  spread  his  conquests  far  and 
wide."  (D'Herbelot,  Bibl.  Orient,  p.  4G6.  Also  Har- 
mer's  Obs.) 

Mr.  Harmer  has  well  illustrated  the  phrase,  "  We 
were  salted  with  the  salt  of  the  palace,"  (Ezra  iv.  14.) 
and  the  reader  will  be  pleased  with  his  remarks : 
"It  is  sufficient  to  put  an  end  to  all  conjecture,  tore- 
cite  the  words  of  a  modern  Persian  monarch,  whose 
court  Chardin  attended  some  time  about  business. 
Rising  in  a  wrath  against  an  officer  who  had  attempt- 
ed to  deceive  him,  he  drew  his  sabre,  fell  upon  him, 
and  hewed  him  in  pieces,  at  the  feet  of  the  grand 
visir,  who  was  standing  (and  whose  favor  the  poor 
wretch  courted  by  this  deception.)  And  looking 
fixedly  on  him,  and  on  the  other  great  lords  that 
stood  on  each  side  of  him,  he  said,  with  a  tone  of  in- 
dignation, '  I  have,  then,  such  ungrateful  servants  and 
traitors  as  these  to  eat  my  salt !  Look  on  this  sword  ; 
it  shall  cut  off"  all  those  perfidious  heads.' "  It  is 
clear,  that  this  expression,  "  eating  this  prince's  salt," 
is  equivalent  to — receive  a  maintenance  from  him. 
"  It  is  a  conunon  expression  of  the  natives  in  the  East 
Indies,  '  I  eat  such  an  one's  salt ;'  meaning,  I  am  fed 
by  him.  Tamerlane,  in  his  Institutes,  mentioning 
one  Shaw  Behaun,  w^ho  had  quitted  his  service, 
joined  the  enemy,  and  fought  against  him,  '  At 
length,'  says  he,  '  my  sail  which  he  had  eaten  over- 
whelmed iiim  with  remorse  :  he  again  threw  him- 


CRA 


[318] 


CRE 


self  on  my  mercy,  and  humbled  himself  before 
me.' " 

COVETOUSNESS.  This  word  is  sometimes 
used  in  a  good  sense,  as  '  to  covet  the  best  gifts,'  (1  Cor. 
xii.  .31.)  but  usually  in  a  bad  sense,  to  denote  an  inor- 
dinate desire  of  earthly  things,  especially  of  that 
which  belongs  to  another.  Covetousness  is  declared 
by  the  apostle  to  be  idolatry,  Col.  iii.  5. 

COUNCIL  is  occasionally  taken  for  any  kind  of 
assembly ;  sometimes  for  that  of  the  Sanhedrim,  at 
others  for  a  convention  of  pastors  met  to  regulate 
ecclesiastical  affairs.  Thus  the  assembly  of  the 
apostles,  (fee.  at  Jerusalem,  (Acts  xv.)  met  to  deter- 
mine whether  the  yoke  of  the  law  should  be  imposed 
on  Gentile  converts,  is  commonly  reputed  to  be  the 
first  council  of  the  Christian  church.  See  Tribunals. 
•  COUNSEL.  Beside  the  common  signification  of 
this  word,  as  denoting  the  consultations  of  men,  it  is 
used  in  Scripture  for  the  decrees  of  God,  the  orders 
of  his  providence.  God  frustates  the  counsels,  the 
views,  the  designs  of  princes  ;  but  "  the  counsels  of 
the  Lord  stand  for  ever,"  Ps.  xxxiii.  11;  cvii.  11; 
Luke  vii.  30.  According  to  the  LXX,  Christ  is  ca,ll- 
ed  the  angel  of  the  great  counsel ;  the  minister,  the 
executor  of  the  great  and  admirable  design  of  God, 
for  the  salvation  of  mankind,  Isaiah  ix.  6. 

COUNTRY,  a  land,  or  town.  It  is  taken  likewise 
for  family,  Ps.  xcv.  7.  Patria,  in  Greek,  signifies  a 
race,  a  nation.  The  heavenly  country  denotes  that 
residence  in  heaven,  which  is  hoped  for  and  sought 
by  Christians. 

COURT.  The  courts  belonging  to  the  temple  of 
Jerusalem  were  three  :  (1.)  the  couH  of  the  Gentiles, 
because  the  Gentiles  were  allowed  to  enter  no  far- 
ther; (2.)  the  court  of  Israel,  because  Israelites,  if 
clean,  had  a  right  of  admission  into  it ;  (3.)  the  court 
of  the  priests,  where  the  altar  of  burnt-oflTerings  stood, 
and  where  the  priests  and  Levites  exercised  their 
ministry.  Israelites,  who  offered  sacrifices,  might 
bring  their  victims  to  the  inner  part  of  this  court,  but 
could  not  pass  a  certain  separation  which  divided  it; 
they  withdrew  as  soon  as  they  had  delivered  their 
sacrifices  and  offerings  to  the  priest,  or  had  made 
thoir  confession,  with  laying  their  hand  on  the  head 
of  the  victim,  if  it  were  a  sin-offering. 

IJefore  the  temple  was  built,  there  was  a  court 
around  the  tabernacle,  formed  only  of  pillars,  and  of 
veils  hung  by  cords.  (See  Tabernacle.)  These 
courts  resembled  those  of  the  Egyptian  temples. 
The  palaces  of  kings  and  of  great  men  had  also  exten- 
sive courts,  as  appears  from  those  of  Solomon  and  of 
king  Ahasuerns.  (See  House.)  The  evangelists  men- 
tion the  high-priest's  court,  and  Luke  speaks  of  the 
strong  armed  man  ivho  guardeth  the  palace ;  that  is, 
the  armed  guard,  as  in  the  feudal  times,  at  the  gates 
of  baronial  castles. 

Court  is  used  for  a  city  in  Ezek.  xlvii.  17,  xlviii.  1, 
that  is,  the  cities  of  Ennon  and  Netophath.  In  the 
Hebrew,  this  is  frequent:  including  all  those  towns 
in  which  the  word  Hazer  is  combined  ;  as  Hazer- 
Suza,  the  court  of  Suza  ;  Hazer-Shual ;  so,  Hazer-a, 
Hazer-im,  Hazer-oth  :  these  names  of  towns  signify 
courts.  The  courts  of  Jei-usalem  are  sometimes  put 
for  the  city. 

COURTS,  Judicial,  see  Tribunals. 

COZBI,  daughter  of  Zur,  a  prince  of  the  Midian- 
ites,  who,  with  others  of  her  sex  and  age,  seduced 
the  principal  Israelites  to  coimnit  idolatry  and  impu- 
rity ;  Phineas  slew  her  and  Zimri  at  the  same  time. 
Numb.  XXV.  7 — 15. 

CRANE,  a  tall  and  long-necked  fowl,  which,  ac- 


cording to  Isidore,  takes  its  name  from  its  voice, 
which  we  imitate  in  mentioning  it.  The  prophet 
Jeremiah  mentions  this  bird  as  intelligent  of  the  sea- 
sons by  an  instinctive  and  invariable  observation  of 
their  appointed  times,  viii.  7.  The  same  thing  is 
noticed  by  Aristophanes  and  Hesiod  ;  the  latter  of 
whom  says,  "  When  thou  hearest  the  voice  of  the 
crane,  clamoring  annually  from  the  clouds  on  high, 
recollect  that  this  is  the  signal  for  ploughing,  and  in- 
dicates the  approach  of  showery  winter."  [The 
Hebrew  reads  first  did,  swallow,  and  then  -luy,  crane ; 
our  translators  have  either  transposed  the  two  words ; 
or,  what  is  more  probable,  mistaken  the  sense  of 
them.    R. 

CREATION,  To  Create.  These  terms  properly 
signify  a  production  of  something  out  of  nothing. 
The  Hebrew  uses  the  verb  ni3,  hard,  to  form,  to  bring 
into  order,  to  signify  creation,  having  no  word  which 
accurately  expresses  absolute  creation  out  of  nothing. 

CRESCENS,  a  companion  of  Paul,  (2  Tim.  iv. 
10.)  who  is  thought  by  Eusebius  and  others  to  have 
preached  in  Gaul,  and  to  have  founded  the  church 
of  Vienne,  in  Dauphin y. 

CRETE,  a  large  island,  now  called  Candia,  in  the 
Mediterranean,  (1  Mac.  x.  67.)  almost  opposite  to 
Egypt;  and  it  maybe  considered  as  having  been 
originally  peopled  from  thence,  probably  by  a  branch 
of  the  Caphtorim.  The  Cretans  affected  the  utmost 
antiquity,  as  a  nation,  and"  distinguished  themselves 
as  Eteocretenses,  "  true  Cretans."  Homer  celebrates 
this  island  as  famous  for  its  hundred  gates,  which 
Virgil  (^neid.  iii.)  seems  to  refer  to  cities  ;  but  in 
the  Odyssey,  Homer  calls  it  "  ninety-citied."  Being 
surrounded  by  the  sea,  its  inhabitants  were  excellent 
sailoi's,  and  its  vessels  visited  all  coasts.  They  were 
also  famous  for  archery,  which  they  practised  from 
their  infancy.  But  the  glory  of  Crete  was  Minos  the 
legislator,  said  to  be  son  of  Jupiter  and  Europa,  or 
rather  Manueh,  which  was  but  another  name  for  Ju- 
piter himself.  Minos  was  the  first,  it  is  said,  who 
reduced  a  wild  people  to  regularity  of  life ;  and  in 
order  to  effect  this  the  more  completely,  he  retired 
during  nine  years  into  the  cavern  of  Jupiter :  which 
seems  to  be  the  same  as  what  is  related  by  the  Hin- 
doo Puranas,  that  Sami  Rama  performed  austere  de- 
votion nine  years  in  the  holloiv  of  a  tree,  before  she 
effected  her  settlement.  After  nme  years,  Minos 
established  r^igious  rites ;  and  these  and  other  usages 
of  Crete  were  copied  by  the  Greeks.     See  Caphtor. 

The  Cretans  were  one  of  the  three  K's  against 
whose  tmfaithfulness  the  Grecian  proverb  cautioned — 
Kappadocia,  Kilicia,  and  Krete.  Itappears,  also,  that 
the  character  of  this  i)eople  for  lying  was  thoroughly 
established  in  ancient  times  ;  for  in  common  sj)eecli, 
the  expression  "  to  Cretanizc,"  signified  to  tell  lies ; 
which  contributes  to  accouiU  for  that  detestable 
character  the  apostle  (Titus  i.  12.)  has  given  of  the 
Cretans,  that  they  were  "  always  liars."  This  was  not 
only  the  opinion  of  Epimcnides,  from  whom  Paul 
quotes  this  verse,  but  of  Callimachus,  who  has  the 
same  words.  When  Epimcnides  adds,  that  "  the 
Cretans  are  savage  beasts,"  or  fierce  beasts,  "and  gor- 
bellies," — bellies  which  take  a  long  time  in  being 
filled^ — he  completes  a  most  disgusting  description. 
Polybius  represents  them  as  disgraced  by  piracy, 
robbery,  and  almost  every  crime,  and  Paul  charges 
Titus  to  rebuke  them  sharply,  and  in  strong  terms, 
to  prevent  their  adherence  to  Jewish  fables,  human 
ordinances,  and  legal  observances, 

Crete  was  taken  by  the  Romans  under  Metellus, 
hence  called  Creticus,  after  a  vigorous  resistance  of 


CRO 


[  319  ] 


CROSS 


above  two  years,  (A.  D.66.)  aud,  with  the  small  kmg- 
dom  of  Cyrene,  on   the   coast  of  Libya,  formed  a 
Roman  province.     In  the  reign  of  the  emperor  Leo, 
it  had  twelve  bishops,  subject  to  Constantinople.     In 
the  reign  of  3Iichael  II.  the  Saracens  seized  it,  and 
held  it  until,  after  127  years,  they  were  expelled  by 
the  emperor  Phocas.     It  remained  under  the  domin- 
ion of  the  em])eror,  till  Baldwin,  earl  of  Flanders, 
being  raised  to  the  throne,  rewarded  Bonifacio,  mar- 
quis of  Montserrat,  with  it,  who  sold  it  to  the  Vene- 
tians,   A.   D.   1194.      Under    their    goverun)ent  it 
flourislied  greatly ;    but  was  unexpectedly  attacked 
l)y  the  Turks,  A.  D.  1645,  in  the  midst  of  peace. 
The  siege  lasted  24  years,  and  cost  the  Turks  200,000 
men.     It  is  now  subject  to  the  Turks,  and,  conse- 
quently, is  impoverished  and  depopulated.     In  many 
places  it  is  unhealthy. 
CRIMSON,  see  Purple,  Scarlet. 
CRISPUS,  chief  of  the  Jewish  synagogue  at  Cor- 
inth, was  converted  and   baptized    by    Paul,  (Acts 
xviii.  8.)  about  A.  D.  52,  1  Cor.  i.  14.      Some  aflirm 
that  Crispus  was  bishop  of  ^gina,  an  island  neai- 
Athens.     The  Greeks  observe  his  festival,  October  4. 
CROCODILE,  see  Leviathan. 
CROSS,  a  kind  of  gibbet  made  of  pieces  of  wood 
placed  transversely  ;  whether  crossing  at  right  angles, 
one  at  the  top  of  the  other,  or  in  the  middle,  or  diag- 
onally, or  fork -wise.      The  Greek  oraiQog,  stauros,  a 
cross,  often  denotes  only  a  piece  of  wood  fixed  in 
the  ground,  by  the   Latins  called  palus,  or  vallum. 
Death  by  the  cross  was  a  punishment  of  the  meanest 
slaves ;  and  was  a  mark  of  infamy.     This  punish- 
ment was  so  common  among  the  Romans,  that  pains, 
afflictions,  troubles,  &c.  were  called  crosses ;  and  the 
verb  cruciare  was  used  for  sufferings  both  of  body 
and  mind.     Our  Saviour  says,  that  his  disciple  must 
take  up  his  cross  and  follow  him.     The  cross  is  the 
sign  of  ignominy  and  sufferings  ;  yet  it  is  the  badge 
and  glory  of  the  Christian.     Jesus  Christ  is  the  way 
we  are  to  follow  ;  and  there  is  no  way  of  attaining 
that  glory  and  happiness  which  is  promised  in  the 
gospel,  but  by  the  cross  of  Christ.     The   punish- 
ment of  the  cross  was  common  among  the  Syrians, 
Egyptians,  Pei-sians,  Africans,  Greeks,  Romans,  and 
Jews.     Piiaraoh's  chief  baker  was  beheaded,  and  his 
carcass  fastened  to  a  cross.  Gen.  xl.  19.      (Eng.  trans. 
tree.)     Haman  prepared  a  great  cross,  (Eng.  trans. 
frallows,)  on  which  to  hang  Mordecai,  Esth.  vii.  10. 
The  Jews  will  not  admit  that  they  crucified  people 
while  living  ;  they  affirm  that  they  first  put  them  to 
death,  and  then  fastened  them  to  a  cross  either  by 
the  hands  or  the  neck.      But  though  there  are  many 
instances  of  men  thus  hung  on  a  gibbet  after  death, 
there  are  indisputable  proofs  of  their  crucifying  them 
alive.     The  worshippers  of  Baal-peor,  (Numb.  xxv. 
4.)  and  the  king  of  Ai,  (Josh.  viii.  22.)  were  hung  up 
alive  ;  as  were  the  descendants  of  Saul,  by  the  Gibe- 
onites  ;  (2  Sam.  xxi.  9.)  and  Alexander  Jannseus  cru- 
cified 800  of  his  subjects  at  an  entertainment. 

The  law  ordained  that  persons  executed  should 
not  be  left  on  the  cross  afl;er  sun-set,  because  he  who 
is  hanged  is  cursed  by  God,  Deut.  xxi.  23.  The 
Jews  believed  that  the  souls  of  those  who  remained 
on  tlie  gibbet  without  burial,  enjoyed  no  peace,  but 
wandered  until  their  bodies  were  buried.  This  also 
was  an  idea  of  the  Greeks  and  Romans. 

Sometimes  the  criminal  was  crucified  on  a  tree, 
and  fastened  to  it  with  cords  ;  and  sometimes  he  was 
fastened  with  his  head  downwards ;  as  was  Peter, 
from  resi)ect  to  his  Master,  Jesus  Christ,  not  thinking 
himself  worthy  to  be  fixed  to  a  cross  in  the  same 


manner  as  he  had  been.  Sometimes  a  fire  was 
kmdled  at  the  foot  of  the  cross,  by  the  smoke  and 
flame  of  which  the  mfferer  might  perish.  The 
common  way  of  crucifying  was  by  fastening  the 
cnminal  with  naUs,  one  at  each  hand,  and  one  at 
both  Ins  feet,  or  one  at  each  foot.  Sometimes  they 
were  bound  with  cords,  which,  though  it  seems 
gentler,  because  it  occasions  less  pain,  was  really 
more  cruel,  because  the  suflerer  was  hereby  made  to 
languish  longer.  Somefimes  they  used  both  nails 
and  cords  for  fastenings ;  and  when  this  was  the 
case,  there  was  no  difficulty  in  hfting  up  the  per- 
son, together  with  his  cross,  he  being  sufficiently 
supported  by  the  cords.  Before  tliey  nailed  liini 
to  the  cross,  they  generally  scourged  him  with 
whips,  or  leathern  thongs,  which  was  thought  more 
severe,  and  more  infamous,  than  scourging  with 
cords.  Sometimes  little  bones,  or  pieces  of  bones, 
were  tied  to  the  scourges,  to  increase  the  pain. 
Slaves,  who  had  been  guilty  of  great  crimes,  were 
fastened  to  a  gibbet,  or  a  cross ;  aud  were  thus  led 
about  the  city,  and  beaten.  Our  Saviour  was  loaded 
with  his  cross ;  and,  as  he  sunk  under  the  burden, 
Simon,  the  Cyrenian,  was  constrained  to  bear  it  after 
him,  and  with  him,  Mark  xv.  21.  The  criminal  was 
crucified  quite  naked  ;  and  the  Saviour  of  the  world, 
in  all  probability,  was  not  used  more  tenderly  than 
others  who  suftered  this  punishment,  although  Chris- 
tians, out  of  respect  and  modesty,  represent  the  Re- 
deemer as  decently  covered,  sometimes  from  his 
loins  to  his  knees. 

The  cross  to  which  our  Saviour  was  nailed,  had 
the  form  of  a  T,  but  with  the  head-piece  rising  above 
the  transverse  beam.  Some  say  it  was  fifteen  feet 
high  ;  that  the  arms  of  it  were  seven  or  eight  feet 
long  ;  that  the  top  on  which  the  title,  or  sentence  of 
condemnation,  was  fastened,  was  a  piece  of  wood 
added  afterwards,  with  a  board,  on  which  was  writ- 
ten, "  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  King  of  the  Jews."  But 
this  is  all  conjecture,  and  rather  against  probability, 
as  it  seems,  from  the  circumstances  narrated,  that  the 
cross  was  much  lower  ;  so  that  a  person  speaking 
from  it  could  easily  be  heard,  that  a  foot  soldier's 
spear  could  pierce  the  side  of  our  Lord,  and  that  a 
reed  or  cane,  in  addition  to  a  person's  height,  could 
reach  his  mouth.  Painters  commonly  represent  the 
cross  as  lowered  when  our  Saviour  is  fastened  to  it, 
and  afterwards  set  uj)right  again,  and  the  body  of 
our  Saviour  raised  with  it.  But  this  opinion  is  not 
at  all  probable.  The  shaking  and  motion  of  the 
cross,  together  with  the  weight  of  the  body,  might, 
without  any  thing  else,  have  broken  the  hands  and 
feet,  and  have  loosened  him  from  the  cross,  with 
indescribable  pains.  It  is  most  probable  that  he  was 
nailed  to  the  cross,  as  it  stood  already  erected. 

Sometimes  those  who  were  fastened  upon  the  cross 
lived  long  in  that  condition  ;  from  three  to  nine  days. 
Hence,  Pilate  was  amazed  at  our  Saviour's  dying 
so  soon,  because  naturally  he  must  have  lived 
longer,  ]Mark  xv.  44.  The  legs  of  the  two  thieves 
were  broken,  to  hasten  their  death,  that  their  bodies 
might  not  remain  on  the  cross  on  the  sabbath-day, 
and  to  comply  with  the  law,  which  forbade  the  bodies 
to  hang  after  sunset ;  but  among  other  nations,  they 
were  suffered  to  continue  long  ;  sometimes,  till  they 
were  devoured  alive  by  birds  and  beasts  of  prey. 

The  Hebrews  did  not  pray  for  those  of  their  na- 
tion who  were  crucified  or  hanged,  at  least  not 
publicly  in  the  synagogue  ;  nor  did  they  permit  them 
to  be  placed  in  the  tombs  of  their  families,  till  their 
flesh  had  been  first  consumed  in  the  public  sepul- 


CRO 


[  320  ] 


CRU 


chres.  Perhaps  it  was  for  this  reason  that  Joseph  of 
Arimathea  desired  leave  from  Pilate  to  lay  the  body  of 
Jesus  in  his  own  tomb,  that  it  miglit  not  be  thrown 
undistinguished  into  the  public  burying-place. 

CROWN,  an  ornament  frequently  mentioned  in 
Scripture,  and  in  very  common  use,  appaiently, 
among  the  Hebrew^.  The  higji-priest  wore  a  crown 
about  his  mitre,  or  the  lower  part  of  his  bonnet,  tied 
behind  his  head.  It  seems  as  if  private  priests,  and 
even  common  Israelites,  also,  wore  a  sort  of  crown  ; 
for  God  commands  Ezekiel  not  to  take  off"  his  cro\\n, 
{tire,  Eng.  trans.)  nor  assume  tiie  marks  of  mourn- 
ing, Ezek.  xxiv.  17,  23.  This  crowii  was  a  riband  or 
fillet,  which  surrounded  the  head.  When  Moses 
commands  the  Israelites  to  bind  the  words  of  the 
law  on  their  hands,  and  as  frontlets  beuveen  their 
eyes,  he  alludes  to  the  use  of  crowns  and  bracelets 
among  them,  Deut.  vi.  8. 

Crowns  are  so  little  in  use  among  us,  that  we  dis- 
tinguish the  supreme  magistrates  of  countries  by  the 
phrase  "  crowned  heads  ;"  but  in  the  East  they  are 
worn  on  many  occasions  which  require  demonstra- 
tions of  joy.  (Comp.  Eccles.  and  Job.)  Job  (xxxi. 
36.)  speaks  of  binding  a  crown  on  his  head,  which  we 
are  not,  we  presume,  to  take  as  a  royal  crown,  (that 
would  not  need  binding,)  but  as  one  of  those  tokens 
of  rejoicing  which  the  custom  of  his  country  de- 
manded at  proper  opportunities.  But  we  have  this 
custom  described  at  full  length  in  Wisdom  and  Ec- 
clesiasticus : — "  Let  no  flower  of  the  spring  pass  by 
us ;  let  us  ci-own  ourselves  with  rose-buds,"  chap.  ii. 
8.  "  Wisdom  weareth  a  crown,  triumphing  for  ever," 
chap.  iv.  2.  "  The  fear  of  the  Lord  is  a  crown  of 
rejoicing,"  Eccles.  i.  2.  These  passages  lead  us  to 
the  true  impoi-t  of  the  crown  of  thorns,  placed  by 
the  Roman  soldiers  on  the  head  of  our  Lord — it  was 
a  derision  of  his  inauguration  as  king  of  the  Jews ; 
and  it  was  not  a  tarnished  golden  crown  which  they 
employed,  but  a  prickly  vegetable  one  ;  to  degrade, 
in  a  very  expressive,  and  intendedly  ridiculous,  man- 
ner, the  triumphant  occasion  on  which  they  thus 
bedecked  him.  The  use  of  crowns  among  the  vic- 
torious athletfB,  or  combatants  in  the  games  of  an- 
tiquity, is  well  known.  Newly  married  people  of 
both  sexes  Avore  crowns,  more  rich  and  beautiful 
than  those  generally  used,  Isa.  Ixi.  10 ;  Cant,  iii.  11. 

The  crown,  mitre,  and  diadem,  royal  fillet,  anAtiara, 
are  frequently  confounded.  Crowns  are  bestowed 
on  gods,  kings,  and  princes,  as  marks  of  their  digni- 
ty. David  took  the  crowii  from  the  god  Moloch,  or 
Milcom,  which  was  of  gold  and  enriched  with 
jewels,  (see  Moloch,)  (2  Sam.  xii.  30;  1  Chron.  xx. 
2.)  and  the  Amalekite  who  boasted  of  killing  Saul, 
brought  tiiat  prince's  diadem,  or  royal  fillet,  to  David, 
2  Sam.  i.  10.  Queens  among  the  Persians  wore 
diadems,  Esth.  ii.  17.  God  says,  he  had  put  a  crown 
of  gold  on  the  head  of  the  Jewish  nation,  which  is 
represented  as  his  spouse,  Ezek.  xvi.  12.  Kings 
used  several  diadems,  when  they  possessed  several 
kingdoms.  Ptolemy,  having  conquered  Syria,  made 
his  entry  into  Antioch,  and  put  two  diadems  on  his 
head,  that  of  Egypt  and  that  of  Asia.  In  the  Reve- 
lation, the  dragon  with  seven  heads  had  seven 
crowns,  one  on  each  head,  (xii.  3.)  and  the  beast  which 
sprung  out  of  the  sea,  with  ten  horns,  had,  likewise, 
ten  crowns.  Lastly,  the  Eternal  Word,  the  True 
and  Faithful  One,  had  many  crowns  on  his  head 
xix.  12.  ' 

CroiOTi  is  figuratively  used  to  signify  honor.  "Ye 
are  my  joy  and  my  crown,"  says  Paul  to  the  Philip- 
pians,  iv.  1.     Crown  is  used  likewise  for  reward,  be- 


cause conquerors  in  the  public  games  were  crowned 
with  wreaths,  garlands,  &c. 

CRUCIFIXION,  see  Cross. 

CRUSE,  a  small  vessel  for  holding  water,  and 
other  liquids,  1  Sam.  xxvi.  11. 

Our  translators  have  rendered  by  the  word  cruse; 
no  less  than  three  words,  which  are  offfered  by  the 
Hebrew;  and  which,  no  doubt,  describe  different 
utensils ;  though,  perhaps,  all  may  be  taken  as  ves- 
sels for  the  purpose  of  containing  liquid.  The  fii'st 
occurs,  1  Sam.  xxvi.  11.  David,  Avhen  in  Saul's 
tent,  would  not  smite  him,  but  carried  off"  his  spear, 
and  his  cruse  (tsappachath)  of  water.  That  this  was 
a  small  vessel,  not  a  capacious  cistern,  is  evident ; 
that  it  was  a  personal  appendage  to  Saul,  appears 
from  its  being  readily  recognized  as  belonging  to 
him.  Probably,  as  the  spear  was  royal,  so  was  the 
water-vessel.  However,  it  is  certain  it  was  not  large. 
In  1  Kings  xvii.  12,  the  same  word  is  used  for  the 
widow's  cruse  of  oil.  So  also  1  Kings  xix.  20. — 
We  read  also,  1  Kings  xiv.  3,  "  Take  in  thy  hands  .  . 
a  cruse  of  honey ;"  but  here  the  woi-d  is  diff"erent, 
(bakhuk  debash,)  because,  honey  not  being,  by  a  great 
deal,  so  fluid  as  water,  a  diff"erent  vessel  might  con- 
tain it ;  this  should,  most  propei-ly,  be  rendered  ajar 
or  pot  of  honey.  In  2  Kings  ii.  20,  Elisha  says, 
"  Bring  me  a  new  cruse"  {tselochith).  This  vessel  is 
described  by  a  word  different  from  either  of  the  for- 
mer ;  and  one  which,  in  2  Chron.  xxxv.  13,  appears 
to  denote  a  vessel  in  which  the  sacrifices  were  boiled  ; 
but  elsewhere,  a  vessel — a  dish,  brought  to  table, 
containing  food,  2  Kings  xxi.  13 :  Prov.  xix,  24  ; 
xxvi.  15.  Perhaps  this  might  answer  to  our  bowl, 
or  porringer.     See  Dish,  and  Kneading  Troughs. 

Now,  it  seems  to  be  most  probable,  that  as  Saul 
(like  Elijah)  was  journeying,  he  took  with  him  such 
vessels  as  are  customarily  used  by  those  who  now 
journey  in  the  East ;  and,  as  the  widow  in  Sarepta 
is  described  as  being  reduced  to  the  very  extremity 
of  famine,  we  may  conclude  that  the  narrower,  the 
smaller,  the  more  diminutive,  and  the  less  capacious, 
were  her  cruse,  the  better  it  agrees  with  the  handful 
of  meal,  and  with  the  other  circumstances  of  her 
situation  and  history. 


To  those  acquainted  with  the  shape  and  nature  of 
the  Florentine  flasks  of  oil,  one  of  the  above  figures 
(a)  will  appear  a  close  resemblance  of  them  ;  and  as 
there  is,  probably,  a  reason,  in  the  nature  of  that  com- 
modity, for  making  the  flask  with  a  neck  so  long 
and  so  narrow,  if  the  same  reason  hold  in  Judea, 
the  same  would  be  the  shape  of  the  Jewish  flasks. 
Moreover,  as  this  is  the  shape  of  the  water-flasks 
now  used  by  travellers  in  the  East,  it  may  well  rep- 
resent the  ancient  tsappachath,  which  our  translators 
have  rendered  cruse.  The  reader  will  observe  the 
wicker  case  to  this  flask ;  which  we  may  suppose,  in 
the  instance  of  Saul's,  was  of  superior  materials,  or 
more  ornamented  than  usual,  by  way  of  denoting  its 


CUB 


[321  ] 


CUP 


employment  by  a  royal  personage.  But,  as  it  must 
he  admitted  that  it  might  be  of  another  shape,  we 
have  in  our  engraving  a  vessel  differently  shaped, 
(d)  which  likewise  is  used  by  travellers  in  the  East, 
to  contain  water  for  personal  accommodation ;  and 
tlie  ornaments  on  which  might  easily  be  rendered 
royal,  and -even  superb.  Pococke  says,  "If  they  go 
long  journeys,  they  have  such  vessels  for  containing 
water  as  are  represented  in  fig.  (b)  and  (c)  which 
they  use  in  the  journey  to  Mecca. 

To  CRY.  This  word  is  used  in  several  senses. 
"  The  blood  of  Abel  crieth  from  the  ground,"  where 
it  was  spilt.  Gen.  iv.  10.  "  The  cry  of  Sodom  as- 
cended up  to  heaven,"  xviii.  20.  The  cries  of  the 
Israelites,  oppressed  by  the  Egyptians,  rose  up  to 
the  throne  of  God,  Exod.  iii.  U.  "He  looked  for 
judgment,  but  behold  oppi-essiou  ;  for  righteousness, 
but  behold  a  cry,"  Isa.  v.  7.  "  If  my  land  cry  against 
me,  or  the  furrows  likewise  thereof  complain,"  says 
Job,  xxxi.  38.  The  force  of  these  expressions  is 
such,  that  any  explanation  would  only  weaken  them. 

CRYSTAL.  The  Hebrew  Kerech  is  rendered  by 
our  translators,  crystal,  (Ezek.  i.  22.)  frost,  (Gen. 
xxxi.  40,  &c.)  and  ice,  Job  vi.  16,  &c.  The  word 
primarily  denotes  ice,  and  it  is  given  to  a  perfectly 
transparent  and  hyaline  gem,  from  its  resemblance 
to  this  substance. 

CUBIT,  a  measure  used  among  the  ancients,  and 
which  the  Hebrews  call  ammdh.  A  cubit  was  origi- 
nally the  distance  from  the  elbow  to  the  extremity 
of  the  middle  finger  ;  which  is  the  fourth  part  of  a 
well-proportioned  man's  stature.  The  Hebrew  cu- 
bit, according  to  bishop  Cumberland,  and  M.  Pel- 
letier,  is  twenty-one  inches ;  but  others  fix  it  at 
eighteen.  The  Talmudists  observe,  that  the  Hebrew 
cubit  was  larger,  by  one  quarter,  than  the  Roman. 
It  is  thought  that  there  were  two  sorts  of  cubits 
among  the  Hebrews,  one  sacred,  the  other  common  ; 
the  sacred  containing  three  feet,  the  common,  a  foot 
and  a  half.  3Ioses  (Numb.  xxxv.  4.)  assigns  to  the 
Levites  1000  sacred  cubits  of  land  round  about  their 
cities  ;  and  in  the  next  verse  he  gives  them  2000 
common  ones.  The  two  columns  of  brass,  in  Solo- 
mon's temple,  are  reckoned  eighteen  cubits  high,  in 
1  Kings  vii.  15,  and  in  2  Chron.  iii.  15,  thirty-five 
cubits.  (See  BoAZ.)  Other  writers,  however,  allow 
the  sacred  cubit  to  exceed  the  common  cubit  by  only 
a  hand's  breadth.  They  suppose  Moses  to  speak  of 
the  conunon  cubit,  Avhen  he  descriljes  it  as  the 
measure  of  a  man's  arm  folded  inward  ;  (Deut.  iii. 
11.)  and  that  the  sacred  cubit  was  a  hand's  breadth 
longer  than  this,  as  Ezek.  xliii.  13.  The  very  learned 
and  ingenious  Dr.  Arbuthnot  says,  that  to  him  it 
seems  plain,  that  the  Jews  used  two  sorts  of  cubits, 
a  sacred  one,  and  a  profane  or  common  one ;  for  in 
Deut.  iii.  11.  the  bed  of  Og  is  said  to  have  been  nine 
cubits  long,  and  four  cubits  broad,  after  the  cubit  of 
a  man.  But  (Ezek.  xl.  5.)  Ezekiel's  reed  is  said  to 
be  six  cubits  long,  by  the  cubit  and  a  hand-breadth  ; 
whence  it  appeai-s,  that  the  larger  cubit,  by  which 
the  reed  was  measured,  was  longer  than  the  common 
one,  by  a  hand-breadth,  or  three  inches.  But,  not- 
withstanding these  reasons,  Calmet  believes  that 
there  was  but  one  cubit  among  the  Hebrews,  from 
the  exodus  to  the  Babylonish  captivity  ;  and  that 
this  was  the  Egyptian  cubit,  the  measure  of  which 
was  taken,  some  years  ago,  from  the  old  standards 
extant  at  Grand  Cairo  ;  and  that  only  after  the  cap- 
tivity. Scripture  notices  two  sorts  of  measures  to 
distinguish  the  ancient  Hebrew  cubit  from  that  of 
Babylon,  which  the  captives  had  used  during  their 
41 


abode  in  that  city.  On  this,  he  thinks,  is  grounded 
the  precaution  of  Ezekiel  in  observing,  that  the 
cubit  he  is  speaking  of  is  the  true  ancient  cubit, 
larger  by  a  hand's  breadth  than  the  common  cubit. 

CUCKOO,  an  unclean  bird.  Lev.  xi.  16.  We  are 
not  certain  of  the  bird  intended  by  Moses  under  this 
name ;  the  strength  of  the  versions  is  in  favor  of  the 
sea-meiv,  or  gull.  Geddes  renders,  "  the  horn-owl," 
but  we  incline  to  the  opinion  of  Shaw,  who  under- 
stands it  of  the  rhaad,  or  saf-saf,  a  granivorous  and 
gregarious  bird,  which  wants  the  hinder  toe  ;  though 
we  confess  we  see  no  reason  for  the  exclusion  of 
this  bird  by  Moses.     See  Birds. 

CUCUMBER,  a  vegetable  very  plentiful  in  the 
East,  especially  in  Egypt,  (Numb.  xi.  5.)  where  they 
are  esteemed  delicacies,  and  form  a  great  pan  of  the 
food  of  the  lower  class  of  people,  especially  during 
the  hot  months.  [The  n^nup,  kishdim,  of  Numb.  xi. 
5,  is  the  Egyptian  cucumber,  the  Cucumis  chate  of 
Linnaeus,  similar  in  form  to  our  cucumber,  but  larger, 
being  usually  a  foot  in  length.  It  is  described  by 
Hasselquist  as  greener,  smoother,  softer,  sweeter, 
and  more  digestible  than  our  cucumber.  (Travels, 
p.  530,  Germ,  ed.)  He  also  says,  that  it  grows  in 
perfection  around  Cairo,  especially  after  the  inunda- 
tions of  the  Nile.  In  other  paits  of  Egypt  it  is  less 
cultivated,  because  it  does  not  succeed  as  well.  They 
are  not  watery,  but  rather  of  a  firm  substance,  like 
melons,  with  a  sweetish  and  refreshing  taste.  In 
summer  they  are  brought  upon  the  tables  of  the 
gi-eat,  and  of  the  Europeans  in  Egj'pt,  as  the  best 
and  most  pleasant  refreshment,  and  from  which  no 
ill  consequences  are  to  be  apprehended.     R. 

CUD,  the  food  deposited  in  the  first  stomach  in 
cattle,  and  some  other  animals,  for  the  purpose  of 
rumination,  i.  e.  of  being  chewed  again,  when  it  re- 
turns upwards,  after  having  been  swallowed.  Ani- 
mals not  chewing  the  cud  were  prohibited  as  food 
to  the  Hebrews,  Deut.  xiv.  6 — 8.     See  Animals. 

CUMMIN,  a  plant  much  hke  fennel ;  and  which 
produces  blossoms  and  branches  in  an  umbellated 
form.  Our  Lord  reproved  the  scribes  and  Pharisees 
for  so  very  carefully  paying  tithe  of  mint,  anise, 
and  cummin,  and  yet  neglecting  good  works,  and 
more  essential  obedience  to  God's  law,  Matt, 
xxiii.  23. 

CUP.  This  word  is  taken  in  Scripture  both  in 
a  proper  and  in  a  figurative  sense.  In  a  proper 
sense,  it  signifies  a  common  cup,  such  as  is  used  for 
drinking  out  of  at  meals  ;  or  a  cup  of  ceremony,  as 
used  at  solemn  and  religious  meals ;  as  at  the  pass- 
over,  when  the  father  of  the  family  pronounced  cer- 
tain blessings  over  the  cup,  and,  having  tasted  it, 
passed  it  round  to  the  company  and  his  whole  family, 
who  partook  of  it.  In  a  figurative  sense,  cup  gene- 
rally imports  afflictions  or  punishments:  "Stand  up, 
O  Jerusalem,  which  hast  drunk  at  the  hand  of  the 
Lord  the  cup  of  his  fury,"  Isaiah  h.  17.  (See  Psalm 
Ixxv.  8.)  In  the  same  sense,  men  are  represented  as 
drunk  with  sorrow,  with  afflictions,  with  the  wine 
of  God's  wrath  ;  which  expressions  are  consequences 
following  this  first  metaphor  of  a  cup.  It  is  de- 
rived from  the  custom  observed  at  entertainments  for 
the  guests  to  drink  round  out  of  the  same  cup.  Such 
persons  as  refused  to  drink  in  their  turn  at  feasts, 
were  not  endured :  "  Let  him  drink  or  begone,"  was 
a  kind  of  proverb.  Cup  denotes,  likewise,  share  or 
portion,  (Psalm  xvi.  5.)  because  at  meals  each  had 
his  cup.  Or  the  prophet  alludes  to  those  cups  which 
were  drunk  by  every  one  in  his  turn  :  "  I  will  have 
no  share  in  the  inheritance,  the  feasts,  sacrifices,  por- 


cus 


[  322  ] 


CUSH 


tiouB,  society  of  the  wicked ;  God  alone  is  sufficient 
for  me ;  he  is  my  portion  and  my  cnp ;  I  desire  noth- 
ing further." 

Cup  of  Blessing  (1  Cor.  x.  16.)  is  that  which 
was  blessed  in  entertainments  of  ceremony,  or 
solemn  services,  out  of  which  the  company  drank 
all  roinid.  Or  a  cup  over  which  God  was  blessed 
for  having  furnished  its  contents ; — and  occasionally, 
for  having  afforded  cause,  as  well  as  means,  of  re- 
joicing. Our  Saviour,  in  the  last  supper,  blessed  the 
cup,  and  gave  it  to  each  of  his  disciples  to  drink, 
Luke  xxii.  20. 

Cup  of  Salvation  (Ps.  cxvi.  1.3.)  is  a  cuj)  of 
thanksgiving,  of  blessing  tlie  Lord  for  liis  mercies. 
We  see  this  practice  where  the  Jews  of  Egj'pt,  in 
their  festivals  for  deliverance,  offered  cups  of  salva- 
tion. The  Jews  have  at  this  day  cups  of  thanksgiv- 
ing, which  are  blessed,  in  their  marriage  ceremonies, 
and  in  entertainments  made  at  the  circumcision  of 
their  children.  Some  commentators  believe  "  the 
cup  of  salvation"  to  be  a  libation  of  wine  poured  on 
the  victim  sacrificed  on  thanksgiving  occasions,  ac- 
cording to  the  law  of  Moses,  Exod.  xxix.  40. 

Cup  of  Josepu,  by  which,  according  to  the  Eng- 
lish translation,  he  is  said  to  have  divined,  Gen. 
xliv.  5.  From  customs  still  used  in  the  East,  it 
seems  probable  that  this,  instead  of  being  a  cup  by 
which  to  divine,  was  a  cup  of  distinction,  or  one  pe- 
culiar to  the  governor,  which  had  been  presented, 
as  they  now  are  in  some  parts,  by  the  citizens  whom 
he  governed.     See  mider  Joseph. 

CURSE.  God  denounced  his  curse  against  tlie 
serpent  which  had  seduced  Eve,  (Gen.  iii.  14.)  and 
against  Cain,  who  had  imbued  his  hands  in  his 
brother  Abel's  blood,  iv.  11.  He  also  promised  to 
bless  those  who  should  bless  Abraham,  and  to  curse 
those  who  should  curse  him.  The  divine  maledic- 
tions are  not  merely  imprecations,  nor  are  they  im- 
potent Avishes  ;  but  they  carry  their  effects  with 
them,  and  arc  attended  with  all  the  miseries  they 
denounce  or  foretell. 

Holy  men  sometimes  proi)hetically  cursed  par- 
ticular persons ;  (Gen.  ix.  25;  xlix.  7;  Deut.  xxvii. 
15 ;  Josh.  vi.  26.)  and  history  informs  us,  that  these 
imprecations  had  their  fulfilment ;  as  had  those  of 
our  Saviour  against  the  barren  fig-tree,  Mark  xi.  21. 
But  such  curses  are  not  consequences  of  passion, 
im{)arience,  or  revenge ; — they  are  predictions,  and 
therefore  not  such  as  God  condemns.  No  one  sh.all 
presume  to  curse  his  father  or  his  mother,  on  pain 
of  death  ;  (Exod.  xxi.  17.)  nor  the  prince  of  his  peo- 
j)le ;  (xxii.  28.)  nor  one  that  is  deaf;  (Lev.  xix.  14.) 
whether  a  man  really  deaf  be  meant  here,  or  one 
who  is  absent,  and  therefore  cannot  hear  what  is  said 
against  him.  Blasphemy,  or  cursing  of  God,  is  pun- 
ished v/itli  death,  Lev.  xxiv.  10,  11.  Our  Lord  pro- 
nounces blessed  those  disciples  who  are  (falsely) 
loaded  with  curses ;  and  requires  his  followers  to 
l)Icss  thos;i  who  curse  them ;  to  render  blessing  for 
cursing,  &c.  Matt.  v.  11. 

Tlie  ral)bins  say,  that  Barak  cursed  and  excom- 
municated Meroz,  who  dwelt  near  the  brook  Ki- 
shon,  but  who  came  not  to  lussist  Israel  against  Jabin. 
Wherefore  Barak  excommunicated  him  l)y  the  sound 
of  400  trumpets,  according  to  Judg.  v.  23.  But  ]Me- 
roz  is  more  probably  the  name  of  a  place.  See 
Anathema,  Devoting. 

I.  CUSH,  eldest  son  of  Ham,  and  Huher  of  Nim- 
rod.  Gen.  x.  8.  His  sons  were  Seba,  Havilah,  Sab- 
tali,  Raamah,  Sabtijcha,  and  Nimrod,  vor.  7. 

II.  CUSH,  and  CUSHAN.  the  couutries  peopled 


by  the  descendants  of  Cush,  ami  generally  called 
Ethiopia,  in  the  English  Bible,  as  though  but  one 
place  were  intended.  Such,  however,  is  not  the 
fact,  and  a  want  of  attention  to  this  will  involve 
some  passages  of  Scripture  in  inextricable  confusion. 

[Commentators  differ  exceedingly  in  respect  to 
the  countries  which  are  included  under  the  name  of 
Cush,  or  Ethiopia.  Bochart  every  where  understands 
the  southern  parts  of  Arabia  ;  (Phaleg.  iv.  2.)  Ge- 
senius  affirms  that  Cush,  and  all  the  tribes  connected 
with  this  name,  are  to  be  sought  only  in  Africa. 
(Lex.  art.  v^2.)  Michaelis  supposed  that  both  the 
African  Ethiopia  and  southern  Arabia  were  intended. 
(Spicilcg.  i.  143,  seq.)  To  this  opinion  Rosenmiiller 
also  assents  ;  (Bibl.  Geog.  iii.  p.  154.)  and  adds,  that 
in  a  wider  sense,  the  Hebrews  designated  by  the  name 
Cush  all  southern  countries,  or  the  torrid  zone,  with 
their  inhabitants,  so  far  as  these  were  of  a  black  or 
tawny  color, — in  an  indefinite  extent,  from  west  to 
east.  He  supposes,  too,  that  if  the  Hebrews  had  any 
knowledge  of  the  countries  around  the  Indus  and 
Ganges,  Avhicli  we  now  call  the  East  Indies,  they 
also  included  all  these  regions  under  the  name  Cush; 
i.  e.  they  employed  this  name  generally  and  indefi- 
nitely, just  as  the  Greeks  did  Ethiopia,  and  as  we  do, 
at  the  present  day,  the  term  East  Indies.  Mr.  Bry- 
ant supposes  the  Scripture  to  mention  three  different 
countries  of  this  name,  viz.  in  Africa,  in  southern 
Arabia,  and  the  third  comprehending  the  regions  of 
Persis,  Chusistan,  and  Susiana.  (Mythology,  vol.  iii. 
p.  180  ;  p.  175,  seq.)  As  this  last  opinion  is  the  more 
consonant,  both  with  the  Bible  and  with  profane  his- 
tory, it  will  be  proper  here  to  point  out  the  grounds 
on  which  it  rests. 

1.  Cush,  the  oriental  Cush,  or  Ethiopia,  is  men- 
tioned by  Herodotus ;  (vii.  70.)  and  Zephaniah  mani- 
festly alludes  to  it,  wlien  he  speaks  of  the  return  of 
Judah  from  captivity:  (iii.  10.)  "From  beyond  the 
rivers  of  Cush  (Ethio])ia),  my  suppliants,  even  the 
daughter  of  my  dispersed,  shall  bring  mine  offering." 
The  principal  of  these  rivers  were,  of  course,  the 
Ulai,  Kur,  Chobar,  and  Choaspes ;  all  eastern 
branches  of  the  Tigris  ;  near  which  w  ere  the  chief 
places  of  the  captivity.  (Bryant's  Mythol.  iii.  p.  181.) 
Cholchis  was  also  included  in  this  oriental  Cush,  or 
Ethiopia;  for  Jerome  mentions  St.  Andrew's  preach- 
ing the  gospel  in  the  towns  upon  the  two  Cholchic 
rivers,  the  Apsarus  and  Phasis  ;  and  calls  the  natives 
Ethiopes  interiores  ;  he  also  relates  the  same  circmn- 
stance  of  Matthias,  and  calls  the  country  altera  Ethi- 
opia. (Hieron.  de  Scriptoribus  ccclesiast.)  Many 
other  notices  to  the  same  effect  from  classic  authors 
are  quoted  by  IMr.  Bryant,  ;;s  above  cited.  Besides 
this,  Moses  Choronensis,  a  native  of  Armenia,  who 
wrote,  in  the  fifth  century,  a  history  of  tliat  country, 
and  also  a  geography  still  extant,  includes  all  the 
country  east  of  the  Tigris,  from  the  Caspian  sea  to 
the  Persian  gulf,  under  tin;  name  of  Cush.  He  calls 
Media,  Chushi-Caproch ;  Elymais,  Chushi-Chora- 
san ;  Persia,  Chushi-^Yemroz ;  and  under  Elymais 
he  reckons  a  jn-oviiice  nansed  Chvr,astan.  '  (Ed. 
Whistoii,  ]).  .3()3.)  This  province  oi'  Cliusastan,  or 
Chusistan,  or  Kliosistan,  corresponds  to  the  ancient 
Susiana,  is  bounded  on  the  south  by  the  Persian 
gulf,  and  on  the  west  and  south-west  by  the  Tigris, 
which  separates  it  from  the  Arabian  Irak  ;  and  its 
name  is  no  other  than  the  ancient  Cush  with  a  Per- 
sian termination.  (Sec  sir  R.  K.  Porter's  map  of 
Persia  in  his  Travels;  also  in  Rosenmiillcr's  Bib. 
Geog.  vol.  i.)  As  a  still  finther  illustration,  we  may 
add,  that  the  couiUry  called  nro,  Cuthah,  in  2  Kings 


CUSH 


[  323  ] 


CUSH 


xvii.  24,  where  thu  king  of  Assyria  is  said  to  have 
transported  from  Babylon,  Jind  Ciithah,  and  Ava,  and 
Hanialh,  colonists  into  tlie  cities  of  Samaria,  can 
hardly  be  any  other  than  this  oriental  Cush ;  the 
name  Cutliah,  or  Cuth,  being  only  the  Aramaean  mode 
of  pronouncing  Cush;  since  the  letters  simi  and 
tau  were  by  them  often  thus  interchanged  ;  as  in 
the  name  iirN,  .^shi'u;  or  Assyria,  which  they  pro- 
nounced -\)ri<, '/Itkitr,  or  Atmia.  (See  under  Assyria.) 
From  the  fact  of  its  being  mentioned  along  with  Baby- 
lon, it  is  evidently  a  country  lying  eastward  of  Pales- 
tine, and  the  coincidence  of  the  name  knaves  little  room 
to  doubt  its  identity  with  the  oriental  Cush,  as  above 
described.  To  this  counti-y,  then,  we  must  assigu 
the  river  Gihon.  (See  Stuart's  Ileb.  Chrestomathy 
on  Gen.  ii.  13.) 

•2.  Cush,  as  employed  by  the  Hebrews,  included 
the  southern  parts  of  Arabia,  principally  along  the 
coasts  of  the  Red  sea;  since  there  are  several  pas- 
sages of  Scripture  which  apply  to  no  other  coun- 
try ;  and  least  of  all  to  the  African  Ethiopia,  or  Abys- 
sinia. From  this  country  originated  Nimrod,  who 
conquered  Babel,  Gen.  x.  8,  seq.  The  Ethiopian 
woman,  whom  Moses  married  during  the  march  of 
the  Israelites  through  the  Arabian  desert,  can  hardly 
be  sup])osed  to  have  come  from  the  distant  Abys- 
suiia,  but  rather  from  the  adjacent  southern  Ai-abia, 
Num.  xii.  1.  When  the  prophet  Habakkuk  says, 
(iii.  7.)  "  I  saw  the  tents  of  Cushan  in  affliction  ;  and 
the  [tent-] curtains  of  the  land  of  Midian  did  trem- 
ble," those  whom  he  addressed  surely  did  not 
think  of  the  distant  African  Ethiopia,  but  of  the 
parts  adjacent  to  Midian,  i.  e,  southern  Aral)ia.  So 
in  2  Chron.  xxi.  16,  among  the  enemies  of  the  He- 
brews are  mentioned,  after  the  Philistines,  the  Ara- 
bians, ^vho  dwelt  near,  by  the  side  of  the  Cushites, 
or  Ethiopians ;  this  cannot  well  apply  to  the  African 
Ethiopians,  who  were  separated  from  Arabia  by  the 
Red  sea  and  wide  deserts.  In  like  manner,  when  it 
is  said,  in  2  Chron,  xiv.  9,  that  Zerah,  king  of  Ethio- 
pia, made  an  incursion  into  Judea  as  far  as  Mare- 
shah,  we  can  hardly  suppose  him  to  come  from  the 
African  Ethiopia  ;  for  in  that  case  he  must  first  have 
conquered  Egypt ;  of  which  there  is  no  mention. 
It  is,  therefore,  more  probable,  that  he  was  the  king 
of  an  Arabian  tribe;  who  might  more  easily  come  in 
contact  with  the  king  of  Judah.  Moreover,  in  wri- 
ters of  the  fifth  century,  the  Ilomeritcs,  or  Hamyar- 
ites,  a  people  wlio  always  inhabited  the  south  of  Ara- 
bia, are  called  Cushites  and  Ethiopians.  (Asseman- 
ni,  Biblioth.  Orient,  torn.  iii.  pt.  ii.  j).  568.)  Hence 
the  Chaldee  paraphrast  Jonathan  was  not  far  out  of 
the  way,  when  he  translates  the  word  Cush  in  Gen. 
X.  6,  by  Arabia  ;  as  also  the  paraphrast  of  the  Chroni- 
cles, 1  Chron.  i.  8,  9.     *R. 

3.  Cush,  Ethiopia,  south  of  Egypt,  or  Ethiopia 
proper,  now  generally  named  Abyssinia,  which  name 
the  Arabians  derive  from  Habasch,  a  son  of  Cush. 
This  Habasch  is  not  mentioned  in  the  Bible,  nor  the 
Cush  from  whom  the  Mahometans  suppose  him  to 
be  descended ;  for  the  Scripture  Cush  was  bi-other 
of  Canaan,  and  father  of  Nimrod,  Seba,  Sabtah,  Ha- 
vilah,  Raamah,  and  Sabtecha  ;  whereas,  the  Arabians 
make  Cush  the  father  of  Habasch  to  be  son  and  not 
brother  of  Canaan  ;  and  certainly  it  is  probable,  that 
Cush  the  father  of  Nimrod,  &c.  who  dwelt  in  Ara- 
bia, is  different  from  Cush  the  son  of  Canaan,  who 
peojjied  Ethiopia  proper.  Ethiopia  proper  is  de- 
scribed in  the  following  passages :  "  I  will  make 
Egypt  waste,  from  Migdol  to  Syene,"  (Assouan,  on 
the  confines  of  Ethiopia,)  Ezek.  xxix.  10,  marg.  and 


Jer.  xiii.  23,  "Can  the  Ethiopian  change  his 
skin  ?"  Jeremiah  joins  the  Cushim  with  the  Liby- 
ans ;  Daniel,  (xi.  43.)  which  can  be  naturally  ex- 
plained only  of  the  Ethiopians  and  Abyssinians  ; 
also  Ezekiel,  xxx.  4,  5.  Queen  Candace's  eunuch 
was  of  the  same  country.  In  all  these  passages  it 
appears  that  Cush  comprehends  not  only  Ethiopia, 
above  Syene  and  the  Cataracts,  but  likewise  a  part 
of  Thebai's,  or  Upper  Egj'pt.  Ahasuerus  (Esther  i. 
1  ;  viii.  9.)  reigned  from  the  Indies  to  Ethiopia,  that 
is,  to  Abyssmia ;  for  Herodotus  says,  this  country 
paid  tribute  to  Darius  sou  of  Hystaspes.  Isaiah  says, 
(chap.  xlv.  14.)  "The  labor  of  Egypt,  and  merchan- 
dise of  Ethiopia,  and  of  the  Sabeans,  men  of  stature, 
shall  come  over  to  thee,  and  they  shall  be  thine." 
Here,  says  Mr.  Bruce,  tlie  several  nations  are  dis- 
tinctly and  severally  mentioned  in  their  places,  but 
the  whole  meaning  of  the  passage  would  have  been 
lost,  had  not  the  situations  of  these  nations  been  per- 
fectly known  ;  or  had  not  the  Sabeans  been  men- 
tioned separately  ;  for  both  the  Sabeans  and  the  Cush- 
ites were  certainly  Ethiopians.  The  meaning  of  the 
verse  is,  that  the  fruit  of  the  agriculture  of  Egypt, 
which  is  wheat ;  the  conunodities  of  the  negi'o,  gold, 
silver,  ivory,  and  perfumes,  would  be  brought  by 
the  Sabeau  shepherds,  their  carriers,  and  a  nation 
of  great  power,  who  shall  join  themselves  with  you. 
Again,  Ezekiel  says,  (chaji.  xxx.  8,  9.)  "And  they 
shall  know  that  I  am  the  Lord,  when  I  have  set  a 
fire  in  Egypt,  and  all  her  helpers  shall  be  destroyed." 
"  In  that  day  shall  messengers  go  forth  from  me  in 
ships,  to  make  the  careless  Ethiopians  afraid."  Now 
Nebuchadnezzar  was  to  destroy  Egypt  (Ezek.  xxix. 
10.)  from  the  frontiers  of  Palestine  to  the  mountains 
above  Atbara,  where  the  Cushite  dwelt.  Between 
this  and  Egypt  is  a  great  desert ;  the  country  beyond 
it  and  on  both  sides  was  possessed  by  half  a  million 
of  men.  The  Cushite,  or  negi'o  merchant,  was  se- 
cure, under  these  circumstances,  from  any  insult  by 
land :  as  they  were  open  to  the  sea,  and  had  no  de- 
fender, messengers,  therefore,  in  ships,  or  a  fleet,  had 
easy  access  to  them,  to  alarm  and  keep  them  at  home, 
that  they  did  not  fall  into  danger  by  marching  into 
Egypt  against  Nebuchadnezzar,  or  interrupting  the 
service  on  which  God  had  sent  him.  But  this  does 
not  appear  from  translating  Cush,  Ethiopian  ;  the 
nearest  Ethiopians  to  Nebuchadnezzar,  the  most 
powerful  and  most  capable  of  opposing  him,  were 
the  Ethiopian  shepherds  of  the  Thebaid,  and  these 
were  not  accessible  to  ships ;  and  the  shepherds  so 
posted  near  to  the  scene  of  destruction  to  be  com- 
mitted by  Nebuchadnezzar,  were  enemies  to  the 
Cushites  living  in  to^vns,  and  they  had  repeatedly 
themselves  destroyed  them,  and,  therefore,  had  no 
temptation  to  be  other  than  spectators.  (Bruce, 
Travels,  vol.  i.  p.  107.) 

These  distinctions  are  of  greater  importance  than 
it  may  at  first  appear  ;  because,  by  attributing  to  one 
country,  called  Cush,  what  properly  belongs  to  an- 
other Cush,  at  a  considerable  distance  from  the  for- 
mer, much  confusion  ens^ucs  ;  and  confusion,  too,  of 
a  nature  not  easily  remedied.  It  should  be,  how- 
ever, remembered,  that  all  ancient  writers  have  at 
least  equal  confusion  in  their  descriptions  of  Ethio- 
pia, (Cush,)  and  arising  from  the  same  cause — the 
different  families  of  the  Cushites,  which,  by  various 
removals,  inhabited  these  places,  so  widely  separated 
from  each  other. 

We  should  not  close  this  article  without  noticing 
the  rivers  of  Cush,  [Ethiopia,  Eng.  trans.)  men- 
tioned in  Isa.  xviii.  1,  although  it  is  not  practicable, 


CUT 


[324] 


CUTTINGS 


within  the  hmits  prescribed  by  this  work,  to  euter 
into  a  critical  examination  of  the  prophecy.  Mr. 
Taylor  has  devoted  two  or  three  Fragments  to  the 
subject,  and  he  anives  at  the  following  conclusions : 
(1.)  The  rivers  of  Cush  are  the  branches  of  the  Nile. 
(2.)  The  object  of  the  prophecy  is  to  excite  the  Nu- 
bians and  Ethiopians  to  send  gifts  to  mount  Ziou,  in 
honor  of  Jehovah ;  which  they  might  as  easily  do, 
as  confederate  with  Hoshea,  king  of  Israel.  (3.) 
The  people  to  %vhom  it  is  addressed  are  the  Nubians 
and  Ethiopians,  in  their  own  country  ;  though  at 
this  time  their  king  was  advancing  toward  the  pos- 
session of  Egypt.  (4.)  The  history  to  which  it  belongs 
is  that  of  the  extension  of  the  Ethiopian  power  over 
Egypt,  and  the  silent  termination  of  it.  (5.)  The 
person  who  send^  the  messengers.  The  prophet  him- 
self sends  to  the  southern  Egyptians ;  the  southern 
Egj'ptians  send  to  Nubia,  which  Nubia  is  the  nation 
to  which  the  message  is  ultimately  addressed.  If 
this  representation  be  just,  the  restoration  of  the 
Jews  to  their  own  land,  by  any  western  pov^er,  is 
not  the  ap])lication  of  it. 

CUTHITES,  a  people  who  dwelt  beyond  the 
Euphrates,  and  were  from  thence  transplanted  into 
Samaria,  in  place  of  the  Israelites,  who  had  before 
inhabited  it.  They  came  from  the  land  of  Cush,  or 
Cutha ;  their  first  settlement  being  in  the  cities  of 
the  Medes,  subdued  by  Shalmaneser,  and  his  prede- 
cessors. (See  Cush.)  The  Israelites  were  substi- 
tuted for  them  in  those  places.  On  their  amval  in 
Samaria,  the  Cuthites  resumed  the  worship  of  the 
gods  they  had  adored  beyond  the  Euphrates.  The 
Lord,  being  hereby  provoked,  sent  lions  among  them, 
which  desti-oyed  them.  This  being  reported  to 
Esarhaddon,  king  of  Assyria,  he  appointed  an  Isra- 
eUtish  priest  to  instruct  them  in  that  worship  which 
was  pleasing  to  God  ;  but  the  people,  thinking  they 
might  reconcile  their  old  superstitions  with  the  wor- 
ship of  the  God  of  Israel,  worshipped  the  Lord  and 
their  false  gods  together,  and  made  of  the  lowest  of 
the  people  jjriests  of  the  high-places.  They  con- 
tinued this  practice  long,  but  afterwards  forsook 
idols,  and  adhered  to  the  law  of  Moses,  as  the  Sa- 
maritans, their  descendants,  continue  to  do.  When 
the  Jews  returned  from  their  captivity,  the  Samari- 
tans desired  to  assist  them  in  rebuilding  the  temple, 
(Ezra  iv.  1,  2.)  but  Zerubbabel,  and  Jeshua  son  of 
Jozedek,  with  the  elders  of  Israel,  answered  that 
they  could  not  grant  their  request ;  the  king  of 
Persia  having  given  permission  to  Jews  only  to 
build  a  temple  to  the  Lord.  Hence  it  appears, 
that  tiic  Cuthites  had  hitherto  no  temple  in  their 
country  ;  but  that  in  each  city  they  worshipped  God, 
and,  perhaps,  idols  in  consecrated  places,  josephus 
informs  us,  that  they  did  not  build  a  common  tem- 
ple on  mount  Gerizim  till  the  reign  of  Alexander 
the  Great.     See  Samaritans. 

CUTTINGS  IN  THE  Flesh.  There  has  been  much 
conjecture  as  to  the  reason  for  which  the  priests  of 
Baal  "  cut  thomselvcs,  after  their  manner,  with  knives, 
and  with  lancets,  till  the  blood  gushed  out  upon 
tiiem,"  1  Kings  xviii.  28.  This  seems,  by  the  his- 
tory, to  have  been  after  Elijah  had  mocked  them,  or 
while  he  was  mocking  them,  and  had  worked  up 
their  fervor  and  passions  to  the  utmost  height.  Mr. 
Harmer  has  touched  lightly  on  this  circumstance, 
but  has  not  set  it  in  so  clear  a  view  as  it  seems  to  be 
capable  of,  nor  has  he  given  veiy  cogent  instances. 
It  may  be  taken  as  an  instance  of  earnest  entreaty, 
of  conjuration,  by  the  most  powerful  marks  of  affec- 
tion ;  q.  d.  "  Dost  thou  not  see,  O  Baal !  with  what 


passion  we  adore  thee  ? — how  we  give  thee  most  de- 
cisive tokens  of  our  affection  ?  We  shrink  at  no 
pain,  we  decline  no  disfigurement,  to  demonstrate 
our  love  for  thee  ;  and  yet  thou  answerest  not !  By 
every  token  of  our  regard,  answer  us !  By  the  freely 
flowmg  blood  we  shed  for  thee,  answer  us!"  &c. 
They  certainly  demonstrated  their  attachment  to 
Baal ;  but  Baal  did  not  testify  his  reciprocal  attach- 
ment to  them,  in  proof  of  his  divinity  ;  which  was 
the  point  in  dispute  between  them  and  Elijah.  Ob- 
serve how  readily  these  still  bleeding  cuttings  would 
identify  the  priests  of  Baal  at  the  subsequent  slaugh- 
ter; and  how  they  tended  to  justify  that  slaughter; 
being  contrary  to  the  law,  that  ought  to  have  gov- 
erned the  Hebrew  nation  ;  as  we  shall  presently  see. 
As  the  demonstration  of  love,  by  cuttings  made  in 
the  flesh,  still  maintains  itself  in  the  East,  a  few  in- 
stances may  be,  at  least,  amusing  to  European  read- 
ers, without  fear  of  its  becoming  fashionable  among 
us  :  "  But  the  most  ridiculous  and  senseless  method 
of  expressing  their  affection  is,  their  singing  certain 
amorous  and  whining  songs,  composed  on  purpose 
for  such  mad  occasions ;  between  every  hne  of  which 
they  cut  and  slash  their  naked  arms,  with  daggers ; 
each  endeavoring,  in  their  emulative  madness,  to  ex- 
ceed the  other  by  the  depth  and  number  of  the 
wounds  he  gives  himself.  (A  lively  picture  this,  of 
the  singing,  leaping,  and  self-slashing  priests  of  Baal !) 
Some  Turks,  I  have  observed,  when  old,  and  past 
the  foUies  which  possessed  their  youth,  to  show  their 
arms,  all  gashed  and  scarred  from  wrist  to  elbow ; 
and  express  a  gi'eat  concern,  but  greater  wonder,  at 
their  past  simplicity."  The  "oddness  of  the  style 
invited  me  to  render  some  of  the  above-named  songs 
into  English  : 

Could  I,  dear  ray  of  heavenly  light, 
Who  now  behind  a  cloud  dost  sliine, 

Obtain  the  blessing  of  thy  sight, 
And  taste  thy  influence  all  divine  ; 

Thus  would  I  shed  my  warm  heart's  blood, 

As  now  I  gash  my  veiny  arm  ; 
Wouldst  thou  but  like  the  sun  think  good 

To  draw  it  upward  by  some  charm. 

Another  runs  thus : 

O,  lovely  charmer,  pity  me  ! 

See  how  my  blood  does  from  me  fly  ! 
Yet  were  I  sure  to  conquer  thee, 

Witness  it,  Heaven  !  I'd  gladly  die." 

Aaron  Hill's  Travels,  p.  108. 

This  account  is  confirmed  by  De  la  Motraye,  who 
gives  a  print  of  such  a  subject.  This  custom  of 
cutting  themselves  is  taken,  in  other  places  of  Scrip- 
ture, as  a  mark  of  affection :  so,  Jer.  xlviii.  37 :  "  Ev- 
ery head  shall  be  bald,  every  beard  clipped,  and  upon 
all  hands  cuttings  ;  and  upon  the  loins  sackcloth  f* 
as  tokens  of  excessive  grief,  for  the  absence  of  those 
thus  regarded.  So,  chap.  xvi.  ver.  G:  "Both  the 
great  and  the  small  shall  die  in  the  land  ;  they  shall 
not  be  buried,  neither  shall  men  lament  for  them, 
nor  cut  themselves,"  in  proof  of  their  affection,  and 
expression  of  their  loss  ;  "  nor  make  themselves  bald 
for  them,"  by  tearing  their  hair,  &c.  as  a  token  of 
grief.  So,  chap.  xli.  5 :  "  There  came  from  Samaria 
fourscore  men  having  their  beards  shaven,  and  their 
clothes  rent ;  and  having  cut  themselves ;  with  offer- 
ings to  the  house  of  the  Lord."     So,  chap,  xlvii.  5. 


CYM 


[  325  ] 


CYR 


"  Baldness  is  come  upon  Gaza :  Askeloii  is  cut  off, 
with  tlie  residue  of  her  valleys ;  how  long  wilt  thou 
cut  thyself  9"  rather,  perhaps,  hotv  deep  ?  or  to  ivhat 
length  wilt  thou  cut  thyself?  All  these  places  in- 
clude the  idea  of  painful  absence  of  the  party  belov- 
ed. Cuttings  for  the  dead  had  the  same  radical  idea 
of  privation.  The  law  says.  Lev.  xix.  28,  and  Deut. 
xiv.  1 :  "Ye  are  the  children  of  the  Lord  your  God ; 
ye  shall  not  cut  yourselves,  nor  make  any  baldness 
between  your  eyes,  for  the  dead,"  i.  e.  restrain  such 
excessive  tokens  of  grief:  sorrow  not  as  those  with- 
out hope — if  for  a  dead  friend  ;  but  if  for  a  dead  idol, 
as  Cahnet  always  takes  it — then  it  prohibits  the  idol- 
atrous custom,  of  which  it  also  manifests  the  antiqui- 
ty. Mr.  Harmer  has  properly  referred  "  the  wounds 
in  the  hands"  of  the  examined  prophet,  (Zech.  xiii.  (5.) 
to  this  custom  : — the  prophet  denies  that  he  gave 
himself  these  wounds  in  token  of  his  affection  to  an 
idol ;  but  admits  that  he  had  received  them  in  token 
of  affection  to  a  person.  It  is  usual  to  refer  the  ex- 
pression of  the  apostle  (Gal.  vi.  17 :  "I  bear  in  my 
body  the  marks,  stigmata,  of  the  Lord  Jesus,")  to  those 
imprinted  on  soldiers  by  their  commanders ;  or  to  those 
imprinted  on  slaves  by  their  masters ;  but  would  there 
be  any  imin-opriety  in  referring  them  to  tokens  of  affec- 
tion towards  Jesus  ?  q.  d.  "  Let  no  man  take  upon 
him  to  [molest,  fatigue]  trouble  me  by  questioning 
my  pretensions  to  the  apostleship,  or  to  the  charac- 
ter of  a  true  lover  of  Jesus  Christ,  as  some  among 
you  Galatians  have  done  ;  for  I  think  my  losses,  my 
sufferings,  my  scars,  received  in  the  fulfilment  of  my 
duty  to  him,  are  tokens  sufficiently  visible  to  every 
man  who  considers  them,  of  my  regard  to  him, 
for  whose  sake  I  have  borne,  and  still  bear  them  :  I 
shall,  therefore,  write  no  more  in  vmdication  of 
my  character,  in  that  respect,  however  it  may  be 
impugned." 

CYAMON,  a  place  opposite  to  Esdraelon,  (Judith 
vii.  3.  Gr.)  perhaps  the  same  as  Camon,  placed  by 
Eusebius  in  the  gi'eat  plain,  six  miles  from  Legio, 
north. 

L  CYAXARES  L  son  of  Phraortes,  succeeded 
his  father  in  the  kingdom  of  the  Medes,  and  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Astyages,  otherwise  called  Masuenis. 
Cyaxares  began  to  reign  about  A.  M.  3391,  died  about 
A.  M.  3430. 

IL  CYAXARES  II.  son  and  successor  of  Asty- 
ages, observing  the  progress  of  Evil-merodach,  king 
of  the  Assyrians,  or  Belshazzar  his  son,  called  Cyrus 
his  nephew  to  his  assistance,  and  attacked  Babylon, 
A.  M.  3448.  (See  Belshazzar,  and  Babylon.) 
Xenophon  says,  that  Cyrus  left  the  government  of 
Babylon  to  his  uncle  Cyaxares,  who  held  it  only  two 
years.  This  Cyaxares  is  otherwise  called  Darius  the 
Mede.     See  Darius  I. 

CYMBAL,  a  musical  instrument,  consisting  of 
two  broad  plates  of  brass,  of  a  convex  form,  which, 
being  struck  together,  produce  a  shrill,  piercing 
sound.  They  were  used  in  the  temple,  and  upon 
occasions  of  public  rejoicings,  (1  Chron.  xvi.  19.)  as 
they  are  by  the  Armenians,  at  the  present  day.  In 
1  Cor.  xiii.  l,the  apostle  deduces  a  comparison  from 
sounding  brass,  and  tinkling  cymbals :  perhaps  the 
latter  words  had  been  as  well  rendered  clattering 
cymbals  ;  since  such  is  the  nature  of  the  instrument : 
but,  if  we  may  suppose  that,  in  the  phrase  "sounding 
brass,"  the  apostle  alluded  to  an  instrument  compos- 
ed of  merely  two  pieces  of  brass,  shaken  one  aga'iist 
the  other,  and  thereby  producing  a  kind  of  rattling 
jingle,  void  of  meaning,  intensity  or  harmony,  perhaps 
we  should  be  pretty  near  the  true  idea  of  the  passage. 


Boys,  among  ourselves,  have  such  a  kind  of  snappers ; 
and  the  crotalistria  of  the  ancients  were  no  better. 

CYPRIARCHES ;  that  is,  governor  of  Cyprus. 
Nicanor  has  this  title,  2  Mac.  xii.  2. 

CYPRUS,  the  largest  island  in  the  Mediterranean, 
situated  between  Cilicia  and  Syria ;  the  inhabitants 
of  which  were  plunged  in  all  manner  of  luxury  and 
debauchery.  Their  principal  deity  was  Venus,  who 
had  a  celebrated  temple  at  Paphos.  The  island  is 
extremely  fertile,  and  abounded  in  wine,  oil,  honey, 
wool,  copper,  agate,  and  a  beautiful  species  of  rock- 
crystal.  There  were  also  large  forests  of  cypress- 
trees.  (See  Chittim.)  Of  the  cities  in  the  "island, 
Paphos  and  Salamis  are  mentioned  in  the  New  Tes- 
tament. The  apostles  Paul  and  Barnabas  landed 
here,  A.  D.  44,  Acts  xiii.  4.  While  they  continued 
at  Salamis,  they  preached  Jesus  Christ  in  the  Jewish 
synagogues ;  and  from  thence  they  'visited  all  the 
cities  of  the  island,  preaching  the  gospel.  At 
Paphos,  they  found  Bar-Jesus,  a  false  prophet,  with 
Sergius  Paulus,  the  governor :  Paul  struck  Bar-Jesus 
with  blindness  ;  and  the  ))roconsul  embraced  Chris- 
tianity. Some  time  after,  Barnabas  went  again  into 
this  island  with  John,  surnamed  Mark,  (Actsxv.  39.) 
and  it  is  said  he  was  martyred  here,  being  stoned  to 
death  by  the  Jews  of  Salamis. 

CYRENE,  a  city  and  province  of  Libya  Pentapo- 
htana,  between  the  gi-eat  Syrtes,  and  the  Mareotis; 
at  present  called  Ca'iroan,  in  the  kingdom  of  Barca. 
It  was  sometimes  called  Pentapolis,  from  the  five 
principal  cities  which  it  contained — Cyrene,  Apollo- 
uia,  Arsinoe,  Berenice,  and  Ptolemais.  From  hence 
came  Simon  the  Cyrenian,  father  of  Alexander  and 
Rufus,  on  whom  the  Roman  soldiers  laid  a  part  of 
our  Saviour's  cross.  Matt,  xxvii.  32 ;  lAike  xxiii.  26. 
There  were  many  Jews  in  the  province  of  Cyrene, 
a  great  part  of  whom  eniliraced  the  Christian  reU- 
gion,  though  others  opposed  it  with  much  obstinacy. 
Among  the  most  inveterate  enemies  of  our  religion, 
Luke  reckons  those  of  this  province,  who  had  a 
synagogue  at  Jerusalem,  and  excited  the  people 
against  Stephen,  Acts  xi.  20. 

CYRENIUS,  orP.  Sulpitius  Quiri.nus,  (according 
to  his  Latin  appellation,)  governor  of  Syria,  Luke  ii. 
1,  2.  Very  great  difficulties  have  been  raised  on  the 
history  of  the  taxing  under  Cyrenius  ;  as  it  appears, 
by  history,  that  Cyrenius  was  not  governor  of  Syria 
till  nine  or  ten  years  aff;er  our  Saviour  was  born. 
Cyrenius  was  not  of  a  noble  family  ;  but,  by  early 
public  services,  he  obtained  the  honor  of  the  consul- 
ship of  Rome,  A.  U.  742  ;.  and  he  gained  a  memora- 
ble victory  over  the  Homonadenses,  A.  U.  747,  or 
748.  Usher  thinks  he  was  then  proconsul  of  Cilicia ; 
but  others  think  he  was  sent  into  that  province  as  an 
extraordinary  officer.  However,  having  finished  this 
war,  he  migiit  be  sent,  say  they,  into  Syria,  for  the  pur- 
poses of  the  enrolment  to  be  made  there,  A.  U.  749, 
which  is  about  the  time  fixed  by  Luke  ;  for  Herod 
died  A.  U.  750,  or  751.  Cyrenius  was  appointed 
governor  to  Caius  Ca?sar,  A.  U.  C.  755.  It  is  gener- 
ally admitted  that  Cyrenius  was  not  properly  govern- 
or of  Syria  at  the  ti'me  of  our  Lord's  birth,  though 
he  was  afterwards,  Saturninus  being  then  governor. 
Still,  however,  Cyrenius  might  have  been  associated 
with  him. 

We  should  observe  on  Luke  ii.  1,  2.  (1.)  that  the 
word  o.Vori.n.;,  rendered  all  the  tcorZrf, sometimes  sig- 
nifies only  the  whole  of  a  country,  region,  or  district; 
as  certainly,  Luke  xxi.  26.  and,  perhaps,  Acts  xi.  28. 
But  the  expression  all  the  country  is  pecuharly  prop- 
1  er  here,  because  Galilee,  as  well  as  Judea,  was  m- 


CYRENIUfe 


L  326  ] 


CYRENIUS 


eluded;  and  perhaps  all  places  where  there  were 
Jews.  (2.)  That  the  word  arcoyndcpr,.  rendered  taxing, 
should  have  been  rendered  enrolment ;  as  a  taxation 
did  not  always  follow  such  enrolment,  though  this 
was  generally  the  prelude  to  it.  The  difficulty  lies 
in  the  word  .towti,,  "Jirst  ;^^  because  there  really  was 
a  taxation  ten  or  eleven  years  afterwards,  which,  as 
a  decisive  mark  of  subjection  to  the  Roman  power, 
was  very  mortifying  to  the  Jewish  nation.  And  to 
this  taxation  Gamaliel  alludes,  Acts  v.  37.  Dr. 
Prideaux  thought  he  had  found  traces  of  a  Roman 
census,  or  univereal  assessment,  or  enrolment,  in  the 
second  census  of  Augustus ;  and  that  the  time  occu- 
pied in  making  it,  before  it  came  to  Judea,  accounts 
for  the  difference  between  the  dates  when  the  decree 
was  issued,  ante  A.  D.  8,  and  the  period  of  its  execu- 
tion, at  Jesus's  birth,  ante  A.  D. 3,  or  4  ;  observing,  that 
a  census  of  the  same  kind,  made  by  William  the  Con- 
queror in  England,  (Domesday  Booke,)  was  six  yeai-s 
in  malving.  Dr.  Larduer,  however,  objects,  that  the 
census  of  Augustus  was  of  Roman  citizens  only ; 
whereas  tliis  of  Luke  is  not  so  restricted  ;  but,  evi- 
dently, included  Jewish  subjects,  and  of  every  town. 
Justin  Martyr,  in  his  first  Apology,  says  to  the  em- 
peror and  senate,  "  You  may  assure  youi-selves,  (of 
the  birth  of  Jesus,  in  Bethlehem,)  from  the  census 
made  in  the  thne  of  Cyrenius,  your  first  procurator 
in  Judea ;"  and  this  description  of  Cyrenius,  as  we 
shall  see,  deserves  notice.  Clement  of  Alexandria, 
Origen  and  Tertullian,  apjjeal  to  this  census  of  Cyre- 
nius; and  the  emperor  Julian  the  Apostate  says, 
"The  Jesus  whom  you  extol,  was  one  of  Cfesar's 
subjects.  If  you  make  a  doubt  of  it,  I  will  prove  it, 
by  and  h\,  though  it  may  as  well  be  done  now :  for 
you  say  yourselves,  that  he  ivas  enrolled  with  his 
father  and  mother  in  the  time  of  Cyi-enius."  (Apud 
Cyril,  lib.  vi.) 

Assisted  by  this  information,  we  may  combine  the 
narrative  of  Luke  into  the  following  order;  which, 
probably,  is  not  for  from  its  true  import.  "  In  those 
days,  Ceesar  Augustus  issued  a  decree,  (he  being  dis- 
pleased at  some  jjai-ts  of  Herod's  conduct,  and  mean- 
ing that  he  should  feel  his  dependence  on  the  Ro- 
man empire,)  that  the  whole  land  of  Judea  should  be 
enrolled,  as  well  jjcrsons  as  possessions,  in  order  that 
the  true  state  of  the  inhabitants,  their  families,  and 
their  value  in  property  of  every  kind,  might  be 
known  and  recorded.  Accordingly,  aZZ  loere  enrolled, 
but  the  taxation  did  not  immediately  follow  this  en- 
rolm(?nt,  because  Augustus  was  again  reconciled  to 
Ilerod,  which  accounts  for  Josephus's  silence  on  an 
assessment  not  carried  into  effect.  And  this  enrol- 
ment was  made  ivhen  Cyrenius  the  censor  (afterw"ards 
better  known  under  the  title  of  Cyrenius  the  govern- 
or) was  first  sent  into  Judea ;  (Yoiu*  first  procurator  in 
Judea,  says  Justin  Martyr,  above  quoted  ;)  or,  more 
exactly,  this  was  the  first  assessment,  or  enrolment,  of 
Cyrenius,  governor  of  Syria.  And  all  icent  to  be  en- 
rolled, each  to  his  oivn  city  :  and  as  the  emperor's  order 
was  urgent,  and  Cyrenius  was  known  to  be  a  man 
for  despatching  l)usiness,  even  Alary,  though  far  ad- 
vanced in  her  pregnancy,  went  with  Joseph ;  and  lohile  they 
waited,  for  their  turn,  to  be  enrolled,  Mary  tvas  deliv- 
ered of  Jesus  ;"  and  Jesus  was  enrolled  with  Mary  and 
Joseph,  as  Julian  says  expressly,  in  the  quotation 
given  above. 

[The  difficulty  which  exists  in  Luke  ii.  2,  in  re- 
gard to  the  census  of  Cyrenius,  can  probably  never 
be  fully  removed,  because  of  the  absence  of  the 
necessary  historical  data.  The  passage  may  be 
properly  translated  thus:  "This  enrolment  was  the 


first,  while  Cyrenius  was  governor  of  Syria."  Now 
Cyrenius,  or  Quiriuus,  was  not  proconsul  of  Syria 
until  A.  D.  7  or  8,  when,  according  to  chronologers, 
our  Saviour  was  10  years  of  age  ;  (Jos.  Ant.  xviii.  I.) 
but  Saturninus  was  proconsul  of  Syria  at  the  time 
of  his  birth,  and  was  succeeded  by  Quintus  Varus. 
The  latter  was  recalled  in  A.  D.  7,  and  was  succeed- 
ed by  Quirinus,  who  was  sent  expressly  by  the  empe- 
ror to  take  the  census  of  the  country  and  collect  a 
tax ;  w  hich  census  and  tax  Luke  also  mentions,  Acts 
v.  37.  The  difficulty,  therefore,  which  arises  here,  is 
of  a  t«  ofold  nature  ;  first,  the  existence  of  such  an 
enrolment  at  the  time  of  Christ's  birth  :  and,  second- 
ly, the  fact  of  its  having  been  made  by  Cyrenius. 
Both  of  these  facts  rest  on  the  authority  of  Luke 
alone ;  not  being  mentioned  either  by  Joscphus,  or 
by  any  profone  historian. 

In  regard  to  the  enrolment,  it  may  be  said,  that 
it  was  probably  not  thought  of  sufficient  importance 
by  Roman  historians  to  deserve  mention  ;  being  con- 
fined to  a  remote  and  comparatively  unimportant 
province  ;  nor  was  it  perhaps  of  such  a  nature,  as 
would  lead  even  Josephus  to  take  notice  of  it.  It 
would  seem  to  have  been  a  meie  enumeration  of 
persons,  capitum  descriptio  ;  since  the  Jews  at  this 
time  were  not  a  Roman  province,  but  were  subject 
to  Herod  the  Great,  to  whom  they  paid  tribute.  As 
Herod,  however,  like  the  other  allied  kings,  was  un- 
der the  dominion  of  the  Romans,  it  was  in  the  power 
of  x'Vugustus  to  require  an  emuneration  of  his  sub- 
jects; to  which,  in  this  instance,  the  Jews  seem  to 
have  submitted  willingly,  since  it  involved  no  aug- 
mentation of  their  taxes,  nor  interference  with  their 
jjrivate  affairs.  But  afterwards,  v.  hen  Archelaus  had 
been  banished  to  Vienne  in  Gaul,  and  liis  govern- 
ment had  been  reduced  to  the  form  of  a  Roman 
province,  and  when  Quiriuus  was  sent  from  Rome 
to  make  a  census,  not  only  of  ])ersons,  but  of  property, 
with  a  view  to  taxation,  the  Jews  resisted  the  meas- 
ure, and  under  the  conduct  of  Judas  and  his  asso- 
ciate Sadducus,  broke  out  into  open  rebellion.  (See 
Acts  v.  37.  and  Jos.  Antiq.  xviii.  1.  1.) 

In  regard  to  the  other  part  of  the  difficulty,  there 
have  been  several  modes  of  solution  proposed. 

1.  The  first  is  founded  on  the  su])position,  that 
Quiriuus,  at  the  time  of  Christ's  birth,  was  joined 
with  Saturninus  in  the  government  of  Syria,  as  the 
procurator  of  that  ])rovince.  We  know  that  a  few 
years  previous  to  this  date,  Volumnius  had  thus  been 
joined  with  Saturninus  ;  and  the  two,  Saturninus  and 
Volmnnius,  are  several  times  spoken  of  together  by 
Josephus,  and  are  then  equally  called  governors  of 
Syria.  (Jos.  Ant.  xvi.  9.  1 ;  xvi.  10.  8.)  Josephus 
does  not  mention  the  recall  of  Volumnius;  but  there 
is  certainly  the  possibility,  that  this  had  taken  place 
before  the  tiuje  of  Christ's  birth,  and  that  Quiriuus, 
who  had  already  distinguished  himself,  had  been  sent 
in  his  place.  He  wouki  then  have  been,  under  Sa- 
turninus, a  iyi/iiior,  governor,  of  Syria,  just  as  Volum- 
nius had  been;  and  just  as  Pilate  afterwards  was 
),)fi((,ji,  governor,  of  Judea.  That  he  should  then 
be  mentioned  here  by  Luke  as  such,  rather  than  Sa- 
turninus, is  very  naturally  accounted  for  by  the  fact, 
that  he  returned,  ten  years  afterwards,  as  proconsul 
or  chief  governor,  and  held  a  second  and  more  im- 
portant census.  The  language  of  Justin  Martyr, 
above  quoted,  would  seem  to  favor  this  supposition. 
The  objection  sometimes  urged  against  this  view, 
that  it  requires  the  word  >;)>,i/o)fi  o  to  be  taken  in  too 
wide  a  sense,  is  not  valid ;  because  Josephus  applies 
the  same  word  to  the  procurators  Volunniius  and 


CYRENIUS 


[  327  ] 


CYR 


Pilate.  The  only  real  objection  is,  the  silence  of  all 
other  history.  But,  although  profane  history  does  not 
affirm  the  fact  of  Cyrenius'  having  formerly  been 
procurator  of  Syria,  before  he  was  proconsul,  yet 
she  does  not  in  any  way  deny  it ;  and  we  may,  there- 
fore, safely  rest  upon  the  authority  of  the  sacred 
writer  for  the  truth  of  this  fact,  just  as  we  do  for  the 
fact  of  the  existence  of  this  first  enrolment  itself. 
We  know  that,  in  all  other  respects,  his  historical 
details  are  supported  by  the  testimony  of  other  wri- 
ters ;  in  this  case,  his  statement  is  not  impeached  by 
any  opposing  testimony  ;  whj',  then,  not  receive  it  in 
Bimplicity  ?  It  may  here  be  remarked  of  the  medal 
copied  under  the  article  Antioch,  by  means  of 
which  Mr.  Taylor  claims  to  have  solved  the  difficul- 
ty in  this  passage,  that  it  contains  the  names  of  Sa- 
tuminus  and  (as  he  supposes)  Volumnius.  This, 
however,  if  it  proves  any  thing,  only  proves  just  what 
Josephus  does,  viz.  that  they  were  spoken  of  togeth- 
er as  governors  of  Syria.  Hence  he  draws  from  this 
medal  the  inference  which  others  had  long  before 
drawn  from  Josephus,  that  if  Volumnius  was  so  rep- 
resented, Cyrenius  might  have  succeeded  liim,  and 
also  have  been  so  represented. 

2.  According  to  another  mode  of  solution,  the 
passage  is  made  to  read  thus  :  "This  enrolment  was 
made  before  Cyrenius  was  governor  of  Syria."  The 
advocates  of  this  view  suppose  that  Luke  inserted 
this  verse  as  a  sort  of  parenthesis,  to  prevent  his 
readers  from  confounding  this  enrolment  with  the 
subsequent  census  made  by  Quirinus.  The  positive, 
or  rather  the  superlative,  ~iQ^ri<,  is  thus  understood 
in  the  sense  of  the  comparative  nooriim,  and  is  made 
to  govern  the  following  genitive.  That  both  the 
positive  and  superlative  are  sometimes  used  instead 
of  the  comjiarative,  is  no  doubt  true;  (see  Kypkeon 
John  i.  15 ;  Glassius,  Phil.  Sac.  p.  48.)  but  such  a  con- 
struction in  the  present  case  would  be,  to  say  the 
least,  harsh,  and  very  foreign  to  the  usual  simplicity 
of  Luke. 

3.  A  third  mode  is  sanctioned  by  the  names  of 
Calvin,  Valesius,  Wetstein  and  others,  and  gives  the 
sense  of  the  passage  thus, — first  changing  avri]  into 
m'ry,:  "In  those  days,  thei'c  went  out  a  decree 
from  Augustus,  that  the  whole  land  should  be  enrol- 
led ;  but  the  enrolment  itself  was  first  made  when 
Cyrenius  Wcns  governor  of  Syria."  The  supposition 
here  is,  that  the  census  commenced  under  Saturni- 
nus,  t)ut  was  not  completed  until  10  years  after,  un- 
der duirinus.  But  this  supposition  is  not  only  not 
supported  by  any  historical  evidence,  but  is  con- 
tradicted by  all  the  evidence  of  this  kind  that  exists. 
Josephus  not  only  does  not  mention  any  census  as  hav- 
ing been  begun  previous  to  the  arrival  of  Quirinus,  but 
he  says  that  Quirinus  was  sent  by  the  emperor  for 
the  express  purpose  of  taking  a  census,  and  speaks 
of  the  progi-ess  and  termination  of  it,  without  a  hint 
of  its  having  been  continued  ten  years,  and  under 
three  successive  proconsuls.    (Antiq.  xvii.  1. 1.) 

The  above  are  the  more  important  solutions  which 
have  been  proposed  in  order  to  remove  the  difficul- 
ty from  the  passage  before  us.  Besides  these,  some 
have  supposed  the  verse  to  be  a  marginal  gloss, 
which  has  crept  into  the  text ;  others  have  boldly  af- 
firmed that  the  sacred  writer  has  here  made  a  mis- 
take ;  and  several  others  still  have  proposed  various 
solutions,  which  have  been  adopted  only  by  them- 
selves. The  conjecture  of  Michaelis  furnishes  a  very 
good  solution,  were  it  any  thing  more  than  a  mere 
conjecture  :  he  proposes  to  insert  jjqo  tPc  after  iytrcro, 
so  that  it  would  then  read  :   "This  was  the  first  en- 


rolment before  that  of  Cyrenius,"  &c.  But  no 
manuscript  furnishes  any  trace  of  such  a  read- 
ing.    *R. 

CYRUS,  son  of  Cambyses  the  Persian,  and  of 
Mandane,  daughter  of  Astyages,  king  of  the  Medes, 
He  was  born  in  the  king  his  father's  court,  (A.  M. 
3405,)  and  was  educated  with  great  care.  When  he 
was  about  twelve  years  of  age,  his  gi-andfather,  As- 
tyages, scut  for  him  to  court,  with  his  mother,  Man- 
dane. Some  time  after,  the  king  of  Assyria's  sou 
invading  Media,  Astyages,  w  ith  his  son  Cyaxares,  and 
his  grandson  Cyrus,  marched  against  him.  Cyrus 
defeated  the  Assyrians,  but  Cambyses  soon  after- 
wards recalled  him,  that  he  might  have  him  near  his 
person.  Astyages  dying,  his  son  Cyaxares,  uncle  by 
the  mother's  side  to  Cyrus,  succeeded  him  in  the 
kingdom  of  Media  ;  and  Cyrus,  being  made  general 
of  the  Persian  troops,  was  sent,  at  the  head  of  30,000 
men,  to  assist  Cyaxares,  whom  the  Babylonians 
were  preparing  to  attack.  Cyaxares  and  Cyrus  gave 
them  battle,  and  dispersed  them  ;  after  which  Cyrus 
carried  the  war  into  the  countries  beyond  the  river 
Halys,  subdued  Cappadocia,  marched  against  Croesus, 
king  of  Lydia,  defeated  him,  and  took  Sardis  his 
capital.  Having  reduced  almost  all  Asia,  he  repassed 
the  Euphrates,  and  turned  his  arms  against  the  As- 
syrians :  having  defeated  them,  he  laid  siege  to  Bab}- 
lon,  which  he  took  on  a  festival  day,  after  having 
diverted  tlie  course  of  the  river  which  ran  thi'ough 
it.  On  his  return  to  Persia,  he  married  liis  cousin,  the 
daughter  and  heiress  of  Cyaxares.  He  aftcr%\'ards 
subdued  all  the  nations  between  Syria  and  the  Red 
sea,  and  died  at  the  age  of  seventy,  after  a  reign  of 
thirty  years. 

There  ai-e  but  few  particulars  respecting  Cyrus  in 
Scripture  ;  but  what  there  are,  are  more  certain  than 
those  derived  from  other  sources.  Daniel,  in  the 
remarkable  vision,  (chap.  viii.  3,  20.)  in  which  God 
showed  him  the  ruin  of  several  great  empires,  which 
preceded  the  birth  of  the  Messiah,  represents  Cyrus 
as  a  ram  which  had  two  horns,  both  high,  bu.t  one 
rising  higher  than  the  other,  and  the  higher  coming 
up  last.  This  ram  "  pushed  westward,  and  north- 
ward, and  southward,  so  that  no  beasts  might  stand 
before  him,  neither  was  tliere  any  that  could  deliver 
out  of  his  hand  ;  but  he  did  according  to  his  will,  and  ■ 
became  gi-eat." — The  two  horns  signify  the  two  em- 
pires, which  Cyrus  united  in  his  person — that  of  the 
Medes  and  that  of  the  Persians.  (See  Persia.)  In 
another  place,  Daniel  compares  Cyrus  to  a  bear,  with 
three  ribs  in  its  moiuh,  to  which  it  was  said,  "  Arise, 
devour  much  flesh." 

Cyius  succeeded  Cambyses  in  the  kingdom  of 
Persia,  and  Darius  the  Mede  (by  Xenoplion  called 
Cyaxares,  and  Astyages  in  the  Greek  of  Daniel  xiii. 
0.5.)  also  in  the  kingdom  of  the  Medes,  and  the  em- 
pire of  Babylon.  He  was  monarch,  as  he  speaks,  of 
all  the  earth,  (Ezra  i.  1,  2  ;  2  Chron.  xxxvi.  22,  23.) 
when  he  permiried  the  Jews  to  retmn  into  their  own 
country,  A.  M.  34GC,  a7ite  A.  D.  538.  He  had  always 
a  particular  regard  for  Daniel,  and  kept  him  in  high 
offices. 

The  prophets  foretold  the  coming  of  Cyrus: 
Isaiah  (xliv.  28.)  particularly  declared  his  name, 
above  a  century  before  he  was  born.  Josephus  says, 
(Antiq.  lib.  ii.  cap.  2.)  that  the  Jews  of  Babylon 
showed  this  passage  to  Cyrus  ;  and  that,  in  the  edict 
which  he  gi-anted  for  their  return,  he  acknowledged, 
that  lie  received  the  empire  of  the  world  from  the 
God  of  Israel,  and  that  the  same  God  had  described 
him  by  name,  in  the  writings  of  the  prophets,  and 


CYRUS 


[  328  ] 


CYRUS 


foretold  that  he  should  build  a  temple  to  hiai  at  Je- 
rusalem. The  taking  of  Babylon,  by  Cyrus,  is  clear- 
ly foretold  by  the  prophets.  Is.  xiii.  xiv.  xxi.  xlv.  xlvi. 
xlvii.    Jer.  xxv.  12  ;1.  li.  Dan.  vii.  viii. 

Cyrus  being  a  Persian  by  his  father,  and  a  Mede 
by  his  mother,  he  is  called  in  an  oracle,  cited  by  He- 
rodotus, (lib.  i.  cap.  33,  91.)  "  a  mule  :"  "  Be  afraid," 
said  the  oracle  to  Croesus, "  when  the  Medes  shall  be 


commanded  by  a  mule."  And  Nebuchadnezzar 
some  time  before  his  death,  said  to  the  Babylonians, 
I  foretell  a  misfortune,  which  none  of  your  gods  will 
be  able  to  avert :  a  Persian  mule  shall  come  against 
you,  who,  with  the  help  of  their  gods,  shall  bring  you 
into  bondage."  (Megasthenes,  apud  Euseb.  Praepar. 
lib.  ix.  cap.  41.) 


/ 


D 


DAG 


DAM 


DABBASHETH,  a  town  of  Zebulun,  Josh, 
xix.  11. 

DABERATH.  Joshua  (xix.  12.)  mentions  Da- 
berath  as  a  town  of  Zebulun,  or  on  its  borders,  but 
in  chap.  xxi.  28.  it  is  placed  in  the  tribe  of  Issachar  ; 
which  tribe  ceded  it  to  the  Levites.  Josephus  calls 
it  Dabaritla,  or  Darabifia,  in  the  great  plain  at  the  ex- 
tremity of  Galilee  and  Samai-ia  ;  perhaps  it  is  Dabira, 
which  Jerome  places  toward  mount  Tabor,  in  the 
district  of  Diocsesarea.  3Iaundrell  speaks  of  Debora 
at  the  foot  of  mount  Tabor. 

I.  DAGON,  a  god  of  the  Philistines.  The  Etymolo- 
gicum  Magnum  says  that  Dagon  was  Saturn  ;  others 
say,  he  was  Jupiter ;  others  say,  Venus,  whom  the 
Egyptians  worshipped  under  the  form  of  a  fish  ;  be- 
cause, in  Tryphon's  war  against  the  gods,  Venus  con- 
cealed herself  under  this  shape.  (Ovid  Met.  lib.  v. 
fab.  5.)  Diodorus  Siculus  says  (lib.  ii.)  that  at  Aske- 
Icn  the  goddess  Derceto,  or  Atergatis,  was  worship- 
ped under  the  figure  of  a  woman,  with  the  lower 
parts  of  a  fish  ;  and  Lucian  (de  Dea  Syr.)  describes 
that  goddess,  or  Venus,  as  being  adored  under  this 
form.  There  is  an  ancient  fable,  that  'i2a)i»;c, 
(Cannes,)  who  was  half  a  man  and  half  a  fish,  came 
to  Babylon,  and  taught  several  arts :  and  afterwards 
returned  to  the  sea  ....  there  were  several  of  these 
Cannes  .  .  .  the  name  of  one  was  Odacon,  i.  e.  6  Da- 
gon (the  Dagon).  Berosus,  speaking  of  Cannes, 
says,  lie  had  the  body  and  head  of  a  fish ;  and  above 
the  head  of  the  fsh  he  had  a  human  head  ;  and  below 
the  tail  of  the  fish  he  had  human  feet.  This  is  the 
true  figure  of  Dagon.  Helladius  reports  of  Ces, 
what  Berosus  reports  of  Oannes ;  (whence  Scaliger 
thought  Oes  was  the  name  Oannes  mutilated ;)  he 
says,  he  was  a  monster  who  came  out  of  the  Red 
sea.  He  had  the  head,  the  hands,  and  the  feet  of  a 
man  ;  in  the  rest  of  his  body  he  was  a  fish  :  he  first 
taught  letters  and  astronomy  to  mankind.  We  con- 
clude, then,  that  Ces  and  Cannes  are  the  same 
person  ;  and  that  Cannes  is  Dagon.  See  Deluge. 
A  temple  of  Dagon  at  Gaza  was  pulled  down  by 
Samson,  Judg.  xvi.  23.  In  another  at  Ashdod,  the 
Philistines  deposited  the  ark  of  God,  1  Sam.  v.  1 — 3. 
A  city  in  Jiidah  was  called  Beth-Dagon,  that  is,  the 
house  [or  temple]  of  Dagon  ;  (Josh.  xv.  41.)  and  an- 
other on  the  frontiei-s  of  Asher,  Josh.  xix.  27.  Euse- 
bius  speaks  of  a  town  called  Caphar  Dagon,  the  Field 
of  Dagon,  between  Jamiiia  and  Diospolis.  Philo-Bib- 
lius,  in  his  translation  of  Sanchoniathon,  says  that  Da- 
gon means  Siton,  the  god  of  wheat.  Dagon  does,  in- 
deed, signify  ivhent,  in  the  Hebrew  ;  but  who  is  this  god 
of  wheat?  probably  Ceres,  the  goddess  of  agriculture 
and  plenty :  the  Hebrews  have  no  feminine  names  to 
signify  goddesses :  and  Elian  informs  us,  that  among 
the  names  of  Ceres,  Siton  was  one.  Ceres  was 
"  the  goddess  of  wheat,"  in  her  character  of  the  in- 


ventress  and  protectress  of  agriculture.  We  find  her 
likewise  delineated  with  fish  around  her  on  some 
medals,  as  those  of  Syracuse.  In  Philo-Biblius, 
Dagon  is  brother  to  Saturn,  as  in  Greek  authors 
Ceres  is  sister  to  Saturn.  Ceres  submitted  to  the 
embraces  of  her  brother,  according  to  the  Greeks ; 
Atergatis  is  sister  to  Saturn,  according  to  Philo-Bib- 
lius. Lastly,  Ceres  is  soinetimes  described  with  the 
attributes  of  Isis,  the  goddess  of  fertility  among  the 
Egyptians.  An  Egyptian  medal  represents  half  the 
body  of  a  woman  with  a  cornucopia  in  her  hands, 
the  tail  of  a  fish  bent  behind,  and  feet  like  those  of  a 
crocodile,  or  a  sea-calf  Salmasius  is  of  opinion, 
that  Dagon  is  the  same  as  Ceto.  a  great  fish.  Ceto 
the  sea-monster,  to  which  Andromeda  was  exposed 
at  Joppa,  and  Derceto  the  goddess  of  the  Askelonites, 
are  the  same  deity.  Selden  thinks  Atergatis  to  be  the 
same  as  Dagon,  and  derived  from  the  Hebrew  Mir- 
Dagan,  "  magnificent  fish ;"  and  Diana,  the  Per- 
sian, or  Venus,  was,  it  is  said,  changed  into  a  fish,  by 
throwing  herself  into  the  waters  of  Babylon.  There 
was  a  deep  pond  near  Askelon  filled  with  fish,  con- 
secrated to  Derceto,  from  which  the  inhabitants  of 
the  town  abstained,  through  superstitious  belief  that 
Venus,  having  cast  herself  into  this  pond,  was  there 
metamorphosed  into  a  fish.  [The  name  Dagon 
is  derived  from  dag,  fish,  and  signifies  a  large  fsh. 
This  god  seems  originally  to  have  been  the  same 
with  Astarte.  For  fuller  information  respecting 
Dagon,  see  Selden  de  Diis  Syris,  ii.  3.  Creuzer's 
Svmbolik,  ii,  12.  De  Wette,  Heb.  Jiid.  Archseol. 
§  233.     R. 

II.  DAGCN,  Dog,  or  Docus,  a  fortress  in  the 
plain  of  Jericho,  where  Ptolemy,  son  of  Abubus, 
dwelt,  and  where  he  treacherously  killed  his  father- 
in-law,  Simon  Maccaba^us,  with  Mattathias  and  Ju- 
das, his  two  sons,  1  Mac.  xvi.  11. 

DALMANUTHA,  a  city  west  of  the  sea  of  Tibe- 
rias, in  the  district  of  Magdala,  Matt.  xv.  39;  Mark 
viii.  10.  (See  Magdala.)  Cthers  suppose  it  to  have 
been  on  the  south-eastern  shore  of  the  lake. 

DALMATIA,  part  of  Illyricuni,  on  the  gulf  of 
Venice,  2  Tim.  iv.  10. 

DAMASCUS,  a  celebrated  city  of  Syria,  which 
was  long  the  capital  of  a  kingdom  of  Damascus,  or 
Aram  of  Damascus,  i.  e.  Syria  of  Damascus.  It  was 
a  city  in  the  time  of  Abiaham  ;  and  some  of  the  an- 
cients say  that  this  pjitriarch  reigned  there,  imme- 
diately after  Damascus,  its  founder.  Scripture  says 
nothing  more  of  this  city  till  David's  time  ;  when 
Hadad,  king  of  Damascus,  sending  troops  to  assist 
Hadadezer,  king  of  Zoliah,  was  defeated  with  the 
latter,  and  subdued  by  David,  A.  M.  2992.  Tovvard 
the  end  of  Solomon's  reign,  God  stirred  up  Rezin, 
son  of  Eliadah,  who  restored  the  kingdom  of  Damas- 
cus, and  shook  off  the  yoke  of  the  Jewish  kings. 


DAMASCUS 


[  329  ] 


DAMASCUS 


Asa,  king  of  Judah,  implored  the  help  of  Benhadad, 
son  of  Tabrimmon,  king  of  Damascus,  against  Baa- 
sha,  king  of  Israel,  and  engaged  him,  by  subsidies,  to 
invade  his  enemy's  territories.  After  this  time,  the 
kings  of  Damascus  were  generally  called  Benhadad, 
which  they  assumed  as  a  surname,  like  the  Caesars 
of  Rome.  Jeroboam  II.  king  of  Israel,  regained  the 
superiority  of  Israel  over  the  kings  of  Syria.  He 
conquered  Damascus  and  Hamath,  the  two  principal 
cities  of  Syria,  (2  Kings  xiv.  25.)  but  after  the  death 
of  Jeroboam  II.  the  Syrians  reestablished  their 
monarchy.  Rezin  assumed  the  title  of  king  of  Da- 
mascus ;  entered  into  a  confederacy  with  Pekah, 
usurper  of  the  kingdom  of  Israel,  and,  in  conjunction 
with  him,  made  great  havoc  in  the  territories  of  Jo- 
thani  and  Ahaz,  kings  of  Judah,  2  Kings  xvi.  5. 
Tiglath-Pileser,  however,  coming  to  the  assistance 
Off  Ahaz,  invaded  the  dominions  of  Rezin,  took 
Damascus,  destroyed  it,  killed  Rezin,  and  sent 
the  Syrians  into  captivity  beyond  the  Euphrates; 
according  to  the  predictions  of  the  prophets  Isaiah 
and  Amos,  2  Kings  xv.  29  ;  Is.  vii.  4,  8 ;  viii.  4  ;  xxii. 
1 — 3 ;  Amos  i.  3.  Damascus,  however,  recovered 
fi'om  these  misfortunes ;  and  it  appears,  that  Sen- 
nacherib took  it,  when  he  marched  against  Hezekiah, 
Is.  ix.  11.  Holofernes  also  took  it,  Judith  ii.  27. 
Ezekiel  speaks  of  it  as  flourishing,  chap,  xxvii.  11. 
Jeremiah  threatens  it  with  the  attacks  of  Nebuchad- 
nezzar, XXV.  9  ;  xxvii.  8  ;  xlix.  23.  After  the  return 
from  the  captivity,  Zechariah  (ix.  1.)  foretold  several 
calamities  which  should  befall  it,  and  which,  in  all 
probability,  did  befall  it  when  it  was  conquered  by 
the  generals  of  Alexander  the  Great.  The  Romans 
took  it  about  A.  JM.  3939,  when  Pompey  made  war 
against  Tigranes,  and  sent  Metellus  and  Lselius 
thither,  who  seized  it.  Damascus  remained  under 
the  Roman  government  till  it  fell  into  the  hands  of 
the  Arabians.  Obodas,  father  of  Aretas,  king  of 
Arabia,  whom  Pai\l  mentions,  (2  Cor.  xi.  32.)  was 
master  of  Damascus  in  the  reign  of  Augustus  ;  but 
was  subject  to  the  Romans.  Aretas,  whose  officer 
was  governor  at  Daniascus  when  Paul  came  thither, 
quarrelled  with  the  Romans,  and  was  then  at  war 
with  them,  A.  D.  37.  (See  Aretas.)  In  A.  D.  713, 
it  was  conquered  by  the  Saracens,  and  miserably 
devastated.  In  1147,  it  was  besieged  by  the  crusa- 
ders, but  not  taken  ;  it  yielded  to  the  Christian  forces 
125  years  afterwards.  In  1396,  Tamerlane  besieged 
it  with  a  large  army,  some  say  a  miUion  of  men. 
After  a  desperate  and  prolonged  resistance,  it  yielded 
to  his  forces  ;  and,  irritated  at  its  obstinate  defence, 
he  put  its  inhabitants  to  the  sword  without  mercy. 
Selim  took  it,  A.  D.  1517,  under  whose  successors, 
the  Ottoman  emperors,  it  still  continues. 

The  Arabians  call  this  city  Damasch,  or  Demcsch':, 
or  Sc/ianis,  which  is  also  their  name  for  the  province. 
They  generally  believe  that  this  city  derived  its  name 
from  Demeschk  Eliezer,  Abraham's  steward,  and  that 
Abraham  was  its  founder.  Yet  some  Arabian  histo- 
rians affirm,  that  it  was  founded  and  named  by  Dem- 
8chak,sonofCanaan,sonofHam,and  grandson  of  Noah. 

Damascus  was  a  metropolitan  see  under  the  patri- 
arch of  Antioch  ;  at  present  the  Greek  patriarch  of 
Antioch  resides  there.  The  Persian  geographer  says, 
that  the  field  or  plain  of  Damascus  is  one  of  the  four 
Paradises  of  the  East ;  and,  notwithstanding  all  the 
revolutions  which  have  happened  to*  it,  Damascus  is 
still  one  of  the  most  considerable  cities  in  Syria.  It 
is  situated  in  a  very  fertile  plain,  at  the  foot  of  mount 
Libanus,  being  surrounded  by  lulls,  in,  tlir"  mannor  of 
a  triumphal  arch.  It  is  bounded  liv  :i  riser,  v/hich 
42 


the  ancients  named  Chrysorrhoas,  as  if  it  flowed  with 
gold,  divided  into  several  canals.  The  citv  has  still 
a  great  number  of  fountains,  which  render  it  ex- 
tremely agreeable.  Its  fertile  and  delightful  mead- 
ows, covered  with  fruits  and  flowers,  contribute,  also, 
to  its  fame.  Damascus,  says  Ibn  Havikal,  or,  as  he 
writes  it,  "  Demeshk,  is  a  chief  city  ;  the  right  hand 
of  the  cities  of  Syria,  It  has  ample  territories  among 
the  mountains ;  and  is  well  watered  by  streams 
which  flow  around,  '  The  land  about  it  produces 
trees,  and  is  well  cultivated  by  husbandmen.  This 
tract  is  called  Ghouteh,  It  extends  about  one  mer- 
hileh  by  two.  There  is  not  in  all  Syria  a  n;ore  de- 
lightful place.  Here  is  one  of  the  largest  mosques 
in  all  the  land  of  the  Mussulmans,  part  of  which  was 
built  in  ancient  times,  by  the  Sabians." — He  then 
traces  this  mosque  into  the  hands  of  the  Greeks, 
the  Jews,  the  Christians  and  the  true  believers: 
he  adds,  "Walid  ben  Abd-al-Molk  repaired  this 
building,  beautified  it  with  pavements  of  marble,  and 
pillars  of  variegated  marble,  the  tops  of  which  were  or- 
namented with  gold,  and  studded  with  precious  stones, 
and  all  the  ceiling  he  caused  to  be  covered  with  gold:  it  is 
said  he  expended  the  revenues  of  all  Syria  in  this  work," 

The  Via  Recta,  or  street  called  Straight,  (Acts  ix. 
11.)  extends  from  the  eastern  to  the  western  gate, 
about  a  league,  crossing  the  whole  city  and  suburbs 
in  a  direct  line.  On  both  sides  of  it  are  shops,  in 
which  are  sold  the  rich  merchandise  brought  by  the 
caravans.  Near  the  eastern  gate  is  a  house,  said  to 
be  that  of  Judah,  where  Paul  lodged  after  his  con- 
version !  There  is  in  it  a  very  small  closet,  where 
tradition  reports,  that  the  apostle  passed  three  days 
without  food,  till  Ananias  restored  him  to  sight. 
Tradition  also  says,  that  here  he  had  the  vision  re- 
ferred to,  2  Cor.  xii.  2.  About  forty  paces  from  the 
house  of  Judah,  stands  a  little  mosque,  where  Ana- 
nias is  said  to  have  been  buried.  There  is  also  in 
the  Great  Street,  or  Straight,  a  fountain,  whose  wa- 
ter is  drunk  by  the  Christians,  in  remembrance  of 
that  which  the  same  fountain  supplied  for  the  bap- 
tism of  Paul.  Near  the  eastern  gate,  on  the  south 
of  it,  is  a  kind  of  window  or  port-hole,  in  the  para- 
pet of  the  great  wall ;  by  which  tradition  says  Paul 
escaped  from  the  Jews  !  Near  the  city,  on  the  way 
leading  to  the  Turkish  burying-ground,  is  a  building 
said  to  be  that  of  Naaman  the  Syrian.  It  is  an 
hospital  for  lepers ;  and  near  it  is  a  tomb,  report- 
ed to  be  that  of  Gehazi,  servant  to  Ehsha,  who,  after 
his  disgrace,  retired  to  Damascus,  where  he  died ! 

The  ancient  road  from  Jerusalem  near  Damascus 
lies  between  two  mountains,  not  above  a  hundred 
paces  distant  from  each  other:  both  are  round  at  bot- 
tom, and  terminate  in  a  point.  That  nearest  the 
great  road  is  called  Cocab,  the  star,  in  memory  of 
the  dazzling  light  which  here  appeared  to  Paul, 
The  other  mountain  is  called  Medaiver  el  Cocab,  the 
circle  of  light.  Towards  the  middle  of  this  moun- 
tain is  an  old  monastery,  almost  destroyed,  of  which 
only  one  grotto  remains,  and  this  so  small  that  a  man 
can  hardly  turn  himself  in  it.  This  is  reported  to 
have  beeil  Paul's  shelter  after  his  conversion,  till  he 
could  make  ready  for  continuing  his  journey  to  Da- 
mascus, South-west  is  the  plain  of  Hauran,  the 
granary  of  Turkey, 

The  external  appearance  of  the  houses  in  Damas- 
cus is  mean  ;  the  internal  is  magnificent,  Tliere  are 
many  covered  markets  built  of  hewn  stone,  and  well 
vaulted,  with  openings  from  space  to  space.  The  foot- 
ways in  the  streets  are  raised;  and  there  are  many  khans 
:or  lodging  merchants  and  travellers.     The  Straight 


DA3IASCUS 


[  330  ] 


DAN 


Strati,  is  r.i  present  a  covered  bazaar,  exchange,  or 
market. 

Damascus  is  one  of  the  most  commercial  cities  in 
the  Ottoman  empire,  and  has  many  rich  manufac- 
tures. The  inliabitants  are  witty  and  cunning ;  they 
are,  however,  polite,  and  less  oppressed  by  the  pacha 
than  many  others.  The  Christians  are  mostly  of  the 
Greek  church,  with  a  few  Maronites.  The  popula- 
tion is  estimated  at  from  100,000  to  150,000. 

Damascus  was  highly  favored  by  the  emperor 
Julian.  It  was  a  metropolis  and  a  colony;  it  is 
so  called  on  the  medals  of  Gordian  and  Philip  ;  and 
it  appears  that  the  latter  gave  his  veteran  soldiers  cs- 
tablishnients  in  the  city  and  its  neighborhood.  It 
was  also  made  the  capital  of  that  part  of  Coele-Syria 
which  was  called  from  it  Damascene.  In  the  divis- 
ion of  tlie  country  establislicd  liy  Constantineand  his 
successors,  it  was  included  in  Phoenicia  Libanica, 
which  had  for  its  chief  town,  Hehopolis  (Baalbek). 

[The  city  of  Damascus,  Avith  the  surrounding  coun- 
try, is  celebrated  by  all  travellers,  as  one  of  the  most 
beautiful  and  luxuriant  regions  in  the  world.  The 
orientals  themselves  call  it  tlie  Paradise  on  eaHh. 
Mr.Carne  gives  the  following  account  of  his  approach 
to  the  city  from  tlie  S.  W.  and  of  the  city  itself: 
(Letters  from  the  East,  vol,  ii.  p.  70,  seq.) 

"On  the  following  day, we  set  out  early, impatient 
to  l)cho]t[  the  celebrated  plain  of  Damascus.  A  large 
round  mountain  in  front  prevented  us  from  catching 
a  glimpse  at  it,  till,  on  turning  a  point  of  the  rock,  it 
appeared  suddenly  at  our  feet.  Perhaps  the  bar- 
ren and  dreary  hills  we  had  beeii  for  some  days  pass- 
ing, made  thi;  plain  look  doubly  beautiful,  and  we 
stood  gazing  at  it  for  some  time  ere  we  advanced. 
The  domes  and  minarets  of  the  sacred  city  rose  out 
of  the  heart  of  a  forest  of  gardens  and  trees,  which 
was  twelve  miles  in  circumference.  Four  or  five 
small  rivers  ran  through  the  forest  and  the  city,  glit- 
tering at  intervals  in  the  sun  ;  and  to  form  that  vivid 
contrast  of  objects  in  which  Asiatic  so  much  excels 
European  scenery,  the  plain  was  encircled  on  three 
of  its  sides  by  mountains  of  liglitand  naked  rocks. 

"After  descending  the  mountain,  we  were  some 
time  travelling  through  avenues  of  trees  and  gardens 
before  we  entered  the  city.  Damascus  is  seven  miles 
in  circumference  ;  tlie  width  is  quite  disproportioned 
to  the  length,  which  is  above  two  miles.  The  walls 
of  this,  the  most  ancient  city  in  the  world,  are  low, 
and  do  not  enclost;  it  mon;  than  two  thirds  round. 
The  street  still  called  Straight,  and  where  St.  Paul 
is,  with  reason,  said  to  have  lived,  is  entered  by  the 
road  from  .Jerusalem.  It  is  as  stiaight  as  an  arrow, 
a  nn\o  in  length,  broad,  and  well  i)aved.  A  lofty 
window  in  one  of  the  towers  to  the  east,  is  shown  us 
as  the  ])lace  whore  the  apostle  was  let  down  in  a 
basket.  In  the  way  to  Jerusalem  is  the  spot  wjiere 
his  course  was  arrested  by  the  light  froju  heaven.  A 
Christian  is  not  allowed  to  reside  in  Damascus,  ex- 
cept in  a  Turkish  dress. 

"The  great  niunber  of  tall  palm  and  cypress-trees 
in  the  plain  of  Damascus  add  much  to  its  beauty. 
The  fruits  of  the  plain  arc  of  various  kinds,  and  of 
excellent  flavor.  Provisions  r,rc  cheap;  the  bread  is 
the  finest  to  be  found  in  the  East;  it  is  sold  every 
morning  in  small,  light  cakes,  perfectlv  white,  anil 
sitri)asscs  in  quality  even  that  of  Paris."  This  luxu- 
rious city  is  no  place  to  fn'rform  penance  in  ;  the 
paths  around,  winding  through  thf^  mass  of  woods 
and  fruit-trees,  invite  you  daily  to  the  most  delightful 
rides  and  walks.  Sunuuer-ho'uscs  are  found  in"  ijro- 
fusioD  ;  some  of  the  latter  may  be  hired  for  a  day's 


use,  or  are  open  for  rest  and  refreshment,  and  you  sit 
beneath  the  fruit-trees,  or  on  the  divan  which  opens  in- 
to the  garden.  If  one  feels  at  any  time  satiated,  he  has 
only  to  advance  out  of  the  canopy  of  woods,  and 
mount  the  naked  and  romantic  heights  of  some  of 
the  mountains  around,  amidst  the  sultry  beams  of  the 
sun,  and  he  will  soon  retiuni  to  the  shades  and  waters 
beneath,  with  fresh  delight.  Among  the  fruits  pro- 
duced in  Damascus  are  oranges,  citrons,  and  apricots 
of  various  kinds.  The  celebrated  plain  of  rosjes, 
from  the  produce  of  which  the  rich  perfume  [attar 
of  roses)  is  obtained,  is  about  three  miles  from  the 
town ;  it  is  a  part  of  the  great  plain,  and  its  entire 
area  is  thickly  planted  with  rose-trees,  in  the  cultiva- 
tion of  which  great  care  is  taken. 

"  Our  abode  Avas  not  far  from  the  gate  that  con- 
ducted to  the  most  frequented  and  charming  walks 
around  the  city.  Here  four  or  five  of  the  rivers  meet, 
and  form  a  large  and  foaming  cataract  a  short  distance 
from  the  walls.  In  this  spot  it  was  pleasant  to  sit  or 
walk  beneath  the  trees;  for  the  exciting  soimds  and 
sights  of  nature  are  doubly  welcome  near  an  eastern 
city,  to  relieve  the  languor  and  stillness  that  prevail. 

"  We  often  went  to  the  pleasant  village  at  the 
foot  of  the  moimtain  Salehieh.  One  of  the  streams 
passed  through  it ;  almost  every  house  had  its  gar- 
den :  and  above  the  mass  of  foliage,  in  the  midst  of 
them,  rose  the  dome  and  minaret  of  the  mosque,  and, 
just  beyond,  the  gray  and  naked  cliflfs.  The  finest 
view  of  the  city  is  to  the  right  of  this  place:  a  hght 
kiosk  stands  partly  up  the  ascent  of  the  mountain  ; 
and  from  its  cool  and  upper  apartment,  the  prosj)ect 
of  the  city,  its  woods,  plain,  and  mountains,  is  inde- 
scribably rich  and  delightful.  The  plain  in  front  is 
unenclosed,  and  its  level  extent  stretches  to  the  east 
as  far  as  the  eye  can  reach. 

"  The  place  called  the  '  Meeting  of  the  Waters,'  is 
about  five  miles  to  the  north-west  of  the  city.  Here 
the  river  Barrady,  which  may  be  the  ancient  Abana, 
being  enlarged  by  another  river  that  falls  into  it  about 
two  miles  ofl^,  is  divided  into  several  streams,  which 
flow  through  the  plain.  The  separation  is  the  result 
of  art,  and  takes  place  at  the  foot  of  one  or  two  rocky 
hills,  and  the  scene  is  altogether  very  pictiu'esque. 
The  streams,  six  or  seven  in  number,  are  some  of 
them  carried  to  water  the  orchards  and  gardens  of 
the  higher  grounds,  others  into  the  lower,  but  all 
meet,  at  last,  close  to  the  city,  and  forntthe  fine  cata- 
ract."    *R. 

EPHES-DAMMIM,  a  city  of  Judah,  1  Sam. 
xvii.  1. 

DAMI»f  ATION,  a  word  Uf^c(]  among  us,  in  a  theo- 
logical sense,  to  express  a  total  loss  of  the  soul ;  or  a 
state  of  sufl^ering  under  spiritual  punishment:  but 
this  is  not  its  proper  inqmrt  in  all  j)laces  where  it 
occurs  in  Scripture ;  and  the  use  of  it  is  in  some 
passages  of  our  translation  (xtremely  imfortunate. 
We  read,  John  v.  2!),  of  the  "resurrection  to  dam- 
nation ;"  of  "eternal  daimiation,"  (Mark  iii.  29.) 
of  "the  damnation  of  hell,"  (IVlatt.  xxiii.  .33.)  where 
the  stronger  sense  of  the  word  is  exacted  l)y  the 
context:  but  in  Matt,  xxiii.  14,  wc.  read  of  the 
"greater  danmation,"  which  evidently  implies  a 
lesser  damnation  ;  and  in  Rom.  xiii.  2,  1  Cor.  xi.  29, 
and  1  Tim.  V.  12,  we  should  road  "condemnation," 
or  "judgment."  Rom.  xiv.  23,  "He  that  doubteth 
is  damned,"  should  be  read  "self-condemned," — if 
he  eat  flesh,  or  any  thing  else  which  may  oftend  a 
weak  brother. 

I.  DAN,  fifth  son  of  Jac*l>,  being  his  eldest  by 
Billiah,  Rachel's  handmaid.  Gen.  xxx.  4,  5,  6.    Jacob 


DAN 


[  331  ] 


DANIEL 


blessed  Dan  in  these  words  :  (Gen.xlix.  16, 17.)  "Dan 
shall  judge  hit-  people  as  one  of  the  tribes  of  Israel. 
Dan  shall  be  a  seri)ent  by  the  way,  an  adder  in  the 
path,  (see  Serpent,  Cerastes,)  that  biteth  the  horse's 
hods,  so  that  his  rider  shall  fall  backward  ;"  mean- 
ing that,  though  this  tribe  was  not  the  most  powerful 
or  the  most  celebrated  in  Israel,  it  would,  notwith- 
standing, pi'oduce  one,  who  should  be  the  piince  of 
his  people  ;  whicli  prediction  was  accomplished  in 
Samson,  who  was  of  Dan.  Dan  had  but  one  son, 
named  Hushim,  (Gen.  xlvi.  23.)  notwithstanding 
which,  when  the  Israehtes  came  out  of  Egypt,  this 
tribe  contained  02,700  men.  Numb.  i.  39. 

The  tribe  of  Dan  possessed  a  very  rich  and  fertile 
soil,  between  the  tribe  of  Judali  east,  and  the  country 
of  the  Philistines  west;  but  the  limits  of  their  land 
were  uarrov.-,  because  it  was  only  part  of  the  territo- 
ries of  Judah  divided  Irom  the  rest.  For  their  suc- 
cess in  enlarging  their  tciritories,  see  Judges  xviii. 

II.  DAN,  originally  called  Laish,  (Judg.  xviii.)  a 
town  at  the  northern  extremity  of  Israel,  in  the  tribe 
of  Naphtali.  "  From  Dan  to  Beershelia,"  denotes  the 
two  extremities  of  the  land  of  promise,  Dan  being 
the  northern  city,  and  J3eersheba  the  southern  one. 
Dan  was  seated  at  the  foot  of  mount  Libanus,  on  the 
spring  of  Dan,  or  Jordan.  Several  authors  have 
thought  that  the  river  Joi-dan  took  its  name  from  the 
Hebrew  Jor,  a  spring,  and  Dan,  a  town  near  its  source. 
(Sec  Jordan.)  Dan  lay  four  miles  from  Paneas,  to- 
wards Tyre,  though  some  have  confounded  it  with 
Paneas.  Here  Jeroboam  set  up  one  of  his  golden 
calves,  1  Kings  xii.  29.  Dan  was  afterward  called 
Daphne,  2  Mac.  iv.  33. 

Daniel,  called  Belteshazzar  by  the  Chaldeans, 
a  projihet,  descended  from  the  royal  family  of  David, 
who  was  carried  captive  to  Babylon,  when  very 
young,  in  the  fourth  year  of  Jehoiakim,  king  of  Ju- 
dah, A.  31.  3398.  He  was  chosen,  with  his  three 
companions,  Hananiah,  31ishae],  and  Azariah,  to  re- 
side in  Nebuchadnezzar's  court,  where  he  received 
a  suitable  education,  and  made  great  progress  in  all 
the  sciences  of  the  Chaldeans,  but  declined  to  pollute 
himself,  by  eating  provisions  from  the  king's  table, 
Dan.  i.  Nebuchadnezzar,  having  dreamed  of  a  large 
statue,  composed  of  several  metals,  which  was  beaten 
to  pieces  by  a  stone,  and  believing  this  dream  to  be 
prophetical,  was  very  solicitous  to  have  it  explained ; 
but  having  lost  the  recollection  of  it,  he  insisted  that 
the  IMagi  should  not  only  interpret  its  meaning,  but 
recall  it  to  his  mind  ;  this  being  impossible,  they  were 
condenuied  to  death.  Daniel  recovered  and  explain- 
ed the  dream  ;  and  was,  as  a  reward,  established 
governor  of  the  jirovince  of  Babylon,  and  chief  of  the 
Magi,  ii.  14 — 48.  Another  time,  Nebuchadnezzar 
having  dreamed  of  a  large  tree  cut  down,  yet  so  that 
its  root  remained  in  the  earth,  Daniel  explained  it  of 
the  king  himself,  whose  fate  it  prefigured.  (See 
Nebuchadnezzar.)  In  the  reign  of  Belshazzar, 
Daniel  had  a  vision  of  four  beasts,  which  represented 
the  four  great  empires  of  the  Chaldeans,  the  Per- 
sians, the  Greeks,  and  the  Romans,  or,  rather,  the 
Seleucidse  and  Lagida^,  Dan.  vii.  In  the  follow- 
ing chapter,  he  saw,  in  vision  a  ram  and  a  he-goat ; 
(the  ram  denoted  Darius  Codomannus,  the  last  king 
of  Persia,  and  the  he-goat  denoted  Alexander  the 
Great;)  the  ram  was  overcome,  and  the  he-goat  be- 
came irresistibly  powerful.  (See  Darius.)  He  de- 
scribes, also,  the  successors  of  Alexander ;  and  partic- 
ularly the  persecutions  of  the  Jews  under  Antiochus 
Epiphanes;  the  vengeance  of  God  upon  him;  and 
the  victories  of  the  Maccabees.     It  was  to  this  mon- 


arch that  Daniel  explained  the  import  of  the  myste- 
rious writing  on  the  wail.  (See  Belshazzar.)  Bel- 
shazzar, bemg  killed  on  the  night  in  which  he  had 
profaned  the  sacred  vessels  of  the  temple,  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Darius  the  Mede,  (Dan.  v.  A.  M.  3449,)  who 
l)romoted  Daniel  above  all  his  governors,  and  de- 
signed to  give  him  the  general  administration  of  hia 
kingdom.  This  mark  of  favor,  however,  excited 
envy  in  the  governors,  who  prevailed  upon  the  king 
to  issue  an  edict,  forbidding  every  man,  durin"-  a 
time,  to  solicit  any  thing  from  Goil  or  man,  exc'ept 
from  the  king.  Daniel,  continuing  his  prayers  to 
God,  setting  his  face  towards  Jerusalem,  was  im- 
peached to  the  king,  who  was  obliged  to  enforce  the 
unalterable  law,  and  order  him  to  be  thrown  into  the 
lions'  den.  Early  the  next  morning,  Darius  went 
thither,  and,  finding  Daniel  safe,  commanded  him  to 
be  taken  out,  and  his  accusers,  with  their  wives  and 
famihes,  to  be  thrown  to  the  lions,  chap.  vi. 

Daniel,  having  read  in  Jeremiah  that  seventy  years 
would  be  accomplished  in  the  desolation  of  Jerusa- 
lem, prayed  and  fasted,  to  receive  tlie  explanation 
of  this  period  of  time.  After  his  devotion,  the  angel 
Gabriel  appeared  to  him,  and  revealed  something  of 
much  greater  importance,  even  the  death  and  sacri- 
fice of  the  Messiah  ;  which  was  to  happen  after 
seventy  weeks  of  years,  chap.  ix.  (See  Artaxerxes 
LoNGiMANUs.)  In  the  third  year  of  Cyrus's  reign  in 
Persia,  which  coincides  with  the  first  year  of  Darius 
at  Babylon,  Daniel  had  another  remarkabhs  vision,  in 
which  the  angel  Gabriel  discovered  to  him,  in  a 
manner  almost  as  clear  as  if  he  had  related  a  history, 
what  was  to  hapjjen  in  Persia,  after  Cyrus,  (chap,  x.) 
viz.  the  coming  of  Alexander  the  Great,  the  over- 
throw of  the  Persian  empire,  the  Greek  dominion  in 
Asia,  the  continued  wars  between  the  kingdoms  of 
Syria  and  Egypt,  the  persecutions  by  Antiochus 
E))iphanes,  the  destruction  of  that  persecuting  prince, 
nd  the  victory  and  happiness  of  the  saints,  chap.  xi. 
After  the  death  of  Darius  the  Mede,  Cyrus  ascended 
the  throne  of  the  Persians  and  Medes ;  and  Daniel 
continued  to  enjoy  great  authority. 

The  reputation  of  Daniel  was  so  great,  even  in  his 
lii'e-time,  that  it  became  a  proverb.  "  Thou  art  Aviser 
than  Daniel,"  says  Ezekiel,  (xxviii.  3.)  ironically,  to 
the  king  of  Tyre:  and  in  chaj).  xiv.  14,  20,  God  says, 
"Though  these  three  men,  Noah,  Daniel,  and  Job, 
were  in  it,  they  should  deliver  but  their  own  souls 
by  their  righteousness."  He  enjoyed  the  favor  of 
tlie  princes  whom  he  served,  with  the  affection  of 
the  ])eo|)le,  to  his  death  ;  and  )jis  reputation  was 
immortal. 

Formerly,  some  of  the  Jews  showed  an  inclination 
to  exclude  Daniel  froni  among  the  prophets,  because 
his  predictions  were  fo"  ch-ar  and  express  lor  Jesus 
beine  the  Messiah,  and  fixed  with  too  much  precision 
the  tune  of  his  conjing.  Our  Saviour,  however,  bears 
testimony  to  his  prophetic  character.  Matt.  xxiv.  15. 

It  is  believed  that  Daniel  died  in  Chaldea,  being 
probably  detained  there  by  his  high  employments  in 
the  Pei-si;ui  empire.  Epiphanius  says  he  died  at 
Babylon  ;  and  this  sentiment  is  followed  by  most 
historians.  Others  think  he  died  at  Shtishan,  or  Susa. 
Benjamin  of  Tudela  relates,  that  his  monument  was 
shown  at  Chuzestan,  Avhich  is  the  ancient  Susa. 

Among  Daniel's  writings,  some  have  at  all  times 
been  esteemed  canonical  ;  others  have  been  contest- 
ed. Whatever  is  written  in  Hebrew  or  Chaldee  is 
generally  acknowledged  as  canonical  both  by  Jews 
and  Christians ;  but  there  has  been  constant  opposi- 
tion to  those  parts  which  are  extant  only  in  Greek; 


DANIEL 


[  332  ] 


DANIEL 


as  the  history  of  Susanua,  and  Bel  and  the  Dragon 
The  first  twelve  chapters  of  Daniel  are  written  partly 
in  Hebrew,  partly  in  Chaldee.  He  writes  Hebrew 
where  he  delivers  a  simple  narrative  ;  but  he  relates 
in  Chaldee  his  conversations  with  the  Magi,  and 
Nebuchadnezzar's  edict,  published  after  the  inter- 
pretation of  his  dream  of  the  golden  image.  This 
shows  the  extreme  accuracy  of  this  prophet,  who 
relates  the  very  words  of  those  pereons  whom  he  in- 
troduces as  speaking.  The  Greek  which  we  have  of 
Daniel  is  Theodotion's ;  that  of  the  LXX  has  been 
long  lost.  Porphyry  asserted,  that  the  prophecies 
which  we  receive  as  Daniel's  were  falsely  ascribed 
to  him ;  and  that  they  were,  in  fact,  histories  of  past 
events.  But  that  Daniel  lived  at  Babylon  long  be- 
fore Autiochus  Epiphanes,  and  there  wrote  the 
prophecies  ascribed  to  him,  cannot  reasonably  be 
contested. 

The  rabbins  maintain  that  Daniel  ought  not  to  be 
ranked  among  the  prophets  for  two  reasons;  (1.)  be- 
cause he  did  not  live  in  the  Holy  Land,  out  of  which 
the  spirit  of  prophecy,  they  say,  does  not  reside  ;  (2.) 
because  he  spent  his  life  in  a  court,  in  honor  and 
pleasure  ;  contrary  to  the  other  prophets.  Some  add, 
that  he  was,  pei-sonally,  a  emiuch,  and,  therefore,  ex- 
cluded from  the  congi-egation  ;  tor  which  opinion 
they  quote  the  words  of  Isaiah  to  Hezekiah,  (2  Kings 
XX.  18.)  "  x\nd  of  thy  sons— shall  they  take  away; 
and  they  shall  be  eunuchs,  in  tlie  palace  of  the  king 
of  Babylon."  Many  of  the  Jews,  therefore,  place  his 
writings  among  the  Hagiographa,  as  of  much  less 
authority  than  the  canonical  Scriptures. 

There  are  two  or  three  things  appertaining  to  this 
eminent  prophet,  which  could  not  be  noticed  in  their 
proper  place,  without  breaking  the  thread  of  the  nar- 
rative, but  which  we  may  not  pass  over  without 
remark. 

A  title  given  to  the  prophet  in  chap.  v.  12. — "  an 
untier  of  knots" — though  it  may  appear  strange  to  us, 
was  highly  expressive  of  the  powers  of  his  mind  ; 
and,  as  we  learn  from  sir  John  Chardin,  is  not  un- 
known at  present  in  the  East. 

The  patent  given  to  sir  John  by  the  king  of  Persia, 
is  addressed — "  To  the  Lords  of  Lords,  who  have  the 
presence  of  a  lion,  the  aspect  of  Deston  ;  the  princes 
who  have  the  stature  of  Tahem-ten-ten,  who  seem  to 
be  in  the  time  of  Ardevon,  the  regents  who  carry  the 
majesty  of  Ferribours;  the  conquerors  of  kingdoms, 
superintendents  that  unloose  all  manner  of  knots,  and 
who  are  under  the  a.scendant  of  Mercury,"  &c.  In 
his  explanation,  sir  John  says,  it  is,  in  the  original, 
who  unloose  all  sorts  of  knots. — The  Persians  rank  all 
penmen,  books,  and  writings,  unfler  Mercurv,  whom 
they  call  Attared ;  and  hold  all  people  born  under  that 
planet,  to  be  endued  with  a  rofined,  penetrating,  clear- 
sighted, and  subtile  wit.  Now,  on  turning  to  Daniel 
V.  12,  it  will  be  observed  witli  what  accurate  coinci- 
dence to  these  principles  the  queen  describes  the 
Erophet:  "In  all  respects  an  alnmdam  spirit,  and 
nowledge,  and  understanding,  wliich  manifests  it- 
self in  his  intei-|)reting  dreams,  and  explainin"' intri- 
cate enigmas,  and  imtijing  of  knots,  is  found  in 
Daniel."  Vv'e  gather  from  this  comparison,  tluvt  as 
superintendents  (of  provinces)  arc  desrri!)ed  as  lui- 
tiers  of  knots,  and  Daniel  is  thus  described,  he  was 
or  had  been,  a  superintendent.  Daniel  had  been 
made  governor  of  tlu;  provinrn  of  Babylon  by  Nebu- 
chadnezzar; as  he  is  not  so  described  on  tliis  occa- 
sion, it  is  every  way  proiiable  he  was  not  now  in  that 
office,  yet  the  queen  continues  his  titles  to  him. 

The  prophecy  of  the  sevcnti/  lorcks  may  justify,  !iy 


its  importance,  a  few  remarks,  oy  way  of  elucidation. 
Part  of  it  is  thus  rendered  in  oiu-  translation  : — "  Af- 
ter threescore  and  two  weeks  shall  Messiah  be  cut 
off,  but  not  for  himself,"  c.  ix.  26. 

The  passage  contains  two  expressions  for  exami- 
nation;  the  first  is,  the  term  "Messiah."  The  Jews 
insist,  with  all  their  might,  that  this  term  must  not  be 
restricted  to  a  single  individual,  but  means,  "  proper- 
ly,the  whole  class,  or  race  of  those  who  were  anointed, 
whether  kings  or  priests." — That  is  to  say,  the  legal 
exercise  of  civil  or  ecclesiastical  functions  ;  or  the  just 
title  to  the  oftice  and  power  of  government,  in  both 
its  branches.  But  observe,  (1.)  This  sense  arises,  in 
some  degi'ee,  from  the  placing  of  a  point  in  the  sen- 
tence ;  (2.)  that  it  is  no  new  principle  ;  for  both  Eu- 
sebius  and  Clemens  Alexandrinus,  by  "  Messiah  the 
Prince,"  in  verse  25,  understand  an  anointed  governor, 
or  settled  government ;  and  Eusebius  expressly  ex- 
plains it  to  be,  the  series  and  succession  of  the  high- 
priests  who  held  the  government  till  Herod's  time. 
There  is  some  difference  ansong  translators  in  ren- 
dering the  words  Messiah  the  Prince. — Our  present 
Septuagint,  which  is  Theodotion's  translation,  says 
/-oiaror  i^yfiii  fin,  the  Christ  the  goveriwr ;  or  the  anointed 
governor :  Arias  Montanus  says,  iindem  ducem,  the  an- 
ointed leader :  Tertnllian,  and  the  Vulgate,  say,  Chris- 
tum ducem :  Castalio  says,  Messiam  pnncipcm,  like  our 
English  version  :  Tremellius  says,  Christum  antcces- 
sorem,  the  anointed  antecessor,  or  leader.  These  versions 
evidently  refer  to  a  particular  person  preemment  of 
a  whole  series,  all  of  which  series  might  be  anointed, 
but  this  person  distinguishedly.  This  is  very  similar 
to  what  ]\Ir.  Taylor  has  suggested  ; — that  the  united 
claims  of  the  two  Jewish  branches  of  royalty  centred 
in  the  one  person  of  Jesus,  so  that  he  was,  as  it  were, 
doubly  anointed — anointed  from  each  line  of  descent. 
(See  Genealogy.)  This  view  of  the  jjassage  com- 
bines the  notion  of  a  continued  line  of  persons,  le- 
gally entitled  to  the  government,  with  that  of  an 
individual  especially  entitled  to  govern.  But  our 
attention  is  more  ])articularly  directed  to  the  latter 
phrase  of  the  passage  quoted,  which  our  translators 
have  rendered,  "  but  not  for  himself."  That  this 
translation  was  well  intended  we  cannot  doubt ;  but 
it  is  not  the  customary  meaning  of  the  Hebrew  words. 
Theodotion  renders  them — the  anointing  shall  be 
destroyed,  and  710  judgment  shall  be  «i  it.  Aquila — 
the  anointed  shall  be  destroyed  (y-ui  oix  lani  ai Vr')  and 
shall  have  nothing:  Symmachus — the  anointed  shall 
be  cut  off,  [y-^ii-  ovx  r.u'jycti  uitw,)  and  there  shall  be 
nothing  to  him :  Vulgate — et  nan  erit ;  and  he  shall 
not  be  :  Tertullian — the  anointing  shall  be  extirpated, 
and  shall  not  be.  The  j>]irase  comnionly  signifies, 
shall  be  no  more  ;  or  a  total  and  entire  loss — cessation 
— without  any  continuity  or  renev.al.  This  is,  then, 
in  other  words,  t'le  very  sentiment  of  the  venerable 
Jacob :  "  Shiloh  shall  he  destroyed" — the  poiver  of 
govei-nment  shall  sink  in  hi»i  trhose  especial  rrght  it  is : 
this  is  the  very  sentiment  of  the  prophet  Ezekiel : 
"The  diadem,  the  crown,  the  legal  right  of  govern- 
ment, shall  first  bo  overturned,  and  then  shall  be 
destroyed  icith  him  ivhose  right  it  is,"  ch.  xxi.  27. 
Thus  we  see  that  the  ])rophet  does  but  connect  with 
a  prefixed  period  of  time  that  event  which  the  dying 
Jacob  left  at  large  ;  and  that  Ezekiel  and  Daniel  do, 
as  it  were,  echo  the  indications  of  each  other.  All 
agree,  from  th(>  carlif^st  notice  of  any  govermnent  to 
be  established  in  Judca,  down  to  the  time  when  the 
character  of  that  goveirnnent  was  ascertained  and 
experienced,  that  when  that  jiarticidar  person,  whose 
legal   title,  whose  just   pretensions,  whose   specific 


DANIEL 


[  333  ] 


DANIEL 


claims,  might  excite  the  most  animated  hopes,  the 
most  fervid  expectations — when  he  should  come — 
the  issue  would  disappoint  hope  and  expectation  : — 
which  would  behold  their  object  sink  in  destruction, 
and  the  accomplishment  of  their  prolonged  anxieties 
annihilated  in  utter  impossibihty  !     See  Shiloh. 

Hieroglyphic  animals. — Among  the  figures  which 
Le  Bruyu  has  copied  from  the  ruins  of  PersepoHs,  in 
Persia,  there  are  some  which  seem  remarkably  coin- 
cident with  the  puii^ort  of  certain  passages  in  the 
prophet  Daniel.  It  is  not  easy  to  ascertain  the  era 
of  these  ruins,  which  are  universally  considered  as 
having  formed  a  palace  of  the  Persian  kings.  Prob- 
ably it  is  assuming  too  nmch  to  attribute  them  to 
Cyrus ;  but  if,  as  is  stated,  they  may  date  soon  after 
that  monarcli,  they  will  be  suflicienti}'  ancient  to 
justify  the  use  we  propose  to  make  of  them.  The 
j)alace  of  Persepolis  \'\as  destroyed  by  Alexander  the 
Great ;  yet,  from  its  remaining  ruins,  we  infer  its 
former  grandeur.  Among  its  ornaments  are  several 
hundred  figures,  sculptured  on  the  wall  in  basso 
relievo.  Some  of  them  are  certainly  of  a  religious 
nature  ;  otliers  are  emblematical ;  of  these,  several 
have  greatly  the  appearance  of  being  political  em- 
blems, commemorating  past  events,  which,  being 
flattering  to  the  Persian  Icings,  they  wished  to  per- 
petuate the  memory  of.  Ludei-  this  aspect  they 
justify  examination.  Le  Bruyn  gives  the  following 
account  of  some  of  them  : — 

"  These  portals  are  twenty-tAvo  feet  and  four  inches 
in  depth,  and  thirteen  feet  and  four  inches  in  breadth. 
In  the  inside,  and  on  each  pilaster,  is  seen  a  large 
figure  in  low  relief,  and  almost  as  long  as  the  pilas- 
ter ;  with  a  distance  of  twenty-two  feet  from  the  fore 
to  the  hinder  legs,  and  a  height  of  fourteen  feet  and 
a  half.  The  heads  of  these  animals  are  entirely  de- 
stroyed, and  their  breasts  and  fore  feet  project  from 
the  pilaster.  Their  bodies  are,  likewise,  greatly  dam- 
aged." ..."  The  figures  in  the  two  first  portals  very 
much  resemble  a  horse,  both  before  and  behind,  only 
the  head  seems  to  be  like  that  of  an  ape  ;  and,  indeed, 
the  tail  has  no  great  sunilitude  to  that  of  a  horse  ;  but 
this  may  be  imputed  to  the  ornaments  which  are 
fastened  to  it,  and  were  much  used  among  the  an- 
cient Persians."  .  .  .  .  "  Under  a  portal  to  the  west,  is 
the  figure  of  a  man  hunting  a  bull,  who  has  one  horn 
in  his  forehead,  which  is  grasped  by  the  man's  left 
hand,  while  his  right  plunges  a  large  dagger  into  the 
belly  of  the  bull.  On  the  other  side,  the  figure  of 
another  man  clasps  the  horn  Avith  his  right  hand, 
and  stabs  the  beast  with  his  left.  The  second  portal 
discovers  the  figure  of  a  man  carved  in  the  same 
manner,  A\ath  a  deer  that  greatly  resembles  a  lion, 
having  a  horn  in  his  forehead,  and  wings  on  the 
body.  The  same  rej)resentations  are  to  be  seen  imder 
the  portal  to  the  north,  with  this  exception,  that,  in- 

Emblematical  Rki'resentatiojt. 

1.  I  saw  a  lion, 

2.  Having  eagle's  v>ings ; 

3.  The  wings  were  plucked  ; 

4.  It  Avas  raised  from  the  ground, 

5.  Made  to  stand  on  its  feet  as  a  man, 

6.  A  man's  heart  [intellect)  Avas  gi\'en  to  it. 

Dan.  chap.  vii. 

Does  not  this  sculpture  rejnesent  the  destruction  of 
this  metaphorical  lion  ?  The  ideas  are  remarkably 
coincident;  they  differ  but  as  the  language  of  sculp- 
ture necessarily  differs  from  that  of  poetry. 


stead  of  the  deer,  there  is  a  great  lion,  which  a  man 
holds  by  the  mane."  .  .  .  .  "  There  are  also  tAvo  other 
figures  on  each  side,  in  the  two  niches  to  the  south, 
one  of  which  gi-asps  the  horn  of  a  goat  with  one 
hand,  Avhile  the  other  rests  on  the  neck  of  that  ani- 
imal."  .  ..."  In  one  of  these  portals,  to  the  cast,  Ave 
obserA-ed  the  figure  of  a  man  encountering  a  lion ; 
and  in  another  compartment,  a  man  fighting  Aviih  a 
bull.  We  likeAvise  beheld,  under  the  tAvo  portals  to 
the  Avest,  several  figures  of  lions,  one  of  Avhich  is 
represented  AAith  Avings."  ....  "The  Spanish  ambas- 
sador Avas  persuaded,  that  the  animal  attacked  by  the 
lion,  on  the  staircase,  represents  an  ox,  or  a  bull  ; 
but  I  rather  think  it  intended  for  a  horse  or  an  ass. 
This  particular  piece  of  sculpture  is  no  more  than  a 
hieroglyphic,  representing  virtue  victorious  over  force ; 
and  every  one  knoAAS,  that  the  ancient  Persians  and 
EgA  ptians  concealed  their  greatest  mysteries  under 
equivocal  figures,  as  Heliodorus  observes.  As  all 
these  animals,  therefore,  are  represented  Avith  horns, 
Avhicli  are  not  natural  to  them,  some  mystery  must 
certainly  be  intended  by  that  sculpture  ;  and  this  sup- 
position seems  the  more  reasonable,  because  it  is  well 
knoAvn  that  horns  Avere  anciently  the  emblem  of 
strength,  and  even  of  majesty  itself."  .  ..."  I  take 
the  other  figure,  Avhich  encounters  a  lion,  and  is  hab- 
ited like  a  Mede,  to  be  a  hieroglyphic  ;  because  the 
Egyptians,  from  whom  the  Persians  borrowed  sev- 
eral customs,  re])resented  strength  and  fortitude  by 
the  figure  of  a  lion.  The  reader  may  consult  Clemens 
Alexandrinus  AAith  relation  to  this  particular.  It  may 
likcAvise  be  intended  for  a  real  conibat,  the  Medes 
and  Persians  liaA'ing  been  very  fond  of  encountering 
animals,  as  Xenophou  observes  in  his  '  Institution  of 
Cyrus.'  Those  Avho  are  versed  in  antiquity  may 
judge  of  these  figures  as  they  think  proper." 

It  is  evident  from  these  extracts,  that  Le  Bruyn 
had  no  fixed  opinion  as  to  Avhat  these  figures  repre- 
sent. Without  controverting  Avhat  he  offers,  JMr. 
Taylor  thus  proposes  his  own  conceptions.  One  of 
these  figiu'es  "represents  a  man  Avho  has  seized  a 
lion  Avith  one  hand  :  in  his  other  hand  he  holds  a 
sword,  as  if  draAvn  back,"  in  order  to  plunge  it  the 
more  forcibly  into  tlie  body  of  the  lion  ;  the  lion  is 
lifted  up  from  the  earth,  and  stands  upright  on  its 
hind  legs ;  he  looks  behind  him,  as  if  fearing  harm 
from  thence.  This  lion  is  partly  clothed  Avith  feath- 
ers ;  and  these,  from  their  size,  &c.  have  the  appear- 
ance cf  hc'iug  eagle's  feathers :  his  feathers  seem  to 
be  dinmiishing ;  at  least,  he  is  by  no  means  so  full  of 
feathers  as  another  figure  adjoining.  The  man,  from 
his  cap,  &:c.  is  doubtless  a  person  of  distinction  ;  in 
fact,  a  Persian  king,  victorious  over  a  poAver  denoted 
by  a  lion  ;  but  possessed  of  the  additional  strength 
and  celerity  of  an  eagle.  The  correspondence  of 
events  is  thus: — 

Historical  Narratio>-. 

1.  The  Babylonian  eiiipire: 

2.  Nineveh  added  to  it — but, 

3.  Nineveii  almost  destroyed  at  the  fall  of  Sar- 

danapalus : 

4.  Again  raised,  but  liy  artijicial  means, 

5.  To  stand  in  an  unnatural  posture, 

6.  Through  the  policy  and  good  management 

of  its  king ;  perhaps  Nebuchadnezzar. 

"  Another  of  these  sculptures  also  represents  a  man, 
certainly  no  less  a  personage  than  a  king,  who  Avith 
one  hand  seizes  the  [single]  horn  of  an  animal,  Avhich 
he  has  attacked;   Avhile,   with   the  other  hand,  he 


DAR 


[334] 


DAR 


E lunges  a  sword  into  its  belly.  This  animal  has  the 
ody,  fore  legs,  and  head  of  a  beast ;  he  is  also  great- 
ly clothed  with  feathers,  has  wings,  and  birds'  legs, 
on  which  he  stands  upright.  He  seeiua  to  make  a 
stout  resistance. 

"  It  is  not  easy  to  determine  what  beast  is  here  rep- 
resented, but  it  seems  to  be  clear  that  the  king  is 
breaking  its  [single]  horn,  (power,)  and  destroying  it. 
It  probably  alludes  to  some  province  of  the  Persian 
empire,  acquired  by  victory  ;  and  most  likely  tlie 
other  emblems  in  this  palace  have  similar  reference  : 
for  we  learn  from  Diodorus,  that  military  actions  of 
the  Egyptian  monarchs  were  represented  on  tlie  tem- 
ples and  j)alaces  of  Egypt ;  and  we  may  fairly  pre- 
sume that  the  vanity  ol"  Persia  would  not  be  inferior 
to  that  of  Egj'pt."  Mr.  Taylor's  opinion  is,  that  these 
figures  represent  the  king,  or  the  deity,  under  whose 
auspices  the  king  conquered,  by  whom  the  neighbor- 
ing powers,  allegorized  Ijy  these  figurative  beasts, 
were  subdued  ;  and  that  these  are  allusions  to  such 
actious:  but  his  opinion  goes  no  further,  than  to  ac- 
knowledge their  coincidence  with  the  animals  de- 
scribed by  the  prophet  Daniel ;  whose  emblems  are 
not  only  justified  by  the  comparison,  but  it  is  proved, 
also,  dial  s  !ch  national  allegories  were  in  use  at  that 
time,  and  were  then  well  known  and  publicly  ad- 
mitted. 

It  is  remarkable,  that  Daniel  does  not  determine 
the  species  of  the  fourth  beast  in  his  vision  ;  perhaps 
because  its  insigiiia  were  then  unknown  in  so  distant 
a  region  as  Persia. 

That  ancient  opponent  of  Christianity,  Porphyry, 
affirmed  that  the  book  of  Daniel  was  a  history  writ- 
ten figuratively  after  the  events  it  refers  to  had  hap- 
pened; even  after  Antiochus  Epiphanes,  and  long 
after  the  empire  of  the  Greeks ;  and  Eichhorn  and 
others  adopt  his  notion  ;  but,  as  the  emblems  on  this 
palace  are,  at  all  events,  prior  to  Alexander,  who  de- 
stroyed them,  and  have  no  Greek  allusions  among 
them,  their  antiquity  becomes  a  voucher  for  the  an- 
tiquity of  Daniel,  with  whom  they  coincide  so  remark- 
ably ;  and  if  tlie  autiquity  of  Daniel  be  estabUshed, 
his  proj)hetic  character  follows  of  course.  The 
reader  will  reflect  on  the  importance  of  establishing 
the  antiquity  of  Daniel ;  since  our  calculations  of  the 
time  of  the  Messiah's  coming,  (Sec.  originate  from 
him,  ^vho  remarkably,  clearly,  and  systematically, 
calculates  the  periods  and  dates  of  following  events. 
Mr.  Taylor  I'urtlier  suggests,  that  the  reason  why 
Daniel  calculates  so  systematically,  perhaps  was,  be- 
cause he  dwelt  in  Baljylon,  where  a  new  era  had 
lately  been  es^tablished,  which  we  call  that  of  Nabo- 
nassar :  this  formed  a  fixed  point,  of  which  Daniel's 
proficiency  in  Chaldean  studies  enabled  him  to  avail 
himself  No  such  era  was  as  yet  adopted  in  Greece, 
Judea,  or  Svria. 

I.  DARIUS  THE  MEDE,  spoken  of  in  Daniel, 
(chap.  V.  31 ;  ix.  1  ;  xi.  1.)  was  son  of  Astyages,  king 
of  the  Modes,  and  brother  of  Mandane,  mother  of 
Cyrus,  and  Amyit,  the  mother  of  Evil-mcrodachand 
grandmother  of  Belshazzar  :  thus  he  was  uncle,  by 
the  mother's  side,  to  Evil-merodach  and  to  Cyrus. 
The  Hebrew  frp„f.,.al|y  calls  him  Danavcsch,  or 
Darius;  the  LXX,  Artaxerxcs ;  and  Xenophon, 
Cyaxares.     See  Astyages  II. 

II.  DARIUS  CODOMANNUS  was  one  of  the 
most  handsome  men  in  the  Persian  empire  ;  and  at 
the  same  time  the  most  brave  and  generous  of  the 
Persian  kings.  Alexander  the  Great  defeated  Darius 
several  times,  and  at  length  subverted  tlie  Persian 
monarchy,  after  it  had  been  established  206  years. 


Darins  was  killed  by  his  own  generals,  after  a  short 
reign  of  six  years.  Thus  were  verified  the  prophe- 
cies of  Daniel,  (chap,  viii.)  who  had  foretold  the  en- 
largement of  the  Persian  monarchy,  under  the  sym- 
bol of  a  ram,  butting  with  its  horns  westward, 
northward,  and  southward,  which  nothing  could 
resist :  and  its  destruction,  by  a  goat  having  a  very 
large  horn  between  his  eyes,  (Alexander  the  Great,) 
coming  from  the  West,  and  overrunning  the  world 
without  touching  the  earth.  S])ringing  forward  with 
impetuosity,  he  ran  against  the  ram  with  all  his  force, 
attacked  him  with  fury,  bi-oke  his  two  horns,  and 
trauqjled  him  under  foot,  without  anyone  being  able 
to  rescue  him.  Nothing  can  be  added  to  the  clear- 
ness of  these  prophecies. 

DARKNESS,  obscurity.  "Darkness  was  upon 
the  face  of  the  deep,"  (Gen.  i.2,)  that  is,  chaos  was  im- 
mersed in  thick  darkness,  because  light  was  withheld 
from  it.  The  most  terrible  darkness  was  that  brought 
on  Egypt  as  a  plague  ;  it  was  so  thick  as  to  be,  as  it 
were,  palpable  ;  so  horrible,  that  no  one  durst  stir  out 
of  his  j)lace ;  and  so  lasting,  that  it  endured  three 
days  and  three  nights,  Exod.  x.  21,  22 ;  VVisd.  xvii, 
2,  3.  The  darkness  at  our  Saviour's  death  began  at 
the  sixth  hour,  or  noon  ;  and  ended  at  the  third  hour, 
or  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon.  Thus  it  lasted  al- 
most the  whole  time  he  was  on  tlie  cross ;  compare 
Matt,  xxvii.  45,  with  John  xix.  14,  and  Mark  xv.  25. 
Some  are  of  opinion,  that  this  darkness  covered 
Judea  only  ;  which  is  sometimes  expressed  by  the 
wJwle  earth  ;  that  is,  land  or  country  ;  others,  that  it 
extended  over  a  hemisphere.  It  should  be  remarked, 
that  the  moon  being  at  full,  a  natural  eclipse  of  the 
sun  was  impossible  ;  though  Julius  Africanus,  Euse- 
bius,  and  Jerome,  in  their  several  chronicles,  refer 
that  eclipse  of  the  sun  which  Phlegon  mentions,  to 
our  Saviour's  death.  That  author  says,  it  was  the 
greatest  eclipse  ever  seen,  since  at  noon-day  the  stars 
were  discernible  in  the  heavens.  It  happened  in  the 
fourth  year  of  the  102d  Olympiad,  which  is  that  of 
Jesus  Christ's  deatli.  And  Tertullian  refers  the 
heathen  to  their  public  archives  for  an  accoimt  of 
this  darkness.  The  remarks,  however,  made  liy  Dr. 
Lardner,  in  o])position  to  the  application  of  what  has 
been  adduced  from  Phlegon,  have  great  force.  That 
ancient  writer  speaks  of  what  passed  in  Bithynia,  not 
in  Judea ;  the  references  he  makes  to  the  year  are 
uncertain,  and  do  not  specify  the  time  of  the  year ; 
his  language,  so  far  as  apjiears,  may  be  referred  to  a 
natural  eclipse  of  the  sini ;  and,  further,  the  quota- 
tions made  from  his  work,  or  the  allusions  to  it  by 
Christian  writers,  are  very  loose,  imperfect,  and  un- 
satisfactoiy.  On  the  whole,  it  docs  not  appear  that 
Phlegon  intended  a  reference  to  the  period  of  Christ'8 
passion. 

Darkness  is  sometimes  used  metaphorically :  for 
death,  Job  x.  22.  The  land  of  darkness — the  grave. 
It  is  also  used  to  denote  misfortunes  and  calamities, 
Psalm  cvii.  10.  "A  day  of  darkness,"  (Esth.  xi.  8. 
.fipoc.)  an  unhappy  day.  "Let  that  day  lie  darkness 
— let  darkness  stain  it,"  (Job  iii.  4,  5.)  let  it  be  reck- 
oned among  the  unfortunate  days.  "  I  am  encom- 
passed with  darkness."  "  I  will  co\er  the  heavens 
with  darkness."  "The  sun  shall  be  turned  into 
darkness,  and  the  moon  into  blood,"  &c.  These 
exjiressions  signify  very  great  calamities  ;  personal 
and  national.  In  a  moral  sens(>,  darkness  denotes 
sin;  the  children  of  light,  in  ojiposition  to  the  chil- 
dren of  darkness;  the  righteous  in  oppositicm  to  the 
wicked.  "Ye  were  sometimes  darkness,  but  now 
are  ye  light,"  Ephes.  v.  8,  11.     "God  bath  called  ua 


DAU 


[  335 


D  A  V 


out  of  darkness,"  &.c.  (1  Pet.  ii.  9.)  from  idolatry, 
ignorance,  &c.  to  Christianity. 

DATE,  the  fruit  of  the  pahn-tree.     See  Palm. 

DAUGHTER.  This  word,  like  other  names  of 
relation  employed  in  Scripture,  being  a  noun  express- 
ing similitude,  no  less  tlian  kindred,  is  used  in  refer- 
ence to  many  subjects,  which  are  not  properly  the 
offspring  of  that  person,  or  that  thing,  of  which  they 
are  said  to  be  daughters.  The  following  are  senses 
in  which  the  word  daughter  is  used  in  Scripture. 

(1.)  Female  offspring,  by  natural  birth,  Gen.  vi.  1 ; 
xxiv.  23,  and  other  places. — (2.)  Grand-daughter ;  so 
the  servant  of  Abraham  calls  Rebekah  "my  master's 
brother's  daughter,"  (Gen.  xxiv.  48.)  whereas  she 
was  daughter  of  Bethuel,  son  of  Nahor,  as  appears 
from  verse  24  ;  consequently,  gi-and -daughter  of  Na- 
hor, brother  of  Abraham,  the  master  of  the  speaker. — 
(3.)  Betnote  descendants,  of  the  same  family  or  tribe, 
but  separated  by  many  ages  ;  "  daughter  of  Heth,"  of 
his  posterity  ;  daughters  of  Canaan,  of  Moab,  of 
Ammon;  and  Luke  (i.  5.)  says,  EHsabeth  was  of  the 
"daughters  of  Aaron,"  of  his  descendants,  though 
many  generations  had  intervened. — (4.)  Daughter  by 
nation.  Dinah  went  out  to  see  the  young  women  of 
Shechem,  called  the  "  daughters  of  the  fand,"  Gen. 
xxxiv.  1.  (See  also  Numb.  xxv.  1 ;  Deut.  xxiii.  17.) — 
(5.)  Daughter,  by  reference  to  the  human  species; 
young  women,  of  whatever  nation.  Gen.  xxx.  13.  (See 
Prov.  xxxi.  29  ;  Cant.  ii.  2.) — (6.)  Daughter,  by  person- 
ification, of  a  people,  or  city,  whence  daughter  of 
Jerusalem,  or  of  Zion  ;  of  Babylon  ;  (Isa.  xlvii.  1,  5.) 
of  Edom  :  (Lam.  iv.  21.)  of  Egypt,  Jer.  xlvi.  11, 14.— 
(7.)  Daughter  hj  law  ;  (Ruth  iii.  1.)  and  this  is  com- 
mon in  all  nations,  to  call  a  son's  wife  daughter  ;  but 
Boaz  calls  Rutii  "daughter"  by  counesj',  as  express- 
ing kindness,  afTability,  affection,  from  a  senior  to  a 
junior  in  age,  from  a  superior  to  an  inferior  by  sta- 
tion, iii.  10,  11. — (8.)  Daughter  by  adoption,  as  Esther 
was  to  3Iordecai,  (Esther  ii.  7.)  and  as  God  promises 
his  people  by  his  grace,  2  Cor.  vi.  18. — (9.)  Daughter, 
in  reference  to  disposition  and  conduct :  as  we  have 
"  sons  of  Belial,"  so  we  have  "  daughter  of  Belial,"  a 
woman  of  an  unrestrainable  conduct,  uncontrollable, 
1  Sam.  i.  IG.  (See  also  Belial,  and  Soxs.) — (10.) 
Daughter,  in  reference  to  ago  :  as  we  have  "  a  son  of 
so  many  years,"  so  wc  have  "a  daughter  of  ninety 
years,"  Heb. — a  woman  of  that  age  ;  (Gen.  xvii.  17.) 
and  the  same  is  said  of  a  female  beast.  Lev.  xiv.  10. — 
(11.)  The  female  offspring  of  a  bird,  (Isa.  xiii.  21. 
marg.)  "daughter  of  the  owl." — (12.)  The  branches, 
which  are,  as  it  were,  the  offspring  of  a  tree,  (Gen. 
xlix.  22.)  the  branches — daughters,  Heb. — of  Joseph, 
compared  to  a  tree,  spread  over  a  wall. — (13.)  Towns, 
or  villages,  around  a  mother  city,  that  i^,  probably 
originating  from  it,  or  supported  by  it :  so  Tyre  is 
called  the  daughter  of  Zidon,  Isa.  xxiii.  12.  (See 
also  2  Sam.  xx.  19.)  So  Ave  read  of  Gath-AjMMAH, 
that  is,  Gath  the  mother-Xown ;  of  a  town  being  a 
mother  in  Israel:  (see  Numb.  xxi.  2.5,32;  Josh.  xv. 
45;  2  Chron.  xiii.  19;  Psalmxlviii.il.  in  the  He- 
brew :)  and  many  cities  in  ancient  medals  are  quali- 
fied as  metropolis,  mother-towns,  implying,  no  doubt, 
lesser  towns,  and  towns  not  equally  aucient,  as  being 
included  in  their  jurisdiction.  We  might  ask  wheth- 
er "the  daughter  of  Tyre"  (Psalm  xlv.  12.)  be  a  per- 
son, the  king's  daughter,  or  ato\\m,  offering  a  present 
by  its  deputies.     [The  meaning  is,  Tyre  itself.     R. 

The  state  of  daughters,  that  is,  young  women,  in 
the  East,  their  employments,  duties,  &c.  may  be  gath- 
ered from  various  j)arts  of  Scripture  ;  and  seem  to 
have  borne   but  little  resemblance  to   the  state  of 


young  women  of  respectable  parentage  among  our- 
selves. Rebekah  drew  and  fetched  water ;  Rachel 
kept  sheep,  as  did  the  daughters  of  Jethro,  though 
Jethro  was  a  priest,  or  a  prince,  of  IMidian.  They 
superintended  and  performed  domestic  services  for 
the  family ;  Tamar,  though  a  king's  daugliter,  baked 
bread  ;  and  the  same  of  others.  We  have  the  same 
occupations  for  the  daughters  of  princes  in  the  an- 
cient poets,  of  which  Homer  is  an  unquestionable 
evidence. 

DAVID,  son  of  Jesse,  of  Judah,  and  of  the  town 
of  Bethlehem,  was  born  A.  M.  2919.  After  the  re- 
jection of  Saul,  as  to  the  descent  of  the  crown  in  his 
family,  the  Lord  sent  Samuel  to  Bethlehem  to  anoint 
a  son  of  Jesse  to  be  the  future  king.  Jesse  produced 
his  seven  sons  one  after  another ;  but  the  intended 
sovereign  was  not  among  ihem.  David,  therefore, 
was  sent  for,  w-ho  was  about  fifteen  years  of  age,  and 
Samuel  conferred  on  him  an  unction  in  the  midst  of 
his  brethren.  After  which,  David  returned  to  his 
ordinary  occupation  of  feeding  his  father's  flocks,  1 
Sam.  xvi.  15,  16,  A.  31.  2934.  Some  time  after- 
wards, Saul  falling  into  a  lamentable  state  of  melan- 
choly, David  w'as  chosen  to  play  before  him,  and  the 
king  appointed  him  his  armor-bearer,  1  Sam.  xvi.  14 
— 23.  When  Saul  recovered,  David  returned  to  his 
father's  house  ;  but  some  years  after,  Goliath,  a  Phi- 
listine giant,  having  insulted  Israel  by  a  challenge,  he 
encountered  the  giant  and  slew  him.  The  Philis- 
tines, seeing  their  hero  killed,  fled,  1  Sam.  xvii.  1 — 
52.  When  Saul  saw  David  coming  against  this  Phi- 
listine, he  inquired  of  Abner  who  he  was  ;  but  Abner 
answered  that  he  knew  not.  Calmet  remarks  that 
this  appears  strange,  considering  Saul  had  seen  David 
in  his  own  house,  where  he  played  before  him  on 
his  harp,  and  had  appointed  him  armor-bearer. 
He  supposes  that  either  David's  face,  voice,  and  air, 
must  liave  been  changed  since  that  time  ;  or  that 
Saul,  during  his  gloomy  insanity,  iiad  acquired  false 
ideas  of  David's  person  ;  or,  after  his  recoven',  had 
forgotten  him.  But  we  are  not  certain  that  David 
had  ever  been  a  regular  attendant  on  the  person  of 
Saul ;  that  he  had  often  played  before  him  ;  nor  do 
we  know  under  what  circumstances  of  dress  or  place. 
It  does  not  appear  that  even  Jonathan  had  seen  Da- 
vid, at  least  not  familiarly,  before,  and  this  is  the 
greater  difficulty  :  Abner,  as  general,  might  be  absent, 
but  Jonathan  was,  no  doubt,  more  or  less,  about  his 
father.  Abner,  however,  presented  David  to  the 
king,  with  the  head  and  sword  of  Goliath  in  his 
hands.  From  this  instant,  Jonathan  conceived  a 
great  affection  for  David,  which  contiiuied  ever  after, 
1  Sam.  xvii.  xviii.  1 — 4.  When  Saul  and  David  re- 
turned from  this  expedition,  the  women  of  Israel 
met  them,  singing,  "Said  has  slain  his  thousands, 
and  David  his  ten  thousands ;"  which  so  enraged 
Saul  against  David,  that  henceforth  he  looked  en 
him  with  an  evil  eye  ;  though  he  kept  him  about  his 
person,  and  gave  him  the  command  of  some  troops. 
Ho,  however,  refused  to  give  him  his  daughter  in 
marriage,  though  he  had  promised  her  to  the  man 
who  should  kill  Goliath,  xvii.  25.  Saul's  distemper 
having  returned,  David  played  on  the  harp  before 
him,  and  Saul  with  his  sjjear  twice  attempted  to  kill 
him,  xviii.  10,  11.  Having  discovered  that  his  second 
daughter  entertained  kind  thoughts  of  David,  Saul 
caused  it  to  be  communicated  to  him,  that  to  merit 
the  honor  of  becoming  the  king.'s  son-in-law,  he 
required  no  great  gifts,  dowry,  or  presents,  but  a 
hundred  foreskins  of  the  Philistines;  his  design 
being  to  haver  David  fall   by  their   hands.     David, 


BA\ID 


[  336 


DAVID 


however,  with  his  people,  killed  tAVo  liundrcd  Philis- 
tines, and  brought  their  foreskins  to  the  king,  who 
could,  therefore,  no  longer  refuse  him  his  daughter  ; 
though  he  did  not  lay  aside  the  intention  of  his  de- 
struction. His  distemper  again  possessing  him, 
David,  as  usual,  played  on  the  harp  before  him  ;  but 
the  king  endeavoring  to  pierce  him  with  his  lance, 
he  fled  to  his  house,  xviii.  17 ;  xix.  10,  A.  M.  2944. 

Having  thus  repeatedly  escaped  from  Saul's  mal- 
ice, David  went  to  Samuel  at  Raniah,  and  related  to 
him  what  had  passed.  They  went  together  to  Nai- 
oth,  but  David,  not  thinking  himself  secure  here, 
secretly  visited  Jonathan,  who  encouraged  him,  and 
jiromised  to  discover  Saul's  real  disposition  towards 
liim,  distinct  from  his  disease.  This  proving  to  be 
altogether  inimical  to  David,  the  two  friends  renewed 
protestations  of  perpetual  friendship,  and  David  re- 
tired to  the  high-priest  Abinielech  at  Nob,  to  whom 
he  represented,  that  the  king  had  sent  him  on  busi- 
ness that  required  haste.  Abimelech  gave  him 
Goliath's  sword  which  was  deposited  in  the  taberna- 
cle, and  some  of  tlie  shew-bread,  taken  the  day  be- 
fore from  the  golden  table.  Not  believing  himself  to 
bs  safe  in  Saul's  territories,  David  retired  to  Acliish, 
king  of  Gath  ;  but  being  soon  discovered,  he  wasprc- 
perA'ed,  cither  bj^  counterfeiting  madness,  or  by  a  real 
epilepsy,  1  Sam.  xx.  xxi.  From  hence  he  went  to 
Adullum,  where  his  relations  and  others  resorted  to 
him,  so  that  he  was  at  the  head  of  about  four  hun- 
dred men.  The  prophet  Gad  advised  his  return  into 
tl^e  land  of  Judah,  Avherc  Abiatliar  the  priest  joined 
him,  bringing  the  priestly  ornaments.  The  Philis- 
tines having  invaded  the  threshing-floors  of  Keilah, 
David  attacked  and  dispersed  them  ;  but  Saul  march- 
ing against  him,  he  retreated  to  the  desert  of  Maon. 
Saul  pursued  him  thither  ;  but,  receiving  information 
that  the  Philistines  had  invaded  the  land,  he  desisted 
from  his  pursuit.  Being  delivered  from  this  danger, 
David  retired  to  the  wilderness  of  En-gedi,  whither 
Saul  soon  followed  him  with  3000  men ;  but  going 
into  a  cave,  David,  who  lay  there  concealed  with  his 
people,  cut  off  the  skirt  of  his  robe,  without  his  per- 
ceiving it.  When  Saul  had  jn-oceeded  to  some  dis- 
tance, David  went  our,  cried  after  him,  protested  his 
innocence,  and  sjiowed  him  the  skirt  of  his  robe. 
Saul  was  so  touched  with  what  he  said,  that  he  shed 
tears,  acknowledged  David's  integrity,  and  made  him 
swear  not  to  exterminate  his  family,  when  he  should 
be  advanced  to  tlie  throne,  xxii. — xxiv.  A.  M.  2946. 

While  in  the  wilderness  of  Maon,  David  protected 
the  flocks  of  Nabal,  not  only  from  his  own  people, 
but  from  the  tribes  of  wandering  Arabs,  who  seize 
as  prey  all  they  can  find.  For  this  service  he  solicit- 
ed a  present  from  Nabal,  but  meeting  a  denial,  his 
anger  prompted  him  to  destroy  him  and  his  familj^ 
With  this  resolution  he  set  forward ;  but  Abigail, 
Nnbal's  wife,  pacified  him  with  pi-esents,  for  which 
David  returned  thanks  to  God  ;  and  after  Nabal's 
death  he  married  Abigail. 

The  Ziphites  having  informed  Saul  that  David  lay 
concealed  in  the  hill  of  Hachilah,  he  marched  with 
3000  men  against  him  ;  but  David,  by  night,  got  into 
S  mi's  tent,  took  his  spear  and  cruse  of  water,  and 

departed  without  being  discovered,  1  Sam.  xxvi.  1 

25.  After  this,  Achish,  king  of  Gath,  (1  Sam.  xxvii.) 
gave  David  Ziklag  !or  a  habitation  ;  whence  he  made 
several  incursions  on  the  Amalckites,  and  on  the 
people  of  Geshur  and  Gezri ;  killing  all  who  oppos- 
ed him,  to  prevent  any  discovery  where  he  had 
been.  He  brought  all  the  cattle  to  Achish,  reporting 
that  they  were  from  the  south  of  Judah.     This  prince 


did  not  scruple  to  carry  David  with  him  to  war 
against  Saul ;  but  the  other  princes  of  the  Philistines 
obtamed  his  dismission,  which  must  have  been  most 
agreeable  to  David,  A.  M.  2949,  1  Sam.  xxix.  On 
his  return  to  Ziklag,  he  discovered  that  the  Amalek- 
ites,  in  revenge  of  his  incursions,  had  burned  the 
city,  and  carried  off"  all  the  property  and  persons. 
David  and  his  people  pursued  them,  put  the  greater 
part  of  them  to  the  sword,  and  recovered  all  their 
booty. 

While  this  was  passing  in  the  south,  the  Philistines 
had  defeated  the  Hebrews,  on  mount  Gilboa  ;  Saul 
being  overpowered  and  slain  in  the  engagement, 
with  Jonathan  and  his  two  otiier  sons,  1  Sam.  xxxi. 
The  news  was  brought  to  David  by  an  Amalekite ; 
who  boasted  that  he  had  assisted  Saul  in  despatching 
himself,  and  as  a  proof  presented  the  king's  diaderii 
and  bracelet.  David  ordered  this  Amalekite  to  be 
slain,  who  boasted  that  he  had  lain  hands  on  the 
Lord's  anointed ;  composed  a  mournful  elegy  in 
honor  of  Saul  and  Jonathan  ;  and  with  all  his  people 
lamented  their  deaths,  and  the  defeat  of  Israel,  2 
Sam.  i. 

Directed  by  God,  David  advanced  to  Hebron, 
where  the  tribe  of  Judah  acknowledged  him  as  their 
king,  (2  Sam.  ii.)  while  Ishbosheth,  son  of  Saul,  reign- 
ed at  Mahanaim  beyond  Jordan,  over  the  other  tribes. 
For  some  years,  there  v.'cre  almost  perpetual  skir- 
mishes between  their  troops,  in  which  David  was  til- 
ways  successfid  ;  but  Ishbosheth  having  reprimanded 
Abner,  his  general,  he  visited  David,  and  promised 
to  make  him  master  of  all  Israel ;  but  was  treacher- 
ously killed  by  Joab,  at  the  gate  of  Hebron.  Ishbo- 
sheth was  killed  soon  afterwards,  and  David  punished 
the  murderers.  Being  noAV  proclaimed  king  over  all 
Israel,  he  expelled  the  Jebusites  from  Jerusalem,  and 
there  settled  his  residence.  Some  years  afterwards, 
he  removed  the  ark  of  the  Lord  fi-om  Kirjath-jearim 
to  his  own  palace,  2  Sam.  v.  vi.  xxiii.  13 — 17  ;  1 
Chron.  xii. — xvi. 

David,  now  enjoying  peace,  formed  the  design  of 
building  a  temple  to  the  Lord  ;  and  the  ]jrophet  Na- 
than applauded  his  intention.  The  night  following, 
however,  God  discovered  to  the  prophet,  that  this 
honor  was  reserved  for  David's  son,  because  David 
had  shed  blood.  About  A.  M.  2960,  David  fought 
the  Philistines,  and  freed  Israel  from  these  enemies ; 
also  from  the  Moabites,  wliom  he  treated  with  a  se- 
verity, for  which  we  are  not  well  acquainted  with 
the  motives,  nor,  indeed,  with  all  the  circumstances. 
He  sifljdued  likewise  all  Syria;  made  an  expedition 
as  far  as  the  Euphrates,  and  conquered  the  Edom- 
ites  in  the  valley  of  Salt,  2  Samuel  viii.  Nahash, 
king  of  the  Ammonites,  being  dead,  he  sent  compli- 
ments of  condolence  to  his  son  and  successor ;  but 
his  courtiers  having  persuaded  him,  that  David  sent 
them  as  spies,  the  ])rince  insulted  tlie  ambassadors, 
and  thus  provoked  David's  anger.  Joab  was  sent 
against  the  Ammonites,  who  were  routed,  together 
Avith  the  Syrians ;  and  the  next  year  David  marched 
in  person  against  the  former,  who  had  received  suc- 
cors froin  the  Syrians  beyond  the  Euphrates,  and 
dispersed  them.  The  year  following,  having  resolved 
to  subdue  Rabbah,  the  capital  of  the  Ammonites,  he 
sent  Joab  with  the  army,  while  he  continued  at  Je- 
rusalem, ch.  X.  It  was  at  this  time  that  he  fell  into 
the  dreadful  crimes  of  adultery  and  murder  in  regard 
to  Bathsheba,  and  Uriah  her  husband,  xi.  2 — ^27. 
After  the  death  of  Uriah,  David  married  Bathsheba. 
Joab  having  reduced  Rabbah  to  extremities,  David 
went  thither,  took  the  city,  and  plundered  it ;  order- 


DAVID 


[  337 


DAVID 


ing  the  people  to  be  subjected  to  the  most  severe 
labors,  ver.  26—31.  This  was  probably  before  he 
was  brought  to  repentance  on  account  of  his  criminal 
connection  with  Bathsheba.  Upon  his  return  to  Je- 
rusalem, Nathan,  by  God's  connnand,  visited  liim, 
and,  under  an  affecting  parable  of  a  rich  man,  who 
had  taken  from  a  poor  man  the  only  ewe-lamb  he 
had,  induced  David  to  condemn  himself  Nathan 
foretold  that  his  house  should  be  filled  with  blood, 
as  a  punishment  for  his  crime ;  and  that  the  child 
born  of  this  adulteiy  should  die  ;  as  it  did  within  a 
few  days,  ch.  xii.  1 — 25. 

As  the  beginning  of  his  predicted  punishment  in 
David's  own  family,  his  son  Amnon  was  slain  by  his 
brother  Absalom,  who  fled,  but  was  brought  back  by 
Joab's  intercession.  Shortly  after  this,  he  aspired  to 
the  ro3'al  dignity,  and  was  acknowledged  king  at 
Hebron,  David  being  compelled  to  fly  from  Jerusa- 
lem ;  just  beyond  mount  Olivet,  he  met  Ziba,  the 
servant  of  3Iephibosheth,  a  son  of  Jonathan,  to 
whom  he  gave  the  whole  inheritance  of  his  master, 
chap.  xvi.  Near  Bahurim,  Shimei  loaded  him  with 
curses ;  but  David  endured  all  with  a  patience  analo- 
gous to  his  remorse  for  his  past  iniquity.  Absalom 
followed  him  to  Mahanaim,  and  a  battle  ensued,  in 
which  Absalom's  army  was  defeated  ;  and  he,  hang- 
ing by  his  hair  on  a  tree,  was  slain  by  Joab,  chap, 
xviii.  The  news  of  his  death  overwhelmed  the  king 
with  sorrow  ;  but,  by  the  advice  of  Joab,  he  showed 
himself  publicly  to  the  people,  and  set  out  on  his  re- 
turn to  Jerusalem.  The  tribe  of  Judah  met  him, 
but  Sheba  said,  "We  have  no  pai-t  in  David,  neither 
have  we  inheritance  in  the  son  of  Jesse."  Israel 
followed  Sheba,  but  Judah  adhered  to  David, 
chap.  XX. 

The  land  being  afflicted  by  a  famine  of  three 
years'  continuance,  the  Lord  reminded  David  of  the 
blood  of  the  Gibeonites  unjustly  shed  by  Saul.  Da- 
vid, therefore,  asked  the  Gibeonites,  what  satisfaction 
they  required ;  and  they  demanding  that  seven  of 
Saul's  sons  should  be  hanged  up  in  Gibeab,  David 
complied,  A.  M.  2983,  2  Sam.  xxi.  Some  time  after 
this,  David  having  proudly  and  obstinately  com- 
manded the  people  to  be  numbered,  the  Lord  sent 
the  prophet  Gad  to  offer  him  the  choice  of  three 
scourges  ;  either  that  the  land  should  be  afliicted 
by  famine  during  seven  years,  or  that  he  should  fly 
three  months  before  his  enemies,  or  that  a  pesti- 
lence should  rage  during  three  days.  David  chose 
the  latter,  and,  though  70,000  persons  died,  the  sen- 
tence was  not  fully  executed.  David,  as  an  act  of 
thanksgiving,  erected  an  altar  in  the  threshing-floor 
of  Araunah,  where,  as  some  think,  the  temple  was 
afterwards  built,  xxiv. 

David,  from  his  great  age,  could  now  scarcely  oij- 
tain  any  warmth  ;  a  young  woman,  therefore,  named 
Abishag,  was  brought  to  him,  to  lie  with  him,  and 
attend  him ;  but  continued  a  virgin,  1  Kings  i.  1 — 4. 
At  this  time,  Adonijah,  his  fourth  son,  set  up  the 
equipage  of  a  king,  and  formed  a  party  ;  but  Nafiian, 
who  knew  the  promises  of  David  in  favor  of  Solo- 
mon, acquainted  Bathsheba  with  it,  who  claiming 
those  promises,  David  gave  orders  that  Solomon 
should  be  anointed  king.  David,  being  now  near  his 
end,  sent  for  Solomon,  committed  to  him  the  jiians 
and  models  of  the  temple,  with  the  gold  and  silver  he 
had  prepared  for  it,  and  charged  him  to  be  constant- 
ly faithful  to  God.  He  died,  aged  71,  A.  M.  2990,^ 
ante  A.  D.  1014.  He  reigned  seven  years  and  a  half 
at  Hebron,  and  thirty-three  at  Jerusalem,  in  all  forty 
years,  chap.  ii. 

43 


In  the  account  here  given,  chiefly  from  Calmet, 
the  history  of  David  only  is  narrated ;  but  he  must 
also  be  regarded  as  an  eniineni  type  of  our  Saviour, 
and  as  being  the  author  of  a  large  portion  of  the 
Psalms,  from  wliich  the  church  of  Christ  in  all  ages 
has  derived  the  utmost  advaiuage  in  consolation,  in- 
struction, and  assistance  in  divine  worship ;  and  in 
which  the  clearness  and  fulness  of  the  prophecies  re- 
lating to  the  advent,  and  offices,  and  kingdom  of  our 
Lord,  are  remarkable.     See  Psalms. 

Joseph  us  relates,  that  Solomon  deposited  abun- 
dance of  riches  in  David's  monument ;  and  that, 
1300  years  after,  the  high-priest  Hircanus,  being  be- 
sieged in  Jerusalem  by  Antiochus  Pius,  opened 
David's  monument,  took  out  3000  talents,  and  gave 
Antiochus  part  of  them.  He  adds  that,  many  years 
after,  Herod  the  Great  searched  this  monument,  and 
took  great  sums  out  of  it.  In  the  memoirs  published 
in  Arabic  by  M.  le  Jay,  in  his  Polyglott,  we  read  tiiat 
Hircanus,  when  besieged  by  king  Antiochus  Sidetes 
opened  a  trcasui'e  chamber,  which  belonged  to  some 
of  David's  descendants,  and  that,  after  he  had  taken 
a  large  sum  out  of  it,  he  still  left  much,  and  sealed  it 
up  again.  This  is  very  different  from  Josephus's 
account ;  but  is  probably  the  foundation  of  it.  Da- 
vid's monument  was  much  respected  by  the  Jews. 
Peter  (Acts  ii.  29.)  tells  them,  it  was  still  with  them, 
and  Dio  informs  us,  that  part  of  the  mausoleum  fell 
down  in  the  emperor  Adrian's  reign. 

There  is  one  circumstance  in  the  history  of  David 
which  requires  further  notice  than  it  has  received  in 
the  narrative  just  given. 

There  is  an  apparent  discrepancy  between  the  ac- 
counts of  his  numbering  the  people,  as  given  in 
2  Sam.  xxiv.  9.  and  1  Chron.  xxi.  5.  In  tlie  former 
place  it  stands  thus  -.—Israel  800,000  ;  Judah  500,000  ; 
in  the  latter  it  is,  Israel  1,100,000 ;  Judah  470,000. 
A  very  striking  difference,  certainly  ;  and  the  question 
for  solution  is.  Are  the  accounts  to  be  reconciled  ? 
Patrick,  Lightfoot,  Hales,  and  others,  are  of  opinion 
that  the  returns  were  not  completed  when  sent  in  to 
the  king  ;  and  that  the  writer  of  the  book  of  Samuel 
mentions  the  numjjer  according  to  the  list  actually 
given  in  ;  whereas  the  author  of  the  Chronicles  gives 
the  list  not  laid  before  the  king,  nor  inserted  in  the 
public  records,  but  generally  kuov/n  among  the  peo- 
ple. It  is  difficult,  however,  to  conceive  that  the 
compiler  of  jjublic  annals,  such  as  are  the  Chroni- 
cles, should  depart  from  the  authentic  or  authorized 
retiu-ns,  and  insert  such  as  were  obtained  from  cur- 
rent report,  or  sources  of  private  information.  Per- 
haps the  conjectiu-e  of  a  more  recent  writer.  Mi*. 
Baruch,  is  better  adapted  to  meet  the  case,  and  we 
shall,  therefore,  lay  the  substance  of  his  remarks  be- 
fore tlie  reader : — 

"  It  rppcars,"  he  observes,  "  by  1  Chron.  xxvii.  that 
there  wore  twelve  divisions  of  generals,  who  com- 
manded monthly,  and  whose  duty  was  to  keep  guard 
near  tlie  king's  person,  each  having  a  body  of  troops, 
consisting  of  twenty-four  thousand  men,  which, 
jointly,  formed  a  grand  army  of  two  hundred  and 
eighty-eight  thousand  ;  and  as  a  separate  body  of 
twelve  tliousand  men  naturally  attended  on  the 
twelve  princes  of  the  twelve  tribes,  mentioned  in  the 
same  chapter,  the  whole  will  be  three  hundred  thou- 
sand ;  which  is  the  difference  between  the  two  ac- 
counts of  eight  hundred  thousand,  and  of  onennllion 
one  hundred  thousand.  As  to  the  men  of  Israel,  tlic 
audior  of  Sanuiel  does  not  take  notice  of  the  three 
hundred  thousand,  because  they  were  in  the  actual 
service  of  the  king,  as  a  standing  army,  and,  therefore, 


DAY 


[  338  ] 


DEA 


there  was  no  need  to  number  them ;  but  Chronicles 
joins  them  to  the  rest,  saying  expressly  (Sn-^c"  So)  '  all 
those  of  Israel  were  one  million  one  hundred  thou- 
sand ;'  whereas  the  aiUhor  of  Samuel,  who  reckons 
only  the  eight  hundred  thousand,  does  not  say, 
(Sn-i!;'>  h^)  'all  those  of  Israel,''  but  barely  (Sn-ic'  Tini) 
'  and  Israel  were,'  &c.  It  must  also  be  observed,  that, 
exclusive  of  the  troops  liefore  mentioned,  there  was 
an  ai-my  of  observation  on  the  frontiers  of  the  Phi- 
listines' country,  composed  of  thirty  thousand  men, 
as  appears  by  2  Sam.  vi.  1.  which,  it  seems,  were 
included  in  the  number  of  five  Imudred  thousand  of 
the  people  of  Judah,  by  the  author  of  Samuel ;  but 
the  author  of  Chronicles,  who  mentions  only  four 
hundred  and  seventy  thousand,  gives  the  number  of 
that  tribe,  exclusive  of  those  thirty  thousand  men, 
because  tliey  were  not  all  of  the  tribe  of  Judah, 
and,  therefore,  he  does  not  say,  (hth^  Sd)  'all  those 
of  Judah,''  as  he  had  said,  (Sk-id^  Vd,)  '  all  those  of 
Israel,''  but  only,  (min^i)  '  and  those  of  Judah.'  Thus 
both  accounts  may  be  reconciled,  by  only  having  re- 
coui-se  to  other  parts  of  Scripture,  treating  on  the 
same  subject,  which  will  ever  be  found  the  best 
method  of  explaining  difficult  passages." 

The  remarks  which  follow  are  so  just  and  valuable, 
that  no  apology  will  be  required  for  their  insertion  : 

"  The  above  variations  are,  in  appearance,  so  glar- 
ingly contradictory,  that,  if  the  standing  army  of  two 
hundred  and  eighty-eight  thousand  men,  and  the  ar- 
my of  observation  of  thirty  thousand,  had  not  been 
recorded  in  Scripture,  by  which  the  difficulties  are 
solved,  those  modern  critics  who  take  a  delight  in 
finding  seeming  defects,  blemishes,  and  corruptions 
in  our  copies  of  the  sacred  books,  might,  with  great 
plausibility,  produce  the  present  collation,  as  an  irref- 
ragable instance  to  support  their  position.  But  let 
us,  for  a  moment,  suppose  that  those  circumstances, 
though  real  facts,  had  not  been  recorded  ;  how  would 
the  state  of  the  question  then  rest?  Those  critics 
would  plume  themselves  on  what  they  would  call 
the  in-esistible  force  of  such  contradictory  instances ; 
but  all  their  boasting  would  be  grounded  on  the 
baseless  fabric  of  a  vision,  I  mean,  on  our  ignorance 
of  those  particulars,  which,  if  known,  would  imme- 
diately reconcile  the  variations.  The  inference  I 
Avould  draw  from  this  observation  is,  that  many  diffi- 
culties may  appear  insurmountable,  which  might 
easily  be  solved,  had  the  sacred  writers  been  more 
exi)licit  in  recording  circumstances,  which,  perhaps, 
they  have  omitted,  as  being  well  known  in  their 
time  :  and,  therefore,  critics  should  be  more  cautious, 
than  peremptorily  to  pronounce  all  seeming  varia- 
tions to  be  a  proof  of  corruption,  since  our  present 
inability  to  reconcile  them  is  no  certain  proof  of  any 
blemish  or  defect." 

DAY.  The  day  is  distinguished  into  natural,  as- 
tronomical, civil,  and  artificial ;  and  there  is  another 
distinction  which  may  be  termed  prophetic ;  the  proph- 
ets being  the  only  persons  who  call  years  days  ;  of 
which  there  is  an  example  in  the  explanation  given 
of  Daniel's  seventy  weeks.  The  natural  day  is  one 
revolution  of  the  sun.  The  astronomical  day  is  one 
revohuionof  the  equator,  added  to  that  portion  of  it 
through  which  the  sun  has  passed  in  one  natural 
day.  The  civil  day  is  that,  the  beginning  and  end  of 
which  arc  dctcrminod  by  the  custom  of  any  nation. 
The  Hebrews  began  their  day  in  the  evening  ;  (Lev. 
xxiii.  32.)  the  Babylonians  "from  sim-rising.  The 
artificial  day  is  the  time  of  the  svm's  continuance 
above  the  horizon,  which  is  unequal  accordin''  to 
diffi^rcnt  seasons,  on  account  of  the  obliquity  of'the 


sphere.  The  sacred  writers  generally  divide  the 
day  and  night  into  twelve  unequal  hours.  The  sixth 
hour  is  always  nooia  throughout  the  year  ;  and  the 
twelfth  hour  is  the  last  hour  of  the  day.  But  in  sum- 
mer, the  twelfth  hour,  as  all  the  others  were,  was 
longer  than  in  winter.     See  Hours. 

To-Day,  does  not  only  signify  the  particular  day 
on  which  we  are  speaking,  but  any  definite  time  ;  as 
we  say,  the  people  of  the  present  day,  or  of  that  day, 
or  time. 

DEACON.  Among  the  Greeks  those  youths  who 
served  the  tables  were  called  Stuxorot,  deacons,  i.  e. 
ministers,  attendants ;  and  there  is  a  manifest  allu- 
sion to  them  in  our  Lord's  rebuke  of  his  disciples: 
(Luke  xxii.  25.)  "The  kings  of  the  Gentiles  exercise 
lordship  over  them  ;  and  those  possessing  authority 
over  them,  are  called  benefactors  [fvioyirai).  But 
among  you  it  shall  not  be  so  ;  but  he  who  is  great- 
est among  you,  let  him  be  as  the  youngest ;  and  he 
who  takes  place  as  a  ruler,  as  he  who  serveth  (i.  e.  a 
deacon).  For  whether  is  greater,  he  who  reclines  at 
table,  [araxiltiitoc,)  or  he  who  serveth  (i.  e.  the  dea- 
con) ?  Whereas  I  am  among  you  as  (the  deacon)  he 
who  serveth."  Is  there  not  great  humility  in  our 
Lord's  allusion  ?  But  the  word  is  used  in  ecclesias- 
tical language,  to  denote  an  officer  who  assists  either 
the  bishop  or  priest,  or  in  the  service  of  the  poor. 
(For  the  institiUion  of  deacons,  see  Acts  vi.  1.)  They 
Avere  selected  by  the  people  from  among  themselves, 
were  then  presented  to  the  apostles,  and  ordained  by 
prayer  and  imposition  of  hands.  Paul  enumerates 
the  qualifications  of  a  deacon  in  1  Tim.  iii.  8 — 12. 
[The  word  i5u(;^oioc,  deacon,  attendant,  &c.  as  spoken 
in  reference  to  the  primitive  institutions  of  the  Chris- 
tian churches,  means  07ie  who  collects  and  distributes 
alms  to  the  poor,  an  overseer  of  the  poor,  an  almoner. 
Persons  of  both  sexes  were  appointed  to  perform 
the  duties  of  this  office  ;  which  consisted  in  a  gen- 
eral inquiry  into  the  situation  and  wants  of  the  poor, 
in  taking  care  of  the  sick,  and  in  administering  all 
necessary  and  i)roper  relief,  Phil.  i.  1  ;  1  Tim.  iii.  8, 
12  ;  Rom.  xvi.  1.  From  this  word,  as  applied  to 
this  office,  is  derived  the  English  word  deacon ;  which, 
however,  retains  little  of  its  original  signification.    R. 

DEACONESS.  Such  women  were  called  dea- 
conesses, as  served  the  church  in  those  oflices  in 
which  the  deacons  coidd  not  w  ith  propriety  engage  ; 
such  as  keeping  the  doors  of  that  \mn  of  the  church 
where  the  women  sat ;  assisting  tiie  women  to  tm- 
drcss  and  dress  at  baptism ;  privately  instructing 
those  of  their  own  sex  ;  and  visiting  others  impris- 
oned for  the  faith.  They  were  of  mature  and  ad- 
vanced age  when  chosen ;  of  good  manners  and 
repiUation.  They  were,  in  the  primitive  times,  ap- 
pointed to  this  office,  va  ith  the  imposition  of  hands. 
Paul  speaks  of  Pha'be,  deaconess  of  the  church  at 
the  port  of  Ccnchrea,  the  eastern  haven  of  Corinth, 
Rom.  xvi.  1.     See  Dkacon. 

These  persons  apjioar  to  be  the  same  as  those 
whom  Pliny,  in  his  famous  letter  to  Trajan,  styles 
"^Incillis,  qu(B  ministry:  dicebantur" — female  attend- 
ants called  assistants,  ministers,  or  servants.  It 
appears,  then,  that  tlu^se  were  customary  officers 
throughout  the  churches ;  and  when  the  fury  of 
persecution  fell  on  Christians,  these  were  among  the 
first  to  sufi'er  ;  the  most  cruel  of  tortures  being  in- 
flicted on  them,  not  sjiaring  even  extreme  old  age. 
Is  it  not  reniarkal)Ie  that  the  ofiice,  which  is  so  well 
adapted  to  the  matronly  character  of  the  female  sex, 
should  be  wholly  excluded  from  our  list  of  assistants 
in  the  church .' 


DEA 


[  339  ] 


DEB 


It  is  usually  uuderstood,  that  at  first  deacoutsses 
were  widows,  who  had  lived  with  one  husband  only  ; 
not  less  than  sixty  years  of  age ;  which,  by  the 
fifteenth  canon  of  the  council  of  Chalcedon,  was  re- 
duced to  forty  years.  In  later  times,  they  wore  a 
distinguishing  dress.  The  apostle  Paul  says,  that 
Phffibe  had  been  his  patroness,  as  well  as  that  of 
many  others,  (Rom.  xvi.  2.)  which  implies  a  dignity 
seldom  considered  ;  and  shows  that  great  respecta- 
bility of  station  was  the  reverse  of  inconsistent  with 
the  office  of  deaconess. 

DEAD.  It  was  natural  that  the  Hebrews  should 
have  great  consideration  for  the  dead,  since  they  be- 
lieved the  soul's  immortality,  and  a  resurrection  of 
the  body.  They  esteemed  it  the  greatest  misfortune 
to  be  deprived  of  burial,  and  hence  made  it  a  point 
of  duty  to  bury  the  dead,  (Tob.  i.  19  ;  ii.  3,9;  iv.  17.) 
and  to  leave  something  on  their  graves  to  be  eaten  by 
tJie  poor.  When  an  Israelite  died  in  any  house  or 
tent,  ail  the  persons  and  furniture  in  it  contracted  a 
pollution,  which  continued  seven  days.  Numb.  xix. 
14 — IG.  All  who  touched  the  body  of  one  who  died, 
or  was  killed,  in  the  open  fields ;  all  who  touched 
men's  bones,  or  a  grave,  were  unclean  seven  days. 
To  cleanse  this  pollution,  they  formerly  took  the 
ashes  of  the  red  heifer,  sacrificed  by  the  higii-priest 
on  the  day  of  solemn  expiation  :  (Numb,  xix.)  on 
these  they  poured  water  in  a  vessel,  and  a  person 
who  was  clean  dipped  a  bunch  of  hyssop  in  the  water, 
and  sprinkled  with  it  the  furniture,  the  chamber,  and 
the  persons,  on  the  third  day  and  on  the  seventh  day. 
It  was  required  that  the  [jolluted  person  should  pre- 
viously bathe  his  whole  body,  and  wash  his  clothes  ; 
after  Mhich  he  was  clean,  ver.  17 — 22.  Since  the 
destruction  of  the  temple,  the  Jews  have  ceased 
generally  to  consider  themselves  as  polluted  by  a 
dead  body. 

It  appears  to  have  been  a  custom  in  Palestine,  to 
embalm  the  bodies  of  persons  of  distinction  and  for- 
tune :  but  this  was  never  general.  The  evangelist 
John  remaiks,  that  our  Saviom-  was  wra])t  in  linen 
clothes,  with  the  spices,  as  the  manner  of  the  Jews 
is  to  bury ;  (John  xix.  40.)  and  we  read,  that  either 
with,  or  near,  the  bodies  of  some  kings  of  Judah, 
abundance  of  sjjices  was  burnt ;  (2  Chron.  xxi.  19.) 
but  we  cannot  affirm  that  this  was  customary,  Jer. 
xxxiv.  5.     See  Embalming. 

Ancieytly  the  Jews  had  women  hired  to  lament  at 
funerals,  and  who  played  on  doleiul  instruments,  and 
walked  in  procession.  The  rabliins  say,  that  an 
Israelite  was  enjoined  to  have  two  of  these  musicians 
at  his  wife's  obsequies,  besides  the  women  hired  to 
weep.  Persons  who  met  the  funeral  procession,  in 
civility  joined  the  company,  and  mingled  their 
groans.  To  this  our  Saviour  seems  to  allude  :  (Luke 
vii.  32.)  "  We  have  mourned  to  you,  and  ye  have 
not  we|)t."  And  Paul — "  Rejoice  with  them  that 
do  rejoice,  and  weep  with  them  that  weep,"  Rom. 
xii.  15.  See  Burial.  For  baptism  of  the  dead,  see 
Baptism. 

DEAD  SEA,  see  Sea. 

DEATH  is  taken  in  Scripture,  (1.)  for  the  separa- 
tion of  body  and  soul,  the  first  death;  (Gen.  xxv.  11.) 
(2.)  for  alienation  from  God,  and  exposure  to  his 
wrath,  1  John  iii.  14,  &c.  ;  (3.)  for  the  second  death, 
that  of  eternal  damnation  ;  (4.)  for  any  great  calami- 
ty, danger,  or  imminent  risk  of  death,  as  persecution, 
2  Cor.  i.  10.  "  The  gates  of  death"  signify  the  grave  ; 
"instruments  of  death,"  dangerous  and  deadly  weap- 
ons ;  "bonds  or  snares  of  death,"  snares  intended  to 
produce  death  ;  "  a  son  of  death,"  one  who  deserves 


death,  or  one  condenmed  to  death;  "the  duet  of 
death,"  the  state  of  the  body  in  the  grave.  Sec. 

A<lam,  having  eaten  of  the  forbidden  fruit,  incurred 
the  penalty  of  death,  for  himself  and  his  i)OSterity. 
Had  he  continued  obedient,  it  is  generallv  supposed 
he  would  not  have  died,  and  the  fruit  of  "the  tree  of 
hie  was,  perhaps,  intended  to  preserve  him  in  a  happy 
state  of  constant  health ;  peilmps,  too,  after  a  long 
life,  God  might  have  translated  him,  by  some  easy 
mutation,  into  a  life  absolutely  immortal.  Death  was 
therefore,  brought  into  the  world  by  the  envy  and 
malice  of  the  devil;  (Wisdom  iii.  24.)  and  the  sin  of 
Adam  introduced  the  death  of  all  his  descendants 
Rom.  V.  12.  He  was  driven  out  of  paradise  after  his 
guilt,  lest  he  should  eat  the  fruit  of  the  tree  of  life. 

Our  Saviour,  by  his  death,  however,  subdued  the 
power  of  death,  and  merited  for  us  a  blessed  immor- 
tality, Heb.  ii.  14,  15.  Not  that  the  soul,  mortal  be- 
fore, has  been  by  him  rendered  immortal ;  or  that  he 
has  merited  for  us  the  favor  of  not  dying  ;  for  he  has 
not  changed  the  nature  of  the  soul,  nor  exempted  us 
from  the  necessity  of  dying;  but  he  has  given  us  the 
life  of  grace  in  this  world,  and  has  merited  eternal 
happiness  for  us  in  the  future  world  ;  provided  the 
merits  of  his  death  are  received  by  faith. 

DEBIR,  the  name  of  a  city.  (It  signifies  that  sepa- 
rated part  of  a  temple,  called  tlie  adytum ;  the  most 
retired  or  secret  part,  from  which  the  oracle  was  un- 
derstood to  issue.  In  Solomon's  temple,  the  holy  of 
holies  was  called  the  debir,  in  Hebrew,  1  Kings  vi.  5, 
19 — 22,  etc.)  The  city  Debir  is  called,  also,  A^r/o/A- 
sepher,  "  the  city  of  the  book,"  or  learning ;  and 
Kiijath-sa7inah,  the  "city  of  purity,"  from  the  Clial- 
dee  and  Arabic  root  to  cleanse.  This  ancient  city 
was  near  Hebron,  in  the  south  of  Judah,  and  its  first 
inhabitants  were  giants  of  the  race  of  Anak.  Joshua 
took  it,  and  slew  its  king.  Josh.  x.  39  ;  xii.  13.  It  fell 
by  lot  to  Caleb ;  and  Othniel  first  entering  the  place, 
Caleb  gave  him  his  daughter  Achsah,  xv.  15,  16.  It 
subsequently  belonged  to  the  Levites,  xxi.  15 ;  1 
Chron.  vi.  58.     See  Kirjath-sepher. 

There  were  two  other  cities  of  this  name  ;  one  be- 
longing to  Gad,  beyond  Jordan,  (Josh.  xiii.  26.)  the 
other  to  Benjamui,  though  originally  to  Judah,  Josh. 
XV.  7. 

I.  DEBORAH,  a  prophetess,  and  wife  of  Lapi- 
doth,  judged  the  Israelites,  and  dwelt  under  a  palm- 
tree  between  Ratnah  and  Bethel,  Judg.  iv.  4,  5.  She 
sent  for  Barak,  directed  him  to  attack  Sisera,  and 
promised  him  victory.  Barak,  however,  refused  to 
go,  unless  she  accompanied  him  ;  which  she  did,  i»ut 
told  him,  that  the  success  of  the  expedition  would  be 
imputed  to  a  woman,  and  not  to  him.  After  the 
victory,  Deborah  and  Barak  composed  a  splendid 
triumphal  song,  which  is  preserved  in  Judges  c.  v. 
(For  a  translation  of  this  song,  with  a  commentary,  see 
the  Biblical  Repository,  vol.  i.  p.56i^,  seq.) 

II.  DEBORAH,  Rebekah's  nurse,  who  accompa- 
nied Jacob,  and  was  buried  at  the  foot  of  Bethel, 
under  an  oak  ;  for  this  reason  called  the  oak  of 
weejiing,  Gen.  xxxv.  8. 

DEBT,  an  obligation  which  must  be  discharged  by 
the  party  bound  so  to  do.  This  may  be  either  spe- 
cial or  general :  special  obligations  are  where  the 
party  has  contracted  to  do  something  in  return  for  a 
service  received ;  general  obligations  are  those  to 
which  a  man  is  bound  by  his  relative  situation. 
"  Whoso  shall  swear  by  the  gold  of  the  temple — by 
the  gift  on  the  altar— is  a  debtor  ;"  (Matt,  xxiii.  16.)  is 
bound  by  his  oath  ;  is  obliged  to  fulfil  his  vow.  "  I 
am  debtor  to  the  Greeks  and  barbarians ;"  (Rom.  i.  14.) 


DED 


[340] 


DEG 


under  obligations  to  persons  of  all  nations  and  char- 
acters. Gal.  V.  3,  he  is  a  debtor — is  bound — to  do  the 
whole  law.  Men  may  be  debtors  to  human  justice, 
or  to  divine  justice  ;  bound  to  obedience,  and  if  that 
be  not  comphed  with,  bound  to  suffer  the  penalties 
annexed  to  transgression. 

DECALOGUE,  the  ten  principal  commandments, 
(Exod.  XX.  1,  &c.)  from  the  Greek  Siy.a,  ten,  and 
/.oyo;,  loord.  The  Jews  call  these  precepts.  The  ten 
ivords. 

DECx\POLIS,  (from  the  Greek  Si>'.l<,  ten,  and 
riiXig,  a  city,)  a  country  in  Palestine,  which  contained 
ten  principal  cities,  on  both  sides  of  Jordan,  Matt.  iv. 
25  ;  Mark  v.  20  ;  vii.  31.  According  to  Pliny,  they 
were,  1.  Scythopolis  ;  9.  Philadelphia;  3.  Raphanaj ; 
4.  Gadara ;  5.  Hippos  ;  G.  Dios  ;  7.  Pella ;  8.  Gerasa ; 
i\  Canatha  ;  10.  Damascus.  Josephus  inserts  Oto- 
pos  instead  of  Canatha.  Though  within  the  hmits 
of  Israel,  the  Decapolis  was  probably  inhabited  by 
foreigners  ;  and  hence  it  retained  a  foreign  apiJcUa- 
tion.  This  may  also  contribute  to  account  for  the 
numerous  herds  of  swine  kept  in  the  district,  (Matt, 
viii.  30.)  a  practice  which  was  forbidden  by  the  Mo- 
saic law.     See  further  under  Canaan. 

DECREE,  a  determination  or  appointment,  judi- 
cial, civil,  ecclesiastical,  or  divine.  The  divine  ap- 
pointments never  err,  being  founded  on  truth,  judg- 
ment, perfect  wisdom,  and  perfect  knowledge,  united 
with  perfect  goodness,  kindness,  and  grace.  See 
Predestination. 

DEDAN,  Dedanim,  a  country  or  city,  and  a  peo- 
ple, several  times  mentioned  in  tlie  Old  Testament, 
but  which  there  is  some  difficulty  in  identifying. 
D'Anville  places  a  city  called  Dadan,  or,  according  to 
Bochart,  Dadena,  in  the  eastern  part  of  Arabia,  near 
the  Persian  gulf.  This  is  probably  the  Dedan 
of  Gen.  X.  7,  and  Ezek.  xxvii.  1.5,  the  men  of 
which  are  mentioned  in  conjunction  with  the  mer- 
chants of  many  isles,  as  furnishing  the  men  of  Tyre 
with  ivory  and  ebony,  which  they  probably  procured 
from  India.  About  this  spot  a  very  extensive  com- 
merce flourished  many  ages  after  Tyre  was  destroy- 
ed, of  which  those  very  articles  formed  a  considera- 
ble part. 

It  must  be  remarked,  however,  that  there  were  two 
Dedans,  who  gave  name  to  their  descendants — the 
son  of  Kaamah,  the  son  of  Cusii,  (Gen.  x.  7.)  and  the 
son  of  Jokshan,  the  son  of  Abraham  by  Kcturah, 
Gen.  XXV.  3.  Tlie  descendants  of  the  latter  settled  in 
Arabia  Pctrfea,  in  the  vicinity  of  Iduniea,  (Jer.  xlix. 
8  ;  Ezek.  xxv.  13.)  and  it  is  only  by  carefully  at- 
tending to  the  circumstances  in  which  the  names  are 
introduced,  that  the  people  to  whom  reference  is 
made  can  be  determined. 

DEDICATION,  a  religiou.s  ceremony,  by  which 
any  thing  is  declared  to  be  consecrated  to  the  wor- 
ship of  Cud.  Mtvses  dedicated  the  tabernacle  built  in 
the  wilderness,  (ExM.  xl ;  Numb,  vii.)  and  the  ves- 
sels set  apart  for  divine  service.  Solomon  dedicated 
the  temple  which  he  erected,  (1  Kings  viii.)  as  did  the 
Israelites,  retiu-ned  from  the  captivity,  their  new  tem- 
I)lc,  Ezra  vi.  1(1, 17.  The  Maccabees,  having  cleansed 
the  temple,  whicii  iiad  been  polluted  by  Antiochus 

E|)iphanes,  again  dedicated  tho  altar,  1  Mac.  iv.  .52 

5D.  This  is  believed  to  be  the  dedication  Avhich  the 
Jews  celebrated  in  winter,  at  whuUi  our  Lord  was 
present,  John  x.  22.  The  temple  rebuilt  by  Ilcrod 
was  dedicated  with  great  solemnity;  aiul  in  order  to 
make  the  festival  more  august,  Herod  ai)j)ointcd  it  on 
the  anniversary  of  his  accession  to  the  crown.  This 
was  towards  the  end  of  antt  A.  D.  40 ;  and  the  tem- 


ple which  he  built  was  dedicated  at  the  end  of  his 
32d  year,  four  years  before  the  true  date  of  the  birth 
of  Christ.  Some  think  it  probable  that  this  was  the 
dedication  referred  to  above. 

But  not  only  were  sacred  places  thus  dedicated ; 
cities,  walls,  and  gates,  and  even  the  houses  of  private 
persons,  were  sometimes  thus  consecrated,  Neh.  xii.. 
27,  the  title  of  Ps.  xxx;  Deut.  xx.  5.  Hence  the 
custom  of  dedicating  churches,  oratories,  chapels, 
and  other  places  of  worship. 

DEEP,  see  Abyss. 

DEER,  fallow,  a  wild  quadruped,  of  a  middle 
size,  between  the  stag  and  the  roe-buck ;  its  horns 
turn  inward,  and  are  large  and  flat.  Tlie  deer  is 
naturally  very  timorous :  it  was  reputed  clean,  and 
good  for  food,  Deut.  xiv.  5.  Young  deer  were  par- 
ticularly esteemed  for  their  delicacy  ;  and  are  no- 
ticed in  the  Canticles,  Proverbs,  and  Isaiah,  as  beau- 
tiful, lovely  creatures,  and  very  swift,  Cant.  iv.  5 ;  viii. 
3  :  Prov.  v.  19.     See  Hind. 

DEFILE,  DEFILEMENT.  Many  were  the 
blemishes  of  person  and  conduct,  which,  under  the 
law,  were  esteemed  defilements ;  some  were  volun- 
tary, some  involuntary ;  some  originated  with  the 
party,  others  Avere  received  by  him ;  some  were  in- 
evitable, being  defects  of  nature,  others  the  conse- 
quences of  personal  transgression.  Under  the  gos- 
pel, defilements  are  those  of  the  heart,  of  the  mind, 
the  temper,  the  conduct.  Moral  defilements  are  as 
numerous,  and  as  strongly  prohibited  as  ever;  but 
ceremonial  defilements  are  superseded,  as  requiring 
religious  rites,  though  many  of  them  claim  attention 
as  usages  of  health,  decency,  and  civility.  (See  Matt. 
XV.  18  ;  Gen.  xlix.  4  ;  Rom.  i.  24  ;  James  iii.  C  ;  Ezek. 
xliii.  8  ;  also  many  passages  in  Leviticus  and  Num- 
bers.)    See  Purification. 

DEGREES,  Psalms  of,  is  the  title  prefixed  to 
fifteen  Psalms,  from  Ps.  cxx.  to  Ps.  cxxxiv.  inclusive. 
This  title  has  given  great  difKculty  to  commentators, 
and  a  variety  of  explanations  have  been  proposed. 
The  most  probable  are  the  three  following:  (1.)  Pil- 
grim songs,  carmina  ascensiorium,  sung  by  the  Israel- 
ites while  going  up  to  Jerusalem  to  worship  ;  (comp. 
Ps.  cxxii.  4.)  but  to  this  explanation  the  contents  of 
only  a  few  of  these  Psalms  arc  appropriate,  e.  g.  of 
Ps.  cxxii. — (2.)  Others  suppose  the  title  to  refer  to  a 
species  of  rhythm  in  these  Psalms  ;  by  which  the 
sense  ascends,  as  it  Avere,  by  degrees, — one  member 
or  clause  frequently  repeating  the  words  with  which 
the  preceding  member  closes.     Thus,  in  Ps.  cxxi. 

1.  I  will  lift  up  mine  eyes  unto  the  hills. 
From  whence  cometh  7ny  help. 

2.  My  help  cometh  from  the  Lord, 
Who  made  heaven  and  earth. 

3.  He  will  not  suffer  thy  foot  to  be  moved  ; 
Thy  keeper  will  not  slumber. 

4.  Lo,  NOT  SLUMBER  nor  sleep  will  the  keeper  of 

Israel. 

5.  Jehovah  is  thy  keeper,  etc. 

But  the  same  objection  lies  against  this  solution,  aa 
before,  viz.  that  it  does  not  suit  the  contents  of  all 
these  ])salms. — (.3.)  Perhaps  the  poetry  of  the  Syrians 
may  hereafter  throw  some  light  upon  this  title.  Of 
the  eight  species  of  verse  which  they  distinguish,  one 
is  called  gradus,  scalre,  degrees,  like  these  psalms ; 
and  the  name  appears  to  refer  to  a  particular  kind  of 
meti-Q.     But  what  that  metre  is,  and  whether  it  exists 


DEL 


[341  ] 


DELUGE 


in  tlie  psalms  bearing  this  title,  we  have  not  yet 
the  means  of  determining.  (See  Oberleitner's  Chres- 
tom.  Syr.  p.  287.  Stuart's  Heb.  Chrestom.  on  Ps. 
cxxxiv.)    *R. 

DEHAVITES,  perhaps  inhabitants  of  that  part  of 
Assyria  which  was  watered  by  the  river  Diaba  ;  prob- 
ably the  -^tiot  of  Hei-odotus,  (i.  125.)  a  Persian  tribe, 
Ezra  iv.  9. 

DELILAH,  a  woman  who  dwelt  in  the  valley  of 
Sorek,  belonging  to  Dan,  near  the  land  of  the  PhiUs- 
tiucs.  Samson  abandoned  himself  to  her,  and,  as 
some  think,  married  her,  Judg.  xvi.  4.  The  princes 
of  the  Philistines,  by  bribes,  prevailed  on  her  to  betray 
Samson  :  he  eluded  her  first  demands  ;  but  at  length 
she  succeeded,  and  reduced  his  strength  to  weakness, 
by  cutting  off  his  hair.     See  Samson. 

DELOS,  one  of  the  Cyclades,  a  number  of  islands 
in  the  ^gean  sea.  It  was  much  celebrated,  and 
lield  in  the  highest  veneration,  for  its  famous  temple 
and  oracle  of  Apollo,  1  ]\Iac.  xv.  23. 

DELUGE.  We  vniderstaud  principally  by  this 
word,  that  universal  flood  which  happened  in  the 
time  of  Noah,  and  from  which,  as  Peter  says,  there 
were  but  eight  persons  saved.  Moses's  account  of 
this  event  is  recorded  Gen.  vi.  vii.     See  Ark,  Noah. 

The  sins  of  mankind  were  the  causes  of  the  del- 
uge ;  and  commentators  agi-ee  to  place  it  A.  M.  1G56  ; 
but  they  find  difficulties  as  to  the  month  in  which  it 
began.  Several  of  the  fathers  were  of  opinion,  that 
it  began  and  ended  in  the  spring  of  the  year ;  under- 
standing the  second  month  mentioned  by  Moses,  of 
the  second  in  the  ecclesiastical  year,  beginning  at 
Nisan,  (March,  O.  S.)  about  the  vernal  equinox. 
Among  other  proofs,  thej'  borrow  one  from  the  dove's 
bringing  back  an  olive-leaf  to  Noah,  which  was,  they 
think,  a  tender  shoot  of  that  year.  But  the  most 
learned  chrouologists  believe,  that  the  sacred  author 
designed  the  second  month  in  the  civil  year,  which 
answered  partly  to  October,  and  partly  to  November  ; 
so  that  the  deluge  began  in  autinnn. 

CALENDAR  OF  THE  YEAR  OF  THE  DELUGE. 

A.  M.  1656.     [According  to  M.  Basnage,  Ant.  Jud. 
torn.  ij.  p.  399.) 


Methuselah  died,  aged  969  j^ears. 

Noah  and  his  family  entered  the 
ark. 

The  fountains  of  the  great  deep 
broken  up. 

The  rain  began ;  and  continued 
forty  days  and  nights. 

The  earth  buried  under  the  waters. 

Rain  continued. 

The  waters  at  their  height  till  the 
27th,  when  they  began  to  abate. 

The  ark  rested  on  mount  Ararat, 
in  Armenia. 

Waiting  the  retiring  of  the  wa- 
ters. 

The  tops  of  the  mountains  ap- 
peared. 

Noah  let  go  a  raven,  which  did  not 
return. 

He  let  go  a  dove,  which  returned. 

The  dove,  being  sent  a  second 
time,  brought  back  the  olive- 
branch. 

The  dove,  sent  out  a  third  time, 
returned  no  more. 


MoiUli 
I. 

IL 

September. 
October. 

III. 

JYovcmber. 

IV. 

Decemb.  26. 

V. 

VL 

VII. 

Jamtan/. 

February. 

March. 

VIII. 

April  17. 

IX. 

May. 

X. 

June  1. 

XL 

July  11. 

18. 
25. 

XII.    August  2. 


I.       September  1. 
IL     October  27. 


A.  M.  1657 

The  dry  land  appeared. 
Noah  went  out  of  the  ark. 


The  question  concerning  the  universality  of  the 
deluge,  is  very  serious  and  important.  Some  learn- 
ed men  have  denied  it,  and  pretended  that  to  main- 
tain it,  is  ail  absurdity  ;  that  the  universality  of  the 
deluge  is  contrary  both  to  the  divine  power  and  the 
divine  goodness ;  that  it  may  be  geometrically  de- 
monstrated, that  were  all  the  clouds  in  the  air  reduced 
to  water,  that  water  would  not  cover  the  superficies 
of  the  earth  to  the  height  of  a  foot  and  a  half;  and 
that  all  the  waters  in  the  rivers  and  the  sea,  if  spread 
over  the  earth,  would  never  reach  the  tops  of  the 
mountains,  unless  rarified  in  an  extraordinary  man- 
ner, and  that  then  it  could  not  support  the  weight  of 
the  ark ;  that  all  the  air  Avhich  encompasses  the 
earth,  if  condensed  into  water,  would  not  rise  above 
thirty-one  feet,  which  would  be  far  from  enough  to 
cover  the  surface  of  the  earth  and  the  mountains  to 
fifteen  cubits  above  their  tops.  All  this,  they  say, 
seems  contrary  to  reason,  as  what  follows  is  contrary 
to  nature.  Rain  does  not  fall  upon  eminences  above 
600  paces  high :  it  does  not  descend  from  a  greater 
height  ;  but  if  formed  higher,  it  would  immediately 
be  frozen  by  the  cold  that  prevails  in  those  upper  re- 
gions. Whence,  then,  it  is  asked,  came  the  water  to 
cover  the  tops  of  those  mountains  that  rise  above 
this  region  ?  Will  any  one  say  that  the  rain  found  a 
way  back  again  ?  How  coidd  the  plants  be  preserved 
so  long  under  water?  How  could  the  animals  that 
came  out  of  the  ark  disperse  themselves  throughout 
the  Avhole  world  ?  Besides,  all  the  earth  was  not 
peopled  at  that  time  ;  why,  then,  should  the  deluge  be 
universal  ?  Was  it  not  sufficient  if  it  reached  those 
countries  which  were  inhabited  ?  How  Avere  beasts 
brought  from  the  extremities  of  the  world,  and  col- 
lected into  the  ark  ? 

The  universality  of  the  deluge,  says  Vossius,  is  im- 
possible and  unnecessary  ;  was  it  not  sufficient  to 
deluge  those  countries  where  there  were  men  ? — But 
how  did  Vossius  learn  that  the  world  was  not  then 
fully  peopled  ?  According  to  the  LXX,  whoso 
chronology  is  supported  by  him,  the  world  was 
above  2200  years  old.  Besides,  supposing  a  partial 
deluge  only,  what  necessity  was  there  to  build,  at  a 
great  expense,  a  prodigious  ark  ?  to  bring  all  sorts  of 
animals  into  it  for  preservation?  or  to  oblige  eight 
persons  to  enter  into  it,  &c.  Was  it  not  more  easy  to 
have  directed  these  people  and  animals  to  travel  into 
those  countries  which  the  deluge  was  not  to  reacli  ? 
How  could  the  waters  continue  above  the  mountains 
of  Armenia  without  spreading  into  the  neighbcring 
countries  ?  How  should  the  ark  llo;st  niany  months 
on  a  mountain  of  water,  without  sliding  doAvn  the 
declivity  of  it?  which  Vossius  himself  confesses 
would  be  the  situation  of  the  ark,  supposing  a  partial 
deluge.  He  says,  if  the  deluge  extended  through  the 
world,  the  jjlauts  and  trees  would  have  died ;  but 
that  they  did  not  die,  since  Noah,  and  the  animals, 
wheii  they  quitted  tlie  ark,  settled  in  those  very 
countries  which  the  deluge  overflowed.  In  answer 
to  this,  Calmet  asks  why,  if  the  plants  and  trees  in 
this  country  did  not  die,'  they  should  die  elsewhere. 
If  tlft  waters  of  the  deluge  destroyed  the  trees  and 
l)lants  where  they  reached,  whence,  he  asks,  came 
the  shoot  of  the  ohve-tree,  which  the  dove  brought 
to  Noah  ?  and  adds,  that  there  is  an  infinite  fertility 
of  nature  m  the  production  and   reproduction  of 


Di^LUGE 


[  342 


DELUGE 


plants ;  and  that  watei-  is  a  principle  much  more 
proper  to  preserve,  than  to  destroy  them ;  that  many 
plants  grow  under  water,  and  that  all  vegetables  re- 
quire moisture  to  cause  them  to  germinate.  To  this 
is  to  be  added,  that  the  waters  of  the  deluge  covered 
the  whole  surface  of  the  earth  not  more  than  about 
a  hundred  and  ten  days  ;  not  half  a  year. 

As  to  the  bringing  of  beasts  of  all  kinds  to  Noah, 
the  difficulty  is  not  so  great  as  might  be  imagined. 
The  number  of  beasts  created  in  the  beginning  might 
not  be  very  many  ;  for  if  the  various  tribes  of  man- 
kind proceeded  from  one  man  and  one  woman,  why 
might  not  the  various  kinds  of  animals  proceed  from 
one  pair  of  each  kind  1  The  differences  between  the 
most  imlike  sort  of 'dogs  and  horses,  is  not  greater 
thaii  between  the  different  nations  of  men,  of  whom 
some  are  white  and  others  black  ;  some  of  an  olive 
color,  and  others  red.  Besides,  of  every  species  of 
animals,  some  individuals  might  inhabit  the  country 
about  paradise,  where  Noah  most  probably  resided, 
perhaps  not  far  from  Armenia  ;  and  there  is  little 
doubt,  but  that  Noah's  ark  was  built  Ln  Mesopotamia, 
towards  Chaklea.  If  there  be  any  animals,  that, 
through  long  habit,  which  becomes  a  second  natui-e, 
caimot  now  live  in  this  part  of  the  world,  (which, 
however,  seems  very  difficult  to  prove,)  it  does  not 
follow  that  there  were  such  in  Noah's  time.  If  men 
or  beasts  were  suddenly  conveyed  from  the  extreme- 
ly heated  regions  of  Africa,  to  the  coldest  parts  of  the 
North,  then,  indeed,  it  is  credible,  they  would  perish  ; 
but  the  case  is  greatly  altered,  if  they  remove,  by  in- 
sensible degrees,  to  those  places,  or  if  they  were  bred 
there  ;  and  if  noiv  some  creatures  are  found  only  in 
particular  countries,  we  are  not  warranted  to  infer, 
that  there  never  were  any  of  the  same  kind  else- 
where. On  the  contrary,  we  know,  that  formerly 
beasts  of  several  species  were  numerous  in  countries 
where,  at  present,  none  of  the  kind  inhabits,  as  the 
hippopotami  of  Egypt;  wolves  and  beavers  in  Eng- 
land ;  and  even  several  kinds  of  birds,  as  the  crane, 
.stork,  &c.  which  formerly  bred  in  England,  Avhere 
tliey  aro  now  ui?known  ;  though  they  still  breed  in 
Holland. 

But  the  strongest  objection  against  the  universality 
of  the  deluge,  is,  the  quantity  of  Avater  requisite  to 
cover  the  whole  earth,  to  the  height  of  fifteen  cubits 
above  the  mountains.  It  has  been  said,  as  above, 
that  if  all  the  air  in  the  atmosphere  around  our  globe 
were  condensed  into  water,  it  would  not  yield  above 
two-and-thirty  feet  depth  of  water  over  all  the  earth. 
This  calculation  is  founded  on  experiments  made  to 
prove  the  gravity  of  the  air ;  but  these  experiments 
are  contradicted  by  others,  which  allow  us  to  ques- 
tion, at  least,  the  precision  of  the  inference,  because 
there  is  a  prodigious  extent  of  atmosphere  above  that 
which  can  reasonably  be  supposed  to  have  any  influ- 
ence on  the  barometer,  or  on  any  instrument  which 
we  can  construct  for  the  purpose  of  ascertaining  the 
weight  of  the  air.  At  the  creation,  the  terrestrial 
globe  was  surrounded  with  water,  the  whole  of  which 
might  not  be  exhaled  into  the  atmosphere,  but  of 
which  a  part  might  run  into  reservoirs  below  the  sur- 
face of  the  globe.  But  wherever  these  primitive 
waters  were  deposited,  and  whatever  became  of 
them,  certainly  they  Avere  not  annihilated  ;  and  it 
Avas  as  easy  for  God  to  restore  them  into  the  state  and 
action  of  fluidity  at  the  deluge,  as  in  the  beginning  it 
Avas  to  rarify  the  other  portions  of  Avater  into  air  or 
vapors  ;  or  to  a]>point  them  other  (inferior,  or  supe- 
rior) situations.  3Iose.s  relates,  (Gen.  vii.  11,  12.) 
that  the  foundations  of  the  great  deep  Avere  broken 


up,  as  Avell  as  that  the  windoAvs  of  heaven  were 
opened  ; — evidently  meaning  to  describe  a  rising  of 
Avaters  from  beneath  the  earth,  no  less  than  a  falling 
of  Avaters  from  above  upon  it. 

But,  supposing  the  ark  to  be  raised  fifleen  cubits 
above  the  highest  mountains,  hoAv  could  the  men  and 
creatures  in  it  live  and  breathe  amidst  the  cold,  and 
the  extreme  tenuity  of  the  air,  in  that  middle  region  ? 
Taa'o  things  are  offered  in  reply  to  this  objection  : 
(1.)  Though  the  air  is  colder  and  sharper  on  the  tops 
of  the  highest  mountains,  than  in  the  plains,  yet  peo- 
ple do  not  die  there  from  those  causes. — (2.)  The 
middle  region  of  the  air,  in  respect  to  temperature,  is 
more  or  less  elevated,  according  to  the  greater  or 
lesser  heat  of  the  sun.  During  Avinter,  it  is  much 
nearer  the  earth  than  in  summer ;  or,  to  speak  more  ( 
properly,  the  cold  Avhich  rises  into  the  middle  region  \  i, 
of  tlie  air  during  summer,  descends  to  the  loAver  re-  j  ^ 
gion  during  Avinter.  Thus,  supposing  the  deluge  to 
be  universal,  it  is  evident,  that  the  middle  region  of 
the  air  must  have  risen  higher  above  the  earth  and 
Avaters,  during  the  long  winter  of  that  calamity  ;  con- 
sequently, the  men  and  beasts  enclosed  in  the  ark, 
breathed  nearly,  or  altogether,  the  same  air  as  they 
Avould  have  ordinarily  breathed  a  thousand  or  tweh'e 
hundred  paces  lower,  that  is,  on  the  surface  of  the 
earth.  It  is  not  intended,  however,  by  these  argu- 
ments, to  prove,  that  the  deluge  was  produced  Avith- 
out  a  miracle  ;  but  only  to  shoAV  that  it  does  not 
involve  all  the  difficulties  imputed. 

Dr.  Burnet  attempted  to  explain  the  physical 
causes  of  the  deluge.  He  supposed  the  earth  in  its 
beginning  to  be  round,  smooth,  and  even,  through- 
out ;  without  mountains  or  valleys ;  that  the  centre 
of  the  earth  contained  a  great  abyss  of  water ;  that 
the  earth,  by  sinking  in  many  places,  and  by  rising  in 
others,  in  consequence  of  different  shocks,  and  of 
divers  earthquakes,  opened  a  passage  for  the  internal 
Avaters,  Avhich  issued  impetuously  from  the  centre 
where  they  had  been  enclosed,  and  spread  OA'er  all 
the  earth ;  that,  in  the  beginning,  the  axis  of  the 
earth  AA'as  parallel  with  the  axis  of  the  Avorld,  moving 
directly  under  the  equator,  and  producing  a  perpet- 
ual equinox ;  and  that  in  the  first  Avorld  there  Avere 
neither  seas,  nor  rain,  nor  rainboAV. 

The  objections  to  this  theory  arise  rather  from  the 
extremes  to  Avhich  the  aiUhor  pushed  his  suppositions, 
than  from  the  general  idea  itself.  If,  instead  of  main- 
taining that  the  earth  Avas  uniformly  level,  he  had 
admitted  hills  and  valleys,  though  not  such  high 
mountains  as  at  present ;  if  he  had  admitted  lakes  or 
small  seas,  though  not  such  oceans  as  at  present ; 
much  might  have  been  said  in  its  support.  For  it  is 
every  way  credible,  that  the  state  of  the  globe  before 
the  deluge  was  very  different  from  Avhat  it  is  noAv; 
but  to  shoAV  in  what  those  differences  might  consist, 
requires,  besides  a  lively  fancy,  a  correct  judgment, 
and  much  scientific  information.  Mr.  Whiston  en- 
deavored to  account  for  this  phenomenon  by  the  pro- 
jection of  a  comet,  Avhich,  he  supposes,  passed  so 
close  to  the  body  of  the  earth,  at  the  time  of  the  del- 
uge, as  to  involve  it  in  itsatmosi)here  and  tail ;  which, 
consisting  of  A'apors,  rarified  and  expanded  in  differ- 
ent degrees,  caused  the  tremendous  lidl  of  rain  spoken 
of  by  Moses.  The  presence  of  the  comet  Avould  also 
occasion  a  double  tide,  by  the  power  of  Avhich  the 
orb  of  the  earth  Avould  undergo  a  change,  in  Avhich 
itmumerable  fissures  AA'ould  be  made,  Avhence  the 
Avaters  from  its  centre  Avould  rush, — corresponding 
Avith  the  other  i)art  of  the  narratiA-e, — the  fountains 
of  the  great  deep  being  broken  vip.     Dr.  Woodward 


DELUGE 


[343] 


DELUGE 


thouglit  that  the  whole  mass  of  the  earth  being  dis- 
solved by  the  waters  of  the  deluge,  a  new  earth  was 
afterwards  formed,  composed  of  different  beds  or 
layers  of  terrestrial  matter  which  had  floated  in  this 
fluid  ;  that  these  layers  were  disposed  one  over  the 
other,  almost  according  to  their  different  gravities  ; 
so  that  j)lants  or  animals,  and  particularly  shell-fish, 
which  were  not  dissolved  like  others,  remained  en- 
closed by  mineral  and  fossil  materials,  which  have 
]  preserved  them  entire,  or  at  least  have  retained  im- 
'  pressions  of  them :  and  these  are  what  we  now  call 
fossils.  By  this  hypothesis  he  accounts  for  the  shells 
Ibund  in  places  very  remote  from  the  sea,  the  ele- 
phants' teeth,  the  bones  of  animals,  the  petrified 
lislics,  and  other  things  found  on  the  tops  of  moun- 
tains, and  other  elevated  places.  In  his  work  are 
many  very  curious  facts  and  obsen-ations  relating  to 
the  deluge  ;  and  Dr.  Woodward  ranks  among  the 
first,  who,  by  inquiring  into  the  actual  appearances 
of  nature,  produced  proofs  of  this  great  event  still  re- 
maining in  sufficient  abundance.  He  opened  those 
memorials  of  evidence  which  have  since  been  en- 
larged by  others — Mr.  Whitehurst  and  Mr.  Parkin- 
son, and  more  recently  JMi-.  Townscnd  and  professor 
Buckland. 

The  Mussulmans,  Pagans,  Chinese,  and  Ameri- 
cans, have  traditions  of  the  deluge  ;  but  each  nation 
relates  it  after  its  own  manner.  Josephus  (contra 
Apion.  lib.  i.)  cites  Berosus,  who,  on  the  testimony  of 
ancient  documents,  describes  the  deluge  much  like 
Moses  ;  and  gives  also  the  history  of  Noah,  of  the 
ark,  and  of  the  mountains  where  it  rested.  Abyde- 
nus  (apud  Euseb.  Prajpar.  lib.  ix.  cap.  12.)  relates, 
that  one  Sesistrus  was  informed  by  Saturn  of  a  del- 
uge approaching  to  drown  all  the  earth  ;  that  Sesisj; 
trus,  having  embarked  in  a  covered  vessel,  sent  forth 
birds  to  learn  in  what  condition  the  earth  was ;  and 
that  these  birds  returned  three  times.  Alexander 
Polyhistor  relates  the  same  story  with  Abydenus, 
adding  that  the  four-footed  beasts,  the  creeping 
things,  and  birds  of  the  air,  were  preserved  in  this  ves- 
sel. Lucian,  in  his  book  de  Dea  Syra,  says,  that 
mankind  having  given  themselves  up  to  vices,  the 
earth  was  drowned  by  a  deluge,  so  that  none  but 
Deuj?aljon  jTmained  upon  it,  he  having  taken  shelter 
in  a  vessel,  with  his  fiimily,  and  the  animals.  Apol- 
lodorus,  Ovid,  and  many  others,  have  discoursed 
of  Deucalion's  deluge ;  but  have  intermixed  many 
circumstances,  which  agree  only  with  that  of  Noah. 
On  these  various  traditions,  as  well  as  on  the  com- 
memorative emblems  of  this  event,  preserved  by  the 
Egyptians,  Hindoos,  Druids,  Greeks,  Persians,  PhoB- 
nicians,  and  others,  ?»Ir.  Taylor  has  collected  a  large 
mass  of  information,  in  his  Fragments;  we  select  a 
few  striking  examples. 

The  following  is  from  Syncellus: — "In  the  first 
year  there  came  up,  accordmg  to  Berosus,  from  the 
waters  of  the  Red  sea,  (the  Indian  ocean,)  and  ap- 
peared on  the  shore  contiguous  to  Babylonia,  a  crea- 
ture void  of  reason  [this  is  a  palpable  error,  as  the 
whole  history  shows ;  therefore,  for  Cmoi'  Mpnnor  read 
Loiov  (inpoor,  a  Creature  truly  wise]  named  Oannes ; 
and  as  Apollodorus  reports,  having  the  whole  body 
of  a  fish  ;  above  the  head  of  this  fish  rose  another 
head  (of  a  man) ;  he  had  human  feet,  (or  legs,)  which 
came  out  from  each  of  the  two  sides  of  the  tail ;  he 
had  also  human  voice  and  language.  They  still  i)rc- 
serve  at  Babylon,  says  Berosus,  his  resemblance 
painted.  This  creature  remained  some  time,  during 
the  day,  among  the  natives,  without  taking  any  nour- 
ishment, and  conversed  with  them  from    time   to 


tmic  ;  he  taught  them  letters  and  learning  ;  showed 
them  the  arts  of  life  ;  instructed  them  to  build  cities  ; 
to  raise  temples  to  the  Deity ;  to  institute  laws  ;  to 
study  geometry  ;  the  various  manners  (and  seasons) 
of  committing  to  the  earth  the  seeds  of  fruits,  and 
of  gathering  their  productions  ;  and  generally,  what- 
ever conduces  to  soften  and  to  polish  the  manners 
of  mankind.  Since  that  period  nothing  more  has 
been  heard  of  him.  After  the  setting  of  the  sun, 
this  creature,  Oannes,  went  toward  the  sea,  plunged 
into  it,  and  passed  the  night  in  the  water.  Aiter- 
wards,  other  similar  creatures  ai)peared  ;  concerning 
whom  Berosus  promises  to  relate  many  things,  in 
his  history  of  the  kings."  This  "  history"  is  unfortu- 
nately lost;  but  Oannes  is  thus  mentioned  by  Apollo- 
dorus (in  Syncellus).  "  Berosus  reports,  that  Alorus 
was  the  first  king  of  Babylon,  native  of  that  city ; 
he  reigned  ten  sain  ;  then  came  Alasparus  and  Ame- 
lonus,  of  the  country  of  Pantibiblos  ;  then  the  Chal- 
dean Ammenonus,  imder  whose  reign  was  seen  to 
issue  from  the  Red  sea  (the  Indian  ocean)  that 
Oannes  which  Alexander  Polyhistor,  by  anticipation 
of  time,  placed  in  the  Jii'st  year,  and  which  we  place 
after  a  lapse  of  forty  sari.  Abydenus  places  the 
second  Oannes  after  a  period  of  twenty-six  sari." 
Apollodorus  goes  on  to  mention  other  kings,  as  Meg 
Alorus,  Da-onus,  and  Evedorachus,  in  whose  time 
appeared  another  creature,  half  man,  half  fish,  named 
6  Jayior,  the  Dagon.  Helladius,  an  author  of  the 
fourth  century,  cited  by  Photius,  (Biblioth.  p.  194.) 
also  reports,  "  that  a  person  named  Oan  was  seen  in 
the  Red  sea ;  who  had  the  body  of  a  fish  ;  but  his 
head,  feet  and  hands  were  human  ;  he  taught  the 
use  of  letters  and  astrononi}'.  Some  said  he  was 
boin  of  the  first  parent,  which  is  the  egg.  This 
Oan  was  altogether  a  man  ;  and  he  appeared  like  a 
fish,  only  because  he  was  covered  with  the  skin  of  a 
fish."  It  is  clear  that  Oan  is  the  same  as  Oannes ; 
and  that  Oannes  is  the  same  as  Dagon.  "  He  was  a 
man,  but  clad  with  the  appearance  of  a  fish  ;" — "  he 
was  born  of  the  first  parent,  the  egg." — This  egg 
once  contained  all  mankind. 

The  n  ost  complete  series  of  emblems  coincident 
with  this  subject,  hitherto 
procured,  consists  of  a  num- 
ber of  medals  of  Coiinth, 
wliich  represent  very  dis- 
tinctly the  ark,  with  the  in- 
fant rising  into  renewed  life, 
after  having  been  preserved 
by  the  fish  (the  ark).  The 
Apamean  medal  (see  Apajiea) 
contains  a  history  of  that 
event,  rather  than  an  emblem  of  it. 

The  incidental  mention  of  the  "Lady  of  the  Egg," 
the  "  Goddess  of  the  Egg,"  venerated  among  the 
Druidical  Britons,  incites  me  to  wish  to  add  a  few 
words  in  illustration  of  that  appellation.  I  do  not 
know,  indeed,  that  it  occurs  expressly  in  Scripture  ; 
j'et,  if  the  rabbins  have  (or  had)  any  authority  for 
cx[)laining  the  import  of  the  terms  Succoih  Benoth 
by  reference  to  the  emblem  of  a  hen  and  chickens, 
(the  doves,  among  the  Greeks,)  the  occurrence  of 
the  title  alluded  to,  is  not  impossible.  Many  creatures 
lay  eggs  ;  and  the  seed  of  a  plant  is  but  another 
tenn  fi)r  an  egg.  The  title  "Goddess  of  the  Egg," 
may,  therefore,  be  taken  in  a  general  sense,  as  de- 
noting the  procreative  power  universal ;  otherwise, 
with  a  stricter  reference  to  a  specific  object,  symbol- 
ized under  the  type  of  an  egg.  And  this  svus  adopted 
among  the  Asiatics  and  the  Greeks. 


DEM 


[  344  ] 


DEM 


On  some  of  the  medals  of  Tyre  is  seen  the  em- 
blem of  a  serpent  enfolding  an  egg.  Now,  that  the 
serpent  was  on  many  occasions  significant  of  benevo- 
lent superintendence,  is  expressly  recorded  on  some 
of  the  medals  of  Egypt,  by  the  motto  NEO  ArAQ. 
J  AIM,  the  New  Good  Genius,  inscribed  around  a 
serpent  crowned ;  on  either  side  of  which  are  the 
symbols  of  peace  and  plenty ;  poppy-heads  and  ears 
of  corn,  marking,  also,  increase,  fertility.  The  egg 
was  that  great  and  important  object  on  which  the 
power  of  benevolent  superintendence  was  most  as- 
siduously employed,  most  eminently,  on  a  particular 
occasion.  It  was  no  other  than  the  ark,  with  the 
world,  its  contents.  But  the  difficulty  of  showing 
the  issue  of  living  beings,  thousands  of  living  beings, 
of  different  kinds,  from  an  egg,  when  reduced  to  a 
type,  is  gi»eat,  and  hence  the  sculptors,  and  painters, 
and  medalists  of  antiquity,  have  rather  chosen  to 
represent  the  same  thing  under  emblems  derived 
from  vegetable  nature  :  the  poppy-head,  or  the  pome- 
granate, contains  thousands  of  seeds,  each  possessing, 
as  is  well  known,  the  power  of  eventual  life ;  where- 
as, an  egg  conveys  the  idea  of  a  single  life  only,  at 
the  utmost,  unless  explained  ;  and  delineation  cannot 
explain  it.  It  might  be  thought,  that  the  egg  should 
properly  refer  to  the  creation ;  especially  by  those 
who  render  Gen.  i.  2.  "the  Spirit  of  God  brooded  (as 
a  bird  over  her  eggs)  on  the  face  of  the  deep : "  but 
the  second  creation,  i.  e.  after  the  deluge,  seems  to 
be  a  more  satisfactory  reference.  The  following  ex- 
tracts are  from  Bryant :  (Anc,  Mythol.  vol.  ii.  p.  :J52.) 
'^At  this  season,  according  to  Aristophanes,  sable- 
winced  night  produced  an  egg  ;  from  whence  sprouted 
up  like  a  blossom,  Eros,  [Love,]  the  lovely  and  desirable, 
tvith  his  glossy  golden  ivings."  The  egg  is  called  wov 
vTTijrhiiov  :  which  is  interpreted.  Ovum  absque  concu- 
bitu  ;  but  it  likewise  signifies  rinog,  rainy.  This  was 
certainly  an  emblem  of  the  ark,  when  the  rain  de- 
scended :  and  it  may,  I  think,  be  proved  from  a  like 
piece  of  mythology  in  Orpheus  (Hymn  5)  concern- 
ing Protogonus — "  /  invoke  Protogonus,  who  ivas  of  a 
two-fold  state  or  nature,  {Sitpvi',)  who  wandered  at  large 
under  the  wide  heavens,  ('Sioyirr,)  egg-born, — who  tvas 
also  depicted  with  golden  ivings."  "  I  have  before  ob- 
served, that  one  syniliol,  under  which  the  ancient 
mythologists  represented  the  ark,  was  an  egg,  called 
Ovum  Typhonis.  Over  this  sometimes  a  dove  was 
supposed  to  have  brooded,  and  to  have  produced  a 
new  creation  ...  At  other  times,  a  serpent  was  de- 
scribed round  it ;  either  as  an  emblem  of  that  provi- 
dence, by  which  mankind  was  preserved  ;  or  else  to 
signify,  a  renewal  of  fife  from  a  state  of  death  ;  which 
circumstance  was  denoted  by  a  serpent ;  for  that  an- 
imal, by  annually  casting  its  skin,  was  supposed  to 
renew  its  life,  and  to  become  positis  novus  exuviis, 
vcgete  and  fresh  after  a  state  of  inactivity.  By  the 
bursting  of  this  egg,  was  denoted  the  opening  of  the 
ark  ;  and  the  disclosing  to  hght  whatever  was  within 
contained."  p.  .361. 

\Vc  conclude  by  mentioning  a  re-action  to  which 
some  of  tlicsc  principles  have  given  occasion  ;  it  is 
that  of  placing  in  tiie  heavens,  in  the  form  of  con- 
stellations, memorials  of  those  transactions  which  so 
gi'catly  interested  mankind.  The  constellation  of  the 
Ship,  [Argo,]  of  the  Raven,  of  the  Dove,  of  the 
Altar,  of  the  Victim,  and  the  Sacrificer,  bear  no  in- 
competent witness  to  tlie  history  of  the  deluge.  See 
Ark,  p.  95. 

DEMAS,  a  Thessalonian  mentioned  by  Paul,  (2 
Tim.  iv.  10.)  who  was  at  first  a  most  zealous  disci- 
ple of  the  apostle,  and  very  serviceable  to   him  at 


Rome    during    his    imprisonment,    but  afterwards 
forsook  him  to  follow  a  more  secular  life. 

I.  DEMETRIUS  SOTER,  Idng  of  Syria,  reigned 
twelve  years,  from  A.  M.  3842  to  3854.  He  was  son 
of  Seleucus  IV.  suniamed  Philopater ;  but,  being  a 
hostage  at  Rome  when  his  father  died,  his  uncle  An- 
tiochus  Epiphanes,  who  in  the  interim  arrived  in 
Syria,  procured  himself  to  be  acknowledged  king, 
and  reigned  eleven  years  :  after  him  his  son,  Antio- 
chus  Eupator,  reigned  two  years.  At  length  De- 
metrius Soter  regained  his  father's  throne.  He  is 
often  mentioned  in  the  books  of  the  Maccabees. 

II.  DEMETRIUS  NICANOR,  or  Nicator,  son 
of  Demetrius  Soter,  was  for  many  years  deprived  of 
the  throne  by  Alexander  Balas;  but  he  at  length  recov- 
ered it  by  the  assistance  of  Ptolemy  Philometor,  his 
father-in-law.  After  a  number  of  vicissitudes,  he 
was  killed,  ante  A.  D.  126,  and  was  succeeded  by  his 
eldest  son,  Seleucus,  to  whom  he  left  a  dangerous  ri- 
val in  the  person  of  Alexander,  surnamed  Zebina. 

III.  DEMETRIUS,  a  goldsmith  of  Ephesus,  who 
made  niches,  or  little  chapels,  or  portable  models  of 
the  famous  temple,  for  Diana  of  Ephesus,  which  he 
sold  to  foreigners.  Acts  xix.  24.  Observing  the  prog- 
ress of  the  gospel,  not  in  Ephesus  only,  but  in  all 
Asia,  he  assembled  his  fellow  craftsmen  ;  and  repre- 
sented that,  by  this  new  doctrine,  not  only  their  trade 
would  suffer,  but  that  the  worship  of  the  great  Diana 
of  Ephesus  was  in  danger  of  being  entirely  forsaken. 
This  produced  an  uproar  and  confusion  in  the  city ; 
till  at  length  the  town-clerk  apjieased  the  tumult  by 
firmness  ajid  persuasion. 

IV.  DEMETRIUS,  mentioned  by  John  as  an  em- 
inent Christian,  (3  John  12.)  is  by  some  believed  to 
be  the  Demetrius  of  the  former  article,  who  had  re- 
nounced heathenism  to  embrace  Christianity.  But 
this  wants  proof. 

DEMON,  or  D^mon,  Jaluwi'.  Good  and  bad  an- 
gels, but  generally  bad  angels,  are  called  in  Greek 
and  Latin,  Demones,  or  Dcemones.  The  Hebrews  ex- 
press Demon  by  Serpent ;  Satati,  or  Tempter  ;  Shed- 
dim,  or  destroyers ;  Seiritn,  goats,  or  hairy  satyrs :  and 
in  Greek  authors  we  find  Dfemoncs,  or  Diabolus,  that 
is,  calumniators,  or  impure  spirits,  &c.      See  Angel. 

The  Jews  represent  evil  angels  as  being  at  the  left 
hand  of  God's  throne,  to  receive  his  orders,  while ,  / 
the  good  angels  are  at  his  right  hand,  ready  to  exe-  " 
cute  his  will.  Lactantius  believed  that  there  were 
two  sorts  of  demons,  celestial  and  terrestrial ;  that 
the  celestial  were  the  fallen  angels  who  engaged  in 
impure  amours,  and  that  the  terrestrial  were  their  is- 
sue, and  the  authors  of  all  the  evils  committed  on 
earth. 

Many  of  the  ancients  allotted  to  each  man  an  evil 
angel  continually  tempting  him  to  evil,  and  a  good 
angel  continually  inciting  him  to  good.  The  Jews 
hold  the  same  sentiment  at  this  day  ;  and  the  same 
may  be  remai'kcd  in  the  ancient  })hiIosopl)ers. 

We  commonly  hold  that  the  devils  are  in  hell, 
where  they  suffer  the  punishment  of  their  rebellion. 
But  the  ancient  fathers  ])laced  (see  Ephes.  ii.  2 ;  vi. 
12.)  the  devils  in  the  air ;  and  Jerome  says,  it  was  the 
general  opinion  of  the  doctors  in  the  church,  that  the 
air  between  heaven  and  earth  is  filled  with  evil  spir- 
its. Augustin,  and  others  of  the  fathers,  believed 
that  the  demons  ftill  from  the  Inghest  and  purest  re- 
gion of  the  air  into  that  near  the  earth,  which  is  but 
darkness  in  comparison  to  the  serenity  and  clearness 
of  the  other. 

The  request  of  the  devils  to  our  Saviour,  not  to 
send  them  into  the  deep,  but  to  permit  them  to  enter 


DEMON 


[345  ] 


DES 


the  herd  of  swine,  intimates  that  these  evil  spirits 
found  some  enjoyment  while  on  earth  ;  and  the  fear 
of  torment  htfore  the  time,  shows,  that  the  time  of 
their  extreme  punishmeni  was  not  yet  come.  Matt, 
viii.  29;  Luke  viii.  31.  When  our  Saviour  pro- 
nounces sentence  against  the  wicked,  he  says,  "Depart, 
ye  cursed,  into  everlasting  fire,  prepared  for  the  devil 
and  his  angels,"  3Iatt.  xxv.  41.  This  fire,  therefore, 
was  prepared  for  the  devil,  who  may  not  as  yet  suf- 
fer the  full  pain  of  it.  But  we  are  not  to  suppose  that 
devils  suffer  nothing  at  present ;  grief,  despair,  and 
rage,  to  find  themselves  fallen  from  happiness,  and 
banished  to  infinite  and  eternal  misery,  must  be  a 
verv  great  punishment. 

That  the  devil  formerly  affected  divine  honors, 
and  that  whole  nations  were  so  far  blinded  as  to  pay 
them,  cannot  be  questioned.  (See  Dent,  xxxii.  17; 
Ps.  cvi.  37  ;  Baruch  iv.  7.)  It  does  not  appear  that 
the  Hebrews  ever  paid  any  worship  to  the  devil,  in 
our  sense  of  this  word,  as  understanding  by  it  Satan, 
the  fallen  angel ;  or  the  head  of  the  fallen  angels. 
The  heathens  worshipped  Pluto,  or  Hades,  the  god 
of  hell,  and  other  infernal  deities,  manes,  furies,  &c. 
But  the  Greeks  and  Romans  had  not  the  same  idea 
of  Satan  as  we  have.  The  Persians,  who  acknowl- 
edged two  principles,  one  good,  Oromazes,  the  other 
bad,  Arimanes,  offered  to  the  first  sacrifices  of 
thanksgiving,  and  to  the  second  sacrifices  to  avert 
misfortunes.  They  took  an  herb,  called  omomi, 
which  they  bruised  in  a  mortar,  invoking  the  god  of 
hell  and  darkness;  then,  mingling  with  it  the  b'ood 
of  a  wolf,  they  carried  this  composition  to  a  place 
where  the  rays  of  the  sun  never  entered,  and  threw 
it  down.  There  are  people  of  America,  Asia,  and 
Africa  who  pay  superstitious  ^^orship  to  the  devil, 
that  is,  the  evil  principle,  under  whose  government 
they  suppose  this  earth  to  be. 

Examples  of  demoniacal  possession  are  fre- 
quent, especially  in  the  New  Testament.  Christ  and 
his  apostles  cured  great  numbers  of  possessed  per- 
sons. But  as  it  has  been  found  in  many  cases,  that 
credulity  has  been  imposed  on,  by  fictitious  posses- 
sions, some  have  maintained,  that  all  were  diseases 
of  the  mind,  the  effects  of  distempered  imagination  ; 
that  persons  sometimes  thought  themselves  really 
possessed  ;  that  others  feigned  themselves  to  be  so, 
in  order  to  carry  on  some  design ;  in  a  word,  that 
there  never  were  any  real  possessions.  In  answer 
to  this,  it  is  observed,  that,  if  there  were  no  real  pos- 
sessions, Christ  and  his  apostles,  and  the  whole  church, 
would  be  in  eiTor,  and  must  wilfully  involve  us  in 
error,  also,  by  speaking,  acting,  and  praying,  as  if 
there  were  real  possessions.  Our  Saviour  speaks  to 
and  commands  the  devils,  who  actuated  the  possess- 
ed ;  which  devils  answered,  and  obeyed,  and  gave 
proofs  of  their  presence  by  tormenting  those  misera- 
ble creatures,  whom  they  were  obliged  to  quit.  They 
cast  them  into  violent  convulsions,  throw  them  on 
the  ground,  leave  them  for  dead,  take  possession  of 
hogs,  and  hurry  those  animals  into  the  sea.  Can 
this  be  merely  delusion  ?  Christ  alleges,  as  proof  of 
his  mission,  that  the  devils  are  cast  out ;  he  promises 
his  apostles  the  same  power  that  he  himself  exercis- 
ed against  those  wicked  spirits.  Can  all  this  be 
nothing  but  chimera  ?  It  is  admitted  that  there  are 
several  tokens  of  possession  which  are  equivocal  and 
fallible,  but  there  are  others  which  are  indul>itable. 
A  person  may  counterfeit  a  demoniac,  and  imitate 
the  actions,  words,  motions,  contortions,  cries,  bowl- 
ings, and  convulsions  of  one  possessed. — Some  ef- 
44 


forts,  that  seem  to  be  supernatural,  mav  be  effects  of 
heated  imagination,  of  melancholv  blood,  of  trick  and 
contrivance.  But  if  a  person  suddenly  should  speak 
and  understand  languages  he  never  learned,  talk  of 
sublime  matters  he  never  studied,  or  discover  things 
secret  and  unknown ;  should  he  lift  up  himself  in 
the  air  without  visible  assistance,  act  and  speak  in  a 
manner  very  distant  from  his  natural  temper  and 
condition  ;  and  all  this  without  any  inducement  from 
interest,  passion,  or  other  natural  motive  ;  if  all  these 
circumstances,  or  the  greater  part  of  them,  concur  in 
the  same  possession,  can  there  be  any  room  to  sus- 
pect that  it  is  not  real  ?  There  have,  then,  been  pos- 
sessions in  which  all  these  circumstances  have  con- 
curred. There  have,  therefore,  been  real  ones,  but 
especially  those  which  the  gospel  declares  as  such. 
God  was  pleased  to  permit,  that  in  our  Saviour's 
time  there  should  be  many  such  in  Israel,  to  furnish 
him  with  occasions  of  signalizing  his  power,  and  to 
supply  further  and  convincing  proofs  of  his  mission 
and  divinity.  It  is  admitted,  that  true  possessions 
by  the  devil  are  miraculous.  They  do  not  hap- 
pen without  divine  permission ;  but  they  are  neither 
contrary  nor  superior  to  the  laws  of  nature.  God 
only  suffers  the  demons  to  act ;  and  they  only  exer- 
cise a  power  that  is  natural  to  them,  but  which  was 
before  suspended  and  restrained  by  Divine  Provi- 
dence.    See  Angel. 

DENARIUS,  a  Roman  coin,  worth  four  sesterces, 
generally  valued  at  seven  pence  three  farthings  Eng- 
lish, or,  more  properly,  about  12i  cents.  In  the  New 
Testament,  it  is  taken  for  a  piece  of  money  in  gener- 
al ;  3Iatt.  xxii.  19  ;  Mark  xii.  15  ;  Luke  xx.  24. 

DERBE,  a  city  of  Lycaonia,  to  which  Paul  and 
Barnabas  fled  when  expelled  from  Iconium,  Acts  xiv. 
G.  A.  D.  41. 

DESERT.  The  Hebrews,  by  -^anr,  midbar,  "a 
desert,"  mean  an  uncultivated  place,  particularly  if 
mountainous.  Some  deserts  were  entirely  dry  and 
barren  ;  others  were  beautiful,  and  had  good  pas- 
tures ;  Scripture  speaks  of  the  beauty  of  the  desert. 
Psalm  Ixv.  12,  13.  Scripture  names  several  deserts 
in  the  Holy  Land  ;  and  there  was  scarcely  a  town 
without  one  belonging  to  it,  i.  e.  uncultivated  places, 
for  woods  and  pastures;  like  our  English  commons, 
common  lands.  The  principal  deserts  were  the  fol- 
lowing : — 

Arabia,  through  which  the  Israelites  passed  be- 
fore they  came  to  Moab.  This  is  particularly  call- 
ed "The  Desert."  It  lies  between  the  Jordan,  or 
the  mountains  of  Gilead,  and  the  river  Euphrates, 
Exod.  xxiii.  31.  God  promised  the  children  of  Isra- 
el all  the  land  between  the  desert  and  the  river ;  that 
is,  all  the  country  from  the  mountains  of  Gilead  to 
the  Euphrates.  In  Dent.  xi.  24,  he  promises  them 
all  between  Libanus,  the  desert,  the  Euphrates,  and 
the  3Iediterranean. 

Edo^i.  We  cannot  determme  its  limits ;  as  Edom 
extended  far  into  Arabia. 

Egypt.  Ezekiel  xx.  36,  seems  to  denote  the  des- 
ert in  which  the  Hebrews  sojourned  after  quitting 
Egypt.  Tobit  (viii.  3.)  speaks  of  the  deserts  of  Upper 
Egj'pt,  jirobably  of  the  Thebais. 

Judea,  where  John  Uie  Baptist  preached,  began 
near  Jericho,  and  extended  to  the  mountains  of 
Edom,  Matt.  iii.  1. 

Kadesh,  about  Kadesh  Bamea,  in  the  south  of 
Judah,  and  in  Arabia  Petrsea. 

Maon,  (1  Sam.  xxiii.  24.)  in  the  country,  and 
perhaps    near    the    capital,  of  the    Maonians,    or 


D  E  U 


[346  ] 


D  I  A 


Meouiauii,  \n  Ai'abia  Petrieu,  at  tlie  exireiiiity  of 
Judah. 

Palmvra.  Solomon  built  Paliuyra,  in  the  desert, 
between  the  Euphrates,  the  Orontes,  and  the  Chry- 
Eorrhoas.     See  Tadmos. 

Pauan,  in  Anibia  Petra.-a,  near  tbe  city  of  Paran. 
Ishniael  dwelt  in  this  wilderness,  Gen.  xxi.  21.  Ha- 
bakkuk  i^ays  (iii.  3.)  that  the  Lord  appeared  to  his 
people  in  the  aioniitains  of  Paran.  The  Hebrews 
rernaijied  long  in  tliis  desert.     Si'e  Paka.n. 

Shur,  on  the  nonh-rast  of  the  Red  sea.  Magar 
wandered  in  this  wilderness,  (Gen.  xvi.  7.)  and  Israel, 
after  passing  the  Uvd  s:;;i.  came  into  it,  Exod.  xv.92. 
Here  was,  probably,  a  city  named  Shnr. 

Si:.'.  There  a^c  two  dcf^crts  of  this  name  in  Scrip- 
uuv;  the  yfr.j/,  written  pp,  (Exod.  xvi.  6.)  lies  between 
Elini  and  mount  Sinai.  The  second,  written  yi,  is 
ner.r  Kadesh  Baruea,  which  was  in  the  desert  of  Sin, 
o.--  Tzin,  Nil  ml),  xx.  1. 

Si"Ai,  adjacent  to  mount  Sinai.  The  Israelites 
occampod  here  a  long  time,  and  received  most  of 
their  laws,  Exod.  xix. 

DESSAU,  a  town,  or  castle,  near  to  which  the  Is- 
raelites lodged  themselves  under  iudas  Maccabajus, 
^  ?uac.  xiv.  in.     Its  situation  is  iniknowu. 

DEVIL,  a  fallen  angel,  especially  the  chief  of 
ihem.     See  Axgel,  Demo.n,  Diabolus,  Satan. 

DEVOTING,  cuRsixNG,  anathkma.  The  most 
ancient  instance,  and,  indeed,  the  only  instance,  of 
devoting,  strictly  speaking,  in  ScriptiU'c,  is  that  which 
Balak,  king  of  Aloab,  would  have  had  Balaam  use 
;;gainst  Israel,  Numb.  xxii.  6.  Joscphns  has  furnish- 
ed us  with  another,  in  the  case  of  the  two  brothers 
Hircanus  and  Aristobuius.  But  several  devotings  of 
f.nnther  sort  are  noticed  in  sacred  history;  as  when 
a!:\  i-.eople,  city,  country,  or  famih,  was  devoted. 
(S.  ?e  Anathema.)  The  heathen,  who  admitted  a 
plurality  of  gods,  and  who  believed  them  to  be  sub- 
ordinate in  {)0wer  one  to  a^noiher,  usetl  enchant- 
ments a)id  devotings  to  bring  mischief  on  their  ene- 
mies. They  sometimes  called  forth  the  tutelary  dei- 
ties of  cities,  to  deprive  their  enemies  of  their  pro- 
tection .".nd  defence.  It  is  said  tliat,  for  fear  of  this, 
tlio  Tyrians  chained  tlie  statue  of  Apollo  to  the  altar 
of  Hercules,  tiie  tutelar  deity  of  their  city,  lest  he 
should  forsake  tlicm.  The  Komaiis,  says  Macrobiiis, 
being  persundrd  that  everj-  city  had  its  tutelar}'  dci- 
ti<'s,  when  attacking  a  city,  used  ceriaiii  verses  to 
call  forth  its  gods,  believing  it  in)possii)lo  otherwise 
to  take  the  town  ;  and  even  when  they  might  take  a 
place,  they  thought  it  would  l>c  a  great  crime  to  take 
the  gods  captive  with  it:  for  this  reason  the  Romans 
concealed  the  real  names  of  their  cities  very  closely, 
they  being  different  from  what  they  were  generallv 
called  ;  they  concealed  likewi.=e  tlie  names  of  the  tu- 
telaiy  gods  of  (heir  cities,  Pliny  informs  us  that  the 
secret  nam<^  of  Ronje  wa?  Vnlenlia,  and  that  ^'aleri- 
tis  Soramis  w;i^  severe!-,-  piniished  for  revealing  it. 

DErTEnONOl\lY,'//ie  rfpetitiou  of  the  law,  the 
fifth  bof)k  of  t'lie  Pentatt  iich,  so  called  ))v  the  Greeks, 
because  in  it  >.loses  recapitu!:!tes  what  he  had  or- 
dained in  tlie  preecding  books.  Some  rabbins  call 
it  Mir.hvnh.  the  scrnnd  laic;  others  "the  book  of  rep- 
rehensions," frotn  the  rp])rr)aches  \vi)ich  occur  in 
chap.  i.  viii.  ix.  xxviii.  xxx.  xxxii.  Tiiif:  book  con- 
tains the  history  of  what  passed  in  tlse  wilderness 
from  the  beginning  of  tin-  eleventh  month  to  the  sev- 
enth day  of  the  tv/elfrh  month,  i;i  the  fortieth  year 
after  tlie  Israelites'  de))arture  from  Egypt;  that  is, 
about  six  wc^eks.  Some  have  doubted  whetiier  it 
was  written  by  Moses,  becmtse  it  mentions  !iis  death. 


and  the  author  spealts  of  the  land  beyond  Jordan, 
like  one  who  writes  west  of  that  river.  (See  Aaron.) 
It  is  admitted  that  the  relation  of  Moses'  death  was 
added  to  the  book ;  but  the  word  -{2-;,  eber,  ti-anslated 
beyond  Jordan,  may  be  translated  on  this  side.  In 
the  book  of  Deuteronomy,  Moses  recites  to  the  peo- 
ple what  had  passed  since  their  coming  out  of  Egypt ; 
explains,  and  adds  some  others,  to  the  laws  of  God 
which  he  had  received  at  Shiai ;  exhorts  the  people 
to  obedience ;  and  declares,  that  Josliua  was  ap- 
pointed by  God  to  succeed  him.  He  wrote  down 
this  transaction,  committed  tlie  writing  to  the  Levites 
and  elders,  and  charged  them  to  read  it  every  seven 
years,  in  a  general  assembly  of  the  people,  at  the 
feast  of  tabernacles.  Dent.  xxxi.  9 — 14.  It  includes, 
also,  his  lust  song;  to  which  is  added  the  liistory  of 
his  death. 

DEW.  Dews  in  Palestine  are  very  copious,  (Judg. 
vi.  38  ;  Gen.  xxvii.  28.)  and  furnish  many  beautiful 
similes  to  the  sacred  ])enmen.  Dent,  xxxii.  2 ;  Hos. 
vi.  4;  xii.  5. 

DIABOLL'S,  an  accuser,  a  caluniniator.  We  rare- 
ly meet  with  this  word  in  the  Old  Testament.  Some- 
times it  ;mswers  to  the  Hebrcjw  Belial ;  f  ometimes 
to  Satan.  The  former  signifies  a  libertine  ;  the  latter, 
an  adversary,  or  an  accuser.  The  word  Satan  in 
Job  i.  6,  is  rendered  o  c^u't.-JoAoj,  by  the  LXX.  The 
Eblis  of  the  Mahometans  is  the  same  with  our  Luci- 
fer; and  the  name  is  similar  to  that  of  Diabolus. 
The  Mussulmans  call  him  likewise  ./?zarcZ,  which  is 
the  Scripture  name  for  the  scape-goat ;  and  is  prob- 
ably the  Azazel  of  liie  hook  of  Enoch.  They  main- 
taiti,  that  Eblis  was  called  by  this  name,  signifying 
perdition,  or  refractor}!,  which  is  nearly  the  meaning 
of  .Be/z«/,  because,  having  received  orders  to  pros- 
trate himself  before  Adam,  he  v.ould  not  comply, 
under  pretence  that,  being  of  the  suj)erior  nature  of 
fire,  lie  ought  not  to  bend  the  knee  to  Adam,  who 
was  formed  only  of  earth.  (See  Adam.)  Diabolus 
sometimes  signifies  the  devil,  as  Wisd.  ii.  24  ;  some- 
times an  accuser,  an  adversary  who  jjrosecutes  b-e- 
fore  the  judges  ;  as  Ps.  cix.  6  :  Eccles.  xxi.  27. 
.    DIADEM,  see  Crown. 

,'    DIAL.     This   insirnment   for   the    measuring   of 
'titne  is  not  mentioned  in    Scrijiture  before  the   reign     ^ 
of  Ahaz,  (A.  M.  3262,)  and  we  cannot  clearly  ascer- 
tain  that,  (  ven  after  his  reign,  the  Jews  generally  di- 
vided their  tin)c  by  hours.     The  word  hour  occurs 
first  in  Tobit,  Avhich  tnay  confirm   the  op,inion,  that      y 
the  invention    of  dials  came  from  beyoufl  the  Eu-  J 
phrates.     But  others  beiieve  that  the  invention  came 
from  the  Phamiciaus,  and  th;it  the  first  traces  of  it 
are  discoverable  in  what  Homer  says,  (Odys.  xv.  402.)  rn/^ 
of  "  an  island  called  Syria,  lyi»igal)ove  Orlygia^ where 
the  revolutions  of  the  sun   are  observed;"  that  is,  in 
this  island  they  noted  the  returns  of  tiie  .smi ;  the  sol- 
stice?.     As   tbi;    Plurnicians  are   thought    to   have 
inhabitefl  this  island  of  Syria,   it  is  premmed  that 
they  left  there  this  ntojumient  of  their  skill  in'astron- 
omy.     (See  Horns.)      /shout  three  huudied  yeai-s 
after  Homer,  Pherecydes,  in  the  same  island,  set  up 
a  sim-dial  to   distingtiish    the    hours,     'llie    Greeks 
confess  that  Anaximander  first  divided  time  by  hours, 
and  introduced  sun-dials  among  them,     ("slier   fixes     . 
the  death  of  Anaximander  to  A.  M.  3457,  under  the/ 
reign  of  C^yrus,  and  during  the  captivity  of  Babylon. 
As  this  philosopher  travelled  into  Chaldea,  he  might 
bring  with  him  from  thence  the  dial  and  the  needle,    ^ 
which  were  both  in  use  there.     Pliny  gives  the  hon- 
or of  this  invention  to  Anaximenes,  by  mistake  con- 
[  fomiding  the  disciple  with  the  master;  for,   as   Bas- 


DIAL 


[347  ] 


DIA 


uage  obst-rvus,  it  is  inoiu  reaeiuiialjle  lo  lliiiik  Pliny 
was  mistaken  tlian  Diogenes  Laertius  ,•  or  rati icr  that 
this  name  is  an  erroneous  reading. 

Interpreters  differ  concerning  the  Ibnii  of  the  dial 
«>t'  Ahaz,  2  Kings  xx.  Cyril  ol"  Alexau(hia  and 
Jerome  l)elie\ed,  that  it  was  a  staircase  so  (lisj)ose(!, 
that  the  siai  slioweil  the  liom-.s  ij|jou  it  by  the  shad- 
ow ;  an  opinion  whicli  tiie  geut.rahty  ol"  expositors 
have  foilowt'd.  Others  believe  it  was  a  pillar  creeled 
ill  the  middle  of  a  very  level  antl  smooth  pavement, 
upon  wiiicli  the  hom-s  were  engraved.  The  lines 
marked  on  this  pavement  are,  according  to  these  au- 
riiors,  what  t!ie  Sciiptore  calls  des^recs.  Grotius 
describes  it  thus,  after  rabbi  EliasChomer:  It  was 
u  concave  hemisphere,  in  the  midst  of  whicli  was  a 
gloi)e,  whost3  shadow  fell  u])on  several  eight-aiid- 
tweiity  lines,  engraved  in  the  eoiicavity  of  tiie  henfi- 
sphere.  This  descri[»lion  comes  near  to  that  kind  <a" 
dial  which  the  Greeks  called  scaplia,  a  hour,  or  lic;ii- 
isplirrion  ;  the  invention  of  wiiich  Vitruvius  attributes 
to  iJerosus,  and  describes  as  "  a  half-circle,  hollowed 
iiito  the  stone,  and  the  stone  cut  down  to  aji  iuigle." 
iVow  Berosus  lived  abo\  e  three  hundred  years  (per- 
haps throe  hundred  and  thirty)  before  A.  D.  wliiel), 
indeed,  is  long  after  Aha/,,  who  died  72t>  before  A. 
D.;  but  there  is  no  necessity  for  considering  Berosus 
as  the  inventor  of  this  kind  of  dial ;  it  seems  sufli- 
cient  to  say,  that  he  \\  as  reported  to  be  the  lirst  who 
introduced  it  into  Greece.  Berosus  was  a  jiriest  of 
Belus  at  Babylon,  and  compiler  of  a  history  tliat 
contained  astrononfic;d  oi)servations  for  fom-  hundred 
and  eighty  years.  Passing  from  Babylon  into 
Greece,  he  taught  astronomy,  tiist  at  Cos,  afterwards 
at  Athens,  where  we  still  find  one  of  his  dials,  and 
where  he  was  honored  with  a  i)nblic  statue  in  the 
gymnasium.  The  four  hundred  and  eighty  years 
included  in  this  writer's  history,  carry  us  higher  than 
the  date  of  Ahaz  :  but  some  time  must  be  allowed 
for  these  dials  to  ha\  e  readied  Israel  from  Babylon, 
if  we  suppose  the  invention  to  have  been  adopted, 
and  to  have  become  popular,  at  that  period  of  time  : 
they  might  be  of  much  earlier  invention,  and  that 
they  were,  seems  probable  I'rom  what  Herodotus 
P  /  saj's  (hb.  i.  c.  109.)  of  "the  i)ole,  the  gnomon,  and 
^  I  the  division  of  the  day  into  twelve  parts,"  which 
'  '  "  the  Greeks  recsived  trom  the  Babylonians."  Mr. 
Taylor  discovered  some  representations  of  ancient 
jnstni'nents  of  this  kind,  one  of  ^vhich  was  found  at 
Herculaneum,  and  was  probably  originally  from 
Eg^.'pt,  which  he  conceives  to  answer,  in  many  re- 
•  pects,  to  the  circumstances  of  the  sacred  narrative. 
This  kind  of  sun-dial  was  portable  ;  it  did  not  rc- 
(piire  to  be  constructed  on,  or  for,  a  jjarticviiar  spot, 
to  which  it  was  subsequently  confined  ;  and,  there- 
fore, one  ready  made  might  easily  be  liroiight  on  a 
camel  from  Babylon  to  Ahaz.  That  he  had  com- 
munications with  those  countries,  appears  liy  bis  al- 
liance with  Tiglath-Pileser  ;  (2  Kings  xvi.  7,  8.)  and 
that  he  was  what  in  modern  language  would  be 
called  a  man  of  taste,  is  evinced  by  liis  desiring  to 
possess  a  handsome  altar,  siniilar  to  one  he  had  seen 
at  Damascus  ;  (ver.  10.)  which  is  also  another  in- 
stance of  his  introducing  foreign  curiosities,  or 
novelties. 

On  these  dials,  like  some  still  used  in  India,  each 
hour  appears  to  have  been  divided  into  three  parts, 
which,  vai-j'ing  with  the  season,  contain  fiorn  90  to 
24  of  our  minutes  each,  according  to  the  length  of 
the  day.  These  <livisions  are  in  India  called  Ghun. 
Now,  supposing  that  the  dial  of  Ahaz  was  in  the 
form  of  a  half  circle,  and  that  each  hour  wns  divid- 


ed into  three  parts,  the  shadow  would  in  the  moniing 
move  down,  till  it  would  be  nearly  noon,  when  IsaiaJi 
spake  to  Hezekiah  : — thus 


It  was  not  quitu  noon  :  ibr  at  noon  it  coidd  not  be 
said  of  the  shadow,  "which  now  dtscends"  or  is,  at 
this  time,  iroing  down ;  but  it  might  be  close  upon 
noon,  until  which  point  the  shadow  might  be  con- 
sidered as  descen(iing.  Perlu![)S  the  j)rophet  had 
said  Hey.(kiah  shoulil  die  at  noon,  as  his  sickness 
was  in  its  nature  mortal  ;  if  so,  his  t?(,<!/a7if  rt^turu  was 
necessary  ;  and,  as  a  sign  of  amendiiient,  in  a  case 
so  criiicai,  the  instant  beginning  of  the  shadow  to 
retrogi-ade,  was  equally  necessary :  the  shadow  ret- 
rograded, then,  ten  statioiis,  or  one  fourth  of  thn 
circle  ;  and  having  readied  this  station,  it  thence  re- 
sumed and  re-accomplished  its  natural  course. 

If  the  instrument  used  in  this  instance  were 
itrought  irom  Babylon,  we  see  the  reason  why  the 
king  of  Babylon  was  so  peculiarly  interested  in  the 
event,  2  Kings  xx.  12. 

As  to  the  retrogradation  of  the  shadow,  and  the 
means  by  which  it  was  jjioduced,  there  are  various 
opinions.  It  seenis  the  most  probable  that  the 
change  was  in  the  shadow  only ;  that  is,  the  solar 
rays  being  deflected  in  an  extraordinarj'  manner  by 
the  interposition  of  a  cloud,  or  some  other  means, 
they  produced  the  change,  or  retrogradatory  motion, 
of  the  !>]ace  of  the  shadow  in  the  dial. 

DIAMOND,  the  sixth  stone  in  the  high-priest's 
breastplale,  bearing  the  name  of  ixaphtali,  Exod 
xxxviii.  18.  It  is,  however,  questicaiable  whether 
the  diamond,  was  in  use  in  the  time  oi'  Moses.  See 
AnA:\iA.\T. 

DIANA,  a  celebrated  goddess  of  the  liealhen,  and 
one  of  the  twelve  superior  tleitics.  In  the  heavens 
she  was  Lima,  o>-  ?«ieni,  (the  moon,)  on  earth  Diana, 
in  liell  Hecate.  She  was  in\(iked  by  won>en  in 
child-birth  under  the  liame  of  Lucina.  She  was 
sometimes  represented  wit'i  a  crescent  on  her  head, 
a  bow  in  her  hand,  aiui  dressed  in  a  hunting  habit ; 
at  other  times  with  a  triple  body,  (tri])le-faced  Pros- 
eiiiine,)  and  biaring  instruments  of  torture  in  her 
hands.  At  Rome  there  is  a  full  length  and  complete 
image  of  this  goddess,  which  is  clearly  an  emble- 
matical representr.tion  of  tiie  dependence  of  all  crea- 
tures on  the  |)owers  of  nature  ;  or  the  many  and  ex- 
tensive blessings  Ijesrowed  by  nature,  on  all  ranks  of 
existence:  whether  man,  lions,  stags,  oxen,  animals 
of  all  kinds,  or  even  insects.  The  goddess  is  sym- 
bolized as  diffusing  her  bejiefits  to  eacli  in  its  proper 
station.  Her  nurneious  rows  of  breasts  speak  the 
same  allegorical  language,  i.  e.  fountauis  of  supply : 
whence  figures  of  this  kind  were  called  (rroAri/aoro?) 
many-breasted.  To  cities,  also,  she  bears  a  peculiar 
regard,  as  appears  by  the  honorable  station  (on  her 
head)  of  the  turrets,'their  proper  emblems.     On  her 


DIANA 


[348] 


DIN 


breastplate  (pectoral)  is  a  necklace  of  pearls  ;  it  is 
also  ornamented  with  the  signs  of  the  zodiac,  in  al- 
lusion to  the  seasons  of  the  year,  throughout  which 
nature  dispenses  her  various  bounties.  In  fact,  the 
whole  course  of  nature,  and  her  extensive  distribu- 
tions, are  mystically  represented  in  this  image. 
Here  we  have  a  representation  of  the  front  of  the 

famous  temple  of 
Diana  of  Ephesus, 
(the  pronaos,  or 
front  of  the  naos,) 
from  which  it  ap- 
pears to  have  been 
odostyle,  i.  e.  hav- 
ing eight  columns: 
the  image  of  Di- 
mia  is  in  this 
medal  represented 
clothed  :  a  motto 
at  bottom,  "  Of 
the  Ephesiaus :" 
around  it  NES2- 
KOPS2N — a  clear  allusion  to,  and  a  strong  confirma- 
tion of,  what  the  grammateus  asserts,  that  the  city  of 
Ephesus  was  justly  entitled  to,  and  held,  by  univer- 
sal consent,  the  ofiice  of  ntokoron  to  the  temple  (and 
statue)  of  Diana;  nor  was  this  any  thing  new  ;  the 
city  had  long  been  so  esteemed.  JVeokoron  signifies 
guardian  of  the  temple  and  its  contents,  manager  of 
its  concerns  ; — something  analogous  to  our  church- 
warden ;  but  of  superior  power  and  dignity.  It 
might  be  rendered  "  superintendent  of  the  sacra." 

It  is  well  known  that  many  heathen  deities  resolve 
themselves  into  the  sun  and  moon  ;  and  that  Diana 
is  the  moon,  in  most  or  all  of  her  offices  and  charac- 
ters. "  The  precious  things  put  forth  by  the  moon," 
are  mentioned  so  early  as  the  days  of  Jacob  ;  and 
long  afterwards  we  frequently  read  of  the  "  queen  of 
heaven,"  &c.  The  moon  was  also  the  goddess  pre- 
siding over  child-birth.  This  deity  was  known  by 
distinction,  as  Diana  of  Ephesus,  where  she  had  a 
famous  temple,  (see  Ephesus,)  to  some  of  the  per- 
sons connected  with  which  Paul  rendered  himself 
obnoxious  by  the  discharge  of  his  apostolic  duties. 
Acts  xix.  27,  &c.  The  language  of  this  narrative  is 
worthy  of  notice  here.  Demetrius  was  a  worker  in 
silver,  (a  chaser  perhaps,)  who  made  representations 
— some  on  medals — some  in  alto-relievo — or  other 
kinds  of  wrought,  or  of  cast,  work,  (or  small  mod- 
els, i)erhaps,)  of  the  portico  and  temple  (the  naos)  of 
the  goddess  Diana.  Now,  the  city  of  Ephesus,  in 
her  office  of  superintendent  of  the  sacra  to  this  tem- 
ple, was  bound  to  promote  its  interests ;  it  could  not 
therefore  be  indifferent,  or  insensible,  when  this  great 
and  famous  «,'difice  was  about  to  be  degraded,  to  be 
rendered  contemptible — through  the  impiety  of  a 
few  hated  Jews.  Notwithstanding  the  reported  dan- 
ger, however,  and  the  danger  always  attendant  on 
|)opuiar  conmiotion,  the  grammateus,  or  recorder, 
[town-clerk,  Engl,  vcr.)  harangues  the  peo])lc  on  the 
subject  of  their  riot ;  states,  "that  the  honor  of  their 
city  as  neokoron  was  incontrovertible  ;  that  the  per- 
sons in  custody  were  neither  guilty  of  sacrilege,  nor 
of  blaspheming  their  goddess,  in  particular,  especial- 
ly considering  that  this  image  was  not  'made  with 
hands,'  but  was  well  known  to  be  Jove-descended  ; 
and,  moreover,  that  if  the  accused  were  guilty  of  any 
misdemeanor,  they  should  be  i)ro])erly  indicted  for 
it:  but  if  the  complainants  were  desirous  of  extend- 
ing their  measures  beyond  merely  insuring  the  honor 
and   security  of  Diana,   they   should   call   a  general 


meeting  of  the  town,  in  which  to  propose  their  reso- 
lutions ;  because  the  honor  of  the  neokorate  apper- 
tained to  the  whole  town,  and  not  to  any  separate 
part  of  it ... .  such  as  Demetrius  with  his  fellow- 
craftsmen  and  associates." 

There  appears  in  the  language  of  this  very  sensi- 
ble man  an  ambiguity  employed  in  describing  the 
goddess,  or  her  image — ^-iionnS;.  Jove-descended, 
or  fallen.  For  instance,  supposing  he  might  wish  to 
say, — the  things  signified  by  the  image  of  the  god- 
dess, i.  e.  the  jjowers  of  nature,  descended  from 
Jove  ;  this,  taking  Jove  for  the  supreme  deity,  would 
be  the  truth  ;  but,  no  doubt,  the  popular  belief  was, 
and  the  people  would  so  understand  the  speaker,  that 
the  image  itself,  the  object  of  their  worship,  fell  down 
from  Jove.  If  this  be  fact,  it  is  an  instance  of  the 
esoteric  and  exoteric  doctrines ;  or,  that  the  philoso- 
pliei's,  by  expressions  capable  of  two  senses,  intend- 
ed to  convey  ideas  of  principles  understood  by 
philosophers,  in  a  sense  different  from  what  they  in- 
culcated on  the  people.  It  seems  incredible  that  this 
very  rational  public  wi-iter  could  believe,  that  the 
marble  image  now  standing  in  the  adytum  of  the 
temple,  should  fall  from  heaven,  in  its  present 
wrought  and  allegorical  state,  thougli  he  might,  per- 
haps, when  speaking  in  juiblic,  call  it  "a  divine  im- 
age ;"  which  expression  its  votaries  were  at  liberty 
to  take  literally,  if  they  chose — as  if  wiought  by  the 
hand  of  Jove  ;  while,  in  his  own  mind,  he  would 
consider  this  "  divine  image"  as  an  image  represent- 
ing divine  things ;  or  things  Avhich  descended  from 
Jove. 

I.  DIBON,  a  city  of  Moab,  and  thought  to  be  the 
Dimon  of  Isaiah  xv.  9.  It  was  given  to  the  tribe  of 
Gad  by  Moses,  and  afterwards  yielded  to  Reuben, 
Numb,  xxxii.  3,  33,  34  ;  Josh.  xiii.  9.  It  was  agaiu 
occupied  by  the  Moal)ites  at  a  later  period.  Is.  xv.  2 ; 
Jer.  xlviii.  18,  22.  Eusebius  says,  it  was  a  large 
town  on  the  northern  bank  of  the  river  Arnon, 
Numb,  xxxiii.  45.  Burckhardt  speaks  of  a  place 
called  Diban,  about  three  miles  north  of  the  Arnon. 
See  Gad. 

II.  DIBON,  a  city  of  Judah  :  the  same,  perhaps, 
as  Debir,  or  Kirjath-Sepher,  Neh.  xi.  25.  The  LXX 
call  that  ]jlace  Dibon,  which  in  Hebrew  is  Deber, 
Josh.  xiii.  26. 

DIDRACHMA,  a  Greek  word,  signifying  a  jtiece 
of  money,  in  value  two  drachmas,  about  fourteen 
pence  English,  or,  more  nearly,  25  cents.  The  Jews 
were  by  law  obliged,  every  person,  to  pay  two 
drachnjas,  that  is,  half  a  shekel,  to  the  temple.  To 
pay  this,  our  Lord  sent  Peter  to  catch  a  fish,  which, 
probablv,  had  just  swallowed  such  a  coin.  Matt, 
xvii.  24—27. 

DIDYMUS,  a  twin.  This  is  the  signification  of 
the  Hebrew  or  Syriac  word  Thomas.     See  Thomas. 

DIGIT,  a  finger  (y^sN,  Etzba,)  a  measure  contain- 
ing gg^  of  an  inch.  There  are  four  digits  in  a  palm, 
and  six  palms  in  u  cubit. 

DIKLAH,  seventh  son  of  Joktan,  (Gen.  x.  27.) 
whose  descendants  are  placed  either  in  Arabia  Fe- 
lix, which  abounds  in  palm-trees,  called  Dikla  in 
Chaldee  and  Syriac ;  or  in  Assyria,  where  is  the 
town  of  Degla,  and  the  riv(-r  Tigris,  or  Dikkel. 

DILEAN,  a  city  of  Judah,  Josh.  xv.  38. 

DIMNAII,  a  city  of  Zebulun,  given  to  the  Levites 
of  Merari's  family.  Josh.  xxi.  35. 

DIM  ON  AH,  a  town  in  south  Judah,  Josh.  xv.  22. 

DINAH,  (laughter  of  Jacob  and  Leah,  (Gen.  xxx. 
2L)  born  after  Zei)ulun,  and  about  A.  31.  2250. 
When    Jacob    returned    into  Canaan.    Dinah,    then 


DIS 


[349] 


DIS 


about  the  age  of  fifteen  or  sixteen,  attended  a  festi- 
val of  the  Shecheniites,  to  see  the  women  of  the 
country,  (Gen.  xxxiv.  1,  2.)  when  Shcclieni,  son  of 
Hamor  the  Hivite,  prince  of  the  city,  ravisJied  or  se- 
duced her,  and  afterwards  desired  his  fatlier  to  pro- 
cure her  for  liis  wife.  Dinah's  brotliers,  being 
informed  of  what  had  passed,  were  much  exasperat- 
ed ;  and  liaving  made  insidious  proposals  to  She- 
chem,  to  his  father  Hamor,  and  to  the  inhabitants  of 
their  city,  slew  and  plundered  them,  and  carried  off 
Dinah.  Jacob,  when  informed  of  the  occurrence, 
cursed  their  anger  and  cruelty,  xlix.  5 — 7. 

DINAITES,  a  people  who  opposed  the  rebuilding 
of  the  temple,  Ezra  iv.  9. 

DINHABAH,  a  city  of  Edom,  Gen.  xxxvi.  32. 

DIONYSIUS,  the  Areopagite,  a  convert  of  Paul, 
(Acts  xvii.  34.)  and  supposed  to  have  been  a  citizen 
of  Athens.  Dionysius  is  said  to  have  been  made  the 
first  bishop  of  Athens;  and  after  having  labored,  and 
suffered  much  in  the  gospel,  to  have  been  burnt  at 
Athens,  A.  D.  95.  The  works  attributed  to  him  are 
spurious.  * 

DIOSPOLIS,  the  city  ofJiipitei;  or  Thebes.  We 
do  not  meet  with  this  name  in  the  sacred  writings  ; 
but  Nahum  is  thought  to  have  intended  it  under  the 
name  of  No-Ammon.     See  Ammon-No. 

DIOTREPHES,  a  person  who  did  not  receive 
witli  hospitality  those  whom  the  apostle  had  sent  to 
him,  nor  suffer  others  to  do  so.     (See  3  John  9.) 

DISCERNING  of  spirits,  a  divine  gift  mentioned 
1  Cor.  xii.  10,  and  which  consisted  in  discerning 
among  those  Avho  professed  to  be  inspired  by  God, 
whether  they  were  inspired  by  a  good  or  an  evil 
spirit ;  whether  truly  or  falsely ;  and  also,  probably, 
whether  lliey  were  sincere  in  their  profession  of 
Christianity.  This  gift  was  of  very  great  importance 
under  the  Old  Testament,  when  false  prophets  often 
rose  up,  and  seduced  the  people  ;  and  also  in  the 
primitive  ages  of  the  Christian  church,  when  super- 
natural gifts  were  frequent ;  when  the  messenger  of 
Satan  was  sometimes  transformed  into  an  angel  of 
light,  and  false  apostles,  under  the  meek  appearance 
of  sheep,  concealed  the  disposition  of  ravening 
wolves. 

DISCIPLE  signifies,  in  the  New  Testament,  a  be- 
liever, a  Christian,  a  follower  of  Jesus  Christ. 

DISEASES.  Many  kinds  of  disease  are  men- 
tioned in  Scriptui-e,  and  the  Hebrews  attributed 
several  of  tliem  to  the  devil.  Diseases  and  death 
are  consequences  of  sin ;  and  the  Hebrews,  not 
much  accustomed  to  recur  to  physical  causes,  often 
imputed  them  to  evil  spirits.  (See  Luke  xiii.  16.)  If 
their  infirmities  appeared  unusual,  and  especially  if 
iho  cause  were  unknown  to  them,  they  concluded  it 
to  be  a  stroke  from  the  avenging  hand  of  God  ;  and 
to  hitn  the  wisest  and  most  religiotis  had  recourse 
for  cure.  King  Asa  is  blamed  for  ])lacing  his  confi- 
dence in  physicians,  2  Chrou.  xvi.  12.  Job's  friends 
ascribed  all  his  distempers  to  God's  justice.  Paul 
delivers  the  incestuous  Corinthian  to  Satan  "for  the 
destruction  of  the  flesh  :"  that  the  evil  spirit  might 
alflict  him  with  diseases,  1  Cor.  v.  5.  (See  Satan. )_ 
The  same  apostle  attributes  the  death  and  diseases  of 
many  Corinthians  to  their  communicating  unwor- 
thily, chap.  xi.  30.  He  also  elsewhere  ascribes  the 
infirmities  with  which  he  was  afflicted  to  an  evil  an- 
gel ;  "  a  thorn  in  the  ffesh — an  angel  of  Satan,"  2 
Cor.  xii.  7.  An  angel  of  death  slew  the  first-born  of 
the  Egyptians  ;  a  destroying  angel  wasted  Sennach- 
erib's  army ;  an  avenging  angel  smote   the   people 


of  Israel  with  a  pestilence,  after  David's  sin.  Saul 
fell  into  a  fit  of  deep  melancholy,  hvpocliondriaca! 
depression,  and  it  is  said  "an  evil  spirit  came  upon 
him."  Abimelech,  king  of  Gerar,  for  taking  Sarah, 
the  wife  of  Abraham,  was  threatened  with  death, 
(Gen.  XX.  3,  4.)  and  the  Philistines  were  smitten  with 
an  ignominious  disease,  for  not  treating  the  ark  with 
adequate  respect,  1  Sam.  v.  6,  7.  These  diseases, 
and  others  that  we  read  of,  were  evident  interposi- 
tions of  Providence,  by  whatever  agency  they  were 
produced. 

DISH.  It  has  been  remarked,  on  the  subject  of 
the  words  rendered  cruse  by  our  translators,  that 
one  of  them  seems  to  be  totally  diflTerent  from  that 
which  bids  fairest  to  explain  the  story  of  the  widow's 
cruse  of  oil,  or  king  Saul's  cruse  of  water ;  that 
word  it  is  here  necessary  to  examine,  with  the  de- 
sign to  determine  its  application.  Tzclohith,  (ninSi) 
or  TzcLAHATH,  IS  used  to  denote  a  vessel  of  some 
capacity  ;  a  vessel  to  be  turned  upside  down,  in  order 
that  the  inside  may  be  thoroughly  wiped  ;  (2  Kings 
xxi.  13.)  "  I  will  wipe  Jerusalem  as  a  man  loipeth  a 
DISH,  turning  it  upside  doivn."  This  implies,  at  least, 
that  the  opening  of  such  a  dish  be  not  narrow,  but 
wide ;  that  the  dish  itself  be  of  a  certain  depth  ;  yet 
that  the  hand  may  readily  reach  to  the  bottom  of  it, 
and  there  may  freely  move,  so  as  to  wipe  it  thor- 
oughly. This  vessel  was  capable,  also,  of  bearing 
the  fire,  and  of  standing  conveniently  over  a  fire  ; 
for  we  read  in  2  Chron.  xxxv.  13,  that  "  The  priests 
and  others  boiled  parts  of  the  holy  offerings  in  pans 
[tzelachoth] ;  and  distributed  them  speedily  among 
the  people."  Meaning,  perhaps,  that  this  was  not 
the  very  kind  of  dish  or  boiler  which  they  would 
have  chosen,  had  time  permitted  a  choice  ;  but  that 
haste  and  multiplicity  of  business  made  them  use 
whatever  first  came  to  hand,  that  was  competent  to 
the  service.  This  application  of  these  vessels,  how- 
ever, shows  that  they  must  have  been  of  considera- 
ble capacity  and  depth  ;  as  a  very  narrow  or  a  very 
small  dish,  would  not  have  answered  the  purpose  re- 
quired. A  kind  of  dish  or  pan,  which  appears  to 
answer  these  descriptions,  is  represented  in  the 
"  Estampes  du  Levant,"  in  the  hands  of  a  confec- 
tioner of  the  grand  seignior's  seraglio,  who  is  car- 
rying a  deep  dish,  full  of  heated  viands,  (recently 
taken  off"  the  fire,)  upon  which  he  has  put  a  cover,  in 
order  that  those  viands  may  retain  their  heat  and 
flavor.  His  being  described  on  the  plate  as  a  con- 
fectioner, leads  to  the  supposition  that  what  he  carries 
are  delicacies ;  and  to  this  agrees  his  desire  of  pre- 
serving their  heat.  The  shape  of  the  vessel  is  evi- 
dently calculated  for  standing  over  a  fire  ;  and  from 
its  form  it  may  easily  be  rested  on  its  side,  for  the 
purpose  of  being  thoroughly  wiped.  Now,  a  dish 
used  to  contain  delicacies,  is  most  likely  to  receive 
such  attention  ;  for  the  comparison,  in  the  text  refer- 
red to,  evidently  implies  some  assiduity  and  exertion 
to  wipe  from  the  dish  everv*  particle  inconsistent 
with  comj)lete  cleanliness.  [That  the  Hebrew 
tzelachath  means  a  dish  in  general,  is  obvious  from 
the  passages  where  the  word  occurs.  All  that  is 
here  said  more  than  this,  is  mere  fancy.     R. 

We  are  now  prepared  to  see  the  import  of  Eli- 
sha's  direction  to  the  men  of  Jericho,  (2  Kings  ii.  20.) 
"Bring  me  a  new — not  cruse — but  tzelochith" — 
one  of  the  vessels  used  in  your  cookery — in  those 
parts  of  your  cookery  which  you  esteem  the  most 
delicate  ;  a  culinary  vessel,  but  of  the  superior  kind  ; 
"  and  put  salt  therein,"  what  you  constantly  mingle 


DIV 


[  350 


DOC 


iu  your  food  ;  Avliat  readily  mixes  with  water :  and 
this  shall  be  a  sign  to  you,  that  in  your  future  use  of 
this  stream,  you  shall  find  it  salubrious,  and  fit  for 
daily  service  in  preparing,  or  accompanying,  your 
daily  sustenance. 

There  is  a  striking  picture  of  sloth,  sketched  out 
very  simply,  but  very  strongly,  by  the  sagacious  Solo- 
mon, in  Prov.  xix.  24,  and  repeated  almost  verbatim, 
in  chap.  xxvi.  15 : 

A  elothfiil  man  hideth  his  hand  in  the  tzelachith  ; 
But  will  not  re -bring  it  to  his  mouth. 

A  slothful  man  hideth  his  hand  in  the  tzelachith — 
It  grieveth  him  to  bring  it  again  to  his  mouth. 

Meaning,  he  sees  a  dish,  deep  and  capacious,  filled 
with  confectionary,  sweetmeats,  &c.  whatever  his  ap- 
petite can  desire  in  respect  to  relish  and  flavor ;  and 
of  this  he  is  greedy.  Thus  excited,  he  thrusts  his 
hand— his  right  hand— deep  into  the  dish,  and  loads 
it  with  delicacies  ;  but,  alas  !  the  labor  of  hfting  it  up 
to  his  mouth  is  too  great,  too  excessive,  too  fatiguing: 
he,  therefore,  does  not  enjoy  or  taste  what  is  before 
him,  though  his  appetite  be  so  far  allured  as  to  de- 
sire, and  his  hand  be  so  far  exerted  as  to  grasp.  He 
suffers  the  viands  to  become  cold,  and  thereby  to 
lose  their  flavor;  while  he  debates  the  important 
movement  of  his  hand  to  his  mouth  ;  if  he  do  not 
rather  totally  forego  the  enjoyment,  as  demanding 
too  vast  an  action  ! 

DISHAN,  and  DISHON,  sons  of  Seir,  the  Horite, 
Gen.  xxxvi.  21,  30 ;  1  Chron.  i.  38,  also  41,  42. 

DISPENSATION,  an  authority  to  administer  the 
ordinances  of  the  gospel,  1  Cor.  ix.  17.  Called  the 
dispensation  of  grace,  (Eph.  iii.  2.)  and  the  dispensa- 
tion of  God,  Col.  i.  25. 

DISPERSION.  Peter  and  James  wrote  to  the 
Jews  of  tiie  dispersion,  1  Pet.  i ;  Jam.  i.  1.  The 
former  directs  his  letter  to  those  who  were  dispersed 
in  the  countries  of  Pontus,  Galatia,  Bithynia,  Asia, 
Cappadocia  ;  but  the  latter  more  indefinitely  addresses 
the  twelve  tribes  scattered  abroad. — Not  that  all 
the  tribes  were  then  dispersed,  for  Judea  was  yet  fill- 
ed with  Jews  ;  (these  epistles  being  written  before 
the  war  with  the  Romans;)  but,  after  the  captivities 
into  Assyria  and  Chaldea,  there  were  many  Jews  of 
all  the  tribes  constantly  resident  in  various  places 
throughout  the  East.  This  was  called  "The  Dis- 
persion. Nehemiah  prays  God  to  collect  the  disper- 
sion of  his  people ;  and  the  Jews  said  of  Christ, 
(John  vii.  35.)  "Will  he  sroinito  the  dispersed  among 
the  Gentiles  .5" 

DIVAN,  see  Beds. 

DIVINATION.  The  eastern  people  were  al- 
ways fond  of  divination,  magic,  the  art  of  interpreting 
dreams,  and  of  acquiring  the  j)rescience  of  futurity. 
When  Moses  published  the  law,  this  disposition  had 
long  been  common  in  Egypt,  and  the  neighboring 
countries,  and  to  correct  the  Israelites'  inclination  to 
consult  diviners,  wizards,  fortune-tellers,  and  inter- 
preters of  dreams,  it  was  forbidden  them,  under  very 
severe  penalties ;  and  the  true  spirit  of  prophecy 
was  promised  to  them  as  infinitely  superior.  They 
ivere  to  be  stoned  who  pretended  to  have  a  familiar 
spirit,  or  the  spirit  of  divination  ;  (Dent,  xviii.  9,  10, 
15.)  and  the  prophets  are  fidl  of  invectives  against 
the  Israelites  who  consulted  such,  as  well  as  against 
false  prophets,  who  seduced  the  people. 

Divination  was  of  several  kinds  ;  by  water,  fire, 
earth,   air ;    by  the  flight   of  birds,  and  their  sing- 


ing ;   by  lots,   dreams,  serpents,  arrows,   &:c.     Sec 
Arkow. 

DIVORCE,  or  REPuni  atioiN,  was  tolerated  by  Mo- 
ses, for  sufficient  reasons,  (Dent.  sxi\'.  1 — 3.)  but  our 
Lord  has  limited  it  to  the  single  case  of  adultery, 
Matt.  V.  31,  32.  There  is  great  probability  that  di- 
vorces were  used  among  the  Hebrews  before  the 
law,  since  the  Son  of  God  says,  that  Moses  permit- 
ted them  by  reason  only  of  the  hardness  of  their 
hearts;  that  is  to  say,  because  they  were  accustomed 
to  this  abuse,  and  to  prevent  greater  evils.  Abraham 
dismissed  Hagar,  on  account  of  her  insolence,  at  the 
request  of  Sarah.  We  find  no  instance  of  a  divorce 
in  the  books  of  the  Old  Testament  written  since 
Moses ;  though  it  is  certain,  that  the  Hebrews  sepa- 
rated from  their  wives  on  trifling  occasions.  Sam- 
son's father-in-law  understood  that,  by  his  absence 
from  her,  his  daughter  was  divorced,  since  he  gave 
her  to  another,  Judg.  xv.  2.  The  Levite's  wife,  who 
was  dishonored  at  Gibeali,  had  forsaken  her  husband, 
and  would  not  have  returned,  had  he  not  gone  in 
pin-suit  of  her,  ch.  xix.  2,  3.  Solomon  speaks  of  a 
libertine  woman,  who  had  quitted  her  husband,  the 
director  of  her  youth,  and  had  forgotten  the  cove- 
nant of  her  God,  Prov.  ii.  16,  17.  The  prophet  ^l&l- 
achi  (ii.  15.)  commends  Abraham  for  not  divorcing 
Sarah,  though  barren  ;  and  inveighs  against  the 
Jew"s,  who  had  abandoned  "  tlie  wives  of  their  youth," 
Micah  also  (ii.  9.)  reproaches  them  with  having 
"cast  out  their  Avives  from  their  pleasant  houses,  and 
taken  away  the  glory  of  God  from  tlieir  children  for 
ever." 

Josephus  was  of  opinion  (Anticj.  lib.  xv.  cap,  11.) 
that  the  law  did  not  permit  women  to  divorce  them- 
selves from  their  husbands.  He  believes  Salome, 
sister  of  Herod  the  Great,  to  be  the  first  who  j)Ut 
away  her  husband  ;  though  Herodias  afterwards  dis- 
missed hers,  (Antiq.  lib.  xviii.  cap.  7.)  as  did  also 
the  three  sisters  of  the  younger  Agrippa,  and  others, 
theirs. 

DIZAHAB,  the  name  of  a  place,  not  far  from  tho 
plains  of  Moab,  mentioned  Deut.  i.  1. 

DOCTOR,  or  Teacher,  of  the  Lau-,  may,  per- 
haps, be  distinguished  from  scribe,  as  rather  teaching 
viva  voce,  than  giving  written  oi)inioiiS.  It  is  difficult, 
Avhen  the  expression,  "  counsel  learned  in  the  law," 
is  used  among  us,  to  divest  ourselves  of  the  idea  of 
the  political  law  and  its  administration  ;  but  if  we 
could  wave  that  idea,  and  restrict  the  jdirasc  to  learn- 
ed in  the  divine  law,  we  should,  probably,  not  be  far 
from  a  just  coucejition  of  what  the  doctors  of  tho 
law  were  in  Judea.  It  deserves  notice,  that  Nicode- 
mus,  himself  a  doctor  {(<nViaxa/.oi,  teacher)  of  the  law, 
came  to  consult  Jesus,  whom  lie  complimented  iu 
the  same  terms  as  he  himself  was  accustomed  to  : 
"Rabbi,  w'c  know  that  thou  art  i^ut^.nnKXoc.  a  compe- 
tent teacher — from  God  :" — and  most  probably  add- 
ing, "  Pray  what  is  your  o|)inion  of  such  and  such 
matters  ?"  q.  d.  "  Our  glosses  have  been  too  far- 
fetched, too  overstrained  ;  they  have  never  satisfied 
my  mind: — pray  let  me  liear  your  sentiments."  So 
our  Lord  among  the  doctors  (Luke  ii.  46.)  not  only 
heard  their  opinions,  but  asked  them  (picstions — pro- 
posing his  queries  in  turn,  and  examining  their  an- 
swers ;  whether  they  were  consonant  to  the  law  of 
God :  and  the  doctors,  we  find,  were  in  ecstasies  at 
the  intelligence  of  his  mind,  and  the  propriety  of  his 
language  and  replies. 

Doctors  of  the  law  were  mostly  of  the  sect  of  the 
Pharisees ;  but  are  distinguished  from  that  sect,  in 
Luke  v.  17,  where  it  appears  that  the  novelty  of  our 


DOG 


[351  ] 


DOU 


Lord's  doctrine  drew  together  a  great  company  of 
law-doctors  [yuuoStSitnyaXoi). 

Doctors,  or  teachers,  are  mentioned  among  divine 
gifts  in  Ephes.  iv.  11,  and  it  is  possible,  that  the 
apostle  does  not  mean  such  ordinary  teachers  (or 
pastors)  as  the  church  now  enjoys  :  but,  as  he  seems 
to  reckon  them  among  the  extraordinary  donations  of 
God,  and  uses  no  mark  of  distinction,  or  separation, 
between  apostles,  with  whicii  he  begins,  and  doctors, 
with  which  he  ends, — it  may  be,  that  he  refers  to  the 
nature  of  the  office  of  the  Jewish  doctors ;  meaning 
well-infonned  persons,  to  whom  inquiring  Christian 
converts  migiit  have  recourse  for  removing  their 
douljts  and  difiiculties,  concerning  Christian  observ- 
ances, the  sacraments,  and  other  rituals,  aiid  for  re- 
cfiving  from  Scripture  the  demonstration  that  "this 
is  the  very  Christ ;"  and  that  the  things  relating  to 
the  Messiah  were  accomplished  in  Jesus.  Such  a 
gift  could  not  be  very  serviceable  in  that  infant  state 
of  the  church,  which,  indeed,  without  it,  would  have 
seemed,  in  this  particular,  inferior  to  the  Jewish  in- 
stit!itious.  To  this  agrees  the  distinction  (Rom.  xii. 
7.)  between  doctors  {teaching,  '''/(*.Wi;<:)/ )  and  exhort- 
er5,  ([.  d.  "  he  wiio  gives  advice  privately,  and  resolves 
douljts,  &c.  let  him  attend  to  that  duty  ;  he  who  ex- 
horts with  a  loud  A'oice,  (ru^iazu.ur)! ,)  let  him  exhort" 
with  proper  piety.  The  same  appears  in  1  Cor.  xii. 
^8,  where  the  apostle  rauges,^/-sf,  apostles,  public  in- 
structers  ;  secondly,  prophets,  occasional  iustructers  ; 
thirdly,  (^tKVli^rt.rof,)  doctors,  or  teachers,  private  iu- 
structers. 

DODAI,  one  of  David's  captains,  over  the  course 
of  the  second  month,  1  Cliron.  xxvii.  4. 

DODANIiNI,  the  youngest  son  of  Javan,  Gen.  x. 
2.  Several  Hebrew  MSS.  read  Rhodanim,  and  be- 
lieve  that  he  peopled  the  island   of  Rhodes.     See 

Df.DAX. 

DOEG,  an  Edoinite,  and  Saul's  chief  herdsman. 
Being  at  Nob,  a  city  of  the  priests,  when  David  came 
thith(?r,  and  received  provision  from  Ahimelech,  he 
reported  this  to  Saul,  who,  thereupon,  sent  for  the 
priests,  and  massacred  them,  by  the  hand  of  Doeg, 
to  the  num!:)cr  of  fourscore  and  five,  1  Sam.  xxii.  16. 

DOG,  a  well-known  domestic  animal,  which  was 
he!;l  in  great  contempt  amojig  the  Jews.  It  was 
worsliijjped  by  the  Egyptians. 

The  state  of  dogs  among  the  Jews  was  probably 
much  the  same  as  it  is  now  in  the  East ;  where,  hav- 
ing no  owners,  they  run  about  the  streets  in  troops, 
and  are  fed  by  charity,  or  by  caprice ;  or  they  live 
on  such  offal  as  they  can  pick  up.  That  they  were 
numerous  and  voracious  in  Jezreel,  is  evident  Irom 
the  hii^tcry  of  Jezebel.     (See  that  article.) 

To  compare  a  person  to  a  dog,  living  or  dead,  was 
a  most  degrading  expression  ;  so  David  uses  it,  (1 
Sam.  ?cxiv.  14.)  "After  whom  is  the  king  of  Israel 
conic  out  ?  after  a  dead  dog?"  So  Mephiboslicth,  {2 
Sam.  ix.  8.)  "What  is  thy  servant,  that  thou  should- 
est  look  upon  such  a  dead  dog  as  I  am  ?"  The  name 
of  dog  sometimes  expresses  one  who  has  lost  all 
modestj' ;  one  who  prostitutes  himself  to  abominable 
actions ;  for  so  several  understand  the  injunction 
(Deut.  xxiii.  18.)  of  not  offering  "  the  hire  of  a 
whore  ;"  or  "  the  price  of  a  dog  ;"  and  EccUis.  xiii. 
18,  "  What  fellowship  is  there  between  a  pure  and 
sanctified  person,  (Eng.  tr.  the  hyena,)  and  a  dog  ?" 
Our  Lord,  in  Rev.  xxii.  15,  excludes  "dogs,  sorcer- 
ers, whoremongers,  murderers,  and  idolaters"  from 
the  new  Jerusalem.  Paul  says,  "  Beware  of  dogs" 
(Phil.  iii.  2.) — of  impudent,  sordid,  greedy  professors ; 
and  Solomon,  (Pi-ov.  xxvi.  11.)  and  Peter,  (2  Epist. 


ii.  21.)  compare  sinners,  who  continually  relapse  into 
sins,  to  dogs  returning  to  their  vomit. 

[3Ir.  Harmer  remarks,  that  "the  great  exter- 
nal purity  which  is  so  studiously  attended  to  by  the 
modern  eastern  people,  as  well  as  the  ancient,"  pro- 
duces some  odd  circumstances  with  respect  to  their 
dogs. 

"  They  do  not  suffer  them  in  their  houses,  and  even 
with  care  avoid  touching  them  in  the  streets,  which 
would  be  considered  as  a  defilement.  One  ^^■ould 
imagine,  then,  that,  under  these  circumstances,  as 
they  do  not  appear  by  any  means  to  be  necessary  in 
their  cities,  however  important  they  may  be  to  those 
that  feed  flocks,  there  should  be  very  few  of  these 
creatures  found  in  those  places.  They  are,  notwith- 
standing, there  in  great  numbers,  and  croAvd  their 
streets.  They  do  not  appear  to  belong  to  jiarticuiar 
persons,  as  our  dogs  do,  nor  to  be  fed  distinctly  by 
such  as  might  claim  some  interest  in  them  ;  but  get 
their  food  as  they  can.  At  the  same  time,  they  con- 
sider it  as  right  to  take  some  care  of  them,  and  the 
charitable  people  among  them  frequently  give  money 
every  weelc  or  month,  to  butchers  and  bakers,  to  feed 
the  dogs  at  stated  times ;  and  some  leave  legacies  at 
their  deaths,  for  the  same  purpose.  This  is  Le 
Bruyn's  account;  tom.  i.  p.  361."  (Harmer's  Obs. 
i.  p.  351.) 

Dogs  in  the  East  being  thus  left  to  prowl  about 
without  masters,  and  get  their  living  generally  as  they 
can,  from  the  offals  which  are  cast  into  the  gutters, 
are  often  on  the  point  of  starvation  ;  and  then  they 
devour  corpses,  and  in  the  night  even  attack  hving 
men,  Ps.  fix.  6, 14,  15  ;  1  Kings  xiv.  11,  al.     *R. 

DOORS,  see  Gates. 

DOPHKAH,  the  ninth  or  tenth  encampment  of 
the   Israelites,  Numb,  xxxiii.  12.     See  Exodus. 

DOR,  or  Dora,  in  Hebrew,  Nephat-Dor,  heights 
of  Dor,  the  capital  of  a  district  in  Canaan,  which  Josh- 
ua conquered  and  gave  to  the  half-tribe  of  Manasseh, 
on  this  side  Jordan,  Josh.  xii.  23;  xvii.  11. 

Dor  was  situated  on  a  peninsula,  which,  from  pro- 
jecting into  the  Mediterranean  sea,  rendered  the  city 
extremely  strong,  and  very  diflicult  of  attack  ;  espe- 
cially on  the  land  side.  It  pretended  to  be  founded 
by  Dor,  or  Dorus,  son  of  Neptune,  assumed  the  title 
of  sacred,  and  navarchida ;  and  enjoyed  the  right  of 
asylum,  and  of  being  ^^ governed  by  its  own  ?«u'5." 

"  The  modern  name  of  Dor  is  Tortoura,  and  it  is 
about  midway  betv.ecn  Csesarea  Palestina  and  the 
bay  of  Acre."  Captain  Mangles  mentions  extensive 
ruins  at  Tortoura,  but  says  they  possess  nothing  of 
interest. 

DORCAS,  Tabitha  in  Syriac,  (Ihe  gazelle.)  See 
Taeitha. 

DOSITHEUS,  an  officer  in  the  troops  of  Ju- 
das Maccabseus,  (2  Mac.  xii.  19 — 21,  &c.)  sent  to 
force  the  garrison  of  Characa,  in  the  country  of  the 
Tubienians. 

DOTHAN,  or  Dothaim,  a  town  about  twelve 
miles  north  of  Samaria,  where  Joseph's  brethren 
sold  him  to  the  IshmaeUtes,  Gen.  xxxvii.  17.  Holo- 
fernes'  camp  extended  from  Dothaim  to  Belmain, 
Judith  vii.  3. 

DOUBLE  has  many  significations  in  Scripture. 
"A  double  garment"  may  mean  a  lined  habit,  such 
as  the  high-priest's  pectoral  ;  or  a  complete  habit,  or 
suit  of  clothes,  a  cloak  and  a  tunic,  &c.  Double 
heart,  double  tongue,  double  mind,  are  opposed  to  a 
simple,  honest,  sincere  heart,  tongue,  mind,  &;c. 
Double,  the  counterpart  to  a  quantity,  to  a  space,  to  a 
measure,  &c.  which  is  proposed  as  the  exemplar. 


DOW 


[  352  ] 


DRA 


"Double  money" — the  same  value  as  before,  with 
an  equal  value  added  to  it,  Gen.  xliii.  12,  15.  If  a 
stolen  ox  or  sheep  be  found — the  thief  shall  restore 
double,  that  is,  two  oxen,  or  two  sheej).  For  the 
right  understanding  of  Isa.  xl.  2,  "  She  hath  receiv- 
ed of  the  Lord's  hand  double  for  all  her  sins" — read, 
the  counterpart — that  which  fits,  tlie  commensurate 
quantity,  extent,  or  number  of  her  sins  ;  that  which 
is  adequate,  all  things  considered,  as  a  dispensation 
of  punishment.  This  passage  does  not  mean 
twice  as  much  as  had  been  deserved,  double 
what  was  just,  but  the  fair,  commensurate,  ade- 
quate retribution.  The  same  is  the  meaning  of 
this  phrase  in  other  places,  Isa.  Ixi.  7 ;  Jer.  xvi.  18  ; 
xvii.  18. 

DOVE,  a  tame  clean  bird ;  in  its  wild  state  called 
a  pigeon.  It  was  ordained  (Lev.  xii.  8.)  that  when  a 
woman  went  to  the  lemple  after  child-bearing,  she 
should  offer  a  lamb,  and  a  dove  or  turtle  ;  or  else  a 
young  pigeon,  or  a  young  turtle.  Numb.  vi.  10.  The 
lamb  was  offered  as  a  bm-nt-ofliering,  the  pigeon  or 
dove  as  a  sin-offering.  Or  if  she  could  not  afford  a 
lamb,  then  she  might  offer  two  pigeons,  or  two  tur- 
tles. (See  Luke  ii.  24.)  As  it  was  difficult  for  all 
who  came  from  distant  places  to  bring  doves  with 
them,  the  priests  permitted  the  sale  of  these  birds  in 
the  courts  of  the  temple.  Oiu'  Lord  one  day  entered 
the  temple,  and  with  a  scourge  of  cords  drove  out 
those  who  there  traded  in  pigeons.  Matt.  xxi.  12 ; 
Mark  xi.  15.  [In  Jer.  xxv.  38  ;  xlvi.  10 ;  1.  16,  the 
Hebrew  word  r\:v  is  also  rendered  by  the  Vidgate, 
dove ;  but  it  is  here  the  fem.  participle  of  the  verb  nr, 
to  oppress,  and  is  used  as  an  adjective,  signifying  op- 
pressive.    R. 

The  dove  is  used  as  a  symbol  of  simplicity  and  in- 
nocency.  Matt.  iii.  16  ;  x.  16  ;  Hos.  vii.  11,  &c.  Noah 
sent  the  dove  out  of  the  ark,  to  discover  whether  the 
waters  of  the  deluge  were  abated.  Gen.  viii.  8,  10. 
He  chose  the  dove,  probably,  because  it  was  a  tame 
bird,  and  averse  to  carrion  and  ordure. 

DOVES'  DUNG.  It  is  said,  (2  Kings  vi.  25.)  that 
dui-ing  the  siege  of  Samaria,  "  the  fourth  part  of  a 
cab  (little  more  than  half  a  pint)  of  doves'  dung  was 
sold  for  live  pieces  of  silver ;"  about  twelve  shillings 
fiterling,  or  two  and  a  half  dollars.  It  is  well  known 
that  doves'  dung  is  not  a  nourishment  for  man,  even 
in  the  most  extreme  famine ;  and  hence  Josephus 
and  TJieodorct  were  of  opinion,  that  it  was  bought 
instead  of  salt,  to  serve  as  a  kind  of  nianiu-e  for  the 
purpose  of  raising  esculent  plants  of  quick  vegeta- 
tion. The  general  opinion  since  Bochart  is,  that  it 
was  a  kind  of  chick-pea,  lentil,  or  tare,  which  has 
very  much  the  appearance  of  doves'  dung,  whence 
it  might  be  named.  Great  quantities  of  these  are 
sold  in  Cairo,  to  the  pilgrims  going  to  Mecca ;  and 
at  Damascus,  Belon  says,  "  there  are  many  shops 
where  nothing  else  is  done  but  preparing  chick-peas. 
These,  parched  in  a^copper  pan,  and  dried,  are  of 
great  service  to  those  who  take  long  journeys."  This 
may  account  for  the  stock  of  them  stored  up  in  the 
city  of  Samaria ;  and  the  cab  would  be  a  fit  measure 
for  this  kind  of  pulse,  which  was  the  fare  of  the 
poorer  class  of  people. 

DOWRY.  Nothing  <listinguishes  more  the  nature 
of  marriage  among  us  in  Em-ope,  from  the  same  con- 
nection when  forming  in  the  East,  than  the  different 
methods  of  proceeding  between  the  father-in-law 
and  the  intended  bridegroom.  Among  us,  the  father 
usually  gives  a  portion  to  his  daughter,  which  be- 
comes the  property  of  her  husband  ;  and  which  often 
makes  a  considerable  part  of  his  wealth  ;  but  in  the 


East,  the  bridegroom  offers  to  the  father  of  his  bride 
a  sum  of  money,  or  value  to  his  satisfaction,  before 
he  can  expect  to  receive  his  daughter  in  marriage. 
Of  this  procedure  we  have  instances  from  the  earli- 
est times.  When  .Jacob  had  nothing  which  he  could 
immediately  give  for  a  wife,  he  purchased  her,  by 
his  services  to  her  father  Laban,  Gen.  xxix.  18.  So 
we  find  Shechem  offers  to  pay  any  value,  as  a  dowry 
for  Dinah,  Gen.  xxxiv.  12.  In  this  passage  is  men- 
tioned, a  distinction  still  observed  in  the  East:  (1.) 
"  A  dowry"  to  the  family,  as  a  token  of  honor,  to 
engage  their  favorable  interest  in  the  desired  alli- 
ance :  (2.)  "A  gift"  to  the  bride  herself,  e.  g.  of  jew- 
els and  other  decorations,  a  compliment  of  honor,  as 
Abraham's  servant  gave  to  Rebekah.  We  find  king 
Saul,  (1  Sam.  xviii.  25.)  instead  of  wishing  for  a  pe- 
cuniary dowry  from  David,  which  David  was  sensi- 
ble he  could  not  pay  in  proportion  to  the  value  of 
the  bride,  required  one  hundred  foreskins  of  the 
Philistines,  thereby  proposing  his  daughter  in  reward 
of  valor,  as  Caleb  had  formerly  done  his  daughter 
Achsah  to  whoever  should  take  Kirjath-sepher  ;  that 
is,  he  gave  her,  as  a  reward  of  honor,  without  re- 
ceiving the  accustomed  dowry.  Josh.  xv.  16.  The 
dowry  was  esteemed  so  essential,  that  3Ioses  even 
orders  it,  in  a  case  where  it  might  otherwise,  per- 
haps, have  been  dispensed  with  ;  "  If  a  man  entice  a 
maid,  that  is  not  betrothed,  he  shall  endow  her  to  be 
his  wife  ;"  (Exod.  xxii.  16.)  he  shall  malie  her  the 
usual  nuptial  present ;  according  to  that  rank  which 
he  holds  in  the  world,  and  to  that  station  which  his 
wife  might  justly  be  expected  to  maintain;  propor- 
tionate, also,  to  that  honor  which  he  would  have  put 
upon  her,  had  he  regularly  solicited  her  family  for 
her  ;  that  is,  jewels,  and  other  trinkets.  "  If  her 
father  refuse  his  daughter,"  he  shall  pay  monej', 
"according  to  the  dowry  of  virgins;"  that  is,  what 
the  father  of  a  virgin  of  that  rank  of  life  might 
justly  expect  should  have  been  offered  for  his 
daughter  when  solicited  in  marriage.  And  this  we 
find  was  the  proposal  made  by  Shechem,  in  repara- 
tion of  the  injury  done  to  Dinah. 

DRACHMA,  a  piece  of  money  commonly  reputed 
to  be  equal  in  value  to  the  denarius  ;  which  is  stat- 
ed at  seven  pence  three  farthings,  or  near  twelve 
and  a  half  cents. 

DRAGON.  This  word,  which  frequently  occurs 
in  the  English  Bible,  generally  answers  to  the  He- 
brew jn,  ;'jp,  and  d^jh,  though  these  words  are  some- 
times rendered  serpents,  sen-monsters,  and  ivhales. 
The  Rev.  James  Hurdis,  in  a  "Dissertation  upon  the 
true  meaning  of  the  word  z^r:-"  contends,  that  in 
its  various  forms  it  uniformly  signifies  the  crocodile  ; 
an  opinion  which  can  be  stipportcd  by  no  authentic 
facts,  and  by  no  legitimate  mode  of  reasoning.  Mr. 
Taylor,  who  argues  at  groat  length  for  restraining 
the  word  to  amphibious  animals,  is  of  opinion  that  it 
includes  the  class  of  lizards,  from  the  u'ater-newt  to 
the  crocodile,  and  also  the  seal,  the  nianati,  the 
morse,  &c.  His  arguments  arc  certainly  ingenious 
and  deserving  of  attention  ;  hut  they  have  failed  to 
convince  us  of  the  legitimacy  of  his  deductions. 
The  subject  is  involved  in  much  obscurity,  from  the 
apparent  latitude  with  which  the  word  is  employed 
by  the  sacred  writers.  In  Exod.  vii.  9,  et  seq.  Deut. 
xxxii.  33,  and  Jer.  li.  34,  it  seems  to  denote  a  large 
serpent,  or  the  dragon,  properly  so  called  ;  in  Gen.  i. 
21,  Job  vii.  12,  and  Ezek.  xxix.  3,  a  crocodile  or  any 
large  sea  animal ;  and  in  Lam.  iv.  3,  and  Job  xxx. 
29,  the  Heb.  jn  designates  some  kind  of  wild  beast, 
most  probably  the  jackal  or  wolf,  as  the  Arabic  tee- 


DRAGON 


[  353  ] 


DRAGON 


nan  denuti  s.  It  is  to  the  dragon,  properly  so  called, 
that  wo  shall  now  direct  our  attention. 

The  proper  dragon,  the  Draco  volans  of  Linnteus, 
is  a  harmless  s])ecies  of  lizard,  found  in  Asia  and 
Africa.  Tiiree  kinds  of  dragons  were  formerly  dis- 
tinguished in  India ;  but  they  are  unknown  to  mod- 
em naturalists.  1.  Those  of  the  hills  and  mountains. 
2.  Those  of  the  valleys  and  caves.  3.  Those  of  the 
fens  and  marshes.  The  first  is  the  largest,  and  cov- 
ered with  scales,  as  resplendent  as  burnished  gold. 
They  have  a  kind  of  beard  hanging  from  their  lower 
jaw ;  their  aspect  is  frightful,  their  cry  loud  and 
shrill,  their  crest  bright  yellow,  and  they  have  a  pro- 
tuberance on  their  heads  the  color  of  a  burning 
coal.  2.  Those  of  the  flat  country  are  of  a  silver 
color,  and  frequent  rivers,  to  which  the  former  never 
come.  3.  Those  of  the  marshes  are  black,  slow,  and 
have  no  crest.  Their  bite  is  not  venomous,  though 
the  creatures  be  dreadful. 

The  following  description  of  the  boa  is  chiefly  ab- 
stracted and  translated  from  De  Lacepede,  by  Mr. 
Taylor,  who  considers  it  as  the  proper  dragon  of  the 
Scriptures.  At  any  rate,  some  species  of  enormous 
serpent  seems  to  have  been  intended. 

The  BOA  is  among  serpents,  Avhat  the  liou  or  the 
elephant  is  among  quadrupeds ;  he  usually  reaches 
twenty  feet  in  length,  and  to  this  species  we  must 
refer  those  described  by  travellers,  as  lengthened  to 
forty  or  fifty  feet,  as  related  by  Owen.  Kircher 
mentions  a  serpent  forty  palms  in  length  ;  and  such 
a  serpent  is  refen-ed  to  by  Ludolph,  as  extant  in 
Ethiopia.  Jerome,  in  his  life  of  Hilarion,  denomi- 
nates such  a  serpent,  draco  or  dragon  ;  saying,  that 
they  were  called  boas,  because  they  could  swallow 
{boves)  beeves,  and  waste  whole  provinces.  Bosnian 
says,  entire  men  have  frequently  been  found  in  the 
gullets  of  serpents  on  the  gold  coast ;  but  the  longest 
serpent  I  have  read  of,  is  that  mentioned  by  Livy, 
and  by  Plinj%  which  opposed  the  Roman  army  un- 
der Regulus,  at  the  river  Bagrada  in  Africa.  It 
devoured  several  of  the  soldiers ;  and  so  hard  were 
its  scales,  that  they  resisted  daits'  and  spears  :  at 
length  it  was,  as  it  were,  besieged,  and  the  military 
engines  were  employed  against  it,  as  against  a  forti- 
fied city.  It  was  a  hundred  and  twenty  feet  in 
length.  At  Batavia  was  taken  a  serpent,  which  had 
swallowed  an  entire  stag  of  a  large  size  ;  and  one 
taken  at  Bunda  had,  in  like  manner,  swallowed  a 
negro  woman. 

Lequat,  in  his  Travels,  says,  there  are  serpents 
fifty  feet  long  in  the  island  of  Java.  At  Batavia  they 
still  keep  the  skin  of  one,  which,  though  but  twenty 
feet  in  length,  is  said  to  have  swallowed  a  young 
maid  whole.  The  serpent  quaka,  or  liboya,  (boa,)  is 
unquestionably  the  biggest  of  all  serpents  ;  some  be- 
ing eighteen,  twenty-four,  and  even  thirty  feet  long, 
and  of  the  thickness  of  a  man  in  the  middle.  The 
Portuguese  call  it  Kobre  de  hado,  or  the  roebuck- 
serpent  ;  because  it  will  swallow  a  whole  roebuck  or 
other  deer ;  and  this  is  performed  by  sucking  it 
through  the  throat,  which  is  pretty  narroA^ ,  but  the 
belly  vastly  big.  Such  a  one  I  saw  near  Paraiba, 
which  was  thirty  feet  long,  and  as  big  as  a  barrel. 
Some  negroes  accidentally  saw  it  swallow  a  roebuck, 
whereupon,  thirteen  musketeers  were  sent  out,  who 
shot  it  and  cut  the  roebuck  out  of  its  belly.  It  is 
not  venomous.  This  serpent,  being  a  very  devour- 
ing creature,  greedy  of  prey,  leaps  from  among  the 
hedges  and  woods,  and,  standing  upright  on  its  tail, 
wrestles  both  with  men  and  wld  beasts ;  sometimes 
it  leaps  frQui  the  trees  upon  the  traveller,  whom  it 
45 


fastens  on,  and  beats  the  breath  out  of  his  body  with 
its  tail. 

From  this  account  of  the  boa,  it  is,  perhaps,  not 
improbable,  that  John  had  it  in  his  mind  when  he 
describes  a  persecuting  power  under  the  symbol  of  a 
great  red  dragon.  The  dragon  of  antiquity  was  a 
serpent  of  prodigious  size,  and  its  most  conspicuous 
color  was  red ;  and  the  apocalyptic  dragon  strikes 
vehemently  with  his  tail ;  in  all  which  particulars  it 
perfectly  agrees  with  the  boa.  "  And  there  appear- 
ed another  wonder  in  lieaven,  and  behold  a  great 
red  dragon,  having  seven  heads  and  ten  horns,  and 
seven  crowns  upon  his  heads.  And  hie  tail  drew 
the  thirfl  part  of  the  stars  of  heaven,  and  did  cast 
them  to  the  earth,"  Rev.  xii.  3,  4,  15 — 17.  The 
number  of  heads  here  given  to  this  creature  is  cer- 
tainly allegorical ;  as  are  also  the  ten  horns,  and  the 
seven  crowns  which  are  attached  to  them.  But  in 
all  these  instances,  says  Paxton,  it  is  presumed  that 
the  inspired  writer  alludes  either  to  historical  facts 
or  natural  appearances.  It  is  well  known,  that  there 
is  a  species  of  snake  called  amphisbsena,  or  double- 
headed,  although  one  of  them  is  at  the  tail  of  the 
animal,  and  is  only  apparent.  A  kind  of  serpent,  in- 
deed, is  so  often  found  with  two  heads  growing  from 
one  neck,  that  some  have  fancied  it  might  form  a 
species  ;  but  we  have,  as  yet,  no  sufiicient  evidence 
to  warrant  such  a  conclusion.  Admitting,  however, 
that  a  serpent  with  two  heads  is  an  unnatural  pro- 
duction, for  this  very  reason  if  might  be  chosen  by 
the  Spirit  of  God,  to  be  a  jirototype  of  the  apocalyp- 
tic monster. 

The  horns  seem  to  refer  to  the  cerastes  or  horned 
snake,  the  boa  or  proper  dragon  having  no  horn. 
But  this  enormous  creature  has  a  crest  of  bright  yel- 
low, and  a  jirotuberance  on  his  head,  in  color  like  a 
burning  coal,  which  naturally  enough  suggests  the 
idea  of  a  crown.  The  remaining  particulars  refer  to 
facts  in  the  history  of  the  boa,  or  other  serpents. 
The  tail  of  the  gi-eat  red  dragon  "  drew  the  third 
part  of  the  stars  of  heaven,  and  did  cast  them  to  the 
earth."  The  boa  frequently  kills  his  victim  with  a 
stroke  of  his  tail.  Stedman  mentions  an  adventure 
in  his  "  Expedition  to  Surinam,"  which  furnishes  a 
very  clear  and  striking  illustration  of  this  part  of  our 
subject.  It  relates  to  one  of  these  large  serpents, 
which,  though  it  certainly  differs  from  the  red  dra- 
gon of  Asia  and  Africa,  combines  several  particulars 
connected  with  our  purpose.  He  had  not  gone  from 
his  boat  above  twenty  yards,  through  mud  and  water, 
when  he  discovered  a  snake  rolled  up  under  the  fall- 
en leaves  and  rubbish  of  the  trees ;  and  so  well  cov- 
ered, that  it  was  some  time  before  he  distinctly 
perceived  the  head  of  the  monster,  distant  from  him 
not  above  sixteen  feet,  moving  its  forked  tongue, 
while  its  eyes,  from  their  uncommon  brightness,  ap- 
peared to  emit  sparks  of  fire.  He  now  fired  ;  but 
missing  the  head,  the  ball  went  through  the  body, 
when  the  animal  struck  round,  and  with  such  aston- 
ishing force,  as  to  cut  away  all  the  underwood  around 
him,  with  the  facility  of  a  scythe  mowing  gi-ass,  and 
by  flouncing  his  tail,  caused  the  mud  and  dirt  to  fly 
over  his  head  to  a  considerable  distance.  He  return- 
ed, in  a  short  time,  to  the  attack,  and  found  the  snake 
a  little  removed  from  his  former  station,  but  very 
quiet,  with  his  head  as  before.  Jyiug  out  among  the 
fallen  leaves,  rotten  boughs,  pad  old  moss.  He  fired 
at  him  immediately  ;  av-i  now,  bemg  but  slightly 
wounded,  he  sent  out  --uch  a  cloud  of  dust  and  dirt, 
as  our  author  decln/es  he  never  saw  but  in  a  whirl- 
wind.    At  the  t^urd  fire,  the  snake  was  shot  through 


DRE 


[354] 


DRE 


the  head  ;  all  the  uegroes  present  declared  it  to  be  but 
a  young  one,  about  half  grown,  although,  on  measur- 
ing, he  found  it  twenty-two  feet  and  some  inches, 
and  its  thickness  about  that  of  his  black  boy,  who 
might  be  about  twelve  years  old. 

These  circumstances  account  for  the  sweeping  de- 
struction which  tlie  tail  of  the  apocalyptic  dragon 
effected  among  the  stars  of  heaven.  The  allegorical 
incident  has  its  foundation  in  the  nature  and  structure 
of  the  literal  dragon.  The  only  of  lie.  circumstance 
which  requires  explanation  i^  the  flood  of  water  eject- 
ed by  the  dragon,  after  he  had  failed  in  accomplish- 
ing the  destruction  of  the  woman  and  her  seed.  The 
venom  of  poisonous  serpents  is  conunonly  ejected 
by  a  perforation  in  the  fangs,  or  cheek  teeth,  in  the 
act  of  biting.  We  learn,  however,  from  several  facts, 
that  serpents  have  a  power  of  throwing  out  of  their 
mouth  a  quantity  of  fluid  of  an  injurious  nature. 
The  quantity  cast  out  by  the  great  red  dragon,  is  in 
proportion  to  his  immense  size,  and  is  called  a  flood 
or  stream,  which  the  earth,  helping  the  woman, 
opened  her  mouth  to  receive.  Gregory,  the  friend 
of  Ludolph,  says,  in  his  History  of  Ethiopia,  "  We 
have  in  our  province  a  sort  of  serpent,  as  long  as  the 
arm.  He  is  of  a  glowing  red  color,  but  somewhat 
brownish.  This  animal  has  an  offensive  breath,  and 
ejects  a  poison  so  venomous  and  stinking,  that  a  man 
or  beast  within  the  reach  of  it,  is  sure  to  perish 
quickly  by  it,  unless  immediate  assistance  be  given. 
At  Mouree,  a  gi-eat  snake  being  half  under  a  heap 
of  stones  and  half  out,  a  man  cut  it  in  two,  at  the 
part  which  was  out  among  the  stones  ;  and  as  soon 
as  the  heap  was  removed,  the  reptile,  turning,  made 
up  to  the  man,  and  spit  such  venom  into  his  face,  as 
quite  blinded  him,  and  so  he  continued  some  days, 
but  at  last  recovered  his  sight." 

The  word  dragon  is  sometimes  used  in  Scripture 
to  designate  the  devil,  (Rev.  yW.freq.)  probably  on 
account  of  his  great  power,  and  vindictive  cruelty  ; 
though  not  without  reference  to  the  circumstances 
attending  the  original  defection  of  mankind. 

DRAGON-WELL,  the,  (Neh.  ii.  13.)  lay  east  of 
Jerusalem. 

DREAM.  The  eastern  people,  and  in  particular 
the  Jews,  greatly  regarded  dreams,  and  applied  for 
their  interpretation  to  those  who  undertook  to  explain 
them.  We  see  the  antiquity  of  this  custom  in  the 
history  of  Pharaoh's  butler  and  baker,  (Gen.  xl.)  and 
Pharaoh  himself,  and  Nebuchadnezzar,  are  also  in- 
stances. God  expressly  forbade  his  people  from  ob- 
serving dreams,  and  from  considting  explainers  of 
them.  He  condemned  to  death  all  who  pretended 
to  have  prophetic  dreams,  and  to  foretell  events,  even 
though  what  they  foretold  came  to  pass,  if  they  had 
any  tendency  to  promote  idolatry,  Deut.  xiii.  1 — 3. 
But  they  were  not  forbidden,  when  they  thought 
they  had  a  significative  dream,  to  address  the  proph- 
ets of  the  Lord,  or  the  high-priest  in  his  ephod,  to 
have  it  explained.  Saul,  before  the  battle  of  Gilboa, 
consulted  a  woman  who  had  a  familiar  spirit,  "  be- 
cause the  Lord  would  not  answer  hiin  by  dreams, 
nor  by  prophets,"  ]  Sam.  xxviii.  6,  7.  The  Lord 
frequently  discovered  his  will  in  dreams,  and  enabled 
persons  to  explain  them.  The  Midianitcs  gave  credit 
to  dreams,  as  api)oars  from  that  which  a  Midianite 
related  to  his  coMii.-mion  ;  and  from  whose  interpret- 
ation Gideon  took  a  happy  omen,  Judg.  vii.  13,  15. 
„  The  prophet  Jeremiali  rxxiii.  2,5,  28,  29.)  exclaims 
against  impostors  who]  )retLT3dcd  to  have  had  dreams, 
and  abused  the  credulity  of  the  people.  The  prophet 
Joel  (ii.  28.)  promises  from  God,  vliat  in  the  reign  of 


the  Messiah,  the  effusion  of  the  Holy  Spirit  should  be 
so  copious,  that  the  old  men  should  have  prophetic 
dreams,  and  the  young  men  should  receive  visions. 
The  word  signifies,  likewise,  those  vain  images  be- 
held in  imagination  while  we  sleep,  which  have  no 
relation  to  prophecy,  Job  xx.  8 :  Isa.  xxix.  7.  (See 
also  Eccl.  v.  3,  7.) 

Dreams  should  be  carefully  distinguished  from 
visions  :  the  former  occurred  during  sleep,  and,  there- 
fore, were  liable  to  much  ambiguity  and  uncertainty  ; 
the  lattei",  when  tlie  person,  being  awake,  retains  pos- 
session of  his  natural  powers  and  faculties.  God 
spake  to  Abimelech  in  a  dream — but  to  Abraham  by 
vision.  Jacob  saw  in  a  dream  the  method  of  pro- 
ducing certain  effects  on  his  cattle ;  and  God  told 
Laban,  in  a  dream,  not  to  injure  Jacob.  Now,  in 
these  and  other  instances  of  dreams,  the  subjects 
dreamed  of  appear  to  be  the  very  matters  which  had 
occupied  the  minds  of  these  persons  while  awake ; 
and,  when  asleej).  Providence  overruled,  or  improved 
their  natural  cogitations,  to  answer  particular  pur- 
poses. But  in  the  case  of  visions,  the  thing  seen 
was  unexpected ;  the  mind  was  not  prepared  for  it, 
nor  could  it  previously  have  imagined  what  was 
about  to  occur.  But  to  fix  the  distinction  between 
visions  and  dreams,  we  do  not  recollect  more  appro- 
]3riate  instances  than  those  furnished  by  the  book  of 
Job.  The  vision  is  thus  described,  chap.  iv.  12. 
"Now  a  thing  was  secretly  brought  to  me,stole  upon 
me,  and  mine  ear  received  a  little  thereof."  "  In 
thoughts  from,  of,  visions  of  the  night,  when  deep 
sleep  falleth  on  man,  fear  came  upon  me,  and  trem- 
bling, which  made  all  my  bones  to  shake.  Then  a 
spirit  passed  before  my  face,  the  hair  of  my  flesh 
stood  up :  it  stood  still,  but  I  could  not  discern  the 
form  thereof;  an  image  was  before  mine  eyes,  there 
was  silence,  and  I  heard  a  voice,"  &c.  That  is,  his 
senses  were  in  exercise,  but  the  image  was  too  fine, 
too  aerial,  for  his  complete  discernment  of  it ;  his 
bodily  organs  were  not  defective,  but  the  subject 
surpassed  their  powers  ; — probably  the  prophets  had 
additional  or  superior  powers  bestowed  on  them, 
when  they  were  enabled  to  behold  visions.  Now,  a 
dream  is  described  (chap,  xxxiii.  15.)  as  happening 
"  when  deep  sleep  falleth  upon  men,  in  slumberings 
upon  the  bed."  Perhaps  it  is  neither  easy  nor  neces- 
sary to  distinguish,  always,  when  the  word  dream  is 
used,  whether  it  may  not  denote  a  vision  ;  but  it 
shoidd  seem  likely  that  when  the  agency  of  an  angel 
is  mentioned,  that  then  more  than  a  mere  dream  is 
imphed  ;  as,  to  Jacob,  (Gen.  xxxi.  11.)  and  to  Joseph, 
Matthew  i.  20 ;  ii.  13,  19. 

DREAMER  is  used  as  a  word  of  reproach  ;  of 
Joseph  by  his  brethren,  (Gen.  xxxvii.  19.)  and  of 
Shemaiah,  Jer.  xxix.  24.  (See  chap,  xxvii.  9,  and 
Jude  8.     See  also  Isa.  Ivi.  10.) 

DRESSES,  or  Garments.  The  Hebrews  wore  a 
coat,  or  waistcoat,  tunic,  called  njnj,  chetoneth ;  and  a 
cloak,  called  Si;'r,  meil.  The  coat  was  their  under 
garment,  next  the  skin,  and  the  cloak  their  upper 
one.  These  two  garments  made  what  Scripture 
calls  a  change  of  raiment,  (2  Kings  v.  L5,  22.)  such  as 
those  which  Naaman  brought  as  presents  to  Elisha. 
The  coat  was  commonly  of  linen  ;  and  the  cloak  of 
stuff,  or  woollen  ;  and  as  this  was  only  a  great  piece 
of  stuff,  not  cut,  then;  were  often  many  made,  each 
of  a  single  piece,  of  which  they  used  to  make  pres- 
ents. [The  mcil  was,  properly,  not  a  cloak,  but  a  long 
and  wide  robe  or  tunic,  without  sleeves.  R.]  The 
Hebrews  never  changed  the  fashion  of  their  clothes, 
that  we  know  of;  but  they  dressed  after  the  manner 


DRESSES 


[  355  ] 


DRESSES 


of  the  country  in  which  they  dwelt.  A  white  color, 
or  a  purple,  was  in  the  most  esteem  among  them. 
Solomon  advises  him  who  would  live  agreeably, 
(Eccl.  ix.  8.)  to  let  his  garments  be  always  white  ; 
and  Josephus  observes  of  this  prince,  that,  being  the 
most  splendid  and  magnificent  of  kings,  he  was  com- 
monly clotlied  in  bright  and  white  garments.  Angels 
generally  appeared  in  white  ;  and  in  our  Saviour's 
transfiguration,  his  clothes  appeared  as  white  as 
snow. 

It  is  well  known  that  Christians  newly  baptized, 
immediately  after  the  rite,  j)ut  on  white  garments, 
anciently,  as  symbolical  of  a  new  life,  to  be  devoted 
to  holiness  and  piety.  These  garments  they  wore  at 
least  a  week  publicly.  Hence  we  read  in  the  Reve- 
lation of  those  who  had  washed  their  robes  and 
made  them  white  ;  and  of  those  who  should  walk 
with  the  Lamb,  in  white,  being  worthy  ;  and  of  being 
clothed  in  white  raiment,  as  a  mark  of  having  over- 
come the  world.  This  token  of  joy  and  gratuiatiou 
was  familiar  at  the  time  ;  and  to  a  certain  degree  it  is 
so  still.  Most  virgins,  when  newly  married,  wear 
white  ;  and  that  is  thought  becoming  in  them  which, 
in  a  widow  who  re-married,  would  be  deemed 
affectation. 

Mention  is  made  in  Scripture  of  a  coat  of  many 
colors,  (Gen.  xxxvii.  3.)  with  which  Joseph  was 
clothed  ;  as  also  Tamar,  daughter  of  David  ;  (2  Sam. 
xiii.  18.)  but  interpreters  are  divided  about  the  signi- 
fication of  this  word.  Some  translate  it  by  a  long 
gown,  reaching  to  the  ankles,  talaris,  and  this  is  the 
more  probable  sense  ;  others,  by  a  gowii  striped  with 
several  colors ;  and  others  by  a  gown  with  large 
sleeves.  The  Arabians  wear  very  wide  sleeves  to 
their  coats,  having  a  very  large  opening  at  the  end, 
which  hangs  sometimes  down  to  the  ground  ;  but  at 
the  shoulder  they  are  much  narrower. 

Some  coats  were  without  seams,  woven  in  a  loom, 
and  had  no  openings,  either  at  the  breast,  or  on  the 
sides ;  but  only  at  the  top,  to  let  the  head  through. 
Such,  probably,  were  the  coats  of  the  priests,  (Exod. 
xxviii.  32.)  and  tliat  of  our  Lord,  (John  xix.  23.) 
which  the  soldiers  would  not  divide,  but  chose  rather 
to  cast  lots  for.  The  women  formerly  made  the 
stuffs  and  cloth,  not  only  for  their  own  clothes, 
but  also  for  their  husbands  and  children,  Pi-ov. 
xxxi.  13. 

Moses  informs  us  (Deut.  viii.  4.)  that  the  clothes 
worn  by  the  Hebrews  in  the  wilderness  did  not  wear 
out.  "  Thy  raiment  waxed  not  old  upon  thee,  neither 
did  thy  foot  swell  these  forty  years."  Justin  Martyr, 
and  some  interpreters,  following  the  rabbins,  take 
these  words  literally,  and  think  that  not  only  the 
clothes  of  the  Israelites  did  not  grow  old,  or  wear 
out,  but  also  that  those  of  the  children  grew  with 
them,  and  constantly  fitted  them  at  every  age  !  But 
others  think,  with  much  greater  probability,  that 
Moses  intended  only  that  God  so  effectually  provided 
them  with  necessaries,  that  they  did  not  want  clothes, 
nor  had  been  forced  to  wear  old  or  ragged  clothes 
in  all  their  journey. 

To  distinguish  the  Israelites  from  other  people,  the 
Lord  commanded  them  to  wear  tufts,  or  fringes,  at 
the  four  corners  of  their  upper  garments,  of  a  blue 
color,  and  a  border  of  galoon  on  the  edges,  Numb. 
XV.  38 ;  Deut.  xxii.  13.  From  Matt.  ix.  20,  we  see 
that  our  Saviour  wore  these  fringes ;  for  the  woman 
who  had  the  issue  of  blood,  promised  herself  a  cure, 
if  she  did  but  touch  the  hem,  that  is,  the  fringe,  of  his 
garment.  The  Pharisees,  still  further  to  distinguish 
themselves,  wore  these  borders,  or  fringes,  longer 


than  others,  Matt,  xxiii.  5.  Jerome  adds,  that  to  make 
a  show  of  gi-eater  austerity,  they  fastened  thorns  to 
them,  that  when  they  struck  against  their  naked  legs, 
they  might  be  reminded  of  the  law  of  God. 

The  garments  of  mourning  among  the  Hebrews 
were  sack-cloth  and  hair-cloth  ;  and  their  color  dark 
brovv^i,  or  black.  As  the  prophets  were  penitents  by 
profession,  their  common  clothing  was  mourning. 
Widows,  also,  dressed  themselves  much  the  same. 
Judith  fasted  every  day,  except  on  festival  days,  and 
the  sabbath  day,  and  wore  a  hair-cloth  next  her 
skin,  Judith  viii.  6.  The  pi-ophet  Elias,  (2  Kings  i. 
7,8.)  and  John  the  Baptist,  (Matt.  iii.  4.)  were  clothed 
in  skins  or  coai-se  stuff's,  and  wore  girdles  of  leather. 
Paul  says,  (Heb.  xi.  37.)  that  the  prophets  wore 
[melotes]  sheep-skins,  or  goat-skins.  The  false  proph- 
ets put  on  habits  of  mourning  and  penitence,  the 
better  to  deceive  the  people,  Zech.  xiii.  4. 

It  is  well  known  that  red-colored  garments  were 
the  usual  dresses  worn  by  the  frantic  Bacchantes.  It 
is  not,  then,  without  a  specific  object,  that  the  writer 
of  the  Revelation  describes  the  woman — the  prosti- 
tute— the  mother  of  harlots,  as  "arrayed  in  purple  and 
scarlet  color,  and  decked  with  gold,  and  precious 
stones,  and  jjcarls — having  a  golden  cup  in  her  hand 
— and  drunken  with  the  blood  of  the  saints,  and  of  the 
martyrs,"  chap.  xvii.  His  original  readers  would 
sufficiently  understand  what  power  it  was  which  the 
merchants  of  the  earth  lamented,  as  no  longer  pur- 
chasing her  luxuries. 

Presents  of  dresses  are  alluded  to  very  fre- 
quently in  the  historical  books  of  Scripture,  and  in 
the  earliest  times.  When  Joseph  gave  to  each  of  his 
brethren  a  change  of  raiment,  and  to  Benjamin  five 
changes,  it  is  mentioned  without  particular  notice, 
and  as  a  customary  incident.  Gen.  xlv.  22.  Naaman 
gave  to  Gehazi,  from  among  the  presents  intended 
for  Elisha,  who  declined  accepting  any,  two  changes 
of  raiment;  and  even  Solomon  received  raiment  as 
presents,  2  Chron.  ix.  24.  This  custom  is  still  main- 
tained in  the  East,  and  is  mentioned  by  most  travel- 
lers. The  following  extract  from  De  la  Motraye, 
notices,  as  a  peculiarity,  that  the  grand  seignior 
gives  his  garment  of  honor  before  the  wearer  is  ad- 
mitted to  his  presence  ;  while  the  vizier  gives  his 
honorary  dresses  after  the  presentation.  This  will, 
perhaps,  apply  to  the  parable  of  the  wedding  gar- 
ment, and  to  tlie  behavior  of  the  king,  who  expected 
to  have  found  all  his  guests  clad  in  robes  of  honor, 
(Matt.  xxi.  11.)  as  also  to  Zech.  iii.  where  Joshua, 
being  introduced  to  the  angel  of  the  Lord,  stood  before 
the  angel  with  filthy  garments;  who  ordered  a  hand- 
some robe  to  be  given  to  him.  Jonathan  divested 
himself  of  his  robe,  and  his  upper  garment,  even  to 
his  sword,  his  bow,  and  his  girdle — partly  intending 
David  the  greater  honor,  as  having  been  apparel 
worn  by  himself;  l)ut  principally,  as  it  may  be  con- 
jectured, through  haste  and  speed,  he  being  impa- 
tient of  honoring  David,  and  covenanting  for  his 
aftection.  Jonathan  would  not  stay  to  se7id  for  rai- 
ment, but  instantly  gave  David  his  own.  The  idea 
of  honor  connected  with  the  caffetan,  appears  also  in 
the  prodigal's  father, — ^'binng  forth  the  best  robe." 
We  find  the  liberality  in  this  kind  of  gifts  was  con- 
siderable.—Ezra  ii.  69,  "  The  chief  of  the  fathers 
gave  one  hundred  priests'  garments."  Neh.  vii.  70, 
"  The  Tirshatha  gave  five  hundred  and  thirty  priests' 
garments." — This  would  appear  sufficiently  singular 
among  us  ;  but  in  the  East,  where  to  give  is  to  hon- 
or, the  gift  of  garments,  or  of  any  other  usable  com- 
modities, is  in  perfect  compUance  with  established 


DRO 


[  356  ] 


DUL 


sentiments  and  customs.  "  The  vizier  entered  at 
another  door,  and  their  ftxcellencies  rose  to  sahite 
him  after  their  manner,  wliicli  was  returned  by  a 
httle  iuclmiBg  of  the  liead  ;  after  whicli  he  sat  down 
071  the  CORNER  of  Ms  so/a,  tvhich  is  the  most  honorable 
place ;  then  his  chancellor,  his  kiahia,  and  the  chi- 
aouz  bashaw,  came  and  stood  before  him,  till  coffee 
was  brought  in  ;  after  which  M.  de  Chateauneuf 
presented  M.  de  Femol  to  hun,as  his  successor,  who 
delivered  him  the  kuig  his  master's  letters,  compli- 
menting him  as  from  his  majesty  and  himself,  to 
which  the  vizier  answered  veiy  ol:)ligiugly  ;  then  they 
gave  two  dishes  of  coffee  to  their  excellencies,  with 
sweetmeats,  and  afterwards  the  perfumes  and  sher- 
bet;  then  they  clothed  them  with  caffetans  of  a 
silver  brocade,  with  large  silk  flowers  ;  and  to  those 
that  were  admitted  into  the  apartments  with  them 
they  gave  others  of  brocade,  almost  all  silk,  except 
some  slight  gold  or  silver  flowers ;  according  to  the 
custom  usually  observed  towards  all  foreign  minis- 
ters." (De  la  iMotraye's  Travels,  page  199.)  ''Caffe- 
tans are  long  vests  of  gold  or  silver  brocade,  flowered 
with  silk ;  which  the  grand  seignior,  and  the  vizier, 
present  to  those  to  whom  they  give  audience  ;  the 
grand  seignior,  before,  and  the  vizier  after,  audi- 
ence."    Idem. 

Very  few  English  readers,  however,  are  sufficient- 
ly aware  of  the  importance  attached  to  the  donation 
of  robes  of  honor  in  the  East.  They  mark  the  de- 
gree of  estimation  in  which  the  party  bestowing  them 
holds  the  party  receiving  them  ;  and  sometimes  the 
conferring  or  withholding  of  them  leads  to  very  seri- 
ous negotiation,  and  misunderstandings. 

For  some  remarks  on,  and  descriptions  of,  tlie 
dresses  of  the  bride  and  bridegroom  in  Solomon's 
Song,  see  the  article  Canticles.  Mr.  Taylor  has 
devoted  much  labor  in  attempts  to  elucidate  several 
passages  of  Scripture  hi  which  articles  of  dress  are 
spoken  of;  but  as  his  speculations  do  not  admit  of 
abridgment,  we  can  only  thus  refer  to  them. 

To  DRINK.  This  phrase  is  used  sometimes 
projicrly,  sometimes  figuratively.  Its  proper  sense 
needs  no  explanation.  The  wise  man  exhorts  his 
disciple  (Prov.  v.  15.)  to  "drink  water  out  of  his  own 
cistern  ;"  to  content  himself  with  the  lawful  pleasures 
of  marriage,  without  wandering  in  his  affections.  To 
eat  and  drink  is  used  in  Ecclesiastes  v.  18,  to  signify 
people's  enjoying  tliemselves  ;  and  in  the  gospel  for 
living  in  a  conuuon  and  ordinary  manner.  Matt.  xi. 
18.  The  apostles  say,  they  ate  and  drank  with 
Christ  after  his  resurrection  ;  that  is,  they  conversed, 
and  lived  in  their  usual  manner,  freely,  with  him. 
Acts  X.  41.  Jeremiah  (ii.  18.)  reproaches  the  Jews 
with  having  had  recourse  to  Egypt  for  muddy  water 
to  drink,  and  to  Assyria,  to  drink  the  water  of  their 
river ;  that  is,  the  vviiter  of  the  Nile  and  of  the  Eu- 
phrates ;  meaning,  soliciting  the  assistance  of  tlioss 
people.  To  drink  blood,  signifies  to  be  satiated  with 
slaughter,  E/.ek.  xxxix.  18.  Our  Lord  commands  us 
to  drink  liis  blood  and  to  eat  iiis  flesh:  (John  vi.)  we 
eat  and  (h-ink  both  figuratively,  in  the  eucharist.  To 
drink  wat(?r  by  measure,  (Ezek.  iv.  11.)  and  to  buy 
water  to  drink,  (Lain.  v.  4.)  denote  extreme  scarcity 
and  desolation.  On  fast  days  the  Jews  abstained 
from  driidiiug  during  the  whole  day,  l)elieving  it  to 
be  equally  of  the  essence  of  a  fast,  to  suffer  thirst  as 
to  sufler  hunger. 

DROMEDARY,  a  species  of  smaller  camel,  hav- 
ing on  their  backs  a  kind  of  natural  saddle,  com- 
posed of  two  great  hunches.     Persons  of  quality  in 


the  East  generally  use  dromedaries  for  speed ;  and 
we  are  assured  that  some  of  them  can  travel  a  hun- 
dred miles  a  day.  The  animal  is  governed  by  a 
bridle,  which,  being  usually  fastened  to  a  ring  fixed 
in  the  nose,  may  very  well  illustrate  the  expression, 
(2  Kings  xix.  28.)  of  putting  a  hook  into  the  nose  of 
Sennacherib,  and  may  be  further  applicable  to  his 
swift  retreat.  Isaiah  (Ix.  6.)  calls  this  creature,  as 
Bochart  believes,  biccuroth.  Bichra,  the  feminine  of 
bicher,  is  taken  for  a  dromedary,  in  Jer.  ii.  23,  by 
Aquila,  Symmachus,  and  Theodotion.  Bonaparte, 
when  commanding  the  French  army  in  Egypt, 
formed  a  miUtary  corps  moimted  on  dromedaries. 
See  further  under  Camel. 

DRUMA,  Gideon's  concubine,  and  mother  of 
Abimelech,  Judg.  viii.31. 

DRUNK,  DRUNKENNESS,  a  well  known  and 
debasing  indisposition,  produced  by  excessive  drink- 
ing. The  first  instance  of  intoxication  on  record  is 
that  of  Noah,  (Gen.  ix.  21.)  who  was  probably  igno- 
rant of  the  effects  of  the  expressed  juice  of  the  grape. 
The  sin  of  drunkenness  is  most  expressly  condemned 
in  the  Scrijjtures,  Rom.  xiii.  13 ;  1  Cor.  vi.  9,  10 ; 
Eph.  V.  18  ;  1  Thess.  v.  7,  8.  Men  are  sometimes 
represented  as  drunk  with  sorrovv,  with  aftlictions, 
and  with  the  wine  of  God's  wratli,  Isa.  Ixiii.  6  ;  Jer. 
Ii.  57  ;  Ezek.  xxiii.  33.  Persons  under  the  influence 
of  superstition,  idolatry,  and  delusion,  are  said  to  be 
drunk,  because  they  make  no  use  of  their  natural 
reason,  Isa.  xxviii.  7  ;  Rev.  xvii.  2.  Drunkenness 
sometimes  denotes  abundance,  satiety.  Dent,  xxxii. 
42;  Isa.  xlix.  26.  To  "add  dnmkenness  to  thirst," 
(Deut.  xxix.  19.)  is  to  add  one  sin  to  another,  i.  e.  not 
only  pine  in  seci-et  aiier  idol-worshij),  but  openly 
practise  it.  (See  Stuart's  Heb.  Chrest.  on  this  passage.) 

DRUSILLA,  the  youngest  daughter  of  Herod 
Agrippa  I.  and  sister  of  the  younger  Agrippa  and  of 
Berniee,  celebrated  for  her  beauty  and  infamous  for 
her  licentiousness.  She  was  first  espoused  to 
Epiphanes,  son  of  Antiochus,  king  of  Comagena, 
on  condition  of  his  embracing  the  Jewish  religion  ; 
but  as  he  afterwards  refused  to  be  circumcised,  Dru- 
silla  was  given  in  marriage  by  her  brother  to  Azizus, 
king  of  Emessa.  When  Felix  came  as  governor  of 
Judca,  he  persuaded  her  to  abandon  her  husband 
and  her  religion,  and  become  his  wife.  Paul  bore 
testimony  before  them  to  the  truth  of  the  Christian 
religion.  Acts  xxiv.  24.  (See  Joseph.  Ant.  xix.  9. 1 ; 
XX.  7. 1,2.)     *R. 

DUKE.  Tliis  word,  being  a  title  of  honor  in  use 
in  Groat  Britain,  and  signilying  a  higher  order  of 
nobility,  is  apt  to  mislead  the  reader,  who,  in  Gen. 
xxxvj.  15 — 43,  finds  a  long  list  of  dukes  of  Edom  : 
but  the  word  ditke,  froi;i  the  Latin  dux,  rnei-ely  sig- 
nifies a  leader  or  chief,  and  the  word  chief  ought 
rather  to  have  been  preferred  in  our  translation.  (See 
1  Chron.  i.  51.) 

DULCIMER,  (Dan.  iii.  5,  10.)  an  instrument  of 
music,  as  is  usually  thought;  but  the  original  word, 
which  is  Greek,  ("n.ip.u  ;,<.  symphony,)  renders  it 
doubtful  whether  it  really  mean  a  uuisical  instrument, 
or  a  musical  strain,  chorus,  or  accompaniment  of 
many  voices,  or  instruments,  in  concert  and  harmony. 
It  is  difiicult  to  account  for  the  introduction  of  this 
Greek  word  into  the  Chaldee  language,  uidess  we 
supjiOHc  that  some  musicians  from  Greece,  or  from 
western  Asia,  had  been  taken  captive  by  Nebuchad- 
nezzar, in  his  victories  over  the  cities  on  the  coast  of 
the  Mediterranean,  and  that  these  introduced  certain 
of  their  own  terms  of  art  among  the  king's  band  of 


DUN 


f  357] 


DUNG 


music  ;  as  we  now  use  much  of  the  language  of  Ita- 
ly in  our  musical  entertainments. 

[Tlie  rabbins  describe  the  sumponya  of  Daniel  as 
a  sort  of  bagpipe,  composed  of  two  pipes  connected 
with  a  leathern  sack,  and  of  a  harsh,  screaming  sound. 
Even  at  the  present  day,  tlje  common  pipe,  or  shalm 
of  the  common  people,  (nearly  resembling  the  haut- 
boy,) is  in  Italy  called  zampogna,  and  in  Asia  Minor 
sambonya.  The  clulcitner,  by  which  the  Hebrew  is 
improperly  rendered  in  the  English  version,  is  an 
instrument  of  a  triangular  form,  strimg  with  about 
fifty  wires,  and  struck  with  an  iron  key,  while  lying 
on  a  table  before  the  performer.  It  is  confined 
mostly  to  puppet  shows  and  itinerant  musicians.    R. 

I.  DUMAII,  a  city  of  Judah,  Josh.  xv.  52. 

II.  DUMAII,  a  tribe  and  country  of  the  Ishmael- 
ites  in  Arabia,  Gen.  xxv.  14;  Isa.  xxi.  11.  This  is 
doubtless  the  same  which  is  still  called  by  the  Arabs 
Duma  the  stony,  the  Syrian  Duma,  situated  on  the 
confines  of  the  Arabian  and  Syrian  desert,  with  a 
fortress.  (See  Gesenius  Lex.  Heb.  Man.  Lat.  Nie- 
buhr's  Arabia,  p.  344.)     *R. 

DUMB.  (1.)  One  unable  to  speak  by  reason  of 
natural  infirmity,  Exod.  iv.  11.  (2.)  One  unable 
to  speak  by  reason  of  want  of  knowledge  what  to 
say,  or  how  to  say  it ;  what  proper  mode  of  address 
to  use,  or  what  reasons  to  allege  on  his  own  behalf, 
Prov.  xxxi.  8.  (3.)  One  unwilling  to  speak,  Ps.  xxxix. 
9.  We  have  a  remarkable  instance  of  this  venerat- 
ing dumbness,  or  silence,  in  the  case  of  Aaron,  (Lev. 
X.  3.)  after  Nadab  and  Abihu,  his  sons,  were  con- 
sumed by  fire.  "  Aaron  held  his  peace ;"  did  not 
exclaim  against  the  justice  of  God,  but  saw  the  pro- 
priety of  the  divine  procedure,  and  humbly  acquiesced 
in  it. 

DUNG.  The  directions  given  to  the  prophet  Eze- 
kiel,  (chap.  iv.  12 — 16.)  have  been  nuich  misunder- 
stood, and  have  also  given  occasion  for  many  imper- 
tinent ren)arks.  In  the  following  observations,  the 
disingenuousness  of  Voltaire  on  this  subject  is  set  in 
a  just  light : — 

"  Monsieur  Voltaire  seems  to  be  extremely  scan- 
dalized at  this  circumstance,  for  he  has  repeated  the 
objection  over  and  over  again  in  his  writings.  He 
supposes  somewhere  that  denying  the  providence  of 
God  is  extreme  impiety  ;  yet  in  other  places  he  sup- 
poses the  prophetic  intimation  to  Ezekiel,  that  he 
should  prepare  his  bread  with  human  dung,  as  ex- 
pressive of  the  hardships  Israel  were  about  to  under- 
go, could  not  come  from  God,  being  incompatible 
with  his  majesty:  God,  then,  it  naturally  follows, 
never  did  reduce  by  his  providence  any  poor  mortals 
into  such  a  state,  as  to  be  obliged  to  use  human  dung 
in  jireparing  their  bread ;  never  could  do  it.  But 
those  who  are  acquainted  with  the  calamities  of  hu- 
man life  will  not  be  so  positive  on  this  point,  as  this 
lively  Frenchman.  To  make  the  objection  as  strong 
as  possible,  by  raising  the  disgust  of  the  elegant  jiart 
of  the  world  to  the  greatest  height,  he,  with  his  usu- 
al ingenuousness,  supposes  that  the  dung  was  to  l)e 
eaten  with  the  bread  prejjared  after  this  manner, 
which  would  form  an  admiral)le  confection,  Comme 
il  n^est  point  dhisage  de  manger  des  tcUes  confitures 
sur  son  pain,  la  pluspart  des  hommes  trouvent  ces  com- 
mandemens  indignes  de  la  Majeste  Divitie.  (La  Raison 
par  Alphabet,  Art.  Ezekiel.)  Tlie  eating  bread  baked 
by  being  covered  up  under  such  embers,  woidd  most 
certainly  be  great  misery,  though  the  ashes  were 
swept  and  blo%vn  ofiT  with  care ;  but  they  could 
hardly  be  said  to  eat  a  composition  of  bread  and 
human  excrements.     With  the  same  kind  of  libertv. 


he  tells  us  that  cow-dung  is  sometimes  eaten  through 
all  desert  Arabia,  {Lettre  du  Traducteur  du  Cantique 
des  Cantiques,)  which  is  only  true  as  explained  to 
mean  nothing  more  than  tha"t  their  bread  is,  not  uu- 
frequently,  baked  under  the  embers  of  cow-dung : 
but,  is  eating  bread  so  baked  eating  cow-dung?" 
(Harmer,  Observations.) 

As  every  reader  may  not  be  acquainted  with  tiie 
ordinary  usages  of  the  East,  a  few  remarks  may  sug- 
gest the  value  of  fire,  i.  e.  liiel ;  which  in  all"  parts 
of  Asia  is  considerable,  and  in  some  districts  exces- 
sive, while  they  will  tend  to  set  the  passages  in  the 
prophet  in  its  true  light. 

"In  Arabia,"  says  Niebuhr,  (vol.  i.  p.  91.)  "the 
dung  of  asses  and  camels  is  chiefly  used  for  fuel,  be- 
cause these  two  species  are  the  most  numerous  and 
common.  Little  girls  go  about,  gatheiing  the  dung  in 
the  streets,  and  upon  the  highways ;  they  mix  it 
with  cut  straw ;  and  of  this  mixture  make  cakes, 
which  they  place  along  the  walls,  or  upon  the  de- 
clivity of  some  neighboring  eminence,  to  dry  them 
in  the  sun."  But  this  is  cleanliness  itself  compared 
with  the  accounts  of  Touniefort,  (vol.  iii.  p.  137.)  who 
reports  of  Georgia, — "  where  our  tents  were  pitched, 
for  the  first  time,  in  the  dominions  of  the  king  of 
Persia  [we  could  see]  a  great  many  pretty  considera- 
ble villages  ;  but  all  this  fine  country  yields  not  one 
single  tree,  and  they  are  forced  to  burn  cows'  dung. 
Oxen  are  very  common  here,  and  they  breed  them 
as  well/or  their  dung  as  for  their  flesh."  Speaking 
of  Erzeroum,  he  says,  (page  95.)  "  Besides  the  sharp- 
ness of  the  winters,  what  makes  Erzeroum  very  un- 
pleasant, is,  the  scarcity  and  dearness  of  wood ; 
nothing  but  pine  wood  is  known  there,  and  that  they 
fetch  two  or  tlu-ee  days'  journey  from  the  town  :  all 
the  rest  of  the  country  is  quite  naked — you  see  neither 
tree  nor  busli  :  and  their  common  fuel  is  cows'  dung, 
which  they  make  into  turfs  ;  but  they  are  not  com- 
parable to  those  our  tanners  use  at  Paris ;  much  less 
to  those  prepared  in  Pi-oveuce  of  the  husks  of  the 
olive.  I  don't  doubt  better  fuel  might  be  found,  for 
the  country  is  not  wanting  in  minerals ;  but  the  peo- 
ple are  used  to  their  cow-dung,  and  will  not  give 
themselves  the  trouble  to  dig  for  it.  'Tis  almost  in- 
conceivable what  a  horrid  perfume  this  dung  makes 
in  the  houses,  which  can  be  compared  to  nothing  but 
fox-holes,  especially  the  country  houses  ;  everything 
they  eat  has  a  stench  of  this  vapor ;  their  cream 
would  be  admirable  but  for  this  pulvilis ;  and  one 
might  eat  very  well  among  them,  if  they  liad  wood 
for" the  dressing  their  butchers'  meat,  which  is  very 
good." 

We  find,  then,  that  the  use  of  such  fuel  is  the  or- 
dinary custom  of  the  country  ;  and  that  not  only,  or 
chiefly,  those  who  are  outcasts  from  society,  or  are 
"  steeped  in  jjoverty  to  the  very  lips,"  use  this  dis- 
gusting kind  of  fuel,  but  also  the  general  level  of  the 
inhabitants,  in  a  city  of  considerable  note  and  mag- 
nitude. Lc  Bruyn'is  still  n)ore  particular :  he  says, 
(j).  228.)  "Wood  is  very  dear  in  this  country,  and  is^ 
sold  by  weight ;  they  give  you  but  twelve  pounds  of 
it  for  four  pence  or  five  pence,  and  the  same  it  is 
with  regard  to  coals.  Whence  it  is  they  are  obliged 
to  make  use  of  turf,  made  of  camels'  dimg,  cow-dung, 
sheei)'s  dung,  horse-dung,  and  ass-dung.  The  chief 
Armenians  of  Julfa  do  so  as  well  as  the  rest,  or  else 
the  fire  would  cost  more  than  the  victuals  ;  whereas 
they  give  but  thirty  pence  for  two  hundred  and 
twenty,  or  two  hundred  and  thirty,  pound  weight  of 
this  turf.  They  use  it  more  particularly  for  heating 
of  ovens,  in  which  they  bake  most  of  their  meats  in 


DUS 


[  358  ] 


DUST 


this  country,  without  trouble,  and  at  a  small  expense. 
They  even  apply  human  dung  in  this  way."  . .  This 
was  in  Persia  also. 

These  extracts  from  Tournefort  and  Le  BrujTi, 
who  are  describing  much  the  same  country,  deserve 
our  marked  attention,  as  likely  to  illustrate  the  histo- 
ry of  the  prophet  Ezekiel.  Le  Bruyn  assures  us 
that  human  dung  is  used  to  heat  ovens  for  the  pur- 
pose of  baking  food,  (consequently  Mr.  Harmer  mis- 
takes, when  he  says,  "  no  nation  made  use  of  that 
horrid  kind  of  fuel,")  and  against  this  Ezekiel  remon- 
strates and  petitions,  till  he  procures  leave  to  use  a 
fuel,  which,  though  bad  enough,  is  not  quite  so  bad. 
Does  the  prophet's  solicitation  for  his  personal  relief 
from  that  defilement,  imply  his  hope  ol  the  same  al- 
leviation, in  respect  to  those  whom  he  typified  ?  i.  c. 
the  Jewish  people.  It  may  also  be  asked,  whether 
the  custom,  mentioned  by  Le  Bruyn,  may  not  tend 
to  determine  in  what  country  the  prophet  resided  at 
this  time  .-' — It  is  clear,  he  remarks,  that  he  did  not 
live  constantly  at  Babylon,  though  involved  in  the 
Babylonisii  captivity;  and  if  he  were  carried  to,  and 
stationed  on,  the  confines  of  Persia,  near  to  Georgia, 
then,  possibly,  iu  this  very  neighborhood,  he  re- 
ceived the  command  which  has  been  so  unjustly 
commented  on  by  Voltaire ;  which  appears  so  very 
unintelhgible,  or  so  very  wretched  to  us  ;  but  which 
would  excite  no  astonishment  m  the  country  where 
it  was  given.  Perhaps  Ezekiel,  or  his  fellow  Jews, 
unaccustomed  to  this  usage,  were  the  only  persons 
likely  to  be  scandaUzed  at  it.  Let  this  consideration 
have  its  due  force. 

DUNGHILL.  We  are  informed  by  Plutarch, 
that  the  Syrians  were  affected  with  a  particular  dis- 
ease characterized  by  violent  pains  of  the  bones,  ul- 
cerations over  the  whole  body,  swelling  of  the  feet 
and  abdomen,  and  wasting  of  the  liver.  This  mala- 
dy was  in  general  referred  to  the  anger  of  the  gods  ; 
but  was  supposed  to  be  more  especially  inflicted  by 
the  Syrian  goddess,  on  those  who  had  eaten  some 
kinds  offish  deemed  sacred  to  her.  In  order  to  ap- 
pease the  otlended  divinity,  the  persons  affected  by 
this  disorder  were  taught  by  the  priests  to  put  on 
sackcloth,  or  old  Uittered  garments,  and  to  sit  on  a 
dunghill ;  or  to  roll  themselves  naked  in  the  dirt  as  a 
sign  of  humiliation  and  contrition  for  their  offence. 
(Menander  apud  Porphyrium;  Plut.  de  Supersti- 
tione  ;  Persius,  Sat.  v. ;  Martial,  Epigr.  iv.  4.)  This 
will  remind  the  reader  of  Job's  conduct  under  his 
affliction,  and  that  of  other  persons  mentioned  in 
Scripture  as  rolling  themselves  in  the  dust,  &c. 

DURA,  a  great  plain  near  Babylon,  where  Nebu- 
chadnezzar erected  a  colossal  image  of  gold  to  be 
worshipped,  Dan.  iii.  L     See  Babylo.n. 

DUST.  The  Hebrews,  when  mourning,  strewed 
dust  or  ashes  on  their  heads,  (Josh.  vh.  6.)  and  in 
their  afflictions  sat  in  the  dust;  or  threw  themselves 
with  then-  faces  on  the  ground,  Isa,  xlvii.  1. 

Our  Saviour  conmianded  his  apostles  to  shake  the 
dust  from  off  their  feet  against  those  who  would  not 
hearken  to  them,  nor  receive  them ;  to  show  that 
they  desired  to  have  no  intercourse  with  them,  and 
that  they  gave  them  uj)  to  their  blindness,  misery, 
and  hardness  of  heart,  Matt.  x.  14  ;  Mark  vi.  11  •  Luke 
ix.  5. 

Rain  of  dust.  In  Deut.  xxviii.  24.  God  threatens 
to  punish  Israel  severely,  by  a  rain  of  dust.  It 
maybe  of  use  to  inquire  a  little  into  the  nature  and 

J)roperties  of  such  a  kind  of  rain  ;  and  in  this  the  fol- 
owing  extracts  may  assist.  "  Sometimes  the  wind 
blows  very  high  in  those  hot  and  dry  seasons  [in  In- 


dia]— raising  up  into  the  air,  to  a  very  gi-eat  height, 
thick  clouds  of  dust  and  sand.  . . .  These  dry  showers 
most  grievously  annoy  all  those  among  whom  they 
fall  ;  enough  to  smite  them  all  with  a  present  blind- 
ness ;  filling  their  eyes,  ears,  and  nostrils ;  and  their 
mouths  are  not  free,  if  they  be  not  also  well  guard- 
ed ;  searching  every  place,  as  well  within  as  without 
our  tents  or  houses ;  so  that  there  is  not  a  little  key- 
hole of  any  trunk,  or  cabinet,  if  it  be  not  covered, 
but  receives  some  of  that  dust  into  it ;  the  dust  forced 
to  find  a  lodging  any  where,  every  where,  being 
so  driven  and  forced  as  it  is  by  the  extreme  violence 
of  the  wind."  (Sir  T.  Roe's  Embassy,  p.  373.)  To 
the  same  purpose  speaks  Herbert:  (p.  167.)  "And 
now  the  danger  is  past,  let  me  tell  you,  most  part  of 
the  last  night  we  crossed  over  an  inhospitable,  sandy 
desert,  where  here  and  there  we  beheld  the  ground 
covered  with  a  loose  flying  sand,  which,  by  the  fury  of 
the  winter  weather,  is  accumulated  into  such  heaps 
as,  upon  any  great  wind,  the  track  is  lost ;  and  passen- 
gers (too  oft)  overwhelmed  and  stifled  :  yea  camels, 
horses,  mules,  and  otlier  beasts,  though  strong,  swift, 
and  steady  in  their  going,  are  not  able  to  shift  for 
themselves,  but  perish  without  recovery ;  those  roll- 
ing sands,  when  agitated  by  the  winds,  move  and 
remove  more  like  sea  than  land,  and  render  the  way 
very  dreadful  to  passengers.  Indeed,  in  this  place 
I  thought  that  curse  fulfilled,  where  the  Lord,  by 
Moses,  threatens  instead  of  rain  to  give  them  showers 
of  dust." 

These  instances  are  in  Persia ;  but  such  storms 
might  be  known  to  the  Israelites  ;  as,  no  doubt,  they 
occur  also  on  the  sandy  deserts  of  Arabia,  east  of 
Judea :  and  to  this  agrees  Tournefort,  who  says, 
"At  Ghetsci  there  arose  a  tempest  of  sand  ;  in  the 
same  manner  as  it  happens  sometimes  in  Arabia,  and 
in  Egypt ;  especially  in  the  spring.  It  was  raised  by 
a  very  hot  south  wind,  which  drove  so  much  sand, 
that  one  of  the  gates  of  the  Kervanseray  was  half 
stopped  up  with  it;  and  the  way  could  not  be  found, 
being  covered  over,  above  a  foot  deep;  the  sand  ly- 
ing on  all  hands.  This  sand  was  extremely  fine,  and 
salt,  and  was  very  troublesome  to  our  eyes,  even  in 
the  Kervanseray,  where  all  our  baggage  was  covered 
over  with  it.  The  storm  lasted  from  noon  to  sunset ; 
and  it  was  so  very  hot  the  night  following,  without 
any  wind,  that  one  could  hardly  fetch  breath  ;  which, 
in  my  opinion,  was  partly  occasioned  by  the  reflec- 
tion of  the  hot  sand.  Next  day  I  felt  a  great  pain  in 
one  eye,  which  made  it  smart,  as  if  salt  had  been 
melted  into  it,"  «&:c.     Pt.  ii.  p.  139. 

This  may  give  us  a  lively  idea  of  the  penetrating 
powers  of  the  dust  of  the  land  of  Egjpt;  which 
(Exod.  viii.  16.)  was  converted  into  lice  ; — also  (chap, 
ix.  8.)  of  the  effect  of  the  ashes  of  the  furnace, 
which  Moses  took,  and  sprinkled  "  up  toward  heaven 
and  (being  driven  by  the  wind  to  all  parts,  and  en- 
tering 'any  where,  and  every  where,')  it  became  a 
boil  breaking  forth  in  blains  upon  man,  and  upon 
beast  .  .  .  the  boil  was  even  on  the  magicians,  and  on 
all  the  Egyptians."  The  phraseology  "  from  heaven 
shall  it  come  down  upon  thee,"  deserves  notice  ; 
since  we  see  that  heaven,  in  this  instance,  signifies 
the  air  only :  why  may  it  not  be  so  taken  where  oth- 
er things  are  said  to  come  down  from  thence .''  as 
rain,  fire,  lightning,  hail,  &c.  so  Gen.  vii.  11 ;  xix.  24; 
xlix.  25  ;  Josh.  x.  11,  &c. 

The  following  is  from  the  journal  of  Mr.  Bucking- 
ham ;  it  renders  certain,  what  is  above  left  as  a  con- 
jecture :  "  Suez. — After  liaving  travelled  all  the  morn- 
ing in  the  bed  of  the  ancient  canal  that  formerly 


DUST 


[  359  ] 


DUST 


connected  the  Red  sea  with  the  MediteiTanean . . . 
we  had  entered  upon  a  loose,  shifting  sand  ;  here  we 
found  a  firm  clay  mixed  with  gravel,  and  perfectly 
dry,  its  surface  incrusted  over  with  a  strong  salt.  On 
leaving  the  site  of  these  now  evaporated  lakes,  we 
entered  upon  a  loose  and  shifting  sand  again,  like 
that  which  Pliny  describes  when  speaking  of  the 
roads  from  Pelusium,  across  the  sands  of  the  desert; 
in  which,  he  says,  unless  there  be  reeds  stuck  in  the 
ground  to  point  out  the  line  of  direction,  the  way 
could  not  he  found,  because  the  wind  blows  up  the 
sand,  and  covers  the  footsteps.  The  morning  was 
delightful  on  our  setting  out,  and  promised  us  a  fine 
day  ;  but  the  light  airs  from  the  south  soon  increased 
to  a  gale,  the  sun  became  obscure,  and  as  every  hour 
brought  us  into  a  looser  sand,  it  flew  around  us  in 
such  whirlwinds,  with  the  sudden  gusts  that  blew, 
that  it  was  impossible  to  proceed.  We  halted,  there- 
fore, for  an  hour,  and  took  shelter  under  the  lee 
of  our  beasts,  who  were  themselves  so  terrified 
as  to  need  fastening  by  the  knees,  and  uttered  in 
their  wailings  but  a  melancholy  symphony.  I 
know  not  whether  it  was  the  novelty  of  the  situation 
that  gave  it  additional  horrors,  or  whether  the  habit 
of  magnifying  evils  to  which  we  are  unaccustomed, 
had  increased  its  effect ;  but  certain  it  is,  that  fifty 
gales  of  wind  at  sea  appeared  to  me  more  easy  to  be 
encountered  than  one  amongst  those  sands.  It  is 
impossible  to  imagine  desolation  more  complete  ;  we 
could  see  neither  sun,  earth,  nor  sky  :  the  plain  at 
ten  paces  distance  Avas  absolutely  imperceptible  :  our 
beasts,  as  well  as  ourselves,  were  so  covered  as  to 
render  breathing  difficult ;  they  hid  their  faces  in  the 
ground,  and  we  could  only  uncover  our  own  for  a 
moment,  to  behold  this  chaos  of  mid-day  darkness, 
and  wait  impatiently  for  its  abatement.  Alexander's 
journey  to  the  temple  of  Jupiter  Ammon,  and  the  de- 
struction of  the  Persian  armies  of  Cambyses,  in  the 
Lybian  desert,  rose  to  my  recollection  with  new  im- 
pressions, made  by  the  horror  of  the  scene  before 
me ;  while  Addison's  admirable  lines,  which  I  also 
remembered  with  peculiar  force  on  this  occasion, 
seemed  to  possess  as  much  truth  as  beauty  : 

Lo,  where  our  wide  Numidian  wastes  extend, 
Sudden  the  impetuous  hurricanes  descend  ; 
Which  through  the  air  in  circling  eddies  play. 
Tear  up  the  sands,  and  sweep  whole  plains  away. 
The  helpless  traveller,  with  wild  surprise, 
Sees  the  dry  desert  all  around  him  rise, 
And,  smothered  in  the  dusty  whirlwind,  dies. 

"The  few  hours  we  remained  in  this  situation 
were  passed  in  unbroken  silence  :  every  one  was  oc- 
cupied with  his  own  reflections,  as  if  the  reign  of 
terror  forbade  communication.  Its  fury  spent  itself, 
like  the  storms  of  ocean,  in  sudden  lulls  and  squalls: 
but  it  was  not  until  the  third  or  fourth  interval  that 
our  fears  were  sufficiently  conquered  to  address  each 
other:  nor  shall  I  soon  lose  the  recollection  of  the 
im])ressive  manner  in  which  that  was  done.  'Allah 
kereem !'  exclaimed  the  poor  Bedouin,  although 
habit  had  familiarized  him  with  these  resistless  blasts. 
'Allah  kereem !'  repeated  the  Egyptians,  with  terri- 
fied solemnity  ;  and  both  my  servant  and  myself,  as 
if  Viy  instinct,  joined  in  the  general  exclamation.  The 
bold  imagery  of  the  eastern  poets,  describing  the 
Deity  as  avenging  in  his  anger,  and  terrible  in  his 
wrath,  riding  upon  the  wings  of  the  wind,  and  breath- 
ing his  fury  in  the  storm,  must  have  been  inspired  by 
scenes  like  these." 


There  is  a  remarkable  figurative  representation  in 
Job,  (chap.  XXX.  22,)  thus  rendered  in  our  translation: 
"Thou  liftest  me  up  to  the  wind  ;  thou  causest  me  to 
ride  upo7i  it,  and  dissolvest  my  substance  ;"  but  it  is 
probable  that  after  we  have  examined  the  phraseolo- 
gy of  the  passage,  its  force  may  be  further  evident; 
and  it  may  receive  additional  illustration.  "  Thou 
dost  raise  me  up  on  high,  into  the  air,  by  the  agency 
of,  upon,  the  wind  ;  thou  dost  make  me  to  ride^on  it, 
as  on  a  chariot,  or  other  vehicle  ;  and  dost  dissolve, 
dissipate,  my  whole,  my  all ;  all  that  I  ever  was ;  all 
that  I  ever  possessed."  Such  is  the  power  of  the 
original,  whicli  might  perhaps  be  referred  to  a  va- 
por, raised  by  the  wind,  which,  after  being  home 
about  among  the  clouds,  is  dissolved,  and  falls  in 
dew:  but,  (1.)  the  wind  which  raises  it  seems  rather 
to  describe  a  storm,  and  during  storms  dew  does  not 
perceptibly  rise.  (2.)  The  current  of  wind,  which, 
like  a  chariot,  bears  away  the  subject  of  its  power,  is 
a  vehement,  powerful,  rapid  blast ;  as  we  say,  a  high 
wind  ;  and  does  not  agree  with  the  formation  of  dew, 
which  is  a  tranquil,  deliberate  process.  The  word 
(jic,  Pilel  jjio  mogig,)  is  applied  to  express  the  melt- 
ing of  a  solid  body  ;  as  of  the  earth  with  rain,  (Ps. 
Ixvii.)  and  of  the  hills  through  intense  heat,  Nahum 
i.  5 ;  so  Amos  ix.  13.  Mr.  Scott  has  rendered  the 
passage. 

Roused  by  almighty  force  a  furious  storm 
Upcaught  me,  whirled  me  on  its  eddying  gust. 
Then  dashed  me  down,  and  shattered  me  to  dust. 

Under  these  considerations,  we  may,  perhaps,  refer 
the  passage  to  a  sand  storm  ;  possibly,  such  as  that 
described  by  ]Mr.  Buckingham,  or  such  as  is  describ- 
ed by  the  following  information,  which  the  reader 
will  not  be  displeased  to  peruse,  as  it  stands  high 
among  the  most  picturesque  and  most  terrific  de- 
scriptions of  the  kind  to  be  met  with.  "  On  the  14tli, 
at  seven  in  the  morning,  we  left  Assa  Nagga,  our 
course  being  due  north.  At  one  o'clock  we  alighted 
among  some  acacia-trees  at  Waadi  el  Ilalboub,  hav- 
ing gone  twenty-one  miles.  We  were  here  at  once 
surjjrised  and  terrified  by  a  sight  surely  one  of  the 
most  magnificent  in  the  world.  In  that  vast  expanse 
of  desert,  from  W.  and  to  N.  W.  of  us,  we  saw  a 
number  of  prodigious  pillars  of  sand  at  different  dis- 
tances, at  times  laoviixg  unlh  great  celerity,  at  others 
stalking  on  with  a  majestic  slowness  :  at  intervals  we 
thought  they  wore  coming  in  a  very  few  minutes  to 
overwhelm  us;  and  small  quantities  of  sand  did  ac- 
tually more  than  once  reach  us.  Again  they  would 
retreat  so  as  to  be  almost  out  of  sight, //le/r  tops  reach- 
ing to  the  very  clouds.  There  the  tojis  often  sepa- 
rated from  the  bodies;  and  these, once  disjoined,  rfis- 
pcrsed  in  the  air,  and  did  not  appear  more.  Some- 
times they  were  broken  near  the  middle,  as  if  struck 
with  a  large  cannon  shot.  About  noon  they  began 
to  advance  with  considerable  swiftness  u])on  us,  the 
wind  being  very  strong  at  north.  Eleven  of  them 
ranged  alongside  of  us  about  the  distance  of  three 
miles.  The  greatest  diameter  of  the  largest  appear- 
ed to  me  at  that  distance  as  if  it  would  measure  ten 
feet.  They  retired  from  us  with  a  wind  at  S.  E. 
leaving  an  impression  upon  my  mind  to  which  I  can 
give  no  name ;  though  surely  one  ingredient  in  it 
was  fear,  with  a  considerable  deal  of  wonder  and  as- 
tonishment. It  was  in  vain  to  think  of  flying;  the 
swiftest  horse,  or  fastest  sailing  ship,  could  be  of  no 
use  to  cany  us  out  of  this  danger,  and  the  full  per- 
suasion of  this  riveted  me  as  if  to  the  spot  where  I 


DUST 


[  360  ] 


DUST 


stood,  and  let  tlie  camels  gain  on  me  so  much  in  my 
state  of  lameness,  that  it  was  with  some  difficulty  I 
could  overtake  them.  The  whole  of  our  company 
were  much  disheartened,  (except  Idris,)  and  imagin- 
ed that  they  were  advancing  into  whirlwinds  of  mov- 
ing sand,  from  which  they  should  never  be  able  to 
extricate  themselves  ;  but  before  four  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon,  these  phantoms  of  the  plain  had  all  of  them 
fallen  to  the  ground  and  disappeared.  In  the  evening 
we  came  to  Waadi  Dimokea,  where  we  passed  the 
night,  much  disheartened,  and  our  fear  more  increas- 
ed, wlien  we  found,  upon  wakening  in  the  morning, 
that  one  side  was  perfectly  buried  in  the  sand  that 
the  wind  hud  blown  above  ns  in  the  night.  The  sun, 
shining  through  the  pillars,  which  were  thicker,  and 
contained  more  sand  apparently  than  any  of  the  pre- 
ceding days,  seemed  to  give  those  neai-est  us  an  ap- 
pearance as  if  spotted  with  stars  of  gold.  I  do  not 
thiuk  at  any  time  they  seemed  to  be  nearer  than  two 
miles.  The  most  remarkable  circumstance  was, 
that  the  sand  seemed  to  keep  in  that  vast  circular 
space  surroimded  by  the  Nile  on  our  left,  in  going 
round  by  Chaigie  towards  Dongola,  and  seldom  was 
observed  much  to  tiie  eastward  of  a  meridian  pass- 
ing along  the  Nile  through  the  Magiran,  before  it 
takes  that  turn  ;  whereas  the  simoom  was  always  on 
the  opposite  side  of  our  course,  coming  upon  us  from 
the  south-east.  The  same  appearance  of  moving 
pillars  of  sand  presented  themselves  to  us  this  day. 


in  form  and  disposition  like  those  we  had  seen  at 
Waadi  Halboub,  only  they  seemed  to  be  more  in 
number,  and  less  in  size.  They  came  several  times 
in  a  direction  close  upon  us ;  that  is,  I  believe,  with- 
in less  than  two  miles.  They  began,  immediately 
after  sunrise,  like  a  thick  wood,  and  almost  darken- 
ed the  sun  :  his  rays,  shining  through  them  for  near 
an  hour,  gave  them  an  appearance  of  pillars  of  fire." 
(Bruce's  Travels,  vol.  iv.  p.  553 — 555.) 

If  this  conjecture  be  admissible,  we  see  a  magnifi- 
cence in  this  imagery,  not  apparent  before  ;  we  see 
how  Job's  dignity  might  be  exalted  in  the  air ;  might 
rise  to  great  grandeur,  importance,  and  even  terror, 
ill  the  sight  of  beholders;  might  ride  upon  the  wind, 
which  beai"S  it  about,  causing  it  to  advance,  or  to  re- 
cede :  and,  after  all,  the  wind,  diminishing,  might  dis- 
perse, melt,  scatter,  this  pillar  of  sand,  into  the  undis- 
tinguished level  of  the  desert.  This  comparison 
seems  to  be  precisely  ada])ted  to  the  mind  of  an 
Arab,  who  must  have  ^een  similar  phenomena  in  the 
countries  around  him. 

[To  ride  upon  the  tvind,  signifies  in  Arabic,  "to  be 
carried  away  suddenly."  Instead  of  "thou  dissolv- 
est  my  substance,"  others,  as  Gesenius,  translate ; 
"tho'-  causest  my  prosperity  to  melt  away  ;"  or  if  the 
Kethib  be  followed,  "thou  causest  me  to  melt  away, 
thou  terrifiest  me."  But  the  common  version,  as 
above  illustrated,  seems  to  be  preferable.       R. 


E 


EAGLE 


EAGLE 


EAGLE.  By  the  Hebrews,  the  eagle  was  called 
Tj'J,  the  lacerator ;  and  as  tliis  species  of  birds  is  em- 
inent for  rapacity,  and  tearing  their  prey  in  pieces, 
the  propriety  of  the  designation  is  sufficiently  oli- 
vious. 

There  are  several  kinds  of  the  eagle  described  by 
naturalists,  and  it  is  [irobable  that  the  Hebrew  nesher 
comprehends  more  tiian  one  of  these.  The  largest 
and  noblest  species  with  which  we  are  acquainted, 
is  that  called  by  Mr.  Bruce,  "the  golden  eagle,"  and 
by  liie  Ethiopians,  "  Abou  Auch'n,"  or  father  long- 
beard,  Irom  a  tuft  of  hair  which  grows  below  his 
beak.  From  wing  to  wing,  this  l^ird  measures  eight 
feet  four  inches  ;  and  ti'om  the  tip  of  his  tail  to  the 
point  of  his  beak,  when  dead,  four  feet  seven  inches. 
Ol'all  known  birds,  tlie  eagle  flies  not  only  the  high- 
est, but  also  with  the  greatest  rapidity.  To  this  cir- 
cumstance there  are  several  striking  allusions  in  th.e 
sacred  volume.  Aniouir  the  evils  threatened  to  the 
Israelites  in  case  of  their  disobedience,  the  prophet 
names  one  in  the  following  terms :  "  Tlie  Lord  shall 
bring  a  nation  against  thee  from  far,  from  the  end  of 
the  earth,  as  swift  as  the  eagle  flieth,"  Deut.  xxviii. 
49.  The  march  of  Nebuchadnezzar  against  Jerusa- 
lem, is  predicted  in  the  same  terms:  "Behold,  he 
shall  come  up  as  clotids,  and  his  chariots  as  a  whirl- 
wind: his  horses  are  swifter  than  eagles;"  (Jcr.  iv. 
13.)  as  is  his  invasion  of  IMoab  also:  "For  thus  saith 
the  Lord,  Behold,  he  shall  fly  as  an  eagle,  and  shall 
spread  his  wings  over  Moab  ;"  (chap,  xlviii.  40.)  i.  e. 
he  shall  settle  down  on  the  devoted  country,  as  an 
eagle  over  its  prey.  See,  also,  Lam.  iv.  li) ;  IIos.  viii. 
2  ;^  Ilab.  i.  8. 

The  eagle,  it  is  said,  lives  to  a  gi-eat  age ;  and,  like 
other  birds  of  prey,  sheds  his  feathers  in  the  begin- 


ning of  spring.  After  this  season,  he  appears  with 
fresh  strength  and  vigor,  and  his  old  age  assumes 
the  appearance  of  youth.  To  this  David  alludes, 
when  gratefully  reviewing  the  mercies  of  Jehovah : 
"  Who  satisfieth  thy  mouth  with  good  things,  so  that 
thy  youth  is  renewed  like  the  eagle's  ;"  (J*s.  ciii.  5.) 
as  does  the  prophet,  also,  when  describing  the  reno- 
vating and  quickening  influences  of  the  Spirit  of 
God :  "  They  that  wait  upon  the  Lord  shall  renew 
their  strength  ;  they  shall  mount  up  with  wings  as 
eagles ;  they  shall  run  and  not  be  weary  ;  and  they 
shall  walk  and  not  faint;"  Isa.  xl.  31.  It  has  been 
supposed  that  there  is  an  allusion  to  the  mounting  of 
the  eagle  in  the  prophet's  charge  to  the  people,  to 
mourn  deeply,  because  of  the  judgments  of  God: — 
"  Make  thee  bald,  and  poll  thee  for  thy  delicate  chil- 
dren ;  enlarge  thy  baldness  as  the  eagle  ;"  (Mic.  i.  1(5.) 
but  we  rather  think  that  the  allusion  is  to  the  natural 
baldness  of  some  particular  species  of  this  bird,  as 
that  would  be  far  more  ajipropriate.  The  direction 
of  the  prophet  is  to  a  token  of  mourning,  whicli  was 
usually  assumed  by  making  bald  the  croion  of  the 
head  ;  here,  however,  it  was  to  be  enlarged,  extended, 
as  the  baldness  of  the  eagle.  Exactly  answering  to 
this  idea  is  Mr.  Bruce's  description  of  the  head  of  the 
"  golden  eagle  :"  the  crown  of  his  head  was  bare  or 
bald  ;  so  was  the  front  where  the  bill  and  skull  joined. 
The  meaning  of  the  ])roplict,  therefore,  seems  to  be, 
that  the  people  were  not  to  content  themselves  with 
shaving  the  crown  of  the  head  merely,  as  on  ordina- 
ry occasions,  but,  under  this  special  visitation  of  re- 
tributive justice,  were  to  extend  the  baldness  over 
the  entire  head. 

We  have  to  admire  frequently  the   intimate   ac- 
quaintance which  the  writer  of  the  book  of  Job  dis- 


EAGLE 


[361  ] 


EAR 


plays  with  many  parts  of  animated  nature.  His  ac- 
count of  the  eagle  is  drawn  up  with  great  accuracy 
and  beauty. 

Is  it  at  thy  voice  tliat  the  eagle  soars, 

And  niaketh  his  nest  on  high  ? 

The  rock  is  the  place  of  his  habitation  : 

He  dwells  on  the  crag,  the  place  of  sti'ength. 

Thence  he  pounces  upon  his  prey  ; 

And  his  ej^es  discern  afar  off. 

Even  his  young  ones  drink  do\vn  blood  ; 

And  wherever  is  slaughter,  there  is  he. 

Chap,  xxxix.  27 — 30. 

To  the  last  line  in  this  quotation,  our  Saviour 
seems  to  allude  in  Matt.  xxiv.  28.  "  Wheresoever 
the  carcass  is,  there  will  the  eagles  be  gathered  to- 
gether ;"  that  is,  wherever  the  Jewish  people,  who 
were  morally  and  judicially  dead,  might  be,  there 
would  the  Roman  armies,  whose  standard  was  au 
eagle,  and  whose  strength  and  fierceness  resembled 
that  of  the  king  of  birds,  iu  comparison  with  his 
fellows,  pursue  and  devour  them. 

In  Deut.  xxxii.  11.  there  is  a  beautiful  compari- 
son of  the  care  and  paternal  affection  of  the  Deity 
for  his  people,  with  the  natural  tenderness  of  the 
eagle  for  its  young: 

As  the  eagle  stiiTeth  up  her  nest ; 

Fluttereth  over  her  young ; 

Expandeth  her  plumes,  taketh  them  ; 

Beareth  them  upon  her  wings ; 

So  JehoA'ah  alone  did  lead  him. 

And  there  \Nas  no  strange  god  v'^h  him. 

In  Lev.  xi.  18.  we  read  of  th^'  ''gier  eagle"— Heb. 
an-i,  rdchdm ;  but  being  associated  with  water  birds, 
as  the  swan,  the  pelican.  ^Iie  stork,  &c.  it  has  been 
doubted  whether  any  Amd  of  eagle  is  the  bird  intend- 
ed. Most  interpr^i^ers  are  willing,  after  Bochart,  to 
render  the  ITpftrew  word  rdchdm  by  that  kind  of 
Egyptian  vu)-*ui-e  which  is  nov/  called  rachami,  and 
is  abundapc  in  the  streets  of  Cairo,  Vidhir percnopte- 
rus.  Some  want  a  water- fo wl ;  Dr.  Geddes  trans- 
lates stor'c,  but,  in  his  critical  remarks,  doubts  its  pro- 
priety, without,  however,  determining  for  any  other 
bird.  Perhaps  the  king-fisher,  or  alcyone,  is  the  bird 
intended  by  the  Jewish  legislator,  and  this  opinion  is, 
to  some  extent,  countenanced  by  the  ancient  versions. 
The  tender  affection  of  the  bird,  too,  well  agrees 
with  the  import  of  the  Hebrew  word,  Avhich  is  from 
a  root  signifying  tenderness  and  affection.  See  more 
under  Birds. 

It  must  not  be  concealed,  however,  that  this  opin- 
ion has  its  difficulties;  and  from  a  passage  in  the 
book  of  Proverbs,  (chap.  xxx.  16.)  in  which  the  rdchdm 
is  mentioned,  we  shall,  perhaps,  be  justified  in  con- 
cluding for  some  species  of  the  vulture  kind.  De- 
scribing four  things  which  are  never  satisfied,  the 
sacred  writer  mentions  the  grave,  and  the  ravenous 
rdchdm,  unhappily  rendered  "the  barren  womb,"  in 
our  version.  We  close  these  remarks  with  Hassel- 
quist's  description  of  the  Egyptian  vulture,  to  which 
we  have  before  referred,  and  which  is  thought  by 
many  writers  to  be  the  Hebrew  rdchdm.  "  The  ap- 
pearance of  tlie  bird  is  as  horrid  as  can  well  be  im- 
agined. The  face  is  naked  and  wrinkled,  the  eyes 
are  large  and  black,  the  beak  black  and  crooked, 
the  talons  large  and  extended  ready  for  prey,  an(l 
the  whole  body  polluted  with  filth.  These  are  qual- 
ities enough  to  make  the  beholder  shudder  with 
46 


horror.  Notwithstanding  this,  the  inhabitants  of 
Egj^pt  cannot  be  enough  thankful  to  Providence  for 
this  bird.  All  the  places  round  Cairo  are  filled 
with  the  dead  bodies  of  asses  and  camels;  and 
thousands  of  these  birds  fly  about  and  devour  the 
carcasses,  before  they  putrify,  and  fill  the  air  with 
noxious  exhalations."     See  under  Birds. 

EAR.  "  I  will  uncover  thine  ear,"  is  a  Hebraism, 
by  which  is  meant,  I  will  reveal  something  to  thee, 
1  Sam.  ix.  15 ;  2  Sam.  vii.  27,  inargin.  The  servant 
who  renounced  the  privilege  of  freedom,  in  the  sab- 
batical year,  had  his  ear  pierced  with  an  awl,  in  the 
presence  of  the  judges,  at  his  master's  door,  Exod. 
xxi.  6 ;  Deut.  xv.  17.  This  practice  continued  in 
Syria  to  the  time  of  Juvenal : — 


MoUes  quod  in  aure  fenesti'se, 

Arguerint,  licet  ipse  negem  ? 


Sat.  I. 


"  which  the  soft  slits  in  the  ear  will  prove,  though  I 
myself  should  deny  it."  The  Psalmist  sajs,  in  the 
person  of  the  Messiah,  "  Sacrifice  and  offering  thou 
didst  not  desire ;  mine  ears  hast  thou  opened,"  Ps. 
Ix.  5.  Heb.  Thou  ha."*  digged  my  ears ;  thou  hast 
opened  them,  rcm'-^'ed  impediments  and  made  them 
attentive  ;  i.  (^  i/io"  hast  prepared  me  for  obedience  ; 
or,  thou  ^"^st  pierced  them,  as  those  of  such  ser- 
vant'- were  pierced,  who  chose  to  remain  with  their 
,«dsters.  Paul  reads,  (Heb.  x.  5.)  "a  body  hast  thou 
prepared  for  me ;"  and  thus  the  LXX  and  the  gene- 
rality of  the  ancient  fathers  read  the  passage  ; — 
amounting  to  the  same  sense  as  above.  "  To  have 
lieaAy  ears,"  is  said  of  natural  as  well  as  of  volun- 
tary deafness.  "Make  the  ears  of  this  people  lieaA-j'," 
(Isa.  vi.  10.)  perhaps,  repeat  thy  admonitions  to 
them  till  their  ears  are  tired  of  them ;  or  tell  them 
that  I  will  suffer  them  to  harden  their  hearts,  and 
stop  their  ears  against  my  word.  Scriptui'e  some- 
times says  the  prophets  do  what  they  foretell  only. 
See  Blindness. 

EARING,  an  agricultural  term. 

There  is  a  passage,  (Gen.  xlv.  6.)  which,  if  it  has 
been  occasionally  misunderstood  by  a  I'eader,  may 
be  pardoned : — "  Thei-e  remain  five  years,  in  which 
sliall  be  neither  earing  nor  harvest."  The  fact  is, 
that  earing  is  an  old  English  word  for  ploughing  ; — 
the  original  word  t:'>nn  is  that  generally  rendered 
"  ploughing,"  and  why  it  should  not  be  so  translated 
here  we  cannot  tell,  as  earing  now  suggests  the  idea 
of  gathering  ears  of  corn  after  they  are  arrived  at 
maturity  ;  whereas  Joseph  meaais  to  say,  "  There  shall 
be  neither  ploughing  nor  harvest  during  five  years." 
The  reader  will  perceive  that  this  variation  of  import 
implies  a  totally  different  course  of  natural  phenom- 
ena in  Egypt ;  for  the  Nile  must  have  risen  so  little 
as  to  have  rendered  ploughing  hopeless;  or,  its 
waters  must  have  been  so  abundant,  as  to  have  over- 
flowed the  country  entirely,  and  to  have  annihilated 
the  use  of  the  plough  :  moreover,  if  no  ploughing,  no 
sowing:  that  is,  harvest  was  not  expected;  conse- 
quently it  was  not  prepared  for,  in  respect  of  corn. 
No  doubt  but  the  Nile  was  deficient ;  it  did  not  rise  ; 
the  peasants,  therefore,  did  not  plough  ;  and  to  this 
agrees  the  account  of  an  ancient  author,  that  for  nine 
years  together  the  Nile  did  not  rise  to  half  a  harvest. 
The  same  woid  cTiomA.  occurs,  1  Sam.  viii.  12: — 
"The  king  \^ill  appoint  your  sons,  to  ear  his  ground 
and  to  reap  his  harvest :"  Heb.  to  plough  his  plough- 
ing ;  which  sounds,  to  modern  ears,  at  least,  as  a  very 
distinct  branch  of  agriculture.  We  read,  Exod. 
xxxiv.  21,  "  Six  days  spend  in  labor,  but  on  the  sev- 


EAR 


[  362  ] 


EAR 


enth  day  rest :  in  earing  time  (ploughing  time,  bechd- 
rish)  and  in  harvest  thou  shalt  rest."  And  in  Isa. 
XXX.  24.  "  The  oxen  hkewise,  and  the  young  asses 
whicli  ear  the  ground ;" — but  in  this  place  the  word 
in  the  original  for  ear  is  not,  as  heretofore,  chaiish, 
but  nay,  dbad,  which  signifies  to  labor  in  almost  any 
manner.  On  this  subject  it  should  be  observed,  that 
our  translation  has  used  the  word  earing  in  the  sense 
of  tillage,  general  labor,  labor  of  any  kind,  bestowed 
on  the  gi-ound,  in  Deut.  xxi.  4 :  "  The  elders  shall 
bring  down  the  heifer  into  a  rough  valley,  (ratlier  to 
the  rough  bank  of  a  brook,  or  running  water,)  which 
is  neither  eared  nor  sown" — read,  which  is  not  tilled, 
cultivated  in  any  manner;  literally,  "which  has  no 
cultivation  in  it:" — the  word  is  dbad  here,  also. 
Though,  in  strict  propriety,  these  two  very  distinct 
Hebrew  words  ought  to  have  been  rendered  by  two 
answerable  English  expressions,  equally  distinct  ; 
yet,  these  latter  instances  of  the  word  eanng  may 
satisfy  us  what  was  the  intention  of  our  translators 
when  they  used  it,  to  represent  that  word  which 
should  be  rendered  ploughing ;  that  is,  that  they 
took  it  generally  toi  cultivation  of  any  kind  ;  and 
meant  to  imply  (Gen.  xlv.<^.)  that  Egj'pt  should  be 
five  years  without  any  hopeful  ^^xertions  of  agricul- 
ture. Whether  this  be  accurate,  is  another  question, 
as  certainly  there  may  be  a  cessation  ur  ploughing, 
yet  other  labors  designed  to  promote  ferti'iVy  j^^ay 
be  advanced.  They  meant,  also,  (1  Sam.  viii.  1'a.\  to 
say,  The  king  will  appoint  your  sous  to  till  his  lanut, 
by  some  means  ;  whether  that  means  be  ploughing, 
or  any  other.  It  follows,  that. we  ought  to  make 
very  great  allowances  for  changes  in  our  language 
since  the  time  of  our  translators,  and  not  blame 
them  for  the  use  of  words  iioiv  become  obsolete  ;  but 
which,  in  their  day,  Avell  expressed  their  meaning. 

EAR-RINGS.  We  have  a  passage  in  Gen.  xxxv. 
4.  which  has  been  supposed  capable  of  different 
senses  ;  Jacob  ordered  his  household  to  give  up  the 
"stnsnge  gods  which  were  in  their  hands,  and  all 
their  ear-rings  which  were  in  their  ears  ;" — that  is, 
say  sorne,  in  the  ears  of  the  strange  gods ;  while 
others  with  more  propriety  say,  in  the  ears  of  the 
pp.'Kions  of  Jacob's  family.  To  determine  this  ques- 
tion, we  subjoin  an  instance  of  ear-rings,  which  the 
patriarch  Jacob  would  surely  have  buried  as  deep 
under  ground,  as  he  would  any  other  instrument 
of  superstition  :  it  is  from  Montfau^ou,  Antiq.  Expl. 
vol.  iii.  Supp.  "There  was  discovered  at  Porto, 
when  I  was  at  Rome,  in  a  vault  mider  ground,  which 
was  made  for  the  family  Csesennia,  two  large  stat- 
ues ;  one  of  a  man  di'essed  like  a  senatoi*,  the  other 
of  a  woman,  in  a  Roman  habit,  with  two  gold  pen- 
dants in  her  ears ;  one  with  the  figure  of  Jupiter  on 
it,  the  other  with  that  of  Juno  :  and  also  the  statue 
of  a  little  child,  their  sou.  Aulus  Csesennius  Hermea 
caused  these  statues  to  be  made  for  himself  and  his 
wife  ;  as  the  inscription  infoniis  us,  which  was  found 
near  them. "     See  Amulet. 

The  word  ear-ring  sometimes  occurs  in  the  Eng- 
lish Bible,  when  a  similar  ornament  for  the  nose  is 
rather  intended. 

EARTH.  This  word  is  taken  in  various  senses : — 
(1.)  For  that  gross  element,  which  sustains  and  nour- 
ishes us  ;  which  nourishes  plants,  and  fruit ;  for  the 
continent,  as  distinguished  from  the  sea. — (2.)  For 
that  rude  matter  which  existed  in  the  beginning. 
Gen.  i.  1. — (3.)  For  tlie  terraqueous  glf)be,  and  its 
contents.  Psalm  xxiv.  1  ;  cxv.  Ki. — (4.)  For  the  in- 
habitants of  the  earth,  Gen.  xi.  1.  See  also  vi.  13  ; 
Psalm  xcvl.  1. — (5.)  For  the  empire  of  Chaldea  and 


Assyria,  Ezra  i.  2.  And  (6.)  for  the  land  of  Judea. 
The  restricted  sense  of  this  word  to  Judea  and  the 
region  around  it,  we  apprehend  to  be  more  common 
in  Scripture  than  is  usually  supposed ;  and  this  ac- 
ceptation of  it  has  great  effect  in  elucidating  many 
passages,  where  it  ought  to  be  so  understood. 

To  demand  earth  and  water,  was  a  custom  of  the 
ancient  Persians,  by  which  they  required  a  people 
to  acknowledge  their  dominion ;  Nebuchodonosor, 
in  the  Greek  of  Judith,  (chap.  ii.  7.)  connnauds  Holo- 
fernes  to  march  against  the  people  of  the  West,  who 
had  refused  submission,  and  to  declare  to  them,  that 
they  were  to  prepare  earth  and  water.  Darius  or- 
dered his  envoys  to  demand  earth  and  water  of  the 
Scythians ;  and  Megabysus  required  the  same  of 
Amyutas,  king  of  ^lacedonia,  in  the  name  of  Darius. 
Polybius  and  Plutarch  notice  this  custom  among  the 
Persians.  Some  believe,  that  these  symbolical  de- 
mands denoted  dominion  of  the  earth  and  sea  ; 
others,  that  the  earth  represented  the  food  received 
from  it,  corn  and  fruits  ;  the  water,  drink,  which  is 
the  second  part  of  human  nourishment.  Ecclesias- 
ticus  XV.  16.  in  much  the  same  sense,  says,  "The 
Lord  hath  set  fire  and  water  before  thee ;  stretch 
forth  thy  hand  unto  whether  thou  wilt ;"  and  chap, 
xxxix.  26.  "  Fire  and  water  are  the  most  necessary 
things  to  life."  Fire  and  water  were  considered  by 
the  ancients  as  the  fii-st  principles  of  the  generation, 
birth,  and  presei'vation  of  man.  Proscribed  persons 
were  debarred  from  their  use  ;  as,  on  the  conti'ary, 
^^■*''es  in  their  nuptial  ceremonies  were  obliged  to 
toucli  -,heui. 

Earth,  ju  a  moral  or  spiritual  sense,  is  opposed 
to  heaven  aari  spirit.  "  He  that  is  of  the  earth,  is 
earthy,  and  spt^^keth  of  the  earth :  he  that  cometh 
from  heaven  is  abc^-e  all,"  John  iii.  31.  "If  ye  then 
be  risen  with  Christ,  st>  not  your  affections  on  things 
on  the  earth,"  Col.  ii.  1,  z 

EARTHLY,  EARTHY.  Having  the  affections 
fixed  on  the  affairs  of  this  lifo :  it  is  opposed  to 
heavenly-mindedness,  spiritual,  Jan.  iii.  15  ;  1  Cor. 
XV.  48. 

EARTHQUAKE,  a  convulsion  of  the  earth. 
Scripture  speaks  of  several  earthquakes.  One  of 
the  most  remarkable  is  that  whicli  swallowpd  up 
Korah,  Dathan,  and  Abiram,  Numb.  xvi.  This  was,  i 
no  doubt,  a  miraculous  event ;  hut  whether  the  mil--  I 
acle  consisted  in  the  earthquake  itself,  or  in  the  cir- 
cumstances attending  it,  is  not  clear  ;  possibly  there 
would  have  lieeu  an  earthquake  had  not  Israel  been 
encamped  around  that  spot ;  or  had  not  Korah  re- 
belled ;  but  then  Korah  and  his  associates  would 
have  escaped  from  it ;  that  is,  the  punishment  might 
be  miraculous,  though  tlie  earthquake  were  natural. 
Another  earthquake  is  that  which  happened  in  the 
27th  of  Uzziah  king  of  Judah,  A.  M.  3221,  ante  A. 
D.  783.  This  is  mentioned,  Amos  i.  1  ;  Zecli.  xiv.  5. 
and  in  Josephus,  who  adds,  that  its  violence  divided 
a  mountain,  which  lay  west  of  Jerusalem,  and  drove 
one  part  of  it  four  furlongs  ;  when  it  was  stopjicd  by 
the  wall  on  the  east  of  the  city,  but  not  till  the  earth 
had  closed  up  the  highway,  and  covered  the  king's 
gardens.  A  very  memorable  earthquake  is  that 
which  happened  at  oiu-  Saviour's  death,  (I\Iatt.  xxvii. 
51.)  and  many  have  thought,  that  it  was  perceived 
throughout  the  world.  Others  think  it  was  felt  only 
in  Judea,  or  in  the  temple  at  Jerusalem.  Cyril  of 
Jerusalem  says,  that  tlie  rocks  on  mount  Calvaiy 
were  shown  in  his  time,  which  had  been  rent  asun- 
der by  this  earthquake.  Sandys  and  Maundrell 
testify  the  same;  and  say  that  they  examined  the 


EAS 


[  303  ] 


EAT 


breaches  in  the  rock,  and  were  convinced  tnat  they 
were  effects  of  an  earthqualie.  It  must  have  been 
terrible,  since  the  centurion  and  those  with  him, 
were  so  affected  by  it,  as  to  acknowledge  the  inno- 
cence of  our  Saviour,  Luke  xxiii.  47.  The  word 
earthquake  is  also  used  in  a  more  Uniited  sense,  to 
denote  prodigious  agitations  of  mountains,  shocks  of 
the  foundation  of  the  universe,  effects  of  God's  pow- 
er, Avrath,  and  vengeance, — figurative  exaggerations, 
which  represent  the  greatness,  strength,  and  power 
of  God,  Psalm  civ.  32  ;  xviii.  7  ;  xlvi.  2  ;  cxiv.  4.  It 
sometimes  figuratively  expresses  a  dissolution  of  the 
powei-s  of  government  in  a  country,  or  state,  Rev. 
xvi.  18,  19. 

EAST.  The  Hebrews  express  cast,  west,  north, 
and  south,  by  before,  behind,  left,  and  right ;  accord- 
ing to  the  situation  of  a  man  whose  face  is  turned 
to  the  rising  sun.  Hence  forwards  means  towards 
the  east. 

It  appears  from  many  places  in  the  Old  and  New 
Testaments,  that  the  sacred  writers  called  the  prov- 
inces around  and  beyond  the  Tigris  and  Euphrates, 
(Mesopotamia,  Armenia,  and  Persia,)  Kedem,  or  the 
East.  Moses,  who  was  educated  in  Egypt,  and  lived 
long  in  Arabia,  might  probably  follow  that  custom  ; 
especially  as  Babyloitia,  Chaldea,  Susiana,  Persia, 
much  of  Mesopotamia,  and  the  rivers  Euphrates  and 
Tigris,  are,  for  the  gi-eater  pait  of  their  course,  east 
of  Palestine,  Egj'^pt,  and  Arabia.  Beside  this,  as  those 
who  came  from  Armenia,  Syria,  Media,  and  Upper 
Mesopotamia,  entered  Palestine  and  Egj^pt  on  the 
east  side,  it  was  sufficient  to  wairant  the  Hebrews  in 
saying,  that  these  people  lay  east  of  them  ;  and  that 
these  countries  were  knoAvn  among  the  Hebrews 
under  the  name  of  the  East,  appeai-s  from  several 
passages.  Balaam  says,  (Numb,  xxiii.  7.)  that  Balak, 
king  of  Moab,  had  brought  him  from  the  mountains 
of  the  East ;  i.  e.  from  Pethor  on  the  Euphrates. 
Isaiah  says,  (xli.  2.)  that  Abraham  came  from  the 
East  into  the  land  of  Canaan  ;  and  (xlvi.  11.)  that 
Cyrus  should  come  from  the  East  against  Babylon. 
In  chap.  ix.  12.  he  places  Syria  east  of  Judea.  Dan- 
iel says,  (xi.  44.)  Antiochus  should  be  troubled  with 
news  of  a  revolt  of  the  eastern  provinces  ;  i.  e.  the 
provinces  on  the  other  side  of  the  Euphrates ;  a»^' 
Matthew  says,  that  the  wise  men  who  came  to  "'*^V" 
ship  Jesus,  came  from  tiie  East,  chap.  ii.  1.  ^yl  ""^ 
confirms  the  opinion,  that  in  the  Script'-^  p'^yl^j  the 
East  is  often  used  for  the  provinces  "O'ch  he  easter- 
ly, though  perhaps  inclining  to  o^e  north  of  Judea 
and  of  Eg\'pt.  It  is  remarked  ^^^^^  tl"s  word  m  the 
Greek  of  MatthcAV,  (ii.  1.)  ^-'ves  us  no  certain  jdea  of 
the  countiy  whence  the -^iagi  came  ;  but  it  might  not 
be  so  in  the  original  6yro-Chaldaic  document,  from 
which  perhaps  th^  apostle  copied.  In  that  language, 
a  certain  cour-iT  was  most  probably  determined  by 
this  appellat-^u-  ^^^  know  not  whether  the  Talmud- 
ists  may  'lelp  us  in  thia  instance  ;  but  they  thus 
speak  •  "  fi'om  Rekam  to  the  East,  and  Rekam  itself 
is  p.3  the  East"-  that  is,  excluded  from  the  land  of 
Israel,  eastward,  and  consequently  is  heathen  land  ; 
if,  then,  Rekam  adjoined  the  land  of  Israel,  we  need 
not  go  very  far  to  seek  the  East,  which  adjoined  Re- 
kam. We  may  ask  also  as  to  the  Magi — What  was 
their  Syriac  title  ?  In  the  Gemara  we  have  a  story 
of  an  Arabian  informing  a  Jew  that  the  Messiah  was 
born  : — if  this  were  a  memorial  of  Eastern  Arabia,  it 
may  agree  with  the  country  east  of  Rekam ;  which 
would  not  greatly  differ  from  the  districts  occupied 
by  the  sons  of  Abraham,  and  called  "the  East,"  Gen. 
XXV.  C  ;  Judg.  vi.  3. 


We  read  (Gen.  xi.  1,  2.)  that  mankind  departed 
Irom  Kedem  ;  in  our  translation  "  the  East ;"  upon 
which  there  has  been  much  controversy.  It  would 
be  useless  to  detail  the  various  conjectures  of  learn- 
ed men  as  to  the  situation  of  Kedem.  We  have 
seen  that  there  are  several  districts  in  Scripture  so 
called  ;  some  being  close  to  Syria  ;  but  for  this 
Kedem  we  must  direct  our  researches  to  a  country 
east  of  Babylonia  ;  since  the  inhabitants  of  this  coun- 
try came  thither  after  a  journey  "from  the  East." 
[The  country  here  meant  is,  unquestionably,  that  in 
the  vicinity  of  mount  Ararat,  where  mankind  first 
settled  after  the  deluge.  To  come  from  that  coun- 
try to  Babylonia,  it  was  necessary  to  keep  along  on 
the  east  side  of  the  Median  mountains,  and  then  issue 
at  once  from  the  east  upon  the  plain.  (See  Bryant's 
Mythol.  iii.  p.  24 ;  also  3Ir.  Smith's  letter  under  the 
article  Ararat.)     R. 

EAST  WIND.     See  Wind. 

EASTER.  It  is  no  honor  to  our  translators,  that 
this  word  occurs  in  the  English  Bible,  Acts  xii.  4 ;  it 
should  have  been  passover,  which  feast  of  the  Jews 
we  well  know.  Easter  is  a  word  of  Saxon  origin  ; 
and  imports  a  goddess  of  the  Saxons,  or  rather  of  the 
East,  Estera,  in  honor  of  whom  sacrifices  being  an- 
nually offered  about  the  passover  time  of  the  year, 
(spring,)  the  name  became  attached  by  association 
of  ideas  to  tlie  Christian  festival  of  the  resurrection, 
which  happened  at  the  time  of  the  passover ;  hence 
we  say  Easter-day,  Easter- Sunday,  but  very  improp- 
erly ;  as  we  by  no  means  refer  the  festival  then 
kept  to  the  goddess  of  the  ancient  Saxons.  So  the 
present  German  word  for  Easter,  Ostern,  is  referred 
to  the  same  goddess,  Estera  or  Ostera. 

EATING.  The  ancient  Hebrews  did  not  eat  in- 
differently with  all  persons  ;  they  would  have  esteem- 
ed themselves  polluted  and  dishonored  by  eating 
with  those  of  another  rp-^g'on,  or  of  an  odious  pro- 
fession. In  Joseph''-  i""e  they  neither  ate  with  the 
Egyptians,  nor  t^  Egyptians  with  them  ;  (Gen.  xliii. 
32.)  nor  in  '~^^'  Saviour's  time,  with  the  Samaritans, 
John  iv  ^-  The  Jews  were  scandalized  at  his  eating 
^yjtj,  publicans  and  sinners,  Matt.  ix.  11.  As  there 
were  sevei-al  sorts  of  meats,  the  use  of  which  was 
prohibited,  they  could  not  conveniently  eat  wth 
those  who  partook  of  them,  fearing  to  receive  pollu- 
tion by  touching  such  food,  or  if  by  accident  any 
particles  of  it  should  fall  on  them.     See  Meats. 

At  their  meals,  some  suppose  they  had  each  his 
separate  table ;  and  that  Joseph,  entertaining  his 
brethren  in  Egypt,  seated  them  separately,  each  at 
~his  particular  table,  while  lie  himself  sat  down  sepa- 
rately from  the  Egj  ptians,  who  ate  with  him  ;  but 
he  sent  to  his  brethren  portions  out  of  the  provisions 
which  were  before  him.  Gen.  xliii.  31,  etseq.  Elka- 
nah,  Samuel's  father,  who  had  two  wives,  distributed 
their  portions  to  them  separately,  1  Sam.  i.  4,  5.  In 
Homer,  each  guest  is  supposed  to  have  had  his  little 
table  apart ;  and  the  master  of  the  feast  distributed 
meat  to  each,  Odyss.  xiv.  446  seq.  We  are  assured 
that  this  is  still  practised  in  China;  and  that  many  in 
India  never  eat  out  of  the  same  dish,  nor  on  the 
same  table  with  another  person,  believing  they  can- 
not do  so  without  sin ;  and  this,  not  only  in  their 
own  country,  but  when  travelling,  and  in  foreign 
lands. 

This  is  also  the  case  with  the  Brahmins  and  vari- 
ous castes  in  India  ;  who  will  not  even  use  a  vessel 
after  a  European,  though  he  may  only  have  drank 
from  it  water  recently  drawn  out  of  a  well.  The 
same  strictness  is  observed  by  the  more  scrupulous 


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EATING 


amon<T  the  Mahometans;  and  instances  have  oeen 
known  of  every  plate,  and  dish,  and  cup,  that  had 
been  used  by  Christian  guests,  being  broken  inuue- 
diately  after  their  departure. 

The  ancient  manners  which  we  see  in  Homer,  we 
see  likewise  in  Scripture,  with  regard  to  eating, 
drinking,  and  entertainments.  Tliere  w^as  great 
plenty,  but  little  delicacy  ;  gi-eat  respect  and  honor 
paid  to  the  guests  by  serving  them  plentifully.  Jo- 
seph sent  his  brother  Benjamin  a  portion  five  times 
larger  than  those  of  his  other  brethren.  Samuel 
set  a  whole  quarter  of  a  calf  before  Saul ;  Sam.  ix. 


24.  The  women  did  not  appear  at  table  in  enter- 
tainments with  the  men ;  this  woidd  have  been 
an  indecency ;  as  it  is  at  this  day  throughout  the 
East. 

The  Hebrews  anciently  sat  at  table,  but  afterwards 
imitated  the  Persians  and  Chaldeans,  who  reclined 
on  table-beds,  or  divans,  while  eating.  As  a  knowl- 
edge of  this  fact  is  of  importance  to  a  right  under- 
standing of  several  passages  in  the  New  Testament, 
we  shall  offer  some  remarks  upon  it.  The  accom- 
panying engraving  repi-esents  one  of  the  common 
eating  tables. 


(1.)  The  reader  is  rcc^uested  to  notice  the  construc- 
tion of  the  tables,  i.  e.  tlu«e  tables,  so  set  together 
as  to  form  but  one.  (2.)  Aruv,nd  these  tables  are 
placed,  not  .teats,  but  couches,  or  6eiU^  one  to  each  ta- 
ble ;  each  of  these  beds  being  callea  'Upaum,  three 
of  these  united,  to  surround  the  three  tab'-w^  formed 
the  triclinium  (three  beds.)  These  beds  were  r<-.nied 
of  mattrasscs  stuffed  ;  and  were  often  highly  onic. 
mented.  (3.)  Observe  the  attitude  of  the  guests  ; 
each  reclining  on  his  left  elbow ;  and  therefore  using 


principally  his  right  hand,  that  only  (or  at  least 
chiefly)  being  free  for  use.  Observe  also,  that  the 
feet  of  the  person  reclining  being  towards  the  exter- 
nal edge  of  the  bed,  they  were  much  more  readily 
reached  by  any  body  passing,  than  any  other  part  of 
the  person  so  reclining. 

In  circular  or  crescent-formed  tables,  the  right  ex- 
tremity was  die  first  jilace  of  honor,  and  the  left 
"^'tremity  tlic  second  place  of  honor.  We  may  sup- 
posv.  tjjg  same  of  tlie  square  tricUnium. 


^i5-^v  \  ,,,|k)ii,li:illwilll'l"''''""^*toill(if(/jiii,li;;ii,,,yA 


EATING 


[  365  ] 


EATING 


For  want  of  proper  discriniinatiou  and  description, 
in  respect  to  the  attitude  at  table,  as  before  noticed, 
several  passages  of  the  Gospels  are  not  merely  injur- 
ed as  to  their  true  sense,  but  are  absolutely  reduced 
to  nonsense,  in  our  English  translation.  So  Luke 
vii.  3G  :  "  A  woman  in  the  city  who  was  a  sinner, 
when  she  knew  that  Jesus  sat  at  meat  in  the  phari- 
see's  house,  brought  an  alabaster  box  of  ointment, 
and  stood  at  iiis  foot  behind  him,  weeping;  and  began 
to  wash  his  feel  with  tears,  and  did  wipe  them  with 
tiie  liairs  of  her  head ;  and  kissed  his  feet,  and 
anointed  them  with  the  ointment."  Now,  surely,  when 
a  person  sits  at  meat,  according  to  those  ideas  which 
naturally  suggest  themselves  to  an  English  reader, 
his  feet,  beinjj  on  the  floor  under  the  table,  are  before 
him,  not  behind  him ;  and  the  impossibility  of  any 
one  standing  at  his  feet  behind  him,  and  while  stand- 
ing, kissing  his  feet,  wiping  them,  &c.  is  glaring. 
However,  by  inspecting  the  engraving,  the  narration 
becomes  intelligible  ;  the  feet  of  a  person  recumbent, 
being  outermost,  are  most  exposed  to  salutation,  or  to 
any  other  treatment,  from  one  standing  behind  them. 
The  same  observations  apply  to  John  xii.  3:  "Laza- 
rus was  one  who  reclined  at  table  [uvay.eiuhwr)  with 
Jesus  ;  and  Blary  anointed  the  feet  of  Jesus,"  &c. 

Assisted  by  these  ideas,  we  may  better  understand 
the  history  of  our  Lord's  washing  his  disciples'  feet, 
(John  xiii.  5.)  He  poureth  ivater  into  a  basin,  and  go- 
ing round  the  beds  whereon  the  disciples  reclined, 
he  began  to  tcash  their  feet,  which  lay  on  the  external 
edge  of  the  couch,  and  to  tvipe  them  ivith  the  towel 
ivherewith  he  ivas  girded,  &c.  (verse  12.)  "  after  he  had 
taken  his  garments  and  was  reclined  again,  he 
said,"  &c. 

It  is  not  easy  to  ascertain  precisely  the  form  of  the 
beds  anciently  used  among  the  Persians  ;  but,  by  re- 
garding them  as  something  like  what  our  engravings 
represent,  we  may  see  the  story  of  Haman's  petition- 
ing Esther  for  his  life,  in  nearly  its  true  light.  While 
the  king  went  into  the  garden,  Haman  first  stood  up 
to  entreat  Esther  to  grant  him  his  life  ;  and  being 
desirous  of  using  even  the  most  pathetic  mode  of 
entreaty,  he  fell  prostrate  on  the  bed  where  the 
queen  was  lying  recumbent  ;  theking,  that  instant  re- 
turning, observing  his  attitude,  and  his  nearness  to 
the  queen,  which  was  utterly  contrary  to  female 
modesty,  and  to  royal  dignity,  exclaimed,  ^^What! 
will  he  also  force  the  queen  !  she  being  in  my  company, 
in  the  palace  V  But,  when  Esther  fell  at  the  king's 
feet,  (chap.  viii.  3.)  we  are  to  consider  the  king  as 
seated  on  the  divan,  or  sofa,  in  a  very  diiferent  at- 
titude, and  disposition  of  his  person.     See  Bed. 

This  may  be  a  proper  place  to  notice  the  import  of 
some  other  expressions,  which,  appearing  to  be  simi- 
lar, might  seem  to  infer  the  same  attitude.  So, 
"  Mary  sat  at  Jesus's  feet"  to  hear  his  discourse ; 
while  IMartha  was  cumbered  about  much  serving. 
Martha,  standing  before  Jesus,  said,  "  Lord,  direct  my 
sister  to  help  me,"  but  Mary  was  sitting  at  the  feet  of 
Jesus,  close  to  the  divan  on  which  he  sat ;  where  we 
see  clearly  that  both  the  sisters,  one  standing,  the 
other  sitting,  might  be  before  Jesus,  as  he  sat  on  the 
divan.     Sec  Bed 

It  would  be  perhaps  overstraining  these  remarks, 
to  apply  them  to  some  of  those  shghter  incidents 
which  sacred  history  has  recorded  ;  it  is  nevertheless 
proper  to  notice,  how  justly  John  might  be  said  to 
"lie  in  Jesus's  bosom"  (John  xiii.  23.)  at  the  supper 
table.  Is  it  supposable,  from  circumstances,  that  our 
Lord  was  not  in  the  chief  place  of  honor,  (according 
to  the  Greeks,  the  right  extremity  of  the  triclinium,) 


as  such  a  person  could  not  have  any  one  lymg  in  hk 
bosom;  or  is  it  probable  that  the  Jews  esteemed 
some  other  part,  perhaps  the  left  extremity,  as  the 
place  of  honor  ?  It  is  certain  that  the  Turks  and 
Chinese  do  so. 

The  tables  which  the  Jews  are  represented  as  pu- 
rifying by  washing,  (Mark  vii.  ^,  are  these  kind  of 
beds,  (j^Ana;.)— purifying,  as  if  they  had  been  polluted 
by  the  recumbence  of  strangers ;  unless  it  were  cus- 
tomaiy,  as  in  point  of  neatness  it  ought  to  be  to 
wash  the  tables  after  every  meal,  and  before  they 
received  guests  again.  This,  however,  could  not 
extend  to  the  bolsters  and  pillows,  as  they  could  not 
be  made  sufiicieutly  dry  to  receive  guests,  in  so  short 
a  time  as  intervened  between  one  meal  and  another. 

[The  mode  of  reclining  at  table  on  couches  was 
common  in  the  East,  and  also  among  the  Greeks 
and  Romans.  The  general  character  of  these  meals 
appears  to  have  been  the  same  in  the  latter  nations 
and  among  the  Hebrews,  and  may  be  found  described, 
with  references  to  the  necessaiy  classical  authorities, 
in  Potter's  Greek  Antiquities,  vol.  ii.  p.  375,  seq.  and 
Adam's  Rom.  Antiq.  Philad.  1807.  p.  434,  «eq.  It 
was  at  a  later  period,  under  the  emperors,  that  the 
semicircular  couch,  above  represented,  was  intro- 
duced. In  still  later  times,  the  custom  was  adopted 
which  still  prevails  in  the  East,  of  sitting  or  rechn- 
ing  on  the  floor  at  meat,  and  at  other  times  on 
cusliions,  etc. 

The  jjiesent  mode  of  eating  in  the  East  is  sho^v^l 
in  the  following  extracts  from  travellers.  Dr.  Jow- 
ett,  while  on  a  visit  to  Deir  el  Kamr,  not  far  from 
Beyroot,  has  the  following  remarks :  (Chr.  Research- 
es in  Syria,  &c.  p.  210.  Amer.  ed.)  "  To  witness  the 
daily  family  habits,  in  the  house  in  which  I  lived  at 
Deir  el  Kamr,  forcibly  reminded  me  of  Scripture 
scenes.  The  absence  of  the  females  at  our  meals  has 
been  already  noticed.  There  is  another  custom,  by  no 
means  agreeable  to  a  European  ;  to  which,  however, 
that  I  might  not  seem  unfriendly,  I  would  have  will- 
ingly endeavored  to  submit,  but  it  was  impossible  to 
learn  it  in  the  short  compass  of  a  twenty  days'  visit. 
There  are  set  on  the  table,  in  the  evening,  two  or 
three  messes  of  stewed  meat,  vegetables,  and  sour 
milk.  To  me,  the  privilege  of  a  knife  and  spoon 
and  plate  was  granted  :  but  the  rest  all  helped  them- 
selves immediately  from  the  dish  ;  in  which  it  was 
no  imcommon  thing  to  see  more  than  five  Arab 
fingers  at  one  time.  Their  bread,  which  is  extremely 
thin,  tearing  and  folding  up  like  a  sheet  of  paper,  is 
used  for  the  purpose  of  rolling  together  a  large 
mouthful,  or  sopping  up  the  fluid  and  vegetables. 
But  the  practice  which  was  most  revolting  to  me 
was  this :  when  the  master  of  the  house  found  in 
the  dish  any  dainty  morsel,  he  took  it  out  with  his 
fingers,  and  applied  it  to  my  month.  This  was  true 
Syrian  courtesy  and  hospitality  ;  and,  had  I  been  suf- 
ficiently well-bred,  my  mouth  would  have  opened  to 
receive  it.  On  my  pointing  to  my  plate,  however, 
he  had  the  goodness  to  deposit  the  choice  morsel 
there.  I  would  not  have  noticed  so  trivial  a  circum- 
stance, if  it  did  not  exactly  illustrate  what  the  Evan- 
gelists record  of  the  Last  Supper.  St.  Matthew 
relates  that  the  traitor  was  described  by  our  Lord 
in  these  terms — He  that  dippeth  his  hand  tvith  me  in 
the  dish,  the  same  shall  betray  me,  xxvi.  23.  From 
this  it  maj'  be  inferred  that  Judas  sat  near  to  our 
Lord ;  perhaps  on  one  side  next  to  him.  St.  John, 
who  was  leaning  on  Jesus's  bosom,  describes  the 
fact  with  an  additional  circumstance.  Upon  hisask- 
iiig.  Lord,  who  is  it  ?  Jesus  answered.  He  it  is  to  whom, 


EATING 


[  366  ] 


ECB 


I  shall  give  a  sop,  ivhen  I  have  dipped  it.  And  when 
he  had  dipped  the  sop,  he  gave  it  to  Judas  Iscariot,  the 
son  of  Simon.  And  after  the  sop,  Satan  entered  into 
him,  xiii.  25 — 27. 

Niebuhr's  account  is  as  follows:  (Descr.  of  Arabia, 
p.  52.)  "The  table  of  the  orientals  is  arranged  ac- 
cording to  their  mode  of  living.  As  they  always  sit 
upon  the  floor,  a  large  cloth  is  spread  out  in  the  mid- 
dle of  the  room  upon  the  floor,  in  order  that  the  bits 
and  crumbs  may  not  be  lost,  or  the  carpets  soiled. 
[On  journeys,  especially  m  the  deserts,  the  place  of 
this  cloth  is  supplied  by  a  round  piece  of  leather, 
which  the  traveller  carries  with  him.  Travels  ii.  p. 
372.]  Upon  tliis  cloth  is  placed  a  small  stool,  which 
serves  as  a  support  for  a  large  i-ound  tray  of  tinned 
copper ;  on  this  the  food  is  served  up  in  various 
small  dishes  of  copper,  well  tinned  within  and  with- 
out. Among  the  better  class  of  Arabs,  one  fiiids, 
instead  of  napkins,  a  long  cloth,  which  extends  to  all 
who  sit  at  table,  and  which  they  lay  upon  their  laps. 
AVhere  this  is  wanting,  each  one  takes,  instead  of  a 
napkin,  his  own  handkerchief,  or  rather  small  towel, 
which  he  always  carries  with  him  to  wipe  himself 
with  after  washing.  Knives  and  forks  are  not  used. 
The  Turks  sometimes  have  spoons  of  wood  or  horn. 
The  Arabs  are  so  accustomed  to  use  tlie  hand  instead 
of  a  spoon,  that  they  can  do  without  a  spoon  even 
when  eating  bread  and  milk  prepared  in  the  usual 
manner.  Other  kinds  of  food,  such  as  we  commonly 
eat  with  a  spoon,  I  do  not  remember  to  have  seen. 

"  It  is,  indeed,  at  first,  very  unpleasant  to  an  Euro- 
pean, just  arrived  in  the  East,  to  eat  with  people 
who  help  themselves  to  the  food  out  of  the  common 
dish  with  their  fingers;  but  this  is  easily  got  over, 
after  one  has  become  acquainted  with  their  mode  of 
life.  As  the  Mohammedans  are  required,  by  their 
i-eligion,  very  often  to  wash  themselves,  it  is  there- 
fore even  on  this  account  probable,  that  their  cooks 
prepare  their  food  with  as  much  cleanliness  as  those 
of  Europe.  The  Mohammedans  are  even  obliged  to 
keep  their  uails  cut  so  short,  that  no  impurity  can 
collect  under  them  ;  for  they  believe  their  prayers 
would  be  without  any  effect,  if  there  should  be  the 
least  iniinn'ity  upon  any  part  of  the  body.  And 
since,  now,  before  eating,  they  always  wash  them- 
selves carefullj-,  and  generally  too  with  soap,  it 
comes  at  length  to  seem  of  less  consequence  wheth- 
er they  help  themselves  from  the  dish  with  clean 
fingers,  or  with  a  fork. 

"Among  the  sheikhs  of  the  desert,  who  require 
at  a  meal  nothing  more  than  pillau,  i.  e.  boiled  rice,  a 
very  large  wooden  dish  is  brought  on  full ;  and 
around  this  one  party  after  another  set  themselves,  till 
the  dish  is  emptied,  or  they  are  satisfied.  In  Merdiu, 
where  I  once  ate  with  sixteen  oflicers  of  the  Wai- 
wodc,  a  servant  placed  himself  between  the  guests, 
and  had  nothing  to  do,  but  to  take  away  the  empty 
dishes,  and  set  down  the  full  ones  which  other  ser- 
vants brought  in.  As  soon  as  ever  the  dish  was  set 
down,  all  the  sixteen  hands  were  immediately  thrust 
into  it ;  and  that  to  so  nnich  purpose,  that  rarely 
could  any  one  help  himself  three  times.  They  eat, 
in  the  East,  with  very  great  rapidity  ;  and  at  this  meal 
in  Merdin,  in  the  time  of  about  twenty  minutes,  we 
sent  out  more  than  fourteen  empty  dishes."    *R. 

In  closing  this  subject,  we  may  properly  notice 
the  obligations  which  are  considered  by  eastern  peo- 
ple to  be  contracted  by  eating  together.  Niebuhr 
says,  "When  a  Jiedouin  slicikli  eats  bread  with 
strangers,  they  may  trust  liis  fidelity  and  depend  on 
his  protection. A  traveller  will  always  do  well, 


therefore,  to  take  an  early  opportunity  of  securing  the 
friendship  of  his  guide  by  a  meal."  The  reader  will 
recollect  the  complaint  of  the  Psalmist,  (xh.  9.)  pen- 
etrated with  the  deep  ingratitude  of  one  whoin  he 
describes  as  having  been  his  own  familiar  friend,  in 
whom  he  trusted — "who  did  eat  of  my  bread,  even  he 
hath  lifted  up  his  heel  against  me  !"  To  the  morti- 
fication of  insult  was  added  the  violation  of  all  con- 
fidence, the  breach  of  every  obligation  connected 
with  the  ties  of  humanity,  with  the  laws  of  honor, 
with  the  bonds  of  social  life,  with  the  unsuspecting 
freedom  of  those  moments  when  the  soul  unbends 
itself  to  enjoyment,  and  is,  if  ever,  off"  its  guard. 
Under  the  article  Covenant  of  Salt,  we  saw  the 
obhgation  contracted  by  the  participation  of  bread 
and  salt ;  we  now  find,  that  among  the  Arabs,  at  least, 
the  friendship  and  protection  implied  attaches  no 
less  to  bread.  Hence,  in  part,  no  doubt,  the  convivi- 
ality that  always  followed  the  making  of  a  covenant. 
Hence,  also,  the  severity  of  some  of  the  feeUngs  ac- 
knowledged by  the  indignant  man  of  patience,  Job, 
as  appears  in  several  passages  of  his  pathetic  expos- 
tulations. It  is  well  known  that  Arabs,  who  have 
given  food  to  a  stranger,  have  afterwards  thought 
themselves  bound  to  protect  him  against  the  ven- 
geance, demanded  by  consanguinity,  for  even  blood 
itself. 

EBAL,  a  mountain  in  Ephraim,  near  Shechem, 
over  against  mount  Gerizim,  from  which  it  is  sepa- 
rated by  a  valley  of  about  two  hundred  paces  wide, 
in  which  stands  the  town  of  Shechem.  Both  moun- 
tains are  much  alike  in  length,  height,  and  form,  and 
their  altitude  is  stated  by  3Ir.  Buckingham  not  to  ex- 
ceed 700  or  800  feet,  from  the  level  of  the  valley. 
But  if  they  are  alike  in  these  particulars,  in  others 
they  are  very  unlike  ;  for  Ebal  is  barren,  while 
Gerizim  is  beautiful  and  fruitful.  The  Jews  and 
Samaritans  have  great  disputes  about  tliem.  (See 
Gerizim.)  Moses  commanded  Israel,  that  as  soon 
as  they  had  passed  the  Jordan,  they  should  go  to 
Shechem,  and  divide  into  two  bodies,  each  compos- 
ed of  six  tribes,  one  placed  on,  that  is,  adjacent  to, 
Ebal ;  the  other  on,  that  is,  adjacent  to,  Gerizim. 
The  six  tribes  on,  or  at,  Gerizim,  were  to  pronounce 
blessings  on  those  who  should  faithfully  oliserve  the 
law  ;  and  the  six  on  mount  Ebal,  were  to  pronounce 
curses  against  those  who  shoidd  violate  it,  Deut. 
xxvii.  This  Joshua  executed.  Josh.  viii.  30,  31. 
Moses  enjoined  them  to  erect  an  altar  of  unhewn 
stones  on  mount  Ebal,  and  to  plaster  them  over,  that 
the  law  miglit  be  written  on  the  altar ;  but  the  Sa- 
maritan Pentateuch,  instead  of  Ebal  reads  Gerizim ; 
because  the  altar  and  sanctuary  of  the  Samaritans 
were  there.     See  Shechem. 

EBED-MELECH,  a  eunuch  or  servant  of  king 
Zedekiah,  who  being  informed  that  Jeremiah  was 
imprisoned  in  a  place  full  of  mire,  informed  the  king 
of  it,  and  was  the  means  of  his  restoration  to  safety, 
though  not  to  liberty.  For  this  Inmianity  he  was 
promised  divine  protection,  and  after  the  city  was 
taken  by  Nelnizaradan  he  was  preserved,  Jeremiah 
xxxviii.  7. 

EBEN-EZER,  sto7ie  of  help,  a  witness  stone 
erected  by  Samuel,  of  divine  assistance  obtained,  1 
Sam.  vii.  12. 

EBER,  see  Heber. 

EBODA,  a  to^^'n  in  Arabia  Petrtea.  Probably 
Oboda,  or  Oboth,  Numb.  xxi.  10  ;  xxxiii.  43,  44. 

ECBATANA,  the  ancient  capital  of  Media,  built, 
or,  perhaps,  enlarged  and  fortified,  by  Dejoces,  or 
Arphaxad,  fourth  king  of  the  Medes.     It  was  en- 


ECL 


[  367  ] 


EDE 


compassed  with  seven  walls,  of  unequal  heiglita; 
the  largest,  according  to  Herodotus,  (lib.  i.  cap.  98.) 
was  equal  in  extent  with  those  of  Athens  ;  tliat  is, 
178  furlongs,  or  nearly  eight  leagues,  (Thucyd.  lil).  i.) 
After  the  union  of  Media  with  Persia,  Ecbatana  be- 
came tlic  summer  residence  of  the  kings  of  Persia, 
because  of  the  freshness  of  the  air.  It  still  subsists, 
under  the  name  of  Hamadan,  in  lat.  34°  53'  N.  long. 
40°  E.  Its  inhabitants  are  stated  by  Mr.  Kinnier  to 
be  about  40,000,  including  about  GOO  Jewish  families. 
It  is  supposed  to  be  mentioned  under  the  name  of 
Achmetha,  Ezra  vi.  2. 

ECCLESIASTES.  This  word  is  feminine  in 
the  Hebrew,  and  literally  signifies,  one  who  speaks  in 
public ;  or,  one  tvho  convenes  the  assembly.  The 
Greeks  and  Latins,  not  regarding  the  gender,  render 
it  Ecclesiastes,  an  orator,  one  who  speaks  in  pid)lic. 
Solomon  descrii)es  himself  in  the  first  verse,  "The 
words  of  Koheleth,  [Eng.  Vers,  'the  Preacher,']  the 
sou  of  David,  king  of  Jerusalem."  He  mentions  his 
works,  his  riches,  his  buildings,  and  his  proverbs,  or 
parables,  and  that  he  was  the  wisest  and  happiest  of 
all  kings  in  Jerusalem  ;  which  description  plainly 
characterizes  Solomon.  This  book  is  generally 
thought  to  be  the  production  of  Solomon's  repent- 
ance, towards  the  latter  end  of  his  hfe.  It  proposes 
the  sentiments  of  the  Sadducees  and  Epicureans  in 
their  full  force  ;  proves  excellently  the  vanity  of  all 
things ;  the  little  benefit  of  men's  restless  and  busy 
cares,  and  the  uncertainty  of  their  knowledge  ;  but 
concludes,  "  Let  us  hear  the  conclusion  of  the  whole 
matter :  Fear  God,  and  keep  his  commandments,  for 
this  is  the  whole  of  man."  In  this  all  his  obligations 
terminate  ;  this  is  his  only  means  to  happiness,  pres- 
ent and  future.  In  reading  this  book,  care  should  be 
taken  not  to  deduce  opinions  from  detached  senti- 
ments, but  from  the  general  scope  and  combined 
force  of  the  whole. 

ECCLESIASTICUS,  a  book  so  called  in  Latin, 
cither  to  distinguish  it  from  Ecclesiastes,  or  to  show 
that  it  contains,  as  well  as  that,  precepts  and  exhor- 
tations to  wisdom  and  virtue.  The  Greeks  call  it 
"  The  Wisdom  of  Jesus,  the  Son  of  Sirach."  It  con- 
tains maxims  and  instructions,  useful  in  all  states  and 
conditions  of  life.  Some  of  the  ancients  ascribed 
this  work  to  Solomon  ;  but  the  author  is  much  more 
modern  than  Solomon,  and  speaks  of  several  persons 
who  lived  aller  that  prince.  He  mentions  himself  in 
chap.  i.  27  :  "  I,  Jesus,  the  son  of  Sirach,  have  writ- 
ten in  this  book  the  instruction  of  understanding  and 
knowledge."  Chap.  li.  is  inscribed,  "  A  prayer  of 
Jesus,  the  son  of  Sirach."  The  interpreter  of  it  out 
of  Syriac  or  Hebrew  into  Greek,  says,  that  his 
grandfather  Jesus  composed  it  in  Hebrew  ;  I)ut  we 
have  no  authentic  information  who  he  was,  nor 
when  he  lived.  He  praises  the  high-priest  Simon, 
and  speaks  of  him  as  not  then  living :  but  there  were 
more  high-priests  than  one  of  this  name.  Neverthe- 
less, it  is  probable,  he  means  Simon  11.  after  whose 
death  those  calamities  befell  the  Jews,  which  might 
induce  the  son  of  Sirach  to  speak  as  he  does,  chap. 
xxxvi.  and  1.  The  translator  of  it  into  Greek  came 
into  Egypt  in  the  thirty -eighth  year  of  Ptolemy  VII. 
sm-namcd  Euergetes,  the  second  of  that  name ;  as 
he  says  in  his  preface.  The  author  of  the  Latin 
translation  from  the  Greek  is  mdinown.  Jerome 
says,  the  church  receives  Ecclesiasticus  for  edifica- 
tion, l)nt  not  to  authorize  any  point  of  doctrine. 

ECDU^PA,  otherwise  Aclizib,  which  see. 

ECLIPSE.  The  Hebrews  seem  not  to  have  phi- 
losophized much  on  eclipses,  which  they  considered 


as  sensible  marks  of  God's  anger.  See  Joel  ii.  10, 
31 ;  iii.  1.5 ;  Job  ix.  7.— Kzekiel  (xxxii.  7.)  and  Job 
(xxxvi.  32.)  speak  more  particularly,  that  God  covers 
the  sun  with  clouds,  wlien  he  deprives  the  eartli  of 
its  light,  by  eclipses.  Yet,  when  we  read  that  "the 
sun  shall  be  turned  into  darkness ;  and  the  moon  in- 
to blood,"  we  can  hardly  avoid  discernino-  an  ac- 
quaintance with  the  appearance  of  those  huninaries 
while  under  eclipse.  The  interruption  of  the  sun's 
light  causes  him  to  appear  black  ;  and  the  moon  dur- 
ing a  total  eclipse  exliibits  a  copper  color ;  or  what 
Scripture  intends  by  a  blood  color.     See  Daukxess. 

ED,  ivitness,  the  name  given  to  the  altar  erected 
by  the  two  tribes  and  a  half,  who  were  settled  l)e- 
yond  Jordan,  Josh.  xxii.  34.  It  was  probably  a 
copy  or  repetition  of  that  which  was  used  among 
the  Hebrews,  their  brethren,  and  it  was  built  to  zvit- 
ness  to  posterity  the  interest  of  these  tribes  in  the 
altar  conunon  to  the  descendants  of  the  patriarch 
Israel. 

I.  EDEN,  a  province  in  Asia,  in  which  was  para- 
dise. "The  Lord  planted  eastward  a  garden,  pja  j.?, 
t?i  Eden,  and  there  he  put  the  man  whom  he  had 
formed,"  Gen.  ii.  8.  The  topography  of  Eden  is 
thus  described  :  "  And  a  river  went  out  of  Eden  to 
water  the  garden,  and  from  thence  it  was  parted,  and 
became  into  four  heads.  The  name  of  the  first  is 
Pison ;  that  is  it  which  compasseth  the  whole  land 
of  Ilavilah,  where  is  gold  . . .  bdelliimi,  and  tlie  onyx- 
stone.  And  the  name  of  the  second  river  is  Gihon ; 
the  same  is  it  that  compasseth  the  whole  land  of 
Cush.  And  the  name  of  the  third  river  is  Ilidde- 
kel ;  that  is  it  which  goeth  toward  the  east  of  Assyria. 
And  the  fourth  river  is  Euphrates,"  ver.  10 — 14. 

There  is  hardlj'  any  part  of  the  world  in  ^vhich  it 
has  not  been  sought :  in  Asia,  in  Africa,  in  Europe, 
in  America ;  in  Tartary,  on  the  banks  of  the  Gan- 
ges, in  the  Indies,  in  China,  in  the  island  of  Ceylon, 
in  Armenia ;  under  the  equator ;  in  Mesopotamia,  in 
Syria,  in  Persia,  in  Babylonia,  in  Arabia,  in  Palestine, 
in  Ethiopia,  among  the  Mountains  of  the  IMoon  ;  near 
the  mountains  of  Libanus,  Antilibanus,  and  Damas- 
cus. Iluet  places  it  on  the  river  produced  by  the 
junction  of  the  Tigris  and  Euphrates,  now  called  the 
river  of  the  Arabs  ;  below  this  conjunction  and  the 
division  of  the  same  river,  before  it  falls  into  the 
Persian  sea.  He  selects  the  eastern  shore  of  this 
river,  which  being  considered  according  to  the  dis- 
position of  its  channel,  and  not  according  to  the 
course  of  its  stream,  was  divided  into  four  heads,  or 
four  different  openings,  that  is,  two  upwards,  the 
Tigris  and  Euphrates,  and  two  below,  the  Pison  and 
Gilion.  The  Pison,  according  to  him,  is  the  western 
channel,  and  the  Gihon  is  the  eastern  channel  of  the 
Tigris,  which  discharges  itself  into  the  Persian  gulf. 
It  is  said  that  liochart  was  nnich  of  the  same  opin- 
ion. (Phaleg.  lib.  i.  cap.  4  ;  De  Anim.  Sacr.  part  ii. 
lib.  V.  cap.  vi.)  Other  skilful  men  have  placed  Eden 
in  Armenia,  between  the  sources  of  the  rivei's,  (1.) 
Tigris,  (2.)  Euphrates,  (3.)  Araxis,  (4.)  Phasis,  taken 
to  be  the  four  rivers  described  by  Moses.  Euphra- 
tes is  expressly  mentioned  ;  Hiddekel  is  the  Tigris  ; 
the  Phasis  is  Pison  ;  the  Gihon  is  the  Araxes. 

The  orientals  thuik,  that  the  terrestrial  paradise 
was  in  the  island  of  Serendib,  or  Ceylon  ;  and  that 
when  Adam  was  driven  out  of  paradise,  he  was  sent 
to  the  mountain  of  Rahoim  in  this  island,  two  or 
three  days'  journey  from  the  sea.  The  Portuguese 
call  this  mountain  Pico  de  Adamo,  nr  iiioiintain  of 
Adam,  because  it  is  thought  that  this  first  of  men 
was  buried  under  it,  after  he  had  lived  in  repentance 


EDEN 


[  368  ] 


EGL 


a  hundred  and  thirty  years.  The  Mussulmans  do 
not  believe  that  the  paradise,  in  which  Adam  was 
placed,  was  terrestrial,  but  that  it  was  in  one  of  the 
seven  heavens  ;  and  that  from  this  heaven  he  was 
thrown  down  into  the  island  of  Ceylon,  where  he 
died,  after  having  made  a  pilgrimage  into  Arabia, 
where  he  visited  the  place  appointed  for  building 
the  temple  of  Mecca. — They  say  also,  that  when  God 
created  the  garden  of  Eden,  he  created  there  what 
the  eye  had  never  seen,  the  ear  has  never  heard,  and 
what  has  never  entered  into  the  heart  of  man  to  con- 
ceive. That  this  delicious  garden  has  eight  doors ; 
whereas  hell  has  but  seven :  and  that  the  porters 
which  have  the  care  of  them  are  to  let  none  enter 
before  the  learned,  who  make  a  profession  of  despis- 
ing earthly,  and  of  desiring  heavenly,  things. 

The  orientals  reckon  four  paradises  in  Asia.  (1.) 
About  Damascus,  in  Syria.  (2.)  About  Obollah  in 
Chaldea.  (3.)  About  the  desert  of  Naoubendigian  in 
Persia,  in  a  place  called  Sheb-Baovan,  watered  by 
the  Nilab.  And  lastly,  in  the  isle  of  Ceylon,  or  Se- 
rendib.  We  may  perceive  from  hence,  that  the 
opinion  which  places  the  terrestrial  paradise  about 
Damascus,  and  near  the  sources  of  the  Jordan,  is  no 
novel  opinion,  nor  peculiar  to  European  writers — 
Heidegger  in  the  Lives  of  the  Patriarchs,  M.  le  Clerc, 
father  Abraham,  and  father  Hardouin,  having  main- 
tained it. 

It  may  be  inferred  from  a  number  of  circum- 
stances, that  paradise  was  placed  on  a  mountain,  or  at 
least  in  a  country  diversified  with  hills,  because  only 
such  a  country  could  supply  the  springs  necessary 
to  form  four  heads  of  rivers  ;  and  because  all  heads 
of  rivers  rise  in  hills,  from  whence  their  waters  de- 
scend to  the  sea.  Such  a  country  has  been  found 
in  Armenia,  Avith  such  an  elevation,  or  assemblage 
of  elevations,  also,  as  appeared  to  be  requisite  for 
the  purpose.  On  these  principles,  the  Phasis  was  the 
P'lson  of  Moses,  and  the  similarity  of  sound  in  the 
name  seemed  to  confirm  the  opinion ;  it  was  a  nat- 
ural consequence,  that  the  Araxes  should  be  the 
Gihon ;  since  its  waters  are  extremely  rapid,  and  the 
Greek  name  Araxes,  like  the  Hebrew  Gihon,  denotes 
the  dart,  or  sivifl.  [A  full  and  satisfactory  discussion 
in  favor  of  this  theory  is  given  by  Prof.  Stuart  in 
his  Hebrew  Cln-estomathy,  on  Gen.  ii.  14,  sq.    R. 

Such  were  the  principles  most  generally  enter- 
tained among  the  learned  ;  when  captain  Wilford 
came  forth  from  his  study  of  the  Indian  Puranas, 
opened  what  was  at  least  a  new  source  of  informa- 
tion, and  placed  Eden  on  the  Imaus  mountains  of 
India.  (Asiatic  Researches,  vol.  vi.  p.  455. — Lond. 
edit.)     We  give  his  closing  remarks  : — 

"  It  appears  from  Scripture,  that  Adam  and  Eve 
lived  afterwards  in  the  coimtrics  to  the  eastward  of 
Eden  ;  for  at  the  eastern  entrance  of  it,  God  placed 
the  angel  with  the  flaming  sword.  This  is  also  con- 
firmed ijy  the  Purunics,  who  place  the  progenitors 
of  mankind  on  the  mountainous  regions  between 
Cahul  and  the  Ganges,  on  the  banks  of  which,  in  the 
hills,  they  show  a  j)lace  where  he  resorted  occasion- 
ally for  religious  purposes.  It  is  frequented  by  pil- 
grims, and  is  called  Swayambhuvasthan :  I  have  not 
been  able  yet  to  ascertain  its  situation,  being  but 
lately  acquainted  with  it ;  but  I  believe  it  is  situated 
to  the  north-west  of  Sri-Nagar.  At  the  entrance  of 
the  passes,  leading  to  the  j)lace  where  I  suppose  was 
the  garden  of  Eden,  and  to  the  eastward  of  it,  the 
Hindus  have  placed  a  destroying  ang(!l,  who  gener- 
ally appears,  and  is  represented  like  a  cherub  ;  I 
mean  Garudfa,  or  the  Eagle,  upon  whom  Vishnu  and 


Jupiter  are  represented  riding.  Garud'a  is  repre- 
sented generally  like  an  eagle  ;  but  in  his  compound 
character,  somewhat  like  the  cherub,  he  is  represent- 
ed like  a  young  man,  with  the  countenance,  wings, 
and  talons  of  the  eagle.  In  Scripture,  the  Deity  is 
represented  riding  upon  a  cherub,  and  flying  upon 
the  wings  of  the  wind.  Garud'a  is  called  Vahan 
(literally  <Ae  vehicle)  of  Vishnu  or  Juj^iter,  and  he  thus 
answers  to  the  cherub  of  Scripture  ;  for  many  com- 
mentators derive  this  word  from  the  obsolete  root 
Charah  in  the  Chaldean  language,  a  woi-d  implicitly 
synonymous  with  the  Sanscrit  Vahan." 

Mr.  Taylor  has  bestowed  much  labor  on  an  ex- 
amination of  this  hypothesis,  and  declares  himself 
to  be  favorable  to  it.  We  give  his  concluding  ob- 
servations : — 

The  situation  of  Paradise,  in  Armenia,  where  the 
heads  of  the  Euphrates  and  Tigris  spring,  where  the 
head  of  the  Araxes,  and  a  branch  of  the  Phasis,  rise 
not  very  distant  from  each  other,  according  to  the 
best  accounts  we  are  able  to  procure  of -that  country, 
(which,  however,  are  not  altogether  satisfactorj^,)  has 
many  plausibilities  in  its  favor.  Nevertheless,  there 
is  this  to  be  said  against  it,  that  mankind  could  not 
journey  f?-om  the  East  to  Babylon,  if  Armenia  were 
the  seat  of  Noah's  deliverance  ;  and  if  that  seat  were 
adjacent  to  Paradise,  as  we  have  uniformly  suppos- 
ed. But  the  situation  of  Paradise  on  the  Indian 
Caucasus,  or  Imaus  mountains,  imites  all  those  re- 
quisites which  are  deemed  necessary  coincidences 
with  the  Mosaic  narration.  Mountains  furnish  the 
soiu-ccs  of  rivers ;  many  great  rivers  rise  in  these 
mountains.  Paradise  furnished  four  rivers ;  four 
rivers  rise  in  these  mountains,  in  a  vicinity  sufiiciept- 
ly  near,  though  not  now  from  the  same  lake.  Man- 
kind travelled  frojn  the  East  to  Babylon  ;  these 
mountains  are  east  of  Babylonia.  [But  for  the  proper 
meaning  of  the  East,  and  of  the  phrase  travelled  from 
the  East,  see  the  article  East,  and  also  the  letter  of 
Mr.  Smith  under  the  article  Ararat.   R. 

II.  EDEN.  The  prophet  Amos  (chap.  i.  5.)  speaks 
of  the  "House  of  Eden,"  or  "Beth-Eden,"  which  is 
thought  to  have  been  a  house  of  pleasure  in  the 
mountains  of  Lebanon,  near  to  the  river  Adonis,  and 
about  midway  between  Tripoli  and  Baalbek 

EDER,  a  town  of  Judah,  Josh.  xv.  21. 

EDOM,  red,  earthy,  or  of  blood,  otherwise  Esau, 
son  of  Isaac,  and  brother  of  Jacob.  The  name  Edom 
was  given  him,  either  because  he  sold  his  birthright 
to  Jacob  for  a  mess  of  red  pottage,  or  because  of  the 
color  of  his  hair  and  complexion.  Gen.  xxv.  25,  30. 
Idumeea  is  named  from  Edom,  and  is  often  called 
the  land  of  Edom.     See  Esau  and  Ibvmjea. 

EDOMITES.     See  Idum.sa. 

I.  EDREI,  a  town  of  Manasseh,  east  of  Jordan, 
(Josh.  xiii.  31.)  called  likewise  Edraea  and  Adra?a, 
and  perhaps  Edera  in  Ptolemy,  when  speaking  of 
the  towns  in  the  Batana^a.  Eusebius  places  it  about 
25  miles  north  from  Bostri. 

II.  EDREI,' a  town  of  Naphtali,  Josh.  xix.  37. 
EGLAH,  sixth  wife  of  David,  and  mother  of  Ith- 

rcam,  2  Sam.  iii.  5.  JMany  are  ol"  opinion,  that  Eglah 
and  Michal  are  the  same,  and  that  she  died  in  labor 
of  Ithream.     But  see  2  Sam.  vi.  23. 

EGLAIM,  a  city  bejond  Jordan,  east  of  the  Dead 
sea,  in  the  land  of  Moab,  which  Eusebius  places  8 
miles  south  of  Ar,  or  Areopolis.  Isa.  xv.  8.  1  Sam. 
xxv.  44. 

I.  EGLON,  king  of  Moab,  (Judg.  iii.  12—15.)  op- 
pressed Israel  eighteen  years,  A.  M.  26G1 — 2(579.  In 
conjunction  with  the  Ammonites  and  Amalekites,  he 


EGY 


[  369  ] 


EGYPT 


advanced  to  the  oity  of  palm-trees,  or  Jericho,  or 
Engedi,  which  he  took,  and  wliere  was  his  usual 
residence.  The  Lord  raised  up  Ehud  to  deliver 
Israel  from  his  oppression. 

II.  EGLON,  a  city  of  Judah,  Josh.  x.  3;  xv.  39. 

I.  EGYPT,  a  celebrated  country  in  Africa ;  in 
Hebrew  called  Mizraim,  Greek  yn'Yv.-iTOi,  whence 
the  Latin  JEgyptus,  and  the  English  Egypt  and 
Copt ;  but  tlie  etymology  of  these  names  has  not 
been  satisfactorily  determhied.  Mizraim  was  son  of 
Ham  ;  ^gyptus  was,  it  is  said,  an  ancient  king  of 
this  country,  son  of  Belus,  and  brother  of  Armais. 
The  sous  of  Mizraim  were  Ludim,  Anamim,  Scha- 
bim,  Naphtuhim,  Pathrusiin,  and  Casluhim,  who  peo- 
])led  several  districts  of  Egypt,  or  adjacent  to  it. 
The  word  Mizraim,  being  of  the  dual  number,  may 
express  both  Egypts,  the  superior  and  inferior,  or  the 
two  parts  of  the  country,  east  and  west,  divided  by 
the  is^ile.  Cairo,  the  capital  of  Egypt,  and  even 
Egypt  itself,  is  still  called  Mezer  by  the  Arabians. 
But  the  natives  call  it  Chemi,  that  is,  the  land  of 
Cham,  or  Ham,  as  it  is  also  sometimes  called  in 
Scrijiture,  Psalm  Ixxviii.  12 ;  cv.  23  ;  cvi.  22.  The 
prophet  Micah  (vii.  12.  Heb.)  gives  to  Egypt  the 
name  of  Mezor,  or  Matzor  ;  and  rabbi  Kimchi,  fol- 
lowed by  several  learned  commentators,  explains  by 
Egypt  what  is  said  of  the  rivers  of  Mezor,  2  Kings 
xix.  24 ;   Isaiah  xix.  6  ;  xxxvii.  25.  Ileb. 

Egj'pt  was  divided  into  forty-two  names,  or  dis- 
tricts, which  were  little  provinces,  or  counties ;  and 
also  into  Upper  and  Lower.  Upper  Egypt  was  call- 
ed Tbebais,  from  Thebes,  its  capital,  and  extended 
south  to  the  frontiers  of  Ethiopia.  Lower  Egypt 
contained  ])rincipally  the  Delta,  and  the  country  on 
the  coast  of  the  Mediterranean.  The  Arabians  call 
Lower  Egypt,  Rib,  or  Rif ;  Upper  Egypt,  Sals,  or 
Thebais;  and  the  part  between,  Souf.  The  word 
Rib,  {Rahab,)  occurs  Psalm  Ixxxvii.  4.  "I  will  men- 
tion Rahab  ;"  also  Ixxxix.  10.  Isaiah  li.  9.  The  Avord 
Souf  occurs  likewise,  for  Moses  calls  the  Red  sea 
by  this  name. 

In  the  time  of  Herodotus,  Egypt  was  divided  into 
two  parts,  with  distinct  appellations :  the  one  belong- 
ing to  Libya,  the  other  to  Asia ;  and  the  same  divis- 
ion appears  in  Ibn  Haukal ;  who  says,  "  The  left 
side  of  the  Nile  is  called  Khouf. — The  opposite  divis- 
ion, on  the  right  side,  they  call  Zeif.^^  We  may  call 
these  divisions  Western  Egypt  and  Eastern  Egypt ; 
which  may  throw  some  light  on  the  expression, 
(Ezek.  xxix.  10.)  "  I  will  make  the  land  of  Egypt 
waste  from  the  tower  of  Syene  to  the  border  of 
Cush  ;"  Rieaning  the  Cusii  on  the  Red  sea.  So  that 
this  threat  includes  Eastern  Egypt ;  beginning,  as 
the  Egyptians  themselves  began,  "from  the  tower 
of  Syene,"  which  is  opposite  to  the  island  of  Ele- 
phantina,  all  along  the  confines  of  Cush — that  is,  run- 
ning up  the  Red  sea  from  the  port  of  Berenice  south, 
to  Suez  and  Colsum  north.  This  gives  a  very  dif- 
ferent aspect  to  the  following  denunciation  of  the 
prophet,  (verse  11,)  "No  foot  of  man  or  beast  shall 
pass  through  it,"  (rather  across  it,)  that  is,  from  the 
Nile  to  the  Red  sea,  from  Coptos  to  Berenice,  or  to 
Kosscii-,  as  the  caravans  of  merchants  with  their 
goods  were  used  to  pass: — "neither  shall  it  be  in- 
habited, forty  years."  We  know  of  no  such  interval 
in  which  this  complete  depopulation  has  been  true 
of  Egypt,  generally  taken  ;  but  it  is  very  credible 
tliat  after  the  ravages  of  Nebuchadnezzar,  and  till 
after  the  death  of  Cambyses,  this  track  of  mercantile 
conveyance  was  stopped ;  so  that  the  foot  of  man 
or  beast  did  not  pass  that  way  in  conveying  goods. 
47 


The  passage  by  this  road  was,  however,  afterwards 
much  promoted  by  the  Ptolemies,  when  they  reign- 
ed in  Egypt;  and  when  explored  by  Belzoni,  he 
found  traces  of  the  stations  taken  by  the  ancient 
Egyptian  merchants,  in  this  passage ;  such  as  wells, 
or  tanks  for  holding  water,  remains  of  villages  and 
temples  ;  and,  in  the  port  of  Berenice  itself,  ruins  of 
considerable  structures,  with  others  tolorablv  entire 
works  for  the  security  of  the  port,  &c.also,  cross 
roads,  demonstrating  important  and  extensive  inter- 
course. By  this  distinction  a  great  difticulty  is  re- 
duced within  the  compass  of  high  probability  ;  and 
the  rendering  proposed  by  Prideaux,  in  correction 
of  our  public  version,  becomes  unnecessary.  The 
doctor  would  vary  the  words  (not  very  agreeably  to 
the  Hebrew)  "from  the  tower  of  Syene"  to — "Irom 
Migdol,  or  Magdolmn,  to  Syene."  JMagdolum  was 
at  tlie  extreme  north  of  Egypt,  and  Syene  in  the  ex- 
treme south.  But,  wc  have  no  proof,  neither  is  it 
credible,  that  the  intervening  country  was  ever  total- 
ly uninhabited  by  man  or  beast,  during  one  j'ear, 
much  less  during  forty  years,  as  threatened  by  the 
prophet ;  for  this  v.ould  have  been  to  have  rendered 
the  whole  inhabited  land  of  Egypt  a  wilderness,  a 
desert,  which  is  very  unlikely. 

The  following  allegorical  characterization  of  Egypt 
is  from  major  Wilford.  (Asiat.  Res.  vol.  iii.  p.  93. 
Lend.) — "The  parts  of  Barbara,  towards  the  mouths 
of  the  Nile,  were  inhabited  by  the  children  of  Ra- 
hu; — Rahu  is  represented,  on  account  of  his  tyrannj^, 
as  an  innnense  river-dragon,  or  crocodile,  or  rather 
a  fabulous  monster  with  four  talons,  called  Graha, 
from  a  root  implying  violent  seizure :  the  word  is 
commonly  interpi'eted  hanger,  or  shark  ;  but  in  some 
dictionaries,  it  is  made  synonymous  to  nacra,  or  croc- 
odile ;  and  in  the  Puranas,  it  seems  to  be  the  crea- 
ture of  poetical  fancy."  This  may  be  compared 
with  at  least  two  passages  of  Scripture  :  first,  Psalm 
Ixxiv.  12—14. 

God  is  my  king  of  old. 

Working  salvation  in  the  midst  of  the  earth. 
Thou  didst  divide  the  sea  by  thy  strength  : 
Thou  brakest  the  heads  of  the  dragons  in  the  wa- 
ters. 

Thou  brakest  the  heads  of  leviathan  in  pieces. 

The  allusion  is  to  the  departure  of  Israel  from 
Egypt,  to  the  division  of  the  Red  sea,  anciently;  and 
Egypt  is  symbolized  under  the  notion  of  a  leviathan 
with  several  heads.  To  a  natural  leviathan,  the  croc- 
odile, one  head  had  been  suflicient :  but  a  symboli- 
cal leviathan  may  possess  as  many  heads  as  com- 
ports with  the  original  object  which  is  figuratively 
alluded  to.  Thei-e  is  another  passage  where  the 
same  imagery  is  adopted,  Ezek.  xxix.  3,  4.  "  I  am 
against  thee,  Pharaoh,  king  of  Egypt,  the  great  drag- 
on that  lieth  in  the  midst  of  his  rivers,  which  hath 
said,  RIy  river  is  my  own,  I  have  made  it  for  myself. 
But  I  \vill  put  hooks  in  thy  jaws,  and  I  will  cause 
the  fish  of  thy  rivers  to  stick  to  thy  scales,  and  I  will 
bring  thee  uj)  out  of  the  midst  of  thy  rivers."  In  this 
l)rophecy  Pharaoh  is  expressly  named,  so  that  we 
have  no  difficulty  in  referring  it  to  that  prince. 
Undoubtedly  these  allegories,  by  their  similarity, 
strengthen  the  idea  of  a  connection  between  India 
and  Eirypt :  and  show  that  in  ancient  times  it  was 
well  understood,  and  adopted  by  the  inspired  writers. 
Eor,  what  is  this  dragon,  but  the  Rahu  of  India  ? 

Homer  calls  the  Ni'le,  Egyptus  (Odyss.  xiv.  v.  258.) ; 
and  several  of  the  ancients  assert,  that  Egypt  was  a 


EGYPT 


[370  ] 


EGYPT 


tract  of  laud  produced  by  deposition  of  the  mud  of 
this  river,  which  regularly  overflows  the  country. 

The  Egyptians  boasted  of  being  the  most  ancient 
people  in  the  world  ;  and  the  inventors  of  arts  and 
sciences.  They  conimiuiicated  to  the  Greeks  the 
names  of  the  gods,  and  their  theology  ;  they  exceed- 
ed in  superstition  and  idolatry,  worshipping  stars, 
men,  animals,  and  even  plants.  Moses  informs  us, 
that  the  Hebrews  sacrificed  beasts  whose  slaughter 
was  considered  by  the  Egyptians  as  an  abomination : 
(Exod,  viii.  26.)  and  also  that  they  would  not  eat 
with  the  Hebrews,  because  they  abhorred  all  shep- 
herds. This  country,  properly  speaking,  was  the 
cradle  of  the  Hebrew  nation.  Joseph  being  carried 
thither  and  sold  as  a  slave,  was,  by  God's  wisdom 
and  providence,  established  viceroy  of  Egypt.  Hith- 
er he  invited  his  father  and  family,  in  number  about 
seventy  persons  ;  after  dwelling  here  215  years,  the 
whole  family  and  their  people  departed  hence,  in 
number  603,550  men.  The  king  of  Egypt,  however, 
would  not  pern'iit  them  to  leave  his  country,  till  he 
was  compelled  by  miracles  and  chastisements.  And 
after  he  had  dismissed  and  expelled  them,  he  repent- 
ed, pursued  them,  and  followed  them  into  the  Red 
sea,  where  he  perished. 

The  common  name  of  the  Egyptian  kings  was 
Pharaoh,  which  signified  sovereign  power.  History 
has  preserved  the  names  of  several  of  these  kings, 
and  a  succession  of  their  dynasties.  But  the  inclina- 
tion of  the  Egyptian  historians  to  magnify  the  great 
antiquity  of  their  nation,  has  destroyed  their  credi- 
bility.    See  Pharaoh. 

The  inhabitants  of  Egypt  may  be  considered  as 
including  three  distinctions  :  (1.)  The  Copts,  or  de- 
scendants of  the  ancient  Egyptians.  (2.)  The  Fel- 
lahs, or  husbandmen  ;  which  are  supposed  to  repre- 
sent the  people  in  Scripture  called  Phul.  (3.)  The 
Arabs,  or  conquerors  of  the  country,  including  the 
Turks,  Mamelukes,  &c.  The  Copts  have  seen  so 
many  revolutions  in  the  governing  powers,  [see 
infra,]  that  they  concern  themselves  very  little  about 
the  successes  or  misfortunes  of  those  who  aspire  to 
dominion.  The  Fellahs  suffer  so  much  oppression, 
and  are  so  despised  by  the  Bedouins,  or  wandering 
Arabs,  and  by  their  despotic  rulers,  that  they  seldom 
acquire  property,  and  very  rarely  enjoy  it  in  security. 
The  Arabs  hate  the  Turks  ;  yet  the  Turks  enjoy 
most  offices  of  govei-nment ;  though  they  hold  their 
superiority  by  no  very  certain  tenure. 

It  is  usual  to  include  under  the  name  Egypt,  from 
Syene,  south,  to  the  most  northern  point  of  the 
coast  adjacent  to  the  mouths  of  the  Nile.  At  Syene, 
Ethiopia  may  be  said  to  begin.  The  southern  part 
of  this  extent  is  extremely  rocky  and  arid.  During 
this  part  of  its  course,  the  Nile  is  a  single  stream ; 
where  it  divides  into  two  or  more  streams,  it  em- 
braces that  part  of  Egypt  which  the  Greeks  named 
the  Delta,  in  the  north  of  Egypt.  This  region  ap- 
pears to  be  a  vast  plain,  yielding  an  abundance  of 
corn,  and  other  ]iroductions,  and  interspersed  with 
numerous  villages,  built  on  eminences  surrounded 
by  date-trees.  On  the  banks  of  the  Nile,  the  Arab 
inhabitants  cultivate  water-melons,  gourds,  tobacco, 
indigo,  called  nilth,  a  few  fruits,  and  other  vegeta- 
bles;  also  Indian  corn.  The  water  of  the  Nile  not 
only  ft>rtilizes  the  lands  included  between  its  streams, 
but  also  those  on  each  side  of  its  ext(!rnal  channels, 
«>ven  where  the  inundation  itself  does  not  appear. 
The  Turks  boast  of  Egypt  as  of  the  most  beautiful 
country  in  the  world :  one  of  them  says,  the  soil  is 
for  three  mouths  in  the  year  white  and  sparkling  hke 


pearl,  for  three  months  black  like  musk,  for  three 
more  green  like  emeralds,  and  for  three  more  yellow 
as  amber.  It  is  not  surprising  to  find  the  Israelites  in 
the  wilderness  i-egretting  so  excellent  a  country.  The 
ancient  Egyptians  had  two  crops  of  corn  yearly  from 
the  same  gi-ound  ;  at  present  they  get  but  one.  After 
barley-harvest  they  sowed  rice,  melons,  and  cucum- 
bers. Egypt  is  said  to  have  furnished  to  Rome,  an- 
nually, twenty  millions  of  bushels  of  corn.  Pliny 
says,  they  sow  early  in  November ;  that  they  begin 
their  harvest  in  April,  and  end  in  IMay.  Moses  ob- 
serves, that  in  the  middle  of  March,  when  the  Israel 
ites  departed  out  of  Egypt,  the  barley  and  flax,  being 
far  advanced,  were  spoiled  by  the  hail ;  but  that  the 
wheat,  being  not  so  forward,  was  preserved,  Exod. 
ix.  31.  The  Egyptians  sowed  their  barley  and  flax 
in  the  beginning  of  November,  after  the  waters  of  the 
Nile  had  retired.  The  winter  is  very  moderate. 
The  wheat-harvest  was  ended  by  Pentecost. 

The  heat  of  Egypt  is  excessive  :  Volney  says,  "  The 
Egj'ptians,  who  go  almost  naked,  and  are  accustomed 
to  perspire,  shiver  at  the  least  coolness.  The  ther- 
mometer, which  at  the  lowest,  in  the  month  of  Feb- 
ruary, stands  at  8°  or  9^  of  Reaumur,  (50  or  52  of 
Fahrenheit,)  above  the  freezing  point,  enables  us  to 
determine  with  certainty,  and  we  may  pronounce 
that  snow  and  hail  are  phenomena  which  no  Egyp- 
tian has  seen  in  fifty  years."  He  says  also,  "  Two 
seasons  only  should  be  distinguished  in  Egypt ;  the 
spring  and  summer  ;  that  is  to  say,  the  cold  season, 
and  the  hot.  The  latter  continues  from  March  to 
November  ;  and  from  the  end  of  February  the  sun  is 
not  supportable  for  a  European  at  nine  o'clock  in  the 
morning.  During  the  whole  of  this  season,  the  air  is 
inflamed,  the  sky  sparkling,  and  the  heat  oppressive 
to  all  unaccustomed  to  it.  The  body  sweats  profuse- 
ly, even  under  the  lightest  dress,  and  in  a  state  of  the 
most  profound  repose."  (Trav.  vol.  i.  p.  67,  68.)  Dr. 
Whitman  says,  "  The  night  setting  in,  the  company 
retired  to  rest ;  many  of  the  men  without  doors,  ac- 
cording to  the  usual  practice  of  the  Arabs  in  the 
sunmier  season.  They  lie  scattered  over  the  plains, 
like  flocks  of  sheep,  with  the  clothes  they  have  taken 
off"  spread  beneath  them,  and  themselves  covered 
from  head  to  foot  by  the  large  handkerchief,  which 
they  wear  in  the  day  time  across  the  shoulders,"  p. 
331.  This  sleeping  in  the  open  air,  and  so  lightly 
covered,  is  among  those  customs  which  appear  most 
strange  to  Europeans ;  l)ut  it  occurs  frequently  in 
Scripture,  and  is  adopted  without  hesitation  through- 
out the  East.  "The  inhabitants  of  humid  countries 
cannot  conceive  how  it  i?.  possible  for  a  comitry  to 
subsist  without  rain  ;  but  in  Egypt,  besides  the  quan- 
tity of  water  which  the  earth  imbibes  at  the  inunda- 
tion, the  dews  which  fall  in  the  night  suffice  for  veg- 
etation. The  water-meU)ns  aftbrd  a  remarkable 
proof  of  this;  for  though  they  have  frequently  noth- 
ing under  them  but  a  dry  dust,  yet  their  leaves  are 
always  fresh.  These  dews,  as  well  the  ruins,  are 
more  copious  towards  the  sea,  and  less  considerable 
in  })roportion  to  the  distance  from  it ;  but  difler  from 
the  latter  by  being  more  ai)undant  in  summer  than  in 
winter.  At  Alexandria,  after  sunset,  in  tiie  month 
of  April,  the  clothes  exposed  to  the  air,  and  the  ter- 
races, are  soaked  with  dew,  as  if  it  had  rained.  Like 
the  rains,  again,  these  dews  are  more  or  less  plentiful, 
according  to  the  prevailing  wind.  The  southerly 
and  the  south-westerly  ])roduce  none;  the  north 
wind  produces  a  great  deal ;  and  the  westerly  still 
more.  When  rain  falls  in  Egypt  and  Palestine,  there 
is  a  general  joy ;  the  people  assemble  in  the  streets  ; 


EGYPT 


[  371 


EGYPT 


thev  sing,  they  are  all  in  motion  ;  and  shout  '  ye  Allah ; 
yeMobarekP  O  God !  O  blessed  !  &c."  (Volney's 
Trav.  vol.  i.  p.  56.) 

On  account  of  the  scarcity  of  rain,  "  the  best  part 
of  Egyptian  agriculture,"  says  Niebuhr,  "is  the 
watermg  of  their  grounds.  The  water  which  the 
husbandman  needs,  is  often  in  a  canal  much  below 
the  level  of  the  land  which  he  means  to  refresh.  The 
water  he  must  therefore  raise  to  an  equality  with  the 
surface  of  the  grounds  ;  and  distribute  it  over  them 
as  it  is  wanted.  Tlie  great  art  of  Egj'ptian  husband- 
ry is  thus  reduced  to  the  having  proper  machines  for 
raising  the  water,  and  enough  of  small  canals  judi- 
ciously chsposed  to  disfiihiUe  it."  (Trav.  vol.  i.p.  88.) 

The  great  supi)ly  of  water  in  Eg}  pt  is  from  the 
Nile,  which  river  obtains  its  increase  from  Ethiopia 
and  Abyssinia,  and  upon  the  rise  of  which  the  fertility 
of  Egypt  depends.  The  inhabitants  suppose,  that  at 
14  cubits  rise,  they  may  have  an  inferior  harvest ;  at 
16,  a  very  good  one  :  but  should  it  rise  much  higher, 
there  would  not  be  time  for  the  draining  of  the  water 
off  the  lands,  in  order  to  their  reception  of  the  seed. 
These  high  risings  do  other  mischief  also  ;  such  as 
washiug  away  villages,  &c.     See  Nile. 

The  history  of  Egypt  is  of  consequence  to  the 
proper  understanding  of  events  recorded  in  Scrip- 
ture ;  but  the  early  part  of  it  is  extremely  obscure, 
and  we  are  under  the  necessity  of  trusting  to  those 
excerpts  and  fragments,  which  may  be  deemed  foi-- 
tuitous,  rather  than  intentional. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  Egypt  was  peopled 
from  the  East ;  but  the  tribes  which  first  entered  it, 
seem  to  have  been  under  no  regular  guide.  We  con- 
ceive that  Ham  was  intent  on  establishing  himself  in 
Asia  ;  and  that  he  actually  founded  there  several  po- 
tent kingdoms.  He  might  afterwards  visit  Africa; 
and  his  son  Mizraim  might  govern  Egypt.  How- 
ever that  was,  we  find  Egj  pt  peopled  in  the  days  of 
Abraham  ;  and  governed  also  by  a  Pliai-aoh.  There 
is  some  reason  to  think  that  the  Hamites,  who  settled 
in  the  provinces  allotted  to  the  posterity  of  Shem, 
ejected  them  from  thence ;  and  were  the  cause  of 
their  transmigration  into  Egj'pt.  At  least,  appear- 
ances indicate  that  the  first  Pliaraohs  of  Egypt  spoke 
the  language  of  Abraham,  Jacob,  and  Joseph  ;  and 
that  Jehovah,  the  God  of  those  patriarchs,  was  not 
unknown  to  them.  Between  the  period  of  Joseph's 
elevation  in  Egj'pt,  and  the  exodus  of  Israel,  we' 
place  an  invasion  of  Eg)  pt  by  the  Palli,  from  India, 
and  refer  to  this  race  that  new  "  king  which  knew 
not  Joseph."  We  read  little  more  of  Egjpt  in  Scrip- 
ture, for  many  ages  ;  not,  indeed,  till  the  kings  of 
Israel  had  political  intercourse  with  that  country. 

The  Egyptians  claimed  an  antiquity  of  10,  20,  or 
even  50,000  years.  They  afiirmcd  that  their  coun- 
try was  originally  governed  by  gods ;  and  that  their 
first  mortal  king  was  Menes.  We  might  better  judge 
of  the  first  assertion,  if  we  knew  what  length  of  time 
answered  to  that  termed  a  year ;  of  the  second,  if  we 
knew  whether  the  same  word  which  is  rendered 
gods,  did  not  also  signify  judges,  as  it  does  in  the 
Hebrew.  From  Menes  the  Egyptians  deduced  a  list 
of  kings,  comprising  about  330,  in  1400  years. 

It  is  supposed  that  the  mode  of  the  ancient  Eg}^l- 
tian  computation  of  years,  contributed  to  swell  their 
chronology  so  immoderately.  Palaephatus  says,  that 
m  remote  ages  they  reckoned  the  duration  of  their 
princes'  reigns  by  days,  not  by  years.  And  who  will 
warrant  us,  that  they  who  came  after,  did  not  set 
down  years  instead  of  days  ?  so  that  Hehos,  son  of 
Vulcan,  reigning  4477  days,  was  only  twelve  years. 


three  months,  and  four  days,  instead  of  4477  yeais. 
Diodorus  Siculus  says,  some  have  suggested  that 
their  year  consisted  only  of  one  month," so  that  the 
1200  years  of  every  god's  reign  were  reduced  to  1200 
months,  or  100  years  ;  afterwards  the  Egj-ptian  year 
consisted  of  four  months.  This  reducers  the  exces- 
sive antiquity  of  the  Egyptian  dynasties  to  a  reasona- 
ble duration.  It  is  further  certain,  that  the  dynasties 
of  Egypt  were  not  all  successive  ;  many  of  them 
were  collateral,  and  the  greater  part  of  the  kings, 
placed  one  after  the  other,  were  contemporary  ;  one 
reigning  in  one  part  of  Eg}pt,  another  in  another. 
These  lists  also  bear  seven  different  names,  according 
to  the  seven  districts  in  which  the  dynasties  subsist- 
ed :  viz.  at  This,  Memphis,  Diospolis,  Thanis,  Sethron, 
Elephantina,  and  Sais.  Before  the  time  of  Menes, 
Lower  Egypt  was  a  marsh,  not  absolutely  uninhabit- 
able, perhaps  not  unfertile,  yet  unfit  for  the  reception 
of  a  dense  population.  3Ienes  controlled  the  coui-se 
of  the  Nile,  probably  stopped  up  one  of  its  branches, 
and  so  obtained  a  length  of  solid  gi'ound,  and  drained 
the  lower  levels  of  the  country.  We  learn,  from 
major  Wilford's  information  concerning  Egypt,  ex- 
tracted from  the  Indian  Puranas,  that  those  books 
relate  several  circumstances  of  the  early  history  of 
this  country.  (Asiatic  Researches,  vol.  iii.) — "  Ta- 
mah,  or  Saturn,  had  two  wives.  Age,  and  Decrepi- 
tude," that  is,  he  was  an  extremely  old  man.  "  Ta- 
mah  was  expelled  from  Egypt  exactly  at  the  time 
when  Aramah,  a  gi-andson  of  Satya\Tata,  died." 
(P.  93.) — "  Lower  Egypt  is  called  by  the  Puranas,  the 
Land  of  Mud;  and  they  give  a  dreadful  idea  of  it; 
and  even  assert,  that  no  mortal  durst  approach  it." 
(P.  96.)  The  Puranas  say  that  the  ocean  anciently 
covered  Egypt ;  but  that  the  waters  withdrew  at  the 
prayer  of  a  holy  man,  or  Rishi,  "  for  the  ejjace  of  a 
hundred  yyanas,  or  492  miles."  (P.  104.)  The 
probability  is,  that  this  withdrawment  of  the  waters 
alludes  to  the  fact  of  the  draining  of  the  lower  coun- 
try, by  restraining  the  Nile  to  a  single  channel,  pretty 
far  south.  "  The  first  inhabitants  of  Egypt  found, 
on  their  arrival,  that  the  whole  country  about  the 
mouths  of  the  Nile  was  an  immense  forest ;  part  im- 
pervious, which  they  called  Atavi,  part  uninhabited, 
but  practicable,  which  received  the  name  of  Aranya." 
(P.  97.)  These  accounts  agree,  perfectly,  with  the 
primitive  state  of  all  uninhabited  countries  ;  and  they 
contribute  to  support  the  opinion,  that  Egypt  was 
peopled  from  India.     See  Philisti>'ES. 

For  the  connection  of  the  Egyptians  whh  the  peo- 
ple of  Israel,  the  reader  is  referred  to  the  historical 
sketch  under  the  aiticlc  Hebrews.  See  also  the 
additions  below. 

Ezekiel  (xxx.  13.)  says,  that  there  never  any  more 
shall  be  a  reigning  prince  of  the  Egj'ptian  nation 
over  this  country.  Egypt  was,  indeed,  to  be  a  base 
kingdom  ;  and  what  can  be  more  base  than  a  govern- 
ment composed  of  rulers  who  have  been  slaves,  and 
the  properties  of  others  ?  Governors,  not  hereditarj% 
nor  elective  by  the  people,  nor  promoted  according 
to  merit ;  but  rising  by  intrigue  from  the  lowest  sta- 
tions, and  degi-aded  by  the  vilest  of  crimes,  as  well 
political  as  personal.  "  Such  is  the  case  with  Egvpt," 
says  Volney.  "  Deprived  three  and  twenty  centuries 
ago  of  her  natural  proprietors,  she  has  seen  her  fer- 
tile fields  successively  a  prey  to  the  Persians,  the 
Macedonians,  the  Romans,  the  Greeks,  the  Arabs, 
the  Georgians,  and,  at  length,  to  the  race  of  Tartars, 
distinguished  by  the  name  of  Ottoman  Turks. 
Among  so  many  nations,  several  of  them  have  left 
vestiges  of  their  transient  possession  ;  but,  as  they 


EGYPT 


[372] 


EGYPT 


have  been  blended  in  succession,  they  have  been  so 
confounded,  as  to  render  it  very  difficult  to  discrimi- 
nate their  respective  characters.  We  may,  however, 
still  distinguish  the  inhabitants  of  Egypt  into  four 
principal  races,  of  difiereut  origin."  (Travels,  vol. 
i.  74.) 

These  four  he  considers  as,  (1.)  Arabs,  the  classes 
of  husbandmen  and  aitisans ;  (2.)  the  Copts,  the 
Avriters,  and  government  collectors ;  (3.)  the  Turks, 
who  are  masters  of  the  country  ;  (4.)  the  fliamelukes, 
who  possess  the  authority  over  it,  and  who  are  a  race 
of  slaves,  bought  in  distant  countries."  .Surely  the 
country  lorded  over  by  slaves  may  be  justly  consid- 
ered as  "  the  basest  of  kingdoms !" 

"When  we  reflect  on  "the  revolutions  which  this 
country  lias  undergone,  and  upon  the  length  of  time 
during  which  it  has  been  luider  the  dominion  of 
strangers,  we  can  no  longer  be  surprised  at  the  de- 
cline of  its  wealth  and  population.  It  has  been  suc- 
cessively subdued  by  the  Persians,  the  Greeks,  the 
Romans,  the  Arabians,  and  the  Turks : — has  enjoyed 
no  interval  of  tranquilhty  and  freedom,  but  has  been 
constantly  oppressed  and  pillaged  by  the  lieutenants 
of  a  distant  lord,  who  scarcely  left  the  people  bare 
means  of  subsistence.  Agricultui'e  Avas  ruined  by 
the  miseries  of  the  husbandman  :  and  the  cities  de- 
cayed with  its  dechne.  Even  at  present,  the  popu- 
lation is  decreasing :  and  the  peasant,  although  in  a 
fertile  country,  is  miserably  poor ;  for  the  exactions 
of  government,  and  its  officers,  leave  him  nothing  to 
lay  out  in  the  improvement  and  culture  of  his  lands ; 
while  the  cities  are  falling  into  ruins,  because  the 
same  unhappy  restraints  render  it  impossible  for  the 
^  citizens  to  engage  in  any  lucrative  undertaking." 
y  "The  Copts  are  descended  from  the  ancient  Egyp- 
;  tians :  and  the  Turks,  on  this  account,  call  them,  in 
derision,  "  the  posterity  of  Pharaoh."  But  their  un- 
couth figure,  their  stupidity,  ignorance,  and  wretch- 
edness, do  little  credit  to  the  sovereigns  of  ancient 
Eg>-pt.  They  have  lived  for  2000  years  under  the 
dominion  of  different  foreign  conquerors,  and  have 
experienced  many  vicissitudes  of  fortune.  They  have 
lost  their  manners,  their  language,  their  religion,  rnd 
almost  their  existence.  They  are  reduced  to  a  small 
number  in  comparison  of  'the  Arabs,  v/lio  have 
poured  like  a  flood  over  this  country.  Of  the  dimi- 
nution of  the  numbers  of  the  Copts,  some  idea  may 
be  formed  from  the  reduction  of  the  number  of  their 
bishoj)s.  There  were  seventy  in  number  at  the  peri- 
od of  the  Arabian  conquest.  There  are  now  only 
twelve."     (Niebuhr's  Travels,  vol.  i.  p.  104.) 

[As  both  the  country  and  the  inhabitants  of  Egypt 
occupy  so  prominent  a  place  in  the  history  of  the 
Jewish  people,  and  almost  every  thing  which  relates 
to  them,  goes  directly  to  illustrate  the  Hebrew  Scrip- 
tures, it  may  not  be  improper  to  give  here  a  more  de- 
tailed account  of  this  important  coimtry,  than  is 
found  in  the  preceding  interesting,  but  "somewhat 
meagre,  article. 

Egypt  is,  in  the  Old  Testament,  usually  called 
Mizraim,  aAer  the  scconrl  son  of  Ham,  and  grandson 


by  besieged  place,  fortress,  defence.  The  ancient  name 
of  the  country  among  the  inhabitants  themselves,  was 
Chiini,  or  Chami,  [Xflflli,  or  in  the  dialect  of  Upper 
Eg}Tf.  ^v7/.U/.)  which  tlic  Hebrews  probably  pro- 
nounced on,  C/iam,  or  Ham,  and  ref<'rred  to  Ham, 
the  gi-andfather  of  Mizraini.  The  Eg>'})tian  word 
signified  blacli,  according  to  Plutarch  ;  (do  Is.  et  Osir. 


p.  3G4.)  and  the  land  was  so  called  from  the  dark 
color  of  its  fruitful  soil,  manured  by  the  slime  depos- 
ited by  the  inundations  of  the  Nile.  In  the  Old  Tes- 
tament the  name  of  Rcthab,  (arrogance)  is  sometimes 
given  to  Egypt ;  (Jer.  xxx.  7,  li.  9 ;  Ps.  Ixxxvii.  4 ; 
Ixxxix.  11.)  but  it  would  seem  to  be  only  a  poetical 
epithet,  apphed  in  consequence  of  the  arrogance  and 
oppression  experienced  by  the  Jews  from  the  Egj'p- 
tians.  The  origin  and  meaning  of  the  name  Mgyp- 
tus  (whence  Egi^'pt)  is  unknown.  The  present 
Arabic  name  of  this  country,  Misr,  comes  from  the 
Hebrew  Mizraim. 

The  proper  land  of  Egj^pt  is,  for  the  most  part,  a 
great  valley,  through  which  the  river  Nile  poma  its 
waters,  e.\cendhig  iu  a  siraiglil  line  from  north  to 
south,  and  skirted  on  the  east  and  west  by  ranges  of 
motm tains,  which  approach  and  recede  from  the 
river  more  or  less  in  different  parts.  Where  this 
valley  terminates,  towards  the  north,  the  Nile  divides 
itself,  about  40  or  50  miles  from  the  sea-coast,  into 
several  arms,  which  enclose  the  so  called  Delta.  The 
ancients  numbered  seven  arms  and  mouths ;  the 
eastern  was  that  of  Pelusium,  now  that  of  Tineh  ; 
and  the  western  that  of  Canopus,  now  that  of  Abcii- 
kir.  As  these  branches  all  separate  from  one  point 
or  channel,  i.  e.  from  the  main  stream,  and  spread 
themselves  more  and  more  as  they  approach  the 
coast,  they  form  with  the  latter  a  triangle,  the  base  of 
which  is  the  sea-coast ;  and  having  thus  the  form  of 
the  Greek  letter  ^,  delta,  this  part  of  Egypt  received 
the  name  of  the  Delta,  which  it  has  ever  since  re- 
tained. The  northern  and  southern  points  of  Egypt 
are  thus  assigned  by  the  prophet  Ezekiel,  xxix. 
10 ;  XXX.  G ;  fi-om  Migdol,  i.  e.  Magdolum,  not  far 
from  the  mouth  of  the  Pelusian  arm,  to  Syene,  now 
Essuan,  namely,  to  the  border  of  Ethiopia.  Essuan  is 
also  assigned  by  Greek  and  Araliian  writers  as  the 
southern  limit  of  Egypt.  Here,  in  north  latitude  24° 
2',  the  Nile  issues  from  the  granite  rocks  of  the  cata- 
racts, and  enters  Egypt  proper.  The  length  of  the 
country,  therefore,  in  a  direct  hne,  is  112  geographi- 
cal miles.  The  breadth  of  the  valley,  between  Es- 
suan and  the  Delta,  is  very  unequal ;  in  some  places 
the  inundations  of  the  river  extend  to  the  foot  of  the 
mountains  ;  in  other  parts  there  remains  a  strip  of  a 
mile  or  two  in  breadth,  which  the  water  never  covers, 
and  which  is  therefore  always  dry  and  barren.  Origin- 
ally the  name  Egj'pt  designated  only  this  valley  and 
the  Delta ;  but  at  a  later  period  it  came  to  include 
also  the  region  between  this  and  the  Red  sea  from 
Berenice  to  Suez,  a  strong  and  mountainous  tract, 
with  only  a  few  spots  fit  for  tillage,  but  better  adapt- 
ed to  pasturage.  It  included  also,  at  this  time,  the 
adjacent  desert  on  the  west,  as  far  as  to  the  oases, 
those  fertile  and  inhabited  islands  in  the  ocean  of 
sand.  The  name  Delta,  also,  was  extended  so  as  to 
cover  the  districts  between  Pelusium  and  the  border 
of  Palestine,  and  Arabia  Petrrea, — the  ancient  desert 
of  Shur,  now  Djefar;  and  on  the  west  it  included  the 
adjacent  tract  as  far  as  to  the  great  deserts  of  Libya 
and  Barca, — a  region  of  sand  of  three  days' journey 
east  and  west,  and  as  many  north  and  south. 

The  country  around  Syene  and  the  catai'acts  is 
highly  picturesque ;  the  other  parts  of  Egypt,  and 
especially  the  Delt.a,  are  exceedingly  uniform  and 
monotonous.  The  prospect,  however,  is  extreme- 
ly different,  according  to  the  season  of  the  year. 
From  the  middle  of  the  spring  season,  when  the  har- 
vest is  over,  one  sees  nothing  but  a  grey  and  dusty 
soil,  so  full  of  cracks  and  chasms,  that  he  can  hardly 
pass  along.     At  the  time  of  the  autumnal  equinox, 


EGYPT 


[  373 


EGYPT 


the  whole  country  presents  iiuihing  but  an  immeas- 
urable surface  of  reddish  or  yellowish  water,  out  of 
whicli  rise  date-trees,  villages,  and  narrow  dams, 
whicJi  serve  as  a  means  of  communication.  After 
the:  waters  have  retreated,  which  usually  remain  only 
a  short  time  at  this  height,  you  see,  till  tlie  end  of 
autumn,  only  a  black  and  slimy  mud.  But  in  win- 
ter, nature  puts  on  all  her  splendor.  In  this  season, 
the  freshness  and  power  of  the  new  vegetation,  the 
variety  and  abundance  of  vegetable  [)roductions,  ex- 
ceed every  thing  that  is  known  in  the  most  celebrat- 
ed parts  of  the  European  continent ;  and  Egypt  is 
then,  from  one  end  of  the  country  to  the  other,  noth- 
ing but  a  beautiful  garden,  a  verdant  meadow,  a  field 
sown  with  flov.ers,  or  a  waving  ocean  of  grain  in  the 
ear.  This  fertility,  as  is  well  known,  depends  upon 
the  annual  and  regular  inundations  of  the  Nile.  See 
Nile. 

The  sky  is  not  less  uniform  and  monotonous  than 
the  earth  ;  it  is  constantly  a  pure  unclouded  arch,  of 
a  color  and  light  more  white  than  azure.  The  at- 
mosphere has  a  splendor  which  the  eye  can  scarcely 
bear ;  and  a  burning  sun,  whose  glow  is  tempered 
by  no  shade,  scorches  through  the  whole  day  these 
vast  and  unprotected  plains.  It  is  almost  a  peculiar 
trait  in  the  Egyptian  landscape,  that  although  not 
without  trees,  it  is  yet  almost  without  shade.  The 
only  tree  is  the  date-tree,  which  is  frequent;  but 
witii  its  tall,  slender  stem,  and  bunch  of  foliage  on  the 
top,  this  tree  does  very  little  to  keep  oft' the  light,  and 
casts  upon  the  earth  only  a  pale  and  uncertain  shade. 
Egypt,  accordingly,  has  a  very  hot  climate  ;  the 
thermometer  in  summer  standing  usually  at  80  or  90 
degrees  of  Fahrenheit ;  and  in  Upper  Egypt  still 
higher.  The  burning  wind  of  the  desert.  Simoom,  or 
Samiel,  is  also  experienced,  usually  about  the  time 
of  tlic  early  equinox.  The  country  is  also  not  un- 
frequently  visited  by  swarms  of  locusts.  See  Lo- 
custs. 

The  chief  agricultural  productions  of  Egypt  are 
wheat,  durrah  or  small  maize,  Turkish  corn  or  maize, 
rice,  barley,  beans,  cucumbers,  water-melons,  leeks 
and  onions  ;  also  flax  and  cotton.  The  date-tree  and 
vine  are  frequent.  The  papyrus  is  still  found  in 
small  quantity,  chiefly  near  Damietta ;  it  is  a  reed 
about  nine  feet  high,  as  thick  as  a  man's  thumb,  with 
a  tuft  of  down  on  the  top.  The  animals  of  Egypt, 
besides  the  usual  kinds  of  tame  cattle,  arc  the  wild  ox 
or  buftalo  in  gi-eat  numbers,  the  ass  and  camel,  dogs  in 
multitudes  without  masters,  the  ichneumon,  (a  kind 
of  weasel,)  the  crocodile,  and  the  hippopotamus  ;  for 
which,  see  these  articles  respectively. 

In  tlie  very  eai-liest  times,  Egj-pt  appears  to  have 
already  been  regarded  under  three  principal  divisions ; 
and  writers  spoke  either  of  Upper  and  Lotcer  Egyj)!; 
or  of  Upper  Egypt  or  Thebais,  Middle  Egypt,  Hep- 
tanomis  or  Ilcptapolis,  and  Loiver  Egypt  or  the  Del- 
ta, including  the  districts  lying  east  and  west.  The 
provinces  and  cities  of  Egypt  mentioned  in  the  Bible 
may,  in  like  manner,  be  arranged  under  these  three 
great  divisions. 

1.  Lower  Egypt.  The  north-eastern  point  of  this 
was  the  Brook  of  Egypt,  (see  below,)  on  the  border 
of  Palestine.  The  desert  between  this  point,  the  Red 
sea,  and  the  ancient  Pelusium,  seems  to  have  been 
the  desert  of  Shur,  (Gen.  xx.  1.  al.)  now  ol-Djefar. 
Sin,  "  the  strength  [key]  of  Egj^pt,"  Ezek.  xxx.  15, 
was  probably  Pelusium.  The  land  of  Goshen  ap- 
pears to  have  lain  between  Pelusium,  its  branch  of 
the  Nile,  and  the  Red  sea,  having  been  skirted  on 
the  north-east  by  the  desert  of  Shur ;  constituting, 


perhaps,  a  part  of  the  province  Raamses  ;  Gen.  xlvii. 
11.  In  this  district,  or  adjacent  to  it,  are  mentioned 
also  the  cities  Pithom,  Raamses,  Pi-Beseth,  and 
On  or  IIeliopolis.  In  the  proper  Delta  itself,  lav 
Taiiapanes,  i.  e.  Taphne  or  Daphne  ;  Zoan,  the 
Tanis  of  the  Greeks;  Leontopolis,  mentioned  per- 
haps in  Is.  xix.  18.  To  the  west  of  the  Delta  was 
Alexandria. 

2.  Middle  Egypt.  Here  are  mentioned  Moph  oi- 
Memphis  ;  and  Hanes,  the  Coptic  Hues  or  Ehnes, 
the  Anysis  of  Herodotus,  and  Great  Heracleopolis  of 
the  Greeks. 

3.  Upper  Egypt.  The  southern  part  of  Egypt  the 
Hebrews  appear  to  have  called  Pathros,  (Jer.  xliv. 
1,  15.)  The  Bible  mentions  here  only  two  cities,  viz. 
No,  or  more  fully  No-Ammon,  for  which  the  Seventy 
put  Diospohs,  the  Greek  name  for  Thebes,  the  jnost 
ancient  capital  of  Egypt;  (see  Ammon  and  Thebes  ;) 
and  Syene,  the  southern  city  and  limit  of  Egypt. 

The  early  history  of  ancient  Egypt  is  involved  in 
great  obscurity  ;  and  this  is  not  the  place  to  enter 
into  its  details.  All  accounts,  however,  and  the  re- 
sults of  all  modern  researches,  seem  to  concur,  in 
representing  culture  and  civilization  as  having  been 
introduced  and  spread  in  Egypt  from  the  south,  and 
especially  from  Meroe ;  and  that  the  country  in  the 
earliest  times  was  possessed  by  several  contemporary 
kings  or  states,  which  at  length  were  all  united  into 
one  gi-eat  kingdom.  A  priesthood  seems  to  have 
governed  the  land  ;  and  in  some  of  the  smaller  states, 
the  head  of  the  state  Mas  also  a  priest.  Not  long- 
after  the  death  of  Jose])h,  apparently,  the  Hyksos  or 
shepherds,  most  probably  an  Arabian  nomadic  tribe, 
began  their  irruptions,  and  at  last  got  possession  of 
the  country.  After  they  were  driven  out,  the  whole 
land  appears  to  have  been  again  united  under  one 
sovereign,  and  from  this  time,  or  (about  1100  B.  C.) 
to  have  enjoyed  its  greatest  prosperity.  The  first 
king  of  the  19th  dynasty,  as  it  is  called  by  Manetho, 
was  the  celebrated  Sesostris,  about  1500  B.  C.  His 
successors  are  all  called  in  the  Bible,  not  by  their 
proper  names,  but  by  the  general  appellation  Pha- 
raoh,  i.  e.  kings.  The  first  who  is  mentioned  by  his 
proper  name  is  Shishak,  (1  Kings  xiv.  25,  26,)  sup- 
posed to  be  the  Sesonchosis  of  Manetho,  about  970 
B.  C.  In  the  same  century,  Ethiopian  kings  reigned 
over  Upper  Egypt ;  of  whom  two  are  mentioned 
in  the  Bible,  viz.  So,  or  Sevechus,  (2  Kings  xvii.  4.) 
about  722  B.  C.  and  Tirhaka,  contemporary  with  Hez- 
ekiah,  2  Kings  xix.  9.  The  latter  is  said  by  Herodo- 
tus, to  have  withdrawn  from  Egj'pt.  (ii.  139.)  After 
this,  the  whole  country  was  for  a  time  under  twelve 
kings,  (about  711  B.  C.)  who  at  length  were  all  sub- 
dued by  Psammetichus,  to  whom  allusion  is  made  in 
Isa.  xix.  4.  His  son  Necho  is  mentioned  2  Kings 
xxiii.  29,  seq.  xxiv.  7,  and  elsewhere.  The  grandson 
of  Necho  was  Hophra,  who  is  also  often  mentioned 
in  the  Scriptures.  This  dynasty  was  overthrown  by 
Nebuchadnezzar,  as  announced  by  the  prophets  Jef- 
emiah  and  Ezckicl.  Jer.  xliii.  10 — 13;  xlvi.  13,  seq. 
Ezek.  xxix.  18,  seq.  xxx.  10,  seq.  xxxii.  11,  seq. 
With  these  annunciations  the  reports  of  Arabian 
writers  distinctly  agree. 

Egypt  was  afterwards  conquered  by  Cambyses,  and 
became  a  province  of  the  Persian  empire  about  525 
B.  C.  Thus  it  continued  until  conquered  by  Alex- 
ander, 350  B.  C.,  after  whose  death  it  formed,  along 
with  Syria,  Palestine,  Lybia,  &c.  the  kingdom  of  the 
Ptolemies.  After  the  battle  of  Actium,  30  B.  C.  it 
became  a  Roman  province.  Since  that  time  it  has 
ceased  to  be  an  independent  state,  and  its  history  is 


EGYPT 


[374] 


EGYPT 


incorporated  with  that  of  its  different  conquerors  and 
possessoi-s.  Ill  640,  it  was  conquered  by  the  Arabs ; 
and  in  later  pei'iods  has  passed  from  the  hands  of  the 
caliphs  under  the  power  of  Turks,  Arabs,  Kurds, 
Mamelukes  ;  and  since  1517,  has  been  governed  as  a 
province  of  the  Turkish  empire. 

The  division  of  the  inhabitants  which  prevails  in 
Egypt,  and  especially  the  ancient  division  into  castes, 
has  been  spoken  of  above. 

From  the  histories  of  Egjpt  by  Manetho,  Herodotus, 
Diodorus,  Strabo,  Plutarch,  and  others,  and  from  the 
modern  discoveries  of  ChampoUion  in  hieroglyphics, 
chronologists  have  been  led  to  divide  the  Egyptian 
empire  into  five  periods.  These  are  as  follows:  (1.) 
The  first  begins  witli  the  estabhshment  of  their  gov- 
ernment, and  comprehends  the  time  during  which 
all  religious  and  political  authority  was  in  the  hands 
of  the  priesthood,  who  laid  the  first  foundation  of 
the  future  power  of  Egypt,  founding  and  embellish- 
ing the  great  city  of  Thebes,  building  magnificent 
temples,  and  instituting  the  mysteries  of  Isis,  from 
Mizraim  to  Menes.  (2.)  The  second  period  begins  at 
the  abolition  of  this  primitive  government,  and  the 
first  establishment  of  the  monarchical  government 
by  Menes.  From  this  time  commences  what  is  gen- 
erally called  the  Pharaonic  age,  and  ends  at  the  irrup- 
tion of  Cambyses.  This  is  the  most  brilliant  period 
of  Egyptian  history  ;  during  which  Egypt  was  cover- 
ed with  those  magnificent  works  which  still  com- 
mand our  admiration  and  excite  our  astonishment ; 
and  by  the  wisdom  of  its  institutions  and  laws,  and 
by  the  learning  of  its  priests,  was  rendered  the  most 
rich,  populous,  and  enlightened  country  in  the  world. 
(3.)  The  third  epoch  includes  the  period  of  the  Per- 
sian dominion,  about  200  years.  (4.)  The  fourth 
covers  the  reigns  of  the  Ptolemies.  (5.)  The  fifth  be- 
gins when  Egypt  became  a  Roman  province,  and 
continues  to  the  middle  of  the  fourth^ceutury. 
Compare  Spiueto's  Lectures  on  Hieroglyphics,  p. 
15,  seq. 

The  religion  of  Egypt  consisted  in  the  worship  of  the 
heavenly  bodies  and  the  powers  of  nature  ;  the  priests 
cultivated  at  the  same  time  astronomy  and  astrology, 
and  to  these  belong  probably  the  wise  men,  sorce- 
rers, and  magicians,  mentioned  Ex.  vii.  11,  22.  It 
was  probably  this  wisdom,  in  which  3Ioses  also  was 
learned.  Acts  vii.  22.  But  the  Egjptian  religion  had 
this  peculiarity,  that  it  adopted  living  aniiiuds  as  sym- 
bols of  the  real  objects  of  worship. 

The  Egyptians  not  only  esteemed  many  species  of 
animals  as  sacred,  which  might  not  be  killed  without 
the  punishment  of  death,  but  individual  animals  were 
kept  in  temples  and  worshipped  with  sacrifices,  as 
gods.  (See  Apis.)  But  although  this  worship  of  ani- 
mals was  common  throughout  Egypt,  yet  it  differed 
in  different  parts  of  the  country.  There  were  but  a 
few  species  which  all  Egypt  worshipped.  The  oth- 
ers were  sacred  in  one  district,  but  not  in  another. 
In  one  province,  they  might  be  killed  and  eaten  ;  in 
another,  the  punishment  of  death  was  the  price  of 
doing  them  an  injury.  (Herod,  ii.  65,  seq.)  It  was  in 
consequence  of  this,  that  the  destruction  of  the  first- 
born in  Egj^pt  was  made  to  extend  also  to  the  beasts. 
Ex.  xii.  12. 

The  language  of  the  ancient  Egyptians  differed  es- 
sentially from  all  the  Asiatic  languages,  as  appears 
from  the  remains  of  it  still  extant  in  the  Coptic.  This 
last  indeed  has  ceased  to  be  a  living  language  since 
the  eighth  century  ;  for  although  the  Copts  continue 
to  form  a  distinct  class  in  the  Egyptian  population, 
yet,  lilce  the  other  inhabitants,  they  speak  Arabic. 


But  then-  fonner  language  still  exists  in  their  writings, 
which  are  limited  to  a  version  of  the  Scriptures, 
homilies,  hves  of  the  saints  nd  martyrs,  and  the  like. 
The  language  of  these  writings,  however,  is  no  long- 
er the  pure  ancient  Egyptian,  but  intermingles  many 
Greek  words ;  and  also  the  Coptic  alphabet  is  bor- 
rowed from  the  Greek,  with  the  addition  of  eight 
letters,  for  sounds  which  could  not  be  marked  by  the  "^ 
Greek  characters.  With  the  help  even  of  the  lan- 
guage as  found  in  these  writings,  learned  men,  par- 
ticularly Jablonsky,  Quatremere,  and  ChampoUion, 
as  well  as  others,  have  been  able  to  illustrate  the 
meaning  of  many  old  Egyptian  words  which  occur 
in  the  Old  Testament,  and  in  Greek  and  Roman 
writers.  It  cannot,  however,  be  supposed,  that  the 
language  at  the  tiine  of  the  introduction  of  Christian- 
ity was  in  all  respects  the  same  as  that  spoken  in  the  '' 
times  of  the  Pharaohs ;  and  this  is  confirmed  by  the 
modern  attempts  to  decipher  the  inscriptions  on  mon- 
uments, and  the  language  of  papyrus  rolls,  from  the 
times  o\^  the  Pharaohs  and  Ptolemies.  The  language 
of  these  difters  from  the  Coptic,  as  was  to  be  expect- 
ed, in  forms,  flexion,  and  syntax.  The  subject  will 
be  more  fully  developed,  when  the  researches  of 
ChampoUion  and  others  shall  have  been  completed, 
and  laid  before  the  public.  For  the  connection  or 
resemblance  between  the  ancient  Egj'ptian  and  He- 
brew alphabets,  see  professor  Stuart's  note  in  Grep- 
po's  Essay  on  the  Hieroglyphic  System,  p.  267,  to 
which  work  also  the  reader,  who  wishes  to  obtain 
further  information  respecting  hieroglyphics,  may  be 
referred. 

The  most  extraordinary  monuments  of  Egyptian 
power  and  industry  were  the  pyramids,  which  still 
subsist,  to  excite  the  wonder  and  admiration  of  the 
world.  A  description  of  these  extraordinary  strtic- 
tures  has  generally  been  considered  as  matter  of  cu- 
riosity, rather  than  as  being  applicable  in  illustrating  , 
the  Scriptures,  since  there  appears  to  be  no  allusion  / 
to  them  in  the  Bible.  They  have,  however,  by  some, 
been  supposed  to  have  been  erected  by  the  Israelites 
during  their  bondage  in  Egypt.  Josephus,  indeed, 
says  expressly,  that  the  Egjptians  "  treated  the  Is- 
raelites inhumanly,  and  thought  to  wear  them  out  by 
various  labors ;  they  caused  them  to  divide  up  the 
river  into  many  cliauuels,  to  build  walls  around  the 
cities,  and  mounds  to  prevent  the  access  of  water 
where  it  would  become  stagnant ;  and  hy  building  the  J 
pyramids,  also,  they  diminished  our  people."  (Antiq. 
ii.  9.  1.)  Whether  Josephus  made  this  statement  on 
the  authority  of  a  national  tradition,  or  as  a  conjec- 
ture of  his  own,  cannot  be  determined.  But  the 
tenor  of  ancient  history  in  general,  as  well  as  the  re- 
sults of  modern  researches,  is  against  the  supposition 
of  the  pyramids  having  been  built  by  the  Israelites  ; 
and  they  are  usually  assigned  to  a  later  period.  I\Ir. 
Taylor,  however,  has  adopted  the  above  hypothesis, 
and  attempts  to  support  it  by  the  arguments  which 
follow.  Tlicy  may  stand  here,  as  a  specimen  of  that 
kind  of  learning,  which  delights  in  doubtful  and 
shado^vy  speculation,  rather  than  in  sober  and  judi- 
cious research.     *R. 

Mr.  Taylor  conceives  that  Providence  has  left  us 
the  pyramids,  as  everlasting  monuments  of  the  vera- 
city of  that  Sacred  History  with  which  Ave  are  fa- 
vored. In  fact,  that  they  are  part,  at  least,  of  the 
labors  of  the  Israelites,  previous  to  the  exodus ;  and 
that  they  remain  to  witness  the  leading  events  of  that 
portion  of  the  history  of  the  sons  of  Jacob.  The  fol- 
lowing considerations  are  advanced  in  support  of 
tills  opinion : 


EGYPT 


[375] 


EGYPT 


1.  If  we  inquire  what  were  the  labors  of  the  Israel- 
ites for  the  Pharaohs,  we  find  that  they  consisted  in 
making  bricks,  to  be  hardened  m  the  sun,  for  such 
bricks  alone  require  the  assistance  of  straw  in  their 
composition,  which  material  is  particularly  mentioned 
by  the  officers  of  this  people,  Exod.  i.  14.  Now,  it 
appears  from  various  travellers,  that  the  internal  con- 
struction of  these  mighty  masses  consists,  among 
other  materials,  of  brick  of  this  description  ;  and 
tliercby  agrees  with  that  circumstance  of  the  sacred 
nairative.  This  is  true  of  the  great  pyramid,  which 
is  usually  visited  ;  but  the  pyramids  of  Sakkara,  at 
some  distance,  are  wholly  composed  of  sun-burnt 
bricks,  so  that  these  are  undeniable. 

2.  The  nuiltitude,  when  in  the  wilderness,  regret 
the  fisli  which  they  ate  in  Egypt,  freely,  {gratis,  not 
at  their  o\\ii  expense,)  the  cucumbers,  the  melons, 
the  leeks,  the  onions,  the  garlic.  Numb.  xi.  5.  In 
conformity  with  this,  we  are  told  by  Herodotus,  that 
on  tlie  pyramid  was  an  inscription,  "  expressing  the 
expense  of  the  articles  of  food  consumed  by  the  la- 
borers ;  radishes,  (the  leeks,  perhaps,  of  Scripture,) 
onions,  and  garlic  ;  they  cost  1,600  talents  of  silver." 
No  doul)t  these  vegetables  were  cheap  enough ;  so 
that  this  considerable  sum  implies  a  prodigious  num- 
ber of  workmen,  employed  during  a  great  length  of 
time.  Herodotus  also  admires  the  further  sum  which 
must  have  been  expended  in  food  and  clothes. 

3.  As  to  the  nimiber  of  persons  employed  in  their 
erection,  Diodorus  Siculus  says,  that  360,000  work- 
men, or  slaves,  were  occupied  twenty  years  in  con- 
structing the  pyramid  ofChemnis.  Herodotus  says 
100,000  were  employed  in  bringing  stones  ;  10,000 
at  a  time,  who  relieved  each  other  every  three 
months.  It  may  be  supposed,  therefore,  that  the 
number  given  by  Diodorus,  includes  the  whole  of  the 
population  employed  in  all  departments,  while  the 
number  given  by  Herodotus  is  that  employed  in  a 
specific  department ;  but,  that  all  were  relieved  every 
three  months,  and  that  only  a  proportion  of  one 
tenth  was  employed  at  a  time,  seems  to  have  been  a 
kind  of  rule  in  the  business.  Now,  it  is  very  likely 
that  the  Israelites  were  in  this  manner  relieved ;  for 
we  find,  (Exod.  iv.  27.)  that  the  mother  of  Moses  was 
able  to  conceal  him,  when  an  infant,  no  longer  than 
three  months.  And  Aaron  was  able  to  take  a  jour- 
ney (which  usually  occupies  two  months,  says  Dr. 
Shaw)  to  mount  Horeb,  to  meet  Moses,  which,  had 
he  been  kept  without  intermission  to  his  labor,  would 
have  been  impossible.  Indeed,  if  the  Israelites  la- 
bored in  the  field,  they  could  not  have  been  con- 
stantly employed  in  building ;  and  that  they  did  la- 
bor in  the  field  is  evident  from  their  possession  of 
great  herds  of  cattle,  when  they  went  out  of  Egypt. 
Add  to  this,  that  their  profession  was  that  of  shep- 
herds, that  they  were  placed  in  the  richest  pasturage 
in  Egypt,  that  Moses  stipulates  that  not  a  hoof  should 
be  left  behind,  and  that  the  very  institution  of  the 
passover-lamb  implies  the  possession  of  flocks ;  these, 
with  other  circumstances,  show  clearly  that  the  Is- 
raelites must  have  had  intervals  of  time,  in  which  to 
pay  attention  to  their  own  property  and  business. 

4.  It  is  almost  certain  that  the  native  Egyptians,  or 
the  governing  nation,  at  least,  did  not  labor  on  these 
structures  ;  for  Diodorus  Siculus  says,  (lib.  i.  cap.  2.) 
"He  [Sesostris]  built  ....  he  employed  in  these 
works  none  of  his  own  subjects,  but  only  the  lai)ors 
of  captives.  He  was  even  careful  to  engrave  these 
words  on  the  temples,  '  JVb  Egyptian  had  a  hand  in 
this  structure.''  They  say  further,  that  the  captives 
brought  from  Babylon,  unable  to  endure  these  labors, 


found  means  to  escape,  and 
Egj'ptians,"  &c.     It  is  there 


.  made  war  against  the 
efore  likely  that  the  stran- 
ger Israelites  found  in  Egypt,  by  "  the  king  who  knew 
not  Joseph,"  and  whose  increasing  numbers  and 
strength  he  dreaded,  would  be  set  to  labor,  though  in 
mere  waste  of  their  strength,  on  structures  only  useful 
in  a  political  view,  rather  than  any  of  the  uatiiral  in- 
habitants, towards  wliom  the  same  policy  was  not 
necessary.  This  conduct  was  afterwards  adopted  by 
Solomon  ;  (1  Kings  ix.  27.)  "  Solomon  built  .  .  .  of  the 
Amorites,  Perizzites,  Hivites,  &c.  who  were  not  of 
the  children  of  Israel  did  Solomon  levy  a  triliute  of 
bond  service — but  of  the  children  of  Israel  did  Solo- 
mon make  no  bondmen ;  but  they  were  men  of 
war,"  &c. 

5.  That  it  was  anciently,  as  it  still  is  in  the  East, 
the  custom  to  employ  bondmen  in  buildhig,  is  noto- 
rious ;  we  have  therefore  only  to  inquire,  whether 
this  character  was  attached  to  the  Israelites.  It  is 
expressly  attributed  to  them  ;  for  they  are  said  to  be 
brought  out  of  the  house  of  bondage  ;  (Exod.  xx.  2.) 
they  are  charged  to  remember  they  were  bondmen 
in  Egypt,  Deut.  vii.  21  ;  xv.  15.  That  the  Israelites 
did  iiot  make  brick  only,  but  performed  other  labors 
of  building,  may  be  inferred  from  Exod.  ix.  8,  10. 
Moses  took  "  ashes  of  the  furnace," — no  doubt  that 
which  was  tended  by  his  people. — So  Psalm  Ixxxi.  6, 
"  I  removed  his  shoulder  from  the  hurden,  and  his 
hands  were  delivered  from  the  basket,  i.  e.  basket  of 
burden,"  (not  j9o/5,  as  in  our  translation,)  and  with  this 
rendering  agree  the  LXX,  Vulgate,  Symmachus,  and 
others.  It  is  recorded,  indeed,  that  the  Israelites 
built  cities  for  Pharaoh,  and  in  such  building  they 
might  and  must  carry  the  burden,  and  the  mortar- 
basket,  (analogous  to  our  mortar-hod,)  yet  as  their 
delivery  from  these  things  is  spoken  of,  as  the  fur- 
nace is  evidently  not  distant  from  the  residence  of 
Pharaoh,  and  as  there  is  no  reason  to  suppose  that 
soon  after  they  had  built  these  cities  they  were  dis- 
missed ;  these  circumstances  seem  to  coiToborate  the 
positive  testimony  of  Josephus,  that  Israel  was  em- 
ployed on  the  pyramids.  We  may,  perhaps,  attrib- 
ute the  omission  of  finishing  the  last  pyramid  to  the 
confusion  consequent  on  the  death  of  Pharaoh  in 
the  Red  sea,  and  the  hatred  which  attended  his 
memory,  among  the  genuine  Egyptians,  to  which 
race  he  did  not  belong ;  but  was  usurper  over  them, 
as  he  was  a  tyrant  over  Israel. 

6.  The  space  of  time  allotted  to  the  erection  of 
these  immense  masses,  coincides  with  what  is  usually 
allotted  to  the  slavery  of  the  Israelites.  Israel  is  un- 
derstood to  have  been  in  Egypt  215  years  ;  of  which, 
Joseph  ruled  seventy  years,  nor  was  it  till  long  after 
his  death,  that  the  "  new  king  arose  who  knew  not 
Joseph."  If  we  allow  about  forty  years  for  the  ex- 
tent of  the  generation  which  succeeded  Joseph,  added 
to  his  seventy,  there  remain  about  a  hundred  and 
five  years  to  the  exodus.  Now — Herodotus  tells  us, 
(lib.  ii.  cap.  124.)  tliat  "  till  the  reign  of  Rampsinitus, 
(the  Ramesses  of  Scripture,)  Egypt  was  not  only 
remarkable  for  its  abundance,  but  for  its  excellent 
laws.  Cheops,  who  succeeded  this  prince,  degene- 
rated into  the  extremest  profligacy  of  conduct.  He 
barred  the  avenues  to  every  temple,  forbade  the 
Egyptians  from  offering  sacrifices,  and  next  proceed- 
ed to  make  them  labor  servilely  for  himself,  by  build- 
ing the  pyramids.  Cheops  reigned  fifty  years. 
(Cap.  127.)  His  brother  Chephren  succeeded,  and 
reigned  fifty-six  years  :  he  adopted  a  siiuilar  conduct. 
Thus  for  the  space  of  106  years,  were  the  Egj'ptians 
exposed  to  everv  species  of  oppression  and  calamity  ; 


EGYPT 


[  376  ] 


EGYPT 


not  hanng  in  all  this  period  permission  to  worship 
in  their  temples.  For  the  memory  of  these  two 
monarchs  they  have  so  extreme  an  aversion,  that 
they  are  not  willing  to  mention  their  names.  They 
call  their  pyramids  by  the  name  of  the  shepherd  Phili- 
Tis,  tvho  at  that  time  fed  his  cattle  in  those  places. 
Myceriuus  succeeded  Chephren ;  disapproved  his 
father's  conduct ;  commanded  the  temples  to  be 
opened,  and  the  people,  who  had  been  reduced  to 
the  most  extreme  affliction,  were  again  permitted  to 
offer  sacrifice." — Here  are  plain  traces  of  a  govern- 
ment by  a  foreign  family,  and  of  a  woi'ship  contrary 
to  that  which  had  been  previously  established  in 
Egypt,  wliich  agrees  exactly  with  circumstances  nar- 
rated in  Exodus.  The  historian  relates  that  it  lasted 
106  years,  in  vvhich  it  coincides  with  the  bondage- 
time  of  the  sons  of  Israel. 

But  there  is  information  couched  under  the  am- 
biguous mention  of  the  shepherd  Philitis,  which 
should  not  escape  us.  liis  clear,  that  the  Egyptians 
could  not  call  the  kings  by  whose  order  the  pyramids 
(plural)  were  built,  by  this  name,  in  the  hearing  of 
Herodotus,  since  they  referred  tliem  to  their  kings 
Cheops  and  Chephren ;  besides  wliicli,  it  would 
seem  that  the  shepherd  Philitis  had  formerly,  and 
customarily,  fed  his  cattle  elsewhere.  We  may, 
therefore,  understand  this  passage  thus : — They  at- 
tributed the  labor  of  constructing  these  pyramids  to 
a  shepherd  who  came  from  Philistia  ;  but  who  at 
that  time  fed  his  cattle  in  the  land  of  Egj-pt.  Im- 
plying, that  they  more  readily  told  the  appellation 
of  the  workmen  [the  sons  of  Israel,  the  shepherd, 
Gan.  xlvii.  5.]  employed  in  the  building,  than  of  the 
kings  by  whose  commands  they  were  built.  They 
seem  to  have  done  the  same  in  the  days  of  Diodorus, 
who  remarks,  "  They  admit  that  these  works  are 
superior  to  all  which  are  seen  in  Egypt ;  not  only 
by  the  immensity  of  their  mass,  and  by  their  pro- 
digious cost,  but  still  more  by  the  beauty  of  their  con- 
struction ;  and  the  workmen  who  have  rendered 
them  so  perfect,  are  much  more  estimable  than  the 
kings  who  paid  their  cost :  for  the  former  have  here- 
by given  a  memorable  proof  of  their  genius  and  skill, 
whereas  the  kings  contributed  only  the  riches  left 
by  their  ancestors,  or  extorted  from  their  subjects.  .  . 
They  say,  the  first  was  erected  by  Armttus,  the  sec- 
ond by  Ammosis,  the  third  by  Inaron."  Tlie  first 
name,  Armceus,  Mr.  Taylor  corrects  into  ArartifEus ; 
that  is,  "the  Syrian:"  and  then  the  title  perfectly 
coincides  with  the  mention  of  the  shepherd  of  Pal- 
estine, by  Herodotus.  This  passage  being  extreme- 
ly curious,  and  perhaps  never  properly  understood, 
the  original  Greek  is  subjoined.  (Diod.  Sic.  lib.  i. 
sect.  2.) 

— T;,i'    utyinrl^v   noi^aai  /.iyovciv   'Anuatov,    ['^Qaiiatov,^ 
ti^v  Sc  SivTtnuv  'AfiuaiOtv,  rl^v  8i  TQiTi^v  ' Irao(7>ici. 

This  coincidence  will  appear  more  striking  if  the 
names  be  considered  distinct  from  their  prefixes, 
tor,  if  we  compare  them  with  the  description  of 
Moses  and  Aaron,  (Ex.  vi.  26,  27.)  we  find  them  the 
same,  as  near  as  traditionary  pronunciation  by  na- 
tives of  diflferent  coimtries  could  l)ring  it :  aMousin, 
or  haMousin,  is  hitMouseh,  nz'v  Mn :  and  inArona,  or 
hinArona,  is  hv Aaron,  ]-.r.x  Nin,  which,  where  two 
vowel  sounds  came  together,  took  a  consonant  be- 
t\v-cen  them,  when  spoken, — hunAaron.  This,  there- 
fore, confirms  the  supposition,  that  the  Israelites 
%vcre  emj)loyed  on  the  pyramids ;  first,  under  the 
appellation  of  the  Syrian,  or  Aramean,  (the  very  title 
given  to  Jacob,  "An  Aramite  ready  to  perish  was 


my  father,  he  went  down  into  Egypt .  .  .  and  the 
Egyptians  evil  entreated  us,  and  afflicted  us,  and 
laid  upon  us  hard  bondage,"  Deut.  xxvi.  5.) — and 
afl;erwards,  under  the  names  of  the  two  most  famous 
principals  of  that  people. 

But  beside  the  names  of  Moses  and  Aaron,  the 
builders,  we  may  possibly  find  that  the  names  of  the 
kings  by  whose  order  they  were  built,  are  also  pre- 
served, so  far  at  least  as  by  the  help  of  Scripture 
to  afford  assistance  in  this  inquiry.  "  Rampsinitus, 
(supposed  to  be  the  Remphis  of  the  next  paragraph, 
from  Diodorus  Siculus)  ....  possessed  such  abund- 
ance of  wealth,  that  so  far  from  surpassing,  none  of 
his  successors  ever  equalled  him  in  affluence  ;"  saj's 
Herodotus  ;  who  also  relates  a  history  of  his  trea- 
sury, from  which  the  least  we  can  gather  is  that  it 
was  very  extraordinary.  ^^ Remphis,  (son  of  Protheus,) 
having  succeeded  his  father,  employed  the  whole 
period  of  his  reign  in  increasing  his  revenues,  and 
amassing  gold  and  silver  ....  he  left  behind  him 
more  riches  than  any  of  his  predecessors  ;  for  it  is 
said  that  in  his  coffers  were  found  400,000  talents," 
Diod.  Sic.  lib.  i.  sect.  2. 

Rawnesses  or  Hnii^nesses  (Benjamin  of  Tudela 
AVTites  it  Raghmesses  ;t^usehms,  Ramises ;  Josephus, 
Ramphaies ;  and  such  differences  indicate  a  foreign 
origin)  is  the  name  of  a  town,  (Exod.  i.  11  ;  xii.  37.) 
apparently  named  after  this  king  of  Egypt ;  and  if 
pronounced  Rucmetses,  it  would  be  the  Indian  Ruc- 
mavatsa.  This  elision  is  common  in  India,  and  ma- 
jor Wilford  adopts  it  himself,  by  supposing  that  the 
Tamovatsa  of  this  passage  is  the  Timaus  of  the 
Greek  writers.  Rucmavatsa  was,  say  the  Puranas, 
NOT  OF  THE  ROYAL  RACE  OF  EcYPT ;  but  liis  grand- 
father Tamovatsadefcated  the  Egyptian  king,  "  placed 
himself  on  the  throne  of  Misra,  and  governed  the 
kingdom  with  perfect  equity :  his  son  Bahya-vatsa 
devoted  himself  to  religion,  having  resigned  his  do- 
minion to  his  son  Rucmavatsa,  who  tenderly  loved 
his  people,  and  so  highly  imjjroved  this  country,  that 
from  his  just  revenues  he  amassed  an  incredible 
treasure.  His  wealth  was  so  great,  that  he  raised 
three  rnountains  called  Rucmadi'i,  Rajatadri,  and 
Retnadri ;  or,  the  I\Iountai.\  of  gold,  of  silver,  and 
of  gems.  Tlie  author  says,  7nountains,  but  it  appears, 
says  major  Wilford,  from  the  context,  that  they  were 
fabrics.  (The  Arabs  and  Turks  call  them  Djebel 
Pharouni,  Pharaoh's  Mountains,  to  this  day.) — There 
can  be  httle  or  no  doubt,  that  they  are  the  three 
pyramids  near  Misra-sthan,  or  IMemphis.  Rucma- 
vatsa was  no  tyrant  to  his  own  peoj)le,  whom  lie 
cherished,  says  the  'Mahacalpa,'  as  if  they  had  been 
his  own  children  ;  but  he  might  have  compelled  the 
native  Egyptians  to  work,  for  the  sake  of  keeping 
them  employed,  and  suljduing  their  spirit.  The  first 
Mas  said  to  be  of  gold,  because  coated  with  yellow 
marble  ;  the  second  of  silver,  because  coated  with 
white  marble  ;  the  third  of  gems,  because  coated 
with  vai-iegated  marble ;"  or  perhajjs  marbles  set  in 
some  pattern. 

Now,  the  opposite  character  of  this  Rucmavatsa 
is  what  we  should  expect  would  be  delivered  by 
writers  of  opposite  nations.  (].)  He  ivas  a  foreigner 
introduced  by  conquest,  tiierefore,  "  he  knew  not  Jo- 
seph," nor  cared  for  any  former  services  rendered 
by  that  "Saviour  of  the  (Egyptian)  world."  (2.)  He 
teiiderly  loved  his  people — his  own  people,  foreigners 
like  himself;  but  the  Egyjitians  were  not  so  fond 
of  him,  they  rather  banished  his  name  from  their 
memoiy,  and  hated  the  mention  of  it.  (3.)  From  his 
just  revenues  he  amassed  treasures — but  liis  conquer- 


EGYPT 


L377  ] 


EIIU 


ed  subjects  would  describe  this  as  iniquitous  exac- 
tion. (4.)  This  family  shut  up  the  temples  ;  and  we 
are  sure  they  prohibited  sacrilices  in  the  instance  of 
Israel.  This  might  be  piety  in  the  opinion  of  the 
writers  of  the  Mahacalpa;  but  the  original  Egyptians 
would  esteem  it  persecution  for  religion's  sake,  and 
consequently  wickedness  of  no  connnon  guilt.  (5.) 
He  built  three  inountaitis : — rather  three  nioimtains 


were  built  during  the  reign  of  his  family 


Ml  these 


he  did  not  employ  his  own  people,  but  partly  the 
native  Egyptians,  with  oihei-s  whom  he  found  in  the 
country,  (the  rnixed  multitude  of  Exod.  xii.  38.)  and 

fjartly  the  Israelites,  whom  he  wished  to  subdue  by 
abor.  The  character  of  this  prince  agi-ees  suffi- 
ciendy  to  prove  his  identity  ;  and  it  disagrees  suffi- 
ciently to  prove,  that  on  one  side  it  is  vie-.ved  with 
the  eye  of  national  and  religious  partialitj' ;  on  the 
other,  with  the  aversion  of  national  and  I'eligious  ab- 
horrence. The  progress  is  as  usual  in  these  cases. — 
Taxation  accumulates  wealth  ;  wealth  is  dissipated 
in  expensive  buildings,  and  is  accompanied  by  over- 
driven slavery  ;  this  issues  in  insurrection,  and  the 
escape  of  the  sufferers.  Precisely  parallel  to  this  is 
the  occasion  of  the  revolt  of  the  ten  tribes  from  the 
family  of  Solomon,  1  Kings  xii.  3,  4.  18  ;  2  Chron. 
X.  4.  It  is  impossible  to  refrain  from  observing  how 
aptly  historical  narration  and  geographical  discus- 
sion illustrate  each  other.  And  we  form  this  general 
conclusion,  that  so  many  coincidences  justify  us  in 
believing  that  the  pyramids  of  Egypt  were  built 
when  Israel  was  in  that  land  ;  were  partly  construct- 
ed by  that  people  ;  and  that  the  labors  they  exacted 
fostered  that  aversion  of  mind  which  the  true  Egyp- 
tians entertained  against  the  memories  of  their  op- 
pressor ;  so  that  in  later  ages,  the  priests  rather 
mentioned,  to  inquiring  foreigners,  the  names  of  the 
operative  builders,  than  of  the  kings  Avhose  treasures 
had  been  expended  on  their  construction.  As  to 
the  difference  of  names  between  Cheops  and  Rames- 
ses ;  probably  one  may  be  a  title,  or  a  name  taken 
on  a  certain  occasion  ;  or  one  may  be  a  Hindoo,  the 
other  an  Egyptian,  appellation.  At  all  events,  we 
know  so  little  on  this  subject,  that  no  objection  can 
be  maintained  from  it,  without  further  information. 

The  ])yramids  are  such  extraordinary  works,  that 
tliey  justify  extraordinary  attention  ;  and  having  at- 
tempted to  ascertain  their  builders,  we  sliall  subjoin 
a  i'ew  remarks  on  their  purpose.  They  have  been 
described  as  three  mountains,  but  it  appears  from 
the  context,  says  major  Wilford,  that  they  were  fab- 
rics ; — and  he  adds,  "As  to  the  three  stupendous 
edifices,  called  viountains,  from  their  size  and  form, 
there  can  be  little  or  no  doid)t  that  they  were  the 
three  great  pyramids  near  Misra-st'han  or  Memphis  ; 
which,  according  to  the  Purinas  and  to  Pliny,  were 
built  from  a  motive  of  ostentation,  but,  according  to 
Aristotle,  were  monuments  of  tyraimy."  "The  Bra- 
mens  never  understood,  that  any  pyramid  in  IMisra- 
st'hala,  or  Egypt,  was  intended  as  a  repository  for 
the  dead  ;  and  no  such  idea  is  conveyed  by  the  Ma- 
hacalpa, where  several  other  pyramids  are  expressly 
mentioned  as  places  of  worship.  There  are  pyra- 
mids now  at  Benares,  but  on  a  small  scale,  with  sub 
terranean  passages  imder  them,  which  are  said  „ 
extend  many  miles;  when  the  doors,  which     i'^' 

them,  arc   opened,   we   perceive   only   dar' .    ^  ,  ' 
1  •  1    J         :  ^      '  1    ^iffruus  no 

which  do  not  seem  of  great  extent,  and      p .  •       • 

longer  resort  to  them,  through  fear  o^'"^'"",  ';,,;'  ' 
or  of  noxious  reptiles.    The  narro^   passage,  lead mg 


to  the  great  pyramid  in  Egypt 


.vas  designed  to  ren- 


der the  holy  apartment  less 
49 


ccessible,  and  to  inspire 


the  votaries  with  more  awe.  On  my  describing  the 
great  Egj'ptian  pyramid  to  several  veiy  learned 
Brahmens,  they  declared  it  at  once  to  have  been  a 
temple,  appropriated  to  the  worship  of  Padmaddvi, 
anil  that  the  supposed  tomb  was  a  trough,  which, 
on  certain  festivals,  her  priests  used  to  fiil  with  the 
sacred  water  and  lotos-flowers."  These  sentiments 
are  repetitions  of  those  which  governed  the  builders 
of  Baliel,  who  proposed  a  tower,  the  top  of  which 
"should  be  (sacred)  to  the  heavens;"  and  these 
Egyptian  jiyramids  were  imitations  of  that  in  the 
land  of  Shinar,  and  were  intended  for  the  same  pur- 
poses. (See  Babf.l.)  But,  we  must  not  pass  that 
colossal  performance,  the  Sphinx,  without  remark- 
ing that  it  greatly  contributes  to  strengthen  our  ar- 
gument. 

The  Sphinx  is  a  figure  composed  of  a  lion's  body, 
and  a  woman  or  man's  bosom,  neck,  and  head. 
This  is  perfectly  agreeable  to  the  notion  of  a  foreign 
nation,  supposed  to  have  overrun  Egypt ;  and  it 
forms  an  instance  of  the  care  taken  to  perpetuate 
the  insignia  of  the  original  country.  In  short,  the 
Hindoo  conquerors  (see  Shem)  placed  it  in  front  of 
the  pyramids,  looking  eastward,  that  it  might  con- 
stantly recall  the  memory  of  the  Sun-rising  land. 
The  number  of  smaller  pyramids,  and  of  temples, 
still  existing  in  ruins  around,  demonstrate  that  here 
was  a  prodigious  establishment  for  national  worship  ; 
such  an  one,  no  doubt,  the  builders  at  Babel  contem- 
plated ;  but  the  want  of  stone  in  that  country  oblig- 
ing them  to  use  brick,  the  labors  of  the  Pharaohs 
have  outlasted  the  efforts  of  the  chiefs  of  Babylon. 

But  though  it  be  admitted  that  the  Israelites  con- 
tributed to  erect  the  pyramids,  it  does  not  follow 
that  they  cased  them  with  their  coating  of  marble  or 
g]-anite.  That  was,  in  all  probability,  performed  by 
professed  artists;  the  stones  were  brought  from  a 
distance,  and  doubtless  required  skill  as  well  as  labor 
in  their  pre])aration  and  use.  It  is  indeed  a  tradition 
on  the  spot,  that  the  Israelites  dug  out  from  the 
rocks  adjacent  those  grottos  which  show  from 
whence  came  the  layei-s  of  stone  which  accompany 
the  rubble  work  ;  and  this  may  be  true ;  but  the 
granite,  it  is  presumed,  they  did  not  cut. 

EGYPT,  BUOOK,  or  river  of.  This  is  frequent- 
ly mentioned  as  the  southern  limit  of  the  Land  of 
Promise,  Gen.  xv.  18  ;  2  Chron.  vii.  8  ;  Num.  xxiv„e 
Joshua  XV.  4.  Calmet  is  of  opinion,  that  this  v  it  by 
Nile  :  remarking  that  Joshua  (xiii.  3.)  descie  of  the 
the  name  of  Sihor ;  which  is  the  true.nos  (vi.  14.) 
Nile;  "the  muddy  river:"  and  thycause  the  east- 
calls  it  the  river  of  the  wilderne^ffjja,  or  the  wilder- 
ern  arm  of  the  Nile  adjoinetlatered  the  district  by 
ness,  in  Hebrew  Araba,  aiy'n.  In  answer  to  this,  it 
the  Egyptians  called  j(Vasthe  limit  of  Judea  toward 
is  said  that  this  strc-xXX,  (Isaiah  xxvii.  1,2.)  "unto 
Egypt;  and  that  pt"  render  "to  Rhinocorura ;"  a 
the  river  of  \Iq[  adjacent  to  the  Nile.  Besides,  it 
tOAvn  certjy  dubious  whether  the  power  of  the  He- 
is  exti-^fion  extended,  at  any  time,  to  the  Nile  ;  and 
breAVj;,]^  it  was  over  a  mere  sandy  desert.  But  as 
'.^s  desert  is  unquestionably  the  natural  boundary 
of  the  Syrian  dominions,  no  reason  can  be  given 
why  the  political  boundary  should  exceed  it.  Such 
an  anomaly  is  an  error  against  both  nature  and  geo- 
eranhv.  We  take  the  river  of  EgjTt,  therefore,  to 
be  the  brook  Besor,  between  Gaza  and  Rlunocorura. 
See  Josh.  xv.  47.     See  Nile. 

EHUD,  son  of  Gera;  a  judge  of  Israel,  who  slew 
Eglon,  king  of  Moab,  Judg.  iii.  15. 


EL  A 


[  378 


ELATH 


There  is  a  circumstance  in  the  history  of  Ehud 
(Judg.  iii.  15,  &c.)  which  is  well  illustrated  by  an  oc- 
currence noticed  by  3Ir.  Bruce.  "  Ehud  said,  '  I 
have  a  secret  errand  unto  thee,  O  king !'  who  said, 
'  Keep  silence !'  and  all  that  stood  by  him  ivent  out 
from  before  him.  And  Ehud  canie  unto  him,"  &c. — 
This  seems  to  imply,  that  the  delivery  of  messages 
announced  as  seci-et  was  notliing  uncommon,  but 
that  the  king's  people  knew  their  duty,  and,  on  the 
mention  of  such  a  thing,  quitted  the  presence,  as 
good  manners  directed  them.  This  idea  of  the  fre- 
quency of  such  messages  accounts  also  for  the  non- 
suspicion  of  Eglon,  or  of  his  attendants,  respecting 
tills  communication  of  Ehud  ;  in  fact,  this  part  of 
the  history  assumes  much  more  the  air  of  an  ordina- 
ry occurrence,  after  having  read  the  passage  from 
Bruce,  which  renders  the  whole  action  so  much  the 
easier ;  as  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  Ehud  laid  his 
plan  with  strict  attention  to  the  manners  of  the  times, 
and  conducted  it,  also,  in  correct  conformity  to  the 
modes  prevalent  in  the  king's  court ;  as  might  best 
insure  his  purpose,  might  prevent  suspicion  of  his 
design,  and  might  most  effectually  render  detection 
of  it  unavailing. — "I  drank  a  dish  of  coffee,  and  told 
him  that  I  was  bearer  of  a  confidential  message  from 
Ali  Bey  of  Cairo,  and  wished  to  deliver  it  to  him, 
vnthout  ivitnesses,  whenever  he  jjleased.  The  room 
was  accordingly  cleared,  without  delay,  excepting  his 
secretary,  who  was  also  going  away,  when  I  pulled 
him  back  by  the  clothes,  saying,  '  Stay,  if  you  please  ; 
we  shall  need  you  to  write  the  answer.'  We  were 
no  sooner  left  alone,  than  I  told  the  aga  that,  ....  I 
wished  to  put  it  in  his  power,  as  he  pleased  or  not, 
to  have  witnesses  of  delivering  the  small  present  I 
had  brought  him  from  Cairo."  (Trav.  vol.  i.  p.  153.) 
EKRON,  the  most  northern  city  of  the  Philistines, 
allotted  to  Judah  l)y  Joshua,  (xv.  45.)  but  afterwards 
given  to  Dan,  (xix.  43.)  though  it  does  not  appear 
that  the  Jews  ever  peaceably  possessed  it.  It  was 
near  the  Mediterranean,  between  Ashdod  and  Jam- 
nia,  and  is  probably  the  ruined  village  now  called 
Tookrain.  The  Ekrouites  were  the  first  who  pro- 
posed to  send  back  the  ark,  in  order  to  be  delivered 
from  those  calamities  which  it  brought  on  their 
country,  1  Sam.  v.  10.  Baalzebub  was  adored  at 
Ekron,  2  Kings  i.  2. 
rnei-ELAH,  Aholibamah's  successor  in  the  govern- 

II.  ^Edom,  Gen.  xxxvi.  41. 

sassinateciH,  a  son  of  Baasha  king  of  Israel ;  as- 
Kings  xvi.  d—  Zimri,  after  reigning  two  years,  1 
usurper,  2  Kings  His  son  Hoshea  killed  Pekah,  the 

III.  ELAH,  a  val.;?0. 

ed  when  David  fouglWli6''e  the  Israelites  encamp- 
three  miles  from  Bethlehe?Jjath,  (1  Sam.  xvii.  19.) 

I.  ELAM,  son  of  Shem,  GPjhe  road  to  Jaffli. 

II.  ELAM,  the   name   of  the-  22. 

possessed  by  the  Persians,  (Gen.  xiVPtrj  originally 
ed  from  the  son  of  Shem  above  notice^.^"'^'  ^°  •'^'l- 
took  possession  of  the  southern  tract,  east^l^^"^  Elain 
phrates,  and  comprising  the  mountainous  reJ^i?  1^"" 
Khusistan  and  Louristan,  is  certain,  not  onlvhO^ 
Scripture  m  which  the  inhabitants  of  these  /egioil^ 
are  called  Elam.tes,  but  also  from  heathen  writers 
who  speak  of  the  Elynnei  as  a  people  dwelHn^on' 


included   the    whole  of  Susiana!      The   citv 
-^^i,  was  in  it,  Dan.  viii.  2.     See  Ely- 


ELATH,  or  Eloth,  a  city  of  Edom  on  the  east- 
ern gulf  of  the  Red  sea,  and  which  Smidts  thinks 
was  named  from  Ela,  a  duke  of  Edom,  who  built  it, 
Gen.  xxxvi.  41.  Eloth  was  singularly  varied  in  the 
writing,  and  no  doubt  in  the  pi-onunciation,  of  its 
name  :  ^lath,  ^lana,  Ada,  Ailana,  Ailas,  Ailath, 
Ailoth,  Elath,  Elana,  Haila,  Hailath,  &c.  Pliny  says 
it  was  called  Leana,  from  the  Leanites,  a  people 
that  dwelt  on  the  shores  of  the  Elanilic  gulf,  which 
gulf  was  between  Eloth  and  Gaza.  In  later  ages 
it  was  commonly  called  Elana,  and  was,  according  to 
Jerome,  the  first  port  from  which  to  sail  from  India 
to  Egypt.  After  the  decease  of  Alexander,  and  the 
wars  consequent  on  his  death,  Elana  was  subject  to 
the  kings  of  Egypt ;  afterwards  to  those  of  Syria ; 
then  to  the  Romans,  who,  in  the  days  of  Jerome, 
stationed  the  tenth  legion  there, 

Ibn  Ilaukal  (Appendix  to  Eug.  Ti-.  of  D'Arvieux,) 
describes  Ailah  as  "formerly  a  small  town,  with 
some  fruitful  lands  about  it :  it  is  the  city  of  those 
Jews  who  were  turned  into  hogs  and  monkeys.  It 
stands  upon  the  coast  of  the  Red  sea,  pretty  near  the 
road  of  the  Egyptian  pilgrims  that  go  to  Mecca.  It 
is  now  nothing  but  a  tower,  the  residence  of  a  gov- 
ernor, who  depends  upon  him  of  Grand  Cairo. 
There  are  now  no  longer  any  sown  fields  there. 
There  was  foi'inerly  a  fort  built  in  the  sea,  but  it  is 
all  gone  to  ruin,  and  the  commander  lives  in  the 
tower  we  were  just  speaking  of,  which  stands  by  the 
water-side."  This  information  is  of  consequence, 
as  it  shows  that  the  character  of  the  country  is 
changed.  It  had  formerly  "fruitful  lands;"  it  had 
"sown  fields."  It  had  also  "a  fort  built  in  the  sea:" 
but  there  would  have  been  no  occasion  for  a  fort, 
and  still  less  for  a  fort  in  the  sea,  if  it  had  not  for- 
merly been  a  seaport,  and  a  place  worth  defending. 

Describing  the  Red  sea,  the  same  writer  says,  (p. 
353.) — "  Leaving  Madyan,  it  comes  to  Ailah,  which 
is  under  the  55th  degree  of  longitude,  and  29th  of 
latitude.     From  Ailah  the  sea  bends  southward  as 
far  as  Al-tour,  which  is  mount  Sinai,  that  by  a  very 
high  cape,  jutting  out  into  the  sea,  divides  it  into  two 
arms.     From  thence,  turning  back  again  northward, 
it  comes  at  last  to  Kolzum,  which  stands  to  the  west 
of  Ailah,  both  of  them  having  almost  the  same  lati- 
tude.    Kolzum  and  Ailah  are  situate  upon  the  two 
ends  of  the  sea  we  have  been  speaking  of,  and  so  are 
we  arrived  at  the  northern  Terra  Firma.     Among 
the  turnings   and  windings  which  this  sea  makes, 
which  we  have  just  now  been  describing,  the  land 
juts  out  on  the  south  ;  and  the  place  where  it  parts 
the  sea  is  Al-tour, — mount  Sinai,  the  longitude  of 
which  is  almost  the  same  as  that  of  Ailah.     Ailah 
stands  upon  the  extremity  of  the  eastern  arm  or 
channel,  and  Kolzum    ujion   the   extremity  of  the 
western  one.     Ailah  is  more  easterly  than  Kolzum. 
What  is  between  Kolzum  and  Ailah  is  mount  Al- 
tour,  which  is  more   southerly  than  Kolzum,  and 
Ailah  lies  at  the  end  of  the  capo  that  runs  out  into 
the  sea.     The  sea  flows  between  Al-tour  and  the 
coast  of  Egypt,  and  shuts  up  the  channel  or  arm, 
upon  the  extremity  of  which  Kolzum  stands.     Just 
<5o  between  Al-tour  and  the  shore  of  Ilegiaz  there  is 
■^tlier  channel,  upon  the  extremity  of  which  the 
r.    J -^f  Ailah  stands.     To  go  from  Al-tour  to  either 
J       .|'^."-'DOsite  lands  is  a  very  short  passage  by  sea, 
out  Jt  IS  a.,j^^j^j^jjy  jj^  longer  way  by  the  desert  of 
l-akiaii,  becau.^  those   who  come  from  Al-tour  to 
go  into  Egypt   u        ^^  necessity  pass  round   Kol- 
zum ;  or  beyond  At..,    jf  u,      are  going  to  Ilegiaz. 
Al-tour  is  joined  to  the  continent  on  the  north  side; 


ELATH 


[  379  ] 


ELATH 


but  it  is  encompassed  by  the  sea  on  the  other  three 
sides."  The  following  is  flir.  Bruce's  account  of  the 
eastern,  or  Elanitic,  gulf  of  the  Red  sea: — "We 
sailed  from  cape  Mahomet,  just  as  the  sun  appeared. 
Wc  passed  the  island  of  Tyrone  in  the  mouth  of  the 
Elanitic  gulf,  which  it  divides  nearly  equally  into 
two  ;  or,  rather,  the  north-west  side  is  the  narrowest. 
The  direction  of  the  gulf  is  nearly  north  and  south. 
I  judge  it  to  be  about  six  leagues  over.  Many  of  the 
Cairo  ships  are  lost  in  mistaking  the  entry  of  the 
Elanitic  gulf  for  that  of  the  Heropolitic  gulf,  or  gidf 
of  Suez ;  for,  from  the  island  of  Tyrone,  which  is 
not  above  two  leagues  from  the  main,  there  runs  a 
string  of  islands,  which  seem  to  make  a  semicircu- 
lar bar  across  the  entry  from  the  point,  where  a  ship, 
going  with  a  south  wind,  would  take  its  departure  ; 
and  this  range  of  islands  ends  in  a  shoal  with  sunken 
rocks,  which  reaches  near  five  leagues  from  the  main. 
It  is  probable,  that  upon  these  islands  the  fleet  of 
Rehoboam  perished  when  sailing  for  the  expedition 
of  Ophir,  2  Chron.  xx.  37."    (Trav.  vol.  i.  p.  241.) 

[The  country  around  the  eastern,  or  Elanitic,  gulf 
of  the  Red  sea,  has  been,  until  within  a  few  years, 
almost  a  terra  incognita.  One  of  the  most  important 
of  Burckhardt's  discoveries,  is  said  by  his  editor,  Mr. 
Leake,  himself  a  traveller  and  man  of  science,  to  be  the 
ascertaining  of  "  the  extent  and  form  of  the  Elanitic 
gultj  hitherto  so  imperfectly  known,  as  either  to  be 
omitted  in  the  maps,  or  marked  with  a  bifurcation  at 
the  extremity,  which  is  now  found  not  to  exist." 
(Preface  to  Burckhardt's  Travels  in  Syria,  &c.  p.  v.) 
It  is  to  the  same  traveller,  also,  that  we  are  first  in- 
debted for  a  Icnowledge  of  the  existence  of  the  long 
valley,  known  by  the  names  of  El  Ghor,  and  El  Araba, 
extending  from  the  Dead  sea  to  the  Elanitic  gulf, 
and  forming  a  prolongation  of  the  great  valley  of  the 
Jordan  ;  thus  indicating,  that  not  improbably  the 
Jordan  once  discharged  itself  into  the  Red  sea.  See 
Burckhardt's  letter,  inserted  in  the  article  Canaan  ; 
also,  the  extract  below,  from  Riippell ;  and  compare 
the  articles  Exodus  and  Jordan. 

It  was  in  the  spring  of  1816,  that  Burckhardt  visit- 
ed the  peninsula  of  mount  Sinai,  and  examined  the 
western  coast  of  the  Elanitic  gulf,  with  the  intention 
of  proceeding  to  Akaba,  situated  at  its  northern  ex- 
tremit3\  Having  arrived,  however,  within  sight  of 
that  place,  he  found  it  impossible  to  proceed,  because 
of  the  hostile  and  perfidious  character  of  the  tribes 
of  Bedouins,  in  that  vicinity,  to  whom  his  guides 
were  strangers.  (Travels  in  Syria,  &c.  p.  508,  seq.] 
"The  Alowein  and  the  Omran  are  the  masters  of 
the  district  of  Akaba,  intrepid  robbers,  who  are  to 
this  day  entirely  independent  of  the  government  of 
Egypt.  Through  them  we  must  imavoidably  pass, 
to  roach  Akal^a ;  and  Ayd  [the  guide]  could  not  give 
me  the  smallest  hope  of  being  able  to  cross  their 
valleys  without  being  attacked ; — I  saw  little  chance 
of  success,  and  knew,  from  what  I  had  heard  on  my 
journey,  that  the  Omran  not  only  rob  but  nnu-der 
passengers.  I  had  no  alternative  but  to  turn  back  ; 
and,  under  these  circumstances,  I  reluctantly  deter- 
mined to  retrace  my  steps  the  next  day."  He  had, 
indeed,  advanced  too  far  already ;  for  the  very  next 
day  he  and  his  three  Arab  guides  were  attacked  by 
n  ]iarty  of  Bedouins,  and  escaped  only  afler  killing 
one  of  the  latter. 

"  Akaba  was  not  far  distant  from  the  spot  from 
whence  we  returned.  Before  sunset,  I  could  dis- 
tinguish a  black  line  in  the  plain,  where  my  sharp- 
sighted  guides  clearly  saw  the  date-trees  suiTound- 
ing  the  castle,  which  bore  N.  E.  by  E  ;    it  could  not 


be  more  than  five  or  5ix  hours  distant.  Before  us 
was  a  promontory  ;  and  behind  this,  as  I  was  told, 
another,  winch  begins  the  plain  of  Akaba.  The 
castle  IS  situated  at  an  hour  and  a  half  or  two  hours 
fr,)m  the  western  chain  of  liills,  down  which  the 
Hadji  route  leads;  and  about  the  same  distance 
from  the  eastern  chain,  a  lower  continuation  of  Tor 
Hesma,  a  mountain  which  I  have  mentioned  in  my 
journey  through  the  northern  parts  of  Arabia  Pe- 
trfea.  The  descent  of  the  western  mountain  is  very 
steep,  and  has  probably  given  to  the  place  its  name 
of  Akaba,  which  in  Arabic  means  a  cliti'  or  steep  de- 
clivity ;  it  is  probably  the  Akabet  Aila  of  the  Arabian 
geographers.  [Compare  the  extract  from  Ibn  Hau- 
kal,  above.]  In  Numbers  xxxiv.  4.  the  "  ascent  of 
Akrabbim"  is  mentioned,  which  appeai-s  to  corre- 
spond very  accurately  to  this  ascent  of  the  western 
mountain  from  the  plain  of  Akaba,  Into  this  plain, 
which  surrounds  the  castle  on  every  side  except  the 
sea,  issues  the  Wady  el  Araba,  the  broad  sandy  val- 
ley which  leads  towards  the  Dead  sea,  and  which  I 
crossed,  in  1812,  at  a  day  and  a  half,  or  two  days' 
journey  from  Akaba.  At  about  two  hours  to  the 
south  of  the  castle,  the  eastern  range  of  mountains 
approaches  the  sea.  The  plain  of  Akaba,  which  is 
from  three  to  four  hours  in  length,  from  west  to  east, 
and,  I  believe,  not  much  less  in  breadth  northward, 
is  very  fertile  in  pasturage.  To  the  distance  of 
about  one  hour  from  the  sea,  it  is  strongly  impreg- 
nated with  salt,  but  farther  north  sands  prevail. 
The  casde  itself  stands  at  a  few  hundred  paces  from 
the  sea,  and  is  surrounded  with  large  groves  of  date- 
trees.  It  is  a  square  building,  with  strong  walls, 
erected,  as  it  now  stands,  by  sultan  el  Ghoury,  of 
Egypt,  in  the  sixteenth  century.  The  castle  has 
tolerably  good  water  in  deep  wells.  The  pasha  of 
Egypt  keeps  here  a  garrison  of  about  thirty  soldiers, 
to  guard  the  provisions  deposited  for  the  supply  of 
the  Hadji,  [or  annual  caravan  to  Mecca,]  and  for  the 
use  of  the  cavalry,  on  their  passage  by  this  route  to 
join  the  army  of  the  Hedjaz. 

"  It  appears  that  the  gulf  extends  very  little  farther 
east  than  the  castle,  distant  from  which  one  hour,  in 
a  southern  direction,  and  on  the  eastern  shore  of  the 
gulf,  lies  a  smaller  and  half-ruined  castle,  inhabited 
by  Bedouins  only,  called  Kaszer  el  Bedawy.  At 
about  three  quarters  of  an  hour  from  Akaba,  and  the 
same  distance  from  Kaszer,  are  said  to  be  ruins  in 
the  sea,  which  are  visible  only  at  low  water.  They 
are  said  to  consist  of  walls,  houses,  and  columns, 
but  cannot  easily  be  approached,  on  account  of  the 
shallows.  I  inquired  particularly  whether  the  gulf 
did  not  form  two  branches  at  this  extremity,  as  it 
has  always  been  laid  down  in  the  maps ;  but  I  was 
assured  it  had  only  a  single  ending,  at  which  the 
castle  is  situated. 

"JMakrizi,  the  Egyptian  historian,  says,  in  his 
chapter  on  Aila  (Akaba),  '  It  is  from  hence  that  the 
Hedjaz  begins  ;  in  former  times  it  was  the  frontier 
place  of  the  Greeks ;  at  one  mile  from  it  is  a  trium- 
phal arch  of  the  Csesars.  In  the  time  of  the  Islam, 
it  was  a  fine  town,  inhabited  by  the  Beni  Omeya. 
Ibn  Ahmed  Ibn  Toulon  (a  sultan  of  Egypt)  made 
the  road  over  the  Akaba,  a  steep  mountain  before 
Aila.  There  were  many  mosques  at  Aila,  and  many 
Jews  lived  there ;  it  was  taken  by  the  Franks,  dur- 
ing the  crusades  ;  but  in  566,  [of  the  Hegira,]  Sala- 
heddyn  [Saladin]  transported  ships  upon  camels 
from  Cairo  to  this  place,  and  recovered  it  from 
them.  Near  Aila  was  formerly  situated  a  large  and 
handsome  town,  called  Aszyoun'  (Ezion-geber)." 


ELATH 


[  380  ] 


ELD 


With  better  success,  Mr.  Riippell,  in  182*^,  visited 
this  region,  and  came  to  Akaba  itself.  His  personal 
observation  goes  to  show  the  great  general  acmracy  of 
the  iufoniiation  collected  liy  Biirckhardt  from  the  tes- 
timony of  others.  He  approached  the  plain  from  the 
west,  on  the  ronte  of  the  Hadji,  or  great  annual  cara- 
van from  Egypt  to  Mecca,  alluded  to  above.  The 
following  is  a  translation  of  his  remarks  upon  this 
region.  (Reisen,  etc.  Frankf  1829,  p.  247,  seq.)  "  On 
this  high  table-land,  we  remarked,  as  we  descended 
by  a  steep  path  among  the  rocks,  that  we  were  ele- 
vated at  least  fifteen  hundred  leer  above  the  level  of 
the  sea.  The  view  from  the  terrace  of  this  plateau 
was  very  picturesque  ;  but  probably  produced  the 
greater  effect  on  me,  because  we  had  behind  us  a 
most  hideous  desert.  From  this  point  one  beholds, 
in  the  distance,  the  steep  blue  granite  moimtains  on 
the  other  side  of  Akaba ;  on  the  right,  a  section  of 
the  deep-green  sea.  In  the  foreground,  are  wild  and 
ragged  masses  of  dark  primitive  rocks ;  on  which 
recline,  in  different  parts,  layers  of  yellowish  shell- 
limestone.  On  the  left  is  the  valley  of  Wady  Aral)a, 
through  which  the  dry  bed  of  a  stream,  shaded  with 
bushes,  winds  among  luxuriant  meadow-grounds. 

"  We  occupied  more  than  five  hours  in  descending 
from  this  high  table-land  to  the  sea-shore,  on  account 
of  the  many  windings  of  the  road  among  wild  masses 
of  porphyry  rocks.  In  the  more  dangerous  places, 
the  way  is  hewn  out  of  the  rock,  thirty  feet  wide. 
Here,  also,  an  inscription  records  the  founder  of  this 
toilsome  work ;  who  is  doubtless  annually  remem- 
bered with  gratitude  by  the  pilgrims  upon  their  way 
to  Mecca.  This  declivity  is  called  Djebel  Mahemw  ; 
that  on  the  other  (eastern)  side  of  the  valley  is  named 
Djebel  Araba. 

"  Our  way  now  followed,  for  an  hour,  in  an  easter- 
ly direction,  the  sea-shore  ;  which  here  forms  a  salt 
marsh.  We  then  reached  the  site  of  an  ancient  town, 
distinguished  by  many  large  mounds  of  rubbish,  and 
probably  the  remains  of  the  ancient  Ailat  (Eiath) ; 
on  this  point  I  afterwards  received  express  confirma- 
tion. The  dry  channel  of  the  ¥/adyAraba  separates 
tliese  ruins  from  the  remains  of  a  far  more  modern 
.settlement,  which  lie  scattered  among  date-trees. 
These  consist  of  low  walls  of  rough  stones  laid  in 
clay.  Some  of  these  serve  periodically  as  dwellings 
lor  the  Bedouins.  In  the  immediate  vicinity,  towards 
the  east,  hes  the  castle  of  Akaba,  among  plantations 
of  date-trees.  In  form  it  is  a  square  fortress,  with 
walls  in  good  preservation,  and  octagonal  towers  at 
the  corners.  It  lies  some  hundred' paces  from  the 
sea-s!iore.  The  pasha  of  Egypt  keeps  here  a  garri- 
son of  forty  soldiers.  The  gateway  is  still  further 
defended  by  two  bulwarks  in  the  form  of  towers. 

'•It  has  been  a  general  opinion,  that  tlie  sea  of 
Akaba  forms  here  two  bays.  This,  however,  is  in- 
correct ;  no  one  here  knows  any  thing  of  such  a 
bifurcation.  This  information,  however,  was  not 
enough  to  satisfy  mo  ;  I  wished  myself  to  visit  in  per- 
son the  eastern  coast  of  the  gulf.  A  good  half  hour 
south-east  of  Akaba,  1  found,  on  an  excursion  along 
the  coatt,  t!ic  ruins  of  a  castle  called  Kasser  Bedowi ; 
it  is  an  Arabian  building,  probably  erected  before  the 
fortress  of  Akaba,  to  protect  the  caravan  of  pilgrims 
to  Mecca.  From  this  point  I  could  see  a  great  j)art 
of  the  eastern  coast  of  the  gulf;  I  afterwards  visited 
very  particvdarly  its  western  coast ;  but  I  could  no 
where  perceive  any  l)ays  like  those  which  have  been 
conjectured  to  exist  here.  In  the  region  of  Akaba 
there  is  not  a  single  boat  or  water-craft  of  any  kind ; 
the  Arabs  in  fishing  use  only  rafts  made  of  tlie  trunks 


of  palm-trees  tied  together.  It  was,  therefore,  inipos- 
sihle  for  me  to  make  any  investigation  respecting  the 
depth  of  the  sea,  or  the  nature  of  its  bottom. 

"  On  inquiring  the  name  of  the  spot  where  the 
above  mentioned  mounds  of  rubbish  are  situated,  I 
was  told  that  it  was  called  Djelena;  probably  the 
ancient  site  of  Ailat.  I  often  wandered  among  these 
ruins  in  various  directions,  but  never  met  with  any 
thing  of  importance. 

"  In  the  court  of  the  castle  of  Akaba  is  a  walled-up 
well,  with  excellent  water;  indeed,  throughout  this 
wliole  region,  there  is  every  where  good  water.  I 
took  sonie  pains  to  assure  myself,  that,  at  the  lime  of 
ebb,  on  digging  a  foot  deep  in  the  sand  which  tlie  sea 
has  just  covered,  the  hole  is  instantly  filled  with  most 
excellent  water  for  drinking.  I  often  quenched,  in 
this  way, my  thirst  during  long  walks;  and  it  was  so 
much  the  more  refreshing,  because,  during  the  time 
of  my  stay  in  tliis  place,  the  temperature  of  the  air 
was  sometimes  above  thirty  degrees  of  Reaumur,  [or 
one  hundred  of  Fahrenheit.]  The  existence  of  this 
water  can  be  explained  in  no  other  way,  than  by  sup- 
posing a  very  copious  filtration  of  the  water  which 
collects  in  the  Wady  Araba,  through  the  layer  of  sand 
which  covers  the  granite  formation  beneath." 

Is  it  perhaps  admissible  here,  to  suppose  that  it  is 
the  waters  of  the  Dead  sea,  which  continue  thus  to 
filter  through  beneath  the  sands  that  have  filled  up 
the  ancient  channel,  in  which  the  Jordan  would 
seem  once  to  have  flowed  ? 

"The  environs  of  the  castle  of  Akaba  are  very  in- 
secure ;  in  all  my  walks  and  excursions  I  was  accom- 
panied by  several  soldiers;  the  Hamaran  Arabs 
[Omran  of  Burckhardt]  who  dwell  in  this  region, 
are  notorious  on  account  of  their  faithless  character. 
The  Tiu'kish  gaiTison,  however,  described  the  dan- 
ger, no  doubt,  as  much  greater  than  it  really  is,  in 
order  thus  to  magnify  the  value  of  the  protection 
which  they  afibrded  me."     *R. 

EL-BETH-EL,  to  the  God  of  Bethel,  the  name 
given  by  Jacob  to  an  altar  which  he  built,  (Gen.  xxxv. 
7.)  and  which  stood,  probably,  in  the  very  spot  where 
he  liad  formerly  seen  the  prophetic  dream  of  the 
ladder,  chap,  xxviii.  22. 

ELD  AD  and  MEDAD,  were  appointed  by  Moses 
among  the  seventy  elders  of  Israel,  who  were  to  as- 
sist in  the  government :  though  not  present  in  the 
general  assembly,  they  were  filled  with  the  Spirit  of 
God,  equally  with  those  who  were  there,  and  began 
to  prophesy  in  the  camp.  Joshua  would  have  had 
Moses  forbid  them,  but  he  replied,  "Enviestthou  for 
my  sake  ?  Would  God  that  all  the  Lord's  people 
were  propliets,  and  that  the  Lord  v.ould  put  his  Spirit 
upon  them !"     Numb.  xi.  24 — 29. 

ELDERS  OF  Israel,  the  heads  of  tribes,  who,befcre 
the  settlement  of  the  Hebrew  commonwealth,  had  a 
government  and  authority  over  their  o^vn  families 
and  the  people.  Wlien  3Ioses  was  sent  into  Egypt 
to  deliver  Israel,  he  assembled  the  elders,  and  inform- 
ed them,  that  the  God  of  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob, 
had  api)eared  to  him,  Exod.  iv.  29;  xii.  21.  Moses 
and  Aaron  treated  the  elders  as  representatives  of  the 
nation.  W^hen  the  law  was  given,  God  directed 
Moses  to  take  the  seventy  elders,  as  well  as  Aaron, 
and  Nadab  and  Abihu,  his  sons,  that  they  might  be 
witnesses,  xxiv.  1,  9,  10.  Ever  afterwards,  we  find 
this  number  of  seventy,  or  rather  seventy-two,  ci- 
ders ;  six  from  each  tribe. 

Some  have  been  of  opinion  that  these  seventy  el- 
ders formed  a  kind  of  senate  in  Egypt,  for  the  better 
governing  the  people  while  in  bondage ;  and  that 


ELE 


[  381 


ELE 


from  hence  the  famous  Sanhedrim  was  derived  in 
later  ages.  But  it  is  more  credible,  that  in  the  begin- 
ning they  exercised,  each  over  their  respective  tribe, 
and  all  together  over  the  whole  people,  a  jurisdiction 
only  like  that  which  fathers  of  families  exercise  over 
their  children  ;  founded  on  the  respect  and  obedience 
due  to  parents.  Tlie  commissioners  appointed  to 
inspect  in  what  manner  the  children  of  Israel  per- 
formed thoir  tasks  in  Egypt,  (called  in  Hebrew  a1-|■Jt^', 
Shotcnin,)  were,  according  to  some,  the  elders  of  Is- 
rael, who  judged  and  commanded  the  people.  The 
LXX  translate  scribes,  that  is,  commissioners,  who 
had  lists  of  those  that  worked,  who  appointed  them 
their  tasks,  and  saw  that  they  performed  them. 

After  Jethro's  arrival  in  the  camp  of  Israel,  Moses 
made  a  considerable  change  in  the  governors  of  the 
people.  He  established  over  Israel  heads  of  thou- 
sands, hundreds,  fifties,  and  tens,  that  justice  might 
be  readily  administered  to  applicants ;  difficult  cases 
only  being  referred  to  himself,  Exod.  xviii.  24,  25, 
&c.  Tiiis  constitution,  however,  did  not  long  con- 
tinue ;  for  on  the  murnnn-ing  of  the  people  at  the 
encampment  called  the  Graves  of  Lust,  (Numb.  xi. 
24,  25.)  Moses  appointed  seventy  elders  of  Israel,  to 
whom  God  communicated  part  of  that  legislator's 
spirit. 

This  judicial  body  appears  to  have  continued,  not 
only  during  the  life  of  Moses,  but  also  under  Joshua, 
if  not  under  the  Judges.  See  Josh.  ix.  15;  xxiii. 
xxiv.  1,  32.     See  Sanhedrim. 

In  allusion  to  the  Jewish  elders,  the  ordinary  gov- 
ernors of  the  Christian  church  are  called  elders,  or 
presbyters,  and  are  the  same  as  bishops  or  overseers, 
Acts  XX.  17.  28  ;  Tit.  i.  5.  7. 

ELE  ALEH,  a  town  of  Reuben,  (Numb,  xxxii.  37.) 
placed  by  Eusebius  a  mile  from  Heshbon. 

I.  ELEAZAR,  the  third  son  of  Aaron,  (Exod. 
xxvii.  1.)  and  his  successor  as  high-priest,  entered 
the  land  of  promise  with  Joshua,  and  is  thought  to 
have  lived  there  about  twenty-five  years.  The  high- 
priesthood  continued  in  his  family  to  the  time  of  Eli, 
who  was  of  Itliamar's  family.  Eleazar  was  buried 
at  Gabaath,  [a  hill,]  belonging  to  Phinehas,  his  son, 
in  the  tribe  of  Ephraim,  Josh.  xxiv.  33. — II.  A  son 
of  Aminadab,  to  whose  care  the  ark  was  committed, 
when  sent  back  by  the  Philistines,  1  Sam.  vii.  1.  It 
is  beheved  that  Eleazar  was  a  priest,  or  at  least  a 
Levite,  though  his  name  is  not  inserted  among  the 
Levites. — III.  One  of  the  three  gallant  men  who 
broke  through  the  camp  of  the  Philistines,  to  bring 
David  water  from  Bethlehem.  He  checked  an  army 
of  Philistines,  and  made  great  slaughter  of  them, 
2  Sam.  xxiii.  9  ;  1  Chron.xi.  12, 16, 17.— IV.  Brother 
to  Judas  IMaccabfeus,  1  Mac.  vi.  43. — V.  A  venerable 
old  man  of  Jerusalem,  who  suffered  death  under  the 
persecution,  and  in  the  presence  of  Antiorhus  Epiph- 
anes,  2  3Iac.  vi.  vii.  1,  2. — VI.  Son  of  Onias  I.  and 
brother  of  Simon  surnamed  the  Just.  Simon  having 
left  his  son,  Onias,  too  young  to  be  high-priest,  Ele- 
azar exercised  this  charge  nineteen  years  in  his  stead  ; 
from  A.  M.  3727  to  3744.  There  are  several  others 
of  this  name  in  Scripture. 

ELECT,  ELECTION,  see  Predestination. 

ELECTA  was,  as  is  generally  believed,  a  lady  of 
quality,  who  lived  near  Ephesus,  to  whom  John  ad- 
dressed his  second  Epistle,  cautioning  her  and  her 
children  against  heretics,  who  denied  the  divinity  of 
Christ,  and  his  incarnation.  Some  think  Electa, 
which  signifies  chosen,  is  not  a  proper  name,  but  an 
honorable  epithet ;  [elect  lady,  Eng.  trans.]  and  that 
the  Epistle  was  directed  to  a  church.     The  same 


apostle  salutes  Electa,  and  her  children,  iu  his  third 
Epistle  ;  but  the  accounts  of  this  Electa  are  as  per- 
plexed as  those  of  the  former. 

EL-ELOHE-ISRAEL,  "  To  God  the  God  of  Is- 
rael," the  name  of  an  altar  built  by  Jacob  iu  a  piece 
of  ground  which  he  bought  of  Hamor,  Shechem'a 
father.  Gen.  xxxiii.  20. 

ELEPH,  a  town  of  Benjamin,  Josh,  xviii.  28. 

ELEPHANT,  the  largest  of  existing  quadrupeds, 
celebrated  for  his  sagacity,  faithfulness,  and  prudence. 
Calmct  is  of  opinion  that  the  behemoth  of  Job  xl.  is 
the  elephant ;  but  this  notion  is  generally  held  to  be 
untenable.     See  Behemoth. 

Thei-e  is  frequent  mention  of  elephants  in  the  books 
of  Maccabees  ;  because,  after  the  time  of  Alexander, 
they  were  much  used  in  the  armies  of  the  kings  of 
Syria  and  Egypt.  We  read,  in  1  Mac.  vi.  34,  that  the 
elephants  of  Antiochus  Eupator's  army  had  the  blood 
of  grapes  and  mulberries  shown  to  them  for  the  pur- 
pose of  animating  them  to  the  combat,  and  to  accus- 
tom them  to  the  sight  of  blood.  In  3  Mac.  v.  we  see 
that  it  was  usual  to  intoxicate  them  by  wine  mixed 
with  incense,  with  the  design  that  they  should  crush 
the  Hebrews  to  death  under  their  feet. 

The  elephant  yielded  ivory,  which  is  first  mention- 
ed in  Scriptm-e  in  the  reign  of  Solomon.  If  the  forty- 
fifth  Psalm  were  written  before  the  Canticles,  and 
befoi-e  Solomon  had  constructed  his  royal  and  mag- 
nificent throne,  then  that  is  the  first  mention  of  this 
commodity.  It  is  spoken  of  as  decorating  those 
boxes  of  perfume,  which  contained  odors  employed 
to  exhilarate  the  king's  spirits:  "Ivory  palaces  by 
which  they  have  made  thee  glad."  The  application 
of  it  as  an  article  of  elegance,  appears  also  in  1  Kings 
X.  18,  where  the  throne  of  Solomon  is  described  as 
decorated  with  ivory,  and  inlaid  with  gold ; — the 
beauty  of  these  materials  relieving  the  splendor,  and 
heightening  the  lustre  of  each  other.  Ivory  is  here 
described  as shengadul,  "great  tooth  ;" — which  shows 
clearly  that  it  was  imported  into  Palestine  in  the 
whole  tusk.  It  was,  however,  ill  described  as  a 
tooth  ;  for  tooth,  properly  so  called,  it  is  not,  but  a 
weapon  of  defence,  not  imlike  the  tusk  of  a  wild- 
boar  ;  and  for  the  same  i)urposes  as  the  horns  of 
other  animals.  This  has  prompted  Ezekiel  to  use 
another  periphrasis  for  describing  it ;  and  he  calls  it 
"horns  of  tooth,"  xxvii.  15.  But  this  also  is  hable  to 
great  objection,  since  the  idea  of  horns  and  teeth,  to 
those  who  had  never  seen  an  elephant,  must  have 
been  very  confused,  if  not  contradictory.  The  com- 
bination, however,  is  ingenious  ;  for  the  defences 
which  furnish  the  ivory  answer  the  purposes  of 
horns  ;  while,  by  issuing  from  the  mouth,  they  uj-e 
not  unaptly  likened  to  teeth,  which  they  are  called 
among  the  dealers,  who  know  perfectly  well  that  the 
elephant  has  teeth,  expressly  formed  for  mastication 
of  food ;  grinders  of  no  tritiing  weight  and  dimen- 
sions. Bocliai-t  was  desirous  of  finding  elephants 
themselves  in  Scripture,  and  inclined  to  read  1  Kings 
X.  22,  shcn-kahabim  instead  of  shen-habbim ;  but  this 
is  much  better  broken  into  two  words,  shen,  tooth, 
and  habenim,  ebony  wood  ;  for  which  ,we  have  the 
authority  of  Ezek.  xxvii.  15.  As  to  beds  and  houses 
of  ivory,  they  can  only  mean  beds  adorned,  not  con- 
structed, of  ivory.  (See  Beds,  arf/n.)  Indeed,  ivory 
in  every  state  is  unfit  for  any  use  requiring  firnmess. 
See  Ivory. 

ELEUTHERUS,  a  river  in  Syria,  which  rises  be- 
tween Libanus  and  Antilibanus.  After  watering  the 
valley  between  these  two  mountains,  it  falls  into  the 
Mediterranean  sea,  1  Mac.  xi.  7. 


ELI 


[  382  ] 


ELI 


ELEUTHEROPOLIS,  a  city  of  Judea,  which, 
though  not  mentioned  in  the  sacred  writings,  must 
have  been  very  celebrated  in  the  time  of  Eusebius 
and  Jerome.  It  was  an  episcopal  city,  Avhence  these 
authors  estimated  the  distances  and  positions  of  other 
cities.  Josephus  says  it  was  twenty  miles  from  Je- 
rusalem, and  Antoninus  places  it  twenty-four  miles 
from  Askalon,  and  eighteen  from  Lydda.  Eusebius 
says  five  miles  from  Gath,  six  from  Lachish,  twenty- 
five  from  Gerar,  twenty  from  Jattir,  and  eight  from 
Keilah.  ^  '  S 

I.  ELI,  the  last  of  our  Saviour's  ancestors  accord- 
ing to  the  flesh,  Luke  iii.  23. 

II.  ELI,  mi/  God.  Our  Saviour  on  the  cross  cried, 
"  Eli,  Eli,  lama  sabacthani ;"  My  God,  why  hast  thou 
forsaken  me  ?  See  Psalm  xxii.  1  ;  Matt,  xxvii.  4G. 

III.  ELI,  a  high-priest,  of  the  race  of  Ithamar, 
died  A.  M.  2888,  having  been  forty  years  judge  of 
Israel,  1  Sam.  iv.  18.  He  succeeded  Abdon,  and  was 
succeeded  by  Samuel  in  the  government ;  but  in  the 
high-priesthood  by  his  third  son  Ahitub.  While  Eli 
judged  the  people,  Samson  was  the  deliverer  and  de- 
fender of  Israel.  How  Eh  came  to  possess  the  high- 
priesthood,  and  by  what  means  that  dignity  was 
transferred  from  Eleazar's  family  to  that  of  Ithamar, 
from  which  Eli  was  descended,  we  are  not  informed. 
Some  believe  it  was  in  consequence  of  the  negligence, 
minority,  or  want  of  proper  qualifications,  of  Elea- 
zar's family.  Others,  that  this  dignity  was  bestowed 
on  Eh  as  judge  of  Israel.  That  it  was  not  done 
without  an  express  declaration  of  God's  will,  we  may 
gather  from  the  language  of  the  man  of  God,  1  Sam. 
ii.  27,  28.  Eli's  great  fault  was  his  negligence,  and 
his  indulgence  of  his  sons.  Instead  of  vigorously 
punishing  them,  and  i-emoving  them  from  the  sacred 
ministry,  he  was  satisfied  with  gently  reprimanding 
them.  God  admonished  him  by  Samuel,  then  a 
child,  (iii.  1,  2,  3.)  but  he  only  replied,  "  It  is  the 
Lord,  let  him  do  what  seemeth  him  good."  God 
deferred  the  execution  of  his  vengeance  tAventy-seven 
years,  but  at  length  Hophni  and  Phinchas,  the  sons 
of  Eli,  were  slain  by  the  Philistines ;  the  ark  of  the 
Lord  taken  ;  and  Eli  himself  hearing  the  melancholy 
news,  fell  backward  from  his  chair,  and  broke  his 
neck,  iv.  12.  18.  According  to  Josephus,  he  was 
succeeded  by  Ahitub,  his  grandson ;  but  otliers  say, 
by  Ahiah,  who  was  certainly  high-priest  in  tlie  be- 
ginning of  Saul's  reign,  xiv.  .3. 

[That  Eli  was  of  the  house  of  Ithamar,  may  be 
deduced  from  1  Chr.  xxiv.  3,  "Then  David  distributed 
them,  both  Zadok  of  the  sons  of  Eleazar,  and  Ahim- 
elech  of  the  sons  of  Ithamar."  This  Ahimelech  is 
the  same  as  the  Abiathar,  son  of  Ahimelech,  who 
escaped  from  the  slaughter  of  the  priests  at  Nob, 
1  Sam.  xxii.  20,  seq.  (See  Ahimelech  and  Abiathar.) 
His  father  is  every  where  called  the  "  son  of  Ahitub  ;" 
more  properly  his  grandson,  1  Sam.  xiv.  3;  from 
which  same  passage  it  appears  that  this  Ahitub  was 
the  son  of  Phinehas,  and  therefore  grandson  of  Eli. 
Of  course,  the  Ahimelech  of  1  Chron.  xxiv.  3,  behig 
of  the  race  of  Ithamar,  his  ancestor  Eli  was  also  of 
that  race.  With  the  above  account  corresponds  the 
statement  of  Josephus,  Antiq.  v.  11.  5.     R. 

I.  ELIAKIM,  son  of  Ililkiah,  steward  of  the 
household,  or  keeper  of  the  palace  under  king  Hez- 
ekiah,  2  Kings  xviii.  18. 

II.  ELIAKIM,  king  of  Judah,  suruamed  Jehoia- 
kim,  succeeded  his  brother  Jchoahaz,  and  did  evil 
before  the  Lord,  2  Kings  xxiii.  34,  3.5.     Sec  Jeiioi- 

AKIM. 

ELIAS,  see  Elimh. 


ELIASHIB,  a  high-priest,  of  the  race  of  Eleazar, 
who  succeeded  Joiakim,  in  the  time  of  Nehemiah,  A. 
M.  3550. 

ELIDAD,  son  of  Chislon,  of  Benjamin,  a  deputy,  ap- 
pointed to  divide  the  land  of  Canaan,  Num.  xxxiv.  21. 

I.  ELIEZER,  Abraham's  steward.  The  Mussul- 
mans call  him  Dameschack,  or  Damascennis,  and 
believe  him  to  have  been  a  black  slave  given  to 
Abraham  by  Nimrod,  at  the  time  when  he  saw  him, 
by  virtue  of  the  name  of  God,  walking  out  of  the 
midst  of  the  flames,  (Ur,)  into  which  he  had  been 
cast  by  his  orders.  (See  Abraham.)  Abraham 
conceived  such  regard  for  Eliezei-,  that  he  gave  liim 
the  superintendence  of  his  whole  family ;  and,  before 
the  birth  of  his  sons,  designed  him  for  his  heir. — 
When  Abraham  sent  Eliezer  into  Mesopotamia,  he 
compelled  him  to  swear  that  he  would  not  take  a 
Canaanite  for  a  wife  to  Isaac,  but  that  he  would  take 
one  from  among  his  relations.  Eliezer  went  to  the 
city  of  Nahor,  in  Mesopotamia ;  and  from  thence 
brought  Rebecca,  Gen.  xxiv. 

The  passage  (Gen.  xv.  2.)  in  which  Abraham 
speaks  of  Eliezer  as  his  heir,  has  gi'eatly  perplexed 
commentators ;  it  stands  thus  in  our  translation,  "  I 
go  childless,  and  the  steward  of  my  house  is  this 
Eliezer,  of  Damascus  ;"  but  in  the  original  it  is,  "And 
the  son  of  possession  of  my  house,  is  this  Damascener 
Eliezer,"  [i.  e.  he  who  will  possess  my  house,  my  prop- 
erty after  my  death.  In  the  next  verse,  the  Hebrew 
has  son  of  my  house,  which  our  translators  have  prop- 
erly given,  by  "  one  born  in  my  house."  Eleazar 
might  have  been  a  relation  of  Abi-aham,  and  in  pros- 
pect his  heir.     R. 

What  is  meant  by  the  phrase,  "  son  of  my  house," 
which  has  been  the  stinnbling-block  to  translators, 
is  shown  by  the  following  extracts ; — "  Since  the 
death  of  Ali  Bey,  the  Beys  and  the  Cachefs  who 
owed  their  promotion  to  his  house,  (that  is  to  say,  of 
ivhom  he  had  been  the  patron :  among  the  Mamlouks, 
thefreedman  is  called  the  'child  of  the  house,')  had 
repined  in  secret,  at  seeing  all  the  authority  passed 
into  the  hands  of  a  new  faction."  (Volney's  Travels, 
vol.  i.  p.  153,  and  the  note.)  "  He  had  so  multiplied 
and  advanced  his  freemen,  that  of  the  twenty-four 
Beys,  which  should  be  their  number,  no  less  than 
eight  were  of  his  household." — "  At  his  death, 
which  happened  in  1757,  his  house,  that  is,  his  en- 
franchised slaves,  divided  among  themselves,  but 
united  against  all  others,  continued  to  give  the  law." 
(P.  112,  ll3.)  From  tiiese  extracts  it  is  inferred,  that 
Eliezer,  a  Damascena  by  descent,  had  been  born  in 
the  house  of  Abraham,  or  had  been  purchased  by 
him,  and  had  behaved  so  well,  that  his  master  gave 
him  his  libertj^,  and  at  length  promoted  him  to  the 
superintendence  of  all  his  property.  (See  a  similar 
occurrence  in  the  case  of  Joseph,  Gen.  xxxix.  not  to 
quote  the  lihertini,  or  freedmen  of  later  ages.)  On 
the  decease  of  his  master,  this  chief  over  Abraham's 
property  would,  naturally  enough,  succeed  to  that 
property ;  for  wlio  could  be  his  competitor  ?  Whether 
Eliezer  might  live  so  long  as  to  be  again  mentioned, 
(Gen.  xxiv.  3.  "Abraham  said  unto  his  eldest  servant 
of  his  house,  that  ruled  over  all  that  he  had,")  we 
know  not ;  liy  his  fidelity,  he  seems  likely  to  have 
been  the  same  person,  and  it  is  usually  so  understood ; 
but  he  is  not  there  called  the  "  son  of  the  hoiise,"  pos- 
sibly, because  Abraham  had  now  sons  of  his  own 
body,  Ishmacl  as  well  as  Isaac,  who  were  his  natural 
heirs.  If  it  be  supposed  fliat  this  was  not  Eliezer, 
the  omission  of  his  name  in  the  history  may  counte- 
nance that  supposition. 


ELI 


[  383  ] 


ELIJAH 


II.  ELIEZER,  son  of  Moses  and  Zipporah,  born 
in  Midian,  while  3Ioses  was  in  that  country.  He 
had  a  son  named  Rehabiah,  Exod.  x\iii.  4  ;  1  Chron. 
xxiii.  17.  Some  have  thought  that  what  is  related, 
(Exod.  iv.  24,  25.)  of  an  angel's  meeting  Moses, 
when  returning  to  Egypt,  is  to  be  understood,  as  if 
this  angel  intended  to  kill  EHezer,  because  he  was 
not  circumcised.  The  Scripture  does  not  say,  ex- 
pressly, whom  the  angel  had  a  design  to  slay.  There 
are  several  other  persons  of  this  name  in  the  Old 
Testament. 

ELIHU,  one  of  Job's  friends,  descended  from  Na- 
hor,  (Job  xxxii.  2 ;  xxxiv.  1.)  and  one  of  the  most  re- 
markable characters  in  Scripture.  He  is  said  to  be 
of  Buz  ;  which,  as  the  name  of  a  place,  occurs  only 
once  in  Scripture,  (Jer.  xxv.  23.)  where  it  stands  in 
connection  with  Tema  and  Dedan,  towns  bordering 
on  Iduniea.  The  Chaldee  paraphrase  expressly  de- 
scribes him  as  a  relation  of  AJjraham.  He  enters  the 
poem  so  late  as  chap,  xxxii.  and  ojiens  his  discourse 
with  great  modesty.  He  does  not  enlarge  on  any 
supposable  wickedness  in  Job,  as  having  brought  his 
present  distresses  on  him  ;  but  controverts  his  replies, 
his  inferences,  and  his  arguments.  He  observes  on 
the  mysterious  dispensations  of  Providence,  which 
he  insists,  however  they  may  appear  to  mortals,  are 
full  of  wisdom  and  mercy ;  that  the  righteous  have 
their  share  of  prosperity  in  this  life,  no  less  than  the 
^vicked  ;  that  God  is  supreme,  and  that  it  becomes  us 
to  acknowledge  and  submit  to  that  supremacy  ;  since 
"  the  Creator  wisely  rules  the  world  he  made  ;"  and 
he  draws  instances  of  benignity  from  the  constant 
wonders  of  creation,  of  the  seasons,  &c.  His  lan- 
guage is  copious,  glowing,  and  sublime ;  and  it  de- 
serves notice,  that  Elihu  does  not  appear  to  have  of- 
fended God  by  his  sentiments ;  nor  is  any  sacrifice 
of  atonement  commanded  for  him  as  for  the  other 
speakers  in  the  poem.  It  is  more  than  pardonable, 
that  the  character  of  Elihu  has  been  thought  figura- 
tive of  a  personage  interposed  between  God  and  man 
— a  Mediator — one  speaking  "  without  terrors,"  and 
not  disposed  to  overcharge  mankind.  This  senti- 
ment may  have  had  its  influence  on  the  acceptability 
and  preservation  of  the  book  of  Job. 

ELIJAH,  or  Elias,  a  prophet,  of  Tishbe,  beyond 
Jordan,  in  Gilead,  was  raised  up  by  God,  to  oppose 
idolatry,  particularly  the  worship  of  Baal,  which  Jez- 
ebel and  Ahab  supported  in  Israel.  Elijah  is  intro- 
duced as  delivering  an  unwelcome  message  to  Ahab  : 
"  As  the  Lord  God  of  Israel  liveth,  before  whom  I 
stand,  there  shall  not  be  dew  nor  rain  these  years, 
but  according  to  my  word."  1  Kings  xvii.  1.  Hav- 
ing delivered  this  prediction,  the  Lord  commanded 
him  to  conceal  himself  beyond  Jordan,  near  the  brook 
Cherith,  where  the  ravens  brought  him  food.  After 
a  time,  the  brook  which  had  supplied  him  with  wa- 
ter being  dried  up,  God  sent  him  to  Zarephath,  a 
city  of  Sidon.  Here  he  met  a  widow,  whose  cruse 
of  oil  and  barrel  of  meal  were  miraculously  the  means 
of  supporting  the  prophet,  herself,  and  h«,'rson,  for  a 
period  of  two  years.  During  Elijah's  abode  with 
this  woman,  her  son  died,  and  she,  overwhelmed 
with  grief,  entreated  the  assistance  and  interposition 
of  the  prophet.  Elijah,  moved  by  her  sorrow,  took 
the  child  in  his  arms,  and  cried  to  the  Lord  for  the 
restitution  of  its  life.  His  prayer  was  heard,  and  the 
child  restored,  ver.  2 — 24.  During  the  time  that 
Elijah  dwelt  at  Zarephath,  the  famine  prevailing  at 
Samaria,  Ahab  sent  people  throughout  the  country 
to  seek  pasturage  for  the  cattle.  Obadiah,  an  officer 
of  the  king's  household,  being  thus  employed,  the 


prophet  met  him,  and  directed  him  to  tell  Ahab  that 
Elijah  was  there.  The  king  came  and  reproached 
him,  as  the  troubler  of  Israel ;  but  Elijah  retorted  the 
charge  on  him,  and  on  his  iniquities,  and  proposed  a 
sacrifice  to  be  openly  offered,  which  should  deter- 
mine between  Jehovah  and  Baal.  Ahab  accepted 
the  challenge,  and  convened  the  people  of  Israel, 
with  400  of  the  prophets  of  Baal.  The  latter  sacri- 
ficed, prayed,  and  cut  themselves,  but  no  answer  was 
given  to  them.  Elijah  ridiculed  their  folly  with  bit- 
ter irony,  and  then  offered  his  own  sacrifice  and 
prayer.  His  sacrifice  being  consumed  by  fire  from 
the  Lord,  all  the  people  fell  on  their  faces,  crying, 
"  The  Lord  he  is  the  God."  Elijah  then  ordered  the 
people  to  slay  the  prophets  of  Baal,  according  to  the 
law,  and  his  directions  were  promptly  obeyed.  After 
this,  the  prophet  promised  rain,  which  fell  immedi- 
ately, ch.  xviii.  Jezebel,  wife  of  Ahab,  being  inform- 
ed that  Elijah  had  caused  the  prophets  of  her  god  to 
be  put  to  death,  threatened  him,  that  on  the  following 
day  his  life  should  be  sacrificed  for  theirs.  The 
prophet  therefore  fled  to  Beer-sheba,  in  the  south  of 
Judah,  and  from  thence  into  Arabia  Petrsea.  In  this 
journey  he  was  again  miraculously  supported  during 
forty  days  and  forty  nights,  until  he  came  to  Horeb, 
the  mount  of  God.  Having  taken  up  his  abode  in  a 
cave,  the  Lord  inquired,  "What  dost  thou  here, 
Elijali  ?"  The  prophet  complained  of  Israel's  apos- 
tasy ;  but  the  Lord  gave  him  tokens  of  his  presence 
— a  tempest,  an  earthquake,  a  fire,  a  still  small  voice. 
Elijah  covered  his  face  in  his  mantle  ;  and  the  Lord 
again  inquired,  "What  dost  thou  here,  Elijah  ?"  to 
which  he  answered  as  before.  He  was  then  desired 
to  return  to  the  wilderness  of  Damascus,  and  anoint 
Hazael  king  over  Syria,  Jehu  king  over  Israel,  and 
Elisha,  his  disciple,  to  succeed  himself  The  de- 
sponding prophet  was  also  encom-aged  by  being  in- 
formed that  God  had  reserved  seven  thousand  in 
Israel,  who  had  not  bowed  their  knees  to  Baal.  De- 
parting from  mount  Horeb,  Elijah  went  into  the 
tribe  of  Ephraim,  and  anointed  EUsha  to  the  prophet- 
ic office,  1  Kings  xix. 

Some  years  after  this,  Ahab  having  seized  Naboth's 
vineyard,  Elijah  reproached  him  with  his  crime ;  and 
warned  him  of  his  own  and  Jezebel's  violent  deaths, 
ch.  xxi.  xxii.  38.  On  another  occasion,  Ahaziah,  king 
of  Israel,  who  had  fallen  from  the  platform  of  his 
house,  having  sent  to  consult  Baal-zebub,  the  god  of 
Ekron,  whether  he  should  recover,  Elijah  met  the 
messengers,  reproached  this  criminal  idolatry,  and 
foretold  the  death  of  the  king.  By  the  description 
given  of  his  person,  Ahaziah  knew  it  to  be  Elijah, 
and,  enraged  at  the  prophet's  boldness,  sent  to  him  a 
captain,  with  fifty  men,  to  apprehend  him.  These 
being  destroyed  by  fire  from  heaven,  and  also  a  sec- 
ond fifty,  the  third  captain  entreated  him  to  respect 
his  life  and  his  jjeople's  lives.  The  prophet  accom- 
panied him  to  the  king,  again  denounced  the  divine 
displeasure,  and  foretold  his  speedy  death,  2  Kings  i. 

Understanding  by  revelation,  that  God  would  soon 
translate  him  out  of  this  world,  Elijah  was  desirous 
to  conceal  it  from  Elisha,  but  his  companion  refiised 
to  leave  him.  In  passing  the  Jordan,  the  prophet 
took  his  mantle  and  struck  the  waters  with  it,  which 
divided,  and  they  passed  over  on  dry  ground.  He 
then  said  to  Elisha,  "  Ask  what  I  shall  do  for  thee  be- 
fore I  be  taken  away  from  thee."  "  I  pray  thee,"  said 
Elisha,  "  let  a  double  portion  of  thy  spirit  be  upon 
me ;"  that  is,  obtain  the  gift  of  prophecy  from  God 
for  me,  in  the  same  measure  that  thou  possessest  it  ; 
for  double  may  signify  like ;   or,  give  me  a  double 


ELI 


[384] 


ELI 


share  of  thine  inheritance,  a  double  portion  of  thy 
spirit,  the  gift  of  prophecy,  and  of  miracles,  in  a  de- 
gree double  to  what  I  now  possess : — the  portion  of 
the  first-born.  "  Thou  hast  asked  a  hard  thing," 
said  Elijah,  "nevertheless,  if  thou  see  me  when  I 
am  taken  from  thee,  it  shall  be  so  unto  thee  ;  but  if 
not,  it  shall  not  be  so."  As  they  continued  their 
journey,  a  chariot  and  horses  of  fire  suddenly  sepa- 
rated them,  and  Elijah  was  carried  in  a  whirlwind 
up  to  heaven,  Elisha  receiving  his  mantle,  ii.  1 — 12. 

Eight  years  after  the  miraculous  ascension  of 
Elijah,  a  letter  of  reproof,  admonition,  and  threaten- 
ing, was  brought  from  the  prophet  to  Jehoram  king 
of  Judah.  Some  believe,  that  this  was  written  by 
Elijah,  after  liis  translation  ;  others,  that  it  was  sent 
before  that  event,  or  that  Jehoram  dreamed  of  it. 
IMay  it  not  have  been  written  prophetically  by  Elijah 
before  his  death,  but  laid  by,  with  orders  not  to  be 
produced  till  a  certain  time,  or  under  certain  events? 

The  author  of  Ecclesiasticus  has  an  encomium  on 
the  memory  of  this  prophet,  (chap,  xlviii.)  and  Mala- 
clii  foretells  the  appearance  of  Elijah  before  "  the 
coming  of  the  great  and  terrible  day  of  the  Lord." 
Our  Saviour  informs  us,  (Matt.  xi.  14  ;  xvii.  10 — 12.) 
that  this  was  fulfilled  in  the  person  of  John  the 
Baptist.  The  evangelists  relate,  that  at  the  transfig- 
uration of  our  Saviour,  Elijah  and  Moses  both 
appeared  and  conversed  with  him  concerning  his 
future  passion,  Matt.  xvii.  3  ;  Mark  ix.  3  ;  Luke  ix.  30. 
Many  of  the  Jews  in  our  Lord's  time  believed  him 
to  be  Elijah  risen  from  the  dead,  Matt.  xvi.  14 ; 
Mark  vi.  15  ;  Luke  ix.  8. 

ELIM,  the  seventh  encampment  of  Israel  in  the 
wilderness,  where  they  found  twelve  fountains,  and 
seventy  palm-trees,  Exod.  xv.  27.     See  Exodus. 

ELIMELECH,  of  Bethlehem,  husband  of  Naomi, 
by  whom  he  had  two  sons,  Mahlon  and  Chilion. 
During  a  great  famine  he  retired  with  his  wife  and 
children  into  the  country  of  Moab,  where  he  died 
after  ten  years,  Ruth  i.  1,  &c.     See  Naomi,  Ruth. 

ELIONEUS,  a  high-priest  of  the  Jews,  who  suc- 
ceeded Matthias,  son  of  Ananus,  (A.  M.  4047,)  and 
was  the  next  year  succeeded  by  Simon  Cantharus. 

L  ELIPHAZ,  sou  of  Esau  and  Adah,  Gen.  xxxvi. 
10.  He  had  five  sons,  Tcman,  Omah,  Zepho,  Ga- 
tam,  and  Kenaz,  ver.  11. 

II.  ELIPHAZ,  one  of  Job's  friends,  probably 
a  descendant  of  Ehphaz,  son  of  Esau,  Job  iv. 
1.  lie  was  of  Teman,  in  Iduiuea,  (Jer.  xlix.  7. 
20 ;  Ezek.  xxv.  13 ;  Amos  i.  11,  12 ;  Obad.  8,  9,) 
aufl  in  the  Greek  versions  of  the  poem,  is  described 
as  king  of  his  city.  His  natural  temper,  as  appears 
by  his  speeches,  was  mild  and  modest ;  he  makes 
tiie  fii-st  reply  to  the  complaints  of  Job ;  argues  that 
the  truly  good  are  never  entirely  forsaken  by  Provi- 
dence, but  that  exemplary  punishments  may  justly 
be  inflicted  for  secret  sins.  He  denies  that  any  man 
is  innocent,  censures  Job  for  asserting  his  freedom 
from  guilt,  and  exhorts  him  to  confess  his  concealed 
iniquities,  as  a  probable  means  of  alleviating  their 
punishment.  His  arguments  are  well  supported,  but 
he  is  declared,  at  the  close  of  the  poem,  to  have 
taken  erroneous  views  of  the  divine  dispensations  ; 
and  Job  ofTern  a  sacrifice  on  his  account. 

ELISABETH,  the  wife  of  Zachariah,and  mother 
of  John  the  Baptist,  was  of  the  daughters  of  Aaron, 
or  the  race  of  the  priests,  Luke  i.  .5.  An  angel  fore- 
told to  her  husband  Zachariah  the  birth  of  John, 
and  Zachariah  returning  home,  Elisabeth  conceived. 
During  five  months  she  concealed  the  favor  God  had 
granted  her;  but  the  angel  Gabriel  discovered  to  the 


Virgin  Mary  this  miraculous  conception,  as  an  assur-  ■ 
ance  of  the  birth  of  the  Messiah,  by  herself,  (See 
Annunciation.)  Mary  visited  her  cousin  Elisabeth, 
and  when  she  saluted  her,  the  child  with  which 
Elisabeth  was  pregnant  leaped  in  her  womb.  When 
her  child  was  circumcised,  she  named  him  John  ; 
according  to  previous  instructions  from  her  husband, 
Luke  i.  39—63. 

ELISEUS,  the  same  as  Elisha,  in  the  English 
Trans,  of  the  New  Testament. 

I.  ELISHA,  son  of  Shaphat,  and  Elijah's  disciple 
and  successor  in  the  prophetic  ofiice,  was  of  Abel- 
meholah,  1  Kings  xix.  16.  Elijah  having  received 
God's  command  to  anoint  Elisha  as  a  prophet,  came 
to  Abel-meholah,  and  finding  Elisha  ploughing  with 
twelve  pair  of  oxen,  he  threw  his  mantle  over  him. 
Elisha  left  his  oxen,  and  accompanied  Elijah,  chap. 
xix.  19 — 21.  We  have  observed  in  the  article  Eli- 
jah, that  Elisha  was  accompanying  his  master,  when 
the  Lord  took  him  up  in  a  whirlwind ;  and  that  he 
inherited  Elijah's  mantle,  with  a  double  portion  of 
his  spirit.  He  smote  the  Jordan  and  divided  the 
stream  ;  and  cured  the  water  of  a  rivulet  near  Jeri- 
cho. Going  afterwards  to  Bethel,  the  children  of 
the  place  ridiculed  him,  and  Elisha  cursing  them  in 
the  name  of  the  Lord,  two  bears  came  out  of  a 
neighboring  forest,  and,  as  Calmet  says,  devoured 
two  and  forty  of  them,  2  Kings  ii.  14 — 24.  This, 
however,  is  not  credible.  Siu'ely  one  child  had  ful- 
ly satisfied  the  hunger  of  one  bear.  Happily  our 
own  translation  keeps  clear  of  this  error,  and  renders 
"  two  she-bears  tare  these  children," — not  limb  from 
limb ;  not  "  to  death  with  blood  and  groans,  and 
tears  ;"  but  scratched,  clawed,  wounded,  tare  them, 
as  the  Hebrew  root  (j'pa)  signifies. 

The  kings  of  Israel,  Judah,  and  Edom,  having 
taken  the  field  against  the  king  of  Moab,  who  had 
revolted  from  Israel,  were  in  danger  of  perishing  by 
want  of  water ;  but,  according  to  the  words  of  Elisha, 
they  received  a  miraculous  supply,  2  Kings  iii.  13— 
17.  The  widow  of  one  of  the  prophets  being  re- 
duced to  great  distress,  and  laiuenting  that  a  creditor 
of  her  husband  was  determined  to  take  her  two  sons, 
and  sell  them  for  slaves,  Elisha  multiplied  the  oil  in 
her  house  so  abundantly,  that  by  its  produce  she  was 
enabled  to  discharge  the  debt,  iv.  1 — 7.  Elisha  went 
frequently  to  Shvuiem,  where  a  certain  matron  gave 
him  entertainment;  and  as  she  had  no  child,  the 
prophet  promised  her  a  son.  His  prediction  was 
accomplished,  but  some  years  afterwards,  the  child 
died,  and  Elisha  restored  him  to  life,  verses  8 — 37. 
At  Gilgal  during  a  great  famine,  he  corrected  the 
deleterious  effects  of  a  poisonous  mess  of  pottage, 
ver.  38 — 41.  Naaman,  suffering  under  a  leprosy, 
was  directed  by  Elisha  to  Avash  in  the  Jordan,  by 
which  he  was  perfectly  healed.  The  king  of  Assyr- 
ia being  at  war  with  the  king  of  Israel,  could  not 
imagine  how  all  his  designs  were  discovered  by  the 
enemy,  but  being  told  that  the  prophet  Elisha  reveal- 
ed every  thing,  he  sent  troops  to  seize  him  atDothan. 
EHsha,  however,  struck  them  with  blindness,  and  led 
them  into  the  very  city  of  Samaria.  There  he 
prayed  to  God  to  open  their  eyes ;  gave  them  meat 
and  drink,  and  sent  them  back  to  their  master,  chap, 
vi.  8 — 23.  Some  time  after,  Benhadad,  king  of 
Syria,  besieged  Samaria,  and  the  famine  became 
extreme.  Elisha  promised  abundance  by  the  next 
day  ;  and  his  prediction  was  verified  by  the  flight 
of  the  Syrians,  2  Kings  vi.  vii. 

The  Lord  having  determined  to  remove  Jehoram 
from  the  throne  of  Israel,  and  to  transfer  the  sceptre 


ELN 


[  385  ] 


ELZ 


to  Jehu,  Elisha  sent  one  of  the  sons  of  the  prophets 
to  anoint  him  king,  chap.  ix.  Some  time  afterwards, 
EHsha  fell  sick,  and  Joash  king  of  Israel  came  to 
visit  him.  The  prophet  desired  him  to  bring  a  bow 
and  arrows,  and  bidding  him  to  let  fly  an  arrow,  said, 
"  This  is  tlie  arrow  of  the  Lord's  deliverance  ;  thou 
shalt  smite  the  Syrians  in  Aphek."  Elisha  desired 
him  again  to  shoot,  which  he  did  three  times,  and 
then  stojiped.  The  man  of  God  said,  "  Thou  shouldst 
have  smitten  five  or  six  times,  then  hadst  thou  con- 
sumed Syria ;  Avhereas,  now  thou  shalt  smite  Syria 
but  thrice,"  chap.  xiii.  14 — 19.  This  sign  was  ac- 
complished in  the  event,  ver.  25. 

After  the  death  of  Elisha,  a  band  of  Bloabites  in- 
vaded the  land  ;  and  some  Israelites,  going  to  bury 
a  man  in  a  field,  saw  them,  and,  being  terrified,  threw 
the  body  hastily  into  Elisha's  grave.  The  body  hav- 
ing touched  his  remains,  received  life,  and  the  man 
stood  up,  ver.  20,  21.  This  is  noticed  Ecclesiasticus 
xlviii.  13,  in  the  encomium  on  Elisha. 

II.  ELISHA,  the  fountain  of,  rises  two  bow-shots 
from  mount  Quarantauia,  and  runs  tlu-ough  the  plain 
of  Jericho,  into  the  Jordan  ;  passing  south  of  Gilgal, 
and  dividing  into  several  streams.  This  is  said  to  be 
the  fountain  whose  waters  were  sweetened  by  Eli- 
sha, 2  Kings  ii.  19 — 22.     See  Jericho. 

ELISHAH,  son  of  Javan,  (Gen.  x.  4.)  from  whom 
the  isles  of  Elishah  are  named,  (Ezek.  xxvii.  7.)  is 
believed  to  have  peopled  Elis  in  the  Peloponnesus. 
We  find  there  the  province  of  Elis,  and  a  country 
called  Alisiuin,  by  Homer.  Ezekiel,  above,  speaks 
of  the  purple  of  Elishah,  brought  to  Tyie.  The 
fish  used  in  dyeing  purple  were  caught  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Eurotas,  and  the  ancients  fj-equcutly  speak  of 
the  ])urple  of  Laconia. 

ELISHAPHAT,  son  of  Zichri,  assisted  Jehoiada 
the  high-priest  to  enthi-one  the  young  king  Joash,  2 
Chron.  xxiii.  1,  &c. 

EJjISHEBA,  daughter  of  Amminadab,  and  wife 
of  Aaron.  Mother  of  Nadab,  Abihu,  Eleazar,  and 
Ithamar,  Exod.  vi.  23. 

ELISHUA,  son  of  David,  born  at  Jerusalem,  2 
Sam.  v.  15. 

ELIUD,  son  of  Achim,  and  father  of  Eleazar.  In 
the  genealogy  of  Jesus,  Matt.  i.  14,  15. 

I.  ELIZAFHAN,  son  of  Uzziel,  uncle  of  Aaron, 
and  head  of  the  family  of  Kohath,  Numb.  iii.  30. 
Piloses  conunauded  Elizaphan  to  carry  the  corpses  of 
Nadab  and  Abihu  out  of  the  camp.  Lev.  x.  4. 

IT.  ELIZAPHAN,  son  of  Parnach,  ofZobulun,  a 
dei)uty  apjiointed  to  divide  the  land,  Numb,  x.vxiv.  25. 

I.  ELKANAH,  {God  created,)  second  sou  of  Ko- 
rah,  Exod.  vi.  24;  1  Chron.  vi.  26. 

II.  ELKANAH,  father  of  the  prophet  Samuel; 
1  Sam.  i.  1.  Several  others  oC  the  same  name  are 
mentioned  in  1  Chron.  vi.  and  other  places. 

ELKOSH,  a  village  in  Galilee,  the  birth  place  of 
the  prophet  Nahum,  Nah.  i.  1.  It  was  shown  in 
Jerome's  time,  but  almost  in  ruins.  Thcophylact 
says  it  is  beyond  Jordan. 

ELLASAR.  There  was  a  city  (mentioned  by 
Steplianus,  de  Urbibus)  called  Ellas,  in  Ccele-Syria, 
on  the  borders  of  Arabia,  where  Arioch,  one  of  the 
confederate  kings,  (Gen.  xiv.  9.)  perlia})S  commanded. 

ELM.  This  word  occurs  but  once  in  the  English 
Bible  ;  (Hos.  iv.  13.)  but  the  Heb.  nS.v,  aUh,  is  in  every 
other  place  rendered  oak,  which  see. 

ELN  ATI!  AN,  son  of  Achbov,  and  father  of  Ne- 

husta,  mother   of  Jchoiakim   king   of  Judali.      He 

opposed  the  king's  burning  of  Jeremiah's  jirophe- 

cies ;  and  was  sent  into  Egypt  to  bring  back   the 

49 


prophet  Urijah,  Jer.  xxvi.  22 ;  xxxvi.  12 ;  2  Kings 
xxiv.  8. 

ELOAH,  or  Elohim,  one  of  the  names  of  God. 
Angels,  princes,  great  men,  judges,  and  even  false 
gods,  are  sometimes  called  Elohim.  The  connection 
of  the  discourse  assists  us  in  deteiTnining  the  proper 
meaning  of  this  word  where  it  occurs.  It  is  the 
same  as  Eloah ;  one  being  singular,  the  other  plural. 
Nevertheless,  Elohim  is  generally  construed  in  the 
singular,  particularly  when  the  true  God  is  spoken 
of;  when  false  gods  are  spoken  of,  it  is  rather  con- 
strued in  the  plural. 

[The  Hebrew  word  Eloah  comes  from  the  verb 
n'-iN,  to  venerate,  adore,  and  signifies,  therefore,  ohject 
of  adoration.  It  is  the  same  in  all  the  Semitish  lan- 
guages, e.  g.  it  is  the  Allah  of  the  Arabians.  The 
name  Jehovah,  on  the  other  hand,  seems  to  be  the 
ineffable  name  of  God.     See  Jekovah.     R. 

The  Jewish  critics  find  gi-eat  mysteries  in  some  of 
these  words,  Eloi,  Elolfi,  Elohim,  &c.  which  are 
always  written  full,  while  others  are  written  deficient, 
as  with  the  i  [yod)  or  without  it ;  with  the  i  [van)  or 
without  it.  They  observe,  too,  that  some  of  the  let- 
ters of  the  name  Jehovah,  are  added  to  Sn,  God, 
but  not  all  at  the  same  time  ;  also,  that  Jehovah  is 
sometimes  pointed  with  the  vowel  points  of  Elohim, 
but  Elohim  never  with  the  vowel  points  of  Jehovah. 
Whether  the  word  Elohim  be  singular  or  plural,  ad- 
jective or  substantive,  or  whether  it  have  any  root  in 
the  HebrcAV  language,  they  are  not  agreed. 

I.  ELON,  a  grove  of  oalis ;  Elou-Mamre,  Elon- 
Moi-e,  Elon-Beth-Chanan,  the  grove,  or  oak,  of 
Mamre,  «fcc.— II.  A  city  of  Dan,  Josh.  xix.  43. — III. 
The  Hittite,  father  of  Basheraath,  wife  of  Esau, 
Gen.  xxvi.  34. — IV.  Chief  of  a  family  of  Zcbulun, 
Numb.  xxvi.  26.  V.  A  judge  of  Israel,  who  suc- 
ceeded Ibzan,  and  was  succeeded  by  Abdon,  Judg. 
xii.  10.  He  %vas  of  Zebulun,  and  judged  Israel  ten 
years ;  from  A.  M.  2830,  to  2840. 

ELTEKEH,  a  city  of  Dan,  given  to  the  Levites 
of  Kohath's  family.  Josh.  xix.  44 ;  xxi.  23. 

ELTEKON,  a  town  of  Judah,  on  the  confines  of 
Benjamin,  Josh.  xv.  59. 

ELTOLAD,  a  town  of  Judah,  (Josh.  xv.  30,)  given 
to  Simeon,  Joeh.  xix.  4. 

ELUL,  one  of  the  Hebrew  months,  (Neh.  vi.  15.) 
answering  nearly  to  August,  O.  S.  having  only  tAven- 
ty-nine  days.  It  was  the  twelfth  month  of  the  civil 
year,  and  the  sixth  of  the  ecclesiastical.  Others  sup- 
pose it  to  have  included  the  time  from  the  new  moon 
of  September  to  that  of  October. 

ELYMAIS,  the  capital  of  Elam,  or  the  ancient 
country  of  the  Persians.  1  Mac.  vi.  1.  informs  us, 
that  Antiochus  Epiphanes,  understanding  there  were 
very  great  treasiu'cs  in  the  temple  at  Elymais,  deter- 
mined to  plunder  it ;  but  the  citizens  resisted  him 
successfully.  2  Mac.  ix.  2.  calls  this  city  Persepolis, 
probal)ly  because  it  formerly  had  been  the  capital  of 
Persia ;  for  Persepolis  and  Elymais  w  ere  vei-y  difler- 
ent  cities;  the  former  situated  on  the  Araxes,  the  lat- 
ter on  the  EuloBUS.  The  temple  which  Antiochus 
designed  to  pillage  was  that  of  the  goddess  Nanna?a, 
according  to  I\[accabces ;  Appian  says  a  temple  of 
Venus ;  Polybius,  Diodorus,  Josephus,  and  Jerome, 
sav  a  tem])]e  of  Diana.     See  Parthians. 

"ELYMiEANS.  Judith  i.  6.  mentions  Ariocli  king 
of  the  Elymrcans ;  that  is,  probably,  the  ancient 
kingdom  of  Persia, 

ELYMAS,  see  Bar-Jesus. 

ELZABAD,  one  of  the  thirty  gallant  men  in  Da- 
vid's army,  1  Chron.  xii.  12. 


EMBALMING 


[  386  ] 


EME 


EMBALMING.  The  ancient  Egyptians  and  He- 
brews embalmed  the  bodies  of  the  dead.  Joseph  or- 
dered the  embalming  of  his  father  Jacob ;  and  his 
physicians,  employed  in  this  work,  were  forty  days, 
the  usual  time,  about  it.  Some  think  that  embalm- 
ing became  necessary  in  Egypt  in  consequence  of 
the  inundation  of  the  Nile,  whose  waters  overflow- 
ing all  the  flat  country  nearly  two  months,  obliged 
the  people  all  this  while  to  keep  their  dead  in  their 
houses,  or  to  remove  them  to  rocks  and  eminences, 
which  were  often  veiy  distant.  To  which  we  may 
add,  that  bodies  buried  before  the  inundation  might 
be  thrown  up  by  it ;  a  sandy  moist  soil  not  being 
strong  enough  to  retain  them  against  the  action  of  the 
water. 

When  a  man  died,  a  coftin  was  made  proportion- 
ed to  the  stature  and  quahty  of  the  dead  person,  and 
to  the  price,  in  which  there  was  a  great  diversity. 
The  upper  exterior  of  the  cofiin  represented  the 
person  who  was  to  be  enclosed  in  it.  A  man  of 
condition  was  distinguished  by  the  figure  on  the 
cover  of  the  coflin  ;  suitable  paintings  and  embellish- 
ments were  generally  added.  The  embalmers'  prices 
varied;  the  highest  was  a  talent,  $1000;  twenty 
mincE  was  moderate ;  the  lowest  price  was  small. 
The  process  of  embalming  dead  bodies  among  the 
Egyptians  was  as  follows : — A  dissector,  with  a  very 
sharp  Ethiopian  stone,  made  an  incision  on  the  left 
side,  and  hurried  away  instantly  because  the  relations 
of  the  deceased,  who  were  present,  took  up  stones, 
and  pursued  him  as  a  wdcked  wretch,  who  had  dis- 
figured the  dead.  The  embalmers,  who  were  look- 
ed upon  as  sacred  officers,  drew  the  brains  through 
the  nostrils  with  a  hooked  piece  of  iron,  and  filled 
the  skull  with  astringent  drugs  ;  they  drew  all  the 
bowels,  except  the  heart  and  kidneys,  through  the 
hole  in  the  left  side,  and  washed  them  in  palm  wine, 
and  other  strong  and  astringent  drugs.  The  body 
was  anointed  with  oil  of  cedar,  myrrh,  cinnamon, 
&c.  about  thirty  days,  so  that  it  was  preserved  en- 
tire, without  putrefaction,  without  losing  its  hair, 
and  without  contracting  any  disagreeable  smell ;  and 
was  then  put  into  salt  for  about  forty  days.  Hence, 
when  Moses  says  that  forty  days  were  employed  in 
embahning  Jacob,  we  understand  him  of  the  forty 
days  of  his  continuing  in  the  salt  of  nitre  •,  not  in- 
cluding the  thirty  days  engaged  m  the  previous  cer- 
emonies, so  that,  in  the  whole,  they  mourned  seventy 
days  for  him  in  Egypt ;  as  INIoses  observes. 

The  body  was  afterwards  taken  out  of  the  salt, 
washed,  wrapped  up  in  linen  swaddling-bands  dipped 
in  myrrh,  and  closed  with  a  gum,  which  the  Egyp- 
tians used  instead  of  glue.  It  was  then  restored  to 
the  relations,  who  enclosed  it  in  a  cofiin,  and  kept  it 
in  their  houses,  or  deposited  it  in  a  tomb.  Great 
numbers  of  mummies  have  recently  been  found  in 
Egj'pt,  in  chambers  or  subterraneous  vaults. 

Those  who  could  not  defray  such  expenses  as  this 
process  involved,  contented  themselves  with  infusing, 
by  a  syringe,  through  the  fundament,  a  liquor  ex- 
tracted from  the  cedar,  which  they  left  there,  and 
wrapt  up  the  body  in  salt  of  nitre.  This  oil  preyed 
on  the  intestines,  so  that  when  they  took  it  out,  the 
intestines  came  along  with  it  dried,  but  not  putrefied. 
The  body,  being  enclosed  in  nitre,  became  dry.  The 
poor  sometimes  cleansed  the  inside  by  injecting  a 
liquor,  after  which  they  put  the  body  into  nitre  for 
seventy  days  to  dry  it.  A  recent  discovery  in  Egypt 
informs  us,  that  the  connnon  people  of  that  country 
were  embalmed  by  means  of  a  bitumen,  a  cheap 
material,  and  easily  nianaged.     With  this  the  corpse 


and  its  envelopes  were  smeared,  with  more  or  less 
care  and  diligence.  Sepulchres  have  been  opened, 
in  which  thousands  of  bodies  have  been  deposited  in 
rows,  one  on  another,  without  cofiins,  preserved  in 
this  manner. 

It  is  observed  concerning  Joseph,  that  he  was  em- 
balmed, and  put  into  a  coffin,  in  Egypt,  (Gen.  1.  26.) 
but  the  LXX,  who  lived  in  Egypt,  by  translating  this 
coffin  (5000C,  seem  to  allude  to  a  stone  receptacle, 
sarcophagus,  for  the  whole,  including  the  mummy 
chest,  or  proper  coffin  ;  so  that  at  the  departure  of 
the  people  from  Egypt,  they  had  only  to  take  the 
mummy,  with  its  case  or  coffin,  out  of  this  stone  re- 
ceptacle, or  tomb,  in  which  it  had  been  preserved, 
and  by  which  it  had  been  distinguished ;  and  this 
being  a  public  monument  known  to  all,  they  w'ere 
sure  the  body  they  carried  with  them  was  that  of  the 
patriarch  Joseph,  and  of  no  other  person. 

Scripture  mentions  the  embalming  of  Joseph,  of 
king  Asa,  and  of  our  Saviour.  Josejjh  doubtless 
was  embalmed  after  the  Egyptian  manner,  as  he  died 
in  Egy])t.  Asa  was  embalmed,  or  rather  burnt,  in  a 
particular  manner.  The  Hebrew  is  literally,  "They 
laid  him  in  the  bed  which  they  had  filled  with  sweet 
odors,  and  divers  kind  of  spices  ;  and  they  burnt 
odors  for  him  with  an  exceeding  great  burning;"  (2 
Chron.  xvi.  14.)  as  if  these  spices  had  been  burnt" 
near  his  body.  But  the  generality  of  interpi-eters 
believe,  that  he  was  burnt  with  spices  in  a  bed  of 
state,  similar  to  the  Roman  emperors  in  later  times. 
It  seems  certain,  that  dead  bodies,  of  kings  particu- 
larly, were  sometimes  burnt ;  and  we  know  not 
whether  the  custom  were  not  derived  from  this  in- 
stance of  Asa.  Scripture  notices  of  Jehoram,  that 
"  his  people  made  no  burning  for  him  like  the  burn- 
ing of  his  fathers,"  2  Chron.  xxi.  19.  Jeremiah 
promises  king  Zedekiah,  "  According  to  the  burning 
of  thy  fathers,  so  shall  they  burn  odors  for  thee." 
The  body  of  Saul  was  biu-nt  after  it  had  been  taken 
down  from  the  walls  of  Bethsan  ;  biU  this  was, 
probably,  because  of  its  state  of  corruption. 

As  to  the  embalming  of  our  Saviour,  the  evangel- 
ists inform  us,  that  Joseph  of  Arimathea  having 
obtained  his  body,  brought  a  white  sheet  to  wrap  it 
in ;  and  that  Nicodemus  purchased  a  hundred 
pounds  of  myrrh  and  aloes,  with  which  they  em- 
balmed him,  and  put  him  into  Joseph's  own  unfinish- 
ed sepulchre,  cut  in  a  rock.  They  could  not  use 
niore  ceremony,  because  the  night  came  on,  and  tlie 
sabbath  was  just  beginning.  Nevertheless,  the  wo- 
men who  had  foUowefl  him  from  Galilee  designed  to 
embalm  liiui  more  perfectly  at  better  opportunity 
and  leisure  ;  thoy  remarked  the  place  and  manner  of 
his  sepulchre,  and  bought  spices  for  their  purpose. 
They  rested  all  the  sahhath-day,  and  on  the  first  day 
of  the  week,  early  in  the  monling,  they  went  to  the 
sepulchre,  but  could  not  exocute  their  design,  our 
Lord  having  risen  from  the  dead,  lie  had  only  been 
rubbed  with  myrrh  and  aloes,  wrapped  up  in  swad- 
dling-bands, and  buried  in  a  great  sheet,  his  face  ' 
covered  with  a  napkin.  This  is  what  we  observe  on 
comparing  the  i)assages  of  John.  We  see  bandages 
of  the  same  kind  in  the  account  of  Lazanis's  resur- 
rection, with  this  diflerence,  that  there  is  no  mention 
of  spices.     John  xix.  40  ;  xx.  5.     See  Burial. 

EMERALD,  a  precious  stone,  of  »  green  color; 
in  Latin,  smaragdiis  ;  which  signifies  rather  a  genus 
of  precious  stones  including  the  emerald  as  a  spe- 
cies. The  emerald  is  ])laced  (Exod.  xxviii.  18.)  on 
the  high-priest's  pectoral.  [Our  English  version 
every  where  puts  emerald  for  the  Ileb.  jsj,  a  kind  of 


E  M  M 


[  387  ] 


ENG 


gem  wliicli  it  is  impossible  to  make  out.  In  the 
New  Testament,  it  is  put  for  the  Greek  Oftufiaydog, 
Rev.  iv.  3  ;  xxi.  19.     R. 

EMERODS.  The  ark  having  been  taken  by  the 
Phihstines,  and  being  kept  at  Ashdod,  the  hand  of 
God  afflicted  them  with  a  painful  disease,  1  Sam.  v. 
6.  Interpretei-s  are  not  agreed  on  the  signification 
of  the  original  a'Soj»,  ophdlim,  or  omna,  tehunm ;  nor 
on  the  nature  of  the  disease.  The  Hebrew  properly 
signifies,  that  whicli  is  obscure  and  hidden,  and  most 
interpreters  think,  that  those  painful  tumors  in  the 
fundament  are  meant,  which  sometimes  turn  into  ul- 
cers, i.  e.  the  piles.  Psal.  Ixxviii.  (>(J.  The  LXX  and 
Vulgate  add  to  verse  9,  that  the  Philistines  made 
seats  of  skins,  upon  which  to  sit  with  more  ease,  by 
reason  of  their  indisposition.  Herodotus  seems  to 
have  had  some  knowledge  of  this  history;  but  has 
assigned  another  cause.  He  says,  the  Scythians  hav- 
ing plundered  the  temple  of  Askalou,  a  celebrated 
city  of  the  Philistines,  the  goddess  who  was  wor- 
shipped there  afflicted  them  with  a  peculiar  disease. 
The  Philistines,  perhaps,  thus  related  the  story ;  but 
it  evidently  passed  for  truth,  that  this  disease  was  an- 
cient, and  had  been  sent  among  them  by  some  aveng- 
ing deity.  To  remedy  this  suffering,  and  to  remove 
the  ravages  committed  by  rats,  which  wasted  their 
country,  the  Philistines  were  advised  by  their  priests 
and  soothsayers  to  return  the  ark  of  God  with  the 
following  offerings :  (1  Sam.  vi.  1 — 18.)  five  figures  of 
a  golden  emerod,  that  is,  of  the  part  afflicted,  and 
five  golden  rats ;  hereby  acknowledging,  that  this 
plague  was  the  effect  of  divine  justice.  This  advice 
was  followed ;  andJosephus,  (Antiq.  lib.  vi.  c.  l.)and 
others,  believed  that  the  five  cities  of  the  Philistines 
made  each  a  statue,  which  they  consecrated  to  God, 
as  votive  offerings  for  their  deliverance.  This,  how- 
ever, seems  to  have  originated  from  the  figures  of 
the  rats.  The  heathen  frequently  offered  to  their 
gods  figures  representing  those  parts  of  the  body 
which  iiad  been  diseased  ;  and  such  kinds  of  cxvotis 
are  still  frequent  in  Catholic  countries  ;  being  conse- 
crated in  honor  of  some  saint,  who  is  supposed  to 
have  wrought  the  cure  :  they  are  images  of  wax,  or 
of  metal,  exhibiting  those  parts  of  the  body  in  which 
the  disease  was  seated. 

EMESA,  or  Hamath,  see  Hamath. 

E]\ni\I,  ancient  inhal)itants  of  Canaan,  east  of  the 
Jordan,  wiio  were  defeated  by  Chedorlaomer  at  Sha- 
veh  Kiriathaim,  or  in  the  plain  of  Kiriathai'm,  Gen. 
xiv.  5.  They  were  warlike,  and  of  gigantic  stature  : 
"  great,  many,  and  tall,  as  the  Anakim."     See  Anah. 

EMMANUEL,  God  with  us.  Isaiah,  in  his  cel- 
ebrated prophecy  (chap,  xi.)  of  the  birth  of  the  Mes- 
siah from  a  virgin,  says,  this  child  shall  be  called, 
that  is,  really  be,  "  Emmanuel."  He  repeats  this 
wliile  speaking  of  the  enemy's  army,  which,  like  a 
torrent,  was  to  overflow  Judea;  "  Thestretchin!,'Out 
of  his  wings  shall  fill  the  breadth  of  thy  land,  O 
Emmanuel."  Matthew  informs  us,  that  tliis  jjroph- 
ecy  was  accomplished  in  Jesus  Christ,  born  of  the 
Virgin  IMary,  in  whom  the  two  natures,  divine  and 
human,  united  ;  so  that  he  was  really  Emmanuel,  or, 
God  with  us. 

I.  EMMAUS,  Hot  BatkSyQ  village,  sixty  furlongs, 
or  seven  miles  and  a  half,  north-west  of  Jerusaleni, 
celebrated  for  our  Lord's  conversation  with  two  dis- 
ciples who  went  thither  on  the  day  of  his  resurrec- 
tion. Joseplms  (de  Bello,  lib.  viii.  cap.  97.)  says,  that 
Vespasian  left  800  soldiers  in  Judea,  to  whoni  he 
gave  the  village  of  Emmaus,  which  was  sixty  fm-- 
longs  from  Jerusalem.     D'Arvieux  states,  (vol.  vii.  p. 


259.)  that  going  from  Jerusalem  to  Rama,  he  took 
the  right  from  the  high  road  to  Rama,  at  some  little 
distance  from  Jerusalem,  and  "travelled  a  good 
league  over  rocks  and  flint  stones,  to  the  end  of  the 
valley  of  terebinthine  trees,"  till  he  reached  Emmaus. 
"  It  seems,  by  the  ruins  which  surrounded  it,  that  it 
was  formerly  larger  than  it  was  in  our  Saviour's 
time.  The  Christians,  while  masters  of  the  Holy 
Land,  re-established  it  a  little,  and  built  several 
churches.  Emmaus  was  not  worth  the  trouble  of 
having  come  out  of  the  way  to  see  it.  Ruins,  indeed, 
we  saw  on  all  sides ;  and  fables  we  heard  from  every 
quarter,  though  under  the  guise  of  traditions.  Such 
is  the  notion  of  the  house  of  Cleopas ;  on  the  site  of 
which  a  great  church  was  erected  ;  of  which  a  few 
masses  of  the  thick  walls  remain,  but  nothing  else." 

II.  EMMAUS,  a  city  of  Judea,  twenty -two  miles 
from  Lydda,  and  afterwards  called  Nicopolis.  Here 
were  hot  baths,  in  which,  it  was  reported  among  the 
iidiabitants,  our  Lord  washed  his  feet,  and  to  which 
he  communicated  a  healing  virtue. 

III.  EMMAUS,  a  town  near  Tiberias,  the  "  wann 
mmeral  baths"  of  which  are  still  much  frequented, 
according  to  Dr.  E.  Clarke.  (Trav.  vol.  ii.  p.  463.) 
The  ancient  name  of  Emmaus  is  still  preserved  in 
its  Arabic  appellation,  Hamam.  The  editor  of  the 
Modern  Traveller  has  collected  together  nearly  every 
thing  that  can  be  known  concerning  this  place. 
(Palestine,  p.  254,  seq.  Amer.  ed.) 

EN,  ]i;',  ain,  signifies  a  fountain  ;  for  which  reason 
we  find  it  compounded  with  many  names  of  towns, 
and  places  ;  as  en-dor,  en-gedi,  en-eglaim,  en-shemish, 
i.  e.  the  fountain  oi'  dor — of  gedi,  &c. 

ENABRIS,  a  place  between  Scythopolis  and 
Tiberias. 

ENAIM,  or  Enam,  a  town  of  Judah,  (Josh.  xv. 
34.)  mentioned  also  in  Gen.  xxxviii.  14.  where  the 
Vulgate  reads,  that  Tauiar  sat  in  a  place  where  two 
ways  met ;  Heb.  she  sal  at  Enaim ;  LXX,  she  sat  at 
Enan  by  the  ivay.  English  translation,  she  sat  in  an 
open  place  lohich  is  by  the  way.  Enan,  or  Enaim,  sig- 
nifies "  the  two  welis,"  or  "  the  double  well ;"  a  very 
likely  place  of  rendezvous. 

I.  ENAN,  father  of  Ahira  of  Naphtali ;  (Numb.  i. 
15.)  head  of  his  tribe  in  the  time  of  Moses. 

II.  ENAN.  Ezekiel  speaks  of  Enan,  (chap,  xlviii. 
1.)  or  Hazar-Enan,  as  of  a  town  well  known  ;  the 
northern  boundary  of  the  land.  See  also  Numb, 
xxxiv.  9.  This  may  be  Gaana.  north  of  Damascus, 
or  Ina,  mentioned  by  Ptolen^y,  or  Aennos  in  Peutin- 
ger's  tables,  south  of  Damascus.  Possibly  likewise 
the  En-hazor  of  NapJitali,  Josh.  xix.  37. 

ENCHANTMENTS,  see  Inchantments. 

ENDOB,  or  ^NDOR,  a  city  of  Manasseh,  (Josh, 
xvii.  11.)  placed  by  Eusebius  four  miles  south  of 
jiiount  Tabor,  near  Nain,  in  the  way  to  ScythopoUs. 
ilere  tlie  witch  lived  whom  Saul  consulted,  1  Sam. 
xxviii.  12. 

EN-EGLAIM.  Ezekiel  (xlvii.  10.)  speaks  of  this 
place  in  opposition  to  En-gedi:  "The  fishers  shall 
stand  upon  it  from  En-gedi,  even  to  En-eglaim  :  they 
shall  be  a  place  to  spread  forth  nets."  Jei-ome  says, 
En-eglaim  is  at  the  head  of  the  Dead  sea,  where 
the  Jordan  enters  it. 

I.  ENGANNIM,  a  city  in  the  plain  belonging  to 
Judah,  Josh.  xv.  34. — II.  A  city  of  Issachar ;  given 
to  the  Levites  of  Gershom's  family.  Josh.  xix.  21 ; 
xxi.  29. 

EN-GEDI.  This  name  is  probably  suggested  by 
the  situation  among  lofty  rocks,  which,  overhanging 
the  valleys,  are  very  precipitous.     A  fountain  of  pure 


ENO 


[  386  ] 


ENS 


%varer  rises  near  the  summit,  which  the  iuiiabitauts 
call  En-gedi — the  fountain  of  the  goat — because  it  is 
hardly  accessible  to  any  other  creature.  It  was  call- 
ed also  Hazazou-Tamar,  that  is,  the  city  of  palm- 
trees,  there  being  a  gi"eat  quantity  of  palm-trees 
around  it.  It  stood  near  the  lake  of  Sodom,  S.  E.  of 
Jerusalem,  not  far  from  Jericho,  and  the  mouth  of 
the  river  Jordan ;  though  later  travellers  place  it 
about  the  middle  of  the  western  shore  of  the  lake. 
In  some  cave  of  the  wilderness  of  En-gedi,  David  had 
an  opportunity  of  killing  Saul,  who  was  then  in 
pursuit  of  him,  1  Sam.  xxiv.  The  vineyards  of 
En-gedi  are  mentioned.  Cant.  i.  14.  and  the  hills 
around  it  produce,  at  present,  the  best  wines  of  the 
country. 

EXGRAVIXG.  This  art  of  cutting  precious 
stones  and  metals  is  frequentlj'  referred  to  in  the  Old 
Testament  Scriptures.  Its  origin  and  progress,  as 
connected  with  biblical  inquiries,  has  been  investi- 
gated and  illustrated  with  much  ing(  r.uity  by  Mr. 
Landseer,  in  his  "Sabeean  Researches," j^assm.  See 
Seals,  Writing. 

EN-HADDAH,  a  toAra  of  Issachar,  Josh.  xix.  21. 
Eusebius  mentions  a  place  of  this  name  between 
Eleutheropolis  and  Jerusalem  ;  ten  miles  from  the 
former  place. 

EX-HAZOK,  a  city  of  Naphtali,  Josh.  xix.  37. 
Whether  this  be  the  Atrium  Ennon,  or  Hazar-enan 
of  Ezekiel,  (xlvii.  17 ;  xlviii.  1.)  and  of  Moses, 
(Numb,  xxxiv.  9.)  it  is  difficult  to  determine. 

EN-MISHPAT,  Fountain  of  Judgment.  Moses 
says,  (Gen.  xiv.  7.)  that  Chedorlaomer  and  his  allies, 
having  traversed  the  wilderness  of  Paran,  came  to 
the  fountain  of  ]\Iishpat,  otherwise  Kadesh.  It  had 
not  this  name  till  Moses  drew  from  it  the  ivaters  of 
stnfe  ;  and  God  had  exercised  his  judgments  on  Mo- 
ses and  Aaron,  Numb.  xx.  13 ;  xxvii.  14.  See 
ICadesh. 

I.  ENOCH,  son  of  Cain,  (Gen.  iv.  17.)  after  whom 
the  first  city  noticed  in  Scripture  was  called.  It  was 
east  of  Eden,  and  its  name  is  thought  to  be  preserv- 
ed in  Hanuchta,  which  Ptolemy  places  in  the  Susi- 
ana.  The  spurious  Berosus,  and  Adriclioniius  after 
liim,  place  the  city  Euochia,  built  by  Cain,  east  of 
Libanus,  towards  Damascus. 

II.  ENOCH,  the  son  of  Jared,  was  born  A.  M. 
622,  and  begat  3Icthuselah,  at  the  age  of  sixtv-five. 
He  walked  with  God  ;  and  after  he  1iad  lived  three 
hundred  and  sixty-live  years,  "  he  was  not,  for  God 
took  him,"  Gen.  v.  24.  Paid  says,  "  B\  laith  Enoch 
was  translated,  that  he  should  not  see  death,  and  was 
not  found,  because  God  had  trauslitcd  him."  Hcb. 
xi.  5. 

Jude  (14,  15.)  cites  a  passage  from  the  book  of 
Enoch,  which  has  much  perplexed  interpreters.  The 
question  is,  whether  the  ajiosile  took  this  passage 
from  any  book  written  by  Enoch,  which  might  b<; 
extant  in  his  time  ;  or,  whether  he  received  it  by  tra- 
dition, or  by  revelation.  It  is  most  probable,  he'  read 
it  in  a  book  attributed  to  Enoch,  which  though 
apocry{)lial,  miglit  contain  several  truths ;  among 
ollicrs,  this  might  be  one,  which  Jude,  favored  with 
a  supernatural  degree  of  discrimination,  might  use 
to  purposes  of  instruction.  Justin,  Athenagoras, 
Irena;u3,  Clemens  Alexandrinus,  Lactantius,  and  oth- 
ers, borrowed  an  opinion  out  of  tiiis  book  of  Enoch, 
that  the  angels  had  connection  with  the  daughters  of 
men,  of  whom  they  had  offspring.  TertuUian,  in 
several  places,  speaks  of  this  book  with  esteem  ;  and 
would  jjcrsuadc  us,  that  it  was  preserved  by  Noah 
during  the  deluge.     It  has,  however,  been  rejected 


by  the  church,  and  Origeu,  Jerome,  and  Austin, 
mention  it  as  of  no  authority.  Specimens  of  the 
book  of  Enoch  ha\e  been  brought  into  Europe  from 
Abyssinia  by  Mr.  Bruce  and  others,  and  translations 
of  parts  of  it  have  been  published.  It  should  seem 
to  be  foimded,  as  to  its  historical  tenor,  on  the  IMosaic 
history  of  the  antediluvians,  and  the  judgments  that 
might  naturally  be  expected  to  follov/ such  enormous 
wickedness,  violences,  audacities,  and  gluttonies,  r.s 
were  then  practised  by  the  giants,  or  people  in  power. 
The  lower  classes  were  represented  in  it,  as  being 
extremely  oppressed  and  ill  treated ;  and,  perhaps, 
the  intention  of  the  author  was  to  inculcate  on  the 
gi-eat,  lessons  of  humanity  towards  their  inferiors, 
enforced  by  the  instance  of  punishment  infiictcd  by 
the  deluge  on  criminals  of  the  highest  rank  and  the 
greatest  power. 

The  eastern  people  have  preserved  several  very 
imcertain  traditions  relating  to  Enoch,  whom  they 
call  Edris.  Eusebius,  from  Eupoiemus,  tells  us,  that 
the  Babylonians  acknov,  ledged  Enoch  as  the  invent- 
or of  astrology  ;  tliat  he  is  the  Atlas  of  the  Greeks  ; 
that  Methuselah  was  his  son,  and  that  he  received  all 
his  uncommon  knowledge  by  the  ministry  of  an 
angel. 

ENON,  where  John  baptized,  because  "there  was 
much  water  there,  (John  iii.  23.)  v»'as  eight  miles  south 
of  Scythopolis,  between  Shalim  and  the  Jordan. 

ENOS,  son  of  Seth,  and  father  of  Cainan,  was 
born  A.  M.  235,  and  died,  aged  905  years,  A.  M.  1140. 
Moses  sajs  that  Enos  began  to  call  on  the  name  of 
the  Lord ;  that  is,  he  was  the  inventor  of  religious 
rites  and  ceremonies  in  worship,  and  formed  the 
public  and  external  manner  of  honoring  God.  This 
worship  Avas  preserved  in  his  familj',  while  that  of 
Cain  involved  itself  in  irregularities  and  impieties. 
Our  translators  say,  "  Then  began  men  to  call  on 
the  name  of  the  Lord,"  (Gen.  iv.  26.)  which  several 
Jews  translate,  "Then  began  men  to  profane  llie 
name  of  the  Lord," — i.  e.  by  calling  on  creatures  and 
idols.  It  may  likewise  be  translated,  "  Then  began 
men  to  call  themselves  by  the  name  of  the  Lord ;" 
i.  e.  good  men,  to  distinguish  themselves  from  the 
wicked,  began  to  take  the  name  of  sons  or  servants 
of  God;  forvthich  reason  Moses  (Gen. A'i.  1,  2.) says, 
tliat  "  the  sons  of  God,"  that  is,  the  descendants  of 
Enos,  "seeing  the  daughters  of  n^en,"  &c.  The 
eastern  people  make  the  following  additions  to  his 
history  :  That  Seth,  his  father,  declared  him  sove- 
reign prince  and  higli-i>riest  of  mankind,  next  after 
himself;  that  Enos  was  the  first  Avho  ordained  pub- 
lic alms  for  the  poor,  established  public  tribunals  for 
the  administration  of  justice,  and  planted,  or  rather 
cidtivated,  the  palm-tree. 

EN-ROGEL,  a  fountain  on  the  south-east  side  of 
Jerusalem,  on  the  boundary  line  between  the  tribes 
of  Jiidali  and  Benjamin,  Josh.  xv.  7  ;  xviii.  16  ;  2 
Sam.  xvii.  17  ;  1  Kings  i.  9.  It  would  seem  to  have 
been  tlie  same  with  the  fountain  of  Siloam. 

EN-SITEMESH,  was  on  the  frontiers  of  Judah 
and  Benjamin,  (Josh.  xv.  7.)  but  whetlier  it  was  a 
town  or  a  fountain,  is  questionable.  The  Arabians 
give  this  name  to  the  ancient  metropolis  of  Ecypt, 
which  the  Hebrews  caUed  On,  and  the  Greeks 
Heliopolis. 

ENSIGN,  a  military  token  or  signal  to  be  follow- 
ed ;  a  standard.  The  ancient  Jewish  ensign  was  a 
long  pole,  at  the  end  of  which  was  a  kind  of  chafing- 
dish,  made  of  iron  bars,  which  held  a  fire,  and  the 
fight,  shape,  &:c.  of  which,  denoted  tlie  partv  to 
whom  it  belonged.     God  says  he  would  lift  up  an 


EPH 


[  389  ] 


EPH 


ensign,  Isa.  v.  26.  Christ  was  an  "ensign  to  the 
people  ;  and  to  it  shall  the  Gentiles  seek,"  chap.  xi. 
10.  The  brazen  serpent  was  lifted  up  on  an  ensign 
pole  ;  and  to  this  our  Lord  compares  his  own  "lifting 
up,"  (Jolin  iii.  14.)  in  consequence  of  which  he  will 
draw  all  inen  to  him,  as  men  follow  an  ensign,  chap, 
xii.  32. 

ENV^Y,  a  malignant  disposition,  or  state  of  mind, 
which  grudges  at  the  welfare  of  others,  and  would 
willingly  deprive  them  of  their  advantages.  Rachel 
envied  the  fertility  of  Leah  ;  (Gen.  xxx.  1.)  and  Jo- 
seph was  envied  by  his  brethren,  Gen.  xxxvii.  11. 
Envy  slayeth  the  silly,  (Job  v.  2.)  is  rottenness  to  the 
bones;  (Prov.  xiv.  30.)  in  short,  it  defiles,  destroys, 
consumes  both  soul  and  body  ;  and  is  the  very  char- 
acteristic of  Satan,  through  whose  envy  of  human 
happiness,  sin  and  death  entered  into  the  world. 

EPAPHRAS  was,  it  is  said,  the  first  bishop  of 
Colossc.  He  was  converted  by  Paul,  and  contrib- 
uted much  to  convert  his  fellow-citizens.  He  came 
to  Rome  while  Paul  was  there  in  bonds,  and  was 
imprisoned  with  the  apostle.  Having  imdcrstood 
that  false  teachers,  taking  advantage  of  his  absence, 
had  sown  tares  among  the  wheat  in  his  church,  he 
engaged  Paul,  whoso  name  and  autliority  were  rev- 
erenced throughout  Phrygia,  to  write  to  the  Colos- 
siaus,  to  correct  tliem.  In  this  epistle  Paul  calls 
Epaphras  his  "  dear  fellow-servant,  and  a  faithful 
minister  of  Christ,"  chap  i.  7  ;  iv.  12 ;  Philem.  23. 
[It  is,  however,  not  improbable,  that  Epaphras  is  the 
same  person  with  Epajjhroditus  ;  the  former  name 
being  nierely  contracted  from  the  latter.     R. 

EPAPHROpiTUS,  apostle,  as  Paul  calls  him,  of 
Philippi ;  or,  if  we  take  the  word  apostolus  literally, 
a  messenger  of  the  Philippians,  who  was  sent  by  that 
church  to  carry  money  to  the  apostle,  then  in  bonds; 
and  to  do  him  service,  A.  D.  01.  He  executed  this 
commission  with  such  zeal,  that  he  brought  on  him- 
self a  dangerous  illness,  which  obliged  him  to  remain 
long  at  Rome.  The  year  follo\ving  (A.  D.  62)  he 
returned  with  haste  to  Philippi,  having  heard  that 
the  Philippians,  on  receiving  information  of  Ijis  sick- 
ness, were  very  much  afflicted,  and  Paul  sent  a  letter 
to  them  by  him,  Phil.  iv.  18. 

EPENETUS,  a  disciple  of  Paul ;  (probably  one 
of  the  first  he  converted  in  Asia ;)  "  the  first  fruits 
of  Asia;"  in  the  Greek,  "first  fruits  of  Achaia," 
Rom.  xvi.  5. 

I.  EPHAH,  the  eldest  son  of  Miuian,  dwelt  in 
Arabia  Petra^a,  and  gave  name  to  the  city  Ephah, 
by  the  LXX  called  Gsepha,  or  Gephar,  because  they 
frequently  pronounce  the  letter  jr  like  a  j.  Ephah, 
and  the  small  extent  of  land  around  it,  made  j)art  of 
Midian  on  the  eastern  shore  of  the  Dead  sea,  very 
different  from  another  country  of  this  name  on  the 
Red  sea.  Ptolemy  speaks  of  a  town  called  Ipj)oson 
the  eastern  coast  of  the  Dead  sea,  a  little  belo\v  Me- 
dian or  Midian.  The  countries  of  Midian  and 
Ephah  abounded  in  dromedaries  and  camels,  Judg. 
vi.  5  ;  Isa.  Ix.  0. 

II.  EPHAH,  or  Ephi,  a  mcasiu-e  of  capacity  used 
among  the  Hebrews,  containing  three  pecks  and 
three  pints.  The  ephah  was  a  dry  measure ;  as  of 
barley  (Ruth  ii.  17.)  and  meal,  (Numb.  v.  15 ;  Judg. 
vi.  19.)  and  was  of  the  same  capacity  with  the  bath  in 
liquids.  (See  Bath.)  Sometimes  it  is  confounded 
with  the  satum  or  seali. 

I.  EPHER,  second  son  of  Midian,  and  brother  of 
Ephah,  1  Chron.  i.  33.  He  dwelt  beyond  Jordan, 
(1  Kings  iv.  10.)  and  might  people  the  isle  of  IJpher 
in  the  Red  sea,  or  the  city  of^  Orpha,  in  the  Diarbekr. 


Jerome  cites  Alexander  Polyhistor  and  Cleodemue, 
surnamed  Malec,  who  affirm,  that  Ephir  made  an 
incursion  into  Libya,  conquered  it,  and  called  it  after, 
his  own  name,  Africa.  Hercules  is  said  to  have  ac- 
companied him.— II.  Son  of  Ezra,  1  Cliron.  iv.  17. 
III.  Head  of  a  family  of  Manassites,  1  Chron.  v.  24. 

EPHESUS,  a  celebrated  city  of  Ionia,  in  Asia 
Minor,  about  40  miles  south  of  Smyrna  ;  chiefly  fa- 
mous for  its  temple  of  Diana,  the  magnificence  of 
which  attracted  a  great  concourse  of  strangers.  Its 
length  was  425  feet,  breadth  220  ;  and  it  hatl  a  hun- 
dred and  twenty -seven  pillars,  60  feet  liigh,  presented 
by  as  many  kings.  All  the  provinces  of  Asia  con- 
tributed to  the  expenses  of  its  building,  and  two 
hundred  years  were  employed  on  it.  Paul  first  vis- 
ited Ephesus,  A.  D.  54,  (Acts  xviii.  19,  21.)  but  after 
a  few  days  he  went  to  Jerusalem,  promising  the 
Jews  of  Ephesus  to  return  ;  wliich  he  did  some 
months  afterwards,  and  continued  there  three  years, 
when  he  was  obliged  to  leave  the  city  on  occasion  of 
a  sedition,  raised  by  Demetrius  the  silversmith. 
From  hence  the  apostle  wrote  his  First  Epistle  to 
the  Coi-inthians.  The  Ephesiaus  were  addicted  to 
the  study  of  curious  arts,  to  magic,  sorcerj^,  and  ju- 
dicial astrology ;  so  much  so,  that  Ephesian  letters 
[Ephesia  grammata)  became  a  proverbial  expression 
for  magic  characters.  Certain  Jews  at  Ephesus, 
wlio  assumed  authority  to  exorcise  persons  possessed 
with  the  devil,  were  ill  treated  by  one  of  the  possess- 
ed, which  so  terrified  several  persons  addicted  to  the 
curious  arts,  that  they  publicly  burnt  their  books  re- 
lating to  such  subjects,  although  of  very  considerable 
value.  Acts  xix.  14,  &c.  The  apostle,  in  his  last  jour- 
ney to  Rome,  took  Ephesus  in  his  way,  (A.  D.  65.)  and 
Avliile  he  was  prisoner  at  Rome,  he  wrote  to  the 
Ephesians  a  very  pathetic,  elevated  and  sublime  let- 
ter. Aquila  and  Priscilla,  with  whom  Paul  had 
lodged  at  Corinth,  came  from  thence  with  him  to 
Ephesus,  and  made  some  stay  there.  Acts  xviii.  2,  3. 
18.)  and  Apollos,  a  Jew  of  Alexandria,  preached 
thei-e.  The  apostle  John  passed  a  great  part  of  his 
life  at  Ephesus,  and  died  here ;  as  did  the  Virgin 
Mary  and  Slary  Magdalen,  according  to  tradition. 

Timothy,  according  to  tradition,  was  made  first 
bishop  of  Ephesus  by  the  apostle  ;  which,  however, 
did  not  prevent  John  from  residing  in  the  city  and 
performing  apostolic  functions.  If  it  be  true  that 
Timothy  did  not  die  till  A.  D.  97,  it  can  scarcely  be 
denied  tliat  he  was  the  angel  of  the  church  at  Ephe- 
sus, to  whom  a  reprimand  is  addressed,  Rev.  ii.  1 — 5. 
See  Timothy. 

Stephens  the  geographer  gives  this  city  the  title  of 
Epiphancstate,  or,  "most  illustrious  ;"  Pliny  styles  it 
the  "  ornament  of  Asia."  In  Roman  times  it  was 
the  metropolis  of  Asia;  and  of  the  city  then  extant, 
Lj'simachus  was  the  founder.  Ephesus  was  greatly 
damaged  b\'  an  earthquake  in  the  reign  of  Tiberius, 
who  repaired  and  embellished  it.  In  the  war  be- 
tween ftlithridates  and  the  Romans,  Ephesus  took 
part  with  the  former,  and  massacred  the  Romans 
who  dwelt  in  it.  Sylla  severely  punished  this  cru- 
elty ;  but  Ephesus  was  afterwards  treated  with  lenity, 
and  enjoyed  its  own  laws,  with  other  privileges. 
About  the  end  of  the  eleventh  century  it  was  seized 
by  a  Turkish  pirate,  named  Tangripermes,  but  he 
was  routed  by  John  Ducas,  the  Greek  admiral,  in  a 
bloody  battle.  In  1306,  it  suffered  from  the  exac- 
tions of  the  gi-and  duke  Roger,  and  two  years  af- 
terwards it  surrendered  to  sultan  Saysan,  who 
removed  the  uihabitants  to  Tyroeiuin,  where  they 
were   massacred.     Theodorus   Lascariis,  a   Greek, 


EPHESUS 


[  390  ] 


EPHESUS 


made  himself  master  of  it  in  1206.  The  Mahome- 
tans recovered  it  after  3283.  Tamerlane,  after  the 
battle  of  Angora,  (A.  D.  1401.)  commanded  the  lesser 
princes  of  Anatolia  to  join  him  at  Ephesus  ;  and  em- 
ployed a  whole  month  in  plundering  the  city  and  its 
adjacencies.  Daccas  says,  that  the  gold,  silver,  jew- 
els, and  even  the  clothes  of  the  inhabitants  were  car- 
ried off.  Shortly  after,  the  city  was  set  on  fire,  and 
mostly  burnt,  in  a  combat  between  the  Turkish 
governor  and  the  Tartars.  In  1405 — 22,  Mahomet  I. 
took  Ephesus,  since  which  it  has  continued  in  the 
possession  of  the  Turks.  Dr.  Chandler  says,  "  The 
inhabitants  are  a  few  Greek  peasants,  living  in  ex- 
treme wretchedness,  dependence,  and  insensibility  ; 
the  representatives  of  an  illustrious  people,  and  in- 
habiting the  wreck  of  their  greatness ;  some  in  the 
substructions  of  the  glorious  edifices  which  they 
raised ;  some  beneath  the  vaults  of  the  stadium,  once 
the  crowded  scene  of  their  diversions  ;  and  some  by 
the  abrupt  precipice,  in  the  sepulchres  which  received 
their  ashes.  Its  streets  are  obscured  and  overgrown. 
A  herd  of  goats  was  driven  to  it  for  shelter  from  the 
sun  at  noon ;  and  a  noisy  flight  of  crows  from  the 
quarries  seemed  to  insult  its  silence.  We  heard  the 
partridge  call  in  the  area  of  the  theatre  and  of  the 
stadium.  The  glorious  pomp  of  its  heathen  worship 
is  no  longer  remembered  ;  and  Christianity,  which 
was  here  inirsed  by  apostles,  and  fostered  by  general 
councils,  until  it  increased  to  fulness  of  stature,  bare- 
ly lingers  on  in  an  existence  hardly  visible."  (Trav. 
p.  131.     Oxford,  177.5.) 

The  Jews,  according  to  Josephus,  were  very  nu- 
merous in  Ephesus,  and  had  obtained  the  privilege 
of  citizenship:  of  course  the  Christians,  being  con- 
sidered as  a  sect  of  Jews,  would  be  pretty  secure 
here  from  persecution  by  the  pohtical  powers ;  as 
Ephesus  was  aiitonomos — governed  by  its  own  laws. 

The  worship  of  the  great  goddess  Diana  was  es- 
tal)lished  at  Ephesus  in  a  remote  age,  and  it  is  relat- 
rd,  tliat  the  Amazons  sacrificed  to  her  here,  on  their 
Y/ay  to  Attica ;  Pindar  says,  in  the  time  of  Theseus. 
Some  writers  afiirm  that  they  fii-st  set  up  her  image 
i..i;K:r  an  elm-tree  ;  or  in  a  niche,  which  they  formed 
in  the  trui.k  of  an  elm.  The  statue  is  said  to  have 
been  but  sinall :  the  work,  says  Pliny,  of  Canitia,  an 
aneiont  artist,  and  witnessing  its  great  antiquity  by 
its  attitude  and  form,  having  its  feet  closed  together ; 
like  many  Egy})tian  statues  still  remaining.  It  was 
of  wood,  by  some  reported  to  be  cedar,  by  others 
ebony.  Mutianus,  consul  of  Rome,  (A.  D.  75.) 
affirmed,  from  his  own  observation,  that  it  was  made 
of  vine  wood  ;  and  that  its  crevices  were  filled  with 
Hard,  to  nourish  and  moisten  the  wood,  and  to  pre- 
serve it.  It  was  gorgeously  apparelled ;  the  vest 
thrown  over  it  being  ricldy  embroidered  with  sym- 
bolical devices.  Each  hand  was  supported  by  a  bar  ; 
most  likely  of  gold.  A  veil  hanging  from  the  ceiling 
of  tiie  temjile  concealed  it,  except  when  the  service 
required  its  exposure.  It  is  said,  that  this  statue  was 
never  changed,  though  the  temple  had  been  restored 
seven  times.  The  populace  believed  that  it  descend- 
ed from  Jupiter:  it  was,  probably, an  allegorical  rep- 
resentation of  the  powers  and  productions  of  nature, 
generally  ;  but  especially  as  displayed  in  the  country 
where  the  ark  of  deliverance  discharged  the  crea- 
tures it  had  contained.  The  priests  of  the  goddess 
wei-e  eunuchs  ;  anciently  assisted  in  their  offices  by 
virgins.  There  were  also  the  sacred  herald,  the  in- 
censer,  the  flute  player,  and  the  trumpeter.  The 
privilege  of  asylum  was  granted  to  the  temple,  fii-st  to 
the  distance  of  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  feet : 


Mithridates  enlarged  it  to  a  bow-shot,  and  Mark  An- 
tony doubled  it.  Tiberius  abrogated  the  privilege  ; 
it  having  been  grossly  abused.  As  the  following  in- 
scription not  only  confirms  the  general  history  in 
Acts  xix.  but  even  approaches  to  several  sentiments 
and  phrases  used  by  the  sacred  writer,  we  copy  it, 
verbatim,  from  Dr.  Chandler :  (Trav.  p.  135.) 

"to    the    EPHESIAN    DIANA. 

"  '  Inasmuch  as  it  is  notorious,  that,  not  only  among 
the  Ephesians,  but  also  every  where  among  the  Greek 
nations,  temples  are  consecrated  to  her,  and  sacred 
portions ;  and  that  she  is  set  up,  and  has  an  altar 
dedicated  to  her,  on  account  of  her  plain  manifesta- 
tions of  herself;  and  that  besides,  as  the  greatest 
token  of  veneration  paid  her,  a  month  is  called  by 
her  name ;  by  us  Artcmision,  by  the  Macedonians, 
and  other  Greek  nations,  and  in  their  cities,  Aiiemi- 
sifon :  in  which,  general  assemblies  and  Hieromenia 
are  celebi-ated,  but  not  in  the  holy  city,  the  niu"se 
of  its  own,  the  Ephesian  goddess :  the  people  of 
Ephesus,  deeming  it  proper  that  the  whole  month 
called  after  her  name  be  sacred  and  set  apart  to  the 
goddess,  have  determined  by  this  decree,  that  the 
observation  of  it  by  them  be  altered.  Therefore  it  is 
enacted  that  in  the  whole  month  Artcmision  the  days 
be  holy,  and  that  nothing  be  attended  to  on  them,  but 
the  yearly  feastiugs,  and  the  Artemisiac  Panegyris, 
and  the  HitTomenia ;  the  entire  month  being  sacred 
to  the  goddess ;  for,  from  this  improvement  in  our 
worship,  our  city  shall  receive  additional  lustre,  and 
be  permanent  in  its  prosperity  for  ever.' — The  person 
who  obtained  this  decree,  appointed  games  for  the 
month,  augmented  the  prizes  of  the  contenders,  and 
erected  statues  of  those  who  conquered.  His  name 
is  not  preserved,  but  he  probably  was  a  Roman,  as 
his  kinsman,  who  provided  this  record,  was  named 
Lucius  Phfenius  Faustus.  Tlie  feast  of  Diana  Avas  re- 
sorted to  yearly  by  the  lonians,  with  their  families." 

This  evidence  proves,  that  the  disposition  to  cry 
"  Great  is  Diana  of  the  Ephesians  !"  was  by  no  means 
confined  to  Demetrius  and  his  fellow-craftsmen  ;  the 
whole  city  was  guardian,  iieokoros,  to  the  temple. 
See  Diana. 

Tlie  phrase,  "nurse  of  its  own"  goddess,  in  this 
decree,  refers  to  a  story  of  the  birth  of  Diana  in  Or- 
tygia,  a  beautiful  grove  of  trees  of  various  kinds, 
chiefly  cypresses,  near  E})hesus,  on  the  coast,  a  short 
distance  from  the  sea.  This  place  was  filled  with 
shrines  and  images.  A  panegyris,  or  general  assem- 
bly, was  held  there  amnially  ;  splendid  entertain- 
ments were  provided,  and  mystic  sacrifices  solem- 
nized. This  place,  with  its  embellishments,  appears 
no  more.  The  extreme  sanctity  of  the  temple  of 
Diana  inspired  universal  awe  and  reverence.  It  was, 
for  many  ages,  a  repository  of  treasures  foreign  and 
domestic.  This  ]iropcrty  was  deemed  secure  ;  the 
temple  having  l)een  spared  by  Xerxes,  who  spared 
scarcely  any  other  ;  but  Nero  removed  many  costly 
oflFerings  and  images,  and  an  immense  quantity  of 
silver  and  gold.  It  was  again  plundered  in  the  time 
of  Gallienus,  A.  D.  2G2,  by  Goths  from  beyond  the 
Danube,  who  carried  off'  a  jjrodigious  booty.  The 
temple  was  probably  destroyed  at  the  same  time  as 
other  heathen  temples  were,  by  an  edict  of  Constan- 
tine.  But  there  is  a  possibility  that  the  total  ruin  of 
it  was  effected  by  an  earthquake  ;  although,  by  way 
of  prevention,  it  was  'situated  in  a  m.arsh  :  however 
that  might  be,  "  we  now,"  says  Dr.  Chandler,  "  seek 


EPHESUS 


[  391  ] 


EPH 


in  vain  for  tlie  temple ;  tlie  city  is  prostrate,  and  the 
goddess  is  gone." 

De  la  Motraye  mentions  some  circumstances  con- 
cerning Ephesus,  which  we  subjoin  :  "This renown- 
ed city,  with  the  finest  temple  that  ever  was  conse- 
crated to  Diana,  is  reduced  by  the  changes  it  has 
niot  with  in  the  wars,  and  under  the  diflerent  masters 
it  lias  had,  to  five  or  six  miserable  houses  inhabited 
bv  Greeks,  and  about  as  many  by  Turks,  with  a  cas- 
tle for  some  few  of  these,  a  poor  church  for  the  first, 
and  a  mosque  tolerably  handsome  for  the  latter, 
which,  as  they  say,  was  formerly  a  church  consecrat- 
ed to  St.  Jolm  ;  in  short,  it  is  nothing  but  a  chaos  of 
noble  ruins,  which,  with  some  inscriptions  and  basso 
relievos,  are  the  only  marks  of  its  ancient  magnifi- 
cence. I  shall  not  add  any  thing  to  Avhat  M.  Spon 
and  so  many  other  travellers  have  already  said  of 
these  ruins,  only  that  there  are  almost  nothing  re- 
maining, but  subterraneous  vaults  and  foundations 
of  hard  stone,  or  of  brick,  well  cemented,  upon 
which  the  temple  was  built."  The  "candlestick is," 
indeed,  "removed  out  of  his  place."     Rev.  ii.  5. 

[In  1821,  Mr.  Fisk,  the  American  missionarj^,  vis- 
ited the  site  of  Ephesus,  of  which  he  gives  the  follow- 
ing account :  "  We  sent  back  our  horses  to  Aiasaluck, 
and  set  out  on  foot  to  survey  the  ruins  of  Ephesus. 
The  ground  was  covered  with  high  grass  or  grain, 
and  a  very  heavy  dew  rendered  the  walking  rather 
unpleasant.  On  the  east  side  of  the  hill  we  found 
nothing  worthy  of  notice  ;  no  appearance  of  having 
been  occupied  for  buildings.  On  the  north  side  was 
the  circus  or  stadium.  Its  length  from  east  to  west 
is  forty  rods,  or  one  stadium.  The  noi-th  or  lower 
side  was  supported  by  arches  which  still  remain. 
The  area,  where  the  races  used  to  be  performed,  is 
now  a  field  of  wheat.  At  the  west  end  was  the  gate. 
The  walls  adjoining  it  are  still  standing,  and  of  con- 
siderable height  and  strength.  North  of  the  stadium, 
and  separated  only  by  a  street,  is  a  large  square  en- 
closed with  fallen  walls  and  filled  with  the  ruins  of 
various  edifices.  A  street  running  north  and  south 
divides  this  square  in  the  centre.  West  of  the  stadi- 
um is  an  elevation  of  ground,  level  on  the  top,  with 
an  innnense  pedestal  in  the  centre  of  it.  What  build- 
ing stood  tliere  it  is  not  easy  to  say.  Between  this 
and  the  stadium  was  a  street  passing  from  the  great 
plain  north  of  Ephesus  into  the  midst  of  the  city. 

"  I  found  on  the  plains  of  Ephesus  some  Greek 
peasants,  men  and  women,  employed  in  pulling  up 
tares  and  weeds  from  the  wheat.  It  reminded  me 
of  Matt.  xiii.  28.  I  addressed  them  in  Romaic,  but 
founrl  they  understood  very  little  of  it,  as  they  usual- 
ly answered  me  in  Turkish.  I  ascertained,  however, 
tiiat  they  all  belonged  to  villages  at  a  distance,  and 
came  there  to  labor.  Not  one  of  them  could  read, 
but  they  said,  there  were  priests  and  a  schoolmaster 
in  the  Village  to  which  they  belonged,  who  could 
read.  I  gave  them  some  tracts,  which  they  promised 
to  giv'e  to  their  priests  and  schoolmaster.  Tournc- 
fort  says,  that  when  he  was  at  Ephesus,  there  were 
thirty  or  forty  Greek  families  there.  Chandler  found 
only  ten  or  twelve  individuals.  Now  no  human  be- 
ing'hves  in  Ephesus;  and  in  Aiasaluck,  which  may 
be  considered  as  Ephesus  under  another  name, 
though  not  on  precisely  the  same  spot  of  ground, 
there  are  merely  a  few  miserable  Turkish  huts. 
'  The  candlestick  is  removed  out  of  his  place.'  '  How 
doth  the  city  sit  solitary  that  was  f\dl  of  i)eople.' 

"While  wandering  among  the  ruins,  it  was  impos- 
sible not  to  think,  with  deep  interest,  of  the  events 
which  have  transpired  on  this  spot.     Here  had  been 


displayed,  from  time  to  time,  all  the  skill  of  the  archi- 
tect, the  musician,  the  tragedian,  and  the  orator. 
Here  some  of  the  most  splendid  works  of  man  have 
been  seen  in  all  their  glory,  and  here  the  event  has 
shown  their  transitory  nature.  How  interesting 
would  it  be  to  stand  among  these  walls,  and  have 
before  the  mind  a  full  view  of  the  history  of  Ephesus 
from  its  first  foimilation  till  now  !  We  might  observe 
the  idolatrous  and  impure  rites,  and  the  cruel  and 
bloody  sports  of  pagans,  succeeded  by  the  preaching, 
the  prayers,  the  holy  and  peaceable  lives  of  the  first 
Christians — these  Christians  martyred,  but  their  reli- 
gion still  triumphing — pagan  rites  and  pagan  sports 
abolished,  and  the  simple  worship  of  Christ  instituted 
in  their  room.  We  might  see  the  city  conquered 
and  reconquered,  destroyed  and  rebuilt,  till  finally 
Christianity,  arts,  learning,  and  prosperity,  all  vanish 
before  the  pestiferous  breath  of  'the  only  people 
whose  sole  occupation  has  been  to  destroy.' 

"The  plain  of  Ephesus  is  now  very  unhealthy, 
owing  to  the  fogs  and  mist  which  almost  continually 
rest  upon  it.  The  land,  however,  is  rich,  and  the 
surrounding  country  is  both  fertile  and  healthy.  The 
adjacent  hills  would  furnish  many  delightful  situa- 
tions for  villages,  if  the  difiiculties  were  removed 
which  are  thrown  in  the  way  by  a  despotic  govern- 
ment, oppressive  agas,  and  wandering  banditti." 
(aiissionary  Herald  for  1821,  p.  319.)     *R. 

EPHOD,  an  ornamental  part  of  the  dress  worn  by 
the  Hebrew  priests.  [It  was  worn  above  the  tunic 
and  robe  [meil) ;  was  without  sleeves,  and  open  below 
the  arms  on  each  side,  consisting  of  two  pieces,  one 
of  which  covered  the  front  of  the  body  and  the  other 
the  back,  joined  together  on  the  shoulders  by  golden 
buckles  set  with  gems,  and  reaching  down  to  the 
middle  of  the  thigh.  A  girdle  belonged  to  it,  by 
which  it  was  fastened  ai'ound  the  body.  Ex.  xxviii. 
G— 12.    R. 

There  were  two  kinds  of  ephod,  one  plain,  of 
linen,  for  the  priests,  another  embroidered  for  the 
high-priest.  As  there  was  nothing  singular  in  that 
of  the  priests,  Moses  does  not  describe  it ;  but  that 
belonging  to  the  high-priest,  (Exod.  xxviii.  G.)  which 
was  composed  of  gold,  blue,  purple,  crimson,  and 
twisted  cotton,  was  a  very  rich  composition  of  differ- 
ent colors.  On  that  part  of  the  ephod,  which  came 
over  tlie  shoulders  of  the  high-priest,  were  two  large 
precious  stones,  on  which  were  engraven  the  names 
of  the  twelve  tribes  of  Israel,  six  names  on  each 
stone.  Where  the  ephod  crossed  his  breast,  was  a 
square  ornament  called  the  pectoral,  in  Avhich  were 
set  twelve  precious  stones,  with  the  names  of  the 
twelve  tribes  of  Israel  engraved  on  them,  one  on 
each  stone.  (See  Breastplate.)  Calmet  is  of  opin- 
ion, that  the  ephod  was  peculiar  to  priests,  and  Je- 
rome observes,  that  we  find  no  mention  of  it  in  the 
Scripture,  except  when  priests  are  spoken  of.  But 
some  considerations  render  dubious  this  opinion. 
We  find  that  David  wore  it  at  the  removal  of  the  ark 
from  the  house  of  Obed-edom  to  Jerusalem  ;  and 
Samuel,  although  a  Levite  only,  and  a  child,  yet  wore 
the  ephod,  1  Sam.  ii.  18.  The  Jews  held,  that  no 
worship,  true  or  false,  could  subsist  without  the 
])riesthood,  or  the  ephod.  Gideon  made  an  ephod 
out  of  the  spoils  of  the  Midianites,  and  this  became 
an  offence  in  Israel.  Micah,  having  made  an  idol, 
did  not  fail  to  make  an  ephod,  Judg.  viii.  27  ;  xvii.  5. 
God  foretold,  by  the  prophet  Hosea,  (iii.  5.)  that  Is- 
rael should  long  remain  without  kings,  princes,  sac- 
rifices, altar,  ephod,  and  teraphim.  The  ephod  is 
often   taken  for  the   pectoral ;   and   for  the   Urim 


EFH 


[  392  ] 


EPI 


and  Thummim  also ;  because  these  were  united 
to  it. 

The  Levites  did  not  regularly  wear  the  ephod  : 
Rloses  appointed  nothing  particular  with  relation  to 
their  dress.  (See  Levite.)  But  at  the  dedication  of 
Solomon's  temple,  the  Levites  and  singing  men, 
who  were  not  of  the  priests'  order,  were  clothed  in 
fine  linen.  Josephus  remarks,  that  in  the  time  of 
king  Agrippa,  a  short  time  before  the  taking  of  Jeru- 
salem by  the  Romans,  the  Levites  desired  that  prince 
to  convene  the  Sanhedrim,  in  order  to  allow  them 
the  privilege  of  wearing  the  linen  stole,  like  the 
priests.  They  flattered  Agrippa  that  this  would 
contribute  to  the  glory  of  his  reign.  Agrippa  com- 
plied ;  but  the  historian  observes,  that  this  innovation 
violated  the  laws  of  their  country,  which  never  had 
been  violated  with  impunity.  Spencer  and  Cunteus 
both  affirm,  that  the  Jewish  kings  had  a  right  to  wear 
the  ephod,  and  to  consult  the  Lord  by  Urim  and 
Thummim.  Their  opinion  they  gi-ouud  principally 
on  the  behavior  of  David  at  Ziklag,  who  said  to 
Abiathar  the  high-priest,  "  Bring  me  hither  the 
ephod ;  and  Abiathar  brought  thither  the  ephod," 
1  Sam.  XXX.  7.  The  sequel  favors  this  opinion, 
"  And  David  inquired  at  the  Lord,  saying.  Shall  I 
pursue  after  this  troop  ?  Shall  I  overtake  them  ?  And 
he  answered  him.  Pursue  ;  thou  shalt  recover  all," 
ver.  8.  We  read  likewise,  (1  Sam.  xxviii.  G.)  that 
"  Saul  inquired  of  the  Lord,"  and  that  "  the  Lord 
answered  him  not,  neither  by  dreams,  nor  by  Urim, 
nor  by  prophets,"  He  consulted  God  by  the  Urim, 
consequently  he  put  on  the  ephod.  But  most  com- 
mentators are  of  opinion,  that  neither  David,  Saul, 
nor  Joshua  dressed  themselves  in  the  high-priest's 
ephod,  to  consult  God  in  their  own  persons  ;  but, 
that  these  passages  signify  only,  "Put  on  the  ephod, 
and  consult  the  Lord  for  me;"  literally,  "Bring  the 
ephod  to  me,  and  Abiathar  caused  the  ephod  to  be 
brought  to  David."  Grotius  believes,  that  the  high- 
priest  turned  the  ephod,  or  pectoi-al,  towards  David, 
that  he  might  see  what  God  should  answer  to  him  by 
the  stones  on  the  breastplate.  (See  Uriji  and 
Thummim.) 

EPHPHATHA,  be  opened,  a  Syriac  word,  v/hich 
our  Saviour  pronounced,  when  he  cured  one  deaf 
and  duml),  Mark  vii.  34. 

EPHRA,  a  city  of  Ephraim,  and  Gideon's  birth- 
place. Its  true  situation  is  unknown ;  but  it  is 
tliought  to  be  the  same  as  Ophrah,  Judg.  vi.  IL 

L  EPHRAIM,  Joseph's  second  son,  by  Asenath, 
Potiphar's  daughter:  born  in  Egypt,  about  A.M. 
2294.  Ephraim,  with  his  brother  Manasseh,  was 
presented  by  Joseph,  his  father,  to  the  patriarch  Jacob 
on  his  death-bed.  Jacob  laid  his  right  hand  on 
Ephraim,  the  yoimgest,  and  his  left  hand  on  Manas- 
seh, the-cldest.  Joseph  was  desirous  to  change  this 
situation  of  his  hands;  but  Jacob  answered,  "I  know 
it,  my  son  ;  he  (Manasseh)  also  shall  become  a  peoj)le, 
and  he  also  shall  be  great ;  but  truly  his  younger 
brother  shall  be  greater  than  he,"  (Jen.  xlviii.  13 — 19. 
The  sons  of  Ephraim  having  made  an  inroad  on 
Palestine,  the  inliahitants  of  Gath  killed  them,  1 
CIn-on.  vii.  20,  21.  E|)hraim,  their  father,  mourned 
many  days  for  them,  and  liis  bretln-en  came  to  com- 
fort him.  Afterwards,  he  iiad  sons  named  Beriah, 
Rephah,  Resheph,  anil  Tela,  and  a  daughter  named 
Sherah.  His  posterity  multiplied  in  Egypt  to  the 
number  of  40,500  men,  capable  of  bearing  arms. 
Numb.  ii.  18,  19.  Joshua,  who  was  of  this  tribe, 
gave  the  Ephraimites  their  portion  between  the 
Mediterranean  sea  west,  and  the  river  Jordan  east. 


Josh.  xvi.  15.  (See  Canaan.)  The  ark,  and  the  tab- 
ernacle, renijained  long  in  this  tribe,  at  Shiloh  ;  and, 
after  the  separation  of  the  ten  tribes,  the  seat  of  the 
kingdom  of  Israel  being  in  Ephraim,  Ephraim  is  fre- 
quently used  to  signify  that  kingdom.  Ephrata  is 
used  also  for  Bethlehem,  Mic.  v.  2.  The  tribe  of 
Ephraim  was  led  captive  Ijeyondthe  Euphrates,  with 
all  Israel,  by  Salmaneser,  king  of  Assyria,  A.  M.  3283, 
ante  A.  D.  721. 

II.  EPHRAIM,  a  city  of  Ephraim,  towards  the  Jor- 
dan, whither  it  is  probable,  Jesus  retired  before  his 
passion,  John  xi.  54.  This  Ephraim  was  a  city  in 
the  confines  of  the  land  of  Ephraim,  (2  Chron.  xiii. 
19.)  and  was  famous  for  fine  flour.  Josephus  calls 
Ephraim  and  Bethel,  two  small  cities ;  and  places 
the  former  not  in  the  tribe  of  that  name,  but  in  the 
laud  of  Benjaniin,  near  the  wildei'ness  of  Judea,  in 
the  way  to  Jericho. 

III.  EPHRAIM.  The  forest  of  Ephraim  was  east 
of  the  Jordan,  and  in  it  Absalom  lost  his  life,  2  Sam. 
xviii.  6 — 8.     It  could  not  be  far  from  Mahanaim. 

I.  EPHRATAH,  Psalm  cxxxii.  6,  denotes,  the  lot 
of  Ephraim.  See  the  latter  part  of  the  article 
Ephraim  I. 

II.  EPHRATAH,  otherwise  Bethlehem.  See 
Bethlehem. 

I.  EPIIRON,  son  of  Zohar ;  who  sold  the  cave  of 
Machpelah  to  Abraham,  Gen.  xxiii.  6. 

II.  EPHRON,  a  city  beyond  Jordan,  which  Judas 
Maccabseus  took  and  sacked,  1  Mac.  v.  40. 

EPICUREANS,  (Acts  xvih.  18.)  the  name  of  a 
celebrated  sect  of  ancient  philosophers,  who  placed 
happiness  in  pleasure ;  not  in  voluptuousness,  but  in 
sensible,  rational  pleasiu'e,  properly  regulated  and 
governed.  They  denied  a  Divine  Providence,  how- 
ever, and  the  inunortahty  of  the  soul.  They  were  so 
named  after  Epicurus,  a  philosopher,  whom  they 
claimed  as  founder  of  their  sect ;  and  who  lived 
about  300  years  before  A.  D.  so  that  whatever  his 
doctrines  originally  were,  the  time  that  had  elapsed 
since  his  death,  was  sufficient  to  allow  of  their  de- 
basement; and  his  later  disciples  adopted  the  sensual 
import  of  their  master's  expressions,  rather  than  the 
spiritual  power  of  his  principles.  It  is  well  known, 
that  they  latterly  were  called  "  Epiciu-us's  hogs  ;" 
(Hor.  Epist.  I.  i.  4.)  implying  the  sloth  and  sensuaUty 
Off  the  sect.  Against  these  debauchees  the  apostle 
argues,  that  Providence  governs  all  the  affairs  of 
men,  as  connnunities,  and  as  individuals ;  that  the 
resurrection  of  one  person  (Christ)  is  proof  of  a  sep- 
arate state  ;  and  that  a  future  judgment,  to  be  pre- 
sided over  by  him,  evinces  the  notice  taken  by  the 
Deity  of  virtue  and  vice,  with  the  ultimate  reward 
and  punishment  of  characters  so  op|)osite. 

EPIPHANES,  splendid,  illustnous,  an  epithet 
given  to  the  gods,  when  appearing  to  men.  Antio- 
chus,  brother  of  Seleucus,  coming  fortunately  into 
Syria,  a  little  after  the  deatli  of  his  brother,  was  re- 
garded as  some  propitious  deity  ;  and  was  hence 
called  Epiphancs — the  illustrious.  (See  Antiociius 
IV.)  We  call  that  festival  Ei>iphany,  on  which  the 
church  celebrates  the  adoration  of  the  Messiah  by 
the  Magi,  or  wise  men. 

EPIPHANIA,  a  city  of  Syria,  on  the  river  Orontes, 
between  Antioch  and  A]);uuca.  Several  of  the  an- 
cients say,  it  was  called  IIau)ath,  before  Antiociius 
E|)iphanes  named  it  I'^ipiphania.  Jerome  and  others 
are  of  opinion,  that  it  is  Haniath  the  Great.  He  says, 
that  even  in  his  time,  the  Syrians  called  Epiphania, 
Emtnas.  But,  that  this  was  Emesa,  in  Syria,  see 
IIamath. 


EPISTLE 


393  ] 


ESA 


EPISTLE,  a  letter  written  from  one  party  to  an- 
other ;  but  the  term  is  eminently  applied  to  those  let- 
ters in  the  New  Testament  which  were  written  by 
the  apostles,  on  various  occasions,  to  approve,  con- 
demn, or  direct  the  conduct  of  Christian  churches. 
It  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  every  note,  or  memo- 
randum, written  by  the  hands  of  the  apostles,  or  by 
their  direction,  was  divinely  inspired,  or  proper  for 
preservation  to  distant  ages ;  those  only  have  been 
preserved,  by  the  overruling  hand  of  Providence, 
from  which  useful  directions  had  been  drawn,  and 
might  in  nfter-ages  be  drawn,  by  believers,  as  from  a 
perpetual  directoiy  for  faith  and  practice ; — always 
supposing  that  similar  circumstances  require  similar 
directions.  In  reading  an  epistle,  we  ouglit  to  con- 
sider the  occasion  of  it,  the  circumstances  of  the  par- 
ties to  whom  it  wasaddressed,  the  time  when  written, 
the  general  scope  and  design  of  it,  as  well  as  the  in- 
tention of  particular  arguments  and  passages.  We 
ought  also  to  observe  the  style  and  manner  of  the 
writer,  his  mode  of  expression,  the  peculiar  effect  he 
designed  to  produce  on  those  to  whom  he  wrote,  to 
whose  temper,  manners,  general  principles,  and  actu- 
al situation,  he  might  address  his  arguments,  &c. 
The  epistles  afford  many  and  most  powerful  evi- 
dences of  the  trutli  of  Christianity :  they  appeal  to  a 
great  number  of  extraordinary  facts ;  and  allude  to 
principles,  and  opinions,  as  admitted,  or  as  prevailing, 
or  as  opposed,  among  those  to  whom  they  are  ad- 
dressed. They  mention  a  considerable  number  of 
persons,  describe  their  simations  in  life,  hint  at  their 
connections  with  the  churches,  and  by  sometimes 
addressing  them,  and  sometimes  recommending  them 
by  name,  they  connect  their  testimony  with  that  of  the 
writer  of  the  epistle  ;  and  often,  no  doubt,  they  gave  a 
proportionate  influence  to  those  individuals.  Beside 
this,  it  is  every  way  likely,  that  individuals  mentioned 
in  the  epistles,  would  carefully  procure  copies  of  these 
writings,  would  give  them  all  the  authority  and  all 
the  notoriety  in  their  power,  would  communicate 
them  to  other  churches,  and,  in  short,  would  become 
vouchers  for  their  genuineness  and  authenticity. 
We  in  the  present  day,  who  possess  these  instructive 
documents,  may  learn  from  them  many  things  for 
our  advantage  and  our  conduct;  how  to  avoid  those 
evils  which  formerly  injured  the  professors  of  true 
religion ;  and  how  to  rectify  those  errors  and 
abuses  to  which  time  and  incident  occasionally  gave 
rise,  or  to  whose  spread  and  prevalence  particular 
occurrences  or  conjunctures  are  favorable.  See 
Bible,  Canon,  &c. 

The  epistles  being  placed  together  in  our  canon, 
witliout  reference  to  their  chronological  order,  are 
perused  under  considerable  disadvantages ;  and  it 
would  be  well  to  read  them  occasionally  in  connec- 
tion with  what  the  history  in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles 
relates  respecting  the  several  churches  to  which  they 
are  addressed.  This  would  also  give  us,  nearly, 
their  order  of  time  ;  which  should  also  be  considered, 
together  with  the  situation  of  the  writer  ;  as  it  may 
naturally  be  infeu'ed  that  such  compositions  would 
partake  of  the  writer's  recent  and  present  feelings. 
The  epistles  addressed  to  the  dispersed  Jews  by  John 
and  James,  by  Peter  and  Jiide,  are  very  different  in 
their  style  and  application  from  those  of  Paul  written 
to  the  Gentiles ;  and  those  of  Paul,  no  doubt,  contain 
expressions,  and  allude  to  facts,  nuich  more  familiar 
to  their  original  readers  than  to  later  ages.  For  the 
several  e|)istles,  see  the  articles  of  the  respective 
writers  ;  or  those  of  the  churches  to  which  they  are 
addressed. 

50 


ER,  Judah's  eldest  son,  who  married  Tamar ;  but 
who,  being  wicked,  brought  himself  to  an  untimely 
end,  Gen.  xxxviii.  7. 

ERASTUS,  a  Corinthian,  and  one  of  Paul's  dis- 
ciples, Rom.  xvi.  23.  lie  was  chamberlain  of  the 
city,  'Oiy.ou'.fio;,  that  is,  of  Corinth,  where  Paul  was 
at  that  time;  but  of  Jerusalem,  according  to  the  mod- 
ern Greeks.  He  followed  Paul  to  Ejihcsus,  where 
he  was  A.  D.  56,  and  was  sent  l)y  Paul  to  '.lacedonia 
with  Timothy,  i)robal)ly  to  collect  alms  expected 
from  the  brethren.  They  were  both  with  him  at 
Corinth,  A.  D.  58,  when  he  wrote  his  epistle  to  the 
Romans,  whom  he  salutes  in  both  their  names  ;  and 
it  is  probable  that  Erastus  afterwards  accompanied 
him  till  his  last  voyage  to  Corinth,  in  the  way  to 
Rome,  where  he  suffered  martyrdom  ;  for  then 
Erastus  remained  at  Corinth,  2  Tim.  iv.  20. 

ERECH,  a  city  of  Chaldea,  built  by  Nimrod, 
grandson  of  Cush,  (Gen.  x.  10.)  and  probably  Aracca, 
placed  by  Ptolemy  in  the  Susiana,  on  the  river  Ti- 
gris, below  where  it  joins  the  Euphrates.  Ammia- 
nus  calls  it  Arecca.  From  this  city  the  Areettean 
fields,  which  abound  with  naphtha,  and  sometimes 
take  fire,  derive  their  name.  The  capital  of  the 
province,  under  the  Chaldeans  and  Assyrians,  was 
Babylon  ;  under  the  princes  named  Cosrhocs,  it  was 
Madain ;  and  under  the  Arabians,  Bagdat.  It  is 
called  Chaldea,  or  Babylonia,  by  the  Greeks  and 
Latins. 

ERI,  son  of  Gad,  and  head  of  a  family.  Gen.  xlvi. 
16;  Numb.  xxvi.  16. 

ESAR-HADDON,  son  of  Sennacherib,  and  his 
successor  in  the  kingdom  of  Assyria,  2  Kings  xix.  37. 
Nothing  is  said  of  him  in  Scripture,  except  it  is  men- 
tioned that  he  had  sent  colonists,  to  Samaria,  Ezra 
iv.  2.  He  is  supposed  to  have  been  the  Sardanapa- 
lus  of  profane  historians.  He  is  said  to  have  reigned 
29  or  30  years  at  Nineveh,  and  thirteen  years  at  Bab- 
ylon ;  in  all,  forty-two  years.     See  Assyria. 

ESAU,  son  of  Isaac  and  Rebekah,  was  born  A.  M. 
2168.  When  the  time  of  Rebekah's  delivery  came, 
she  had  twins  ;  (Gen.  xxv.  24—26.)  the  first  born 
being  hairy,  was  called  Esau  ;  which  signifies  hairy. 
The  Other  twin  was  Jacob.  Esau  delighted  in  hunt- 
ing, and  his  father  Isaac  had  a  particular  affection 
for  him.  One  day,  Esau  returning  from  the  fields, 
greatly  fatigued,  desired  Jacob  to  give  him  some  red 
pottage,  which  he  was  then  making.  Jacob  con- 
sented, provided  he  would  sell  him  his  birthright. 
Esau,  conceiving  himself  weakened  almost  to  death, 
sold  it ;  and  by  oath  resigned  it  to  his  brother,  Gen. 
xxv.  29—34.  At  the  age  of  forty,  Esau  married  two 
Canaanitish  women  ;  Judith,  daughter  of  Beeri  the 
Hittite,  and  Bashemath,  daughter  of  Elon,  (Gen.  xxvi. 
34.)  which  were  very  displeasing  to  Isaac  and  Re- 
bekah, because  they  "intermingled  the  blood  of  Abra- 
ham with  that  of  Canaanite  aliens.  Isaac  being  old, 
and  his  sight  decayed,  directed  Esau  to  procure  him 
delicate  venison,  by  himting,  that  he  might  give  him 
his  last  blessing.  Gen.  xxvi).  Esau,  therefore,  vyent 
to  the  chase,  but,  during  his  absence,  Jacob,  disguised 
by  their  mother  Rebekah,  obtained  Isaac's  blessing. 
When  Esau  returned,  he  learned  what  had  passed, 
and,  with  weeping,  mourned  a  secondary  benediction 
from  his  father.  "Esau  now  contracted  an  aversion 
against  Jacob,  and  determined  to  slay  him ;  but  his 
designs  were  frustrated  by  Rebekah. 

Esau  settled  in  the  mountains  south  of  the  Dead 
sea,  and  becauie  very  powerful.  When  Jacob  re- 
turned from  Mesopotamia,  Esau  received  his  mes- 
sengers kindly,  and  came  with  four  hundred  men  to 


ESD 


394  ] 


ESH 


meet  him.  The  two  brothers  embraced  each  other 
tenderly.  Esau  offered  to  accompany  his  brother 
over  the  Jordan  ;  but  Jacob  declined  his  offer,  and 
Esau  returned  to  Seir,  xxxiii. 

The  two  brothers  were  present  when  their  father 
died  ;  but  being  both  veiy  rich  in  cattle,  and  the 
country  not  affording  pasture  for  all  their  flocks,  they 
separated  ;  Esau  retiring  to  mount  Seir,  xxxvi.  6 — 8. 
Esau  had  three  wives ;  Judith,  or  Aholibamah,  Ba- 
shemath,  or  Adah,  Mahelath,  or  Bashemath.  Judith 
was  mother  of  Jeush,  Jaalam,  and  Korah  ;  Adah  was 
mother  of  Eliphaz  ;  and  Mahelath,  mother  of  Reuel, 
ver.  2 — 5.  AVe  know  nothing  certain  concerning  the 
death  of  Esau.  King  Erythros,  from  whom  the  Red 
sea  is  said  to  have  been  named,  and  whose  tomb  was 
show  n  in  the  isle  of  Tyrina  or  Aggris,  is  believed  to 
be  Edom.  Erythros  in  Greek  signifies  rerf,  the  same 
as  Edom  in  Hebrew.     See  Idumea. 

ESDRAELON,  a  plain  in  the  tribe  of  Issachar, 
extends  east  and  west  from  Scythopolis  to  momit 
Carmel :  it  is  called  also  the  great  plain  ;  the  valley 
ofJezreel;  and  the  plain  of  Esdrela. 

[The  following  notices  of  this  plain  by  Dr.  Jowett, 
may  not  be  uninteresting.  After  leaving  Nazareth 
for  Jerusalem,  he  says:  (Christian  Researches  in 
Syria,  &c.  p.  146.)  "Our  road  for  the  first  three 
quarters  of  an  hour,  lay  among  the  hills  which  lead 
to  the  plain  of  Esdraelon  ;  upon  which,  when  we 
were  once  descended,  we  had  no  more  inconvenience, 
but  rode  for  the  most  part  on  level  ground,  interrupt- 
ed by  only  gentle  ascents  and  descents.  This  is  that 
'  mighty  plain' — uiya  rcfSior,  as  it  is  called  by  ancient 
writers — which,  in  every  age,  has  been  celebrated  for 
so  many  battles.  It  was  across  this  plain,  that  the 
hosts  of  Barak  chased  Sisera  and  his  nine  hundred 
chariots  of  iron  :  from  mount  Tabor  to  that  ancient 
river,  the  river  Kishon,  would  be  directly  through  the 
middle  of  it.  At  present,  there  is  peace  ;  but  not 
that  most  visible  evidence  of  endiu-mg  peace  and 
civil  protection,  a  thriving  population.  We  counted, 
in  our  road  across  the  plain,  only  five  very  small 
villages,  consisting  of  wretched  mud-hovels,  chiefly 
in  ruins ;  and  very  few  persons  moving  on  the  road. 
We  might  again  truly  apply  to  this  scene  the  words 
of  Deborah,  (Judg.  v.  (),  7.)  The  hightvays  were  un- 
occupied :  the  inhabitants  of  the  villages  ceased — they 
ceased  in  Israel.  The  soil  is  extremely  rich  ;  and,  in 
every  direction,  are  the  most  picturesque  views — the 
hills  of  Nazareth  to  the  north — those  of  Samaria,  to 
the  south — to  the  east,  the  mountains  of  Tabor  and 
Ilermon — and  Carmel,  to  the  south-west.  About  four 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  we  arrived  at  the  village  of 
Gennyn,  which  is  situated  at  the  entrance  of  one  of 
the  numerous  vales  which  lead  out  of  the  plain  of 
Esdraelon  to  the  mountainous  regions  of  Ephraim. 
One  of  these  passages  would  be  the  valley  of  .Tez]-eel ; 
and  from  the  window  of  the  khan  where  we  are 
lodging,  we  have  a  clear  view  of  the  tract  over  which 
the  prophet  Elijaii  must  have  passed,  when  he  gird- 
ed up  his  loins,  and  ran  before  Ahali  to  the  entrance 
ofJezreel.  But,  in  the  ])rrKont  day,  no  chariots  of 
Ahab  or  of  Sisera,  an;  to  bo  soon — not  even  a  single 
wheel-carriage,  of  any  description  whatever." 

In  another  place  he  remarks,  (p.  222.) "  To  the  south 
of  the  chain  of  hills  on  which  Nazareth  is  situated, 
is  the  vast  and  cver-inemorablo  jilain  of  Esdraelon. 
We  computed  this  plain  to  bo  at  least  fifteen  miles 
square  ;  making  allowance  for  some  ajjparont  irreg- 
ularities, such  as  its  running  out,  on  the  west,  toward 
mount  Carmel,  and  on  the  opposit*;  side  toward  Jor- 
dan.    We  passed  rather  on  the  eastern  side   of  the 


middle  of  the  plain,  in  our  way  to  Gennyn.  Although 
it  bears  the  title  of '  plain,'  yet  it  abounds  with  hjUs, 
which,  in  the  view  of  it  from  the  adjacent  mountains, 
shrink  into  nothing.  On  this  noble  plain,  if  there 
were  perfect  security  from  the  government — a  thing 
now  unknown  for  centuries — twenty-five  good  towns, 
where  we  saw  but  five  miserable  villages,  might 
stand,  at  a  distance  of  three  miles  from  one  another, 
each  with  a  population  of  a  thousand  souls,  to  the 
great  improvement  of  the  cultivation  of  so  bountiful 
a  soil.  The  land  is  not,  indeed,  neglected  ;  but  let 
none  suppose,  that,  in  this  country,  the  greatest,  or 
any  thing  like  the  greatest  possible  profit  is  made  of 
the  soil ;  while  wars,  feuds,  extortions,  and  all  the 
disadvantages  resulting  from  Turkish  government 
and  Arab  rivalry  are  continually  harassing  the  com- 
mon people,  and  reducing  husbandry  and  every 
art  to  the  lowest  state  of  degradation." 

This  memorable  plain  has  ever  been  a  chosen  place 
for  battles  and  military  operations  in  every  age.  The 
following  rapid  and  brilliant  sketch  of  the  martial 
events,  which,  during  a  period  of  thirty  centuries, 
have  passed  upon  this  spot,  is  from  the  pen  of  the  late 
Dr.  C.  D.  Clarke,  (Travels  in  Greece,  Egypt,  and  the 
Holy  Land,  ch.  xv.)  "  Here  it  was  that  Barak,  de- 
scending with  his  ten  thousand  men  from  mount  Ta- 
bor, discomfited  Sisera,  and  all  his  chariots,  even  nine 
hundred  chariots  of  iron ;  and  all  the  people  that 
were  with  him,  gathered  from  Harosheth  of  the  Gen- 
tiles, unto  the  river  of  Kishon  ;  when  all  the  host  of 
Sisera  fell  on  the  sword,  and  there  was  not  a  man 
left.  Here  also  it  was,  that  Josiah,  king  of  Jiidali, 
fought  in  disguise  against  Necho,  king  of  Egypt,  and 
fell  by  the  arrows  of  his  antagonist.  It  has  been  a 
chosen  place  for  encampment  in  every  contest  carried 
on  in  this  country,  from  the  days  of  Nabuchodonosoi-, 
king  of  the  Assyrians,  (in  the  history  of  whose  war 
with  Arphaxad  it  is  mentioned  as  the  great  plain  of 
Esdrelom,)  until  the  disastrous  march  of  Napoleon 
Buonaparte  from  Egypt  into  Syria.  Jews,  Gentiles, 
Saracens,  Christian  Crusaders,  and  anti-Christian 
Frenchmen,  Egyptians,  Persians,  Druses,  Turks,  and 
Arabs,  warriors  out  of  every  nation  which  is  imder 
heaven,  have  pitclied  their  tents  upon  the  plain  of 
Esdraelon,  and  have  beheld  the  various  banners  of 
their  nations  wet  with  the  dews  of  Tabor  and  of 
Hermon."     *R. 

ESDRAS,  sec  Ezra. 

ESEK,  the  name  of  a  well  dug  by  the  patriarch 
Isaac,  Gen.  xxvi.  20. 

E.SHBAAL,  or  Ishbosheth,  fourth  son  of  Saul, 
1  Chron.  viii.  .33.  The  Hebrews,  to  avoid  pronoun- 
cing the  word  Baal  (lord)  used  Bosheth  (blushing, 
confusion.)  Instead  of  Eshbaal,  they  said  Ish- 
bosheth, 2  Sam.  ii.  8.     See  Ishbosuetu. 

I.  ESHCOL,  one  of  Abraham's  allies  in  the  valley 
of  Manu'c,  who  accom])anied  him  in  the  pursuit  of 
Chcdoriaonicr,  Gen.  xiv.  24. — II.  A  valley  in  the 
south  of  Jndah,  where  the  Hebrew  spies  cut  a  bunch 
of  grapes,  as  large  as  two  mm  covdd  carrv. 
i'^SHEAN,  a  town  of  Judah,  Josh.  xv.  52. 
ESHTAOIi,  a  town  of  Dan  ;  thotigh  it  belonged 
first  to  Judah,  (Josh.  xv.  33  ;  Judg.  xiii.  25  ;  xvi.  31.) 
Eusebius  says,  it  was  ten  miles  from  Eleutheropolis, 
towards  Nicopolis,  between  Azotus  and  Askalon.  It 
is  called  by  Jeronu',  Asco.  Eshtaol  is  thought  to  be 
a  village,  now  called  by  the  Arabs  Esdad,  about  fif- 
teen miles  south  of  Yebna.  It  is  a  wretched  place, 
composed  of  a  few  mud  huts. 

I'^SHTEMOA,  or  F.sitTEMOH,  a  town  of  Jndah, 
Josh.  xxi.    14:  xv.  50;   1    Siim.   xxx.  28.     Euseinus 


ESS 


[  3115 


ESSENES 


says,  it  was  a  large  town  in  the  distiict  ol'Eleuthero- 
polis,  north  of  that  city.  It  was  ceded  to  the  priests, 
1  Chron.  vi.  57. 

ESPOUSE,  ESPOUSALS.  This  was  a  ceremo- 
ny of  betrotliing,  or  coming  under  obHgation  for  the 
purpose  of  marriage ;  and  was  a  mutual  agreement 
hetwoen  the  two  parties,  whirh  usually  preceded  the 
marriage  some  considerable  time.  (See  Marriage.) 
The  reader  will  do  well  carefidly  to  attend  to  the 
distinction  between  espousals  and  marriage  ;  as  es- 
pousals in  the  East  are  frequently  contracted  years 
before  the  parties  are  married,  and  sometimes  in  very 
early  youth.  This  custom  is  alluded  to  figuratively, 
as  between  God  and  his  people,  (Jer.  ii.  2.)  to  whom 
he  was  a  husband,  (xxi.  32.)  and  the  apostle  says  he 
acted  as  a  kind  of  assistant  {pronuba)  on  such  an  oc- 
casion :  "  I  have  espoused  you  to  Christ ;"  {2  Cor.  xi. 
2.)  have  drawn  up  the  writings,  settled  the  agree- 
ments, given  pledges,  &c.  of  your  union.  See  Isa. 
liv.  5  ;  Slatt.  xxv.  6  ;  Rev.  xix. 

ESSEXES,  or  Essenians,  a  Jewish  sect.  We 
are  not  acquainted  with  the  origin  of  the  Essenes,  or 
the  etyuiology  of  their  name.  Pliny  says,  they  had 
been  many  thousand  yeai-s  in  being,  living  without 
maiTiage,  and  without  the  other  sex.  The  first  book 
of  Maccabees  (see  Assideans)  calls  them  Hasdauim, 
and  says,  they  were  formed  into  a  society  before 
Hircanus  was  high-priest.  The  first  of  the  Essenes, 
mentioned  by  Josephus,  is  Judas,  in  the  time  of 
Aristobulus,  and  Antigonus,  son  of  Hircanus.  Sui- 
das,  and  some  othei-s,  were  of  opinion,  that  the 
Essenes  were  a  branch  of  the  Rechabites,  who  sub- 
sisted before  the  captivity.  Calmet  takes  the  Chas- 
dim  of  the  Psalms,  and  the  Assideans  in  the  Macca- 
bees, to  be  their  true  source. 

Josephus  gives  the  following  account  of  the  Es- 
senes :  They  live  in  perfect  union,  and  abhor  volup- 
tuousness as  a  fatal  poison  ;  they  do  not  marry  ;  but 
bring  up  other  men's  children  as  if  they  were  their 
own,  and  infuse  into  them  very  early  their  own  spirit 
and  maxims  ;  they  despise  riches,  and  possess  all 
things  in  common.  Oil  and  perfumes  are  prohibited 
their  habitations ;  they  have  an  austere  and  mortified 
air,  but  without  affectation ;  they  always  dress  in 
white  ;  they  have  a  steward,  who  distributes  to  each 
what  he  wants;  they  are  hospitable  to  their  own 
sect ;  so  that  they  are  not  obliged  to  take  provisions 
with  them  on  their  journeys.  The  children  which 
they  educate  are  all  treated  and  clothed  alike,  and  do 
not  change  their  dress  till  their  clothes  are  worn  out. 
Their  trade  is  carried  on  by  exchange  ;  each  giving 
what  is  supei-fluous,  to  receive  what  he  needs.  They 
do  not  speak  before  the  sun  rises,  excepting  some 
prayers  taught  them  by  their  fathers,  which  they  ad- 
dress to  this  luminary,  as  if  to  incite  it  to  appear ; 
afterwai-ds  they  work  till  the  fifth  hour,  near  eleven 
o'clock  in  the  morning.  They  then  meet  together, 
eind,  putting  on  hnen,  bathe  in  fresh  water,  and  retire 
to  their  cells,  where  no  strangei-s  enter.  From 
thence  they  go  into  their  common  refectory,  which 
is,  as  it  were,  a  sacred  temple,  where  they  continue 
in  profound  silence  ;  they  are  sei-ved  with  bread,  and 
each  has  his  own  mess ;  the  priest  says  grace,  after 
which  they  eat :  they  finish  their  meal  also  with  a 
prayer  ;  they  then  pull  off"  their  white  clothes,  which 
they  wore  while  at  table,  and  return  to  their  work 
until  the  evening;  at  that  time  they  come  again  to 
the  refectory,  and  bring  their  guests  with  them,  if 
they  have  any.  They  are  religious  observers  of  their 
word ;  their  bare  promise  is  as  binding  as  the  most 
sacred  oaths ;  they  avoid  swearing,  as  they  would 


perjury  ;  their  care  of  their  sick  is  very  particular, 
and  they  never  suffer  them  to  want  any  thing; 
they  read  carefully  the  writings  of  the  ancients,  and 
thereby  acqun-e  the  knowledge  of  plants,  stones, 
roots,  and  remedies.  Before  they  admit  any  who 
desire  it  into  their  sect,  they  put  them  to  a  year's  pro- 
bation, and  mure  them  to  the  practice  of  the  most 
uneasy  exercises ;  after  this  term,  they  admit  them 
into  the  common  refectory,  and  the  place  where  tliey 
bathe ;  but  not  into  the  interior  of  tlie  house  until 
after  another  trial  of  two  years ;  then  they  are  al- 
lowed to  make  a  kind  of  profession,  wherein  they 
engage  by  hon-ible  oaths  to  obsene  the  laws  of  pietv, 
justice,  and  modesty ;  fidelity  to  God  and  then- 
prince  ;  never  to  discover  the  secrets  of  the  sect  to 
strangers  ;  and  to  preserve  the  books  of  their  mas- 
ters, and  the  names  of  angels,  with  great  care.  If 
any  one  violate  these  engagements,  and  incur  nota- 
ble guilt,  he  is  expelled,  and  generally  dies  of  want ; 
because  he  can  receive  no  food  from  any  stranger, 
being  bound  to  the  contrarj^  by  his  oaths.  Some- 
times the  Essenes,  moved  with  compassion,  receive 
such  again,  when  they  have  gi^en  long  and  solid 
proofs  of  conversion.  Next  to  God,  they  have  the 
greatest  respect  for  Moses,  and  for  old  men.  The 
sabbath  is  very  regularly  observed  among  them  ;  they 
not  only  forbear  from  kindling  any  fire,  or  preparing 
any  thing,  on  that  day,  but  they  do  not  stir  any  mova- 
ble thing,  nor  attend  to  the  calls  of  nature.  They 
generally  live  long,  owing  to  the  simplicity  of  their 
diet,  and  the  regularity  of  their  fives  ;  they  show  in- 
credible firmness  under  torments;  they  hold  the  soul 
to  be  immortal,  and  believe  that  souls  descend  from 
the  highest  air  into  the  bodies  animated  by  them, 
whither  tliey  are  drawn  by  some  natural  attraction, 
which  they  cannot  resist ;  and  after  death,  they  swifdy 
return  to  the  place  from  whence  they  came,  as  if 
freed  from  a  long  and  melancholy  captivity.  In  re- 
spect to  the  state  of  the  soul  after  deatli,  they  have 
almost  the  same  sentiments  as  the  heathen,  who  place 
the  souls  of  good  men  in  the  Elysian  fields,  and 
those  of  the  wicked  in  Tartarus.  Some  among  them 
are  married ;  in  other  respects  they  agree  with  the 
other  Essenes.  They  live  separate  from  their  wives 
while  pregnant.  Slavery  is  esteemed  by  them  an 
injury  to  human  nature  ;  wherefore  they  have  no 
slaves.  Many  of  them  were  said  to  have  the  gift  of 
prophecy,  which  is  ascribed  to  their  continual  read- 
ing of  the  sacred  writers ;  and  to  their  simple  and 
frugal  way  of  living.  They  believe  that  nothing 
happens  but  according  to  the  decrees  of  God ;  and 
their  sect  is  nearly  related  to  that  of  the  Pythago- 
reans among  the  Greeks.  There  were  women,  also, 
who  observed  the  same  institutions  and  practices. 

Although  the  Essenes  were  the  most  religious  of 
then-  nation,  yet  they  did  not  visit  the  temple  at  Je- 
rusalem, nor  offer  bloody  sacrifices  ;  they  were  afraid 
of  being  jiolluted  by  other  men ;  they  sent  their 
oflTerings  thither ;  and  themselves  offered  up  to  Grod 
the  sacrifices  of  a  clean  heart.  Philo  says,  the  Es- 
senes were  in  number  about  four  thousand  in  Judea; 
and  Pliny  seems  to  fix  their  principal  abode  above 
En-gedi,  where  they  fed  on  the  fruit  of  the  palm- 
tree.  He  adds,  that  they  lived  at  a  distance  from  the 
sea-shore,  for  fear  of  being  corrupted  by  the  conver- 
sation of  strangers.  Philo  assures  us,  that  in  certain 
cities  some  of  them  occasionally  resided ;  but  that 
they  usually  chose  rather  to  dwell  in  the  fields,  and 
apply  themselves  to  agriculture,  and  other  laborious 
exercises,  which  did  not  take  them  from  their  soli- 
tude.    Their  studies  were  the  laws  of  Moses ;  espe- 


ESSENES 


[  396  ] 


EST 


cially  on  sabbath  days,  on  which  they  assembled  in 
their  synagogues,  where  each  was  seated  according 
to  his  rank ;  the  elder  above,  the  younger  below. 
One  of  the  company  read,  and  another  of  the  most 
learned  expounded.  They  very  much  used  symbols, 
allegories,  and  parables,  after  the  manner  of  the  an- 
cients. We  do  not  see  that  our  Lord  has  spoken  of 
them,  or  that  he  preached  among  them.  It  is  not 
improbable  that  John  the  Baptist  Uved  among  them, 
till  he  began  to  baptize  and  preach.  The  wilderness, 
where  Pliny  places  the  Essenes,  was  not  very  far 
from  Hebron,  which  is  thought  by  some  to  be  the 
place  of  John's  birth. 

The  following  particulars  are  from  Philo,  concern- 
ing the  Essenes,  who  may  be  called  practical,  to  dis- 
tinguish them  from  the  Therapeutae,  who  may  be 
termed  contemplative  Essenians.  Some  employ  them- 
selves in  husbandry ;  others  in  trades  and  manufac- 
tures, of  such  things  only  as  are  useful  in  time  of 
peace ;  their  designs  being  beneficial  only.  They 
amass  neither  gold  nor  silver,  nor  make  any  large 
acquisitions  of  land  to  increase  their  revenues,  but 
are  satisfied  with  possessing  what  is  requisite  to  re- 
lieve the  necessities  of  life.  They  are,  perhaps,  the 
only  men  who  without  land  or  money,  by  choice 
rather  than  by  necessity,  find  themselves  rich  enough  ; 
because  their  wants  are  but  few,  and,  as  they  under- 
stand how  to  be  content  with  nothing,  as  we  may  say, 
they  always  enjoy  plenty.  You  do  not  find  an  artifi- 
cer among  them  who  would  make  any  sort  of  arms, 
or  warlike  machines ;  they  make  none  of  those 
things,  even  in  time  of  peace,  which  men  pervert  to 
bad  uses ;  they  concern  themselves  neither  with 
trade  nor  navigation  ;  lest  it  should  engage  them  to 
be  avaricious.  The  method  which  they  follow  in 
their  explanation,  is  to  unfold  the  allegorical  mean- 
ings of  Scripture.  Their  instructions  run  principally 
on  holiness,  equity,  justice,  economy,  pohcy,  the  dis- 
tinction between  real  good  and  evil ;  of  what  is 
indiflferent,  what  we  ought  to  pursue,  or  to  avoid. 
The  three  fundamental  maxims  of  their  morality  are, 
the  love  of  God,  of  virtue,  and  of  our  neighi)or  ;  they 
demonstrate  their  love  of  God  in  a  constant  chastity 
throughout  their  lives,  in  a  great  aversion  from  swear- 
ing and  lying,  and  in  attributing  eveiy  thing  that  is 
good  to  God,  never  making  him  the  author  of  evil ; 
they  show  their  love  to  virtue  in  disinterestedness,  in 
dislike  of  glory  and  ambition,  in  renouncing  pleas- 
ure, in  continence,  patience,  and  simplicity,  in  being 
easily  contented,  in  mortification,  modesty,  respect 
for  the  laws,  constancy,  and  other  virtues  ;  lastly, 
their  love  to  their  neighbor  appears  in  their  liberali- 
ty, in  the  equity  of  their  conduct  towards  all,  and  in 
their  community  of  fortunes,  on  which  it  may  be 
proper  to  enlarge  a  little. 

First,  no  one  among  them  in  particular  is  master 
of  the  house  where  he  dwells  ;  any  other  of  the 
same  sect  who  comes  thither,  may  be  as  much  mas- 
ter as  he  is.  As  thoy  live  in  so'ciety,  and  eat  and 
drink  in  common,  they  make  provision  ibr  the  whole 
community,  as  well  for  those  who  are  j)resent,  as  for 
those  who  come  imlookcd  for.  There  is  a  common 
chest  in  each  particular  society,  where  every  thing 
is  reserved  which  is  necessary  for  the  su[)port  and 
clothing  of  each  member.  Whatever  any  one  gets 
is  brought  into  the  common  stock  ;  and,  if  any  one 
fall  sick,  so  as  to  be  disabled  from  working,  he  is 
su|)plied  with  every  thing  necessary  for  the  recovery 
of  his  health,  out  of  the  common  fund.  The  young- 
er pay  great  respect  to  the  elder,  and  treat  them 
almost  in  the  same  manner  as  children  treat  their 


parents  in  their  old  age.  They  choose  priests  of  the 
most  distinguished  merit  to  be  receivers  of  the  es- 
tates and  revenues  of  their  society,  who  likewise 
have  the  charge  of  issuing  what  is  necessary  for  the 
table  of  the  house.  There  is  nothing  singular  or 
aftected  in  their  way  of  living ;  it  is  simple  and 
imassuming. 

It  is  surprising  commentators  and  divines  make 
no  reference  to  these  peculiarities  in  the  character, 
manners,  and  principles  of  the  Jewish  sect  of  the 
Essenes.  The  fact  is,  that,  not  being  explicitly  men- 
tioned in  the  Gospels,  they  are  usually  disregarded. 
In  many  respects  they  seem  to  have  agreed  with  the 
character  of  John  the  Baptist,  as  described  or  im- 
plied in  the  Gospels.  They  are  also  described  as 
"having  all  things  in  common,"  no  one  of  them 
claiming  personal  property  in  goods,  but  referring 
them  to  the  whole  community.  This  then  abates  the 
singularity  of  the  primitive  church,  of  which  we  are 
told,  no  one  said  that  aught  "of  the  things  which  he 
possessed  was  his  own,  but  they  had  all  things  in 
common,"  Acts  iv.  32.  That  is  to  say,  these  first 
converts  imitated  the  Essenes,  a  sect  well  known 
among  them  ;  they  were  in  the  city  what  the  Essenes 
were  in  the__desej-t.  This  also  sets  the  behavior  of 
Ananias  and  Sapphira  in  a  strong  light ;  since  they 
must  have  known  perfectly  well  the  custom  of  this 
sect,  and  had,  like  them,  made  a  profession  of  re- 
nouncing riches.  Observe,  "  the  Essenes  took  no 
provisions  on  their  journeys  ;"  so  the  disciples  ;  (Mark 
vi.  8;  Luke  ix.  3.)  "they  were  hospitable;"  (see 
Rom.  xii.  13 ;  1  Tim.  iii.  2 ;  Titus  i.  8 ;  1  Peter  iv.  9.) 
"they  did  not  marry;"  perhaps  the  fear  that  this 
principle  should  be  extended  too  far,  ought  to  be 
taken  into  our  consideration,  when  we  examine  the 
grounds  of  some  of  the  apostle's  advice,  1  Cor.  vii  ; 
Heb.  xiii.  14 ;  1  Tim.  iv.  3.  We  may  suppose,  too, 
that  the  Christian  deacons  resembled  "  the  steward 
among  the  Essenes,  who  distributed  to  every  one 
what  he  wanted."  In  short,  if  the  reader  will  pe- 
ruse with  attention  the  articles  Essenes  and  The- 
RAPEUTiE,  with  these  ideas  in  his  mind,  he  will 
perceive  that  this  sect  deserves  a  consideration  which 
it  does  not  usually  receive.  A  late  ingenious  writ- 
er has  endeavored  to  prove  that  the  Essenes  were,  in 
fact,  a  Christian  society.  (See  Jones's  Ecclesiastical 
Researches.) 

[It  has  been  supposed  by  some,  that  oiu-  Saviour 
was  educated  among  the  Essenes  ;  as  also  John  the 
Baptist.  But  this  is  mere  conjecture,  and  does  not 
harmonize  with  the  other  facts  which  are  known. 
John  was  indeed  a  J^Tazarite,  (Luke  i.  15,)  like  Samuel 
and  Samson,  1  Sam.  i.  11  ;  Judg.  xiii.  5.     R. 

ESTHER,  or  Hadassah,  of  the  tribe  of  Benja- 
min, daughter  of  Abihail.  Her  parents  being  dead, 
Mordecai,  her  uncle  by  her  father's  side,  took  care 
of  her  education.  After  Ahasuerus  had  divorced 
Vashti,  search  was  made  throughout  Persia  for  the 
most  beautiful  women,  and  Esther  was  one  selected. 
She  found  favor  in  the  eyes  of  the  king,  and  he  mar- 
ried her  with  royal  magnificence,  bestowing  largesses 
and  pardons  on  his  people,  Esth.  ii.  Mordecai  re- 
fusing to  honor  Haman,  he,  in  revenge,  obtained  an 
order  from  the  king  to  destroy  the  whole  nation  of 
the  Jews.  Mordecai  apprized  Esther  of  the  plot, 
and  by  her  means  the  danger  was  averted,  (chap,  iv.) 
and  Hainan  executed,  chap.  vii.  See  Haman  and 
Mordecai. 

The  book  of  P'rther  has  always  been  esteemed 
canonical  both  by  Jews  and  (,'hristians;  but  the  au- 
thority of  those  additions  in  the  Latin  editions  are 


ETH 


[  397  ] 


EVA 


disputed.  The  Greek  copies  are  not  uniform,  and 
differ  much  from  the  Hebrew ;  while  the  old  Latin 
translations  differ  both  from  the  Hebrew  and  from 
the  Greek.  At  the  end  of  our  printed  Greek  copies 
we  read,  that  in  "the  fourth  year  of  Ptolemy  and 
Cleopatra,  Dositheus,  accompanied  by  his  son  Ptole- 
my, carried  the  letter  of  Purim  into  Egypt,  which 
was  said  to  have  been  translated  into  Greek  by  Ly- 
siniachus  jhe  sou  of  Ptolemy."  This  Ptolemy  is 
believed  to  be  Philometer,  who  died  A.  M.  3861,  long 
after  Ptolemy  Philadeiphus,  in  whose  reign  the  ver- 
sion of  the  LXX  is  supposed  to  have  been  made. 
Lysiniachus  was,  probably,  author  of  the  additions 
in  the  Greek  of  Esther.  Clemens  of  Alexandria, 
some  rabbins,  and  many  commentators,  suppose  the 
original  author  of  this  book  to  have  been  Mordecai ; 
and  the  book  itself  favors  this  opinion,  saying,  that 
he  wrote  the  history  of  this  event.  Others  think  it 
was  composed  and  placed  in  the  canon  by  Ezra,  or 
by  the  great  synagogue.  The  time  of  the  history  is 
probablj'  in  the  reign  of  Xerxes.  See  Ahasue- 
RUS    II. 

ETAM,  a  rock  to  which  Samson  retired,  Judg.  xv. 
8,  11.  Probably  near  a  city  of  the  same  name  in 
Judah,  built  by  Rehoboam,  (1  Chron.  iv.  3,  33  ;  2 
Chron.  xi.  6.)  which  lay  between  Bethlehem  and 
Tekoah.  Josephus  speaks  of  a  place  of  pleasure 
called  Hethan,  distant  from  Jerusalem  five  leagues, 
to  which  Solomon  frequently  retired.  From  hence, 
probably,  Pilate,  some  few  years  before  the  destruc- 
tion of  Jerusalem,  brought  water  tin'ough  aqueducts 
into  the  city,  at  a  great  expense  ;  in  accom])lishing 
which,  he  was  forced  to  take  a  large  compass  round 
the  mountains  lying  in  the  way.     See  Cistern. 

ETERNAL,  ETERNITY.  These  words  often 
signify  a  very  long  time,  and  therefore  must  not  al- 
ways be  understood  literally  ;  so  we  find  "  eternal 
mountains,"  to  denote  their  antiquity.  Gen.  xlix.  26 ; 
Deut.  xxxiii.  15.  God  promises  to  David  an  "  eter- 
nal kingdom  and  posterity  ;"  that  is,  his  and  his  son's 
empire  will  be  of  long  duration  ;  and  even  absolutely 
eternal,  if  we  include  the  kingdom  of  the  Messiah. 
But  eternity,  when  God  is  the  subject,  always  denotes 
an  absolute  eternity.  "  The  Lord  ruleth  for  ever.  I 
lifl;  up  my  hand  to  heaven,  and  swear,  I  live  for 
ever,"  eternally.  The  Son  of  God  is  called  "  Priest 
for  ever  after  the  order  of  Melchisedec  ;"  his  gospel, 
"the  eternal  gospel ;"  his  redemption,  "eternal  re- 
demption ;"  his  blood  shed  for  us,  "the  blood  of  the 
eternal  covenant ;"  his  glory,  "  an  eternal  weight  of 
glory."     For  eternal  punishment,  see  Hell. 

ETHAM,  the  third  station  of  the  Israelites  when 
coming  out  of  Egjpt,  (Numb,  xxxiii.  6 ;  Exod.  xiii. 
20.)  lay  at  the  extremity  of  the  western  gulf  of  the 
Red  sea. 

ETHAN,  the  Ezrahite,  and  son  of  Kishi,  was  one 
of  the  wisest  men  of  his  time,  except  Solomon,  1 
Kings  iv.  31  ;  Psal.  Ixxxix  ;  1  Chron.  vi.  41.  Ethan 
was  a  principal  master  of  the  temple  music,  1  Chron. 
XV.  17,  and  other  places.  Ps.  Ixxxix.  is  attributed 
to  him. 

ETHANIM,  a  Hebrew  month,  (1  Kings  viii.  2.) 
after  the  captivity  called  Tizri.  It  is  supposed  to 
answer  to  our  September,  O.  S.  See  Jewish 
Calendar. 

ETH-B  AAL,  king  of  the  Zidonians,  father  of  Jeze- 
bel, wife  of  Ahab,  1  Kings  xvi.  31. 

ETHER,  a  city  twenty  miles  from  Elcuthcropolis, 
near  Malatha,  in  "the  south  of  Judah.  Allotted  first 
to  Judah,  afterwards  to  Simeon,  Josh.  xv.  42 ;  xix.  7. 

ETHIOPIA,  one  of  the  great  kingdoms  in  Africa, 


part  of  which  is  now  called  Abyssinia.  Ethiopia  is 
frequendy  mentioned  in  Scripture  under  the  name  of 
Cush  ;  but  as  there  were  several  countries  so  named, 
we  should  be  careful  to  discriminate  between  them- 
(See  under  Cush.)  The  Abyssinians  are  by  some  be- 
lieved to  have  received  the  Christian  faith  from  Mat- 
thew, or  Bartholomew,  or  Philip,  or  from  queen 
Candace's  eunuch,  who  was  baptized  by  Philip,  one 
of  the  seven  deacons.  Acts  viii.  27.  But  these  opin- 
ions are  unfounded.  Matthew,  we  are  told,  preached 
the  gospel  to  the  Ethiopians,  that  is,  those  above  the 
Araxes,  near  the  Persians.  Bartholomew  preached 
to  the  Indians,  called  by  the  ancients  Ethiopians,  that 
is,  in  Arabia  Felix.  Philip  the  deacon,  or  the 
eunuch,  might  preach  the  gospel  to  queen  Candace, 
who  reigned  in  the  peninsula  of  Meroe,  which  is 
sometimes  named  Ethiopia. 

[The  various  significations  in  which  the  name 
Cush  or  Ethiopia  is  taken  in  the  Old  Testament,  have 
been  discussed  under  the  article  Cush  ;  which  see- 
Ethiopia  proper  lay  south  of  Egypt,  on  the  Nile  ; 
and  was  bounded  north  by  Egypt,  i.  e.  by  the  cata- 
racts near  Syene  ;  east  by  the  Red  sea,  and  perhaps 
a  part  of  the  Indian  ocean  ;  south  by  unknown  re- 
gions of  the  interior  of  Africa ;  and  west  by  Libya 
and  deserts.  It  comprehended,  of  course,  the  mod- 
ern countries  of  Nubia,  or  Senuaar,  and  Abyssinia. 
The  chief  city  in  it  was  the  ancient  3Ieroe,  situated 
on  the  island  or  tract  of  the  same  name,  between  the 
Nile  and  Astaboras,  not  far  from  the  modern  Shendi. 

The  Ethiopian  queen  Candace,  whose  treasurer  is 
mentioned.  Acts  viii.  27,  was  probably  queen  of 
Meroe,  where  a  succession  of  females  reigned,  who 
all  bore  this  name.  (Pliny,  Hist.  Nat.  vi.  29.)  As 
this  courtier  is  said  to  have  gone  up  to  Jerusalem  to 
worship,  he  was  probably  a  Jew  by  religion,  if  not 
by  birth.  There  is  a  current  tradition  among  the 
Ethiopians  themselves,  that  the  queen  of  Sheba,  who 
visited  Solomon,  was  called  Maqueda,  and  that  she 
was  not  from  Arabia,  but  was  a  queen  of  their  own 
country.  They  say,  that  she  adopted  the  Jewish  re- 
ligion, and  introduced  it  among  her  people  ;  and 
that  her  son  and  successor,  Monilek,  (whom  she  is 
said  to  have  conceived  by  Solomon,)  took  the  name  of 
David  I.  (Bruce's  Trav.  i.  p.  524.)  Christianity  was 
first  introduced  into  Ethiopia  about  A.  D.  330,  by 
Frumcntius,  who  became  the  first  bishop  of 
Ethiopia. 

The  old  Ethiopian  language  is  a  dialect  of  the 
Arabic,  having  an  al])hal)et  of  its  own,  and  some 
distinctive  peculiarities  ;  thus,  e.g.  it  is  read  froni  left 
to  right,  while  the  Arabic  and  all  the  other  Scmitish 
languages  arc  read  from  i-iglit  to  left.  In  the  alj)ha- 
bet,  too,  the  vowels  are  represented  by  small  hooks 
or  circles  aijjjended  in  ditleront  ways  to  the  conso- 
nants. It  was  in  daily  use  so  late  as  the  14th  cen- 
tury ;  when  it  was  suj)])lanted  by  the  Andiaric  dialect. 
It  still  continues  to  be  used  in  books  ;  but  most  of 
the  literature  in  it  is  of  a  religious  and  ecclesiastical 
character  ;  among  which  the  first  place  is  due  to  the 
Ethiopic  version  of  the  Scriptures.  The  principal 
works  on  the  language,  literature,  and  history,  of 
Ethiopia,  arc  those  of  Ludolph.     *R. 

EVANGELIST,  one  who  publishes  good  ncAvs  ; 
they  therefore  who  write,  as  well  as  they  who  preach, 
the  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ,  are  evangelists ;  and  in 
general  all  who  declare  happy  tidings.  In  Isaiah  xli. 
27,  the  Lord  says,  he  will  give  to  Jerusalem  one  who 
bringcth  good  tidings — an  evangelist.  Philip  the 
deacon  is"  called  an  evangelist,  Acts  xxi.  8.  Paul 
speaks  of  evangelists,  (Eph.  iv.  11.)  and  ranks  them 


EVI 


[  398  ] 


EUP 


after  apostles  and  prophets.  He  exhorts  Timothy  to 
perforin  the  duty  of  an  evangelist.  There  were 
originally  evangelists  and  preachers,  who,  without  be- 
ing fixed  to  any  church,  preached  wherever  they 
were  led  by  the  Holy  Spirit.  We  commonly  call 
Matthew,  Mark,  Luke,  and  John,  "the  evangelists," 
because  they  were  the  writers  of  the  four  Gospels, 
which  bring  the  glad  tidings  of  eternal  salvation  to 
all  men. 

EUCHARIST,  thanksgiving,  a  word  particularly 
signifying  the  sacrament  of  tlie  body  and  blood  of 
our  Saviour  Jesus  Christ.  Called  euchmist,  because 
Christ,  in  the  institution  of  it,  gave  thanks  to  God. 

EVE,  the  name  of  the  first  woman  :  Chava,  in  He- 
brew, is  derived  from  the  same  root  as  chajim,  life  ; 
because  she  was  to  be  "  the  mother  of  all  living."  It 
is  supposed  she  was  created  on  the  sixtli  day,  after 
Adam  had  reviewed  the  animals.     See  Adam. 

Adam  and  Eve  were  placed  in  Paradise,  and  God 
forbade  them  from  touching  one  particular  fruit. 
But  the  envious  evil  one  insidiously  seduced  Eve  to 
eat  of  the  forbidden  fruit ;  and  she  afterwards  se- 
duced Adam.  By  tlius  transgressing  the  prohibition, 
they  both  I)ecame  degraded  ;  and  were  punished  by 
expulsion  from  Paradise,  and  uy  subjection  to  evils, 
natural  and  moral.  God  said  to  Eve,  "  I  v/ill  greatly 
multiply  thy  sorrow  and  thy  conception  ;  in  sorrow 
thou  shalt  l)ring  forth  children,  and  thy  desire  shall 
be  to  thy  husband,  and  he  shall  rule  over  thee ;"  but, 
at  the  same  time,  the  Messiah  and  his  250wer  were 
foretold.  Gen.  iii.  After  i)eing  expelled  from  Para- 
dise, Eve  conceived  and  brought  forth  Cain,  saying, 
"  I  have  gotten  a  man  from  the  Lord :"  the  year  of 
Eve's  death  is  not  known.  It  is  presumed  she  died 
about  the  same  time  as  Adam,  cii\  A.  M.  930.  The 
eastern  people  have  paid  honors  to  Adam  and  Eve 
as  to  saints,  and  have  some  curious  traditions  con- 
cerning them. 

EVENING.  The  Hebrews  reckoned  tico  even- 
ings ;  as  in  the  phrase  between  the  evenings,  Marg.  Ex. 
xii.  6  ;  Num.  ix.  3 ;  xxviii.  4.  In  this  interval  the 
passover  was  to  be  killed,  and  the  daily  evening  sacri- 
fice offered,  Ex.  xxix.  39 — 41,  Hth.  According  to 
the  Caraites,  this  time  between  the  evenings  is  the  in- 
terval from  sunset  to  complete  darkness,  i.  e.  the 
evening  twilight,  (comp.  Deut.  xvi.  6.)  According  to 
the  Pharisees,  Josephus  (B.  J.  vi.  9.  3.)  and  the  i-ab- 
bins,  the  first  evening  began  when  the  sun  inclined 
to  descend  more  rai)idly,  i.  e.  at  the  ninth  hour  (Gr. 
SfD.u  /ifwnu  ;)  while  the  second  or  real  evening  com- 
menced at  sunset  (Gr.  ^f'^'/  o<j'iu.)  Compare,  also. 
Matt.  xix.  15,  with  verse  2.3.     R. 

EVI,  a  prince  of  Midian,  killed  in  war.  Numb, 
xxxi.  8.  A.  M.  2.553. 

EVILMERODACH, /ooZwA.  Merodach,  son  and 
successor  of  Nebuchadnezzar  king  of  Bal)ylon. 
Under  this  name  there  lies  concealed,  ])robably,  a 
Chaldee  or  Persian  one  of  a  different  meaning ;  which 
the  .Tews  tlius  perverted  to  show  their  hatred  and  con- 
tempt of  tlieir  idolatrous  oppressor,  2  Kings  xxv.  7  ; 
Jer.  Hi.  31.  Rvilmerodach,  as  some  think,  was  im- 
prisoned liy  him.  In  this  confinement  he  contracted 
an  acquaintance  and  friendshi|)  with  Jehoiakim  king 
of  Judah,  so  that  iimnediately  after  the  king's  death, 
Evilmerodach,  succeeding  him,  delivered  Jehoiakun 
out  of  prison,  and  placed  him  above  all  the  other 
kings,  who  were  captives  at  Babylon.  Evilmerodach 
reigned  two  years,  and  was  then  murdered  and  suc- 
ceeded by  Neriglissar,  his  sister's  husband  ;  then 
by  Laborosoarchod  ;  and  lastly  by  Belshazzar.  See 
Assyria. 


EUMENES,  king  of  Bithynia  and  Pergamus,  1 
Mac.  viii.  8.  Having  joined  the  Romans  in  their 
war  against  Antiochus  the  Great,  he  received  in  re- 
compense the  country  of  "  the  Indians,  Medes,  and 
Lydians  ;"  as  tlie  text  of  the  Maccabees  reads  ;  but 
it  is  probable  we  should  read,  "  the  lonians,  Mysians, 
and  Lydians." 

EUNICE,  mother  of  Timothy,  (2  Tim.i.  5.)  was  a 
Jewess  by  birth,  but  married  to  a  Greoli,  who  was 
Timothy's  father.  Paul  found,  at  Lystra,  Eunice 
and  Timothy  far  advanced  in  grace  and  faith. 

EUNUCH.  In  the  courts  of  eastern  kings,  the 
care  of  the  beds  and  apartments  is  generally  com- 
mitted to  eunuchs.  The  Hebrew  saris  signifies  a 
real  eunuch,  whether  naturally  boi-n  such,  or  render- 
ed such  ;  but  in  Scripture  this  word  often  doiotts  an 
officer  belonging  to  a  prince  attending  his  court,  and 
employed  in  the  interior  of  his  ]jalace.  Potiphar, 
Pharaoh's  eunuch  or  officer,  and  Josei)li's  master, 
liad  a  wife,  Gen.  xxxix.  1 — 7.  God  forbade  his  peo- 
ple to  make  eunuchs ;  and  prohibited  such  to  enter 
into  the  congregation  of  the  Lord,  (Deut.  xxiii.  1.) 
that  is,  debarred  them  the  ])ossession  of  some  out- 
ward privileges  belonging  to  the  Israelites.  They 
were  looked  on  in  the  conmionwealth  as  dry  and 
useless  wood  ;  and  might  say  of  themselves — "  Be- 
hold, I  am  a  dry  tree."  But  notwithstanding,  "  Tlius 
saith  the  Lord  unto  the  eunuchs  that  keep  my  sab- 
baths, and  take  hold  of  my  covenant,  even  unto  them 
will  I  give  in  mine  house,  and  within  my  walls,  a 
place  and  a  name  better  than  of  sons  and  daughters," 
Isa.  Ivi.  4.  In  the  courts  of  the  kings  of  Judah  and 
Israel,  were  officers  called  Serasim ;  probably  real 
eunuchs,  if  they  were  slaves  or  ca])tives,  bought  from 
foreigners ;  but  if  they  were  Hebrews,  their  name 
expresses  simply  their  office  and  dignity.  Our  Sa- 
viour (Matt.  xix.  12.)  speaks  of  men  who  "made 
themselves  eunuchs  for  tlie  kingdom  of  heaven," 
who,  on  some  religious  motive,  renounced  marriage 
and  carnal  pleasures.  Origen,  and  some  ancient 
heretics,  construed  our  Saviom-'s  words  literally  ;  and 
Eusebius  informs  us,  that  this  was  done  so  common- 
ly by  the  inhabitants  of  Syria  and  Osroene,  in  honor 
of  the  goddess  Cybcle,  that  king  Abgarus,  to  abolish 
the  practice,  made  a  law,  that  they  who  were  guilty 
of  it  should  have  their  hands  cut  off. 

EUODIAS,  a  female  disciple  mentioned  by  Paul, 
Philip,  iv.  2. 

EUPHRATES,  a  famous  river  of  Asia,  which  has 
its  source  in  the  mountains  of  Armenia,  and  runs 
along  the  frontiers  of  Cappadocia,  Syria,  Arabia  De- 
serta,  Chaldea,  and  Mesopotamia,  and  falls  into  the 
Persian  gulf.  At  present  it  discharges  itself  into  the 
sea  in  union  with  the  Tigris  ;  but  formerly  it  had  a 
separate  channel.  Moses  says,  (Gen.  ii.  14.)  the  Eu- 
]>lirates  was  the  fourth  river  whose  source  was  in 
Paradise.  (See  Eden.)  Scripture  often  calls  it,  the 
Great  River,  and  assigns  it  for  the  eastern  boundary 
of  that  land  which  God  promised  to  the  Hebrews, 
Deut.  i.  7;  Josh.  i.  4.  The  Euphrates  overflows  in 
sunnner,  like  the  Nile,  when  the  snow  on  the  moun- 
tains of  Armenia  begins  to  melt.  The  source  of  the 
Euphrates,  as  well  as  that  of  the  Tigris,  being  in  the 
mountains  of  Armenia,  some  of  the  ancients  were  of 
ojjinion,  that  these  two  rivers  rose  from  one  common 
s|)ring  ;  but  at  present  their  sources  are  distant  one 
fiom  the  other.  The  Arabians  divide  the  Euphrates 
into  the  larger  and  the  lesser ;  the  larger,  rising  in  the 
Gordian  mountains,  discharges  itself  into  the  Tigris 
near  Anbar  and  Pelongiah.  The  smaller,  whose 
channel  is  oflen  wider  than  that  of  the   larger,  runs 


1 


EXC 


[  399  ] 


EXCOMMUNICATION 


towards  Chaldea,  passes  through  Corofali,  and  falls 
into  the  Tigris,  between  Vassith  and  Naharvan,  at 
Carna,  that  is,  the  Horn,  because,  in  reality,  it  is  the 
horn  or  confluence  of  the  great  and  the  little  Eu- 
phrates. Parsons,  in  his  Travels  in  Asia,  writes,— 
"  At  Korna,  on  the  extreme  point  of  Mesopotamia, 
the  head  of  our  vessel  was  in  the  Tigris,  the  stern  in 
the  Euphrates,  and  the  middle  in  the  great  river 
where  the  two  former  unite.  This  point  is  reckoned 
to  be  from  Hellah  about  180  English  leagues."  From 
tlie  lesser,  a  canal,  dug  by  Trajan's  order,  i)asses  into 
the  larger  Euphrates.  This  is  the  Fossa  Regia,  or 
Basiliusjluvius  oi"  the  Greeks  and  Romans,  by  the 
Syrians  called  .Yahar-Malca,  through  which  the  em- 
))eror  Severus  passed  in  his  way  to  Ctesiphon  on  the 
Tigris,  when  he  besieged  that  city.  The  violence  of 
the  Persian  gulf  causes  a  reflux  of  water  thirty 
leagues  above  the  mouth  of  the  Euphrates.  The 
Arabians  are  persuaded  that  the  waters  of  this  river 
are  very  wholesome,  and  have  virtue  in  curing  dis- 
eases. Between  this  river  and  the  Tigris,  which  is 
east  of  it,  is  Mesopotamia,  and  the  land  of  Shinar ; 
and  east  of  the  Tigris  is  Assyria. 

The  Mesopotamian  Euphrates  is  a  river  of  conse- 
quence in  Scripture  geography,  being  the  boundary 
which  separated  Padan  Aram  from  Syria,  and  the  ut- 
most limits,  east,  of  the  kingdom  of  the  Israelites.  It 
\tas  indeed  only  occasionally,  that  the  dominion  of 
the  Hebrews  extended  so  far ;  but  it  would  appear, 
that  even  Egj'pt,  under  Pharaoh  Nccho,  made  con- 
quests to  the  western  bank  of  the  Euphrates.  Its 
general  course  is  south-east ;  but  in  some  places  it 
rims  westerly,  and  approaches  the  Mediterranean, 
near  Cilicia.  It  is  accompanied  in  most  parts  of  its 
(•ourse  (about  1400  miles)  by  the  Tigris.  There  are 
many  towns  on  its  banks,  which  are  in  general  rath- 
er level  than  mountainous.  The  river  does  not 
appear  to  be  of  any  very  great  breadth.  Otter  says, 
"  When  we  passed  the  Euphrates,  the  19th  of  March, 
this  river  had  only  200  common  paces  in  width  ;  in 
its  height,  it  extends  500  or  600  paces  into  the  plains 
on  the  right."  Thevenot  observes,  that  near  to  Bir, 
the  Euphrates  (July  3)  seemed  no  larger  tiian  the 
Seine  at  Paris  ;  but  it  was  said  to  be  very  broad  in 
winter.  Near  Hellah,  which  marks  tho  situation  of 
the  ancient  Babylon,  it  was  about  four  hundred  feet 
wide.  3Ir.  Rich,  in  his  memoir  on  Babylon,  says, 
the  current  was,  at  Hellah,  at  a  medium,  about  two 
knots  (miles)  per  hour.  The  Euphrates  now  over- 
flows the  site  of  BaI)ylon,  where,  says  sir  R.  K. 
Porter,  "its  banks  were  hoary  with  reeds,  and  the 
gray  osier  willows  were  yet  there,  on  which  the  cap- 
tives of  Israel  hung  up  their  harps,  and,  while  Jeru- 
salem  was   not,   refused    to   be    comfortiMl."      See 

B.VBYLONIA. 

EUPOLEMUS,  son  of  John,  an  ambassador  whom 
Judas  Maccaba?us  sent  to  Rome,  1  Mac.  viii.  17. 

EtJROCLYDON,  a  dangerous  wind  in  the  Le- 
vant, or  eastern  part  of  the  Mediterranean  sea.  Acts 
xxvii.  14.  It  is  usually  said  that  this  wind  blows 
from  the  north-east;  but  perhaps  it  is  what  our  sea- 
men call  a  I,evanter,  which  is  confined  to  no  point 
of  the  compass,  but  by  veering  to  all  points,  is  at- 
tended with  great  danger. 

EUTYCHUS,  the  name  of  a  young  man  of  Troas, 
who,  sitting  in  a  window  while  the  apostle  l*aul  was 
preaching,  slept,  and  fell  from  the  third  story,  and 
was  taken  u[)  dead.  Paul  restored  him  to  life,  Acts 
XX.  10.  A.  D.  57. 

EXCOMMUNICATION, an  ecclesiastical  penalty, 
by  which   they  who  incur  the  guilt  of  any  heinous 


sin,  are  separated  from  the  church,  and  deprived  of 
spiritual  advantages.  There  are  two  or  three  sorts 
of  excommunication.  (1.)  The  greater,  by  which 
the  person  offending  is  separated  from  the  body  of 
the  faithful ;  thus  Paul  excommunicated  the  incestu- 
ous Corinthian,  1  Cor.  v.  1 — 5.  (2.)  The  lesser,  by 
which  the  sinner  is  forbidden  the  sacraments.  (3.) 
That  which  suspends  him  from  the  company  of  be- 
lievers ;  which  seems  to  be  hinted  at,  2  Thess.  iii.  G. 
Augustin  speaks  in  several  places  of  this  excom- 
munication ;  and  Thcophylact  says,  that  it  was  es- 
teemed a  great  punishment.  The  primitive  church 
was  very  cautious  in  the  use  of  excommunication  ; 
using  it  only  for  very  serious  and  important  reasons, 
and  always  with  great  concern.  The  manner  of  ex- 
communicating in  the  primitive  church  was  this  ;  the 
faithful  separated  themselves  from  those  whose  com- 
pany the  church  had  prohibited,  without  obliging 
their  superiors  to  proceed  any  further.  In  process 
of  time,  however,  the  bishops  used  threatenings, 
anathemas,  and  sentences  of  excommunication  ;  and 
at  last,  to  make  these  ceremonies  more  frightful,  they 
wei'e  attended  with  actions  proper  for  infusing  ter- 
ror, such  as  the  lighting  of  wax  candles,  extinguish- 
ing them,  throwing  them  on  the  ground,  and  tram- 
pling them  under  foot,  while  the  bishop  pronounced 
excomnumication,  thundering  also  curses  against  the 
excommunicated. 

The  principal  eflfect  of  excommunication  is,  to 
separate  the  excommunicated  from  the  society  of 
Christians,  from  the  privilege  of  being  present  in  re- 
ligious a.ssemblies,  from  the  eucharist,  from  attend- 
ance at  the  prayers,  the  sacraments,  and  all  those 
duties  by  which  Christians  are  connected  in  one  so- 
ciety and  communion.  An  excommunicated  person 
is,  with  regard  to  the  church,  as  a  heathen  man  and 
a  publican.  Matt,  xviii.  17.  But  this  excision  from 
Christian  conununion  does  not  exempt  him  from  any 
duties  to  which  he  is  liable  as  a  man,  a  citizen,  a 
father,  a  husband,  or  a  king,  either  by  the  law  of  na- 
ture and  nations,  or  by  the  civil  law.  And  when  the 
apostles  enjoin  men  to  have  no  conversation  with  the 
excon)municated,  not  to  eat  with  them,  not  even  to 
salute  them,  this  is  to  be  understood  of  offices  of 
mere  civility,  (which  a  man  is  at  liberty  to  pay,  or  to 
withhold,)  and  not  of  any  natm-al  obligations ;  such 
as  are  founded  on  i*.ature,  humanity,  and  the  law  of 
nations,  1  Cor.  v.  1 — 5;  2  Tiiess.  iii.  6 — 14  ;  2  John 
10,  11. 

Among  the  Jews  we  see  excommunication  prac- 
tised in  the  times  of  Ezra  and  Neheniiah,  with  re- 
gard to  those  who  would  not  dismiss  the  strange 
women  whom  they  had  married  contrary  to  the  law, 
Ezra  x.  10  ;  Neh.  xiii.  25 — 28.  Our  Saviour,  speaking 
to  his  apostles,  foretold  that  the  Jews,  out  of  hatred 
to  him,  would  treat  them  ill,  and  excommunicate 
them,  "cast  tiiem  out  of  their  synagogues."  They 
generally  scourged  the  excommunicated  persons, 
befoie  they  expelled  them  out  of  their  synagogues. 
The  act  was  preceded  by  censiu'e  and  admonition, 
at  first,  privately  ;  if  the  guilty  ])erson  did  not  amend, 
the  house  of  judgment,  the  assembly  of  judges,  de- 
clared to  him,  with  menaces,  the  necessity  for  his 
reformation.  If  he  continued  obstinate  on  four  sab- 
bath days  successively,  his  name  and  the  nature  of  his 
fault  were  proclaimed,  in  order  to  V)ring  him  to  shame ; 
and  then,  if  he  were  incorrigible,  he  was  excommu- 
nicated. Our  Saviour  seems  to  allude  to  this  prac- 
tice, where  he  commands  us  to  tell  our  brother  of 
his-  fault  between  him  and  us  alone;  then — that  we 
should  take    witnesses  with  us   in  order  to  admon- 


EXO 


r  400 


EXODUS 


ish  him ;  and  lastly, — that  we  should  inform  the 
church  against  him.  And  if,  after  this,  he  do  not  re- 
turn to  his  duty,  then  we  should  look  on  him  as  a 
heathen  man  and  a  pubhcan,  Matt,  xviii.  15 — 17. 

The  sentence  of  excommunication  among  the  Jews 
was  conceived  in  these  terms :  "  Let  such  an  one  be 
in  excommunication,  or  separation."  The  judges,  or 
the  synagogue,  or  even  private  persons,  had  a  right 
to  excommunicate  ;  but  regularly,  "  the  house  of 
judgment,"  or  the  court  of  justice,  solemnly  pi-o- 
nounced  the  sentence.  One  particular  person  might 
excommunicate  another,  and  he  might  likewise  ex- 
conmiunicate  himself;  as  they  who  bound  them- 
selves under  a  curse,  neither  to  eat  nor  to  drink  till 
they  had  killed  Paul,  Acts  xxiii.  12.  Beasts  were 
sometimes  excommunicated  :  and  the  rabbins  teach, 
that  excommunication  has  its  effect  even  on  dogs. 

It  has  been  a  matter  of  siu'prise  to  some,  that  our 
Saviour,  whose  design  was  to  build  hie  church  on 
the  ruins  of  Judaism,  and  who  evidently  attacked 
the  very  foundations  of  the  Jewish  religious  jjreju- 
dices,  was,  notwithstanding,  never  excommunicated. 
Perhaps  the  Jews  might  look  on  Christ  and  his  fol- 
lowers as  a  new  sect ;  and  as  it  was  not  tiien  a  cus- 
tom to  excommunicate  whole  bodies,  they  might 
receive  the  same  indulgence  as  the  Sadducees, 
Essenes,  Herodians,  and  Pharisees.   See  Anathema. 

EXODUS,  (from  the  Greek  •' EiuSuc,  going  out,)  the 
term  generally  apphed  to  the  departure  of  the  Israel- 
ites from  Egypt,  luider  Moses,  their  divinely  ap- 
pointed leader  and  legislator. 

There  are  a  few  things  connected  with  the  Exodus 
which  require  illustration  previously  to  our  consid- 
eration of  the  departure  itself. 

1.  The  true  reason  which  actuated  Moses  in  his 
conduct,  Avas,  no  doubt,  the  ultimate  deliverance  of 
Israel  from  bondage  ;  but,  what  is  the  nature  and  im- 
port of  the  apparent  reason  which  he  gives  to  Phara- 
oh, in  Exod.  v.  1,  3.  "to  go  three  days'  journey  into 
the  desert,  for  the  purpose  of  a  festivity  and  sacrifice 
to  the  God  Jehovah  ?" — Tliis  may  perhaps  receive 
elucidation,  from  the  similar  undertakings  which  are 
actually  accomplished  every  year,  from  Egypt,  by 
the  caravan  of  Mecca ;  and  the  question  naturally 
arises.  Whether  such  a  custom  be  as  ancient  as  Mo- 
ses ? — Did  Moses  reason  with  Pharaoh  something 
after  this  manner  ?  "  We  see  other  people  journey 
through  your  dominions,  and  many  of  your  own  sub- 
jects also  leave  your  dominions  for  a  time,  to  perform 
their  worship  in  what  they  esteem  a  peculiarly  sacred 
place,  whereas  you  do  not  suffer  us  to  enjoy  that  lib- 
erty ;  but  bind  us  continually  to  our  burdens :  we 
also  desire  the  same  jjermission  as  they  receive,  and 
propose  to  form  a  caravan  of  Israelites,  who  may 
worsiiip  the  God  of  their  fathers,  in  a  place,  and  in  a 
manner  of  his  own  appointment,  where  we  may  be 
secure  from  tlie  profane  interference  of  by-standers, 
while  performing  our  sacred  services."  To  see  the 
force  of  this  supposition,  it  must  be  observed,  (1.) 
That  pilgrimages  to  certain  cities  and  temples  are  of^ 
most  ancient  date  in  Egypt,  and,  in  fact,  appear  to 
liave  been  interwoven  with  the  original  establish- 
m;nits  and  institutions  of  that  coimtry  : — (2.)  that  the 
pilgrimage  to  Mecca,  in  particular,  though  now  the 
juost  famous,  was  not  instituted  by  Mahomet ;  he 
found  it  already  established  among  the  Arabs.  Its 
antiquity  is,  beyond  a  doubt,  very  great  ;  as  is  also, 
(3.)  that  of  the  Kaaba  of  Ishmacl ;  and  though  we 
may  reject  the  Arabian  tale  of  the  origin  of  the  well 
Zemzem,  and  that  of  the  miraculous  deliverance  of 
Ishmael  (instead  of  Isaac)  from   the  knife  of  Abra- 


ham, yet  that  Ishmael  might  dwell  at  Mecca,  or  in 
the  country  adjacent,  is  unquestionable,  and  is  suffi- 
ciently credible  :  he  might  institute  some  kind  of  po- 
litical, religious,  or  commercial  meeting  of  the  tribes 
called  Arabs,  (for  the  descendants  of  Ishmael  are 
not  the  only  Arabs,)  which,  after  his  death,  they 
might  continue,  for  the  same  reasons  as  caused  its 
institution.  (4.)  As  the  Arabs  do  not  carry  the  an- 
tiquity of  the  Kaaba  beyond  Ishmael,  we  are  led  to 
inquire  whether  the  interval  of  time,  between  Ishma- 
el and  Moses,  would  be  sufficient  for  the  establish- 
ment of  such  an  institution  as  this  annual  concourse. 
Might  the  tribes  of  Arabs  settled  in  Egypt  in  the 
days  of  JNIoses,  and  using  this  pilgrimage,  be  suffi- 
ciently numerous  to  be  observed,  and  to  become  a 
precedent?  Was  the  race  of  "kings  that  knew  not 
Joseph,"  foreigners,  whose  people  were  in  the  habit 
of  thus  annually  visiting,  and  confederating  v.ith, 
their  former  compatriots  ?  It  should  be  remembered, 
that  commerce,  no  less  than  devotion,  has  a  great 
share  in  forming  these  caravans ;  and  we  are  sure 
that  caravans  for  commerce  were  customary  long  be- 
fore the  time  of  Moses,  for  to  such  a  one  travelling 
into  Egypt,  from  Gilead,  was  Joseph  sold.  Did  not, 
then,  carjivans  for  connnerce,  in  those  days,  as  they 
do  at  present,  furnisli  the  means  of  devotion,  at  par- 
ticular places  ?  and  did  not  such  caravans  either  set 
out  from,  or  pass  through,  the  land  of  Egypt  from 
the  more  westerly  parts  of  Africa,  as  they  now  do, 
so  that  their  nature  and  their  purposes  were  suffi- 
ciently understood  by  Pharaoh  ?  [It  must  here  be 
remembered,  tliat  the  above  is  mei-ely  fanciful  con- 
jecture.     R. 

2.  The  places  named,  and  the  events  of  the  jour- 
ney of  the  Israehtes. — 

(1.)  It  is  said  of  the  place  from  whence  the  Israel- 
ites departed;  (Exod.  xii.  37.)  "and  the  children  of 
Israel  journeyed  from  Rameses  to  Succoth."  See 
also  Numb,  xxxiii.  3. — Where,  and  what,  was  this 
Rameses?  We  are  told,  (Exod.  chap.  i.  11.)  that  the 
Israelites  built,  for  Pharaoh,  treasure  cities—  Ra- 
meses and  Pithom.  If,  as  has  been  generally  suppos- 
ed, Pithom  was  the  ancient  Pclusium,  then  it  might 
be  the  extremity  of  Pharaoh's  dominions  toward  the 
east,  and  proJjably  Rameses  was  the  extremity  of  his 
dominions  toward  the  west ;  for  in  such  frontier 
shuations,  it  is  natural  to  expect  that  fortified  cities, 
or  magazines,  would  be  placed.  Now,  in  Nicbuhr's 
map  of  the  mouths  of  the  Nile,  on  the  western  branch 
of  that  river,  and  rather  south  of  the  canal  which 
goes  to  Alexandria,  is  a  district,  or  village,  named 
Ramsis.  If  this  mjiy  be  taken  fis  an  indication  of 
the  name  and  situation  of  the  ancient  Rameses,  then 
these  two  accounts  of  Moses  express — that  all  the 
Israelites,  from  the  most  distant  parts  of  Pharaoh's 
dominions,  assembled,  with  their  property,  at  the 
proper  station  for  the  dejjarture  of  caravans,  Succoth ; 
which,  indeed,  we  know  must  have  been  the  fact ; 
but  which  has  not  previously  been  discerned  in  the 
Mosaic  history.  [With  far  more  probability,  Gesenius 
regards  the  city  of  Rameses  or  Raamses  as  the  capital 
of  the  land  of  Goshen,  and  consequently  situated  to 
the  eastward  of  the  Delta.  This  idea  is  also  adopted 
by  Prof.  Stuart ;  who  fixes  the  site  of  this  city  at 
about  half  the  distance  between  the  Nile  and  Suez, 
where  the  present  village  of  Aboukeyshid  is  situated, 
(in  accordance  with  M.  Ayme  and  lord  Valentia,) 
where  are  found  extensive  ruins.  If  thus  located, 
Rameses  lay  on  the  borders  of  the  great  canal  ;  or,  if 
this  were  not  yet  in  existence,  it  lay  on  the  great  val- 
ley or  Wady,  up  which  the  watere  of  the  Nile  flow- 


EXODUS 


[401  ] 


EXODUS 


ed,  so  as  sometimes  nearly  to  meet  those  of  the  Bitter 
lakes,  which  were  connected  with  the  Red  sea.  It 
would  thus  have  been  about  forty  miles  distant  from 
Suez.  (Stuart's  Course  of  Heb.  Study,  vol.  ii.  No.  1. 
p.  173,  Modern  Traveller  in  Arabia,  p.  185.  Amer. 
ed.)  R. 

(2.)  Mr.  Taylor  supposes  that  Succoth,  where  the 
Israelites  assembled,  may  be  placed  at  Birket-el-Hadj, 
or  Pilgrim's  pool  :  here  the  caravans  still  assemble, 
and  hei-e  that  destined  for  Mecca  waits  the  arrival  of 
the  western  pilgrims.  The  reasons  are  evident ;  it 
is  at  a  convenient  distance  from  Cairo  ;  it  furnishes 
water,  and  vegetation  ;  so  that  the  same  wants  which 
occur  in  all  caravans,  inclined,  in  fact  obliged,  the 
ancient  assemblage  of  Israel,  as  they  now  do  the 
modern  assemblage  of  Arabs,  to  make  it  their  tem- 
porary residence.  It  appears  also  that  Birket-el- 
Hadj  is  considerably  in  advance  towards  Suez,  and 
consequently  the  journey  is  shortened  in  proportion. 
[It  is  more  probable,  as  Prof  Stuart  supposes,  that 
Succoth  was  merely  a  place  of  encampment, — di- 
viding the  distance  between  Rameses  and  Etham 
(Adjerout,)  i.  e.  about  twenty  miles  from  each.     R. 

We  have  seen  under  the  article  Caravan,  that 
Moses  probably  regulated  the  Israelites  in  an  accu- 
rate manner,  and  appointed  proper  officers.  To  ac- 
complish this,  the  delay  at  Birket-el-Hadj  would  fur- 
nish him  advantageous  opportunities,  and,  as  the  vari- 
ous families  arrived  in  succession,  he  might  directly 
order  them  to  their  stations.  In  fact,  some  delay  is 
implied  in  the  name  Succoth  (booths);  for,  in  gen- 
eral, the  caravans  only  pitch  their  tents  here ;  but  if 
the  first  comers  of  the  Israelites,  while  waiting  for 
their  kinsmen,  built  booths  here,  they  might  naturally 
enough  call  their  temporary  town  by  this  name — 
"  the  booths."  It  is  also  probable,  that  having  long 
dwelt  in  houses,  few  were  provided  with  tents ;  so 
that  the  erection  of  booths  was  the  most  convenient 
mode  of  shelter  in  their  power.  This  account  of  the 
matter  seems  justified  b}'  the  history  ;  (chap.  xiii.  17.) 
"  When  Pliaraoh  had  let  the  people  go."  So,  verse 
17.  "And  they  took  their  journey  from  Succoth,  and 
encam|)ed  in  Etham,  in  the  edge  of  the  wilderness." 
As  nothing  particular  happened  at  Etham,  little  need 
be  said  on  it ;  its  situation,  described  as  being  hi  the 
edge  of  the  wilderness,  marks  distinctly  e^iough  in 
what  direction  we  must  look  for  it.  We  shal\  only 
observe,  that  the  nearer  to  the  wilderness,  in  the  direct 
road  towards  the  wilderness,  (or  the  northern  termi- 
nation of  the  Red  sea,)  we  place  Etham,  the  better  we 
apply  the  description  of  it,  as  "in  the  edge  of  the 
wilderness." 

The  chief  difficulty  which  remains,  is,  to  under- 
stand correctly  the  command  given  in  chap.  \iv.  2  : 
"  TuRX  and  eiicamp."— It  is  supposed,  then,  that  the 
Israelites  continued  their  route  from  Etham,  toward 
the  desert,  to  somewhere  about  the  place  marked 
with  a  turning-off  in  the  map,  and  here  turned  to- 
ward the  sea,  which  lay  to  their  right — "encamp  be- 
fore (Heb.  in  the  face  of)  Pi-ha-hiroth." — The  word 
hiroth  has  usually  been  taken  as  a  proper  name  ;  but 
Dr.  Shaw  justly  renders  it,  ^^  the  gullet  "  though  he 
did  not  perceive  its  direct  application  :  Pi  is  the 
mouth,  i.  e.  the  mouth  of  the  gullet. — "  Encamp  in  the 
face  (in  front)  of  the  mouth  of  the  gullet,  between 
Migdol  (the  tower)  and  the  sea."  [Tlie  word  Pi-hn- 
hiroth  is  more  probably  of  Egyptian  origin,  denoting 
a  place  of  reeds,  a  salt  marsh.  R.]  To  ascertain  this 
Migdol  or  tower,  we  need  not  seek  any  distant  town, 
but  nuist  be  guided  by  the  nature  of  the  country;  at 
the  same  time  recollecting  the  orders  given,  "  to 
51 


tuni."  We  may  place  this  tower  at  Bir  Suez,  "  the 
well  of  water,"  because  this  well  was  worth  protect- 
mg  by  a  tower,  there  being  no  other  fresh  water, 
then  known,  in  the  neighborhood  ;  and  nobody  ac- 
quamted  with  the  value  and  scarcity  of  water  in  this 
desert,  will  unagine  a  tower,  if  inhabited,  could  be 
of  use,  or  its  inhabitants  or  garrison  subsist,  without 
water.  It  was  necessary,  therefore,  for  the  protec- 
tion of  this  well  for  the  use  of  the  inhabitants  at  Baal- 
zephon,  that  a  tower  should  secure  it.  [It  lies  on  the 
route  between  Adjerout  (Etham)  and  Suez,  and  is 
situated  just  so  that  it  corresponds  with  the  description 
here,  on  the  supposition  that  Pi-ha-hiroth  was  near 
the  sea.  R.]  "Encamp  ovei--against  (Heb.  in  the 
face  of)  Baal-zephon." — Baal-zephon  is  placed  at 
Suez,  because  it  adjoins  Pi-ha-hiroth;  so  that  what- 
ever station  was  "in  the  face  of  Pi-ha-hiroth,''^  was 
also  "  in  the  face  of  Baal-zephon  :"  yet  Pi-ha-hiroth 
being  more  extensive  than  the  town  of  Baal-zephon, 
this  repetition,  descriptive  of  the  position  to  be  taken, 
was  neither  useless  nor  redundant.  That  a  town 
should  be  established  here  anciently,  appears  every 
way  reasonable,  from  the  same  causes  as  now  main- 
tain the  town  of  Suez,  notwithstanding  its  numerous 
inconveniences.  Observe,  also,  "Encamp  between 
the  tower  and  the  sea ;"  i.  e.  from  Bir  Suez  to  the 
gulf,  eastward,  or  from  Bir  Suez  to  the  head  of 
the  sea,  southward,  either  of  which  may  answer 
the  expression  ;  but  if  we  say  from  Bir  Suez  to 
the  gulf,  then  the  encamping  from  Baal-zephon  to 
the  sea,  is  fi'om  Suez,  westward,  along  the  head  of 
the  sea-shore.  While  Moses  was  in  this  position, 
Pharaoh  approached  ;  and  he  might  justly  say  of 
the  IsraeUtes,  that  "  they  were  enclosed  by  the  desert, 
and  the  sea,"  as  verse  9. — so  that  if  he  did  not  destroy 
them  by  a  vigorous  attack,  they  must  inevitably 
perish  by  famine,  while  uwder  his  blockade. 

We  now  come  to  the  passage  of  the  sea  itself,  and 
shall  do  well  accurately  to  analyze  the  narration. — 
Moses  said,  "  Fear  not !  Stand  still  !"  Here  seems 
to  be  an  indication  of  intentional  delay,  as  if  time 
and  circuHistauces  were  not  at  this  moment  ready 
or  favorable.  During  this  interval  of  waiting,  "  Mo- 
ses cried  unto  the  Lord,"  verse  15.  In  this  conjunc- 
ture, a  strong  easterly  wind  blowing  all  night, 
divided  the  waters. — Now,  the  position  of  this  gulf 
being  from  south  to  north,  an  east  or  jierbaps  north- 
east wind  was  the  most  proper  that  coidd  blow  for 
the  purpose  of  dividing  the  gullet  in  the  middle,  and 
thei-eby  preserving  a  body  of  water,  above  and  below, 
i.  e.  north  and  south,  of  that  division  ;  these  waters 
defended  the  passage,  like  a  wall,  on  the  right  and 
on  tJie  left,  while  the  Israelites  went  over  on  dry 
ground.  "  The  Egyptians  pursued  to  the  midst  of  the 
sea;  but  in  the  morning  watch" — this  point  of  time, 
no  doubt,  was  punctually  expressed  ;  and  would  be 
punctually  understood  by  those  accustomed  to  count 
time  by  watches  :  it  has  lost  that  punctuality  to  us, 
yet  we  may  pretty  correctly  fix  it  at  about  three 
o'clock  in  the  morning,  about  which  time — the  sands, 
tScc.  of  the  oozy  sea-bottom  took  olf  the  chariot 
wheels  of  the  Egyptians ;  and  now,  the  east  wind 
sinking,  the  waters  returned  from  the  north  and 
south,  and  overwhelmed  the  Egyptians  ;  whereas  the 
Israelites  j)assed  during  the  power  of  this  strong 
wind,  which  blew  full  in  their  faces. 

Such  seem  to  be  the  circumstances  of  this  famous 
passage  ;  the  result  of  the  whole  is,  that  Providence 
engaged  natural  means  in  accomplishing  its  purpose. 
The  strong  east  ivindis  expressly  recorded  in  the  his- 
torv ;  and,  again,  in  the  thanksgiving  song  for  this 


EXODUS 


[  402  J 


EXODUS 


deliverance,  "  Thou  didst  blow  with  thy  wind." — Af- 
ter reflecting  on  this,  can  it  possibly  be  regarded  as 
any  disparagement  to  the  interference  of  the  same 
Providence,  if  advantage  were  also  taken  of  the  tide  ? 
Certainly  not ;  we  ought  rather  to  conclude,  that  all 
natural  advantages  were  taken,  and  that  by  these,  and 
over  these.  Providence  operated.  This  idea  seems 
to  receive  suppoit  from  the  command,  to  "stand 
still,"  which  may  relate  to  the  abatement  of  the  wa- 
ters by  the  falling  of  the  tide  in  the  gulf,  as  it  does  to 
the  rising  of  the  wind  for  the  division  of  the  remain- 
ing waters  after  the  tide  was  out  ;  the  two  agents 
were  probably  concurrent. 

We  are  now  ready  for  an  inspection  of  the   map 
of  the  joui'ney  from  Egypt  to  the  Red  sea. 


Nearly  opposite  to  Mxzr-el-AUik,  on  the  oth(r  side 
of  the  Nile,  are  the  pyramids ;  at  which  it  is  sup- 
posed a  considerable  number  of  Israelites  were  en- 
gaged in  labor.  Lower  down  the  Nile,  to  tlie  nortli, 
lies  the  land  of  Goalien.  The  lines  drawn  from 
these  extremes  to  Birkei-el-Hadj,  show  the  courses 
of  the  Israelites  to  the  place  of  rendezvous,  in  order 
to  join  the  main  caravan.  From  Birket-el-Hadj,  or 
Succoth,  to  Etham  the  caravan  takes  the  usual  route 
for  the  wilderness  of  Zin  ;  but,  being  past  Etham,  it 
is  ordered  to  turn  towards  Baal-zephon,  where  being 
encamped,  the  army  of  Pharaoh  is  supposed  to  come 
in  sight;  and  here  the  Israelites  arc  evidently  en- 
closed, and  unable  to  move  to  right  or  left,  either 
forward  or  backward.  The  gulf,  it  must  be  re- 
marked, extended  much  farther  north  than  is  de- 
noted by  the  shaded  lines,  and  was  wider  toward  the 
eastern  shore  ;  so  that  we  may  conceive  of  the  Is- 
raelites as  crossing  at  least  double  the  space  marked 
by  being  shaded  ;  but,  as  geometrical  precision  is 
not  our  object,  an  extension  of  the  shaded  lines  in 
the  map  would  have  answered  no  good  purpose. 
The  direction  of  the  wind,  with  its  fitness  to  divide 
the  gulf,  is  apparent. — The-  following  extracts  are 
translated  from  Niebuhr  :  ^p.  353,  &c.  French  edit.) 
"  To  go  from  Cairo  to  Suez  requires  thirty  hours 
and  three  quarters,  and  from  the  Nile  recjuires  one 
hour  more.  The  gi-eat  caravan,  wliich  goes  yearly 
from  Cairo  to  Mecca,  assembles  some  days  before  it 
sets  off",  at  four  leagues  from  Cairo,  on  tl)6  way  to 
Suez,  near  Birket-el-IIadj,  a  amall  lake,  which 
receives  the  water  of  the  Nile.  A  great  caravan, 
which  is  in  liastc,  may  go  from  Birket-el-Hadj  to 
Suez  in  three  days  :  we  took  28  hours  40  minutes, 
not  reckoning  the  hours  of  rest.  Every  where  on  tlie 
coast  of  Arabia,  we  met  with  indications  that  the 
waters  are  withdrawn  ;  for  instance,  Masa,  which  all 
the  ancient  authors  mention  as  a  port  of  Arabia,  is 
now  at  many  leagues  distance  from  the  sea:  near 
Lobcia,  and  Djidda  we  see  great  hills  filled  with  the 


same  kind  of  shells,  and  corals,  as  are  now  found 
living  in  the  sea :  near  Suez  are  petrifications  of  all 
these  things.  I  saw,  at  three  quarters  of  a  league 
west  of  the  city,  a  heap  of  shells,  with  living  inhabit- 
ants, upon  a  rock  covered  only  at  high  water,  and 
shells  of  the  same  kind,  uninhabited,  upon  another 
rock  of  the  shore,  which  was  too  high  for  the 
tide  now  to  cover  it.  Some  thousand  years  ago,  there- 
fore, this  Arabian  gulf  was  much  larger  and  ex- 
tended much  further  north,  especially  that  arm  of 
it  near  Suez, /or  the  shore  of  this  extremity  of  the  gulf 
is  very  loiv.  The  breadth  of  the  arm  of  the  sea, 
at  Suez,  is  about  3500  feet  [in  its  present  state.] 
Though  it  would  much  shorten  tlic  distance  of  their 
way,  no  caravan  now  crosses  this  arm,  nor  could 
the  Israelites  have  crossed  it  without  a  miracle.  Tho 
attempt  nnist  have  been  nuicli  njore  diflicult  to  the 
Israelites,  some  thousand  years  ago,  the  gulf  being 
tlien  probably  larger,  deeper,  and  longer  toivard  the 
north.  At  the  lowest  time  of  the  tide,  I  crossed 
when  returning  from  mount  Sinai,  that  arm  of  thu 
sea,  over  to  Kolsoum,  upon  my  camel ;  and  the 
Arabs  who  accompanied  me,  were  only  up  to  their 
thighs  in  water.  I  did  not  find  in  this  sea,  south  of 
Suez,  any  bank  or  isthmus  [reef]  under  water  :  from 
Suez  to  Girondel,  we  sounded,  and  had  at  first  four 
fathom  and  a  half;  in  the  middle  of  the  gulf,  at  three 
leagues  from  Suez,  we  had  four  fathom ;  and  about 
Girondel,  near  the  shore,  we  jiad  ten  fathom.  The 
banks  of  the  Red  sea  are  pure  sand,  from  Suez  to 
Girondel ;  but  lower  to  the  south,  I  saw  banks  of  cor- 
al. Now,  had  the  Israelites  crossed  the  sea  upon  such 
banks,  they  would  have  been  gi-eatly  incommoded 
by  them  ;  because  they  were  very  cutting,  especially 
to  the  hare  feet,  or  to  feet  but  slightly  defended." — 
What,  then,  must  such  rough  banks  have  been  to 
the  women,  the  children,  and  the  cattle  ? 

It  should  be  remembered,  also,  that  the  country 
further  to  the  south  (where  some  have  suj)posed  the 
Israeht^s  passed)  is  so  very  roekj^,  that  if  the  Israel- 
ites, marching  on  foot,  with  their  cattle,  women  and 
children,  could  have  jouineyed  by  that  road,  Plia- 
raoh's  chariots  could  not  have  so  journeyed,  but 
would  have  had  few  wheels,  if  any,  left  en  them,  by 
the  linie  they  had  readied  the  banks  of  the  sea ; — 
not  to  insist  on  the  diflerence  between  crossing  a 
smaller  iJOrtion  of  the  bed  of  the  sea,  that  bed  being 
sand,  and  nearly  level,  with  the  water  only  10  or  13 
feet  deep,  and  crossing  a  much  longer  distance,  over 
a  bottom  of  coml  rock,  and  the  water  fifty  feet  deep 
at  least.  Those  who  say  the  magnitude  of  a  miracle 
is  no  object  to  Almightv  Power,  may  be  asked. 
Which  of  the  ways  of  Divine  Wisdou),  of  which  wc 
have  any  knowledge,  ai)]jears  to  justify  the  supposi- 
tion of  any  su])erabundanre  of  power  exerted,  in  the 
production  of  any  elTect,  beyond  what  is  necessary 
to  produce  that  eficct  ?  In  what  instance  has  such 
waste  of  power  been  detected  ?  It  is  honorable  to  the 
Divinity,  to  believe  that  Divine  Wisdom  so  propor- 
tions the  necessary  jiower,  that  it  shall  be  amply  con:-  i 
l)etent  to  the  duty  charged  on  it,  but  v.ithout  an  OA'er-  I 
plus,  whose  infructuous  reserve,  being  unemjjloyed, 
is  mere  idleness.     But  to  return  to  our  traveller  : < 

"Eusebius  relates,  after  ancient  traditions,  that  the 
Israelites  passed  at  Clysmn.  The  Clysma  of  tho 
Greeks  was  apparently  the  Kolsoum  of  the  Arabs,  as 
Bochart  proves,  in  his  Phaleg.  (lib.  ii.  cap.  lr<.  p.  107, 
lOSA  Macrivi,  Abulfeda,  and  the  jjrtscnt  inhabitants 
of  Suez,  assure  us  that  Kolsoum  was  near  Suez. 
The  tide  falls  here  three  feet,  or  three  feet  and  a  half, 
which,  considering  the  shallowness  of  this  water,  is 


EXODUS 


[  403  ] 


EXODUS 


a  great  proportion.  Perhaps  a  thick  fog  hastened  the 
destruction  of  the  Egyptians ;  I  cannot  decide  on 
what  was  the  pillar  of  cloud  of  Moses." 

Such  are  the  notices  of  Niebuhr;  to  which  may  be 
added,  that  the  Greek  name  Clysma  signifies  destruc- 
tion ;  and  Kolsoum  is  of  similar  import  in  Arabic.  A 
very  expressive  appellation,  sm-ely,  if  conunemora- 
tive  of  this  destruction  of  the  ancient  Egyptian  army. 

A  further  confirmation  of  the  supposition,  that  here 
the  Israelites  passed,  may  be  drawn  from  tlic  names 
of  the  adjacencies  mentioned  in  the  Jiistor}',  as  Baal- 
zephou,  i.  e.  on  the  norlhtrn  extremity  of  tlie  Red  sea 
itself,  or  on  tlio  northern  extremity  of  the  gullet ; 
either  of  which  situations  ascertains  the  part  repre- 
sented in  the  map. 

We  may  now  accompany  the  Israelites  on  their 
journey,  by  presuming,  that  so  many  of  them  as  were 
employed  on  the  pyraufiiis  quitted  Memphis,  to  ren- 
dezvous at  the  Pilgrim's  lake,  where  the  caravan  for 
Mecca  now  assembles,  a  few  miles  east  from  Cairo. 
Being  joined  by  their  kinsmen  from  the  Delta,  the 
whole  body  moved  easterly  towards  the  wilderness. 
[Professor  Stuart  supposes  the  general  rendezvous  to 
have  been  at  Rameses,  half  way  between  the  Nile 
and  Suez.  R.]  We  have  already  observed,  that  the 
northern  extremity  of  the  Red  sea  advanced  much 
farther  inland,  anciently,  than  it  does  at  present ;  in- 
deed, the  gulf  becomes  yearly  shallower  ;  and  before 
long,  will  be  dry  land.  This  is  owing  to  the  sands 
driven  by  the  easterly  winds,  from  the  continent  of 
Arabia,  which  have  also,  according  to  the  best  evi- 
dence we  can  obtain,  sliifted  the  sands  in  so  long  a 
coin-se  of  ages,  from  their  ancient  stations,  very  much 
westward.  This  circumstance  will  be  found  to  have 
considerable  influence  on  the  character  of  the  wil- 
derness into  which  the  Israelites  entered  ;  and  not 
less  ou  its  extent.  In  all  probabihty,  in  the  days  of 
Moses,  it  did  not  begin  so  near  to  Egjpt  as  it  does 
now  ;  nor  was  it  of  that  entirely  sandy  appearance, 
or  of  that  absolute  barrenness,  which  it  now  is.  In- 
deed Egypt  itself  was  anciently  well  covered  with 
tall  and  aoble  trees  on  its  eastern  side  ;  which  usual- 
ly marks  a  powerful  vegetation.  It  will  follow,  also, 
that  a  district,  affording  food  for  a  flock,  as  Moses 
conducted  his  flock  on  mount  Sinai,  and  the  lumier 
ous  herds  and  flocks  of  the  Israelites,  (accustonx^d, 
it  nuist  be  i-ecollected,  to  the  fertile  pasture  "f  the 
Delta,)  was  essentially  different  from  the  /^serts  at 
this  time  lying  between  Egypt  and  moun**'''"'^'-  The 
same  causes  which  have  diminishe<*'  the  depth  of 
^vater  at  Suez,  and  daily  operate  t^  that  effect,  have 
also  contributed  to  ovcrsjjread  -'le  adjacent  country 
with  an  unproductive  surface-  The  Red  sea  is  con- 
stantly retiring  southward  Kolsoum,  whicli  was  a 
port  in  the  tiine  of  the  c-iliplis,  is  now  three  quarters 
of  a  mile  iidand.  It  v  probable,  therefore,  that  Baal- 
zephon,  though  no'*' represented  as  a  town,  by  Suez, 
was  neverthelep»  some  miles  further  north.  How 
far  Baal-zeph"'!  was  the  same  town  which  afterwards 
was  called  -Serapiu,  we  know  not ;  but  the  probability 
is,  that  P(i(tl  and  Serapis  were  the  same  deity,  so  that 
the  two  names  may  refer  to  the  same  temple,  under 
difft-rent  appellations  in  different  ages. 

Having  already  accompanied  the  Israelites  in  their 
journey  from  Egypt  to  the  Red  sea,  we  shall  here 
only  observe,  that  most  probably  the  resting  places 
which  had  obtained  names  anciently  arc  still  used  as 
resting  places,  though  under  other  names ;  and  as 
only  Succoth,  Etham,  Pihahiroth,  Migdol,  and  Baal- 
zephon  occur  in  this  passage,  thei'e  needs  no  great 
ukill  to  determine  them.     Succoth  may  be  i)laced  at 


Birket  el  Hadgi,  or  Pilgi-im's  pool,  a  few  miles  east 
of  Cairo.  Etham  was  probably  north  of  the  present 
Adjeroud  ;  perhaps  near  the  Bitter  lake,  or  fountains  ; 
though  some,  we  believe,  suppose  Etham  to  be  Ad- 
jeroud itself  D'Anville  marks  this  "  Calaat  Adje- 
roud," Sand-pit  castle.  Might  this  castle  be  the 
Migdol  or  "  tower  "  of  the  Hebrew  historian  ?  Piha- 
hivoth  was  the  openhig  of  the  present  gulf  of  Suez  ; 
but  probably  further  north.  Baal-zephon  miglit  be 
a  town  at  the  point  of  a  gulf  in  the  Red  sea  ;  analo- 
gous to  Suez  at  present.  As  to  INligdol,  Dr.  Wells 
seems  to  have  altogether  mistaken  its  situation.  The 
Autonine  Itinerary  jjlaces  Magdolo,  whose  name 
coincides  completely  with  the  sacred  books,  nearly 
half  way  between  Sil6  and  Pelusium,  about  twelve 
miles  from  each  :  it  was  therefore  rather  in  the  north 
of  the  isthmus  of  Suez  than  in  the  south  where  the 
doctor  places  it.  This  is  also  confirmed  by  the  order 
in  which  Jeremiah  ranges  the  towns  inhabited  by  the 
Jews,  advancing  from  north  to  south :  Migdol, 
Tapanhes,  (Daphne,  near  Pelusium,)  Noph,  or  3Ien- 
nouf,  that  is,  Memphis,  Pathros;  and  this  order, 
equally  with  the  distance  from  Pelusium,  proves, 
that  the  Migdol  near  Baal-zephon  could  not  be  Mag- 
dolo. As  the  Hebrew  Migdol  signifies  "  a  tower," 
we  ha\  e  thought  it  might  be  a  Calaat,  or  an  erection 
at  a  well,  surrounded  by  walls  ;  which  suits  no  less 
the  circumstances  of  the  history,  than  a  city  of  this 
name  would  do. 

The  road  taken  by  the  Israelites  was  a  regular  and 
customary  ti-ack  :  during  the  first  half  of  it,  it  was  a 
dii-ect  road  to  Canaan ;  and  it  effectually  concealed 
from  Pharaoh  what  Moses  uUiniately  intended,  till 
after  he  had  branched  off"  from  this  road  into  that 
which  led  to  mount  Sin-ii-  He  appears  to  have 
halted  at  Etham,  "  in  the  edge  of  the  wilderness  ;" 
and  after  liis  quitting  this  station,  Pharaoh  is  inform- 
ed that  "the  peop/e  fled,"  and  immediately  prepared 
to  pursue  and  recover  the  fugitives. 

[It  has  already  been  stated  above,  that  a  different 
view  reyt>ecting  the  rendezvous  of  the  Israelites  is 
taken  ^>y  professor  Stuart ;  while  in  respect  to  the 
pap^age  of  the  Red  sea  he  coincides  with  the  view 
Lcre  expressed.  See  a  full  discussion  in  his  Course 
of  HebreAv  Study,  vol.  ii.  Excursus  iv.     R. 

No  part  of  the  history  of  the  Israelites  is  more  per- 
plexing and  obscure,  in  its  geograjihy,  than  the 
stations  of  this  ])eople  during  their  continuance  in  the 
desert,  and  on  their  progi-ess  toward  Canaan.  Geog- 
raphers have,  indeed,  given  us  what  they  call  "  Maps 
of  the  Travels  of  the  Children  of  Israel,"  but  these 
have  usually  l)een  constructed  with  so  little  resem- 
blance to  the  actual  dimensions  and  real  features  of 
the  country,  to  the  necessities  of  a  multitude,  or  to 
probability,  that  they  have  more  perplexed  the  in- 
quiry than  if  it  had  been  left  entirely  unattempted. 
The  following  sketch  of  their  route  is  given  by  Mr. 
Taylor,  as  the  result  of  a  very  laborious  investigation  : 
it  differs  materially  from  that  assumed  by  many  re- 
spectable writers,  especially  as  to  the  return,  by  the 
way  of  the  Mediterranean  sea.  The  reader  will  judge 
of  the  proofs  by  which  it  is  supported.  [The  hy- 
pothesis alluded  to  cannot  well  be  supported ;  see 
the  additions  at  the  end  of  this  article.     R. 

It  is  necessary,  in  the  first  place,  to  fix  a  few  prin- 
cipal stations  mentioned  in  the  history,  as  points,  if 
not  absolutely  yet  comparatively  certain  ;  or  at  least 
of  sufficient  probability  to  be  considered  as  settled: 
such  are  Baal-zephon  or  Suez ;  Elim  ;  mount  Sinai ; 
Eloth  or  Ezion  Gaber.  These  places  being  adniit- 
ted,  we  may  safely  infer  the  station  mentioned  im- 


EXODUS 


[  404  ] 


EXODUS 


mediately  before,  and  that  immediately  after,  each  of 
these.  This  will  contribute  greatly  to  ascertain  the 
general  track,  and  will  much  reduce  the  number  of 
stations  which  want  of  information  obhges  us  to 
leave  uncertain. 

In  Numb,  xxxiii.  we  have  a  register  of  the  stations 
where  the  people  encamped  for  any  considerable 
time  :  we  identify  those  which,  in  the  following  list, 
are  marked  with  small  capitals.  Those  marked  in 
italics,  we  cannot  determine.  Perhaps,  the  varia- 
tions among  the  names  which  appear  on  comparison 
might  be  accounted  for,  by  sujjposing  the  camp  ex- 
tended to  places  which  had  different  names,  and  that 
the  station  was  sometimes  referred  to  one  place, 
sometimes  to  the  other. 


9. 
10. 
11. 
12. 
13. 


14. 
15. 
16. 
17. 
18. 
19. 
20. 
21. 
22. 
23. 
24. 
25. 
26. 
27. 
28. 
29. 
30. 

31. 
32. 
33. 

34. 
35. 
36. 
37. 
38. 
39. 
40. 
41. 
42. 


Numbers. 

Ramesses. 

SUCCOTH. 

Etham  .     .     . 


Baal-zephon     .     . 

Marah      .... 

Elim. 

By  the  Red  Sea. 

I.N  the  Wilderness 

OF  ZiN     .... 
Dophkah. 
Mush. 
Rephidim. 
Wilderness  ofSiNAi 
KibrothHataavah 


Hazeroth    .... 
Rithmah. 
Riinmon  parez. 

LiB.NAH. 
RiSSAH. 

Kehalathah. 

INlooT  Shapher. 

IIaradah. 

Makkeloth. 

Tahath. 

Tarah. 

Mithcah. 

Hashmonah. 

Moseroth    .... 

Children  of  Jaakan 

Hill  Gidgad  .     .     . 

Jotbathah    .     .     . 

Ebro.vah. 
EzioN  Gaber. 
Wilderness  of  Zin,  or 

Kadesh. 
Mount  Hor. 
Zalmonah. 
Piinon. 
Oboth. 

Ijc-abarim,  near  Moab. 
Dibon  Gad. 
Almon  Diblathaim. 
Mount  Abarim. 
By   Jordan,   opposite 

Jericho. 


Exodus. 


In  the  edge  of  the  Wilder- 
ness. 
By  the  Red  sea. 
Wilderness  of  Shur. 


Between  Elim  and  Sinai. 


SINAI  Mount. 

Quails  brought  from  the 

sea. 
At  Kadesh,  many  days. 
Abode  at  Hazeroth. 


Mosera,  Deut.  x.  6. 
Children  of  J  aakanjiyeZ/sq/". 
Gudgadah,  Deut.  x.  7. 
Jotbath,  ib.  a  land  of  rivers 
of  waters. 


To  obtain  a  more  easy  conception  of  their  respec- 
tive situations  and  characters,  we  may  divide  these 
stations  into  four  parts.     (I.)  The  journey  from  Egypt 


to  Sinai.  (II.)  Advance  from  Sinai  to  Kadesh  Bar- 
nea,  in  Palestine.  (III.)  Retreat  to  Ezion  Gaber, 
near  Sinai.  (IV.)  From  Ezion  Gaber,  eastwai'd,  to  the 
passage  of  the  river  Jordan.  From  Egypt  to  Sinai 
we  are  certain  that  Moses  followed  the  customary 
road  still  taken  by  caravans  of  pilgrims  as  far  as 
Suez  or  Baal-zephon  ;  that,  from  Sinai  to  Kadesh 
Barnea,  he  did  not  forsake  the  regular  tract ;  that,  in 
retreating  from  Kadesh  Barnea,  westward,  he  also 
took  much  the  same  course  as  is  now  taken  by  as- 
semblages of  people ;  and,  lastly,  that  the  passage 
from  Ezion  Gaber  to  the  east  of  Jordan  is  at  this 
time  in  use.  The  roads  thus  fixed  enable  us  to  de- 
termine some  of  the  places  mentioned  in  them;  and 
these  will  mutually  confirm  each  other. 

1.  From  Egypt  to  Sinai. — Succoth,  Ave  have  al- 
ready considered,  as  being  fixed  at  Birket  el  Hadgi, 
the  usual  place  of  the  pilgrims'  assembly ;  a  small 
distance  from  Cairo. 

The  true  situation  of  Baal-zephon  was  perhaps 
some  miles  more  northerly  than  its  present  repi-esen- 
tative,  Suez,  as  unquestionably  this  country  has  un- 
dergone considerable  changes  in  the  lapse  of  ages, 
and  the  sea  is  daily  diminishing  about  it. 

Marah  is  with  great  probability  placed  in  the  val- 
ley of  Girondel,  of  which  Dr.  Shaw  saj^s  :  "  Coroii- 
del,  I  presume,  made  the  soiuhern  portion  of  the 
desert  of  Marah  ;  from  whence  to  the  jioit  of  Tor,  the 
shore,  which  hitherto  was  low  and  sandy,  begins  now 
to  be  rocky  and  mountainous,  while  that  of  Egypt  is 
still  more  impracticable  ;  and  neither  of  them  affords 
any  convenient  place,  either  for  the  departure  or  the 
landing  of  a  multitude.  Moreover,  from  Corondel 
to  Tor,  the  channel  is  ten  or  twelve  leagues  broad ; 
too  great  a  space,  certainly,  for  the  Israelites,  in  the 
manner  at  least  they  were  encumbered,  to  traverse  in 
one  night.  And  at  Tor,  the  Arabian  shore  begins  to 
wind  itself  (round  what  we  may  suppose  to  be  Ptol- 
emy's promontory  of  Paran)  towards  the  gulf  of 
Eloth ;  at  the  same  time  the  Egyptian  shore  retires 
so  far  to  the  south-west,  that  it  can  scarcely  be  per- 
ceived. The  Israelites,  therefore,  could  neither  have 
landed  at  Corondel  nor  at  Tor,  according  to  the  con- 
jectures of  several  authors.  Over  against  Jibbel  At- 
'<^^kah,  at  ten  miles'  distance,  is  the  desert,  as  it  is 
calM,  of  Sdur,  the  same  with  Shur,  (Exod.  xv.  22.) 
where  *]^q  Israelites  landed,  after  tliey  had  passed 
through  Jve  interjacent  gulf  of  the  Red  sea.  In 
travelling  fro-^i  Sdur  towards  mount  Sinai,  we  come 
into  the  desert,  ng  it  is  still  called,  of  iMarah,  where 
the  Israelites  met  vith  those  bitter  waters,  or  waters 
of  Marah,  Exod.  xv.  ^\  And  as  these  circumstances 
did  not  happen  till  aftu-  they  had  wandered  three 
days  in  the  wilderness,  »-c  may  probably  fix  it  at 
Corondel,  where  there  is  a  s^all  rill  of  water,  which, 
unless  it  be  diluted  by  the  dew^  and  rains,  still  con- 
tinues to  be  brackisii.  Near  this  ylace  the  sea  forms 
itself  into  a  large  bay,  called  Berk  el  «-:orondel,  which 
is  remarkable  lor  a  strong  current,  tliat  sets  into  it 
from  the  northward.  The  Arabs  preser-re  a  tradi- 
tion, that  a  numerous  host  was  formerly  drtwned  at 
this  place ;  occasioned,  no  doubt,  by  what  v,e  are 
informed  of  in  Exod.  xiv.  30,  that  'the  Israelites  saw 
the  Egyptians  dead  upon  the  sea-shore.'  There  is 
nothing  further  remarkable,  till  we  see  the  Israelites 
encamped  at  Elim,  (Exod.  xv.  27  ;  Numb,  xxxiii.  9.) 
upon  the  northern  skirts  of  the  desert  of  Sin,  two 
leagues  from  Tor,  and  near  thirty  from  Corondel.  I 
saw  no  more  than  nine  of  the  twelve  wells  that  are 
mentioned  by  IMoscs,  the  other  three  being  filled  up 
by  those  drifts  of  sand,  which  arc  common  in  Arabia. 


EXODUS 


[  405 


EXODUS 


Yet  this  loss  is  amply  made  up  by  the  great  increase 
of  the  palm-trees,  the  'seventy'  having  propagated 
themselves  into  more  than  two  thousand.  Under  the 
shade  of  these  trees  is  {Hammam  Moxisa)  the  Bath  of 
Moses,  which  the  inhabitants  of  Tor  have  in  extraor- 
dinary esteem  and  veneration ;  acquainting  us,  that 
it  was  here  that  Moses  himself  and  his  particular 
household  were  encamped.  We  have  a  distinct 
view  of  mount  Sinai  from  Elim  ;  the  Wilderness,  as 
it  is  still  called,  of  Sin,  lying  betwixt  us." 

These  extracts  determine  the  places  not  only  of 
Marah,  but  of  the  Desert  of  Shur  ;  the  Desert  oj- 
Marah;  the  promontory  of  Paran  ;  the  Wilder- 
ness OF  Sin;  and  of  Elim.  These,  therefore,  will 
not  detain  us. 

Mount  Sinai  is  thus  described  by  the  doctor  :  "The 
summit  of  mount  Sinai  is  somewhat  conical,  and  not 
very  spacious,  where  the  Mahometans,  as  well  as 
Christians,  have  a  small  chajjcl  for  public  worship. 
Here,  we  were  shown  the  place  where  Moses  fasted 
forty  days,  (Exod.  xxiv.  18  ;  xxxiv.  28.)  ichere  he  re- 
ceived the  laiv,  (Exod.  xxxi.  18.)  where  he  hid  him- 
self from  the  face  of  God,  (Exod.  xxxiii.  22.)  where 
his  hand  ivas  supported  by  Aaron  andHur,atthe  battle 
xvithAmalek,  (Exod.  xvii.  9,  12.)  besides  many  other 
stations  and  places  that  are  taken  notice  of  in  the 
Scriptures."     See  Sinai. 

Rephidimisby  universal  consent  placed  south-west 
of  Sinai.  Dr.  Shaw  gives  the  following  information 
respecting  it :  "  After  we  had  descended,  with  no 
small  difficulty,  down  the  western  side  of  this  moun- 
tain, we  came  into  the  other  plain  that  is  formed  by 
it,  which  is  Rephidim,  Exod.  xvii.  1.  Here  we  still 
see  that  extraordinary  antiquity,  the  rock  of  Meribah, 
(Exod.  xvii.  (3.)  which  hath  continued  down  to  this 
day,  without  the  least  injury  from  time  or  accidents. 
It  is  a  block  of  granite  marble,  about  six  yards  square, 
lying  tottering,  as  it  were,  and  loose  in  the  middle  of 
the  valley  ;  and  seems  to  have  formerly  belonged  to 
mount  Sinai,  which  hangs,  in  a  variety  of  precipices, 
all  over  this  plain.  The  monks  show  us  several  other 
remarkable  places  round  about  this  mountain ;  as 
where  Aaron's  calf  was  molten,  Exod.  xxxii.  4,  (but 
the  head  only  is  represented,  and  that  very  rudely,) 
where  the  Israelites  danced  at  the  consecration  of  it, 
(Exod.  xxxii.  19.)  where  Korah  and  his  company 
were  swallowed  up,  (Numb,  xvi.32.)  and  where  Elias 
hid  himself  when  he  fled  from  Jezebel,  2  Kings  viii. 
9.  But  the  history  of  these  and  other  places  is  at- 
tended with  so  many  monkish  tales,  that  it  would  be 
too  tedious  to  recite  them." 

2.  From  Sinai  to  Kadesh  Barnea. — The  desert  of 
Paran  is  thus  described  by  Dr.  Shaw  :  "  From  mount 
Sinai,  the  Israelites  directed  their  marches  north- 
ward, towards  the  land  of  Canaan.  The  next  re- 
markable stations,  therefore,  were  in  the  desert  of 
Paran,  which  seems  not  to  have  commenced,  till  after 
they  departed  from  Hazeroth,  three  stations  from 
Sinai,  Numb.  xii.  16.  Now  as  tradition  hath  pre- 
served to  us  the  names  of  Shur,  Marah,  and  Sin,  so 
we  have  also  that  of  Paran,  which  we  enter  at  about 
half  way  betwixt  Sinai  and  Corondel,  in  travelling 
through  the  midland  road,  along  the  defiles  of  what 
were  probably  the  'Black  mountains'  of  Ptolemy. 
In  one  part  of  it,  ten  leagues  to  the  northward  of 
Tor,  there  are  several  ruins,  particularly  of  a  Greek 
convent  (called  the  convent  of  Paran)  which  was  not 
long  ago  abandoned,  by  reason  of  the  continual  in- 
sults they  suffered  from  the  Arabs.  Here  likewise 
we  should  look  for  the  city  of  that  name,  though, 
according  to  the  circumstances  of  its  situation,  as 


they  are  laid  down  by  Ptolemy,  Tor,  a  small  mati- 
time  village,  with  a  castle  hard  by  it,  should  rather 
be  the  place.  From  the  wilderness  of  Paran,  Moses 
sent  a  man  out  of  every  tribe,  to  spy  out  the  land  of 
Canaan,  (Numb.  xiii.  3.)  who  returned  to  him,  after 
forty  days,  unto  the  same  wilderness,  to  Kadesh 
Barnea,  Numb.  xiii.  26;  Deut.  i.  19;  ix.  23;  Josh, 
xiv.  7.  This  place,  which  in  Numb.  xiii.  3,  26 ;  and 
xxxiii.  36,  is  called  Tzin  Kadesh,  or  simply  Kadesh, 
was  eleven  days'  journey  from  mount  Iloreb,  (Deut. 
i.  3.)  and,  being  ascribed  both  to  the  desert  of  Tzin 
and  Paran,  we  may  presume  that  it  lay  near  upon 
the  confines  of  them  both." 

To  this  we  add  the  testimony  of  Niebuhr :  "  The 
Arabs  call  plains,  which  lie  somewhat  low,  Wadi,  or 
valleys,  because  water  remains  stagnant  in  them  after 
heavy  rains.  We  rested  under  a  palm-tree,  in  a 
place  called  Aijoim  Musa,  Moses's  Fountains.  These 
pretended  fountains,  are  five  holes  in  the  sand,  in  a 
well  of  very  indifferent  water,  that  becomes  turbid 
whenever  any  of  it  is  drawn.  As  the  holes  bear  the 
name  of  Moses,  the  Arabs  ascribe  them  to  the  Jewish 
lawgiver.  The  Arabs  set  up  our  tents  near  a  tree,  in 
the  valley  of  Faran,  and  left  us  to  amuse  ourselves 
there  in  the  best  manner  we  could,  while  they  went 
to  see  their  friends  in  gardens  of  date-trees,  scattered 
over  the  valley.  We  were  at  no  gi-eat  distance  from 
our  schiech's  camp,  which  consisted  of  nine  or  ten 
tents.  We  were  informed  that  the  ruins  of  an  an- 
cient city  were  to  be  seen  in  the  neighborhood.  But, 
when  the  Arabs  found  us  curious  to  visit  it,  they  left 
us,  and  would  give  us  no  further  account  of  it.  The 
famous  valley  of  Faran,  in  which  we  now  were,  has 
retained  its  name  unchanged  since  the  days  of  Moses, 
being  still  called  Wadi  Faran,  the  valley  of  Faran. 
Its  length  is  equal  to  a  journey  of  a  day  and  a  half, 
extending  from  the  foot  of  mount  Sinai  to  the  Arabic 
gulf  In  the  rainy  season  it  is  filled  with  water  ;  and 
the  inhabitants  are  then  obliged  to  retire  up  the  hills  ; 
it  was  dry,  however,  when  we  passed  through  it. 
That  part  of  it  which  we  saw  was  far  from  being 
fertile  ;  but  served  as  a  pasture  to  goats,  camels,  and 
asses.  The  other  jiart  is  said  to  be  very  fertile ;  and 
the  Arabs  told  us,  that,  in  the  districts  to  which  our 
Ghasirs  had  gone,  were  many  orchards  of  date- 
trees  ;  which  produced  fruit  enough  to  sustain  some 
thousands  of  people.  Fruit  must,  indeed,  be  very 
plenteous  there  ;  for  the  Arabs  of  the  valley  bring 
every  year  to  Cairo  an  astonishing  quantity  of  dates, 
raisins,  peai's,  apples,  and  other  fruits,  all  of  excellent 
quality.  Some  Arabs,  who  came  to  see  us,  oftered 
us  fresh  dates,  which  were  yellow,  but  scarcely  ripe. 
The  chief  of  our  schiech's  wives  (for  he  had  two) 
came  likewise  to  see  us,  and  presented  us  with  some 
eggs  and  a  chicken.  One  was  placed  at  some  dis- 
tance from  where  our  tents  happened  to  be  pitched, 
in  order  to  manage  a  garden  of  date-trees.  The 
other  was  our  neighbor,  and  superintended  the  cattle 
and  servants." 

These  remarks  were  made  in  going  to  mount  Si- 
nai :  the  following  were  made  on  his  return :  "  In 
the  afternoon  of  the  16th  of  September,  we  descend- 
ed Jibbel  Musa,  and  passed  the  night  at  the  bottom 
of  that  cliffy  mountain,  at  the  opening  into  the  valley 
of  Faran.  Next  day,  after  advancing  three  miles 
through  the  vale,  Ave  halted  near  the  dwelling  of  our 
schiech  of  the  tribe  of  Said.  Our  Ghasirs  left  us 
again,  and  went  to  see  their  friends  in  the  gardens  of 
date-trees.  Our  Ghasu-s  returned,  and  we  continued 
our  journey  on  the  20tli  of  the  month.  On  the  day 
following  we  had  an  opportunity  of  seeing  a  part  of 


EXODUS 


406  ] 


EXODUS 


the  road  which  we  had  passed  by  night  when  trav- 
elhn^  to  Jibbel  3Iusa.  In  this  place,  near  a  defile, 
named  Omzer-ridg-lein,  I  found  some  inscriptions  in 
unknown  characters,  which  had  been  mentioned  to 
me  at  Cairo.  They  are  com-sely  engraven,  apparent- 
ly with  some  pointed  instrument  of  iron,  in  the  rock, 
without  order  or  regularity." 

The  reader  will  observe,  (1.)  the  ruins  of  an  an- 
cient city.  (2.)  Ancient  inscriptions,  roughly  cut. 
As  the  sacred  history  marks  the  scenes  of  Kibroth 
Hataavah,  the  "  graves  of  lust,"  in  the  wilderness  of 
Paran,  there  is  a  possibility  that  here  or  hereabouts, 
was  the  place  of  those  events  which  gave  that  name 
to  this  station.  At  any  rate,  this  station  could  not  be 
far  from  the  sea,  as  the  quails  are  said  to  come  flying 
from  the  sea  to  it :  and  this  fixes  it  in  such  a  latitude 
as  is  parallel  to  some  part  of  the  sea,  if  such  be  a  cor- 
rect view  of  the  passage.  But  if,  on  the  contrary, 
the  quails  were  flying  to  the  sea,  still  this  could  not 
be  far  off;  as  is  implied  in  such  a  reference. 

At  mount  Sinai,  \?hpn  intending  to  reach  Canaan, 
the  sacred  legislator  Iiad  the  choice  of  three  wajs. 
The  shortest  and  most  direct,  though  tending  a  little 
to  the  east,  may  be  called  for  distinction  sake  the 
northern.  This,  says  Deut.  i.  2,  was  eleven  days' 
journey,  that  is,  from  Horeb  to  Kadesh  Barnea,  by 
mount  Seir,  direct.  This  was  occupied  by  enemies 
to  Israel.  The  second  road  was  the  western  ;  the 
same  as  they  had  taken  from  Egypt ;  and  this  they 
followed  till  they  reached  the  confines  of  their  ex- 
pected country.  But  here  they  were  repelled  by  the 
faint-hearted  reports  of  their  spies,  and  by  their  own 
folly  and  discontent.  The  third  road  from  mount 
Sinai  was  the  eastern,  this  they  took  at  last ;  and  by 
this  they  penetrated  into  Canaan,  in  a  direction  dif- 
ferent from  that  before  attempted,  but  which  probably 
Moses  had  in  view  when  he  asked  leave  of  Edom  to 
pass  through  his  territories.  It  appeal's  from  this 
that  IMoses  judged  rightly  of  his  people  at  first,  that 
war  would  have  terrified  them ;  and  that  even  afl;er 
thry  had  been  some  time  luidcr  regulation,  their 
courage  ^^  as  very  moderate,  and  their  habits  of  sub- 
mission very  weak ;  aft  in  the  first  instance,  they 
would  not  fight,  in  the  nr^cond,  they  v.ould  not  obey. 
But  after  this  capricious  generation  was  extinct,  bet- 
ter discipline  produced  better  effects;  and  a  muti- 
nous spirit  no  longer  prevailing,  Joshua,  the  succes- 
sor of  Moses,  effected  his  purpose  on  the  east  of 
Canaan.  It  will  be  observed,  that  this  change  of  the 
jioint  of  attack  changed  also  the  enemy  which  was 
to  be  attacked ;  and  the  probability  is,  that  the  in- 
habitants cast  of  Jordan  became  an  easy  pre}'  in  this 
instance,  as  the  descendants  of  these  very  Israelites 
v.erc  in  after-ages.  This  easiness  of  subjection  seems 
to  have  been  one  character  of  this  country. 

We  liave  no  traces  by  name  of  any  other  station  of 
the  Israelites  till  we  come  to  Libnah,  and  this  we 
presume  to  be  the  same  which  Joshua  smote,  (Josh. 
X.  29,  30.)  which  he  gave  to  the  priests  (xxi.  13.) 
which  revolted,  (2  Kings  viii.  22.)  and  against  which 
the  king  of  Assyria  fought ;  (xix.  8.)  from  all  which 
texts  it  a])i)ears  to  be  extremely  south  in  the  territo- 
ries of  Judah  ;  or  extremely  north  in  those  of  Edom. 
It  was  probably  west  of  mount  llor;  and  affer  the 
repulse  of  Israel  by  the  Canaanitcs,  that  Moses  de- 
sired the  permission  of  Edom  to  pass  through  his 
territories,  in  order  to  attack  Canaan  on  the  cast. 
This  Edom  refiised  ;  and  Israel  was  in  no  condition 
to  enforce  the  request,  but  was  obliged  to  return 
by  the  way  of  the  Red  sea,  on  the  west ;  and  to 
travel   round   the   whole  country  of  Edom  by  the 


south,  in  order  to  get  to  the  eastward  of  the  river 
Jordan. 

3.  Retreat  from  Ubnah  to  Ezion  Gaber. — In  oppo- 
sition to  other  writers,  Mr.  Taylor  considers  the 
present  El-Arish  as  Rissah,  the  next  station  ;  because 
it  is  at  no  great  distance  west  from  Libnah,  and  be- 
cause it  yields  that  necessary  article  water.  It  is  on 
the  road  from  Syria  to  Egypt,  and  is  properly  the 
last  station  in  Syria.  It  agrees  perfectly  with  the  di- 
rection :  (Numb.  xiv.  25.)  "  Get  you  into  the  wilder- 
ness by  the  way  of  the  Red  sea."  Sandys  says, 
"Arissa  is  a  small  castle,  environed  with  a  few 
houses ;  the  garrison  consisting  of  100  soldiers.  This 
place  is  something  better  than  desert,  and  blessed 
with  good  water. — The  territory  of  Gaza  begins  at 
Arissa."  Thevenot  says,  "  Riche  (or  Risiie)  is  a  village 
not  far  distant  from  the  sea ;  it  hath  a  castle  well 
built  of  little  rock  stones,  as  all  the  houses  are.  They 
have  so  many  lovely  ancient  marble  pillars  at  Riche, 
that  their  coffee-houses  and  wells  are  made  of  them, 
and  so  are  their  burying-places  full."  He  had  a  storm 
of  rain  here,  which  lasted  thirty  hours.  Volneysays, 
quitting  Syria,  "El-Arish  is  the  last  place  where 
water  which  can  be  drank  is  found. — It  is  three  quar- 
ters of  a  league  from  the  sea,  in  a  sandy  country,  as 
is  all  that  coast."  As  these  travellers  entered  Syria 
from  Egypt,  their  testimony  is  less  appropriate  than 
that  of  Mr.  Morier,  who  entered  Egypt  Irom  Syria, 
and  who  accompanied  the  Turkish  army.  He  thus 
describes  this  station  in  his  Journal  of  the  March  of 
the  Turkish  Army  through  tlie  Desert  between  Syria 
and  Egypt.  "  Feb.  5.  The  army  began  its  march  to- 
wards Catieh  in  the  afternoon,  and  encamped  at 
three  hours'  distance  from  El-Arish.  An  hour's 
march  is  calculated  at  two  miles  and  a  half,  Avhich  is 
about  the  rate  that  a  camel  travels  at.  Feb.  6.  A 
march  of  six  hours :  halted  in  the  afternoon.  Feb. 
7.  A  march  of  nine  hours.  Feb.  8.  Encamped  at 
Catieh  :  the  French  evacuated  this  ])lace  j'esterday. 
The  road  from  El-Arish  to  Catieh  lies  through  the 
most  inhospitable  part  of  the  desert  which  separates 
Syria  from  Egjpt.  The  sand  that  covers  it  is  fine, 
and  so  white  that  the  eyes  sufler  nuicli  from  the 
strong  glare  jtroduced  by  the  reverberation  of  the 
sunbeams:  and  I  should  be  inclined  to  attribute  the 
disorder  of  the  eyes  in  that  country  to  this  cause, 
combined  with  the  irritation  occasioned  l)y  the  ni- 
trous particles  contained  in  the  sand,  of  which  clouds 
are  constantly  blown  aboiU  by  the  least  wind.  But 
that  is  not  the  only  suffei-ing  which  the  traveller  in 
those  regions  has  to  go  through.  The  thirst,  occa- 
sioned by  the  excessive  heat,  increases  by  the  alluring 
but  false  hope  of  soon  quenching  it ;  for  the  fiat  sur- 
face of  the  desert  gives  to  the  horizon  an  appearance 
which  the  stranger  mistakes  for  \^ater ;  and,  while  he 
is  all  anxiety  to  arrive  at  it,  it  recedes  as  a  new  hori- 
zon discovers  itself.  The  optical  dccc])tion  is  so 
strong,  that  the  shadow  of  any  object  on  the  hoi-jzon 
is  apparently  reflected  as  in  water.  [Comjiare  Job  vi. 
19,  20;  Isaiah  xxxv.  7.]  At  the  first  halt  after  leav-  I 
ing  El-Arish,  the  water  was  jialntable  ;  after  that,  it  I 
can  only  be  so  to  those  who  experience  all  the  tor- 
ments of  thirst :  and  it  is  dangerous  to  drink  nuich 
of  it,  as  it  occasions  dysenteries.  It  is  observed,  that 
wherever  date-trees  grow,  there  the  v.ater  is  sweeter, 
and  it  is  invariably  found  by  digging  to  the  depth  of 
five  or  six  feet  in  the  sand.  A  party  was  generally 
sent  before  the  army,  to  dig  wells  where  it  was  to 
encamp.  The  impatience  of  the  troops  to  satisfy 
their  tliirst  was  often  jnoductive  of  very  serious 
quari'cls.     The  native  Arabs  that  cross  this  desert  in 


EXODUS 


[407  ] 


EXODUS 


all  directions,  carry  their  water  with  them  in  skins  ; 
but  that  resource  would  be  attended  with  too  many 
difficulties  for  the  supply  of  a  large  army:  a  great 
nutuber  of  camels  would  be  necessary  to  carry  water 
only  for  a  day's  consumption." 

The  reader  will  observe  that  at  about  seven  miles 
distance  from  El-Arish  the  Turkish  army  encamped  ; 
and  that  here  only  the  water  is  palatable.  The  He- 
brew word  Kehalathah  signifies  "the  place  of  assem- 
bling:" now  El-Arish  itself  is  at  present  actually  the 
place  of  assembling,  for  a  numerous  body  of  people 
which  intends  passing  into  Egypt ;  as  it  was  of  the 
Turkish  army  which  Mr.  Morier  accompanied. 
Nevertheless,  it  may  be  supposed  that  in  ancient  time 
the  wells  at  one  stage  nearer  to  Egj'pt  were  the  sta- 
tion for  that  purpose  ;  as  there  evidently  is  a  distinc- 
tion between  Rissah  and  Kehalathah,  though  we 
cannot  ascertain  the  distance  between  them.  It  is, 
however,  clear,  that  where  the  Turkish  army  en- 
camped, the  Israelites  might  encamp  ;  and  it  is  in- 
different whether  this  station  were  a  few  miles  more 
or  less  in  advance,  as  the  course  of  the  journey  lies 
the  same  way. 

If  we  follow  this  track,  the  next  station  of  the 
Israelites  is  mount  Shapher,  or  Sephir,  another  pro- 
nunciation of  Sepher.  Sepher  appears  to  have  been 
the  ancient  name  of  this  mount,  which  is  almost  sur- 
rounded by  the  sea  ;  and  on  which  was  afterwards 
built  a  temple  dedicated  to  Jupiter  Cassius  of  the 
Greeks,  the  ruling  deity  of  the  illustrious  mountain  ; 
which  is  tlie  same  deity  as  was  Avorshipped  by  the 
inhabitants  of  the  Sephers,  or  Sepharvaim ;  (2  Kings 
xvii.  31.) — Adrammelech,  "  the  king  of  splendors," 
or  the  "  illustrious  king."  "Catieh,"  says  Thevenot, 
"  is  a  village  where  there  is  a  well  of  water,  unpleas- 
ant for  drinking ;  but  two  miles  off  is  a  well  whose 
water  is  good  after  it  hath  stood  a  little :  at  Catieh 
we  ate  fresh  fish  half  as  long  as  one's  arm,  as  broad 
and  thick  as  carp,  and  of  as  good  a  relish  ;  they  did 
not  cost  us  five  farthings  apiece."  "3Jouut  Cassius, 
or  Catjeh,  is  a  huge  mole  of  sand,  famous  for  the 
templa  of  Jupiter  and  the  se[»ulchre  of  Forapey," 
says  Sandys.  It  is  probably  alluded  to  under  the 
name  of  Catjeh,  in  Cant.  iv.  2,  so  that,  if  this  conjec- 
ture be  just,  its  name  had  been  changed  during  the 
interval  from  Moses  to  Solomon. 

In  further  pursuing  this  route,  the  next  station  is 
Haradah,  to  which  no  resemblance  is  found  among 
the  names  marked  in  the  maps,  except  Haras,  which 
is  the  next  village  to  Catieh ;  but  this  is  too  slight  a 
circumstance  to  determine  our  judgment. 

There  is,  however,  a  possibility  that  the  present 
"  fountains  of  Mousa,"  not  far  from  the  head  of  the 
lied  sea,  eastward,  are  the  Mosera,  or  Moseroth, 
of  Holy  Writ :  for,  tiiat  they  derived  their  name  from 
having  been  used  by  Moses,  immediately  after  the 
passage  of  the  Red  sea,  is  improbable,  to  say  the 
least ;  as  the  sacred  text  assures  us,  the  people  "jour- 
neyed three  days  into  the  wilderness,  and  found  no 
water,  till  they  came  to  Marah,"  Exod.  xv.  22.  Now, 
tliis  was  not  the  fact,  if  at  that  time  Moses  used 
the  wells  of  Mousa  ;  as  these  are  but  a  few  hours 
from  the  place  of  his  passage.  But  if  they  were  the 
Jloseroth  of  this  place,  then,  as  they  were  used  by 
Moses  on  this  occasion,  by  a  very  easy  corruption 
they  are  now  called  Ain  el  Mousa,  instead  of  Ain  el 
Mousera.  This  Mosera,  if  we  take  it  either  as  the 
well  Nabd,  or  Ain  el  Mousa,  is  about  seven  or  eight 
miles  from  Suez.  Niebuhr  says  of  Suez,  "  The  in- 
habitants of  this  town  draw  their  principal  commod- 
ities from  Eg)pt,  at  the  distance  of  three  days'  jour- 


ney ;  or  from  mount  Sinai,  distant  five  or  six  days' 
journey  ;  or  from  Gaza,  distant  seven  or  eight  days' 
journey." — This  implies  that  there  is  a  direct  road  to 
Gaza  ;  aiid  if  we  reckon  the  stations  from  El-Arish, 
that  is,  Rissah,  to  Moserah,  we  find  them  to  be  eight 
or  nine,  which  agrees  with  the  distance  to  Gaza  well 
enough.  Or,  if  we  reckon  forward  to  mount  Sinai, 
we  find  four  or  five  stations,  which  also  agrees  with 
the  distance  given  by  Niebuhr ;  so  that  hereabouts 
we  may  probably  place  jMoseroth  (in  the  plural) 
without  much  risk  of  error.  This,  however,  depends 
on  the  supposed  difterence  of  the  face  of  the  country 
between  its  ancient  and  its  modern  state. 

We  are  now  in  the  regular  track  of  the  caravans 
to  Mecca,  and  may  presume  to  determine  the  ancient 
stations  by  those  in  present  use.  The  wells  of  the 
children  of  Jaakan,  however,  we  cannot  determine, 
as  no  wells  are  marked,  in  this  course,  after  the  well 
Naba,  till  we  come  to  Calaat  el  Nahal,  "  the  castle  at 
the  river,"  which  appears  to  stand  on  a  stream, 
marked  by  D'Anville  "  torrent  that  has  water,"  in 
which  it  agrees  with  the  description  of  Jotbathah,  as 
a  "  land  of  rivers  or  streams." 

As  the  phrase  Beui  Jaakan  is  precisely  according 
to  the  present  phraseology  of  the  Arabs,  it  must  not 
be  passed  in  silence.  The  Arabs  are  all  of  some 
tribe;  and  this  they  express  by  saying  they  are 
"  sons — heni — of  such  an  one  ;"  and  the  Beeroth 
Beni  Jaakan,  ought  therefore  most  certainly  to  have 
been  rendered  "  the  wells  of  Beni  Jaakan,"  meaning, 
the  wells  belonging  to  the  tribe  so  called.  There  can 
be  no  doubt  that  the  Israelites  paid  for  the  use  of 
these  wells,  as  the  Mecca  caravan  now  does. 

The  stages  adopted  by  the  Mecca  pilgrims  are  thus 
mai-ked  in  Dr.  Shaw's  list : 


Adjeroud  hitter  ivater 

Rastywatter        no  water 
Tear  wahad        no  water 
Callah  Nahar     good  ivater 
Ally  no  water 

Callah  Accaba  good  water 


near  Etham. 


Jotbathah. 

Ebronah. 

near  Ezion  Gaeeb. 


There  is  no  doubt  that  the  Elath  of  Scripture  is 
that  Eloth  which  gave,  and  still  gives,  name  to  a  gulf 
of  the  Red  sea;  nor  that  Ezion  Gaber,  which  is  al- 
ways mentioned  A^ith  Eloth,  was  nearly,  or  altogeth- 
er, adjacent  to  it.  It  is  probable,  indeed,  that  Ezion 
Gaber  is  the  port  intended  by  Dr.  Shaw  under  the 
name  of  Meeuah  el  Dsahab,  "the  port  of  gold,"  de- 
rived from  the  gold  imported  here  by  Solomon ;  but 
the  doctor's  account  of  its  situation  is  extremely  im- 
perfect, and  his  position  for  it  seems  rather  to  be 
assumed  by  conjecture,  than  determined  from  valid 
information.  Mr.  Taylor,  therefore,  places  it  near  to 
Eloth ;  presuming,  that  neither  of  them  stood  pre- 
cisely at  the  head  of  the  gulf,  that  being  of  course  too 
shoal  and  sandy  for  the  building  and  fitting  of  large 
and  stout  ships';  but  rather  at  some  small  distance 
from  it ;  one  on  one  side  of  the  gulf,  the  other  on  the 
other  side,  perhaps  ;  or,  both  might  be  on  the  same 
side,  though  not  close  together.  Having  thus  fixed 
Ezion  Gaber,  we  must  seek  Ebrona  backwards,  at 
the  distance  of  one  station  from  it,  that  is,  towards 
Cati(-h ;  it  must  therefore  either  be  at  Sat  el  Acaba, 
where  is  good  water ;  or  at  Abiar  Alaina ;  but  the 
former  of  these  seems  to  be  the  best  situated  for  the 
station  of  a  numerous  caravan. 

Jotbathah  is  described  as  "  a  land  of  brooks  of 
water  ;  "  with  this  description  there  is  only  one  place, 
at  the  distance  of  two  stations  from  Eloth,  which  can 


EXODUS 


[  408 


EXODUS 


possibly  agree.  There  is  marked  "a  torrent  of 
water,"  and  here  is  marked  good  water,  on  the  author- 
ity of  Dr.  Shaw.  It  will  be  observed  that  Jotbathah, 
Ebrona,  and  Eloth,  are  precisely  in  the  road  now 
taken  by  the  caravans  going  to  Mecca,  and  are  sta- 
tions of  those  caravans  in  their  journey.  This  shows 
clearly  that  the  same  considerations  influenced  the 
Hebrew  conductor  formerly,  as  influence  the  caravan 
bashaws  of  the  present  day.  It  leads  us  also  to  unite 
the  line  of  march  from  Catieh,  and  to  seek  the  in- 
tervening stations  in  various  parts  of  that  line,  though 
we  cannot  identify  the  places. 

4.  From  Ezion  Gaber,  eastward,  to  the  Jordan. — In 
advancing  from  the  station  of  Ezion  Gaber,  the  next 
place  named  is  the  Wilderness  of  Zin.  We  cannot 
suppose,  the  progress  of  the  IsraeUtes  having  lately 
been  wholly  easterly,  that  they  are  now  directed  to 
retrace  their  steps,  and  to  take  a  westerly  course  for 
Canaan :  they  must  therefore  take  a  north-easterly 
course,  till  they  arrive  at  the  eastern  side  of  the 
Dead  sea,  and  enter  the  country  of  Moab.  That  this 
very  path,  or  one  not  far  distant  from  it,  is  now  fol- 
lowed by  the  pilgrims  from  Damascus  to  Mecca,  is 
certain  ;  but,  as  it  is  the  most  diflScult  to  ari-ange,  or 
describe,  because  rarely,  if  ever,  taken  by  European 
travellers,  Mr.  Taylor  endeavors  to  compensate  this 
deficiency  by  other  testimony. 

Ishmael  Abulfeda,  sultan  of  Hamah,  describing  the 
peninsula  of  Arabia,  quotes  Ibn  Haukal,  who  says, 
"From  Ailah  (Eloth)  to  Harah  are  three  stations  [of 
the  caravan  ;]  from  Harah  to  Balaka  (Balca)  three 
stations  ;  from  Balaka  to  Masharik  Houvran,  six  sta- 
tions ;  from  Masharik  Houvran  to  Masharik  Goutah, 
where  the  gardens  of  Damascus  are,  thi-ee  stations." 
Tliis  agrees  with  the  Mosaic  history,  which  says, 
from  near  Ezion  Gaber  to  Kadesli  in  the  Wilderness 
of  Zin,  one  station ;  from  Kadesh  to  mount  Hor, 
mai-ked  by  the  Harah  of  Ibn  Haukal,  (possibly  a  res- 
idence of  some  kmd  on  the  northern  face  of  the 
mountain,)  a  second  station.  The  third  is  Zalmouah  ; 
then  Pimon,  Oboth,  and  Ije  Abarim,  near  Moab ; 
which  answer  to  the  tln-ee  stations  from  Harah  to 
Balaka,  of  the  Arab  writer.  That  this  is  the  track  of 
the  caravan,  appears  also  from  Volney,  who  says, 
"  Damascus  is  the  rendezvous  for  all  pilgrims  from 
the  north  of  Asia.  Their  number  every  year 
amounts  to  from  30,000  to  50,000 — this  vast  multi- 
tude set  out  confusedly  on  their  march,  and  travelling 
by  the  confines  of  the  desert,  arrive  in  forty  days  at 
Mecca.  As  this  cai-avan  traverses  the  country  of 
several  independent  Arab  tribes,  it  is  necessary  to 
make  treaties  with  them.  In  general,  the  preference 
is  given  to  the  trilie  of  Sardia,  which  encamps  to  the 
south  of  Damascus,  along  tlie  Hauran.  South  of 
Damascus  are  the  innncnse  plains  of  the  Hauran. 
The  pilgrims  of  IMecca,  who  traverse  them  for  five 
or  six  days' journey,  assure  us  they  find  at  every  step 
the  vestiges  of  ancient  habitations.  The  soil  is  a 
fine  mould  without  stones,  and  almost  without  even 
the  smallest  pebble.  What  is  said  of  its  actual  fer- 
tility, perfe(;tly  corresponds  with  the  idea  given  of  it 
in  the  Hebrew  writiugs.  Wherever  wheat  is  sown, 
if  the  rains  do  not  fail,  it  rf])ays  the  cultivator  with 
profusion,  and  grows  to  the  height  of  a  man.  The 
pilgrims  assert  also,  that  the  inhabitants  are  stronger 
and  taller  than  the  rest  of  the  Syrians."  This  is  fiu-- 
ther  proved  from  an  extract  inserted  farther  on  ;  and 
leaves  no  doubt  but  the  jiresent  track  of  the  caravan 
is  east  of  the  Jordan  ;  the  same  as  Moses  took  in 
former  ages.     Compare  p.  415  below. 

The  general  result  of  what  has  been  said  is.  First, 


That  Moses  led  his  people  to  mount  Sinai,  for  the 
purpose  of  solemnly  engaging  them  in  devotion,  and 
consecration  to  the  Deity  who  had  appeared  to  him 
there,  (Exod.  chap,  iii.)  and  had  given  him  this  very 
solemnity  as  a  sign  of  further  favors,  verse  12. 
Secondly,  That  having  accomplished  the  sacred  trans- 
actions at  Sinai,  he  led  them  northwards,  until  they 
came  within  a  moderate  distance  of  the  land  prom- 
ised to  the  patriarchs.  This  seems  to  have  been  ex- 
ecuted by  a  pretty  rapid  march  from  Kibroth 
Hataavah  to  Kadesh  Barnea,  principally  after  the 
departure  of  the  spies.  Now,  Kadesh  Barnea  must 
have  been  some  way,  at  least,  in  the  rear  of  Hormah  ; 
for,  as  the  Amalekites  and  Canaanites  jjursued  the 
discomfited  Israelites  to  that  town,  they  would  nat- 
urally relinquish  the  pursuit  as  they  approached  the 
camp  of  Israel.  The  fugitives  also  would  unques- 
tionably fly  toward  the  grand  encampment  of  that 
nation  "to  which  they  were  attached.  It  is  clear,  too, 
that  this  battle  was  not  out  of  the  district  of  the 
Amalekites,  since  these  were  engaged  in  it ;  nor  so 
far  from  Canaan,  but  that  a  detachment  of  Canaan- 
ites sent  to  watch  the  motions  of  Israel,  contributed 
to  the  victory. 

After  the  events  at  Kadesh,  the  people  are  ordered 
to  turn  and  get  them  (again)  by  the  tvay  (the  common 
road)  of  the  ivildemess  by  the  Red  sea — that  is,  into  the 
districts  they  had  formerly  quitted ;  as  appears  by 
their  passing  mount  Sinai,  in  their  route  to  Ezion 
Gaber. 

By  invading  Canaan  on  the  east,  after  many  years, 
and  crossing  Jordan  for  that  purj)ose,  not  only  an 
entirely  different  people  was  attacked  now,  from 
what  had  been  attempted  formerly,  but  (1.)  The  in- 
habitants east  of  Jordan  not  being  succored  by  those 
on  the  west,  their  subjection  was  inevitable.  (2.)  The 
passage  of  the  Jordan  cut  oflT  the  southern  part  of 
Canaan  from  the  northern  part ;  and  being  thus  di- 
vided, each  division  opposed  less  resistance,  as  they 
could  not  act  in  concert ;  and  more  force  could  be 
employed  against  each,  under  their  entire  uncertain- 
ty of  what  district  would  be  next  invaded. 

The  general  character  of  the  desert,  the  edge  of 
which  was  journeyed  round,  is  thus  described  by 
Volney.  The  road  in  which  the  people  of  Gaza 
meet  the  caravans  of  Damascus,  is  the  same,  no 
doubt,  as  that  which  Israel  took  from  Akaba,  or 
Ezion  Gaber,  to  the  country  of  Moab. — He  says,  "  A 
branch  of  connnerce  advantageous  to  the  people  of 
Gaza,  is  furnished  by  the  caravans  which  pass  and 
repass  between  Eg}'pt  and  Syria.  The  provisions 
they  are  obliged  to  taJve  for  their  four  days'  journey 
in  the  desert  produce  a  considerable  demand  for  their 
flour,  oils,  dates,  and  other  necessaries.  Sometimes 
they  correspond  with  Suez,  on  the  arrival  or  depar- 
ture of  the  Djedda  fleet,  as  they  f»e  able  to  reach 
that  place  in  ten  long  days'  journey.  They  fit  out, 
likewise,  every  year,  a  great  caravan,  which  goes  to 
meet  the  pilgrims  at  Mecca,  and  conveys  to  them  the 
convoy,  or  Djerda,  of  Palestine,  and  sup])lies  of  va- 
rious kinds,  with  difterent  refreshments.  They  meet 
them  at  IMaon,  four  days'  journey  to  the  south-east 
of  Gaza,  and  one  day's  joiu-ney  to  the  north  of 
Akaba,  on  the  road  to  Damascus.  They  also  pur- 
chase the  plunder  of  the  Bedouins  ;  an  article  which 
would  be  a  Peru  to  them,  were  these  accidents  more 
fn^quent.  In  the  desert  by  the  east,  we  meet  with 
stri[)s  of  arable  land,  as  far  as  the  road  to  Mecca. 
These  are  little  valleys,  where  a  few  peasants  have 
been  tempted  to  settle,  by  the  waters,  which  collect 
at  the  time  of  the  winter  rains,  and  by  some  wells. 


'^.  J 


EXODUS 


[  409 


EXODUS 


They  cultivate  palm-trees,  and  doiira,  under  the  pro- 
tection, or  rather  exposed  to  the  rapine,  of  the  Arabs. 
These  peasants,  separated  from  the  rest  of  mankind, 
are  half  savages,  and  more  ignorant  and  wretched 
than  the  Bedouins  themselves.  Incapable  of  leav- 
iii"'  the  soil  they  cultivate,  they  live  in  perpetual 
dread  of  losing  the  fruit  of  their  labors.  No  sooner 
have  tiiey  gathered  in  their  harvest,  than  they  hasten 
to  secrete  it  in  private  places,  and   retire  among  the 

rocks  which  border  on  the  Dead  sea We  cannot 

be  surprised  at  these  traces  of  ancient  ])opu]ation, 
when  we  recollect  that  this  was  the  country  of  the 
Nabatheans,  the  most  powerful  of  the  Arabs  ;  and  of 
the  Idumeans,  who,  at  the  time  of  the  destruction  of 
Jerusalem,  were  almost  as  numerous  as  the  Jews;  as 
appears  from  Josephus,  who  inlbrms  us,  that  on  the 
first  rumor  of  the  march  of  Titus  against  Jerusalem, 
thirty  thousand  Idumeans  instantly  assembled,  and 
threw  themselves  into  that  city  for  its  defence.  It 
appears  that,  besides  the  advantage  of  being  under  a 
tolerably  good  government,  these  districts  enjoyed  a 
considerable  share  of  the  comuierce  of  Arabia  and 
India,  which  increased  their  industry  and  population. 
We  know  that,  as  far  back  as  the  time  of  Solomon, 
the  cities  of  Atsioum-Gaber  (Ezion-Gaber)and  Ailah 
(Eloth)  were  highly  frequented  marts.  These  towns 
were  situated  on  the  adjacent  gulf  of  the  Red  sea, 
wiiere  we  still  find  the  latter  yet  retaining  its  name. 
This  desert,  which  is  the  boundary  of  Syria  to  the 
south,  extends  itself  in  the  form  of  a  peninsula  be- 
tween the  two  gulfs  of  the  Red  sea  ;  that  of  Suez  to 
the  west,  and  that  of  El-Akaba  to  the  east.  Its 
breadth  is  ordinarily  thirty  leagues,  and  its  length 
seventy.  This  great  space  is  almost  entirely  filled 
by  barren  mountains,  which  join  those  of  Syria  on 
the  north,  and,  like  them,  consist  wholly  of  calcareous 
stone  ;  but  as  we  advance  to  the  southward,  they  be- 
come granitic,  and  Sinai  and  Horeb  arc  only  enor- 
mous masses  of  that  stone.  Hence  it  was  the 
ancients  called  this  country  Arabia  Petrea.  The 
soil  in  general  is  a  dry  gravel,  producing  nothing  but 
thorny  acacias,  tamarisks,  firs,  and  a  few  scattered 
shrubs.  Springs  are  very  rare,  and  the  few  we  meet 
with  are  sometimes  sulphureous  and  thermal,  as  at 
Hammam-Faraoun  ;  at  others,  brackish  and  disagree- 
able, as  at  El-Nal>a,  opposite  Suez  ;  this  saline  qual- 
ity ])revails  throughout  the  country,  and  there  are 
niines  of  fossil  salt  in  the  northern  jiarts.  In  some 
of  the  valleys,  however,  the  soil,  becoming  better,  as 
it  is  formed  of  the  earth  Avashed  from  the  rocks,  is 
cultivable,  after  the  winter  rains,  and  may  almost  be 
styled  fertile.  Such  is  the  vale  of  Djirandel,  in 
which  there  are  even  groves  of  trees.  Such  also  is 
the  vale  of  Faran,  where  the  Bedouins  say  there  are 
ruins  ;  which  can  be  no  other  than  those  of  the  an- 
cient city  of  that  name.  In  former  times,  every  ad- 
vantage was  made  of  this  country  that  could  be 
obtained  from  it ;  but  at  present,  abandoned  to  na- 
ture, or  rather  to  barbarism,  it  produces  nothing  but 
wild  herbs.  Yet,  with  such  scanty  provision,  this 
desert  subsists  three  tribes  of  Bedouins,  consisting  of 
about  five  or  six  thousand  Arabs,  dispersed  in  vari 
ous  parts."     (Travels,  vol.  ii.  p.  341.) 

ADDITIONS    BY  THE    AMERICAN  EDITOR. 

[There  are  some  things  in  the  preceding  state- 
ments which  require  remark,  before  we  ])roceed  to 
give  the  grounds  of  a  difterent  view  in  respect  to  the 
journeyings  of  the  children  of  Israel,  especially  after 
leaving  mount  Sinai.  For  the  sites  of  Marah  and 
52 


Elim,  which  seem  to  be  incorrectly  given  above,  see 
the  remarks  below,  on  j).  410,  411. 

What  is  said  above  of  Rephidim,  and  of  the  rock  of 
Meribah,  depends  solely  on  the  legends  of  the  monks 
of  the  monastery  of  mount  Siuai  ;  and  tlierclbre 
may,  or  may  not,  be  true.  But  in  resj)ect  to  tiie  wil- 
derness of  Faran,  it  seems  hardly  probable  that  this 
is  to  be  found  in  the  Wady  of  Feiran  or  Faran,  (as 
is  supposed  above,)  a  large  valley  extending  iiom  the 
vicinity  of  mount  Sinai  north-west  to  the  gulf  of  Suez. 
From  Paran  the  sj)ies  were  sent  out  to  survey  the 
land  of  Canaan  ;  (Num.  xiii.  3.)  and  they  rttunud 
again  "to  the  congregation  of  the  childnn  of  Israrl, 
unto  the  wilderness  of  Paran  to  Kadtsli ;"  which 
evidently  implies  that  the  desert  of  Paran  was  adja- 
cent to  Kadesh  Barnea.  Burckhariit  therefore  ji.siiy 
remarks,  (p.  CI 8.)  that  "  Paran  UiUSt  i)e  iooketi  U,r  in 
the  desert  west  of  Wady  Wousa,  and  the  touili  <.f 
Aaron,  which  is  shown  there  ;"  i.  e.  adjacent  to  Pal- 
estine on  the  south.  Besides,  in  removing  from 
Sinai,  the  Israelites  went  first  three  days'  journ<y, 
and  then  removed  again  twice,  before  diey  pitehe(i 
in  the  wilderness  of  Paran,  (Num.  x.  33;xii.  K;.) — 
which  does  not  at  all  accord  with  the  above  hyiioth- 
esis  respecting  Wady  Feiran. 

In  respect  to  the  three  routes  above  suggested, 
from  Sinai  to  Canaan,  they  rest  upon  conjecture  ;  and 
there  is  no  probability  that  the  Israelites  returned 
from  Sinai  over  any  portion  of  the  route  they  had 
travelled  in  reaching  it ;  they  appear  rather  to  have 
taken  a  direct  course  towards  Kadesh  Barnea,  as  in- 
deed is  stated  in  Deut.  i.  19.  The  Libnah  mentioned 
in  Num.  xxxiii.  20,  appears  to  have  been  a  station 
somewhere  near  this  ; — that  it  was  the  Libnah  which* 
Joshua  afterwards  smote,  (Josh.  x.  29, 30.)  as  is  above 
supjjosed,  is  not  only  not  supported  by  any  evidence, 
but  would  seem  to  be  impossible  ;  for  this  Libnah  is 
evidently  spoken  of  as  near  Makkedah,  and  is  so 
marked  in  all  maps,  and  was  therefore  situated  in  the 
plain  of  Judah,  a  short  distance  south-west  from 
Jerusalem. 

The  command  of  Jehovah  was,  "Turn  you,  and 
get  you  into  the  wilderness  by  the  way  of  the  Red 
sea,"  Num.  xiv.  25 ;  and  he  also  said  to  the  Israel- 
ites, "Your  carcasses  shall  fall  in  this  wilderness  ;  and 
your  children  shall  wander  in  the  wilderness  forty 
years  ;"  xiv.  32.  Does  this  look  like  a  command  to 
turn  by  the  way  of  the  Mediterranean  sea,  as  is  sug- 
gested above  ?  '  Had  the  Israelites  come  in  sight  of 
the  Mediterranean,  or  even  approached  it,  can  wc 
suppose  this  fact  would  not  have  been  mention- 
ed by  the  sacred  historian  ?  Or  that,  had  they  re- 
turned to  the  western  head  of  the  Red  sea,  the  very 
place  where  they  had  miraculously  passed  through 
it,  this  too  would  have  been  passed  over  without  any 
notice  ?  How  different  from  this  is  the  representa- 
tion of  Moses,  in  Deut.  ii.  1  ;  "Then  we  turned  (from 
Kadesh  Bannui,)  and  took  our  journey  into  the  wil- 
derness l)y  the  way  of  the  Red  sea,  as  the  Lord 
spake  unto  me ;  and  ice  compassed  7uoimt  Seir  many 
days ;  i.  e.  the  thirty-eight  years  of  wandering  in  the 
desert  (verse  14)  were  speiit  in  traversing  the  eastern 
part  of  it,  adjacent  to  the  Ghor  and  mount  Seir;  andnof 
in  traversing  the  western  jiart  between  the  Mediterra- 
nean and  Suez.  Hence,  the  supposition  above  made, 
that  the  station  Mosera  is  the  present  "fountains  of 
Moses,"  nearly  opposite  Suez,  falls  to  the  ground. 
See  under  Aaron. 

We  are  now  ]irepared  to  present  the  view  which 
we  have  taken  of  the  journeyings  of  the  Israelites 
through  the  deserts,  after  having  passed  through  the 


EXODUS 


[  410  ] 


EXODUS 


Red  sea  near  Suez,  as  we  suppose.  Indeed,  this 
point  would  seem  now  to  be  very  clearly  established, 
after  the  researches  of  Niebuhr,  with  whose  opinion 
Burckliardt  coincides,  and  the  discussion  of  the  tojj- 
ic  by  Prof.  Stuart  in  his  Course  of  Hebrew  Study, 
above  referred  to. 

From  the  passage  of  the  Red  sea  to  mount  Sinai, 
the  stations  of  the  Israelites  mentioned  between  the 
passage  of  the  Red  sea  and  Sinai,  arc,  (1.)  IMarali, 
after  a  march  of  three  days  througli  the  wilderness 
of  Shur.  Here  the  water  was  bitter,  and  the  Lord 
showed  Moses  a  tree,  which  when  he  had  cast  into 
the  waters,  they  were  made  sweet,  Ex.  xv.  22,  seq. 
(2.)  Elini,  with  twelve  wells  of  water,  and  seventy 
palm  trees,  Ex.  xv.  27. — (3.)  Encampment  by  the 
sea-shore,  Num.  xxxiii.  10. — (4.)  The  wilderness  of 
Sin,  between  Elim  and  Sinai,  where  manna  was  first 
given,  Ex.  xvi.  1. — (5.)  Dophkah. — (6.)  Alush. — 
(7.)  Rcpliidim,  called  also  Massah  and  Meribah,  Ex. 
xvii.  1 — 7. — (8.)  Sinai.  Among  these,  of  Ilephidim 
it  can  only  be  said,  tliat  it  was  near  Sinai,  probably 
on  tlie  west .  or  nortll-^vest  of  that  mountain  ;  in 
wliicJi  direction  tlie  Israelites  must  have  approached 
Sinai.  Dophkah  and  Alush  are  not  mentioned  in 
Exodus,  and  nothing  more  can  be  known  about 
them.  The  other  stations  it  will  be  less  difficult  to 
trace.  We  cannot  do  better  than  to  take  Buixkhardt 
as  our  guide,  who  travelled  over  the  same  route  in 
tlie  year  1816.  As  the  whole  subject  is  interesting, 
our  extracts  will  be  copious.  (See  Burckhardt's 
Travels  in  Syria,  etc.  p.  470,  seq.) 

On  the  26th  of  A})ril,  Burckliardt  left  Suez.  "  The 
tide  was  then  at  flood,  and  we  were  obliged  to  make 
the  tour  of  the  whole  creek  north  of  the  town,  which 
at  low  water  can  be  forded.  [Here  we  suppose  the 
Israelites  to  have  crossed.]  In  winter  time,  and  im- 
mediately after  the  rainy  season,  this  circuit  is  ren- 
dered still  greater,  because  the  low  grounds  to  the 
northward  of  the  creek  are  then  inundated,  and  be- 
come so  swampy,  that  the  camels  cannot  pass  them. 
We  rode  one  hour  and  three  quarters  in  a  straight 
line  northwards,  after  passing,  close  by  the  town,  sev- 
eral mounds  of  rubbish,  which  aftbrd  no  object  of 
curiosity  except  a  few  large  stones,  supposed  to  be 
the  ruins  of  Clijsma  or  Jlrsinoi'.  We  then  turned 
eastwards,  just  at  the  point  where  the  remains  of  the 
ancient  canal  are  very  distinctly  visible  ;  two  swell- 
ings of  the  ground,  of  which  the  eastern  is  about 
eight  or  ten  i'cet  higii,  and  the  western  somewhat 
less,  run  in  a  straight  line  northwards,  parallel  with 
each  other,  at  the  distance  of  about  twenty-three  feet. 
They  begin  at  a  few  hundred  paces  to  the  north- 
west of  high -water  mark,  from  wlience  northwards 
the  ground  is  covered  by  a  saline  crust.  We  turned 
the  point  of  this  inlet,  and  halted  for  a  short  time  at 
the  wells  of  Ayoun  Mousa,  the  fountains  of  Moses, 
under  tlie  date-trees.  We  rested  [for  the  night]  at 
two  hours  and  three  (piarters  from  the  wells,  in  the 
plain  called  El  Kordliye,"  Mr.  Carne  remarks,  that 
these  fountains  arc;  a  "  few  hours"  distant  from  the 
head  of  tlie  creek  aliove  mentioned  ;  and  this  also 
accords  with  iJurckhardt's  statement ;  for  except  the 
one  liour  and  tlireo  quarters  in  the  morning,  and  two 
hours  and  three  quarters  in  the  afternoon,  the  rest  of 
tlie  day  was  spent  in  jiassing  lietween  those  two 
points.  Nieliuhr  reckons  them  to  be  six  miles  south 
of  the  point  opposite  .Suez,  (Reiseb.  i.  p.  225.) 
♦-.  Here,  not  improbably,  the  Hebrews  rested,  after  the 
passage  through  the  sea ;  when  Moses  and  the  peo- 
ple sang  their  triumplial  song.  Hence  "they  went 
out  into  tho  wilderness  of  Shur,  and  went  three  days 


in  the  wilderness,  and  found  no  wafer,"  Ex.  xv.  22. 
With  this  corresponds  the  account  of  Burckhardt. 
'■'■  April  2Qth.  We  proceeded  over  a  barren,  sand j% 
and  gravelly  plain,  called  El  Ahtha,  direction  south 
by  east.  For  about  an  hour  the  plain  was  uneven ; 
we  then  entered  upon  a  widely  extended  flat,  in 
which  we  continued  south-south-east.  Low  moun- 
tains, the  commencement  of  the  chain  of  Tyh,  run 
parallel  with  the  road,  to  the  left,  about  eight  miles 
distant.  At  the  end  of  four  hours  and  a  half,  we 
halted  for  a  few  hours  in  Wady  Seder,  which  takes 
its  name  of  Wady  only  from  being  overflowed  with 
water  when  the  rains  are  very  copious.  Its  natural 
formation  by  no  means  entitles  it  to  be  called  a  val- 
ley, its  level  being  only  a  few  feet  lower  than  that  of 
the  desei-t  on  both  sides.  Some  thorny  trees  grow 
in  it,  but  no  herbs  for  pasture.  We  continued  our 
way  south  by  east  over  the  plain,  which  was  alter- 
nately gravelly)  sandy,  and  stony.  At  the  end  of 
seven  hours  and  a  half  we  reached  W^ady  Wardan, 
a  valley  or  bed  of  a  torrent,  similar  in  its  nature  to 
the  former,  but  broader.  Near  its  extremity,  at  the 
sea  side,  it  is  several  miles  in  breadth.  A  low  chain 
of  sand-hills  begins  here  to  the  west,  near  the  sea ; 
and  the  eastern  mountains  apjiroach  the  road.  At 
nine  hours  and  a  half,  south-south-east,  the  eastern 
mountains  form  a  junction  with  the  western  hills. 
At  ten  hours  we  entered  a  liilly  country  ;  at  ten 
hours  and  three  quarters  we  rested  for  the  night  in  a 
barren  valley  among  the  hills,  called  Wady  Amara. 
We  met  with  nobody  in  this  route  except  a  party  of 
Yeinbo  merchants,  who  had  landed  at  Tor,  and  were 
travelling  to  Cairo. 

'■'•April  27th.  We  travelled  over  uneven,  hilly 
ground,  gravelly  and  flinty.  At  one  hour  and  three 
quarters,  we  passed  the  well  of  Howara,  around 
which  a  few  date-trees  gi-ow.  Niebuhr  travelled  the 
same  route,  but  his  guides  probably  did  not  lead  him 
to  this  Well,  which  lies  among  hills  about  two  hun- 
dred paces  out  of  the  road.  The  water  of  the  well 
of  Howara  is  so  bitter,  that  men  cannot  drink  it ; 
and  even  camels,  if  not  very  thirsty,  refuse  to  taste 
it."  This  well  Burckhardt  justly  supposes  to  be  the 
Mai'ali  of  the  Israelites;  and  in  this  opinion  Mr. 
Leake,  Gesenius,  and  Rosenmiiller,  concur. 

"  From  Ayoun  Mousa  to  the  well  of  Howara  we 
had  travelled  fifteen  hours  and  a  quarter.  Referring 
to  this  distance,  it  ai)pears  probable  that  this  is  the 
desert  of  three  days  mentioned  in  the  Scriptures  to 
have  been  crossed  by  the  Israelites  immediately  after 
their  passing  the  Red  sea  ;  and  at  the  end  of  which 
they  arrived  at  Marali.  In  moving  with  a  whole  na- 
tion, the  march  may  well  be  supposed  to  have  occu- 
pied three  days  ;  and  the  bitter  well  at  ]Marah,  \vhich 
was  sweetened  by  Moses,  corresponds  exactly  to  that 
at  Howara.  This  is  the  usual  route  to  mount  Sinai, 
and  was  probably,  tliercforo,  that  which  the  Israel- 
ites took  on  their  escape  from  Egyjjt,  jirovided  it  be 
admitted  that  they  crossed  the  sea  at  Suez,  as  Nie- 
buhr, with  good  reason,  conjectures.  There  is  no 
other  road  of  three  days'  march  in  the  way  from 
Suez  towards  Sinai,  nor  is  there  arc  any  other  well 
absolutely  bitter  on  the  whole  of  this  coast.  The 
complaints  of  the  bitterness  of  the  water  by  the  chil- 
dren of  Israel,  who  had  been  accustomed  to  the 
sweet  water  of  the  Nile,  are  such  as  may  be  daily 
heard  from  the  Egyptian  servants  and  peasants  who 
travel  in  Arabia.  Accustomed  from  their  youth  to 
the  excellent  water  of  the  Nile,  there  is  nothing 
which  they  so  much  regret  in  countries  distant  from 
Egypt ;  nor  is  there  any  eastern  jieople  who  feel  so 


EXODUS 


[  411  ] 


EXODUS 


keenly  tlic  want  ol"  good  water,  as  the  present  na- 
tives of  Egypt.  ^V'ith  respect  to  the  means  employ- 
ed hy  Moses  to  render  the  waters  of  the  well  sweet, 
I  have  frequently  inquired  among  the  Bedouins  in 
different  parts  of  Arabia,  whether  they  possessed 
any  means  of  effecting  such  a  change,  by  throwing 
wood  into  it,  or  by  any  other  process ;  but  I  never 
could  learn  that  such  an  art  was  known.  (See 
Marah.) 

"At  the  end  of  three  hours  we  reached  Wady 
Ghareudel,  which  extends  to  the  north-east,  and  is 
almost  a  mile  in  breadth,  and  full  of  trees.  The 
Arabs  told  me  that  it  may  be  traced  through  the 
whole  desert,  and  that  it  begins  at  no  great  distance 
from  El  Arysh,  on  the  IMediterranean  ;  but  I  had  no 
means  of  ascertaining  the  truth  of  this  statement. 
About  half  an  hour  from  the  place  where  we 
halted,  in  a  southern  direction,  is  a  copious  spring, 
with  a  small  rivulet,  which  renders  the  valley  the 
principal  station  on  this  i-oute.  The  water  is  disa- 
greeable, and  if  kept  for  a  night  in  the  water  skins, 
it  turns  bitter  and  spoils,  as  I  have  myself  experi- 
enced, having  ])assed  this  way  three  times.  If,  now, 
we  admit  Bir  Howara  to  be  the  Marah  of  Exodus,  (xv. 
23.)  then  Wady  Gharendel  is  probably  Elim,  with  its 
well  und  date-trees  ;  an  opinion  entertaineil  by  Nie- 
buhr,  who,  however,  did  not  see  the  bitter  well  of 
Howara.  The  non-existence,  at  present,  of  twelve 
wells  at  Gharendel  must  not  be  considered  as  evi- 
dence against  the  just-stated  conjecture  ;  for  Niebuhr 
says,  that  his  companions  obtained  water  here  by 
digging  to  a  very  small  depth,  and  there  was  great 
plenty  of  it  when  I  passed.  Water,  in  fact,  is  read- 
ily found  by  digging,  in  every  fertile  valley  in  Arabia, 
and  wells  are  thus  easily  formed,  which  are  ffUed  uj) 
again  by  the  sands. 

"  The  Wady  Gharendel  contains  date-trees,  tam- 
arisks, acacias  of  different  species,  and  the  thorny 
shrub  Gharkad,  the  Pegamtm  retusum  of  Forskal, 
which  is  extremely  common  in  this  peninsula,  and  is 
also  met  w'ith  in  the  sands  of  the  Delta  on  the  coast  of 
the  IMediterranean.  Its  small  red  berry,  of  the  size 
of  a  grain  of  the  pomegranate,  is  very  juicy  and  re- 
freshing, much  resembling  a  ripe  gooseberry  in  taste, 
but  not  so  sweet.  The  x-Vrabs  are  very  fond  of  it. 
The  shrub  Gharkad  delights  in  a  sandy  soil,  and 
reaches  its  maturity  in  the  height  of  sunmier,  when 
the  ground  is  parched  up,  exciting  an  agreeable  sur- 
prise in  the  traveller,  at  finding  so  juicy  a  berry  pro- 
duced in  the  driest  soil  and  season.  Might  not  the 
berry  of  this  shrub  have  been  used  by  Moses  to 
sweeten  the  waters  of  Marah  ?  [The  Hebrew  in 
Ex.  XV.  25,  reads:  "And  the  Lord  showed  him  a 
tree,  and  he  cast  into  the  waters,  and  they  became 
sweet."  The  Arabic;  translates,  "and  he  cast  of  it 
into  the  waters,"  &:c.]  As  this  conjecture  did  not 
occur  to  me  when  I  was  on  the  spot,  I  did  not  in- 
quire of  the  Bedouins,  whether  they  ever  sweetened 
the  water  with  the  juice  of  berries,  which  would 
probably  effect  this  change  in  the  same  manner  as 
the  juice  of  pomegranate  grains  expressed  into  it." 
See  Marah. 

From  Elim  the  children  of  Israel  "removed  and 
encamped  by  the  Red  sea,"  Num.  xxxiii.  10 ;  and 
then  "came  into  the  wilderness  of  Sin,  which  is  be- 
tween Elim  and  Sinai,"  Ex.  xvi.  1.  From  Elim, 
Burckhardt  says,  "  We  continued  in  a  south-east  half 
east  direction,  passing  over  hills  ;  and  at  the  end  of 
four  horns  from  our  starting  in  the  morning,  we 
came  to  an  open,  though  hilly  country,  still  slightly 
ascending,  south-south-east,  and   then  reached,  by  "a 


similar  descent,  in  five  hours  and  a  half,  Wady  Os- 
zaita,  enclosed  by  chalk  hills.  From  here  we  rode 
over  a  wide  plain  south-east  by  east,  and  at  the  end 
of  seven  hours  and  three  quarters  came  to  Wady 
Thale.  To  our  right  was  a  chain  of  mountains, 
which  extend  towards  Gharendel.  Proceeding  from 
hence  south,  we  turned  the  point  of  the  mountain, 
and  entered  the  valley  called  Wady  Taybe,  which 
descends  j-apidly  to  the  sea.  At  the  end  of  eight 
hours  and  u  half,  we  turned  out  of  AVady  Taybe  into 
a  branch  of  it,  called  Wady  Shebeyke,  in  which  we 
continued  east-south-east,  and  halted  for  the  night, 
after  a  day's  march  of  nine  horns  and  a  quarter."  Is 
this  Wady  Taybe,  which  "  descends  rapidly  to  the 
sea,"  the  place  of  encampment  by  the  sea  ?  It  would 
be  about  eight  hours,  or  twenty-four  miles,  from 
Elim,  a  somewhat  long  journey  for  a  multitude  of 
this  kind  ;  but  there  does  not  seem  to  be  a  nearer 
place  of  encampment  "by  the  sea,"  inasmuch  as  a 
"  chain  of  mountains"  runs  along  the  coast  to  this 
point. 

From  this  spot  Burckhardt  was  still  four  days  in 
reaching  the  convent  at  the  foot  of  Sinai.  The  way 
leads  through  several  Wadys  or  valleys,  and  the  trav- 
eller passes  from  one  to  another  of  these  valleys, 
sometimes  over  elevated  plains,  and  sometimes  over 
mountains  of  sand.  At  the  end  of  the  first  day 
(April  28th,)  they  "ascended  with  difficulty  a  steep 
mountain,  composed,  to  the  very  top,  of  moving  sands, 
with  a  very  few  rocks  api)earing  above  the  surface. 
We  reached  the  summit  after  a  day's  march  of  nine 
hours  and  three  quarters,  and  rested  upon  a  high 
plain,  called  Rand  el  Morah."  On  the  third  day, 
(April  30th,)  after  a  steep  ascent  and  descent,  which 
occupied  two  hours,  they  continued  to  "descend  into 
the  great  valley  called  Wady  el  Sheikh,  one  of  the 
principal  valleys  of  the  peninsula.  It  is  broad,  and 
has  a  very  slight  acclivity  ;  it  is  much  frequented  by 
Bedouins  for  its  pasturage.  Whenever  rain  falls  in 
the  mountains,  a  stream  of  water  flows  through  this 
wady,  and  from  thence  through  Wady  Feiran  hito 
the  sea."  May  Ave  not  regard  the  country  between 
Wady  Taybe  and  this  great  valley,  which  the  Israel- 
ites could  hardly  have  failed  to  visit,  as  the  desert  of 
Sin  ?  M.  Riippel  says  in  general  of  the  route  from 
Wady  Sheikh  to  Suez  through  the  Wadys  and  desert 
plains  of  Ramie,  Hemar,  Tie,  and  Gharendel,  as  being 
very  uninteresting,  although  described  by  many  trav- 
ellers. "In  one  word,"  he  says,  "it  is  a  most  fright- 
ful desert,  almost  wholly  without  vegetation."  (p.  269.) 

If  we  regard  this,  then,  as  the  wilderness  of  Sin, 
the  stations  Dophkah  and  Alush  may  be  supposed 
to  have  been  in  the  great  valleys  El  Sheikh  and 
Feiran.  The  latter  of  these  is  a  continuation  of  the 
former,  which  connnenccs  in  the  vicinity  of  Sinai, 
on  its  north-western  side,  and  is  prolonged  in  a  north- 
westerly direction  to  the  gulf  of  Suez.  Burckhardt 
fell  into  it  on  his  retin-n,  a  little  lower  doAvn.  "  I 
found  it  here,"  he  says,  "of  the  same  noble  breadth 
as  it  is  above,  and  in  many  parts  it  was  thickly  over- 
grown with  the  tamarisk  or  Tarfa  ;  it  is  the  only  val- 
ley in  the  peninsula  where  this  tree  grows  at  present, 
in  any  great  quantity  ;  though  small  bushes  of  it  are 
here  and  there  met  with  in  other  parts.  It  is  from 
the  Tarfa  that  the  manna  is  obtained."  p.  599.  (See 
Manna.)  "We  descended  this  valley  north-west  by 
west,  and  at  the  end  of  four  hours  we  entered  the 
plantations  of  Wady  Feiran  through  a  wood  of 
tamarisks.  Tl*is  is  a  continuation  of  Wady  el 
Sheikh,  and  is  considered  the  finest  valley  of  the 
whole  peninsula.     From  the  upper  extremity,  an  un- 


EXODUJj 


[41^  ] 


EXODLS 


interrupted  row  of  gardens  and  date  plantations  ex- 
tends downwards  for  four  miles.  In  almost  every 
garden  is  a  well,  by  means  of  which  the  grounds  are 
irrigated  the  whole  year  round."  (p.  602.)  Tliis  is  the 
valley  desci-ibed  above  (p.  405.)  by  Niebuhr  under  the 
name  of  Faran,  through  which  the  Israehtcs,  doubt- 
less, passed  on  their  way  to  Sinai  after  leaving  the 
desert  of  Sin  ;  but  which  they  probably  did  not  pass 
through  on  their  way  from  Sinai  to  Kadesh,  as  it  would 
be  far  out  of  their  direct  course.  Here  they  could 
not  want  for  water  ;  nor  did  they  murmur  on  this  ac- 
count until  they  came  to  Rephidim,  which  was  most 
probably  higher  up  among  the  mountains,  and  near 
the  western  base  of  Sinai  itself. 

The  upper  region  of  Sinai  forms  an  irregular  cir- 
cle of  thirty  or  forty  miles  in  diameter,  possessing 
numerous  sources  of  water,  a  temperate  climate,  and 
a  soil  capable  of  supporting  animal  and  vegetable 
nature.  This  therefore  was  the  part  of  the  peninsu- 
la best  adapted  to  the  residence  of  nearly  a  year,  dur- 
ing which  the  Israelites  were  numbered,  and  received 
their  laws  from  the  Most  High.  This  tract  is  thus 
described  by  Burckhardt.  "The  upper  nucleus  of 
Sinai,  composed  almost  entirely  of  granite,  fornjs  a 
rocky  wilderness  of  an  irregular  circular  shape,  in- 
tersected by  many  narrow  valleys,  and  fi-om  thirty  to 
forty  miles  in  diameter.  It  contains  the  highest 
mountains  of  the  peninsula,  whose  shagged  and  point- 
ed peaks,  and  steep  and  shattered  sides,  render  it 
clearly  distinguishable  from  all  the  rest  of  the  coun- 
try in  view.  It  is  upon  this  higliest  i-egion  of  the 
peninsula,  that  the  fertile  valleys  are  found,  which 
produce  fruit-trees;  they  are  principally  to  the  west 
and  south-west  of  the  convent,  at  three  or  four  hours' 
distance.  Water,  too,  is  always  found  in  plenty  in  this 
district ;  on  which  account  it  is  the  place  of  i-efuge 
of  all  the  Bedouins,  when  the  low  country  is  parch- 
ed up.  I  think  it  probable,  that  this  upper  country 
or  wilderness  is,  exclusively,  the  desert  of  Sinai  so 
often  mentioned  in  the  account  of  the  wanderings  of 
the  Israelites."  In  ajjproaching  this  elevated  region 
from  the  north-west,  Burckhardt  writes.  May  1st, 
"We  now  approached  the  central  summits  of  mount 
Sinai,  which  we  had  had  in  view  for  several  days. 
Al)riipt  cliffs  of  granite  from  six  to  eight  hiuidred 
feet  in  height,  whose  surface  is  blackened  by  the  sun, 
surroimd  the  avenues  leading  to  the  elevated  region, 
to  which  the  name  of  Sinai  is  specifically  applied. 
These  cliffs  enclose  the  holy  mountain  on  three  sides, 
leaving  the  east  and  noitli-east  sides  only,  tov>"ards 
the  gulf  of  Akaba,  more  open  to  the  view.  At  the 
end  of  three  hours  we  entered  these  cliffs  by  a  nar- 
row (hifile  about  forty  feet  in  breadth,  with  perpen- 
dicular grjinite  rocks  on  both  sides.  The  gi-ound  is 
covered  with  sand  and  pebbles,  brought  down  by 
the  torrent  which  rushes  from  the  upper  region  in 
the  winter  time."  (Compare  also  the  account  of  Nie- 
buhr, Descr.  of  Araliia,  p.  401.) 

The  general  approach  to  Sinai  from  the  same 
quarter  is  thus  described  by  Mr.  Carnc  (Letter  i. 
p.  208.)  "A  few  hours  more,  and  we  got  sight  of 
the  mountains  round  Sinai.  Their  a])pearance  was 
magnificent.  Wlien  we  drew  near  and  emerged  out 
of  a  deep  pass,  the  scenery  A-^as  infinitely  striking; 
and  on  the  right  e-xtended  a  vast  range  of  mountains, 
as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach,  from  the  vicinity  of 
Sinai  down  to  Tor  [on  the  gulf  of  Suez.]  They 
were  perfectly  bare,  but  of  graiul  and  singular  form. 
We  had  hoped  to  reach  the  confent  i)y  daylight, 
buttlie  moon  had  risen  some  time,  when  we  entered 
th')   mouth  of  a  narrow  patis,  where  our  conductors 


advised  us  to  dismount.  A  gentle  yet  perpetual  as- 
cent led  on,  mile  after  mile,  up  this  mournful  valley, 
whose  aspect  was  terrific,  yet  ever  varying.  It  was 
not  above  two  hundred  yards  in  width,  and  the 
mountains  rose  to  an  immense  height  on  each  side. 
The  road  wound  at  their  feet  along  the  edge  of  a 
precipice,  and  amidst  masses  of  rock  that  had  fallen 
from  above.  It  was  a  toilsome  path,  generally  over 
stones  placed  like  steps,  probably  by  the  Arabs ;  and 
the  moonlight  was  of  little  service  to  us  in  this 
deep  valley,  as  it  only  rested  on  the  frowning  summits 
above.  Where  is  mount  Sinai  ?  Avas  the  inquiry  of 
every  one.  The  Arabs  ])ointed  before  to  Gebel 
Mousa,  the  mount  of  Moses,  as  it  is  called ;  but  wo 
could  not  distinguish  it.  Again  and  again,  point 
after  point  was  turned,  and  v.e  saw  but  the  same 
stern  scener}^  But  what  had  tlie  beauty  and  soft- 
ness of  nature  to  do  here  ?  IMount  Sinai  required 
an  appi-oach  like  this,  where  ail  seemed  to  proclaim 
the  land  of  miracles,  and  to  have  been  visited  by  the 
terrors  of  the  Lord.  The  scenes,  as  you  gazed 
around,  had  an  unearthly  character,  suited  to  the 
sound  of  the  fearful  trumpet,  that  was  once  heard 
there.  We  entered  at  last  on  the  more  open  valley, 
about  half  a  mile  wide,  and  drew  near  this  famous 
mountain.  Sinai  is  not  so  lofty  as  some  of  the 
mountains  around  it ;  and  in  its  form  thej'c  is  noth- 
ing gniceful  or  peculiar,  to  distinguish  it  from  others. 
Near  midnight  we  reached  the  convent." 

M.  Riippeli,  in  travelling  from  Akaba  to  the  con- 
vent, approached  Sinni  from  the  north-north-east, 
through  the  Wadys  Safraii  and  Salaka.  "The  na- 
kedness of  the  landscape  is  frightfully  mournful. 
In  the  distance  lay  before  lis  a  lofty  chain  of  moun- 
tains ;  and  three  summits  lift  their  heads  above  the 
whole  chain.  That  in  the  middle,  directly  before  us 
south,  is  Gebel  IMousa  or  Sinai  ;  the  south-western 
is  St.  Catharine,  the  Horebof  some.  We  penetrated 
into  this  chain  from  the  north  ;  very  soon  we  turned 
towards  the  east;  all  is  here  of  perpendicular  and 
ragged  granite  formation.  After  some  hours  we 
reached  the  walls  of  the  convent  of  St.  Cathaiine, 
situated  in  a  very  narrow  valley  or  chasm  of  the 
mountains,  which  extends  from  north-^vest  to  south- 
east. One  chief  object  of  my  visit  here  was  to  de- 
termine the  geographical  position  of  the  convent  by 
means  of  lunar  observations ;  but  the  mountains 
around  the  convent,  especially  to  the  south  and 
west,  are  so  lofly  and  perpendicidar,  that  the  moon 
was  visible  only  for  a  very  short  time  ;  and  never  at 
the  same  time  with  the  sun  or  planets."  (p.  257.) 

"The  convent  is  situated,"  according  to  Burck- 
hardt, "in  a  valley  so  narrow,  th.at  one  part  of  the 
building  stands  on  the  side  of  the  [south]  western 
mountain,  [Gebel  Mousa,]  while  a  space  of  twenty 
paces  only  is  left  betv.een  its  walls  and  the  eastern 
mountain.  The  valley  is  open  to  the  north,  fiom 
whence  approaches  the  road  from  Cairo  ;  to  the 
south,  close  bcycnd  the  convent,  it  is  shut  u])  bj-  a 
third  mountain,  less  steep  than  the  others,  over  whith 
passes  the  road  to  Sheru).  The  convent  is  an  irreg- 
ular quadrangle  of  about  one  hnndi-ed  and  thirty 
paces,  enclosed  by  hig'i  and  solid  v.alls,  built  with 
blocks  of  granite,  and  fortified  by  several  small  tow- 
ers. The  convent  contains  eight  or  ten  small  court 
yards,  some  of  which  are  neatly  laid  out  in  beds  of 
flowers  and  vegetables  ;  a  few  date-trees  and  cypress- 
es also  grow  there,  and  great  numbers  of  vines."  (p. 
541.)  "In  the  convent  arc  two  deep  and  copious 
wells  of  spring  water.  A  pleasant  garden  adjoins 
the  building,  into  which  there  Is  a  subteiraneous 


EXODUS 


[  41.3  ] 


EXODLS 


passage ;  the  soil  is  stony ;  but  in  this  chmate, 
wherever  water  is  plenty,  the  very  rocks  will  pro- 
duce vegetation.  The  fruit  is  of  the  finest  quality." 
(p.  544,  549.)  According  to  tradition,  the  convent 
dates  from  the  fourth  century,  when  the  empress 
Helena  is  said  to  have  built  a  cliurch  here  ;  but  the 
present  l>uilding  was  erected  by  the  emperor  Justin- 
ian, in  the  sixth  century. 

Directly  behind  the  convent,  towards  the  south- 
west, (Niebuhr  Reiscb.  i.  247.)  rises  Gcbel  Mousa,  or 
the  proper  Sinai ;  the  path  to  the  simmiit  of  which 
begins  to  ascend  immediately  behind  the  walls  of  the 
convent.  At  the  end  of  three  quarters  of  an  hour's 
steep  ascent  is  a  small  plain,  on  which  is  a  large 
building  called  the  convent  of  St.  Elia:^,  formerly  in- 
habited, but  now  abandoned.  "According  to  the 
Koran  and  the  ^Moslem  traditions,  it  was  in  this  part 
of  the  mountain,  which  is  now  called  Djebel  Oreb, 
or  Horeb,  that  Moses  communicated  with  the  Lord." 
(Burekhardt,  p.  566.)  Is  not  this,  perhaps,  the  real 
Horeb,  v/hicJi  indeed  seems  in  tiie  Scriptures  to  be 
synonymous  with  Sinai  ?  From  hence  a  still  steeper 
ascent  of  half  an  hour  leads  to  the  summit  of  Djebel 
Mousa.  The  view  liom  this  summit  is  very  grand. 
BIr.  Carne  says,  "Sinai  has  four  summils  ;  and  that 
of  Mosps  stands  almost  in  the  middle  of  the  others, 
and  is  not  visible  from  below."  (p.  221.)  Burek- 
hardt also  speaks  of  a  mosque  on  a  lower  peak, 
about  thirty  i)aces  distant  from  the  church  on  the 
proper  suaunit,  which  is  a  plain  of  about  sixty  paces 
in  circund'erence.  To  the  west-south-west  of  Sinai 
lies  mount  St.  Catharine,  separated  from  the  former 
by  a  narrow  valley,  in  which  is  situated  a  deserted 
convent,  called  El  Erbayin,  or  the  convent  of  the  For- 
ty. The  eastern  side  of  mount  St.  Catharine  is  not- 
ed for  its  excellent  pasturage;  herbs  sprout  up  every 
where  between  the  rocks,  and,  as  many  of  them  are 
odoriferous,  the  scent  early  in  the  morning,  when 
the  dew  falls,  is  delicious.  A  slow  ascent  of  two 
hours  brought  Burekhardt  to  the  top  of  the  mountain  ; 
"which,  like  the  Djebel  Mousa,  terminates  in  asharj) 
point.  Its  highest  part  consists  of  a  single  immense 
block  of  granite,  whose  surface  is  so  smooth,  that  it 
is  very  difficidt  to  ascend  it.  Luxuriant  vegetation 
reaches  up  to  this  rock."  (p.  574.)  This  mountain  is 
higher  than  that  of  Moses  ;  the  view  from  its  sum- 
mit is  of  the  same  kind,  onlj^  nuu-h  more  extensive, 
than  from  the  top  of  Sinai  ;  it  commands  a  view  of 
some  parts  of  the  t^^■o  gulfs  of  Akaba  and  Suez.  It 
is  in  this  valley,  between  the  two  mountains,  where 
the  convent  El  Erbayin  stands,  that  tlic  site  of 
Rephidim  has  been  fixed  by  tradition  ;  about  twenty 
minutes' walk  nortlnvard  from  tJiis  convent  is  shown 
the  rock  out  of  which  water  is  said  to  have  issued. 
The  valley  is  now  called  El  Lcdja,  is  very  narrow, 
and  extremely  ntoiiy  ;  and  at  foriy  minutes'  walk 
north-eastward  from  El  Erbayin,  it  opens  into  the 
broader  valley  which  leads  south-eastward  to  the 
convent  of  St.  Catharine.  At  this  point,  i.  e.  on  the 
northern  side  of  Sinai,  the  valley  has  considerable 
width,  and  constitutes,  according  to  Mr.  Carne,  (j). 
227.)  a  plain  capable  of  containing  a  large  nimiber  of 
people.  Ho  remarks,  (p.  222.)  "From  the  summit 
of  Sinai  you  see  only  iiniuujerable  ranges  of  rocky 
mountains.  One  generally  places,  in  imagination, 
around  Sinai,  extensive  plains  or  sandy  deserts,  where 
the  camp  of  the  hosts  was  placed,  where  the  families 
of  Israel  stood  at  the  doors  of  their  tents,  and  the  line 
was  drawn  round  the  mountain,  which  no  one  might 
break  through  on  pain  of  death.  But  it  is  not  thus. 
Save   the   valley  by  which   we   approached   Sinai, 


about  half  a  niile  wide  and  a  few  iniles  in  length,  and 
a  small  plain  we  afterwards  passed  through,  [just 
above  mentioned,]  there  appear  to  be  few  open  places 
around  the  mount."  He  says  further  on,  (p.  258,) 
"We  had  not  the  opportunity  of  making  the  tour  of 
the  whole  of  the  region  of  Sinai ;  yet  we  traversed 
three  sides  of  the  mountain,  [the  east,  west,  and 
north,]  and  found  it  every  where  shut  in  by  narrow 
ravines,  except  on  the  north,  in  which  direction  wc  i 
had  first  a|jproached  it.  Here  there  is,  as  before  ob-  ]/ 
served,  a  valley  of  some  extent,  and  a  small  plain,  in 
the  midst  of  which  is  a  rocky  hill.  These  ap-pear  to 
have  been  the  only  places  in  which  the  Israelites 
could  have  stood  before  the  mount ;  because  on  the 
fourth  [or  south]  side,  though  unvisited,  we  could 
observe  from  the  summit,  were  only  glens  or  small 
rocky  valleys,  as  on  the  east  and  west." 

Such  is  the  most  graphic  account  which  the  writer 
has  been  able  to  compile,  from  the  accoimts  of  trav- 
ellers, of  that  celebrated  region  of  which  the  summit 
Djebel  Mousa  is  the  centre ;  and  which  has  now  for 
centuries  been  supposed  to  be  the  Sinaiof  the  Scrip- 
tures, and  the  scene  of  the  awful  communications 
between  God  and  his  covenant  people  of  old,  in  the 
giving  of  the  law.  It  must  not,  however,  be  denied, 
that  the  identity  of  thisnioimtain  rests  upon  tradition, 
strengthened  indeed  by  its  geographical  position  and 
several  other  circumstances ;  ^vhile  some  other  cir- 
cumstances seem  to  indicate  a  tradition  of  a  still  ear- 
lier date  in  favor  of  another  mountain,  mount  Serbal, 
situated  some  distance  to  the  west-north-west  of 
Djebel  Idousa.  According  to  Burekhardt,  "it  is  sep- 
arated from  the  u])per  [region  of]  Sinai  by  some 
valleys,  especially  Wady  Ilebran  ;  and  it  forms,  with 
several  neighboring  mountains,  a  separate  chistei', 
terminating  in  peaks,  the  highest  of  which  appears 
to  be  as  high  as  mount  St.  Catharine.  It  borders  on 
Wady  Feiran,"  (p.  575.)  He  afterwards  ascended 
this  mountain,  and  writes  of  it  as  follows:  "The 
fact  of  so  many  inscriptions  being  found  upon  the 
rocks  near  the  summit  of  this  mountain,  together 
with  the  existence  of  the  road  [steps]  leading  up  to 
the  jjeak,  afTord  strong  reasons  for  jiresuming  that 
the  Serbal  v/as  an  ancient  place  of  devotion.  It 
will  be  recollected  iliat  no  inscriptions  are  found 
either  on  the  mountain  of  Moses,  or  on  mount  St. 
Catharine.  Fronj  these  circumstances,  I  am  per- 
suaded that  mount  Serbal  was  at  one  period  the  chief 
place  of  j)ilgrimage  in  the  peninsula;  and  that  it  was 
then  considered  the  moimtain  where  i\ioses  received 
the  tables  cf  the  law;  iJioiigJi  J  am  equally  convinced, 
from  a  perusal  of  the  Scriptures,  that  the  Israelites  en- 
camped in  the  upper  Sinai,  and  that  either  Djebel  Mou- 
sa or  the  mcitnt  St.  Catharine  is  the  real  Horeb.  At 
present  neither  the  monks  of  mount  Sinai  nor  those 
of  Cairo  consider  mount  Serbal  as  the  scene  of  any 
events  of  s;icred  history  ;  nor  have  the  Bedouins  any 
tradition  among  them  respecting  it,"  (j).  608,  609.)  To 
the  opinion  of  this  very  intelligent  nud  judicious  trav- 
eller, formed  from  personal  observation  on  the  spot, 
we  may  well  yield  our  assent ;  esj>eciaily  as  the 
foundation  of  the  present  convent  dates  back  to  the 
foiu'th  century. 

The  children  of  Israel  left  Egypt  on  the  fifteenth 
day  of  the  first  month  of  the  sacred  year,  on  the 
morning  after  the  i)assover,  (Nuuj.xxxiii.  'S'S.)  that  is 
to  say,  about  the  middle  of  April.  They  reached 
Sinai  in  the  third  month  ;  (Ex.  xiii.  1.)  and  the  ex- 
pression, "the  same  da\^  came  they  to  Sinai,"  would 
seem  to  imply  that  they  reached  the  mountain  on  the 
fifteenth  of  the  third  month,  or  June,  having  been 


EXODUS 


[414  ] 


EXODUS 


jusl  two  months  on  the  way.  At  any  rate,  it  is  man- 
ifest that  they  did  not  travel  every  day  ;  and  indeed 
in  most  of  the  places  mentioned,  they  probably  re- 
mained several  days.  In  Rephidim,  at  least,  several 
important  transactions  took  place,  which  imply  a  de- 
lay of  some  time  ;  water  was  miraculously  brought 
from  the  rock  ;  the  Amalekites  were  discomtited ; 
Jethro  visited  Moses,  and  in  consequence  of  his  ad- 
vice, a  new  arrangement  of  judges  was  introduced, 
Ex.  xvii.  xviii.  At  Sinai  the  Israelites  remained 
during  all  the  transactions  recorded  in  the  remain- 
der ot  the  book  of  Exodus,  in  Leviticus,  and  in  the 
first  nine  chapters  of  Numbers.  In  Num.  x.  11,  it  is 
recorded,  that  "on  the  twentieth  day  of  the  second 
month,  in  the  second  year,  the  cloud  was  taken  up, 
and  the  children  of  Israel  took  their  journeys  out  of 
the  wilderness  of  Sinai."  Their  sojourn  at  Sinai 
may,  therefore,  be  counted  from  the  fifteenth  day  of 
June  to  the  twentieth  of  3Iay  ;  a  j)eriod  of  eleven 
months  and  five  days,  according  to  our  mode  of 
reckoning  ;  but  as  they  reckoned  by  lunar  months, 
the  whole  interval  was  in  fact  something  less  than 
eleven  of  our  montiis. 

From  Sinai  to  Kadesh,  and  the  wandering  in  the 
Desert. — Wc  have  now  a  more  diflicult  task,  viz.  to 
determine  the  course  and  stations  of  the  Israelites 
after  leaving  Sinai,  during  all  the  years  of  wandering 
in  the  desert,  until  their  arrival  on  the  bordere  of  the 
promised  land.  Until  they  reached  mount  Sinai,  the 
Scripture  accounts  in  Exodus  and  in  Numbers 
xxxiii.  harmonize  with  each  other ;  and  the  country 
has  been  visited  and  described  by  intelligent  travel- 
lers. But  from  this  time  onward,  the  accounts  of 
Scripture  are  aj)parently  at  variance  with  each  other, 
or  at  least  do  not  obviously  harmonize ;  and  the 
country  through  which  they  passed  is  still  a  terra  in- 
cognita ;  having  been  visited  by  no  modern  traveller, 
except  slightly.  Burckhardt  crossed  the  southern 
part  of  this  desert  from  near  Wady  Mousa  to  Suez 
in  1812  ;  and  Seetzen  travelled  directly  from  Hebron 
to  Akaba  ;  but  of  his  journey  no  account  has  reach- 
ed the  public.  In  order  to  arrive  at  a  better  under- 
standing of  the  subject,  it  will  be  proper  here  to  give 
a  general  description  of  this  whole  region  of  coun- 
try— a  region  of  which  very  little  has  hitherto  been 
known,  and  on  some  ptu-ts  of  which  the  travels  of 
Burckhardt  and  others  have  shed  nuich  light.  Our 
information  will  be  drawn  principally  from  this  in- 
telligent traveller.  (See  his  Travels  in  Syria,  p.  401, 
seq.  ])assim.) 

Of  tiie  two  gulfs  of  the  Red  sea  which  enclose  the 
peninsula  of  mount  Sinai,  the  western,  or  gulf  of  Su- 
ez, runs  in  a  general  direction  from  south-south-east 
to  north-north-west,  and  terminates  at  Suez,  in  lat. 
30°  north,  and  long.  30°  12'  east  from  Paris.  The 
eastern,  or  gulf  of  Akaba,  runs  nearly  from  south  by 
west  to  north  i)y  east,  and  ends  at  Akaba,  in  lat.  29° 
30'  north,  and  long.  32°  35'  east  fiom  Paris.  The 
distance  between  these  two  extremities,  therefore,  is 
about  143  degrees  of  longitiule  in  lat.  30°,  or  about 
125  miles  in  a  straight  line,  tending  from  west-north- 
west to  easl-;4outh-east.  Tlw;  above  positions  are 
given  from  the  chart  of  riii|)))eil,  which  was  con- 
structed from  astronomical  admeasiu'ement.  The 
peninsula  included  within  these  limits  is  filled  up 
with  niotmtains,  and  narrow  valleys,  and  desolate 
plains.  Of  the  mountains,  the  cliain,  or  elevated  cir- 
cle, of  Sinai,  as  described  above,  is  the  chief.  West 
of  this  is  the  Serbal.  "To  the  northwards  of  this 
central  region,  and  divided  from  it  by  the  broad  val- 
ley called  Wady  El  Sheikh,  and  by  several   minor 


wadys,  begins  a  lower  range  of  mountains  called 
Zebeir,  which  extends  eastwards ;  having  at  one  ex- 
tremity the  two  peaks  called  El  Djoze  above  the 
plantations  of  Wady  Feiran,  and  losing  itself  to  the 
east  in  the  more  open  country  towards  Wady  Sal. 
Beyond  the  Zebeir  northwards  are  sandy  plains  and 
valleys.  This  part  is  the  most  barren  and  destitute 
of  water  of  the  whole  country.  It  borders  on  the 
north  on  the  chain  of  El  Tyh,  which  stretches  in  a 
i-egular  line  eastwards,  parallel  with  the  Zebeir,  be- 
ginning at  Sarbout  el  Djemel.  "  (Burckh.  }».  574.) 
According  to  the  map  of  Burckhardt,  this  chain  be- 
gins near  the  coast  of  the  western  gulf,  bet^^•een 
Wady  Gharendel  and  W^ady  Taybe,  and  extends 
eastward  ;  towards  the  middle  of  the  peninsula  it  di- 
vides into  two  chains,  which  continue  to  run  parallel 
with  each  other,  and  terminate  near  the  coast  of  the 
eastern  gidf,  at  some  distance  south  of  Akaba.  But 
low  mountains,  strictly  the  commencement  of  this 
chain,  appear  on  the  left  of  the  road  opposite  Suez, 
about  eight  miles  distant,  and  there  run  parallel  \vitli 
that  road.  (p.  471.)  North  of  El  Tyh,  the  great 
Egyptian  Hadj,  a  pilgrim  road,  passes  from  Suez  to 
Akaba  over  the  desert. 

The  northern  end  of  the  gulf  of  Akaba  is  connected 
with  the  southern  exti-emity  of  the  Dead  sea  by  the 
great  valley,  called  towai'ds  the  north.  El  Ghor,  and 
towards  tlie  soiuh.  El  Araba,  and  forming  a  ]irolon- 
gation  of  the  valley  of  the  Jordan,  through  which, 
in  all  probability,  in  very  ancient  times,  before  the 
overthrow  of  the  cities  of  the  plain,  that  river  pour- 
ed its  waters  into  the  Red  sea.  The  course  of  this 
valley  is  between  south  and  south-south-west.  Its 
length  from  the  Dead  sea  in  about  lat.  31°  5'  to  Aka- 
ba in  lat.  29°  30^,  is  therefore  not  far  from  95  degrees 
of  latitude,  or  about  110  miles  in  a  direct  line.  From 
the  extremity  of  the  sea,  (according  to  ]\Ir.  Bankes 
and  his  companions,)  a  sandy  plain  or  flat  extends 
southward  between  hills,  and  on  a  level  with  the  sea, 
for  the  distance  of  eight  or  ten  miles,  where  it  is  in- 
terrupted by  a  sandy  clift",  from  sixty  to  eighty  feet 
high,  which  traverses  the  valley  like  a  wall,  forming  a 
barrier  to  the  waters  of  the  lake  ^\  hen  at  their  great- 
est height.  Beyond  this  clift' the  valley  is  prolonged 
without  interruption  to  Akaba.  It  is  skirted  on  each 
side  by  a  chain  of  mountains ;  but  the  streams  which 
descend  from  these,  are  in  summer  lost  in  their  grav- 
elly beds  before  they  reach  the  valley  below ;  so  that 
the  lower  plain,  or  bottom  of  the  great  valley,  is  in 
summer  entirely  without  water,  which  alone  can 
produce  verdure  in  the  Arabian  dcseits,  and  render 
them  habitable.  Burckhardt  crossed  it  opposite  the 
Wady  Gharendel,  which  opens  into  it  from  the  east, 
about  40  or  50  miles  north  of  Akaba.  Here  the 
whole  plain  presented  to  the  view  an  expanse  of 
shifting  sands,  whose  surface  was  broken  by  innu- 
merable undulations  and  low  hills.  The  sand  ap- 
pears to  have  been  brought  from  the  shores  of  the 
Red  sea  by  the  southerly  winds  ;  and  the  Arabs  in- 
formed bin),  that  the  valley  continued  to  ]n-escnt  the 
same  ap|)earanco  towards  the  north.  Numerous 
Bedouin  tribes  encamp  here  in  tiie  winter,  when  the 
torrents  produce  a  copious  .«n|)()ly  of  water,  and  a 
few  shrubs  spring  up  upon  their  banks,  affording 
jiasturage  to  tlic  sheep  and  goats.  Our  traveller  was 
one  hour  and  a  half  in  crossing  the  Wady  Araba, 
which  would  make  it  about  five  miles  broad  ;  about 
the  same  as  the  valley  of  the  Jordan.  In  some 
places  the  sand  is  very  deep  ;  l)ut  it  is  firm,  and  the 
camels  walk  over  it  without  sinking.  The  heat  was 
suftbcating,  and  it  was  increased  l)y  a  hot  wind  from 


EXODUS 


[  415  ] 


EXODUS 


the  soutli-easi.  There  is  uot  the  shghtest  appear- 
ance of  a  road,  or  of  any  other  work  of  human  art, 
in  this  part  of  the  valley,  (p.  441.)  At  the  southern 
extremity  of  the  valley,  where  it  opens  upon  the  plain 
of  Akaba,-Ruppell  describes  it,  towards  the  end  of 
April  (1822,)  as  shaded  by  bushes  and  covei-ed  with 
luxuriant  pasturage.     See  in  Elath. 

The  chain  of  mountains  on  the  east  of  this  great 
valley,  forming  the  continuation  of  those  which  sur- 
round the  eastern  side  of  the  Dead  sea,  is  known  in 
different  portions  of  it  by  the  names  of  Djebal,  or 
mountains,  Djebel  Shera,  and  Djebel  Hesma.     The 
first,  or  Djebal,  extends  from  the  Dead  sea,  or  the  re- 
gion  about  Kerek,  to  the  Avide  valley  El  Ghoeyr, 
whicli  descends  towards  the  west  into  the   Ghor ; 
this  part  is  manifestly  the  ancient  Gebal  of  the  He- 
brews and   the  Gebalene  of  the  Romans.      Djebel 
Shera  follows  and  extends  to  the  soutli  of  the  Wady 
Gharendel  above  mentioned  ;  this  name  is  the  mount 
Seir  of  Scripture,  (which,  however,   probably  com- 
prised in  general  the  whole  chain,)  and  in  this  part 
are  situated  the  ruins  of  Petra,  the  ancient  capital  of 
Edom,   first   discovered   by   Burckhardt.      Farther 
south  Djebel  Hesma  forms  the  continuation  of  the 
chain  to  the  waters  of  the  Elanitic  gulf.     The  whole 
of  this  tract  seems  to  have  constituted  the  ancient 
Idumea   or   mount   Seir.      The  mountains   do   not 
cover  a  broad  extent ;  and  beyond  tliem,  on  the  east, 
lies  the  vast  plain  of  the  Arabian  desert,  which  tlie 
great  Syrian  caravan  of  pilgrims  crosses  on  its  way 
to   3Iedina.      It   is  covered  with  stones,  especially 
flints,  and   may  projjerly  be  called  a   stony  desert. 
The  road  of  the  caravan  lies  along  the  western  edge 
of  the  plain,  near  the  mountains.     Burckhardt  re- 
marks of  the  mountains  of  Shera  in   particular,  that 
"  they  are  considerably  elevated  above  the  level  of 
the  Ghor,  but  they  appear  only  as  low  hills,  when 
seen  from  the  eastern  plain,  which  is  upon  a  much 
higher  level  than  the  Ghor.     This  great  valley  [El 
Ghor]  seems  to  have  a  rapid  slope  towards  the  south  ; 
for  the  mountains  on  the  east  of  it  appear  to  increase 
in  height  the  farther  we  proceed  southward,  while 
the  upper  [eastern]  plain  apparently  continues  upon 
the  same  level."  (p.  435.)     Thus  the  mountains  of 
Hesma  are  apparentl}^  higher  than  any  of  the  others 
farther  north.     The  whole  of  this  rhain  is  intersect- 
ed by  many  wadys  or  valleys  descending  from  the 
upper  or  eastern  plain  to  the  Ghor  or  El  Araba.     Not 
far  from  Beszeyra  in  the  Djebal,  in  passing  over  tlie 
summit  of  a  hill,  Burckhardt  remarks  :  "  Here  a  fine 
view  opened  upon  us ;  to  our  right  we  had  the  deep 
valley  of  Wady  Dhana,  with  the  village  of  the  same 
name  on  its  south  side  ;  farther  west,  about  four  hours 
from  Dhana,  we  saw  the  great  valley  of  the  Ghor  ; 
and  towards  the  east  and  south  extended  the  great 
Arabian   desert."  (p.  409.)     The  valley  of  Ghoeyr, 
mentioned  above,  which  divides  Djebal  from  Shera, 
"  is  a  large,  rocky  and   uneven  basin,   considerably 
lower  than  the  eastern  plain,  upwards  of  twelve  miles 
across  at  its  eastern  extremity,  but  narrowing   to- 
wards the  west.      It   is   intersected   by   numerous 
wadys  of  winter  torrents,  and  by  three  or  four  valleys 
watered  by  rivulets  which  unite  below  and  flow  into 
the  great  valley  of  the  Ghor.     The  Ghoeyr  is  famous 
for  the  excellent  pasturage  produced  by  its  numer- 
ous springs ;  and  it  has,  in  consequence,  become  a 
favorite  place  of  encampment  for  all  the  Bedouins  of 
the  Djebal  and  Shera."  (p.  410.)     The  WadyMousa, 
in  which  are  the  ruins  of  ancient  Petra,  is  of  the 
same  description  ;  so  also  the  Wady  Gharendel,  above 
Bpoken  of,  which  empties  itself  into  the  valley  El 


Araba,  in  whose  sands  its  waters  are  lost,  and  into 
which  It  issues  by  a  narrow  passage,  formed  by  the 
approaching  rocks,  (p.  441.) 

Respecting  the  chain  of  hills  on  the  ivestem  side 
of  the  Ghor,  we  have  much  less  information.  Burck- 
hardt remarks,  that  they  contain  no  springs  of  water 
whatever,  (p.  442.)  From  the  place  where  he  crossed 
the  great  valley,  opposite  the  Wady  Gharendel,  he 
"  ascended  the  western  chain  of  mountains.  The 
mountain  directly  opposite  to  [before]  us  ajjpeared 
to  be  the  highest  point  of  the  whole  chain,  as  tin-  as  I 
could  see  north  and  south  ;  it  is  called  Djebel  Beyane  ; 
the  height  of  this  chain,  however,  is  not  half  that  of 
the  eastern  mountains.  It  is  intersected  by  numerous 
broad  wadys,  in  which  the  Talh-tree  grows ;  the 
rock  is  entirely  silicious,  of  the  same  species  as  that 
of  the  desert  which  extends  from  here  to  Suez.  I 
saw  some  large  pieces  of  flint  perfectly  oval,  three  to 
four  feet  in  length,  and  about  a  foot  and  a  half  in 
breadth.  After  an  hour  and  a  half  of  gentle  ascent, 
we  an-ived  at  the  summit  of  the  hills,  and  then  de- 
scended by  a  short  and  very  gradual  declivity  into 
the  western  plain,  the  level  of  which,  although  higher 
than  that  of  the  valley  El  Araba,  is  perha])s  one 
thousand  feet  lower  than  that  of  the  eastern  desert. 
We  had  now  before  us  an  immense  expanse  of 
dreary  country,  entirely  covered  with  black  flints, 
with  here  and  there  some  hilly  chains  rising  from  the 
plain."  (p.  444.)  At  Akaba,  however,  both  the  west- 
ern mountain  and  plain  are  more  elevated  above  the 
bottom  of  El  Araba.  Riippell  estimates  the  elevation 
there  to  be  not  less  than  fifteen  hundred  feet.  (Reisen, 
p.  247.)     See  in  Elath. 

Thus  it  appears,  that  the  country  on  each  side  of 
the  Ghor,  beyond  the  mountains  which  skirt  the  val- 
ley, is  a  vast  and  almost  pathless  desert.  This  west- 
ern desert,  lying  north  of  the  peninsula  of  Sinai,  was 
crossed  by  Burckhardt  from  the  point  where  he  en- 
tered it,  as  described  in  the  preceding  paragraph,  to 
Suez.  The  time  occupied  in  this  journey  was  about 
five  days.  A  few  extracts  from  his  journal  will  best 
point  out  the  character  of  the  country.  He  entered 
the  desert,  as  above  mentioned,  on  the  27th  of  Au- 
gust, 1812,  toward  evening.  "Jiitg.  28th  [first  day.] 
In  the  morning  we  passed  two  broad  wadys  full  of 
tamarisks  and  of  Talh-trees.  At  the  end  of  four 
hours  we  reached  Wady  el  Lahyane.  In  this  desert 
the  water  collects  in  a  number  of  low  bottoms  and 
wadys,  where  it  produces  verdure  in  winter  time ; 
and  an  abundance  of  trees  with  green  leaves  are 
found  throughout  the  year.  In  the  winter,  some  of 
the  Arabs  of  Ghaza,as  well  as  those  from  the  shores 
of  the  Red  sea,  encamp  here.  The  Wady  Lahyane 
is  several  hours  in  extent ;  its  bottom  is  full  of  gravel. 
The  road  from  Akaba  to  Gaza  passes  here  ;  it  is  a 
journey  of  eight  long  days.  At  the  end  of  five  hours 
we  issued  from  the  head  of  Wady  Lahyane  again 
upon  the  ])lain.  Tiie  hill  on  the  top  of  this  wady  is 
called  Ras  el  Kaa,  and  is  the  termination  of  a  chain 
of  hills,  which  stretch  across  this  plain  in  a  northern 
direction  for  six  or  eight  hours ;  it  projects  like  a 
])romontory,  and  serves  as  a  landmark  to  travellers. 
The  plain  which  we  now  entered  was  a  perfect  flat, 
covered  with  black  pebbles.  The  high  insulated 
mountain,  behind  which  Gaza  is  situated,  bore  from 
hence  north  by  west,  distant  three  long  davs'  jour- 
ney." (p.  445.  scq.)~'' Aug.  29th  [second  day.]  This 
day  we  passed  several  wadys  of  Talh  and  tamarisk- 
trees,  intermixed  with  low  shrubs.  Direction  west 
by  south.  The  plain  is,  for  the  greater  part,  covered 
with  flints  ;  in  some  places  it  is  chalky.     Wherever 


EXODUS 


[416] 


EXODUS 


the  rain  collects  in  winter,  vegetation  of  trees  and 
shrubs  is  produced.  In  the  midst  of  this  desert  we 
met  a  poor  Bedouin  woman,  who  begged  some  water 
of  us.  She  was  going  to  Alcaba,  where  the  tents  of 
her  family  were,  but  had  neither  provisions  nor  water 
with  her,  relying  entirely  on  the  hospitality  of  the 
Arabs  she  might  meet  with  on  the  road.  She 
seemed  to  be  as  unconcerned  as  if  she  were  merely 
taking  a  walk  for  pleasure.  After  an  iminteri-upted 
march  of  nine  hours  and  a  half,  we  reached  a  moun- 
tain called  Dharf  el  Rokob,  which  extends  for  about 
eight  hours  from  north-west  to  south-cast.  At  its 
foot  we  crossed  the  Egyptian  Hadj  [or  j.ilgrim  cara- 
van] road ;  it  passes  along  the  mountain  towards 
Akaba,  which  is  distant  from  hence  fifteen  or  eight- 
een hours.  The  level  plain  over  which  we  had 
travel lefl  from  Ras  el  Kaa  terminates  at  Dharf  el 
Rokob.  Westward  of  it  the  ground  is  more  inter- 
sected by  hills  and  wadys,  and  here  begins  the  desert 
El  Tij,  [or  of  ivanderin^-s,]  in  which,  according  to 
tradiiion,  botb  Jewisii  and  Mohammedan,  the  Israel- 
ites wandered  for  several  years,  and  from  which  be- 
lief the  desert  takes  its  name."  (p.  447,  seq.) — ^^^ug. 
SOih  [third  day.]  We  passed  a  chain  of  hills  called 
Odjme,  running  almost  ])arallel  with  the  Dharf  el 
Rokob.  We  had  now  reentered  the  Hadj  route,  a 
broad,  well-trodden  road,  strewed  with  tiie  whitened 
bones  of  animals  that  have  died  by  the  way.  The 
soil  is  chalky,  and  overspi-ead  with  black  pebbles. 
At  the  end  of  live  hours  and  a  half  we  reached  Wady 
Rouak.  Here  the  term  tuaiy  is  applied  lo  a  narrow 
strip  of  ground,  the  bed  of  a  winter  torrent,  not  more 
than  one  foot  lower  than  the  Icvelof  the  plain,  where 
the  rain  water,  from  the  inequalities  of  the  surface, 
collects,  and  produces  a  vegetation  of  low  slirubs  and 
a  few  Talb-trees.  The  greater  part  of  the  wadys 
from  hence  to  Egypt  are  of  this  description.  The 
Coloquinlida  grows  in  great  abundance  in  a!'  of  them  ; 
it  is  used  by  the  Arabs  to  make  tindei'.  In  nine 
hours  and  a  half  we  passed  a  low  chain  of  chalky 
hills.  On  several  parts  of  the  road  were  holes,  out 
of  which  rock  salt  had  been  dug.  At  the  end  often 
hours  and  a  half  we  arrived  in  the  vicinity  of  Nakhel, 
(i.  c.  date-tree.)  a  fortified  station  of  the  Egyptian 
Hadj.  Our  direction  was  still  west  by  north.  Na- 
khel stands  in  a  })lain,  which  extends  to  an  immense 
distance  southward,  but  which  terminates  to  the 
north  at  fibout  one  hoiir's  distance  from  Nakhel,  in  a 
low  ch;iin  of  moimtains.  The  fortress  is  a  large 
.square  building,  with  stone  walls,  without  any  h.ab- 
itations  round  it.  Thp  pasha  of  Egypt  keeps  hero  a 
garrison  of  about  fifty  soldiers."  (p.  449,  seq.) — '■'■Avg. 
31s<  [fourth  day.]  We  marched  for  four  lioin-s  over 
uneven  groimd,  and  then  reached  a  level  plain,  con- 
sisting of  rich  n.'d  earth,  fit  for  culture,  and  similar  to 
that  oftlie  northern  Syrian  desert.  We  crossed  sev- 
eral wadys,  in  which  we  started  a  number  of  hares. 
At  every  twenty  j'ards  lay  heaps  of  bones  of  camels, 
horses,  and  asses,  by  the  side  of  the  road.  At  the 
end  of  ten  hours  and  a  half  we  reached  the  moun- 
tainoiss  country  called  El  Theghar,  or  the  mouths, 
which  forms  a  boimdary  of  the  desert  El  Tv,  an(l 
separatrs  it  from  the  ])eninsula  of  mount  Sinai.  We 
fiscended  for  half  an  iioiu-  l)y  a  well-formed  road,  cut 
in  several  places  in  the  rock,  and  thmi  followed  the 
windings  of  a  valley,  in  .lO  bed  of  a  winter  torrent, 
gradually  descending.  On  both  sides  of  the  Hadj 
road  we  saw  mnnerous  heaps  of  stones,  the  tombs  oi' 
pilgrims  who  had  fliod  of  fiitigue.  At  the  end  of 
fifteen  hours  we  alighted  in  a  valley  of  th(!  Theghar, 
where  we  found  an  abimdance  of  shrubs  and  trees." 


(p.  452.) — Sept.  1st,  on  the  fifili  day,  the  route  lay 
across  the  moving  sands  of  the  desert  of  Shur,  which 
lies  around  the  head  of  the  western  gidf  of  the  Red 
sea,  and  our  traveller  encamped  for  the  night  about 
two  hours  short  of  Adjeroud. 

The  same  general  view  of  this  journey  is  given  in 
the  letter  of  Burckhardt,  inserted  under  the  article 
CanaaxV,  p.  237.  He  there  describes  this  desert  as 
"the  most  barren  and  horrid  tract  of  country  he  had 
ever  seen." 

In  1822,  M.  Riippell  travelled  from  Suez  to  Aka- 
ba, by  the  Hadj  route,  leaving  Suez  April  21st,  and 
ai-riving  at  Akaba  on  the  29th.  To  Nakhel  or  Negele, 
his  route  was  of  course  the  same  as  that  of  Burck- 
hardt, in  an  opposite  direction.  Farther  east,  the 
country  possesses  the  same  character ;  chalky  hills 
alternating  with  rolling  plains.  This  tiresome  mo- 
notony is  in  one  place  interrupted  by  a  steep  clialky 
mountain,  near  Dabt  el  Baggele,  over  which  pious 
Mussulmans  have  hewn  a  i)ass  two  hundred  feet 
long  in  the  rock.  East  of  this  is  a  green  valley,  and 
then  the  plain  Darfureck,  which  is  wholly  without 
vegetation,  at  least  in  the  vicinity  of  the  route.  This 
iiigh  desert  region  is  bounded  on  the  east  by  the 
mountains  of  reddish  sandstone,  which  skirt  the  plain 
of  Akaba  and  the  valley  El  Araba;  and  from  which 
the  Hadj  route  descends  by  a  steep  path,  in  many 
places  hewn  out  of  the  rock.  The  general  character 
of  this  wide  tract  is  given  by  Riippell  in  the  words 
—"a  frightful  desert."  (p.-  241—247.) 

To  this  general  description  of  the  whole  country 
between  mount  Sinai  and  Palestine,  we  have  here 
devoted  the  more  attention,  because  this  information 
has  no  wJicre  else  been  brought  together,  and  be- 
cause it  all  tends  to  illustrate  the  journeyings  of  the 
Israelites  after  leaving  Sinai.  Their  de))artui-e  from 
Sinai  was  on  the  20tli  day  of  the  second  month,  in 
the  second  year  from  the  departure  out  of  Egypt ; 
(Numb.  X.  11.)  i.  e.  as  we  have  seen  above,  not  far 
from  the  middle  of  May.  The  stations  are  thus 
marked: — (1.)  Three  days' marcli  to  the  wilderness 
of  Paran  ;  to  Tabcrah,  where  part  of  the  camp  Vv'as 
burned.  Num.  x.  12,  33;  xi.  3.— (2.)  To  Kibroth-hat- 
taavah,  the  graves  of  lust,  xi.  34.  This  is  a  different 
place  from  Taberali,  although  a  departure  from  the 
latter  is  not  mentioned.  Moses  speaks  of  the  two 
places  as  distinct,  Dent,  ix,  22. — (3.)  Hazeroth,  xi,  35. 
— (4.)  Desert  of  Paran,  i.e.  Kadesh  ;  xii.  16;  xiii.  26. 
Here  the  spies  returned  ;  and  hence  the  people  were 
directed  to  turn  and  get  them  into  the  wilderness  by 
the  way  of  the  Red  sea,  xiv.  25, — (5.)  We  next  read 
(Num.  XX.  1,)  that  they  came  into  the  desert  of  Zin 
in  the  fi.rst  month,  to  Kailesii,  where  they  abode,  and 
Miriam  died.  Hence  they  sent  to  ask  a  passage 
through  Edom  (xx.  14.)  wiiich  was  refused. — (6.) 
I^Iount  Ilor,  v/here  Aaron  died,  xx.  22.  After  this 
they  journeyed  by  the  v.'ay  of  the  Red  sea,  (Ezion 
Gal)er)to  compass  the  huulof  Edom,  xxi.  4. 

Witli  this  representation  agrees  also  tliat  in  Deut. 
i.  -where  there  are  said  to  be  eleven  days'  journey  from 
Horeb  by  the  way  of  mount  Seir  to  Kadesh  Karnea; 
(verse  2.)  and  where  it  is  said  th;it  the  Israelites  de- 
parted from  Hoieb  and  "  v\'ent  through  all  that  great 
and  terrible  wilderness,  and  came  to  Kadesh  Barnea ;" 
(verse  19.)  after  which  they  were  commanded  to  turn 
and  take  their  journey  into  the  wilderness  by  the 
way  of  the  Reel  sea,  versci  40.  They  are  then  de- 
scribed as  abiding  many  days  in  Kadesh,  (i.  46.)  and 
afterwards  as  turning  and  taking  their  journey  into 
the  wilderness  by  thc^  way  of  the  Red  sea,  and  com- 
l)assing  mount  Seir  many  days ;  and  then  as  passing  by 


EXODUS 


[417  ] 


EXODUS 


Ezion-gaber,  arouud  Edoni,  as  before,  Deut*  ii. 
1,8. 

Thus  far  all  harmonizes.  But  in  the  catalogue  of 
stations  contained  in  Num.  xxxiii.  and  which  accords 
with  the  preceding  statements  (except  Taberah)  as  far 
as  to  Hazeroth,  there  are  no  less  than  eighteen  sta- 
tions inserted  between  Hazeroth  and  Kadesh  ;  and 
among  these  is  Ezion-gaber,  which  is  not  mentioned 
elsewhere  until  after  the  Israelites  had  left  Kadesh, 
and  were  about  to  compass  Edom,  Deut.  ii.  8.  How 
is  this  account  to  be  reconciled  with  the  other  state- 
ments of  the  books  of  Numbers  and  Deuteronomy, 
as  above  exhibited  ? 

Let  us  first  examine  the  various  references  to  time 
which  are  to  be  found  in  these  accounts.  The  Is- 
raelites left  Sinai  about  the  middle  of  May,  iu  the 
second  year  of  their  departure  from  Egypt,  as  we 
have  seen  al)Ove  ;  and  came  by  the  way  of  the  wil- 
derness of  Paran  to  Kadesh,  according  to  Num.  xiii. 
26 ;  apparently  after  eleven  days  (not  necessarilj' 
successive  days)  of  marching,  and  by  the  way  of  mount 
Seir,  according  to  Deut.  i.  2.  From  the  wilderness 
of  Paran  spies  were  sent  out  to  the  land  of  Canaan, 
(Ex.  xiii.  3.)  who  retumedafter  forty  days  to  Kadesh, 
(xiii.  25,  26.)  bringing  with  them  a  sample  of  the 
grapes  of  the  land  ;  it  being  "  the  time  of  the  first  ripe 
grapes,"  xiii.  20.  But  we  have  seen  in  the  article 
Canaan,  (pp.  241,242.)  that  grapes  npen  in  Palestine 
in  July  and  August.  We  may  therefore  conclude, 
that  the  Israelites  were  at  Kadesh  in  August  of  the 
second  year  ;  there  they  rebelled  on  the  report  of  the 
spies,  and  received  the  threat  from  Jehovah,  that 
their  carcasses  should  all  fall  in  the  wilderness,  and 
their  children  should  wander  in  the  desert  forty 
years  ;  and  there  they  were  commanded  to  turn  back 
into  the  wilderness,  by  the  way  of  the  Red  sea.  The 
next  movement,  recorded  in  Num.  xx.  1.  is,  that  "  the 
whole  congregation  came  into  the  desert  of  Zin  in 
the^r*^  month,  and  abode  iu  Kadesh."  Does  not 
this  indicate  a  return  to  Kadesh,  after  having  once 
left  it  ?  Before,  they  left  Sinai  in  the  second  month, 
or  May,  and  were  in  Kadesh  in  August;  now,  they 
arrive  at  Kadesh  in  the  Jirst  month,  or  April.  Here 
Miriam  now  dies;  the  people  murmur  for  water; 
Moses  and  Aaron  disobey  God's  command  in  regard 
to  the  mode  of  performing  the  miracle  in  order  to 
procure  it,  and  are  told  iu  consequence  that  they 
shall  not  enter  the  promised  land  ;  Moses  begs  a  pas- 
sage through  Edom,  which  is  refused  ;  they  then 
journey  from  Kadesh  to  mount  Hor,  in  the  edge  of 
Edom,  where  Aaron  dies  in  the  fortieth  year  of  the 
departure  from  Egypt,  on  the  first  day  of  the  fifth 
month,  Num.  xx.  xxxiii.  .37,  38.  These  events  all 
immediately  succeed  each  other,  and  directly  follow 
this  last  departure  from  Kadesh ;  Aaron  dies  here  in 
fulfilment  of  the  threat  there  given,  and  in  all  proba- 
bility in  the  same  year  of  this  return  to  Kadesh.  But 
between  the  time  of  the  return  of  the  spies  to  Ka- 
desh in  August  of  the  second  year,  and  the  death  of 
Aaron  on  the  first  day  of  the  fifth  mouth  (correspond- 
ing to  August)  of  the  fortieth  year,  there  is  an  interval 
of  thirty-eight  years.  Again,  in  Deut.  ii.  14,  it  is  said, 
that  "the  space  in  which  we  came  from  Kadesh-Bar- 
nea,  until  we  were  come  over  the  brook  Zered,  was 
thirty-eight  years."  Must  not  this  refer  to  the  frst 
departure  from  Kadesh,  when  they  were  commanded 
to  turn  back  and  wander  in  the  wilderness ;  and  not 
to  the  last  departure  from  that  place,  just  before  the 
death  of  Aaron  ?  If  so,  then  the  coming  to  Kadesh  in 
the  frst  montli,  (Num.  xx.  1.)  and  that  mentioned  in 
Num.  xxxiii.  .36,  are  the  same,  and  refer  to  the  sub- 
53 


sequent  return  of  the  Israelites  to  that  station.  And 
as  it  is  said  in  Deut.  i.  46,  that  they  abode  in  Kadesh 
(the  first  time)  many  days;  and  as  Aaron's  death 
took  place  in  August,  just  thirty-eight  years  after,— 
and  they  came  to  the  brook  Zered  just  thirty-eight 
years  after  leaving  Kadesh  the  first  time,  we  may, 
perhaps,  infer  that  their  first  residence  in  Kadesh 
continued  for  the  same  space  of  time,  as  their  subse- 
quent march  from  mount  Hor  to  the  brook  Zered. 
This,  however,  is  a  point  of  little  comparative  impor- 
tance. 

If,  now,  the  death  of  Aaron  occurred  in  the  fifth 
month  of  that  sanie  year,  in  the  first  month  of  which 
the  Israehtes  returned  to  Kadesh,  as  there  is  every 
reason  to  suppose  ;  i.  e.  the  fortieth  year  of  the  de- 
parture from  Egypt,  then  there  is  an  interval  of  more 
than  thirty-seven  years,  of  which  the  history  iu  Num- 
bers and  Deuteronomy  gives  no  account  whatever ; 
unless  it  be  in  the  catalogue  of  stations  contained  in 
Num.  xxxiii.  We  have  seen  above  that  the  arrival  at 
Kadesh,  mentioned  in  this  catalogue,  corresponds  to 
the  second  sojourn  at  that  place,  as  inferred  above ; 
and  we  may,  therefore,  without  hesitation,  assume 
the  eighteen  stations,  there  named  between  Hazeroth 
and  Kadesh,  as  belonging  to  this  interval  of  eight  and 
thirty  years.  These,  of  course,  are  not  all  the  stations 
occupied  during  that  period  ;  only  those  probably 
are  noted  where  they  abode  for  some  time.  From 
Ezion-gaber  to  Kadesh,  for  instance,  (Num.  xxxiii. 
36.)  could  not  be  much  less  than  the  "^vhole  length  of 
the  great  valley  of  the  Ghor — a  distance  of  not  less 
than  one  hundred  miles,  whatever  might  be  the  ex- 
act situation  of  Kadesh  ;  and  of  course  in  passing 
from  one  to  the  other,  there  must  have  been  several 
intervening  stations,  although  none  are  mentioned. 

To  this  hypothesis  there  seem  to  be  but  tw  o  objec- 
tions. First,  that  in  Num.  xxxiii.  18,  we  ought  then 
to  read  Paran  or  Kadesh,  instead  of  Rithmah,  as  in 
xii.  16  ;  xiii.  26.  Secondly,  that  Ezion-gaber,  which, 
in  Num.  xxxiii.  36,  is  put  before  Kadesh,  is  not  else- 
where mentioned  until  the  Israelites  came  thither  in 
order  to  compass  the  land  of  Edom,  Deut.  ii.  8. 

To  the  first  of  these  objections  it  may  be  replied, 
that  Kadesh  was  the  name  not  only  of  a  city,  but  of 
the  tract  of  desert  country  adjacent  to  it ;  as  we  shall 
show  more  at  large  hereafter.  It  is,  therefore,  to  be 
taken  as  the  desert  of  Kadesh  (Ps.  xxix.  8.)  in  the  ac- 
count of  the  first  coming  to  it ;  as  indeed  is  suffi- 
ciently obvious  from  the  language  of  the  passage  it- 
self. Num.  xiii.  26.  Rithmah  is  then  to  be  regarded 
as  a  place  or  station  in  this  desert.  Or,  if  we  adhere 
strictly  to  the  statement  in  Deut.  i.  2,  that  they  came 
to  Kadesh  after  eleven  stations,  then  Makheloth  in 
xxxiii.  25,  is  the  station  corresponding  to  Kadesh. 
The  solution  is  the  same  in  either  case. 

To  obviate  the  force  of  the  second  objection,  it  is 
necessary  to  bear  in  mind  the  character  and  circum- 
stances of  the  Israelitish  people,  as  well  as  the  char- 
acter of  the  country  in  which  they  were  now  placed. 
They  were  essentially  a  nomadic  people ;  their  fa- 
thers, Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob,  had  ever  been  so  ; 
they  were  emphatically  Bedouins,  removing  with 
their  flocks  and  herds  from  place  to  place,  as  occasion 
might  require.  In  Egyj)t  they  had  ever  been  shep- 
herds,— their  province  of  Goshen  was  adapted  to 
pasturage,  and  not  to  tillage  ;  and  now,  when  they 
had  come  out  into  the  deserts,  with  their  flocks  and 
herds,  they  w^ere  still  the  nomadic  race  they  had  ever 
been, — a  people  resembling  those  by  whom  these 
desert  plains,  and  valleys,  and  mountains,  are  pos- 
sessed to  this  very  day.     Hence,  according  to  the 


EXODUS 


[  418 


EXODUS 


command  of  God,  they  wandered  in  the  desert ;  and 
their  wandei-'mgs  would  be  determined,  like  those  of 
the  Arabs  at  present,  by  the  opportunities  of  water 
and  pasturage.  When  the  scanty  "  pastures  of  the 
desert"  failed  in  one  place,  they  removed  to  another; 
and  they  would  naturally  resort  to  those  tracts, 
where  water,  and  consequently  vegetation,  were  most 
abundant.  In  the  long  period  of  eight  and  thirty 
years,  therefore,  while  thus  removing  iiom  place  to 
place  in  the  vast  deserts  between  I'alestine  and  the 
peninsula  of  Sinai,  although  they  might  not  improb- 
ably at  times  take  up  their  residence  in  the  desert  El 
Ty,  according  to  tradition,  as  al)ove  mentioned,  yet 
it  is  hardly  to  be  sLii)posed  that  they  would  not  also 
sometimes  visit  the  Gboi-,  whicii  even  now  is  a  fa- 
vorite resort  of  the  Bedouins  in  winter.  Nor  can 
we  well  suppose,  that  they  would  not  visit  the  same 
place  more  than  once ;  since  in  these  deserts  the 
wells  and  sj)rings  of  water  are  places  of  general  re- 
sort, and  the  pasturage^,  which  had  been  devoured  in 
one  year,  would  be  renewed  in  otlier  years.  If,  then, 
they"  did  thus  visit  the  (j!hf)r,  it  wotUd  be  natural  for 
them,  in  this  long  interval,  to  visit  also  the  southern 
part  of  it,  where  it  opens  to  a  plain,  and  afiords  lux- 
uriant pasturage.  Indeed,  tlie  list  in  Num.  xxxiii. 
seems  to  imply,  that  they  did  thus  sojourn  at  times  in 
the  Ghor  or  El  Araba,  and  along  its  eastern  skirts  ; 
for,  in  yerse  31,  Mo.iernlh  is  mentioned,  to  which  they 
came  before  coming  to  Ezion-gaber.  But  in  Dent. 
X.  6,  Aaron  is  said  to  ha;  e  died  at  Mosera,  the  same 
as  Moseroth,  which  of  course  must  have  been  the 
station  adjacent  to  mount  Ilor.  But  mount  Hor  lies, 
as  we  know,  on  the  east  of  the  Glior,  nearly  halfway 
from  Akal)a  to  tin;  Dead  sea.  Hence  we  may  infer, 
that  this  list  of  stations  indicat(!s  in  general  the  move- 
ments of  the  Israelites  from  north  to  south,  and  prob- 
ably along  the  \ alley  El  Araba.  Arriving  at  its 
southein  extremity,  they  returned  to  Kadesh,  advan- 
cing, ))robably,  from  station  to  station,  in  the  same 
occasional  and  leisure  uumner.  This  return  was  a 
part  of  their  tiiirty-eight  years  of  wandering;  but 
afterwards,  when  ihey  had  made  an  unsuccessful  at- 
tem])t  from  Kadesh  to  pass  through  the  territory  of 
Edom,  and  found  it  necessary  to  march  back  to  Ezi- 
on-gaber, in  ordei-  to  pass  around  mount  Seir,  we 
may  supimse  that  their  march  was  more  rapid,  and 
not  so  much  regulated  merely  by  a  regard  to  an 
abmidant  supply  of  water  and  j)asturage. 

In  this  maimer  we  may  not  only  remove  the  difTi- 
culty  suggestf'd  above,  but  also  another  difficulty 
whicli  has  troubled  conunentators.  In  Num.  xxxiii. 
.31,  seq.  the  Israelites  are  said  to  have  o('cui)ie<l  tlie 
stations  IMoseroth,  Bene-jaaknn,  Hor-hagidgad,  and 
.Totbathah  ;  wiiiie  iu  Dent.  x.  <i,  7,  these  same  sta- 
tions are  named  in  a  dilVereiU  order, — Beeroth  of  tlie 
children  of  .laakaii,  Mosera  where  Aaron  died,  Gud- 
godah,  and  .lotbath.  That  these  names  are  at  bottom 
the  same,  there  can  lie  no  doubt.  But  in  Numbers 
they  are  mentioned  iu  refen^nce  to  the  first  visit  of  lli(> 
Hebrews,  during  th(^  long  wandering  southwards,  be- 
fore their  retiuTi  to  Kadesh  the  second  time  ;  while  in 
Deuteronomy,  they  lirwe  rer(M-enc(>  Ui  thr  serotid  pas- 
sage of  the  Israelites,  wlien  marclilng  soutli  in  order 
to  compass  the  l;uid  of  Edom.  It  is  easy  to  conceive, 
how  MosiM-otii  and  the  wells  of  .laakan  might  lie  in 
stich  n  direction  from  each  other,  that  a  nomailic 
tribe,  wandering  in  ditTerent  years  southward  along 
the  great  valley,  might  at  one  time  take  the  former 
first  in  its  way,  and  at  another  time,  the  hitter. 

We  have  thus  given  a  general  view  of  the  manner 
in  which  we  suppose  the  list  of-  tntlonsin  Num.  xxxiii. 


i^to  be  harmonized  with  the  other  accounts  of  the 
journeyings  of  the  children  of  Israel ;  and  in  so  do- 
ing have  been  led  to  give  also  an  exhibition  of  the 
general  course  of  these  journeyings  and  wanderings 
themselves.  It  now  remains  to  ascertain  more  par- 
ticularly, if  possible,  the  situations  of  some  of  the 
principal  stations,  in  order  to  obtain  a  more  definite 
idea  of  the  route  in  general.  Of  the  position  of 
Taberah,  (Num.  xi.  3.)  Kibroth-hattaavah,  (xi.  34.) 
and  Hazeroth,  (xi.  35 ;  xxxiii.  17.)  we  know  nothing 
further,  than  that  they  were  stations  between  mount 
Sinai  and  the  wilderness  of  Paran,  Num.  x.  12;  y 
xii.  1(1. 

The  wilderness  of  Paran  some  have  chosen  to  find 
in  the  Wady  Feiran  or  Faran,  which  extends  north- 
west from  mount  Sinai ;  but  this  hypothesis  has  been 
sufticiently  confuted  above,  p.  409.  This  desert  is 
several  times  mentioned  in  Scripture,  besides  in  these 
chapters.  It  is  said  of  Hagar,  when  Abraham  sent 
her  away,  that  she  wandered  first  in  the  wilderness 
of  Beer-sheba,  and  afterwards  dwelt  with  Ishmael  in 
the  wilderness  of  Paran,  and  took  for  him  a  wife  out 
of  the  land  of  Egypt,  Gen.  xxi.  14,  21.  Beer-sheba, 
as  is  well  known,  was  at  the  soiUhern  extremity  of 
Palestine.  David,  also,  aftei'  the  death  of  Samuel, 
retired  into  the  wilderness  of  Paran,  where  also  the 
flocks  of  Nabal,  who  dwelt  in  the  southern  Carmel, 
west  of  the  Dead  sea,  arc  represented  as  feeding, 
1  Sam.  XXV.  1,  14,  seq.  Both  these  notiCes  go  to 
show  that  the  wilderness  of  Paran  lay  on  the  south 
of  Palestine;  the  latter  one  would  indicate  that  its 
borders  were  ?iear  Palestine  ;  while  tlie  former  would 
imjjiy  that  it  also  stretched  far  to  the  south  and  west, 
including  the  pi-esent  desert  El  Ty  above  described, 
p.  416.  Moses,  in  his  farewell  song,  says,  (Dent, 
xxxhi.  2.)  "The  Lord  came  from  Sinai,  and  rose  up 
from  Seir  unto  them ;  he  shined  forth  from  mount 
Paran  ;"  and  Habakkuk  also  says,  (iii.  3.)  "  God  came 
from  Teman,  and  the  Holy  One  from  mount  Paran." 
In  these  descriptions  of  a  theophcmia,  God  is  repre- 
sented as  coming  from  the  south,  and  the  allusion  is 
in  general  to  the  thunders  and  lightnings  of  Sinai  ; 
but  other  mountains  in  the  same  direction  are  men- 
tioned with  it, — Seir  and  Paran.  The  location  of 
Seir,  we  know,  was  on  the  east  of  the  Ghor;  that  of 
Paran  was,  of  course,  in  or  adjacent  to  the  desert  of 
that  name.  Was  mount  Paran,  then,  jierhaps,  the 
chain  on  the  west  of  the  Ghor,  bordering  the  desert 
of  Paran  on  the  east  ?  or  was  it  rather  the  mountains 
on  the  southern  border  of  tlie  desert,  towards  the 
peninsula  ?  At  any  rate,  it  seems  a  necessary  con- 
clusion from  the  above  notices,  coupled  with  Num. 
X.  12,  33,  where  the  Israelites  are  said  to  have  enter- 
ed it  in  three  days  from  Sinai,  that  the  name  Wilder- 
ness of  l*aran  was  ajiplied,  probably  as  a  general 
flesignation,  to  the  whole  of  the  desert  region  lying 
between  Palestine  and  the  |teninsula  of  Sinai  on  the 
south,  and  lictwecn  the  Ghor  on  the  east  and  the 
desert  of  F'gypt  on  the  west.  Josephus  also  men- 
tions a  valley  in  this  region  with  many  caves,  called 
Phai-an.  (Bell.  .Tud.  iv.  !).  1.)  Rusebius,  too,  speaks 
of  a  Pharan  through  which  the  Israelites  jiassecl ;  but 
places  it,  according  to  the  translation  of  Jerome, 
three  flays'  jouiney  rust  of  Aila  or  Akaba.  The 
Greek  of  Eusebius,  however,  may  just  as  well  be 
read  so  as  to  mean,  that  Aila  was  three  days' journey 
east  of  Pharan  ;  which  would  correspond  entirely 
with  the  view  above  given.  (F'useb.  Onomost.  ed. 
ri(>ric.  p.  74.) 

That  Paran  was  a  name  given  to  this  desert  in  a 
very  wide  and  j;eneral  sense,  is  also  apparent  from 


EXODU?! 


[  419 


i:XODL\- 


the  tact,  tlial  in  Xiiiu.  xiii.  2G,  Kadesli  is  said  to  bt; 
situated  in  it;  while  hi  xx.  1,  and  other  passages, 
Kadesh  is  spoken  of  as  being  in  the  desert  of  Zin. 
The  conchision,  thereforo,  is,  that  the  desert  of  Zin 
was  a  portion  of  tlie  great  desert  of  Paran.  The 
wilderness  of  Zin  lay  around  the  south-western  sliore 
of  the  Dead  sea,  and  extended  .southward  along  the 
Glior,  as  we  know  from  Num.  xxxiv.  4  ;  Josh.  xv.  J. 
It  constituted,  therefore,  the  north-east  part  of  the 
great  desert  of  Paran  ;  Jiow  far  scnuh  it  extended,  we 
liave  no  means  of  aseertaining.  There  seems  also  to 
have  been  hi  it  a  station  called  Zin;  (Josh.  xv.  3.) 
though  the  princi{)al  jilace  mentioned  is  Kadesh. 

Kadesh,  or,  mor(;  fully,  Kadesh-lJarnca,  (IJarnea 
signi^es  Jield  ov  plain  of  waudtring,  like  the  .\rabic 
El  Ty,)  is  described  in  Num.  xx.  15,  as  a  city  in  the 
"  uttermost  border  of  Kdom."  It  is  mentioned  as  one 
of  the  south-eastern  limits  of  the  territory  of  Israel, 
Num.  xxxiv.  4  ;  Josh.  xv.  -i.  In  Josh.  x.  41,  it  is 
said,  that  Joshua  smote  the  Canaanites  from  Kadesh- 
liarnea  even  imto  Gaza ;  where  Kadesh  stands  for 
the  eastern  border  of  the  children  of  Israel,  as  Gaza 
for  the  western.  It  is  also  said  to  be  eleven  days' 
journey  from  Horeb,  by  the  way  of  mount  Seir,  Dent. 
i.  2.  All  these  notices  compel  us  to  jilace  Kadesh 
quite  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  great  desert  of  Paran  ; 
and  especially  the  first,  which  says  that  it  lay  in  the 
"  uttermost  border  ol'  Edom."  So  mount  Ilor  is  said 
to  be  "  by  the  coast  of  the  land  of  Edom,"  Num.  xx. 
23;  and  "in  the  edge  of  the  laud  of  Edom,"  xxxiii. 
37.  But  we  know  that  mount  Horis  situated  on  the 
eastern  side  of  the  Ghor,  at  some  distance  ui)  the 
VVady  Mousa,  and  therefore  in  mount  Seir.  Is,  now, 
the  "  uttermost  border  of  Edom"  equivalent  to  the 
"  coast"  or  "  edge"  of  the  laud  of  Edom  ?  and  if  so, 
are  we  warranted  in  assigning  a  position  to  Kadesli 
also  on  the  eiist  side  of  the  Ghor,  in  the  skirts  of  the 
mountains  of  Edom?  Or  was  it,  perhaps,  situated  on 
the  westeim  side  of  the  Ghor,  in  some  wady  of  that 
region  which  no  modern  traveller  has  yet  explored  ? 
But  wherever  the  city  itself  was  situated,  it  was  of 
sufficient  importance  to  give  its  name  to  the  tract  of 
desert  country  which  lay  around  it ;  and  which  is 
therefore  spoken  of  by  the  Psalmist  as  the  desert  of 
Kadesh  ;  probably  as  synonymous  with  the  desert  of 
Zin,  Ps.  xxix.  8.  It  is  doubtless  the  desert  of  Ka- 
desh, which  i^  meant  in  Num.  xiii.  20  ;  Deut.  i.  19  ; 
since  in  the  corresponding  passage  in  Num.  xxxiii. 
18,  we  read  Rithmah,  probably  a  station  in  the 
desert  near  to  Kadesh.  Burckhardt  suggests,  that 
the  great  valley  of  tlie  Ghor  was  jiossibly  the  Kadosh- 
Barnea  of  the  Scriptures  ;  in  which  suggestion  Ro- 
senmiiller  coincides.  This  is  not  very  improbable, 
particularly  if  we  may  place  the  city  Kadesh  on  the 
eastern  or  even  on  the  western  border  of  this  vallev. 
(Burckh.  Trav.  in  Syr.  p.  443.)  That  Rithmah,  or 
the  desert  of  Kadesh,  whither  the  spies  returned, 
was  in  this  valley,  or  possibly  in  some  wady  emending 
from  it  westward,  seems  probable  from  the  facts  men- 
tioned in  Num.  xiv.  40,  seq.  Avhere  the  Israelites  are 
said  to  have  "  got  them  up  into  the  mountain," — "  unto 
the  hill-top,"  not  far  from  the  camp ;  and  the  "  Ama- 
lekites  and  Canaanites  which  dwelt  in  that  hill,  came 
down  and  smote  them,  and  discomfited  them  unto 
Horriiah." 

Of  all  the  other  stations  mentioned  in  the  wander- 
ings of  the  children  of  Israel,  until  they  came  to  the 
brook  Zered,  the  border  of  Moab,  we  can  determine 
the  situation  of  only  two.  Moseroth,  in  Num.  xxxiii. 
31,  is  again  mentioned  as  JVIosera  in  Deut.  x.  6,  and 
is  there  said  to  be  the  place  where  Aaron  died ;  it 


was  tiierefore  adjacent  to  mount  Hor,  and  in  or  near 
Wady  Mousa,  the  site  of  the  ancient  Petra.  (See  under 
Aakox.)  Ezion-gaber,  mentioned  Num.  xxxiii.  36, 
Deut.  ii.  8,  was  at  the  northern  extremity  of  the 
Elanitic  gulf,  near  Akaba.  The  country  around  it 
has  been  lully  described  under  the  articlo  Ei.ath, 
which  see. 

After  these  ample  illustrations,  it  only  remains  to 
collect  into  a  summary  view  the;  several  facts  which 
we  have  endeavored  to  establish  in  respect  to  the 
wanderings  ol"  Israel  Irom  Sinai,  till  they  arrived  at 
the  brook  Zeied,  and  entered  the  territory  of  Moab. 
Farther  than  this,  it  is  not  necessary  to  accompany 
them  ;  as  their  subsccjuenl  route  is  attended  with  no 
special  diliicullies,  and  all  the  places  mentioned  in  it 
ma\  be  fouml  described  in  this  work  under  flieir 
respecti\e  articles. 

About  the  juiddle  of  May,  in  the  fourteenth  mouth 
Ji-um  ilieii-  d<!parture  out  of  Egypt,  the  Israelites  left 
Sinai,  and  marched  by  a  direct  course  to  the  vicinity 
of  Kadesh,  by  the  way  of  mount  Seir,  Deut.  i.  2. 
Their  route  lay  jirobablv  from  Sinai  through  the 
Wady  Safran  and  similar  valleys,  until  they  issued 
upon  the  great  plain  or  desert  of  Paran,  and  passed 
along  its  eastern  jiart,  and  perhaps  for  some  portion 
of  the  way  in  the  valley  of  the  Ghor,  skirting  mount 
Seir,  uniil  they  arrived  in  the  district  of  Kadesh. 
Here  the  spies  were  sent  out;  and  on  their retiu'n,  in 
August,  the  people  mm'miu'ed,  and  were  command- 
ed to  turn  back  and  wander  in  the  wilderness.  After 
remaining  for  some  time  in  the  vicinity  of  Kadesh,  and 
making  some  imsuccessful  attacks  upon  the  Canaan- 
ites, (Deut.  i.  41,  seq.)  they  removed  and  commenced 
that  wandering  nomadic  life  which  continued  for  the 
space  of  more  than  thirty-seven  years  ;  during  which 
time  they  sojourned  in  diiferent  parts  of  the  great 
desert  west  of  the  Ghor,  (El  Ty,)  and  in  the  Ghor  it- 
self, extending  their  removals  in  the  latter  to  its 
southern  extiemity,  from  mount  Hor  (Mosera)  to 
Ezion-gaber,  and  afterwards  removing  again  north- 
ward, and  being  governed  at  all  times  in  the  choice 
of  their  stations  by  a  regard  to  water  and  pasturage, 
until,  at  last,  in  the  first  month  (April)  of  tlie  fortieth 
year  from  their  departure  out  of  Egypt,  they  found 
themselves  again  at  Kadesh.  Moses  having  given 
up  all  hojie  of  penetrating  into  Palestine  from  the 
south,  on  the  west  of  the  Dead  sea,  and  being  proba- 
bly unwilling  to  expose  the  people  to  a  temptation 
which  might  cause  them  to  murmur  a  second  time 
against  the  Lord,  endeavored  to  negotiate  a  passage 
through  the  territory  of  Edom,  which  comprised 
mount  Seir,  the  chain  which  stretches  along  the  east- 
tM'u  side  of  the  Ghor  from  the  Dead  sea  to  Akaba, 
and  now  known  under  the  names  of  Djebal,  Sliera, 
and  Hesma.  Among  the  narrow  valleys  which 
traverse  this  abrupt  chain  from  west  to  east,  that  of 
the  Glioeyr,  described  on  p. 415,  above,  furnishes  a 
passage  that  would  not  be  extremely  difficult.  This 
was,  perhajis,  the  "king's  way,"  by  which  Moses, 
aware  of  the  difficulty  of  forcing  a  passage,  request- 
ed permission  of  the  Edomites  to  pass,  on  condition 
of  leaving  the  fields  and  vineyards  untouched,  and  of 
l^urchasing  provisions  and  water  from  the  inhabitants. 
But  Edoin  refused,  and  "  came  out  against  him  with 
much  people  and  a  strong  hand,"  Num.  xx.  14,  seq. 
About  this  time,  also,  the  Canaanites  made  hostile 
demonstrations  ;  and  soon  after  king  Arad  attacked 
the  Israelites,  but  was  defeated.  But  the  situation  of 
the  latter,  nevertheless,  was  now  critical.  Unable  to 
force  their  way  in  either  direction,  and  surrounded 
in  a  measure  with  enemies,  the  Edomite»  in  front 


EXODUS 


420 


EXP 


towards  the  east,  and  the  Canaanites  and  Amalekitea 
on  the  north,  and  also  on  the  west,  if  they  chose  to 
make  an  attack  from  that  quarter, — no  alternative 
remained  for  the  Israehtes  but  to  follow  again  the 
great  valley  El  Araba  southwards,  towards  the  Red  sea. 
In  this  journey  Aaron  died  at  mount  Hor,  and  they 
rested  again  at  several  stations  which  they  had  visited 
in  their  former  nomadic  wanderings.  Arrived  at  the 
Red  sea,  they  turned  to  the  left  and  crossed  the  ridge 
of  mountains  to  the  eastward  of  Ezion-gaber,  where 
Burckliardt  remarked,  from  the  opposite  coast,  that 
the  mountains  were  lower  than  elsewhere,  (p.  500.) 
It  was  in  this  part  of  their  route  that  the  Israelites 
were  discouraged  on  account  of  the  way,  and  suffer- 
ed Q:om  serpents  ;  (Deut.  xxi.  5,  6.)  of  which  Burck- 
hardt  observed  traces  of  great  numbers  on  the  oppo- 
site side  of  the  gulf,  and  some  apparently  very  large, 
(p.  499.)  He  was  informed,  "that  the  fishermen  are 
much  afraid  of  them,  and  extinguished  their  fires  in 
the  evening  before  they  went  to  sleep,  because  the 
light  was  known  to  attract  them."  (Comp.  Deut.  viii. 
15.)  The  Israelites  then  issued  into  the  great  and 
elevated  plains,  which  are  still  traversed  by  the  Syr- 
ian pilgrims  in  their  way  to  Mecca,  and  appear  to  have 
followed  northward  nearly  the  same  route  which  is 
now  taken  by  the  Syrian  Hadj,  along  the  western 
skirts  of  tliis  gi-eat  desert,  near  the  mountains  of 
Edom  ;  see  p,  415,  above.  On  entering  these  plains, 
Moses  received  the  command,  "  Ye  have  compassed 
this  mountain  long  enough ;  turn  ye  northward ;  ye 
are  to  pass  through  the  coast  of  the  children  of  Esau, 
and  they  shall  be  afraid  of  you,"  Deut.  ii.  3,  seq. 
The  same  people  who  had  successfully  repelled  the 
approach  of  the  Israelites  from  their  strong  western 
frontier,  was  alarmed  now  that  they  had  come  round 
upon  the  weak  side  of  the  country.  But  Israel  was 
ordered  "  not  to  meddle"  with  the  children  of  Esau, 
but  merely  "to  pass  through  their  coast,"  and  to 
"  buy  meat  and  water  of  them  for  money,"  (ii.  6.)  in 
the  same  manner  as  the  Syrian  caravan  of  Mecca  is 
now  supplied  by  the  people  of  the  same  mountains, 
who  meet  the  pilgrims  on  the  Hadj  route.  After 
traversing  the  wilderness  on  the  eastern  side  of  Moab, 
the  Israelites  at  length  entered  that  country,  crossing 
the  brook  Zered  thirty-eight  years  after  their  first 
departure  from  Kadesh,  and  about  forty  years  from 
the  time  of  their  departure  out  of  Egypt. 

In  accordance  with  the  views  al)ove  exhibited,  the 
several  accounts  given  of  the  stations  of  the  Israel- 
ites in  Num.  x.  seq.  and  Deut.  i.  ii.  x.  may  all  be 
synoptically  arranged  with  the  list  in  Num.  xxxiii.  as 
follows : 


A. 

Num.  X.  seq.     Deuteron. 


B. 

Num.  xxxiii. 


From  Sinai  on  the  twentieth  dav  of  the 

SECOND    month. 


Tothe  wilderuessof  Paran. 

1.  Taberal),  Num.  xi.  .3. 

2.  Kibroth-hattaavali, 

Num.  xi.  34. 

3.  Hazeroth,  Num.  xi.  35. 

4.  Region  of  Kadesh,  in 

the  wilderness  of  Pa- 
I'an,  after  eleven  days 
ofmarching,Nuni.xi. 
16;  xii.  2fi;  Deut.  i. 
2, 19. 


2.  Kibroth-hattaavali, 

verse  16. 

3.  Hazeroth,  17. 

4.  Rithmah,  by  Kadesh, 

18. 


^.  They  turn  back  from     5. 
Kadesh,  and  wander 
in  the  desert,  Num. 
xiv.  25,  seq. 

6. 

7. 

8. 

9. 
10. 
11. 
12. 
13. 
14. 
15. 
16. 
17. 
18. 
19. 
20. 
21. 

22.  Return    to    Kadesh,     22. 

Num.  XX.  1. 

23.  Beeroth  Bene  Jaakan, 

Deut.  X.  6. 

24.  Mount  Hor,  Num.  xx. 

22,  or  Mosera,  Deut. 
X.  6,  where  Aaron 
died. 

25.  Gudgodah,  Deut.  x.  7. 

26.  Jotbath,  Deut.  x.  7. 

27.  The  way  of  the  Red 

sea,  Num.xxi.4  ;froin 
Elath  and  Ezion-ga- 
ber, Deut.  ii.  8. 


Rimmon-Parez,  19. 


Libnah,  20. 
Rissah,  21. 
Kehelathah,  22. 
Mount  Shapher,  23. 
Haradah,  24. 
Makheloth,  25. 
Tahath,  26. 
Tarah,  27. 
Mithcah,  28. 
Hashmonah,  29. 
Moseroth,  30. 
Bene-jaakan,  31. 
Hor-hagidgad,  32 
Jotbathah,  33. 
Ebronah,  34. 
Ezion-gaber,  35. 
Kadesh,  the  city,  36. 


24.  Mount  Hor,  37, 


28. 
29. 
30. 
31. 


Zalmonah,  41. 
Punon,  42. 
Oboth,  43. 

Ije-abarim,     in      the 
border  of  Moab,  44. 


30.  Oboth,  Num.  xxi.  10. 

31.  Ije-abarim,  in  the  wil- 

derness east  of  Moab, 
Num.  xxi.  11. 

32.  The  valley  of  Zered, 

Num.  xxi.  12;  or  the 
brook  Zered,  after  38 
years  from  the  first 
departure  from  Ka- 
desh, Deut.  ii.  13, 14. 


EXODUS,  BOOK  or,  the  second  of  the  sacred 
books  in  the  Old  Testament,  is  so  called,  because  it 
contains  the  history  of  the  departure  of  Israel  out  of 
Egypt  under  Moses.  It  contains  the  history  of  the 
birlh  of  Moses  ;  his  education  and  flight ;  his  return  ; 
the  plagues  of  Egy]>t ;  the  de}iarture  of  the  Hebrews ; 
the  passjige  of  tjjc  Red  sea;  the  giving  of  the  law; 
the  erection  of  tlie  tabernacle ;  and  the  celebration 
of  the  second  passover.  It  contains  the  history  of 
145  years,  from  the  deatii  of  Joseph,  A.  M.  2369  to 
A.  M.  2514,  the  end  of  the  first  year  after  the  going 
out  of  Egypt.  The  Hebrews  call  this  lx)ok  nictf  nSxi, 
Veele  Shanoth,  brcausc  it  begins  with  these  words. 

EXORCISTS.  From  the  Creek  word  ii»i;xrcciy, 
to  conjure,  to  use  the  name  of  God,  with  design  to 
expel  devils  from  places  or  l)odi("s  v.hich  they  pos- 
sess. We  see  from  the  early  ai)ologists  of  our  reli- 
gion, that  the  devils  dreaded  the  exorcisms  of  Chris- 
tians, who  exercised  great  ])ower  against  those  wicked 
spirits.  Tlie  Jews  had  their  exorcists,  as  our  Lord 
intimates,  (Matt.  xii.  27,)  and  as  do  also  the  apostles,  in 
Mark  ix.  38  ;  Acts  ix.  13. 

I.  EXPIATION,  tlie  act  of  atoning  for  a  fault. 
The  Hebrews  had  several  sorts  of  expiatory  sacri- 


EXP 


[421  ] 


EYE 


fices  ; — for  sins  of  ignorance  ;  for  purifications  from 
certain  legal  pollutions,  as  of  a  woman  after  child- 
birth, or  of  a  leper  when  healed  ;  so,  also,  those  who, 
having  touched  something  impure,  had  forgotten  or 
neglected  to  purify  themselves  at  the  time  and  in  the 
manner  which  the  law  prescribed.  These  expiatory 
sacrifices  did  not  of  themselves  remit  faults  commit- 
ted against  God,  nor  take  away  the  guilt  of  sin  ;  they 
only  repaired  the  legal  and  external  fault,  and  secured 
the  transgressor  from  the  temporal  penalty  with 
which  those  faults  were  punishable.  See  Lev.  iv. 
27,  &c. 

For  a  sin-offering,  a  ram,  a  lamb,  a  kid,  or  two 
pigeons  might  be  offered ;  or  the  poor  might  offer 
meal.  There  were  particular  ceremonies,  for  the 
high-priest,  or  a  prince  of  the  people,  or  when  all  the 
people  had  committed  trespasses.  But  in  general, 
they  were  nearly  the  same.  The  flesh  of  beasts, 
offered  for  expiation,  belonged  exclusively  to  the 
priests.     See  Sacrifice. 

II.  EXPIATION,  THE  GREAT  DAY  OF,  was  the 
tenth  of  the  month  Tizri.  The  Hebrews  call  it  Kip- 
pur,  or  Chippur,  pardon,  or  expiation,  because  the 
faults  of  the  year  were  then  expiated.  The  princi- 
pal ceremonies  were  the  following.  The  high-priest, 
after  he  had  washed  not  only  his  hands  and  his  feet, 
as  is  usual  at  ordinary  sacrifices,  but  his  whole  body 
also,  dressed  himself  in  plain  linen  like  the  other 
priests,  wearing  neither  his  ))urple  robe  nor  the  ephod, 
nor  the  pectoral,  because  he  was  to  expiate  his  own 
sins  with  those  of  the  people.  He  first  offered  a  bul- 
lock and  a  ram  for  his  ovvii  sins,  and  those  of  the 
priests  ;  placing  his  hands  on  the  heads  of  the  victims, 
and  confessing  his  own  sins,  and  the  sins  of  his 
house.  Afterwards,  he  received  from  the  princes  of 
the  people  two  goats  for  a  sin-offering,  and  a  ram  for 
a  burnt-offering,  to  be  offered  on  behalf  of  the  whole 
nation. 

The  lot  having  determined  which  of  the  two  goats 
should  be  sacrificed,  the  high-priest  put  some  of  the 
sacred  fire  of  the  altar  of  burnt-offerings  into  a  cen- 
ser, threw  incense  upon  it,  and  entered  with  it,  thus 
smoking,  into  the  sanctuary.  After  he  had  thus  per- 
fumed the  sanctuary,  he  came  out,  took  some  of  the 
blood  of  the  young  bullock  he  had  sacrificed,  and 
carrying  that  into  the  sanctuary,  he  dipped  his  fin- 
gers in  it,  and  sprinkled  it  seven  times  between  the 
ark  and  the  vail,  which  separated  the  holy  place  from 
the  sanctuary,  or  most  holy.  He  then  came  out  a 
second  time,  and  at  the  foot  of  the  altar  of  burnt-of- 
ferings killed  the  goat  which  the  lot  had  determined 
to  be  the  sacrifice.  The  blood  of  this  goat  he  then 
carried  into  the  most  holy  jilace,  and  sprinkled  it 
seven  times  between  the  ark  and  the  vail.  Thence 
he  returned  into  the  court  of  the  tabernacle,  and  after 
sprinkling  both  sides  of  it  with  the  blood  of  the  goat, 
he  came  to  the  altar  of  burnt-offerings,  wetted  the 
four  horns  of  it  with  the  bloodof  the  goat  and  young 
bullock,  and  sprinkled  it  seven  times  with  the  same. 
During  the  performance  of  this  ceremony,  none  of 
the  priests,  or  people,  were  admitted  into  the  taberna- 
cle, or  into  the  court. 

The  sanctuarj',  the  court,  and  the  altar,  being  thus 
purified,  the  high-priest  directed  the  goat,  which  was 
set  at  liberty  by  the  lot,  to  be  brought  to  him.  This 
being  done,  he  put  his  hand  on  its  head,  and  after 
confessing  his  own  sins,  and  the  sins  of  tlie  people, 
he  delivered  the  goat  to  a  person,  who  was  to  carry 
it  to  some  desert  place,  and  let  it  loose  ;  or,  as  others 
think,  throw  it  down  some  precipice.  (See  Goat, 
SCAPE.)    This  being  done,  the  high-priest  washed 


himself  all  over  in  the  tabernacle,  and  putting  on 
other  clothes,  perhaps  his  pontifical  dress,  (that  is,  his 
robe  of  purple,  the  ephod,  and  the  pectoral,)  he  sac- 
rificed two  rams  for  a  burnt-offering,  one  for  himself, 
the  other  for  the  people. 

The  gi-eat  day  of  Expiation  was  a  day  of  rest,  and 
strict  fasting.  Buxtorf  and  Calmet  have  collected 
many  particulars  relative  to  the  observance  of  this 
solemnity  by  the  modern  Jews. 

EYE.  The  Hebrews  call  fountains,  eyes  ;  and 
give  the  same  name  to  colors.  "And  the  eye  (color) 
of  the  manna  was  as  the  eye  (color)  of  bdellium, 
Numb.  xi.  7.  By  an  "  evil  eye,"  is  meant,  envy, 
jealousy,  grudging,  ill-judged  pai-simony.  "  To  lay 
their  eyes  on  any  one,"  is  to  regard  him  and  his  in- 
terests. "To  find  grace  in  any  one's  eyes," (Ruth  ii. 
10.)  is  to  win  his  friendship  and  good  graces. 
"Their  eyes  were  opened,"  (Gen.  iii.  7.)  they  began 
to  comprehend  in  a  new  manner.  "  The  wise  man's 
eyes  are  in  his  head,"  (Eccles.  ii.  14.)  he  does  not  act 
by  chance.  "  The  eye  of  the  soul,"  in  a  moral  sense, 
is  the  intention,  the  desire.  God  threatens  to  "  set 
his  eyes"  on  the  Israelites  for  evil,  and  not  for  good, 
Amos  ix.  4.  Nebuchadnezzar  recommends  to  Neb- 
uzaradan  that  he  would  "set  his  eyes"  on  Jeremiah, 
(xxxix.  12 ;  xl.  4.)  and  permit  him  to  go  where  he 
pleased.  Sometimes  expressions  of  this  kind  are 
taken  in  quite  an  opposi,:e  sense,  "  Behold,  the  eyes 
of  the  Lord  are  on  the  sinful  kingdom,  and  I  will  de- 
stroy it,"  Amos  ix.  8.  To  be  "  eyes  to  the  blind,"  or 
to  serve  them  instead  of  eyes,  is  sufficiently  intelli- 
gible. Job  xxix.  15.  The  Persians  called  those  offi- 
cers of  the  cro^^^l  who  had  the  care  of  the  king's 
interests,  and  the  management  of  his  finances,  "  the 
king's  eyes."  "  I  made  a  covenant  with  my  eyes, 
why  then  should  I  think  upon  a  maid  ?"  a  very  ex- 
l)f  essive  way  of  speaking,  whose  force  would  be  im- 
paired by  any  explanation,  Job  xxxi.  1.  "Eye  ser- 
vice" is  peculiar  to  slaves,  who  are  governed  by  fear 
only,  and  is  to  be  avoided  by  Christians,  Eph.  vi.  6 ; 
Col.  iii.  22.  The  "lust  of  the  eyes,"  or,  "the  desire 
of  the  eyes,"  comprehends  every  thing  that  curiosity, 
vanity,  &c.  seek  after ;  evei-y  thing  that  the  eyes  can 
present  to  men  given  up  to  their  passions,  1  John  ii. 
16.  "  Cast  ye  awaj'  every  man  the  abomination  of 
his  eyes,"  (Ezek.  xx.  7,  8.)  that  is,  let  not  the  idols  of 
the  Egj'ptians  seduce  you.  Paul  says,  (Gal.  iv.  15.) 
that  the  Galatians  would  willingly  "have  plucked 
out  their  eyes  for  him ;"  expressing  the  intensity  of 
their  zeal,  affection,  and  devotion  for  him.  In  a  con- 
trary sense,  the  Israelites  said  to  3Ioses,  "  Wilt  thou 
put  out  the  eyes  of  these  men  ?"  Numb,  xvi,  14.  To 
keep  any  thing  as  the  ajjple  of  the  eye,  is  to  presei-ve 
it  with  particular  care.  Dent,  xxxii.  lO.  The  eye  and 
its  actions  are  very  expressivelv  transferred  to  God, 
Zech.  iv.  10  ;  2  Chion.  xvi.  9  ;  "Psal.  xi.  4  ;  Prov.  xv. 
3.  Our  Lord  says,  (3Iait.  vi.  22.)  "  the  light  (or  lamp) 
of  th('  body  is  the  eye — if  therefore  thine  eye  be  sin- 
gle, (single — simple,  clear,  «.7/.ov--.)  thy  whole  body 
shall  be  full  of  light ;  but  if  thine  eye  be  evil — (dis- 
tempered— diseased)  thy  Avhole  body  shall  be  full  of 
darkness."  The  direct  allusion  may  hold  to  a  lan- 
tern, or  lamp  (Ai/ioc); — if  the  glaSs  of  it  be  clear,  the 
light  will  shine  through  it  strongly  ;  but  if  the  glass 
be  soiled — foul,  but  little  light  will  pass  through  it. 
They  may  not  have  had  glass  lanterns,  such  as  vye 
use,  in  the  East,  but  they  had  others  made  of  thin 
linen,  &c.  which  were  very  liable  to  receive  spots, 
stains,  and  foulnesses,  that  would  hinder  the  passage 
of  the  rays  from  the  light  within.  So,  in  the  natural 
eye,  if  the  cornea  be  singlf-,  and  the  humors  clear, 


EYE 


[  423  ] 


EYE 


ihft  liglit  "ill  act  correctly  ;  but  if  there  be  a  film 
over  the  cornea,  or  a  cataract — or  a  skin  between  any 
of  the  humors,  the  rays  of  light  will  not  act  on  the 
internal  seat  of  sight,  the  retina.  By  analogy,  there- 
fore, if  the  mental  eye,  the  judgment,  be  honest,  vir- 
tuous, sincere,  well  meaning,  pious,  it  may  be  con- 
sidered as  enlightening  and  directing  the  whole  of  a 
person's  actions  ;  but  if  it  be  perverse,  malign,  biased 
by  undue  prejudices,  or  drawn  aside  by  improper 
views — it  darkens  the  understanding,  perverts  the 
conduct  of  the  party,  and  suffers  him  to  be  misled 
by  his  unwise  and  his  unruly  passions  ;  as  Saul  was 
towards  David,  see  1  Sam.  xviii.  9,  in  lleb.  ("Saul 
eyed  David,"  Eng.  Trans.) 

May  there  not  be  an  allusion  to  distempers  of  the 
eye,  in  Matt.  vii.  3  ?  "  Why  beholdest  thou  the  mote 
(the  little  black  speck)  which  is  in  tliy  brother's  eye — 
but  considerest  not  the  beam— (tlie  almost  cataract- 
like  film)  which  is  in  thine  own  eye  ?"  The  word 
translated  mole,  {y.'tQ<fo:, )  say  some,  signifies  a  little 
splinter  of  wood  ;  othere  say,  a  little  seed :  it  may  be 
referred  to  a  small  film,  or  speck,  the  size  of  a  seed, 
floating  in  the  eye,  a  disease  known  among  medical 
writers.  The  word  Svy-o;  signifies  a  beam,  or  rafter, 
and,  no  doubt,  is  used  parabolically : — but  might  it 
not  import  a  real  disorder  of  the  eye,  far  more  inju- 
rious to  distinct  vision  than  the  mote  ?  This  sense  of 
the  phrase  is  independent  of  any  parable  which 
might  be  used  among  the  Jews,  referring  to  a  beam, 
or  large  piece  of  wood,  being  in  the  eye.  As  if  it 
were  said,  "  Why  beholdest  thou  with  affected  supe- 
riority and  keenness  of  observation,  the  little  seed-like 
film  which  floats  in  thy  brother's  eye,  but  art  insensi- 
ble of  the  purblind  state  of  thine  own  eye?" 

There  is  an  expression  in  Psal.  cxxiii.  2,  "the  eyes 
of  servants  look  unto  the  hands  of  their  masters," 
&c.  the  proper  force  of  which  we  are  not  likely  to 
perceive,  unless  acquainted  with  eastern  customs. 

Accustomed  to  the  free  mtei'course  of  conversation, 
to  the  expression  by  words  of  our  thoughts  as  they 
rise  within  us,  we  relate  every  thing  verbatim ;  and 
except  a  sentiment  be  openly  conveyed  by  speech, 
we  attribute  no  bjame  to  those  who  do  not  regard  it, 
or  understand  it.  On  the  same  ])rinciple,  the  orders 
we  give  our  servants  are  directed  to  them  in  words, 
and  acco2-ding  to  our  words  we  expect  their  obedi- 
ence. But  the  case  is  altogether  different  in  the 
East ;  gravity  and  silence,  especially  before  superi- 
ors, are  there  so  highly  esteemed,  as  denoting  respect, 
that  many  of  the  most  important  orders  which  a 
master  can  give,  or  a  servant  can  receive,  are  given 
and  received  in  profound  silence.  This  mode  of  be- 
havior is  the  basis  of  the  Psalmist's  rejjrescntation. 

An  illustration  more  happy  than  the  following  can 
hanlly  be  expected.  Some,  indeed,  have  supposed 
the  chaskyiing  hand  of  the  master,  or  mistress,  to  be 
that  to  whicli  the  servant  attends;  but  it  should  be 
remarked  that  the  Psalmist  is  not  complaining /o  the 
person  who  chastises  him,  but  of  the  contempt  and 
scorn  (not  strictly  persecution)  of  the  jiroud. 

"  One  can  hardly  imagine  the  respect,  civility,  and 
serious  modesty,  tjiat  is  used  among  them  [the  east- 
ern ladies]  when  they  are  visited  by  any  one,  as  I 
have  been  informed  by  some  ladies  of  the  Franks, 
who  have  been  witli  several.  No  nuns,  or  novices, 
pay  more  deference  to  their  al)bess,  or  superior,  than 
the  maid-slaves  to  their  mistresses  ;  they  are  waited  on 
as  are  likewise  their  female  visitors,  with  a  surprising 
order  and  diligence,  even  at  tlie  least  wink  of  the 
eye,  or  motion  of  the  fingers,  and  that  in  a  manner 
not  perceptible  to  strnngere,  as  \  have  said  of  the 


men  elsewhere."  (Motraye,  vol.  i.  249.)  "Nobody 
appears  on  horseback  but  the  Grand  Seignior,  in  the 
second  court,  and  they  observe  so  respectful  a  silence, 
not  only  in  the  palace,  when  the  Grand  Seignior  Ik  in 
it,  but  the  court  yards,  (notwithstanding  the  great 
number  of  people  who  come  there,  especially  into 
the  fij-st,  where,  generally,  a  number  of  servants  wait 
for  their  masters,  who  are  either  at  the  Divan,  or  in 
some  other  part  of  the  seraglio,)  that  if  a  blind  man 
should  come  in  there,  and  did  not  know  that  the 
most  courtly  way  of  speaking,  among  the  Turks,  is  in 
a  low  voice,  and  by  signs,  like  mutes,  which  are  gen- 
erally understood  by  them,  he  would  believe  it  unin- 
habited ;  and  1  have  heard  them  say,  in  reference  to 
other  nations,  that  two  Franks,  talking  merely  of 
trifles,  make  nuich  more  noise  than  a  hundred 
Turks  in  treating  about  affairs  of  consequence,  or 
niaking  a  bargain  ;  and  they  add,  in  speaking  against 
our  manner  of  saluting,  by  pulling  off  our  hats,  and 
drawing  our  feet  backward,  that  we  seemed  as  if  we 
were  driving  away  the  flies,  and  wiping  our  shoes ; 
and  they  extol  their  custom  of  putting  their  right 
hand  uj)on  their  heart,  and  l)owing  a  little,  as  being 
much  more  natural  and  reasonable.  When  tliey  sa- 
lute a  superior,  they  take  the  bottom  of  his  caftan,  or 
vest,  that  hangs  down  to  his  ankles,  and  bending 
down,  they  lift  it  about  two  feet,  and  kiss  it."  (P.  170.) 
Baron  du  Tott  gives  a  remarkable  instance  of  the 
authority  attending  this  mode  of  commanding  ;  and  of 
the  use  of  significant  motions : — "  The  customary 
ceremonies  on  these  occasions  were  over,  and  Racub 
[the  new  Vizier]  continued  to  discourse  familiarly 
with  the  ambassador,  when  theMuzur-Aga  (or  High 
Provost)  coming  into  the  hall,  and  approaching  the 
Pacha,  whispered  something  in  his  ear  ;  and  we  ob- 
served that  all  the  answer  he  received  from  him  was 
a  slight  horizontal  motion  tvith  his  hand  ;  after  which, 
the  Vizier,  instantly  resuming  an  agreeable  snjile,  con- 
tinued the  conversation  for  some  time  longer.  We 
then  lefl;  the  hall  of  audience,  and  came  to  the  foot 
of  the  great  staircase,  wlicre  we  ren)oiuited  our 
horses :  here,  nine  heads  cut  off,  and  placed  in  a  row 
on  the  outside  of  the  fii-st  gate,  completely  explained 
the  siGX  which  the  Vizier  had  made  use  of  in  our 
presence."  (vol.  i.  p.  30.) 

These  extracts  prove,  that  not  only  in  private  and 
domestic  concerns,  but  also  in  those  of  public  impor- 
tance, on  occasions  of  life  or  death,  inferiors  in  the 
East  do  actually  "look  to  the  hands  of  their  sujteri- 
ors,"  and  receive  orders  from  them.  The  orientals 
have  even  a  kind  of  language  for  the  fingers,  and,  by 
various  positions  of  them,  they  give  silent  orders  to 
their  domestics,  who  are  watching  to  receive  them. 

But  this  article  has  an  aspect  still  more  im]K)rtant 
on  a  usage  frequently  alluded  to  in  Scripture,  and 
regarded  as  nothing  unconunoii,  though  it  appear 
strange  to  us. — No  account  of  any  such  attendants  on 
the  court  of  Judea,  as  diuni)  men,  ormiUes,  occurs  in 
Scripture,  but  it  is  certain  that  the  Grand  Seignior 
has  a  number  of  such  persons  ;  "  who,"  says  Knolles, 
(p.  1487.)  "  will  vnderstand  any  thing  that  shall  be 
acted  vnto  them  by  signs  and  gestures ;  and  will 
themselves,  by  the  gesture  of  their  eyes,  bodies, 
hands,  and  feet,  deliuer  matters  of  great  diflicultie,  to 
the  great  admiration  of  strangers." 

From  this,  and  similar  accounts,  it  may  be  inferred, 
that  language  by  signs  forms  a  common  and  ordinary 
manner  of  directing  in  the  East ; — that  the  most  dif- 
ficidt  matters  are  thus  related  ;  and  veiy  probably  by 
means  of  the  mutes,  (in  the  Turkish  seraglio,  espe- 
cially,) matters  not  alwavB  of  the   most  agreeable 


EYE 


[  423 


EZE 


nature,  are  communicated  to  personages  in  the  most 
important  stations,  whom  they  immediately  concern. 

The  result  of  the  whole  is,  that  when  the  prophets 
under  the  Old  Testament  were  divinely  directed  to 
act  a  portion  of  the  information  they  had  in  charge 
to  communicate  to  the  people,  they  did  little  or  noth- 
ing more  than  what  was  done  every  day,  in  the 
countries  where  they  resided.  Action,  as  a  system  of 
indication,  was  familiar  to  the  spectators,  and  though 
calculated  to  excite  their  curiosity  and  attention,  it 
was  not,  by  its  novelty,  or  singularity,  either  beyond 
their  understanding,  or  beside  their  application  of  it 
to  themselves,  or  to  circumstances  ;  nor  did  it  seem 
crazy  to  tiieni ;  as  it  might  to  us,  who  are  not  accus- 
tomed to  such  a  mode  of  comnumicating  ideas. 
When  Isaiah  says,  he  and  his  children  are  for  signs  ; 
when  Jeremiah  found  his  girdle  marred,  as  a  s{g7i ; 
— when  Ezekiel  was  a  sign  to  the  people,  in  not 
mourning  for  the  dead,  (chap,  xxiv.) — in  his  remov- 
ing into  captivity,  and  digging  through  the  wall, 
(chap,  xii.) — these  and  similar  actions  were  not  only 
well  understood,  but  they  had  the  advantage  of  being 
in  ordinary  use  among  the  people  to  whom  they  were 
addressed. 

For  some  account  of  blinding  the  eyes,  as  a  pun- 
ishment, not  unfrequently  practised  in  the  East,  see 
Blindness. 

EYE-LIDS.  As  it  is  not  customary  among  us  for 
women  to  paint  their  eye-lids,  particularly,  we  do  not 
usually  perceive>kthe  full  import  of  tiie  expressions  in 
Scripture  referring  to  this  custom,  which  appears  to 
i)e  of  very  great  anticiuity,  and  which  is  still  main- 
tained in  the  East.  So  we  read,  (2  Kings  ix.  30.) 
"  Jezebel  painted  iier  face,"  Heb.  "  put  her  eyes  in 
paint :"  more  correctly,  "  she  painted  the  internal 
part  of  her  eye-lids,"  by  drawing  between  them  a 
silver  wire,  previously  wetted,  and  dipped  in  the 
powder  oC phuc,  (a  rich  lead  ore,)  which,  adhering  to 
the  eye-lids,  formed  a  streak  of  black  upon  them, 
thereby,  apparently,  enlarging  the  eyes,  and  render- 
ing their  effect  more  powerful ;  invigorating  their 
vivacity.  This  action  is  strongly  referred  to  by  Jer- 
emiah (iv.  30.)  in  our  translation,  "though  thou  rent- 
rst  thy  face  with  painting ;"  or,  though  thou  cause 
thine  eye-lids  to  seem  to  be  starting  out  of  thine  head, 
through  the  strength  of  the  black  paint  which  is  ap- 
plied to  them,  yet  shall  that  decoration  be  in  vain. 
Tlie  powerful  effect  of  this  supposedly  charming 
addition  is  alluded  to  by  the  sagacious  preceptor : 
(I'rov.  vi.  25.)  "Lust  not  after  her  beauty  (of  the 
strange  woman)  in  thine  heart ;  neither  let  her  cap- 
tivate thee  with  her  eye-lids" — which  she  has  ren- 
dered so  large  and  briUiant  by  the  assistance  of  art, 
as  to  enchant  beholders.  So  Ezekiel :  (xxiii.  40.)  "  for 
whom  hast  thou  washed  thyself,  and  hast  colored — 
painted — thine  eyes — (eye-lids,  rather) — and  hast  or- 
namented thyself  with  ornaments  ?" 

[Many  avuhors  have  mentioned  the  custom  which 
has  prevailed  from  time  immemorial  among  the  fe- 
males of  the  East,  of  tinging  the  eyes  and  edges  of 
the  eye-lids  with  a  powder,  which,  at  a  distance,  or 
by  candle-light,  adds  much  to  the  blackness  of  the 
eyes.  Lady  M.W.  Montague  speaks  of  this  custom. 
(Letters,  vol.  ii.  p.  32.)  Pietro  della  Valle,  the  Italian 
traveller,  giving  a  description  of  his  wife,  who  was 
born  in  Mesopotamia,  and  educated  at  Bagdad,  where 
he  married  her,  says :  (Viaggi,  tom.  i.  left.  17. )  "  ller 
eye-lashes,  which  are  long,  and,  according  to  the  cus- 
tom of  the  East,  dressed  with  stibium,  as  we  oflen 
read  in  the  Holy  Scriptures  of  the  Hebrew  women 
of  old,  (Ezek.  xxiii.  40.)  and  in  Xenophon,  of  Asty- 


ages  the  gi-andfather  of  Cyrus,  and  of  the  Medes  of 
that  time,  (Cyrop.  i.)  give  a  dark,  and,  at  the  same 
time,  majestic  shade  to  the  eyes." 

Dr.  Shaw  affords  us  the  following  information: 
(Travels,  p.  294.  fol  ed.)  "None  of  these  ladies  take 
themselves  to  be  completely  dressed,  till  they  have 
tinged  the  hair  and  edges  of  their  eye-lids  with  the 
powder  of  lead  ore.  Now  as  this  operation  is  per- 
formed by  dipping  first  into  the  powder  a  small 
wooden  bodkin,  of  the  thickness  of  a  quill,  and  then 
drawing  it  afterwards,  through  the  eye-lids,  over  the 
ball  of  the  eye,  we  shall  have  a  lively  image  of  what 
the  prophet  (Jer.  iv.  30.)  may  be  supposed  to  mean 
by  rending  the  eyes  with  painting.  The  sooty  color, 
which  is  in  this  manner  communicated  to  the  eyes,  is 
thought  to  add  a  wonderful  gi-acefulness  to  persons 
of  all  complexions." 

Similar  is  the  testimony  of  Niebuhr:  (Descr.  of 
Arab.  p.  65.)  "The  females  of  Arabia,"  he  says, 
"color  their  nails  blood  red,  and  their  hands  and  feet 
yellow,  with  the  herb  Al-henna.  (See  Camphire.) 
They  also  tinge  the  inside  of  their  eye-lids  coal-black 
with  kiichel,  a  coloring  material  prepared  from  lead 
ore.  They  not  only  enlarge  their  eye-brows,  but 
also  paint  other  figures  of  black,  as  ornaments,  upon 
the  face  and  hands.  Sometimes  they  even  prick 
through  the  skin,  in  various  figures,  and  then  lay 
certain  substances  upon  the  wounds,  which  eat  in  so 
deeply,  that  the  ornaments  thus  impressed  are  ren- 
dered permanent  for  life.  All  this  the  Arabian  wo- 
men esteem  as  beauty.  Even  men  sometimes  strew 
kochel  upon  their  eyes,  under  the  pretext  that  it 
strengthens  the  sight ;  but  thcy  are  regarded  by  the 
more  judicious  as  petits  maitres.^'' 

This  custom  is  not  confined  to  the  Sheniitish  mat- 
rons alone.  Captain  Symes  says,  that  "  the  Birmans, 
both  men  and  women,  color  their  teeth,  their  eye- 
lashes, and  the  edges  of  their  eye-lids,  with  black. 
The  women  of  Hindostan  and  Persia,  also,  common- 
ly practise  the  operation  of  coloring  the  eye-lashes. 
They  deem  it  beneficial  as  well  as  becoming.  The 
collyrium  they  use  is  called  surma,  the  Persian  name 
of  antimony."'    (Embassy  to  Ava,  vol.  ii.  p.  235.) 

The  ancients  call  the  mineral,  with  which  the  eyes 
are  thus  colored,  stibium  or  antimony  ;  (Pliny  xxxiii. 
23.)  the  usual  Hebrew  name  is  ,-?id,  puk,  but  in  Ezek. 
xxiii.  40,  we  find  the  verb  hr^:i,  kdchal,  to  color,  &c. 
to  which  the  modern  Arabic  al  cohol,  or  kochol,  cor- 
responds. This  is  described  as  a  fine  mineral  pow- 
der, usually  a  compound  of  lead  ore  and  zinc,  which 
is  moistened  with  oil  or  vinegar,  etc.  and  laid  upon 
the  inner  part  of  the;  eye-lids,  so  as  to  cause  a  small 
black  line  to  appear  around  the  edge.  (See  Hart- 
mann's  Holiraerinn,  Th.  ii.  p.  149,  seq.)     *R. 

EZEKIEL,  son  of  Buzi,  a  prophet  of  the  sacer- 
dotal race,  was  carried  captive  to  Babylon  by  Neb- 
uchadnezzar, with  Jehoiachin  king  of  Judah,  A.  M. 
3405.  He  began  his  ministry  in  the  thirtieth  year  of 
his  age,  according  to  the  general  account ;  but  per- 
haps' in  the  thirtieth  year  after  the  covenant  was  re- 
newed with  God  in  the  reign  of  Josiali,  (Ezek.  i.  1.) 
which  answers  to  the  Mh  year  of  Ezekiel's  captiv- 
ity, A.  M.  3409.  He  prophesied  twenty  years,  to  A.  M. 
3430  ;  the  fourteenth  year  after  the  taking  of  Jeru- 
salem. 

When  Ezekiei  was  among  the  captives  on  the 
river  Chebar,  the  Lord  appeared  to  him  in  a  vision, 
on  a  throne,  borne  by  four  cherubim,  supported  by 
four  wheels,  and  appointed  him  the  watchman  of 
his  people.  He  was  commanded  to  shut  himself  up 
in  his  house,  and    forewarned,    that    he  should  be 


EZEKIEL 


424  ] 


EZR 


seized,  and  bound  with  chains  as  a  madmtm. 
Wliile  thus  confined,  God  commanded  him  to  delin- 
eate on  a  brick,  or  piece  of  soft  eaith,  the  city  of 
Jerusalem,  besieged  and  surrounded  with  ramparts  ; 
to  put  a  wall  of  iron  between  himself  and  the  city  ; 
and  to  continue  390  days  lying  on  his  left  side,  anal- 
ogous to  the  iniquity  of  the  kingdom  of  Israel ;  and 
40  days  on  his  right  side,  to  signify  the  iniquities  of 
Judah.  These  430  days  denoted,  also,  the  siege  of 
Jerusalem  by  Nebuchadnezzar;  its  duration,  and  the 
subsequent  captivity,  from  the  sacking  of  Jerusalem 
in  the  reign  of  Zedekiah  ;  or,  rather,  in  the  fourth 
year  after  this  siege,  when  Nebuzaradan  carried 
away  the  remains  of  the  Jews  prisoners  to  Babylon, 
A.  M.  3420,  until  the  death  of  Belshazzar,  A.  M. 
3466,  according  to  Usher ;  or  reckoning  from  the 
taking  of  Jerusalem,  in  3416  to  3457,  which,  accord- 
ing to  Calmet's  computation,  is  the  first  year  of 
Cyrus's  reign  at  Babylon. 

Ezekiel  was  afterwards  commanded  to  make  as 
many  loaves  of  mixed  corn  as  he  was  to  continue 
days  Ij'ing  upon  his  side,  and  to  bake  them  with  hu- 
man excrements.  (See  Du.xg.)  The  prophet,  express- 
ing his  reluctance  to  this,  was  permitted  to  substi- 
tute cow-dung,  signifying  hereby,  that  the  inhab- 
itants of  Jerusalem  should  be  reduced,  during  the 
siege,  to  the  necessity  of  eating  unclean  bread,  in 
small  quantity,  and  in  continual  terror.  After  this,  he 
was  to  cut  off  his  hair,  to  divide  it  into  three  parts, — 
to  burn  one  part,  to  cut  another  to  pieces  with  a 
sword,  and  to  scatter  the  rest  in  the  wind  ;  hereby 
typifying  the  fate  of  the  people.  The  year  follow- 
ing, he  was  transported  in  spirit  to  Jerusalem,  and 
shown  the  abominations  and  idolatries  committed 
there ;  God  connnanding  an  angel  to  mark,  as  a 
pledge  of  security,  the  penitents  in  the  city,  and  other 
angels  to  slay  those  not  marked.  Five  years  before 
the  last  siege  of  Jerusalem,  the  Lord  directed  Eze- 
kiel to  prepare  for  escape,  as  it  were  from  enemies, 
by  stealth ;  as  king  Zedekiah  should  also  do.  He 
subjoins  a  strong  invective  against  false  prophets  and 
false  prophetesses,  and  those  seduced  by  them. 

During  these  predictions  of  the  prophet  in  Meso- 
pijtamia,  Zedekiah  king  of  Judah  combined  with 
Egypt,  Edom,  and  neighboring  princes,  to  rebel 
against  Nebuchadnezzai-.  The  Babylonian  prince 
marched  against  Jerusalem,  and  besieged  it,  A.  I\I. 
3414 ;  and  on  the  same  day,  Ezekiel,  who  was  two 
hundred  leagues  from  Jerusalem,  declared  the  event 
to  his  companions  in  captivity,  and  predicted  to  them 
the  ruin  of  their  metropolis.  "  At  this  time  the  proph- 
et's wife  dying,  God  forbade  him  to  mourn  for  her; 
and  the  people  inquiring  the  meaning  of  these  figur- 
ative actions,  Ezekiel  answered,  that  God  was  about 
to  deprive  them  of  their  temple,  city,  country,  and 
friends;  and  that  they  should  not  have  even  the  sad 
consolation  of  moiu-ning  for  them. 

During  the  siege  of  Jerusalem,  Ezekiel  prophesied 
against  I'Igypt  and  Tyre.  He  was  not  informed  that 
Jerusalem  was  taken,  till  the  fifth  day  of  the  tenth 
month,  A.  M.  3417,  about  six  months  after  the  event ;/ 
whence  we  may  judge,  that  he  was  at  that  time  in 
some  retired  situation  remote  from  Babylon.  In  the 
evening  of  that  day,  the  Lord  opened  the  prophet's 
mouth,  to  foretell,  that  the  remains  of  the  people 
would  be  dispersed  ;  which  happened  four  years 
after.  He  also  foretold  the  calamiticb  of  Sidon,  Tyre 
Edom,  and  Ammon,  as  they  occurred  five  years  after 
the  destruction  of  Jerusalem. 

The  siege  of  Tyre,  and  Nebuchadnezzar's  war 
against  Egypt,  are,  next  to  the  afiairs  of  the  Jews 


most  remarkable  in  Ezekiel's  writings.  After  these 
melancholy  visions,  God  showed  him  more  consola- 
tory events  ; — the  return  from  the  captivity — the  re- 
building of  the  temple  and  city — the  restitution  of  the 
kingdom  of  Judah  and  Israel,  &c.  chap,  xxxvi. 
xxxvii.  xxxviii.  &c. 

Jerome  is  of  opinion,  that  as  Jeremiah  prophesied  at 
Jerusalem  at  the  same  time  as  Ezekiel  did  beyond 
the  Euphrates,  the  prophecies  of  the  latter  were  sent 
to  Jerusalem,  and  those  of  the  former  into  Mesopota- 
mia, to  comfort  and  encourage  the  captive  Jews. 
It  is  said  by  Epiphanius,  that  Ezekiel  was  put  to 
death  by  the  prince  of  his  people,  because  he  exhort- 
ed him  to  leave  idolatry  ;  but  it  is  difficult  to  say  who 
this  prince  could  be.  It  is  affirmed,  that  his  body 
was  laid  in  the  same  cave  in  which  Shem  and  Ar- 
phaxad  were  deposited,  on  the  banks  of  the  Euphra- 
tes. Benjamin  of  Tudela  says,  that  his  tomb  is  be- 
hind the  synagogue,  between  the  Euphrates  and  the 
Chebar,  in  a  very  fine  vault  built  by  Jehoiachin  ; 
that  the  Jews  keep  a  lamp  always  burning  there,  and 
boast  that  they  possess  the  prophet's  work,  written 
with  his  own  hand,  which  they  read  every  year  on 
the  great  day  of  expiation. 

Josephus  (Antiq.  lib.  x.  cap.  6,  10.)  says,  that  Eze- 
kiel left  two  books  concerning  the  captivity  ;  that 
having  foretold  the  ruin  of  the  temple,  and  that 
Zedekiah  should  not  see  Babylon,  these  writings  were 
sent  to  Jerusalem;  circumstances  which  we  do  not 
read  in  Ezekiel ;  but  which  seem  to  favor  the  opin- 
ion of  Jerome.  Athanasius  believed,  that  one  of  two 
books  of  Ezekiel  was  lost ;  and  Spinoza  thinks,  that 
what  we  have  of  his  writings  is  a  fragment  only  ; 
but  there  is  i>o  proof  of  all  this ;  nor  do  we  knoAV 
upon  what  authority  Josephus  made  his  assertion. 

The  writings  of  Ezekiel  have  been  always  acknowl- 
edged canonical ;  nor  was  it  even  disputed  that  he 
was  their  author.  The  Jews,  however,  say,  that  the 
Sanhedrim  deliberated  long,  whether  his  book  should 
form  part  of  the  canon.  The  great  obscurity  of 
his  prophecy,  at  the  beginning  and  the  end,  was  ob- 
jected ;  and  also  what  he  says  in  chap,  xviii.  2 — 20, 
that  the  son  should  not  bear  the  iniquity  of  his  father ; 
which  was  thought  contrary  to  Moses,  who  says,  the 
Lord  visiteth  the  sins  of  the  fathers  on  the  children 
to  the  third  and  fourth  generation.  But  this  difficul- 
ty was  removed  by  Ananias.  It  may  be  observed, 
that  Moses  himself  says  the  same  thing,  in  Deut. 
xxiv.  16  :  "The  fathers  shall  not  be  put  to  death  for 
the  children,  neither  shall  the  children  be  put  to 
death  for  the  fathers:  every  man  shall  be  put  to 
death  for  his  own  sin." 

Ezekiel  speaks  of  a  resurrection,  (ch.  xxxviii.  1.) 
and  says  that,  having  been  conducted  [in  vision]  into 
a  field  of  bones,  the  Spirit  of  God  induced  him  to 
prophesy  to  them,  upon  which  they  gradually  re- 
assembled and  revived. 

EZION-GABER,  or  Ezion-geber,  a  city  of  Ara- 
bia Dcserta,  on  a  gulf  of  the  Red  sea,  called  the 
Elanitic  gulf,  and  close  by  the  city  of  Elafh.  The 
Israelites  came  fronj  Ebrona  to  Ezion-gaber ;  and 
thence  to  the  wilderness  of  Zin.  At  this  port  Sol- 
oinon  equipped  his  fleets  for  the  voyage  to  Ophir, 
Num.  xxxiii.  35  ;  Deut.  ii.  8  ;  1  Kings  ix.  26.  See 
Elath  and  Exodus. 

EZRA,  or  EsDRAS,  the  famous  Jewish  high-priest 
and  reformer,  was  of  a  sacerdotal  family  ;  by  some 
thought  to  be  son  of  Jeraiah,  the  high-priest,  who 
was  put  to  death  at  Riblatha  by  Nebuchadnezzar, 
after  the  capture  of  Jerusalem;  but  as  Calmet  thinks, 
only  his  grandson,  or  great-grandson.    It  is  believed, 


EZRA 


[425  ] 


EZR 


that  the  first  return  of  Ezra  from  Babylon  to  Jeru- 
salem was  with  Zerubbabel,  in  the  beginning  of  Cy- 
rus's reign,  A.  M.  3468,  of  which  he  himself  wrote 
the  history.  He  was  veiy  skilful  in  the  law,  and 
zealous  for  God's  service ;  and  had,  doubtless,  a 
great  share  in  all  the  transactions  of  his  time. 

The  enemies  of  the  Jews  procured  from  the  court 
of  Persia  an  order,  forbidding  them  to  continue  the 
rebuilding  of  the  temple,  which  they  had  resumed 
after  the  death  of  Cyrus  and  Cambyses;  but  this 
order  being  revoked  in  the  beginning  of  the  reign  of 
Darius  Hystaspes,  (A.M.  3485,)  they  proceeded,  and 
dedicated  the  ten)i)le  in  3489,  Ezra  vi.  Ezra,  not- 
withstanding, returned  to  Babylon,  probably  on  some 
affairs  of  his  nation  ;  and  in  the  seventh  yeai*  of  Ar- 
taxerxes  Longimanus,  (A.  31.  3537,  ante  A.  D.  467,) 
was  sent  baok  to  Jerusalem,  with  letters  patent,  per- 
mitting all  Israelites  in  his  kingdom  to  return  to 
Judea,  with  all  their  gold  and  silver,  the  vessels  of 
tlie  temple,  and  also  offerings  of  the  king  and  his 
counsellors,  to  buy  victims  for  the  sacrifices.  Arta- 
xerxes  commanded  his  treasurers  in  the  provinces  be- 
yond the  Euphrates  to  furnish  Ezra  with  corn,  wine, 
oil,  salt,  or  money  ;  granted  inmmnities  to  the  priests 
and  ministers  of  the  temple  ;  and  authorized  Ezra 
to  appoint  judges  and  magistrates,  and  to  govern  and 
instruct  those  who  returned  to  Jerusalem,  chap.  vii. 

Ezra  therefore  assembled  a  great  com])auy  of  Is- 
raelites, and  set  forward  for  Jerusalem.  x\t  the  banks 
of  the  river  Ahava,  he  sent  to  invite  certain  priests 
and  ministers  of  the  temple,  who  were  at  Casiphia, 
(probably  in  the  Caspian  mountains,)  to  return  with 
him  ;  258  of  whom  joined  him.  He  appointed  a  sol- 
emn day  to  pray  to  God  for  a  happy  journey  ;  and 
gave  an  account  of  the  gold  and  silver  vessels  which 
the  king  had  restored.  They  proceeded  on  their 
journey,  in  niunber  1775  men,  and  all  arrived  hap- 
pily in  Judca,  A.  31.  3537,  ch.  viii.  Ezra  being  in- 
formed that  both  priests  and  Levites,  magistrates  and 
common  people,  had  married  wives  who  were  stran- 
gers and  idolaters,  he  rent  his  clothes,  and  having 
taken  his  seat  in  the  temple,  continued  absorbed 
in  grief  and  silence  till  the  evening  sacrifice.  He 
then  put  up  prayers  to  God  for  thesinsof  the  people, 
ch.  ix.  A  groat  multitude  having  flocked  together, 
lie  engaged  the  principal  of  the  people  by  oath,  to 
renew  the  covenant  with  the  Lord,  to  dismiss  their 
strange  wives,  with  their  children,  and  directed  all 
of  them  to  assemble,  within  three  days,  at  the  temple 
for  the  same  pur])ose,  and  with  the  same  effect,  ch. 
X.  Ezra  had  the  principal  authority  in  Jerusalem 
till  the  arrival  of  Nehemiah. 

In  the  second  year  of  Nehemiah's  government,  the 
people   being  assembled  at  the   temple,  during  the 


feast  of  tabernacles,  Ezra  was  desired  to  read  the 
law,  which  he  did  from  morning  to  noon,  accompa- 
nied by  Levites,  who  stood  beside  him  in  silence. 
The  next  day  they  desired  information  from  him 
how  to  celebrate  the  feast  of  tabernacles.  This  he 
explained  to  them,  and  continued  eight  days  reading 
the  law  in  the  temple,  which  was  followed  by  a  sol- 
emu  renewal  of  the  covenant,  Neb.  viii.  ix. 

Josephus  says,  Ezra  was  buried  at  Jerusalem  ;  but 
the  Jews  believe  that  he  died  in  Persia,  in  a  second 
journey  to  Artaxerxes,  and  show  his  tomb  in  the  city 
of  Zanuiza.    He  is  said  to  have  lived  nearly  120  years. 

It  is  believed  that  Ezra  was  chiefly  concerned  in 
revising  and  arranging  the  books  of  Scripture.  He 
had  great  zeal  and  knowledge,  and  having  the  spirit 
of  prophecy,  it  is  very  probable  that  he  took  great 
pains  in  collecting  the  sacred  writings  and  forming 
the  present  canon.  It  is  also  thought  that  he  assist- 
ed in  compiling  both  books  of  the  Chronicles,  and 
added  in  all  the  books  what  appeared  necessary  for 
illustrating,  connecting,  or  completing  them.  Some 
are  of  opinion  that  Ezra  and  3Ialachi  were  the  same 
person  ;  and  it  is  certain,  that  3Ialachi  is  not  so  much 
a  proper  as  a  comn)on  name, — angel  or  messenger 
of  the  Lord  ;  and  that  in  Ezra's  time,  prophets  were 
called  Malachias,  or  angels  of  the  Lord.  (See  Hag. 
i.  13.  3Ial.  i.  1.)  The  fathers  have  cited  .Malachi 
under  the  name  of  angel.     See  3Iai,achi. 

There  are  four  books  in  the  Vulgate  bearing  the 
name  of  Ezra  or  Esdras ;  but  the  first  only  is  ac- 
knowledged to  be  his.  This  is  certainly  the  work 
of  Ezra;  and  in  it  he  relates  events  of  which  he  was 
witness,  speaking  often  in  the  first  person.  The 
second  book  is  attributed  to  Nehemiah,  and  is  called 
after  him  in  the  English  translation.  It  is  admitted, 
however,'that  souie  trifling  matters  have  been  added 
to  it,  which  cannot  belong  to  Nehemiah  ;  as  the 
mention  of  the  high-priest  Jaddua,  and  king  Darius, 
Neh.  xii.  22.  The  third  book  is  the  same  in  sub- 
stance as  the  first,  but  interpolated.  The  fourth 
book  is  written  with  art  enough,  as  if  Esdras  himself 
had  composed  it ;  but  the  marks  of  falsehood  are  dis- 
cernible throughout.  It  is  not  extant  in  Greek,  and 
it  never  was  in  Hebrew^  The  Jews  also  ascribe  to 
Ezra  certain  regulations,  blessings,  and  prayers  ;  and 
some  speak  of  a  revelation,  a  vision  or  dream  ;  but 
this  is  spurious.  They  have  an  extraordinary  esteem 
for  him  ;  and  say,  if  the  law  had  not  been  given  by 
3Ioses,  Ezra  would  have  deserved  to  have  been  their 
legislator.  The  3Tahometans  call  him  Ozair  the  son 
of  Seraiah. 

EZRI,  overseer  of  the  gardens,  or  of  the  agricul- 
tural and  farming  department  under  David,  1  Chron. 
xxvii.  26. 


F 


FABLE 

FABLE,  a  story  destitute  of  truth.  Paul  exhorts 
Timothy  and  Titus  to  shun  profane  and  Jewish  fa- 
bles, (1  Tim.  iv.  7  ;  Tit.  i.  14.)  as  having  a  tendency 
to  seduce  men  from  the  truth.  By  these  fables  some 
understand  the  Gnostics'  cabalistical  interpretations 
of  the  Old  Testament.  But  the  fathers,  generally, 
and  after  them  most  of  the  modern  commentators, 
interpret  them  of  the  vain  traditions  of  the  Jews, 
especially  concerning  meats,  and  other  things  to  be 
54 


FAC 

abstained  from  as  unclean,  which  our  Lord  also 
styles  "the  doctrines  of  men,"  Matt.  xv.  9.  This 
sense  of  the  passages  is  confirmed  by  their  context. 
In  another  sense,  the  word  is  taken  to  signify  an  aj)- 
ologue,  or  instructive  tale,  intended  to  convey  truth 
under  the  concealment  of  fiction,  as  Jotham's  fable 
of  the  trees,  Judg.  ix.  7 — 12.     See  Parable. 

FACE.     The  Lord  promised  Moses,  that  his  face 
should  go  before  Israel :  "  I  myself,"  say  the  LXX, 


FACE 


[  426  1 


FAl 


but  rather  "the  angel  of  my  face/'  This,  and  the 
angel  of  his  presence,  (Isa.  Ixiii.  9.)  mean  the  Messi- 
ah.    See  Word  of  the  Lord. 

Moses  begged  of  God  to  show  him  his  face,  or  to 
manifest  his  glory.  God  replied,  "  I  will  make  all 
my  goodness  pass  before  thee  ;  and  I  will  proclaim 
the  name  of  the  Lord  before  thee  ; — but  thou  canst 
not  see  my  face ;  for  there  shall  no  man  see  me  and 
live,"  FiXod.  xxxiii.  The  persuasion  was  very 
prevalent  in  the  world,  that  no  man  could  support 
the  sight  of  Deity,  Gen.  xvi.  13 ;  xxxii.  30 ;  Exod. 
XX.  19;  xxiv.  11  ;  Judg.  vi.  22,  23.  We  read  in 
Numb.  xii.  8.  that  "  God  spake  mouth  to  mouth  with 
Moses,  even  apparently,  and  not  in  dark  speeches." 
And  in  Numb.  xiv.  14.  "  The  Canaanitcs  have  heard 
that  thou.  Lord,  art  among  this  people,  and  seen  face 
to  face."  In  Dcut.  v.  4.  God  talked  with  tlie  He- 
brews "face  to  face,  out  of  the  midst  of  the  fire." 
All  these  phrases  are  to  be  imderstood  as  iutimating 
that  God  manifested  himself  to  the  Israelites  ;  that  he 
made  them  hear  his  voice  as  distinctly  as  if  he  had 
appeared  to  them  face  to  face ;  not  that  they  actually 
saw  him. 

The  face  of  God  sometimes  denotes  his  anger, 
Psal.  Ixviii.  2.  Sometimes  it  is  used  in  a  different 
sense.  To  consider  the  face  of  any  one,  is  to  respect 
his  person,  Prov.  xxviii.  21.  The  judge  ought  to 
shut  his  eyes,  as  not  regarding  any  person  whose 
cause  comes  before  him,  and  to  open  them  only  to 
justice.  Sometimes,  to  know  thy  face,  signifies  to 
do  a  favor,  Mai. i. 8, 9  ;  Gen.  xix.  21.  "I  have  accept- 
ed thee  concerning  this  thing  also."  Heb.  "  I  have 
accepted  thy  face."  To  spit  in  one's  face,  is  a  sign  of 
the  utmost  contempt,  Isa.  i.  6  ;  3Iatt.  xxvii.  Q7. 

We  have  an  expression  in  Joel  ii.  6 — "  Before  their 
approach  [the  locusts']  the  people  shall  be  nuich 
pained,  all  faces  shall  gather  blackness ;"  which  is  also 
adopted  by  the  prophet  N-ihum,  ii.  10.  "  The  heart 
nielteth,  the  knees  smite  together,  much  pain  is  in  all 
loins,  and  the  faces  of  them  all  gather  blackness^^ — 
which  sounds  uncouth  to  an  English  ear  ;  but  it  is 
elucidated  by  the  following  extract  from  Ock- 
ley's  history  of  the  Saracens.  (Vol.  ii.  p.  319.) 
Mr.  Harmer  has  referred  this  blackness  to  the  effect 
of  hunger  and  thirst ;  and  Calmet  to  a  bedaubing 
of  the  face  with  soot ;  a  proceeding  not  very  consist- 
ent with  the  hurry  of  flight,  or  the  terror  of  distress. 
"Kmneil,  the  son  of  Ziyad,  was  a  man  of  fine  wit. 
One  day,  Hejage  made  him  come  before  him,  and 
reproached  hiniy'ljecause  in  such  a  garden,  and  be- 
foi-e  such  and  such  persons,  whom  he  named  to  him, 
he  had  made  a  great  many  imprecations  against  him, 
saying,  the  Lord  blacken  his  face,  that  is,  fll  him  tvith 
shame  and  confusion ;  and  wished  that  his  neck  was 
cut  off",  and  his  blood  shed."  The  reader  will  ob- 
serve how  ])erfectly  this  explanation  agrees  with  the 
sense  of  the  passages  above  quoted.  To  gather  black- 
ness is  equivalent  to  suffering  extreme  confusion,  and 
being  overwhelmed  with  shame,  or  with  terror  and 
dismay. — In  justice  to  Kumcil,  we  ought  not  to  omit 
the  ready  turn  of  wit,  which  saved  Iiis  life.  "It  is 
true,"  said  he,  "  I  did  say  such  words  in  such  a  gar- 
den ;  but  then  I  was  under  a  vine-arbor,  and  was 
looking  on  a  hunch  of  grapes,  that  was  not  yet  ripe  : 
and  I  wished  if  might  be  turned  black  soon  ;  that  they 
might  be  cut  off,  and  l)o  made  wine  of."  We  see,  in 
this  instance,  as  the  sagacious  moralist  remarks,  that 
"with  the  well-advised  is  wisdom  ;"  and  that  "  the 
tongue  of  the  wise  is  health  ;"  that  is,  preservation 
and  safety. 

[In  both  these  passages,  however,   the  Heb.  nnxc. 


pdrur,  does  not  signify  blackness,  but  brightness, 
oeauty,  comeliiiess,  &c.  The  phrase  is,  therefore, 
illustrated  by  Joel  i.  10,  wliere  the  stars  are  said  "to 
gather  in,  withdraiv  their  shining  ;"  so  here,  men's 
faces  are  said  "  to  gather  in,  withdraiv  their  bright- 
ness, cheerfid  expression,"  etc.  i.  e.  grow  pale  with 
fear  before  the  judgments  of  God.     R. 

FAIR-HAVENS,  (Acts  xxvii.  8.)  is  called  by  Ste- 
phen, the  geographer,  "  the  fair  shore."  It  was, 
probably,  an  open  kind  of  roarf,  not  so  much  a  port  as 
a  bay,  which  did  not  afford  more  than  good  anchor- 
age for  a  time,  on  the  south-east  part  of  Crete.  Je- 
rome and  others  speak  of  it  as  a  town  on  the  open 
shore. 

FAITH,  a  disposition  of  mind  by  which  we  hold 
for  certain  the  matter  affirmed.  This  faith,  which 
produces  good  works,  gives  life  to  a  righteous  man, 
Rom.  i.  17 ;  Hab.  ii.  4.  It  may  be  considered,  ei- 
ther as  proceeding  from  God,  who  reveals  his  truths 
to  man  ;  or  from  man,  who  assents  to  and  obeys  the 
truths  of  God  ;  in  both  these  senses  it  is  called  faith, 
Rom.  iii.  3.  Faith  is  taken  also  for  a  firm  confidence 
in  God,  by  which,  relying  on  his  promises,  we  ad- 
dress ourselves  without  hesitation  to  him,  whether 
for  pardt)n  or  other  blessings,  Matt.  xvii.  20  ;  James 
i.  5,  G. 

Faith  is  a  i-eliauce  on  testimony :  if  it  be  human 
testimony,  in  reference  to  human  things,  it  is  not  en- 
titled to  reception  until  after  examination  and  con- 
firmation. Human  testimony,  in  reference  to  divine 
things,  must  also  be  scrupulously  investigated  before 
it  be  received  and  acted  on ;  since  the  grossest  of  all 
deceptions  have  been  imposed  on  mankind  in  the 
name  of  God.  Nor  is  testimony,  assuming  to  be  di- 
vine, entitled  to  our  adherence  or  affection,  or  obedi- 
ence, uiuil  after  its  character  is  proved  to  be  genuine, 
and  really  from  heaven.  The  more  genuine  it  is, 
the  more  readily  will  it  undergo  and  sustain  the  tri- 
al ;  and  the  more  clearly  will  its  character  appear. 
But  after  a  testimony,  a  maxim,  or  a  command,  is 
proved  to  be  divine,  it  does  not  become  a  creature 
so  ignorant  and  so  feeble  as  man,  to  doubt  its  possi- 
bility, to  dispute  the  obedience  to  which  it  is  entitled, 
or  to  question  the  beneficial  consequences  attached 
to  it,  though  not  immediately  apparent  to  human 
discernment. 

Faith  has  respect  to  evil  as  well  as  to  good  ;  and 
in  this  it  differs  from  hope.  Hope  wishes  for  good 
only  ; — no  man  hopes  for  afflictions  or  evils.  Hope 
desires  rewards  only ;  faith  expects  punishments  as 
well  as  rewards.  Faith  deters  from  bad  conduct, 
through  fear,  no  less  than  through  desire  of  advan- 
tage ;  hope  allures  through  promises  of  blessings. 
Faith  is  the  full  assm-ance  or  personal  conviction,  of 
the  reality  of  tilings  not  seen;  it  looks  backward  to 
past  ages,  as  well  as  forward  to  fiuurily.  Hope  looks 
only  forward.  By  faith  w(;  believe  that  the  world 
was  originally  created  by  (iod  ;  though  we  can  form 
no  conception  of,  much  less  can  we  see,  the  matter 
out  of  wliich  it  was  composed.  By  faith  we  believe  in 
the  existence  of  ancient  cities,  as  IJahylou,  Jerusalem, 
&c.  also  of  distant  cities  anil  plaecs,  as  Rome,  Egypt, 
&c.  also  of  persons  formerly  living,  as  Abraham, 
David,  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  &c.  Faith  antici- 
pates things  never  seen  as  yet:  so  Noah,  by  faith, 
iiuilt  the  ark,  though  no  general  deluge  had  ever 
then  been  witnt^ssed  ;  so  Moses,  actuated  by  faith  in 
the  descent  of  the  INIcssiah  from  Israel,  quitted  the 
honorsand  pleasures  of  Egy])t ;  and  so  every  pious 
Christian,  believing  that  what  God  has  promised  he 
is   able    to    perform,    looks   forward  with  realizing 


FAS 


427  ] 


FAT 


belief  in  the  existence  of  heaven  and  of  hell  ;  of  re- 
wards and  punishments  beyond  the  grave  ;  not  sueh 
as  are  restricted  to  this  world ;  but  such  as  coincide 
with  the  innnortality  of  the  soul,  and  with  the  power 
and  wisdom  of  the  supreme  and  universal  Judge. 

Faith  is  taken  for  honesty,  fidelity  in  performing 
promises,  truth ;  and  in  this  sense  it  is  applied  both 
to  God  and  man. 

FAITHFUL,  an  appellation  given  in  Scripture  to 
professing  Christians,  to  all  who  had  been  baptized  ; 
and  it  is  used  to  this  day  in  that  apjilication  in  eccle- 
siastical language.  See  1  Cor.  iv.  17 ;  Eph.  vi.  21  ; 
Col.  iv.  9 ;  1  Pet.  v.  12  ;  Acts  xvi.  1,  15  ;  2  Cor.  vi.  15  ; 
1  Tim.  V.  16.  and  many  other  passages.  The  apostle 
directs  Titus,  (chap.  i.  6.)  that  the  children  of  the 
bishops  should  be  faithful ;  no  doubt,  as  examples  to 
the  flock,  of  the  dedication  of  the  children  of  the 
clergy  to  the  most  holy  Trinity,  by  the  introductory 
orcUnance  of  Christianitv. 

FAMILIAR  SPIRITS,  see  Divination. 

FAMINE.  Scripture  i-ecords  several  famines  in 
Palestine,  and  the  neighboring  counti'ies.  Gen.  xii. 
10  ;  xxvi.  1.  The  most  remarkable  one  was  that  of 
seven  years  in  Egypt,  while  Joseph  was  governor. 
It  was  distinguished  for  continuance,  extent,  and 
severity  ;  particularly,  as  Egypt  is  one  of  the  coun- 
tries least  subject  to  such  a  calamity,  by  reason  of  its 
general  fertility.  Famine  is  sometimes  a  natural 
effect,  as  when  the  Nile  does  not  overflow  in  Egypt, 
or  rahis  do  not  fall  in  Judea,  at  the  customary  sea- 
sons, spring  and  autumn ;  or  wlieji  caterpillars, 
locusts,    or  other  insects,  destroy    the    fruits.     The 

Erophet  Joel  notices  these  last  causes  of  famine, 
[e  compares  locusts  to  a  numerous  and  terrible 
army  ravaging  the  land,  Joel  i.  Famine  was  some- 
times an  eflfect  of  God's  anger,  2  Kings  viii.  1,  2. 
The  prophets  frequently  threaten  Israel  with  the 
sword  of  famine,  or  with  war  and  famine,  evils  that 
generally  go  together.  Amos  (viii.  11.)  threatens  an- 
other sort  of  famine :  "  I  will  send  a  famine  in  the 
land,  not  a  famine  of  bread,  nor  a  thirst  for  water, 
but  of  hearing  the  words  of  the  Lord." 

FAN,  an  instrument  used  in  the  East  for  winnow- 
ing corn.  Fans  are  of  two  kinds  ;  one  a  sort  of  fork, 
having  teeth,  with  which  they  throw  up  tlie  corn  to 
the  wind,  that  the  chaff"  may  be  blown  away  ;  the  oth- 
er is  formed  to  produce  wind  when  the  air  is  calm,  Isa. 
xxx.  24.  Our  Lord  is  represented  as  having  liis  fan  in 
his  hand,  in  order  to  purge  his  floor.  By  the  Chris- 
tian dispensation,  and  the  moral  influence  which  it 
introduced,  men  are  ])laced  in  a  state  of  trial,  and 
the  rigbteous  separated  from  the  wicked,  ]\Iatt.  iii. 
12.  God's  judgments  are  compared  to  a  fan,  (Jer. 
XV.  7.)  by  these  he  subjects  nations  and  indiviiluals  to 
the  blast  of  his  vengeance,  and  scatters  and  disperses 
them  for  their  sins.    See  Thrashing. 

FASTING  has,  in  all  ages  and  among  all  nations, 
been  practised  in  times  of  mourning,  sorrow,  and 
affliction.  It  is  in  some  sort  insi)ired  by  nature, 
which,  under  these  circumstances,  refuses  nourish- 
ment, and  suspends  the  cravings  of  hunger.  We 
see  no  example  of  fasting,  properly  so  called,  before 
Moses  ;  whotiier  the  patriarchs  had  not  observed  it, 
which  yet  is  difficult  to  believe,  since  there  were 
great  mournings  among  them,  which  are  i)articularly 
described,  as  that  of  Abraham  for  Sarah,  and  that 
of  Jacob  for  Joseph;  or  whether  he  did  not  think  it 
necessary  to  mention  it  expressly,  is  imcertain.  It 
appears  by  the  law,  that  devotional  fasts  for  expiation 
of  sins  were  common  among  the  Israelites.  Moses 
passed  forty  days  in  fasting  on  mount  Horeb,  (Exod. 


xxiv.  18  ;  Deut.  x.  10.)  as  did  our  Lord  in  the  wilder- 
ness, Matt.  iv.  2  ;  Luke  iv.  2.  The  Jewish  legislator 
enjoined  no  particular  fast ;  but  it  is  thought  that  the 
gi-eat  day  of  expiation  was  strictly  observed  as  a  fast. 
Joshua  and  the  elders  of  Israel  remained  prostrate 
before  the  ark,  from  morning  until  evening,  with- 
out eating,  after  Israel  was  defeated  at  Ai,  (Josh, 
vii.  6.)  and  the  eleven  tribes  which  fouglit  against 
that  of  Benjamin,  did  the  same,  Judg.  xx.  2(5.  See 
also  1  Sam.  vii.  6;  2  Sam.  xii.  16.  The  kin"-  of  Nin- 
eveh, terrified  by  Jonah's  preaching,  ordered  that  not 
only  men,  but  beasts  also,  should  continue  without 
eating  or  drinking ;  should  be  covered  with  sackcloth, 
and  each  alter  their  manner  crj'  to  the  Lord,  Jonah 
iii.  5,  6. 

The  Jews,  in  times  of  public  calamity,  appointed 
extraordinary  fasts,  and  made  even  the  children  at 
the  breast  fast.  See  Joel  ii.  16.  They  begin  the 
observance  of  their  fasts  in  the  evening  alter  sunset, 
and  remahi  without  eating  until  the  same  hour  the 
next  day,  or  until  the  rising  of  the  stars  ;  on  the 
great  day  of  expiation,  when  they  are  more  strictly 
obliged  to  fast,  they  continue  without  eating  for 
twenty-eight  hours.  Men  are  obliged  to  fast  from 
the  age  of  full  thirteen,  and  women  from  the  age  of 
full  eleven  years.  Children  from  the  age  of  seven 
years  fast  in  proportion  to  their  strength.  During 
this  fast,  they  not  only  abstain  from  food,  but  from 
bathing,  perfumes,  and  ointments  ;  they  go  barefoot, 
and  are  continent.  This  is  the  idea  which  the 
eastern  people  have  generally  of  fasting ;  it  is  a  total 
abstinence  from  pleasures  of  every  kind.  The  prin- 
cipal fast-days  of  the  Jews  may  be  seen  in  the  Jew- 
ish Calendar,  at  the  end  of  the  Dictionaiy.  Be- 
side those  fasts,  which  are  common  to  all  Jews, 
others,  which  are  devotional,  are  practised  by  the 
most  zealous  and  pious.  The  Pharisee  says,  (Luke 
xviii.  12.)  "  I  fast  twice  a  week,"  that  is,  on  Thurs- 
day, in  memory  of  Moses'  going  up  mount  Sinai 
on  that  day ;  and  on  Monday,  in  memory  of  his 
coming  down  from  thence.  It  it  said,  that  some 
Pharisees  fasted  four  days  in  the  week  ;  and  in  the 
Greek  of  Judith,  we  read,  that  she  fasted  every  day, 
except  "  the  eves  of  the  sabbaths,  and  the  sabbaths  ; 
and  the  eves  of  the  new  moons,  and  the  new  moons ; 
and  the  feasts  and  solemn  days  of  the  house  of 
Israel." 

It  does  not  appear  by  his  own  practice,  or  bj'  his 
commands,  that  our  Lord  instituted  any  particular 
fast.  When,  howevei-,  the  Pharisees  reproached 
hini,  that  his  disciples  did  not  fast  so  often  as  theirs, 
or  as  John  the  Bajjtist's,  he  rejjlied,  "  Can  ye  make 
the  children  of  the  l)ride-chamber  fast,  while  the 
bridegroom  is  with  them  ?  but  the  days  will  come, 
when  the  bridegroom  shall  be  taken  awaj'  from  them, 
and  then  shall  they  fast  in  those  days,"  Luke  v.  34, 
35.  Accordingly,  the  life  of  the  apostles  and  first 
l)elievers  was  a  life  of  self-denials,  of  sufferings,  aus- 
terities, and  fastings.  Paul  says,  (2  Cor.  vi.  5  ;  xi. 
27.)  he  had  been,  and  still  was,  "in  hunger  and  thirst, 
in  fastings  often,"  and  he  exhorts  the  faithful  to  imi- 
tate bini  in  his  patience,  in  his  watchings,  in  his 
fastings.  Ordinations  and  other  acts  of  importance 
in  the  church  were  attended  with  fasting  and  prayers. 
The  fasts  of  Wednesday  and  Friday,  called  stations 
in  the  Romish  church,  and  that  of  Lent,  particularly 
of  the  holy  week,  have  been  thought  to  be  of  early 
institution. 

FAT.  God  forbade  the  Hebrews  to  eat  the  fat 
of  beasts.  "All  the  fat  is  the  Lord's.  It  shall  be  a 
perpetual  statute  for  your  generations  throughout  all 


FAT 


[  428 


FEA 


your  dwellings,  that  ye  neither  eat  fat  nor  blood," 
Lev.  iii.  16,  17.  Some  interpreters  take  these  words 
literally,  and  suppose  fat  as  well  as  blood  to  be  for- 
bidden. Josephus  says,  Moses  forbids  only  the  fat 
of  oxen,  goats,  sheep,  and  their  species,  which  agrees 
with  Lev.  vii.  23.  "  Ye  shall  eat  no  manner  of  fat,  of 
ox,  or  of  sheep,  or  of  goats."  The  modern  Jews 
observe  this,  but  the  fat  of  other  sorts  of  clean  crea- 
tures they  think  is  allowed  for  use,  conformably  to 
Lev.  vii.  24.  Others  maintain,  that  the  law,  which 
forbids  the  use  of  fat,  should  be  restricted  to  fat  sep- 
arated from  the  flesh  ;  such  as  that  which  covers  the 
kidneys  and  intestines  ;  and  this  only  in  the  case  of 
its  being  offered  in  sacrifice  ;  which  is  confirmed 
by  Lev.  vii.  25. 

Fat,  in  the  Hebrew  idiom,  signifies,  not  only  that 
of  beasts,  but  the  rich  or  prime  part  of  other  things. 
"He  should  have  fed  them  also  with  the  fat  [Eng. 
trans.  Jinest]  of  wheat,"  Ps.  Ixxxi.  16  ;  cxlvii.  14. 
Fat  expresses  also  the  source  of  compassion  or  mer- 
cy. As  the  bowels  are  stirred  at  the  recital  of  mis- 
fortune, or  at  the  view  of  melancholy  and  afflicted 
objects,  it  has  been  thought  that  sensibility  resided 
principally  in  the  bowels,  which  are  commonly  fat. 
The  Psalmist  reproaches  the  wicked  with  shutting 
up  their  bowels,  feeling  no  compassion  at  the  sight 
of  his  extreme  grief.  "  Mine  enemies  compass  me 
about,  they  are  enclosed  in  their  own  fat,"  Psalm  xvii. 
9,  10.  In  another  passage  he  says,  they  sinned  with 
affectation,  almost  like  Jeshurun,  who,  when  waxed 
fat,  kicked,  and  forgot  God  which  made  him, 
Deut.  xxxii.  15.  "The  fat  of  the  earth,"  implies  the 
fruitfulness  of  the  land.  Gen.  xxxvii.  28.  Fat  denotes 
abundance  of  good  things,  Job  xxxvi.  16  ;  Psalm  Ixiii. 
5  ;  Jer.  xxxi.  14. 

FATHER.  This  word  is  often  taken  in  Scrip- 
ture for  grandfather,  great-grandfather,  or  the  founder 
of  a  family,  how  remote  soever.  So  the  Jews  call 
Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob,  their  fathers.  Christ 
is  called  son  of  David,  though  David  was  many 
generations  distant  from  him.  By  father  is  likewise 
understood  the  institutor,  the  original  practiser,  or 
master,  of  a  certain  profession.  Jabal  was  "father 
of  such  as  dwell  in  tents,  and  such  as  have  cattle." 
Jubalwas  "father  of  all  such  as  handle  the  harp  and 
organ,"  or  flute,  &c.  Gen.  iv.  20,  21.  Huram  is  call- 
ed father  by  the  king  of  Tyre  ;  (2  Chron.  ii.  1.3.)  and 
(2  Chron.  iv.  16.)  even  to  Solomon,  because  he  was 
the  ]irincipal  workman,  and  chief  director  of  their 
undertakings.  Father  is  a  term  of  respect  given  by 
inferiors  to  superiors,  and  by  servants  to  their  mas- 
ters. The  principal  prophets  were  considered  as 
fathers  of  the  younger,  who  were  their  disciples ; 
"sons  of  the  prophets,"  2  Kings  ii.  12  ;  v.  13 ;  vi.  21. 
Joseph  says,  that  God  had  made  him  "a  father  to 
Pharaoh,"  had  given  him  gi-eat  authority  in  that 
prince's  kingdom  :  that  Pharaoh  looked  on  him  as 
his  father,  and  had  given  him  the  government  of  his 
house  and  dominions, — Grand  Vizier.  Rechab, 
the  founder  of  the  Rechabitcs,  is  called  their  father, 
Jer.  XXXV.  6.  A  man  is  said  to  be  a  father  to  the 
poor  and  orphans,  when  he  supplies  their  necessities 
and  sympathizes  witii  their  miseries,  as  a  father 
would  do  towards  them,  Job  xxix.  16.  God  declares 
himself  to  be  the  father  of  the  fatherless,  and  the 
judge  of  the  widow  ;  (Psalm  Ixviii.  .5.)  and  he  is  fre- 
quently called  heavenly  father,  and  simi)ly,  father ; 
eminently,  the  father,  creator,  preserver,  aiicl  protec- 
tor of  all,  especially  of  those  who  invoke  him,  and 
serve  him.     See  Deut.  xxxii.  6. 

Since  the  coming  of  our  Saviour,  wo  have  a  new 


right  to  call  God  our  father,  by  reason  of  the  adop- 
tion and  filiation  which  he  has  merited  for  us,  by 
clothing  himself  in  our  humanity,  and  purchasing  us 
by  his  death  ;  "  Ye  have  received  the  spirit  of  adop- 
tion, whereby  we  cry,  Abba,  Father.  The  spirit 
itself  beareth  witness  with  our  spirit,  that  we  are  the 
children  of  God,"  Rom.  viii.  15,  16.  The  devil  is 
called  the  father  of  the  wicked,  and  the  father  of 
lies,  John  viii.  44.  He  deceived  Eve  and  Adam  ;  he 
introduced  sin  and  falsehood  ;  he  inspires  his  follow- 
ers with  his  spirit  and  sentiments.  The  prophets 
reproach  the  wicked  Jews  with  calling  idols,  "my 
father,"  Jer.  ii.  27.  They  said  so  in  efl'ect,  if  not  in 
words,  since  they  adored  them  as  gods.  The  hea- 
then gave  the  name  father  to  several  of  their  divini- 
ties ; — as  to  Jupiter,  "  father  of  gods  and  men  ;" 
father  Jove,  &c.  and  to  Bacchus,  Liber  Pater,  &c. 
These  appellations  the  idolatrous  Jews  repeated  and 
imitated.  The  father  of  Sichem,  the  father  of  Teko- 
ah,  the  father  of  Bethlehem,  &c.  signify  the  chief 
person  who  inhabited  these  cities ;  or  he  who  built 
or  rebuilt  them.  To  be  gathered  to  their  fathers,  to 
sleep  with  their  fathers,  are  common  expressions, 
signifying  death  ;  and  perhaps  referring  to  interment 
in  the  same  sepulchre.  Christ  is  called,  (Isa.  ix.  6.) 
"  the  everlasting  father,"  because  by  him,  says  Cal- 
met,  we  are  begotten  in  God  for  eternity  ;  he  procures 
life  eternal  to  us,  by  adopting  us  to  be  sons  of  God, 
and  by  the  communication  of  his  merits.  The  ex- 
pression, however,  is,  "father  of  the  everlasting  (the 
Gospel)  age."  Our  Lord  (Matt,  xxiii.  9.)  forbids  us 
to  call  any  man  "  master,"  because  we  have  one  in 
heaven.  Rather,  to  call  no  man  father,  in  the  same 
sense  as  the  sons  of  the  prophets  called  their  teacher 
father ;  to  follow  no  earthly  leader  ;  to  follow  blindly 
the  dictates  of  no  man,  however  eminent  or  digni- 
fied ;  but  to  obey  God  only.  Not  that  we  should 
abandon,  or  despise,  earthly  fathers ;  God  requires 
us  to  honor  that  relation  ;  but,  when  the  glory  of 
God,  or  our  salvation,  is  at  stake,  if  our  fathers  or 
our  mothers  are  obstacles,  we  should  say  to  them, 
"We  know  you  not;"  and  to  God,  "Doubtless  thou 
art  our  father,  though  Abraham  be  ignorant  of  us, 
and  Israel  acknowledge  us  not :  thou,  O  Loid,  art 
our  father,  our  redeemer,"  Isaiah  Ixiii.  16.  Adam  is 
the  father  of  the  living ;  Abraham  is  the  father  of  the 
fahhful ;  called  also  the  father  of  many  nations,  be- 
cause many  people  sprung  from  him  ;  as  the  Jews, 
Ishmaelites,  Edomites,  Arabs,  6cc. 

FEAR,  a  painful  apprehension  of  danger.  In 
the  Scrij)tures,  when  spoken  of  as  exercised  towards 
God,  or  in  a  religious  sense,  it  means  rather  reverence, 
veneration.  It  is  sometimes  used  for  the  object  of 
fear ;  as  the  fear  of  Isaac,  that  is,  the  God  whom 
Issac  feared.  Gen.  xxxi.  42.  God  says  that  he  would 
send  his  fear  before  his  pcoj)lc,  to  terrifj-and  rlestroy 
the  inhabitants  of  Canaan.  Job  (vi.  4.)  speaks  of 
the  terrors  of  God,  as  set  in  array  against  him ;  and 
the  Psalmist,  (Ixxxviii.  15.)  that  he  had  suflercd  the 
terrors  of  the  Lord  with  a  troubled  mind.  The  fear 
of  the  Lord  is  the  beginning  of  wisdom  ;  (Ps.  cxi.  10.) 
and  to  fear  God,  and  keep  his  conunandments,  is  the 
whole  duty  of  man,  Eccl.  xii.  13.  It  deserves  notice, 
that  true  religion  is  more  frequently  described  as  the 
fear  of  God  in  the  Old  Testament  than  in  the  New  ; 
one  reason  of  which  might  be  the  temporal  sanctions 
annexed  to  the  sovereignty  of  God,  as  it  respected 
the  nation  of  the  Jews  ;  and  which,  under  the  Gos- 
pel, are  not  applicable  to  all  nations  of  the  earth  to 
whom  the  Gospel  is  sent,  and  to  whom  the  moot 
wonderful  and  supreme   instance  of  divine  love  is 


TEA 


[  429] 


FIG 


now  revealed.  We  read,  that  "  God  is  love,"  and  to 
be  loved ;  not  that  God  is  fear,  and  to  he  feared,  or 
dreaded  ;  though  we  read  of  godly  fear  (Heh.  xii. 
28.)  and  of  the  fear  of  God,  as  showing  itself  in  re- 
ciprocal affection  between  Christian  brethren,  2 
Cor.  vii.  1  ;  Eph.  v.  21.  Compare  Rom.  viii.  15  ; 
2  Tim.  i.  7. 

FEASTS.  God  appointed  several  festivals  among 
the  Jews:  (1.)  To  perpetuate  the  memory  of  gi-eat 
events  wrought  in  favor  of  them:  the  Sabbath  com- 
memorated the  creation  of  the  world ;  the  Passover, 
the  departure  out  of  Egypt ;  the  Pentecost,  the 
law  given  at  Sinai,  &c.  (2.)  To  keep  them  stead- 
fast to  their  religion,  by  the  view  of  ceremonies,  and 
the  majesty  of  divine  service.  (3.)  To  procure  them 
certain  pleasures  and  allowable  times  of  rest;  their 
festivals  being  accompanied  with  rejoicings,  feasts, 
and  innocent  diversions.  (4.)  To  give  them  instruc- 
tion ;  for  in  their  religious  assemblies  the  law  of 
God  was  read  and  explained.  (.5.)  To  renew  the 
acquaintance,  correspondence,  and  friendship,  of 
their  tribes  and  families,  which,  coniing  from  distant 
towns  in  the  country,  met  three  times  a  year,  in  the 
holy  city.  For  a  description  of  these  feasts,  see  Sab- 
bath, Jubilee,  Passover,  Pe.ntecost,  Trumpets, 
Moon,  Expiatio^j,  Tabernacles,  Purim,  Ded- 
ication. 

Of  the  three  great  feasts  of  the  year,  (the  Passover, 
Pentecost,  and  that  of  Tabernacles,)  the  octave,  or 
the  eighth  day,  w-as  a  day  of  rest  as  much  as  the 
festival  itself;  and  all  the  males  of  the  nation 
were  obliged  to  visit  the  temple.  But  the  law  did 
not  require  them  to  continue  there  during  the  whole 
octave ;  except  in  the  feast  of  Tabernacles,  when 
they  seemed  to  be  obliged  to  be  present  for  the 
whole  seven  days. 

In  the  Christian  church  we  have  no  festival  that 
clearly  ajipears  to  have  been  instituted  by  our  Sa- 
viour, or  liis  apostles  ;  but  as  we  commemorate  his 
passion  as  often  as  we  celebrate  his  supper,  he  has 
hereby  seemed  to  institute  a  perpetual  feast.  Chris- 
tians have  always  celebrated  the  memory  of  his 
resurrection  on  every  Sunday.  We  see  from  Rev.  i. 
10.  that  it  was  commonly  called  "the  Lord's  day;" 
and  Barnabas,  Ignatius,  Justin,  Irenspus,  Tertullian, 
and  Origen,  say,  we  celel)rate  the  eighth  day  with  joy, 
because  on  that  day  Jesus  Clu'ist  rose  from  the  dead. 
It  appears  from  Scripture,  that  after  the  promulga- 
tion of  the  Gospel,  the  apostles  and  Jewish  Cliristians 
kept  the  Jewish  feasts  ;  but  these,  being  national,  did 
not  concern  other  nations  ;  nor  could  other  nations 
come  from  their  distant  residences  to  attend  them  at 
Jerusalem.  But,  so  early  as  we  can  trace,  and  cer- 
tainly as  early  as  the  second  century,  the  Gentile 
Christians  ke|)t  certain  feasts,  analogous  to  those  of 
the  Jewish  Passover  and  Pentecost ; — that  is  to  say, 
Easter,  or  rather  the  Pascha,  on  which  was  conmiem- 
orated  the  death  and  resurrection  of  Christ;  and  W'hit- 
suntide,  on  which  was  commemorated  the  descent  of 
the  Holy  Spirit.  This  was  a  favorite  time  for  re- 
ceiving baptism  ;  and  the  white  robes  then  worn  by 
the  new  converts,  gave  name  to  the  season.  Some 
have  thought  that  Easter  was  kept  in  the  Christian 
sense,  by  the  apostles ;  and  that  it  is  referred  to  in 
1  Cor.  V.  8.  As  no  Jewish  feast  fell  about  Christmas, 
there  is  no  jirobability  of  any  substitution  in  this  fes- 
tival, as  in  the  others. 

We  sometimes  read  of  the  governor  or  master  of 
the  feast.  He  gave  directions  to  the  servants,  and 
superintended  every  thing  as  he  thought  ])ro])er. 
He  tasted  the  wine,  and  distributed  it  to  the  guests. 


The  author  of  Ecclesiasticus  thus  describes  his  office ; 
(chap,  xxxii.  1,  2.)  "  If  thou  be  made  the  master  of  a 
feast,  lift  not  thyself  up,  but  be  among  them  aa  one 
of  the  rest  ;  take  diligent  care  of  them,  and  so  sit 
down.  And  when  thou  hast  done  all  thy  office,  take 
thy  place,  that  thou  mayest  be  merry  with  them,  and 
receive  a  crown  for  the  well-ordering  of  the  feast." 
This  office  is  mentioned  in  John  ii.  8,  9,  upon  which 
Theophylact  has  a  good  remark:  "That  no  one 
might  suspect  their  taste  was  vitiated,  by  having 
drunk  to  excess,  so  as  not  to  know  water  from  wine 
our  Saviour  orders  it  to  be  first  carried  to  the  eov- 
ernor  of  the  feast,  who  certainly  was  sober  ;  for  those 
who  on  these  occasions  are  intrusted  with  this  office, 
observe  the  strictest  sobriety,  that  they  may  be  able 
properly  to  regulate  the  whole." 

FEASTS  OF  LOVE,  see  Agap^. 

FEET,  see  Foot. 

FELIX,  see  Claudius  III. 

FENCE.  The  Hebrews  use  two  terms  to  denote 
a  fence  of  different  kinds  ;  Tij,g-arfeV,  or  m-ij,  gederah, 
and  n^ic'::,  mesucdh.  According  to  Vitringa,  the  latter 
denotes  the  outer  thorny  fence  of  the  vineyard  ;  and 
the  former,  the  inner  wall  of  stones  surrounding  it. 
The  chief  use  of  the  former  was  to  keep  off  men,  and 
of  the  latter,  to  keep  off  beasts ;  not  only  from  gar- 
dens, vineyards,  &c.  but  also  from  the  flocks  at  night. 
See  Prov.  xv.  19;  xxiv.  31.  From  this  root  the 
Phoenicians  called  any  enclosed  place  guddir,  and 
jiarticularly  gave  this  name  to  their  settlement  in  the 
south-western  coast  of  Spain,  which  the  Greeks 
from  them  called  ru<'<itna,  the  Romans,  Gades,  and 
the  moderns,  Cadiz.  In  Ezek.  xiii.  5,  xxii.  30.  gader 
appears  to  denote  the  fortifications  of  a  city  ;  and  in 
Ps.  Ixii.  3.  the  wicked  are  coni]jared  to  a  tottering 
fence,  and  bowing  wall ;  i.  e.  their  destruction  cornea 
suddenly  upon  them.  Fenced  cities  were  such  as 
were  walled  or  fortified. 

FERRET,  a  sort  of  weasel,  which  Moses  declares 
to  be  unclean.  Lev.  xi.  30.  The  Greek  iivyuA,',  is 
composed  of  »i»s,  a  rat,  and  gale,  a  weasel,  because 
this  animal  has  something  of  both.  The  Hebrew 
n|-ijN,  anaca,  [Eng.  trans.yerre^]  is  by  some  translated 
hedgehog,  by  others  leech  or  salamander ;  by  Bocharl, 
lizard.     It  was  most  probablv  a  species  of  lizard. 

FESTUS,  PORTIUS,  succeeded  Felix  in  the 
government  of  Judea,  A.  1).  58.  To  oblige  the  Jews, 
Felix,  when  he  resigned  his  government,  left  Paul  in 
bonds  at  Cnesarea  in  Palestine,  (Acts  xxiv.  27.)  and 
when  Festus  arrived,  he  was  entreated  by  the  jirin- 
cipal  Jews  to  condemn  the  apostle,  or  to  order  him 
up  to  Jerusalem ;  they  having  conspired  to  assassi- 
nate him  in  the  waj'.  Festus,  however,  answered, 
that  it  was  not  customary  with  the  Romans  to  con- 
demn any  man  without  hearing  him  ;  and  promised 
to  hear  iheir  accusations  at  Cjesarea.  But  Paul  ap- 
pealed to  Ciesar  ;  and  so  secured  himself  from  the 
prosecution  of  the  Jews,  and  the  intentions  of  Fes- 
tus. Finding  how  much  robbing  abounded  in  Judea, 
Festus  very  diligently  ])ursned  the  thieves ;  and  he 
also  su])pressed  a  magician,  who  drew  the  people 
after  him  into  the  desert.  He  died  in  Judea,  A.  D. 
(i2,  and  Albinos  succeeded  him. 

FIELD,  see  Furrows. 

FIG.  The  fig-tree  is  very  common  in  Palestine 
and  the  East ;  and  flourishes  with  the  greatest  luxu- 
riance in  those  barren  and  stony  situations,  where 
little  else  will  grow.  Figs  are  of  two  sorts,  the 
"  boccore"  and  the  "  kermouse."  The  black  and  white 
boccore,  or  early  fig,  is  produced  in  June,  though 
the  kermouse,  the  fig  properly  so  called,  which  is 


FIG 


[  430  ] 


FIG 


preserved,  and  made  up  into  cakes,  is  rarely  ripe  be- 
fore August.  There  is  also  a  long  dark-colored  ker- 
niouse,  that  sometimes  hangs  upon  the  trees  all 
winter.  For  these  figs  generally  hang  a  long  time 
upon  the  tree  before  they  fall  off;  whereas  the  boc- 
cores  droj)  as  soon  as  they  are  ripe,  and,  according  to 
tlie  beautiful  allusion  of  the  prophet  Nahum,  "fall 
into  the  mouth  of  the  eater,  upon  being  shaken,"  ch. 
iii.  12.  Dr.  Shaw,  to  Avhom  we  are  indebted  for  this 
information,  remarks,  that  these  trees  do  not  proper- 
ly blossom,  or  send  out  liowers,  as  we  render  mon, 
Hab.  iii.  17.  They  may  rather  be  said  to  shoot  out 
thfir  fniit,  which  they  do  like  so  many  little  buttons, 
with  their  flowers,  small  and  imperfect  as  they  are, 
enclosed  within  them. 

When  this  intelligent  traveller  visited  Palestine,  in 
the  latter  end  of  March,  the  boccore  was  far  from 
being  in  a  state  of  maturity  ;  for,  in  the  Scripture 
expression,  "the  time  of  figs  was  not  yet,"  (Matt.  xi. 
13.)  or  not  till  the  middle  or  latter  end  of  June.  The 
"  time"  here  mentioned,  is  supposed  by  some  authors, 
quoted  by  F.  Clusius,  in  his  Hierobotanicon,  to  be  the 
third  year,  in  which  the  fruit  of  a  particular  kind  of 
fig-tree  is  said  to  come  to  perfection.  But  this  spe- 
cies, if  there  be  any  sucli,  needs  to  be  fui-ther  known 
and  described,  before  any  argument  can  be  founded 
upon  it.  Dionysius  Syrus,  as  he  is  translated  by  Dr. 
Loftus,  is  more  to  the  purpose  :  "it  was  not  the  time 
of  figs,"  he  remarks,  because  it  was  the  month 
Nisan,  Avhen  trees  yielded  blossoms,  and  not  fruit. 
It  frequently  happens  in  Bar))ary,  however,  and  it 
need  not  be  doubted  in  the  Avarmer  climate  of  Pales- 
tine, that,  according  to  the  quality  of  the  preceding 
season,  some  of  the  more  forward  and  vigorous  trees 
will  now  and  then  yield  a  few  ripe  figs,  six  weeks  or 
more  before  the  full  season.  Something  like  this 
may  be  alluded  to  by  the  prophet  Hosea,  when  lie 
says,  he  "  saw  theii-  fathers  as  the  first-ri])e  in  the 
fig-tree  at  her  first  time  ;"  (ch.  ix.  10.)  and  by  Isaiah, 
who,  speaking  of  the  beauty  of  Samaria,  and  her 
rapid  declension,  says,  she  "shall  be  a  fading  flower, 
and  as  the  hasty  fruit  before  the  summer;  which, 
when  he  that  looketh  u])on  it  seeth,  while  it  is  yet  in 
his  hand,  he  eateth  it  up,"  ch.  xxviii.  4. 

When  the  boccore  draws  near  to  perfection,  then 
the  kermouse,  the  summer  fig,  or  carica?,  begin  to  be 
formed,  though  they  rarely  ripen  before  August;  at 
which  time  there  appears  a  third  crop,  or  the  winter 
fig,  as  it  may  be  called.  This  is  usually  of  a  much 
longer  shape  and  darker  complexion  than  the  ker- 
mouse, hanging  and  ripening  on  the  tree,  even  after 
the  leaves  are  shed  ;  and,  provided  the  winter  proves 
mild  and  temperate,  is  gathered  as  a  delicious  morsel 
in  the  spring.  We  learn  from  Pliny,  that  the  fig-tree 
was  bifera,  or  bore  two  crops  of  figs,  namely,  the 
boccore,  as  we  may  imagine,  and  the  kej-mouse  ; 
though,what  he  relates  afterwards,  should  intimate 
that  there  was  also  a  winter  cro]).  "  Seri  fructus  per 
hiemcm  in  arbore  manent,  ct  a?state  inter  novas  fron- 
dcs  et  folia  maturescunt."  "Ficus  altcrum  edit 
fructum,"  h<ays  Columella,  "et  in  hiemem  seram  dif- 
ferct  maturitntem."  It  is  well  known,  that  the  fruit 
of  these  prolific  trees  alwa}  s  precedes  the  leaves ; 
and  consequently,  when  our  Saviour  saw  one  of  them 
in  full  vigor  having  leaves,  (Mark  »i.  13.)  he  might, 
according  to  the  common  course  of  nature,  very 
justly  "look  for  fruit;"  and  haply  find  some  boc- 
cores,  if  not  some  winter  fius  likewise,  upon  it.  But 
the  diflSculties  connected  with  the  narrative  of  this 
transaction,  will  not  allow  of  its  dismission  in  this 
Huimnarv  manner. 


Mr.  Taylor  conjectures  that  this  tree  was  the  syca- 
more, which  bears  fruit  several  times  in  the  year, 
without  observing  any  certain  seasons,  so  that  a  per- 
son cannot  determine,  without  a  close  inspection, 
whether  it  has  fruit  or  not.  But,  to  say  nothing 
against  the  authority  by  which  the  oi>^ij  is  here  pro- 
posed to  be  rendered  "  a  sycamore,"  which  has  its 
own  proper  appellation,  avy.ouo^'^ia,  (Luke  xix.  4.) 
the  assumption  seems  inadequate  to  account  for  the 
malediction  which  was  levelled  against  it ;  because  it 
is  plain  that  such  a  tree  might  at  that  time  have  been 
destitute  of  fruit,  and  yet  by  no  means  be  barren. 
Dr.  Shaw's  conjecture,  therefore,  seems  to  be  the 
most  satisfactory ;  namely,  that  as  the  fig  always 
puts  forth  the  fruit  before  its  leaves,  and  this  was  not 
the  season  for  figs,  (rather  fig  harvest,  for  so  the 
words  y.tciol);  avy(->y  import,  our  Saviour  was  justified 
in  expecting  to  meet  Avith  some  on  the  tree.  As  Mr, 
Bloomfield  remarks.  The  whole  difliculty  results 
from  the  connection  of  the  two  last  clauses  of  the 
13th  verse:  "And  when  he  came  to  it  he  found 
nothing  but  leaves — for  the  time  of  figs  was  not  yet ;" 
for  the  declaration,  it  was  not  yet  fig  harvest,  cannot 
be  (as  the  order  of  the  words  secn^iS  to  import)  the 
reason  why  there  was  nothing  but  leaves  on  the 
tree  ;  because,  as  we  have  seen,  the  fig  is  of  that 
tribe  of  vegetables  on  which  the  fruit  ajipears  before 
the  leaf.  Certainly  fruit,  says  Mr.  Wiston,  might  be 
expected  of  a  tree  whose  leaves  were  distinguished 
afar  off,  and  whose  fruit,  if  it  bore  any,  preceded  the 
leaves.  If  the  words  had  been,  "  he  found  nothing 
but  green  figs,  for  it  was  not  the  time  of  ripe  fruit," 
says  Campbell,  we  should  have  justly  concluded  that 
the  latter  clause  was  meant  as  the  reason  of  Avhat  is 
affirmed  in  the  former,  but  as  they  stand,  they  do  not 
admit  this  interpretation.  All  will  be  clear,  however, 
if  we  consider,  with  the  writer  above  referred  to,  that 
the  former  of  these  clauses  is  parenthetical,  and  admit 
such  a  sort  of  trajeciio  as  is  not  unfrequent  in  the 
ancient  languages.  The  sense  of  the  ])assage  Avill 
then  be  as  follows :  "  He  came  to  see  if  he  might 
find  any  thing  thereon  ;  (for  it  was  not  yet  the  time 
to  gather  figs ;)  but  he  found  leaAcs  only  ;  and  he 
said,"  &c.  Similar  inversions  and  trajections  have 
been  pointed  out  by  commentators  in  various  other 
parts  of  the  New  and  Old  Testaments,  and  Camp- 
bell particularly  notices  one  in  this  very  Gospel : 
(chap.  xvi.  3,  4.)  "  They  said,  Who  shall  roll  us  away 
the  stone .''  and  when  they  looked,  the  stone  was 
rolled  awaj',  for  it  was  very  great" — that  is,  "They 
said,  Who  shall  roll  us  away  the  stone  ;  for  it  Avas 
very  great." 

[The  fruit  of  the  fig-tree  is  one  of  the  delicacies  of 
the  East;  and  is  of  course  very  often  spoken  of  in 
ScrijJture.  Dried  figs  are  probably  like  those  Avhich 
are  brought  to  our  oavu  country  ;  sometimes,  Iioav- 
ever,  they  are  dried  on  a  string.  We  likcAvise  read 
of  cakes  offgs,  (nSai)  1  Sam.  xxv.  18  ;  1  Chron.  xii. 
4  ;  2  Kings  xx.  7.  These  Avere  ]}robal)ly  formed  by 
pressing  the  fruit  forcibly  into  baskets  or  other  ves- 
sels, so  as  to  reduce  them  to  a  solid  cake  or  lump. 
In  this  Avay  dates  are  still  ))repared  in  Arabia.  In 
Djedda,  Burckhardt  remarks,  (Travels  in  Arabia,  p. 
29.)  arc  "eight  date-sellers;  at  the  end  of  June  the 
ncAV  fruit  comes  in;  this  lasts  two  months,  after 
Avhich,  for  the  rcmaitider  of  the  year,  the  date-paste, 
called  adjoiie,  is  sold.  This  is  formed  by  pressing 
the  dates,  Avhcn  fidly  ripe,  into  large  baskets,  so  forci- 
bly as  to  reduce  them  to  a  hard,  solid  paste  or  cake, 
(;ach  basket  Aveighing  usually  about  tAvo  hundred 
Aveight ;  in  the  market,  it  is  cut  out  of  the  basket,  and 


FIR 


[  431  ] 


FIRE 


sold  by  the  pound."  He  describes  also  smaller  bas- 
kets, weighing  about  ten  pounds  each.  See  under 
Flago.n.     R. 

FIGURES,  see  Types. 

To  FIND,  to  meet  with,  is  used  sometimes  for  to 
attack,  to  surprise  one's  enemies,  to  light  on  them 
suddenly,  &c.  so  Anah  "found  the  Emim,"  Gen. 
xxxvi.  24.  (Sec  Emim.)  So  the  verb  tojind  is  used 
in  Judg.  i.  5.  "They  found  Adonibezek  in  Bezek  ;" 
that  is,  they  attacked  him  there.  The  Philistine 
archers  found  king  Saul ;- they  reached  him,  hit  him, 
1  Sam.  xxxi.  8.  Sec  also  1  Kings  xiii.  24.  It  is  said 
of  a  man  smitten  by  God,  that  he  is  no  more  found  ; 
he  has  disaj)peared.  Comp.  Psalm  xxvii.  10  ;  Job 
vii.  10 ;  XX.  9.  To  find  favor  in  the  sigjit  of  any 
one,  is  an  expressive  form  of  speech  common  in 
Scripture. 

FINGER.  The  finger  of  God  denotes  his  power, 
his  operation.  Pharaoh's  magicians  discovered  the 
finger  of  God  in  some  of  the  miracles  of  3Ioscs,  Ex- 
odus viii.  19.  That  legislator  gave  the  tables  writ- 
ten with  the  finger  of  God  to  the  Hebrews,  Exod. 
xxxi.  18.  The  heavens  were  the  work  of  God's 
fingers.  Psalm  viii.  3.  Our  Lord  says,  he  casts  out 
devils  with  the  finger  of  God  ;  meaning,  perhaps,  by 
his  authority,  Luke  xi.  20.  To  put  forth  one's  finger, 
is  a  bantering  gesture.  If  thou  take  away  from  the 
midst  of  thee  the  chain  or  yoke  wherewith  thou 
overwhelmest  thy  creditors,  and  forbear  pointing  at 
them,  and  using  jeering  and  insulting  gestures,  Isaiah 
lix.  8.  Some  take  this  for  a  menacing  gesture,  as 
Nicanor  stretched  out  his  hand  against  the  temple, 
threatening  to  burn  it,  2  ]Mac.  xiv.  33. 

FIR,  an  evergreen  tree,  of  beautiful  appearance, 
whose  lofty  iieight  and  dense  foliage  afford  a  spa- 
cious shelter  and  shade.  It  is  worth  observing,  on 
the  Heb.  cna,  berosh,  how  contradictorily  the  LXX 
have  rendered  it,  for  want  of  established  principles 
of  natural  history — cypress,  fir,  myrtle,  juniper.  The 
Chaldee  reads  fir  constantly  ;  and  it  is  likely  this 
translator  should  be  quite  as  well  acquainted  with 
the  subject  as  any  foreigner.  The  Hebrew  word 
seems,  howe\er,  to  mean  the  cypress  ;  or  possibly  an 
evergreen  tree  in  general. 

In  2  Sam.  vi.  5,  it  is  said,  that  "  David  and  all  the 
house  of  Israel  played  before  the  Lord  on  all  manner 
of  instruments  made  of  fir-wood,"  &c.  Mr.  Taylor 
inclines  to  think  that  the  word  beroshim  in  this  pas- 
sage, may  express  some  instrument  of  music,  rather 
than  the  wood  of  which  such  instrument  was  made  ; 
but  with  his  usual  candor,  he  gives  the  following 
passage  from  Dr.  Burney's  history  of  nuisic  :  "  This 
species  of  wood,  so  soft  in  its  nature  and  sonorous  in 
its  effects,  seems  to  have  been  preferred  by  the  an- 
cients, as  well  as  the  moderns,  to  every  other  kind, 
for  the  construction  of  musical  instruments,  j)articu- 
larly  the  bellies  of  them,  on  which  their  tone  chiefly 
depends.  Those  of  the  harp,  lute,  guitar,  harpsichord, 
and  violin,  in  present  use,  are  constantly  made  of 
fir-wood." 

I.  FI  RE  is  often  a  symbol  of  the  Deity,  Deut.  iv.  24. 
He  ai)pcared  to  Moses,  Isaiah,  Ezekiel,  and  John,  in 
the  midst  of  fire  ;  the  Psalmist  describes  his  chariot 
as  a  flame,  (Psal.  xviii.  9,  10.)  and  Daniel  says  (vii. 
10.)  that  a  fiery  stream  issued  from  before  him.  Fire 
is  a  common  symbol  of  God's  vengeance,  also;  and 
the  effects  of  his  wrath,  as  war,  famine,  and  other 
scourges,  arc  compared  to  fire.  Fire  from  heaven 
fell  on  victims  sacrificed  to  the  Lord,  as  a  mark  of 
approbation  ;  but  when  Abraham  made  a  covenant 
with  tii.^   Lord,  a  fire  passed  between  the   divided 


pieces  of  the  sacrifices.  This  was  probablv  the 
Shekinah.  *  ^ 

A  perpetual  fire  was  kept  up  in  the  temple,  on  the 
altar  of  burnt-sacrifices,  by  burning  wood  continually 
on  It.  In  addition  to  this  fire,  there  were  several 
kitchens  in  the  temple,  where  the  provisions  of  the 
priests  and  the  peace-offerings  were  dressed. 

The  Son  of  God  says,  that  he  had  brought  fire  on 
the  earth,  and  desired  nothing  more  tlian  to  have  it 
kindled  ;  (Luke  xii.  49.)  that  is,  to  subject  the  laud  of 
Judea  to  judgments,  in  consequence  of  its  wicked- 
ness ;  part  of  which  was  already  begun  in  the  do- 
minions of  the  Romans.  The  sword  of  tliis  people 
would  complete  the  punishment.  He  came  to  bap- 
tize with  the  Holy  Ghost  and  fire,  (Matt.  iii.  11.)  and 
to  verify  this  prediction,  the  Holy  Ghost  descended 
on  his  disciples  in  the  form  of  tongues  of  fire,  Acts 
ii.  3. 

Fire  will  one  day  consume  this  world,  according 
to  Peter,  2  Epist.  iii.  7,  12.  The  heathen  had  some 
knowledge  of  this ;  whether  they  received  it  from 
the  Hebrews,  or  from  the  sacred  writings ;  from  tra- 
dition, or  from  reasoning,  and  their  knowledge  of  the 
elements  and  the  actual  state  of  the  earth,  we  know 
not.  Josephus  speaks  of  an  ancient  tradition,  that 
before  the  deluge  the  sons  of  Seth  had  learned  from 
Adam  that  the  world  would  be  destroyed  first  by 
water,  afterwards  by  fire.  Heraclitusheld,  that  after 
it  had  passed  through  the  flames,  it  would  receive  a 
new  birth  amidst  the  fire  ;  the  Stoics  maintained  the 
same  ;  and  Cicero  particularly  notices  it  in  his  book 
De  Nat.  Deorum,  (lib.  ii.)  as  does  Ovid,  (Met.  lib.  i.) 

The  Chaldeans,  Persians,  and  some  other  people 
of  the  East,  adored  fire  ;  and  there  is  a  tradition  that 
Abraham  was  thrown  into  a  fire,  because  he  refused 
to  worship  this  element.  See  Zoroaster,  Abra- 
ham. 

Few  things  are  more  shocking  to  humanity  than 
the  custom  of  which  such  frequent  mention  is  made 
in  Scripture,  of  making  children  pass  through  fire  in 
honor  of  Moloch  ;  a  custom,  the  antiquity  of  which 
appears  from  its  having  been  repeatedly  forbidden 
by  Moses,  as  Lev.  xviii.  21,  and,  at  length,  in  chap. 
XX.  1 — 5.  where  the  expressions  are  very  strong,  of 
"giving  his  seed  to  Moloch."  This  cruelty,  one 
would  hope,  was  confined  to  the  strangers  in  Israel, 
and  not  adopted  by  any  native  Israelite ;  yet  we  af- 
terwards find  the  kings  of  Israel,  themselves,  practis- 
ing this  superstition,  and  making  their  children  pass 
througli  the  fire. 

There  is  a  remarkable  variation  of  terms  in  the 
history  of  Ahaz,  vvho,  in  2  Kings  xvi.  3,  is  said  to 
make  "  his  son  to  pass  through  the  fire,  according  to 
the  abomination  of  the  heathen,"  i.  e.  no  doubt,  in 
iionor  of  Moloch, — while,  in  2  Chron.  xxviii.  3,  it  is 
expressed  by  "  he  burned  his  children  in  the  fire." 
Now,  as  the  book  of  Chronicles  is  best  understood, 
by  being  considered  as  a  supplementary  and  explan- 
atory history  to  the  book  of  Kings,  it  is  rather  sin- 
gular, that  it  uses  by  much  the  strongest  word  in  this 
passage — for  the  ir)ii)ort  of -\;'2i  is,  general!},  fo  con- 
sume,  to  clear  off;  so  Psal.  Ixxxiii.  14.  "  As  the  fire 
burneth  a  wood,"  so  Isaiah  i.  31,  and  this  variation  of 
expression  is  further  heightened,  by  the  word  son 
(who  jjassed  throiigh)  being  singular  in  Kings,  but 
|)Iural  (sons)  in  Chronicles.  It  seems  very  natm-al  to 
ask,  "  If  he  burned  his  children  in  the  fire,  how  could 
he  leave  any  posterity  to  succeed  him?" 

The  rabbins  have  histories  of  the  manner  of  pass- 
ing through  the  fires,  or  between  the  fires,  or  into 
eaves  of  fire  ;  and  there  is  an  account  of  an  image, 


FIRE 


[432] 


FIRE 


■which  received  children  into  its  arms,  and  let  them 
drop  into  a  fire  beneath,  amid  the  shouts  of  the 
multitude,  the  noise  of  drums,  and  other  instruments, 
to  drown  the  shrieks  of  the  agonizing  infant,  and 
the  horrors  of  the  parent's  mind.  Waving  further 
allusion  to  that  account  at  present,  the  following  ex- 
tract nif  y  afford  a  good  idea,  in  what  manner  the 
passing  through,  or  over,  fire,  was  anciently  perform- 
ed ;  the  attentive  reader  will  notice  the  particulars. 
"A  still  more  astonishing  instance  of  the  superstition 
of  the  ancient  Indians,  in  respect  to  the  venerated 
fire,  remains  at  this  day  in  the  grand  annual  festival 
holden  in  honor  of  Darma  Rajah,  and  called  the 
Feast  of  Fire  ;  in  which,  as  in  the  ancient  rites  of 
Moloch,  the  devotees  walk  barefoot  over  a  glowing^ 
Jire,  extending  forty  feet.  It  is  called  the  feast  of 
fire,  because  they  then  walk  on  that  element.  It 
lasts  eighteen  dpys,  during  which  time,  those  that 
make  a  vow  to  keep  it,  must  fast,  abstain  from  wo- 
men, lie  on  the  bare  ground,  and  walk  on  a  brisk 
fire.  The  eighteenth  day,  they  assemble,  on  the 
sound  of  instruments;  their  heads  crowned  with 
flowers,  the  body  bedaubed  with  saffron,  and  follow 
in  cadence  the  figures  of  Darma  Rajah,  and  of  Dro- 
bede,  his  wife,  who  are  carried  there  in  procession. 
When  they  come  to  the  fire,  they  stir  it,  to  animate 
its  activity,  and  take  a  little  of  the  ashes,  with  which 
they  rub  their  foi-ehead,  and  when  the  gods  have  been 
three  times  round  it,  they  walk  either  fast  or  slow, 
according  to  their  zeal,  over  a  very  hot  fire,  extend- 
ing to  about  forty  feet  in  length.  Some  carry  their 
children  in  their  arms,  and  others  lances,  sabres,  and 
standards.  The  most  fervent  devotees  walk  several 
times  over  the  Jire.  After  the  ceremony  the  ])eople 
press  to  collect  some  of  the  ashes  to  rub  their  fore- 
heads with,  and  obtain  from  the  devotees  some  of 
the  flowers  with  which  they  were  adorned,  and 
which  they  carefully  preserve."  (Sonnerat's  Trav- 
els, vol.  i.  154.)     See  13aal. 

This  extract  is  taken  from  Maurice's  "History  of 
Hindostan,"  (p.  448.)  and  it  accounts  for  several  ex- 
pressions used  in  Scripture  :  such  as  causing  children 
(very  young,  perhaps)  to  pass  through  fire,  as  we  see 
they  are  carried  over  the  fire,  by  wliich  means, 
though  devoted,  or  consecrated,  they  were  not  de- 
stroyed ;  neither  were  they  injiu-ed,  except  by  being 
profaned.  It  might,  however,  and  jjrobably  did, 
happen,  that  some  of  those  who  ilius  passed,  were 
hurt  or  maimed  in  the  passing,  or  if  not  immediately 
slain  by  the  fire,  might  be  burned  in  this  superstitious 
pilgrimage,  in  such  a  manner  as  to  contract  fatal  dis- 
eases. May  we  suppose,  then,  that  while  some  of 
the  children  of  Ahaz  passed  safely  over  the  fire, 
others  were  injured  by  it,  and  injin-ed  even  to  death  ? 
But  this  could  not  be  the  case  with  all  of  them  ;  as 
beside  Ilezekiah,  his  successor,  we  read  of  "  Maa- 
seiah,  the  king's  son,"  2  Chron.  xxviii.  7. 

[Similar  rites  are  still  practised  by  the  Chinese 
devotees.  The  following  account  is  from  the  jour- 
nal of  Mr.  Abeel,  American  missionary  at  Canton, 
under  date  of  April  14th,  1831.  "This  afternoon  we 
rode  about  six  miles  in  the  country  and  attended  a 
Chinese  ceremony,  which  reminded  us  of  the  rites 
of  "Moloch,  i)loo(ly  king."  It  occiu-s  on  the  birth- 
day of  the  Taou  gods,  and  is  i)erf()rmed  by  rimning 
barefoot,  througli  a  lieaj)  of  ignited  cjiarcoal.  The 
fire  covered  a  space  of  abf)Ut  10  or  12  feet  square, 
and  was  i)robahly  about  18  inches  in  height.  It 
threw  out  a  sweltering  heat,  and  kept  the  spectators 
at  some  distance.  The  concourse  was  large,  and 
the  crash  of  gongs   almost  deafening.      When   we 


anived,  we  found  two  priests  standing  near  the  fire, 
earnestly  conning  a  book,  and  performing  a  variety  of 
acts  which  its  pages  appeared  to  prompt.  One  of 
them  held  a  cow's  horn  in  his  hand,  with  which  he 
occasionally  assisted  the  noise.  The  other  was  more 
actively  engaged  in  burning  paper,  making  his  obei- 
sance, sprinkling  water  upon  the  heap,  and  striking 
it  violently  with  a  sword.  During  these  ceremonies, 
he  frequently  bowed  to  the  gi-ound,  and  gazed  up- 
ward, with  an  expression  of  most  intense  earnest- 
ness. There  was  something  striking  in  the  whole 
appeaiance  and  conduct  of  the  man.  It  was  very 
evident,  that  if  not  himself  fully  persuaded  of  the 
presence  and  power  of  the  being  he  invoked,  he 
well  knew  how  to  produce  this  persuasion  in  the 
minds  of  the  ignorant  around  him. 

"  The  prescribed  rites  being  performed,  the  priest 
approached  the  jjile,  went  through  a  number  of 
antics,  and  dashed  furiously  througli  the  coals.  A 
passage  was  kept  clear  from  the  adjacent  temple,  and 
as  soon  as  the  signal  was  given  by  the  priest,  a  num- 
ber of  persons,  old  and  young,  came  running  with 
idols  in  their  hands,  and  bore  them  through  the  fire. 
Othei-s  followed,  and  among  them  an  old  man  who 
halted  and  staggered  in  the  very  jaws  of  death.  The 
scene  was  one  of  mad  confusion,  but  its  continuance 
was  short,  and  the  crowd  soon  dispersed.  It  is 
thought  a  test  of  the  character  of  those  who  attempt 
it;  if  they  have  a  "true  heart"  and  confidence  in 
the  gods,  they  cannot  receive  injury.  Some  of  them 
pass  through  tlif^fire  in  fulfilment  of  a  voav  made  in 
time  of  danger  or  necessity.  One  of  the  votaries 
last  year  fell  in  the  midst  of  the  fire,  and  was  se- 
verely burned."     (Miss.  Herald  for  1832,  p.  97.)    *R. 

Humanity  would  induce  us  to  hope  that  the  ex- 
pression "  burned,"  should  l)e  taken  in  a  milder  sense 
than  that  of  slaying  by  Jire ;  and,  perhaps,  this  idea 
may  be  justified,  by  remarking  the  use  of  it  in  Exod. 
iii.  2,  3,  "  the  bush  burned  (uI-n^  n;'2)  with  fire,  yet  the 
bush  was  not  consumed  (iy3'  n'^)."  The  word,  there- 
fore, being  capable  of  a  milder,  as  well  as  of  a  strong- 
er sense,  like  our  English  word,  to  bu7'n,  it  is  desi- 
rable, if  fact  would  permit,  to  tal<e  it  in  the  milder 
sense  in  the  instance  of  Ahaz,  and  possiblj-  in  other.s. 
Nevertheless,  the  Indian  custom  of  widows  burning 
themselves  to  death  with  the  body  of  their  deceased 
husbands,  contributes  to  justify  the  harsher  construc- 
tion of  the  word  to  burn  ;  as  the  superstitious  crueltj^ 
which  can  deprive  women  of  life,  may  easily  be 
thought  guilty  of  equal  barbarity  in  the  case  of  chil- 
dren. In  fact,  the  drowning  of  children  in  the  Gan- 
ges, as  an  act  of  dedication,  is  common. 

The  narrative  of  Daniel  and  his  three  companions 
being  thrown  into  the  fiery  furnace,  by  oi-der  of 
Nebuchadnezzar,  (Dan.  iii.)  has  been  thought  to  in- 
volve some  difficulties  ;  indeed  Eichhorn  selects  this, 
among  other  reasons,  for  divesting  Daniel  of  the  pro- 
phetic character.  The  difficulty  in  the  narrative, 
however,  results,  it  is  more  than  probable,  from  our 
want  of  information  as  to  the  form  of  the  furnace, 
or  place  of  fire,  in  which  the  memorable  occurrence 
took  place.  An  enclosed  structure,  similar  to  our 
ovens  or  furnaces,  is  certainly  incompatible  with 
some  of  the  circumstances  atteiulant  upon  the  event; 
but  we  are  not  com])elled  to  adhere  to  this  notion. 
Maundrell  discovered,  in  Syria,  near  Tortosa,  a  sin- 
gular structure,  which  was  no  doubt  a  temple  of  the 
Phoenician  and  Chaldean  idol,  Baal,  or  the  sun, 
whose  representative  was  fire,  and  which  may  be 
very  fairly  supposed  to  represent,  on  a  small  scale, 
the  temple  or  court  in  which  Nebuchadnezaar  erect- 


FIRE 


[  433  1 


FIRE 


ed  his  image,  and  in  which  the  flames  were  kmdled 
for  the  Hebrew   confessors.      There   was   a  court 

of  fifty-five  yards 
square,  cut  in  the 
natural  rock ;  the 
sides  of  the  rock 
standing  roimd  it, 
about  three  yards 
high,  supphcd  tlie 
place  of  walls.  On 
three  sides  it  was 
thus  encompassed, 
but  to  the  north- 
ward it  lay  open. 
In  the  centre  of  this 
area  was  a  square 
part  of  the  rock 
left  standing ;  being 
three  yards  high, 
and  five  yards  and 
a  half  square.  This  served  for  a  pedestal  to  a  throne 
erected  upon  it.  The  throne  was  composed  of  four 
large  stones,  two  at  the  sides,  one  at  the  back,  another 
hanging  over  all  at  top,  in  the  manner  of  a  canopy. 
The  whole  structure  was  about  twenty  feet  high, 
fronting  toward  that  side  where  the  court  was  open. 
The  stone  that  made  the  canopy  was  five  yards  and 
three  quarters  square,  and  carved  round  with  a  hand- 
some cornish.  What  all  this  might  be  designed  for, 
we  cannot  imagine  ;  ludess  perhaps  the  coiu-t  may 
pass  for  an  idol  temple,  and  the  pile  in  the  middle 
for  the  throne  of  the  idol ;  which  seems  the  more 
probable,  in  regard  that  Hercules,  that  is,  the  sun,  the 
great  abomination  of  the  Phoenicians,  was  wont  to  be 
adored  in  an  open  temple.  At  the  two  innermost 
angles  of  the  court,  and  likewise  on  the  open  side, 
were  left  pillars  of  the  natural  rock ;  three  of  each  at 
the  former,  and  two  at  the  latter."  (Journal,  Sunday, 
March  7.) 

The  account  of  the  apocryphal  writer  of  the  his- 
tory of  this  miracle  says,  that  "the  angel  of  the 
Lord  descended,  and  smote  the  flame  of  fire  out 
of  the  fin-nace,  (or  place  of  fire,)  and  made  the  mid- 
dle of  tlie  furnace  as  if  a  moist,  dewy,  whistling 
wind"  were  passing  over  it.  Admitting  this  passage 
of  wind  over  it,  it  could  not  be  a  close  building;  and 
this  seems  to  be  finally  detennined  by  the  recollec- 
tion, that  Nebuchadnezzar  saw  what  occurred  within 
it ;  which  was  absolutely  impossible  if  it  were  en- 
closed like  our  tile-kilns  ;  but,  supposing  it  to  be 
open,  like  the  place  of  fire  in  our  engraving,  he 
might  easily  contemplate  every  occurrence  of  which 
it  was  the  scene. 

This  notion  of  an  open  furnace,  or  place  of  fire, 
appears,  then,  to  be  of  some  consequence  to  the 
proper  understanding  of  the  historJ^  It  is  more 
congenial  with  the  customs  of  the  country,  the  idol- 
atry of  tlie  people,  and  the  supposed  dignity  of  the 
occasion.  It  leads  us  also  to  infer,  that  tlie  transac- 
tion passed  in  the  very  sight,  so  to  speak,  of  the  gold- 
en image,  in  defiance  of  its  influence  and  power, 
which,  no  douln,  were  presumed  to  be  most  vigor- 
ous, niost  concentrated,  within  the  precincts  of  its 
own  immediate  residence :  yet  here,  where  most 
competent  to  exertion,  it  was  baffled,  counteracted, 
and  defeated. 

There  is  no  just  reason  for  doubting,  as  Mr.  Tay- 
lor sujjposes,  from  whom  we  have  abridged  these 
observations,  that  the  open  temple,  mentioned  by 
Maundrell,  being  in  the  country  of  Tyre  and  Bidon, 
were  used  for  the  worshij)  of  the  Tyrian  Hercules, 
55 


the  Baal  of  the  East ;  that  is,  the  sun,  wliose  repre- 
sentative on  earth  was  elementary  fire,  (Jur  see 
under  Baal,)  This  element,  we  l:now,  was  the  pri- 
mary deity  of  Chaldea,  and  the  Chaldeans  boasted 
of  their  deity,  as  superior  to  ail  cUiers,  because  he 
was  able  to  consume  their  reprecenlctic-nc,  whether 
in  wood,  stone,  or  metal.  The  iaentJty  of  these 
deities  was  maintained  by  the  Tyila^is  also  ;  hence 
we  read,  that  to  prevent  his  desertion  from  their  city, 
they  chained  the  statue  of  Hercules  to  the  &.>,zy  of 
Apollo,  If,  then,  the  deity  of  the  Chaldeans  v.  :;c  also 
the  deity  of  the  Tyrians,  doubtless  the  rites  of  his 
worship  were  similar  in  both  countries  ;  and  since 
we  find  an  open  court  in  Syria  still  remaining,  it  takes 
off"  the  difliculty  (if  any  were  supposed)  in  cozisider- 
ing  an  open  court  as  the  scene  of  religious  rites  ad- 
dressed to  the  same  deity  in  Chaldea, 

It  is  probable  enough  that  the  history  of  the  fiery 
furnace  is  much  more  intelligible  in  the  East  than 
among  ourselves ;  that  the  publicity  of  this  execu- 
tion would  there  be  better  understood  ;  that  ths  con- 
test between  (Baal)  the  deity  fire,  and  Jehovah, 
would  there  excite  not  merely  the  liveliest  interest 
throughout  the  nation,  but,  that  the  result  of  it  vrould 
produce  the  most  general  confusion  on  one  sicie,  and 
the  most  vehement  joy  on  the  other  ;  also,  that,  when 
the  Chaldeans  saw  their  national  deity  vanquished, 
not  by  another  element,  as  water,  of  which  Ave  have 
a  history,  but  by  a  protecting,  preserving  power  infi- 
nitely its  superior,  their  perplexity  Avoiddf  be  extreme  ; 
and  they  would  feel  their  embarrassment  with  all 
the  tenderness  of  eastern  sympathy,  and  the  exqui- 
site sensibility  of  eastern  imagination. 

There  are  among  the  eastern  people,  as  ajready 
noticed,  traditions  of  a  similar  trial  of  Abraham  by 
Nimrod,  and  a  similar  deliverance.  They  might 
confirm  our  remarks  ;  but  for  the  present  we  draw 
no  other  conclusion,  than  that  of  the  open  corstruc- 
tion  of  the  Chaldean  place  of  fire  :  that  the  v.hcle 
was  transacted  as  a  kind  of  sacrifice  to  the  deity, 
and  in  the  immediate  presence  of  his  consecrated 
image. 

Hell-fire  is  clearly  described  in  the  Old  Testa- 
ment, Moses  says,  "A  fire  is  kindled  in  my  r.nger, 
and  shall  burn  unto  the  lowest  hell,  and  shall  con- 
sume the  earth  with  her  increase,  and  set  on  firs  the 
foundations  of  the  mountains."  Here  hell-fire  or  the 
place  of  torment  is  placed  in  the  deepest  parts  of 
the  earth.  Isaiah  is  expi-ess :  (xxxiii.  14.)  "  \Vho 
among  us  shall  dwell  with  devouring  fire  ?  Who 
among  us  shall  dwell  with  everlasting  burnings  ?" 
Our  Saviour  speaks  of  eternal  fire  prejiarcd  for  the 
devil,  his  angels,  and  reprobates  ;  and  John  (^lev.  xx. 
14,  15.)  saw  a  lake  of  fire,  into  which  the  beast  and 
his  false  prophet  were  cast,  and  which  Avas  the  por- 
tion of  infidels,  murderers,  and  abominable  persons. 
But  whether  these  expressions  are  to  be  understood 
literally  or  metaphorically  ;  that  is,  whether  the  fire  of 
hell  consists  only  in  A'ehement  anguish,  and  the 
worm  in  remorse  and  despair,  is  what  critics  and 
fathers  arc  much  divided  about.  Origen,  Ambrose, 
Jerome,  Gregory  of  Nice,  and  John  Damascenus,  say 
expressly,  that  it  is  not  a  material  fire,  but  that  the 
fire  is  bitterness  for  past  sins,  and  the  worm  remorse 
of  conscience  ;  a  sentiment  still  common  among  the 
Greeks.  But  in  the  Latin  church,  the  general  opinion 
is,  that  the  danmcd  are  tormented  with  real  frn,  and 
gnawed  by  a  real  worm,  which  does  not  die.  If  it  be 
asked.  How  can  an  elementary  fire,  or  a  living  worm 
operate  on  the  soul,  Avhich  is  a  spiritual  substance  ? 
Augustin  replies.  Why  should  not  this  be  credible  of 


FIR 


[  434  1 


FIR 


the  soul  when  separated  from  the  body,  since  the 
mind  of  man,  which  certainly  is  not  corporeal,  does 
acrually  experience  the  pain  of  fire  ?  For,  after  all, 
it  is  not  the  body  which  suffers  heat,  or  cold,  or  pain  ; 
it  is  the  soul,  united  to  that  body.  And  why  should 
mot  devils,  and  the  souls  of  the  damned,  be  insepara- 
bly linked  to  the  fire  that  burns  them,  and  tlie  worm 
which  gnaws  them,  as  well  as  our  soul  is  during  our 
life-time  united  to  our  body  ?  It  has  been  thought, 
that  there  is  an  allusion  in  Isaiah  Ixvi.  24.  and  IMai-k 
jx.  44.  to  the  different  modes  of  consuming  dead 
bodies  among  the  ancients; — by  burning,  and  by 
burial:  q.  d.  ""the  punishments  in  the  future  state 
will  not  become  extinct,  as  fire  must  needs  be  extin- 
guished when  the  subject  of  it,  that  is,  the  body,  is 
consumed  ;  nor  will  they  cease  to  exist,  as  the  body 
ceases  to  exist  when  it  is  wholly  perished  in  the 
earth,  or  wholly  consumed  by  worms,  which  worms 
themselves  shall  die  ;  but  as  the  si)irit  survives,  so  its 
punishments  shall  continue."  This  interpretation 
implies  tiiat  the  punishments  spoken  of  are  wholly 
spiritual,  and  existing  independently  of  the  body. 

FIRMAMENT.  Moses  says,  that  God  made  a 
firmament  in  the  midst  of  the  waters  to  separate  the 
inferior  from  the  superior  waters.  By  the  word  }»\-'t 
rakta,  the  Hebrews  understood  the  heavens,  which, 
like  a  solid  and  immense  arch,  served  as  a  barrier 
between  the  upper  and  lower  waters,  having  win- 
dows, through  which,  when  oi)ened,  the  upper 
waters  descended  and  formed  the  rain.  But  we  are 
not  to  infer  from  this  idea  of  the  ancient  Hebrews, 
tliat  it  really  was  so  ;  in  matters  indifferent,  the  sa- 
cred writei-s  generally  suit  their  expressions  to  popu- 
lar conceptions. 

FIRST.  This  word  does  not  always  signify  pri- 
ority of  rank,  or  order,  but  sometimes  before  that,  as 
— John  i.  15, 30,  Gr.  "  He  was  first  of  me  ;"  he  was 
before  mc.  And  chap.  xv.  18.  "  If  the  world  hate 
you,  ye  know  it  hated  me  before  it  hated  you,"  &c. 
Our  Saviour  required  his  disciples  "  to  seek  first  the 
kingdom  of  God  ;"  i.  e.  before  all  things  ;  (Matt.  vi. 
33.)  and  Paul  says,  that  God  displayed  his  mercy 
towards  him,  "who  was  the  chief  [first]  of  sinners," 
and  that  in  him  first  [eminently,  wonderfully]  "he 
showed  forth  all  long-suffering,"  1  Tim.  i.  15,  16. 

FIRST-BORN.  "^This  phrase  is  not  always  to  be 
understood  literally  ;  it  is  sometimes  taken  for  the 
prime,  most  excellent,  most  distinguished  of  things. 
Thus,  "Jesus  Christ"  is  "the  first-born  of  every 
creature,  the  first-begotten,  or  first-born  from  the 
dead  ;"  begotten  of  the  Father  before  any  creature 
was  produced ;  the  first  who  rose  from  the  dead  by 
his  own  power.  Wisdom  says,  that  she  came  out  of 
the  mouth  of  the  Most  High  before  he  had  produced 
any  creature,  Ecclus.  xxiv.  3 ;  Isa.  xiv.  30.  "  The 
first-born  of  the  poor,"  signifies  the  most  miserable 
of  the  poor  ;  Job  xviii.  13.  "  the  first-born  of  death," 
the  most  terrible  of  deaths.  After  the  destroying 
angel  had  killed  the  first-born  of  the  Egyptians,  God 
ordaine<l  that  all  the  Jewish  first-born,  both  of  men, 
and  of  l)easts  for  service,  should  be  consecrated  to 
him  ;  but  the  male  children  only  were  subject  to  this 
law.  If  a  man  had  many  wives,  he  was  obliged  to 
offer  the  first-born  son  by  each  one  of  them  to  the 
Lord.  The  first-born  were  offered  at  the  temi)le, 
and  redeemed  for  five  shekels.  The  firstling  of  a 
clean  beast  was  offered  at  the  temple,  not  to  bo  re- 
deemed, but  to  be  killed ;  an  unclean  beast,  a  horse, 
an  ass,  or  a  camel,  was  either  redeemed  or  exchang- 
ed ;  an  ass  was  redeemed  by  a  lamb,  or  five  shekels ; 
if  not  redeemed,  it  was  killed.     Commentators  hold 


that  the  first-born  of  dogs  were  killed,  because  they 
were  unclean ;  and  that  nothing  was  given  for  them 
to  the  priests,  because  there  Avas  no  trade  or  com- 
merce in  them.     See  Dent,  xxiii.  18. 

It  has  been  questioned  whether  our  Saviour,  as 
first-born  of  the  Virgin,  was  subject  to  this  law. 
Some  believe  that  he  was  not ;  others,  that  by  the 
terms  of  the  law  he  was. 

The  ceremonies  of  the  Jews  for  the  redemption 
of  their  first-born,  are  as  follows  :  If  the  child  be  a 
boy,  when  he  is  thirty  days  old,  a  descendant  of 
Aaron  is  sent  for,  who  is  most  agreeable  to  the  fa- 
ther ;  and  the  company  being  met,  the  father  brings 
gold  or  silver  in  a  cup  or  basin.  The  child  is  then 
put  into  tlie  priest's  hands,  who  asks  the  mother 
aloud,  whether  this  boy  is  hers.  She  answers.  Yes. 
He  adds,  "Have  you  never  had  any  other  child, 
male  or  female  ;  no  untimely  birth,  or  miscarriage  ?  " 
She  answers.  No.  "If  so,"  says  the  priest,  "this 
child,  as  the  first-born,  belongs  to  me."  Then  turn- 
ing to  the  father,  he  says,  "If  you  desire  to  have  liim, 
you  must  redeem  him."  "  This  gold  and  this  silver," 
replies  the  father,  "  is  offered  to  you  for  that  purpose 
only."  The  priest,  turning  to  tlie  assembly,  says, 
"This  child,  as  the  first-born,  is  therefore  mine,  ac- 
cording to  this  law, — those  who  are  to  be  I'cdeemed 
from  a  month  old  shalt  thou  redeem,  according  to 
thine  estimation,  for  the  money  of  five  shekels,"  &-c. 
— "  but  I  am  content  with  this  in  exchange."  He 
then  takes  two  gold  crowns,  or  thereabouts,  and  re- 
stores the  infant.  If  the  father  or  riiother  are  of  the 
race  of  priests,  or  Levites,  they  do  not  redeem  their 
son.  The  first-born  among  the  Hebrews,  as  among 
all  other  nations,  enjoyed  particular  privileges.     See 

BlRTIl-RIGHT. 

In  addition  to  the  first-born  of  men  and  beasts 
which  were  offered  to  the  Lord,  or  were  redeemed 
by  money,  there  was  another  kind  of  first-born, 
which  were  carried  to  the  temple,  in  order  to  fur- 
nish the  table  for  feasts  of  charity.  Of  this  kind 
mention  is  made  in  Deut.  xii.  17,  18:  "Thou  mayest 
not  eat  within  thy  gates  the  tithe  of  thy  corn  or 
wine,  or  the  firstlings  of  thy  herds,  or  of  thy  flock, 
nor  any  of  thy  vows  .  .  .  but  thou  must  eat  these 
things  before  the  Lord  thy  God  in  the  place  which 
he  shall  choose,  thou,  and  thy  son,  and  thy  daughter, 
thy  man-servant  and  thy  maid-servant,  and  the  Le- 
vite  that  is  within  thy  gates."  And  again  Deut.  xii. 
18.     (See  below.) 

FIRST-FRUITS  were  presents  made  to  God,  of 
part  of  the  fruits  of  the  harvest,  to  express  the  sub- 
mission, dependence,  and  thankfulness  of  the  offerers. 
They  were  offered  to  the  temple,  before  the  crop 
was  gathered  ;  and,  when  the  harvest  was  over,  be- 
fore any  private  persons  used  their  corn.  The  first 
of  these  first-fruits,  oflbrcd  in  the  name  of  the  na- 
tion, was  a  sheaf  of  barley,  gathered  on  the  fifteenth 
of  Nisau,  in  the  evening,  and  threshed  in  a  court  of 
the  temple.  After  it  was  well  cleaned,  about  three 
pints  of  it  were  roasted,  and  poiuided  in  a  mortar. 
Over  this  was  thrown  a  log  of  oil,  and  a  handful  of 
incense  ;  and  the  priest,  tal<ing  the  offering,  waved  it 
before  the  Lord  towards  the  four  cardinal  points, 
throwing  a  handful  of  it  into  the  fire  on  the  altar,  and 
keeping  the  rest.  After  this,  all  wore  at  liberty  to  get 
in  the  liarvest.  (See  Sueak.)  When  the  wheat  har- 
vest was  over,  on  the  day  of  Pentecost,  they  offered 
as  first-fruits  of  another  kind,  in  the  name  of  the  na- 
tion, two  loaves,  of  two  assarons  (about  three  pints) 
of  flour  each,  made  of  leavened  dough.  Joscphua 
mentions  only  one  loaf,  and  says  it  was  served  up  to 


FIS 


[435  ] 


FIS 


the  priests  that  evening  at  supper,  with  the  other 
offerings;  and  that  all  were  to  be  eaten  that  day 
without  leaving  any  thing.  In  addition  to  these 
first-lruits,  every  private  person  was  obliged  to  bring 
his  first-fruits  to  the  temple  ;  but  Scripture  prescribes 
neither  the  time  nor  the  quantity.  The  rabbins  say, 
th(;v  were  obliged  to  bring  at  least  the  sixtieth  part  of 
their  fruits  and  harvest.  The  most  liberal  gave  the 
fortieth,  the  least  liberal,  the  fiftieth  or  sixtieth.  They 
met  in  companies  of  four  and  twenty  persons,  to 
carry  their  first-fruits  in  a  ceremonious  manner.  The 
company  was  preceded  by  an  ox  appointed  for  the 
sacrifice,  with  a  crown  of  olives  on  his  head,  and  his 
horns  gilded  ;  and  a  player  on  the  flute  walked  before 
them  to  Jerusalem.  The  fii-st-fruits  were  of  wheat, 
barley,  grapes,  figs,  apricots,  olives,  and  dates.  Each 
carried  his  basket.  The  rich  had  gold  or  silver, 
(Prov.  XXV.  11,  "a  word  fitly  spoken  is  like  apples  of 
gold,  in  pictures  of  silver,"  &:c.  perhaps  of  first-fruits 
carried  in  baskets  of  fillagree-work,  on  such  a  joyful 
occasion,)  the  poor  had  wicker  baskets.  At  Jerusa- 
lem, the  citizens  came  out  to  meet  and  to  salute  them. 
When  they  arrived  at  the  mountain  on  which  the 
temple  was  situated,  each  one,  even  the  king  him- 
self, if  he  were  there,  took  his  basket  on  his  shoul- 
der, and  carried  it  to  the  court  of  the  priests  ;  the 
Levites  singing,  "I  will  magnify  thee,  O  Lord,"  &c. 
Psal.  XXX.  He  who  brought  the  first-fruits,  said,  "I 
profess  this  day  unto  the  Lord  thy  God,  that  I  am 
come  unto  the  country,  which  the  Lord  sware  unto 
our  fathers  for  to  give  us  ;"  (Bcut.  xxvi.  4, 5,  &c.)  and 
then  putting  the  basket  on  his  hand,  (the  priest  sup- 
porting it  at  the  bottom,)  he  continued — "  A  Syrian 
ready  to  perish  was  my  father,"  &c.  He  then  put 
his  basket  by  the  side  of  the  altar,  prostrated  himself, 
and  went  away. 

There  was,  besides  this,  another  sort  of  first-fruits 
paid  to  God,  Num.  xv.  19,  21.  When  the  bread  in 
the  family  was  kneaded,  a  portion  of  it  was  set  apart, 
and  given  to  the  priest,  or  Levite,  of  the  place :  if 
thei-e  were  no  priest,  or  Levite,  it  was  cast  into  tlie 
oven  and  there  consumed.  The  law  had  not  fixed 
the  (juantity  of  this  bread;  but  Jerome  saj'^s,  that  cus- 
tom and  tradition  had  determined  it  to  be  between 
the  fortieth  and  sixtieth  part  of  what  was  kneaded. 
Philo  speaks  of  this  custom  ;  and  Leo  of  Modena  de- 
clares, it  was  observed  in  his  time.  This  is  one  of 
the  three  precepts  peculiar  to  the  women,  because 
they  generally  make  the  bread.  The  rabbins  hold 
that  no  one  is  obHged  to  pay  the  fli-st-fruits,  excepting 
in  the  Land  of  Promise. 

Those  offerings  are  often  called  first-fruits,  which 
were  brought  by  the  Israelites  from  devotion,  to  the 
temple,  for  the  feasts  of  thanksgiving,  to  which  they 
invited  their  relations  and  friends,  and  the  Levites  of 
their  cities.  The  first-fruits  and  tenths  were  the  most 
considerable  revenue  of  the  priests  and  Levites. 

Paul  says,  Christians  have  the  first-fruits  of  the 
Holy  Sjjirit,  a  greater  abundance  of  God's  Spirit, 
more  perfect  and  more  excellent  gifls  than  the  Jews. 
"  Christ  is  risen  from  the  dead,  and  become  the  first- 
fruits  of  them  that  slept,"  (1  Cor.  xv.  20.)  the  first- 
begotten  from  the  dead,  or  the  first-born  of  those  who 
rose  again  :  the  Thessalohians  were,  as  it  were,  the 
first-fruits  whom  God  had  chosen  to  salvation  ;  (1 
Tliess.  ii.  12.)  chosen  with  a  particular  distinction,  as 
fnst-fruits  were  chosen  from  amidst  the  jnost  ex- 
quisite of  the  several  fruits,  with  a  design  of  offering 
them  to  the  Lord. 

FISH,  ji,  dng,  a  general  name  in  Scripture  for 
aquatic  animals,  which  the  Hebrews  place  among 


reptiles.  We  have  few  Hebrew  names,  if  any,  for 
particular  fish.  RIoses  says  in  general,  (Lev.  xi.  9.) 
that  all  sorts  of  river,  lake,  and  sea  fish  may  be  eaten 
if  they  have  scales  and  fins  ;  others  are  unclean. 

Some  interpreters  believe  that  the  fish  which 
swallowed  Jonah  was  a  whale  ;  but  others,  with  more 
probability,  suppose  that  it  was  a  shark. 

FISHERS  are  frequently  spoken  of  by  the  proph- 
ets, in  their  metaphorical  discourses.  A  passage  or 
two  requires  notice.  Jeremiah  says,  (ch.  xvi.  16.) 
"Behold,  I  will  send  for  many  (Q>jn,  davvagim)/s/i- 
ers,  and  they  shall  (oun,  digvm)  fish  them  ;  and  at'ter, 
I  will  send  for  many  hunters,  and  they  shall  hunt 
them  from  every  mountain,  and  from  every  hill,  and 
out  of  the  holes  of  the  rocks."  Mr.  Taylor  thinks 
this  would  be  more  correct,  if  understood  thus — "  I 
will  send  divers  who  sliall  dive  after  them,  or,  take 
them  by  wading,  diving,  plunging,  following  them 
among  the  holes  and  crannies  of  the  rocks,  and 
bringing  them  from  thence."  For  it  should  seem,  he 
remai-ks,  that  the  hunting  associated  with  this  fishing, 
being  an  active  pursuit,  demands  more  than  mere 
angling,  or  fishing  with  nets,  as  its  parallel ;  neither 
among  holes  of  the  rocks  are  nets  of  use  ;  but  diving 
is  an  active  pursuit  by  water,  as  hunting  is  by  land, 
and  seems  to  maintain  the  requisite  association  of 
import  in  this  passage.  Diving  for  pearls  was  (and 
is)  practised  in  the  East ;  and,  that  diving  is  prac- 
tised as  one  way  of  taking  fish,  is  strongly  implied  in 
the  subsequent  quotation  from  Niebuhr. 

[There  is  no  reason  whatever  for  taking  the  word 
fisher  out  of  its  usual  sense  ; — nothing  can  be  more  ap- 
propriate than  its  being  employed  along  with  hunter, 
as  above.  Still,  a  diver  might,  by  possibility,  be  in- 
cluded under  it,  as  it  is  in  English.     R. 

Is  this  the  allusion  of  the  prophet  Ezekiel,  (chap, 
xlvii.  10^"  And^s/jcj-s  shall  stand  upon  it,  from  En- 
gedi  to  Eu-eglaim  ;  they  shall  be  a  place  to  spread 
forth  nets  ?"  Such  is  our  translation  ;  but,  reading 
with  the  ken  (ncy,  amcru)  shall  gather,  instead  of 
(ncj'j  AMCDu)  shall  stand,the  words  may  be  rendered 
thus:  "And  divers  shall  gather  upon  its  banks ;  and 
from  the  kids'  fountain  to  the  calves'  fountain,  shall 
be  the  extent  of  separations."  But  what  does  this 
mean  ?  Mr.  Taylor  suggests,  "They  shall  gather  into 
heaps,  (the  word  signifies  to  compi-ess close  together,) 
as  pearl  oysters  are  gathered  into  distinct  hillocks ; 
and  the  ground  appointed  for  such  separate  heajis 
shall  be  fi'omjE7i-g-edi,  the  kids'  fountain,  to  En-cglaim, 
the  calves'  fountain."  The  prophet  goes  on  to  say, 
this  river  shall  also  have  all  other  kinds  of  fisH,  in 
the  same  number  and  variety  as  the  ocean  itself.  If 
this  be  the  import  of  the  place,  then  diviitg,  as  one 
branch  of  fishing,  is  unilbrndy  included  in  the  deriv- 
atives from  the  word  dag ;  and  this  idea  increases 
the  symbolical  riches  of  these  prophetic  waters. 

Attaching  the  idea  of  diving  to  this  word,  gives  a 
decided  import  to  a  noun  used  ia  Amos  iv.  2  :  "  The 
Lord  God  hath  sworn  that  the  days  come  ....  lliat 
he  will  take  you  away  with  hooks,  and  your  posterity 
with  fish-hooks."  Mr.  Harmer  (Obs.  vol.  iv.  p.  199.) 
enters  at  large  into  the  rendering  of  this  passage. 
Mr.  Taylor  would  render  thus  :  "  The  Lord  shall  take 
you  (yourselves)  away  with,  or  among,  or  bcin"  beat 
forward  by,  prickles ;  but  those  whom  you  leave  behind 
you  shall  be  driven  away  by  a  diverts  weapon ;  an  in- 
strument equally  sharp,  and  with  points  as  numerous 
and  piercing  as  those  used  by  divers  to  strike  at  the 
fish  which  they  pursue."— By  this  rendering,  he  ob- 
serves, the  idea  of  driving  forward  cattle  is  preserved 
throughout  the  passage ;  and  the  change  of  meta- 


FIT 


[  436  ] 


FLA 


phor,  by  allusion  to  fishing  (i.  e.  angling)  is  avoided. 
[The  figure  is  here  taken  from  the  custom  of  taming 
or  subduing  animals  by  placing  hooks  or  rings  in 
their  noses:  Compare  Is.  xxxvii.  29,  "  Therefoi-e  I 
will  put  my  hook  in  thy  nose,  and  my  bridle  in  thy 
lips,  and  I  will  turn  thee  back  by  the  way  which  thou 
earnest."  Why  these  hooks  are  here  called fsh-hooks, 
appears  from  Ezek.  xxix.  4  ;  Job  xli.  2, — viz.  because 
it  was  customary  to  let  the  larger  fish,  when  once 
caught,  hang  in  the  water,  being  fastened  by  a  hook 
in  the  nose.  See  Bruce's  Travels.  Oedraann's 
Samndungen,  etc.  V.  5.     R. 

"  Of  all  the  creatures  which  live  in  the  water,  the 
Mahometans  eat  only  fish,  and  not  all  sorts  of  them. 
Those  which  are  considered  as  pure  and  edible,  ac- 
cording to  the  books  of  the  old  Mahometan  theologist, 
ought  to  have  been  taken  in  nets,  or  with  the  hand, 
while  alive  ;  when  the  water  being  ebbed  away,  leaves 
the  siiores  dry.  Nevertheless,  they  take  them,  at 
least  in  the  Euphrates,  Avith  the  hook,  or  w^ith  a  grain 
which  intoxicates  them.  Some  have  questioned 
w  hether  a  piece  of  fish,  which  swims  on  the  water, 
may  be  eaten  ?  and  it  is  decided,  that  it  is  lawful 
when  there  appears  some  mark  that  the  fish  was 
killed  by  a  knife,  or  by  a  sabre  ;  because  then,  it  is 
presumed,  that  the  words  bism  alia  akbar  were  pro- 
nounced over  it.  I  do  not  remember  to  have  seen 
fishes  alive  among  tlie  Mahometan  fishermen.  Those 
of  Djidda  and  Loheia  only  brought  ashore  such  as 
were  dead  :  without  a  doubt  they  had  cut  their  throats, 
lest  they  should  die  of  themselves,  and  so  become 
impure."  (Niebuhr,  Descrip.  Arabic,  p.  150.  Fr.  edit.) 
Here  we  see  that  fish  are  taken  by  the  hand  ;  tJiey 
are  also  killed  by  sharp  weapons,  as  a  knife,  or  a  sa- 
bre ;  and  therefore  other  sharp  and  piercing  instru- 
ments, better  adapted  to  the  purpose  than  knives  or 
sabres,  could  hardly  fail  of  being  employed  by  fish- 
ermen. Our  translation  mentions  Jish-spea7-s,  (Job 
xli.  1.)  but  in  the  original  it  is  another  word. 

FITCHES.  There  are  tv/o  words  in  the  Hebrew 
Bible  which  the  English  translators  have  rendered 
^fitches  or  vetches — ni'p  K^tsach,  and  rit:^^  Kitssemeth ; 
the  latter  probably  denotes  rye,  or  spelt ;  we  have  now 
to  inquire  about  the  former,  which  occurs  only  in 
Isaiah  xxviii.  25 — 27,  and  about  which  critics  are  not 
agreed.  Jerome,  Maimonides,  and  the  rabbins  un- 
derstand it  of  the  gith,  which  was  called  by  the 
Greeks  Mf>.aiSior,  and  by  the  Latins  nigella;  and 
Rabbi  Obdias  de  Bartemora  expressly  says,  that  the 
barbarous  or  vulgar  name  of  the  nsp  was  iS^ij  7iielli, 
nigella.  Ausouius  says  the  gith  is  "  pungent  as  pep- 
per ;"  and  Pliny  adds,  that  its  seed  is  good  for  sea- 
so;!ing  food,  lie  also  states  it  to  be  of  great  use  in 
the  bakehouse,  and  that  it  affords  a  grateful  season- 
ing to  bread  ;  perhaps  by  sprinkling  upon  it,  as  we 
do  caraway  and  other  small  seeds.  Some  think 
the  f^ith  to  have  been  the  same  as  our  fennel,  and 
Eallcster  is  quoted  as  saying  "gith  is  commonly 
met  with  in  gardens ;  it  grows  a  cubit  in  height, 
sojnetim.es  more.  The  leaves  are  small,  like  those  of 
fenml,  the  flcwer  blue,  which  disappearing,  the  ovary 
shov.s  itseii'  on  the  top,  like  those  of  a  poppy,  fur- 
nished with  little  horns,  oblong,  divided  by  'mem- 
bra.ios  into  severe'  partitions  and  cells,  in  which  are 
enclosed  seeus  c"  p.  vo;-y  black  color,  not  unlike 
those  of  a  lock,  but  very  fragrant.  But  die  cir- 
cumstance of  -ia'.leuter  comparing  the  gith  to  the 
fennel  is  decisive  against  the  notion  that  it  was  this 
part'c'iiar  punt.  1'hat  it  ciussea  with  the  fennel 
may  l^e  reudily  admitted  ;  but  not  that  it  was  the 
eaine. 


FLAG.  There  are  two  words  in  the  original,  inN, 
achit,  and  rjio,  swpft,  translated  "flag,"  in  our  Bibles, 
though  not  uniformly  so  ;  for  in  Gen.  xli.  2,  18,  the 
former  word  is  rendered  meadow,  and  in  Jonah  ii.  5, 
the  latter  is  translated  iveeds.  It  probably  denotes 
the  sedge  or  long  grass,  which  grows  in  the  meadows 
of  the  Nile,  very  grateful  to  the  cattle.  The  folloAving 
is  from  Dr.  Harris.  Jerome,  in  his  HebreAV  questions 
or  traditions  on  Genesis,  writes,  '^Achi  neque  Grsecus 
sermo  est,  nee  Latinus,  sed  et  Hebraeus  ipse  corruptus 
est."  The  Hebrew  vau  (i)  and  jod  (■>)  being  like  one 
another,  and  differing  only  in  length  ;  the  LXX  in- 
terpreters, he  observes,  wrote  >nN,  achi  for  inN,  achu  ; 
and  according  to  their  usual  custom,  put  the  Greek  / 
for  the  double  aspirate  n.  That  the  grass  was  well 
known  among  the  Egj'ptiaus,  he  owns  in  his  com- 
ment upon  Isa.  xix.  7,  where  the  LXX  render  nny, 
crof/i,  paper  reeds,  TO  Itxi  to  x^-^'Q^^ — "Cumaberuditis 
qusererem,  quid  hie  sermo  significaret,  audivi  ab 
^gyptiis  hoc  nomine  lingua  eorum  omne,  quod  in 
palude  virens  nascitur  appellari." 

"  We  have  no  radix,"  says  the  learned  Chappellow, 
"  for  iHN,  unless  we  derive  it,  as  Schultens  does,  from 
the  Arabic  achi,  to  bind  or  join  together."  Thus  it 
may  be  defined  "a  species  of  plant,  sedge,  or  reed,  so 
called  from  its  fitness  for  making  ropes,  or  the  like, 
to  connect  or  join  things  together ;  as  the  Latin 
'j uncus,'  a  bulrush,  a  jungendo,  from  joining,  for  the 
same  reason  :"  and  some  suppose  that  it  is  the  plant, 
or  reed,  growing  near  the  Nile,  which  Hasselquist 
describes  as  having  numerous  narrow  leaves,  and 
growing  about  eleven  feet  high  ;  of  the  leaves  of 
which  the  Egyptians  make  ropes.  It  should,  how- 
ever, be  observed,  that  the  LXX,  in  Job  viii.  11,  ren- 
der butomus,  which  Hesychius  explains  as  "a  plant 
on  which  cattle  are  fed,  like  to  grass ;"  and  Suidas, 
as  "a  plant  like  to  a  reed,  on  which  oxen  feed." 
These  explanations  are  remarkable,  because  we  read. 
Gen.  xli.  2,  that  the  fat  kine  of  Pharaoh  fed  in  a 
meadow,  says  our  translation,  on  achu  in  the  original. 
This  leads  us  to  wish  for  information  on  what  aquatic 
plants  the  Egyptian  cattle  feed  ;  which,  no  doubt, 
would  lead  us  to  the  achu  of  these  passages. 

The  word  f(\o,  siiph,  is  considered  by  Aben  Ezra  to 
be  "a reed  growing  on  the  borders  of  the  river." 
Bochart,  Fuller,  Rivetus,  Ludolphus,  and  Junius  and 
Tremellius,  render  it  by  juncus  carex  or  alga,  and 
Celsius  thinks  it  the  fucus  or  alga  [sea  weed"]  Dr. 
Greddes  says,  there  is  little  doubt  of  its  being  the 
sedge  called  "  sari ;"  which,  as  we  learn  from  Theo- 
phrastus  and  Plinj',  gi-ows  on  the  marshy  banks  of 
the  Nile,  and  rises  to  the  height  of  almost  two  cubits. 
This,  indeed,  agrees  very  well  with  Exod.  ii.  3,  5, 
and  "  the  thickets  of  arundinaceous  plants,  at  some 
small  distances  from  the  Red  sea,"  observed  by  Dr. 
Shaw ;  but  the  place  in  Jonah  seems  to  require  some 
submarine  plant. 

FLAGON.  In  Cant.  ii.  5,  the  bride  says,  "Stay 
me  with  flagons ;  comfort  nic  with  apples."  Some 
kind  of  fruit  would  seem  to  be  intended  here  by 
flagons,  in  order  to  ])arallel  the  following  versicle, 
"  comfort  me  Avith  ai)ples  ;"  for  as  tiie  latter  is  a  fruit, 
it  seems  necessary  that  the  former  should  be  a  fruit 
also.  And  as  these  apples  are  a  round  fruit,  some- 
thing of  the  melon  kind  may  be  intended,  as  extreme- 
ly refreshing,  sweet,  and  juicy;  which  seems  to  be 
the  ideas  included — whether  an  apple,  or  a  citron  be 
the  fellow-fruit  referred  to.  As  one  kind  of  gourd  is 
by  us  called  flagon,  so  might  another  kind,  but  of  a 
similar  genus,  be  formerly  called.  The  word  occurs 
here  without  the  insertion  "of  wine,"  but  in  Rosea 


FLE 


[  437 


FLY 


lii.  1,  10  added  "of  giapes,"— "Loving  measures- 
flagons  of  grapes."  3Iight  these  be  grapes  gathered 
into  gourds  ?  Or  do  they  mean  wine,  as  our  trans- 
lators have  rendered  them  here ;  and  have  inserted 
the  word  wine  in  the  other  places— thereby  fixing 
them  to  this  sense  ? 

[Tlie  Hebrew  word  noTN,  ashishah,  every  where 
rendered  in  the  English  version /a^o?i,  (2  Sam.  vi. 
19  ;  1  Cljron.  xvi.  3  ;  Hos.  iii.  1 ;  Cant.  ii.  5.)  means 
ratlier  a  cake,  especially  of  dried  grapes,  or  raisins, 
pressed  into  a  particular  form.  These  are  mentioned 
as  delicacies,  by  which  the  weary  and  languid  were 
refreshed ;  they  were  also  offered  to  idols,  Hos.  iii.  1. 
They  differed  from  the  pics,  tsimmitk,  (Ital.  Simmuki,) 
dried  clusters  of  grapes  not  pressed  into  any  form; 
(1  Sam.  XXV.  18.)  and  also  from  the  cakes  of  Jigs  ; 
(see  FiGS,SK6_^n.)  We  may  compare  the  manner  in 
wliich  with  us  cheeses  are  pressed  in  various  forms, 
as  of  pine-api)les,  &c.  and  also  the  manncniu  which 
dates  are  prepared  at  the  present  day  by  the  Arabs. 
See  under  Figs.     R. 

FLAX,  a  well  known  plant,  upon  which  the  in- 
dustry of  mankind  has  been  exercised  with  the  great- 
est success  and  utility.  Moses  speaks  of  the  flax  in 
Egypt,  (Exod.  ix.  31.)  which  country  has  been  cele- 
brated, from  time  immemorial,  for  its  production  of 
manufacture.  The  "  fine  linen  of  Egypt,"  wliich  was 
manufactured  of  this  article,  is  spoken  of  for  its  su- 
perior excellence,  in  Scripture,  Prov.  vii.  16  ;  Ezek. 
xxvii.  7.  It  was  imder  the  stalks  of  this  plant  that 
Rahab  hid  the  spies.  Josh.  ii.  G.  In  predicting  the 
gentleness,  caution,  and  tenderness,  with  which  the 
Messiah  should  manage  his  administration,  Isaiah 
(xlii.  3.)  happily  illustrates  it  by  a  proverb,  "  The 
bruised  reed  he  shall  not  break,  and  the  smoking  flax 
he  shall  not  quench." — He  shall  not  break  even  a 
bruised  reed,  which  snaps  asunder  immediately, 
when  pressed  with  any  considerable  weight ;  nor 
shall  he  extinguish  even  the  smoking  flax,  or  the  wick 
of  a  lamp,  w  hich,  when  it  first  begins  to  kindle,  is 
put  out  by  every  little  motion.  This  is  quoted  in 
Matt.  xii.  20,  where,  by  an  easy  metonymy,  the  mate- 
rial for  the  thing  made,^a.r,  is  used  for  the  wick  of  a 
lamp  or  taper ;  and  that,  by  a  synecdoche,  for  the 
lamp  or  taper  itself,  which,  when  near  going  out, 
yields  more  smoke  than  light. — He  will  not  put  out 
or  extinguish  the  dying  lamp. 

FLESH  is  taken,  literally,  for  the  substance 
which  composes  bodies,  whether  of  men  or  animals. 
Gen.  vi.  13.  The  word  flesh  is  also  used  to  denote  a 
principle  opposite  to  the  spirit :  "  The  flesh  lusteth 
against  the  spirit,  and  the  spirit  against  the  flesh,  and 
these  are  contrary  the  one  to  the  other,"  Gal.  v.  17. 
"  Walk  in  the  spirit,  and  ye  shall  not  fulfil  the  lusts  of 
the  flesh,"  vcr.  16.  To  crucify  tiie  flesh  with  its 
lusts  ;  not  to  fulfil  the  desires  of  the  flesh  ;  the  wis- 
dom of  the  flesh,  &c.  are  expressions  which  require 
no  explanation.  "  We  are  thy  flesh  and  thy  bone," 
are  familiar  expressions  to  denote  kindred  and  rela- 
tionship, Gen.  xxix.  14  ;  xxxviii.  27. 

The  wise  man  says,  that  the  flesh  of  the  intempe- 
rate is  consumed  by  infamous  diseases,  Prov.  v.  11. 
See  also  Eccles.  v.  6.  Ecclesiasticus  requires  a  pru- 
dent man  to  separate  his  flesh  from  a  prostitute, 
chap.  XXV.  26.  In  2  Peter  ii.  10,  we  read  of"  those 
who  walk  after  the  flesh,  in  the  lustof  uncleanness  ;" 
and  in  Jude  7,  of  "going  after  strange  flesh."  In 
both  places  reference  is  expressed  to  the  vile  prac- 
tices of  the  Sodomites.  In  2  Pet.  ii.  7,  we  read  of 
"the  filthy  conversation  of  the  wicked  ;"  and  also  of 
their  "  unlawful  deeds,"  ver.  8.     The  intention  of  the 


sacred  writers  is  clear ;  though  veiled  for  the  sake  of 
decorum  in  a  general  term. 

"  Oh  that  we  had  of  his  flesh  !"  said  Job's  enemies, 
even  his  domestics,  in  his  affliction,  chap.  xxxi.  31. 
They  would  have  eaten  him  up  alive,  says  Calmet; 
thus  they  repaid  with  ingratitude  his  services  to 
them.  But  Job  seems  rather  to  describe  his  former 
condition,  as  having  been  so  honorable,  that  what- 
ever was  placed  on  his  table  was  longed  for  as  the 
most  desirable  of  its  kind.  So  Rosenmiiller  :  "  Did 
not  my  domestics  say.  Who  is  there  that  is  not  filled 
with  his  banquets  ?"  The  Psalmist  says,  The  w  icked, 
even  mine  enemies,  came  upon  me  to  eat  up  my 
flesh,  Ps.  xxvii.  2.  Wisdom  (xii.  5.)  reproaches  the 
Canaanites  with  devouring  man's  flesh  ;  and  Jere- 
miah threatens  the  inhabitantsof  Jerusalem  that  they 
should  be  constrained  to  eat  the  flesh  of  their  friends 
and  children.  See  also  Lam.  ii.  20;  iv.  10;  and 
Ezek.  v.  10.  Josephus  relates  an  instance  of  this 
during  the  siege  of  Jerusalem  by  the  Romans. 

The  revolting  custom  of  eating  human  flesh  is  still 
common  in  many  islands  of  the  eastern  seas.  Some 
eat  their  parents  when  they  are  old ;  others  eat  Eu- 
ropeans, wdieu  they  can  seize  them.  The  Peguans 
sold  human  flesh  publicly.  In  Wliidah,  also,  it  is 
said  that  human  flesh  is  sold  as  food. 

FLOOD,  see  Deluge. 

FLORUS,  (Gessius,)  the  last  procurator  of  Judea, 
succeeded  Albinus  in  the  government,  A.  D.  64.  His 
excesses  exasperated  the  Jews  beyond  patience,  and 
forced  them  to  rebel  against  the  Romans,  A.  D.  66. 
He  is  thought  to  have  left  Judjea,  when  Vespasian 
went  there,  A.  D.  67. 

FLOUR,  see  Bread,  Cakes,  Offerings,  &c. 

FLUTE,  a  musical  instrument,  sometimes  men- 
tioned in  Sci-ipture  by  the  names  Chalil,  Machalath, 
Masrokoth,  and  Uggab.  The  last  word  is  generally 
translated  organ  ;  "but  Calmet  thinks  it  was  nothing 
more  than  a  flute  ;  though  his  description  of  it  corres- 
ponds to  "  the  Pandean  pipes,"  which  are  extreme- 
ly ancient,  and  were  perhaps  the  original  organ. 

There  is  notice  taken  in  the  Gospels,  of  players  on 
the  flute,  [Eng.  trans,  mmstrels,]  who  were  collected 
at  funerals.  See  Matt.  ix.  23,  24.  The  rabbins  sa)', 
that  it  was  not  allowable  to  have  less  than  two  play- 
ers on  the  flute,  at  the  funeral  of  persons  of  the  mean- 
est condition,  beside  a  professional  woman  hired  to 
lament ;  and  Josephus  relates,  that  a  false  report  of 
his  death  being  spread  at  Jerusalem,  several  persons 
hired  players  on  the  flute,  by  way  of  preparation  for 
his  funeral.  In  the  Old  Testament,  however,  we  see 
nothiiig  like  it.  The  Jews  probably  borrowed  the 
custom  from  the  Romans.  When  it  was  an  old  wo- 
man who  died,  they  used  trumpets ;  but  flutes  when 
a  youiij^  woman  was  to  be  buried. 

FLY,  an  insect  well  known  ;  in  the  law,  declared 
to  be  unclean,  Lev.  xi.  42.  The  Philistines  and  Ca- 
naanites adored  a  god  of  flies,  under  the  name  of 
Beelzebub.     Wisdom  xii.  8. 

The  Hebrew  language  has  at  least  two  words  for 
flies:  the  first  is  ardi,  (Exod.  ™i.  21  ;  Psal.  Ixxiii.  45 ; 
cv.  31.)  which  the  Seventy  interpreters,  who,  by  re- 
siding on  tlie  spot,  have  had  the  best  opportunity  of 
identifying,  have  rendered  the  dog-Jly ;  the  Zimb  of 
Abyssinia.  Odiers  suppose  it  to  be  the  cock-roach, 
an  insect  very  common  in  the  East.  Another  w  ord 
for  a  fly  is,  zehuh,  (Eccles.  x.  1.)  which  some  have 
conjectured  might  be  the  "  great  blue-bottle  fly  :"  or 
flesh-fly.  Barbut  says,  (p.  298.)  "This  is  one  of  the 
numerous  classes  of"  insects.  Variety  runs  through 
their  forms,  their  structure,  their  organization,  their 


FLY 


[  438 


FLY 


tnetamorj>lj»JS6s,  their  manner  of  living,  propagating 
their  species,  and  providing  for  their  posterity.  Eve- 
ry species  is  furnished  with  implements  adapted  to  its 
exigencies.  What  exquisiteness  !  what  proportion 
in  the  several  parts  which  compose  the  body  of  a 
fly!  What  precision,  what  mechanism  in  the  springs 
and  motion  ! — Some  are  oviparous,  otJiers  viviparous ; 
whicli  latter  have  but  two  young  ones  at  a  time, 
whereas  the  propagation  of  tlie  former  is  by  hun- 
dreds. Flies  are  lascivious,  troublesome  insects,  that 
put  up  with  every  kind  of  food.  When  storms  im- 
pend, they  have  most  activity,  and  sting  with  gi-eatest 
force.  They  multiply  most  in  hot,  moist  climates ; 
and  so  great  was  formerly  their  numbers  in  Spain, 
that  there  were  fly-hunters  commissioned  to  give 
them  chase." 

Schindler,  in  his  Lexicon,  considers  the  Hebrew 
word  zebub,  with  its  Chaldee  and  Arabic  cognates, 
as  including  the  whole  of  winged  insects;  culex,  the 
gnat ;  vespa,  the  wasp ;  astrum,  the  gad-fly ;  and 
crabro,  the  hornet :  this  certainly  implies  the  inclu- 
sion of  true  flies,  generally ;  a  species  well  known 
to  be  sufficiently  numerous.  Moreover,  that  this 
word  should  hardly  be  restrained  to  a  single  species 
of  fly,  may  be  inferred  from  the  pun  employed  in 
playing  on  the  appellation  of  the  deity  Beelzebub, 
"  Lord  of  flies,"  to  convert  it  into  Beelzebul,  "  Lord 
of  the  dunghill ;" — alluding  probably  to  the  disposi- 
tion of  certain  kinds  of  flies,  which  roll  themselves 
and  their  eggs  in  the  filth  of  such  places  ;  so  that 
the  change  of  name  has  a  reference,  a  degrading 
reference,  to  the  manners  of  the  symbol  of  this  deity, 
including,  no  doubt,  a  sarcastic  sneer  at  those  of  his 
"worsliip])ers.  The  general  import  of  this  word  may  be 
further  argued  from  what  Pliny  tells  us  (lib.  x.  cap. 
18.)  concerning  the  deity  Achorem,  from  the  Greek 
achor,  which  may  be  from  the  Hebrew  Ekron  or 
Accaron,  the  city  where  Beelzebub,  the  "Lord  of 
flies,"  was  worshipped.  "  The  inhabitants  of  Gy- 
rene," he  saj'S,  "  invoke  the  assistance  of  the  god 
Achorem,  when  the  multitude  of  flies  produces  a 
pestilence  ;  but  when  they  have  placated  that  deity 
by  their  offerings,  the  iiies  perish  immediately." 
Whetlier  only  one  species  of  fly  pestered  the  Cyre- 
nairuni  does  not  appear. 

The  following  description  of  the  Zimb,  the  Ethi- 
oi)ian  FLY,  {zebub)  mentioned  by  the  prophet  Isaiah, 
(chap.  vii.  18.)  is  fm-nished  by  Mr.  13ruce.  "This 
insect  is  called  Zimb  ;  it  has  not  been  described  by 
any  naturalist.  It  is,  in  size,  very  little  larger  than  a 
bee,  of  a  thicker  pro[>orlion,  and  has  wings,  which 
are  broader  than  those  of  a  bee,  placed  separate, 
lilce  those  of  a  fly  ;  they  are  of  ])ure  gauze,  without 
color  or  sjjot  upon  them  ;  the  head  is  large,  the  iipj)er 
jaw  or  lip  is  siiarp,  and  lias  at  the  end  of  it  a  strong 
pointed  hair,  of  about  a  quarter  of  an  inch  long;  the 
lower  jaw  has  two  of  these  pointed  hairs;  and  this 
pencil  of  hairs,  when  joined  together,  makes  a  resist- 
ance to  the  finger,  nearly  equal  to  that  of  a  strong 
hog's  brisU!\  Its  legs  are  serrated  on  the  inside, 
and  the  wliole  covered  with  brown  hair  or  down. 
As  soon  as  this  plague  appears,  and  their  buzzing  is 
heard,  all  tiio  cattle  forsake  their  food,  and  run  wildly 
about  the  plain,  till  they  die,  worn  out  with  fatigue, 
fright,  and  lumgor.  No  remedy  remains,  but  to  leave 
the  black  earth,  and  hasten  down  to  the  sands  of  At- 
bara  ;  and  there  they  remain,  while  the  rains  last,  this 
cruel  enemy  never  daring  to  pursue  them  farther. 

"Though  his  size  is  immense,  as  is  his  strength, 
and  his  body  covered  with  a  thick  skin,  defended 
with  strong  hair,  yet  even  the  camel  is  not  able  to 


sustain  the  violent  punctures  the  fly  makes  with  his 
pomted  proboscis.  He  must  lose  no  time  in  remov- 
ing to  the  sands  of  Atbara ;  for,  when  once  attacked 
by  this  fly,  his  body,  head,  and  legs,  break  out  into 
large  bosses,  which  swell,  break,  and  putrefy,  to  the 
certain  destruction  of  the  creature.  Even  the  ele- 
phant and  rhinoceros,  who,  by  reason  of  their  enor- 
mous bulk,  and  the  vast  quantity  of  food  and  water 
they  daily  need,  cannot  shift  to  desert  and  dry  places, 
as  the  season  may  require,  are  obliged  to  roll  them- 
selves in  mud  and  mire ;  which,  when  dry,  coats 
them  over  like  armor,  and  enables  them  to  stand 
their  ground  against  this  winged  assassin :  yet  I 
have  found  some  of  these  tubercles  upon  almost 
every  elephant  and  rhinoceros  that  I  have  seen,  and 
attribute  them  to  this  cause. 

"All  the  inhabitants  of  the  sea-coast  of  Melinda, 
down  to  cape  Gardefan,  to  Saba,  and  the  south  coast 
of  the  Red  sea,  are  obliged  to  put  themselves  in  mo- 
tion, and  remove  to  the  next  sand,  in  the  beginning 
of  the  rainy  season,  to  prevent  all  their  stock  of 
cattle  from  being  destroyed.  This  is  not  a  partial 
emigration;  the  inhabitants  of  all  the  countries,  from 
the  mountains  of  Abyssinia  northwai'd,  to  the  con- 
fluence of  the  Nile,  and  Astaboras,  are  once  a  year 
obliged  to  change  their  abode,  and  seek  protection 
on  the  sands  of  Beja ;  nor  is  there  any  alternative, 
or  means  of  avoiding  this,  though  a  hostile  band  was 
in  their  way,  capable  of  spoihng  them  of  half  their 
substance. 

"  Of  all  those  that  have  written  upon  these  coun- 
tries, the  prophet  Isaiah  alone  has  given  an  account 
of  this  animal,  and  the  manner  of  its  operation,  Isa. 
vii.  18,  19:  'And  it  shall  come  to  pass,  in  that  day, 
that  the  Lord  shall  hiss  for  the  fly  that  is  in  the  ut- 
termost part  of  the  rivers  of  Egypt.  And  they  shall 
come,  and  shall  rest  all  of  them  in  the  desolate  val- 
leys, and  in  the  holes  of  the  rocks,  and  upon  all 
thorns,  and  upon  all  bushes.' — That  is,  they  shall  cut 
off"  from  the  cattle  their  usual  retreat  to  the  desert, 
by  taking  possession  of  those  places,  and  meeting 
them  there,  where  ordinarily  they  never  come,  and 
which,  therefore,  were  the  refuge  of  the  cattle. 

"  We  cannot  read  the  history  of  the  plagues  which 
God  brought  upon  Pharaoh  by  the  hands  of  Moses, 
without  stopjjing  a  moment  to  consider  a  singularity, 
a  very  principal  one,  which  attended  this  plague  of 
the  fly  [Exod.  viii.  21,  &c.]  It  was  not  till  this  time, 
and  by  means  of  this  insect,  that  God  said,  he  woidd 
separate  his  peojile  from  the  Egyptians.  And  it 
would  seem  that  then  a  law  was  given  to  them,  that 
fixed  the  limits  of  their  liabitation.  It  is  well  known, 
as  I  have  repeatedly  said,  that  the  land  of  Goshen  or 
Geshen,  the  possession  of  the  Israelites,  was  a  land 
of  pasture,  which  was  not  tilled  or  sown,  because  it 
was  not  overflowed  by  the  Nile.  But  the  land  over- 
flowed by  the  Nile  was  the  black  earth  of  the  valley 
of  Egypt,  and  it  was  here  that  God  confined  the  flics; 
for,  he  says,  it  shall  be  a  sign  of  this  sejjaration  of 
the  people,  which  he  had  then  made,  that  not  one 
fly  should  be  seen  in  the  sand,  or  pasture-ground, 
the  land  of  Goshen ;  and  this  kind  of  soil  has  ever 
since  been  the  refuge  of  all  cattle,  emigrating  from 
the  black  earth,  to  the  lower  ])art  of  Atbara.  Isaiah, 
indeed,  says,  that  the  fly  shall  be  in  all  the  desert 
places,  and,  consequently,  the  sands  ;  yet  this  was  a 
particular  dispensation  of  Providence,  to  a  special 
end,  the  desolation  of  Egypt,  and  was  not  a  repeal 
of  the  general  law,  but  a  confirmation  of  it ;  it  was 
an  exception  for  a  particular  purpose,  and  a  limited 
time. 


FOO 


[439] 


FOO 


"I  have  already  said  so  much  on  this  subject,  that 
it  would  be  tiring  my  reader's  patience,  to  repeat  any 
tiling  concerning  him;  I  shall,  therefore,  content 
mvself  by  giving  a  very  accurate  design  of  him,  only 
oliserving  that,  for  distinctness  sake,  I  have  magnified 
him  something  above  twice  the  natural  size.  He 
has  no  sting,  though  he  seems  to  me  to  be  rather  of 
the  beo  kind  ;  but  his  motion  is  more  raj)id  and  sud- 
den than  that  of  the  bee,  and  resembles  that  of  the 
gad-fly  in  England.  There  is  something  particular 
in  the  sound  or  buzzing  of  this  insect.  It  is  a  jarring 
noise,  together  with  a  humming;  which  induces  me 
to  believe  it  proceeds,  at  least  in  part,  liom  a  vibra- 
tion made  with  the  three  hairs  at  his  snout. 

"The  Chaldee  version  is  content  with  calling  this 
animal  sim|)ly  zebub,  which  signifies  the  fly  in  gene- 
ral, as  we  express  it  in  English.  The  Arabs  call  it 
zimb  in  their  translation,  which  has  the  same  gen- 
eral signification.  The  Ethiopic  translation  calls  it 
tsallsal)/a,  which  is  the  true  name  of  this  particular 
fly  in  Geez,  and  was  the  same  in  Hebrew."  (Bruce's 
Travels,  vol.  i.  p.  5 ;  vol.  v.  p.  191.) 

Thus,  at  length,  we  have  the  true  signification  of 
a  word  which  has  embarrassed  translators  and  com- 
mentators, during  two  thousand  years.  The  reason 
is  evident :  the  subject  of  it  did  not  exist  nearer  than 
Ethiopia ; — and  who  knew  that  it  existed  there  ?  or 
who  would  go  there  to  inspect  it  ?  What  shall  we 
say  now  to  the  difficulties  in  Scripture  ? — are  there 
any,  distinct  from  our  o^vn  want  of  information  re- 
specting them  ? 

FOOL  and  FOLLY,  in  Scripture,  signify  not  only, 
according  to  the  literal  meaning,  an  idiot,  or  one 
whose  senses  are  disordered ;  the  discourses  and 
notions  of  fools  and  madmen  ;  but  also  sin,  and  partic- 
ularly sins  of  impurity,  Psal.  xxxviii.  5  ;  2  Sam.  xiii. 
12, 1.3. 

The  wisdom  of  this  world  is  foolishness  with  God, 
I  Cor.  i.  20,  21 ;  iii.  18,  19.     The  character  of  fool, 

WISDOM. 

Wisdom  hath  builded  her  house, 

She  hath  hewn  out  her  numerous  ornamental  pillars, 

She  hath  killed  her  beasts, 

She  hath  mingled  her  wine  ; 

She  hath  furnished  her  table  ; 

She  hath  sent  forth  her  maidens ; 

She  crieth  on  the  highest  places  of  the  city 

"  Wlioso  is  simple,  let  him  turn  in  hither."  , 

To  him  who  wanteth  understanding,  she  saith, 

"  Come,  cat  of  my  bread, 

And  drink  of  the  wine  I  have  mingled, 

Foi-sake  the  foolish  and  live, 

And  go  in  the  way  of  Understanding  ; 

For  by  me  thy  days  shall  be  multiplied, 

And  the  years  of  thy  life  shall  be  many." 

Thus  Folly  assumes  the  counterpart  of  Wisdom, 
and  invites  no  less  generally ;  but  her  invitation  is 
easily  detected  by  due  consideration,  being  very 
difff.Tcnt  from  that  of  real  wisdom.  The  conse- 
quences of  following  the  counsels  of  these  contrasted 
personages  are  very  strongly  marked,  and  are  dia- 
metrically opposite  ;  one  tending  to  prolonged  life, 
the  other  to  premature  and  violent  dissolution.  It 
appears  by  the  reference  to  the  fatal  ends  of  her 
guests,  that  the  gratification  of  illicit  passion  is  what 
Folly  intends  by  "  stolen  waters,"  and  "  secret  bread  :" 
this  is  the  utmost  cnjoj-mcnt  she  offers,  and  this  en- 
joyment terminates  in  death  !   a   description    how 


as  well  as  the  attribute  folly,  seems  to  be  used  in 
the  Proverbs  in  more  than  one  sense  ;  sometimes  it 
seems  to  mean  lack  of  understanding,  and  sometimes 
perverseness  of  will.  INlr.  Taylor  supposes  that  a 
companionized  picture  of  Wisdom  and  Folly  is  in- 
cluded in  the  descrijnions  presented  in  the  ninth 
chapter  of  the  Proverbs.  He  thinks  that  the  former 
verses  of  the  chapter  contain  a  description  of  Wis- 
dom personified  of  her  actions,  conduct,  and  beha- 
vior :  and  that  from  verse  13  to  18  contains  a 
description  of  Folly,  similarly  personified  ;  who  mim- 
ics the  actions,  conduct,  and  behavior  of  Wisdom  • 
and  so  closely  mimics  them,  that  a  person  who  will 
not  exercise  deliberation  and  reflection,  would  as 
readily  be  persuaded  to  follow  the  false,  the  iniposi- 
tious  goddess  Folly,  as  to  obey  the  true,  the  genuine 
power  of  Divine  Wisdom  herself.  That  such  per- 
sonification is  common  in  the  Proverbs,  and  in  Ec- 
clesiastes,  must  be  evident  to  every  reader. 

This  idea  may  open  the  way  also,  he  thinks,  to  a 
true  construction  and  correction  of  the  passage, 
which,  as  it  stands  at  present,  is  obscure  ;  and,  as 
some  think,  corrupted.  The  LXX  read,  verse  13. 
"  A  foolish  and  brazen-faced  woman,  she  comes  to 
want  a  piece  of  bread  ;  she  has  no  shame  ;"  the  Chal- 
dee reads,  "  she  has  no  goodness."  Some  have  sup- 
posed that  the  word  (nrro,)  simplicity  is  redundant; 
but  if  any  word  be  redimdant,  it  was  probably  the 
first  word,  "a  woman,"  in  which  case,  as  the  nouns 
are  of  the  feminine  gender,  and  imply  a  woman, 
without  that  distinctive  description,  the  import  of  the 
passage  would  stand  thus  : 

"  Simplicity  is  foolish  and  clamorous  ;"  or,  "  Folly 
is  clamorous — simplicity  itself !"  that  is,  extremely 
simple  ;  and  drives  away  knowledge  of  any  valuable 
kind  from  her.  Yet  she  sits  at  the  door  of  her  house, 
and  imitates  the  actions  of  Wisdom  ;  as  appears  by 
comparing  these  two  personages,  and  their  addresses, 
to  those  who  need  instruction. 

FOLLY. 

Folly  is  stupid  and  clamorous. 

Indeed,  she  repels  all  knowledge  from  her : 

She  sitteth  at  the  door  of  her  house. 

On  a  throne  in  the  high  places  of  the  city, 

To  call  passengers  who  go  right  on  their  ways : 

Saying, 

"  Whoso  is  simple,  let  him  turn  in  hither  :" 

To  him  who  wanteth  understanding,  she  saith, 

"  Stolen  waters  are  sweet ; 

And  bread  eaten  in  secret  is  pleasant." 

She  invites  him  to  her  house  of  rendezvous, 

But  he  knoweth  not  that  the  dead  are  there. 

That  her  guests  are  in  tlie  depth  of  the  grave. 

Compare  chap.  v.  3 — 6. 


applicable  to  great  numbers  of  unhappy  youth  among 
us  !     Compare  Flesh. 

FOOT.  By  this  word  the  Hebrews  modestly  ex- 
press those  parts  which  decency  forbids  us  to  name  ; 
e.  g.  "  the  water  of  the  feet,"  urine.  "  To  cover  the 
feet,"  to  dismiss  the  refuse  of  nature.  "The  hair  of 
the  feet,"  of  the  pubes.  "  Withhold  thy  foot  from 
being  unshod,  and  thy  throat  from  thirst ;"  (Jcr.  ii. 
2.)  i.  e.  do  not  prostitute  yourselves,  as  you  have 
done,  to  strange  people.  Ezek.  xvi.  25.  "Thou  hast 
o])ened  thy  feet  to  every  one  that  passed  by."  Feet, 
in  the  sacred  writers,  often  mean  inclinations,  afTcc- 
tious,  propensities,  actions,  motions.    "  Guide  ray  feet 


FOOT 


[  440  ] 


FOW 


in  thy  paths ;"  keep  my  feet  at  a  distance  from  evil : 
"The  feet  of  the  debauched  woman  go  down  to  death," 
. — "  Let  not  the  feet  of  pride  come  upon  me,"&c. 

"  A  wicked  man  speaketh  with  his  feet,"  (Prov.  vi. 
13.)  i.  e.  he  uses  much  gesture  with  his  hands  and 
feet  while  talking,  which  the  ancient  sages  blamed. 
Ezekiel  (xxv.  (5.)  reproaches  the  Ammonites  with 
clapping  their  hands  aad  stamping  with  their  feet  in 
token  of  joy  on  seeing  the  desolation  of  Jerusalem. 
He  also  describes  similar  motions  as  signs  of  grief, 
because  of  the  ruin  of  his  people,  chap.  vi.  11.  To 
be  at  any  one's  feet,  is  used  for  obeying  him  ;  being 
in  his  service,  following  him,  1  Sam.  xxv.  27.  Moses 
says,  that  "  the  Lord  lov  ed  his  people,  and  those  that 
sat  down  at  his  feet  ;"  who  heard  him,  who  belonged 
to  him,  who  were  instructed  in  his  doctrine  (his  pu- 
jjils).  Paul  says,  he  was  brought  up  at  the  feet  of  Ga- 
maliel (as  his  scholar).  Mary  sat  at  our  Saviour's  feet, 
and  heard  his  word.  Jacob  said  to  Laban,  (Gen.  xxx. 
30.)  "  The  Lord  hath  blessed  thee  at  my  feet ;"  which 
Jerome  translates  ad  introitum  meum,  ever  since  I 
came  to  you,  and  undertook  the  conduct  of  your 
flocks.  To  be  under  any  one's  feet,  to  be  a  footstool 
to  him,  signifies  the  subjection  of  a  subject  to  his 
sovereign,  of  a  slave  to  his  master.  "  My  foot  stand- 
eth  right ;"  I  have  pursued  the  paths  of  righteousness  ; 
or,  rather,  supposing  a  Levite  to  be  the  speaker.  My 
foot  shall  stand  in  the  place  appointed  for  the  Levites 
in  the  temple,  in  the  court  of  the  priests,  where  my 
proper  station  is.  Job  says,  (xix.  15.)  he  was  "  feet 
to  the  lame,  and  eyes  to  the  blind  ;"  he  led  one,  and 
supported  the  other.  In  another  place,  that  God 
had  "  put  his  feet  in  the  stocks,  and  looked  nar- 
rowly to  all  his  paths ;"  like  a  bird,  or  some  other 
animal  led  along,  with  a  foot  fastened  to  a  cord,  and 
unable  to  go  the  least  step,  but  as  he  who  guides  it 
pleases.  Nakedness  of  feet  was  a  sign  of  mourning : 
God  says  to  Ezekiel,  "  Make  no  mourning  for  the 
dead,  and  put  on  thy  shoes  upon  thy  feet,"  &c.  It 
was  likewise  a  mark  of  respect,  Exod.  iii.  5.  Moses 
put  off  his  shoes  to  approach  the  biu-ning  bush  ;  and 
most  commentators  are  of  opinion,  that  the  priests 
served  in  the  tabernacle  with  their  feet  naked,  as 
they  did  afterwards  in  the  temple.  The  Talmudists 
teach,  that  if  they  had  but  stei)ped  with  their  feet 
upon  a  cloth,  a  skin,  or  even  upon  the  foot  of  one  of 
their  companions,  their  service  would  have  been  un- 
lawful. That,  as  the  pavement  of  the  temple  was 
of  marble,  the  priests  used  to  incur  several  inconve- 
niences, because  of  the  nakedness  of  their  feet ;  to 
prevent  which,  in  tlie  second  temple  there  was  a 
room  in  which  the  pavement  was  warmed.  The 
frequent  ablutions  aj)pointed  them  in  the  temple 
seem  to  imply,  that  tlieir  feet  were  naked. 

It  is  also  thought  that  the  Israelites  might  not  enter 
this  holy  place,  till  they  had  put  off  their  shoes,  and 
cleaned  their  feet.  To  this  purpose  Eccl.  v.  1.  is  ap- 
plied :  "  Keep  thy  foot  when  thou  goest  to  the  house 
of  God."  Take  care  that  your  feet  be  clean.  Mai- 
monides  says  expressly,  that  it  was  never  allowed  to 
enter  the  house  of  (Jod  on  the  holy  mountain  with 
shoes  on,  or  with  their  ordinary  clothes  on,  or  with 
dirty  feet. 

The  Turks  never  enter  their  mosques  till  after  they 
liavc  washed  their  feet,  and  their  liands,  and  have 
put  off  the  outward  covering  of  tlieir  legs.  The 
Christians  of  Ethioi)ia  enter  their  churches  with  their 
shoes  off,  and  the  Indian  Jhahmans  and  others  have 
the  same  respect  for  their  pagodas  and  temples. 

Wasiii.ng  of  Feet.  (See  also  under  Sandals.) 
The  orientals  used  to  wash  the   feet  of  strangers. 


who  came  off"  a  journey,  because  they  commonly 
walked  with  their  legs  bare,  and  their  feet  were  de- 
fended only  by  sandals.  So  Abraham  washed 
the  feet  of  the  three  angels.  Gen.  xviii.  4.  They 
washed  the  feet  of  Eliezer,  and  those  who  accom- 
panied him,  at  the  house  of  Laban,  (Gen.  xxiv. 
32.)  and  also  those  of  Joseph's  bi-ethren,  when  they 
came  into  Egypt,  Gen.  xliii.  24.  This  office  was 
commonly  performed  by  servants  and  slaves  ;  and 
hencs  Abigail  answers  David,  who  sought  her  in 
marriage,  that  she  should  think  it  an  honor  to  wash 
the  feet  of  the  king's  servants,  1  Sam.  xxv.  41. 
When  Paul  recommends  hospitality,  he  would  have 
a  widow  assisted  by  the  church,  to  be  one  who  had 
washed  the  feet  of  saints,  1  Tim.  v.  10.  Our  Sa- 
viour, after  his  last  supper,  gave  his  last  lesson  of  hu- 
mility, by  washing  his  disciples'  feet,  John  xiii.  5,  6. 
"  Then  conieth  he  to  Simon  Peter ;  and  Peter  saith 
unto  him,  Lord,  dost  thou  wash  my  feet?  Jesus  an- 
swered him.  If  I  wash  thee  not,  thou  hast  no  part 
with  me.  Simon  Peter  saith  unto  him,  Lord,  not  my 
feet  only,  but  also  my  hands  and  my  head."  Our 
Saviour's  observation  to  Peter,  "If  I  wash  thee  not, 
thou  hast  no  part  with  me,"  gave  occasion  to  several 
of  the  early  Christians  to  believe,  that  the  washing 
of  feet  had  something  of  the  nature  of  baj)tism. 

On  Good  Friday,  the  Syrians  celebrate  the  festival 
of  washing  of  feet.  The  Greeks  perform  the  sacred 
Niptere,  or  holy  washing ;  and  in  the  Latin  church 
this  ceremony  is  practised.  The  bishops,  abbots, 
and  princes  in  many  places,  practise  it  in  person. 
The  council  of  Elvire,  seeing  the  abuse  that  some 
persons  made  of  it,  by  putting  a  confidence  in  it  for 
remission  of  sins,  suppressed  it  in  Spain. 

FORESKIN,  see  Circumcision. 

FOREST,  a  woody  tract  of  gi-ound.  There  were 
several  such  tracts  in  Canaan,  especially  in  the  north- 
ern parts.     The  chief  of  these  were. 

The  Forest  of  Ephraim,  near  Mahanaim.  See 
Ephraim  IV. 

The  Forest  of  Hareth,  in  Judah. 

The  Forest  of  Libanus.  In  addition  to  the 
proper  forest  of  Libanus,  where  the  cedars  grow, 
Scripture  thus  calls  a  palace,  which  Solomon  built 
at  Jerusalem,  contiguous  to  the  palace  of  the  king  of 
Egypt's  daughter  ;  and  in  which  he  usually  resided. 
All  the  vessels  of  it  were  of  gold.  It  was  called  the 
house  of  the  forest  of  Libanus,  probably  from  the  great 
quantity  of  cedar  used  in  it,  1  Kings  vii.  2  ;  x.  27. 

FORNICATION.  This  word  is  used  in  Scrip- 
ture, not  only  for  the  sin  of  impurity,  but  for  idolatry, 
and  for  all  kinds  of  infidelity  to  God.  Adultery  and 
fornication  are  frequently  confounded.  Both  the 
Old  and  New  Testaments  condenm  all  impurity  and 
fornication,  corporeal  and  spiritual ;  idolatry,  aposta- 
sy, heresy,  infidelity,  &c. 

FORTUNATUS,  mentioned  1  Cor.  xvi.  15,  17. 
came  from  Corinth  to  E|)liesus,  to  visit  Paul.  We 
have  no  particulars  of  his  life  or  death,  only  that 
Paul  calls  Stephanus,  Fortunatus,  and  Achaicus,  the 
first-fruits  of  Achaia,  and  set  for  the  service  of  the 
church  and  saints.  They  carried  Paul's  first  epistle 
to  Corinth. 

FOUNTAIN,  a  spring  of  water.  The  word  is  met- 
aphorically used  in  Prov.  v.  16.  for  a  numerous  pos- 
terity ;  and  in  Cant.  iv.  12.  the  chastity  of  the  bride 
is  denoted  by  a  sealed  fountain.  "A  fountain  of  liv- 
ing water,"  or  fountain  of  life,  (Cant.  iv.  15.)  is  a 
source  of  living  water,  whether  it  S|)ring  out  of  the 
earth  like  a  fountain,  or  rise  in  the  bottom  of  a  well. 

FOWL  ;  the  Hebrew  qi;-,  dph,  which  we  translate 


FOX 


[  441  ] 


FOX 


fowl,  from  the  Saxou/eon,  to  fly,  is  a  word  used  to 
denote  birds  in  general.     See  Birds. 

FOX,  or  Jackal.  This  animal  is  called  in  Scrip- 
ture Hj'iK',  probably  from  his  burrowing,  or  making 
holes  in  the  earth,  to  hide  himself,  or  to  dwell  in. 
The  LXX  render  it  by  uXdmr^l,  the  fox ;  so  the  V^ul- 
gate,  vulpes,  and  our  English  translation, /ox.  But 
still,  it  is  no  easy  matter  to  determine,  whether  the 
animal  intended  be  the  common  fox,  or  the  jackal,  the 
little  eastern  fox,  as  Hasselquist  calls  him.  Several 
of  the  modern  oriental  names  of  the  jackal,  from 
their  resemblance  to  the  Hebrew,  favor  the  latter  in- 
terpretation ;  and  Dr.  Shaw,  and  other  travellers, 
inform  us,  that  while  jackals  are  very  numerous  in 
Palestine,  the  common  fox  is  rarely  to  be  met  with. 

We  shall  be  safe,  perhaps,  under  these  circuin- 
stances,  in  admitting,  with  Shaw  and  other  crit- 
ics and  writers  on  natural  history,  that  the  Hebrew 
Shual  conprehended  at  least  the  jackal  ;  although 
this  animal  has  also  his  distinctive  name  in  Hebrew, 
viz.  'N,  the  jackal  of  the  East.  We  shall  first  describe 
this  animal,  and  then  notice  those  passages  of  Scrip- 
ture in  which  he  is  spoken  of. 

The  jackal,  or  Thaleb,  as  he  is  called  in  Arabia 
and  Egypt,  is  said  to  be  of  the  size  of  a  middling 
dog,  resembling  the  fox  in  the  hinder  parts,  particu- 
larly the  tail ;  and  the  wolf  in  the  fore  parts,  espe- 
cially the  nose.  Its  legs  are  shorter  than  those  of  the 
fox,  and  its  color  is  of  a  bright  yellow.  There  seems 
to  be  many  varieties  among  them  ;  those  of  the 
warmest  climates  appear  to  be  the  largest,  and 
their  color  is  rather  of  a  reddish  brown,  than  of  that 
beautiful  yellow  by  which  the  smaller  jackal  is  chief- 
ly distinguished. 

Although  the  species  of  the  wolf  approaches  very 
near  to  tliat  of  the  dog,  yet  the  jackal  seems  to  be 
placed  between  them  ;  to  the  savage  fierceness  of  the 
wolf,  it  adds  the  impudent  familiarity  of  the  dog.  Its 
cry  is  a  howl,  mixed  with  barking,  and  a  lamentation 
resembling  that  of  human  distress.  It  is  more 
noisy  in  its  pursuits  even  than  the  dog,  and  more 
voracious  than  the  wolf.  The  jackal  never  goes 
alone,  but  always  in  a  pack  of  forty  or  fifty  together. 
These  unite  regularly  every  day,  to  form  a  combi- 
nation against  the  rest  of  the  forest.  Nothing  then 
can  escape  them  ;  they  are  content  to  take  up  with 
the  smallest  animals  ;  and  yet,  when  thus  united,  they 
have  courage  to  face  the  largest.  They  seem  very 
little  afraid  of  mankind,  but  pursue  their  game  to  the 
very  doors,  testifying  either  attachment  or  appre- 
hension. They  enter  insolently  into  the  sheepfolds, 
the  yards,  and  the  stables,  and,  when  they  can  find 
nothing  else,  devour  the  leather  harness,  boots,  and 
shoes,  and  nm  off  with  what  they  have  not  time  to 
swallow.  They  not  only  attack  the  living,  but  the 
dead.  They  scratch  up  with  their  feet  the  new- 
made  graves,  and  devour  the  corpse,  how  j)utri(l 
soever.  In  those  countries,  therefore,  where  they 
abound,  they  are  obliged  to  beat  the  earth  over  the 
grave,  and  to  mix  it  with  thorns,  to  prevent  the  jackals 
from  scraping  it  away.  They  always  assist  each 
other  as  well  in  this  employment  of  exhumation  as  in 
that  of  the  chase,  and  while  at  their  dreary  work,  ex- 
hort each  other  by  a  most  mournful  cry,  resembling 
that  of  children  under  chastisement;  and  Avhen  they 
have  thus  dug  up  the  body,  thay  share  it  amicably 
between  them.  Like  all  other  savage  animals,  when 
they  have  once  tasted  human  flesh,  they  can  never 
after  refrain  from  pursuing  mankind.  They  watch 
the  burying  grounds,  follow  armies,  and  keep  in  the 
rear  of  rnravnns.  Thev  may  be  considered  as  the 
■  56" 


vulture  of  the  quadruped  kind  ;  every  thing  that  once 
had  animal  life  seems  equally  agreeable  to  them  ;  the 
most  putrid  substances  are  greedily  devoured  ;  dried 
leather,  and  any  thing  that  has  been  rubbed  with 
grease,  how  insipid  soever  in  itself,  is  sufiicieiu  to 
make  the  whole  go  down.  Such  is  the  character 
which  naturalists  have  furnished  of  the  jackal,  or 
Egyptian  fox :  let  us  see  what  references  are  made 
to  it  in  Scripture.  To  its  carnivorous  habits  there  is 
an  allusion  in  Ps.  Ixiii.  9,  10:  "Those  that  seek 
my  soul,  to  destroy  it,  shall  go  into  the  lower  parts 
of  the  earth  :  they  shall  fall  by  the  sword  ;  they  shall 
be  a  portion  for  foxes ;"  and  to  its  ravages  in  the 
vineyard,  Solomon  refers  in  Cant.  ii.  15:  "Take  us 
the  foxes,  the  little  foxes,  that  spoil  the  vines ;  for 
our  vines  have  tender  grapes."  In  Scripture,  says 
professor  Paxton,  the  church  is  often  compared  to  a 
vineyard  ;  her  members  to  the  vines  with  which  it  is 
stored ;  and  by  consequence,  the  grapes  may  signify 
all  "the  fruits  of  righteousness"  which  those  mystical 
vines  produce.  The  foxes  that  spoil  these  vines  must 
therefore  mean  false  teachers,  who  corrupt  the  purity 
of  doctrine,  obscure  the  simplicity  of  worship,  over- 
turn the  beauty  of  appointed  order,  break  the  unity 
of  believers,  and  extinguish  the  life  and  vigor  of 
Christian  practice.  These  words  of  Ezekiel  may  be 
understood  in  the  same  sense  ;  "  O  Jerusalem  !  thy 
prophets,  (or,  as  the  context  clearly  proves,)  thy  flat- 
tering teachers,  are  as  foxes  in  the  deserts;"  (cb.  xiii. 
4.)  and  this  name  they  receive,  because,  with  vu  j.a  e 
subtlety,  they  speak  lies  in  hypocrisy.  Such  tearliei"s 
the  apostle  calls  "  wolves  in  sheep's  clothing  ;" 
deceitful  workers,  who,  by  their  cunning,  subvert 
whole  houses  ;  and  whose  word,  like  the  tooth  of  a 
fox  upon  the  vine,  eats  as  a  canker. 

On  one  particular  occasion,  our  Lord,  speaking  of 
Herod,  who  had  threatened  to  kill  him,  applies  to 
him  metaphorically  the  name  or  character  of  the  fox 
or  jackal :  "  Go,  tell  that  fox,  that  crafty,  cruel,  insid- 
ious, devouring  creature,  that  jackal  of  a  prince,  who 
has  indeed  expressed  his  enmity  by  his  threats,  as 
jackals  indicate  their  mischievous  dispositions  by 
their  barking,  and  who  yelps  in  concert  with  other  of 
my  enemies,  jackal-like — go,  tell  him  that  I  am  safe 
from  his  fury  to-day  and  to-morrow  ;  and  on  the 
third  day  I  shall  be  completed, — completely  beyond 
his  power ;"  alluding,  perhaps,  to  his  resurrection  on 
the  third  day.  There  have  been  some  doubts  as  to 
the  propriety  of  our  Redeemer's  speaking  in  such 
terms  of  a  civil  ruler,  whose  subject  he  was,  and  whose 
character  he  was  therefore  hound  to  respect  and  to 
honor.  For  these  scruples,  however,  there  is  no 
groimd  ;  the  character  of  Herod  as  a  cruel,  insidious 
and  crafty  prince,  was  too  notorious  to  be  disguised 
among  any  part  of  his  subjects;  and  he  who  knew 
his  heart,  as  well  as  witnessed  his  conduct,  could 
speak  ^vith  certainty  as  to  his  dispositions  and  mo- 
tives. Besides  this,  such  metaphorical  applications 
as  these  are  nuich  more  common  in  the  East  than 
here,  and  would,  therefore,  not  appear  so  strong  to 
our  Lord's  attendants  as  to  us.  This  is  shown  by  a 
passage  in  Busbequius :  (p.  58.)  "  They  [the  jackals,  or 
ciacals,  as  the  Asiatics  call  them]  go  in  flocks,  and  sel- 
dom hurt  man  or  beast;  but  get  their  food  by  craft 
and  stealth,  more  than  by  open  force.  Thence  it  is 
ihat  the  Turks  call  subtle  and  crafty  persons,  especial- 
ly the  Asiatics,  by  the  metaphorical  name  of  Ciacals." 

In  Judges  xv.  4,  5.  we  read,  that  "Samson  went 
and  caught  three  hundred  foxes,  and  took  firebrands, 
and  turned  tail  to  tail,  and  put  a  firebrand  in 
the    midst  between    two    tails;  and    when  he    had 


FOX 


[  442  ] 


FRO 


set  the  brands  on  fire,  he  let  them  go  into  the  stand- 
ing corn  of  the  Phihstiues,  and  burnt  up  botli  the 
shocks,  and  also  the  standing  corn,  with  the  vine- 
yards and  olives."  This  narrative  has  frequently 
been  made  the  butt  of  ridicule  by  the  unbeliever  in 
divine  revelation,  who  has  asked  with  an  air  of  tri- 
umph, How  could  Samson  catch  so  many  foxes  in 
so  short  a  time  ?  And  when  caught,  how  could  he 
make  them  the  instruments  of  his  revenge  on  tlie 
Philistines,  in  the  manner  which  the  storj-  rcjiresents  ? 
To  this  question  we  think  several  satisfactory  replies 
have  been  given  ;  but  as  they  are  still  perthiaciously 
urged,  it  becomes  our  Inisiness  again  to  show,  that 
they  possess  no  weigiit,  as  militating  against  the 
claims  which  the  history  presents  to  our  belief  That 
the  species  of  fox,  of  which  we  are  treating,  is  very 
numerous  in  the  East,  we  have  already  shown,  by 
the  unimpeachable  testimony  of  respectable  travel- 
lers ;  to  these  we  will  add  another,  whoso  impartial- 
ity as  a  witness  in  favor  of  Scripture  facts  Avill  not  be 
disputed.  Volney  says,  "The  wolf  and  the  real  Ibx 
are  very  rare  ;  but  thei'e  is  a  prodigious  quantity  of 
the  middle  species  named  Shacal,  which  in  Syria  is 
called  loanwee,  from  its  howl ;  they  go  in  droves." 
And  again  :  "  Jackals  are  concealed  by  hundreds  in 
the  gardens,  and  among  ruins  and  tombs."  We  ask, 
then.  Where  was  the  difficulty  for  Samson  to  procure 
three  hundred  of  these  animals,  especially  as  the 
time  during  which  he  had  to  provide  them  for  his 
purpose  is  not  limited  to  a  week  or  a  month  ?  Be- 
sides this,  it  should  be  recollected,  that  Samson  at 
this  time  sustained  the  highest  office  in  the  common- 
wealth, and  consequently  could  be  at  no  loss  for  per- 
sons to  assist  him  in  this  singular  enterprise.  Having 
secured  the  instruments  by  which  he  designed  to 
ruin  the  property  of  the  oppressors  of  his  country, 
the  next  thing  for  consideration  is  the  method  by 
which  he  eftected  his  purpose. 

In  considering  the  circumstances  of  this  narrative, 
there  is  some  attention  due  to  the  nature  and  uses  of 
the  torches,  or  flambeaux,  or  lamps,  employed  by 
Samson  in  this  procedure ;  and  perhaps,  could  we 
identify  the  nature  or  form  of  these,  the  story  might 
be  relieved  from  some  of  its  uncoulhness.  They 
are  called  d''-ibS,  lapadirn,  or,  ratlaer  lampadim,  as 
the  Chaldee  and  Syriac  write  it ;  whoice  the  (?reek 
lampos,  and  our  lamp.  Noav,  these  lamps,  or  burners, 
were  placed  between  two  jackals,  whose  tails  \vere 
tied  together,  or,  at  least,  there  was  a  connection 
formed  between  them  by  a  cord  ;  this  is  the  reading 
of  the  LXX  in  the  Complutensian.  Possibly,  then, 
this  cord  was  of  a  moderate  length,  and  this  biu-ner, 
being  tied  in  the  middle  of  it,  had  something  of  tiie 
effect  which  we  have  seen  among  ourselves,  when 
wanton  malice  has  tied  to  the  tail  of  a  dog  crackers, 
squibs,  &c.  which,  Ijeing  fired,  have  worried  the 
poor  animal  to  his  den,  where,  supposing  tliem  still 
to  burn,  they  might  set  all  aroiuid  them  on  fire.  We 
know  it  is  the  nature  of  the  jackal  to  roam  about 
dwellings  and  out-houses;  this  would  lead  them  to 
where  the  com  of  the  Philistines  was  stonMl  ;  which 
being  ignited,  would  coMuiiuiiicale  the  conflagration' 
in  every  direction.  Hcsides  this,  the  fire  giving  them 
pain,  they  would  natin-ally  right  each  one  his  associ- 
ate to  which  he  was  tied.  This  would  keep  them 
among  tiie  corn  longer  than  usual  ;  and  few  pairs 
thus  coupled  would  agree  to  return  to  the  same  den 
as  they  had  formerly  occupied  in  the  mountains  ;  so 
that  nothing  coidd  jie  better  adapted  to  ])r()duc'e  a 
general  conflagration,  than  this  expedient  of  comljiis- 
tion — comtnunicating  jackals.     \Ve   must  therefore 


siippose,^rs<,  that  these  burners  were  at  some  dis- 
tance from  the  animals,  so  as  not  to  burn  them. 
Secondly,  that  they  were  of  a  nature  to  hold  fire  long, 
without  being  consumed.  Thirdly,  that  they  were 
either  dim,  in  the  manner  of  their  burning,  and  their 
fight ;  or,  perhaps,  were  not  to  be  alarmingly  distin- 
guished by  their  illumination.  They  might  burn  dead, 
as  we  say  ;  so  that  their  effect  might  be  produced 
too  late  to  prevent  the  mischief  which  attended  them. 

FRANKINCENSE,  see  Incense. 

FRIEND  is  taken  in  Scripture  for  a  neighbor  in 
general.  Lev.  xix.  18  ;  Deut.  xix.  4,  5 ;  xxiii.  24,  25. 
Saints  are  called  friends  of  God ;  but  this  title  was 
given  eminently  to  Abraham  ;  (Gen.  xxvi.  24.)  the 
Mahometans  generally  call  him  by  this  name ;  and 
they  call  Hebron,  where  they  believe  his  tomb  to  be, 
tlie  city  of  the  friend  of  God.  The  friend  of  the 
bridegroom,  is  the  brideman ;  who  does  the  honor.s 
of  the  Avedding. 

It  is  much  to  Ije  regretted,  thet  our  language  has 
not  a  more  appropriate  word  than  friend,  by  which 
to  render  the  Greek  traii^o:  .-  which  by  no  means 
signifies  friend  in  the  sense  of  r;  /".o?.  This  is  desi- 
rable in  the  pai-ablc  of  the  laborers  in  the  vineyard  ; 
(Matt.  XX.  13;  also  chap.  xxii.  12.)  but  it  is  absolute- 
ly necessary  in  reference  to  the  appellation  given  by 
our  Lord  to  the  traitor  Judas,  (xxvi.  50.)  v.ho  cer- 
tainly was  not  the  friend  of  Jesus  when  he  betrayed 
him.  The  original  word  seems  here  to  mean  corn- 
panion ;  or,  as  our  workmen  call  their  fellow-work- 
men, mate;  as,  "shop-mate," — a  fellow-workman  in 
a  shop;  and  "ship-mate,"  which  merely  means  one 
who  sails  in  the  same  ship;  but  is  far  enough  from 
implying  one  to  whom  properly  belongs  the  appella- 
tion of  friend  ;  or  one  for  whom  the  smallest  degree 
of  friendship  is  entertained  ;  for,  in  fact,  a  shii)-niate 
may  be  an  enemy. 

J'ROG,  a  sniall  and  well  known  amphibious  ani- 
mal. Frogs  were  unclean  ;  Moses,  indeed,  does  not 
name  them,  but  he  includes  them  by  saying.  Ye  shall 
not  eat  of  any  thing  that  moves  in  the  waters,  unless 
it  have  fins  or  scales.  Lev.  xi.  9.  John  (Rev.  xvi. 
13.)  says,  he  saw  three  unclean  sjjirits  issuing  out  of 
the  false  prophet's  mouth  like  frogs;  and  Moses 
brought  on  E^yjjt  a  plague  of  frogs,  Exod.  viii.  5,  &c. 

FRONTLETS  are  thus  described  by  Leo  of  ]Mo- 
dena:  The  Jews  take  four  pieces  of  parchment,  and 
write  with  an  ink  n^.ade  on  purpose,  and  in  square 
letters,  these  four  passages,  one  on  each  piece,  (1.) 
"  Sanctify  unto  me  all  the  lirst-born,"  &:c.  Exod. 
xiii.  to  the  10th  verse.  (2.)  From  verse  11  to  16: 
"  And  when  the  Lord  shall  liring  thee  into  the  land 
of  the  Canaanites,"  &c.  (3.)  Deut.  vi.  4.  "Hear,  O 
Israel,  the  Lord  our  God  is  one  Lord,"  to  verse  9. 
(4.)  Deut.  xi.  13.  "If  you  shall  hearken  diligently 
unto  my  commandments,"  to  verse  21.  This  they 
do  in  obedience  to  the  words  of  Moses :  "  These 
commandnients  sl)all  be  for  a  sign  unto  thee  upon 
thine  hand,  and  for  a  memorial  betwecMi  thine  eyes." 
These  four  pieces  are  fiist- 


ened  together,  and  a  square 
fbriried  of  them,  on  which 
the  letter  r  is  written  ;  then 
a  little  square  of  !inrd  calf's 
skin  is  put  at  tite  top,  out 
of  which  come  two  leath- 
ern strings  an  inch  wide, 
and  a  ciU)it  and  a  half,  or 
thereabouts,  in  length. 
This  square  is  put  on  the 
middle    of    the  -forehead, 


FUL 


[  443 


FLLFIL 


and  the  strings,  being  girt  about  the  head,  make  a 
knot  in  the  form  of  the  letter  t  ;  they  are  then 
brought  before,  and  fall  on  the  breast.  It  is  called 
Teffila-schd-Rosch,  the  Tephila  of  the  head.  The 
most  devout  Jews  put  it  on  both  at  morning  and 
noon-day  prayer  ;  but  the  generality  wear  it  only  at 
morning  praj'er.  Only  the  chanter  of  the  synagogue 
is  obliged  to  put  it  on  at  noon,  as  well  as  mornuig. 

It  has  been  much  disputed  whether  the  use  of 
frontlets  and  phylacteries  was  literally  ordained  by 
Moses.  Tiiose  who  beheve  their  use  to  be  binding, 
observe,  that  the  text  speaks  as  positively  of  this  as 
of  other  precepts.  Moses  requires  the  comniand- 
Mients  of  God  to  be  Avritten  on  the  doors  of  houses, 
as  a  sign  on  their  hands,  and  as  an  ornament  on  their 
foreheads,  Exod.  xiii.  16.  If  there  be  any  obligation 
to  write  these  connnandments  on  their  doors,  as  the 
■text  intimates,  then  it  is  said,  there  is  the  same  for 
writing  them  on  their  hands  and  foreheads.  The 
use  of  fyontlets  was  common  in  our  Saviour's  time, 
not  only  in  Judea,  but  also  among  the  Indian  Jews, 
the  Persians,  and  Babylonians.  Indeed,  long  before- 
that  time,  the  doctors,  whom  the  high-priest  Eleazar 
sent  to  Ptoleniy  Philadelphus,  king  of  Egj'pt,  spoke 
of  the  phylacteries,  and  referred  the  oriein  of  them 
to  Moses. 

Others,  on  the  contrary,  maintain,  that  these  pre- 
cepts should  be  taken  figuratively  and  allegorically  ; 
meaning,  that  the  Hebrews  should  carefully  preserve 
the  remembrance  of  God's  law,  and  observe  his 
commands  ;  that  they  should  always  have  them  in 
their  "  jnind's  eye."  Before  the  Babylonish  captivi- 
ty, no  traces  of  them  appear  in  the  histoiy  of  the 
Jews ;  the  prophets  never  inveigh  against  the 
neglect  of  them  ;  nor  was  there  any  question  con- 
cerning them  in  the  reformation  of  manners  at  any 
time  among  the  Hebrews.  The  almost  general  cus- 
tom in  the  East  of  wearing  phylacteries  and  front- 
lets, determines  nothing  for  the  obligation  or  useful- 
ness of  the  practice.  Christ  did  not  absolutely 
condenm  them ;  but  he  condemned  the  abuse  of 
them  in  the  Pharisees,  their  wearing  them  with 
affectation,  and  larger  than  other  Jews.  The  Caraite 
Jews,  who  adhere  to  the  letter  of  the  law,  and  de- 
spise traditions,  call  the  rabbinical  Jews  "bridled 
asses,"  because  they  wear  these  tepliiliin  and  front- 
lets.    See  also  Mezuzoth,  and  Phylacteries. 

FRUIT.  By  this  word  is  sometimes  meant  re- 
ward, Prov.  i.  31 :  they  shall  receive  the  reward  of 
their  bad  conduct.  "The  fruit  of  the  body,"  signi- 
fies children,  Ps.  cxxxii.  12.  "  The  fruit  of  the 
lips,"  the  punishment  or  reward  of  wortis,  bad  or 
good,  Isa.  x.  12.  "llncircumcised  fruit,"  or  impm-e 
fruit,  (Lev.  xix.  23.)  is  the  fi-uit  of  a  tree  newly  plant- 
ed, during  the  first  three  years.  In  the  fourth  year 
it  was  offered  to  the  Lord  ;  after  which  it  was  in 
general  use. 

"  The  fruits  of  the  Spirit,"  mentioned  by  Paul,  are 
love,  joy,  peace.  Gal.  v.  22.  "The  fruits  of  right- 
eousness," mentioned  by  the  same  apostle,  are  sown 
in  peace,  Phil.  i.  11.  Irregidar  j)assions  and  carnal 
dispositions  produce  the  fruits  of  death :  they  are 
mortal  to  the  soul,  James  iii.  18  ;  Rom.  vii.  5. 

FULFIL.  This  is  one  of  the  most  difficult  words 
in  the  Bible,  to  treat  within  a  narrow  compass  ;  for 
as  it  refers  to  something  foretold,  and  there  are  many 
modes  of  foretelling,  as  well  as  different  degrees  of 
clearness,  with  which  future  events  may  be  foretold, 
we  nauu-ally  expect  as  many  corresponding  modes  of 
fulfilment  as  there  are  varieties  in  such  predictions. 
For  instance,  Ahijah  the  prophet  foretold  to  the  wife 


of  Jeroboam,  that  as  soon  as  she  got  home,  her  child 
should  die  ;  this  prediction  received  an  instant  and 
direct  fulfilment  in  the  death  of  her  child,  1  Kings 
xiv.  17.  Joshua  foretold,  that  whoever  would  under- 
take to  rebuild  Jericho,  should  begin  it  with  the  loss  of 
his  first-born  son,  and  finish  it  m  ith  the  death  of  his 
youngest ;  this  was  not  fulfilled  for  500  years,  and 
we  are  uncertain  whether  it  included  the  death  of 
the  intermediate  children  ;  but  lliel  of  Bethel  expe- 
rienced its  fulfilment.     See  Abiel. 

Sometimes  prophecy  has  a  direct  and  sole  refer- 
ence to  a  certain  fact  to  come  to  pass  hereafter,  at  a 
distant  period  ;  but  sometimes  it  refers  (doubly)  as 
well  to  a  fact  which  is  appointed  to  take  place  at  no 
very  distant  period,  as  to  another  fact  of  which  the 
first  is  only  a  sign  or  earnest.  (See  Hezekiah.)  So 
that  when  the  first  fact  has  actually  happened,  the 
prediction  may  be  said  in  one  respect  to  be  fulfilled : 
while  in  another  respect  it  may  be  said  to  continue 
unfulfilled ;  because  its  complete  and  final  accom- 
plishment is  not  yet  arrived.  Many  prophecies  seem 
to  be  in  tliis  state  at  present :  they  have  been  partly 
fulfilled  in  past  evcjits,  and  they  are  fulfilling  now 
progressively  ;  but  their  final  and  complete  accom- 
plishment is  to  be  looked  for  hereafter.  The  Jewish 
nation  is  a  striking  instance  in  proof  of  this  obser- 
vation. 

Sometimes  a  remarkable  phraseology,  which  has  a 
dii-ect  reference  only  to  one  specific  event,  is  said  to 
be  fulfilled  in  another  event :  that  is,  the  phrase  may 
be  M  ell  applied  to,  may  be  remarkably  illustrated  by, 
or  may,  indeed,  in  a  loose  and  distant  acceptation,  be 
refeiTed  to  the  latter  event ;  which  appears  as  another 
and  further  fulfilment,  though,  strictly  speaking,  the 
first  fulfilment  was  enough  to  satisfy  (and  actually 
did  satisfy)  the  prophecy.  The  slaughter  of  the  in- 
fants at  Bethlehem  may  be  taken  as  an  instance  of 
this  nature  ;  for  certainly  the  j)rophet  Jeremiah 
(xxxi.  15.)  employed  the  phrase  ol"  "Rachel  weeping 
for  her  children,  and  refusing  to  be  comforted,"  in 
reference  to  an  event  much  nearer  to  himself  than 
that  to  which  the  evangelist  Mattliew  applies  it ; 
though  the  latter  event  was  a  remarkable  coinci- 
dence, and  the  expression  might  readily  be  accom- 
modated to  it. 

Sometimes  a  phrase  which  originally  meant  to 
describe  a  particular  man,  or  class  of  men,  is  said  to 
be  fulfilled  by  a  class  of  men  distinct,  and  distant, 
from  those  of  whom  it  was  first  spoken  ;  because 
the  resemblance  is  so  close,  and  their  characters  so 
similar,  that  what  was  predicted  of  one,  may  very 
aptly  and  expressively  be  applied  to  the  other.  So, 
when  the  prophets  complain  of  the  perverseness  of 
the  Jews  in  their  days,  the  same  kind  of  perverse- 
ness in  the  days  of  the  Messiah  may  naturally  be 
described  by  the  same  kind  of  language  ;  the  import 
of  which  is  revived,  or  more  powerfully  fulfilled,  in 
the  later  application  of  it,  though  to  a  very  distant 
generation. 

Proverbial  expressions,  which  do  not  refer  to  any 
specific  occurrence,  or  fact,  are  said  to  be  fulfilled 
when  an  event  hapj)ens — not  which  may  be  applied 
or  referred  to  them — but  to  which  they  may  be  ap- 
plied or  rcfeired  as  very  similar  and  descriptive. 

All  these,  and  many  other  modes  of  fulfilment,  are 
expressed  in  Scripture  ;  and  it  requires  attention  to 
distinguish  whether  a  stricter  or  a  looser  sense  is  to 
be  put  on  the  world  fulfil.  We  ought  also  to  re- 
mark, that  some  things  are  said  to  be  done,  "that  it 
might  be  fulfilled  ;"  but  in  general,  persons  who  were 
absolutely  engaged  in   fulfilhng  prophecy,  had  no 


FUR 


[  444  ] 


FUR 


suspicion  that  their  actions  were  in  any  degree  pre- 
dicted ;  nor  did  they  perceive  the  relation  of  them 
to  the  pi-ophecy,  or  tlie  prophecy  to  tliem,  till  after 
the  events  which  accomplished  the  prediction  were 
over.  Still,  it  would  seem,  that  our  Lord  did  pur- 
posely, and  with  design  to  fulfil  former  predictions, 
use  certain  expressions,  and  perform  certain  actions. 
So  he  rode  on  an  ass,  "  that  it  might  be  fulfilled" 
which  was  spoken  by  the  prophet ;  and  Jesus  him- 
self knew  that  he  was  fulfilling  this  prophecy,  but 
his  disciples  did  not  know  it ;  they  did  not  recollect 
that  Scripture  contained  any  such  passage  ;  still  less, 
that  it  thus  described  any  part  of  the  Messiah's  char- 
acter or  conduct.  This  appears  very  remarkably  in 
John  xix.  28.  "After  this,  Jesus,  knowing  that  all 
things  were  now  accomplished,  that  the  Scripture 
might  be  fulfilled,  said,  I  thirst." 

Time  is  said  to  be  fulfilled,  or  filled  up,  in  various 
places  of  Scripture.  Disposition  of  mind  is  said  to 
be  fulfilled,  Deut.  i.  36 ;  1  Kings  xi.  6.  The  coun- 
sels of  God  are  said  to  be  fulfilled ;  the  law  and  the 
prophets,  &c.  but  these  phrases  require  no  ex- 
planation. 

FULLER'S  FIELD,  FULLER'S  FOUNTAIN, 
see  RosEL,  and  Siloam. 

FULLER'S  SOAP,  see  Soap. 

FULNESS,  a  word  which  is  used  to  signify  very 
diflferent  things ;  but  it  usually  denotes  perfection, 
completion,  consummation. 

FUNERALS,  see  Burial,  and  Dead. 

FURNACE,  a  large  fire  used  for  melting  and  re- 
fining metals,  &c.  but  metaphorically  taken  for  a 
state  of  affiictiou.  Thus,  Egypt  is  called  an  "  iron 
furnace,"  with  reference  to  Israel,  Deut.  iv.  20  ;  Jer. 
xi.  4-     For  some  remarks  on  the  i7iiraculous  preser- 


vation of  the  Hebrew  youths  in  the  fiery  furnace, 
see  Fire. 

FURROWS,  openings  in  the  ground,  made  by  a 
plough,  or  other  instrument.  The  sacred  writers 
sometimes  borrow  similitudes  from  the  furrows  of 
the  field.  Job  xxxi.  38.  "  If  my  land  cry  against  me,  or 
the  furrows  thereof  complain  ;"  if  I  have  employed 
the  poor  to  till  my  ground,  without  paying  them  for 
their  labor.  "Thou  waterest  the  ridges  abundantly," 
(Psal.  Ixv.  10.)  "thou  settlest  the  furrows  thereof ;" 
Heb.  thou  brakest  the  clods  of  it,  Eccles.  vii.  3,  says, 
figuratively,  "  Sow  not  upon  the  furrows  of  unright- 
eousness," for  if  thou  sowest  iniquity,  thou  shalt  reap 
all  sorts  of  evils  and  misfortunes.  See  Gal.  iv.  7; 
Hosea  x.  4.  "Judgment  springeth  up  as  hemlock  in 
the  furrows  of  the  field."  Judgment  and  wrath  will 
produce  bitterness  in  thy  fields  (Vulgate.)  Here  is  a 
double  metaphor,  judgment,  that  is,  the  vengeance  of 
God  ;  it  springs,  it  produces  bitterness,  bitter  herbs, 
as  it  were  a  ploughed  field,  ready  to  receive  seed. 
And  verse  11,  12,  1  will  make  Judah  plough,  and 
Jacob  shall  break  the  clods,  and  form  the  lurrows. 
The  ten  tribes  and  Judah  shall,  one  after  the  other, 
endure  the  effects  of  my  anger.  But  the  prophet 
adds,  immediately,  "  Sow  in  righteousness,  and  reap 
in  mercy." 

FURY  is  attributed  to  God  metaphorically,  or 
speaking  after  the  manner  of  men  ;  that  is,  God's 
providential  actions  are  such  as  would  be  performed 
by  a  man  in  a  state  of  anger.  So  that  when  he  is 
said  to  pour  out  his  fury  on  a  person,  or  on  a  people, 
it  is  a  figurative  expression  for  dispensing  afflictive 
providences  ;  but  we  must  be  very  careful  not  to  at- 
tribute human  infirmities,  passions,  or  malevolence 
to  the  Deity. 


G 


GAB 


GAAL,  son  of  Ebed,  having  entered  Shechem,  to 
assist  it  against  Abimclech,  the  people  amidst  their 
entertainments  cursed  the  invader.  Gaal  advanced 
to  engage  him,  but  was  defeated,  Judg.  ix.  2G,  A. 
M.  2771. 

I.  GAASH,  a  mountain  of  Ephraim,  north  of 
which  stood  Tiiiuiath-Serah,  celebrated  for  Joshua's 
tomb,  (Josh.  xxiv.  30.)  which,  Eusebius  says,  was 
known  in  liis  time. 

II.  GAASH,  a  In-ook  or  valley,  (2  Sam.  xxiii.  30.) 
proljably  at  the  foot  of  mount  Gaash. 

GAB  A,  a  city  at  the  foot  of  momit  Carmel,  be- 
tween Ptolemais  and  Cesarea.  Josej)hussays,  it  was 
called  the  city  of  horsemen,  because  Herod  gave  it 
to  his  veteran  caValrJ^  Relaud  is  of  opinion,  that  it 
is  the  same  as  Caipha,  or  Ileplia ;  but  Eusebius 
places  a  little  town  called  Gaba,  or  Gabe,  sixteen 
miles  from  Cesarea  in  Palestine,  on  the  side  of  the 
great  plain.  It  is  mentioned  only  by  Josephus,  iii.2. 
In  Josii.  xviii.  24,  a  Gaba  is  mentioned,  which  is 
elsewhere  called  Gkba,  which  see. 

GA BALA,  see  Gebal. 

GABATHA,  a  town  in  the  south  of  Judah,  twelve 
miles  from  EleutheropoJis,  where  the  prophet  Ha- 
bakkuk's  sepulchre  was  shown. 

GABBATHA,  /iig-^,  or  elevated.  In  Greek,  X,9o- 
arqroroi,  paved  tvith  stones.  This  was  the  Hebrew 
name  of  a  place  in  Pilate's  palace,  (John  xix.  13.) 


GAB 


from  whence  he  pronounced  sentence  against  our 
Saviour.  It  was  probably  an  eminence,  or  terrace, 
paved  with  stone  or  marble,  and  of  considerable 
height.  [It  was  properly  a  tesselated  marble  pave- 
ment, or  a  pavement  of  mosaic  work.  From  the 
time  of  Sylla,  ornamented  pavements  of  this  sort  be- 
came common  among  the  wealthy  Romans ;  and 
when  they  went  abroad  on  military  expeditions  or  to 
administer  the  government  of  a  province,  they  car- 
ried with  them  pieces  of  marble  ready  fitted,  which, 
as  often  as  an  encamjiment  was  formed  or  a  court  of 
justice  opened,  wen;  regularly  si)read  around  the 
elevated  tribiuial  on  which  the  commander  or  pre- 
siding officer  was  to  sit.  Julius  Ctesar  followed  this 
custom  in  his  expeditions.  (See  Sueton.  Cses.  46. 
Plin.  II.  N.  XXXV.  25.)  The  word  J'u;iuSh  there- 
fore refers  to  a  raised  tribunal  of  this  sort.  Others, 
considering  the  origin  of  the  word  and  the  fact  that 
Josephus,  in  describing  the  exterior  of  the  temple, 
speaks  of  a  pavement  of  this  sort,  (B.  J.  V.  5.  2,) 
suppose  that  a  particular  i)art  of  Jerusalem  is  intend- 
ed, pertaining,  it  would  seem,  to  that  part  of  the  tem- 
ple which  was  called  the  court  of  the  Gentiles. 
(Winer  Bibl.  Realw.  p.  414.)     R. 

GABINIUS,  (Aulus,)  one  of  Pompey's  generals, 
who  was  sent  into  Judea  against  Alexander  and  An- 
tigonus.  (See  Alexander,  and  Antigonus  III.) 
He  restored  Hircanus  at  Jerusalem,  confirmed  him 


GAD 


[  445 


GAI 


in  the  hign-priesthood,  and  settled  governors  and 
judges  in  the  provinces,  so  that  Judea,  from  a  mon 
archy,  became  an  aristocracy.  He  established  courts 
of  justice  at  Jerusalem,  Gadara,  (or  at  Dora,)  Ama- 
tha,  Jericho,  and  Sephoris  ;  that  the  people,  finding 
judges  in  all  parts  of  the  country,  might  not  be 
obliged  to  go  far  from  their  habitations.  Some  learn- 
ed men  are  of  opinion,  that  the  establishment  of  the 
Sanhedrim  owed  its  origin  to  Gabinius.  On  return- 
ing to  Rome,  Gabinius  was  prosecuted  by  the  Syri- 
ans, and  exiled,  ante  A.  D.  55.  He  was  recalled  by 
Julius  Csesar,  and  returned  to  Syria  as  triumvir, 
about  ante  A.  D.  41.  He  showed  great  friendship  to 
Phasael  and  Herod,  and  fell  in  the  civil  war.  (Joseph. 
Ant.  xiv.  6—10  ;  Bel.  Jud.  i.  6.) 

GABRIEL,  a  principal  angel.  He  was  sent  to  the 
prophet  Daniel  to  explain  his  visions  ;  also  to  Zacha- 
rias,  to  announce  to  him  the  future  birth  of  John  the 
Baptist,  Dan.  viii.  16;  ix.  21 ;  x.  16;  Luke  i.  11,  et 
seq.  Six  months  afterwards,  he  was  sent  to  Naza- 
reth, to  the  Virgin  Mary,  Luke  i.  26,  &c.  (See  An- 
nunciation.) Probably,  also,  Gabriel  was  the  angel 
which  appeared  to  Josej)h,  when  thinking  to  dismiss 
the  Virgin  jMary  ;  also,  on  another  occasion,  enjoin- 
ing him  to  retire  to  Egypt ;  and,  after  the  decease  oi" 
Herod,  directed  him  to  return  into  Judea.  The 
Cabalists  say,  Gabriel  was  master  or  preceptor  to  the 
patriarch  Joseph. 

I.  GAD,  {prosperity,  fortune,)  son  of  Jacob  and 
Zilpah,  Leah's  servant.  Gen,  xxx.  9,  10,  11.  Leah 
called  him  Gad,  saying,  "  Good  fortune  cometh !" 
The  Engl,  translation  reads  a  troop.  Gad  had  seven 
sons,  Ziphion,  Haggai,  Shimi,  Ezbon,  Eri,  Arodi,  and 
Areli,  Gen.  xlvi.  16.  Jacob,  blessing  Gad,  said,  "A 
troop  shall  overcome  him,  but  he  shall  overcome  at 
the  last,"  Gen.  xlix.  19.  Moses,  in  his  last  song,  men- 
tions Gad,  "  as  a  lion  which  teareth  the  arm  with  the 
crown  of  the  head,"  <Scc.  Deut.  xxxiii. 

The  tribe  of  Gad  came  out  of  Egypt,  in  number 
45,650.  After  the  defeat  of  the  kings  Ogand  Sihon, 
Gad  and  Reuben  desired  to  have  their  allotment  east 
of  Jordan,  alleging  their  great  number  of  cattle. 
Moses  granted  their  request,  on  condition  that  they 
should  accompany  their  brethren,  and  assist  in  con- 
quering the  land  west  of  Jordan.  Gad  had  his  in- 
heritance between  Reuben  south,  and  IManasseh 
north,  w  ith  the  mountains  of  Gilead  east,  and  Jordan 
west.     See  Canaan. 

n.  GAD,  David's  friend,  Mho  followed  him  when 
persecuted  by  Saul.  Scripture  styles  him  a  prophet, 
and- David's  seer,  2  Sam.  xxiv.  11.  The  first  time 
we  find  him  with  this  prince,  is,  when  in  the  land  of 
Moab,  to  secure  his  father  and  mother,  (1  Sam.  xxii. 
5.)  in  the  first  year  of  his  flight,  and  of  Saul's  perse- 
cution., The  prophet  Gad  warned  him  to  return  into 
the  land  of  Judah.  After  David  had  determined  to 
number  his  people,  the  Lord  sent  the  ])rophet  Gad  to 
him,  who  gave  him  his  choice  of  three  scourges : 
seven  years'  famine,  or  three  months'  flight  before 
his  enemies,  or  three  days'  pestilence.  Gad  advised 
David  to  erect  an  altar  to  the  Lord,  in  the  thrashing- 
floor  of  Oman,  or  Araunah,  the  Jeliusite.  He  wrote 
a  history  of  David's  life,  which  is  cited  1  Chron. 
xxix.  29. 

HI.  GAD,  a  heathen  deity,  mentioned  in  several 
passages  of  Scripture.  He  is  apparently  the  same  as 
Baal,  i.  e.  the  planet  Jupiter,  the  star  of  good  fortune. 
(See  Baal.)  We  find  a  place  in  Canaan,  called  the 
Migdal-Gad,  Josh.  xv.  37,  and  another  in  the  valley  of 
Lebanon,  called  Baal-Gad,  Josh.  xi.  1 7.  In  Isaiah  "ixv. 
11,  those  who  prepare  the  table  for  Gad  are  allotted  to 


the  sword  ;  and  those  who  furnish  a  drink-oflfenng 
to  Meni,  to  the  slaughter.  Perhaps  these  were  ser- 
vices to  the  powers  of  heaven,  to  conjure  them  to  be 
fevorable  to  the  productions  of  the  earth,  &c,  ; 
therefore  the  subsequent  threatening  is  famine.  We 
have,  in  various  parts  of  England,  the  ceremonies  of 
the  wassail  bowl  ;  of  going  round  the  orchards,  sing- 
ing and  sprinkling  the  trees  on  twelfth  night ;  wish- 
ing them  fertility,  &c.  Is  this  a  relic  of  the  services 
prepared  for  Gad  and  Meni  ?  or  may  it,  by  resem- 
blance, ser\e  to  illustrate  them  ?  It  seems'  to  be  a 
rite  derived  from  deep  antiquity ;  as  are  many 
others  of  which  traces  remain.  See  Baal,  ad  Jin. 
and  Meni. 

Although  the  deity  hitherto  commemorated  under 
the  nameof  Gad,  is  masculine,  we  have  a  female  di- 
vinity, also,  of  this  name  in  Hazar-Gaddah ;  (Josh. 
XV.  27.)  and  as  Fortune  is  most  commonly  female,  in 
such  statues  and  figures  of  her  as  remain,  Ave  need 
not  doubt  but  the  Canaanites  adored  her  under 
this  sex. 

GADARA,  surrounded,  walled,  a  city  east  of  the 
Jordan,  in  the  De- 
capolis.  Josephus 
calls  it  the  capital 
of  Persea  ;  and  Pli- 
ny (lib.  V.  cap.  16.) 
places  it  on  the  riv- 
er Hieromax,  (Jar- 
much,)  about  five 
miles  from  its  junc- 
tion with  the  Jor- 
dan. It  gave  name 
to  a  district  which 
extended,  probablj', 
from  the  region  of 
Scythopolis  to  the 
borders  of  Tiberias.  Pompey  repaired  Gadara,  in 
consideration  of  Demetrius  his  freedman,  a  native 
of  it;  and  Gabinius  settled  there  one  of  the  five 
courts  of  justice  for  Judea.  Polybius  says,  that  An- 
tiochus  the  Great  besieged  this  city,  which  was 
thought  to  be  one  of  the  strongest  places  in  the  coun- 
try, and  that  it  surrendered  to  him  on  composition. 
Epiphanius  speaks  of  its  hot  baths. 

The  evangelists  Mark  (v.  1.)  and  Luke  (viii.  26. 
Gr.)  say  that  our  Saviour,  having  j)assed  the  sea  of 
Tiberias,  came  into  the  district  of  the  Gadarenes. 
Matthew  (viii.  28.)  calls  it  Gcrgasenes  ;  but  as  the 
lands  belonging  to  one  of  these  cities  were  included 
within  the  limits  of  the  other,  one  evangelist  might 
say,  the  coimtry  of  the  Gergasenes,  another  the 
country  of  the  Gadarenes  ;  either  being  equally 
correct. 

Mr.  Baiikcs  thinks  that  the  place  called  Oom-kais, 
where  are  sIioaaii  numerous  caverns  and  extensive 
ruins,  marks  the  site  of  Gadara  ;  but  INIr.  Bucking- 
ham speaks  of  Oom-kais  as  Gamala.  If  Gadara  be 
properly  understood  as  denoting  a  fenced  protection, 
the  name  might,  witli  great  propriety,  be  common  in 
many  jiarts ;  and  such  retreats  would  be  no  less  ne- 
cessary at  the  northern  extremities  of  the  country, 
than  at  the  southern.     See  Geder. 

GADDI,  son  of  Susi,  of  Manassch,  sent  by  Moses 
to  explore  the  land.  Numb.  xiii.  11. 

GADDIEL,  son  of  Sodi,  of  Zebulun,  one  of  the 
spies.  Numb.  xiii.  10. 

I.  GAIFS,  the  Greek  form  of  the  Latin  name 
Caius.  He  was  Paul's  disciple,  (Acts  xix.  29.)  and 
was  probably  a  Macedonian,  but  settled  at  Corinth, 
where  he  ciUertaincd   Paul  during  his  abode  there, 


GAL 


[  446  J 


GAL 


Rom.  xvi.  23.  When  the  apostle  went  into  Asia, 
Gains  and  Aristarciuis  accompanied  him  to  Ephe- 
sus,  where  they  abode  some  time  with  him  ;  so  that 
in  th"!  sedition  raised  tliere  about  the  great  Diana, 
the  Ephesians  ran  to  the  lioiise  of  Gains  and  Aris- 
tarchus,  and  dragged  them  to  the  tlieatre. 

n.  GAIUS,  the  person  to  wliom  the  apostle  John 
directed  his  third  epistle,  was,  in  the  opinion  of  sev- 
eral commentatoi-s,  the  same  as  we  have  just  noticed  ; 
but  othei-s  think  he  is  mentioned  in  Acts  xx.  4,  as 
being  of  Derbe,  in  Lycaonia ;  and  consequently  not 
the  Macedonian.  The  fact  is,  that  the  name  was  so 
common  in  antiquity,  that  there  is  great  difficulty  in 
fixing  on  any  one  as  the  person  to  whom  John  wrote. 
He  miglit  be  neither  of  those  known  to  us  in  the 
New  Testament ;  if  we  might  be  guided  !)y  his  char- 
acter, he  is  certainly  the  Gains  of  Corinth ;  for  Paul 
describes  him,  not  only  as  being  his  host,  but  also, 
that  of  the  whole  chm-ch  ; — not  of  the  Corinthian 
chin-ch,  which  could  not  need  a  host;  but  of  the 
whole  Christian  church,  whether  Jews  or  Gentiles 
by  nation ;  whether  in  opinion  followers  of  Peter  or 
of  Paul.  Such  was  his  Christian  benevolence,  and 
unrestricted  hospitality.  Now,  this  is  the  very  vir- 
tue for  which  the  Gains  to  whom  John  wrote  is 
highly  praised  by  the  ajjostle,  who  could  not  have 
described  the  host  of  the  whole  church  in  ternis 
jnore  appropriate  than  he  uses  of  Gains.  It  would 
also  appear,  that  the  Gains  of  Corinth  was  known  at 
Ephesus,  he  having  been  with  Paul,  and  in  gj-eat 
personal  danger  ;  and  John,  writing  from  Ephesus  in 
favor  of  certain  travelling  Christian  brethren,  might 
probably  take  this  opportunity  of  commending  Gaius. 

GALATLA,  a  province  in  Asia  Minor,  having  Pon- 
tus  on  the  east,  Bithynia  and  Paphlagonia  north, 
Cappadocia  and  Phrygia  south,  and  Phrygia  west. 
The  Gauls,  having  invaded  Asia  Minor,  "in  several 
bodies,  conquered  this  country,  settled  in  it,  and 
called  it  Galatia,  which,  in  Greek,  signifies  Gaul. 

The  apostle  Paul  preached  several  times  in  Gala- 
tia ;  first,  A.  D.  51,  (Acts  xvi.  G.)  afterwards,  A.  D.  54, 
(Acts  xviii.  2.3.)  and  formed  considerable  churches 
there.  It  is  probable  he  was  the  first  who  jn-eached 
there  to  the  Gentiles;  but, possibly,  Peter  had  preached 
there  to  the  Jews,  since  his  first  epistle  is  directed  to 
Hebrews,  scattered  throughout  Pontus,  Galatia,  &c. 
These  Jews  were  jirobably  the  persons  who  occa- 
sioned those  differences  in  the  Gaiatian  church,  on 
account  of  wjjich  Paul  wrote  his  epistle,  in  which  he 
takes  some  pains  to  establish  his  character  of  apostle, 
which  liad  been  disjjuted,  with  intention  to  place  him 
belnw  Petci-,  who  preached  generally  to  Jews  only, 
and  who  observed  the  law. 

In  2  Mac.  viii.  20,  it  is  said,  that  Judas  Maccabosus, 
exhorting  his  jjpople  to  fight  valiantly  against  the 
Syrians,  related  to  them  several  instances  of  God's 
protection  ;  among  others,  that  which  they  had  ex- 
perienced in  a  !)attle  fought  in  Babylonia,  v/herein 
6000  Jews  killed  120,000  Galatians.  We  have  no 
particulars  of  the  time  or  circiunstances  of  this  de- 
feat ;  but  it  is  probable,  that  the  Galatians,  settled  in 
Galatia,  were  not  meant,  but  the  Gauls,  who  at  that 
time  overran  Asia,  as  we  have  observed  from  Pausa- 
nias :  the  Greek  Galatai  being  taken  equally  for  cither. 

The  Galatians  v.-orsiii])pc(!  the  niotlicr  of  the  gods. 
Callimachus,  in  his  hymns,  calls  them  "a  foolish 
people;"  and  Hilary,  himspjf  a  Gaul,  as  well  as  Je- 
rome, describes  them  as  Gnllo.'}  indociles  ;  exjjressions 
which  may  well  excuse  Paul's  adflressing  them  as 
"foolish,"  chap.  iii.  It  was  probably  an  appellation 
given  to  tlieiri,  current  in  their  neighborhood. 


The  possessors  of  Galatia  were  of  three  different 
nations,  or  tribes  of  Gauls:  the  Tolistobogi,  the 
Trocmi,  and  the  Tectosagi.  There  are  imperial 
medals  extant,  on  which  these  names  are  found.  (See 
Rosenmiiller  Bib.  Geogr.  I.  ii.  210,  seq.) 

It  is  of  some  consequence  to  maintain  these  dis- 
tinctions. We  have  supposed  that  while  Peter  was 
preaching  in  one  part  of  Galatia,  the  aj)ostle  Paul  was 
making  converts  in  another  part ;  and  that  some, 
claiming  authority  from  Peter,  propagated  tenets  not 
conformable  to  the  opinion  of  Paul  ;  to  correct  and 
expose  which  was  the  occasion  of  Paul's  epistle.  It 
is  probable,  that  the  different  nations  of  Gauls  fur- 
nished partisans,  whose  overweening  zeal  far  ex- 
ceeded the  doctrines  of  their  instructers.  Such  has 
ever  been  the  character  of  the  Gauls.  Hence,  while 
they  were  at  one  time  ready  to  pluck  out  their  eyes, 
if  it  might  benefit  their  evangelical  teacher,  they 
quickly  relinquished  his  principles,  and  were  as 
readily  brought  to  adopt  another  gospel,  which  in- 
deed was  not  a  gospel,  but  a  continuation  of  unne- 
cessary observances,  to  which  they  had  already  paid 
too  much  attention. 

Epistle  to  the  Galatians.  Some  sup])ose  that 
this  epistle  is  the  first  that  was  written  by  Paul.  Its 
early  date  was  asserted  by  Marcion,  in  the  second 
century ;  and  Tertidlian  represents  the  writer  as  a 
"Neophytos,"  full  of  zeal,  and  not  yet  l)rought  to  be- 
come a  "Jew  to  the  Jews,  that  he  might  gain  the 
Jews."  Without  adopting  this  sentiment,  we  may 
conclude  that  Paul's  first  visit  to  the  Galatians  was 
not  long  after  his  return  to  Antioch  from  the  council 
at  Jerusalem,  (Acts  xvi.)  when  he  and  Silas  went 
through  Phrygia  and  Galatia,  &c.  Calmet  has  fixed 
this  journey  to  A.  D.  51,  but  Michaelis  argues  for 
A.  D.  49,  and  it  would  seem  that  this  letter  was  writ- 
ten very  soon  after  the  departure  of  the  apostle  from 
his  converts  on  this  journey ;  for  he  expresses  his 
wonder  that  they  were  so  soon  alienated  from  him, 
tlieir  spiritual  father,  chaj).  i.  6.  The  apostle  writes 
this  epistle  in  his  own  name,  and  in  the  names  of  the 
brethren  who  were  with  him  ;  and  who  were,  in  all 
l)robability,  pei'sonally  known  to  the  Galatians,  Acts 
XV.  40;  xvi.  2.  This  leads  us  to  think,  that  it  was 
written  before  he  went  into  Macedonia  ;  probably 
from  Troas,  where  the  apostle  made  some  stay,  (Acts 
xvi.  8.)  and  where  he  had  books  and  parchments, 
which  he  conmiitted  to  the  care  of  Carpus.  Others, 
however,  have  supposed  it  to  have  been  written  at 
Corinth,  (Acts  xviii.)  about  A.  D.  51  or  52  ;  or,  at 
Ephesus ;  (Acts  xviii.  23,  24.) — or,  at  the  same  time 
with  the  e])istle  to  the  Romans  ;  (Acts  xx.  2,  4.) — or, 
at  Rome,  which  is  most  improbable:  as  the  writer 
mentions  nothing  of  his  bonds,  as  he  does  in  all  his 
epistles  written  from  hence  ;  nor  could  he,  at  that 
time,  have  reproached  the  Galatians  with  being  so 
soon  perverted  from  his  principles.  Sec  more  under 
Paul. 

GALBANUM,  a  gum,  or  sweet  spice,  and  an  in- 
gredient in  the  incense  binned  at  the  golden  altar,  in 
tlic  holy  place,  Exod.  xxx.  34.  It  is  a  juice,  drawn 
by  incision  from  a  ))lant,  niuch  like  the  large  kind  of 
fennel.  The  smell  is  not  very  agreeable,  esjjecially 
alone.  The  word  signifies— ^/rr/,  unctuous,  gummy. 
[It  is  the  gum  of  a  plant  growing  in  Abyssinia,  Ara- 
bia, and  Syria,  called  by  Pliny  Slagonitis,  (xii,  25.) 
but  supposed  to  i)e  the  same  as  the  Buhon  Galbanum 
of  Linna?us.  The  gum  is  unctuous  and  adhesive,  of 
a  strong  and  somewhat  astringent  smell.     R. 

GALILEE,  one  of  the  most  extensive  provinces 
into  which  the  Holy  Land  was  divided  ;  but  it  prob- 


GAL 


[  447 


GAT 


ably  varied  in  its  limits  at  different  periods.  It  is 
divided  by  the  rabbins  into  (1.)  The  Upper  ;  (2.)  The 
Nether  ;  and,  (3.)  The  Valley.  Josephus  limits  Gal- 
ilee west,  by  the  city  of  Ptolemais  and  mount  Carmel ; 
on  the  south  by  the  country  of  Samaria  and  Scytho- 
polis  ;  on  the  east  by  the  cantons  of  Hippos,  Gadara, 
and  Gaulan  ;  on  the  north  by  the  confines  of  the 
Tyrians.  Lower  Galilee  reaches  in  length  from 
Tiberias  to  Chabulon,  or  Zabulon,  the  frontier  of 
Ptolemais ;  in  width  from  Chaloth,  in  the  great  plain, 
to  Bersabec.  The  l;readth  of  Upper  Galilee  begins 
at  Bersabee,  and  extends  to  Baca,  which  separates  it 
from  the  Tyrians.  Its  length  reaches  from  Telia,  a 
village  on  the  river  Jordan,  to  Meroth.  But  the  ex- 
act situation  of  these  places  is  not  known. 

This  province  contained  four  tribes ;  Issachar, 
Zebulun,  Naphtali,  and  Ashcr;  a  part  also  of  Dan  ; 
and  part  of  Perea,  beyond  the  river.  U[)per  Galilee 
abounded  in  mountains,  and  was  termed  "  Galilee  of 
the  Gentiles,"  as  the  mountainous  nature  of  the 
country  enabled  those  who  possessed  the  fastnesses 
to  maintain  themselves  against  invaders.  Strabo 
(lib.  xvi.)  enumerates  among  its  inhabitants  Egyp- 
tians, Arabians,  and  Phoenicians.  Lower  Galilee, 
which  contained  the  tribes  of  Zebulun  and  Aslier, 
was  sometimes  called  the  Great  Field,  "the  cham- 
paign," Deut.  xi.  30.  The  valley  was  adjacent  to  the 
sea  of  Tiberias.  Josephus  describes  Galilee  as  being 
very  j)opulous,  containing  two  hundred  and  four 
cities  and  towns,  the  least  of  which  contained  15,000 
inhabitants.  It  was  also  very  rich,  and  paid  two 
lumdred  talents  in  tribute.  The  natives  were  brave, 
and  made  good  soldiers  ;  they  were  also  seditious, 
and  prone  to  insolence  and  rebellion.  Their  lan- 
guage and  customs  differed  considerably  from  those 
of  the  Jiideaiis,  Mark  xiv.  70. 

Josephus  states  that  the  Galileans  were  naturally 
good  soldiers,  l>old  and  intrepid  ;  that  they  bravely 
resisted  the  foreign  nations  around  them ;  that  their 
country  was  fruitful,  and  well  cultivated ;  and  the 
people  laborious  and  industrious.  The  Galileans, 
according  to  Josephus,  agreed  in  all  things  with  the 
Pharisees ;  but  were  distinguished  by  an  excessive 
love  of  liberty ;  being  strongly  prejudiced  with  the 
idea,  that  they  ought  to  obey  God  alone  as  their 
prince.  Perhaps  there  was  some  reference  to  this, 
in  representing  Jesus  as  a  Galilean  to  Pilate,  Luke 
xxiii.  2.  His  accusers,  to  render  him  suspected  of 
this  heresy,  say,  they  found  him  perverting  the  na- 
tion, and  forbidding  to  give  tribute  to  Ca?sar. 

Om-  Saviour  was  surnamed  Galilean,  (Matt.  xxvi. 
69.)  because  he  was  brought  up  at  Nazareth,  a  city  of 
this  province  ;  and  it  deserves  notice,  that  he  was  so 
addressed  by  liis  bitter  adversary  the  dying  Julian  : — 
"  Thou  Itast  conquered,  O  Galilean  !"  His  disciples, 
and  Christians  in  general,  were  called  Galileans  after 
their  master,  or  because  several  of  his  apostles  be- 
longed to  that  province,  Acts  ii.  7. 

Sea  of  Galilee.     See  Cinmereth,  and  Tiberias. 

GALL.  3Ioses,  in  the  name  of  God,  threatens  the 
Israelites  to  make  their  grapes — "  grapes  of  gall,  and 
their  wine  the  poison  of  dragons,"  (Deut.  xxxii.  32, 
33.)  i.  c.  to  change  the  sweetness  of  their  grapes  into 
bitterness,  and  their  wine  into  poison  ;  v/liicli,  instead 
of  cheering  and  nourishing,  would  intoxicate  and 
destroy  them.  In  the  story  of  Tobit,  the  gall  of  a 
fish  is  used  in  curing  his  father's  eyes,  Tobit  vi.  8  ; 
xi.  8,  13.  In  Jeremiah  viii.  11 ;  ix.  15,  to  give  water 
of  gall  to  drink,  denotes  very  bitter  affliction.  Lam. 
iii.  19.  The  Psalmist  (Ixix.  21.)  says,  that  his  ene- 
mies, or  rather  the  enemies  of  the  Messiah,  offered 


him  gall  to  eat,  and  vinegar  to  drink.  (See  Myrrm, 
and  Wi^E.)  "  The  gall  of  bitterness,"  (Acts  viii.  23.) 
signifies  the  most  excessively  bitter  gall ;  the  most 
desperate  disposition  of  mind;  the  most  incurable 
malignity,  as  difiicult  to  be  corrected  as  to  change 
gall  into  sweetness. 

GALLIM,  a  city  of  Benjamin,  having  many  foun- 
tains, 1  Sam.  XXV.  44  ;  Isa.  x.  30. 

GALLIC,  brother  of  Seneca  the  philosopher,  and 
proconsul  of  Achaia,  A.  D.  53.  Like  his  brother 
Seneca,  he  was  put  to  death  by  order  of  Nero. 
(Tacit.  Ann.  vi.  3  ;  xv.  73.)  The  Jews  being  enraged 
against  Paul,  for  converting  many  Gentiles,  dragged 
him  to  Gallio's  tribunal,  who,  as  proconsul,  generally 
resided  at  Corinth,  (Acts  xviii.  12,  13.)  and  accused 
him  of  "teaching  men  to  worship  God  contrary  to 
the  law."  Paul  being  about  to  speak,  Gallio  told  the 
Jews,  that  "if  the  matter  in  question  were  a  breach 
of  justice,  or  an  action  of  a  criminal  nature,  he  should 
think  himself  obliged  to  hear  them ;  but  as  the  dis- 
pute was  only  concerning  their  law,  he  would  not 
determine  such  differences."  Sosthenes,  the  chief 
ruler  of  the  synagogue,  was  seized  and  beaten,  before 
Gallio's  seat  of  justice,  without  his  concerning  himself 
about  it. 

GAMAL A,  a  considerable  town  beyond  Jordan,  in 
the  Gaulanitis  ;  called  Gamala,  because  its  appear- 
ance somewhat  resembled  the  form  of  a  camel.  It  is 
not  mentioned  in  Scripture.  It  is  placed  by  Jose- 
phus over  against  Tarichea,  but  on  the  opposite  side 
of  the  lake.  Gamala  was  part  of  Agi'ippa's  kingdom  ; 
but  the  inhabitants  refusing  to  submit  to  him,  it  was 
besieged,  first  by  Agrippa's  forces,  and  afterwards 
by  the  Romans,  who,  after  a  long  siege,  took  and 
sacked  it.  Mr.  Legh  supposes  the  ruins  of  Oom- 
Kais  to  mark  the  site  of  Gamala  ;  we  have,  however, 
identified  them  with  Gadara,  which  see. 

I.  GAMALIEL,  son  of  Pedahzur,  prince  of  Ma- 
nasseh  when  the  Israelites  left  Egypt,  Numb.  i.  10 ; 
ii.  20  ;  vii.  54. 

II.  GAMALIEL,  a  doctor  of  the  law,  a  Pharisee, 
and  Paul's  master.  The  Jews  having  brought  Peter 
before  the  assembl}^  of  rulers,  Gamaliel  moved  that 
the  apostles  should  retire  ;  and  then  advised  the  as- 
sembly to  take  heed  what  they  intended  to  do  touch- 
ing these  men,  and  to  treat  them  with  lenity.  Ga- 
maliel's advice  was  followed  ;  and  the  apostles  were 
liberated.  Acts  v.  34. 

GAMES,  see  Race. 

GAMMADIIM,  brave,  valiant  wan-iors.  It  is  very 
uncertain  what  people  are  meant  by  this  term,  in 
Ezek.  xxvii.  11.  The  learned  Fuller  supposes  them 
to  be  the  people  of  Phcrnicia ;  Ludolplius  conjec- 
tures that  they  were  Africans;  the  Cha'.dee  para- 
phrase makes  them  Cappadocians ;  and  the  Vulgate 
renders  the  word  "  pygmies."  Dr.  Spencer  thinks 
they  were  images  of  the  tutelar  gods,  like  the  lares 
among  the  Romans,  not  al)ove  a  cubit  in  height. 
[Many  of  the  conjectures  on  this  word  are  ridiculous. 
It  is  liot  necessary  to  understand  it  as  the  name  of  a 
peo])le  ;  but  rather  as  an  adjective,  brave,  warlike.  So 
Gesenius.     R. 

GAREB,  a  hill  near  Jerusalem,  (Jer.  xxxi.  39.)  the 
situation  of  which  is  not  known. 

GARMENTS,  see  Dresses. 

GATE.  The  gates  or  doors  to  the  houses  of  the 
Hebrews,  with  their  posts,  were  generally  of  wood  : 
such  were  the  gates  of  Gaza  which  Samson  carried 
away  on  his  shoulders;  (Judg.  xvi.  3.)  that  is,  the 
gate,  bars,  posts,  and  locks,  if  there  were  any.  "  Gate" 
is  of>en  used  in  Scripture  to  denote  a  place  of  public 


GAT 


[  448 


GAZ 


assembly,  where  justice  was  administered,  (Deiit. 
xvii.  5,  8  ;  xxi.  19 ;  xxii.  15  ;  xxv.  6,  7,  &c.)  because, 
as  the  Jews  mostly  labored  in  the  fields,  assemblies 
were  held  at  their  city  gates,  and  justice  administered 
there,  that  laborers  might  lose  no  time ;  and  that 
country  people,  who  had  affairs  of  justice,  might  not 
be  obliged  to  enter  the  town.  See  Ruth  iv.  1  ;  Gen. 
xxiii.  10,  18.  [The  gates  of  oriental  cities  were  at 
the  same  time  the  market-places,  the  place  of  justice  ; 
Prov.  xxii.  22  ;  Amos  v.  10 ;  xii.  15 ;  there,  too,  peo- 
ple assembled  to  spend  their  leisure  hours,  Gen.  xix. 
1.  Hence  "  they  that  sit  in  the  gate"  is  put  for  idlers, 
loungers,  who  are  coupled  with  drunkards,  Ps.  Ixix. 
12.     R. 

Hence,  also,  "  gate  "  sometimes  signifies — power, 
dominion  ;  almost  in  the  same  sense  as  the  Turkish 
sultan's  palace  is  called  the  Porte.  God  promises 
Abraham,  that  his  posterity  shall  possess  the  gates 
of  their  enemies — their  towns,  their  fortresses,  (Gen. 
xxii.  17.)  and  Christ  says  to  Peter,  "Thou  art  Peter ; 
and  on  tliis  rock  will  I  build  my  church,  and  the  gates 
of  hell  shall  not  prevail  against  it,"  Matt.  xvi.  18.  See 
Hell,  ad  Jin. 

It  is  remarked,  that  the  idol  Dagou,  having  fallen 
before  the  ark,  and  the  two  hands  of  his  statue  hav- 
ing fallen  on  the  threshold  of  his  temple,  the  priests 
aftenvards  forbore  to  tread  on  this  part  of  the  door- 
way, 1  Sam.  v.  5.  The  prophet  Zephaniah,  perha]is, 
alludes  to  this  custom  of  the  Philistines,  under  the 
expression  of  "  Those  who  leap  on "  or  over  "  the 
threshold,"  chap.  i.  9. 

GATES  OF  RIGHTEOUSNESS,  (Psal.  cxviii. 
19.)  those  of  the  temple,  where  the  righteous,  the 
saints,  true  Israelites,  pay  their  vows  and  praises  to 
God  ;  where  none  enter  but  purified  Israelites — a  na- 
tion of  righteous  men. 

GATH,  (a  ivine-press,)  acity  of  the  Philistines,  and 
one  of  their  five  principalities;  (1  Sam.  v.  8  ;  vi.  17.) 
was  famous  for  having  given  birth  to  Goliath.  It  was 
18  miles  south  of  Jopjia,  and  32  Avest  of  Jerusalem. 
David  conquered  Gath  in  the  beginning  of  his  reign 
over  all  Israel,  (1  Sam.  xvii.  52.)  and  it  con'tinued 
subject  to  his  successors  till  the  declension  of  the 
kingdom  of  Judah,  2  Sam.  viii.  1.  Rehoboam  re- 
built or  fortified  it,  (2  Chron.  xi.  8.)  and  it  was  after- 
wards recovered  by  the  Philistines,  but  Uzziah  re- 
conquered it.  Josephus  makes  it  part  of  the  tribe  of 
Dan.  Metheg  or  Metheg-Ammah  (Metheg  the 
Mother)  of  2  Sam.  viii.  1,  is  explained  in  1  Chron. 
xviii.  1,  by — "  Gath  and  her  daughters  ;"  Gath  being 
the  mother,  and  Metheg  the  daughter.  Or  it  may 
be,  that  the  district  of  Gath,  and  its  dependencies, 
was  in  David's  titne  called  Metheg-Anunah  ;  which, 
being  unusual,  or  becoming  obsolete,  the  author  of 
the  Chronicles  explains  it  to  be  Gath  and  its  villages. 

Jerome  says,  there  was  a  large  town  called  Gath, 
in  the  way  from  Eleutheropolis  to  Gaza;  and  Euse- 
bius  speaks  of  another  Gath,  five  miles  from  Eleu- 
theropolis, towards  Lydda,  and,  consequently,  differ- 
ent from  that  of  which  Jerome  speaks.  The  former 
author,  also,  s|)('akiMg  of  (iath-Hepher,  the  place  of 
the  pro|)liet  Jonah's  i)irtli,  says,  it  was  called  Gath- 
Hepher,  or  Gath  in  the  district  of  Hephcr,  to  distin- 
guish it  from  others  of  the  s;unc  name.  Gath  signi- 
fies a  wine-press;  wherefore  it  is  no  wonder  that  we 
find  several  places  of  this  name  in  Palestine,  where 
wine-presses  were  common.  Calmct,  who  is  follow- 
ed by  many  subsequent  writers,  makes  Gath  to  be 
the  most  southern  city  of  the  Philistines,  and  Ekron 
the  most  northern;  when  he  supposes  that  Ekron 
and  Gath  an'  placed  as  the  boundaries  of  their  land, 


1  Sam.  v.  8,  10  ;  xvii.  52.  But,  as  Mr.  Conder  re- 
marks, this  phrase  may  be  more  properly  interpreted 
as  intimating  that  Gath  was  the  south-eastern  border, 
as  Ekron  was  the  north-eastern  ;  and  this  much  better 
accords  \vith  the  sense  of  the  passages.  David  had 
a  company  of  Gittite  guards. 

GATH-HEPHER  was  the  birth-place  of  the 
prophet  Jonah,  2  Kings  xiv.  25.  Joshua  (xix.  13.) 
places  it  in  Zebulun ;  and  Jerome  says  it  was  two 
miles  from  Sephoris,  or  Diocesarea,  on  the  way  to- 
wards Tiberias. 

GATH-RIMMON,  the  wine-press  of  Rimmon,  or  of 
the  deity,  whose  symbol  was  the  pomegranate. — I.  A 
city  of  Dan,  (Josh.  xix.  45.)  which  Jerome  places  ten 
miles  from  Diospolis,  towards  Eleutheropolis.  It 
was  given  to  the  Korathites. — II.  A  town  in  the 
half-tribe  of  Manasseh,  west  of  Jordan ;  given  to  the 
Korathites,  Josh.  xxi.  25. — III.  A  city  of  Ephraim, 
given  to  the  Korathites,  1  Chron.  vi.  G9. 

GAULAN,  or  Golan,  a  city  of  Bashan,  from  which 
the  small  province  of  Gaulanitis  was  named.  It  was 
given  to  the  half-tribe  of  Manasseh,  (Deut.  iv.  43.)  but 
was  ceded  to  the  Levites  of  Gershom's  family,  and 
became  a  city  of  refuge,  Josh.  xxi.  27.  Eusebius 
says,  that  in  his  time,  the  city  of  Gaulan  was  still  con- 
siderable, but  he  does  not  exactly  describe  its  situa- 
tion. It  was  in  Upper  Galilee,  and  Judas  of  Gaulan, 
head  of  the  Galileans,  was  a  native  of  it. 

GAZA,  or  AzzAH,  (Gen.  x.  19.)  a  city  of  the  Phi- 
listines, given  by  Joshua  to  Judah,  Josh.  xv.  47  ;  1 
Sam.  vi.  17.  It  was  one  of  the  five  principalities  of 
the  Philistines,  towards  the  southern  extremity  of 
Canaan.  It  was  situated  between  Raphia  and  Aske- 
lon,  about  60  miles  south-west  of  Jerusalem.  Its 
advantageous  situation  exposed  it  to  many  revolu- 
tions. It  belonged  to  the  Philistines  ;  then  to  the 
Hebrews ;  recovered  its  liberty  in  the  reigns  of  Jo- 
tham  and  Ahaz  ;  but  was  leconquered  by  Hezekiah, 

2  Kings  xviii.  8.  It  was  subject  to  the  Chaldeans, 
with  Syria  and  Phoenicia ;  and  afterwards  to  the 
Persians,  and  the  Egyptians,  who  held  it  when  Alex- 
ander Jannanis  besieged,  took,  and  destroyed  it,  ante 
A.  D.  98.  (See  Ze])h.  ii.  4.)  A  new  town  was  after- 
wards built,  nearer  to  the  sea,  which  is  now  existing. 
Luke  speaks  (Acts  viii.  2(5.)  of  Gaza  as  a  desert 
place ;  meaning,  most  probably,  the  greater  Gaza, 
situated  on  a  mountain  twenty  iniles  from  the  sea; 
not  Little  Gaza,  or  Majunia,  which  A\as  very  popu- 
lous. Diodorus  Siculus  mentions  old  Gaza,  and 
Strabo  notices  "  Gaza  the  desert,"  which  agrees  with 
Acts  viii.  26.  The  emperor  Constantinegave  Maju- 
ma  the  name  ofConstantia,  in  honor  of  his  son  ;  and 
granted  it  the  honors  and  privileges  of  a  city,  inde- 
pendent on  Gaza.  The  emperor  Julian  deprived  it 
both  of  its  name  and  its  jirivileges. 

Gaza  was  a  city  of  great  antiquity  ;  being  noticed 
among  those  cities  which  marked  the  boundaries  of 
the  Canaanite  territory.  It  was  a  frontier  defence 
against  Egypt,  and  has  at  all  times  been  a  town  of 
importance. 

The  rabbins  mention  a  street  outside  the  city  of 
Gaza,  where  were  shambles  and  an  idol  temyile  ;  as 
also  a  place  called  the  Leper's  (Cloister.  See  2  Kings 
vii.  3,  &c.  Dr.  Wittman  gives  the  following  de- 
scrij)liou  of  the  modern  town  : — 

"Gaza  is  situated  on  an  eminence,  and  is  rendered 
picturesque  by  the  number  of  fine  minarets  which 
rise  majestically  above  the  Iniildings,  and  by  the 
beautifiil  date-trees  interspersed.  A  very  fine  {)lain 
commences  about  three  miles  from  the  town,  on  the 
other  side,  in  which  are  several  groves  of  olive-trees. 


GEB 


[  449  ] 


GEB 


Advancing  toward  Gaza,  the  view  becomes  still  more 
interesting  ;  the  groves  of  olive-trees  extending  to  the 
town,  in  front  of  which  is  a  fine  avenue  of  these  trees. 
About  a  mile  distant  from  the  town  is  a  commanding 
height.  The  soil  in  the  neighborhood  is  of  a  superi 
or  quality.  Much  pasturage.  On  the  east  side  of 
the  town  is  a  small  gateway,  near  to  wliich,  it  is  said, 
Samson  performed  his  exploit  of  carrying  away  the 
gate  of  the  city  ;  and  where  he  threw  down  the 
building  which  killed  him  and  his  adversaries.  The 
suburbs  of  Gaza  are  composed  of  wretched  mud 
huts  ;  but  the  interior  of  the  town  contains  buildings 
superior  in  appearance  to  those  generally  met  with 
in  Syria.  The  streets  are  of  a  moderate  breadth : 
many  fragments  of  statues,  columns,  &c.  of  marble, 
arc  seen  in  the  town  walls  and  other  buildings.  Oph- 
thalmia and  blindness  are  very  prevalent.  The  sub- 
urbs and  environs  of  Gaza  are  rendered  extremely 
agreeable  by  a  number  of  large  gardens,  cultivated 
with  great  care,  on  the  north,  south,  .ind  west  of  the 
town.  Plantations  of  date-trees,  also,  are  numerous. 
The  landing  place  of  Gaza  is  an  open  beach,  highly 
dangerous  to  boats,  especially  if  laden,  a  heavy  surf 
constantly  beating  on  the  shore.  Quails  are  very 
abundant  in  the  neighborhood." 

Gaza  distinguishes  itself  on  its  medals  as  sacred, 
and  an  asylum.     Some  of  them  have  a  key  of  a  pe- 
culiar sha]:)e,  which  seems  to  have  been  the  appro- 
priate symbol  of  the  city.     It  is  possible  that,  beside 
the  character  of  this  city,  as  the  key  of  Syria  towards 
Egj'pt,  which  it  really  is,  the  inhabitants  might  boast 
of  the  excellence  of  a  kind  of  key  or  bolt  which  was 
proper  to  it.     Whether  such  might  or  might  not  be 
the  fact,  this  representation  may  perhaps  illustrate  a 
circumstance  mentioned  in  Judges  xvi.  2.     The  Ga- 
zaites  laid  wait  (or  snares)  for  Samson,  all  night,  in 
the  gate  of  the  city,  and  were  quiet,  depending  on  the 
impossibility  of  his  opening  the  bolt  of  their  city  door 
— but  Samson,  at  midnight,  took  away  the  doors — 
the  two  posts — BAR  (bolt)  and  all — which  had  been 
the  reliance  of  the  Gazaites  for  securing  him.     This 
bolt  is  what  Mr.  Taylor  thinks  appears  on  the  medals 
of  Gaza.     The  middle  bar  of  the  instrument  is  rep- 
resented as  shooting  through  that  which  crosses  it ; 
and  this  is  precisely  the  application  elsewhere  of  the 
word  rendered  bar  in  this  passage,  as  appears  from 
Exod.  xxxvi.  33.  "  He  made  the  middle  bar  to  shoot 
through  the  boards  from  one  end  to  the  other,"  which 
is  otherwise  phrased,  chap.  xxvi.  28,  "  the  middle  bar 
in  the  midst  of  the  boards  shall  reach  from  end  to 
end."     These  two  ideas  are  very  consistent ;  for  if 
Gaza  prided  itself  on  being  the  key  of  Syria,  no  doubt 
but  it  would  denote  this  character  by  employing  on 
its  medals  a  key  of  that  kind,  which  it  considered  as 
the  most  secure  and  substantial.     In  modern  times, 
the  arms  of  Gibraltar  have  been  a  key,  that  town 
having  been  formerly  esteemed  the  key  of  Spain. 
GAZELLE,  see  Antelope. 
GEBA.    By  comparing  2  Sam.  v.  25.  with  1  Chron. 
xiv.  16,  we  find  apparently  the  same  place  called 
Geba  and  Gibeon  ;  for  David  is  said,  in  Samuel,  to 
smite  the  Philistines  from  Geber  to  Gazer,  which  in 
Chronicles  is,  "  from  Gibeon  even  to  Gazer."     That, 
however,  they  were  not  the  same  city  is  manifest  from 
Josh.  xxi.  17,  whore  "  Gibeon  with  her  suburbs  and 
Geba  with  her  suburbs,"  are  said  to  be  given  to  the 
Levites.     They  probably  lay  not  far  distant  from  one 
another.  ;Sce  Gibeon.)     That  Geba  is  not  the  same 
place  as  Gibeah  of  Saul,  appears  from  Isaiah  x.  29. 
"  They  have  taken  up  quarters  at  Geba  ;  Raniath  is 
afraid  ;  Gibeah  of  Saul  is  fled."     Gibeah  was  near 


Ramah,  (Judg.  xix.  13;  comp.  Hos.  v.  8.)  but  it  ap- 
pears, that  Geba  is  culled  "  Geba  of  Benjamin  "  in  1 
Kings  XV.  22,  though  Geba  simply,  in  the  parallel 
passage,  (2  Chron.  xvi.  6.)  on  occasion  of  its  being 
mentioned  among  the  cities  rebuilt  by  Asa.  Geba 
seems  to  have  been  the  northern  limit  of  the  kingdom 
of  Judah,  (2  Kings  xxiii.  8.)  "  From  Geba  to  Beer- 
sheba,"  seems  to  be,  with  respect  to  Judah,  of  the 
same  import  as  "  from  Dan  to  Beersheba"  had  been, 
with  respect  to  all  Israel,  when  under  one  dominion. 

I.  GEBAL,  a  district,  or  perhaps  a  sovereignty, 
south  of  Judah,  and  in  south  Idumea.  Gebal  signifies 
a  mountain ;  and  the  denomination  of  Gebal  is  not 
ancient,  since  it  appears  only  in  Psalm  Ixxxiii.  which 
was  written,  probably,  m  the  time  of  Jehoshaphat, 
king  of  Judah.  The  country  south  of  the  Dead  sea 
and  on  the  east  of  El  Ghor,  or  great  valley,  bears  the 
same  name  to  the  j)resent  day,  Djebal,  i.  e.  the  ancient 
Gebal,  or  the  Gebalene  of  the  Romans.  See  Burck- 
hardt's  Trav.  in  Syr.  p.  401,  seq.  (See  under  Exodus.) 

II.  GEBAL,  a  city  of  Phoenicia,  between  Sidon 
and  Orthosia,  on  the  shore  of  the  Mediterranean, 
(Ezek.  xxvii.  9.)  written  by  Stephens,  Ptolemy,  and 
Strabo,  Gabala ;  by  Pliny,  Gabale  ;  and  by  the  LXX, 
Byblus.  The  city  of  Gebal  has  the  important  office 
of  "  calkers"  to  the  ships  of  Tyre  assigned  to  it  by 
the  prophet  Ezekiel ;  its  chiefs  are  also  character- 
ized as  wise. 

This  city  was  famous  for  its  worship  of  Adonis, 
who  was  believed  to  have  been  wounded  by  a  boar 
in  mount  Libanus.  The  river  Adonis,  whose  waters 
are  at  some  seasons  as  red  as  blood,  passes  by  it ; 
and  when  this  phenomenon  appeared,  the  inhabitants 
lamented  Adonis,  pretending  their  river  to  be  colored 
with  his  blood.     See  Adonis. 

The  best  modern  description  of  this  city  is  given 
by  Mr.  Maundrell,  who  calls  it  Jebilee :  "Jebilee  is 
seated  close  by  the  sea,  having  a  vast  and  fruitful 
plain  stretching  round  it,  on  its  other  sides.  It  makes 
a  very  mean  figure  at  present ;  though  it  still  retains 
the  distinction  of  a  city,  and  discovers  evident  foot- 
steps of  a  better  condition  in  former  times.  In  the 
time  of  the  Greek  emperors,  it  was  dignified  with  a 
bishop's  see,  in  which  some  time  sate  Severiau,  the 
grand  adversary  and  arch-conspirator  against  Chry- 
sostom.  The  most  remarkable  things  that  appear 
here  at  this  day,  are  a  mosque,  and  an  almshouse 
just  by  it,  both  built  by  sultan  Ibrahim.  In  the  for- 
mer his  body  is  deposited.  We  were  admitted  to 
see  his  tomb,  though  held  by  the  Turks  in  great  ven- 
eration. We  found  it  only  a  great  wooden  chest, 
erected  over  his  grave,  and  covered  with  a  carpet  of 
painted  calico,  extending  on  all  sides  down  to  the 
ground.  In  tliis  mosque  we  saw  several  large  in- 
cense pots,  candlesticks  for  altars,  and  church  furni- 
ture, being  the  spoils  of  Christian  churches  at  the 
taking  of  Cy|)rus.  Close  by  the  mosque  is  a  very 
beautiful  bagnio,  and  a  small  grove  of  orange-trees, 
under  the  shade  of  which  travellers  are  wont  to  pitch 
their  tents  in  the  summer  time.  Jebilee  seems  to 
have  had  anciently  some  convenience  for  shipping. 
There  is  still  to  be  seen  a  ridge  composed  of  huge 
square  stones,  running  a  little  way  into  the  sea,  which 
api)ears  to  have  been  formerly  continued  further  on, 
and  to  have  had  a  mole.  Near  this  place  we  saw  a 
great  many  pillars  of  granite,  some  by  the  water  side, 
others  tumbled  into  the  water.  There  were  others 
in  a  garden  close  by,  together  with  capitals  of  white 
marble,  finely  varied :  which  testify,  in  some  meas- 
ure, the  ancient  splendor  of  this  city.  But  the  most 
considerable  antiquity  in  Jebilee,  and  greatest  mon- 


GEH 


[  450 


GEN 


ument  of  its  former  eminency,  is  the  remains  of  a 
noble  theatre,  just  at  the  north  gate  of  the  city.  All 
of  it  that  is  now  standing  is  the  semicircle.  It  extends 
from  corner  to  corner,  just  a  hundred  yards.  In  this 
semicircular  part  is  a  range  of  seventeen  round  win- 
dows, just  above  the  ground;  and  berween  the  win- 
dows all  round  were  raised,  on  high  pedestals,  lai-ge 
massy  pillars,  standing  as  buttresses  against  the  wall, 
both  for  the  strength  and  ornament  of  the  fabric  ;  but 
these  supporters  are  at  present  most  of  them  broken 
down.  Within  is  a  very  large  arena.  On  the  west 
side  the  seats  of  the  spectators  remain  still  entire,  as 
do  likewise  the  caves  or  vaults  which  run  under  the 
subsellia  all  round  the  theatre.  The  outward  wall  is 
three  yards  three  quarters  thick,  and  built  of  very 
large  and  firm  stones  ;  which  gi-eat  strength  has  pre- 
served it  thus  long  from  the  jaws  of  time,  and  from 
that  general  ruin  which  the  Turks  bring  with  them 
into  most  places  where  they  come." 

GEBER,  son  of  Uri,  governor  of  Gilead,  in  the 
reign  of  Solomon,  1  Kings  iv.  19. 

I.  GEDALIAH,  son  of  Ahikam,  was  made  gov- 
ernor of  Palestine,  by  Nebuchadnezzar,  after  the  de- 
struction of  Jerusalem  and  the  temple  ;  (Jer.  xl.  xli. 
2  Kings  XXV.  22.)  A.  M.  3416.  Jeremiah  and  many 
Jews  who  had  fled  into  Moab  and  Amnion,  retired 
to  him  at  3Iizpah.  Gedaliah  assured  them  of  Nebu- 
chadnezzar's protection,  on  condition  that  they  lived 
peaceably.  Ishmael,  son  of  Nethaniah,  of  the  royal 
family  of  Judah,  having  been  entertained  at  the  table 
of  Gedaliah,  the  prince  and  his  associates  massacred 
him,  and  all  about  him,  as  well  Jews  as  Chaldeans. 

II.  GEDALIAH,  son  of  Amariah,  and  grandfa- 
ther of  the  prophet  Zephaniah,  Zeph.  i.  1. 

GEDER.  This  word  signifies  a  wcdl,  enclosure, 
fortified  place  ;  as  do  also  the  names  in  the  following 
articles,  which  are  all  derived  from  it.  Geder  itself 
was  an  ancient  Canaanitish  place,  in  the  plain  of 
Judah,  (Josh.  xii.  13  ;)  and  was  probably  the  same 
with  the  following  Gederah.     R. 

GEDERAH,  a  city  in  the  plain  of  Judah,  (Josh. 
XV.  36.)  probably  the  same  with  the  preceding  Ge- 
der, and  with  Beth-Gader,  1  Chron.  ii.  51.  It  would 
thence  seem  to  have  pertained  to  the  family  of 
Caleb.     R. 

GEDEROTH,  a  place  in  the  tribe  of  Judah,  Josh. 
XV.  41 ;  2  Chron.  xxviii.  18.     R. 

GEDEROTHAIM,  a  place  in  the  plain  of  Judah, 
Josh.  XV.  36.     R. 

GEDOR,  a  city  apparently  in  the  sovuh  of  the 
mountains  of  Judah,  surrounded  by  fat  pastures,  and 
formerly  occupied  by  the  Anialekites  ;  1  Chi'on.  iv. 
39  seq.  xii.  7  ;  Josh.  xv.  58.  It  is  also  the  name  of  a 
man,  1  Chron.  viii.  31  ;  ix.  37.     R. 

GEHAZI,  Elisha's  servant,  almost  continually  at- 
tended that  prophet,  and  was  concerned  in  whatever 
happened  to  him  ;  till  being  overcome  by  avarice,  he 
solicited,  and  obtained,  in  the  prophet's  name,  from 
Naaman  the  Syrian,  a  talent  of  silver,  and  two 
changes  of  garments,  2  Kings  v.  20.  His  avarice, 
however,  was  punished,  for  he  was  seized  with  a 
leprosy,  and  quitted  Elisha,  The  king  of  Israel 
would  sometimes  make  Gehazi  relate  the  wonders 
which  God  had  wrought  by  Elisha,  2  Kings  viii.  4, 
5,  &r.     See  Elisha. 

GEHENNA,  or  Gehen.vom,  or  valley  of  Hinnom  ; 
or  valley  of  the  son  of  Hinnom,  (see  Josh.  xv.  8  ; 
2  Kings  xxiii.  10.  Heb.)  a  valley  adjacent  to  Jerusa- 
lem, through  which  the  southern  limits  of  the  tribe 
of  Benjamin  passed.  Eusebius  says,  it  lay  east  of 
Jerusalem,  at  the  foot  of  its  walls ;  but  we  are  cer- 


tain it  also  extended  south,  along  the  brook  Kedron. 
It  is  thought  to  have  been  the  common  sewer  be- 
longing to  Jerusalem,  and  that  a  fire  was  always 
burning  there  to  consume  the  filth  of  the  city.  In 
allusion  to  this  circumstance,  or  to  the  fire  kept  up  in 
the  valley  in  honor  of  Moloch,  the  false  god,  to  whom 
the  Hebrews  frequently  offered  human  sacrifices, 
and  even  their  own  children,  (Jer.  vii.  31.)  hell  is 
called  Gehenna,  in  some  parts  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment. Josiah,  to  poUute  this  place,  and  render  it 
odious,  commanded  all  manner  of  ordure,  and  dead 
men's  bones,  to  be  thrown  into  it,  2  Kings  xxiii.  10. 

After  having  been  the  scene  of  much  cruelty,  then 
Gehenna  became  the  receptacle  of  much  pollution  ; 
so  far  it  coincided  in  character  with  hell  ;  and  the 
perpetual  fires  that  were  kept  burning  there  to  con- 
sume the  filth  of  the  city,  added  another  similarity 
to  those  evils  attributed  to  the  place  of  torment.  The 
combined  ideas  of  wickedness,  pollution,  and  pun- 
ishment, compose  that  character  which  might  well 
justify  the  Syriac  language  in  deriving  its  name  of 
hell  from  this  valley  of  the  sons  of  Hinnom.  (Comp. 
Matt.  V.  22.) 

[The  name  rsina,  Gehenna,  properly  signifies  the 
valley  of  Hinnom,  djh  .vj,  Ghe-Hinnom,  (Jer.  vii.  31.)  a 
valley  just  south  of  Jerusalem,  running  westward 
from  the  valley  of  the  Cedron,  well  watered,  and  in 
ancient  times,  most  verdant  and  delightfully  shaded 
with  trees.  It  was  here  that  the  idolatrous  Israel- 
ites established  the  worship  of  Moloch,  under  the 
form  of  a  brazen  image  having  the  face  of  a  bull  ; 
and  to  this  image  they  offered  their  own  children  in 
sacrifice,  causing  them  to  be  consumed  in  a  furnace  of 
fire  into  which  they  dropped  from  the  arms  of  the 
idol ;  1  Kings  xi.  7  ;  2  Kings  xvi.  3.  The  valley  is 
also  called  pdp,  Tophet,  (Jer.  vii.  31,)  from  the  drums, 
rjn,  Qion,  which  were  beaten  to  drown  the  cries  of  the 
victims.  After  the  captivity,  the  Jews  regarded  this 
spot  with  abhorrence,  on  account  of  the  abomina- 
tions which  had  been  practised  there,  and  following 
the  example  of  Josiah,  (2  Kings  xxiii.  10.)  they  threw 
into  it  every  species  of  filth,  as  well  as  the  carcasses 
of  animals  and  the  dead  bodies  of  malefactors,  etc. 
To  prevent  the  pestilence  which  such  a  mass  would 
occasion  if  left  to  putrify,  constant  fires  were  main- 
tained in  the  valley  in  order  to  consume  the  whole  ; 
and  hence  the  place  received  the  appellation  of  Ge- 
henna of  fire.  By  an  easy  metaphor,  the  Jews,  who 
could  imagine  no  severer  torment  than  that  of  fire, 
transferred  this  name  to  the  infernal  fire, — to  that 
part  of  Hades  in  which  they  supposed  that  demons 
and  the  souls  of  wicked  men  were  punished  in  eter- 
nal fire.  (See  Jahn,  §  411.  Wetstein  N.  T.  tom.  i.  p. 
299.)     R. 

I.  GEMARIAH,  son  of  Hilkiah,  was  sent  to  Baby- 
lon with  Elasah,  son  of  Shaphan,  from  Zedekiah, 
king  of  Judah,  to  carry  the  tribute-money  to  Nebu- 
chadnezzar. They  carried  also  a  letter  from  Jere- 
miah to  the  Jewish  captives  at  Babylon,  warning 
them  against  certain  false  prophets,  who  flattered 
them  with  promises  of  a  speedy  return  to  Judea  ; 
(Jer.  xxix.  3,  4.)  about  A.  M.  3408. 

II.  GEMARIAH,  the  son  of  Shaphan,  and  a 
counsellor  to  Jchoiakim,  before  whom  Baruch  read 
Jeremiah's  prophecies ;  and  who  reported  them  to 
the  king,  Jer.  xxxvi.  12. 

GENEALOGY.  Never  was  a  nation  more  cir- 
cumspect about  their  genealogies  than  the  Hebrews. 
We  find  them  in  their  sacred  writings  carried  on  for 
upwards  of  3500  years.  In  the  evangelists  we  have 
the   genealogy  of  Christ,  for  four  thousand  years, 


GENEALOGY 


[  451 


GENEALOGY 


from  Adam  to  Joseph  his  father,  aud  to  Mary  his 
mother.  It  is  observed  in  Ezra  ii.  62,  that  such 
priests  as  could  not  produce  an  exact  genealogy  of 
their  families,  were  not  permitted  to  exercise  their 
sacred  functions ;  and  Josephus  says,  that  they  had 
an  uninterrupted  succession  of  priests  for  2000 
years  ;  that  the  priests  were  particularly  careful  to 
presers^e  their  genealogies,  not  only  in  Judea,  but 
wherever  they  were.  They  never  married  but  into 
their  own  rank,  and  they  had  exact  genealogical  tables, 
prepared  from  those  authentic  documents  which  were 
kept  at  Jerusalem,  and  to  which  they  had  recourse. 

It  is  observable  that  the  genealogies  recorded  by 
Ezra  and  Nehemiah  vary  in  some  paiticulars ;  the 
reason  of  which  is  thus  assigned  byPrideaux:  "For 
the  true  settUng  of  these  genealogies,  search  was 
made  by  Nehemiah  for  old  registers,  and  having 
among  them  found  a  register  of  the  genealogies  of 
those  who  came  up  at  first  from  Babylon,  with  Ze- 
rubbabel  and  Joshua,  he  settled  this  matter  accord- 
ing to  that,  adding  such  as  afterwards  came  up,  and 
expunging  others  whose  families  were  extinguished : 
and  this  hath  caused  the  differences  between  the 
accounts  which  we  have  of  these  genealogies  in 
Ezra  and  Nehemiah.  For  in  the  second  chapter  of 
Ezra,  we  have  the  old  register,  made  by  Zerubbabel ; 
and  in  the  seventh  of  Nehemiah,  from  the  sixth 
verse  to  the  end  of  the  chapter,  we  have  a  copy  of 
it  as  settled  by  Nehemiah,  with  the  alterations!  have 
mentioned."     (Connect.  &c.  part  i.  book  iv.) 

Since  the  last  war  of  the  Romans  against  the  Jews, 
about  thirty  years  after  the  death  of  our  Saviour,  and 
particularly  since  their  dispersion  in  the  reign  of 
Adrian,  they  have  lost  their  ancient  genealogies  ;  and 
perhaps  not  even  one  of  the  sacerdotal  race  can 
produce  his  pedigree. 

Genealogy  of  Jesus  Christ. — The  variations  in  the 
genealogical  tables  of  Matthew  and  Luke  have  been 
discussed  by  almost  every  commentator  from  the 
earliest  times,  and  different  methods  have  been  pro- 
posed for  their  solution.  It  is  obviously  impossible, 
however,  within  the  limits  of  an  article  of  any  rea- 
sonable length,  in  a  work  like  the  present,  even  to 
enumerate  the  various  hypotheses  that  have  been  ad- 
vanced on  the  subject.  One  thing  is  certain  ; — that 
they  were  derived  from  authentic  sources,  and  were 
at  least  sufficiently  accurate  to  satisfy  the  persons 
for  whom  they  were  more  especially  designed.  It 
cannot  be  believed  for  a  moment,  that  in  an  affair  of 
60  much  importance  as  that  of  an  exhibition  of  the 
evidence  by  which  the  descent  of  Jesus  from  Abra- 
ham and  David  was  to  be  proved,  upon  which,  in 
fact,  his  official  character  depended,  and  in  which  a 
single  error,  accidental  or  otherwise,  would  have 
been  fatal — it  cannot  be  believed  that  here  the  evan- 
gelists would  either  have  copied  incorrectly,  or  have 
wilfully  falsified.  Had  they  done  so,  the  public  regis- 
tries, which  were  open  to  inspection,  would  have 
enabled  any  one  to  expose  the  fraud ;  and  we  may 
be  sure  that  among  the  enemies  of  the  Redeemer, 
men  who  denied  his  Messiahship,  many  would  have 
been  found  to  undertake  that  which  would  so  com- 
pletely effect  their  wishes.  That  no  such  attempts 
were  made,  furnishes  a  sufllicient  guarantee  of  the 
accuracy  of  these  tables,  whatever  difficulties  they 
may  present  to  modem  readers. 

In  the  article  Generatio:^,  Mr.  Taylor  has  sug- 
gested a  different  idea  of  the  fourteen  generations 
of  Matthew  to  that  generally  entertained  ;  yet  being 
desirous  of  doing  justice  to  other  modes  of  deter- 
mining  those  generations,  he  gives    the  following 


comparative  Genealogy.  [The  following  compara- 
tive table  IS  constructed  on  the  hypothesis,  that  Mat- 
thew gives  the  genealogy  of  our  Saviour  through 
Joseph  his  father ;  while  Luke  exhibits  that  of  his 
mother  Mary.     R. 

These  names,  Luke  (iii.  34—38.)  reckons  alone  ;  going  back  twenty 
degrees  higher  in  the  genealogy  of  Jesus  than  Matthew ;  that  it, 


from  Abraham  to  Adam 

1  Adam. 

2  Seth. 

3  Enos. 

4  Cainan. 

5  Mehalaleel. 

6  Jared. 

7  Enoch. 

8  Methuselah. 

9  Lamech. 
10  Noah. 


GOD. 


11  Shem. 

12  Arphaxad. 

13  Selah. 

14  Heber. 

15  Peleo. 

16  Reu. 

17  Serug. 

18  Nahor. 

19  Terah. 


Matthew   (i.  1—16.)  and  Luke  (iii.  31—34.)  reckon    together 
natural  line  of  Jesua,  from  Abraham  to  David,  as  follows : 


the 


1  ABRAHAM. 

2  Isaac. 

3  Jacob. 

4  JUDAH. 

5  Pharez. 

6  Hesron. 

7  Aram. 

8  Aminadab. 

9  Nahshon. 

10  Salmon. 

11  BOAZ. 

12  Obed. 

13  Jesse. 

14  David. 


20  ABRAHAM. 

21  Isaac 

22  Jacob. 

23  Jcdah. 

24  Pharez. 

25  Hesron. 

«U  iVRAM. 

27  Aminadab. 

28  Nahshon. 

29  Salmon. 

30  BoAZ. 

31  Obed. 

32  Jesse. 

33  David. 


Thejirst  14  generations  mentioned  by  Matthew. 


Matthew  (i.  13—16.)  reckons 
in  this  line  the  ancestors  of 

Joseph. 


Luke  (iii.  33.)  reckon! 
in  this  Line  the  ancet- 
tors  of  Mary. 

34  Nathan. 

35  3Iattatha. 

36  Menan. 

37  Meleah. 

38  Eliakim. 

39  JONAN. 

40  Joseph. 

41  Judah. 

42  Simeon. 

43  Levi. 

44  Matthat. 

45  JORIM. 

46  Eliezer. 

47  JosEs. 

48  Er. 

49  Elmodam. 

50  COSAM. 

The  second  14  generations  mentioned  by  Matthew. 

1  Jechoniah,  dying  childless,  his    51  Addi. 

son,  or  nearest  of  kin,  according    52  Melchi. 

to  Numb,  xxviii.  8 — 11,  is  to  be    53  Neri. 

sought  in 2  54  Salathiel.* 

3  55  Zerubbabel. 
7%e  regal  line  of  Solomon  ends. 


1  Solomon. 

2  Rehoboam. 

3  Abijah. 

4  Asa. 

5  Jehoshaphat. 

6  Jehoram. 

Ahaziah.  ^ 

omitted 

Joash.       > 

by 

Amaziah.  5 

Matthew. 

7  UZZIAH. 

8  JOTHAM. 

9  Ahaz. 

10  Hezekiah. 

11  Manasseh. 

12  Ammon. 

13  JOSIAH. 

14  Jehoiakim. 

*  Where  Luke  (iii.  27.)  calls  Salathielson  of  Neri,  understand  tha 
natural  son. 

Where  Matthew  (i.  12.)  calls  Salathiel  son  of  Jechoniah,  under- 
stand his  legal  son,  succeeding  as  nearest  of  kin  ;  perhaps,  alio,  by 
adoption.    See  Apoptiow. 


GEN 


452 


GENERATION 


4  Abiud. 

5  Eliakim. 

6  AZAR. 

7  Zadoc. 

8  ACHIM. 

9  Eliud. 

10  Eleazar. 

11  Matthan. 

12  Jacob. 

13  JOSEPH.* 

Ajuuit  man  of  the  house 
and  linenae  of  David. 
(Matt.  i.  19.  Luke  ii.  4.) 


56  Rhesa. 

57  Joanna. 

58  JUDAH. 

59  Joseph. 

60  Shemei. 

61  Mattathiah. 

62  Maath. 

63  Naggai. 

64  EsTi. 

65  Nahum. 

66  Amos. 

67  Mattathiah. 

68  Joseph. 

69  Jannah. 

70  Melchi. 

71  Levi. 

72  Matthat. 

73  Heli. 

74  MARY. 

.■?  x-irgiti  of  the 
house  of  David. 
(Luke  i.  27.) 


14  JESUS  CHRIST.  75  from  ADAM. 

The  third  14  generations  mentioned  by  Matthew. 

*  Where  Luke  (iii.  23.)  calls  Joseph  son  of  Heli>  understand  liis 
son-in-law  by  marriage  of  his  daughter  Mary  ;  but  not  excluding 
adoption.     See  Adoption. 


GENERATION.  Besides  the  common  accept- 
ation of  this  word,  as  signifying  race,  descent,  lineage, 
it  is  used  for  the  history  and  genealogy  of  a  person  ; 
as  Gen.  v.  1.  "  The  book  of  the  generations  of  Ad- 
am," i.  e.  the  history  of  Adam's  creation  and  of  his 
posterity.  So  Gen.  ii.  4,  "  Tlie  generations  of  the 
lieavens  and  of  the  earth,"  i.  e.  their  genealogy,  so  to 
speak,  the  history  of  the  creation  of  heaven  and  earth. 
Matt.  i.  1,  "The  book  of  the  generation  of  Jesus 
Christ,"  i.  e.  the  genealogy  of  Jesus  Christ,  the  histo- 
ry of  his  descent  and  life. 

"  The  present  generation"  comprises  all  those  who 
are  now  alive.  M.att.  xxiv.  34.  "  This  generation 
shall  not  pass  away,  till  all  iw  fulfilled ;"  some  now 
living  shall  witness  the  event  foretold.  Acts  ii.  40. 
"  Save  yourselves  from  this  untoward  generation  ;" 
from  the  punishment  which  awaits  these  perverse 
men.— Sometimes  also  the  word  refei'S  toy^fure  ages  ; 
"To  generation  and  generation,"  i.  c.  to  future  ages ; 
Isaiah  Jiii.  8.  "Who  shall  declare  his  generation?" 
who  can  emnnerate  his  i)ostcrity  .''  i.  c.  He  was  cut 
off  by  an  untimely  death,  yet  his  posterity,  his  fol- 
lower.s,  shall  be  innumerable. 

The  Hebrews,  like  other  ancient \  nations,  some- 
times computed  loosely  by  generations.  Thus  Gen. 
XV.  16.  "  In  the  fomtli  generation  thy  descendants 
shall  come  hither  again."  Deut.  xxiii.  2.  "A  bastard 
shall  not  enter  into  the  congregation  of  the  Lord, 
even  to  his  tenth  generation."  The  duration  of  a 
gen«!ration  is  of  course  very  uncertain  ;  indeed,  it  is 
impossil)le  to  establish  any  precise  liniit.s.  Hence  it 
has  been  fixed  by  some  at  one  hundred  years;  by 
othera,  at  a  hundred  and  ten  ;  liy  others  at  thirty-three, 
thirty,  twenty-five,  and  even  twenty  years;  being 
neither  uniform  nor  settled.  It  is,  however,  gener- 
ally admitted,  that  a  generation  in  the  earliest  periods 
is  to  be  reckoned  longer  than  oni;  in  later  times. 

It  is  well  known  that  the  learned  have  been  much 
embarrassed  to  make  out  the  even  number  of  fourteen 
generations  in  the  genealogy  of  Christ,  reckoned  by 


the  evangelist  Matthew ;  (chap,  i.)  "  So  all  the  gen- 
erations from  Abraham  to  David,  are' fourteen  gen- 
erations ;  and  from  David  unto  the  Babylonish 
captivity,  are  fourteen  generations ;  and  from  the 
Babylonish  captivity  to  Christ,  a.ve  fourteen  genera- 
tions." Bishop  Pearce  proposes  to  read  ^^  seventeen 
generations"  in  the  second  number  ;  and  others  say, 
"Cut  out  the  whole."  Upon  this  perplexing  subject, 
Mr.  Taylor  has  the  following  remarks.  [These  re- 
marks are  suffered  to  remain  here,  although  they  are 
built  on  very  slight  foundations,  and  amount  to  nothing 
but  conjecture  after  all.  The  best  mode  of  recon- 
ciling the  two  genealogies  of  our  Lord  is  given 
above.  A  very  judicious  view  of  tlie  whole  subject, 
is  given  by  Newcome  in  the  notes  to  his  Harmony 
of  the  Gospels,  which  see.     R. 

It  is  notorious,  (1.)  that  three  princes  of  short 
reigns  are  omitted,  between  Jehoram  and  Uzziah,  in 
verse  8.  (2.)  Some  MSS.  in  order  to  make  up  the 
number  of  ybur^een  generations,  insert  in  verse  11. 
"  And  Jehoiakim  begat  Jechoniah."  (3.)  Other  va- 
riations of  the  numbers  of  these  generations,  are 
well  known  to  those  who  have  investigated  the  sub- 
ject. Now,  to  preserve  the  number  o?  fourteen  gen- 
erations in  each  class,  is  impossible,  if  we  adhere  to. 
the  historical  succession  of  the  kings,  and  refer  the 
word  "  generation"  to  natural  descent.  But  let  us 
see  the  consequences,  if  we  take  the  word  "  genera- 
tion" as  expressing  a  portion  of  time,  or  mean  of 
calculation,  by  the  general  (not  individual)  course  of 
human  life. 

"  From  Abraham  to  David  is  fourteen  generations." 
Now,  a  generation,  in  those  early  ages,  might  be 
taken  at  93,  80,  or  70  years,  in  the  former  part  of  the 
period  ;  and  60,  50,  or  40  years,  at  the  close  of  it. 
If  we  take  the  average,  or  medium,  it  will  be  65 
years — for  Abraham  was  born  about  ante  A.  D. 
1996,  and  David  ante  A.  D.  1085,  making  the  inter- 
val 911  years — which,  divided  by  fourteen,  gives 
full  sixty-five  years  to  a  generation.  That  about  70 
years  might  denote  a  generation,  in  the  days  of 
Abraham,  seems  probable  from  Gen.xv.  16.  "In  the 
fourth  generation — from  thy  posterity's  going  into 
Egypt,  or  sei-vitude — they  shall  return  to  Canaan;" 
the  interval  being  about  four  periods  of  70  years 
each,  i.  e.  280  years ;  for  Joseph  was  sold  ante  A.  D. 
1729,  and  Israel  entered  Canaan,  under  Joshua,  about 
ante  A.  D.  1451.  But  if  it  should  be  thought  a  gen- 
eration in  the  days  of  Abraham  extended  to  a  hun- 
dred years,  it  will  not  affect  the  argument ;  because 
human  life  was  proportionably  diminished  towards 
the  time  of  David. 

It  seems  that  forty  years  was  not  esteemed  to  be  a 
complete  generation  in  the  days  of  Moses,  since 
those  sinners  who  had  grieved  God  forty  years  in  the 
wilderness  (Psal.  xc\'.  10.)  are  considered  as  having 
been  cut  off  at  an  untimely  period  of  life.  From  the 
birth  of  David  to  tiie  Bal)ylonish  captivity,  the  medi- 
um of  fourteen  generations  approaches  very  near  to 
that  of  the  regular  estimate  of  generations  among  the 
ancients,  which  were  usually  reckoned  three  to  a 
century,  say  33  years.  In  this  interval  they  are 
about  36  years  ;  for  David  was  born  ante  A.  D.  1085, 
and  the  deportation  to  Babylon  was  ante  A.  D.  581. 
The  difference  is  about  504  years  ;  which,  divided  by 
fourteen,  gives  36  years  to  a  generation.  From  the 
Babylonian  captivity  to  Christ,  the  generations  are 
varied  to  forty  or  forty -one  years  each. 

Now  the  Messiah  was  restricted  by  divine  appoint- 
ment, (1.)  to  the  po.slcrity  of  Abraham.  (2.)  To  the 
family  of  David.  (3.)  To  the  then  existing  temple. 


t^ENERATlOK 


453 


GEINERATIUN 


The  preceding  calculations  are  Uiken  lioin  the 
beginning  of  the  respective  periods  mentioned  ;  but 
they  should  rather  be  taken  from  periods  more  im- 
mediately connected  with  the  pedigi-ee  of  tlie  Messi- 
aii.  As  liius  : — From  the  covenant  made  with  Abra- 
ham, including  "the  blessing  of  all  nations."  &c.  or 
from  the  birth  of  Isaac,  (ante  A.  D.  1893.)  to  the 
revival  of  this  promise,  and  the  fixing  of  Messiah  to 
the  family  of  David,  (2  Sam.  vii.  16.)  about  ante  A. 
D.  1044.  This  interval  is  850  years ;  which,  divided 
by  14,  gives  somewhere  about  60  years  to  a  genera- 
tion. From  the  promise  fixing  the  Messiah  in  the 
family  of  David,  [ante  A.  D.  1044,)  to  that  of  his 
coming  to  visit  his  people,  this  temple,  &c.  (ante  A.  D. 
520,) — the  next  great  promise,  at  the  commencement 
of  a  new  order  of  things,  attaching  the  Messiah  to 
place  and  time — the  interval  is  524  years ;  which  di- 
vided by  14,  gives  37  years  to  a  generation.  The 
remaining  520  years,  from  the  promise  made  in  hon- 
or of  the  second  temple,  till  Christ  was  brought  to 
that  temple,  evidently  gives  the  same  number  of  37 
years  to  a  generation. 

We  believe  it  is  usual  in  the  English  court  of 
chancery  to  reckon  generations  from  33  to  35  years, 
but  on  some  occasions  the  court  reckons  so  low  as 
30  years.  However,  in  estimating  the  genealogy 
given  by  Matthew,  we  do  not  seek  precisely  legal 
accuracy  ;  it  is  enough,  if  we  show  that  the  mode 
of  his  computation  may  be  explained,  without  refer- 
ring to  names  of  kings  or  descendants,  admitted  or 
omitted,  or  to  other  circumstances  which  have  per- 
plexed the  learned,  which  is  what  we  have  in  view. 

This  leads  to  a  tew  observations;  as,  (1.)  Our 
Lord  uses  tlie  term  generation  to  express  a  period  of 
about  36  or  37  yeai's,  when  he  says,  "Tliis  generation 
shall  not  be  passed  away  till  Jerusalem  be  destroyed  ;" 
say  A.  D.  70.  (2.)  That  fourteen  periods  of  37  years 
each,  reckoned  upwards  from  Ciirist,  bring  us  up  to 
the  consecration  of  the  second  temple,  being  about 
520  years.  (3.)  That  fourteen  periods  of  37  years 
each,  (524  years,)  from  the  consecration  of  the  sec- 
ond temple,  reckoned  upwards,  bring  us  to  that  pe- 
riod of  David's  reign,  when  he  received  the  promise 
that  the  Messiah  should  spring  from  his  family.  (4.) 
That  there  were  more  ways  than  one  of  calculating 
the  time  of  the  expected  coming  of  the  Messiah  ; 
and  that  ilie  vetus  et  consta7is  opinio  of  Suetonius  and 
Tacitus,  that  "about  this  time  the  king  of  the  Jews 
was  expected,"  had  more  (we  do  not  say  better) 
foundations  than  we  know  of,  or  are  aware  of:  and 
that  it  is  very  likely,  when  the  ancient  prophets  exam- 
ined to  what  period  the  Spirit  that  spake  by  them 
refernnl,  they  might  obtain  (and  might  also  comnni- 
nicatc)  much  information,  which  has  not  come  down 
to  us.  Daniel's  seventy  weeks  are  closely  connected 
with  our  last  period  of  fourteen  generations. 

The  following  are  the  sentiments  of  Montfaucon 
on  the  period  of  time,  intended  among  the  ancients 
by  the  word  generation,  and  the  use  of  it  in  calcula- 
tion. "  The  ancients  painted  the  several  parts  of 
time  under  human  forms ;  as  for  example  «i'wi  and 
•/ff',  an  age  and  a  generation.  The  first  of  these 
(the  al'wi)  is  taken  by  the  Greeks  in  vai'ious  senses. 
Jerome  in  his  commentary  on  Ezekiel  xxix.  says, 
that  tiie  word  ca'coi,  or  age,  is  the  space  of  70  years  ; 
and  may  be  reckoned  about  the  full  age  of  a  man.  It 
is  likewise  often  taken  for  the  full  term  of  a  man's  life  ; 
sometimes  for  an  undeterminate  time,  and  at  other 
times  for  eternity.  As  the  Greeks  had  their  jeit«, 
generation,  so  the  Latins  also  had  their  seculiim,  or 
generation  ;    concerning  both   which   words  there 


have  been  great  disputes,  that  is,  as  to  the  space  of  time 
signified  by  them.     For  some  would  have  tlije  two 
words  (that  is,  secnlum  or  generation)  to  be  equivalent 
to,  and  to  denote,  a  space  of  thirty  years  ;  but  at      , 
length  custom  prevailed,  and  determined  the  seculum    I 
to  be  a  hundred  years ;  while  the  most  common  oi|in- 
ion  was,  that  the  Greek  (>  ti  f  u)  generation  was  no  more 
than  THIRTY  YEARS.  I  kuow  not  certainly  whether  i^e 
Greeks  ever  represented  their  ()£ieu,)  generation  u!(j- 
der  a  human  form,  as  well  as  other   parts  of  time  ? 
though  it  is  very  probable  they  did,  considering  that 
in  those  days  they  expressed  almost  every  thing  so.\ 
As  to  the  custom  of  reckoning  their  years  by  gener-  \ 
atious,  it  is  of  great  antiquity ;  seeing  we  find  Hero-    \ 
dotiis  reckoning  in  that  manner  in  several  places."      \ 
(Sup.  Antiq.  Exp.  vol.  i.  8.) 

Among  the  Syrians  it  appears  to  have  been  cus- 
tomary to  compute  time  by  generations ;  at  least,  it 
occurs  in  several  places  in  their  writings.  In  Nor- 
berg,  (vol.  i.  p.  51,  53,  95.)  we  read,  "After  the  lapse 
of  twenty-five  generations,  the  world  was  visited  by 
water,  and  the  sons  of  men  by  the  progress  of  this 
water  were  exiled  from  the  body  .  .  .  except  Nuh,, 
the  man,  and  Nuraito,  his  wife,  also  Schum,  Jamiuu, 
and  Jafet,  sons  of  that  Nuh  ;  who  were  deliverec$! 
from  death  by  water,  and  by  whom  the  world  wai- 
restored.  From  Schurbai  and  Scharhabil  to  th,<e 
generation  of  Nuh  were  fifteen  generations.  .  .  Bilit 
from  Nuh  and  the  ark  until  Ibrahim,  who  had  tine 
prophetic  spirit,  and  imtil  Mescho  [Melchizedek/?]* 
and  until  the  city  of  Jerusalem  was  built,  were  six 
generations.  They  also  say,  that,  "  From  Adamj  to- 
Ram  and  Rud  were  thirty  generations ;  from  these 
to  Scluirbai  and  Scharhabil  were  twenty-five  ge  Der- 
ations." As  it  is  evident,  then,  that  the  chrono'lbgy 
of  the  Syriac  sacred  history  was  computed  by  }l;en- 
erations,  there  is  notliing  unreasonable  in  assuniiUig,, 
independently  of  the  proofs  previously  given,  tlu  t  in- 
giving  a  genealogical  epitome  of  that  history,  the 
evangelist  conformed  his  text  to  documents  extariil  in 
the  language  in  which  he  wrote.  If  this  werel  the 
case,  it  follows,  that  all  the  embarrassments  Oiaca- 
sioned  by  the  omission  of  three  names  in  the  g<Bnea- 
logical  table,  have  been  unnecessary;  and  also,  (with' 
evidence  little  short  of  demonstration,  that  the  ;'gene- 
alogy  formed  part  of  Matthew's  original ;  audJ  con- 
sequently, is  an  integral  part  of  his  Gospel. 

Let  us  now  paraphrase  the  evangelist's  -^ords^. 
connecting  the  sense  of  the  first  witli  tliat  of  the 
seventeenth  verse.  "  I  said,  in  the  begiun  ing  of  my 
discourse,  that  Jesus  was  'the  son  of  David  ;  the  son 
of  Abraham  :'  and  I  have  given  you  tabl  35i  of  his  de- 
scent, l>y  which  I  have  proved  his  rclati  on  to  those 
ancestors.  Now,  you  might  desire  tiiat  jl  should  say 
something  to  justify  the  expectation  of  his  coming- 
about  tills  period  of  time.  We  know  i  t  has  been 
disputed  among  our  wise  men,  what  numb  sr  of  years,, 
precisely,  elapsed  from  Abraham  to  Davit. ! ;  but  it  is^ 
enough  for  iny  purpose  to  observe  that,  hoA  vever  they 
may  difler  as  to  a  few  years,  (for  no  two  •  of  them 
agree,)  they  all  reckon  a  period  of  time  equi  d  to  four- 
teen generations,  as  they  were  then  calculate  d  ;  that  is 
to  say,  the  time  previous  to  the  settlement  of  tl  le  kingly 
office,  and  to  the  promise  of  the  descent  of  t  he  Mes- 
siah in  the  family  of  David,  was  fourteen  gene  rations  r 
and  so,  from  David  to  the  restoration  from  th(  \}  Baby- 
lonish captivity,  after  the  kingly  office  was  su  spend- 
ed,  when  our  hopes  of  Messiah  revived,  is  ad  mitted 
to  be  fourteen  generations,  as  they  were  then  «  'calcu- 
lated: and  you  will,  with  me,  think  it  very  rem  arka- 
ble,  that  from  the  time  of  the  Babylonish  capti  vity. 


1-. 


GEN 


[  454 


GENTILES 


to  the  appearance  of  the  person,  whose  memoirs  I 
am  about  to  write,  was  fourteen  generations  also  : — 
a  coincidence  certainly  deserving  attention,  and  on 
■which  the  universal  expectation  of  our  nation,  that 
th^y  should  again  enjoy,  about  this  time,  a  king  of 
tbsir  own  blood,  has  been  (in  some  degree)  found- 

,3." 

,-  That  there  was  really  such  a  general  expectation 
pf  a  Jewish  king  at  the  time  the  ev£ingelist  alludes 
Jto,  may  be  seen  in  the  article  Christ. 

The  design  of  Providence  in  giving  us  two  geneal- 
ogies of  Jesus  Christ,  may  be  presumed  to  have 
been  to  show  that  he  was  not  only  of  the  family  of 
David,  but,  as  Luke  remarks,  (and  it  seems  to  be 
the  precise  import  of  his  word  tutoio.-,  chap.  ii.  4.) 
of  the  direct  line,  the  elder  branch  of  the  family  ; 
and,  in  short,  that  very  person  who,  if  the  exercise 
of  royalty  had  continued  in  the  family  of  David, 
would  have  legally  sat  on  the  throne :  "  The  scep- 
tre shall  not  depart  from  Judah,  until  he  come  whose 
right  it  is  ;"  (Gen.  xlix.  10.)  that  is,  that  person  who 
ought  legally  to  sway  the  sceptre.  Strange  indeed, 
that  when  he  comes  whose  right  it  is,  it  should  then 
depart ;  but  such  is  the  prediction  ;  and  might  there 
not  be  a  reference  to  this  in  the  question  of  John 
the  Baptist,  "  Art  thou  he  that  should  come  ?"  Matt.  xi. 
3.  q.  d.  "  Art  thou  he  whom  we  expect  shall  deliver 
[srael  ?"  as  afterwards  the  apostles  asked,  "  Lord,  wilt 
hou  at  this  time  restore  the  kingdom  to  Israel  ?" 
)ur  Lord  avoids  a  direct  answer,  yes,  or  no  ;  but 
sys,  "  Go,  tell  John  what  you  have  seen  ;  no  signs 

"Oiexternal  greatness  ;  but  the  blind  receive  sight 

'C/W  to  the  poor  the  gospel  is  preached :  John  will 
tbnce  infer,  decidedly,  that  my  kingdom  is  not  of 
ths  world  ;  but  is  infinitely  more  beneficial  to  the 
SOS  of  men,  than  if  I  assumed  the  most  magnificent 
iiDnarchy,  as  sovereign  over  Israel."  See  further  in 
tls  article  Shiloh. 

GENESIS,  the  first  of  the  sacred  books  in  the  Old 
Testament,  so  called  from  the  title  given  to  it  in  the 
Seotuagint,  and  which  signifies  "the  book  of  the 
geieration,  or  production,"  of  all  things.  Moses  is 
geierally  admitted  to  have  been  the  writer  of  this 
bodi  ;  and  it  is  believed  that  he  penned  it  after  the 
pronulgatiou  of  the  law.  Its  authenticity  is  attested 
oy  t'ae  most  indisputable  evidence,  and  it  is  cited  as 
an  irspired  record  thirty-three  times  in  the  course  of 
the  Scriptures.  The  history  related  in  it  comprises 
a  period  of  about  2369  years,  according  to  the  low- 
est computation,  but  according  to  Dr.  Hales,  a  much 
larger  peiiod.  It  contains  an  account  of  the  crea- 
tion ;  the  primeval  state  and  fall  of  man  ;  the  history 
'of  Adam  and  his  descendants,  with  tlie  progress  of 
religion  and  the  origin  of  the  arts  ;  the  genealogies, 
age,  Bnd  death  of  the  patriarchs,  until  Noah;  the 
general  defection  and  corruption  of  mankind,  the 
general  deluge,  and  preservation  of  Noah  and  his 
family  in  the  ark  ;  the  history  of  Noah  and  his  family 
subsequent  to  the  time  of  the  deluge  ;  the  re-peo- 
pHng  and  division  of  the  earth  among  the  sons  of 
Noah  ;  the  building  of  Babel,  the  confusion  of  tongues, 
and  the  dispt;rsion  of  mankind  ;  the  lives  of  Abra- 
ham, Isaac,  Jacob,  and  Joseph. 

GENNESAliETII,  a  small  district  of  Galilee, 
tidjacent  to  the  lake  of  the  same  name,  or,  as  subse- 
quently called,  the  sea  of  Tiberias,  and  described 
by  Josephus  as  being  extremely  fertile,  and,  in  con- 
sequence of  the  temperature  of  the  air,  abounding  in 
fruity  of  different  climates.  For  a  description  of  the 
lake,  see  Tiberias  II. 

'GENTILES,  a  name  given  by  the  Hebrews  to  all 


those  that  had  not  received  the  law.  Those  who 
were  converted,  and  embraced  Judaism,  they  called 
pi'oselytes.  Since  the  promulgation  of  the  gospel, 
the  true  rehgion  has  been  extended  to  all  nations ; 
God,  who  had  promised  by  his  prophets,  to  call  the 
Gentiles  to  the  faith,  witJi  a  superabundance  of  grace, 
having  fulfilled  his  promise ;  so  that  the  Christian 
church  is  composed  principally  of  Gentile  converts  ; 
the  Jews  being  too  proud  of  their  privileges,  to  ac- 
knowledge Jesus  Christ  as  their  Messiah  and  Re- 
deemer. In  the  writings  of  Paulj  the  Gentiles  are 
generally  called  Greeks;  (Rom.  i.  14,  16;  ii.  9,  10; 
X.  12 ;  1  Cor.  i.  22,  24  ;  Gal.  iii.28.)  and  Luke,  in  the 
Acts,  expresses  himself  in  the  same  manner,  chap.  vi. 
1  ;  xi.  20 ;  xviii.  4.  et  al.  Paul  is  commonly  called 
the  apostle  of  the  Gentiles,  (1  Tim.  ii.  7.)  or  Greeks, 
because  he,  principally,  preached  Christ  to  them ; 
whereas  Peter,  and  the  other  apostles,  preached  gen- 
erally to  the  Jews ;  and  are  called  apostles  of  the 
Circumcision,  Gal.  ii.  8. 

The  prophets  declared  very  particularly  the  calling 
of  the  Gentiles.  Jacob  foretold  that  the  Messiah,  he 
who  was  to  be  sent,  the  Shiloh,  should  be  the  ex- 
pectation of  the  Gentiles  ;  and  Solomon,  at  the  ded- 
ication of  his  temple,  prayed  for  the  stranger,  who 
should  there  entreat  God.  The  Psalmist  says  (ii.  8.) 
that  the  Lord  shall  give  the  Gentiles  to  the  Messiah, 
for  his  inheritance ;  that  Egypt  and  Babylon  shall 
know  him  ;  (Ps.  Ixxxvii.  4.)  that  Ethiopia  shall 
hasten  to  bring  him  presents  ;  (Ps.  Ixxii.  9,  10.)  and 
that  the  kings  of  Tarshish,  and  of  the  isles,  the  kings 
of  Arabia  and  Sheba,  shall  be  tributary  to  him. 
Isaiah  abounds  with  prophecies  of  a  similar  nature, 
on  which  account  he  has  justly  been  distinguished 
by  the  name  of  the  prophet  of  the  Gentiles. 

In  the  New  Testament,  we  see  that  Gentiles  came 
to  Jerusalem  to  worship.  Some  of  these,  a  little  be- 
fore the  death  of  our  Saviour,  addressed  themselves 
to  Philip,  desiring  him  to  show  them  Jesus,  John 
xii.  20,  21. 

Many  of  the  fathers  believed,  that  Gentiles,  who 
lived  in  a  laudable  manner,  and  observed  the  law  of 
natine,  were  saved ;  and  Paul  (Rom.  ii.)  assigns 
"  glory,  honor,  and  peace,  to  every  man  that  worketh 
good,  to  the  Jew  first,  and  also  to  the  Gentile." 
Clemens  Alexandrinus  asserts,  that  the  Gentiles  had 
two  means  for  acquiring  justification,  the  law  and 
philosophy  ;  the  latter  of  which  might  at  least  dis- 
pose them  to  justice,  though  it  })roduced  not  perfect 
righteousness.  But  if  it  be  inquired  whether  hea- 
thens have  lived  up  to  their  knowledge ;  that  is, 
whether,  with  proper  knowledge  of  God,  they  have 
loved  him,  given  him  glory,  hoped  in  him,  followed 
the  precepts  of  the  law  of  nature,  and  observed  them 
as  they  ought  to  do,  (with  a  view  to  God,)  and  de- 
monstrated the  power  and  exercise  of  these  princi- 
ples, by  actions  animated  with  grace  and  charity  ; 
whether  they  have  practised  the  first  and  greatest 
commandments,  to  love  God  with  all  their  hearts, 
and  their  neighbor  as  themselves ;  we  have  much 
reason  to  fear  they  will  be  found  wanting.  See 
Philosophy. 

Court  of  the  Gentiles.  Josephus  says,  that 
there  was,  in  the  court  of  the  temple,  a  wall,  or  bal- 
ustrade, breast  high,  with  pillars  at  certain  distances, 
with  inscriptions  on  them  in  Greek  and  Latin,  im- 
porting that  strangers  were  forbidden  from  approach- 
ing nearer  to  the  altar. 

Isles  of  the  Gentiles  (Gen.  x.  5.)  evidently 
denote  Asia  Minor  and  the  whole  of  Europe,  which 
were  peopled  by  the  descendants  of  Japheth. 


GER 


[  455  ] 


GEZ 


/ 


GERAH,  the  smallest  piece  of  money  among  the 
Hebrews,  twenty  of  which  made  a  shekel,  Exod. 
XXX.  13. 

GERAR.  We  find  a  city  of  this  name  so  early  as 
Gen.  XX.  1 ;  xxvi,  1,  17.  expressly  stated  to  be  a  city 
of  the  Philistines.  The  probability  is,  that  some 
wandering  tribe  of  this  people  had  settled  here,  be- 
fore the  great  influx  of  their  nation  into  these  parts, 
during  the  captivity  of  the  Israelites  in  Egypt.  As 
Abraham  himself  was  a  pilgrim  from  a  region  not  very 
distant  from  their  original  country,  they  might,  per- 
haps, feel  some  kind  of  sympathy  with  him  and  for 
him.  He  appears  to  have  been,  on  the  whole,  on 
good  terms  with  the  king  of  Gerar ;  and  Isaac  lived 
many  years  in  the  neighborhood.  Gerar  appears  to 
have'  been  a  favorable  station  for  flocks  ;  and  it  might 
be  called  "  the  fixed  residence,"  that  is,  not  tents,  but 
buildings,  by  those  who  here  abode,  whether  they 
were,  properly  speaking,  exiles  or  not.  Gerar  was 
not  far  from  Gaza,  in  the  south  of  Judah.  Moses 
says,  it  lay  between  Kadesh  and  Shur ;  and  Jerome 
states,  that  from  Gerar  to  Jerusalem  was  three  days' 
journey.  Moses  also  mentions  the  brook  or  valley 
of  Gerar,  Gen.  xxvi.  17. 

GERASA,  or  Gergesa,  a  cii,  east  of  the  Jordan, 
and  in  the  Decapolis,  Matt.  vin.  28.  Burckhardt, 
Buckingham,  and  other  writers  consider  the  ruins 
of  Djerash  to  be  those  of  the  ancient  Gerasa,  They 
are  nearly  50  miles  from  the  sea  of  Tiberias,  and 
nearly  opposite  to  mount  Ebal. 

GERGESENES,  or  Girgashites,  a  people  of 
the  land  of  Canaan,  who  settled  east  of  the  sea  of 
Tiberias,  and  gave  name  to  a  region  and  city.  See 
Gadara,  and  Gerasa. 

GERIZIM,  a  mount  in  Ephraim,  a  province  of 
Samaria,  between  which  and  Ebal  lay  the  city  of 
Shechem.  (See  Judg.  ix.  7.)  Gerizim  was  fruitflil, 
Ebal  was  barren.  God  commanded  that  tho  He- 
brews, after  passing  the  Jordan,  should  be  so  divided, 
that  six  tribes  might  be  stationed  on  mount  Geiizim, 
and  six  on  mount  Ebal.  The  former  were  to  pro- 
nounce blessings  on  those  who  observed  the  law  of 
the  Lord  ;  the  others,  curses  against  those  who  should 
violate  it,  Deut.  xi.  29  ;  xxvii.  12. 

After  the  captivity,  Manasseh,  by  permission  of 
Alexander  the  Great,  built  a  temple  on  Gerizim,  and 
the  Samaritans  joined  the  worship  of  the  true  God  to 
that  of  their  idols:  "They  feared  the  Lord,  and 
served  their  own  gods,  after  the  manner  of  the  na- 
tions whom  they  carried  away  from  thence,"  2 
Kings  xvii.  .33. 

The  Samaritans  maintain,  that  Abraham  and  Ja- 
cob erected  altars  at  Gerizim,  and  that  here  Abraham 
prepared  to  sacrifice  his  son  Isaac,  Gen.  xii.  6,  7 ; 
xiii.  4  ;  xxxiii.  20,  They,  too,  afiirm,  that  God  re- 
quired the  blessings  to  be  given  from  mount  Ge- 
rizim, to  those  who  observed  his  laws,  and  the  curses 
from  Ebal,  (Deut.  xxvii.  12,  13.)  and  they  further 
cite  from  their  Pentateuch  the  passage  ;  (Deut.  xxvii. 
4.)  "When  ye  be  gone  over  Jordan,  ye  shall  set  up 
these  stones,  which  I  command  you  this  daj^,  in 
mount  Gerizim,  [in  the  Hebrew  copies,  Ebal,]  tliou 
shalt  plaster  them,"  &c.  (verses  12, 13  ;)  thus  making 
Moses  direct  an  altar  to  be  erected  in  Gerizim  instead 
of  Ebal.  [They  accuse  the  Jews  of  falsifying  the  text 
in  this  passage,  and  of  putting  Ebal  instead  of  Ge- 
rizim, in  order  to  deprive  this  mountain  of  the  honor 
of  having  been  a  place  appointed  for  the  public  wor- 
ship of  Jehovah.  The  suspicion  of  falsifying  the 
text,  however,  falls  much  more  heavily  upon  the  Sa- 
maritana  than  upon  the  Jews ;   since  they  had  a  far 


greater  interest  to  change  the  reading  Ebal  into  Ge- 
rizim, than  the  Hebrews  had  to  change  Gerizim  for 
Ebal.  For  after  tlie  proposition  of  the  Samaritans, 
to  take  part  in  rebuilding  the  temple  at  Jerusalem, 
had  been  rejected  by  the  Jews,  (Ezra  iv.  1-— 3.)  the 
former  erected  a  temple  for  themselves  in  mount 
Gerizim,  which  is  mentioned  2  Mace.  vi.  2.  By 
changing  the  text,  therefore,  of  this  passage  froii 
Ebal  to  Gerizim,  they  wished  to  procure  for  their 
temple  the  honor  of  standing  on  that  mountain, 
where,  after  the  conquest  of  Canaan,  the  first  public 
religious  transaction  was  to  be  performed.     R. 

This  temple  was  built  on  Gerizim,  and  conse- 
crated to  the  God  of  Israel,  ante  A.  D.  332  ;  and  as  the 
mountain  was  very  high,  there  were  steps  cut  for  the 
convenience  of  the  people.  When  Antiochus  Epi- 
phanes  began  to  persecute  the  Jews,  (ante  A.  D. 
168,)  the  Samaritans  entreated  him,  that  their  temple 
upon  Gerizim,  which  hitherto  had  been  dedicated  to 
an  unknown  and  nameless  God,  might  be  conse- 
crated to  Jupiter  the  Grecian;  which  was  readily 
canseuted  to  by  Antiochus. 

The  temple  was  destroyed  by  John  Hircanus,  and 
was  not  rebuilt  till  Gabinius  was  governor  of  Syria; 
who  repaired  Samaria,  and  called  it  by  his  own 
name.  In  our  Saviour's  time,  this  temple  was  in  be- 
ing ;  and  the  true  God  was  worshipped  there,  John 
iv.  20.  Herod  the  Great,  having  rebuilt  Samaria, 
and  called  it  Sebaste,  in  honor  of  Augustus,  would 
have  compelled  the  Samaritans  to  worship  in  the 
temple  which  he  had  erected,  but  they  constantly 
refused  ;  and  have  continued  to  this  day  to  worship 
on  Gerizim.     See  Ebal  and  Shechem. 

GERSHON,  son  of  Levi,  and  under  Moses  prince 
of  a  family  of  the  Levites,  consisting  of  7500  men, 
Numb.  iii.  21,  &c.  Their  office,  during  marches, 
was  to  cany  the  veils  and  curtains  of  the  taber- 
nacle ;  and  their  place  in  the  camp  was  west  of  the 
tabernacle. 

I.  GESHUR,  Geshuri,  Geshurites,  the  name 
of  a  district  and  people  in  Syria,  of  whose  king  Tol- 
niai,  David  married  the  daughter,  by  whom  he  had 
Absalom,  2  Sam.  iii.  3  ;  xiii.  37 ;  xv.  8.  It  lay  upon 
the  eastern  side  of  the  Jordan,  between  Bashan, 
Maachah,  and  mount  Hermon,  and  within  the  limits 
of  the  Hebrew  territory,  (2  Chron.  ii.  23 ;  Deut.  iii.  14  ; 
Josh.  xii.  5.)  but  the  Israelites  did  not  expel  the  in- 
habitants. Josh.  xiii.  13.  That  they  were  not  con- 
quered at  a  later  period,  appears  from  the  fact  of 
their  having  a  separate  king. — The  word  Geshur  sig- 
nifies bridge,  and  corresponds  to  the  Arabic  Djisr ; 
and  in  the  same  region,  where,  according  to  the 
above  data,  we  must  place  Geshur,  between  mount 
Hermon  and  the  lake  of  Tiberias,  there  still  exists 
an  ancient  stone  bridge  of  four  arches  over  the  Jor- 
dan, called  Djisr-Bcni-Jakub,  i.  e.  the  bridge  of  the 
children  of  Jacob.  There  seems  to  have  been  here 
an  important  pass.     *R. 

II.  GESHURI,  Geshurites,  a  people  in  the  south 
of  Palestine,  near  the  Philistines,  Josh.  xiii.  2 ;  1  Sam. 
xxvii.  8.     R. 

GETHSEMANE,  the  oil-prsss,  a  place  at  the  foot 
of  the  mount  of  Olives,  over  against  Jerusalem,  to 
which  our  Saviour  sometimes  retired  ;  and  in  a  gar- 
den belonging  to  which  he  endured  his  agony;  and 
was  taken  by  Judas,  Matt.  xxvi.  36.  seq.  It  is  an  even 
plat  of  ground,  according  to  Maundrell,  about  57 
yards  square.  There  are  several  ancient  olive- 
trees  standing  in  it.  (See  the  Missionary  Herald  for 
1824.  p.  66.)     See  Jerusalem. 

GEZEZ,  formeriy  a  royal  city  of  the  Canaanites, 


GIB 


[456  ] 


GIB 


in  d  1.?  western  part  of  the  tribe  of  Ephrahn,  from 
whitch  the  Canaanites  were  not  expelled,  Josh.  x.  33  ; 
xvi.  3,  10.  Judg.  i.  29.  It  was  nevertheless  assigned 
to  the  Levites,  Josh.  xxi.  21.  Destroyed  by  the 
Egyptians,  it  was  rebuilt  by  Solomon,  1  Kings  ix. 
15^—17.     R. 

GIA  H,  a  valley,  probably  not  far  from  Gibeon, 
which  might  be  an  outlet,  as  its  name  imports,  from 
a  narrow  and  contracted  road  or  country,  to  one 
more  open  ;  or  it  might  be  an  eruption  of  water,  as 
i't  were,  from  the  mountain,  2  Sam.  ii.  24. 

GIANT,  (Heb.  Sdj,  nephil,  one  ivho  hears  down 
'Other  men.)  Scripture  speaks  of  giants  before  the 
flood  ;  "  Ncphilim,  mighty  men  who  were  of  old, 
men  of  renown,"  Gen.  vi.  4.  Aquila  translates 
nephilun,  men  who  attack,  who  fall  with  impetuosity 
on  their  enemies;  which  agrees  very  well  with  the 
force  cif  the  term.  Symmachus  translates  it  Ihui'uij 
violent  men,  cruel,  whose  only  rule  of  action  is  vio- 
lence. Scripture  sometimes  calls  giants  Rephaim, 
Gen.  xiv.  5,  &c.  The  Emim,  ancient  inhabitants  of' 
Moab,  were  of  a  gigantic  stature,  that  is,  Rephaim. 
Job  says,  that  the  ancient  Rephaim  gi-oan  under  the 
waters  ;  and  Solomon,  (Prov.  ii.  18  ;  ix.  18.)  that  the 
ways  of  a  loose  woman  lead  to  the  Rephaim,  and 
that  he  who  deviates  from  the  ways  of  wisdom, 
shall  dwell  in  the  assembly  of  Rephaim  ;  that  is,  in  hell, 
Prov.  xxi.  16,  &c.  (See  Gen.  xiv.  5 ;  Deut.  ii.  11, 20  ;  iii. 
11,  13  ;  Josh.  xii.  4  ;  xiii.  12  ;  Job  xxvi.  5.)  The  Ana- 
kim,  or  sons  of  Anak,  who  dwelt  at  Hebron,  were 
the  most  famous  giants  of  Palestine,  Numb.  xiii.  .33. 

The  LXX  sometimes  translate  ii2J,  gibhor,  giant, 
though  literally  it  signifies — a  strong  man,  a  man  of 
valor,  a  warrior.  See  in  the  LXX,  Gen.  x.  8  ;  Ps. 
xix.  5.  Isa.  iii.  2  ;  xiii.  2;  xlix.  24,  25  ;  Ezek.  xxxix. 
18,  20. 

It  is  probable  that  the  first  men  were  of  a  strength 
and  stature  superior  to  those  of  mankind  at  present, 
since  they  lived  a  much  longer  time  ;  long  life  being 
commonly  the  effect  of  a  strong  constitution.  Giants, 
however,  were  no.:  uncommon  in  the  times  of  Josh- 
ua and  David,  notwithstanding  that  the  life  of  man 
was  already  shortened,  and,  as  may  be  presumed, 
the  size  and  strength  of  hiunan  bodies  proportiona- 
bly  diminished.  Goliah  was  ten  feet  seven  inches  in 
height,  (1  Sam.  xvii.  4.)  according  to  Calmet ;  but 
this  depends  on  the  length  at  which  the  Hebrew 
cubit  is  taken. 

GIBBETHON,  a  city  of  the  Philistines,  given  to 
Dan,  and  allotted  to  the  Levites,  (Josh.  xix.  44  ;  xxi. 
23.)  and  probably  the  same  as  the  Gabatho  of  Jose- 
phus.  Baasha  killed  Nadab,  son  of  Jeroboam,  in 
Gibbethon,  1  Kings  xv.  27. 

I.  GIBEAH,  {a  hill,)  a  city  of  Benjamin,  (1  Sam. 
xiii.  15  ;  2  Sam.  xxiii.  29.)  and  the  birth-place  of  Saul 
king  of  Israel  ;  whence  it  is  frequently  called  "  Gib- 
eah  of  Saul,"  1  Sam.  xi.  4 ;  xv.  34  ;  2  Sam.  xxi. 
6  ;  Isa.  x.  29.  Gibeah  was  also  famous  for  its  sins  ; 
particularly  for  tiiat  conunittcd  by  forcing  the  young 
Levite's  wife,  who  went  to  lodge  there  ;  and  for  the 
war  which  succeeded  it,  to  the  almost  entire  exter- 
mination of  the  tribe  of  Benjamin,  Judg.  xix.  Scrip- 
ture remarks,  that  this  happened  at  a  time  when 
there  was  no  king  in  Israel,  and  when  every  one  did 
what  was  right  ui  his  own  eyes.  Gibeah  was  about 
seven  miles  north  from  Jerusalem,  not  far  from  Gibe- 
on  and  Kirjatli-jearim. 

II.  GIBE  Alt.  There  was  another  Gibeah  in  the 
tribe  of  Judah,  (Josh.  xv.  57.)  which,  for  distinction, 
is  written  Gibeah,  (with  an  n  final  in  the  Hebrew,)  1 
Chron.  ii.  49. 


III.  GIBEAH.  Another  Gibeah,  which  apper- 
tained to  Phiuehas,  is  rendered  "  hill"  in  our  vsrsion, 
(Josh.  xxiv.  33.)  where  Eleazar  was  buried  ;  but  in  the 
original  it  is  "Gibeah  of  Phinehas." 

GIBEON,  the  capital  of  the  Gibeonites,  who  hav- 
ing taken  advantage  of  the  oaths  of  Joshua,  and  the 
elders  of  Isi-ael,  which  they  procured  by  an  artful 
representation  of  belonging  to  a  very  remote  country, 
(Josh,  ix.)  were  condemneu  to  labor  in  carrying 
wood  and  water  for  the  tabernacle,  as  a  mark  of 
their  pusillanimity  and  duplicity.  Three  days  afl;er 
the  Gibeonites  had  thus  surrendered  to  the  Hebrews, 
five  of  the  kings  of  Canaan  besieged  the  city  of  Gib- 
eon  ;  but  Joshua  attacked  and  put  them  to  flight, 
and  pursued  them  to  Bethoron,  Josh.  x.  3,  &c. 

The  Gibeonites  v/ere  descended  from  the  Hivites, 
and  possessed  four  cities  ;  Cephirab,  Beeroth,  Kir- 
jath-jearim,  and  Gibeon,  their  capital  ;  all  of  which 
were  given  to  Benjamin,  except  Kirjath-jearim, 
which  fell  to  the  lot  of  Judah.  The  Gibeonites 
continued  subject  to  the  burdens  which  Joshua  im- 
posed on  tliem,  and  were  very  faithful  to  the  Israel- 
ites ;  but  Saul,  through  what  enmity  we  know  not, 
destroye(\  a  great  number  of  them,  2  Sam.  xxi.  1.  In 
the  reign  of  David,  the  Lord  sent  a  great  famine, 
which  continued  for  three  years,  and  which,  the 
prophelB  informed  him,  would  continue  while  Saul's 
cruelty  remained  unavenged.  David  therefore  per- 
mitted the  Gibeonites  to  put  to  death  seven  of  Saul's 
sons  tO  avenge  the  blood  of  their  brethren  ;  after 
which  the  famine  ceased. 

From  this  time  there  is  no  mention  of  the  Gibeon- 
ites, as  a  distinct  people  ;  but  Calmet  supposes  they 
were  included  among  the  Nethinim,  who  were  ap- 
pointed for  the  service  of  the  temple,  1  Chron.  ix.  2. 
Those  of  the  Canaanites,  who  were  afterwards  sub- 
dued, and  had  their  lives  spared,  were  added  to  the 
Gibeonites.  We  see  in  Ezra  viii.  20  ;  ii.  .58  ;  1  Kings 
ix.  20,  21.  that  David,  Solomon,  and  the  princes  of 
Judah,  gave  many  such  to  the  Lord  ;  these  Nethinim 
being  carried  into  captivity  with  Judah  and  the  Le- 
vites, many  of  them  returned  with  Ezra,  Zerub- 
babel,  and  Nehemiah,  and  continued,  as  before,  in 
the  service  of  the  temple,  under  the  priests  and 
Levites. 

Gibeon  stood  on  an  eminence,  as  its  name  imports, 
and  was  forty  furlongs  north  from  Jerusalem,  ac- 
cording to  Josephus.  [In  2  Sam.  v.  25.  it  would 
seem  to  be  called  Geba,  as  compared  with  1  Chron. 
xiv.  16  ;  but  it  is  to  be  distinguished  from  both  Geba 
and  Gibeah,  and  lay  to  the  northward  of  tliem.  See 
Geba.     R. 

We  neither  know  when,  nor  by  whom,  nor  on 
what  occasion,  the  tabernacle  and  altar  of  burnt- 
sacrifices,  made  by  Moses,  in  the  wilderness,  were 
removed  to  Gibeon ;  but  towarfl  tin?  end  of  David's 
reign,  and  in  the  l)eginning  of  Solomon's,  they  were 
there,  1  Kings  iii.  4,  5  ;  I  Chron.  xxi.  29, 30.  David, 
seeing  an  angel  of  the  Lord  at  Araunah's  thrashing- 
floor,  was  so  terrified,  that  he  had  not  time  nor  strength 
to  go  so  far  as  Gibeon,  to  offer  sacrifice.  Solomon 
went  to  sacrifice  at  Gibeon,  and  there  the  Lord  ap- 
peared to  him,  1  Kings  iii.  4. 

It  is  said  (2  Sam.ii.  13.)  that  there  was  a  pool  in 
Gibeon.  Whether  it  were  of  any  considerable  ex- 
tent, does  not  appear  from  this  passage  ;  but  there  is 
little  doubt  that  it  is  the  samc^  as  "  the  great  waters 
that  are  in  Gibeon,"  Jer.  xli.  12.  As  this,  then,  was 
probably  a  runnin  5  stream,  the  discovery  of  such  a 
one  may  contribute  to  distinguish  and  tuscertain  the 
city.      There  was  also  a  great  stone  or  rock  here,  (2 


GIL 


[457] 


GIL 


Sam.  XX.  8.)  and  also  the  great  high  place,  1  Kings 
iii.  4.  Eiisebius  mentions  a  place  called  Gibeon, 
which  stood  four  miles  west  of  Bethel.  From  Jer. 
xli.  16,  we  may  infer  that  after  the  destruction  of  Je- 
rusalem by  Nebuchadnezzar,  Gibeon  became  again 
the  seat  of  government.  It  produced  prophets  in  the 
days  of  Jeremiah,  Jer.  xxviii.  1. 

GIBLITES,  Josh.  xiii.  5.  See  Gebal  IL 
GIDEON,  son  of  Joash,  ofManasseh;  called  also 
Jerubbaal,  that  is,  let  Baal  see  to  it,  or  let  Baal  contest 
witli  him  who  has  thrown  down  his  altar.  After  the 
deaths  of  Deborah  and  Barak,  the  Israelites  were 
cruelly  oppressed  by  Midiaii,  for  the  deliverance 
from  which  Gideon  had  an  extraordinary  call,  which 
was  confirmed  by  a  double  miracle.  After  having 
destroyed  the  altar  and  grove  of  Baal,  he  gatliercd 
together  30,000  troops,  for  the  purpose  of  attacking 
the  enemy.  By  divine  direction  these  were  reduced 
first  to  10,000,  and  subsequently  to  300 ;  with  which 
number  Gideon,  by  stratagem,  defeated  the  JMidian- 
ites,  and  delivered  Israel  from  their  yoke,  Judg.  vi. 
vii.  The  people  of  Succoth  and  Penuel,  having  re- 
fused to  supjily  him  and  his  warriors  with  bread 
during  his  pursuit,  were  visited  with  exemplary  pun- 
ishment on  his  return  from  battle,  viii.  1 — 17.  The 
Israelites  after  this  victory  solicited  Gideon  to  become 
their  ruler.  This  he  declined  ;  but  taking  the  ear- 
rings of  the  INIidianites  from  among  the  spoils,  he 
made  an  ephod — which  became  the  occasion  of  idol- 
atry to  Israel,  the  cause  of  Gideon's  ruin,  and  the 
destruction  of  his  house.  He  judged  Israel  nine 
years,  from  A.  JM.  2759  to  2768.  He  had  70  sons, 
who  were  destroyed  by  Abimelech,  their  brother, 
who  afterwards  reigned  at  Shechem,  chap.  viii.  18  ; 
ix.  5. 

GIDGAD,  a  mountain  in  the  vvilderness  of  Paran, 
between  Bene-jaakan  and  Jotbathah,  where  the  He- 
brews encamped.  Numb,  xxxiii.  .32. 

I.  GIHON,  a  fountain  south-east  of  Jerusalem, 
where  Solomon  was  anointed  king  by  Zadok  and 
Nathan.  Ilezekiah  ordered  the  waters  of  the  upper 
channel  of  Gihon  to  be  conveyed  to  the  west  side  of 
the  city,  1  Kings  i.  33  ;  2  Cbron.  xxxii.  30.  It  is 
probably  the  same  fountain  which  elsewhere  is  called 
SiLOAM,  which  see. 

II.  GIHON,  the  name  of  one  of  the  four  rivers  of 
Paradise,  (Gen.  ii.  13.)  which  many  have  believed, 
against  probability,  to  be  the  Nile  of  Egypt.  (See 
Eden.)  The  Araxes,  which  has  its  source,  as  well 
as  the  Tigris  and  Euphrates,  in  the  mountains  of 
Armenia,  and  running  with  almost  incredible  ra- 
pidity, falls  into  the  Caspian  sea,  is  supposed  to  be 
the  Gihon,  which,  in  Hebrew,  signifies — impetuous, 
rapid,  violent.  Ecclesiasticus  (xxiv.  27.)  speaks  of 
the  inundations  of  Gihon,  in  the  time  of  vintage  ;  and 
the  Araxes  swells  towards  the  latter  end  of  summer, 
in  consequence  of  the  snow  upon  the  mountains  of 
Armenia  dissolving  about  that  time. 

GIL  BO  A,  a  ridge  of  mountains,  memorable  for  the 
defeat  and  deaths  of  Saul  and  Jonathan,  (1  Sam. 
xxxi.)  running  north  of  Bethshan  or  Scythopolis,  and 
forming  the  western  boundary  of  that  part  of  the 
valley  of  the  Jordan,  between  it  and  the  great  plain 
of  Esdraelon.  They  are  said  to  be  extremely  dry 
and  barren,  and  are  still  called,  by  the  Arabs,  Djebel 
Gilbo.     (Bibl.  Repository,  vol.  i.  p.  599.) 

I.  GILEAD,  a  mountainous  district  east  of  the 
Jordan,  and  which  separated  the  lands  of  Amnion, 
Jloab,  Reuben,  Gad,  and  Manasseh,  from  Arabia 
Deserta. 

Jacob,  returning  from  Mesopotamia,  came  in  six 
58 


days  to  the  mountains  of  Gilead,  where  Laban  over- 
took him,  Gen.  xxxi.  21.  Here  they  made  a  cove- 
nant, and  raised  a  heap  of  stones  as  a  monument  of 
It.  Laban  called  it  Jegar-Sahadutha ;  but  Jacob 
called  It  Gal-haed,  the  heap  of  witness;  whence 
came  the  name  Gilead.  Eusebius  says  that  mount 
Gilead  reached  from  Libanus  to  the  land  of  Sihon, 
king  of  the  Amorites,  which  was  given  to  the  tribe 
of  Reuben.  It  must,  therefore,  have  been  above 
seventy  leagues  from  south  to  north,  and  have  in- 
cluded the  mountains  of  Bashan,  and  perhaps, 
also,  those  of  the  Trachonitis,  Auran  and  Her- 
mon.  See  also  Jer.  xxii.  6.  Gilead,  however,  is 
sometimes  put  for  the  whole  of  the  country  east  of 
the  Jordan,  between  the  river  and  Arabia. 

The  scenery  of  the  mountains  of  Gilead  is  de- 
scribed by  Mr.  Buckingham  as  being  extremely 
beautiful.  The  plains  are  covered  with  a  fertile  soil, 
the  hills  are  clothed  with  forests,  and  at  eveiy  new 
turn  the  most  beautiful  landscapes  that  can  be  im- 
agined are  presented.  The  Scripture  references  to 
the  stately  oaks  and  herds  of  cattle  in  this  region  are 
well  known. 

[The  name  Gilead,  as  is  said  above,  is  sometimes 
put  for  the  whole  country  east  of  the  Jordan.  Thus 
in  Deut.  xxxiv.  1,  God  is  said  to  have  showed  Moses 
from  mount  Nebo  "all  the  land  of  Gilead  unto  Dan." 
The  proper  region  of  Gilead,  however,  lay  south  of 
Bashan,  but  probably  without  any  very  definite  line 
of  separation.  Bashan  and  Gilead  are  often  men- 
tioned together.  Josh.  xvii.  1,  5;  2  Kings  x.  33,  <S:c. 
A  i)art  of  Gilead  was  the  district  now  called  Belka, 
one  of  the  most  fertile  in  Palestine.  See  the  descrip- 
tion of  it  by  Burckhardt,  inserted  under  the  article 
Bashan. 

Mount  Gilead,  in  the  strictest  sense,  was  doubt- 
less the  mountain  now  called  Djebel  Djelaad,  or 
Djebel  Djelaoud,  mentioned  by  Burckhardt,  (p.  348.) 
the  foot  of  which  lies  about  two  hours'  distance,  or 
six  miles  south  of  the  Wady  Zerka,  or  Jabhok.  The 
mountain  itself  runs  from  east  to  west,  and  is  about 
two  hours  and  lialf  (eight  or  ten  miles)  in  length. 
Upon  it  are  the  ruined  towns  of  Djelaad  and  Djelaoud  ; 
probably  the  site  of  the  ancient  city  Gilead  of  Hos. 
vi.  8  ;  elsewhere  called  Ramoth  Gilead.  Southward 
of  this  mountain  stands  the  modern  city  of  Szalt.  It 
was  probably  in  this  mountain  where  Jacob  andLaban 
set  up  their  monument,  as  above  related. — In  Judg. 
vii.  3,  those  in  the  army  of  Gideon  who  are  fearful, 
are  directed  "to  depart  eai'ly  from  mount  Gilead." 
Some  have,  therefore,  supposed,  that  there  was  an- 
other mount  Gilead  near  the  plain  of  Esdraelon,  where 
Gideon  then  was.  But  there  is  elsewhere  no  allusion 
to  such  a  mountain  ;  and  the  hypothesis  is  unneces- 
sary. The  Hebrevv  reads,  "  Let  liim  turn  back  again 
from  mount  Gilead,"  i.  e.  from  Gilead  beyond  Jordan, 
whence  the  Midianites  have  come  up,  and  whither 
they  must  be  driven  back.     *R. 

II.  GILEAD,  son  of  Machir,  and  grandson  ofMa- 
nasseh, received  his  inheritance  in  the  nioiuitains  of 
Gilead,  whence  he  took  his  name.  Numb.  xxvi. 
29,  30. 

I.  GILGAL,  a  celebrated  place  between  the  Jor- 
dan and  Jericho,  where  the  Israelites  first  encamped, 
after  the  jjassage  of  that  river.  Josh.  v.  9.  It  con- 
tinued to  be  the  head-quarters  of  the  Israelites  for 
several  years,  while  Joshua  was  occupied  in  subdu- 
ing the'land.  Josh.  ix.  6  ;  x.  6,  9,  15,  43.  A  consid- 
erable city  was  afterwards  built  there,  (xv.  7.)  which 
became  famous  for  many  events.  (1.)  It  was  a  reli- 
gious station  ;  for  we  read  (Judg.  ii.  1.)  that  a  "  mes- 


GIR 


[  458] 


GLO 


nenger  of  the  Lord  came  up  from  Gilgal."  Comp.  2 
Kings  ii.  1.  (2.)  It  was  a  station  of  justice  ;  for  Sam- 
uel in  his  circuit  went  yearly  to  Gilgal,  1  Sam.  vii. 
16.  (3.)  It  was  where  the  coronation  of  Saul  was 
performed,  (1  Sam.  x.  8 ;  comp.  2  Sam.  xix.  15,  40.) 
and  therefore  a  fit  place  for  national  business.  Sac- 
rifices were  offered  at  Gilgal,  1  Sam.  x.  8  ;  Hos.  xii.  11. 

Gilgal  was  named  upon  the  occasion  of  Joshua 
circumcising  the  Israelites  who  had  been  wandering 
during  forty  years  in  the  wilderness.  "  The  Lord 
said  unto  Joshua,  This  day  have  I  rolled  away  the 
reproach  of  Egypt  from  off  you :  wherefore  the 
name  of  the  place  is  called  Gilgal,  unto  this  day," — 
the  literal  meaning  of  "  Gilgal"  being  roZ/uiff,  Josh.  v. 
2 — 9.  Here  Joshua  placed  the  twelve  stones  that 
were  taken  out  of  the  Jordan,  when  the  waters  of 
that  river  were  miraculously  divided,  to  form  a  [)as- 
sage  for  Israel  into  the  promised  laud.  The  placing 
of  these  stones,  taken  in  connection  with  other  simi- 
lar acts  mentioned  in  the  early  books  of  Scripture, 
presents  an  interesting  subject  of  inquiry,  and  leads 
to  conclusions  of  a  singular  nature.    See  Stones. 

II.  GILGAL,  the  city  of  an  ancient  Canaanitish 
king,  Josh.  xii.  23.  It  is  also  mentioned  by  Moses 
(Deut.  xi.  30.)  in  order  to  designate  the  position  of 
Gerizim  and  Ebal,  and  was  therefore  probably  not 
far  from  Shechem.  Gesenius  and  others  suppose  this 
to  be  the  same  with  the  preceding  Gilgal ;  but  there 
is  no  hint  that  the  Gilgal  near  Jericho  was  ever  tlie 
seat  of  a  king.     (Compare  Josh.  iv.  19, 20  ;  v.  10.)  R. 

GILOH,  a  city  of  Judah,  Josh.  xv.  51  ;  2  Sam. 
XV.  12. 

GIMZO,  a  city  in  the  south  of  Judah,  which  the 
Philistines  took  from  Ahaz,  2  Chron.  xxviii.  18. 

GIRDLE.  The  Hebrews  only  wore  a  girdle  when 
at  work,  or  on  a  journey.  At  these  times,  they  girt 
their  clothes  about  them,  as  the  eastern  people  now 
do,  as  appears  from  many  passages  of  the  Old  and 
New  Testaments.  Our  Saviour,  preparing  himself 
to  wash  the  feet  of  his  disciples,  "  girt  himself  about 
with  a  towel,"  John  xiii.  4,  5.  Soldiers  also  had 
their  belts  generally  girt  about  them,  Ps.  xviii.  39. 

Belts  were  often  made  of  ])recious  stuffs.  The  vir- 
tuous wife  made  rich  girdles,  and  sold  them  to  the 
Canaanite  or  Phoenician  merchants,  Prov.  xxxi.  24. 
They  were  used  both  by  men  and  women,  Ezek.  xvi. 
10.  We  may  judge  of  their  value,  by  the  kings  of 
Persia  sometimes  giving  cities  and  provinces  to  their 
wives,  for  the  expense  of  their  ginlles.  (Plato  Alcib. 
Athen.  1.)  Our  Lord,  in  the  Revelation,  (i.  13.)  ap- 
peared to  John  with  a  golden  girdle  ;  and  the  seven 
angels,  who  came  out  of  the  temple,  had  similar  ones. 
On  the  contrary,  the  prophets,  and  persons  secluded 
from  the  world,  wore  girdles  of  skin  or  leather,  2 
Kings  i.  8 ;  INIatt.  iii.  4.  In  times  of  mourning,  the 
Hebrews  used  girdles  of  ropes,  or  sackcloth,  as  marks 
of  humiliation,  Isa.  iii.  24  ;  xxii.  12. 

The  military  girdle,  or  belt,  of  the  Hebrews,  did 
not  come  over  the  slioulder,  as  among  the  Greeks, 
but  was  worn  upon  the  loins ;  whence  the  expression 
of  "sword  girded  on  the  loins."  They  were  gene- 
rally rich ;  and  sometimes  given  as  rewards  to  sol- 
diers^2  Sam.  xviii.  11.  Job,  exalting  the  power  of 
God,  says,  "  He  loosetlf  the  bond  of  kings,  and  gird- 
eth  their  loins  with  a  girdle,"  (chap.  xii.  18.)  where 
we  observe  two  kinds  of  girdles,  (1.)  the  royal  cinc- 
ture ;  (2.)  the  ordinary  girdle.  The  girdle  was  used 
as  a  purse,  (Matt.  x.  9;  Hag.  i.  6.)  where  the  English 
version  has  purse. 

GIRGASHITES,  see  Gergesenes,  and  Canaan- 
ITE9,  p.  243. 


GITH,  a  grain,  by  the  Greeks  called  Melanthion, 
by  the  Latins  Nigella,  because  it  is  black.  In  our 
tjanslation  fitches  or  vetches,  which  see. 

GITTITES,  the  inhabitants  of  Gath,  Josh.  xiii.  3. 
Obed-Edom  and  Ittai  are  called  Gittites,  (2  Sam.  vi. 
10;  XV.  19.)  probably,  because  they  visited  David  at 
Gath,  or  because  they  were  natives  of  Gittaim,  a  city 
of  Benjamin,  2  Sam.  iv.  3. 

GITTAIM,  a  town  of  Beniamin,  2  Sam.  iv.  3; 
Seh.  xi.  33. 

GITTITH,  a  word  which  occurs  frequently  in  the 
titles  of  the  Psalms.  The  conjectures  of  interpreters 
as  to  its  import  are  various.  Some  think  it  signifies 
a  sort  of  musical  instrument,  invented  at  Gath  ;  oth- 
ers that  the  Psalms  with  this  title  were  sung  during 
the  vintage.  The  word  Gath,  from  which  this  is 
the  feminine  gentile  form,  signifies  wine-press. 

GLEANING.  The  Hebrews  were  not  permitted 
to  go  over  their  trees  or  fields  a  second  time,  to  gath- 
er the  fi-uit  or  the  grain,  but  were  to  leave  the  glean- 
ings for  the  poor,  the  fatherless,  and  the  widow,  Lev. 
xix.  10  ;  xxiii.  22  ;  Deut.  xxiv.  21. 

GLORY,  splendor,  magnificence.  The  glory  of 
God,  in  the  writings  of  Moses,  denotes,  generally,  the 
Divine  presence,  Exod.  xxiv.  9,  10,  16,  17.  Moses, 
with  Aaron,  Nadab,  Abihu,  and  seventy  elders  of  Is- 
rael, went  up  mount  Sinai,  and  "saw  the  glory  of  the 
Lord."  The  glory  of  the  Lord  appeared  (Exod.  xvi. 
7,  10.)  to  Israel  in  the  cloud,  also,  when  he  gave  them 
manna  and  quails.  Moses  having  earnestly  begged 
of  God  to  reveal  his  glory  to  him,  was  answered  that 
he  could  not  see  his  face  and  hve,  Exod.  xxxiii. 
18,  22. 

The  ark  of  God  is  called  the  glorv  of  Israel ;  and 
the  glory  of  God,  (1  Sam.  iv.  21,  22;  Ps.  xxvi.  8.) 
and  Calmet  remarks  that  the  Psalmist  calls  his  in- 
struments of  music  his  glory,  in  Ps.  xxx.  12 ;  Ivii.  8, 
but  he  perhaps  rather  means,  his  voice,  his  tongue. 
The  priestly  ornaments  are  called  "  garments  of 
glory,"  (Exod.  xxviii.  2,  40.)  and  the  sacred  vessels, 
"vessels  of  glory,"  1  Mac.  ii.  9,  12.  When  the 
prophets  describe  the  conversion  of  the  Gentiles, 
they  say,  "the  glory  of  the  Lord"  shall  fill  all  the 
earth  ;  or,  the  whole  earth  shall  see  "  tlie  glory  of  the 
Lord."  Paul  terms  the  happiness  of  believers,  "the 
glory  of  the  sons  of  God,"  Rom.  v.  2  ;  2  Cor.  iv.  &c. 
When  the  Hebrews  required  an  oath  of  any  man, 
they  said,  "  Give  glory  to  God :"  confess  the  truth, 
give  him  glory,  confess  that  God  knows  the  most 
secret  thoughts,  the  very  bottom  of  your  hearts,  Josh, 
vii.  19 ;  John  ix.  24.  "  Children's  children  are  the 
crown  of  old  men,  and  the  glory  of  children  are  their 
fathers,"  Prov.  xvii.  6.  "AVonian  is  the  gloiy  of 
man,"  1  Cor.  xi.  7. 

When  God  thought  fit  to  call  his  servant  Moses  to 
himself,  he  directed  him  to  go  up  to  mount  Abarim. 
And  the  Lord  commanded  him  to  take  Joshua,  say- 
ing, "He  is  a  man  in  whom  is  the  spirit;  lay  thine 
hand  upon  him,  and  set  him  before  Eleazar,  and  be- 
fore all  the  congregation,  and  give  him  a  charge  in 
their  sight.  And  thou  shalt  put  some  of  thine  honor 
[Heb.  gloiy]  on  him,"  Numb,  xxvii.  20.  The  ques- 
tion is,  what  was  this  glory  ?  Onkelos,  and  some  rab- 
bins, are  of  opinion,  that  Moses  imparted  to  him  that 
lustre  which  surrounded  his  countenance  after  his 
conversation  with  God  ;  that  is,  a  part  of  it,  Exod. 
xxxiv.  29.  Moses,  they  say,  shincd  like  the  sun, 
and  Joshua  like  the  moon.  But  it  may  be  better  un- 
derstood of  that  authority  of  which  he  stood  in  need, 
for  the  government  committed  to  him.  3Ioses  gave 
him  his  orders  and  instructions,  that  he  might  acquit 


GNA 


[  459 


GO  A 


himself  with  dignity  and  honor.  Part  of  his  official 
dress,  also,  which  was  proper  to  confer  a  kind  of 
glory,  in  the  eyes  of  the  multitude,  might  have  been 
given  to  him. 

GNAT,  a  small  insect  well  known.  Several  com- 
mentators differ  from  our  translators  in  the  only 
place  where  the  latter  use  the  word  giiat  (Matt.  xxii. 
§4.)  by  introducing  another  insect,  more  immediately 
referable,  as  they  suppose,  to  the  subject  there  in- 
tended. (See  Camel.) — On  the  other  hand  the  LXX, 
Wisdom,  Philo,  Origen,  and  Jerome,  consider  the 
insects  which  produced  the  plague  translated  of  lice, 
(Exod.  viii.  16.)  as  rather  being  effected  by  gnats.  It 
will  be  remarked,  that  the  miracles  performed  in 
Egypt  refer  mostly,  if  not  entirely,  to  the  ^vater,  and 
to  the  air;  gnats  would  be  a  mixture  of  both.  Barbut 
says  of  these  creatures,  "Before  they  turn  to  flying 
insects,  they  have  been  in  some  manner  fishes,  under 
two  different  forms.  We  observe  in  stagnant  waters, 
from  the  beginning  of  ]May  till  winter,  small  grubs, 
with  their  heads  downwards,  their  hinder  parts  on 
the  surface  of  the  water ;  from  which  part  arises 
sideways  a  kind  of  vent-hole,  or  small  hollow  tube, 
like  a  funnel,  and  this  is  the  organ  of  respiration. 
The  head  is  armed  with  hooks,  that  serve  to  seize 
insects  and  bits  of  grass,  on  which  it  feeds.  On  the 
sides  are  placed  four  small  fins,  by  the  help  of  which 
the  insect  swims  about,  and  dives  to  the  bottom. 
These  larvae  retain  their  form  during  a  fortnight  O}- 
three  weeks,  after  which  period  they  turn  to  chrysa- 
lids.  All  the  parts  of  the  winged  insect  are  distin- 
guishable through  the  outward  robe  that  shrouds 
them.  The  chrysalids  are  rolled  up  into  spirals. 
The  situation  and  shape  of  the  windpipe  is  then  al- 
tered;  it  consists  of  two  tubes  near  the  head,  which 
occupy  the  place  of  the  stigmata,  through  which  the 
winged  insect  is  one  day  to  breathe.  After  three  or 
four  days'  strict  fasting,  they  pass  to  the  state  of  gnats. 
A  moment  before  water  was  its  element ;  but  now, 
become  an  aerial  insect,  he  can  no  longer  exist  in  it. 
He  swells  his  head  and  bursts  his  enclosure.  The 
robe  he  lately  wore  turns  to  a  ship,  of  which  the  in- 
sect is  the  mast  and  sail.  If  at  the  instant  the  gnat 
displays  his  wings  there  arises  a  breeze,  it  proves  to 
him  a  dreadful  hurricane ;  the  water  gets  into  the 
ship,  and  the  insect,  who  is  not  yet  loosened  from  it, 
sinks,  and  is  lost.  But  in  calm  weather  the  gnat 
foi-sakes  his  slough,  dries  himself,  flies  into  the  air, 
and  seeks  to  pump  the  ahmentary  juice  of  leaves,  or 
the  blood  of  man  and  beasts.  It  is  impossible  to  be- 
hold, and  not  admire,  the  amazing  structure  of  its 
sting,  which  is  a  tube,  containing  five  or  six  spicula, 
of  exquisite  minuteness ;  some  dentated  at  their  ex- 
tremity like  the  head  of  an  arrow,  others  sharp-edged 
like  razors.  These  spicula  introduced  into  the  veins, 
act  as  i)ump-suckers,  into  which  the  blood  ascends 
by  reason  of  the  smallness  of  the  capillary  tubes. 
The  insect  injects  a  small  quantity  of  liquor  into  the 
wound,  by  which  the  blood  becomes  more  fluid,  and 
is  seen  through  the  microscope  passing  through  those 
spicula.  The  animal  swells,  grows  red,  and  does  not 
quit  its  hold  till  it  has  gorged  itself.  The  female  de- 
posits her  eggs  on  the  water  by  the  help  of  her  mov- 
able hinder  part  and  her  legs,  placing  them  one  by 
the  side  of  another,  in  the  form  of  a  little  boat.  This 
vessel,  composed  of  two  or  three  hundred  eggs, 
swims  on  the  water  for  two  or  tiiree  days,  after 
which  they  are  hatched.  If  storms  arise,  the  boats 
are  sunk.  Every  month  there  is  a  fresh  progeny  of 
these  insects.  Were  they  not  devoured  by  swallows, 
by  other  birds,  and  by  several  carnivorous  insects, 


the  air  would  be  darkened  by  them.  Gnats,  in  this 
country,  however  troublesome,  do  not  bite  so  severe- 
ty  as  the  musketoe-flies  of  foreign  parts.  Both  by  day 
and  night  these  insects  enter  houses,  and  when  peo- 
ple are  in  bed  and  would  sleep,  they  begin  their 
disagreeable  humming  noise  ;  by  degrees  they  ap- 
proach the  bed,  and  often  fill  themselves  with  blood, 
sucked  from  the  suffering  sleeper.  Their  bite  causes 
blisters  in  people  of  any  delicacy.  Cold  weather 
diminishes  their  activitj' ;  but  after  rain  they  gather  in 
quantities  truly  astonishing.  In  the  great  heats  of 
summer,  the  air  seems  to  be  full  of  them.  In  some 
places  the  inhabitants  make  fires  before  their  houses 
to  expel  these  troublesome  guests.  Nevertheless, 
they  accompany  the  cattle  when  driven  home ;  and 
they  enter  in  swarms  wherever  they  can.  Forskal 
describes  the  stinging  gnat  as  being  of  the  size  and 
general  appearance  of  the  common  humming  gnat. 
"At  Rosetta,  Cairo,  and  Alexandria,  are  immense 
multitudes ;  they  disturb  sleep  at  night ;  and  can 
hardly  be  kept  out,  unless  the  curtains  be  carefully 
closed."  Hasselquist says,  (at  Cairo,)  "It  was  not  in 
the  power  of  our  janissary  to  protect  us  from  the 
gnats,  so  great  are  their  numbers.  The  rice  fields  are 
their  breeding  places,  and  they  lay  their  eggs  in  a 
marshy  soil.  They  are  smaller  than  those  of  Egypt, 
but  their  sting  is  sharper;  and  the  itching  they  cause 
is  insupportable.  They  are  ash-colored,  and  have 
white  spots  on  the  articulation  of  the  legs."  Sir  R. 
Wilson  affirms,  their  bite  was  particularly  venomous, 
especially  near  Rosetta.  "  IMany  of  those  disagreea- 
ble animals,  the  Egyptians  may  say,  are  also  inmates 
of  Europe,  but  in  no  other  country  are  they  so  nu- 
merous or  so  voracious  as  in  Egypt."  (Exped.  Egypt, 
p.  252.) 

The  reader  will  judge  from  these  representations, 
whether  the  gnat  do  not  bid  fair  to  be  the  Hebi-ew 
aj3,  Cinnim ;  being  winged,  it  would  spread  over  a 
district  or  counti*y,  with  equal  ease  as  over  a  village 
or  a  city,  and  would  be  equally  terrible  to  cattle  as  to 
men.  It  seems  also  to  precede  the  dog-fly,  or  zimb, 
with  great  propriety.  (See  Fly.)  It  should  be  added, 
that  the  gnat  abounds  not  in  gi-eat  rivers,  but  in 
ditches,  ponds,  and  repositories  of  water.  Moses, 
therefore,  did  not  strike  the  hill,  but  clods  of  earth,  as 
the  word  rendered  dust  may  import. 

GNOSTICS.  This  name  is  not  in  the  sacred 
writings  ;  but  the  apostles  Peter  and  Paul,  in  their 
epistles,  if  they  did  not  attack  the  heretics  who  after- 
wards were  known  by  this  name,  did  certainly  op- 
pose those  principles  which  afterwards  produced  the 
Gnostic  heresy.  They  professed  to  enjoy  a  higher 
degree  of  gnosis,  knowledge ;  and  regarded  all  those 
who  held  to  a  literal  interpretation  of  the  Scriptures, 
as  simple  and  ignorant.     (Comp.  1  Tim.  i.  3  ;  iii.  2.) 

I.  GOAT,  (ij",  -!•'>'"',)  a  well  known  animal,  which 
was  used  imder  the  law  both  tor  food  and  for  sacri- 
fice.— The  following  is  from  Harme^ : — "  Dr.  Russell 
observed  two  sorts  of  goats  about  Aleppo  :  one  that 
differed  little  from  the  common  sort  in  Britain ;  the 
other  remarkable  for  the  length  of  its  ears.  '  The 
size  of  the  animals,'  he  tells  us,  'is  somewhat  larger 
than  oui-s,  but  their  ears  are  often  a  foot  long,  and 
l)road  in  proportion.  They  were  kept  chiefly  for 
their  milk,  of  which  they  yielded  no  inconsiderable 
quantity.'  (}).  52.)  The  present  race  of  goats  in  the 
vicinity  of  Jerusalem  are,  it  seems,  of  this  broad- 
eared  species,  as  I  have  been  assured  by  a  gen- 
tleman that  lately  visited  the  Holy  Land,  (in  1774,) 
who  was  struck  with  the  difference  between  the 
goats  there,  and  those  that  he  saw  in  countries  not 


GOAT 


460  ] 


GOAT 


far  distant  from  Jerusalem.  *  They  are,'  he  says, 
'  black,  black  and  white,  and  some  gray,  with  re- 
maikable  long  eai's,  rather  larger  and  longer  than 
our  Welch  goats.'  This  kind  of  animal,  he  observed, 
in  some  neighboring  places,  differed  greatly  from  the 
above  description,  those  of  Balbec  in  particular, 
which  were  generally,  if  not  always,  so  far  as  he  ob- 
served, of  the  other  species.  These  last,  I  presume, 
are  of  the  sort  common  in  Great  Britain,  as  those 
about  Jerusalem  are  mostly  of  the  long-eared  kind  ; 
and  it  should  seem  they  were  of  the  same  long-eared 
kind  that  were  kept  anciently  in  Judea,  from  the 
words  of  the  prophet,  'As  the  shepherd  taketh  out  of 
the  mouth  of  the  lion,  two  legs,  or  apiece  of  an  ear: 
so  shall  the  children  of  Israel  be  taken  out  that  dwell 

in  Samaria and  in  Damascus,'   Amos  iii.  12. 

Though  it  is,  indeed,  the  intention  of  the  prophet  to 
express  the  smallness  of  that  partof  Israel  that  escaped 
from  destruction,  and  were  seated  in  foreign  coun- 
tries ;  jet  it  would  liave  been  hardly  natiu'al  to  have 
supposed  a  shepherd  would  exert  liimself  to  make  a 
lion  quit  a  piece  only  of  an  ear  of  a  common  goat ;  it 
must  be  supposed,  I  should  think,  to  refer  to  the 
large-eared  kind.  It  is  rather  amusing  to  the  im- 
agination, and  a  subject  of  speculation,  that  the  same 
species  of  goats  should  chiefly  prevail  about  Jerusa- 
lem, and  the  other  at  Balbec  ;  and  that  what  are  now 
chiefly  kej)t  in  the  Holy  Land,  should  have  been  the 
same  species  that  were  reared  there  two  thousand 
five  hundred  years  ago.  Is  it  the  nature  of  the 
country,  or  the  quality  of  the  feed  of  it,  that  is  the 
occasion  of  the  continuance  of  this  breed,  without 
deviation,  from  very  rrmote  times  ?  Rauwolff  ob- 
served goats  about  Jerusalem  with  hanging  ears,  al- 
most two  feet  long;  (p. 234.)  but  he  neither  mentions 
their  being  all,  or  mostly,  of  that  species,  nor  that  it 
is  another  species  that  is  most  commonly  kept  in  some 
of  the  neighboring  countries. 

"  Whether  the  kids  of  the  two  species  are  equally 
delicious,  travellers  have  not  informed  us  ;  but  it  ap- 
pears from  the  Hariri,  a  celebrated  writer  of  Meso- 
potamia, that  some  kinds  at  least  are  considered  as  a 
delicacy  ;  for,  describing  a  person's  breaking  in  upon 
a  great  pretender  to  mortification,  he  foimd  him  with 
one  of  his  disciples  entertaining  themselves  in  much 
satisfaction  with  bread  made  of  the  finest  of  flour,  with 
a  roasted  kid,  and  a  vessel  of  wine  before  them. 
This  last  is  an  indulgence  forbidden  by  tlie  Mahome- 
tans, and  with  bread  of  the  finest  flour,  proves  that  a 
roasted  kid  is  looked  upon  as  a  very  great  delicacy. 
Tliis  shows  in  what  light  we  are  to  consider  the 
gratification  proposed  to  be  sent  to  Tamar,  (Gen. 
xxxviii.  IG,  17.)  the  present  made  by  Samson  to  his 
intended  bride  ;  (Judg.  xv.  1.)  and  what  was  the  com- 
plaint made  by  the  elder  brother  of  the  prodigal  son, 
that  liis  father  had  never  given  him  a  kid  to  entertain 
his  friends  with :  he  might  have  enabled  him  to  give 
them  some  slight  repast ;  but  never  qualified  him  to 
treat  them  with  such  a  delicacy,  Luke  xv.  29." 

The  word  goat  is  sometimes  used  metaphorically. 
Om-  Saviour  says,  that  "at  the  day  of  judgment,  the 
goats  [the  wickcfl,  the  reprobate]  shall  be  placed  on 
the  left  hand,  and  condemned  to  eternal  fire,"  Matt. 
XXV.  3^,  41.  (See  also  Zech.  x.  3;  Isa.  xiv.  3  in  the 
Heb.  J  or.  1.8.) 

In  Lev.  xvii.  7,  God  commands  that  all  animals, 
designed  to  be  sacrificed,  shall  be  brought  to  the  door 
of  the  tabernacle :  "  And  they  shall  no  more  offer 
their  sacrifice  unto  devils  [literally,  to  goats]  after 
whom  they  have  gone  a  whoring."  2  Chron.  xi.  15, 
says,   "Jeroboam   established   priests   for   the   hin-h 


places,  and  for  the  goats  and  the  calves  he  had  made." 
The  Israelites  would  therefore  seem  to  have  made 
the  goat  an  object  of  idolatrous  worship,  like  the 
Egyptians.  Herodotus  says,  (lib.  i.  cap.  46.)  that  at 
Meiides,  in  Lower  Egypt,  both  the  male  and  female 
goat  were  worshipped  ;  that  the  god  Pan  had  the 
face  and  thighs  of  a  goat ;  not  that  they  believed 
him  to  be  of  this  figure,  but  because  it  had  been  cus- 
tomary to  represent  him  thus.  They  paid  divine 
honors,  also,  to  real  goats,  as  appears  in  the  table  of 
Isis.  The  abominations  committed  during  the  feasts 
of  these  infamous  deities  arc  well  known. 

II.  GOAT,  Scape-Goat.  On  the  great  day  of 
expiation,  the  elders  of  the  people  presented  two 
goats,  as  offerings,  for  the  sins  of  all  Israel  ;  of  which, 
one  was  to  be  slain,  the  other  banished  into  the  wil- 
derness ;  as  the  lot  determined.  The  latter  was  the 
Azazel,  or  scape-goat,  which,  thus  liberated,  yet 
loaded  with  the  imprecations  of  the  high-priest,  ex- 
pressing the  sins  of  all  the  people,  was  like  those 
animals  which  the  heathen  consecrated  to  some  of 
their  deities  and  then  set  at  hberty. 

The  following  ceremonies,  the  Jews  say,  were  ob- 
served relating  to  the  scape-goat.  Two  goats  were 
led  into  the  inner  court  of  the  temple,  and  presented 
to  the  high-priest  on  the  north  side  of  the  altar  of 
burnt-oflferings ;  one  being  placed  on  his  right,  the 
other  on  bis  left  hand.  An  mm  was  then  brought 
and  set  down  between  them,  and  two  lots  were  cast 
into  it,  of  wood,  silver,  or  gold,  (under  the  second 
temple,  always  of  the  last.)  On  one  lot  was  en- 
graved, ybr  the  Lord,  on  the  other,  ybr  Azazel.  After 
the  urn  had  been  well  shaken,  the  high-priest  put 
both  his  hands  at  once  into  it,  and  in  each  hand 
drew  out  a  lot ;  that  in  his  right  hand  decided  the 
fate  of  the  goat  placed  on  his  right, — that  in  his  left, 
of  the  goat  on  his  lefl  hand.  The  Jews  relate,  that 
during  the  whole  pontificate  of  Simon  the  Just,  the 
lot  which  he  drew  with  his  right  hand,  was  always 
that  inscribed  for  the  Lord,  which  was  taken  as  a 
happy  omen  ;  but  after  his  death,  sometimes  the  lot 
for  the  Lord  was  in  the  right  hand,  sometimes  in  the 
left.  After  drawing  these  lots,  the  high-priest  fast- 
ened a  long  fillet,  or  narrow  piece  of  scarlet,  to  the 
head  of  Azazel,  the  scape-goat.  Under  Simon  the 
Just,  the  Jews  say,  this  piece  appeared  always  white, 
which  was  a  divine  favor,  signifying  that  God  grant- 
ed the  people  remission  of  sins ;  whereas,  imder 
other  high-priests,  it  appeared  sometimes  white,  and 
sometimes  of  its  natural  color,  scarlet.  To  this,  they 
apply  the  words  of  Isaiah  :  "  Though  their  sins  were 
as  scarlet,  they  shall  be  white  as  snow,"  &c.  After 
the  sacrifice  of  that  goat,  which  the  lot  had  deter- 
mined for  the  Lord,  the  sca])e-goat  was  brought  to 
the  high-priest,  who  putting  both  his  hands  on  its 
head,  confessed  his  own  sins,  and  those  of  the  people. 
It  is  then  supposed  to  have  been  taken  into  the  wil- 
derness by  some  fit  person,  and  left  on  the  brink  of  a 
precipice,  at  a  great  distance  from  Jerusalem  ;  thus, 
figuratively,  carrying  aw'ay  with  it  all  the  sins  of  the 
people  of  Israel, 

The  following  curious  ceremony,  related  by  Mr. 
Bruce,  presents  a  striking  relation  to  that  of  the 
scape-goat : — 

"  We  found  that,  upon  some  discussion,  the  garri- 
son and  townsmen  had  been  fighting  for  several  days, 
in  which  disorders  the  greatest  part  of  the  ammuni- 
tion in  the  town  had  been  expended ;  but  it  had 
since  been  agreed  on  by  the  old  men  of  both  ))arties, 
that  nobody  had  been  to  blame  on  either  side,  but 
the  whole  wrong  was  the  work  of  a  camel.     A  came), 


GOAT 


[  401  ] 


GOAT 


therefore,  was  seized,  and  brought  ivithout  the  town, 
and  there  a  number  on  both  sides  having  met,  they 
upbraided  the  camel  with  every  thing  that  liad  been 
either  said  or  done.  The  camel  had  killed  men  ;  he 
had  tlireatened  to  set  the  town  on  fire  ;  the  camel  had 
threatened  to  burn  the  aga's  house,  and  the  castle ; 
he  had  cursed  the  grand  signior,  and  the  sheriffe 
of  jMecca;  (the  sovereigns  of  the  two  parties;)  and, 
the  only  thing  the  |)oor  animal  was  interested  in,  he 
had  tlireatened  to  destroy  the  wheat  that  was  going 
to  Mecca.  After  having  spent  great  part  of  the  af- 
ternoon in  upbraiding  the  camel,  whose  measure  of 
iniquity,  it  seems,  was  nearly  full,  each  man  thrust 
him  through  with  a  lance,  devoting  him,  diis  manihus 
et  dins,  bj'  a  kind  of  prayer,  and  with  a  thousand 
curses  upon  his  head.  After  wliich  every  man  re- 
tired, fully  satisfied  as  to  the  wrongs  he  had  received 
from  the  camel !  The  reader  will  easily  observe  in 
this  some  traces  of  the  Azazel,  or  scape-goat  of  the 
Jews,  which  was  turned  out  into  the  wilderness 
loaded  with  the  sins  of  the  people,  Levit.  xvi.  21." 
Such  is  the  remark  of  Mr.  Bruce,  to  which  it  is  not 
necessary  to  add.  We  remember  an  account  of  the 
Hindoo  ^ishummed  Jug,  or  sacrifice  of  a  horse,  which 
is  greatly  analogous  to  the  above. 

III.  GOAT,  Wild  Goat.  {'?-;\)  There  are  three 
places  in  Scripture  where  an  animal  of  the  goat  kind 
IS  mentioned,  either  directly  or  by  allusion,  which  it 
is  desirable  to  identify. — (1.)  1  Sam.  xxiv.  2,  "Saul 
went  to  seek  David  and  his  men  on  the  rocks  of  the 
wild  goats :"  literally,  on  the  superfices,  or  on  the  face 
of  the  rocks  of  the  yr'-tlim.  (2.)  Ps.  civ.  18,  "The 
high  mountains  to  the  ibices  are  a  refuge  ;  rocks  are 
the  refuge  to  the  saphanim."  But  (3.)  there  is  a 
third  passage,  (Job  xxxix.  1.)  where  this  creature  is 
more  distinctly  referred  to,  and  its  manners  described 
at  greater  length  :  in  our  translation,  "  Knowestthou 
the  time  when  the  wild  goats  of  the  rock  bring  forth  ? 
Canst  thou  mark  when  the  hinds  do  calve  ?  Canst 
thou  number  the  months  they  fulfil?  or,  knowest 
thou  the  time  when  they  bring  forth  ?  They  bow 
themselves  ;  they  bring  forth  their  young  ones ;  they 
cast  out  their  sorrows.  Their  young  ones  are  in 
good  liking  ;  they  grow  up  with  corn  :  they  go  forth, 
and  return  not  to  them."  (4.)  A  fourth  passage  (Prov. 
V.  19.)  presents  this  creature  (the  yd-ulah,)  in  a  femi- 
nine form  :  "  Let  thy  wife  be  as  the  loving  hind,  and 
the  pleasant  roe." 

These  two  last  passages  seem  to  be  unhappily  ren- 
dered :  for  (1.)  what  is  in  one,  the  wild  goat  of  the 
rocks,  is  in  the  other,  the  pleasant  roe ;  a  creature 
so  very  different,  that  one  rendering  or  the  other 
must  be  erroneous  ;  (2.)  the  wild  goat  of  the  rocks  is 
said  to  nourish  its  young  with  corn  ;  but  corn  is  not 
cultiv-ated  on  or  about  the  rocks  where  these  wild 
goats  are  found  ;  and  still  more  unfortunately,  the  ori- 
ginal word,  if  taken  in  the  sense  of  corn,  denotes  corn 
which  has  been  thrashed,  and  stripped  of  its  husk  :  a 
state  of  preparation  every  way  ill  associated  with  the 
barrenness  intended  to  be  described,  as  marking  the 
residence  of  the  wild  goats  of  the  rocks.  We  may, 
without  scruple,  take  the  word  for  the  ibex,  or  rock- 
goat  ;  and  to  this  agree  all  the  manners  attributed  to 
the  creature  in  Scripture  ;  which  describes  it  as  in- 
habiting rocks  and  mountains,  and  of  a  strongly  affec- 
tionate disposition. 

It  is  proper  in  the  first  place  to  discharge  the  pas- 
sage in  Jol)  from  its  corn  ;  in  fact,  the  word  render- 
ed corn  [bar,  -\2]  signifies  a  wild  desert  place,  an  ojien 
clear  country  ;  a  roaming  track.  So,  in  Dan.  ii.  38, 
animals  of  a  wild  country  have  the  epithet  bar ;  and 


the  Targums  use  it  frequently  in  this  sense  ;  bar  and 
bara,  in  the  Chaldee  form.  This  correction  leads  to 
a  different  view  of  the  passage. 

Knowest  thou  the  time  of  delivery  of  the  ibices  of 
the  rock  ? 

And  the  parturition  of  the  hinds  hast  thou  noted? 

Hast  thou  numbered  the  months  they  fulfil? 

And  knowest  thou  the  period  when  they  bring  forth? 

They  bow  themselves  ;  they  discharge  their  concep- 
tions ; 

They  cast  forth  their  burdens  ; 

Their  offspring  increase  in  strength  ; 

They  augment  in  size  in  the  wilds. 

They  go  of!',  and  return  to  them  [their  dams]  no  more. 

This  paragraph,  then,  it  appears,  forms  the  con- 
tinuation of  one  inquiry  ;  a  representation  perfectly 
accordant  throughout,  which  agrees  Avith  matter  of 
fact,  and  is  therefore  entitled  to  be  received  as 
correct.  The  ibex  being  extremely  rare,  and  inhab- 
iting the  highest  and  almost  inaccessible  mountains, 
the  descriptions  of  it  have  been  very  inaccurate  and 
confused.  For  the  best  description  of  its  nature  and 
manners  we  are  indebted  to  Dr.  Girtanner  and  M. 
Van  Berchem. 

From  the  information  communicated  by  these  two 
writers,  we  learn  that  the  ibex  is  now  chiefly  found 
ujjou  that  chain  of  mountains  which  stretches  from 
Daiiphine  through  Savoy  to  the  confines  of  Italy, 
and  principally  on  the  Alps  bordering  on  Mont 
Blanc,  which  is  the  most  elevated  part  of  the  chain. 
Naturalists  agi-ee  in  taking  the  specific  character  of 
the  ibex  from  the  beard  and  the  horns,  which  they 
describe  as  knobbed  along  the  upper  or  anterior  sur- 
face, and  reclining  towards  the  back.  The  male  is 
larger  than  the  tame  goat,  but  resembles  it  in  the 
outer  form.  The  head  is  small  in  proportion  to  the 
body,  with  the  muzzle  thick  and  compressed,  and  a 
little  arched.  The  eyes  are  large,  round,  and  have 
much  fire  and  brilliancy.  The  horns  are  large,  when 
of  a  full  size,  weighing  sometimes  sixteen  or  eighteen 
pounds,  flatted  before  and  rounded  behind,  with  one 
or  two  longitudinal  ridges,  and  many  transverse 
ridges  ;  which  degenerate  towards  the  tip  into  knobs. 
The  color  is  dusky  brown  ;  the  beard  long,  tawny, 
or  duskj'.  The  legs  slender,  with  hoofs  short,  hol- 
low on  the  inside,  and  on  the  outside  terminated  by 
a  salient  border,  like  those  of  the  chamois.  The 
body  is  short,  thick,  and  strong  ;  the  tail  short,  naked 
underneath,  and  the  rest  covered  with  long  hairs, 
white  at  the  base  and  sides,  black  above  and  at  the 
end.  The  coat  is  long,  but  not  ])cndant,  ash-colorcd, 
mixed  -.vitli  some  hoary  hairs  ;  a  black  list  runs  along 
the  back;  and  there  is  a  black  sjiot  above  and  below 
the  knees.  Its  color,  however,  like  that  of  other 
animals,  must  necessarily  vary  according  to  its  age 
and  to  local  circumstances.  The  female  is  one  third 
smaller  than  the  male,  and  not  so  corpulent ;  her 
color  is  less  tawny ;  her  horns  are  very  small,  and 
not  above  eight  inches  long.  In  these,  and  in  her 
figure,  she  resembles  a  goat  that  has  been  castrated 
while  young.  She  has  Wo  teats,  like  the  tame  she- 
goat,  and  never  has  any  beard,  unless  perhaps  in  an 
advanced  age. 

In  a  state  of  tranquillity,  the  ibex  commonly  carries 
the  head  low  ;  but  in  running  it  holds  it  high,  and 
even  bends  it  a  little  forward.  It  mounts  a  perpen- 
dicular rock  of  fifteen  feet  at  three  leaps,  or  rather 
three  successive  bounds.  It  does  not  seem  as  if  it 
found  any  footing  on  the  rock,  appearing  to  touch  it 


GOAT 


[  462  ] 


GOAT 


merely  to  be  repelled,  like  an  elastic  substance  strik- 
ing against  a  hard  body.  If  it  be  between  two  rocks 
which  are  near  each  other,  and  want  to  reach  the 
top,  it  leaps  from  the  side  of  one  rock  to  the  other, 
alternately,  till  it  has  attained  the  summit. 

The  ibices  feed,  during  the  night,  in  the  highest 
woods  ;  but  as  soon  as  the  sun  begins  to  gild  the 
summits,  they  quit  the  woody  region,  and  mount, 
feeding  in  their  progress,  till  they  have  reached  the 
most  considerable  heights.  They  betake  themselves 
to  the  sides  of  the  mountains  which  face  the  east  or 
south,  and  lie  down  in  the  highest  places  and  hottest 
exposures  ;  biU  when  the  sun  has  finished  njore  than 
three  quarters  of  its  course,  they  again  begin  to  feed, 
and  to  descend  towards  the  woods ;  to  which  they 
retire  when  it  is  likely  to  snow,  and  wliere  they  al- 
ways pass  the  wiiuer.  They  assemble  in  flocks, 
consisting  at  the  most  often,  twelve  or  fifteen  ;  or  in 
smaller  numbers,  according  to  iVI.  Van  Berchem  ; 
but  Burckhardt  says,  of  forty  or  fifty. 

The  females  go  with  young  five  months,  and  pro- 
duce in  the  last  week  of  June,  or  the  first  of  July.  At 
the  time  of  parturition  they  separate  from  the  males, 
retire  to  the  side  of  some  rill,  and  generally  bring 
forth  only  one  yoimg,  though  some  naturalists  aflirm 
that  they  occasionally  produce  two.  The  female 
shows  much  attachment  to  her  young,  and  even  de- 
fends it  against  eagles,  wolves,  and  other  oiemies ; 
she  takes  refuge  in  some  cavern,  and  presenting  her 
head  at  the  entrance  of  the  hole,  thus  opposes  the 
enemy. 

The  season  for  hunting  the  ibex  istoAvards  the  end 
of  summer,  and  in  autiunn,  during  the  months  of 
August  and  September,  when  they  are  usually  in 
good  condition.  None  but  the  inhabitants  of  the 
mountains  engage  in  the  chase ;  for  it  requires  not 
only  a  head  that  can  bear  to  look  down  from  the 
greatest  heights  without  terror,  address  and  sure- 
footedness  in  the  most  difficult  and  dangerous  passes, 
and  to  be  an  excellent  marksman,  but  also  much 
strength  and  vigor  to  supi)ort  hunger,  cold,  and  pro- 
digious fatigue. 

The  reader  will  gather  from  these  accounts,  that 
the  rock-goat  feeds  on  plants  sufficiently  distinct  from 
the  nature  of  corn  ;  insomuch  that  corn  may  be  con- 
sidered as  the  food  allotted  by  Providence  for  the 
support  of  its  young.  Also,  that  the  time  of  its  gesta- 
tion is  known — being  five  months.  But,  direct  proof 
is  still  wanting  of  the  afTcctionatc  constancy  of  the 
female  ibex,  which  it  has  been  supposed  might  be  the 
reference  intended  in  Prov.  v.  19.  However,  the 
general  natiu'e  and  habits  of  both  sexes  of  this  rock- 
goat  arc  undoubtedly  so  similar,  that  the  circumstan- 
tial evidence  to  this  effect  is  little  short  of  ])ositive 
testimony.  Moreover,  Pennant  informs  us,  that  "  the 
females  at  the  time  of  parturition  separate  from  the 
males,  and  retire  to  the  sific  of  some  rill,  to  bring 
foitli."  This  looks  as  if  the  females  usually  kept 
company  with  the  males  ;  and  where  the  creature  is 
scarce,  it  is  proliable  they  associate  in  pairs.  Neither 
is  this  probability  diminished  by  observing  that  the 
female  ibex  has  usually  one  kid,  very  rarely  two. 
This,  if  admissible,  sets  aside  the  objection  of  Mi- 
chaelis,  who  says,  "The  only  passage,  where  nSj" 
may  appear  not  to  agree  with  the  iliex,  is  Prov.  v.  19. 
Tills  difticulty  may  be  removed,  if  it  be  possible,  or 
customary,  among  the  orientals,  to  consider  the  fe- 
male ibex  as  an  emblem  of  a  beautiful  woman  ;  but 
I  cannot  conceive  how  an  animal  so  uncomely  can, 
in  any  language,  be  adopted  as  an  image  of  the  fair 
sex."     (Quest.  No.  81.) 


There  is  another  species  of  ibex,  the  horns  of 
which  are  smooth.  It  inhabits  the  mountains  of 
Caucasus  and  Taurus,  all  Asia  Minor,  and  perhaps 
the  mountains  of  India.  It  abounds  on  the  inhos- 
pitable hills  of  Laar  and  Khorasan  in  Persia.  It  is 
an  animal  of  vast  agility,  forMonardus  saw  onfe  leap 
from  a  high  tower,  and  fall  on  its  horns ;  then 
springing  on  its  legs,  leap  about,  without  having  re- 
ceived the  least  hurt.  Pennant  thinks  this  may  be 
the  origin  of  the  tame  goat.  The  female  of  this  kind 
is  either  destitute  of  horns,  or  has  short  ones. 

[The  S;"i,  ydel,  of  Scripture,  is  doubtless  the  ibex  or 
mountain-goat,  several  families  of  which  still  feed 
upon  the  scanty  vegetation  of  the  mountains  in  the 
peninsula  of  Sinai.  It  is  the  Capra  Jlrabic a,  and  is 
called  by  the  Arabs  Beden.  They  exist  also  in  great 
numbers  in  the  mountains  east  and  south  of  the 
Dead  sea,  the  ancient  moimt  Seir.  The  following 
account  of  them  is  from  Burckhardt:  (Travels  in 
Syria,  «fcc.  p.  405.)  "  In  all  the  wadys  south  of  the 
]>Iodjeb  (Arnon,)  and  j)articularly  in  those  of  the 
Modjeb  and  El  Ahsa,  large  herds  of  mountain-goats, 
called  by  the  Arabs  Beden,  are  met  with.  This  is 
the  Steinbock,  or  Bouquetin,  of  the  Swiss  and  Tyrol 
Alps  ;  they  pasture  in  flocks  of  forty  or  fifty  together  ; 
great  numbers  of  them  are  killed  by  the  people  of 
Kerek  and  Tafyle,  who  hold  their  flesh  in  high  esti- 
mation. They  sell  the  large  knotty  horns  to  the 
Hebrew  merchants,  who  carry  them  to  Jerusalem, 
where  they  are  wrought  into  handles  for  knives  and 
daggers.  I  saw  a  pair  of  these  horns  at  Kerek  three 
feet  and  a  half  in  length.  The  Arabs  told  me  that 
it  is  very  difficult  to  get  a  shot  at  them,  and  that  the 
hunters  hide  themselves  among  the  reeds  on  the 
banks  of  streams,  where  the  animals  resort  in  the 
evening  to  drink.  They  also  asserted,  that,  when 
)iursued,  they  will  throw  themselves  from  a  height  of 
fifty  feet  and  more  uj)on  their  heads  without  receiv- 
ing any  injury.  The  same  thing  is  asserted  by  the 
hunters  in  the  Alps." 

The  same  traveller  relates  the  following  incident 
in  ascending  mount  St.  Catharine,  adjacent  to  mount 
Sinai,  on  the  south-west:  (p.  571.)  "As  we  ap- 
proached the  summit  of  the  mouiUain,  we  saw  at  a 
distance  a  small  flock  of  inoiunain-goats  feeding 
among  the  rocks.  One  of  our  Arabs  left  us,  and  by 
a  widely  circuitous  route  endeavored  to  get  to  the 
leeward  of  them,  and  near  enough  to  fire  at  them; 
he  enjoined  us  to  remain  in  sight  of  them,  and  to  sit 
down  in  order  not  to  alarm  them.  He  had  nearly 
reached  a  favorable  spot  behind  a  rock,  when  the 
goats  suddenly  took  to  flight.  They  could  not  have 
seen  the  Arab  ;  but  the  wind  changed,  and  thus  they 
smelt  him.  The  chase  of  the  Beden,  as  the  wild  goat 
is  called,  resembles  that  of  the  chamois  of  the  Alps, 
and  requires  as  much  enterprise  and  patience.  The 
Arabs  make  long  circuits  to  snr])rise  them,  and  en- 
deavor to  come  upon  them  early  in  the  morning, 
when  they  feed.  The  goats  have  a  leader,  who  keeps 
watch,  and  on  any  sus])icious  smell,  sound,  or  object, 
makes  a  noise,  which  is  a  signal  to  the  flock  to  make 
their  escape.  They  have  much  decreased  of  late,  if 
we  may  believe  the  Arabs;  who  say  that  fifty  years 
ago,  if  a  stranger  came  to  a  tent,  and  the  owner  of  it 
liad  no  shec])  to  kill,  he  took  his  gun  and  went  in 
search  of  a  Beden.  They  are,  however,  even  now 
more  common  here  than  in  the  Al|is,  or  in  the  moun- 
tains to  the  east  of  the  Red  sea.  I  had  three  or  four 
of  them  brought  to  me  at  the  convent,  which  I  bought 
at  three  fomths  of  a  dollar  each.  The  flesh  is  excel- 
lent, and  has  nearly  the  same  flavor  as  that  of  the 


GOD 


463  ] 


GOL 


deer.  The  Bedouins  make  water-bags  of  their  skins, 
and  rings  of  their  liorns,  which  they  wear  on  their 
thumbs.  When  the  Beden  is  met  with  in  the  plains, 
the  dogs  of  the  hunters  easilj^  catch  him  ;  but  they 
cannot  come  up  with  him  among  the  rocks,  where 
he  can  make  leaps  of  twenty  feet."     *R. 

GOATS'  HAIR  was  used  by  Moses  in  making 
the  curtains  of  the  tabernacle,  Exod.  xxv.  4,  &c. 
The  liair  of  the  goats  of  Asia,  Phrygia,  and  Cilicia, 
which  is  cut  off,  in  order  to  manufacture  stuffs,  is 
very  bright  and  fine,  and  hangs  to  the  ground  ;  in 
beauty  it  almost  equals  silk,  and  is  never  sheared,  but 
combed  off.  The  shepherds  carefully  and  frequent- 
ly wash  these  goats  in  rivers.  The  women  of  the 
country  spin  the  hair,  which  is  carried  to  Angora, 
where  it  is  worked  and  dyed,  and  a  considerable 
trade  in  the  article  carried  on.  The  natives  attribute 
the  quality  of  the  hair  to  the  soil  of  the  country. 

GOB,  a  plain  where  two  battles  were  fought  be- 
tween the  Hebrews  and  Philistines,  2  Sam.  xxi.  18, 19. 
In  1  Chron.  xx.  4,  we  read  Gezer  instead  of  Gob. 
The  LXX,  in  some  copies,  read  Nob  instead  of  Gob; 
and  in  others,  Gath. 

GOD.  This  name  we  give  to  that  eternal,  infinite, 
and  incomprehensible  Being,  the  Creator  of  all  things; 
vviio  preserves  and  governs  all,  by  his  almighty  power 
and  wisdom,  and  is  the  only  proper  object  of  worship. 
God,  properly  speaking,  can  have  no  name  ;  for  as 
he  is  one,  and  not  subject  to  those  individual  quali- 
ties which  distinguish  men,  and  on  wliich  the  differ- 
ent denominations  given  to  them  arc  founded,  he 
needs  not  any  name  to  distinguish  him  from  others, 
or  to  jnark  a  difference  between  him  and  any,  since 
there  is  none  like  him.  The  names,  therefore,  w  hich 
we  ascribe  to  him,  are  descriptions  or  epithets,  wiiich 
express  our  sense  of  his  divine  perfections,  in  terms 
necessarily  ambiguous,  because  they  are  borrowed 
from  liuman  life  or  conceptions ;  rather  than  true 
names  which  justly  represent  his  nature.  (See  Elohi.) 
The  Hebrews  call  God,  Jehovah,  or  Jaho,  which 
they  never  pronounce  ;  substituting  for  it,  Adonai,  or 
Elohim  ;  lords,  masters  :  or  El,  strong  :  or  Shaddai :  or 
Elion,  the  Most  High :  or  El-Sabaoth,  God  of  Hosts  : 
or  Jail,  God.  In  Exod.  iii.  13,  14,  the  angel  who 
spoke  in  God's  name,  said  to  Moses,  "  Thus  shalt 
thou  say,  I  AM  hath  sent  me  unto  you  :"  I  am  He 
who  is ;  or,  I  shall  ever  be  He  who  shall  be.  See 
Jehovah  and  Name. 

GODLY,  that  which  proceeds  from  God,  and  is 
pleasing  to  him.  It  also  signifies  conformity  to  his 
will,  and  an  assimilation  to  his  character,  Ps.  xii.  1 ; 
Mai.  ii.  15;  2  Cor.  i.  12;  Tit.  ii.  12,  &c. 

GODS,  False  Gods.  The  name  of  God  (Elohim) 
is  very  ambiguous  in  the  Hebrew  Scriptures.  The 
true  God  is  often  called  Elohim  ;  as  are  the  angels, 
judges,  and  sometimes  idols  and  false  gods.  (See  Gen. 
L  1 ;  Exod.  xxii.  20 ;  Ps.  Ixxxvi.  8,  also  the  follow- 
ing passages  in  the  Hebrew:  Exod.  xxi.  6;  xxii.  8; 
1  Sam.  ii.  25;  Exod.  xxii.  28.)  Josephus  and  Philo 
beheve,  that  Moses,  in  the  last  passage,  designed  to 
forbid  the  speaking  evil  of  strange  gods.  Good  Is- 
raelites had  so  great  an  aversion  and  contempt  for 
strange  gods,  that  they  would  not  name  them ;  but 
substituted  some  term  of  contempt :  so,  instead  of 
z-—'y,  Elohim,  they  called  them  a'''?^'^N,  elilim,  nothings, 
vanities,  gods  of  no  value.  Sometimes  they  called 
idols,  ordwes  ;  Heb.  c^iSj,  gUhilitn.  God  forbids  the 
Israelites  from  swearing  by  strange  gods,  or  pro- 
nouncing their  names  in  oaths,  Exod.  xxiii.  13. 
Moses  says,  that  the  Israelites  worshipped  strange 
gods,  whom  they  knew  not,  and  whom  he  had  not 


given  to  them,  (Deut.  xxix.  26.)  gods  who  were  not 
their  own  ;  gods  to  whom  they  did  not  belong ; 
which  increases  the  ingratitude,  and  the  crime  of 
their  rebellion.  The  Hebrew  may  be  translated, 
"  strange  gods,  and  who  had  given  them  nothing;" 
When  w-e  compare  this  passage  with  others  of 
Scripture,  God  seems  to  have  abandoned  other  na- 
tions to  strange  gods,  to  the  stars,  to  their  idols,  but 
to  have  reserved  his  own  people  to  himself;  not  that 
he  hereby  excuses  the  idolatry  of  other  people  ;  but 
it  is  without  comparison,  less  criminal  than  that  of 
the  Hebrews.  (Compare  Deut.  xxix.  26,  with  iv.  19 ; 
xvii.3;  Acts  vii.  42  ;  Jer.  xix.  13;  2  Kings  xvii.  16; 
xxi.  3,  5  ;  2  Chron.  xxxiii.  3,  5  ;  Amos  v.  25 — 27.) 

GOG  and  MAGOG.  W^e  unite  these  two  names, 
because  Scripture  generally  joins  them.  Moses  (Gen. 
X.  2.)  speaks  of  Magog,  son  of  Japheth,  but  says 
nothing  of  Gog,  who  was  prince  of  Magog,  accord- 
ing to  Ezekiel  xxxviii.  xxxix.  Magog,  no  doubt,  sig- 
nifies the  country,  or  people ;  and  Gog  signifies  the 
king ;  but  critics  are  much  divided  as  to  the  people 
and  coiintry  intended  under  these  names.  The 
Scythians,  the  Goths,  the  Persians,  and  several  other 
nations,  have  been  identified  by  inter])reters  as  the 
3Iagog  of  the  Scriptures  ;  but  we  incline  to  think 
that  it  is  a  name  given  generally  to  the  northern  na- 
tions of  Em-ope  and  Asia  ;  or  the  districts  north  of  the 
Caucasus. — Calmet  is  of  opinion,  that  Gog  wasCam- 
byses,  king  of  Persia.  He  thinks  Gog  and  3Iagog,  in 
Ezekiel  and  the  Revelation,  (ch.  xx.  ?■ — 9.)  are  to  be 
taken  allegorically,  for  princes  who  are  enemies  to 
the  church.  By  Gog  in  Ezekiel,  many  understand 
Antiochus  Epiphanes,  the  persecutor  of  the  Jews; 
and  by  Gog  in  the  Revelation,  Antichrist. 

GOLAN,  see  Gaul  on. 

GOLD,  a  well-known  valuable  metal,  found  in 
many  parts  of  the  world,  but  the  greatest  quantity  of 
which  is  obtained  from  the  coast  of  Guinea.  It  is 
spoken  of  throughout  Scripture  ;  and  the  use  of  it 
among  the  ancient  Hebrews,  in  its  native  and  mixed 
state,  and  for  the  same  purposes  as  at  present,  Avas 
very  common.  The  ark  of  the  covenant  was  over- 
laid with  pure  gold  ;  the  mercy-seat,  the  vessels  and 
utensils  belonging  to  the  tabernacle,  and  those  also 
of  the  house  of  the  Lord,  as  well  as  the  drinking 
vessels  of  Solomon,  were  of  gold. 

GOLGOTHA,  (in  Greek,  y.Qanur.  cranium,  the  top 
of  the  skull,  or  head,)  a  small  hill,  or  rising,  on  a  greater 
hill,  or  mount,  north-west  of  Jerusalem  ;  so  called, 
either  from  its  foi-m,  which  resembles  a  human  skull ; 
or  because  criminals  were  executed  there.  Here  our 
Saviour  was  crucified  ;  and  near  to  it  he  was  buried, 
in  a  garden  belonging  to  Joseph  of  Arimaihea,  in  u 
tombcut  in  the  rock.  The  emperor  Adrian,  when 
he  rebuilt  Jerusalem,  and  called  it  ^Elia,  profaned 
the  tomb,  filling  it  up,  and  placing  idols  over  it;  but 
the  empress  Helena  had  it  cleansed,  and  built  over  it 
a  magnificent  church.  See  Calvary  and  Sepul- 
chre. 

I.  GOLIATH,  a  famous  giant  of  Gath,  (1  Sam. 
xvi.  4,  &c.  A.  M.  2941.  ante  A.  D.  1063.)  who  defied 
the  Heorews,  and  was  encountered  and  slain  by 
David.  He  was  descended  from  Arapha ;  that  is.  the 
old  Rephaim. 

II.  GOLIATH,  another  giant,  killed  by  Elha- 
nan,  son  of  Jair,  of  Bethleheni,  2  Sam.  xxi.  19.  In 
1  Chron.  xx.  5,  he  is  called  the  brother  of  Goliath 
the  Gittite ;  but  whether  he  were  really  his  brother, 
or  only  resembled  him  in  the  height  of  his  stature, 
and  therefore  his  brother  in  the  sense  of  being  bis 
equal,  we  know  not. 


GOS 


464  ] 


GOSHEN 


I.  GOMER,  the  eldest  son  of  Japheth,  (Gen.  x.  2.) 
peopled  a  considerable  part  of  Asia  Minor,  particu- 
larly the  region  of  Phrygia;  the  appellation  of  which 
Bochart  conceives,  with  great  probability,  to  be  a 
translation  into  Greek  of  the  Hebrew  word  Gomer, 
"a  coal:"  Phrygia  is  literally  the  burnt  country. 
From  these  parts  the  descendants  of  Gomer  emigrat- 
ed, till  Germany,  France,  and  Britain,  were  peopled 
by  them.  They  still  continue  marked,  if  not  distinct, 
in  the  ancient  Britons  in  Wales,  who  consider  them- 
selves to  have  emigrated  from  the  Crimea,  and  by 
that  route,  from  the  East ;  a  course  which  well  agrees 
with  the  hypothesis  here  proposed.  In  fact,  as  Mr. 
Mansford  remarks,  under  the  names  of  Cinimerii, 
Cimbri,  Cymrig,  Cumbri,  Umbri,  and  Cambri,  the 
tribes  of  Gomerians  extended  themselves  from  the 
Euxine  to  the  Atlantic,  and  from  Italy  to  the  Baltic, 
having  to  their  original  names,  those  of  Celts,  Gauls, 
Galatfe,  and  Gaels  superadded. 

n.  GOMER,  a  harlot,  whom  Hosea  the  prophet 
married,  Hos.  i.  3. 

GOMORRHA,  one  of  the  principal  cities  of  the 
Pentapolis ;  consumed  by  fire  from  heaven.  (See  Sea 
Dead.)  The  Hebrew  reads  Amora,  or  Homora  ;  but 
the  LXX  frequently  express  the  letter  ain,  y,  byg*. 

GOOD,  agreeable,  beautiful,  perfect  in  its  kind. 
"  God  beheld  all  he  had  created,  and  it  was  very 
good,"  (Gen.  i.  31,)  every  creature  had  its  proper  good- 
ness, beauty,  perfection.  "  This  man  never  prophe- 
sieth  good  to  me,"  (2  Chron.  xviii.  7.)  nothing  agree- 
able. A  good  eye  signifies — liberality  ;  an  evil  eye — 
a  covetous,  an  envious  person. 

GOPHER  WOOD.  Bochart,  Fuller,  and  some 
other  writers  have  maintained,  that  the  gopher  wood 
of  which  the  ark  was  made  (Gen.  vi.  14.)  was  cypress. 
This  is  argued — First,  from  the  appellation:  for  if,  from 
the  Greek  zr-TKoiaooc,  be  taken  the  termination  inoug, 
yi-.TLio  and  i^j  gopher  w'lW  nearly  reseml^le  each  other. 
Secondly,  because,  as  they  prove  from  the  ancients, 
no  wood  is  more  durable  against  rot  and  worms. 
Thirdl}',  because,  as  Bochart  particularly  shows,  the 
cypress  was  very  fit  for  ship-building,  and  actually 
used  for  that  purpose  where  it  grew  in  sufficient 
plenty.  And  lastly,  because  it  abounded  in  Assyria, 
where  Noali  probably  built  the  ark.  On  the  other 
hand,  Ascuarius,  Munster,  Taylor,  and  some  other 
critics,  think  the  pine  bids  fairest  to  furnish  the  wood 
described  by  the  Hebrew  word  ;  its  relative  gophrit 
signifying  sulphur,  brimstone,  &c.  and  no  wood  pro- 
ducing ])itch,  tar,  turi)entine,  and  other  inflammables, 
in  such  quantities  as  the  pine.  After  ^\\,  gopher  may- 
probably  be  a  general  name  for  such  trees  as  abound 
with  resinous  inflammable  juices  ;  as  the  cedar,  cy- 
press, fir-tree,  pine,  &c. 

GOPHNA,  GupHNA,  or  Gophnith,  the  princij)al 
place  of  one  of  the  ten  toparchies  of  Judea.  Josephus 
genorally  joins  it  with  the  Acrabatene  ;  and  Eusebius 
places  it  fifteen  miles  north  of  .lerusalem. 

I.  GOSHEN,  the  name  of  that  tract  of  country  in 
Egy[)t,  which  was  inhabited  by  the  Isi-aelites  from 
the  time  of  Jacob  to  that  of  Moses.  It  was  most 
probably  the  tract  lying  eastward  of  the  Pelusian 
arm  of  the  Nile,  towards  Arabia,  i.  e.  between  that 
arm  on  the  one  side,  and  the  Red  sea  and  the  borders 
of  Palestine  on  the  other.  Conmientators,  however, 
have  been  greatly  divided  in  respect  to  the  situation 
of  Goshen.  Cellarins,  Shaw,  and  others,  su|)pose  it 
to  be  the  region  around  Hcliopolis,  not  fiir  from  the 
modern  Cairo;  Bryant  places  it  in  the  Saitic  nome 
or  ])rovince;  (Obs.  on  the  Plagues  of  Egypt.)  while 
Jablonsky  strangely  endeavors  to  fix  it  near  Heraclea 


in  Middle  Egypt,  on  the  western  bank  of  the  Nile  ! 
But  most  modern  interpreters  and  travellers  coincide 
in  the  view  above  given,  that  it  was  the  part  of  Egypt 
eastward  of  the  Delta  ;  so  Michaelis,  Gesenius,  Ro- 
senmiiller,  Niebidir,  and  also  the  deputation  of 
French  engineers  sent  by  Bonaparte  to  explore  this 
country,  and  especially  the  route  of  the  ancient  canal, 
while  the  French  had  possession  of  Egypt  in  1799. 
In  accordance,  also,  with  this  view,  professor  Stuart 
has  treated  of  the  subject  in  his  Course  of  Hebrew 
Study,  Vol.  II.  Excursus  ii.  p.  158  ;  to  which  the 
reader  is  referred.  The  reasons  on  which  this  opin- 
ion is  founded  may  be  briefly  stated  as  follows  : 

1.  The  notices  contained  in  Scripture  itself. — (1.) 
From  Exod.  xiii.  17,  and  1  Chron.  vii.  21,  it  appears 
that  the  land  of  Goshen  was  adjacent  to  the  land  of 
the  Philistines,  or  at  least  nearer  to  it  than  the  other 
parts  of  Egypt. — (9.)  In  Gen.  xlvii.  29,  Joseph,  it  is 
said,  ivent  up  from  Egypt  to  meet  liis  father  on  his 
arrival  in  Goshen, — a  mode  of  expression  which  is 
always  used  in  respect  to  those  who  go  from  Egypt 
towards  Palestine ;  while  those  who  go  from  Pales- 
tine to  Egypt  are  always  said  to  go  down. — (3.)  Ac- 
cording to  Gen.  xlv.  10,  Goshen  was  not  far  off  from 
(was  near  to)  the  royal  residence  of  the  kings  of 
Egypt  at  that  time,  which  according  to  Josephus  was 
Memphis,  but  according  to  Ps.  Ixxviii.  12,  was  Zoan 
or  Tanis,  on  the  second  branch  of  the  Nile,  and 
within  the  Delta. — (4.)  The  Israelites  set  off"  from 
Ramescs,  (Ex.  xii.  37.)  the  metropolis  of  Goshen,  and 
probably  near  the  centre  of  the  province,  and  reach- 
ed the  Red  sea  in  three  days  ;  or  more  probably  in 
two,  if  Etham  lay  at  its  northern  extremity,  in  the 
edge  of  the  desert.  This  would  have  been  impossi- 
ble, had  they  come  from  the  vicinity  of  the  Nile. — 
(5.)  The  probable  sites  of  the  cities  built  in  Gosheu 
by  the  Israelites,  as  Rameses  and  Pithom,  are  found 
in  this  region. 

2.  With  the  above  notices  agree  also  those  existing 
in  the  ancient  translators  of  the  Scriptures,  and  in 
other  writers. — (1.)  The  Seventy,  who  made  their 
version  in  Egypt,  and  who  are  consequently  of  great 
authority  in  every  thing  relative  to  that  country,  give 
the  Hebrew  name  in  Gen.  xlv.  10,  hy  r^niv  'yf^iaiila?, 
Goshen  of  Jirabia,  manifestly  signifying  that  Goshen 
was  on  the  east  of  the  Nile.  Indeed  the  name  of 
Arabia  was  soirietimes  applied  to  all  that  part  of 
Egypt  and  Ethiopia  which  lies  between  the  Nile  and 
the  Red  sea ;  and  especially  the  so  called  Jlrahian 
nome  (n'v"-  'Ji^a^lac)  was  in  the  tract  which  we 
assign  to  Goshen.  (Ptolem.  Geogr.  vi.  8  ;  Plin.  v.  9.) 
In  another  place,  (Gen.  xlvi.  28.)  for  the  Hebrew 
reading  land  of  Goshen,  they  put  j^k.t  '//ne.'on  Tii.'/./r  ei'g 
Yi',f' Patifnni',,  to  HeroopoUs  in  the  land  of  Rameses ; 
from  which  we  may  gather  that  the  city  of  Heroopo- 
lis  was  reckoned  to  Goshen,  and  that  the  whole 
country  was  sometimes  called  Ramesc^s  after  its  cap- 
ital.— (2.)  JosEpnus  evidently  reckons  Heliopolis  to 
Goshen  ;  (Antiq.  ii.  7.  ().)  following  probably  the  Sep- 
tuagint  version  of  Ex.  i.  11,  where,  in  enmiierating 
the  cities  built  by  the  Israelites,  in  addition  to  Ra- 
meses and  Pithom,  they  mention  also  On,  ivhirh  is 
Heliop(dis.  On  our  hypothesis,  this  city  might  have 
been  in  quite  the  south-western  corner  of  Goshen. — 
(3.)  The  authority  of  Saadias,  the  Arabic  translator, 
is  here  very  great,  as  he  was  himself  an  Egyptian, 
Fijumensis  ;  he  always,  for  Goshen,  ])uts  Sedir.  This 
was  the  name  of  a  fortress  and  of  the  region  around 
it,  in  the  Egyptian  province  Sharkiyeh,  in  which  also 
was  the  nome  Tarabin,  (tin;  Arabian  nome  of  Ptole- 
my,) as  is  shewn  by  De  Sacy  and  also  by  Quatre- 


GOSHEN 


f  465  ] 


GOSHEN 


mere.  (Mem.  siir  I'Egypte  I.  p.  61.)  In  accordance 
with  this  view  is  also  the  testimony  of  Makrizi,  the 
celebrated  Arabian  writer,  who  describes  the  land  of 
Goshen  as  being  the  country  around  Bilbeis,  and 
extending  to  the  land  of  the  Amalekites. 

With  the  above  hypothesis  agrees  well  also  the 
general  character  of  this  district.  It  is  in  general  not 
ca[)able  of  tillage,  because  it  lies  for  the  most  part 
beyond  the  reach  of  the  inundations  of  the  Nile;  but 
it  is  so  much  the  more  adapted  to  the  uses  of  noma- 
dic shepiierds,  such  as  were  Jacob  and  his  sons,  and 
was  consequently  for  them  the  best  of  the  land.  (Gen. 
xlvii.  6,  11.)  So  true  was  this,  that  even  in  later 
times,  after  the  conquest  of  Egypt  by  the  Mohamme- 
dans, the  region  around  Bilbeis  (the  land  of  Goshen) 
was  assigned  to  the  Arabian  nomadic  tribes,  who  had 
taken  part  in  the  conquest,  as  their  appropriate  por- 
tion.   (Quatremere,  Mem.  I.  p.  60.) 

This  tract  of  country  in  general,  or  isthmus,  is 
described  by  M.  Roziere,  a  member  of  the  French 
deputation  above-mentioned,  as  a  vast  plain,  but  little 
elevated  above  tlie  sea  ;  now  and  then  having  a  roll- 
ing surface  ;  interspersed  also  with  hills,  in  general 
small,  steep  on  one  side,  and  gradual  on  the  other. 
It  is  every  where  intersected  by  valleys,  (wadys)  wide, 
but  not  deep,  apparently  made  by  the  Nile  and  the 
rains.  In  these,  particularly  during  the  rainy  season, 
there  is  abundance  of  grass,  bushes,  and  other  vege- 
tation, on  which  the  camels  that  cross  the  deserts  in 
caravans,  are  fed.  In  general,  the  whole  plain  is 
covered  with  more  or  less  of  vegetation,  excepting 
those  parts  where  drift-sands  conipose  the  principal 
part  of  the  soil,  or  where  there  are  salt  lagoons,  near 
»vhich  the  whole  soil  is  covered  or  mixed  with  saline 
excrescences. 

In  February,  1827,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Smith,  American 
missionary,  passed  with  a  caravan  direct  from  Bil- 
beis to  El  Arish,  on  the  borders  of  Palestine,  across 
the  desert,  and  of  course  through  the  northern  part 
of  the  district  of  Goshen.  From  Bilbeis  they  travel- 
led the  first  daj'  over  an  immense  plain  of  coarse 
sand,  almost  entirely  destitute  of  vegetation.  "  Af- 
terwards," he  observes,  "  the  desert  became  uneven 
and  hilly,  and  presented  a  great  variety  of  surface 
and  prospect  as  we  advanced,  the  fine  movable  sand 
increased,  forming  little  hillocks  around  the  shrubs, 
and  covering  the  tops  of  the  highest  hills  with 
inmiense  drifts,  formed  and  shaped  in  the  same 
manner  as  banks  of  snow.  Several  species  of  ever- 
green shrubs,  resembling  our  whortleberry  bush,  find 
sustenance  in  the  sand  of  the  desert,  and  are  scattered 
in  some  places  more,  and  in  others  less  thickly,  over 
the  whole  of  it.  OC grass  I  saw  none,  except  a  little 
in  a  very  few  places,  growing  in  bogs,  as  if  in 
swamps.  It  is  on  the  shrubs  just  mentioned,  that 
the  Betlouins  pasture  their  flocks.  Of  these  we  saw 
none  until  the  fifth  day  ;  after  that,  many,  which  wen; 
always  composed  of  goats  and  sheep  together,  and 
attended  by  females."  (Stuart's  Course  of  Heb.  Study, 
II.  p.  165.) 

A  very  striking  feature  of  this  region  of  country, 
i.  e.  Goshen,  is  the  gi-eat  valley  of  Saba  Byar,  i.  e. 
seven  wells,  through  which  passed  the  ancient  canal 
that  united  the  Nile  with  the  Red  sea.  This  canal 
was  found  by  the  French  engineers  to  be  still  in  a 
state  of  preservation  in  many  parts  of  it.  The  first 
section  of  it  begins  near  the  head  of  the  Red  sea,  just 
north  of  Suez,  (see  under  Exodus,  p.  410.)  and  runs 
up  through  a  low  wady  to  the  Bitter  lakes,  about 
thirteen  and  a  half  miles'.  The  second  section  con- 
sists of  the  basin  of  these  lakes,  which  run  in  a  north- 
59 


westerly  direction  about  twenty-seven  miles,  and  the 
bottom  of  which  is  from  twenty  to  fifty-four  feet  lower 
than  the  high-water  mark  of  the  Red  sea.  The  third 
section  of  the  canal  runs  from  Serapeum,  at  the  head 
of  these  lakes,  westward,  through  the  above-mentioned 
Wady  Saba  Byar,  about  thirty-nine  miles,  to  Abasseh, 
at  the  western  end  of  the  wady,  wliere  it  joins  the 
valley  of  the  Nile.  The  fourth  and  last  section  runs 
from  Abasseh  to  Bubastis,  (Pi  Besetli,  Ezek.  xxx.  17.) 
which  was  on  the  Pelusiac,  or  eastern  branch  of  the 
Nile,  about  twelve  miles  from  Abasseh.  The  whole 
valley  of  Saba  Byar,  from  Abasseh  to  Serapeum,  is 
subject  to  be  overflowed  by  the  Nile,  when  fully 
swelled.  In  1800,  while  the  French  were  there,  the 
Nile  not  only  flowed  into  the  vallej-,  but  broke 
through  a  gi-eat  dyke  near  the  middle  of  it,  and  pen- 
etrated almost  to  the  Bitter  lakes.  The  water  on  this 
occasion,  in  some  parts  of  the  valley,  was  from  twen- 
ty to  thirty  feet  deep.  The  soil  is  consequently  cov- 
ered by  the  rich  deposit  of  the  Nile,  and  is  of  the 
same  character  as  that  of  the  rest  of  Egypt  near  the 
Nile,  though  not  so  deep.  Sweet  water  is  ev^ry 
where  found  in  it  on  digging  a  few  feet.  The  canal 
ran  along  the  northern  side  of  this  valley,  upon  the 
hill  or  ascent  which  bounds  it  on  that  side. 

A  similar,  but  more  extensive,  valley  still  farther 
west  is  mentioned  by  Mr.  Smith  on  his  route  from 
Bilbeis  to  El  Arish.  Soon  after  leaving  Bilbeis,  they 
struck  off"  to  the  right  into  the  desert.  Afterwards, 
he  says,  "  We  passed  one  tract  of  land,  the  features 
of  which  were  so  distinctly  marked  as  to  excite  con- 
siderable curiosity.  It  was  a  sort  of  valley,  a  little 
lower  than  the  surrounding  country,  into  which  we 
descended,  about  ten  and  a  half  hours  [some  thirty- 
five  miles]  from  Bilbeis.  It  extends  north-west  and 
south-east,  descending  towards  the  Nile,  and  naiTow- 
ing  in  this  direction.  We  were  told  that  the  Nile 
occasionally  flows  up  this  valley  to  the  spot  where 
we  crossed  it.  Towards  the  south-east,  it  gradually 
ascends,  and  widens  into  an  immense  plain,  the  lim- 
its of  which,  in  that  direction,  we  could  not  discern. 
From  this  plain,  the  eastern  extremity  of  Suez 
mountain,  which  now  for  the  first  time  showed  itself, 
bore  south  by  east.  The  soil  of  this  tract  was  a  dark 
mould.  I  do  not  doubt  that  water  might  be  found 
in  any  part  of  it,  by  digging  a  few  feet.  Indeed,  after 
travelling  upon  it  four  and  a  half  hours,  [about  four- 
teen or  fifteen  miles]  we  came  to  a  well  only  twelve 
or  fifteen  feet  deep,  but  sufficiently  copious  to  water 
the  [two  hundred]  camels  and  fill  the  water-skins  of 
the  whole  caravan,  and  containing  .the  only  sweet 
water  that  we  found  in  the  desert,  all  the  other  wells 
being  brackish.  It  is  called  Mu  Suair.  Having 
seen  how  extensively  artificial  irrigation  is  practised 
in  Egypt,  I  was  easily  persuaded  that  this  whole  tract 
might  once  have  been  under  the  highest  state  of  cul- 
tivation."    (Stuart  1.  c.  p.  166.) 

Valleys  or  wadys  like  these  would  furnish  to  the 
Israelites  an  abimdance  of  fertile  soil  to  live  upon, 
with  the  opportunity  of  pasturing  their  flocks  in  the 
surrounding  deserts.  That  this  was,  therefore,  the 
best  of  the  land  of  Egypt  fo^the  Hebrews,  is  manifest ; 
that  it  was  so  also  for  the  Bedouin  tribes  who  helped 
the  Mohammedans  to  conquer  Egypt,  has  been  men- 
tioned above ;  and  that  at  a  still  later  period  it  was 
regarded  as  one  of  the  wealthiest  portions  of  Egypt, 
is  apparent  from  a  circumstance  mentioned  in  De 
Sacy's  translation  of  Abdollatiph's  Description  of 
Egypt.  Appended  to  this  work  is  a  valuation  of  the 
Egyptian  provinces  made  in  A.  D.  1376,  for  the  pur- 
poses of  taxation.     The   province   Sharkiyeh  (Go- 


GOS 


[  466  ] 


GOSPEL 


shen)  is  there  said  to  contain  380  towns  and  villages, 
and  is  valued  at  1,411,875  dinars  ;  a  valuation  high- 
er than  that  of  any  of  the  other  provinces  (except 
one)  either  of  Lower  or  Upper  Egypt.  (De  Sacy, 
Relat.  d'Egypte,  par  Abdallatiph,  p.  593,  seq.) 

As  cities  of  Goshen,  are  mentioned  Pithom  and 
Rameses;  the  former,  probably  the  Patoiimos  of  the 
Greeks,  on  the  canal,  at  the  western  embouchure  of 
the  Wady  Saba  Byar  ;  and  the  latter  situated  proba- 
bly about  the  middle  of  that  valley,  at  Aboukeyshid, 
a  place  where  ruins  are  still  found.  This  is  the 
opinion  of  M.  Rozi^re,  and  also  of  lord  Valentia  ;  and 
it  is  also  adopted  by  professor  Stuart.  Other  places 
are  also  mentioned,  as  Succoth,  Etham,  Pi-hahiroth, 
Baal-zephou,  and  iMigdol ;  for  which  see  these  arti- 
cles rcspectivelv,  and  also  the  article  Exodus,  p. 
400,  seq.    *R. 

•II.  GOSHEN,  a  city  and  the  territory  around  it 
in  the  mountains  of  Judah,  Josh.  x.  41 ;  xi.  16;  xv. 
51.     R. 

GOSPEL,  Evayyi^.iot,  good  news.  The  subject  of 
the  apostolic  message  is  called  the  Gospel ;  that  is, 
a  good  message,  or  glad  tidings,  as  the  same  word  is 
Bometimes  rendered,  Luke  ii.  10  ;  Acts  xiii.  32.  It 
is  also  called  "the  Gospel  of  peace,"  (Rom.  x.  5.) 
because  it  proclaims  peace  with  God  to  guilty  rebels 
through  Jesus  Christ.  "The  word  of  reconciliation," 
(2  Cor.  v,  19.)  because  it  shows  how  God  is  recon- 
ciled to  sinners,  and  contains  the  great  motive  or  ar- 
gument for  reconciling  their  minds  to  him.  "  The 
Gospel  of  salvation,"  (E])h.  i.  13.)  because  it  holds 
forth  salvation  to  the  lost  or  miserable.  "  The  Gospel 
of  the  grace  of  God,"  (Acts  xx.  24.)  as  being  a  dec- 
laration of  God's  free  favor  and  unmerited  love  and 
good-will  to  the  utterly  worthless  and  undeserving. 
"  The  Gospel  of  the  kingdom,"  (Matt.  xxiv.  14.)  be- 
cause it  proclaims  the  power  and  dominion  of  the 
Messiah,  and  the  nature  and  privileges  of  his  king- 
dom, which  is  not  of  this  world. — It  is  termed  tlie 
tridh,  (John  xviii.  37  ;  2  Thess.  ii.  13  ;  1  John  ii.  21.) 
not  only  as  being  the  most  important  of  all  truths, 
and  the  testimony  of  God,  who  cannot  lie,  (1  John 
v.  9.)  but  also  because  it  is  the  accomplishment  of 
Old  Testament  prophecies,  and  the  substance,  spirit, 
and  truth  of  all  the  shadows  and  types  of  the  former 
economy.  A  general  idea  of  the  Gospel  may  also 
be  formed  from  the  short  summaries  given  of  it  in 
various  parts  of  the  New  Testament.  Jesus  sums 
up  the  Gospel  to  Nicodcnius  thus :  "  As  Moses  lifted 
up  the  serpent  in  the  wilderness,  even  so  must  the 
Son  of  man  be  lifted  u]),  that  whosoever  believeth 
on  liiin  should  not  perish,  but  have  eternal  life. 
For  God  so  loved  the  world,  tliat  he  gave  his  only- 
begotten  Son,  that  whosoever  believeth  on  him 
might  not  perish,  but  have  everlasting  life,"  John  iii. 
14,  15,  16.  Paul  gives  several  brief  compendiums 
of  the  Gospel,  from  which  we  siiall  select  the  follow- 
ing :  "  Moreover,  brethren,  I  declare  unto  you  the 
Gospel  which  I  preached  unto  you — by  the  which  ye 
are  also  saved — how  that  Clirist  ditnl  for  our  sins 
according  to  the  Scriptures,  and  that  he  was  buried, 
and  that  he  rosi;  again  the  third  day,  according  to  the 
Scriptures,"  1  (^or.  xv.  1 — 5.  "God  hatii  given  to  us 
the  ministry  of  reconciliation,  to  wit,  that  God  was  in 
Christ,  reconciling  the  world  to  himself,  not  im- 
puting their  trespasses  unto  them.  For  he  hath 
made  him  ( timorlm)  a  sin-oficring  for  us  who  knew 
no  sin,  that  W(!  might  be  niad(t  the  righteousness  of 
God  in  him,"  2  Cor.  v.  19— 2L  "This  is  a  faithful 
saying,  and  worthy  of  all  acceptation,  that  Jesus 
Chiidt  catne  imo  the  woiM  to  pave  siuners,  of  whom 


I  am  chief,"  1  Tim.  i.  15.  John  gives  the  substance 
of  the  Gospel  testimony  in  these  words  :  "This  is  the 
record  {uuQzv(^ia,  witness  or  testimony)  that  God  hath 
given  unto  us,  eternal  life  ;  and  this  life  is  in  his  Son. 
He  that  hath  the  Son  hath  life,"  1  John  v.  11,  12. 
Maclean. 

The  writings  which  contain  the  recital  of  our 
Saviour's  life,  miracles,  death,  resurrection,  and 
doctrine,  are  called  Gospels,  because  they  include 
the  best  news  that  could  be  published  to  mankind. 
We  have  but  four  canonical  Gospels — those  of  Mat- 
thew, Mark,  Luke,  and  John.  These  have  not  only 
been  generally  received,  but  they  were  received 
very  early,  as  the  standards  of  evangelical  history ; 
as  the  depositories  of  the  doctrines  and  actions  of 
Jesus.  They  are  appealed  to  under  that  character 
both  by  friends  and  enemies  ;  and  no  writer  im- 
pugning or  defending  Christianity,  acknowledges  a 
fifth  Gospel  as  of  equal  or  concurrent  authority,  al- 
though there  were  many  others  which  purported  to 
be  authentic  memoirs  of  the  life  and  actions  of  Christ. 
A  full  account  of  these  spurious  productions  may  be 
found  in  Fabricius's  Codex  Apocryphus  No\t  Testa- 
menti.  Jones's  well-known  work  in  the  Apocryphal 
canon  also  gives  an  account  of  the  principal  of  them. 

The  evangelist  Luke,  in  the  preface  to  his  Gospel, 
observes,  that  "  maxNy"  had  taken  in  hand  to  draw 
up  histories  of  Christian  events.  He  does  not  blame 
these  writers ;  but  rather  associates  himself  with 
them  by  the  phrase,  "  It  hath  seemed  good  to  me 
also."  Nothing  could  be  more  natural,  than  that 
transactions  which  raised  so  much  interest,  among 
the  Jewish  peoj)le  especially,  should  excite  the  wishes 
of  those  at  a  distance  from  the  places  where  they 
occurred,  to  receive  that  information  which  writing 
only  could  correctly  furnish.  Paul,  pleading  before 
Agrippa,  ascribes  to  that  prince  a  knowledge  of  Chris- 
tian events  ;  and  asserts,  that  "these  things  were  not 
done  in  a  corner."  What  was  so  public  and  notori- 
ous was,  doubtless,  in  general  circulation,  as  well 
by  writing  as  by  report ;  but,  after  the  publication 
of  the  four  Gospels  now  extant,  the  former  docu- 
ments sunk  into  oblivion,  and  were  no  longer  distin- 
guished. 

[The  remarks  which  follow  here  are  from  the  pen  of 
Mr.  Taylor.  They  exhibit  a  view  of  the  subject  which 
has  been  taken  by  some ;  but  which  more  thorough 
investigation  has  shown  to  be  untenable.  For  the 
present  state  of  the  question  as  to  the  sources  of  the 
striking  resemblances,  as  well  as  striking  diffei'- 
ences,  of  the  three  first  Gospels,  see  the  additions 
below.     R. 

There  have  been  a  variety  of  opinions  respecting 
the  time  and  the  order  of  the  four  Gospels  ;  but, 
perhaps,  the  i)lan  on  which  each  of  them  is  written, 
lias  not  hitherto  been  sufficiently  attended  to,  or  as- 
certained. 

Matthew. — The  following  remarks  on  the  Gos- 
pel of  Matthew  may  have  their  effect  in  solving 
some  difliculties  of  chronology,  &c. 

Let  us  suppose  that  JMatthew  wrote  his  Gospel  the 
first  of  the  four — not  in  one  continued  or  orderly 
narrative,  but  divided  into  books,  according  to  the 
different  subjects,  or  classes  of  transactions.  If  this  be 
admissible,  it  removes  entirely  the  chronological  difB- 
cultics  which  embarrass  couunentators,  in  attempt- 
ing to  reconcile  Matthew  with  Luke  ;  because  it 
supposes  Matthew  to  associate  similar  facts  in 
one  book,  while  Luke  proposes  "an  orderly  his- 
tory," according  to  the  course  of  events.  The  dif- 
ferent plans  of  these  writers  led  them  to  adopt  differ- 


GOSPEL 


467  ] 


GOSPEL 


ent  arrangenients.  This  also  furnishes  a  reason  why 
Luke  might  compose  an  orderly  history,  which 
Matthew's,  however  correct,  was  not,  he  having  no 
such  design  ;  while  it  reHeves  Mark  from  the  charge 
of  having  abstracted  Matthew.  It  has  been  main- 
tained by  many  eminent  critics,  that  Matthew  wrote 
his  Gospel  first  in  Syriac,  and  that  it  was  afterwards 
translated  into  Greek  ;  whether  by  himself  is  not 
certain,  though  it  is  highly  probable.  Some  of  the 
fathers  date  tJie  writing  of  tliia  Gospel  eight  years 
after  the  death  of  Jesus ;  while  others  date  it  fifteen  or 
even  twenty  years  after.     (See  the  additions  below.) 

Mark's  Gospel  may  be  considered,  upon  the  tra- 
ditionary testimony  of  antiquity,  as  a  collection  of 
facts,  gathered  by  him  from  authorities  adduced  by 
Peter  ;  as  well  from  his  private  discourse,  as  from  his 
public  preachings.  Now,  it  is  not  very  likely  that 
these  facts,  which  might  be  heard,  or  obtained,  at 
various  times,  and  on  various  occasions,  should  be 
arranged  by  the  evangelist  precisely  in  chronologi- 
cal order.  It  would  answer  his  purpose,  if  they 
were  accurately  related,  though  but  loosely  connect- 
ed, or,  perhaps,  not  intentionally  connected  at  all  ; 
that  is,  in  reference  to  their  order  as  a  series  of 
events.  But  we  see  no  reason  why  Mark  might  not 
also  avail  himself  of  such  written  information  as  was 
extant  at  the  time  ;  such,  for  instance,  as  Matthew's 
Gospel.  This  would  account  for  the  verbal  resem- 
blance observed  between  some  parts  of  Matthew 
and  some  parts  of  3Iark  ;  while,  elsewhere,  Mark 
might  adhere  to  such  facts  as  he  had  collected,  and 
to  such  expressions  as  he  had  adopted.  To  ex- 
change these  for  others,  when  the  histories  were 
the  same,  would  have  answered  no  valuable 
purpose. 

Luke. — It  remains  that  we  consider  the  Gospel  by 
this  evangelist  as  the  most  regular  in  arrangement, 
according  to  the  order  of  facts ;  and  we  ought  to 
reflect  with  the  deepest  gratitude  on  the  pains  taken 
by  him  to  acquire  such  a  knowledge  of  the  series  of 
Gospel  events,  as  that  which  his  history  presents. 
In  fact,  in  his  Gospel,  no  less  than  in  his  "  Acts  of 
the  Apostles,"  Luke  displays  manifest  proofs  of  a 
liberal  and  cultivated  mind,  and  of  ardent  research 
after  truth.  This  is  of  great  importance  ;  for  on  the 
accuracy  and  research  of  Luke  depend  much  of  our 
satisfaction,  if  not  of  our  faith.     See  Luke. 

A  certain  class  of  persons  have  manifested  great 
anxiety  to  get  rid  of  the  first  two  chapters  of  Luke, 
in  conjunction  with  part  of  the  first  chapter  of  Mat- 
thew ;  but  it  has  never,  perhaps,  been  suggested  that 
a  question  of  the  utmost  importance  rests  exclusive- 
ly upon  these  impugned  portions  of  the  sacred  his- 
tory. The  people  of  the  Jews  expected,  and  with 
the  utmost  propriety,  that  Messiah  should  be,  (L)  of 
the  tribe  ofJudah;  (2.)  of  the  posterity  of  David  ; 
(3.)  in  the  direct  line  of  that  prince ;  so  that,  had  he 
enjoyed  his  own,  as  a  descendant  from  David,  his 
right  to  the  throne  itself  was  unquestionable ;  (4.) 
born  in  David's  town,  Bethlehem  of  Judah.  (Com- 
pare John  vii.  42;  Matthew  xxii.  42,  45;  Mark  xii. 
35, 37.) 

Now,  it  happens,  that  no  other  parts  of  tiie  Gospels 
will  prove  this  fact ;  so  that  if  we  had  not  these  chap- 
ters, whatever  we  might  think  of  the  person  termed  in 
reproach  "Jesus  born  at  Nazareth,"  "  Jesus  the  Naza- 
rene,"  we  could  not  prove  that  we  received  as  the  Mes- 
Biah,  Jesus  born  at  Bethlehem ;  we  could  not  prove 
that  this  person  traced  his  descent  from  David,  still 
less  in  the  immediate  line,  and  direct  descent,  from 
him ;  we  could  not  even  prove  that  he  was  of  the 


tribe  of  Judah  ;  all  which  particulars  are  absolute- 
ly indispensable  in  determining  the  person  of 
Messiah.  And  then  what  will  follow?— That  the 
Jews,  in  rejecting  Jesus  born  at  Nazareth,  as  Mes- 
siah, were  perfectly  laudable  ;  for  he  was  defective 
in  a  main  branch  of  that  evidence  which  was  neces- 
sary, indispensably  necessary,  to  vindicate  his  claim 
to  this  title.  Supposing  him  to  be  born  at  Nazareth 
he  was  not  of  Judah,  but  of  Galilee ;  he  was  not  of 
Bethlehem,  by  the  terms  of  the  affirmation  ;  he  was 
not  descended  from  David,  or  at  least  there  could  be 
no  proof  of  it;  for  how  should  the  town  records  of 
Bethlehem  concern  themselves  about  a  birth  at 
Nazareth  ? — therefore  he  could  not  be  the  3Iessiah. 
It  appears  that  those  who  were  unacquainted  with 
the  early  history  of  Jesus,  uniformly  considered  him 
a  Galilean,  Matt.  xxi.  11  ;  Luke  xxiii.  6,  seq.  John 
vii.  41.  They  also  unanimously  described  him  as 
born  at  Nazareth  ;  and  this  was  a  circumstance  of 
such  direct  opposition  to  a  justly  founded  character- 
istic mark  of  Messiah,  that  we  cannot  but  approve  of 
Saul's  opposing,  with  all  his  might,  the  prevalence  of 
of  Jesus  born,  as  he  supposed  at  Nazareth.  Indeed,  a 
prominent  topic  of  discussion  between  those  who  fa- 
vored and  those  who  opposed  Jesus,  was — the  place  of 
his  birth  ;  and,  unless  we  can  prove  negatively,  that  he 
was  not  born  at  Nazareth,  or  in  Galilee,  as  the  Jews 
affirm  ;  and  positively,  that  he  was  born  in  Judah, 
and  in  Bethlehem,  of  which  our  only  proof  lies  in 
these  to-be-exploded  chapters — we  have  no  (com- 
plete) rational  evidence  to  produce,  nor  any  (deci- 
sive) reasons  to  justify  us,  in  supporting  our  faith. 
Such  is  the  importance  of  the  introductory  chapters 
to  the  Gospels  of  Matthew  and  Luke.  To  disman- 
tle the  Gospels  of  any  integral  part  is  to  injure  the 
religion  of  which  they  are  the  basis,  in  proportion 
to  the  importance  of  that  part ;  and,  if  we  be  not 
mistaken,  a  more  vital  part  than  what  our  attention 
has  now  been  directed  to,  can  hardly  be  selected. 
The  genealogy  in  Matthew  was  necessary  to  evince 
the  descent  of  Jesus  in  the  royal  line  of  David,  and 
his  right  to  the  kingdom  ;  a  right,  that  he  constantly 
refused  to  recognize  during  his  life — and,  being 
asserted  only  after  his  decease,  could  give  no  just 
umbrage  to  the  ruling  powers.  That  Avas  a  public 
document.  The  genealogy  in  Luke  was  a  private 
document ;  and  his  preservation  of  it  coincides 
with  that  accuracy  which  is  characteristic  of  him. 

John. — This  Gospel  is  universally  allowed  to  be 
supplementary  to  the  others.  It  abounds  more  in 
instructive  discourses  than  in  narrative ;  which  is 
easily  accounted  for,  if  we  suppose  John  to  have  had 
a  knowledge  of  INIatthew  and  Luke's  writings.  He 
would,  naturally,  not  desire  to  load  the  public  with 
books,  for  the  reasons  assigned  by  him,  at  the  close 
of  his  own  work. 

There  are  many  indications,  in  the  Gospel  by  John, 
that  the  writer  had  specially  in  view  the  refutation 
of  certain  religious  errors  which  were  prevalent  in 
his  time,  (see  Sabeans,)  affecting  both  the  divinity 
and  the  humanity  of  the  Son  of  God. 

[The  preceding  remarks  furnish  only  a  very  mea- 
gre and  one-sided  view  of  a  very  interesting  and  im- 
portant subject.  But  the  very  extent  of  the  subject 
itself  precludes  the  possibility  of  doing  it  justice  in  a 
work  of  this  kind  ;  and  these  additions,  therefore, 
must  be  limited  to  a  bare  outline  of  the  present 
state  of  the  question. 

The  four  Gospels  contain,  in  general,  the  record  of 
the  birth,  actions,  teaching,  death,  resurrection,  and 
ascension  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ.  Mat- 


GOSPEL 


[  468  ] 


GOSPEL 


thew  and  Luke  commence  with  his  birth,  as  intro- 
ductory to  his  ministry  ;  Mark  and  John  omit  this 
introductory   matter.      Matthew,  Mark,   and  Luke 
all  narrate  the  events  of  his  ministry  in  a  manner  gen- 
erally  similar;  while  John  contains  mostly  matter 
not  contained  in  the  other  three,  and  may,  therefore, 
be  called  supplementary  to  them.    All  four  exhibit  an 
account  of  our  Lord's   death  and   the   subsequent 
events.      Under  these  circumstances,  a  general  re- 
semblance would  naturally  be  expected,  especially 
in  the  three  first  Gospels,  as  is,  indeed,  the  fact ;  but 
then  this  resemblance,  which  is  often  manifested  in 
a  literal  identity,  is  also  attended  with  very  remark- 
able   differences,  both    in  regard  to    chronological 
order,   and  in  respect  to  the  facts   themselves.     It 
has,  therefore,  ever  been  a  favorite  study  of  comment- 
ators and  interpreters  of  Scripture,  to  endeavor  to 
arrange  the  accounts  given  us  in  these  different  Gos- 
pels, in  such  a  manner  as  to  show  their  harmony 
with  each  other  ;  to  place  them  together  in  such  a 
way,  as  out  of  the  several  disconnected  accounts  to 
form  one  connected  and  harmonious  whole  in  the 
proper  chronological  order.     Such  an  arrangement 
is  called   a  Synopsis  or  Harmony  of  the  Gospels. 
The  first  attempt  of  this  kind  is  attributed  to  Tatian 
or  Theophilus  of  Antioch  in  the  second  century ; 
his  work  is  called  Diatesseron,  i.  e.  the/our.     Others 
were  afterwards  composed  by  Ammonius  of  Alex- 
andria, about  A.  D.  220  ;  by  Eusebius  of  Ceesarea, 
about  A.  D.  315;  and  in  modern  times  by  Osiander, 
Jansenius,   Winston,   Lamy,   Le  Clerc,  Doddridge, 
Macknight,  Priestley,  Newcome,  White,  Griesbach, 
De   Wette,  Liicke,   H.  Planck,  and    others.      One 
of  the  most  judicious  of  these  Harmonies,  is  that  of 
Newcome  for  the  Greek,  which  has  also  been  pub- 
lished in  Englisli.     In  all  these  attempts  thei-e  are 
two  gi-and  difficulties  to  be  overcome  ;  in  which  the 
writers  of  harmonies   have   hitherto  differed   very 
widely.     The  Jirst  is,  the    duration   of  our   Lord's 
ministry,  which  Priestley  and  others,  after  Origen  and 
Clemens  Alexandrinus,  limit  to  one  year  and,  perhaps, 
a  few  months ;  while  Newcome  and  others  suppose 
it  to  have  continued  three  years  and  a  half,  and  to 
have   included  four  passovei'S.     Sir  Isaac  Newton 
makes  it  include  five  passovers.     The  second  diffi- 
culty is  to  ascertain  the  true  chronological  order ;  and 
on  this  point  the  opinions  have  been  almost  as  nu- 
merous as  the  writers;  some  assuming  that  Matthew 
has  strictly  followed  the  order  of  time  in  his  narra- 
tion, and,  therefore,  accommodating  the  narrations 
of   the   other    evangelists   to    his ;  _  others    (as   Mr. 
Taylor  above)   adopting   Luke   as   the  standard   of 
ciironological  order  ;  others  again  preferring  Mark  ; 
and  others,  still,  supposing  that  neither  evangelist  lias 
adhered  strictly  to  the  order  of  time  in  his  narrative. 
Such  is  the  opinion  of  Newcome  :  "In  fact,  chrono- 
logical order  is  not  precisely  observed  by  any  of  the 
evan{?eli.sts;  St.  John  and  St.  Mark  observe  it  most; 
and  St.  Matthew  neglects  it  most."  (Pref  to  Harmo- 
ny.)    Indeed,  it  is  every  where  obvious,  as  the  same 
writer  remarks,  "that  the  evangelists  are  more  in- 
tent on  rejiresenting  the  substanceof  what  is  spoken, 
tiian  the  words  of  the  speaker  ;  that  they  ne<rlect  ac- 
curate order  in   the  detail   of.  particular   incidents 
though  tiiey  pursue  a  good  general  method  ;  that  de- 
tached and  distant  events  are  sometimes  joined  to- 
gether on  account  of  a  sameness  in  tiie  scene,  the 
persons,  the  cause,  or  the  consequences  ;  and  that  in 
such  concise  histories  as  the  Gospels,  transitions  are 
often  made  from  one  fact  to  another,  without  auv  in- 
timation that  important  matters  intervened."  (Ibid.) 


The  arrangement  of  the  Gospels  in  a  harmony 
shows  at  once  to  the  eye,  that,  both  in  the  facts  and  in 
the  language,  there  is  a  very  close  resemblance  be- 
tween the  three  first  Gospels  ;  and  that  the  Gospel  of 
John  is  in  a  great  measure  supplementary  to  the  others. 
Indeed,  Matthew,  Mark,  and  Luke,  sometimes  cor- 
respond word  for  word  ;  at  other  times,  the  sense  and 
general  language  are  the  same,  with  variations  in  the 
single  expressions.  One  needs  only  to  open  a  Greek 
Harmony,  to  be  convinced  of  this  fact.  Still  more 
striking  is  the  relation  in  which  Mark  stands  to  both 
Matthew  and  Luke ;  he  has  only  tiventy-four  verses 
peculiar  to  himself;  all  the  rest  is  found  in  the  other 
two.  He  seldom  stands  independently  between  the 
two ;  but  follows  sometimes  one  and  sometimes  the 
other,  or  is  the  medium  of  harmonizing  all  the  three. 
According  to  bishop  Marsh,  in  that  which  is  com- 
mon to  all  three,  Luke  never  accords  perfectly  with 
Matthew,  except  where  Mark  also  accords  with  him ; 
though,  in  such  cases,  Luke  is  sometimes  nearer  to 
Matthew  than  Mark  is.  It  is  singular  that  Mark 
sometimes  has  a  mixed  text,  compounded  from  those 
of  Matthew  and  Luke.  (See  Matt.  viii.  3 ;  Mark  i.  42 ; 
Luke  v.  13.— Matt.  viii.  4 ;  Mark  i.  44  ;  Luke  v.  14.— 
Matt.  ix.  9 ;  Mark  ii.  3  ;  Luke  v.  27  ;  and  elsewhere.) 

To  account  for  these  remarkable  appearances,  has 
been  a  subject  of  deep  interest  to  learned  men,  and 
also  of  great  research,  especially  during  the  last  half 
of  the  eighteenth  century.  It  is  obvious,  that  the  re- 
semblances can  be  accounted  for  only  on  two  hy- 
potheses, or  by  a  union  of  the  two,  viz.  (1.)  that  one 
evangelist  saw  and  copied  from  the  others  ;  or  (2.) 
that  they  all  three  drew  from  a  common  source  ;  or 
(3.)  that  they  not  only  had  this  common  source,  but 
also  copied  from  each  other.  These  hypotheses 
seem,  in  themselves,  very  simple  ;  but  to  carry  them 
out  and  apply  them  in  detail  is  attended  with  difficul- 
ties which  no  writer  has  yet  been  able  wholly  to  solve. 

On  the  first  hypothesis,  some  have  adopted  the  or- 
der of  the  canon,  without  further  inquiry,  and  have 
at  once  assumed  that  Mark  made  use  of  Matthew's 
Gospel,  which  he  abridged  and  corrected ;  while  Luke 
corrected  and  supplied  what  he  thought  necessary  in 
both  the  others.  So  Grotius,  31ill,  Wetstein,  and 
Hug.  Storr  held  Mark's  Gospel  to  be  the  oldest,  and 
the  source  of  the  others;  while  others  ascribe  the 
same  character  to  Luke.  Griesbach  showed  from 
observation,  without  regard  to  any  theory,  that  Mark 
extracted  from  both  Matthew  and  Luke  ;  and  he  also 
assiuned  that  Luke,  in  writing  his  Gospel,  had  some 
reference  to  Matthew.  To  tiiis  hypothesis,  however, 
there  lie  many  difficulties  in  the  way.  Each  evan- 
gelist has  every  where  something  peculiar  to  him- 
self; here  and  there  he  is  more  definite,  exact,  mi- 
nute ;  it  is,  therefore,  difficult  to  see  why  a  following 
evangelist,  who  used  and  copied  from  him,  should 
make  no  use  of  these  circumstances  ;  and  why  he 
should  rather  adopt  unnecessary  changes  of  ex- 
pression; and  even  sometimes  expressions  less  definite 
and  a])propriate.  Especially,  if  IMark  compiled  his 
Gospel  from  those  of  Matthew  and  Luke,  can  we  not 
free  him  from  the  charge  of  want  of  plan  and  of  mere 
arl)itrary  procedure? 

Ul)on  the  other  hypothesis,  that  of  one  common 
soin-ce,  some  have  assmned  that  this  was  the  so  call- 
ed Gospel  of  the  Hebrews ;  but  this  assumption  was 
made  on  conjecture,  and  without  knowing  what  this 
Gospel  of  the  Hebrews  was.  Others  held  the  sup- 
posed Hebrew  Gospel  of  Matthew  to  be  the  primitive 
source  of  all  the  others.  Eichhorn  first  endeavored, 
by  a  more  definite  conjectural  theory,  to  remove  the 


GOSPEL 


[  469  ] 


GOU 


difficulties.  He  assumed  a  certain  original  Gospel, 
which  existed  and  was  used  by  the  evangelists  in 
different  editions  or  recensions  ;  that  which  they  all 
have  in  common  is  from  the  groundwork  or  body 
of  this  original  Gospel ;  that  which  only  two  of  nem 
have  in  common,  is  from  a  recension  with  sot  e  ad- 
ditions, which  was  used  by  both  ;  that  which  o  iy  one 
has,  is  from  another  recension  used  by  him  alone,  or 
from  some  other  source.  This  original  Gospel  he  sup- 
posed to  be  written  in  Aramaean  ;  and  thus  Avas  able, 
very  naturally,  to  explain,  how  the  three  Gospels,  as 
being  independent  translations,  might  coincide  in 
similar  terms  and  expressions.  But  still  he  could  not 
thus  account  for  the  remarkable  coincidence  in  the 
use  of  the  same  Greek  words  and  expressions,  some 
of  which  are  unusual  and  singular.  Bishop  Marsh, 
therefore,  (in  the  additions  to  his  translation  of  Mi- 
chaelis's  Introduction,)  improved  Eichhorn's  theory, 
by  supposing  that  there  existed  a  Greek  translation 
of  this  Aramaean  original  Gospel,  which  Mark  and 
Luke  used  in  the  composition  of  their  Greek  Gospels  ; 
he  supposed,  too,  that  the  Greek  translator  of  Matthew 
probably  made  use  of  the  Greek  texts  of  Mark  and 
Luke.  These  suggestions  were  afterwards  adopted 
in  substance  by  Eichhorn.  This  theory  for  a  time 
made  great  noise  in  the  theological  world  ;  but  when 
it  came  to  be  seen,  that  a  theory  so  complex  and  arti- 
ficial, and  requiring  the  aid  of  so  many  subordinate 
theories,  is  utterly  at  variance  with  the  simple  char- 
acter of  the  apostolic  writings  ;  and  that  no  hint  oc- 
curs of  the  existence  of  any  such  primitive  Gospel, 
which  could  be  of  such  paramount  authority  ;  on 
these  and  other  grounds,  the  good  sense  of  the  public 
recoiled  from  this  hypothesis ;  and  the  only  wonder 
now  is,  how  it  could  ever  have  been  received  with 
so  nuich  favor. 

On  the  whole,  then,  we  must  give  up  the  hope  of 
finding  any  definite  theory,  which  will  entirely  ac- 
count for  the  close  resemblances  of  the  three  first 
Gospels,  and  at  the  same  time  solve  the  opposite  diffi- 
culties. We  can  only,  in  general,  make  the  supposi- 
tion, that  the  evangelists  wrote  down  the  traditionary 
accounts  (so  to  speak)  which  they  had  retained  of  the 
actions  and  words  of  Jesus.  In  their  teaching  and 
preaching,  the  apostles  must  necessarily  often  have 
had  occasion  to  relate  the  actions  and  repeat  the  dis- 
courses of  their  Lord  and  Master  ;  these  relations  and 
repetitions  would  naturally  assume,  at  length,  a  defi- 
nite shape,  and  were,  no  doubt,  written  down  and 
coi)ied  among  the  Christian  converts.  But  such 
writings,  thus  coming  into  circulation,  could  not  have 
the  sanction  of  apostolical  authority  ;  and,  therefore,  it 
would  be  very  natural  that  the  apostles  themselves, 
or  those  who  were  intimately  connected  with  them, 
should  at  length  give  a  more  full  and  complete  ac- 
count of  all  these  things.  It  is  to  such  previous 
writings,  and  to  such  a  state  of  things,  that  Luke 
alludes,  ch.  i.  1.  In  this  way,  the  writers  would  nat- 
in-ally  follow  the  same  train  as  in  their  oral  discoiu'ses, 
and  might,  perhaps,  make  occasional  use  of  writings 
already  extant.     Thus  far  only  can  we  safely  go. 

Gospel  of  Matthew. — The  time  when  this  Gos- 
pel was  written  is  very  uncertain.  All  ancient  testi- 
mony, however,  goes  to  show  that  it  was  published 
l)cfore  the  others.  Hug  draws  from  internal  evidence 
the  conclusion,  that  it  was  written  shortly  before  the 
siege  and  capture  of  Jerusalem  by  the  Romans,  when 
they  already  had  possession  of  Galilee,  about  A.  D. 
65.  It  has  been  much  disputed,  whether  this  Gospel 
was  originally  written  in  Hebrew  or  Greek.  The 
unanimous  testimony  of  ancient  writers  is  in  favor  of 


a  Hebrew  original,  i.  e.  that  it  was  written  in  the  lan- 
guage of  Palestine  and  for  the  use  of  the  Hebrew 
Christians.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  the  definiteness 
and  accuracy  of  this  testimony  is  drawn  into  ques- 
tion ;  there  is  no  historical  notice  of  a  translation  into 
Greek  ;  and  the  present  Gospel  bears  many  marks  of 
being  an  original ;  the  circumstances  of  the  ige,  too, 
and  the  prevalence  of  the  Greek  language  in  Pales- 
tine, seem  to  give  weight  to  the  opposite  hypothesis. 
Critics  of  the  greatest  name  are  arranged  on  both 
sides  of  the  question. 

Gospel  or  Mark. — All  the  writers  of  the  church 
are  unanimous  in  the  statement,  that  Mark  Avrote  his 
Gospel  under  the  influence  and  direction  of  the  apos- 
tle Peter.  The  same  traditionary  authority  makes  it 
to  have  been  written  at  Rome,  and  published  after  the 
death  of  Peter  and  Paul. 

Gospel  of  Luke. — In  like  manner,  Luke  is  said 
to  have  written  liis  Gospel  under  the  direction  of  Paul, 
whose  comj)anion  he  was  on  his  journeys.  Hug 
supposes  this  Gospel  to  have  been  written  at  a  late 
period,  after  those  of  Matthew  and  Mark,  and  after 
the  destruction  of  Jerusalem. 

Gospel  of  John. — The  ancient  writers  all  make 
this  Gospel  the  latest.  Hug  places  its  publication  in 
the  first  year  of  the  emperor  Nerva,  A.  D.  96,  sixty- 
five  yeai"s  after  our  Saviour's  death,  and  when  John 
was  now  more  than  eighty  years  of  age.  This 
would  be  about  thirty  years  later  than  the  Gospel  of 
Matthew.     *R. 

I.  GOURD,  Wild,  a  plant  which  produces  leaves 
and  branches  similar  to  garden-cucumbers,  which 
creep  on  the  earth,  and  are  divided  into  several 
branches;  Cuciimeres  asinini.  Its  fruit  is  of  the  size 
and  figure  of  an  orange,  of  a  white,  light  substance 
beneath  the  rind,  and  extremely  bitter,  2  Kings  iv. 
39.  It  furnished  a  model  for  some  of  the  carved 
work  of  cedar  in  Solomon's  temple,  1  Kings  vi.  18. 
Engl,  version,  knops. 

II.  GOURD  OF  JONAH.  There  is  some  diffi- 
culty in  ascertaining  the  plant  intended  by  the  He- 
brew jV|i''|-',  kikayon,  and  interpreters  are  greatly  at 
variance.  Modern  writers,  however,  almost  all 
agree,  that  it  signifies  the  Pahna  Christi,  or  Ricinus  ; 
in  Egypt  called  Kiki ;  a  plant  like  a  lily,  having 
smooth  leaves  scattered  here  and  there,  and  spotted 
with  black ;  the  stem  round  and  glossy  ;  and  pro- 
ducing flowers  of  various  colors.  Dioscorides  says, 
that  one  species  of  it  grows  like  a  large  tree,  and  as 
high  as  the  fig. 

Niebuhr  ha.s  the  following  remarks : — "  I  saw  for 
the  first  time,  at  Basra,  the  ])lant  el-kheroa,  mentioned 
in  Michaelis's  "  Questions."  (No.  87.)  It  has  the  form 
of  a  tree;  the  trunk  appeared  to  me  rather  to  resem- 
ble leaves  than  wood;  nevertheless,  it  is  harder  than 
that  which  bears  the  Manias  Jig.  Each  branch  of 
the  kheroa  has  but  one  large  leaf,  with  six  or  seven 
corners.  This  plant  was  near  to  a  rivulet,  which 
watered  it  amply.  At  the  end  of  October,  it  had 
risen,  in  five;  months'  time,  above  eight  feet,  and  bore 
at  once  flowers  and  fruit,  ripe  and  unripe.  Another 
tree  of  this  species,  which  had  not  had  so  much  wa- 
ter, had  not  grown  more  in  a aaIioIc  year.  The  flow- 
ers and  leaves  of  it,  which  I  gathered,  icithercd  in  a 
few  minutes  ;  as  do  all  plants  of  a  rapid  growth.  This 
tree  is  called  at  iMeppo,  Palma  Christi.''  (Descrip. 
Arab.  p.  148,  Fr.  edit.)  Volney,  speaking  of  the  vege- 
tation of  Eg}pt,  says,  "  Wherever  plants  have  water, 
the  rapidity  "of  their  growth  is  prodigious.  Whoever 
has  travelled  to  Cairo,  or  Rosetta,  knows  that  the 
species  of  gourd  called  kerra,  will,  in  twenty-four 


GRA 


l470] 


GRA 


hours,  sond  out  shoots  near  four  inches  long."  (Trav. 
vol.  i.  p.  71.) 

These  descriptions  agree  well  enough  with  the 
plant  of  Jonah,  and  may  be  taken  to  identify  the 
species  to  which  it  belonged. 

[Niebuhr,  at  the  close  of  the  passage  above  quoted, 
further  remarks  :  "  The  Jews  mid  Christians  at  Mo- 
sul and  Aleppo  affirm,  that  el-kheroa  is  not  the  plant 
which  furnished  shade  for  Jonah,  but  a  species  of 
gourd,  called  el-kerrd,  which  has  veiy  large  leaves, 
and  bears  a  very  large  fruit ;  and  Avhich  does  not  last 
more  than  about  four  months."     R. 

GOZAN,  a  river  of  Media,  (2  Kings  xvii.  6.)  and 
also  a  province,  (chap.  xix.  12  ;  Isa.  xxxvii.  12.)  prob- 
ably that  through  which  the  river  ran.  Salmaneser, 
after  he  had  subdued  the  ten  tribes,  carried  them  be- 
yond the  Euphrates,  to  a  country  bordering  on  the 
river  Gozan  ;  and  Sennacherib  boasts,  that  the  kings 
of  Assyria  had  conquered  the  people  of  Gozan, 
Haran,  and  others.  Ptolemy  places  the  Gauzanites 
in  ]Mesopotamia ;  and  there  is  a  district  in  Media 
called  Gauzan,  between  the  rivers  Cyrus  and  Cam- 
byses. 

[The  passage  in  2  Kings  xvii.  6,  Gesenius  trans- 
lates thus: — "and  placed  them  in  Chalcitis  (Halah) 
and  on  the  Chabor,  (Habor,)  a  river  of  Gozan,  and  in 
the  cities  of  the  Medes."  This  would  make  the  ri\  er 
to  be  the  Chaboj-as,  the  Chebar  of  Ezekiel,  which 
empties  into  the  Euphrates  in  tlie  northern  part  of 
Mesopotamia.  This  accords  with  the  notice  of 
Ptolemy,  (v.  18.)  who  calls  the  region  lying  between 
the  rivers  Chaboras  and  Laocoras,  by  the  name  of 
Gauzanitis,  e.g.  the  Hebrew  Gozan.  In  1  Chron.  v. 
26,  the  name  Hara  is  inserted  between  Chabor  and 
the  river  of  Gozan, — which  may  be  an  error  of  tran- 
scribers, as  the  reading  of  2  Kings  xvii.  6  seems  cor- 
rect and  appropriate.  In  other  places,  too,  Gozan  is 
mentioned  along  with  and  before  otlier  cities  and 
countries  of  JMesopotamia,  2  Kings  xix.  42;  Isa. 
xxxviii.  12.  According  to  Bochart,  Habor,  or  Chabor, 
is  the  mountain  Chaboras,  between  Assyria  and  Me- 
dia ;(Ptolem.  Gecgr.  vi.  1.)  between  this  mountain 
and  tlic  Caspian  sea  there  is,  according  to  Ptolemy, 
(vi.  2.)  a  city  and  country  called  Gausania,  with  a  river 
of  the  same  name,  probably  the  present  Kizzil-Ouzan 
or  Kizel-Ozan,  which  flows  eastward  into  the  Cas- 
pian. (Sir  R.  K.  Porter's  Travels  in  Persia,  i.  p.  267.) 
That  this  tract  is  the  Gozan  of  Scripture  is  the  opin- 
ion of  Rosenmiiller ;  (Bibl.  Geogr.  I.  ii.  102.) — and 
the  mention  of  it  along  with  the  "cities  of  the  Medes" 
would  seem  to  indicate  a  remote  district.  See  Ha- 
bor.    R. 

GRACE  is  taken  (I.)  lor  beauty,  graceful  form, 
or  agreeableness  of  person,  Prov.'i.  9;  iii.  22.  (2.) 
For  favor,  friendship,  kindness.  Gen.  vi.  8  ;  xviii.  3  ; 
Rom,  ix.  6  ;  2  Tim.  i.  9.  (3.)  For  ])ardon,  mercy,  un- 
expected remission  of  offences,  Eph.  ii.  .5  ;  Col.  i,  6. 
(4.)  For  certain  gifts  of  God,  which  he  bestows  free- 
ly, when,  where,  and  on  whom  he  pleases;  such  are 
the  gifts  of  miracles,  prophecy,  languages,  &c.  (Rom. 
XV.  1.5;  1  Cor.  xv.  10;  l^ph.  iii.  8.)wliich  are  intend- 
ed rather  for  the  advantage  of  others,  than  of  the 
person  who  j)ossesscs  them;  though  the  good  use  he 
makes  of  them  may  contribute  to  his  sanctification. 
(5.)  For  the  gospel  dispensation,  in  contradistinction" 
to  that  of  the  law,  Rom.  vi.  14  ;  1  Pet.  v.  12.  (6.) 
For  a  liberal  and  charitable  dis|)osition,  2  Cni\\  iii,  7. 
(7.)  For  eternal  life,  or  final  saivatio.n,  1  Pet.  1.  13.  (8.) 
There  are  several  sorts  of  inward  graces;  for  the  "-races  i 
of  the  understanding  may  be  called  by  this  naine,  as 
well  as  the  graces  of  the   will.     There  are  habituiil 


graces,  and  actual  graces.  Augustin  defines  inward, 
actual  grace  to  be  the  inspiration  of  love,  which 
prompts  us  to  practise  according  to  what  we  know, 
out  of  a  religious  affection  and  compliance.  He  says, 
also  that  the  grace  of  God  is  the  blessing  of  God's 
swet  influence,  by  which  we  are  induced  to  take 
pleasi  e  in  that  which  he  commands,  to  desire  and  to 
love  it ;  and  that  if  God  does  not  prevent  us  with  this 
blessing,  what  he  commands  not  only  is  not  perfected, 
but  is  not  so  much  as  begun  in  us.  Without  the 
grace  of  Christ,  man  is  not  able  to  do  the  least  thing 
that  is  good.  He  stands  in  need  of  this  grace  to  begin, 
continue,  and  finish  all  the  good  he  does,  or,  rather, 
which  God  does  in  him  and  with  him,  by  his  grace. 

This  gi-ace  is  free  ;  it  is  not  due  to  us :  if  it  were, 
it  would  be  no  more  gi-ace,  but  a  debt,  Rom.  xi.  6. 
It  is  in  its  nature  an  assistance  so  powerful  and  efii- 
cacious,  that  it  surmounts  the  obstinacy  of  the  most 
rebellious  human  heart,  without  destroying  human 
liberty. 

There  is  no  subject  on  which  theologians  have 
written  so  lai-gely,  as  on  the  grace  of  God.  Tlie  dif- 
ficulty consists  in  reconciling  human  liberty  with  the 
operation  of  divine  grace ;  the  concurrence  of  man 
with  the  influence  and  assistance  of  the  Almighty. 
And  who  is  able  to  set  just  bounds  between  these 
two  things  ?  Who  can  pretend  to  know  how  far  the 
privileges  of  grace  extend  over  the  heart  of  man,  and 
Avhat  that  man's  liberty  is,  who  is  prevented,  enlight- 
ened, moved,  and  attracted  by  grace  ? 

Although  the  books  of  the  Old  Testament  express 
themselves  very  clearly  with  relation  tp  the  fall  of 
man,  his  incapacity  to  good,  his  continual  necessity 
of  God's  aid,  the  darkness  of  his  understanding,  and 
the  evil  propensities  of  his  heart ;  although  all  this  is 
observable,  not  only  in  the  historical  parts  of  the 
Bible,  but  also  in  the  prayers  of  the  saints,  and  in  the 
writings  of  the  prophets ;  yet  these  truths  are  fai* 
from  being  so  cleai'ly  revealed  in  the  Old  Testament 
as  in  the  New, 

GRAIN,  see  CoRxV. 

I.  GRAPES,  the  fruit  of  the  vine.  The  bunch  of 
this  fruit  cut  in  the  valley  of  Eshcol,  and  brought  on 
a  staff,  between  two  men,  to  the  camp  of  Israel,  at 
Kadesh-barnea,  (Numb.  xiii.  24.)  may  give  an  idea  of 
its  excellence  in  that  coutttry.  Doubdan  assures  us, 
that  in  the  supposed  valley  of  Eshcol  there  are  .still 
bunches  of  grapes  often  and  twelve  pounds'  weight ; 
and  Forster  says  he  was  informed  by  a  religious,  who 
had  lived  many  years  in  Palestine,  that  there  were 
some  in  the  valley  of  Hebron,  so  large  that  two  men 
could  scarcely  carry  one  of  them. 

Scripture  speaks  of  the  grapes  of  Sorek,  which 
were  so  called  either  because  they  grew  in  the  val- 
ley of  Sorek,  or  because  they  had  no  stones,  (See  Isa. 
ix.  9.  Heb. ;  Zech.  i.  8.)     See  Souek. 

Moses  connnanded,  that  when  the  Israelites  gath- 
ered their  grapes,  those  that  fell,  or  were  left  on  the 
vine,  should  be  for  the  poor.  Lev.  xix.  10.  It  was 
permitted  to  peojile  who  were  ])a8sing,  to  enter  a 
vineyard  and  eat  of  the  grapes,  but  not  to  carry  any 
away,  Dent.  xxiv.  21,22;  xxiii.  24.  Some  learned 
men  are  of  opinion,  the  jjrohibition  against  gleaning 
grapes  after  tlit;  vintage  may  signifv  a  second  vin- 
tage. Lev.  xix.  10;  Deut,  xxiv.  21 ;  Ecclus.  1.  16. 

Scripture  frequently  describ-es  a  total  destruction, 
by  the  similitude  of  a  vine  wholly  strlpi)ed  ;  without 
a  bunch  of  grapes  being  left  for  those  who  came 
gleaning,  Isa.  xvii.  6  ;  xxiv.  13. 

"The  blood  of  the  grai)e"  signifies  wine,  Gen. 
xlix.  11.     Tli''  vineyards  of  Sodom  produced  bitter 


GRA 


[471  ] 


GRASS 


grapes  ;  probably  because  of  the  nitre  and  sulphur 
with  which  the  soil  was  impregnated,  Deut.  xxxii.  32. 

"The  fathers  have  eaten  sour  gi-apes,and  the  chil- 
dren's teeth  are  set  on  edge,"  was  a  proverb,  (Jer. 
xxxi.  29  ;  Ezek.  xviii.  2.)  importing  that  the  fathers 
sinned,  but  their  children  bore  the  punishineut.  In 
using  this  proverb,  the  Jews  reproached  God,  who 
punished  in  tliem  those  sins  of  which  they  pretended 
they  were  not  personally  guilty.  The  Lord  said,  he 
would  cause  this  proverb  to  cease  in  Israel,  and  that 
every  one  should  suffer  the  punishment  of  his  own 
taults. 

II.  GRAPES,  Wild,  the  fruit  of  a  wild  vine,  Ca- 
brusca,  which,  according  to  Pliny,  bore  a  red  grape 
that  never  came  to  maturity.  It  is  probably  the  Vitis 
Cabrusra  of  Linnaeus,  the  wild  claret-grape.  The 
fruit  of  the  wild  vine  is  called  Oenanthes,  or  the 
flower  of  wiue.  They  never  ripen,  and  are  good 
only  for  verjuice.  In  Isaiah  (v.  2,  4.)  God  complains 
of  his  people  whom  he  had  planted  as  a  choice  vine, 
an  excellent  plant,  that  he  expected  they  would  bear 
good  fruit,  but  had  brought  ^rth  only  wild  grapes  ; 
Heh.  fruit  of  a  bad  smell,  and  a  bad  taste.  (See  Gese- 
nius's  Comm.  zu  Jesu.  v.  2.) 

GRASS.  The  management  of  grass,  as  food  for 
cattle,  in  the  East,  the  ideas  connected  with  it,  and 
the  similes  drawn  from  it,  or  the  allusions  to  the  na- 
ture of  it,  which  there  is  extremely  perishable,  are  so 
different  from  the  attention  paid  to  that  article  of  ag- 
riculture among  ourselves,  and  from  the  permanent 
verdure  of  it  in  our  own  meadows,  that  Ave  are  in 
constant  danger  of  mistaking  the  representations 
which  refer  to  it  in  Scripture.  "  The  internal  area 
of  the  theatre  of  Bacchus  at  Athens  is  now  annually 
sown  with  barley,  which,  as  the  custom  here  is,  the 
disdar  aga's  (commander  of  the  garrison)  horses  eat 

freen  ;  little  or  no  grass  being  produced  in  the  neigh- 
orhood  of  Athens."  (Stuart's  Athens,  vol.  ii.  p.  24.) 
In  general  "they  mow  not  their  grass  (as  we  do)  to 
make  hay,  but  cut  it  off  the  ground,  either  green  or 
withered,  as  they  have  occasion  to  use  it.  And  here 
a  strong  argument,  that  may  further  and  most  infalli- 
bly show  the  goodness  of  their  soil,  shall  not  escape 
my  pen  ;  most  apparent  in  this,  that  when  the  gi'ound 
there  hath  been  destitute  of  rain  nine  months  together, 
and  looks  all  of  it  like  the  barren  sand  in  the  deserts  of 
Arabia,  ivhere  there  is  not  one  spire  of  green  grass  to 
be  found,  within  a  few  days  alter  those  fat  and  en- 
riching showei'S  begin  to  fall,  the  face  of  the  earth 
there  (as  it  were  by  a  new  resurrection)  is  so  revived, 
and  throughout,  so  renewed,  as  that  it  is  presently 
covered  all  over  with  a  pure  green  mantle."  (Sir  T. 
Roe's  Voyage  to  India,  p.  360.)  To  the  same  pur- 
pose Dr.  Russell  speaks,  in  his  account  of  Aleppo  ; 
and  calls  it  "a  resurrection  of  vegetable  nature." 

This  rapidity  with  which  grass  grows  in  the  East 
may  illustrate  several  passages  of  Scripture  ;  among 
others  the  16th  verse  of  Psalm  cxxix.  "There  shall 
be  a  handful  of  corn  sown  in  the  earth,  in  the  head 
of  the  mountain,  the  fruit  thereof  shall  gi-ow  so  tall, 
that  it  shall  shake  as  majestically  as  cedars  of  Leba- 
non ;  so  from  the  city  the  people  shall  flourish  in  like 
manner  as  the  grass  of  the  earth  ;" — meaning,  at 
once  as  raj)idly  and  as  extensively,  as  this  vegetable 
resurrection.  The  writers  who  have  furnished  these 
extracts,  agree  in  calling  the  renovation  of  vegetation 
a  resuiredion  ;  the  idea  had  not  escaped  the  proph- 
ets :  "  Thy  dead  shall  live  ;  with  my  corpse  shall  they 
arise  ;  for  thy  dew  is  as  the  dew  of  herbage,  and  the 
earth  shall  cast  out  her  dead,"  Isa.  xxvi.  19. 

Grass  is  described  in  Scripture  as  feeble,  perish- 


ing, soon  withered,  (Ps.  xxxvii,  2;  cii.  4,  11  ;  James 
i.  11.)  as  not  always  coming  to  maturity,  (  2  Kings 
xix.  26  ;  Isa.  xxxvii.  27 ;  Ps.  cxxix.  6.)  as  revived 
by  dew,  (Deut.  xxxii.  2;  Prov.  xix.  12.)  and  by 
showers,  2  Sam.  xxiii.  2 ;  Ps.  Ixxii.  6,  16. 

Mr.  Harmer  has  properly  referred  the  words  trans- 
lated the  kiyig's  irioivings,  in  Amos  vii.  1,  to  what 
should  have  been  the  kmg's  feedings  ;  agreeably  to 
the  extract  above  given  from  Mr.  Smart.  They  took 
place  probably  in  March.  The  same  idea  should  be 
attached  to  the  passage,  (Ps.  Ixxii.  6.)  "He  shall 
come  down  like  rain  on  the  mown  gi-ass ;"  it  should 
be  "on  the  grass  that  has  been /erf  off:"  The  targum 
here  is  remarkable,  "  grass  eaten  down  by  locusts." 

Human  life  is  compared  to  grass,  (Ps'  xc.  5.)  .  .  . 
"As  the  grass — tender  risings  of  gi-ass — they  are 
changed :  in  the  day-dawn  it  Jlourishes,  and  sprouts, 
proceeding  to  established  life  ; — towards  evening  it  is 
plucked  up,  and  is  dry."  So  Ps.  ciii.  15 ;  Isa.  xl.  6. 
All  flesh  is  tender  gi'ass.  The  wicked  are  compared 
to  grass,  (Ps.  xcii.  7.)  not  of  the  weakly  but  of  the 
general  kind,  vegetables.  These  are  exquisitely 
beautiful  poetical  images. 

There  is  a  great  impropriety  in  our  version  of  Prov- 
erbs xxvii,  25.  "The  hay  appeareth,  and  the  tender 
grass  showeth  itself,  and  herbs  of  the  mountains  are 
gathered."  Now,  certainly,  if  the  tender  grass  is  but 
just  beginning  to  show  itself,  the  hay,  which  is  grass 
cut  and  dried,  after  it  has  arrived  at  maturity,  ought 
by  no  means  to  be  associated  with  it ;  still  less  to  pre- 
cede it.  The  accurate  import  of  this  word  seems  to 
be  the  first  shoots,  the  rising  spires  of  grass.  [The 
passage,  therefore,  would  be  more  appropriately  ren- 
dered thus  :  "  The  grass  appeareth,  and  the  green  herb 
showeth  itself,  and  the  plants  of  the  mountains  are 
gathered."     R. 

Joel  says,  (ii.  22.)  "Fear  not,  ye  beasts  of  the  field, 
(that  the  earth  shall  be  totally  barren  after  the  locusts 
have  devoured  its  produce,)  because  the  pastures  of 
the  wilderness  do  spring  ;"  do  put  forth  the  rudi- 
ments of  future  pasturage,  in  token  of  rapid  advance 
to  maturity.  See  also  Deut.  xxxii.  2,  "  As  the  small 
rain  on  the  first  shoots  of  the  grass."  In  hke  man- 
ner in  Is.  XV.  6,  where  the  English  version  has  hay, 
it  should  be  grass,  thus:  "The  waters  of  Nimrim 
shall  be  desolate  (i.  e.  dried  up) ;  so  that  the  grass 
withereth,  the  green  herb  faileth,  there  is  no  gi-een 
thing." 

The  anxiety  of  Ahab  induced  him  to  send  all  over 
his  kingdom  to  discover  whether  the  brooks  afforded 
grass  enough  to  save  the  horses  alive.  It  seems  he 
hoped  for  the  possibility  of  finding  gi-ass  ;  i.  e.  not 
grass  left  from  a  former  gi-o\\lh,  but  fresh  tender 
shoots  of  grass  just  budding,  1  Kings  xviii.  5.  A 
beautiful  gradation  of  poetical  imagery  is  used  in  2 
Kings  xix.  26:  "Their  inhabitants  were  of  small 
power;  they  were  dismayed  and  confounded;  they 
were  as  the  tender  plant  of  the  field,  and  the  green 
herb  ;  as  the  gi-ass  on  the  house-tops,  and  as  com 
blasted  before  it  be  grown  up." 

Here,  as  in  several  places.  Scripture  refers  to  grass 
growing  on  the  house-tops,  but  which  coiyes  to 
nodiing.  The  following  quotation  will  show  the  na- 
ture of  this:  "In  the  morning  the  master  of  the 
house  laid  in  a  stock  of  earth,  which  was  carried  up, 
and  spread  evenly  on  the  top  of  the  house,  which  is 
flat.  The  whole  roof  is  thus  formed  of  mere  earth, 
laid  on,  and  rolled  hard  and  flat.  On  the  top  of  every 
housi'  is  a  large  stone  roller,  for  the  jnirpose  of 
hardening  and  flattening  this  layer  of  made  soil,  so 
that  the  rain  may  not  penetrate  ;  but  upon  this  sur- 


GRE 


[472] 


GREECE 


face,  as  may  be  supposed,  grass  and  weeds  grow 
freely.  It  is  to  such  grass  that  the  psahnist  alludes, 
as  useless  and  bad."  (Jowett's  Christian  Researches 
in  Syria,  p.  89.) 

GRASSHOPPER.  It  appears  from  the  testimony 
of  Denon,  that  there  are  grasshoppers  in  Egypt;  for 
so  we  understand  his  "  locusts  which  do  no  damage  " 
— but  the  creature  intended  by  our  public  version, 
under  this  name,  is  certainly  a  kind  of  locust.  See 
Locust. 

GREECE,  Heb.  ]Ti,  the  same  as  '/^»,  '7u»i'a,  Ionia. 
This  word,  in  Scripture,  often  comprehends  all  the 
countries  inhabited  by  the  descendants  of  Javan,  as 
well  in  Greece  as  in  Ionia  and  Asia  Minor.  After 
the  time  of  Alexander  the  Great,  when  the  Greeks 
became  masters  of  Egypt,  Syria,  and  the  countries 
beyond  the  Euphrates,  the  Jews  included  all  Gen- 
tiles under  the  name  of  Greeks.  In  the  Old  Testa- 
ment, both  Greece  and  Greeks  are  called  Javan. 
Isaiah  says,  (Ixvi.  19.)  "The  Lord  shall  send  his  am- 
bassadors to  Javan,  who  dwells  in  the  isles  afar  off." 
Ezekiel,  (ch.  xxvii.  13,  19.)  that  Javan,  Tubal,  and 
Meshech  came  to  the  fairs  at  Tyi-e.  Daniel,  (xi.  2.) 
speaking  of  Xerxes,  says,  "  He  shall  stir  up  all 
against  the  realm  of  Javan."  Alexander  the  Great 
ts  described  by  the  same  prophet  as  "king  of  Javan," 
chap.  viii.  21  ;  x.  20.  Javan  was  a  son  of  Japheth, 
(Gen.  x.  2,  4.)  after  whom  that  part  of  Greece  called 
Ionia  was  named.  It  is  remarkable  that  the  Hindoos 
call  the  Greeks  Yavanas,  which  is  the  ancient  He- 
brew appellation.  They  also  regard  them  with  a 
contempt  bordering  on  abhorrence.  They  are  sel- 
dom described  in  the  Hindoo  books,  but  as  molest- 
ing other  people,  who  are  better  than  themselves. 

Greece,  in  its  largest  acceptation,  as  denoting  the 
countries  where  the  Greek  language  prevailed,  in- 
cluded from  the  Scardian  mountains  north,  to  the 
Levant,  south  ;  and  from  the  Adriatic  sea  west,  to 
Asia  Minor  east.  Hence  it  is  used  by  Daniel  to 
denote  Macedonia ;  whereas,  we  read  in  Acts  xx.  2, 
that  Paul,  passing  through  Macedonia,  came  to 
Greece ;  that  is,  Grecia  Proper.  In  this  more  re- 
stricted sense,  Macedonia  and  the  river  Strymon 
formed  the  northern  boundary  of  Greece.  The 
Greeks  were  called  Achsei,  or  Achivi,  from  AchiBus, 
son  of  Jupiter  ;  hence  the  name  of  Achaia.  They 
were  also  named  Hellenes,  from  a  son  of  Deucalion. 
It  is  probable,  however,  tiiat  these  names  describe 
distinct  nations,  or  the  inhabitants  of  Greece  at  dif- 
ferent periods.  The  name  lones  is  not  only  the  most 
ancient,  but  the  most  general. 

[The  Greek  name  of  Greece  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment is  "£/./.ac,  Hellas.  The  name  Hellas  is  sup- 
})osed  to  have  been  originally  appropriated  to  a  sin- 
gle city  in  Thessaly,  said  to  have  been  built  by 
Hellen,  the  son  of  Deucalion,  and  named  from  him- 
self. It  was  afterwards  applied  to  the  region  of 
Thessaly,  then  to  Greece  exclusive  of  the  Pelopon- 
nesus, and  at  last  to  the  whole  of  Greece  including 
the  Pelo])onnesus,  and  extending  from  Macedonia  to 
the  Mediterranean  sea.  The  name  of  Greeks, i^'ny.u't, 
by  some  is  supposed  to  be  derived  from  a  people  of 
that  name  in  the  southern  part  of  the  country,  a  part 
of  whom  migrated  to  Italy,  and  founded  the  colonies 
of  Magna  Grczcia  ;  others  suppose  the  name  to  have 
come  from  I\>aixi',c,  an  ancient  king  of  the  country. 
Ai)out  the  year  146  after  Christ,  the  Romans  under 
Mummius  conquered  Greece,  and  afterwards  divid- 
ed it  into  two  great  provinces,  viz.  Macedonia,  in- 
cluding Macedonia  Proper,  Thessaly,  Epirus,  and 
Illyricum ;  and  Achaia    including   all   the   country 


which  lies  south  of  the  former  province.  (See 
AcBAiA.)  In  Acts  XX.  2,  Greece  is  probably  to  be 
taken  in  its  widest  acceptation,  as  including  the 
whole  of  Greece  Proper  and  the  Peloponnesus.  This 
country  was  bounded  north  by  Macedonia  and  Illyr- 
icum, from  which  it  was  separated  by  the  mountains 
Acroceraunii  and  Cambunii ;  south  by  the  Mediter- 
ranean sea  ;  east  by  the  ^Egean  sea  ;  and  west  by  the 
Ionian  sea.  It  was  generally  known  under  the  three 
great  divisions  of  Peloponnesus,  Hellas,  and  Northei-n 
Greece. 

The  Peloponnesus,  more  anciently  called  Pelasgia, 
and  Argos,  and  now  the  Morea,  included  the  follow- 
ing countries,  viz.  Arcadia,  with  the  cities  Megalopo- 
lis, Tegasa,  Mantinea  ;  Laconia  v.  Laconica,  with  the 
cities  Sparta,  now  Misitra,  Epidaurus  Limera  ;  Mes- 
senia,  with  the  cities  Messene,  Methone,  now  Modon  ; 
Elis,  with  the  village  Olympia  and  the  city  Elis; 
Achaia,  more  anciently  called  iEgialea,  or  Ionia,  with 
its  twelve  cities,  including  the  minor  states  of  Sicyon 
and  Corinth ;  Argolis,  with  the  cities  Argos  and 
Troezene. 

The  division  of  Hellas,  which  now  constitutes  a 
great  part  of  Livadia,  included  the  following  states 
and  territories,  viz.  Attica,  with  the  city  Athense,  now 
Atini,  or  Setines ;  Megaris,  with  the  city  Megara ; 
BcEotia,  with  the  cities  Thebfe,  Platsese,  Leuctra, 
Coi'onea,  Chperonea,  Orchomenus  ;  Phocis,  with  the 
cities  Delphos,  Anticyra ;  Doiis ;  Locris,  with  the 
towns  Thermopylae,  Naupactus,  now  Lepanto ;  ^Eio- 
lia,  with  the  cities  Calydon,  Chalcis,  Thermis ;  Acar- 
nania,  with  the  city  Actium,  now  Azio. 

The  remaining  division  o{JVorthe7-n  Greece  includ- 
ed the  following  territories,  viz.  Thessaly,  more  an- 
ciently called  Pelasgia,  iEmonia,  or  Hellas,  with  the 
cities  Larissa,  Larissa  Cremaste,  Phthia,  Magnesia, 
Methone,  Pharsalus ;  Epirus,  more  anciently  Dodo- 
nea,  now  Albania,  with  the  cities  Ambracia,  Nicopo- 
lis,  Apollonia,  Dyrrhachium,  or  Epidamnum. 

The  most  important  islands  which  belonged  to 
Greece  were  the  following,  viz.  Euhaa,  now  Negro- 
pont,  with  the  cities  Chalcis,  Eretria,  Carystus ; 
Crete,  now  Candia,  with  the  cities  Cnossus,  Gortyna, 
Minoa,  Cydonia  ;  the  islands  of  the  Archipelago,  \.e, 
the  Cyclades,  including  Naxos,  Paros,  Delos,  and 
about  fifty  others ;  the  Sporades,  including  Samos, 
Patmos,  Rhodes,  etc.  the  islands  higher  up  the  JEge- 
an  sea,  as  Samothrace,  Lemnos,  Lesbos,  with  the  city 
Mitylene ;  and  the  Ionian  islands,  including  Cythe- 
rea,  nowCerigo,  Zacynthus,  Cej)halonia,  Ithica,  now 
Teaki,  Leucadia,  now  Santa  Maura,  Pa.xos,  Corcyra, 
now  Corfu.     *R. 

Scripture  refers  but  little  to  Greece,  till  the  time 
of  Alexander,  whose  conquests  extended  into  Asia, 
where  Greece  had  hitherto  been  of  no  importance. 
Yet  that  some  intercourse  was  maintained  with  these 
countries  from  Jerusalem,  may  be  inferred  from  the 
desire  of  Baasha  to  shut  up  all  communication  be- 
tween Jerusalem  and  Jop])a,  ^^  hicli  was  its  port,  by 
the  building  of  Ramah  ;  and  from  the  anxiety  of  Asa 
to  counteract  his  scheme,  1  Kings  xv.  2,  17.  Greece 
was  certainly  symbolized  by  a  goat  having  a  strong 
horn  between  his  eyes,  Dan.  viii.  .5,  2L 

After  the  establishment  of  the  Grecian  dynasties  in 
Asia,  Judea  could  not  but  be  considerably  affected 
by  them,  and  the  books  of  the  Maccabees  afford 
proofs  that  they  were.  The  Roman  power  super- 
seded the  Grecian  establishments,  but  left  traces  of 
Greek  language,  customs,  &c.  to  the  days  of  the 
Herods,  where  the  gospel  history  commences.  By 
the  activity  of  the  apostles,  and  especially  of  Paul,  the 


GREECE 


[473] 


GUD 


gospel  was  propagated  iu  those  countries  which 
used  tlie  Grecian  dialects  ;  hence,  we  are  interested 
in  the  study  of  this  language,  and  of  the  peculiar 
manners  of  the  people  by  whom  it  was  spoken. 

From  a  consideration  of  the  Grecian  disposition,  to 
combine  all  wisdom  in  themselves,  and  to  suppose  all 
others  in  darkness,  to  regard  their  own  institutions 
as  supremely  excellent,  while  they  were  enslaved  by 
superstition,  we  may  discern,  with  gi-eater  evidence, 
the  propriety  of  the  cautions  addressed  to  some  of  the 
new  converts  to  Christianity  ;  of  the  reprimands  in- 
tended for  others ;  of  the  exhortations  directed  to 
all  ;  and  of  those  pathetic  entreaties  which  occasion- 
ally animate  the  apostolic  writings.  We  may  also 
safely  conclude,  that  many  hints  are  incidentally 
dropped,  many  expressions  used,  and  many  remarks 
made,  with  reference  to  local  phrases,  peculiarities, 
and  turusof  thought ;  to  local  institutions,  and  exist- 
ing circumstances  and  opinions,  of  which  we  have 
but  a  slight  or  imperfect  knowledge. 

Many  flourishing  churches  were,  in  early  times, 
established  among  the  Greeks :  and  there  can  be  no 
doubt  but  that  they,  for  a  long  time,  preserved  the 
apostolic  customs  with  considerable  care.  At  length, 
however,  opinions  fluctuated  considerably  on  points 
of  doctrine ;  schisms  and  heresies  divided  the 
church  ;  and  rancor,  violence,  and  even  persecution, 
followed  in  their  train.  To  check  these  evils,  coun- 
cils were  called,  and  various  creeds  composed.  The 
removal  of  the  seat  of  government  from  Rome  to 
Constantinople,  gave  a  preponderance  to  the  Grecian 
districts  of  the  empire,  and  the  ecclesiastical  deter- 
minations of  the  Greek  church  were  extensively 
received. 

The  Greek  is  the  original  language  of  almost  all 
the  books  in  the  New  Testament ;  but  the  sacred  au- 
thors have  followed  that  style  of  writing  which  was 
used  by  the  Hellenists,  or  Grecizing  Hebrews,  blend- 
ing idioms  and  turns  of  speech,  peculiar  to  the  Syriac 
and  Hebrew  languages,  very  different  from  the  clas- 
sical spirit  of  the  Greek  writers.  After  Alexander 
the  Great,  Greek  became  the  common  language  of 


almost  all  the  East,  and  was  generally  used  in  com- 
merce. As  the  sacred  authors  had  ])rincipally  in 
view  the  conversion  of  the  Jews,  then  scattered 
throughout  the  East,  it  was  natural  for  them  to  write 
to  them  in  Greek,  that  being  a  language  to  which 
they  were  of  necessity  accustomed.  [For  the  char- 
acter of  the  Greek  language  of  the  New  Testament, 
see  a  celebrated  essay  by  H.  Planck,  published  in  the 
Biblical  Repository,  vol.  i.  p.  638,  seq.  and  also 
Winer's  Grammar  of  the  New  Testament.  For  the 
prevalence  of  the  Greek  language  in  Palestine,  see 
an  essay  by  Hug,  in  the  Bibl.  Repos.  vol.  i.  p.  530, 
seq.     R. 

At  this  time,  many  Jews  had  two  names,  one 
Greek,  the  other  Hebrew;  others  Grecized  their  He- 
brew names:  of  Jesus  they  made  Jason  ;  of  Saulus, 
Paulus  ;  of  Simon,  or  Simeon,  Petros,  &c. 

GREEKS  were,  properly,  the  inhabitants  of 
Greece  ;  but  this  is  not  the  only  acceptation  of  the 
name  iu  the  New  Testament.  It  seems  to  import, 
(1.)  Those  persons  of  Hebrew  descent  who,  being 
settled  in  cities  where  Greek  was  the  natural  lan- 
guage, spoke  this  language  rather  than  their  parental 
Hebrew.  They  are  called  Greeks,  to  distinguish 
them  from  those  Jews  who  spoke  Hebrew.  (2.)  Such 
persons  as  were  Greek  settlers  in  the  land  of  Israel, 
or  in  any  of  its  towns.  After  the  time  of  Alexander, 
these  aUens  were  numerous  in  some  places. 

It  seems  that  we  have,  in  Mark  vii.  26,  the  name  of 
Greek,  applied  not  to  a  native,  or  an  inhabitant  of 
Greece,  but  to  a  descendant  of  a  Greek  family  set- 
tled in  Syria.  We  read  that,  "  in  the  borders  of 
Tyre  and  Sidon,  a  woman  who  was  a  Greek,  a  Sy- 
rophenician  by  nation,"  addressed  our  Lord.  The 
evangelist  characterizes  her  as  a  Syrophenician,  to 
distinguish  her  from  the  Greeks  of  Europe.  In  the 
parallel  passage,  (Matt.  xv.21.)  she  is  called  a  woman 
of  Canaan,  and  the  liistory  is  said  to  pass  in  the 
coasts  of  Tyre  and  Sidon. 

GUDGODAH,  a  station  of  the  Israelites  in  the 
wilderness ;  (Deut.  x.  7.)  called  Hor-hagidgad,  Numb, 
xxxiii.  32. 


H 


HABAKKUK 

HABAKKUK,  one  of  the  minor  piophets.  Of 
his  life  we  have  no  account,  except  in  the  apocry- 
phal part  of  Daniel ;  (Dan.  xiv.  32,  seq.  in  the  Vul- 
gate ;)  according  to  which  he  must  have  lived  in  the 
last  years  of  the  exile,  in  the  palace  of  the  king  of 
Babylon.  This  legend,  however,  carries  with  it  its 
own  condenmation  ;  for  this  date  accords  in  no  de- 
gree whatever  with  the  contents  of  the  book  of  Ha- 
bakkuk.  The  latter  necessarily  presupposes  the 
commencement  of  the  Chaldean  period  ;  when  this 
people  began  to  w^x  powerful,  and  to  become  dan- 
gerous to  the  Jewish  nation.  (See  ch.  i.  5,  seq.)  The 
actual  destruction  of  the  Jewish  state  by  the  Chalde- 
ans he  seems  not  to  have  experienced  ;  at  least  there 
is  no  allusion  to  it  in  his  prophecy.  We  may,  there- 
fore, best  regard  him  as  cotemporary  with  Jeremiah  ; 
but  rather  with  the  earlier  period  of  the  latter's  life. 

The  book  of  Habakkuk  consists  of  three  chaptei-s, 
which  all  constitute  one  oracle  ;  or  at  least  may  prop- 
erly be  regarded  as  one.  They  contain  complaints 
60 


HABAKKUK 

* 

over  the  calamities  brought  upon  the  Jews  by  the  Chal- 
deans ;  together  with  the  expression  of  strong  desires 
and  hopes  that  these  savage  enemies  will  be  requited. 
T^e  costume  is  highly  poetical;  the  train  of  thought 
something  like  the  following  :  He  begins  with 
lamentations  over  the  cruelties  exercised  upon  the 
Jews,  and  then  describes  the  rude  and  warlike  Chal- 
deans, (see  that  article,)  and  awaits  an  answer  from 
God,  ch.  i.  The  answer  is,  that  deliverance  is  in- 
deed still  remote,  but  will  certainly  arrive  at  last,  ch. 
ii.  Upon  another  prayer  of  the  prophet,  there  fol- 
loAvs  in  ch.  iii.  a  solemn  theophania,  where  God  ap- 
pears in  his  majesty  in  order  to  destroy  the  enemy 
and  set  free  the  Jewish  people. 

This  third  chapter  is  one  of  the  most  splendid  por- 
tions of  the  prophetical  writings;  the  language  of  it 
rises  to  the  loftiest  flight  of  lyric  poetry.  0°  "le 
giound  of  this  portion  of  his  prophecy,  Habakkuk 
may  be  placed  in  the  fii-st  rank  of  the  Hebrew  poets. 
He  is  not  entirely  original ;  for  this  chapter  contams 


HAB 


[  474  ] 


HAD 


an  imitation  of  earlier  writings  ;  (Judg.  v.  4  ;  Ps.  Ixvni. 
7,  seq.)  but  he  is  distinguished  for  the  puritj'  and  ele- 
gance of  his  diction,  and  the  fire  and  vivacity  of  his 
imagery.     *R. 

HABERGEON,  [a  coat  of  mail ;  an  ancient  piece 
(if  defensive  armor,  in  the  form  of  a  coat,  descending 
fi-om  the  neck  to  the  middle,  and  formed  of  small  iron 
rings  or  mashes,  linked  into  each  other.  It  is  also 
written  haubert,  and  hauberk.  Our  translators  have 
used  this  word  (Ex.  xxviii.  32  ;  xxxi.  23.)  for  the 
Heb.  Ninr,  tachara,  which  denotes  a  thick  quilted 
linen,  ^oQ>,i.  or  garment  furnished  above  with  a  coat 
of  mail.  In  other  passages,  habergeon  stands  for  the 
Heb.  p>-ir,  shirio7i,  a  coat  of  mail  in  general.  So  in 
Job  xli.  26.  [Heb.  18.]  for  n^-\-c;  shiryah,  where  the 
context  seems  to  require  some  offensive  weapon,  as 
dart,  javelin.     R. 

HABITS.  Moses  forbids  women  and  men  to  in- 
terchange their  habits.  The  importance  of  these 
laws  will  be  apparent  if  we  consider  the  manners  of 
the  East.  There  the  women  continue  secluded  in 
close  apartments,  to  which  men,  who  are  strangers, 
have  no  access.  Some  writers  believe,  that  the  pro- 
hibition principally  forbade  those  superstitious  cere- 
monies, which  accompanied  certain  heathen  festivals. 
In  the  feasts  of  Bacchus,  Venus  and  Mars,  men  dis- 
guised themselves  like  women ;  in  the  first,  the 
men  put  on  women's  clothes  ;  in  the  second,  the 
Avomeu  put  on  men's.  In  the  East,  the  men  sacri- 
ficed generally  to  the  moon  dressed  in  women's 
clothes,  and  the  women  sacrificed  to  that  deity 
dressed  in  men's  clothes ;  because  this  planet  was 
adored  both  as  a  god  and  a  goddess;  and  was 
afiirmed  to  be  of  both  sexes.  This  interpretation  is 
rendered  probable  by  the  declaration  that  "  all  who 
do  so  are  an  abomination  to  the  Lord." 

A  change  of  habit,  and  the  washing  of  the  clothes, 
were  enjoined  on  the  Jews,  to  prepare  them  for  ac- 
tions of  particular  purity,  Gen.  xxxv.  2;  Exod.  xix. 
10,  14. 

To  tear  the  clothes,  as  a  token  of  mourning,  is  a 
custom  frequentl}'  noticed  in  the  sacred  writings. 
SeeMouRNKNG,  or  Burial,  Dead. 

The  strange  apparel  mentioned  in  Zeph.  i.  8,  may 
denote  habits  worn  by  the  Heiirews  in  imitation  of 
strangers ;  (or,  in  the  faslnons  of  strangers  ;)  who,  not 
content  with  the  stuffs  and  cloths,  the  colors  and 
dj'es,  of  their  own  country,  must  seek  others  among 
strangers  in  Babylonia,  Chaidea,  Egypt,  Tyre,  &:c. 
Some  believe  that  the  Hebrews  not  only  imitated  tJie 
worship  and  superstitions  of  idolaters,  but  also  wore 
their  hal)its  in  their  sacrilegious  ceremonies.  Otiiers, 
by  "  strange  habits,"  suppose  those  to  Ix;  meant,  which 
were  taken  in  pawn  fiom  the  poor  and  unfortunate, 
contrary  to  the  prohibition  of  the  law,  which  requu'ed 
that  they  should  be  returned  against  night,  Exod. 
xxii.  26,  27. 

The  habit  down  to  the  foot,  or  that  trails  along  the 
ground,  (Wisdom  xviii.  24  ;  Ecclus.  xxvii.  8  ;  Rev.  i. 
1.3.)  signifies,  literally,  u  habit  or  garment  hangine 
down  to  the  fVot ;  a  loiirr,  trailing  habit,  used  on  davs 
of  ceremony.  In  Wisdom,  it  rt.niotes  the  high-priest's 
sacerdotal  mantle.  In  Ecclesiasticus,  a  habit  of  hon- 
or and  distinction,  allowed  only  to  persons  of  dienitv. 
In  the  Revelation,  our  Saviour  apix-ared  to  John  in'a 
long  habit,  girt  with  a  golden  girdh'.     See  Dress. 

HABOR,  Chabor,  Chaboras,  a  river  in  Mesopo- 
tamia, which  falls  into  the  Euphrates,  whither  part 
of  Israel  was  transplanted.  Ezekiel  addresses  his 
prophecies  from  the  river  Ciiebar,  or  Ilabor.  Our 
translation  takes  Habor   for  a  citv  situated  "liv  the 


river  of  Gozan  ;"  and  major  Rennell  says  there  is 
found  in  the  country  anciently  named  Media,  in  the 
remote  northern  quarter,  towards  the  Caspian  sea, 
and  Ghilan,  a  considerable  river  named  Ozan,  or 
Kizal-ozan.  There  is  also  found  a  city  named  Ab- 
har,  or  Habor,  situated  on  a  branch  of  the  Ozan  ;  and 
it  has  the  reputation  of  being  exceedingly  ancient." 
(Herod,  p.  395,  396.)  This  is  probably  the  place 
mentioned  in  Scripture.     See  Gozan. 

HACHILAH,  a  mountain  about  ton  miles  south  of 
Jericho,  where  David  concealed  himself  from  Saul, 

1  Sam.  xxiii.  19.  Jonathan  Maccabseus  built  here 
the  castle  of  Massada. 

I.  HADAD,  son  of  Bedad,  succeeded  Hushan,  a3 
king  of  Edom,  (Gen.  xxxvi.  35.)  and  obtained  a  vic- 
tory over  the  Midianites  in  Moab.  Tiie  city  where 
he  reigned  was  named  Avith  ;  but  its  situation  is  not 
known. 

II.  HADAD,  king  of  Syria,  reigned  at  Damascus 
when  David  attacked  Hadadezei-,  another  king  of 
Syria,  2  Sam.  viii.  Nicholas  of  Damascus  states  that 
Hadad  carried  succors  to  Hadadezer,  as  far  as  the 
Euphrates;  where  David  defeated  them  both.     (See 

2  Sam.  viii.  5.) 

III.  HADAD,  son  to  the  king  of  Edom,  was  car- 
ried into  Egypt  by  his  father's  servants,  when  Joab, 
general  of  David's  troops,  extirpated  the  males  of 
Edom.  Hadad,  who  was  then  a  child,  had  a  house 
and  lands  given  to  him  by  the  king  of^  Egypt,  who 
married  him  to  the  sister  of  Tahpcnes  his  queen. 
Hadad,  being  informed  that  David  and  Joab  were 
dead,  returned  into  his  own  country,  where  he  raised 
disturbances  against  Solomon,  1  Kings  xi.  17. 

IV.  HADAD,  son  of  Baal-hanan,  king  of  Edom. 
He  reigned  in  the  city  Pai,  and  after  his  death, 
Edom  was  governed  by  dukes  or  princes,  i  Chron. 
i.  51,  &c. 

The  name  of  Hadad  was  long  common  to  the 
kings  of  Syria. 

HADADEZER,  king  of  Zobah,  a  country  which 
extended  from  Libanus  to  tlie  Orontes.  David  de- 
feated Hadadezer,  and  took  700  horse  and  20,000 
foot,  2  Sam.  viii.  3.  ante  A.  D.  1044.  Seven  years 
afterwards,  the  king  of  the  Ammonites  dying,  David 
sent  ambassadors  to  Hanuu  his  son,  whh  compli- 
ments of  condolence.  The  young  prince  affronted 
his  ambassadors,  and  called  the  neighboring  princes 
to  his  assistance,  particularly  Hadadezer;  who,  not 
daring  to  declare  openly  against  David,  sent  private- 
ly into  Mesojiotamia,  and  there  hired  troops  for  the 
king  of  the  Ammonites.  These  auxiliary  forces,  in 
all  jirobability,  came  after  the  battle  had  been  won  by 
Joab,  2  Sam.  x.  6,  seq. 

HADAD-RIMMON,  a  place  in  the  valley  of  Me- 
giddo,  Zech.  xii.  11. 

HADAR,  son  and  successor  of  Achbor,  king  of 
Edom,  reigned  in  the  city  Pai,  Gen.  xxxvi.  39. 

HADASHAH,  or  Chadassa,  a  town  in  Judah, 
(Josh.  XV.  37.)  which  Eusebius  says  lay  near  Taphnse. 

HADASSAH,  see  Esther. 

HADES,  see  Hell. 

HADID,  or  Chadid,  a  city  of  Benjamin,  (Ezra  ii. 
33;  Nehem.  vii..37.)  prol)al)ly  the  Adita  or  Adiadaol 
Josephus,  and  of  1  Mac.  xii.  .38,  xiii.  3,  in  Sephela, 
or  in  the  plain  of  Judah.  Eusebius  and  Jerome 
speak  of  two  cities  called  Aditha,  or  Adi  ;  one  near 
Gaza,  the  other  near  Diospolis,  or  Lydda.  But  this 
carries  us  too  far  from  Benjamin. 

HADRACH,  or  Adra,  a  city  mentioned  by  Zecb- 
ariah,  (ix.  1.)  who  denounced  d^-eadful  threatenings 
against   it.     Ptolemy  notices  a  city  called  Adra,  in 


HAG 


[  473  ] 


HAI 


lat.  68  |,  long.  32  ^.  It  could  not  hp  far  from 
Damascus;  for  Zechariah  calls  Damascus  the  bul- 
wark, defence,  and  confidence  of  Hadrach. 

HAGAR,  an  Egyptian  servant  belonging  to  Sarah, 
who,  being  barren,  gave  her  to  Abraham  for  a  wife, 
that  by  her,  as  a  substitute,  she  might  have  children. 
Sarah  having  used  her  harshly,  Hagar  fled  from  the 
dwelling  of  Abraham  ;  but  an  angel  of  the  Lord,  find- 
ing her  in  the  wilderness,  commanded  her  to  return. 
She  obeyed  his  voice,  submitted  to  Sarah,  and  was 
delivered  of  a  sou,  whom  she  named  Ishmael.  Four- 
teen years  after  this,  Sarah  gave  birth  to  Isaac. 
When  the  child  was  weaned,  Ishmael,  who  was  then 
eeventeen  years  of  age,  was  observed  bj'  Sarah  to  be 
teasing  him ;  in  consequence  of  which  she  urged 
Abraham  to  expel  Hagar  and  her  son.  Abraham  was 
greatly  afflicted  at  this  proposal ;  but  the  Lord  com- 
manded him  to  comply  with  Sarah's  request.  Ris- 
ing early  in  the  morning,  therefore,  Abraham  took 
bread  and  a  bottle  of  Avater,  and  sent  away  Hagar, 
with  her  son.  The  afflicted  woman  intended  to  re- 
turn into  Egj'pt,  but  lost  her  way,  and  wandered  in 
the  wilderness  of  Beer-sheba.  The  water  in  her 
bottle  failing,  she  left  Ishmael  under  one  of  the  trees 
in  the  wilderness,  and,  going  a  small  distance  from 
him,  sat  down,  saying,  "  I  will  not  see  him  die  ;"  and 
lifted  up  her  voice  and  wept.  The  angel  of  the 
Lord,  however,  comforted  her,  and  showed  her  a  well 
of  water.  She  retired  to  the  wilderness  of  Paran, 
where  she  settled.  Ishmael  became  very  expert  at 
the  bow ;  and  his  mother  married  him  to  an  Egyp- 
tian woman.  We  know  not  when  Hagar  died. 
The  Mussulmans  and  Arabians,  who  are  descended 
from  Ishmael,  speak  highly  in  her  conmiendatiou. 
They  call  her  "  Mother  Hagar,"  and  maintain  that 
she  was  Abraham's  lawful  wife  ;  the  mother  of  Ish- 
mael, his  eldest  son,  who  as  such  possessed  Arabia, 
which  very  much  exceeds,  in  their  estimation,  both 
in  extent  and  riches,  the  land  of  Canaan,  which  was 
given  to  his  younger  son  Isaac. 

Hagar,  according  to  Paul,  may  symbolize  the  syn- 
agogue, which  produces  only  slaves — the  ofiapring 
alwavs  following  the  condition  of  the  motlier,  Gal. 
iv.  2!. 

HAGARENES,  the  descendants  of  Ishmael: 
called  also  Ishmaelites  and  Saracens,  or  Arabians, 
from  their  country.  The  name  Saracens  is  not  de- 
rived, as  some  have  thought,  from  Sarah,  Abraham's 
wife,  but  from  Sahara,  the  desert ;  Saracens,  "  in- 
habitants of  the  desert." 

HAGGAI,  the  tenth  of  the    minor  prophets,   was 

Srobably  born  at  Babylon,  whence  he  accompanied 
ierubbabel.  The  captives  immediately  after  their 
return  to  Judea  began  with  ardor  to  rebuild  the 
temple  ;  but  the  work  was  suspended  fourteen  years, 
till  after  the  death  of  Cambyses.  Darius  Hystaspes 
succeeding  to  the  empire,  Haggai  was  excited  by 
God  to  exhort  Zerubbabel,  prince  of  Judah,  and  the 
high-priest  Joshua,  son  of  Josedeck,  to  resume  the 
work  of  the  temple,  which  had  been  so  long  inter- 
rupted, {ante  A.  D.  521.)  The  remonstrances  of  the 
prophet  had  their  effect,  and  in  the  second  year  of 
Darius,  and  the  sixteenth  year  after  the  return  from 
Babylon,  they  resumed  this  work.  Hag.  i.  14  ;  ii.  1. 
The  Lord  commanded  Haggai  to  tell  the  people, 
that  if  any  one  recollected  the  temple  of  Solomon, 
and  did  not  think  this  to  be  so  beautiful  and  njagnif- 
icent  as  that  structure  was,  he  ought  not  to  be  dis- 
couraged ;  because  God  would  render  the  new  tem- 
ple much  more  august  and  venerable  than  the  for- 
mer had  ever  been  ;  not   in  embellishments  of  gold 


or  Sliver,  hut  by  the  presence  of  the  Messiah,  the  de- 
sire of  all  nations,  and  by  ilie  glory  which  his  coming 
would  add  to  it. 

We  know  nothing  of  Haggai's  death.  Epiphani- 
us  asserts,  that  he  was  buried  at  Jerusalem  among 
the  priests  ;  which  might  mduce  us  to  believe  that 
he  was  of  Aaron's  family  :  but  Haggai  says  nothing 
of  himself  to  favor  this  opinion. 

HAGGITH,  David's  fifth  wife,  mother  of  Adoni- 
jah,  2  Sam.  iii.  4. 

HAGIOGRAPHA.  The  Hebrews  distinguish 
the  canonical  books  of  the  Old  Testament  into  three 
classes;  {!.)  the  Law  ;  (2.)  the  Prophets;  (3.)  the 
Hagiographa,  or  Chethubim.     See  Bible,  p.  170. 

HAHIROTH,  whence  Pi-hahiroth,  as  it  is  called 
in  Exod.  xiv.  2,  9,  but  simply  Hahu-oth,  in  Numbers 
xxxiii.  8.     See  Exodus,  p.  401. 

HAI,  or  Ai,  or  Aijah,  a  city  near  Bethel,  west. 
The  LXX  call  it  Agai ;  Josephus,  Aina ;  others, 
Aiath.     See  Ai. 

HAIL !  a  salutation,  importing  a  wish  for  the 
welfare  of  the  person  addressed.  It  is  now  seldom 
used  among  us ;  but  was  customary  among  our  Sax- 
on ancestors,  and  imported  as  much  as  "joy  to  you  ;" 
or  "  health  to  you  ;"  including  in  the  term  health  all 
kinds  of  prosperity. 

HAIL-Stojjes  are  congealed  drops  of  rain,  form- 
ed into  ice  by  the  power  of  cold  in  the  upper  re- 
gions of  the  atmosphere.  HaU  was  among  the 
plagues  of  Egypt ;  (Exod.  ix.  24.)  and  that  hail, 
though  uncommon,  is  not  absolutely  unknown  m 
Egypt,  we  have  the  testimony  of  Volney,  who  men- 
tions a  hail-storm,  w  hicL  he  saw  crossing  over  mount 
Sinai  into  that  country,  some  of  w  hose  frozen  stones 
he  gathered;  "and  so,"  he  says,  "I  drank  iced  water 
m  Eg>'pt."  Hail  was  also  the  means  made  use  of 
by  God,  for  defeating  an  army  of  the  kings  of  Canaan, 
Josh.  X.  11.  God's  judgments  are  likened  to  a  hail- 
stoi-m,  in  Isaiah  xxviii.  2.  But  the  most  tremendous 
had  mentioned  in  Scripture,  or  in  any  WTiter,  is  that 
alluded  to  in  Rev.  xvi.  21 ;  "Every  stone  about  the 
weight  of  a  talent."  (The  Jewish  talent  was  about  125 
lbs.)  How  strong  is  this  description  !  In  comparison 
Avith  it  all  accounts  of  hail-stones  and  hail-stonns 
are  diminutive.  We  have,  in  the  Philosophical 
Transactions,  mention  of  hail  as  large  as  pullets' 
eggs,  and  in  America,  hail-stones  sometimes  fall  of 
several  pounds  weight :  but  what  is  this  to  the  weight 
of  a  talent ! 

HAIR.  The  law  enjoined  nothing  respecting  the 
mode  of  wearing  the  hair.  The  priests  had  theirs 
cut,  it  is  said,  eveiy  fortnight,  while  in  waiting  at  the 
temple.  They  were  forliidden  to  cut  their  hair  in 
honor  of  the  dead  ;  that  is,  of  Adonis ;  though,  on 
other  occasions  of  mourning,  they  cut  it  without 
scruple.  "  Ye  shall  not  round  the  corners  of  your 
heads ;"  in  imitation  of  the  Arabians,  Ammonites, 
3Ioabites,  and  the  Edomites ;  of  the  people  of  De- 
dan,  Tema,  and  Buz ;  who  did  this,  as  it  is  said,  in 
imitation  of  Bacchus.  The  LXX  translate,  "  Ye 
shall  not  make  sisoo  of  the  hair  of  your  head;" 
the  Hebrew  word  sisoc  imports  a  lock  of  hau"  of- 
fered to  Saturn.  Lucian  is  an  evidence,  that  the 
Syrians  oflTered  their  hair  to  their  gods ;  and  it  is 
well  knoM-n  to  have  been  conunon  among  other 
people. 

It  was  usual  with  the  heathen  to  make  vows,  that 
they  would  suffer  their  hair  (or  their  beards)  to  grow, 
till" they  had  accomplished  certain  things.  Civdis, 
having'taken  arms  against  the  Romans,  vowed  never 
to  cut  his  hair,  which  was  of  a  red  color,  and  which, 

\ 


HAM 


476 


HAM 


out  of  mere  artifice,  he  wore  long,  after  the  manuer 
of  the  Germans,  till  he  had  defeated  the  legions. 
(Tacitus,  Hist.  hb.  iv.)  This  has  some  relation  to 
the  law  of  the  Nazarites,  who  were  never  to  have 
their  hair  cut,  Numb.  vi.  5,  9. 

When  a  man  was  suspected  of  having  a  leprosy, 
inspection  was  carefully  made,  whether  the  color  of 
his  hair  were  changed,  or  if  it  fell ;  this  bemg  one  in- 
dication of  the  disease.  When  he  was  healed,  he 
washed  his  body  and  his  clothes,  cut  off  the  hair  of 
his  head,  and  of  his  whole  body,  and  presented  his 
offering  at  the  door  of  the  tabernacle.  Lev.  xiii.  4, 10, 
31,  32,  &c.  But  he  did  not  enter  into  the  camp  till 
eight  days  after,  again  cutting  away  all  the  hair  off 
his  body,  in  demonstration  of  his  desire  not  to  leave 
any  place  where  the  least  pollution  might  remam 
undiscovered,  and  uncleansed.  Lev.  xiv.  8,  9  The 
Levites,  on  the  day  of  their  consecration  to  God's 
service,  shaved  their  whole  bodies. 

Black  hair  was  thought  to  be  the  most  beautiful. 
Cant.  V.  11.  This  was  also  the  taste  of  the  Romans ; 
at  least,  in  the  days  of  Horace. 

Plucking  off  the  hair  was  a  species  of  punishment. 
See  Punishment. 

HALAH,  a  city  or  countiy  of  Media,  to  which  the 
kings  of  Assyria  transplanted  the  ten  tribes.  It  is 
mentioned  with  Habor ;  (2  Kings  xvii.  6.)  which 
shows  it  to  have  been  on  the  river  Gozan.  Hyde 
supposes  it  to  be  Holwan ;  Bochait  thinks  it  to  be 
Calachene  in  Media.  [Gesenius  and  Rosenmiiller 
incline  to  the  opinion  of  Hyde,  and  suppose  it  to  be 
the  same  as  Calah,  which  see.     R. 

HALHUL,  a  city  of  Judah,  (Josh.  xv.  58.)  thought 
to  be  near  Hebron. 

HALI,  Cali,  or  Chali,  a  city  of  Phoenicia,  in 
Asher,  Josh.  xix.  25. 

HALLELUJAH,  see  Alleluia. 

To  HALLOW.  (See  Sanctification,  Holt.) 
To  hallow,  is  to  render  sacred,  set  apart,  consecrate. 
The  English  word  is  from  the  Saxon,  and  is  properly 
to  make  holy ;  hence  hallowed  persons,  things,  places, 
rites,  &c. ;  hence,  also,  the  name,  power,  dignity  of 
God,  is  hallowed  ;  that  is,  reverenced  as  holy. 

HALT,  to  go  lame  on  the  feet  or  legs.  Many 
persons  who  were  halt  were  cured  by  our  Lord. 
To  halt  betAveen  two  opinions,  (1  Kings  xviii.  21.) 
should,  perhaps,  be  to  stagger  from  one  to  the  other, 
repeatedly  ;  but  some  say,  it  is  an  allusion  to  birds, 
who  hoi)  from  spray  to  spray,  forAvards  and  back- 
wards : — as  the  contrary  influence  of  supposed  con- 
victions, vibrated  the  mind  in  alternate  affirmation 
and  doubtfulness. 

HAM,  or  Cham,  burnt,  sivarthy,  black;  the  young- 
est son  of  Noah.  One  day  when  Noah  had  drank 
wine.  Ham  perceived  his  parent  lying  in  his  tent, 
with  his  person  exposed,  which  he  ridicided.  No- 
ah, when  he  awoke  and  Avas  informed  of  his  sin, 
said,  "  Cursed  be  Canaan  ;  a  servant  of  servants  shall 
he  be  to  his  brethren."  Ham  \a%is  father  of  Cush, 
Misraim,  Phut,  and  Canaan.  It  is  believed  that  he 
had  Africa  for  his  inheritance  •,  and  that  he  peopled 
it ;  but  he  dAvelt  in  Eg\'pt.  (See  Egypt.)  Afi-ica  is 
called  "the  land  of  Ham"  in  several  places  of  the 
Psalms. 

Many  writei-s  have  been  of  opinion,  that  the  pos- 
terity of  Ham  suggested  the  design,  luid  formed  the 
presumptuous  projrrt,  of  building  the  tower  of  Ba- 
bel.    But  this  is  Avithout  jjroofs. 

"  In  the  Rozit  ul  Sufla  it  is  written,  tliat  God  be- 
stowed on  Ham  nine  sons — Hind,  Sind,  Zenj,  Nubn, 
Kanaan,    Kush,   Kopt,   Berber,   and   Hebesh ;  and 


their  children  having  increased  to  an  immense  mul- 
titude, God  caused  each  ti'ibe  to  speak  a  different 
language ;  Avherefore  they  separated,  and  each  of 
them  applied  to  the  cultivation  of  their  owii  lands." 
(Asiatic  Miscel.  p.  148.  4to.)  Most  of  these  nations 
may  be  traced  with  tolerable  certainty. 
Hind  must  be  the  origin  of  the  Hindoos. 
Sind,  the  origin  of  the  nations  bordering  on  the 
Indus. 

Zenj,  may  Ave  place  in  Zanguebar  in  Africa,  East  ? 
JVuba,   father  of   the    Nubians,  more   central   in 
Africa. 

Kanaan,  and  Kush,  the  same  as  are  well  knoAvn 
from  Scripture. 

Kopt,  the  Egyptians ;  who,  it  appears,  did  not  re- 
ceive name  from  any  town  called  Coptos,  as  the 
learned  haA^e  usually  said,  but  from  a  father  of  this 
name,  after  Avhom  such  a  town  might  be  called. 

Berber,  Avhence  the  Barabari,  beyond  Nubia,  and, 
remotely,  Barbary. 

Hebesh,  Abyssinia :  its  present  name  among  the 
Turks  and  Arabs  is  Habesh. 

We  find,  then,  that  Hind,  Sind,  and  Kanaan,  with 
more  or  less  of  Kush,  remained  in  Asia,  notwith- 
standing Africa  was  the  allotted  portion  of  Ham.  J 
With  this  agrees,  in  part,  the  tradition  of  the  Brah-  / 
mins,  Avho  acknoAvledge  that  they  are  not  originally  / 
of  India,  but  came  into  India  through  the  pass  of  Her-  ■ 
idAvar,  or  HardAA^ar.  This  also  contributes  to  account 
for  the  existence  of  Hamite  kingdoms,  and  poAverful 
kingdoms,  too,  in  western  Asia.  But  the  reader  will 
recollect,  in  perfect  coincidence  Avith  this  observation, 
that  "  God  caused  each  tribe  to  speak  a  different  lan- 
guage ;  wherefore  they  separated."  This  restricts 
the  interference  of  Deity  in  the  confusion  of  tongues 
to  the  sons  of  Ham  ;  Avhich  certainly  accords  with 
the  true  import  of  the  Mosaic  history  of  that  event : 
not — all  mankind  on  the  face  of  the  earth,  but— all 
the  tribes  connected  with  Shinar,  and  its  population. 
HAMAN,  son  of  Hammedatha  the  Amalekite,  of 
the  race  of  Agag ;  or,  according  to  other  copies,  of 
Hamadath  the  Bugsean  or  Goggean  ;  that  is,  of  the 
race  of  Gog,  or  it  may  be  read,  Haman  the  son  of 
Hamadath,  which  Haman  AA'as  Bagua  or  Bagoas, 
eunuch  or  officer  to  the  king  of  Pei-sia.  We  have 
no  proof  of  Hainan's  being  an  Amalekite ;  but  Es- 
ther iii.  1.  reads,  of  the  race  of  Agag.  In  the  apoc- 
ryphal Greek,  (chap.  ix.  24.)  and  the  Latin,  (chap, 
xvi.  6.)  he  is  called  a  Macedonian.  Ahasuerus,  haA'^- 
ing  taken  him  into  faA'or,  promoted  him  above  all 
the  princes  of  his  court,  avIio  bent  the  knee  to  him 
when  he  entered  the  palace.  This  Mordecai  the 
Jew  declined,  for  Avhicli  slight,  Haman  plotted  the 
extirpation  of  the  whole  JcAvish  nation  ;  Avhich  was 
providentially  prevented.  He  was  hanged  on  a  gib- 
bet fifty  cubits  high,  Avhich  he  had  prepared  for 
Mordecai ;  his  house  was  given  to  queen  Esther,  and 
his  employments  to  Mordecai.  His  ten  sons  Avere 
also  executed.     See  Esther. 

There  is  something  so  entirely  different  from  the 
customs  of  European  civilization,  in  Haman's  pro- 
posed destruction  of  the  JeAvish  people,  (Esther, 
chap,  iii.)  that  the  mind  of  the  reader,  Avhen  perus- 
ing it,  is  alarmed  into  hesitation,  if  not  into  incredit- 
lity.  And,  indeed,  it  seems  barely  credible  that  a  king 
should  endure  a  massacre  of  so  great  a  proportion  of 
his  subjects — a  Avliole  nation  cut  off  at  a  stroke ! 
HoAvever,  that  such  a  proposal  might  be  made,  is 
attested  by  a  similar  proposal  made  in  later  times, 
which  nan-owly  escaped  witnessing  a  catastrophe  of 
the  same  nature.     M.  De  Peysonnel,   in  delineating 


M 


HAM 


[  477  ] 


HAN 


the  character  of  the  celebrated  Hassan  Pacha,  (who, 
in  the  war  of  1770,  between  Russia  and  Turkey,  be- 
came eminent  as  a  seaman,)  says  of  him,  "  He  pre- 
served the  Greeks,  when  it  was  dehberated  in  the 
council  [of  the  grand  signior]  to  exterminate  them 
entnely,  as  a  punishment  for  their  defection,  and  to 
prevent  their  future  rebellion :  he  obtained  for  them 
a   general   amnesty,  which  he  took  care   should   be 

faithfully  observed,  and  this brought  back  a 

great  number  of  emigrants,  and  prevented  the  total 
desertion  of  that  numerous  class  of  subjects,  which 
an  unseasonable  rigor  would  have  occasioned,  and 
whicli  must  have  depopulated  the  provinces,  render- 
ed a  great  part  of  the  coimtry  uncultivated,  and  de- 
prived the  fleet  of  a  nursery  of  sailors."  (Remarks  of 
Baron  du  Tott,  page  90.)  Political  evils  these,  which, 
nevertheless,  would  not  have  preserved  the  Greeks, 
without  the  personal  influence  of  the  admiral ; — as 
the  consideration  of  similar  evils  could  not  restrain 
the  anger  of  Haman,  and  the  misled  confidential  ca- 
price of  Aliasuerus.  This  account  has  subsequently 
been  confirmed  by  Mr.  Elton,  of  Smyrna. 

HAMATH,  a  celebrated  city  of  Syria.  [Hamath, 
together  with  Jerusalem  and  Damascus,  belongs  to 
the  few  places  in  Syria  and  Palestine,  which  have 
retained  a  certain  degree  of  importance  from  the 
veiy  earliest  ages  to  the  present  time.  The  name  oc- 
cure  in  Gen.  x.  18,  as  the  seat  of  a  Canaanitish  tribe  ; 
and  it  is  often  mentioned  as  the  northern  limit  of 
Canaan  in  its  widest  extent.  Num.  xiii.  21 ;  Josh. 
xiii.  5;  Judg.  iii.  3.  In  David's  time,  Toi,  king  of 
Hamath,  was  his  ally,  2  Sam.  viii.  9,  10.  The  As- 
syrians became  masters  of  this  city  and  the  neigh- 
borhood about  753  B.  C.  2  Kings  xvii.  24 ;  Is.  x. 
8,  seq.  Under  the  SjTO-Macedonian  dynasty,  the  city 
was  called  Epiphania.  (Theodoret  on  Zech.  ix.  1. 
Jerome,  Qutest.  in  Gen.  x.  15.  Comm.  on  Ezek. 
xlvii.  15.  Roscnm.  Bib.  Geogi*.  I.  ii.  313.)  The  na- 
tives, however,  continued  to  use  the  ancient  name  ; 
which  became  current  again  in  the  middle  ages.  At 
this  period  it  was  the  residence  of  the  celebrated 
Arabian  prince  and  writer  Abulfeda. 

Burckhardt  describes  Hamath  as  "  situated  on  both 
sides  of  the  Orontes  ;  a  part  of  it  is  built  on  the  de- 
clivity of  a  hill,  and  a  part  in  the  plain.  The  town 
is  of  considerable  extent,  and  must  contain  at  least 
30,000  uihabitauts.  There  are  four  bridges  over  the 
Orontes  m  the  town.  The  river  supplies  the  upper 
town  with  water,  by  means  of  buckets  fixed  to  high 
wheels,  which  empty  themselves  into  stone  canals, 
supported  by  lofty  arches  on  a  level  with  the  upper 
part  of  the  town.  There  are  about  a  dozen  of  the 
wheels ;  the  largest  of  them  is  at  least  seventy  feet 
in  diameter.  The  town,  for  the  most  part,  is  well 
built,  although  the  walls  of  the  dwellings,  a  few  pal- 
aces excepted,  are  of  mud ;  but  their  interior  makes 
amends  for  the  roughness  of  their  external  appear- 
ance. The  principal  trade  of  Hamath  is  with  the 
Arabs,  who  buy  here  their  tent  furniture  and  clothes. 
The  government  of  Hamath  comprises  about  one 
hundred  and  twenty  inhabited  villages,  and  seventy 
or  eighty  which  have  been  abandoned.  The  west- 
em  part  of  its  territory  is  the  granary  of  northern 
Syria  ;  though  the  harvest  never  yields  more  than 
ten  for  one,  chiefly  in  consequence  of  the  immense 
numbers  of  mice,  which  sometimes  wholly  destroy 
tlie  crops."  (Travels  in  Syria,  &c.  p.  147.)  Abulfeda 
also  describes  this  city  ;  and  does  not  forget  the  men- 
tion of  it  in  Scripture,  nor  its  many  water  wheels. 

Others   have  supposed  that  Hamath  was  the  city 
Emessa,  also  situated  on  the  Oi-ontes  farther  south.  R. 


HAMMON,  a  city  of  Asher,  Josh.  xix.  28.  Also 
another  in  Naphtah,  1  Chron.  vi.  76. 

HAMMOTH-DOR,  a  city  of  the  Levites,  in 
Naphtah,  ceded  to  the  famify  of  Gershom,  Josh, 
xxi.  32. 

HAMONAH,  a  city  where  Ezekiel  (xxxix.  16.) 
foretold  the  burial  of  Gog  and  his  people  would  be. 
We  know  not  any  town  of  this  name  in  Palestine. 
Hamonah  signifies  multitude ;  and  the  prophet  in- 
tended to  slio\\,  that  the  slaughter  of  Gog's  people 
would  be  so  gi"eat,  that  the  place  of  their  burial  might 
be  called  Midtitude. 

HAMOR,  prince  of  Shechem ;  father  of  young 
Shechem,  who  ravished  Dinah,  the  daughter  of  Ja- 
cob, Gen.  xxxiv.  (See  Dknah,  and  Shechem.)  Ja- 
cob, returning  from  Mesopotamia,  set  up  his  tents  at 
Shechem,  and  bought  of  Hamor,  for  the  price  of  a 
hundred  kesitahs,  or  pieces  of  silver,  (about  $200,) 
that  part  of  the  field  where  he  had  pitched  his  tents, 
Gen.  xxxiii.  18,  seq.  The  bones  of  Joseph  were  af- 
terwards buried  there.  Josh.  xxiv.  32. 

HAMUTAL,  daughter  of  Jeremiah  of  Libnah, 
wife  of  king  Josiah,  and  mother  of  Jehoahaz  and 
Zedekiah,  kings  of  Judah,  2  Kings  xxiii.  31. 

HANAMEEL,  son  of  Shallum,  a  kinsman  of 
Jeremiah's,  who  sold  the  prophet  a  field  at  Ana- 
thoth,  Jer.  xxxii.  7,  &c. 

HANANEEL,  an  Israelite  who  gave  name  to  one 
of  the  towers  of  Jerusalem,  Neh.  iii.  1 ;  xii.  39;  Jer. 
xxxi.  38  ;  Zech.  xiv.  10. 

I.  HANANI,  the  father  of  the  prophet  Jehu,  1 
Kings  xvi.  7. 

II.  HANANI,  a  prophet,  Avho  came  to  Asa,  king 
of  Judah,  and  said,  "Because  thou  hast  put  thy 
trust  in  the  king  of  Syria,  and  not  in  the  Lord,  the 
army  of  the  king  of  Syria  is  escaped  out  of  thine 
hands,"  2  Chron.  xvi.  7.  We  knoAV  not  on  what  oc- 
casion the  prophet  spake  thus  ;  but  Asa  ordered  him 
to  be  seized  and  imprisoned.  Some  suppose  him  to 
have  been  father  to  the  prophet  Jehu  ;  but  this  does 
not  appear  fiom  Scripture.  Jehu  prophesied  in  Is- 
rael ;  Hanani  in  Judah.  Jehu  was  put  to  death  by 
Baasha,  king  of  Israel,  who  died  A.  M.  3075 ;  but 
Hanani  reproved  Asa,  king  of  Judah,  Avho  reigned 
from  A.  M.  3049  to  3090. 

I.  HANANIAH,  one  of  the  three  young  men  of 
the  tribe  of  Judah  and  of  the  royal  family,  who,  be- 
ing carried  captive  to  Babylon,  were  selected  for  in- 
struction in  the  sciences  of  the  Chaldeans,  and  to 
wait  in  Nebuchadnezzar's  palace.  His  name  was 
changed  to  Shadrach  ;  and  he  became  celebrated  for 
his  refusal  to  worship  the  golden  image  set  up  by 
Nebuchadnezzar,  Dan.  i.  11 ;  iii.  4. 

II.  HANANIAH,  son  of  Azur,  (Jer.  xxviii.  1.)  a 
false  prophet  of  Gibeon,  who,  coming  to  Jeru- 
salem in  the  fourth  year  of  Zedekiah,  king  of 
Judah,  (A.  31.  3409,)  ibretold  to  Jeremiah  and 
all  the  people,  that  within  two  years  all  the  ves- 
sels of  the  Lord's  house,  that  Nebuchadnezzar, 
king  of  Babylon,  had  carried  to  Babylon,  would 
be  "restored."  At  the  same  time  Hananiah  laid 
hold  of  the  chains  (or  yokes)  which  Jeremiah  wore 
about  his  neck,  as  emblems  of  the  future  captivity  of 
Jiulah,  and,  breaking  them,  said,  "Thus  saitii  the 
Lord,  even  so  in  two  years'  time  will  I  break  the 
yoke  of  Nebuchadnezzar,  king  of  Babylon."  Jere- 
miah answered,  "Thou  hast  broken  the  yokes  of 
wood,  but  thou  shalt  make  for  them  yokes  of  iron ; 
thou  shalt  die  this  year,  because  thou  hast  taught 
rebellion  against  the  Lord."     He  did  so. 

HAND   sometimes  denotes  the  power  and  ven- 


HAND 


[478] 


HAND 


geance  of  God.  "  The  hand  of  the  Lord  was  heavy 
on  theiii  of  Ashdod,"  aftei-  they  had  taken  the  ark,  1 
Sam.  V.  6,  7.  "  Hand  "  is  also  used  for  parts,  times, 
or  degrees.  Daniel  and  his  companions  were  ten 
hands  (niT>  -i:-;)  wiser  than  all  the  magi  and  di- 
viners of  Babylon,  i.  e.  ten  times,  Dan.  i.  20.  To 
pour  water  on  any  one's  hands  signiiies  to  serve  him, 
2  Kings  iii.  11.  (See  Washing,  and  Baptism.)  To 
wash  one's  hands  denotes  innocence.  Matt,  xxvii. 
24.  The  righteous  washes  his  hands  with  the  inno- 
cent, (Ps.  XX vi.  6.)  in  token  ofinnocency.  To  kiss 
one's  hand,  is  an  act  of  adoration,  1  Kings  xix.  18  ; 
Job  xxxi.  27.  (See  Kiss.)  To  fill  OHe''s  hands,  to 
take  possession  of  the  priesthood,  to  perform  the 
functions  of  that  office  ;  becaxise  in  this  ceremony, 
those  parts  of  the  victim  which  Avere  to  be  offered, 
were  put  into  the  hand  of  the  new-made  priest,  Judg. 
xvii.  5,  12  ;  Lev.  xvi.  32 ;  1  Kings  xiii.  33.  To  lean 
upon  any  one's  hand  is  a  mark  of  familiarity  and  su- 
periority. The  king  of  Israel  had  a  confidant  upon 
whom  he  thus  leaned,  2  Kings  vii.  17.  The  king  of 
Syria  leaned  on  the  iiand  or  arm  of  Naaman,  when 
he  went  up  to  the  temple  of  Rinunou,  2  Kings  v.  18. 
To  stretch  out  the  hand  signifies  (1)  to  chastise,  to  ex- 
ercise severity,  or  justice,  Ps.  Iv.  11.  God  deliver- 
ed his  people  out  of  Egypt  with  a  stretched-out 
hand,  and  an  arm  lifted  up  :  by  great  power,  by  per- 
forming many  v.onders,  and  inflicting  many  chas- 
tisements on  the  Egyptians,  "The  hand  of •  God  is 
still  stretched  out ;"  he  is  still  ready  to  strike,  Isa.  v. 
25;  ix.  12,  17. — (2)  Mercy:  "I  have  stretched  out 
mine  hand  [ejitreated]  all  the  day  long,"  toAvards  an 
ungrateful  and  rebellious  people,  Isa.  Ixv.  2.  "  I 
have  called,"  says  the  wise  man,  "  and  ye  have  re- 
fused :  I  have  stretched  out  my  hand,  and  no  man  re- 
garded," Prov.  i.  24. 

Joining  of  hands,  or  placing  one's  hand  in  that  of 
another  person,  is  a  very  common  method  of  pledg- 
ing oneself,  making  an  alliance,  or  swearing  fidelity, 
Bruce  says,  "  These  were  priests  and  mojiks  of  their 
religion,  and  the  heads  of  families  ;  so  that  the  house 
could  not  contain  half  of  them.  The  great  people 
among  them  came,  and,  after  joining  hands,  repeat- 
ed a  kind  of  prayer,  of  about  two  minutes  long,  [this 
kind  of  oath  was  in  use  among  the  Arabs,  or  shep- 
herds, as  early  as  the  time  of  Abraham,  Gen.  xxi.  ■ 
22,  23 ;  xxvi.  28]  by  which  they  declai-ed  themselves 
and  their  children  accursed,  if  ever  they  lifted  their 
hands  against  me,  in  the  tell,  (or  field,)  in  the  desert 
or  on  the  river  ;  or,  in  case  that  I,  or  mine,  should 
fly  to  them  for  refuge,  if  they  did  not  protect  us,  at 
the  risk  of  their  lives,  their  families,  and  their  for- 
tunes, or,  as  tliey  emphatically  expressed  it,  '  to  the 
death  of  the  last  male  child  among  them.'  (See  1 
Sam.  XXV.  22 ;  1  Kings  xiv.  10 ;  xvi.  11  ;  xxi.  21 ;  2 
Kings  ix.  8.)  Medicines  and  advice  being  given  on 
my  part,  faith  and  protection  pledged  on  theirs,  two 
bushels  of  wheat  and  seven  sheep  were  carried  down 
to  the  boat ;  nor  could  Ave  decline  their  kindness ;  as 
refiising  a  present  in  that  country,  is  just  as  great  an 
affront  as  coming  into  the  j)resence  of  a  superior, 
Avithout  auv  present  at  all,"  Gen.  xxxiii.  10 ;  Mai.  i. 
10;  Matt.  viii.  11. 

There  is  a  remarkable  passage-  in  Prov.  xi.  21,  thus 
r(Midreed  by  our  translators,  "  Thouglt  hand  join  in 
hand,  the  Avicked  shall  not  lie  unpunished;  but  the 
seed  of  the  righteous  shall  be  delivered  :"  i.e.  though 
they  make  many  associations  and  oaths,  and  join 
hands  among  themselves,  (as  formed  part  of  the 
ceremony  of  swearing  among  these  shepherds  of 
Suakcm,    as    related  by  JTr.  Bruce,  yet  thev  shall 


be  punished."  C.  B.  Michaelis  proposes  another 
sense,  "  hand  in  hand" — my  hand  in  your  hand,  i.  e. 
as  a  token  of  swearing,  "  the  wicked  shall  not  go  un- 
punished."— How  far  this  sense  of  the  passage  is  il- 
lustrated by  the  foregoing  and  the  following  extract, 
the  reader  will  judge. — "  I  cannot  help  here  accus- 
ing myself  of  what,  doubtless,  may  be  Avell  reputed 
a  very  gi-eat  sin.  I  Avas  so  enraged  at  the  traitorous 
part  Avhich  Hassan  had  acted,  that,  at  j)arting,  I 
could  not  help  saying  to  Ibrahim,  'Noav,  shekh,  I 
have  done  every  thing  you  have  desired,  Avithout 
ever  expecting  fee  or  rcAvard ;  the  only  thing  I  noAv 
ask  you,  and  it  is  probably  the  last,  is,  that  you 
avenge  me  upon  this  Hassan,  avIio  is  every  day  in 
your  poAver.'  Upon  this,  he  gave  me  his  hand, 
saying,  He  shall  not  die  in  liis  bed,  or  I  shall  never 
see  old  age."  (Bruce's  Trav.  vol.  i.  p.  199.)  Bruce'a 
conduct  in  this  instance,  seems,  in  some  sense,  simi- 
lar to  the  behavior  of  David,  when  he  gave  charge 
to  his  son  Solomon,  to  execute  that  justice  upon  Jo- 
ab  and  Shimei,  Avhich  he  himself  had  been  tumble  to 
do,  by  reason  of  the  vicissitudes  of  his  life  and  king- 
dom;  and  of  the  influence  Avhich  Joab,  the  general, 
had  in  the  army  ;  biU  of  Avhich  the  pacific  reign  of 
Solomon  would  deprive  him,  1  Kings  ii.  C.  We 
learn  from  Ockley  that  the  custom  is  observed  by 
the  Turks.  [But  in  this  passage  (Prov.  xi.  21.)  the 
second  clause  refers  to  the  seed  of  the  righteous ;  the 
parallelism  requires,  therefore,  that  the  first  clause 
should  refer  tc  the  seed  of  the  ivicked.  Hence  A. 
Schtilteus  and  Rosenmliller  translate  :  "  From  hand 
to  hand  the  Avicked  shall  not  be  impunished,"  i,  e. 
from  generation  to  generation  his  seed  shall  see  j^un- 
ishment;  in  allusion  to  the  descent  of  name,  proper- 
ty, &c.  from  hand  to  hand,  father  to  son.  This  seems 
more  appropriate.     R. 

Perhaps,  also,  this  joining  of  hands  may  add  a 
spirit  to  the  passage,  (2  Kings  x.  15.)  "  Is  thine  heart 
right,  as  my  heart  is  with  thy  heart  ?  if  it  be,  give 
me  thy  hand" — "  And  he  (Jehonadab)  gave  him 
(Jehu)  his  hand  ;"  i.  e.  in  token  of  affirmation ;  "and 
he  (Jehu)  took  him  (Jehonadab)  up  into  his  chariot." 
So  that  it  Avas  not  as  an  assistance  to  enable  Jehona- 
dab to  get  into  the  chariot,  that  Jehu  gave  him  his 
hand,  but,  on  the  contrary,  Jehonadab  gave  his  hand 
to  Jehu.  This  seems  confirmed  by  A'erse  16  ;  "  So 
thea'  made  hhn  (Jehonadab)  ride  in  his  (Jehu's) 
chariot,"  All  these  pronouns  embarrass  our  trans- 
lation, but  they  Avere  perfectly  understood  by  those 
Avho  kncAv  the  customs  of  their  country. 

Another  thing  deserves  remark — the  elcA'ation  of 
hands  in  SAA-earing  :  (Gen.  xis.  22.)  "I  haA'e  ;?y?  vp 
mine  hand  to  the  Lord,"  Deut.  xxxii.  40 ;  Ezek.  xx. 
28.  This  is  the  attitude  of  prayer  also:  (Psalm 
xxviii,  2.)  "Hear  the  voice  of  my  supplication — 
Avhen  /  lift  up  my  hands  tOAvard  thy  holy  oracle ;" 
again,  (Psalm  Ixviii.  4.)  "IavIII  lift  vp  my  hands  m 
tiiy  name,"  et  al.  This  continued  to  be  the  attitude 
of  })rayer  in  Ncav  Testament  times  :  "  I  Avill  that 
men  pray  every  Avhere,  lijling  up  holy  hands,''^  1  Tim. 
ii.  8.  It  is  supposed  tliat  this  lifting  up  the  hand  by 
attendants  on  prayer,  Avas  a  sign  of  their  participa- 
tion in  the  [)rayer  oftercd. 

The  right  hand  Avas  held  up  on  all  the  occasions; 
no  doubt,  as  imi)lying  the  most  active,  the  most  rea- 
dy member  of  tlie  ])crson.  Docs  not  this  give  us  the 
import  of  the  passages,  Psalm  cxli\-.  8:  "  Their  right 
hand  is  a  right  hand  of  falsehood,"  that  is,  they  lift 
up  their  right  hand  in  SAvearing  to  lies. — Isa.  xliv. 
20:  "Is  there  not  a  lie  in  my  right  baud  ?"  am  I  not 
swearing:  to  a  falsehood  ?  ■ 


HAR 


[479  1 


HAR 


The  reader  will  obserie  how  greatly  Scripture  is 
illustrated  by  a  knowledge  of  the  customs  of  the 
limes  and  places  to  which  it  refers :  there  are  innu- 
merable passages  where  the  expression  is  only  a 
hint,  but  that  hint  implies  consequences,  to  under- 
stand which  requires  much  information. 

HANGING,  see  Punishment. 

HANNAH,  wife  of  Elkanah,  who  dwelt  at  Ra- 
math,  or  Ramathaini,  in  Ephraim,  1  Sam.  i.  2.  El- 
kanah going  to  Siiiloh,  to  worship  there,  took  with 
him  his  two  wives,  Hannah  and  Peninnah.  Penin- 
nah  had  children  who  accompanied  her  to  the  feast ; 
but  Hannaii  had  none.  Elkanah,  having  offered  his 
sacrifice  of  pure  devotion,  made  an  entertainment 
for  his  family  before  the  Lord,  and  gave  portions  to 
Peninnah  for  herself  and  children  ;  to  Hannah,  his 
well-beloved  wife,  he  gave  but  one  portion,  because 
she  had  no  child.  Hannah  became  melancholy ; 
and  her  rival  Peninnah  increased  her  affliction,  by 
reproaching  her  barrenness.  Elkanah  comforted 
her ;  but  Hannah  went  alone  privately  to  the  taber- 
nacle, and  vowed,  that  if  God  would  bless  her  with 
a  sou,  she  would  give  him  to  God  all  the  days  of  his 
life.  As  she  was  very  fervent  in  her  devotion,  the 
high-priest  Eli  conceived  she  had  been  drinking  to 
excess,  and  reproved  her  ;  but  upon  being  informed 
of  her  purpose,  prayed  that  the  Gk)d  of  Israel  would 
gi'ant  her  petition.  Hannah  soon  after  conceived, 
and  had  a  son,  whom  she  called  Samuel,  because 
she  had  asked  him  of  the  Lord ;  ante  A.  D.  1155. 
Hannah  did  not  again  go  to  the  temple  or  taberna- 
cle till  she  had  weaned  her  son  ;  when  she  brought 
him  thither,  m  compliance  with  her  vow.  Having 
made  her  offering  and  prayer,  she  presented  her  son 
to  the  Lord,  committing  him  to  Eli.  She  also  com- 
posed a  hymn  of  thanksgiving,  in  which  she  exalts 
the  power  of  God's  mercy,  who  dispenses  fi'uitful- 
ness  or  barrenness  as  he  pleases,  1  Sam.  ii.  Her 
subsequent  history  is  not  known. 

HANNATHON,  a  city  of  Zebulun,  Josh.  xix.  14. 

HANUN,  son  of  Naliash  king  of  the  Ammonites, 
is  kno^^^l  for  his  insidt  to  David's  ambassadors,  sent 
to  compliment  him  after  his  father's  death,  2  Sam.  x. 
and  1  Chron.  xix.  David,  exasperated  at  his  dishon- 
orable conduct,  declared  war  against  the  Ammon- 
ites, and  sent  Joab  to  invade  them.  The  Ammon- 
ites procured  assistance  from  Sj^ria,  and  from  be- 
yond the  Euphrates ;  but  Joab,  giving  part  of  the 
aitny  to  his  brother  Abishai,  attacked  the  Syrians, 
while  Abishai  fought  the  Ammonites.  They  con- 
quered both  enemies.  David,  receiving  intelligence 
of  this  success,  passed  the  river  Jordan  in  person, 
with  the  rest  of  his  troops,  and  defeated  the  Syrians 
in  a  battle.  The  year  following,  David  sent  Joab  to 
besiege  Rabbath,  their  capital :  when  it  was  reduced 
to  extremities,  he  informed  David,  who  came  with 
the  rest  of  Israel,  took  the  city,  enslaved  the  inhabit- 
ants, and  carried  off  a  gi-eat  booty. 

HAPIIARAIM,  a  city  of  Issachar,  Josh.  xix.  19. 
Eusebius  says,  there  was  a  place  called  Apharaim, 
six  miles  from  Legio,  north. 

HARA,  a  city  or  district  of  Media,  to  which  the 
Israelites  of  the  ten  tribes  were  transplanted  by  Ti<r- 
lath-Pileser,  1  Chron.  v.  2G.  (See  Haeor.)  Accord- 
ing to  Bochart,  it  was  the  Jlria  of  Ptolemy  and  Stra- 
bo,  i.  e.  the  capital  of  the  modern  Chorasan.  It  was, 
at  any  rate,  a  place  or  province  of  the  x\ssyrian  em- 
pire, perhaps  Media  Magna. 

HARADAH,  a  camp  station  of  Israel,  Numb, 
xxxiii.  24,     See  Exodus. 

HARAM,  see  in  Mordecai. 


I.  HARAN,  eldest  son  of  Terah,  and  father  to 
Lot,  Milcah,  and  Iscah.  He  died  before  his  father 
Terah,  Gen.  xi.  27,  seq. 

II.  HARAN,  or  Charr^,  a  city  in  Mesopotamia, 
to  which  Abraham  retreated  after  he  had  left  Ur  ;  and 
where  Terah  his  father  died,  Gen.  xi.  31,  32.  Hither, 
likewise,  Jacob  retired  to  Laban,  when  he  fled  from 
his  brother  Esau,  Gen.  xxvii.  43.  At  Haran,  Cras- 
sus  the  Roman  general  was  defeated  and  killed  by 
the  Parthians.  Harran,  as  it  is  now  called,  is  situat- 
ed in  36°  52'  N.  lat.  and  39°  5'  E.  long,  in  a  flat  and 
sandy  plain,  and  is  only  peopled  by  a  few  wandering 
Arabs,  who  select  it  for  the  delicious  water  which  it 
contains. 

HARD  imports  difficult,  sad,  unfortunate,  cruel, 
austere,  &c.  Pharaoh  overwhelmed  the  Israelites 
with  hard  labor,  with  tasks  that  were  difficult  and 
insupportable,  Exod.  i.  14.  Ye  are  a  people  of  "  a 
hard  head,"  untractable,  inflexible,  indocile,  Exod. 
xxxii.  9.  These  sons  of  Zeruiah  are  "too  hard  for 
me ;"  treat  me  with  insolence,  with  overbearing, 
unseasonable  cruelty.  Nabal  was  "a  hard  and 
evil-conditioned  man  ;"  without  humanity,  gen- 
tleness, or  consideration,  1  Sam.  xxv.  3.  "  I  follow- 
ed hard  ways,"  an  austere  life  ;  my  behavior  was 
morose.  Psalm  xvii.  4.  "  A  hard  heart,"  a  hardened, 
insensible  mind.  "A  hard  forehead,"  determined, 
insolent.  "  I  have  made  thy  forehead  hard  against 
their  foreheads;"  (Ezek.  iii.  8.)  the  Israelites  are 
hardened  to  insensibility,  have  lost  all  shame  ;  but  I 
will  make  you  still  harder,  still  bolder  in  reproving 
evil,  than  they  are  in  committing  it.  Isa.  1.  7,  "I 
have  made  thy  face  like  a  rock,"  very  hard  ;  for  their 
sins  have  become  hard,  and  they  are  become  in- 
corrigible. 

Hx\RE,  an  animal  resembling  a  rabbit,  but  some- 
thing larger.  Moses  ranks  it  among  unclean  crea- 
tures, notwithstanding  it  chews  the  cud,  because  it 
divides  not  the  hoof.  Lev.  xi.  6.  Naturalists  gene- 
rally say  that  the  hare  does  not  chew  the  cud  ;  but 
Cowper,  the  poet,  in  his  account  of  the  three  hares 
he  domesticated,  asserts  that  they  "  chewed  the  cud 
all  day  till  evening."     See  Coney. 

HAREM,  see  in  Mordecai. 

HARETH,  a  forest  in  Judah,  to  which  David  fled 
from  Saul,  1  Sam.  xxii.  5. 

HAROD,  a  well  or  fountain  not  far  from  Jezreel 
and  mount  Gilboa,  so  called  from  the  apprehensions 
and  fears  of  those  who  were  here  tried  by  Gideon, 
Judg.  vii.  1,  3,  i.  e.  "Palpitation"  of  the  heart,  as  a 
symptom  of  alarm  and  terror. 

H  AROSHETH  of  the  Gentiles,  a  city  in  the  north  of 
Palestine,  probably  not  far  from  Hazor,  where  Sisera, 
who  commanded  the  troopsof  Jabiu,  dwelt,  Judg.  iv.  2. 

HARP.  The  ancient  Hebrews  called  the  harp 
the  pleasant  harp  ;  and  not  only  employed  it  in  their 
devotions,  but  in  their  entertainments  and  pleasures. 
Those  who  have  heard  it,  as  animated  by  ancient 
British  vivacity,  will  probably  be  of  opinion  that  it 
was  quite  as  well  calculated  for  mirth  as  for  solem- 
nity. The  harp  was  nearly  the  earliest,  if  not  the 
very  earliest,  instrument  constructed  for  music. 
David  danced  when  he  played  on  the  harp  ;  so  did 
the  Levitcs :  it  was,  therefore,  light  and  portable,  and 
its  size  was  restricted  within  limits,  which  admitted 
of  that  action,  and  of  that  manner  of  employment. 
Such  instruments  have  been  found  at  Herculaneum. 

[The  harp  played  upon  by  David  was  the  Heb. 
11J3,  kinnur,  the  Greek  yivt'Qci.  more  properly  called 
a  lyre.  Josephus  describes  it  as  having  ten  strings, 
and   says  it  was  struck  with  a  plectrum  or  Jtey ; 


HAZ 


480  ] 


HEA 


(Aiit.  vii.  12,  3.)  but  this  seems  contrai-y  to  1  Sam. 
xvi.  23  ;  xviii.  10 ;  xix.  9,  where  David  is  said  to 
have  played  with  the  hand.  Another  kind  of  harp 
mentioned  in  Scripture  is  the  '•?2:,  nebel,  Greek  Jii.^V.it, 
Lat.  nablia,  which  Josephus  (1.  c.)  describes  as 
having  twelve  strings,  and  as  played  upon  witli  the 
hand.  Jerome  says  it  had  the  form  of  a  triangle,  or 
inverted  Delta  V,  Ps.  Ivii.  8.  et  al. — It  is  also  men- 
tioned as  having  sometimes  ten  strings,  Ps.  xxxiii.2  ; 
cxliv.  9.     (See  Jahn,  §  94.)     R. 

HASHMONAH,  a  station  of  the  Israelites,  Numb, 
xxiii.  29,     See  Exodus. 

HATACH,  Esther's  chamberlain,  Esth.  iv.  9. 

HATE,  HATRED,  are  not  always  to  be  taken 
rigorously,  but  frequently  signify  merely  a  lesser  de- 
gree of  love.  "  No  one  can  serve  two  masters :  for 
he  will  hate  the  one,  and  love  the  other,"  (Luke  xvi. 
13.)  he  will  neglect  the  service  of  one,  and  attach 
himself  to  the  other.  "  He  who  spareth  the  rod, 
hateth  his  child,"  i.  e.  fathers  often  sjiare  their  chil- 
dren out  of  excessive  love  to  them ;  but  to  forbear 
correcting  them  is  improper  affection.  "  If  any  man 
nave  two  wives,  one  beloved,  and  another  hated," 
or  less  beloved,  Deut.  xxi.  15.  Thus  Christ  says, 
(Luke  xiv.  26.)  he  who  would  follow  him,  must 
"  hate  father  and  mother,"  that  is,  love  them  less  than 
tois  salvation  ;  must  not  prefer  them  to  God. 

I.  HAVILAH,  son  of  Gush,  (Gen.  x.  7.)  according 
to  Bochart,  peopled  the  country  where  the  Tigris 
and  Euphrates  unite,  and  discharge  themselves  to- 
gether into  the  Persian  gulf.  This  Calmet  takes  to 
be  the  land  of  Havilah,  (Gen.  xxv.  18  ;  1  Sam.  xv.  7.) 
which  extended  to  Shur,  over  against  Egypt.  [It  ad- 
joined the  eastern  limits  of  the  Ishmaelites,  (Gen.  xxv. 
18.)  and  also  of  the  Amalekites,  1  Sam.  xv.  7.  Gese- 
nius  takes  it  for  the  Chaulotai  of  Strabo,  (xvi,  p,  728.) 
near  the  Persian  gulf.  The  name  then  probably  extend- 
ed westward  over  a  wide  extent  ;  indeed,  so  as  to  in- 
clude the  whole  country  to  the  bordei-s  of  Egvpt.     R. 

II.  HAVILAH,  son  of  Joktan,  (Gem"  x.  29.) 
probably  peopled  Colchis,  and  the  country  encom- 
passed by  the  river  Pison,  or  Phasis,  Gen,  ii,  11, 
There  are  in  Armenia,  aud  in  the  territories  of  the 
Colchians,  the  cities  Cholva  and  Cholvata,  and  the 
region  of  Cholobeta,  noticed  by  Haiton,  (See 
Rosenm.  Bibl.  Geogr.  I.  i.  202.) 

HAVOTH-JAIR.  The  Hebrew  and  Arabic  Hn- 
voth  signifies  cabins,  or  huts,  such  as  belong  to  the 
Arabians,  and  are  placed  in  a  circle ;  such  a  col- 
lection of  them  forming  a  hamlet  or  village.  The 
district  mentioned  in  Numb,  xxxii.  41 ;  Deut.  iii.  14,, 
were  in  the  Batansea,  beyond  Jordan,  in  the  land  of 
Gilead,  and  Ijelonged  to  the  half-tribe  of  3Ianasseh. 

HAURAN  (Ezek.  xlvii.  16.)  was  originally  a 
small  district  between  Damascus  and  the  sea  of  Ti- 
berias ;  but  was  afterwards  extended,  and  under  the 
Romans  was  called  Auranitis.  It  now  includes  the 
ancient  Trachonitis,  the  Djobel  Haouran,  Iturffa, 
and  part  of  Batan;ea,  and  is  very  minutely  described 
by  Burckhardt.    See  Canaan,  p.  236. 

HAWK,  a  bird  of  prey,  of  which  there  are  many 
kinds  ;  it  is  very  quick-sighted,  ravenous,  and  bold. 
It  was  declared  imclean  by  the  law,  Lev.  xi,  16; 
Deut,  xiv,  15,     See  Birds,  p,  187, 

HAY,  see  Grass, 

HAZAEL.  The  prophet  Elijah,  (1  Kings  xix.  15, 
16.)  being  commanded  by  God  to  anoint  Hazael  to 
be  king  of  Syria,  returned  home  for  this  purpose, 
but  it  does  not  appear  that  he  himself  executed  his 
commission.  Some  years  afterwards,  (2  Kings  viii. 
7.)  Hazael  was  sent  by  Benhadad,  who  lay  ill,  to  in- 


quire of  Elisha  whether  he  sliould  recover.  The 
prophet,  foreseeing  the  cruelty  of  Hazael,  wept,  and 
said,  "  The  Lord  hath  revealed  to  me  that  thou  shalt 
be  king  of  Syria."  Hazael  returned  to  the  king,  his 
master,  and  told  him  he  would  recover ;  but  the  next 
day  he  laid  a  cloth  dipt  in  water  over  his  person, 
which  caused  his  death  ;  and  immediately  ascended 
the  throne.  Mr.  Taylor  thinks  it  probable  that  Ha- 
zael did  not  intend  the  death  of  his  master;  and  has 
shown  that  an  application  of  cold  water  to  the  per- 
son is  used  in  the  East,  in  certain  cases  of  fever. 
However  unamiable  the  character  of  Hazael  was, 
there  is  nothing  in  the  text,  we  believe,  which  pos- 
itively fixes  this  upon  him  as  an  act  of  mm-der. 
Hazael,  without  delay,  executed  on  Israel  all  the 
evils  which  Elisha  had  foretold.  When  Jehu  raised 
the  siege  of  Ramoth-Gilead,  Hazael  took  advantage 
of  his  absence,  fell  on  his  territories  beyond  Jordan, 
and  destroyed  the  land  of  Gilead,  Gad,  Reuben,  and 
Manasseh,  from  Aroer  to  Eashan.  Many  years 
passed  without  his  attacking  the  kingdom  of  Judah, 
because  it  was  more  remote  from  Damascus  ;  but  he 
began  to  distress  it  in  the  reign  of  Joash,  son  of  Je- 
hoahaz.  He  took  Gath,  and  marched  against  Jeru- 
salem ;  but  Joash,  perceiving  himself  imable  to  resist, 
gave  him  all  the  money  in  his  treasury,  and  in  the 
treasuries  of  the  house  of  God,  to  purchase  his  for- 
bearance. The  year  following,  however,  Hazael 
retui-ned  against  Judah  and  Jerusalem,  slew  all  the 
princes,  and  sent  a  very  rich  spoil  to  Syria.  The 
S5'rian  army  was  not  numerous  ;  but  God  delivered 
it  up  to  the  inhabitants  of  Judah  ;  and  Joash  him- 
self was  treated  by  the  Syrians  with  great  ignominj', 
as  was  also  the  king  of  Israel.  Hazael  died  about 
the  same  time  as  Jehoahaz,  king  of  Israel,  (2  Kings 
xVu.)  and  was  succeeded  by  his  son  Benhadad,  ante 
A.  D.  839. 

HAZAR-GADDA,  a  city  of  Judah,  lying  far 
south,  Joshua  xv.  27, 

HAZAR-SHUAL,  a  city  of  Simeon,  or  Judah, 
Josh.  XV.  28  ;  Neh.  xi.  27. 

HAZAR-SUSIM,  a  city  of  Simeon,  (1  Chrou.  iv. 
31.)  called  Hazar-Susah,  Josh.  xix.  5, 

HAZERIM,  HAZEROTH,  HAZOR,  AZERO- 
THAIM,  are  all  names  which  signify  villages  or 
hamlets  ;  and  are  often  put  before  the  names  of  places. 
There  is  a  town  called  Hazor  in  Arabia  Petraea,  in 
all  probability  the  same  as  Hazcrim,  the  ancient  hab- 
itation of  the  Hivites,  before  they  were  driven  away 
by  the  Caphtorim,  (Deut,  ii,  23.)  who  settled  in  Pal- 
estine. It  might,  perlians,  be  the  Hazeroth,  where 
the  Hebrews  encamped.  Numb.  xi.  35  ;  xii.  16 ; 
xxxiii.  15. 

HAZEZON-TAMAR,  a  town  (Gen.  xiv.  7.)  call- 
ed Engaddi  in  Josh.  xv.  62 ;  1  Sam.  xxiv.  1 ;  2 
Cliron.  XX,  2  ;  Cant,  i,  14  ;  Ezek,  xlvii,  10.  See 
En-gedi, 

I.  HAZOR,  a  city  of  Naphtali,  (Josh,  xix,  36,) 
probably  the  caj)ital  of  Jabin,  the  Canaanitish  king, 
taken  by  Joshua,  after  the  great  battle,  in  which  he 
defeated  Jabin,  and  his  allies  near  the  waters  of 
Merom,  Josh,  xi,  7,  10,  11,  It  was  afterwards  forti- 
fied by  Solomon,  1  Kings  ix,  15. 

II.  HAZOR,  a  city  in  Benjamin,  Neh.  xi.  33. 

III.  HAZOR,  a  region  of  Arabia,  mentioned 
along  with  Kedar,  Jer.  xlix.  28, 

HEAD,  a  word  which  has  several  significations, 
in  addition  to  its  natural  one.  To  be  at  the  head  is 
to  command,  conduct,  govern,  "  Thou  hast  caused 
men  to  ride  over  our  heads,"  (Ps,  Ixvi,  12,)  subject- 
ed us  to  masters.     "  Thou  hast  made  me  the  head  of 


HE  A 


[481  ] 


HEB 


the  heathen,"  (Ps.  xviii.  43.)  advanced  me  to  the 
regal  state.  Moses  says,  the  Lord  shall  make  thee 
the  liead,  and  not  the  tail;  (Deut.  xxviii.  13.)  thou 
.shalt  be  always  master,  and  never  in  subjection. 
The  stone  which  the  builders  rejected  was  placed  in 
the  head  of  the  corner,  (Ps.  cxviii.  22.)  the  first  in 
the  angle,  whether  at  the  top  of  that  angle  to  adorn 
and  crown  it,  or  at  the  bottom  to  support  it.  The 
groiuid  at  the  head  of  all  the  streets,  in  the  begin- 
ning of  the  highways,  Isa.  li.  20. 

In  grief,  mourners  covered  their  heads,  and  cut 
and  plucked  oft"  their  hair ;  "  Upon  all  heads  bald- 
ness,'' says  the  prophet  Amos,  (viii.  10.)  sjjeaking  of 
unhappy  times ;  in  prosperity  they  anointed  their 
heads  with  sweet  oils :  "  Let  thy  head  lack  no  [per- 
finned]  ointments,"  Eccl.  ix.  8.  To  shake  the  head 
at  any  one  expresses  contempt,  Isa.  xxxvii.  22. 

HEAP.  In  early  times,  heaps  of  stones  were 
erected  to  preserve  the  memory  of  events.  See 
Stones. 

HEAR  or  Hearing.  This  word  is  taken  in  several 
senses  in  Scripture.  It  literally  denotes  the  exercise 
of  that  bodily  sense,  of  which  the  ear  is  the  organ — 
to  receive  information  by  the  ear,  (2  Sam.  xv.  10.) 
and,  as  hearing  is  a  sense  by  which  instruction  is 
conveyed  to  the  mind,  and  the  mind  excited  to  atten- 
tion and  obedience,  so  the  ideas  of  attention  and 
obedience  are  gi'afted  on  the  expression  or  sense  of 
hearing.  God  is  said,  speaking  after  the  manner  of 
men,  to  hear  prayer ;  that  is,  to  attend  to  it,  and  to 
comply  with  request  made  in  it,  Ps.  cxvi.  1.  On 
the  contrary,  he  is  said — not  to  hear,  that  is,  not 
comply  with — the  desires  of  sinnei-s,  Jolm  xi.  31.  So 
men  are  said  to  hear  when  they  attend  to,  or  com- 
ply with,  the  requests  of  others,  or  obey  the  com- 
mands of  God,  John  viii.  47  ;  x.  27 ;  Matt.  xvii.  5. 
(Conip.  Deut.  xviii.  15,  18,  19;  Acts  iii.  22.) 

Other  senses,  attached  to  the  woi'd  heat;  seem  to 
arise  out  of  the  foregoing,  and  may  be  i"eferi-ed  to  the 
same  ideas.  To  hear  signifies  to  judge,  to  settle  a 
matter,  2  Sam.  xv.  3.  The  caution  to  take  heed  how 
we  hear,  or  what  we  hear,  as  it  includes  application, 
reception,  and  practice,  was  never  more  necessary 
than  in  the  present  daj'  among  ourselves ;  never  was 
the  necessity  greater  for  appealing  "to  tlie  law  and 
to  the  testimony." 

HEART,  the  seat  of  life  in  the  animal  body.  The 
Hebrews  regarded  the  heart  as  the  som-ce  of  wit, 
I'.nderstanding,  love,  grief,  and  pleasure  ;  and  hence 
are  derived  many  expressions:  To  find  his  heart,  to 
possess  his  heart,  to  incline  his  heart,  to  bind  his 
heart  toward  the  Lord.  A  good  heart,  an  evil  heart, 
a  liberal  heart,  a  heart  which  does  a  kindness  freely, 
voluntarily,  generously,  &c.  To  harden  one's  heart, 
to  lift  up  one's  heart  to  God  ;  to  beseech  him  to 
cliange  our  stony  hearts  into  hearts  of  flesh.  To 
love  with  all  one's  heart  :  to  have  but  one  heart  and 
one  soul  with  another  person.  "To  turn  the  hearts 
of  children  to  the  fathers,  and  the  hearts  of  fathei-s 
to  the  children,"  (Luke  i.  17.)  to  cause  them  to  be 
perfectly  reconciled,  kindly  anectioned,  and  of  the 
same  mind.  To  want  heart,  sometimes  denotes  to 
want  understanding  and  prudence,  Hosea  vii.  11. 
"  O  fools,  and  slow  of  heart,"  (Luke  xxiv.  25.)  not 
exerting  reflection  and  understanding.  The  heart 
of  this  people  is  stupified,  destitute  of  imderstanding ; 
(Matt.  xiii.  15.)  their  heart  is  loaded  with  fat. 
"  Thou  shalt  speak  to  all  that  are  wise-hearted," 
(Exod.  xxxviii.  3.)  whom  I  have  filled  with  the  spirit 
of  wisdom.  The  false  prophets  speak  from  their 
Jicart ;  or,  more  probably,  without  their  heart ;  kuow- 
61 


ing  their  o\vn  falsehood,  (Ezek.xiii.  2.)  who  give  out 
their  imaginations  for  true  prophecies.  To  lay  any 
thing  to  heart,  or  set  one's  heart  on  any  thing ;  to 
remember  it,  to  apply  one's  self  to  it,  to  have  it  at 
heart.  "  The  righteous  perisheth,  and  no  one  layeth 
it  to  heart,"  (Jer.  xii.  11.)  no  one  concerns  himself 
about  it.  To  return  to  one's  heart  ;  to  recollect 
one's  self.  The  heart  is  dilated  by  joy,  and  con- 
tracted by  sadness  ;  is  broken  by  sorrow,  grows  fat, 
and  is  hardened  in  prosperity."  The  heart  some- 
times resists  truth.  God  opens  it,  prepares  it,  turns 
it  as  he  pleases.  To  steal  one's  heart,  (Gen.  xxxi. 
20.  )  to  do  a  thing  without  one's  knowledge.  The 
heart  melts  under  discouragement ;  forsakes  one, 
under  terror  ;  is  desolate,  in  amazement ;  and  fluc- 
tuating, in  doubt.  To  possess  one's  lieart,  is  to  be  n)as- 
ter  of  its  motions.  To  speak  to  any  one's  heart,  is 
to  comfort  him  eflfectuallj^  to  say  pleasing  and  pene- 
trating or  affecting  things  to  him. 

The  heart  expresses  the  middle  of  any  thing : 
"Tyre  is  in  the  heart,"  in  the  midst,  "of  the  sea," 
Ezek.  xxvii.  4.  "  We  will  -not  fear,  though  the 
mountains  be  carried  into  the  heart  of  the  sea,"  Ps. 
xlvi.  2.  "  As  Jonah  was  fJn-ee  days  and  three  nights 
in  the  whale's  belly,  so  shall  the  Son  of  man  be 
three  days  and  three  nights  in  the  heart  of  the  earth," 
Matt.  xii.  40.  3Ioses,  speaking  to  the  Israelites,  says, 
"And  the  mountain  burnt  with  fire,  unto  the  heart 
of  heaven  ;"  the  flame  rose  as  high  as  the  clouds. 

We  should  rend  our  hearts,  and  not  our  garments, 
in  mourning,  Joel  ii.  13.  To  obtain  righteousness, 
we  must  believe  with  the  heart,  Rom.  x.  10.  God 
promises  to  give  his  people  "an  understanding  heart, 
and  a  heart  fearing  God." 

HEATH,  a  well  known  shrub,  that  grows  on  bar- 
ren moors;  it  "knows  not  when  good  cometh,"  does 
not  flourish  in  the  spring,  but  towards  the  end  of 
summer.  Men  are  likened  to  it,  Jer.  xvii.  6.  It  also 
represents  men  in  a  destitute  and  concealed  condi- 
tion, Jer.  xlviii.  G. 

HEATHEN.  As  it  was  customary  with  polished 
nations  to  call  all  others  barbarians,  so  it  was  custom- 
ary with  the  Jews  to  call  all  other  nations  heathen  ; 
and  to  consider  them  as  totally  void  of  any  knowl- 
edge of  God.     See  Gentile. 

HEAVEN  and  Earth  (Gen.  i.  1.)  are  used  to  de- 
note all  visible  things. 

Heaven  often  denotes  the  air,  and  the  firmament, 
or  expanse.     (See  Gen.  xix.  24  ;  i.  14 — 17,  et  al.) 

The  Heaven  of  Heavens  is  the  highest  heaven  ; 
as  the  song  of  song  is  the  most  excellent  song;  the 
God  of  gods,  or  the  Lord  of  lords,  the  greatest  of 
gods,  or  the  supreme  of  lords.  Paul  mentions  the 
third  heaven,  (2  Cor.  xii.  2.)  which  has  always  been 
considered  as  the  place  of  God's  residence,  the  dwell- 
ing of  angels  and  blessed  spirits.  [The  third  heav- 
en is  the  same  as  the  highest  heaven  ;  and  both  are 
used  to  exjn-ess  the  idea  of  the  highest  exaltation  and 
glory  ;  q.  d.  God  dwells  not  only  in  heaven,  but 
above  the  heavens,  in  the  third,  or  very  highest, 
heaven.  So  the  rabbins  and  the  Mohammedans 
make,  in  the  same  way,  seven  heavens.  (Compare  2 
Cor.  xii.  2  ;  Eph.  iv.  10 ;  Heb.  vii.  26.)     R. 

For  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven,  see  Kingdom. 

HEAVINESS  of  heart  and  ears,  see  Blindness. 

I.  HEBER,  or  Eber,  son  of  Salah,  was  bom 
A.  31.  1723.  It  has  been  thought  that  from  Heber, 
Abraham  and  his  descendants  were  called  Hebrews ; 
but  it  is  more  probable,  that  this  name  was  given  to 
Abraham  and  his  family,  because  they  came  from 
beyond  (over)  the  Euphrates  or  some  other  river, 


HEB 


[482] 


HEBREWS 


further  east,  into  Canaan.  Why  should  Abraham, 
who  was  the  sixth  in  generation  from  Heber,  take 
his  name  from  this  patriarcli,  rather  than  from  any 
other  of  his  ancestors  ?  Why  not  rather  from  Shem, 
for  example,  who  is  styled  by  Moses,  the  father  of 
all  the  children  of  Heber  ?  Abraham  is  first  called 
a  Hebrev/  about  ten  years  after  his  arrival  in  the 
land  of  Canaan,  on  occasion  of  the  war  with  Che- 
dorlaomer.  The  LXX  and  Aquila  translate  Heber, 
Perates,  or  Peraites,  whicli  signifies  a  passenger,  one 
who  came  from  beyond  the  river.     See  Hebrews. 

n.  HEBER,  the  Kenite,  of  Jethro's  family,  and 
husband  of  Jael,  who  killed  Sisera,  Judg.  iv.  17,  &c. 
Heber's  tents  and  flocks  were  near  the  city  of  Hazor. 

HEBREWS.  The  Hebrew  writers  regard  this 
term  as  a  patronymic  from  Heber  ;  but,  as  we  have 
suggested  under  that  article,  it  is  more  reasonably 
considered  to  have  been  originally  an  appellative, 
from  •\2;',  eber — "  the  country  on  the  otlier  side,"  and 
hence  "  those  who  live  on  tiie  other  side,"  or  come 
from  thence — a  name  which  might  very  appropri- 
ately be  given  by  the  Canaanites  to  tiie  migrating 
horde  under  Abraham,  Gen.  xiv.  13.  It  was  the 
l)roper  name  of  the  people,  by  which  they  were 
known  to  foreigners ;  and  thus  distinguished  from 
"  the  children  of  Israel,"  the  common  domestic  name. 
The  name  Hebrew  is  used  in  the  Bible  prmcipally  by 
way  of  antithesis  to  other  nations. 

The  origin  and  history  of  this  extraordinary  people 
is  replete  with  instruction  of  the  most  important  na- 
ture, and  should  be  attentively  studied  by  every  stu- 
dent of  the  Bible. 

At  a  very  remote  period  of  antiquity,  when  the 
sacerdotal  caste  in  Babylonia  had  begun  to  spread 
idolatry  even  among  the  nomadic  tribes  of  the  land, 
a  man  uamed  Abraham,  distinguished  by  wealth, 
wisdom,  and  probity,  in  obedience  to  the  commands 
of  the  Deity,  quitted  the  land  of  his  fathers,  and 
journeyed  with  his  family  and  his  herds  towards  the 
land  of  Canaan.  His  faith  in  the  only  God,  and  his 
obedience  to  his  will,  were  here  rewarded  by  in- 
creasing wealth  and  numbers.  His  son  and  grand- 
son continued  the  same  nomadic  life,  in  Palestine, 
which  Abraham  and  his  fathers  had  led.  By  a  sur- 
prising turn  of  fortune,  one  of  the  sons  of  Jacob,  the 
grandson  of  Abraham,  became  vizier  to  the  king  of 
Egypt ;  he  brought  his  father  and  family  to  tliat 
country,  and  a  district  in  the  north-east  of  Egyj)t 
was  assigned  to  them  by  the  king,  for  the  sustenance 
of  themselves,  and  their  flocks  and  herds. 

During  430  years  their  numbers  increased  exceed- 
ingly. A  new  dynasty  now  filled  the  Egyptian 
throne,  and  they  feared  the  power  of  a  numerous 
])eople  attached  to  the  former  line,  and  dwelling  in 
the  key  of  the  land  towards  Asia.  They  sought, 
therefore,  to  change  their  mode  of  life,  and,  by  im- 
posing heavy  tasks  u|)on  them,  to  check  their  in- 
crease, and  gradually  wear  them  out. 

During  this  period  of  oppression,  Moses  was  born. 
The  Egyptian  monarch  had  ordered  all  the  male 
children  of  the  Israelites  to  be  destroyed  at  the  birth  ; 
and  the  mother  of  Moses,  after  concealing  him  for 
some  time,  was  obliged  to  exjjose  him.  The  daugh- 
ter of  the  king  found  him,  and  reared  him  as  her 
own.  As  he  grew  uj),  he  was  instructed  in  the  se- 
cret wisdom  of  the  jjriests ;  but  neither  knowledge, 
nor  the  honors  and  splendors  of  the  court,  could 
make  him  behold  with  indiflerence  the  state  of  his 
native  people.  He  mourned  over  their  oppression, 
and  panted  to  behold  them  in  their  former  happy 
independence. 


Seeing  an  Egj'ptian  ill-treat  an  Israelite,  he  slew 
him  ;  and,  fearing  the  vengeance  of  the  king,  fled  to 
Arabia,  where  he  led  a  shepherd's  life,  near  Sinai,  in 
the  service  of  an  Arab  sheikh.  Whde  here,  he  re- 
ceived the  command  of  God  to  lead  his  people  out 
of  Egyjit:  he  returned  thither,  and,  by  performing 
many  wondrous  deeds,  compelled  the  reluctant  mon- 
arch to  let  his  slaves  depart.  But  Pharaoh  repented, 
pursued,  and  he  and  his  whole  army  perished  in  the 
waves  of  the  Red  sea. 

During  their  long  residence  in  Egjpt,  the  Israelites 
had  gradually  been  passing  from  the  nomadic  to  the 
agricultural  life,  and  had  contracted  much  of  the  im- 
pure religious  ideas  and  licentious  manners  of  the 
Egyptians.  They  were  now  to  be  brought  back  to 
the  simple  rehgicn  of  their  fathers,  and  a  form  of 
government  established  among  them  calculated  to 
preserve  them  in  the  purity  of  their  simple  faith.  It 
])leascd  the  Deity  to  be  himself,  under  the  name  of 
Jehovah,  the  KING  of  Israel,  and  their  civil  institu- 
tions were  to  resemble  those  of  the  country  they  had 
left,  freed  from  all  that  might  be  i)rejudicial  to  the 
great  object  in  view, — that  of  making  them  a  nation 
of  monotheistic  faith. 

In  the  midst  of  lightning  and  thunder,  while  Sinai 
re-echoed  to  the  roar,  the  first  simple  elements  of 
their  future  law  were  presented  to  the  children  of 
Israel.  No  images,  no  hieroglyphics,  were  admitted 
into  the  religion  now  given :  ceremonies  of  signifi- 
cant import  were  annexed,  to  employ  the  minds  and 
engage  the  attention  of  a  rude  people.  There  Avas 
a  sacerdotal  caste,  to  whom  the  direction  of  all  mat- 
ters relating  to  rehgion  and  law  (which  were  in  this 
government  the  same)  was  intrusted  ;  but  they  had 
no  dogmas  or  mysteries  wherewith  to  fetter  the 
minds  of  the  people ;  and  being  assigned  for  their 
maintenance,  not  separate  lands,  but  a  portion  of  the 
produce  of  the  whole  country,  their  interest  would 
lead  them  to  stimulate  the  people  to  agriculture,  and 
thus  carry  into  effect  the  object  of  the  constitution. 
As  priests,  judges,  advocates,  and  physicians,  they 
were  of  important  service  to  the  conmiunity,  and 
fully  earned  the  tenth  of  the  produce  which  was  al- 
lotted to  them.  Their  division  into  priests  and  Le- 
vites,  was  a  wise  jirovision  against  that  too  sharp 
distinction  which  in  Egypt  and  India  prevailed  be- 
tween the  sacerdotal  and  the  other  castes.  The  Le- 
vites,  being  assigned  some  lands,  formed  a  connect- 
ing link  between  the  j)ricsts  and  the  cultivators. 

Agriculture  being  the  destination  of  the  Israelites, 
trade  was  discouraged  ;  for  the  fairs  and  markets 
were  held  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  heathen  tem- 
ples. But  to  compensate  them  for  the  prohibition 
against  sharing  in  the  joyous  festivities  of  the  sur- 
rounding nations,  feasts  Avere  held  three  times  in 
each  year,  to  commemorate  their  emancipation,  the 
giving  of  the  law,  and  their  abode  in  the  desert.  At 
these  festivals,  all  Israel  was  required  to  attend,  that 
the  bonds  of  brotherhood  might  be  kept  up  among 
the  tribes  by  participation  in  social  enjoyment. 

Thus,  many  years  before  Con-fu-tse  gave  the 
Kings  to  the  Chinese,  long  ere  any  lawgiver  arose 
in  Greece,  Moses,  directed  by  God,  gave  to  Israel,  in 
the  wastes  of  Arabia,  a  constitution,  the  wonder  of 
succeeding  ages,  and  even  memorable  for  the  influ- 
ence it  has  exerted  on  the  minds  and  institutions  of 
a  large  and  im})ortant  portion  of  mankind. 

During  forty  years,  till  all  the  degenerate  race  who 
had  left  Egy|)t  had  died  off',  JNIoses  detained  the  Is- 
raelites in  the  deserts  of  Arabia,  accustoming  them 
to  obey  their  law,  and  preparing  them  for  the  con- 


HEBREWS 


[  483  ] 


HEBREWS 


quest  of  the  land  assigned  as  their  possession.  At 
the  end  of  that  period,  their  inspired  legislator  led 
them  to  the  borders  of  tlie  promised  land,  and,  hav- 
ing appointed  Joshua  to  be  his  successor,  he  ascended 
a  lofty  mountain  to  take  a  view  of  the  country  he 
was  not  to  enter:  he  there  died,  in  the  120th  year  of 
his  age.  Under  the  guidance  of  Joshua,  Israel 
passed  the  Jordan  ;  the  God  of  Moses  was  with  them, 
and  inspired  them  with  valor  to  subdue  their  foes. 
A  speedy  conquest  gave  them  the  land.  No  fixed 
government  had  been  appointed ;  the  j)eoi)le  gradually 
fell  from  the  service  of  Jehovah  to  worship  the  idols 
of  the  surrounding  nations  ;  and  Jehovah  gave  them 
up  to  the  power  of  their  enemies.  At  times  there 
arose  among  them  heroes,  denominated  yurfg-es,  avIio, 
inspired  with  patriotism  and  zeal  for  the  law,  aroused 
the  slumbering  tribes,  and  led  them  to  victory. 
Then,  too,  arose  that  noble  order  of  prophets,  who, 
in  heaven-inspired  strains  of  poetry,  exalted  the  Mo- 
saic law,  and  impressed  its  precepts,  its  rewards,  and 
threats,  on  the  minds  of  the  people. 

After  the  time  of  the  judges,  the  temporal  and 
spiritual  dignities  were,  contrary  to  the  intention  of 
the  lawgiver,  united,  and  the  high-priest  received 
the  sovereign  power.  This  lasted  but  a  short  time  : 
in  the  person  of  the  upright  Samuel,  a  prophet,  the 
temporal  was  again  divided  from  the  spiritual  dignity. 
The  sons  of  Samuel  trod  not  in  the  steps  of  their 
virtuous  father.  The  prospect  of  being  governed 
by  them,  and  the  want  of  a  military  leader  to  com- 
mand them,  in  their  wars  with  the  surrounding  na- 
tions, made  the  people  call  on  Samuel  to  give  them 
a  khig.  He  complied  with  their  wishes,  A\arning 
them  of  the  consequences  of  their  desire,  and  ap- 
■pointed  Saul.  This  monarch  was  victorious  in  war  ; 
but  he  disobeyed  the  voice  of  the  prophet,  and  mis- 
fortune ever  after  jjursued  him.  It  pleased  Jehovah 
to  take  the  kingdom  from  him,  and  Samuel  anointed 
the  youthfid  David  to  occupy  his  place.  Saul  was 
seized  with  a  melancholy  derangement  of  intellect. 
David,  who  was  his  son-in-law,  won  the  affections 
of  the  powerful  tribe  of  Judah  ;  but  while  Saul  lived, 
he  continued  in  his  allegiance,  though  his  sovereign 
sought  his  life.  At  length  Saul  and  his  elder  and 
more  worthy  sons  fell  in  battle  against  the  Philistines, 
and  the  tribe  of  Judah  called  their  young  hero  to 
the  vacant  throne.  The  other  tribes  adhered,  during 
seven  years,  to  the  remaining  son  of  Saul.  His 
death,  by  the  hands  of  assassins,  gave  all  Israel  to 
David. 

David  was  the  model  of  an  oriental  prince,  hand- 
some in  his  person,  valiant,  mild,  just,  and  generous, 
humble  before  his  God,  and  zealous  in  his  honor,  a 
lover  of  music  and  poetry,  himself  a  poet.  Success- 
ful in  war,  he  reduced  beneath  his  sceptre  all  the 
countries  iVom  the  borders  of  Egypt  to  the  moun- 
tains where  the  Eu[)hrates  springs.  The  king  of  Tyre 
was  his  ally  ;  he  had  ports  in  the  Red  sea,  and  the 
wealth  of  commerce  flowed,  during  his  reign,  into 
Israel.  He  fortified  and  adorned  Jerusalem,  which 
he  made  the  seat  of  government.  Glorious  prospects 
of  extended  empire,  and  of  the  diffusion  of  the  pure 
religion  of  Israel,  and  of  happy  times,  floated  before 
the  mind  of  the  prophet  king. 

The  kingdom  of  Israel  was  hereditary ;  but  the 
monarch  might  choose  his  successor  among  his  sons. 
Solomon,  supported  by  Nathan,  the  great  prophet  of 
those  days,  and  by  the  affection  of  his  father,  was 
nominated  to  succeed.  The  qualities  of  a  magnifi- 
cent eastern  monarch  met  in  the  son  of  David. 
lie,  too,  was  a  poet ;  his  taste  was  great  and  splendid ; 


he  summoned  artists  from  Tyre,  (for  Israel  had  none,) 
and  with  the  collected  treasure  of  his  father,  erected 
at  Jerusalem  a  stately  temple  to  the  God  of  Israel. 
He  first  gave  the  nation  a  queen,  in  the  daughter  of 
the  kmg  of  Eg}  pt,  for  whom  he  built  a  particular 
palace.  He  brought  horses  and  chariots  out  of 
Egypt,  to  increase  the  strength  and  the  glory  of  his 
empire.  Trade  and  commerce  deeply  engaged  the 
thoughts  of  this  polite  prince:  with  the  Tyrians,  his 
subjects  visited  the  j)orts  of  India  and  eastern  Africa ; 
he  built  the  city  of  Tadmore,  or  Palmyra,  in  the  des- 
ert, six  days'  journey  from  Babylon,  and  one  from 
the  Euphrates,  a  point  of  union  for  the  traders  of 
various  nations.  Wealth  of  every  kind  flowed  in 
upon  Jerusalem  ;  but  it  alone  derived  advantage  from 
the  splendor  of  the  monarch  :  the  rest  of  Israel  was 
heavily  taxed. 

On  the  death  of  Solomon,  the  tribes  called  on  his 
son  to  reduce  their  burdens :  he  haughtily  refused, 
and  ten  tribes  revolted  and  chose  another  king.  An 
apparently  wise,  a  really  false,  policy,  made  the  kings 
of  Israel  set  up  the  symbolical  mode  of  worship 
practised  in  Egypt.  Judah,  too,  wavered  in  her  alle- 
giance to  Jehovah.  A  succession  of  bold,  honest, 
and  inspired  prophets  reproved,  warned,  encouraged 
the  kindred  nations,  and  a  return  to  the  service  of  the 
true  God  was  always  rewarded  by  victor}'  and  better 
times.  At  length,  the  ten  tribes,  by  their  vices  and 
idolatry,  lost  the  divine  protection  :  they  were  con- 
quered, and  carried  out  of  their  own  country  by  the 
king  of  Assyria,  and  their  land  given  to  strangers. 
A  similar  fate  befell  the  kingdom  of  Judah  :  the 
house  of  David  declined,  and  the  king  of  Babylon, 
Nebuchadnezzar,  carried  away  the  people  to  Baby- 
lonia. On  the  fall  of  that  state,  seventy  years  after- 
wards, Cyrus,  king  of  Persia,  allowed  to  return 
to  their  own  land  a  people  whose  faith  bore  some  re- 
semblance to  the  simple  religion  of  the  Persians,  and 
whose  country  secured  him  an  easy  access  to  Egypt. 
Restored  to  their  country,  the  Israelites,  now  called 
Jews,  became  as  distinguished  for  their  obstinate  at- 
tachment to  their  law,  as  they  had  been  before  for 
their  facility  to  desert  it.  But  the  purity  and  sim- 
plicity of  their  faith  was  gone ;  they  now  mingled 
with  it  various  dogmas  which  they  had  learned  dur- 
ing their  captivity.  The  schools  of  the  prophets, 
whence,  in  olden  time,  had  emanated  such  lofty  in- 
spiration, simple  piety,  and  pure  morality,  were  at 
an  end  ;  sects  sprang  up  among  them,  and  the 
haughty,  subtle,  trifle-loving  Pharisees,  tk^  worldly- 
minded  Sadducees,  and  the  simple,  contemplative 
Essenes,  misunderstood  and  misinterpreted  the 
pure,  ennobling  precepts  of  the  Mosaic  law.  (Cabinet 
Cyclop,  part  i.  c.  2.) 

During  a  period  of  nearly  three  hundred  years, 
after  their  return  from  Babylon,  the  Jews  enjoyed 
almost  uninterrupted  tranquillity,  governed  by  their 
high-priests,  though  subject  first  to  Persia,  then  to 
Syria.  The  persecutions  of  Antiochus  Epiphanes 
raised  up  the  vahant  family  of  the  Maccabees,  who, 
after  a  war  of  twenty-six  years,  succeeded  in  estab- 
lishing the  independence  of  Judea,  and  the  sove 
reignty  of  the  Maccabees,  or  Asmoneans; — so  called 
from  Asmoncus,  father  of  Mattathias.  These  j)rince8 
united  in  their  persons  the  regal  and  sacerdotal  dig- 
nity, and  governed  the  Jews  for  a  period  of  126  years^ 
when  the  disputes  between  Hyrcanus  and  Aristobu- 
lus  gave  a  pretext  for  the  interference  of  the  Romans, 
under  Pompey,  and  Judea  was  reduced  to  a  province 
of  the  empire.  Julius  Caesar  gave  the  prefecture  of 
the  province  to  Antipater,  an  Idumean,  who,  at  his 


HEBREWS* 


[  484  ] 


HEBREWS 


death,  divided  it  between  his  sons  Phasael  and  Herod, 
but  the  latter  was  afterwards  made  sole  ruler,  by  the 
Roman  senate,  with  the  title  of  king. 

During  the  reign  of  this  cruel  tyrant,  misnamed 
"the  Great,"  the  people  groaned  under  numerous 
oppressions,  though  he  greatly  added  to  the  external 
splendor  of  the  country.  At  his  death,  which  hap- 
pened in  the  first  year  after  the  birth  of  our  Saviour, 
he  divided  his  kingdom,  by  will,  among  his  three 
sons — Archelaus,  Antipas,  and  Philip.  These  princes, 
however,  did  not  long  maintain  the  Herodian  dy- 
nasty ;  for  about  A.  D.  44,  Judea  sunk  to  the  rank  of 
a  minor  province,  and  the  government  was  confided 
to  procurators  sent  from  Rome,  under  whom  it  con- 
tinued till  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem.  After  the 
destruction  of  the  once  holy  city,  it  was  compre- 
hended under  the  government  of  the  presidents  of 
Syria,  and  the  Jews  continued  subject  to  the  Romans 
till  the  reign  of  Adrian ;  when  they  rebelled,  and 
were  entirely  dispersed. 

The  government  of  the  Hebrews  is,  by  Josephus, 
called  a  theocracy ;  by  which  he  means  a  form  of 
government  which  assigns  the  whole  power  to  God, 
with  the  management  of  all  the  national  aflairs — he, 
in  fact,  being  the  proper  king  of  the  state.  This 
government,  however,  underwent  several  changes. 
Calmet  notices  the  legislator  Moses ;  his  successor 
Joshua ;  the  judges  ;  the  kings,  and  the  high-priests. 
Under  all  these  revolutions,  God  was  considered  as 
the  monarch  of  Israel ;  but  he  did  not  exercise  his 
authority  and  jurisdiction  always  in  the  same  man- 
ner. In  the  time  of  Moses  he  governed  immediately  ; 
for,  on  all  emergencies,  he  revealed  his  will,  M'hich 
was  put  in  execution.  He  dwelt  among  his  people 
as  a  king  in  his  palace,  or  in  the  midst  of  his  camp ; 
always  ready  to  give  an  answer  when  consulted,  to 
restrain  those  who  transgressed  his  laws,  to  instruct 
those  who  had  difficulties  about  the  sense  of  his  or- 
dinances, to  determine  those  who  were  in  suspense 
about  any  important  imdertaking.  This  was,  prop- 
erly, the  time  of  the  theocracy,  in  the  strictest  sense 
of  the  term.  Under  Joshua  and  the  judges  it  con- 
tinued the  same  ;  the  former,  being  filled  by  the  spirit 
which  animated  IMoses,  would  undertake  nothing 
without  consulting  Jehovah ;  and  the  latter  were 
leaders,  raised  up  by  himself,  to  deliver  the  Hebrews 
and  govern  in  his  name.  The  demand  of  the  peoj)le 
ibr  a  king  occasioned  the  prophet-judge  great  dis- 
quietude, for  he  regarded  it  as  a  rejection  of  the  the- 
ocratic go^.'^rnment,  1  Sam.  viii.  5,  7.  God  com- 
plied with  the  wishes  of  the  people,  but  he  still 
retained  his  own  sovereign  authority.  He  grants 
them  a  king ;  settles  his  rights ;  disposes  of  him  as  he 
pleases;  and  reproves  him  when  he  fails  in  obedi- 
ence and  submission.  God  "granted  them  a  king  in 
his  indignation,  and  took  him  away  in  his  wrath," 
Hosea  xiii.  11. 

Moses,  in  anticipation  of  this  event,  had  prescribed 
a  number  of  reguliitions  for  the  government  of  the 
Hebrew  kings,  in  which  the  principle  of  the  theoc- 
racy is  fully  recognized,  Dent.  xvii.  14,  &c.  The 
monarchs  were  to  be  chosen  by  tiod  ;  to  be  instructed 
by  his  priests ;  to  be  submissive  to  his  orders ;  not  to 
undertake  any  thing  of  consequence  Avitliout  consult- 
ing him  ;  and  to  be  under  such  (le))endence  on  his 
will  that  he  might  reject  them,  as  he  did  Saul,  when 
they  neglected  their  duty.  When  God  promised 
David  to  make  the  crown  hereditary  in  his  family, 
it  was  a  departure  from  tJie  fiuidamental  maxim  of 
the  monarchy,  that  the  kings  should  be  elective,  and 
be  placed  over  the  people  by  God. 


It  must  be  admitted,  that  after  this  prince,  the  kings 
of  Judah  and  Israel  governed  according  to  their  own 
will ;  and  after  the  schism  of  Jeroboam,  few  of  them 
observed  the  rules  of  the  theocracy.  They  would 
not  submit  to  restraint,  but  endeavored  to  cast  off:* 
that  happy  subjection  to  which  the  judges  and  the 
first  kings  had  submitted.  All  kinds  of  calamities 
then  poured  in  upon  them  and  their  subjects:  they 
were  delivered  as  a  prey  to  their  enemies,  and  had 
no  peace  or  prosperity  at  home  or  abroad.  God 
visited  them  with  a  multitude  of  troubles,  and  at  la&t 
dispersed  them  into  distant  countries.  To  remind 
them  of  their  dependence,  and  bring  them  bacU  to 
their  duty,  however,  the  Lord  raised  up,  from  time 
to  time,  prophets,  full  of  zeal  and  courage,  v.ho 
boldly  upbraided  them  with  their  prevarications  and 
impieties  ;  and  who  opposed  themselves,  like  a  wall 
of  brass,  to  whatever  they  committed  contrary  to  the 
rights  of  God.  These  holy  men  did  not  only  appear 
in  Judah,  whei-e  the  public  worshij)  of  Jehovah  was 
maintained,  but  also  in  Israel,  however  schismastic 
and  polluted  that  might  be. 

It  is  obvious,  therefore,  that,  notwithstanding  the 
almost  general  defection  of  the  two  kingdoms,  God 
still  maintained  his  theocracy  in  them,  as  well  by  his 
vengeance  executed  against  wicked  kings,  as  by  those 
good  princes  who  obeyed  his  commands,  and  those 
prophets  whom  he  raised  up,  from  time  to  time,  till 
the  captivity  of  Babylon. 

During  the  captivity,  we  are  not  to  expect  any  cer- 
tain form  of  government  in  Israel,  nor  any  regular 
polity.  In  vain  the  Jews  pretend  to  find  one  beyond 
the  Euphrates,  either  before  or  since  Cyrus's  time. 
We  know  of  none  that  was  well  supported  even  after 
the  return  from  die  captivity,  during  the  time  the 
Hebrews  were  sidjject  to  the  kings  of  Persia  and  of 
Greece.  During  these  times  the  government  was  a 
kind  of  aristocracy,  subordinate  to  the  Persians  and 
the  Grecians.  The  high-priest  was  at  the  head  of 
the  principal  people,  whose  power,  being  limited  by 
the  sovereign  authority,  only  extended  to  m.itters 
relating  to  the  law  and  religion.  It  was  a  kind  of 
voluntary  or  conventional  jurisdiction,  to  which  the 
peojile  submitted,  so  far  as  they  pleased. 

The  Asnionean  princes  introduced  a  fifth  period, 
which  presents  a  new  aspect  of  government.  After 
the  Maccabees  had  supported  tiie  religion  of  their 
country,  with  great  hazard  of  their  lives,  and  had, 
with  extraordinary  bravery,  repelled  the  wicked  com- 
mands of  Antiochus  Epiphanes,  they  shook  oft'  the 
yoke  of  the  kings  of  Assyria,  and,  asserting  their 
liberty,  took  the  title  of  princes  of  the  Jews,  and  of 
kings.  By  the  consent  of  the  people,  they  united  the 
high-priesthood  to  the  supreme  authority.  Under 
the  government  of  these  princes,  we  find  evident 
traces  of  the  theocracy.  The  supreme  governor  was 
invested  with  the  sacerdotal  character ;  so  that  the 
kingdom  was  what  Closes  calls  "a  kingdom  of 
priests;"  (Exod.  xix.  C.)  or,  as  Peter  speaks,  (1  Epist. 
ii.9.)  "a  chosen  generation, a  royal  priesthood."  The 
royal  power,  and  the  sacerdotal  united,  made  a  sin- 
gular kind  of  polity,  under  princes  entirely  devoted 
to  the  service  of  God,  instructed  in  his  laws,  and  in- 
terested by  the  rules  of  politics  to  support  them,  and 
to  make  the  people  observe  them.  Thoy  could  by 
no  possibility  endure  idolatry,  ignorance,  impiety ; 
or  those  gross  disoi-ders  which  had  ])revailed  under 
the  kings.  So  that  the  commonwealth  of  the  Ile- 
bre\As  was  never  more  in  earnest  to  perform  the  laws 
of  God,  or  more  exempt  from  those  crimes  denounced 
by  the  prophets,  than  under  the  Asnionean  princes. 


HEBREWS 


[485] 


HEBREWS 


Under  their  govcruiiient,  the  Romans  did  not  in- 
terfere witli  religion :  they  even  left  a  considerable 
share  of  autiiority  to  the  later  princes  of  the  Asmo- 
nean  race.  Herod  succeeded  to  the  kingdom,  under 
tlie  j)rotcction  of  the  Romans,  but  he  sacrificed  every 
thing  to  his  ambition  and  politics ;  and  though  he 
made  an  outward  profession  of  the  Jewish  religion, 
he  violated  it  on  many  occasions.  The  priests  and 
j)eople,  however,  continued  firmly  attached  to  it ; 
and  when  Christ  appeared,  external  religion  was  in 
a  flourishing  condition.  His  preaching  chiefly  re- 
proved the  Pharisees,  who,  by  their  subtle  distinc- 
tions, and  refinements  on  the  law,  had  obscured  its 
true  sense,  and  subverted  its  real  intention.  Our 
Saviour  exposed  their  hypocrisy,  censured  and  cor- 
rected their  mistakes,  restored  primitive  piety,  and 
gave  the  rules  of  a  pure  and  sincere  worship,  in  mind 
and  in  truth. 

The  religion  of  the  Jews  may  be  considered  in 
different  points  of  view,  with  respect  to  the  diflferent 
conditions  of  their  nation.  Under  the  patriarchs, 
they  were  occasionally  instructed  in  the  will  of  God, 
opposed  idolatry  and  atheism,  used  circumcision  as 
the  appointed  seal  of  the  covenant  made  by  God  with 
Abraham,  and  followed  the  laws  which  reason,  as- 
sisted by  the  lights  of  grace  and  faith,  discover  to 
honest  hearts,  who  seriously  seek  God,  his  righteous- 
ness, and  truth.  They  lived  in  expectation  of  the 
Messiah,  the  desire  of  all  nations,  to  complete  their 
hopes  and  wishes,  and  fully  to  instruct  and  bless 
tliem.  Such  was  the  religion  of  Abraham,  Isaac, 
Jacob,  Judah,  Joseph,  &c.  who  maintained  the  wor- 
ship of  God,  and  the  tradition  of  the  true  religion. 
After  the  time  of  Moses,  the  religion  of  the  Hebrews 
became  more  fixed.  Previously,  every  one  honored 
God  according  to  his  heart  and  judgment ;  but  now, 
ceremonies,  days,  feasts,  priests  and  sacrifices  were 
determined  with  great  exactness.  The  legislator  de- 
scribed the  age,  sex,  and  color  of  certain  victims ; 
their  number,  qualities,  and  nature ;  at  what  hour, 
by  whom,  and  on  what  occasions  they  were  to  be 
offered.  He  prescribed  the  several  purifications  to 
be  used  in  preparing  themselves  for  their  approach 
to  things  holy,  and  the  legal  impurities  which  forbade 
their  ajjproach  ;  the  means  of  preventing,  of  avoid- 
ing, and  of  expiating  pollutions.  He  regulated  the 
tribe,  the  family,  the  bodily  qualities,  the  habits,  or- 
der, rank,  and  functions  of  the  priests  and  Lovites. 
He  specified  the  measures,  metals,  woods,  and  Avorks 
of  the  tabernacle,  or  portable  temple  ;  the  dimensions, 
metal,  and  figure  of  the  altar,  and  its  utensils  ;  in  a 
word,  he  omitted  nothing  which  concerned  the  wor- 
ship of  God,  who  was  the  first  and  i)riucipal,  or,  more 
properly  speaking,  the  only  object  of  the  Jewish  re- 
ligion. 

The  long  abode  of  the  Hebrew's  in  Egjpt  had 
cherished  in  them  a  strong  propensity  to  idolatry ; 
and  neither  the  miracles  of  Moses,  nor  his  precau- 
tions to  withdraw  them  from  the  worship  of  idols, 
nor  the  rigor  of  his  laws,  nor  the  splendid  marks  of 
God's  presence  in  the  Israelitish  camp,  were  able  to 
conquer  this  unhappy  perversity.  We  know  with 
what  facility  they  adopted  the  adoration  of  the  golden 
calf,  when  they  had  scarcely  passed  tlie  channel  of 
the  Red  sea,  where  they  had  been  eye-witnesses  of 
divinely  preserving  wonders ! 

Moses  delivered  his  laws  in  the  wildeniess ;  but 
they  were  not  all  observed  there.  (See  Deut.  xii.  8, 9.) 
The  Hebrews  did  not  circumcise  tlie  children  born 
during  their  wanderings,  because  of  the  danger  to 
which  infants  newly  circumcised  would  have  been 


exposed  ;  and  also  because  the  people  of  Israel,  uot 
being  then  mingled  with  other  nations,  were  not  un- 
der such  a  necessity  of  taking  that  sign,  which  was 
instituted  principally  to  distinguish  them,  Josh.  v.  4, 
5,  6,  7. 

During  the  wars  of  Joshua  against  the  Canaanites, 
and  before  the  ark  of  God  was  established  in  a  fixed 
place,  it  was  difficult  to  observe  all  the  laws  of  3Ioses  ; 
and  hence  we  sec  under  Joshua  and  the  Judges,  and 
even  in  the  reign  of  Saul,  much  laxity  of  conduct, 
not  observable  imder  David  or  Solomon,  when  the 
Hebrews  were  at  peace,  and  when  there  was  more 
easy  access  to  the  tabernacle.  "  In  those  days  there 
was  no  king  in  Israel,  and  every  man  did  that  which 
was  right  in  his  own  eyes,"  Judg.  xvii.  5,  G.  Hence 
Micah's  ephod,  at  Laish,  (cli.  xviii.  31.)  that  which 
Gideon  made  in  his  family,  (ch.  viii.  27.)  the  irregu- 
larities of  Eli's  sons,  (1  Sam.  ii.  12,  13.)  the  crime  of 
the  inhabitants  of  Gibeah,  (Judg.  xix.  22,  &c.)  and  the 
frequetit  idolatries  of  the  Israelites. 

Saul  and  David,  with  all  their  authoi-ity,  were  not 
able  entirely  to  suppress  such  inveterate  disorders. 
Superstitions,  which  the  Israelites  did  not  dare  to 
exercise  in  public,  were  practised  in  private.  They 
sacrificed  on  the  high  places,  and  consulted  diviners 
and  magicians.  Solomon,  whom  God  had  chosen  to 
build  his  temple,  was  himself  a  stone  of  stumbling  to 
Israel.  He  erected  altars  to  the  false  gods  of  the 
Phoenicians,  Moabites,  and  Ammonites  ;  and  not  only 
permitted  his  wives  to  worship  the  gods  of  their  ovax 
country,  but  himself  adored  them,  1  Kings  xi.  5 — 7. 
Most  of  his  successors  showed  a  similar  weakness. 
Jeroboam  introduced  the  worshij)  of  the  golden 
calves  into  Israel,  which  took  such  deep  root  that  it 
was  never  entirely  extirpated. 

By  the  captivity  in  Babylon  the  Hebrews  were 
brought  to  repentance,  and  renounced  idolatry. 
Henceforth  they  became  devctjd  to  the  service  of  the 
true  God,  and  no  false  gods  were  tolerated  amongst 
them.  During  the  reign  of  the  INIaccabecan  princes, 
however,  another  evil,  equally  pernicious  in  its  effects 
on  genuine  religion,  sprung  up  among  them.  The 
sect  of  the  Pharisees,  who  divested  the  law  of  its 
simplicity  and  purity,  and  superadded  to  it  a  number 
of  pernicious  doctrines,  said  to  have  been  preserved 
by  tradition  from  Moses,  acquired  great  importance 
in  the  state,  and  their  opinions  and  observances  had 
the  tendency  of  diverting  the  minds  of  the  people 
from  the  essence  of  religion — the  pure  and  spiritual 
worship  of  God,  and  attaching  them  to  a  number  of 
unmeaning,  and  to  some  immoral,  ceremonies.  At 
the  time  of  our  Saviour's  appearance,  he  found  the 
Hebrews  divided,  with  few  exceptions,  into  the  two 
sects  of  the  Pharisees  and  the  Sadducees  ;  the  former 
of  whom  made  the  law  of  God  void  by  their  tradi- 
tion, and  the  latter  of  whom  were  a  sort  of  religious 
Epicureans.  They  denied  the  resurrection  of  the 
dead,  and  the  existence  of  angels  and  spirits.  Never 
had  there  been  so  much  zeal  and  punctuality  among 
the  Hebrews  in  the  observance  of  their  ritual,  united 
with  so  great  an  aversion  to  the  rehgion  of  the  heart, 
which  these  were  intended  to  promote.  His  remon- 
strances, instructions,  and  denunciations  Avere  fruit- 
less, as  to  the  nation  generally  ;  they  pursued  their 
infatuated  career,  untii^  having  filled  up  the  measure 
of  their  iniquity,  they  were  given  over  by  God  to 
those  bitter  punishments,  which  have  rendered  them 
a  by-word  among  all  people. 

The  Hebrew  ceremonial  was  of  a  typical  charac- 
ter ;  prefiguring  the  priesthood  and  kingdom  of  Christ, 
and  the  privileges  and  happiness  of  his  people.    Their 


HEBREWS 


r  48G  1 


HEBREWS 


bondage  in  Egypt,  their  miraculous  deliverance,  their 
passage  through  the  Red  sea,  their  sojourning  in  the 
wildei-ness,  their  entrance  into  the  promised  land, 
their  circumcision,  ceremonies,  priests,  and  sacri- 
fices, were  all  predictive  figures  of  Christ's  coming, 
of  the  establishment  of  Christianity,  and  of  the  wor- 
ship, sacraments,  and  excellence  of  the  gospel.  (For 
an  account  of  the  religious  feasts,  &c.  of  the  Hebrews, 
see  the  respective  ai'ticles.) 

The  administration  of  justice  among  the  Hel>rews 
is  a  subject  which  demands  some  notice  in  a  sketch 
of  their  history.  Under  the  patriarchs,  sovereign  ju- 
dicial authority  was  vested  in  the  heads  of  tribes  or 
famihes.  They  disinherited,  banished,  or  inflicted 
capital  punishment,  without  being  responsible  to  any 
higher  earthly  power.  (See  Gen.  xxi.  0 — 14  ;  xxxviii. 
24  ;  xlix.  7  ;  xxii.  10.)  Much  of  the  patriarchal  spirit 
of  the  law  was  retained  after  the  exodus,  but  Moses, 
imder  the  immediate  direction  of  God  himself,  was 
appointed  supreme  judge.  At  the  suggestion  of 
Jethro,  the  legislator  relieved  himself  from  some  part 
of  his  judicial  duties,  by  appointing  inferior  judges 
over  thousands,  hundreds,  fifties,  and  tens  ;  reserving 
the  weightier  or  more  important  causes  for  himself, 
Exod.  xviii.  13 — 2(3.  When  the  people  became  set- 
tled in  the  land,  every  city  appears  to  have  had  its 
elders,  who  foi-med  a  court  of  judicature,  with  a 
power  of  determining  lesser  matters  in  their  respect- 
ive districts,  Deut.  xvi.  18 ;  xvii.  8,  9.  (See  also 
Deut.  xxi.  1 — 9.)  According  to  the  rabbins,  every 
city  which  contained  a  hundred  inhabitants  possessed 
a  court  of  judicature,  consisting  of  three  judges;  but 
those  cities  which  were  larger  had  twenty-three  of 
these  ofiicers.  But  Josephus,  in  whose  time  those 
courts  existed,  states  that  Moses  ordained  seven 
judges,  of  known  virtue  and  integrity,  to  be  estab- 
lisiied  in  every  city,  to  whom  two  ministers  were 
added  out  of  the  tribe  of  Levi ;  so  that  there  were 
in  every  city  nine  judges — seven  laymen  and  two 
Levites.  ( Antiq.  b.  iv.  c.  14  ;  Wars,  b.  ii.  c.  20.)  The 
Hebrew  legislator  enjoins  the  strictest  impartiality  on 
the  judges,  in  the  discharge  of  their  judicial  func- 
tions, and  prohibits  their  taking  of  gifts  under  any 
circumstances;  (Exod.  xxiii.  8.)  reminding  them,  at 
the  same  time,  t!iat  a  judge  sits  in  the  seat  of  God, 
and  that,  tlierefore,  no  inan  should  have  any  ])re- 
eminence  in  his  sight,  neither  ought  he  to  be  afraid 
of  any  man  in  declaring  the  law,  Exod.  xxiii.  0,  7  ; 
Lev.  xix.  15 ;  Deut.  i.  17 ;  xxi.  18—20. 

From  Deut.  xvii.  8 — 11,  we  see  that  appeals  lay 
from  the  courts  already  mentioned  to  a  supreme  tri- 
bunal. But  the  earliest  mention  of  any  such  tribunal 
is  under  the  reign  of  Jehoshaphat,  and  whicli,  it  is 
expressly  stated,  was  erected  for  the  decision  of  such 
cases,  2  Chron.  xix.  8 — 11.  The  Jewish  writers  in- 
sist that  this  was  the  Sanhedrim,  to  which  there  are 
so  many  allusions  made  in  the  New  Testament,  and 
which  they  also  assert  to  have  existed  from  the  time 
of  Moses,  possessing  the  supreme  authority  in  all 
civil  matters.  Of  this,  however,  there  is  no  proof: 
it  was  not  instituted  till  the  time  of  the  Maccabees, 
from  which  period  it  is  frequently  spoken  of  as  the 
supreme  judicial  tribunal.  It  consisted  of  seventy, 
seventy-one,  or  seventy-two  members,  chosen  from 
among  the  chief  priests,  Levites,  and  elders  of  the 
people,  of  whom  the  high-priest  was  the  president, 
and  took  cognizance  of  the  general  afllairs  of  the  na- 
tion. It  gave  judgment,  however,  only  in  the  most 
important  causes,  reserving  inferior  matters  for  the 
lower  courts,  appeals  from  which,  as  we  have  before 
stated,  lay  here.     (Godwyn's  Moses  and  Aaron,  b.  v, ; 


Lightfoot's  Prospect  of  the  Temple,  ch.  xxii. ;  Lamy's 
Apparatus  Biblicus,  b.  i.  ch.  12 ;  Michaehs  on  the 
Laws  of  Moses,  vol.  i.  p.  247,  &c.) 

Of  judicial  procedure,  or  form  of  process,  as  we  call 
it,  our  information  is  scanty.  In  the  early  period  of 
the  Hebrew  connnon wealth,  the  procedure  was  no 
doubt  very  summary,  as  few  rules  are  prescribed  for 
conducting  it.  Every  man  managed  his  own  cause  ; 
1  Kings  iii.  15 — 28.  From  a  passage  in  Job,  (xxix. 
15 — 17.)  Michaelis  infers  that  men  of  wisdom  and. 
influence  might  be  asked  for  their  opinions  in  diflii- 
cult  cases,  and  that  they  might  also  interfere  to  assist 
those  who  were  not  capable  of  defending  themselves 
against  malicious  accusers.  The  exhortation  in  Isa. 
i.  17.  he  also  thinks  to  have  a  reference  to  such  a 
practice.  In  criminal  cases  the  judges'  first  business 
was  to  exhort  the  accused  person  to  confess  the  crime 
with  which  he  stood  charged,  "  that  he  might  have  a 
portion  in  the  next  life,"  Josh.  vii.  19.  The  oath 
was  then  administered  to  the  witnesses,  (Lev.  v.  1.) 
who  offered  their  evidence  against  him  ;  afi;er  which 
he  was  heard  in  defence,  John  vii.  51.  In  matters 
where  life  was  concerned,  one  witness  was  not  suf- 
ficient ;  (Numb.  xxxv.  30 ;  Deut.  xvii.  G,  7  ;  xix.  15.) 
but  in  those  of  lesser  moment,  particularly  those  re- 
lating to  money  and  value,  it  seems  that  a  single  wit- 
ness, if  unexceptionable,  and  upon  oath,  was  enough 
to  decide  between  plaintiff"  and  defendant.  From  the 
account  of  our  Saviour's  trial  before  the  supreme 
council,  we  see  that  witnesses  were  examined  sepa- 
rately, and  without  hearing  each  other's  declaration, 
and  that  it  was  necessarily  in  the  presence  of  the  ac- 
cused. This  is  evident,  from  the  contradiction  in 
the  evidence  of  the  two  witnesses  brought  against 
Jesus,  (Mark  xiv.  56,  seq.)  which  would  doubtless 
have  been  avoided,  had  they  been  admitted  into  court 
together. 

Sentence  having  been  pronounced  on  a  person 
found  guilty  of  a  capital  crime,  he  was  hurried  away 
to  the  j)lace  of  execution ;  and  in  cases  where  the 
punishment  of  stoning  was  inflicted,  the  witnesses 
were  compelled  to  take  the  lead,  Deut.  xvii.  7 ;  Acts 
vii.  58,  59.  It  was  also  customary  for  the  judge  and 
the  witnesses  to  lay  their  hands  on  the  criminal's 
head,  saying,  "Thy  blood  be  upon  thine  own  head." 
In  allusion  to  this  usage,  which  was  a  declaration  of 
the  justice  of  the  sentence,  the  Jews  alluded,  when 
they  said,  with  reference  to  our  Lord — "His  blood 
be  upon  us  and  our  children,"  Matt,  xxvii.  25.  la 
Matt.  xxvi.  39,  42,  where  our  Lord  says,  "Father,  if 
it  be  possible,  let  this  cup  pass  from  me,"  there  is  an 
allusion  to  the  practice  which  obtained  of  giving  to 
the  malefactor  a  cup  of  wine,  in  which  there  was  in- 
fused a  grain  of  incense,  for  the  ])urpose  of  intoxi- 
cating and  stupifying  him,  that  he  might  be  the  less 
sensible  of  pain.  For  deciding  in  disputed  cases  of 
property,  where  no  other  means  remained,  recourse 
was  had  to  the  sacred  lot,  whicli  was  regarded  as  the 
determination  of  God,  Prov.  xvi.  33 ;  xviii.  18.  It 
was  for  this  purpose  that  the  urim  and  thummim 
was  employed ;  as  it  was  in  criminal  cases  for  the 
discover})  of  XliG  guilty  ;  but  never  for  convicting  them. 

During  the  times  of  the  New  Testament,  the  Roman 
tribunal  was  the  last  resort,  in  cases  of  a  criminal  na- 
ture. The  Jews  could  put  no  man  to  death  without 
the  consent  of  the  govcrnoi-,  (John  xviii.  31.)  though 
they  had  the  pov/er  of  inflicting  inferior  punishments, 
and  in  most  other  respects  lived  according  to  their 
own  laws.  Hence  the  allusions  to  the  Roman  law, 
mode  of  trial,  &c.  in  the  New  Testament  are  very 
numerous;  as  (1.)  crucifixion;  (2.)  hanging,  or  the 


HEBREWS 


[  487  1 


HEBREWS 


rope;  (3.)  stoning ;  (4.)  fire,  or  burning;  (5.)  tho  tym- 
panum, or  wlih,jping;  (6.)  imprisonment;  (7.)  the 
sword,  or  beheading ;  (8.)  precipitation,  or  stoning ; 
(9.)  rending  to  pieces  by  thorns,  or  treading  under 
tiie  feet  of  animals;  (10.)  sawing  asunder;  (11.)  suf- 
focation in  ashes;  (12.)  cutting  oft"  the  hair;  (13.) 
bhn(hng  the  eyes;  (14.)  stretching  on  the  wooden 
horse.  Several  of  these  modes  of  pimishment  were 
introduced  among  the  Hebrews  in  consequence  of 
their  intercourse  with  surrounding  nations,  and  are, 
therefore,  not  to  be  attributed  to  their  lawgiver. 

For  an  account  of  the  writing,  language,  books, 
and  htcrary  composition  of  the  Hebrews,  the  reader 
is  referred  to  the  rcsj)ective  articles  ;  as  also  for  their 
dress,  houses,  &c.  See  Language,  Letters,  Poe- 
try, House,  Dresses,  (fcc. 

The  existence  of  the  Hebrews  as  a  people  distinct 
from  all  others,  to  this  day,  is  a  miracle  of  that  in- 
disputable kind  which  may  well  justify  a  few  re- 
marks. 

1.  They  are  spread  iiito  all  parts  of  the  earth  ;  being 
found  not  only  in  Europe,  but  to  the  utmost  extrem- 
ity of  Asia,  even  in  Thibet  and  China.  They  abound 
in  Persia,  Northern  India,  and  Tartary,  wherever  our 
travellers  have  penetrated.  These  are,  as  they  as- 
sert, probably,  descendants  of  the  tribes  carried  away 
captive  by  the  Assyrian  monarchs.  They  are  also 
numerous  in  Arabia,  in  Egypt,  and  throughout 
Africa. 

2.  These  dispersions  are  of  different  epochs ;  some 
were  voluntary,  others  forced.  That  many  Hebrews 
settled  in  Egypt  from  the  days  of  Solomon,  is  very 
credible.  (See  1  Kings  xi.  40 ;  Jer.  xli.  xlii.  et  al.) 
Many  thousands  were  in  Alexandria  alone  ;  and  we 
learn  from  the  Acts,  that  they  had  synagogues  in 
Cyrene,  Libya,  Sec.  as  well  as  throughout  Greece  and 
Asia  31inor ;  as  Rome,  and  elsewhere  in  Italy,  &c. 

3.  In  most  parts  of  the  luorld  their  state  is  much  the 
same — one  of  dislike,  contemjjt,  or  oppression.  With- 
in the  last  few  years  they  have  received  more  justice 
at  the  hands  of  some  of  the  European  states ;  but  it 
is  evident  that  they  hold  their  accessions  by  a  very 
precarious  tenure. 

4.  Tlicy  every  where  maintain  observances  peculiar 
to  themselves  ;  such  as  circumcision,  performed  after 
their  own  manner,  and  at  their  own  time  of  life,  that 
is,  during  infancy  ;  also  the  observance  of  a  sabbath, 
or  day  of  rest,  not  the  same  day  of  the  week  as  that 
of  nations  which  also  observe  a  sabbath.  They  have 
generally  retained  some  remembrance  of  the  pass- 
over;  but  there  are  Jews  who,  not  being  included  in 
the  plot  of  Haman,  to  destroy  their  nation,  do  not 
connnemorate  the  Purim.  This  national  constancy 
demonstrates  a  most  wonderful  energy  in  the  Mosaic 
institutions ;  which  are  still  fresh  and  vigorous,  and 
not  obsolete. 

5.  They  are  divided  into  various  sects.  Soine  of 
them  are  extremely  attached  to  the  traditions  of  the 
rabbins,  and  to  the  multiplied  observances  enjoined 
in  the  Talmud.  Others,  as  the  Caraites,  reject  tliese 
with  scorn,  and  adhere  solely  to  Scripture.  The 
majority  of  the  Jews  in  Europe,  and  those  with  whose 
works  we  are  mostly  conversant,  are  rabbinists  ;  and 
may  be  taken  as  representatives  of  the  ancient  Phari- 
sees. But  all  Jews  profess  a  veneration  for  their 
sacred  books ;  and  according  to  the  best  information 
that  can  be  obtained,  they  preserve  them  careluUy, 
and  iTad  them  with  respect  in  their  places  of  worship  ; 
to  which,  in  all  countries,  they  fail  not  to  resort. 

G.  Tltey  even/  ichere  consider  Judea  as  their  proper 
country,  and  Jerusalem  as  their  metropolitan  city. 


Wherever  settled,  and  for  however  long,  they  still 
cherish  a  recollection  or  reference,  unparalleled 
among  nations.  They  have  not  lost  it;  they  will 
not  lose  it ;  and  they  transmit  it  to  their  posterity, 
however  comfortably  they  may  be  settled  in  any  resi- 
dence, or  in  any  country.  They  hope  against  hope, 
to  see  Zion  and  Jerusalem  revive  from  their  ashes. 

7.  The  number  of  the  Jewish  nation  was  estimated, 
a  few  years  ago,  for  the  information  of  Buonaparte, 
at  the  following  amount;  but  from  what  documents 
we  know  not : 

In  the  Turkish  empire       ....       1,000,OCO 

In  Persia,  China,  India,  on  the  east 
and  west  of  the  Ganges   ....        300,000 

In  the  west  of  Europe,  Africa,  Amer- 
ica  1,700,000 


Total         3,000,000 

This  number  is  probably  verv  far  short  of  the  truth. 
Maltebrun  estimates  them  at  4',000,000  to  5,000,000. 

8.  The  long  protracted  existence  of  the  Hebi-eics  as 
a  separate  people,  is  not  only  a  standing  evidence  of 
the  truth  of  the  Bible,  but  is  of  that  kind  which  defies 
hesitation,  imitation,  or  parallel.  Were  this  people 
totally  extinct,  some  might  affect  to  say,  that  they 
never  existed ;  or  that  if  they  did  once  exist,  that  they 
never  practised  such  rites  as  were  imputed  to  them  ; 
or  that  they  were  not  a  numerous  people,  but  a  small 
tribe  of  ignorant  and  unsettled  Arabs.  The  care  with 
which  the  Jews  preserve  their  sacred  books,  and  the 
conformity  of  those  preserved  in  the  East  with  those 
of  the  West,  as  lately  attested,  is  a  satisfactory  argu- 
ment in  favor  of  the  genuineness  of  both  ;  and,  further, 
the  dispersion  of  the  nation  has  proved  the  security 
of  these  documents;  as  it  has  not  been  in  the  power 
of  any  one  enemy,  liowever  potent,  to' destroy  the 
entire  series,  or  to  consign  it  to  oblivion. 

There  appears  to  have  been  a  distinction  or  pre- 
rogative generally  attached  to  the  appellation  Hebrew, 
in  the  early  days  of  the  gospel.  Paul  describes  him- 
self as  a  "Hebrew  of  the  Hebrews,"  (Phil.  iii.  5.)  and 
the  Grecians  are  said  to  murmur  against  the  Hebrews, 
(Acts  vi.  1.)  though  both  parties  \vere  of  the  same 
nation.  It  seems,  therefore,  that  the  residents  in  the 
Holy  Land,  at  least,  if  not  the  whole  nation,  pre- 
ferred the  name  of  Hebrew,  as  more  honorable  than 
that  of  Jew,  which  was  rather  a  foreign  appella- 
tion imposed  upon  them,  especially  out  of  their  own 
country.  This  discovers  a  propriety  in  Paul's  ad- 
dressing, as  most  res])ectful,  his  epistle  "to  the  He- 
brews," not  "  to  the  Jews."  Perhaps,  also,  the  con- 
verts to  Christianity  retained  this  preference,  and 
declined  being  called  Jews,  as  no  longer  piofessing 
Judaism  ;  even  while  they  acknowledged  themselves 
to  be  Hebrews  by  descent  from  the  father  of  the 
foithful. 

Epistle  to  the  Hebrews. — Neither  the  nature 
nor  the  imiits  of  a  dictionary  will  admit  of  a  critical 
dissertation  on  the  controverted  questions  affecting 
this  sacred  composition.  The  majority  of  critics 
agree  in  referring  it  to  the  apostle  Paul ;  though  sev- 
eral writers  of  sound  judgment  and  learning  contest 
the  evidence  on  which  this  opinion  is  founded.  For 
satisfaction  upon  this  subject,  as  well  as  upon  the 
language  in  which  the  epistle  was  WTitten,  we  must 
refer  to  those  authors  who  have  professedly  treated 
upon  them  ;  among  these  we  may  notice  j.articular- 
ly  the  work  of  professor  Stuait.  Omitting,  then, 
the  question  of  the  Pauline  origin  of  the  epistle,  we 


HEB 


488  ] 


HE  I 


remark,  that  its  canonical  authority,  and  its  genuine- 
ness and  authenticity,  are  so  fully  attested  by  the 
strongest  evidence,  historical  and  internal,  that  they 
may  safely  be  pronounced  unimpeachable.  "  That 
the  church,  during  the  first  century  after  the  apos- 
tolic age,  ascribed  it  to  some  one  of  the  apostles,"  re- 
marks the  writer  to  whom  we  have  just  referred,  "  is 
clear,  from  the  fact,  that  it  was  mserted  among  the 
canonical  books  of  the  churches  in  the  East  and  the 
West ;  that  it  was  comprised  in  the  Peschito ;  in  the 
old  Latin  version ;  and  was  certainly  admitted  by 
the  Alexandrine  and  Palestine  churches.  The  ob- 
ject of  this  epistle,  which  ranks  amongst  the  most  im- 
portant of  the  new-covenant  Scriptures,  was  to  prove 
to  the  Jews,  from  their  own  Scriptures,  the  divinity, 
humanity,  atonement,  and  intercession  of  Christ ; 
particularly  his  pre-eminence  over  Moses  and  the 
angels  of  God — to  demonstrate  the  superiority  of  the 
gospel  to  the  law ;  and  the  real  object  and  design  of 
the  Mosaic  institutions — to  fortify  the  minds  of  the 
Hebrew  converts  against  apostasy  under  persecu- 
tion, and  to  engage  them  to  a  deportment  becoming 
their  Christian  profession.  In  this  view,  the  epistle 
furnishes  a  key  to  the  Old  Testament  Scriptures. 
(See  the  Bibl.  Repository,  vol.  ii.  p.  409.) 

HEBRON,  or  Chebron,  one  of  the  most  ancient 
cities  of  Canaan,  being  built  seven  years  befoi-e 
Tanis,  the  capital  of  Lower  Egypt,  Numb.  xiii.  22. 
It  is  thought  to  have  been  founded  by  Arba,  an 
ancient  giant  of  Palestine,  and  hence  to  have  been 
called  Kirjath-arba,  Arba's  city,  (Josh.  xiv.  15.)  which 
name  was  afterwards  changed  into  Hebron.  The 
Anakim  dwelt  at  Hebron  when  Joshua  conquered 
Canaan,  Josh.  xv.  13. 

Hebron,  which  was  given  to  Judah,  and  became  a 
city  of  refuge,  was  situated  on  an  eminence,  al)Out 
twenty-seven  miles  south  of  Jerusalem,  and  about 
the  same  distance  north  of  Beersheba.  Abraham, 
Sarah,  and  Isaac  were  buried  near  the  city,  in  the 
cave  of  Machpelah,  Gen.  xxiii.  7,  8,  9.  After  the 
death  of  Saul,  David  fixed  his  residence  at  Hebron, 
and  it  was  for  some  time  the  metropolis  of  his  king- 
dom, 2  Sam.  ii.  2 — 5.  It  is  now  called  El  Hhalil, 
and  contains  a  popidation  of  about  400  families  of 
Arabs,  l<esidos  a  liundred  Jewish  houses.  "They 
are  so  mutinous,"  says  D'Arvieux,  "  that  they  rarely 
pay  [the  duties]  without  force,  and  commonly  a  re- 
inforcement from  Jerusalem  is  necessary.  The  peo- 
ple are  brave,  and  wlien  in  revolt  extend  their  incur- 
sions as  far  as  Bethlehem,  and  make  amends  by 
their  pillage  for  what  is  exacted  from  them.  They 
are  so  well  acquainted  with  the  windings  of  the 
mountains,  and  know  so  well  how  to  post  themselves 
to  advantage,  that  they  close  all  the  passages,  and 
exclude  every  assistance  from  reacliing  the  Souba- 
chi.  .  .  .  The  Turks  dare  not  dwell  here,  believing 
that  they  could  not  live  a  week  if  they  attempted  it. 
The  Greeks  have  a  church  in  the  village."  The 
mutinous  character  of  this  people,  one  would  think, 
was  but  a  contimuttion  of  their  ancient  disposition  ; 
which  might  render  them  fit  instruments  for  serving 
David  against  Saul,  and  Absalom  against  David.— 
The  advantage  they  possessed  in  their  knowledge  of 
the  j)asscs,  may  account  also  for  the  protracted  re- 
sistance which  David  made  to  Saul,  and  the  neces- 
sity of  the  latter  employing  a  considerable  force  in 
order  to  dislodge  his  adversary.  David  was  so  well 
aware  of  this  advantage  of  station,  that  when  Absa- 
lom had  possessed  himself  of  Hebron,  ho  did  not 
think  of  attacking  him  there,  hut  fled  in  all  haste 
from  Jerusalem,  northward.     [The  Turks  now  dwell 


there,  and  there  is  a  Turkish  governor.     (See  Mod. 
Trav.  Palestine,  p.  182,  seq.)      R.     * 

HEIFER,  (Red,)  Sacrifice  of.  The  order  for 
this  service  is  given  in  Numb.  xix.  Spencer  believes 
it  to  have  been  instituted  in  opposition  to  Egyptian 
superstition.  Jerome  and  others  think,  that  the  red 
heifer  was  sacrificed  yearly ;  but  some  of  the  rab- 
bins maintain,  that  one  only  was  burnt  from  Moses 
to  Ezra ;  and  from  Ezra  to  the  destruction  of 
the  temple  by  the  Romans,  only  six,  or  at  most  nine. 
The  ceremony  is  said  to  have  been  always  j)erform- 
ed  on  the  mount  of  Olives,  over  against  the  temple, 
after  the  ark  was  fixed  at  Jerusalem.  See  Red 
Heifer. 

Some  authors  suppose  that  the  red  heifer  was  one 
of  the  sacrifices  oftered  in  the  name  of  all  the  peo- 
ple. It  was  to  be  without  blemish ;  its  blood  was 
sprinkled  seven  times  towards  the  entrance  of  the 
tabernacle ;  the  whole  body  was  consumed  ;  and  the 
ashes  used  in  purifying  those  who  were  polluted  by 
touching  any  dead  body,  or  otherwise.  Calmet 
thinks  the  red  heifer  was  a  sacrifice  for  sin,  but  not 
an  oblation,  that  name  being  proper  only  to  what 
was  offered  solemnly  to  God  on  the  altar  of  burnt- 
offerings.  When  the  red  heifer  was  burned  without 
the  camp,  its  ashes  were  gathered  and  preserved  in 
a  clean  place.  Part  of  them  were  occasionally  put 
into  water,  with  which  all  who  had  contracted  legal 
defileinent  were  to  be  sprinkled  ;  on  pain  of  being 
cut  off"  from  the  congregation.  It  was  a  water  of 
separation.  The  heifer  was  a  type  of  Christ,  Heb. 
ix.  13. 

HEIFERS.  As  the  words  ox  and  bull,  in  their 
figurative  sense,  signify  rich  and  ])owerful  persons, 
who  live  in  affluence,  who  forget  God,  and  contenm 
the  poor ;  so  by  heifers  are  sometimes  meant  wo- 
men who  are  rich,  delicate,  and  voluptuous,- — who 
make  pleasure  their  god,  Amos  iv.  1  ;  lies.  iv. 
16;x.  11. 

HEIR,  a  person  who  succeeds  by  right  of  inherit- 
ance to  an  estate,  property,  &c.  But  the  princii)!es 
of  heirship  in  the  East  differ  from  those  among  us  ; 
so  that  children  do  not  always  wait  till  their  parents 
are  dead,  before  they  receive  their  portions.  Hence, 
when  Christ  is  called,  "heir  of  all  things,"  it  does 
not  imply  the  death  of  any  former  possessor  of  all 
things  ;  and  when  saints  are  called  heirs  of  the  prom- 
ise, of  righteousness,  of  the  kingdom,  of  the  world, 
of  God,  "joint  heirs"  with  Christ,  it  implies  merely 
participants  in  such  or  such  advantages,  but  no  de- 
cease of  any  party  in  possession  would  be  under- 
stood by  those  to  whom  these  passages  were  ad- 
dressed ;  though  among  ourselves  there  is  no  actual 
heirship  till  the  parent,  or  proprietor,  is  departed. 

Another  principle  in  which  the  orientals  difl^er 
from  us,  is  that  which  regulates  the  heirship  of 
princes  and  the  succession  to  the  throne.  The  fol- 
lowing extracts  will  illustrate  the  subject: — 

"The  word  sultcm  is  a  title  given  to  the  Ottoman 
princes,  born  while  their  fathers  were  in  possession 
of  the  throne,  and  to  those  of  the  Ginguissian  fami- 
ly. The  epithet  sultaii,  therefore,  is  bestowed  on 
]um  who  enjoys  the  ris;lit  of  siic cession  ;  and  this,  by 
the  Turkish  law,  belongs  to  the  eldest  of  the  family. 
It  is  to  be  remembered,  as  has  bc^fore  been  remark- 
ed, that  he  nmst  be  born  whWc,  his  father  possesses 
the  throne.^'  (Baron  du  Tott,  vol.  i.  p.  G5.)  To  these 
principles  we  find  an  eastern  prince  appealing ;  and 
as  he  also  states  the  reasons  on  which  they  are  found- 
ed, it  may  not  be  amiss  to  introduce  his  discourse  on 
this  subject.     "  Zemes,  sailing  to  Rhodes,  was  there 


HEL 


[  489  ] 


HEL 


honorably  received  by  the  great  master,  arid  all 
the  rest  of  the  knights  of  the  order ;  to  whom,  in 
their  publicke  asseniblie  three  dales  after,  hee  openly 
declared  the  canses  of  the  discord  betwixt  his  broth- 
er and  him  ;  alledgiug  for  the  color  of  his  rebel- 
lion, That  although  Baiazet  was  his  elder  brother, 
yet  that  he  was  born  tvhilst  his  father  yet  lined  in  pri- 
%utte  estate,  vnder  subiectiou  and  command,  long  be- 
fore he  possessed  the  kingdome,  and  so  no  king's 
Bonne :  whereas  he  himselfe  was  the  Jirst  borne  of 
his  father,  beeing  an  emperor,  and  so  not  heire  of  his 
private  fortune,  (as  was  Baiazet,)  but  of  his  gi-eatest 
honour  and  empire,"  &c.  (Knolles's  History  of  the 
Turks,  p.  442.)  This  usage  will,  perhaps,  remove 
the  difficulty  which  presents  itself  in  the  Scripture 
statement  of  the  age  of  Hezekiah,  when  he  ascended 
the  throne.  If  this  prince  were  but  25  years  old, 
when  he  began  to  reign,  as  stated  in  2  Cliron.  xxix. 
1.  then  he  must  have  been  born  when  his  father 
Ahaz  was  under  11  years  of  age — an  almost  natural 
impossibility.  But  if  we  refer  to  this  principle  which 
regidates  the  succession  to  the  throne  in  the  East, 
and  consider  Hezekiah  as  having  been  the  first  born 
after  his  father'' s  accession,  and  "  a  son  of  25  years," 
estimating  his  age  from  that  period,  all  will  be  natu- 
ral and  easy.  It  is  obvious  to  remark,  that  compu- 
tations of  time,  by  descents,  (as  that  of  Christ,  by  his 
genealogy,)  are  greatly  aftected  by  this  principle  ; 
since  the  length  of  lives,  reigns,  &c.  when  the  suc- 
cessor is  not  the  eldest  son,  but  the  youngest,  are 
rendered  obviously,  and  materially,  imperfect  by  it. 
See  Adoption. 

HELAM,  a  place  celebrated  for  a  defeat  of  the 
Syrians  by  David,  in  which  he  took  their  horses  and 
chariots;  (2  Sam.  x.  17.)  it  would  seem  to  have  been 
not  far  from  the  Euphrates.  But  in  1  Chron.  xix. 
17.  instead  of  Helam  (of  which  city  wo  have  no 
knowledge)  we  read  (c;n>'^N,  Alihem,)  "David  fell  up- 
on them  ;"  whicli  Calmet  takes  to  be  the  best  reading. 

HELBAH,  or  Chelba,  a  city  of  Asher  ;  (Judg.  i. 
31.)  perhaps  Helbon  in  Syria. 

HELBON,  a  city  of  Syria  famous  for  its  wines, 
(Ezek.  xxvii.  18.)  and  probably  the  present  Haleb,  or, 
as  called  in  Europe,  Aleppo.  It  is  situated,  accord- 
ing to  Russell,  who  has  given  a  very  full  description 
of  it,  in  lat.  36°  11'  25"  N.  long.  37°  9'  E. ;  about  180 
miles  north  of  Damascus,  and  about  80  inland  from 
the  coast  of  the  Mediterranean  sea.  In  1822,  Alep- 
po was  visited  by  a  dreadful  earthquake,  by  which 
it  was  almost  entirely  destroyed. 

HELIOPOLIS,  a  celebrated  city  of  Egypt,  called 
in  Coptic,  the  Hebrew,  and  in  the  English  version. 
On,  Gen.  xli.  45.  The  Egyptian  name  signifies  light, 
sun ;  and  hence  the  Greek  name  Heliopolis,  which 
signifies  city  of  the  su7i.  The  Seventy  mention  ex- 
pressly that  On  is  Heliopolis,  Sept.  Ex.  i.  11.  Jere- 
miah (xliii.  13.)  calls  this  city  in  Hebi-ew  Beth-Shc- 
viesh,  i.  e.  house  or  temple  of  the  sun.  In  Ezek. 
XXX.  17,  the  name  is  pi'onounced  Aven,  which  is  the 
same  as  On.  The  x'Vrabs  call  it  Ain-Shcms,  foimtain 
of  tlu?  sun.  All  these  names  come  from  the  circum- 
stance, that  the  city  was  the  ancient  seat  of  the 
Egyptian  worship  of  the  sun.  Tims  Joseph's  father- 
in-law,  Potiphera,  was  priest  at  On,  i.  e.  he  was 
doubtless  a  priest  of  the  sun,  as  his  name  Poti-phera 
denotes,  viz.  one  who  belongs  to  the  sun.  Strabo 
visited  the  ruins  of  this  city,  the  destruction  of 
wliich  he  refers  to  Cambyses,  and  saw  there  still 
large  buildings  in  which  the  priests  dwelt.  He  re- 
marks that  the  city  was  formerly  the  seat  of  priests 
who  occupied  themselves  with  philosophy  and  as- 
62 


tronomy ;  but  that  now  they  only  took  care  of  the 
sacrifices  and  rites  of  worship.  "  The  city,"  he  says, 
"lies  upon  an  immense  dike.  In  it  is  the  tem- 
ple of  the  sun,  and  the  ox  JMnevis,  which  is  kept  in 
a  chapel,  and  is  worshipped  by  the  inhabitants,  hke 
the  Apis  at  3Iemphis.  At  present  the  city  is  desert- 
ed. The  temple  is  very  ancient,  and  in  the  Egyp- 
tian style.  Two  obehsksof  this  temple,  which  were 
the  least  injured,  have  been  carried  to  Rome  ;  the 
rest  are  still  in  their  places."  (xvii.  1.  §  29.)  To  these 
obelisks  or  images  the  prophet  Jeremiah  probably  re- 
fers, xliii.  13.  These  obelisks  and  ruins  are  also 
mentioned  by  Abulfeda,  and  likewise  by  Abdollatif, 
who  gives  a  paj-ticular  description  of  them.  (Relation 
de  I'Egypte,  ed.  De  Sacy,  p.  180.) 

The  present  state  of  these  ruins  is  described  by 
Niebuhr:  ("Reisebeschr.  i.  p.  98.)  "The  ruins  of  this 
ancient  city  (Hehopoiis)  lie  near  the  village  Matarea, 
about  two  hours  [six  miles]  from  Cairo,  towards  the 
nortli-enst.  But  nothing  now  remains  except  im- 
mense dikes  and  mounds  full  of  small  pieces  of  mar- 
ble, granite,  and  pottery,  some  remnants  of  a  sphinx, 
and  an  obelisk  still  standing  erect.  This  last  is  one 
single  block  of  granite,  covered  on  its  four  sides  with 
hieroglyphics.  Its  height  above  ground  is  58  feet. 
It  belonged  to  the  ancient  temple  of  the  sun." 

Another  Heliopolis  is  alluded  to  in  Scripture  un- 
der the  name  of  the  "  plain  of  Aven,"  or  field  of  the 
sun,  Amos  i.  5.  This  was  the  Heliojjolis  of  Ccele- 
Syria,  now  Baalbeck.     See  Aven.     *R. 

HELL.  The  Heb.  hii<z',  Sheol,  and  the  Gr."-'/rT,;?, 
Hades,  often  signify  the  grave,  or  the  place  of  depart- 
ed spirits,  Ps.  xvi.  10  ;  Isa.  xiv.  9  ;  Ezek.  xxxi.  15. 
Here  was  the  rich  man,  after  being  buried,  Luke 
xvi.  23.  The  rebellious  angels  were  also  "  cast  down 
into  hell,  and  delivered  unto  chains  of  darkness,"  2 
Pet.  ii.  4.  These  and  many  other  passages  in  the 
Old  Testament  show  the  fiuility  of  that  opinion, 
which  attributes  to  the  Hebrews  an  ignorance  of  a 
future  state.  The  Jews  place  hell  in  the  centre  of 
the  earth :  they  call  it  the  deep,  and  destruction  ; 
they  believe  it  to  be  situated  under  waters  and 
mountains  ;  they  also  term  it  Gehennom,  or  Gehen- 
na, which  signifies  the  valley  of  Hinnom,  or  the  val- 
ley of  the  sons  of  Hinnom,  which  was,  as  it  were, 
the  common  sewer  of  Jerusalem,  where  children 
were  sacrificed  to  Moloch.     See  Gehenna. 

But  the  term  hell  is  most  commonly  applied  to  the 
place  of  punishment  in  the  unseen  world.  Jews, 
Mussulmans,  and  Christians  have  all  depicted  the  hor- 
rors and  the  punishments  of  hell  as  their  several  fan- 
cies have  conceived  of  it ;  but  without  entering  into 
a  discussion  upon  these  topics,  we  may  remark,  that 
Scripture  is  decisive  as  to  the  principal  punishment, 
consisting  ii^  a  hojjeless  separation  liom  God,  and  a 
privation  of  his  siglit,  and  of  the  beatific  vision. 

The  eternity  of  hell-torments  is  acknowledged 
tliroughout  Scripture :  the  fire  of  the  damned  will 
never  be  extinguished,  nor  their  worm  die.  (See 
Fire.)  But  the  Jews  believe,  that  some  among 
them  will  not  continue  forever  in  hell.  They  main- 
tain that  c\ery  Jew,  not  infected  with  heresy,  or 
who  has  not  acted  contrary  to  certain  points  men- 
tioned by  the  rabbins,  is  not  above  a  year  in  purga- 
tory ;  and  that  infidels  only,  or  peo])le  eminently 
wicked,  remain  perpetually  in  hell.  Manassch  Ben 
Israel  names  three  sorts  of  persons  who  would  be 
damned  eternally:  (1.)  Atheists,  who  deny  the  exist- 
ence of  God  ;  (2.)  they  who  deny  the  divine  author- 
ity of  the  law  ;  (3.)  they  who  reject  the  resurrection 
of  the  dead.     These  people,  though   otherwise   of 


HEN 


[490 


HER 


moral  lives,  will  be  punished  with  endless  tortures. 
Other  rabbius,  such  as  Maimonides,  Abarbanel,  &c. 
assert,  that  after  a  certain  time,  the  souls  of  wicked 
men  will  be  annihilated. 

As  the  happiness  of  paradise  is  expressed  in 
Scripture  under  the  idea  of  a  feast  or  wedding,  sur- 
rounded by  abundant  light,  joy,  and  pleasure,  so  hell 
is  represented  as  a  place  of  dismal  darkness,  where 
is  nothing  but  grief,  satlness,  vexation,  rage,  despair, 
and  gnashing  of  teetli.  Tiie  regret,  remorse,  and 
despair  of  the  damned  are  expressed  by  the  rabbins 
under  the  name  of  disorder  in  the  soul :  which  is 
what  Isaiah  (Ixvi.  24.)  and  Mark  (ix.  43,  45.)  mean 
by  that  worm  whicli  gnaws  and  does  not  die. 

"The  gates  of  hell,"  mentioned  by  our  Saviour, 
(Matt.  xvi.  18.)  signily  tiie  power  of  hell ;  for  the 
eastern  people  call  the  palaces  of  their  j)rinces 
gates.  (See  Gate.)  The  Jews  say  there  are  three 
gates  belonging  to  hell :  the  first  is  in  the  wilderness, 
and  by  that  Korah,  Dathan,  and  Abiram  descended 
into  hell :  the  second  is  in  the  sea  ;  for  it  is  said  that 
Jonah,  who  was  thrown  into  the  sea,  "  cried  to  God 
out  of  the  belly  of  hell,"  Jonah  ii.  3.  The  third  is  in 
Jerusalem  ;  for  Isaiah  tells  us  that  "  the  fire  of  the 
Lord  is  in  Sion,  and  his  furnace  in  Jerusalem,"  Isa. 
xxxi.  9. — 1.  Earth;  2.  water;  3.  fire.  These  are 
evidently  three  modes  of  death,  or  destruction. 

[The  Sheol  of  the  Old  Testament  or  the  Hades 
of  the  New,  according  to  the  notions  of  the  Hebrews, 
was  a  vast  subterranean  receptacle,  where  the  souls 
of  the  dead  existed  in  a  separate  state  until  the  res- 
urrection of  their  bodies.  The  region  of  the  blessed, 
or  paradise,  they  supposed  to  be  in  the  upper  part  of 
this  receptacle  ;  while  beneath  was  the  abyss  or  Ge- 
henna, in  which  the  souls  of  the  wicked  were  sub- 
jected to  punishment,  Is.  xiv,  9,  seq.  Luke  xvi.  23, 
seq.  (See  Lowth,  Lect.  on  Heb.  Poetry,  vii.  Camp- 
bell, Prel.  Diss.  vi.  pt.  2.  §  2,  seq.  §  19.)     R. 

HELLENISTS,  « the  Grecians,"  Acts  vi.  1,  et  al. 
They  were  called  Hellenistical  Jews,  who  lived  in 
cities  and  provinces  where  the  Greek  tongue  was 
spoken.  Not  being  much  accustomed  to  Hebrew  or 
Syriac,  they  generally  used  the  Greek  version  of  the 
LXX,  Ijoth  in  public  and  private,  which  was  disap- 
proved of  by  Hebraizing  Jews,  who  could  not  en- 
dure that  the  Holy  Scriptures  should  be  read  in  any 
language  beside  their  original  Hebrew.  This,  how- 
ever, was  not  the  only  difierence  between  the  Hel- 
lenistical and  tlic  Hebraizing  Jews.  The  latter  re- 
proached their  brethren  witli  reading  Scripture  af^er 
the  Egyptian  manner,  tliai  is,  from  the  left  to  the 
right;  whereas  the  rabbins  say,  that  as  the  sun 
moves  from  east  to  west,  so  they  should  read  from 
the  right  hand  to  the  left.  Tliisdifterence, howcAer, 
produced  no  schism  or  separation. 

HELMET,  a  piece  of  defensive  armor  for  the 
head.     See  Arms,  and  Armor. 

I.  HEMAN,  of  the  tribe  of  Judah,  celebrated  for 
his  wisdom,  lie  floiM'islied  Ik  tore  Solomon,!  Kimrs 
iv.  31  ;  [v.  11  in  the  llcl).]  1  (;iir.  ii.  G.     *R. 

II.  HEMAN,  tlie  son  of  Joel,  a  Koliathite,  of  the 
tribe  of  Levi,  a  leader  of  the  temple  music,  1  Chr.  vi. 
a3;  [18;]  xvi.  41,  42.     *R. 

I1EML0("K.  In  Amos  vi.  12,  we  read  of  "  riglit- 
I  eousness  turned  into  hemlock  ;"  the  very  same  word 
t  which  in  clyip.  v.  7.  is  rendered  wormwood :" turn 
i  judgment  to  wormwood."  This  impropriety  is 
%  obvious  ;  the  word  is  usually  rendered  wormwood, 
~  "whicii  see. 

HENA,  a  city  of  !\Iesopotoml»,  the  same,  proba- 
|)1\ ,  which  was  afterwards  called  .hin.  situated  on  a 


ford  of  the  Euphrates,  2  Kings  xviii.  34  ;  xix.  13  ;  Is. 
xxxvii.  13.     R. 

HEPHER,  a  Canaanitish  city  with  a  king,  subdued 
by  Joshua,  Josh.  xii.  17. 

HERESY,  (^llQcnic,)  an  option,  or  choice.  It  is 
usually  taken  in  a  bad  sense,  for  some  fundamental 
error  in  religion,  adhered  to  with  obstinacy.  Paul 
says  that  there  should  be  heresies  in  the  church,  that 
they  who  are  tried  might  be  made  manifest,  1  Cor. 
xi.  19.  He  requires  Titus  to  shun,  and  even  wholly  to 
avoid  the  company  of  a  heretic,  after  the  first  and  sec- 
ond admonition.  Tit.  iii.  10.  Luke  speaks  of  the  heresies 
of  the  Sadducees  and  Pharisees,  Acts  v.  17  ;  xv.  5. — 
Christianity  was  called  a  sect  or  heres}',  (Acts  xxviii. 
22.)  for  in  the  beginnhig  it  w^as  scarcely  looked  upon 
by  strangers  as  any  thing  more  than  a  sect  of  Juda- 
ism ;  and  the  primitive  writers  made  no  difficulty 
of  calling  it,  sometimes,  a  divine  sect.  Tertullus, 
the  advocate  of  the  Jews,  accused  Paul  with 
being  the  head  "of  the  sect  of  the  Nazarenes," 
Acts  xxiv.  5. 

From  the  beginning  of  the  Christian  church,  there 
have  been  dangerous  heresies,  which  attacked  the 
most  essential  doctrines  of  our  religion,  such  as  the 
divinity  of  Jesus  Christ,  his  office  of  Messiali,  the 
reality  and  truth  of  his  incarnation,  the  resurrection 
of  the  dead,  the  liberty  of  Christians  from  legal  cere- 
monies, and  many  other  points.  The  most  ancient 
of  these  heretics  was  Simon  Magus,  who  desired  to 
buy  the  gift  of  God  with  money,  (Acts  viii.  9,  10.) 
and  W'ho  afterwards  set  hnnself  up  for  the  Messiah, 
God  Almighty,  the  Creator.  Cerinthus,  also,  and 
those  false  apostles  against  whom  Paul  inveighs 
in  his  epistles,  who  determined  that  the  faithful 
should  receive  circumcision,  and  subject  themselves 
to  all  the  legal  observances,  are  considered  to  be 
heretics.  Gal.  iv.  12, 13,  17  ;  v.  11 ;  vi.  12  ;  Phil.  iii. 
18.  The  Nicolaitans,  who,  it  is  said,  allowed  a 
community  of  women,  committed  the  most  ignomin- 
ious actions,  and  followed  the  superstitions  of  hea- 
thenism, are  charged  by  John  (Rev.  ii.  6,  15.)  with 
producing  great  disorders  in  the  churches  of  Asia. — 
At  the  same  time  there  were  false  Christs  and  false 
prophets.  Paul  speaks  of  Hymenseus  and  Alexander, 
(1  Tim.  i.  20.)  and  of  Hymenaeus  and  Philetus, 
(2  Tim.  ii.  '17.)  who  departed  from  the  truth.  He 
foretold,  that  in  the  last  times,  some  should  forsake 
the  truth,  and  give  themselves  up  to  a  spirit  of  error, 
and  to  doctrines  of  devils,  1  Tim.  iv.  1.  Peter  and 
Jude  foretell  the  same  things,  and  herein  only  repeat 
what  Christ  himself  had  said,  that  false  Christs  and 
false  prophets  should  come,  who  would  seduce  the 
simple. 

IIERMAS,  a  disciple  mentioned  Rom.  xvi.  14, 
was,  according  to  several  of  the  ancients,  and  many 
learned  modern  interpretei-s,  the  same  as  Hernias, 
whose  works  are  said  to  be  still  extant. 

HERMON,  a  mountain  often  mentioned  in  Scrip- 
ture. In  Dent.' iii.  9,  it  is  said  that  Hermon  is  called 
by  the  Sidonians  Siiion  and  by  tlie  Auunonitcs  She- 
nir.  In  Dent.  iv.  4H.  it  is  also  said  to  be  called 
mount  Sio7i,  (Heb.  js^r,  difierent  from  the  Sion 
of  Jerusalem,  which  is  written  ;vs.)  It  is  an 
eastern  arm  of  Anti-lihanus,  branching  oft" from  the 
former  a  little  lower  down  than  Damascus,  and  ex- 
tending in  a  direction  S.  S.  E.  to  the  vicinity  of  the 
lake  of  Tiberias.  The  northern  part  is  lofty,  and  is 
now  called  Djebel  el  Sheikh,  and  the  southern,  which 
is  lower,  Djebel  Heish.  (See  Rurckliardt,  Trav.  in 
Syria,  p.  313.)  Some  have,  without  good  rea.son,  sup- 
po-ied,   that  there  was  anotlier  Hennon,  near   mount 


HER 


[  491  ] 


HEROD 


Tabor;  and  have,  therefore,  improperly  given  this 
name  to  the  mountain  of  Gilboa,  Ps.  Ixxxix.  12.  In 
Ps.  xlii.  6,  the  English  version  has  Hermonites ;  it 
should  be  the  Hermons,  the  word  in  Hebrew  being  in 
the  plural  to  denote  a  chain  of  mountains  ;  just  as  the 
Alps  are  always  spoken  of  in  the  plural.  The  psalm- 
ist says  in  Ps.  cxxxiii.  3,  that  the  union  of  brethren 
is  pleasant  "  as  the  dew  of  Hermon,  which  descend- 
ed upon  the  mountains  of  Zion,"  i.  e.  Jerusalem. — 
This  as  it  stands  makes  no  sense,  and  the  thing  appar- 
ently expressed  is  an  impossibility.  Our  translators 
have,  therefore,  justly  and  properly  supplied  the  words 
necessary  to  fill  out  the  comparison  ;  "  as  the  dew  of 
Hermon  and  as  the  dew  which  descended  upon  the 
mountains  of  Zion." 

We  read  in  Judg.  iii.  3,  of  a  mount  Baal-Hermon, 
and  in  1  Chr.  v.  23,  of  a  Baal-Hermon,  which  seems 
to  be  a  city  near  mount  Hermon.  The  former,  per- 
haps, may  be  best  taken  as  the  name  of  a  portion  of 
the  mountain  near  the  city  Baal-Hermon.  This  lat- 
ter appears  to  be  the  same  as  the  city  Baal-Gad  (for- 
tune) mentioned  Josh.  xi.  17;  xii.  7;  xiii.  5,  and 
which  appears  from  these  passages  to  have  been  situ- 
ated on  the  northern  confines  of  the  territory  of  the 
Israelites,  in  the  vicinity  of  Lebanon,  and,  particu- 
larly, under  mount  Hermon.  Hence  it  appears 
abundantly,  that  Baal-Gad  cannot  have  been  (as 
Iken,  Michaelis,  and  Rosenmiiller  suppose)  the  same 
with  Heliopolis,  or  Baalbeck,  but  lay  rather  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  source  of  the  Jordan.  Baalbeck  lay 
much  farther  to  the  north,  in  the  great  valley  of 
Coele-Syria,  between  Lebanon  and  Anti-Lebanon ; 
and  we  no  where  read  that  Joshua  extended  his  con- 
quests thus  far,  or  even  to  Damascus  ;  nor  is  it  indeed 
probable,  from  the  nature  of  the  country.  He  must, 
then,  have  conquered  mount  Lebanon,  which  is  no 
where  said  of  him  ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  it  is  express- 
ly said,  (Judg.  iii.  3.)  that  the  Hivites  continued  to 
dwell  in  mount  Lebanon,  from  Baal-Hermon  to  Ha- 
raath,  just  as  it  is  said  in  Josh.  xiii.  5,  that  all  Lebanon 
toward  the  east,  i.  e.  Anti-Lebanon,  from  Baal-Gad  un- 
der Hermon  even  to  Hamath,  remained  unsubdued.  *'R.. 

I.  HEROD,  son  of  Antipater  and  Cypres,  and 
brother  of  Phasael,  Joseph,  Pheroras,  and  Salome. 
He  married  (1.)  Doris,  by  whom  he  had  Antipater. 
(2.)  Mariamne,  of  the  Asmonean  family,  by  whom 
he  had  Alexander,  Aristobulus,  Herod,  Salampso, 
and  Cypros.  (3.)  Mariamne,  daughter  of  Simon  f'le 
high-priest,  by  whom  he  had  Herod,  the  husband  of 
Herodias.  (4.)  Malthace,  by  whom  he  had  Arche- 
laus,  Philip,  and  Olympias.  (5.)  Cleopaua,  by  whom 
he  had  Herod  Antipas  and  Philip.  (6.)  Pallas,  by 
whom  he  had  Phasael.  (7.)  Phncdra,  by  whom  he 
had  Roxana.  (S.)  Elpis,  by  ivhom  he  had  Salome, 
who  married  one  of  tlie  sons  of  Pheroras.  He  had 
also  two  other  wives,  whose  names  arc  not  known. 

Herod  was  born  ante  A.  D.  72,  and  at  the  age  of 
twenty-five  was  ai)pointed  governor  of  Galilee,  with 
the  approbation  of  Hyrcanus.  By  his  prudence  and 
valor  he  restored  the  peace  of  his  ])rovince,  which 
had  been  interrupted  by  the  depredations  of  hordes 
of  robbers,  and  procured  the  friendship  of  Sextus 
Caesar,  governor  of  Syria.  The  Jews,  becoming 
jealovis  of  the  growing  power  of  Antipater  and  his 
sons,  laid  complaints  against  them  before  Hyrcanus, 
and  Herod  was  cited  to  appear  and  answer  for  his 
conduct,  at  Jerusalem.  Herod  obeyed  the  summons, 
but  played  his  part  so  well  that  Hyrcanus  advised 
him  to  retire  into  Syria.  After  the  death  of  Julius 
Cfesar,  Herod  was  appointed  governor  of  Ccele- 
Syria,  by  Cassius  and  Marcus  Brutus,  who  promised 


him  the  kingdom  of  Judea,  when  the  war  with  Mark 
Antony  should  terminate. 

The  invasion  of  Judea  by  the  Partisans  secured 
to  Herod  the  possession  of  the  kingdom.  The  Par- 
thians  had  taken  Jerusalem,  and  placed  Antigonus, 
the  nephew  of  Hyrcanus,  on  the  throne,  and  carried 
away  Hyrcanus  with  tlieni  as  their  prisoner.  In  this 
emergence  Herod  hastened  to  Rome,  intending  to 
ask  the  kingdom  for  bis  brotlier-in-law,  Aristobulus, 
the  brother  of  Mariamne  ;  bu|  Antony  was  so  willing 
to  advance  Herod  himself,  and,  withal,  so  accessible 
to  the  influence  of  promises  of  remuneration,  that  a 
decree  was  instantly  proposed  to  the  senate,  import- 
ing that  in  consideration  of  the  dangers  which  might 
arise  from  the  Parthian  invasion,  it  was  expedient  to 
make  Herod  king  of  Judea.  The  senate  did  not  hesi- 
tate to  confirm  the  deci-ee  ;  and  at  the  breaking  up 
of  the  assembly,  Antony  and  Augustus,  placing  Her- 
od between  them,  and  accompanied  by  the  consuls 
and  magistrates,  went  in  solenm  procession  to  enrol 
the  decree  in  the  capitol.  The  daj'  concluded  with 
a  sumptuous  entertainment,  given  to  Herod  in  the 
house  of  Antony.  In  seven  days  after  his  amval 
at  Rome,  Herod  left  Italy  on  his  return  to  Judea. 

On  his  arrival  in  Judea,  he  received  so  little  assist- 
ance from  the  Roman  generals,  that  more  than  two 
years  elapsed  before  he  commenced  the  siege  of 
Jerusalem.  When  the  siege  was  so  far  advanced  as 
to  render  success  no  longer  doubtful,  Herod  consum- 
mated his  marriage  with  Mariamne,  the  daughter  of 
Alexander,  the  son  of  Aristobulus,  by  a  daughter  of 
Hyrcanus  ;  hoping  by  this  union  with  the  royal  fam- 
ily of  the  Asmoneans,  to  insure  the  afl^ection  of  the 
Jews  to  his  person.  To  pave  the  way  for  this  union, 
he  divorced  his  former  wife  Doris,  the  mother  of  his 
son  Antipater :  but  if  he  sought  the  marriage  at  first 
only  from  motives  of  interest,  it  became  afterwards, 
on  his  part  at  least,  a  union  cemented  by  the  strong- 
est affection  ;  but  the  uncertainty  of  the  wisest  ef- 
forts of  mere  human  policy  may  be  seen  in  the  sub- 
sequent events  of  his  history ;  for  this  marriage, 
which  seem<'d  most  conducive  to  his  power,  and 
which  he  achieved  by  most  unjust  behavior  to  his 
former  >vife,  proved  to  him  the  source  of  almost  all 
tlie  Jiiiseries  which  he  endured. 

After  a  siege  of  six  months,  Jerusalem  suiTender- 
ed.  The  first  acts  of  Herod's  government  were 
marked  with  cruelty  and  revenge,  yet  not  without 
some  tincture  of  generosity.  He  advanced  to  rank 
and  power  those  persons  wii^had  espoused  his  in- 
terest, and  conferred  the  behest  distinction  upon 
Pollio  and  Sameas,  as  the  reward  of  the  counsel  they 
had  given  during  the  siege  to  deliver  up  the  city.  Of 
the  adherents  of  Antigonus,  forty-five  persons  were 
put  to  death,  and  the  most  vigilant  search  was  made 
that  none  should  escape;  the  gates  of  the  city  being 
guarded,  and  even  the  dead  bodies  searched  as  they 
were  carried  out,  lest  the  living  should  escape  by 
concealment  among  them. 

Herod  found  the  high-priest's  office  vacant.  It 
belonged  of  right  to  his  brother-in-law,  Aristobulus, 
the  son  of  Alexandra,  the  young  man  for  whom,  on 
his  flight  to  Rome,  he  at  first  intended  to  have  asked 
the  kingdom  ;  but  upon  him  Herod  was  afraid  to 
confer  this  honor,  lest  the  influence  attached  to  the 
office  should  prove  a  source  of  danger  to  himself; 
he  therefore  sent  to  Babylon  for  one  Ananelus,  a 
man  descended  from  the  inferior  families  of  the 
tribes  of  Levi,  and  made  him  high-priest.  The  pride 
of  Alexandra  could  not  brook  such  an  insuh;  and 
she  acquainted  Cleopatra  with  the  injury,  through 


HEROD 


[  492 


HEROD 


whose  influence  with  Antony,  Ananelus  was  deposed, 
and  Aristobulus,  now  a  youth  of  sixteen  years  of 
age,  made  high-priest.  Not  long  after,  Herod  se- 
cretly determined  to  rid  himself  of  Aristobulus ;  and 
his  purpose  was  soon  eifected  while  the  youth  was 
bathing  in  the  pools  which  adorned  the  gardens  of 
the  palace  at  Jericho.  Herod  was  hypocrite  enough 
to  shed  tears,  and  pretend  sorrow  for  his  death,  and 
further  tried  to  conceal  the  murder  by  the  most 
magnificent  display  of  expense  at  his  funeral.  Such 
vanities  could  ill  compensate  Alexandra  for  the 
loss  of  her  son,  or  soothe  her  auger.  She  communi- 
cated the  particulars  of  the  transaction  to  Cleopatra, 
and  found  in  her  a  most  powerful  ally.  Antony  was 
on  his  way  to  Laodicea,  and  by  the  advice  of  Cleo- 
patra, he  summoned  Herod  to  appear  and  answer  be- 
fore him.  Herod  obeyed  the  command  ;  but  money 
soon  soothed  the  pretended  indignation  of  Autonj', 
and  Herod  returned  to  Jerusalem,  having  been  receiv- 
ed as  a  prince  instead  of  condemned  as  a  criminal. 

When  Herod  was  summoned  to  Laodicea,  fearful 
of  the  worst,  he  secretly  commissioned  his  uncle  Jo- 
seph, in  the  event  of  his  death,  not  to  suffer  Mariamne 
to  Uve,  and  become  the  partner  of  Antony.  Joseph 
communicated  to  her  and  to  Alexandra  the  orders 
which  he  had  received.  On  the  return  of  Herod, 
his  sister  Salome,  in  revenge  for  some  insult  which 
she  had  received  from  Mariamne,  insinuated  against 
her  own  husband  Joseph,  the  existence  of  a  criminal 
intercourse  between  them.  The  accusation  was  as 
unfounded  as  it  was  mahcious,  and  Mariamne  soon 
assuaged  the  wrath  of  Herod  ;  but  happening  to  re- 
ply to  some  expression  of  his  affection,  that  his 
having  given  orders  to  put  her  to  death,  was  no 
proof  of  love,  this  betrayal  of  his  secret  instructions, 
convinced  Herod  of  the  truth  of  the  charge  of  illicit 
intercourse  with  Joseph,  and  it  was  with  difficulty 
that  he  restrained  himself  from  ordering  her  imme- 
diate death  :  Joseph,  however,  was  instantly  executed, 
without  being  heard  in  his  defence. 

The  fall  of  Antony  was  justly  a  cause  of  alarm  to 
Herod  :  his  friends  despaired  of  his  safety  ;  his  at- 
tachment to  the  rival  of  Augustus  was  commonly 
known  ;  and  his  enemies  rejoiced  at  the  pro^pect  of 
his  ruin.  On  his  departure  to  visit  Augustur.,  he 
committed  Alexandra  and  Marianme  to  the  custody 
"  of  his  two  friends,  Joseph  and  Soeinus,  with  orders 
that  neither  of  tliem  should  be  permitted  to  survive 
the  event  of  his  death,  lest  the  spirit  of  Alexandra 
should  disttu-b  the  settlement  of  the  chief  power  in 
the  hands  of  his  children.  At  Rhodes,  Herod  met 
Augustus,  whom  he  addressed  in  the  tone  of  a  man 
conscious  of  having  displayed  towards  his  friend  a 
fidelity  which  u'as  in  the  highest  degree  praise-wor- 
thy :  he  did  not  palliate  his  conduct,  but  seemed 
rather  to  lament  that  the  assistance  in  money  and 
provisions  which  he  had  afibrded  to  his  unfortunate 
ally,  was,  if  ])ossi!)le,  less  than  his  duty  required.  He 
represented  that  he  had  been  prevented  from  joining 
actively  in  the  war,  but  that  he  had  (Jone  all  that  was 
in  his  power  to  advance  the  best  interests  of  his 
friend,  and  that  if  Antony  had  taken  his  advice,  and 
put  Cleopatra  aside,  ho  might  still  have  lived,  and 
have  been  reconciled  to  Augustus.  He  proceeded 
then  to  state  of  himself,  that  from  his  fidelity  to  An- 
tony, Augustus  might  judge  of  his  general  disposition 
to  his  friends;  for  that  such  as  he  was  to  Antony,  he 
was  also  to  a^ll  those  to  whom  lie  was  bound  by  the 
ties  of  gratitude  and  affection.  Such  openness  and 
generosity,  seconded  by  liberal  presents,  both  to  Au- 
gustus and  all  whp  were  about  the  person  of  the  con- 


queror, obtained  for  Herod  the  safety  of  his  person, 
and  the  security  of  his  kingdom  ;  the  possession  of 
which  was  confirmed  to  him  by  a  second  decree  of 
the  senate.      Augustus  soon   afler  passed  through 
Judea,  and  was  attended  by  Herod,  who  presented 
him  with  the  immense  sum  of  800  talents,  and  fur- 
nished  him   with   profusion.     Herod  naturally  ex- 
pected that  none  would  rejoice  so  nuich  at  the  happy 
result  of  his  interview  with  Augustus,  as  Marianme. 
Soemus,  however,  having  revealed  to  her  the  orders 
of  Herod,  he  found  to  his  suqirise,  that  neither  the 
relation  of  the  dangers  which  he  had  escaped,  nor 
the  honors  which  he  had  i-eceived,  excited  the  least 
interest  in  her  bosom.     Hate  and  love  by  turns  dis- 
tracted him  ;  at  one  moment  he  determined  to  pun- 
ish her  with  death  ;  at  the  next,  his  passion  returned, 
and  disarmed  his  intention  of  its  cruelty.     The  state 
of  Herod's  mind  could  not  be  concealed  from  his 
mother  and  his  sister  Salome,  who  viewed  with  bar- 
barous exultation  the  changed  temper  of  the  king,  as 
affording  them  the  fairest  opportunity  of  revenging 
upon  Alexandra  and  Mariamne  some  words  wliich 
they  had  contemptuously  spoken  against  the  family 
of  Herod.     The  discord  of  Herod  and  Mariamne  had 
continued  a  whole  year  after  liis  return  from  Augus- 
tus ;  it  happened  one  day  that  the  king,  retiring  to 
rest  about  noon,  sought  her  company  :  she  came,  but 
instead    of  requiting  ids   love    v>ith   corresponding 
affection,  she  reproached  him  with  the  murder  of 
her  father  and  her  brother.     The  king  naturally  was 
indignant,  but  his  anger  might  have  passed  away, 
had  not  Salome  seized  the  opportunity  which  she 
had  long  sought,  to  excite  him  to  severity  against  his 
wife,  by  suborning  his  cupbearer  to  assert  that  Mari- 
amne had  bribed  him  to  give  a  certain  potion,  the 
nature  of  which,  however,  he  knew  not.      Herod 
would  not  condemn  his  wife  without  the  appearance 
at  least  of  a  regular  sentence  :  he  therefore  summon- 
ed his  most  familiar  friends,  and  accused  her  of  ad- 
ministering the  potion.     The  result  was  a  sentence 
of  death  ;  which   Herod   commuted  into  imprison- 
ment.    Salome,  however,  persuaded  the  king  tliat  the 
death  of  Mariamne  was  necessary  to  secure  himself 
against  the  tumults  of  the  i)opidace;  and  vW  her  ad- 
vice she  was  led  away  to  execution.     Marianme  met 
her  death  displaying  in  her  end  a  firmness  of  charac- 
ter which  coriTsprnded  to  her  noble  birdi.     Herod, 
ho'vever,  soon  felt  all  the  miseries  of  a  wounded 
consc^nce,  increased  by  the  remembrance  of  ardent 
love,     lie  sought  for. pleasure  in  frequent  banquets, 
but  it  fled  fn>m  him  ;  imtil  at  last  he  declined  all  re- 
gard to  public  business.     Under  j)retcnce  of  enjoying 
the  amusements  of  the  chase,  he  retired  from  socie- 
ty, and  passed  h.is  days  sorrowing  in  solitude ;  in  a 
short  time,  thesufferingsof  his  mind  brought  on  him 
a  fever  and  delirium,  which  baffled  the  skill  of  his 
physicians;    who,  finding  all   lemedies    ineffectual, 
left  him  to  his  fiite.     Whilst  lalioring  under  this  dis- 
order, the  king  resided  at  Samaria.     That  he  shoidd 
recover  from  such  an  illness,  appeared  to  be  impossi- 
ble.    Alexandra,  therefore,  lost  no  tinu;  m  preparing 
iTieasures  to  secure  to  herself  the  chief  command,  in 
the  event  of  his  death,  and  marie  proposals  to  the  offi- 
cers who  were  intrusted  with  the  two  forts  jn  Jeru- 
salem, which  commanded  the  temple  and  the  city, 
that  for  the  sake  of  security  under  the  present  ca- 
lamity of  the  king's  illness,  they  should  deliver  up 
the  charge  to  herself  and  to  Herod's  sons.     The  offi- 
cers were  faithful  to  Herod,  and  sent  him  intelligence 
of  Alexandra's  projiosal.     The  result  was  the  imme- 
diate execution  of  Alexandra. 


HEROD 


[493] 


HEKOD 


In  process  of  time  Herod  recovered  from  his  ill- 
ness, and  a  remarkable  change  took  place  in  his 
conduct :  he  threw  off  the  mask  of  religion,  and 
labored  zealously  to  remove  all  the  prejudices  of  the 
Jews  in  favor  of  the  law  of  Moses,  l)y  introducing 
among  them  the  customs  of  heathen  nations.  All 
his  views  seem  to  have  been  henceforth  directed  to 
Romanize  Judea. 

The  designs  which  he  had  manifestly  formed 
against  their  reUgion,  and  his  violation  of  every  cus- 
tom dear  to  the  Jews,  were,  however,  considered  by 
many  as  sure  forerunners  of  still  more  dreadftd  evils. 
Herod  was,  in  name,  their  king,  but,  in  deed,  the  en- 
emy of  their  country,  and  their  God.  Ten  men, 
zealous  for  the  law,  conspired  to  assassinate  him  in 
the  theatre.  The  plan  was  discovered,  and  the  con- 
s[)iratoi"S  were  arrested,  with  daggers  concealed  about 
their  persons.  Herod  now  understood  the  feelings 
of  the  people,  and  found  it  necessary  to  increase  his 
fortifications  for  the  security  of  his  own  person,  and 
to  ])rovide  against  rebellions.  He  now  planned  the 
restoration  of  Samaria,  and  fortified  it,  probably  as  a 
balance  to  the  strength  of  Jerusalem  ;  for  he  not  only 
rebuilt  it,  but  peopled  it  wth  inhabitants,  calling  it 
Sebaste,  in  honor  of  Augustus,  and  erecting  a  temple, 
which  he  dedicated  to  Ca'sar.  These  fortresses,  with 
many  othei-s,  were  built  for  safety  ;  but  to  increase 
the  prosperity  of  his  kingdom  by  trade,  he  entertained 
and  executed  the  grand  design  of  converting  the 
tower  of  Strato  into  a  city  and  seaport,  which  he 
called  Caesarea.  The  sums  which  he  expended  in 
building  cities  and  fortresses  must  have  been  im- 
mense ;  but  he  took  care  to  prevent  the  Romans 
from  interrupting  the  completion  of  his  designs,  by 
making  his  numerous  dedications  to  Augustus  seem 
so  maiij'  public  testimonies  of  his  dependence  upon 
the  emperor.  In  many  instances,  however,  the 
structures  which  he  erected  v»'ere  monuments  to  the 
memory  of  those  Vvhom  he  loved.  The  city  Anti- 
patris  he  built  as  a  testimony  of  his  aflfection  to  his 
father ;  and  dedicated  to  his  mother's  memory  a 
magnificent  castle  at  Jericho,  which,  after  her,  was 
called  Cyprion.  The  tower  of  Phasael  and  Hippicus, 
in  the  circuit  of  the  walls  of  Jerusalem,  were  lasting 
memorials  of  fraternal  and  friendly  affection ;  nor 
was  his  love  to  the  unfortunate  IMariamne  forgotten, 
for  the  fairest  tower  in  the  walls  bore  her  name. 

When  the  indignation  of  the  Jews  at  his  conduct 
Degan  to  disi)lay  itself  in  ojien  murmurs,  Herod  strove 
to  suppress  the  feelings  of  the  people,  by  a  most  rigid 
and  vexatious  system  of  police ;  but  finding  this  to 
be  in  vain,  he  perceived  that  it  would  be  better  to 
yield  entirely  to  their  prejudices  ;  and  in  proof  of  his 
good  will  to  their  religion,  he  undertook  to  rebuild 
the  temple  on  the  greatest  scale  of  magnificence.  In 
a  set  oration  he  exposed  his  designs  to  them  ;  but  so 
great  was  tlicMr  unwillingness  to  undertake  the  execu- 
tion of  such  vast  plans,  as  well  as  their  suspicion  lest 
the  building  once  begun  should  remain  unfinished, 
that  Herod  found  himself  obliged  to  make  all  his 
preparations  for  the  erection  of  the  nev.'  temple,  I)c- 
fore  he  could  venture  upon  removing  a  single  stone 
of  the  old  structure.  The  execution  of  tiiat  part  of 
the  former  building  which  strictly  constituted  the 
temple,  and  which  comprehended  the  pdrch,  the  holy 
place,  and  the  holy  of  holies,  occupied  a  space  of  not 
more  than  eighteen  months  ;  but  the  porticoes  and 
other  works  surrounding  the  temple  were  not  com- 
pleted until  the  lapse  of  a  further  space  of  eight 
years.  The  adorning  of  the  building  occupiecl  a 
much  longer  time,  as  appears  both  from  John  ii.  20, 


where  we  read  of  the  disciples  speaking  to  our  Lord, 
"Forty  and  six  years  hath  this  temple  been  building," 
and  also  from  Josephus,  (Antiq.  xx.  8.)  where  it  is  re- 
lated, that  whilst  Gessius  Florus  was  governor  of 
Judea,  the  works  were  completed,  and  eighteen  thou- 
sand artificers  were  discharged,  who  had  been  en- 
gaged up  to  that  time. 

The  dreadful  troubles  whicli  arose  from  the  dis-. 
sensions  of  Herod's  family,  and  which  hastened  his 
death,  compose  a  tragical  story,  the  [)arallei  to  which 
scarcely  occurs  in  the  annals  of  history.  The  par- 
ticulars of  its  developement  are  related  by  Josephus 
at  great  length  ;  but  we  cannot  enter  into  the  minute 
details  of  the  intrigues  of  female  malice.  By  Mari- 
amne  he  had  two  sons,  Alexander  and  Aristobulus, 
whom  he  treated  with  affection  ;  purposing  to  leave 
his  dominions  as  an  inheritance  to  one  or  both  of 
them.  They  were  sent  at  an  early  age  to  Rome  for 
education,  and  their  return  to  Judea  was  a  cause  of 
great  public  joy  ;  but  to  Salome,  and  to  all  those  who 
had  borne  a  part  in  the  condemnation  of  Marianme, 
the  popularity  of  the  young  princes,  and  their  as- 
cendency over  their  father,  occasioned  the  most 
painful  reflections  upon  the  i)ast,  accompanied  with 
forebodings  of  certain  ynmishment.  They  saw  no 
way  of  escape,  but  in  striving  to  alienate  from  them 
the  affection  of  Herod  ;  and  for  this  pui"pose  they 
sedulouslj^  spread  reports  that  the  young  men  dis- 
liked their  father,  and  regarded  him  in  no  other 
light  than  as  the  murderer  of  their  mother.  Their 
machinations  proved  too  successful,  and  Herod  gave 
orders  for  their  death.  (See  Alexander.)  Antipater, 
who  had  now  succeeded  in  removing  out  of  the  way 
the  sons  of  Marianme,  became  fearful  lest  Herod 
should  live  long  enough  to  discover  the  part  he  had 
taken  against  his  brotiiers,  and  determined  at  once  to 
plot  his  father's  destruction.  Pheroras,  Herod's 
brother,  and  all  the  females  of  the  family  of  Herod, 
Salome  excepted,  were  willing  to  assist  the  ulterior 
designs  of  this  ambitious  prince.  The  conspiracy, 
however,  did  not  escape  the  notice  of  Salome,  who 
watched  their  meetings,  and  gave  constant  intelli- 
gence to  Herod  of  the  dangers  which  surrounded 
him. 

It  was,  at  length,  resolved  by  the  conspirators  to 
despatch  Herod  by  poison ;  but  Antipater,  fearful  of 
discovery,  procured  a  summons  from  Augustus  to 
Rome,  that,  being  out  of  the  way  when  the  attempt 
should  be  made,  he  might  be  the  less  suspected  of 
participation  in  the  mmder.  Herod,  however,  dis- 
covered the  plot  which  had  been  arranged  for  his 
destruction.  Antipater  returned,  and  reached  Se- 
baste, before  he  suspected  that  liis  share  in  the  con- 
spiracy had  been  discovered,  and  that  he  must  pre- 
pare to  make  his  defence  before  Varus  and  the 
council.  The  accusation  was  first  made  by  Herod, 
and  proceeded  in  by  Nicolaus  Dainascenus.  No 
proofs  of  guilt  coulil  be  stronger  than  those  produced 
against  him.  Having  been  condemned  and  thrown 
into  prison,  an  embassy  was  despatched  to  Csesar,  to 
acquaint  him  with  the  conviction  of  the  accused,  and 
to  request  his  final  decision  of  the  case.  Whilst  the 
embassy  was  at  Rome,  Herod  fell  sick  ;  (Josephus, 
de  Bell.  Jud.  lib.  i.  c.  33.)  and  Judas  and  Matthias, 
who  were  the  chief  among  the  teachers  of  the  law, 
in  the  belief  that  he  could  not  recover,  excited  the 
people  to  throw  down  the  golden  eagle,  which  the 
king  had,  contrary  to  the  laws  and  customs  of  the 
nation,  erected  over  the  temple.  The  conspirators 
were  seized ;  and  Herod,  though  now  so  ill  as  to  be 
unable  to  sit  up,  assembled  the  members  of  his  coua- 


HEROD 


[  494  ] 


HER 


Cil.  They  disclaimed  any  approval  of  the  transac-- 
tion,  and  recommended  that  the  authors  of  it  should 
be  punished  ;  upon  which  Herod  gave  orders  to  burn 
Matthias  alive,  and  all  who  were  concerned  in  the 
affair.  Herod's  disease  soon  after  became  more  vio- 
lent; his  sufferings  were  painful  in  the  extreme; 
attended  with  ulcerations  in  the  lower  parts  of  the 
body,  and  strong  convulsions.  His  torments,  instead 
of  moving  him  to  repentance,  seemed  rather  to  excite 
anew  the  cruelty  of  his  temper  ;  for,  having  collected 
together  the  chiefs  of  the  Jewish  nation,  he  shut  them 
up  in  the  Hippodrome  at  Jericho,  and  gave  orders  to 
Salome,  as  soon  as  he  should  be  dead,  to  put  them 
all  to  death ;  lest,  in  the  joy  at  his  decease,  mourners 
should  be  wanted  for  his  funeral.  In  the  meanwhile 
the  ambassadors  returned  from  Rome,  and  brought 
the  permission  of  Ca?sar  for  the  punishment  of  An- 
tipater,  either  by  exile  or  by  deatli.  The  pleasure 
which  Herod  derived  from  the  success  of  his  em- 
bassy, for  the  moment,  revived  him  ;  but  his  ])ains 
soon  returned  with  such  violence,  that  he  made  an 
attempt  to  connuit  suicide :  the  alarm  created  by  the 
event  ran  through  the  palace,  and  was  heard  by  An- 
tipatcr,  who,  concluding  that  his  father's  death  occa- 
sioned it,  endeavored  to  bribe  the  jailer  to  permit  his 
escape ;  but  the  man  was  faithful  to  his  trust,  and 
communicated  the  proposal  to  the  king,  who  ianne- 
Jiately  gave  orders  for  his  death,  attaching  to  it  a 
command  to  bury  him  in  an  ignoble  manner  at  Hyr- 
cauium.  Herod  then,  once  again,  made  his  will  ; 
giving  the  kingdom  of  Jud^a  to  Archelaus ;  the 
tetrarchy  of  Galilee  and  Persea,  to  Antipas  ;  Gauloni- 
tis,  Trachonitis,  and  Batanea,  to  Philip;  and  the 
cities  Jamnia,  Azotus,  and  Phasaelis,  besides  very 
considerable  sums  of  money,  to  Salome.  To  each 
one  of  his  relations  he  bequeathed  handsome  estates 
and  legacies,  leaving  tijem  in  the  possession  of  afflu- 
ent wealth.  His  legacies  to  Augustus,  and  his  wife 
Julia,  were  worthy  the  acceptance  of  chiefs  of  the 
Roman  empire. 

On  the  fifth  day  after  the  death  of  Antipater, 
Herod  died,  having  reigned  thirty-four  years  from 
the  death  of  Antigoiuis,  and  thirty-seven  from  the 
time  of  his  investment  by  the  Romans.  Before  the 
report  of  his  death  was  noised  abroad,  Salome  and 
Alexas  dismissed  those  who  were  imprisoned  in  the 
Hippodrome  ;  but  as  soon  as  the  event  Avas  known 
they  assembled  the  soldiery  in  the  amphitheatre,  and 
read  to  them  the  will  of  Herod.  The  troojjs  pro- 
claimed Archelaus  king,  and  rent  the  air  with  shouts 
of  joy  and  prayers  for  his  prosperous  reign. 

Josephus  (xvii.  8.)  thus  sums  up  the  character  of 
Herod  :  "  He  was  a  man  universally  cruel,  and  of  an 
vmgovernable  anger;  and  though  he  trampled  justice 
under  foot,  he  was  ever  the  favorite  of  fortune.  From 
a  private  station,  he  rose  to  the  throne.  Beset  on 
every  side  with  a  thousand  dangers,  he  escaped  them 
all ;  and  ])rolonged  his  life  to  the  fnll  boundary  of 
old  age.  They  who  considered  what  befell  him  in 
the  bosom  of  his  own  family,  ])rononnced  liim  a  man 
most  miserable  ;  but  to  himself  he  ever  seemed  most 
prosperous,  for,  of  all  his  enemies,  there  was  not  one 
whom  he  did  not  overcome."  Such  is  the  history  of 
a  prince  whose  name  is  familiar  to  us,  from  our 
childhood,  as  the  first  ])erseciitor  of  our  blessed 
Lord,  and  the  miu-derer  of  the  infanta  at  Bethlehem. 
The  accoimt  given  of  the  transactions  of  his  life  will 
evince,  that  if,  according'  to  the  judgment  of  the 
world,  he  who  reigns  splendidly  and  fortunatelv,  in 
spite  of  all  the  difficulties  opposed  to  his  governmi'm, 
be  entitled  to  the  attribute  of  greatness,  that  app'-!l;i- 


tion  has  not  been  unjustly  bestowed  upon  Herod. 
(Encyclop.  Metropol.  Biog.) 

n.  HEROD  PHILIP,  see  Philip. 

III.  HEROD  ANTIPAS,  see  Antipas. 

IV.  HEROD  AGRIPPA,  see  Agrippa. 
HERODIANS,  a  sect  of  the  Jews  in  our  Saviour's 

time,  (Matt.  xxii.  16  ;  Mark  iii.  6  ;  viii.  15.)  but  as  to 
their  particular  character  there  is  much  diversity  of 
opinion.  Dr.  Prideaux  has  shown,  that  they  held 
doctrines  distinct  from  those  of  the  Pharisees  and 
Sadducees  ;  against  which  our  Saviour  cautious  his 
followers  ;  and  he  thinks  tliere  can  be  no  doubt  that 
they  were  the  creatures,  or  domestics,  as  the  Syriac 
version  calls  them,  of  Herod  the  Great.  He  judges 
that  their  doctrines  were  reducible  to  two  heads ; 
(1.)  a  belief  that  the  dominion  of  the  Romans  over 
the  Jews  was  just,  and  that  it  was  their  duty  to  sub- 
mit to  it  ;  (2.)  that  in  the  present  circumstances  they 
might  with  a  good  conscience  follow  many  heathen 
modes  and  usages.  It  is  certain  these  were  Herod's 
principles,  who  pleaded  the  necessity  of  the  times, 
for  doing  many  things  contrary  to  the  maxims  of  the 
Jewish  religion.  Calmet,  however,  thinks  that  the 
characteristics  of  the  Heiodians,  as  they  may  be 
gathered  from  the  Gospels,  will  agree  to  none  but 
the  c'-isciples  of  Judas  Gauloiiitis,  who  formed  a  sect 
which  was  in  its  vigor  in  our  Saviour's  time.  ■ 

HERODIAS,  daughter  of  Aristobulus  and  Bere-  I 
nice,  and  granddaughter  of  Herod  tlie  Great.  Her  ■ 
first  husband  was  her  uncle  Pliilij),  by  whom  she  had 
Salome ;  but  he  falling  into  disgrace,  and  being 
obliged  to  live  in  private,  she  left  him,  and  married 
his  brother  Herod  Antipas,  tetrarch  of  Galilee,  who 
offered  her  a  palace  and  a  crowu.  (See  Philip.)  As 
John  the  Baptist  censured  this  incestuous  marriage, 
(Matt.  xiv.  3  ;  Mark  vi.  17.)  Antipas  ordered  him  to 
be  imprisoned.  Some  time  aflerwards,  Hcrodias 
suggested  to  her  dancing  daughter,  Salome,  to  ask 
John  the  Baptist's*  head,  which  she  procured.  (See 
Antipas.)  Mortified  to  see  her  husband  tetrarch 
only,  while  her  brother  Agrippa,  whom  she  had 
known  in  a  state  of  indigence,  was  honored  with  the 
title  of  king,  Herodias  persuaded  Antipas  to  visit 
Rome,  and  prociu'e  from  the  emjjeror  Cains  the  royal 
title.  Agrip[)a,  however,  sent  letters  to  the  emperor, 
informing  him  that  Herod  had  arms  in  his  arsenals 
for  seventy  thousand  men,  and  by  this  means  pro- 
cured his  banishment  to  Lyons.  Herodias,  who  ac- 
companied her  husband  to  Rome,  followed  him  in 
the  banishment  she  had  thus  brought  upon  him. 

HERON.  A  wide  latitude  has  been  taken  in  the 
rendering  of  the  Hebrew  ncjx,  anaphah  ;  some  critics 
interpreting  it  of  the  crane,  others  of  the  curleiv ; 
some  of  the  kite,  others  of  the  woodcock ;  some  of 
the  peacock,  some  of  the  parrot,  and  some  of  the 
falcon.  But  let  not  the  reader  be  alarmed  at  this 
diversity  of  rendering,  since  it  is  the  necessary  con- 
sequence of  the  scantiness  of  references  to  the  bird  in 
the  sacred  text,  and  the  absence  of  all  description  of 
its  character  and  qualities,  in  those  passages  in  which 
it  is  spoken  of.  The  truth  is,  it  is  only  referred  to 
in  the  catalogue  of  birds  prohibited  by  the  Mosaic 
code,  (Lev.  xi.  1!) ;  Deut.  xiv.  18.)  and  it  is  only  from 
the  import  of  its  name,  or  the  known  character  of  the 
birds  v.'ith  which  it  isgroujjed,  that  we  can  form  any 
opinion  of  its  specific  character.  That  the  creature 
intended  is  some  species  of  water-bird,  there  can  be 
little  doubt,  if  we  give  the  sacred  writer  any  credit 
for  projM-iety  in  his  grouping,  or  system  in  his  ar- 
rangement; but  what  that  species  may  be,  we  are 
unable  to  decide.     See  Bird,  p.  188. 


HEZ 


[  495  ] 


HIE 


HESHBON,  a  celebrated  city  of  the  Amorites, 
twenty  miles  east  of  Jordan,  Josh.  xiii.  17.  It  was  given 
to  Reuben  ;  but  was  afterwards  transferred  to  Gad, 
and  then  to  the  Levites.  It  had  been  conquered  from 
the  Moabites,  by  Sihon,  and  became  his  capital ;  and 
was  taken  by  the  Israelites  a  little  before  the  death  of 
Moses,  Num.  xxi.  25;  Josh.  xxi.  39.  After  the  ten 
tribes  were  transplanted  into  the  countr}^  beyond 
Jordan,  the  Moabites  recovered  it.  Pliny  and  Je- 
rome assign  it  to  Arabia.  Solomon  speaks  of  the 
pool  of  Heshbon,  Cant.  vii.  4.  The  town  still  sub- 
sists under  its  ancient  name,  and  is  situated,  accord- 
ing to  Burckhardt,  on  a  hill.     (Travels,  p.  365.) 

HESHMON,  a  city  of  Judah,  Josh.  xv.  27. 

HETH,  father  of  the  Hittites,  was  eldest  son  of 
Canaan,  and  dwelt  south  of  the  promised  land,  at  or 
near  Hebron.  Ephron,  of  Hebron,  was  of  the  race 
of  Heth  ;  and  that  city,  in  Abraham's  time,  was  peo- 
pled by  the  children  of  Heth.  Some  think  there  was 
a  city  called  Heth  ;  but  we  find  no  traces  of  it  in 
Scripture. 

HETHLON,  a  city  mentioned  in  Ezek,  xlvii.  15, 
xlviii.  1,  as  limiting  the  land  of  promise,  north. 

HEZEKIAH,  king  of  Judah,  succeeded  his  father 
Ahaz,  ante  A.  D.  726.  (See  Heir.)  He  destroyed 
the  high  places,  cut  down  the  groves,  and  broke  the 
statues  which  the  people  had  adored  ;  he  broke  also 
the  brazen  serpent  which  Moses  had  made,  because 
the  children  of  Israel  burnt  incense  to  it;  he  ordered 
the  great  doors  of  the  Lord's  house  to  l)e  opened  and 
repaired ;  he  exhorted  the  priests  and  Levites  to  pu- 
rify the  temple,  and  to  sacrifice  in  it  as  formerly.  As 
the  institution  of  the  passoverhad  been  neglected,  he 
invited  not  only  all  his  own  subjects  to  keep  it,  but 
likewise  all  Israel.  Some  ridiculed  his  proposal ;  but 
many  observed  it  with  great  solemnity.  Hezekiah 
took  care  to  maintain  the  good  regulations  which  he 
had  established  in  the  temple,  and  to  provide  for  the 
priests  and  ministers.  Some  years  afterwards,  Hez- 
ekiah shook  off"  the  Assyrian  yoke,  and  refused  to 
pay  tribute  :  he  also  defeated  the  Philistines,  and  de- 
stroyed their  country,  2  Kings  xviii.  7;  2  Chron. 
xxxii.  He  repaired  and  fortified  the  walls  of  Jeru- 
saletn,  laid  in  stores,  appointed  able  commanders  over 
his  troops,  stopped  up  the  springs  without  the  city, 
and  put  himself  into  a  condition  of  making  a  vigorous 
resistance.  Sennacherib  invaded  Judah,  and  sub- 
dued almost  every  town  ;  and  Hezekiah,  observing 
that  the  kings  of  Egypt  and  Ethiopia,  with  whom  he 
had  made  an  alliance,  did  not  come  to  his  assistance, 
sent  ambassadors  to  the  Assyrian,  desiring  peace. 
Sennacherib  demanded  300  talents  of  silver,  and 
thirty  talents  of  gold.  To  raise  this  sum,  Hezekiah 
exhausted  his  treasures,  and  pulled  off"  the  gold  plates 
with  which  he  had  formerly  overlaid  the  temple 
doors.  His  infidelity  to  God,  however,  was  severely 
chastised  ;  for  Sennacherib,  instead  of  withdrawing 
his  troops,  sent  three  of  his  principal  officei-s  from 
Lachish,  which  he  was  besieging,  to  Jerusalem, 
summoning  it  to  surrender.  Hezekiah  sent  Eliakim, 
Shebnah,  and  Joah,  to  hear  their  projwsals,  to  whom 
Rabshakeh  addressed  himself  with  extreme  inso- 
lence. Hezekiah,  having  heard  of  this,  rent  his 
clothes,  put  on  sackcloth,  went  to  the  house  of  the 
Lord,  and  sent  to  the  prophet  Isaiah.  Sennacherib, 
sitting  down  before  Libnah,  was  informed  that  Tir- 
hakah,  king  of  Egypt  and  Ethiopia,  was  marching 
against  him.  He  went,  therefore,  to  meet  Tirhakaii ; 
and  sent  letters  to  Hezekiah,  telling  him  not  to  place 
his  confidence  in  his  God.  Hezekiah,  having  re- 
ceived   these  letters,  wont  up  to   the  temple,   and 


spread  them  before  the  Lord  ;  whom  he  entreated  to 
deliver  him  from  this  insolent  enemy.  The  Lord 
heard  his  prayer,  and  sent  the  prophet  Isaiah  to  in- 
form him,  that  Sennacherib  should  not  besiege  Je- 
rusalem. The  very  night  after  this  prediction,  an 
angel  of  the  Lord  destroyed  in  the  camp  of  the  As- 
syrians 185,000  men,  which  obliged  Sennacherib  to 
retire  to  Nineveh. 

Soon  afterwards,  Hezekiah  fell  dangerously  ill, 
and  Isaiah,  who  visited  him,  said,  "Thou  shalt  die." 
Hezekiah,  turning  his  face  to  the  wall,  prayed  to 
God,  and  Isaiah  was  commanded  to  return,  saying, 
"I  have  healed  thee,  and  will  add  fifteen  years  to  thy 
life."  (See  Dial.)  Hezekiah,  after  his  recovery, 
composed  a  song  of  thanksgiving,  which  Isaiah  has 
preserved,  chap,  xxxviii.  10,  11. 

Merodach,  or  Berodach-Baladan,  king  of  Babylon, 
having  heard  of  this  miracle,  sent  letters  and  presents 
to  Hezekiah,  2  Chron.  xxxii.  31.  The  weak  prince, 
delighted  with  the  respect  implied  in  this  embassy, 
showed  the  envoys  all  his  treasures,  spices,  and  rich 
vessels,  and  in  fact  concealed  nothing  from  them. 
Isaiah  afterwai-ds  foretold  that  a  time  would  come, 
Avhen  all  he  had  shown  would  be  removed  to  Baby- 
lon ;  and  when  his  sons  would  be  made  eunuchs  in 
the  palace  of  that  king.  Hezekiah  passed  the  latter 
years  of  his  life  in  tranquillity,  laid  up  great  riches, 
conveyed  water  into  Jerusalem,  and  died,  ante  A.  D. 
G98.  The  sacred  writings  praise  his  piety  and  merit ; 
and  Ecclesiasticus  has  an  encomium  on  him,  chap. 
xlviii. 

There  are  several  other  persons  of  the  same  name 
mentioned  in  Scripture,  but  they  are  of  no  impor- 
tance. 

HIDDEKEL,  see  Eden. 

HIEL,  of  Bethel,  rebuilt  Jericho,  notwithstanding 
the  predictive  curse  of  Joshua  against  the  person  who 
sliould  attempt  it,  and  of  which  he  experienced  the 
effects,  by  losing  his  eldest  son  Abiram,  and  his 
youngest  son  Segub.     See  Abiram. 

HIERAPOLIS,  a  city  of  Phrygia,  not  far  from 
Colosse  and  Laodicea,  Colos.  iv.  13.  "Hierapolis, 
(now  called  by  the  Turks  Pambuck-Kula^i,  or  the 
Cotton  Tower,  by  reason  of  the  white  cliffs  lying 
thereabouts,)  a  city  of  the  greater  Phrygia,  lies  under 
a  high  hill  to  the  north,  having  to  the  southward  of 
it  a  fair  and  large  plain  about  five  miles  over,  almost 
directly  opposite  to  Laodicea,  the  river  Lycus  run- 
ning between,  but  nearer  the  latter  ;  now  utterly  for- 
saken and  desolate,  but  whose  ruins  are  so  glorious 
and  magnificent,  that  they  strike  one  with  horror  at 
the  first  view  of  them,  and  with  admiration  too  ;  such 
walls,  and  arches,  and  pillars  of  so  vast  a  height,  and 
so  curiously  wrought,  being  still  to  be  foimd  there, 
that  one  may  well  judge,  that  when  it  stood,  it  was  one 
of  the  most  glorious  cities  not  only  in  the  East,  but 
of  the  world.  The  numerousness  of  the  temples 
there  erected  in  the  times  of  idolatry,  with  so  much 
art  and  cost,  might  sufficiently  confirm  the  title  of 
the  holy  citi/,  which  it  at  first  derived  from  the  hot 
waters  flowing  from  several  springs,  to  which  they 
ascribed  a  divine  healing  virtue,  and  which  made  the 
city  so  famous  ;  and  for  this  cause  Apollo,  whom 
both  Greeks  and  Romans  adored  as  the  god  of  med- 
icine, had  his  votaries  and  altars  here,  and  was  very 
probably  their  chief  deity.  In  the  theatre,  which  is 
of  a  large  compass  and  height  from  the  top,  there 
being  above  forty  stone  seats,  we  found,  upon  a  cu- 
rious piece  of  wrought  marble  belonging  to  a  por- 
tal, these  words,  ^noJJS2Nl  JPXH2,  '  To  Apollo 
the  chief  president ;'  a  title  peculiar  to  him.     Where 


HIN 


[  496  ] 


HIND 


these  springs  rise  is  a  very  large  bath,  curiously  paved 
with  white  marble,  about  which  formerly  stood  sev- 
eral pillai-s,  now  thrown  into  it.  Hence  the  waters 
make  their  way  through  several  channels  which  they 
have  formed  for  themselves ;  oftentimes  overflowing 
them,  and  crusting  the  ground  thereabouts,  which  is 
a  whitish  sort  of  earth,  they  turn  the  superficial  parts 
into  a  tophus.  Several  tombs  still  remain  ;  some  of 
them  ahiiost  entire,  very  stately  and  glorious,  as  if  it 
had  been  accounted  a  kind  of  sacrilege  to  injure  the 
dead  ;  and  upon  that  accoiyit  they  had  abstained  from 
defacing  their  monuments — entire  stones  of  a  great 
length  and  height ;  some  covered  with  stone,  shaped 
into  the  form  of  a  cube  ;  others  ridge-wise.  On  the 
14th,  in  the  morning,  we  set  forward  for  Colosse, 
where,  within  an  hour  and  a  half,  we  arrived."  (Trav- 
els by  T.  Smith,  B.  D.  1678.) 

HIGH  PLACES,  (ni-a,  Bamoth.)  [The  ancient 
Canaanites,  and  other  nations,  worshipped  their  idols 
upon  hills  and  mountains,  Deut.  xii.  2.  The  Israel- 
ites were  commanded  to  destroy  these  places  of  idol 
worship;  but  instead  of  this,  they  imitated  the  prac- 
tice, and  at  first  worshipped  Jehovah  in  high  places : 
(1  Sam.  ix.  12,  seq. ;  1  Kings  iii.  4.)  and  afterwards 
idols,  1  Kings  xi.  7 ;  2  Kings  xii.  3 ;  Is.  xxxvi.  7,  et 
al.  Here,  also,  they  built  chapels  or  temples,  houses 
of  the  high  places,  (1  Kings  xiii.32;  2  Kings  xvii.  29.) 
and  had  regular  priests,  1  Kings  xii.  32 ;  *2  Kings 
xvii.  32.  R.]  The  prophets  reproach  the  Israelites 
with  want  of  zeal,  for  worshipping  on  the  high  places, 
the  destroying  of  which  is  a  commendation  given 
but  to  few  princes  in  Scripture ;  though  several  of 
them  were  zealous  for  the  law.  Before  the  temple 
was  built,  the  high  places  were  not  absolutely  con- 
trary to  the  law,  provided  God  only  was  adored  there. 
Under  the  j  udges,  they  seem  to  have  been  tolerated ; 
and  Samuel  offered  sacrifice  in  several  places  where 
the  ark  was  not  present.  Even  in  David's  time,  the 
people  sacrificed  to  the  Lord  at  Shilo,  Jerusalem,  and 
Gibeon. 

The  high  places  were  much  frequented  in  the  king- 
dom of  Israel ;  and  on  these  hills  they  ofl;eu  adored 
idols,  and  committed  a  thousand  abominations. 

HIGH- WAY,  see  Causeway. 

HILEN,  a  city  of  Judah,  given  to  the  Levites,  1 
Chron.  vi.  56. 

HILKIAH.  Several  persons  of  this  name  occur 
in  Scripture,  of  which  the  following  are  the  chief: — 
(1.)  The  father  of  Jeremiah,  Jer.  i.  1.— (2.)  A  high- 
priest,  in  the  reign  of  Josiah,  2  Kings  xxiii.  4,  8, 10. — 
(.3.)  The  father  of  Eliakim,  2  Kings  xviii.  18,  26;  Is. 
xxii.  20. 

HIN,  a  Hebrew  measure  containing  half  a  seah,  or 
the  sixth  part  of  a  bath — one  gallon  and  two  pints. 
The  bin  was  a  liquid  measure  ;  as  of  oil,  (Exod.  xxx. 
24;  Ezek.  xh'.  24.)  or  of  wine,  Exod.xxix.  40  ;  Lev. 
xxiii.  13. — The  prophet  Ezekiel  was  commanded  to 
drink  an  allowance  of  water,  to  the  quantity  of  the 
sixth  part  of  a  bin,  (iv.  11.)  that  is,  one  pint  and  two 
thirds. 

HIND,  or  FE;\tAi,E  Deer,  (Heb.  nSw,  aydldh,  and 
rh^i*,  ayelHh,)  a  lovely  creature,  and  of  an  elegant 
shape :  she  is  more  feeble  than  the  hart,  and  is  des- 
titute of  boras.  It  is  not  known,  we  believe,  that  tlie 
hind  is  more  sure-footed  than  the  hart,  although  the 
figure  employed  by  both  Daviil  and  Habakkuk  seems 
to  indicate  this  as  the  fact.  The  royal  psalmist,  al- 
luding to  the  security  of  his  position,  under  the  pro- 
tection of  his  God,  says,  "  He  maketh  my  feet  like 
hinds'  feet,  and  sctteth  me  u|)on  my  high  places ;" 
(Ps.  xviii.  33.)  and  the  prophet,  reposing  in  the  same 


power,  anticipates  a  full  deUverance  from  his  existing 
troubles,  and  a  complete  escape  from  surrounding 
dangers :  "  He  will  make  my  feet  like  hinds'  feet,  and 
he  will  make  me  to  walk  upon  mine  high  places," 
Hab.  iii.  19. 

In  our  version  of  Ps.  xxix.  9,  we  read,  "  The  voice 
of  the  Lord  maketh  the  hinds  to  calve,  and  discov- 
ei'eth  the  forests."  This  passage  has  given  rise  to 
considerable  discussion  among  the  learned,  who  are 
much  divided  on  its  interpretation.  Bishop  Lowth 
contends  that  this  rendering  agrees  very  little  with 
the  rest  of  the  imagery,  either  in  nature  or  dignity  ; 
and  dissents  from  the  reasoning  of  the  learned  Bo- 
chart  on  the  subject.  For  m'^'W,  hinds,  the  Syriac 
appears  to  have  read  fuSn,  oaks,  in  which  words  the 
reader  will  perceive  there  is  but  the  variation  of  one 
letter.  For  this  reading,  bishop  Lowth  decides,  re- 
marking, that  the  oak,  struck  with  lightning,  admira- 
bly agrees  with  the  context.  Dr.  Harris  thus  versi- 
fies the  passage,  according  to  Lowth's  rendering: 

Hark!  his  voice  in  thunder  breaks, 
And  the  lofty  mountain  quakes ; 
Mighty  trees  the  tempests  tear, 
And  lay  the  spreading  forests  bare ! 

We  confess,  however,  that  we  are  so  averse  from 
conjectural  emendations  of  the  sacred  text,  that  we 
cannot  admit  them  without  the  most  obvious  neces- 
sity ;  and  that  this  necessity  exists  in  the  passage  be- 
fore us,  we  are  not  prepared  to  concede.  It  is  a  fact 
well  known,  that  the  hind  calves  with  considerable 
difficulty,  and  in  extreme  pain.  The  writer  of  the 
book  of  Job  alludes  to  this  circumstJince :  "  Canst 
thou  mark  when  the  hinds  do  calve  ?  They  bow 
themselves,  they  bring  forth  their  young  ones,  they 
cast  out  their  sorrows,"  chap,  xxxix.  1,  3.  Is  it  not 
probable,  then,  that  the  parturition  of  this  animal 
may  sometinjcs  be  promoted  by  awakening  her  fears, 
and  agitating  her  frame  by  the  rolhng  thunder  ? — a 
natural  occurrence  which  is  meant  by  the  well-knoA%ii 
Hebraism  of  "the  voice  of  the  Lord."  The  reader 
may  take  his  choice  of  these  interpretations.  In 
Prov.  V.  18,  19,  Solomon  admonishes  the  young  man 
to  let  the  wife  of  his  bosom  be  to  him  "as  the  loving 
hind  and  jileasant  roe ;"  a  beautiful  allusion  to  the 
mutual  fondness  of  the  stag  and  hind. 

The  only  remaining  passage  of  Scripture  in  which 
this  animal  is  mentioned,  requiring  illustration,  is  the 
prophetic  blessing  jjronounced  on  Naphtali  by  the 
dying  patriarch — a  passage  which  is  involved  in  con- 
siderable difficulty  and  obscurity.  In  our  translation 
it  stands  thus:  "Naphtali  is  a  hind  let  loose,  he 
giveth  goodly  words,"  Gen.  xlix.  21.  In  adjusting 
the  sense  of  tlie  text,  little  assistance  is  derivable  from 
the  versions  ancient  or  iiiodorn.  One  of  the  Greek 
versions,  the  Vulgate,  the  Persian,  the  Arabic,  Mon- 
tanus,  and,  with  a  slight  metajjhor,  the  Syriac,  agree 
in  the  sense  of  our  translation.  Whereas  the  Sep- 
tuagint,  Onkelos,  Bochart,  Houbigant,  Durell,  Dathe, 
Michaelis,  and  Geddes,  render,  "  Naphtali  is  a  spread- 
ing terebinth,  producing  beautiful  branches."  This, 
it  is  true,  renders  the  simile  unitbrm,  but  should  be 
received  with  extreme  caution,  since  it  proceeds  upon 
an  arbitrary  alteration  of  the  original  text,  wholly  un- 
supported by  ancient  MSS.  [The  first  of  these,  or 
the  English  version,  is  ])robably  the  correct  one,  ex- 
cept that  instead  of  let  loose,  the  Heb.  nnSc,  sheh'thdh, 
should  be  translated  (as  we  say  of  any  thing  which 
grows  rapidly)  shot  tip,  i.e.  grown  up  in  a  slender 
and  graceful  form.     A  fine  woman  is  compared  to 


i 


HIV 


[  497 


HOL 


the  roe  or  hind,  (Prov.  v.  19.)  and  also  swift- footed 
heroes,  2  Sam.  ii.  18.  Such  are  to  be  the  descend- 
ants of  Naphtall:  they  are  also  to  "give  goodly 
words,"  i.  e.  the  tribe  is  to  be  distinguished  for  its 
orators,  prophets,  poets,  perhaps,  also,  for  its  singers, 
etc. — The  other  sense  above  given  is  not  a  bad  one ; 
but  it  rests  upon  a  change  of  reading  in  two  of  the 
principal  words.     R. 

HIPPOPOTAMUS,  see  Behemoth. 

I.  HIRAM,  a  king  of  Tyre,  distinguished  for  his 
magnificence,  and  for  adorning  the  city  of  Tyre. 
When  David  was  acknowledged  king  by  Israel,  Hi- 
ram sent  ambassadors,  with  artificers,  and  cedar,  to 
build  his  palace,  1  Chron.  xiv.  1,  He  also  sent  am- 
bassadors to  Solomon,  to  congratulate  him  on  his 
accession  to  the  crown  ;  and  subsequently  supplied 
him  with  timber,  stones,  and  laborers  for  building 
the  temple,  1  Kings  v.  1,  seq.  These  two  princes 
lived  in  mutual  friendship  for  many  years.  It  is  said 
that  in  Josephus's  time,  their  letters,  with  certain 
riddles,  which  they  proposed  one  to  the  other,  were 
extant.  When  Solomon  had  completed  his  works, 
he  presented  to  Hiram  twenty  towns  in  Galilee  ;  but 
Hiram,  not  being  pleased  with  them,  called  them  the 
land  of  Cabul,  saying,  "  Are  these,  my  brother,  the 
towns  which  you  have  given  me?"  1  Kings  ix.  10, 
seq.     See  Cabul. 

II.  HIRAM,  an  excellent  artificer  in  brass  or  cop- 
per, who  made  the  columns  called  Jachin  and  Boaz, 
the  brazen  sea,  the  smaller  brazen  basins  for  the 
])riests,  &c.  1  Kings  vii.  13,  14. 

HIRCANUS,  see  John. 

To  HISS  expresses  insult  and  contempt:  "All 
they,  who  shall  see  the  destruction  of  this  temple, 
shall  be  astonished  and  shall  hiss,  and  say.  How 
comes  it  that  the  Lord  hath  thus  treated  this  city  ?" 
1  Kings  ix.  8.  Job,  (xxvii.  23.)  speaking  of  the  wicked, 
says,  "  They  shall  clap  their  hands  at  him,  and  shall 
hiss  him  out  of  his  place."  I  will  make  this  city  the 
subject  of  ridicule  and  scorn  ;  "  I  will  make  it  deso- 
late and  a  hissing ;  every  one  that  passeth  by  shall  be 
astonished  and  hiss,  because  of  all  the  plagues  there- 
of," Jer.  xix.  8;  xUx.  17;  li.  13;  Lam.  ii.  15,  16; 
Ezek.  xxviii.  36 ;  Zeph.  ii.  15. 

To  call  any  one  with  hissing,  is  a  mark  of  power 
and  authority.  The  Lord  says,  that  in  his  anger  he 
shall  hiss,  and  call  the  enemies  against  Jerusalem. 
"He  will  hiss  unto  them  from  the  end  of  the  earth," 
Isa.  V.  26.  He  will  bring  them  with  a  hiss  from  the 
remotest  countries.  And  ch.  vii.  18,  "  The  Lord  shall 
hiss  for  the  fly,"  and  shall  bring  it,  "  that  is  in  the 
uttermost  part  of  the  rivers  of  Egypt,  and  for  the  bee 
that  is  in  the  land  of  Assyria."  (See  Fly.)  Tlieodo- 
ret  and  Cyril  of  Alexandria,  writing  on  Isaiah,  re- 
mark, that  in  Syria  and  Palestine,  those  who  looked 
after  bees  drew  them  out  of  their  hives,  carried  them 
into  the  fields,  and  brought  them  back  again  with  the 
sound  of  a  flute,  and  the  noise  of  hissing.  Zecha- 
riah,  (x.  8.)  speaking  of  the  return  from  Babylon, 
says,  that  the  Lord  will  gather  the  house  of  Judah, 
as  it  were,  with  a  hiss,  and  bring  them  back  into  their 
own  country ;  which  shows  the  ease  and  authority 
with  which  he  would  perform  that  gieat  work. 

HITTITES,  the  descendants  of  Heth,  inhabited 
the  country  round  Hebron,  Gen.  xxiv.  7,  10.  (See 
Ca.vaa.mtes,  p.  244.)  A  man  of  Bethel  went  into 
the  land  of  the  Hittites,  and  built  a  city,  and  called 
the  name  of  it  Luz,  Judg.  i.  26. 

HIVITES,  the  descendants  of  Havseus,  a  son  of 
Canaan.  The  name,  in  the  Chaldee,  imports  serpents ; 
and  we  find  people  so  called  (Ophites)  in  many  places. 
63 


Whether,  as  some  suppose,  the  Hivites  were  Trog- 
lodytes, and  dwelt  in  caves,  and  from  that  circum- 
stance derived  their  name  by  comparison  with  ser- 
pents; or  whether  they  were  countrymen,  high- 
landers,  mountaineers,  especially  in  mount  Lebanon, 
as  is  indicated  in  Josh.xiii.3,  writers  are  not  agreed. 
They  might  be  of  the  widely  spread  serpent  family 
and  nation,  and  yet  dwell  in  mount  Lebanon  as  their 
abode,  Gen.  xxxiv.  2 ;  xxxvi.  2.  In  Gen.  xv.  15j  the 
Samaritan  and  LXX  insert  Hivite  after  Canaanite, 
apparently  with  propriety.    See  Canaanites,  p.  243. 

HOBAB,  another  name  of  Jethro,  the  father-in- 
law  of  Moses.  The  inspired  legislator  prevailed  upon 
him  to  accompany  Israel  when  departing  from  mount 
Sinai  for  the  promised  land.  Numb.  x.  29.  Some 
think  that  the  Kenites,  who  dwelt  south  of  Judah, 
were  the  descendants  of  Hobab,  Judg.  i.  16 ;  1  Sam. 
XV.  6. 

HOBAH,  the  concealed,  (Gen.  xiv.  15.)  is,  probably, 
some  hollow,  between  moimtains,  which  effectually  se- 
cludes those  who  occupy  it.  It  lay  north  of  Damascus. 

HOHAM,  king  of  Hebron,  one  of  the  five  who  be- 
sieged Gibeou,  with  Adonizedeck,  and  were  hanged 
by  Joshua's  orders.  Josh.  x. 

HOLOFERNES,  lieutenant-general  of  the  armies 
of  Nabuchodonozor,  king  of  Assyria,  was  sent  against 
Syria,  at  the  head  of  a  powerful  army.  He  passed 
the  Euphrates,  entered  Cilicia  and  Syria,  and  sub- 
dued almost  all  the  provinces  north  of  Judea,  eveiy 
where  exercising  cruelties,  and  endeavoring  to  have 
his  master  worshipped  as  a  god.  Having  resolved 
to  conquer  Egypt,  he  advanced  toward  Judea,  (Ju- 
dith V.)  when  he  was  informed  that  the  Jews  were 
preparing  to  oppose  him ;  and  Achior,  commander 
of  the  Ammonites,  represented  to  him  that  they  were 
a  people  protected  in  a  particular  manner  by  God,  so 
long  as  they  were  obedient  to  him  ;  and  that,  there- 
fore, he  should  not  flatter  himself  with  the  expecta- 
tion of  overcoming  them,  unless  they  had  committed 
some  offence  against  their  God.  Holofernes,  pro- 
voked at  this  discourse,  commanded  his  servants  to 
convey  Achior  before  the  walls  of  Bethulia;  where 
they  tied  him  to  a  tree,  and  left  him.  In  the  mean 
time,  Holofernes  commenced  the  siege  of  Bethulia, 
and  having  cut  off"  the  water,  and  set  guards  at  the 
only  fountain  near  the  walls,  the  city  was  reduced  to 
extremity,  and  resolved  to  suiTcnder,  if  God  did  not 
send  them  succor  in  five  days.  Judith,  being  in- 
formed of  their  resolution,  conceived  the  design  of 
killing  Holofernes  in  his  camp,  which  she  eflfected, 
and  delivered  her  people.     See  Judith. 

I.  HOLON,  a  city  of  refuge,  belonging  to  the 
priests,  in  the  mountains  of  Judah,  Josh.  xv.  51 ;  xxi. 
15.    Perhaps  the  same  as  Hilen,  q.  v. 

IL  HOLON,  a  city  of  Moab,  Jer.  xlviii.  21. 

HOLY,  HOLINESS.  These  terms  sometimes 
denote  outward  purity  or  cleanliness ;  sometimes  in- 
ternal holiness.  God  is  holy  in  a  transcendent  and 
infinitely  perfect  manner.  He  is  the  fountain  of 
holiness,  purity,  and  innocency.  He  sanctifies  his 
people,  and  requires  perfect  holiness  in  those  who 
approach  him.  He  rejects  all  worehip  which  is  not 
pure  and  holy,  whether  internal  or  external.  The 
Messiah  is  called  "the  Holy  One,"  (Ps.  xvi.  10;  Isa. 
xli.  14  ;  Luke  iv.  .34  ;  i.  35  ;  Acts  iii.  14.)  and  holy  is 
the  common  epithet  given  to  the  third  person  of  the 
Trinity,  the  Holy  Spirit. 

The  Israelites  are  generally  called  holy,  because 
they  are  the  Lord's,  profess  the  true  religion,  and  are 
called  to  hoUness,  Exod.  xix.  6;  Lev.  xi.  44,  45; 
Numb.  xvi.  3 ;  Tobit  ii.  18.     Christians  are  declared 


HOLY 


[  498  ] 


HOLY 


holy,  as  being  called  to,  and  designed  for,  a  more 
excellent  holiness,  and  having  received  earnests  of' 
the  Holy  Spirit  in  a  more  plentiful  and  perfect  man- 
ner. Luke,  in  the  Acts,  and  Paul,  in  his  epistles, 
generally  describe  Christians  under  the  name  of 
saints,  or  holy  persons. 

In  the  original,  as  well  Greek  as  Hebrew,  two 
words  are  used,  which  appear  under  one,  "  holy,"  in 
the  English  translation.  But  they  are  not  synony- 
mous ;  for  one  seems  to  import  what  may  be  called, 
for  distinction's  sake,  "holiness  imparted,"  that  is, 
external ;  the  other,  "  holiness  inherent,"  that  is,  in- 
ternal : — one  seems  to  be  passive,  the  other  active : 
one  appertains  to  rites  and  ceremonies,  the  other  to 
character :  one  imports  a  strict  separation  from  com- 
mon things  of  the  same  kind  and  order ;  whereas, 
the  other  imports  a  condescension  extended  to  others, 
whether  common  or  inferior. 

Holiness  by  separation : — (L)  Cleanliness  of  places. 
The  Hebrew  word  vip,  kadesh,  to  which  the  Greek, 
ayioc,  answers,  imports  the  opposite  to  foul,  filthj', 
defiled ;  that  is,  clean :  so  we  have  (Deut.  xxiii.  14.) 
a  precept  for  preserving  the  camp  from  excremen- 
titious  ordure,  "  for  the  Lord  thy  God  walketh  in  the 
midst  of  thy  camp  ....  therefore  shall  thy  camp 
be  holy,  that  he  see  no  unclean  thing  in  thee."  So 
Hezekiah  (2  Chron.  xxix.  5.)  commands  the  Levites 
to  "  sanctify  the  house  of  the  Lord ;"  that  is  to  say, 
"to  carry  forth  the  filthiness,"  &c.  as  immediately 
follows.  (2.)  Cleanliness  of  persons :  and  this  is  by 
avoiding  pollution  ;  as,  not  eating  unclean  food,  (Lev. 
xi.  4L)  also,  by  removing  from  a  dead  body,  (chap. 
xxi.  1.)  in  a  case  of  the  priests  ;  by  purifying  the  per- 
son and  the  clothes,  Exod.  xix.  10,  14,  22 ;  comp. 
Josh.  iii.  5.  In  Numb.  v.  17,  what  the  Hebrew  reads 
"holy  water,"  the  LXX  read  "clean  water;"  and 
this  sense  of  free  from  pollution  occurs  in  the  Tar- 
gums,  as  expressing  the  import  of  the  Hebrew  kadesh, 
as  Isa.  Ixv.  5,  "  I  am  holier  (cleaner)  than  thou."  It 
is  also  strongly  implied  in  1  Sam.  xxi.  5,  "  the  vessels 
of  the  young  men  are  holy ;"  whether  we  take  the 
term  vessels  literally  or  figuratively.  (3.)  Separa- 
tion, or  preparation,  for  a  special  jiurpose.  So  Josh. 
XX.  7,  Eng.  tr.  "  and  they  appointed,"  Heb.  "  sancti- 
fied Kadesh  in  Galilee,"  &c.  The  mother  of  Micali 
(Judg.  xvii.  3.)  had  "wholly  dedicated,"  Heb.  "in 
sanctifying  had  sanctified  her  silver,"  to  jnakc  an 
idol.  Hence  the  prophets  Jeremiah,  (vi.  4.)  Joel,  (iii. 
9.)  and  Micah  (iii.  5.)  speak  of  preparing  (sanctifying) 
war.  Hence  k.adeshah  is  a  woman  sanctified  to  an 
idol:  a  class  well  known  throughout  India:  also, 
kedeshim,  of  the  male  sex.  (Comp.  2  Kings  x.  20 ; 
Isa.  Ixvi.  17.)  (4.)  Holiness  was  sometimes  tempo- 
rary ;  ceasing  after  a  special  purpose  had  been  ac- 
complished. Moses  was  directed  to  take  off  his 
shoes,  "  for  the  place  whereon  he  stood  was  holy 
ground  ;"  (Exod.  iii.  5 ;  Acts  vii.  .33.)  that  is,  holy  for 
the  time  being.  Peter  (2  Epist.  i.  18.)  speaks  of  the 
"  holy  mount"  of  transfiguration  ;  that  is,  holy  for  the 
time  l)cing.  In  Lev.  xxvii.  ]4,  Moses  supposes  that 
a  man  had  "sanctified  his  house,"  and  afterwards 
wished  to  redeem  it :  after  it  was  redeemed,  it  could 
be  no  longer  holy.  And  when  persons  were  sanctified 
to  qualify  them  for  attending  a  sacrifice,  as  Jesse  and 
his  sons,  (1  Sam.  xvi.5.)  the  sanctification  eventually 
ceased  ;  for  only  David  was  distinguished  "from  that 
day  forward."  (Comp.  Zeph.  i.  7,  margin.)  (.5.)  Ho- 
liness by  descent  or  parentage.  The  fir.st-!)orn  son, 
inheriting  from  the  earliest  ages  tlie  riglit  to  the 
j)riesthood  of  the  family,  was,  by  pre-eminence  and 
destination,  holy  to  the  Lord,  Exod.  xiii.2;   Luke  ii. 


23.  Among  the  Israelites  (Numb.  iii.  12,  13.)  the 
tribe  of  Levi  was  afterwards  substituted,  and  was 
holy,  inheriting  the  birthright  holiness  of  the  first- 
born :  the  priests  were  more  holy  by  descent,  as 
well  as  by  office  ;  and  the  high-priest  was  most  holy. 
(6.)  In  these  cases  the  Greek  word  ayiog  uniformly 
answers  to  the  Hebrew  word  kadesh ;  and  it  retains 
the  same  meaning,  but  with  considerable  enlarge- 
ment, in  the  New  Testament,  when  denoting  an  as- 
sembly of  persons,  of  whatever  nation  or  rank,  sepa- 
rated by  profession  from  the  heathen  world  :  so  Acts 
XX.  32,  "  To  give  you  an  inheritance  among  all  them 
who  are  sanctified  ;" — the  whole  Christian  commu- 
nity, in  all  parts,  and  all  ages,  of  the  world.  (Comp. 
xxvi.  18  ;  Eph.  v.  3;  Col.  i.  27.)  Also,  the  members 
of  a  certain  Christian  church  or  society,  taken  col- 
lectively, (Rom.  i.  7 ;  xvi.  15 ;  1  Cor.  i.  2 ;  vi.  1,  2.) 
though  individuals  among  them  might  be  doubtful  or 
irregular,  (ch.  vii.)  or  even  criminal,  as  the  incestuous 
person  ;  (ch.  v.)  and  this  became  a  title  given  freely 
and  unreservedly,  by  the  faithful  at  large,  to  each 
other,  during  many  ages.  Nor  is  it  wholly  lost  among 
the  Greeks.  The  teachers  of  Christianity  were  dis- 
tinguished as  a  holy  priesthood,  to  offer  up  spiritual 
sacrifices ;  (1  Pet.  ii.  5.)  and  the  mystery  of  Christ  is 
said  to  be  "  now  revealed  to  the  holy  apostles  and 
(new  testament)  prophets  by  the  Spirit,"  Eph.  iii.  5. 

Now,  if  holiness  be  conferred  for  a  temporary  or 
a  special  purpose,  to  which  it  is  of  course  restricted, 
the  conjugal  relation,  already  contracted,  might  be 
sanctified  specially  to  (or  by)  a  wife,  or  a  husband  ; 
that  is,  to  its  purposes,  duties,  and  affections,  without 
conferring  holiness  generally.  This  idea  may  eluci- 
date the  true  import  of  a  passage  (1  Cor.  vii.  14.)  that 
has  been  too  often  wrested  from  its  proper  sense. 
And,  if  holiness  attached  by  descent,  previous  to  the 
law,  and  under  the  law,  to  the  very  last,  it  might,  also, 
and  most  justly,  attach  by  descent  from  a  Christian 
parent,  as  the  apostle  determines : — "  for  the  unbeliev- 
ing husband  is  sanctified,  to  all  the  purposes  of  mar- 
riage, through  the  believing  wife  ;  and  the  unbelieving 
wife  is  sanctified,  to  all  the  purposes  of  marriage, 
through  the  believing  husband  ;  else  were  your  chil- 
dren [that  is,  of  the  Corinthians,  though  church  mem- 
bers] unclean ;  whereas,  now  they  are  holy."  It  should 
be  observed,  also,  that  in  the  Jewish  books,  the  chil- 
dren of  proselytes  are  called  holy,  as  is  shown  by 
Braunius,  referred  to  by  Schleusner,  5m6  voce  «)"oc. 

Holiness  by  charactei: — But  there  is  another  word 
rendered  holy  by  our  translators,  to  which  attention 
is  also  due — "  Onio; — the  import  of  which  may  be  best 
understood  from  its  application  in  the  Old  Testament 
by  the  LXX,  Prov.  x.  29 :  "  The  way  of  the  Lord 
is  strength  to  the  upright;  l)ut  destruction  to  the 
workers  of  iniquity  ;"  it  is  evident  from  the  contrast 
of  ideas  in  the  passage,  that  "workers  of  good," 
should  stand  opposed  to  workers  of  iniquity.  "  Even 
a  child  is  known  by  his  doings,  whether  his  work  be 
pure,  and  whether  it  be  upright;"  (xx.  11.)  whether 
the  intention,  the  bias  of  his  mind,  be  benevolent. 
"The  blood-thirsty  hate  the  upright;"  (xxix.  10.) — 
the  very  o])posite  to  blood-thirsty,  the  beneficent. 
We  may  now  see  the  intention  of  the  apostle  in  1  Tim. 
ii.  8,  "  1  w  ill  tliat  men  j)ray  every  where,  lifting  up 
holy  hands,"  more  than  ayi<>i,  that  is,  beneficent,  pa- 
cific, the  very  contrary  to  "  wrath  and  squabbling." 
If  Christians  at  large  should  be  thus  kindly  affec- 
tioned,  nuich  more  a  Christian  bishop,  (Tit.  i.  8.) 
who  must  be — tpiXo^eror,  the  stranger's  friend, — cptXu- 
yit,9ov,  the  good  man's  lover,  steady  in  his  deport- 
ment,  just  towards  all, —  'Omoi,  holy,  mucli   rather 


HON 


[  499  ] 


HON 


beneficeut,  extending  his  bounty  beyond  the  stran- 
ger whose  friend  he  is,  or  the  good  man  of  whom  he 
is  the  lover,  to  the  miserable  and  the  distressed. 
The  great  Christian  pattern  is  repeatedly  denoted 
by  this  term  :  (Ps.  xvi.  10;  Acts  ii.  27;  Heb.  vii.  26.) 
"  Such  an  high-priest  became  us,  who  is  holy  ;" — 
rather,  extending  universally  the  sympathies  of  his 
compassion,  his  tenderness,  his  pity  ;  and,  as  such, 
tiie  distinguished  object  of  prophecy  ; — "  thou  wilt 
not  leave  his  soul  in  hell,  nor  suffer  thine  holy  one — 
thy  commissioned  agent,  who  went  about  doing 
good — to  see  corruption."  This  term  is  applied  a 
second  time  to  the  Messiah,  in  full  conviction  that 
it  could  apply  to  no  other,  as  every  hearer  must  ac- 
knowledge. Acts  xiii.  35. — as  Clem.  Alex,  exclaims, 
what  benefits  (  'Oaia)do  we  not  owe  to  Christ"!  And 
though  our  opinion  differ  from  that  of  commentators, 
(comp.  Dr.  Campbell's  Dissert,  vi.)  we  cannot  but 
think,  that  this  term  retains  the  same  meaning  in 
Rev.  XV.  4  ;  xvi.  5 :  "  Who  shall  not  fear  thee,  O 
Lord,  and  glorify  thy  name,  for  thou  only  art  be- 
neficent !" 

HONEY  was  formerly  very  plentiful  in  Palestine ; 
and  hence  frequent  expressions  of  Scripture,  which 
import  that  that  country  was  a  land  flowing  with 
milk  and  honey.  Moses  says,  that  the  Lord  brought 
his  people  into  a  land  whose  rocks  drop  oil,  and 
whose  stones  produce  honey,  Deut.  xxxii.  13.  (See 
also  Ps.  Ixxxi.  16.)  Modern  travellers  observe,  that 
it  is  still  very  common  there,  and  that  the  inhabitants 
mix  it  in  all  their  sauces.  Forskal  says,  the  cara^ 
vans  of  Mecca  bring  honey  from  Arabia  to  Cairo ; 
and  often  in  the  woods  in  Arabia  has  he  seen  honey 
flowing.  It  would  seem  that  this  flowing  honey  is  bee- 
honey,  which  may  illustrate  the  story  of  Jonathan,  1 
Sam.  xiv.  27.  Apparently,  it  could  not  be  palm- 
honey  which  Jonathan  found  ;  for  it  was  a  honey- 
comb, and  so  far  out  of  his  reach  that  it  required  the 
[)Utting  forth  the  end  of  the  rod  that  was  in  his  hand, 
to  be  able  to  dip  it  into  ■  the  refreshing  delicacy. 
John  Baptist,  too,  fed  on  wild  honey,  Matt.  iii.  4. 
There  is,  however,  as  incidentally  alluded  to  above, 
a  vegetable  honey  that  is  very  plentiful  in  the  East. 
Burckhardt,  speaking  of  the  productions  of  the  Ghor, 
or  valley  of  the  Jordan,  says,  one  of  the  most  inter- 
esting productions  of  this  place,  is  the  Beyrouk  honey, 
or,  as  the  Arabs  call  it,  Assal  Beyrouk.  It  was 
described  to  him  as  a  juice  dropping  from  the  leaves 
and  twigs  of  a  tree  called  gharrab,  of  the  size  of  an 
oUve  tree,  with  leaves  like  those  of  the  poplar,  but 
somewhat  broader.  The  honey  collects  upon  the 
leaves  like  dew,  and  is  gathered  from  them,  or  from 
the  ground  under  the  tree,  which  is  often  found  com- 
pletely covered  with  it.  It  is  very  sweet  when  fresh,  but 
turns  sour  after  being  kept  for  two  days.  The  Arabs 
eat  it  with  butter  ;  they  also  put  it  into  their  gruel,  and 
use  it  in  rubbing  their  water  skins,  for  the  purpose 
of  excluding  the  air.     (Travels  in  Syria,  p.  392.) 

Children  were  fed  with  milk,  cream,  and  honey, 
(Isa.  vii.  15.)  which  was  the  sweetest  substance  in 
use  before  sugar  was  manufactured.  The  following 
extracts  will  give  a  different  idea  of  this  mixture 
from  that  generally  entertained  : — D'Arvieux,  (p. 
205.)  speaking  of  the  Arabs,  says,  "  One  of  their 
chief  breakfasts  is  cream,  or  fresh  butter,  mixed 
in  a  mess  of  honey :  these  do  not  seem  to  suit  very 
well  together,  but  experience  teaches  that  this  is  no 
bad  mixture,  nor  disagreeable  in  its  taste,  if  one  is 
ever  so  little  accustomed  to  it."  The  last  words 
seem  to  indicate  a  deUcacy  of  taste,  of  which 
D'Arvieux  was  sensible  in  himself,  which  did  not,  at 


once,  reUsh  this  mixture.  Thevenot  also  tells  us, 
that  "the  Arabs  knead  their  bread-paste  afresh; 
adding  thereto  butter,  and  sometimes  also  honey." 
(Part  i.  page  173.)  [Burckhardt  informs  us,  that  "  the 
Hedjaz  abounds  with  honey  in  every  part  of  the 
mountains.  Among  the  lower  classes,  a  common 
breakfast  is  a  mixture  of  ghee  (melted  butter)  and 
honey  poured  over  crumbs  of  bread  as  they  come 
quite  hot  from  the  oven.  The  Arabs,  who  are  very 
fond  of  paste,  never  eat  it  w  ithout  honey.  (Travels 
in  Arabia,  p.  28.)     R. 

In  2  Sam.  xvii.  29,  we  read  of  honey  and  butter 
being  brought  to  king  David,  as  well  as  other 
refreshments,  "  because  the  people  were  hungry, 
weary,  and  thirsty."  Considering  the  list  of  articles, 
there  seems  to  be  nothing  adapted  to  moderate  thirst, 
except  this  honey  and  butter ;  for  we  may  thus  ar- 
range the  passage  :  the  people  were  hungi-y, — to 
satisfy  Avhich  were  brought  wheat,  barley,  flour, 
beans,  lentiles,  sheep,  cheese  :  the  people  were  weaiy, 
— to  relieve  this  were  brought  beds  ;  the  people  were 
thirsty, — to  answer  the  purpose  of  drink  was  brought 
a  mixture  of  butter  and  honey ;  food  fit  for  break- 
fast ;  light  and  easy  of  digestion,  pleasant,  cooling, 
and  refreshing.  That  this  mixture  was  a  delightful 
liquid  appears  from  the  maledictory  denunciation  of 
Zophar:  (Job  xx.  17.)  The  wicked  man  "shall  not 
see  the  rivers,  the  floods,  the  brooks  of  honey  and 
butter."  Honey  alone  could  hardly  be  esteemed  so 
flowing  as  to  afford  a  comparison  to  rivers  or  tor- 
rents ;  but  cream,  in  such  abundance,  is  much  more 
fluid  ;  and  mixed  with  honey,  may  dilute  and  thin  it, 
into  a  state  more  proper  for  running — poetically 
speaking,  as  freely  as  water  itself.  "  Honey  and 
milk  are  under  thy  tongue,"  says  the  spouse,  Cant, 
iv.  11.  Perhaps  this  mixture  was  not  merely  a  re- 
freshment, but  an  elegant  refreshment ;  which  height- 
ens the  inference  from  the  predictions  of  Isaiah,  and 
the  description  of  Zophar,  who  speak  of  its  abun- 
dance ;  and  it,,  increases  tlie  respect  paid  to  David, 
by  his  faithful  and  loyal  subjects  at  Mahanaim. 

Honey  was  not  permitted  to  be  offered  on  the  altar 
of  the  Lord,  (Lev.  ii.  11.)  for  which  various  reasons 
are  assigned.  Conjecture,  however,  has  hitherto 
been  fruitless.  But,  though  God  forbade  honey  to 
be  offered  in  sacrifice,  he  commanded  the  first-fruits 
of  it  to  be  presented  to  him  ;  these  first-fruits  and 
offerings  being  designed  for  the  support  of  the  priests, 
and  not  to  be  offered  on  the  altar.  By  the  word,  li'jt, 
debash,  the  rabbins  and  lexicographers  understand 
not  only  the  honey  of  bees,  but  also  the  honey  of 
dates,  or  the  fruits  of  the  palm-tree,  or  the  dates 
themselves,  from  which  honey  is  extracted;  and 
when  God  enjoins  the  first-fruits  of  honey  to  be 
offered  to  him,  the  first-fruits  of  dates  seem  to  be 
meant;  for  generally,  the  produce  only  of  fruits  was 
offered. 

HONOR  is  taken  not  only  for  respect  paid  to  su- 
periors, but  for  real  services :  "  Honor  thy  father  and 
thy  mother;"  (Exod.  xx.  12.)  i.  e.  not  only  show  re- 
spect and  deference,  but  assist  them,  and  perform 
such  services  as  they  require.  Balak,  king  of  Moab, 
said  to  Balaam,  "I  thought  to  promote  thee  to 
great  honor,  but,  lo,  the  Lord  hath  kept  thee  back 
from  honor,"  (Numb.  xxiv.  11.)  i.  e.  from  reward. 
"  Honor  the  Lord  with  thy  substance,  and  with  the 
first-fruits  of  thine  increase,"  (Prov.  iii.  9.)  i.  e.  tes- 
tify your  respect  and  obedience  to  him.  "  Honor" 
also  denotes  that  adoration  which  is  due  to  God  only, 
Esth.  xiii.  14,  Apocrypha,  Ps.  xxix.  2,  margin  ;  Mai. 
i.  6 ;  1  Tim.  i.  17, 


HOP 


[  500 


HOR 


HOPE,  a  confident  expectution  of  future  good. 
Iji  the  New  Testament,  it  is  generally  taken  for  hope 
in  Jesus  Christ,  hope  of  eternal  blessings,  hope  of  a 
future  resurrection :  "  Experience  produceth  hope, 
and  hope  maketh  not  ashamed,"  Rom.  v.  4,  5.  Our 
hope  is  founded  on  the  patience  and  consolation 
which  we  derive  from  the  Scriptures.  Faith,  hope 
and  charity  are  the  treasures  of  Christians,  1  Cor. 
xiii.  13.  Jesus  Christ  is  all  our  hope  ;  (1  Tim  i.  1.) 
our  hope  in  this  life,  and  the  next,  arises  from  his 
merits,  blood,  grace  ;  his  promises,  and  his  Spirit. 

Hope  is  distinguished  from  faith  by  its  desire  of 
good  only  ;  and  by  its  reference  to  futurity.  Faith 
contemplates  evil  as  well  as  good,  and  refers  to 
things  past,  as  well  as  to  things  future ;  but  this  is 
not  the  case  with  hope.  We  are,  therefore,  said  to 
be  "saved  by  hope  ;"  by  the  hope,  or  conviction,  or 
desire,  of  unseen  things  ;  and  we  read  of  the  "full 
assurance  of  hope,"  which  may  be  taken  as  synony- 
mous with  cheerful  and  earnest  expectation. 

Hope,  like  all  other  graces,  admits  of  degrees  ;  it  is 
sometimes  feeble,  but  when  it  is  the  result  of  expe- 
rience, it  is  confident,  and  proof  against  shame,  or 
hesitation  ;  it  is  sometimes  limited  to  things  near,  or 
to  things  likely  ;  but  it  also  extends  beyond  this 
world,  to  possessions  laid  up  in  heaven  ;  to  glory, 
immortality,  and  eternal  life.  It  is  repeatedly  con- 
nected with  patience,  with  waiting,  with  expectation, 
with  rejoicing,  and  with  reason ;  for  the  hope  of  a 
Cliristian,  however  it  may  refer  to  divine  things,  or  be 
founded  on  divine  promises,  or  be  derived  from,  and 
promoted  by,  the  sacred  Spirit,  is  yet  a  reasonable 
hope,  and  combines  purity  of  heart  and  life ;  that  is, 
obedience,  with  devout  and  fervent  reliance  on  the 
promises  and  perfections  of  God. 

The  hope  of  Israel  was  the  end  of  the  Babylo- 
nish captivity,  the  coming  of  the  Messiah,  and  the 
happiness  of  heaven.  The  Lord  is  the  hope  of  the 
righteous  ;  their  hope  shall  not  be  confounded  ;  the 
hope  of  the  ungodly  shall  perish  ;  it  shall  be  without 
effect ;  or  they  shall  live  and  die  without  hope. 
Abraham  against  hope  believed  in  hope,  when,  be- 
ing advanced  in  years,  God  promised  him  a  son. 
The  ])risoners  of  hope,  (Zech.  ix.  12.)  are  the  Is- 
raelites who  were  in  captivity,  but  in  hopes  of  de- 
liverance. 

HOPHNI  and  Phinehas,  sons  of  Eli,  the  high- 
priest,  were  sons  of  Belial ;  that  is,  wicked  and  dis- 
solute persons,  1  Sam.  ii.  12.  They  knew  not  the 
Lord,  nor  performed  the  functions  of  their  ministry, 
as  they  ought  to  have  done  ;  lor  when  an  Israelite 
]nu\  sacrificed  a  peace-offering,  the  son  or  servant  of 
the  priest  came  while  they  were  dressing  the  flesh, 
and,  holding  a  fork  with  three  teeth  in  his  hand, 
he  put  it  into  the  ])oi,  and  what  he  could  take  up 
with  it  was  the  priest's  portion.  So,  before  the 
fat  was  burnt,  the  priest's  servant  came,  and  said  to 
him  wlio  sacrificed,  "Give  me  flesh  to  roast,  for  J 
will  jiave  the  flesh  raw."  "  Let  us  first  burn  the  fat, 
according  to  custom,"  said  he  who  sacrificed  ;  but 
the  servant  r('])lie(l,  "  No ;  you  shall  give  it  me  in- 
stantly, or  I  will  take  it  by  force,"  ver.  1.3 — 16. 
Rightly  to  understand  this  transgression,  it  sliould  be 
observed,  that  the  text  refers  not  to  burnt-offerings, 
or  sacrifices  for  sin,  but  to  peace-ofterings,  or  those 
presented  from  voluntary  devotion.  Tiio  blood  of 
these,  and  also  the  fat.  tlic  kidneys,  and  the  caul, 
were  offered  to  the  Lord  ;  ail  the  rest  of  th(;  sacrifice 
belonged  to  the  offerer  :  the  prit'st's  portion  was  the 
right  shoulder  and  the  breast.  Moses  does  not  say, 
(  Lev.  vii.  31,32.)  whether  this  should  be  given  to  him 


dressed  or  raw  ;  but  it  appears  from  this  place,  that 
it  was  not  given  to  the  priest  till  it  was  dressed  ;  and 
that  the  priest  had  no  right  to  demand  it,  till  the  fat 
had  been  offered  on  the  fire  of  the  altar. 

Some  years  aft;er  these  young  men  had  entered 
upon  the  office  of  the  priesthood,  (1  Sam.  iii.  11,  12.) 
the  Lord  threatened  them  and  their  father  by  the 
young  prophet  Samuel ;  and  soon  afterwards  Hoph- 
ni  and  Phinehas  were  slain  in  battle  by  the  Philis- 
tines, together  with  30,000  men  of  Israel.     See  Eli. 

HOPHRAH,  or  Apries,  king  of  Egypt,  in  the 
time  of  Zedekiah,  king  of  Judah,  and  of  Nebuchad- 
nezzar the  Great,  king  of  Chaldsea,  Jer.  xliv.  30. 
Zedekiah,  being  Aveary  of  the  Baljylonish  yoke, 
made  an  alliance  with  Hophrah,  king  of  Egypt,  for 
whicli  Ezekiel  reproaches  him  in  very  strong  terms, 
chap.  xvii.  15.  In  the  ninth  year  of  his  reign,  Neb- 
uchadnezzar came  against  Jerusalem,  and  took  all 
the  cities  of  Judah  except  Lachish,  Azekah,  and  Je- 
rusalem, 2  Kings  XXV.  1  ;  2  Chron.  xxxvi.  17;  Jer. 
xxxix.  1 ;  Iii.  4.  Hophrah  advanced  to  his  assistance ; 
and  Nebuchadnezzar  marched  against  him.  Jere- 
miah, however,  foretold  (chap,  xxxvii.  5,  C.)  that  the 
Egyptians  would  return  without  venturing  a  battle 
against  the  Chaldeans,  and  also  (chap.  xliv.  30.)  that 
the  king  of  Egypt  should  be  delivered  into  the  hands 
of  his  enemies,  as  Zedekiah  had  been  into  ue  hands 
of  Nebuchadnezzar.  See  also  Ezekiel  xxx.  xxxi.  who 
describes  the  fall  of  Egypt  in  a  very  pathetic  manner. 

These  predictions  were  executed,  first  against 
Apries,  or  Hophrah,  by  Amasis ;  and  afterwards 
against  Egypt  and  the  Egyptians,  by  Nebuchadnez- 
zar, Afl;er  the  death  of  Hophrah,  Nebuchadnezzar 
destroyed  Jerusalem,  and  then  attacked  Tyre,  which 
he  took  after  a  siege  of  thirteen  years.  During  this 
long  siege,  he  was  reduced  to  gi'eat  difficulties,  but 
God  promised  him,  by  Ezekiel,  the  land  of  Egypt,  ch. 
xxix.  18,20;  xxx.  1,  19.    See  Egypt,  and  Pharaoh. 

HOR,  a  mountain  in  Arabia  Petreea,  on  the  con- 
fines of  Idumea,  and  forming  part  of  mount  Seir. 
Here  Aaron  died  and  was  buried,  in  the  fortieth  year  af- 
ter the  departure  from  Egypt,  Dent,  xxxiii.  50  ;  Numb. 
XX.  26  ;  xxvii.  13.  A  small  building  is  shown  in  mount 
Hor,  which  is  said  to  be  the  tomb  of  Aaron.  It  is  a 
white  building,  surmounted  by  a  cupola,  and  having 
a  descent  of  several  steps  into  a  chamber  excavated 
in  the  rock.  See  Aaron,  p.  2 ;  Canaan,  p.  238  ;  Ex- 
odus, p.  418. 

HORAM,  a  king  of  Gezer ;  who,  assisting  the 
king  of  Lachish,  was  defeated,  and  his  country  rav- 
aged, Josh.  X.  33. 

HOREB,  a  mountain  in  Arabia  Petrrea.  See  Si- 
nai, and  Exodus,  p.  413. 

HOR-HAGIDGAD,  an  encampment  of  Israel, 
when  coming  out  of  Egypt,  Numb,  xxxiii.  32,  33. 
See  Exodus,  p.  418. 

HORITES,  or  Horims,  an  ancient  people, 
who  dwelt  in  the  mountains  of  Seir,  Gen,  xiv.  6. 
The  name  imports  dwellers  in  caves,  Troglodytes. 
They  had  princes,  and  were  powerful  before  Esau 
conquered  their  country,  Deut.  ii.  12,  22,  The  Ho- 
ritos  and  the  Edomites  seem  afterwards  to  have  com- 
posed but  one  people,  Gen.  xxxvi,  20. 

HORMAH,  a  city  taken  from  the  Canaanites  by 
Judah  and  Simeon,  (Judg.  i.  17;  Numb.  xxv.  3.)  and 
originally  called  Zephath. 

HORN,  an  eminence  or  angle,  a  corner  or  rising, 
Isa.  V.  1.  By  horns  of  the  altar  of  burnt-offerings, 
many  understand  the  angles  of  that  altar  ;  but  there 
were  also  horns  or  eminences  at  these  angles,  Exod. 
xxvii.  2  ;  xxx.  2.     See  Altar. 


HOR 


[  501  ] 


HOS 


As  the  aucieuts  frequently  used  horns  to  hold 
liquors,  vessels  containing  oil,  and  perfumes,  are 
often  so  called,  whether  made  of  horn  or  not,  1  Sam. 
xvi.  1 ;  1  Kings  i.  39.     Compare  Alabaster. 

The  principal  defence  and  strength  of  many  beasts 
are  in  their  horns ;  and  hence  the  horn  is  often  a 
symbol  of  strength  and  power.     The  Lord  exalted 
the  horn  of  David,  and  the  horn  of  his  people ;  he 
breaketh  the  horn  of  the -ungodly  ;  he  cutteth  off"  the 
horn  of  Moai) ;  he  cutteth  off",  in  his  fierce  anger,  all 
the  horn  of  Israel.     He  promises  to  make  the  horn 
of  Israel  to  bud  forth  ;  to  re-establish  its  honor,  and 
i-estore  its  vigor.     There  may  be  an  allusion  in  these 
passages,  however,  to  a  very  counnon  part  of  the  fe- 
male dress  in  some  parts  of  the  East.     IMr.  Buck- 
ingham, describing  the  ornaments  of  a  female   at 
Tyre,  says,  "  She  wore  also  on  her  head  a  hollow 
silver  horn,  rearing  itself  ujjwards  obliquely  from 
her  forehead,  being  l"our  or  five  inches  in  diameter 
at  the  root,  and  pointed  at  its  extreme ;  and  her  ears, 
her   neck,   and   her  arms   were    laden   with   rings, 
chains,  and   bracelets.     This   peculiarity    reminded 
me  very  forcibly  of  the  expression  of  the  psalmist : 
'Lift  not  up  thine  horn  on  high,  speak  not  with  a 
stiff"  neck.     All  the  horns  of  the  wicked  will  I  cut 
off",  but  the  horns  of  the  righteous  shall  be  exulted  ;' 
(Ps.  Ixxv.  5,  10.)  similar  illustrations  of  which,  Bruce 
had  also  found  in  Abyssinia,  in  the  silver  horns  of 
warriors  and  distinguished  men."     Kingdoms   and 
great  powers  are  also  described  by  the  symbol  of 
horns,  1  IMac.  vii.  46.     In  Dan.  vii.  viii.  horns  repre- 
sent the  power  of  the  Persians,  of  the  Greeks,  of 
Syria,  and  of  Egypt.     The  prophet  describes  these 
animals  as  having  many  horns,  one  of  which  grew 
from  another.     In  1  Mac.  ix.  1,  the  wings  of  an 
army  are  called  its  horns. 

HORNET,  a  kind  of  large  wasp,  which  has  a 
powerful  sting.  The  Lord  drove  out  the  Canaanites 
before  Israel  by  means  of  this  insect,  Deut.  vii.  20  ; 
Josh.  xxiv.  12;  Exod.  xxiii.  28.  (Compare  Fly.) 
For  an  illustration  of  the  manner  in  which  this  might 
be  eff'ected,  without  at  the  same  time  injuring  the  Is- 
raelites, it  should  be  remarked,  that  the  latter,  in  the 
sandy  wilderness,  would  escape  this  creature. 

HORON,  or  Oronaim,  a  city  of  Arabia,  whence 
Sanballat  came,  Neh.  ii.  10,  &c. 

HORONAIM,  a  toAvn  of  Moab,  Isa.  xv.  5  ;  Jose- 
phus  Antiq.  lib.  xiii.  cap.  23  ;  xiv.  cap.  2. 

HORSE,  a  domestic  animal,  well  known,  but  not 
so  common  among  the  Hebrews,  till  the  time  of  Sol- 
omon. God  forbade  the  kings  of  Israel  to  keep 
many  horses,  (Deut.  xvii.  ItJ.)  and  their  judges  and 
])rinces  generally  rode  on  mules  and  asses. 

Josiah  took  away  the  horses  which  the  kings  of 
Judah,  his  predecessors,  had  consecrated  to  the  sim, 
2  Kings  xxiii.  11.  This  luminaiy  was  worshipped 
over  all  the  East,  and  was  represented  as  riding  in  a 
chariot,  drawn  by  the  most  beautiful  and  swiftest 
horses  in  the  world,  and  performing  every  day  his 
journey  from  east  to  west,  to  enlighten  the  earth. 
In  Persia,  and  among  the  Massagetre,  horses  were  sac- 
rificed to  the  sun.  (Herodot.  Yih.  i.  cap.  55.  Ovid  Fast. 
lib.  viii.  Xenoph.  Cyropred.  lib.  viii.)  It  is  thought 
that  those  which  Josiah  removed  from  the  tourt  of 
the  temple,  were  appointed  for  a  similar  purpose. 

HORSE-LEACH,  or  Blood-sucker.  The  im- 
port of  the  Hebrew  7)p^'>•;,  rendered  horse-leach  by 
the  LXX,  the  Vulgate,  and  the  Targums,  as  well  as 
in  the  English,  and  other  modem  versions  of  Scrip- 
ture, is  by  no  means  ascertained.  "  The  alukdh, 
[horse-leach,]"  says  .Solomon,  "  hath  two  daughters. 


crymg.  Give,  give,"  Prov.  xxx.  15.  Bochart  thmke 
the  translators  have  mistaken  the  import  of  one  word 
for  that  of  one  very  similar,  and  that  it  should  be 
translated  destini/,  or  the  necessity  of  dying;  to 
which  the  rabbins  give  two  daughters,  Eden,  or  Par- 
adise, and  Hades,  or  Hell ;  the  first  of  which  invites 
the  good,  the  second  calls  for  the  wicked.  This  in- 
terpretation is  thought  to  be  strengthened  by  chap, 
xxvii.  20  :  "  Hell  and  destruction  [Hades  and  the 
grave]  are  never  satisfied."  Professor  Paxton,  on 
the  other  hand,  contends  that  the  common  interpre- 
tation is  in  every  respect  entitled  to  the  preference. 
Solomon,  having  in  the  preceding  verses  mentioned 
those  that  devoured  the  property  of  the  poor,  as  the 
worst  of  all  the  generations  he  had  specified,  pro- 
ceeds, in  the  fifteenth  verse,  to  state  and  illustrate  the 
insatiable  cupidity  with  which  they  prosecuted  their 
schemes  of  rapine  and  plunder.  [Gesenius  refers  the 
word  to  a  fabulous  monster  of  oriental  superstition, 
which  sucks  the  blood  of  human  victims,  like  the 
vampyrc  of  western  popular  belief.  Rosenmiiller 
adheres  to  the  sense  leach.     R. 

As  the  horse-leach  has  two  daughters,  cruelty  and 
thirst  of  blood,  which  cannot  be  satisfied  ;  so  the  op- 
pressor of  the  poor  has  two  dispositions,  cruelty  and 
avarice,  which  never  say  they  have  enough,  but  con- 
tinually demand  additional  gratifications. 
HOSAH,  a  town  of  Asher,  Josh.  xix.  29. 
HOS  AI,  a  jMophet  or  seer,  in  the  time  of  Manasseh, 
king  of  Judah,  2  Chron.  xxxiii.  19,  margin.  The 
Jews  are  of  opinion,  that  Hosai  and  Isaiah  are  the 
same  person  ;  the  LXX  take  Hosai  in  a  general 
sense  for  prophets  and  seers :  the  Syriac  calls  him 
Hanan  ;  the  Arabic  Saphan. 

HOSANNA,  save  now,  succor  now,  make  him  vic- 
torious !  is  a  form  of  blessing  or  wishing  well.  At 
our  Saviour's  entrance  into  Jerusalem,  when  the 
people  cried  Hosanna,  their  meaning  was.  Lord, 
[)rcserve  this  son  of  David  ;  heap  favors  and  bless- 
ings on  him  !  Mr.  Harmer  is  of  opinion,  (Obs. 
vol.  iii.  p.  37.)  that  the  people  scattered  rose  leaves 
in  the  way  as  he  went.  However,  to  say  no  more, 
though  rose  leaves  might  possibly  be  attainable  at  that 
early  season,  yet  rose  trees  hardly  grew  on  the  pub- 
lic Avay ;  and  besides,  this  does  not  give  any  reason 
for  the  exclamations  of  hosanna,  nor  does  it  appear 
to  be  connected  with  them.  But  in  Levi's  "Lingua 
Sacra,"  under  the  article  2-\';,  oreh,  we  find  the  follow- 
ing extracted  from  the  Talmud  :  "  The  willow  (used 
in  the  Feast  of  Tabernacles)  is  of  the  foundation  of 
the  prophets  ;  that  is,  the  prophets  instructed  the 
people  in  the  proper  form  and  manner  tliereof,  as  it 
was  delivered  by  tradition  ;  and  which,  having  been 
forgotten,  was  restored  by  the  pro])he(s.  Hence  we 
meet,  in  rabbinical  Hebrew,  with  tiie  jihrase  'the  pre- 
cept of  the  willow,  on  Hosanna  the  Great.'  This  is 
the  seventh  day  of  the  Feast  of  Tabernacles,  when 
each  person  has  (carries)  a  branch  of  willow,  and  in 
the  prayer  of  the  day,  frequently  makes  use  of  the 
word  Iloshana  !  save,  we  beseech  thee  ;  whence 
the  willows  used  at  that  time  are  called  the  '  Hosha- 
nuth.'"  If  this  be  correct,  we  see  that  the  peoplo 
aj)i)lie(l  to  our  Lord  a  custom  with  which  they  were 
well  acquainted,  and  which,  indeed,  formed  an  annual 
ceremony. 

They  formed,  as  they  were  used  to  do  on  Hosanna 
the  great,  a  procession  ;  and  those  in  the  leading  di- 
vision of  it,  cried,  "Hosanna!  blessed  be  the  king  of 
Israel,  who  cometh  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  !  Peace 
in  heaven  !  Glory  in  the  highest !"  to  which  those 
who  brought  up  the  rear,  answered,  "  Blessed  be 


HOS 


[  502  ] 


HOSEA 


the  kingdom  of  our  father  David,  that  cometh  in  the 
name  of  the  Lord  !  Hosanna  in  the  highest!"  [the 
great  Hosanna]  as  we  have  been  used  to  shout  at  our 
Feast  of  Tabernacles. 

Does  not  this  history  appear,  under  this  elucida- 
tion, to  be  a  clearer  reference  of  the  Feast  of  Taber- 
nacles to  the  Messiah  than  heretofore,  and  a  reference 
that  was  in  some  degree  wanted  ?  Are  not  the 
shouts  of  the  multitude  strong  indications  of  what 
they  so  earnestly  looked  for — a  king  to  deliver  tliem 
from  their  present  bondage  ?  Did  the  proj)liets  liint 
nt  such  a  king,  to  be  expected,  when  they  appointed 
the  willows  of  the  great  Hosanna  ?  Is  this  tiie  covert 
meaning  of  the  rulers  of  the  synagogue,  "Hearest 
thou  what  these  children  say  ?  in  allusion  to  a  king 
whom  we  expect ;  which  they  refer  to  thee  ?"  And 
is  this  the  import  of  our  Lord's  answer,  "Yea;  did 
you  never  hear  the  remark,  that  children  will  tell  the 
truth  when  men  will  not ;  that  when  men  are  afraid, 
or  incredulous,  the  mouths  of  babes  and  sucklings 
may  strongly  proclaim  due  and  j)roper  praise  ?" 
Was  our  Lord's  action  of  driving  the  intruding  deal- 
ers from  the  temple  an  act  of  rojalty,  coincident 
with  these  acclamations,  and  national  ideas,  which 
on  this  occasion  he  thought  proper  to  exert,  and  to 
which  those  concerned  thought  proper  at  this  time 
to  submit,  as  unable  to  foresee  how  far  the  popular 
feeling  might  extend  ? 

L  HOSEA,  son  of  Beeri,  the  first  of  the  ujinor 
prophets,  and  said  to  have  been  of  Reuben,  and  a 
native  of  Beelmeon,  beyond  Jordan.  He  lived  in 
the  kingdom  of  Israel,  and  his  prophecies  for  the 
most  part  regard  that  state.  The  title  of  his  works 
says,  he  prophesied  under  the  reigns  of  Uzziah,  Jo- 
tham,  Ahaz,  and  Hezekiah,  kings  of  Judah ;  and  un- 
der Jeroboam  II.  king  of  Israel ;  which  would  em- 
brace, at  the  very  least,  a  period  of  80  years.  There 
is  nothing,  however,  to  induce  a  belief  that  he  proph- 
esied so  long  ;  besides  that  it  is  strange  his  prophecies 
should  be  dated  by  the  reigns  of  the  kings  of  Judah, 
when  he  did  not  live  under  their  dominion.  It  is 
therefore  probable,  that  tiie  title  is  not  Hosea's,  but 
that  the  true  beginning  of  his  work  is,  "  The  begin- 
ning of  the  work  of  the  Lord  by  Hosea."  Or  the 
specification  may  relate  to  his  life  rather  than  to  his 
prophesying.  Calmet  thinks  he  began  to  prophesy 
about  the  end  of  the  reign  of  Jeroboam  II.  king  of 
Israel.  Jerome  and  otiiers  believe  Hosea  to  be  the 
oldest  prophet  whose  writings  are  in  our  possession. 
He  saw  the  first  captivity  of  the  four  tribes,  by 
Tiglath-pileser ;  and  the  extinction  of  the  kingdom 
of  Samaria,  by  Salmaneser. 

In  the  third  chapter  of  Hosea's  prophecy,  we  read, 
that  the  Lord  directed  him  to  take  unto  him  "a  wife 
of  whoredoms,  and  children  of  whoredoms  ;"  i.  o.  to 
man-y  a  woman  who  had  formerly  lived  a  debauched 
life,  but  who,  after  her  marriage,  should  retire  from 
all  bad  conversation.  Many  interpreters,  however, 
shocked  at  the  idea,  have  maintained  that  this  was 
only  a  parable  ;  and  that  the  prophet  called  the  wife 
whom  he  married  a  prostitute,  only  with  design  of 
awakening  the  attention  of  the  Israelites  ;  or  that 
the  whole  was  transacted  in  a  vision.  But  the  sequel 
of  the  nan-ation  sufficiently  shows,  that  the  marriage 
was  real,  though  figurative  as  to  the  things  it  sym- 
bolized. 

As  the  circumstances,  however,  appear  sufficiently 
strange  to  us,  it  may  be  worth  while  to  add  baron 

du  Tott's  account  of  marriages  by  Capin; which 

agrees  with  the  relations  of  other  travellers  into  the 
East :  "  There  is  another  kind  of  marriage,  which, 


stipulating  the  return  to  be  made,  fixes  likewise  the 
time  when  the  divorce  is  to  take  place.  This  con- 
tract is  called  Capin  ;  and,  properly  speaking,  is  only 
an  agreement  made  between  the  parties  to  live  to- 
gether,ybr  such  a  price  during  such  a  time."  (Prelim- 
inary Discourse,  p.  23.)  It  is  scarcely  possible  to 
expect  more  direct  illustration  of  the  prophet's  con- 
duct than  this  extract  affords.  We  learn  from  it 
that  this  contract  is  a  regular  form  of  marriage,  and 
that  it  is  so  regarded,  generally,  in  the  East ;  conse- 
quently, such  a  connection  and  agreement  coidd  give 
no  scandal,  in  the  days  of  Hosea,  though  it  would 
not  be  justifiable  under  Christian  manners.  The 
prophet  says — "  So  I  bought  her  [my  wife]  to  me, 
for  fifteen  pieces  of  silver,  and  for  a  homer  of  barley, 
and  a  half  homer  of  barley.  And  I  said  unto  her. 
Many  days  shall  thou  abide  for  me  [Heb.  sit  ivilh  me]. 
Thou  shalt  not  play  the  harlot,  and  thou  shalt  not  be 
for  another  man  ;  so  will  I  also  be  for  thee."  What 
was  this  but  a  marriage  by  Capin,  according  to  the 
baron's  accoimt  ?  And  the  prophet  carefully  lets  us 
know,  that  he  honestly  paid  the  stipulated  price,  that 
he  was  very  strict  in  his  agreement,  as  to  the  behav- 
ior of  his  wife,  and  that  he  also  bound  himself  to 
the  same  fidelity,  during  the  time  for  which  they 
mutually  contracted.  It  may  easily  be  imagined 
that  this  kind  of  marriage  was  liable  to  be  abused  ; 
and  tliat  it  was  glanced  at,  and  included,  in  our 
Lord's  prohibition  of  hasty  divorces,  need  not  be 
doubted. 

II.  HOSEA,  or  Hoshea,  son  of  Elah,  and  last 
king  of  Israel.  Having  conspired  against  Pekah, 
son  of  Remaliah,  king  of  Israel,  he  killed  him,  and 
seized  his  dominions.  He  did  evil  in  the  sight  of 
the  Lord,  however,  though  not  equal  to  the  kings  of 
Israel,  who  preceded  him  ;  that  is,  say  the  Jewish 
doctors,  he  did  not  restrain  his  subjects  from  going, 
if  they  would,  to  Jerusalem,  to  worship  ;  whereas 
the  kings  of  Israel,  his  predecessors,  had  forbidden  it, 
and  placed  guards  on  the  road  to  prevent  it,  2  Kings 
XV.  30.  Salmaneser,  king  of  Assyria,  having  intelli- 
gence that  Hosea  meditated  a  revolt,  and  had  con- 
certed measures  with  So,  king  of  Egypt,  to  shake 
off"  the  Assyrian  yoke,  marched  against  him,  and  be- 
sieged Samaria,  which  was  taken  after  a  siege  of 
three  years,  in  the  ninth  year  of  Hosea's  reign  ;  and 
was  reduced  to  a  heap  of  ruins.  The  king  of  Assyria 
removed  the  Israelites  of  the  ten  tribes  to  countries 
beyond  the  Euphrates,  ch.  xvii.  3,  0. 

The  chronology  of  Hosea's  reign  is  extremely  per- 
plexed, by  the  inconsistency  of  certain  dates.  It  is  said 
in  ch.  XV.  30,  that  Hosea  began  to  reign  in  the  liventielh 
year  of  Jotham,  son  of  Uzziah  ;  (this  was  the  fourth 
of  Ahaz;  for  Jotham  his  father  died  four  years  be- 
fore, having  reigned  only  sixteen  years,  ver.  32,  33.) 
but  in  ch.  xvii.  1,  it  is  said,  that  Hosea  began  to  reign 
in  the  twelfth  of  Ahaz ;  ver.  27.  also  allows  Pekah  to 
have  reigned  but  twenty  years ;  whereas,  if  the  last 
year  of  Pekah  and  the  first  year  of  Hosea  concur 
with  the  twentieth  of  Jotham,  (ver.  30.)  Pekah  must 
have  reigned  twenty -two  years,  since  Jotham  began 
to  reign  in  the  second  year  of  Pekah.  To  reconcile 
these  differences,  Calmet  suggests  that  Hosea  con- 
spired against  Pekah  in  the  twentieth  year  of  that 
prince,  which  was  the  eighteenth  of  Jotham's  reign  ; 
and  that  it  was  two  years  longer  before  Hosea  made 
himself  master  of  Pekali's  dominions,  and  was  ac- 
knowledged king  of  Israel  ;  that  is,  in  the  fourth 
year  of  Ahaz,  and  the  twentieth  of  Jotham.  In  the 
twelfth  year  of  Ahaz,  he  reigned  quietly  over  all 
Israel,  according  to  chap.  xvii.  1. 


HOSPITALITY 


[  503  ] 


HOSPITALITY 


HOSPITALITY  has  ever  been  much  in  esteem 
among  civilized  people.  The  ancient  Greeks  be- 
lieved that  the  gods  sometimes  visited  this  world, 
disguised  like  travellers,  and  their  apprehensions  of 
despising  some  of  these  celestial  visitors,  instead  of  a 
traveller,  induced  them  to  receive  strangers  w^ith 
respect,  and  the  rights  of  hospitality. 

It  is  a  very  customary  and  a  very  desirable  thing  in 
the  East,  to  eat  under  the  shade  of  trees ;  and  this 
situation  the  inhabitants  seem  to  prefer,  to  taking 
their  repasts  in  their  tents  or  dwellings.  Thus  De 
la  Roque  says,  (p.  203.)  "We  did  not  arrive  at  the 
foot  of  the  mountain  till  after  sunset ;  and  it  was 
almost  night  when  we  entered  the  plain  ;  but  as  it 
was  full  of  villages,  mostly  inhabited  by  Maronites, 
we  entered  into  the  fii"st  we  came  to,  to  pass  the  night 
there.  It  was  the  priest  of  the  place,  who  wished  to 
receive  us;  he  gave  us  a  supper  under  the  trees, 
before  his  little  dwelling.  As  we  were  at  table,  there 
came  by  a  stranger,  wearing  a  white  turban,  who, 
aller  having  saluted  the  company,  sat  himself  do%vii 
to  the  table,  without  ceremony  ;  ate  with  us  during 
some  time,  and  thus  went  away,  repeating  several 
times  the  name  of  God.  They  told  us  it  was  some 
traveller  who,  no  doubt,  stood  in  need  of  refresh- 
ment, and  who  had  profited  by  the  opportunity, 
according  to  the  custom  of  the  East,  which  is  to  ex- 
ercise hospitality  at  all  times,  and  toward  all  persons." 
The  reader  will  be  pleased  to  see  the  ancient  hospi- 
tality of  the  East  still  maintained,  and  even  a  stran- 
ger profiting  by  an  opportunity  of  supplying  his 
wants.  It  reminds  us  of  the  guests  of  Abraham, 
(Gen.  chap,  xviii.)  of  the  conduct  of  Job,  (chap.  xxxi. 
17.)  and  especially,  perhaps,  of  that  frankness  with 
which  the  apostles  of  Christ  were  to  enter  into  a 
man's  house  after  a  salutation,  and  there  to  continue 
"eating  and  drinking  such  things  as  were  set  before 
them,"  Luke  x.  7.  Such  behavior  would  be  con- 
sidered as  extremely  intrusive,  and  indeed  insupport- 
able, among  ourselves  ;  but  the  maxims  of  the  East 
would  qualify  that,  as  they  do  many  other  customs, 
by  local  proprieties,  on  which  we  are  incompetent  to 
deteiTnine. 

It  cannot  be  supposed,  that  the  sluggard,  who  is 
too  lazy  to  feed  himself,  should  be  very  forward  in 
feeding  others.  The  discharge  of  the  duties  of  hos- 
pitality, though  it  has  occasionally  conferred  the 
honor  and  advantage  of  entertaining  angels,  actuates 
him  too  rarely,  and  too  feebly,  to  be  mentioned ;  in 
fact,  it  is  in  him  a  nullity.  But  it  may  serve  to 
heighten  the  contrast  with  those  noble  spirits,  who 
light  up  the  fires  of  hospitality  to  attract  and  to  guide 
the  benighted  traveller;  and  it  is  to  the  honor  of  the 
Arabs,  that  the  same  feeling  pervades  all  ranks, 
thougli  all  ranks  cannot  show  it  equally.  There  is 
something  very  pleasing  in  Niebuhr's  description  of 
this  custom:  "The  hospitality  of  the  Arabs  has 
always  been  the  subject  of  praise  ;  and  I  believe  that 
those  of  the  present  day  exercise  this  virtue  no  less 
than  their  ancestors  did.  It  is  true  that  in  this 
country,  as  in  Europe,  if  a  stranger  is  not  known,  no 
one  will  entreat  him  to  come  in.  Nevertheless,  there 
are  in  the  villages  of  the  Tehama,  houses  which  are 
public  ;  where  travellers  may  lodge  and  be  enter- 
tained some  days  gratis,  if  they  will  be  content  with 
the  fare  :  they  are  very  much  frequented.  We  our- 
selves were,  during  two  hours,  in  one  of  these  inns,  in 
the  village  of  Menejze,  in  going  from  Loheia  to  Beit- 
el-fakih :  my  servants,  my  camels,  my  asses,  and  all 
my  company  received  shelter.  The  sheich  of  the 
village  to  whom  this  inn  belonged  \vas  not  satisfied 


with  visiting  us,  and  offering  us  a  better  fare  than 
others ;  he  also  entreated  us  to  stop  the  night  with 
him.  In  another  journey  from  Beit-el-fakih  to  Ta- 
kaite,  in  company  with  a  fakih,  or  man  of  letters,  of 
Arabia,  although  my  fakih  had  no  acquaintance  with 
the  sheich,  yet  as  a  stranger  he  paid  him  his  respects ; 
hardly  was  he  returned,  when  the  sheich  came  him- 
self to  invite  us  to  lodge  with  him;  which  we  de- 
clining, he  sent  us  a  good  supper,  which  came 
extremely  a-propos.  When  the  Arabs  are  at  table, 
they  invite  those  who  happen  to  come,  to  eat  wth 
them,  whether  they  be  Christians  or  Mahometans, 
gentle  or  simple.  In  the  caravans  I  have  often  seen 
with  pleasure  a  mule-driver  press  those  who  passed 
to  partake  of  his  repast,  and  though  the  majority 
politely  excused  themselves,  he  gave,  with  an  air  of 
satisfaction,  to  those  who  would  accept  of  it,  a 
portion  of  his  little  meal  of  bread  and  dates ;  and  I 
was  not  a  little  surprised  when  I  saw,  in  Turkey, 
rich  Turks  withdraw  themselves  into  corners  to  avoid 
inviting  those  who  might  otherwise  have  sat  at  table 
with  them." 

But,  though  the  hospitality  of  the  Arabs  is  general, 
and  not  confined  to  the  superior  classes,  yet  we  are  not 
to  suppose  that  it  admits  of  imposition,  or  is  without 
proper  bounds.  Of  this  we  have  a  manifest  instance 
in  the  directions  of  our  Lord  to  the  apostles.  Matt.  x. 
11.  To  send  a  couple  of  hearty  men  with  appetites 
good,  and  rendered  even  keen,  by  the  effect  of  travel- 
ling, to  send  two  such  to  a  family,  barely  able  to 
meet  its  own  necessities,  having  no  provision  of 
bread,  or  sustenance  for  a  day  beforehand,  were  to 
press  upon  indigence  beyond  the  dictates  of  pru- 
dence, or  the  permission  of  Christian  charity.  Our 
Lord,  therefore,  commands  his  messengers,  "Into 
whatsoever  city  or  town  ye  enter,  inquire  who  in  it 
is  worthy ;  and  there  abide  till  ye  go  thence." 
"Worthy,"  uhog,  this  has  no  reference  to  moral 
worthiness ;  our  Lord  means  suitable ;  to  whom 
your  additional  board  for  a  few  days  will  be  no  in- 
convenience, a  substantial  man.  And  this  is  exactly 
the  import  of  the  same  directions,  given  in  Luke  x. 
5,  6  :  "Into  whatever  oikia,  house-establishment  on 
a  respectable  scale,  residence  afibrding  accommoda- 
tion for  strangers,  (the  hospitalia  of  the  Latins,)  ye 
enter,  in  the  same  remain :  go  not  from  house  to 
house,  in  search  of  superior  accommodations  ;  though 
it  may  happen  that,  after  you  have  been  in  a  town 
some  days,  you  may  hear  of  a  more  wealthy  individ- 
ual, who  could  entertain  you  better.  No ;  in  the 
same  house  remain,  eating  and  drinking  such  things 
as  they  give  ; — whatever  is  set  before  you."  The 
same  inference  is  deduced  from  the  advice  of  the 
apostle  John  to  the  lady  Eclecta,  (2  Epist.  10.)  "Il 
there  come  any  to  you,  and  bring  not  this  doctrine, 
receive  him  not  into  your  house."  She  was,  there- 
fore, a  person  of  respectability,  if  not  of  rank ;  mistress 
of  a  household  establishment,  on  a  scale  proper  for 
the  exercise  of  Christian  benevolence  in  a  convenient 
and  suitable  manner ; — of  liberal  heart,  and  of  equally 
liberal  powei-s.  Whoever  has  well  considered  the 
difficulties  to  which  travellers  in  the  East  are  often 
exposed  to  procure  supplies,  or  even  sufficient  pro- 
visions to  make  a  meal,  will  perceive  the  pi-opriety 
of  these  directions.  Although  it  was  one  sign  of  the 
Messiah's  advent,  that  to  the  poor  the  gospel  was 
preached,  yet  it  was  not  the  Messiah's  purpose  to  add 
to  the  difficulties  of  any  man's  situation.  He  sup- 
poses that  a  family-man,  a  house-keeper,  might  be 
vvitiiout  bread,  obliged  to  borrow  from  a  friend,  to 
meet  the  vvants  of  a  single  traveller;    Luke  xi.  5,  "I 


HOU 


504  ] 


HOURS 


have  nothing  to  set  before  hira ;"  no  uncommon 
case ;  but,  if  this  were  occasioned  by  real  penury, 
the  rights  of  hospitalitj^,  however  congenial  to  tlie 
manners  of  the  people,  or  to  the  feelings  of  the  indi- 
vidua  ,  and  however  urgent,  must  be  waved. 

The  primitive  Christians  considered  one  principal 
part  of  their  duty  to  consist  in  showing  hospitality  to 
strangers;  remembering  that  our  Saviour  had  said, 
whoever  received  those  belonging  to  him,  received 
himself;  and  that  whatever  was  given  to  such  an 
one,  though  but  a  cup  of  cold  water,  should  not  lose 
its  reward.  Matt.  x.  40,  41.  They  wei-e,  in  fact,  so 
ready  in  discharging  this  duty,  that  the  very  iieathen 
admired  them  for  it.  They  were  hospitable  to  all 
strangers,  but  especially  to  those  of  the  household  of 
faith.  Believers  scarcely  ever  travelled  without 
letters  of  communion,  which  testified  the  purity  of 
their  faith,  and  procured  them  a  favoi-able  reception 
wherever  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ  was  known. 
Calmet  is  of  opinion,  that  the  two  minor  epistles  of 
John  may  be  such  letters  of  communion  and  recom- 
mendation. 

This  article  should  not  be  closed  without  notice  of 
the  obligations  imderstood  to  be  contracted  by  the 
intercourse  of  the  table.  Niebuhr  says,  "  When  a 
Bedouin  sheich  eats  bread  with  strangers,  they  may 
trust  his  fidelity  and  depend  on  his  protection.  A 
traveller  will  always  do  well,  therefore,  to  take  an 
early  opportunity  of  securing  the  friendship  of  his 
guide  by  a  meal."  This  will  bring  to  recollection  the 
complaint  of  the  psalmist,  (xli.  9.)  penetrated  with 
the  deep  ingi-atitude  of  one  whom  he  describes  as 
having  been  his  own  familiar  friend,  in  whom  he 
trusted — "who  did  eat  of  my  bread — even  he  hath 
lifted  up  his  heel  against  me  !"  To  the  mortifi- 
cation of  insult  was  added  the  violation  of  all  confi- 
dence, the  breach  of  every  obhgation  connected  with 
the  ties  of  humanity,  with  the  laws  of  honor,  with 
the  bonds  of  social  life,  whh  the  unsuspecting  free- 
dom of  those  moments  when  the  soul  unbends  itself 
to  enjoyment,  and  is,  if  ever,  off  its  guard.  We  have 
seen  the  covenant  contracted  by  the  participation  of 
bread  and  sah.  (See  Covenant  of  Salt.)  We  now 
find  that,  among  the  Arabs  at  least,  the  friendship 
and  protection  implied  attaches  no  less  to  bread. — 
Hence,  in  part,  no  doubt,  the  conviviality  that  always 
followed  the  making  of  a  covenant.  Hence,  also,  the 
severity  of  some  of  the  feelings  acknowledged  by  the 
indignant  man  of  patience.  Job,  as  appears  in  several 
pas?;ages  of  his  pathetic  expostulations.  It  is  well 
known  that  Arabs  who  have  given  food  to  a  stranger, 
have  afterwards  thought  themselves  bound  to  protect 
him  against  the  vengeance  demanded  by  consan- 
guinity, for  even  blood  itself. 

HOURS.  The  ancient  Hebrews  did  not  divide 
the  day  and  night  into  hours,  but  into  parts.  The 
word  hour,  in  the  Septuagint,  signifies  the  seasons  of 
the  year ;  as  in  Homer  and  Hesiod.  In  the  books  of 
Moses,  and  in  otiier  Hebrew  writings,  hour  is  used 
for  the  time,  or  season.  In  Daniel,  we  find  the  Chal- 
dee  word  nvj-,  shaclh,  which  is  translated  hour,  and 
is  derived  from  the  verb  shnah,  which  signifies  to  see, 
to  look,  and  hence  the  noun  shadh  properly  means 
a  frlance,  n  moment  of  time.  The  books  of  Daniel, 
Tobit,  and  Judith  are  the  earliest  in  which  wc  find 
the  word  hour  used  to  signify  a  part  either  of  day  or 
night.  Daniel  (iv.  19.)  says  he  was  about  an  hour 
(properly  a  moment)  considering  king  Nebuchadnez- 
zar's vision.  Tobit  (xi.  14.)  tells  us,  he  continued 
about  half  an  hour  in  very  great  pain  ;  and  also  (xii. 
22.)  that  after  the  nngel  Raphael  had  discovered  iiim- 


self,  they  prostrated  themselves  for  about  two  hours. 
Judith  (vii.  18.)  declares  that  the  people  of  Bethulia 
spent  many  hours  in  crying  to  the  Lord.  The 
Greeks  knew  nothing  of  the  origin  of  hours  among 
foreign  nations,  and  trace  them  no  higher  among  them- 
selves than  the  time  of  Anaximenes,  or  Anaximander, 
in  the  reign  of  Cyrus,  toward  the  end  of  the  Babylo- 
nish captivity.  This  author  had  travelled  into  Chaldea, 
and  might  have  brought  from  thence  the  manner  of 
dividing  the  day  by  hours.  Herodotus  says  expressly, 
that  the  Greeks  received  from  the  Babylonians  the  use 
of  the  gnomon  and  dial.  (See  Dial.)  And  Xenophon 
introduces  Euthydemus,  saying,  that  the  sun  discovers 
to  us  the  lioiu's  of  the  day,  and  the  stars  the  hotu's  of 
the  night.  Aristophanes  also  speaks  of  the  gnomon 
or  index,  and  of  hours.  The  result  of  what  has  been 
said  is,  that  the  use  of  time-measurers,  or  sun-dials, 
and  the  distribution  of  the  day  into  hours,  is  more 
ancient  in  the  East  than  among  the  Greeks  ;  that  the 
author  of  the  invention  is  not  known,  and  that  we 
cannot  tell  in  what  manner  the  ancient  Babylonians 
and  Chaldeans  divided  their  hours  of  day  and  night. 

We  have  already  intimated  that  the  Hebrews  di- 
vided the  day  and  night  into  parts:  some  further 
information  may  be  useful.  We  derive  it  chiefly 
from  Godwin. 

The  night  was  divided  into  four  quarters,  or  great- 
er hours,  termed  watches,  each  watch  containing 
three  lesser  hours.  The  first  they  called  the  begin- 
ning of  the  watches ;  (Lam.  ii.  19.)  the  second  the 
middle  watch,  (Judg.  vii.  19.)  not  because  there  were 
only  three  watches,  as  Drusius  (on  Judg.  vii.  19.) 
thinks,  but  because  it  lasted-  till  midnight ;  the  third 
watch  began  at  midnight,  and  continued  till  three 
o'clock  in  the  morning  ;  (Luke  xii.  38.)  the  last,  called 
the  morning  watch,  (Exod.  xiv.  24.)  began  at  three 
o'clock,  and  ended  at  six  in  the  morning.  Matt.  xiv. 
24,  2.5.  Tiiesc  watches  were  also  called  by  other 
names,  according  to  that  part  of  the  night  which 
closed  each  one.  The  first  was  called  i!i;  f,  the  ere??;  the 
second,  utaon'xTiov,vudnig;ht ;  the  third,  (ikiy.roootjvi  la, 
cock-croiving  ;  the  fourth,  :i(>c-i .  the  dawning. — Ye 
know  not  when  the  master  of  the  house  will  come, 
(1.)  at  even,  or  (2.)  at  midnight,  or  (3.)  at  cock-crowing, 
orX4.)  at  the  dawning,  Mark  xiii.  35.  The  day  was 
also  divided  into  four  quarters,  as  appears  by  the 
parable  of  the  laborers  hired  into  the  vineyard,  3Iatt. 
XX.  The  first  quarter  began  at  six  o'clock  in  the 
morning  and  continued  till  nine  ;  the  second  quarter 
ended  at  twelve ;  the  third  quarter  at  three  in  the 
afternoon  ;  the  fourth  quarter  at  six  at  night.  The 
first  quarter  was  called  the  third  hour,  (verse  3.) 
the  second  quarter  the  sixth  hour,  (verse  5.)  the  third 
quarter  the  ninth  hour,  (verse  5.)  the  last  qiiartcr  the 
eleventh  hour,  ver.se  6. 

This  shows  that  the  hours  among  the  Jews  were  of 
two  sorts :  some  lesser,  of  which  the  day  contained 
twelve ;  others  greater,  of  which  the  day  contained 
four :  the  lesser  are  termed  hours  of  the  day,  (John 
ix.  9.)  the  gi-eater,  houi-s  of  the  temple,  or  hours  of 
prayer.  Acts  iii.  1.  But  in  fact  there  were  but  three 
liours  of  prayer,  the  third,  the  sixth  and  the  ninth. 
At  the  third  hour  the  Holy  Ghost  descended  upon 
the  ajjostles.  Acts  ii.  15.  About  the  sixth,  Peter  went 
up  to  the  house-top  to  pray,  Acts  x.  9.  At  the  ninth, 
Peter  and  John  went  into  the  temple,  Acts  iii.  1. 

The  word  hour,  as  previously  stated,  is  used  Avith 
great  latitude  in  Scripture:  it  seems  to  imply  the 
space  of  time  occupied  by  a  whole  watch,  in  Matt, 
xxvi.  40  ;  Mark  xiv.  37 :  "  What !  could  ye  not  watch 
one  hoin-?  one  space  of  time  allotted  to  that  duty." 


HOU 


[  505 


HOUSE 


Rev.  ill.  3,  "  If  thou  slialt  not  watch,  thou  shalt  not 
know  what  hour  I  will  come  upon  thee."  Matt. 
xxiv.  43,  44  ;  xxv.  13,  "  Watch,  therefore,  for  ye 
know  neither  the  day  nor  the  hour  wherein  the  Son 
of  man  cometh."  In  addition  to  those  instances 
quoted  above,  these  now  given  prove  a  connection 
between  the  word  hour  and  the  period  of  a  watch. 
The  same  may  be  inferred  from  some  of  the  follow- 
ing passages,  Luke  xxii.  59:  Peter  having  denied 
his  knowledge  of  Jesus  to  the  guard,  a  new  set  of 
guards  came  to  relieve  the  former  ;  among  them  was 
one  who  challenged  Peter,  about  the  space  of  one 
hour,  one  watch,  after  his  former  denial.  Fehx  or- 
dered Paul  to  be  sent  away  at  the  third  hour,  perhaps 
a  military  watch,  of  the  night.  Acts  xxiii.  23. 

The  word  hour  is  used  with  no  less  latitude  in  mod- 
em languages.  "  The  hours"  arc  the  seasons  of  the 
year  in  Italian ;  and  the  four  hours  of  the  day,  in 
French,  are  morning,  noon,  evening,  night.  The 
hours  of  divine  service,  or  canonical  hours,  accord- 
ing to  the  Roman  ritual,  contain  three  common  hours ; 
add  to  these  the  usual  calculation  of  hours,  and  we 
shall  perceive,  that,  however  the  signification  of  this 
word  may  have  become  fixed  since  the  invention 
and  adoption  of  mechanical  time-measurei*s  among 
us,  yet  it,  in  fact,  expresses  little  beyond  a  definite 
portion  of  time  ;  or  a  portion  varying  its  limits,  ac- 
cording to  the  usages  of  places  and  nations.  See 
Day. 

[The  word  how  in  Scripture  signifies,  one  of  the 
twelve  equal  parts  into  ivhich  each  day  ivas  divided, 
and  which  of  course  were  of  different  lengths  at  dif- 
ferent seasons  of  the  year.  This  mode  of  dividing  the 
day  prevailed  among  the  Jews  at  least  after  the  exile, 
and  perhaps  earlier.  Anciently,  however,  the  usual 
division  of  the  day  was  into  four  parts,  viz.  the  morn- 
ing ;  the  heat  of  the  day,  commencing  about  the  middle 
of  the  forenoon  ;  midday  ;  and  everting.  In  a  similar 
inamner  the  Greeks  appear  at  first  to  hav^e  divided  the 
(lay  into  only  three  parts,  viz.  ooSQog,  y.aiQbg  f/tnriufiQiri?, 
and  'ianiQog,  to  which  they  afterwards  added  a  fourtli 
division,  dei^.irb?  xaiu.'.c.  (Cf  Sturz  Lcx.  Xenophont. 
sub  voc.)  These  divisions  are  wliat  Socrates  appears 
to  have  in  mind,  when  he  speaks  of  hours  of  the  day, 
!!nd  afterwards  of  hours  of  the  night,  Mem.  iv.  3,  4. 
Ths  ancient  Hebrews,  as  well  ns  ihe  Greeks,  appear 
to  hrive  divided  the  night  also  into  three  jiarts  or 
watches,  (pv^-axul.  viz.  the  first  ivatch,  (Lam.  ii.  19.)  the 
middle,  or  second  tvatch,  {3 ndg.vu.  19.)  mul  the  7norning, 
or  third  watch,  Ex.  xiv.  24.  But  after  the  Jews 
became  subject  to  the  Romans,  they  adopted  the 
Roman  manner  of  dividing  the  night  into  four 
watches,  as  above  described.  (Winer,  liibl.  Rcalw.  p. 
470,  081.     Jahn,  §  101.)     R. 

HOUSE,  a  place  of  residence.  The  purpose  of  a 
hou5  •  being  for  dwelling,  and  that  of  tents  being  the 
same,  they  are  called  by  one  name  [heth)  in  the 
Hebrew.  On  the  same  principle,  the  tabernacle  of 
God,  though  only  a  tent,  is  sometimes  called  the 
lemi)le,  that  is,  the  residence,  of  God. 

Of  the  ordinary  buildings,  or  houses,  in  the  East, 
the  intelligent  traveller  Dr.  Shaw  has  given  a  very 
full  and  interesting  description,  of  which  we  shall 
hero  avail  ourselves,  as  it  will  tend  to  the  illustration 
of  several  passages  in  Scripture  : — 

"  The  general  method  of  building,  both  in  Barbary 
and  the  Levant,  seems  to  have  continued  the  same, 
from  the  earliest  ages,  without  the  least  alteration  or 
improvement.  Large  doors,  spacious  chambers, 
marble  pavements,  cloistered  courts,  with  fountains 
sometimes  playing  in  the  midst,  are  ci  rtainlv  conve- 
64 


niences  very  well  adapted  to  the  circumstances  of 
these  climates,  where  the  summer  heats  are  generally 
so  intense.  The  jealousy,  likewise,  of  these  people  is 
less  apt  to  be  alarmed,  whilst  all  the  windows  open 
into  their  respective  couits,  if  we  except  a  latticed 
window  or  balcony  which  sometimes  looks  into  the 
streets.  It  is  during  the  celebration  only  of  some 
Zeenah,  as  they  call  a  public  festival,  that  these  houses 
and  their  latticed  windows  and  balconies  are  left  open. 
For  this  being  a  time  of  great  liberty,  reveling,  and 
extravagance,  each  family  is  ambitious  of  adorning 
both  the  inside  and  the  outside  of  their  houses  with 
their  richest  furniture  ;  whilst  crowds  of  both  sexes, 
dressed  out  in  their  best  apparel,  and  laying  aside  all 
modesty  and  restraint,  go  in  and  out  where  they 
please.  The  account  we  have  (2  Kings  ix.  30.)  of 
Jezebel's  painting  her  face,  tiring  her  head,  and  look- 
ing out  at  a  ivindow,  on  Jehu's  public  entrance  into 
Jezreel,  gives  us  a  lively  idea  of  an  eastern  lady  at 
one  of  these  Zeenahs,  or  solemnities. 

"The  streets  of  these  cities,  the  better  to  shade 
them  from  the  sun,  are  usually  narrow,  with  some- 
times a  range  of  shops  on  each  side.  If  from  these 
we  enter  into  one  of  the  principal  houses,  we  shall 
first  pass  through  a  porch  or  gate-way,  with  benches 
on  each  side,  where  the  master  of  the  family  receives 
visits  and  despatches  business ;  few  persons,  not 
even  the  nearest  relations,  having  a  further  admis- 
sion, except  upon  extraordinary  occasions.  From 
hence  we  are  received  into  the  court,  or  quadrangle, 


which,  lying  open  to  the  weather,  is,  according  to  the 
ability  of  the  o%vner,  paved  with  marble,  or  such  ma- 
teriafs  as  will  immediately  carry  off"  the  water  into  the 
common  sewers.  There  is  som'ething  very  analogous 
betwixt  this  open  space  in  these  buildings,  and  the 
fmphivium,  or  Cava  JEdium,  of  the  Romans  ;  both  of 
them  being  alike  exposed  to  the  weather,  and  giving 
light  to  the  house.  When  much  ])Cople  are  to  1  e 
admitted,  as  upon  the  celebration  of  a  marriage,  tli(! 
circumcising  of  a  child,  or  occasions  of  the  like 
nature,  the  company  is  rarely  or  never  received  into 
one  of  the  chambers.  The  court  is  the  usual  place 
of  their  reception,  which  is  strewed,  accordingl}',  with 
mats  and  carpets  for  their  more  commodious  enter- 
tainment. Now,  as  this  i)art  of  the  house  is  always 
allotted  for  the  reception  of  large  companies,  being 
also  called  the  middle  of  the  house,  literally  answer- 
ing to  (to./^Vioi)  "the  midst"  of  Luke,  (v.  19.)  it  is 
probable,  that  the  place  where  our  Saviour  and  the 
apostles  were  frequently  ticcustomed  to  give  their 
instructions,  rniglit  have  been  in  the  like  situation ; 
i!;-^:  ;s,  in  tlie  area,  or  quadrangle,  of  one  of  this  kind 
of  houses.      Ill  the  siKumcr  season,  and  upon  tUl  oc- 


HOUSE 


[  50G  ] 


HOUSE 


casions  when  a  large  coiiipauy  is  lo  be  received,  this 
court  is  commonly  sheltered  from  the  heat  or  inclem- 
ency of  the  weather,  by  a  Velum,  umbrella,  or  veil, 
which,  being  expanded  upon  ropes  from  one  side  of 
the  parapet  wall  to  the  other,  may  be  folded  or 
unfolded  at  pleasure.  The  psalmist  seems  to  allude 
either  to  the  tents  of  the  Bedouins,  or  to  some 
covering  of  this  kind,  in  that  beautiful  expression,  of 
spreading  out  the  heavens  like  a  veil,  or  curtaiii.  The 
court  is  for  the  most  part  surrounded  with  a  cloister  ; 
as  the  Cava  Mdium  of  the  Romans  ^vas  with  a  Peri- 
styllium,  or  Colonnade  ;  over  which,  when  the  house 
hath  one  or  more  stories,  (and  I  have  seen  them  with 
two  or  three,)  there  is  a  gallery  erected,  of  the  same 
dimensions  with  the  cloister,  having  a  balustrade,  or 
else  a  piece  of  carved  or  latticed  work  going  round 
about  it,  to  prevent  people  from  falling  Iroiu  it  into 
the  court.  From  the  cloisters  and  galleries,  we  are 
conducted  into  large  spacious  chambers,  of  the  same 
length  with  the  court,  biu  seldom  or  never  commu- 
nicating with  one  another.  One  of  them  frequently 
serves  a  whole  family  ;  particidarly  when  a  father 
indidges  his  married  children  to  live  with  him ;  or 
when  several  persons  join  in  the  rent  of  the  same 
house.  From  whence  it  is,  that  the  cities  of  these 
countries,  which  in  general  are  much  inferior  in 
bigness  to  those  of  Europe,  yet  are  so  exceedingly 
populous,  that  great  numbers  of  people  are  always 
swept  away  by  the  plague,  or  any  other  contagious 
distemper.  A  mixture  of  families  of  this  kind  seems 
to  be  spoken  of  by  Maunonides,  as  hr  is  quoted  by 
Dr.  Lightfoot  on  1  Cor.  x.  16. 

"In  houses  of  better  fashion,  these  chambers  arc 
hung  with  velvet  or  damask  from  the  middle  of  the 
wall  downwards,  are  covered  and  adorned  with  vel- 
vet or  damask  hangings  of  white,  blue,  red,  green,  or 
other  colors,  (Esth.  i.  0.)  suspended  on  hooks,  or 
taken  down  at  pleasure  :  but  the  upper  part  is  em- 
bellished with  more  permanent  ornaments,  being 
adorned  with  the  most  ingenious  wreathings  and 
devices,  in  stucco  and  fret-work.  The  ceiling  is 
generally  of  wainscot,  either  very  artfully  painted,  or 
else  thrown  into  a  variety  of  panels,  with  gilded 
mouldings,  and  scrolls  of  their  Coran  intermixed. 
The  prophet  Jeremiah  (xxii.  14.)  exclaims  against 
Eomc  of  the  eastern  houses  that  were  ceiled  ivith 
cedar  and  painted  ivith  vermilion.  The  floors  are  laid 
with  painted  tiles  or  plaster  of  terrace  ;  but  as  these 
people  make  little  or  no  use  of  chairs,  (either  sitting 
cross-legged,  or  lying  at  length  upon  these  floors,) 
they  always  cover  or  spread  them  over  with  carpets, 
which  for  the  most  part  are  of  the  richest  materials. 
Along  the  sides  of  the  wall,  or  floor,  a  range  of  nar- 
row beds,  or  mattresses,  is  often  placed  upon  these 
cai-pets  ;  and  for  their  further  ease  and  convenience, 
several  damask  or  velvet  bolsters  arc  placed  on  these 
carpets  or  mattresses — indulgences  that  seem  to  be 
alluded  to  by  the  stretching  themselves  upon  couches, 
and  the  sewing  of  pilloics  to  arm-holes,  as  we  have  it 
expressed  Amos  vi.  4  ;  Ezek.  xiii.  18,  20.  At  one 
end  of  each  chamber,  there  is  a  little  gallery,  raised 
three,  four,  or  five  feet  above  the  floor,  with  a  balus- 
trade in  the  front  of  it,  with  a  few  steps  likewise 
leading  up  to  it.  Here  they  place  their  beds ;  a 
situation  frequently  alluded  to  in  the  Holy  Scrip- 
tures, 

"The  stairs  are  sometimes  placed  in  the  porch, 
Bometimes  at  the  entrance  into  the  court.  When 
there  is  one  or  more  stories,  they  are  afterwards 
continued,  through  one  corner  or  other  of  the  gallery, 
to  the  top  of  the  house,  whither  they  concfuct   us 


through  a  door,  that  is  constantly  kept  shut,  lo  pre- 
vent their  domestic  animals  from  daubing  the  tenacc, 
and  thereby  spoiling  the  water  which  falls  from 
thence  into  the  cisterns  below  the  court.  This  door, 
like  most  others  we  meet  with  in  these  countries,  is 
hung,  not  with  hinges,  but  by  having  the  jamb  form- 
ed at  each  end  into  an  axletree,  or  pivot ;  whereof 
the  uppermost,  which  is  the  longest,  is  to  be  received 
into  a  correspondent  socket  in  the  lintel,  whilst  the 
other  falls  into  a  cavity  of  the  like  fashion  in  the 
threshold.  The  stone  door  so  much  admired  and 
taken  notice  of  by  Mr.  Maundrell,  in  his  Description 
of  the  Royal  Sepulchres  at  Jerusalem,  is  exactly  of 
this  fashion,  and  very  common  in  most  places. 

'•  I  do  not  remember  ever  to  have  observed  the  stair- 
case conducted  along  the  outside  of  the  house  ;  neither, 
indeed,  will  the  coutiguhy  and  relation  which  these 
houses  bear  to  the  street,  and  to  each  other,  (exclusive 
of  the  supposed  privacy  of  them,)  admit  of  any  such 
tvontrivance.  However,  we  maj'  go  uj)  or  come  down 
them,  by  the  stair-case  I  have  described,  without 
entering  into  any  of  the  offices  or  apartments,  and, 
consequently,  without  interfering  with  the  business  of 
the  house  ;  which  will  be  explanatory  enough  of 
Matt.  xxiv.  17  :  '  Let  him  that  is  upon  the  house-top 
not  come  down  to  take  any  thing  out  of  the  house,' 
provided  the  action  there  recorded  requireth  any  such 
interpretation. 

"  The  top  of  the  house,  which  is  always  flat,  in 
covered  with  a  strong  plaster  of  terrace  ;  from  whence, 
in  the  Frank  language,  it  hath  attained  the  name  of 
The  Terrace  ;  a  word  made  use  of,  likewise,  in  seve rsl 
parts  of  these  countries.  It  is  usually  surrounded  by 
two  walls  ;  the  outermost  whereof  is  partly  built  over 
the  street,  partly  maketh  the  jiartition  with  the  con- 
tiguous houses,  being  frequently  so  low  that  one 
may  easily  climb  over  it.  The  other,  which  I  call 
the  parapet  wall,  hangs  immediately  over  the  court, 
being  always  breast  high,  and  answereth  to  the 
npj'D  (Vulg.  Lorica,)  Deut.  xxii.  8,  which  we  render 
the  battlements.  Instead  of  this  parapet  wall,  some 
terraces  are  guarded  in  the  same  manner  the  galleries 
are,  with  balustrades  only,  or  latticed  work  ;  in  which 
fashion  probably,  as  the  name  seems  to  import,  was  the 
[n2DU']  net,  or  lattice,  as  we  render  it,  thatAhaziah  (2 
Kings  i.  2.)  might  be  carelessly  leaning  over,  when  he 
fell  down  from  thence  into  the  court.  For  upon  these 
teriaccs  several  offices  of  the  family  are  performed  ; 
such  as  the  drying  of  linen  and  flax,  (Josh.  ii.  6.)  the 
prepai'ingof  figs  and  raisins  ;  here,  likewise,  they  enjoy 
the  cool,  refreshing  breezes  of  the  evening;  converse 
with  on{>  another,  and  offer  up  their  devotions.  In 
the  Feast  of  Tabernacles  booths  were  erected  upon 
them,  Nell.  viii.  16.  When  one  of  these  cities  is 
built  upon  level  ground,  wc  can  pass  from  one  end  of 
it  to  the  other,  along  the  tops  of  the  houses,  without 
coming  down  into  the  street. 

"  Such,  in  general,  is  the  manner  and  contrivance  of 
the  eastern  houses.  And  if  it  may  be  presumed  that 
our  Saviour,  at  the  healing  of  the  j)aralytic,  waa 
preaching  in  a  house  of  this  fashion,  we  may,  by 
attending  only  to  the  structure  of  it,  give  no  small 
light  to  one  circumstance  of  that  history,  which  hath 
lately  given  great  otrence  to  some  unbelievers.  For, 
among  other  pretended  difllculties  and  absurdities 
relating  to  this  i'sfcA,  it  hath  been  urged,  that,  'as  the 
uncovering  or  breaking  up  of  the  roof ,  (Mark  ii.  4.)  or 
the  letting  a  person  douii  through  it,  (Luke  v.  19.)  sup- 
poses tlie  lireaking  up  of  tiles,  rafters,  &,c.  so  it  was 
well'  (as  the  aiithor  goes  on  in  his  ludicrous  manner) 
'  if  Jesus  and  hia  disciples  escaped  with  only  a  broken 


HOUSE 


[  507 


HOUSE 


pate,  by  tlic  falling  of  the  tiles,  and  if  tlie,  rest  were 
not  smothered  with  dust.'  But  that  nothing  of  this 
nature  happened,  will  appear  probable  troni  a  difier- 
ent  construction  that  may  be  put  upon  the  \^•ords  in 
the  original.     For  it  may  be  observed  witii  relation 

to  the  words    of  Mark,    (^ariiCiiiyaauv  Tir  OTfyt^t  '7/18  )^  I , 

>:ui  i'iooi'iui'Tfg,  &c.)  that  as  nriyi;  (no  Icss,  pei'liaps, 
than  tatlilo,  the  correspondent  word  in  the  Syriac 
version)  will  denote,  with  propriety  enough,  any  kind 
of  covering,  the  veil  which  I  liave'nu'Utioned,  as  well 
as  a  roof  or  ceiling  properly  so  called  ;  so  for  the 
same  rea-son  a.ioaTtYin  may  signify  the  imdoing  or  the 
removal  of  such  a  covering.  'Eiuni"iairfi,  [the  same 
word  rendered  Gal.  iv.  15,  "plucked  out,"]  which  we 
rendev  breaking  up,  is  omitted  in  the  Cambridge  MS. 
and  not  regarded  in  the  Syriac  and  some  other  ver- 
sions ;  the  translators,  perhaps,  either  not  rightly 
comprehending  the  meaning  of  it,  or  finding  the  con- 
text clear  without  it.  In  Jerome's  translation,  the 
correspondent  word  is  patcfacientes,  as  if  f^orii'Unrf; 
was  fiu'ther  explanatory  of  «  iff^'/cit'i  •  The  same  in 
the  Persian  version  is  expressed  by  quatuor  angulis 
Itctuli  totidem  funihus  minexis,  as  if  *ioor^«iTf;  related 
either  to  the  letting  do^vu  of  the  bed,  or  was  prepara- 
tory thereto  ;  to  the  making  holes  in  it  for  the  cords 
to  pass  through.  Though  it  is  still  more  probable 
that  it  should  be  joined  with  oriy);,  and  denote, agree- 
ably to  the  correspondent  word  palefacientes  in  Je- 
rome's translation,  a  further  laying  of  it  open,  by 
breaking  or  plucking  up  the  posts,  l)alustrades,  para- 
pet wall,  or  whatever  else  supported  it.  The  con- 
text, therefore,  according  to  this  explication,  will  run 
thus:  'When  they  could  not  come  at  Jesus  for  the 
press,  they  drew  back  the  veil  where  he  was,'  or 
they  laid  open  that  part  of  it  especially  (o-7«  ;]))  which 
was  spread  o\'er  the  place  where  he  was  sitting,  '  and 
having  removed  (plucked  away)  whatever  should 
keep  it  extended,  (and  thereby  hinder  them  from 
doing  their  intended  good  office,)  they  let  down  the 
bed  wherein  the  sick  of  the  palsy  lay.'  For  that 
there  was  not  the  least  force  or  violence  offered  to 
the  roof,  and,  consequently,  that  «£ooi  i«)Tfc,  no  less 
than  antnTtyaaicr,  will  admit  of  some  other  interj)re- 
tations  than  what  have  been  given  to  them  in  our 
version,  appears  from  the  parallel  place  in  Luke, 
where  ^'i(  ro>v  y.eodfwn-  y.adtjxav  aihur  (whicli  we  trans- 
late, 'they  let  him  down  through  the  tiling,' as  if  that 
had  actually  been  already  broken  up)  should  be  ren- 
dered, '  they  let  him  down  over,  along  the  side  or  by 
the  way  of,  the  roof.'  For,  as  xtoauoi,  or  tegulee, 
which  originally,  perhaps,  denoted  a  roof  of  tiles, 
like  those  of  the  northern  nations,  were  afterwards 
applied  to  the  Tedinn,  or  Ji'iia  in  general,  so  the 
meaning  of  letting  down  a  person  into  the  house  jser 
tegidas,  or  Siu  r«i  yenanvir,  can  depend  only  on  the 
use  of  the  preposition  3ta.  Now,  both  in  Acts  ix.  25, 
Ku9>]y.(xv  [ai'roi]  Si'a  lov  Tti/«c,  and  2  Cor.  xi.  33,  '/«- 
X^a!)iiv  Slit  Toil  Tf//Hc,  (where  the  like  phraseology  is 
observed  as  in  Luke,)  ('/«  is  rendered  in  both  places 
by,  that  is,  aloiig  the  side,  or  by  the  way,  of  the  ivall. 
By  interpreting,  therefore,  fi<^  in  this  sense,  <^iU  Ton 
xinutiwv  y.aftt]y.ur  urrur  will  be  rendered  as  above,  'they 
let  him  down  over,'  or  '  by  the  way  of,  the  wall,'  just 
as  we  may  suppose  M.  Antony  to  have  been,  agree- 
ably to  a  noted  passage  in  Tally.  An  action  of  the 
same  nature  seems  to  be  likewise  implied  in  what  is 
related  of  Jupiter,  (Ter.  Eun.  iii.  5,  37.)  where  he  is 
Baid  sese  in  hominem  convertisse,  atque  per  alienas 
tegulas  venisse  clanculum  per  Impluvium.  And  of 
the  snake,  which  we  learn,  (Ter.  Phorm.  iv.  4,  47.) 
per  Impluvium  decidisse  de  tegulis.     What  Dr.  Light- 


ibot  also  observes  out  of  tiie  Talmud,  on  Mark  ii.  4, 
will,  by  an  alteration  only  of  the  preposition  which 
answers  to  iha,  further  vouch  for  this  interpretation. 
For,  as  it  is  there  cited,  'when  Rabh  Honna  tvas  dead, 
and  his  bier  could  not  be  carried  out  through  the  door, 
tvhich  was  too  straight  and  narrow,  therefore'  (in  order, 
as  we  may  supply,  to  bury  it)  [■^S^v'^o  tdd]  'they 
thought  good  to  let  it  down  [juj  im]  through  the  roof, 
or  through  the  way  of  thereof,'  as  the  doctor  renders 
it,  but  it  should  be  rather,  as  in  Sut  twi  y.iQuuwr, 
or  (^(u  Tuii  Tt'i^si,  'by  the  way  of,'  or  'over  the  roof,' 
viz.  by  taking  it  upon  the  terrace,  and  letting  it  down 
upon  the  wall,  that  way,  into  the  street.  We  have  a 
passage  in  AulusGellius,  exactly  of  the  same  purport, 
where  it  is  said,  that  if '  any  person  in  chains  should 
make  his  escape  into  the  house  of  the  Flamen  Dialis, 
that  he  should  be  forthwith  loosed ;  and  that  his  fet- 
ters should  be  drawn  up  through  the  Impluvium, 
upon  the  roof,  (terrace,)  and  from  thence  be  let  down 
into  the  highway  or  street.'  When  the  use,  then,  of 
these  phrases,  and  the  fashion  of  these  houses,  are 
rightly  considered,  there  will  be  no  reason,  I  pre- 
sume, for  supposing  any  breach  to  have  been  made 
in  the  tegid(E,  or  yiQcuoi ,  since  all  that  was  to  be  done 
in  the  case  of  the  paralytic,  was,  to  carry  him  up  to  the 
top  of  the  house,  either  by  forcing  their  way  through 
the  crowd,  up  the  stair-case,  or  else  by  conveying 
him  over  soine  of  the  neighboring  terraces  ;  and 
there,  after  they  had  drawn  away  the  [ffT*'/>,]  veil,  to 
let  him  down,  along  the  side  of  the  roof  (through  the 
opening  or  Impluvium)  into  the  midst  (of  the  court) 
before  Jesus." 

Such  arc  Dr.  Shaw's  remarks  on  this  narrative ; 
but  there  are  some  omissions  which  Mr.  Taylor  has 
attem])ted  to  supply. 

It  should  be  premised,  that,  in  general,  houses  in 
the  East  are  but  one  story  high  ;  so  that  the  men 
who  carried  the  paralytic  had  not  far  to  mount  with 
him,  nor  far  to  lower  him  down  from  the  roof  to 
which  they  had  ascended.  They  went  up  the  private 
staii--case  of  the  oleah,  or  attached  building,  which 
was  free  from  the  crowd,  because  Jesus,  being  in  the 
interior,  was  distant  from  this  entrance.  In  fact,  Je- 
sus was  in  the  middle  court  of  the  house  ;  for  Dr. 
Shaw  tells  us,  that  the  (to  tuaor,)  "  the  midst"  of  Luke, 
is  the  el  IVoost,  the  court  allotted  for  the  reception  of 
large  companies,  whereas,  in  our  version,  this  "  in  tha 
midst"  seems  to  imply  among  the  people,  in  the 
midst  of  the  crowd  ;  and  that  a  large  company  was 
now  attending  the  discom-scs  of  Jesus,  is  plain  from 
the  history.  The  mention  of  a  middle  court  implies 
a  large  house  ;  while  the  observation,  that  doctors  of 
the  law  and  Pharisees  were  sitting  by  (who  were 
come  from  surrounding  towns,  and  even  from  Jeru- 
salem) agrees  with  an  extensive  building,  inhabited 
by  a  j)erson  of  consequence,  who  accommodated 
these  dignified  visitors  on  this  occasion  ; — which 
some  have  supposed  was  an  appointed  meeting  of 
these  great  men.  Now,  to  a  house  of  magnitude,  a 
private  stair-case  always  is  an  appendage ;  and  is 
next  the  porch,  or  street,  says  the  doctor,  "without 
giving  the  least  disturbance  to  the  house."  Up  these 
stairs,  therefore,  the  bearers  of  the  paralytic  carried 
him  and  his  bed  ;  and  so  far  over  the  (flat)roof  of  the 
house,  till  they  came  to  the  middle  court ; — but,  when 
arrived  here,  how  shoidd  they  make  known  their 
errand  ? — they  could  not  possibly  shoiv  the  patient  to 
the  people  (nor  communicate  with  any,  not  even 
with  Jesus  himself)  below  them  ;  so  they  determined 
on  lettine  him  down  over  the  parapet.  Our  patient 
is  now  on  the  roof;  (fo  S^^'u  .)  but  this  roof  was  flat, 


HOUSE 


[  508 


HOUSE 


and  even  paved  ;  we  must,  therefore,  absolutely  pro- 
hibit the  idea  of  tiles  covering  this  roof,  which,  with- 
out such  prohibition,  will  rise  in  the  mind  of  English 
readers.  On  the  contrary,  these  men  lifted  up  their 
burden  over  the  parapet,  (say  two  feet  in  height,)  and 
having  tied  the  four  corners  of  the  bed  with  cords, 
they  lowered  him  down  the  face  of  the  wall,  along 
the  painted  tiles,  with  which  that  face  was  adorned, 
into  the  middle  court,  where  Jesus  stood,  teaching. 
To  establish  this  representation,  we  remark,  that  the 
word  xtQauog  means  a  tile  of  a  better  kind,  not  a 
brick-kiln  tile,  but  an  ornamental,  painted  piece  of 
pottery ; — a  potter's  production,  which  he  has  taken 
pains  with ;  like  the  Dutch-tiles,  or  galley-tiles,  of 
our  old-fashioned  chimneys.  Such  is  the  kind  of 
tile  which  should  be  understood  in  this  place  ;  and 
that  such  are  used  to  ornament  the  faces  of  the  walls 
of  the  internal  court,  we  have  the  authority  of  Dr. 
Shaw  himself;  who  not  only  describes  them,  but 
shows  them  very  distinctly  in  his  print.  This  de- 
scription of  the  place  where  the  event  hapjjened,  ex- 
cludes at  once  every  possibility  of  "breaking  up  tiles, 
spars,  and  rat\ei-s" — every  possibility  of  "  Jesus  and 
his  disciples  escaping  with  only  a  broken  pate,  by  the 
falling  of  the  tiles,  and  the  rest  being  smothered  with 
the  dust ;"  which  is  the  ludicrous  language  of  a  re- 
marker  on  the  miracles  of  Jesus  ;  but  with  what  ju- 
dicious ideas  of  this  transaction  let  the  reader  now 
judge;  and  let  the  reader  judge,  too,  on  the  necessity 
for  accurate  information  on  some  minuticB,  seemingly 
unimportant,  in  order  to  vindicate,  correctly  and  ade- 
quately, the  miracles  of  Jesus. 

We  now  turn  to  the  evangelist  Mark's  account  of 
this  event,  chap.  ii.  4.  Our  translators  say,  "  And 
when  the  men  who  carried  the  paralytic  could  not 
come  nigh  to  Jesus  for  the  press  [read,  through  the 
crowd]  they  uncovered  the  roof  [u.iiaTtyaaav  t/,7 
or*/»;i)  where  he  was;  and  when  they  had  broken  it 
up,  [iioqiiavTi;^)  they  let  down  the  bed  {y.qu^^'iaTor) 
wherein  the  sick  of  the  palsy  lay."  The  first  action 
here,  as  it  seems,  is — they  uncovered  the  roof,  and 
broke  it  up  ;  notwithstanding  that  Luke  says,  this  oc- 
curred in  the  middle  court  of  a  great  house,  which 
court  could  have  no  roof.  But  Dr.  Shaw  tells  us, 
and  we  know  from  other  sources,  that  the  court  was 
covered  by  a  canopy,  as  a  shelter  from  the  solar  rays  ; 
and  this  is  clearly  expressed  by  the  word  Tt/);,  ren- 
dered roof,  which  should  have  been  rendei-ed  cover- 
ing, or  shade.  This  is  the  rendering  of  the  Syriac 
version  ;  tatlio,  any  kind  of  covering,  and  the  phrase- 
ology of  the  evangehst  affords  a  kind  of  joarojiomasia, 
or  repetition  of  the  same  word  ;  as  if  we  should 
say,  "  they  uncovered  the  covering"  of  the  court ; 
this  conveys  the  idea,  though  the  jihraseology  is 
not  pleasant.  To  say  simply,  "  remove  the  cover- 
ing," though  it  marks  the  action,  yet  does  not  convey 
the  relation  of  the  words  to  each  other;  hut,  had  this 
relation  of  the  words  been  expressed,  our  translators 
could  never  have  been  understood  as  meaning  "  un- 
roof the  roof;"  that  would  have  appeared  preposter- 
ous ;  a  labor  and  a  liberty  not  to  bo  taken  by  four 
strangers,  who  might  with  strict  propriety  have 
waited  till  the  sermon  was  over.  But  if  the  braces  of 
this  veil,  as  we  suppose,  were  fastened  to  hooks,  or 
something  similar,  in  the  parapet  wall,  or  into  the 
roof,  or  beams  of  the  building,  then  the  men.  by  im- 
fastening  one  of  these  ijracos,  would  open  the  canopv 
which  prevented  them  from  seeing  below,  and  pre- 
vented the  people  below  from  seeing  them.  This 
opening  would  remove  the  obstruction  to  the  pres- 


ence of  Jesus;  and  thus  they  would,  strictly  speak- 
ing, uncanopy  the  canopy  ;  according  to  the  phrase- 
ology of  the  evangelist. 

Our  translators,  having  mentioned  the  roof,  seem 
to  say,  "  they  broke  it  up." — But  this  word  [iioqi'^arrt?) 
rather  refers  to  the  bed  ;  though  whether  it  signifies 
broke  up  may  be  questioned.  It  is  omitted  in  the 
Cambridge  MS.  and  is  not  regarded  in  the  Syriac 
version  ;  the  Persian  version  renders,  "  to  the  four 
corners  of  the  bed  they  attached  cords."  We  find 
the  same  word  in  Gal.  iv.  15,  vexiAereA plucked  out — 
but  how  can  that  be  its  meaning  in  this  instance  ? 
The  answer  becomes  easy,  after  we  have  considered, 
that  the  evangelists  use  two  words,  both  inaccurately 
rendered  bed.  Luke's  word  (>;A()>,)  signifies  a  kind  of 
truckle-bed  ;  that  is,  a  bedstead,  or  a  bed  having  a 
frame- work  round  it ;  whereas,  Mark  calls  it  krab- 
baton,  a  bed  consisting  of  a  single  carpet,  or  sacking, 
only.  Yet  there  is  no  contradiction  between  the 
evangelists,  because  it  was  both  these  kinds  of  bed. 
Let  it  be  considered,  first,  that  this  man  was  "  borne 
of  four" — which  may  safely  be  taken  to  imply  one 
bearer  at  each  corner  of  his  truckle-bed  {x?.iyr);  but 
a  truckle-bed  was  much  too  cumbersome  to  allow  the 
bearers  to  force  their  way  through  the  passages  lead- 
ing to  the  inner  court,  and  through  the  crowd  assem- 
bled ;  they,  therefore,  carried  this  y.?.irr;  up  the  private 
stair-case,  and  having  brought  it  to  the  [larapet  next 
to  the  inner  court,  they  took  out  the  sacking  from  the 
bedstead;  and  this  sacking,  a  mere  ATa66afon, amere 
hammock,  they  let  down,  with  the  patient  on  it,  into 
the  court  below. 

The  propriety  of  using  a  word  which  signifies 
plucked  out,  is  now  clear ;  for,  in  fact,  they  plucked 
out  the  sacking  from  the  bedstead  ;  and  here  comes 
in  the  idea  of  the  Persian  translator,  these  four  men 
tied  four  cords  to  the  krabbaton,  one  at  each  corner, 
and  lowered  it  into  the  court,  through  the  opening 
they  had  made  in  the  canopy.  Can  we  avoid  reflect- 
ing how  deeply  we  are  indebted  to  the  evangelists, 
whose  different  words,  when  properly  understood, 
mutually  illustrate  each  other?  Luke  says,  "  Behold, 
men  brought  a  man  in  a  bed,  [y./.ln;,)  and  let  him  down 
through  (along)  the  tiling,  with  his  couch"  {y^.inSior) 
— which  answers  preciselj'  to  the  krabbaton — the 
sacking,  the  hammock,  of  Mark.  Nor  is  it  difiicult 
to  arrange  these  narrations  into  one  :  "  And  behold, 
for  it  is  well  worthy  of  notice,  they  came  unto  Jesus, 
bringing  one  sick  of  the  palsy,  who,  lying  along  in  a 
truckle-bed,  [>;/./it;,  Matt.  ix.  2.]  was  borne  by  four 
bearers,  one  at  each  corner  of  the  bedstead  ;  and  they 
sought  means  to  bring  him  in,  with  this  encumbrance 
of  a  bedstead,  because  the  poor  sufferer  was  unable  to 
walk,  designing  to  lay  him  lieforc  Jesus,  as  a  remark- 
able object  of  compjissiou.  And  when  they  could 
not  find  by  what  way  they  might  bring  him  in,  and 
could  not  even  come  near  him  (Jesus)  because  of  the 
nniltitude,  they  took  the  paralytic,  in  his  bedstead, 
and  went  uj)  the  private  stair-case,  by  which  they 
entered  on  the  roof  of  the  house,  and  going  along  the 
roof,  till  they  arrived  at  the  inner  court,  they  loosed 
some  of  the  braces  of  the  covering  that  was  extended 
over  that  court ;  which  braces  were  connected  with 
the  parapet  on  the  roof.  And  when  they  had  sejia- 
rated  the  sacking,  (krabbaton)  from  the  bedstead, 
(;<;./i»;.)  they  tied  a  cord  to  each  of  the  four  corners  of 
the  sacking,  and  let  down  this  diminished  bed,  or 
couch,  {kliyiidion,)  along  the  painted  tiles,  into  the 
middle  court,  direct  before  Jesus ;  close  to  him,  in 
fact,  so  that  he  could  not  avoid  seeing  the  patient ; 


HOUSE 


509 


HOUSE 


nor  could  the  people  avoid  looking  up,  to  see  where 
the  disabled  sufferer  came  from." 

We  now  resume  Dr.  Shaw's  description  of  an 
eastern  house : — 

"  To  most  of  these  houses  there  is  a  smaller  one 
annexed,  which  sometimes  rises  one  story  higher 
than  the  house  ;  at  other  times  it  consists  of  one  or 
two  rooms  only,  and  a  terrace;  whilst  others,  that 
are  built  (as  they  frequently  are)  over  the  porch  or 
gateway,  have  (if  we  except  the  ground  floor,  which 
they  have  not)  all  the  conveniences  that  belong  to  the 
house,  properly  so  called.  There  is  a  door  of  com- 
munication from  them  into  the  gallery  of  the  house, 
kept  open  or  shut  at  the  discretion  of  the  master  of 
the  family  ;  besides  another  door,  which  opens  im- 
mediately from  a  privy-stairs,  (Luke  xxiv.  17.)  down 
into  the  porch  or  street,  without  giving  the  least  dis- 
turbance to  the  house.  These  back-houses  are  known 
by  the  name  of  Alee,  or  01eah,(for  the  house,  prop- 
erly so  called,  is  Dar,  or  Beet,)  and  in  them  strangers 
are  usually  lodged  and  entertained  ;  in  them  the  sons 
of  the  family  are  permitted  to  keep  their  concubines; 
and  thither,  likewise,  the  men  are  wont  to  retire,  from 
the  hurry  and  noise  of  their  families,  to  be  more  at 
leisure  for  meditation  or  diversions ;  besides  the  use 
they  ai-e  at  other  times  put  to,  in  serving  for  ward- 
robes and  magazines. 

"TheOleah  (rcSj-)  of  Holy  Scripture,  being  literal- 
ly the  same  appellation,  is  accordingly  so  rendered  in 
the  Arabic  version.     We  may  suppose  it,  then,  to 

have  been  a  structure 

I"  *3     of  the    like   contriv- 

ance. The  little  cham- 
ber, consequently, 
that  was  built  t)y  the 
Shunaniite  for  Eli- 
sha  ;  (whither,  as  the 
text  instructs  us,  he 
retired  at  his  pleasure 
without  breaking  in 
on  the  jirivate  affairs 
of  the  family,  or  be- 
ing in  his  turn  inter- 
rupted by  them  in  his 
devotions;)  the  sum- 
mer chamber  of  Eg- 
lon ;  (which,  in  the 
eame  manner  with  these,  seems  to  have  had  privy- 
stairs  belonging  to  it,  through  which  Ehud  escaped 
after  he  had  revenged  Israel  upon  that  king  of  Moab  ;) 
the  chamber  over  the  gate  ;  (whither,  for  the  gi-eater 
privacy,  king  David  withdrew  himself  to  weep  for 
Absalom  ;)  and  that  upon  whose  terrace  Ahaz,  for 
the  same  reason,  erected  his  altars ;  seem  to  have 
been  structures  of  the  like  nature  and  contrivance 
with  these  Olees.  Besides,  as  each  of  tliese  places, 
called  Oleah  (n^Sv,  or  r^Sy)  in  the  Hebrew  text  and  in 
the  Arabic  version,  is  expressed  by  '  .tfo<'ov,  in  the 
LXX,  it  may  be  presumed,  that  the  same  word, 
t'.TfOMor,  where  it  occurs  in  the  New  Testament,  im- 
plieth  the  same  thing.  The  upper  chamber,  there- 
fore, (I'.TfOfooi,)  where  Tabitha  was  laid  after  her 
death,  and  that  where  Eutychus  fell  down  from  the 
third  loft,  besides  other  instances,  may  be  taken  for 
so  many  of  these  back-houses,  or  Olees;  as  they  are 
indeed  so  called  in  the  Arabic  version.  That  V',7fomo> 
denotes  such  private  apartments  as  these  (for  garrets, 
from  the  flatness  of  the  roof,  are  not  known  in  these 
climates)  seems  likewise  probable  from  the  use  of  the 
word  among  classic  authors.  For  the  >rr roMor  where 
Mercury  and  Mars  (7Z.  77.184.)  carried  on  their  amours, 


and  where  Penelope  {Od.  O.  515.)  and  the  young  vir- 
gins kept  themselves  at  a  distance  from  the  solicita- 
tions of  their  wooers,  appear  to  carry  along  with 
them  circumstances  of  gieater  privacy  and  retire- 
ment than  are  consistent  with  chambers  in  any  other 
situation.  Further,  that  Oleah,  or  >  .-,fn^w> ,  could  not 
barely  signify  a  single  chamber  {canaculum)  or 
dining-room,  but  one  of  these  contiguous  houses, 
divided  into  several  apartments,  seems  to  appear  from 
the  circumstance  of  the  altars  which  Ahaz  erected 
upon  the  top  of  his  Olee.  For,  besides  the  sui)posed 
privacy  of  his  idolatry,  (which  could  not  have  been 
caiTied  on  undiscovered  in  any  apartment  of  the 
house,  because  under  the  perpetual  view  and  obser- 
vation, as  it  may  be  supposed,  of  the  family,)  if  his 
Oleah  had  been  only  one  chamber  of  the  [Beth  ra] 
liouse,  the  roof  would  have  been  ascribed  to  the 
Beth,  and  not  to  the  Oleah,  which,  upon  this  suppo- 
sition, could  only  make  one  chamber  of  it.  A  cir- 
cumstance of  the  like  nature  may  probably  be  col- 
lected from  the  Arabic  version  o(  vTifQt'wr,  in  Acts  ix. 
39,  where  it  is  not  rendered  as  in  ver.  37,  but  Girfat ; 
intimating,  perhaps,  that  part  or  particular  chamber 
where  the  damsel  was  laid.  The  falling,  likewise, 
of  Eutychus,  from  the  third  loft  (as  the  context 
seems  to  imply)  of  the  Oleah  (for  there  is  no  men- 
tion made  of  a  house)  may  be  received,  I  presume, 
as  a  further  proof  of  this  supposition.  For  it  hath 
been  already  observed  that  these  Olees  are  built  with 
the  same  conveniences  as  the  house  itself;  conse- 
quently, what  position  soever  the  vti toojor  may  be 
supposed  to  have,  from  the  seeming  etyniolog}'  of 
the  name,  will  be  applicable  to  the  Olee  as  well  as  to 
the  house.  The  word  ?'rrfOf*o>  will  admit  of  another 
interpretation  in  our  favor ;  denoting  not  so  much  a 
chamber  remarkable  for  the  high  situation  of  it,  (as 
Eustathius  and  others  after  him  gave  in  to,)  but  such 
a  building  as  is  erected  upon  or  beyond  the  Avails  or 
borders  of  another:  just  as  the  Olees  are  actually 
contrived  in  regard  to  the  house.  Neither  will  this 
interpretation  interfere  with  the  high  situation  that 
f:ienc7,oy  may  be  further  supposed  to  have,  from  being 
frequently  joined  with  «i«,'i'«nf/i ,  or  xuraSali  en  .  Be- 
cause the  going  in  or  out  of  the  house  (whose  ground- 
floor  lieth  upon  the  same  level  with  the  street)  could 
not  be  expressed  by  words  of  such  import :  whereas, 
the  Olees  being  usually  built  over  the  porch  or  gate- 
way, a  small  staircase  is  to  be  mounted  before  we  can 
be  said  projierly  to  enter  them,  and  consequently 
iduitthfn  and  xaiuSaitfiy  are  very  applicable  to  struc- 
tures in  such  a  situation. 

"The  eastern  method  of  building  may  ftu-ther  as- 
sist us,  in  accounting  for  the  particular  structure  of 
the  fen^plc  or  house  of  Dagon,  (Judg.  xvi.)  and  the 
great  number  of  people  that  were  buried  in  the  ruins 
of  it,  by  jMilling  down  the  two  principal  pillars.  We 
read,  (vor.  27.)  that  about  "three  thousand  ])erson3 
were  upon  the  roof  to  behold  while  Samson  made 
sport."  Samson  nuist,  therefore,  have  been  in  a  court 
or  area  below  them  ;  and  consequently  the  temple  will 
be  of  the  same  kind  with  the  ancient  Tfiun.  or  sacred 
enclosiuTs,  surrounded  only  in  part  or  altogether 
with  sonie  plain  or  cloistered  buildings.  Several 
places  and  Dau-wdnas,  as  they  call  the  coiu-ts  of  jus- 
tice in  these  countries,  are  built  in  this  fashion ; 
where,  upon  their  festivals  and  rejoicings,  a  great 
quantity  of  sand  is  strewed  upon  the  area  for  the 
(Pello-wans)  wrestlers  to  fall  ujjon  ;  whilst  the  roof 
of  these  cloisters,  round  about,  are  crowded  with 
spectators  of  their  strength  and  agility.  I  have  often 
seen  several  hundreds   of  people    diverted   in    this 


HOUSE 


[  510 


HOUSE 


manner  upon  the  roof  of  the  dey's  palace  at  Algiers; 
which,  like  many  moi'e  of  the  same  quality  and 
denoniiuationj  hath  an  advanced  cloister,  over  against 
the  gate  of  the  palace,  (Esth.  v.  1.)  made  in  tlie  fash- 
ion of  a  large  pent-house,  supported  only  by  one  or 
two  contiguous  pillars  in  the  front,  or  else  in  the 
centre.  In  such  open  structures  as  these,  in  the 
midst  of  their  guards  and  counsellors,  are  the  baslias, 
kadees,  and  other  great  officers,  to  distribute  justice 
and  transact  the  public  affairs  of  their  provinces. 
Here,  likewise,  they  have  their  public  entertainments, 
as  the  lords  and  others  of  the  Philistines  had  in  the 
house  of  Dagon.  Upon  a  supposition,  tlierelbrc,  that 
in  the  house  of  Dagon  there  was  a  cloistered  struc- 
ture of  this  kind,  the  pulling  down  the  front  or  cen- 
tre pillars  only  which  supported  it,  would  be  attended 
with  the  hke  catastrophe  that  happened  to  the  Philis- 
tines."    (Shaw's  Travels.) 

The  doctor  has  not  alluded  to  Peter's  vision,  (Acts 
X.  9.)  yet  as  that  was  on  the  top  of  the  house,  on  the 
terrace,  we  may  see  how  fit  a  place  it  was  lor  sucli 
n  purpose  ;  as  being,  (1.)  open  to  the  heaven,  whence 
the  sheet  seemed  to  descend;  (2.)  private, and  at  that 
time  secluded,  ht  for  prayer.  David  walked  on  his 
terrace  ;  Nebuchadnezzar  walked  on  his  royal  ter- 
race, whence  he  could  have  a  full  prospect  of  "  the 
fjreat  Babylon  which  he  had  built."  Absalom  defiled 
lis  father's  wives  on  the  terrace  of  the  royal  palace ; 
that  is,  in  the  open  sight  of  heaven  and  of  men. 

We  have  repeated  intimations  in  Scripture,  of  a 
custom  which  a\  ould  be  extremely  inconvenient  in 
this  country — that  of  sleeping  on  the  top  of  the  house, 
exposed  to  the  open  air,  and  sky.  Thus,  "  Samuel 
came  to  call  Saul  aboiU  the  spring  of  the  day,  not  to, 
but  ON,  the  top  of  the  house,  and  communed  with 
him  o.v  the  house-top,"  1  Sam.  ix.  2.5,  2G.  So  Solo- 
mon observes,  "  It  is  better  to  dwell  in  a  corner  on 
the  house-top,  than  with  a  brawling  woman  in  a  wide 
liouse,"  Prov.  xxv.  24.  "It  has  ever  been  a  custom 
with  tliem,  [the  Arabs  in  the  East,]  equally  connect- 
ed with  health  and  pleasure,  to  pass  the  nights  in 
summer  upon  the  house-tops,  which,  for  this  very 
purpose,  are  made  flat,  and  divided  from  each  other 
by  walls.  We  found  this  way  of  sleeping  extremely 
agreeable  ;  as  we  thereby  enjoyed  the  cool  air,  above 
the  reach  of  gnats  and  vapors,  without  any  other 
covering  than  the  canopy  of  the  heavens,  which  un- 
avoidably presents  itself  in  different  pleasing  forms, 
upon  every  interruption  of  rest,  when  silence  and 
solitude  strongly  dispose  the  mind  to  contemplation." 
(Wood's  Balbec,  Introduction.)  "  I  determined  he 
should  lodge  in  a  kiosk,  on  the  top  of  my  house, 
where  I  kept  him  till  his  exaltation  to  the  patriarch- 
ate, which,  after  a  long  negotiation,  my  wife's  brother 
obtained,  for  a  pretty  large  sum  of  money,  to  be  paid 
in  new  sequins."  (Baron  du  Tott,  vol,  i.  p.  8.3.)  The 
propriety  of  the  Mosaic  precept,  (Deut.  xxii.  8.)  which 
orders  a  kind  of  balustrade,  or  ])arapet,  to  surround 
the  roof,  lest  any  man  should  fall  thence,  is  strongly 
enforced  by  this  relation  ;  for,  if  we  suppose  a  person 
to  rise  in  the  night,  without  being  fidly  awake,  he 
might  easily  kill  himself  by  falling  from  the  roof 
Something  of  the  kind  appears  in  the  historyof  Am- 
aziah,  2  Kings  i.  2.  In  several  places  we "^  read  of 
grass  growing  on  the  house-tops  ;  (see  Grass  ;)  also 
of  persons  on  the  house-top  hastily  escaping  thence 
without  entering  the  house  to  secure  thoir^jroperty 
—as  if  hastily  awaked  out  of  sleep,  by  the  clamors 
of  an  invading  enemy. 

There  remains  to  be  noticed  something  of  the  in- 
ternal structure  of  these  houses;  so  far,  at  least,  ns  is 


necessary  to  elucidate  some  occurrences  mentioned 
in  Scripture. 

"  In  one  of  the  halls  of  the  seraglio  at  Constanti- 
nople," says  De  la  3Iotraye,  "  the  eunuch  made  us 
pass  by  several  little  chambers,  with  doors  shut,  like 
the  cells  of  monks  or  nuns,  as  far  as  I  could  judge 
by  one  that  another  eunuch  opened,  which  was  the 
only  one  I  saw  ;  and  by  the  outside  of  others."  (Vol. 
ii.  p.  170.)  "  Assan  Firally  Bachaw — being  summon- 
ed by  his  friends — came  out  of  a  little  house  near  the 
towers,  where  he  had  been  long  hidden  in  his  harem, 
which,  had  it  been  suspected  by  the  mufti,  he  had 
not  denied  his  fetfa  to  the  emperor,  for  seizing  his 
person,  even  there." — "  The  harems  are  sanctuaries, 
as  sacred  and  inviolable,  for  persons  pursued  by  jus- 
tice, for  any  crime,  debt,  &c.  as  the  Roman  Catholic 


churches  in  Italy,  Spain,  or  Portugal  ;  though  thr 
grand  seignior's  power  over  his  creatures  is  such,  that 
he  may  send  some  of  his  eunuchs  even  there,  to  ap- 
prehend those  who  resist  his  will."  (Vol.  i.  p.  242. 
Note.)  "  The  harems  of  the  Greeks  are  almost  as 
sacred  as  those  of  the  Turks  ;  so  that  the  officers  of 
justice  dare  not  enter,  without  being  sure  that  a  man 
is  there,  contrary  to  the  law  :  and  if  they  should  go  in, 
and  not  find  what  they  look  for,  the  woman  may 
])miish,  and  even  kill  theni,  without  being  molested 
for  any  infringement  of  the  law  :  on  the  contrary,  the 
relations  would  ha\e  a  right  to  n:akc  reprisals,  and 
demand  satisfaction  for  sucli  violence."  (j).  340.) 
Those  persons  who  have  not  seen  the  cells  of  monks, 
or  nuns,  in  foreign  countries,  may  conceive  of  a  long 
gallery,  or  other  sjjacious  apartment,  as  a  large  hall, 
or  gallery,  into  wiiich  the  doors  of  the  cells  open. 
So  it  appears,  that  in  the  East,  also,  we  must  first  pass 
througli  a  long  hall,  or  gallery,  before  we  can  enter 
the  peculiar  abode  of  any  i)articular  woman  of  the 
harem.  We  may  first  i\\yp\y  this  mode  of  dwelling 
toacircumstanc(>  threatened  by  tlie  prophet  Micaiah, 
to  his  oiiponent,  Zedekiah,  in  1  Kings  xxii.  25, 
"  Thou  slialt  go  into  an  inner  chamber,  to  hide  thy- 
self" Our  translators  have  put  in  the  margin,  "  from 
chamber  to  chamber." — The  Hebrew  is  "  chamber 
xoithin  chamber ;"  which  exactly  agrees  with  the  de- 


HOUSE 


[  511  ] 


HOUSE 


scription  extracted  from  Motraye  ;  but  it  is  new,  to 
consider  this  tlireat  as  predicting  that  Zedekiah 
should  fly  for  shelter  to  a  harem  ;  (as  we  find  Assan 
Firally  linchaw  had  done  ;)  that  his  fear  should  ren- 
der him,  as  it  were,  effeminate,  and  that  he  should 
seek  refuge  where  it  was  not  usual  for  a  man  to  seek 
it;  where  neither  "the  officers  of  justice,"  nor  even 
those  of  conquerors,  usually  penetrated.  There  is 
an  additional  disgrace,  a  sting  in  these  words,  if  this 
be  the  intention  of  the  speaker,  stronger  than  what 
has  hitherto  been  noticed  in  them.  Is  not  something 
similar,  also,  related  of  Benhadad,  in  1  Kings  xx.  30, 
"He  Jed,"  and  was  so  overcome  with  fear,  that  he 
hid  himself  in  "  a  chamber  within  chamber  ?"  As  it 
is  very  characteristic  of  braggarts  and  drunkards  (see 
verses  16,  18,  &c.)  to  be  mentally  overwhelmed, 
when  in  adversity,  may  we  suppose  that  Benhadad 
was  now  concealed  in  the  harem? — The  circum- 
stances following  do  not  militate  against  this  suppo- 
sition. That  the  word  cheder  means  a  woman's 
chamber,  appears  from  Judg.  xv.  1,  where  Samson 
says,  "I  wll  go  to  my  wife  into  her  chamber" 
(m-r.n.J     (See  also  Cant.  iii.  4.) 

Does  not  this  representation  also  illustrate  the  story 
of  Michal's  stratagem  to  save  David  ?  (1  Sam.xix.  12, 
&c.] — in  wliicli  we  observe,  that,  to  effect  his  purpose, 
Saul  sent  messengers  to  Michal ;  but  these  messen- 
gers treated  the  harem  of  Michal  (the  king's  daughter) 
with  too  much  respect  to  enter  it  at  first :  but,  being 
subsequently  authorized  by  Saul,  they  entered  even 
into  her  chamber,  and  during  the  delay  occasioned 
by  their  respect  for  the  privacy  of  31ichal,  David  es- 
caped. How  urgent  was  this  order  of  Saul,  which 
thus,  in  the  person  of  his  daughter,  violated  the  pro- 
priety and  decorum  due  to  the  sex  !  A  confirmation 
of  this  idea  may  be  deduced  from  baron  du  Tott ;  in 
whose  work  we  find  a  sick  prince  confined  to  the 
harem  of  his  palace  :  "  Krim  Gueray  [the  cham  of 
the  Crimea]  was  so  weak,  he  scarceh^  could  appear 
in  public  ;  but  the  artful  physician  declared  it  a  salu- 
tary crisis,  describing  the  symptoms  as  they  followed, 
and  warranted  a  cure.  Krim  Gueray,  however,  was 
confined  to  his  harem;  and  I  was  justly  terrified  at 
his  situation.  I  had  lost  all  hope,  and  never  expected 
more  to  see  the  cham,  when  he  sent  for  me,  to  come 
and  speak  to  him.  I  was  introduced  into  his  harem, 
where  I  found  several  of  his  women,  whose  grief,  and 
the  general  consternation,  had  made  them  forget  to 
retire.  I  entered  the  apartment  where  the  cham 
lay  .  .  .  ."     (Vol.  i.  part  iii.  p.  209.) 

This  sanctity  of  the  harem  agrees  also  with  the 
Btory  of  Jael  and  Sisera : — for,  doubtless,  Sisera  ex- 
pected the  greatest  security,  by  retiring  into  the  pe- 
culiarly private  tent  of  Jael ;  and  certainly,  if  the 
harems  of  the  Greeks  (a  conquered  and  despised  na- 
tion) are  now  "almost  as  sacred  as  those  of  the 
Turks,"  the  private  tent  of  the  wife  of  Heber,  the 
Kenite,  might  have  been  esteemed  a  sanctuary,  suf- 
ficiently secure  from  intrusion  among  the  Israelites, 
with  whom  she  was  in  alliance. 

By  means  of  this  construction  of  cells,  or  chamber 
within  chamber,  Mr.  Taylor  also  proposes  to  elucidate 
the  account  of  Samson  and  Delilah,  (Judg.  xvi.  9.) 
which  is  generally  explained  by  means  of  an  alcove 
to  contain  the  bed,  in  the  chamber.  But  it  is  sub- 
mitted, whether  the  idea  of  chamber  within  cham- 
ber does  not  better  suit  this  history  than  that  of  an 
alcove,  separating  (or  sejjarated  from)  part  of  the 
chamber; — whether  it  do  not  allow  more  conve- 
niences for  concealment,  as  well  as  for  requisite  op- 
erations, and  is  not  more  conformable  to  that  decency, 


of  which  the  appearance,  at  least,  was  necessary  to 
deceive  Samson,  and  to  elude  the  consequences  of 
his  ^vl•ath,  if  he  had  discovered  his  enemies  in  their 
ambush. 

There  seems  to  be  an  allusion  to  the  kind  of  cham- 
bers {ivide  house,  house  of  chambers)  which  we  have 
been  describing,  in  Prov.  xxv.  24.  q.  d.  "  If  a  per- 
son, by  good  fortune,  should  dwell  in  the  most  dis- 
tant chamber  of  the  gallery,  from  a  quarrelling 
woman,  yet  her  contention  will  disturb  the  whole 
dwelling,  and  every  one  of  its  inhabitants  will  suffer 
by  their  troublesome  neighbor,  who  will  either  spread 
the  flame  of  strife  from  chamber  to  chamber,  or  an- 
noy the  whole  gallery  by  her  brawls  and  squabbles." 

The  houses  of  the  poorer  class  of  people  in  the 
East  are  very  bad  constructions,  consisting  of  mud 
walls,  reeds,  and  rushes ;  whence  they  become  apt 
comparisons  to  the  fragility  of  human  life  ;  and  as 
mud,  slime,  or  at  best  unburnt  brick,  is  used  in  form- 
ing the  walls,  the  expression  (Job  xxiv.  16.)  of  "dig- 
ging through  houses"  is  easily  accounted  for ;  as  is 
the  behavior  of  Ezekiel,  (chap.  xii.  5.)  who  dug 
through  such  a  wall  in  the  sight  of  the  people  ;  where- 
by, as  may  be  imagined,  he  did  little  injury  to  his 
house,  notwithstanding  which,  the  symbol  was  very 
expressive  to  tlie  beholders,  Niebuhr  describes  and 
represents  an  Arabian  hut,  in  Yemen,  composed  of 
stakes,  and  plastered  with  clay.  To  such  a  one  Job 
seems  to  allude  :  (chap.  iv.  19.)  "God  putteth  no 
confidence  in  his  angels ;  how  much  less  in  them 
who  dwell  in  houses  of  clay,  whose  foundation  is  in 
the  dust ;  who  are  crushed  by  a  moth  striking  against 
them  I"  He  compares  the  human  body  and  consti- 
tution to  one  of  these  tenements  of  clay,  by  reason  of 
its  speedy  dissolution,  under  any  one  accident  of  the 
many  to  which  it  is  exposed.  How  uncertain  is 
health,  strength,  favor  ! — a  breeze  of  wind  too  strong, 
a  shower  of  rain  too  heavy,  often  produces  disorders 
which  demolish  the  tenement.  The  appearance  of 
this  hut  seems  to  imply  the  very  contrary  of  dura- 
bility ;  and,  indeed,  those  houses  made  of  merely 
dried  clay,  are  often  endangered  by  a  shower  of  rain, 
if  it  be  of  any  continuance.  Such  a  house,  only  set, 
as  it  were,  on  the  ground,  would  easily  be  swept  away 
by  one  of  those  torrents  which  in  the  rainy  season 
burst  from  the  hills,  according  to  our  Lord's  descrip- 
tion, in  Matt.  vii.  27. 

Heaven  is  considered  as  the  house  of  God :  (John 
xiv\2.)  "In  my  Father's  house  are  many  mansions." 

The  grave  is  the  house  appointed  for  all  the  living, 
Job  XXX.  23 ;  Isa.  xiv.  18. 

House  is  taken  for  the  body:  (2  Cor.  v.  1.)  "If 
our  earthly  house  of  this  tabernacle  were  dissolved  ;" 
if  our  bodies  were  taken  to  pieces  by  death.  The 
comparison  of  the  body  to  a  house  is  used  by  Mr. 
Harmer  to  explain  the  similes,  Eccl.  xii.  and  is  illus- 
trated by  a  passage  in  Plautus,  Mostell.  Act  i.  Scene  2. 

The  church  of  God  is  his  house:  (1  Tim.  iii.  15.) 
"  How  thou  oughtest  to  behave  thyself  in  the  house 
of  God,  that  is,  the  church  of  the  living  God."  In 
the  same  sense,  Moses  was  faithful  in  all  the  house  of 
God,  as  a  servant,  but  Christ  as  a  son  over  his  own 
house ;  whose  house  are  we  (Christians).  But  this 
sense  may  include  that  of  household,  persons  com- 
])osing  the  attendants,  or  retainers  to  a  prince,  &c 
(See  Household.)  This  intimate  reference  of  house 
or  dwelling,  to  the  adherents,  intimates,  or  partisans 
of  the  householder,  is,  probably,  the  foundation  of 
the  simile  used  by  the  apostle  Peter:  (1  Epist.  ii.  5.) 
"Ye  (Christians)  as  living  stones  are  built  up  into  a 
spiritual  house." 


HOUSEHOLD 


[  512] 


HUM 


HOUSEHOLD.  The  word  house  is  frequently 
used  in  Scripture  to  denote  a  family  or  household. 
Thus  the  Lord  plagued  Pharaoh  and  his  house,  Gen. 
xii.  17.  What  is  my  house,  that  thou  hast  brought 
me  hitherto?  2  Sam.  vii.  18.  So  Joseph  (Luke  i. 
27 ;  ii.  4.)  was  of  the  house  of  David,  but  more  es- 
pecially he  was  of  his  royal  lineage,  or  family  ;  and, 
as  we  conceive,  in  the  direct  line  or  eldest  branch  of 
the  family ;  so  that  he  was  next  of  kin  to  the  throne, 
if  the  government  had  still  continued  in  possession  of 
the  descendants  of  David.     (See  also  1  Tim.  v.  8.) 

The  following  extracts  have  a  bearing  upon  this 
sense  of  the  word  house,  and  illustrate  the  passages 
to  which  they  are  referred :  "  This  Turk,  accustomed 
to  see  me  employed  by  the  grand  seignior,  intrusted 
me  with  all  his  intended  military  operations,  and 
made  no  doubt  but  I  should  exert  myself  in  the  re- 
duction of  the  rebels  of  the  Morea.  The  army  lie 
had  collected,  the  command  of  which  he  designed 
for  me,  was  only  composed  of  volunteers ;  his  do- 
mestics were  of  the  number ;  and  this  bod}'  appeared 
more  animated  with  the  expectation  of  plunder  than 
the  love  of  glory."  (Baron  du  Tott,  vol.  ii.  p.  152, 
part  4.)  This  extract  is  very  similar  to  the  history 
in  Gen.  xiv.  14:  "Abraham  armed  his  trained  ser- 
vants, born  in  his  house,  [born  among  his  property,] 
three  hundred  and  eighteen."  The  number  of  these 
domestics  can  occasion  no  difficulty  ;  many  grandees 
in  the  East  have  at  least  an  equal  number  in  their 
households,  or  under  their  orders. 

As  to  the  niunbers  engaged  by  great  men  in  the 
East,  either  in  the  household,  or  in  other  services, 
there  is  no  room  to  doubt  that  they  are  very  con- 
siderable, and  much  beyond  what  European  man- 
ners are  accustomed  to.  "  The  most  powerful  house 
is  that  of  Ibrahim  Bey,  who  has  about  six  hundred 
Mamlouks.  Next  to  him  is  Manrod,  who  has  not 
above  four  hundred ;  but  who,  by  his  audacity  and 
prodigality,  forms  a  counterpoise  to  the  insatiable 
avarice  of  his  rival.  The  rest  of  the  beys,  to  the 
number  of  eighteen  or  twenty,  have  each  of  them 
from  fifty  to  two  hundred.  Besides  these,  there  is  a 
gi-eat  number  of  Mamlouks  who  may  be  called  indi- 
vidual, who,  being  sprung  from  houses  which  are  ex- 
tinct, attach  themselves  sometimes  to  one,  and  some- 
times to  another,  as  they  find  it  their  interest,  and  are 
always  ready  to  enter  into  the  service  of  the  best 
bidder."     (Volncy,  vol.  i.  p.  116.) 

Niebuhr  says,  (Descrip.  Arab.  p.  264,)  "Bel  arrab 
ben  Sultan,  brother  of  Seif  ben  Sultan,  two  sons  of 
Seif  ben  Sultan,  and  proljably  many  other  of  the  fam- 
ily of  former  imams,  live  as  private  individuals  in 
the  country  of  the  imam  ;  nevertheless,  so  sufficiently 
respectable,  that  Bel  arrab  is  able  to  maintain,  by  his 
revenues,  from  three  to  four  hundred  slaves ;" — con- 
sequently, he  nuist  have  many  "  born  in  his  house ;" 
and  these  he  might  arm,  on  occasion ;  for  Niebuhr 
mentions,  a  few  lines  lower,  that  "the  slaves  and 
soldiers  of  imam  Seif  ben  Sultan  had  been  infamous 
robbers." 

That  the  term  house  expresses  property,  see  1 
Kings  xiii.8,  compared  with  Psalm  cv.  21.  "  Joseph 
had  been  over  Potiphar's  house,  i.  e.  his  property 
generally,  before  he  was  placed,  by  Pharaoh,  in  the 
same  office  of  superintendence  over  the  i-oyal  prop- 
erty, or  house. 

It  should  be  observed,  that  in  the  New  Testament 
there  are  two  Greek  words  which  our  translators 
have  rendered  both  house  and  household:  in  their 
time  usage  did  not  separate  them.  The  first  {ulxog) 
signifies  the  immediate  family  of  the  householder ; 


the  other  (oixiix)  includes  his  servants  also  ;  and  llicy 
are  not  interchanged,  in  respect  to  persons,  in  the 
original.  Hence  we  never  read  of  oiy.ia  as  being  bap- 
tized, but  of  oixo;  only:  the  children  following  their 
parents  in  this  rite ;  but  not  the  servants  their  pro- 
prietor, master,  oi-  mistress. 

HUKOK,  a  city  of  Asher  ;  the  same  probably  as 
that  of  Naphtali,  (Josh.  xix.  34.)  yielded  to  the  Levites, 
and  assigned  for  a  city  of  refuge,  1  Chron.  vi.  75. 
Some  think  it  is  the  same  with  Helkath,  Josh.  xix. 
25 ;  xxi.  31. 

HULDAH,  a  prophetess,  wife  of  Shallum,  who  was 
consulted  by  Josiah  concerning  the  book  of  the  law, 
which  had  been  found  in  the  treasury  of  the  temple. 
See  JosiAH. 

HUMILITY  is  the  virtue  of  Christ  and  Christians. 
It  consists  in  low  thoughts  of  ourselves,  founded  on 
the  knowledge  of  our  unworthiness,  and  our  depend- 
ence on  God  for  every  thing.  "  Learn  of  me,"  says 
our  Saviour,  "fori  am  meek  and  lowly  in  heart," 
Matt.  xi.  29.  Humility,  though  it  be  not  overmuch 
in  favor  auiong  men,  has  many  excellent  things  said 
of  it  in  Scripture :  "  Before  honor  is  humility  ;"  (Prov. 
XV.  33.)  "by  humility,  and  the  fear  of  the  Lord,  are 
riches,  honor,  and  life,"  ch.  xxii.  4.  Humility  is  a 
settled  and  permanent  disposition  of  the  mind,  which 
shows  itself  in  external  actions,  and  is  very  express- 
ively alluded  to  by  the  apostle  Peter:  (1  Epist.  v.  5.) 
"Be  clothed  with  humility" — as  with  an  outer,  de- 
fensive garment,  tied  closely  upon  the  wearer ; — 
implying  that  the  humility  of  Christians  should  con- 
stantly be  manifested  in  their  deportment  and  beha- 
vior— should  constantly  envelope  every  other  grace, 
or  excellence,  or  amiable  quality,  which  they  may 
possess  or  practise  ;  as  a  surtout  envelopes  inner  gar- 
ments ;  like  a  strong  covering,  bound  around  them, 
and  attached  to  them  by  the  firmest  connections;  by 
connections  proof  against  temptations,  calamities,  or 
far  more  dangerous  adversaries — prosperities.  With 
reference  to  Luke  i.  48,  it  may  be  inquired,  whether 
the  "  low  estate  "  of  the  Virgin  referred  to  her  dispo- 
sitioii  of  mind  or  to  her  situation  in  life.  The  word 
Tu.-rtho-oif  occurs  also  in  Actsviii.  33:  "In  his  hu- 
miliation his  judgment  was  taken  away."  Also  in 
Philip,  iii.  21 :  "Who  shall  change  the  body  of  our 
abasement  ('vile  body')  to  the  likeness  of  his  glorious 
body."  And  James"  i.  9,  10:  "Let  the  humbled, 
abased  brother  glory  in  his  exaltation ;  [Eng.  tr. 
"brother  of  low  degree  rejoice  in  that  he  is  exalted"] 
but  the  ricli  in  that  he  is  abased,  humbled,  made 
low."  Now,  in  this  passage  it  seems  clearly  to  refer 
to  a  disposition  of  mind ;  for  no  man  is  called  to  re- 
joice in  loss  of  wealth,  or  of  property  :  but  he  may 
well  and  wisely  rt^joice  in  receiving  an  humble  dis- 
position of  mind,  as  a  divine  gi-acc,  or  which  is  im- 
parted by  divine  grace,  and  which  ^\ill  lead  him  to 
think  less  vainly,  less  superciliously  of  his  riches  than 
previously,  and  to  value  them  less.  Moreover,  if  the 
poor  brother  is  to  rejoice  in  attaining  that  state  which 
this  person  is  to  rejoice  at  (putting,  then  there  seems 
to  be  a  contradiction  in  the  spirit  of  the  precepts: 
but  as  one  brother  may  i)ossess  a  mind  exalted  by 
divine  grace,  yet  continue  poor  in  tlie  world ;  so  an- 
other brother  may  posst^ssa  mind  humbled  by  divine 
grace,  notwithstanding  the  temptation  to  which  his 
worldly  riches  subject  him.  This  is,  indeed,  imprac- 
ticable to  man,  but  practicable  to  God.  If  this  sense 
of  the  word  be  admitted,  it  docs  not  follow  from  the 
use  of  it  in  the  Virgin's  song,  that  her  station  in  life 
is  described  by  it,  determinately  and  exclusively, 
whate^■er  Erasmus  might  insist  on. 


HUS 


[  513 


HUS 


That  there  may  be  a  vicious  or  bastard  kind  of  hu- 
niiUty,  or  that  humihty  may  exceed  in  degree  or  in 
object,  would  appear  from  tlie  apostle's  caution  (Col. 
ii.  18.)  against  an  overweening,  voluntary  humility, 
a  humility  which  might  refer  to  the  agents  of  God 
what  should  be  referred  only  to  God  himself.  This 
kind  of  supposititious  humility  has  its  origin  in  real 
pride,  "  being  vainly  puffed  up  of  a  fleshly  mind ;" 
swelled  by  carnal  and  inadequate  conceptions  and 
fancies,  totally  misbecoming  the  subject. 

To  humble  signifies  often  to  afflict,  to  subject,  to 
beat,  to  subdue,  2  Sam.  viii.  1 ;  Ps.  Ixxi.  4.  To  hum- 
ble a  virgin,  or  a  woman  taken  in  war,  signifies  to 
pollute  her  honor,  Deut.  xxi.  14;  xxii.  24,  25;  Lam. 
V.  11;  Ezck.  xxii.  10. 

HUNTING,  To  HUNT.  Hunting  is  a  kind  of 
apprenticeship  to  war,  and  an  imitation  of  the  haz- 
ards and  accurrences  of  the  chase.  Ninirod  was  a 
mighty  hunter  before  God,  Gen.  x.  9.  He  was  a  war- 
rior, a  conqueror,  a  tyrant,  who  subdued  free  people, 
and  who  put  to  death  those  who  would  not  submit 
to  his  dominion.  The  prophets  sometifnes  depict 
war  under  the  idea  of  hunting:  "I  will  send  for 
many  hunters,"  says  Jeremiah,  "and  they  shall  hunt 
them  from  every  mountain,  and  from  every  hill,  and 
out  of  the  holes  of  the  rocks,"  ch.  xvi.  16.  He  speaks 
of  the  Chaldeans,  or  Persians,  who  hunted  or  subdued 
the  Jews,  and  held  them  under  their  dominion.  Some 
are  of  opinion  that  these  hunters  are  the  Persians, 
who  set  the  Hebrews  at  liberty  ;  and,  in  a  more  ele- 
vated sense,  the  apostles,  who  are,  as  it  were,  hunters, 
that  endeavored  to  take  men  with  their  preaching. 
Ezekiel  also  (xxxii.  30.)  speaks  of  the  kings,  who  were 
persecutors  of  the  Jews,  imder  the  name  of  hunters. 
The  psalmist  thanks  God  for  having  delivered  him 
from  the  snares  of  the  hunters,  [Eng.  tr.  "fowler,"] 
Ps.  xci.  3.  3Iicah  complains  (vii.  2.)  that  every  one 
lays  ambuscades  for  his  neighbor,  and  that  one  brother 
hunts  after  another  to  destroy  him.  Jeremiah  (Lam. 
iii.  52.)  represents  Jerusalem  as  complaining  of  her 
enemies,  who  have  taken  her,  hke  a  bird,  in  their  nets. 

L  HUR,  son  of  Caleb,  of  Esron,  and,  according  to 
Josephus,  husband  of  Miriam,  sister  of  Moses.  We 
know  but  few  particulars  concerning  his  life  ;  but  by 
the  little  which  Scripture  relates,  we  see  that  Moses 
had  a  great  affection  for  him.  When  he  had  sent 
Joshua  against  the  Amalekites,  he  went  up  the  moun- 
tain with  Hur  and  Aaron,  (Exod.  xvii.  10.)  and  while 
he  lifted  up  his  hands  in  prajer,  Aaron  and  Hur  sup- 
ported his  arms,  to  prevent  their  growing  weary. 
When  he  ascended  mount  Sinai  to  receive  the  law, 
he  referred  the  elders,  if  any  difficulty  should  arise, 
to  Aaron  and  Hur,  chap.  xxiv.  14.  Hur  was  the 
father  of  Uri,  and  Uri  was  the  father  of  Bezaliel. 

II.  HUR,  a  prince  of  Midiau,  killed  in  an  encoun- 
ter between  Phinehas  and  the  Midianites,  Numb. 
xxxi.  8. 

HUSBAND,  a  married  man,  the  house-band,  or 
band  which  connects  the  whole  family,  and  keeps  it 
together.  Johnson  refers  the  term  to  the  Runic, 
house-tonrfc,  master  of  the  house;  but  several  of  his 
instances  seem  allied  to  the  sense  of  binding  together, 
or  assembling  into  union.  So  we  say,  to  husband 
small  portions  of  things ;  meaning,  to  collect  and  imite 
them,  to  manage  them  to  the  greatest  advantage,  <S:c. 
which  is,  by  associating  them  together ;  making  the 
most  of  them,  not  by  dispersion,  but  by  union.  A 
man  who  was  beti-othed,  but  not  actually  married, 
was  esteemed  a  husband,  Matt.  i.  16,  20  ;  Luke  ii.  5. 
A  man  recently  married  was  exempt  from  going 
out  to  war;  (Deut.  xx.  7;  xxiv.  5.)  yet  we  have,  in 
65 


Homer,  instances  of  yoimg  men  slain,  whose  brides 
waited  for  them  at  home  ;  or,  who  had  plighted  their 
troth  to  their  spouses,  but  were  never  more  to  see  them. 

The  husband  is  described  as  the  head  of  his  wife, 
and  as  having  control  over  her  conduct,  so  as  to  su- 
persede her  vows,  &c.  Numb.  xxx.  6 — 8.  He  is  also 
the  guide  of  her  youth,  Prov.  ii.  17.  Sarah  called 
her  husband  Abraham  lord ;  a  title  which  was  con- 
tinued long  after,  Hos.  ii.  16 :  [baali,  my  lord.]  The 
apostle  Peter  seems  to  recommend  it  as  a  tale  im- 
plying great  respect,  as  well  as  affection,  1  Pet.  iii.  6. 
Perhaps  it  was  rather  used  as  an  appellation  in  public 
than  in  private.  Our  own  word,  master,  (and  so 
correlatively  mistress,)  is  sometimes  used  by  married 
women,  when  speaking  of  their  husbands ;  but  the 
ordinary  use  made  of  this  word  to  ail  persons,  and 
on  all  occasions,  deprives  it  of  any  claim  to  the  ex- 
pression of  particular  affection  or  respect ;  though  it 
M'as  probably  in  former  ages  implied  by  it,  or  con- 
nected with  it ;  as  it  still  is  in  the  instances  of  pro- 
prietors, chiefs,  teachers,  and  superiors,  whether  in 
civil  life,  in  polite  arts,  or  in  liberal  studies. 

HUSBANDMAN,  one  whose  profession  and  labor 
is  to  cultivate  the  earth  ;  to  dress  it,  to  render  it  fer- 
tile, and  generally  to  manage  it.  This  is  the  most 
noble,  as  well  as  the  most  ancient  of  all  professions: 
it  was  begun  by  Adam,  resumed  by  Noah,  and  has 
been  always  the  most  comfortable  state  of  himian  life. 

God  is  compared  to  a  husbandman,  (John  xv.  1  ; 
1  Cor.  iii.  9.)  and  the  simile  of  land  carefully  culti- 
vated, or  of^  a  vineyard  carefully  dressed,  is  often 
used  in  the  sacred  writings.  The  art  of  husbandry 
is  from  God,  says  the  prophet  Isaiah,  (xxviii.  24 — 28.) 
and  the  various  operations  of  it  are  each  in  their  sea- 
son. The  sowing  of  seed,  the  waiting  for  harvest, 
the  in-gathering  when  ready,  the  storing  up  in  grana- 
ries, and  the  use  of  the  products  of  the  earth,  afford 
many  points  of  comparison,  of  apt  figures,  and  simili- 
tudes in  Scripture.  The  course  of  husbandry  in  the 
East  differs  greatly  fromthat  among  us.  SeeTnRASH- 
I>'G,  &c. 

HUSHAI,  the  Archite,  David's  friend.  Being  in- 
formed of  Absalom's  rebellion,  and  that  David  was 
obliged  to  fly  from  Jerusalem,  he  met  him  on  an  emi- 
nence without  the  city,  with  his  clothes  rent,  and  his 
head  covered  with  earth.  David  suggested,  that  if 
he  went  with  him,  he  would  be  a  burden  to  him ; 
but  that  he  might  do  him  important  service,  if  he 
remained,  and  pretended  to  be  in  Absalom's  interest, 
in  order  to  defeat  the  counsel  of  Ahithophel,  2  Sam. 
XV.  32,  &c.  Hushai,  therefore,  returned  to  Jerusalem, 
and  by  defeating  the  coimsel  of  Ahithophel,  and  gain- 
ing time  for  David,  to  whom  he  sent  advices,  was  the 
cause  of  Ahithophel's  suicide,  and  of  Absalom's  mis- 
carriage, chap.  xvi.  16 — 19;  xviii.  5,  &c. 

HUSH  AM,  king  of  Edom,  successor  to  Jobab,  Gen. 
xxxvi.  34. 

HUSKS,  {KiQuTta,  siliqua,)  shells,  as  of  peas  or 
beans.  The  prodigal  son,  oppressed  by  want,  and 
pinched  by  hunger,  desired  to  feed  on  the  husks 
given  to  the  hogs,  Luke  xv.  16.  Most  interpreters  are 
of  opinion  that  the  Greek  word  signifies  carob-beans, 
the  fruit  of  a  tree  of  the  same  name  ;  Ceratonia  Siliqua 
of  Linnreus.  There  was  a  sort  of  wine  or  liquor, 
nuich  used  in  Syria,  drawn  from  it,  and  the  lees  of 
it  were  given  to  the  hogs.  The  Greeks  and  Latins 
both  name  carob-beans  Ceratia ;  and  Pliny,  as  well 
as  the  Vulgate,  calls  them  Siliqu(P.  This  fruit  is  com- 
mon in  Palestine,  Greece,  Italy,  Provence,  and  Bar- 
bary  :  it  is  sufl^ered  to  ripen  and  grow  dry  on  the  tree  ; 
the  poor  eat  it,  and  rattle  are  fattened  with  it.     The 


HYJE 


[514  ] 


HYM 


tree  is  of  a  middle  size,  full  of  branches,  and  abound- 
ing with  round  leaves,  an  inch  or  two  in  diameter. 
The  blossoms  are  httle  red  clusters,  with  abundance 
of  yellowish  stalks.  The  fruits  are  flat  pods,  from 
half  a  foot  to  fourteen  inches  long,  and  an  inch  and 
a  half  broad :  they  are  brown  at  the  top,  sometimes 
crooked,  composed  of  two  husks,  separated  by  mem- 
branes into  several  cells,  and  containing  flat,  shining 
seeds,  something  like  those  of  cassia.  The  substance 
of  these  husks  is  filled  with  a  sweetish,  honey-like 
kind  of  juice,  not  unlike  that  of  the  pith  of  cassia. 
In  all  probability,  its  crooked  figure  occasioned  its  be- 
ing called,  in  Greek,  Keratia,  which  signifies  little 
horns. 

HYACINTH.  By  this  word  we  understand,  (1.)  a 
precious  stone  ;  (2.)  a  sort  of  flower ;  and,  (3.)  a  par- 
ticular color.  The  flower  hyacinth  is  not  spoken  of 
in  Scripture,  but  the  color  and  the  stone  of  this  name 
are.  The  spouse  compares  her  beloved's  hands  to 
gold  rings  set  with  hyacinth,  (Cant.  v.  14.)  [Eng.  tr. 
beryl] ;  and  John  (Rev.  xxi.  20.)  says,  that  the 
eleventh  foundation  of  the  heavenly  Jerusalem  is  of 
a  hyacinth  [Eng.  tr.  jacinth].  There  are  four  sorts 
of  hyacinths.  The  first  is  something  of  the  color  of 
a  ruby ;  tlie  second  is  of  a  gilded  yellow ;  the  third 
of  a  citron  yellow ;  the  fourth  the  color  of  a  granite. 
The  Hebrew  of  Candcles,  instead  of  hyacinth,  reads 
the  stone  of  Tarshish,  v^v^n ;  mentioned  also  in  Exod. 
xxviii.  20.  [Eng.  tr.  beryl.]  We  do  not  certainly 
know  what  stone  it  is ;  but  interpreters  generally  ex- 
plain it  of  the  chrysolite,  or  the  yellov/  topaz  of  mod- 
ern travellers.  It  took  the  name  of  Tarshish  because 
brought  from  that  country,  i.  c.  from  the  vicinity  of  Ca- 
diz.   Spain  is  rich  in  topazes,  rubies,  and  other  gems. 

Of  the  hyacinth  color — according  to  the  most 
learned  interpreters,  an  azure  blue,  or  very  deep  pur- 
ple, like  a  violet  color — Closes  often  speaks  ;  as  Ex. 
xxvi.  4,  31 ;  Num.  iv.  6,  seq. ;  also  Ezek.  xxiii.  6 ; 
xxvii.  7, 24 ;  where  the  English  version  renders,  blue. 
It  was  dyed  w'ith  the  blood  of  a  shell-fish  ;  in  Latin, 
murex,  in  Hebrew,  chilson. 

H YiEN A,  a  wild  beast.  The  animal  known  to  vis 
as  the  hyfena  is  a  quadruped  almost  as  large  as  a 
wolf,  whose  hair  is  rough,  and  its  skin  spotted  or 
streaked.  Hyjenas  were  formerly  produced  at  Rome 
in  the  public  games,  and  they  arc  represented  on 
ancient  medals.  Pliny  speaks  of  the  hyaena,  but  de- 
scribes it  in  a  fabulous  manner ;  (Nat.  Hist.  lib.  viii. 
cap.  30 ;  lib.  xviii.  cap.  8.)  as,  that  it  changes  its  sex 
every  year,  being  one  year  male,  and  the  next  fe- 
male ;  and  that  from  its  eyes  are  taken  precious 
stones,  called  hyenfB.  Aristotle  and  ^lian  say,  tliat 
it  makes  dogs  dumb  with  its  shadow ;  that  it  imitates 
the  speech  of  mankind,  and  deceives  them,  endeav- 
oring to  draw  them  out  of  their  houses  and  devour 
them.  They  add,  that  it  has  feet  like  a  man's,  and 
no  vertebrae  in  the  neck.  Busbequius,  in  his  travels 
to  Amasia,  (p.  70.)  says  the  hyaena  is  almost  like  a 
wolf,  but  not  so  tall ;  that  its  hair  is  like  that  of  a 
wolf,  except  in  being  more  bristling,  and  marked  at 
certain  distances  with  great  black  spots.  It  has  no 
length  of  neck,  but  is  forced  to  turn  itself  quite  round 
when  it  would  look  behind.  Ft  is  very  cruel  and  vo- 
racious ;  drags  dead  bodies  out  of  their  graves,  and 
devours  them  ;  instead  of  teeth,  has  one  continued 
bone  in  the  jaw.  It  is  said  to  imitate  tiie  voice  of  a 
man,  and  by  this  it  often  deceives  travellers. 

It  is  singular  that  a  creature  so  well  known  in  the 
East  as  the  hyiena  is,  should  be  so  seldom  mentioned 
ill  Scripture.  It  is  understood  to  be  named  in  two 
jilycf'-j  only  ;  the  first   is  1  Sam.  xiii.  IH,   "the  vnllcv 


of  Zeboim,"  which  Aquila  renders  "  of  the  hyeenas ;" 
the  second  place  is  Jer.  xii.  9,  where  the  LXX  render 
the  "  speckled  bird  "  of  our  translation  by  "  the  cave 
of  the  hyaena."  Bochart  labors  to  introduce  the 
hyaena  in  this  place,  and  Scheuchzer  also  inclines 
this  way.  They  would  render,  "  My  heritage  is  unto 
me  as  a  fierce  hyaena ;  all  the  beasts  round  about  are 
against  her;"  which  is  then  entirely  parallel  with 
verse  8.  (See  under  Birds.)  The  hyaena  is  the  ani- 
mal most  probable  to  be  this  tzebua,  at  present ;  and 
as  such  we  receive  it.  "  It  is  well  known  at  Aleppo," 
says  Russel ;  "lives  in  the  hills,  at  no  great  distance 
from  town,  and  is  held  in  great  horror ;  is  the  size 
of  a  large  dog ;  is  remarkably  striped  or  streaked ; 
has  much  similitude  to  the  wolf,  in  nature  and  form  ; 
but  has  only  four  toes  on  each  foot,  in  which  it  is 
very  nearly  singular ;  is  extremely  wild,  sullen,  and 
ferocious ;  will  sometimes  attack  men ;  rushes  with 
great  fury  on  flocks  and  cattle;  ransacks  graves; 
devours  dead  bodies,  &c. ;  is  untamable." 

We  suggest  the  possibility  that  that  very  obscure 
animal,  the  sheeb,  may  be  the  tzebua  of  this  place. 
Russel  (vol.  ii.  p.  185.)  gives  the  following  account  of 
it :  "  The  natives  talk  of  another  animal,  named  sheeb, 
which  they  consider  as  distinct  from  the  wolf,  and 
reckon  more  ferocious.  Its  bite  is  said  to  be  mortal, 
and  that  it  occasions  raving  madness  before  death  .  .  . 
is  like  a  wolf.  .  .  is  perhaps  only  a  mad  wolf.  Long- 
intervals  elapse  in  which  nothing  is  heard  of  the 
sheeb.  In  1772,  the  fore-part  and  tail  of  one  was 
brought  from  Spheery  to  Dr.  Freer.  It  was  shot 
near  Spheery ;  was  one  of  several  that  had  followed 
the  Bassora  caravan  over  the  desert,  from  near  Bas- 
sora  to  Aleppo.  Many  persons  in  the  caravan  had 
been  bitten,  all  of  whom  died  in  a  short  time,  raving 
mad.  It  was  reported  that  some  near  Aleppo  were 
bitten,  and  died  in  like  manner ;  but  the  doctor  saw 
none  himself.  The  circumference  of  the  body  and 
neck  rather  exceeded  that  of  the  wolf.  Color  yel- 
lowish gray."  As  this  creature  was  scarce,  (never 
seen  by  Dr.  Russel  or  his  brother,)  this  may  account 
for  the  rare  insertion  of  it  in  Scripture,  and  the  igno- 
rance of  travellers.  It  would  seem  rather  to  accord 
with  the  accounts  we  sometimes  see  of  mad  wolves 
or  hyaenas.  Were  a  mad  dog  to  establish  himself 
in  any  person's  house  among  us,  would  he  and  his 
family  not  be  terrified,  and  abandon  it  ? 

HYMENiEUS  was  probably  a  citizen  of  Ephesus, 
converted  by  some  of  the  early  discourses  of  Paul. 
He  fell  afterwards  into  the  heresy  which  denied  the 
resiuTection  of  the  body,  and  said  it  was  already  ac- 
complished, 2  Tim.  ii.  17.  Augustiu  thinks  that  the 
error  of  such  opinions  consisted  in  saying,  there  was 
no  resurrection  beside  that  of  the  soul,  which  by 
faith,  profession,  and  ba])tism  is  revived  from  sin  to 
grace.  Paul  informs  Timothy  that  he  had  excom- 
municated Hymenaeus,  and  given  him  over  to  Satan, 
1  Tim.  i.20.  Two  years  afterwards,  Hymenaeus  en- 
gaged with  Piulctus  in  some  new  error,  2  Tim.  ii.  17. 
We  know  nothing  of  the  end  of  Hymenaeus. 

HYMN,  a  religious  song  or  poem.  The  word  is 
used  as  synonymous  with  canticle,  song,  or  psalm, 
which  tlie  Hebrews  scarcely  distinguish,  iiaving  no 
particular  term  for  a  hynni,  as  distinct  from  a  psalm 
or  canticle.  Paul  requires  Christians  to  entertain  one 
another  with  "jisalms  and  hymns,  and  spiritual 
songs."  Matthew  says,  that  Christ  liaving  supped, 
sung  a  hynm,  and  Avent  oiu.  He  probably  recited 
the  hymns  or  jjsalms  wliich  the  Jews  used  to  sing 
after  the  Passover,  which  they  called  the  Halal ;  that 
is,  the  Hallelujah  Psalms. 


HYPERBOLE 


t  515  ] 


HYPERBOLE 


HYPERBOLIC  language  is  among  the  loftiest 
flights  of  poetic  composition — of  unrestrained  imagi- 
nation; and  it  prevails  principally  among  those  who 
are  in  the  habit  of  associating  combinations  of  fan- 
cied imagery ;  or  those  who,  being  well  acquainted 
with  the  ideas  drawn  from  natural  things,  which  it 
means  to  convey,  readily  admit  such  exalted  phrase- 
ology, because  they  understand  its  impoi-t  and  the 
intention  of  the  author  who  employs  it.  On  the  con- 
trary, those  who  have  little  or  no  acquaintance  with 
the  natural  ideas  meant  to  be  conveyed  by  hyper- 
bolical extravagances,  are  always  surprised,  and 
sometimes  shocked,  when  they  meet  with  them  in 
works  where  simple  truth  is  the  object  of  the  i-eader's 
researches.  Hyperbolic  expressions  are  but  rare  in 
Scripture,  though  figurative  or  poetic  expressions  are 
abundant ;  rare  as  they  are,  however,  they  have  been 
severely  conunented  on  by  infidels,  and  have  occa- 
sionally embaiTassed  believers.  There  is  certainly 
some  force  in  the  reflection,  "  What  would  infidels 
have  said,  had  it  pleased  God  to  have  chosen  eastern 
Asia,  instead  of  western  Asia,  for  the  seat  of  revela- 
tion ?  What  would  they  have  thought  of  the  most 
correct  truth,  iiad  it  happened,  under  the  influence 
of  such  locality,  to  have  been  arrayed  in  the  hyper- 
bolic attire  of  that  country .'" 

By  making  western  Asia  the  seat  of  revelation,  a 
medium  is  obtained  between  European  frigidity,  as 
Asiatics  would  think  it,  and  Asiatic  hyperbole,  as 
Europeans  would  tliiuk  it :  so  that  the  Asiatic  may 
find  some  similarity  to  his  own  metaphorical  manner, 
and  suited  to  excite  his  attention ;  while  the  Euro- 
pean, who  professes  to  be  charmed  witli  the  sim- 
plicity of  truth,  may  find  hi  Scripture  abundance  of 
that  simplicity,  most  happily  adapted  to  his  more 
sober  judgment,  his  more  correct  and  better  regu- 
lated taste.  Add  to  tins  remark  t^\-o  other  hints: 
(L)  There  is  no  reason  to  think  the  Scrijnure  writers 
imitated,  in  any  degree,  the  authors  of  the  passages 
produced  below,  though  their  mode  of  expression  is 
sometimes  strikingly  similar;  (2.)  that  however,  in 
complimenting  (or  in  describing)  mortal  men,  kings, 
and  heroes,  Indian  poetry  may  succeed  by  the  use  of 
hyperbole,  yet  the  Hebrew  writers,  when  describing 
Deity,  employ,  beyond  all  controversy,  a  style  much 
more  pleasing  to  genuine  and  correct  taste. 

Without  supposing  that  all  readers  will  feel  the 
effect  intended  to  be  produced  by  the  foregoing  re- 
marks, it  is  hoped  that  the  style  of  the  following  ex- 
tracts may  moderate  the  surprise  of  some  at  certain 
poetic  phrases  which  occur  in  Holy  Writ.  They  are 
transcribed  from  the  Asiatic  Researches:  "Riches 
and  life  are  two  things  more  movable  than  a  drop 
of  water  trembling  on  the  leaf  of  a  lotos,  [the  water- 
lily,]  shaken  by  the  wind."  For  similar  ideas,  see 
Proverbs,  Ecclesiastes.  Job,  &c.  "Gospaat,  king  of 
the  world,  possessed  matchless  good  fortune  :  he  was 
lord  of  two  brides,  the  earth  and  her  wealth.  When 
his  innumerable  army  marched,  the  heavens  were  so 
filled  with  the  dust  of  their  fed,  that  the  birds  of  the 
air  could  rest  upon  it."  (Compare  Nahum  i.  3, 
"  The  clouds  are  the  dust  of  his  feet:')  "  At  Mood- 
goghreree,  where  is  encamped  his  victorious  army  ; 
across  whose  river  a  bridge  of  boats  is  constructed 
for  a  road,  which  is  mistaken  for  a  chain  of  moun- 
tains; where  immense  herds  of  elephants,  like  thick 
black  clouds,  so  darken  the  face  of  day,  the  people 
think  it  the  season  of  the  rains;  whither  the  princes 
of  the  north  send  so  many  troops  of  horse,  that  the 
dust  of  their  hoofs  spreads  darkness  on  all  sides ; 
whither  resort  so  many  mighty  chiefs  of  lumbocl- 


weep,  to  pay  their  respects,  that  the  earth  sinks  be- 
neath the  weight  of  their  attendants."  After  this, 
how  flat  and  low  is  the  fulsome  boast  of  the  haughty 
Sennacherib !  2  Kings  xix.  24.  "  When  the  foot  of 
the  goddess,  with  its  tinkling  ornaments,  [compare 
Isa.  iii.  18,  the  Lord  will  take  away  the  bravery  of 
their  tinkling  ornaments  about  their  feet,]  was  planted 
on  the  head  of  (the  evil  spirit)  Maheeshasoor,  all  the 
bloom  of  the  new-born  flower  ol"  the  foimtain  (the 
lotos)  was  dispersed  with  disgrace  by  its  superior 
beauty.  May  that  foot,  radiant  with  a  fringe  of  reful- 
gent beams,  issuing  from  its  pure  bright  nails,  [com- 
pare Hab.  iii.  God's  'brightness  was  as  the  light;  he 
had  horns  coming  out  of  his  hand  ;^  i.  e.  refulgent 
beams  issuing  from  the  hollow  of  it ;  '  where  was 
the  concealment  of  his  power,']  endue  you  with  a 
steady  and  unexampled  devotion,  oflTered  up  with 
fruits  ;  and  show  you  the  way  to  dignity  and  wealth." 
For  other  instances  of  resplendence  attending  Deity, 
see  the  reflective  lustre  of  Moses,  Exod.  xxxiv.  29, 
and  of  our  Lord,  Mark  ix.  15 ;  also  Acts  ix.  3.  It  is 
jjrobable  that  all  these  ideas  may  ultimately  be  re- 
ferred to  appearances  of  the  Shekinah.  See  also 
Rev.  i.  15:  "His  eyes  were  as  a  flame  of  fire;  his 
feet  resplendent  as  fine  brass,  burning  in  a  furnace  ; 
his  countenance  as  the  sun  shining  in  its  strength  ;" 
so  greatly  was  it  radiant,  &c. 

The  expression  of  Habakkuk,  above  quoted,  is 
nearly  a  transcript  of  the  verse  of  Moses,  Deut.  xxxiii. 
2 :  "  Fi-om  his  right  hand  issued  [not  a  fery  law,  but] 
fery  streams — rather  radiant  streams  of  refulgent 
splendor,  tmto  them." 

"  There  the  sun  shines  not,  nor  the  moon  and  stars ; 
there  the  lightnings  flash  not :  how  should  even  fire 
blaze  there  ?  Godirradiates  all  this  bright  substance  ; 
and  by  its  efliilgence  the  imiverse  is  enlightened." — 
(Compare  Isa.  Ix.  19.)  "The  sun  shall  be  no  more 
thy  light  by  day,  neither  for  brightness  shall  the  moon 
give  light  unto  thee;  but  the  Lord  shall  be  unto 
thee  an  everlasting  light,  and  thy  God  thy  glory," 
&c. — "  The  city  liad  no  need  of  the  sun,  neither  of  the 
moon  to  shine  in  it,  for  the  glory  of  God  did  enlighten 
it,  and  the  Lamb  is  the  light  thereof,"  Rev.  xxii. 

Herodotus  records  a  remarkable  hyperbole,  of 
which  he  did  not  penetrate  the  meaning ;  he  inserts 
it  indeed,  but  professes  his  disbefief  of  it:  "In  Ara- 
bia is  a  large  river  named  Corys,  which  loses  itself 
in  the  Red  sea ;  from  this  river  the  Arabian  king  is 
said  to  have  formed  a  canal  of  the  skins  of  oxen  and 
other  animals,  sewed  together,  which  was  continued 
from  the  river  to  the  desert,  a  journey  of  twelve  days, 
in  three  distinct  canals."  (Thalia  ix.)  Those  who 
have  perused  the  article  on  bottles  will  be  at  no  loss 
to  understand  the  nature  of  "  the  skins  of  oxen,  &c. 
sewed  together,"  i.e.  the  Girba ;  and  the  "canal"  is, 
probably,  merely  an  hyperbolical  expression  for  a 
very  long  train  of  camels,  &c.  bearing  a  very  plen- 
tiful supply  of  water,  and  journeying  in  three  di- 
visions. We  meet  with  an  hyperbole  exactly  similar 
in  Ockley's  History  of  the  Saracens:  (vol.  i.  p.  314.) 
"  Omar  wrote  to  Amrou,  acquainting  him  with  their 
extremity,  and  ordered  him  to  supply  the  Arabs  with 
corn  out  of  Egypt ;  which  Amrou  did  in  such  plenty, 
that  the  train  of  camels,  which  were  loaden  with  it, 
reached  in  a  continued  line  from  Egj  pt  to  Medina ; 
so  that  when  the  foremost  of  them  Avere  got  to  Me- 
dina, the  latter  part  of  the  gang  were  still  in  the 
bounds  of  Egjpt." — Now  this,  being  a  joiirney  of 
forty  days,  and  six  or  seven  degrees  of  latitude,  is 
evidently  impossible,  even  if  all  the  camels  in  the 
world  had  been  collected  on  the  spot.    It  imports  no 


HYS 


[  51(3  J 


HYSSOP 


more,  in  plaiu  la/iguage,  than  that  by  the  tune  the 
first  troop  of  camels  might  be  supposed  to  have 
reached  the  place  of  their  destination,  the  last  troop 
quitted  Egypt.  How  necessary  it  is  to  understand 
the  figurative  language  of  a  people,  which  often,  if 
not  commonly,  arises  from  local  peculiarities ! 

HYPOCRITE,  one  who  feigns  to  be  what  he  is  not; 
one  who  puts  on  a  false  person,  like  actors  in  trage- 
dies and  comedies.  The  epithet  is  generally  applied 
to  those  who  assume  the  appearances  of  a  virtue, 
without  possessing  the  reality.  Our  Saviour  accused 
the  Pharisees  of  hypocrisy.  In  the  Old  Testament, 
the  Hebrew  t^jn,  chaneph,  which  is  rendered  hypo- 
crite, counterfeit,  signifies  also  a  profane,  wicked 
man ;  a  man  polluted  or  coiTupted ;  a  man  of  im- 
piety, a  deceiver.  Job  viii.  13 ;  xiii.  16,  &lc.  Jere- 
miah (ui.  1 ;  xxiii.  15.)  uses  the  verb  chanaph  to  ex- 
press the  infection,  the  pollution  of  the  land  of  Judah, 
caused  by  the  sins  of  its  inhabitants. 

HYSSOP  is  an  herb  generally  known,  and  often 


mentioned  in  Scripture.  It  was  commonly  used  m 
purifications  as  a  sprinkler.  God  commanded  the 
Hebrews,  when  they  came  out  of  Egypt,  to  take  a 
bunch  of  hj'ssop,  to  dip  it  in  the  blood  of  the  paschal 
lamb,  and  sprinkle  the  lintel  and  the  two  side-posts 
of  the  door-way  with  it.  Sometimes  they  added  a 
httle  scarlet  wool  to  it,  as  in  the  purification  of  lepers. 
Hyssop  is  mentioned  as  one  of  the  smallest  of  herbs, 
1  Kings  iv.  33.  It  is  of  a  bitter  taste,  and  grows  on 
the  mountains  near  Jerusalem.  Tlie  hyssop  of  John 
xix.  29,  is  probably  what  is  called  a  reed  or  cane  in 
Mark  xv.  36  ;  Matt,  xxvii.  48  ;  or  else  this  hyssop  was 
like  a  sponge  imbued  with  the  drink.  It  was  per- 
haps a  handful  gathered  of  the  nearest  herbs  to  the 
spot,  which  might  be  mostly  hyssop.  Hasselquist 
says,  there  grows  out  of  the  city,  Jerusalem,  near  the 
fountain  of  Solomon,  (Siloam  ?)  a  very  minute  moss  ; 
and  he  asks,  "  Is  not  this  the  hyssop  ?  It  is  at  least 
as  diminutive  as  the  cedar  is  tall  and  majestic."  (Let- 
ter, Sept.  92,  1751.) 


IDD 

IBEX,  a  wild  goat.     See  Goat  (Wild). 

IBIS,  (fiipji,  yanskuph,  Eng.  trans,  oivl,)  an  un- 
clean bird,  common  in  Egypt,  Lev.  xi.  17.  Strabo 
describes  it  as  being  like  a  stork  ;  some  are  black,  and 
others  white.  The  Egyptians  worshipped  them  be- 
cause they  devour  the  serpents,  which  otherwise 
would  overrun  the  country.  It  was  a  capital  crime 
to  kill  an  ibis,  though  inadvertently.  Cambyses, 
king  of  Persia,  being  acquainted  with  this,  placed 
some  of  them  before  his  army,  while  he  besieged 
Damietta.  The  Egyptians,  not  daring  to  shoot 
against  them,  suffered  the  town  to  be  taken.  Mr. 
Taylor  is  of  opinion  that  the  yanskuph  is  not  the  an- 
cient ibis,  but  the  Ardea  ibis,  described  by  Hassel- 
quist.    See  Birds. 

IBLEAIM,  a  tomi  in  the  half-tribe  of  Manasseh, 
east  of  Jordan  ;  (Josh.  xvii.  11.)  jMobably  the  Bileam 
(1  Chron.  vi.  70.)  given  to  the  Levites  of  Kohath's 
family. 

IBZAN,  of  Judah,  the  eighth  judge  of  Israel,  suc- 
ceeded Jephthah,  (A.  M.  2823,)  and  died  at  Beth- 
lehem, alter  seven  years'  government,  Judg.  xii. 
8—10. 

ICHABOD,  son  of  Phinehas,  and  grandson  of 
Eli,  the  high-priest.  He  was  born  at  the  moment 
when  his  mother  heard  the  fatal  news  of  the  ark 
being  taken  ;  whence  he  obtained  his  name,  "  Alas, 
the  glory  .'"  i.  e.  inglorious,  1  Sam.  iv.  19 — 21. 

ICONIUM,  now  called  Cogni,  or  Konieh,  formerly 
the  capital  of  Lycaonia,  as  it  is  now  of  Caramania, 
in  Asia  Minor.  Paul,  visiting  Icoiiium,  (A.  D.  45.) 
converted  many  Jews  and  Gentiles  ;  (Acts  xiii.  51 ; 
xiv.  1,  &c.)  but  some  unbelieving  Hebrews  excited 
a  persecution  against  him  and  Jiarnabas,  and  they 
escaped  with  difficulty. — He  vuKhirtook  a  second 
journey  to  Iconium,  A.  D.  51. 

IDALAH,  a  city  of  Zebuhin,  Josh.  xix.  15. 

I.  IDDO,  ("(-IN,)  cliief  of  the  Nethinim,  in  captivity 
in  Casiphia,  (Ezra  \  iii.  17.)  who  were  invited  by  Ezra 
to  return  to  Jerusalem. 

II.  IDDO,(n^)  chief  of  the  half-tribe  of  Manas- 
seh beyond  Jordan,  1  Chron.  xxvii.  21. 


IDL 

III.  IDDO,  (ny,)  father  of  Barachiah,  and  grand- 
father of  the  prophet  Zechariah,  Zech.  i.  1.  In  Ezra 
V.  1  ;  vi.  14,  Zechariah  is  called  son  of  Iddo,  accord- 
ing to  HebreAv  usage. 

IV.  IDDO,  (n;',)  a  prophet  of  Judah,  who  wrote 
the  history  of  Rehoboam  and  Abijah.  It  seems  by 
2  Chron.  xiii.  22,  that  he  had  entitled  his  work  Mid- 
rash,  or  Inquiries.  Josephus  and  others  are  of  opin- 
ion, that  he  was  sent  to  Jeroboam,  at  Bethel,  and 
that  it  was  he  who  was  killed  bv  a  lion,  1  Kings  xiii. 

IDLE,  IDLENESS.  These  words  are  capable 
of  at  least  two  senses;  (1.)  of  an  inevitable  vacation 
from  employment,  from  want  of  opportunity ;  (Matt. 
XX.  3,  6.)  (2.)  of  a  criminal  inattention  to  labor  or 
duty,  when  it  ought  to  be  discharged,  Exod.  v,  8.  17  ; 
Prov.  xix.  15,  This  idleness  is  a  great  evil;  so  we 
read,  1  Tim.  v.  13,  "They  learn  to  be  idle  .  .  .  and 
not  only  idle,  but  tattlers  also,  and  busybodies."  The 
remedy  for  such  idleness  is,  "let  them  not  eat,"  2 
Thess.  iii.  10.  This  leads  us  to  the  true  import  of 
our  Lord's  words,  (Matt.  xii.  30.)  "Men  shall  give 
account  for  every  idle  word ;"  meaning  that  vain 
conversation  which  tends  to  injury,  that  inconsider- 
ate discourse  which  is  not  only  without  advantage, 
but  actually  pernicious.  The  rabbins  have  a  prov- 
erb, that  "  the  Spirit  of  God  never  resides  in  a  light 
head,  nor  with  idle  wohIh  ;"  that  is,  unseemly  dis- 
course banishes  the  Holy  Spirit.  They  say  also, 
"  Against  idle  discourse  a  man  must  stop  his  ears," 
as  they  do  at  hearing  blas|)heiiiy.  In  short,  vain 
Avords,  lies,  follies,  are  what  is  meant  by  idle  words. 
The  LXX  use  this  word  to  translate'  the  Hebrew 
which  signifies  lying;  (Exod.  v.  9;  IIos.  xii.  1; 
Mic.  i.  14;  Hab.  ii.  3  ;  Zeph.  iii.  13.)  and  the  Latins 
employ  the  word  "  useless"  to  the  same  import.  [On 
the  <jf;fii(  Ko/oi ,  etnpty  ti'ord,  of  Matt.  xii.  30,  see  Titt- 
mann  in  the  Bibl.  Repository,  vol.  i.  \>.  481.     R. 

In  the  sense  of  idle,  as  a  relaxation  from  labor,  the 
best  of  men  have  their  idle  times,  and  their  idle  words  ; 
in  the  sense  of  idle,  as  vain,  pernicious,  impious,  the 
worst  of  men,  only,  indulge  idle  discourse,  and  indo- 
lent, wastefid  idleness.    (Comp.  Tit.  i.  12 ;  2  Pet.  i.  8.) 


IDOL 


[6X7  ] 


IDOL 


IDOL,  IDOLATRY.  The  Greek  fi<5c.;o,  sigui- 
fies,  in  general,  a  representation,  or  figure.  It  is 
always  taken  in  Scripture  in  a  bad  sense,  for  repre- 
sentations of  heathen  deities,  whether  men,  stars, 
or  animals ;  whether  figures  in  relievo,  or  in  painting, 
or  of  what  matter  or  nature  soever.  God  forbids  all 
sorts  of  idols,  or  figures  and  representations  of  crea- 
tures, formed  or  set  up  with  intention  of  paying 
superstitious  worship  to  them,  Exod.  xx  3,  4. 

The  heathen  had  idols  of  all  sorts,  and  of  all  kinds 
of  materials  ;  as  gold,  silver,  brass,  stone,  wood,  pot- 
ter's earth,  &c.  Stars,  spirits,  men,  aninaals,  rivers, 
plants,  and  elements  were  the  subjects  of  them. 
Some  nations  worshipped  a  rough  stone.  Such  is 
the  black  stone  of  the  ancient  Arabs,  retained  by 
Mohammed.  It  is  said  by  the  prophet  Amos  (v.  26.) 
that  the  Israelites,  in  their  wanderings  in  the  wilder- 
ness, "  bore  the  tabernacle  of  their  IMoloch,  and 
Chiun  their  images,  the  star  of  their  gods,  which 
they  made  to  themselves."  Stephen  (Acts  vii.  4-3.) 
upbraids  them  with  the  same.  It  is  thought,  with 
great  probability,  that  Moloch  and  those  other  pagan 
deities,  which  they  carried  with  them  in  the  desert, 
wore  borne  in  niches  upon  men's  shoulders,  or  drawn 
about  in  covered  carriages,  as  we  know  the  heathen 
carried  their  idols  in  procession,  or  in  pubhc  marches. 

The  carrying  of  the  images  of  the  gods  under  tents, 
and  in  covered  litters,  came  originally  from  the 
Egyptians,  Herodotus  speaks  of  a  feast  of  Isis,  in 
which  her  statue  was  carried  on  a  chariot  witJi  four 
wheels,  drawn  by  her  priests  ;  and  elsewhere  of 
another  deity  which  was  carried  from  one  temple  to 
another,  enclosed  in  a  little  chapel  made  of  gilt  wood. 
Clement  of  Alexandria  speaks  of  an  Egyptian  pro- 
cession, in  which  they  carried  two  dogs  of  gold,  a 
hawk,  and  an  ibis ;  and  iMacrobius  says,  the  priests 
carried  the  statue  of  Jupiter  of  Meliopolis  on  their 
shoulders,  as  the  gods  of  the  Romans  were  carried 
in  pomp  at  the  games  of  the  circus.  The  Egyptian 
priests  placed  Jupiter  Amnion  in  a  little  boat,  whence 
lnmg  plates  of  silver,  by  the  motion  of  which  they  in- 
ferred the  will  of  the  Deity,  and  made  their  responses 
to  such  as  consulted  them.  The  Egyptians  and  the 
Carthaginians  had  little  images,  which  were  carried 
on  chariots,  and  gave  oracles  by  the  motion  they 
communicated  to  those  carriages.  The  Gauls,  as 
we  are  informed  by  Sul|)icius  Severus,  carried  their 
gods  abroad  into  the  fields,  covered  with  a  white  veil. 
Tacitus  speaks  of  an  unknown  goddess,  who  resided 
in  an  island  of  the  ocean,  and  I'or  which  the  wor- 
shippers kept  a  covered  chariot,  which  none  dared  ap- 
proach but  her  priest.  When  the  goddess  was  placed 
in  it,  two  heifers  were  harnessed  to  it,  who  drew 
it  where  they  thought  fit,  and  then  brought  it  back  into 
her  grove.  They  washed  the  chariot,  and  the  veils 
that  covered  it,  and  drowned  the  slaves  that  were  em- 
ployed in  the  service.  Here  are  examples  of  gods 
carried  in  niches  and  in  chariots  ;  and  the  car  of 
Juggernaut,  and  others  in  the  East  Indies,  will  press 
themselves  on  the  mind  of  the  intelligent  reader. 
The  heathen  also  employed  little  temples  of  metal. 
Diodorus  Siculus  speaks  of  two  small  temples  of 
gold  ;  and  we  know  that  there  was,  at  Lacedoemon, 
one  entirely  of  brass,  and  therefore  called  Chalcotoi- 
chos,  or  the  house  of  brass.  Victor,  in  his  descrip- 
tion of  Rome,  gives  an  accoimt  of  some  of  the  same 
metal  in  that  city.  Calmet  thinks  that  the  silver 
temples  of  Diana  of  Ephesus,  which  were  made  and 
sold  by  Demetrius  the  silversmith,  were  either  small 
models  of  the  temple  of  this  goddess,  or  niches  in 
which  she  was  represented,  for  devotion. 


Writers  are  not  agreed  about  the  origin  of  idolatiy, 
or  the  superstitious  worship  paid  to  idols  and  false 
gods.  The  book  of  Wisdom  (xiii.  13,  14 ;  xiv.  15 ; 
XV.  7,  8.)  proposes  three  causes  of  it  :— First,  The 
love  of  a  father,  who,  having  lost  his  sou  in  an  ad- 
vanced age,  to  comfort  himself,  causes  divine  honors 
to  be  paid  to  him.  Secondly,  The  beauty  of  worlcs 
engraved.  Thirdly,  The  skill  of  an  artificer  in 
potter's  earth,  who  consecrates  a  statue  of  his  owu 
making,  as  if  it  were  a  deity. 

A  large  number  of  writers  on  this  subject  are  per- 
suaded, that  the  first  objects  of  idolatrous  worship 
were  the  sun,  moon,  and  stars. 

The  order,  the  regularity,  and  the  beauty  of  the 
ordinances  of  the  heavens,  have  been  at  all  times 
subjects  of  gratulation  and  wonder.  Whether  men 
were  rude  or  refined,  in  a  social  or  a  savage  state,  they  y 

felt  the  importance  inseparable  from  the  seasons  of 
the  year,  and  gradually  associated  in  their  minds 
the  pei-iodical  returns  of  those  luminaries  which  at 
first  announced  the  returns  of  the  seasons,  and  at 
length  were  su|)posed  to  exert  an  influence  over  them. 
The  sun  and  the  moon  were,  indisputably,  the  two 
gi-eater  lights  of  heaven  ;  to  these  the  most  powertul 
influences  were  ascribed  ;  and  the  most  important 
obligations  uni\'ersally  acknowledged.  They  led  on 
the  year  and  the  months,  with  their  respective  pro- 
ductions; they  afforded  means  of  calculating  time, 
and  of  defining  periods ;  and  eventually,  thej'  con- 
tributed to  the  formation  of  systems,  and  to  exten- 
sive combinations  of  numbers  into  nndtiples,  pro- 
gressions, and  series.  But  in  addition  to  these 
principals,  known  to  all  as  the  sources  of  light,  the 
heavens  presented,  to  the  observant  and  intelligent, 
various  minor  luminaries,  the  periods  of  which 
were  not  only  incommensurate  among  themselves, 
but  required  long  contiiuied  investigation  of  their 
appearances,  to  obtain  materials  for  the  theorj'  of 
their  orl)its  and  motions.  It  had  been  well,  had  man- 
kind stopi)ed  here  ;  but,  having  acquired  an  elemeut- 
arj'  knowledge  of  the  heavenly  bodies  and  their 
circuits,  the  misplaced  gratitude  of  some,  and  the 
pious  credulity  of  others,  attributed  to  them  offices 
for  which  their  Creator  never  designed  them,  and 
consequently  never  prepared  them.  The  smallest 
spark  of  ratiouality  too  powerfully  illuminates  the 
human  breast,  to  allow  its  possessor  to  conceive  of 
the  Great  Supreme,  other  than  as  a  Spirit  ol"  incom- 
prehensible attributes  and  infinite  wisdom  and  pow- 
ers ;  a  portion  of  which  he  at  pleasure  delegates  to 
the  emanations  of  his  creative  Jiat,  and  which,  in 
fact,  he  has  in  some  degree  delegated  to  man,  as  a 
rational  creatiu'e ;  and  to  beings  much  superior,  in 
degrees  proportionate!}'  higher.  And  where  should 
the  imagination  of  man  establish  these  superior  be- 
ings, if  not  in  those  celestial  bodies,  the  aspects  of 
which  were  deemed  propitious,  or  were  thought  to 
be  detrimental,  beyond  the  interference  of  mortals, 
or  the  ken  of  inhabitants  of  earth  ?  It  was,  then, 
from  attributing  to  the  heavenly  bodies  the  office  of 
mediators  between  man  and  the  Supreme  Deity,  that 
idolatry  took  its  rise.  It  was  from  entreaties  ad- 
dressed to  the  circulating  orbs  of  our  system,  from 
solicitations  beseeching  their  favorable  acceptance 
and  report,  of  worship  intended  to  be  conciliatory,  as 
it  respected  themselves,  and  intended  to  be  most  pro- 
foundly revci'ential  as  it  respected  the  Self-existent, 
the  first  Cause,  and   last  End  of  being;  who  was  J 

indeed  the  only  proper  object  of  adoration,  but  who     y^ 
was  supposed  to  be  too  high,  too  exalted,  to  be  ap- 
proached, immediately,  by  feeble  man. 


IDOL 


518 


IDOL 


Such  was  the  state  of  things  when  the  sacred  pen- 
man composed  his  history  of  the  creation,  in  which 
he  describes,  in  direct  terms,  the  origin  and  tlie  offices 
of  the  sun  and  the  moon,  but  confines  his  account 
of  other  celestial  bodies  to  a  single  phrase, — "  he 
made  the  stars  also."  It  was  not  because  3Ioses 
was  ignorant  of  the  importance  attached  to  the  stars, 
that  he  studied  this  brevity  ;  it  was  because  he  knew 
it  too  well,  and  had  too  sensibly  felt  its  evil  conse- 
quences, in  the  course  of  his  own  life,  and  had  seen 
them  too  extensively  prevalent,  to  the  great  injury 
of  the  world  at  large,  and  to  the  no  small  crimination 
of  that  peculiar  people  over  which  he  had  now  the 
charge.  This  argument  acquires  additional  streugtii 
on  a  reference  to  the  original  text ;  for  the  fact  is, 
that  the  stars  are  not  spoken  of,  except  as  /being 
placed  under  the  power  or  influence  of  the  two 
greater  lights  :  "And  God  made  two  great  lights; 
the  gi'eater  light  to  rule  the  day,  and  the  lesser  light 
to  rule  the  night ;  the  stars  also,"  Gen.  i.  16. 

The  jjeginnings  of  all  arts,  and  of  all  practices,  are 
extremely  simple,  and  it  is  impossible,  from  the 
simple  beginnings  of  practices  founded  on  a  mere 
mental  idea,  so  much  as  to  conjecture  in  what  they 
may  issue,  when  the  ingenuity  of  man  has  refined 
upon  them,  and  they  have  been  the  study  of  succes- 
sive generations.  To  suppose  that  every  star,  and 
especially  every  revolving  planet,  was  animated  by 
a  resident  angel  peculiar  to  itself,  was,  doubtless,  ac- 
cepted as  the  happy  thought  of  a  mind  deeply  im- 
bued with  the  learning  of  the  age,  with  astronomical 
knowledge  in  more  than  usual  proportion,  and  per- 
haps favored  by  some  superior  power,  with  a  reve- 
lation, by  which  it  was  enabled  to  penetrate  into 
mysteries  far  "beyond  this  visible  diurnal  sphere." 
Nor  less  felicitous  and  convenient  was  the  formation 
of  a  symbolical  representation  of  a  star ;  it  required 
no  skill ;  a  mere  effort  of  the  hand  was  sufficient  to 
execute  the  design ;  and  the  model  once  obtained, 
the  idol  was  constantly  before  the  eye  of  the  wor- 
shipper, whether  the  original  were  above  or  below 
the  horizon.  And  yet,  in  these  rude  efforts  originat- 
ed that  idolatry  which  eventually,  like  a  flood, 
overwhelmed  the  whole  human  race  ;  to  which  the 
sacred  books,  though  standing  in  direct  opposition, 
bear  but  too  striking  witness,  and  which  to  this  day 
retains  its  tyranny  in  some  of  its  most  odious  and  de- 
structive forms.  For  the  issue  i)roved,  that  when  the 
stars  and  the  ])lanets  were  once  named,  their  idols 
were  named  after  them  ;  that  when  their  idols  were 
formed,  they  gradually  assumed  the  personal  figure 
of  those  intelligences  whose  names  they  bore,  and 
of  which  they  became  the  human  representatives. 
Hence  gods  and  goddesses  of  every  descri])tion 
and  attribute;  until  at  length  their  numbers  became 
incalculaljle,  and  their  characters  flagitious,  and 
"darkness  covered  the  eartl),  and  gross  darkness  the 
people." 

A  few  thoughts  on  this  inveterate  moral  malady 
of  the  hmnan  mind,  from  which  no  nation  has  been 
wholly  exempt,  may  with  propriety  introduce  oiu- 
views  of  the  incidents  recorded  in  Scripture. 

The  modern  system  of  planetary  worlds,  of  which 
our  earth  is  one,  was  not  generally  received,  even  if 
it  were  known,  in  the  early  ages.  The  Persian  sages, 
for  instance,  adopted  a  scheme  essentially  differ- 
ent;  and,  perhaps,  they  received  it  from  remote 
antiquity.  That  scheme  is  expressed  in  the  following 
terms,  in  the  Desdtir,  which  professes  to  contain  the 
sentiments  of  the  prophets  of  Persia,  including  those 
of  Zoroaster,  anterior  to  the  time  of  Alexander  the 


Great.  The  notes  enclosed  in  parentheses  (  )  are 
those  of  the  Persian  translator  of  the  original  work. — 
"  The  simple  being — of  his  own  beneficence  created 
a  substance  free  and  unconfined,  unmixed,  immate- 
rial— the  chief  of  angels.  By  him  he  created  inferior 
heavens,  and  to  each  an  intelligence,  and  a  soul,  and 
a  body  ;  as  for  example,  Ferensa,  (the  intelligence  of 
the  sphere  of  Keitvan  {Saturn)  also,  Latinsa  (its  soul), 
and  Armensa  (its  body),  And  Anjumdad  (the  intelli- 
gence of  the  sphere  of  Honnusd  (Jupiter),  and  Nejma- 
zad  (its  sold)  and  Shidarad  (its  body).  And  Behmenzad 
(the  intelligence  of  the  sphere  of  Behrdm  (Mars),  and 
Fershad  (its  soul),  and  llizbadwad  (its  body),  And 
Shadaram,  (the  intelligence  of  the  sphere  of  the  sun), 
and  Shadayam  (its  soul),  and  Nishadirsam  (its  body), 
and  Nirwan  (the  intelligence  of  the  heaven  q/W'cddd 
( Venus),  and  Tirwiin  (its  soul),  and  Rizwan  (its  body), 
And  Irlas  (the  intelligence  of  the  sphere  of  Tir 
(Mercury),  and  Firlas  (its  soul),  and  Warlas  (its  body). 
And  Fernush  (the  intelligence  of  the  sphere  of  the 
moon),  and  Wernush  (its  soh/),  and  Ardush  (its  body). 
The  heavy-moving  stars  are  many,  and  each  has 
an  intelhgence,  a  soul,  and  a  body.  And,  in  like 
manner,  every  distinct  division  of  the  heavens  and 
planets  hath  its  intelligence  and  its  soul.  The  number 
of  the  intelligences,  and  souls,  and  stars,  and  heavens, 
Mezdam  [only]  knows."  The  reader  will  observe 
the  order  of  these  intelligences: — Saturn,  Jupiter, 
Mars,  the  Sun,  Venus,  Mercury,  the  Moon.  It  might 
be  compared  with  the  systems  of  Ptolemy,  and  of 
Tycho  Bralie  ;  but  that  is  not  our  present  object. 
The  Persian  proj)het  proceeds  to  say,  "  The  lower 
world  is  subject  to  the  sway  of  the  upper  world.  In 
the  beginning  of  its  revolution,  the  sovereigntj^  over 
this  lower  world  is  committed  to  one  of  the  slow- 
moving  stars,  which  governeth  it  alone  for  the  space 
of  a  thousand  years;  and  for  other  thousands  of 
years  each  of  the  heavj-moving  stars,  and  swift- 
moving  stars,  becometh  its  partner,  each  for  one 
thousand  years.  Last  of  all,  the  moon  becometh  its 
associate.  After  that,  the  first  associate  will  get  the  J 
sovereignly.  The  second  king  goeth  through  the  / 
same  round  as  the  first  king;  [for a  thousand  years  ;] 
and  the  others  are  in  like  manner  his  associates  .  .  . 
And  imderstand,  that  the  same  is  the  course  as  to  all 
the  others.  When  the  moon  hath  been  king,  [when] 
all  have  been  associates  with  it,  and  its  reign,  too,  is 
over,  one  grand  period  is  accomplished.  After 
which  the  sovereignty  again  returneth  to  the  first 
kmg,  and  in  this  way  there  is  an  eternal  succession." 
...."After  performing  the  worf^liip  of  Mezdam, 
worship  the  ])lanets,  and  kindle  lights  unto  them. 
Makefgures  of  all  the  planets,  and  deem  them  proper 
objects  to  turn  to  in  worship  ....  that  they  may  con- 
vey thy  prayers  to  Mezdam"  ..."  In  prajer  turn 
to  any  side  ;  but  it  is  best  to  turn  to  the  stars,  and  the 
light." 

Here,  undoubtedly,  we  have  the  origin  of  Sabiisni, 
or  the  worship  of  the  host  of  heaven,  so  often  allud- 
ed to  in  Scripture  ; — and  the  real  origin  of  teriTS- 
trial  idolatry  also ;  for,  to  those  intelligences,  first 
worshipped  imder  the  form  of  stars,  were  subse- 
quently erected  altars,  temples,  statues,  and  other 
sacra.  Their  influences  were  sujtposed  to  be  most 
beneficial  to  those  who  most  fervently  worshipped 
them  ;  nor  was  this  all,  for  those  who  devoted  them- 
selves to  the  rites  instituted  in  their  honor,  conceived 
that  they  could,  by  their  solicitations,  (or  incanta- 
tions,) induce  these  celestial  intelligences  to  favor 
with  their  special  presence  and  residence,  the  build- 
ings, the  figures,  the  emblems,  consecrated  to  them 


IDOL 


[  519  ] 


IDOL 


upon  earth  ;  and  these  gi'oss  and  deceptive  imagina- 
tions led  the  way  to  the  vilest  degradation  of  the 
human  heart  and  character. 

Whatever  might  be  the  conceptions  of  the  learned 
and  scientific  among  the  orientals,  who  studied  the 
courses  and  properties  of  the  heavenly  bodies,  their 
mutual  relations,  and  their  alleged  powers  and  influ- 
ences, when  they  became  objects  of  worship  among 
the  multitude,  they  became  also  subject  to  their 
caprice,  superstition,  and  ignorance,  as  well  as  to 
their  depravity.  Not  long  could  the  simple  star 
remain  the  sole  representative  of  a  celestial  intelli- 
gence ;  the  idea  of  personality  prevailed  over  every 
other,  and  with  it  combined  the  varied  passions  and 
dispositions  which  form  tiie  character  and  distinguish 
the  persons  of  our  species.  But,  most  probably,  the 
progress,  though  rapid,  was  not  instantaneous ;  and 
thougli  too  fatal  in  the  issue,  it  was  not,  at  first,  con- 
sidered as  absolutely  unlawful  or  unbecoming.  There 
was  much  to  be  said  in  favor  of  the  doctrine,  tliat  the 
planetary  bodies  governed  the  seasons ;  that  they 
produced,  and,  consequently,  that  they  bestowed, 
abundant  harvests,  and  plentiful  supplies  of  the  rich 
and  important  productions  of  the  field,  the  vineyard, 
the  orchard,  and  the  garden.  Nor  did  their  operations 
terminate  here  ;  the  increase  of  the  fold  was  attrib- 
uted to  their  agency ;  together  with  that  of  cities,  tribes, 
and  families.  Precisely  in  this  spirit  is  the  argument 
of  the  Israelites  who  jH-ofessed  to  ask  counsel  of 
Jeremiah,  the  prophet  of  the  Lord,  but  who  acted  in 
direct  opposition  to  it,  when  they  not  only  determined 
to  go  into  Eg}'pt  themselves,  but  carried  the  remon- 
strating prophet  along  with  them,  Jer.  xliv.  What 
had  been  their  practices  we  learn  from  chaj).  vii. 
17,  seq. 

Seest  thou  not  what  these  are  doing, 

In  the  cities  of  Judah,  and  in  the  streets  of  Jerusa- 
lem ? 

The  sons  gather  wood, 

And  the  fathers  kindle  the  fire. 

And  the  women  knead  the  dough. 

To  make  cakes  for  the  regency  of  the  heavens, 
[queen  of  heaven,  Engl,  tr.] 

And  to  pour  out  libations  to  strange  gods. 

This  is  Blayney's  translation  ;  who  also  reads  chap, 
xliv.  15,  seq.  in  the  following  manner  :  "  Then  all  the 
men,  who  knew  that  their  wives  had  burned  incense 
unto  strange  gods,  and  all  the  women  who  stood  by, 
a  great  company,  even  all  the  people  that  dwelt  in 
the  land  of  Egj^pt,  in  Pathros,  answered  Jeremiah, 
Baying,  As  for  the  word  which  thou  hast  spoken  to 
us  in  the  name  of  Jehovah,  we  will  not  hearken  unto 
thee.  But  we  will  surely  perform  what  is  gone  forth 
out  of  our  mouth,  in  burning  incense  to  the  regency 
of  the  heavens,  [queen  of  heaven,]  and  pouring  out 
libations  thereunto ;  like  as  we  did,  we,  and  our 
fathers,  our  kings  and  our  princes,  in  the  cities  of 
Judah,  and  in  the  streets  of  Jerusalem,  when  we  had 
plenty  of  bread  and  were  prosperous,  and  saw  no 
adversity.  But  from  the  time  we  left  off  to  burn  in- 
cense to  the  regency  of  the  heavens,  and  to  pour  out 
libations  thereunto,  we  have  been  in  want  of  every 
thing,  and  have  been  consumed  by  the  sword  and  by 
famine  :  and  when  we  burned  incense  to  the  regency 
of  heaven,  pouring  out  also  libations  thereunto,  did 
we,  exclusively  of  our  men,  make  cakes  for  it,  wor- 
shmping  it,  and  pouring  out  libations  thereunto  ?" 

From  our  imperfect  acquaintance  with  the  idola- 
trous rite  here  described,  this  passage  presents  many 


difiiculties.  But,  before  we  proceed  further,  it  should 
be  observed,  that  our  English  margin,  adopting  the 
readnig  of  the  Complutensian,  (vii.  18.)  renders,  the 
frame  or  ivorkmanship  of  heaven  :  the  LXX  render, 
T.}  oTQaTta,  the  host  of  heaven  ;  but,  in  chap.  xhv.  17—- 
19,  they  render  T.}  (iaat/.laoiiTov  otfjarov,  the  queen  of 
Jieaven.  [Eng.  mar g.  frame  or  workmanship,  in  verse 
17 ;  queen,  in  verses  18,  19,  according  to  the  Com- 
plutensian ;  which  strangely  varies  the  reading  in 
these  verses,  though  intending  the  same  power.] 
These  variations  are  sufficient  proofs  of  confusion  ; 
and  that  arising  from  a  cause  of  no  modern  date. 
But  by  the  help  of  the  second  extract  from  the 
Desatlr  above,  we  may,  perhaps,  be  able  to  explain 
this.  We  there  read  that  the  planets,  in  succession, 
obtain  first  as  associates,  afterwards  as  principals,  the 
office  of  king,  each  for  a  thousand  years ;  and  that 
the  series  ends  with  the  moon.  It  is  evident  that 
when  a  feminine  planet  is  king,  whether  as  associate 
or  as  principji'.  she  would  be  called  queen.  Now  the 
moon  is  not  feu  inine  ;  but  is  addressed  as  "  Lord  of 
moistures" — and  is,  in  many  languages,  as  well  as  in 
these  pncient  Persian  prayers,  of  the  masculine  gender. 
It  follows  that  Venus  is  the  only  planet  which  can  be, 
properly  speaking,  queen  of  lieaven  ;  and  during  her 
millennium  she  M^ould  be  the  countei-part  of  all  the 
characters  described  in  this  passage  ; — a  female  regent, 
enjoj'ing  dominion,  rule,  or  superiority  ;  a  delegated 
agent ;  especially,  in  association  with  a  slow-moving 
star  ;  and,  in  such  association,  not  only  one  of  the  host 
of  heaven,  herself,  but  also,  and  especially,  by  her  con- 
nection with  her  principal,  according  to  the  frame, 
workmanship,  or  organization  of  the  celestial  orbs  in 
their  courses  and  mutual  relations. 

We  see  now  the  reason  why  the  women  were  prin- 
cipals in  the  idolatry  so  severely  reproved  by  Jere- 
miah ;  they  worshipped  the  female  regent  in  her 
grosser  character  of  Venus  Genetrix  ;  and  are,  there- 
fore, threatened,  in  opposition  to  her  character,  with 
the  very  annihilation  of  their  desires :  "  I  will  pour 
out  my  fury  upon  man  and  upon  beast,  and  upon  the 
trees  of  the  field,  and  upon  the  fruits  of  the  ground  ; 
in  short,  on  all  the  powers  of  increase,  animal  and 
vegetable." 

The  prophet,  in  continuation,  charges  all  the  peo- 
ple as  parties  to  the  idolatry  practised  in  their  country : 

At  that  time,  saitli  Jehovah,  shall  they  cast  forth 
The  bones  of  the  kings  of  Judah,  and  the  bones  of 

the  princes. 
And  the  bones  of  the  priests,  and  the  bones  of  the 

prophets. 
And  the  bones  of  the  inhabitants  of  Jerusalem,  out  of 

their  graves ; 
And  they  shall  spread  them  before  the  sun  and  the 

moon. 
And  all  the  host  of  heaven,  which  they  have  loved. 
And  which  they  have  served,  and  after  which  they 

have  gone, 
And  which   they  have  served,  and  to  which  they 

have  bowed  down,  &c. 

Here  we  have  the  sun,  the  moon,  and  the  host  of 
heaven — the  starSj  generally  ;  but  in  2  Kings  xxiii.  5. 
we  have  a  more  jiarticular  enumeration — "  They 
burned  incense  to  Baal,  to  the  sun,  and  to  the  moon, 
and  to  the  planets,  and  to  all  the  host  of  heaven." 
Here  Baal  is  distinguished  from  the  sun,  (see  Baal, 
p.  121.)  and  the  planets  are  clearly  distinguished  from 
the  fixed  stars,  though  usually  reckoned  among  the 
host  of  heaven.     As  this  text  is  the  only  one  that 


IDOL 


[  .520 


IDOL 


separates  the  planets  from  the  host  of  heaven,  it 
deserves  particular  notice ;  and  the  rather,  as  com- 
mentators iuchne  to  consider  Mazaloth,  the  w^ord 
here,  as  being  the  same  with  Mazaroth  in  Job  xxxviii. 
31.  Now  Mazaroth,  in  Job,  they  interpret  the  zodiac, 
,on  the  authority  of  Chrysostom  ;  but,  supposing  the 
twords  to  be  distinct,  as  they  stand  in  our  Hebi-ew 
JBibles,  the  English  rendering  of  "the  planets,"  may  be 
supported  ;  as  this  class  of  heavenly  bodies  is  exactly 
what  is  wanted  in  the  order  of  the  words ;  that  is, 
according  to  the  ancient  Persian  system,  the  swiftly- 
moving  stars,  distinct  from  the  slowly-moving  stars. 

It  is  remarkable  that  Manasseh,  a  tyrant  who  del- 
uged Jerusalem  with  innocent  blood,  is  said  (2  Kings, 
xxi.  9.)  to  have  "seduced  Israel  to  do  more  evil  than 
did  the  nations  which  the  Lord  destroyed  before  the 
children  of  Israel ;"  whereas,  Moses  cautions  the 
people — "Lest  thou  lift  up  thine  eyes  imto  heaven, 
and  when  thou  seest  the  sun,  and  the  moon,  and  the 
stars,  all  the  host  of  heaven,  thou  shor  Jest  be  driven 
to  worship  them." — It  might  be  t'  ought  that  the 
terms  should  change  places:  it  was  not,  however, 
because  Sabiism,  the  worship  of  the  heavenly  host, 
was  the  only  kind  of  idolatry  known 'to  the  Hebrew 
legislator,  that  he  laid  such  a  stress  on  this ;  for  the 
connection  of  the  passage  shows  that  he  equally 
warned  his  charge  against  corrupting  themselves  by 
making  a  graven  image,  the  simiUtude  of  any  figure, 
the  likeness  of  male  or  female,  [of  mankind,]  the  like- 
ness of  an}'  beast  that  is  on  the  earth,  the  likeness  of 
"any  winged  fowl  that  flieth  in  the  air,  the  likeness  of 
any  tiling  that  creepeth  on  the  ground,  the  likeness 
of  any  fish  that  is  in  the  waters  beneath  the  earth. 
We  infer,  that  images  of  all  these  were  common 
accessories  to  idolatry  so  early  as  the  days  of  Moses. 

When  the  imagination  had  discovered  intelligences, 
and  consequently  deities,  in  the  celestial  bodies,  the 
way  was  opened  for  peopling  the  earth  also  with  in- 
ferior deities ;  and  for  believing  the  descent  of  the 
superior,  to  take  cognizance  of  the  conduct  and 
affairs  of  mortals.  The  inferior  deities  are  thus  an- 
nounced : — "  Below  the  sphere  of  the  moon  was 
made  the  place  of  the  elements.  Over  the  fire,  the  air, 
the  water,  and  the  earth,  were  placed  four  angels — 
Anirab,  and  Hirab,  and  Senurab,  and  Zehirab.  .  .  . 
Whatever  things  are  compounded  of  the  elements 
are  either  impermanent  or  permanent.  The  imper- 
manent are  fog,  and  snow,  and  rain,  and  thunder,  and 
cloud,  and  ligh.tning,  and  such  like.  Over  each  of 
these  there  is  a  guardian  angel.  The  guardians  of 
the  fog,  and  snow,  and  rain,  and  thunder,  and  clouds, 
and  lightning,  are  Milram,  Silram,  Nilram,  Mehtas, 
Betam,  and  Nisham,  and  so  of  others."  The  scheme 
of  idolatry  is  now  complete;  the  man  who  wished 
for  rain  implored  it  from  the  guardian  angel  of 
the  rain  ;  and  to  that  guardian  angel,  or  his  prin- 
cipal, he  attributed  the  fertility  of  his  fields,  in 
consequence  of  the  heaven-descended  showers. 
True  it  is,  that  Jehovah  claims  to  himself,  in  numer- 
ous places  in  Scripture,  the  power  of  giving  or  of 
vvithliolding  rain  ;  and  the  prophet  asks,  (Jer.  xiv. 
22.)  "  Are  there  any  among  the  vanities  of  the  Gen- 
tiles which  can  cause  rain  ?  Or  can  the  heavens 
(the  heavenly  powers)  give  showers .'  Art  not  thou 
He,  (the  giver  of  rain,)  O  Lord  our  God  ?  Therefore 
we  will  wait  upon  thee  ;  for  thou  hast  made  all  these 
things."  Exactly  analogous  are  the  remonstrances 
of  the  apostles :  (Acts  xiv.  17.) — "Turn  from  these 
vanities  unto  the  living  God,  which  made  heaven  and 
earth,  and  the  sea,  and  all  tilings  that  are  therein : — 
who  hath  not  left  himself  without  witness,  in  that  he 


did  good,  and  gave  us  rain  from  heaven,  and  fruitful 
seasons,  filling  our  hearts  with  food  and  gladness." 
But  this  history  assists  the  progress  of  our  argument ; 
for,  say  the  Lycaonians,  "  The  gods  are  come  down  ,  / 
to  us  in  the  likeness  of  men ;" — a  current  notion 
among  the  heathen  ;  and  it  was  no  more  than  natural, 
and  just,  that  the  superior  deities  should  inspect  the 
conduct  of  the  inferior,  as  well  in  person,  as  by  their 
agents ;  (so  Satan  roamed  over  the  earth,  to  make  his 
observations,  and  report ;) — nor  less  should  they  ex- 
amine the  maxims  of  men  ;  and  punish  transgressors, 
or  reward  the  obedient,  in  modes  beyond  the  scrutiny 
of  common  observation.  The  poets  of  Greece  and 
Italy  furnish  abundant  proofs  of  this.  But  these 
were  incidental  and  uncei-tain  visits ;  there  were 
others  which,  by  their  regular  returns,  or  by  their 
uninterrupted  permanency,  announced  the  constant 
interposition  of  the  supposed  deity  who  presided  over 
that  meteor,  or  that  phenomenon  ;  insomuch,  that 
while,  on  some  occasions,  the  heathen  insisted  that 
"Jupiter  is  whatever  exists,  whatever  you  see,"  on 
others  he  was  merely  the  god  of  the  atmosphere,  and  V 
directed  the  operations  of  the  rain,  the  snow,  &c.  as 
supplicated  by  the  earth.  Egypt  only  was  an  excep- 
tion ;  and  the  exception  confirmed  the  rule: 

jTe  propter  nidlos  fellus  tua  postidat  imbres, 
Arida  nee  pluvio  supplicat  herba  Jovi. 

Tibull.  hb.  i.  Eleg.  7. 

Among  the  most  determinate  and  obvious  gifts  of 
the  gods,  rivers  held  a  distinguished  place ;  in  fact,  V 
not  a  few  of  them  were  considered  as  gods  them- 
selves, and  this  probably  arose,  not  merely  from  a 
sense  of  the  benefits  they  confer  on  a  country,  but 
also  from  appearances  somewhat  striking  and  pecu- 
liar in  their  sources.  All  who  have  read  Homer — 
and  who  has  not  read  Homer? — know  that  the  river 
Scamander  was  esteemed  a  deity,  and  venerated  as 
divine.  Herodotus  says  of  tJie  Persians,  that  they 
held  rivers  in  especial  veneration,  that  they  worship- 
ped them,  and  oflered  sacrifices  to  them  ;  nor  would 
they  suffer  any  thing  to  be  thrown  into/^them,  that 
could  possibly  pollute  their  waters.  The  same  notion 
obtained  among  the  Modes,  the  Parthians,  and  tBe 
Sarmatians.  The  Nile  was  certainly  consecrated  in 
Egypt,  was  called  Father  and  Saviour  ;  (or  protector  ;) 
was  esteemed  their  prime  national  deity,  and  was 
worshipped  accordingly.  They  supposed  it  gave 
birth  to  all  their  deities  who  were  born,  they  said,  on 
its  banks.  That  the  Nile  concealed  its  head,  was 
proverbial ;  and  something  of  tiie  same  kind  was,  it 
is  credible,  believed  of  the  other  divine  streams. 

All  know  that  Ida  was  the  seat  of  the  immortal 
gods,  of  which  Jove  was  the  sovereign.  But  why, 
and  how,  was  the  Scamander  said  to  flow  from  him, 
to  be  his  offspring,  &c.  ?  Dr.  E.  D.  Clarke  has  set 
this  in  a  striking  light.  (Trav.  vol.  ii.  p.  142.)  On 
ascending  Gargarus,  the  chief  sunnnit  of  Ida,  he  says, 
"  Our  ascent,  as  we  drew  near  the  source  of  the  river, 
became  steep  and  stony.  Lofty  summits  towered 
above  us,  in  the  greatest  style  of  Alpine  gi-andeur; 
the  torrent,  in  its  rugged  bed  below,  all  the  while 
foaming  on  our  left.  Presentlj',  we  entered  one  of 
the  sublimcst  natural  amphitheatres  the  eye  ever  be- 
held ;  and  here  the  guides  desired  us  to  alight.  The 
noise  of  waters  silenced  every  other  sound.  Huge, 
craggy  rocks  rose  per])endicularly  to  an  immense 
heiglit ;  whose  sides  and  fissures,  to  the  very  clouds, 
concealing  their  tops,  were  covered  with  pines, 
trowing  in  every  possible  direction,  among  n  variety 


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IDOL 


of  evergreen  slu-ubs,  wild  sage,  hanging  ivy,  mosg, 
and  creeping  herbage.  Enormous  plane-trees  waved 
their  vast  branches  above  the  torrent.  As  we  ap- 
proaclied  its  deep  gulf,  we  beheld  several  cascades, 
all  of  foam,  pouring  impetuously  from  chasms  in  the 
naked  face  of  a  perpendicular  rock.  It  is  said  the 
same  magnificent  cataract  continues  during  all  sea- 
sous  of  the  year,  wholly  unaffected  by  the  casualties 
of  rain  or  melting  snow.  That  a  river  so  ennobled 
by  ancient  history  should  at  the  same  time  prove 
equally  eminent  in  circumstances  of  natural  dignity, 
is  a  iact  worthy  of  being  related  ...  it  bursts  at 
once  from  the  dark  womb  of  its  jiarent,  in  all  the 
greatness  of  the  divine  origin  assigned  to  it  by  Ho- 
mer: — where  the  voice  of  nature  speaks  in  her  most 
awful  tone ;  where,  amidst  roaring  waters,  waving 
forests,  and  broken  precipices,  the  mind  of  man  be- 
comes impressed,  as  by  the  influence  of  a  present 
Deity.  I  climbed  the  rocks  with  my  companions,  to 
examine  more  closely  the  nature  of  the  chasms 
whence  the  torrent  issues.  Having  reached  these, 
we  found,  in  their  front,  a  beautiful  natural  basin, 
six  or  eight  feet  deep,  serviug  as  a  reservoir  for  the 
water  in  the  first  moments  of  its  emission.  It  was  so 
clear,  that  the  minutest  object  might  be  discerned  at 
the  bottom.  The  copious  overflowing  of  this  reser- 
voir causes  the  appearance,  to  a  spectator  below,  of 
different  cascades  falling  to  the  depth  of  about  foi"ty 
feet :  but  there  is  only  one  source.  Behind  are  the 
chasms  whence  the  water  issues.  We  entered 
one  of  these,  and  passed  into  a  cavern.  Here  the 
water  appeared,  rushing  with  great  force  beneath  the 
rock,  towards  the  basin  on  the  outside.  It  was  the 
coldest  spring  we  had  found  in  tiie  country.  .  .  .  The 
whole  rock  about  the  source  is  covered  with  moss. 
Close  to  the  basin  gi-cw  hazel  and  plane-trees  ;  above 
w^ere  oaks  and  pines  ;  all  beyond  was  a  naked  and 
fearful  precipice."  Such  is  the  source  of  the  river, 
the  offspring  of  Jove.  On  the  summit  of  the  moun- 
tain whence  it  flows,  the  deities  of  classic  antiquity 
held  their  court,  Jupiter,  Mars,  Apollo,  Venus,  Mer- 
cury, Diana,  &c.  who  were,  in  short,  the  celestial  in- 
telligences of  the  planets  transferi-ed  to  earth. 

.The  deities  of  Greece  were  not  originally  Greek  ; 
neither  were  they,  strictly  speaking,  Egyptian  ;  but 
India  was'tTieir  primary  station  ; — not  the  provinces 
now  called  Bengal,  but  those  more  to  the  north, 
Avhere  rises  the  long  chain  of  mount  Himalaya,  in  all 
/the  pride  of  eternal  snows,  and  endless  peaks  of  ice. 
Surrounded  by  these  mountains,  the  highest  in  the 
world,  is  the  famous  lake  Mansaro\\'ara,  whose  ca- 
pacious waters  are  deemed  sacred  by  all  the  Brah- 
minical  tribes  and  their  followers.  Here  also  rise  the 
most  famous  rivers;  the  Bramahputra ;  ("son  of 
Brahma,"  the  deity  ;)  the  Ganges,  (Ganga,  feminine  ;) 
who  sprung  from  the  head  of  the  Indian  Jove  ;  the 
Indus,  or  Nilal),  with  its  contributing  streams  ;  and 
the  Gihoon,  which  runs  northerly,  a  direction  con- 
trary from  the  former.  As  we  are  not  able  to  offer 
so  particular  an  account  of  the  sources  of  these  rivers 
OS  Dr.  Clarke  has  furnished  of  the  sources  of  the 
river  Scamander,  we  must  entreat  the  reader  to  bear 
in  mind  the  identity  of  the  Grecian  deities  with  those 
of  the  original  India,  and  to  expect  to  meet  them 
again,  in  exactly  the  same  situation,  at  tiie  sunnnit  of 
a  mountain,  at  the  source  of  a  stream,  rendennl  sa- 
cred by  their  presence,  and  doubly  sacred  as  being 
their  otTspring. — Change  of  name  effects  no  change 
of  character. 

A  Plate  of  the  Origin  of  the  River  Gauges  in  the 
larger  edition  of  Calmet,  (No.  LXXVI.)  shows  these 
66 


ideas  in  the  form  of  an  allegory,  at  once  mythological 
and  geographical ;  the  principal  deities  of  India  are 
represented  on  the  summits  of  the  Snowy  mountains, 
giving  birth  to  the  Ganges  ;  which,  from  those  moun- 
tains, falls  from  precipice  to  precipice,  till  it  reaches 
the  entrance  into  the  lower  provinces,  which  it  an- 
nually overflows.  The  river  is  seen  to  issue  from 
the  loot  of  Vishnu,  the  pervading  spirit  of  the  su- 
preme, who  here  assumes  a  female  form.  Behind 
her  sits  Nared,  (Mercury,)  playing  on  the  bina,  a 
nnisical  instrument,  analogous  to  tlie  lyre  of  Mercu- 
r}' ;  and  before  her  dances  Bhavani,  (Venus,)  ani- 
mated no  doubt  by  Nared's  celestial  melody  ;  near 
Bhavani  stands  Brahma,  (Jupiter,)  who  sanctions  the 
joyful  occurrence  by  his  presence.  Adjacent  are  the 
temples  of  Scheu  Log;  that  is,  of  Siva,  (the  changer 
of  forms,)  of  Parvati,  (Cybele,)  the  "  general  mother ;" 
and  in  the  sanctuary  adjoining  is  Ganesa,  with  the 
head  of  an  elephant.  Attached  is  a  dwelling  of  Chi- 
ven,  and  of  the  Bramins  engaged  in  his  service. 
Another  temple  marked  Beschan  Log,  "  the  residence 
of  Vishnu,"  is  inhabited  by  the  Bramins  attached  to 
his  worship.  Here  are  worshipped  Lachmi,  wife  of 
Vishnu,  the  goddess  of  riches.  A  third  structure, 
Brem  Log,  "  the  residence  of  Brahma,"  v.as  no  doubt 
the  dwelling  of  Brahma,  and  of  the  Bramins  attached 
to  him.  It  is  said  that  this  temple  no  longer  exists  ; 
which,  if  true,  seems  to  prove  that  the  original  draw- 
ing of  it  was  composed  while  it  was  standing;  which 
is  allowing  it  considerable  antiquity.  Gaitris  and 
Sarsatis  appear  in  the  chapel  of  this  convent ;  the 
last  is  the  wife  of  Brahma,  and  the  goddess  of  the 
sciences,  IMinerva.  Sanoc  Sanandam,  the  eldest  of 
her  sons,  is  here  in  the  chapel  dedicated  to  his  family. 
The  stream  that  issues  from  the  foot  of  the  goddess 
dashes  on  the  head  of  a  deity,  sitting  at  some  distance 
below,  on  a  gi-eat  rock  ;  and  in  the  early  part  of  its 
course  it  is  visited  by  Brahma,  who  i-eceives  part  of 
the  water  into  a  patera  or  vase,  as  if  he  intended  to 
drink  of  it :  and  by  this  he  confers  additional  sanctity 
on  the  stream.  From  the  head  of  the  deity,  the 
water  rebounds  into  another  direction,  and  falls  in  a 
cascade,  or  cataract,  forming  a  mass  of  spray,  where 
it  is  received  by  seven  men,  the  Richis,  peculiarly 
holy  persons,  or  devotees  ;  and  it  seems  that  baptism, 
by  being  wetted  with  the  falling  spray  of  this  cataract, 
is  esteemed  a  very  happy  and  sacred  ablution  ;  and 
is  a  kind  of  baptism  very  ancient  among  the  Hindoos, 
and  others.  These  seven  Richis  are  said  to  come 
every  seventh  day  of  the  week,  to  receive  this  falling 
shower  on  thcirheads.  From  this  cataract  the  river 
proceeds  to  another  rock,  signified  by  the  head  of  a 
cow,  and  known  under  the  name  of  "  the  Cow's 
Mouth  ;"  through  this  rock  it  passes,  and  is  received 
into  an  octagon  basin,  apparently  formed  by  art ; 
leaving  which,  it  continues  its  course  to  another  fall, 
near  the  city  ofllordear,  or  Ilardwar,  (Ileridwar,) 
where  it  enters  the  fertile  provinces  of  India. 

The  image  of  a  female  form,  as  giving  birth  to  a 
river,  appears,  with  some  variation,  on  medals  of  An- 
tioch,  of  Carrlue,  of  Damascus,  of  Ptolemais,  of  Rhc- 
sen,  of  Singara,  of  Shinar,  of  Tartus  ;  and  in  fact,  en 
coins  of  very  many  other  cities; — cities  of  the  great- 
est antiquity,  situated  in  the  midst  of  deserts,  and 
wanting  water  themselves;  cities  very  distant  from 
each  other,  and  by  no  means  likely  to  a[)propriate 
each  other's  device.  The  inference  is  conclusive, 
therefore,  of  a  conunon  and  early  origin  of  this  type  ; 
and  that  origin  couM  be  no  other  than  the  country 
whence  all  these  people  drew  their  own  ongm  ;  or, 
derived  from  localities,  the  memory  of  which  they 


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[  522  ] 


IDOL 


all  desired  to  preserve  ;  as  in  their  religious  rites,  so 
also  on  their  public  tokens.  But  if  it  be  granted  that 
these  people  commemorated  the  country  of  their 
common  and  early  origin,  and  that  origin  was  at,  or 
near,  the  sources  of  the  Ganges,  it  will  lead  to  a  con- 
clusion confirmatory  of  the  opinion  for  a  very  eastern 
position  of  Paradise,  &(.c.  (See  Eden.)  (The  resem- 
blance between  the  Hindoo  and  the  Egyptian  deities 
will  suggest  themselves  to  the  reader.  See  Asiatic 
Researches,  vol.  i.  p.  242.) 

With  these  tokens  we  should  also  connect  the  tra- 
ditionary accounts,  which  long  continued  among  the 
heathen,  of  that  most  memorable  catastrophe,  the 
deluge.  There  can  be  no  doubt,  but  what  many 
memorials  of  that  event  were  popular,  and  even  were 
venerated,  throughout  Asia;  and  with  little  risk  we 
may  affirm,  that  the  country  in  which  the  second 
gi'eat  father  of  mankind  resided,  gave  occasion  to 
various  emblems,  and  to  figures  as  well  compound  as 
simple,  which  entered  deeply  and  extensively  into 
the  rituals  and  the  mysteries  of  those  tribes  of  his 
descendants  which  formed  colonies  and  obtained  set- 
tlements in  distant  parts.     See  Deluge. 

It  is  proper  to  mention  a  reaction,  to  which  some 
of  the  principles  now  adduced  have  given  occasion  ; 
it  is  that  of  placing  in  the  heavens,  in  the  form  of 
constellations,  memorials  of  those  transactions  which 
\  so  greatly  interested  mankind.  The  constellation  of 
the  ship,  [Argo,]  of  the  raven,  of  the  dove,  of  the  al- 
tar, of  the  victim,  and  the  sacrificer,  bear  no  mcom- 
petent  witness  to  the  history  of  the  deluge.  Orion 
has  been  thought  to  be  Noah  ;  and  the  asttrism  of  the 
river,  as  Ptolemy  calls  it,  the  head  of  which  river 
commences  at  the  foot  of  Orion,  will  be  easily  un- 
derstood by  the  reader  of  the  pi-eceding  pages.  As 
we  are  not  aware  of  any  allusion  to  this  reaction  in 
Scripture,  it  may  be  passed  over  with  this  slight  no- 
tice. But  the  subject  may  bear  a  few  general  re- 
marks. The  first  remark  is,  that  since  idolatry  had 
v^  several  sources,  and  more  than  one  origin,  it  is  not  cor- 
rect to  refer  all  the  idols  of  the  Gentiles,  without  ex- 
ception, to  a  single  source.  When  Macrobius  affirms, 
that  all  deities  run  ultimately  into  the  sun,  he  is  cer- 
tainly mistaken  ;  nor  is  Bryant  less  mistaken,  when 
he  refers  all  deities  to  persons  and  events  connected 
with  the  deluge.  Still,  it  must  be  admitted,  that  many 
deities  coalesce  in  the  sun,  and  that  many  memorials 
of  the  deluge  became,  evenuially,  objects  of  venera- 
tion, and  gradually  of  worship.  Nor  must  we  forget 
that  the  intelligences,  or  guardians  of  the  elements, 
&c.  were  multiplied,  till  every  hill,  and  dale,  and 
tree,  and  grotto,  had  its  titulary  protector  or  protect- 
ress. That  the  Magian  notion  of  guardians  over  the 
elements  was  by  no  means  confined  to  Persia,  is  evi- 
dent from  the  opinions  of  the  Egyptians,  w'ho,  says 
Porphyry,  commenced  the  worship  of  Serapis  hyjire 
and  water.  Diodorus  says,  "  The  Egyptians  esteemed 
fire,  which  they  called  Hephaistus,  to  be  a  great  god." 
— They  even  thought  it  to  be  a  living  animal,  en- 
dowed with  a  soul,  according  to  Herodotus,  (lib.  iii. 
cap.  IC.)  And  this  might  be  independent  of  ref- 
erence to  the  sun.  Moreover,  every  traveller  into 
Greece  and  Italy  knows  abundance  of  caves,  and 
forests,  and  rills,  which  formerly  were  haunts  of 
dryads  and  nymphs. 

A  second  remark  is,  that  it  is  desirable,  in  reading 
Scripture,  and  other  historical  writings,  to  distinguish 
the  species  of  idolatry  alluded  to,  where  it  is  possible. 
For  instance,  the  teraphim  of  Laban  may  be  the 
earliest  idols  mentioned;  yet,  whether  they  were 
commemorative  of  the  deluge,  or  of  Noah,  the  prin- 


cipal personage  of  the  deluge,  may  be  questioned. 
The  time  seems  to  be  too  early  ;  and,  probably,  there 
would  be  a  feeling  of  opposition  in  the  families  de- 
scended from  Shem,  to  all  the  proceedings  at  Babel, 
where,  certainly,  idolatry  of  the  commemorative  kind 
was  patronized.  The  teraphim  were,  doubtless, 
guardjans  :  and  Laban  supposed  that  with  them  was 
connected  the  prosperity  of  his  residence  and  his 
family. 

The  prophets  allude  to  many  idols  which  do  not 
occur  in  the  historical  books  of  Scripture  ;  and  to 
several  among  other  nations  than  their  own.  It  is 
well  to  be  able  to  distinguish  these,  because,  for  want 
of  such  distinction,  the  threatenings  directed  against 
them  ai-e  unintelligible  ;  or,  at  least,  their  forcible  im- 
port remains  undiscerned. 

The  apostles  and  writers  of  the  New  Testament 
had  the  same  deities  to  contend  against;  but  under 
another  form,  and  presented  under  the  more  elegant 
fashion  of  Grecian  skill.  Hence  the  originals  were 
foi-gotten;  Vishnu  and  Bhavani,  Nared  and  Seres-  ,/' 
watti,  gave  place  to  Jupiter,  to  Venus,  to  Mercury,  to 
Ceres  ;  and  the  deities  best  known,  held  their  court 
on  mount  Ida,  not  on  mount  Meru,  at  the  head  of  the 
Scamander,  not  of  the  Ganges.  Still,  their  attendant 
emblems  continued  much  the  same  ;  the  same  ani- 
mals marked  their  shrines  ;  and  these  gave  occasion 
to  a  worship  addressed  to  brutes,  to  plants,  to  insects 
— to  every  kind  of  absurdity,  at  which  the  mind  re- 
volted while  it  complied.  We  have,  however,  the 
consolation  of  knowing,  that  as  the  western  idols 
disappeared  before  the  light  of  the  truth  of  the  Gos- 
pel, so  the  eastern  idols,  though  the  parents  of  the 
other,  will  in  time  be  expelled  from  their  station  ;  and 
their  influence,  their  dominion,  and  their  destructive 
powers,  will  become  matters  of  history  and  of  won- 
der to  succeeding  generations. 

The  prophet  Isaiah  has  clearly  predicted  this,  in  his 
threatening  against  pride  and  idolatry  :  (ch.  ii.  20.) 

Enter  into  the  rock,  and  hide  thee  hi  the  dust, 
For  fear  of  the  Lord,  and  the  glory  of  his  majesty. 


For  the  day  of  the  Lord  of  hosts  is  upon  all  that  is 
proud  and  loftj'. 


And  the  idols  he  shall  utterly  abolish. 
And  they  shall  go  into  the  caverns. 
And  into  hollow  places  of  the  dust. 
In  that  very  day  the  chief  shall  cast 
His  idols  of  silver,  and  his  idols  of  gold. 
Which  they  had  made  for  him  to  worship, 
To  the  moles  and  to  the  bats, 
To  go  into  the  clefts  of  rocks. 
And  into  the  cavities  of  the  rugged  rocks ; 
For  fear  of  the  Lord,  and  for  the  glory  of  his  majes- 
ty, &c. 

Jiishop  Lowth  says,  on  this  passage,  "  They  shall 
carry  their  idols  with  them  into  the  dark  caverns,  old 
ruins,  or  desolate  places,  to  which  they  shall  flee  for 
refuge  ;  and  so  shall  give  them  up,  and  relinquish 
them  to  the  filthy  animals  that  frequent  such  places, 
and  have  taken  possession  of  them  as  their  proper 
habitation."  There  is,  however,  a  confusion  of  ideas 
in  this  note  of  the  learned  author  ;  because,  (1.)  those 
who  fled,  did  not  flee  to  old  ruins,  to  ])laces  already 
ruined,  already  desolated,  but  to  rocks ;  (2.)  their 
"  carrying  their  idols  with  them,"  in  order  to  leave 
them  behind  when  they  came  out  again — "relin- 
quished them  to  the  filthy  animals" — seems  directly 


IDOL 


[  523  ] 


IDOL 


contrary  to  the  prophet's  meaning  ;  which  implies  a 
getting  rid  of  these  idols  as  fast  as  possible — instanta- 
neously: neither  is  it  very  natural,  after  their  fright  is 
over,  to  leave  their  deities  behind  them.  Scheuchzer 
has  approached  much  nearer,  probably,  to  the  im- 
port of  the  passage  ;  and,  indeed,  has  given  it  fairly, 
though  without  perceiving  it : — "  In  that  day  men 
shall  cast  do«ai  (the  idols)  from  the  top  of  the  altar  to 
the  bottom  of  it ;  and  to  avoid  all  occasion  of  defile- 
ment and  superstition,  shall  hide  them  in  dark  places, 
and  at  the  bottom  of  caverns." 

The  progress  of  error  is  generally  from  bad  to 
worse.  We  have  seen  idolatry  addressed  in  the  first 
instance  to  the  celestial  luminaries  ;  next,  it  transfer- 
red the  intelligences  with  which  it  had  animated 
those  luminaries,  to  the  seats  of  their  conspicuous 
effects  on  earth,  and  invested  with  a  thotisand  im- 
aginary powers  the  guardians  which  it  appointed  over 
the  permanent  and  non-permanent  meteoric  phe- 
nomena of  the  globe  we  inhabit,  and  tho  atmosphere 
that  surrounds  it.  We  are  now  about  to  notice  a 
third  step  in  this  descending  progress ;  which  leads 
to  consequences  and  practices  more  degrading  to  the 
human  mind,  more  fatal  to  human  life,  and  more 
detrimental  to  morals,  than  either  of  those  which 
preceded  it.  And  yet,  it  seems  difficidt  to  conceive 
of  notions  more  revolting  to  the  good  sense  and  feel- 
ings of  mankind,  than  those  which  attended  the  sec- 
ond general  declension,  at  which  we  have  hinted. 
What  could  be  more  base  than  the  deification  of  dis- 
eases, with  their  offensive  accompaniments,  "  which 
flesh  is  heir  to  ?"  What  can  we  think  of  rational  be- 
ings, who  exalted  to  the  rank  of  divinities — Fever, 
Cough,  Fear,  Calumny,  Envy,  Impudence  ;  and  even 
■^  the  excrementitious  discharges  of  the  body,  Cloacina, 
Crepitus,  and  Mephitis?  Our  contempt  for  the  sec- 
ond series  of  deities  strongly  prompts  us  to  wish,  in 
behalf  of  decorum,  and  the  honor  of  human  nature, 
that  mankind  had  stopped  at  the  first :  our  abhor- 
rence of  the  third  series  will  still  more  strongly  ex- 
cite our  regret  that  the  folly  of  idolatry  had  not  ter- 
niinated  with  the  second.  The  first  may  pass  almost 
for  innocence,  when  placed  in  comparison  with  the 
second  ;  the  second  may  pass  almost  with  indiffer- 
ence, when  placed  in  comparison  with  the  third. 

That  mankind  should  retain  a  respect  for  depart- 
ed worth,  should  tread  with  reverence  the  places 
formerly  inhabited  by  their  gi-eat  forefathers,  should 
venerate  such  memorials  of  them  as  bear  the  stamp 
of  antiquity  and  authenticity,  is  a  natural  sentiment, 
neither  despicable  nor  blamable.     Hence  the  value 
generally  set  on  portraits  and  other  recollections  of 
/  tiie  mighty  dead,  or  of  those  who  rendered  tliem- 
"*    selves   illustrious   by   the   benefits    they   conferred, 
whether  such  benefits  were  public  or  private,  na- 
tional or  individual,  intellectual  or  practical;  whether 
they  improved  the  condition  of  man,  by  institutions 
of  the  legislator,  or  the  statesman,  or  by  teaching  the 
most  effectual  processes  of  handicraft,  of  mechanics, 
of  agi-icvdture,  or  of  domestic  establishment.     But  of 
all  j)ersons  who  ever  breathed,  none  could  possibly 
be  so  singularly  distinguished  beyond  his  compeers 
as  the  patriarch  Noah.     His  history  was  a  tissue  of 
wonders  of  the  most  striking  kind  ;  and  his  suffer- 
ings and  deliverance  were  of  a  nature  to  make  aii 
indelible  impression  on  the  minds  of  all  who  knew 
them,  of  all  who  were  interested  in  tliem.     Add  to 
i        this,  the  deference  and  obedience  due  to  jjarcntal  su- 
I        premacy  ; — and  it  must  be  acknowledged,  that  the 
I        motives  of  unlimited  respect  to   the   great   second 
1        father  of  our  race  might  be  justified  on  some  of  the 


noblest  principles  of  humanity.  But,  not  content 
with  this,  his  posterity,  profoundly  venerating  his 
piety,  doubted  not  of  his  reception  to  celestial  glory, 
nor  of  the  immortality  that  awaited  him,  when  he  ex- 
changed his  tabernacle  of  clay  for  a  spiritual  exist- 
ence, nor  of  his  power,  connected  with  that  spiritual 
existence,  nor  of  his  good  will  to  interpose  that 
power,  in  favor  of  those  whose  advantage  he  had 
promoted,  by  all  possible  means,  when  on  earth.  In 
short,  their  unbounded  afi'ection,  their  sympathy, 
their  duty,  their  reverence,  were  not  satisfied  till  they 
had  raised  their  father  and  benefactor  to  the  rank  of  ^_^ 
a  deity ;  and  his  name  and  person,  and  the  repre- 
sentations of  his  person,  gradually  assumed  as  well 
the  form  as  the  fervency  of  the  most  direct,  and 
eventually  of  the  most  perverse,  idolatry.  The 
events  of  his  life  were  commemoi'ated  by  images,  by 
symbols,  by  expressive  appellations  infinitely  varied, 
by  imitative  processions,  extensively  practised,  by 
whatever  art  could  devise,  or  ingenuity  could  exe- 
cute, or  language  could  express.  By  degrees,  the 
allusions,  the  processions,  the  symbols,  the  images, 
though  nothing  more  than  shadows,  were  contem-  ,y 
plated  as  the  substance;  and  i/icT/ remained  long  after 
their  original  intention  had  been  buried  in  the  depths 
of  oblivion. 

Will  it  be  believed,  that  from  the  deification  of  the 
best  of  men  arose  the  custom  of  deifying  the  worst .'  '' 
that  the  apotheosis  of  eminent  personages,  who  had 
departed  this  life,  was  gradually  abused  and  debased, 
till  the  living  also  claimed  divinity  ;  and  to  gods  who 
were  yet  to  die,  were  erected  temples,  statues,  altars, 
and  were  consecrated  priests,  victims,  and  incense, 
with  all  the  pompous  paraphernalia  of  sacrifice.'  To 
the  most  infamous  of  men,  to  murderers  of  fathers, 
and  murderers  of  mothers,  to  tyrants  who  shed  blood 
without  limitation,  and  without  remorse. — But  it  is 
enough  thus  to  glance  at  the  magnitude  and  multi- 
plicity of  the  crimes  which  history  imputes  to  those 
who,  during  life,  were  adored  as  immortals ;  at  once 
the  terror,  the  contempt,  and  the  abhorrence  of  their 
votaries. 

The  notion  of  the  deities  of  heathenism  being  of 
no  sex,  or  of  either  sex,  at  pleasure,  is  so  imperfectly 
understood  among  us,  that  it  requires  a  few  "words 
by  way  of  elucidation.  We  shall  instance  the  sun 
and  moon,  chiefly,  because  nothing  can  be  more  re- 
pugnant to  our  language,  our  established  customs, 
and  our  feelings,  than  to  consider  the  sun  as  femi- 
nine, and  the  moon  as  masculine.  Milton,  who  is 
good  English  authority,  speaks  of  the  sun  and  moon 
as 

Dispensing  male  and  female  hght, 
Which  two  gi-eat  sexes  animate  the  world  : 

but  in  the  German  language,  the  moon  is  masculine, 
der  Mo7id,  and  the  sun  is  feminine,  die  Sonne.  An 
Arabian  poet  says  expressly. 

To  be  in  the  feminine  gender  is  no  disgrace  to  the  sun  ;    .  ' 
Nor  to  be  of  the  masculine  gender  is  any  honor  to  the 
moon. 

In  India,  the  moon  is  masculine,  in  the  character 
of  the  god  Soma  ;  and  we  have  already  seen  that  the 
moon  is  king,  in  its  turn,  among  the  heavenly  bodies, 
according  to  the  notions  of  the  ancient  Chaldeans,  as 
stated  in  me  Desatir.  We  must,  therefore,  fix  in  our 
minds  this  intercommunity,  or  rather  ad  libitum  as- 
sumption of  gender,  among  the  pagan  immortals, 
before  we  can  justly  appreciate,  or  understand,  though 
imperfectly,  certain  passages  of  Scripture.  Nor  should 


IDOL 


[  524  1 


IDOL 


we  be  surprised  to  find  Moloch,  though  king,  as  a 
potentate,  and  though  bearded  as  a  male,  yet  merging 
into  a  female,  possessing  female  properties,  with  the 
qualities  and  attributes  of  Venus  herself,  the  goddess 
of  love  and  beauty.  For  instance  ;  1  Kings  xi.  "  Sol- 
omon loved  many  strange  women  ....  who  turned 
away  his  heart  ...  he  went  after  Ashtoreth,  goddess 
of  the  Zidonians,  and  Milcom,  the  abomination  of  the 
Ammonites.  .  .  .  He  built  a  high  place  for  Moloch,  the 
abomination  of  the  children  of  Amnion."  It  seems 
clear,  that  Moloch  is  the  same  as  Milcom,  bearing  the 
same  character ;  and  that  Milcom  is  a  goddess  of  the 
Ammonites,  no  less  than  Ashtoreth,  with  whom  she 
is  associated,  is  goddess  of  the  Zidonians.  By  female 
deities  the  heart  of  Solomon  was  turned  av/ay.  [This, 
hov/ever,  is  no  where  said ;  and  the  god  Moloch,  of 
which  Malcom  and  Milcom  are  only  diflerent  names, 
is  always  niJisculine,  and  most  probably  represents 
the  planet  Saturn.     See  Moloch.     R. 

It  v/ill  be  naturally  inferred,  from  what  has  been 
adduced,  that  only  a  small  portion  of  the  depravities 
of  heathenism  is  known,  where  Christianity,  the 
greatest  blessing  ever  offered  to  sufFcring  humanity, 
has  prevailed.  Happily,  they  have  been  suppressed 
by  public  opinion,  as  well  as  by  public  law.  Nor 
should  it  be  forgotten,  that  the  better  informed  class 
of  heathen,  alive  to  the  feelings  of  natural  conscience, 
and  of  shame,  endeavored  'o  palliate  these  monsters 
of  immorality  under  the  pretext  of  their  being  sym- 
bolical stories,  "cunningly  devised  fables,"  mytlios  for 
the  initiated,  and  containing  wonderful  mysteries ! 
only  to  be  disclosed  under  the  seal  cf  secx'ecy.  To 
what  subterfuges  will  not  the  perversity  of  the 
human  mind  have  recourse,  to  evade  the  clear  dic- 
tates of  unpolluted  nature ! 

It  is  impossible  to  ascertain  the  period  at  which  the 
worship  of  idols  was  introduced.  Some  of  the  rab- 
bins say,  that  the  descendants  of  Cain  had  introduced 
it  into  the  world  before  the  flood.  They  believe 
Enos  to  have  been  the  inventor  of  it ;  and  in  this 
'  sense  they  explain  Gen.  iv.  26,  which,  according  to 
the  Hebrew,  may  be  thus  interpreted — "Then  the 
name  of  the  Lord  was  profaned  ;"  i.e.  by  giving  it  to 
idols.  But  the  old  Greek  interpreters  and  Jerome 
understood  it  otherwise.  Still  tlierc  is  reason  to  think 
tliat  idolatry  was  common  before  the  deluge ;  the 
inundation  of  wickedness  intimated  in  the  expression, 
"  All  flesh  had  corru])ted  its  way,"  no  doubt  included 
imj)icty  of  worship,  as  well  as  the  infamous  irregu- 
larities of  incontinence  and  violence.  Josephus,  and 
many  of  the  fathers,  were  of  opinion  that  soon  after 
the  deluge,  idolatry  became  the  prevailing  religion  ; 
and  certainly  wherever  we  turn  our  eyes  after  the 
time  of  Abi-aham,  we  see  only  a  falsa  worship.  Tlie 
patriarch's  forefathers,  and  even  himself,  were  en- 
gaged in  it ;  as  is  evident  from  Josh.  xxiv.  2,  l4. 

The  Hebrews  had  no  ])oculiar  forr.i  of  idolatry ; 
they  imitated  the  superstitions  of  others,  but  do  not 
appear  to  have  been  inventors  of  any.  When  they 
were  in  Egypt,  they  worshipped  Egyptian  deities  ; 
in  the  wilderness  they  worshipped  those  of  the  Ca- 
naanitcs,  Egj'ptians,  Ammonites,  and  Moabites  •  in 
Judea  thos;;  of  the  Ph(cnicians,  Syrians,  and  olhv.\- 
people  around  them.  Rachel,  probably,  liad  adored 
idols  at  her  father  Laban';:,  since  she  carried  off  his 
teraphim,  Gen.  xxxi.  HO.  Jacob,  after  his  return 
from  Mesopotamia,  required  his  peo|)le  to  reject  the 
strange  gods  from  among  them,  and  also  the  super- 
stitious pendants  worn  by  them  in  tlieir  ears,  which 
he  hid  under  the  turpentine-tree  near  Sichem.  He 
preserved  his  family  in  the  worship  of  God  while  he 


\/ 


■/ 


hved  ;  but  afler  his  death,  part  of  his  sons  worship- 
ped Egyptian  deities.     (See  Josh.  xxiv.  23.) 

Under  the  government  of  the  judges,  they  oflen 
fell  into  idolatry.  Gideon,  after  he  had  been  fiivored 
by  God  with  so  particular  a  deliverance,  made  an 
ephod,  which  ensnared  the  Israehtes  in  unlawful 
worsliip,  Judg.  viii.  27.  Micah's  Teraphim  are  well 
known,  and  the  worship  of  them  continued  in  Israel 
till  the  dispersion  of  the  people,  Judg.  xvii.  5 ;  xviii. 
30,  31.  Previously  "  the  children  of  Israel  did  evil  / 
in  the  sight  of  the  Lord,  and  served  Baalim.  They  ^ 
forsook  the  Lord  God  of  their  fathers,  ....  and 
followed  other  gods — of  the  gods  of  the  people  that 
were  round  about  them ;  and  bowed  themselves  unto 
them:  .  .  .  and  they  forsook  the  Lord  and  served 
Baal  and  Ashtaroth,"  Judg.  ii.  11 .  During  the  times 
of  Samuel,  Saul,  and  David,  the  worship  of  God 
seems  to  have  been  preserved  pure  in  Israel.  There 
was  corruption  and  irregularity  of  manners,  but  Ihtle 
or  no  idolatry ;  unless  it  is  to  be  inferred  from  the 
names  given  to  some  of  Saul's  sons — Ish-baal,  or 
Ish-bosheth,  &c.  Solomen,  seduced  by  complaisance 
to  his  strange  wives,  caused  temples  to  be  erected  in 
honor  of  their  gods,  and  himself  impiously  offered 
incense  to  them,  1  Kings  xi.  5 — 7.  He  adored  Ash- 
taroth, goddess  of  the  Phoenicians,  Moloch,  god  of  the 
Ammonites,  and  Chemosh,  god  of  the  Moabites.  Je- 
roboam, who  succeeded  Solomon,  set  up  golden 
calves  at  Dan  and  Bethel,  and  made  Israel  to  sin. 
The  people,  no  longer  restrained  by  royal  authority, 
worshipped  not  only  these  golden  calves,  but  all 
the  deities  of  the  Phoenicians,  Syrians,  Ammonites, 
and  Moabites.  Under  the  reign  of  Ahab,  idolatry 
reached  its  height.  The  impious  Jezebel  endeavored 
to  extinguish  the  worship  of  the  Lord,  by  persecuting 
his  pro})licts,  (who,  as  a  barrier,  still  retained  some 
of  the  people  in  the  true  religion,)  till  God,  incensed 
at  their  idolatry,  abandoned  Israel  to  the  kings  of 
Assyria  and  Chaldea,  who  transplanted  them  beyond 
the  Euphrates.  Judah  was  almost  equally  corrupt- 
ed. The  descriptions  given  by  the  prophets  of  their 
irregularities  and  idolatries,  their  abominations  and 
lasciviousness  on  the  high  places,  and  in  woods  con- 
secrated to  idols,  fill  us  with  dismay,  and  discover  the 
corruption  of  the  heart  of  man.  After  the  return 
from  Babylon,  v/e  do  not  find  the  Jews  any  more  v^ 
reproached  with  idolatry.  They  expressed  much 
zeal  for  the  worship  of  God;  and  except  some  trans- 
gressors under  Antiochus  Epiphanes,  (1  Rlac.  i.  12, 
&c.)  the  people  kept  themselves  clear  from  this  sin. 

There  is  one  passage  in  the  prophetic  writings, 
having  a  reference  to  this  subject,  wliicli  requires  a 
more  specific  consideration  than  it  has  hitherto  re- 
ceived— we  have  had  occasion  to  notice  it  incident- 
ally once  or  twice  already — we  mean  Amos  v.  25, 
26,  quoted  by  Stephen,  in  Acts  vii.  43.  The  follow- 
ing is  Doddridge's  note  on  the  latter  text: — "The 
learned  De  Dieu  has  a  most  curious  and  amusing,  but 
to  us  a  very  unsatisfactory,  note  on  this  verse.  He 
saw — and  we  wonder  so  many  great  conunentators 
should  not  have  seen — the  absurdity  of  imagining,  that 
Rloscs  Avotdd  have  sirffered  idolatrous  processions  in 
the  wilderness.  Therefore  he  maintains  that  Amoa 
licre  refers  to  a  mental  idolatry,  by  which,  consider- 
ing the  tabernacle  as  a  model  of  the  visible  heavens, 
(a  fancy,  to  be  sure,  as  old  as  Philo  and  Josephus,) 
they  referred  h,  and  the  woi'ship  there  paid,  to  Mo- 
loch, so  as  to  nmke  it  in  their  hearts,  in  effect,  his 
shrine  ;  and  there,  also,  to  pay  homage  to  Saturn, 
whom  he  would  prove  to  be  the  same  withChiun,  or 
Remphan,  who  (as  this  critic  thinks)  might  be  called 


IDOL 


[  525  ] 


IDOL 


their  star,  because  some  later  rabbins  uut  of  iheir 
great  regard  to  the  sabbatli,  which  was  among  the 
heathen  Saturn's  day,  have  said  niany  extravagant 
and  ridiculous  things  in  honor  of  that  planet.  Ca- 
peilus  hints  at  tiiis  iiiterpretation  too.  But  the  vvox'ds 
of  tiic  projihet,  and  of  Stephen,  so  plainly  express 
makiii"-  of  images,  and  the  pomp  of  their  supersti- 
tious ])rocessions,  (sec  Young  on  Idolatry,  vol.  i.  p. 
128 — 131.)  that  we  think,  if  external  idolatry  is  not 
referred  to  here,  it  will  be  difficult  to  prove  it  was 
ever  practised.  Wc  conclude,  therefore,  considering 
what  was  urged  in  the  beginning  of  this  note,  that 
God  here  refers  to  the  idolatries,  to  which,  i?i  suc- 
ceeding ages,  they  were  gradually  given  up  ;  (after 
having  begun  to  revolt  in  the  wilderness  by  the  sin 
of  the  golden  calf;)  which  certainly  appears  (as  Gro- 
tius  Juclly  observes)  from  its  being  assigned  as  the 
cause  of  their  captivity  ;  which  it  can  liardlybe  con- 
ceived the  sin  of  their  fathers  in  the  wilderness,  al- 
most seven  or  eight  hundred  jears  before,  could 
possibly  be,  though  in  conjunction  with  their  own 
wickedness,  in  following  ages,  God  might  (as  he 
threatened,  Exod.  xxxii.  34.)  remember  that.  Com- 
pare 2  Kings  xvii.  10 ;  xxi.  3  ;  xxiii.  5."  Such  are 
the  embarrassments  of  the  learned  ! — Feeling  these, 
Mr.  Taylor  has  submitted  for  consideration,  whether 
the  nature  and  design  of  the  sacred  tents  represented 
on  some  ancient  medals,  may  not  contribute  toward 
elucidating  the  obscurity.  The  words  of  Amos,  he 
remarks,  may  bear  the  following  interpretation  (and 
the  quotation  in  the  Acts  may  be  I'endered  to  the 
same  effect):  "£w<  y/oit  set  up  the  succoth,  booths, 
tabernacles,  temporary  residences  of  your  king  [JMo- 
loch]  ;  and  of  that  Chiun  you  set  up  your  images ;  and 
the  star  of  your  divinities  which  ye  made,  Ibrmed,  in- 
stituted, to  yourselves."  (Sec  Chiun.)  Now,  if  we 
suppose  that  these  succoth  (booths)  of  the  Israelites 
were  formed  for  the  like  purposes  as  those  to  which 
we  have  alluded,  and  hke  them  might  have  been  en- 
titled to  the  honors  of  the  neokorate,  then  we  see 
how  easily  any  tents,  or  tabernacles,  might  be  con- 
verted into  such  receptacles  whether  in  the  camp, 
or  apart  from  it,  or  in  retirements  at  a  little  distance 
up  the  coimtry,  and  might  be  appropriated — conse- 
crated to  similar  piu'poses,  in  a  manner  more  or  less 
private.  As  these  tents  are  distinguished  by  a  pecu- 
liar kind  of  ornament,  or  fringe,  so  might  those  of 
their  professed  votaries  be  ;  or  if  not, — yet  they  might 
equally  be  considered  as  sacred  to  the  impure  di- 
vinity, though  appearing  as  oi'dinary  tents,  and  under 
this  explanation,  the  notorious  publicity  of  the  taber- 
nacles, the  taking  up,  carrying  in  procession,  &c.  may 
be  dismissed  from  these  passages.  As  to  the  "star," 
as  this  was  of  small  size,  it  might  easily  be  con- 
cealed, and  carried  about  the  person  ;  as  we  find 
practised  by  the  soldiers  of  Judas  Maccabeus,  (2 
Mac.  xii.  40.)  also  ear-rings,  or  other  ornaments,  thus 
marked,  might  be  worn  as  amulets,  and  carried  with 
superstitious  intentions,  as  those  of  Jacob's  family 
(Gen.  XXXV.  4.)  in  all  probability  were.  Nothing  was 
more  common  among  the  heathen  in  all  ages. 

But  a  difficulty  still  remains  ;  on  what  occasion 
had  the  Israelites  thus  transgressed,  by  setting  up 
tents  to  impure  deities  ?  (1.)  It  is  well  known,  that 
in  the  instance  of  the  golden  calf  "  the  people  ate 
and  drank,  and  rose  up  to  play,"  (Exdd.  xxxii.  G  ;  1 
Cor.  X.  7.)  which  expression,  play,  is  understood  by 
many  conmientators  in  a  profligate  sense.  (2.)  By 
the  advice  of  Balaam  (Numb.  xxv.  1.)  Balak,  kin^- 
of  Moab,  through  the  Midianitc  women,  seduced  the 
Israelites  to  commit  whoredom  with  the  daughters 


of  Moab;  with  wliom  they  had  contracted  acquaint- 
ance, by  a  long  stay  in  one  place  ;  and  these  women 
"  called  the  people  away,  that  is,  from  the  camp  to 
their  own  privacies,  their  own  residences,  where 
they  ate  of  the  sacrifices;  were  pampered,  and 
bowed  down,  not  merely  to  their  seducers,  but  to 
their  idols.  In  short,  Israel  joined  himself  by  degi-eea 
to  the  obscene  Baal-peor:"  and  the  immorality  arose 
to  such  a  height,  that  one  of  the  princes  of  Israel 
brought  it  publicly  home  to  his  own  tent,  and  was 
severely  punished  for  his  open  wickedness.  Now, 
whether  on  this  occasion  the  Midianite  women  had 
tents  set  up,  at  home,  dedicated  to  the  voluptuous 
goddess ;  whetlier  they  so  consecrated  their  custom- 
ary dwelling-tents  for  a  time ;  or  whether  the  Is- 
raelites tliemselves  conseci-ated  their  own,  or  sepa- 
rate tents,  it  will  be  admitted,  that  they  set  up,  insti- 
tuted, residences  for  criminal  purposes,  Avhere  they 
committed  fornication,  and  where  they  worshipped 
images,  stars,  &c.  if  they  did  not  even  cany  them 
about  their  persons  ;  which  some  might  do,  as  gifls 
of  their  paramours,  or  tokens  of  identification  aud 
cognizance  by  participants  in  the  same  practices. 
No  doubt,  there  were  various  degrees  of  guilt  among 
the  individuals  of  the  Israelitish  nation. 

On  the  Avhole,  it  is  clear,  (1.)  That  tents,  or  tern-  >' 
porary  residences,  were  erected  to  Venus  ;  (2.)  That  ^ 
the  Israelites  sinned  by  fornication ;  (3.)  Baal-peor 
was  an  obscene  deity  ;  and  therefore  it  should  seem, 
tliat  we  risk  little  in  referruig  these  tabernacles,  not 
so  nuich  to  public  processions, and carrjings  about — 
as  to  a  vice  at  first  practised  privately,  afterwards 
spreading  generally  in  the  camp,  and  at  length  trans- 
acted so  publicly  as  to  requu-e  an  equally  general  and 
public  punishment.  The  passage  in  Amos  might  be 
understood  to  this  effect :  "  I  hate  your  feast  days, 
&c.  because  you  do  not  keep  my  worship  and  ser- 
vice pure,  but,  together  with  sacred  solemnities,  yott 
practise  injustice  and  iniquity  ;  just  as  your  fathers 
in  the  desert,  who  ofiered  sacrifices,  &c.  to  me  very 
pompously  in  public,  but  they  did  not  serve  me  with 
integrity — simply,  me  only,  but,  together  with  their 
worship  of  me,  they  inconsistently,  and  at  length, 
notoriously,  worshipped  also  impure  deities ;  the 
same  temper  and  spirit  is  in  you,  and  therefore  I 
will  punish  you,  by  banishment  from  your  country." 
The  quotation  in  the  Acts  coincides  with  this  in 
sense. 

As  the  maintenance  of  the  worship  of  the  only 
true  God  was  one  of  the  fundamental  objects  of  the 
Mosaic  polity,  and  as  that  God  was  regarded  as  the 
king  of  the  Israelitish  nation  ;  so  Ave  find  idolatr)-, 
that  is,  the  worship  of  other  gods,  occupying,  in  the 
Mosaic  law,  the  first  place  in  the  list  of  crimes.  It 
A\-as  indeed  a  crime,  not  merely  against  God,  but 
also  against  the  fimdamentn^  kuv  of  the  state,  and 
thus  a  sort  of  high  treason.  Among  the  command- 
ments Avhich  God  gave  to  the  people  of  Israel,  the 
first  AA'as,  "I  Jehovah  am  thy  God,  Avho have  brought 
thee  out  of  Egj'pt,  the  prison  of  slaves  ;  thou  shalt 
have  no  other  god  before  my  face,"  Exod.  xx.  2,  3. 
It  is,  therefore,  the  more  necessary,  that  Ave  under- 
stand the  true  nature  of  this  crime,  and  the  light  in 
Avhich  it  is  vicAved  in  the  Mosaic  laAV.  The  crime 
to  which  Moses  annexed  the  punishment  of  death, 
consisted  not  in  ideas  and  opinions,  but  in  the  ovcH 
act  of  Avorshipping  other  gods.  Though  a  man  be- 
lieved that  there  were  more  gods  than  one,  he  Avould 
not,  therefore,  by  the  Mosaic  statute,  haA;e  become 
amenable  to  the  magistrate,  nor  Avould  an  inquisition 
have  taken  place. 


IDOL 


[  526  ] 


IDOL 


We  must  be  careful,  therefore,  to  distinguish 
between  two  crimes,  which,  by  the  idiom  of  our 
language,  are  sometimes  comprehended  under  the 
common  name  of  idolatry,  and  whicli,  even  when 
speaking  about  Israelitish  matters,  we  ai"e  very  apt 
to  confound  together.  These  are — (1.)  The  crime 
of  worshipping  other  gods  besides  the  only  true  God, 
to  whom  JNIoses  gave  the  name  of  Jehovah  ;  this 
was,  properly  speaking,  the  state  crime  already  de- 
scribed, and  it  is  at  the  same  time  the  greatest  of  all 
offences  agamst  soimd  reason  and  common  sense. 
(2.)  Thecrimeofimag-e-worship,  which  is  not  always 
idolatry,  because  not  merely  false  gods,  but  even  the 
only  true  God,  may  be  worshipped  under  the  form 
of  an  image.  Thus  the  Israelites  wanted  to  worship 
under  the  similitude  of  a  golden  calf,  the  God  who 
had  brought  them  out  of  Egypt,  and  Aaron,  in  pro- 
claiming a  festival  on  its  being  set  up,  expressly  de- 
nominated the  God,  in  honor  of  whom  that  festival 
was  to  be  solemnized,  Jehovah,  Exod.  xxxii.  4,  5. 
Image  worship,  it  is  true,  indicated  a  crime  against 
the  true  God ;  but  then  it  was  not,  if  we  may  so 
speak,  high  treason,  or  a  crime  against  the  funda- 
mental law  of  the  state  ;  nor  is  it  so  clearly  and  so 
completely  repugnant  to  sound  reason,  as  the  crime 
of  idolatry. 

These  two  crimes,  therefore,  are  in  their  natvn-e 
extremely  different,  and  the  one  of  them  is  much 
more  heinous  than  the  other.  If,  however,  we  read 
the  descriptions  of  them  given  Ijy  Moses,  we  shall 
not  be  apt  to  confound  them  ;  for  to  serve  other  gods 
besides  Jehovah,  or  to  serve  the  gods  of  strange  na- 
tions, and  to  make  an  image  in  order  to  serve  it  or 
adore  it,  must  strike  us  at  the  first  glance  as  very 
different  modes  of  expression. 

Idolatry,  properly  so  called,  was,  as  we  have  al- 
ready mentioned,  the  greatest  of  all  crimes  against 
the  state  itself,  and  expressly  prohibited  in  the  very 
first  of  the  commandments.  Moses  besides  prohib- 
ited every  thing  that  was  likely  to  give  any  occasion 
or  temptation  to  it,  or  to  excite  a  suspicion  of  its  be- 
ing practised ;  and  the  principal  scope  of  his  last 
discourses  in  the  book  of  Deuteronomy,  is  to  warn 
the  Israelites  against  idolatry,  and  to  exhort  them  in 
the  most  tu'gent  manner  to  the  service  of  the  only 
true  God.  The  curses,  also,  and  blessings  which  he 
proposes  to  tlie  people  in  Lev.  xxvi.  and  Deut.  xxvii. 
xxviii.  and  xxxii.  turn  chiefly  on  the  transgression  or 
observation  of  this  commandment.  If  any  individual 
Israelite  worshippexl  strange  gods,  he  subjected  him- 
self to  the  punishment  of  stoning,  Deut.  xvii.  2 — 5. 
This  punishment  may  appear  unnecessarily  severe, 
but  it  resulted  from  the  principle  of  the  Mosaic 
polity.  The  only  true  God  was  the  civil  legislator 
of  the  people  of  Israel,  and  accepted  by  them  as 
their  king,  and  hence  idolatry  was  a  crime  against 
the  state,  and,  tlierefore,  just  as  deservedly  punished 
with  death,  as  high  treason  is  with  us.  Whoever 
worshipped  strange  gods,  shook  at  the  same  time 
the  whole  fabric  of  tke  laws,  and  rebelled  against 
him  in  whose  name  the  government  was  carried  on. 

When  a  whole  city  became  guilty  of  idolatry,  it 
was  considered  in  a  state  of  rebellion  against  the 
government,  and  treated  according  to  the  laws  of 
war ;  its  inhabitants  ar.d  all  their  cattle  were  put  to 
death.  No  spoil  was  made,  but  every  thing  it  con- 
tained was  burnt  with  itself;  nor  durst  it  ever  be  re- 
built, Deut.  xiii.  13 — 11).  AVhether  the  children  were 
also  to  be  put  to  death,  is  not  expressly  si)ecified  in 
the  statute.  The  appropriate  term  by  which  the 
punishment  announced  against  any  such  idolatrous 


city  was  expressed  in  the  law,  is  (annn)  Hecherim,  to 
consecrate  to  Jehovah  ;  or,  as  Luther  i*enders  it,  to 
put  imder  ban,  to  outlaw,  or  proscribe.  It  was  re- 
garded as  wholly  consecrated  to  Jehovah,  for  the 
execution  of  its  punishment ;  the  people  being  de- 
voted to  the  sword,  and  the  city  itself  consigned  to 
the  flames,  by  way  of  an  offering  for  its  sins ;  ac- 
cording to  what  is  said  on  the  subject  of  spoil  in 
Deut.  xiii.  15 — 17,  "  It  shall  be  consumed  as  a  burnt- 
offering,  of  which  nothing  remains." 

When  it  thus  happened  that  the  people,  as  a 
people,  brought  guilt  upon  themselves  by  their  idol- 
atry, God  reserved  to  himself  the  infliction  of  the 
punishments  denounced  against  that  national  crime, 
which  consisted  in  wars,  famines,  and  other  national 
judgments;  and  when  the  measure  of  their  iniquity 
was  complete,  in  the  destruction  of  their  polity,  and 
the  transportation  of  the  people  into  other  lands, 
Lev.  xxvi  ;  Deut.  xxviii.  xxix.  and  xxxii. 

For  the  crime  of  seducmg  others  to  the  worship 
of  strange  gods,  but  more  especially  where  a  pre- 
tended prophet,  who  could  often  naturally  anticipate 
what  would  come  to  pass,  uttered  predictions  that 
tended  to  lead  the  people  into  idolatry,  the  appointed 
punishment  was  stoning  to  death,  Deut.  xiii.  2 — 12. 
With  regard  to  private  seducers,  although  Moses  in 
other  cases  was  far  from  encouraging  informers,  yet 
such  is  here  the  rigor  of  his  law,  that  it  enjoins  in- 
forming without  reserve  upon  every  such  seducer ; 
even  although  it  were  a  uterine  brother,  a  son,  a 
daughter,  a  Avife,  or  one's  best  friend  ;  but  it  would 
seem,  at  the  same  time,  that  no  one  was  bound  to 
impeach  a  father,  mother,  or  husband,  at  least  they 
are  not  particularized  with  the  others  mentioned  in 
Deut.  xiii.  7,  8,  9. 

All  idolatrous  ceremonies,  and  even  some  which, 
though  innocent  in  themselves,  might  excite  suspicion 
of  idolatrj'^,  were  prohibited  ;  of  these,  human  sacri- 
fices are  most  conspicuous,  as  the  most  abominable 
of  all  the  crimes  to  which  superstition  is  capable  of 
hurrying  its  votaries  in  defiance  of  the  stronger  feel- 
ings of  humanity.  Against  no  other  sort  of  idolatry 
arc  the  Mosaic  prohibitions  so  rigorous  as  against  s/ 
this;  and  yet  we  find  it  continued  among  the  Israel- 
ites to  a  very  late  period.  For  even  the  prophets 
Jeremiah  and  Ezekiel,  who  sm-vived  the  ruin  of  the 
state,  and  wrote  in  the  beginning  of  the  Babylonish 
captivity,  take  notice  of  it,  and  describe  it  not  as  an 
antiquated  or  obsolete  abomination,  but  what  was 
actually  in  use  a  little  before  and  even  during  their 
own  times. 

Tlie  other  practices  prohibited  by  Moses  as  idola- 
trous, or  as,  at  any  rate,  susjncious  on  account  of 
idolatrj',  are  the  following: — (1.)  The  making  linages  ^ 
of  strange  gods.  This  was  already  forbidden  in  the 
case  of  the  true  God  ;  but  the  curse  in  Deut.  xxvii. 
15.  seems  to  be  esjiecially  levelled  against  idolatrous 
images. — (2.)  Prostration  before,  or  adoration  of,  such  / 
images,  or  of  any  thing  else  revered  as  a  god,  such  / 
as  tiie  sun,  moon,  and  stars,  Exod.  xx.  5  ;  xxxiv.  14; 
Deut.  iv.  19.  I?ut  prostrations  before  men,  not  held 
as  gods,  were  by  no  means  prohibited ;  but,  as  we 
see  from  the  writings  of  Moses  himself,  were  very 
common.  Adorare  is  the  Latin  term  applied  to  the 
act  of  prostration  ;  and  the  Greeks,  who,  otit  of  na- 
tional pride,  commonly  refused  to  pay  that  honor  to 
the  Persian  kings,  expressed  it  by  the  word  nQony.v- 
ruv.  It  consisted  in  falling  down  on  one's  knees,  and 
at  the  same  time  touching  the  ground  with  the  fore- 
head.— (3.)  Having  altars  or  groves  dedicated  to  idols 
or  images  thereof     By  the  Mosaic  law  these  were 


ID9L 


L  5^7  ] 


IDU 


all  expressly  to  be  destroyed  ;  (Exod.  xxiv.  13 ;  Deut. 
vii.  5  ;  xii.  3.)  and  cousidering  the  strange  propensity 
of  mankind  in  those  days  to  idolatry,  it  became 
necessary  to  obliterate  every  such  memorial  of  idol- 
atrous practices  ;  else,  in  aftertimes,  the  sight  of  an 
image,  an  idol  god,  might  have  excited  such  ideas  of 
its  tiivinity,  or  have  impressed  men's  minds  witli 
such  superstitious  terrors,  as,  in  a  consecrated  grove, 
would  soon  pass  into  prayer  and  veneration.  This 
rigor  in  the  extermination  of  every  remnant  of 
idolatry  was  carried  so  far,  that  by  the  statute  of 
Deut.  vii.  25,  20,  the  Israelites  durst  not  even  keep 
nor  bring  into  their  houses  the  gold  and  silver  that 
had  been  on  any  image,  lest  it  should  prove  a  snare 
and  lead  them  astray.  Because,  having  been  once 
consecrated  to  an  idol  god,  considering  the  prevalent 
superstition  as  to  the  reality  of  such  deities,  some 
idea  of  its  sanctity,  or  some  dread  of  it,  might  still 
have  continued,  and  have  thus  been  the  means  of 
propagating  idolatry  afresh  among  their  chikh-en. 
closes,  therefore,  declared  it  an  abomination  in  the 
sight  of  God,  and  warned  them  against  bringing  it 
to  their  houses,  lest  it  should,  being  itself  accursed, 
bring  a  curse  upon  them.  Conformable  to  the  SIo- 
saic  ])rohibition  is  the  language  of  the  prophecy  of 
Isaiah,  in  chap.  xxx.  22,  where  he  says,  "The  silver 
and  gold  wherewith  your  graven  and  molten  images 
•were  coated,  you  shall  account  imclean,  and  turn 
from  with  aversion,  as  from  a  inenstruous  woman, 
saying.  Begone." — (4.)  Offering  sacrifices  to  idols. — 
(5.)  Eating  of  offerings  made  to  idols  by  other  people, 
who  invited  them  to  their  oficring  feasts ;  in  other 
words,  attending  the  festivals  of  other  gods. — [6.) 
Eating  or  drinking  of  blood  ;  Avhich  naturally  cre- 
ated strong  suspicions  of  idolatry,  and  was,  therefore, 
absolutely  prohibited. — (7.)  Prophesjing in  the  name 
of  a  strange  god. — (8.)  All  usages  and  ceremonies, 
whereby  a  man  dedicated  himself  to  a  strange 
god. — (!).)  Prostitution  in  honor  of  an  idol,  and 
where  the  wages  of  such  iniquity  usually  went  to 
the  idol  and  its  temple. — (10.)  Imitation  of  the 
idolatrous  ceremonies  of  the  Canaanites,  and  at- 
tempting to  transfer  them  into  the  worship  of  the 
true  God. 

In  fact,  every  audacious  transgression  of  the  cere- 
monial lavr,  in  other  words,  of  that  law  which  pre- 
scribed the  usages  of  divine  worship  and  the  differ- 
ent ceremonies  of  purification,  that  were  to  be  per- 
formed in  different  cases,  was  regarded  as  an  aban- 
donment of  the  services  of  the  true  God,  and  of 
coirsc  as  a  transition  to  the  services  of  other  gods 
punished  with  extirpation,  that  is,  with  death,  (Mi- 
chaelis's  Commentaries.) 

Idolatrous  marks  and  tokens. — We  read  in 
the  book  of  Revelation  of  a  pei'secuting  power  that 
prevailed  so  far  as  to  "  cause  all,  both  small  and 
great,  rich  and  poor,  free  and  bond,  to  receive  a  mark 
in  their  right  hand,  or  in  their  forehead  ;  and  that  no 
man  might  buy  or  sell  save  he  that  had  the  mark,  or 
the  name  of  the  beast,  or  the  lunnber  of  his  name," 
chap.  xiii.  IG,  17.  It  may  not  strike  English  readers, 
that  this  custom  still  prevails,  in  India,  to  this  day. 
The  following  extracts  from  Paolino's  Voyage  to  the 
East  Indies  will  set  it  in  its  true  light :  "  As  the  Pa- 
gans, Mahometans,  and  Christians,  in  India,  all  wear 
white  cotton  dresses,  and  made  almost  in  the  same 
manner,  you  must  look  very  closely  at  their  forehead 
or  breast,  if  you  wish  to  distinguish  an  idolater  from 
a  Christian.  The  former  have  on  the  forehead  cer- 
tain marks  which  they  consider  as  sacred,  and  by 
which  you  may  know  to  what  sect  they  belong  and 


what  deity  they  worship.  They  bear  sucli  marks  In 
honor  of  Brahma,  on  the  forehead  ;  in  honor  of 
Vishnu,  on  the  breast ;  and  in  honor  of  Siva,  on  the 
arms.  .  .  .  They  are  called  Shiuihamaijaga  ;  that  is, 
purification,  purity."  (Note,  p.  17.)  "  When  the 
pagans  after  their  ablutions  paint  marks  of  this  kind 
on  their  forehead,  &c.  they  always  repeat  certain 
forms  of  prayer,  in  honor  of  the  deity  to  whom  these 
marks  are  dedicated.  At  the  time  of  public  ablu- 
tions this  is  performed  by  the  priest,  who  paints  with 
his  finger  the  foreheads  of  all  those  who  have  already 
purified  themselves.  At  private  lustrations  each 
person  lays  on  the  colors  himself,  without  being  un- 
der the  necessity  of  offering  up  prayers.  No  pagan 
can  assist  in  any  part  of  divine  worship  without 
being  painted  with  the  above  marks."  (p.  344,  note.) 
Some  of  these  marks  are  not  the  most  decent ;  they 
are  numerous;  have  difiisrent  appellations  and  forms, 
and  are  painted  with  various  colors  and  substances, 
IIow  far,  when  idolatry  was  triumphant,  it  was  neces- 
sary to  adopt  such  marks  in  order  to  buy  or  sell,  we 
know  not.  It  is  certain,  that  they  are  objects  of  no 
inconsiderable  pride  among  devotees;  and  that  they 
never  think  themselves  dressed  to  appear  in  public 
without  them.  Nor  must  we  imagine,  that  although 
individuals  are  at  liberty  to  adore  what  idol  they 
please,  yet  that  the  spirit  of  rivalship  is  unknown. 
Thevenot  uses  strong  language  in  allusion  to  this : 
"  There  is  a  caste  of  Gentiles  called  Byragees,  who 
damn  the  yellow  color  ;  and  who  in  the  morning  put 
white  on  their  forehead,  contrary  to  the  custom  of 
other  castes,  w^ho  have  red  put  on  by  the  Brahmins. 
When  a  Gentile  is  painted  with  this  red,  he  bows 
his  head  three  times,  and  lifts  his  joined  hands  thrice 
up  to  his  forehead ;  and  then  presents  to  the  Brah- 
min rice  and  cocoa."  But  some  of  these  marks  are 
drawn  up  the  forehead  in  triple  lines  ;  a  white  line, 
or  perhaps  yellow  on  each  side,  and  red  (always)  in 
the  middle ;  which  show  s  that  these  colors  admit  of 
association. 

IDUMEA,  the  name  given  by  the  Greeks  to  the 
lafid  of  Edom,  which  extended,  originally,  from  the 
Dead  sea  to  the  Elanitic  gulf  of  the  Red  sea.  After- 
wards it  extended  more  to  the  south  of  Judah,  to- 
wards Hebron.  The  character  and  present  state  of 
mount  Seir,  the  ancient  Edom,  or  Idumea,  is  described 
in  the  article  Exodus,  p.  415.  Besides  this  region, 
the  proper  seat  of  the  Edoinites,  they  appear  to  have 
extended  their  conquests  to  the  east  and  north-east 
of  Moab,  and  to  have  had  possession  of  the  country 
of  which  Bozra  was  the  chief  city.  To  this  they 
of  course  had  access  through  the  intervening  desert, 
without  crossing  the  countries  of  the  Moabites  and 
Amorites.  The  capital  of  East  Idumea  was  Bozra ; 
the  capital  of  south  Edom  was  Petra,  or  Jectael, 
The  Idumeans,  or  Edoniites,  were,  as  their  name 
implies,  descendants  of  Edom,  or  Esau,  elder  brother 
of  Jacob.  They  were  governed  by  dukes  or  princes  ; 
and  afterwards  by  their  own  kings.  Gen.  xxxvi.  31. 
They  continued  independent  till  the  time  of  David, 
who  subdued  them,  in  completion  of  Isaac's 
)iroi)hecy,  that  Jacob  should  rule  Esau,  xxvii.  29,  30, 
The  Idum.Tans  bore  their  subjection  with  gi-eat  im- 
patience, and  at  the  end  of  Solomon's  reign,  Ifadad 
the  Edomite,  who  had  been  carried  into  Eg>  pt  dunng 
his  childhood,  returned  into  his  own  country,  where 
he  procured  himself  to  be  acknowledged  king,  1 
Kings  xi.  22.  It  is  probable,  however,  that  he  reigned 
only  in  East  Edom  ;  for  that  south  of  ,.  cdea  con- 
tinued subject  to  the  kings  of  Judah  till  the  rei^ 
of  Jehoram,  against  whom  it  rebelled,  2  Cliron.  xxi. ». 


IMA 


[  528  ] 


IMAGE 


Amaziahjkingof  Judah,  took  Petra,  killed  1000  men, 
and  compelled  10,000  more  to  leap  from  the  rock  on 
which  the  city  of  Petra  stood,  xxv.  11.  But  these 
conquests  were  not  permanent.  When  Nebuchad- 
nezzar besieged  Jerusalem,  the  Idumseans  joined 
him,  and  encouraged  him  to  raze  the  very  founda- 
tions of  the  city ;  but  their  cruelty  did  not  long  con- 
tinue unpunished.  Five  years  after  the  taking  of 
Jerusalem,  Nebuchadnezzar  humbled  all  the  states 
round  Judea,  particularly  Idumsea ;  and  John  Hir- 
canus  entirely  conquered  the  people,  and  obliged 
them  to  receive  circumcision  and  the  law.  They 
continued  subject  to  the  later  kings  of  Judea  till  the 
destruction  of  Jerusalem  by  the  Romans.  Ultimately, 
the  Idumseans  became  mingled  with  the  Ishmaelites, 
and  they  were  jointly  called  Nabatheans,  from  Na- 
bath,  a  son  of  Ishmael. 

IGNORANCE  is  taken,  in  Scripture,  in  several 
senses.  It  denotes  (1.)  the  absence  of  knowledge  or 
information,  when  the  subject  in  question  was  truly 
imknown.  Lev.  iv.  13.  So  Jonathan  was  ignorant  of 
Saul's  oath,  1  Sam.  xiv.  27.  (See  also  2  Sam.  xv.  12.) 
(2.)  The  absence  of  distinguishing  knowledge,  or  the 
not  rightly  discerning  when  the  subject  was  known  ; 
(Lev.  iv.  2,  3,  22 ;  Numb.  xv.  25 ;  Heb.  v.  12, 13.)  that 
is,  for  mistake,  after  having  considered  the  subject ; 
erring  by  incorrect  judgment.  Ignorance  is  some- 
times simple,  sometimes  wilful ;  or  ignorance  of  the 
power  of  God,  while  surrounded  by  the  works  of 
God,  ignorance  of  the  will  of  God,  while  favored  by 
the  word  of  God,  ai-e  inexcusable. 

IJE-ABARIM,  an  encampment  of  Israel,  east  of 
the  land  of  Moab,  Numb.  xxi.  11.  Jeremiah  (xlix.  3.) 
speaks  of  Hai,  or  Gai,  which  is  Je,  or  Jai,  in  the  land 
of  Moab. 

IJON,  a  fortified  place  in  Naphtali,  1  Kings  xv.  20 ; 
2  Chron.  xvi.  4. 

ILLYRICUM,  a  province  lying  to  the  north-west 
of  Macedonia,  of  which  the  old  northern  limits  were 
the  two  Pannonias,  the  Adriatic  sea  south,  Istria  west, 
and  Upper  Mossia  and  ]Macedonia  east ;  so  that  Paul 
(Rom.  XV.  9.)  preached  in  Syria,  Phcsnicia,  Arabia, 
Cilicia,  Pamphylia,  Pisidia,  Lycaonia,  Galatia,  Pon- 
tus,  Paphltigonia,  Phrygia,  Troas,  Asia,  Caria,  Lycia, 
Ionia,  Lydia,  the  isles  of  Cyprus  and  Crete,  Thracia, 
Macedonia,  Thcssalia,  and  Achaia. 

I.  IMAGE,  or  representation,  of  any  thing.  God 
created  man  after  his  own  image  ;  that  is,  as  another 
self  upon  earth,  to  exercise  a  dominion  subordinate  to 
his.  (See  Adam.)  Otherwise  (Eccl.xvii.  3.)  he  created 
him  after  his  image,  immortal,  good,  just,  provident, 
intelligent,  &c.  Lastly,  God  imprinted  his  image  in 
man,  his  holiness,  virtue,  wisdom.  He  created  man, 
gave  him  an  earthly  body  and  a  reasonable  soul ;  as, 
in  after  ages,  his  Word,  his  W^isdom,  was  to  assume 
the  nature  of  man — body  and  soul.  Adam,  by  sin, 
disfigured  his  image  of  God,  and  forfeited  the  gifts  of 
grace  and  immortality;  which  Christ,  by  his  Spirit, 
forms  anew  in  our  hearts.  God  forbade  the  Hebrews 
from  making  any  image  or  representation  of  any 
creature  in  heaven,  or  in  earth,  or  in  the  waters,  with 
intent  to  worship  it.  jMoses  and  Solomon,  however, 
made  cherubim  over  the  ark,  and  in  the  tabernacle. 
Moses  made  a  brazen  serpent;  and  Solomon  cast 
lions  and  oxen,  and  placed  them  in  the  temple.  But 
this  was  not  with  design  that  they  should  be  wor- 
shipped, though  the  brazen  serpent  of  Moses  did 
receive  worship.  Who  knows  whether  the  oxen, 
&c.  of  the  temple  might  not  have  received  the  same 
perverted  attention,  had  they  not  been  taken  awav  to 
Babylon  .= 


Beside  the  common  acceptation  of  the  word  image, 
meaning  a  representation  of  something  real,  as  of  a 
horse,  an  ox,  a  star,  &c.  this  term  is  understood  in 
several  other  senses :  Psalm  Ixxiii.  20.  sa}'s,  "  Thou 
shalt  dissipate  their  image,"  their  shadow,  their  figure  ; 
thou  shalt  reduce  them  to  nothing.  Eliphaz  says 
(Job  iv.  16.)  that  at  midnight  an  image,  a  phantom, 
appeared  to  him ;  he  heard,  as  it  were,  a  voice,  or 
whisper.  "  Image  "  is  sometimes  taken  in  a  contrary 
sense,  in  opposition  to  a  transient  image,  a  phantom  : 
so  "  the  law  having  a  shadow  of  good  things  to  come, 
and  not  the  very  image  of  the  things,"  it  represented 
these  good  things  in  a  slight  and  superficial  manner, 
like  shadows,  which  have  nothing  substantial  and 
permanent ;  whereas  the  gospel  represents  the  same 
good  things  under  a  lively,  solid,  firm,  stable,  and  real 
figure  ;  the  law  was  but  a  shadow,  of  which  the  gos- 
pel is  the  reality.  The  law  was  an  outline,  a  sketch  ; 
the  gospel  is  a  finished  figure,  whether  picture  or 
statue.  In  Paul's  epistles,  Christ  is  called  "  the  image 
of  the  Father,"  (2  Cor.  iv.  4.)  "  the  image  of  the  in- 
visible God,  the  first-born  of  every  creature,"  (Col.  i. 
15.)  and  "the  brightness  of  his  glory,  the  express 
image  of  his  substance,"  Heb.  i.  3.  This  is  not  a 
mere  image  and  no  more,  a  ray  only ;  but  it  is  an 
emanation  from  the  Father,  an  eftluxof  his  light  and 
substance.  The  apostle  requires  that,  "as  we  have 
borne  the  image  of  the  earthly,  we  should  likewise 
bear  the  image  of  the  heavenly,"  1  Cor.  xv.  49.  As 
we  have  borne  the  image  of  sinful  and  ofl^ending 
Adam,  as  we  have  imitated  his  sin  and  disobedience, 
so  we  should  endeavor  to  retrace  on  our  souls  the 
features  of  the  heavenly  man,  Christ  Jesus;  his  obe- 
dience, humility,  patience,  meekness,  &c. ;  or  as  the 
passage,  perhaps,  more  properly  means,  to  be  cast  in 
the  mould,  as  a  figure. 

Image  is  often  taken  for  a  statue,  figure,  or  idol. 
The  book  of  Wisdom,  speaking  of  the  causes  of  idola- 
try, saj's,  that  a  father,  afiiicted  for  the  death  of  his 
son,  made  an  image  of  him,  to  which  he  paid  divine 
honors.  We  read  (Rev.  xiii.  14,  15.)  that  God  per- 
mitted the  beast  to  seduce  men,  whom  it  commanded 
to  make  an  image  of  the  beast,  w  hich  became  living 
and  animated ;  and  that  all  who  refused  to  adore  it 
were  put  to  death.  The  images  mentioned  in  Lev. 
xxvi..30;  Isa. xxvii.9,  were,  according  to  rabbi  Solo- 
mon, idols  exposed  to  the  sun,  on  the  tops  of  houses. 
Abenezra  says  they  were  portable  chapels  or  temples, 
in  the  form  of  chariots,  in  honor  of  the  sun. 

II.  IMAGE  OF  Nebuciiadnezzar.  The  golden 
colossus  of  Nebuchadnezzar  has  been  considered  as 
an  embarrassing  subject,  because  measured  l^y  false 
proportions.  A  proper  understanding  of  its  attitude 
and  accompaniments,  however,  may  solve  the  diffi- 
culties which  have  been  collected  out  of  the  descrip- 
tion given  of  it :  "  It  was  an  image  of  gold  :  its  heiglit 
threescore  cubits,  and  its  breadth  six  cubits,"  Daniel, 
chap.  iii.  The  learned  Prideaux  felt  very  strongly 
the  embarrassment  which  arises  from  these  dimen- 
sions: he  expresses  himself  thus:  "This  temple  [of 
Bolus]  stood  till  the  time  of  Xerxes ;  but  he,  on  his 
return  from  the  Grecian  expedhion,  demolished  the 
whole  of  it,  and  laid  it  all  in  rubbish,  having  first 
plundered  it  of  all  its  inunense  riches,  among  which 
were  several  images  or  statues  of  massy  gold,  and  one 
which  is  said  by  Diodorus  Siculus  to  have  been  forty 
foot  high,  which  might,  perchance,  have  been  that 
which  Nebuchadnezzar  consecrated  in  the  plains  of 
Dura.  Nebuchadnezzar's  golden  image  is  said,  in- 
deed, in  Scripture,  to  have  been  sixty  culiits,  i.  e. 
ninety  feet  liigii ;  but  that  must  be  understood  of  the 


IMAGE 


[  529  ] 


IMAGE 


image  and  pedestal  both  together.     For  that  unage 
being  stated  to  have  been  but  six  cubits  broad,  or 
thick,  it  is  impossible  that  the  image  could  have  been 
sixty  cubits  high.     For  that  makes  its  height  to  be 
ten  times  its  breadth  or  thickness,  which  exceeds  all 
the   proportions  of  a  man ;  no  man's  height  being 
above  six  times  his  thickness,  measuring  tlie  slenderest 
man  living  at  his  waist.     But  where  the  breadth  of 
this  image  was  measured,  is  not  said  ;  perchance  it 
was  from  shoulder  to  shoulder ;  and  then  tlic  pro- 
portion of  six  cubits  breadth  will   bring  down  the 
height  exactly  to  the  measure  which  Diodorus  hath 
mentioned.     For,  the  usual  height  of  a  man  being 
four  and  a  half  of  his  breadth  between  the  shoulders, 
if  tlje  image  were  six  cubits  broad  between  the  shoul- 
ders, it  must,  according  to  this  proportion,  have  been 
twenty-seven  cubits  high,  which  is  forty  foot  and  a 
half     Besides,  Diodorus  tells  us,  that  this  image  of 
forty  foot   high   contained   a  thousand   Babylonish 
talents  of  gold ;  w'hich,  according  to  Pollux,  who, 
in  his  Onomasticon,  reckons  a  Babylonish  talent  to 
contain  7000  Attic  drachmas,  i.  e.  875  ounces,  this 
[according  to  the   lowest  computation,  valuing  an 
Attic  drachm  at  no  more  than  7^d.  or  15  cents; 
whereas.  Dr.  Bernard  reckons  it  to  be  8\d.  or  17  cents, 
which  would  raise  the  sum  much  higher]  amounts 
to  three  millions  and  a  half  of  our  money.     But  if 
we  advance  the  height  of  the  statue  to  ninety  foot, 
without  the  pedestal,  it  will  increase  the  value  to  a 
sum  incredible ;  and  therefore  it  is  necessary  to  take 
the  pedestal  also  into  the  height  mentioned  by  Daniel. 
Other  images  and  sacred  utensils  were  also  in  that 
temple,  all  of  solid  gold."     (Connect,  p.  100, 101.)     It 
will  be  perceived  that  Prideaux  supposes  the  image 
itself  to  have  been  only  forty  feet  high,  while  his 
pedestal  was  Jijly  feet  high  ;  a  disproportion  of  parts, 
which,  if  not  absolutely  impossible,  is  utterly  contra- 
dictory to  every  principle  of  art,  even  of  the  rudest 
art;  and  a  fortiori  of  the  more  refined  periods  of  art. 
We  have  no  instance  of  such  disproportion  remain- 
ing.   The  arts  had  long  been  cultivated  in  India  and 
Egypt,  and  doubtless  in  Babylon,  also. 

Let  us  hear  the  original  authors.  Hei'odotus,  who 
saw  the  temple  of  Belus,is  the  best  authority  respect- 
ing it:  "The  temple  of  Jupiter  Belus,  whose  huge 
gates  of  brass  may  still  be  seen,  is  a  square  building, 
each  side  of  which  is  two  furlongs.  In  the  midst  rises 
a  tower,  of  the  soUd  depth  and  height  of  one  furlong ; 
upon  which,  resting  as  upon  a  base,  seven  other  lesser 
towers  are  built  in  regular  succession.  The  ascent  is 
on  the  outside,  which,  winding  from  the  ground,  is 
continued  to  the  highest  tower;  and  in  the  middle  of 
the  whole  structure  there  is  a  convenient  resting 
place.  In  the  last  tower  is  a  large  chapel,  in  which 
is  placed  a  couch,  magnificently  adorned ;  and  near 
it  a  table  of  solid  gold ;  but  there  is  no  statue  in  the 
place.  In  this  temple  there  is  also  a  small  chapel, 
lower  in  the  building,  which  contains  a  figure  of  Ju- 
piter, in  a  silting  posture,  with  a  large  table  before 
him :  these,  with  the  base  of  the  table,  and  the  seat 
of  the  throne,  arc  all  of  the  purest  gold;  and  are  es- 
timated, by  the  Chaldeans,  to  be  worth  eight  hundred 
talents.  On  the  outside  of  this  chapel  are  two  altars ; 
one  is  of  gold,  the  other  is  of  immense  size,  and  ap- 
])ropriated  to  the  sacrifice  of  full  grown  animals: 
those  only  which  have  not  yet  left  their  dams  may  be 
offered  on  the  golden  altar.  On  the  larger  altar,  at 
the  anniversary  festival  in  honor  of  their  god,  the 
Chaldeans  regidarly  consume  incense  to  the  amount 
of  a  thousand  talents.  There  was  formerly  in  this 
temple  a  statue  of  solid  gold,  twelve  cubits  high : 
67 


this,  however,  I  mention  from  the  information  of  the 
Chaldeans,  not  from  my  own  knowledge."  (Clio.  183.) 
Diodorus  Siculus,  a  much  later  writer,  speaks  to  this 
effect:  (lib.  ii.)  "Of  the  tower  of  Jupiter  Belus, 
the  historians  who  have  spoken  have  given  different 
descriptions  ;  and  this  temple  being  now  entirely  de- 
stroyed, we  cannot  speak  accurately  respecting  it. 
It  was  excessively  high  ;  constructed  through- 
out whh  great  care ;  built  of  brick  and  bitumen. 
Semiramis  placed  on  the  top  of  it  three  statues  of 
massy  gold,  of  Jupiter,  Juno,  and  Rhea.  Jupiter  was 
erect,  in  the  attitude  of  a  man  walking:  he  was  forty 
feet  in  height,  and  weighed  a  thousand  Babylonian 
talents.  Rhea,  who  sat  m  a  chariot  of  gold,  was  of 
the  same  weight.  Juno,  who  stood  upright,  weighed 
eight  hundred  talents."  Diodorus  proceeds  to  men- 
tion many  more  articles  of  gold;  among  others,  "a 
vast  urn,  placed  before  the  statue  of  Jupiter,  which 
weighed  twelve  hundred  talents." 

The  reader  will  judge  for  himself  respecting  this 
extract:  it  seems  that  the  Babylonians,  regretting 
exceedingly  the  loss  of  their  sacred  treasures  from 
this  temple,  magnified  both  their  value  and  their 
importance,  when  speaking  of  them  to  inquiring 
strangers.  Diodorus  acknowledges  that  "he  could 
not  speak  accurately  respecting  it."  The  relation  of 
Herodotus  is  the  more  credible,  at  least  in  these  par- 
ticulars :  (1.)  there  was  no  statue  in  the  highest  chapel ; 
but  (2.)  in  another  chapel  there  was  a  statue  of  Jupi- 
ter [Belus]  sitting ;  (3.)  the  worth,  not  the  iveight,  was 
calculated  at  so  many  talents;  i.  e.  including  the 
labor,  skill,  preparation,  and  accompaniments  of  the 
statue,  its  throne,  &cc.  (4.)  the  festival,  in  honor  of  the 
god  Belus,  was  annual ;  and  it  was  prodigious,  since, 
no  doubt,  the  other  offerings  corresponded  to  that  of 
the  incense — a  thousand  talents !  (5.)  a  statue  of  solid 
gold,  of  twelve  cubits,  (eighteen  feet,)  is  mentioned 
by  the  historian  as  a  thing  barely  credible :  observe, 
of  solid  gold  ;  yet  a  statue  not  solid,  but  an  external 
shell  of  that  metal,  as  statues  arc  usually  cast,  might 
have  been  very  much  larger,  at  much  less  expense 
of  gold.  (6.)  We  conclude  that  Nebuchadnezzar 
consecrated  his  image  at  an  anniversary  festival  in 
honor  of  his  deity. 

After  stating  these  variations  and  embarrassments 
of  conception  and  description,  it  will  be  thought  de- 
sirable to  obtain  an  idea  of  this  image  more  accurately 
approaching  its  true  appearance  and  dimensions.  The 
following  attempt  has  been  made  by  Mr.  Taylor. 

In  the  first  jilace,  it  is  assumed  that  the  taste  of 
scnlj)ture,  in  those  ages,  was  much  the  same  through- 
out the' East,  in  Babylon  and  in  Egypt;  so  that,  by 
what  figures  of  equal  antiquity  now  exist,  in  Egypt 
for  instance,  we  may  estimate  what  was  then  adoj)ted 
in  Babylon,  whoso  works  of  art  have  perished.  Sec- 
ondly, that  Nebuchadnezzar,  having  conquered  and 
ravagetl  Egypt  but  a  few  years  before  this  period, 
had  undoubtedly  seen  there  the  colossal  statues  of 
that  country,  erected  by  its  ancient  monarchs ;  and, 
as  these  were  esteemed  not  only  sacred  objects,  but 
also  capital  exertions  of  art,  it  is  inferred  that  he 
jiroposed  to  imitate  these,  as  to  their  magnitude,  and 
to  surpass  them,  as  to  their  materials.  These  as- 
sumptions being  admitted,  we  proceed  to  examine 
some  of  those  colossi  which  still  continue  to  orna- 
ment Egypt. 

Norden  (plate  110)  represents  two  colossal  figures 
which  remain  at  the  ancient  Thebes,  and  thus  de- 
Scribes  them  :— "This  figure.  A,  seems  to  be  that  of  a 
man  ;  the  figure  B  that  of  a  woman.  They  are  about 
fifty  Danish  feet  in  height,  from  the  bases  of  the 


IMAGE 


[  530  ] 


IMAGE 


pedestals  to  the  summit  of  the  head  ;  from  the  sole  of 
the  feet  to  the  knees  is  fifteen  feet ;  the  pedestals  are 
five  feet  in  height,  thirty-six  and  a  half  long,  nineteen 
and  a  half  broad."  He  here  speaks  of  perpendicular 
height ;  and  this  idea  of  perpendicular  height  has 
contributed  to  embarrass  Prideaux ;  for  it  does  not 
seem  to  have  occurred  to  him,  that  the  prophet  Daniel 
rather  means  proportional  height,  when  describing 
that  of  the  golden  colossus.  Suppose  we  understand 
the  prophet's  description  thus:  "Nebuchadnezzar, 
the  king,  made  an  image  of  gold,  whose  proportional 
height,  if  it  had  stood  upright,  was  sixty  cubits ;  but,^ 
being  in  a  sitting  posture,  conformable  to  the  style  of 
Indian  and  of  Egyptian  art,  in  reference  to  their  dei- 
ties, it  was  little  more  than  thirty  cubits,  or  fifty  feet, 
perpendicular  height;  and  its  thickness,  or  depth, 
measured  from  breast  to  back,  [not  its  breadth,  meas- 
ured from  shoulder  to  shoulder,  as  has  been  hitherto 
understood,  and  as  our  translation  renders,]  was  one 
tenth  part  of  its  proportional  height ;  i.  c.  six  cubits." 
The  proportion  of  a  full-grown  man,  from  breast  to 
back,  is  one  tenth  part  of  the  height. — Since,  then, 
the  accepting  of  this  word  in  reference  to  depth,  rather 
than  to  breadth,  reduces  its  application  to  a])propriate 
and  accurate  measurement,  no  more  need  be  said  in 
vindication  of  the  version  proposed. 

But  we  have  another  image,  generally  called  after 
Nebuchadnezzar;  namely,  the  statue  seen  by  this 
monarch  in  his  dream,  Dan.  ii.  31,  &c.  It  was  very 
large  and  terrible :  its  head  was  of  gold,  its  breast 
and  its  arms  of  silver,  the  belly  and  thighs  of  brass, 
the  legs  of  iron,  and  the  feet  partly  of  iron  and  partly 
of  clay.  Calmet's  explication  is: — that  the  empire 
of  Nebuchadnezzar,  i.  e.  of  the  Chaldeans,  was  rep- 
resented by  the  head  of  gold  ;  the  empire  of  the  Per- 
sians, founded  by  Cyrus,  I)y  the  breast  and  arms  of 
silver;  the  empire  of  the  Grecians,  founded  by  Alex- 
ander the  Great,  by  the  belly  and  thighs  of  brass ; 
the  empire  of  the  Romans  by  the  legs  of  iron : — or 
rather,  this  empire  being  divided  into  two,  is  first, 
that  of  the  Seleucidae  in  Syria ;  secondly,  that  of  the 
Lagidfe  in  Egypt.  The  attempts  of  the  kings  of 
Egypt  and  Syria,  to  unite  their  interests  by  intermar- 
riages, not  succeeding,  are  represented  by  the  feet 
being  partly  of  iron  and  partly  of  clay.  The  little 
stone  that  issues  from  the  mountain,  and  overturns 
the  statue,  is  the  empire  of  the  Romans,  under  which 
appeared  the  Messiah,  whose  kingdom  saw  the  fall  of 
the  Roman  colossus. 

Others  vary  a  little,  supposing  the  ten  toes  to  be  the 
ten  kingdoms  of  the  Roman  empire.  Mr.  Taylor, 
however,  doubts  very  strongly  whether  any  part  of 
this  image  should  be  extended  beyond  the  empire  of 
Nebuchadnezzar ;  for  if  so,  why,  he  asks,  add  the 
vision  of  the  four  beasts  ?  and  why  reveal  to  Nebu- 
chadnezzar what  in  nowise  concerned  him  or  his 
kingdom  ?  It  is  much  more  reasonable,  he  thinks, 
to  suppose  that  the  first  vision  (the  image)  referred  to 
the  political  person  (realm)  of  Nebucliadnezzar,  and 
is  to  be  restricted  to  that  empire  of  which  Bal)ylon 
was  the  head  ;  while  the  second  vision,  that  of  the 
tree,  referred  to  the  human  person  of  Nebuchadnez- 
zar, and  to  events  accomplished  in  himself.  The 
vision  of  the  four  beasts  was  a  revelation  to  the 
prophet,  not  to  the  statesman  ;  not  to  the  king's  officer 
or  attendant,  but  to  a  person  commissioned  to  write 
for  general  instruction  and  general  advantage ;  and 
further,  the  prophet  seems  to  be  transported  from 
Shushan,  or  from  his  customary  residence,  to  "the 
great  sea,"  in  the  Hebrew  acceptation  of  that  term, 
the  Mediterranean,  where  he  was  about  midway  be- 


tween the  eastern  beast  (Babylon)  and  the  western 
beast,  (Rome,)  so  that  he  might  readily  be  supposed 
to  refer  to  both,  being  so  situated  as  to  observe  them 
both  ;  independent  of  the  circumstance  of  his  seem- 
ing to  himself  to  be  hereby  stationed  in  his  native 
country,  the  holy  land  of  Israel,  which  he  does  not 
appear  to  have  been  in  any  other  of  his  visions. 

This  view  of  the  subject,  if  admitted,  corrects  the 
representation  of  bishop  Newton  on  the  prophecies, 
(who  has  but  followed  the  opinions  of  others,)  that 
the  tees  of  the  image  are  the  kingdoms  into  which 
the  (western)  Roman  empire  was  broken.  No  doubt 
that  Babylon  is  the  golden  head ;  (crown,  or  rather 
casque,  if  we  suppose  this  figure  to  have  been  in 
armor,  like  certain  statues  of  the  god  Bel,  which  is 
not  improbable  ;)  the  breast  and  arms  of  brass  (that 
is,  the  pieces  of  armor  which  covered  the  belly,  and 
himg  down  over  the  thighs,  and  which  the  Romans 
formed  into  labels)  are  the  empire  of  Alexander,  who 
made  Babylon  the  seat  of  it,  and  whose  successors 
maintained  their  power  in  these  countries;  but,  in- 
stead of  going  out  of  Asia  for  the  two  thighs  of  brass, 
we  may  take  the  Grecian  mouarchy  of  Babylon,  under 
Seleucus,  for  one,  and  the  Syrian  monarchy,  under 
Antigonus,  for  the  other.  Theodorus,  and  the  Par- 
thians,  under  Arsaces,  established  themselves  in  the 
eastern  part  of  the  dominions  of  Nebuchadnezzar ; 
as,  after  a  time,  did  the  Romans  in  western  Asia.  To 
the  Parthian  empire  the  Persian  succeeded,  east  of 
Babylon;  and  the  Tui-kish  to  the  Roman,  west  of 
Babylon :  so  that  no  power  rules  (or  has  fbr  many 
ages  ruled)  at  the  same  time  over  both  these  districts 
of  the  ancient  Babylonish  dominion.  Moreover,  we 
are  assured,  by  every  traveller  who  passes  throngh 
these  coimtries,  that  the  governing  power  is  felt  by 
the  inhabitants  as  iron  which  tramples  on  (them- 
selves) the  clay,  under  pretence  of  protecting  it: — as 
the  armor  on  the  feet,  being  made  of  iron,  does  not 
combine  with  the  foot  it  covers ;  or  as  iron  plates 
may  have  clay  between  them,  yet  these  substances 
do  not  coalesce.  That  there  exists  no  more  union 
between  the  inhabitants  of  these  parts  of  the  Turkish 
government  and  those  who  govern  them,  than  be- 
tween iron  and  clay,  is  notorious,  from  the  general 
disposition  of  the  country  to  revolt,  in  case  the  bold 
attempt  of  Buonaparte,  to  overturn  the  Turkish  power, 
had  not  been  stopped  by  the  providential  repulse  he 
received  from  sir  Sidney  Smith,  at  Acre. 

The  stateof  the  Turkish  power,  in  these  countries, 
cannot,  therefore,  be  better  (metaphorically)  ex- 
pressed than  by  the  words  of  the  prophet:  "And  as 
the  toes  of  the  feet  were  part  of  iron  and  part  of  clay, 
so  the  kingdom  shall  be  partly  strong  and  partly 
broken.  And  whereas  thou  sawcst  iron  mixed  with 
miry  cla\,  they,  the  governors,  shall  mingle  them- 
selves (by  connections,  marriages,  &c.)  among  the 
seed  of  ( Anusha)  low  men,  as  the  inhabitants  shall  be 
esteemed  ;  but  they,  the  governors  and  the  govenied, 
shall  not  cleave  one  to  another,  shall  not  coalesce, 
even  as  iron  is  not  mixed  a\  ith  clay."  How  exactly 
this  is  the  case,  wherever  the  Arabs  are  under  the 
yoke  of  the  Turks,  [the  same  in  Egypt,  and  the  same 
also  in  Greece,  in  reference  to  the  Greeks,]  is  too 
notorious  to  require  a  word  of  proof;  and  could  we 
obtain  equal  information  in  respect  to  Persia,  we 
should  discover  precisely  the  same  contradictory 
feelings  in  that  country ;  as  appears  from  the  rela- 
tion of  Hanway,  who,  unhappily  for  himself,  foimd 
the  Persian  peasants  too  ready  to  revolt  against  their 
then  despot,  the  famous  Nadir  Shah. 

The  reader  will  understand,  then,  that  although  a 


I  M  P 


[  531  ] 


I IVI  P 


part  of  the  Roman  empire  may  be  referred  to  in  this 
figure,  yet  only  the  eastern  part  of  that  empire ;  ex- 
chiding  all  western  dominion  whatever.  This  prin- 
ciple is  supported,  no  less  than  others  appear  to  be, 
by  those  ancient  interpretations  wliich  refer  to  the 
Romans,  (as  Jerome,  and  others,)  but  does  not  allow 
of  that  comparison  between  tlie  ten  toes  of  this  image, 
and  tiie  ten  horns  of  the  fonirth  beast  in  chap.  vii.  to 
which  commentators  have  resorted.  It  considers 
them  as  subjects  independent  of  each  other,  and  to 
be  explained  by  inde])endent  history  accordiuglj'. 

It  may  be  worth  while  here  to  insert  the  observa- 
tion of  Gibbon,  that  Babylonia  was  reckoned  equal  to 
one  third  of  Asia,  in  point  of  revenue,  previous  to  the 
time  of  Cyrus;  and  latterly,  the  daily  tribute  ])aid  to 
the  Persian  satrap  was  equal  to  an  English  bushel  of 
silver.  If  we  ask,  What  is  its  present  condition  ?  Mr. 
Kinncir  informs  us,  (p.  237.)  "The  mighty  cities  of 
Nineveh,  Babylon,  Seleucia,  and  Ctesiphon  have 
crumbled  into  dust:  the  humble  tent  of  the  Arab 
now  occupies  the  spot  formerly  adorned  with  the 
palaces  of  kings,  and  his  flocks  procure  but  a  scanty 
pittance  of  food  amidst  the  fallen  fragments  of  an- 
cient magnificence.  The  banks  of  the  Euphrates 
and  Tigris,  once  so  prolific,  are  now,  for  the  most 
part,  covered  with  impenetrable  brushwood  ;  and  the 
inteiior  of  the  province,  wliich  was  traversed  and 
fertilized  with  innumerable  canals,  is  destitute  of 
either  inhabitants  or  vegetation."  He  adds  in  a  note  : 
"  Where  private  property  is  insecure,  and  where  the 
cultivator  can  never  reckon  on  reaping  the  fruits  of 
his  labors,  industry  can  never  flourish.  The  land- 
holder, under  the  iron  despotism  of  the  Turkish  gov- 
ernment, is  at  all  times  liable  to  have  his  fields  laid 
waste,  and  his  habitation  pillaged  by  the  myrmidons 
of  those  in  power."  W^hat  is  this  but  the  inconsis- 
tent niixtui-e  of  iron  and  clay  ? 

I3I3IANUEL,  see  Emmanuel. 

IMMORTALITY,  in  an  absolute  sense,  belongs  to 
God  only  ;  he  cannot  die.  Angels  are  innnortal,  but 
God,  who  made  them,  can  terminate  their  being ; 
man  is  immortal  in  part,  that  is,  in  his  spirit,  but  his 
body  dies ;  inferior  creatures  are  not  immortal,  they 
die  wholly.  Thus  the  principle  of  immortality  is 
differently  communicated,  according  to  the  Avill  of 
the  communicator,  who  can  render  any  creature  im- 
mortal by  prolonging  its  life ;  can  confer  immor- 
tality on  the  body  of  man,  together  with  his  soul ; 
and  who  maintains  angels  in  immortality  by  main- 
taining them  in  holiness.  Holiness  is  the  root  of 
immortality ;  but  God  only  is  absolutely  holy,  as  God 
only  is  absolutely  immortal.  All  imperfection  is  a 
drawback  on  the  principle  of  immortality  ;  only  God 
is  al)solutely  perfect ;  therefore,  only  God  is  abso- 
lutely innnortal. 

IMPOSITION  OF  HANDS  is  understood  in  dif- 
ferent senses  in  the  Old  and  New  Testaments.  For 
the  ordination  and  consecration  of  priests  and  sacred 
ministers,  as  well  among  the  Jews  as  Christians, 
Numb.viii.lO— 12;  Actsvi.6;  xiii.3;  1  Tim.  iv.  14  ; 
y.  22 ;  2  Tim.  i.  G.  To  signify  the  establishment  of 
judges  and  magistrates,  on  whom  it  was  usual  to  lay 
hands  when  they  wei-e  invested  with  their  offices. 
Numb,  xxvii.  18.  The  Israelites  who  presented  sin- 
offerings  at  the  tabernacle,  confessed  their  sins  while 
they  laid  their  hands  upon  those  offerings,  Lev.  i.  4  ; 
iii.  2 ;  ix.  22.  Witnesses  laid  their  hands  upon  the 
head  of  the  accused  person,  (Dan.  xiii.  34.  Apoc.)  as 
if  to  signify  that  they  charged  on  him  the  guilt  of  his 
l)lood,  and  freed  themselves  from  it.  Our  Saviour 
laid  his  hands  upon  those  children  who  were  pre- 


sented to  him,  and  blessed  them,  Mark  x.  16.  We 
find  imposition  of  hands  used  also  in  confirmation, 
Acts  viii.  17;  xix.  (j.  The  apostles  conferred  the 
Holy  Ghost  by  laying  their  hands  on  those  who 
were  baptized  ;  as  the  Israelites  laid  their  hands  on 
the  Levites,  when  they  offered  them  to  the  Lord,  to 
be  consecrated  to  his  service.  Numb.  viii.  10, 12. 

IMPURITY,  Legal.  There  were  several  sorts  of 
impurity  under  the  law  of  Moses.  Some  were  vol- 
untary, as  the  touching  a  dead  body,  or  any  animal 
that  had  died ;  or  any  creeping  thing,  or  unclean 
creature :  or  the  touching  things  holy  by  one  who 
was  not  clean,  or  who  was  not  a  priest ;  oi-  the  touch- 
ing one  who  had  a  leprosy,  one  who  had  a  gonor- 
rhcEa,  or  one  who  was  polluted  by  a  dead  carcass ; 
a  woman  who  had  newly  lain  in,  or  was  in  her 
courses,  or  was  incommoded  with  an  extraordinary 
issue  of  blood.  Sometimes  these  impurities  were  in- 
voluntary ;  as  when  any  one  unknowingly  entered 
the  chamber  of  a  person  who  lay  dead,  or  touched 
bones,  or  a  sepulchre,  &c. ;  or,  either  by  night  or 
day,  suffered  an  involuntary  pollution  ;  or  such  dis- 
eases as  pollute,  as  the  leprosy,  or  a  gonorrhoea ;  or 
the  use  of  marriage,  lawful  or  unlawful.  Beds,  clothes, 
movables,  and  utensils,  which  had  touched  any  thing 
unclean,  contracted  a  pollution,  and  often  comnm- 
nicated  it.  Legal  pollutions  were  generally  purified 
by  bathing,  and  continued  only  till  the  evening,  when 
the  person  polluted  plunged  over  head  and  ears  into 
water;  either  with  his  clothes  on,  or  else  washed 
himself  and  his  clotlies  separately.  Some  pollutions, 
however,  continued  seven  days,  as  that  contracted  by 
touching  a  dead  body ;  others  forty  or  fifty  days,  as 
that  of  women  lately  delivered ;  while  others  lasted 
till  the  person  was  cured,  as  the  leprosy  or  a  gonor- 
rhoea. Certain  diseases  excluded  the  patients  from 
all  social  intercouise, as  the  leprosy  ;  others  excluded 
only  from  the  use  of  things  holy,  as  the  involuntary 
touching  of  an  unclean  creature,  the  use  of  marriage, 
&c.  Others  only  separated  the  person  from  his  rela- 
tions in  his  own  house,  restraining  such  to  a  particu- 
lar distance ;  as  women  who  had  newly  lain  in,  &c. 
Many  of  these  pollutions  were  purified  by  bathing ; 
others  wei-e  expiated  by  sacrifices ;  others  by  a  cer- 
tain water,  or  ley,  made  with  the  ashes  of  a  red  heifer, 
sacrificed  on  the  great  day  of  expiation.  When  a 
leper  was  cured,  he  went  to  the  temple,  and  offered 
a  sacrifice  of  two  birds  ;  one  of  which  was  killed,  the 
other  liberated.  He  who  had  been  polluted  by  touch- 
ing a  dead  body,  or  by  being  present  at  a  funeial, 
was  to  be  pmified  with  the  water  of  expiation,  on 
pain  of  death.  A  woman  who  had  been  delivered  of 
a  child,  came  to  the  tabernacle  at  the  time  prescribed, 
and  there  offered  a  turtle-dove  and  a  lamb  for  her  i)u- 
rification  ;  or  two  turtle-doves,  or  two  young  pigeons. 

The  impurities,  which  the  law  of  Moses  expressed 
with  so  much  accuracy  and  care,  were  figiu'es  of 
other  more  important  impm-ities,  meant  to  be  pro- 
hibited ;  such  as  sins  against  God,  or  trespasses  against 
our  neighbor.  Believers  under  the  Old  Testament 
well  understood  this  difference ;  and  our  Saviour 
has  strongly  inculcated  that  outward  and  corporeal 
pollutions  do  not  render  us  unacceptable  to  God ; 
but  inward  pollutions,  such  as  infect  the  soul,  and 
violate  piety,  truth,  and  charity. 

The  regulations  prescribed  by  Moses,  relating  to 
impurity,  are  very  numerous  and  perplexing ;  but  the 
rabbinshave  midtiplied  them  enormously,  and  thereby 
have  made  the  law  a  still  more  insupportable  burden. 
A  great  part  of  the  Mislmah  is  occupied  in  resolving 
cases  of  conscience  on  this  subject.     See  Talmud. 


INC 


[532] 


TNCHANTMENTS 


INCENSE,  more  properly  Frankincense,  an  ar- 
omatic and  odoriferous  gnra,  which  issues  out  of  a 
tree  named  by  the  ancients  Thurifei-a  ;  its  leaves  i-e- 
senible  those  of  a  peai'-tree,  according  to  Theophras- 
tus,  and  it  grows  in  Arabia  and  around  mount  Leb- 
anon. Incisions  are  made  in  it,  in  the  dog-days,  to 
pi'ocure  the  gum.  Male  incense  is  the  best ;  it  is 
round,  white,  fat,  and  kindles  on  being  put  to  the 
fire.  It  is  also  called  Olibanum.  Female  incense  is 
described  as  soft,  more  gummy,  and  less  agreeable  in 
smell  than  the  other.  That  of  Saba  was  the  best, 
and  most  esteemed  by  the  ancients,  who  speak  of  it 
with  great  appi'obation.  (See  Rees'  Cycloptedia,  art. 
Fran/djicense.) 

The  proper  incense  burnt  in  the  sanctuary,  was  a 
mixture  of  sweet  spices,  Ex.  xxx.  34,  seq.  To  offer 
incense  among  the  Hebrews  was  an  office  peculiar 
to  the  priests  ;  for  which  purpose  they  entered  into 
the  holy  apartment  of  the  temple,  every  morning  and 
evening.  On  the  great  day  of  expiation,  the  high- 
priest  burnt  incense  in  his  censer  as  he  entered  the 
sanctuary,  that  the  smoke  which  arose  from  it  might 
])revent  his  looking  with  too  much  curiosity  on  the 
ark  and  mercy-seat,  Lev.  xvi.  13.  The  Levites  were 
not  permitted  to  touch  the  censers  ;  and  Korah,  Da- 
than,  and  Abiram  suffered  a  terrible  punishment  for 
violating  this  prohibition.  "  Incense"  sometimes  sig- 
nifies the  sacrifices  and  fat  of  victims  ;  as  no  other 
kind  of  incense  was  offered  on  the  altar  of  burnt- 
offerings,  1  Chron.  vi.  49.  For  a  description  of  the 
altar  of  incense  see  the  article  Altar,  p.  48. 

INCEST,  an  unlawful  conjunction  of  persons  re- 
lated within  the  degrees  of  kindred  prohibited  by 
God  and  the  church.  In  the  beginning  of  the  world, 
and  even  long  after  the  deluge,  marriages  between 
near  relations  were  allowed.  God  prohibits  such 
alliances,  in  Lev.  xviii.  3.  and  the  degrees  of  con- 
sanguinity, within  which  the  prohibition  applied,  are 
detailed  in  ver.  6 — 18. 

Most  civilized  people  have  held  incest  as  an  abom- 
inable crime.  (See  1  Cor.  v.  1.)  Tamar's  incest  with 
her  father-in-law  Judah  is  well  known.  (See  Ta- 
MAR.)  Lot's  incest  with  his  two  daughters  can  be 
palliated  only  by  his  ignorance,  and  the  simplicity  of 
liis  daughters,  who  seem  to  have  believed,  that  afl;er 
the  destruction  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah,  there  re- 
mained no  man  upon  the  earth  to  perpetuate  the  race 
of  mankind.  The  manner  of  their  procedure  shows 
that  they  regarded  the  action  as  unlawful,  and  that 
they  did  not  question  but  their  father  would  have 
abominated  it,  had  they  not  put  it  out  of  his  power 
to  detect  it,  by  making  him  drunk,  Gen.  xix.  31,  &c. 

INCHANTMENTS.  The  law  of  God  condemns 
inchantments  and  inchantcrs.  Several  terms  are 
used  in  Scripture  to  denote  inchantments.  (1.) 
Lahhash,  {z'rh,)  which  signifies  to  mutter,  to  speak 
with  a  low  voice,  like  magicians  in  their  evocations, 
and  magical  operations,  Ps.  Iviii.  5. — (2.)  Latim, 
(aij^,)  secrets,  when  Moses  speaks  of  the  inchant- 
ments wrought  by  Pharaoh's  magicians. — (3.)  Ca- 
shaph,  (1^3,)  meaning  those  who  practise  juggling, 
legerdemain,  tricks  and  Avitchery,  deluding  people's 
eyes  and  senses,  2  Chron.  xxxiii.  6. — (4^)  Hhabar, 
(-i3n,)  which  signifies,  properly,  to  bind,  assemble,  as- 
sociate, re-unite  ;  this  occurs  principally  among  those 
who  charm  serpents,  who  tame  them,  and  make 
those  gentle  and  sociable,  which  before  were  fierce, 
dangerous,  and  untractable,  Deut.  xviii.  1 1. 

We  have  examples  of  each  of  these  modes  of  in- 
chanting.  It  was  common  for  magicians,  sorcerers 
and  inchanters  to  spcalc  in  a  low  \oice,  or  to  whisper. 


They  are  called  ventriloqui,  because  they  spake,  as 
one  would  suppose,  from  the  bottom  of  their  stomachs. 
They  affected  secrecy  and  mysterious  ways,  to  con- 
ceal the  vanity,  folly,  or  infamy  of  their  pernicious 
art ;  though  their  pretended  magic  often  consisted  in 
cunning  tricks  only,  as  sleight  of  hand,  or  some  natu- 
ral secrets  unknown  to  the  ignorant.  They  affected 
obscurity  and  night,  or  would  show  their  skill  only 
before  the  uninformed,  and  feared  nothing  so  much 
as  serious  examination,  broad  daylight,  and  the  in- 
spection of  the  intelligent. 

The  inchantments  of  Pharaoh's  magicians,  in  imi- 
tation of  the  miracles  wrought  by  Moses,  were  either 
mere  witchcrafl  and  illusion,  by  which  they  deceived 
the  eyes  of  the  spectators ;  or,  if  they  performed 
miracles,  and  produced  real  changes  of  the  rods,  of 
the  water  of  the  Nile,  &c.  they  did  it  by  the  applica- 
tion of  second  causes  to  the  production  of  effects, 
which  depend  originally  on  the  power  of  God  ;  and 
by  giving  certain  forms  to,  or  impressing  certain  mo- 
tions on,  a  created  substance  ;  and  as  these  changes 
and  motions  were  above  the  popularly  known  pow- 
ers of  nature,  they  were  thought  to  be  miraculous. 
But  God  never  permits  miracles  produced  by  evil 
spirits  to  be  such  as  may  necessarily  seduce  us  into 
error  ;  for  either  he  limits  their  power,  as  with  Pha- 
raoh's magicians,  who  were  obliged  to  acknowledge 
the  finger  of  God  in  some  instances,  or  they  discover 
themselves  by  their  impiety,  or  bad  conduct ;  which 
are  the  marks  appointed  by  Moses  for  discerning  a 
false  from  a  true  prophet,  Deut.  xiii.  12,  &c. 

The  inchantment  of  serpents,  the  cure  of  wounds 
by  charitis,  fancied  metamorphoses,  &c.  were  com- 
mon among  the  ancients.  The  psalmist  speaks 
(Ps.  Iviii.  5.)  of  "  the  serpent,  or  deaf  asp,  that  stop- 
peth  her  ears,  lest  she  should  hear  the  voice  of  the 
charmers,  charming  wisely ;"  Heb.  The  voice  of 
those  who  speak  low,  and  of  those  who  make  use  of 
charms  with  skill ;  or  the  voice  of  him  who  tameth, 
who  softeneth  serpents.  The  Lord  (Jer.  viii.  17.) 
threatens  the  Jews,  "Behold,  I  will  send  serpents 
among  you,  which  will  not  be  charmed."  Ecclesias- 
tes  (x.  11.)  says,  "A  babbler  is  like  those  serpents 
against  which  charms  have  no  power."  Job  also 
speaks  of  inchanters  by  whose  power  serpents  were 
burst  asunder  -.  "  Shall  the  inchanter  cause  the  levia- 
than to  burst?"  Job  xl.  25.  and  Ecclus.  xii.  13. 
"Who  will  pity  a  charmer  that  is  bitten  with  a  ser- 
pent ?"  Augustin  says  that  tlie  Marsians,  a  ])eople 
of  Italy,  had  formerly  the  secret  of  inchanting  ser- 
pents :  "  Any  one  would  say,  that  serpents  understood 
the  language  of  this  ])eople,  so  obedient  do  we  see 
them  to  their  orders;  as  soon  as  the  Marsian  has 
done  speaking,  they  come  out  of  their  holes."  Origen 
and  Eusebius  speak  of  the  charming  of  serpents  as 
being  common  in  Palestine. 

[The  accounts  given  by  travellers  in  Egypt  and 
the  East,  respecting  the  power  which  certain  persons 
possess  of  charming  seri)ents  by  music  or  other 
means,  are  too  remarkable  not  to  be  inserted  here  ; 
although  a  pi-obable  solution  of  these  appearances 
has  not  yet  been  given.  The  facts,  however,  seem 
too  well  attested  to  admit  of  doubt ;  and  they  are 
also,  often  alluded  to  by  ancient  writers.  (Compare 
Apollonius  Rhodius,  iv.  147.  Ovid,  Metamorph.  vii. 
153.    Virgil  JEn.  vii.  753,  seq.)    See  Asp. 

Mr.  Browne,  in  liis  Travels  in  Africa,  &c.  (p.  83.) 
thus  describes  the  charmers  of  serpents:  "Romeili  is 
an  open  place  of  an  irregular  form,  where  feats  of 
juggling  are  performed.  The  charmers  of  serpents 
seem  also  worthy  of  remark  ;  their  powers  seem  ex- 


INCHANTMENTS 


[533 


IND 


traordinary.  The  serpent  most  common  at  Kahira, 
[Cairo,]  is  of  the  viper  class,  and  undoubtedly  poison- 
ous, if  one  of  them  enter  a  house,  the  chartner  is 
sent  for,  who  uses  a  certain  form  of  words.  I  have 
seen  three  serpents  enticed  out  of  the  cabin  of  a  ship 
lying  near  the  shore.  The  operator  handled  them, 
and  then  put  them  into  a  bag.  At  other  times  I  have 
seen  the  serpents  twist  around  the  bodies  of  these 
Psylli  in  all  directions,  without  having  had  their 
fangs  extracted  or  broken,  and  without  doing  them 
any  injury." 

Niebuhr,  in  speaking  of  the  puppet-shows  and 
sleight-of-hand  tricks  exhibited  for  the  amusement  of 
the  populace  in  Cairo,  remarks :  (Reisebeschr,  i.  p. 
189.)  "  Others  exhibit  serpents  dancuig.  This  may 
ajjpear  incredible  to  those  who  are  unacquainted 
with  the  natural  propensities  of  these  animals  ;  but 
certain  kinds  of  serpents  seem  to  be  agreeably  atiected 
by  music.  They  raise  their  heads,  when  they  hear 
a  drum,  and  this,  their  instinctive  propensity  to  ele- 
vate the  head  and  part  of  the  body  and  to  make  some 
motions  and  turns,  is  called  dancing.'''' 

That  some  species  of  serpents  have  this  sort  of 
musical  ear,  is  also  confirmed  by  Chardiu,  in  a  manu- 
script note  on  the  "  deaf  adder"  of  Ps.  Iviii.  4,  5. 
(Harmer's  Obs.  iii,  p.  305.)  "  Adders  will  swell  at  the 
sound  of  a  flute,  raising  themselves  up  on  one  half  of 
their  body,  turning  the  other  part  about,  and  beating 
proper  time  ;  being  wonderfully  delighted  with  mu- 
sic, and  following  the  instrument.  Its  head,  before 
round  and  long,  like  an  eel,  it  spreads  out  broad  and 
flat,  like  a  fan.  Adders  and  serpents  twist  themselves 
round  the  neck  and  naked  body  of  young  children, 
belonging  to  those  that  charm  them.  At  Surat,  an 
Armenian  seeing  one  of  them  make  an  adder  bite  his 
flesh,  without  receiving  any  injury,  said,  I  can  do 
that ;  and  causing  himself  to  be  wounded  in  the  hand, 
he  died  m  less  than  two  hours." 

In  Forbes's  Oriental  Memoirs,  (vol.  i.  p.  43.)  we 
find  an  account  of  the  Cobra  de  Capcllo,  or  hooded 
snake,  (Coluber  J^aja,)  called  also  the  spectacle  snake  ; 
it  is  a  large  and  beautiful  serpent,  but  one  of  the  most 
poisonous  known  ;  its  bite  occasions  death  usually 
in  less  than  an  hour.  (See  under  Cockatrice.)  Of 
this  kind  are  the  dancing  serpents,  which  are  carried 
about  in  baskets  throughout  all  Ilindostan  by  a  certain 
class  of  persons,  who  get  their  living  in  this  way. 
They  give  certain  tones  upon  a  flute,  which  appear 
to  produce  an  agreeable  effect  upon  the  serpents ; 
since  they  seem  to  beat  time,  as  it  were,  to  the  flute, 
by  a  graceful  motion  of  the  head.  They  raise  the 
upper  part  of  their  body  from  the  ground,  and  fol- 
low the  music  in  graceful  curves,  like  the  undulating 
movements  of  a  swan's  neck.  It  is  a  fact  sufficiently 
well  attested,  that  when  any  of  these  or  of  other 
kinds  of  vipers  have  got  into  a  house,  and  make  havoc 
among  the  poultry  or  other  small  domestic  animals, 
it  is  customary  to  send  for  one  of  these  musicians, 
who,  by  tones  upon  his  flute  or  flageolet,  finds  out  the 
hiding-places  of  the  serpents  and  alliu-es  them  to 
their  destruction  ;  indeed,  so  soon  as  tlie  serpents 
hear  the  music,  they  creep  quietly  out  of  their  holes, 
and  are  easily  taken.  This  may  serve  to  illustrate 
Ps.  Iviii.  4,  5.  In  regard  to  the  dancing  serpents, 
the  music  seems  essential  to  their  motions ;  fbr  as 
soon  as  it  ceases,  the  serpent  lies  motionless  ;  and  un- 
less it  is  immediately  replaced  in  its  basket,  the 
spectators  are  in  great  danger.  Mr.  Forbes  had  a 
drawing  of  a  Co6ra  de  Capello,  which  danced  for  an 
hour  upon  a  table  while  he  made  the  drawing.  He 
took  it  several  times  in  his  hand  in  order  the  better 


to  observe  the  hood  and  spectacles,  not  doubting  but 
that  its  fangs  had  been  extracted.  But  the  next  da}', 
in  the  market  place,  the  same  serpent  bit  a  young 
woman  in  the  neck,  who  died  in  half  an  hour. 

The  following  remarks  are  from  Hasselquist's 
Travels  in  Palestine,  &c.  (p.  76,  79,  seq.  Germ,  edit.) 
"The  Egyptian  jugglers  can  perform  some  feats, 
which  those  of  Europe  are  not  able  to  imitate ;  viz. 
they  can  deprive  serpents  of  their  poison.  They 
take  the  most  poisonous  vipers  in  their  naked  hands, 
play  with  them,  place  them  in  their  bosom,  and  make 
them  perform  all  sorts  of  tricks.  All  this  I  have 
often  seen.  The  man  whom  I  saw  to-day,  had  only 
a  small  ^iper:  but  I  have  seen  him  when  he  had 
others  three  or  four  feet  long,  and  of  the  very  worst 
species.  I  examined  in  order  to  see  whether  the 
serpents  had  been  deprived  of  their  poisonous  fangs  ; 
and  convinced  myself,  by  actual  observation,  that  this 
was  not  the  case.  .  .  .  On  the  3d  of  July,  I  received 
at  once,  four  different  species  of  serpents,  which  I 
described  and  preserved  in  spirits.  They  were  the 
Vipera  vidgaris,  Cerastes  Alpini,  Jacidus,  Jlnguis 
t)iarinus.  They  were  brought  me  by  a  female,  who 
excited  the  astonishment  of  all  of  us  Europeans,  by 
the  manner  in  which  she  handled  these  most  poison- 
ous and  dangerous  animals,  without  receiving  the 
least  injury.  As  she  put  them  into  the  bottle  in 
which  I  intended  to  preserve  them,  she  managed 
them  just  as  one  of  our  ladies  would  handle  their 
ribands  or  lacings.  The  others  gave  her  no  diffi- 
culty, but  the  vipers  did  not  seem  to  like  their  intend- 
ed dwelling ;  they  slipped  out,  before  the  bottle 
could  be  covered.  They  sprang  upon  and  over  her 
hands  and  naked  arms  ;  but  she  betrayed  no  symp- 
tom of  fear.  She  took  them  quite  tranquilly  from 
her  body,  and  placed  them  in  the  vessel  that  was  to 
be  their  grave.  She  had  caught  them,  as  our  Arab 
assured  us,  without  difficulty  in  the  fields.  Without 
doubt  she  nmst  possess  some  secret  art  or  skill  •  but 
I  could  not  get  her  to  open  her  mouth  upon  the 
subject.  This  art  is  a  secret  even  among  the  Egyp- 
tians. The  ancient  Marsi  and  Psylli  in  Africa,  who 
daily  exhibited  specimens  of  the  same  art  in  Rome, 
afford  evidence  of  its  antiquity  in  Africa ;  and  it  is 
a  very  remarkable  circumstance,  that  such  a  thing 
should  remain  a  secret  above  two  thousand  years,  and 
be  retained  only  by  a  certain  class  of  persons."  (See 
also  a  similar  extract  from  Bruce,  imder  Serpents, 
Cerastes.)     *R. 

Music  and  singing,  which  is  a  kind  of  charm,  were 
sometimes  used  to  cure  certain  diseases  of  the  mind, 
or  at  least  diseases  caused  by  disorder  of  the  mind, 
or  of  the  passions.  Galen  (De  sanitate  tuenda,  lib.  i. 
cap.  8.)  says,  that  he  had  great  experience  in  this, 
and  that  he  could  produce  the  authority  of  iEscula- 
pius,  his  countryman,  who  by  melody  and  music  re- 
lieved constitutions  impaired  by  too  great  heat.  The 
Hebrews,  though  a  people  extremely  superstitious, 
did  not  carry  so  far  the  use  of  charms  and  inchant- 
ments  in  the  cure  of  diseases,  because  they  were  re- 
strained by  their  law,  and  because  their  kings  and 
priests  were  vigilant  in  preventing  these  misdoings. 
Still  we  find  traces  of  this  superstition  among  them. 
Saul  employed  music,  David's  harp,  to  procure  relief 
in  his  fits  of  melancholy. 

INDIA,  the  appellation  which  the  ancients  appear 
to  have  given  to  that  vast  region  of  Asia,  stretching 
east  of  Persia  and  Bactria,  as  far  as  the  country  of 
the  Sin(E ;  its  northern  boundary  being  the  Scythian 
desert,  and  its  southern  limit  the  ocean.  The  name 
is  generally  supposed  to  have  been  derived  from  the 


INH 


[534  1 


INK 


rivfer  Indus,  which  waters  its  western  extremity,  and 
which  signifies  the  Blue  or  Black  river.  Mr.  Con- 
der  tliinks,  however,  that  the  extensive  application  of 
the  woi'd  renders  it  more  probable,  that  it  was  em- 
ployed to  denote  the  country  of  the  Indi,  or  Asiatic 
Ethiops  ;  answering  to  the  Persian  Hindoostan,  or 
the  country  of  the  Hindoos.  The  only  place  where 
India  is  mentioned  in  Scripture  is  Esth.  i.  1. 

It  is  said  in  the  passage  above  referred  to,  that 
Ahasuerus  reigned  from  India  to  Ethiopia.  This 
fixes  the  extent  of  the  Persian  dominions  eastward  to 
the  original  station  of  the  Hindoos,  at  the  head  of  the 
Indus.  There  is  not,  we  believe,  any  memorial  of 
the  Persian  power  having  permanently  maintained 
itself  east  of  the  Indus,  Alexander  the  Great  only 
having  ever  thought  of  establishing  a  dominion  in 
those  countries.  The  Mahometans,  mdeed,  have  so 
done  ;  but  then  they  have  renounced  the  west.  Na- 
dir Shah  penetrated  to  Delhi,  but  he  returned  to 
Persia,  and  did  not  attempt  to  retain  both  I'egions 
under  his  rule. 

It  will  be  seen  in  the  article  on  idolatry,  that  we 
liave  assumed,  as  a  principle,  that  India  was  the 
great  source  of  those  observances  which  we  find  es- 
tablished wherever  our  knowledge  extends.  It  may 
be  necessary  here  to  remark,  in  addition  to  what  is 
there  said,  that  the  Hindoos  could  not  have  adopted 
religious  rites  from  the  Romans,  the  Greeks,  the 
Egyptians,  or  the  Persians.  Whoever  has  bestowed 
a  moment's  attention  on  this  people,  must  know,  that 
it  would  be  in  utter  violation  of  their  most  sacred 
tenets  to  do  so  ;  and  whoever  recollects  that  the 
sages  of  Greece  travelled  into  India  to  learn  wisdom, 
will  be  confirmed  in  the  persuasion,  that  others 
derived  information  from  them,  not  they  from  others. 
In  fact,  all  testimony  brings  letters,  learning  and 
knowledge  from  the  East. 

INHERITANCE,  a  portion  which  appertains  to 
another,  after  some  particular  event.  As  the  princi- 
ples of  inheritance  differ  in  the  East,  from  those 
Avhich  are  established  among  ourselves,  it  is  neces- 
sary to  notice  tliem  particularly.  The  reader  will 
observe,  that  there  is  no  need  of  the  death  of  the 
parent  in  these  countries,  as  tliere  is  among  us,  before 
the  children  possessed  their  inheritance.  (See  Heir.) 
Among  the  Hindoos,  the  rights  of  inheritance  are 
laid  down  with  great  precision,  and  with  the  strictest 
attention  to  the  natural  claim  of  the  inheritor  in  the 
several  degrees  of  affinity.  A  man  is  considered  but 
as  tenant  for  life  in  his  own  property  ;  and,  as  all 
opportunity  of  distributing  his  effects  by  will,  after 
his  death,  is  precluded,  hardly  any  mention  is  made 
of  such  kind  of  bequest.  By  these  ordinances,  also, 
he  is  hindered  from  dispossessing  his  children  of  his 
j)ropcrty  in  favor  of  aliens,  and  from  making  a  blind 
and  partial  allotment  in  behalf  of  a  favorite  child,  to 
the  prejudice  of  the  rest ;  by  which  the  weakness  of 
parental  affection,  or  of  a  misguided  mind  in  its  do- 
tage, is  admirably  remedied.  These  laws  strongly 
elucidate  the  story  of  the  prodigal  son  in  the  Scrip- 
tures, since  it  appears  from  hence  to  have  been  an 
immemorial  custom  in  the  East  for  sons  to  demand 
their  portion  of  iniieritance  during  their  father's  life- 
time, and  that  the  ])arcnt,  however  aware  of  the  dis- 
sipated inclinations  of  his  child,  could  not  legally  re- 
fuse to  comply  with  the  application.  If  all  the  sons 
go  at  once  in  a  body  to  their  father,  jointly  request- 
ing their  respective  shares  of  his  fortune  ;  in  that 
case,  the  father  is  required  to  give  equal  shares  of 
the  property  earned  by  himself,  to  the  son  incapable 
of  getting  his  own  living,  to  the  son  who  has  been 


particularly  dutiful  to  him,  and  to  the  son  who  has  a 
very  large  family,  and  also  to  the  other  sons  who  do 
not  lie  under  any  of  these  three  circumstances ;  in 
this  case,  he  has  not  power  to  give  any  one  of  them 
more  or  less  than  to  the  others.  If  a  father  has  oc- 
cupied any  glebe  belonging  to  his  father,  that  was 
not  before  occupied,  he  has  not  power  to  divide  it 
among  his  sons  in  unequal  shares,  as  in  the  case  of 
property  earned  by  himself  (Halhed's  Gentoo 
Laws,  p.  53.) 

Our  translators  have  frequently  used  the  tenii  in- 
heritance in  the  sense  of  participation  or  property. 
So  Mark  xii.  7,  Let  us  kill  the  son,  and  the  inherit- 
ance, the  property,  shall  be  ovn-s.  Acts  xx.  32 ;  xxvi. 
18,  An  inheritance,  participation,  among  those  who 
are  sanctified.  Eph.  i.  18,  The  riches  of  the  glory  of 
his  inheritance,  his  immediate  property,  in  the  saints. 
(Compare  1  Pet.  i.  4.)  So  Abraham  is  spoken  of 
(Ezek.  xxxiii.  24.)  as  inheriting  the  land ;  which  could 
not  be  true,  as  his  family  had  no  previous  possession 
in  Canaan  ;  and  it  is  expressly  contrary  to  Acts  vii. 
5,  which  says,  Abraham  had  no  inheritance  there  ; 
but  he  had  possessions,  or  property.  (Comp.  2  Chron. 
X.  16,  et  al.) 

INIQUITY.  This  word  means  not  oidy  sin,  but 
the  punishment  of  sin,  and  the  expiation  of  it :  "  Aaron 
will  bear  the  iniquities  of  the  people  ;"  he  will  atone 
for  them,  Exod.  xxviii.  38.  The  Lord  "  visits  the 
iniquities  of  the  fathers  upon  the  children  ;"  (Exod. 
XX.  5.)  he  sometimes  causes  visible  effects  of  his 
wrath  to  fall  on  the  children  of  criminal  parents. 

"  To  bear  iniquity"  is  to  endure  the  punishment 
of  it,  to  be  obliged  to  expiate  it.  The  priests  bear 
the  iniquity  of  the  people  ;  that  is,  they  are  charged 
with  the  expiation  of  it,  Exod.  xxviii.  38 ;  Lev.  x.  17. 
INKHORN.  The  prophet  Ezekiel  (chap.  ix.  2.) 
describes  six  men  clothed  in  linen,  and  having  each 
a  writer's  inkhorn  by  his  side,  which  may  require 
some  explanation  to  occidental  readers.  The  follow- 
ing remarks  are  from  Mr.  Harmer  : — 

"The  modern  inhabitants  of  Egj'pt  appear  to 
make  use  of  ink  in  their  sealing,  as  well  as  the  Arabs 
of  the  desert,  who  may  be  supposed  not  to  have  such 
conveniences  as  those  that  live  in  such  a  place  as 
Egypt ;  for  Dr.  Pococke  says,  that  '  they  make  the 
impression  of  their  name  with  their  seal,  generally  of 
cornelian,  which  they  wear  on  their  finger,  and 
which  is  blacked  when  they  have  occasion  to  seal 
with  it.'  This  may  serve  to  show  us,  that  there  is  a 
closer  connection  between  the  vision  of  John  (Rev. 
vii.  2.)  and  that  of  Ezekiel,  (chap.  ix.  2.)  than  com- 
mentators appear  to  have  apprehended.  They  must 
be  joined,  I  imagine,  to  have  a  complete  view  of 
either.  John  saw  an  angel  with  the  seal  of  the  living 
God,  and  therewith  midtitudes  were  sealed  in  theiv 
foreheads  ;  but  to  understand  what  sort  of  mark  was 
made  there,  you  nuist  have  recourse  to  the  inkhorn 
of  Ezekiel.  On  the  other  hand,  Ezekiel  saw  a  per- 
son with  an  inkhorn,  who  was  to  mark  the  servants 
of  God  on  their  foreheads,  with  ink,  that  is  ;  but  how 
the  ink  was  to  be  applied  is  not  expressed  ;  nor  was 
there  any  need  that  it  should  be,  if  in  those  times  ink 
was  applied  with  a  seal ;  a  seal  being  in  the  one  case 
plainly  supjioscd  ;  as  in  the  Apocalypse,  the  mention 
of  a  seal  made  it  needless  to  take  any  notice  of  any 
inkhorn  by  his  side. 

"  This  position  of  the  inkhorn  of  Ezekiel's  writer 
may  a])pcar  somewhat  odd  to  a  European  reader  ;  but 
the  custom  of  placing  it  by  the  side,  continues  in  the 
East  to  this  day.  Olearius,  who  takes  notice  (Voy. 
en  Muscovie,  &c.  p.  857.)  of  a  way  that  they  have  of 


INS 


[  535  ] 


TRO 


thickening  their  ink  with  a  sort  of  paste  they  make, 
or  with  sticks  of  Indian  ink,  which  is  the  best  paste 
of  all,  a  circumstance  favorable  to  their  sealing  with 
ink,  observes — (Dr.  Shaw  also  speaks  of  their  writ- 
ers suspending  their  iukhorns  by  their  side.  I  should 
not,  therefore,  have  taken  any  notice  of  this  circum- 
stance, had  not  the  account  of  Olearius  led  us  to 
something  further) — that  the  Persians  carry  about 
with  them,  by  means  of  their  girdles,  a  dagger,  a 
knife,  a  handkerchief,  and  their  money  ;  and  those 
that  follow  the  profession  of  writing  out  books,  their 
iiikhorn,  their  penknife,  their  whetstone  to  sharpen 
it,  their  letters,  and  every  thing  the  Muscovites  were 
wont  in  his  time  to  put  in  their  boots,  which  served 
them  instead  of  pockets.  The  Persians,  in  carrying 
their  inkhorn,  after  this  manner,  seem  to  have  retain- 
ed a  custom  as  ancient  as  the  daysof  Ezekiel  ;  while 
the  Muscovites,  whose  garb  was  very  much  in  the 
eastern  taste  in  the  days  of  Olearius,  and  who  had 
many  oriental  customs  among  them,  carried  their 
inkhorns  and  their  papers  in  a  very  different  man- 
ner. Whether  some  such  variation  might  cause  the 
Egj'ptian  translators  of  the  Septuagint  version  to  ren- 
der the  woi-ds,  a  girdle  of  sapphire,  or  embroidery,  on 
the  loins,  I  will  not  take  upon  me  to  affirm  ;  but  I  do 
not  imagine  our  Dr.  Castel\  would  have  adopted  this 
sentiment  in  his  Lexicon,  (set  Lowth  on  this  place,) 
had  he  been  aware  of  this  eastern  f  ustom  :  for  witli 
great  propriety  is  the  word  keseth  mentioned  in  this 
chapter  three  times,  if  it  signified  an  inkhorn,  the 
requisite  instrument  for  sealing  tliose  devout  moimi- 
ers  ;  but  no  account  can  be  given  why  this  keseth 
should  be  mentioned  so  oflen,  if  it  only  signified  an 
embroidered  girdle."  (Obs.  vol.  ii.  p.  459.)  It  should 
be  recollected,  also,  tliat  in  the  East  the  artisans  carry 
most  of  the  implements  of  then-  profession  in  the 
girdle  ;  the  soldier  carries  his  sword  ;  the  butcher 
his  knife  ;  and  the  carpenter  Ids  hammer  and  his 
saw. 

INNOCENT,  INNOCENCE.  The  signification 
of  these  words  is  well  known.  The  Hebrews  con- 
sidered innocence  as  consisting  chiefly  in  an  exemp- 
tion from  external  faults  committed  contrary  to  the 
law  ;  hence  they  often  join  innocent  with  hands. 
Gen.  xxxvii.  22  ;  Ps.  xxiv.  4  ;  xxvi.  6.  "  I  will  wash 
my  hands  in  innocency."  And  Ps.  Ixxiii.  13,  "  Then 
have  I  cleansed  my  heart  in  vain,  and  washed  my 
hands  in  innocency."  Josephus  admits  of  no  other 
sins  than  those  actions  which  are  put  in  execution. 
Sins  in  thought,  in  his  account,  are  not  pimished  by 
God.  To  be  innocent,  is  used  sometimes  for  being 
exempt  from  punishment.  "  I  will  not  treat  you  as 
one  innocent;"  (Jer.  xlvi.  28.)  literally,  I  will  not 
make  thee  innocent :  I  will  chastise  thee,  but  like  a 
kind  father.  Jeremiah  (xlix.  12.)  speaking  to  the 
Edomites  says.  They  who  have  not  (so  much)  de- 
served to  drink  of  the  cup  of  my  wrath,  have  tasted 
of  it.  Nahum  (i.  3.)  declares  that  "  God  is  ready  to 
exercise  vengeance,  he  will  make  no  one  innocent : 
he  will  spare  no  one."  Exod.  xxxiv.  7.  Heb.  "  Thou 
shalt  make  no  one  innocent ;"  no  sin  shall  remain 
unpunished.  "  With  the  pure,  thou  wilt  show  thy- 
self pure,"  Ps.  xviii.  26.  Thou  treatest  the  just  as 
just,  the  good  as  good  ;  thou  never  dost  confound  the 
guilty  with  the  innocent. 

INSPIRATION,  in  the  highest  sense,  is  the  im- 
mediate communication  of  knowledge  to  the  human 
mind  by  the  Spirit  of  God  ;  but  it  is  commonly  used 
by  divines,  in  a  less  strict  and  proper  sense,  to  denote 
such  a  degree  of  divine  influence,  assistance,  or  guid- 
ance, as  enabled  the  authors  of  the    Scriptures  to 


connwunicate  knowledge  to  others,  without  error  or 
inistake,  whether  the  subjects  of  such  communica- 
tions were  things  then  inuuediately  revealed  to  those 
who  declared  them,  or  things  with  which  they  were 
before  acquainted.  Hence  it  is  usually  divided  into 
three  kinds, — revelation,  suggestion,  and  superintend- 
ence.    See  Revelation. 

INTERCESSION,  an  entreaty  used  by  one  per- 
son toward  another  ;  whether  this  person  solicit  on 
his  own  account,  or  on  account  of  one  for  whom  he 
is  agent.  Man  intercedes  with  man,  sometimes  to 
procure  an  advantage  to  himself,  sometimes  as  a 
mediator  to  benefit  another  ;  he  may  be  said  to  inter- 
cede for  another,  when  he  puts  words  into  the  sup- 
pliant's mouth,  and  directs  and  prompts  him  to  say 
what  otherwise  he  would  be  unable  to  say ;  or  to  say 
in  a  more  persuasive  manner  what  lie  miglit  intend 
to  say.  The  intercession  of  Christ  on  behalf  of  sin- 
ners, (Rom.  viii.  34 ;  1  John  ii.  1.)  and  the  interces- 
sion of  the  Holy  Spirit,  (Rom.  viii.  26.)  are  easily  il- 
lustrated by  this  adaptation  of  the  term.  See  Com- 
forter. 

IOTA,  (,  (Eng.  tr.jot,)  a  letter  in  the  Greek  alpha- 
bet, derived  from  the  {>)  jod  of  the  Hebrews,  or  the 
judh  of  the  Syrians.  Our  Lord  says,  (Matt.  v.  18.) 
that  every  iota,Jo^,  or  titde,  in  the  law,  would  have 
its  accomplishment ;  which  seems  to  have  been  a 
kind  of  proverb  among  the  Jews,  meaning  that  all 
should  be  completed  to  the  uttermost.  Iota  is  the 
smallest  letter  in  the  Greek  alphabet. 

IR-MELACH,  city  oj  salt,  Josh.  xv.  62.  It  stood 
probably  on  the  margin  of  the  Salt  sea,  or  lake  As- 
phaltites. 

IR-NAHASH,  city  of  the  serpent,  a  city  of  Judah, 
which  some  supposed  to  have  been  named  from  the 
abundance  of  serpents  in  its  neighborhood  ;  but  more 
probably  from  a  person  named  Nahash,  or  from  an 
image  of  the  animal,  worshipped  here,  1  Chron. 
iv.  12. 

IR-SHEMESH,  city  of  the  sun,  a  city  in  Dan, 
(Josh.  xix.  41.)  supposed  to  be  the  same  with  Beth- 
Shemesh,  the  temple  of  die  sun,  1  Kings  iv.  9. 

IR-TAMARIM,  city  of  palm-trees,  that  is,  Jericho. 
Dent,  xxxiv.  3  ;  Judg.  i.  16  ;   2  Chron.  xxviii.  15. 

IRAM,  the  last  duke  of  Edom,  of  Esau's  family, 
Gen.xxxvi.  43. 

IRIJAH,  an  officer  who  arrested  the  prophet  Jer- 
emiah as  he  was  going  to  Anathoth,  Jer.  xxxvii. 
13,  &c. 

IRON.  Moses  forbids  the  Hebrews  to  use  any 
stones  to  form  the  altar  of  the  Lord,  which  had  been 
in  any  manner  uTought  with  iron  :  as  if  iron  commu- 
nicated pollution.  He  says  the  stones  of  Palestine 
are  of  iron,  (Deut.  viii.  9.)  that  is,  of  hardness  equal 
to  iron  ;  or  that,  being  smelted,  they  yielded  iron. 
"  An  iron  yoke,"  (1  Kings  viii.  51.)  is  a  hard  and  in- 
supportable dominion.  "  Iron  sharpeneth  iron,"  says 
the  wise  man,  "  so  a  man  sharpeneth  the  countenance 
of  his  friend  ;"  i.  e.  the  presence  of  a  friend  gives  us 
more  confidence  and  assurance.  God  threatens  his 
ungrateful  and  perfidious  people  with  making  the 
heaven  iron,  and  the  earth  brass;  that  is,  to  make  the 
earth  barren,  and  the  air  to  produce  no  rain.  Chariots 
of  iron  are  chariots  armed  with  iron,  with  spikes,  and 
scythes.     See  Chariots. 

The  following  extract  from  Bruce  will  diminish 
the  apparent  strangeness  of  Zedekiah's  conduct, 
(1  Kings  xxii.  11.)  who  made  himself  Horns  of  iron, 
and  said,  "Thus  saith  die  Lord,  With  these"  milita- 
ry insignia  "  shalt  thou  push  the  Syrians  until  thou 
hast  co^nsumed  them."     We  are  apt  to  conceive  of 


ISA 


[  536  ] 


ISA 


these  horns,  as  projectuig  like  bulls'  hox-us,  on  each 
side  of  Zedekiali's  head.  But  how  different  from  the 
real  fact !  Zedekiah,  though  he  pretended  to  be  a 
prophet,  did  not  wish  to  be  thought  mad,  to  which 
imputation  such  an  appearance  would  have  subject- 
ed him.  He  only  acted  the  hero ; — the  hero  return- 
ing in  military  triumph  ;  it  was  little  more  than  a 
flourish.  "  One  thing  remarkable  in  this  cavalcade, 
which  I  observed,  was  the  head-dress  of  the  govern- 
ors of  provinces.  A  large  broad  fillet  was  bound 
upon  their  forehead,  and  tied  behind  their  head.  In 
the  middle  of  this  was  a  horn,  or  conical  piece  of 
silver,  gilt,  about  four  inches  long,  much  in  the  shape 
of  our  common  candle  extinguisliers.  This  is  called 
kern  \}-\p\  or  horn,  and  is  only  worn  in  reviews,  or 
parades  after  victory.  This,  I  apprehend,  like  all 
other  of  their  usages,  is  taken  from  the  Hebrews,  and 
the  several  allusions  made  in  Scripture  to  it,  arises 
from  this  practice  : — '  I  said  to  the  wicked,  lift  not 
up  the  horn,' — '  Lift  not  up  your  horn  on  high  ; 
speak  not  with  a  stiff  neck' — 'The  horn  of  the 
righteous  shall  be  exalted  with  honor.' " 

ISAAC,  son  of  Abraham,  was  born  A.  M.  2108. 
Sarah  gave  him  this  name,  because  when  the  angel 
promised  that  she  should  become  a  mother,  she,  being 
beyond  the  age  of  having  children,  privately  laughed 
at  the  prediction.  When  the  child  was  born,  she 
said,  "  God  hath  made  me  to  laugh,  so  that  all  that 
hear  will  laugh  with  me."  She  suckled  the  child 
herself,  and  would  not  suffer  Ishmael  to  inherit  with 
him  ;  but  prevailed  on  Abraham  to  tui-n  him  and  his 
mother  Hagar  out  of  doors.  When  Isaac  was  about 
twenty-five  years  of  age,  the  Lord  tried  Abraham, 
and  commanded  him  to  sacrifice  his  son.  Abraham 
implicitly  obeyed,  and  took  Isaac,  with  two  of  his 
servants,  to  the  place  which  the  Lord  should  show 
him.  On  the  third  day,  discerning  this  place,  (sup- 
posed to  be  mount  Moriah,)  he  took  the  wood  as  for 
a  burnt-offering,  placed  it  on  his  son  Isaac,  and  took 
fire  in  his  hand,  and  a  knife.  As  they  went  together 
towai-d  the  mount,  Isaac  said,  "  Behold  the  fire  and 
the  wood,  but  where  is  the  victim  for  the  burnt-offer- 
ing?" Abraham  answered,  "My  son,  God  will  pro- 
vide a  victim  for  himself"  Arrived  at  the  appointed 
place,  Abraham  put  the  wood  in  order,  bound  his 
beloved  Isaac  as  a  victim,  and  taking  the  knife, 
stretched  forth  his  hand  to  kill  him.  But  an  angel 
of  the  Lord  prevented  the  sacrifice  and  provided 
another  victim. 

When  Isaac  was  forty  years  of  age,  Abraham  sent 
Eliezer,  his  steward,  into  Mesopotamia,  to  procure  a 
wife  for  him,  from  Laban,  his  brother-in-law's  fami- 
ly. Rebekah  was  sent,  and  became  the  wife  of  Isaac. 
Being  barren,  Isaac  prayed  for  her,  and  God  granted 
her  the  favor  of  conception.  She  was  delivered  of 
tuins,  named  Esau  and  Jacob.  Isaac  favored  Esau, 
and  Rebekah  Jacob.  Some  years  afterwards,  a  fam- 
ine obliged  Isaac  to  retire  to  Gcrar,  where  Abimelech 
was  king  ;  and,  as  his  father  had  done  previously,  he 
reported  that  Rebekah  was  his  sister.  Abimelech, 
having  discovered  that  she  was  his  wife,  reproved 
him  for  the  deception.  Isaac  grew  very  rich,  and 
his  flocks  multiplying,  the  Philistines  of  Gerar  were 
so  envious,  that  they  filled  up  all  the  wells  which 
Isaac's  servants  had  dug.  At  the  desire  of  Abime- 
lech, he  departed,  and  pitched  his  tent  in  the  valley 
of  Gerar,  where  he  dug  ne\v  wells,  but  was  again  put 
to  some  difficulties.  At  length,  he  returned  to  Beer- 
sheba,  where  lie  fixed  his  liabitation.  Here  the  Lord 
appeared  to  him,  and  renewed  the  promise  of  blessing 
him,  and  Abimelech  visited  him,  to  form  an  alliance. 


Isaac,  having  grown  very  old,  (137  years^and  his 
sight  being  extremely  weakened,  called  Esau,  his 
eldest  son,  and  directed  him  to  procure  for  him  some 
venison.  But  while  Esau  was  hunting,  Jacob  sur- 
reptitiously obtained  the  blessing,  so  that  Isaac  could 
only  give  Esau  a  secondaiy  benediction.  (See  Jacob, 
and  Esau.)  Isaac  lived  some  time  afler  this,  and 
sent  Jacob  into  Mesopotamia,  to  take  a  wife  of  his 
OAvii  family.  He  died,  aged  188  years ;  and  was 
buried  with  Abraham,  by  his  sons  Esau  and  Jacob. 
The  Hebrews  say,  that  Isaac  was  instructed  in  the 
law  by  the  patriarchs  Shem  and  Eber,  who  were 
then  living ;  and  that  when  Abraham  departed,  with 
a  design  to  sacrifice  Isaac,  he  told  Sarah,  that  he 
was  carrying  his  son  to  Shem's  school.  They  be- 
lieve, likewise,  tliat  Abi-aham  composed  their  morn- 
ing prayers,  Isaac  their  noon  prayers,  and  Jacob  their 
evening  prayers. 

ISAIAH  was  the  son  of  Amos,  who  is  thought  by 
some  to  have  been  of  the  royal  family  of  Judah,  but 
without  any  good  foundation.  The  conmiencement 
of  Isaiah's  prophecies  are  dated  by  Calmet  from  the 
death  of  Uzziah;  and  his  death  is  fixed  in  the  reign 
of  Manasseh,  who  ascended  the  throne  ante  A.  D. 
698.  Isaiah's  wife  is  called  a  prophetess  ;  (chap.  viii. 
3.)  and  thence  the  rabbins  conclude,  that  she  had  the 
spirit  of  prophecy.  Bat  it  is  probable,  that  the  proph- 
ets' wives  were  called  prophetesses,  as  the  pi-iests' 
wives  were  called  priestesses,  only  from  the  office  of 
their  husbands.  The  Scripture  mentions  two  sons 
of  Isaiah,  one  called  "  Shear-Jashub,"  the  remainder 
shall  return ;  the  other  "  Hashbaz,"  hasten  to  the 
slaughter.  The  first  showed,  that  the  captives  carried 
to  Babylon  should  return,  after  a  certain  time  ;  the 
second  showed,  that  the  kingdoms  of  Israel  and  Syria 
should  soon  be  ravaged. 

The  prophecies  of  Isaiah  are  divided  by  Calmet 
into  three  parts  ;  the  first,  including  six  chapters, 
which  relate  to  the  reign  of  Jotham  ;  the  six  follow- 
ing to  the  reign  of  Ahaz  ;  and  all  the  rest  to  the  reign 
of  Hezekiah.  The  principal  objects  of  Isaiah's 
prophecies  are,  the  ca[)tivity  of  Babylon,  the  return 
of  the  Jews  from  that  captivity,  and  the  reign  of  the 
Messiah.  For  this  reason  the  sacred  writers  of  the 
New  Testament  have  cited  him  more  than  any  other 
prophet ;  and  the  fathers  sa)'^,  he  is  rather  an  evan- 
gelist than  a  prophet. 

In  the  fourteenth  year  of  Hezekiah,  Sennacherib, 
king  of  Assyria,  coming  against  Judea,  Isaiah  fore- 
told the  destruction  of  his  army,  and  shortly  after- 
wards the  miraculous  lengthening  of  Hezckiah's  life. 
(See  Hezekiah.)  He  next  received  orders  from  the 
Lord  to  walk  three  yeais  barefoot  and  without  his 
upper  garment,  to  denote  the  approaching  captivity 
of  Egypt  and  Ciish. 

Tliere  is  a  rabbinical  tradition,  that  Isaiah  was  put 
to  death  by  the  saw,  in  the  begimiing  of  the  reign  of 
Manasseh,  the  pretence  of  this  impious  prince  for  thus 
executing  him,  being  an  expression  in  chap.  vi.  1,  "I 
saw  the  Lord  sitting  on  a  throne  ;"  which  he  affirmed 
to  be  a  contradiction  to  Moses,  (Exod.  xxxiii,  20.) 
"  No  man  shall  see  me  and  live."  But  Gesenius,  who 
has  traced  this  tradition  to  its  source,  has  shown  it  to 
be  of  a  very  doubtfid  character.  Some  say  that  his 
body  was  buried  near  Jerusalem,  luider  the  fuller's 
oak,  near  the  fountain  of  Siioam  ;  whence  it  was  re- 
moved to  Paneas,  near  the  sources  of  Jordan,  and 
from  thence  to  Constantinople,  in  the  reign  of  The- 
odosius  the  younger,  A.  D.  442. 

Isaiah  is  esteemed  to  be  the  most  eloquent  of  the 
prophets.    Jerome  says,  that  his  writings  are,  as  it 


ISAIAH 


[537  1 


ISH 


were,  an  abridgment  of  the  lioly  Scriptures,  a  collec- 
tion of  the  most  uncommon  knowledge  that  the  mind 
of  man  is  capable  of;  of  natural  philosophy,  morali- 
ty, and  divinity.  Grotius  compares  him  to  Demos- 
thenes. In  his  writings  we  meet  with  the  purity  of 
the  Hebrew  tongue,  as  in  the  orator,  with  the  delicacy 
of  the  Attic  taste.  Both  are  subhme  and  magnificent 
in  their  style,  vehement  in  their  emotions,  copious  in 
their  figures,  and  very  impetuous  when  they  describe 
things  of  an  enormous  nature,  or  that  are  grievous 
and  odious.  Isaiah  was  superior  to  Demosthenes  in 
the  honor  of  ilkistrious  birth.  What  Quintihan  (lib. 
x.  cap.  20.)  says  of  Corvinus  3Iessala  may  be  applied 
to  iiim,  that  he  speaks  in  an  easy,  flowing  n)anner,  and 
a  style  which  denotes  the  man  of  quality.  Caspar 
Sanctius  thiuks  Isaiah  to  be  more  florid,  and  more 
ornamented,  yet  at  tiie  same  time  more  weighty  and 
nervous,  than  any  writer  we  have,  whether  historian, 
poet,  or  orator  ;  and  that  in  all  kinds  of  discourse  he 
excels  every  author,  either  Greek  or  Latin.  The 
prophet  appears  to  justify  this  character  even  in  our 
common  version  ;  but  in  the  elegant  diction  of  bishop 
Lowth,  he  more  eminently  supports  it.  In  addition 
to  the  writings  which  are  in  our  possession,  Isaiah 
wrote  a  book  concerning  the  actions  of  Uzziah, 
which  is  cited  2  Chron.  xxvi.  22,  and  is  not  now 
extant. 

[The  ciironological  division  of  the  prophecies  of 
Isaiah  into  three  parts,  as  mentioned  above,  is  of  very 
doubtful  propriety  ;  since  several  of  the  chapters  are 
evidently  transposed  and  inserted  out  of  their  chron- 
ological order.  But  a  very  obvious  and  striking 
division  of  the  book  into  two  parts,  exists ;  the  first 
part,  including  tlie  first  thirty-nine  chapters,  and  the 
i^econd,  the  remainder  of  the  book,  or  chap.  xl. — Ixvi. 
The  Jirst  part  is  made  up  of  those  prophecies  and 
liistorical  accounts,  which  Isaiah  wrote  during  the 
period  of  his  active  exertions  in  behalf  of  the  present, 
wi)en  he  mingled  in  the  public  concerns  of  the  rulers 
and  the  people,  and  acted  as  the  messenger  of  God 
to  the  nation  in  reference  to  their  internal  and  exter- 
nal existing  relations.  These  are  single  prophecies, 
published  at  different  times,  and  on  different  occa- 
sions ;  afterwards,  indeed,  brought  together  into  one 
collection,  but  still  marked  as  distinct  and  single, 
cither  by  tiie  superscriptions,  or  in  some  other  obvi- 
ous and  known  method.  The  second  part,  on  the 
contrary,  is  occupied  wholly  with  the  future.  It  was 
apparently  written  in  the  later  years  of  the  prophet, 
when  Fifr  had  probably  left  all  active  exertions  in  the 
theocracy  to  his  younger  associates  in  the  prophet- 
ical office.  He  himself  transferred  his  contempla- 
tions from  the  joyless  present,  into  the  future.  In 
this  part,  therefore,  which  was  not,  like  the  first,  oc- 
casioned by  external  circimistances,  it  is  not  so  easy 
to  distinguish  in  like  manner  betw^een  the  different 
single  prophecies.  The  whole  is  more  like  a  single 
gush  of  prophecy. 

The  prophecies  of  the  second  part  rjefer  chiefly  to 
a  twofold  object.  The  prophet  first  consoles  his 
people  by  announcing  their  deliverance  from  the 
Babylonish  exile ;  he  names  the  monarch  whom 
Jehovah  will  send  to  punish  the  insolence  of  their 
oppressors,  and  lead  back  the  people  to  their  home. 
But  he  does  not  stop  at  this  trifling  and  inferior  de- 
liverance. With  the  prospect  of  freedom  from  the 
Babylonish  exile,  the  prophet  connects  the  prosj)ect 
of  deliverance  from  sin  and  error  through  the  Mes- 
siah. Sometimes  both  objects  seem  closely  inter- 
woven with  each  other;  sometimes  one  of  them  ap- 
peai-9  alone  with  particular  clearness  and  prominencv. 
68 


Especially  is  the  view  of  the  prophet  sometimes  so 
exclusively  directed  upon  the  latter  object,  that,  filled 
with  the  contemplation  of  the  glory  of  the  fipiritual 
kingdom  of  God  and  of  its  exalted  founder,  he  ^\  holly 
loses  sight  for  a  time  of  the  less  distant  future.  In 
the  description  of  this  spiritual  deliverance,  also,  the 
relations  of  time  are  not  observed.  Sometimes  the 
prophet  beholds  the  author  of  this  deliverance  in  his 
humiliation  and  sorrows;  and  again,  the  remotest 
ages  of  the  Messiah's  kingdom  present  themselTes  to 
his  enraptured  vision ;  when  man,  so  long  estranged 
from  God,  will  have  again  returned  to  him  ;  when 
every  thing  opposed  to  God  shall  have  been  destroy- 
ed, and  internal  and  external  peace  universally  pre- 
vail ;  and  when  all  the  evil  introduced  by  sin  into  the 
world,  will  be  for  ever  done  away.  Elevated  above 
all  space  and  time,  the  prophet  contemplates  from  the 
height  on  which  the  Holy  Spirit  has  thus  placed  him, 
the  whole  developement  of  the  Messiah's  kingdom, 
from  its  smallest  beginnings  to  its  glorious  com- 
pletion. 

Until  the  latter  part  of  the  18th  century,  Isaiah  has 
been  universally  regarded,  both  by  Jews  and  Chris- 
tians, as  the  sole  author  of  the  whole  book  which  is 
called  by  his  name.  Doederlein  first  uttered  a  defi- 
nite suspicion  against  the  genuineness  of  the  second 
part }  a  suspicion  which  Justi  adopted  more  fully,  and 
endeavored  to  establish.  From  this  time  onward,  all 
the  neological  commentators  of  Germany  have  united 
in  regarding  the  second  part  of  the  book  of  Isaiah  as 
spurious,  and  as  composed  near  the  close  of  the  Bab- 
ylonish exile.  The  ablest  attack  upon  its  genuine- 
ness, is  thatof  Gesenius,  in  his  Commentary.  Many 
arguments  are  brought  forward  ;  but  the  main  point, 
after  all,  with  these  interpreters,  is,  that  denying,  as 
they  do,  divine  inspiration  and  the  power  of  prophe- 
cy, they  cannot  admit  the  genuineness  and  antiquity 
of  this  second  part,  without  falling  into  self-contra- 
dictions. The  declarations  contained  in  it  are  too 
precise  and  definite  to  be  regarded  as  mere  sagacious 
conjecture  ;  if,  therefore,  it  was  actually  written  by 
Isaiah  himself,  before  the  exile,  it  follows  that  Isaiah 
was  a  truly  inspired  prophet.  To  avoid  this  conclu- 
sion, this  part  is  pronounced  spurious.  All  the  ar- 
guments brought  forward  to  detract  from  its  genu- 
ineness have  been  very  fully  and  ably  reviewed  by 
professor  Hengstenberg,  in  his  Christology,  and  their 
feebleness  demonstrated.  He  has  also  subjoined 
many  strong  arguments  in  favor  of  the  genuineness 
of  the  whole  book.  That  part  of  his  work  which 
relates  to  this  subject  has  been  translated  and  pub- 
lished in  the  Biblical  Repository,  vol.  i.  p.  700,  seq. 
As  his  reasonings  do  not  admit  of  abridgment,  the 
reader  is  referred  to  that  work  for  further  informa- 
tion.    *R, 

ISHBI-BEN-OB,  that  is,  Ishbi,  the  son  of  Ob,  of 
the  giants,  or  Rephaim,  carried  a  spear  which 
weighed  300  shekels,  twelve  pounds  and  a  half 
This  giant,  being  on  the  point  of  killing  David,  who 
was  fatigued  in  the  battle,  was  himself  killed  by 
Abishai,  son  of  Zeruiah,  2  Sam,  xxi.  16,  17. 

ISHBOSHETH,  son  of  Saul,  and  also  his  suc- 
cessor, Abner,  Saul's  kinsman,  and  general,  so  man- 
aged, that  Ishbosheth  was  acknowledged  king  at  Ma- 
hanaim  by  the  greater  part  of  Israel,  while  David 
reigned  at  Hebron  over  Judah.  He  was  44  years  of 
age  when  he  began  to  reign,  and  he  reigned  two 
years  peaceably ;  after  which  he  had  skirmishes, 
with  loss,  against  David,  2  Sam.  ii.  8,  &c.  Saul  had 
left  a  concubine  named  Rizpah,  with  whom  Abner 
was  accused  of  having  been  intimate.     Ishbosheth 


ISH 


[  538  ] 


TSL 


reproved  hiiii,  and  Abner,  being  thereby  provoked, 
swore  he  would  endeavor  to  transfer  the  crown 
from  the  house  of  Saul  to  David  ;  but  he  was  treach- 
erously killed  by  Joab.  Ishbosheth,  informed  of  Ab- 
ner's  death,  lost  all  courage  ;  and  Israel  fell  into  gi-eat 
disorder.  Ishbosheth  was  assassinated  by  two  cap- 
tains of  his  troops,  who  entered  his  house  while  he 
was  sleeping  during  the  heat  of  the  day :  and  cut- 
ting off  his  head,  they  brought  it  to  David  at  Hebron, 
thinking  to  receive  a  considerable  reward.  David, 
however,  commanded  the  murderers  to  be  killed, 
and  their  hands  and  feet  to  be  cut  off,  and  hung  near 
the  pool  in  Hebron.  The  head  of  Ishboshetli  he 
placed  in  Abner's  sepulchre  at  Hebron.  With  this 
prince  terminated  the  roval  family  of  Said,  cmtr  A.  D. 
1048. 

I.  ISHMAEL,  son  of  Abraham  and  Hagar,  was 
bom  A.  M.  2094.  The  angel  of  the  Lord  appeared 
to  Hagar  in  the  wilderness,  when  she  fled  from  her 
mistress,  and  bade  her  return,  adding,  "  Thou  shalt 
bring  forth  a  son,  and  call  his  name  Ishmael,  '  the 
Lord  hath  hearkened ;'  because  the  Lord  hath  hearil 
thee  in  thy  affliction.  He  shall  be  a  fierce,  savage 
man,  whose  hand  shall  be  against  all  men,  and  the 
hands  of  all  men  against  him."  Hagar  returned, 
therefore,  to  Abraham's  house,  and  had  a  son, 
whom  she  named  Ishmael.  (See  Hagar.)  Four- 
teen years  after  this,  the  Lord  visited  Sarah,  and 
Isaac  being  born  to  Abraham,  by  his  wife  Sarah, 
Ishmael,  who  till  then  had  been  considered  as  the 
sole  heir,  saw  his  hopes  disappointed.  Five  or  six 
years  afterwards,  Ishmael  displeased  Sarah,  who  pre- 
vailed on  Abraham  to  expel  him  and  his  mother. 
Hagar,  with  Ishmael,  wandered  in  the  wilderness  of 
Beersheba,  and  when  reduced  to  great  distress,  a 
voice  from  heaven  said,  "  Fear  not,  Hagar,  the  Lord 
hath  heard  the  child's  voice.  ...  I  will  make  him  the 
father  of  a  great  people."  They  abode  in  the  wilder- 
ness of  Paran,  where  Ishmael  became  expert  in 
archery,  and  his  mother  married  him  to  an  Egyptian 
woman.  He  had  twelve  sons  ;  viz.  Nabajoth,  Kedar, 
Adbeel,  Mibsam,  Mishma,  Dumah,  Massa,  Hader,  or 
Hadad,  Tenia,  Jetur,  Naphish,  Kedemah.  He  had 
likewise  a  daughter  named  ]VIahalath,or  Kashemath, 
(Gen.  xxxvi.  3.)  who  married  Esau,  Gen.  xxviii.  9. 
From  the  twelve  sons  of  Ishmael  are  derived  the 
twelve  tribes  of  the  Arabians,  still  subsisting ;  and 
Jerome  says  that  in  his  time  they  called  the  districts 
of  Arabia  by  the  names  of  their  several  tribes.  The 
descendants  of  Ishmael  inhabited  from  Havilah  to 
Shur,  i.  e.  from  the  Persian  gulf  to  the  border  of 
Egypt ;  and  are  usually  mentioned  in  history  under 
the  general  name  of  Arabians  and  Ishmaelites.  Since 
the  seventh  century,  they  have  almost  all  embraced 
the  religion  of  Mahomet.  Ishmael  died  in  the  pres- 
ence of  all  his  brethren,  (Gen.  xxv.  18.)  as  the  Vul- 
gate renders  ;  or,  according  to  another  and  better 
translation,  his  inheritance  lay  to  the  eastward  of  that 
of  all  his  brethren.     (Sec  Gen.  xvi.  12.) 

Arabia  was  peopled  by  old  Arabians,  before  the 
sons  of  Ishmael  settled  there,  and  not  till  after  long 
disputes  with  the  Giorhamides,  the  first  possessors. 
These  old  Arabians  still  subsist,  but  blended  with  the 
Ishmaelites.     See  Arabia. 

Mr.  Taylor  thinks  that  the  phrase  in  the  English 
version,  "he  shall  dwell  in  tlie  presence  of  his  breth- 
ren," refers  to  the  mode  in  which  the  Arabs  pitch 
their  tents ;  to  illustrate  which  he  adduces  the  follow- 
ing extract  from  Thevenot:  (part.  ii.  p.  148.)  "The 
basha's  tent,  pitched  near  Cairo,  was  a  very  lovely 
tent,  and  reckoned  to  be  worth  ten  thousand  crowns. 


It  was  very  spacious,  and  encompassed  round  with 
walls  of  waxed  cloth.  In  the  middle  was  his  pavil 
ion,  of  green  waxed  cloth,  lined  within  with  flowered 
tapestry,  all  of  one  set.  Within  the  precincts  be- 
hind, and  on  the  sides  of  his  pavilion,  were  cham- 
bers and  ofiices  for  his  women.  Round  the  pale  of 
his  tent,  within  a  pistol  shot,  were  above  two  hun- 
dred tents,  pitched  in  such  a  manner,  that  the  doora 
of  them  all  looked  toAvards  the  basha's  tent ;  and  it 
ever  is  so,  that  they  may  have  their  eye  always  upon 
their  master's  lodging,  and  be  in  readiness  to  assist 
him,  if  he  be  attacked."  Did  not  the  basha  dwell 
ovei-  against  the  faces  of  those  who  lodged  in  these 
tents?  and  Avas  not  this  one  sign  of  his  superiority  ? 
Did  Ishmael,  in  Mke  manner,  announce  his  superi- 
ority ?  and  if  so,  was  this,  in  part  at  least,  his  dwell- 
ingclosc  over  against  the  faces  of  all  his  brethren? 
[That  the  Arabs  often  pitch  their  tents  in  a  circle,  ia 
no  doubt  true,  as  is  aftirmed  also  by  D'Arvieux;  but 
this  is  not  always  the  case,  nor  apparently  is  it  usu- 
ally so.  A  fine  sketch  of  a  Bedouin  encampment, 
where  the  tents  are  represented  in  a  straight  line,  is 
prefixed  to  Game's  Letters  from  the  East.     R. 

II.  ISHMAEL,  son  of  Nethaniah,  of  the  royal 
family  of  Judah,  treacherously  killed  Gedaliah, 
whom  Nebuchadnezzar  had  established  over  the  re- 
mains of  the  people,  in  Judea,  after  the  destruction 
of  Jerusalem;  but  was  obliged  to  fly  to  Baalis,  king 
of  the  Ammonites,  Jer.  xli. 

ISLANDS,  ISLES.  Considerable  errors  in  sa- 
cred geography  have  arisen  from  taking  the  word 
rendered  islands,  for  a  spot  surrounded  by  w'ater.  It 
rather  imports  a  settlement ;  that  is  to  say,  a  colony  or 
establishment,  as  distinct  from  an  open,  unappropri- 
ated region.  Thus  we  should  understand  Gen.  x.  5. 
— "By  these  were  the  settlements  of  the  Gentiles 
divided  hi  their  lands."  The  sacred  writer  evident- 
ly had  enumerated  countries,  which  were  not  isles  in 
any  sense  whatever.  So  Job  xxii.  30,  "He  (God) 
shall  deliver  the  island  of  the  innocent,"  i.  e.  settle- 
ment or  establishment.  Isa.  xlii.  15,  "I  will  make 
the  rivers  islands;" — rather  settleinents  of  human 
population.  In  these  places,  and  many  others,  the 
true  idea  of  the  Hebrew  word  is  establishments,  or 
colonies,  understood  to  be  at  some  distance  from 
others  of  a  similar  nature.  The  oases  of  Africa, 
Avhich  arc  small  districts  comprising  wells,  verdure, 
and  i)opidation,  surroinided  by  immense  deserts  of 
sand,  are  called  islands,  in  Arabic,  to  this  day  ;  and 
no  doubt  but  such  Avere  so  called  by  the  Hebrews, 
notAvithstanding  that  they  had  no  stream  of  Avater 
Avithin  many  days'  journey  aroinid  them. 

[Tlie  Hebrew  AA'ord  •'N,  Avhich  is  )nore  commonly 
translated  isle,  means  strictly  dry  land,  habitable  coun- 
try, in  oppositio)!  to  AA-ater,  or  to  seas  and  rivers.  So 
Is.xlii.1.5,  "I  Avill  makethe  rivers  dry  land,"  not  2s/a?jcfe, 
AA'hich  Avould  make  no  sense.  Hence,  as  opposed 
to  Avater  iiigeneral,  it  means  land  adjacent  to  AA'ater, 
either  waip#  or  surrounded  by  it,  i.  e.  maritime 
coiuitn/,  coast,  island.  Thus  it  means  coast,  Avhen 
used  of  Ashdod  ;  (Is.  xx.  (i.)  of  Tyre;  (Is.  xxiii.2,6.) 
of  Peloponnesus,  or  Greece,  (Ezek.xxvii.7.)  "  The  isles 
of  Elishah."  It  means  island  AA-hcn  used  e.  g.  of 
Caphtor,  or  Crete;  (Jer.  xlvii.  4.)  also  Ezek.  xxvi.  6; 
Jer.  ii.  10;  so  also  Esth.  x.  1,  Avhere  the  phrase  isles 
of  the  sea  is  in  antithesis  Avith  the  land  or  continent. 
The  plural  of  this  Avord,  usually  translated  islands, 
Avas  employed  by  the  HebrcAvs  to  denote  distant  re- 
gions beyond  the  sea,  whethQv  coasts  or  islands;  and 
especially  the  islands  and  maritime  countries  of  the 
west,  Avhich  had  become  indistmctly  knoAAai  to  th« 


ITU 


[  539  ] 


I  VO 


Hebrews,  through  the  vo3'age3  of  the  Phoeuicieins  ; 
so  Is.  xxiv.  15  ;  xl.  15 ;  xlii.  4,  10, 12  ;  li.  5  ;  Ps.  Ixxii. 
10,  et.  al.  In  Ezek.  x-xvii.  15,  the  East  Indian  Archi- 
pelago would  seem  to  be  intended.     R. 

ISRAEL,  who  prevails  with  God,  a  name  given  to 
Jacob,  after  having  wrestled  with  him  at  Mahanaim, 
or  Penuel,  Gen.  .xxxii.  1,  2,  and  28,  29,  30;  Hosea 
xii.  3.  (See  Jacob.)  By  the  name  Israel  is  some- 
times understood  the  person  of  Jacob  ;  sometimes  the 
people  of  Israel,  the  race  of  Jacob  ;  and  sometimes 
the  kingdom  of  Israel,  or  the  ten  tribes,  as  distinct 
from  the  kingdom  of  Judah. 

ISRAELITES,  the  descendants  of  Israel,  called 
afterwards  Jews,  [Judai,)  I)ecausc,  after  the  return 
from  the  captivity  of  Babylon,  the  tribe  of  Judah 
was  the  most  numerous,  and  Ibreigners  had  scarcely 
any  knowledge  of  the  other  tribes.  See  Hebrews. 
ISSACHAR,  the  fifth  son  of  Jacob  and  Leah,  was 
born  about  ante  A.  D.  1749.  He  had  four  sons.  To- 
la, Phuvah,  Job,  and  Shiniron,  Gen.  xlvi.  13.  We 
know  nothing  particular  of  his  life.  Jacob,  blessing 
him,  said,  "  Issachar  is  a  strong  ass,  couching  down 
between  two  burdens.  And  he  saw  that  rest  was 
good,  and  the  land  that  it  was  pleasant,  and  bowed 
his  shoulder  to  bear,  and  became  a  servant  unto 
ti  ibute."  The  Chaldee  translates  it  in  a  quite  contrary 
sense,  "  He  shall  subdue  provinces,  and  make  those 
tributary  to  him,  who  shall  remain  in  his  land."  The 
tribe  of  Issachar  had  its  portion  among  the  best  parts 
of  the  land  of  Canaan,  along  the  great  plain,  or  val- 
ley of  Jezreel,  with  the  half-tribe  of  Manasseh  to  the 
south,  Zebidun  to  the  north,  the  Mediterranean  sea 
west,  and  Jordan,  with  the  south  point  of  the  sea  of 
Tiberias,  east.     See  Ca.naax. 

ITALY,  a  Latin  word,  which  some  derive  from 
Vitidus,  or  Vitida,  because  this  country  abounded  in 
calves  and  heifers ;  but  others,  from  a  king  called 
Italus.  We  know  not  the  ancient  name  of  Italy  in 
the  Hebrew  language.  Jerome  has  sometimes  ren- 
dered Chitlim,  Italy,  (Numb.  xxiv.  24  ;  Ezek.  xxvii. 
6.)  and  in  Isa.  Ixvi.  19,  he  translates  Thubal,  Italy, 
though,  according  to  others,  the  Tibarenians  ai-c  here 
meant.  In  the  New  Testament,  written  in  Greek, 
there  is  no  ambiguity  in  the  word  Italy  ;  it  signifies 
that  country  of  which  Rome  is  the  capital. 

[The  Italian  band  mentioned  in  Acts  x.  1,  was 
probably  a  Roman  cohort  from  Italy,  stationed  at 
CfEsarea  ;  so  called  to  distinguish  it  from  the  other 
troops,  which  were  drawn  from  Syria,  and  the  adja- 
cent regions.  (Compare  Joseph,  b.  Jud.  iii.  42.)  R. 
ITHAMAR,  Aaron's  fourth  son,  who,  with  his  de- 
scendants, exercised  the  functions  of  common  priests 
only,  till  the  high-priesthood  passed  into  his  fairuly 
in  the  person  of  Eli.  The  successors  of  Eli,  of  the 
family  of  Ithamar,  were  Ahitub,  Ahiah,  Ahimelech, 
and  Abiathar,  whom  Solomon  deposed,  1  Kings  ii. 
27.     See  Eli. 

ITUREA,  a  province  of  Syria,  or  Arabia,  beyond 
Jordan,  east  of  the  Batanea,  and  south  of  Trachonitis  ; 
it  seems  to  have  been  the  same  as  the  ancient  Aura- 
nitis,  or  modern  Haouran  ;  or  it  was,  perhaps,  a  gen- 
eral name  including  Auranitis,  Batanea,  &c.  Luke 
(iii.  1.)  speaks  of  Iturea  ;  and  1  Chron.  v.  19,  of  the 
Itureans,  or  of  Jetur,  who  was  one  of  the  sons  of 
Ishmael,  and  gave  name  to  Iturea.  Early  in  his 
reign,  Aristobulus  made  war  with  the  Itureans,  sub- 
dued the  greater  part  of  them,  and  obliged  them  to 
embrace  Judaism,  as  Hircanus  his  father  had  some 
years  before  obliged  the  Idumseans  to  do.  He  gave 
them  their  choice,  either  to  be  circumcised  and  em- 
brace the  Jewish  religion,  or  to  leave  the  country. 


They  chose  the  former.  Philip,  one  of  Herod's  sons, 
was  tetrarch  of  Iturea,  when  John  the  Baptist  en- 
tered on  his  ministry,  Luke  iii.  1. 

IVORY  is  first  mentioned  in  the  reign  of  Solo- 
mon, unless,  indeed.  Psalm  xlv.  were  written  previ- 
ous to  his  time,  in  which  ivory  is  spoken  of,  as  used 
in  decorating  those  boxes  of  perfume,  whose  odors 
were  employed  to  exliilarate  the  king's  spirits.  It  is 
probable  that  Solomon,  who  traded  to  India,  first 
brought  thence  elephants  and  ivory  to  Judea.  "For 
the  king  had  at  sea  a  navy  of  Tarshish,  with  the  navy 
of  Hiram :  once  in  three  years  came  the  navy  of 
Tarshish,  bringing  gold  and  silver  and  ivory,"  1  Kings 
X.  22  ;  2  Chron.  ix.  21.  It  seems  that  Solomon  had 
a  throne  decorated  with  ivory,  and  inlaid  with  gold  ; 
the  beauty  of  these  materials  relieving  the  splendor, 
and  heightening  the  lustre,  of  each  other,  1  Kings  x. 
18.  Ivory  is  here  described  as  SiJ  yc;  shen  gadol, 
"  great  tooth,"  which  clearly  shows,  that  it  was  im- 
ported in  the  whole  tusk.  It  was,  however,  ill  de- 
scribed as  a  tooth,  for  tooth  it  is  not,  but  a  weapon  of 
defence,  not  unlike  the  tusks  of  a  wild  boar,  and  for 
the  same  purposes  as  horns  of  other  animals.  This 
has  prompted  Ezekiel  (xxvii.  15.)  to  use  another 
periphrasis  for  describing  it ;  and  he  calls  it  jc  rnjnp, 
karnoth  shen,  "  horns  of  teeth."  This,  however,  is 
liable  to  great  objection,  since  the  idea  of  horns  and 
of  teeth,  to  those  who  have  never  seen  an  elephant, 
must  have  been  very  confused,  if  not  contradictoiy. 
Nevertheless,  the  combination  is  ingenious,  for  the 
defences  which  furnish  the  ivory,  answer  the  pur- 
poses of  horns ;  while,  by  issuing  from  the  mouth, 
they  are  not  unaptly  allied  to  teeth."  Several  of  the 
ancients  have  expressly  called  these  tusks  horns,  par- 
ticularly Varro,  (de  Ling.  Sat.  lib.  vi.)  The  LXX 
render  the  two  Hebrew  words  by  oSorra;  i/.nfarTiyoi, 
and  the  Vulgate  denies  eburneos.  The  Targum,  how- 
ever, in  Ezekiel,  separates  nuip  and  \v,  explaining 
the  former  word  by  horns  of  the  rock  goats,  and  the 
latter,  by  elephants^  teeth. 

Cal)iuets  and  wardrobes  were  ornamented  with 
ivory,  by  what  is  called  marquetry,  Ps.  xlv.  8. 
These  were  named  "  houses  of  ivory  ;"  perhaps,  be- 
cause made  in  the  form  of  a  house  or  palace  ;  as  the 
silver  ^'it^>l  of  Diana,  mentioned  Acts  xix.  24,  were  in 
the  form  of  her  temple  at  Ephesus ;  and  as  we  have 
now  ivory  models  of  the  Chinese  pagodas  or  temples. 
In  this  sense.  Dr.  Harris  understands  what  is  said  of 
the  ivory  house  which  Ahab  made,  1  Kings  xxii.  39, 
for  the  "Hebrew  word,  translated  house,  is  used,  as 
Dr.  Taylor  well  observes,  for  a  place,  or  case,  where- 
in any  thing  lieth,  is  contained,  or  laid  up.  Ezekiel 
gives"  the  name  of  house  to  chests  of  rich  apparel ; 
(chap,  xxvii.  24.)  and  Dr.  Durell,  in  his  note  on  Ps. 
xlv.  8,  quotes  places  from  Hojmer  and  Euripides, 
where  tlie  same  appropriation  is  made.  Hesiod 
makes  the  same  (Ap.  rt.  D.  v.  96.)  As  to  -'dwelling- 
houses,"  the  most  we  can  suppose  in  regard  to  them 
is,  that  they  might  have  ornaments  of  ivory,  as  they 
sometimcshave  of  gold,  silver,  or  other  precious  ma- 
terials, in  such  abundance  as  to  derive  an  appellation 
from  the  article  of  their  dec-oration  ;  as  the  emperor 
Nero's  palace,  mentioned  by  Suetonius,  (Nerone, 
c.  31.)  was  named,  aurta,  or  golden,  because  overlaid 
with  gold.  This  method  of  ornainenting  biiildings 
or  apartments  was  very  ancient  among  the^  Greeks, 
and  is  mentioned  by  Homer,  Odyss.  iv.  v.  72.  The 
Romans  sometimes  ornamented  their  apartments  in 
like  manner,  as  is  evident  from  Horace,  Carm.  1.  ii. 
Ode  xviii.  v.  1. 

Our  marginal  translation  of  Cant.  v.  13,  renders  th« 


IVOR! 


[  540 


IVORY 


Hebrew  words  "  towers  of  perfiime,"  which  Harnier 
says,  (Outlines,  p.  165.)  may  mean  vases,  in  which 
odoriferous  perfumes  are  kept.  Amos(vi.  4.)  speaks 
of  beds  or  sofas  of  ivory.  (See  Bed.)  If  we  might 
trust  to  Chaldee  interpreters,  the  knowledge  of  ivory 
would  be  much  more  ancient  than  we  have  supposed 
it ;  for  this  authority  informs  us,  that  Joseph  placed 
his  father  Jacob  on  a  bed  of  ivory.  This  interpreta- 
tion is  not  altogether  to  be  rejected  :  for  ivory  might 
be  known  in  Egypt,  either  from  Ethiopi«^  or  by  the 


caravans  from  the  central  parts  of  Africa,  or  it  might 
be  procured  from  India,  by  means  of  trading  vessels, 
or  trading  merchants ;  and  certainly  its  beauty  and 
ornaments  should  well  become  the  residence  of  the 
Nazir,  or  lord  steward  of  the  royal  household  of  the 
Egyptian  Pharaohs.  In  Ezek.  xxvii.  6,  the  benches 
of  Tyrian  ships  are  said  to  be  "  made  of  ivory."  The 
meaning  is,  ornamented,  probably,  though  Mr.  Tay- 
lor contends  that  "  shrines"  must  be  intended. 


JAB 

JABAL,  son  of  Lamech  and  Adah,  father  of  those 
who  lodge  under  tents,  and  of  shepherds ;  (Gen.  iv. 
20.)  that  is,  instituter  of  those  who,  like  the  Arab 
Bedouins,  live  under  tents,  and  are  shepherds.  See 
Father. 

JABBOK,  a  brook  eastof  the  Jordan,  which  takes 
its  rise  in  the  mountains  of  Gilead,  and  falls  into  the 
Jordan  at  some  distance  north  of  the  Dead  sea.  It 
separated  the  land  of  the  Annnonites  from  the  Gaula- 
nitis,  and  that  of  Og,  king  of  Bashan,  Gen.  xxxii.22, 
23.     It  is  now  called  El  Zerka. 

I.  JABESH,  father  of  Shalkun,  the  fifteenth  king 
of  Israel,  or  of  Samaria,  2  Kings  xv.  10. 

II.  JABESH,  a  city  in  the  half-tribe  of  Manasseh, 
east  of  the  Jordan,  and  generally  called  Jabesh- 
Gilead,  because  situated  at  tlie  foot  of  the  inountains 
so  named.  Eusebius  places  it  six  miles  from  Pella, 
towards  Gerasa.  Jabesh-Gilead  was  sacked  by  the 
Isi'aelites,  because  it  refused  to  join  in  the  war 
against  Benjamin,  Judg.  xxi.  8,  and  at  a  subsequent 
period,  Nahash,  king  of  the  Ammonites,  besieged  it, 
but  Saul  dislodged  him.  In  remembrance  of  this 
service  the  men  of  Jabesh-Gilead  carried  off  the 
bodies  of  Saul  and  his  son  Jonathan,  which  the  Philis- 
tines had  hung  upon  the  walls  of  Bethsan,  and  buried 
them  honorably  at  their  city,  1  Sam.  xxxi.  11 — 13. 

I.  JABIN,  king  of  Hazor,  in  tlie  northern  part  of 
Canaan,  Josh.  xi.  1,  &c.  Discomfited  at  the  con- 
quests of  Joshua,  who  had  subdued  the  south  of 
Canaan,  he  formed,  with  other  kings  in  the  northern 
part  along  the  Jordan,  and  the  Mediterranean,  and 
in  the  mountains,  a  league  offensive  and  defensive. 
With  their  troops  they  rendezvoused  at  the  waters 
of  Merom,  but  Joshua  attacked  them  suddenly, 
defeated  them,  and  j)ursued  them  to  great  Zidon, 
and  the  valley  of  Mizpeh.  He  lamed  their  horses, 
burnt  their  chariots,  took  Hazor,  and  killed  Jabin, 
about  A.  M.  25.55. 

II.  JABIN,  another  king  of  Hazor,  who  oppressed 
the  Israelites  twenty  years,  from  A.  M.  2699,  to  2719, 
Judg.  iv.  2,  &c.  Sisera,  his  general,  was  defeated  by 
Barak,  at  the  foot  of  mount  Tabor  ;  and  the  Israelites 
were  delivered. 

I.  JABNEEL,  a  city  of  Judah,  Josh.  xv.  11. 

II.  JABNEEL,  a  city  of  Naphtali,  Josh.  xix.  33. 
JABNEH,  or   Jab.nia,  v.  city  of  the   Philistines, 

(2  Chron.  xxvi.  6.)  called  JannVm,  (1  Mac.  iv.  15.) 
and  Jamneia,  chap.  5.  58  ;  2  Mac.  xii.  8.  Its  situation 
may  be  gathered  from  the  passage  last  cited,  as  being 
not  far  from  Jaffa,  or  Joppa.  The  following  is  Dr. 
Wittinan's  account  of  it  :  "Ycbna  is  a  village  about 
twelve  miles  distant  from  Jaffa;  in  a  fine  ojjen  plain 
surrounded  by  hills  and  covered   with   herbage.     A 


J  AC 

rivulet  formed  by  the  rains  supplies  water.  It  is 
conjectured  that  the  rock  Etam,  where  Samson  was 
surprised  by  the  Philistines,  was  not  far  from  Yebna. 
North-east  of  Yebna  is  a  lofty  hill,  from  which  is  an 
extensive  and  pleasing  view  of  Ramla,  distant  about 
five  miics.  On  sloping  hills  of  easy  ascent,  by  which 
the  plains  are  bordered,  Yebna,  Ekron,  Ashdod,  and 
Ashkalou,  were  in  sight."  (Comp.  2  Chi'on.  xxvi.  6.) 

Josephus  says  Jamnia  was  given  to  the  tribe  ol' 
Dan.  It  was  taken  from  the  Philistines  by  Uzziali, 
2  Chron.  xxvi.  6.  In  2  Mac.  xii.  9,  it  is  stated  to  be 
240  furlongs  from  Jerusalem. 

JACHIN,  stability,  the  name  of  a  brass  pillar 
placed  at  the  porch  of  Solomon's  temple.  See  Boaz. 

JACINTH,  see  Hyacinth. 

JACOB,  son  of  Isaac  and  Rebekah,  was  born  ante 
A.  D.  1836.  He  was  twin-bi-other  to  Esau,  and  as 
at  his  birth  he  held  his  brother's  heel,  he  was  called 
Jacob,  the  heel-holder,  one  who  comes  behind  and 
catches  the  heel  of  his  adversary,  a  deceiver.  Gen. 
XXV.  26.  This  was  a  kind  of  jjredictive  intimation 
of  his  future  conduct  in  life.  While  Rebekah  was 
pregnant,  Isaac  consulted  the  Lord  concerning  the 
struggling  of  the  twins  in  her  womb,  and  God  de- 
clared that  she  should  have  two  sons,  who  should 
become  two  great  people ;  but  that  the  elder  should 
be  subject  to  the  younger.  Jacob  was  meek  and 
peaceable,  living  at  home ;  Esau  was  more  turljulent 
and  fierce,  and  passionately  fond  of  hunting.  Isaac 
was  partial  to  Esau,  Rebekah  to  Jacob.  Jacob  hav- 
ing taken  advantage  of  his  brother's  necessity,  to  ob- 
tain his  birthright,  (see  Birthright,)  and  of  his 
father's  infirmity,  to  obtain  the  blessing  of  primogen- 
iture, \vas  compelled  to  Hy  into  Mesopotamia,  to 
avoid  the  consequences  of  his  brother's  wrath.  Gen. 
xxvii.  xxviii.  On  his  journey  the  Lord  appeared  to 
him  in  a  dream,  j)romised  him  his  protection,  and 
declared  his  purpose  relative  to  his  descendants  pos- 
sessing the  laud  of  Canaan,  and  the  descent  of  the 
Messiah  through  him,  chap,  xxviii.  10,  See.  Arriving 
at  Mesopotamia,  he  was  received  by  his  uncle  Laban, 
whom  he  served  fourteen  years  for  his  two  daugh- 
ters, Rachel  and  Leah. 

Jacob  had  four  sons  by  Leah  ;  l)Ut  Rachel,  having 
no  children,  gave  her  servant  Bilhah  to  Jacob,  who 
by  her  had  Dan  and  Naphtali.  Leah  also  gave  her 
servant  Zilpah  to  her  husband,  who  brought  Gad 
and  Aslier.  After  this  Leah  had  Issachar  and  Zeb- 
ulun,  and  Dinah,  a  daughter.  At  last  the  Lord  re- 
membered Raclicl,  and  gave  her  a  son,  whom  she 
called  Joseph,  chap.  xxix.  Jacob's  family  having 
become  numerous,  and  his  term  of  service  to  Laban 
being  expired,   he   desired  to  return  into   his  own 


JACOB 


[  541  ] 


JACOB 


country  with  his  wives  and  children.  Laban, 
however,  having  prospered  by  his  services,  and 
wisliing  to  retain  him,  proposed  that  Jacob  should 
take  as  his  wages  in  future,  the  marked  sheep  and 
kids  of  the  flock.  To  this,  Jacob  assented,  and, 
by  a  singular  stratagem  suggested  to  him  in  a  dream, 
acquired  so  much  propeitj,  that  Laban  and  his  sous 
became  jealous  of  his  prosperity  ;  and  tlio  Lord  de- 
sired him  to  return  into  his  own  country,  chap.  xxx. 
25,  &c.  He  took  liis  wives,  therefore,  liis  children 
and  his  cattle,  and  had  performed  three  days'  jour- 
ney before  Laban  was  aware  of  his  departure.  He 
immediately  pursued  him,  however,  and  overtook 
Jacob  on  the  seventh  day  of  his  pursuit,  on  the 
mountains  of  Gilead.  He  reproached  him  for  his 
flight,  and  \n  ith  having  stolen  his  gods,  or  teraphim, 
which  Rachel  liad  taken  witliout  her  husband's 
knowledge,  chap.  xxxi.  (See  Tkraphim.)  Haviiig 
come  to  a  mutual  explanation,  Jacob  and  Laban  en- 
tered into  a  covenant,  and  then  si-puratcd.  Arriving  at 
the  l)rook  Jabbok,  east  of  Jordan,  Jacob,  fearing  that 
Esau  miglit  retain  his  former  resentment,  sent  him 
notice  of  his  arrival,  Avith  liandsome  presents,  and 
Esau  advanced  with  four  hundred  men  to  meet  him. 
After  all  his  people  had  passed  the  brook  JabGbk, 
Jacob  remained  alone,  on  the  other  side,  and  wres- 
tled with  an  angel  in  the  form  of  a  man,  who,  not 
being  able  to  prevail  against  Jacob,  touched  the 
hollow  of  his  thigli  which  innnediately  witliered. 
His  name  Avas  also  changed  fi-om  Jacob  to  Israel, 
i.  e.  a  prince  with  God.  Jacob  called  the  place 
Peniel,  saying,  I  have  seen  God  face  to  face,  yet  my 
life  is  i)reserved,  chaj).  xxxii.  When  Ei^au  advanced 
toward  him,  Jacob  went  forward,  and  threw  him- 
self seven  times  on  the  earth  before  him  ;  as  did  also 
Leah  and  Rachel,  with  their  children.  The  two 
brothere  tenderly  embraced  each  other,  and  Jacob 
prevailed  upon  Esau  to  accept  his  presents.  Esau 
returned  home,  and  Jacob  arrived  at  Succoth  beyond 
Jordan,  where  he  dwelt  some  time.  He  afterwards 
pa.ssed  the  Jordan,  and  came  to  Salem,  a  city  of  the 
Shechemites,  where  he  set  up  his  tents,  having  pur- 
chased part  of  a  field  for  the  sum  of  a  hundred 
kesitas  or  pieces  of  money,  of  the  children  of  Hamor, 
Shechem's  father,  chap,  xxxiii.  While  Jacob  dwelt 
at  Salem,  his  daughter  Dinah  was  ravished  by  She- 
chem  ;  and  her  brothei-s,  Levi  and  Simeon,  took  a 
crafty  and  severe  revenge,  by  killing  the  Shechem- 
ites, and  pillaging  their  city,  ciiaj).  X-xxiv.  Jacob, 
dreading  the  resentment  of  the  neiglilioring  people, 
retired  to  Bethel,  where  God  commanded  bin)  to 
stay,  and  to  erect  an  altar.  In  preparation  fur  the 
sacrifice  which  he  aajis  to  oft'er  tliere,  he  desired  his 
people  to  purify  themselves,  to  change  their  clothes, 
and  to  reject  all  the  strange  gods,  which  they  might 
have  brought  out  of  Mesopotamia.  These  he  took, 
and  buried  under  an  oak  near  Shechem.  At  his 
sacrifice  the  Lord  ai>])eared  to  him,  and  renewed 
his  promises  of  protecting  him,  and  of  multipl}  ing 
his  family.  After  he  had  performed  his  devotions, 
he  took  the  way  to  Hebron,  to  visit  his  father  Isaac, 
who  dwelt  in  the  valley  of  Mamre.  In  the  jom-ney 
Rachel  died  in  labor  of  Benjamin,  and  was  bnried 
near  Bethlehem,  where  Jacob  erected  a  monument 
for  her,  (Gen.  xxxv.  l(i,  17.)  and,  proceeding  to  Heb- 
ron, pitched  his  tents  at  the  tower  of  Edar.  He  had 
the  satisfaction  to  find  his  father  Isaac,  and  that 
good  patriarch  lived  twenty-two  years  with  his  son, 
chap.  xxxv.  About  ten  years  before  the  death  of 
Isaac,  Joseph  was  sold  by  his  brethren,  and  Jacob, 
believing  he  had  been  devoured  by  wild  beasts,  was 


afflicted  in  proportion  to  his  tenderness  for  him.  He 
passed  about  rvventj^-tAvo  years  mourning  for  him, 
but  at  length  Joseph  discovered  himself  to  his  breth- 
ren in  Egj'pt,  chap,  xliii.  xliv.  xlv.  Being  informed 
that  Joseph  was  living,  Jacob  awaked,  as  it  were, 
from  slumber,  and  exclaimed,  "  It  is  enough  ;  Joseph 
my  son  is  yet  alive,  I  will  go  and  see  him  before  1 
die."  On  his  arrival  in  Egjpt,  Joseph  hasted  to  the 
land  of  Goshen,  and  they  embraced  with  tears. 
Josej)Ii  presented  him  to  the  king,  and  Jacob  having 
Avished  him  all  happiness,  Pharaoh  asked  him  his  age. 
He  answered,  "The  time  of  my  pilgrimage  is  a  hun- 
dred and  thirty  years ;  few  and  evil  have  ray  years 
been,  in  comparison  of  the  age  of  my  fathers,"  chap. 
xlvi.  29,  &c. 

Jacob  lived  seventeen  years  in  Egjpt,  and  some 
time  before  his  death  adopted  Ephraim  and  Manas- 
seh,  and  directed  that  they  should  share  the  land  of 
Canaan,  which  God  had  promised  him  at  Bethel. 
Josepli  placed  his  sons  on  each  side  of  his  father, 
E})hraim  on  Jacob's  left,  and  Mauasseh  on  his  right 
hand.  But  Jacob,  directed  by  the  spirit  of  prophecy, 
laid  his  right  hand  on  Ephraim's  head,  and  his  left 
on  Manasseh's.  Joseph  would  have  changed  the 
disposition  of  his  hands  ;  but  Jacob  answered, 
"  I  know  what  I  do,  my  son."  Thus  he  gave 
Ephraim  the  pre-eminence  over  Manasseh  ;  which 
the  tribe  always  maiutamed,  being,  after  Judab, 
the  most  considerable  in  Israel.  Jacob  also  fore- 
told that  God  would  bring  his  posterity  back  into 
the  land  of  Canaan,  which  was  promised  to  their 
fathers,  and  bequeathed  to  Joseph  one  portion  above 
his  ))rethren,  which  he  took  from  the  Amorite  with 
his  sword  and  his  bow,  chap,  xlviii. 

Some  time  after  this,  Jacob  assembled  his  sons  to 
give  them  his  prophetic  blessing.  He  desired  to  be 
buried  in  the  cave  over  against  Mamre,  Avhere  Abra- 
ham, Sarah,  Isaac,  and  Rebekah  were  bmied ;  and 
then  laid  himself  down  and  died.  Jose])h  embalmed 
him  after  the  manner  of  the  Egyptians,  and  there 
was  a  general  lamentation  for  him  in  Egjpt seventy 
days  ;  after  which,  Joseph  and  his  brethren,  with 
the  principal  men  of  Egypt,  carried  him  to  the 
burying-place  of  his  fathers,  near  Hebron,  chap.  xlix. 

There  are  two  or  three  incidents  in  the  life  of  this 
patriarch  Avhich  require  more  pai'ticular  notice  than 
they  have  received  in  this  narrative.  The  bargain 
concluded  between  him  and  Laban  (Gen.  xxx.  32.) 
appears  sufticiently  singular  to  us ;  and  not  a  little 
sarcasm  has  been  iciltily  wasted  on  the  patriarch,  tor 
the  cunning  and  depth  of  plan  which  he  manifested 
in  this  agreement;  most,  however,  if  not  all,  the  lev- 
ity has  either  been  misapplied,  or  recoils  oji  the  igno- 
rance of  those  who  have  thought  proper  to  indulge 
it.  Jacob,  it  is  possible,  (not  certain,)  might  make 
some  alterations  in  the  usual  terms  of  such  agree- 
ments ;  but  they  were,  no  doubt,  understood  to  be 
equally  advantageous  to  one  party,  as  to  the  other ;  and 
we  find  Jacob  complaining  of  Laban,  "He  has 
changed  my  wages  ten  times,"  verse  7.  It  would 
a])pear,  that  there  were  general  rules  established  by 
custom,  at  least,  if  not  by  positive  law,  on  this  sub- 
ject:  but  that  y)rivate  individuals  might  vary  from 
them  by  specific  agreement,  as  they  thought  most 
advantageous.  The  following  extracts  may  enable 
the  reader  to  judge  for  himself:  "If  a  person,  with- 
out receiving  wages,  or  subsistence,  or  clothes,  at- 
tends ten  milch  cows,  he  shall  select,  for  his  own  use, 
the  milk  of  that  cow  which  ever  produces  most  ; 
if  he  attend  more  cows,  he  shall  take  milk,  after 
the  same  rate  in  lieu  of  wages.     If  a  person  attend 


JACOB 


[542] 


JACOB 


ene  hundred  cows  for  the  space  of  one  year,  without 
any  appointment  of  wages,  he  shall  take  to  himself 
one  heifer  of  three  years  old  ;  and,  also,  of  all  those 
cows  that  produce  milk,  whatever  the  quantity  may 
be,  after  every  eight  days,  he  shall  take  to  himself 
the  milk,  the  entire  product  of  one  day."  [That  this 
custom  continued  long,  appears  from  the  apostle's 
appeal  to  it,  (1  Cor.  ix.  7.)  "  Who  feedeth  a  flock, 
and  eateth  not  of  the  milk  of  the  flock  ?"]  "If  he 
attend  two  hundred  cows,  the  milk  of  one  day,  &c. 
— also  a  cow  and  her  calf.  Cattle  shall  be  delivered 
over  to  the  cowherd  in  the  morning;  the  cowherd 
shall  tend  them  the  whole  day  with  grass  and  water, 
and  in  the  evening  shall  re-deliver  them  to  the  mas- 
ter, in  the  same  manner  as  they  were  intrusted  to 
him:  if  by  the  fault  of  the  coAvherd,  any  of  the  cat- 
tle be  lost,  or  stolen,  that  cowherd  shall  rnake.  it  good. 
If  cattle  suffer  by  thieves,  tigers,  pits,  rocks,  &c.  if 
the  cowherd  cry  out  no  fault  lies  on  him,  the  loss 
shall  fall  on  the  owner.  When  employed  night  and 
day,  if  any  by  his  fault  be  hurt,  he  shall  make  it  good. 
When  a  cowherd  hatli  led  cattle  to  a  distant  place  to 
feed,  if  any  die  of  some  distemper,  notwithstanding 
the  cowherd  applied  the  proper  remedy,  the  cow- 
herd shall  carry  the  head,  the  tail,  the  fore  foot,  or 
some  such  convincing  proof  taken  from  that  animal's 
body,  to  the  owner  of  the  cattle  ;  having  done  this, 
hs  shall  be  no  further  answerable  :  if  he  neglect  to 
act  thus,  he  shall  make  good  the  loss."  (Gentoo 
Laws,  p.  150,  151.)  By  this  time  we  are  prepared 
to  notice  a  much  more  dignified  conduct  in  Jacob, 
than  perhaps  we  have  been  aware  of.  "  The  rams 
of  thy  flock  have  I  not  eaten  ;  that  which  was  torn 
of  beasts,  though  the  laws  and  usages  in  such  cases 
would  have  authorized  me,  yet  /  brought  not  unto 
thee  the  maimed  limb,  for  a  convincing  proof  of 
such  an  accident :  /  bore  the  loss  of  the  creature,  in 
silence  ;  of  my  hand  didst  thou  also  require  the  equiv- 
alent for  that  ivhich  tvas  stolen  by  day,  or  even  that 
stolen  by  night,  when  I  could  not  possibly  prevent 
the  theft;!  In  short, to  avoid  words, I  have  borne  much 
more  loss,  than  in  strictness,  and  according  to  cus- 
tom, I^need  to  have  done,"  Gen.  xxxi.  38,  39. 

It  may  not  be  out  of  place  to  remark,  that  this  rep- 
resentation gives  additional  spirit  to  the  valor  of 
David :  "  Thy  servant  kei)t  his  father's  sheep,  and 
there  came  a  lion  and  a  beai',  and  took  a  lamb  out  of 
the  flock;  and  as  I  could  not  endure  to  be  liable  to 
any  imputation  of  negligence  or  of  cowardice,  though 
the  loss  was  not  by  my  fault,  and  the  laws  would  have 
cleared  me,  yet  /  ran  after  the  ivild  beasts,  and  risked 
my  life,  to  recover  my  father's  property,"  1  Sam. 
xvii.  34.  See  also  Amos  iii.  12 :  "  Thus  saith  the 
Lord,  As  the  shepherd  recovereth  out  of  the  mouth 
of  the  lion,  two  legs,  or  a  piece  of  an  ear," — in  order 
that  he  may  cari\y  to  his  owner  "  convincing  proof 
from  the  animal's  body,"  of  the  accident  that  has 
happened  to  it,  that  he  Jiimself  had  neither  sold  nor 
elain  the  creature,  to  his  owner's  injuiy.  Is  not  this 
tlie  allusion  ? — Is  not  the  behavior  of  Jacob's  sons 
also  founded  on  the  same  principle?  Gen.  xxxvii.  31. 
"They  took  Joseph's  coat,  and  dipped  it  in  the  blood 
of  a  kid,  and  sent  (not  brought)  it  to  their  father — 
saying.  This  have  we  found  ;  discern,  now,  whether 
it  be  thy  son's  coat,  or  no.  And  Jacob  knew  it,  and 
said.  It  is  my  son's  coat ;  Joseph  is,  doubtless,  rent  in 
pieces  "  by  a  wild  beast. — Did  )iot  his  brctliren  thus 
endeavor  to  send  "convincing  proof"  of  Josci)l)'s 
hopeless  fate;  as  they  would  have  brought  "the 
head,  the  tail,  or  the  fore  foot  of  an  animal "  in  the 
true  characteristic  style  of  shepherds  ? 


Most  readers,  no  doubt,  have  been  used  to  consider 
the  case  of  Jacob,  in  his  marriage  with  the  two  sis- 
ters, Leah  and  Rachel,  as  not  merely  hard,  but  as 
uncustomary  and  illegal ;  perhaps,  as  scarcely  bind- 
ing. Gen.  xxi.  21,  seq.  Had  he  not  been  imposed 
upon  by  Laban,  he  would  have  married  Rachel,  but 
would  have  declined  Leah ;  though,  after  having 
married  her,  he  would  not  divorce  her.  Admitting, 
as  extremely  probable,  that  Laban's  conduct  was 
more  cunning  than  upright,  yet  the  excuse  he  makes 
for  himself,  we  must  acknowledge  was  founded  in 
fact ;  though  it  leaves  him  guilty  of  not  having  ex- 
plained the  laws  or  usages  of  the  country  to  Jacob. 
On  the  contrary,  he  encouraged  him  to  believe  he 
had  bargained  for  one  daughter  to  be  his  wife,  and 
afterwards  deluded  him  by  substituting  another.  Mr. 
Halhed  observes,  in  his  preface  to  the  Gentoo  Laws, 
(p.  69.)  tliat  "  We  find  Laban  excusing  himself,  for 
having  substituted  Leah  in  the  place  of  Rachel,  to 
Jacob  in  these  words:  'It  must  not  be  so  done  in  our 
country,  to  give  the  youngest  daughter  before  the 
first-born.'  This  was  long  before  Moses.  So  in  this 
compilation,  it  is  made  criminal  for  a  man  to  give  his 
younger  daughter  in  marriage  before  the  elder ;  or 
for  a  younger  son  to  marry  while  his  elder  brother 
remains  unmamed. 

With  regard  to  Jacob,  it  does  not  appear  that  in 
his  marriage  of  two  sisters,  there  was  at  that  time, 
and  in  that  country,  what  would  be  deemed  a  noto- 
rious and  flagrant  breach  of  propriety,  if,  indeed, 
there  was  any  thing  remarkable  in  it.  We  live  in 
days  of  happier  refinement,  than  to  tolerate  such 
connections ;  but  that  such  continued  to  be  formed 
in  that  country,  long  after  the  time  of  Jacob,  is  ascer- 
tained by  a  history  recorded  of  Omar,  the  second 
caliph  of  the  Mahometans  after  Mahomet.  "While 
he  was  on  his  journey,  there  came,  at  one  of  his 
stages,  a  complaint  beibre  him,  of  a  man  who  had 
married  two  wives  that  were  sisters  both  bj'  father 
and  mother;  a  thing  which  the  old  Arabians,  so  long 
as  they  continued  in  their  idolatry,  made  no  scruple 
of,  as  appears  from  that  passage  in  the  Koran,  where 
it  is  forbidden  for  the  time  to  come,  and  expressed  in 
such  a  manner  as  makes  it  evident  to  have  been  no 
uncommon  practice  among  them.  Omar  Avas  very 
angry,  and  cited  him  and  his  two  wives  to  make 
their  a[)pearance  before  him  forthwith.  After  the 
fellow  had  confessed  that  they  were  both  his  wives, 
and  so  nearly  related,  Omar  asked  liim  '  What  reli- 
gion he  mignt  be,  or  whether  he  was  a  Mussulman.' 
— ' Yes,' said  the  fellow.  'And  did  you  not  know, 
then,'  said  Omar,  '  that  it  was  unlawful  for  j'ou  to 
have  them,  when  God  said,  "  JVeither  marry  two  sisters 
ANY  MORE?"'  (Koran,  chap.  iv.  277.)  The  fellow 
swore,  that  he  did  not  know  that  it  was  unlawful ; 
neither  was  it  unlawful.  Omar  swore,  '  he  lied,  and 
ho  would  make  him  ])art  with  one  of  them,  or  else 
strike  his  head  ofi".'  The  fellow  began  to  grumble, 
and  said  'he  wished  he  had  never  been  of  that  reli- 
gion, for  he  could  have  done  very  well  without  it ; 
and  never  had  been  a  whit  better  for  it  since  he  had 
first  professed  it.'  Upon  which  Omar  called  him  a 
little  nearer,  and  gave  him  two  l)lo\vs  on  the  crown 
with  his  stick,  to  teach  him  better  manners,  and  learn 
him  to  speak  more  reverently  of  Mahometanism  ; 
saying,  '  O  thou  enemy  of  God,  and  of  thyself,  dost 
thou  revile  Islam  ;  wliich  is  the  religion  that  God,  and 
his  angels,  and  apostles,  and  the  best  of  the  creation 
have  chosen?'  and  threatened  him  severely  if  he  did 
not  make  a  quick  despatch,  and  take  which  of  them 
he  loved  best.     The  fellow  was  so  fond  of  them  both, 


JAE 


[543  J 


JAM 


that  he  could  not  tell  which  he  had  rather  part  with : 
upon  which,  some  of  Omar's  atteudauts  cast  lots  for 
the  two  women ;  the  lot  falling  upon  one  of  them 
three  times,  the  man  took  her,  and  was  forced  to  dis- 
miss the  other."  (Ockley's  Hist.  Sarac.  vol.  i.  p.  219.) 
Had  Jacob  been  questioned,  which  of  the  two  sisters 
he  would  have  relinquished,  we  may  readily  con- 
ceive his  answer ;  and  yet,  perhaps,  in  parting  with 
Leah  and  her  children,  he  would  have  felt  such  a 
pang  as  genuine  affection  only  could  feel.  (See  Gen. 
xxx.  1,  2.) 

^\  ill  this  story  throw  any  light  on  the  precept  of 
Moses  ?  (Lev.  xviii.  18.)  "  And  a  wife,  to  her  sister, 
thou  shalt  not  take  to  vex  her,  during  her  life."  Does 
not  this  restriction  look  somewhat  like  Mahomet's  in 
the  Koran,  as  if  such  practice  had  been  common  ? 
Why  else  forbid  it  ?  Does  Moses  forbid  it,  only  when 
it  would  i-ex  the  other  sister ;  but  does  he  leave  it  as 
before,  if  the  lust  sister  did  not  remonstrate  against 
it  ?  or  does  lie  take  for  gi-anted,  that  the  first  wife 
must  be  vexed  by  the  admission  of  a  sister  ?  In  the 
stoi-)'  of  Omar's  determination,  it  should  seem  that 
both  sisters  were  satisfied  ;  for,  had  one  been  vexed, 
doubtless  that  had  been  the  one  to  be  put  away.  A 
custom,  though  not  identically  the  same,  yet  allied  to 
what  we  have  mentioned,  is  plainly  supposed  in 
Judg.  XV.  2.  Samson's  father-in-law  says,  "  I  gave 
thy  wife  to  thy  companion  ;  is  not  her  younger  sister 
fairer  than  she  ?  take  her,  I  pray  thee,  instead  of 
her."  He  certainly  does  not  propose  an  imheard- 
of  connection,  in  this  offer ;  or  a  connection  noto- 
riously unlawful. 

For  Jacob's  Well  see  the  article  Shechem. 

JADDL'A,  or  Jaddus,  high-priest  of  the  Jews  in 
the  time  of  Alexander  the  Great.     See  Alexander. 

JAEL,  or  Jahel,  wife  of  Heber  the  Keuite,  killed 
Sisera,  general  of  the  Canaauitish  army.  Having 
fled  to  her  tent,  Jael  took  her  opportunity,  and,  while 
he  was  sleeping,  drove  a  large  nail,  or  tent-pin, 
tin-ough  his  temples,  Judg.  iv.  17,  21.  Why  this 
woman  violated  the  sacred  rites  of  hospitality,  by 
murdering  her  guest,  does  not  appear.  Scripture 
hints  at  the  relation  of  her  family  to  3Ioses  by  Ho- 
bab,  and  no  doubt  he  and  his  family  had  received 
many  advantages  by  means  of  Israel ;  for  so  Moses 
promised,  "  We  will  surely  do  thee  good."  Still,  we 
must  consider  the  secluded  and  sacred  nature  of  the 
women's  tent  in  the  East,  (see  Te>t,)  and  that  the 
victor  would  not  have  intruded  there  ;  the  im])lied 
pledge  of  security  in  the  food  Jael  had  given  to  Sise- 
ra, which  in  the  East  is  of  considerable  solenniity. 
(See  Eating.) — By  way  of  apology,  the  rabbins  say 
that  the  words,  "  At  her  feet  he  bowed,  he  fell,"  (Sec. 
(chap.  V.  27.)  imply,  that  he  attempted  rudeness  to 
her ;  and  that  to  resist  such  violation,  she  had  re- 
course to  "  the  workman's  hammer."  But  it  should 
be  remembered,  that  a  fugitive,  as  Sisera  was,  would 
have  had  little  inclination  at  such  a  time ;  and  it  ap- 
pears clearly  that  fatigue  and  sleep  overpowered  him. 
We  suggest  as  probable,  (1.)  that  Jael  had  herself  felt 
the  severity  of  the  late  oppression  of  Israel  by  Sisera ; 
(2.)  that  she  was  actuated  by  motives  of  patriotism, 
and  of  gratitude  toward  Israel  ;  (3.)  that  the  general 
character  of  Sisera  might  be  so  atrocious,  that  at  any 
rate  his  death  was  desirable.  We  find  a  similar 
proceeding  in  the  case  of  Judith,  whose  anxiety  for 
the  deliverance  of  her  people  led  her  to  the  employ- 
ment of  artifice  to  accomplish  her  ])urposes. 

[As  to  the  morality  ofthe  proceeding  of  Jael,  in  put- 
ting Sisera  to  death,  we  have  no  right  to  bring  it  to  the 
test  of  modern  principles   and  occidental    feelings. 


We  must  judge  of  it  by  the  feehngs  of  ih<,8e  among: 
whom  the  right  of  avenging  the  blood  of  a  relative 
was  so  strongly  rooted,  that  even  Moses  could  not 
take  it  away.  Jael  was  an  ally  by  blood  of  the  Is- 
raelitish  nation ;  their  chief  oppressor,  who  had 
mightily  oppressed  them  for  the  space  of  twenty 
years,  now  lay  defenceless  before  her ;  and  he  was 
moreover  one  of  those  whom  Israel  was  bound  by 
the  connnand  of  Jehovah  to  extirpate.  Perhaps,  too, 
she  felt  herself  called  to  be  the  instrument  of  God  in 
working  out  for  that  nation  a  great  deliverance,  by 
thus  exterminating  their  heathen  oppressor.  At  least, 
Israel  viewed  it  in  this  light ;  and  in  this  view,  we 
cannot  reproach  the  heroine  with  that  as  a  crime, 
which  both  she  and  Israel  felt  to  be  a  deed  performed 
in  accordance  with  the  mandate  of  Heaven.     R. 

JAGUR,  a  city  in  the  south  of  Judah,  Josh.  xv.  21. 
Its  situation  is  not  knoA\ii. 

JAH,  one  ofthe  names  of  God  ;  contracted  from 
Jehovah.  It  is  compounded  with  many  Hebrew 
words;  as  Adonijah,  Halleluiah,  Malachia  ; — God  is 
my  Lord,  Praise  the  Lord,  The  Lord  is  my  king,  &c. 

JAHAZ,  also  Jahazah,  and  Jahzah,  a  city  east  of 
Jordan,  near  to  which  IMoses  defeated  Sihon.  It  was 
given  to  Reuben,  (Deut.  ii.  32.)  and  was  situated  to  the 
north,  near  Ar,  the  capital  of  Moab.  It  was  given  to 
the  Levites,  Josh.  xxi.  36  ;  1  Chron.  vi.  78. 

I.  JAIR,  of  Manasseh,  possessed  the  whole  coun- 
try of  Argob  beyond  Jordan,  to  the  borders  of  Geshur 
and  Maachathi,  Judg.  x.  3.  He  succeeded  Tola  in 
the  government  of  Israel,  and  was  succeeded  by 
Jephthah.  His  govenmient  continued  twenty-two 
years,  from  A.  M.  2795  to  2817.  (Comp.  Numb, 
xxxii.  41  ;  Deut.  iii.  14  ;  Josh.  xiii.  30  ;  1  Kings  iv.  13  ; 
1  Chron.  ii.  22.) 

II.  JAIR,  the  eighth  month  of  the  Hebrew  civil 
year,  and  the  second  of  the  sacred  year.  It  corre- 
sponded partly  to  March  and  April. 

JAIRUS,  chief  of  the  synagogue  at  Capernaum, 
whose  daughter  was  restored  to  life  by  Jesus,  Mark 
V.  22  ;  Luke  viii.  41,  seq. 

JAMBRES,  a  magician,  who  opposed  Moses  in 
Egypt.     See  Janxes. 

I.  J^\]MES,  surnamed  Major,  or  the  elder,  to  dis- 
tinguish him  from  James  the  younger,  brother  of 
John  the  Evangelist,  and  son  of  Zebedee  and  Sa- 
lome, Matt.  iv.  21 ;  xxvii.  56;  compare  Mark  xv.  40. 
James  was  of  Bethsaida  in  Galilee,  and  left  his  prop- 
erty to  follow  Christ.  His  mother,  Salome,  was  one 
of  those  women  who  occasionally  attended  our  Sa- 
viour in  his  journeys,  and  one  day  desired  that  her 
two  sons  might  be  seated  at  his  right  and  left  hand  in 
liis  kingdom.  Jesus  rcphed,  that  this  was  only  in  the 
appointment  of  his  heavenly  Father,  Matt.  xx.  21, 
&c.  James  and  John  were  oi-iginally  fishermen, 
with  Zebedee  their  father,  Mai"k  i.  19.  They  were 
witnesses  of  our  Lord's  transfiguration,  (Matt.  xvii. 
1,2.)  and  when  certain  Samaritans  refused  to  receive 
him,  James  and  John  wished  for  fire  from  heaven 
to  consume  them,  Luke  ix.  54.  For  this  reason,  it 
is  thought  the  name  of  Boanerges,  or  sons  of  thun- 
der, was  afterwards  given  to  them.  Some  days  after 
the  resiu'rection  of  our  Saviour,  James  and  John 
went  a  fishing  in  the  sea  of  Tiberias,  where  they 
saw  Jesus,  and  were  afterwards  present  at  the  ascen- 
sion of  our  Lord.  James  is  said  to  have  preached 
to  all  the  dispersed  tribes  of  Israel ;  but  of  this  there 
is  no  proof  His  martyrdom,  by  Herod  Agrippa,  is 
related  in  Acts  xii.  1,2;  cir.  A.  D.  42,  or  44,  for  the 
date  is  not  well  determined.  Clemens  Alexandrinus 
informs  us,  that  the  man  who  brought  James  before 


V 

.  .f 


JAMES 


[544  ] 


JA3IES 


the  judges  was  so  affected  with  his  constancy  in  con- 
fessing Christ,  that  he  declared  himself  a  Christian, 
and  was  condemned,  as  well  as  the  apostle,  to  be 
beheaded. 

II.  JAMES,  surnamed  the  Less,  brother  of  our 
Lord,  (Gal.  i.  19;  Joseph.  Ant.  lib.  xx.  cap.  8.)  was 
son  of  Cleopas  (or  Alphseus)  and  Maiy,  sister  of  the 
Virgin  Mary.  (See  Mark  xv.  40 ;  xvi.  1  ;  compared 
with  John  xix.  25.)  He  was  consequently  cousin- 
german  to  Christ,  and  is  therefore  termed  his  brother, 
in  the  wider  sense  of  that  word.  Gal.  i.  19.  (See 
Brother.)  He  was  surnamed  the  Just,  for  the  ad- 
mirable holiness  and  purity  of  his  life.  By  Clemens 
Alexandrinus  and  Hegesippus  he  is  said  to  have 
been  a  priest,  and  to  have  observed  the  laws  of  the 
Nazarites  from  his  birth,  eating  or  drinking  nothing 
capable  of  intoxicating ;  but  this  is  not  credible. 
Jerome  assures  us  that  the  Jews  so  greatly  esteemed 
him,  that  they  strove  to  touch  the  hem  of  his  gar- 
ment, and  the  Talmud  relates  several  miracles  said 
to  have  been  wrought  by  James,  the  disciple  of  Jesus 
the  carpenter. 

Our  Saviour  appeared  to  James  eight  days  after 
the  resiu-rection,  1  Cor.  xv.  7.  He  was  appointed 
bishop  of  Jerusalem ;  and  we  are  assured  by  Euse- 
bius,  was  at  Jerusalem,  and  considered  as  a  pillar  of 
the  church,  Avhen  Paul  first  visited  that  city  after  his 
conversion,  Gal.  i.  18.  In  the  council  of  Jerusalem, 
(A.  D.  51.)  James  gave  his  vote  last ;  and  the  result 
of  the  council  was  principally  formed  on  what  he 
said  ;  who,  notwithstanding  that  he  himself  observed 
the  ceremonies  of  the  law,  with  his  church,  (comp. 
Gal.  ii.  11,  12.)  was  of  opinion,  that  such  a  yoke  was 
not  to  be  imposed  on  converts  from  among  the  hea- 
then. Acts  XV.  13.  The  progress  of  the  gospel 
alarmed  the  chief  of  the  Jews,  and  Ananus,  son  of 
Annas  the  high-priest,  mentioned  in  the  gospel,  un- 
dertook to  put  James  to  death,  and  accomplished  his 
purpose. 

James  was  stoned  by  the  Pharisees,  and  buried 
near  the  temple,  in  the  place  where  he  had  suffered 
martyrdom,  and  where  a  monument  was  erected, 
which  was  much  celebrated  till  Jerusalem  was  de- 
stroyed by  the  Romans.  The  wisest  of  the  Jews 
much  disapproved  this  murder,  and  the  behavior  of 
Ananus,  of  which  they  made  complaints  to  king 
Agrippa,Hnd  to  Albinus,  the  Roman  governor  of  the 
province.  The  latter  threatened  to  punish  his  te- 
merity ;  and  Agrippa  divested  him  of  the  high- 
priesthood,  which  he  had  exercised  only  three  months. 
Josephus  is  cited  as  affirming,  that  the  war  which 
the  Romans  made  against  the  Jews,  and  all  the  fol- 
lowing calamities,  were  imputed  to  the  death  of  this 
just    man.      The  ancient   heretics  forged    writings. 


which  they  ascribed  to  James,  the  brother  of  our 
Lord  ;  but  the  church  acknowledges  his  epistle  only 
as  authentic.  In  this  he  argues  principally  against 
the  abuse  which  many  made  of  Paul's  principle,  that 
faith  and  not  works  justifies  before  God,  strongly 
maintaining  the  necessity  of  good  works. 

It  is  probable  that  James's  strict  observance  of  the 
Mosaic  institutions,  contributed  to  his  preservation 
during  many  years  at  Jerusalem  ;  and  shows  the  pru- 
dence of  those  who  desired  him  to  preside  in  the 
Christian  church  there  ;  as  he  would  be  least  offen- 
sive to  the  Jewish  rulers,  though  an  apostle ;  nor 
would  he  detract  from  the  reputation  of  the  national 
rites  among  his  own  people. 

The  Epistle  of  James. — There  are  doubts  to 
which  James  the  church  is  indebted  for  this  Epistle. 
The  most  ancient  traditionary  reports  ascribe  this 
Epistle  to  James  the  ekler,  the  son  of  Zebedee,  and 
consequently  the  brother  of  John.  He  was  one  of 
the  three  apostles  in  whom  Christ  placed  the  great- 
est confidence,  who  alone  were  witnesses  to  the 
raising  of  Jairus's  daughter  from  the  dead,  to  the 
transfiguration  of  Christ,  and  to  his  agony  in  the  gar- 
den. In  tlie  Syriac  version,  undoubtedly  one  of  the 
oldest,  and  perhaps  the  best,  into  which  the  First 
Epistle  of  Peter,  the  First  of  John,  and  the  Epistle 
of  James,  only,  are  admitted,  there  is  a  subscrip- 
tion, according  to  the  edition  of  Widmanstadt,  to 
this  effect : — "  In  the  name  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
we  here  close  the  three  Epistles  of  James,  Peter, 
and  John,  who  were  witnesses  to  the  revelation 
of  our  Lord,  when  he  was  transfigured  on  mount 
Tabor,  and  who  saw  Moses  and  Ellas  speaking 
with  him."  To  this  Michaelis  adds  the  subscrip- 
tion to  the  edition  of  the  Syriac  version,  pub- 
lished by  Tremellius,  which  is  to  the  same  pur- 
port ;  also,  that  of  a  manuscript  of  the  old  Latin 
version,  the  Codex  Corbiensis,  which  is.  Explicit 
Epistola  Jacohi,  filii  Zehedesi.  Coidd  we  depend 
on  these  subscriptions,  tlie  question  were  settled ; 
but  all  subscriptions  are  doubtful,  and  can  justly 
claim  no  great  reliance.  However,  they  show  what 
some,  at  least,  thought  anciently.  James  the  elder 
was  beheaded  about  A.  D.  43  or  44.  "  If,  therefore, 
he  was  the  author  of  this  Epistle,"  says  Michaelis, 
"it  must  have  been  the  first  written  of  all  the  Epis- 
tles." But  this  opinion  is  not  tenable,  if  the  First 
Epistle  of  John  were  written  in  Jerusalem,  if  it  were 
addressed  to  the  visitants  of  that  city,  and  if  its  ob- 
jects were  such  as  most  proj)erly  may  be  attributed 
to  the  infant  state  of  the  church.  (See  Joh\.)  A 
comparison  between  these  two  Epistles  might  be 
instituted  with  considerable  effect.  The  coincidence 
is  more  than  accidental. 


Sentiments  of  John. 

God  is  Light,  and  in  him  is  no  darknesB  at  all. 
1  John  i.  v. 


Whoso  hath  this  world's  good,  and  seeth  his 
brother  have  need,  and  shutteth  up  his  bowels  of 
compassion  from  him,  how  dwelleth  the  love  of  God 
in  him  ?  My  little  children,  let  us  not  love  in  word, 
neither  in  tongue  ;  but  in  deed  and  in  truth,  iii.  17. 


Sentiments  of  James. 

Every  good  gift  and  every  perfect  gift  is  from 
above,  and  cometh  down  from  the  Father  of  Lights, 
with  whom  is  no  variableness,  neither  shadow  of 
turning,  i.  17. 

If  a  brother  or  a  sister  be  naked  and  destitute  of 
daily  food,  and  one  of  you  say  unto  them.  Depart  in 
peace,  be  ye  warmed  and  filled,  notwithstanding  ye 
give  them  not  those  things  which  are  needful  to  the 
body,  what  doth  it  profit  ?  ii.  15. 


This  commandment  have  we  from  him,  That  he        If  ye  fulfil  the  royal  law,  according  to  the  Scrip- 
who  loveth  God,  love  his  brother  also.  iv.  21.  ture,  Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbor  as  thyself,  thou 

dost  well.  ii.  8. 


JAN 


[  545  ] 


JAP 


Love  not  the  world,  neither  the  things  that  are  in  the 
world.  If  any  man  love  the  world,  the  love  of  the 
Father  is  not  in  him,  for  all  that  is  in  the  world,  the 
lust  of  the  flesh,  and  the  lust  of  the  eye,  and  the  pride 
of  life,  is  not  of  the  Father,  but  is  of  the  world,  ii.  15. 

If  any  man  see  his  brother  sin  a  sin  which  is  not 
unto  death,  he  shall  ask,  and  he  shall  give  him  life 
for  them  that  sin  not  unto  death,  v.  16. 


Ye  adulterers  and  adulteresses,  know  ye  not  that 
the  friendship  of  the  world  is  enmity  with  God  ? 
whoever,  therefore,  will  be  a  friend  of  the  world  is 
the  enemy  of  God.  iv.  4. 

Brethren,  if  any  of  you  do  err  from  the  truth,  and 
one  convert  him,  let  him  know,  that  he  who  con- 
verteth  the  sinner  from  the  error  of  his  way,  shall 
save  a  soul  from  death,  and  shall  hide  a  multitude  of 
sins.  V.  19. 


It  is  not  proper  to  do  more  than  submit  these  pas- 
sages to  the  reader,  who  will  draw  his  own  conclu- 
sions from  them.  If  they  really  were  written  by  the 
two  brothers,  these  traces  of  similarity  are  easily  ac- 
counted for  ;  if  they  were  the  first  published  papers 
in  behalf  of  the  Christian  cause,  they  justify  an  addi- 
tional portion  of  respectful  consideration  ;  and  if  we 
had  the  history  of  the  time  completely  before  us,  we 
should  find  them  very  suitable  to  the  state  of  the 
Jews  in  foreign  parts.  The  "wars  and  fightings" 
mentioned  by  James  may  well  be  thought  those 
which  took  place  under  Asinseus  and  Anileus,  in  Mes- 
opotamia, &c.  about  A.  D.  40,  as  described  by  Jose- 
phus.  If  so,  this  Epistle  must  be  placed  after  the 
First  Epistle  of  John.  Those  contests,  with  others 
in  various  parts,  might  occasion  the  Epistle  ;  and  the 
Epistle  might  occasion  the  death  of  the  author.  To 
examine  the  style  or  the  phraseology  of  this  tract, 
would  be  out  of  place  here.  It  may  be  observed, 
liovvever,  that  the  term  "synagogue  "  applied  to  places 
of  worship,  where  Christians  met,  marks  a  very  early 
(late  ;  since  that  appellation  was  certainly  not  long 
continued  among  believers.  If  it  be  thought,  that 
these  places  of  worship  were  those  which  appertained 
to  the  Jewish  nation,  as  such,  under  the  indulgence 
of  the  governing  powers,  it  agrees  equally  well  with 
an  early  date ;  since  it  proves  that  the  separation  be- 
tween Christians  and  Jews  had  not  yet  taken  place. 
The  Jewish  believers  in  Christ  in  foreign  parts,  con- 
tinued to  hold  communion  with  their  nation  ;  they 
had  not  been  expelled,  neither  had  they,  as  yet, 
withdrawn  themselves. 

[The  attempt  here  made  to  refer  the  Epistle  of 
James  to  the  elder  apostle  of  this  name,  is  by  no  ijieans 
satisfactory  in  itself;  nor  does  it  accord  with  the  tradi- 
tion of  the  church,  nor  the  results  of  critical  research. 
(Commentators  are  almost  unanimous  in  ascribing  it 
to  James  the  Less,  and  suppose  it  to  have  been  writ- 
ten just  before  his  death,  about  A.  D.  62.     R. 

JANNES  and  JAMBRES,  two  magicians  who  re- 
sisted Moses,  in  Egypt,  2  Tim.  iii.  8.  As  these  names 
are  not  found  in  the  Old  Testament,  the  apostle  prob- 
ably derived  them  from  tradition.  They  are  often 
mentioned  by  Jewish  and  rabbinical  writers.  The 
paraphrast  Jonathan,  on  Numb,  xxiii.  22,  says  they 
were  the  two  sons  of  Balaam,  who  accompanied  him 
to  Balak,  king  of  Moab.  They  are  called  by  several 
names,  in  several  translations.  Artapanus  affirms, 
that  Pharaoh  sent  for  magicians,  from  Upper  Egypt, 
to  oppose  Moses ;  and  Ambrosiaster,  or  Hilary  the 
Deacon,  says,  they  were  brothers.  He  cites  a  book 
entitled  Jannes  and  Mambres,  which  is  also  quoted 
by  Origen,  and  ranked  as  apocryphal  by  Gelasius. 
There  is  a  tradition  in  the  Talmud,  that  Juhauni  and 
Mamr6,  chief  of  Pharaoh's  physicians,  said  to  Moses, 
"  Thou  bringest  straw  into  Egypt,  where  abundance 
of  corn  grew;" — To  bring  your  magical  arts  hither, 
is  to  as  much  purpose  as  to  bring  water  to  the  Nile. 
Numenius,  cited  by  Aristobulus,  savs,  "Jannes  and 
69 


Jambres  were  sacred  scribes  of  the  Egyptians,  who 
excelled  in  magic  at  the  time  when  the  Jews  were 
driven  out  of  Egypt.  These  were  the  only  persons 
whom  the  Egyptians  found  capable  of  opposing 
Moses,  who  was  a  man  whose  prayers  to  God  were 
very  powerful.  These  two  men,  Jannes  and  Jam- 
bres, were  alone  able  to  frustrate  the  calamities  which 
Moses  brought  upon  the  Egyptians."  Pliny  speaks 
of  the  faction  or  sect  of  magicians,  of  whom  he  says 
Moses,  Jannes,  and  Jocabel,  or  Jotapa,  were  heads. 
The  Mussulmans  have  several  particulars  to  the  same 
purpose.  Their  recital  supposes,  that  the  magicians 
wrought  no  miracle,  but  only  played  conjuring  tricks, 
in  which  they  endeavored  to  impose  upon  the  eyes 
of  spectators.  Moses,  however,  expresses  himself  as 
if  Pharaoh's  magicians  really  operated  the  same  ef- 
fects as  himself;  so  that  Pharaoh  and  his  whole  court 
were  persuaded,  that  the  power  of  their  magicians 
was  equal  to  that  of  Moses,  till  those  magicians,  not 
being  able  to  produce  lice,  as  Moses  had  done,  were 
constrained  to  acknowledge  that  the  finger  of  God 
was  in  the  work,  Exod.  viii.  18,  19. 

JANONAH,  a  city  of  Ephraim,  on  the  frontiers 
of  Manasseh,  Josh.  xvi.  6. 

JAPHA,  a  city  of  Galilee,  near  Jotapata,  according 
to  Josephus.  Probably  the  city  called  Japhia,  (Josh. 
xix.  12.")  belonging  to  Zebulun. 

JAPHETH,  the  enlarger,  the  eldest  son  of  Noah, 
though  generally  named  last  of  the  three  brothers — 
Shem,  Ham,  and  Japheth.  Japheth  is  known  in 
profane  authors  under  the  name  of  lapetus.  The 
poets  (Hesiod,  Theogonia)  make  him  father  of  heaven 
and  earth,  or  of  Titan  and  the  earth.  His  habitation 
was  in  Thessaly,  where  he  became  celebrated  for  his 
power  and  violence.  He  married  a  nymph  named 
Asia ;  by  whom  he  had  four  sons,  Hesperus,  Atlas, 
Epimetheus,  and  Prometheus,  who  are  all  very  fa- 
mous among  the  ancients.  The  Greeks  believed 
that  Japheth  was  the  father  of  their  race,  whence  the 
proverb,  "  As  old  as  Japheth."  It  is  very  possible 
that  Neptune  is  a  memorial  or  transcript  of  Japheth. 
There  is  some  resemblance  in  the  character ;  Nep- 
tune is  god  of  the  sea,  as  Japheth  is  lord  of  the  isles. 
Saturn  divided  the  world  among  his  three  sons,  Jupi- 
ter, Pluto,  and  Neptune;  thus  Noah  distributed  the 
earth  among  Shem,  Ham,  and  Japheth.  Jupiter  is 
Ham,  Pluto  is  Shem,  and  Japheth  is  Neptune.  The 
sons  of  Japheth  were  Gomer,  Magog,  Madai,  Javan, 
Tubal,  Meshech,  and  Tiras,  Gen.  x.  4.  Gomer  was 
probably  father  of  the  Cimbri,  or  Cimmerians  ;  Ma- 
gog of  the  Scythians  ;  Madai  of  the  Macedonians,  or 
of  the  Medes ;  Javan  of  the  louians  and  Greeks ; 
Tubal  of  the  Tibarenians  ;  Meshech,  of  the  Musco- 
vites, or  Russians  ;  and  Tiras,  of  the  Thracians.  By 
the  isles  of  the  Gentiles,  the  Hebrews  understood  the 
islands  of  the  Mediterranean,  and  all  other  countries 
to  which  they  could  go  by  sea  only,  ai  Spain,  Gaul, 
Italy,  Greece,  Asia  Minor,  &c. 

The  descendants  of  Japhedi  possessed  all  Europe, 


J  AS 


[  5IG 


JED 


the  islands  in  the  Mediterranean,  Asia  Minor,  and 
the  northern  parts  of  Asia.  Noah,  Avhen  blessing 
JapJietii,  said,  "  God  shall  enlarge  Japheth  ;  and  he 
shall  dwell  in  the  tents  of  Shem  ;  and  Canaan  shall 
be  his  servant,"  Gen.  ix.  27.  This  was  accomplished 
when  the  Greeks,  and  after  them,  the  Romans,  sub- 
dued Asia  and  Africa,  where  were  the  dwellings  and 
dominions  of  Shem,  and  of  Canaan.  It  is  worthy  of 
remark,  that  the  allusion  to  countries  the  most  dis- 
tant which  occurs  in  the  Bible,  is  in  this  prophetic 
benediction  of  Noah,  ^^God  shall  enlarge  the  enlarser'''' 
(Japheth.)  Now,  as  from  the  earliest  ages,  the  eldest 
son  was,  by  his  birthright,  entitled  to  a  double  por- 
tion of  liis  father's  projjerty,  it  leads  us  to  conceive 
of  such  a  distribution  in  this  instance. 

JAPHO,  see  Joppa. 

JAREB,  (Hos.  V.  13;  x.  f).)  the  name  of  a  king; 
or  more  probably  it  signhies  hostile,  i.  e.  here,  the 
hostile  king.  Others  make  it  the  great  king,  viz. 
the  king  of  Assyria.     (Compare  2  Kings  xviii.  19.) 

JASHER,  Book  of,  see  Bible,  p.  171. 

I.  JARMUTH,  a  city  of  Issachar,given  to  the  Le- 
vites  of  Gershom  ;  it  was  a  city  of  refuge,  Josh.  xxi.  29. 

II.  JARMUTH,  a  city  of  Judah,  the  king  of 
which  was  killed  by  Joshua,  Josh.  x.  5,  etc.  Jerome 
places  it  four  miles  from  Eleutheropolis,  near  Es- 
thaol,  in  one  place,  but  in  another,  ten  miles,  in  the 
way  to  Jerusalem. 

JASHOBEAM,  a  son  of  Zabdiel,  who  commanded 
twenty-four  thousand  men,  who  did  duty  in  David's 
court  in  the  month  Nisan,  1  Chron.  xxvii.  2.  Some 
believe  him  to  be  Jashobeain  son  of  Hachmoni, 
which  signifies  the  ivise,  and  was  perhaps  a  surname, 

1  Chron.  xi.  11.     In  the  corresponding  passage  in 

2  Sam.  xxiii.  8,  we  read:  "The  Tachmonite,  that 
sat  in  the  seat,  the  head  of  the  three,  Adino  of  Ezni, 
who  lifted  up  his  spear  against  eight  hundred  men, 
whom  he  slew."  But  the  text  of  Chronicles  imports 
that  "  Jashobeam,  a  Hachmonite,  chief  of  the  thirty, 
lifted  up  his  spear  against  three  hundred,  wI»om  he 
slew  at  one  time."  How  are  these  statements  to 
be  reconciled  ?  Jashobeam  is  the  son  of  Hachmoni, 
he  kills  three  hundred  men,  and  he  is  chief  of  the 
thirty.  Adino,  on  the  contrary,  is  head  of  the  three, 
and  kills  eight  hundred  men.  When  we  examine 
the  subject  closely,  however,  it  appears,  that  the  dif- 
ference proceeds  only  from  some  letters  which  are 
read  differently  in  the  texts.  Calmet  would  there- 
fore correct  the  text  in  the  second  book  of  Sanuicl 
thus:  "Jashobeam,  son  of  Hachmoni,  head  of  the 
thirty,  he  lifted  up  the  wood  of  his  spear  against 
three  hundred  men,  whom  he  slew."  TheSep- 
tuagint  reads,  "Jeshbaal,  son  of  Techemani,  was 
head  of  the  three.  This  is  Adino  the  Eznite,  who 
drew  his  sword  against  eight  hundred."  In  the 
Roman  edition,  Jebosthe  the  Canaanite,  head  of  the 
three,  &,c.  We  cannot  see  from  whence  they  took 
Adino  the  Eznite,  which  is  entirely  su])erfluous  in 
this  place.  Another  mode;  of  removing  the  dis- 
crepancy, is  by  supposing  that  Jashobeam,  the 
Ilaclirnoiiite,  died  during  David's  life,  and  that  Adino, 
•'■"   JCznite,  was  appointed   in   his   place.     And  it  is 


the 


remarked  that  2  Sam.  xxiii.  8,  literally  rendered,  im 

Eorts,  "these  are  the  names  of  the  mighty  men  whom 
'avid  had — he  who  sirs  in  the  seat  of  the  Tachmo- 
nite, that  is,  of  Jashobeam  the  Hachmonite,  who  was 
chief  among  the  ca|)tains,  he  is  Adino,  the  Eznite  ;" 
--who  perhaps  is  the  Adino,  son  of  Shiza,  (1  Chr. 
xi.  42.)  chief  of  the  Reubenites,  who  had  thirty  under 
him.  Shiza  might  be  the  name  of  his  family  ;  Eznite 
that  of  his  countrv. 


JASHUB,  or  Shear-Jashub,  son  of  Isaiah,  Isa. 
vii.  3.  Shear-Jashub  signifies  the  remainder  shall  re- 
turn ;  and  the  prophet,  by  giving  his  son  this  name, 
intended  to  show,  that  the  Jews,  who  should  be  car- 
ried to  Babylon,  would  return. 

I.  JASON,  a  high-priest  of  the  Jews,  and  brother 
of  Onias  III.,  was  a  man  of  unbounded  ambition, 
who  scrupled  not  to  divest  his  brother  of  the  high- 
priesthood,  in  order  to  seize  that  dignity  himself, 
sacrilegiously  purchasing  it  of  Antiochus  Epiphanes. 
Jason  did  all  he  could  to  abolish  the  worship  of  God 
in  Jerusalem,  and  to  prevail  with  the  very  priests  to 
adopt  the  religion  of  the  Greeks.  He  is  to  be  con- 
sidered as  the  cause  of  all  the  calamities  which  befell 
the  Jews  under  Antiochus.  He  died  at  Lacedemon, 
a  city  in  alliance  with  the  Jews,  to  which  he  had 
fled  from  Aretas,  or  Menelaus ;  and  his  body  re- 
mained without  burial,  the  greatest  indignity  that 
could  be  offered  to  him. 

II.  JASON,  Paul's  kinsman,  and  his  host  at 
Thessalonica,  (Rom.  xvi.l^l.)  hazarded  his  life  to  pre- 
serve him  during  a  sedition  in  that  city,  Acts  xvii.  7. 

JASPPjR,  in  Latin,  in  Greek  jaspis,  in  Hebrew 
nD^'\jaspeh,  a  precious  stone  of  various  colors,  as 
purple,  cerulean,  green,  &.c.  Ex.  xxviii.  20  ;  Rev.  iv.  3. 

JATTIR,  a  city  of  Judah,  (Josh.  xv.  48.)  after- 
wards given  to  the  Levites  of  Kohath's  family,  chap, 
xxi.  14.  Eusebius  places  it  in  the  district  of  Daroma 
toward  the  city  of  Malatha,  twenty  miles  from 
Eleutheropolis. 

JAVAN,  fourth  son  of  Japheth,  (Gen.  x.  2,  4.)  and 
father  of  the  lonians,  or  Greeks.     See  Greece. 

JAVELIN,  a  kind  of  long  dart,  or  light  speai, 
thrown  as  a  missile  weapon  at  the  enemy. 

JAZER,  a  city  east  of  Jordan,  and  at  the  foot  u'l' 
the  mountains  of  Gilead,  given  to  Gad,  and  after- 
wards to  the  Levites,  Josh.  xxi.  39. 

JEALOUS,  JEALOUSY,  suspicions  of  infidelity, 
especially  as  applied  to  the  marriage  state.  God's 
tender  love  toward  his  church  is  sometimes  called 
jealousy.  Paul  says  to  the  Corinthians,  that  he  is 
jealous  over  them  with  a  godly  jealousy,  that  he  might 
present  them  as  a  chaste  virgin  to  Christ.  The  word, 
however,  is  frequently  used  to  express  the  vindictive 
acts  of  dishonored  love.  Thus  the  psalmist,  (Ixxix. 
5.)  representing  the  church  as  smarting  under  divine 
judgments,  occasioned  by  her  infidelity  to  God,  says, 
"How  long.  Lord,  shall  thv  jealousy  burn  like  fire?" 
(See  also  1  Cor.  x.  22.) 

Waters  of  Jealousy. — There  is  something  ex- 
tremely curious,  if  not  inexplicable,  in  the  solemn 
process  |)rpscrihed  in  Numb.  v.  11 — 31.  for  the  detec- 
tion and  punishment  of  a  woman  who  had  excited 
her  husband's  jealousy,  without  aflording  him  the  or- 
dinary means  of  proving  her  infidelity.  See  Adul- 
tery. 

JEAKIM,  mount,  (Josh.  xv.  10.)  a  boundary  of  the 
inheritance  of  Judah.  It  was  a  woody  mountain, 
on  which  the  city  of  Balah,  or  Kirjath-jearim,  was 
situated. 

I.  JEBUS,  son  of  Canaan,  and  father  of  the  Jehu- 
sites,  (Josh.  XV.  ()3.)  who  dwelt  in  Jerusalem,  and  in 
the  mountains  around  it. 

II.  JEIUiS,  the  ancient  name  of  Jerusalem,  de- 
rived from  Jehus,  the  son  of  Canaan,  Judg.  xix.  11. 
See  Jerusalem. 

JEBUSITES,  see  JEBusI,andCANAANiTEs,  p.24n. 

JECONIAH,  sec  Jehoiachin. 

JEDIAEL,  of  Manasseh,  a  brave  man  in  David's 
army,  who  abandoned  Saul's  party,  (]  Chron.  xi.  45; 
xii.  20.)  niul  came  to  David  at  Ziklag. 


JEH 


[547  ] 


JEHOIACHIN 


JEDUTHUN,  a  Levite  of  Merari's  family ;  and 
one  of  the  four  great  masters  of  music  belonging  to 
the  temple,  1  Chrou.  xvi.  41,  42.  The  name  is 
also  put  for  his  descendants,  Jeduthunites,  who  occur 
later  as  singers  and  players  on  instruments,  2  Chron. 
XXXV.  15 ;  Nell.  xi.  17.  So  in  the  superscription  of 
Psalms  xxxix.  Ixii.  Ixxvii. 

JEGAR-SAHADUTHA,  the  heap  of  untness,  a 
name  given  by  Laban  to  a  heap  or  circle  of  stones, 
which  was  erected  by  himself  and  Jacob,  in  witness 
of  an  agreement  made  between  them,  Gen.  xxxi.  47, 
&c.  The  term  is  Chaldee,  and  it  is  usually  thought 
to  prove  that  the  Chaldee  language  was  different  from 
the  Hebrew.  It  might  be  so  ;  but  wc  should  re- 
member that  Jacob  gave  two  names  to  this  place, 
"Galeed,  and  Mizpeh."  Might  not  Laban  do  the 
same?  varying  the  term,  as  IMizpeh  differs  from  Ga- 
leed ;  for  it  does  not  appear  that  Laban,  when  speak- 
ing afterwards,  uses  the  Chaldee  words,  Jegar  saha- 
dutha ;  but  the  Hebrew  words  which  Jacob  used, 
*'  tiiis  (gal)  heap  be  witness,  and  this  [mizpeh)  pillar 
be  witness."  So  that  in  these  instances  he  certainly 
retained  his  Hebrew.     See  Stores. 

L  JEHOAHAZ,  son  of  Jehu,  king  of  Israel,  suc- 
ceeded his  father,  ante  A.  D.  856,  and  reigned  seven- 
teen years,  2  Kings  xiii.  He  did  evil  in  the  sight  of 
the  Lord,  like  Jeroboam,  son  of  Nebat,  wherefore  the 
anger  of  the  Lord  delivered  Israel  during  all  his 
reign  to  Hazael,  king  of  Syria,  and  Bcnhadad,  son  of 
Ilazael.  Jehoahaz,  overwhelmed  with  so  many  ca- 
lamities, prostrated  himself  before  the  Lord;  and  the 
Lord  heard  him,  and  sent  him  a  saviour  in  Joash  his 
son,  who  re-established  the  affairs  of  Israel,  and  se- 
cured his  |)eople  from  the  kings  of  Syria.  Of  all  his 
soldiers,  Jehoahaz  had  left  only  50  horsemen,  10 
chariots,  and  10,000  foot ;  for  the  king  of  Syria  had 
defeated  them,  and  made  them  like  the  dust  of  the 
threshing-floor.  Neither  punishment  nor  mercy, 
however,  was  sufficient  to  prevail  with  the  Israelites 
to  forsake  their  evil  ways.  Joash,  the  successor  of 
Jehoahaz,  was  more  fortunate  than  his  father,  but  not 
more  pious. 

II.  JEHOAHAZ,  or  Shallcm,  son  of  Josiah,  king 
of  Judah,  (Jer.  xxii.  11.)  succeeded  his  father,  (2 
Kings  xxiii.  30 — 32.)  though  he  was  not  the  eldest 
sou'.  He  was  23  years  old  when  he  began  to  reign, 
and  reigned  about  three  months,  [ante  A.  D.  609,) 
when  he  was  deposed  by  Necho,  king  of  Egj'pt,  who 
loaded  him  with  chains,  and  sent  him  into  Egypt, 
where  he  died,  Jer.  xxii.  11,  12. 

There  is  a  considerable  difficulty  in  the  chronology 
of  this  prince's  reign.  In  2  Kings  xxiii.  31,  we  read, 
"That  he  was  23  years  old  when  he  began  to  reign, 
and  he  reigned  three  months  in  Jerusalem."  His 
brother  Jehoiakim  succeeded  him,  being  25,  ver.  36. 
It  is  generally  concluded  from  hence,  that  the  people 
placed  Jehoahaz  on  the  throne  without  following  the 
natural  order  of  succession,  he  not  being  the  eldest 
son  of  Josiah.  The  reason  of  this  preference  is  not 
known,  but  it  seems  unquestionable,  and  a  number  of 
conjectures  have  been  offered  for  its  solution.  Is  it 
probable  that  Jehoiakim  was  born  before  Josiah's  ele- 
vation to  the  throne  ?     See  Heir. 

JEHOIACHIN,  Jecomah,  (Jer.  xxvii.  20.)  or  Co- 
NiAH,  (Jer.  xxxvii.  1.)  son  of  Jehoiakim,  king  of  Ju- 
dah, and  grandson  of  Josiah,  reigned  but  three 
months  over  Judah,  2  Kings  xxiv.  8  ;  2  Chron.  xxxvi. 
9.  It  is  believed  that  he  was  born  about  the  time  of 
the  first  Babylonish  captivity,  (A.  INI.  3398,)  when  Je- 
hoiakim, or  Eliakim,  his  father,  was  carried  toBaliylon. 
Ji'hoiakim   afterwards  returned,  iind  reignc.I  ti  I    .\. 


M.  3405,  when  he  was  killed  by  the  Chaldeans  in  tne 
eleventh  year  of  his  reign.  Jehoiachin  succeeded 
him,  and  reigned  alone  three  months  and  ten  days  ; 
after  having  reigned  ten  years  in  conjunction  with 
his  father.  By  this  distinction,  the  above-cited  pas- 
sages are  reconciled.  In  the  second  book  of  Kings,  it 
is  said  he  was  eighteen  years  of  age  when  he  began 
to  reign  ;  whereas  in  the  Chronicles  it  is  said  he  was 
but  eight ;  that  is,  he  was  but  eight  years  old  when 
he  began  to  reign  with  his  father,  but  eighteen  when 
he  began  to  reign  alone.  The  Kings  and  Chronicles 
intimate,  that  the  people  set  up  Jehoiachin,  or  that  they 
acknowledged  him  as  king  in  his  father's  room.  But 
Josephus  (Antiq.  lib.  x.  cap.  9.)  says,  Nebuchadnezzar 
gave  him  the  kingdom  ;  and  some  months  after,  fear- 
ing he  might  revolt,  to  avenge  the  death  of  his  father 
Jehoiakim,  he  sent  an  army  against  him,  which  be- 
sieged him  in  Jerusalem.  Jehoiachin  would  not  ex- 
pose the  town  on  his  account ;  he  sent  his  mother 
and  his  nearest  relations  as  hostages  to  Nebuchad- 
nezzar's generals,  having  first  received  a  promise  and 
an  oath  from  them,  that  they  would  not  injure  the 
town  or  the  hostages.  Nebuchadnezzar,  however, 
ordered  his  generals  to  send  the  prince  to  Babylon, 
with  his  mother,  his  friends,  and  all  the  youth  and 
trading  part  of  the  city,  amounting  to  10,832  jjcrsons. 
The  account  in  Kings  is  shorter,  and  differs  from  Jo- 
sephus. It  says,  that  the  king  of  Babylon  first  sent  his 
generals  and  his  army  to  ojien  the  siege  of  Jerusalem, 
and  afterwards  was  himself  present  at  it ;  that  Jehoi- 
achin went  out  of  the  city  with  his  mother,  his  princes, 
servants,  and  officers,  and  surrendered  to  Nebu- 
chadnezzar, who  took  away  the  riches,  and  all  the 
best  inhabitants  of  Jerusalem,  to  the  number  of  10,000, 
leaving  only  the  poor ;  taking  the  king,  the  queen,  &c. 
7000  men  of  war,  1000  good  artificers,  and  all  that 
were  capable  of  bearing  arms.  Whether  in  the 
10,000,  the  subsequent  8000  are  to  be  comprehended, 
we  know  not.  It  is  credible,  that  Nebuchadnezzar's 
view  in  transporting  to  Babylon  all  the  good  work- 
men in  iron,  gold,  silver,  wood,  &c.  was  to  fill  the 
city  of  Babylon,  which  he  had  embeJlished  and  en- 
larged. Tliis  also  was  his  aim  in  bringing  whole  na- 
tions from  other  countries  to  Babylon,  or  Babylonia, 
which  he  intended  to  make  the  most  beautiful  and 
flourishing  country  in  the  world. 

Jeremiah  (xxii.  24.)  mentions  Jehoiachin  as  a  very 
bad  prince,  whose  sins  had  incurred  the  indignation 
of  God.  "As  I  live,  saith  the  Lord,  though  Coniah, 
the  son  of  Jehoiakim,  were  the  signet  upon  my  right 
hand,  yet  would  I  j)luck  thee  thence,"  chap.  xxii.  24. 
"Thus  saith  the  Lord,  Write  ye  this  mail  childless, 
a  man  that  shall  not  prosper  in  his  days  ;  for  no  man 
of  his  seed  shall  prosper,  sitting  upon  the  throne  of 
David,  and  ruling  any  more  in  Judah,"  ver.  30.  All 
this  was  executed  ;  Jehoiachin  succeeded  in  none  of 
his  designs.  He  was  taken  and  carried  to  Babylon, 
where  he  died  ;  but  it  is  supposed  that  he  repented, 
and  that  God  treateil  him  with  mercy  ;  for  Evilmero- 
dach,  Nebuchadnezzar's  successor,  used  him  honora- 
bly, took  him  out  of  prison,  spoke  kindly  to  him,  and 
^placed  his  throne  above  the  throne  of  other  princes, 
at  his  court,  2  Kings  xxv.  27  ;  Jer.  lii.  31.  The  words, 
Write  this  man  childless,  cannot  be  taken  literally, 
since  we  know  that  Jehoiachin  was  the  fiuher  of  Sa- 
lathiel,  and  other  children,  enumerated  1  Chron.  iii. 
17,  18.  and  Matt,  i.  12.  But  the  Hebrew  word  trans- 
lated childless,  is  taken  likewise  for  one  who  has  lost 
his  children,  who  has  no  successor  or  heir.  In  this 
sense,  Jehoiachin,  son  of  a  king,  and  himself  a  king, 
was  as  a  man  without  is<ue,  since  no  son  succeeded 


JEH 


[  548  ] 


JEH 


hitn  ill  his  kingdom  :  for  neitiier  Salathiel,  who  was 
born  and  died  in  captivity,  nor  Zerubbabel,  who  re- 
turned from  Babylon,  nor  any  of  Jehoiachin's  descend- 
ants, sat  on  the  throne  of  Judah.  This  is  fairly  im- 
plied in  the  words,  "  No  man  of  his  seed  (that  is, 
posterity)  shall  prosper  ;"  so  that  it  appears  he  might 
have  seed  ;  but  no  one  who  should  enjoy  the  royal 
dignity.  The  passage  should  be  rendered,  "  Write 
this  man  forsaken,  successorless."  We  know  not  the 
year  of  his  death. 

JEHOIADA,  by  Josephus  called  Joadus,  succeed- 
ed Azariah  in  the  high-priesthood,  and  was  succeed- 
ed by  Zechariah.  In  1  Chron.  vi.  9,  10,  Johanan 
and  Azariah  seemed  to  be  confounded  with  Jehoiada 
and  Zechariah.  This  high-priest,  with  liis  wife  Je- 
hoshabeath,  rescued  Joash,  son  of  Joram,  king  of 
Judah,  when  but  one  year  old,  from  the  murderous 
violence  of  Athaliah  ;  and  concealed  him  in  the  tem- 

gle.  After  seven  years,  he  set  him  on  the  throne  of 
►avid,  2  Kings  xi.  xii.  and  2  Chron.  xxiii.  xxiv. 
(See  Atjhaliah,  and  Joash.)  While  Jehoiada  lived, 
and  Joash  followed  his  advice,  every  thing  happily 
succeeded.  The  high-priest  formed  a  design  of  re- 
pairing the  temple,  and  collected  considerable  sums 
in  the  cities  of  Judah  ;  but  the  Levites  did  not  ac- 
quit themselves  of  their  commission  with  diligence 
till  after  the  king  was  of  age,  and  the  prince  and  the 
high-priest  united  their  authority  in  promoting  the 
design,  2  Kings  xii.  and  2  Chron.  xxiv.  5,  &c.  Jehoi- 
ada left  a  son,  Zechariah,  who  was  high-priest  after 
him,  and  was  put  to  death  by  Joash,  with  an  ingrati- 
tude which  has  loaded  his  memory  with  eternal 
ignominy,  2  Chron.  xxiv.  20,  21.  Jehoiada  died, 
aged  one  hundred  and  thirty,  ante  A.  D.  834.  He  was 
buried  in  the  sepulchre  of  the  kings  at  Jerusalem  ;  a 
distinction  due  to  those  services  which  he  had  ren- 
dered to  the  king,  the  state,  and  the  royal  family, 
ver.  15. 

JEHOIAKIM,  or  Eliakim,  brother  and  successor 
of  Jehoahaz,  king  of  Judah,  was  made  king  by  Ne- 
cho,  king  of  Egypt,  at  his  return  from  an  expedition 
against  Carchemish,  2  Kings  xxiii.  34 — 36.  ante  A. 
D.  609.  Necho  changed  his  name  from  Eliakim  to 
Jehoiakim,  and  set  a  ransom  on  him  of  a  hundred 
talents  of  silver,  and  ten  talents  of  gold  ;  to  raise 
which,  Jehoiakim  laid  heavy  taxes  on  his  people. 
He  was  twenty-five  years  old  when  he  began  to 
reign,  and  he  reigned  eleven  years  at  Jerusalem.  He 
did  evil  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord,  and  Jeremiah  (xxii. 
13,  &c.)  reproaches  him  with  building  his  house  by 
unrighteousness,  with  oppressing  unjustly  his  sub- 
jects, with  keeping  back  the  wages  of  those  whom 
he  had  employed  ;  with  having  his  heart  and  his 
eyes  turned  to  avarice  and  inhumanity  ;  and  with 
following  his  inclination  to  barbarities  and  wicked 
actions.  The  same  prophet  informs  us,  that  he  sent 
men  to  bring  the  prophet  Urijah  out  of  Egypt,  whith- 
er he  had  fled  ;  that  he  put  him  to  the  sword,  and 
left  him  without  burial,  Jer.  xxvi.  23.  For  these  and 
other  crimes,  the  Lord  threatens  him  with  an  unhap- 
py end.  He  shall  die,  says  Jeremiah,  (xxii.  18,  19.) 
and  shall  be  neither  mourned  for  nor  regretted. 
"  He  shall  be  buried  with  the  burial  of  an  ass,  drawn 
and  cast  forth  beyond  the  gates  of  Jerusalem."  After 
about  four  years'  subjection  to  the  king  of  Egypt, 
Jehoiakim  fell  rmder  the  dominion  of  Nebuchadnez- 
zar, king  of  tlie  Chaldeans,  who,  having  recovered 
what  Necho  had  taken  on  the  Euphrates,  came  into 
Phoenicia  and  Judea,  subdued  Jerusalem,  and  sub- 
jected it  to  the  same  burdens  and  conditions  which 
it  suffered  under  the  king  of  Egypt,  2  Kings  xxiv.  1, 


2.  Jehoiakim  was  taken,  and  Nebuchadnezzar  put 
him  in  fetters,  intending  to  carry  him  to  Babylon ; 
but  he  restored  him  to  liberty,  and  left  him  in  his 
own  country,  on  condition  of  paying  a  large  tribute. 

Thus,  Daniel  and  Jeremiah  are  i-econciled  with 
the  Kings  and  Chronicles.  In  2  Chron.  xxxvi.  6, 
according  to  the  Hebrew,  it  is  said,  that  Nebuchad- 
nezzar bound  Jehoiakim  in  chains  to  carry  him  to 
Babylon  ;  and  Daniel  relates,  that  the  Lord  delivered 
Jehoiakim  into  the  hands  of  Nebuchadnezzar ;  that 
that  prince  carried  to  Babylon  a  great  part  of  the 
vessels  belonging  to  the  house  of  God,  with  some 
captives,  among  whom  were  Daniel  and  his  com- 
panions ;  but  he  does  not  say  that  Jehoiakim  was 
carried  there.  The  books  of  Kings  and  Chronicles 
inform  us,  that  Jehoiakim  reigned  eleven  years  at 
Jerusalem,  2  Kings  xxiii.  36;  2  Chron.  xxxvi.  5. 
Jeremiah  says,  that  Nebuchadnezzar  retook  Carche- 
mish from  Necho,  king  of  Egypt,  in  the  fourth  year 
of  Jehoiakim  ;  and  elsewhere,  that  the  first  year  of 
Nebuchadnezzar  agreed  with  the  fourth  of  Jehoiar 
kim.  All  these  chronological  marks  evince  that 
Nebuchadnezzar  did  not  come  into  Judea  till  A.  M. 
3399,  which  is  the  fourth  year  of  Jehoiakim  ;  that 
Jehoiakim  was  not  carried  into  Babylon,  but  put  in 
chains  in  order  to  be  removed  thither,  yet  afterwards 
was  set  at  liberty,  and  left  at  Jerusalem  ;  and  lastly, 
that  Jehoiakim  was  four  years  subject  to  Necho,  be- 
fore he  became  tributary  to  Nebuchadnezzar. 

In  the  fourth  year  of  Jehoiakim,  Jeremiah  having 
dictated  to  Baruch  the  prophecies  which  he  had  pro- 
nounced till  that  time,  the  scribe  read  them  the  year 
following  before  all  the  people  in  the  temple,  Jer. 
xxxvi.  1 — 10,  20 — 32.  Jehoiakim  was  informed  of 
this,  and,  ordering  the  book  to  be  brought  to  him,  he 
had  a  page  or  two  read,  and  then  destroyed  the  rest 
by  cutting  and  burning.  He  also  gave  orders  for 
seizing  Jeremiah  and  Baruch  ;  but  the  Lord  conceal- 
ed them. 

The  prophet,  having  been  commanded  to  have  his 
prophecies  again  written  down,  pronounced  terrible 
menaces  against  Jehoiakim,  of  which  the  king  soon 
expeiienced  the  truth.  Three  years  afterwards,  he 
rebelled  against  Nebuchadnezzar,  who  sent  troops  of 
Chaldeans,  Syrians,  Moabites,  and  Ammonites  into 
all  the  country,  who  carried  3320  Jews  to  Babylon, 
in  the  seventh  year  of  Jehoiakim,  A.  M.  3401.  Four 
years  afterwards,  Jehoiakim  himself  was  taken,  slain, 
and  thrown  into  the  common  sewer,  as  Jeremiah  had 
predicted.  He  was  succeeded  by  his  son  Jehoiachin, 
ante  A.  D.  599, 

JEHOIARIB,  head  of  the  first  family  of  priests 
established  by  David,  1  Chron.  xxiv.  7.  From 
this  illustrious  family  the  Maccabees  descended,  1 
Mac.  ii.  1. 

JEHONADAB,  see  Jonadab. 

I.  JEHORAM,  or  Joram,  (2  Kings  xi.  2.)  son  and 
successor  of  Jehoshaphat,  king  of  Judah,  (2  Kings 
viii.  16.)  was  born  A.  M.  3080,  and  associated  with 
his  father  in  the  kingdom,  A.  M.  3112.  He  reigned 
alone  after  the  death  of  Jehoshaphat,  and  died,  ac- 
cording to  Usher,  ante  A.  D.  885.  His  queen,  Atha- 
liah, daughter  of  Onni,  engaged  him  in  idolatry,  and 
other  sins,  which  produced  calamities  throughout  his 
reign.  Jehoram,  being  settled  in  the  kingdom,  be- 
gan his  career  with  the  murder  of  all  his  brothers 
whom  Jehoshaphat  iiad  removed  from  public  busi- 
ness, and  placed  in  the  fortified  cities  of  Judah.  To 
punish  his  impiety,  the  Lord  permitted  the  Edomites 
who  had  been  subject  to  thr  kings  of  Judah  to  revolt, 
2  Kings  viii.  20,  21  ;  2  Chron.  xxi.  8,  9.     Jehoram 


JEH 


[  349  1 


JEH 


marched  against  them  and  defeated  their  cavalry,  but 
could  not  subdue  them:  from  that  time  thoy  continued 
free.  About  this  time  Libnah,  a  city  of  Judah,  also 
rebelled.  The  Philistines  and  Arabians  ravaged  the 
territories  of  Judah,  plundered  the  king's  palace,  and 
carried  away  his  wives  and  children,  so  that  lie  had 
none  remaining  except  Jehoahaz,  the  youngest.  In 
addition  to  this,  God  afflicted  him  with  a  cruel  dysen- 
tery, which  tormented  him  two  years,  and  brought 
him  to  his  grave.  The  people  refused  to  pay  him 
the  same  honors  as  they  had  paid  to  his  predecessors, 
by  burning  spices  over  tlieir  bodies.  He  was  buried 
in  Jerusalem,  but  not  in  a  royal  sepulchre,  ante 
A.D.  885. 

II.  JEHORAM,  king  of  Israel,  see  Joram  II. 

JEHOSHABEATH,  see  Jehosheba. 

JEHOSHAFHAT,  king  of  Judah,  son  of  Asa,  as- 
cended the  throne  when  aged  thirty-five,  and  reigned 
twenty-five  years.  He  prevailed  against  Baasha, 
kuig  of  Israel ;  and  placed  garrisons  in  the  cities  of 
Judah  and  Ephraim,  which  had  been  conquered  b)' 
his  father.  He  demolished  the  high  places  and 
groves,  and  God  was  with  him,  because  he  was  faith- 
I'ul.  In  the  third  year  of  his  reign,  he  sent  officers, 
with  priests  and  Levites,  througliout  Judah,  with  the 
book  of  the  law,  to  instruct  the  people,  and  God 
blessed  his  zeal.  He  was  feared  by  all  his  neighbors  ; 
and  the  Philistines  and  Arabians  were  tributaries  to 
him.  He  built  several  houses  in  Judah  in  the  form 
of  towers,  and  fortified  several  cities.  He  generally 
kept  an  army,  or  more  probably  an  enrolled  militia, 
of  1,000,000  men,  without  reckoning  the  troops  in  his 
strong  holds.  Scripture  reproaches  Jehoshaphat  on 
account  of  his  alliance  with  Aliab,  king  of  Israel,  1 
Kings  xxii.  44  ;  2  Chrou.  xviii.  35.  Beijig  on  a  visit 
to  this  wicked  prince,  at  Samaria,  Ahab  invited  him 
to  march  with  him  against  Ramoth-Gilead.  Jehosh- 
aphat consented,  but  asked  first  for  an  f  pinion  from 
a  prophet  of  the  Lord.  In  the  battle,  the  enemy 
took  him  for  Ahab,  but  he  crying  out,  they  discover- 
ed their  mistake,  and  he  returned  safely  to  Jerusalem. 
The  prophet  Jehu  reproved  him  sharply  for  assisting 
Ahab,  (2  Chron.  xix.  1,  &c.)  and  Jehoshaphat  repair- 
ed his  fault  by  the  regulations  and  good  order  which 
he  established  in  his  dominions,  both  as  to  civil  and 
religious  affairs ;  by  appointing  honest  and  able  judges, 
by  regulating  the  discipline  of  the  priests  and  Le- 
vites, and  by  enjoining  them  to  perform  punctually 
their  duty.  After  this,  the  Moabites,  Anmionites, 
and  Meonians,  people  of  Arabia  Petriea,  declared 
war  against  him.  They  advanced  to  Hazazon-Ta- 
mar,  or  En-gedi,  and  Jehoshaphat  went  with  his 
people  to  the  temple,  and  offered  up  [)rayeis  to  God. 
Jahaziel,  son  of  Zechariah,  encouraged  the  king,  and 
promised,  that  the  next  day  he  should  obtain  a  victoiy 
without  fighting.  This  was  fulfilled,  for  these  people, 
being  assembled  against  Judah,  quarrelled,  and  killed 
one  another ;  so  that  Jehoshaphat  and  his  army  had 
only  to  gather  their  spoils,  chap.  xx. 

Some  time  afterwards,  Jehoshaphat  agreed  with 
Ahaziah,  king  of  Israel,  jointly  to  equip  a  fleet  in  the 
port  of  Ezion-gaber,  on  the  Red  sea,  in  order  to  go 
to  Tarshish,  ver.  35,  36.  Eliezer,  son  of  Dodovah, 
of  Mareshah,  came  to  the  king,  and  said,  "  Because 
thou  hast  made  an  alliance  with  Ahaziah,  God  hath 
disappointed  thy  designs,  and  thy  ships  are  shattered." 
Jehoshaphat  continued  to  walk  in  the  ways  of  the 
Lord ;  but  did  not  destroy  the  high  places ;  and  the 
hearts  of  the  people  were  not  directed  entirely  to  the 
God  of  their  fathers. — He  died  after  reigning  twenty- 
five  years,  and  was  buried  in  the  royal  sepulchre. 


His  son  Jehoram  reigned  in  his  stead,  ante  A.  D* 
889,  2  Chron.  xxi.  1,  &c.  1  Kings  xxii.  42. 

JEHOSHAPHAT,  The  Valley  of,  a  narrow 
glen  which  runs  from  north  to  south,  between  the 
mounts  Olives  and  Moriah,  and  through  which  flows 
the  Kidron.  The  prophet  Joel  (iii.  2,  12.)  says, 
"The  Lord  will  gather  all  nations  in  the  valley  of 
Jehoshaphat,  and  will  plead  with  them  there."  Je- 
hoshaphat, in  Hebrew,  signifies  the  judgment  of  God  ; 
and  tliere  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  valley  of  Jehosh- 
aphat, that  is,  of  God^s  judgment,  is  symbolical,  as 
well  as  the  valley  of  decision,  i.  e.  punishment,  in  the 
same  chapter.  From  this  passage,  however,  the 
Jews,  and  many  Christians  also,  have  been  of  opinion, 
that  the  last  judgment  will  be  solemnized  in  the  val- 
ley of  Jehoshaphat.     See  Jerusalem. 

JEHOSHEBA,  or  Jehoshabeath,  daughter  of 
Joram,  and  sister  of  Ahaziah,  king  of  Judah.  She 
married  Jehoiada  the  high-priest,  and  saved  Joash, 
then  but  a  year  old,  from  the  fury  of  Athaliah,  who  mur- 
dered all  the  princes  of  the  royal  family,  2  Kings  xi. 
1 — 3;  2  Chr.  xxii.  11.     See  Joash,  and  Athaliah. 

JEHOSHUAH,  (Num.  xiii.  16.)  see  Joshua. 

JEHOVAH,  the  ineffable  and  mysterious  name  of 
God.  I  appeared,  says  the  Almighty,  to  Abraham, 
and  to  Isaac,  and  to  Jacob,  by  the  name  of  God  Al- 
mighty, (Al-Shaddai,)  but  by  my  name  Jehovah  was 
I  not  known  to  them.  Shaddai  signifies  the  almighty, 
(or  all  bouutiftil,)  Jehovah  signifies  the  self-existent, 
he  who  gives  being  and  existence  to  others.  Calmet 
tliinks  that  when  God  declared  to  Moses,  that  he  had 
not  made  known  his  name  Jehovah,  he  did  not  mean, 
that  former  patriarchs  had  been  ignorant  of  him,  as 
God  the  creator,  the  self-existing ;  but  that  he  had 
not  revealed  this  name,  which  so  well  expresses  his 
nature,  and  by  which  lie  would  afterwards  be  in- 
voked ;  and  that  where  Closes  uses  the  name  when 
speaking  of  times  prior  to  this  appearance,  (Gen.  iv. 
26  ;  xiv'.  22  ;  xv.  7.)  he  uses  it  by  way  of  anticipation, 
and  because,  at  the  time  when  he  wrote,  the  Jews 
used  the  name  Jehovah ;  that  is,  he  followed 
the  custom  of  his  own  time,  not  that  of  the 
]jatriarchs. 

The  Jews,  after  the  captivity  of  Babylon,  out  of 
superstitious  respect  for  this  holy  name,  ceased  to  re- 
peat it,  and  forgot  its  true  pronunciation.  Calmet  is 
of  opinion  that  the  LXX  were  accustomed  not  to 
pronounce  it,  since  they  generally  render  it  Kyrios,  as 
our  English,  the  Lord.  Origen,  Jerome,  and  Euse- 
bius  testify,  that  in  their  time  the  Jews  left  the  name 
of  Jehovah  written  in  their  copies  with  Samaritan 
characters,  instead  of  writing  it  in  the  common  Chal- 
dee  or  Hebrew,  which  shows  their  veneration  for  the 
holy  name,  and  their  fear  lest  strangers  should  dis- 
cover and  misapply  it.  These  precautions,  however, 
did  not  hinder  the  heathen  from  misapplying  it  fre- 
quently, as  we  learn  from  Origen  and  others.  The 
modern  Hebrews  affirm  that  Moses,  by  virtue  of  the 
word  Jehovah  engi-aven  on  his  rod,  performed  all  his 
miracles;  and  that  Christ,  while  in  the  temple,  stole 
the  inefl^able  name,  which  he  put  into  his  thigh  be- 
tween the  skin  and  the  flesh,  and  by  its  power  ac- 
complished all  the  prodigies  imputed  to  him.  They 
add,  that  we  might  be  able  to  do  as  much  as  they  did, 
if  we  could  attain  the  perfect  pronunciation  of  this 
name.  They  flatter  themselves  that  the  Messiah  will 
teach  them  this  mighty  secret.  The  Tetragramma- 
ton,  or  four-lettered  name,  is  called  by  Josephus,  Ta 
lf'H<  yQuiiiiuTci,  TO  (fQiy.Tov  oroiia  fiiov — "the  sacred  let- 
ters, the  shuddering  name  of  God  ;"  and  Caligula,  in 
Philo,  swears  to  him  and  the  ambassadors  his  associ- 


JEH 


[  550  ] 


JEIT 


ates,  by  tlie  God  who  was  to  them  uxuTayoiiuaToi,  of 
unknown  (unpronounceable)  name. 

[The  Seventy  have  ahiiost  uniformly  given  the 
Hebrew  nin",  by  Ki'^io;,  Lord,  as  is  also  the  case  in  the 
English  version ;  tlie  word  Lord  being  there  always 
printed  in  small  capitals.  The  Hebrew  word  is  never 
written  with  vowel-points  of  its  own  ;  but  with  those 
of  sinSN',  Elohirn..  Hence  the  true  pronunciation,  ety- 
mology, and  signification  of  the  word  are  lost.  For  a 
discussion  of  these  points,  see  an  article  by  professor 
Stuart  in  the  Biblical  Repository,  vol.  i.  p.  738,  seq.  R. 
The  Jewish  cabalists  have  refined  much  on  the 
name  Jehovah.  The  letters  which  comjjose  it  they 
affirm  to  abound  witli  mysteries.  He  who  pronounces 
it  shakes  heaven  and  earth,  and  inspires  the  very 
angels  vritii  terror.  A  sovereign  authority  resides  in 
it ;  it  governs  the  world  ;  is  the  fountain  of  graces  and 
blessings  :  the  channel  through  which  God's  mercies 
are  conveyed  to  men. 

The  very  heathen  seem  to  have  had  some  knowl- 
edge of  this  great,  ineffable  name.  We  have  an  oath 
in  Pythagoras's  golden  verses.  By  him  who  has  the 
four  letters — 'Afju^fn',-.  On  the  frontispiece  of  a 
temple  at  Dclpiii  was  inscribed,  (says  Euscbius,) 
•'  Thou  art."  The  Egyptians  on  one  of  their  tem- 
ples inscribed,  "  I  am."  The  heathen  had  names  of 
their  gods,  which  they  did  not  dare  to  pronounce. 
Cicero  produces  an  exan)ple  in  his  catalogue  of  hea- 
then deities,  (de  Nat.  Deorum,  lib.  iii.)  and  Lucan 
says,  the  earth  v/ould  have  trembled  had  any  one 
pronounced  thetn. 

The  Mussulmans  frequently  use  the  name  Hu,  or 
Hon,  which  iias  almost  the  same  signification  as  Je- 
hovah ;  that  is.  He  who  is.  They  place  this  name  in 
the  beginning  of  their  rescripts,  ])assports,  and  letters 
j)atent ;  they  pronounce  it  often  in  their  prayers ; 
some  so  frequently  and  so  vehemently,  crying  out  with 
all  their  strength,  Hon,  hou,  hou,  that  at  last  they  are 
stunned,  and  fall  into  fits,  which  they  call  ecstasies. 

It  would  be  waste  of  time  and  patience  to  repeat 
all  that  has  been  said  on  this  incommunicable  name  ; 
it  rnay  not  be  amiss,  however,  to  remind  the  reader, 
(L)  that  although  if  signifies  the  state  of  being,  yet  it 
forms  no  verb.  ("2.)  It  never  assumes  a  plural  form. 
(3.)  It  does  not  admit  an  article,  or  take  an  affix.  (4.) 
Neither  is  it  ])!aced  in  a  state  of  construction  with 
otiier  words;  though  other  words  may  be  in  con- 
struction with  it.  It  is  well  rendereil  in  Rev.  i.  4  ; 
xi.  17,  "  He  who  is,  and  who  was,  and  who  is  to 
come  ;"  that  is.  Eternal,  as  the  schoolmen  speak,  both 
a  park  ante,  and  a  parte  post.  (Comj).  John  viii.  58.)  It 
is  usually  marked  in  Jewish  books,  where  it  nuist  be 
alluded  to,  by  an  abbreviation— i,  Yodh.  It  is  also  abbre- 
viated in  the  term,  n'  Jah,  which  enters  into  the  for- 
mation of  many  Hebrew  ai)Dellations.  See  Eloiiim. 
.TEHOVAH  nREH,  Jehovah  ivill  provide.  [Abra- 
ham used  this  expression  and  gave  this  name  to  the 
place  where  he  had  been  on  the  point  of  slaying  his 
son  Isaac,  Gen.  xxii.  14.  The  name  was  given  in 
allusion  to  his  answer  to  Isaac's  question,  in  verse  8, 
that  God  would  provide  a  victim.  In  reference  to 
this  unexpected  deliverance  in  a  time  of  utmost  need, 
the  same  expression  ])assed  into  a  ])roverb  among 
the  descendants  of  Abraham,  the  Hebrews,  so  that, 
when  in  trouble  and  distress  they  wished  to  express 
their  trust  in  God,  they  said,  '  In  the  mountain  of  the 
Lord  it  will  be  provided,'  i.  e.  as  God  had  conq)as- 
siou  on  Abraham,  so  will  he  have  comjiassion  on  us. 
The  force  of  the  sentence  is  lost  in  the  English  ver- 
sion. R.]  When  we  consider  the  building  of  the 
temple  of  Solomon  nearly  adjacent,  (if  not  on  the  verv 


spot,)  where  "  the  Lord  had  chosen  to  put  his  name  ;" 
(Deut.  xii.  5;  1  Kings  xiv.  21  ;  2  Chron.  xii.  13.)  and 
also  the  crucifixion  of  Jesus,  at,  or  near,  perhaps  on, 
this  very  spot,  we  cannot  but  tliink  that  such  titles 
not  only  commemorated  past  facts,  hut  predicted  fu- 
ture expectations. 

JEHOVAH  NISSI,  Jehovah  my  banner.  Anjong 
the  most  perplexing  })assages  of  Scripture  is  Exod. 
xvii.  15,  16,  "  ^nd  Moses  built  a7i  altar,  and  called  its 
name  Jehovah  Nissi  :  Jehovah  my  banner,  [in  allu- 
sion to  the  preceding  battle  with  the  Amalekites.l 
And  he  said,  Because  the  Lord  hath  sworn  war  tvith 
Amalek — so  our  translation  ;  but  the  Hebrew  is,  "  be- 
cause of  the  HAND  (S>)  upon  dd,  kes,  of  Jehovah,  war 
against  Amalek."  The  words  are  very  difficult  to 
translate  satisfactorily ;  as  appears  by  the  variations 
in  the  versions.  [x\s  the  Hebrew  now  stands,  cd,  kes,  is 
probably  a  contraction  for  ndd,  kisse,  throne,  and  it  is 
so  regarded  by  most  interpreters.  The  sense,  then,  is 
either  as  in  our  version,  literal!}',  "  because  the  hand  is 
on  the  throne  of  Jehovah,"  i.  e.  Jehovah  hath  sworn  by 
himself,  referring  the  haiid  to  Jehovah:  or  better, 
perhaps,  "  because  the  hand,  i.  e.  of  the  Anjalekites, 
is  against  the  throne  of  Jehovah,"  therefore  there 
shall  be  war  against  them.  It  is  not,  however,  im- 
probable, that  CD,  kes,  is  a  corrupted  reading  for 
DJ ,  nes,  banner ;  for  then  there  would  be  a  direct 
allusion,  in  this  verse,  to  the  name  of  the  altar  in  the 
preceding  one.  (Compare  Gen.  xvi.  13.)     R. 

JEHOVAH  SHALOM,  Jehovah  of  peace,  or  of  suc- 
cess, a  name  given  by  Gideon  to  an  altar  which  he  built 
in  a  place  where  an  angel  of  Jehovah  had  a])])eared  to 
him,  and  saluted  him  by  saying,  "  Peace  be  to  thee," 
Judg.  vi.  24.  Probably  the  name  may  be  taken,  (1.) 
to  Jehovah  of  peace,  that  is,  taking  peace  for  general 
welfare,  to  the  divine  Protector,  (2.)  as  the  words  are 
usually  rendered,  Jehovah  shall  send  j)eace  ;  that  is, 
we  expect  pros])erity  under  the  auspices  of  Jehovah. 
The  phrase  aj)pears  to  h.ave  become,  in  after-ages,  a 
kind  of  proverb,  as  probably  was  the  case  with  all 
those  remarkable  titles,  which  are  come  down  to  us. 
What  else  has  been  their  preservation,  when  so  many 
thousand  other  titles  have  perished  ? 

JEHOVAH  SHAMMAH,  Jf/(oiYr/i  is  there;  that  is, 
God^s  city ;  JehovuVs  city ;  a  name  given  by  Ezekiel  to 
a  future  holy  city,  which  he  describes  in  the  close  of 
his  ]irophecv,  chap,  xlviii.  35,  margin. 

JEHOVAH  TZIDEKENU,  Jehovah  cur  right- 
eousness, Jcr.  xxiii.  G  ;  xxxiii.  IG,  margin.  In  the  first 
of  these  passages  we  read  of  a  branch,  a  king,  called 
the  Lord  our  righteousness  ;  in  the  second  passage  we 
read,  "This  is  the  name  wherewith  ehe  [Jerusalem] 
shall  be  called,  the  Lord  our  righteousness." 

JEHOZADAK,  son  and  successor  of  Seraiali, 
high-priest  of  the  Jews,  (1  Chron.  vi.  14,  15;  Ezra 
iii.  2.)  though  it  does  not  appear  that  he  ever  exer- 
cised the  sacred  functions.  He  died  at  Babylon  ;  but 
his  son  Joshua,  or  S^esus,  returned  from  the  captivity, 
and  assumed  the  sacerdotal  dignity,  after  rebuilding 
the  temple,  Ezra  iii.  2  ;  x.  18,  &c. 

I.  JEHU,  son  of  Hanaiii,  was  sent  by  God  to  Baa- 
sha,  king  of^  Israel,  to  predict  punishment  for  liis  mis- 
deeds, 1  Kings  xvi.  1,4.  "Him  that  dieth  of  Baa- 
slia  in  the  city,  shall  the  dogs  eat ;  and  him  that  diotli 
of  his  in  the  fields,  shall  the  fowls  of  the  air  eat."  The 
Vulgate  adds  that  Baasha,  incensed  at  this  message, 
I)Ut  Jehu  to  death;  but  the  Hebrew  says,  "Jehu 
having  declared  to  Baasha  what  the  Lord  had  pro- 
nounced against  him,  and  that  the  Lord  would  treat  liis 
house  as  he  had  treated  the  house  of  Jeroboam;  for 
this  he  slew  him  :"  leaving  it  doubtful  whether  Baa- 


JEHU 


[  551 


JEP 


sha  slew  Jeliu,  or  the  Lord  slew  Baaslia.  What 
renders  the  latter  more  credible,  is,  that  aljout  thirty 
years  after  tlie  death  of  Baasha,  we  find  Jehu,  son  of 
Haiiani,  again  sent  by  God  to  Jehoshaphat,  king  of 
Judali,  2  Chron.  xix.  1,  &c.  Some  tliink  there  were 
two  persons  named  Jehu,  sons  of  Hanani  ;  but  Cal- 
met  is  of  opinion  that  in  the  passage  al)ovc  quoted, 
the  death  of  Baasha,  not  that  of  Jehu,  is  intimated. 
It  is  said  in  chap.  xx.  34,  that  the  rest  of  the  acts  of 
Jehos!iaphat,Jirst  and  last,  are  written  in  the  book  of 
Jehu,  son  of  Hanani,  wlio  is  mentioned  in  the  book 
of  the  Kings  of  Israel ;  whence  it  appears,  that  the 
propiiets  employed  themselves  in  recording  the  trans- 
actions of  their  times,  and  that  what  Jehu  had  writ- 
ten of  this  kind,  was  thought  worthy  to  be  inserted 
in  the  J\Iemoii-s,  in  whicli  the  several  events  in  every 
prince's  reign  were  registered. 

II.  JEHU,  son  of  Jehoshaphat,  and  grandson  of 
Nimshi,  captain  of  the  troops  of  Joram,  king  of  Israel, 
was  appointed  by  God  to  reign  over  Israel,  and  to 
l)anisli  the  sins  of  the  house  of  Ahab.  The  Lord  had 
ordered  Elisha  to  anoint  Jehu,  (1  Kings  xix.  IG.) 
wiiich  order  was  executed  by  one  of  the  sons  of  the 
prophets,  2  Kings  ix.  1,  &c.  The  Lord  declared  his 
will  to  Elisha  concerning  Jehu,  ante  A.  D.  907  ;  but 
he  was  not  anointed  till  twenty-three  years  after  the 
order  given  to  Elisha.  Jehu  was  at  Ramoth-Gilead, 
besieging  the  citadel  of  that  i)lace,  with  the  armj^  of 
Israel,  when  a  young  prophet  entered,  who  took  him 
aside,  and  when  they  were  alone,  poured  oil  on  his 
head,  saying,  "Thus  saith  the  Lord,  I  have  anointed 
thee  king  over  Israel  ;  thou  shalt  extirpate  the  house 
of  Ahal),  and  avenge  the  blood  of  the  proi)hets  slied 
by  Jezebel."  The  j)rophet  instantly  opened  the  door 
and  lied  ;  and  Jehu,  returning  to  his  ofliccrs,  declar- 
ed to  them  what  had  passed,  upon  Avliich  they  rose 
uj),  and  each  taking  his  cloak,  they  made  a  kind  of 
throne,  and  sounding  the  trumpets,  cried,  "  Long  live 
king  Jehu!"  ver.  11— L3. 

Jehu  instantly  quitted  the  army,  in  order  to  sur- 
prise Joram,  who  was  at  Jezreel.  The  king  came 
out  to  meet  him,  riding  in  his  chariot,  with  Ahaziah, 
king  of  Judah.  Joram  said,  "Is  it  peace,  Jehu?" 
whi>  answered,  "What  peace,  so  long  as  the  whore- 
doi  is  of  thy  mother  Jezebel  and  her  witchcrafts  are 
so  many?"  Joram  immediately  exclaimed,  "We 
are  betrayed  ;"  and  Jehu,  drawing  his  bow,  smote 
him  between  his  shoulders,  and  pierced  his  heart. 
He  then  commanded  his  body  to  be  thrown  into  the 
portion  of  Naboth,  the  Jezreelite,  to  fulfil  the  predic- 
tion of  the  prophet  Elijah,  ver.  15 — 26. 

Jehu  afterwards  went  to  Jezreel,  and  as  he  entered 
the  city.  Jezebel,  who  was  at  a  window,  said  to  him, 
"  Can  he  who  has  killed  his  master  hope  for  peace  ?" 
Jehu  immediately  commanded  some  eunuchs,  who 
were  above,  to  throw  her  out  of  the  window,  which 
they  did,  and  she  was  trampled  to  death  under  the 
horses'  feet.  Her  corpse  was  afterwards  devoured 
by  dogs,  so  that  when  Jehu  sent  to  have  her  buried, 
they  found  only  parts  and  bones,  2  Kings  ix.  30, 
&c.  After  this,  Jehu  commanded  the  inhabitants  of 
Samaria  to  slay  all  the  late  king's  children,  besides 
which  he  slew  all  his  relations  and  friends,  the  great 
men  of  his  court,  and  his  priests,  who  were  at  Jez- 
reel. On  his  way  to  Samaria,  he  met  the  relations  of 
Ahaziah,  king  of  Judah,  going  to  Jezreel  to  salute  the 
late  king  and  queen's  children,  of  whose  dcaih  they 
were  ignorant.  Jehu  ordered  them  to  be  massacred  ; 
and  proceeding  to  the  city,  he  slew  all  who  remained 
of  Ahab's  family.  After  this,  he  collected  all  the 
priests  and  prophets  of  Baal,  as  if  for  a  great  festival. 


and  had  the  whole  of  them  massacred.  The  statue 
of  Baal  was  ])ulled  down,  broken,  and  burnt;  and  the 
temple  itself  destroyed,  and  converted  into  a  draught- 
house,  chap.  X.  15 — 27. 

The  Lord  promised  Jehu  that  his  children  should 
sit  on  the  throne  of  Israel  to  the  fourth  generation  ; 
but  Scripture  accuses  him  of  following  the  sins  of 
Jeroboam,  son  of  Nebat ;  and  the  prophet  Hosea 
(i.  4.)  threatens  him,  "Yet  a  little  while,  and  I  will 
avenge  the  blood  of  Jezreel  on  the  house  of  Jehu." 
He  had,  indeed,  been  the  instrument  of  God's  ven- 
geance on  the  house  of  Ahab,  but  in  what  he  had 
done  he  had  been  impelled  by  the  spirit  of  animosity 
and  ambition.  He  had  followed  his  own  passion, 
rather  than  the  will  of  God.  He  had  not  kept  with- 
in due  bounds  ;  and  God,  therefore,  while  he  reward- 
ed his  obedience,  punished  his  injustice,  ambition, 
and  idolatiy,  and  the  blood  unjustly  spilt  by  him.  He 
reigned  twenty-eight  years  over  Israel,  and  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Jehoahaz,  his  son,  2  Kings  x.  35, 36.  The 
reign  of  Jehu  was  perplexed  with  war  against  Ha- 
zael  king  of  Syria,  who  ravaged  the  frontiers  of  Israel, 
and  wasted  the  whole  country  east  of  Jordan,  and 
the  tribss  of  Manasseh,  Gad,  and  Reuben. 

JEKABZEEL,  a  village  belonging  to  the  tribe  of 
Judah,  after  the  captivity,  Neh.  xi.  25. 

JEPHTHAH,  judge  of  Israel,  successor  to  Jair, 
was  a  son  of  Gilead  by  one  of  his  concubines,  Judg. 
xi.  1,  2.  Bemg  driven  from  his  father's  house, 
Jephthah  retired  into  the  land  of  Tob,  where  he  be- 
came captain  of  a  band  of  rovers.  At  this  time  the 
Israelites  beyond  Jordan,  being  oppressed  by  the 
Ammonites,  offered  Jephthah  the  command.  He 
reproached  them  with  their  hijustice  to  him  when 
he  was  forced  from  his  father's  house  ;  but  agreed 
to  succor  them,  on  condition  that,  at  the  end  of  the 
war,  they  would  acknowledge  him  for  their  prince. 
Having  been  acknowledged  prince  of  Israel,  in  an 
assembly  of  the  people,  Jephthah  sent  a  message  of 
defiance  to  the  king  of  the  Ammonites,  assembled 
his  troops,  and  afterwards  marched  against  him, 
vowing  to  the  Lord,  that  if  he  were  successful, 
he  would  offer  up  a  burnt-offering,  and  whatsoever 
should  first  come  out  of  his  house  to  meet  him.  He 
vanquished  the  Ammonites,  and  ravaged  their  land  ; 
but  as  he  returned  to  his  house,  his  only  daughter 
came  out  to  meet  him,  with  timbi-els  and  dances,  and 
thereby  becains  the  subject  of  his  vow.  The  tribe 
of  Ephraim,  jealous  of  Jephthah,  passed  the  Jordan 
in  a  tumultuous  manner,  and,  complaining  that  he 
had  not  invited  them  to  share  in  the  war,  threatened 
to  fire  his  house.  Jephthah  answered,  that  he  had 
.sent  to  desire  their  assistance,  but  that  they  did  not 
come.  But  he  did  more  than  reply  ;  he  assembled 
the  people  of  Gilead,  gave  the  Ejjhraimites  battle, 
and  defeated  them.  The  conquerors  made  them- 
selves mastci-s  of  the  fords  of  Jordan,  and  when  an 
Ei)hraimite  desired  to  go  over,  the  Gileadites  asked, 
"Art  thou  an  Ephraimite?"  If  he  replied,  "No;" 
they  said,  Pronoimce,  then.  Shibboleth  ;  (wliich  signi- 
fies an  ear  of  corn  :)  but  if,  instead  of  Shibboleth,  he 
said  Sibbohnh,  without  an  aspiration,  he  was  imme- 
diately killed.  Forty-two  thousand  men  of  Ephraim 
fell  on  this  occasion. 

Jei)hthah  judged  Israel  six  years,  and  was  buried 
in  Mizpeh,  in  Gilead,  Judg.  xii.  7.  Paul  (Heb.  xi. 
32.)  places  him  among  the  saints  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment, whose  faith  had  distinguished  them.  The 
fable  of  Iphigenia,  daughter  of  Agamemnon,  seems 
to  have  been  borrowed  from  the  history  of  Jephthah 
aud  his  daughter. 


JEPHTHAH 


[  552  ] 


JER 


Jephthah's  Vow.  There  is  something  so  ex- 
traordinary in  Jephthah's  vow,  that  notwithstanding 
Scripture  mentions  it  in  clear  terms,  yet  difficulties 
perplex  commentators.  The  Spirit  of  the  Lord  came 
upon  Jephthah,  says  the  sacred  writer,  (Judg.  xi.  29 
—31,  &c.)  and  he  passed  over  Gilead  and  Manasseh  ; 
no  doubt  to  gather  troops,  and  form  an  army  against 
the  Ammonites.  "And  he  made  a  vow  unto  the 
Lord,  and  said.  If  thou  shalt  without  fail  deliver  the 
children  of  Amnion  into  my  hands,  then  it  shall  be, 
that  whatsoever  cometh  forth  of  the  doors  of  my 
house  to  meet  me,  when  I  return  in  peace  from  the 
children  of  Ammon,  shall  surely  be  the  Lord's,  and 
I  will  offer  it  up  for  a  burnt- offering."  He  does  not 
say  the  first  thing,  the  first  animal,  but — the  first 
person  ;  he  does  not  say,  barely,  that  he  will  vow, 
consecrate,  or  offer  him  to  the  Lord,  but  adds  that 
he  will  offer  him  up  for  a  burnt-offei-ing.  This  is 
the  true  meaning  of  the  text,  and  the  fathers  so  ex- 
plained it.  Several  modern  interpreters,  however, 
translate  thus  :  "And  the  thing  which  shall  go  forth 
out  of  the  doors  of  my  house,  when  I  return  in 
peace  from  making  war  with  the  Ammonites,  that 
shall  be  the  Lord's,  and  I  will  offer  it  up  to  him  for 
a  burnt-offering."  Jephthah,  they  remark,  vows  to 
God  whatever  should  come  forth  to  meet  him,  wheth- 
er man  or  beast,  but  not  in  the  same  manner  ;  that 
is,  if  it  be  a  man  or  woman,  I  will  consecrate  him 
(or  her)  to  the  Lord  ;  if  it  be  an  unclean  animal,  I 
will  kill  or  redeem  him.  Would  he  have  dared,  say 
they,  to  have  offered  a  dog  ?  Could  Jephthah  be 
ignorant,  that  the  sacrifice  of  human  victims  was 
odious  to  God  ?  Would  not  the  principal  men  of 
the  nation,  and  the  priests,  have  opposed  such  a  sac- 
rifice ?  Supposing  that  he  had  devoted  his  daughter, 
was  he  ignorant  of  the  law  which  allowed  him  to 
redeem  her  for  a  moderate  sum  of  money  ?  "  He 
who  shall  have  vowed  his  life  to  the  Lord,  shall  pay 
the  price  that  shall  be  ordained  ;  a  man  fifty  shekels  ; 
a  woman  thirty,"  &c.  Lev.  xxvii.  2,  3.  But  to  this  it 
is  replied,  (I.)  That  this  interpretation  wrests  the 
meaning  of  the  text,  which  says  expressly,  "  He  who 
should  come  out  to  meet  him  should  be  the  Lord's, 
and  should  be  offered  up  for  a  burnt-sacrifice."  (2.) 
No  one  attempts  to  justify  either  the  precipitate  vow 
of  Jephthah,  or  his  literal  execution  of  it.  It  is  ad- 
mitted that  the  vow  was  not  according  to  knowledge, 
and  that  God  did  not  require  such  a  victim.  Jeph- 
thah had  done  much  better,  had  he  asked  forgive- 
ness, and  imposed  on  himself,  with  the  advice  of  the 
high-priest,  some  penalty  proportioned  to  his  fault. 
(3.)  The  redemption  of  things  devoted,  which  the 
law  permits,  is  not  of  things  devoted  by  anathema, 
but  of  such  only  as  are  devoted  simply  ;  in  the  for- 
mer case  they  are  not  redeemable.  "No  devoted 
thing  that  a  man  shall  devote  unto  the  Lord,  of  all 
that  he  hath,  both  of  man  and  beast  ....  shall  be  sold 
or  redeemed  ....  none  devoted  which  shall  be  de- 
voted of  men  shall  be  redeemed  ;  but  shall  surely  be 
put  to  death,"  Lev.  xxvii.  28,  29.  (4.)  The  fathers 
and  many  learned  commentators  have  found  no  diffi- 
culty ill  acknowledging,  that  Jephthah  did  really 
offer  up  his  daughter  for  a  burnt-sacrifico.  Jose- 
ph us  (Antiq.  lib.  v.  cap.  9.)  expressly  says  he  did  so. 
The  Chaldeo  yiaraphrast  says,  "He  sacrificed  her 
without  consulting  the  high-priest ;"  and  that  "if  he 
had  consulted  him,  he  would  have  redeemed  his 
daughter  with  a  sum  of  money."  Ambrose, 
Augustin,  and  others,  disapprove  the  conduct  of 
Jephthah,  and  say,  that  in  this  particular,  he  did 
what    was    forbidden    by    the   law.      Jerome   and 


Chrysostom  believe,  that  God  permitted  the  per- 
formance of  it,  to  punish  the  imprudent  father  for 
his  temerity. 

This  is  the  substance  of  Calmet's  remarks  on  the 
subject ;  whether  they  are  satisfactory,  must  be  left 
to  the  determination  of  the  reader.  We  may  ob- 
serve, however,  that  the  question,  in  some  measure, 
depends  on  the  acceptance  of  the  Hebrew  particle 
(i)  in  verse  3L  The  text  may,  without  doing  it  vio- 
lence, be  rendered,  "Whatever  comes  to  meet  me,  I 
will  devote  to  the  Lord,  or  I  will  offer  him  up  a 
burnt-sacrifice."  Othei'wise,  we  may  read,  "  What- 
ever comes  to  meet  me,  I  will  devote  to  the  Lord ; 
AND  I  will  offer  up  to  him  a  burnt-sacrifice  ;"  although 
the  most  obvious  rendering  is,  "  and  I  will  offer  up 
to  him  that  which  comes  out  of  my  house  ;"  as  Cal- 
met.  We  ought  further  to  notice,  that  Jephthah's 
rashness  had  time  to  subside,  since  his  daughter  went 
two  months  into  the  country  to  bewail  her  virginity, 
(it  is  not  said,  her  sacrifice,)  which  seems  to  mean 
her  consecration  to  God,  which  obliged  her  to  re- 
main single,  without  posterity.  Moreover,  the  Israel- 
ite women  went  yearly  four  times  a  year  to  mourn 
for  the  daughter  of  Jephthah  ;  to  lament  her  seclu- 
sion from  the  world,  and  the  hardship  of  her  situa- 
tion, cut  off  from  domestic  life  and  enjoyment.  Now, 
if  in  the  course  of  two  months  nobody  could  have 
suggested  to  Jephthah  a  ransom  for  his  daughter,  yet 
surely  she  must  have  been  alive,  though  dead  to  him 
and  his  family,  (she  being  his  only  child,)  and  to  the 
woi'ld,  by  her  seclusion — if  the  Israelite  women 
went  to  condole  for  or  with  her.  It  should  be  ob- 
served, also,  that  it  is  not  said  afterwards,  that  he 
sacrificed  her,  but,  "  he  did  with  her  according  to  his 
vow  ;"  and  it  is  added,  she  kneiv  no  man.  If  she  were 
sacrificed,  this  remark  is  frivolous  ;  but  if  she  were 
consecrated  to  perpetual  virginity,  the  idea  coincides 
with  the  visits  of  the  Israelitish  women.  If  there 
were  at  this  time  women  attenrlants  at  the  taberna- 
cle, as  Calmet  supposes,  might  not  the  daughter  of 
Jephthah  have  joined  their  companv  ? 

JEPHUNNEH,  father  of  Caleb,  of  Judah,  Numb, 
xiii.  6. 

JERAHMEEL,  a  district  in  the  south  of  Judah, 
possessed  by  the  descendants  of  Jerahmeel,  son  of 
Hezron,  1  Sam.  xxvii.  10 ;  xxx.  29.  David  told 
Achish  that  he  invaded  the  country  of  Jerahmeel, 
while  he  was  ravaging  the  territories  of  the  Amalek- 
ites,  Geshuritps,  and  Jezrites. 

JEREMIAH,  son  of  Hilkiah,  of  a  priestly  family, 
and  a  native  of  Anathoth,  of  Benjamin,  Jer.  i.  1. 
Before  his  birth  he  was  destined  to  be  a  prophet ; 
but  when  God  first  sent  him  to  speak  to  the  kings 
and  princes,  the  priests  and  people  of  Judah,  he  ex- 
cused himself  by  alleging  his  youth.  This  was  in 
the  fourteenth  year  of  his  age  ,  and  the  thirteenth 
year  of  Josiah,  ante  A.  D.  629.  He  prophesied  till 
after  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  by  the  Chaldeans, 
(A.  M.  3416,)  and  died,  as  is  believed,  in  Egypt,  two 
years  afterwards.  Jeremiah  preached  viva  voce,  till 
the  fourth  year  of  Jehoiakim,  king  of  Judah.  When 
God  called  him  to  the  pro|)hetic  ministry,  he  discov- 
ered to  hitn,  that  he  should  sufler  much  from  the 
Jews  ;  but  he  at  the  same  time  promised  to  inake 
him  as  a  wall  of  brass  against  the  kings,  princes,  and 
people  of  Judah.  He  also  showed  him,  under  the 
figure  of  the  branch  of  an  almond  tree,  and  that  of 
a  pot  heated  by  fire,  blown  up  by  a  vehement  north 
wind,  that  Judea  was  threatened  by  a  very  great  and 
near  calamity,  from  the  Chaldeans,  Jer.  i.  11,  &c. 
We  may  say,  that  this  is  the  general  subject  of  his 


JEREMIAH 


[  553 


JEREMIAH 


prophecieB.     They  turn  on  tlie  sins  of  Jiidah,  and 
their  punishment  by  Nebuchadnezzar. 

The  prophet  begins  with  a  sharp  invective  against 
the  sins  of  Judnh,  during  the  first  year  of  Josiah's 
reign,  in  whicii  these  prophecies  were  pronounced, 
and  before  tliat  prince  had  reformed  liis  dominions. 
During  this  time  Jeremiah  endured  great  persecu- 
tions, (2  Kings  xxiii.  4,  &c.)  his  very  relations  and 
fellow-citizens  of  the  little  town  of  Anathoth  threat- 
ening to  kill  him  if  he  continued  prophesying.  But 
he  forewarned  them,  too,  that  they  should  j)erish  by 
the  sword,  or  by  famine,  chap.  xii. — xvi.  About  this 
time,  God  forbade  tlie  prophet  from  taking  a  wife, 
;uk1  having  children  in  Jerusalem  ;  from  entering 
any  house  of  mirth,  or  of  mourning,  to  comfort  those 
in  sorrow.  Calmet  is  of  opinion,  that  under  the 
reign  of  Shallum,  Jeremiah  received  God's  orders 
to  go  to  a  potter's  house,  (chap.  xvi. — xviii.)  where 
he  observed  a  pot  broken  in  the  j)otter's  hands,  who 
immediately  made  another  of  the  same  clay.  Jere- 
miah represented  this  as  an  indication  of  Judah's 
reprobation,  in  whose  place  God  would  i-aise  up  an- 
other people.  To  render  this  prophecy  the  more 
striking,  he  was  commanded  to  take  an  earthen 
pitcher,  and  to  break  it  before  the  j)riests  and  elders 
of  the  people  in  the  valley  of  Hinnom.  From  hence 
he  went  up  to  the  temple,  where  he  confirmed  all  he 
had  said.  Pashur,  captain  of  the  temi)le,  seized  and 
confined  him  in  a  prison  belonging  to  the  temple, 
till  the  next  day,  when  he  again  foretold  the  cap- 
tivity. 

Jehoiakim,  kingof  Judah,  having  succeeded  Shal- 
lum, Jeremiah  assured  him,  (chap,  xxii.)  that  if  he 
would  be  steadfast  in  fidelity  to  God,  there  should 
still  be  kings  of  Judah  in  his  palace,  with  all  the 
lustre  of  their  dignity  ;  but  that  if  he  persevered  in 
his  irregularities,  God  would  reduce  that  palace  to  a 
wilderness.  As  Jehoiakim,  instead  of  reforming, 
abandoned  himself  to  cruelty  and  avarice,  and  to  the 
i-aising  of  costly  buildings,  the  prophet  threatened 
iiim  with  a  miserable  death,  deprived  of  the  honors 
of  burial.  He  further  foretold  against  Coniah, 
brother  of  Jehoiakim,  that  he  should  be  delivered 
to  the  Chaldeans,  and  that  no  prince  of  his  family 
should  sit  on  the  throne  of  Judah,  ch.  xxiii.  Shal- 
lum reigned  about  three  months,  Jehoiakim  succeed- 
ing him  the  same  year,  A.  M.  3394.  The  prophecies 
of  Jeremiah  against  Jehoiakim  may  have  been  pro- 
nounced A.  M.  3395. 

About  this  time,  Jeremiah,  going  up  to  the  temple, 
foretold  its  destruction ;  upon  which  the  priests 
seized  him,  and  declared  he  deserved  to  die.  The 
princes  being  assembled  to  judge  him,  Jeremiah  im- 
dauntedly  told  them  that  he  had  said  nothing  but  by 
God's  order  ;  and  that  unless  they  were  converted, 
they  would  soon  see  the  accomplishment  of  his  men- 
aces. This  affecting  some  of  his  judges,  they  dis- 
missed him,  and  justified  him  by  the  example  of  the 
prophet  Micah,  who  had  foretold  the  same  event 
under  Hezekiah,  without  suffering  fi)r  it. 

Before  the  fourth  year  of  Jehoiakim,  Jeremiah 
had  prophesied  against  several  people  bordering  on 
Judea,  (ch.  xlvi. — xlix.)  against  the  Egyptians,  Philis- 
tines, Tyrians,  Phoenicians,  Edomites,  Ammonites, 
and  Moabites ;  against  Damascus,  Kedar,  Ilazor, 
&c.  for  Jeremiah  was  appointed  prophet  of  the  Gen- 
tiles, as  Paul  was  "  apostle  of  the  Gentiles."  The 
prophet  threatens  all  these  people  with  the  cup  of 
God's  wrath  ;  and  his  propliecy  was  fulfilled  after 
the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  by  the  Chaldeans. 
In  the  fourth  year  of  Jehoiakim,  Nebuchadnezzar 
70 


besieged  Jerusalem,  and  took  prisoners  Jehoiakim 
and  others,  among  whom  was  Daniel.  He  designed 
to  carry  them  to  Babylon ;  but  set  Jehoiakim  at  lib- 
erty. In  this  year  Jeremiah  again  positively  foretold 
the  captivity  of  the  Jews,  and  its  duration  for  seyenty 
years,  after  which  he  declared  that  God  would  pun- 
ish the  Chaldeans  and  Babylonians  in  their  turn.  In 
this  year  also,  the  prophet  was  ordered  to  write 
what  had  been  revealed  to  him,  from  the  thirteenth 
year  of  Josiah  to  this  time,  chap,  xxxvi.  He  dic- 
tated his  prophecies  to  Baruch,  and  directed  him  to 
read  them  in  the  temple,  himself  being  in  fetters  by 
the  king's  command.  Baruch  went  to  the  temple, 
and  on  the  great  day  of  expiation  read,  before  the 
concourse  of  people,  the  unwelcome  predictions  of 
Jeremiah.  The  king  was  informed  of  the  occnr- 
rence,  and  Baruch  was  examined  concerning  the 
manner  in  which  this  volume  was  dictated  by  Jere- 
miah. The  king  heard  three  or  four  columns  of  the 
prophecies  read  ;  when,  being  enraged,  he  cut  the 
manuscript  with  a  pen-knife,  and  threw  it  into  the 
fire,  and  commanded  Baruch  and  Jeremiah  to  be 
seized.  Jeremiah  received  orders  to  dictate  a  second 
time  to  Baruch,  what  had  been  thus  burnt ;  and  God 
added  many  new  things. 

In  the  seventh  year,  the  prophet,  by  God's  order, 
brought  the  Rechabites  into  the  temple,  and  presented 
wine  to  them,  which  they  declined  drinking,  because 
Jonadab,  their  ancestor,  had  forbidden  them.  Jere- 
miah took  occasion  from  this  circumstance  to  re- 
proach the  Jews  with  their  want  of  submission  to 
God's  laws,  while  the  Rechabites  showed  so  much 
to  the  orders  of  their  ancestor.  Some  short  time 
after,  Jehoiakim  was  killed,  and  thrown  by  the  Chal- 
deans into  a  common  sewer.  His  son  Jehoaichin 
succeeded  him,  and  reigned  only  three  months ; 
when  he,  too,  was  taken  by  the  Chaldeans,  and  car- 
ried captive  to  Babylon.  Zedekiah  succeeded  Je- 
hoiachin. 

The  countries  of  Moab,  Ammon,  Edom,  Tyre,  and 
Sidon  sent  ambassadors  to  Zedekiah  in  the  begin- 
ning of  his  reign.  To  each  of  these  ambassadors, 
Jeremiah  gave  a  yoke  to  carry  to  their  masters,  with 
orders  to  tell  them  from  God,  that  whosoever  should 
refuse  submission  to  Nebuchadnezzar,  should  be 
compelled  to  yield  it.  He  said  the  same  to  Zede- 
kiah ;  and  as  the  prophet  wore  bonds  and  yokes  on 
his  neck,  hinting  to  the  Israelites  their  approaching 
captivity,  Hananiah,  a  false  prophet,  laid  hold  of 
them,  and  breaking  them  publicly,  said,  "  Thus  Avill 
the  Lord  break  the  yoke  which  Nebuchadnezzar 
would  impose  on  the  Jews."  As  Jeremiah  was  re- 
tiring, God  secretly  directed  him  to  return,  and  tell 
Hananiah,  that  instead  of  the  wooden  yoke  which 
he  had  broken,  Nebuchadnezzar  would  put  on  them 
(the  Jews)  another  of  iron.  The  prophet  added, 
"  Since  you  (H.-maniah)  abuse  the  name  of  God  with 
your  lies,  you  shall  die  before  the  end  of  this  year." 
He  died  within  two  months,  chap,  xxviii. 

In  the  reign  of  Zedekiah,  as  Calmet  supposes, 
Jeremiah  received  God's  orders  to  go  to  some  cavern 
near  the  Euphrates,  and  hide  a  linen  girdle.  Some 
time  afterwards  he  returned,  and  found  the  girdle 
rotted  ;  prefiguring  thereby  God's  desertion  of  Ju- 
dah, which  heretofore  he  had  valued  as  a  girdle.  In 
the  fourth  year  of  the  same  prince,  Seraiah,  Baruch's 
brother,  being  sent  to  Babylon,  probably  to  solicit  of 
Nebuchadnezzar  the  restitution  of  the  vessels  be- 
longing to  the  temple,  Jeremiah  gave  him  his  prophe- 
cies against  Babylon,  with  directions  to  read  them 
to  the  captive  Jews ;  and  then  to  fasten  them  to  a 


JEREMIAH 


[  554  ] 


JEREMIAH 


stone,  and  throw  them  hito  the  Euphrates,  ch.  I.  li. 
2—59,  61,  62.  He  wrote  again  to  the  same  captives, 
by  Gemariah,  whom  the  king  sent  to  Babylon,  ad- 
vising them  to  settle  in  that  country,  and  to  build 
houses,  and  marry,  because  their  captivity  was  to 
last  seventy  years.  Shemaiah  at  Babylon  wrote  to 
Zephaniah,  one  of  the  chief  priests,  and  reproved 
him  for  permitting  Jeremiah  to  write  these  things. 
Zephaniah  read  the  letter  to  Jeremiah,  and  the 
prophet  wrote  again  to  the  captives  of  Babylon,  and 
foretold  to  Shemaiah,  that  he  should  die  in  captivity, 
and  that  neither  he,  nor  any  of  his  posterity,  should 
see  the  deliverance  of  Judah. 

While  Nebuchadnezzar  was  besieging  Jerusalem, 
in  the  tenth  year  of  Zedekiah,  Jeremiah,  who  was 
continually  pi-ophesying  adversities,  was  imprisoned 
in  the  court  of  the  palace.  Hanameel,  the  son  of 
his  uncle,  visited  him,  and  told  him,  that  tlie  right  of 
redeeming  a  certain  field  at  Anatholh  was  his.  Jere- 
miah bought  the  field,  sealed  the  writings,  and  paid 
the  money  for  it.  He  committed  the  writings  to  Ba- 
ruch,  to  keep  them,  remarking  that  the  time  would 
come  when  the  land  would  be  again  cultivated  and 
inhabited.  During  the  siege,  the  king  and  the  in- 
habitants of  Jerusalem  liberated  their  slaves,  be- 
cause it  was  a  sabbatical  year  ;  but  Nebuchadnezzar 
having  witiulrawn,  to  oppose  the  king  of  Egypt,  who 
advanced  to  the  relief  of  t!ie  city,  the  king  and  people 
seized  again  their  slaves,  rrgardlcss  of  their  word, 
or  of  the  law  of  God,  for  which  they  were  terribly 
threatened  by  the  [jrophet.  After  the  siege  was  sus- 
pended, Jeremiah's  liberty  was  restored,  and  Zede- 
kiah recommended  himself  to  his  prayers.  The 
prophet  sent  the  king  word,  that  Nebuchadnezzar 
wnidd  return  against  the  city,  that  he  would  take  it, 

d  reduce  it  to  ashes.     When  he  was  retiring  to 

lathoth,  the  place  of  his  nativity,  the  guards  seized 
him  as  a  deserter,  and  the  princes  threw  him  into  a 
dungeon,  where  his  life  was  in  great  danger.  Zede- 
kiah some  time  afterwards  released  him,  and  ordered 
bread  for  him  every  day  while  there  should  be  any 
in  the  city. 

Nebuchadnezzar  returned  to  the  siege,  and  the 
prophet  continuing  to  foretell  calamities,  the  great 
men  of  Jerusalem  complained  to  Zedekiah,  who 
permitted  them  to  do  with  him  what  they  pleased. 
They  let  him  down  into  a  muddy  well,  where  he 
must  have  soon  perished,  if  Ebedmelech  had  not 
informed  the  king,  who  commanded  him  to  be  taken 
out.  He  was  kept  in  the  court  of  the  prison  till  the 
city  was  taken,  (chap,  xxxviii.)  when  with  other  cap- 
tives he  was  carried  to  Ramah.  Nebuzaradan  gave 
him  the  choice  of  going  to  Babylon,  or  remaining  in 
Judea.  The  prophet  chose  the  latter,  and  went  to 
Gedali.ah  at  Mizpeh,  where  they  lived  in  security, 
when  Ishmael,  son  of  Nethaniah,  murdered  Geda- 
liah,  chap.  xl.  xli. 

Johanan  having  collected  together  a  nimiber  of 
Jews  at  Bethlehem,  they  consulted  Jeremiah,  whether 
they  should  stay  in  Judea,  or  retire  into  Egypt.  The 
prophet  desired  time  to  consult  God  ;  and  after  ten 
days  he  answered  them,  that  if  they  w(!nt  into  Egypt, 
they  would  there  perish  by  tiie  sword,  famine,  and 
pestilence  ;  but  that  if  they  continued  in  Judah,  God 
would  preserve  them.  The  chiefs  of  the  people  as- 
serted, that  this  answer  j)roceeded  not  from  God,  but 
from  Baruch,  to  divert  them  from  going  into  Egypt. 
They  resolved  therefore  to  proceed,  and  ((impelled 
Jeremiah  and  Baruch  to  accompany  them.  H(>re 
the  prophet  uttered  several  predictions  against  the 
Jews  and  Egyptians  ; — among  others,  that  Nebuchad- 


nezzar would  invade  the  country,  describing  the 
very  place  where  he  would  erect  his  throne ; — and 
that  God  would  give  the  king  of  Egypt  into  the 
hands  of  the  Chaldeans,  as  he  had  given  Zedekiah, 
chap.  xlii. 

The  place  of  Jeremiah's  death  is  uncertain.  Seve- 
ral of  the  ancients  maintain,  that  he  was  put  to  death 
at  Taphnis  in  Egypt,  by  the  Jews,  who  were  enraged 
at  his  menaces  and  reproaches ;  and  they  explain 
Heb.  xi.  37.  ("They  were  stoned,")  as  relating  to  his 
death.  Some  think  he  returned  into  Judea  ;  others, 
that  he  died  in  Babylon. 

In  addition  to  the  book  of  Jeremiah's  prophecies, 
we  have  his  Lamentations,  in  five  chapters,  which 
are  mournful  songs,  composed  on  occasion  of  those 
calamities  which  befell  Jerusalem  by  the  Chaldeans. 
He  also  wrote  lamentations  on  the  death  of  Josiali, 
(2  Chron.  xxxv.  25.)  but  they  have  not  come  down 
to  us.  He  is  said  by  some  also  to  be  the  author  of 
Ps.  cxxxvii :  and  some  believe  that  he,  with  Eze- 
kiel,  composed  Ps.  Ixv.  Some  have  thought  that 
he  compile^  the  two  books  of  Kings  ;  because  the 
last  chapter  of  his  prophecies  is  the  same  with  the  last 
chapter  of  the  Second  Book  of  Kings.  But  the  reason 
of  this  a|)pears  to  be,  that  the  last  chapter  of  Jere- 
miah was  taken  from  the  Second  Book  of  Kings, 
as  a  supplement  to  his  prophecy.  Jerome  observes, 
that  Jeremiah's  style  is  lower  and  more  neglected 
than  some  others  of  the  prophets,  (Isaiah's,  for  ex- 
ample,) which  he  ascribes  to  the  prophet's  birth  and 
education  at  Anathoth,  a  village  or  little  country 
town.  Other  critics  discover  a  sublimity  and  great- 
ness in  his  Si"ylc.  Grotius  thinks,  that  his  talent  lay 
prii!ci|)ally  in  touching  and  exciting  the  tender 
passions ;  and  certainly,  the  Lamentations  are  a 
masterpiece  in  this  way.     See  Lamentations. 


Mr.  Ilarmer  (vol.  ii.  p.  270.)  has  some  remarks  on 
the  double  evidences  of  Jeremiali's  purchase,  (chap, 
xxxii.)  which  passage  he  supposes  he  has  illustrated, 
by  an  extract  from  Chardin.  His  words  are  these  ; 
"Both  the  writings  were  in  the  hands  of  Jeremiah, 
and  at  his  disposal ;  (ver.  14.)  for  what  purpose,  then, 
were  duplicates  made  ?  To  those  unacquainted  with 
eastern  usages,  it  must  appear  a  question  of  some 
difHculty.  'The  open,  or  unsealed  writing,'  says  an 
eminent  commentator,  '  was  either  a  copy  of  the 
sealed  deed  ;  or  else  a  certificate  of  the  witnesses, 
in  whose  presence  the  deed  or  purchase  was  signed 
and  sealed.'  But  it  still  recurs,  of  what  use  was  a 
copy  that  was  to  be  buried  in  the  same  earthen  ves- 
sel, and  run  exactly  the  same  risk  with  the  original  ? 
— Why  were  they  s(>parate  writings,  and  why  was 
one  sealed,  and  not  the  other?"  Mr.  H.  then  quotes 
from  Chardin  :  "  After  a  contract  is  made,  it  is  kept 
by  the  party  himself,  not  tlu;  notary  ;  and  they  cause 
a  ro])y  to  b(!  made,  signed  by  the  notary  alone,  which 
is  shown  on  jirojier  occasions,  and  never  exhibit 
the  other."  This  illustration  certainly  leaves  much 
to  be  wished  for;  as  ajipears  byqtioting  the  ])assage : 
"I  bou']ht  the  fi(!l(l,  subscribed  the  evidence,  sealed 
it,  took  witnesses,  and  weighed  the  money  in  the 
balanccH.  I  took  the  evidence  of  the  purchase,  that 
which  was  sealed  according  to  law  and  custom,  and 
that  which  was  open — I  gave  the  evidence  to  Ba- 
ruch, and  I  charg(Hl  Baruch,  Take  these  evidences, 
the  sealed  and  the  open,  and  put  them  in  an  earthen 
vessel,  that  they  may  continue  uiany  days;  for  thus 
saith   the   Lor(l,  Houses,  and  fields,  and   vineyards, 


JEREMIAH 


[555  ] 


JER 


shall  be  possessed  again  in  this  land,"  ver.  44.  "Men 
shall  buy  fields  for  money,  and  subscribe  evidences, 
and  seal  them, — and  take  witnesses,  in  the  land  of  ■ 
Benjamin."  The  incident  receives  illustration,  pei-- 
liaps,  from  the  Gentoo  law  of  boundaries,  and  limits, 
wliicli  is  thus  translated: — "Dust,  or  bones,  or  se- 
boos,  (bran,)  or  cinders,  or  scraps  of  earthenware,  or 
the  liairs  of  a  cow's  tail,  or  the  seed  of  the  cotton 
plant ;  all  these  things  above  mentioned,  being  put 
into  an  earthen  pot  filled  to  the  brim,  a  man  must 
privately  bury  upon  the  confines  of  his  own  bound- 
;iry  ;  and  there  preserve  stones  also,  or  bricks,  or 
.'<ea  sand  ;  either  of  these  three  things  may  be  buried 
hy  way  of  landmark  of  the  limits  ;  for  all  these 
tilings,  upon  remaining  a  long  time  in  the  ground, 
arc  not  liable  to  rot,  or  become  putrid  ;  any  other 
thing,  also,  which  will  remain  a  long  time  in  the 
ground,  without  becoming  rotten  or  putrid,  may  be 
buried  for  the  same  purpose.  Those  persons  who 
by  any  of  these  methods  can  sliojv  the  line  of  their 
boundaries,  shall  acquaint  their  sons  with  the  respect- 
ive landmarks  of  those  boundaries;  and,  in  the 
same  manner,  those  sons  also  shall  explain  the  signs 
of  their  limits  to  their  children. — If  all  persons  would 
act  in  this  manner,  there  could  be  no  dispute  con- 
cerning limits  and  boundaries."  Might  not  Jere- 
miah's earthen  pot,  which  would  last,  "  without  be- 
coming rotten,"  many  days,  be  destined  to  enclose 
the  purchase-deeds  of  this  field,  to  be  buried  some- 
where in  the  field  itself,  if  possible  ;  in  order  for  its 
preservation,  that  it  might  be,  at  a  fiiture  period,  an 
evidence  of  the  purchase  ? — This  seems  to  be 
strengthened  by  the  consideration,  that,  at  the  future 
period  foretold  by  the  prophet,  the  inhabitants  should 
!)c  restored  to  their  own  lands,  and  in  order  to  re- 
sume them,  they  should  seek  after  such  concealed 
tokens  of  their  forefathers'  possession ;  at  which 
time,  being  able  to  describe  the  nature  of  such  ves- 
sels, their  situation  and  their  contents,  the  identity 
of  the  claimants,  and  their  famihes,  with  the  truth 
of  their  claims,  should  appear  undeniable.  If  this 
pot  were  buried  in  the  city  of  Jerusalem,  the  end 
would  be  answered,  (though  not  so  completely,) 
since  Baruch  might  inform  the  proper  heirs  where 
to  seek  it,  and  how  to  describe  its  contents. 

We  may  remark,  fiu-ther,  on  the  method  of  seal- 
ing, that  the  word  here  rendered  seal  does  not  re- 
strictively  imply  a  waxen  seal,  or  a  seal  for  evidence 
only,  but  to  close  up,  to  secure,  by  some  solid  or 
glutinous  matter.  So,  Deut.  xxxii.  34,  "  Is  not  this 
laid  up  in  store  with  me,  and  sealed  up  [closed  up, 
secured,  for  preservation)  among  my  treasures  ?" 
In  Job  xxxviii.  14,  a  seal  is  mentioned  as  lieing  made 
of  clay  ;  which,  indeed,  is  customary  in  the  East. 
Suppose,  then,  this  deed  were  enclosed  in  a  roll  of 
some  strong  substance,  pitched  over,  to  j^rotect  it 
from  water,  or  surrounded  with  a  coat  of  firm  clay, 
for  the  same  purpose,  and  placed  at  the  bottom  of 
an  earthen  vessel;  while  the  writing  not  thus  en- 
closed, or  coated  over,  was  laid  among  a  quantity  of 
dry  matters,  "  stones,  bricks,  or  sea-sand,"  above  the 
vessel.  In  this  case,  both,  or  very  probably  one,  of 
them  in  an  earthen  vessel,  well  closed,  and  carefully 
buried,  might  last  a  much  longer  period  than  seventy 
years ;  and  the  peculiarity  of  its  contents  might  be 
much  longer  remembered  by  those  to  whom  it  was 
communicated,  and  who  were  concerned  in  claiming 
the  property.  Whoever  has  been  conversant  with 
the  history  of  our  civil  wars,  and  of  later  times,  inust 
recollect  many  instances  of  pots  of  money  and  other 
treasures  found  in  such  good  condition,  that  had  they 


been  accompanied  by  papers,  they  would  have  been 
legible,  and  well  preserved.  Now,  as  Jeremiah 
could  not  himself  go  out  of  his  prison,  he  delivers 
these  d(;eds  to  Baruch,  for  the  purjjose  of  their  pres- 
ervation from  the  general  pillage,  burning,  &c.  of 
the  city,  when  taken  ;  in  which  otherwise  they  had 
little  chance  of  escaping  total  destruction ;  and, 
probably,  for  the  purpose  of  being  buried,  as  above 
described. 

JERICHO,  a  city  of  Benjamin,  about  20  miles 
E.  N.  E.  from  Jerusalem,  and  6  from  Jordan,  Josh, 
xviii.  21.  This  was  the  first  city  in  Canaan  taken  by 
Joshua,  (Josh.  ii.  1,  &c.)  who  sent  spies  thither,  that 
were  received  by  Rahab,  and  preserved  from  the 
king.  Joshua  received  God's  orders  to  besiege  Jeri- 
cho, soon  after  his  passage  over  Jordan,  and  perhaps 
on  the  evening  before,  or  on  the  day  of  the  first  pass- 
over,  which  the  Hebrews  celebrated  in  Canaan,  chap, 
vi.  1,  &c.  The  manner  of  the  siege  was  very  ex- 
traordinary. God  connnanded  them  once  a  day  for 
seven  successive  days  to  march  round  the  city.  The 
soldiers  marched  first,  (probably  beyond  the  reach 
of  the  enemy's  arrows,)  and  after  them  the  priests, 
ark,  &c.  On  the  seventh  day  they  marched  seven 
times  round  the  city  ;  and  at  the  seventh,  while  the 
trumpets  were  sounding,  and  all  the  people  shouting, 
the  walls  fell  down.  The  first  day,  the  rabbins  say, 
was  (our)  Sunday,  and  the  seventh  the  sabbath  day. 
During  the  first  six  days  the  people  continued  in 
profound  silence  ;  but  on  the  seventh,  Joshua  com- 
manding them  to  shout,  they  all  exerted  their  voices  ; 
and  the  walls  being  overthrown,  they  entered  the 
city,  every  man  in  the  place  opposite  to  him.  The 
city  being  devoted,  (see  Anathema,)  they  set  fire  to 
it,  and  consecrated  all  the  gold,  silver,  and  brass. 
Joshua  then  said,  "Cursed  be  the  man  before  the 
Lord,  who  shall  rebuild  Jericho."  Hiel  of  Bethel, 
about  537  years  afterwards,  rebuilt  it,  (1  Kings  xvi. 
34.)  and  lost  his  eldest  son,  Abiram,  and  his  young- 
est son,  Segub.     See  Abiram. 

We  are  not  to  siqipose,  however,  that  there  was  no 
city  of  Jericho  till  the  time  of  Hiel.  There  was  a 
city  of  palm-trees,  the  same  probably  as  Jericho,  under 
the  Judges ;  (Judg.iii.  13.)  and  David's  ambassadors, 
who  had  been  insulted  by  the  Ammonites,  resided  at 
Jericho  till  their  beards  were  gi-own  again,  2  Sam. 
X.  4,  5.  There  was,  therefore,  a  city  of  Jericho  ;  but 
it  stood,  probably,  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  original 
Jericho.  Josep'hus  distinguishes  these  two  places 
when  he  says,  that  in  his  time,  near  ancient  Jericho, 
which  was  destroyed  by  Joshua,  there  was  a  foun- 
tain which  abounded  with  water.  But  after  Hiel  ot 
Bethel  had  rebuilt  old  Jericho,  no  one  scrupled  to 
dwell  there.  Herod  built  a  very  beautiful  palace 
here ;  and  om  Saviour  wrought  some  miracles  on  a 
visit  to  the  city. 

In  the  article  Barri-nness,  we  have  ventured  to 
associate  Jericho  with  other  towns  producing  abor- 
tion ;  and  to  what  is  there  said  may  be  added  the 
testimonyofJosephus,  who  says,  (Bell.  Jud.iv.8.J.) 
"Near  Jericho  is  a  very  plentiful  spring;  it  riseth 
near  the  old  city  ;  of  which  spring  there  is  a  report 
that,  in  former  times,  it  did  not  only  make  the  Iruits 
of  the  earth  and  of  the  trees  to  decay,  but  also  the  ott- 
spring  of  women;  and  was  universally  deleterious; 
.  .  .  ?  but  this  was  amended  by  Elisha  ....  these 
waters  have  now  so  great  a  virtue  in  them,  that 
wherever  they  are  conveyed,  they  P^-oduce  very 
speedy  ripen/ss."  To  these  observations  on  he 
nature  of  the  soil  of  Jericho,  we  may  add,  tha  the 
rabbins  mention  another  place  in  the  mountains  of 


JERICHO 


{  556  ] 


JER 


Judah,  which  they  call  Caphar-decaraiin,  because 
"  unless  the  women  departed  from  this  town  to  some 
other  place,  they  could  not  bring  forth  male  children," 
— meaning  they  were  liable  to  abortions.  (Hieros. 
Taanith,  fol.  69.  1.) 

Jericho  was  the  second  city  in  Judea :  in  its  royal 
palace  Herod  died ;  it  had  also  a  hippodrome  and 
an  amphitheatre.  There  is  a  tradition  in  the  Jeru- 
salem Talmud,  that  there  were  at  least  twelve  thou- 
sand priests  at  Jericho,  ready  to  sui)ply  any  deficiency 
that  might  occur  at  Jerusalem.  (Conip.  Luke  x.  31, 
32.)  The  wheat  at  Jericho  was  gathered  before  the 
first  fruits  at  Jerusalem ;  as  the  productions  of  this 
neighborhood  were  much  forwarder  in  respect  of 
ripeness. 

D'Arvieux  thus  describes  the  state  of  Jericho  in 
his  time  ;  (A.  D.  1659  ;)  but  it  is  likely  that  the  village 
he  visited,  and  the  same  that  is  described  by  more 
modern  travellers,  was  at  some  distance  from  the 
ancient  town ;  not  a  vestige  of  which  now  remains, 
unless  some  tumuli,  discovered  by  Mr.  Buckingham, 
three  or  fom-  miles  nearer  to  Jerusalem,  may  be  sup- 
posed to  mark  the  course  of  its  walls.  "  After  having 
travelled  a  quarter  of  a  league  in  the  plain,  we  en- 
camped near  to  the  gardens  of  Jericho,  by  the  side  of 
a  small  brook  ;  and  while  our  sujjper  was  jjreparing, 
we  Avalked  in  the  gardens,  and  among  the  ruins  of 
Jericho.  This  very  ancient  city  is  now  desolate,  and 
consists  of  only  about  fifty  poor  houses  in  bad  con- 
dition, wherein  the  laborers  who  cultivate  the  gardens 
slielter  themselves.  The  plain  around  is  extremely 
fertile ;  the  soil  is  middling  fat ;  but  it  is  watered  by 
several  rivulets,  which  flow  into  the  Jordan.  Not- 
withstanding these  advantages,  only  the  gardens  ad- 
jacent to  the  town  are  cultivated.  We  saw  here 
abundance  of  those  trees  which  are  called  in  Arabic 
Zacoum;  they  are  furnished  with  thorns  like  acacias, 
and  resemble  bushes.  They  bear  fruits  the  size  of 
large  plums ;  the  stone  of  which  resembles  a  rough- 
sided  melon.  These  are  pounded,  and  the  kernel 
yields  an  oil,  which  is  a  kind  of  balsam,  perfectly 
good  against  bruises,  cold  tumors,  nervous  contrac- 
tions, and  rheumatisms.  We  visited  the  fountain  of 
the  prophet  Elisha,  which,  for  many  ages,  has  fur- 
nished water  for  the  gardens  ;  it  was  formerly  bitter, 
but  was  healed  by  that  prophet.  The  head  of  this 
water  is  enclosed  in  a  basin  of  a  triangular  shape,  of 
which  each  side  is  about  three  fatlioms  in  length.  It 
is  lined  with  wrought  stone,  and  is  even  paved  in 
parts.  There  are  two  niches  in  one  of  its  sides,  which 
is  higher  than  the  others,  and  an  orifice  by  which  the 
water  issues,  in  a  stream  sufficient  to  turn  a  mill.  It 
is  said  that  several  sources  discharge  themselves  into 
the  same  basin  ;  but  their  depth  prevents  them  from 
being  explored.  In  returning  to  our  tents  we  passed 
by  some  ruins  on  the  side  of  a  hill,  where  is  a  cistern 
and  some  buildings,  with  a  channel  which  conveys 
to  the  Jordan  the  waters  of  a  spring  which  issues 
on  the  mountains  of  Quarantania."  Maundrell  calls 
Jericho  "a  poor,  nasty  village  of  the  Arabs." 

The  Plain  of  Jericho,  in  which  the  city  lay,  ex- 
tends from  Scythopolis  to  the  bay  of  the  Dead  sea, 
and  is  overhung  on  all  sides  l)v  ridges  of  barren  and 
rugged  mountains.  The  road  from  the  city  to  Jeru- 
salem IS  through  a  series  of  rockv  defiles,  and  the 
surrounding  scenery  k  of  the  most  gloomv  and  for- 
bidding aspect.  "The  whole  of  this  road  is  held  to 
be  the  most  dangerous  in  Pdestiiie  ;  and,  indeed,  the 
very  aspect  of  the  scenery  is  Rufiicient,  on  the 'one 
hand,  to  tempt  to  robbery  and  murder,  and,  on  the 
other,  to  occasion  a  dread  of  it  in  those  who  pass 


that  way.  The  bold  projecting  mass  of  rocks,  the 
dark  shadows  in  which  every  thing  lies  buried  below, 
tlie  towering  height  of  the  cliffs  above,  and  the  for- 
bidding desolation  which  every  where  reigns  around, 
present  a  picture  that  is  quite  in  harmony  throughout 
all  its  parts.  With  what  propriety  did  our  Saviour 
choose  this  spot,  as  the  scene  of  that  delightful  tale 
of  compassion  recorded  by  St.  Luke !  x.  30 — 34. 
One  must  be  amid  these  wild  and  gloomy  solitudes, 
surrounded  by  an  armed  band,  and  feel  the  impa- 
tience of  the  traveller,  who  rushes  on  to  catch  a  new 
view  at  every  pass  and  turn  ;  one  must  be  alarmed 
at  the  very  stamp  of  the  horses'  hoofs,  resounding 
through  the  caverned  rocks,  and  at  the  savage  shouts 
of  the  footmen,  scarcely  less  loud  than  the  echoing 
thunder,  produced  by  the  discharge  of  their  pieces  in 
the  valleys ;  one  must  witness  all  this  upon  the  spot, 
before  that  the  full  force  and  beauty  of  the  admirable 
story  of  the  good  Samaritan  can  be  perceived.  Here 
pillage,  wounds,  and  death  would  be  accompanied 
with  double  terror,  from  the  frightful  aspect  of  every 
thing  around.  Here,  the  unfeeling  act  of  passing  by 
a  fellow  creature  in  distress,  as  the  priest  and  Levite 
are  said  to  have  done,  strikes  one  with  horror,  as  an 
act  almost  more  than  inhuman.  And  here,  too,  the 
compassion  of  the  good  Samaritan  is  doubly  virtuous, 
from  the  purity  of  the  motive  which  must  have  led  to 
it,  in  a  spot  where  no  eyes  were  fixed  on  him  to  draw 
forth  the  jierformance  of  any  duty,  and  from  the 
bravery  which  was  necessary  to  admit  of  a  man's 
exposing  himself,  by  such  delay,  to  the  risk  of  a  simi- 
lar fate  to  that  from  which  he  was  endeavoring  to 
rescue  his  fellow  creatui'e."  (Buckingham's  Travels, 
p.  292,  293,  4to.) 

JERIMOTH,  or  Jeremoth,  one  of  the  warriors 
who  came  to  David  to  Ziklag,  1  Chron.  xii.  5.  He 
was  the  son  of  Becher,  a  Benjamite,  vii.  8. — Also  the 
nam^  of  several  other  persons. 

I.  JEROBOAM,  son  of  Nebat,  who  made  Israel  to 
sin,  is  often  characterized  in  Scripture  as  the  author 
of  the  schism  and  idolatry  of  the  ten  tribes.  His 
mother  was  a  widow,  named  Zeruah,  and  was  born 
at  Zereda,  in  Epliraim.  Jeroboam  was  bold  and  en- 
terprising, and  Solomon  gave  him  a  commission  to 
levy  the  taxes  of  Ephraim  and  Manasseh.  As  he 
went  out  of  Jerusalem,  one  day,  the  prophet  Ahijah 
met  him,  having  on  a  new  cloak,  1  Kings  xi.  29,  which 
he  rent  in  twelve  jiieces, saying  to  Jeroboam,  "Take 
ten  to  thyself;  for  the  Lord  will  rend  the  kingdom 
of  Solomon,  and  give  ten  tribes  to  thee,"  cmte  A.  D. 
978.  Jeroboam,  who  was  previously  disaffected, 
soon  began  to  incite  the  people  to  revolt ;  but  Solo- 
mon liaving  intelligence  of  his  designs,  he  fled  into 
Egypt,  and  there  continued  till  the  death  of  the  king. 
His  successor,  Rehoboam,  behaving  in  a  haughty 
and  menacing  manner,  ten  of  the  tribes  separated 
from  the  house  of  David ;  and  Jeroboam  returning 
from  Egypt,  they  invited  him  among  them  to  a  general 
assembly,  in  which  they  appointed  him  king  over  Is- 
rael. He  fixed  his  residence  at  Shechem,  ante  A.  D.975. 

Forgetting  the  fidelity  due  to  God,  Avho  had  given 
him  the  kingdom,  Jcrolioam  resolved  to  make  two 
golden  calves,  in  imitation,  probably,  of  the  god  Apis  ; 
to  place  one  at  Dan,  the  other  at  Bethel.  "Hence- 
forth," said  he  to  his  jieople,  "go  no  more  to  Jeru- 
salem," chap.  xii.  (See  Calves.)  He  apjiointed  a 
solemn  tWiston  the  fiilceiith  day  of  the  eighth  month, 
to  dedicate  his  new  altar,  and  to  consecrate  his  goldcH 
calves.  Jeroboam  himself  went  up  to  the  altar  to 
offer  incense  and  saciilicts;  (1  Kings  xiii.)  and  just 
at  that  time  n  man  of  God  (generally  believed  to  be 


JER 


[557] 


JERUSALEM 


the  prophet  Iddo)  camo  from  Judali  to  Bethel  by 
God  s  direction.  Upon  seehig  Jeroboam  at  the  altar, 
he  cried,  "O  altar,  altar,  thus  saith  the  Lord,  A  child 
Bhall  be  born  to  the  house  of  David,  by  name  Josiah, 
and  upon  thee  shall  he  sacritice  the  priests  of  the 
high  places,  who  now  burn  incense  upon  thee :  he 
shall  burn  men's  bones  upon  thee,"  &c.  The  king, 
stretching  out  his  hand,  commanded  the  prophet  to 
be  seized ;  but  the  hand  became  withered,  and  he 
could  not  draw  it  back.  The  altar  was  immediately 
broken,  and  the  fire,  with  the  ashes,  fell  on  the  ground. 
Then  the  king  said,  "  Pray  to  God  that  he  may  re- 
store my  hand."  The  man  of  God  besought  the 
Lord,  and  the  king's  hand  was  restored,  chap.  xiii. 
This  extraordinary  event,  however,  did  not  recover 
Jeroboam  from  his  impiety  ;  this  was  the  sin  of  his 
family,  and  the  cause  of  its  extirpation.  He  died 
after  a  reign  of  twenty-two  years,  {ante  A.  D.  953.) 
and  Nadab,  his  sou,  succeeded  him. 

n.  JEROBOAM  the  Second,  king  of  Israel,  was 
son  of  Jehoash,  and  succeeded  his  father,  ante  A.  D. 
825.  He  reigned  forty-one  years,  but  walked  in  the 
evil  ways  of  Jeroboam,  son  of  Nebat,  2  Kings  xiv.  23. 
He  restored  the  kingdom  of  Israel  to  its  splendor, 
from  Avhich  it  had  fallen  under  his  predecessors ; 
reconquered  those  provinces  and  cities  which  the 
kings  of  Syria  had  usurjjcd  ;  and  extended  his  author- 
ity over  all  the  countries  beyond  Jordan,  to  the  Dead 
sea.  The  prophets  Hosea,  Amos,  and  Jonah  prophe- 
sied under  his  reign,  and  we  see,  by  their  writings, 
that  idleness,  efleminacy,  extravagance,  and  injustice, 
at  this  time,  polluted  Israel ;  that  tlie  licentiousness 
of  the  people,  in  point  of  religion,  was  extreme  ;  that 
ihey  not  only  fiequented  the  golden  calves  at  Dan 
and  Bethel,  but  Mizpeh  in  Gilead,  Beersheba,  Tabor, 
Carmcl,  Gilgal,  almost  all  the  higii  places,  and 
wherever  God  had  at  any  time  appeared  to  the  patri- 
archs. At  the  same  time,  several  articles  of  the  cere- 
monial law  were  observed.  The  first-fruits  and  tithes 
were  paid  ;  the  feasts  and  sabbaths  were  observed  ; 
and  Nazarit^s  were  consecrated  ;  Amos,  chap.  ii.  iv. 
V.  viii. 

JERUBBAAL,  Gideon's  surname,  after  he  had 
destroyed  Baal's  grove,  and  his  father  had  said  it  was 
Baal's  business  to  avenge  it,  Judg.  vi.  31,  32. 

JERUEL,  a  wilderness  west  of  the  Dead  sea,  and 
south  of  Judah,  where  Jehoshapiiat  obtained  a  great 
victory  over  the  Ammonites,  Moabites,  Sec.  It  was 
called  the  valley  of  Berachah,  or  blessing ;  and  lay 
between  Engedi  and  Tekoah,  2  Clnon.  xx.  16 ;  coin- 
l)are  Acrse  26. 

JERUSALEM,  Jebus,  or  Salkm,  is  generally  sup- 
I)osed  to  owe  its  origin  to  Melcliizcdek,  who  is  called 
king  of  Salem,  (Gen.  xiv.  18.)  and  avIio  is  thought  to 
))ave  founded  it  about  the  year  2023,  and  called  it 
Salem  (peace).  About  a  century  aft(>r  its  foundation, 
it  was  captured  by  the  Jebusites,  who  extended  the 
walls,  and  constructed  a  castle,  or  citadel,  on  mount 
Sion.  By  them  it  was  called  Jebus.  In  the  conquest 
of  Canaan,  Joshua  put  to  death  its  king.  (Josh.  x.  23; 
xiii.  10.)  and  obtained  possession  of  the  town,  which 
was  jointly  inhabited  by  Jews  and  Jebusites  till  the 
reign  of  David,  who  expelled  the  latter,  and  made  it 
the  capital  of  his  kingdom,  under  the  name  of  Jebus- 
Salem,  or  (for  the  sake  of  euphony)  Jerusalem.  It 
maintained  its  eminence  for  a  period  of  477  years, 
when  it  was  destroyed  by  Nebuchadnezzar.  During 
the  seventy  years'  captivity,  it  lay  in  ruins,  after  whicli 
it  was  restored  by  Zerubbabel  and  his  associates,  and 
continued  562  years,  when  it  was  finally  destroyed 
bv  Titus. 


When  Judea  was  made  a  Roman  province,  under 
the  governor  of  Syria,  the  Romans  kept  a  garrison  in 
the  citadel  Antonia.  The  last  and  fatal  rebellion  of 
the  Jews  began  by  their  besieging  this  fortress 
whence  they  forced  and  destroyed  the  Roman  garri- 
son. The  year  following  (A.  D.  70)  Titus  besieged 
the  city,  and  reduced  it  to  a  heap  of  ruins.  Josephus 
remarks,  that  Titus  commanded  his  soldiers  to  de- 
molish the  whole  city,  except  three  of  the  largest  and 
most  beautiful  towers — those  of  Phasael,  Hippicus, 
andMariamnc,  which  he  was  desirous  of  preserving, 
as  a  monument  of  the  valor  and  power  of  the  Ro- 
mans. He  also  left  the  city  wall,  on  the  western 
side,  as  a  rampart  to  the  Roman  camp  and  troops. 
The  rest  of  the  city  was  so  completely  levelled,  that 
it  scarcely  appeared  to  have  been  inhabited.  Jewish 
authors  assure  us,  that  Terentius  Rufus,  whom  Titus 
left  in  command,  ploughed  up  the  ground  on  which 
the  temple  had  stood,  that  it  might  not  be  rebuilt: 
the  Roman  laws  prohibited  the  rebuilding  of  places 
where  this  ceremony  had  been  performed,  without 
permission  from  the  senate.  It  is  generally  believed, 
however,  that  this  was  not  done  till  after  the  revolt 
of  the  Jews  under  Adrian,  down  to  whose  time  a 
number  of  Jews  certainly  remained  in  the  city.  See 
Adrian. 

The  city  of  Jerusalem  is  situated  in  31°  50'  north 
latitude,  and  35°  20'  east  longitude ;  about  twenty- 
five  miles  west  of  Jordan,  and  forty-two  east  of  the 
iMediterranean ;  102  nnles  south  of  Damascus,  and 
150  north  of  the  Elanitic  gulf  of  the  Red  sea.  It  wa» 
built  on  four  hills,  called  Sion,  Acra,  Moriah,  and 
Bezetha.  Indeed,  the  whole  foundation  was  a  high 
rock,  formerly  called  Moriah,  or  Vision,  because  it 
could  be  seen  afar  oft",  especially  on  the  south.  Gen. 
xxii.  2 — 4.  The  mountain  is  a  rocky  limestone  hill, 
with  steep  ascents  on  every  side,  except  on  the  north  ; 
surrounded  with  a  deej)  valley ;  again  encompassed 
with  hills,  in  the  form  of  an  amphitheatre,  Ps.  cxxv.  2. 
The  accurate  and  minute  account  of  Josephus  is  the 
highest  authority  to  which  we  can  resort  for  ascer- 
taining the  form  and  limits  of  the  Jewish  capital.  It 
is  as  follows :  "  The  city  was  built  on  two  hills,  which 
are  opposite  to  each  other,  having  a  valley  to  divide 
them  asunder;  at  which  valley  the  corresjjonding 
rows  of  houses  on  both  hills  terminate.  Of  these 
hills,  that  which  contains  the  upper  city  is  much 
higher,  and  in  length  more  direct.  Accordingly,  it 
was  called  'the  citadel,'  by  king  David:  he  was 
father  of  that  Solomon  who  built  this  temple  at  tho 
first ;  but  it  is  by  us  called  '  the  upper  market  place,' 
But  the  other  hill,  which  is  called  '  Acra,'  and  sustains 
the  lower  city,  is  of  the  shape  of  the  moon  when  she 
is  homed  ;  over  against  this  there  was  a  third  hill, 
but  naturally  lower  than  Acra,  and  parted,  formerly, 
from  the  other  by  a  broad  valley.  In  the  time  when 
the  Asmoneans  reigned,  they  filled  up  that  valley  with 
earth,  and  had  a  mind  to  join  the  city  to  the  temple. 
They  then  took  ofl'  part  of  the  height  of  Acra,  and 
reduced  it  to  a  loss  elevation  than  it  was  before,  that 
the  temple  might  be  superior  to  it.  Now  the  valley 
of  the  cheesemongers,  as  it  was  called,  was  that  which 
distinguished  the  hill  of  the  upper  city  from  that  of 
the  lower,  and  extended  as  far  as  Siloam  ;  for  that  is 
the  name  of  a  foimtain  which  hath  sweet  water  in  it, 
and  this  in  gi-eat  plenty  also.  But  on  the  outsides, 
these  hills  are  surrounded  by  deep  valleys,  and,  by 
reason  of  the  precipices  belonging  to  them  on  both 
sides,  are  cveiy  where  im])a?sable."  He  afterwards 
adds,  "  As  thecity  greAv  more  populous,  it  gradually 
crept  beyond  its  old  limits,  and  those  parts  of  it  that 


JERUSALEM 


[  S58  J 


JERUSALEM 


stood  northward  of  the  tenij)le,  and  joined  that  hill  to 
the  city,  made  it  considerably  larger,  and  occasioned 
that  hill  which  is  in  number  the  fourth,  and  is  called 
'  Bezetha,'  to  he  inhabited  also.  It  lies  over  against 
the  tower  Antonia,  but  is  divided  from  it  by  a  deep 
valley,  which  was  dug  on  purpose.  This  new  built 
part  of  the  city  was  called  '  Bezetha'  in  our  language, 
which,  if  interpreted  in  the  Grecian  language,  may  be 
called  '  the  new  city.'  "    (Jewish  Wars,  book  v.  ch.  4.) 

This  account  describes  the  gradual  extension  of  the 
holy  city,  from  the  time  when  the  Jebusitcs  were  dis- 
possessed, till  the  foundation  of  the  northern  walls 
was  laid  by  Herod  Agrippa.  It  is  evident  that  the 
old  city  was  built  upon  "Acra,"  and  the  "strong 
hold  of  Sion"  (2  Sam.  v.  7.)  upon  the  hill  bearing  that 
name  ;  both  of  which  were  taken  from  the  Jebusites 
by  David.  After  liaving  possessed  himself  of  these 
important  places,  this  munificent  prince  a[)propriated 
the  latter  for  the  royal  residence,  and  named  it  "the 
city  of  David."  The  extent  of  this  "  upper  city,"  as 
it  is  called  by  Josephus,  seems  to  be  pointed  out  by 
an  expression  in  2Sam.  v.  9:  "David  built  round 
about,  from  Millo  inward."  Now,  whether  by  "  Millo" 
we  understand,  Avith  some  critics,  the  "  house  of 
Millo,"  which  stood  on  the  north-east  of  mount  Sion, 
or  with  others,  the  valley  which  divided  the  upper 
and  the  lower  city,  and  which  was  filled  up  by  Solo- 
mon, and  called  Millo,  the  meaning  still  ajipears  to 
l)e,  that  David  built  from  one  side  of  mount  Sion 
quite  round  to  tlie  opposite  jiart. 

Moriah,  prop^^rly  so  called,  which  is  the  third  hill 
of  Josephus,  lay  on  the  eastern  side  of  Jerusalem, 
over  against  mount  Acra.  This  hill,  on  which  Solo- 
mon erected  the  temple,  was  originally  divided  from 
Acra  by  a  broad  valley,  subsequently  filled  up  by  the 
Asmoneans,  and  thus  joined  to  the  lower  city.  The 
valley  which  divided  Sion  irom  Acra  and  Moriah  is 
called,  by  Josephus,  "  the  valley  of  Cheesemongers," 
and  extended  as  far  as  Siloam.  Across  this  valley 
Solomon  appears  to  have  raised  a  causeway,  leading 
from  the  royal  palace  on  mount  Sion  to  tlie  temple 
on  mount  Moriah.  The  way  was  not  level,  but  was 
an  easy  ascent  and  descent  from  one  mountain  to  the 
other.  Hence  we  read  of  "  the  ascent  by  which 
Solomon  went  up  to  the  house  of  the  Lord,"  and  of 
"the  causeway,"  or  "going  up." 

On  the  cast  of  the  city,  and  stretching  from  north 
to  south,  stands  the  mount  of  Olives,  facing  the  spot 
formerly  occupied  by  the  temple,  of  which  it  com- 
manded a  noble  prospect.  It  is  separated  from  the 
city  by  the  valley  of  Jehoshaphat.  On  the  west  of 
the  city,  and  formerly  without  the  walls,  stood  the 
little  hill  of  Calvary,  or  Golgotha.  But  so  nnich  has 
the  city  moved  in  that  direction,  that  it  novv'  stands  in 
its  very  centre. 

When  the  city  of  Jerusalem  became  the  capital  of 
the  kingdom,  and  the  chosen  place  of  Jehovah's  wor- 
shij),  every  mean  was  used  to  render  it  impregnable, 
by  high  walls,  massy  gates,  and  towers  of  observation 
and  annoyance.  But  of  its  fortifications  we  have 
no  particulars  extant  till  after  the  captivity,  when 
Nehemiah  recorded  the  portions,  which  the"  several 
individuals  engaged  in  the  work,  repaired.  This 
document  being  of  great  importance  in  settling  the 
circuit  of  the  city,  and  ils  principal  gates,  we  shall 
attempt  to  follow  the  patriotic  governor  in  his  descrip- 
tion. Beginning  with  the  .<^^prp  ^afe,  (chap.  iii.  1.) 
which  was  on  the  east  side  of  the  city,  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  Bethcsda,  and  through  which  the  sheep 
destined  for  sacrifice  were  driven  to  the  temple,  we 
travel  along  the  cast  wall,  with  our  faces  to  the  north, 


and  come  to  the  tower  of  Meali,  ver.  L  Turning  the 
north-east  corner,  we  reach  the  tower  of  Hananeel ; 
(ver.  1.)  beyond  which,  further  west,  was  the  Jiah 
gate ;  (ver.  3.)  and  beyond  this,  again,  the  old  gate, 
ver.  6,  The  broad  wall  (ver.  8.)  appears  to  have 
been  near  the  north-west  corner ;  and  so  named  from 
the  lowness  of  the  ground  in  that  place,  which  re- 
quired the  wall  to  have  a  wide  foundation,  in  order 
to  raise  it  to  an  equal  height  with  the  rest.  But 
although  these  are  all  the  gates  which  were  built  by 
Nehemiah  on  the  north  side  of  the  city,  they  did  not 
constitute  the  whole  number ;  for  we  have  three 
others  mentioned,  viz.  the  gate  of  Benjamin,  which 
is  generally  placed  near  the  north-east  corner,  be- 
tween the  sheep  gate  and  the  fish  gate ;  the  gate  of 
Ephraim,  which  is  placed  between  the  fish  gate  and 
the  north-west  corner;  and  the  corner  gate,  which  is 
placed  at  the  north-west  corner.  On  turning  the 
north-west  corner,  and  proceeding  along  the  west 
side  of  the  city  wall,  our  faces  southwanl,  we  come 
to  the  tower  of  the  furnaces;  (Neh.  iii.  11.)  then  to 
the  valley  gate  ;  (ver.  13.)  a  thousand  cubits  beyond 
which  stood  the  dimg  gate  ;  (ver.  13.)  and  still  further 
south,  the  gate  of  the  fountain ;  (ver.  15.)  so  called 
from  its  proximity  to  the  lower  fountain  of  Gihon. 
There  are  no  gates  mentioned  in  the  south  outer 
wall ;  probably  from  the  steepness  of  the  mount  there, 
no  public  road  could  be  made.  But  modern  geogra- 
phers mention  three,  as  being  within  the  city,  in  the 
wall  which  separates  it  from  mount  Sion,  viz.  one 
without  any  distinctive  name  on  the  east ;  the  middle 
gate  ;  and  Zion  gate,  on  the  west.  On  turning  the 
south-east  corner,  to  travel  along  the  cast  side  of  the 
city,  we  pass  "the  pool  of  Siloam,  by  the  king's  gar- 
dens and  the  king's  pool,"  which  lay  at  some  distance 
from  the  city,  on  the  right  hand  ;  and  the  wall  oppo- 
site the  stairs  that  led  to  the  city  of  David,  or  Zion, 
"the  wall  opposite  the  sepulchres  and  the  house  of 
the  mighty,"  within  the  city  on  the  left,  Neh.  iii.  15, 
16.  Hence  these  are  said  to  have  been  "at  the  turn- 
ing of  the  wall,"  (ver.  19.)  or  near  tlie  south-east 
corner.  A  little  farther  on,  and  at  tlie  place  where 
the  inner  wall,  which  divides  between  the  city  of 
Zion,  touches  this  outer  wall,  geographers  place  the 
dung  gate ;  but  although  this  be  its  })rcsent  position, 
it  is  evident  from  Nehemiah  that  it  lay  anciently  on 
the  other  side,  where  we  have  placed  it.  Farther  to 
the  north  was  another  "turning"  or  corner,  where 
was  "  the  tower  which  lay  out  Trom  the  king's  high 
house,  and  near  the  court  of  the  prison,"  ver.  24,  25. 
There,  ])robably,  the  priso7i  gate,  mentioned  after- 
wards by  Nehemiah,  (chap.  xii.  39.)  was  situated. 
And  beyond  that  were  the  icater  gate,  (chaj).  iii.  2().) 
near  which  the  waters  of  Etam,  that  were  employed 
in  the  temple  servic(%  escaped  to  the  brook  Kedron  ; 
the  house  gate,  (ver.  28.)  where  Atiialiah,  the  queen, 
was  slain,  (2  Chron.  xxiii.  15,)  on  this  side  the  water 
gate,  and  joined  to  it  by  the  wall  that  enclosed  Ophel, 
(Neh.  iii.  27,  28.)  and  the  gate  Miphkad,  (ver.  31.)  on 
the  other  side  of  the  Wtater  gate,  not  far  from  the  sheep 
gate,  where  we  set  out.  Geographers  ))lace  other 
two  gates  between  Mi|)hkad  and  the  sheep  gate; 
namely,  the  golden  gate  and  the  sheep  gate  ;  but  they 
are  of  later  date  than  the  days  of  Nehemiah.  During 
tlie  time  that  elapsed  between  the  days  of  Nehemiah 
and  the  destruction  of  the  city  by  Titus,  several  im- 
portant alterations  were  made  in  its  fortifications. 
Latterly  it  was  enclosed  by  three  walls,  on  those  sides 
that  were  not  encompassed  with  impassable  valleys. 
A  particular  description  of  them  is  given  by  Josephus, 
Wars,  b.  v.  chap.  4. 


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[  559  ] 


JERUSALEM 


Having  given  a  slight  sketch  of  the  history  and  to- 
pography of  the  city  of  Jerusalem,  we  proceed  to  a 
more  minute  examination  of  its  ichnography  and 
antiquities,  as  well  as  of  some  historical  incidents 
connected  with  it. 

The  alterations  made  by  time  on  the  face  of  the 
earth,  though  considerable,  arc  not  comparable  to 
those  produced  by  the  labors  of  man ;  mountains, 
rockis,  and  for  the  most  part  rivers,  also,  remain,  not 
greatly  changed  from  their  ancient  appearances, 
where  only  acted  upon  by  the  lapse  of  ages ;  but 
wiiere  the  devices  and  exertions  of  human  art,  and 
the  varying  intentions  of  human  purpose  have  been 
directed,  t|je  consequent  changes  are  striking,  and 
their  effect  in  producing  dissimilarity  is  wonderful. 
Every  city  bears  witness  to  the  truth  of  this;  but,  as 
very  few  cities,  in  addition  to  the  character  of  society, 
habitation  or  polity,  add  that  of  sanctity,  we  with 
difficulty  n)ake  proper  allowance  for  the  power  of 
this  principle,  or  for  the  various  permanent  effects 
which  inevitably  follow  it.  Votaries  who  attribute 
to  a  particular  locality  the  character  of  sanctity,  will 
desire  not  only  to  honor,  but  also  to  adorn  the  sub- 
ject of  their  consecration  ;  they  will  dignify  the  place 
of  their  devotion  to  the  utmost  of  their  power — while 
this  very  attention  will  excite  rivalship  and  enmity: 
and  a  place  thus  distinguished  will  be  distinguished 
also  by  the  consequences  of  that  enmity  ;  it  will  be 
attacked  and  defended,  destroyed  and  restored,  with 
a  resolution  and  perseverance  not  always  experienced 
by  establishments  merely  civil.  Such  has  been  the 
lot  of  the  ancient  city  of  Jerusalem.  We  have  already 
stated  that  we  consider  the  ancient  Salem  as  the 
nucleus  of  the  succeeding  Jerusjilem,  the  name  of 
which  was  compounded  of  the  two  more  ancient  ap- 
pellations— Jebus-salem,  or  Jeru-salem. 

Instances  of  a  sacred  precinct,  or  spot  set  apart  for 
worsJiip,  giving  rise  to  a  town,  are  numerous,  and  the 
progress  is  nothing  more  than  natural ;  yet  must  it 
be  carefully  remembered,  that  every  sacred  jirecinct 
is  not  a  temple,  nor  does  it  imply  the  existence  of  a 
temple  ;  for,  in  early  ages,  many  places  were  allotted 
for  religious  ceremonies,  and  for  pidjlic  worship,  to 
which  no  building  ever  was  attached.  Indeed,  tribes 
who  constantly  dwelt  in  tents,  and  were  perpetually 
removing  from  place  to  place,  according  to  the  sea- 
sons, might  consecrate  particular  patches  of  gi-ound, 
and  remarkable  rocks  or  hills,  but  could  have  no 
inducement  to  erect  buildings  upon  them  for  pur- 
poses of  devotion. 

To  treat  this  inquiry  properly,  it  must  be  assumed 
that  mount  Moriah  was  one  of  those  places  esteemed 
sacred.  It  afforded,  probably,  a  plot  of  ground  of 
convenient  size,  for  the  resort  of  worshippers,  and 
this  obtained  repute  on  account  of  its  character.  Such 
a  separate  hill-top  being  resorted  to,  at  first  a  few 
tents  were  pitched  ;  to  these  succeeded  a  few  houses, 
and,  by  degrees,  the  village  increased  to  a  town,  until 
at  length  the  establishment  assumed  the  importance 
of  a  city.  In  one  of  these  stages,  probably  that  of  a 
small  town,  we  first  become  acquainted  with  Salem  ; 
of  which  we  read,  that  Melchizedec  came  forth  from 
it;  that  the  valley  of  "Shaveh,"  or  "the  King's 
Dale,"  was  adjacent  to  it ;  that  it  was  considered  as 
a  place  peculiarly  sacred,  and  where  the  word  of  the 
Lord  was  communicated  to  the  sons  of  men.  It  is 
not  easy  to  say  with  certainty  whether  this  mount 
Moriah  be  that  on  which  Abraham  offered  up  his  son 
Isaac,  Gen.  xxii.  General  opinion  favors  the  affirma- 
tive ;  but  general  opinion  is  not  decisive,  though  it 
may  be  accepted  as  presumptive,  evidence.     This 


would  point  to  its  acknowledged  sanctity  at  a  still 
earlier  period,  for  it  appears  tliat  Abraliam  did  not 
find  an  altar  constructed  on  that  mountain  where  he 
sacrificed  ;  yet  it  was  probably  a  consecrated  place. 

That  many  places  were  distinguished  in  the  man- 
ner described  is  well  known  in  classic  antiquity  ;  and 
they  are  the  most  ancient  high  places ;  a  kind  of 
sacred  establishments  that  afterwards  occur  fre- 
quently enough  in  the  history  of  the  Hebrews. 

The  next  event  of  importance  to  the  city  of  Salem 
is,  apparently,  in  2  Sam.  v.  G,  &c.  (but  really  the  in- 
cident of  David's  depositing  there  the  head  of  Goli- 
ah,  happened  some  years  earlier;  of  which  hereaf- 
ter). It  might  be  asked,  why  David  should  wish  to 
establish  himself  in  this  city  particularly.  Was  it 
because  here  had  been  the  scene  of  transactions  in 
ancient  time,  analogous  to  those  which  he  meditat- 
ed as  proper  for  the  seat  of  his  sovereignty  ?  or  be- 
cause this  was  the  place  chosen  by  the  Lord,  an- 
ciently, to  put  his  name  there  ?  Certainly  this 
presumed  sanctity  is  at  least  plausible  ;  and  it  agrees 
with  the  supposable  motives  by  which  the  Jebusites 
were  induced  to  refuse  David.  The  addition  of  the 
royal  residence  could  add  nothing  to  its  dignity,  but 
rather  the  contrary,  in  the  opinion  of  those  whose 
veneration  for  it  was  inherited  from  their  remote  an- 
cestors. But  here  it  is  necessary  to  inquire.  Who 
was  this  Jebusite  which  so  tauntingly  insulted  David .'' 
Looking  back  to  Josh,  xviii.  28,  we  find  Jebusi  the 
name  of  Jerusalem,  which  is  varied,  in  Judg.  xix.  10, 
to  Jebus  ;  it  is  noticed  also  as  one  of  the  cities  of  the 
Jebusites,  a  people  "not  of  the  children  of  Israel." 
In  Gen.  x,  16,  we  read,  that  Canaan  was  the  father 
of  the  Jebusite  ;  and  it  seems  tliat  from  the  early  age 
to  which  that  chapter  refers,  this  family  had  been 
settled  here  ; — a  family  unquestionably  of  the  ancient 
Canaanites,  such  as  those  with  whom  Abraham  and 
Isaac  covenanted. 

We  are  now  prepared  to  assign  reasons  for  two 
circumstances  which  have  strangely  puzzled  inter- 
preters ;  the  first  is,  that  in  2  Sam.  xxiv.  23,  Arau- 
nali  the  Jebusite  is  called  "  king,"  (and  in  all  copies 
and  all  versions,  as  Geddes  notes  with  surprise,)  mean- 
ing, probably,  that  he  derived  a  pedigree  from  the  an- 
cient Canaanite  kings  of  the  place,  and  even  at  this 
time  held  at  least  family  authority  over  his  clan,  the 
inhabitants  of  the  town.  Perhaps,  too,  the  name 
Oman  given  him  (1  Chron.  xxi.  18.)  was  his  Hebrew, 
or  Jewish,  name ;  while  Araunah  was  his  Canaanite, 
or  Jebusite,  appellation.  The  second  circumstance 
is  of  greater  consequenci".  We  read  (1  Chron.  xxi. 
29.)  that  the  Jewish  national  altar,  on  which  David 
certainly  ought  to  have  sacrificed,  was  at  this  time 
stationed  at  Gibeon.  But  if  so,  what  could  induce 
the  angel  of  the  Lord  to  tell  Gad,  and  Gad  to  tell 
David,  (verse  18.)  that  he  should  go  up,  and  raise  an 
altar  to  the  Lord,  in  the  threshing-floor  of  Oman, 
that  is,  Araimah,  the  Jebusite,  unless  here  had  been 
a  consecrated  [jlace  formerly  ?  Why  did  David  go  out 
from  his  royal  i)alace,  mount  Zion,  and  pass  through 
the  interjacent  city?  Was  there  not  ample  space  on 
Zion,  with  plenty  of  conveniences,  the  king's  owu 
property,  but  lie  niust,  under  perem|)tory  direction, 
go  down  mount  Zion,  and  go  up  mount  INIoriah,  to 
raise  an  altar  on  premises  not  his  owu  ?  If  this 
threshing-floor  adjoined  the  originally  consecrated 
spot  on  mount  Moriah,  then  it  was  the  nearest  ap- 
proach to  that  most  ancient  Fauum,  which  was  in 
David's  power ;  he  could  not  enter  this  holy  place 
personallv  ;  but  he  sacrifices  as  near  to  it  as  possible, 
close  to  "it.     This  threshine-floor  he   purchases  of 


JERUSALEM 


[  560 


JERUSALEM 


Araunah  (with  cattle,  &c.)  for  "fifty  shekels  of  sil- 
ver ;"  but,  afterwards,  explaining  to  the  Jebusite  his 
intention  of  building  a  magnificent  temple  on  mount 
Moriali,  he  obtains  in  addition,  for  that  purpose,  the 
whole  summit  of  tlie  mountain,  including  the  site  of 
ancient  Fanum  itself,  from  its  natural  guardian 
Araunah,  for  "  six  hundred  shekels  of  gold,"  1  Chron. 
xxi.  25.  The  price  seems  to  have  been  very  great ; 
too  great,  indeed,  for  the  mere  value  of  the  ground  ; 
but  this  view  of  the  subject  accounts  for  it,  it  was 
sacred  property,  it  would  not  have  been  ahenated, 
even  for  the  reception  of  a  royal  establishment  or  a 
palace ;  but  as  its  sacred  character  was  to  be  pre- 
served and  perpetuated,  as  additional  religious  honor 
was  the  purpose  for  which  it  was  resigned,  objections 
subsided.  David  obtained  it  for  perpetual  consecra- 
tion, yet  at  a  great  price  ;  so  that  Araunah  received, 
on  occasion  of  this  transfer,  fifty  shekels  of  silver  in 
payment  for  his  own  private  property  ;  and  six  hun- 
dred shekels  of  gold  as  a  consideration  for  the  public 
property  of  his  family  and  of  his  people.  Thus, 
llie  sacred  character  of  the  place  marks  it  as  the 
proper  station  for  an  intercessory  altar,  under  cir- 
cumstances so  urgent,  extraordinary,  and  afflictive  ; 
while  these  very  circumstances,  in  connection  with 
the  impulse  of  piety,  induce  David  to  purchase  it,  and 
Araunah  to  part  with  it ;  perhaps  not  without  reluc- 
tance, and  certainly  at  a  price  liberal,  if  not  magnifi- 
cent. The  reader  will  turn  to  the  map,  and  estimat- 
ing the  relative  situations  of  mount  Zion  and  mount 
Moriah,  he  will  perceive  to  what  distance  David  pro- 
ceeded from  one,  that  he  might  erect  an  altar  on  the 
other.  It  should  be  remarked,  also,  that  David 
afterwards  brought  the  tabernacle-altar,  &c.  into  his 
own  palace,  mount  Zion,  and  Solomon  transferred 
them  to  the  temple  on  mount  Moriah  ;  which  seems 
to  manifest  a  pretty  steady  adherence  on  the  part 
of  the  Jebusite  to  the  honor  of  his  possession  ; 
which  he  did  not  relinquish,  till  every  thing  was 
ready  for  constructing  the  intended  temple.  It 
was  too  sacred  to  be  inade  a  working  place,  1 
Kings  vi.  7. 

There  is  another  passage,  which  must  not  be  over- 
looked in  this  inquiry.  That  it  was  customary  for 
victors  to  carry  the  trophies  of  their  victory  to  the 
temples  of  their  deities,  and  there  to  consecrate  them, 
is  well  known.  So  we  find  the  Philistines  (1  Sam. 
xxxi.  10.)  suspending  in  triumph  the  bodies  of  Saul 
and  his  sons  on  the  walls  of  Beth-Shan  ;  but  the 
armor  of  Saul  they  deposited  in  the  temple  of  Ash- 
taroth.  So  also,  (1  Sam.  xvii.  54.)  David  carried  the 
head  of  Goliath  in  triumph  to  Jerusalem  ;  but  he  put 
his  armor  in  the  sacred  tent  (not  in  David's  own 
tent,  for  he  had  none,  being  merely  sent  out  on  a 
message,  but)  in  the  national  tabernacle,  for  here  we 
find  part  of  it  (the  sword)  long  after  ;  and  from  the 
tabernacle  he  received  it  again,  bytheliand  of  Ahim- 
elech,  1  Sam.  xxi.  9.  Now,  what  could  induce  Da- 
vid to  carry  the  bloody  trophy  of  his  victory  to  Jeru- 
salem, rather  than  to  any  other  sacred,  or  jiublic,  or 
famous  depository,  unless  Jerusalem  were  reno\vned 
for  sanctity  ?  Was  the  national  ark  there  ?  Was 
this  city  at  this  time  a  royal  residence  ?  No.  Had  it 
a  stronger  claim  than  Bethlehem,  where  the  victor 
lived.'  Not  unless  it  were  derived  from  superior 
sanctity,  under  which  all  becomes  easy  ;  and  clear- 
ly the  subsequent  proceedings  of  the  Philistines  with 
the  body  of  Saul,  were  but  a  repetition  of  David's 
proceedings  with  the  head  of  Goliatli. 

The  result  of  these  considerations  aftirms  the 
proposition,  that  here  was  a  sacred  place   of  wor- 


ship from  the  most  remote  antiquity,  and  before 
Solomon  embellished  this  mount,  by  erecting  his 
temple  on  its  summit.  "  The  orientals,"  says  Vol- 
ney,  "  never  call  Jerusalem  by  any  other  name,  than 
Elkiids,  the  Holy.  Sometimes  adding  the  epithet 
El-sheriff",  the  noble.  This  word,  El-kuds,  seems  to 
me  the  etymological  origin  of  all  the  Cassiuses  of 
antiquity,  which,  like  Jerusalem,  were  high  places  ; 
and  had  temples  and  holy  places  erected  on  them." 
(Vol.  ii.  p.  305.) 

This  extract  confirms  the  opinion  of  the  learned 
Prideaux,  that  the  Cadytis  of  Herodotus  is  the  city 
of  Jerusalem.  (See  Connect,  vol.  i.  p.  57,  where  he 
traces  the  etymology  of  the  word.)  But  it  is  remark- 
able on  another  account : — for  what  reason  did  the 
orientals  call  Jerusalem,  the  holt,  so  early  as  the 
days  of  Herodotus,  and  why  continue  that  title  while 
it  is  under  their  subjection,  and  in  a  low  and  dis- 
tressed state,  unless  some  peculiar  holiness  had  been 
generally  attributed  to  it  ?  It  accounts  also  for  that 
remarkable  choice  of  expression,  in  Matt,  xxvii.  53, 
the  saints  arose  "  and  went  into  the  holy  city.''''  So, 
chap.  iv.  5,  "taketh  him  into  the  holy  city."  It  does 
not  appear  that  the  other  evangelists  have  used  this 
appellation  of  Jerusalem.  Is  it  a  Syriasni,  remain- 
ing in  Matthew  ?  It  is  proper,  therefore,  strongly  to 
urge  the  distinction  between  mount  Zion  the  city  of 
David,  and  mount  Moriah  the  city  of  Jerusalem. 
These  names  are  frequently  used  by  theological 
writers,  as  if  they  were  identically  the  same  place  ; 
whereas,  one  of  them,  Zion,  was  distinguished  as 
being  the  seat  of  the  royal  or  kingly  office  ;  the 
other  as  being  the  seat  of  the  national  worship  ;  and 
how  frequently  soever  these  may  be  associated  by 
the  sacred  writers,  after  the  time  of  David,  yet  they 
are  not  the  same ;  neither  are  they,  strictly  taken, 
equivalent  to  each  other,  but  are  distinct,  though 
combined. 

We  have  already  stated  that  the  city  was  built  on 
hills,  and  was  encompassed  with  moimtains,  (Ps. 
cxxv.  2.)  on  a  stony  and  barren  soil.  It  was  about 
sixty  furlongs  in  length,  according  to  Strabo,  lib.  xvi. 
Jerusalem  had  never  been  so  large  as  when  it  was 
attacked  by  the  Romans.  It  was  then  thirty-ihreo 
fin-longs  in  circumference  : — nearly  four  miles  and  a 
half.  Joscphus  informs  us,  that  the  wall  of  circum- 
vallation,  constructed  by  Titus,  was  thirty -nine  fur- 
longs ;  or  four  miles,  eight  hundred  and  seventy-five 
paces.  Others  describe  a  much  larger  extent.  The 
condition  of  Jerusalem  in  the  time  of  Christ  was 
much  the  same  as  afterwards,  when  assaulted  by  the 
Romans  ;  and  what  this  was,  Tacitus,  being  a  Roman 
and  a  military  man,  may  inform  us.  He  says,  "Je- 
rusalem stood  upon  an  eminence,  difficult  of  ap- 
proach. The  natiu-al  strength  of  the  place  was  in- 
creased by  redoubts  and  bulwark.s,  \\  hich,  even  on 
the  level  plain,  would  have  made  it  secure  from  in- 
sult. Two  hills,  that  rose  to  a  prodigious  height, 
were  enclosed  by  walls,  constructed  with  skill,  in 
some  places  projecting  forward,  in  others  retiring  in- 
wardly, with  the  angles  so  formed,  that  the  besiegers 
were  always  liable  to  be  annoyed  in  flank.  The 
extremities  of  the  rock  were  sharp,  abrupt,  and 
craggy.  In  convenient  places,  near  the  summit, 
towers  were  raised  60  feet  high,  and  others,  on  the 
declivity  of  the  sides,  rose  no  less  than  120  feet^ 
These  works  presented  a  spectacle  altogether  aston- 
ishing. To  the  distant  eye  they  seemed  to  be  of 
equal  elevation.  Within  the  city,  there  were  other 
fortifications  enclosing  the  palace  of  the  kings. 
Above  all  was  seen,  conspicuous  to  vie\v,  the  to\ver 


JERUSALEM 


[  561 


JERUSALEM 


of  Antonia,  so  called  by  Herod  in  liouor  of  the  tri- 
umvir, wlio  had  been  his  friend  and  benefactor.  The 
temple  itself  was  a  strong  fortress,  in  the  nature  of  a 
citadel.  The  fortifications  were  built  with  consum- 
mate skill,  surpassing  in  art,  as  well  as  labor,  all  the 
rest  of  the  works.  The  very  porticos  that  surround- 
ed it  were  a  strong  defence.  A  perennial  spring  sup- 
plied the  place  with  water.  Subterraneous  caverns 
were  scooped  under  the  rock.  The  rain  water  was 
saved  in  pools  and  cisterns.  Since  the  reduction  of 
the  place  by  Pompey,  experience  had  taught  the 
Jews  new  modes  of  fortification  ;  and  the  corrup- 
tion and  venality  that  pervaded  the  whole  reign 
of  Claudius  favored  all  their  projects.  By  bribery 
they  obtained  permission  to  rebuild  their  walls.  The 
strength  of  their  works  plainly  showed,  that  in  pro- 
foimd  peace  they  meditated  future  resistance."  (Ta- 
citus, Hist.  lib.  v.  Mr.  Murphy's  translation.) 

These  accoimts  are  particularly  interesting-,  be- 
cause they  clearly  illustrate  the  natural  strength  of  Je- 
rusalem, and  justify  the  boastings  of  the  native  He- 
brews ;  of  which  Scripture  gives  instances,  as  Ps. 
cxxii.  3  ;  cxxv.  2.  Under  these  circumstances,  how 
very  unlikely,  perhaps  even  ridiculous,  did  the 
prophecy  of  our  Lord  appear  to  the  Jews,  (Luke  xix. 
43.)  every  word  of  which  opposes  their  confidence 
in  these  defences.  "  Thine  enemies  shall  cast  a 
trench  about  thee  (rather  raise  acircumvallation)  and 
compass  thee  around — and  shall  keej)  thee  in  on 
every  side — and  shall  lay  thee  even  with  the  ground 
— and  thy  children  within  thee — and  they  shall  not 
leave  within  thee  one  stone  on  another."  It  is  not 
impossible  that  this  was  literally  fulfilled  in  every 
particular,  so  far  as  regarded  Jerusalem  itself;  though 
certain  towers,  or  even  lines  of  houses,  or  streets,  of 
the  cities,  appended  to  the  ancient  town,  might  be 
spared,  to  accominodate  the  Roman  garrison  sta- 
tioned in  the  place. 

Our  Lord  also  foretold  the  present  state  of  Jerusa- 
lem, the  Holy  City,  the  Holy  Temple,  '•  trodden 
down  by  the  Gentiles,  till  the  times  of  the  Gentiles 
be  fulfilled."  It  is  necessary  that  we  should  fix  this 
idea  in  our  minds,  "  till  the  times  of  the  Gentiles  be 
fulfilled" — and  then  the  probability  is,  that  this  same 
spot  which,  diu-ing  so  many  ages,  has  been  distin- 
guished, and  still  is  distinguished,  by  consecration  and 
sanctity,  though  degraded,  shall  again  enjoy  favors 
which  will  render  it  conspicuous.  Different  opin- 
ions may  be  entertained  respecting  the  nation  of  the 
Jews,  and  consequentlj'  respecting  the  fate  of  their 
capital,  Jerusalem  ;  but  the  result  of  these  inquiries 
is  not  adverse  to  the  conjecture,  that  it  is  still  to  be  the 
scene  of  events  foretold  in  prophecy,  which  will  be 
no  less  corroborative  of  faith,  when  thej'  do  happen, 
than  those  events  have  been  which  are  narrated  in 
history  ;  events  which  surely  no  one  can  properly 
consider  without  feeling  a  persuasion,  rising  to  ex- 
pectation, of  a  somewhat ;  though  to  describe,  or  to 
detenuine,  that  somewhat  may  be  diflRcult. 

The  places  distinguished  by  any  remarkable  oc- 
currence in  the  city  of  Jerusalem,  may  be  distributed 
into  (1.)  those  well  ascertained  ;  (2.)  those  credibly 
supposed  to  be  genuine  ;  (3.)  those  of  little  or  no  au- 
thority. Among  places  the  situation  of  which  war- 
rants our  confidence,  may  be  reckoned  the  Tcmj)le 
with  its  courts,  the  pool  of  Bethesda,  the  house  of 
Pilate,  or  fort  Antonia  ;  for  it  is  credible  that 
Pilate  had  no  house  in  Jerusalem,  but  his  residence 
as  governor  being  at  Csesarea,  there  also  was  his 
palace  ;  and  that  when  he  came  up  to  the  great  feasts 
yearly,  or  on  other  occasions,  he  occupied  the  resi- 
71 


deuce  of  the  commanding  officer  of  the  Roman  gar- 
rison in  Jerusalem,  which,  no  doubt,  was  fixed  in 
fort  Antoma.  Now,  we  know  that  fort  occupied 
the  north  side  of  the  temple  ;  and  here  is  shown 
what  IS  denominated  Pilate's  house  ;  this,  therefore 
we  may  accept  as  such.  Opposite  to  the  house  of 
Pilate  is  the  palace  of  Herod  ;  and  tradition  seems,  in 
this  respect,  to  agree  with  history.  The  gate  of  Jus- 
tice IS  hkely  to  maintain  the  true  situation  of  one  of  the 
gates  of  the  ancient  city  ;  as  may  be  inferred  no  less 
from  Its  proximity  to  Calvary,  the  place  of  public  exe- 
cution, than  from  the  direction  ofthe  roads  leading  to  it. 
The  Iron  gate  is  so  generally  thougln  to  be  accurately 
placed  by  travellers,  that  we  concur  in  the  opinion. 

Most  of  the  places  without  the  city  may  be  con- 
sidered as  certain,  from  their  nature  ;  such  as  the 
mount  of  Olives,  the  brook  Kedron,  the  pool  of  Si- 
loam,  the  Valleys,  Calvary,  «Scc,  These  being  natu- 
ral and  permanent  objects,  cannot  have  chauged  their 
situation  at  all,  nor  their  frirms,  to  any  considerable 
degree.  It  is  also  probable,  that  the  spot  where 
Stephen  is  said  to  have  been  stoned,  is  not  far  from 
where  that  fact  happened ;  because,  he  seems  to 
have  been  led  from  the  presence  of  the  council  to 
the  nearest  convenient  opening  without  the  sacred 
precincts ;  and  the  council  sat  not  far  from  this  cor- 
ner of  the  temple,  in  the  cloisters.  The  house  of 
INIark  may  be  correct ;  and  possibly  the  houses  of 
Annas,  and  of  Caiaphas,  in  the  city  of  David,  i.  e. 
mount  Sion. 

The  reader  will  remember  that  the  jealousy  of 
the  Turks  does  not  permit  measurements  of  any 
kind  to  be  taken  ;  so  that  all  plans  of  this  city, 
and  its  adjacencies,  being  composed  in  a  jtrivate  and 
furtive  manner,  are  liable  to  mis-recollections,  and 
to  errors  of  a  slighter  nature.  There  is  no  opportu- 
nity of  surveying  the  city  of  Jerusalem,  as  the  city 
of  London  is  surveyed,  by  a  map.  Still,  those  who 
are  used  to  estimate  by  the  eye,  or  to  calculate  dis- 
tances by  the  number  of  their  steps,  can  form  a  judg- 
ment sufficiently  exact  to  guide  our  inquiries,  if  not 
to  satisfy  precision  ;  and,  in  fact,  the  error  of  a  few 
yards,  which  is  all  that  can  happen,  may  well  be  ex- 
cused ;  and  is  of  no  great  importance  to  general 
purposes.  We  must  also  recollect,  that,  in  the  course 
of  so  many  ages  during  which  Jerusalem  has  exist- 
ed, the  buildings,  their  foundations,  repairs,  and  al- 
terations, the  sieges  which  the  city  has  suffered,  its 
repeated  conflagrations,  and  its  numerous  changes, 
both  public  and  private,  have  so  altered  the  site,  the 
declivities,  and  the  risings  on  which  it  stands,  that 
probably  neither  Herod  nor  Caiaphas,  and  certainly 
neither  David  nor  Solomon,  could  they  now  insj)ect 
it,  Avould  recollect  the  very  ground  on  which  the 
palaces  stood,  or  which  they  labored  to  honor  and 
adorn  ; — always  excejiting  the  temj^le. 

Having  fixed  the  situation  of  the  temple,  and  of 
the  Roman  governor's  residence,  "C  next  inquire,  not 
so  much  where  was  the  situation  of  the  palace,  that 
is,  the  stated  residence  of  the  high^priest,  as  of  that 
building  which  the  evangelists  denote  by  the  title  of 
the  high-priest's  hall ;  in  our  translation,  his  "  palace." 
We  mean  to  ask,  whether  some  ofthe  buildings  in  the 
courts  ofthe  temple  might  not  be  thus  denominated, 
cither  because  Caiaphas  had  built  them ;  or  much 
rather,  because  here  he  sat  in  council  with  the  San- 
hedrim ;  and  being  his  public  office,  this  might  nat- 
urally be  named  "the  hall  of  the  high-priest."  To 
justify  this  idea,  we  should  recollect,  that  in  the  time 
of  our  Lord,  the  Sanhedrim  sat  in  some  ofthe  cham- 
bers, rooms,  or  halls,   of  tlie  cloisters  around  the 


JERUSALEM 


[562] 


JERUSALEM 


temple  ;  and  indeed  more  than  one  of  them  was  oc- 
cupied as  a  court  of  justice  ;  for  the  court  of  twenty, 
three  (judges)  sat  in  one  room  of  the  temple  ;  but 
the  Sanhedrim  having  quitted  the  room  gazith  forty 
years  before  the  destruction  of  the  temple,  because 
they  could  no  longer  execute  capital  sentences,  sat 
now  in  the  room  hanoth,  or  tabernce,  near  the  east 


Matt.  xxvi.  57,  &c. 

And  they,  holding  Je- 
sus in  custody,  led  him  to 
Caiaphas  the  high-priest, 
where  the  scribes  and  the 
elders  were  assembled. 
Peter  followed  at  a  dis- 
tance, even  to  the  hall 
of  the  high-priest.  Now 
the  chief  priests,  elders, 
and  all  the  Sanhedrim, 
sought  false  witness 
against  him,  to  put  hiin 
to  death. 


Mark  xiv.  53,  &c. 

And  they  led  Jesus 
away  to  the  high-pi-iest  : 
and  with  him  were  as- 
sembled ALL  the  chief 
priests,  and  elders,  and 
scribes.  And  Peter  fol- 
lowed afar  off,  even  into 
the  [court  or)  hall  {atri- 
um) of  the  high-priest. 
And  in  the  morning  the 
chief  priests  held  a  coun- 
cil with  THE  WHOLE  SaN- 


These  accounts  evidently  imply  that  the  examina- 
tion of  Jesus  passed  in  the  regular  and  usual  mode 
before  the  Sanhedrim ;  and  had  it  been  at  an  un- 
usual place,  would  not  at  least  one  of  the  evangelists 
have  noticed  that  irregularity  ?  We  observe,  that 
three  of  the  evangelists  use  the  word  aj'A);j ,  hall, 
(rather  than  palace,  in  the  sense  of  residence,)  but 
Luke  uses  the  word  ohor,  house;  and  this  is,  we 
think,  the  only  obstacle  against  admitting  decidedly 
that  this  hall  of  the  high-priest  was  that  suite  of  apart- 
ments usually  occupied,  as  a  public  coiu't,  by  him  as 
the  public  officer  of  his  nation,  with  the  Sanhedrim, 
as  his  council,  during  their  sittings.  However,  this 
olxov  does  not  compel  us  to  accept  this  as  the  dwell- 
ing of  Caiaphas,  who  most  probably  did  not  dAvell 
in  the  temple,  or  in  any  part  of  it ;  and  certainly  at 
whose  dwelling-house  the  Sanhedrim,  &c.  could  not 
regularly  assemble  for  purposes  of  judgment.  In 
this  view  the  expressions  of  the  evangelists  are  re- 
markable ;  they  do  not  say,  the  house  of  Caiaphas  ;  but 
the  hall  of  the  high-priest,  say  Matthew,  Mark,  and 
John ;  the  house  of  the  high-priest,  says  Luke, 
which  we  need  not  scruple  to  consider  as  the  official 
hall  where  the  high-priest  sat  at  the  head  of  the  San- 
hedrim. If  there  were  any  difficulty  in  accepting 
the  term  house,  used  by  Luke,  (which  we  apprehend 
there  is  not,)  as  signifying  the  same  as  the  hall  of  the 
high-priest,  of  the  other  evangelists ;  yet,  whoever 
will  recollect  the  extensive  application  of  the  He- 
brew or  Syriac  word  (n^)  house,  which  Luke  appears 
to  have  translated  in  this  passage,  and  the  import  of 
the  Greek  term  ohoc,  when  applied  to  buildings,  and 
to  apartments,  larger  or  smaller,  in  buildings,  will 
perceive  at  once  that  it  cannot  be  talcen  restrictively, 
for  a  house  to  dwell  in.  We  conclude,  therefore, 
that  the  Sanhedrim  was  convened,  and  held  its  sit- 
tings on  this  occasion,  in  the  same  place  as  was  usual 
at  this  time  ;  which  was  in  that  room  of  the  temple- 
courts  called  hanoth. 

The  evangelists  are  understood  to  describe  two 
meetings  of  the  Sanhedrim  ;  the  firsl,  over  night ;  the 
second,  early  the  next  morning  ;  or,  one  long-con- 
tinued sitting  might  have  intervals,  as  some  com- 
mentators suppose.  It  should  seem,  that  Judas  had 
made  his  bargain,  not  with  the  whole  Sanhedrim 
but  with  the  chief  rulers ;  who,  nevertheless,  hav- 
ing Jesus  in  their  custody,  assembled  the  Sanhedrim ; 
(whether  in  private,  by  previous  appointment,  or  by 


gate,  or  the  gate  of  Shushan.     This  information  we 
derive  from  the  rabbins,  through  Lightfoot. 

As  this  is  a  point  of  some  consequence  in  estab- 
lishing the  principles  assumed  in  the  following  narra- 
tion, the  reader  will  compare  what  the  evangehsts 
say  respecting  it. 


Luke  xxii.  54. 
They  took  Jesus,  and 
led  him  to  the  house  of 
the  high-priest  {tov  oIkok) 
— Peter  followed  afar  off: 
they  kindled  a  fire  in  the 
midst  of  the  HALL.  And 
when  it  became  day,  the 
elders,  &c.  led  him  into 
their  Sanhedrim.      And 

the    FULL    BODY    [ti /.f^.log) 

of  them   arose,   and  led 
him  to  Pilate,  &c. 


John  xviii.  13. 

They  led  Jesus  away 
first  to  Annas :  .  .  .  who 
sent  him  bound  to  Caia- 
phas, ver.  24. 

That  disciple  went  in 
with  Jesus  into  the  hall 
of  the  high-priest  .... 
ver.  15.  Then  led  they 
Jesus  into  the  pretorium, 
(or  Roman  hall  of  judg- 
ment,) but  did  not  go  in 
themselves,  28. 


summonses  sent  by  the  usual  officers ;)  and  when 
that  body  was  convened  m  the  customary  place  of 
its  sittings,  it  consulted  both  publicly  and  privately, 
put  to  the  vote,  resolved,  and  executed  its  resolution, 
as  it  would  have  done  the  day  before,  or  the  day  after, 
on  any  other  business  within  its  jurisdiction.  But 
we  suppose,  the  first  assembling  of  the  members  by 
night,  or  so  very  early  in  the  morning  as  the  second 
meeting,  was  an  accommodation  to  the  emergency 
of  the  occasion  ;  though  it  might  also  be  designed 
to  secure  a  majority  of  those  members  who  adopted 
the  sentiments  of  Caiaphas,  on  the  political  necessity 
for  cutting  off  Jesus. 

We  may  now  state  pretty  correctly  the  manage- 
ment of  this  seizure  of  our  Lord,  by  the  priests.  If 
Jesus  supped  that  night  on  mount  Sion,  as  is  usually 
said,  it  follows,  that  he  was  at  that  time  at  a  distance 
from  the  temple,  and  in  a  place  of  security,  in  the 
city ;  but  he  voluntarily  retired  to  a  privacy,  Geth- 
semane,  where  he  knew  he  could  have  no  rescue  or 
assistance  from  any  of  his  numerous  friends  in  the 
city  ;  and  this  was  in  strict  conformity  to  his  pre- 
vious declarations,  and  to  his  perfect  foreknowledge 
of  the  event.  Jesus  (at  supper,  probably)  having  given 
some  hint  that  he  designed  to  visit  the  garden  of 
Gethsemane  that  evening,  Judas  hies  to  the  temple, 
which  was  in  his  way  thither  ;  or,  if  it  be  supposed, 
that  Caiaphas  was  now  at  his  own  dwelling  on  mount 
Sion,  the  situation  of  that  residence  was  equally 
convenient  for  the  purposes  of  Judas,  who  might,  as 
it  were,  instantly  follow  oiu-  Lord's  monition,  "  What 
you  do,  do  quickly,"  by  stepping  directly  to  the 
high-priest's  dwelling  ;  he  acquaints  the  priests  \A'hat 
an  admirable  opportunity  they  would  have  for  arrest- 
ing Jesus,  who  would  be  within  their  reach  at  a 
given  time  ;  that  they  had  only  to  go  down  the  tem- 
ple stairs,  to  cross  the  Kedron,  and  they  might  seize 
him,  before  he  was  aware,  and  certainly  before  the 
people,  from  any  part  of  the  town,  could  assemble 
in  his  favor,  or  even  know  of  his  caption.  To  this  the 
priests  assenting,  they  ordered  out  from  the  temple 
a  band,  which  seized  Jesus  in  Gethsemane,  and 
brought  him  into  those  precincts  of  the  temple,  those 
chambers,  halls,  or  courts,  where  the  Sanhedrim 
usually  sat.  Here  he  was  examined,  adjured,  guard- 
ed, abused,  and  detained,  till,  having  been  adjudged 
to  death  by  the  supreme  council  of  his  nation,  they 
remitted  him  to  Pilate.     Now  Pilate,  residing  in  fort 


JERUSALEM 


[  563  ] 


JERUSALEM 


Antonia,  which  was  close  adjacent,  (on  the  north 
side  of  the  temple,)  and  had  various  communications 
with  the  courts  of  the  temple,  some  more  open,  as 
the  great  staircase,  (Acts  xxi.  40.)  and  others  more 
])nvate,  for  convenience  of  the  guards,  garrison  duty, 
&c.  the  Sanhedrim  could  easily  fill  the  courts  of  the 
Ibrt  and  prctorium  with  their  partisans,  and,  by  such 
liianagement,  make  their  clamors  appear  to  the 
governor  as  the  voice  of  the  people  of  Jerusalem  and 
Judea,  now  assembled  at  the  feast.  The  governor, 
aware  of  this  artifice,  and  desirous  of  gaining  time, 
among  other  reasons,  sent  Jesus  through  fort  Anto- 
nia, to  Ilerod,  whose  palace  was  not  far  off.  Herod 
returned  Jesus  to  Pilate,  and  Pilate  returned  him  to 
the  Jews,  who,  by  the  Roman  soldiers  in  fort  An- 
tonia, i)repared  for  his  crucifixion.  He  was  led, 
therefore,  along  the  Dolorous  Way  to  Calvary, 
just  without  the  gate  of  Justice,  and  there  exe- 
cuted. , 

On  considering  this  order  of  events,  does  it  not 
assume  an  appearance  of  credibility,  equally  strong,  at 
least,  as  that  which  supposes  Jesus  to  have  been  led 
from  Gethsemane,  through  the  whole  extent  of  the 
city,  to  and  from  the  house  of  Caiaphas,  on  mount 
Sion,  where  the  Sanhedrim  were  convened,  though 
not  accustomed  there  to  hold  their  sittings  ?  Is  this 
extent  of  perambulation  consistent  with  the  poHcy 
of  those  who  would  not  seize  Jesus  "  on  a  feast-day,  lest 
there  should  be  an  uproar  among  the  peo])le,"  and 
v.lio  had  been  sufficiently  alarmed  at  the  cries  of  Ho- 
sannah  !  a  few  hours  before?  And  may  this  rapid 
execution  of  the  plan  adopted  by  the  high-priest 
contribute  to  account  for  the  notes  of  time  recorded 
by  the  evangelists,  "q.  d.  "  AU  this  was  performed  in 
so  short  a  space  of  time  as  a  few  hours  ; — from  over 
night,  to  six  o'clock  the  next  morning."  Is  not  this 
the  import  of  John's  note  of  time,  chap.  xix.  14,  as 
if  he  had  said,  "  It  was  about  the  sixth  (Roman)  hour 
from  the  seizure  of  Jesus  ?" — which  was  coincident 
with  the  same  time  from  the  preparation  of  the  pass- 
over  peace -offerings,  to  which  Mr.  Harmer  would 
refer  this  sixth  hour.  (Observations,  vol.  iii.  p.  134.) 
Suppose,  too,  that  the  soldiers  mocked  our  Lord,  in 
fort  Antonia ;  whence  they  led  him  to  be  crucified  : 
(I\Iatt.  xxvii.  3] .)  "  And,  coming  out  (of  the  fort  ?),  they 
found  Simon  the  Cyrenian  ;"  to  which  Mark  agrees ; 
"  they  led  him  out,  and  pressed  Simon,  who  was 
passing  ijy."     Luke  says  nearly  the  same. 

From  this  statement  it  results,  that  the  seizure 
of  Jesus  was  conducted  with  all  the  privacy  of  fear, 
that  he  was  hurried  to  condemnation  and  execution, 
with  all  the  terrors  of  rulers  who  dreaded  a  popular 
conunotion,  after  a  decision  agreed  to  by  a  partial 
majority  onl}',  in  the  Sanhedrim  ;  and,  when  sen- 
tence had  been  wriuig  from  the  terrified  mind  of 
Pilate,  it  was  rapidly  completed ;  no  delay,  no  re- 
prieve, no  after-consideration  being  permitted,  to 
clear  the  innocent  sufferer,  or  to  allay  the  anguish 
of  his  friends. 

The  situation  of  Calvaiy  demands  peculiar  atten- 
tion, as  being  just  without  the  gate  ; — to  which  the 
apostle  alludes:  (Heb.  xiii.  12.)  "  Tesus  also  suffered 
without  the  gate,"  &c.  But  it  was  so  near  the  walls, 
that  possibly  the  priests  from  thence  might  see  the 
whole  process  of  the  execution,  without  hazarding 
defilement  either  by  too  familiar  intercourse  with  the 
Roman  soldiers,  or  by  approaching  the  dead  or  dying 
l)odies.  Here  they  might  safely  quote,  "  He  trusted 
in  God,"  &c.  and  here  they  might  exclaim,  "  Let  him 
descend  from  the  cross,  and  we  will  believe  on  him," 


Matt,  xxvii.  42 ;  Mark  xv.  32.  Calvary  appears  to 
have  been  a  piece  of  waste  ground,  just  on  the  out- 
side of  the  city  walls,  or  rather  beyond  the  ditch  that 
surrounded  those  walls;  being  itself  an  elevation, 
and  about  the  centre  of  it,  perhaps,  an  eminence  of 
small  extent  rising  sometlung  above  the  general  level, 
like  a  kind  of  knob  in  the  rock,  (the  true  Calvary,) 
whatever  was  transacted  here  was  conspicuous  at  a 
distance.  Thus  the  evangelist  Matthew  notes  :  (xxvii. 
55.)  "  Many  women  of  Galilee,  beholding  afar  off;" 
possibly  from  some  rising  ground  on  the  other  side 
of  the  road,  Mark  xv.  40  ;  Luke  xxiii.  49.  John  ob- 
serves, that  the  title  put  on  the  cross  "  was  read  by 
many  of  the  Jews  ;  the  place  where  Jesus  was  cru- 
cified being  nigh  the  city."  The  two  roads  from 
Bethlehem  and  Joppa  meeting  about  this  spot,  and 
both  entering  the  city  by  this  gate,  would  afford 
enough  of  "  those  who  passed  by,"  i.  e.  travellers, 
from  the  country,  who  might  "  revile  Jesus,"  Matt, 
xxvii.  39  ;  Mark  xv.  29. 

Afler  the  destruction  of  the  city  by  Titus,  the  his- 
tory of  Jerusalem  presents  little  other  than  a  series 
of  struggles  and  desolations.  The  same  fatal  persua- 
sion, that  it  was  the  pecuHar  residence  of  Deity,  and 
therefore  could  not  be  taken,  continued  to  influence  the 
Jewish  nation  with  expectations  of  recovering  it. 
Many  of  the  Jewish  Christians  returned  to  the  deso- 
lated city,  and  were  suffered  to  inhabit  it.  But  in 
the  time  of  Adrian,  (A.  D.  134  to  179.)  the  Jews  of 
Judea  and  the  neighboring  countries  rebelled  ;  and 
the  emperor  completed  tlie  destruction  of  whatever 
could  remind  them  of  their  former  polity.  He  for- 
bade them  from  entering  the  city,  on  pain  of  death. 
He  built  a  new  city,  which  he  named  "iElia  Adria 
Capitolina."  He  erected  several  temples  to  heathen 
divinities  ;  and  especially  a  very  magnificent  one  to 
Jupiter.  He  placed  the  figure  of  a  hog  over  the  gate 
leading  to  Bethlehem  ;  and  did  his  utmost  to  oblit- 
erate the  memorials  of  Christianity  as  well  as  of  Ju- 
daism. This  state  of  things  continued  till  the  time 
of  Constantine,  the  first  Christian  emperor,  (A.  D, 
306,)  notwithstanding  occasional  commotions  under 
Antoninus,  Septimus  Severus,  and  Caracalla,  Helena, 
mother  of  Constantine,  built  many  churches  in 
Judea,  and  in  Jerusalem,  about  A,  D,  326  ;  and  Julian, 
who,  after  his  father,  succeeded  to  the  empire  of  his 
uncle  Constantine,  endeavored  to  rebuild  the  temple, 
but  his  design  (and  that  of  the  Jews,  whom  he  pat- 
ronized) was  frustrated.  A,  D.  363. 

The  subsequent  history  of  Jeinisalem  may  be  dis- 
missed in  a  few  words  : — In  A,  D.  613,  it  was  taken 
by  Cosrhoes,  king  of  the  Persians,  who  slew  90,000 
of  the  inhabitants,  and  demolished,  to  the  utmost  of 
his  power,  whatever  they  (the  Christians)  had  vene- 
rated ;  A,  D,  627,  Heraclius  defeated  Cosrhoes,  and 
Jerusalem  was  recovered  by  the  Greeks  ;  nine  years 
aflerwards,  it  was  taken  from  the  Christians,  by  the 
caliph  Omar,  afler  a  siege  of  four  months,  and  con- 
tinued under  the  caHphs  of  Bagdad  till  A,  D.  868, 
when  it  was  taken  by  Ahmed,  a  Turkish  sovereign 
of  Egypt.  During  the  space  of  220  years,  it  was 
subject  to  several  masters,  Turkish  and  Saracenic, 
and  in  1099  it  was  taken  by  the  crusaders  under 
Godfrey  Bouillon,  who  was  elected  king.  He  was 
succeeded  by  his  brother  Baldwin,  who  died  1118, 
and  having  no  son,  his  eldest  daughter  Melisandra 
conveyed  the  kingdom  into  her  husband's  family.  In 
A.  D,  1188,  Saladin,  sultan  of  tlie  East,  captured  the 
city,  assisted  by  the  treachery  of  Raymond,  count  of 
Tripoli,   who  was  found  dead  in  his  bed,  on  the 


JERUSALEM 


[564] 


JERUSALEM 


morning  of  the  day  in  which  he  was  to  have  delivered 
up  the  city.  It  was  restored,  in  1242,  to  the  Latin 
princes,  by  Saleh  Ismael,  emir  of  Damascus ;  they 
lost  it  in  1291,  to  the  sultans  of  Egypt,  who  held  it 
till  1382.  Selim,  the  Turkish  sultpn,  reduced  Egypt 
and  Syria,  including  Jerusalem,  in  1517,  and  his  son 
Solynian  built  the  present  walls  in  1534.  It  con- 
tinues under  tlie  Turkish  dominion,  "trodden  down 
of  the  Gentiles." 

Thus  we  see  that  Jerusalem  was  destined  to  be 
subject  to  a  neighboring  power,  either  from  the 
nortli  or  from  the  south.  Amidst  so  many  revolu- 
tions and  destructions,  it  may  ^vell  be  supposed  that 
few  of  its  early  antiquities  retain  their  original  ap- 
pearance, or  remain  in  a  state  to  be  recognized. 
Some  have  been  continued  by  means  of  reparations, 
and  r(^storations,  by  which  the  very  heights  and  di- 
mensions of  the  ground  are  changed.  The  mounts 
Sion  and  3Ioriah  are  greatly  levelled  from  what  they 
once  were  ;  and  only  the  places  around  the  city,  as 
the  mount  of  Olives,  the  brook  Kedron,  &c.  retain 
their  former  character. 

Of  the  modern  city  of  Jerusalem  we  have  several 
very  full  and  accurate  accoimts  in  the  writings  of 
intelligent  travellers.  We  select  the  following,  from 
a  German  writer — Joh.  Heinrich  M<ayr — in  the  Re- 
pcrtorium  Theologicum,  because  it  is  concise,  and 
also  because  it  is  not  likely  to  be  known  to  many  of 
our  readers : — 

"To  see  the  principal  places,  I  was  expected,  as  I 
might  conclude  from  the  grimaces  of  the  keepers,  to 
take  off  my  boots  ;  but  being  resolved,  once  for  all,  to 
rid  myself  of  this  inconvenience,  I  declared,  that  I 
would  rather  see  nothing  and  return,  than  every 
where  subject  myself  to  this  vexation.  In  which 
resolution  I  was  strengthened  by  the  intimation  of 
the  porter,  that  I  might  enter  with  them,  who  was 
evidently  fearful,  that  otherwise  he  would  lose  his 
fee.  I  now  found  the  same  plan  easily  avail  me 
every  where. 

"The  city  of  Jerusalem,  which  in  the  time  of 
Christ  is  said  to  have  contained  nearly  three  millions 
of  inhabitants  (?),  now  included  from  twelve  to  fifteen 
thousands.  The  circumference  of  the  city  itself,  as 
we  may  conceive,  had  j)roportionably  decreased  ;  for 
witiiin  an  hour  I  liad  completed  its  circuit.  It  ap- 
])careil  to  me  as  if  I  were  going  roimd  a  very  great 
fortification  ;  and  I  could  not  explain  to  inysel'f,  why 
David,  Solomon,  and  the  kings  of  Israel  in  general, 
here  fixed  their  abode ;  for  the  country  is  destitute 
of  attraction  and  desolate,  girted  all  round  by  naked 
blue  rocks  and  clifts,  witliout  water,  without  level 
ground,  without  any  of  the  common  recommenda- 
tions of  a  country.  Here  and  there,  indeed,  at  this 
season,  (at  the  beginning  of  April,)  the  fields  were 
green  ;  but  I  was  assured,  that  in  June,  not  the 
smallest  vestige  of  this  color  would  be  seen,  and  that 
when  the  heat  began,  not  even  a  salad  would  be 
found  in  the  gardens. 

"  Tiic  streets  are  mostly  narrow,  and  the  paving- 
stones  uneven,  hard  as  marble ;  and  when  it  rains, 
the  path  is  as  if  composed  of  bits  of  soap  ;  it  is,  in- 
deed, as  slippery  as  if  it  were  actually  made  of  this 
material  ;  for,  in  walking,  a  person  needs  be  as  care- 
ful as  if  he  were  treading  upon  ice. 

"From  Solomon's  temple,  probably,  the  true 
locale  IS  preserved :  there,  the  elegant  mosque  now 
magnificently  raises  itself,  on  a  clear  and  airy  heio-ht 
on  a  free  and  roomy  ])lace,  as  a  foreground  of'je- 
rusalem.  From  the  mount  of  Olives,  this  stui)endous 
building  forms  a  structure  to  wiiich  notliing  can  be 


compared ;  but  it  is  forbidden  to  any  but  a  Mussul- 
man to  enter  it.  Sidney  Smith,  however,  is  reported 
to  have  entered  it  with  his  followers,  and  when  he 
was  asked  to  produce  the  firman,  to  have  replied, 
that  he  himself  was  the  sultan,  and  therefore  required 
no  firman !  [Dr.  Richardson  entered  the  mosque,  of 
which  he  has  given  a  nnnute  description  in  his 
Travels.] 

"It  is  also  said,  that  since  this  event  the  Turks 
have  become  in  general  more  tractable.  Before  this, 
it  was  common  to  spit  in  the  faces  of  the  Christians 
and  foreigners  resident  here,  as  they  walked  in  the 
street ;  to  say  nothing  of  other  like  contumelies.  It 
has  now  ceased  in  a  great  degree ;  in  consideration 
of  which,  however,  more  gold  is  extorted  from  the 
Christians  at  Easter  tlian  formerly.  When  the  French 
advanced  to  the  neighborhood,  all  the  Christians  were 
thrown  into  prison  :  had  they  actually  jjressed  for- 
ward to  the  city,  these  would  have  been  all  put  to 
death,  without  a*  solitary  exception.  Their  imprison- 
ment, notwithstanding,  continued  for  several  months, 
and  the  government  availed  itself  of  this  circunjstance, 
afterwards,  to  restore  them  to  liberty  on  the  payment 
of  money. 

"  David's  palace,  also,  lies  outside  of  the  present 
city,  on  the  height  of  Sion.  At  pi-esent,  it  is  con- 
verted all  round  into  a  fortification,  and  a  firman  is 
required  before  it  can  be  entered.  Nothing  worthy 
of  notice  is  stated  to  be  within  it :  but  I  did  not  en- 
ter it. 

"The  convent  of  St.  James,  (St.  Giacomo,)  be- 
longing to  the  Armenians,  is  of  vast  circumference  ; 
it  is  esteemed  the  most  wealthy  in  the  Levant.  This 
convent,  as  well  as  that  of  the  Greeks,  contains  many 
religious  ciu'iosities.  It  is  the  prevailing  custom  to 
adorn  the  walls  of  the  churches  with  wliite  and  blue 
China  plates  :  this  sight  involuntarily  reminded  me 
of  the  tile  ovens  which  were  formerly  common  among 
us,  and  is  very  far  from  being  prepossessing.  The 
appearance  of  the  tnany  inlays  of  mother-of-pearl 
work  on  a  dark  ground  is  more  beautifid  and  is  far 
better. 

"  The  moimt  of  Olives,  situated  on  the  eastern  side 
of  Jerusalem,  offers  a  lovely  prospect :  on  its  very 
summit  is  a  mosque,  where  the  ascension  is  declared 
to  have  taken  place.  All  the  spots  visited  by  the 
Christians  are  guarded  by  Turks:  everywhere  the 
cafiaro  or  tribute  is  paid  to  them,  even  if  it  be  only  a 
few  parahs.  It  is  better  to  endure  this  than  the  in- 
solence of  these  scoundrelly  guardians. 

"The  moimt  of  Olives,  probably,  was  in  another 
condition  formerly.  I  had  rej)rescnted  it  to  myself 
woody  and  full  of  bushes;  but  I  found  it  bare,  and 
where  there  are  buildings,  of  a  yellowish  earth  :  pos- 
sibly not  more  than  fifty  olive-trees  can  be  found  upon 
it.  I  occasionally  met  with  some  vines,  almonds, 
and  fig-trees,  which,  however,  as  yet  pushed  forth  no 
leaves.  In  Switzerland,  the  mountain  would  only 
be  accounted  a  small  hill;  for  in  a  quarter  of  an 
hour  I  had  ascended  from  its  foot  to  its  top. 

"  But  there  is  a  s])len(iid  view  on  its  summit  to- 
wards the  east :  in  the  distance,  are  seen  the  Dead 
sea  and  the  course  of  the  Jordan,  which  empties  it- 
self into  it ;  the  ruins  of  Jericho  lie  farther  to  the  left, 
and  at  its  feet  is  Jerusalem.  The  mosque,  on  the  site 
of  Solomon's  temple,  with  the  wide  and  sj)acious  flat 
soil  and  green  country  around  it,  raises  itself  magnifi- 
cently with  its  dark  cupola  and  blue  porcelain  orna- 
ments above  the  groups  lying  in  the  back-ground, 
and  the  roofless  houses  of  Jerusalem,  gradually  rising 


JERUSALEM 


565  ] 


JERUSALEM 


in  an  amphitheatrical  form.  The  structure  ot'  the 
Turkish  mosque  is  iu  beautiful  style  ;  tiie  immense 
court,  and  the  brilliant  and  parti-colored  hues  of  this 
building,  relieve  both  the  monotony  of  the  yellow 
stones  of  the  houses  crowded  together,  and  the  high 
wall  of  the  same  color  \vhich  surrounds  the  whole 
with  the  multitude  of  its  irregular  towers. 

"  At  a  little  distance  below  the  top  of  the  mount  is 
the  Grotto  of  the  Apostles,  as  it  is  called,  Avhich,  ac- 
cording to  ancient  taste,  is  built  under  ground.  This 
building,  with  its  twelve  splendidly-turned  arches, 
which  are  gradually  sinking  into  the  morass,  assured- 
ly belonged  formerly  to  the  linest  works  ot"  architec- 
ture. Many  similar  remains  of  dwelhngs  in  this 
j)lace,  })art  of  them  half  sunk,  part  of  them  entirely 
covered,  prove  that  the  mount  of  Olives  might  have 
been  in  a  very  different  condition  some  centuries  or 
thousands  of  years  ago.  Likewise  at  its  foot  is  the 
grotto  of  the  IMadonna,  almost  entirely  under  ground : 
its  remains  even  now  attest  the  grand  and  rich  style 
of  its  magnificent  structure.  Stairs,  indeed,  of  white 
marble,  about  thirty  feet  broad,  consisting  of  fifty 
steps,  lead  into  this  grotto,  where  the  Greeks  account 
devotion  and  the  service  of  God  their  peculiar  em- 
ployment ;  all  which,  in  fact,  the  burning  lamps  and 
devices  in  all  the  environs  of  the  exterior  announce. 

"  On  a  festival,  I  descended  for  the  second  time  to 
inspect  this  beautiful  building  :  I  beheld  much  that 
was  brilliant  in  the  ceremonies,  the  vestments,  and 
other  ap|)endages  of  divine  worship  ;  but  when  I  re- 
turned home,  and  perceived  the  whole  street  beset  on 
both  sides  by  cripples,  lame,  blind,  and  beggars,  who 
personified  nnscry  itself,  I  was  indignant  at  the 
sanctified  display  of  this  external  mockery,  and  the 
entire  want  of  the  chief  object — relief  for  the  afilicted. 

"Not  far  from  this  grotto,  the  Garden  of  Geth- 
semane  is  said  to  have  been  situated  ;  eight  fine 
olive-trees,  belonging  to  most  ancient  times,  (whose 
roots  are  surrounded  with  heaps  of  stones,  and  whose 
preservation  is  effected  by  continual  supplies  of  good 
earth,)  rear  their  heads  on  this  memorable  spot. 

"The  tomb  of  Absalom,  as  it  is  called,  lies  in  the 
lower  part  of  this  same  place.  It  contains  a  tower, 
in  Gothic  taste,  which  raises  itself  on  high,  and  in 
which  a  noble  style  may  yet  be  recognized  :  never- 
theless, the  building  appears  much  older  than  Gothic 
architecture :  by  its  side  also  are  found  several  sub- 
terranean apartments,  of  very  great  extent.  Tradi- 
tion avers  these  to  have  been  the  grottos  or  caves  into 
which  the  disciples  fled  after  the  capture  of  our  Sa- 
viour. Close  to  these  cavities  are  shown  the  graves 
of  the  kings  and  judges  of  Israel:  they  likewise 
merely  present  fragments  of  arches  and  walls  under 
ru!)bish  and  earth.  It  is  almost  incredible,  that  the 
Jews  should  not  have  suflicient  public  spirit  to  honor 
these  venerable  remains,  even  if  it  were  but  in  a  tri- 
fling degree. 

"The  entrance  to  these  sepulchres  woidd  rather 
induce  us  to  conjecture  a  place  which  led  to  a  cloaca 
than  to  the  catacombs  of  chiefs.  In  the  very  same 
district  is  situated  the  burial-place  of  the  Jews  of  the 
present  Jerusalem: — it  comprises  a  circuit  scarcely 
to  be  walked  round  in  half  an  hour — this  cemetery  is 
covered  with  well-hewn,  quadrangular  flag-stones, 
jilaced  one  upon  the  other,  each  being  furnished  with 
inscriptions.  Without  the  possession  of  a  prophetic 
spirit,  it  may  be  easily  foreseen,  that  this  quantity  of 
excellent  stones  will  at  some  time  become  very  usefiil 
to  the  building  of  massive  edifices. 

"  Between  the  mount  of  Olives  and  the  hill  on 
which  the  city  of  Jerusalem  rests,  floAvs  the  brook 


Cedron.  Here  also  was  my  expectation  disappoint- 
ed. I  had  conceived  it  to  myself  much  greater,  and 
found  merely  a  ditch  about  two  feet  broad,  which  at 
this  time  was  almost,  and  in  summer  is  totally,  dry  ; 
but  in  winter  it  becomes  like  a  wood-torrent,  which 
in  one  instant  impetuously  swells  on  its  course,  and 
in  the  other  disappears. 

"Deeper  down  lies  the  spring  of  the  Siloe :  along, 
stony  flight  of  steps  leads  to  it,  far  below  the  earth, 
below  which  a  ci-ystalline  clear  water  springs  up. 
It  is  light,  though  somewhat  saline  ;  yet  it  is  uncom- 
monly i)leasant,  and  tasted,  in  my  opinion,  like  nfilk. 
This  spring  is  said  to  have  an  ebbing  and  flowing  in 
common  with  the  ocean  ;  dui-ing  six  hours  it  is  full, 
and  during  six  it  is  em])ty.  (This  is  perhaps  the 
most  satisfactory  solution  of  the  phenomenon  which 
has  yet  been  given,  and,  if  true,  fully  accounts  for 
every  legend  which  the  Arabians  have  written  re- 
specting it.) 

"  On  the  left  hand,  on  the  height,  is  situated  the 
village  of  Siloe ;  there  but  little  is  seen  of  dwelling- 
houses,  which  mostly  consist  of  grottos  or  caves, 
which  are  l)uilt  in  rocks.  This  place,  whose  wild 
inhabitants  are  in  every  respect  Turks,  is  a  miserable 
nest : — as  far  as  it  was  possible  to  throw  a  stone,  boys 
from  ten  to  twelve  years  of  age  were  pelting  us  from 
the  heights."  (For  a  description  of  the  holy  sepul- 
chre, see  Sepulchre.) 

How  unlike  the  ancient  city  is  the  modern  Jerusa- 
lem !  "  From  the  daughter  of  Sion  all  her  beauty  is 
departed  !  "  Dr.  Clarke,  who  approached  Jerusalem 
from  the  direction  of  the  Napolose,  on  which  side  it  is 
seen  to  the  greatest  advantage,  has  described  its  first 
appearance  in  the  most  glowing  terms.  But  his  de- 
scription is  decidedly  overcharged.  Mr.  JoUiffe  says, 
"Were  a  person  carried  blindfold  from  England,  and 
placed  in  the  centre  of  Jerusalem,  or  on  any  of  the 
hills  which  overlook  the  city,  nothing,  perhaj)?, 
would  exceed  his  astonishment  on  the  sudden  re- 
moval of  the  bandage.  From  the  centre  of  the 
neighboring  elevations  he  would  see  a  wild,  rugged, 
mountainous  desert — no  herds  depasturing  on  the 
summit,  no  forests  clothing  the  acclivities,  no  water 
flowing  through  the  valleys  ;  but  one  rude  scene  of 
melancholy  waste,  in  the  midst  of  which  the  ancient 
glory  of  Judea  bows  her  head  in  widowed  desola- 
tion. On  entering  the  town,  the  magic  of  the  name 
and  all  his  earlier  associations  would  suffer  a  still 
greater  violence,  and  expose  him  to  still  stronger 
disappointment.  No  '  streets  of  palaces  and  walks 
of  state,'  no  high-raised  arches  of  triumph,  no  foun- 
tains to  cool  the  air,  or  porticos  to  exclude  the  sun, 
no  single  vestige  to  announce  its  former  military 
greatness  or  commercial  opulence  ;  but  in  the  place 
of  these,  he  would  find  himself  encompassed  on 
every  side  by  walls  of  rude  masonry,  the  didl  uni- 
formity of  which  is  only  broken  by  the  occasional 
|)rotrusion  of  a  small  grated  window."  The  follow- 
ing very  sjjirited  sketch  of  modern  Jerusalem,  from 
the  jK'u'  of  3Ir.  Buckingham,  may  close  this  account. 

"Reposing  beneath  the  shade  of  an  olive-tree  upon 
the  brow  of  this  hill,  (the  mount  of  Olives,)  we  en- 
joyed from  hence  a  fine  prospect  of  Jerusalem  on  the 
opy)ositc  one.  This  city  occupies  an  irregular  square, 
of  about  two  miles  and  a  half  in  circumference.  Its 
shortest  apparent  side  is  that  which  faces  the  east, 
and  in  this  is  the  supposed  gate  of  the  ancient  tem- 
])le,  now  closed  up,  and  the  small  projecting  stone  on 
which  Mohanuned  is  to  sit,  when  the  world  is  to  be 
assembled  to  judgment  in  the  vale  below.  The 
southern  side  is  exceedingly  irregular,  taking  quite  a 


JERUSALEM 


[  566  ] 


JES 


zigzag  direction  ;  the  south-west  extreme  being  ter- 
minated by  the  mosque  built  over  the  supposed  sep- 
ulchre of  David,  on  the  summit  of  mount  Sion.  The 
form  and  exact  direction  of  the  western  and  southern 
walls  are  not  distinctly  seen  from  hence  ;  but  every 
part  of  this  appears  to  be  a  modern  work,  and  exe- 
cuted at  the  same  time.  The  walls  are  flanked  at 
irregular  distances  by  square  towers,  and  have  bat- 
tlements running  all  around  on  their  sunnnits,  with 
loop-holes  for  arrows  or  musketry  close  to  the  top. 
The  walls  appear  to  be  about  fifty  feet  in  height,  but 
are  not  surrounded  by  a  ditch.  The  northern  wall 
runs  over  slightly  declining  ground ;  the  eastern 
brow  runs  straight  along  the  brow  of  mount  Moriah, 
with  the  deep  valle)'  of  Jehoshaphat  below ;  the 
southern  wall  runs  over  the  sunnnit  of  the  hill  as- 
sumed as  mount  Sion,  with  the  vale  of  Hinnom  at  its 
feet ;  and  the  western  wall  runs  along  on  more  level 
groimd,  near  the  summit  of  the  high  and  stony 
mountains  over  which  we  had  first  approached  the 
town.  As  the  city  is  thus  seated  on  the  brow  of  one 
large  hill,  divided  by  name  into  several  smaller  hills, 
and  the  Avhole  of  these  slope  gently  down  towards 
the  east ;  this  view,  from  the  mount  of  Olives,  a  po- 
sition of  greater  height  than  that  on  which  the  high- 
est .  part  of  the  city  stands,  commands  nearly  the 
whole  of  it  at  once. 

"  On  the  north,  it  is  bounded  by  a  level  and  appar- 
ently fertile  space,  now  covered  with  olive-trees, 
particularly  near  the  north-east  angle.  On  the  south, 
the  steep  side  of  mount  Sion,  and  the  valley  of  Hin- 
nom, both  show  patches  of  cultivation  and  little  gar- 
den enclosures.  On  the  west,  the  sterile  summits  of 
the  hills  there  barely  lift  their  outlines  above  the 
dwellings.  And,  on  the  east,  the  deep  valley  of  Je- 
hoshaphat, now  at  our  feet,  has  some  partial  spots  re- 
lieved by  trees,  though  as  forbidding  in  its  general 
aspect  as  the  vale  of  death  could  ever  be  desired  to  be, 
by  those  who  have  chosen  it  for  the  place  of  their 
interment. 

"  Within  the  walls  of  the  city  are  seen  crowded 
dwellings,  remarkable  in  no  respect,  except  being 
terraced  by  flat  roofs,  and  generally  built  of  stone. 
On  the  south  are  some  gardens  and  vineyards,  Avith 
the  long  red  mosque  of  x\l  Sakhara,  having  two  tiers 
of  windows,  a  sloping  roof,  and  a  dark  domfe  at  one 
end,  and  the  mosque  of  Sion  and  the  sepulchre  of 
David  in  the  same  quarter.  On  the  west  is  seen  the 
liigli,  square  castle,  and  palace  of  the  same  monarch, 
near  tlic  Bethlehem  gate.  In  the  centre  rise  the  two 
cupolas,  of  unequal  form  and  size  ;  the  one  blue,  and 
the  other  white,  covering  the  church  of  the  Holy 
Sepulclire.  Around,  in  different  directions,  are  seen 
the  minarets  of  eight  or  ten  mosques,  amid  an  assem- 
l)lage  of  about  two  thousand  dwellings.  And  on  the 
cast  i.i  seated  the  great  mosque  of  Al  Harreni,  or,  as 
called  l)y  Christians,  the  mosque  of  Solomon,  from 
being  supposed,  with  that  of  Al  Sakhara  near  it,  to 
occupy  the  site  of  the  ancient  temple  of  that  splendid 
and  luxurious  king."  (Travels  in  Palestine,  &c. 
p.  203— yO.-),  4to.) 

[The  plan  of  Jerusalem  whicli  we  have  placed  op- 
posite the  title-jjage  of  this  work,  is  that  given  by  Dr. 
Jowett,  who  had  ample  opi)ortunity  of  testing  its 
correctness.  It  varies  from  most  others  in  represent- 
ing the  Kidron  as  bending  to  the  south-west  after 
passing  the  valley  of  Hinnom.  Mr.  Carne,  liowever, 
describes  the  stream  from  Siloa  [the  Kidron  was  dry 
when  he  saw  if]  as  ])assing  down  the  valley  of  Je- 
hoshaphat, and  winding  between  rugged  and  deso- 
late hills  towards  the  wilderness  of  St.  Saba.     Ac- 


cording to  the  same  traveller,  the  convent  of  St.  Saba 
overlooks  the  deep  and  rugged  glen  through  which 
the  Kidron  flows  in  order  to  reach  the  Dead  sea. 
The  bend  of  this  stream  to  the  south-west  upon  the 
plan,  therefore,  is  probably  nothing  more  than  a 
winding  of  the  valley.     R. 

JERUSALEM,  The  new.  The  city  of  Jerusalem 
furnishes  a  metaphorical  application  of  its  name,  in 
an  exalted  and  spiritual  sense.  The  first  hint  of  this 
in  the  New  Testament,  occurs  in  Gal.  iv.  25,  where 
the  apostle  refers  to  the  formation  of  the  Hebrew  na- 
tion into  a  church  state,  by  the  giving  of  the  law  from 
Sinai;  under  which  terrific  and  slavish  dispensation, 
the  "  Jerusalem  that  now  is,"  he  says,  "  continues  ; 
but  the  Jerusalem  above  is  free,  which  is  the  mother 
of  us  all,"  Gentiles  as  well  as  Jews,  (perhaps  Uuvto^v 
Hi'jtiQ^  the  Universal  Mother,)  the  formation  of  all 
mankind,  as  it  were,  (not  of  a  single  nation,)  into  a 
church  state,  beginning  at  Jerusalem,  the  city  of 
peace ;  though  properly  originating  in  heaven,  the 
seat  of  the  celestial  Jerusalem,  the  mansion  of  com- 
plete and  uninterrupted  tranquillity.  The  metaphor 
is  resumed  and  enlarged  by  the  writer  of  the  Reve- 
lation :  (Rev.  iii.  12.)  "The  city  of  my  God,  the  new 
Jerusalem,  which  cometh  down  out  of  heaven,  from 
my  God."  It  appears  here,  by  its  coming  down  from 
heaven,  to  refer  to  the  Christian  establishment  or 
church,  which  now  had  taken  place  of  the  Jewish. 
But  the  same  writer  afterwards  employs  it  in  a  still 
superior  sense :  (chap,  xxi.)  "  And  I  saw  a  new 
heaven,  and  a  new  earth :  for  the  first  heaven  and 
the  first  earth  were  passed  away — and  I  saw  the  holy 
city,  new  Jerusalem,"  ver.  1.  This  he  describes  at 
large,  (ver.  10,  et  seq.)  in  a  strain  of  oriental  meta- 
phor, that  can  only  agree  to  the  celestial  state :  simi- 
lar allusions  to  certain  parts  of  its  decorations  are 
found,  Isa.  liv.  11  ;  Tobit  xiii.  16. 

This  celestial  city,  called  the  holy  city,  and  the 
great  city,  was  to  have  no  temple,  nor  other  pecu- 
liarities of  the  Jewish  service ;  and  the  whole  de- 
scription of  it,  the  dimensions,  the  parts,  and  the 
properties  of  it,  are  symbolical  in  the  highest  degree. 
The  ncAV  Jerusalem  on  earth  should  be  carefully 
distinguished  from  the  new  Jerusalem  in  heaA'en,  in 
explaining  this  book  ;  nor  should  it  be  forgotten,  that 
much  of  the  scenery  in  it  is  conceived  in  the  spirit 
of  one  who  had  been  familiar  with  the  courts,  altars, 
&c.  of  that  Jewish  Jerusalem  and  temple,  of  which 
he  had  lived  to  witness  the  destruction. 

JESHANAH,  a  city  of  Ephraim,  2  Chron.xiii.  19. 
Eusebius  and  Jerome  place  it  seven  miles  north  from 
Jericho. 

JESHIMON,  perhaps  the  same  as  Hesmona,  Ase- 
mona,  Esem,  Esemon,  and  Esemona,  a  city  in  the 
wilderness  of  Maon,  belonging  to  Simeon;  in  the 
south  of  Palestine,  or  Arabia  Petra?a,  1  Sam.  xxiii. 
24. 

JESHUA,  or  Joshua,  son  of  Jozedck,  the  first  high- 
priest  of  the  Jews,  after  their  return  from  the  Baby- 
lonish captivity,  Ezra  iii.  2  ;  iv.  3.  His  first  care  after 
his  arrival  at  .Jerusalem,  was  to  restore  the  sacrifices, 
to  regulate  the  ofiiccs  and  orders  of  the  jtriests  and 
Levites,  and  to  rebuild  the  tenq)le,  as  far  as  the  con- 
dition of  the  Jews  would  allow  of  the  work.  The 
prophets  Haggai  and  Zechariali  often  mention  Jesus, 
or  Joshua,  son  of  Jozedek.  Haggai  (i.  1.)  addresses 
himself  to  him  and  Zerubbabel,  exciting  them  to  build 
the  temple  afler  the  death  of  Cyrus  and  Cambyscs. 
Zechariali  relates,  (chaj).  iii.  1.)  that  the  Lord  showed 
him  the  high-priest  Joshua,  son  of  Jozedek,  standing 
before  the  angel  of  the  Lord,  and  Satan  standing  at 


JET 


[567  ] 


JEZ 


his  riglit  hand  to  accuse  liini.  The  same  prophet 
havhig  seen  a  vision  of  two  olive-trees,,which  fur- 
nished oil  for  the  golden  candlestick,  through  which 
the  oil  ran  into  the  lamps,  the  angel  of  the  Lord  told 
him,  tiiat  these  two  olive-trees  were  Joshua,  sou  of 
Jozcdek,  and  Zeruhbabel,  sonof  Salathiel,  "who are 
tlie  two  anointed  ones  that  stand  by  the  Lord  of  the 
whole  earth."  (See  also  Zech.  vi.  11,  and  the  article 
Candlestick.)  Jesus,  son  of  Sirach,  in  Ecclesiasticus, 
commends  Jesus,  (Joshua,)  son  of  Jozedek,  and  Ze 
rub!)abel,  as  signets  on  the  Lord's  right  hand,  chap, 
xlix.  12.  Joshua  was  succeeded  in  the  high-priest- 
hood by  his  son  Joachim,  who  was  high-priest  in  the 
reign  of  Xerxes. 

JESIIURUN,  a  poetical  name  given  to  Israel,  in 
Dviut.  xxxiii.  5;  xxxii.  15,  Sec.  Translators  differ  in 
tJicir  ideas  of  its  meaning,  some  rendering  it,  the  just, 
or  uprig}it ;  others,  the  beloved ;  others,  taking  it  as  a 
diminutive,  render  it,  "little  Israel,''^  i.e.  the  beloved, 
upright,  little  Israel.     It  is  derived  from  -yv^,  upright. 

JESSE,  son  of  Obed,  and  father  of  David,  Eliab, 
Abinadab,  Shammah,  Nethaneel,  Raddai,  and 
Ozeni.  David  was  the  youngest  son  ;  but  became 
the  most  illustrious,  Ruth  iv.  17,  22 ;  1  Chron.  ii. 
12 ;  Matt.  i.  5. 

I.  JESUS  CHRIST,  the  son  of  God,  the  Messiah, 
and  Saviour  of  the  world,  the  first  and  principal  ob- 
ject of  the  prophecies,  who  was  prefigured  and  prom- 
ised in  the  Old  Testament,  was  expected  and  de- 
sired by  the  patriarchs;  the  hope  and  salvation  of 
the  Gentiles  ;  the  glor)^,  happiness,  and  consolation 
of  Christians.  The  name  Jesus,  or,  as  the  Hebrews 
pronoimce  it,  Jehoshuah,  or  Joshua,  signifies,  ^e  tcho 
shall  save.  No  one  ever  bore  this  name  with  so 
much  justice,  nor  so  perfectly  fulfilled  the  significa- 
tion of  it,  as  Jesus  Christ,  who  saves  from  sin  and 
hell,  and  has  merited  heaven  for  us  by  the  price  of 
his  blood.     See  Christ. 

II.  JESUS,  or  Joshua,  which  see. 

III.  JES[JS,  surnamed  Justus,  see  Justus  II. 
JETHRO,  priest,  or  prince,  of  3Iidian,  (for  the 

Hebrew  jn3,  cohen,  signifies  a  prince  as  well  as  a 
priest,)  the  father-in-law  of  Moses.  It  is  believed 
that  he  was  a  priest  of  the  true  God,  and  maintained 
the  true  religion,  being  descended  from  Midian,  son 
of  Abraham  and  Keturah.  Moses  does  not  conceal 
his  alliance  with  Jethro's  family,  but  invites  him  to 
ofter  sacrifices  to  the  Lord,  on  his  arrival  in  the  camp 
of  Israel,  as  one  who  adored  the  sauie  God,  Exod.  xviii. 
1],  12.  Some  assert  that  he  had  four  names,  Jethro, 
Raguel  or  Reucl,  Hobab,  and  Ceni.  Others,  that  Je- 
thro and  Raguel  were  the  same  person  ;  that  Hobab 
was  son  of  Jethro,  and  brother  of  Zipporah  ;  and  that 
Ceni  is  a  connnon  name,  signifying  the  country  of 
the  Kenites,  inhabited  by  the  posterity  of  Hobab, 
south  of  the  promised  land.  The  Hebrew  hothen, 
which  Jerome  translates  kinsman,  is  used  in  Numb, 
x.  29,  and  Exod.  xviii.  1,  27,  to  denote  the  relation 
between  Moses  and  Hobab ;  in  Numbers,  however, 
Hobab  is  called  son  of  Ragnel,  whence  others  arc  of 
opinion  that  Raguel  was  the  father  of  Jethro,  and 
Jethro  the  father  of  Hobab.  On  the  other  side, 
Raguel  gives  Zipporah  to  Moses,  Exod.  ii.  2L  The 
signification  of  tlie  Hebrew  hothen  not  being  fixed, 
it  is  impossible  to  determine  this  question  with  cer- 
tainty. Moses,  having  killed  an  Egyptian  who  ill- 
treated  a  Hebrew,  was  obliged  to  fly  from  Egypt,  in- 
to the  land  of  Midian,  east  of  the  Red  sea,  near  the 
gulf  of  Elam,  where  he  mamed  one  of  the  daughters 
of  Jethro,  After  ho  had  been  here  forty  years,  he 
saw  the  vision  of  the  bm-niiig  bush,  and  Jethro,  mi- 


derstanding  the  will  of  God,  permitted  him  to  return 
to  Egypt  with  his  wife  and  children.  Zipporah  be- 
ing obliged  to  return  to  her  father,  Jethro  brought 
her  to  Moses,  at  the  foot  of  mount  Sinai,  about  a  year 
arter  the  Hebrews  came  out  of  Egypt.  Moses  went 
out  of  the  camp  to  meet  Jethro,  and  falling  prostrate, 
embraced  him,  introduced  him  into  his  tent,  and  re- 
lated to  him  what  the  Lord  had  done  for  Israel.  Je- 
thro blessed  God  for  it,  offered  burnt-offerings,  and 
peace-offerings,  and  ate  with  Moses,  Aaron,  and  the 
elders  of  Israel,  in  the  ^presence  of  the  Lord.  The 
next  day,  Moses  sitting  to  judge  Israel,  from  morn- 
ing to  evening,  Jethro  insisted  that  the  fatigue  was 
too  gi-eat,  and  advised  him  to  appoint  deputies  for 
lesser  causes. 

When  the  Israelites  were  decamping  on  their 
journey,  Moses  importuned  Jethro  to  accompany 
them  ;  but  he  returned  to  Midian,  leaving,  as  some  be- 
lieve, Hobab  his  son,  to  conduct  the  Israelites,  Exod. 
xviii.  5,  27.  But  Hobab  was  more  probably  Jethro 
himself. 

JEWELS,  valuables,  whether  for  store,  or  for  ap- 
parel. This  word  does  not  mean  jewelry  works, 
gems,  «Sz;c.  but  whatever  is  stored  up  in  consequence 
of  its  superior  estimation.  God  calls  his  people  jew- 
els ;  (Mai.  iii.  17.)  the  lips  of  knowledge  are  a  jewel, 
Prov.  XX.  15. 

JEWS,  the  name  borne  by  the  Jews,  among  for- 
eign nations,  especially  after  the  return  from  Baby- 
lon, from  Judah,  their  ancestor.     See  Hebrews. 

JEZEBEL,  daughter  of  Ethbaal,  king  of  the  Zi- 
donians,  and  wife  of  Ahab,  king  of  Israel,  (1  Kings 
xvi.  31.)  introduced  into  the  kingdom  of  Samaria  the 
public  worship  of  Baal,  Astarte,  and  other  Phoenician 
deities,  which  I'he  Lord  had  expressly  forbidden  ;  and 
with  this  impious  worship,  a  general  prevalence  of 
those  abominations  which  had  formerly  incensed  God 
agamst  the  Canaanites,  to  their  utter  extirpation. 
Jezebel  was  so  zealous,  that  she  fed  at  her  own  table 
four  hundred  prophets  belonging  to  the  goddess  As- 
tarte ;  and  Ahab  in  like  manner  kept  four  himdred 
of  Baal's  prophets,  as  ministers  of  his  false  gods. 
Jezebel  seems  to  have  undertaken  the  utter  abolition 
of  the  worship  of  the  Lord  in  Israel,  by  persecuting 
his  prophets  ;  and  she  had  destroyed  them  all,  if  a 
part  had  not  been  saved  by  some  good  men.  Elijah, 
who  lived  at  this  time,  having  brought  fire  from 
heaven  on  his  burnt-offering,  in  sight  of  Ahab  and  of 
all  Israel,  assembled  at  mount  Carmel,  and  the  peo- 
ple having  killed  four  hundred  and  fifty  of  Baal's 
prophets,  Jezebel  sent  to  Elijah,  declaring,  that  the 
next  day  she  would  take  care  he  should  be  despatched, 
1  Kings  xix.  Some  time  afterwards,  Ahab  being 
desirous  to  buy  Naboth's  vineyard,  but  meeting  with 
a  refusal  from  him,  Jezebel  wrote  in  the  king's  name 
to  the  principal  men  of  Jezreel,  requiring  them  to 
accuse  him  of  blaspheming  God  and  the  king,  and 
to  pimish  him  capitally.  These  orders  were  but  too 
punctually  exccvited.  Ahab  returning  from  Jezreel, 
Elijah  met  him,  and  threatened  his  destruction  in  the 
name  of  God  ;  and  that  Jezebel,  who  had  been  the 
cause  of  this  evil,  shoidd  be  eaten  by  dogs  in  the 
field  of  Jezreel ;  or,  according  to  the  Hebrew,  by  the 
outward  Avail  of  Jezreel,  These  predictions  were 
verified,  when  Jehu  had  her  thrown  out  of  her  Avin- 
doAV,  and  left  exposed  by  the  outer  Avail,  2  Kings  ix. 
35.  "  And  they  went  to  bury  her,  but  they  found  no 
more  of  her  than  the  skull",  and  the  f^<-^  and  the 
palms  of  her  hands."  (See  Jehu.)  To  an  English  ear 
it  sounds  very  surprising,  that,  <luring  the  time  of  a 
single  me^l,  "so  majiy  dogs  should  be  on  the  spot, 


JEZEBEL 


568  ] 


JOA 


ready  to  devour ;  and  should  so  speedily  despatch 
this  business,  in  the  veiy  midst  of  a  royal  city,  close 
under  the  royal  gateway,  and  Avhere  a  considerable 
ti-ain  of  people  had  so  lately  passed,  and,  no  doubt, 
many  were  continually  passing:  this  appears  ex- 
tremely unaccountable  ;  but  we  find  it  well  account- 
ed for  by  Mr.  Bruce,  whose  information  the  reader 
will  receive  Avith  due  allowance  for  the  different 
manners  and  ideas  •  of  countries  ;  after  which,  this 
rapid  devouring  of  Jezebel  will  not  appear  so  ex- 
traordinary as  it  has  hitherto  done:  "The  bodies  of 
those  killed  by  the  sword  were  heAvn  to  pieces,  and 
scattered  about  the  streets,  being  denied  burial.  I 
was  miserable,  and  almost  driven  to  despair,  at  see- 
ing my  hunting  dogs,  twice  let  loose  by  the  careless- 
ness of  my  servants,  bringing  into  the  court-yard  the 
heads  and  arms  of  slaughtered  men,  and  which  I 
could  no  way  prevent,  but  by  the  destruction  of  the 
dogs  themselves :  the  quantity  of  carrion,  and  the 
stench  of  it,  brought  down  the  hygenas  in  hundreds 
from  the  neighboring  mountains  ;  and,  as  few  people 
ill  Goudar  go  out  after  it  is  dark,  they  enjoyed  the 
streets  to  themselves,  and  seemed  ready  to  dispute 
the  possession  of  the  city  with  the  inhabitants.  Often, 
when  I  went  home  late  from  the  palace,  (and  it  was 
this  time  the  king  chose  chiefly  for  conversation,) 
though  I  had  but  to  pass  the  corner  of  the  market- 
place before  the  palace,  had  lanterns  with  me,  and 
was  surrounded  with  armed  men,  I  heard  them 
gi-unting  by  twos  and  threes,  so  near  me,  as  to  be 
afraid  they  would  take  some  opportunity  of  seizing 
me  by  the  leg.  A  pistol  would  have  frightened  them, 
and  made  them  speedily  run,  and  I  constantly  carried 
two  loaded  at  my  girdle  ;  but  the  discharging  a  pistol 
in  the  night  would  have  alarmed  every  one  that 
heard  it  in  the  town,  and  it  Avas  not  now  the  time  to 
add  any  thing  to  people's  fears.  I  at  last  scarcely 
ever  went  out,  and  nothing  occupied  my  thoughts 
but  how  to  escape  from  this  bloody  country,  by  way 
of  Sennaar,  and  how  I  could  best  exert  my  power 
and  influence  over  Yasine  at  Ras  el  Feel  to  pave  my 
way,  by  assisting  me  to  pass  the  desert,  into  Atbara. 
The  king,  missing  me  at  the  palace,  and  hearing  I 
had  not  been  at  Ras  Michael's,  began  to  inquire  who 
had  been  with  me.  Ayto  Confu  soon  found  Yasine, 
who  uiformed  him  of  the  whole  matter.  Upon  this 
I  was  sent  for  to  the  ]ralace,  where  I  found  the  king, 
without  any  body  but  menial  servants.  He  immedi- 
ately remarked,  that  I  looked  very  ill  ;  which,  indeed, 
I  found  to  be  the  case,  as  I  had  scarcely  ate  or  slept 
since  I  saw  him  last,  or  even  for  some"  days  before. 
He  asked  me,  in  a  condoling  tone,  what  ailed  me — 
that,  besides  looking  sick,  I  seemed  as  if  soznething 
had  ruffled  me,  and  put  me  out  of  humor.  I  told 
him,  that  what  he  observed  was  true  :  that,  coming 
across  the  market-place,  I  had  seen  Za  Mariam,  the 
Ras's  door-k(;e])er,  with  three  men  bound,  one  of 
whom  he  fell  a-hacking  to  pieces  in  my  presence, 
and  upon  seeing  me  ruiming  across  the  place,  stop- 
ping my  nose,  he  called  me  to  stay  till  he  should 
come  and  despatch  the  other  two,  for  he  wanted  to 
speak  with  me,  as  if  he  had  been  engaged  about  or- 
dinary business  ;  that  the  soldiers,  in  coiisideration  of 
his  haste,  iimnediately  fell  uj)on  the  other  two,  whose 
cries  were  still  remaining  in  my  ears  ;  that  the  hy- 
renas,  at  night,  would  scar(;ely'lct  me  jjass  in  the 
streets,  when.  I  n-turned  from  th(^  palace  ;  and  the 
dogs  fled  into  my  house,  to  eat  pieces  of  human  carcasses 
at  their  leisure."     (Travels,  vol.  iv.  p.  81,  &c.) 

Without  supposing  that  Jf.-zreel  was  pestered  with 
hyrcnas,  like  Gondar,  though  that  is  not  incredible, 


we  may  easily  admit  of  a  sufficiency  of  dogs,  accus- 
tomed to  carnage,  which  had  pulled  the  body  of 
Jezebel  to  pieces,  and  had  devoured  it  before  the 
palace-gate,  or  had  withdrawn  with  parts  of  it  to  their 
hiding-places.  But,  perhaps,  the  mention  of  the 
head,  hands,  and  feet,  lieing  left  on  the  spot,  indicates 
that  it  had  not  been  removed  by  the  dogs,  but  was 
eaten  where  it  fell,  (as  those  parts  adjoined  the  mem- 
bers most  likely  to  be  removed,)  so  that  the  prophecy 
of  Elijah  was  literally  fulfilled,  "  in  the  portion  of 
Jezreel,  shall  dogs  eat  Jezebel."     See  Dogs. 

This  account  illustrates,  also,  the  readiness  of  the 
dogs  to  lick  the  blood  of  Ahab,  (1  Kings  xxii.  38.)  in 
perfect  conformity  to  which  is  the  expression  of  the 
prophet  Jeremiah,  (xv.  3.)  "  I  will  appoint  over  them 
.  .  .  the  sword  to  slay,  and  the  dogs  to  tear,  and  the  fowls 
of  the  heaven  and  the  beasts  of  the  earth,  (the  hyse- 
nas  of  Bruce,  perhaps,)  to  devour  and  destroy."  It 
also  explains  the  mode  of  execution  adopted  by  the 
pi'ophet  Samuel,  with  regard  to  Agag,  king  of  the 
Amalekites,  whom  Samuel  thus  addresses :  "In  like 
manner  as  thy  sword  has  made  women  barren,  so 
shall  thy  mother  be  rendered  barren  [childless] 
among  women,"  1  Sam.  xv.  33.  If  these  Avoids  do 
not  imply  that  Agag  had  ripped  up  pregnant  women, 
they  at  least  imply,  that  he  had  hewed  many  prison- 
ers to  death  ;  for  we  find  that  "  Samuel  caused  Agag 
to  be  hewed  in  pieces  before  the  face  of  the  Lord  in 
Gilgal,"  directing  that  very  same  mode  of  punish- 
ment (hitherto,  probably,  unadopted  in  Israel)  to  be 
used  towards  him,  which  he  had  formerly  used  to- 
wards others.  The  character  of  the  prophet  Samuel 
has  been  vilified  for  cruelty  on  account  of  this  histo- 
ry ;  with  how  little  reason  let  the  reader  now  judge ; 
and  compare  a  similar  retributive  justice  on  Adoni- 
bezek,  Judg.  i.  7. 

In  Rev.  ii.  20,  the  angel  of  Thjatira  is  reproached 
with  suffering  Jezebel,  "that  woman  who  calleth 
herself  a  prophetess,  to  teach  and  to  seduce  the  ser- 
vants of  Jesus  Christ,"  &c.  JezcVjel  is  in  this  place 
a  figurative  name,  and  signifies  some  impious  and 
cruel  v/oman,  Avho  dogmatized  and  domineered  in 
the  chtu'ch. 

I.  JEZREEL,  {ivhorn  God  plants,)  a  city  of  Judah, 
Josh.  XV.  56. 

II.  JEZREEL,  son  of  Etam,  of  Judah,  1  Chron. 
iv.  3. 

III.  JEZREEL,  son  of  the  prophet  Hosea,  i.  4. 
In  verse  11  there  is  an  allusion  to  the  meaning  of  the 
name,  which  is  there  applied  to  Israel. 

IV.  JEZREEL,  a  celebrated  city  of  Issachar, 
(Josh.  xix.  18.)  in  the  great  plain,  between  Legio 
west,  and  Scythopolis  cast.  Ahab  had  here  a  pal- 
ace ;  and  this  city  became  famous  on  account  of  his 
seizure  of  Naboth's  vineyard,  and  the  vengeance  ex- 
ecuted on  Ahab,  2  Kings  ix.  10,  &c.  Jerome  says, 
Jezreel  was  near  IMaximianopolis  ;  and  that  not  far 
from  it  was  a  very  long  vale.  Josejihus  calls  Jezreel 
Azarius,  or  Azares.  In  the  time  of  William  of  Tyre, 
it  was  called  Little  Gerin.  There  was  a  fine  foun- 
tain in  it. 

JOAB,  son  of  Zcruiah  David's  sister,  and  brother 
of  Abishai  and  Asahcl,  was  one  of  th<!  most  valiant 
soldiers  and  greatest  generals  in  David's  time  ;  but  he 
was  also  one  of  the  most  cruel,  revengeful,  and  im- 
perious of  men.  He  was  commander  in  chief  of  his 
troo])s,  when  David  was  king  of  Judah  only,  and  was 
always  firm  to  his  iiUerests.  He  signalized  himself 
at  the  battle  ofGii)eon  against  Abner,  (2  Sam.  ii.  13, 
14,  &c.)but  Asaiiel,  his  brother,  was  killed  in  that 
engagement  by  Abner.     To  revenge  his  death,  Joah 


JO  A 


[569] 


JOB 


treacherously  killed  Abner,  who  had  come  to  Hebron 
to  make  an  alliance  with  David,  and  bring  all  Israel 
to  his  obedience,  2  Sam.  iii.  27,  39.  David  abhorred 
the  base  action ;  but  did  not  dare  to  punish  Joab, 
who  was  too  formidable.  After  David  was  acknowl- 
edged king  by  all  Israel,  he  besieged  Jebus,  and 
promised  to  make  captain-general  of  his  army  the 
man  who  should  first  mount  the  walls,  and  beat  off 
the  Jebusitcs,  I  Chron.  xi.  6.  Joab  was  the  first  who 
appeared  on  the  walls,  and  by  his  valor  well  merited 
to  be  continued  in  his  station.  He  subdued  the  Am- 
monites, and  procured  the  destruction  of  the  brave 
Uriah,  at  the  siege  of  Rabbah,  their  capital,  2  Sam. 
.\i.  17.  He  interceded  for  Absalom's  return  from 
exile,  and  his  restoration  to  favor.  But  thougli  he 
showed  himself  a  friend  to  Absalom  in  his  disgrace, 
ho  was  his  enemy  at  his  rebelUon.  He  overcame  him 
in  a  battle  near  Mahanaim ;  and  being  informed  that 
he  himg  by  the  hair  on  an  oak,  he  pierced  him  to 
death  with  his  own  hands,  though  he  well  knew  that 
David  had  given  strict  orders  to  preserve  him.  When 
the  king  discovered  too  much  sorrow  for  the  death 
of  his  son,  Joab  remonstrated  with  him. 

When  Adonijah,  David's  eldest  son,  aspired  to  the 
throne,  he  carefully  secured  the  friendship  and  assist- 
ance of  Joab,  (see  Adonijah,)  who,  by  lending  him- 
self to  the  designs  of  the  prince,  increased  David's 
aversion  from  him,  so  that,  when  near  his  end,  he 
advised  Solomon  to  punish  him  for  the  various  mis- 
demeanors of  which  he  had  been  guilty.  Sometime 
after  the  death  of  David,  Joab,  being  informed  that 
Solomon  had  caused  Adonijah  to  l;e  nut  to  death, 
and  had  banished  the  high-priest  Ai;i;itliar  to  his 
country  residence  at  Anathoth,  thought  it  time  to 
jirovide  for  his  own  security.  He  fled  into  the  tem- 
ple, and  laid  hold  on  the  horns  of  the  altar,  but  Solo- 
mon sent  Benaiah,  who  put  him  to  death  at  the  foot 
of  the  altar.  He  was  buried  by  Benaiah  in  his  own 
house  in  the  wilderness,  1  Kings  ii.  28,  seq. 

JOACHIN,  see  Jehoiachi.v. 

I.  JOAKIM,  high-priest  of  the  Jews,  succeeded 
.loshua,  son  of  Jozedek,  his  father,  after  the  retui-u 
from  the  captivity. 

II.  JOAKI3I,'  son  of  Hilkiah,  high-priest  of  the 
Jews,  in  the  reigns  of  Manasseh  and  Josiah ;  more 
generally  known  by  the  name  Hilkiah,  or  Eliakim, 
Judith  iv.  6,  14. 

JOANNA,  wife  of  Chuza,  Herod's  steward,  (Luke 
viii.  3.)  was  one  of  those  women  who  followed  our 
Saviour,  and  assisted  him  with  their  property.  Luke 
observes  that  these  women  had  been  delivered  by 
Christ  from  evil  spirits  :  or  cured  of  diseases.  It  was 
customary  among  the  Jews,  for  men  who  dedicated 
themselves  to  preaching,  to  accept  services  from 
women  of  piety,  who  attended  them  without  any 
scandal. 

I.  JOASH,  or  Jehoash,  son  of  Ahaziah,  king  of 
Judah,  was  saved  from  the  design  of  the  impious 
Atlialiah,  by  Jehoshebah,  or  Jehoshabath,  daughter 
of  Joram,  sister  of  Ahaziah,  and  wife  of  the  high- 
priest  Jehoiada.  In  the  seventh  year,  Jehoiada  pro- 
cured him  to  be  acknowledged  king,  and  so  well  con- 
c(!rted  his  plan,  that  the  young  prince  was  jjlaced  on 
the  throne,  anil  saluted  king,  in  the  temple,  before 
the  queen  had  notice  of  it,  2  Kings  xi.  xii.  Joash 
received  the  diadem,  with  the  book  of  the  law,  from 
the  hands  of  Jehoiada,  the  high-priest,  who,  in  the 
young  king's  name,  made  a  covenant  between  the 
Lord,  the  king,  and  the  people,  for  their  future  fidelity 
to  God  ;  and  also  obliged  the  people  to  take  an  oath 
to  the  king.  Joash  reigned  forty  years  at  Jerusalem, 
72 


and  governed  with  justice  and  piety,  so  long  as  he 
was  guided  by  Jehoiada.  In  the  king's  minority,  the 
high-priest  had  issued  orders  for  collecting  voluntary 
offerings  to  the  holy  place,  with  a  design  of  repairing 
the  temple  ;  but  his  orders  were  ill  executed,  till  the 
twentieth  year  of  Joash,  who  directed  chests  to  be 
placed  at  the  entrance  of  the  temple,  and  an  account 
to  be  given  of  what  money  was  collected,  that  it 
might  be  faithfully  employed  in  reparations  of  the 
house  of  God.  Jehoiada  dying  at  the  age  of  a  hun- 
dred and  thirty  years,  Joash  was  misled  by  the  evil 
counsels  of  his  courtiers,  who  had  before  been  re- 
strained by  the  high-priest's  authority.  Tliey  began 
to  forsake  the  temple  of  the  Lord,  and  to  woi-ship 
idols  and  groves,  or  Asteroth,  goddess  of  the  groves, 
which  drew  down  wrath  on  Judah  and  Jerusalem, 
The  Spirit  of  God  came  upon  the  high-priest  Zecha- 
riali,  sou  of  Jehoiada,  who  reprimanded  the  people  ; 
but  they  who  heard  him,  stoned  him,  according  to 
orders  from  the  king.  It  was  not  long  before  God 
inflicted  on  Joash  the  just  punishment  of  his  ingi-ati- 
tude  to  Jehoiada,  and  his  son  :  Hazael,  king  of  Syria, 
besieged  Gath,  which  belonged  to  Judah  ;  and,  having 
taken  it,  he  marched  against  Jerusalem.  Joash,  to 
redeem  himself  from  the  difficulties  of  a  siege,  and 
from  the  danger  of  being  plundered,  took  what 
money  he  coidd  find  in  the  temple,  which  had  been 
consecrated  by  Ahaziah  his  father,  Jehoram  his 
grandfather,  and  himself,  with  what  he  had  in  the 
royal  treasury  ;  all  of  which  he  gave  to  Hazael,  to 
staj'  his  hostilities.  It  is  believed  that  the  next  year 
the  Syrian  army  marched  again  into  Judah  ;  but  Ha- 
zael was  not  with  it  in  person.  The  Syrians  made 
great  havoc,  defeated  the  troops  of  Joash,  entered  Je- 
rusalem, slew  the  princes  of  Judah,  and  sent  a  great 
booty  to  the  king  of  Syria  at  Damascus.  They  treated 
Joash  himself  with  great  ignominy  ;  and  left  him  ex- 
tremely ill.  Shortly  afterwards,  his  servants  revolted 
against  him,  and  killed  him  in  his  bed,  by  which  the 
blood  of  Zechariah  the  high-priest  was  avenged. 
He  was  buried  in  Jerusalem,  but  not  in  the  royal 
sepulchre. 

II.  JOASH,  king  of  Israel,  son  and  successor  of 
Jehoahaz,  was  declared  king  in  his  father's  life-time, 
A.  M.  3163.  He  reigned  sixteen  years,  including  the 
two  that  he  reigned  with  his  father  ;  and  though  he 
did  evil  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord,  and  imitated  Jero- 
boam, son  of  Nebat,  who  made  Israel  to  sin,  the  Lord 
re-established,  during  his  reign,  the  aflliirs  of  the 
kingdom  of  Israel,  which  had  been  thrown  into  very 
great  confusion  under  Jehoahaz  his  father. 

Elisha  falling  sick,  Joash  went  to  visit  him,  and 
wept  before  the  prophet,  who  directed  him  to  shoot 
with  arrows.  The  king  shot  three  times,  and  ceased  ; 
he  gained,  therefore,  only  three  victories  over  Syria, 

Amaziah,  king  of  Judah,  having  been  victorious 
over  the  Edomites,  challenged  Joash,  saying,  "Come, 
let  us  see  one  another  in  the  face  ;"  but  Joash  reprov- 
ed him  by  the  fable  of  the  cedar,  and  the  thistle  of 
Lebanon.  Amaziah,  however,  would  not  take  his 
counsel,  and  was  defeated,  and  taken  in  the  battle. 
Joash  entered  Jerusalem,  and  ordered  four  hundred 
cubits  of  the  city  walls  to  be  demolished,  from  the 
gateof  Ephraim  to  the  corner-gate.  He  took  all  the 
treasures  of  the  temple  and  the  royal  palace,  and  re- 
turned in  triumph  to  Samaria,  where  he  died  in  peace 
soon  afterwards,  and  was  succeeded  by  Jeroboam,  2 
Kings  xiii.  10. 

JOB,  a  patriarch  celebrated  for  his  patience,  con- 
stancy, piety,  and  virtue.  He  dwelt  in  the  land  of 
Uz,  or  the  Ausitis,  in  East  Edom  ;  but  there  are  dif- 


JOB 


570 


JOB 


ferent  opinions  concerning  his  family  and  his  time. 
At  the  end  of  the  Greek  and  Arabic  copies  of  the 
book  of  Job,  and  in  the  old  Latin  Vulgate,  we  read 
these  words,  tfiere  said  to  be  taken  from  the  Syriac : 
"Job  dwelt  in  the  Ausitis,  on  the  confines  of  Idumea 
and  Arabia  ;  his  name  at  first  was  Jobab.  He  mar- 
ried an  Arabian  woman,  by  whom  he  had  a  son, 
called  Ennon.  He  himself  was  son  of  Zerah,  of  the 
posterity  of  Esau,  and  a  native  of  Bozrali :  so  that  he 
was  the  fifth  from  Abraham.  He  reigned  in  Edom  ; 
and  the  kings  before  and  after  him  reigned  in  this 
order  :  Balak,  the  son  of  Beor,  in  the  city  of  Dinha- 
bah  ;  after  him  Job  (otherwise  called  Jobab).  Job 
was  succeeded  by  Husham,  prince  of  Tcman.  After 
him  reigned  Hadad,  the  son  of  Bedad,  who  defeated 
the  Midianites  in  the  fields  of  Moali.  The  name  of 
his  city  was  Arith.  Job's  friends  who  came  to  visit 
him  were  Eliphaz,  of  the  posterity  of  Esau,  and  king 
of  Teman ;  Bildad,  king  of  the  Shuhites ;  and  Zo- 
phar,  king  of  the  Naamatliites."  This  is  the  most 
ancient  account  of  Job's  genealog)'.  Aristeus,  Philo, 
and  Polyhistor  acknowledged  it  to  be  true ;  as  did 
the  Greek  and  Latin  fathers.  The  tradition  is  deriv- 
ed, probably,  from  the  Jews.  In  tracing  the  gene- 
alogy, we  find  Job  to  have  been  contemporary  with 
Moses. 


Abraham 

. 

^         Isaac. 

A 

Jacob. 

Esau. 

Levi. 

Reuel. 

Amram. 

Zerah, 

Moses. 

Jobab. 

1  Chron. 

.35—44 

Job  was  a  man  of  great  probity,  virtue,  and  religion, 
and  he  possessed  much  riches  in  cattle  and  slaves  ; 
which  at  that  time  constituted  the  principal  wealth 
even  of  princes  in  Arabia  and  Edom.  He  had  seven 
sons  and  three  daughters  ;  and  was  in  great  repute 
among  all  people,  on  both  sides  of  the  Euphrates. 
His  sons,  by  turns,  made  entertainments  for  each  oth- 
er ;  and  when  they  had  gone  through  the  circle  of 
their  days  of  feasting,  Job  sent  to  them,  purified  them, 
and  offered  burnt-offerings  for  each  one ;  that  God 
might  pardon  any  faults  inadvertently  conmiitted 
against  him  during  such  festivities.  He  was  wholly 
averse  from  injustice,  idolatry,  fraud,  and  adultery  ; 
he  avoided  evil  thoughts,  and  dangerous  looks  ;  was 
compassionate  to  the  poor  ;  a  father  to  the  orphan,  a 
protector  to  the  widow,  a  guide  to  the  blind,  and  a 
support  to  the  lame. 

God  permitted  Satan  to  put  the  virtue  of  Job  to  the 
test ;  at  first  giving  him  power  over  his  property  ;  but 
fori)idding  him  to  touch  his  person.  Satan  began 
with  taking  away  his  oxen  ;  a  company  of  Sabeans 
slew  his  husbandmen,  and  drove  off  all  the  beasts  ; 
one  servant  only  escaping  to  bring  the  news.  While 
he  was  reporting  this  misfortune,  a  second  came,  and 
informed  Job  that  fire  from  heaven  had  consumed 
his  sheep,  and  those  who  kept  them  ;  and  that  he 
alone  had  escaped.  A  third  messenger  arrived,  who 
said,  "  The  Chaldeans  have  carried  away  the  camels, 
have  killed  all  thy  servants,  and  I  only  am  escaped." 
He  had  scarcely  concluded,  when  another  came,  and 
said,  "While  thy  sons  and  thy  daughters  were  eating 
and  drinking  in  their  eldest  brother's  house,  an  im- 
petuous wind  suddenly  overthrew  it,  and  they  were 
all  crushed  to  death  under  the  ruins ;  I  alone  am  es- 
caped to  bring  thee  this  news."     Job  rent  his  clothes, 


and  shaved  his  head,  and  fell  down  upon  the  ground 
saying,  "  Naked  came  I  out  of  my  mother's  womb, 
and  naked  shall  I  return  thither.  The  Lord  gave, 
and  the  Lord  hath  taken  away  ;  blessed  be  the  name 
of  the  Lord." 

As  Job  endured  these  calamities  without  repining 
against  Providence,  Satan  solicited  permission  to  af- 
flict his  person,  and  the  Lord  said,  "Behold  he  is  in 
thine  hand,  but  touch  not  his  life."  Satan,  therefore, 
smote  him  with  a  dreadful  disease,  probably  the  lep- 
rosy ;  and  Job,  seated  in  ashes,  scraped  oft"  the  cor- 
ruption with  a  potsherd.  His  wife  incited  him  to 
"  curse  God,  and  die  ; "  but  Job  answered,  "  Shall  we 
receive  good  at  the  hand  of  God,  and  shall  we  not 
receive  evil  ?  "  In  the  mean  time,  three  of  his  friends, 
having  been  informed  of  his  misfortunes,  came  to 
visit  him — Eliphaz  the  Temanite,  Bildad  the  Shuhite, 
and  Zophar  the  Naamathite.  A  fourth  was  Elihu 
the  Buzite,  who  from  chap,  xxxii.  bears  a  distinguish- 
ed part  in  the  dialogue.  (See  Elihu.)  They  con- 
tinued seven  days  sitting  on  the  ground  by  him, 
without  speaking  ;  but  at  last  Job  broke  silence,  and 
complained  of  his  misery.  His  friends,  not  distin- 
guishing between  the  evils  with  which  God  tries 
those  whom  he  loves,  and  the  afflictions  with  which 
he  punishes  the  wicked,  accused  him  of  having  in- 
dulged some  secret  impiety,  and  urged  him  to  re- 
turn to  God  by  repentance,  and  humbly  to  submit  to 
his  justice,  since  he  suffered  only  according  to  his 
demerits. 

Job,  convinced  of  his  own  innocence,  maintained, 
that  his  sufferings  were  greater  than  his  faults,  and 
that  God  sometimes  afflicted  the  righteous  only  to 
try  them,  to  give  them  an  opportunity  of  manifesting 
or  of  improving  their  pious  dispositions  ;  or  because 
it  was  his  pleasure,  for  reasons  unknown  to  mankind. 
Elihu  takes  a  middle  path,  referring  strongly  to  the 
sovereignty  of  God.  To  terminate  the  controversy, 
the  Deity  appears  in  a  cloud,  and  decides  in  favor 
of  Job  ;  but  does  not  approve  those  harsh  expres- 
sions, which  the  extremity  of  his  sorrow,  and  the 
warmth  of  dispute,  had  excited.  Job  humbly  ac- 
knowledges his  fault,  and  asks  forgiveness.  The 
Lord  condemns  his  friends,  and  enjoins  them  to  ex- 
piate their  sins  with  sacrifices,  offered  by  his  hands. 
He  restores  Job  to  health,  gives  him  double  the  riches 
which  he  before  possessed,  blesses  him  with  a  beau- 
tiful and  numerous  family,  and  crowns  a  holy  life 
with  a  happy  death. 

The  time  in  which  this  pious  man  hved  is  much 
contested.  But  supposing  him  to  have  been  contem- 
porary with  Moses,  and  fixing  the  time  of  his  trial  at 
some  years  after  the  departure  of  the  Hebrews  out  of 
Egypt,  (it  cannot  be  placed  earlier,  because  it  is  sup- 
posed he  speaks  of  this  event,)  he  might  have  lived 
till  the  time  of  Othniel.  Sujiposing,  for  instance,  that 
he  was  afflicted  seven  years  after  the  Exodus,  (A.  M. 
2520,)  and  that  he  lived  140  years  afterwards,  lie  must 
have  died  in  26()0. 

Tombs,  called  Job's,  have  been  shown  in  several 
places.  TUe  most  celebrated  is  in  the  Trachonitis, 
towards  the  springs  of  the  Jordan,  where  for  many  , 
ages  a  pyramid  was  believed  to  he  Job's  tomb.  It  is 
])laced  between  the  cities  of  Teman,  Shuah,  and 
Naamath,  which  are  supposed  to  have  been  in  this 
country.  Some  writers  have  doubted  whether  there 
ever  was  such  a  person  as  Job  ;  but  there  is  no  deny- 
ing his  existence  without  contradicting  Ezekiel,  To- 
bit,  and  James,  who  speak  of  him  as  a  holy  man,  and 
hold  him  up  as  a  true  pattern  of  patience  ;  and  with- 
out opposing  also  thecurrent  of  tradition  among  botli 


JOE 


[571  1 


JOH 


Jews  and  Christians.  Others  place  his  history  as  low 
as  the  time  of  David  or  Solomon,  and  some  even  so 
late  as  the  captivity  of  Babylon;  forgetting  that  he  is 
cited  by  Tobit  and  by  Ezekiel  as  an  azicient  j)atriarch. 

The  Book  of  Job. — Various  conjectures  have 
been  made  concerning  the  autlior  of  this  book.  The 
original  Avork  was  probably  more  ancient  than  the 
time  of  Moses,  and  seems  to  have  been  written  in  the 
old  Hebrew,  or  perhaps  the  Arabic.  Our  present 
copy  is  evidently  altei-ed  in  its  style,  so  as  to  have 
transfused  into  it  a  Hebrew  phraseology,  resembling 
that  in  the  age  of  Solomon,  to  the  writings  of  which 
author  the  style  bears  a  great  resemblance.  This 
idea,  for  which  we  are  indebted  to  Dr.  J.  P.  Smith, 
meets  the  difficulty  that  has  been  urged  from  the  style 
of  the  book,  against  its  antiquity,  and  unites  the  dis- 
cordant opinions  that  have  been  entertained  on  the 
subject.  It  is  written  in  verse,  whose  beauty  consists 
principally  in  noble  expressions,  bold  and  sublime 
thoughts,  lively  emotions,  fine  descriptions,  and  great 
diversity  of  character.  We  believe  there  is  not  in  all 
antiquity  a  piece  of  poetry  more  copious,  more  lofty, 
more  magnificent,  more  diversified,  more  adorned,  or 
more  affecting.  The  author  has  practised  all  the 
beauties  of  his  art,  in  the  characters  of  the  four  per- 
sons whom  he  brings  upon  the  stage.  Tlie  history,  as 
to  the  substance  of  it,  is  true  ;  the  sentiments,  reasons, 
and  arguments  of  the  several  persons  are  faithfully 
expressed  ;  but  the  terms  and  tm-ns  of  expression  are 
the  poet's  own. 

The  canonical  authority  of  the  book  of  Job  is  gen- 
erally acknowledged.  Paul,  in  several  places,  seems 
to  quote  the  book  of  Job  ;  or,  at  least,  to  allude  to  it; 
and  James  commends  the  patience  of  Job,  which,  he 
says,  was  well  known  to  those  to  whom  he  wrote. 

JOCHEBED,  wife  of  Amram,  and  mother  of  Mi- 
riam, Moses,  Euid  Aaron.  Several  difficulties  are  start- 
ed concerning  the  degree  of  relationship  between 
Amram  and  Jochebed,  she  being  called  in  Ex.  vi.  20, 
the  father's  sister  to  Amram.  Some  assert  that  she 
was  the  daughter  immediately  of  Levi,  and  aunt  of 
Amram,  her  husband,  because  (Exod.  ii.  1  ;  Numb, 
xxvi.  59.)  she  is  called  daughter  of  Levi.  Others 
maintain,  that  she  was  only  cousin-gennan  to 
Amram,  being  daughter  of  one  of  Koliath's  breth- 
ren. The  Chaldee,  on  Exod.  vi.  20,  says,  she  was 
daughter  of  Amram's  sister ;  the  LXX  say,  she  was 
the  daughter  of  Amram's  brother.  Calmet  thinks  it 
most  probable,  that  Jochebed  was  only  cousin-ger- 
man  to  Amram ;  because,  (1.)  had  she  been  the  im- 
mediate daughter  of  Levi,  the  disproportion  between 
her  age  and  A  mram's  would  have  been  too  great ; 
(2.)  marriages  between  aunt  and  nephew  were  forbid- 
den by  the  law  ;  and  we  have  no  proof  that  they  were 
allowed  previously  ;  (3.)  by  daughter  of  Levi,  may 
very  well  be  meant  granddaughter,  according  to  the 
style  of  the  Hebrews. 

L  JOEL,  the  prophet  Samuel's  eldest  eon,  who 
with  his  brother  Abiah  was  jndge  over  Israel,  1  Sam. 
viii.  1,2,  &c.  They  exercised  their  jurisdiction  in 
Beersheba,  in  the  south  of  Palestine.  Their  hijustice 
induced  Israel  to  desire  a  king. 

II.  JOEL,  [one  of  the  minor  prophets.  Of  the  cir- 
cumstances of  his  life,  and  of  the  time  in  which  he 
Uved  and  prophesied,  the  Scriptures  afford  us  no  ac- 
count whatever ;  except  what  may  be  inferred  from 
different  hints  and  circumstances  contained  in  the 
book  itself  From  these  it  is  clear, first,  that  he  lived 
in  the  kingdom  of  Judah,  at  a  time  when  the  temple 
and  the  temple-worship  still  existed.  (Compare  chap. 
I  14  ;  ii.  1,  15,  32  ;  iii.  1,  seq.)     We   may,  secondly, 


infer  very  neai-ly  the  time  in  which  he  prophesied, 
from  the  political  circumstances  and  relations  alluded 
to.  He  adduces  as  the  enemies  of  Judah,  only  the 
Phenicians,  Philistines,  Egyptians,  and  Edomites. 
(Compare  ch.  iii.  4,  19.)  Neither  the  Syrians  nor  As- 
syrians are  mentioned.  He  must,  therefore,  in  all 
probability,  have  written  before  the  time  when  the 
Syrians  and  Assyrians  had  become  formidable  ene- 
mies of  Judah  ;  consequently  before  the  time  of 
Isaiah.  The  same  nations  here  mentioned  are  also 
enumerated  by  Amos  (ch.  i.)  as  the  enemies  of  the 
Jewish  state ;  and  we  may,  therefore,  assume,  that 
the  prophet  Joel  was  nearly  or  quite  contemporary 
with  him  ;  and  lived,  probably,  under  Uzziah.  He 
must,  however,  be  placed  somewhat  early  in  the 
reign  of  Uzziah,  and  rather  before  Amos;  because  in 
the  latter  prophet  the  Syrians  already  appear  as  ene- 
mies of  Judah.  Tills  opinion  is  held  by  Vitringa, 
Gesenius,  Rosenmiiller,  and  others.  Credner  (1831) 
places  the  date  of  tlie  prophecy  still  earlier.  Ber- 
tholdt  supposes  the  prophet  to  have  lived  under 
Hezekiah  ;  but  to  this  is  opposed  the  fact  that  the 
Assyrians  are  no  where  alluded  to,  who  at  that  time 
were  so  powerful  and  so  much  dreaded.  Still  less 
probable  is  the  supposition  of  those  who  place  the 
prophet  under  Manasseh  ;  since  the  latter  was  an 
idolater,  and  had  abrogated  the  worship  of  Jehovah. 

The  whole  book  is  made  up  of  one  oracle.  The 
occasion  of  the  prophecy  was  the  devastation  caused 
by  swarms  of  locusts,  one  of  the  most  terrible  of  all 
the  plagues  of  the  East.  (See  Locusts.)  Such  a 
plague,  accompanied  with  drought,  the  prophet  viv- 
idly describes  in  c.  i,  and  subjoins  warnings  and 
admonitions.  He  represents  this  calamity  as  a  pun- 
ishnient  sent  from  God  ;  the  locusts  are  a  host  which 
God  has  sent,  ii.  11.  He  admonishes  to  fasting  and 
penitence  ;  and  promises  them  the  removal  of  the 
calamity  and  renewed  fertility,  ii.  21,  seq.  While 
describing  this  returning  plenty  and  prosperity,  the 
prophet  casts  his  view  forward  on  a  future  still  more 
remote,  and  predicts  the  outpourings  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  and  the  signs,  and  wonders,  and  spiritual  pros- 
perity of  the  Messiah's  reign,  ii.  28,  seq.  This  pas- 
sage is  quoted  by  the  apostle  Peter,  in  Acts  ii.  16, 
seq.  Returning  to  the  immediate  circumstances  of 
the  kingdom  of  Judah,  the  prophet  in  c.  iii.  pro- 
claims the  vengeance  which  Jehovah  will  take  upon 
its  enemies, — those  who  have  hitherto  trampled  the 
nation  under  foot;  he  will  bring  them  together  into 
the  valley  of  Jehoshaphat  or  judgment,  (iii.  2, 14.)  and 
there  sit  in  judgment  upon  them  and  punish  them 
with  destruction. 

Many  commentators,  as  Jerome,  Grotius,  Bertholdt, 
&c.  have  preferred  to  understand  the  description  of 
the  swarms  of  locusts  in  c.  i.  as  an  allegory,  and  sup- 
pose it  is  intended  as  a  figurative  representation  of 
the  march  of  a  hostile  army,  e.g.  that  of  Sennacha- 
rib.  (Compare  Amos  vii.  1,  seq.)  In  this  way  the 
antithesis  between  the  commencement  and  the  end 
of  the  book  would  become  very  striking  ;  but  there 
are  no  clear  traces  of  any  allegory  or  any  metaphori- 
cal sense  whatever,  and  such  an  interpretation  must 
ever  remain  arbitrary,  forced,  and  unnatural. 

The  style  and  manner  of  the  book  are  excellent. 
The  language  is  jiure,  elegant,  and  flowing.  In  short, 
the  book  belongs  among  the  most  splendid  exhibi- 
tions of  Hebrew  poetry. 

The  best  commentaries  are  by  Pococke,  in  his 
Works,  vol.  i ;  Rosenmiiller,  1827  ;  Justi,  1792 ;  Cred- 
ner, 1831.     *R. 

JOHANAN,  high-priest,  son  of  Azariah  the  high- 


JOH 


[572] 


JOHN 


priest,  and  father  of  another  Azai-iah,  1  Chron.  ^^.  9, 
10.  Some  believe  him  to  be  Jehoiada,  the  father  of 
Zechariah,  in  the  reign  of  Joash,  king  of  Judah,  2 
Chron.  xxiv.  11,  &c. 

I.  JOHN,  father  of  Mattathias,  the  celebrated  Mac- 
cabee,  1  Mac.  ii.  1. 

II.  JOHN,  a  son  of  Mattathias,  and  brother  of  Ju- 
das, Jonathan,  and  Simon  Maccabseus.  He  was 
treacherously  killed  by  the  sons  of  Jambri,  as  he  was 
conducting  the  baggage  belonging  to  his  brethren 
the  Maccabees  to  the  Nebathites,  their  allies,  1  Mac. 
ix.  36. 

III.  JOHN  HIRCANUS,  son  of  Simon  Macca- 
baeus,  was  by  his  father  made  governor  of  the  sea- 
coast  of  Judea,  where  he  defeated  Cendebeus,  general 
of  Antiochus  Sidetes,  then  besieging  Tryphon  in 
Dora.  He  escaped  from  the  intended  slaughter  of 
the  Maccabee  family  by  his  brother-in-law  Ptolemy, 
in  which  his  father  Simon  fell  ;  after  whose  death, 
John  was  acknowledged  prince  and  high-priest  of 
his  nation.  He  was  attacked  in  Jerusalem  by  Antio- 
chus ;  but  defended  the  city  vigorously,  and  took  occa- 
sion of  the  Feast  of  Tabernacles  to  negotiate  a  peace  ; 
which  he  effected,  paying  the  king  a  gi-eat  sum  of 
money  (300  talents) ;  which,  some  say,  he  obtained 
from  David's  sepulchre.  John  accompanied  Antio- 
chus in  his  war  against  the  Parthiaus  ;  which,  how- 
ever favorable  at  first,  at  length  issued  in  the  defeat  of 
the  king  ;  and  John  seized  the  opportunity  to  render 
himself  independent  of  the  kings  of  Syria.  In  the 
following  year,  he  conquered  the  Idumeans,  and 
compelled  them  to  receive  circumcision  after  the 
Jewish  manner,  with  other  Jewish  rites.  He  sent 
ambassadors  to  Rome,  to  renew  the  alliance  with  that 
people  ;  and,  some  years  afterwards,  besieged  Sama- 
ria, which  was  taken  by  his  sons  Antigonus  and  Ar- 
istobulus,  after  a  year's  resistance.  John  ordered  the 
city  to  be  demolished,  in  which  state  it  continued  to 
die  time  of  Gabinius.  He  was  now  master  of  all  Ju- 
dea, Samaria,  Galilee,  and  many  frontier  towns  ;  so 
that  he  was  one  of  the  most  powerful  princes  of  his 
time.  At  home,  however,  he  was  troubled  by  the 
Pharisees,  who  envied  his  exaltation,  and  at  length 
their  mutual  ill-will  broke  out  into  open  enmity. 
John  forbade  the  observance  of  such  ceremonies  as 
were  founded  on  tradition  only  ;  and  he  enforced  his 
orders  by  penalties  on  the  contumacious.  He  is  said 
to  have  built  the  castle  of  Baris,  on  the  mount  of  the 
temple,  which  became  the  palace  of  the  Asmonean 
princes  ;  and  where  the  pontifical  vestments  were 
kept.  After  having  been  high-priest  twenty-nine 
years,  John  died,  ante  A.  D.  107.  Josephus  says  he 
was  endowed  with  the  spirit  of  prophecy,  Antiq.  lib. 
xiii.  17,  18 ;  xviii.  6.  2  Mac.  iii.  11.  et  al. 

IV.  JOHN  THE  Baptist,  the  forerunner  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  son  of  Zacharias  and  Elisa- 
beth, was  born  A.  M.  4000,  about  six  months  before 
Jesus  Christ.  His  birth,  name,  and  office  were  fore- 
told to  his  father  Zacharias,  when  he  was  perform- 
ing his  functions  as  a  priest  in  the  temple  of  Jerusa- 
lem, Luke  i.  10,  11,  &c.  (See  Annunciation.)  On 
the  eighth  day  afler  the  birth  of  the  child,  when  the 
time  for  circumcising  him  was  come,  they  called  him 
by  his  father's  name,  Zacharias  ;  but  his  mother  told 
them  his  name  should  be  John,  which  his  father  con- 
firmed. The  rliild  grew,  and  was  strengthened  in 
spirit,  and  dwelt  in  tiie  wilderness  till  the  day  of  his 
manifestation  to  Israel,  ver.  59 — 81. 

Clirysostom  and  Jerome  believe  that  John  was 
brought  up  from  his  infancy  in  the  wilderness,  where 
he  abode  without  eating  or  drinking,  as  Jesus  says. 


Matt.  xi.  18,  (that  is,  eating  and  drinking  little,  and 
things  of  a  plain  kind,)  and  being  clothed  only  with 
camel's  hair,  and  a  leathern  girdle  about  his  loins, 
Matt.  iii.  4.  (See  Camel's  Hair.)  When  he  had  ar- 
rived at  thirty  years  of  age,  God  manifested  him  to 
the  world,  in  the  fifteenth  year  of  Tiberius,  A.  D.  28  ; 
and  he  began  his  ministry,  by  publishing  the  ap- 
proach of  the  Messiah,  in  the  country  along  and  be- 
yond Jordan,  preaching  repentance.  He  induced 
many  persons  to  confess  their  sins  ;  whom  he  baptized 
in  the  river  Jordan,  exhorting  them  to  believe  in  him 
who  was  coming  afler  him  ;  and  who  would  baptize 
with  the  Holy  Ghost  and  with  fire.  From  this  bap- 
tism, John  derived  the  surname  of  Baptist,  or  Bapti- 
zer.  Many  persons  became  his  disciples,  exercising 
themselves  in  acts  of  repentance,  and  urging  it  on 
others.  When  Jesus  presented  himself  to  receive 
baptism  from  him,  John  excused  himself,  saying,  "  I 
need  rather  being  baptized  by  thee  ;  "  but  Jesus  de- 
claring that  it  became  them  to  fulfil  all  righteousness, 
John  complied.  This  was  A.  D.  30.  The  next  day 
John  publicly  announced  Jesus,  as  the  Lamb  of  God, 
that  taketh  away  the  sins  of  the  world,  John  i.  19 — 29. 

Herod  Antipas  having  married  his  brother  Philip's 
wife,  John,  wth  his  usual  boldness,  reproved  him  to 
his  face.  Herod,  incensed,  ordered  him  into  custody, 
in  the  castle  of  Machaerus,  where  he  remained  a  long 
time,  Herod  fearing  to  do  him  further  harm,  know- 
ing that  he  was  much  beloved  by  the  people.  He- 
rodias,  however,  sought  an  opportunity  of  putting 
him  to  death,  which  she  accomplished  (Matt.  xiv. 
1 — 12.)  about  the  end  of  A.  D.  31,  or  early  in  A.  D. 
32.  Tlie  Gospels  do  not  say  where  John  was  buried ; 
but  in  the  time  of  Julian  the  Apostate,  his  tomb  was 
shown  at  Samaria,  where  the  inhabitants  opened  it, 
and  burnt  part  of  his  bones  ;  the  rest  were  saved  by 
some  Christians,  who  carried  them  to  an  abbot  of  Je- 
rusalem, named  Phihp.  (Eccl.  lib.  iii.  cap.  3.  Chronic. 
Alex.  p.  686.) 

V.  JOHN  THE  Evangelist,  son  of  Zebedee,  was 
a  native  of  Bethsaida  in  Galilee,  and  by  trade  a  fish- 
erman. Our  Saviour  called  him  and  his  brother 
James,  Boanerges,  sons  of  thunder.  It  is  believed 
that  John  was  the  youngest  of  the  apostles.  Our  Sa- 
viour had  a  particular  friendship  for  him,  and  he  de- 
scribes himself  by  the  phrase  of  "that  disciple  whom 
Jesus  loved."  He  was  present  at  the  transfiguration, 
and  at  the  last  supper,  when  he  lay  in  his  master's 
bosom,  who  discovered  to  him  who  should  betray 
him,  John  xiii.  25  ;  xxi.  20.  Jesus  also  chose  James 
and  John,  with  Peter,  as  witnesses  of  his  agony  in 
the  olive-garden.  After  the  soldiers  had  seized  his 
master,  it  is  believed  that  John  was  the  disciple  who 
followed  him  to  Caiaphas's  house,  where  he  went  in, 
and  aflerwards  introduced  Peter.  He  attended  our 
Saviour  to  the  cross  ;  and  Jesus  observing  him,  said 
to  his  mother,  "  Woman,  behold  thy  son  ;"  and  then 
to  his  disciple,  "  Behold  thy  mother,"  xix.  26,  27. 
After  the  resurrection,  and  while  several  of  the  disci- 
ples were  fishing  on  the  sea  of  Tiberias,  Jesus  appear- 
ed on  the  shore,  where  John  first  discovered  him, 
and  told  Peter.  TJiey  came  on  shore,  dined  with 
their  risen  Lord,  arti  after  dinner,  as  John  was  follow- 
ing him,  Peter  asked  Jesus,  what  was  to  become  of 
John.  Jesus  answered,  "  If  I  will  that  he  tarry  till  I 
come,  what  is  that  to  thee  ?  " — a  remark  which  in- 
duced the  disciples  to  believe,  that  Jesus  had  said  he 
should  not  die.  John  himself,  however,  confutes  this 
opinion.  The  period  referred  to  was,  no  doubt,  the 
punishment  of  Jerusalem,  which  this  evangelist  lived 
to  see  ;  not  the  general  judgment,  which  is  yet  distant. 


JOHN 


[573] 


JOK 


Within  a  few  days  after  the  apostles  had  received 
the  Holy  Ghost,  Peter  and  John  went  up  to  the  tem- 
ple, and  near  it  cured  a  man  lame  from  his  birth. 
Acts  iii.  1 — 10.  This  miracle  occasioned  their  im- 
prisonjnent,  but  the  next  day  they  were  liberated, 
and  forbidden  to  speak  in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ. 
They  continued  preaching,  however,  and  were  again 
imprisoned  several  times. 

Peter  and  John  were  sent  to  Samaria,  to  confer  the 
Holy  Ghost  on  those  whom  Philip  the  deacon  had 
baptized.  Acts  viii.  5 — 14.  John  was  of  the  council 
of  Jerusalem,  and  was  evidently  one  of  the  pillars  of 
the  church.  It  is  believed  that  he  preached  to  the 
Partliians,  and  the  Indians  maintain,  that  he  published 
the  gospel  in  that  country.  There  is  no  doubt  of  his 
preaching  in  Asia,  and  of  his  remaining  some  time  at 
Ephesus,  and  near  it,  though  we  do  not  know  the 
exact  time.  It  could  scarcely  be  before  A.  D.  66. 
Jerome  says,  he  founded  and  governed  the  churches 
of  \sia. 

The  emperor  Domitian  persecuted  the  church  in 
the  fifteenth  year  of  his  reign  ;  (A.  D.  95.)  and  John, 
it  is  said,  was  carried  to  Rome,  where  he  was  plunged 
into  boiling  oil,  without  being  hurt,  and  afterwards 
exiled  to  the  isle  of  Patmos,  in  the  ,^gean  sea,  where 
he  wrote  his  Revelations.  (Se.e  Apocalypse.)  Domi- 
tian being  killed  in  A.  D.  96,  his  successor,  Nerva,  re- 
called all  who  had  been  banished  ;  and  John  returned 
to  Ephesus,  A.  D.  97,  being  about  ninety  years  of 
age.  The  bishops  and  Christians  of  Asia  pressing 
him  to  write  what  he  had  heard  from  our  Saviour,  he 
complied,  and  wrote  his  Gospel,  after  a  public  fast 
and  prayei-s.  His  principal  view  in  this  nan-ation 
was,  to  relate  such  things  as  might  confirm  the  divin- 
ity of  the  Son,  in  opposition  to  heretics  of  that  time. 
See  Gospel. 

John  lived  to  a  very  great  age,  so  that  he  could 
scarcely  go  to  the  assembly  of  the  church,  without 
being  canned  by  his  disciples.  Being  now  unable  to 
make  long  discourses,  his  custom  was  to  say,  in  all  as- 
semblies, to  the  people,  "My  dear  children,  love  one 
another."  At  length  they  grew  weary  of  this  con- 
cise exhortation ;  and  when  he  was  informed  of  this, 
his  answer  was,  "This  is  what  the  Lord  commands 
you  ;  and  this,  if  you  do  it,  is  sufiicient."  He  died  at 
Ephesus,  in  the  third  year  of  Trajan,  the  lOOtli  of 
Jesus  Christ,  being  then,  according  to  Epiphanius, 
ninety-four  ;  though  some  say  he  was  98  or  99; 
others  104,  106,  or  120.  He  was  buried  near  that 
city ;  and  several  of  the  fathers  mention  his  sepul- 
chre as  being  there. 

We  have  three  Epistles  by  Joh.n.  The  first  is  a 
kind  of  tract,  designed  to  refute  certain  erroneous 
doctrines,  which  had  been  propounded  in  the  church, 
similar  to,  if  not  the  same  with,  those  of  the  Cerintlii- 
ans  and  the  Gnostics.  The  second  is  addressed  to  a 
lady  of  rank,  named  Electa ;  or,  as  others  think,  to  a 
Christian  church.  The  third  letter  is  dire(;ted  to 
Gaius,  whom  John  praises  for  hospitahty  to  the  faith- 
ful, and  exhorts  to  continue  his  pious  practice.  It 
should  be  remarked,  that  the  intention  of  these  two 
epistles  is  directly  contrary  one  to  the  other.  In  that 
to  Electa,  the  apostle  cautions  her  against  receiving 
and  patronizing  travelling  teachers  who  held  not  the 
truth  coiTectly ;  whereas  in  that  to  Gaius,  the  apostle 
greatly  commends  him  for  receiving  travelling  teach- 
ers, generally  ;  censures  Diotrephes  for  rejecting 
some;  and  praises  Demetrius  for  his  candor.  It 
should  seem,  therefore,  that  these  epistles  are  mis- 
placed. If  Gaius  be  Paul's  host,  the  epistle  to  him 
may  be  placed  the  earliest  in  point  of  time  ;  and  to 


this  agrees  the  absence  of  allusion  to  heretical  opiil-* 
ions,  which  had  not  yet  infected  the  church:  but,  in 
later  days,  not  a  few  discordant  symptoms  were  prop- 
agated, and  consequently  Christian  hospitality  was 
exposed  to  imposition.  It  seems  likely,  also,  that 
Gaius,  living  at  Corinth,  was  visited  by  sea,  by  John  ; 
but  as  John  had  met  (probably)  at  Ephesus,  with  "the 
children  of  Electa,  whom  he  found  walking  in  the 
truth,"  to  his  great  joy,  and  to  their  mother's  praise, 
it  is  very  credible,  if  not  rather  certain,  that  this 
lady  lived  at  no  great  distance  from  that  city,  that  is, 
in  Asia  Minor ;  so  that  notwithstanding  his  advanced 
age,  he  might  easily,  "ha\ing  many  things  to  say, 
come  unto  her,  and  speak  face  to  face."  Her  sister 
probably  lived  at  Ephesus,  near,  or  possibly  with,  the 
apostle. 

Several  apocryphal  writings  are  attributed  to  John  ; 
as,  a  book  of  his  supposed  travels,  another  of  his  acts 
used  by  the  Encratites,  Manichees,  and  Priscillian- 
ists  ;  a  book  concerning  the  death  and  assumption  of 
the  Virgin,  &c.  John  is  generally  surnamed  "the 
Divine,"  from  the  sublimity  of  his  knowledge,  par- 
ticularly in  the  beginning  of  his  Gospel.  He  is  paint- 
ed with  a  cup  and  a  serpent  issuing  out  of  it,  in  allu- 
sion to  a  story  of  poison  given  to  him  by  some  here- 
tics in  a  glass,  the  venom  of  which  he  dis'pellecT  under 
the  form  of  a  serpent,  by  making  a  sign  of  the  cross 
over  it. 

VI.  JOHN  MARK,  cousin  to  Barnabas,  and  his 
disciple,  was  the  son  of  a  Christiai^oman  named 
Mary,  who  had  a  house  in  Jerusalem,'where  the  dis- 
ciples and  apostles  met.  Here  they  were  at  prayers 
in  the  night,  when  Peter,  who  was  delivered  out  of 
prison  by  an  angel,  knocked  at  the  door,  (Acts  xii.  15.) 
and  in  the  same  house  the  celebrated  church  of  Sion 
is  said  to  have  been  afterwards  established.  John  at- 
tached himself  to  Paul  and  Barnabas,  whom  he  fol- 
lowed to  Antioch,  and  thence  to  Perga  and  Pamphy- 
lia,  where  he  left  them,  and  returned  to  Jerusalem, 
Acts  XV.  38.  A.  D.  45. 

Six  years  afterwards,  he  accompanied  Barnabas  to 
the  isle  of  Cyprus  ;  and,  in  A.  D.  63,  we  find  him  at 
Rome,  performing  signal  services  for  Paul  during  his 
imprisonment.  The  apostle  speaks  advantageously 
of  him,  in  Col.  iv.  10,  and  again  in  his  epistle  to  Phil- 
emon, (ver.  24.)  written  A.  D.  62.  Two  years  after- 
wards lie  was  in  Asia,  and  with  Timothy  :  Paul  de- 
sires him  to  bring  him  to  Rome  ;  adding,  that  he  was 
useful  to  him  for  the  ministry  of  the  gospel,  2  Tim. 
iv.  11.  It  is  thought  that  John  Mark  died  at  Ephe- 
sus ;  but  the  year  of  his  death,  and  the  manner  of  it, 
are  unknown. 

Calmet  is  of  opinion,  that  John  3Iark  is  a  different 
person  from  3Iark  the  evangelist ;  but  they  are  con- 
sidered to  have  been  the  same  person  by  Jones,  Light- 
foot,  Wetstein,  Lardner,  3Iichaelis,  and  Taylor.  To 
strengthen  this  opinion,  Mr.  Taylor  remarks  that  it 
should  be  observed,  that  throughout  the  Acts  he  is 
spoken  of  as  "John  whose  surname  was  Mark  ;"  that 
is,  Luke,  writing  in  Italy,  Latinizes ;  it  being  custom- 
ary for  Jews,  when  in  foreign  countries,  to  use  names 
more  familiar  to  those  countries  than  their  Hebrew 
appellations  ;  and  if  Mark,  as  is  beyond  a  doubt,  ac- 
companied Peter  to  Rome,  he  would  be  known  there 
by  his  surname  only. 

JOIADA,  or  Judas,  high-priest  of  the  Jews,  suc- 
ceeded Eliashib,  or  Joashib,  who  lived  under  Nehe- 
miali,  about  ante  A.  D.  454,  Neh.  xiii.  28. 

JOKMEAM,  a  city  of  Ephraim,  afterwards  given 
to  the  Levites  of  Kohath's  family,  1  Cliron.  vi.  68. 

JOKNEAM,  a  city  of  Zebuluu,  given  to  the  Le- 


JON 


[574  1 


JOX 


Vitcs  of  Merari's  family;  (Josh.  xxi.  34  ;  xix.  ll.)sur- 
nained  Jokneam,  of  Carmel,  (Josh.  xii.  22.)  because 
adjacent  to  that  mountain. 

JOKSHAN,  second  son  of  Abraham  and  Keturah, 
(Gen.  XXV.  2.)  is  thought  to  liave  peopled  part  of 
Arabia,  and  to  be  the  person  whom  the  Arabians  call 
Cahtan,  and  acknowledge  as  the  head  of  their  nation. 
He  dwelt  in  part  of  Arabia  Felix,  and  part  of  Arabia 
Deserta.  This  Moses  expressly  mentions,  Gen.  xxv.  6. 
Jokshan's  sons  were  Sheba  and  Dedan,  who  dwelt  in 
the  same  country,  ver.  3. 

JOKTAN,  the  eldest  son  of  Eber,  who  had  for  his 
portion  all  the  land  which  lies  "from  3Iesha,  as  thou 
goest  unto  Sephar,  a  mount  of  the  East,"  or  Kedem, 
Gen.  X.  25.  Mesha,  Calmet  takes  to  be  the  place 
where  JMasias  was  situated,  in  Mesopotamia,  and 
Sephar  the  country  of  the  Sepharvaim,  or  Sephar- 
enians,  or  Sapiorcs,  or  Serapares ;  for  these  all  de- 
note the  same ;  that  is,  a  people  which,  according 
to  Herodotus,  were  placed  between  the  Colchians 
and  the  3Iedes.  Now  this  was  in  the  provinces 
which  Moses  conunonly  describes  by  the  name  of 
Kedem,  or  the  East.  We  find  traces  in  this  country 
of  the  names  of  Joktau's  sons,  which  is  a  further 
confirmation  of  this  opinion.  These  sons  were  Al- 
mohad,  Shaleph,  Hazarmaveth,  Jerah,  Hadoram, 
Uzal,  Diklah,  Obal,  Abimeel,  Sheba,  Opliir,  Havilah, 
and  Jobab,  Gen.  x.  2G,  «fcc.  The  Arabians  believe 
that  their  country  was  originally  peopled  by  Joktan, 
the  son  of  Eber,  and  brother  of  Peleg ;  who,  after 
the  division  of  languages,  came  and  dwelt  in  the 
peninsula  of  Asia,  which  might  take  its  name  from 
Jarab  the  son  of  Joktan,  or  from  a  large  plain  in  the 
province  of  Tehema  called  Arabat.  These  ancient 
Arabians  lived  here  without  mingling  with  other 
people,  till  Ishmael,  son  of  Abraham  and  Hagar,  and 
his  sons,  settled  here,  who,  mixing  with  them,  were 
called  INIos-arabes,  or  Most£E-arabes,  that  is,  mixed 

I.  JOKTHEEL,  a  city  of  Judah,  Josh.  xv.  38. 

II.  JOKTHEEL,  obedience  to  the  Lord,  a  ])lace 
previously  called  Selah,  which  Amaziah,  king  of  Ju- 
dah, took  from  the  Edomites,  and  which  is  supposed 
to  have  been  the  city  of  Petra,  the  celebrated  capital 
of  the  Nabathaei,  in  Arabia  Petraea,  by  the  Syrians 
called  Rekem,  2  Kings  xiv.  7.  There  are  two  places, 
however,  which  dispute  this  honor,  Kerek,  a  town 
two  days'  journey  south  of  Syalt,  the  see  of  a 
Greek  bishop,  who  resides  at  Jerusalem  ;  and  Wady- 
Mousa,  a  city  wliich  is  situated  in  a  deep  valley  at 
the  foot  of  mount  Hor,  and  where  Burckhardt  and 
more  recent  travellers  describe  the  remains  of  a 
magnificent  and  extensive  c'lly.  The  latter  is  no 
doubt  the  Petra  described  by  Strabo  and  Pliny.  See 
Sela. 

I.  JONADAB,  son  of  Shimeah,  David's  nephew. 
He  was  a  very  subtle  man,  and  the  adviser  of  Amnon 
in  the  violation  of  Tamar,  2  Sam.  xiii.  3. 

II.  JOXADAB,  or  Jeho.nadab,  son  of  Rechab, 
and  head  of  the  Rechabites,  lived  in  the  time  of  Jehu, 
king  of  Israel.  He  is  thought  to  have  added  to  the 
ancient  austerity  of  the  Rechabites,  that  of  abstinence 
from  wine  ;  and  to  have  introduced  the  non-cultiva- 
tion of  their  lands,  2  Kings  x.  I.'),  16.  Jehu  being 
raised  up  to  punish  the  sinsof  Ahab's  house,  came  to 
Samaria,  to  destroy  tli(!  false  propliets  and  priests  of 
Baal,  where  he  met  with  Jonadal),  whom  he  carried 
with  him  to  Samaria,  and  before  him  executed  all  that 
remained  of  Ahab's  family,  with  the  ministere  of 
Baal's  temple. 

JONAH,  son  of  Amittai,  and  one  of  the  minor 


prophets,  was  a  Galilean,  of  Gath-hepher,  which  is 
supposed  to  be  Jotapata.  Jonah  was  oi'dered  first  to 
prophesy  at  Nineveh,  which  he  endeavored  to  avoid 
by  voyaging  to  Tarshish  ;  but,  being  overtaken  by  a 
storm,  he  was  thrown  overboard,  and  miraculously 
preserved,  by  being  swallowed  by  a  large  fish.  This 
fish,  in  the  New  Testament,  is  called  y'lTo:,  (Matt.  xii. 
40,  Eng.  tr.  whale) ;  but  it  more  probably  refers  to 
the  large  shark,  common  in  the  Mediterranean,  the 
Canis  carcharius  of  naturalists,  whose  size  and  habits 
correspond  entirely  to  the  representation  given  of 
Jonah's  being  swallowed.  The  fish  afterwards  cast 
him  out  again  upon  the  land.  The  word  of  the  Lord 
a  second  time  directed  him  to  visit  Nineveh.  He 
went  thither,  therefore,  and  walked  through  it  for  a 
whole  day,  crying,  "In  forty  days  Nineveh  shall  be 
destroyed."  The  Ninevites  believed  his  word,  and 
appointed  a  public  fast,  from  the  meanest  of  the 
people  to  the  greatest ;  the  king  himself  putting  on 
sackcloth,  and  sitting  in  ashes.  God,  being  moved 
with  their  repentance,  did  not  execute  at  that  time 
the  sentence  pronounced  against  them. 

Jonah,  from  a  notion,  probably,  that  his  divine  mis- 
sion would  be  disputed,  was  atilicted  at  this  result, 
and  complained  to  God  that  he  had  always  ques- 
tioned, whether,  as  being  a  God  of  mercy,  he  would 
not  yield  to  their  prayers ;  after  which  he  retired  out 
of  the  city,  and  made  a  shelter  for  himself,  waiting  the 
event.  The  Lord  caused  a.  plant  to  grow  over  his 
booth,  (see  Gourd,)  but  a  worm  bit  its  root,  and  it 
withered.  Jonah,  being  now  exposed  to  the  burning 
heat  of  the  sun,  became  faint,  and  desired  that  God 
would  take  him  out  of  the  Avorld.  The  Lord  said 
unto  him,  "Hast  thou  reason  to  be  thus  concerned 
at  the  death  of  a  plant,  which  cost  thee  nothing,  which 
rises  one  night,  and  dies  the  next ;  yet  wouldest  ihcu 
not  have  me  pardon  such  a  city  as  Nineveh,  in  which 
are  120,000  persons  not  able  to  distinguish  their  right 
hand  from  their  left  ?"  that  is,  children  not  arrived 
at  the  use  of  reason ;  nor  having  offended  God  by 
actual  sin.  As  children  make,  generally,  about  one 
fifth  part  of  the  inhabitants  of  cities,  it  is  presumed 
that  Nineveh  contained  above  000,000  persons. 

We  know  not  at  what  time  Jonah  foretold  how 
Jeroboatn  II.  king  of  Israel,  should  restore  the  king- 
dom of  Samaria,  from  the  entrance  of  Hamath  to  the 
Dead  sea,  (2  Kings  xiv.  25.)  whether  before  or  after 
his  journey  to  Nineveh.  Our  Saviour  mentions  him, 
(Matt.  xii.  41 ;  Luke  xii.  32.)  and  says  that  the  Nine- 
vites should  rise  in  judgment  against  the  Jews,  and 
condemn  them,  because  they  rejiented  at  the  preach- 
ing of  Jonah.  When  the  Pharisees  required  a  sign 
from  him,  his  answer  referred  them  to  that  of  the 
prophet  Jonah  ;  that  is,  his  resurrection. 

I.  JONATHAN,  a  Levite,  son  of  Gershom,  and 
grandson  of  Moses,  d^^•elt  some  time  at  Laish,  with 
Micah,  (Judg.  xvii.  10.)  ministering  as  a  Levite,  with 
an  ephod,  and  images,  which  Micah  had  made,  and 
placed  in  his  house.  Some  years  afterwards,  six 
hundred  men,  of  the  tribe  of  Dan,  seeking  a  new 
settlement  in  the  territories  of  the  tSidonians,  engaged 
Jonathan  to  accompany  them.  He  settled  at  Dan, 
where  that  tribe  j)laced  the  images  they  had  taken 
out  of  Micah's  house,  and  appointed  Jonathan  to  be 
their  priest,  and  his  son  to  succeed  him,  Judg.  xviii. 
30.  Their  idols  remained  at  Dan  while  the  ark  of 
the  Lord  was  at^Shiloh,  and  till  the  captivity  of  Dan  ; 
that  is,  as  Calm6t  thinks,  till  the  last  year  of  Eli,  the 
high-priest,  when  the  ark  was  taken  by  the  Philis- 
tines, ante  A.  I).  1110.  But  the  captivity  of  Dan  may 
denote   either   the   oppression  of  this  tribe  by  the 


jor 


[575] 


JOPPA 


Philistines,  after  the  ark  was  taken,  or  the  more 
remarkable  captivity  of  the  ten  tribes,  which  were 
carried  away  beyond  the  Euphrates  by  the  Assyrian 
kings. 

II.  JONATHAN,  son  of  Saul,  and  the  faithful 
friend  of  David,  was  a  prince  of  great  valor  and 
piety.  During  the  war  between  Saul  and  the  Philis- 
tines, Jonathan,  intent  upon  following  up  the  victory, 
with  his  armor-bearer,  attacked  the  camp  of  the 
enemy,  and  threw  them  into  such  disorder,  that  they 
killed  one  another.  Saul  pursued  the  enemy,  and 
pronounced  a  curse  on  the  man  who  should  hinder 
the  pursuit  by  taking  of  food.  Jonathan,  who  was 
absent  when  this  anathema  was  uttered,  ate  of  some 
honey  which  he  found  in  the  wood,  and  was  only 
saved  from  death  by  the  firmness  of  the  people,  1 
Sam.  xiv. 

War  breaking  out  between  the  Hebrews  and  the 
Philistines,  Saul  and  Jonathan  encamped  on  mount 
Gilboa  with  the  army  of  Israel ;  but  their  camp  was 
forced,  their  troops  routed,  and  themselves  slain,  ch. 
XXXI.  ante  A.  D.  1055.  The  news  being  brought  to 
David,  he  mourned  for  a  year,  and  composed  a  fune- 
ral song  to  their  honor,  thus  evincing  his  tenderness 
toward  his  friend  Jonathan,  2  Sam.  i.  He  left  a  son 
named  INIephibosheth,  on  whom  David  conferred 
various  fav^ors. 

III.  JONATHAN,  son  of  Abiathar,  the  high- 
priest,  who  gave  notice  to  Adonijah  and  his  party, 
near  the  fountain  of  Rogel,  that  David  had  declared 
Solomon  his  successor,  1  Kings  i.  42,  43. 

IV.  JONATHAN,  or  Jouanan,  or  John,  high- 
priest  of  the  Jews,  son  of  Jehoiada,  and  father  of 
Jeddoa,  or  Jaddus,  celebrated  in  the  time  of  Alexan- 
der the  Great,  Neh.  xii.  11.  He  lived  under  Ezra 
and  Nehemiah.  He  died,  after  having  exercised  the 
high-priesthood  thirty-two  years,  and  was  succeeded 
by  Jeddoa,  his  son. 

V.  JONATHAN,  a  scribe,  and  keeper  of  the  pris- 
ons in  Jerusalem  under  Zedekiah,  Jer.  xxxvii.  15,  20. 
He  was  very  severe  to  the  prophet  Jeremiah,  who 
therefore  earnestly  desired  Zedekiah  that  he  might 
not  be  sent  back  into  that  dungeon,  where  his  life 
was  in  danger. 

VI.  JONATHAN  BEN  UZZIEL,  see  Targum. 

VII.  JONATHAN,  surnamed  Apphus,  son  of 
Mattathias,  and  brother  of  Judas  Maccabfeus,  w^as, 
after  the  death  of  Judas,  appointed  general  of  the 
troops  of  Israel,  and,  after  a  number  of  feats  of  valor, 
was  basely  killed  by  Tryphon,  ante  A.  D.  144, 1  Mac. 
ii.  &c.  There  are  several  other  persons  of  this  name 
mentioned  in  Scripture,  but  they  have  no  important 
relation  to  such  events  as  we  are  required  to  notice. 

JOPPA.  Japho,  or  Jaffa,  is  one  of  the  most  an- 
cient seaports  in  the  world ;  its  traditional  history 
stretching  far  back  into  the  twilight  of  time.  Pliny 
assigns  it  a  date  anterior  to  the  deluge.  It  was  a 
border  town  of  the  tribe  of  Dan,  and  is  situated  in  a 
fine  plain,  on  the  coast  of  the  Mediterranean  sea, 
thirty  miles  south  of  Csesarea,  and  forty-five  north- 
west of  Jerusalem.  It  owes  all  the  circumstances  of 
its  celebrity,  as  the  principal  port  of  Judea,  to  its 
situation  with  regard  to  Jerusalem. — As  a  station  for 
vessels,  its  harbor  is  one  of  the  worst  on  the  coast. 
Josephus  speaks  of  it  as  "not  fit  for  a  haven,  on 
account  of  the  impetuous  south  winds  which  beat 
upon  it ;  which,  rolling  the  sands  that  come  from  the 
sea  against  the  shores,  do  not  admit  of  ships  lying  in 
their  station  :  but  the  merchants  are  generally  there 
forced  to  ride  at  their  anchors  on  the  sea  itself" 
D'Arvieux,  however,  is  of  opinion  that  this  port  was 


anciently  much  superior  to  what  it  is  at  present.  He 
observed,  in  the  sea,  south  of  the  port,  the  vestiges 
of  a  wall,  which  extended  to  a  chain  of  rocks  at  some 
distance  from  the  shore,  by  which  the  port  was 
formed,  and  protected  against  the  violence  of  the 
south-west  winds.  " This  port,"  he  remarks,  "was, 
no  doubt,  sufficiently  good  before  it  was  filled  up, 
although  its  entrance  was  exposed  to  winds  from  the 
north."  As  it  was  used  by  Solomon  for  receiving 
his  timber  from  Tyre,  and  by  the  succeeding  kings 
of  Judah,  as  their  port  of  communication  with  foreign 
nations,  they  would  unquestionably  bestow  upon  it  all 
the  advantages  within  their  power. 

The  present  town  of  Jaffa  is  seated  on  a  promon- 
tory, jutting  out  into  the  sea,  rising  to  the  height  of 
about  150  feet  above  its  level,  and  offering,  on  all 
sides,  picturesque  and  varied  prospects.  Towards 
the  west  is  extended  the  open  sea  ;  towards  the  south 
spread  fertile  plains,  reaching  as  far  as  Gaza  ;  towards 
the  north,  as  far  as  Carmel,  the  flowery  meads  of 
Sharon  present  themselves  ;  and  to  the  east,  the  hills 
of  Ephraim  and  Judah  raise  their  towering  heads. 
The  town  is  walled  round  on  the  south  and  east, 
towards  the  land,  and  partially  so  on  the  north  and 
west,  towards  the  sea.  Mr.  Buckingham  describes 
the  approach  to  JaflTa  as  quite  destitute  of  interest. 
The  towai,  seated  on  a  promontory,  and  facing  chiefly 
to  the  northward,  looks  like  a  heap  of  buildings, 
crowded  as  closely  as  possible  into  a  given  space ; 
and,  from  the  steepness  of  its  site,  they  appear  in 
some  places  to  stand  one  on  the  other.  The  interior 
of  the  town  corresponds  with  its  outward  mien,  and 
has  all  the  appearance  of  a  poor  village.  The  streets 
are  very  narrow,  uneven,  and  dirty  ;  and  are  rather 
entitled  to  the  appellation  of  alleys.  The  inhabitants 
are  estimated  at  between  four  and  five  thousand,  of 
whom  the  greater  part  are  Turks  and  Arabs;  the 
Christians  are  stated  to  be  about  six  hundred,  con- 
sisting of  Roman  Catholics,  Greeks,  Maronites,  and 
Armenians.  The  Latins,  Greeks,  and  Armenians 
have  each  a  small  convent  for  the  reception  of  pil- 
grims. 

The  high  antiquity  attributed  to  the  town  of 
Joppa,  as  well  as  the  remarkable  circumstances  con- 
nected with  its  history,  excites  a  laudable  curiosity 
regarding  it.  We  have  already  stated  that  Phny 
assigns  its  foundation  to  a  period  anterior  to  the 
flood ;  and  a  tradition  is  preserved,  that  here  Noah 
lived  and  built  his  ark. — Some  authors  ascribe  its 
origin  to  Japheth,  son  of  Noah,  and  thence  derive  its 
name.  However  fabulous  such  accounts  may  be 
justly  deemed,  they  aflibrd  proofs  of  the  great  an- 
tiquity of  the  place,  having  been  recorded  by  histo- 
rians, for  so  many  ages,  as  the  only  traditions  extant 
concerning  its  origin.  In  the  time  of  Pliny  and  of 
Jerome  the  inhabitants  pretended  to  exhibit  the 
marks  of  the  chains  with  which  Andromeda  was 
fastened  to  a  rock.  The  skeleton  of  the  huge  sea- 
monster,  to  which  she  was  exposed,  is  said  by  Pliny 
to  have  been  brought  to  Rome  by  Scaurus,  and  there 
carefully  preserved.  Pausanias,  too,  insists  that  near 
Joppa  was  to  be  seen  a  fountain,  where  Perseus 
washed  off"  the  blood  with  which  he  had  been  cov- 
ered from  the  wounds  received  in  his  combat  with 
the  monster;  and  adds  that,  from  this  circumstance, 
the  water  ever  afterwards  remained  of  a  red  color. 
This  fable  has  been  ingeniously  explained,  by  sup- 
posing that  this  daughter  of  the'Ethiopian  king  was 
courted  by  the  captain  of  a  ship,  who  attempted  to 
carrv  her  off",  but  was  prevented  by  the  interpositioa 
of  another  more  faithful  lover.     From  this  port  the 


JOPPA 


[576] 


JOR 


\  disobedient  prophet  embarked,  to  flee  to  Tarsus  from 
the  presence  of  the  Lord  ;  (Jonah  i.  3.)  and  it  is  more 
than  probable,  that  the  profane  account  of  the  sea- 
monster  may  have  some  connection  with  the  sacred 
•one  of  the  large  fish  that  swallowed  up  the  prophet. 
Dr.  E.  D.  Clarke  has  concluded,  from  the  ribs  of 
iforty  feet  in  length,  and  the  other  anatomical  pro- 
j^ortions  given  of  the  sea-monster  to  which  Androm- 
j|eda  was  exposed,  that  it  was  really  a  whale.  These 
•iconjectures,  coupled  with  the  foct  of  that  fish  having 
been,  from  the  earliest  times,  an  object  of  worship  at 
Joppa,  though  it  by  no  means  proves  the  foundation 
of  this  city  before  the  deluge,  as  has  been  assumed, 
gives  the  appearance  of  some  affinity  between  the 
accounts  of  the  Jews  and  Gentiles  regarding  it. 

In  the  wars  of  the  Maccabees,  when  Judea  was  a 
scene  of  gi-eat  contention,  a  deed  of  treachery  is  laid 
to  the  charge  of  the  men  of  Joppa,  in  destroying  the 
innocent  with  the  guilty.  This  was  so  completely  in 
the  spirit  of  the  early  wars  that  deluged  this  country 
with  blood,  as  almost  to  justify  the  exemplary  ven- 
geance which  was  taken  on  their  town  for  such  an 
act.  It  was  burnt  and  exposed  to  pillage  by  Judas 
Maccabseus,  who  called  on  God,  the  righteous  judge, 
to  avenge  him  on  the  murderers  of  his  brethi'eu, 
2  Mac.  xii.  3 — 7.  About  this  time,  Joppa  appears  as 
sustaining  a  siege,  and  at  length  falling  before  the 
arms  of  Jonathan,  the  high-priest,  who  had  invested 
it.  It  was  soon  afterwards  entered  a  second  time  by 
an  officer  of  Simon,  the  brother  of  Jonathan,  who  had 
been  entrapped  at  Ptolemais.  He  had  been  elected,  by 
acclamation,  to  become  the  captain  and  leader  of  the 
Jews,  instead  of  Jonathan,  and  had  sent  down  a  force 
from  Jerusalem,  to  cast  out  those  who  were  in  Joppa, 
and  to  remain  therein,  1  Mac.  x.74.  It  is  afterwards 
enumerated  among  the  cities  desired  to  be  restored 
to  the  Jews,  by  a  decree  of  the  Roman  senate,  after 
having  been  taken  from  them  by  Antiochus,  as  ex- 
pressed in  a  letter  sent  by  the  ambassadors  of  the 
Jews,  from  Jerusalem  to  Rome.  It  was  about  this 
time,  also,  peculiarly  privileged  by  a  decree  of  Caius 
Julius  CjEsar,  imperator  and  dictator,  in  being  ex- 
empted from  the  yearly  trii>ute,  which  all  the  other 
cities  of  the  Jews  were  obliged  to  pay,  for  the  city 
Jerusalem.  Its  history,  in  the  days  of  the  apostles, 
is  more  familiar  to  us ;  and  the  vision  of  Peter,  who 
saw  a  sheet  descending  from  heaven,  covered  with 
animals,  clean  and  unclean,  and  heard  a  voice  ex- 
claiming, "  Rise,  Peter,  kill  and  eat ;"  as  well  as  the 
raisingof  Tabitha,  the  female  disciple,  from  the  dead, 
and  the  reception  of  the  messengers  from  Csesarea 
there,  need  only  be  mentioned  to  be  remembered. 
The  history  of  the  taking  of  this  place  from  the 
pirates,  by  Vespasian,  (Joseph.  Ant.  iii.  c.  9.  s.  2.)  is 
worthy  of  being  consulted  ;  particularly  as  the  opera- 
tions strikingly  illustrate  the  local  description  by 
which  the  account  of  them  is  accompanied,  and 
which  is  remarkable  for  its  clearness  and  fidelity. 

About  two  centuries  after  this,  it  was  visited  by 
Jerome,  who  speaks  of  it  undei-  its  original  name  of 
Japho,  which  it  still  retained,  with  very  little  corrup- 
tion, when  it  was  held  by  the  Saracens,  into  whose 
hands  it  had  fallen  during  the  Syrian  war.  It  was 
necessarily  a  contested  point  with  the  crusaders,  as 
the  port  of  debarkation  for  Jerusalem  ;  and  it  there- 
fore figures  in  all  the  naval  operations  of  their  wars. 
The  rabbi  Benjamin,  who  has  been  so  often  accused 
of  magnifying  the  numbers  of  the  Jews,  in  all  parts 
of  the  world,  with  a  view  to  enhance  the  importance 
of  his  own  nation,  found  here,  about  this  period,  only 
one  solitary  individual,  who  was  a  dyer  of  linen, 


seemingly  the  most  common  occupation  of  the  labor- 
ing Jews  in  those  days,  as  that  of  money-changing  is 
at  present. 

After  the  last  crusade  of  Louis  IX.  of  France,  Jaffa 
fell,  with  the  other  maritime  towns  of  Syria,  under 
the  power  of  the  Mamelouks  of  Egypt,  who  first  shut 
up  the  Franks  within  their  last  hold  at  Acre,  and 
soon  after  closed,  by  its  capture,  the  bloody  history 
of  these  holy  wars.  In  1776,  it  again  suffered  all  the 
horrors  of  war,  having  its  population,  young  and  old, 
male  and  female,  barbarously  cut  to  pieces,  and  a 
pyramid  formed  of  their  bleeding  heads,  as  a  monu- 
ment of  a  monster's  victory.  (Volney,  Trav.  vol.  i. 
p.  150.)  Its  history,  since  that  period,  is  numbered 
among  the  events  of  our  own  day. 

I.  JORAM,  son  of  Toi,  king  of  Hamath,  was  sent 
to  David  by  his  father,  to  congratulate  him  on  his 
victory  over  Hadadezer,  2  Sam.  viii.  10. 

II.  JORAM,  or  Jehoram,  son  of  Ahab,  king  of 
Israel,  and  successor  to  his  eldest  brother,  Ahaziah, 
who  died  without  children,  2  Mings  iii.  1,  &c.  He 
did  evil  before  the  Lord ;  but  not  like  Ahab,  his 
father,  and  Jezebel,  his  mother.  He  removed  the 
statues  of  Baal  which  Ahab  had  erected  ;  but  he  con- 
tinued to  worship  the  golden  calves.  Mesha,  king 
of  Moab,  having  refused  to  pay  his  tribute,  Joram 
warred  against  him,  and  invited  Jehoshaphat,  king 
of  Judah,  to  accompany  him,  who  also  brought  the 
king  of  Edom,  his  tributary.  These  princes  advanced 
through  the  wilderness  of  Edom  ;  but  were  soon  in 
danger  of  perishing  for  want  of  water,  from  which 
they  wei'e  relieved  by  Elisha.  The  prophet  after- 
wards rendered  very  impoi-tant  services  to  Joram, 
during  his  wars  with  Syria,  by  discovering  to  him 
the  designs  of  Benhadad.  During  the  siege  of  Sa- 
maria, the  famine  was  so  terrible,  that  a  woman  ate 
her  own  son.  Joi-am,  being  informed  of  the  calamity, 
rent  his  clothes,  wore  sackcloth,  and  ordered  a  ser- 
vant to  go  and  cut  off  Elisha's  head ;  as  if  the  cause 
of  these  disti-esses  had  been  with  the  prophet.  Elisha, 
who  was  then  in  his  house,  desired  his  friends  to 
hold  the  door,  and  to  prevent  such  a  person  from 
entering ;  adding,  that  Joram  was  close  at  his  heels, 
to  revoke  the  order.  x\ccordingly,  the  king  came 
almost  at  the  same  instant,  and  complained  to  Elisha, 
who  comforted  him,  and  foretold  a  great  plenty  for 
the  morrow,  which  came  to  pass,  2  Kings  vii. 

At  the  siege  of  Ramoth-Gilead,  Joram,  being  dan- 
gerously woimded,  was  obliged  to  return  to  Jezreel. 
He  left  Jehu  in  command  of  his  army,  but  he,  having 
been  anointed  king  by  a  young  prophet,  hastened  to 
Jezreel,  and  destroyed  Joram,  (2  Kings  ix.)  in  the 
twelfth  year  of  his  reign,  ante  A.  D.  884. 

III.  JORAM,  see  Jehoram  II. 

JORDAN,  the  principal  river  of  Canaan.  It  was 
formerly  believed,  chiefly  on  the  authority  of  the 
Jewish  historian,  that  the  soiu'ce  of  the  Jordan  was 
in  the  lake  Phiala,  about  12  miles  distant  from  Paneas 
or  Csesarea  Philippi,  whence  it  ])assed  underground, 
and  emerged  again  from  the  cave  of  Paneas,  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  town.  This  double  source  of  the  river 
is  now,  however,  generally  exploded.  Burckhardt 
says,  it  rises  an  hour  and  a  quarter,  or  about  4  miles, 
north-east  from  Panias,  in  the  plain,  near  a  hill  called 
Tel-el-Radi :  it  is  soon  after  joined  by  the  river  of 
Panias,  which  runs  east  of  the  Jordan  for  some  dis- 
tance, and  the  united  streams,  now  a  considerable 
piece  of  water,  fall  into  the  Bahr-cl-Houly,  or  the 
lake  Merom,  or  Semechonitis,  which  has  several 
otjier  tributary  streams,  and  is,  perhaps,  better  entitled 
to  be  considered  as  the  source  of  the  Jordan  than 


JORDAN 


[577  ] 


JOS 


any  other  place  to  which  this  honor  is  assigned. 
Leaving  this  lake,  the  river  runs  in  a  southerly  direc- 
tion for  about  120  or  130  miles;  in  its  way  passing 
through  the  lake  of  Tiberias,  and  loses  itself  in  the 
Dead  sea.     See  Canaan,  p.  232. 

It  is  not  to  be  expected  that  we  should  have  a  very 
accurate  description  of  the  dimensions  of  this  cele- 
brated river,  considering  the  great  disadvantages 
under  which  travellei-s  are  obliged  to  make  their 
observations.  Modern  writers  vary  much  in  their 
accounts  as  to  its  breadth  ;  a  comparison  of  their 
statements  induce  a  belief  that  it  is  about  thirty  yards 
in  breadth,  having  a  very  rapid  current,  and  there- 
fore discharging  a  great  body  of  water.  The  course 
and  channel  of  the  river  are  accurately  described  by 
Maundrell,  Burckhardt,  and  Buckingham.  "The 
whole  of  the  plain,"  says  the  last  mentioned  writer, 
"from  the  mountains  of  Judea  on  the  west,  to  those 
of  Arabia  on  the  east,  may  be  called  the  vale  of  Jor- 
dan, in  a  general  way  ;  but  in  the  centre  of  the  plain, 
which  is  at  least  10  miles  broad,  the  Jordan  runs  in 
another,  still  lower  valley,  perhaps  a  mile  broad,  in 
some  of  the  widest  parts,  and  a  furlong  in  the  nar- 
rowest. There  are  close  thickets  all  along  the  edge 
of  the  stream,  as  well  as  upon  this  lower  plain,  which 
would  afford  ample  shelter  for  wild  beasts  ;  and,  as 
the  Jordan  might  overflow  its  banks  when  swollen 
with  rains,  sufficiently  to  inundate  this  lower  plain, 
though  it  could  never  reach  the  upper  one,  it  was, 
most  probably,  from  these  that  the  lions  were  driven 
out  from  the  inundations,  which  gave  rise  to  the 
prophet's  simile,  'Behold,  he  shall  come  up  like  a 
lion  from  the  swelling  of  Jordan,  against  the  habita- 
tion of  the  strong,'  Jer.  xlix.  19  ;  1. 44."  (Trav.  p.  313.) 
Volney  is  positive  as  to  this  fact.  He  says,  "  In  win- 
ter it  overflows  its  narrow  channel ;  and,  swelled  by 
the  rains,  forms  a  sheet  of  water  sometimes  a  quarter 
of  a  league  broad.  The  time  of  its  overflowing  is 
generally  in  March,  when  the  snows  melt  on  the 
mountains  of  the  Shaik  :  at  which  time,  more  than 
any  other,  its  waters  are  troubled,  and  of  a  yellow 
hue,  and  its  course  is  impetuous.  Its  banks  are  cov- 
ered with  a  thick  forest  of  reeds,  willows,  and  various 
shrubs,  which  serve  as  an  asylum  for  wild  boars, 
ounces,  jackals,  hares,  and  different  kinds  of  birds." 
(Travels,  vol.  ii.  p.  300.)  Burckhardt,  however,  is 
more  particular  as  to  the  exact  course  of  the  river: 
"  The  valley  of  the  Jordan,  or  El  Ghor,  which  may 
be  said  to  begin  at  the  northern  extremity  of  the  lake 
of  Tiberias,  has,  near  Bysan,  a  direction  of  north  by 
east  and  south  by  west.  Its  breadth  is  about  two 
hours.  The  great  number  of  rivulets  which  descend 
from  the  mountains  on  both  sides,  and  form  numerous 
pools  of  stagnant  waters,  produce,  in  many  places,  a 
pleasing  verdtn-e,  and  a  luxuriant  growth  of  wild 
herbage  and  grass  ;  but  the  greater  part  of  the  ground 
is  a  parched  desert,  of  which  a  few  spots  only  are 
cultivated  by  the  Bedouins  ....  The  river  Jordan, 
on  issuing  from  the  lake  of  Tiberias,  flows  for  about 
three  hours  near  the  western  hills,  and  then  turns 
toward  the  eastern,  on  which  side  it  continues  its 
course  for  several  hours.  The  river  flows  in  a  valley 
of  about  a  quarter  of  an  hour  in  breadth,  which  is 
considerably  lower  than  the  rest  of  the  plain  of  the 
Ghor :  this  low  valley  is  covered  with  high  trees  of 
a  luxuriant  verdure,  which  afford  a  striking  contrast 
with  the  sandy  slopes  that  border  it  on  both  sides. 
The  river,  where  we  passed  it,  was  about  eighty 
paces  broad,  and  about  three  feet  deep :  this,  it  must 
be  recollected,  was  in  the  midst  of  summer.  In  the 
winter  it  inundates  the  plain  in  the  bottom  of  the 
73 


narrow  valley ;  but  never  rises  to  the  level  of  the 
upper  plain  of  the  Ghor,  which  is  at  least  40  feet 
above  the  level  of  the  river."     (Trav.  p.  344,  345.) 

[The  general  course  of  the  Jordan  has  also  been 
described  under  the  article  Canaan,  pp.  232  and  233, 
in  which  latter  passage  the  great  valley  El  Ghor  and 
El  Araba,  stretching  from  the  Dead  sea  to  the  Ela- 
nitic  gulf,  is  described.  This  is  also  done,  with  still 
more  particularity,  under  the  article  Exodus,  p. 414. 
Through  this  valley  it  is  highly  probable  that  the 
Jordan,  in  very  ancient  times,  jMusued  its  course  to 
the  Red  sea,  until  the  convulsions  occasioned  by  the 
destruction  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah,  and  the  sub- 
sequent filling  up  of  the  bottom  of  the  valley  by  the 
drifting  sand,  caused  the  stoppage  of  its  waters.  See 
under  Canaan,  p.  238,  and  Elath,  p.  380.     R. 

The  Talmudists  say  that  "  the  waters  of  the  Jordan 
are  not  fit  to  sprinkle  the  unclean,  because  they  are 
mixed  waters ;"  meaning,  mixed  with  the  waters  of 
other  rivers  and  brooks,  which  empty  themselves  into 
it.  The  reader  will  compare  with  this  the  opinion 
of  Naaman  the  Syrian,  (2  Kings  v.  11, 12.)  who  prob- 
ably had  received  the  same  notion.  Perhaps,  too, 
this  their  inferiority  was  well  understood,  and  not 
forgotten  by  the  prophet  of  Israel. 

The  regular  passages  over  the  Jordan  were,  (1.) 
Jacob's  bridge,  between  the  lakes  Merom  and 
Gennesareth,  said  to  be  the  place  where  Jacob  met 
his  brother  Esau,  and  where  he  wrestled  with  an 
angel. — (2.)  A  bridge  at  Chammath,  at  the  issue  of 
the  river  from  the  lake  of  Gennesareth. — (3.)  A  ferry 
at  Beth-abara,  2  Sam.  xix.  18 ;  2  Kings  ii.  8. — (4.)  It 
is  probable  that  there  was  another  at  Bethshan,  or 
Scythopolis. 

The  phrase  "  beyond  Jordan,"  in  the  early  books 
of  Moses  and  in  Joshua,  sometimes  means  the  west 
of  the  river;  but  subsequently,  that  is,  when  the 
Hebrews  had  taken  possession  of  the  country,  the 
term  has  the  opposite  meaning,  denoting  the  country 
east  of  the  river. 

I.  JOSEPH,  son  of  Jacob  and  Rachel,  was  born 
in  Mesopotamia.  He  was  favored  by  God,  in  his 
youth,  with  prophetic  dreams,  and  his  father,  Jacob, 
loved  him  tenderly,  and  gave  him  a  coat  of  many 
coloi-s ;  or  rather  a  long  robe,  as  a  mark  of  partial 
paternal  aflfection.  His  brothers  became  jealous  of 
these  marks  of  affection ;  and  Joseph  unconsciously 
increased  the  evil  disposition  in  them,  by  accusing 
them  of  some  crime,  or  by  reporting  to  his  father 
their  wicked  discourses;  but,  above  all,  by  relating 
to  them  certain  dreams,  in  one  of  which  he  had  seen 
twelve  sheaves,  belonging  to  them,  bow  before  his 
sheaf,  which  stood  upright  in  the  field.  His  father 
heard  the  relation  without  remark  ;  but  his  brethren 
coidd  not  bear  the  allusion.  Being  sent  by  his  father 
to  visit  his  brethren,  they  conspired  against  him,  and 
would  have  slain  him;  but  Reuben  opposing  this, 
they  threw  him  into  an  old  well,  which  bad  no  water ; 
and  soon  after,  perceiving  a  caravan  of  Midianhe 
merchants  going  into  Egy|)t,  they  sold  him,  and  de- 
ceived Jacob  into  a  Wilief  of  his  destruction  by  a  wild 
beast. 

The  merchants?  carried  Joseph  into  Egj^pt,  and 
sold  him  as  a  slave  to  Potiphar,  an  officer  of  Pha- 
raoh, whose  confidence  he  soon  obtained,  and  was 
by  him  made  steward  of  his  house,  and  director  of 
ail  his  domesric  aflTairs,  Gen.  xxxix.  But  Potiphar's 
wife,  conceiving  a  criminal  passion  for  him,  solicited 
him  to  gratify  her  desires  ;  and  at  Inst  pressed  him 
so  closelv,  that  he  could  only  escape  by  leaving  his 
cloak  in   her  possession.      Seeing  herself  thus   de- 


JOSEPH 


[578  ] 


JOSEPH 


tipised,  she  cried  out,  and  complained  that  the  young 
Hebrew  had  offered  her  violence,  showing  his  cloak 
as  evidence  against  him.  Potiphar,  believing  him  to 
be  guilty,  threw  Joseph  into  prison,  where  by  his 
conduct  he  soon  obtained  the  confidence  of  the  war- 
den, and  was  made  overseer.  It  so  happened  that 
two  of  the  king's  officers,  his  butler  and  baker,  hav- 
ing incurred  his  displeasure,  were  put  into  the  sajne 
prison  with  Joseph.  Each  of  them  had  a  dream  in 
reference  to  himself,  which  Joseph  explained,  and 
his  interpretation  of  both  was  fulfilled.  The  butler 
was  restored  to  his  dignity,  but  did  not  remember 
Joseph.  Two  years  after  this  event,  Pharaoh  had 
dreams  by  which  he  was  pei-plexed,  but  which  none 
of  his  wise  men  were  able  to  ex])lain.  His  butler  at 
length  remembered  Joseph,  whom  Pharaoli  com- 
manded to  be  brought  into  his  presence.  The  king 
related  his  dreams,  and  Joseph  interpreted  them  ; 
foretelling  a  prodigious  plenty,  which  would  be  suc- 
ceeded by  exhausting  famine  ;  to  guard  against  the 
consequences  of  which  he  recommended  that  a  pru- 
dent man  should  be  appointed  to  lay  up  stores,  dur- 
ing the  season  of  plenty.  His  counsel  was  approved 
by  Pharaoh,  and  himself  appointed  to  the  office. 
The  king  also  put  his  own  ring  on  Joseph's  finger, 
clothed  him  in  fine  linen,  or  cotton,  put  a  chain  "of 
gold  about  his  neck,  made  him  ride  in  the  chariot 
next  to  his  own,  and  gave  orders  to  proclaim  liim 
governor  of  all  Egypt.  He  changed  his  name  to 
Zapimath-paaneah,  which  in  Egyptian  signifies 
"Saviour  of  tha  world,"  a  liigh-sounding  title,  like 
those  given  to  oriental  princes  at  the  present  day. 
Joseph  married  Aseiiath,  daughter  of  Potiplierah, 
priest  of  On,  or  Heliopolis,  by  v/hom  ho  had  two 
sons,  Manassch  and  Ej)hraim. 

During  the  famine  which  had  been  foretold,  and 
which  extended  to  Canaan,  Jacob,  reduced  to  extrem- 
ities, sent  his  sons  into  Egypt  to  purchase  corn,  re- 
taining only  Benjamin,  his  beloved  one,  at  home. 
On  their  arrival  they  were  introduced  to  Joseph, 
and  stated  the  nature  of  their  errand.  Joseph  im- 
mediately recognized  his  brethren,  but  being  desirous 
to  obtain  from  tliem  an  artless  statement  of  their 
family  circumstances,  and  especially  an  account  of 
his  father  Jacob  and  his  brother  Benjamin,  he  as- 
sumed a  great  sternness  of  manners,  affected  to  doubt 
the  tnuh  of  their  story,  and  accused  them  of  being 
spies.  This  had.the  desired  effect ;  the  sons  of  Jacob 
prostrated  themselves  before  him,  and  related  their 
artless  tale.  Joseph,  however,  detained  them  three 
days  in  custody,  probably  to  observe  them  more  nar- 
rowly, or  to  awaken  in  them  a  proper  sense  of  the 
misconduct  which  had  marked  their  past  lives,  and 
then  consented  that  they  should,  with  the  exception 
of  Simeon,  return  to  their  father,  and  bring  back 
Benjamin.  Feelings  of  remorse  were  now  awakened 
in  their  minds,  and  they  exclaimed  with  one  voice, 
"  We  are  verily  guilty  concerning  our  brother,  in  that 
we  saw  the  anguish  of  liis  soid,  when  he  besouglit 
us,  and  wo  would  not  hear;  therefore  is  this  distri;ss 
come  ui)on  us."  Jacob  was  greatly  afflicted  at  the 
command  to  send  Benjamin  into  Egypt,  the  reason 
for  which  lie  could  not  comprehend,  but  after  a  se- 
vere struggle  with  his  feelings,  consented  that  he 
should  d(!part  with  his  brothers.  They  again  arrived 
in  Egypt,  and  were  introfluced  into  the  presence  of 
Joseph,  who,  scarcely  able  to  conceal  the  yearnings 
of  his  affection  towards  Bi'njamin,  ordered  a  dinner 
to  be  prepared.  After  this  they  were  sent  off"  on 
their  journey,  but  an  expedient  was  resorted  to  by 
Joseph  again  to  bring  them   back.     Their  corn  was 


loaded,  and  in  Benjamin's  sack  was  concealed,  by 
Joseph's  orders,  his  silver  cup.  Scarcely  had  they 
left  the  city,  therefore,  when  they  were  pursued, 
charged  with  re  ibery,  and  brought  back  trembling 
into  the  presenc  '.  of  their  brother.  The  time  had 
now  arrived  for  the  discovery  to  be  made.  The 
hearts  of  his  brethren  had  been  fully  laid  bare  before 
Joseph,  and  he  felt  convinced  that  they  had  deeply 
bewailed  and  deprec&ted  their  former  cruel  demeanor 
towards  him.  He  threw  off"  his  disguise,  embraced 
them  with  all  the  ardor  of  genuine  affection,  and 
such  a  scene  ensued  as  only  the  pen  of  inspiration 
could  jtirtray.  (See  Gen.  xiiii.  xliv.  xlv.)  Joseph  im- 
mediater,',  with  the  approbation  of  Pharaoh,  sent  for 
his  father,  and  the  land  of  Goshen  was  appropriated 
for  the  residence  of  the  family. 

But  we  must  glance  at  the  affairs  of  Egypt  during 
this  period,  in  relation  to  Joseph's  adn)inistration. 
During  the  years  of  famine  the  Egyptians  necessa- 
rily purchased  their  supplies  of  corn  from  the  royal 
granaries ;  and  in  order  to  obtain  these  they  parted 
first  with  their  mone}-,  next  with  their  cattle,  and 
then  with  their  lands  and  persons.  Their  lands  and 
cattle  were  restored,  on  condition  of  the  payment  of 
a  fifth  part  of  their  crops  to  tlie  king. 

Joseph  attended  the  death-bed  of  his  venerable 
parent,  who  gave  to  the  two  children  of  his  favorite 
son — Ephraim  and  Manasseh — portions  among  the 
tribes,  and  assured  Joseph  that  the  Lord  would  again 
bring  his  family  into  the  land  of  his  fathers.  At  this 
time  Joseph  was  about  56  years  of  age  ;  he  is  sup- 
posed to  have  lived  54  years  afterwards,  and  then 
died  in  Egj^pt,  "  by  faith  iriaking  mention  of  the  de- 
parting of  the  children  of  Israel,  and  giving  com- 
mandment concerning  his  bones " — i.  e.  that  his 
brethren  should  cany  them  up  into  Canaan  when 
they  departed  thence,  Heb.  xi.  22 ;  Gen.  xlvi. — I. 
After  his  death,  his  body  was  put  into  a  stone  coffin, 
and  was  cai'ried  away  at  the  exodus,  Exod.  xiii.  19. 
The  tribe  of  Ephraim  buried  it  near  Shechem,  iu 
the  fi^ld  which  Jacob  had  given  to  Joseph,  Josh, 
xxiv.  32. 

There  are  one  or  two  incidents  in  the  life  of  Jo- 
seph that  seem  to  require  further  notice  than  we 
could  give  them  in  this  brief  narrative. 

A  difficulty  has  suggested  itself  to  the  minds  of 
some  persons  Avith  reference  to  Joseph's  cup,  men- 
tioned in  Gen.  xlv.  5.  In  oin-  translntion  it  is  said, 
not  only  that  it  was  the  cup  out  of  v,'hich  he  drank, 
but  the  one  also  "  whereby  he  divineth."  Now,  as 
divination  is  by  no  means  a  study  which  reflects 
honor  on  the  character  of  Joseph,  interpreters,  who 
are  jealous  of  the  patriarch's  piety,  give  another  ren- 
dering to  the  passage — "  and  for  which  he  woidd 
aem'ch  accurately."  So  ver.  5,  instead  of  "know  you 
not  that  such  a  man  as  I  can  certainly  diviiic'?"  they 
render,  "  I  woidd  search  cnrefuUy ;"  i.  e.  for  the  cup. 
Without  disputing  these  ideas,  Mr.  Taylor  proposes 
a  diffi'rent  import  of  the  ))assage.  Dining  one  day, 
he  remarks,  with  a  relation,  he  took  particular  notice 
of  a  SILVER  CUP,  used  as  a  salt-cellar,  which  was  a 
present  from  a  friend,  who  had  j-eceived  it  from  a 
governor  of  Madras.  This  cuj)  was  three  inches 
long,  and  two  inches  and  a  third  wide  at  the  brim  ; 
which  at  bottom  was  diminished  to  an  inch  and 
three  quarters  long,  and  an  inch  and  one  third  wide. 
It  had  two  handles,  one  at  each  end  ;  and  was  orna- 
mented with  comjiartnients,  filled  with  flowers,  tfcc. 
in  relief,  on  the  sides.  The  centre  compartments 
contained  Arul)ic  inscriptions,  in  relief  also.  It  was 
an  inch  and  a  half  in  depth  ;  and  was  cut  oft'oblique- 


JOSEPH 


579  ] 


JOSEPH 


ly  at  ihe  corners.  It  was  the  custom,  it  seems,  for 
the  town  of  Madras  (probably  not  the  Eiu-opean  part 
of  it)  to  make  every  new  governor,  as  a  token  of  re- 
spect, a  present  of  a  similar  cup,  out  of  which  to 
drink  liis  arrack  after  dinner.  The  governor's  name 
and  titles,  with  those  of  the  parties  who  presented 
it,  compose,  ])robably,  the  Arabic  inscriptions  upon 
it.  Now  such  was,  as  he  thijiks,  Joseph's  cup  ;  i.  e. 
like  this,  small,  fit  for  the  hand  to  cover  and  slip  away  ; 
(turned  Jjottom  upward,  it  exactly  fills  the  hand  ; 
thereby  rendering  Benjamin's  theft  plausible ;)  it 
was  a  cup  used  at  table,  in  the  cheerful  hours  of 
drinking,  after  the  meal  was  ended  ;  so  that  Benja- 
min was  charged  with  having  abused  the  hospitality 
and  confidence  of  Joseph  ;  it  was  a  cup  of  privilege, 
such  as  the  to^\^l  could  not  be  suj)posed  to  furnish 
the  fellow  of;  so  that  Benjamin  could  not  pretend 
he  had  bought  it ;  but  all  the  citizens  must  have  been 
witnesses,  that  this  was  their  present  (properly  in- 
scribed) to  their  governor,  and  nmst  have  been  in- 
terested accordingly.  [But  tiiere  is  no  necessity  for 
this  far-fetched  attempt  at  illustration.  The  Hebrew- 
word  D.-.J,  narhash,  translated  to  divine,  has  this  mean- 
ing also  in  the  intellectual  sense,  i.  e.  to  conjecture, 
guess  out,  e.  g.  divine  that  some  one  would  take  the 
cup,  or  who  had  got  the  cup.     R. 

This  view  of  the  subject  absolves  Joseph  from  the 
crime  and  folly  of  divination.  The  following  extract, 
hoA\ever,  may  serve  to  shoAV  that,  at  anv  rate,  a  par- 
ticular cup,  annexed  to  his  office  by  way  of  distinc- 
tion, was  neither  peculiar  to  the  ancient  governor  of 
the  Egyptian  metropolis,  nor  to  the  modern  governor 
of  ]Madras  :  "  One  day,  Ras  jMichael,  [who  was  gov- 
ernor of  the  province  of  Tigre,  and  jirime-minister 
of  tlie  kingdom,]  dining  with  Kasmati  Gita,  the 
queen's  brother,  who  was  governor  of  Samen,  and 
drinking  out  of  a  coimiiou  glass  decanter,  called 
Brulhe,  when  it  is  the  privilege  and  custom  of  the 
governor  of  Tigre  to  use  a  gold  cup  ;  being  asked 
why  he  did  not  claim  his  j)rivilege,  he  said,  '  All 
the  gold  he  had  ivas  in  heaven  ,-'  alluding  to  the  name 
of  the  mountain  Samayat,  where  his  gold  \\as  sur- 
rendered, which  word  siguiiies  heaven.  The  king,  who 
liked  this  kind  of  jests,  of  Avhich  Michael  was  full, 
on  hearing  this,  sent  him  a  gold  cup,  with  a  note 
written,  and  placed  within  it,  '  Happy  are  they  who 
place  their  riches  in  heaven  ;'  which  Michael  di- 
rected to  be  engi-aved  by  one  of  the  Greeks  upon 
the  cup  itself.  What  became  of  it,  I  know  not ;  I 
saw  it  the  first  day  he  dined  after  coming  fi-om  coun- 
cil, at  his  return  from  Tigre,  after  the  execution  of 
Jlbba  Salamana ;  but  I  never  observed  it  fit  Ser- 
braxos,  nor  since.  I  heard,  indeed,  a  Greek  say,  he 
had  sent  it  as  a  present  to  a  church  of  Saint  JMicha^el, 
in  Tigr^."  (Bruce's  Travels,  vol.  ii.  p.  657.)  The 
reader  will  notice  the  engraving,  the  inscription,  on 
this  cup  of  privilege. 

Joseph  has  been  severely  censured  by  some  writei-s 
for  his  method  of  procuring,  for  the  king  of  Egj'jit, 
the  propei-ly  and  persons  of  the  inhabitants  in  ex- 
change for  food ;  but  it  should  not  be  overlooked, 
that  the  thought  seemed  to  originate  with  the  people 
themselves,  and  that  probably  it  was  not  uiicommon 
in  those  times.  The  .subjoined  extract  from  thc^ 
Gentoo  Laws,  (p.  140.)  will  support  this  idea,  and 
inform  us,  fiirther,  on  what  terms  the  slave  might 
regain  that  liberty  which  he  had  been  induced  to 
pledge,  in  the  hour  of  distress.  This  institute  cer- 
tainly differs  in  this  respect  from  that  of  Joseph,  who 
laid  a  perpetual  land-tax  of  four  shillings  in  the  pound 
on  the  Egyptians,  but  suffered  them  to  retain  the  use 


of  their  property.  "  Whoevei",  having  received  his 
victuals  from  a  person  during  the  time  of  a  famine, 
hath  become  his  slave,  upon  giving  to  his  provider 
whatever  he  received  from  him  during  the  time  of 
the  famine,  and  also  two  head  of  cattle,  may  become 
free  from  his  servitiule,  according  to  the  ordination 
of  Pacheshputtee  IVIisr. — Approved.  Chendusar 
upon  this  head  speaks  thus :  '  that  he  who  has  re- 
ceived victuals  during  a  famine,  ;iiid  hath,  by  those 
means,  become  a  slave,  on  giving  two  head  of  cattle 
to  his  provider,  may  become  free.'  Whoever,  having 
been  given  up  as  a  pledge  for  money  lent,  performs 
service  to  the  creditor,  recovers  his  liberty  whenever 
the  debtor  discharges  the  debt;  if  the  debtor  neglects 
to  pay  the  creditor  his  money,  and  takes  no  thought 
of  the  person  whom  he  left  as  a  pledge,  that  person 
becomes  the  purchased  slave  of  the  creditor.  Who- 
ever, being  unable  to  pay  his  creditor  a  debt,  hath 
borrowed  a  sum  of  money  from  another  person,  and 
paid  his  fomier  creditor  therewith,  and  hath  thus 
become  a  slave  to  the  second  creditor  ;  or  who,  to  si- 
lence the  importunities  of  his  creditor's  demands, 
hath  yielded  himself  a  slave  to  that  creditor,  such  kind 
of  slaves  shall  not  be  released  from  servitude,  mitil 
payment  of  the  debts. 

May  not  these  principles  suggest  some  sort  of 
reason  why  Pharaoh  retained  the  Israelites  in  bond- 
age ?  i.  e.  that  their  fathers  had  originally  been  sup- 
ported in  Egjpt,  and  then-  lives  presened  in  time  of 
famme,  by  Egj'ptiau  benevolence  ?  It  is  true,  the 
Pharaohs  of  the  former  dynasty  might  have  consid- 
ered the  sustaining  of  Israel  as  a  small  return  for 
advantages  derived  by  Egypt  from  the  wisdom  of 
Joseph;"  but  this  Pharaoh  "knew  not  Joseph;"  he 
either  was  wilfully  ignorant  of  past  events,  or  disre- 
garded, disacknowledged  Joseph  ;  or  was  of  a  new 
race,  from  a  distant  country,  and  treated  as  a  fable 
the  services  that  "Saviour "of  the  Egjptian  world" 
had  formerly  rendered  the  kingdom.  That  the  Is- 
raelites were  co)isidered  in  the  light  of  bondmen 
is  openly  acknowledged,  "  Thou  shah  say  to  thy  son, 
We  were  Pharaoli's  bondmen,  in  Egjpt :"  "  Thou 
shalt  remember  thou  wast  a  bondman  in  the  laud  of 
Egj'pt,  and  Jehovah,  thy  God,  redeemed  thee," 
Deut.  vi.  21 ;  xv.  15.  That  bondmeu  were  taken  for 
debt  appears  from  the  fears  of  Jacob's  sons:  (Gen. 
xHii.  Id.)  "Because  of  the  money  that  was  in  our 
sacks — he  mav  take  us  for  boudnieu."  So  (chap, 
xliv.  33.)  Juda'h  offers  himself  to  be  a  bondman,  in- 
stead of  Benjamin;  and  that  this  custom  contmued 
long  after,  we  learn  from  2  Kings  iv.  1,  where  the 
prophet's  widow  complains,  "the  creditor  may  take 
my  children  for  bond-slaves,  we  being  unable  to  pay 
liijii ;"  and  from  Matt,  xviii.  25  :  "But,  whereas,  he 
had  not  jjropcrtv  to  pay  with,  his  lord  connuanded 
him  to  be  sold,"  his  wife,  and  his  children,  and  all 
that  he  had." 

But  another  consideration  presents  itself  in  look- 
ing at  the  payment  imposed  on  the  Egyptians  by 
Joseph.  Was  this  the  only  tax  they  paid  to  Pharaoh 
in  support  of  his  government  ?  If  it  were,  it  is  much 
more  easily  vindicated  than  some  have  thought;  it 
being  evident  that  the  nation  could  not  repay  what 
they  had  received,  in  kind  ;  or,  indeed,  in  any  mode, 
except  by  their  productive  labor,  which  operated  as 
an  annuitv  in  favor  of  Pharaoh. 

II.  JOSEPH,  son  of  Jacob,  and  giandson  of 
Matthan,  husband  of  3Iarv,  and  foster-father  of 
Christ,  Matt.  i.  15,  16.  His  age,  and  other  circum- 
stances of  his  life,  excepting  what  are  related  m  the 
Gospels,  are  uncertain.     Many  of  the  ancients  be- 


JOS 


[  580 


JOSHUA 


lieved  that  before  his  marriage  with  the  Virgin,  he 
had  a  wife,  named  Escha,  or  Mary,  by  whom  he  liad 
James  the  Less,  and  those  who  are  called  in  Scrip- 
ture, "  brethren"  of  our  Lord.  But  this  opinion  is 
not  maintainable,  since  Maiy  the  mother  of  James 
was  living  at  the  time  of  our  Saviour's  passion,  and 
It  IS  not  probable  that  she  had  been  divorced  by  Jo- 
seph, to  marry  the  Virgin,  or  that  he  was  married  at 
the  same  time  to  two  sisters ;  which  is  contraiy  to 
the  law.  Lev.  xviii.  18.  Joseph  (Mati.  i.  19.)  was  a 
just  man;  (see  AnxVunciation ;)  his  ordinary  abode 
was  at  Nazareth,  particularly  after  his  marriage  ;  and 
he  lived  by  labor,  at  a  trade,  (Matt.  xiii.  55,  Oi/  ovtuq 
ioTiy  6  rot}  rexTurog  k'o;,)  which  has  been  generally 
thought  to  be  that  of  a  carpenter.  It  is  thought  that 
he  died  before  Jesus  entered  upon  his  public  ministry. 

in.  JOSEPH  BARSABAS,  the  Just,  Avho  was 
proposed  to  fill  up  the  traitor  Judas's  place,  Acts 
i.  23. 

IV.  JOSEPH  of  Arimathea  was  a  Jewish  sena- 
tor, and  privately  a  disciple  of  Christ,  John  xix.  38. 
He  did  not  consent  to  the  acts  of  the  Sanliedrim,  who 
coudenmed  Jesus ;  and  when  our  Saviour  was  dead, 
he  went  boldly  to  Pilate  and  desired  the  body,  that 
he  might  bury  it,  Avliich  he  did,  in  his  own  tomb, 
Mark  xv.  43 ;  'John  xix.  38,  &c. 

I.  JOSES,  sou  of  Mary  and  Cleophas,  was  brother 
of  James  the  Less,  and  nearly  related  to  our  Lord, 
being  son  of  the  Virgin's  sister,  and  of  Cleophas, 
Joseph's  brother,  3Iark  xv.  40,  47. 

II.  JOSES,  see  Barnabas. 

I.  JOSHUA,  son  of  Nun,  by  the  Greeks  called 
Jesus,  sou  of  Nave,  was  of  the  tribe  of  Ephraim ; 
and  is  connnonly  called  the  servant  of  Moses.  His 
first  name  was  Oshea,  (Numb.  xiii.  8,  16.)  which 
some  believe  Moses  changed,  by  adding  that  of  God 
to  it.  Oshea  signifies  saviour  ;*Jehoshua,  </ie  salva- 
tion of  God,  or  he  will  save.  In  the  New  Testament 
he  is  ^called  Jesus,  wiiich  signifies  the  same.  Acts 
vii.  45 ;  Heb.  iv.  8.  Joshua  displayed  his  valor 
against  the  Amalekites,  and  routed  their  whole  army. 
When  Moses  went  up  mount  Sinai,  to  receive  the 
law,  and  remained  there  forty  days  and  forty  nights, 
Joshua  abode  with  him,  though  in  all  probability 
not  in  the  same  place,  nor  with  the  same  abstinence ; 
and  when  Moses  descended  from  the  mountain, 
Joshua  heard  the  noise  of  the  people,  shouting  about 
the  golden  calf,  and  thought  it  was  the  cry  of  battle, 
Exod.  xxxii.  17. 

Joshua  was  very  constant  at  the  tabernacle  of  the 
congregation ;  of  which  he  had  the  care  and  custody, 
(Exod.  xxxiii.  11.)  and  seems  to  have  dwelt  in  or 
near  it.  When  tlie  people  came  to  Kadesh-Barnea, 
he,  with  others,  was  deputed  to  survey  the  land  of 
Canaan ;  and  wlien  these  depiuies  returned,  and 
represented  tlie  difiiculties  of  conquering  the  country 
as  extremely  great,  Joshua  and  Caleb  maintained, 
tiiat  tlic  conquest  was  easy,  if  the  Lord  were  with 
thcni.  Tlic  murnuu-crs  were  all  excluded  from  the 
land  of  promise ;  but  God  promised  Joshua  and  Ca- 
lel)  that  they  should  enter  and  possess  it. 

When  Moses  was  nr;ir  his  end,  God  conmianded 
him  to  lay  his  bauds  on  Joshua,  to  communicate  to 
him  part  of  his  spirit,  and  his  glory,  that  the  people 
might  obey  him.  After  the  death  of  Moses,  he  took 
the  command  of  the  Israelites;  and  after  leading 
them  into  the  promised  land,  fiibduing  their  enemies, 
and  dividing  the  country  among  the  tribes,  he  called 
them  together,  recapitulated  the  favors  they  had  re- 
ceived from  God,  and  exhorted  them  to  continue 
faithful.     He  then  made  a  covenant  on  the  part  of 


God  with  them,  and  the  people  reciprocally  engaged 
to  sei-ve  the  Lord.  Joshua  wrote  it  in  the  book  of 
the  law  of  the  Lord ;  and  to  preserve  the  memory 
of  this  transaction,  he  erected  a  very  large  stone, 
under  the  oak,  near  Shechem.  He  died,  aged  a  hun- 
dred and  ten,  A.  M.  2570. 

II.  JOSHUA,  a  high-priest,  see  Jeshua. 

III.  JOSHUA,  THE  BOOK  OF,  is  generally  attributed 
to  the  pei-son  whose  name  it  bears,  though  it  con- 
tains certain  terms,  names  of  places,  and  particu- 
lar circumstances,  which  do  not  agree  with  his  time. 
These  are  accouiued  for,  by  supposing  that  the  book 
has  been  revised,  and  that  additions  and  corrections 
were  made  by  Ezra  in  his  edition. 

The  Samaritans  have  a  copy  of  this  book,  which 
they  preserve  with  respect,  and  use  in  support  of 
their  pretensions  against  the  Jews.  It  contains  forty- 
seven  chapters,  filled  with  fables  and  childish  stories, 
commencing  where  Moses  chooses  Joshua  to  succeed 
him.  It  relates  the  history  of  Balaam  ;  of  the  war 
of  Moses  against  the  Midianites,  with  the  occasion 
of  it ;  of  Balaam's  death ;  of  the  death  of  Moses, 
and  the  lamentation  made  for  him.  It  relates  the 
passage  of  the  river  Jordan  at  large  ;  the  taking  of 
Jericho ;  and  adds  a  great  number  of  miracles  which 
are  not  in  the  genuine  book  of  Joshua.  It  describes 
a  certain  war  which  it  mentions  to  have  been  carried 
on  against  Saiibec,  son  of  Heman,  king  of  Persia, 
with  the  addition  of  a  thousand  i'abulous  circum- 
stances. After  the  death  of  Joshua,  it  names  one 
Tei-fico,  of  the  tribe  of  Ephraim,  for  his  successor. 
There  are  some  other  apocryphal  works  ascribed 
to  Joshua ;  but  they  carry  their  own  refutation. 

Upon  the  miracle  wrought  at  the  word  of  Joshua, 
recorded  in  Josh.  x.  12 — 14,  much  has  been  written. 
Objectors  have  urged  that  the  language  of  Joshua,  in 
correspondence  with  which  the  miracle  is  said  to 
have  occurred,  is  not  in  accordance  whh  the  ascer- 
tained economy  of  the  universe  ;  and  that  if  even 
this  objection  could  be  disposed  of,  an  unanswerable 
one  against  the  fact  would  remain,  because  such  an 
occurrence  must  have  involved  the  whole  system  m 
a  common  ruin.  To  these  objections  it  has  been  re- 
plied, (1.)  that  the  Hebrew  general  expressed  himself 
in  popular  language,  as,  indeed,  he  was  compelled  to 
do,  unless  he  would  have  incurred  the  charge  of  in- 
sanity ;  and,  (2.)  that  the  miracle  consisted  in  an  ex- 
traordinary refraction  of  the  solar  and  lunar  rays, 
and  did  not  imply  any  cessation  of  the  motion  of  the 
heavenly  bodies.  In  support  of  this  view  of  the 
transaction,  IMr.  Taylor  has  an  essay,  the  close  of 
which  we  lay  before  the  reader. 

It  must  be  granted,  that  Joshua  saiv  the  objects 
respecting  which  he  spake.  E.  g.  that  looking  toward 
the  Sim,  he  beheld  the  place  of  that  luminary,  and 
its  rays  shining  abroad  ;  then  turning  towards  the 
place  of  the  moon  in  the  heavens,  he  beheld  that 
luminary  also  ;  so  that  both  luminaries  were  above 
the  horizon  (therefore  visible)  at  the  time  when  he 
uttered  these  words :  "  Thou  sun — thou  moon." 
This  supposition  is  reasonable  enough,  and,  indeed, 
imdeniable  ;  but  its  consequences  are  important,  and 
influence  the  whole  history.  It  shows,  (1.)  that  the 
time  of  the  year  was  about  midsummer,  when  the 
sun  is  at  its  highest  northern  station  ;  (2.)  that  it  was 
at  nearly  full  moon,  because  then  the  moon  would 
be  visible  in  the  heavens  at  the  close  of  the  day ; 
yet  would  shine  all  night  till  the  next  morning  ;  (3-) 
that  it  was  toward  the  close  of  day,  because  before 
the  evening  of  tlui  day,  there  was  no  occasion  for 
the  desire  of  prolonged  light. 


JOSHUA 


[581  ] 


JOS 


Now,  if  the  light  of  the  moon  were  wanted,  she 
could  dispense  that  while  pursuing  her  course  ;  so 
that  there  was  no  need  for  her  standing  still,  in  order 
to  shine  on  any  supposed  spot,  whether  Ajalou,  or 
elsewhere.  If  the  light  of  the  sun  were  wanted, 
his  rays  might  be  so  hiflected  as  to  enlighten  parts 
much  more  south  than  they  otherwise  would  have 
done ;  and  their  motion  might  accompany  that  of 
his  orb  along  the  horizon.  Cousetiucutly,  tliere  was 
no  need  for  keeping  him  standing  still,  in  order  to 
his  shining  on  any  particular  spot,  whether  Gibeon, 
or  elsewhere.  At  London  the  length  of  the  longest 
day,  and  those  adjacent  to  it,  is  sixteen  hoiu'S  and  a 
half;  and  the  twilight  (not  night)  is  only  seven  hours 
and  a  half: — if  we  transfer  this  idea  from  the  latitude 
of  Loudon,  52  deg.  30  min.  to  that  of  Judea,  35  deg. 
30  min.  wo  shall  hnd  that  the  longest  day  at  Jerusa- 
lem is  about  fifteen  hours:  to  this  add  a  twilight  of 
an  hoiu"  and  a  half;  which  doubled  for  evening  and 
mornmg,  makes  three  hours  ;  in  all  eighteen  hours  of 
natural  light : — so  that,  to  maintain  tlie  solar  light, 
during  the  remaining  six  hours,  until  it  Avould  natu- 
rally have  risen  again  in  the  morning,  would  answer 
the  nature  and  the  purposes  of  the  miracle.  Having 
adverted  to  the  natm-al  annual  situation  and  effect 
of  the  sun  at  midsunnuer,  in  the  latitude  of  Loudon, 
we  may  now  perceive,  that  what  was  a  miracle  of 
protracted  light  in  Judea,  would  have  been  a  much 
less  (a  shorter)  miracle  at  London  ;  since,  had  the 
solar  light  by  any  means  been  elevated  ten  or  fifteen 
degrees,  during  an  hour  or  two,  it  would  have  shone 
all  night  upon  London.  Advancing,  therefore, 
toward  the  yio\e,  if  at  the  north  of  Scotland,  or  the 
Shetland  islands,  the  light  had  been  elevated  half 
that  quantity,  and  during  half  that  time,  it  would 
have  siione  all  night  there ;  as  at  Iceland,  Norway, 
Sweden,  &c.  without  any  unusual  elevation,  it  actu- 
ally does  shine  all  night  at  the  midsummer  time  of 
the  year.  This  fact  does  not  rest  on  astronomical 
calculations  only ;  there  are  hundreds  of  witnesses 
of  it;  any  person  who  has  been  a  Greenland  voyage  is 
sufficient  evidence,  and  will  confirm  it ;  he  will  de- 
scribe the  course  of  the  sun  as  circulating  all  round 
the  horizon,  but  not  sinking  below  it ;  not  merely 
during  one  night,  but  during  a  whole  month,  or  two 
months  ;  making  perpetual  day,  and  being  constantly 
visible. 

It  is  well  known  that  the  cliief,  if  not  the  only, 
objection,  to  this  miracle  is,  that  it  disturbed  the 
whole  progress  of  nature  ;  if  it  stopped  the  sun  in 
his  course,  it  must,  it  is  said,  have  made  a  double 
day  to  a  whole  hemisphere  ;  and  a  double  night  to 
the  other  hemisphere  ;  with  all  their  attendant  effects. 
So,  if  it  delayed  the  moon  in  her  course,  it  must 
have  made  this  month  (or  lunar  revolution)  longer 
than  any  other ;  must  have  kept  th(!  tides  stationary, 
or  have  increased  them  so  exceedingly  where  it  was 
high  tide,  that  great  inundations  must  have  ensued  ; 
while  the  want  of  water  would  have  been  equally 
felt  where  it  was  low  water.  The  object  of  this 
reasoning,  then,  is  to  show  that  the  lunar  orb  was 
not  stopped  one  moment,  but  kept  on  her  course  ; 
yet  maintaining  her  brightest  beams  on  the  valley  of 
Ajalon,  and  the  country  adjacent,  where  the  enemy 
were  flying ; — for  the  history  itself  expresses  that 
they  did  not  stay  all  night  in  the  valley  of  Ajalon,  or 
on  any  other  spot,  but  fled  to  a  great  distance  ;  conse- 
quently, when  they  were  gone,  the  moon's  light 
might  be  spared  from  the  valley.  On  the  same  prin- 
ciple is  suggested,  the  perfect  indifference  to  Joshua, 
whether  the  solar  light  were  fixed  in  one  point,  or 


whether  it  kept  moving  along  the  horizon  ;  provided 
it  gave  him  light,  that  was  all  he  wanted ;  and  this 
it  would  equally  do,  in  motion,  as  at  rest. 

This  statement  of  the  subject  answers,  in  Mr. 
Taylor's  opinion,  every  objection  respecting  the  in- 
jury done,  l)y  disturbing  the  progress  of  nature,  since 
it  shows  that,  in  fact,  the  progress  of  nature  was 
neither  delayed  nor  accelerated,  but  maintained  its 
regular  proceeding.  The  moon  was  not  delayed  in 
her  course  ;  neither  was  the  sun,  but  his  light  kept 
moving  along  the  horizon  that  night,  in  Judea,  as  it 
does  now  annually  in  the  Shetland  islands,  or  at 
Tornea,  in  Lapland  ;  where  the  body  of  the  sun 
(which  is  not  necessary  in  this  miracle)  is  visible  at 
luidnight,  before  and  after  the  solstice. 

JOSIAH,  son  of  Anion,  king  of  Judah,  and  Jedi- 
dah,  daughter  of  Adaiah,  of  Boscath,  (2  Kings  xxii.) 
began  to  reign  when  eight  years  of  age,  ante  A.  D. 
641.  He  did  right  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord,  and 
walked  in  the  ways  of  David.  He  began  to  seek 
after  God  fi-om  the  eighth  year  of  his  reign,  which  was 
the  sixteenth  year  of  his  age;  and  in  the  twelfth 
year  of  his  reign,  he  cleared  Judah  and  Jerusalem 
from  high  places,  groves,  idols,  and  superstitious  im- 
ages ;  and  visited,  for  the  same  purpose,  the  cities  of 
Ephraim,  Manasseh,  Simeon,  and  Naphtali,  which 
he  is  tliought  to  have  held  under  the  kings  of  Chal- 
dca.  lie  next  proceeded  to  repair  the  temple  of 
the  Lord,  which  in  the  preceding  reigns  had  been 
neglected.  As  the  workmen  were  removing  the 
money  which  had  been  offered  by  the  Israelites  at  the 
temple,  the  high-priest  Hilkiah  found  in  the  treasury- 
chamber  "a  book  of  the  law  of  the  Lord  given  by 
IMoses,"  which  is  thought  to  have  been  the  original 
of  the  law,  found  either  in  some  wall,  or  chest, — for 
it  ap])eais,  that  the  ark  was  not  then  in  the  sanctu- 
ary, since  Josiah  commands  the  priests  to  restore  it  to 
its  place,  and  forbids  them  to  carry  it  about  any 
more.  Josiah,  having  heard  this  book  read,  rent  his 
clothes,  and  sent  to  Huldah  the  prophetess  for  advice  ; 
after  which  he  convened  the  elders  of  Judah  and 
Jerusalem,  and  went  up  with  them  to  the  temple  of 
the  Lord.  Here  he  read  to  them  the  book  lately 
found,  and  made  a  covenant  with  God,  engaging  to 
Avaik  in  his  ways,  and  to  observe  his  precepts  and 
ordinances  ;  and  he  made  the  assembly  promise  the 
same.  He  afterwards  ordered  the  destruction  of  all 
the  i-emains  of  superstitious  and  idolatrous  monu- 
ments in  Jerusalem  and  Judah  :  he  cut  off  the 
soothsayers,  those  who  worshipped  the  stars,  and 
the  sodomites  ;  and  enjoined  those  priests  who  had 
ofi'ered  sacrifices  on  the  high  places,  to  desist.  He 
defiled  Tophet  and  the  valley  of  Hinnom,  and  pro- 
faned all  places  which  had  been  consecrated  to 
superstition  and  idolatry,  filling  them  with  dead 
men's  bones,  and  breaking  down  the  statues  which 
were  in  tliem.  lie  dcmolisheil  the  altar  erected  by 
Jeroboam  at  JJethel,  and  dug  up  the  bones  of  the 
false  prophets  and  piiests  of  the  golden  calves,  but 
spared  the  sepulchre  of  the  pro|)het  whom  the  Lord 
bad  sent  to  prophesy  against  Jeroboam,  1  Kings  xiii. 
31,  32.  Josiah  afterwards  commanded  all  his  people 
to  keep  the  passover  according  to  the  law,  and 
Scripture  says,  that  from  the  time  of  the  judges,  and 
during  the  reigns  of  all  the  kings,  no  passover  had 
been  kept  like  this;  and  that  no  king  before  Josiah 
turned  as  he  did  to  the  Lord  with  all  his  heart,  with 
all  his  soul,  and  with  all  his  strength. 

Some  years  afterwards,  Pharaoh  Necho,  king  of 
Egypt,  desiring  to  pass  througli  Judea,  to  attack  the 
city  of  Carchemish  on  the  Euphrates,  Josiah  opposed 


\ 


JUB 


[  582  ] 


JUBILEE 


his  passage  at  Megiddo,  at  the  foot  of  Carmel,  and 
was  mortally  wounded  ;  he  died  at  Jerusalem,  ante 
A.  D.  610.  The  people  mourned  very  much  for  his 
death,  and  Jeremiah  composed  an  elegy  on  the  oc- 
casion. Josiah  was  buried  with  the  kings  his  pred- 
ecessors at  Jerusalem,  and  the  people  made  Jehoa- 
haz,  or  Shallum,  one  of  his  sons,  king  in  his  stead. 
Jesus,  the  son  of  Sirach,  speaks  highly  of  king  Josi- 
ah, Ecclus.  xlix.  1,  &c. 

There  were  several  prophets  in  Judah  while  Josiah 
reigned  ;  Jeremiah  and  Baruch,  Joel  and  Zephaniah  ; 
as  also  the  prophetess  Huldah.  Some  critics  have 
been  of  opinion,  that  the  Lamentations  of  Jeremiah, 
which  are  now  extant,  were  composed  on  the  death 
of  Josiah  ;  and  that  these  are  the  Lamentations  men- 
tioned in  2  Chron.  xxxv.  24,  25,  which  were  so  cel- 
ebrated, that  they  continued  to  l)e  sung  long  after. 
But  this  opinion  is  certainly  wrong.  Tiie  mourning 
of  the  people  on  the  death  of  this  prince,  passed,  as 
it  were,  into  a  proverb  ;  and  the  prophet  Zecliariah, 
(xii.  11.)  speaking  of  the  lamentation  of  future  ages 
at  the  death  of  the  Messiah,  alludes  to  that  of  Josiah, 
as  "  the  mourning  of  Hadadrimmon  in  the  valloj'  of 
Megiddo." 

JOTBATHAH,  an  encampment  of  Israel,  in  the 
wilderness,  between  Gidgad  and  Ebronah,  Numb. 
xxxiii.  34.     See  Exodus. 

I.  JOTHAM,  Gideon's  youngest  son,  escaped  the 
slaughter  which  the  inhabitants  of  Ophrah  made  of 
bis  seventy  brethren,  Judg.  ix.  5.  The  men  and 
soldiers  of  Shechem,  having  made  Abimelech,  who 
had  executed  this  bloody  deed,  king  because  he  was 
their  countryman,  Jotham  went  up  to  the  top  of 
mount  Gerizun,  whence  he  addressed  them  in  the 
famous  fable  of  the  trees,  and  then  fled  to  Beer.  We 
know  not  what  became  of  him  after  this,  but  his 
prediction  against  Shechem  and  Abimelech  was 
soon  accomplished,  Jiidg.  ix.  5,  &c. 

II.  JOTHAM,  son  and  successor  of  Uzziah,  or 
Azariah,  king  of  Judah,  who  having  been  smitten 
with  a  leprosy  for  attempting  to  offer  incense,  (2 
Chron.  xxvi.  16,  17.)  the  government  was  committed 
to  Jotham  his  son,  ante  A.  D.  783.  After  having  gov- 
erned twenty-live  years  he  assumed  the  title  of  king, 
and  reigned  alone  sixteen  years,  to  ante  A.  D.  742  ;  so 
that  he  governed  Judah  forty-one  years.  He  did 
right  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord,  and  imitated  the  piety 
of  his  father  Uzziah,  but  did  not  destroy  the  high 
places.  He  built  the  great  gate  of  the  temple,  and 
other  works  on  the  walls  of  Jerusalem,  in  Ophel,  and 
also  caused  forts  and  castles  to  be  erected  in  the 
mountains  and  in  the  forests  of  Judah.  The  Am- 
monites, who  had  been  brought  into  subjection  by 
Uzziah  his  father,  having  attempted  to  revolt,  he 
deff^ated  them,  and  imposed  on  them  a  tribute;  of  a 
hundred  talents  of  silver,  and  ten  thousand  measures 
of  wheat,  with  as  many  of  barley.  Towards  the 
end  of  his  reign,  the  Lord  sent  Rezin,  king  of  Syria, 
and  Pckah,  king  of  Israel,  against  him  ;  and  it  ap- 
pears from  Isa.  i.  that  Judah  was  in  a  very  melan- 
choly condition  in  the  beginning  of  the  reign  of 
Ahaz,  liis  son  and  successor. 

JUBx\L,  son  of  Lamech  and  Adah,  and  the  inventor 
of  musical  instnmients,  Gen.  iv.  21. 

JUBILEE,  a  Hebrew  festival,  celebrated  in  the 
fiftieth  year  which  occurred  after  seven  weeks  of 
years,  or  seven  times  seven  years,  Lev.  xxv.  10. 
Several  commentators,  however,  maintain  that  it  was 
celebrated  in  the  forty-ninth  year,  the  last  year  of  the 
eeyenth  week  of  years,  and  Lev.  xxv.  8,  "favors  this 
opinion :   "  Thou    shall  number  seven  sabbaths  of 


years,  seven  tunes  seven  years,  and  the  space  of 
seven  Sabbaths  of  years  shall  be  unto  thee  forty  and 
nine  years."  It  is  also  remarked,  that  it  would  have 
involved  many  inconveniences  to  have  celebrated 
the  jubilee  in  the  fiftieth  year,  after  the  sabbatical 
rest  of  the  forty-ninth  year.  Our  limits  will  not  per- 
mit of  entering  into  this  controvers}',  which,  after  all, 
involves  no  question  of  moment. 

If  we  were  certain  that  the  civil  year  began  at  a 
different  time  from  the  ecclesiastical  year,  that 
would  solve  the  difficulty ;  that  is,  the  fiftieth  year, 
by  one  account,  might  begin  before  the  forty-ninth 
year,  by  the  other  account,  was  fully  completed.  Be- 
sides, we  know  that  any  part  of  a  year  was  reckoned 
as  a  whole  year,  by  the  Hebrews,  as  it  commonly  is 
in  the  East. 

The  jubilee  year  began  on  the  first  day  of  Tizri, 
(the  first  month  of  the  civil  year,)  and  about  the  au- 
tumnal equinox.  During  the  year  no  one  either 
sowed  or  reaped  ;  but  all  were  satisfied  with  what 
the  earth  and  the  trees  jn-oduced  spontaneously. 
Each  resumed  possession  of  his  inheritance,  whether 
it  were  sold,  mortgaged,  or  alienated  ;  and  Hebrew 
slaves  of  every  description  were  set  free,  with  their 
wives  and  children.  Lev.  xxv.  The  first  nine  days 
were  spent  in  festivity,  during  which  no  one  woiked, 
and  every  one  put  a  crown  on  his  head.  On  the 
tenth  day,  which  was  the  day  of  solemn  expiation, 
the  Sanhedrim  ordered  the  trumpets  to  sound,  anil 
instantly  the  slaves  were  declared  free,  tand  the  lands 
returned  to  their  hereditary  owners.  This  law  was 
mercifully  designed  to  prevent  the  rich  from  oppress- 
ing the  poor,  and  reducing  them  to  perpetual  sla- 
very ;  and  also  to  jirevent  their  getting  possession  of 
all  the  lands  by  purchase,  mortgage,  or  usurpation  ; 
that  debts  should  not  be  multiplied  too  much  ;  and  that 
slaves  should  not  continue,  with  their  wives  and  chil- 
dren, in  perpetual  bondage.  Besides,  Moses  intend- 
ed to  preserve,  as  much  as  possible,  the  liberty  of 
persons,  a  due  proportion  of  fortunes,  and  the  order 
of  families  ;  as  well  as  that  the  people  should  be 
bound  to  their  country,  their  lands,  and  inheritances; 
and  that  they  should  cherish  an  afTection  for  them, 
as  estates  descended  from  their  ancestors,  and  to  be 
transmitted  to  their  jjosterity. 

There  were  several  privileges  belonging  to  the 
jubilee  year,  which  did  not  belong  to  the  sabbatical 
year  ;  though  the  latter  had  some  advantage  above 
the  former.  The  sabbatical  year  anmdled  debts, 
which  the  jubilee  did  not;  but  the  jubilee  restored 
slaves  to  their  liberty,  and  lands  to  their  owners;  be- 
sides which,  it  made  restitution  of  the  lands  imme- 
diately on  the  beginning  of  the  jubilee  ;  Avhcreas,  in 
the  sabbatical  year,  debts  were  not  discharged  till  its 
close.  Houses  and  other  edifices  built  in  walled  towns 
did  not  return  to  the  ])ro[)rictor  in  the  jubilee  year. 

After  the  captivity  of  Babylon,  the  Jews  continued 
to  observe  the  sabbatical,  l)ut  not  the  jid)ilce,  year. 
Alexander  the  Great  granted  the  Jews  an  exemption 
from  tribute  every  seventh  year,  by  reason  of  the 
rest  which  they  then  observed.  But  as  the  jubilee 
was  instituted  only  to  prevent  the  utter  destruction 
of  the  partition  made  by  Joshua,  and  the  confusion 
of  tribes  and  families,  it  was  no  longer  practicable  as 
before  the  dispersion  of  the  tribes  ;  those  which  re- 
turned from  the  captivity  settling  as  they  could,  and 
where  they  could,  while  a  great  number  of  famihes, 
and  perhaps  whole  tribes,  continued  in  the  place  of 
their  captivity.  Usher  places  the  first  jubilee  afler 
the  promulgation  of  the  law  by  Moses,  A.  M.  2609 ; 
the  second,  A.  M.  2658 ;  the  third,  A.  M.  2707. 


JUD 


[583] 


JUDAS 


JUDAH,  or  Jehuda,  the  fourth  son  of  Jacob  and 
liCah,  was  born  in  3Iesopotamia,  A.  M.  2249.  He 
advised  his  brethren  to  sell  Joseph  to  the  IshmaeUte 
merchants,  rather  than  to  imbrue  their  hands  in  his 
blood.  He  married  Shuah,  daughter  of  a  Canaanite, 
named  Hirah,  and  had  three  sons  by  her,  Er,  Onan, 
and  Shelah,  Gen.  xxxvii.  26.  He  married  Er  to  a 
young  woman  named  Tamar;  but  Er  died  prema- 
turel}'.  Judah  required  Onan  his  second  son  to 
marry  his  brother's  widow,  and  to  raise  up  seed  to 
him;  but  Onan  eluded  the  purpose  of  his  father, 
and  the  law,  and  was  punished  with  death.  Judah, 
being  afraid  to  give  Shelah  his  third  son  to  Tamar, 
amused  her  with  promises,  till  at  length  she  disguised 
herself,  and  taking  her  seat  in  a  way  by  which  Judah 
was  to  pass,  she  imposed  upon  his  ignorance,  and 
obtained  two  children  by  him.     See  Tamar. 

Judah  was  always  considered  as  the  chief  of  Ja- 
cob's children,  and  his  tribe  was  the  most  powerful 
and  numerous.  The  blessing  given  by  Jacob  on  his 
death-bed  to  Judah  was  as  follows  :  "Judah,  thou 
art  he  whom  thy  brethren  shall  praise,  thy  hand 
shall  be  on  the  neck  of  thine  enemies,  thy  father's 
children  shall  bow  down  before  thee.  Judah  is  a 
lion's  whelp ;  from  the  prey,  my  son,  thou  art  gone 
up  :  he  stooped  down,  he  couched  as  a  lion,  and  as  an 
old  lion,  who  shall  rouse  him  up  ?  The  sceptre  shall 
not  depart  from  Judah,  nor  a  lawgiver  from  between 
his  feet,  until  Shiloh  come,  and  unto  him  shall  the 
gathering  of  the  people  be."  This  seems  to  imply 
a  transfer  of  the  birth-right  to  Judah,  Reuben  having 
forfeited  it ;  and  it  also  includes  a  promise  that  the 
regal  power  shoidd  not  go  out  of  his  family,  and  that 
the  Messiah  should  derive  his  birth  from  him.  See 
Shiloh. 

The  southern  part  of  Palestine  fell  to  the  lot  of 
Judah.  (See  Canaan.)  His  tribe  was  at  the  exo- 
dus composed  of  74,600  men  capable  of  bearing 
arms.  After  the  return  from  the  captivity,  this  tribe 
in  some  sort  united  in  itself  the  whole  Hebrew  na- 
tion, who  from  that  time  were  known  only  as  Judcei, 
Jews,  descendants  of  Judah.  Judah,  when  named 
in  contradistinction  to  Israel,  or  the  kingdom  of  the 
ten  tribes,  or  Samaria,  denotes  that  of  Judah,  and  of 
David's  descendants.  One  of  the  principal  preroga- 
tives of  this  tribe  was,  that  it  preserved  the  true  re- 
ligion, and  the  public  exercise  of  the  priesthood, 
with  the  legal  ceremonies  in  the  temple  at  Jerusa- 
lem ;  while  the  ten  tribes  gave  themselves  up  to 
idolatry,  and  the  worship  of  the  golden  calves. 

I.  JUDAS  MACCABiEUS,  son  of  Mattathias, 
succeeded  his  father  as  captain  of  the  people  during 
the  persecution  of  Antiochus  Epiphanes,  1  Mac.  iii. 
1.  He  gave  numberless  proofs  of  his  valor,  and  of 
his  zeal  for  God's  law,  by  opposing  those  who  for- 
sook the  Lord,  and  sacrificed  to  idols  ;  and  at  last 
fell  nobly  in  battle  while  opposing  the  Syrian  army, 
imder  Bacchides.  Calmet  thinks  that  this  great  man 
was  one  of  the  figures  of  the  Messiah,  the  true  Saviour 
of  Israel ;  and  in  his  opinion,  the  prediction  of  Isaiah 
prophetically  referred  to  him,  as  a  figure  of  Christ : 
(chap.  Ixiii.)  "Who  is  he  that  cometh  from  Edom, 
with  dyed  garments  from  Bozrah  ?"  &c. 

II.  JUDAS  ISCARIOT,  being  chosen  by  Christ 
as  one  of  his  apostles,  and  appointed  their  treasurer, 
was  so  wicked  as  to  betray  his  Lord  into  the  hands 
of  his  enemies,  for  thirty  shekels,  about  fifteen 
dollars. 

It  has  been  disputed  whether  Judas  partook  of  the 
eucharist  in  the  last  supper.  The  affirmative  of  this 
opinion  is  the  most  general,  but  it  is  not  recommend- 


ed by  considerations  of  propriety  or  convenience. 
That  the  feet  of  Judas  were  washed  by  our  Lord  is 
clear ;  and  it  is  equally  clear  that  our  Lord  marks 
him  as  an  exception,  by  saying,  "  Ye  are  clean  ;  but 
not  all."  This  action  was  in  the  introductory  pan 
of  the  supper.  Subsequently,  our  Lord  observes,  "I 
speak  not  of  you  all ; — but  he  that  eateth  bread  with 
me,  hath  lift  up  his  heel  against  me."  The  traitor 
was  still  more  distinctly  pointed  at,  when,  as  they  re- 
clined during  the  supper,  the  hand  of  Judas  happened 
to  be  placed  on  the  table,  at  the  same  time  as  our 
Lord's  hand  was  so  placed ;  and  to  John  he  was 
personally  marked  by  the  sop  given  to  him,  which 
sop  was  dipped  in  the  sauce  composed  of  bitter  herbs, 
that  accompanied  the  paschal  lamb.  A  moment 
after,  he  was  discovered  to  all  the  company,  by  the 
answer  to  his  question,  "Lord,  is  it  I  ?"  This  was 
so  instant  on  his  receiving  the  sop,  that  the  evange- 
list John  observes,  "  Jesus  said  to  him,  What  yon 
do,  do  directly ;"  and  "  he,  having  received  the  sop, 
went  immediately  out."  It  is  therefore  evident,  that 
Judas  went  out  during  the  paschal  supper,  but  the 
eucharist  was  not  instituted  till  after  the  paschal  sup- 
per had  been  concluded  ;  and  the  last  action  of  that 
supper  was  what  gave  opportunity  to  the  institution 
of  the  new  rite.  To  suppose  that  Jesus  would  give 
to  Judas  the  sacramental  cup  in  token  of  his 
blood  "shedybr  the  remission  of  sins," — of  sins  which 
Judas  had  traitorously  committed,  or  which  he  de- 
signed traitorously  to  commit, — is  to  trifle  with  this 
most  solemn  of  subjects  ;  and,  indeed,  is  a  contradic- 
tion to  the  evangelist,  who  says,  "When  he  (Judas) 
was  gone  out,  Jesus  said,  Now  is  the  Son  of  man 
glorified,"  &c.  He  then  gave  warning  to  Peter  of 
his  frailty  ;  and  to  all  his  disciples  of  their  instability. 
Some  of  the  fathers  seem  to  speak  favorably  of  Ju- 
das's  I'epentance  ;  others  think  it  absolutely  defective 
and  unprofitable,  since  he  despaired  of  mercy.  Ori- 
gen  and  Theophylact,  writing  on  Matthew,  say,  that 
Judas,  seeing  his  master  was  condemned,  and  that 
he  could  not  obtain  pardon  fi'om  him  in  this  life, 
made  haste  to  get  the  start  of  him,  and  wait  for  him 
in  the  other  world,  in  order  to  beg  mercy  of  him 
there. 

There  are  ome  difficulties  concerning  the  manner 
in  which  Ju  as  died.  Matthew  says,  simply,  that 
he  hanged  bin. self;  whereas  Luke  (Acts  i.  18.)  says, 
further,  that  "falling  headlong,  he  burst  asunder  in 
the  midst,  and  all  his  bowels  gushed  out."  This  ap- 
parent discrepancy  has  occasioned  much  controversy, 
and  various  solutions  have  been  offered.  Mr.  Hew- 
lett, we  think,  has  hit  upon  the  true  one.  He  consid- 
ers the  narrative  of  Luke  to  be  supplemental  to  that 
of  Matthew's,  and  to  state  an  additional  fact.  Mat- 
thew having  i-elated  that  Judas  departed,  and  went 
and  hanged  himself,  Luke  had  not  the  least  doubt 
respecting  the  fact,  but  knew  that  all  suicides,  who 
hang  themselves,  are  cut  down  sooner  or  later  by 
those  who  find  them.  It  is  at  this  point  that  Mr. 
Hewlett  sui)poses  the  short,  supplementary  narrative 
in  the  Acts  to  begin.  The  rope  being  cut,  or  untied, 
(.Toi,i;,c  jfioi/f'ioc,)  "falling headlong,"  or  rather,  "  fall- 
ing on  his  face,  he  burst  asunder,"  &c.  It  was 
perfectly  natural  for  Luke,  on  this  occasion,  if  not  as 
an  evangelist,  yet  as  a  physician,  to  relate,  by  way  of 
parenthesis,  the  pathological  fact  here  recorded  ; 
which  is  so  far  from  being  incredible,  that  it  is  very 
natural,  and  not  unlikely  to  happen.  A  skilful  phy- 
sician informed  Mr.  Hewlett,  that  in  cases  of  violent 
and  painful  death  there  is  usually  an  effiisiou  of  lymph, 
or  lymph  mixed  with  blood,  into  the  cavities  of  the 


JUD 


[  584 


JUDEA 


client  »nd  abdomen.  If  the  body  be  kept  till  pu- 
trescence takes  place,  a  gas  is  evolved  from  the  fluid 
in  such  quantity  as  to  distend  enormously,  and  some- 
times to  rupture,  the  peritonaeum  and  abdominal 
muscles :  this  effect  has  been  observed  in  bodies 
hung  on  gibbets  in  England ;  and  it  would  take 
place  much  more  I'eadily  in  warmer  climates. 

III.  JUDAS,  or  JuDE,  suruamed  Barsabas,  was 
sent  from  Jerusalem,  with  Paul  and  Barnabas,  to  the 
church  at  Antioch,  to  report  the  resolution  of  the 
apostles  at  Jerusalem,  concerning  the  non-observ- 
ance of  the  law  by  the  Gentiles,  Acts  xv.  22,  23. 
A.  D.  54.  Some  think,  that  this  Judas  was  the 
brother  of  Joseph,  surnamcd  also  Barsabas,  who 
was  proposed,  with  IMatthias,  to  fill  up  the  place  of  the 
traitor  Judas,  Acts  i.  23.  Luke  says  that  Judas  Barsa- 
bas was  a  prophet,  and  one  of  the  chief  among  the 
brethren  ;  and  it  is  also  believed  that  he  was  one 
of  the  seventy  disciples. 

IV.  JUDAS,  or  JuDE,  sumamed  Thaddeus,  or 
Lebbeus,  or  the  Zealot,  is  called  the  Lord's  brother, 
(Matt.  xiii.  55.)  because  he  was,  as  is  believed,  son  of 
Mary,  sister  to  the  Virgin,  and  brother  to  James  the 
Less.  In  the  last  supper  he  asked  Jesus  "  how  he 
could  manifest  himself  to  his  apostles,  and  not  to  the 
world  ?"  Paulinus  says,  that  he  preached  in  Libya, 
and  seems  to  say,  that  his  body  remained  there.  Je- 
rome affirms,  that  after  the  ascension,  he  was  sent 
to  Edessa,  to  king  Abgarus  ;  and  the  modern  Greeks 
say  that  he  preached  in  that  city,  and  throughout 
Mesopotamia  ;  and  in  Judea,  Samaria,  Idumea,  Syria, 
and  principally  in  Armenia,  and  Persia.  But  we 
know  no  particulars  of  his  life. 

We  have  a  canonical  Epistle  written  by  Jude, 
arldressed  to  all  the  saints  who  are  beloved  by  the 
Father,  and  called  by  the  Son,  our  Lord.  It  appears 
by  the  17th  verse,  where  he  cites  the  Second  Epistle 
of  Peter,  and  thoughout  the  letter,  in  which  he  inti- 
mates that  the  expressions  of  that  apostle  were  al- 
ready known  to  those  whom  he  writes  to,  that  he  had 
principally  in  view  the  converted  Jews,  who  were 
scattered  throughout  the  East,  in  Asia  Minor,  and 
beyond  the  Euphrates.  lie  contends  against  false 
t'iachers,  the  Gnostics,  Nicolaitans,  and  Siuionians, 
'tvho  corrupted  the  doctrine,  and  disturbed  the  peace 
of  the  church.  The  date  of  the  Epistle  is  uncertain  ; 
but  Jude  speaks  of  the  apostles  as  of  persons  who 
had  l)een  some  time  dead.  He  quotes  the  Second 
Epistle  of  Peter,  and  alludes  to  Paul's  Second  Epis- 
tle to  Timothy  ;  whence  it  appears,  that  it  was  not 
written  till  aftei-tho  death  of  these  apostles,  and  con- 
sequently after  A.  D.  66.  It  is  credible  that  he  did 
not  write  it  till  after  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem. 
(Comp.  Jude  17,  with  2  Pet.  ii.  &c. ;  and  2  Tim.  iii. 
1.  with  Jude  18.) 

V.  JUDAS  G AULANITIS,  or  the  Gaulanite,  op- 
posed the  enrolment  of  the  people  made  by  Cyrenius 
in  Judea  ;  (see  Cyrenius  ;)  and  raised  a  very  great 
rebellion,  pretending  that  the  Jews,  being  free,  ought 
to  acknowledge  no  dominion  besides  that  of  God. 
His  followers  chose  rather  to  suffer  extreme  torments 
than  to  call  any  [tower  on  earth  lord  or  master.  The 
same  Judas  is  named  Judas  the  Galilean,  (Acts  v. 
.37.)  because  he  was  a  native  of  the  city  of  Ganiala 
in  the  Gaulanitis,  which  was  comprised  in  Galilee. 
Calmet  believes  that  the  Herodians  were  the  follow- 
ers of  Judaa. 

JUDE,  see  Judas  IV. 

JUDEA,  a  province  of  Asia,  successively  called 
Canaan,  Palestine,  the  Land  of  Promise,  the  Land  of 
Israel,  and  Judea  after  the  Jews  returned  from  the 


Babylonish  captivity  ;  because  then  the  tribe  of  Ju- 
dah  was  the  principal ;  the  territories  belonging  to 
the  other  tribes  being  possessed  by  the  Samaritans, 
Idumeans,  Arabians,  and  Philistines.  The  Jews, 
when  returned  from  the  captivity,  settled  about  Je- 
rusalem, and  in  Judah,  from  whence  they  spread 
over  the  whole  country. 

Judea  may  be  considered  as  divided  into  four 
parts  :  (1.)  the  western  district,  Palestine,  inhabited 
by  the  Philistines;  on  the  east  of  this,  (2.)  the  moun- 
tainous district,  called  the  hill  country,  (Josh.  xxi. 
11  ;  Luke  i.  39.)  which  the  rabbins  affect  to  call  the 
king's  mountain  ;  whether  because  on  the  northern 
part  of  this  ridge  Jerusalem  is  situated,  or  for  any 
other  reason,  is  not  known.  East  of  these  moun- 
tains was,  (3.)  the  wilderness  of  Judea,  along  the 
shore  of  the  Dead  sea:  (4.)  the  valleys,  &c.  west  of 
Jerusalem,  towards  the  Mediterranean.  Judea,  no 
doubt,  derived  its  name  from  Judah,  which  tribe  was 
settled  in  the  south  of  the  land,  and  maintained  its 
kingdom  after  the  northern  tribes  had  been  expatri- 
ated. This  circumstance,  together  with  that  of  Ju- 
dah being  principally  peopled  with  Israelites  after 
the  return  from  the  captivity,  and  being  first  settled, 
on  account  of  the  temple  being  established  in  it,  ac- 
counts for  the  general  name  of  Jews  being  given  to 
the  Hebrew  nation.  Judea  was  one  of  the  principal 
divisions  of  the  Holy  Land  in  the  days  of  Christ :  it 
included  from  the  Mediterranean  sea  west,  to  the 
Dead  sea  east,  and  was  bounded  north  by  Samaria, 
and  south  by  Edom,  or  the  Desert.  It  is  extremely 
mountainous  in  some  parts,  as  from  Hebron  to  Jeru- 
salem. West  of  these  mountains  is  the  principal  ex- 
tent of  country  ;  but  this  has  many  hills.  East  of 
them,  running  along  the  western  shore  of  the  Dead 
sea,  is  a  wilderness,  viz. 

The  Wilderness  of  Judea.  Here  John  Baptist 
first  taught,  (Matt.  iii.  1.)  and  Christ  was  tempted  ; 
probably  towards  the  north  of  if,  not  far  from  Jericho. 
Some  parts  of  it  were  not  absolutely  barren  or  imin- 
habited  ;  of  other  parts  the  following  descriptions 
are,  we  believe,  very  accurate.  Dr.  Carlyle,  who 
visited  the  monastery  of  St.  Saba,  which  stands  in 
this  wilderness,  says,  "  The  valley  of  St.  Saba  is  an 
immense  chasm  in  a  rifted  mountain  of  marble.  It 
is  not  only  destitute  of  trees,  but  of  every  other  spe- 
cies of  vegetation  ;  and  its  sole  inhabitants,  except 
the  wretched  monks  in  the  convent,  are  eagles,  tigers, 
and  wild  Arabs."  Chateauliriand  describes  it  in 
truly  melancholy  terms  :  "  I  doubt  whether  any  con- 
vent can  be  situated  in  a  more  dreary  and  desolate 
sj)ot  than  the  monastery  of  St.  Saba.  ...  As  we  ad- 
vanced, the  aspect  of  the  niouiUai?is  continued  the 
same — that  is,  white,  dusty,  without  shade,  without 
tree,  without  herbage,  without  luoss."  Mr  Bucking- 
ham says,  "Nothing  can  be  more  forbidding  than  the 
aspect  of  the  hills  ;  not  a  i)lade  of  verdure  is  to  be 
seen  over  their  whole  surface,  and  not  the  sound  of 
any  living  being  isto  be  heard  throughout  their  whole 
extent."  What  a  scene  surrounded  the  Saviour 
when  he  dwelt  in  tlii!?  wilderness,  with  the  wild 
beasts  !    Matt,  iv  ;  Luke  iv.     See  Canaan. 

There  are  several  medals  of  Judea  extant,  repre- 
senting a  woman  (the  daughter  of  Zion)  sitting  under 
a  palm-tree,  in  a  mournful  attitude,  and  having 
around  her  a  heap  of  arms,  shields,  &c.  on  which 
she  is  seated.  The  legend  is  jvdjea  capta.  s.  c. 
This  may  remind  us  of  the  captives  in  Babylon,  who 
"  sat  down  and  wept."  "  Biu  what  is  more  remark- 
able," says  Mr.  Addison,  "  we  find  Judea  represented 
as  n  woman  in  sorrow,  sitting  on  the  ground,  in  a 


o 


JUD 


[  585  ] 


JUD 


passage  of  tho  prophet  which  foretells  the  very  cap- 
tivity recorded  on  these  medals."  (See  Isa.  iii.  26; 
xlvii.  1.) 

[The  name  Judcawasapplied  in  different  ageseither 
to  the  whole  or  to  a  part  of  Palestine.  In  the  time 
of  David  it  denoted  that  portion  of  the  country  which 
belonged  to  thctrihes  of  Judah  and  lienjaniin,  Josh. 
xi.  21  ;  comp.  verso  16 ;  2  Sam.  v.  5  ;  1  Chron.  xxi.  5. 
Alter  the  secession  of  the  ten  trilies,  the  territory  of 
the  kingdom  of  Judah  was  called  Judea,  inckuhng 
the  tracts  belonging  to  Judah  and  Benjamin,  and 
also  part  of  tliat  which  appertained  to  the  tribes  of 
Dan  and  Simeon.  Hence  it  became  at  length  a  gen- 
eral name  for  the  southern  part  of  Palestine,  A\hile 
the  northern  part  v/as  called  Galilee,  and  the  middle 
iSanjoiia.  After  the  captivity,  as  most  of  those  who 
returned  were  of  the  kingdom  of  Judah,  the  name 
Judea  was  applied  generally  to  the  vvhoh;  of  Pales- 
tine, Hag.  i.  1,  14 ;  ii.  3.  When  the  whole  country 
fell  into  the  power  of  the  Romans,  the  former  divis- 
ion into  Galilee,  Samaria,  and  Judea,  seems  to  have 
again  become  current.  Josephns  describes  Judea 
in  his  day  as  bounded  north  by  Samaria,  its  northern 
extremity  being  the  village  of  Anouatli,  east  by  the 
Jordan,  west  by  the  Mediterranean,  and  south  by  the 
territory  of  the  Arabs.  These  boimdaries  would 
seem  to  include  a  part  at  least  of  Idumea.  Judea  in 
this  extent  constitiued  part  of  the  kingdom  of  Herod 
the  Great,  and  afterwards  belonged  to  his  son  Arche- 
laus.  When  the  latter  was  banished  for  his  cruel- 
ties, Judea  was  reduced  to  the  form  of  a  Roman 
province,  annexed  to  the  proconsulate  of  Syria,  and 
governed  by  procurators,  until  it  was  at  length  given 
as  jiart  of  his  kingdom  to  Herod  Agrippall.  During 
all  this  time  the  boundaries  of  the  province  were 
f  iften  varied,  by  the  addition  or  abstraction  of  different 
towns  and  cities.  See  Jos.  B.  J.  iii.  3.  5,  et  passim. 
Relundi  Palsest.  p.  31,  174,  178  ff.  Jahn  §  25. 
§  13  ff.     R. 

JT'DGES  (aiHor,  shophetim)  governed  the  Israel- 
ites from  Joshua  to  Saul.  The  Carthaginians,  a  col- 
ony of  the  Tyrians,  had  likewise  governors,  whom 
they  called  Suffetes,  or  Sophetim,  with  authority  like 
those  of  the  Hebrews,  almost  equal  to  that  of  kings. 
Some  are  of  opinion,  that  the  archontcs  among 
the  Athenians,  and  dictators  among  tlie  Romans, 
were  similar  to  the  judges  among  the  Hebrews.  Gro- 
tius  compares  the  government  of  the  Hebrews,  under 
the  judges,  to  that  of  Gaul,  Germany,  and  Britain, 
before  the  Romans  changed  it.  This  cffice  was  not 
hereditary  among  the  Israelites;  they  were  no  more 
than  God's  vicegerents.  When  the  Hebrews  desired 
a  king,  God  said  to  Samuel,  "  They  have  not  reject- 
ed thee,  but  they  have  rejected  me,  that  I  should 
not  reign  over  them,"  1  Sam.  viii.  7.  (See  also  Judg. 
viii.  23.) 

The  dignity  of  judge  was  for  life,  but  the  succes- 
sion was  not  always  constant.     There  were  anar- 
chies, or  intervals,  during  which  the  commonwealth 
.was  without  rulers.     There  were  likewise  long  in- 
74 


tervals  of  servitude  and  oppression,  under  which  the 
Hebrews  groaned,  and  were  without  either  judges 
or  governors.  Although  God  only  did  regularly  ap- 
point the  judges,  yet  the  people,  on  some  occasions, 
chose  that  individual  who  ajjpearcd  to  them  most 
proper  to  deliver  them  from  oppression  ;  and  as  it  of- 
ten happened,  that  the  oppressions  which  occasioned 
recourse  to  the  electionof  a  judge,  were  not  felt  over 
all  Israel,  the  power  of  such  judge  extended  only  over 
that  province  which  he  had  delivered.  We  do  not 
find  that  Jephthah  exercised  his  authority  on  this  side 
Jordan ;  nor  that  Barak  extended  his  beyond  it. 
The  authority  of  judges  was  not  inferior  to  that  of 
kings :  it  extended  to  peace  and  war :  they  decided 
causes  with  absolute  authority  ;  but  had  no  power 
to  make  new  laws,  or  to  impose  new  burdens  on  the 
people.  They  were  protectors  of  the  laws,  defenders 
of  religion,  and  avengers  of  crimes,  particularly  of 
idolatry  :  they  were  without  pomp  or  splendor  ;  -dnd. 
without  guards,  train,  or  equipage,  unless  their  own 
wealth  might  enable  them  to  appear  answerable  to 
their  dignity.  Their  revenue  consisted  in  presents 
exclusively. — The  time  of  the  judges  from  Joshua 
to  Saul  is  399  years.  For  their  succession  see  the 
Chronological  Tables.     See  also  Tribunals. 

JUDGES,  THE  Book  of,  is  by  some  ascribed  to 
Phinehas,  by  others  to  Ezra,  or  to  Hezekiah,  and  by 
others  to  Samuel,  or  to  all  the  judges,  who  wrote 
each  the  history  of  his  time  and  judicature.  But  it 
ajjpears  to  be  the  work  of  one  author,  who  lived 
after  the  time  of  the  judges  ;  and  he  is  generally 
thought  to  be  Samuel,  for  the  following  reasons  : — 
(1.)  The  author  lived  at  a  time  when  the  Jebusites 
were  masters  of  Jerusalem,  and  consequently  before 
David,  Judg.  i.  21.  (2.)  It  appears  that  the  Hebrew 
commouw'ealth  was  then  governed  by  kings,  since 
the  author  observes,  in  several  ])laces,  that  at  such  a 
time,  there  was  no  king  in  Israel. 

There  are  considerable  difficulties,  however,  against 
this  opinion,  as  Judg.  xviii.  30,  31  :  "And  the  chil- 
dren of  Dan  made  Jonathan  and  his  sons  priests  in  the 
tribe  of  Dan,  until  the  day  of  the  captivity  of  the 
land.  And  they  set  them  up  Micah's  graven  image, 
which  he  made,  all  the  time  that  the  house  of  God 
was  in  Shiloh."  Now,  the  tabernacle  or  house  of 
God  was  not  at  Shiloh  till  about  the  time  of  Samuel's 
first  appearance  as  a  prophet ;  for  then  it  was  brought 
from  Shiloh  and  carried  to  the  camp,  ■«  here  it  was 
taken  by  the  Philistines  ;  and  after  this  time  it  was 
sent  back  to  Kirjath-jearim,  1  Sam.  iv.  4,  5,  &c.  ;  vi. 
21.  As  to  the  ca])tivity  of  the  tribe  of  Dan,  it  can 
scarcely,  one  would  think,  be  understood  of  any 
other  than  that  under  Tiglath-pileser,  many  hundred 
years  after  Samuel,  and,  consequently,  he  could  not 
write  this  book  ;  imless  it  be  supposed  that  this  pas- 
sage has  been  added  since. 

.tUDGMICNT  is  taken  (1.)  for  the  power  of  judg- 
ing absolutely  ;  (Dent.  i.  17;  John  v.  27.  )  (2.)  for 
rectitude,  e(|uity,  and  the  other  good  qualities  of  a 
judge  ;  (Ps.  Ixxii.  1  ;  xcix.  4  ;  Ixxxix.  14.)  (3.)  the 
vindictive  justice  and  rigor  of  God's  judgment.  For 
example,  Exod.  xii.  12  ;  Ps.  cxix.  84  ;  Isa.  xxvi.  9. 
(4.)  To  do  judgment  and  justice  denotes  the  exer- 
cise of  all  virtues — justice,  equity,  truth,  and  fidelity, 
Gen.  xviii.  19;  Ps.  cxix.  121  ;  Isa.  v.  7.  (5.)  Judg- 
ment isoflen  put  for  the  laws  of  God,  and  particularly 
for  judicial  laws,  Exod.  xxi.  1  ;  xxiv.  3;  Ps.  cxivii. 
20.     (().)  For  a  court  of  justice.    See  Tribunals. 

It  is  not  improbable,  that  the  decisions  given  from 
the  oracle,  or  by  the  priests,  in  cases  of  difficulty, 


JUD 


[  586  ] 


JUDITH 


which  had  been  brought  to  Jerusalem,  according  to 
the  law,  formed,  in  process  of  time,  a  body  of  judg- 
ments, distinguished  as  being  divine  :  hence,  in  the 
Psalms,  we  frequently  read  of  the  judgment  of  God 
being  according  to  truth,  to  justice,  to  equity  ;  mean- 
ing, not  his  judgment,  in  the  sense  of  punishment 
inflicted  on  uidividuals,  or  on  nations  ;  but  his  legal 
or  discriminative  decisions.  On  the  other  hand,  care 
should  be  taken  not  to  confound  the  divine  judg- 
ments in  the  sense  of  punishments — evils  inflicted — 
with  those  decisions  which  were  merely  judicial  and 
administrative. 

Judgment  is  taken  for  the  last  judgment.  "  It  is 
appointed  that  all  men  should  die,  and  that  judgment 
should  follow,"  Heb.  ix.  27.  In  Joel  iii.  2,  the  Lord 
says,  "  that  he  will  gather  together  all  the  nations  in 
the  valley  of  Jehoshaphat,  and  will  enter  into  judg- 
ment with  them,  to  avenge  his  people,  whom  they 
have  oppressed."  (See  also  Ecclus.  xi.  9  ;  Ps.  cxliii.  2.) 

Judgment  of  zeal.  The  Jews  aflirm,  that  under 
particular  circumstances,  when  any  one  saw  a  Jew 
offending  against  God,  or  violating  the  law,  or  even 
if  any  one  saw  a  heathen,  who  would  engage  the 
people  in  irregularities,  in  idolatry,  or  in  the  breach 
of  God's  laws,  they  might  with  impunity  kill  him  ; 
and,  without  any  form  of  justice,  remove  this  scandal 
from  the  people.  They  cite  the  example  of  Phine- 
has,  son  of  Eleazar,  who,  having  seen  an  Isi-aelite 
enter  the  tent  ofaMidianitish  woman,  took  a  javelin, 
followed  them,  and  killed  them  both,  (Numb.  xxv.  6, 
&c.)  and  also  the  example-  of  Mattathias,  the  father 
of  the  Maccabees,  who,  in  his  transport  of  zeal, 
killed  an  Israelite  while  he  was  sacrificing  to  false 
gods,  1  Mac.  ii.  24,  25.  But  the  inconveniences  of 
this  sort  of  judgment  are  very  evident :  an  inconsid- 
erate multitude,  a  provoked  Israelite,  or  a  fanatic, 
might  believe  themselves  allowed  to  kill  any  man 
whom  they  wildly  fancy  to  be  an  enemy  to  the  in- 
terests of  God  and  religion.  With  this  mistaken 
zeal  the  Jews  stoned  Stephen,  they  laid  hands  on 
Paul,  determined  on  his  death,  and  more  than  forty 
men  made  a  vow,  neither  to  eat  nor  drink  tiU  they 
had  killed  him.  James,  bishop  of  Jerusalem,  was 
executed  in  this  manner ;  and  Christ  had  not  escaped 
death  in  the  temple,  when  they  imagined  he  uttered 
blasphemy,  had  he  not  retired,  John  viii.  59. 

Judgment,  Fountain  of,  is  the  same  as  the  Foun- 
tain of  Kadesh,  south  of  the  land  of  promise,  the 
waters  of  which  were  called  the  Waters  of  Strife,  be- 
cause Moses  was  here  contradicted  and  provoked  by 
the  murmurs  of  the  Israelites,  It  was  also  called 
the  Fountain  of  Judgment,  as  here  God  displayed 
his  displeasure  against  his  prophet,  and  warned  him 
that  he  should  not  enter  the  promised  land,  because 
he  had  not  honored  him  in  the  eyes  of  Israel.  Engl, 
version,  En-Mishpal. 

JUDITH,  of  Reuben,  daughter  of  Merari,  and 
widow  of  Manasseh,  is  celebrated  for  her  beauty,  and 
for  the  deliverance  of  Bethulia,  when  besieged  by 
Holofernes.  Being  informed  that  Ozias  had  prom- 
ised to  deliver  the  town  up,  within  five  days,  to  Holo- 
fernes, she  sent  for  Chabris  and  Carmis,  elders  of 
the  people,  and  informed  them  of  her  purj)ose,  but 
without  explaining  the  mode  by  which  it  was  to  be 
effected.  She  then  prayed,  dressed  herself  in  her 
best  apparel,  and  pretending  to  have  fled  froin  the 
city,  went  over  to  the  cainp  of  Holofernes,  and  pros- 
trated herself  before  him.  As  soon  as  he  saw  her,  he 
was  captivated,  and,  ordering  her  to  be  raised,  assured 
her  of  protection. 

Judith  continued  with  Holofemes,  but  had  liberty 


of  going  out  of  the  camp  at  night.  On  the  foaith 
day,  he  sent  Bagoas,  his  eunuch,  to  invite  her  to  ppf-s 
the  night  with  him.  Judith  went,  decorated  with  nil 
her  ornaments,  and  Holofernes  was  so  transporir  d, 
that  he  indulged  largely  in  wine.  In  the  evening,  his 
servants  retired,  and  Bagoas  shut  the  chamber  doors 
and  departed.  Holofernes,  being  overcome  with 
drink,  slept  very  soundly.  Judith,  therefore,  placed 
her  maid  on  the  watch,  and  having  put  up  her  prayer 
to  God,  took  down  the  general's  sabre,  and,  having 
severed  his  head  fi-om  his  body,  wrapped  him  up  in 
the  curtains  of  his  bed,  and,  giving  the  head  to  her 
maid,  directed  her  steps  to  Bethulia.  The  head  of 
Holofernes  being  exhibited  on  the  walls  of  the  city, 
his  army  was  seized  with  dismay  ;  and  their  defeat 
was  so  extraordinary,  that  the  Avhole  country  was 
enriched  with  their  s])oils.  The  high-priest  Jehoia- 
kim  came  from  Jerusalem  to  Bethulia,  to  compliment 
Judith  ;  and  every  thing  belonging  to  Holofernes  was 
presented  to  her,  and  aftervi^ards  consecrated  to  the 
Lord.  Having  lived  105  years  at  Bethvdia,  and  made 
her  maid  free,  she  died ;  and  was  buried  with  her 
husband.  All  tlie  people  lamented  for  her  seven 
days,  and  the  day  on  which  the  victory  was  obtained 
^'ias  placed  among  the  Hebrew  festivals. 

Thei'e  is  gi'eat  dilficulty  relating  to  the  time  of  this 
history.  The  Greek  and  Syriac  seem  to  decide,  that 
it  was  after  the  captivity  of  Babylon  ;  but  the  Vulgate 
may  be  explained  as  referring  to  a  time  preceding 
that  cajnivity.  To  remove  all  difliculties,  and  an- 
swer all  objections,  seems  impossible.  Those  who 
maintain  that  the  history  of  Judith  passed  before  the 
captivity,  and  in  Manasseh's  time,  think  it  sufficient 
to  demonstrate,  that  there  is  nothing  in  the  narrative 
i-epugnant  to  this  assertion.  They  supy)Ose  the 
Nabuchodonozor  in  the  text  to  be  the  Saosduchinus 
in  Ptolemy  ;  that  Arphaxad  is  the  Phraortes  of  He- 
rodotus ;  that  these  two  princes  made  war  with  one 
another  in  the  twelfth  year  of  Saosduchinus ;  that 
Arphaxad  being  overcome,  Saosduchinus  sent  Holo- 
fernes to  reduce  by  force  those  who  refused  to  ac- 
knowledge him  for  sovereign  ;  and  that  at  this  time 
flianasseh,  then  recently  delivered  from  ca})tivity,  in 
Babylon,  now  dwelt  at  Jerusalem,  concerning  him- 
self little  with  the  government,  but  leaving  it  mostly 
to  Joachim,  or  Eliakim,  the  high-priest.  Supposing 
all  this,  there  is  nothing  in  it  against  the  laws  of 
history  or  chronology.  The  war  between  Nabu- 
chodonozor and  Arphaxad  is  j)!aced  A.  IM.  3347, 
the  expedition  and  death  of  Holofernes  in  3348. 
Manasseh  was  carried  to  Babylon  in  3329.  He  re- 
turned some  years  afterwards,  and  died  in  336L 

The  opinion  which  places  the  history  of  Judith 
after  the  captivity  of  Babylon  is  founded  principally 
on  the  authority  of  the  Greek  copy,  which  is  cer- 
tainly very  ancient.  Tliis  translation  says  in  chap. 
iv.  2,  "that  the  Israelites  were  newly  returned  from 
the  captivity,  and  all  the  people  of  Judea  were  lately 
gathered  together,  and  the  vessels,  and  the  altar,  and 
the  house,  were  sanctified  after  the  jjrofanation." 
Achior,  general  of  the  Ammonites,  says  the  same  to 
Holofernes:  "They  were  destroyed  in  many  battles 
very  sore,  and  were  led  captives  into  a  land  that  was 
not  theirs  ;  but  now  they  are  returned  to  their  God, 
and  are  come  up  from  the  places  where  they  were 
scattered,  and  have  possessed  Jerusalem,  where  their 
sanctuary  is."  This  last  passage  is  taken  from  the 
Vulgate;  but  the  Greek  adds,  "And  the  temple  of 
their  God  was  overthrown  ;"  literally,  reduced  to  the 
pavement,  or  trampled  under  foot,  "  and  their  cities 
were  taken  by  the  enemies,  and  they  dwell  again  in 


JUL 


587  ] 


J  US 


the  mountains  which  were  not  inhabited."  It  is  in 
vain  to  endeavor  to  correct  the  sense  of  these  pas- 
sages ;  the  bare  reading  of  them  naturally  leads  us  to 
say,  that  this  history  was  translated  after  the  return 
from  the  captivity  ;  and  thus  almost  all  the  ancients, 
and  many  oi'thc  moderns,  have  believed.  Eusebius 
places  it  in  the  reign  of  Cainbyses;  Syncellus  in  that 
of  Xerxes  ;  Sulpitius  Severus  in  that  of  Ochus  ;  oth- 
ers under  Antiochus  Epiphancs,  and  in  the  time  of 
the  Maccabees. 

The  last  opinion,  Calmet  thinks,  is  the  most  easy 
to  maintain.  Grotius,  and  other  learned  writers,  are 
of  opinion  that  this  book  is  rather  a  parabolical  than 
a  real  history  ;  [Praefatio  ad  Annotationes  in  LAhrum 
Judith ;)  and  Prideaux  almost  gives  u[)  its  authenticity, 
in  consequence  of  the  historical  difficulties  it  involves. 
JULIA,  a  female  Christian,  mentioned  Rom. 
xvi.  15. 

JUIJAS,  a  name  given  by  Philip  to  Bethsaida,  in 
honor  of  Augustus's  wife.     See  Bethsaida. 

T.  JULIUS  C^SAR,  the  first  Roman  emperor, 
had  some  connection  with  Jewish  affairs,  although 
he  is  not  mentioned  in  the  New  Testament.  He  was 
the  son  of  Lucius  Ciesar  and  Aurelia,  daughter  of 
Cotta,  and  born  in  the  year  of  Rome  (554  ;  98  j'ears 
before  Jesus  Christ.  After  having  passed  through 
tlie  offices  of  tribune,  quaestor,  a'dile,  high-priest,  and 
jtrretor  or  governor  of  Spain,  he  obtained  the  consul- 
ship in  the  year  of  Rome  695,  and  chose  the  govern- 
ment of  Gaul,  which  he  reduced  into  the  form  of  a 
province,  after  nini;  or  ten  years  of  govcnnnent. 
After  the  death  of  his  daughter  Julia,  he  went  to  war 
with  Pompcy,  but  when  he  entered  Italy  with  his 
victorious  army,  he  so  terrified  his  euennes,  that  they 
fled.  He  set  at  liberty  Aristobulus,  king  of  Judea, 
and  sent  him  with  two  legions  to  support  his  inter- 
ests in  Syria,  Phoenicia,  and  Arabia.  But  Pompey's 
party  found  jueans  to  poison  him  by  the  way.  Alex- 
ander, son  of  Aristobulus,  had  already  levied  troops 
in  Syria,  to  join  his  father,  but  Pompey  sent  orders 
to  Scipio  in  Syria,  to  have  him  killed,  which  was 
done.  Passing  into  Egypt,  Ca?sar  was  shut  up  in 
Alexandria,  with  some  troops,  where  he  was  very 
much  embarrassed,  and  pressed  by  tlie  Egyptian 
army.  He  therefore  sent  Mithridates  into  Syria  and 
Cilicia,  to  procure  succors  ;  and  Antipater,  father  of 
Ilerod  tlie  Great,  who  governed  the  high-priest  Hir- 
canus,  prince  of  the  Jews,  engaged  assistance  for 
him.  He  himself  marched  into  Egjpt  with  3000 
men,  and,  joining  Mithridates,  they  together  attacked 
Pelusium,  which  they  carried  ;  and  afterwai'ds  ad- 
vanced towards  Alexandria,  where  Antipater  induced 
the  Jews  in  the  canton  of  Onion,  to  open  the  pas- 
sages, and  declare  for  Ca'sar,  who  obtained  a  com- 
plete victor}',  and  thus  became  master  of  F^gypt. 
Ccesar  always  preserved  a  grateful  recollection  of  the 
important  service  Avhich  Antipater  had  rendered 
him.  He  confirmed  all  the  privileges  of  the  Jews  in 
Egypt,  and  caused  a  pillar  to  be  erected,  on  which 
he  ordered  them  all  to  be  engraved,  with  the  decree 
which  confirmed  them.  As  he  passed  through  Pal- 
estine, Antigonus,  son  of  Aristobulus,  threw  himself 
at  his  feet,  and  represented  to  him  in  a  very  affecting 
manner  the  death  of  his  father  and  brother.  The 
first  had  been  poisoned,  and  the  second  beheaded, 
for  supporting  his  interests.  He  desired  to  be  re- 
stored to  his  father's  principality,  and  also  com])lained 
of  the  wrong  done  him  by  Antipater  and  Hircanus. 
Antipater,  however,  who  was  still  in  Cesar's  retimie, 
justified  their  conduct.  In  his  fifth  and  last  consul- 
ship, Cfesar  permitted  Hircanus  to  rebuild  the  walls 


of  Jerusalem,  which  Pompey  had  demolished.     He 
was  killed  March  15,  ante  A.D.  54. 

II.  JU^LIUS,  a  centurion  of  the  cohort  of  Augus- 
tus, to  whom  Fcstus,  governor  of  Judea,  committed 
Paul,  to  be  conveyed  to  Rome.  Julius  had  great  re- 
gard for  Paul,  Acts  xxvii.  1,  &c.  He  suffered  him 
to  land  at  Sidon,  and  to  visit  liis  friends  there  ;  and 
in  a  subsequent  jjart  of  the  voyage  he  opposed  the 
violence  of  the  soldiers  directed  against  the  prisoners, 
generally,  in  order  to  save  the  apostle.  When  he 
delivered  his  charge  to  the  custody  of  die  chief  cap- 
tain of  the  guard,  tliere  can  be  no  doubt  but  that  his 
favorable  report  of  the  apostle  contributed  essentially 
to  the  indulgences  he  afterwards  met  with,  and  by 
which  his  imprisonment  was  greatly  moderated. 

J  UNI  A,  or,  as  some  copies  read,  Jujlia,  is  joined 
with  Andronicus,  in  Rom.  xvi.  7,  "  Salute  Andronicu3 
and  Junia,  my  kinsmen  and  fellow-prisoners,  who  are 
of  note  among  the  apostles." 

JUSTICE  is  generally  put  for  goodness,  equity ; 
that  virtue  which  renders  to  every  man  his  due. 
Sometimes  for  virtue  and  piety  in  general ;  or  for  the 
conjunction  of  all  those  virtues  which  make  a  good 
man,  Ezek.  xviii.  5 — 9.  It  branches  out  into  so  many 
significations,  and  is  applied  so  differently  to  men 
and  things,  that  it  deserves  peculiar  and  even  anx- 
ious investigation.  In  general,  it  seems  to  refer  to 
some  rule,  law,  or  standard,  by  which  a  quality,  an 
intention,  or  an  action,  may  be  estimated.  So  Xen- 
ophon  speaks  of  a  car  as  being  just,  meaning,  what  it 
ought  to  be,  fit  for  the  use  intended  :  and  Pollux  calls 
good  and  fertile  land  just,  and  barren  land  unjust. 
The  same  idea  may  be  transferred  to  man.  Hence 
one  Avho  fulfils  the  law  is  a  just  man ;  he  answers 
the  intention  of  the  lawgiver.  Cicero  says,  justice  is 
used  for  conduct  as  it  regards  man,  but  piety  is  the 
proper  term  as  referring  to  God ;  whence  we  may 
learn  that  the  heathen  acknowledged  the  impotence 
of  man  to  equal  what  God  had  a  right  to  expect; 
though  man  might  be  just  toward  his  fellow  man. 
Still,  those  who  "hunger  and  thirst  after  righteous- 
ness ;"  who  earnestly  desire  complete  rectitude  of 
heart  and  life  ;  who  endeavor  after  perfect  conform- 
ity with  the  rule  of  action,  as  well  in  the  sight  of 
God  as  men,  are  pronounced  blessed. 

As  parts  of  righteousness,  or  justice,  due  from 
man  to  man,  single  virtues  are  sometimes  put  for  the 
whole ;  as  truth,  clemency,  integrity,  &lc.  So  alms 
are  a  species  of  righteousness,  that  is,  from  man  to 
man;  so  kindness  and  moderation,  not  j)ushing  to  the 
utmost,  whether  of  strictness  or  severit}',  those  de- 
mands which  we  have  a  right  to  make  on  others  ;  or 
not  pressing  them  imseasonably,  or  at  all  events  ;  and 
in  these  respects,  and  the  like,  it  may  Well  be,  that 
our  Lord  insists  on  the  righteousness  of  his  disciples 
surpassing  that  of  the  scribes  and  Pharisees,  whom 
he  frequently  brands  with  the  appellation  of  hyp- 
ocrites. 

It  requires  considerable  skill  in  the  Greek  language 
to  trace  the  correct  import  of  this  word  in  the  seve- 
ral places  where  it  occurs,  cither  in  its  direct  forms, 
or  in  collateral  phraseology  ;  and  to  distinguish  when 
it  is  used  in  a  more  classical  or  in  a  more  Hebraical 
sense  : — not  omitting  its  sacerdotal  application,  in  va- 
rious ])arts  of  holy  writ. 

We  ought  not  to  pass  over  a  personification  of  the 
justice  of  God,  rendered  "  vengeance"  in  our  public 
version,  but  properly  importing  the  power  commis- 
sioned by  the  Deity  to  punish  malefactors,  the  divine 
nemtsis.  The  barbarians  said  among  themselves, 
when  they  saw  the  viper  fasten  on  the  hand  of  Paul, 


J  us 


[  588  ] 


JUT 


"  No  doubt  this  man  is  a  murderer,  whom,  though 
he  hatli  escaped  the  sea,  3-et  justice,  divine  justice, 
sufFereth  not  to  Uve,"  Acts  xxviii.  4 ;  a  sentiment 
which  was  founded  in  the  nature  of  tilings,  and  in  a 
deep  sense  of  the  divine  government,  and  which 
was  expressed  in  terms  the  evangehst  has  not  scru- 
pled to  repeat. 

JUSTIFICATION  is  a  term  wliich  implies  that 
the  party  has  been,  or  is,  charged  with  some  matter 
of  coni{)laint,  from  which  he  vindicates  himself,  or  is 
vindicated  by  another,  either  by  producing  proofs  of 
his  innocence,  or  of  his  having  already  suffered  the 
penalty  of  that  transgi-ession  ;  [autrefois  acquit,  of  our 
lawyers  ;)  or  referring  to  some  other  person  who  has 
allegations  on  his  behalf,  which  \Aill  effect  his  justifi- 
cation. Justification,  then,  is  a  law  term,  that  was 
used  in  ancient  times,  and  is  greatly  analogous  to 
our  term  acquitted.  When  sinners  are  charged  with 
their  sins  before  God,  they  cannot  in  any  wise  prove 
their  innocence,  since  they  are  accused  of  only  feona 
JiJe  crimes.  They  cannot  say  they  have  been  for- 
merly acquitted,  Iji  any  other  sense  than  by  roference 
to  an  expected  pardon  through  God's  grace,  and  Ids 
proposals  of  mercy.  Though  some  sins  are  evident- 
ly punish-,d  in  this  life,  all  are  not,  as  is  equally  evi- 
dent ;  but  the  allegations  which  may  be  offered  by  a 
mediator-party  remain  in  full  force.      When  an  Is- 


raelite had  transgressed  against  any  divine  law,  he 
acknowledged  his  transgi-ession,  brought  his  sacri- 
fice to  the  altar,  confessed  over  it  his  fault,  thereby 
symbolically  transferring  his  guilt ;  and  the  victim 
was  the  substituted  sufferer,  which  being  sacnficially 
offered,  the  offerer  had  complied  with  the  appoint- 
ments of  the  law ;  so  that  should  he  be  afterwards 
charged  with  that  crime,  he  might  jjlead  autrefois 
acquit.  But  sacrifices  were  not  in  their  nature  capa- 
ble of  making  absolute  reconciliation  between  God 
and  man  ;  they  could  only  refer  to  a  nobler  blood, 
which  should  accomplish  that  perfectly  which  they 
did  imperfectly,  should  effectually  vindicate  the 
guilty  from  the  consequences  of  their  guilt,  and  should 
justify,  when  appealed  to,  from  accusations  of  con- 
science, of  the  world,  of  human  laws,  or  of  the  divine 
la\v,  through  the  gracious  acceptance  of  the  divine 
Lawgiver. 

I.  JUSTUS,  surnamed  Barsabas,  see  Joskph. 

II.  JUSTUS,  a  Jew,  who  was  at  Rome  w  ith  Paul 
(A.  D.  C2.)  when  he  wrote  to  the  Colossiaus.  The 
apostle  says  that  Jesus,  called  Justus,  and  Marcus, 
were  his  only  fellow-workers  unto  the  kingdom  of 
God,  Col.  iv.  11. 

JUTTAH,  a  city  of  Judah,  (Josh.  xv.  55.)  which 
Calmet  takes  to  be  the  Ithnam  of  Josh.  xv.  23.  Eu- 
sebius  places  it  eight  miles  from  Hebron,  east. 


K 


KAT 


KED 


KABZEEL,  a  city  in  the  southern  part  of  Judah, 
(Josh.  XV.  21.)  called  Jekabseel,  Neh.  xi.  25. 

KADESH,Or  KADESH-BAR?<EA,OrEN-MlSHPHAT, 

(Gen.  xiv.  7.)  a  city  and  desert  around  it,  in  the  south- 
eastern border  of  the  promised  land,  Numb,  xxxiv.  4  ; 
Josh.  XV.  3.  Here  3Iiriam  died  ;  (Numb.  xx.  1.)  and 
here  ]Moses  and  Aaron,  distrusting  God's  power,  when 
they  smote  the  rock  at  the  waters  of  strife,  were 
appointed  to  die  without  the  satisfaction  of  entering 
the  promised  land.  Numb,  xxvii.  14.  The  king  of 
Kadesh  was  killed  Jjy  Joshua,  (Josh,  xii.22.)  aucl  the 
city  given  to  Judah.  The  situation  of  Kadesh  has 
hcim  fullv  treated  of  in  the  article  Exodus,  p.  419. 

KADMONITES,  (Gen.  xv.  19.)  a  tribe  of  people 
who  inhabited  the  promised  laud  east  of  the  Jordan, 
about  mount  Hermon.  They  were  descended  from 
Canaan  the  son  of  Ham.  Caflmus,  the  founder  of 
Thebes  in  Bosotia,  has  been  conjectured  to  have  been 
originally  a  Kadmonite,  and  his  wife  Ilennione  to 
have  been  so  named  from  mount  Hermon.  The 
Kadmonitcs,  says  Calmet,  were  Hivites  :  the  word 
llivitcs  is  derived  from  a  root  which  signifies  a  ser- 
pent ;  and  fable  says,  that  Cadmus  sowed  serpents' 
teeth,  from  which  sprung  up  armed  men  ;  because 
he  settled  at  Thebes,  his  Hivites,  or  Kadmonitcs,  who 
were  valiant  and  martial. 

I.  KAN  AH,  a  brook  on  the  borders  of  Ephraim 
and  Maiiasseh,  (Josh,  xvi.8;  xvii.9.)  which  falls  into 
the^Teditorranean,  a  few  miles  south  of  Ccsarea. 

JI.  KANAH,  a  city  of  Asher,  Josh.  xix.  28. 

KARKAA,  a  town  on  the  southern  confines  of  the 
tribe  of  Judah,  Josh.  xv.  3. 

KATTATH,  the  limit  of  the  tribe  of  Zebulun, 
(Josh.  xix.  15.)  in  Judg.  i.  .30,  called  Kithron,  which  is 
the  same  in  sense.  The  A^dgate,  LXX,  Syriac,  and 
Arabic,  render  these   names,  which  are   from  the 


same  root,  by  small,  trifling,  insignificant  things  :  the 
Chaldee  to  the  same  effect ;  whence  the  name  of  this 
city,  perhaps,  might  be  analogous  to  our  name  littlc- 
toivn,  Littleton. 

I.  KEDAR,  a  region  in  the  desert  of  the  Agarenes, 
Gen.  XXV.  13 ;  1  Chron.  i.  29. 

II.  KEDAR,  a  city,  as  some  think,  called  by  Jose- 
phus,  Camala,  Isa.  xlii.  11  ;  Ix.  7 ;  Ezek.  xxvii.  21  ; 
Ps.  cxx.  5  ;  Jer.  ii.  10  ;  xlix.  28. 

III.  KEDAR,  a  son  of  Ishmael,  (Gen.  xxv.  13.)  the 
father  of  the  Kedarenians,  Cedrei,  mentioned  by 
Pliny,  (II.  N.  v.  11.)  who  dwelt  in  the  neighborhood 
of  the  Nabathfeans,  in  Arabia  Deserta.  These  peo- 
ple living  in  tents,  it  is  not  possible  to  show  the  place 
of  their  habitation,  because  they  often  changed  it. 
Arabia  Deserta  is  sometimes  called  Kedar ;  but  the 
Kedarenians  dwelt  ])rincipally  in  the  south  of  Arabia 
Deserta,  or  in  the  north  of  Arabia  Petra?a:  there 
were  some  as  far  as  the  Red  sea.  Cant.  i.  5 ;  Isa. 
xlii.  11. 

KEDEM,  see  East. 

KEDEMAH,  Ishmael's  youngest  son,  who  dwelt, 
as  did  his  brethren,  east  of  the  mountains  of  Gilead, 
Gen.  xxv.  15.  The  town  of  Kcdemoth  might  at  first, 
perhaps,  belong  to  his  descendants;  ])ut  we  cannot 
consider  him  as  father  of  the  Kadmonitcs;  (Gen.xv. 
19.)  for  these  were  ancient  inhabitants  of  Canaan, 
and  already  powerful  in  the  time  of  Abraliani. 

KEDEMOTH,  a  town  of  Reuben,  east  of  the 
brook  Anion,  (Josh.  xiii.  18.)  and  one  of  the  stations 
of  the  Hebrews  in  the  wilderness;  (Deut.  ii.2fi.)  given 
to  the  sons  of  Merari,  the  Linite,  1  Chron.  vi.  79.  The 
name  also  included  the  desert  around  it. 

I.  KED£sH,  a  city  in  Judah,  Josh.  xv.  23. 

II.  KEDESH,  a  city  in  Naphtali,  Josh,  xii.22; 
xix.  37  ;  xxi.  32 ;  Judg.  iv.  6, 9 ;  1  Chron.  vi.  76. 


KEY 


[  589  ] 


KIN 


III.  KEDESH,  a  city  in  Issachar,  1  Chron.  vi.  72 ; 
called  Kishion,  Josli.  xix.  20 ;  xxi.  28. 

IV.  KEDESH  NAPHTALI,  called  by  Josephus 
Cadesa,  or  Cjedesa,  and  in  the  Greek  of  Tobit  (i.  2.) 
Cadis,  lay  in  Upper  Galilee,  above  Naasson,  having 
Saplu.t  to  the  north.  It  was  given  to  Naphtali,  and 
afterwards  ceded  to  the  Lcvites  of  Gershoni's  family, 
(Josh,  xix.37.)  and  became  a  city  of  refuge,  Josh.  xx.  7. 

KEDKON,  see  Kidron. 

KEIIELATllAH,  an  encampment  of  Israel  in  the 
wilderness,  Numb,  xxxiii.  22.  As  it  ajjpears  to  de- 
note "  the  i)Iace  of  assembly,"  some  have  thought 
the  gathering  and  revolt  of  Korah,  Dathan  and  Abi- 
ram  iiappened  here. 

KEILAH,  a  town  of  Judah,  (Josh.  xv.  44.)  which 
Eusebius  i)laces  seventeen  miles  from  Eleutheropolis, 
on  the  side  of  Hebron  ;  and  Jerome  eight  miles  from 
the  late  city.  It  is  said  that  the  prophet  Habakkuk's 
tomi)  was  shown  there. 

KEMUEL,  the  third  son  of  Nahor,  and  father  of 
the  Syrians  ;  or  rather  of  Aram,  Gen.  xxii.  21.  He 
had  a  son  surnained  "the  Syrian,"  or  "the  Aram- 
ite  ;"  for  the  Syrians  were  really  derived  from  Aram, 
a  son  of  Sliem.  Kemuel  may  have  given  name  to 
the  Kamilitcs,  a  people  of  Syria  Ijing  west  of  the 
Euphrates. 

KENATII,  a  town  of  Manasseh,  beyond  Jordan, 
(Numb,  xxxii.  42.)  named  Nobah,  after  Nobah,  an 
Israelite,  had  conquered  it.  Eusebius  places  it  in  the 
Trachonitis,  about  Bozra ;  and  Phny  in  the  Decapolis, 
lib.  V.  cap.  18. 

I.  KEN  AZ,  father  of  Othniel  and  Caleb,  Josh.  xv. 
17;  Judg.  i.  13;  iii.  9,  &c. 

II.  KENAZ,  the  fourth  son  of  Eliphaz,  a  duke,  or 
chief,  of  Edom,  Gen.  xxxvi.  1.5. 

KENI,  a  region  of  the  Philistine  country,  1  Sam. 
xxvii.  10 ;  Judg.  i.  IG.  "  The  children  of  the  Kenite," 
should  be,  according  to  the  LXX,  "  of  Jethro,  the 
Kenite.;' 

KENITES,  a  people  who  dwelt  west  of  the  Dead 
sea,  and  extended  themselves  far  into  Arabia  Petrsea. 
Jethro,  the  father-in-law  of  3Ioses,  was  a  Kenite, 
and  out  of  regard  to  him  all  of  this  tribe  who  sub- 
mitted to  the  Hebrews  wei-e  suffered  to  live  in  their 
OAvn  countrj'.  The  rest  fled,  in  all  probability,  to  the 
Edomites  and  Amalekites.  (See  1  Sam.  xv.  6.)  The 
lands  of  the  Kenites  were  in  Judah's  lot.  Balaam, 
when  invited  by  Balak  to  curse  Isi-ael,  stood  on  a 
mountain,  whence,  addressing  himself  to  the  Kenites, 
he  said,  "  Strong  is  thy  dwelling-place,  and  thou  put- 
test  thy  nest  in  a  rock  ;  nevertheless  the  Kenite  shall 
be  wasted  until  x\shur  shall  carry  thee  away  captive," 
Numb.  xxiv.  21.  They  were  carried  into  captivity 
by  Nebuchadnezzar. 

KENIZZITES,  an  ancient  people  of  Canaan, 
whose  land  God  promised  to  the  descendants  of 
Abraham,  (Gen.  xv.  19.)  and  who  dwelt,  it  is  thought, 
in  Idumaja.  Kenaz,  son  of  Eliphaz,  probably  took 
his  name  from  the  Kenizzites,  among  whom  he 
settled. 

KETURAH,  Abraham's  second  wife,  (Gen.  xxv. 
1,  2.)  is  thought  by  the  Jews  to  be  the  same  as  Ha- 
gar.  We  knownothingof  her,  except  as  the  mother 
of  Zimran,  Jokshan,  Medan,  3Iidian,  Ishbak,  and 
Shuah.  Abraham  gave  presents  to  these,  and  sent 
them  east  into  Arabia  Deseita. 

KEY,  an  instrument  freq\iently  mentioned  in 
Scripture,  as  well  in  a  natural  as  in  a  figurative  sense. 
The  keys  of  the  ancients  were  very  difl'erent  from 
ours  ;  because  their  doors  and  trunks  were  general- 
ly closed  with  bands,  and  the  key  served  only  to 


loosen  or  fasten  those  bands.  Chardin  says,  that  a 
lock  in  the  East  is  like  a  little  harrow,  which  enters 
half  way  into  a  wooden  staple,  and  that  the  key  is  a 
wooden  handle,  with  points  at  the  end  of  it,  which 
are  pushed  into  the  staple,  and  so  raise  this  little  har- 
row. A  key  was  a  symbol  of  power  or  authority. 
Isa.  xxii.  22,  "And  the  key  of  the  house  of  David 
will  I  lay  upon  his  shoulder :  he  shall  open  and  none 
shall  shut ;  he  shall  shut  and  none  shall  open,"  i.  e. 
he  shall  be  grand  master  and  principal  officer  of  his 
prince's  house.  Christ  gives  Peter  authority  in  his 
church,  (Matt.  xvi.  19.)  the  key  of  the  kingdom  of 
heaven,  the  power  of  binding  and  loosing ;  that  is,  of 
opening  and  shutting ;  for  this  frequently  consisted 
only,  as  we  have  said,  in  tying  and  untying.  Isaiah 
remarks,  that  Eliakim  should  wear  his  key  upon  his 
shoulder,  as  a  mark  of  office,  of  his  power  to  open 
and  shut  with  authority.  Callimachus  says,  that 
Ceres  carried  a  key  upon  her  shoulder ;  a  custom 
which  appears  very  strange  to  us ;  but  the  ancients 
had  large  keys  in  the  form  of  a  sickle,  and  which, 
from  their  w  eight  and  shape,  could  not  otherwise  be 
carried  conveniently. 

Christ  reproaches  the  scribes  and  Pharisees  with 
having  taken  away  the  key  of  knowledge ;  (Luke  xi. 
52.)  that  is,  with  reading  and  studying  the  Scriptures, 
without  advantage  to  themselves,  and  without  dis- 
covering to  others  tlie  truth ;  wliich  in  some  sort 
they  held  captive  in  unrigliteousness,  Rom.  i.  18.  He 
also  says  (Rev.  i.  18.)  that  he  has  the  key  of  death 
and  hell ;  that  is,  power  to  bring  to  the  grave,  or  to 
deliver  from  it ;  to  appoint  to  life  or  to  death.  The 
rabbins  say,  that  God  has  reserved  to  himself  four 
keys  ;  the  key  of  rain,  the  key  of  the  grave,  the  key 
of  fruitfulness,  and  the  key  of  barrenness. 

KEZIZ,  a  valley,  and  perhaps  a  city,  in  Benjamin, 
Josh,  xviii.  21. 

KIBEROTH-AVAH,  or  Kiberoth-hattaavah, 
the  graves  of  lust,  was  one  of  the  encampments  of  Is- 
rael in  the  wilderness,  where  they  desired  of  God 
flesh  for  their  sustenance,  declaring  they  were  tired 
of  manna.  Numb.  xi.  34,  35.  Quails  were  sent  in 
great  quantities,  but  while  the  meat  was  in  then- 
mouths,  (Ps.  Ixxviii.  30.)  God  smote  so  great  a 
number  of  them,  that  the  place  was  called  the  graves 
of  those  who  lusted. 

KIBZAIM,  a  city  of  Ephraim,  (Josh.  xxi.  22.)  but 
as  the  name  is  in  the  dual  form,  it  is  probable  there 
were  two  cities  comprehended  under  it,  adjoining 
each  other. 

KID,  see  Lajib. 

KIDRON,  a  brook  in  the  valley  east  of  Jerusalem, 
between  the  city  and  the  mount  of  Olives,  and  which 
discharges  itself  along  the  valley  of  Jehoshaphat,  and 
winding  between  rugged  and  desolate  hills  through 
the  wilderness  of  St.  Saba,  into  the  Dead  sea.  It  has 
generally  but  little  water,  and  often  none  ;  but  after 
storms,  or  heavy  rains,  it  sw'ells,  and  runs  with  much 
impetuosity.  A  branch  of  the  valley  of  Kidron  was 
the  sink  of  Jerusalem,  and  here  Asa,  Hezekiah,  and 
Josiah  burnt  the  idols  and  abominations  of  the  apos- 
tate Jews,  2  Kings  xxiii.  4.  (See  Gehenna.)  The 
blood  poured  out  at  the  foot  of  the  altar  in  the  tem- 
ple, as  well  as  other  filth,  ran  by  a  drain  into  the 
brook  Kidron  ;  a  fact  which  confutes  the  notion, 
that  virtue  was  imparted  to  the  pool  of  Bethesda 
from  the  blood  of  the  sacrifices,  as  some  have  sui)- 
posed.     (Babyl.  Jom.  58.  2.) 

KIN  AH,  a  town  of  Judah,  Josh.  xv.  22. 

KINGDOM  OF  HEAVEN  is  an  expression  used 
m  the  New  Testament,  to  signify  the  reign,  dispen- 


KIN 


[  590  ] 


KING 


eation,  or  administration,  of  Jesus  Christ.  The  an- 
cient prophets,  when  describing  the  characters  of  the 
Messiah,  scarcely  ever  failed  to  use  the  name  of  king 
or  deliverer  ;  so  that  when  they  spoke  of  his  huniili- 
ations  and  sutferings,  they  interspersed  hints  of  his 
power,  his  reign,  and  his  divinity.  Thus  Zachariah, 
foretelling  his  entry  into  Jerusalem,  says,  "  Behold, 
thy  King  cometh  unto  thee.  He  is  just,  and  having 
salvation,  lowly  and  riding  upon  an  ass,  and  upon  a 
colt  the  foal  of  an  ass."  The  Jews  and  the  apostles, 
accustomed  to  this  way  of  speaking,  expected  the 
kingdom  of  the  Messiah  to  resemble  that  of  a  tempo- 
ral king,  exercising  power  on  his  enemies,  restoring 
the  Hebrew  monarchy,  and  the  throne  of  l)avid  to 
all  its  splendor ;  subduing  the  nations,  and  rewarding 
his  friends  and  faithful  servants,  in  proportion  to 
their  fidelity  and  services.  Hence  the  contests  among 
the  apostles  about  precedency  in  his  kingdom ;  and 
hence  the  sons  of  Zebedee  desired  the  two  chief 
places  in  it.  Jesus,  to  prove  that  he  was  the  true 
Messiah,  often  declared,  that  the  kingdom  of  heaven 
was  at  hand,  or  was  come ;  and  when  he  spoke  of 
Avhat  was  to  happen  after  his  resurrection,  he  said, 
such  a  thing  would  be  seen  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven. 
He  frequently  began  his  parables,  "  The  kingdom  of 
heaven  is  like  unto — a  rich  man — a  father  of  a  fami- 
ly— a  treasure,"  &c. 

"The  kingdom  of  heaven"  sometimes  denotes 
eternal  bliss,  (Matt.  vii.  21 ;  xix.  14.)  and  sometimes, 
and  more  frequently,  the  church  of  Christ,  Matt.xiii. 
47, 48.  [Our  Saviour  designates  usually  by  the  phrase 
kingdom  of  heaven,  the  community  of  those,  who, 
united  through  his  Spirit  under  him,  as  their  Head, 
rejoice  in  the  truth,.and  enjoy  a  holy  and  bhssful  life, 
in  communion  with  him.     R. 

The  kingdom  OF  GOD  is  often  synonymous 
with  the  kingdom  of  heaven  ;  but  in  the  Old  Testa- 
ment the  kingdom,  or  reign,  of  God,  signifies  his  in- 
finite power,  or,  more  properly,  his  sovereign  author- 
ity over  all  creatures,  kingdoms,  and  hearts.  Wisdom 
says,  (x.  10.)  God  showed  his  kingdom  to  Jacob  ;  i.  e. 
he  opened  the  kingdom  of  heaven  to  him  in  showing 
him  the  mysterious  ladder  by  which  the  angels  as- 
cended and'desccndcd  ;  and  Ecclesiasticus  (xlvii.  13.) 
says,  God  gave  to  David  the  covenant  assurance, 
or'pron)ise  of  the  kingdoin,  for  himself  and  his  suc- 
cessors. 

KING.  The  Israelites  had  no  kings  till  Saul ; 
having  been  governed,  first,  by  ciders,  as  in  Egypt ; 
then  by  rulers  of  God's  appointment,  as  Moses  and 
Joshua;  then  by  judges,  as  Othniel,  Ehud,  Shamgar, 
Gideon,  Jephthah,  Samson,  Eli,  Samuel ;  and  lastly, 
by  kings,  as  Saul,  David,  Solomon.  For  the  succes- 
sion of  the  kings,  see  the  Chronological  Tables. 

After  their  return  from  captivity,  (A.M.  34G8,)  the 
Jews  lived  under  the  dominion  of  the  Persians  140 
years,  till  Alexander  the  Great,  who  came  to  Jerusa- 
lem, 3672.  After  his  death,  (3681,)  Judea  submitted 
to  the  kings  of  Egypt,  and  then  to  the  kings  of  Syria ; 
but  Antioclius  E|)ii)hanes  having  forced  them  to 
take  arms  fur  the  defence  of  their  religion,  in  3836, 
the  Maccabees  recovered  by  degrees  their  ancient 
liberty,  and  lived  iudcpcndciit,  from  the  government 
of  John  Hircanus,  in  3874,  till  Judea  was  reduced 
into  a  province  by  the  Romans. 

In  Scripture,  the  word  king  does  not  always  imply 
the  same  degree  of  power,  or  importance ;  neither 
does  it  im|)ly  the  magnitude  of  the  dominion  or  ter- 
ritory of  this  national  officer.  Many  persons  are 
called  kings  in  Scripture,  whom  we  should  rather 
denominate  chiefs  or  leaders ;  and  many  single  towns, 


or  towns  with  their  adjacent  villages,  are  said  to  have 
had  kings.  Being  unaware  of  this  lower  sense  of  the 
word  king,  many  persons  have  been  embarrassed  by 
the  passage.  Dent,  xxxiii.  4, 5,  "  Moses  commanded  us 
a  law — he  was  king  in  Jeshurun,"  or  king  among  the 
upright ;  i.  e.  he  was  the  principal  among  the  assem- 
bly of  the  heads  of  the  Israelites.  He  was  the  chief, 
the  leader,  the  guide  of  his  people,  fulfilling  the  du- 
ties of  a  king,  though  not  king  in  the  same  sense  as 
David  or  Solomon.  This  also  explains  Gen.  xxxiv. 
31,  "These  kings  reigned  in  Edom,  before  there 
reigned  any  king  over  the  children  of  Israel :  for 
Moses,  though  he  was  king  in  an  inferior  sense,  yet 
did  not  reign,  in  the  higher  sense,  over  the  children 
of  Israel,"  the  constitution  not  being  monarchical 
under  him.  These  remarks  will  remove  the  surprise 
which  some  persons  have  felt,  at  seeing  that  so  small 
a  country  as  Canaan  contained  thirty-one  kings,  who 
were  conquered,  (Josh,  xii.9 — 24.)  beside  many  who, 
no  doubt,  escaped  the  arms  of  Joshua.  Adonizedek, 
himself  no  very  powerful  king,  mentions  seventy 
kings,  whom  he  had  subdued  and  mutilated.  (See 
also  1  Kings  iv.  20.) 

Idolatrous  nations,  and  even  the  Hebrews,  some- 
times called  their  gods  kings ;  thus,  Moloch,  Mil- 
chom,  Adi'amelech,  and  Anainelech,  are  names  of 
deities  importing  the  title  of  king.  The  words  of 
Isaiah,  (xxxvii.  13.)  "  Where  is  the  king  of  Hamath, 
and  the  king  of  Arphad,  and  the  king  of  the  city  of 
Sepharvaim,  Henah,  and  Ivah  ? "  seem  parallel  to 
those  of  chap,  xxxvi.  19,  "Where  are  the  gods  of 
Hamath  and  Arphad  ?  Where  are  the  gods  of  Se- 
pharvaim ?"  In  Amos  i.  15,  God  threatens  Milchom, 
the  god  of  the  Moabites,  with  sending  him  and  his 
princes  into  captivity.  In  Scripture,  God  is  called  in 
every  page  almost,  the  king  of  the  Hebrews.  See 
Hebrews  {gover7xment.) 

King  is  used  metaphorically  by  Job,  (chap,  xviii. 
14.)  "the  king  of  terrors  ;"  i.  e.  death  ;  the  ruler,  the 
supreme  of  terrors.  So  chap.  xli.  34,  "  The  Lcviatlian 
is  king  ;  i.  e.  chief,  principal,  superior  over  all  the 
children  of  pride  ;"  those  who  most  pride  themselves 
on  their  stations,  or  qualities,  are  neveitheiess  com- 
pelled to  acknowledge,  that  the  Lcvir.tlinn  is  their 
superior ;  and  to  n.'frain  from  comparing,  or  equal- 
ling, their  powers  to  those  6f  that  tyrant  of  the 
waters.  Tlic  word  is  also  used  figunuively  by  our 
Lord  :  (John  xviii.  37.)  Pilate  said,  "Art  ihou  a  king 
then?"  Jesus  answered,  "Thou  sayest,"  thou  cx- 
])ressest  what  is  the  fact ;  I  am  a  king,  but  not  of  this 
world.  Accordingly,  in  Rev.  i.  15,  we  read  of  Jesus 
Christ  the  prince  of  the  kings  of  the  earth,  i.  c.  supe- 
rior to  all  earthly  monarchs  ; — and  in  1  Tim.  i.  17, 
of  "  The  King  eternal,  iuuuortal  ;"  and  again,  (vi.  15.) 
"Our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  the  blessed  and  only  poten- 
tate :  King  of  kings  and  Lord  of  lords."  See  also 
Rev.  xvii.  14.  This  ap))lication  of  the  title  "king" 
to  our  Saviour,  subjected  the  primitive  Christians  to 
many  inconveniences ;  as  appears,  among  other 
l)laces,  from  Acts  xvii.  7,  where  they  are  accused  of 
acting  "  contrary  to  tlie  decree  of  Ca'sar,  saying, 
there  is  another  king,  one  Jesus." 

King  sometimes  signifies  government,  such  as  a 
king  usually  exercises ;  even  tliough  it  be  not  con- 
ducted under  one  person.  Rev.  xvii.  10,  "There 
are  (rather,  have  been)  seven  kings — forms  of  gov- 
ernment ;  five  are  fallen,  one  is  ;  the  other  is  not 
come  ;"  so  ver.  12. 

We  may  now  proceed  to  give  an  account  of  the 
j)er9on  and  office,  with  other  circumstances  con- 
nected wath  the  Hebrew  kings. 


KING 


[  syi  ] 


KING 


It  appears  to  have  been  a  maxim  of  the  Hebrew 
law,  that  the  person  of  the  king  was  inviolable, 
whatever  his  ciiaracter  may  have  been,  1  Sam.  xxiv. 
5 — 8  ;  2  Sam.  i.  14.  We  have  already  seen,  that  by 
the  law  of  Moses  the  Israelitish  monarchy  was  to  be 
hereditary,  and  the  history  of  tlie  Jews  shows  that 
this  law  was  strictly  attended  to.  Nevertheless,  it 
appears  from  the  history  of  David,  that  the  succession 
did  not  necessarily  go  by  the  right  of  primogeniture, 
for  he  appointed  Solomon  as  his  successor,  in  pref- 
erence to  Adonijah,  his  elder  brother.  In  this  the 
people  yielded  to  the  will  of  the  king  ;  and  that  the 
subjects  really  considered  the  right  as  inherent  in 
him,  appears  the  more  clearly  from  the  circumstance, 
that  David  at  the  time  he  caused  Solomon  to  be  an- 
ointed, was  scarcely  more  than  nominally  king,  while 
Adonijali,  his  eldest  son,  had  Joab,  the  commander- 
in-ciiief  of  the  army,  on  his  side.  No  sooner,  how- 
ever, was  the  king's  mandate  made  known,  than  it 
was  obeyed,  and  Solomon  seated  on  the  throne.  This 
right,  exercised  by  David  in  a  matter  undetermined 
by  tlic  Mosaic  laws,  and  which  he  i)robably  derived 
from  a  capitulation,  wherein  the  Israelites,  from  their 
great  partiality  to  him,  acceded  to  his  wishes,  in 
order  to  have  rather  the  best  than  the  eldest  of  his 
?nns  for  their  king,  seems  to  have  been  the  great 
cause  of  all  the  commotions  which  arose  during  his 
reign.  His  first-born  sou  was  Anuion,  whom  Absa- 
lom despatched,  probably  not  so  much  to  revenge 
the  disgrace  of  his  beloved  sister,  Tamar,  as  to  be- 
come eldest  son  himself  As  soon  as  he  was  so,  and 
had  regained  his  father's  favor,  he  set  on  foot  a  re- 
bellion ;  because  he  saw  that  lie  had  otherwise  no 
chance  of  succeeding  to  the  throne,  from  the  pref- 
ei'cnce  his  father  gave  to  Solomon.  He  was  slain  in 
battle  :  and  then  tlie  eldest  son,  Adonijah,  formed  in 
his  father's  old  age  a  fresh  conspiracy,  in  order  to  be- 
come king.  From  all  this  it  is  plain,  that  such  a 
despotic  right  as  allows  a  king  thus  to  determine  his 
successor  arbitrarily,  and  not  according  to  an  inva- 
riable law,  is  extremely  prejudicial  to  his  own  curi- 
osit}',  as  well  as  to  the  peace  of  the  state.  After 
David's  time,  we  find  none  of  the  kings  exercising 
it ;  because  probably  it  had  been  altered,  from  an  ob- 
servation of  its  unhappy  effects. 

The  inauguration  of  the  king  next  demands  our 
attention.  The  first  thing  in  this  j)ompous  ceremony 
was  the  anointing.  Godwyn,  following  the  Talmud- 
ical  rabbins,  asserts,  that  all  kings  were  not  anointed, 
but  those  only  in  whom  the  succession  was  broken  ; 
and  then  the  first  of  the  family  was  anointed  for  his 
successors,  except  in  cases  of  dissension,  where  there 
was  required  a  renewed  unction,  for  the  confirmation 
of  his  authority.  There  can  be  little  doubt,  however, 
that  all  the  kings  were  anointed  ;  hence,  king  and 
anointed  seem  to  have  been  used  as  synonymous 
terms,  1  Sam.  ii.  10;  2  Sam.  i.  14,  21.'  This  an- 
ointing was  sometimes  performed  privately  by  a 
pro])het,  (1  Sam.  x.  1  ;  xvi.  1 — 13 ;  1  Kings  xix.  16  ; 
2  Kings  ix.  1 — 0.)  ancl  was  a  symbolical  j)rediction 
that  the  person  so  anointed  would,  at  some  future 
period,  ascend  the  throne.  After  the  monarchy  was 
established,  this  unction  was  performed  by  a  )iriest, 
(1  Kings  i.  39.)  at  first  in  some  i)ublic  place,  (1  Kings 
i.  32 — 34.)  and  afterwards,  in  the  temple,  the  monarch 
elect  being  surrounded  by  his  guards,  2  Kings  xi. 
12,  13 ;  2  Chron.  xiii.  Some  are  of  opinion  that  he 
was  at  the  same  time  girded  with  a  sword,  Ps.  xlv. 
3.  The  manner  of  perfonning  this  ceremony  ap- 
pears to  have  been  by  pouring  the  oil  upon  the  head, 
I  Sam.  X.  1  ;  2  Kings  ix.  G.     From  these  passages 


it  appears  probable,  that  the  kings  were  anointed  in 
the  same  plentiful  manner,  at  their  coronation, as  the 
priests  were ;  the  ointment,  or  oil,  was  poured  upon 
the  head  in  such  a  quantity,  as  to  run  down  upon 
the  beard,  and  even  to  the  skirts  of  the  garment, 
Ps.  cxxxiii.  2.  The  next  step  was  to  place  the  di- 
adem, or  crown,  upon  the  sovereign's  head,  and  the 
sceptre  in  his  hand.  To  the  former  of  these  there  is 
an  allusion  in  Ps.  xxi.  3,  "Thou  preventest  him  (the 
king)  with  the  blessings  of  thy  goodness  ;  thou  settest 
a  crown  of  pure  gold  on  his  head  ;"  and  also  in  Ezek. 
xxi.  2(),  and  to  the  latter  in  Ps.  xlv.  6,  "  Thy  throne, 
O  God,  is  for  ever  and  ever  ;  the  scejjtre  of  thy 
kingdom  is  a  right  sceptre."  It  aj)pears  to  have 
been  the  custom  of  the  Jewish  kings,  as  well  as  those 
of  the  neighboring  nations,  to  wear  the  crown  con- 
stantly when  they  were  dressed.  Saul  had  a  crown 
or  diadem  when  slain  at  the  battle  of  Gilboa,  (2  Sam. 
i.  10.)  as  also  the  king  of  the  Ammonites,  when  he 
headed  his  army  in  battle,  2  Sam.  xii.  30.  When 
the  diadem  was  placed  on  the  head  of  the  monarch, 
he  entered  into  a  solemn  covenant  with  his  subjects, 
that  he  would  govern  according  to  the  law ;  (2  Sam. 
V.  3  ;  1  Chron.  xi.  3.)  after  which  the  nobles  pledged 
themselves  to  obedience,  and  confirmed  the  pledge 
with  the  kiss  of  homage,  or,  as  the  Jews  call  it,  the 
kiss  of  majesty,  1  Sam.  x.  1.  This  ceremony  is 
probably  alluded  to  in  the  following  passage  of  the 
psalmist,  "  Kiss  the  Son,  lest  he  be  angry,"  &c.  (Ps. 
ii.  12.)  that  is,  acknowledge  him  as  your  king,  pay 
him  homage,  and  yield  him  subjection.  Loucl  ac- 
clamations, accomj)anied  with  music,  then  follow- 
ed, after  which  the  king  entered  the  citv,  1  Kings  i. 
39,  40;  2  Kings  xi.  12,  19  ;  2  Chron.  xxiii.  11.  To 
this  j)ractice  there  are  ntmierous  allusions  both  in  the 
Old  Testament  (Ps.  xlvii.  2 — 9  ;  xcvii.  1  ;  xcix.  9,  &c.) 
as  well  as  in  the  New  ;  (Matt.  xxi.  9,  10 ;  Mark  xi.  9, 
10 ;  Luke  xix.  35,  38.)  in  which  last  cited  passages 
the  Jews,  by  welcoming  our  Saviour  in  the  same 
manner  as  their  kings  were  formerly,  manifestly  ac- 
knowledged him  to  be  the  Messiah  whom  they  ex- 
pected. 

The  ceremonies  attending  the  inauguration  of  a 
king  among  the  Abyssinians  have  evidently  been  de- 
rived from  the  Hebrews.  Of  one  considerable  part 
of  this  ceremony,  however,"we  find  no  direct  men- 
tion made  as  forming  part  of  the  installation  of  He- 
brew monarchs,  although  there  certainly  appears  to 
be  some  allusions  to  such  a  practice  in  Psalms  xxiv. 
and  xlv, 

"  On  the  18th  of  March,  (according  to  their  ac- 
count, the  day  of  our  Saviour's  first  comuig  to  Jeru- 
salem,) this  festival  began.  All  the  great  officers,  all 
the  officers  of  state,  and  the  court,  then  present,  were 
every  one  dressed  in  the  richest  and  gayest  manner, 
nor  was  the  other  sex  bchind-liand  in  the  splendor 
of  their  appearance.  The  king,  dressed  in  crimson 
damask,  with  a  great  chain  of  gold  about  his  neck, 
his  head  bare,  mounted  on  a  horse  richly  caparison- 
ed, advancoi.1  at  the  head  of  his  nobility,  passed  the 
outer  coiut,  and  came  to  the  paved  way  before  the 
church.  Here  he  w:is  met  by  a  number  of  young 
girls,  daughters  of  the  Umbares,  or  supreme  judges, 
together  with  many  noble  virgins  standing  on  the 
right  and  left  of  the  court.  Two  of  the  noblest  of 
these  held  in  their  hands  a  crimson  cord  of  silk, 
somewhat  thicker  than  a  common  whipcord,  but  of 
a  looser  texture,  stretched  across  from  one  company 
to  another,  as  if  to  sluU  up  the  road  b}  which  the 
king  was  approaching  the  church.  W'hen  this  cord 
was  prepared  and  drawn  tight,  about  breast-high,  by 


KING 


[  592  ] 


KING 


the  gills,  the  king  entered,  advancing  at  a  moderate 
pace,  curveting,  and  showing  the  management  of  his 
horse.  He  was  stopped  by  the  tension  of  the  string, 
while  the  damsels  on  each  side,  asking  who  he  ivas, 
were  answered,  '/  am  your  king,  the  king  of  Ethiopia.^ 
To  which  they  replied,  with  one  voice,  '■You  shall  not 
pass,  you  are  not  our  king.^  The  king  then  retires 
some  paces,  and  then  presents  himself  as  to  pass,  and 
the  cord  is  again  drawn  across  this  way  by  the  young 
women,  so  as  to  prevent  him  ;  and  the  question 
again  repeated,  'JHio  are  youT  The  king  answered, 
'/  am  your  king,  the  king  of  Israel.'  But  the  dam- 
sels resolved,  even  on  this  second  attack,  not  to  sur- 
render but  upon  their  own  terms :  they  again  an- 
swer, ^You  shall  not  pass;  you  are  not  our  king.'' 
The  third  time,  after  retiring,  the  king  advances  with 
a  pace  and  air  more  determined ;  and  the  cruel  vir- 
gins, again  presenting  the  cord,  and  asking  who  he  is, 
he  answers,  '/  am  your  king,  the  king  of  Sion ;'  and 
drawing  his  sword,  cuts  the  silk  asunder.  Inunedi- 
ately  upon  this,  the  young  women  cry,  '  It  is  a  truth, 
you  are  our  king;  truly  you  are  the  kiiig  of  Sion.'' 
Upon  which  they  begin  to  sing  Hallelujah,  and  in 
this  they  are  joined  by  the  court  and  army  on  the 
plain  ;  fire-arms  are  discharged,  drums  and  trumpets 
sound  ;  and  the  king,  amidst  these  acclamations  and 
rejoicings,  advances  to  the  foot  of  the  stair  of  the 
church,  where  he  dismounts,  and  there  sits  down 
upon  a  stone,  which,  by  its  remains,  was  apparently 
an  altar  of  Anubis,  or  the  dog-star.  At  his  feet  there 
is  a  large  slab  of  freestone,  on  which  is  the  inscrip- 
tion mentioned  by  Poulet. 

"The  king  is  first  anointed,  then  crowned,  and  is 
accompanied  half  up  the  steps  by  the  singing  priests, 
called  Dipteras,  chanting  hymns  and  psalms.  Here 
he  stops  at  a  hole,  made  for  the  purpose,  in  one  of  the 
steps,  and  there  is  fumigated  with  incense  and  myrrh, 
aloes  and  cassia :  divine  service  is  then  celebrated ; 
and,  after  receiving  the  sacrament,  he  returns  to  the 
camp,  where  fourteen  days  should  be  regularly  spent 
in  feasting,  and  all  manner  of  rejoicing,  and  military 
exercise.  After  the  king  comes  the  Norbit,  or  keep- 
er of  the  book  of  the  law  in  Axum,  supposed  to  rep- 
resent Azarias,  the  son  of  Zadock  ;  then  the  twelve 
Umbares,  or  supreme  judges,  who,  with  Azarias,  ac- 
company IMenilek,  the  son  of  Solomon,  when  he 
brought  the  book  of  the  law  from  Jerusalem,  and 
these  are  supposed  to  represent  the  twelve  tribes. 
After  these  follow  the  Albuna  at  the  head  of  the 
priests,  and  the  Itcheque  at  the  head  of  the  monks ; 
then  the  whole  court,  who  pass  through  the  aper- 
ture made  by  the  division  of  the  silk  which  remains 
still  upon  the  ground.  The  king  then  gives  and  re- 
ceives presents,  according  to  established  custom  and 
value  ;  of  which  a  list  is  kept."     (Bruce.) 

This  extract  will,  if  we  mistake  not,  serve  to  illus- 
trate the  forty -fifth  Psalm,  where  the  writer  speaks  of 
things  "  touching  the  king."  He  is  thus  represented 
as  in  great  splendor,  magnificently  dressed,  his  sword 
girded  on  his  thigh,  mounted  on  horseback,  equipped 
with  the  bow,  &.c.  anointed  with  the  oil  of  gladness 
above  his  fellows,  his  garments  smelling  with  myrrh, 
aloes,  and  cassia,  out  of  the  ivory  j)alaces,  (curious 
inlaid  boxes  of  ivory,)  tlie  virgins — "  kings'  daugh- 
ters," on  his  one  side,  and  his  consort  on  the  other, 
the  rich  and  honorable  presenting  gifts,  and  the  ac- 
clamations and  rejoicing  of  the  people. 

The  apparel  of  the  Jewish  monarchs  was  rich  and 
splendid.  Hence  our  Saviour,  speaking  of  the  beauty 
which  God  had  imparted  to  the  lilies  of  the  field,  re- 
marks, "  Even  Solomon  in  all  his  glory  was  not  ar- 


rayed like  one  of  these."  Josephus  and  the  rabbins 
assert,  that  the  robes  of  the  Jewish  kings  were  white  ; 
this,  however,  wants  better  support  than  their  criti- 
cisms upon  the  word  /.auTtQvQ,  which  is  applied  by  the 
Greek  writers  to  any  gay  color.  Xenophon  applies 
the  word  to  such  as  are  clothed  in  purples,  or  who 
are  adorned  with  bracelets  and  jewels,  and  splendid- 
ly dressed.  It  is  much  more  probable  that  the  king's 
robes  were  made  of  purple  and  fine  white  linen, 
Esth.  viii.  15;  Luke  xvi.  19.  The  royal  diadem 
was  made  most  probably  of  gold,  the  shape  of  which 
resembled  those  worn  by  the  ancient  Romans,  and 
was  inlaid  with  precious  stones,  2  Sam.  xii.  30; 
Zech.  vi.  11.  Nor  was  the  throne  less  magnificent. 
That  of  Solomon  was  made  of  ivory,  overlaid  with 
fine  gold,  raised  on  six  steps,  and  adorned  with  the 
images  of  lions,  1  Kings  xi.  18 — 20.  In  noticing 
the  state  and  grandeur  of  the  Jewish  monarchs,  we 
must  not  omit  mentioning  their  attendants  and  guards; 
particularly  the  Cherethites  and  Pelethites,  of  whom 
there  is  frequent  mention  in  the  histories  of  David 
and  Solomon.  That  they  were  soldiers,  appears 
from  their  making  part  of  David's  army,  when  he 
marched  out  of  Jerusalem  on  occasion  of  Absalom's 
rebellion  ;  (2  Sam.  xv.  18.)  and  likewise  when  they 
were  sent  against  the  rebel,  Sheba  the  son  of  Bichri, 
chap.  XX.  7.  That  they  were  a  distinct  class  from 
the  common  soldiers,  is  evident  from  their  having  a 
peculiar  commander,  and  not  being  under  Joab  the 
general  of  the  army,  2  Sam.  viii.  16,  18.  They 
seem,  therefore,  to  have  been  the  king's  body-guard, 
like  the  prsetorian  band  among  the  Romans.  These 
guards  ai)pear  to  have  been  skilful  archers.  The 
Chaldee  paraphrase  every  where  calls  them  archers 
and  slingers.  Their  number  may  probably  be  gath- 
ered from  the  targets  and  shields  of  gold,  which  Sol- 
omon made  for  his  guards  ;  which  were  five  hundred, 
1  Kings  X.  16, 17,  compared  with  2  Chron.  xii.  9 — 11. 

The  eastern  monarchs,  and  indeed  the  whole  of 
their  great  men,  were  never  approached  but  with 
presents.  This  is  particularly  noticed  by  Solomon : 
"A  man's  gift  maketh  room  for  him,  and  bringeth 
him  before  great  men,"  Prov.  xviii.  16.  Thus  the 
sons  of  Jacob  were  instructed  to  carry  a  present  to 
Joseph  when  they  went  down  to  Egypt,  to  buy  food, 
(Gen.  xhii.  11,  26.)  and  in  hke  manner,  the  Magi  who 
came  from  the  East  to  worship  Christ,  brought  him 
gold,  frankincense,  and  myrrh,  Matt.  ii.  11.  It  was 
also  usual  to  pay  them  the  most  marked  respect,  by 
prostrations  to  the  groimd.  Gen.  xxxvii.  10 ;  1  Sam. 
xxiv.  8  ;  2  Sam.  xiv.  4.  Morier  informs  us,  that  a 
similar  practice  obtains  amongst  the  Persians  at  the 
present  day  :  "  As  soon  as  we  ajjproaclied  the  throne 
of  the  Christian  emperor,"  says  Brands,  "we  were 
obliged  to  kneel  down,  and  slowly  to  bow  oiu-  heads 
to  the  ground."  Ovington  tells  us  that  "  the  mark 
of  respect  which  is  paid  to  the  kings  in  the  East  ap- 
proaches very  near  to  adoration.  The  manner  of 
saluting  the  great  mogul  is,  to  touch  with  the  hand 
first  the  earth,  then  the  heart,  and  then  to  lift  it  above, 
which  is  repeated  three  times  in  succession  as  you 
ap|)roach  him."  The  last  honors  paid  the  king  were 
at  his  death.  The  royal  corpse,  it  is  said,  was  carried 
by  nobles  to  the  sepulchre,  though  it  were  at  a 
considerable  distance.  However  this  be,  we  read  of 
public  mourning  observed  for  good  kings,  2  Chron. 
XXXV.  24;  Jer.  xxii.  18;  xxxiv.  5.  Yet,  notwith- 
standing all  this  royal  state  and  grandeur,  they  were 
only  God's  viceroys,  bound  to  govern  according  to  the 
statute-law  of  the  land,  whicli  they,  as  well  as  their 
subjects,  were  required  to  obey. 


KING 


{  593  ] 


KINGS 


The  king  was  forbidden  keeping  a  large  body  of 
ca\alry,  or  an  innnoderate  number  of  horses.  These 
were  unnecessary  for  the  defence  oi'  Palestine,  being 
a  mountainous  country,  and  could  only  be  resorted 
to  for  the  purpose  of  conquest,  than  which  nothing 
could  be  more  opposed  to  the  views  of  the  divine 
Lawgiver.  The  king  is  forbidden  "multiplying  wives 
to  biinself,  that  his  heart  turn  not  away,"  (Deut.  xvii. 
17.)  but  no  law  was  less  observed  than  this.  (See  2 
Sam.  iii  2 — 8<  v.  13;  ii.  8;  :.v.  16,  &r.)  He  was 
Hkewise  forbidden  "greatly  to  multiply  to  himself 
silver  and  gold,"  (Deut.  xvii.  17.)  lest  lie  should  make 
himself  absolute  and  despotic.  This  prohibition, 
however,  did  not  extend  to  the  formation  of  a  public 
treasury,  or  of  one  appropriated  to  the  service  of  the 
sanctuary  and  tabernacle.  It  oidy  lay  against  the 
king  amassing  treasures  for  his  own  use  alone,  lest  he 
should  employ  them  as  engines  of  despotism,  and  for 
crushing  the  liberties  of  the  people.  In  order  that 
the  monarch  migiit  not  be  ignorant  of  religion  and  of 
the  Israelitisli  law,  he  w^as  commanded  to  have  by 
him  a  copy  of  the  law  carefully  taken  from  the  Le- 
titical  cxem{>lar.s,  anil  to  rfad  it  daily,  Deut.  xvii. 
18.  Nor  was  a  knowledge  of  the  law  enough  ;  he  was 
to  govern  by  it,  (Dout.  xvii.  19,  also  1  Kings  xxi. 
1-  -IG.)  and  to  rule  his  suljjects  with  lenity  and  kind- 
ness, not  as  slaves  but  as  brethren,  Deut.  xvii.  20. 

Besides  this  original  and  fundament;d  law",  a  spe- 
cial capitulation  was  sworn  to  by  the  kings  of  Israel, 
1  Sam.  X.  25  ;  2  Sam.  v.  3.  Their  power  had,  never- 
theless, a  tendency  to  despotism.  They  had  the 
right  of  making  war  and  concluding  peace  ;  they  had 
not  only  the  power  of  life  and  death,  but  could,  on 
pariicular  occasions,  put  criminals  to  death,  williout 
the  formalities  of  justice,  (1  Sam.  xxi.  11 — 19;  xxii. 
J7,  18 ;  2  Sam.  i.  5 — 15,  Sec.)  though  they  generally 
administered  judges,  duly  constituted,  to  hear  and 
determine  causes  in  their  name,  1  Chron.  xxiii.  4 ; 
xxvi.  29 — 32.  In  Jerusalem  there  might  probably 
bo  superior  courts,  wherein  David's  sons  presided, 
(see  Ps.  cxxii.  5.)  but  no  mention  is  made  of  a  su- 
preme tribunal  erected  in  that  city  earlier  than  the 
reign  of  Jehoshapliat,  2  Chron.  xix.  8 — 11.  It  was 
composed  of  priests  and  heads  of  families,  and  had 
two  presidents,  one  in  the  person  of  the  high-priest, 
and  another  who  sat  in  the  name  of  the  king.  Al- 
though the  kings  enjoyed  the  privilege  of  granting 
pardons  to  offenders  at  their  pleasure,  and  in  ecclesi- 
astical affiiirs  exercised  great  power,  sometimes  de- 
posing or  condemning  to  death  even  the  high-priest 
himself;  (1  Sam.  xxii.  17,  18;  1  Kings  ji.26,  27.)  and 
at  other  times  reforming  great  abuses  in  religion  ;  yet 
this  jjower  was  enjoyed  by  them  not  as  absolute  sove- 
reigns in  their  own  right,  but  as  the  viceroys  of 
Jehovah,  who  AAas  the  sole  Legislator  of  Israel. 

Concerning  the  royal  revenues,  Moses  left  no  ordi- 
nances, having  ajjpointed  no  king;  the  following 
particulars  nniy  be  collected  as  the  sources  of  these 
revenues  from  the  writings  of  the  Old  Testament: — 
(1.)  V'olimtary  offerings,  or  presents,  which  were 
made  conformably  to  the  oriental  custom,  Gen. 
xxiii.  11 — 25  ;  1  SJmi.  ix.  27 ;  xvi.  20.  This  was  the 
most  ancient  source  of  the  king's  revenue,  and  was 
probably  abolished  by  David.  (2.)  One  tenth  ])art  of 
all  the  produce  of  all  the  fields  and  vineyards,  was 
given  to  the  king.  There  is  an  alltision  in  Mai.  i.  8, 
and  Neh.  v.  18,  to  the  custom  of  paying  dues  in  kind 
to  jpfovernment,  which  obtains  to  this  day  in  Abys- 
sinia. (3.)  The  produce  of  the  royal  demesnes,  con- 
sisting of  arable  lands,  vineyards,  olive  and  sycamore 
grounds,  &c.  which  had  originally  been  unenclosed 
75 


and  uncultivated,  or  were  the  property  of  state  crim- 
inals confiscated  to  the  sovereign :  these  demesnes 
were  cultivated  by  bondsmen,  and  perhaps  also  by 
the  people  of  conquered  countries,  (1  Chron.  xxvii. 
26 — 31  ;  2  Chron.  xxvi.  10.)  and  it  appears  from  1 
Sam.  viii.  14  ;  xxii.  7.  and  Ezek.  xlvi.  17,  that  the 
kings  assigned  jiart  of  their  domains  to  their  ser- 
vants in  lieu  of  salary.  (4.)  To  the  cultivation  of 
their  demesnes,  the  kings  must  have  required  bond 
services  ;  and  accordingly  we  find  these  mentioned 
by  Samuel  among  the  royal  rights  established  by  use 
among  the  neighboring  nations,  1  Sam.  viii.  12,  16. 
These  services  seem  to  have  been  increased  by  Solo- 
mon, (1  Kings  V.  17,  18.)  and  it  was  probably"  Reho- 
boam's  having  refused  to  lessen  them  that  gave  occa- 
sion first  to  the  complaints,  and  then  to  the  rebellion, 
of  the  ten  tribes  against  him.  (5.)  Another  source 
of  the  king's  revenue  was  the  produce  of  the  royal 
flocks.  The  Arabian  deserts  being  common  to  the 
king  and  his  subjects,  for  the  pasturage  of  cattle,  they 
did  not  neglect  to  take  advantage  of  this  privilege, 
but  kept  large  herds  of  oxen,  sheep,  goats,  asses  and 
camels  there,  1  Chron.  xxxvii.  29 — 31.  (6.)  Mi- 
chaelis  is  of  opinion  that  a  passage  in  Amos  (\nii.  1.) 
refers  to  a  royal  right  of  mowing  the  pastures.  If  this 
be  correct,  the  kings  must  have  arrogated,  at  this 
time,  the  right  of  cutting  the  first  and  best  gi-ass  of 
the  public  pastures,  leaving  only  the  after-growth  to 
the  Israelitisli  herdsmen.  (7.)  Not  only  did  the  most 
considerable  part  of  the  plunder  of  the  conquered 
nations  flow  into  the  royal  treasury,  (2  Sam.  viii.)  but 
the  latter  also  paid  tributes,  which  were  imposed  on 
them  jjartly  in  money  and  partly  in  agricultural  prod- 
uce, 1  Kings  iv.  21  ;  Ps.  Ixxii.  10.  It  is  probable, 
from  1  Kings  x.  14,  that  the  Israelites  also  paid  a  tax 
in  money.  (8.)  Lastly,  Solomon  discovered  a  source 
of  revenue  entirely  new  to  the  Israelitisli  nionarchs, 
and  ^^■hich  must  have  been  very  productive.  As  the 
IMosaic  law  did  not  encourage  foreign  commerce  for 
the  subject,  it  became  an  object  of  attention  to  the 
cro\^^l.  Michaelis  is  of  opinion  that  Africa  was  cir- 
cumnavigated by  Solomon's  fleets  ;  be  this  as  it  may, 
it  is  certain  that  he  carried  on  a  most  extensive  and 
lucrative  trade  in  gold,  silver,  Egyptian  horses,  and 
the  byssus  or  fine  linen  of  Egypt,  1  Kings  x.  22,  28, 
29.  The  foreign  merchants,  who  carried  on  other 
branches  of  trade,  and  passed  through  the  dominions 
of  Solomon,  paid  him  customs,  which  afl^orded  a 
considerable  revenue  to  that  monarch,  1  Kings 
X,  15. 

KINGS,  Books  of.  The  Vulgate  has  four  books 
under  this  name,  viz.  the  two  Books  of  Samuel  and 
those  of  Kings,  as  they  stand  in  the  English  version, 
and  also  in  the  Hebrew  Bibles.  Under  this  name  the 
Greeks  cite  them  all  four  as  the  Books  of  Kingdoms, 
the  Latins  as  the  Books  of  Kings. 

The  First  Book  of  Kings,  i.  e.  the  First  Book  of 
Samuel,  in  the  English  Bible,  contains  the  history  of 
100  years;  from  the  birth  of  Samuel,  A.  M.  2849,  to 
the  death  of  Saul,  in  2949.  It  comprises  an  account 
of  the  birth  of  Samuel,  the  war  between  the  Philis- 
tines and  Hebrews,  in  which  the  ark  of  the  Lord  was 
taken  ;  the  death  of  Eli,  the  high-priest,  and  of  his 
sons  Hophni  and  Phinehas ;  the  restoration  of  the 
ark  by  the  Philistines  ;  Samuel's  being  acknowledged 
judge  of  Israel ;  Saul's  election  to  be  king,  his  suc- 
cessfiil  begimnng,  his  wars  and  victories  ;  his  rejec- 
tion ;  the  "anointing  of  David,  his  valor,  his  misfor- 
tunes, his  flight ;  the  war  between  the  Phihstines  and 
Saul,  with  the  death  of  that  prince. 

The  Second  Book  of  Kings,  i.  e.  the  Second  Book 


KINGS 


[594] 


KINGS 


of  Samuel  iu  the  English  Bible,  contains  the  history 
of  39  years ;  from  the  second  anointing  of  David  at 
Hebron,  A.  M.  2949,  to  2988,  in  which  David  ap- 
pointed Solomon  to  be  his  successor,  two  years  be- 
fore his  death,  ui  2990.  It  includes  an  account  of 
David's  being  acknowledged  king  by  tlie  trilie  of 
Judah,  while  the  other  tribes  of  Israel  obeyed  Ishbo- 
sheth,  son  of  Saul.  Ishbosheth  being  killed  seven 
years  afterwards,  (295G,)  David  was  acknowledged 
king  of  all  Israel.  He  received  the  royal  unction  a 
third  time  ;  took  Jerusalem  from  the  Jebusites  ; 
brought  back  the  ark  from  Kirjatli-jearim  to  the  city 
of  David,  and  ilellated  the  Pliilistines,  31oabitcs,  Syri- 
ans, and  Edomites,  on  several  occasions.  Ilamm, 
king  of  the  Annnonitcs,  having  insulted  David's  am- 
bassadors, he  made  war  on  Hannn's  country,  and 
subjected  it.  During  this  war  David  lived  with  Balh- 
sheba,  and  |jrocured  the  murder  of  Uriah  ;  Nathan 
reproved  him  for  his  adultery  and  murder;  David 
repented  ;  but  God  punished  him  by  the  rebellion  of 
Absalom.  After  t'lis  contest,  in  which  his  unnatural 
son  perished  miserably,  David,  being  quiet  in  his  do- 
minions, ordered  the  people  to  be  numberrd.  The 
Lord  punished  his  curiosity  with  a  plague.  Lastly, 
David  prepared  every  thing  necessary  for  the  erection 
of  the  temple. 

The  Third  Book  of  Kings,  or  the  First  iu  the  Eng- 
lish Bible,  comprises  the  history  of  121)  years,  from 
Solomon's  tuiointing,  A.  M.  2989,  to  tlie  death  of.Te- 
hoshaphat,  king  of  Judali,  in  3115.  It  gives  an  ac- 
count of  Adonijah's  aiming  at  the  crown,  of  Solo- 
mon's association  with  David  in  the  throne,  of  David's 
death,  of  the  deaths  of  Adonijah,  Joab,  and  Shimei ; 
of  the  building  the  temple  by  Solomon  ;  of  his  riches, 
wisdom,  reputation,  fall,  and  death  ;  of  liis  son  Reho- 
boam's  alienating  tlie  minds  of  the  Israelites;  of  the 
separation  of  the  ten  trii)cs,  and  of  their  choice  of  Jero- 
boam for  their  king;  of  Rehoboani's  successors, 
Abijam,  Asa,  and  Jehoshaphat,  who  died  A.  M.  3115  ; 
and  of  Jeroboam's  successors,  Nadab,  Baasha,  Elah, 
Zimri,  Omri,  Tibni,  Ahab,  and  Ahaziah,  who  died 
in  3108. 

The  Fourth  Book  of  Kings,  or  the  Second  in  the 
English  Bible,  includes  the  history  of  227  years ; 
from  the  death  of  Jehoshaphat,  king  of  Judah,  and 
the  beginning  of  Jehoram  in  3115,  to  the  beginning 
of  the  reign  of  Evilmerodach,  king  of  Babylon,  who 
delivered  Jechoniah  out  of  prison  in  3443. 

In  the  kingdom  of  Judah  we  fuid  a  few  pious 
l)rinces  among  many  who  were  corrupt.  Jehoslia- 
))hat  was  succeeded  by  Jehoram,  Ahaziah,  Athaliah, 
Joash,  Amaziah,  Uzziah,  or  Azariah,  Jotham,  Ahaz, 
Ilezekiah,  Manasseh,  Amon,  Josiali,  Jehoahaz,  Elia- 
kim,  or  Jehoiakim,  Jechoniah,  or  Jehoiachiu,  Mat- 
taniah,  or  Zedekiah,  in  whose  reign  Jerusalem  was 
taken  by  the  Chaldeans,  the  temple  burnt,  and  the 
people  carried  to  Babylon,  A.  M.  3416.  After  this 
we  read  of  the  sad  death  of  Gedaliah,  whom  the 
Chaldeans  had  left  in  tlie  country  to  govern  the  re- 
mains of  the  people  ;  of  their  retreat  into  Egypt,  and 
the  favor  shown  i)y  Evilmerodach,  king  of  Babylon, 
to  Jehoiachiu,  or  Jechoniah,  king  of  Judah,  whom  he 
took  out  of  prison,  and  [)laced  in  his  palace.  In  the 
interval  God  raised  up  many  pro))hets  in  Judah  ;  as 
Iddo,  Ahijah,  Shemaiali,  Hanani,  Azariah,  Jehu, 
Isaiah,  Jeremiah,  /ej)lianlah,  lluldah,  Micaiah,  Joel, 
&c.  The  fourth  book  of  Kings  has  |)reserved  several 
particulars  of  the  lives  of  these  great  men,  as  well  as 
of  the  prophets  who  lived  at  the  same  time  in  the 
kingdom  of  Israel,  or  the  ten  tribes.  This  book  pre- 
sents a  long  succession  of  wicked  princes  in  the  king- 


dom of  Israel — Ahaziah,  Jehoram  son  of  Ahab  Jehu, 
Jehoahaz,  Joash,  Jeroboam,  Zachariah,  Shallum, 
Menahem,  Pekaiah,  Pekah,  Hosea  son  of  Elah,  in 
whose  reign  Samaria  was  taken  by  Salmanezer,  and 
the  ten  tribes  carried  captive  into  Assyria.  Several 
eminent  prophets  are  named  during  this  interval  in 
the  kingdom  of  the  ten  tribes  ;  as  Iddo,  Oded,  Ahijah, 
Elisha,  Hosea,  Amos,  Jonah,  &c. 

As  to  the  author  or  authors  of  the  four  books  of 
Kings,  critics  are  not  agreed.  Many  asciibe  the  first 
two  to  Sanuiel,  whose  name  we  find  in  their  titles  in 
the  Hebrew.  The  Jews  assign  him  only  twenty- 
seven  chapters  in  the  first  book,  which  include  the 
history  of  his  life,  and  a  recital  of  the  actions  of  Saul 
and  David,  while  Samuel  was  living  ;  the  rest  they 
believe  was  continued  by  Gad  and  Nathan,  according 
to  1  Chron.  xxix.  29.  This  opinion  is  very  probable  ; 
notwithstanding  that  we  find  certain  remarks,  which 
do  not  properly  belong  to  the  time  of  Samuel,  or  the 
time  of  Nathan :  e.  g.  it  is  said,  1  Sam.  iii.  1.  that 
while  Samuel  was  living,  "projihecy  was  rare  in  Is- 
rael ;"  which  intiniates,  that  when  the  author  wrote, 
it  was  more  frequent.  1  Sam.  xiv.  23,  Bethel  is  call- 
ed Bethaven,  or  "  the  House  of  Iniquity  ;"  a  name 
not  given  to  it  till  Jeroboam  had  set  up  one  of  his 
golden  calves  there.  The  author  observes  also  on 
David's  invading  the  Geshuritcs  and  Gezrites,  that 
"this  country  of  old  was  well  peopled,  from  Shur 
even  unto  the  land  of  Egypt ;"  (1  Sam.  xxvii.  8.)  that 
is,  it  was  so  in  David's  time,  but  not  when  the  author 
was  living.  In  1  Sam.  ix.  9,  they  who  formerly  ^\■ere 
called  seers,  were  in  his  time  termed  nabi,  or  proph- 
ets. Now  in  Samuel's  time  the  name  of  seer  was 
counuon  ;  the  author,  therefore,  of  these  books  is 
later  than  that  prophet.  He  speaks  of  Sanuiel  as  of 
a  person  dead  long  before,  and  praises  hiu),  1  Sam. 
xxviii.  3.  He  observes  that  the  city  of  Ziklag  be- 
longed to  the  kings  of  Judah,  ever  since  the  cession 
of  it  by  Achish  to  David  ;  (1  Sam.  xxvii.  G.)  which 
remark  must  have  been  made  after  the  separation  of 
the  kingdoms  of  Judah  and  Israel  ;  and  shows  the 
writer  to  have  lived  not  only  after  Samuel,  but  after 
David  and  Solomon. 

From  several  other  observations  of  this  nature, 
some  have  concluded,  that  David,  Hezekiah,  Jere- 
miah, or  Ezra,  compiled  these  books  from  memoirs 
composed  in  the  time  of  Samuel  and  the  prophets,  of 
David  and  Solomon  ;  and  if  we  compare  the  difl:er- 
ent  characters  of  the  books,  we  shall  on  one  side  see 
that  circumstances,  facts,  and  remarks,  are  mostly  the 
same  ;  while  the  uniformity  of  the  style,  and  the 
course  of  the  narration,  prove  that  they  both  had  one 
author,  who  was  contemporary  with  the  ])ersons  of 
whom  he  speaks.  On  the  other  side,  however,  there 
are  circumstances  which  support  the  opinion,  that  a 
later  writer  revised  them,  and  added  some  particu- 
lars, and  certain  terms,  intended  to  explain  what  the 
distance  of  time  had  rendered  obscure.  Now,  if  we 
suppose  that  Ezra,  an  inspired  author,  had  in  his 
hands  original  writings  of  Samuel,  and  the  ancient 
writers  of  Saul  and  David's  times,  that  he  digested 
them  into  order,  and  connected  them,  all  difticulties 
are  easily  solved,  and  the  seeming  co)itradictions  are 
reconciled.  That  these  works  are  authentic  and 
canonical  it  is  not  dis|)uted  :  both  the  Jewish  and  the 
Christian  church  tmanimously  receive  them  as  in- 
sy)ired  Scripture  :  and  Christ  quotes  them  in  the 
Gos|)eI,  Matt.  xii.  3  ;  Mark  ii.  25  ;  Luke  vi.  3.  There 
arc  much  the  same  remarks  to  be  made  with  relation 
to  the  third  and  fourth  books  of  Kings.  Some  have 
imagined    that   David.  Solomon  and  Hezekiah  wrote 


KINGS 


[  595  ] 


KIxXG 


the  liistory  of  their  onvu  reigns.  Others,  that  the 
prophets  who  lived  under  their  government,  in  Is- 
rael and  Judah,  took  this  office  upon  them  ;  as  Isaiah 
and  Jcrennah,  Gad  and  Nathan.  We  know  that 
several  of  the  prophets  wrote  the  lives  of  those  kings 
who  reigned  in  their  times  ;  and  the  names  and  writ- 
ings of  these  prophets  are  mentioned  in  several 
places  of  the  books  of  Kings  and  Chronicles.  Besides, 
the  memoirs  and  annals  of  the  kings  of  .ludah  and 
Israel  are  cited  in  almost  every  ciiapter,  and  tiiese 
included  the  particulars  of  those  princes'  actions,  of 
which  the  sacred  hooks  have  handed  down  only 
summaries  and  abridgments. 

It  must  be  admitted,  therefore,  that  two  descrip- 
tions of  writers  were  concerned  in  the  books  of 
Kings.  (1.)  Those  original,  primitive  and  contemi)o- 
rary  authors,  who  wrote  the  annals,  journals  and 
memoirs  of  their  own  times  ;  from  which  the  matter 
and  substance  of  our  sacred  history  has  been  formed  ; 
and  from  which  the  authors  who  came  afterwards 
have  taken  what  they  record.  (See  Seer.)  These 
ancient  memoirs  have  not  descended  down  to  us,  but 
were  certainly  in  the  hands  of  those  sacred  penmen, 
whose  writings  are  in  our  possession,  since  tliey  cite 
them,  and  refer  to  them:  but  (3.)  Who  compiled  and 
digested  these  ancient  writings  ?  and  when  did  they 
live  .'  It  is  generally  believed  that  Ezra  is  the  editor 
of  the  books  of  Kings  and  Chronicles,  as  we  have 
them  at  present;  and  the  jiroofs  are  these:  (1.)  The 
author  lived  after  the  captivity  of  Babylon.  At  the 
end  of  the  fourth  book  of  Kings  he  speaks  of  the  re- 
turn from  that  captivity,  2  Kings  xxv.  2^,  23,  &c. 
(2.)  He  describes  the  ten  tribes  as  still  captive  in  As- 
syria, whither  they  w  ere  carried  as  a  punishment  for 
their  sins.  (3.)  In  the  seventeenth  cha])ter  of  tlie  fourth 
book  of  Kings,  he  introduces  reflections  on  the  ca- 
lamities of  Jutlah  and  Israel,  which  demonstrate  that 
he  wrote  aft:er  the  event.  (4.)  He  refers  almost 
every  where  to  ancient  memoirs,  which  he  had  be- 
fore him,  and  abridged.  (.5.)  The  author,  as  far  as 
we  are  able  to  judge,  was  a  priest,  and  much  attach- 
ed to  the  house  of  David.  All  these  marks  agree 
well  with  Ezra,  a  learned  and  very  inquisitive  priest, 
who  lived  during  the  captivity,  and  after  it;  who 
might  have  collected  a  great  number  of  documents, 
of  wliich  time  and  the  persecutions  suffered  by  the 
Jews,  have  deprived  us.     See  Ezra. 

There  are  a  few  particidars  in  these  books  which 
do  not  seem  to  agree  with  the  time  of  Ezra  :  he  .says, 
that  in  his  time  the  ark  of  the  covenant  was  still  in 
the  temj)le,  (1  Kings  viii.  8.)  that  the  kingdoms  of 
Judah  and  Israel  were  still  subsisting,  (chap.  xii.  19.) 
he  speaks  of  the  months  Sif  and  Bui,  (vi.  1,  37,  38.) 
names  which  in  the  time  of  Ezra  were  no  longer  in 
use.  He  also  expresses  himself  throughout  as  a  con- 
temporary and  as  a  writer  wlio  had  witnessed  what 
he  wrote.  But  these  discrepancies  may  be  easily 
removed.  Ezra  generally  transcribes  word  for  word 
the  memoirs  which  he  had  in  his  possession  ;  and 
this  is  a  proof  of  his  fidelity  and  honesty.  In  other 
places,  he  inserts  reflections  or  illustrations,  which 
naturally  arise  from  his  subject ;  and  this  shows  that 
he  was  master  of  the  subject  on  which  he  was  en- 
gaged, and  that,  being  inspired,  he  was  not  afraid  of 
intermixing  his  own  words  with  those  of  the  proph- 
ets, whose  writings  lay  before  him. 

KING'S  Mother.  Nothing  is  more  agreeable 
than  to  establish  the  conjectures  of  learning  and  in- 
genuity ;  and  a  favorable  opportunity  for  this  i)ur- 
pose,  combining  illustrations  of  a  passage  of  Scrip- 
ture, is  afforded  by  the  learned  work  of  IMr.  Raphael 


Baruh,  who  thus    expresses  his   sentiments  ou  the 
passage,  1  Kings  xv.  1,  2,  7,  8,  collated  with  the  same 
facts  in  2  Chron.  xiii.  1,2:    "There  is  a  very  re- 
markable variation  in  this  collation,  in  the  name  of 
king  Abijam's  (or  Abijah's)  mother:  in  the  book  of 
Kings  she  is  called  Maaca,  the  daughter  of  Absalom  ; 
and   even  in   Chronicles,  (chap.   ix.  20.)  she  is  also 
called  by  this  same  name  ;  but  in  this  passage,  Chron- 
icles calls  her  by  the  name  of  IMlcayau,  the  daughter 
of  Uriel,  of  Gibea.     To  solve  this  difficulty,  1  beg 
leave  to  offer,  that  the  title  i?'.n  an,  {am  ham-melek,) 
king's  motlHr;an(\  that  of  n-*^3.in,  (/(ag--gc62>a//,)  trans- 
lated queen,  (2  Kings  x.  13  ;  2  Chron.  xv.  IG.)  describe 
one  and  the  same  thing:  I  mean,  that  the  phrase, 
"  And  his  mother's  name  was,"  Sec.  when  ex{)ressed 
on  a  king's  accession  to  the  throne,  at  the  beginnino- 
of  his  history,  does  not  always  imply,  that  the  lady 
whose  name  is  then  mentioned  was  the  king's  [natu- 
ral]   mother;     I   apprehend,   tliat  (v:n)    ^  the   king's 
mother,'  when  so  introduced,  is  only  a  title  of  honor 
and  dignity  enjoyed  by  one  lady,  solely,  of  tlie  royal 
family  at  u  time,  denoting  her  to  be  the  first  in  rank, 
chief  sultana,  or  queen  dowager,   whether  she  hap- 
pened to  be  the  king's  [natural]  mother  or  not.  This 
remark  seems  to  be  corroborated   by  the  history  of 
king  Asa,  (1  Kings  xv.  10,  and  2 Chron.  xv.  IG.)  who 
was  Abijah's  son.     In  the  book  of  Kings,  at  his  ac- 
cession, this  same  Miiaca,  Absalom's  daughter,  is  said 
to  be  his  mother,  and  Asa  afterwards  deprived  her  of 
the  dignity  of  ,-i-i^nj,  {gebirah,)  or  chiefest  in  rank,  on 
account  of  her  idolatrous  proceedings.     But  it  is  cer- 
tain that  IMaaca  was  his  grandmother,  and  not  his 
mother,  as  here  described  ;  therefore,  if  we  look  upon 
the  expression  of  the  King's  Motherto  be  only  a  title 
of  dignity,  all  the  difficulty  will  cease:  for  this  Maaca 
was  really  Abijah's  mother,  the  dearly  beloved  wife 
of  his  father  Rehoboam,  who,  for  her  sake,  appointed 
her  son,  Al)ijah,  to  be  his  successor  to  the  throne  ; 
but  when  Abijali  caine  to  be  king,  that  dignity  of  the 
king's  mother,  or  the  first  in  rank  of  the  royalfamily, 
was,  for  some  reason,  perhaps  for  seniority,  given  to 
Micayau,  the  daughter  of  I'riel  of  Gibea; "and  after- 
wards, on  the  death  of  IMieayau,  that  dignity  devolv- 
ed to  ^laaca,  and  she  enjoyed  it  at  the  accession  of 
Asa,  her  grandson,  who  afterwards  degraded  her  for 
her  idolatry.     This  I  subnnt  as  a  rational  way   of 
reconciling  all  these  passages,  which  seem  so  con- 
tradictory and  repugnant  to  each  other.     The  better 
to  prove  this  assertion,  let  it  be  observed,  that  in  2 
Kings  xxiv.  12,  it  is  said,  'And  Jehoiachim,  the  king 
of  Judah,  went  out  to  the  king  of  Babylon,  he  and 
his  mother,  and  his  servants,  and  his  j)rinces,  and  his 
officers  ;  and  the  king  of  Babylon   took  him,'  &c. ; 
and,  verse  15,  'and   he  carried  away  Jehoiachim  to 
Babylon,  and  the  king's  mother,  and  tiie  king's  wives, 
and  his  officers,'  &c.  Jeremiah,  (xxix.2.)  mentioning 
the  sam(>  circumstances,  says,  '  After  that,  Jeconiah 
the  king,  and  the  queen,  and  the  eunuchs,  the  princes 
of  Judah,    Sec.   (le|)arted    from   Jerusalem.'     Now 
it  is  evident,  that   the  queen,  in  this  verse,  cannot 
mean  the  king's  wife,  as  it  would  seem,  by  the  trans- 
lators' rendering  always  the  word  niojn,  [hag-gehirah,) 
(jueen ;  but  means  the  lady  that  is  invested  with  that 
dignity,  of  being  called  the  king's  mother ;  the  jihrase 
mojn,  {hag-gehirah,)  in  Jeremiah,  corresponding  with 
-\hzri  C3N,  {amham-mclek,)  the  king's  mother:  and  >cn, 
AMMO,  Lis  mother,  in  Kings.     The  V^ulgate  translates 
the  word  moj  {gebirah)  (1  Kings  xi.  1!',  and  2  Kings 
X.  13.)  Regina,  (1  Kings  xv.  13.)   Pnnceps,  {2  Chron. 
XV.    16.)  D< posuit  Imperio,  (Jer.  xxix.  2.)    Domana, 
(ibid.  xiii.  IH.)  Dominatriei ; — and  the  English  trans- 


Kl^G 


[  596  ] 


KIR 


lators  always  render  it  queen.  That  '  king's  mother  ' 
was  a  title  of  dignity  is  obvious  by  1  Kings  ii.  19 : 
'  Bathsheba,  therefore,  went  in  to  king  Solomon,  to 
speak  unto  him  for  Adonijah  ;  and  the  king  rose  to 
meet  her,  and  bowed  himself  unto  her,  and  sat  down 
on  his  throne,  and  caused  a  seat  to  be  set  for  the 
king's  mother,  and  she  sat  on  his  right  hand  ;'  for  it 
was  better  to  say,  '  and  caused  a  seat  to  be  set  for  her : ' 
but  he  says,  ^for  the  king's  mother ;'  and,  ])erhaps,  it 
was  on  this  occasion  that  Bathsheba  was  first  invest- 
ed with  the  honor  of  that  dignity."  These  conjec- 
tures of  Mr,  Baridi  are  established  beyond  any  rea- 
sonable doubt,  by  the  following  extracts  :  "  The  Oloo 
Kani  is  not  governess  of  the  Crimea.  This  title,  the 
literal  translation  of  which  is  '  great  queen,'  simply 
denotes  a  dignity  in  the  harem,  which  the  khan  usu- 
ally confers  on  one  of  his  sistei-s ;  or,  if  he  has  none, 
on  one  of  his  daughters,  or  relations.  To  this  dignity 
are  attached  the  revenues  arising  from  several  vil- 
lages, and  other  rights."  (Baron  du  Tott,  vol.  ii.  p.  64.) 
"On  this  occasion,  the  king  crowned  his  mother 
Blalacotawit  ;  conferring  upon  her  the  dignity  and 
title  of  Iteghe,  the  consequence  of  which  station  I 
have  often  described  : — i.  e.  as  king's  mother,  regent, 
governess  of  the  king  when  under  age."  (Bruce's 
Travels,  vol.  ii.  p.  531.)  "  Gusho  bad  confiscated,  in 
the  name  of  the  king,  all  the  queen''s  [i.  e.  the  Iteghe] 
or  king's  mother's  villages,  which  made  her  believe, 
that  this  offer  of  the  king  to  bring  her  to  Gondar  was 
an  insidious  one.  In  order  to  make  the  bi-each  the 
wider,  he  had  also  prevailed  upon  the  king's  [natural] 
mother  to  come  to  Gondar,  and  insist  with  her  son 
to  be  crowned,  and  take  the  title  and  estate  of  Iteghe. 
The  king  was  prevailed  upon  to  gratify  his  [natural] 
mother,  under  pretence  that  the  Iteghe  had  refused 
to  come  upon  his  invitation  ;  but  this,  as  it  was  a  pre- 
tence only,  so  it  was  expressly  a  violation  of  the  law 
of  the  land,  which  permits  of  but  one  Iteghe,  and 
never  allows  the  nomination  of  a  new  one,  while  the 
former  is  in  life,  however  distant  a  relation  she 
may  be  to  the  then  reigning  king.  In  consequence  of 
this  netv  coronation,  two  large  villages,  Tshemmera 
and  Tocussa,  which  belonged  to  the  Iteghe,  as  ap- 
pendages of  her  royalty,  of  course  devolved  upon  the 
king's  OAvn  mother,  newly  crowned,  who  sending  her 
people  to  take  possession,  the  inhabitants  not  only 
refused  to  admit  her  officers,  but  forcibly  drove  them 
away,  declaring  tliey  would  acknowledge  no  other 
mistress  but  their  old  one,  to  whom  they  were  bound 
by  the  lavrs  of  the  land."  (Ibid.  vol.  iv.'p.  244.) 

From  these  exti-acts,  we  perceive,  (1.)  that  the  title 
and  ])lace  of  "  King's  mother  "  is  of  great  conse- 
quence ;  and,  in  reading  Bruce,  we  find  the  Iteghe 
interfering  much  in  public  affairs,  keeping  a  separate 
palace  and  court,  possessing  great  inliuence  and  au- 
thority; (2.)  that  while  any  Iteghe  is  living,  it  is  con- 
trary to  law  to  crown  another;  which  accounts  at 
once  for  Asa's  Iteghe,  or  king's  mother,  being  his 
grauilmother,  the  same  person  as  held  that  dignity 
before  he  came  to  the  crown  ;  (3.)  that  this  thlc  oc- 
curs also  in  other  parts  of  the  li'ast ;  and  is  given 
without  consideration  of  natural  maternity.  (4.)  It 
should  seem,  tiiat  "  Queen,"  in  our  sense  of  the  word, 
is  a  title  and  station  unknown  in  the  royal  harem 
throughout  the  East.  If  it  be  taken  at  all,  it  is  by 
that  wife  who  brings  a  son  after  the  king's  corona- 
tion ;  sucii  son  being  presumptive  heir  to  the  crown, 
his  mother  is  sometimes  entitled  "  Sultana  Queen," 
or  "prime  Sultaness;"  but  not  with  our  English 
ideas  annexed  to  the  title  queen,  (o.)  That  this  pir- 
son  is  called  inditlavntly,  "Queen,"  or  "Iteghe,"  (-r 


"  King's  Mother,"  even  by  Bruce  ;  whence  arises  the 
very  same  ambiguity  in  our  extracts  from  him,  as 
has  been  remarked  in  Scripture.  This  illustration 
also  sets  in  its  proper  light  the  interference  of  the 
"  queen,"  in  the  story  of  Belshazzar ;  (Dan.  v.  10.) 
who,  by  her  reference  to  former  events,  appears  not 
to  have  been  any  of  the  wives  of  Belshazzar ;  neither, 
indeed,  could  any  of  liis  wives  have  come  to  that 
banquet,  (see  Esther  iv.  16.)  or  have  appeared  there 
under  those  circumstances,  even  had  such  a  one  been 
acquainted  with  the  powers  and  talents  of  Daniel,  as 
a  prophet,  or  as  a  public  man,  or  servant  of  the  king; 
or,  if  intelligence  of  what  passed  at  the  banquet  had 
been  carried  into  the  harem,  both  of  which  ideas  are 
very  unlikely.  Whereas,  the  queen  evidently  speaks 
with  much  influence,  if  not  authority  ;  and  was  a 
proper  person  to  be  informed,  and  consulted  also,  on 
any  emergency.  Besides,  as  her  palace  was  sej)arate 
and  distant  from  the  king's,  (though  it  might  be 
within  the  circuit  of  Babylon,  and  certainly  was,  at 
this  time,  as  Babylon  was  now  under  siege,)  it  allows 
for  the  interval  of  confusion,  conjecture,  intj-oduction 
of  the  wise  men,  &:c.  befoi'e  the  queen's  coming. 
Accounts  must  have  been  carried  to  her,  and  her 
coming  from  her  own  palace  to  the  king's  must  have 
taken  up  time.  In  order,  therefore,  to  determine 
who  was  this  "queen,"  which  has  been  a  desidei-atum 
among  learned  men,  it  is  not  enough  to  know,  wlio 
might  be  Belshazzar's  wife,  or  wives,  at  the  time : 
but  also  who  was  Iteghe,  or  king's  niother,  before  he 
came  to  the  crown  ;  and  who,  therefore,  being  well 
acquainted  with  former  events,  and  continuing  in  the 
same  dignity,  might  natiu'ally  allude  to  tliem  on  this 
occasion.  Had  inquiry  into  this  matter  been  con- 
ducted on  these  principles,  in  all  probability,  it  had 
been  more  conformable  to  the  manners  of  the  East, 
and  had  superseded  many  ineffectual  conjectures. 

I.  KIR,  a  city  of  Moab,  probably  the  modern 
Kerek,  Isa.  XV.  1. 

II.  KIR,  part  of  Media,  where  the  river  Kyrus,  or 
Cyrus,  flows,  2  Kings  xvi.  9  ;  Isa.  xxii.  6  ;  Amos  i,  5  ; 
ix.7. 

KIR-HARESHETH,  probably  the  same  with 
KiR.     See  Ar. 

I.  KIRIATH,  a  city  in  Judah,  Josh.  xv.  25. 

II.  KIRIATH,  a  city  of  Moab,  Jer.  xlviii.  24,  41 ; 
Amos  ii.  2. 

III.  KIRIATH,  a  city  of  Benjamin,  Josh,  xviii.  28. 
KIRIATHAIM,  a  town  beyond  Jordan,  ten  miles 

from  Medaba,  west,  Josli.  xiii.  19. 

I.  KIRJATHAIM,  a  city  of  Naphtali,  1  Chron.  vi. 
76,     Thoueht  to  be  the  Karthan  of  Josh.  xxi.  32. 

II.  KIRJATHAIM,  a  city  of  Moab,  or  partly  iu 
the  lot  of  Reuben,  Gen.  xiv.  5 ;  Numb,  xxxii.  37 ;  Josh, 
xiii.  19;  Jer.  xlviii.  1,  23;  Ezek.  xxv,  9, 

KIRJATH-ARBA,  or  Hebron,  a  city  of  Judah, 
(Josh,  XV,  13.)  so  called  from  its  founder,  Arba.  See 
Hebron. 

KIRJATH-BAAL,  a  city  in  Judah,  called  also  Kir- 
jath-jearim,  (Josh.  xv.  60 ;  xviii.  14 ;  Jer.  xxvi.  20,) 
and  also  Baalah 

KIRJATH-HUZOTH,  the  city  of  squares,  was  the 
royal  seat  of  Balak,  king  of  IMoab  ;  and  therefore  may 
well  be  supposed  to  have  had  handsome  streets,  &c. 
Numb.  xxii.  39. 

KIRJATH-JEARIM,  a  city  of  the  Gibeonites, 
afterwards  given  to  Judah.  It  was  on  the  confines  of 
Benjamin,  (Josli.  xv.  9.)  ai)out  nine  miles  from  Jeru- 
salem, in  the  way  to  Lydda.  Here  the  ark  was 
lodged  for  many  years  in  tlie  bouse  of  Abinadab  ;  till 
David  removed  it  to  Jerusalem,  1  Chron.  xiii. 


KIS 


L  S97  ] 


KNE 


KIRJATH-SANNAH,  a  city  of  Judah,  Joshua 
XV.  49. 

KIR.IATH-SEPHER,  the  ciVy  of  books,  otherwise 
Debir,  Kirjath-debir,  the  city  of  words,  a  city  in  the 
trihe  of  Judah,  afterwards  given  to  Caleb.  It  was 
taken   by  Otiniiel.  to  whom  Caleb  for  Ids  reward 

fave  his  (laughter  Achsah  in  marriage,  Josh.  xv.  15 ; 
udg.  i.  11,  &c.  This  city  was  so  called  long  before 
Moses  ;  at  least  it  would  seem  so  by  the  manner  of 
mentioning  it,  \vhich  proves  that  books  were  known 
before  that  legislator,  and  that  he  is  not  the  oldest 
writer,  as  the  fathers  have  asserted  ;  a  character 
which,  it  is  to  be  observed,  he  never  assumes.  It  is 
possible  that  the  Canaanites  might  lodge  their  records 
in  this  city,  and  those  few  monuments  of  antiquity 
which  they  had  preserved ;  or  it  might  be  something 
like  the  cities  of  the  priests  in  Israel,  the  residence 
of  the  learned ;  a  kind  of  college.  This  idea  re- 
ceives confirmation  from  its  other  name  Debir,  which 
designates  an  oracle  ;  and  seems  to  hint  at  a  seat  of 
learning ;  an  establishment,  probably,  of  priests,  for 
the  purpose  of  educating  the  younger  members  of 
their  body.  The  circumstance  is  very  remarkable, 
because  it  Occurs  so  early  as  the  days  of  Joshua; 
and  is  evidently  an  estabhshmont  by  the  Canaanites, 
pievious  to  the  Hebrew  invasion.  It  contributes, 
therefore,  greatly  to  prove  that  the  origin  of  letters 
was  not  the  revelation  of  thcni  to  Moses  on  mount 
Sinai,  as  some  have  imagined  ;  since,  beside  the  si- 
lence of  Moses  on  that  matter,  we  find  indications  of 
their  being  already  in  use  elsewhere.     See  Debir. 

I.  KISH,  son  of  Abi  Gibeon  and  Maachah,  1 
Chron.  viii.  30. 

II.  KISH,  son  of  Ner,  and  father  of  king  Saul, 
1  Sam.  ix.  1  ;  1  Chron.  viii.  33  ;  ix.  38,  39. 

III.  KISH,  son  of  Abdi,  a  Levite  of  Merari's 
family,  2  Chron.  xxix.  12. 

KISHION,  a  city  of  the  tribe  of  Issachar,  yielded 
to  the  Levites  of  Gershom's  family.  Josh.  xix.  20.  It 
is  the  same  with  Kedesh  III. 

KISHON,  a  brook  which  rises  in  the  ])Iain  of 
Jezreel,  near  the  foot  of  mount  Tabor,  x^fter  pass- 
ing through  the  great  plain  and  receiving  the  waters 
of  various  smaller  streams,  it  passes  along  the  foot 
of  mount  Carmel,  and  discharges  itself  into  the 
Mediterranean,  a  short  distance  south  of  Acco,  or 
Acre,  Judges  v.  21.  (See  Carmel  II.)  For  a  more 
particular  account  of  the  Kishon,  see  the  Biblical 
Repository,  vol.  i.  p.  601.     R. 

KISS.  There  are  in  the  language  of  Scripture, 
kisses  of  friendship,  adoration,  homage,  and  respect ; 
kisses  of  peace  and  reconciliation.  Paul  speaks  fre- 
quently of  the  kiss  of  peace,  used  among  believers, 
and  given  by  them  to  one  another,  as  a  token  of  love 
and  union,  publicly  in  their  religious  assemblies, 
Rom.  xvi.  IG.     See  Adore. 

Pharaoh  tells  Joseph,  "  Thou  shalt  be  over  my 
house ;  and  upon  thy  mouth  shall  all  my  people 
kiss  ;"  our  translation  reads,  "  according  to  thy  word 
shall  all  my  j)cople  be  ruled ;"  but  places  in  the  margin, 
'•  at  thy  word  shall  all  my  people  kiss."  AVe  read  in 
Prov.  xxiv.  26,  "The  lips  shall  be  kissed  that  give 
right  words  in  answer  ;"  and  as  this  seems  to  express 
the  same  action  as  is  referred  to  Joseph,  it  may  be 
proper  to  examine  the  import  of  the  phrase.     It  is 

Erobable  that  it  refers,  ultimately,  to  the  mode  of 
issing  the  roll  of  a  decree,  or  writing,  which  con- 
tains the  orders  of  a  sovereign  prince,  as  is  still  the 
custom  in  the  East,  that  is,  the  written  orders  of 
Joseph  should  be  treated  with  the  same  respect,  by 
inferior  officers,  as  those  of  the  king.     The  passage 


in  Proverbs  is  rendered  by  the  LXX,  "  Lips  shall 
kiss  those  things  that  answer  to  right  words  ;"— that 
IS,  those  writings,  those  decrees,  which  correspond 
to  principles  of  equity  and  justice,  shall  be  treated 
With  the  utmost  reverence,  even  to  kissing.  The 
mode  of  honoring  a  writing  from  a  sovereign  in  the 
East,  is  by  kissing  it,  and  then  putting  it  up  to  the 
forehead.     See  Letters. 

It  desen-es  notice,  that  various  parts  of  the  person 
were  occasionally,  and  still  are,  kissed  in  the  East ; 
probably  according  to  the  degree  of  intimacy  of  the 
parties,  or  to^  their  relative  stations— as  the  lips,  the 
liands,  the  feet,  the  garments,  the  earth  where  the 
feet  liad  trodden,  &c.  and  in  many  instances,  things 
sent  by  a  superior  to  an  inferior.  So  Isaac  says  to 
his  son,  "  Come  near  and  kiss  me  ;"  (Gen.  xxvii.  26.) 
so  Joseph  fell  on  his  father's  face,  and  kissed  it ; 
(Gen.  1.  1.)  so  Joab  took  Amasa  by  the  beard,  to  kiss 
it;  (2  Sam.  xx.  9.)  and  so  the  woman  kissed  the  feet 
of  Christ,  Luke  vii.  45.  We  should  remark,  also, 
that  not  only  men  who  were  related  kissed  each 
other,  as  La'ban  and  Jacob,  (Gen.  xxix.  14.)  Esau 
and  Jacob,  (Gen.  xxxiii.  4.)  and  Joseph  and  his 
brethren;  but  Samuel  kissed  Saul,  (1  Sam.  x.  1.)  as 
a  token  of  respect  to  the  king  elect ;  in  like  manner, 
when  the  Son  is  declared  king,  (Ps.  ii.  12.)  the 
kings  and  judges  of  the  earth  are  directed  to  kiss 
him  ;  no  doubt  to  show  their  submission,  venera- 
tion and  affection.  Jonathan  and  David  kissed  each 
other,  (1  Sam.  xx.  41.)  and  "Absalom  kissed  any 
man — of  whatever  rank,  or  situation — that  came 
near  to  him,"  2  Sam.  xv.  5.  This  custom  long  con- 
tinued, for  "  the  brethren  fell  on  Paul's  neck,  and 
kissed  him,"  Acts  xv.  37.  This  accounts,  very  natu- 
rally, for  the  custom  of  the  "  kiss  of  peace,"  among 
the  primitive  Christians  ;  which,  however  it  might 
seem  to  us  to  be  unadvisable,  was  in  those  days  es- 
teemed merely  as  a  mode  of  expressing  affectionate 
honor.  It  should  be  remembered,  too,  that  the  sexes 
sat  apart  in  Jewish  and  in  Christian  places  of  wor- 
ship ;  though  the  heathen  took  occasion  from  the 
use  of  this  salutation,  to  raise  reports  injurious  to 
Christian  purity.  It  did  not  long  continue  to  be 
practised  in  public  assemblies,  being  probably  gradu- 
ally relinquished.  There  is  some  reason,  however, 
to  think  that  it  continued  among  several  of  the  sects 
denominated  heretics  ;  where  it  gave  occasion  to  the 
same  reports  of  promiscuous  embraces,  as  it  had 
done  when  in  general  use  among  Christians. 

KITE,  a  bird  of  prey,  and  therefore  placed  by 
3Ioses  among  the  unclean  birds.  Lev.  xi.   14.     See 

BlRPS 

KITHLISH,  a  city  of  Judah,  Josh.  xv.  40. 

KITIION,  a  city  of  Zebulun,  which  that  tribe 
could  not  take  from  the  Canaanites,  Judg.  i.  30.  Ki- 
tron  is  Sippor,  (Sepphoris,)  says  Bab.  Megill.  (fol.  6. 
1.)  a  very  strong  place,  and  the  largest  city  in  Gali- 
lee. It  is  noted  in  the  Talmuds  for  being  a  univer- 
sity ;  in  which  taught  rabbi  Judah  the  Holy,  who 
died  here. 

KITTIM,  sou  of  Javan,  and  grandson  of  Noah, 
Gen.  X.  4.     See  Chittim. 

KNEADING-TROUGHS.  In  the  description  of 
the  departure  of  the  Israelites  from  Eg>fpt,  (Exod. 
xii.  34.)  we  read  that  "the  people  took  their  dough 
before  it  was  leavened,  their  kneading-troughs  being 
bound  up  in  their  clothes  upon  their  shoulders." 
Persons  who  know  how  cumbersome  our  kneading- 
troughs  are,  and  how  much  less  important  they  are 
than  many  other  utensils,  may  wonder  at  this  state- 
ment, and  find  a  difficulty  in  accounting  for  it.     But 


KNEADING-TROUGHS 


[  598  ] 


KNO 


this  wonder  will  cease,  when  it  is  understood  that 
the  vessels  which  the  Arabs  make  use  of,  for  knead- 
ing the  unleavened  cakes  they  prepare  for  those  who 
travel  in  the  very  desert  through  which  Israel  passed, 
are  only  small  wooden  bowls ;  and  that  they  seem 
to  use  no  other  m  their  own  tents  for  that  purpose 
or  any  other  ;  these  bowls  being  used  by  them  for 
kneading  their  bread,  and  serving  up  theirprovisions 
when  cooked.  It  will  appear,  that  nothing  could  be 
more  convenient  than  kneading-troughs  of  this  sort 
for  the  Israelites  in  their  journey.  Mr.  Harmer, 
however,  expresses  himself  as  being  a  little  doubt- 
ful, whether  these  were  the  things  that  Moses  meant, 
since  it  seems  that  the  Israelites  had  made  a  pro- 
vision of  corn  sufficient  for  their  consumption  for 
about  a  month,  which  they  were  preparing  to  bake  all 
at  once  ;  but  which  their  own  little  wooden  bowls, 
used  to  knead  the  bread  in  they  wanted  for  a  single  day, 
could  not  contain,  nor  yet  well  carry  a  number  of  those 
things  they  had  borrowed  of  the  Egyptians.  Be- 
sides, he  adds.  Dr.  Pococke  informs  us,  that  the  Arabs 
actually  carry  their  dough  in  something  else  ;  for,  after 
having  spoken  of  their  coi)per  dishes  put  one  within 
another,  and  their  wooden  bowls,  in  which  they 
make  their  bread,  and  which  make  up  all  the  kitchen 
furniture  of  an  Arab,  even  where  he  is  settled  ;  he 
gives  us  a  description  of  a  round  leather  coverlet, 
which  they  lay  on  the  ground,  and  which  serves 
them  to  eat  from.  This  piece  of  furniture  has,  he 
says,  rings  round  it,  by  which  it  is  drawn  together 
with  a  chain,  that  has  a  hook  to  it,  to  hang  it  by.  It 
is  drawn  together,  and  in  this  manner  they  bring  it 
full  of  bread,  and  when  the  repast  is  over,  carry  it 
away  at  once,  with  all  that  is  left.  (Vol.  i.  p.  182.) 
Whether  this  utensil  is  rather  to  be  understood  by 
the  word  translated  kneading-troughs,  than  the  Arab 
wooden  bowl,  Mr.  Harmer  does  not  positively  deter- 
mine ;  but  he  remarks  that  there  is  nothing,  in  the 
other  three  places  in  which  the  word  occurs,  to  con- 
tradict this  explanation.  These  places  are  Exod. 
viii.  3 ;  Dent,  xxviii.  5  and  17.  in  the  two  last  of 
which  places  it  is  translated  store.  See  also  imder 
Caravanserai. 

Niebuhr's  description  of  this  travelling  equipage, 
in  which  we  find  a  piece  of  furniture  of  the  same 
nature  as  that  just  spoken  of,  and  suitable,  not  only 
for  the  same  purpose,  but  for  others  also,  may  be 
useful.  We  observe,  that  this  is  usually  slung  on  the 
camels,  in  travelling  ;  which  accounts  for  the  re- 
mark of  the  Israelite  writer,  tliat  the  people  "  carried 
their  kneading-ltags  on  their  shoulders"  knapsack- 
fashion,  bound  up,  that  is,  drawn  close  ;  which  may 
be  ascribed  to  two  coincident  causes,  (1.)  they  had 
not  camels  sufficient  to  transport  the  baggage  of  such 
a  numerous  host;  (2.)  they  were  sent  away  with 
speed,  and  had  no  time  allowed  them  to  procure 
travelling  animals  for  general  accommodation  ;  tln^y 
must  either  carry  their  food  themselves,  or  relin- 
quish it.  "  In  the  deserts  through  which  we  were 
to  travel,  (says  Niebuhr,)  a  tent  and  beds  were  indis- 
pensably necessary.  We  had  a  neat  collection  of 
kitchen  utensils  made  of  copper,  and  tinned  without 
and  witliin.  Instead  of  glasses,  which  are  so  liable 
to  be  broken,  we  used  also  copper  bowls  completely 
tinned.  A  bottle  of  thick  leather  served  us  as  a  ca- 
raffe.  Our  butter  we  put  up  in  a  leathern  jar.  In 
a  wooden  box,  covered  witii  leather,  and  parted  out 
into  shelves,  we  stored  our  spiceries  of  all  sorts  •  and 
in  another  similar  box  we  laid  our  candl(>s  ;  in  the 
lid  of  the  latter,  we  fixed  an  iron  socket  which  served 
us  for  a  candl(?stick.   We  had  large  lanterns  of  folded 


linen,  with  the  lid  and  bottom  of  tin.  For  a  table, 
with  table  linen,  we  had  a  round  piece  of  leather, 
with  iron  rings  at  certain  distances  round  it,  through 
which  cords  were  passed,  after  our  meals ;  and  the 
table  hung,  in  the  form  of  a  purse,  upon  one  of  our 
camels.  But  we  imprudently  put  our  wine  into 
great  flasks,  called  in  the  East  damasjanes,  and  large 
enough,  each  of  them,  to  contain  twenty  ordinary 
bottles.  These  vases  are  very  liable  to  be  broken  by 
the  jolting  of  the  camels,  as  we  found  by  the  loss  of 
a  part  of  our  wine.  It  is  much  better  to  put  your 
wine,  when  you  are  to  carry  it  upon  camels,  into 
goat-skin  bottles.  This  species  of  vessels  may  at 
first  appear  little  suitable  for  the  purpose  ;  but  they 
communicate  no  bad  taste  to  the  liquor,  if  the  skins 
have  been  properlj'  dressed.  The  same  vessels  an- 
swer best  to  carry  the  store  of  water  that  is  requisite 
in  travelling  through  dry  and  desert  countries." 
(Vol.  i.  p.  163.  Eng.  edit.)  The  reader  may  now 
have  a  much  clearer  idea  of  the  article  designed  by 
the  Hebrew  historian,  than  was  possible  for  him  to 
conceive  from  the  rendering  of  the  English  version 
— kneading-trough.  The  notion  of  a  kneading- 
trough,  and  that  of  an  open  leather  cover,  forming  a 
bag,  are  so  dissimilar,  that  it  seems  absolutely  neces- 
sary, were  it  only  to  avoid  that  ridicule  to  which 
scepticism  is  ever  promjjt,  that  a  different  word 
should  be  substituted;  a  word  more  expressive  of 
the  subject  and  utensil  intended,  and  also  of  its  state, 
as  "bound  up."  In  fact,  if  proper  terms  were  se- 
lected to  particularize,  if  not  to  describe,  the  utensils 
of  the  East,  as  well  domestic  as  others,  with  which 
we  are  now  much  more  intimately  acquainted  than 
our  worthy  and  venerable  translators  were,  many  of 
the  sneers  that  pass  for  wit,  while  they  are  nothing 
better  than  sheer  ignorance,  would  lose  even  that 
shadow  of  support  to  their  profaneness  at  which 
they  catch,  for  want  of  more  ct)rrect  information. 

KNOWLEDGE.  To  consider  this  word  fully, 
would  make  a  very  extensive  article  :  a  few  remarks 
must  suffice.  (1.)  It  imports,  to  imderstnnd — to  have 
acquired  information  respecting  a  subject.  (2.)  It 
implies  discernment,  judgment,  discretion  ;  the  power 
of  discrimination.  It  may  be  partial ;  we  see  but  in 
part,  we  know  but  in  part,  1  Cor.  xiii,  9.  (3.)  To 
have  ascertained  by  experiment.  Gen.  xxii.  12.  (4.) 
It  implies  discovery,  detection  ;  by  the  law  is  the 
knowledge  of  sin,  Rom.  iii.  20. 

Natural  knowledge  is  acquired  by  the  senses,  by 
sight,  hearing,  feeling,  &c. ;  by  reflection ;  by  the 
pro])er  use  of  our  reasoning  powers;  by  natural 
genius;  dexterity  improved  by  assiduity  and  culti- 
vation into  great  skill.  So  of  husbandry,  (Isa.  xxviii. 
36.)  of  art  and  elegance,  (Exod.  xxxv.  31.)  in  the  in- 
stance of  Bczaleel.  Spiritual  knowledge  is  the  gifl 
of  God  ;  Init  may  be  improved  by  study,  considera- 
tion, &c. 

The  jiriests'  lips  should  keep  knowledge  ;  (Mai.  ii. 
7.)  not  keep  it  to  themselves,  but  keep  it  in  store  for 
others ;  to  communicate  knowledge  is  the  way  to 
preserve  it. 

Knowledge  is  spoken  of  as  an  emblematical  per- 
son, as  riches,  and  treasures,  as  excellency,  and  as  the 
gift  of  God. 

"  Knowledge  pufloth  up,  but  charity  edifieth  ;  (1 
Cor.  viii.  1.)  i.  e.  the  knowledge  of  speculative  and 
useless  things,  which  tend  only  to  gratify  curiosity 
and  vanity,  which  contribute  neither  to  our  own  sal- 
vation nor  to  our  neighbor's,  neither  to  the  public 
good,  nor  to  God's  glory  ;  such  knowledge  is  much 
more  dangerous  than   profitable.     The  true  science 


KOH 


[  599  ] 


KOR 


is  that  of  salvation  ;  the  best  employment  of  our 
knowledge  is  in  sanctifying  ourselves,  in  glorifying 
God,  and  in  edifying  our  neighbor  :  this  is  the  only 
sound  knowledge. 

God  is  the  source  and  fountain  of  knowledge ;  He 
knows  all  things,  at  all  times,  and  in  all  places.  Jesus 
Christ  is  possessed  of  universal  knowledge  ;  knows 
the  heart  of  man,  and  whatever  a])})crtains  to  his 
mediatorial  kingdom.  Men  know  progressively ; 
and  ought  to  follow  on  to  know  the  Lord ;  what  we 
know  not  now  we  may  know  hereafter.  Holy  angels 
know  in  a  manner  much  sujierior  to  man  ;  and,  oc- 
casionally, reveal  part  of  their  knowledge  to  him. 
Unholy  angels  may  know  many  things,  of  which 
man  is  ignorant.  The  great  discretion  of  life  and  of 
godhncss  is,  to  discern  what  is  desirable  to  be  known, 
and  what  is  best  unknown ;  lest  the  knowledge  of 
"  good  lost  and  evil  got,"  as  in  the  case  of  our  first 
parents,  should  prove  the  lamentable  source  of  innu- 
merable evils. 

Knowledge  of  God  is  indispensable,  self-knowl- 
edge is  important,  knowledge  of  otlicrs  is  desirable  ; 
to  be  too  knowing  in  worldly  matters  is  often  acces- 
sory to  sinful  knowledge  ;  the  knowledge  of  oiu- 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  is  a  mean  of  escajjing  the  pollu- 
tions which  are  in  the  world.  Workers  of  iniquity 
have  no  knowledge  ;  no  proper  conviction  of  the 
divine  presence.  Some  men  are  brutish  in  their 
knowledge  ;  e.  g.  he  who  knows  that  a  wooden 
image  is  but  a  shapely-formed  stum])  of  a  tree,  yet 
worships  it ;  he  boasts  of  his  deity,  which,  in  fact,  is 
an  instance  of  his  want  of  discernment,  degrading 
even  to  brutality.  Some  are  wicked  in  their  knowl- 
edge, "knowing  the  depths  of  Satan,  as  they  speak," 
Rev.  ii.  20.  Strange  indeed !  that  men  should  boast 
of  what  is  to  their  detriment,  and  pride  themselves 
on  knowing  that  the  absence  of  which  wei'e  their 
greatest  ftdicity ! 

KOHATH,  son  of  Levi,  and  father  of  Amram, 
Jehar,  Hebron,  and  Uzziel,  Gen.  xlvi.  IL  Kohath's 
family  was  appointed  to  carry  the  ark  and  sacred 
vessels  of  the    tabernacle,    while    Israel    marched 


through  the  wilderness,  Exod.  vi.  18 ;  Numb.  W. 
4 — 6,  &c. 

L  KORAH,  son  of  Esau  and  Aholibamah,  suc- 
ceeded Kenaz  in  part  of  the  kingdom  of  Edom, 
Gen.  xxxvi.  1.5,  16. 

IL  KORAH,  a  son  of  Jehar,  and  head  of  the 
Korites,  a  celebrated  family  among  the  Levites. 
Korah  being  dissatisfied  with  the  rank  he  held  among 
the  sons  of  Levi,  and  envying  the  authority  of  Moses 
and  Aaron,  formed  a  party  against  them  ;  in  which 
he  engaged  Datiian,  Abiram,  and  On,  with  2.^0  of  the 
jnincipal  Levites,  Numb.  xvi.  1 — 3,  &c.  At  the  head 
of  these  rebels,  Korah  complained  to  Moses  and 
Aaron,  that  they  arrogated  to  themselves  all  author- 
ity over  the  people  of  the  Lord.  Moses,  falling  with 
his  face  upon  the  earth,  answered  them,  "  Let  every 
one  of  you  take  his  censer,  and  to-morrow  he  shall 
put  incense  into  it ;  and  offer  it  before  the  Lord  ;  and 
he  shall  be  acknowledged  priest  whom  the  Lord 
shall  choose  and  approve."  The  next  day  Korah, 
with  250  of  his  faction,  presenting  themselves  with 
their  censers,  the  glory  of  the  Lord  appeared  visibly 
over  the  tabernacle  ;  and  a  voice  was  heard,  "  Sepa- 
rate yourselves  from  among  this  congregation,  that  I 
may  consume  them  in  a  moment."  Moses  and  Aaron, 
hereupon,  falling  with  their  faces  to  the  ground,  in- 
terceded for  the  people  ;  and  the  Lord  conuiianded 
them  all  to  depart  from  about  the  tents  of  Korah, 
Dathan,  and  Abiram.  When  the  jjcople  were  re- 
tired, Moses  said,  "  If  these  uu'n  die  the  comujon 
death  of  all  men,  then  the  Lord  hath  not  sent  me  ; 
but  if  the  earth  open  and  swallow  them  up  alive, 
then  ye  shall  know  that  they  have  blas])hemed  the 
Lord."  As  soon  as  he  had  spoken,  the  earth  opened 
and  swallowed  the  rebels  up,  with  all  that  belonged 
to  them.  One  thing  whicli  added  to  this  sur])rising 
occurrence  was,  that  when  Korah  was  swallowed 
up  in  the  earth,  his  sons  were  preserved.  David  ap- 
pointed them  their  ofiice  in  the  temple,  to  guard  the 
doors,  and  to  sing  praises.  Several  psalms  are  in- 
scribed to  them,  under  the  name  of  Korah  ;  as  the 
42,  44,  45,  46,  47,  48,  49,  and  the  84,  85,  87  88, 


LAI 


LAM 


LABAN,  son  of  Bethuel,  and  grandson  of  Nahor, 
brother  to  Rebekah,  and  father  to  Rachel  and  Leah. 
See  Jacob. 

LABOR  is  sometimes  taken  for  the  fruit  of  labor, 
Ps.  cv.  44,  "And  they  inherited  the  labor  of  the 
people."  And  elsewhere,  "  Let  strangers  spoil  his 
labor,  and  the  first-fruits  of  their  labors  ;"  that  is, 
what  they  have  actpiired  by  their  labor. 

LACHISH,  a  city  in  the  south  of  Judali,  Josh.  x. 
23  ;  XV.  39.  It  was  rebuilt  and  fortified  by  Reho- 
boam,  2  Chron.  xi.  9.  Sennacherib  besieged  but 
did  not  take  it,  2  Kings  xviii.  17  ;  xix.  8  ;  2  Chron. 
xxxii.  9. 

LAISH,  a  city  in  the  northern  border  of  Pales- 
tine, acquired  by  the  tribe  of  Dan,  from  whom  it  was 
subsequently  called  Dan,  Judg.  xviii.  7,  29.  (See 
Dan.)  The  Laish  mentioned  Isa.  x.  30.  may,  or  may 
not,  be  the  Laish  of  Dan.  The  prophet  commands 
the  daughter  of  Gallim  to  lift  up  her  voice,  so  that  it 
may  be  heard  to  a  distance  ;  but  whether  to  so  great 
a  distance  as  Dan,  may  be  doubted.     Indeed,  it  does 


not  appear  for  what  purpose  her  screams  should  be 
heard  so  far  ofl^;  but  if  this  Laish  wore  a  town  nearer 
to  Gcba,  Gibeal),  and  the  other  ])laces  mentioned, 
then  this  alarm  might  be  intoided  to  reach  Laish, 
for  the  pur|)ose  of  inducing  its  inhabitants  to  join  in 
the  general  flight, 

LAKE,  a  confluence  of  waters.  The  ])rincipal 
lakes  in  Judea  were  the  lake  Asphaltitcs,  or  Dead 
sea,  the  lake  of  Tiberias,  and  the  lake  Semechon,  or 
Merom.     See  the  respective  articles. 

LAMB,  the  yoiuig  of  a  sheep;  but  in  Scripture  it 
sometimes  comprehends  the  kid  ;  the  Hebrews  at 
the  passover  were  at  liberty  to  choose  either  for  a 
victim.  The  original,  seh,  in  general  signifies  a 
youngling,  whether  of  a  goat  or  ewe.  "  A  lamb  of 
a  year  old,"  may  be  interpreted  a  lamb  of  the  year, 
born  in  the  year,  but  which  does  not  stick  ;  for  to 
sacrifice  the  j)aschal  iamb  while  it  used  the  teat,  or 
to  seethe  it  in  the  milk  of  its  dam,  was  prohibited, 
Exod.  xii.  5  ;  Lev.  xxiii.  12.  On  other  occasions  the 
law  required,  that  the  young  should  be  left  eight 


LAM 


[  600 


LAM 


days  with  its  dam  before  it  was  offered,  Exod.  xxii. 
30  ;  Lev.  xxii.  27.  The  prophets  represent  the  Mes- 
siah, in  meekness,  like  a  lamb  which  is  sheared,  or 
carried  to  the  altar,  without  complaint,  Isa.  liii.  7; 
Jer.  xi.  19.  In  the  Revelation  our  Saviour  is  sym- 
bolized as  a  lamb  that  had  been  sacrificed.  The 
wicked  at  the  judgment  are  compared  to  goats,  the 
righteous  to  lambs. 

LAMB  OF  GOD.  By  this  name  John  the  Bap- 
tist called  our  Saviour,  (John  i.  29,  36.)  to  signify  his 
innocence,  and  his  quality  as  a  victim  to  be  ofiered 
for  the  suis  of  the  world.  Or,  he  might  allude  to 
these  Avords  of  the  prophet :  "  He  is  brought  as  a 
lamb  to  the  slaughter,  and  as  a  sheep  before  his 
shearers  is  dumb,  so  he  openeth  not  his  mouth,"  Isa. 
liii.  7.  If  it  were  a  little  before  the  passover — then 
the  sight  of  a  number  of  lambs  going  to  Jerusalem 
to  be  slain  on  that  occasion,  might  suggest  the  idea ; 
as  if  he  had  said,  "  Behold  the  true,  the  most  excel- 
lent Lamb  of  God,"  &.c. 
^  I.  LA3IECH,  son  of  Methuselah,  and  father  of 
Noah.  He  was  182  years  old  at  the  birth  of  Noah ; 
and  he  liv'ed  after  it  595  years;  his  wliole  life  was 
777;  being  born  A.  M.  874,  and  dying  1651. 

II.  LAMECH,son  of  MethusaeJ,  an<l  flither  of  Ja- 
bal,  Jubal,  Tubal-Cain,  and  Naamah,  Gen.  iv.  18, 
&c.  He  is  conspicuous  for  his  polygamy,  of  which 
he  is  thought  to  be  the  author,  having  married  Adah 
and  Zillah.  There  is  some  obscurity  in  Lamech's 
address  to  his  wives :  "  Hear  me,  ye  wives  of  Lamech  ; 
have  I  slain  a  man  to  my  wounding,  a)id  a  young 
man  to  my  hurt !  If  Cain  shall  be  avenged  seven-fold, 
truly  Lamech  seventy-seven  fold."  A  tradition  among 
the  Hebrews  says,  that  Lamech,  growing  blind,  when 
hunting,  killed  Cain  ignorantly,  believing  that  he 
killed  some  beast ;  and  that  afterwards  he  slew  his 
own  son  Tubal-Cain,  who  had  been  the  cause  of  this 
murder,  because  he  had  directed  him  to  shoot  at  a 
certain  place  in  the  thicket  whei-e  he  heard  some- 
thing stir.  Other  conjectures  have  been  formed  to 
explain  the  passage,  almost  all  equally  uncertain  and 
absurd.  Josephus  says,  Lamech  had  seventy-seven 
sons  by  his  two  wives  ;  but  Scripture  mentions  only 
three  sons  and  one  daughter.  [The  following  would 
seem  to  be  a  more  appropriate  translation  of  La- 
mech's address  :  "  Hear  me,  ye  wives  of  Lamech  ;  I 
have  slain  a  man  who  wounded  me ;  a  young  man 
who  smote  me.  If  Cain,  &c."  It  is  not  to  be  un- 
derstood that  Lamech  had  slain  two  ])crsons  ;  it  is 
merelv  the  repetition  of  poetic  parallelism.     R. 

LAMENTATIONS  of  Jeremiah,  a  mournfid 
poem,  comjjosed  by  the  prophet,  on  occasion  of  the 
destruction  of  Jerusalem  by  Nebuchadnezzar.  The 
first  two  chapters  principally  describe  the  calamities 
of  the  siege  of  Jerusalem  ;  the  third  deplores  the  per- 
secutions which  Jeremiah  himself  had  sufiered  ;  the 
fourth  adverts  to  the  ruin  and  desolation  of  the  city 
and  temple,  and  the  misfortune  of  Zedckiah  ;  and  the 
fifth  is  a  kind  of  form  of  prayer  for  the  Jews  in  their 
captivity.  At  the  close  the  prophet  speaks  of  the 
cruelty  of  the  Edoniites,  who  had  insulted  Jerusalem 
in  her  misery,  and  threatens  them  Avith  the  wrath  of 
God. 

The  first  four  chapters  of  the  Lamentations  are  in 
the  acrostic  form  ;  every  verse  or  couplet  beginning 
with  a  letter  of  the  Hebrew  alphabet,  in  i-egular 
order.  The  first  and  second  chapters  contain  twenty- 
two  verses,  according  to  the  letters  of  the  alphabet ; 
the  third  chapter  has  trii)lets  beginning  with  the  same 
letter ;  and  the  fourth  is  like  the  first  two,  having 
twenty-two  verses.     The  fifth  chapter  i?  not  an  acros- 


tic. The  style  of  Jeremiah's  Lamentations  is  lively, 
tender,  pathetic  and  affecting.  It  was  the  talent  of 
this  prophet  to  write  melancholy  and  moving  elegies ; 
and  never  was  a  subject  more  worthy  of  tears,  nor 
written  with  more  tender  and  affecting  sentiments. 

The  Hebrews  used  to  compose  lamentations  or 
mournful  songs  on  the  death  of  great  men,  princes 
and  heroes,  and  on  occasion  of  public  miseries  and 
calamities.  (See  2  Chron.  xxxv.  25.)  "  Behold  they 
are  written  in  the  Lamentations."  These,  however, 
are  lost,  but  we  have  those  which  were  composed  by 
David  on  the  death  of  Absalom  and  Jonathan.  The 
prophets  Isaiah,  Jeremiah,  and  Ezekiel,  having  fore- 
told the  desolations  of  Egypt,  Tyre,  Sidon  and  Bab- 
ylon, made  lamentations  on  their  fall.  It  seems  by 
Jeremiah,  that  they  had  women  hired  to  weep  :  "  Call 
for  the  mourning  women,  and  send  for  cunning 
women,  and  let  them  take  up  a  wailing  for  us,"  &c, 
(See  Isaiah  xiv.  4,  5  ;  xv.  xvi. ;  Jer.  vii.  29  ;  ix.  10, 17  ; 
xlviii.  32;  Ezek.  xix.  1 ;  xxviii.  11 ;  xxxii.  2.) 

LAMPS  are  frequently  mentioned  in  Scripture. 
That  with  seven  branches,  which  Moses  placed  in 
the  holy  place,  and  those  which  Solomon  placed  after- 
wards in  the  temple  of  Jerusalem,  are  described  in 
the  article  Ca>'dlestick. 

This  article  will  embrace  the  other  kinds  of  lamps 
or  lanterns  mentioned  in  Scripture.  The  subject, 
though  of  the  most  familiar  nature,  has  its  difficulties 
and  its  variations. 

It  is  evident,  that  lamps  intended  for  the  interior  of 
dwellings,  for  what  may  be  described  as  "  chamber 
use,"  are  likely  to  be  very  different  in  construction,  in 
form,  and  in  management  also,  from  those  which  are 
expected  to  meet  the  impulse  of  the  open  air,  the 
evening  breeze,  and,  occasionally,  the  ruder  blasts  of 
strong  winds.  The  necessity  for  proper  distinction 
appeared  urgent  to  Mr.  Harmcr ;  but  as  that  inge- 
nious writer  refers  only  to  the  New  Testament  for 
instances  of  t'le  application  of  his  remarks,  there  is 
at  least  an  ecpial  necessity  for  ascertaining  the  kinds 
mentioned  in  the  Old  Testament,  nor  less  pi-opriety 
in  distinguishing  them,  and  in  maintaining  that  dis- 
tinction, according  to  their  application. 

The  following  extract  is  from  this  writer's  Obser- 
vations :  (vol.  ii.  p.  429,  or  iv.  p.  274,  Amer.  ed.) 
"  Captain  Norden,  among  other  particulars  he  thought 
worthy  of  notice,  has  given  some  account  (part  i.  p. 
83.)  of  the  lamps  and  lanterns  that  they  make  use  of 
commonly  at  Cairo.  '  The  lamp,'  he  tells  us,  '  is  of 
the  palm-tree  wood,  of  the  height  of  twenty-three 
inches,  and  made  in  a  very  gross  manner.  The  glass, 
that  hangs  in  the  middle,  is  half  filled  with  water,  and 
has  oil  on  the  top,  about  three  fingers  in  dej)th.  Tha 
wick  is  preserved  dry  at  the  bottom  of  tlie  glass, 
where  they  have  contrived  a  place  for  it,  and  ascends 
through  a  pipe.  These  lamps  do  not  give  much 
light ;  yet  they  are  very  commodious,  because  they 
are  transpo)ted  easily  from  one  place  to  another. 
With  i-egard  to  the  lanteiT.s,  they  have  pretty  nearly 
the  figure  of  tlie  cage,  and  are  made  with  reeds.  It 
is  ;i.  collection  of  five  or  six  glasses,  like  to  that  of  the 
laiiif)  which  has  been  just  described.  They  suspend 
them  by  cords  in  the  middle  of  the  streets,  when 
there  is  any  great  festival  at  Cairo,  and  they  put 
painted  pa])ir  in  the  place  of  the  reeds.'  Were  these 
the  huiterns  that  those  who  came  to  take  Jesus  made 
use  of.'  or  were  they  such  lamps  as  these  that  Christ 
referred  to  in  the  jiarable  of  the  virgins  ?  or  are  we 
rather  to  suppose  that  these  lanterns  are  approjiriated 
to  the  Egyptian  illuminations,  and  that  Dr.  Pococke's 
account  of  the  lanterns  of  this  country  will  give  us  a 


LAMP 


[GOl  ] 


LAMP 


better  idea  of  the  lanterns  that  were  anciently  made 
use  of  at  Jerusalem  ?  '  13y  night,'  says  that  author, 
(Descript.  of  the  East,  vol.  i.)  speaking  of  the  travel- 
ling of  the  people  of  Egypt, '  they  rarely  make  use  of 
tents,  hut  lie  in  the  open  air,  having  large  lanterns, 
made  like  a  pocket  paper  lantern,  the  bottom  and  top 
being  of  copper,  tinned  over:  and  instead  of  paper, 
they  are  made  with  linen,  which  is  extended  by 
hoops  of  wire,  so  that  when  it  is  put  together  it  serves 
as  a  candlestick,  &c and  they  have  a  con- 
trivance to  hang  it  up  abroad,  by  means  of  three 
staves.'  It  appears  from  travellers,  that  lamps,  wax- 
candles,  torches,  lanterns,  and  cresset-lights,  (a  kind 
of  movable  beacon,)  are  all  made  use  of  among  the 
eastern  people.  (Thcvenot,  part  ii.  p.  35  and  37  ; 
Norden,  part  i.  p.  124  ;  Hanway.)  I  think  also,  that 
there  are  only  three  words  in  the  New  Testament  to 
express  these  things  by,  of  which  /.v/rog  seems  to  sig- 
nify the  conunon  lamps  that  are  used  in  ordinary 
life,  (Luke  xv.  8.)  which,  according  to  Norden,  aftbrd 
but  little  light.  JauTrac,  which  is  one  of  the  words 
made  use  of,  (John  xviii.  3.)  seems  to  mean  any  sort 
of  light  that  shines  brighter  than  common,  whether 
torches,  blazing  resinous  pieces  of  wood,  or  lamps 
that  are  supplied  with  more  than  ordinary  quantities 
of  oil,  or  other  unctuous  substances ;  such  as  that 
mentioned  by  Hanway,  in  his  Travels,  (vol.  i.  p.  223.) 
which  stood  in  the  court-yard  of  a  person  of  some 
distinction  in  Persia,  was  sup])lied  with  tall^^v,  and 
•was  sufficient  to  enlighten  the  wiiole  pl"cc,  as  a  sin- 
gle wax-candle  served  for  the  iJIumiiiation  of  tlie 
room  where  he  was  entertained  ;  and  such,  I  presume, 
were  the  lamps  our  Lord  speaks  of  in  the  parable  of 
the  virgins,  which  were  something  of  the  nattue  of 
common  lamps,  for  they  were  supplied  with  oil  ;  but 
then  were  supposed  to  be  sufficient  for  enlightening 
the  company  they  went  to  meet,  on  a  very  joyful  oc- 
casion, wiiich  required  the  most  vigorous  lights. 
Sir  J.  Ciiardin,  in  his  MS.  note  on  Matt.  xxv.  44,  in- 
forms us,  that  in  many  parts  of  the  East,  and  in  par- 
ticular in  the  Indies,  instead  of  torclies  and  flambeaux, 
tlioy  carry  a  pot  of  oil  in  one  hand,  and  a  lamp  full  of 
oily  rags  in  the  other.  This  seems  to  be  a  very  happy 
ilhistratiou  of  this  part  of  the  parable.  He  observes, 
in  another  of  the  MSS.  that  ihey  seldom  make  use  of 
candles  in  the  East,  especially  among  the  great ; 
candles  casting  but  little  light,  and  they  sitting  at  a 
considerable  distance  from  them.  Ezek.  i.  13,  rep- 
resents the  light  of  lamps  accordingly  as  very  lively. 
The  other  word,  (r;  wioc,)  which  occurs  in  John  xviii. 
3,  is  no  where  else  to  be  found  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment;  and  whether  it  precisely  means  lanterns,  as 
our  translators  render  the  word,  I  do  not  certainly 
know.  If  it  do,  I  conclude,  without  nuicli  hesitation, 
that  it  signifies  such  linen  lanterns  as  Pococke  gives 
an  account  of,  j-ather  than  those  mentioned  by  Nor- 
den, which  seein  rather  to  be  machines  more  proper 
for  illuminations  than  for  common  use  ;  and  if  so,  the 
evangelist  perhaps  means,  that  they  came  with  such 
lanterns  as  people  were  wont  to  make  use  of  when 
abroad  in  the  night ;  but  lest  the  weakness  of  the 
liglit  should  give  an  opportunity  to  Jesus  to  escape, 
many  of  them  had  torches,  or  such  large  and  bright 
l)urning  lamps  as  were  made  use  of  on  nuptial  solem- 
nities, the  more  eftectually  to  secm'e  him.  Such  was 
the  treachery  of  Judas  ancl  the  zeal  of  his  attendants  !" 
The  remarks  introduced  in  explanation  of  marriage 
processions,  (see  Marriage,)  have  furnished  materi- 
als for  a  correct  judgment  on  the  nature  and  form  of 
the  lamps  used  in  evening  perambulations,  on  such 
public  occasions.  Mr.  Harmer  is  more  lia])py  in  rc- 
7G 


ferring  those  described  by  Chardin  to  the  parable  of 
the  virgins,  than  in  some  other  of  his  conjectures. 
To  do  this  subject  justice,  it  might  be  considered  un- 
der several  distinctions:  as,  (1.)  Rlilitary  lamps,  those 
intended  to  meet  the  exigencies  of  night,  in  the  exter- 
nal air,  Avhen  the  breeze  is  lively,  or  when  the  wind 
is  high.  (2.)  Domestic  lamps,  those  intended  for 
service  in  the  interior  of  a  dwelling,  or  to  be  carried 
about  into  all  parts  of  it ;  but  not  powerful  enough  to 
resist  a  gale  of  wind  in  the  open  air.  (3.)  Lamps  for 
religious  uses  ;  those  hung  up  in  temples,  or  deposit- 
ed in  the  sacred  recesses  of  edifices,  public  or  private, 
&c.  We  shall,  however,  attend  only  to  the  distinction 
between  lamps  for  the  exterior,  the  open  air ;  and 
lamps  for  the  interior,  domestic  purposes.  It  is  the 
more  necessary  to  institute  a  distinction  of  this  kind, 
because  Scripture  uniformly  maintains  it,  by  employ- 
ing two  very  different  terms  to  express  artificial  lights ; 
as  well  in  the  Old  Testament  as  in  the  New.  We 
might  add,  because  Schleusncr  has  been  somewhat 
too  liberal  in  his  definition  of  the  term  lampas,  of 
which  he  says,  "  generatim  omne,  quod  lucet,  notat." 
But  whatever  shines  is  not  a  lamp  in  Scripture,  as 
may  appear  from  comparing  certain  passages. 

1.  We  meet  with  the  Hebrew  term  nifiS,  lapid, 
properly  lampid,  (whence  the  word  lamp,)  in  that 
remarkable  history  of  the  "smoking  furnace  and  the 
burning  lamp,"  which  ratified  the  covenant  made 
v/ith  Abraham,  (Gen.  xv.  17.)  where  the  meaning  is 
simply  ajictme.  The  text  observes,  that,  (1.)  it  was 
after  the  sun  w'as  gone  down,  (2.)  when  it  was  dark, 
what  is  rendered  a  furnace,  passed  ;  and  this  is  ex- 
pressly noted  as  (3.)  smoking.  Whatever  light,  or 
splendor,  overcame  the  darkness  of  the  evening,  with 
the  much  greater  darkness  occasioned  by  the  density 
of  the  smoke  by  which  it  was  immediately  surround- 
ed, and  in  the  centre  of  which  it  blazed,  was  certainly 
n'ot  feeble,  or  dim,  but  lively,  vigorous,  and  even 
powerful.  The  action  took  place  in  the  open  air ; 
and  this  lamp,  described  as  burning,  v.-as  competent 
to  resist,  and  more  than  resist,  every  impulse  of  the 
atmosphere.  With  this  we  may  compare  the  appear- 
ances at  the  giving  of  the  law,  (Exod.  xx.  18.)  when 
we  read  (ver.  21.)  of  "  the  thick  darkness"  where 
God  was  ;  of  the  'mountain  smoking,"  and  of  the 
"  thundcrings" — implying  the  concussion  of  dense 
clouds — but,  notwitiistanding  these  powerful  impedi- 
ments to  the  passage  of  light,  yet  tlie  lampadhn — less 
properly  "lightnings"  than  glowing  flames — distin- 
guished themselves  by  the  intensity  and  the  continu- 
ance of  their  eflulgence  ;  to  the  great  terror  of  all  the 
peoj)le.  The  impropriety  of  rendering  lampadim  by 
"lightnings,"  is  evident,  on  considering  a  passage 
where  the  two  words  meet,  and  must  be  distinguished 
in  the  description  of  a  majestic  person,  (Dan.  x.  G.) 
whose  countenance  had  the  briglitness  of  lightning, 
{p-\-2,  the  regular  term  for  the  flashes  of  this  jnetcor,) 
and  his  eyes  were  as  lampadi  of  fire  ;  that  is,  glowing, 
clear,  steady,  consjjicuous  flames  ;  not  vibrating,  not 
blazing,  but  compact  and  still.  It  would  manifest  a 
deplorable  deficiency  in  taste  and  propriety,  to  com- 
pare an  earthly  production  with  these  celestial  ap- 
pearances ;  but  whoever  has  contemplated  a  great 
body  of  gas  lights,  purposely  combined,  will  at  least 
be  i)repared  to  admit  the  overpowering  effulgence  of 
a  brightness  very  difterent  froRi  that  of  lightning. 

We  nnist  now  descend  Xn  the  humbler  walks  of 
humanity.  We  read  in  Judg.  vii.  KJ,  that  the  invent- 
ive Gideon  jxavc  to  his  soldiers,  at  his  sui-prise  of  the 
Midianites,  by  night— "  pitchers,  and  lamps  within 
the  pitchers."     There  can  be  no  doubt  but  what  this 


LAMP 


[602  ] 


LAMP 


hero  would  adopt  the  most  powerful  lights  he  could 
obtain.  Weak  rush  lights  would  not  answer  his  pur- 
pose. His  intention  was  to  make  the  most  tremen- 
dous noise  possible  with  his  trumpets  ;  and  the  most 
terrific  display  of  blazing  brightness  by  means  of  his 
lamps,  suddenly  beaming  with  malignant  splendor, 
in  several  parts  of  the  Midianite  host,  at  the  same  mo- 
ment. They  were,  therefore,  strong  luminaries.  AVe 
may  say  the  same  of  the  lampid  of  Samson  ;  (Judg. 
XV.  4.)-— it  was  a  burner  not  to  be  extinguished  by  the 
rude  blast  of  night.  Moreover,  the  lampid  is  made 
an  object  of  comparison  in  Isa.  Ixii.  1,  "  I  will  not 
hold  my  peace — till  the  salvation  of  Zion  go  forth  as 
a  lamp  that  burneth."  (Comp.  Ezek.  i.  13  ;  Zech.  xii. 
6,  et  al.)  Certainly,  these  comparisons  imply  a  ve- 
hement, or  at  least  a  glowing,  brilliant  illuminator. 

There  is  a  passage  in  Job  xii.  5,  which  should  be 
illustrated  in  the  present  article  ;  but  the  critics  are 
by  no  means  agreed  on  its  import  ;  whether  this  at- 
tempt to  explain  it  be  satisfactory  must  be  left  for 
others  to  determine.  Our  translation  reads,  "  He 
that  is  ready  to  slip  with  his  feet  is  as  a  lamp  despis- 
ed in  the  thought  of  him  that  is  at  ease."  Scott 
renders, 

Contempt  pursues  the  fall'n  ;  exalted  case 
With  scornful  eye  unhappy  virtue  sees. 

Good  takes  an  unjustifiable  liberty  with  the  text, 
and  transfers  the  first  word  of  this  verse  to  the  end 
of  the  preceding  one  :  he  reads. 

The  just,  the  perfect  man,  is  a  laughing-stock  to  the 

proud  ; 
A  derision,  amidst  the  sunshine  of  the  prosperous, 
While  ready  to  slip  with  his  feet. 

[The  simplest  interpretation,  however,  is  that  9f 
the  common  translation.  The  sense  plainly  is,  that 
a  man  in  adversity  is,  to  the  prosperous  man,  as  a 
lamp  about  to  expire,  which  gives  but  a  fainter  and 
fainter  light,  and  is,  therefore,  of  no  value.     R. 

The  LXX  have  constantly  rendered  the  Hebrew 
term  lampid  by  the  Greek  lampas ;  which  we  shall 
find  employed  in  the  New  Testament,  as  well  as  in 
the  Old,  to  signify  a  light  for  exterior  service.  Hav- 
ing noticed  the  effulgent  appearances  attendant  on 
celestial  powers  descending  upon  earth,  we  shall  be 
excused  for  calling  the  attention  of  the  reader,  in  the 
first  place,  to  a  like  phenomenon  in  heaven,  Rev.  iv. 
5.  "Out  of  the  throne  proceeded  lightnings,  and 
thunderings,  and  voices ;  and  there  were  seven  lamps 
of  fire  (sTTTu  kaunctSti  TTvnhc)  burning  before  the  throne, 
which  are  the  seven  Spirits  of  God."  Tliis  appear- 
ance is  sufficiently  explained  by  comparison  with 
what  has  been  said  on  Exod.  xx.  18.  Again,  in  chap, 
viii,  10,  There  fell  from  heaven  a  great  star,  burning 

as  it  were  a  lamp,  uari^n  fiiyag  xailiiurog  we  ?.au7T<jg  ; — 
the  comparison  implies  a  flame  sufficiently  vigorous 
to  resist  the  effect  of  the  velocity  with  which  the 
meteor  travelled,  to  resist  the  extinguishing  powers 
of  the  atmospliere,  incalculably  increased  by  that 
velocity.  Tho  allusion  is,  probably,  to  a  comet,  said 
to  fall  to  the  earth.  Comets  were  reckoned  among 
stars  by  the  ancients ;  and  the  Romans  sometimes 
called  a  comet, /ax,  a  torch,  or  fax  calestis,  a  heavenly 
torch.  The  term  lamp,  however,  adding  the  notion 
of  a  long  train  of  fire  streaming  behind  it,  seems  more 
appropriate  in  this  place  than  iliat  of  torch. 

The  parable  of  the  virgins  (Matt,  xxv.)  can  give  us 
no  trouble,  af\er  what  has  been  said :  the  allusion  is 
plainly,  to  lamps  of  sufficient  strength  to  retain  their 


flame  however  agitated,  whether  by  the  bearer,  or  by 
the  wind.  And  the  same  we  must  conceive  of  the 
lamps,  not  "  torches,"  of  John  xviii.  3,  where  we  read, 
"Judas,  having  received  a  band  of  men  and  officers 
from  the  chief  priests  and  Pharisees,  came  with  lan- 
terns, and  torches,  and  weapons" — uirutpavMv  y.al  ).uu- 
jiudvif.  The  term  phanos  probably  means  a  light- 
holder,  that  is,  having  the  light  within  it ;  the  term 
lampas  certainly  means  a  luminary,  having  the  light 
on  the  outside  ;  but  it  is  not  easy  to  fix  on  the  form 
of  the  lamp.  If  this  band  of  men  and  officers  were 
Roman  soldiers,  the  lamp  might  b^the  same  as  the 
Romans  employed  in  their  armies  ;  one  of  which  is 
carried  among  other  necessaries  attending  the  army 
of  Trajan,  at  the  commencement  of  his  military  ex- 
pedition across  the  Danube,  represented  on  his  me- 
morial pillar  at  Rome.  It  is  a  square  pot  (of  iron,  no 
doubt)  fixed  on  the  end  of  a  tall  pole  :  it  is  close  on 
the  sides,  and  open  only  at  the  top,  in  which  it  differs 
from  implements  used  for  the  same  purposes  by 
modern  inhabitants  of  the  East.  Major  Hope  says, 
"  A  Turkish  camp  is  lighted  up,  at  night,  by  a  kind  of 
large  lanterns,  formed  of  iron  hoops,  and  fastened  on 
long  poles.  Several  of  these  lights,  in  which  rags 
impregnated  with  grease,  oil,  or  resinous  substance, 
are  burned,  are  placed  in  front  of  the  tent  of  each  of 
the  pachas." — The  gi-eater  number  implies  the  greater 
dignity. 

Baron  clu  Tott  (p.  iii.  114.)  describes  the  means 
used  by  the  Turks  to  surprise  their  enemies  as  passing 
strange  :  "  The  high  treasurer,  commanding  a  de- 
tachment in  the  night,  was  lighted  by  the  flame  of 
resinous  wood,  burning  in  iron  chafing-dishes  fixed 
to  long  poles.  He  therefore  got  the  surname  of  The 
Blazer."  If  the  detachment  sent  to  seize  Jesus  were 
Jewish  guards,  rather  than  Roman,  it  might  be  thought 
that  open  cages,  as  Hill  calls  them,  or  chafing-dishes, 
as  Baron  du  Tott  describes  them,  were  the  lamps 
they  cai-ried  ;  but  the  term  does  not  appear  to  detei*- 
mine  their  form  or  construction. 

2.  A  lamp  for  domestic  use  is  called  ij,  tj,  iu, 
J^er,  JVir,  or  JViir,  in  the  HebrcAV  ;  a  word  which  is 
frequently  rendered  "candle"  in  our  version.  It  im- 
ports apparently  a  weaker  kind  of  light.  We  read  of 
the  industrious  woman,  (Prov.  xxxi.  18.)  "  Her  can- 
dle (nj)  goeth  not  out  by  night."  Whether  the  term 
"candle"  be  unexceptionable  here,  might  be  ques- 
tioned ;  but,  certainly,  the  busy  housewife's  light  is 
understood  to  be  in  the  inside  of  her  house.  Candles, 
among  us,  are  columns  of  solid  tallow,  wax,  &c. 
surrounding  a  wick ;  but  in  countries  where  oil  is 
plentifid,  and  especially  in  hot  countries,  the  prefer- 
ence will  naturally  be  given  to  small,  portable  oil 
lamps  ;  and  perhaps  it  were  to  be  wished  that  our 
language  afforded  a  diminutive  to  express  this  piece 
of  domestic  furniture  ; — as  in  Spanish,  lampara, 
lamparilla.  When  we  read  of  the  "golden  candle- 
stick," in  Exodus  and  Leviticus,  we  naturally  con- 
nect with  it  the  idea  of  a  stand  for  holding  candles, 
but  we  find  directions  for  trimming  and  filling  the 
lamps,  which  shows  this  idea  to  be  erroneous.  See 
Candlestick. 

This  restriction  of  the  term  JsTtr  to  an  interior  light, 
corrects  the  usual  acceptation  of  a  passage  in  Job 
xxix.  3,  which  is  commonly  understood  of  the  benefit 
derived  from  the  light  of  a  lamp,  by  a  man  who  is 
walking  abroad  in  a  dark  night ;  thus  rendered  in  our 
English  translation  : 

When  his  (God's)  candle  shinedupon  my  head, 
And  when  by  his  light  I  walked  through  darkness. 


LAMP 


[  G03  ] 


LAMP 


But  Scott  saw  the  application  of  this  to  a  domestic 
incident :  "  His  candle,  or  rather  his  lamp,  is  probably 
,  an  allusion  to  the  lamps  which  hung  from  the  ceiling 
of  the  wealthy  Arabs,"  He  adds,  '  The  latter  phrase, 
'  by  his  light  I  walked  through  darkness,'  refers,  it  is 
likely,  to  the  fires,  or  other  lights,  which  were  carried 
before  the  caravans  in  their  night  travels  through  the 
deserts,"  such  as  we  have  already  noticed. — Good, 
shghtly  changing  the  tense  of  the  verb,  reads, 

When  he  suffered  his  lamp  to  shine  upon  my  head, 
And  by  its  ligljt  I  illumined  the  darkness ! 

The  reference  is  probably  to  the  mode  by  which 
the  palaces  and  mansions  of  the  great  were  iUuminat- 
ed  in  ancient  times,  of  which  we  have  an  excellent 
descri[)tion  in  Lucretius,  well  known  to  have  been 
afterwards  closely  copied  by  Virgil.  (De  Rer.  Nat. 
ii.  24.) 

Good's  change  of  the  agent  has  the  air  of  an  im- 
perfection in  this  passage :  after  the  action,  or  sup- 
posed action,  of  Deity,  the  party  honored  siioidd  be 
perfectly  quiet ;  he  should  not  affirm,  "  I  illumined 
the  darkness."  Job  means  to  say,  "  I  was  admitted 
to  the  intei-ior  of  his  residence,  his  splendid  abode  ; 
and  lamps  for  interior  illumination  enabled  me  to  pass 
through  those  appr^c^ies  to  his  presence,  which, 
without  such  irradiation,  were  absolute  darkness." 
This  differs  something  from  Scott's  conception  of  the 
latter  verse  ;  yet,  if  the  lights  of  that  verse  be  refer- 
red to  those  which  stand  l)efore  the  tents  of  Turkish 
grandees,  as  already  stated,  the  difl'erence  would  dis- 
appear. Such  luminaries  would  direct  the  person 
who  approached,  however  dark  the  night  might  be. 

A  similar  concejjtion  verifies  the  import  of  another 
passage : 

The  light  of  the  wicked  shall  be  cast  out, 
And  the  spark  of  his  fire  shall  not  shine: 
The  light  shall  be  dark  in  his  tabernacle, 
And  his  candle  shall  be  put  out  with  him. 

Job  xviii.  5,  6. 

"  In  his  tabernacle" — rather,  in  his  most  splendid 
tent  ("^nx) ;  that  of  his  dignity  and  grandeur.  "  His 
candle,"  rather  his  lamp,  (-\j)  "which  is  hung  high 
over  him  in  the  ceiling  of  his  tent,  even  that  shall  be 
extinguished."  The  term  here,  also,  preserves  its 
import,  as  marking  an  interior  light.  Scott's  note  on 
the  passage  is  characteristic  of  the  manners  of  the 
country  :  "  These  metaphors  denote,  in  general,  the 
splendor  and  festivity  in  which  such  men  live.  Thei'e 
is,  however,  an  allusion,  we  think,  in  the  fifth  verse, 
to  what  an  Arabian  ])oet  calls  the^res  of  hospitality — 
beacons  lighted  on  the  tops  of  hills  by  persons  of  dis- 
tinction among  the  Arabs,  to  direct  and  invite  trav- 
ellers to  their  houses  and  table.  Hospitality  was 
their  national  glory  ;  and  the  loftier  and  larger  these 
fires  were,  the  greater  was  the  magnificence  thought 
to  be  :  a  wicked  rich  man,  therefore,  would  affect  this 
piece  of  state,  from  vanity  and  ostentation.  Another 
Araliian  poet  expresses  the  permanent  prosperity  of 
his  family  almost  in  the  very  words  of  our  author : 
'  Neither  is  our  fire,  lighted  for  the  benefit  of  the  night 
stranger,  extinguished,' "  It  is  but  just  to  call  tlie 
attention  of  the  reader  to  his  choice  between  this  illus- 
tration anJ  that  we  have  above  suggested  from  major 
Hope. 

This  term  occurs  so  frequently,  that  much  time 
iniglit  be  spent  in  tracing  it ;  but  what  has  been  said 
is  sufficient  to  justify  the  analogy  that  derives  from 


this  domestic  lamp  the  metaphor  of  life,  and  of  re- 
newed life,  rather  than  from  the  external  lamp,  though 
that  wei-e  much  more  powerful.  So  when  we  read 
(2  Sam.  xxi.  17.)  that  David's  servants  forbade  his  ex- 
posing himself  any  more  in  battle — that  thou  quench 
not  the  light  (the  lamp,  nj)  of  Israel — this  allusion  to 
the  king's  life  is,  with  the  greatest  j)ropriety,  drawn 
from  the  domestic,  the  family  lamp.  Again,  (1  Kings 
xi.  3G,)  God  says,  "And  imto  his  son  will  I  give  one 
tribe,  that  David  my  servant  may  have  a  light  (tj,  a 
domestic  lamj))  always  before  me  in  Jerusalem,  the 
city  which  I  have  chosen  to  put  my  name  there," 
This  certainly  implies  the  continuance  of  David's 
fcUTiily  ;  but  when  the  ten  tribes  were  broken  off  from 
his  regal  descendants,  the  simile  would  have  been 
without  resemblance,  in  fact,  contradictory,  had  it 
referred  to  the  splendid  blaze  of  the  more  conspicu- 
ous illuminator,  the  greater  lamp.  Hence  arises 
something  of  difficulty,  to  distinguish  whether  the 
term  be  used  literally,  or  metaphorically,  in  certain 
passages.  When  we  i-ead,  that  the  light,  the  domes- 
tic lamp,  of  the  wicked  shall  be  put  out,  we  are  not 
always  sure  that  it  means  a  luminary  ;  it  may  mean 
posterity — his  family  shall  fail ;  or,  on  the  contrary, 
what  seems  at  first  sight  to  imply  posterity,  may 
refer  to  the  light,  the  lamp  of  the  tent,  tabeniacle,  or 
dwelling. 

We  come  now  to  the  consideration  of  the  repre- 
sentative of  this  domestic  lamp,  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment, where,  we  believe,  there  is  no  instance  of  the 
word  laynpas  being  applied  to  an  article  of  interior 
use.  uii'xto:,  alight,  whence /.i'/)(«,  a  light-holder, 
badly  rendered  hi  the  English  version,  a  candle,  and 
a  candlestick,  imports  an  illuminator  proper  to  an 
apartment ;  and  when  we  read  (Rev.  i.  12,  &-c.)  of  the 
"seven  golden  candlesticks,"  and  of  "one  walking 
in  the  midst  of  the  seven  golden  candlesticks,"  we 
should  by  no  means  conceive  of  loose,  isolated  can- 
dlesticks, like  those  m  use  among  ourselves,  but  of 
the  seven -branched  lamp-stand,  a  principal  article 
of  furniture  in  the  Mosaic  tabernacle.  (See  Can- 
dlestick.) So  we  read  (Matt.  V.  15.)  "  Neither  do 
men  light  a  candle,  (/r/i or,  a  lamp,)  and  put  it  under 
a  bushel,  (a  measure  less  than  a  peck,)  but  put  it  on 
a  candlestick,  {Xv/nar,  a  lamp-stand,)  and  it  giveth 
light  to  all  in  the  house,"  This  passage  would  read 
more  correctly, "  Neither  do  they  light  the  lamp,  and 
place  it  under  a  small  measure,  but  on  the  lamp-stand, 
and  it  is  competent  to  give  light  to  all  the  residence." 
It  seems  to  import  the  customary  lamp  of  the  family, 
and  one  only  ;  like  that  of  the  poor  widow,  (Luke 
XV.  8.)  who,' having  lost  one  piece  of  silver  out  often, 
lights  the  lamp,  {^I'/iov,)  which  she  carries  about 
into  all  parts  of  her  residence,  searching  everj'  creek 
and  corner.  The  simplicity,  not  to  say  the  poverty, 
of  the  family,  is  very  expressive  in  this  simile  ;  they 
surely  would  not  conceal  the  only  lamp  they  had. 
A  more  wealthy  establishment  had  many  lamps, 
Luke  xii.  35,  Let  your  loins  be  girded  about,  and 
your  lights  («(  ;.r/io.,  the  lamps)  brightly  burning, 
[xaiouhot,  because  fresh  trimmed,)  like  servants  ex- 
pecting their  lord's  return  from  a  wedding-feast,  that 
at  whatever  time  of  night  he  come  home,  they  may 
open  to  him  instantly  ;  and  be  may  find  all  tliuigs  m 
order. 

These  passages  prove  sufficiently  that  ^>'x'o?  de 
notes  a  household  implement,  a  domestic  lamp;  a 
lamp  that  shines  in  a  dark  place;  (2  Pet.  i.  19.)  a 
lamp,  the  services  of  which  may  be  dispensed  with 
in  the  heavenly  Jerusalem  ;  (Rev.  xxii.  5.)  for  there 
shall  be  no  night  there  •  and  they  need  no  candle, 


LAN 


[  604  ] 


LAN 


;.(>)oi,  lamp.  No,  the  Lamb  is  tne  lamp  (o  /.vxrog) 
thereof,  chap.  xxi.  2.3. 

The  description  given  of  John  the  Baptist  may 
seem  to  militate  against  this  notion  :  lie  was  a  burn- 
ing and  a  shining  light  ;  (John  v.  35.)  properly,  he 
was  the  lamp,  6  Ac^rvog,  the  burning  and  shining ; 
also,  he  certainly  was  much  in  the  desert,  and  at  no 
time  very  domestic.  As  to  the  term  burning  [y.aLuue- 
10^,)  Campbell  dissents  from  the  opinion  of  those  who 
would  make  it  refer  to  the  ardor,  zeal,  or  power  of 
John's  example :  he  observes,  very  projjerly,  that  a 
lamp  is  used,  not  for  warming  people,  but  for  giving 
them  light.  And  certainly,  the  good  servants  (Luke 
xii.  35.)  are  not  expected  to  have  their  lamps  burn- 
ing for  the  purpose  of  warmiug  their  lord,  but  for 
cnlighteuing  the  apartments,  or  the  passages  to  the 
apartments,  and  giving  him  an  honorable  reception. 
Moreover,  since  the  days  of  Camj)bel!,  we  are  able 
to  give  a  flunher  account  of  John,  whom  his  follow- 
ers boasted  of  as  the  light,  the  apostle  of  light,  (see 
Zabiaxs,)  insomuch,  that  the  evangelist  found  it 
necessary  to  say  explicitly,  "He  was  not  that  light ; 
but  came  to  bear  witness,"  &c.  Since,  then,  the 
phrase  was  current  among  the  Jews,  concerning 
John,  our  Lord  takes  it  in  their  sense  and  application, 
implying  splendor,  brilliancy  ;  but  we  may  well 
cjuestion,  with  Campbell,  whether  it  implies  heat,  or 
anything  bej^ond  the  brightness  of  which  a  domes- 
tic lamp  is  susceptbile.  If  this  be  correct,  the  other 
part  of  the  objection  of  course  falls. 

Another  metaphorical  use  of  this  lamp  respects 
the  eye ;  the  light,  lamp,  of  the  body  is  the  eye, 
(Matt.  vi.  22.)  but  as  the  eyes  of  some  have  been 
compared  to  burning  lamps,  [lampadiin,]  should  not 
the  same  comparison  be  maintained  here  ?  We  ap- 
prehend not  ;  because  this  lanip  is  imderstood  to 
illuminate  only  the  body  itself;  not  beyond  it ;  and 
as  a  domestic  lamp  may  enlighten  all  parts  of  a 
house,  being  properly  directed,  so  may  the  eye  be 
directed  to  all  the  members  of  the  body,  and  inspect 
them  all  in  succession  ;  wliich  it  is  not  the  intention 
of  the  comparison  employed  by  Daniel,  and  in  the 
Revelation,  to  express. 

This  article  may  be  closed  by  remarking,  that  we 
arc  so  much  accustomed  to  the  use  of  glass  for  trans- 
parency, in  every  form  and  application,  that  it  is 
with  some  difficulty  we  conceive  of  a  light-holder, 
or  lantern,  as  complete  without  it.  Bnt  v/e  should 
not  forget  the  horn  lanterns  used  by  our  carriers, 
ostlers,  watchmen,  &c.  horn  being  much  safer,  be- 
cause less  brittle,  than  glass  ;  and  though  it  is  certain 
that  the  ancients  had  glass  equally  perfect  with  our 
own,  yet  wc  are  at  a  loss  to  prove  that  they  used  it 
in  the  construction  of  lanterns.  That  they  employed 
a  transparent  substance  of  some  kind,  is  evident, 
from  a  ship's  lantern  hanging  from  the  aplustrum  of 
a  vessel  in  v/hicli  Trajan  is  voyaging.  It  seems  to 
distinguish  the  ship  of  the  commander-in-chief;  as 
the  vessels  in  company  have  it  not. 

The  torches  of  antiquity  were  of  all  sizes,  from  a 
foot  in  length  to  six  feet ;  and  the  largest  of  these 
were  employed  not  only  in  military  aflairs,  for  sig- 
nals, &z,c.  but  also  in  religious  processions.  It  may 
be  questioned,  whether  lights  of  either  of  these  kinds 
arc  really  mentioned  in  Scripture,  but  as  commenta- 
tors have  inclined  to  find  i)oth  torches  and  lanterns 
there,  they  could  not  well  be  passed  over  without 
notice. 

LAND,  in  the  Old  Testament,  often  denotes  the 
coi-ntry  of  the  Israelites,  or  the  particular  country, 
or  district,  spoken  of;  the  land  of  Canaan,  the  laud 


of  Egypt,  the  land  of  Ashur,  the  laud  of  Moab.  "  Be- 
hold, my  land  is  before  thee ;"  (Gen.  xx.  15.)  settle 
where  you  please.  In  many  places  of  our  public 
version  the  phrase  "  all  the  earth"  is  used,  where 
the  meaning  should  be  restricted  to  the  land,  or  all 
the  land. 

LANGUAGE.  Several  questions  are  proposed 
on  this  subject,  as  (1.)  Whether  God  was  the  author 
of  the  original  language.  (2.)  Whether  Adam  re- 
ceived it  from  him  by  infusion ;  or  formed  and 
invented  it  by  liis  own  industry  and  labor.  (3.) 
Whether  this  language  is  still  in  beiiig.  (4.)  Where 
it  is  to  be  found. 

The  ancients,  who  were  unacquainted  with  the 
true  history  of  the  world's  creation,  affirm,  that  un- 
der the  happy  reign  of  Saturn,  not  only  all  men,  but 
all  terrestrial  animals,  birds,  and  even  fishes,  spoke 
the  same  language  ;  that  mankind,  not  sufficiently 
sensible  of  their  happiness,  sent  a  deputation  to  Sat- 
urn, desiring  immortality,  representing,  that  it  was 
not  just  that  they  should  be  without  a  prerogative 
granted  by  him  to  serpents,  which  are  yearly  re- 
newed by  shedding  their  old  skin,  and  assuming  a 
new  one.  Saturn,  in  great  anger,  not  only  refused 
their  request,  but  punished  their  ingratitude,  by  de- 
priving them  of  that  unity  of  language  which  kept 
them  associated.  He  confounded  their  language, 
and  thereby  put  them  under  a  necessity  of  se})arating. 
Hence  we  learn  that  the  heathen  attributed  the  con- 
fusion of  tongues  to  a  divine  interposition  ;  and  so 
far  they  confirm  the  history  of  what  took  place  at 
Babel. 

Moses  represents  Adam  and  Eve  as  the  stock 
whence  all  nations  spring.  He  describes  them  as 
reasonable  and  intelligent  persons,  speaking,  and 
giving  names  to  things.  Now,  if  we  admit  God  as 
a  Creator,  there  is  no  difficulty  in  acknowledging 
him  to  be  the  Author  of  the  language  of  the  first  man  ; 
and  it  is  difficult  to  conceive  of  his  attaining  the 
power  of  language  without  a  divine  inspiration. 
There  is  scarcely  any  eastern  language  which  has 
not  aspired  to  the  honor  of  having  been  the  original; 
bat  the  majority  of  critics  decide  for  the  Hebrew,  or 
its  cognate,  the  Arabic  ;  the  conciseness,  simplicity, 
eneigy,  and  fertility  of  which  ;  their  relation  to  the 
most  ancient  oriental  languages,  wliich  seem  to  de- 
rive from  them  the  etymologies  of  the  earliest  names 
borne  by  mankind ;  the  names  of  animals,  which  are 
all  significant  in  them,  and  describe  the  nature  and 
property  of  the  animals,  (particulars  not  observed  in 
other  languages ;) — all  these  characters  uniting,  in- 
cline us  much  in  lavor  of  their  primacy  and  excellency. 
The  Hebrew  has  another  privilege,  that  the  most 
ancient  and  venerable  books  in  the  world  are  written 
in  it. 

Language  is  the  medium  of  connnunication  be- 
tween the  material  animal  life  and  the  spiritual 
rational  power,  in  man  ;  it  is  the  link  that  connects 
the  senses  with  the  understanding.  Whatever  fac- 
ulties we  may  suppose  belong  to  animals,  we  see 
no  proof  of  their  drawing  inferences,  conclusions, 
and  determinations  consequent  on  the  exercise  of 
language.  In  respect  to  vocal  sounds  man  may 
have  taken  hints  and  lessons  from  animals;  but  ani- 
mals have  taken  no  discursive  lessons  from  man.  It 
is  well  worth  while,  then,  to  consider  this  invaluable 
gift  of  the  Almighty  ;  and  the  rather,  as  it  forms 
one  of  the  chains  of  evidence  that  all  the  families  of 
mankind  are  derived  from  the  same  origin  ;  and  are 
made,  as  the  apostle's  expression  is,  "  of  one  bloofl." 
Late  years  have  brought  us  acquainted  Avith  ancient 


LANGUAGE 


[605] 


LANGUAGE 


languages  which  were  formerly  unknown  to  the 
learned  of  Europe  ;  among  them  the  most  venerable 
is  the  Sanscrit  of  India.  Its  structure  if^,  apparently, 
too  perfect,  too  refineil  and  artificial,  to  warrant  our 
admitting  it  as  the  first  language  of  mankind  ;  yet  in 
point  of  antiquity,  it  may  compete  with  the  Hebrew, 
as  current  in  the  days  of  Moses;  and  it  is  remarka- 
^e  that  the  Mosaic  writings  seem  to  contain  several 
Avords  of  Sanscrit  origin  ;  (chiefly  in  the  history  of 
Baalam ;)  which  may  give  occasion  to  various  re- 
flections. 

The  following  extracts  from  Niebuhr  will  show 
the  fate  of  language,  when  those  who  speak  it  are 
subjected  to  foreigners  of  another  tongue  :  never- 
theless, that  some  remains  of  it  may  survive  the 
general  wreck,  in  different  places,  is  not  incredible  ; 
and  such  an  account,  with  the  manner  in  which 
it  is  preserved,  is  sul)joined  from  the  same  author  : 
"Many  pcojtle  living  under  the  dominion  of  the 
Arabians  and  Turks,  have  lost  the  use  of  their  mother 
tongue.  'i'lic  Greeks  and  Armenians  settled  in 
Egypt  and  Syria  speak  Arabic  ;  and  the  services  of 
their  public  worship  are  performed  in  two  languages 
at  once.  In  Natolia,  these  nations  speak  their  own 
languages  in  several  different  dialects.  The  Turkish 
ofliocrs  sometimes  extend  their  despotism  to  the 
language  of  their  subjects.  A  pacha  of  Kaysar,  who 
could  not  endure  to  hear  the  Greek  language  spo- 
ken, forbade  the  Greeks  in  his  pachalic,  under  pain 
of  death,  to  use  any  language  but  the  Turkish. 
Since  that  prohibition  wjis  issued,  the  Christmns  of 
Kaysar  and  Angora  have  continued  to  speak  the 
Turkish,  and  at  present  do  not  even  understand  their 
original  language."  (Vol.  ii.  p.  259.)  "  In  Syria  and 
Palestine,  indeed,  no  language  is  to  be  heard  but  the 
Arabic  ;  and  yet  the  Syriac  is  not  absolutely  a  dead 
language,  but  is  still  spoken  in  several  villages  in  the 
paclialic  of  Damascus.  In  many  places,  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Merdin  and  Mosul,  the  Christians 
stili  speak  in  the  Chaldean  language  ;  and  the  inhab- 
itants of  the  villages  who  do  not  frequent  towns, 
never  hear  any  other  than  their  mother  tongue. 
The  Christians  born  in  the  cities  of  Merdin  and 
Mosul,  although  they  speak  Arabic,  write  in  the  Chal- 
dean characters,  just  as  the  ]Maronites  write  their 
Arabic  in  Syriac  letters,  and  the  Greeks  write  their 
Turkish  in  Greek  letters." 

Many  languages  now  spoken  may  be  traced  to 
one  common  and  primitive  stock,  as  the  original. 
Sir  W.  Jones  has  demonstrated,  that  three  great 
branches  of  language  are  sufficient  to  account  for  all 
the  varieties  extant :  and  this  hypothesis  forms  a  very 
strong,  as  well  as  a  new,  argument  in  favor  of  tUo 
Mosaic  history  of  the  early  post-diluvian  ages, 
which  represents  the  three  great  families  as  being 
implicated  in  the  confusion  of  languages  at  Babel. 
But,  should  we  allow  a  fourth  branch,  we  shoidd  do 
violence  to  the  narration  of  Moses.  It  is  now,  per- 
haps, impossible  to  combine,  or  even  to  ascertain, 
what  words  remaining  in  either,  or  in  all,  of  the 
three  branches,  should  be  considered  as  belonging 
to  the  primitive  language  ;  but,  by  way  of  showing 
how  words  may  sometimes  be  traced  into  difit>rent 
dialects,  to  which  at  first  sight  they  appear  to  have 
little  relation,  the  reader  will  accept  the  following 
note  from  a  popular  work  :  " — Numberless  in- 
stances might  be  given,  but  our  limits  permit  us  to 
produce  only  a  few.  In  the  Sanscrit,  or  ancient 
language  of  the  Gentoos,  our  signifies  a  day.  (See 
Halhed's  preface  to  the  Code  of  Gentoo  Laws.)  In 
other  eastern  languages,  the  same  word  was  used  to 


denote  both  ligld  andjire.  Thus  in  the  Chaldee,  ur 
is  fire ;  in  the  Egj'ptian,  or  is  the  sim,  or  light  ;  (Plut. 
de  Osir.  et  Isid  ;)  in  the  Hebrew,  aor  ;is  light ;  in 
Greek,  c)in  {aer)  is  the  air,  ol\en  light;  in  Latin,  aura 
is  the  air,  from  the  ^olic  Greek  ;  and  in  Irish  it  is 
aear." 

From  what  appears  on  this  subject,  we  may  war- 
rantalily  suppose,  (L)  That  the  ancient  Hebrew  lan- 
guage retained  a  considerable  portion  of  original 
words,  and  expressions,  or  modes  of  expression.  (2.) 
That  some  of  these  may  occur  in  the  Hebrew  Strip- 
tures.  (;j.)  That  the  sister  dialects  to  the  Hebrew, 
the  Chaldee,  the  Arabic,  &c.  may  also  have  retained 
many  original  words  ;  and  when  these  radical  words 
are  similar  to  those  retained  by  the  Hebrew,  an  ade- 
quate knowledge  of  these  languages  cannot  but  con- 
tribute essentially  to  our  understanding  of  passages 
where  derivatives  from  such  words  occur  in  the 
Hebrew.  And  this  is  particulai"ly  fortunate,  when 
such  words  occur  but  once  in  Holy  Scripture ; 
when  they  have,  as  we  may  say,  neither  friend  nor 
brother  in  the  Holy  language,  the  advantage  to  be 
derived  from  their  relations,  in  foreign  but  kindred 
dialects,  becomes  invaluable.     See  Letters. 

[To  the  student  of  the  Bible  one  of  the  most  im- 
portant subjects  is  the  character  and  history  of  the 
original  languages  in  which  that  holy  book  was  WTit- 
ten.  In  respect  to  the  original  Greek  of  the  New  Tes- 
tament, some  remarks  have  been  made,  and  the  best 
sources  of  information  pointed  out,  under  the  article 
Greece.  For  the  Hebrew  language  a  reference 
has  been  made  to  the  present  article.  The  Hebrew 
is  but  one  of  the  cluster  of  cognate  languages  which 
anciently  prevailed  in  western  Asia  ;  commonly 
called  the  oriental  languages,  or  in  late  years  the 
Sejnitish,  or  Shemitish,  languages,  as  belonging  partic- 
ularly to  the  descendants  of  Shem.  A  proper  knowl- 
edge of  the  Hebrew,  therefoi-e,  implies  also  an  ac- 
quaintance with  these  other  kindred  dialects.  The 
principal  source  of  information  on  these  points  is  the 
work  of  Gesenius  entitled  Geschichte  der  hehrliischen 
Sprache  und  Schrift,  History  of  the  Hebrew  Language 
and  Letters,  liCipsic,  1815.  An  abstract  of  the  re- 
sults detailed  in  this  work,  accompanied  with  remarks 
of  his  own,  was  given  by  professor  Stuart  in  the  In- 
troduction prefixed  to  the  first  and  second  editions 
of  his  Hebrew  Grammar.  From  these  sources  the 
following  statements  have  been  condensed. 

Oriental  or  Shemitish  Languages. — The  lan- 
guages of  western  Asia,  though  differing  in  respect 
to  dialect,  are  radically  the  same ;  and  have  been  so 
as  far  back  as  any  historical  records  enable  us  to 
trace  them.  Palestine,  Syria,  Pheniria,  Mesopo- 
tamia, Babylonia,  Arabia,  and  also  Ethiopia,  are 
reckoned  as  the  countries  where  the  languages  com- 
monly denominated  oriental  have  been  spoken.  Of 
late,  many  critics  have  rejected  the  appellation  on- 
ental,  as  being  too  comprehensive,  and  substituted 
that  of  Shemitish.  Against  this  appellation,  however, 
objections  of  a  similar  nature  may  be  urged  ;  for  no 
inconsiderable  portion  of  those  who  spoke  the  lan- 
guages in  question,  were  not  descendants  of  Shem. 
It  is  doubtless  a  matter  of  indifference  which  appel- 
lation is  used,  if  it  be  first  defined. 

The  oriental  languages  may  be  divided  into  three 
principal  dialects  ;  viz.  the  Aramaean,  the  Hebrew, 
and  the  Arabic. — (1.)  The  Aramsean,  spoken  in 
Syria,  Mesopotamia,  and  Babylonia,  or  Chaldea,  is 
subdivided  into  the  Syriac  and  Chaldee  dialects, 
sometimes  called  also  the  west  and  east  AramiearL 
—(2.)  The  Hebrew  or  Canaanitish  dialect  (Isa.  xix. 


LANGUAGE 


[  606  ] 


LANGUAGE 


18.)  was  spoken  in  Palestine,  and  probably,  with 
little  variation,  in  Phenicia  and  the  Phenician  colo- 
nies, e.  g.  at  Carthage  and  other  places.  The  re- 
mains of  the  Phenician  and  Punic  dialects  are  too 
few  and  too  much  disfigui-ed,  to  enable  us  to  judge 
with  certainty  how  extensively  these  languages  were 
the  same  as  the  dialect  of  Palestine. — (3.)  The  Ara- 
bic, to  which  the  Ethiopic  bears  a  special  resem- 
blance, comprises,  in  modern  times,  a  great  variety 
of  dialects  as  a  spoken  language,  and  is  spread  over 
a  vast  extent  of  country  ;  but  so  far  as  we  are  ac- 
quainted with  its  former  st<ite,  it  appears,  more  an- 
ciently, to  have  been  limited  principally  to  Arabia 
and  Ethiopia. 

The  Arabic  is  very  rich  in  words  and  forms ;  the 
Syriac,  so  far  as  it  is  yet  known,  is  comparatively 
limited  in  both ;  the  Hebrew  holds  a  middle  place 
between  them,  both  as  to  copiousness  of  words  and 
variety  of  forms. 

The  Samaritan  dialect  appears  to  be  made  up,  as 
one  might  expect,  (see  2  Kings  xvii.)  of  Aramsean 
and  Hebrew.  And  the  slighter  varieties  of  Arabic 
are  as  numerous  as  the  provinces  where  the  lan- 
guage is  spoken.  In  all  tliese  cases,  however,  we 
connnonly  name  the  slighter  differences  provincial- 
isms rather  than  dialects. 

It  is  uncertain  whether  any  of  the  oriental  or 
Shemitish  dialects  were  spoken  in  Assyria  proper, 
or  in  Asia  Miuor.  The  probabihty  seems  to  be 
against  the  supposition  that  the  x\ssyrians  used  them  ; 
and  a  gi'eat  part  of  Asia  Minoi-,  before  it  was  subju- 
gated by  the  Greeks,  most  probably  spoke  the  same 
language  with  Assyria,  i.  e.  perhaps  a  dialect  of  the 
Persian.  A  small  part  only  of  this  section  of  Asia 
seem  to  have  spoken  a  Shemitish  dialect.  (Gesen. 
Geschichte,  §  4.  1.  and  §  17.  3.)  When  western  Asia 
is  described,  therefoi-e,  as  speaking  the  Shemitish 
languages,  the  exceptions  just  made  are  to  be  uni- 
formly luiderstood. 

Of  all  the  oriental  languages,  the  Hebrew  bears 
marks  of  being  the  most  ancient.  The  oldest  records 
that  are  known  to  exist  are  composed  in  this  lan- 
guage ;  and  there  are  other  reasons  which  render  it 
probable,  that  it  preceded  its  kindred  dialects.  It 
floiu'ished  in  Palestine,  among  the  Phenicians  and 
Hebrews,  uirtil  the  period  of  the  Babylonish  exile ; 
soon  after  which  it  declined,  and  finally  was  suc- 
ceeded by  a  kind  of  Hebrajo-Aramsean  dialect,  such 
as  was  spoken  in  the  time  of  our  Saviour  among  the 
Jews.  (See  Biblical  Repository,  vol.  i.  p.  309,  '317.) 
The  west  Aramaean  had  flourished  before  this,  for  a 
long  time,  in  the  east  and  north  of  Palestine ;  but  it 
now  advanced  farther  west,  and  during  the  period 
tliat  the  Christian  churches  of  Syria  flourished,  it 
was  widely  extended.  It  is  at  present  almost  a  dead 
language,  and  has  been  so  for  several  centuries. 
The  Hebrew  may  be  regarded  as  having  been  a  dead 
language,  except  among  a  small  circle  of  literati,  for 
about  the  space  of  two  thousand  years. — Our  knowl- 
edge of  Arabic  literature  extends  back  very  little  be- 
yond tbe  time  of  Mohammed.  But  the  followers  of 
this  pretended  prophet  have  spread  the  dialect  of  the 
Koran  over  almost  half  the  population  of  the  world. 
Arabic  is  now  the  vernacular  language  of  Arabia, 
Syria,  Egypt,  and  in  a  great  measure  of  Palestine 
and  all  the  northern  coast  of  Africa ;  while  it  is  read 
and  understood  wherever  the  Koran  has  gone,  in 
Turkey,  Persia,  India,  and  Tartary. 

The  remains  of  the  ancient  Hebrew  tongue  are 
contained  in  the  Old  Testament,  and  in  the  few 
Phenician  and  Punic  words  and  inscriptions  that 


have  been  here  and  there  discovered. — The  remains 
of  the  Aramaean  are  extant  in  a  variety  of  books. 
In  Chaldee,  we  have  a  part  of  the  books  of  Daniel 
and  Ezra,  (Dan.  ii.  4 — vii.  28.  Ezra  iv.  8 — vi.  19,  and 
vii.  12 — 27.)  which  are  the  most  ancient  of  any 
specimens  of  this  dialect.  The  Targum  of  Onkelos, 
i.  e.  the  translation  of  the  Pentateuch  into  Chaldee, 
affords  the  next  and  purest  specimen  of  that  language. 
All  the  other  Targums,  the  Mishna  and  Gemara  are 
a  mixture  of  Aranisean  and  Hebrew.  It  has  been 
said  that  there  are  still  some  small  districts  in  the 
East,  where  the  Chaldee  is  a  vernacular  language.  ' 
In  Syriac,  there  is  a  considerable  number  of  books 
and  MSS.  extant.  The  oldest  specimen  of  this  lan- 
guage, that  we  have,  is  contained  in  the  Peshito,  or 
Syriac,  version  of  the  Old  and  New  Testament.  A 
multitude  of  writers  in  this  dialect  have  flourished, 
(vid.  Assemani  Bibliotheca  Orientalis,)  many  of 
whose  writings  probably  are  still  extant,  although 
but  few  have  been  printed  in  Europe. — In  Arabic, 
there  exists  a  great  variety  of  MSS.  and  books,  histor- 
ical, scientific  and  literary.  The  means  of  illustrat- 
ing this  living  language  are  now  very  ample  and  satis- 
factory.     See  TALMUD,and  Versions. 

It  is  quite  obvious  from  the  statement  made  above, 
that  a  knowledge  of  the  kindred  dialects  of  the  He- 
brew is  very  important,  for  the  illustration  of  that 
language.  Who  can,  even  now,  have  a  very  ex- 
tensive and  accurate  understanding  of  the  English 
language,  that  is  unacquainted  with  the  Latin,  Greek, 
Norman,  French  and  Saxon  ?  Supposing,  then,  that 
the  English  had  been  a  dead  language  for  more  than 
two  thousand  years,  and  that  all  the  remains  of  it 
were  comprised  in  one  moderate  volume  ;  who 
could  well  explain  this  volume,  that  did  not  under 
stand  the  languages  with  which  it  is  closely  connect 
ed  ?  The  answer  to  this  question  will  decide  wheth 
er  the  study  of  the  languages,  kindred  with  the 
Hebrew,  is  important  to  the  thorough  understanding 
and  illustration  of  the  Hebrew  Scriptures. 

The  relation  of  the  Hebrew  to  the  Aramaean  and 
Arabic  is  not  such  as  exists  between  the  Attic  and 
other  dialects  of  Greece.  The  diversity  is  much 
greater.  It  bears  more  resemblance  to  tlie  diversity 
between  German  and  Dutch,  or  German  and  Swed- 
ish. The  idiom  of  all  is  substantially  tlie  same. 
The  fundamental  words  are  of  common  origin. 
But  the  inflections  differ  in  some  considerable  meas- 
ure :  derivative  words  arc  diverse  in  point  of  form  ; 
and  not  a  few  words  have  been  adopted  in  each 
of  the  dialects,  which  either  are  not  common  to  the 
others,  or  are  used  in  a  different  sense. — The  affin- 
ity between  the  Chaldee  and  Syriac  is  very  great,  in 
every  i-espect. 

The  oriental  languages  are  distinguished  from 
the  western  or  Em-opean  tongues,  in  general,  by  a 
number  of  peculiar  traits  ;  viz.  (1.)  Several  kinds 
of  guttural  letters  are  found  in  them,  which  we  can- 
not distinctly  mark  ;  and  some  of  which  our  organs 
are  inacapable  of  pronouncing,  after  the  age  of  matu- 
rity.— (2.)  In  general,  the  roots  are  trilitcral,  and  of 
two  syllables.  By  flir  the  greater  part  of  the  roots 
are  verbs. — (3.)  Pronouns,  whether  i)ersonal  or  ad- 
jective, are,  in  the  oblique  cases,  united  in  the  same 
word  with  the  noun  or  verb  to  Avhich  they  have  a 
relation. — (4.)  The  verbs  have  but  two  tenses,  the  past 
and  future  ;  and  in  general,  there  are  no  optative  or 
subjunctive  moods  definitely  marked. — (5.)  The 
genders  are  only  masculine  and  feminine  ;  and  these 
are  extended  to  the  verb,  as  well  as  to  the  noun. 
(6.)  For  the  most  part,  the  cases  are  marked  by 


LANGUAGE 


[  607  1 


LANGUAGE 


prepositions.  Two  nouns  coming  together,  the  latter 
of  which  is  in  tlie  genitive,  the  Jirst,  in  most  cases,  suf- 
fers a  change  whicli  indicates  this  state  of  relation, 
while  tlie  latter  noun  remains  unchanged  ;  i.  e.  the 
governing  noun  suffers  the  change,  and  not  the  noun 
governed.  (7.)  To  mark  the  comparative  and  super- 
lative dcTces,  no  special  forms  of  adjectives  exist. 
From  tliis  observation  the  Arabic  must  be  excepted, 
which,  for  the  most  part,  has  an  intensive  form  of 
adjectives  that  marks  botli  the  con)parative  and  su- 
jjerjative.  (8.)  Scarcely  any  composite  words  exist 
in  these  languages,  if  we  except  proper  names.  (9.) 
\'erbs  arc  not  only  distinguished  into  active  and  pas- 
sive, by  their  forms  ;  but  additional  forms  are  made, 
by  the  inflections  of  the  same  verb  with  small  varia- 
tions, to  signify  the  cause  of  action,  or  the  frequency 
of  it,  or  that  it  is  reflexive,  or  reciprocal,  or  intensive, 
&c.  (10.)  Lastly,  all  these  dialects  (the  Ethiopic  ex- 
cepted) are  written  and  read  from  the  right  hand  to 
the  left;  the  alphabets  consisting  of  consonants  only, 
and  the  vowels  being  generally  written  above  or  be- 
low the  consonants. 

Hebrew  Language. — The  appellation  of  Hebrew, 
('13;",)  so  far  as  we  can  learn  from  history,  was  first 
given  to  Abraham  by  the  people  of  Canaan  among 
w'hom  he  dwelt.  Gen.  xiv.  13.  As  the  first  names  of 
nations  were  commonly  appellatives,  it  is  quite  prob- 
able that  this  epithet  was  applied  to  Abraham  be- 
cause he  came  from  beyond  the  Euphrates,  -\2y 
meaning  over  or  beyond ;  so  that  ^^3J.■,  Hebrew,  meant  as 
much  as  one  who  came  from  beyond  the  Euphrates. 
But  whatever  extent  of  meaning  was  attached  to  the 
appellation  Hebrew  before  the  time  of  Jacob,  it  ap- 
pears afterwards  to  have  i^een  limited  only  to  his 
posterity,  and  to  be  synonymous  with  Israelite. 

The  origin  of  the  llebrew  language  must  be  dated 
further  back  than  the  period  to  which  we  can  trace 
the  appellation  Hebrew.  It  is  plain  from  the  history 
of  Abraham,  tliat  wherever  he  sojourned  he  found  a 
language  in  which  he  could  easily  converse.  That 
Hebrew  was  originally  the  language  of  Palestine  ap- 
pears plain,  moreover,  from  the  names  of  persons  and 
])laces  in  Canaan,  and  from  other  facts  m  respect  to 
the  formation  of  this  dialect.  E.  g.  the  ivest  is  in 
Hebrew  z\  which  means  the  sea,  i.  e.  towards  the 
Mediterranean  sea.  As  the  Hebrew  has  no  other 
proper  word  for  ivest,  so  it  must  be  evident  that  the 
language,  in  its  distinctive  and  peculiar  form,  must 
have  been  formed  in  Palestine.  That  this  dialect  was 
the  original  language  of  mankind,  is  not  established 
by  any  historical  evidence,  which  may  not  admit  of 
some  doubt.  But  it  seems  highly  probable,  that  if 
the  original  parents  of  mankind  were  placed  in  Avest- 
ern  Asia,  they  spoke  substantially  the  language  which 
has  for  mon3  than  fifty  centuries  pervaded  those  coun- 
tries. This  probability  is  greatly  increased,  by  the 
manner  in  which  the  book  of  Genesis  makes  use  of 
appellatives,  as  applied  to  the  antediluvians  ;  which 
are  nearly  all  explicable  by  Hebrew  etymology,  and 
wovdd  probably  all  be  so,  if  we  had  that  part  of  the 
Hei)rew  which  is  lost. 

How  far  back  then  the  Hebrew  dialect  in  its  dis- 
tinctive form  is  to  be  dated,  we  have  no  sure  means 
of  ascertaining.  At  the  time  when  the  Pentateuch 
■was  written,  it  had  reached  nearly,  if  not  quite,  its 
highest  point  of  culture  and  gi-ammatical  structure. 
The  usual  mode  of  reasoning  would  lead  us  to  say, 
therefore,  that  it  must,  for  a  long  lime  before,  have 
been  spoken  and  cultivated,  in  order  to  attain  so  much 
regularity  of  structure  and  syntax.  But  reasoning  on 
this  subject,  except  from   facts,   is  very   uncertain. 


Many  of  the  savage  tribes  in  the  wilds  of  America 
possess  languages  which,  as  to  variety  in  combina- 
tions, declensions  and  expression,  are  said  to  surpass 
the  most  cultivated  languages  of  Asia  or  Europe. 
Homer  was  as  little  embarrassed  in  respect  to  variety 
of  form,  combination  or  structure,  as  any  Greek  poet 
who  followed  a  thousand  years  later.  The  best 
pledge  for  the  great  antiquity  of  the  Hebrew  is,  that 
there  never  has  been,  so  far.  as  we  have  any  knowl- 
edge, but  one  language  substantially  m  western  Asia  ; 
and  of  the  various  dialects  of  this,  tlie  Hebrew  has 
the  highest  claims  to  be  regarded  as  the  most  ancient. 
Sketch  of  the  Hebrew  language. — From  the  time 
when  the  Pentateuch  was  composed  lintil  the  Baby- 
lonish exile,  the  language,  as  presented  to  us  in  the 
Old  Testament,  wears  a  very  uuiforin  appearance ; 
if  we  excei)t  the  variety  of  style,  which  belongs  of 
course  to  different  writers.  This  period  has  been 
usually  called  the  golden  age  of  the  Hebrew.  On  ac- 
count of  this  uniformity,  many  critics  deny  that  the 
Pentateuch  could  have  been  composed  five  hundred  yj 
years  before  the  time  of  David  and  Solomon,  or  even 
long  before  the  captivity.  They  are  willing  to  admit 
the  antiquity  of  a  few  laws,  and  of  some  fragments 
of  history  in  Genesis  and  some  other  books.  But  it 
is  against  all  analogy,  they  aver,  that  a  language  should 
continue  so  nearly  the  same,  as  the  Hebrew  of  the 
Pentateuch  and  of  the  historical  books,  for  a  space  of 
time  so  great  as  this.  And  besides,  they  affirm,  there 
are  many  internal  evidences  of  a  later  origin,  con- 
tained in  occasional  notices  of  later  events,  which  ^ 
could  not  possibly  be  known  in  the  time  of  Moses. 

In  regard  to  this  last  allegation,  only  a  single  con- 
sideration can  be  here  stated.  It  may  be  safely  ad- 
mitted, that  some  things  Avere  added  to  the  Pentateuch 
by  writers  in  later  times  ;  such  as  a  completion  of  the 
genealogy  of  the  Edomitish  princes,  Gen.  xxxvi.  an 
account  of  the  death  and  burial  of  Moses,  Deut. 
xxxiv ;  and  a  few  other  things  of  a  similar  nature. 
But  the  other  allegation,  that  universal  analogy,  in 
respect  to  other  languages,  renders  it  highly  improb- 
able that  such  uniformity  in  the  Hebrew  could  have 
been  ])reserved,  so  long  as  from  the  time  of  IMoses 
down  to  that  of  David,  or  down  to  the  period  of  the 
ca])tivity,  we  may  be  permitted  to  doubt ;  for  a  greater 
philological  wonder  than  this,  which  so  much  excites 
their  incredulity,  can  be  produced. 

Dr.  Marshman  is  very  extensively  acquainted  with 
the  Chinese  language,  and  has  published  a  copious 
grammar  and  dictionary  of  it,  with  a  translation  of . 
the  works  of  Confucius,  which  were  written  about 
550  years  before  Christ,  or,  according  to  the  Chinese, 
much  earlier.  He  asserts,  that  there  is  very  little  dif- 
ference between  the  style  of  Confucius  and  that  of 
the  best  Chinese  writers  of  the  jjroscnt  day.     One  , 

commentary  on  his  works  was  written  1500  years  y  / 
after  the  text,  and  another  still  later,  which  Dr. 
Marshman  consulted.  He  found  no  difference  be- 
tween them  and  the  works  of  Confiicius,  except  that 
the  original  was  somewhat  more  concise.  The  doc- 
uments of  this  philologist,  gathered  from  Chinese  rec- 
ords, prove  that  the  written  and  spoken  language  of 
the  Chinese  (nearly  one  fourth  part  of  the  human 
race)  has  not  varied,  in  any  important  respect  for 
more  thati  2000  years.  (Quarterlv  Review,  ]May, 
1811,  p.  401,  &c.  Marshman's  Chinese  Gram,  in 
var.  loc.)  In  respect  to  seclusion  from  other  nations, 
the  Jews  bore  a  very  exact  resemblance  to  the  Chi- 
nese. Like  them,  they  had  no  foreign  commerce  or 
intercourse  to  corrupt  their  language.  New  inven- 
tions and  improvements  in  the  arts  and  sciences  there 


LANGUAGE 


[  608  ] 


LANGUAGE 


were  not.  What  then  was  there  to  change  the  lan- 
guage ?  And  why  should  not  David  and  Solomon, 
and  others  write  in  the  same  manner,  substantially  as 
Moses  did  ? 

In  respect  to  the  argument,  which  concludes  against 
the  composition  of  the  Pentateuch  by  Moses,  because 
there  are  some  things  in  it,  which,  if  written  by  him, 
must  be  admitted  to  be  predictions,  it  can  here  be 
observed  only,  that  if  the  inspiration  of  the  Scriptures 
be  admitted,  criticism  has  no  right  to  reject  it  in  any 
investigations  respecting  these  books  ;  for  inspiration 
constitutes  one  of  ^the  circumstances  in  which  the 
books  were  composed,  and  cannot,  therefore,  be  omit- 
ted in  the  critical  consideration  of  them,  without  vir- 
tually denying  the  fact  of  inspiration,  and  conducting 
the  investigation  in  an  uncritical  manner. 

The  second  or  silver  age  of  the  Hebi"ew,  reaches 
from  the  period  of  the  captivity  down  to  the  time 
when  it  ceased  to  be  a  living  language.  The  distin- 
guishing trait  of  Hebrew  writings  belonging  to  this 
age  is,  that  they  approximate  to  the  Chaldee  dialect. 
Nothing  is  more  natural,  than  that  the  language  of 
exiles,  in  a  foreign  country  for  seventy  years,  should 
approximate  to  that  of  their  conquerors  who  held 
them  in  subjection.  To  this  period  belong  many  of 
tiie  Psalms,  and  t!ie  whole  books  of  Jeremiah,  Eze- 
kiel,  Daniel,  Zechariah,  Haggai,  Malachi,  Chronicles, 
Ezra,  Nehemiah,  Esthei',  and  perhaps  some  others. 
The  books  of  Job  and  Ecclesiastes  abound  in  Aramas- 
isms  ;  and  Canticles  exhibits  d  considerable  number. 
The  age  of  these  three  last  books,  as  also  that  of  Jo- 
nah, Daniel,  and  the  Pentateuch,  has  been  the  sub- 
ject of  animated  contest  among  critics  on  the  conti- 
nent of  Europe,  for  almost  half  a  century.  The 
Chaldaisms,  or  Aramteisms,  of  the  silver  age,  consist, 
either  in  adopting  both  tlie  form  and  meaning  of 
Aramaean  words,  or  in  preserving  the  Hebrew 
form,  but  assigning  to  it  an  Aramaean  signification. 
(Ges.  Gesch.  §  10.  4,  5.)  What  is  called  the  younger 
or  later  Hebrew  is  somewhat  distinct  from  Aramfe- 
ism.  It  does  not  consist  in  using  foreign  words,  but 
in  a  departure  from  the  customary  idiom  of  the  older 
Hebrew,  by  the  adoption  of  different  expressions  to 
convey  the  same  idea.  E.  g.  the  early  Hebrew  calls 
the  sheio-hread  oijeh  nnS  ;  the  younger  Hebrew  orh 
n:nj?c.  The  Hebrew  of  the  Talmud,  and  of  the 
rabbins,  has  a  close  affinity  with  the  later  He- 
brew. 

All  the  books  belonging  to  the  second  age  are  not 
of  tlie  same  character  in  respect  to  idiom.  The  book 
of  Job,  if  it  be  set  down  to  a  later  age,  though  full  of 
Aramaeisms,  in  other  respects  is  a  peculiar  example 
of  tlie  ancient  simplicity  of  diction.  Such  is  the  case 
witli  many  Psalms,  which  belong,  as  their  contents 
plainly  show,  to  the  second  period.  Of  the  other 
autliors  comprised  in  this  period,  Jeremiah  and  Eze- 
kicl  merely  b<M-(ler  upon  the  silver  age  in  regard  to 
diction.  Esther,  Canticles,  Chronicles  and  Daniel 
are  strongly  tinctured  with  the  characteristics  of  later 
Hebrew  ;  and  the  remaining  later  books  are  not  less 
strongly  marked.  Nearly  lialf  of  the  books  of  Daniel 
and  Ezra  is  composed  in  pure  Clialdee.  In  general, 
the  earher  Hebrew  writers  are  entitled  to  preeminence 
in  respect  to  their  compositions,  when  considered 
merely  in  a  rhetorical  ponit  of  view.  But  still,  among 
the  later  class  are  some  of  most  exquisite  taste  and 
genius.  Some  parts  of  Jeremiah  have  scarcely  been 
excelled.  Psalms  cxxxix,  xliv,  Ixxxiv,  Ixxxv  ;  several 
of  the  Psalms  of  degi-ees,  cxx,  &c.  Dan.  vii,  Sec. 
and  other  parts  of  later  authors,  are  fine  specimens  of 
writing  ;  and  some  of  them  may  challenge  competi- 


tion, in  reespct  to  excellence  of  style,  with  the  writ- 
ings of  any  age  or  country. 

The  Hebrew  language  throughout,  both  earlier 
and  later,  exhibits  a  twofold  diction,  viz.  the  prosaic 
and  the  poetic.  Hebrew  poetiy,  so  far  as  we  can  as- 
certain, never  comprised  any  thing  of  the  Roman  and 
Grecian  measure  of  long  and  short  syllables,  and  the 
varieties  of  veree  arising  from  this  cause.  Its  distin- 
guishing characteristics  are  four ;  viz.  a  rhythmical 
conformation  of  periods  or  distichs  ;  a  parallehsm  of 
the  same  in  regard  to  sense  or  expression  ;  a  figura- 
tive, parabolic  style ;  and  a  diction  i)eculiar  to  this 
species  of  composition.  (See  Lowth's  Lectures  on 
Heb.  Poetiy,  Lee.  xviii. — xx  ;  also  the  Introduction  to 
his  Commentary  on  Isaiah.  De  Wette's  Commentar 
liber  den  Psalmen,  Einleit.  §  7.) 

The  poetic  diction  displays  itself  in  the  choice  of 
words,  the  meaning  assigned  to  them,  and  the  forms 
which  it  gives  them.  In  other  respects,  too,  poetic 
usage  gives  pecuUar  liberty.  The  conjugations  Piel 
and  Hithpael  are  sometimes  used  intransitively  ;  the 
apocopated  future  stands  for  the  common  future  ;  the 
participle  is  often  used  for  the  verb  ;  and  anomalies  in 
respect  to  concord,  ellipsis,  &c.  are  more  frequent  than 
in  prose. 

As  the  Aramaean  dialect  was  learned  by  the  Jews 
during  their  captivity,  and  a  mixture  of  this  and  the 
Hebrew,  ever  after  their  return,  was  perhaps  spoken 
in  Palestine  by  the  people  at  large  ;  so  it  is  evid-ent, 
that  many  words  of  the  old  Hebrew,  in  consequence 
of  this,  must  fall  into  desuetude,  and  the  meaning  of 
them  become  obscured.  Of  course,  the  later  Hebrew 
writers  were  obliged  to  avoid  such  words.  A  com- 
parison of  the  books  of  Kings  with  those  of  the 
Chronicles,  where  they  are  parallel,  is  full  of  instruc- 
tion ill  respect  to  this  subject.  It  will  be  found,  that 
the  author  of  the  Chronicles  has  introduced  the  later 
orthography  and  forms  of  words  ;  substituted  new 
words  for  old  ones  ;  given  explanations  of  the  ancient 
text  from  which  he  drew  the  materials  of  his  history  ; 
and  inserted  grammatical  glosses  of  the  same,  so  as  to 
accommodate  his  slvle  to  the  times  in  which  he  wrote. 
(Ges.  Gesch.  §  12.)' 

There  is  no  i)robability  that  tlic  Hebrew  language 
ceased,  during  the  captivity,  to  be  cultivated  and  un- 
derstood, in  a  good  degree,  by  tliose  who  ^^■ere  well 
educated  among  the  Jews.  TIic  number  of  books 
already  extant  in  it  at  this  period  ;  the  reverence  with 
which  they  were  regarded  ;  the  care  with  which 
they  were  jjreserved  ;  all  render  such  a  supposition 
entirely  inadmissible.  Every  nation  subjected  to  a 
foreign  yoke  and  to  exile,  docs  indeed  gradually  lose 
its  own  language  and  approximate  to  that  of  its  con- 
querors. Yet  the  Jews,  who  held  all  foreign  nations 
in  abhorrence,  were  less  exposed  to  this  tlian  most 
otliers  would  be.  The  fact,  that  after  the  return  from 
exile,  so  many  authors  wrote  in  the  Hebrew  dialect, 
and  for  public  use,  demonstrates  that  the  knowledge 
of  the  language  was  not  generally  lost,  altliough  the 
dialect  spoken  may  have  been  a  mixed  one.  After 
the  worship  of  God  was  renewed  in  the  second  tem- 
|)le,  the  ancient  Hebrew  Scriptures  were  unquestiona- 
bly used  in  it.  In  tiic  synagogues,  which  appear  to 
have  been  erected  not  long  after  this,  the  Hebrew 
Scriptures  were  always  used.  Even  so  late  as  the 
time  of  the  apostles,  this  was  the  case,  (Acts  xv.  21.) 
as  it  has  continued  to  be  ever  since. 

How  long  the  Hebrew  was  retained,  both  in  writ-     i 
ing  and  conversation,  or  in  writhig,  after  it  ceased     I 
to  be  the  language  of  conversation,  it  is  impossible  to 
determine.     The  coins  stamped  in  the  time  of  th* 


LANGUAGE 


[  609  ] 


LANGUAGE 


Maccabees  are  all  the  oriental  monuments  we  have, 
of  the  period  that  elapsed  between  the  latest  canoni- 
cal writers  and  the  advent  of  Christ ;  and  the  inscrip- 
tions on  these  are  in  Hebrew.  At  the  time  of  the 
Maccabees,  then,  Hebrew  Avas  understood,  at  least  as 
the  language  of  books  ;  perhaps  in  some  measure  also 
among  the  better  informed,  as  the  language  of  con- 
versation. But  soon  after  this,  the  dominion  of  the 
Seleucidae  in  Syria  over  the  Jewish  nation,  uniting 
with  the  fonner  influence  of  the  Babylonish  captivity 
to  diffuse  the  Aramiean  dialect  among  them,  appears 
to  have  destroyed  the  remains  of  proper  Hebrew,  as 
a  living  language,  and  to  have  universally  substituted, 
in  its  stead,  the  Hebrseo-Aramnsan  as  it  A^as  sj)oken 
in  the  time  of  our  Saviour.  A  representation  very 
difterent  from  this  has  been  made  by  the  Talmudists 
and  Jewish  grammarians;  and,  in  following  them,  by 
a  multitude  of  Christian  critics.  This  is,  that  the  He- 
brew became  altogether  a  dead  language  during  tlie 
Babylonish  exile  ;  which,  say  they,  is  manifest  from 
Neh.  viii.  8.  But  as  this  sentiment  is  wholly  built  on 
a  mistaken  interpretation  of  the  verse,  and  as  facts 
speak  so  plaudy  against  such  an  opinion,  it  cannot  be 
admitted.     (Ges.  Gesch.  §  13.) 

From  the  time  when  Hebrew  ceased  to  be  vernac- 
ular, down  to  the  present  day,  a  portion  of  tliis  dialect 
has  been  preserved  in  tlie  Old  Testament.  It  has 
always  been  the  subject  of  study  among  learned 
Jews.  Before  and  at  the  time  of  Christ,  there  were 
flourishing  Jewish  academies  at  Jerusalem.  Those 
of  Hillel  and  Shammai  are  the  most  celebrated.  After 
Jerusalem  was  destroyed,  schools  w^ere  set  up  in 
various  places ;  but  particularly  they  flourislied  at 
Tiberias,  until  the  death  of  rabbi  Judah,  suniamed 
Hakkodcsh,  or  the  Holy,  the  author  of  the  Mishna, 
about  A.  D.  230.  Some  of  his  pui)ils  set  up  other 
schools  in  Babylonia,  which  became  the  rivals  of 
these.  The  Bal)ylonish  academies  flourished  imtil 
near  the  tenth  century.  From  the  schools  at  Tiberias 
and  in  Babylonia,  we  liave  received  the  Targums,  the 
Talmud,  the  IMasora,  and  the  Avrittcn  vowels  and  ac- 
cents of  the  Hebrew  language. 

The  Mishna  or  second  law,  i.  e.  the  oral  traditions 
of  the  fathers,  was  reduced  to  writing  by  rabbi  Ju- 
dah Hakkodesh,  in  the  beginning  of  the  third  centurj-, 
as  above  stated.  This  constitutes  the  text  of  both  the 
Jerusalem  and  Babylonish  Talmuds ;  and  though 
tinctiu'cd  with  AramKism,  still  exhibits  a  style  of 
He!)rew  that  is  pretty  pure. 

The  Gcmara  or  commentary  on  the  Mishna  is  later. 
The  Jerusalem  Gemara  belongs,  perhaps,  to  the  latter 
part  of  the  third  century ;  that  of  Babylon  is  aliout 
three  centuries  later.  Both  exhibit  a  very  corrupted 
state  of  the  Hebrew  language.  Other  Jewisli  writings, 
composed  about  this  period,  are  similar  as  to  tlieir 
dialect. 

The  Targums,  or  translations  of  the  Old  Testament, 
arc  confessedly  Chaldee  ;  but  they  are  quite  impure, 
if  you  except  that  of  Onkelos.     See  Versions. 

The  Masora  consists  of  critical  remarks  on  the  text 
of  the  Old  Testament.  A  part  of  it  is  older  than  the 
Targums  ;  but  it  was  not  completed,  or  reduced  to  its 
present  form,  until  the  eighth  or  ninth  centur\%  Its 
contents  or  criticisms  show,  that  already  the  substan- 
tial princii)lesof  Hebrew  grammar,  and  the  analogical 
structure  of  the  language,  had  been  an  object  of  par- 
ticular study  and  attention. 

Among  Christians,  during  the  first  twelve  centuries 
after  the  apostolic  age,  the  knowledge  of  Hebrew 
could  scarcely  be  said  to  exist.  Epi|)hanius,  who  be- 
fore his  conversion  was  a  Jew,  probably  had  a  kuowl- 
77 


edge  of  the  Hebrew  tongue  ;  and  perhaps  Theodoret 
and  Ephrem  Syrus  whose  native  language  was 
Syriac,  may  have  understood  it.  But  among  all  the 
fathers  of  the  (christian  churches,  none  have  acquired 
any  reputation  for  tlie  knowledge  of  Hebrew,  except 
Origen  and  Jerome.  In  regard  to  the  former,  it  is 
very  doubtful  whether  he  possessed  any  thing  more 
than  a  sujierlicial  knowledge  of  it.  (Ges.  Gesch.  §  27. 
I.)  But  Jerome  spent  about  twenty  years  in  Pales- 
tine, in  order  to  acquire  a  knowledge  of  this  tongue, 
and  has  left  the  fruits  of  his  knowledge  Ijehind  him, 
in  the  celebrated  translation  of  the  Hebrew  Scriptures 
called  the  Vulgate.      See  Versions. 

In  consequence  of  the  persecutions  and  vexations 
of  the  Jews  in  the  East,  by  Christians,  and  especially 
by  Mohammedans,  in  the  tenth  and  eleventh  centu- 
ries, their  literati  emigrated  to  the  west,  and  their 
schools  in  Babjlonia  were  desti'oyed.  The  north  of 
Africa,  but  particularly  Spain,  and  afterwards  France 
and  Germany,  became  ])laces  of  resort  for  the  Jews  ; 
and  here,  during  the  eleventh  and  twelfth  centuries, 
almost  all  those  important  Jewish  works  in  gi-ammar 
and  lexicography  were  composed,  which  have  been 
the  means  of  [)reserving  a  knowledge  of  the  Hebrew 
language  in  the  world,  and  eventually  of  rousing 
Christians  to  the  study  of  this  sacred  tongue.  It  was 
during  this  period,  that  the  Kimchis,  Jarchi,  Aben 
Ezra,  and  Maimonides  flourished ;  and  somewhat 
later  appeared  Ben  Gerson,  Ben  Melech,  Abarhanel, 
Elias  Levita,  and  others  ;  who,  by  their  philological 
labors,  prepared  thc.Avay  for  the  diflusiou  of  Hebrew 
learning  over  th(;  Christian  world. 

During  tlie  dark  ages,  the  knowledge  of  Hebrew 
appears  to  have  been  banished  from  the  Christian 
world,  and  to  have  been  commonly  regarded  as  a 
proof  of  heresy.  But  in  the  fourteenth  century,  some 
glimmerings  of  light  appeared.  The  council  at  Vi- 
enna, in  A.  D.  1311,  ordered  the  establishment  of 
professorships  of  oriental  literature  in  the  universi- 
ties. After  this,  slow  but  gradual  progress  was  made 
among  Christians  in  the  study  of  Hebrew,  until  the 
sixteenth  century ;  when  the  reformation,  opei-ating 
with  other  causes,  served  to  increase  the  attention 
an:iong  the  learned  to  the  original  Scriptures.  But 
as  yet,  the  study  of  Hebrew  v.as  embarrassed  by 
many  Jewish  traditions  and  conceits,  which  had  been 
propagated  by  the  rabbins  among  their  christian 
pupils.  Nor  was  it  until  about  the  middle  of  thd 
seventeenth  century,  that  Hebrew  philology  made 
real  advances,  beyond  tbe  liniils  by  which  it  had  as 
yet  been  circumscribed.  Dm  ing  this  century,  many 
grammars  and  lexicons  of  llie  Hebrew  and  its  cognate 
dialects  were  jnililishf d,  which  increased  the  means 
of  investigation  for  future  philologists.  In  the  first 
part  of  the  succeeding  century,  Sclmltens  published 
his  philological  works,  which  exhibited  deeper  re- 
searches into  the  structure  and  nature  of  the  She- 
niitish  languages  than  had  hitherto  appeared.  The 
a])])lication  of  the  kindred  dialects,  especially  of  the 
Arabic,  to  the  illustration  of  the  Hebrew,  was  urged 
much  l)eyoiid  what  had  belore  been  done.  Many 
eminent  ])hilologists  were  nurtured  in  his  school  at 
Leyden.  The  great  body  of  critics,  almost  until  the 
present  time,  have  follo\%ed  in  the  path  A^hich  ho 
trod.  Many  of  them  have  made  an  excessive  use  of 
the  Arabic  languages  in  tracing  the  signijication  of 
Hebrew  words.  Some  of  the  best  lexicographers, 
such  as  Eichhorn  and  ^lichaiilis,  are  not  free  from 
this  fault. 

Of  late  years,  a  new  and  much  better  method  of 
Hebrew  philology  has  commenced,  and  is  still  advan- 


LAO 


[610] 


LAV 


cing,  in  a  great  measure,  under  the  patronage  and  by 
the  labors  of  Gesenius  at  Halle.  A  temperate  use  of 
all  the  kindred  dialects  is  allowed  by  this  method,  or 
rather  enjoined,  in  illustrating  the  sense  of  words  ;  but 
the  most  copious  illustrations,  borrowed  from  the 
kindred  languages,  are  those  which  respect  the  forms 
of  words,  their  significancy  as  connected  witli  the 
forms,  and  the  syntax  of  the  Hebrew  language. 
There  is  reason  to  hope  that  the  present  age  will 
advance  greatly  beyond  preceding  ones,  in  respect 
to  a  fundamental  and  critical  knowledge  of  the 
Shemitish  languages.  See  further  under  Let- 
ters L     *R. 

LAODICEA.  There  arc  several  citie-s  of  this 
name,  but  Scripture  speaks  only  of  that  on  the  con- 
fines of  Phrygia  and  Lydia.  Its  ancient  name  was 
Diospolis,  then  Rhoas,  and  lastly,  Laodicca.  It 
was  situated  on  the  river  Lycus,  not  far  above  its 
junction  with  the  Meander ;  and  was  the  metropolis 
of  Phrygia  Pacatiana.  Paul  had  never  been  in  this 
city,  nor  had  the  Laodiceans  ever  seen  his  face  in 
the  flesh  ;  (Col.  ii.  1.)  but  on  information  from  Epa- 
phras  their  messenger,  that  false  teachers  had  propa- 
gated pernicious  doctrines  there  and  at  Colossfe,  he 
wrote  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  latter,  and  desired 
them,  when  they  had  read  his  letter,  to  send  it  to 
the  Laodiceans.  He  writes  also,  as  is  thought,  in  the 
same  epistle,  that  the  Laodiceans  should  also  send 
their  letter  to  the  Colossians.  "  That  ye  likewise 
read  the  epistle  from  Laodicea,"  xal  Ti,r  ix  JaoStxila? 
ha  y.al  vuug  oriayvwrt ,  Col.  iv.  16.  This  expression, 
however,  is  ambiguous.  It  may  either  signify  the 
letter  which  the  apostle  wrote  to  Laodicea,  or  that 
which  the  Laodiceans  wrote  to  him.  The  letter  to 
the  Laodiceans,  which  has  been  attributed  to  Paul, 
is  universally  admitted  to  be  spurious, 

Laodicea  was  long  an  inconsiderable  place,  but  it 
increased  towards  the  time  of  Augustus  Cfesar.  The 
fertility  of  the  soil,  and  the  good  fortune  of  some  of 
its  citizens,  raised  it  to  greatness,  Hiero,  who  adorned 
it  with  many  ofl^erings,  bequeathed  to  the  people 
more  than  two  thousand  talents  ;  and  though  an  in- 
land town,  it  grew  more  ])otent  than  the  cities  on  the 
coast,  and  became  one  of  tlie  largest  towns  in  Phrygia, 
as  its  present  ruins  prove.  Among  the  ruins  seen 
by  doctor  Chandler,  was  an  oblong  amphitheatre, 
the  area  of  which  was  about  one  thousand  feet  in 
extent,  with  a  number  of  other  splendid  ruins. 

"Laodicea  was  often  damaged  by  earthquakes, 
and  restored  by  its  own  opulence,  or  by  the  numifi- 
cence  of  the  Roman  emperors.  These  resources 
failed,  and  the  city,  it  is  probable,  became  early  a 
scene  of  ruin.  About  the  year  1097,  it  was  possessed 
by  the  Turks,  and  submitted  to  Ducas,  general  of 
the  emperor  Alexis.  In  1 120,  the  Turks  sacked  some 
of  the  cities  of  Phrygia  by  the  Meander,  but  were 
defeated  by  the  emperor  John  Comnenus,  who  took 
Laodicca,  and  repaired  and  built  anew  the  walls. 
About  llGl,  it  was  again  unfortified.  Many  of  the 
inhabitants  were  then  killed,  with  their  bishop,  or 
carried  with  their  cattle  into  captivity  by  the  Turkish 
sultan.  In  1190,  the  German  emperor  Frederick 
Barbarossa,  going  by  Laodicea  with  his  army  toward 
Syria  on  a  croisade,  was  received  so  kindly,  that  he 
prayed  on  his  knees  for  the  prosperity  of  the  people. 
About  1196,  this  region,  with  Caria,  was  dreadfidly 
ravaged  by  the  Turks.  The  sultan,  on  the  invasion 
of  the  Tartars  in  1255,  gave  Laodicea  to  the  Romans, 
but  they  were  imable  to  d<;fend  it,  and  it  soon  re- 
turned to  the  Turks.  We  saw  no  traces  either  of 
houses,  churches  or  mosques.     All  was  silence  and 


solitude.  Several  strings  of  camels  passed  eastward 
of  the  hill ;  but  a  fox,  which  we  first  discovered  by  his 
ears  peeping  over  a  brow,  was  the  only  inhabitant  of 
Laodicea."     (Trav.  p.  225.) 

The  grandeur  of  this  city  in  A.  D.  79,  is  sufiiciently 
attested  by  these  ruins ;  whence  we  infer,  that  at  the 
date  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Colossians,  (A.  D.  60,  or 
61,)  it  was  a  place  of  consequence.  Whether  the 
church  here  were  numerous  we  know  not ;  but, 
from  the  epistle  iii  the  Revelations  addressed  to  its 
minister,  it  should  seem  to  have  fallen  into  a  luke- 
warm state,  (about  A,  D.  96,)  and  it  is  threatened  ac- 
cordingly. It  seems,  also,  that  the  Laodiceans  boast- 
ed of  their  wealth,  and  knowledge,  and  garments ; 
which  agi-ees  with  their  history,  that  they  were  en- 
riched by  the  fleeces  of  their  sheep,  and  eminent  in 
polite  studies,  as  evinced  by  the  od6um,  the  theatre, 
the  amphitheatre,  and  the  magnified  sculptures,  the 
the  remains  of  which  are  still  desccrnible. 

LAPIDOTH,  the  prophetess  Deborah's  husband, 
Judg.  iv.  4. 

LAPWING,  a  bird  by  Moses  declared  to  be  un- 
clean. Lev.  xi,  19.  It  is  about  the  size  of  a  thi-ush  ; 
its  beak  is  long,  black,  thin,  and  a  little  hooked  ;  its 
legs  gray  and  short.  On  its  head  is  a  tuft  of  feathers 
of  diffcz'ent  colors,  which  it  raises  or  lowers  as  it 
pleases.  Its  neck  and  stomach  are  something  red- 
dish ;  and  its  wings  and  tail  black  with  white  streaks. 
See  IBiRDs,  p.  188. 

LA.SHA.  Moses,  describing  the  limits  of  the  land 
of  Canaan,  says,  that  it  reaches  south  to  Lasha,  Gen. 
X.  19.  The  Chaldee  and  Jerome  take  this  to  be  the 
place  Callirhoe,  east  of  the  Dead  sea,  where  are 
warm  springs,  (see  Anah,)  and  this  is  the  more  proba- 
ble opinion  ;  but  Calmet  thinks  it  is  the  city  of  Lasha, 
Lusa,  or  Elusa,  at  nearly  an  equal  distance  between 
the  Dead  sea  and  the  Red  sea.  Ptolemy  mentions 
this  city  of  Lusa,  as  do  Stephens  the  geographer, 
and  Josephus. 

LATTICE,  see  House,  p.  506, 

LAVER,  Brazen.  Moses  was  directed  (Exod. 
XXX.  18.)  to  make,  among  other  articles  of  furniture 
for  the  services  of  the  tabernacle,  a  laver  of  brass. 
This  is  not  particularly  described  as  to  form  ;  but 
the  lavcrs  made  for  the  temple  were  borne  by  four 
cherubim,  standing  u})on  bases  or  pedestals  mounted 
on  brazen  wheels,  and  having  handles  belonging  to 
them,  by  means  of  which  they  might  be  drawn,  and 
conveyed  from  one  place  to  another,  as  they  should 
be  wanted.  These  lavers  wei-c  double,  that  is  to  say, 
composed  of  a  basin,  which  received  the  water  that 
fell  from  another  square  vessel  above  it,  from  which 
they  drew  water  with  cocks.  The  Avhole  work  was 
of  brass ;  the  square  vessel  was  adorned  with  the 
heads  of  a  lion,  an  ox,  and  a  cherub  ;  that  is  to  say, 
of  extraordinaiy  hieroglyphic  creatures.  Each  of 
the  lavers  contained  forty  baths,  or  four  bushels,  forty- 
one  pints,  and  forty  cubic  inches  of  Paris  measure. 
There  were  ten  made  in  this  form,  and  of  this  ca- 
pacity ;  five  of  them  were  ])laccd  to  the  right,  and 
five  to  the  left  of  the  temple,  between  the  altar  of 
burnt-ofterings  and  the  stei)s  which  led  to  the  porch 
of  the  temple. 

In  describing  the  laver  made  for  the  tabernacle, 
the  sacred  writer  says,  Moses  "made  it  of  brass,  and 
the  foot  of  it  of  brass,  and  of  the  looki7Tg-glasses  of 
the  women  assembling,  which  assembled  at  the  door 
of  the  tabernacle  of  the  congregation,"  Exod.  xxxviii. 
8.  The  impropriety  of  introducing  looking-glasses 
here  is  obvious,  since  a  laver  of  brass  could  never 
have  been  formed  out  of  these ;  besides,  our  glass 


LAW 


[611  ] 


LAW 


mirrors  are  quite  a  modern  inveution.  Dr.  A.  Clai-ke 
conceives,  therefore,  that  the  Hebrew  word  rN-ic,  ma- 
roth,  denotes  mirrors  simply,  and  here,  mirrors  of 
pohsiied  metal,  such  as  were  known  to  be  in  com- 
mon use  among  the  ancients;  and  which  Dr.  Sliaw 
states  to  be  stiU  used  by  the  Aralj  women  in  Barl)ary. 
(Jahii,  Bib.  Arch.  §  132.  Hartmaim.  Hebrlierinn,  ii. 
p.  '210.     Adam's  Rom.  Antiq.  p.  42:J.) 

LAUGHTER  i;5  an  inthcationof  joy,  insult,  mock- 
ery, assurance,  or  admiration.  Sarah  in  her  trans- 
port of  joy  called  her  son  Isaac,  that  is,  laughter, 
Gen.  xxi.  6.  "  At  destruction  and  famine  thou  shalt 
laugh  ;"  i.  e.  thou  shalt  not  fear  it,  thou  slialt  be  per- 
fectly secure  against  those  evils.  God  laughs  at  the 
wicked ;  he  despises  their  vain  efforts,  Ishmael 
laughed  at  Isaac  ;  he  insulted  him,  he  vexed  him. 
(See  Gal.  iv.  29.)  Laughter  in  general  implies  re- 
joicing. "  There  is  a  time  to  laugh,  and  a  time  to 
^vcep ;"  that  is,  a  time  to  rejoice,  and  a  time  to  be 
atHicted,  Eccl.  iii.  4.  "Blessed  are  ye  who  weep 
now,  for  ye  shall  laugh,"  Luke  vi.  21,  25.  "  I  said 
of  laughter,"  of  joy,  pleasure,  "  it  is  mad,"  Eccl.  ii. 
2.  "  Your  laughter  shall  be  turned  into  mourning ;" 
your  joy  shall  terminate  in  sorrow,  repentance,  re- 
iMoi-sc,  James  iv.  9.  Laughter  does  not  become  a 
wi^e  man.  "  A  fool  lifteth  up  his  voice  witli  laugh- 
ter, but  a  wise  man  doth  scarcely  smile  a  little.  The 
laughter  of  a  fool  is  as  noisy  as  the  crackling  of 
thorns,"  Ecclus.  viii.  8.  Abraham's  laughter,  when 
God  promised  him  a  son,  was  an  expression  of  ad- 
miration and  gratitude,  not  of  doubt ;  the  Scripture, 
which  relates  it,  does  not  disapprove  of  it,  as  it  does 
of  Sarah's,  Gen.  xvii.  17. 

LAW  denotes  in  general  a  rule  by  which  actions 
are  to  be  determined  ;  and  is  either  natural  or  posi- 
tive ;  the  former  is  founded  on  the  unchangeable  na- 
ture of  things,  and  is  therefore  immutable ;  the  latter 
is  founded  on  the  circumstances  in  which  rational 
creatures  may  happen  to  be  placed,  and  is  therefore 
changeable.  The  former  is  called  moral ;  the  latter 
ritual. 

The  rabbins  pretend  that  Noah's  sous  received  cer- 
tain laws  which  compose  the  law  of  nature,  and  bind 
all  people,  in  all  countries,  Maimonides  believes, 
that  the  first  six  were  given  to  Adam,  and  that  God 
added  a  seventh  to  Noah,  Of  these  precepts  the 
first  ordains  submission  to  judges  and  magistrates ; 
the  second  forbids  blasphemy  against  God  ;  the  third, 
idolatry  and  sujierstition  ;  the  fourth,  incest,  sodomy, 
bestiality,  and  sins  against  nature  ;  tlie  fifth,  murder, 
and  all  effusions  of  blood  ;  the  sixth,  thefi; ;  the  sev- 
enth, the  eating  of  the  limb  of  an  animal  while  liv- 
ing, that  is,  of  crude  blood,  &c, 

A  distinction  is  generally  made  between  the  law 
of  nature  and  positive  laws.  The  law  of  nature  is 
i!n;)rossed  on  our  hearts  ;  such  are  our  obligations  to 
worship  the  Supreme  Being,  to  honor  our  parents,  to 
obey  superiors,  to  do  to  no  man  what  we  would  not 
have  done  to  us,  &c.  Positive  laws  are  of  several 
kinds;  civil  and  political  or  ceremonial.  Judicial, 
civil  and  political  laws  regard  principally  the  duties 
of  men  in  society,  and  the  order  and  polity  of  the 
state  ;  they  restrain  the  violence  of  wicked  men,  de- 
fied the  weak  from  the  oppression  of  the  strong, 
and  regulate  duties,  rights  and  powers.  Ceremonial 
laws  respect  the  external  worship  of  God,  the  duties 
of  ministers  and  people  towards  God,  and  their  re- 
ci{)n)cal  obligations  to  one  another,  with  relation  to 
the  Divine  Being. 

The  law  was  given  to  the  Hebrews,  by  the  inter- 
vention of  Mosesj  on  mount  Sinai,  fifty  days  after 


their  departure  out  of  Egypt,  A.  M.  9513,  aiUe  A.D. 
1491.     (See  Exod.  xx.  &c,) 

Some  learned  men  have  been  of  opinion,  that 
Moses  in  most  of  his  laws  intended  either  to  imitate 
those  of  the  Egyptians,  or  to  reverse  their  customs 
and  maxims,  or  to  circiunscribe  the  Hebrews,  to 
prevent  their  falling  into  those  errors,  idolatries,  and 
superstitions,  which  they  had  seen  in  Egypt,  Others, 
on  the  contrary,  have  asserted,  that  the  Egyptians 
imitated,  in  part,  at  least,  the  Hebrew  laws.  Cal- 
met  most  reasonably  concludes,  that  there  was  a  re- 
ciprocal imitation  ;  bearing  in  mind  that  the  practices 
of  the  Mosaic  laws,  which  oppose  the  superstition 
of  Egypt,  were  not  instituted  without  design,  and 
that  the  Jewish  legislator  intended  to  cure  the  Is- 
raelites of  their  proneness  to  idolatry,  and  to  cor- 
rect the  evil  habits  which  they  had  contracted  in 
Egypt,  What  was  useful  among  those  of  Egypt, 
might  be  retained  ;  and  such  as  had  been  perverted, 
might  be  restored  to  their  purity. 

The  law  of  IMoses  being  the  shadow  only  of  good 
things  to  come,  (see  Type,)  but  bringing  nothing  to 
perfection,  (Heb.  x,  1  ;  vii.  19,)  it  was  necessary  that 
Jesus  Christ  should  complete  what  was  imperfect  in 
it,  reform  what  abuses  it  tolerated,  and  fulfil  what  it 
only  jtromised  and  typified.  This  he  has  executed 
witli  great  precision.  He  declares,  (Matt.  v.  17.)  that 
he  came  not  to  destroy  the  law,  but  to  perfect  it.  He 
has  enlarged,  modified,  or  restrained  it,  more  par- 
ticularly the  explanations  which  the  rabbins,  and 
masters  in  Israel,  had  given  of  it;  explanations, 
which  were  rather  corruptions  than  illustrations, 
Paul  has,  in  some  sort,  finished  what  our  Saviour 
had  begun  ;  or  rather,  he  has  set  in  their  full  light 
the  purposes  of  his  Master,  E,  g,  that  the  law  of 
IMoses  is  superseded  or  abrogated  by  the  gospel; 
that  since  the  death  of  the  Messiah  the  legal  cere- 
monies are  of  no  obligation ;  that  believers  are 
no  longer  under  the  yoke  of  the  law,  but  under 
grace;  (Rom.  vi.  14.)  that  Christ  has  procured 
for  us  the  liberty  of  sons,  instead  of  the  spirit 
of  bondage,  which  reigned  under  the  Old  Testa 
ment;  in  a  word,  that  it  is  neither  the  law,  nor 
the  works  of  it,  that  justify  Christians,  (Rom.  viii.) 
but  faith  animated  by  love,  and  accompanied  with 
good  works,  Gal.  iv.  31  ;  v.  13.  When  we  say 
that  the  gospel  lias  rescued  us  from  the  yoke  of  the 
law,  we  understand  only  the  appointments  of  the 
ceremonial  and  judicial  law  ;  not  those  moral  pre- 
cepts, whose  oljligation  is  indispensable,  and  whose 
observation  is  much  more  jjerfect,  and  extensive,  and 
enforced,  under  the  law  of  grace,  than  it  was  under 
the  old  law. 

The  Jews  aflirm,  that  Moses  received  with  the 
written  code,  on  mount  Sinai,  an  oral  law;  that  the 
latter  was  given  only  by  word  of  mouth,  and  has 
been  transmitted  by  the  elders.  They  give  a  prefer- 
ence to  the  oral  law,  before  the  written  law  ;  for  this, 
they  say,  is  in  many  places  obscure,  imperfect,  or  de- 
fective, and  could  not  be  used  as  a  rule  without  the 
assistance  of  the  oral  law,  which  supplies  all  that  is 
wanting  in  the  written  law,  and  removes  all  ditficid- 
ties.  They  therefore  add  to  the  written  law  the  ex- 
planations, modifications  and  glosses  of  the  oral 
law,  and  it  is  a  sort  of  maxim  among  them,  that  the 
covenant  which  God  made  with  them  at  Sinai,  con- 
sists less  in  the  precepts  of  the  written  law  than  in 
those  of  the  oral  law ;  and  to  the  latter  they  gene- 
rally give  the  preference.  They  say  that  the  words 
of  the  Levites  are  more  lovely  than  those  of  the  law ; 
that  the  words  of  the  law  are  sometimes  weighty  and 


LEA 


[  G12  ] 


LEE 


sometimes  light ;  whereas  those  of  the  doctors  are 
always  weighty ;  that  the  words  of  the  elders  were 
of  greater  weight  thau  those  of  the  prophets.  They 
compare  the  sacred  text  to  water,  and  the  Mishna,  or 
Talmud,  which  contains  their  tradition,  to  wine  ;  or 
tlic  written  law  to  salt,  hut  the  Mishna  and  Talmud 
to  most  exquisite  spices  ;  the  law  is  only,  as  it  were, 
the  hody,  hut  the  oral  law  or  tradition,  is  the  soid  of 
religion.  They  hav^e  been  justly  reproached  with 
making  the  word  of  God  of  no  effect  by  their  tra- 
ditions, Mark  vii.  13. 

Tiitt  word  "  law"  often  implies  the  Scriptures  of 
the  Old  Testament.  [In  the  Jewish  division  of  the 
Old  Testament  into  the  law,  the  prophets  and  the 
hagiography,  the  law,  or  torah,  designates  the  Penta- 
teuch.    R. 

LAWYEHS.  These  functionaries,  so  often  men- 
tioned in  the  New  Testament,  w-ere  men  who  de- 
voted themselves  to  the  study  and  explanation  of  the 
Jewish  law  ;  particularly  of  the  traditionary  or  oral 
law.  They  belonged  to  the  sect  of  the  Pharisees, 
and  fell  under  the  reproof  of  our  Saviour  for  hav- 
ing taken  from  the  people  the  key  of  knowledge. 
They  were  as  the  blind  leading  the  blind.  See 
Scribes. 

L  LAZARUS,  brother  of  Martha  and  Mary, 
dwelt  with  his  sisters  at  Bethany,  near  Jerusalem; 
and  our  Saviour  sometimes  lodged  with  them,  when 
he  visited  that  city.  While  he  was  beyond  Jordan 
with  his  apostles,  Lazarus  fell  sick  ;  and  his  sisters 
sent  information  to  him.  He  remarked,  "  This  sick- 
ness is  not  unto  death,  but  for  the  glory  of  God  ;" 
and  after  two  daj's  he  said  to  his  disciples,  "  Lazarus 
is  asleep,  but  I  go  to  awake  him  ;"  meaning,  that  he 
was  dead,  but  that  he  would  restore  him  to  life.  On 
his  arrival  at  Bethany,  he  found  that  he  had  been 
already  four  days  in  the  grave,  but  proceeding  to  the 
sepulchre,  he  commanded  those  who  stood  by  to 
take  away  the  stone  ;  and  having  returned  thanks  to 
his  Father  for  always  hearing  hiu),  cried  with  a  loud 
voice,  "  Lazarus,  come  fortli  !"  Lazarus  came  forth 
bound  hand  and  foot  with  grave-clothes,  and  his  face 
wrajiped  up  in  a  napkin,  and  returned  home  to  his 
f  imily,  John  xi. 

Six  days  before  his  last  passover,  Jcsiis  again  vis- 
ited Bethany,  and  Lazarus  reclined  at  table  with 
hin).  The  Jews,  observing  that  the  resurrection  of 
Lazarus  had  made  a  great  impression  on  the  people's 
minds,  took  a  wicked  and  foolish  resolution  to  effect 
t!ie  death  of  both.  That  part  of  their  design  which 
related  to  our  Saviour,  they  executed  ;  but  Scripture 
does  not  inform  us  what  became  of  Lazarus. 

n.  LAZAPlUS.  In  Luke  xvi.  1;>,  Jesus  in  a  para- 
ble speaks  of  a  poor  man,  named  Lazurus,  who  lay 
at  a  rich  man's  gate  full  of  sores,  and  desired  the 
crumbs  which  fell  from  his  table,  without  finding 
relief  or  i)ity ;  while  the  rich  man  enjoyed  great 
plenty,  was  clothed  in  purple  and  fine  linen,  and 
iarcd  sumptuously  every  day.  I^azarus  having  died, 
was  carried  liy  angels  into  Abi'almm's  bosom  ;  the 
rich  man  also  died,  and  while  he  was  in  hell  amidst 
his  tormf'uts,  he  saw  Lazarus  afar  off,  and  cried  out, 
Father  Ai)raham,  have  pity  on  me,  and  send  Laza- 
rus, that  iif;  may  dip  the  end  of  his  finger  in  water 
to  refresh  my  tongue.  But  Abraliam  answered  him. 
Son,  thou  in  thy  life-time  receivedst  thy  good  things, 
and  Lazarus  his  evil  things;  now  he  is  happy,  thou 
art  miserable. 

LEAD  is  a  very  heavy  metal,  sufficiently  well 
known.  The  mode  of  ])urifying  it  from  the  dross 
which  is  mixed  with  it,  by  subjecting  it  to  a  fierce 


flame,  and  melting  off  its  scoria,  furnishes  several  al- 
lusions in  Scripture  to  God's  purifying,  or  punishing, 
his  people.  The  prophet  Ezekiel  (xxii.  18,  20.)  com- 
pares the  Jews  to  lead,  because  of  their  guilt,  and 
dross,  from  which  they  must  be  purged  as  by  fire. 
Mention  is  made  of  a  talent  of  lead  in  Zech.  v.  7,  8, 
which  probably  was  of  a  figm-e  and  size  as  well 
known  as  any  of  our  weights  in  ordinary  use ;  so 
that  though  weights  are  usually  called  in  Hebrew 
stones,  yet,  perhaps,  they  had  some  of  metal  only  ; 
as  this  talent  of  lead,  for  instance. 

Lead  was  one  of  the  substances  used  for  writing 
upon  by  the  ancients.     See  Book. 

LEAH,  wife  of  Jacob,  and  Laban's  eldest  daughter. 
See  Jacob. 

LEAVEN  was  forbidden  to  the  Hebrews,  during 
the  seven  days  of  the  passover,  in  memory  of  what 
their  ancestors  did,  Avhen  they  went  out  of  Egypt ; 
they  being  then  obliged  to  carry  unleavened  meal 
with  them,  and  to  make  bread  in  haste  ;  the  Egyp- 
tians pressing  them  to  be  gone,  Exod.  xii.  15,  19 ; 
Lev.  ii.  11.  They  were  very  careful  in  cleansing 
their  houses  from  it  before  this  feast  began.  God 
forbade  either  leaven  or  honey  to  be  offered  to  him 
in  his  temple  ;  that  is,  in  cakes,  or  in  any  baked 
meats.  But  on  other  occasions  they  might  offer 
leavened  bi-ead,  or  honey.  See  Numb.  xv.  20,  21, 
where  God  requires  them  to  give  the  first  fruits  of 
the  bread,  which  was  kneaded  in  all  the  cities  of  Is- 
rael, to  the  priests  and  Levites.  Paul  (1  Cor.  v.  7,8.) 
expresses  his  desire,  that  Christians  should  celebrate 
their  passover  with  unleavened  bread  ;  which  figu- 
ratively signifies  sincerity  and  truth.  The  apostle 
here  teaches  us  two  things  ;  first,  that  the  law  which 
obliged  the  Jews  to  a  literal  observance  of  the  pass- 
over  is  no  longer  in  force ;  secondly,  that  by  un- 
leavened bread,  truth  and  purity  of  heart  were  de- 
noted. 

Paul  alludes  to  the  care  with  which  the  Hebrews 
cleansed  their  houses  from  leaven,  when  he  says, 
"A  little  leaven  leaveneth  the  whole  lump  ;"  that  is, 
if  there  w^ere  but  a  small  portion  of  leaven  in  a  quan- 
tity of  bread  or  paste,  during  the  passover,  it  was 
thereby  rendered  unclean,  and  was  to  be  thrown 
away  and  burned.  Our  Saviour  (IMatt.  xvi.  11.) 
warns  his  apostles  to  avoid  the  leaven  of  the  Phari- 
sees, Sadducees,  and  Herodians  ;  meaning  their  doc- 
trine. 

LEBANON,  see  Libanus. 

LEBAOTH,  a  town  in  Judah  and  Simeon,  (Josh. 
XV  32.)  called  Beth  Lebaoth,  in  Josh.  xix.  G. 

LEBB^US,  otherwise  Judas,  or  Thaddeus,  brother 
of  James  the  Less,  son  of  Mary,  sister  of  the  Vir- 
gin, and  of  Cleo|)lias,  and  brother  of  Joseph.  He 
was  married  and  had  children.  Nicephorus  calls 
his  wife  IMary.  The  Muscovites  believe,  that  they 
received  the  faith  from  him.     Sec  Judas  IV. 

LEBONAH,(Judg.  xxi.  19.)  a  place  which  Maun- 
drell  takes  for  Chan-Leban,  four  leagues  from  Si- 
chem  soiuhward,  and  two  from  Bethel. 

LEECH,  see  IIorse-leach. 

LEEK,  a  pot-herb  generally  known.  The  He- 
brews complained  in  the  wilderness,  that  manna 
grew  insi])id  to  them;  they  longed  for  the  leeks  and 
onions  of  I'^.gypt.  Ilasselquist  says  the  karrat,  or 
leek,  is  surely  one  of  those  after  which  the  Israel- 
ites repined  ;  for  it  has  been  cultivated  in  Egy|)t  from 
time  immemorial.  The  favorable  seasons  for  this 
plant  are  winter  and  spring.  The  Egyptians  are  ex- 
tremely fond  of  it. 

LEES,  fcEces.      To  drink  up  the  cup  of  God's 


I.EII 


[  G13 


LEO 


wrath,  "  even  to  the  lees,"  is  to  drink  die  whole  cup 
to  the  iiottom,  Ps.  Ixxv.  8  ;  Isa.  li.  17 ;  Ezek.  xxiii. 
34.  The  rabbins  say  that  Zedekiah,  the  last  king  of 
Judah,  drank  the  lees  of  all  the  foregoing  ages. 
"The  lees  of  tlic  people,"  signifies  the  vilest  part  of 
them,  Isa.  xlix.  (J,  7.  God  threatens  by  Zephaniah, 
to  visit  those  who  are  settled  on  their  lees ;  i.  e.  hai"d- 
cned  in  tiieir  sins,  Zepli.  i.  12. 

LEGIOX.  The  Roman  legions  were  composed 
each  of  ten  cohorts,  a  cohort  of  fifty  maniples,  and  a 
maniple  of  fifteen  men  ;  consequently,  a  full  legion 
contained  six  thousand  soldiers.  But  the  number 
varied  at  diflercnt  times.  In  the  time  of  Polybius 
it  was  4200.  (See  Adam's  Rom.  Antiq.  p.  367.)  Jesus 
cured  a  demoniac  who  called  himself "  legion,"  as 
if  possessed  by  a  legion  of  devils,  IMark  v.  9.  He 
also  said  to  Peter,  who  drew  his  sword  to  defend 
him  in  the  olive-garden  :  "  Thinkest  thou  that  I  can- 
not now  pray  to  my  Father,  who  shall  presently 
give  me  more  than  twelve  legions  of  angels  ?"  Matt. 
xxvi.  53. 

LEGS  are  properly  those  limbs  of  an  animal,  by 
which  it  moves  from  place  to  place  ;  yet,  to  mani- 
fest the  divine  omnipotence,  and  that  God  is  not 
confined  to  one  mode  of  action,  many  creatures  have 
)io  legs!,  though  they  move,  (and  some  swiftly  too,)  as 
serpents,  worms,  snails,  &c.  and  various  kinds  of 
fishes,  which  pass  from  one  place  to  another,  not 
having  even  the  rudiments  of  legs.  Linnteus  classes 
some  kinds  of  fishes  by  the  situation  of  their  fins, 
which  he  considers  as  answering  the  jjurposes  of 
legs,  or  feet,  to  land-animals.  But,  beside  being  the 
instruments  of  motion,  the  legs  of  the  human  frame 
arc  the  supporters  of  the  body,  and  great  means  of 
strength  they  are,  when  in  health,  firm,  stable,  se- 
cure. As  such  Scripture  often  alludes  to  them,  Ps. 
cxivii.  10.  "Leg"  is  sometimes  used  modestly,  in 
the  same  manner  as  foot,  which  see. 

LEHABIM,  the  third  son  of  Mizraim,  Gen.  x.  1.3. 
Soiiic  think  that  Lehabim  denotes  the  Libyans,  one 
of  the  most  ancient  people  in  Africa.  In  Nah.  iii. 
'J,  and  Dan.  xi.  43,  we  find  mention  of  the  Lubim, 
which  the  Vulgate  and  LXX.  every  where  render 
Libyans ;  or,  what  comes  to  the  same  in  Nahum  and 
Daniel,  they  render  Nubians.  It  is  clear  that  this 
name  describes  colonies  of  Egyptians  ;  whether  to 
the  west  or  south,  is  the  question.  (See  Ludim.)  It 
is  probable  that  we  should  restrain  our  researches 
after  them  to  the  continent  of  Africa.  Certainly  we 
ought  to  distinguish  them  from  the  Lydians  of  Lesser 
AsTa.  Till!  Targum  of  Jerusalem  reads  Pentapoli- 
tanos,  which  was  a  region  in  the  country  of  Gy- 
rene, including  the  cities  of  Berenice,  Arsinoe,  Ptol- 
emais,  and  Cyrene ;  and  this  is  usually  considered 
as  a  very  ])robable  situation  for  the  Lehabim.  These 
and  the  Lubim  are  doubtless  the  same. 

LEIII,  the  jaw-bone.  Samson,  having  vanquished 
the  Philistines  with  the  jaw-bone  of  an  ass,  after 
the  conflict  threw  away  the  jaw  which  had  been  his 
weapon,  and  called  the  spot  where  it  fell,  "the 
l)lace  of  the  lifting  up  of  the  jaw-bone — Ramatii 
L;hi."  Becoming,  soon  after,  very  tiiirsty,  he  cried 
to  the  Lord,  and  said,  "  It  is  thou,  Lord,  who  hast 
giv.>n  this  great  deliverance  into  the  hand  of  thy  ser- 
vant: and  now  shall  I  die  for  thirst,  and  fall  into  the 
lianils  of  the  uncircumcised  ?"  Ui)on  which  God 
opened  one  of  the  large  teeth  in  lelii,  the  jaw-hone, 
and  a  fountain  sprung  out  of  it,  to  allay  Samson's 
thirst ;  and  the  place  retained  the  name  of  Lehi,  or 
tlie  Jaw-bone,  Judg.  xv.  18.  To  explain  this,  Cal- 
niet  remarks,  that  the  Hebrews  sometimes  called 


naked,  sharp,  and  steep  rocks,  teeth,  (1  Sam.  xiv.  4,  5  j 
Job  xxxix.  28.)  and  that  in  this  case  God  opened  a 
rock  called  IMachtes,  or  the  Cheek-tooth,  which  was 
at  the  place  where  Samson  obtained  his  victory,  and 
which,  for  this  reason,  he  called  Lehi,  the  Jaw-bone. 
This  fountain  issuing  out  of  a  rock  called  the  Cheek- 
tooth, at  a  place  named  Lehi,  or  the  Jaw-bone,  has 
induced  some  to  believe  that  it  came  immediately 
out  of  a  tooth-hole  in  the  ass's  jaw-bone,  which 
would  be  a  surprising  miracle  indeed.  But  as  Cal- 
met  explains  the  matter,  the  miracle  of  the  fountain 
issuing  out  of  the  rock  at  Samson's  prayer  is  ac- 
knowledged ;  and  wonders  are  not  to  be  multiplied 
without  necessity.  This  opinion  is  adopted  by  Jose- 
phus,  by  the  paraphrast  Jonathan,  and  by  many 
conmientators.  The  fountain  subsisted  long,  and 
still  subsists,  probably,  in  Palestine.  Glycas,  and 
the  martyr  Antoninus,  speak  of  it  as  in  the  suburbs 
of  Eleutheropolis. 

Mr.  Taylor  has  observed,  that  perhaps  this  foun- 
tain gushed  out  at  the  very  point  in  the  rock  where 
the  jaw-bone  of  the  ass  struck  when  thrown  away 
by  Samson  ;  and  thus,  though  the  water  really  issued 
from  the  rock,  it  might  seem  to  issue  from  under  the 
jaw-bone.  He  queries,  in  fact,  whether  the  violence 
with  which  the  jaw-bone  was  thrown  away  by  Sam- 
son, did  not  make  a  breach,  or  open  a  crevice  in  the 
rock,  from  which  issued  water;  that  part  of  the  rock 
which  before  confined  it  being  broken  off".  If  this 
be  just,  we  see  tie  reason  of  the  name  of  the  foun- 
tain, with  the  veracity  of  the  remark,  "  it  exists  to 
this  day  ;"  which,  if  it  had  issued  merely  from  the 
alveole,  the  hole  of  a  tooth  in  the  jaw-bone  of  the  ass, 
is  not  within  the  compass  of  credibility ;  as  the 
jaw  itself  nmst  have  perished  in  a  few  years  at  fur- 
thest. 

LENTIL,  a  species  of  pulse  ;  or  a  kind  of  beau. 
We  find  Esau  longing  for  a  mess  of  pottage  made  of 
leiitilcs,  (Gen.  xxv.  34.)  and  Augustin  says,  "  Lentiles 
are  used  as  food  in  Egypt,  for  this  plant  grows  abun- 
dantly in  that  country  ;  which  is  what  renders  the 
lentiles  of  Alexandria  so  valuable,  that  they  arc 
brought  from  thence  to  us,  as  if  none  were  grown 
among  us."  In  Barbary,  Dr.  Shaw  says,  that  "  len- 
tiles are  dressed  in  the  same  manner  as  beans,  dis- 
solving easily  into  a  mass,  and  making  a  pottage  of  a 
chocolate  color."  This  we  find  was  the  red  pottage 
which  Esau,  from  thence  called  Edom,  (z3nN,  red, 
Gen.  XXXV.  30.)  exclianged  for  his  birthright. 

LEOPARD,  a  fierce  animal,  spotted  with  a  diver- 
sity of  colors  ;  it  has  small  white  eyes,  wide  jaws, 
sharp  teeth,  round  ears,  a  large  tail ;  five  claAvs  on 
his  fore  feet,  four  on  those  behind.  It  is  said  to  be 
extremely  cruel  to  man.  Its  name,  Ico-pard,  implies 
that  it  has  something  of  the  lion  and  of  the  panther 
in  its  nature.  It  seems  from  Scripture,  that  the 
leopard  could  not  be  rare  in  Palestine.  Isaiah,  de- 
scribing tiie  iiap])y  reign  of  the  Messiah,  says,  (chap, 
xi. n.)  "The  leopard  shall  lie  down  with  the  kid,  and 
the  calf,  and  the  young  lion,  and  the  fatling  together." 
Jeremiah  says,  (chap.  v.  6.)  that  the  leopard  lies  in 
ambuscade  near  the  cities  of  the  wicked  ;  that  all 
they  who  go  out  thence  shall  be  torn  in  pieces  by  it. 
And  Hosca  (chap.  xiii.  7.)  affirms  that  the  Lofd  will 
be  unto  them  as  a  lion,  and  as  a  leopard,  lurking  in 
the  way  of  the  Assyrians,  to  devour  those  who  jiass  bj'. 
Jeremiah  speaks  of  the  leopard's  spots:  "Can  the 
^Ethiopian  change  his  color,  or  the  leopard  his 
spots  ?"  Scripture  often  joins  the  leopard  with  the 
lion,  as  animals  of  equal  fierceness.  Habakkuk  says, 
(i.  8.)  that  the  Chaldean  horses  are  swifter  than  leop- 


LEP 


[614] 


LEPROSY 


ards.  T}j«  spouse  in  tli6  Canticles  speaks  of  the 
inoimtains  of  the  leopards,  (Cant.  iv.  8.)  that  is  to 
say,  of  mountains  such  as  Libanus,  Shenir,  and  Her- 
nion,  where  wild  beasts  dwelt.  Brocard  says,  that 
the  mountain  called  by  the  name  of  Leopards  is  two 
leagues  from  Tripoli  northwards,  and  one  league 
from  Libanus  ;  biK  we  can  scarcely  believe  that  Sol- 
omon in  the  Canticles  had  this  mountain  in  view. 

LEPER,  a  person  afflicted  with  the  leprosy.  The 
law  excluded  such  from  society  ;  banishing  them  into 
the  country,  and  to  places  uninhabited,  Lev.  xiii.  45, 
46.  This  law  was  observed  so  punctually,  that  even 
kings,  under  the  disease,  were  expelled  their  pal- 
aces, shut  out  of  society,  and  deprived  of  the  govern- 
ment, as  Uzziah,  or  Azariah,  king  of  Judah,  who 
w^as  afflicted  with  this  malady  for  attempting  to  offer 
incense  in  the  temple,  2  Kings  xv.  5 ;  2  Chron.  xxvi. 
20.  When  a  leper  was  ciu-ed,  he  appeai-ed  at  the 
city  gate,  and  the  priest  examined  whether  he  were 
truly  healed.  Lev.  xiv.  1,  &c.  After  this  he  went  to 
the  temple,  took  two  clean  birds,  made  a  wisp  with 
a  branch  of  cedar,  and  another  of  hyssoj),  tied  to- 
gether with  a  scarlet  riband  made  of  wool ;  an 
earthen  vessel  was  then  filled  with  water,  and  one  of 
these  birds  was  fastened  alive  to  the  wisp  we  have 
mentioned.  The  leper  who  was  cured  killed  the 
other  bird,  and  let  the  blood  of  it  run  into  the  vessel 
filled  with  water.  The  priest  then  took  the  wisp 
with  the  live  bird,  dipped  both  into  the  water  tinged 
with  the  blood  of  one  of  the  birds,  and  sprinkled  the 
leper  with  it.  After  this  the  live  bird  was  set  at  lib- 
erty, and  the  person  healed,  and  purified  in  this 
manner,  was  again  admitted  to  the  society  of  the 
healthy,  and  to  the  use  of  sacred  things. 

r>Iany  commentators  are  of  opinion,  that  Job's  dis- 
ease was  a  leprosy,  but  in  a  degree  of  malignity  which 
rendered  it  incurable,  and  produced  a  comphcation 
of  diseases. 

LEPROSY.  Moses  mentions  three  sorts  of  lep- 
rcL^ie;; ;  in  (1.)  men  ;  (2.)  houses  ;  and  (3.)  clothes. 

1.  Leprosy  in  men.  This  disease  affects  the  skin, 
and  iiyinctimcs  increases  in  such  a  manner,  as  to  pro- 
duce scurf,  scabs,  and  violent  itchings,  and  to  corrupt 
t'le  whole  mass  of  blood.  At  other  times  it  is  only  a 
deformity.  Tlie  Jews  regarded  the  leprosy  as  a  dis- 
ease sent  from  God,  and  Moses  prescribes  no  natural 
remedy  lor  the  cure  of  it.  He  requires  only  that  the 
diseased  person  should  show  himself  to  the  priest, 
and  that  the  priest  should  judge  of  his  leprosy  ;  if  it 
appeared  to  be  a  real  leprosy,  capable  of  being  com- 
municated to  others,  he  separated  the  leper  from  the 
company  of  mankind.  He  appoints  certain  sacri- 
fices and  particular  ceremonies  already  mentioned 
for  the  purification  of  a  leper,  and  for  restoring  him 
to  society.  The  marks  which  Moses  gives  for  the 
l)ctter  distinguishing  a  leprosy,  are  signs  of  the  in- 
crease of  tiiis  disease.  An  outward  swelling,  a  pim- 
ple, a  white  spot,  bright,  and  somewhat  reddish, 
created  just  suspicions  of  a  man's  being  attacked 
with  it.  Wlien  a  bright  spot,  something  reddisli  or 
whitish,  a|)p(ared,  and  the  hair  of  that  place  was  of 
a  pale  red,  and  tiie  place  itself  something  deeper  than 
the  re#t  of  tiie  skin,  this  was  a  certain  mark  of  lep- 
rosy. Those  who  have  treated  of  this  disease,  have 
made  the  same  remarks,  but  have  distinguished  a  re- 
cent leprosy  from  one  already  formed  and  become 
inveterate.  A  recent  lc[)rosy  may  be  healed,  but  an 
invetertite  one  is  incurable.  Travellers  who  have 
seen  lepers  in  the  East,  say,  that  the  disease  attacks 
prmcipaily  the  feet.  Maundrell,  who  had  seen  lepers 
in  Palestine,  says,  that  their  feet  are  swcll;d  like  those 


of  elephants,  or  horses'  feet  swelled  with  the  farcy. 
The  common  marks  by  which,  as  physicians  tell  us, 
an  inveterate  leprosy  may  be  discerned,  are  these  : 
The  voice  becomes  hoarse,  like  that  of  a  dog  which 
has  been  long  barking,  and  comes  through  the  nose 
rather  than  the  mouth  :  the  pulse  is  small  and  heavy, 
slow  and  disordered :  the  blood  abounds  with  white 
and  bright  corpuscles,  like  millet-seeds ;  is,  in  fact, 
all  a  scurfy  serum,  without  due  mixture ;  so  that  salt 
put  into  it  does  not  melt,  and  is  so  dry,  that  vinegar 
mixed  with  it  bubbles  up ;  the  urine  is  undigested, 
settled,  ash-colored,  and  thick;  the  sediment  like 
meal  mixed  with  bran :  the  face  is  like  a  coal  half 
extinguished,  shining,  unctuous,  bloated,  full  of  very 
hard  pimples,  with  small  kernels  round  about  the 
bottom  of  them  :  the  eyes  are  red  and  inflamed,  and 
project  out  of  the  head,  but  cannot  be  moved  either 
to  the  right  or  left :  the  ears  are  swelled  and  red,  cor- 
roded with  ulcers  about  the  root  of  them,  and  encom- 
passed with  small  kernels :  the  nose  sinks,  because 
the  cartilage  rots  :  the  nostrils  are  open,  and  tlie  pas- 
sages stopped  with  ulcers  at  the  bottom  :  the  tongue 
is  diy,  black,  swelled,  ulcerated,  shortened,  divided 
in  ridges,  and  beset  with  little  white  pimples;  the 
skin  of  it  is  uneven,  hard  and  insensible  ;  even  if  a 
hole  be  made  in  it,  or  it  be  cut,  a  putrefied  sanies 
issues  from  it  instead  of  blood.  Leprosy  is  very 
easily  communicated  ;  and  hence  Moses  has  taken  so 
much  precaution  to  prevent  lepers  from  communica- 
tion with  persons  in  health.  His  care  extended  even 
to  dead  bodies  thus  infected,  which  he  directed 
should  not  be  buried  with  others. 

We  can  hardly  fail  of  observing  the  character,  and 
terror  in  consequence,  of  this  disease.  How  dreadful 
is  the  leprosy  in  Scripture  !  how  justly  dreadful, 
when  so  fatal,  and  so  hopeless  of  cure  !  Mungo  Park 
states  that  the  negroes  are  subject  to  a  leprosy  of  the 
very  worst  kind ;  and  Mr.  Grey  Jackson,  in  his  "Ac- 
count of  Morocco,"  (p.  192.)  informs  us,  that  the  spe- 
cies of  leprosy  called  jeddem,  is  very  prevalent  in 
Barbar\'.  "  At  3Iorocco  there  is  a  separate  quarter, 
outside  of  the  walls,  inhabited  by  lepers  only.  Those 
who  are  affected  with  it  are  obliged  to  wear  a  badge 
of  distinction  whenever  they  leave  their  habitations, 
so  that  a  straw  hat,  with  a  very  wide  brim,  tied  on 
in  a  particular  manner,  is  the  signal  for  persons  not 
to  approach  the  wearer.  Lepers  are  seen  in  many 
parts  of  Barbary,  sitting  on  the  ground,  with  a 
wooden  bowl  before  them,  begging.  They  inter- 
marry with  each  other." 

[To  the  above  somewhat  meagre  account  of  this 
terrible  disease,  it  may  not  be  improper  to  subjoin 
the  accounts  given  us  by  some  other  writers.  The 
following  extract  from  Jahn's  Archa?ology,  as  trans- 
lated by  professor  Ujiham,  affords,  perhaps,  sufficient- 
ly full  information  :  (see  p.  180,  seq.) 

"  The  leprosy  exiiibits  itself  on  the  exterior  surface 
of  the  skin,  but  it  infects,  at  the  same  time,  the  mar- 
row and  the  bones  ;  so  much  so  tliat  tlie  fartiiest 
joints  in  the  system  gradually  lose  their  jjowers,  and 
the  members  fall  together  in  such  a  manner,  as  to 
give  the  body  a  mutilated  and  dreadful  ai)])earance 
From  these  circumstances,  there  can  be  no  doubt, 
that  the  disease  originates  and  spreads  its  ravages 
internally,  before  it  makes  its  ai)j)eai"ance  on  the  ex- 
ternal parts  of  the  body.  Indeed,  we  have  reason  to 
believe,  that  it  is  concealed  in  the  internal  parts  of 
the  system  a  number  of  years,  for  instance,  in  infants 
commonly  till  they  arrive  at  the  age  of  puberty,  and 
in  adults  as  many  as  three  or  four  years,  till  at  last 
it  gives  the  fearful  indications  on  the  skiyi,  of  having 


LEPROSY 


[615  1 


LEPROSY 


already  gained  a  well-rooted  and  permanent  exist- 
ence. 

"  Its  progress  subsequently  to  its  appearance  on  the 
external  surface  of  the  body  is  far  from  being  rapid  ; 
in  a  number  of  years  it  arrives  at  its  middle,  and  in 
a  number  after  to  its  final,  state.  A  person  who  is 
leprous  from  his  nativity  may  live  filly  years ;  one 
who  in  after  life  is  infected  with  it  may  live  twenty 
years,  but  they  will  be  such  years  of  dreadful  misery 
as  rarely  fall  to  the  lot  of  man  in  any  other  situation. 

"The  appearance  of  the  disease  externally,  is  not 
always  the  same.  The  spot  is  commonly  small,  re- 
sembling in  its  appearance  the  small  red  spot  that 
would  be  the  consequence  of  a  puncture  from  a 
needle,  or  the  pustules  of  a  ringworm.  The  spots 
for  the  most  part  make  their  appearance  very  sud- 
denly, especially  if  the  infected  person,  at  the  period 
when  the  disease  shows  itself  externally,  happens  to 
be  in  great  fear,  or  to  be  intoxicated  with  anger, 
Numb.  xii.  10  ;  2  Chron.  xxvi.  19.  They  common- 
ly exhibit  themselves,  in  the  first  instance,  on  the 
face,  about  the  nose  and  eyes ;  they  gradually  in- 
crease in  size  for  a  number  of  years,  till  they  become, 
as  respects  the  extent  of  siu'face  which  they  embrace 
on  the  skin,  as  large  as  a  pea  or  bean.  The  white 
S|)ot  or  pustule,  morphea  alba,  and  also  the  dark 
S|iot,  MORPHEA  NIGRA,  are  indications  of  the  existence 
of  the  real  leprosy.  Lev.  xiii.  2,  39  ;  xiv.  56.  From 
these  it  is  necessary  to  distinguish  the  spot,  which, 
whatever  resemblance  there  may  be  in  form,  is  so 
different  in  its  effects,  called  BohaJc,  and  also  the 
harmless  sort  of  scab,  which  occurs  under  the  word 
rnsDT,  7)uspahath,  Lev.  xiii.  6 — 8,  29. 

"  Moses,  in  the  thirteenth  chapter  of  Leviticus,  lays 
down  very  explicit  rules  for  the  purpose  of  distin- 
guishing between  those  spots  which  are  proofs  of 
the  actual  existence  of  the  leprosy,  and  those  spots 
which  are  harmless,  and  result  from  some  other 
cause.  Those  spots  which  are  the  genuine  effects 
and  marks  of  the  leprosj',  gi-adually  dilate  themselves, 
till  at  length  they  cover  the  whole  body.  Not  only 
the  skin  is  subject  to  a  total  destruction,  but  the  whole 
body  is  affected  in  cveiy  part.  The  pain,  it  is  true, 
is  not  very  great,  but  there  is  a  gi'eat  debility  of  the 
system,  and  great  uneasiness  and  grief,  so  much  so, 
as  almost  to  drive  the  victim  of  the  disease  to  self- 
destruction,  Job  vii.  15. 

"  Tiiere  are  four  kinds  of  the  real  lepi-osy.  The 
first  kind  is  of  so  virulent  and  powerful  a  nature,  that 
it  separates  tlie  joints  and  limbs,  and  mutilates  the 
body  in  the  most  awful  manner.  The  second  is  the 
xchite  leprosy.  The  third  is  the  black  leprosy,  or  Psora, 
Deut.  xxvii'i.  27,  35  ;  Lev.  xxi.  20—22.  The  fourth 
description  of  leprosy  is  the  alopecia,  or  red  leprosy. 

"The  person  wiio  is  infected  with  the  leprosy, 
however  long  the  disease  may  be  in  passing  through 
its  several  stages,  is  at  last  taken  away  suddenly,  and, 
for  the  most  part,  unexpectedly.  But  the  evils  which 
fall  upon  the  living  leper,  are  not  terminated  by  the 
event  of  his  death.  The  disease  is,  to  a  certain  ex- 
tent, hereditarj-,  and  is  transmitted  down  to  the  third 
and  fourth  generation  :  to  this  fact  there  seems  to  be 
an  allusion  in  Exod.  xx.  4 — 6 ;  iii.  7  ;  Deut.  v.  9 ;  xxiv. 
8,  9.  If  any  one  should  undertake  to  say,  that  in  the 
fourth  generation  it  is  not  the  real  leprosy,  still  it  will 
not  be  denied,  there  is  something,  which  bears  no 
little  resemblance  to  it,  in  the  shape  of  defective 
teeth,  of  fetid  breath,  and  a  diseased  hue.  Leprous 
j)ersons,  notwithstanding  the  deformities  and  mutila- 
tion of  their  bodies,  give  no  special  evidence  of  a 
liberation  from  the  strength  of  the  sensual  passions, 


and  cannot  be  influenced  to  abstain  from  the  procre- 
ation of  children,  when  at  the  same  time  they  clearly 
foresee  the  misery  of  which  their  oflspring  will  be 
the  mheritors.  The  disease  of  leprosy  is  communi- 
cated not  only  by  transmission  from  the  parents  to 
the  children,  and  not  only  by  sexual  cohaliitation, 
but  also  by  much  intercourse  with  the  leprous  person 
in  any  way  whatever.  Whence  Moses  acted  the 
part  of  a  wise  legislator  in  making  those  laws,  which 
have  come  down  to  us,  concerning  the  inspection  and 
separation  of  leprous  persons.  The  object  of  these 
laws  will  appear  peculiarly  worthy,  when  it  was  con- 
sidered, that  they  were  designed,  not  wantonly  to  fix 
the  charge  of  being  a  leper  upon  an  innocent  pcison, 
and  thus  to  impose  upon  him  those  restraints  and 
inconveniences  which  the  truth  of  such  a  charge 
naturally  implies  ;  but  to  ascertain  in  the  fairest  and 
most  satisfactory  manner,  and  to  separate  those,  and 
those  only,  who  were  truly  and  really  leprous.  As 
this  was  the  prominent  object  of  his  laws,  that  have 
come  down  to  us  on  this  subject,  viz.  to  secure  a  fair 
and  impartial  decision  on  a  question  of  this  kind,  he 
has  not  mentioned  those  signs  of  leprosy  which  ad- 
mitted of  no  doubt,  but  those  only  which  might  be 
the  subject  of  contention  ;  and  left  it  to  the  priests, 
who  also  fulfilled  the  office  of  physicians,  to  distin- 
guish between  the  really  leprous,  and  those  who  had 
only  the  appearance  of  being  such.  In  the  opinion 
of  Hensler,  (Gcschichte  der  abendlandischen  Aussat- 
zes,  p.  273,)  IMoses,  in  the  laws  to  which  we  have 
alluded,  discovers  a  great  knowledge  of  the  disease. 
Every  species  of  leprosy  is  not  equally  malignant ; 
the  most  virulent  species  defies  the  skill  and  power 
of  physicians.  That  which  is  less  so,  if  taken  at  its 
comniencement,  can  be  healed.  But  in  the  latter 
case  also,  if  the  disease  has  been  of  long  continuance, 
there  is  no  remedy. 

"  Bohak.—SVe  fi'ud  mention,  in  the  rules  laid  doivn 
by  Moses  for  the  purpose  of  ascertaining  the  true 
tokens  of  leprosy,  of  a  cutaneous  disorder,  which  is 
denominated  by 'him  Bohak,  and  of  Avhich  there  is  a 
slight  mention  above.  It  was  thought  by  the  trans- 
lator, that  it  might  be  interesting  to  the  reader  to  have 
some  further  account  of  this  disorder,  and  he  has  ac- 
cordingly introduced  here  the  answer  of  Niebuhr, 
found  at  page  135  of  his  Description  of  Arabia,  to  the 
inquiry  of  Michaelis  on  tliis  subject.  The  words  of 
Moses,  which  may  be  found  in  Leviticus  xiii.  38,  39, 
are  as  follows  :  '■  If  a  man  or  woman  have  u'hite  spots 
on  the  skin,  and  the  priest  see  that  the  color  of  these 
spots  is  faint  and  pale,  it  is,  in  this  case,  the  Bohak, 
that  has  broken  out  on  the  skin,  and  they  are  clean.'' 
A  person,  accordingly,  who  was  attacked  with  this 
disease,  the  Bohak,  was  not  declared  unclean,  and 
the  reason  of  it  was,  that  it  is  not  only  harmless  in 
itself,  but  is  free  from  that  infectious  and  hereditary 
character,  which  belongs  to  the  true  leprosy. 

"Niebuhr  says,  'The  Bohak  is  neither  infectious 
nor  dangerous.  A  black  boy  at  IMocha,  who  was  at- 
tacked with  this  sort  of  leprosy,  had  white  spots  here 
and  there  on  his  body.  It  was  said,  that  the  use  of 
suli)hur  had  been  for  some  time  of  service  to  this 
boy,  but  had  not  altogether  removed  the  disease.' 
He  then  adds  the  following  extract  from  the  papers 
of  Dr.  Forskal.  '  May  15th,  1763,  I  myself  saw  a 
case  of  the  Bohak  in  a  Jew  at  Mocha.  The  spots  m 
this  disease  are  of  unequal  size.  They  have  no  sinn- 
ing appearance,  nor  are  they  perceptibly  elevated 
above  the  skin  ;  and  they  do  not  change  li.e  color  of 
die  hair.  Their  color  is  an  obscure  ifhite  or  some- 
V.  hat  reddish.    The  rest  of  the  skin  of  this  patient 


LEPROSY 


L  616  ] 


LEPROSY 


was  blacker  than  that  of  the  people  of  the  countiy  in 
general,  but  the  spots  were  not  so  white  as  the  skin 
of  a  European  when  not  sunburnt.  The  spots  in 
this  species  of  leprosy,  do  not  appear  on  the  hands, 
nor  about  the  navel,  but  on  the  neck  and  face  ;  not, 
however,  on  that  part  of  the  head  where  the  hair 
grows  very  thick.  They  gradually  spread,  and  con- 
tinue sometimes  only  about  two  months  ;  but  in  some 
cases,  indeed,  as  long  as  two  years,  and  then  disap- 
pear, by  degrees,  of  themselves.  This  disorder  is 
neither  infectious  nor  hereditary,  nor  does  it  occasion 
any  inconvenience.'  '  That  all  this,'  remarks  Mi- 
chaelis,  '  should  still  be  found  exactly  to  hold  at  the 
distance  of  three  thousand  five  hundred  years  from 
the  time  of  Moses,  ought  certainly  to  gain  some  credit 
to  his  laws,  even  with  those  who  will  not  allow  them 
to  be  of  divine  authority.'  (Commentaries  on  the 
Laws  of  JMoses,  Smith's  translation,  vol.  iii.  p.  283, 
art.  210.) 

"JMichaelis,  in  discussing  the  subject  of  leprosies, 
expresses  his  gratitude  to  God,  that  the  LepraArabum, 
as  it  is  termed  by  the  learned,  is  known  to  the  i)hy- 
sicians  of  Germany  only  from  books  and  by  name. 
But  this  disease,  although  it  is  very  unfrequent  in 
Europe,  indeed  almost  extinct,  made  its  appearance 
about  the  year  1730,  on  the  western  continent,  and 
spread  its  ravages  among  the  sugar  islands  of  the 
West  Indies,  particularly  Guadaloupe.  The  inhab- 
itants of  this  island,  alarmed  and  terriiied  at  the  in- 
troduction of  so  pernicious  a  disorder  among  them, 
petitioned  the  court  of  France  to  send  to  the  island 
persons  qualified  to  institute  an  inspection  of  those 
who  labored  under  suspicion  of  being  infected,  in 
order  that  those  who  were  in  fact  lepers,  might  be 
removed  into  lazarettos. 

"M.Peyssonel,  who  was  sent  to  Guadaloupe  on  this 
business,  writes  as  follows  on  the  third  of  February, 
1757:  'It  is  now  about  twenty-five  or  thirty  years 
since  a  singular  disease  appeared  on  many  of  the  in- 
habitants of  this  island.  Its  commencement  is  im- 
perceptible. There  appear  only  some  few  white 
spots  on  the  skin,  which,  in  the  whites,  are  of  a  black- 
ish red  color,  and  in  the  blacks,  of  a  copper  red.  At 
first,  they  are  attended  neither  with  pain,  nor  any  sort 
of  inconvenience ;  but  no  means  whatever  will  remove 
them.  The  disease  imperceptibly  increases,  and  con- 
tinues for  many  years  to  manifest  itself  more  and  more. 
The  spots  become  larger,  and  spread  over  the  skin 
of  the  whole  body  indiscriminately  ;  sometimes  a 
little  elevated,  though  flat.  When  the  disease  ad- 
vances, the  upper  part  of  the  nose  swells,  the  nostrils 
become  enlarged,  and  the  nose  itself  soft.  Tumors 
appear  on  the  jaws  ;  the  eye-brows  swell ;  the  ears 
become  thick  ;  the  points  of  the  fingers,  as  also  the 
feet  and  toes,  swell ;  the  nails  become  scaly  ;  the 
joints  of  the  hands  and  feet  separate,  and  drop  off. 
On  the  palms  of  the  hands,  and  on  the  soles  of  the 
feet,  appear  deep,  dry  ulcers,  which  increase  rapidly, 
and  then  disappear  again.  In  short,  in  the  last  stage 
of  the  disease,  the  patient  becomes  a  hideous  specta- 
cle, and  falls  in  pieces.  These  symptoms  supervene 
by  very  slow  and  successive  steps,  requiring  often 
many  years  before  they  all  occur.  The  patient  suf- 
fers no  violent  pain,  but  feels  a  sort  of  lunnbuess  in 
his  hands  and  fe(>t.  During  the  whole  period  of  the 
disorder,  tiiose  afflicted  witli  it  experience  no  ob- 
structions in  what  are  called  the  naturalia.  They 
eat  and  drink  as  usual ;  and  even  when  their  fingers 
and  toes  mortify,  the  loss  of  the  mortified  part  is  the 
only  consequence  that  ensues ;  for  tlie  wound  heals 
of  itself  without  any  medical  treatment  or  application. 


When,  however,  the  unfortunate  wretches  come  to 
the  last  period  of  the  disease,  they  are  hideously  dis- 
figured, and  objects  of  the  gi-eatest  compassion. 

"  '  It  has  been  remarked,  that  this  horrible  disorder 
has,  besides,  some  very  lamentable  properties  ;  as,  in 
the  Jirst  place,  that  it  is  htreditary ;  and  hence  some 
families  are  more  affected  with  it  than  others :  sec- 
ondly, that  it  is  infectious,  being  propagated  by  co- 
ition, and  even  by  long-continued  intercourse :  third- 
ly, that  it  is  incurable,  or  at  least  no  means  of  cure 
have  hitherto  been  discovered.  Mercurial  medicines, 
and  diaphoretics,  and  all  the  usual  prescriptions  and 
plans  of  regimen  for  venereal  complaints,  have  been 
tried,  from  an  idea  that  the  infection  might  be  vene- 
real, but  in  vain  :  for  instead  of  relieving,  they  only 
hastened  the  destruction  of  the  patients.  The  med- 
icines serviceable  in  lues  venerea,  had  no  other  effect 
than  to  bring  the  disease  to  its  ac7ni  ;  inducing  all  its 
most  formidable  symptoms,  and  making  those  thus 
treated  die  some  years  sooner  than  other  victims 
to  it.'  "     *R.  ' 

2.  7Vie  leprosy  of  houses,  mentioned  in  Lev.  xiv. 
34,  &c.  must  have  been  known  to  the  Israelites,  who 
had  lived  in  Egypt,  and  must  have  been  common  in 
the  land  of  Canaan,  whither  they  were  going,  since 
Moses  says  to  them  :  "When  ye  come  into  the  land 
of  Canaan,  which  I  give  you  for  a  possession,  if  there 
be  a  house  infected  with  a  leprosy,  he  to  whom  the 
house  belongs  shall  give  notice  of  it  to  the  priest,  who 
shall  go  thither.  If  he  sees  as  it  were  little  holes  in 
the  wall,  and  places  disfigured  with  pale  or  reddish 
spots,  which  in  siglit  are  lower  than  the  wall,  he  shall 
go  out  of  the  house,  and  direct  it  to  be  shut  up  for 
seven  days.  At  the  end  of  this  time,  if  he  find  that 
the  leprosy  is  increased,  he  shall  command  the  stones 
infected  with  the  leprosy  to  be  taken  away,  and 
thrown  without  the  city  into  some  unclean  place. 
New  stones  shall  be  put  in  the  room  of  those  which 
were  plucked  out,  and  the  wall  shall  be  again  rough- 
cast. If  the  leprosy  do  not  return,  the  house  sliall 
be  thought  clean  ;  but  if  it  return,  it  is  then  an  invet- 
erate leprosy ;  the  house  shall  be  declared  unclean, 
and  immediately  be  demolished  :  all  the  wood,  stone, 
mortar  and  dust  shall  be  cast  out  of  the  city  into  an 
unclean  place." 

The  rabbins  and  others  conclude,  that  this  leprosy 
of  houses  was  not  natural,  but  was  a  [)imishment  in- 
flicted by  God  on  wicked  Israelites ;  but  Calmet  is 
of  opinion  that  it  was  caused  by  animalcidrp,  which 
erode  the  stones  like  mites  in  a  cheese.  ]\light  it  be 
similar  to  the  dry-rot  in  timber  ?  Or,  rather,  it  arose 
more  probably  from  the  eftects  of  saltpetre,  which 
shows  itself  in  greenish  or  reddisli  spots  on  the  walls 
of  stone  houses,  and  spreads  wider  and  wider.  In 
the  long  run  it  injures  the  walls  ;  and  at  all  times  cor- 
rupts the  air  and  is  injurious  to  the  health.  Hence 
the  propriety  of  the  strict  regulations  of  Moses.  (See 
JMichaelis's  Mos.  Rccht,  or  Commentary  on  the  Laws 
of  Moses.) 

3.  T/ie  leprosy  in  clothes  is  also  noticed  by  Moses, 
as  conunon  in  his  time.  lie  says,  if  any  greenish  or 
red  spots  be  observed  on  any  woollen  or  linen  stuffs, 
or  on  any  thing  made  of  skin,  they  shall  be  carried  to 
the  priest,  who  shall  shut  them  up  for  seven  days  ; 
and  if  at  the  end  of  this  time  the  spots  increase,  and 
spread,  he  shall  burn  then),  as  infected  with  a  real 
leprosy.  If  these  spots  are  not  increased,  the  priest 
shall  conunand  the  clothes  to  be  washed,  and  if  he 
after\\ards  observe  nothing  extraordinary  in  them, 
he  shall  declare  them  to  be  clean.  If  the  gi-eenish  or 
red  spots  remain,  he  siiall   order  the  garments  so 


LET 


[617] 


LETTERS 


spotted  to  be  burnt,  as  unclean  ,  or  if  they  spread 
and  increase,  he  shall  order  the  garment  to  be  burnt ; 
or  if  the  place  suspected  of  a  leprosy  be  in  color  like 
a  singed  garment,  and  deeper  than  the  rest,  this  part 
of  the  garment  shall  be  taken  away,  and  the  rest  pre- 
served. Calmet  thinks  it  very  credible,  that  the  lep- 
rosy in  clothes  and  skins  was  caused  by  vermin. 
More  probably  it  was  a  mould  or  mildew  arising 
from  dampness. 

LESHEM,  probably  Laish,  or  Dan. 

LETECH,  a  Hebrew  measure,  half  an  omer  ;  con- 
taining sixteen  pecks,  or  four  bushels,  Hos.  iii.  2. 

LETTER,  THE.  Paul  places  the  letter  in  oppo- 
sition to  the  spirit ;  a  way  of  speaking  very  common 
in  the  ecclesiastical  style,  Rom.  ii.  27,  29 ;  vii.  6  ; 
2  Cor.  iii.  6,  7.  "God  hath  made  us  ministers  of  the 
New  Testament,  not  by  the  letter,  but  l)y  the  spirit ; 
for  the  letter  killeth,  but  the  spirit  quickeneth  ;"  that 
is,  the  law  of  jMoses  is  incapable  of  giving  life  to  the 
soul,  and  justifying  before  God  those  who  are  most 
servilely  addicted  to  the  literal  observance  of  it.  To 
obtain  holiness,  we  must  join  with  it  the  spirit  of  faith, 
hope  and  charity  ;  must  supply  what  is  deficient  in 
literal  observances,  by  spiritual  actions  of  a  more 
sublime,  perfect  and  excellent  nature  ;  for  example, 
instead  of  bloody  sacrifices,  the  sacrifice  of  an  humble 
and  contrite  heart ;  the  mortification  of  the  passions  ; 
death  unto  sin,  &c. 

L  LETTERS.  We  know  not  who  was  the  in- 
ventor of  letters  and  writing.  All  agree  that  it  is  an 
admirable  and  divine  art,  to  paint  speech,  and  speak 
to  the  eyes,  and,  by  tracing  out  characters  in  diflTerent 
forms,  to  give  color  and  body  to  thought.  Some 
have  been  of  opinion,  that  God,  when  he  inspired 
man  with  reason  and  speech,  communicated  to  him 
also  a  knowledge  of  writing.  Josephus  speaks  of 
certain  columns,  erected  before  the  deluge,  by  the 
sons  of  Seth,  upon  which  they  had  written  astro- 
nomical observations  and  inventions.  Adam  and 
Enoch  have  been  reputed  authors  of  certain  books, 
by  some,  who  consequendy  supposed  that  they  had 
the  use  of  writing.  Others  maintain,  that  the  use  of 
letters  is  much  later  :  some  give  thehonor  of  them  to 
Abraham  ;  others,  to  Moses ;  others,  to  the  Phoenicians ; 
others,  to  Saturn  ;  others,  to  the  Egyptians.  Others, 
more  rationally,  divide  the  honor  of  the  invention 
among  several,  and  acknowledge  that  it  began 
among  the  eastern  people,  and  was  much  later 
among  those  in  the  west ;  that  some  inveqted,  and 
others  perfected  the  invention  ;  that  letters  at  first 
were  uncommon  in  their  use,  and  imperfect  in  their 
forms  ;  and  that  afterwards  they  were  perfected,  and 
their  use  rendered  more  familiar. 

The  Egyptian  writing  was  originally  hieroglyphics, 
or  figures  of  animals,  and  other  things,  engraven  on 
stone,  or  painted  on  wood.  This  way  of  writing  is, 
perhaps,  the  most  ancient ;  and  we  still  see  many  in- 
stances of  it  on  Egyptian  obelisks  and  marbles. 
Marsham  is  of  opinion,  that  this  way  of  writing  was 
invented  by  the  second  king  of  Memphis,  Thauth, 
whom  the  Greeks  call  the  first  Mercury  ;  and  that 
another  Thauth,  or  the  second  Mercury,  put  into 
common  characters  what  the  first  had  written  in 
hieroglyphics.  All  this  was  in  times  of  the  most  re- 
mote antiquity,  if  Menes,  the  first  king  of  Memphis, 
were  Ham,  the  son  of  Noah. 

Lucan  affirms,  that  the  Phoenicians  invented  the 
common  letters  before  the  Egyptians  were  acquaint- 
ed with  the  use  of  paper,  or  with  the  art  of  writing 
in  hieroglyphical  characters  ;  (lib.  iii.)  it  was  probably 
in  imitation  of  the  Phoenicians,  therefore,  that  the 


Egyptians  used  letters  in  their  writing.  Of  this  we 
cannot  be  certain,  but  two  things  we  know;  first, 
that  there  were  great  resemblances  in  tJie  ancient 
characters  of  the  two  people  ;  and  secondly,  that 
Moses,  who  was  instructed  in  all  the  learning  of 
Egypt,  wrote  in  Phoenician  characters.  The  old 
Egyptian  letters  are  at  present  unknown,  though 
many  of  them  remain.  This  people  lost  the  use  of 
their  writing  \yheu  under  the  dominion  of  the  Greeks, 
and  the  Coptic,  or  modern  Egyptian  character,  ia 
formed  from  the  Greek. 

The  Plioeuicians  spread  the  use  of  their  letters 
throughout  all  their  colonies.  Cadmus  carried  them 
into  Greece  ;  the  Greeks  perfected  them,  and  added 
others.  They  communicated  them  to  the  Latins,  and 
after  the  conquests  of  Alexander,  extended  them  over 
Egypt  and  Syria.  So  that  the  Phoenician  writing, 
which  is  so  ancient,  and  the  parent  of  so  many  others, 
would  at  this  day  have  been  entirely  forgotten,  had 
not  the  Samaritans  preserv^ed  the  Pentateuch  of 
Moses,  written  in  the  old  Canaanite,  or  Hebrew,  char- 
acter ;  by  the  help  of  which,  medals,  and  the  small 
remains  of  Phoenician  monuments,  have  been  deci- 
phered. 

Some  learned  men,  however,  maintain  that  the 
square  Hebrew  character  still  in  use,  is  the  same  as 
was  used  by  Moses ;  but  the  greater  number  suppose 
that  the  Jews  gradually  abandoned  the  original 
character  while  in  captivity  at  Babylon,  and  that 
ultimately  Ezra  substituted  the  Chaldee,  which  is 
now  used  ;  while  the  Samaritans  preser^-ed  their 
Pentateuch,  written  in  old  Hebrew  and  Phoenician 
characters. 

It  is  generally  said  that  the  Hebrews  have  no  vow- 
els, and  that  to  supply  the  want  of  them,  they  in- 
vented the  vowel-points,  sometimes  used  by  them  iu 
their  books.  The  vowel-points  are  modern,  and  the 
invention  of  the  Massorets,  probably  from  the  sixth 
to  the  eighth  century.  They  are  ten  in  number,  and 
express  the  five  vowels  according  to  their  different 
changes  and  pronunciations.  The  inquisitive  reader 
may  find  the  substance  of  the  dispute  for  and  against 
the  antiquity  of  the  vowel-points  clearly  and  con- 
cisely represented  by  Prideaux,  in  the  first  part  of 
his  Connection,  book  v.  and  from  thence  may  have 
a  distinct  view  of  the  chief  arguments  produced  pro 
and  con  in  this  controversy,  by  those  eminent  an- 
tagonists, Capellus,  the  two  Buxtorfs,  &c. 

[The  subject  of  the  Hebrew  letters  and  vowel 
points  is  too  important  to  the  biblical  student,  to  be 
passed  over  thus  slightly.  The  best  source  of  in- 
formation on  these  topics  is  the  work  of  Gesenius, 
Geschichte  der  Heb.  Sprache  it.  Schri/l,  the  results  of 
which  are  also  given  by  professor  Stuart  in  the  In- 
troduction to  his  Hebrew  Grammar,  first  and  second 
editions.  From  this  the  following  statements  have 
been  condensed.     See  also  La.nguage. 

The  origin  of  letters  is  lost  in  remote  antiquity. 
But  in  tracing  the  history  of  them,  we  arrive  at  a 
very  satisfactory  degree  of  evidence,  that  in  hither 
Asia  they  originated  among  those  who  spoke  the 
Hebrew  language  ;  that  they  passed  trom  them  to  the 
Greeks  ;  and  through  these  to  th*"  European  nations 
in  general.  The  ancient  Shemitish  alphabets  may 
be  divided  into  two  kinds  : 

I.  The  Phanician  character.  To  this  belong:  (a\ 
Inscriptions  discovered  at  Malta,  Cyprus,  &c.  and 
upon  Phcenician  coins,  [b)  Inscriptions  upon  Hebrew 
coins,  (c)  Phoenico-Egyptian  inscriptions  on  the  ban- 
dages of  mummies,  [d.)  The  Samaritan  letters,  (e) 
The  most  ancient  Greek  alphabet. 


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618  ] 


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n.  The  HehrcEo-Chaldaic  character.  To  this  be- 
long :  (a)  The  square  character  of  our  present  He- 
brew Bibles,  [b)  The  Pahnyrene  inscriptions,  (c) 
The  old  Syriac,  or  Estrangelo.  (d)  The  old  Arabic 
or  Kuiish  character,  which  preceded  the  Nishi  or 
common  character  of  Arabia  at  the  present  time. 

To  all  these  characters  it  is  common,  that  they  are 
read  from  the  right  to  the  left  ;  and  that  the  vowels 
constitute  no  part  of  the  aljiljabet,  but  are  written 
above,  in,  or  below  the  line.  The  old  Greek  char- 
acter is,  in  part,  an  exception  to  this  remark. 

There  are  three  kinds  of  characters,  in  which  the 
remains  of  the  ancient  Hebrew  are  jjrescnted  to  us, 
viz.  (L)  The  squatx  character  incominon  rise.  'J^his  is 
sometimes  called  tli(>  Chaldee,  or  Assyrian,  character, 
because  (as  the  Talmud  avers,  (Jem.  Sanh.  fol.  2L  c. 
2.)  the  Jews  brought  it  from  Assyria,  or  Babylon,  on 
their  return  from  tin;  captivity. — (2.)  The  inscription 
character.  This  is  found  on  ancient  Hebrew  coins, 
stamped  under  the  Maccabees. — ('3.)  The  SamaritaJi 
character.  This  is  only  a  variety,  or  degenerate  kind, 
of  the  inscription  character. 

Although  it  is  highly  probable,  that  the  present 
square  character  was  introdiu'cd  among  the  Jews  by 
means  of  the  exile,  yet  it  is  not  likely,  that  it  usurped 
the  place  of  the  more  ancient  character  at  once,  but 
came  into  gradual  use,  on  account  of  its  su})erior 
beauty,  and  the  tendency  of  the  language  towards 
what  was  Aramaean.  It  is  most  probable,  that  tiie 
inscription-character  apjiroximates  the  nearest  of  all 
the  alphabets  now  knovvu,  to  the  ancient  Hebrew,  or 
Phoenician.  The  square  character  gradually  ex- 
pelled this  from  use  among  the  Hebrews  ;  as  the 
Nishi  did  the  Kufish  among  the  Arabians ;  the  pres- 
ent Syriac,  the  old  Estrangelo  among  the  Syrians  ; 
or  the  Roman  type,  the  old  black  letter  among  the 
English.  The  Pahnyrene  inscriptions  seem  to  mark 
the  character  in  transitu  ;  about  one  half  of  them 
resembling  the  square  character,  and  the  other  half 
the  inscription-letters.  It  was  very  natural  for  the 
Maccabees,  when  they  stamped  coins  as  an  inde- 
pendent government,  to  use  the  old  characters  which 
the  nation  had  used  when  it  was  free  and  inde- 
pendent. 

The  square  character  was  the  common  one  in  the 
time  of  our  Saviour;  as  in  Matt.  v.  8,  Yodh  is  evi- 
dently referred  to,  as  being  the  least  letter  of  the 
alphabet.  It  is  highly  probable,  that  it  was  the 
common  character  in  Hebrew  MSS.  when  the  Sept. 
version  was  made  ;  because  the  departures  from  the 
Hebrew  text  in  that  version,  so  far  as  they  have  re- 
spect to  the  letters,  can  mostly  be  accounted  for,  on 
the  ground  that  the  square  character  was  then  used, 
and  that  the  Jinal  letters,  which  vary  from  the  medial 
or  initial  form,  were  then  wanting.  (Ges.  Gesch.  *S 
40-43.)  ^ 

Manner  of  writing. — It  has  conunonly  been  ad- 
vanced as  an  established  position,  that  all  the  ancient 
Greek  and  Hebrew  MSS.  are  without  any  division 
of  words,  i.  e.  are  written  continua  serie.  But  the 
Eugubinc  tables,  and  the  Sigean  inscriptions,  have 
one  or  two  points  to  divide  words  ;  others,  still  more  : 
which,  however,  are  not  used  at  the  end  of  lines, 
nor  when  the  words  are  very  closely  connected  in 
sense,  as  a  preposition  with  its  noun.  Most  of  the 
old  Greek  is  written  without  any  division  of  words. 
Most  of  the  Phoenician  inscriptions  are  written  in  a 
similar  way,  but  not  all.  Some  have  the  words  sep- 
arated by  a  point.  In  this  manner,  the  Samaritan, 
and  the  wedge-character  among  the  Persians,  are  sep- 
°-"*"''      The  Kufish,  or  old  Arabic,  hud  spaces  be- 


arated. 


tween  words.  So  have  all  known  Hebrew  MSS. 
now  extant.  It  is  probable,  however,  that  the  scrip- 
tio  continua,  i.  e.  writing  without  any  division  of 
words,  was  found  in  the  MSS.  used  by  the  LXX, 
because  many  errors,  which  they  have  committed, 
arise  from  an  incorrect  division  of  words.  The 
synagogue-rolls  of  the  Jews,  written  in  imitation  of 
the  ancient  Hebrew  manuscripts,  have  no  vowel- 
points,  but  exhibit  a  small  space  between  the  words. 
The  Samaritan  Pentateuch  is  also  destitute  of  vow- 
els, but  divides  the  words. 

The  final  letters  with  a  distinctive  form  are  not 
coeval  witii  the  alphabet.  The  LXX  manifestly  were 
unacquainted  with  them  ;  as  they  often  divide  words 
in  a  manner  dift'erent  from  that  which  would  accord 
with  tliese  final  letters.  But  the  Talmud,  Jerome, 
and  Epiphanius  acknowledge  them. 

It  can  hardly  be  supposed  that  the  square  charac- 
ter now  in  use,  and  which  has  become  uniform  in 
consequence  of  appearing  only  in  printed  books, 
was  altogether  immutable  while  it  was  transmitted 
only  by  MSS.  Jerome  comjilains  of  the  sniallness 
of  the  Hebrew  characters  ;  but  whether  this  was 
owing  to  the  scril)e  who  wrote  his  manuscript,  or  to 
the  form  of  writing  then  generally  used,  cannot  be 
determined.  From  what  Origen  and  Jerome  both 
say  of  the  similaritj'  and  relation  of  Hebrew  letters 
to  each  otlier,  it  appears  that  the  characters  were 
then  essentially  the  same  as  thev  now  are.  (Ges. 
Gesch.  §  4(3.  l'.) 

Hebrew  ]MSS.  exhibit  two  kinds  of  writing  : 

(L)  The  Tarn  /e</er,  probably  so  named  from  Tarn, 
a  grandson  of  Jarchi,  about  A.  D.  1200,  with  sharp 
corners  and  perpendicular  coronulse,  used  particu- 
larly in  the  synagogue-rolls  of  the  German  and  Po- 
lish Jews. — (2.)  The  Velshe  letter  ;  such  as  we  see  in 
the  Hebrew  Bibles  of  Simonis  and  Van  der  Hooght. 
In  MSS.  however,  this  species  of  character  has  co- 
ronulfe  upon  some  of  the  letters.  The  Spanish 
printed  Hebrew  character  resembles  the  Velshe ;  the 
German  resembles  the  Tain  letter.  The  coronulse 
in  both  are  omitted.  The  Spanish  letters  are  square 
and  upright ;  the  German,  sharp-cornered  and  lean- 
ing. The  Italian  and  French  Hebrew  character  is  a 
medium  between  both. 

Hebrew  vowels. — It  has  been  mentioned  that  the 
Shcmitish  languages  exhibit  alphabets  destitute  of 
vowels  ;  and  that  these,  when  added  to  the  text  of 
any  book,  are  placed  above,  in,  or  below  the  line  of 
the  consonants.  Tho  question  whether  the  tvritten 
vowels  of  the  Hebrew  language  were  coeval  with 
the  consonants,  or  at  least  very  ancient,  has  been 
agitated  by  many  critics,  for  three  centuries  past, 
with  great  interest  and  much  learning.  On  the  one 
side  it  has  been  inaintainod,  that  the  vowel-points  are 
coeval  with  the  writings  of  the  Old  Testament,  or  at 
least  with  the  time  of  Ezra  ;  on  the  other,  that  they 
are  an  invention  of  the  Masorites,  at  some  period  be- 
tween the  fifth  and  tenth  centuries.  A  few,  however, 
have  taken  a  middle  path,  and  maintained  that  some 
of  the  vowel-points  (probably  three)  are  very  ancient; 
and  that  in  the  oldest  IMSS.  they  were  appended  to 
doubtful  words. 

The  position  that  the  written  vowel  signs  are  of 
comparatively  recent  date,  is  now  considered,  by  all 
critics  of  any  note,  as  settled.  The  principal  reasons 
for  this  opinion  may  be  summarily  stated,  in  a  short 
compass. 

(1.)  The  kindred  Shemitish  languages  anaen%  had 
no  written  vowels.  The  most  ancient  Estrangelo  and 
Kufish  characters,  i.  e.  the  ancient  characters  of  the 


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619] 


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Syrians  and  Arabians,  it  is  generally  agreed,  were 
destitute  of  vowels.  The  Pahnyrene,  and  nearly  all 
the  PhcEnician  inspriptions,  are  destitute  of  tlieni. 
Some  of  the  Maltese  inscriptions,  however,  and  a 
few  of  the  PhcBnician,  have  marks  which  probably 
were  intended  as  vowels.  The  Koran  was,  at  first, 
confessedly  destitute  of  them.  The  punctuation  of  it 
occasioned  great  dispute  among  Mohammedans. 
In  some  of  the  older  Syriac  writings  is  found  a  sin- 
gle point,  which,  by  being  placed  in  different  posi- 
tions with  regard  to  words,  served  as  a  diacritical 
sign.  The  present  vowel  system  of  the  Syrians  was 
introduced  so  late  as  the  time  of  Tlieophiius  and 
Jacob  of  Edessa,  about  A.  D.  800.  Tiie  Arabic 
vowels  were  adopted  soon  after  the  Koran  was 
written  ;  but  their  other  diacritical  marks  did  not 
come  into  use,  imtil  they  were  introduced  by  Ibn 
Mokla  about  A.  D.  900,  together  Avith  the  Nislii  char- 
acter now  in  conunon  use.  It  siiould  be  added  here, 
that  the  inscriptions  on  the  Hebrew  coins  have  no  vow- 
el-points.— (2.)  Jewish  tradition  generally  admits,  that 
the  vowels  were  not  written  until  the  time  of  Ezra. 
— (3.)  The  synagogue-rolls  of  the  Pentateuch,  writ- 
ten with  the  greatest  possible  care,  and  agreeably  to 
ancient  usage  as  handed  down  by  tradition,  have 
never  had  any  vowel-points. — (4.)  The  LXX  most 
manifestly  used  a  text  destitute  of  vowel-points  ;  as 
they  have  not  only  departed,  in  a  multitude  of  in- 
stances, from  the  sense  of  the  pointed  text,  but  even 
pronounce  the  proper  names  in  a  manner  dialectically 
different  from  that  in  which  they  must  be  read,  ac- 
cording to  the  vowel-system. — (5.)  No  explicit  men- 
tion is  made  in  the  Talmud  of  vowel-points  or  ac- 
cents ;  not  even  in  all  the  disputes  among  the  rabbins 
about  the  sense  of  words,  wliich  are  there  recorded. 
Doubtful  names  of  some  kind  of  diacritical  signs 
have  been  pi-oduced  from  the  Talmud,  and  repeat- 
edly discussed  ;  but  no  definite  and  satisfactory  proof 
has  been  educed  from  them,  that  they  respect  ivritten 
vowel-points. — (G.)  The  various  readings  in  our  He- 
brew Bibles,  called  Keri,  many  of  which  are  quite 
ancient,  have  no  reference  to  the  vowel-points  of 
words. — (7.)  Neither  Origen  nor  Jerome  makes  any 
mention  of  the  present  vowel-marks,  or  of  any  tech- 
nical expressions  of  Hebrew  grammar.  Jerome 
says  expressly,  that  "  the  Hebrews  very  rarely  use 
vowels  in  the  middle  of  words,  but  pronounce  (ac- 
cording to  the  will  of  the  reader  and  flie  difference 
of  countries)  the  same  words  witii  differeiu  soimds 
and  accents."  (Epist.  126.  ad  f^vagr.)  On  Hab.  iii. 
5,  he  says  of  ■ij-',  "  tres  l^i'«  positaj  sunt  m  lic- 
bra;o  absque  ulla  vocaJ^"  I"  ^ther  places,  he  speaks 
t){  a  diver  situs  acc^tiium  upon  words;  but  wliether 
he  means  a  d-^rprence  in  pronouncing  them,  or  that 
some  dia"'tical  sign  was  occasionally  used,  which 
he  tin"  names,  it  is  difficult  to  determine. 

Objections  against  this  view  of  the  subject 
piay  be  readily  answered.  The  allegation  that  a 
language  cannot  be  read  without  written  vowels,  is 
certainly  unfounded ;  for  hundreds  of  Jewish  and 
Arabic  volumes  are  every  day  read,  that  were  never 
pointed  ;  not  to  mention,  that  in  all  the  Shemitish  lan- 
guages there  are  unpointed  books,  manuscripts  or 
inscriptions.  Nor  has  the  olijection,  that  an  alpha- 
bet without  vowels  is  an  absurdity,  any  more  weight ; 
for  the  question  is  merely  a  matter  of  fact,  not  a  dis- 
cussion respecting  what  a  perfect  alphabet  ought  to 
be.  Besides,  even  in  our  own  language,  one  of  the 
first  principles  in  stenography  is,  to  omit  all  the  vowels, 
and  write  ordy  the  consonants ;  nor  does  any  difficult}' 
arise  from  this  circumstance. 


The  allegation  that  the  Targuins  approximate 
very  closely  to  the  sense  of  our  present  Hebrew  text 
as  fiu-nished  with  vowpjs,  is  true  ;  but  the  inference 
therefrom,  that  the  Targumists  must  have  used  MSS. 
with  vowel-points,  does  not  follow.  On  the  contra- 
ry, we  may  draw  the  conclusion  with  more  proba- 
bility, that  the  vowel-points  were  conformed  to  the 
sense  which  the  Targums  gave.  Both  merely  con- 
vey the  traditionary  explications  of  the  Jewish 
schools  ;  and  the  same  thing  is  done  by  Origen  and 
Jerome  in  their  conunentaries.  Ail  that  can  be 
proved  by  such  arguments  is,  that  the  vowel-points 
have  faithfully  transmitted  to  us  the  sense  which 
the  Jews  veiy  early  affixed  to  the  words  of  the  He- 
brew Scriptures. 

Laying  aside  Jewish  traditionary  stories,  the  first 
certain  marks  of  our  present  vowel-system  may  be 
found  in  the  Masora,  compiled,  though  not  conclud- 
ed, about  the  fifth  century.  Most  of  the  vowels  are 
there  named.  A  few  of  the  occidental  and  oriental 
readings,  collected  in  the  eighth  century  and  printed 
in  some  of  our  Hebrew  Bibles,  respect  the  diacriti- 
cal points  ;  e.  g.  two  of  them  respect  Mappik  in  He. 
The  various  readings  of  Ben  Asher  and  Ben  Naph- 
thali  (about  A.  D.  1034)  have  exclusive  regard  to  the 
vowels  and  accents.  The  Arabic  version  of  Saadias, 
made  about  this  time,  is  predicated  upon  a  pointed 
text  ;  and  the  Jewish  grammarians  of  the  ninth  cen- 
tury apjjear  plainly  to  proceed  on  the  ground  of  such 
a  text.  The  time  when  the  vowel-system  was  com- 
pleted cannot  be  definitely  fixed,  for  want  of  histori- 
cal data.  Most  probably,  it  was  during  the  sixth  or 
seventh  century.  Probably,  too,  it  first  began,  as  the 
accentuation  of  Greek  did,  in  the  schools  ;  and  grad- 
ually spread,  on  account  of  its  utility  in  a  dead  lan- 
guage, into  a  great  part  of  the  Hebrew  manuscripts. 

The  importance  of  the  vowel-points  to  learners, 
can  be  fully  estimated  oidy  by  those  who  have  stud- 
ied Hebrew  without  and  with  the  use  of  them.  In 
respect  to  their  being  a  constituent  part  of  the  He- 
brew language,  it  may  be  observed,  (1.)  That  no 
languas«  can  exist  without  vowels ;  although  it  is 
not  necessary  that  they  should  be  ivritten  ;  and  ori- 
ginally, as  we  have  seen,  they  were  not  written  in  the 
Hebrew. — (2.)  It  is  certain  that  the  vowel-points  ex- 
hibit a  very  consistent,  deep,  and  fundamental  view 
of  the  structiue  of  the  Hebrew,  which  cannot  well 
be  obtained  without  them,  by  those  who  study  it  as 
a  dead  language. — (3.)  Comparison  with  the  Syriac 
and  Arabic,  the  latter  of  which  is  a  living  language, 
shows  that  the  vowel-system,  as  to  its  principles,  is 
altogether  accordant  with  the  structure  of  those  lan- 
guages.— (4.)  It  is  quite  certain,  from  coniparing  the 
sense  of  th(!  Hebrew  Scriptiu-es  as  given  in  the  Tar- 
gums and  in  the  version  and  notes  of  Jerome,  that 
the  vowel-points  do  give  us  an  accurate,  and  for  the 
most  part,  clear  account  of  the  manner  in  which  the 
Jews  of  the  first  four  centuries  of  the  Christian  era 
understood  the  text  of  the  Old  Testament.  Indeed, 
it  is  very  remarkable,  that  there  should  be  so  exact  a 
coincidence  between  the  vowel-system  and  com- 
mentaries, or  rather  versions,  of  so  remote  an  age; 
and  this  only  serves  to  show  with  how  great  exact- 
ness the  vowel-system  has  been  arranged,  agreeably 
to  the  ancient  Jewish  ideas  of  the  sense  of  the  Old 
Testament.  The  importance,  then,  of  the  written 
vowels,  as  conveying  to  us  a  definite  idea  of  the  an- 
cient commentary  of  the  Jewish  church,  in  regard 
to  a  great  number  of  difficult  and  dubious  passages, 
is  obviously  great.— (5.)  The  critic  and  interpreter, 
being  satisfied  that  the  written  vowel-system  is  not 


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[  620  ] 


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coeval  with  the  composition  of  the  Hebrew  Scrip- 
tures, will  not  feel  himself  bound  to  follow  it  in  cases 
where  it  makes  no  sense,  or  a  sense  inconsistent  with 
the  context. 

The  unwary  student  who  is  betrayed  into  the 
system  of  Masclef  and  Parkhurst,  which  rejects  the 
vowel-points  of  the  Shemitish  languages,  can  scarce- 
ly conceive  how  much  loss  and  disappointment  he 
will  experience,  by  pursuing  the  study  of  Hebrew 
in  this  method.  Li  a  period  of  one  year,  the  prog- 
ress by  the  use  of  the  vowel-points  is  considerably 
greater  than  without  them.  In  two  years  it  is 
doubled.  Moreover,  if  the  student  uses  the  points 
from  the  first,  he  will  be  able,  with  almost  no  trouble, 
to  pass  to  the  reading  of  Chaldee,  Syriac  and  Arabic. 
One  thing  is  pretty  evident ;  there  never  was,  and  it 
may  be  doubted  whether  there  ever  will  be,  a  thor- 
ough Hebrew  scholar,  who  is  ignorant  of  the  vowel- 
system. 

Hebrew  accents. — The  system  of  accents,  as  it  now 
appears  in  our  Hebrew  Bibles,  is  inseparably  con- 
nected with  the  present  state  of  the  vowel-points  ; 
inasmuch  as  these  points  are  often  changed  by  virtue 
of  the  accents.  The  latter,  therefore,  must  have 
originated  cotemporaneously  with  the  written  vow- 
els ;  at  least,  with  the  completion  of  the  vowel- 
system.  Respecting  the  design  of  the  accents,  there 
has  been  great  diversity  of  opinion,  and  much  dis- 
pute. Three  uses  have  been  assigned  them,  viz.  (1.) 
To  mark  the  tone-syllable  of  a  woi-d.  (2.)  To  mark 
the  interpunction.  (3.)  To  regulate  the  reading  or 
cantillation  of  the  Scriptures.  This  latter  seems  to 
have  been  their  primitive  and  most  important  use  ; 
just  as  similar  marks  are  now  found  in  the  Koran  to 
indicate  the  manner  in  which  it  is  to  be  read  or  can- 
tillated.  The  cantillation  must  necessarily  have 
reference  to  the  tone-syllables  of  every  word ;  and 
also,  in  a  greater  or  less  degi-ee,  to  the  divisions  of 
the  sense ;  and  so  far  as  this,  the  use  of  the  accents 
serves  to  mark  these  two  particulars.     *R. 

The  Hebrews  have  certain  acrostic  verses,  which 
begin  with  the  letters  of  the  alphabet,  ranged  in 
order. 

The  most  considerable  of  these  is  Psalm  cxix. 
which  contains  twenty-two  stanzas  of  eight  verses 
each,  all  acrostic  ;  that  is,  the  fii'st  eight  begin  with  a, 
MepJi,  the  next  eight  witli  a,  Beth,  and  so  on.  Other 
Psahns,  as  xxv.  xxxiii.  have  but  twenty-two  verses 
each,  beginning  with  one  of  the  twenty-two  letters 
of  the  alphabet.  Others,  as  cxi.  cxii.  have  one  half 
of  the  verse  beginning  with  one  letter,  and  the  other 
half  with  another.     Thus  : 

....  Blessed  is  the  man  who  feareth  the  Lord. 
....  Who  delighteth  greatly  in  his  commandments. 

The  first  half  of  the  verse  begins  with  a,  Aleph  ;  the 
second  with  2,  Beth.  The  Lamentations  of  Jeremiah 
are  also  in  acrostic  verse,  as  well  as  the  thirty-first 
chapter  of  Proverbs,  from  the  eighth  verse  to  the  end. 
The  Jews  use  their  characters  not  only  for  writing, 
but  for  numbers,  as  did  the  Greeks,  who,  in  their 
arithmetical  computations,  fixed  a  numerical  value 
on  their  letters.  But  we  do  not  believe  the  ancient 
Hebrews  did  so,  nor  that  letters  were  nmnerical 
among  them.  The  sacred  authors  always  write  the 
numbers  entire  and  withoiu  abbreviation.  We  know 
that  some  learned  men  have  attempted  to  rectify 
dates,  or  supply  years,  on  a  supposition  that  the  let- 
ters served  for  numerals  in  the  Scripture ;  Init  it  was 
incumbent  on  them,  first,  to  prove  that  the  ancient 
Hebrews  used  that  manner. 


n.  LETTERS,  written  messages,  or  other  com- 
mimications,  sent  from  one  person  to  another,  and 
generally  implying  some  matters  of  secrecy,  or  at 
least,  of  importance.  Norden  states,  that  when  he 
and  his  company  were  at  Essumi,  an  express  arrived 
there,  despatched  by  an  Arab  prince,  who  brought  a 
letter  directed  to  the  Reys  (or  master  of  their  barque.) 
"  The  letter,  however,  according  to  the  usage  of  the 
Turks,"  says  the  author,  "  was  open  ;  and  as  the 
Reys  was  not  on  board,  the  pilot  carried  it  to  one  of 
our  fathers  to  read  it."  (p.  109.)  Sanballat  sending 
his  servant,  then,  with  an  open  letter,  which  is  men- 
tioned in  Neh.  vi.  5,  does  not  appear  an  odd  thing,  it 
should  seem  ;  but  if  it  were  according  to  their 
usages,  why  is  this  circumstance  complained  of,  as  it 
visibly  is  ?  Why,  indeed,  is  it  mentioned  at  all  ? 
Because,  however,  the  sending  letters  open  to  com- 
mon people  may  be  customary  in  these  countries,  it  is 
not  according  to  their  usages  to  s5nd  them  so  topeoplc 
of  distinction.  So  Pococke,  in  his  account  of  that  very 
country  where  Norden  was  when  his  letter  was 
brought,  gives  us,  among  other  things,  in  the  57th 
plate,  the  figure  of  a  Turkish  letter  put  into  a  satin 
bag  to  be  sent  to  a  great  man,  with  a  paper  tied  to  it 
directed  and  sealed,  and  an  ivoiy  button  tied  on  the 
wax.  So  Lady  Montague  says,  the  Bassa  of  Bel- 
grade's answer  to  the  English  ambassador,  going  to 
Constantinople,  was  brought  to  him  in  a  purse  of 
scarlet  satin.  (Letters,  vol.  i.  p.  13G.)  The  great 
Emir,  indeed,  of  the  Arabs,  according  to  D'Arvieux, 
was  not  wont  to  enclose  his  letters  in  these  bags,  any 
more  than  to  have  them  adorned  with  flourishes  ;  but 
that  is  supposed  to  have  been  attributable  to  the  un- 
politeness  of  the  Arabs  ;  and  he  tells  us,  that  when 
he  acted  as  secretary  to  the  Emir  he  supplied  these 
defects,  and  that  his  doing  so  was  highly  acceptable 
to  the  Emir.  (Voy.  dans  la  Pal.  p.  58,  59.)  Had 
this  open  letter  then  come  from  Geshem,  who  was 
an  Arab,  (Neh.  vi.  1.)  it  might  have  passed  unnoticed  ; 
but  as  it  was  from  Sanballat,  the  enclosing  it  in  a 
handsome  bag  was  a  ceremony  Nehemiah  had  reason 
to  expect  from  him,  since  he  was  a  person  of  distinc- 
tion in^he  Persian  court,  and  then  governor  of  Judea ; 
and  the  not  observing  it  was  the  greatest  insult,  iu- 
hinuating,  that  though  Nehemiah  was,  according  to 
him,  pieparing  to  assume  the  royal  dignity,  he  should 
be  so  far  from  acknowledging  him  in  that  character, 
that  he  wou\d  not  even  pay  him  the  compliment 
due  to  every  per«on  of  distinction.  If  this  be  the 
true  representation  of  the  affair,  commentators  have 
given  but  a  poor  acoouni  of  it.  Sanballat  sent  Ne- 
hemiah a  message,  says  one  «f  them,  "pretending,  it 
is  likely,  special  respect  and  kinOr^gs  to  him,  inform- 
ing him  what  was  laid  to  his  charge."  ^Harmer  Obs 
vol.  ii.  p.  129.)  '  ' 

Contrast  with  this  open  letter  to  Nehen-.iah  the 
closed,  rolled  or  folded  letter  sent  by  Sennache/ih  to 
Hezekiah,  9  Kings  xix.  14.  We  read,  verse  9,  "  He  sc^t 
messengers  to  Hezekiah,  saying" — "  And  Hezekiah 
received  the  letter  at  the  hand  of  the  messengers, 
and  read  it :  and  Hezekiah  went  uj)  into  the  house 
of  the  Lord,  and  spread  it  before  the  Lord."  It  was 
therefore  folded  or  rolled,  and  no  doidjt  enclosed  in 
a  proper  envelope.  Consider  also  the  passage  in 
Isa.  xxix.  11,  "And  the  vision  shall  be  to  you,  as  the 
words  of  a  letter  that  is  sealed — sealed  up  in  a  bag, 
closely — which  is  given  to  a  man  of  I<^arning  to  read, 
but  he  says,  '  It  is  sealed' — how  should  I  know  what 
information  it  contains?  I  merely  can  discover  to 
whom  it  is  directed ;"  while  the  unlearned  cannot 
even  read  the  address.  We  see  such  occurrences  daily 


LEV 


[621  ] 


LEVIATHAN 


in  the  streets  of  London  ;  messengers,  sent  with  let- 
ters, desire  passengers  to  read  the  directions  for  them. 
The  messengers  sent  to  Hezekiah  are  described  as 
saying,  when  in  fact  they  say  nothing ;  but  only  de- 
liver a  letter  containing  the  message. 

It  is  proper  to  add  something  relative  to  the  cus- 
tomary kind  of  homage  which,  in  the  East,  is  paid 
not  only  to  sovereignty,  but  to  communications  of 
the  sovereign's  will,  whether  by  word  or  by  letter. 
"  When  the  3Iogul,  by  letters,  sends  his  commands 
to  any  of  his  governors,  those  papers  are  entertained 
witli  as  much  respect  as  if  himself  were  present;  for 
the  governor,  having  intelligence  that  such  letters 
are  come  near  him,  himself,  with  other  inferior  offi- 
cers, rides  forth  to  meet  the  Patamar,  or  messenger, 
that  brings  them  ;  and  as  soon  as  he  sees  those  let- 
ters, he  alights  from  his  horse,  falls  down  on  the 
earth,  and  takes  them  frotn  the  messenger,  and  lays 
them  on  his  head,  wliereou  he  binds  them  fast  : 
then,  retiring  to  his  place  of  public  meeting,  he  reads, 
and  answers  them.  (Sir  Thomas  Roe's  Embassy, 
p.  453.)  This  binding  of  these  letters  on  his  head  is, 
no  doubt,  to  do  them  honor.  What  then  shall  we 
think  of  the  force  of  Job's  expressions,  chaj).  xxxi. 
35  :  "  O  that  mine  adversary  had  Vvritten  a  book,  roll, 
accusation,  6i7/ ;  surely  I  would  take  it  on  mj^  shoul- 
der, and  would  bind  it  as  a  crown  upon  me,"  that  is, 
on  my  head.  This  idea,  then,  of  the  |)oet,  was  drawn 
from  real  observation  of  life ;  not  irom  fancy,  but 
from  fact ;  though  to  us  it  seems  singidar,  if  not  ex- 
travagant. "The  letter  which  was  to  be  ])resented 
to  the  new  monarch  was  delivered  to  the  general  of 
the  slaves.  It  was  put  u[)  in  a  purse  of  cloth  of  gold, 
drawn  together  with  strings  of  twisted  gold  and 
silk,  with  tassels  of  the  same  ;  and  the  chief  minister 
put  his  own  seal  [upon  it,  to  close  it.]  Nor  was  any 
omitted  of  all  those  knacks  and  curiosities,  which 
the  oriental  people  make  use  of  in  making  up  their 
epistles.  The  general  threw  himself  at  his  majesty's 
feet,  bowing  to  the  very  ground  ;  then,  rising  ujjon 
his  knees,  he  drew  out  of  the  bosom  of  his  garment 
the  bag  wherein  was  the  letter  which  the  assembly  had 
sent  to  the  new  monarch.  Presently  he  opened  tJie 
bag,  took  out  the  letter,  kissed  it,  laid  it  on  his  fore- 
head, presented  it  to  his  majesty,  and  then  rose  up." 
(Chardin's  Coron.  of  Soleiman,  p.  44.)  This  is  a 
clear  confirmation  of  the  sense  given  to  the  passages 
quoted  in  the  article  Kiss. 

LEVI,  the  third  son  of  Jacob  and  Leah,  was  born 
in  Mesopotamia,  A.  M.  2248,  Gen.  xxix.  34.  After 
Sichem,  the  son  of  Hamor,  had  violated  Dinah,  sis- 
ter to  Levi  and  Simeon,  these  two  brethren  fraudu- 
lently engaged  him  to  receive  circumcision,  and  on 
the  third  day,  when  the  pain  was  greatest,  they  en- 
tered the  town,  slew  all  the  males,  carried  oft'  their 
sister  Dinah,  and  pillaged  the  place,  chap,  xxxiv.  25, 
26.  This  action  was  very  displeasing  to  their  father 
Jacob,  who  characterized  it  as  one  of  extreme  cru- 
elty and  abhorrence.  Gen.  xlvi.  11  ;  xlix.  5,  (i. 

Levi  was,  according  to  his  father's  ]irediction, 
scattered  over  all  Israel,  having  no  share  in  the  di- 
vision of  Canaan,  but  certain  cities  in  the  portions 
of  other  tribes.  He  was  not  the  worse  provided  for, 
however,  since  God  chose  the  tribe  for  the  service 
of  the  temple  and  priesthood,  and  bestowed  on  it 
many  privileges  above  the  other  tribes,  in  dignity, 
and  in  the  advantages  of  life.  All  the  tithes,  first- 
fruits,  and  offerings,  presented  at  the  temple,  as  well 
as  several  parts  of  all  the  victims  that  were  offered, 
belonged  to  the  tribe  of  Levi.     See  Levites. 

LEVIATHAN.    This  word  (jn^S)  occurs  in  four 


places  in  the  Old  Testament,  and  is  variously  trans- 
lated, whale,  dragon,  serpent,  and  sea-mouster;  not 
improperly,  probably,  since  it  appears  to  be  employed 
by  the  sacred  writers  to  describe  all  these,  and  per- 
haps other  animals  also ;  though  one  description  of 
animal  appears  to  be  marked  out  more  particularly 
by  the  term. 

Many  of  the  old  commentators  were  of  opinion 
that  the  whale  was  the  animal  described  by  Job  ; 
(chap,  xli.)  but  Beza,  Diodati,  and  some  other  writers, 
contended  for  the  crocodile,  which  interpretation 
Bochart  has  since  defended  with  a  train  of  argument 

which  defies  contradiction.   (Hieron.iii.  p.  737 774, 

RosenmuUer.)  It  is  a  sufficient  objection  to  the 
whale  tribes,  says  Dr.  Good,  that  they  do  not  inhabit 
the  Mediterranean,  nnich  less  the  rivers  that  empty 
themselves  into  it.  This  family  of  marine  monsters, 
moreover,  have  neither  proper  snout  nor  nostrils  • 
they  have  a  mere  spiracle,  or  blowing  hole,  with  a 
double  opening  on  the  top  of  the  head,  which  has 
not  hitherto  been  proved  to  be  an  organ  of  smell; 
and  for  teeth,  a  hard  expanse  of  horny  laminse, 
which  we  call  whalebone,  in  the  upper  jaw,  but 
nothing  of  the  sort  in  the  under.  The  eyes  of  the 
common  whale,  too,  instead  of  answering  the  de- 
scription here  given,  are  most  disproportionably 
small,  and  do  not  exceed  in  size  those  of  an  ox. 
Nor  can  this  monster  be  regarded  as  of  fierce  habits, 
or  unconquerable  courage  ;  for  instead  of  attacking 
the  larger  sea  animals  foi-  plunder,  it  feeds  chiefly  on 
crabs  and  medusas,  and  is  often  itself  attacked  and 
destroyed  by  the  ork  or  grampus,  though  less  than 
half  its  size. 

The  crocodile,  on  the  contrary,  is  a  natural  in- 
habitant of  the  Nile,  and  other  Asiatic  and  African 
rivers  ;  of  enormous  voi-acity  and  strength,  as  well 
as  fleetness  in  swimming ;  attacks  mankind,  and 
the  largest  animals,  with  most  daring  impetuosity; 
when  taken  by  means  of  a  powerful  net,  will  often 
overturn  the  boats  that  surround  it ;  has,  proportion- 
ally, the  largest  mouth  of  all  monsters  whatever ; 
moves  both  its  jaws  cquallj^,  the  upper  of  which  has 
not  less  than  forty,  and  the  lower  than  thirty-eight, 
sharp,  but  strong  and  massy,  teeth  ;  and  is  furnished 
with  a  coat  of  mail  so  scaly  and  callous,  as  to  resist 
the  force  of  a  musket-ball  in  every  part,  except  under 
the  belly.  The  general  character  of  the  leviathan, 
in  fact,  seems  so  well  to  apply  to  this  animal,  in 
modern  as  well  as  in  ancient  times,  the  terror  of  all 
the  coasts  and  countries  about  the  Nile,  that  it  is  un- 
necessary to  seek  further. 

[The  following  extract  of  a  letter  from  an  Aujericaii 
gentleman  in  Manilla,  dated  October  6,  1831,  gives 
a  graphic  view  of  llie  strength  and  size  of  the  croc- 
odile :  "  1  have  recently  been  sick,  but  have  passed  a 
month  in  the  coimtry,  and  am  entirely  recovered. 
I  resided  on  a  large  plantation  on  the  lake,  about 
thirty  miles  in  the  interior,  and  was  treated  with  the 
utmost  attention  and  hospitality.  I  hunted  deer  and 
wild  boar  with  mucli  success.  My  last  operation  in 
the  sporting  line,  was  no  less  than  killing  an  alligator 
or  crocodile  ;  which  for  a  year  or  two  before  had  in- 
fested a  village  on  the  borders  of  the  lake,  taking  oft' 
horses  and  cows,  and  sometimes  a  man.  Ha\ing 
understood  that  he  had  killed  a  horse  a  day  or  two 
before,  and  had  taken  him  into  a  small  river,  I  pro- 
ceeded to  the  spot,  which  was  distant,  accompanied 
by  my  host,  closed  the  mouth  of  the  river  with  strong 
nets,  and  attacked  the  huge  brute  with  guns  and 
spears.  After  something  of  a  desperate  battle,  we 
succeeded  in  driving  him  against  the  nets,  where, 


LEVIATHAN 


[  622  ] 


LEVIATHAN 


being  considerably  exhausted  by  the  wounds  he  had 
received  from  balls  and  lances,  he  got  entangled,  was 
dragged  on  shore,  and  the  'coup  de  grace'  given  to 
him.  He  measured  twenty  feet  in  length,  and  from 
eleven  to  thirteen  feet  in  circumference,  the  smallest 
part  being  eleven  and  the  largest  thirteen.  The  head 
alone  weighed  two  hundred  and  seventy-five  pounds. 
He  had  nearly  the  whole  of  the  horse  in  him,  and  the 
legs,  with  the  hoofs,  were  taken  out  entire.  This 
capture  has  caused  considerable  sensation,  not  only 
on  the  field  of  battle,  but  at  IManilla,  none  of  equal 
size  having  been  before  seen  ;  and  it  is  rarely  that 
any  of  small  size  are  taken."     *R. 

The  article  which  Calmet  has  furnished  on  the 
leviathan,  is  very  meagre  and  unsatisfactory ;  we 
have  therefore  availed  ourselves  of  the  able  disquisi- 
tion of  Dr.  Harris,  who  has  bestowed  more  than  his 
orduiary  labor  upon  the  subject. 

The  chapter  introduces  two  speakers  in  the  shape 
of  dialogue,  one  of  whom  questions  the  other  in  re- 
gard to  such  and  such  circumstances  relating  to  the 
leviathan  ;  and  this  continues  till  the  twelfth  verse  ;  at 
v/iiich  the  description  of  leviathan  commences.  The 
<lialogue  is  professed  to  be  between  the  Almighty 
Jeliovah  and  his  servant  Job.  But  whether  it  is  Je- 
hovah himself,  or  some  one  representing  him,  is  not 
to  be  inquired  in  this  place.  As  it  is,  the  person  ap- 
pears extremely  well  acquainted  with  the  crocodile, 
as  he  does  also  with  the  other  animals  described  in 
the  thirty-ninth  and  fortieth  chapters.  The  other 
person  of  the  dialogue  appears  to  be  one  well  know- 
ing the  worship  paid  to  the  crocodile  :  and  the  eleven 
first  verses  are  an  exposure  of  the  folly  of  making  an 
animal  of  a  savage  nature,  and  one  whose  head  could 
be  pierced  with  fishhooks,  a  god.  Of  these  eleven 
verses,  the  first  six  appear  to  relate  to  the  mode  of 
treatment  received  by  the  crocodile  in  the  places 
where  he  was  worshipped  ;  the  remaining  five  to  his 
treatment  at  Tentyra,  and  wherever  he  was  consid- 
ered as  a  destructive  animal.  At  the  twelfth  verse 
the  description  of  leviathan  commences,  and  is  divid- 
ed into  three  parts,  and  classed  under  the  different 
heads  of,  (L)  v-\2,  his  parts  ;  (2.)  nnuj  la-i,  great  might ; 
(3.)  i3-i;i  pn,  his  ivcU-armed  make.  Of  these  the  first 
and  the  third  describe  him  as  truly  as  a  naturalist 
would  do.  The  second  or  middle  part  magnifies  him 
as  a  god.  If,  then,  this  second  part  be  in  honor  of 
the  crocodile  as  God,  then  the  person  speaking  it 
must  be  either  an  inhabitant  of  Egypt,  a  worshipper 
of  that  animal,  or  one  well  acquainted  at  least  with 
his  worship  ;  or,  perhaps,  the  whole  chapter  may  be 
altogetiier  an  argument,  founded  on  the  idolatrous 
homage  paid  to  this  creature. 

The  following  is  the  doctor's  corrected  version  of 
this  description  ;  with  explanations  and  references  to 
the  crocodile : 

Behold  leviathan  !  whom  thou  leadest  about  with 

a  hook, 
Or  a  rope  which  thou  fixest  upon  his  snout. 

It  is  no  easy  matter,  says  Mr.  Scott,  to  fix  the  pre- 
cise meaning  of  the  several  terms  here  used  :  they 
seem,  however,  to  denote,  in  general,  the  instruments 
made  use  of,  partly  for  the  taking  him  alive  in  the 
water,  and  partly  for  governing  him  when  brought  to 
land.  Herodotus  expressly  asserts,  (1.  ii.  70.)  that 
one  of  the  modes  by  which  this  creature  was  occa- 
sionally taken,  in  his  time,  was  by  means  of  a /looA:, 
If/xiaznoyjX'iixu:,  yvhich  was  baited  with  a  dog's  chine, 
and  thrown  into  the  midst  of  the  river  ;  the  crocodile, 


having  swallowed  which,  was  drawn  on  shore,  and 
despatched. 

Hast  thou  put  a  ring  in  his  nose, 

Pr  pierced  his  cheek  through  with  a  clasp  ? 

This  has  been  usually  supposed  to  refer  to  the 
manner  of  muzzling  the  beast,  so  as  to  be  able  to  lead 
him  about,  by  a  hook  or  ring  in  the  nostrils,  as  is 
threatened  Pharaoh  under  the  emblem  of  the  croco- 
dile, Ezek.  xxix.  4.  But  Mr.  Vansittart  thinks  the 
words  here  used  expressive  of  ornaments  ;  and  says, 
"  This  second  verse  may  be  considered  as  expressive 
of  leviathan  led  about,  not  as  a  sight,  but  in  his  state 
of  divinity;  and  the  y.'nxo;,  a  gold  ring  or  ornament 
worn  at  the  nose  ;  for,  in  the  eastern  countries,  nasal 
rings  are  as  frequent  as  any  other  ornaujeut  what- 
ever. The  commentators  and  lexicographers,  not 
dreaming  of  applying  Herodotus's  account  of  the  The- 
baid  crocodile  to  the  illustration  of  leviathan,  have 
imagined  only  large  rings  for  the  purpose  of  chaining 
leviathan.  Herodotus  says,  the  ears  and  fore  feel 
were  the  parts  from  which  the  ornaments  were  sus- 
pended. But,  as  the  ears  do  not  appear  capublc  of 
bearing  ear-rings,  from  their  lying  extremely  flat 
upon  the  lower  jaw,  perhaps  they  were  j)ut  upon 
other  parts  ;  or  the  historian,  hearing  that  the  sacred 
crocodile  was  adorned  with  ornaments,  fixed  them 
naturally  upon  the  ears  and  fore  feet,  as  ear-rings  and 
necklaces  were  the  most  usual  ornaments  of  the 
Greeks.  Very  likely  the  ornaments  were  not  always 
put  upon  the  same  parts,  but  varied  at  diflierent  times ; 
and  that  in  the  time  of  the  Hebrew  writer,  the  nose 
and  the  lips  received  the  ornaments  which,  in  the 
days  of  the  Greek  historian,  Avere  transferred  to  the 
ears  and  fore  feet.  The  exact  place  of  the  ornaments 
is,  however,  of  no  material  consequence  ;  it  is  suffi- 
cient for  our  jjurpose  to  know,  that  ornaments  were 
put  upon  the  sacred  crocodile,  and  that  he  was  treated 
with  great  distinction,  and  in  some  degree  considered 
a  domestic  animal.  The  three  verses  immediately 
following,  speak  of  him  as  such  ;  as  entering  into  a 
covenant  of  peace,  being  retained  in  subjection,  &c. 

Has  he  inade  many  supplications  to  thee  ? 
Has  he  addressed  thee  with  flattering  words  ? 
Hast  thou,  in  return,  made  a  league  with  bin), 
And  received  him  into  perpetual  service .' 

The  irony  here  is  very  apparent.  The  sacred  poet 
shows  a  Avonderful  address  in  managing  this  deriding 
figure  of  speech,  in  such  a  manner  as  not  to  lessen 
the  majesty  of  the  great  Being  into  whose  mouth 
it  is  put. 

Hast  thou  played  with  him  as  a  bird  ? 
Wilt  thou  encage  him  for  thy  maidens? 
Shall  thy  partners  si)rcad  a  banquet  for  him, 
And  the  trading  strangei-s  bring  him  portions  .-' 

Job  is  here  askeu  how  he  will  dispose  of  his  cap- 
tive ;  whether  he  will  retain  him  in  his  family  for  his 
own  amusement,  or  the  diversions  of  his  maidens; 
or  exhibit  him  as  a  spectacle  to  the  Phoenician  cara- 
vans. But  Mr.  Vansittart  gives  quite  another  turn  to 
the  verse.  He  thinks  that  the  word  onan,  which  I 
have  rendered  "  partners,"  signifies  charmers  (incan- 
tatoi-es) ;  hence  rendered  by  the  Chaldee  Targum 
N'lc'sn,  ivise  men ;  and  that  it  is  to  be  a])plied  to  the 
priests  who  had  the  charge  of  the  sacred  crocodile, 
and  might  as  well  be  called  charmers  of  the  croco- 


LEVIATHAN 


[  623  ] 


LEVIATHAN ; 


dile,  as  the  psylli  were  of  serpents;  aiid  o'Jj;j3,  which 
is  at  present  rendered  "  merchants,"  may  be  formed 
from  •;:■:, prostravit,  humilem  reddere,  and  mean  suppli- 
ants, worshippers.  Hence,  he  would  understand  it  of 
the  PRIESTS  making  a  feast,  and  the  suppliants 
going  up  to  make  offerings. 

Hast  thou  filled  liis  skin  with  barbed  u'ons, 
Or  his  head  with  harpoons  ? 

The  impenetrability  of  his  skin  is  here  intimated, 
and  is  afterwards  described  at  large.  The  attempt 
to  wound  hiin  with  missile  weapons  is  ridiculed. 
This  is  a  circumstance  which  will  agree  to  no  animal 
so  well  as  to  the  crocodile.  The  weapons  mentioned 
are  undoubtedly  such  as  fishermen  use  in  striking 
large  fish  at  a  distanc 

Make  ready  ihy  hana  against  him. 
Dare  the  contest ;  be  firm. 
Behold  !  the  hope  of  him  is  vain  ; 
It  is  dissipated  even  at  his  appearance. 

The  hope  of  mastering  him  is  absurd.  So  formida- 
ble is  his  very  appearance,  that  the  resolution  of  his 
opposed  is  weakened,  and  his  courage  daunted. 

None  is  so  resolute  that  he  dare  rouse  him. 
Who  then  is  able  to  contend  with  me  ? 
What  will  stand  before  me,  yea,  presumptuously  ? 
Whatsoever  is  beneath  the  whole  heavens  is  mine. 
I  cannot  be  confounded  at  his  limbs  and  violence. 
Nor  at  his  power,  or  the  strength  of  his  frame. 

"  However  man  may  be  appalled  at  attacking  the 
leviathan,  all  creation  is  mine ;  his  magnitude  and 
structure  can  produce  no  effect  upon  inc.  I  cannot  be 
appalled  or  confounded  ;    I  cannot  be  struck  dumb." 

Job  is,  in  this  clause,  taught  to  tremble  at  his  dan- 
ger in  having  provoked,  by  his  murmurs  and  litigation, 
the  displeasure  of  the  Maker  of  this  terrible  animal. 

The  poet  then  enters  upon  a  part  of  the  description 
which  has  not  yet  been  given,  and  which  admirably 
pairs  with  the  detailed  picture  of  the  war-horse  and 
behemoth.  Nor  does  he  descend  from  the  dignity 
he  had  hitherto  supported,  by  representing  the  great 
Creator  as  displaying  his  o\\ai  wonderful  work,  and 
calling  upon  man  to  observe  the  several  admirable 
particulars  in  its  formation,  that  he  might  be  impress- 
ed with  a  deeper  sense  of  the  power  of  his  Maker. 

Who  vnW  strip  off  the  covering  of  his  armor  ? 
Against  the  doubling  of  his  nostrils  who  will  advance  ? 

This  verse  is  obscure.  The  first  line,  however, 
seems  to  describe  the  terrible  helmet  which  covers 
the  head  and  face  of  the  crocodile.  The  translation 
might  be,  "  Who  can  uncover  his  mailed  face  ?"  If, 
in  the  days  of  Job,  they  covered  their  war-horses  in 
complete  armor,  the  question  will  refer  to  the  taking 
off  the  armor  ;  and  the  scales  of  leviathan  be  repre- 
sented by  such  an  image.  Then,  the  second  line  may 
denote  bridling  him,  after  the  armor  is  stripped  off,  for 
some  other  service. 

The  doors  of  his  face  who  will  tear  open  ? 

The  rows  of  his  teeth  fire  terror  : 

The  plates  of  his  scales,  triumph  ! 

His  body  is  like  embossed  shields  ; 

They  are  joined  so  close  one  upon  another, 

The  very  air  cannot  enter  between  them. 


Each  is  inserted  into  its  next ; 

They  are  compact,  and  cannot  be  separated. 

The  mouth  of  the  crocodile  is  very  large  ;  and  the 
apparatus  of  teeth  perfectly  justifies  this  formidable 
description.  The  indissoluble  texture,  and  the  large- 
ness of  the  scales  with  which  he  is  covered,  are  rep- 
resented by  the  powerful  images  of  these  verses. 

His  snortings  are  the  radiance  of  light ; 
And  his  eyes  as  the  glancing  of  the  dawn. 

Schulteus  remarks,  that  amphibious  animals,  the 
longer  time  they  hold  their  breath  under  water,  re- 
spircso  much  the  more  strongly  when  they  begin  to 
emerge  ;  and  the  breath,  confined  for  a  length  of 
time,  effervesces  in  such  a  manner,  and  breaks  forth 
so  violently,  that  they  appear  to  vomit  foith  flames. 

The  eyes  of  the  crocodile  are  small,  but  they  are 
said  to  be  extremely  piercing  out  of  the  water.  Hence, 
the  Egyptians,  comparing  the  eye  of  the  crocodile, 
when  he  first  emerged  out  of  the  water,  to  the  sun 
rising  from  out  of  the  sea,  in  which  he  was  supposed 
to  set,  made  the  hieroglyphic  of  sunrise.  Thus  Ho- 
rns Apol.  says,  (lib.  i.  §65.)  "  When  the  Egyptians 
represent  the  sunrise,  they  paint  the  eye  of  the  croc- 
odile, because  it  is  first  seen  as  that  animal  rises  out 
of  the  water." 

From  out  of  his  mouth  issue  flashes  ; 
Sparks  of  fire  stream  out ; 
From  his  nostrils  bursteth  fume, 
As  from  the  rush-kindled  oven. 
His  breath  kindleth  coals ; 
Raging  fire  spreadeth  at  his  presence. 

Here  the  creature  is  described  in  pursuit  of  his 
prey  on  the  land.  His  mouth  is  then  open.  His 
breath  is  thrown  out  with  prodigious  vehemence  ;  it 
appears  like  smoke,  and  is  heated  to  that  degree  as  to 
seem  a  flaming  fire. 

The  images  which  the  sacred  poet  here  uses  are 
indeed  very  strong  and  hyperbolical ;  they  are  similar 
to  those  in  Ps.  xviii.  8 :  "  There  went  a  smoke  out  of 
his  nostrils,  and  fire  out  of  his  mouth  devoured  ;  coals 
were  kindled  by  it."  Ovid  (Metam.  viii.)  does  not 
scruple  to  paint  the  enraged  boar  in  figures  equally 
bold: 

Lightning  issueth  from  his  mouth. 

And  boughs  are  set  on  fire  by  his  breath. 

Silius  Italicus  (1.  vi.  v.  208.)  has  a  correspondent 
description. 

In  his  neck  dwelleth  might  : 

And  destruction  exulteth  before  him. 

Might  and  destruction  are  here  personified.  The 
former  is  seated  on  his  neck,  as  indicating  his  power, 
or  guiding  his  movements  ;  and  the  latter  is  leaping 
and  dancing  before  him  when  he  pursues  his  prey,  to 
express  the  terrible  slaughter  which  he  makes. 

The  flakes  of  his  flesh  are  compacted  together 
They  are  firm,  and  will  in  no  wise  give  away. 
His  heart  is  as  hard  as  a  stone. 
Yea,  as  hard  as  the  nether  mill-stone. 

These  strong  similes  may  denote  not  only  a  ma- 
terial, but  also  a   moral,  hardness — his  savage  and 


LEVIATHAN 


[624  ] 


LEV 


unrelenting  nature.  iElian  calls  the  crocodile  "a 
voracious  devourer  of  flesh,  and  the  most  pitiless  of 
animals." 

At  his  rising,  the  mighty  are  alarmed ; 

Frighted  at  the  disturbance  which  he  makes  in  the 

water, 
The  sword  of  the  assailant  is  shivered  at  the  onset, 
As  is  the  spear,  the  dart,  or  the  harpoon. 
He  regardeth  iron  as  straw  ; 
Copper  as  rotten  wood. 
The  arrow  cannot  make  him  flee, 
Sling-stones  he  deemeth  trifling  ; 
Like  stubble  is  the  battle-axe  reputed  ; 
And  he  laugheth  at  the  quivering  of  the  javelin. 

These  expressions  describe,  in  a  lively  manner,  the 
strength,  courage,  and  intrepidity  of  the  crocodile. 
Nothing  frightens  him.  If  any  one  attack  him,  neither 
swords,  darts,  nor  javelins  avail  against  him.  Travel- 
lers agree,  that  the  skin  of  the  crocodile  is  proof 
against  pointed  weapons. 

His  bed  is  the  splinters  of  flint. 

Which  the  broken  rock  scattereth  on  the  mud. 

This  clause  is  obscure,  and  has  been  variously 
rendered.  The  idea  seems  to  be,  that  he  can  repose 
himself  on  sharp-pointed  rocks  and  stones  with  as 
little  concern  as  upon  mud. 

He  maketh  the  main  to  boil  as  a  caldron  ; 
He  snuffeth  up  the  tide  as  a  perfume. 
Behind  him  glittereth  a  pathway  ; 
The  deep  is  embroidered  with  hoar. 

To  give  a  further  idea  of  the  force  of  this  creature, 
the  poet  describes  the  effect  of  his  motion  in  the 
water.  When  a  large  crocodile  dives  to  the  bottom, 
the  violent  agitation  of  the  water  may  be  justly  com- 
pared to  liquor  boiling  in  a  caldron.  When  swim- 
ming upon  the  surface,  he  cuts  the  water  like  a  ship, 
and  makes  it  white  with  foam  ;  at  the  same  time  his 
tail,  like  a  rudder,  causes  the  waves  behind  him  to 
froth  and  sparkle  like  a  trail  of  light.  These  images 
are  common  among  the  poets.  Thus  Homer,  (Odyss. 
1.  xii.  V.  23.5.)  as  translated  by  Pope  : 

"  Tumultuous  boil  the  waves  ; 

They  toss,  they  foam,  a  wild  confusion  raise ; 
Like  waters  bubbling  o'er  the  fiery  blaze." 

He  hath  not  his  like  upon  earth. 
Even  among  those  made  not  to  be  daunted. 
He  looketh  upon  every  thing  with  haughtiness  ; 
He  is  king  over  all  the  sons  of  the  fierce. 

Mr.  Good  observes,  that  all  the  interpreters  appear 
to  have  run  into  an  error  in  conceiving,  that  "  the 
sons  of  pride  or  haughtiness,  in  the  original  ynv  >:2, 
refer  to  wild  beasts,  or  monsters  of  enormous  size;  it 
is  far  more  confounding  to  the  haughtiness  and  exulta- 
tion of  man, — to  tliat  undue  confidence  in  his  own 
power,  which  it  is  tlie  very  object  of  this  sublime  ad- 
dress to  humiliate,  to  have  pointed  out  to  him,  even 
among  the  brute  creation,  a  being  which  he  dares  not 
to  encounter,  and  which  laughs  at  all  his  pride,  and 
pomp,  and  pretensions,  and  compels  him  to  feel  in 
all  these  respects  his  real  littleness  and  inferiority.  It 
is  difficult,  perhaps  impossible,  to  find  a  description 
so  admirably  sustained  in  any  language  of  any  age  or 


country.     The  whole  appears  to  be  of  a  piece,  and 
equally  excellent." 

The  word  leviathan  is  also  found  in  the  original  of 
Job,  chap.  iii.  8,  in  our  version  I'endered  "  mourning." 
Mr.  Good  has  a  long  note,  explaining  the  passage  as 
having  a  reference  to  ancient  sorceries,  and  execrat- 
ing incantations.  Gesenius  supposes  it  to  refer  to 
the  power  of  drawing  out  serpents  from  their  lurk- 
ing places  by  means  of  music.  (See  Inchantments.) 
Mr.  Scott's  version  and  note  are  as  follows : 

Let  them  curse  it  that  curse  the  day 
Of  those  who  shall  awake  leviathan. 

To  sill-  up,  or  awake,  leviathan  is  represented,  in 
chap.  xli.  8 — 10,  to  be  inevitable  destruction.  It  Avas 
natural  to  mention  such  a  terrible  casualty  in  the 
strongest  terms  of  abhorrence,  and  to  lament  those 
who  so  miserably  perished  with  the  most  bitter  im- 
precations on  the  disastrous  day.  Job  here  calls  for 
the  assistance  of  such  language,  to  execrate  the  fatal 
night  of  his  nativity.  Or  it  luay  have  a  reference  to 
the  execration  expressed  by  the  Ombitse  against  the 
Tentyrites.  The  Ombitae  were  the  inhabitants  of 
Ombos,  a  town  upon  the  right  bank  of  the  Nile,  not 
far  from  the  cataracts  of  the  ancient  Siene,  now  As- 
suan.  This  people  were  remarkable  for  the  worship 
of  the  crocodile,  and  the  foolishly  kind  manner  in 
which  they  treated  and  cherished  him.  Their  nearly 
opposite  neighbors,  the  Tentyrites,  were,  on  the  con- 
trary, conspicuous  for  their  hatred  and  persecution  of 
the  same  animal.  The  difl^erent  mode  of  treatment 
of  this  animal  produced  deadly  feuds  and  animosities 
between  the  two  people,  which  Juvenal,  in  his  fifteenth 
Satire,  ridicules  most  justly.  He  was  an  eye-witness 
of  the  hostility  described,  residing  as  a  Roman  officer 
at  Syene.  If  there  beany  allusion  to  this  in  the  pas- 
sage before  us,  it  would  mean,  "  Let  my  birth  be  held 
in  as  much  abhorrence,  as  is  that  of  those  who  are  the 
rousers  of  leviathan." 

Between  two  neighboring  towns  a  rancorous  rage 
Yet  burns  ;  a  hate  no  lenients  can  assuage. 

Juv.  Sat.  XV.  V.  35. 

By  leviathan,  (Ps.  Ixxiv.  14,)  we  may  suppose  Pha- 
raoh to  be  represented,  as  a  king  of  Egypt  is  called 
by  Ezekiel,  (chap.  xxix.  3.)  "  the  great  dragon  [or 
crocodile]  that  lieth  in  the  midst  of  his  rivers  ;"  and 
if,  says  Mr.  Merrick,  the  Arabic  lexicographers  quoted 
by  Bochart  (Phaleg.  I.  i.  c.  15.)  rightly  affirm  that 
Pharao,  in  the  Egyptian  language,  signified  a  croco- 
dile, there  may  possibly  l)e  some  such  allusion  to  his 
name  in  these  texts  of  the  psalmist  and  of  Ezekiel,  as 
was  made  to  the  name  of  Draco,  when  Herodicus,  in 
a  sarcasm  recorded  by  Aristotle,  (Rhet.  1.  ii.  c.  23.) 
said  that  his  laws,  which  were  very  severe,  were  the 
laws  ovy.  avdoM-nov  aV.u  c^()«xoi To?,  non  hominis sed  draco- 
nis.  Moses  Chorcnensis  mentions  some  ancient 
songs,  which  called  the  descendants  of  Astyages  a 
race  of  dragons,  because  Astyages  in  the  Armenian 
language  signified  a  dragon,  (1.  i.  c.  xxix.) 

LEVIRATE,  see  Marriage. 

LEVITES.  AH  the  descendants  of  Levi  may  be 
comprised  under  this  name  ;  but  chiefly  those  who 
were  employed  in  the  lower  services  in  the  temple, 
by  which  tiiey  were  distinguished  from  the  priests, 
who  were  of  the  race  of  Levi,  by  Kohath,  and  were 
employed  in  higher  oflSces.  The  Levites  were  the 
descendants  of  Levi,  by  Gershom,  Kohath  and  Me- 
rari,  excepting  the  family  of  Aaron  ;  for  the  children 


LEV 


[  625 


LIB 


of  Moses  had  no  part  in  the  priesthood,  and  were 
only  common  Levites.  God  chose  the  Levites  instead 
of  the  lirst-born  of  all  Israel,  for  the  service  of  his 
tabernacle  and  temple,  Numb.  iii.  6,  &:c.  They 
obeyed  the  priests  in  the  ministrations  of  the  temple, 
and'  sung  and  jilayed  on  instruments,  in  the  daily 
services,  &c.  They  studied  the  law,  and  were  the 
ordinary  judges  of  the  country ;  but  subordinate  to 
the  priests.  God  provided  for  the  subsistence  of  the 
Levites,  by  giving  to  them  the  tithe  of  corn,  fruit  and 
cattle;  but  they  i)aid  to  the  priests  the  tenth  of  their 
tithes  ;  and  as  the  Levites  possessed  no  estates  in  land, 
the  titlies  which  the  priests  received  from  them  were 
considered  as  the  first-fruits  which  they  weretoufler 
to  the  Lord,  Numi).  xviii.  21 — 24. 

God  assigned  for  the  habitations  of  the  Levites 
forty-eight  cities,  with  fields,  pastures  and  gardens. 
Numb.  XXXV.  Of  these,  thirteen  were  given  to  the 
priests,  sLx  of  which  were  cities  of  refuge.  Josh.  xx. 
7 ;  xxi.  19,  &c.  While  the  Levites  were  actually 
employed  in  the  temple,  they  were  supported  out  of 
the  provisions  kept  in  store  there,  and  out  of  the  daily 
offerings.  (See  Deut.  xii.  18,  19  ;  xviii.  6—8.)  The 
consecration  of  Levites  was  without  much  ceremony. 
(See  Numb.  viii.  5 ;  2  Chron.  xxix.  34.) 

The  Levites  wore  no  peculiar  habit  to  distinguish 
them  from  other  Israelites,  till  the  time  of  Agrippa, 
whose  innovation  in  this  matter  is  mentioned  by  Jose- 
phus,  (Antiq.  lijj.  xx.  cap.  8.)  who  remarks,  that  the 
ancient  customs  of  the  country  were  never  forsaken 
with  impunity. 

The  Levites  were  divided  into  different  classes; 
the  Gershomites,  Kohathites,  Merarites  and  the 
Aaronites,  or  priests.  Numb.  iii.  «fcc.  The  Gershom- 
ites were  in  number  7,500.  Their  office  in  the 
marches  through  the  wilderness  was  to  carry  the  veils 
and  curtains  of  the  tabernacle.  The  Kohathites 
were  in  number  8,600.  They  were  employed  in  carry- 
ing the  ark  and  sacred  vessels  of  the  tabernacle.  The 
Merarites  were  in  number  6,200.  They  carried  those 
pieces  of  the  tabernacle  which  coidd  not  be  placed 
on  chariots.  Thus  we  find  that  the  whole  number  of 
the  Levites  amounted  to  22,300,  of  whom  8,580  were 
fit  for  service,  and  13,720  unfit,  being  either  too  old 
or  too  young.  Numb.  iii.  iv.  When  the  Hebrews 
encamped  in  the  wilderness,  the  Levites  were  placed 
round  about  the  tabernacle  ;  Moses  and  Aaron  at  the 
east,  Gershom  at  the  west,  Kohath  at  the  south,  and 
Merari  at  the  north. 

The  Levites  were  not  to  enter  upon  their  service 
at  the  tabernacle  till  they  were  2o  years  of  age ; 
(Numb.  viii.  24.)  or,  as  in  chap.  iv.  3,  from  30  to  50 
years  old.  But  David  fixed  the  time  of  service  at  20 
years.  The  priests  and  Levites  waited  by  turns, 
weekly,  in  the  temple,  1  Chron.  xxiii.  24  ;  2  Chron. 
"xxxi.  17  ;  Ezra  iii.  8. 

LEVITICl'S,  the  third  book  in  the  Pentateuch  ; 
called  Leviticus,  because  it  contains  principally  the 
laws  and  regulations  relating  to  the  priests,  Levites 
and  sacrifices.  The  Hebrews  call  it  "the  priests' 
law  ;"  and  also  vayikra,  because  in  Hebrew  it  begins 
with  this  word,  and  he  called.  The  first  seven  chap- 
ters prescribe  the  ceremonies  in  offering  burnt- 
sacrifices,  meat-offerings,  bread  and  cakes,  peace-of- 
ferings or  thanksgivings,  and  sin-offerings  ;  regulat- 
ing what  parts  were  to  be  consumed  on  the  fire  of 
the  altar,  and  what  were  to  be  given  to  the  priest, 
who  offered  them.  This  is  followed  by  directions  as 
to  the  manner  in  which  the  priests  were  to  be  con- 
secrated, and  what  sacrifices  were  to  h(!  offered  on  that 
occasion.  On  occasion  of  the  punishment  of  Nadab 
79 


and  Abihu,  Moses  appoints  the  mourning  of  the 
priests,  and  forbids  them  to  drink  wine  while  waiting 
in  the  temple.  Chapters  xi.  to  xv.  give  rules  for  dis- 
tinguishing beasts  clean  and  unclean  ;  also  relative  to 
the  leprosy  of  men,  of  houses  and  of  habits  ;  for  the 
purification  of  men  indisposed  with  gonorrhcEa,  and 
of  women  after  child-birth.  After  this,  the  ceremo- 
nies on  the  day  of  solemn  expiation  are  regulated  ; 
also  the  degrees  of  relation  permitted  or  forbidden  in 
marriage.  Then  follow  prohibitions  of  alliances  with 
the  Canaanites,  of  idolatrj',  theft,  perjury,  calumny, 
hatred,  Gentile  superstitions,  magic,  divination,  sooth- 
saying, prostitution  and  adultery.  Chapter  xxii.  no- 
ticps  the  principal  festivals  in  the  year,  (including  the 
story  §f  a  man  who  was  stoned  to  death  for  liaving 
blasphemed  the  sacred  Name,)  the  sabbatical  and  the 
jubilee  years,  and  some  dkections  relative  to  vows 
and  tithes. 

This  book  is  generally  held  to  be  the  work  of 
Moses,  though  probably  assisted  by  Aaron.  It  con- 
tains the  history  of  the  eight  days  of  Aaron  and  his 
sons'  consecration,  A.  M.  2514. 

LIBANUS,  or  Lebaxo.n,  a  long  chain  of  limestone 
mountains,  on  the  northern  border  of  Palestine.  It 
consists  of  two  principal  ridges,  the  easterly  ridge 
being  called  Anti-Libanus  by  the  Greeks.  The 
western  ridge,  or  proper  Libanus,  runs  nearly  parallel 
to  the  coast  of  the  Mediterranean ;  the  eastern,  or 
Anti-Libanus,  runs  first  east,  but  soon  inclines  in  like 
manner  to  the  north.  Between  these  two  ridges  is  a 
long  valley  called  Coele-Syria,  or  Hollow  Syria,  the 
Valley  of  Lebanon,  (Josh.  xi.  17.)  at  present  Bukkah  ; 
it  opens  towards  the  north.  The  elevation  of  Leb- 
anon is  so  great,  that  it  is  always  covered  in  many 
places  with  snow ;  whence  in  all  probability  it  derives 
its  name.  It  is  composed  of  four  enclosures  of 
mountains,  which  rise  one  on  the  other.  The  first  is 
very  rich  in  grain  and  fruits  ;  the  second  is  barren, 
abounding  in  thorns,  rocks  and  flints ;  the  third,  though 
higher  than  this,  enjoys  a  perpetual  spring,  the  trees 
being  always  green,  and  the  orchards  filled  with  fruit : 
it  is  so  agreeable  and  fertile,  that  some  have  called  it 
a  terrestrial  paradise.  The  fourth  is  so  high  as  to  be 
always  covered  with  snow.  Mr.  Buckingham,  who 
ascended  one  of  the  highest  parts  of  Lebanon,  states 
that  it  occupied  him  and  his  companions  four  hours 
in  reaching  it,  from  the  place  where  the  cedars  grow. 
"  From  hence  the  view  was,  as  may  be  easily  ima- 
gined, grand  and  magnificent.  To  the  west  we  had  a 
prospect  of  all  the  side  of  Lebanon  down  to  the  plain 
at  its  foot,  and,  beyond,  a  boimdless  sea,  the  horizon 
of  which  could  not  be  defined,  from  its  being  covered 
with  a  thick  bed  of  clouds.  .  .  .  To  the  east  we  had 
the  valley  of  the  Bukkah,  which  we  could  see  from 
hence  was  on  a  much  higher  level  than  the  sea;  the 
descent  to  it  on  the  ejist  appearing  to  be  about  one 
third  less  in  depth  than  the  descent  to  the  plain  at  the 
foot  of  Lebanon  on  the  west,  and  scarcely  more  than 
half  of  that  to  the  line  of  the  sea.  The  range  of 
Anti-Libanus,  which  forms  the  eastern  boundary  of 
the  Bukkah,  was  also  covered  with  snow  at  its  sum- 
mit, but  not  so  thickly  as  at  this  part  of  Libanus  where 
we  were,  and  which  seemed  to  us  the  highest  point 
of  all.  We  could  distinguish  that  from  the  north- 
ward towards  Balbek,  the  Jebel-el-wast  was  one 
even  range,  without  pointed  summits  like  this,  and 
that  from  thence  there  extended  two  forks  to  the 
southward,  the  eastern,  or  princijjal  one,  ending  in  the 
groat  Jebel-el-Sheik,  or  Jebel-el-Telj,  of  the  Arabs, 
the  mount  Hermon  of  the  Scriptures  ;  and  the  west- 
ern, or  lesser  one,  in  the  point  which  I  had  passed  in 


LIBANUS 


[  626 


LIBANUS 


going  to  Bauias,  the  valley  between  them  being  called 
Wade  Ityre.  The  range  of  Anti-Libanus,  though  of 
less  height  tlian  this,  completely  intercepted  our  view 
of  the  country  to  the  eastward  of  it;  altliough,  as  l)e- 
fore  said,  we  were  on  the  highest  point  of  view  which 
it  admits.  Mr.  Volney,  therefore,  must  have  ima- 
gined the  unhmited  view  which  he  says  tliis  mountain 
affords  across  the  eastern  deserts  to  the  Euphrates ; 
and  indeed,  from  his  description  altogether,  botli  of 
the  mountain  and  tlie  cedars,  there  is  reason  to  be- 
lieve that  he  travelled  Init  little  over  it."  (Travels 
among  the  Arab  Tribes,  p.  477.) 

D'Arvieux,  in  describing  this  mountainous*  region, 
.«iays,  "These  are  not  barren  mountains,  but  almost 
all  well  cultivated,  and  well  peopled.  Tlieir  siftnmits 
are  in  many  places  level,  and  form  vast  plains, 
wherein  are  sown  corn  (comp.  Ps.  Ixxii.  16.)  and  all 
kinds  of  pulse.  They  are  watered  by  numerous 
sources,  and  rivulets  of  excellent  water,  which  diffuse 
on  all  sides  a  freshness  and  fertility,  even  in  the  most 
elevated  regions.  The  soil  of  their  declivities,  and  of 
the  hollows  which  occur  betwc^ui  them,  is  excellent, 
and  produces  abundantly  corn,  oil  and  wine,  which  is 
the  best  in  Syria ;  and  this  is  praising  it  highly  in  a 
single  word.  Drinkers,  who  esteem  themselves 
judges,  make  no  difference  between  this  wine  and 
that  of  Cyprus.  Their  j)rincipal  riches,  at  present,  is 
the  silk  which  they  produce.  They  are  inhabited 
by  Christians,  Greeks  and  IMarouites  ;  also  by  Dru- 
ses and  Mahometans.  The  Christians  here  have 
many  privileges,  and  in  some  places  complete  liberty. 
Though  the  mountains  which  compose  Lebanon  are 
of  this  considerable  extent,  yet  the  vulgar  restrain  tlie 
name  to  that  district  whereon  the  cedars  grow ;  (see 
Cedars  ;)  and  they  give  other  names  to  otlier  portions 
which  compose  this  famous  mountain.  After  travel- 
ling six  hours  in  pleasant  valleys,  and  over  mountains 
covered  with  different  species  of  trees,  we  entered  a 
small  plain  on  a  fertile  hill,  wholly  covered  with 
walnut-trees  and  olives,  in  the  middle  of  which  is  the 
village  of  Eden.  This  village  has  a  bishop.  In  spite 
of  my  weariness,  I  could  not  but  incessantly  admire 
this  beautiful  country.  It  is,  truly,  an  epitome  of  the 
terrestrial  paradise,  of  which  it  bears  the  name.  .  .  . 
We  quitted  Eden  about  eight  o'clock  in  the  morning, 
and  advanced  to  mountains  so  extremely  high,  that 
we  seemed  to  be  travelling  in  the  middle  regions  of 
t!ic  atmosphere.  Here  the  sky  was  clear  and  serene 
above  us,  while  we  saw,  below  us,  thick  clouds  dis- 
solving in  rain  and  watering  the  plains." 

Do  la  Roque,  after  commending  in  strong  terms 
the  beauty  of  the  valley  watered  by  the  Kadisha, 
says,  "  In  pursuing  our  route,  and  tracing  up  the 
.source  of  this  agreeable  river,  our  sight  was  still 
more  gratified.  The  trees  rise  higher  than  before, 
being  tor  the  most  part  plantains,  pines,  cypresses, 
and  evergreen  oaks,  forming  a  continual  assemblage 
of  verdure  of  different  kinds  ;  among  which  peeps 
out,  from  time  to  time,  either  a  chapel  or  a  grotto,  al- 
ways situated  on  some  spot  apparently  im])ossible  to 
be  attained,  and  absolutely  astonishing  to  the  sight. 
We  passed  twice  or  thrice  over  th(>  Kadisha,  by 
means  of  stone  bridges,  or  of  tre(>s  laid  along  to  form 
a  passage  :  we  proceeded  in  this  manner  two  or  three 
leagues,  by  a  very  easy  and  agreeable  road,  walking 
almost  constantly  among  grovels  and  covered  alleys 
formed  by  the  hand  of  nature,  and  too  abundant  in 
foliage  to  be  penetrated  by  the  rays  of  the  sun.  After 
quitting  the  Kadisha,  we  continued  to  find  every 
where  a  wonderfid  abimdance  of  water,  issuing  from 
divers  sources,  t<M-Miing  rivulets  ;  and  proceediuir  to 


unite  their  waters  with  those  of  that  river.  Cano- 
bin,  the  convent  established  on  Lebanon,  is  a  large, 
irregular  building,  situated  on  the  declivity  of  a  high 
mountain.  Its  environs  are,  nevertheless,  very  cheer- 
ful; the  lands  adjacent  are  well  cultivated,  and  are 
adorned  with  hedges,  gardens  and  vineyards.  It 
would  be  difficult  to  find  any  where  superior  wine 
to  that  which  Avas  offered  us:  from  which  we  de- 
termined, that  the  reputation  of  the  wine  of  Leba- 
non, as  alluded  to  by  the  prophet,  (Rosea  xiv.  7.)  was 
extremely  well  founded.  These  wines  are  of  two 
sorts  ;  the  most  common  is  the  red  ;  the  most  exquis- 
ite is  of  thii  color  of  Vin  Muscat,  and  is  called  golden 
on  ticcount  of  its  color." 

He  mentions  his  fear,  in  some  of  his  excursions, 
of  meeting  with  tigers,  or  with  bears,  which  are  in 
great  numbers  on  Lebanon  ;  and  come  down  during 
the  night  to  drink.  He  also  mentions  the  finding  of 
a  quantity  of  eagles'  feathers  on  the  mountain,  at  the 
cedars. 

Lebanon  furnishes  many  rivers  and  streams.  The 
first  described  by  De  la  Roque  is  the  Orontes,  which 
rises  in  the  northern  district,  and  during  a  course  of 
more  than  thirty  leagues  runs  almost  due  north,  pass- 
ing Emesa  and  Apamea;  then  turning  to  the  west, 
it  passes  Antiocli  and  Seleucia ;  its  whole  course  be- 
ing about  seventy-five  leagues.  The  river  Eleuthe- 
rus  also  rises  in  the  heights  of  Lebanon.  It  falls  in- 
to the  Mediterranean,  between  Orthosia  and  Tripo- 
lis ;  but  is  not  easily  ascertained,  because  four  or  five 
rivers  discharge  themselves  in  this  space.  The 
first,  (pprhaj)s  the  Eleutherus,)  about  half  way  be- 
tween Tortosa  and  Tripolis,  is  the  Nahr  Kibir,  or 
Great  river ;  the  second,  advancing  toward  Tripolis, 
is  the  Nahr  Abrach,  Leper's  river  ;  the  third  is  Nahr 
Acchar,  red  river  ;  and  there  is  a  fburth,  less  consid- 
erable, called  Alma  Albarida,  or  the  Cold  waters. 
Following  the  coast  southward,  we  find  the  Nahr 
Kadisha,  or  Holy  river,  which  receives  many  streams, 
by  which  it  is  greatly  enlarged  in  its  passage  to  the 
sea.  Among  others,  Ras  Ain,  Fountain  Head,  in  it- 
self a  small  stream,  but  is  greatly  swelled  by  the 
melting  of  the  snows,  and  furnishes  a  considerable 
body  of  water.  The  next  stream  is  the  Nahr  Ebra- 
him,  Abraham's  river,  which  discharges  itself  about 
two  leagues  from  Jebilee  ;  it  is  the  Adonis  of  the  an- 
cients. After  this  follows  the  Nahr  Kelb,  Dog's 
river ;  the  Lycus,  or  Wolf's  river,  of  antiquity.  About 
an  hour  and  a  half  from  this  river  is  Nahr  Bairuth, 
so  called  because  it  is  the  nearest  stream  to  the  city 
of  Berytus.  Between  Berytus  and  Sidon  is  the  Nahr 
Darner,  pronounced  by  Europeans  d'./lmoui;  the  Jam- 
yras  of  former  times:  the  passage  of  it  is  very  dan- 
gerous during  the  rains.  About  a  league  south  of  Si- 
don, is  the  river  called  Awle  by  the  peasants  ;  by  the 
Franks  called  Fiumerc:  its  source  is  perhaps  in  An- 
ti-Libanus. About  an  hour  short  of  Tyre,  is  the 
river  Kasemicch,  Avhich  rises  in  Anti-Libanus,  and 
is  increased  by  the  waters  of  the  Letani,  which  fiows 
along  the  valley  of  Bekaa.  The  Barrady  rises  in 
Anti-Libanus,  not  far  from  the  territory  of  Damas- 
cus, which  city  it  visits;  and  being  divided  into 
streams  and  canals,  contributes  to  the  delights  of  that 
place,  and  its  environs.  A  little  river,  called  Banias, 
(perhaps  the  Abana  of  Naaman,  1  Kings  v.  12.)  dis- 
charges itself  into  the  Barrady.  After  having  pass- 
ed Damascus,  these  streams  issue  in  a  large  lake  and 
marsh(>s.  The  course  of  the  Barrady  is  southerly. 
The  Jordan,  too,  has  its  source  in  Anti-Libanus, 
in  th(>  region  now  called  Wad-et-tein,  which  includes 
the  moimt  Hermon  of  the  ancients,  not  far  from  the 


LIBANUS 


[  627  ] 


LIBANUS 


celebrated  spot  which  pagan  antiquity  called  Pani- 
um,  or  Paneas.     See  Jordan. 

The  following  is  Volney's  account  of  this  celebrat- 
ed mountain:  (Travels,  vol.  i.  p.  293,  301.)  "A 
view  of  the  country  will  convince  us  that  the  most 
elevated  jioint  of  all  Syria  is  Lebanon,  on  the  south- 
east of  Trijjoli.  Scarcely  do  we  depart  from  Lar- 
neca,  in  Cyprus,  which  is  tliirty  leagues  distant,  be- 
fore we  discover  its  summit  capjjcd  with  clouds. 
This  is  also  distinctly  jicrceivaljle  on  the  map,  from 
the  course  of  the  rivers.  The  Oroutes,  which  flows 
from  the  mountains  of  Damascus,  and  loses  itself 
below  Antioch  ;  the  Kasmia,  which,  from  the  north 
of  Balbcc,  takes  its  course  towards  Tyre  ;  the  Jor- 
dan, forced,  by  the  declivities,  towards  the  south, 
j)rove  that  this  is  the  highest  point.  Next  to  Leb- 
anon, the  most  elevated  part  of  the  country  is  mount 
Akkar,  which  becomes  visible  as  soon  as  we  leave 
Marra  in  the  desert.  It  appears  like  an  enormous 
flattened  cone,  and  is  constantly  in  view  for  two 
days'  journey.  No  one  has  yet  had  an  opportunity 
to  ascertain  the  height  of  these  mountains  by  the 
barometer ;  but  we  may  deduce  it  from  another 
consideration.  In  winter  their  tops  are  entirely  cov- 
ered with  snow,  from  Alexandretta  to  Jerusalem  ; 
but  after  the  month  of  Mai'ch  it  melts,  except  on 
mount  Lebanon,  where,  however,  it  does  not  remain 
the  whole  year,  unless  in  the  highest  cavities,  and 
towards  the  north-east,  where  it  is  sheltered  from 
the  sea  winds,  and  the  rays  of  the  sun.  In  such  a 
situation  I  saw  it  still  remaining,  in  1784,  at  the  very 
time  I  was  almost  suftbcated  with  heat  in  the  valley 
of  Balbec.  Now,  since  it  is  well  known  that  snow, 
in  this  latitude,  requires  an  elevation  of  fifteen  or 
sixteen  hundred  fathoms,  we  may  conclude  that  to 
i)e  tiie  height  of  Lebanon,  and  that  it  is  consequent- 
ly much  lower  than  the  Alps,  or  even  the  Pyrenees. 

"  Lebanon,  which  gives  its  name  to  the  whole  ex- 
tensive chain  of  the  Kesraouan,  and  the  country  of 
the  Druses,  presents  us  every  where  with  majestic 
mountains.  At  every  step  we  meet  with  scenes  in 
which  nature  displays  either  beauty  or  grandeur, 
sometimes  singularity,  but  always  variety.  When 
we  land  on  the  coast,  the  loftiness  and  steep  ascent 
of  this  mountainous  ridge,  which  seems  to  enclose 
the  country,  those  gigantic  masses  which  shoot  into 
the  clouds,  inspire  astonishment  and  awe.  Shoidd 
the  curious  traveller  then  climb  these  summits  which 
bounded  his  view,  the  wide-extended  space  which 
he  discovers  becomes  a  fresh  subject  of  admiration  ; 
l)ut  completely  to  enjoy  this  majestic  scene,  he  must 
ascend  to  the  very  point  of  Lebanon,  or  the  Sanniu. 
There,  on  everv  side,  he  will  view  an  liorizon  with- 
out bounds  ;  while,  in  clear  weather,  the  sight  is  lost 
over  the  desert,  wliich  extends  to  the  Persian  gulf, 
and  over  the  sea  which  bathes  the  coasts  of  Europe. 
He  seems  to  command  the  whole  world,  while  tlie 
wandering  eye,  now  surveying  the  successive  chains 
of  mountains,  transports  the  imagination  in  an  in- 
stant from  Antioch  to  Jerusalem. 

"  If  we  examine  the  substance  of  these  mountains, 
we  shall  find  they  consist  of  a  hard  calcareous  stone, 
of  a  whitish  color,  sonorous  like  free-stone,  and  dis- 
posed in  strata  variously  inclined.  This  stone  has 
almost  the  same  appearance  in  every  part  of  Syria  ; 
sometimes  it  is  bare,  and  looks  like  the  peeled  rocks 
on  the  coast  of  Provence.  The  same  stone,  under  a 
more  regular  form,  likewise  composes  the   greater 

Eart  of  Lebanon,  Anti-Lebanon,  the  mountains  of  the 
•ruses,  Galilee  and  mount  Carmel,  and    stretches 
to  the  south  of  the  lake  Asphaltites.     The   inhab- 


itants every  where  build  their  houses  and  make  lime 
with  it.  I  have  never  seen,  nor  heard  it  said,  that 
these  stones  contain  any  petrified  shells  in  the  upper 
regions  of  Lebanon  ;  but  we  find,  between  Batroun 
and  Djebail,  in  the  Kesraouan,  at  a  little  distance 
from  the  sea,  a  (piarry  of  schistous  stones,  the  flakes 
of  which  bear  the  hnpressious  of  plants,  fish,  shells, 
and  especially  of  the  sea  onion.  Iron  is  the  only 
niineral  which  abounds  here ;  the  mountains  of  the 
Kesraouan,  and  of  the  Druses,  are  full  of  it.  Every 
sunjmer  the  inhabitants  work  those  mines  which  are 
ochreous. 

"  It  appears  equally  extraordinary  and  picturesque 
to  a  European  at  Tripoli,  to  behold  under  his  win- 
dows, in  the  month  of  January,  orange-trees  loaded 
with  flowers  and  fruit,  while  the  hoary  head  of  Leb- 
anon is  covered  with  ice  and  snow.  If  in  Saide,  or 
Tripoli,  we  are  incommoded  by  the  heats  of  July,  in 
six  hours  we  are  in  the  neighboring  mountains,  in 
the  temperature  of  March  ;  or,  on  the  other  hand,  if 
chilled  by  the  frosts  of  December  at  Besharrai,  a  daj''s 
journey  brings  us  back  to  the  coast,  amid  the  flow- 
ers of  May.  The  Arabian  poets  have  therefore  said, 
that  '  the  Sannin  bears  w  inter  on  his  head,  spring  on 
his  shoulders,  and  autumn  in  his  bosom,  Avhile  sum- 
mer lies  sleeping  at  his  feet.'  " 

[Mr.  Fisk  describes  Lebanon  in  the  folloAving  man- 
ner :  "You  would  like,  perhaps,  to  know  how  mount 
Lebanon  looks.  It  is  not,  as  I  used  to  suppose,  one 
mountain,  but  a  multitude  of  mountains  thrown  to- 
gether, and  separated  by  very  deep,  narrow  \alleys, 
which  seem  to  have  been  made  merely  for  the  sake 
of  dividing  the  hills.  There  are  more  trees  on  moimt 
Lebanon  than  on  the  hills  of  Judea,  yet  there  is  noth- 
ing which  Americans  would  call  a  forest.  Most  of 
the  trees,  where  I  have  been,  are  either  pines  or  fruit 
trees.  I  have  not  yet  seen  the  cedars.  The  roads 
are  had,  worse  and  ivorst ;  steep  and  rocky,  I  pre- 
sume, beyond  any  thing  you  ever  saw  in  Vermont,  or 
any  where  else.  I  generally  ride  a  mule  or  an  ass, 
and  it  is  often  literally  riding  up  and  down  stairs,  for 
a  considerable  distance  together.  These  mountains 
present  a  variety  of  the  most  )-ude,  sublime  and  ro- 
mantic scenery."  (Missionary  Herald  for  1824,  p. 
135.)     R. 

From  these  descriptions  the  reader  may  conceive, 
not  only  with  what  ardor  Moses  might  desire  to  see 
"  that  goodly  mountain,  even  Lebanon,"  (Deut.  iii. 
25.)  but  what  a  supreme  gratification  a  man  who 
had  been  all  his  life  habituated  to  a  flat  and  arid  des- 
ert, and  to  a  low  and  level  country,  must  have 
felt,  had  he  been  permitted  to  enjoy  the  verdant 
liills  and  murmuring  cascades  of  Lebanon.  The 
renown  of  these  paradises  must  have  stimulated  his 
curiosity,  as  a  man  and  a  !)aturalist,  independent  of 
his  wishes  as  a  sovereign  and  legislator  for  the  wel- 
fare and  settlement  of  his  people. 

Almost  all  travellers  wiio  have  visited  these  places 
have  felt  and  noti>-ed  the  propriety  of  the  bride- 
groom's address  to  the  bride,  (Cant.  iv.  15.)  in  w  hich 
he  cotnjKins  her  to  "a  fountain  of  gardens,  a  w^ell 
of  living  waters,  and  streams  from  Lebanon  ;"  but 
they  have  not  observed  the  climax  of  this  passage, 
which  appears  to  stand  thus,  (1.)  a  fountain,  (2.)  a 
source,(.3.)  luunerous  and  lively  streams,  communicat- 
ing refreshment  and  pleasure,  together  w^ith  fertility. 

These  descriptions  may  also  contrii)Ute  to  place  in 
a  new  light  a  passage  of  the  prophet  Jeremiah,  (chap, 
xviii.  14.)  which  stands  thus  in  our  translation  :  "Will 
a  man  leave  the  snow  of  Lebanon  which  cometh 
from  the  rock  of  the  field  ;  or  shall  the  cold  flowing 


LIBANUS 


[  628  ] 


LIB 


waters  that  come  from  another  place  be  forsaken  ?" 
The  whole  of  this  verse  no  doubt  refers  to  the  same 
object,  moinit  Lebanon,  though  to  different  things 
which  are  found  there.  It  may  be  supposed,  that 
the  "  cold  flowing  waters  "  of  the  prophet  were  the 
Nahr  el  herd,  or  Nahr  al  barida  of  ftlaundrell  and 
De  la  Roque. 

The  prophet  seems  to  think  that  no  waters  could 
be  so  refreshing  as  those  which  flowed  from  recent- 
ly thawing  congelation  ;  and  to  persons  who  highly 
value  the  addition  of  snow  to  their  beverage,  to  cool 
it,  nothing  could  be  more  refrigerating  than  drinking 
from  streams  which  trickled  down  the  sides  of  that 
mountain,  the  great  Syrian  reservoir  of  snow  and  ice. 
The  narrations  we  have  inserted  show  the  vigor  and 
energy  of  these  similes. 

The  reputation  attached  to  the  wine  of  Lebanon, 
and  the  character  given  of  it  by  travellers,  render 
very  credible  the  idea  that  in  this  wine  Damascus 
traded  with  Tyre,  (Ezek.  xxvii.  18.)  and  that  Helbon 
was  in  the  eastern  part  of  Lebanon.  The  compar- 
ison of  the  wine  of  Lebanon  to  Vin  Muscat,  by  De 
la  Roque,  includes,  probably,  the  scent  as  well  as  the 
color;  and  justifies  the  allusion  of  the  prophet  Ho- 
sea,  xiv.  7. 

It  is  not  easy  to  determine,  with  certainty,  what 
can  be  intended  by  the  prophet  Isaiah  in  the  phrase, 
"  tlie  glory  of  Lebanon  ;"  but  very  likely  it  refers  to 
the  verdure  constantly  maintained  on  it,  and  to  the 
stately  trees  which  cover  it ;  for  so  we  may  best  ex- 
plain Isa.  XXXV.  2,  the  glory  of  Lebanon,  magnificent 
cedars,  plantains,  pines,  cypresses,  &c.  the  excellen- 
cy of  Carmel,  "  pines,  oaks,  olives  and  laurels,"  (see 
Carmel,)  and  the  meadow  productions,  flowers, 
shrubs,  &c.  of  Sharon.  This  agrees  perfectly  with 
chap.  Ix.  13,  "the  glory  of  Lebanon — the  fir-tree,  the 
pine-tree,  and  the  box-tree  together."  Perhaps,  by 
some  scientific  traveller,  who  has  noticed  the  trees 
growing  upon  Lebanon,  we  may  ascertain  those  in- 
tended by  the  prophet.     Is  it  the  cedar  eminently  ? 

The  discovery  of  eagles'  feathers  in  great  quanti- 
ty by  De  la  Roque,  where  they  must  have  been  drop- 
ped by  the  birds  themselves,  serves  to  justify  the  idea 
of  the  prophet  Ezekiel,  (chap.  xvii.  2.)  of  "a  great 
eagle,  with  long  wings,  visiting  Lebanon,  and  pluck- 
ing oft'  a  branch  from  among  the  young  twigs,"  &c. 
(meaning  Nebuchadnezzar,  who  destroyed  the  tem- 
ple, and  carried  away  its  treasures.)  It  shows  that  na- 
tiu-e  was  considered  in  this  particular  of  the  parable. 

The  bears  which  frightened  De  la  Roque,  and  the 
lions,  which  he  says  come  down  to  the  marshes  of 
Jordan  to  drink,  may  point  out  the  quarter  that  fur- 
nished those  sanguinary  animals  which  destroyed  the 
new  settlers  in  the  land  of  Israel,  (2  Kings  xvii.  25, 
2G.)  as  the  country  is  the  same  ;  and  it  is  likely  that, 
during  the  interval  of  population,  these  wild  animals 
sli<)ul(l  have  roamed  over  a  greater  tract  of  ccAuitry 
than  usual ;  out  of  which  »A\ey  were  not  easily  ex- 
pelled. It  is  likely,  too,  that  w1ipa\  the  prophet  threat- 
ens that  the  king  of  Babylon  shall  come  "as  a  lion 
from  the  swelling  of  Jordan,"  (Jer.  xlix.  19 ;  1.44.) 
he  may  not  so  much  allude  to  the  stream  of  Jordan, 
where  it  runs  in  a  considerable  body,  between  its 
banks,  as  probably  lions  are  rarely  seen  so  low,  but 
to  the  marshes  of  Jordan,  to  which  De  la  Roque  says 
they  come  down  from  the  nrighboriiig  mountains  ; 
which  marshes  being  at  some  times  dry,  and  at  other 
times  overflowed,  amuially,  may  justly  be  dc^scribed 
as  the  swellings  of  Jordan.  (Coinp.  Zech.  xi. ;?.)  The 
same  place  may  also  be  intended  under  tliis  descriji- 
tion  :  (Jer.  xii.  5.)  "  If  thou  hast  run  with  the  footmen, 


and  they  have  wearied  thee,  how  canst  thou  contend 
with  horses  ?  And  if  in  the  land  of  peace  (solid  land, 
firm  footing)  thou  hast  been  wearied,  how  wilt  thou 
do,  when  called  to  exert  thyself  in  such  slippery  and 
uncertain  footing  as  the  marshes  (swellings)  of  Jor- 
dan are  ?  " — much  resembling,  probably,  the  bogs  of 
Ireland.  The  wild  beasts  enumerated  by  this  trav- 
eller, with  such  others  as  we  may  suppose  inhabit, 
or  haunt,  the  various  branches  of  this  mountain,  may 
furnish  the  true  import  of  the  expression,  (Hab.  ii.  17.) 
"  The  violence  of  Lebanon  shall  cover  thee ;  even 
the  terrific  ravages  of  wild  beasts ; "  to  which  that 
mountain  affords  shelter  and  covert. 

Lebanon  is  certainly  taken  for  cedars  of  Lebanon. 
Thus  Solomon's  palace  is  called  the  "house  of  the 
forest  of  Lebanon  ;"  it  was  supported,  probably  by 
pillars  of  cedar,  as  luunerous  as  trees  in  a  forest. 
When  we  read  "The  fruit  thereof  shall  shake  like 
Lebanon,"  we  suppose  the  majestic  cedars  furnish 
the  simile:  so,  "He  cast  forth  his  roots  as  Lebanon," 
not  the  mountain,  but  the  cedars  on  it.  The  temple 
of  Jerusalem  is  also  called  Lebanon :  "  Open  thy 
doors,  O  Lebanon,  that  the  fire  may  devour  thy  ce- 
dars," says  Zechariah,  (xi.  1.)  speaking  of  the  future 
desolation  of  the  temple  by  the  Romans. 

Tower  of  Libanus. — Solomon  (Cant.  vii.  4.)coni- 
pares  his  spouse's  nose  to  "the  tower  of  Lebanon, 
which  looketh  towards  Damascus."  Travellers  speak 
of  a  tower  seen  on  Libanus  on  the  side  next  Damas- 
cus, which  seems  to  have  been  very  high.  Benja- 
min of  Tudela  assures  us,  that  the  stones  of  this 
tower,  the  remains  of  which  he  had  seen,  were  twen- 
ty palms  long,  and  twelve  wide.  Gabriel  Sionita  says, 
that  it  was  a  hundred  cubits  high,  and  fifty  broad. 

LIBATION,  a  word  used  in  sacrificial  language, 
to  express  an  affiision  of  liquors,  ))oured  upon  vic- 
tims to  be  sacrificed  to  the  Lord.  The  quantity  of 
wine  for  a  libation  was  the  fourth  part  of  a  hin  ; 
rather  more  than  two  pints.  Among  the  Hebrews 
libations  were  poured  on  the  victim  after  it  was 
killed,  and  the  several  pieces  of  it  laid  on  the  altar, 
'ready  to  he  consumed  by  the  flames,  Lev.  vi.  20; 
viii.  25,  26  ;  ix.  4  ;  xvi.  12,  20  ;  xxiii.  13.  They  con- 
sisted in  offerings  of  bread,  wine  and  salt.  Paul 
describes  himself,  says  Calmet,  as  a  victim  about  to 
be  sacrificed,  the  accustomed  libations  of  meal  and 
wine  being  already,  in  a  manner,  poured  upon  him: 
(2  Tim.  iv.  6.)  "  For  I  am  ready  to  be  offered,  and  the 
time  of  my  departure  is  at  hand."  But  it  is  probable 
that  the  apostle  refers  to  the  manner  of  pouring  out 
the  blood  of  the  victims,  at  the  foot  of  the  altar, 
which  was  the  ceremony  prescribed  in  the  Hebrew 
ritual,  rather  than  to  the  libations  poured  upon  the 
victim,  as  practised  by  the  heathen  : — 'Eydi  yuo  ]]dij 
n.intiofiai — For  1  am  now  pouring  out,  or  going  to  be 
poured  out,  as  a  lihalion.  The  same  expressive  sac- 
rificial term  occurs  in  Phil.  ii.  17,  where  the  apos- 
tle represents  the  faith  of  the  Philippians  as  a  sac- 
rifice, and  his  own  blood  as  a  libation  poured  forth 
to  hallow  and  consecrate  it: — '--/aA'  d'  xul  cihthtimi 

1711  Tij  Svnlii  xul  Asiror'jy/rj  Ti't  .iIotH'K  rii<7,r.  /«('(/(.)  y.ai 

ovyxulno)  Trftciy  rinr ; — the  Strength  and  beauty  of  the 
passage  cannot  be  comprehended  from  a  translation. 
LIBERTINES,  Synagogue  of,  Acts  vi.  9.  This 
Synagogue  of  the  Libertines  obviously  stands  con- 
nected with  the  Cyrenians  and  Alexandrians,  both  of 
which  were  of  African  origin  ;  it  is,  therefore,  most 
probable  that  the  l/ibertines  were  of  African  origin 
also  ;  and  without  assenting  to  the  entire  history  of  the 
liberation  of  the  Jewish  captives  in  Egypt,  by  Ptolemy 
Phi'adelphus,  in  its  utmost  extent,  as  to  their  num- 


i 


LIB 


[  629  1 


LIF 


bers,  it  is  credible,  that  there  may  be  sufficient  truth 
ia  it,  to  justify  our  believing  that  many  Jews  and 
Jewish  families  did  obtain  their  liberty,  by  the  mu- 
nificence of  that  prince ;  the  descendants  of  which 
freedmen,  remaining  in  Egypt,  would  be  known  un- 
der an  appellation  answering  to  the  Latin,  libertini. 
Moreover,  their  residence  would  naturally  connect 
them  with  their  fellow  Africans,  the  Cyreniaus  and 
Alexandrians.  They  are  evidently  separated,  by  the 
construction  of  the  language,  trom  "  those  of  Cilicia, 
and  of  Asia : "  and  if  Luke  were  of  Cyrene,  as  is 
thought,  we  see  the  reason  why  this  conduct  of  his 
compatriots  excited  his  particular  observation.  It 
has  been  thought  by  some  writers  that  they  were  a 
nation  of  Libertini.  That  there  was  a  place  in  Af- 
rica called  Libertina,  or  some  such  name,  is  certain  ; 
for  in  the  council  of  Carthage  (c.  116.)  two  persons 
iissumcd  the  title  of  Episcopus  Ecclcsi(£  lAbcrtmcn- 
sis.     (See  Kuinocl  on  Acts  vi.  9.) 

LIBERTY,  as  opposed  to  servitude  and  slavery, 
denotes  the  condition  of  a  man,  who  may  act  inde- 
pendently of  tiie  will  of  another.  There  is  frequent 
mention  of  this  liberty  in  Scripture.  The  Jews  val- 
ued themselves  highly  on  their  liberty  ;  and  they 
even  boasted,  in  our  Saviour's  time,  that  they  had 
never  been  deprived  of  it,  John  viii.  33.  This  from 
them  was  ridiculous ;  since  we  know  that  they  were 
often  subject  to  foreign  powers,  under  the  judges, 
and  afterwards  to  the  kings  of  Assyria,  Chaldea  and 
Pei-sia.  They  were  at  this  very  time,  also,  subject 
to  the  Romans.  It  is  however  true,  that  the  Israel- 
ites, according  to  the  intention  of  Moses,  were  never 
to  be  reduced  entirely  to  a  state  of  bondage.  They 
might  be  sold,  or  fall  into  servitude  among  their 
brethren  ;  but  always  hafl  a  power  of  redeeming 
themselves,  or  procuring  themselves  to  be  redeemed 
by  their  relations,  or  of  being  liberated  in  the  sab- 
batical year,  or  in  the  jubilee  year.  Probably,  on 
this  account  they  boasted  that  they  never  had  been 
reduced  to  slavery.  Paul  speaks  of  the  liberty  of  the 
gospel,  in  opposition  to  the  servitude  of  the  law : 
"  We  are  not  the  children  of  the  bond-woman,  but 
of  the  free,"  (Gal.  iv.  31.)  i.  e.  we  are  not  derived  from 
Hagar,  who  with  her  descendants  ai-e  slaves,  but  we 
are  sons  of  Sarah  the  free-woman:  we  enjoy  the 
liberty  of  God's  children,  by  virtue  of  the  adoption 
procured  for  us  by  Jesus  Christ ;  which  liberty  de- 
livers us  from  the  yoke  of  legal  ceremonies,  from 
the  obligation  of  observing  purifications  and  distinc- 
tions of  meats,  and  many  other  practices,  to  which 
the  Jews  were  subjected,  Rom.  viii.  21;  1  Cor.  x.  29; 
2  Cor.  iii.  17 ;  Gal.  ii.  4,  5 ;  James  i.  2.') ;  ii.  12. 

"  Liberty  to  righteousness,"  in  opposition  to  "  the 
bondage  of  sin,"  is  part  of  the  justification  which 
Cluist  has  procured  for  us;  which  we  acquire  by 
faith  in  him,  and  preserve  by  a  holy  life,  and  the  prac- 
tice of  Christian  virtues  ;  or  it  is  one  effect  of  justifi- 
cation by  Christ.  (Comp.  Rom.  vi.  20.  Gr.  and  Eng. 
margin.) 

Liberty  and  Free-will,  in  opposition  to  con- 
straint and  necessity.  Man  is  at  liberty  to  do  good 
or  evil ;  (Ecclus.  xv.  14,  &.c.)  there  is,  however,  a  great 
difl^erence  between  our  liberty  of  doing  good  and  of 
doing  evil.  We  have  in  ourselves  the  unhappy  lib- 
erty of  doing  evil ;  we  are  prompted  to  it  by  our  con- 
cupiscence, which  indeed  we  ought  always  to  resist, 
yet  shall  not  really  and  effectually  resist,  without  the 
assistance  of  God's  grace  ;  whereas,to  do  good,  though 
we  have  the  liberty  of  doing  it,  we  cannot  as  we 
should  without  the  help  of  grace,  which,  without  vi- 
olating our  libertv,  incites  us  agreeably,  gently,  (nev- 


ertheless, efficaciously,)  to  prefer  what  is  pleasing  to 
God  before  wliat  is  desired  by  self-love  and  concu- 
piscence. 

3Ianasseh  Ben  Israel,  a  famous  rabbi,  says  we 
stand  in  need  of  the  concurrence  of  Providence  in 
all  virtuous  actions  ;  and  as  a  man,  who  is  going  to 
take  a  heavy  burden  on  his  shoulders,  calls  some- 
body to  help  him  up  with  it,  so  the  just  man  first  en- 
deavors to  fulfil  the  law,  while  God,  like  the  arm  of 
another  person,  comes  to  his  assistance,  that  he  may 
be  able  to  execute  his  resolution.  This  seems  to  be 
exactly  the  idea  of  the  apostle  in  Rom.  viii.  26.  which 
he  expresses  by  using  the  word  cfituyru.uii^utuiiut, 
which  Doddridge  renders  "lendeth  us  his  helping 
hand  ;"  and  which  Macknight  says  properly  signi- 
fies "  I  bear  together  with  another,"  by  taking  hold 
of  the  thing  borne  on  the  opposite  side,  as  persons 
do  who  assist  one  another  in  carrying  heavy  loads. 
Ambrose,  very  properly,  refers  this  to  the  weak- 
ness of  our  prayers  (and  of  our  minds  too)  without 
such  aid. 

But  we  ought  to  acknowledge  that  very  important 
part  of  "  preventing  grace,"  which  so  arranges 
circumstances  as  to  chminish,  or  to  disappoint,  op- 
portunities of  doing  evil.  There  is  scarcely  any 
thing  in  life  that  more  strongly  and  more  intelligil)ly 
calls  for  gratitude,  than  those  preservations  from  evil, 
those  preventions  of  bad  consequences,  those  coun- 
teractions of  perverse  bias,  of  which  every  one  must 
be  conscious,  and  none  more  conscious  than  the  most 
virtuous.  (Comp.  Da\id,  1  Sam.  xxv.  32,  sq.) 

L  LIBNAH,  a  city  in  the  south  of  Judah,  (Josh. 
XV.  42.)  given  to  the  priests,  and  declared  a  city  of 
refuge,  1  Chron.  vi.  54,  57.  Eusebius  and  Jerome 
say,  it  was  in  the  district  of  Eleutheropolis. 

II.  LIBNAH,  a  station  of  the  Israelites  in  the  des- 
ert. Num.  xxxiii.  20.     See  Exodcs,  p.  420. 

LIBNATH,  or,  fully,  SHIHOR-LIBNATH,  a 
stream  near  Carmel,  on  the  borders  of  Asber ;  ac- 
cording to  jMichaelis,  Jliwius  vitri,  the  glass  river, 
i.  e.  the  Belus,  from  whose  sands  glass  was  first  made, 
Josh.  xix.  26.     R. 

LIBYA,  a  province  of  Egypt,  which  is  thought  to 
have  been  peopled  by  the  descendants  of  Lehabim, 
son  of  Mizraim,  Gen.  x.  13.  It  reached  from  Alex- 
andria to  Cyrene,  and  perhaps  farther.  In  Nah.  iii. 
9,  Lubim  is  rendered  Libya,  because  of  its  connec- 
tion with  Phut,  which  implies  Africa;  and  probably, 
that  part  of  Africa  near  and  around  Carthage,  rather 
than  Nubia.  Josephus  says,  "Phut  was  the  con- 
ductor of  Libya,  whose  se'ttlements  were  froni  him 
called  Phuta^i."  It  is  beyond  the  river  in  the  region  of 
Mauritania.  By  this  name  it  is  well  known  in  the 
Grecian  histories  ;  adjacent  to  the  region  wliich  they 
call  Phut."  We  read  of  the  Lubim  in  2  Chron.  xii. 
3 ;  xvi.  8  ;  Nah.  iii.  9 ;  Dan.  xi.  43.  Sometimes  all  Af- 
rica is  called  Libya;  but  we  believe  it  does  not  oc- 
cur ill  this  sense  in  Scripture. 

LICE,  see  Gnat. 

LIFE,  Future,  Eternal  Life,  or  simply  Life, 
signifies  th<;^tate  of  the  righteous  after  death,  Matt, 
vii.  14;  xixrT6,  17.  Jesus  Christ  is  sometimes  called 
the  Life,  John  xiv.  6 ;  xi.  25.  So,  "  In  him  was  life  ; 
and  the  fife  was  the  light  of  men,"  John  i.  4.  (See  also 
1  John  V.  12.)  He  is  the  life  of  the  soul ;  he  enlight- 
ens it,  fills  it  with  graces,  and  leads  it  to  eternal  life. 
He  is  himself  the  life  of  it,  its  sustenance,  light  and 
liappiness. 

In  the  Old  Testament,  God  promises  to  those  ^yho 
observe  his  laws,  long  life  and  temporal  prosperity ; 
which  were  the  figure  and  shadow  of  eternal  hfe, 


LIF 


[  630  ] 


LIL 


and  of  those  future  blessings  expressed  more  clearly 
in  the  New  Testament.  The  carnal  Jews  confined 
their  hopes  to  these  transitory  blessings ;  but  the 
holy  patriarchs,  the  prophets,  and  more  enlightened 
Hebrews,  carried  their  views  and  expectations  fur- 
ther. Moses  says,  (Deut.  XXX.  15,  19,20.)  "See,  I 
have  set  before  thee  this  day  life  and  good,  and  death 
and  evil." 

Wisdom,  or  a  knowledge  of  truths  relating  to  sal- 
vation, is  called  "  the  wav  of  life,"  "the  truth  of  life," 
"  the  fountain  of  life  ;"  or  "  life,"  simply.  As  life  is 
the  first  of  blessings  belonging  to  the  body,  so  wisdom 
is  the  supreme  happiness  of  the  soul ;  it  promotes 
our  well-being  in  this  world,  and  is  the  source  of  fe- 
licity to  eternity.  The  principal  wisdom,  the  most 
serious  study,  of  the  Hebrews  consisted  in  the 
knowledge  of  their  law  ;  and  hence  the  Holy  Spirit 
terms  the  law,  as  well  as  wisdom,  life,  and  the  source 
of  life ;  and  perhaps  also  because  they  both  })roduce 
the  same  effects  for  time  and  for  eternity. 

Life  is  sometimes  used  for  subsistence ;  thus  it  is 
said  in  Mark  xii.  44,  that  a  poor  widow,  who  put  two 
very  small  pieces  of  silver  into  the  treasury  of  the 
temple,  gave  moi-e  than  any  of  the  rest,  because  it 
was  all  she  had,  even  all  her  living,  or  life. 

We  find  an  expression  in  Deut.  xxviii.  66,  and  in 
Job  xxiv.  22,  which  requires  explanation  :  "Thy  life 
shall  hang  in  doul)t  before  thee,  and  thou  shalt  fear 
day  and  night,  and  shalt  have  none  assurance  of  thy 
life."  Some  of  the  fathers  understood  this  of  Christ, 
crucified  in  the  sight  of  the  unbelieving  Jews,  who 
rejected  the  belief  of  that  Saviour  who  was  their  life 
and  salvation  ;  but  the  meaning  is  more  likely  to  be, 
"  Ye  shall  be  under  perpetual  fear  and  uneasiness,  and 
shall  have  no  assurance  of  your  own  lives."  The 
words  of  Job  must  be  interjireted  in  the  same  sense  : 
"  He  riseth  up,  and  no  man  is  sure  of  life."  When 
the  wicked  man  appears  most  resolute,  he  shall  not 
be  assured  of  his  life  ;  or,  according  to  the  Hebrew, 
when  he  riseth  in  the  midst  of  his  guards,  he  shall 
not  be  sure  of  his  life. 

LIFE  ;  To  LIVE.  These  words,  as  well  as  dealh, 
and  tod{e,are  equivocal,  and  are  understood  properly 
for  the  life  of  the  body  ;  figuratively,  for  the  life  of 
the  soul ;  for  the  life  of  faith,  grace  and  holiness ;  for 
temporal  life  and  life  eternal.  "  A  living  soul  "  sig- 
nifies a  living  animal,  a  living  person  :  "  my  soul  shall 
live  because  of  thee  ;"  (Geu.  xii.  13.)  my  life  will  be 
preserved  in  consideration  of  thee.  "No  man  shall 
see  me  and  live  ;"  (Exod.  xxxiii.  20.)  that  is,  no  man 
can  he  able  to  sustain  the  splendor  of  my  majesty,  if 
beheld  by  liis  bodily  eye.  Jehovah  was  called  the 
living  God,  in  oi)position  to  the  gods  of  the  Gentiles, 
who  were  l)Ut  dead  men,  stars  or  animals,  whose 
lives  are  transitorv ;  whereas  Jehovah  is  living,  im- 
mortal, and  the  Author  of  life  to  every  thing  ;  in  him 
^ve  live  ;  from  him  we  derive  motion  and  existence. 
Acts  xvii.  28. 

The  "just  man  lives  by  faith,"  Rom.  i.  17.  Faith 
gives  life  to  the  soul,  but  it  must  be  animated  by 
chai-ity,  and  accompanied  with  works,  Gal.  v.  6 ; 
James  ii.  20.  Even  they  who  are  dead  in  sin  rise 
again,  and  lead  a  new  life,  when  they  believe  in  Christ, 
and  put  on  Christ;  and  they  who  have  a  lively  and 
entire  faith  never  die,  or  rather  after  death  enjoy 
eternal  life,  John  xi.  25,  20.  The  letter  kills,  but  the 
Spirit  makes  alive,  2  Cor.  iii.  6.  The  law  cannot 
rnake  alive;  (Gal.  iii.  21.)  it  cannot  connnunicate 
righteousness,  without  gospel  faith  and  charity. 

In  a  figurative  sense,  "  to  give  life  "  is  used  for  de- 
livering from  great  danger.     The  captives  in  Baby- 


lon often  ask  of  God,  in  the  Psalms,  to  restore  theni 
to  life,  to  deliver  them  from  a  state  of  death,  of  op- 
pression, of  trouble,  under  which  they  groaned. 
(Comp.  Psalm  cxix.  25,  107.) 

LIFE,  Book  of,  see  Book,  p.  201. 

LIFTING  UP  THE  HANDS  is,  among  the  ori- 
entals, a  common  part  of  the  ceremony  of  taking  an 
oath :  "  I  have  lift  up  mine  hand  unto  the  Lord," 
says  Abraham,  Gen.  xiv.  22.  And,  "I  will  bring 
you  into  the  land  concerning  which  I  lift  up  my 
liand,"  (Exod.  vi.  8.)  which  I  promised  with  an 
oath. 

To  LIFT  UP  one's  hand  against  any  one,  is  to  at- 
tack him,  to  fight  him,  2  Sam.  xviii.  28;  1  Kings 
xi.  26. 

To  LIFT  UP  one's  face  ill  the  presence  of  any  one, 
is  to  appear  boldly  in  his  presence,  2  Sam.  ii.  22 ; 
Ezra  ix.  6.     (See  also  Job  x.  15  ;  xi.  15.) 

To  lift  up  one's  hands,  eyes,  soul  or  heart, 
unto  the  Lord,  are  expressions  describing  the  senti- 
ments and  emotion  of  one  who  prajs  earnestly,  or 
desires  a  thing  with  ardor. 

LIGHT,  a  subtile  fluid,  which  creates  in  ns  a  sen- 
sation of  colors,  and  enables  us  to  discern  sui-round- 
ing  objects. 

"  Light "  is  often  put  figuratively  for  prosperity,  as 
night  is  for  adversity:  "The  light  shall  shine  upon 
thy  ways  ;"  i.  e.  God  shall  favor  thy  conduct.  Thou 
hast  "lifted  up  on  us  the  light  of  thy  countenance  ;" 
i.  e.  thou  hast  granted  us  thy  favor. 

"The  fight  of  the  living"  hterally  signifies  a  happy 
life,  great  prosperity ;  but  in  a  moral  and  spiritual 
sense,  it  signifies  the  felicity  of  eternal  life ;  as  the 
misery  of  the  wicked  is  described  by  the  darkness  of 
death,  Ps.  hi.  13 ;  cxxix.  12  ;  cxlviii.  3,  and  Job 
xxxiii.  30.  God  is  styled  "  the  Father  of  lights  ;" 
(James  i.  17.)  the  Author  of  all  graces ;  and  Jesus 
Christ  is  called  "the  Light  of  the  world;"  "a  Light 
to  enlighten  the  Gentiles,"  "  Light  of  righteousness  ;" 
"  the  Light  of  life,"  John  viii.  12  ;  i.  8.  (Comp.  Isa. 
Ix.  1.)  The  apostles  are  the  light  of  the  world,  (Matt. 
V.  14.)  by  showing  forth  the  doctrines  and  gi-aces  of 
their  divine  Master. 

LIGN-ALOES,  see  Aloes  I. 

LILY,  ft:'ic,  susan,  or  shushan,  so  called,  perhajis,  ; 
by  reason  of  the  number  of  its  leaves,  which  are  six,  v 
in  Hcb.  ses,  or  shesh.  There  are  lilies  of  different 
colors,  white,  red,  yellow  and  orange-colored.  They 
were  common  in  Judea,  and  grew  in  the  open  fields. 
"  Consider  the  lilies  of  the  field,"  says  Christ,  (Matt, 
vi.  28.)  "  how  they  grow,  they  toil  not,  neither  do 
they  spin  ;  yet  I  say  unto  you  that  Solomon  in  all  his 
glory  was  not  arrayed  like  one  of  these.  Wherefore, 
if  God  so  clothe  the  grass  of  the  field,  which  to-day 
is,  and  to-morrow  is  cast  into  the  oven,  shall  he  not 
much  more  clothe  you,  O  ye  of  litdc  faith  ?"  Luke  xii. 
27.  Father  Souciet  aflirms,  that  Ihe  lily  mentioned 
in  Scripture,  is  the  croivn  imperial ;  that  is,  the  Per- 
sian lily,  the  tusai  of  the  Persians,  the  royal  lily,  or 
lilinm  basileium,  of  the  Greeks.  In  reality  it  ap[)cars 
from  the  Canticles,  that  the  lily  spoken  of  by  Solo- 
mon was  red,  and  distilled  a  certain  liquor.  Cant.  v. 
13.  The  very  learned  Celsus,  however,  supposes  it 
to  be  the  white  lily,  which  the  Arabs  call  susaiui.  It 
has  a  great  resemblance  to  this  pancratium,  which  in 
whiteness  surpasses  lilies,  and  the  most  perfect  white 
produceable  by  the  art  of  dyeing.  White  dresses 
were  formerly  reserved  for  the  masters  of  the  sacri- 
fices. May  we  hence  conclude,  says  Forskal,  that 
this,  as  well  as  the  purple,  was  an  appendage  to  roy- 
alty ?    There  are  crown  innerials  with  yellow  flow- 


LIO 


[  631 


LOC 


ers  ;  but  those  with  red  are  the  most  common.  They 
ure  always  bent  dowuwai'ds,  and  disposed  in  the 
maxincr  of  a  crown  at  the  extremity  of  the  stem, 
which  has  a  tuft  of  leaves  at  the  top.  At  the  bottom 
of  each  leaf  of  this  flower  is  a  certain  watery  humor, 
forming,  as  it  were,  a  very  white  pearl,  which  grad- 
ually distils  very  clear  and  pure  drops  of  water.  This 
vvattT  is  probably  what  the  spouse  in  the  Canticles 
called  myrrh.  Judith  speaks  of  an  ornament  belong- 
ing to  the  women,  which  was  called  lily,  Jud.  x.  3. 
What  these  lihes  were,  we  cannot  tell.  In  the  judg- 
ment of  Grotius,  they  might  be  something  which 
hung  about  the  neck.  Perhaps  lilia  may  be  a  fault 
of  the  copyist,  who,  instead  of  monilia,  bracelets, 
which  he  did  not  understand,  inserted  lilia.  The 
Greek  says  pselia,  and  the  Syriac  the  same,  i.  e. 
chains,  necklaces  or  bracelets. 

LINE.  To  stretch  a  line  over  a  city,  is  to  destroy 
it,  Zech.  i.  16;  Jer.  ii.  8. 

LINEN,  -\2,  bad,  the  produce  of  a  well-known 
plant,  flax,  whose  bark,  being  j)rcpared,  serves  to 
make  fine  and  much  esteemed  linen  clothes.  Another 
sort  of  linen  Scripture  calls  lt,  shesh;  (Gen.  xli.  42.) 
[and  at  a  later  period  pz,  huts,  Greek  i^iano^,  bt/ssus, 
1  Chron.  xv.  27  ;  Esth.  i.  (3,  et  al.  This,  however,  is 
strictly  the  fine  Egyptian  cotton,  and  the  white  cloth 
made  from  it.  This  cloth,  so  celebrated  in  ancient 
times,  is  still  found  wrapped  around  mummies;  and 
appears  to  have  been  about  of  the  texture  and  quality 
of  the  ordinary  cotton  sheeting  of  the  present  day. 
Both  these  Hebrew  words  signify  originally  white.   R. 

LINUS,  a  Christian  mentioned  by  Paul,  (2  Tim. 
iv.  21.)  and  whom  Irenseus,  Eusebius,  Optatus, 
Epiphanius,  Augustin,  Jerome  and  Theodoret  aflirni 
to  have  succeeded  Peter  as  bishop  of  Rome. 

It  was  not  possible  that  Calmet  could  have  access 
to  the  Welsh  Triads,  which  only  within  these  few 
years  have  appeared  in  English.  Mr.  Taylor  thinks 
there  is  little  hazard  in  taking  Linus  for  the  British 
Ci/Lli.n,  brother  of  Claudia.  [The  only  gi-ound  for 
this  conjecture  seems  to  be  that  each  of  these  names 
contains  the  three  letters  lin.  R.]  If  so,  it  agrees  with 
the  history  that  Christianity  had  made  converts  in 
the  family  of  Brennus,  king  of  Britain,  and  Caracta- 
cus,  his  son,  then  prisoners  at  Rome ;  and  the  first 
(Gentile)  bishop  of  Rome  was  a  Briton.  See  Chris- 
tianity. 

LION,  a  well  known  and  noble  beast,  frequently 
spoken  of  in  Scripture.  It  was  common  in  Palestine, 
and  the  Hebrews  have  seven  words  to  signify  the 
lion  in  different  ages,  (1.)  mj,  gur,  or  gor,  a  young 
lion,  a  whelp.  (2.)  i>03,  kephir,  a  young  lion.  (3.)  nx, 
nnx,  ari,  or  an/e/i,  a  young  and  vigorous  lion.  (4.)  '?n;;', 
shahal,  a  lion  in  the  full  strength  of  his  age.  (5.)  ynz; 
shahala,  a  vigorous  lion.  (6.)  nuS,  lebia,  an  old  lion. 
(7.)  ;y%  laish,  a  decrepit  lion,  worn  out  with  age.  But 
these  distinctions  are  not  always  used  in  speaking  of 
the  lion. 

"  The  lion  of  the  tribe  of  Judah  "  (Rev.  v.  5.)  is 
Jesus  Christ,  who  sprung  from  the  tribe  of  Judah, 
and  the  race  of  David,  and  overcame  death,  the 
vvorld  and  the  devil.  It  is  supposed  by  some,  that  a 
lion  was  the  device  of  the  tribe  of  Judah:  whence 
this  allusion.     (Comp.  Gen.  xlix.  9.) 

The  lion  "  from  the  swelling  of  Jordan,"  (Jer.  i.44.) 
is,  figuratively,  Nebuchadnezzar  marching  like  a  lion 
against  Judea.  He  is  compared  to  a  lion  bj-^  reason 
of  his  strength  and  fierceness :  to  a  lion  driven  by  the 
rising  waters  from  the  neighborhood  of  Jordan, 
where  he  had  lain  amidst  the  thickets  which  cover 
the  banks  of  that  river.  (See  Jordan.)     A  lion  which 


in  his  anger  falls  with  fury  on  every  thing  he  meets 
in  the  fields. 

Samson,  on  his  way  to  Timnalh,  having  torn  a 
young  lion  to  pieces  with  his  hands,  (Judg.  xiv.) 
found,  as  he  afterwards  passed  by  that  way,  that  beeg 
had  made  their  honey  in  the  skeleton,  which  was 
then  dried  up.  This  furnished  him  with  a  riddle 
which  he  proposed  to  the  young  men  his  compan- 
ions at  his  wedding:  "the  devourer  furnished  meat, 
and  the  strong  yielded  sweetness."     See  Samson. 

David  boasts,  that  he  had  killed  a  lion  and  a  bear, 
(1  Sam.  xvii.  34,  35.)  and  Ecclesiasticus  says,  (xlvii. 
3.)  that  he  played  with  bears  and  lions,  as  he  would 
do  with  lambs. 

Isaiah,  (xi.  6.)  describing  the  happy  time  of  the 
INIessiah,  says,  "  The  calf,  the  young  lion  and  the  fat- 
ling  shall  lie  down  together,  and  a  little  child  shall 
lead  them  ;"  and  that  "  the  lion  should  eat  straw  like 
the  ox ;"  signifying  the  peace  and  happiness  of  the 
church  of  Christ. 

The  roaring  of  the  lion  is  terrible,  (Amosiii.  8.)  and 
therefore  it  is  said,  "  The  king's  wrath  is  as  the  roar- 
ing of  a  lion;  whoso  provoketh  him  to  anger  sinneth 
against  his  own  soul ;"  (Prov.  xix.  12  ;  xx.  2.)  i.  e.  he 
seeketh  his  own  death. 

LIP,  in  Hebrew,  is  sometimes  used  for  the  bank 
of  a  river,  for  the  border  of  a  vessel  or  table.  Josh, 
iii.  8 ;  2  Chron.  iv.  2.  It  also  signifies  language, 
Gen.  xi.  1  ;  Exod.  vi.  12,  &c.  "  We  will  render  thee 
the  calves  of  our  lips,"  says  Hosea  ;  (xiv.  2.)  that  is, 
sacrifices  of  praise,  instead  of  bloodj'  victims.  "  I  do 
not  send  thee,"  says  the  Lord  to  Ezekiel,  (iii.  5.)  "  to 
a  people  deep  of  lip,"  of  an  unknown  language. 

LIZARD.  Several  species  of  lizards  are  well 
known.  There  are  some  in  Arabia,  a  cubit  in  length  ; 
but  in  the  Indies  there  are  some  much  longer.  They 
are  still  sometimes  eaten,  as  they  probably  were  in 
Arabia  and  Judea,  since  Moses  forbids  them  as  food. 

W^e  find  several  sorts  of  lizards  mentioned  in 
Scripture;  tm<..'^,  letah ;  ur:n,  hornet ;  Px:C2r\,tinshemeth ; 
(Lev.  xi.  30.)  and  r---;',  shemamiih.  The  third  is  trans- 
lated mole  ;  but  Bochart  maintains  that  it  is  the 
chamelion  (which  is  a  kind  of  lizard.) 

LOAVES,  see  Bread. 

LOCUST,  a  voracious  insect,  belonging  to  the 
grasshopper  or  grylli  genus,  and  a  great  scourge  in 
oriental  countries. 

Moses  declares  all  creatures  that  fly  and  walk  ou 
four  feet  to  be  impure,  but  he  excepts  those  which, 
having  their  hind  feet  longer  than  the  others,  skip, 
and  do  not  crawl  upon  the  earth.  Afterwards  (Lev. 
xi.  22.)  he  describes  four  sorts  of  locusts,  or,  it  may  be, 
the  same  sort  in  different  states: — nai.v,  arbeh  ;  zzyhpy 
salam,  h}nr\,  hargol,  and  2.in,  hagab ;  which  Jerome 
translates  britchit.'t,  atiacus,  ophiomacus,  and  locusta. 

On  many  occasions  the  locust  has  been  employed 
by  the  Almighty  for  chastising  his  guilty  creatures.  A 
swarm  of  locusts  were  among  the  jilagucs  of  Egy])t, 
when  they  covered  the  whole  land,  so  that  the  earth 
was  darkened  ;  and  they  devoured  ever}'  green  herb 
of  the  earth,  and  the  fruit  of  every  tree  which  the  hail 
had  left,  Exod.  x.  15.  But  the  most  particular  de- 
scription of  this  insect,  and  of  its  destructive  career, 
mentioned  in  the  sacred  A\Titings,  is  to  be  found  in 
Joel  ii.  3 — 10.  This  is,  perhaps,  one  of  the  most 
striking  and  animated  descriptions  to  be  met  with  in 
the  whole  compass  of  prophecy.  The  contexture  of 
the  passage  is  extremely  curious  ;  and  the  double  de- 
struction to  be  produced  by  locusts,  and  the  enemies 
of  which  they  were  the  harbingers,  is  painted  with 
the   most  expressive  force,  and  described  with  the 


LOCUST 


[  632  ] 


LOCUST 


most  terrible  accuracy.  We  may  fancy  the  destroy- 
ing army  to  be  moving  before  us  while  we  read,  and 
imagine  that  we  see  the  desolation  spreading.  The 
following  extracts  may  furnish  a  commentary  upon 
this  and  other  passages  in  the  Holy  Scriptures : — 

"  I  never  observed  the  mantes  (a  kind  of  locusts) 
to  be  gregarious ;  but  the  locusts,  properly  so  called, 
which  are  so  frequently  mentioned  by  sacred  as  well 
as  profane  authors,  are  sometimes  so  beyond  expres- 
sion. TfvOse  which  I  saw,  anno  1724  and  1725, 
were  much  bigger  than  our  common  grasshoppers, 
and  had  brown  spotted  wings,  with  legs  and  bodies 
of  a  bright  yellow.  Their  first  appearance  was  to- 
wards the  latter  end  of  March,  the  wind  having  been 
some  time  from  the  south.  In  the  middle  of  April 
their  numbers  were  so  vastly  increased,  tliat  in  the 
heat  of  the  day  they  formed  themselves  into  large  and 
numerous  swarms,  flew  in  the  air  like  a  succession 
of  clouds,  and  as  the  prophet  Joel  expi-esses  it,  they 
darkened  the  sim.  When  the  wind  blew  briskly,  so 
that  these  swarms  were  crowded  by  others,  or  thrown 
one  upon  another,  we  had  a  lively  idea  of  that  com- 
parison of  the  psalmist,  (Ps.  cix.  23.)  of  being  tossed 
lip  and  down  as  the  locust.  In  the  month  of  May, 
when  the  ovaries  of  these  insects  were  ripe  and  tur- 
gid, each  of  these  swarms  began  gi-adually  to  disap- 
pear, and  retired  into  the  Metijiah,  and  other  adjacent 
plains,  where  they  deposited  their  eggs.  These  were 
no  sooner  hatched  in  June,  than  each  of  the  broods 
collected  itself  into  a  compact  body  of  a  furloi;g  or 
more  in  square,  and  marching  afterwards  directly 
forward  towards  the  sea,  they  let  nothing  escape 
them  ;  eating  up  every  thing  that  was  green  and  juicy, 
not  only  the  lesser  kinds  of  vegetables,  but  the  vine 
likewise,  thejig-tree,  the  pomegranate,  the  palm,  and  the 
apple-tree,  even  all  the  trees  of  the  field,  (Joel  i.  12.)  in 
doing  which,  they  kept  their  ranks  like  men  of  war, 
climbing  over,  as  they  advanced,  every  tree  or  wall 
that  was  in  their  way  ;  nay,  they  entered  into  our  very 
houses  and  bed-chambers  like  thieves.  The  inhab- 
itants, to  stop  their  progi-ess,  made  a  variety  of  pits 
and  trenches  all  over  their  fields  and  gardens,  which 
they  filled  with  water ;  or  else  they  heajied  up  there- 
in heath,  stubble,  and  such  like  combustible  matter, 
which  were  severally  set  on  fire  upon  the  approach 
of  the  locusts.  But  this  was  all  to  no  purpose,  for 
the  trenches  were  quickly  filled  up,  and  the  fires 
extinguished  by  infinite  swarms  succeeding  one 
another,  whilst  the  front  was  regardless  of  danger, 
and  the  rear  pressed  on  so  close,  that  a  retreat  was 
altogether  impossible.  A  day  or  two  after,  one  of 
these  broods  was  in  motion,  others  were  already 
hatched  to  march  and  glean  after  them,  gnawing  oit' 
the  very  bark,  and  the  young  branches  of  such  trees, 
as  had  before  escaped  with  the  loss  only  of  their  fruit 
and  foliage.  So  justly  have  they  been  compared  by 
the  pro}jhet  to  a  great  army,  who  further  observes, 
that  the  land  is  as  the  garden  of  Eden  before  them,  and 
behind  them  a  desolate  wilderness."  (Shaw's  Travels, 
p.  187,  4to.) 

Colonel  Needham,  who  had  lived  some  time  in  Ten- 
eriffe,  informed  sir  Hans  Sloane,  that  in  1649  locusts 
destroyed  all  the  product  of  that  island.  They  saw 
them  come  from  off  the  coast  of  l$arbary,  the  wind 
being  a  Levant  from  thence.  They  flew  as  far  as 
they  could  ;  then  one  alighted  in  the  sea,  and  another 
upon  that,  so  that  one  after  another  they  made  a  heap 
as  large  as  the  greatest  ship  above  water,  and  were 
thought  to  be  almost  as  many  under.  Those  above 
water,  on  the  next  day,  after  the  sun's  refreshing 
them,  took  flight  again,  and  came  in  clouds  to  the 


island,  from  whence  they  had  perceived  them  in  the 
air,  and  had  gathered  all  the  soldiers  of  the  island 
and  of  Laguna  together,  being  7000  or  8000  men, 
who,  laying  aside  their  amis,  some  took  bags,  some 
spades,  and  having  notice  by  their  scouts  from  the 
hills  where  they  alighted,  they  went  forward,  made 
trenches,  and  brought  their  bags  full,  and  covered 
them  with  mould.  This,  however,  did  not  do,  for 
some  of  the  locusts  escaped,  or,  being  cast  on  the 
shore,  were  revived  by  the  sun,  and  flew  about  and 
destroyed  all  the  vineyards  and  trees.  They  ate  the 
leaves  and  even  the  bark  of  the  vines  where  they 
alighted.  But  all  would  not  do  ;  the  locusts  remained 
there  for  four  months  ;  cattle  ate  them  and  died,  and 
so  did  several  men  ;  and  others  struck  out  in  blotches. 
The  other  Canary  islands  were  so  troubled  also,  that 
they  were  forced  to  bury  their  provisions.  "I  can- 
jiot  better  represent  their  flight  to  you,"  says  Beau- 
jilau,  "than  by  comparing  it  to  the  flakes  of  snow  in 
cloudy  weather,  driven  about  by  the  wind  ;  and  whan 
they  alight  upon  the  ground  to  feed,  the  plains  are 
all  covered,  and  they  make  a  murmuring  noise  as 
they  eat,  and  in  less  than  two  hoiu's  they  devour  all 
close  to  the  ground  ;  then  rising,  they  suffer  them- 
selves to  be  carried  away  by  the  wind  ;  and  when 
they  fly,  though  the  sun  shines  ever  so  bright,  it  is  no 
lighter  than  when  most  clouded.  The  air  was  so 
full  of  them,  that  I  could  not  eat  in  my  chamber 
without  a  candle  ;  (Joel  ii.  2, 10.)  all  the  houses  being 
full  of  them,  even  the  stables,  barns,  chambers,  gar- 
rets, and  cellars,  ver.  9.  I  caused  cannon-powder 
and  sulphvu'  to  be  burnt  to  expel  them,  but  all  to  no 
purpose ;  for  when  the  door  was  opened  an  infinite 
luimber  came  in,  and  the  others  went  out,  fluttering 
about ;  and  it  was  a  troublesome  thing,  when  a  man 
went  abroad,  to  be  hit  on  the  face  by  those  creatures, 
sometimes  on  the  nose,  sometimes  the  eyes,  and 
sometimes  the  cheeks,  so  that  there  was  no  opening 
one's  mouth  but  some  would  get  in.  Yet  all  this  was 
nothing,  for  when  we  were  to  eat,  those  creatures 
gave  us  no  respite;  and  when  we  cut  a  bit  of  meat, 
we  cut  a  locust  with  it ;  and  when  a  man  opened  his 
mouth  to  j)ut  in  a  morsel,  he  was  sure  to  chew"  one 
of  them.  I  have  seen  them  at  night,  when  they  sit 
to  rest  them,  that  the  roads  were  fom*  inches  thick 
of  them,  one  upon  another  ;  so  that  the  horses  would 
not  trample  over  them,  but  as  they  were  put  on  with 
much  lashing,  pricking  up  their  ears,  snorting  and 
treading  fearfully.  The  wheels  of  our  carts  and  the 
feet  of  our  horses  bruising  those  creatures,  there 
came  from  them  such  a  stink,  as  not  only  offended 
the  nose,  but  the  brain.  I  was  not  able  to  endure 
that  stench,  but  was  forced  to  wash  my  nose  with 
vinegar,  and  hold  a  handkerchief  dipped  in  it  contin- 
ually at  my  nostrils.  The  swine  feast  upon  them  as  a 
dainty,  and  grow  fat ;  but  nobody  will  cat  of  them  so 
fattened,  only  because  they  abhor  that  sort  of  vermin 
that  does  them  so  much  harm."  (Gent.'s  Mag.  1748.) 
Mr.  Morier  says,  "On  the  11th  of  June,  while 
seated  in  our  tents  about  noon,  we  heard  a  very  un- 
usual noise,  that  sounded  like  the  rustling  of  a  great 
wind  at  a  distance.  On  looking  up  we  perceived  an 
immense  cloud,  here  and  there  semi-transparent,  in 
other  parts  quite  black,  that  spread  itself  all  over  the 
sky,  and  at  intervals  shadowed  the  sun.  These  we 
soon  found  to  be  locusts,  whole  swarms  of  them  fall- 
ing about  us  .  .  .  These  were  of  a  red  color,  and  I 
should  suppose  are  the  red  predatory  locusts,  one  of 
the  Egyptian  plagues  ;  they  are  also  the  'great  grass- 
hopper,' mentioned  by  the  prophet  Nahum  ;  no  doubt 
in  contradistinction  to  the  lesser,  chap.  iii.  17.     As 


LOCUST 


[  633  ] 


LOCUST 


soon  as  they  appeared,  tlie  gardeners  and  husband- 
men made  loud  shouts,  to  prevent  their  settling  on 
their  e'ounds.  It  is  to  this  custom  that  the  proj)het 
Jereniiali,  perhaps,  alludes,  when  he  says,  'Surely  I 
will  till  thee  with  men,  as  with  caterpillars,  and  they 
shall  lift  up  a  sliout  against  thee,'  chap.  li.  14.  They 
seemed  to  be  impelled  by  one  conmion  instinct,  and 
moved  in  one  body,  which  had  the  appearance  of 
being  organized  by  a  leader,  Joel  ii.  7.  Their 
strength  must  be  very  great,  if  we  consider  what  im- 
mense journeys  they  have  been  known  to  make." 
(Second  Journey,  p.  99.) 

[In  order  to  atibrd  the  fullest  information  respect- 
ing these  insects,  which  constitute  so  terrible  a 
scourge  in  oriental  countries,  the  following  extracts 
from  Niebuhr  and  Uurckhardt  are  here  subjoined. 
Each  of  these  travellers  relates  only  what  he  himself 
saw. 

Xiebuhr  thus  gives  the  sum  of  all  the  information 
which  he  had  collected  respecting  the  locusts : 
(Descr.  of  Arabia,  p.  168,  Germ,  ed.)  "Locusts  are 
very  frequent  in  the  East ;  but  still,  not  so  much  so, 
jjerhaps,  as  is  generally  supposed  in  Europe.  The 
first  great  flight  of  locusts  that  we  saw  was  at  Cairo, 
about  the  end  of  December,  17G1  ;  and  on  the  9th  of 
January,  1762,  there  was  another,  in  the  same  city, 
still  more  terrible,  which  came  with  the  south-west 
wind,  and  consequently  from  over  the  Libyan  desert. 
Of  these  last  great  numbers  fell  upon  the  roofs  of 
the  houses  and  in  the  streets,  perlia|)s  from  being 
fatigued  with  their  long  journey.  After  this  I  saw 
no  locusts  in  any  great  nun)ber  until  after  our  arrival 
in  Djidda.  An  immense  swarm  of  them  arrived  at 
this  place  in  the  night  between  the  10th  and  11th  of 
November,  1762,  brought  by  a  west  wind,  and  conse- 
quently from  across  the  Arabian  gulf,  which  is  here 
very  broad.  Very  many  of  them  had  Ibuiid  their 
gi-avcs  in  the  water.  On  the  17th  of  the  same  month, 
another  flight  of  them  arrived  at  Djidda,  but  not  so 
large  as  the  former.  In  May,  as  the  dates  began  to 
ripen  in  Tehama,  tliere  came  several  times  to  Mocha 
immense  swarms,  from  the  west  or  south  ;  conse- 
quently across  the  Red  sea.  They  commonly  the 
next  day  either  turned  back,  or  continued  their  jour- 
ney eastwards  to  the  mountainous  parts  of  the  coim- 
try.  The  sea  at  Mocha,  as  is  well  known,  is  not  very 
broad  ;  nevertheless,  the  shore  was  sometimes  thickly 
covered  with  the  dead  locusts.  In  the  beginning  of 
July,  1763,  we  saw  innumerable  multitudes  of  locusts 
in  the  mountain  Sumara,  and  on  the  way  from  thence 
to  Yerim.  On  the  17th  of  April,  1766, 1  fell  in  with, 
so  to  speak,  a  nest  of  locusts.  A  large  tract  of  lancl 
near  Tel  el  Hana,  on  the  Avay  between  ]\Iosul  and 
Nissebin,  was  entirely  covered  with  young  locusts,  not 
yet  much  larger  than  a  common  fly.  Their  wings 
were  as  yet  scarcely  to  be  seen  ;  and  of  the  hinder 
legs  they  seemed  to  have  <Dnly  the  upper  half.  These 
locusts  arc  saib  to  acfpiire  their  full  size  with  aston- 
ishing rapidity.  Had  there  been  in  this  country  a 
good  police,  it  would  have  been  easy  to  have  de- 
stroyed here  multitudes  of  these  insects,  in  their  birth, 
as  it  were  ;  and  thus  probai)ly  have  jireventcd  much 
damage.  A  heavy  rain  would  probably  also  have 
been  fatal  to  these  young  insects  ;  for,  wherever  I 
have  seen  locusts,  there  had  been  no  rain  for  some 
time  ;  and  whenever  rainy  weather  appeared,  they 
departed. 

"  Excej)t  in  the  countries  above  mentioned,  I  have 

seen  no  locusts,  at  least,  not  in  such  nmnbers  as  to 

think  it  worth  while  to  note  them.     The  locust  of 

these  swarms  is  the  same  that  the  Arabs  eat ;  and 

80 


also,  as  I  remember  to  have,  heard  from  Forskal,  the 
same  which  has  been  seen  in  Germany." 

IJurckhardt  ftrst  fell  in  with  locusts  iii  the  Ilaouran, 
not  far  from  Bozra :  (Travels  in  Svria,  &ic.  p.  238.) 
"  It  was  at  Nacme  that  I  saw,  for"  the  fiist  time,  a 
swarm  of  locusts :  they  so  completely  covered  the 
surface  of  the  ground,  that  my  horse  killed  numbers 
of  them  at  every  step  ;  whilst  I  had  the  greatest  dif- 
ficulty in  keeping  from  my  face  those  that  rose  up 
and  flew  about.  This  species  is  called,  in  Syria,  the 
Djcrad  JVecljilyut,  or  flying  locusts,  being  thus  distin- 
guished from  the  other  species,  called  Djcrad  Dsahhaf, 
or  devouring  locusts.  The  forjner  have  a  yellow  borly, 
a  gray  breast,  and  wings  of  i\  dirty  white,  with  gray 
spots.  The  latter,  I  was  told,  have  a  whitish  gray 
body,  and  white  wings.  The  Nedjdyat  are  much 
less  dreaded  than  the  others,  because  they  feed  only 
upon  the  leaves  of  trees  and  vegetables,  sparing  the 
wheat  and  barley.  The  Dsahhaf,  on  the  contrary, 
devour  whatever  vegetation  they  meet  with,  and  are 
the  terror  of  the  husbandmen  ;  the  Nedjdyat  attack 
only  the  produce  of  the  gardener,  or  the  wild  herbs 
of  the  desert.  I  was  told,  however,  that  the  offspring 
of  the  Nedjdyat,  produced  in  Syria,  partake  of  the 
voracity  of  the  Dsahhaf,  and  like  them  prey  upon  the 
crops  of  grain. 

"  The  natural  enemy  of  the  locust  is  the  bird  Seme- 
mar,  which  is  of  the  size  of  a  swallow,  and  devours 
vast  numbers  of  them.  It  is  even  said  that  the  lo- 
custs take  flight  at  the  cry  of  this  bird.  But  if  the 
whole  feathered  tribe  of  the  districts  visited  by  locusts 
were  to  unite  their  efforts,  it  would  avail  little,  so 
immense  arc  the  numbers  of  these  dreadful  insects." 

In  Southern  Africa,  the  plague  of  locusts  would 
seem  to  be  not  much  less  than  in  Asia.  The  follow- 
ing is  an  extract  frotii  a  newspaper  published  at 
Cape  Town,  July  30,  1831 :  "  About  a  month  ago  an 
innumerable  swarm  of  locufets  made  their  a])pearance 
on  the  place  of  Mr.  De  ^Vaal,  Field  Cornet,  Cold 
Bokkeveld :  the  swarm  covers  more  than  a  mile 
square,  when  they  settle  on  the  grass  or  among  the 
bushes.  An  attempt  was  made  to  destroy  them,  by 
setting  fire  to  the  buslies  in  the  morning,  before  they 
began  to  fly ;  but  although  millions  have  been  de- 
stroyed in  this  manner,  their  number  appears  noth- 
ing decreased.  Towards  the  afternoon,  if  the  weather 
is  warm,  thej'  arise,  and  appear  to  drive  with  the 
wind.  They  do  not  rise  liigh,  but  their  thickness  is 
sucli  as  to  darken  the  place  over  wiiich  they  fly  ; 
they  come  round  and  cover  the  house  and  offices, 
and  also  the  garden.  When  they  settle,  they  cat  the 
place  bare  in  a  few  minutes ;  there  is,  however,  grass 
sufiicient  to  satisfy  this  immense  multitude,  without 
any  loss  being  felt.  A  cloud  of  them  passed  within 
a  few  yards  of  my  window  yesterday  afternoon,  in  a 
train  of  many  millions  thick,  and  about  an  hour  in 
length  ;  they  were  so  near  that  I  could  catch  them 
without  going  out :  they  vv'crc  eagerly  attacked  by 
the  turkeys  and  other  poultrj',  which  appeared  to 
feed  deliciously  upon  tlicin.  They  have  not  as  yet 
done  any  harm  to  the  crops,  they  being  too  young, 
and  the  grass  more  enticing.  In  their  flight,  myri- 
ads remain  on  the  ground,  which  are  devoured  by 
the  crows,  black-birds,  &rc.  The  fear  is,  that  the 
eggs  or  spawn  wiiich  they  leave,  may  produce  equal, 
if  not  more,  at  some  future  period,  which  may  then 
be  destructive  to  the  cro])s,  after  the  grass  begins  to 
dry  and  waste.  In  cold,  rainy  weather  they  remain 
still ;  it  is  only  when  it  is  fine  and  warm  that  they 
move."     *R. 

Even  England  has  been  alarmed  by  the  appear- 


LOCUST 


[  634 


LOCUST 


ance  of  locusts,  a  considerable  number  having  visited 
that  country  in  1748 :  but  they  iiappily  perished 
without  propagating.  They  have  frequently  entered 
Italy  and  Spain,  from  Africa.  In  the  year  591,  an 
immense  army  of  them  ravaged  a  considerable  part 
of  the  forjner  country,  and  it  is  said  tiiat  nearly  a 
million  of  men  and  beasts  were  carried  off  by  a  pes- 
tilence occasioned  by  their  stench. 

Such  is  the  general  history  of  the  locust-swarms, 
and  their  devastations :  the  following  more  particular 
account  of  the  manners  of  this  insect  and  its  noxious 
qualities  is  translated  from  Rozier's  Journal  de  Phy- 
sique, Nov.  1786,  p.  321,  &c.  It  was  furnislied  by 
M.  Baron,  Conseillcr  en  la  Cour  des  Comptes,  &:c.  at 
Montpelier : — 

"These  insects  seek  each  otlior  the  tnonient  they 
are  able  to  use  their  wings  :  after  ti)eir  union,  tlie 
female  lays  her  eggs  in  a  liole  wliich  she  makes  in 
the  earth ;  and  for  this  purpose  she  seeks  hght 
sandy  earth,  avoiding  moist,  compact  and  cultivated 
grounds.  A  Spanisli  author  says,  '  Sliould  even  a 
million  of  locusts  fall  on  a  cultivated  field,  not  one  of 
them  may  be  expected  to  lay  her  eggs  in  it ;  but  if 
there  be  in  this  space  a  piece  of  earth  not  cultivated, 
though  it  be  very  small,  thither  they  will  all  resort 
for  that  purpose.'  The  sense  of  smelling  is  supposed 
to  direct  this  preference.  The  eggs  lie  all  the  win- 
ter, till  the  warmth  of  spring  calls  them  into  hfe. 
They  appear  at  first  in  the  form  of  worms,  not  larger 
than  a  flea,  at  first  whitish,  tlien  blackish,  at  length 
reddish.  They  undergo  several  other  changes:  ac- 
cording to  the  heat  of  the  season  and  situation,  is  the 
time  of  their  appearance.  '  I  have  seen,'  says  the 
Spanish  writer  already  referred  to,  '  at  Almiera  mill- 
ions creep  forth,  in  the  month  of  February,  because 
this  spot  is  remarkably  forward  in  its  productions. 
In  Sierra  Neva^da  they  quit  the  nest  in  April  ;  and  I 
have  observed  that  in  La  Mancha  they  were  not  all 
vivified  at  the  beginning  of  May.'  lleat  also  pro- 
motes their  numbers ;  for,  if  the  heat  be  sufficient, 
every  egg  is  hatched  ;  not  so  if  cold  weather  prevails. 
Dryness  favors  the  production  of  locusts;  for,  as  this 
insect  deposits  its  eggs  in  the  ground,  enclosed  in  a 
bag,  and  this  bag  is  smeared  with  a  frothy  white 
mucus,  if  the  season  be  wet,  this  mucus  becomes 
rotten,  the  gi'ound  moistens  the  eggs,  and  tlie  whole 
brood  perishes.  Eight  or  ten  days'  raiu,  at  the  proper 
season,  is  a  certain  deliverance  from  tlie  l)roods  com- 
mitted to  the  earth. 

"There  is  no  doubt  on  the  changes  to  which  the 
locust  is  subject.  The  same  animal  which  appears 
at  first  in  the  form  of  a  worm,  passes  afterwards  into 
the  state  of  a  nymph  ;  and  undergoes  a  third  meta- 
morphosis by  quitting  its  skin,  and  becoming  a  per- 
fect animal,  capable  of  continuing  its  species.  A  lo- 
cust remains  in  its  nymph  state  24  or  25  days,  more 
or  less,  according  to  the  season  :  when,  having  ac- 
quired its  fiill  growth,  it  refraitis  some  days  from 
eating;  and,  gradually  bursting  its  skin,  comes  forth 
a  new  animal,  full  of  life  and  vigor.  These  insects 
leap  to  a  height  two  hundred  times  the  length  of  their 
bodies,  by  means  of  those  powerful  legs  and  thighs, 
which  are  articulated  near  the  centre  of  the  body. 
When  raised  to  a  certain  height  in  the  air,  they 
spread  their  wings,  and  arc  so  closely  embodied  to- 
gether, as  to  form  but  one  mass,  intercejiting  the  rays 
of  the  sun,  almost  by  a  total  eclipse. 

"In  the  south  of  France,  besides  the  lal)ors  of  men 
to  discover  the  eggs  of  the  locust,  about  September 
and  October,  or  in  the  month  of  March,  they  turn 
troops  of  hogs  into  the  groimds  that  are  suspected  of 


concealing  their  nests,  and  these  animals,  by  lurniiig 
up  the  earth  with  their  snouts,  in  search  of  a  food 
which  they  are  fond  of,  clear  away  vast  quantities. 
In  Languedoc  they  dig  pits,  into  which  they  throw 
them : — great  care  is  necessary  in  destroying  them, 
that  they  are  not  hurtful  after  they  are  dead.  The 
infection  spread  by  their  corrupting  carcasses  is  in- 
sujjportable.  Surius  and  Cornelius  Gemma,  both 
mentioning  a  prodigious  incursion  of  locusts  in  1542, 
report,  that  after  their  death,  they  infected  the  air 
with  such  a  stench,  that  the  ravens,  crows,  and  other 
birds  of  prey,  though  hungrj^,  yet  would  not  come 
near  their  carcasses.  We  have  ourselves  experi- 
enced two  years  ago  the  truth  of  this  fact ;  the  pits 
where  they  had  been  buried,  after  twenty-four  hours, 
could  not  be  passed." 

Upon  this  information  Mr.  Taylor  submhs  the  fol- 
lowing remarks : 

1.  llcat  and  dryness  are  favorable  to  tlie  increase 
of  locusts.  We  think,  therefore,  that  when  God 
threatens  to  bring  a  plague  of  locusts  over  Israel,  as 
in  Joel,  (chap,  ii.)  it  may  imply  also  a  summer  of 
drought.  So  we  read,  chap.  i.  verse  20 :  "  The  rivers 
of  water  are  dried  up  ;  the  fire  hath  devoured  the 
pastures  of  the  wilderness :" — and  after  tiie  removal 
of  this  plague  :  (chap.  ii.  23.)  "  The  Lord  giveth  the 
former  rain  moderately  .  .  .  and  the  latter  rain  .  .  .  and 
will  (by  means,  no  doubt,  of  these  showers)  restore 
the  years  that  the  locust  hath  eaten."  Indeed,  on 
attentively  penising  that  chapter,  we  shall  find  these 
extracts  to  be  direct  comments  upon  it.  Compare  a 
few  verses:  "Blow  the  trumpet  .  . .  sound  an  alarm 
...  let  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  land  tremble  ;"  as  at 
Tenerifte,  when  the  whole  population  watched  the 
flying  invaders  with  the  most  painful  anxiety.  "A  day 
of  darkness  and  gloominess  .  .  of  clouds  .  .  of  thick 
darkness,  as  the  morning  spread  on  the  mountains." 
"  They  are  like  flakes  of  snow,"  says  one  writer, 
"  wiicn  they  fly :  though  the  sun  shines  ever  so 
bright,  it  is  no  lighter  than  when  most  clouded  :" — • 
"  they  darken  the  sun,  so  that  travellers  could  not  de- 
scry the  town."  "  A  great  (rather  a  numerous)  peo- 
ple, and  a  strong:" — their  numbers  are  noticed  by 
every  writer.  "The  land  is  as  the  garden  of  Eden 
before  them,  but  behind  them  a  desolate  wilderness  :" 
— "they  eat  up  all  sorts  of  grain  and  grass,  cabbage 
leaf,  lettuce,  blossoms  of  apple  and  crab-trees,  and 
especially  the  leaves  of  the  oaks,  grassy  rushes  and 
reeds," — "  yea,  and  nothing  shall  escape  them.  The 
appearance  of  them  is  as  the  appearance  of  horses. 
Like  the  noise  of  chariots  on  the  tops  of  mountains 
shall  they  leap :" — "  You  cannot  conceive  the  noise 
made  by  those  insects  in  their  flight."  "  Like  the 
noise  of  a  flame  of  fire  that  devoureth  stubble :" — 
"they  make  a  murmuring  noise  as  they  eat."  "Be- 
fore their  face  the  people  shall  be  much  pained  .  . 
They  shall  run  like  mighty  men  ;  they  sliall  climb 
the  wall  like  men  of  war  .  .  .  They  shall  run  to  and 
fro  in  the  city  ;  they  shall  run  upon  the  wall  ;  they 
shall  climb  upon  the  houses;  they  shall  enter  in  at 
the  windows,  like  a  thief."  See  what  is  observed 
from  Beauplaii,  of"  every  room  being  fiill ;  and  even 
every  dish  of  meat."  After  the  terrible  devastation 
committed  by  these  ravages,  the  Lord  calls  to  re- 
pentance ;  and  jiromises,  on  the  penitential  humilia- 
tion of  his  people,  to  remove  far  oft"  the  northern 
army  ;  and  drive  him  into  a  land,  barren  and  deso- 
late, with  his  face  toward  the  East  sea,  and  his  hinder 
part  toward  the  utmost  sea:  and  his  stink  shall  come 
up  and  his  ill  savor.  It  is  remarkable,  that  our  ex- 
tracts agree  in  recording  the  stink  and  ill  savor  of 


LOCUST 


[  (;35  ] 


LOCUST 


the  locust:  "They  leave  behind  tht'in  nn  intolerable 
stench."  "  They  leave  a  great  stench  behind  them  :" 
and  M.  Baron  gives  strict  orders  concerning  the  ef- 
fectual interment  of  these  masses  of  corruption  ;  ob- 
serving, "The  infection  lell  by  their  carcasses  is  in- 
supportable." 

The  prophet  Nahum  says  of  the  locusts,  that  they 
camj)  in  the  hedges  in  the  cold  day,  but  when  the 
Bun  ariseth  tliey  Hee  awaj'.  Every  observer  notices 
the  torpid  effect  of  cold,  and  the  invigorating  powers 
of  heat,  on  the  locust. 

2.  Anotiier  remarkable  j)nrticular  appears  to  have 
considerable  connection  with  some  things  said  on 
Kxod.  xvi.  13.  that  "  in  the  morning,  or  evening,  or 
in  misty  weather,  locusts  do  not  see  equally  well,  nor 
fly  so  high  ;  they  suffer  themselves  to  be  more  closely 
approached  ;  they  are  stiff' and  slow  in  their  motions  ; 
and  are  more  easily  destroyeil."  This  supjjorts  rath- 
er the  opinion  of  those  who  consider  the  word  stiav 
as  denoting  a  mist,  or  fog ;  and  think  it  possible  that 
the  word  stlavvn  (Num.  xi.  31.)  may  express  those 
clouds  of  locusts,  which  com])ose  these  flying  armies. 
The  opposition  of  two  winds  was  likely  to  produce 
a  calm,  and  a  calm  to  cause  a  fog ;  the  lower  flight 
of  the  locusts,  the  gathering  them  during  the  even- 
ing, all  night,  and  the  next  morning,  agree  with  these 
extracts ;  and  the  fatal  effects  (verses  3^3,  34.)  while 
the  llesh  was  yet  betweeu  the  teeth  of  the  people, 
seem  to  be  precisely  such  as  might  be  expected,  from 
the  stench  of  the  immense  masses  of  locusts,  spread 
all  abroad  round  about  the  camp.  Coulil  u  more 
certain  way  of  generating  a  pestilence  have  been 
adopted,  considering  the  stench  uniforn)ly  attributed 
to  them,  and  the  malignity  attending  such  infection 
as  their  dead  carcasses  so  exposed  nnist  occasion  ? 
[Several  interpreters  have  supposed  that  the  word 
rendered  quails  in  Ex.  xvi.  13.  means  a  species  of 
locust ;  but  this  opinion  is  now  generally  abandoned, 
although  supported  by  Ludoff"  and  Niebuhr.     R. 

As  locusts  are  connnonly  eaten  m  Palestine,  and 
in  the  neighboring  countries,  there  is  no  difficulty 
in  supposing,  that  the  word  akrides,  used  by  Matthew, 
(Ni.  4.)  speaking  of  the  food  on  which  John  subsisted, 
might  signify  these  insects.  The  ancients  affirm, 
that  in  Africa,  Syria,  Persia,  and  almost  throughout 
Asia,  the  people  did  commonly  eat  these  creatures. 
Some  nations  were  called  Acridophagi,  or  eaters  of 
locusts,  because  these  insects  formed  their  principal 
food.  Clcnard,  in  a  letter  from  Fez,  (A.  D.  1541,) 
assures  us,  that  he  saw  wagon-loads  of  locusts 
brought  into  that  city  for  food.  Kirstenius,  in  his 
notes  on  ]Mattliew,  says,  he  was  informed  by  his 
Aral)ic  master,  that  he  had  often  seen  them  on  the 
ri\'er  .lordau  ;  that  they  were  of  the  same  form  as 
ours,  but  larger ;  that  the  uihabitants  ])luck  off"  their 
wings  and  feet,  and  hang  up  the  rest  till  they  grow 
warm  and  ferment ;  and  that  then  they  cat  them,  and 
think  them  good  food.  A  monk,  who  had  travelled 
into  Egypt,  assures  us,  that  he  had  eaten  of  these  lo- 
custs, and  that  in  the  country  they  subsisted  on  them 
four  months  in  the  year.  More  recent  travellers  cor- 
roborate these  statements. 

[Niebuhr  remarks  that  "  it  is  no  more  inconcciva- 
lilc  to  Europeans,  that  the  Arabs  should  eat  locusts 
with  relish,  than  it  is  incredible  to  the  Araiis,  who 
have  had  no  intercourse  with  Christians,  that  the 
latter  should  regard  oysters,  lobsters,  &c.  as  delica- 
cies. Nevertheless,  one  is  just  as  certain  as  the  other. 
Locusts  are  brought  to  market  on  strings,  in  all  the 
ciliesof  Arabia,  from  Babehnandeb  to  Bassorah.   On 


mount  Sumara  1  saw  an  Arab  who  had  collected  a 
whole  sack-full  of  them.  They  are  prepared  in  dif- 
ferent ways.  An  Arab  in  Egypt,  of  whom  we  re- 
quested that  he  would  inmicdiately  eat  locusts  in  our 
presence,  threw  them  upon  the  glowing  coals ;  antt 
after  he  supjjosed  they  were  roasted  enough,  he  took 
them  by  the  legs  and  head,  and  devoured  the  re- 
mainder at  one  mouthful.  When  the  Arabs  have 
them  in  quantities,  they  roast  or  dry  them  in.  an  oven,, 
or  boil  them  and  eat  them  with  salt.  The  Arabs  ii* 
the  kingdom  of  Morocco  boil  the  locusts,  and  then 
dry  them  on  the  roofs  of  their  houses.  One  sees* 
there  large  baskets-ftill  of  them  in  the  markets.  I 
have  myself  never  tried  to  eat  locusts."  (Descr.  of 
Arabia,  ]).  17i,  Germ,  ed.) 

Burckharilt  also  relates  the  fact  in  a  similar  man- 
ner :  (Travels  in  Syria,  &c.  j).  Q39.)  "The  Be- 
douins eat  locusts,  wliicli  are  collected  in  great  quan- 
tities in  the  beginning  of  April,  -when  the  sexes 
cohabit,  and  they  are  easily  caught.  After  having 
been  roasted  a  little  upon  the  iron  plate  on  which 
bread  is  baked,  (see  Bread,  i*.  208.)  they  are  dried  in 
the  sun,  and  then  put  into  krge  sacks,  with  the  mix- 
ture of  a  little  salt.  They  are  never  served  up  as  a 
dish,  but  every  one  takes  a  handful  of  them  when 
hungry.  The  peasants  of  Syria  do  not  eat  locusts ; 
nor  have  I  myself  ever  had  an  opportunity  of  tasting 
them.  There  ai-e  a  few  poor  Fellahs  in  the  Haou- 
ran,  however,  who  sometimes,  pressed  by  hunger, 
make  a  meal  of  them  ;  but  they  break  oft'  the  head 
and  take  out  the  entrails  before  they  dry  them  hi 
the  sun.     The  Bedouins  swallow  them  entire." 

After  these  statements,  there  can  surely  be  no  dif- 
ficulty in  admitting  "locusts "to  have  been  the  food 
of  John  the  Baptist,  Matt.  iii.  4.      ■  R.  . 

There  is  a  remarkable  passage  in  Eccl.  xii.  5.  where 
Solomon,  describing  the  infelicities  of  old  age,  says, 
according  to  our  translation  :  "  The  grasshopper  shall 
be  a  burden  ;"  l>ut  it  is  generally  admitted,  that  the 
words  should  be  rendered  "  The  locust  shall  burden 
itself."  TJjte  Aord  (jjn, /(rtg-ai)  signifies  a  particular 
species  of  locnst :  in  Arabic,  the  word  implies  to  veil, 
or  hide,  and  it  probably  denotes  a  kind  of  hooded  lo- 
cust, or  tlie  lesser  yellowish  locust,  which  greatly  re- 
sembles our  grasshopper.  To  this  insect  the  preacher 
compares  "a  dry,  shrunk,  shrivelled,  crurni)ling,  crag- 
gy old  man,  his  back-bone  sticking  out,  his  knees 
projecting  forwards,  his  arms  backwards,  his  head 
downwards,  and  the  apophyses  or  bunching  parts  of 
the  bones  in  general  enlarged."  From  this  exact 
likeness,  says  Dr.  Smith,  without  all  doubt,  arose  tho 
fable  of  Tithomts,  who,  living  to  an  extreme  old  age, 
was  at  last  turned  into  a  grasshopper.  This^oe/icaZ 
use  of  the  locust,  as  figurative  of  an  old  man,  may 
be  justified  by  quoting  the  pictorial  figurative  applica- 
tion of  the  same  insect,  to  the  same  purpose.  In  tho 
collection  of  gems  in  the  Florentine  gallery,  (Plate 
OG.)  appear  several  instances,  as  it  seems,  of  this 
allegory. 

Tlie  one  here  copied,  appears  to  be  perfectly  coin- 
cident with  what  is  imderstood  to  be  the  true  import 
of  the  royal  preacher's  expressions.  It  represents 
an  old  man,  under  the  emaciated  figure  of  a  locust, 
which  has  loaded  his  shrunk  stature,  his  drooping 
wings,  and  his  spindle  shanks,  with  a  suppHcatory 
szicrifice  to  \'enus.  In  this  gem,  the  idea  of  an  old 
man  being  signified  by  the  locust,  is  conspicuous; 
for  he  stands  upright,  so  far  as  he  can  stand  upright, 
on  his  hinder  legs  ;  over  his  shoulder  he  carries  a 
kind  of  yoke,  with  a  loaded  basket  of  off'erings  at 


\^ 


LOCUST 


[  636 


LOCUST 


each  end,  (a  veiy  common  instrument  in  representa- 
tions of  sacrifice,) 
which  he  grasps 
carefully  with  his 
two  fore  legs  (the 
other  fore  legs  being 
omitted  for  the  sake 
of  similarity,)  and  he 
proceeds  creeping 
(not  flying)  on  tip- 
toe, staggei'ing  to- 
wards the  column 
which  is  consecrat- 
ed, as  appears  by 
evident  insignia,  to 
the  diviiiity  of  his 
adoration. 

Surely,  these   are 
sufficiently   remark- 
able coincidences  of  imagination  ;  as  will  appear,  on 
analyzing  the  words  of  the  passage  in  Ecclesiastes  : 

Shall  crouch  all  the  daughters  of  song : 

And  of  that  which  is  high  they  shall  fear ; 

And  alarms  [shall  be]  in  the  way  ; 

And  shall  drop  off'  the  almond, 

or be  dismissed  the  watcher, 

0?' be  relinquished  vigilance  ; 

And  shall  burden  itself  the  locust ; 

And  abolished  is  enjoyment. 

The  Latin  version  of  Pagninus  gives  the  same 
sense,  "  Et  reprohahitur  coitus,  el  onerahitur  dorsum,  et 
dissipabitur  concupisceniia." 

The  adoption  of  tiie  same  emblem  of  imbecility, 
by  persons  so  distant  and  different  as  the  royal 
preacher,  and  the  engraver  of  this  gem,  at  least  mer- 
its this  remark ;  but  it  seems  also  to  favor  the  idea, 
that  such  was  a  common  figurative  representation  ; 
and,  if  so,  it  may  justify  the  inference  that  the  other 
parts  of  Solomon's  description  of  old  age  were  per- 
fectly familiar  to  the  reader  in  his  day,  though  to  ex- 
plain them  thoroughly  now,  requires  no  little  share 
of  penetration.  If  this  representation  be  thought 
less  conmion,  it  may  be  esteemed  the  more  curious. 
But  the  reason  for  allegorizing  such  a  character  un- 
der tlie  figure  of  a  locust,  may  be  gathered  from  a 
note  of  M.  Baron :  "  Ces  insectes  sont  si  fortement 
joints  dans  I'accouplement,  (pie  les  prenaut  avec  la 
main,  ils  ne  se  separent  point.  lis  restent  ainsi  dans 
la  ineme  situation  i)lusieurs  heures,  les  jours  et  les 
nuits  entieres  ;  si  vous  tentez  de  les  st'parcr,  vous  seu- 
tez  qu'ils  font  resistance,  et  ce  ne  pent  etre  qu'avec 
effort  (jue  vous  en  venez  a  bout."  This  is  a  complete 
vindication  of  the  version  adopted  by  Pagninus  ;  and, 
being  drawn  from  nature,  shows  how  the  same  notion 
might  be  expressed  under  the  same  similitude,  as  well 
by  other  observers  as  by  the  sagacious  Solomon. 

No  apology  is  necessary  for  adding  the  following : 
"Barzillai  was  a  very  aged  man,  fourscore  j^ears  old. 
And  Barzillai  said  unto  the  king,  How  long"  have  I  to 
live  "?  Can  I  discern  between  good  and  evil  ?  Can 
thy  servant  taste  what  I  eat,  or  what  I  drink  ?  Can 
I  hear  any  more  the  voice  of  singing  men  and  sing- 
ing women  ?  Let  thy  servant  return,  to  die  in  my 
own  city,  and  to  be  buried  in  the  grave  of  my  father, 
and  of  my  mother,"  2  Sam.  xix.  35. 

-The  sixth  age  shifts 


Into  the  lean  and  slippered  pantaloon, 

V/ith  spectacles  en's  nose,  and  pouch  on's  side  ; 


His  youthful  hose,  well  saved,  a  world  too  wide 
For  his  shrunk  shank  ;  and  his  big  manly  voice, 
Turning  again  towards  childish  treble,  pipes 
And  whistles  in  his  sound  :  Last  scene  of  all. 
That  ends  this  strange  eventful  history, 
Is  second  childishness  and  mere  oblivion  ; 
Sans  teeth,  sans  eyes,  sans  taste,  sans  every  thing. 

Shakspearc. 

But  there  is  another,  and  perhaps  a  more  difficult, 
application  of  the  locust  as  an  emblem,  in  the  Book 
of  Revelation,  chap.  ix.  The  passage  has  generally 
been  thought  singular,  and  has,  indeed,  been  aban- 
doned by  most  critics  as  desperate  : — 

"And  there  came  out  of  the  smoke,  locusts  upon 
the  earth  ;  and  unto  them  was  given  power,  as  the 
scorpions  of  the  earth  have  power — and  tlieir  tor- 
ment was  as  the  torment  of  a  scoifjion  when  he 
striketh  a  man.  And  the  shapes  of  the  locusts  were 
like  unto  (1)  horses  prepared  unto  battle;  and  on 
their  heads  were  as  it  were  (2)  crowns  like  gold  ;  and 
their  faces  were  (3)  as  the  faces  of  men  ;  and  they 
had  hair  (4)  as  the  hair  of  women  ;  and  their  teeth 
were  (5)  as  the  teeth  of  lions ;  and  they  had  breast- 
plates as  it  were  (6)  breast-plates  of  iron  ;  and  the 
sound  of  their  wings  was  as  the  sound  of  (7)  chariots 
of  many  horses,  rushing  to  battle  ;  and  they  had 
(8)  tails  like  unto  scorpions  ;  and  there  were  stings  in 
their  tails  ....  and  (9)  they  had  a  king  over  them." 

The  following  passage  from  Niebuhr  serves  in 
part  to  explain  this  representation  :  (Descrip.  Arab.  p. 
173.)  "An  Arab  of  the  desert  near  Basra  [Basso- 
rah]  informed  me  of  a  singvdar  comparison  of  the 
locust  with  other  animals.  The  terrible  locust  of 
chap.  ix.  of  the  Apocalypse,  not  then  occurring  to 
me,  I  regarded  this  comparison  as  a  jest  of  the  Be- 
douin [Arab],  and  I  paid  no  attention  to  it,  till  it  was 
repeated  by  another  from  Bagdad.  It  was  thus  : — 
He  compared  the  head  of  the  locust  to  that  of  the 
horse  (1,  6) ;  its  breast  to  that  of  the  lion  (5) ;  its  feet 
to  those  of  the  camel ;  its  body  to  that  of  the  ser- 
pent ;  its  tail  to  that  of  the  scorpion  (8) ;  its  horns 
[antennce'],  if  I  mistake  not,  to  the  locks  of  hair  of  a 
virgin  (4) ;  and  so  of  other  parts."  [In  like  manner 
locusts  are  called  by  the  Italians  cavallette,  little 
horses ;  and  by  the  Germans  Heupferde.     R. 

Vie  have  numbered  these  sentences,  that  the  eye 
may  more  readily  perceive  their  correspondences. 
Every  reader  will  wish  that  Niebuhr  had  been  aware 
of  the  similarity  of  these  descriptions  ;  he  might 
then  have  illustrated,  perhaps,  every  word  of  this 
passage.  It  seems  hiore  natural  to  compare,  in  No. 
5.  their  teeth  to  those  of  lions,  than  their  breasts  to 
those  of  lions  ;  but  this  is  more  especially  proper  to 
the  Apocalyptic  writer's  purpose,  as  he  already  had 
informed  us  of  their  resemblance  to  "horses  j)repar- 
ed  for  battle."  As  to  the  armor,  &c.  of  horses  pre- 
pared for  battle,  in  the  East,  Knolles  informs  us,  that 
the  Mamelukes'  horses  were  commonly  furnished 
with  silver  bridles,  gilt  trappings,  and  rich  saddles; 
and  that  their  necks  and  breasts  weie  armed  with 
plates  of  iron.  It  is  not  therefore  unlikely,  that  they 
liad  also  ornaments  resembling  crowns  of  gold,  to 
which  the  horns  of  the  locust  might  be,  with  propri- 
ety, compared  (2) :  we  find  they  had  really  "breast- 
plates of  iron  ;"  (6)  and  by  their  rushing  on  the  ene- 
my, and  the  use  they  made  of  their  mouths,  as 
described  by  Knolles,  the  comparison  of  them  to  lo- 
custs seems  very  applicable.  Without  entering  into 
the  question,  What  these  locusts  prefigured  ?  the 
reader  will  accept  the  following  extracts  from  this  old 


LOR 


t  637 


LOT 


writer,  (p.  75.)  in  which  those  who  think  that  the 
Tartar,  or  Turkisli,  nation  was  intended  by  the  locusts, 
will  not  fail  to  discover  many  points  of  resemblance. 

"  About  this  time  (when  in  the  space  of  a  few  yeares 
such  nuitations  as  had  not  before  of  long  beene 
seen,  chanced  in  diuers  great  Monarchies  and  States) 
that  the  Tartars,  or  rather  Tattars,'  inhabiting  the 
lar^e  cold  and  bare  countries  in  the  North  side  of 
Asia,  (of  all  others  a  most  barbarous,  fierce,  and 
necdie  Nation,)  stirred  vp  by  their  owne  wants,  and 
the  j)ersuasion  of  one  Zingis,  (or  as  some  call  him, 
Caiigis,)  holden  amongst  them  for  a  great  Prophet, 
and  now  by  them  made  their  Leader,  and  honoured 
bv  the  name  of  V  lu-Chan,  that  is  to  say,  the  mightie 
Ki-VG,  (commonly  called  the  great  Cham,)  flocking 
together  in  number  like  the  sand  of  the  sea,  and 
conquering  first  their  poore  neighbours,  of  condition 
and  qualitie  like  themselves,  and  easie- enough  to  be 
entreated  with  them  to  seekt  then- better  fortune,  ?jA:e 
swanncs  of  grasshoppers  sent  out  to  deuoiire  the  ivorld, 
passed  the  high  Mountaiue  Caucasus,  pait  of  the 
Mountaine  Taurus,  of  all  the  JMountaines  in  the 
world  the  greatest ;  which,  beginning  neere  vnto  the 
Archijielago,  and  ending  vpon  the  Orientall  Ocean, 
and  running  thorow  many  great  and  famous  king- 
domes,  diuideth  Asia  into  two  parts  ;  ouer  which 
great  ]\Iountaine,  one  of  the  most  assured  bounders 
of  nature,  that  had  so  many  worlds  of  yeares  shut 
vp  this  rough  and  sauage  peoTp\c,  they  now  passing 
without  number,  and  comming  downe  as  it  were  into 
another  World,  full  of  such  Nature's  pleasant  delights 
as  neuer  were  to  them  before  scene,  bare  downe  all 
before  them  as  they  went,  nothing  beeing  now  able 
to  stand  in  their  way." 

It  is  remarkable,  that  Solomon  says,  (Prov.  xxx. 
27.)  "The  locusts  have  >"o  king  ;"  but  the  locusts  of 
the  Apocalypse  have  a  king,  and  a  dreadful  king  too — 
Abaddon, — the  destroyer. 

LOD,  (1  Cliron.  viii.  12.)  see  Lvdda. 

LOG,  a  Hebrew  measure,  which  held  five  sixths 
of  a  pint ;  it  is  called  the  foin-th  part  of  a  cab,  2 
Kings  vi.  25  ;  Lev.  xiv.  10,  12,  24. 

LOIS,  Timothy's  grandmother,  whose  faith  is 
commended  by  Paul,  2  Tim.  i.  5. 

LOOKING-GLASSES.  Moses  says,  that  the  de- 
vout women  who  sat  up  all  night  at  the  door  of  the 
tabernacle  in  the  wildei'ness,  offered  cheerfully  their 
"  looking-glasses"  to  be  employed  in  making  a  brazen 
laver  for  the  purifications  of  the  priests,  Exod.  xxxviii. 
8.  These  looking-glasses  were,  without  doubt,  of 
brass,  since  the  laver  was  made  out  of  them.  See 
Laver. 

LORD,  DoTuinus  ;^  Kvniog  ;  •>jnN,  Adoni,  or  Adonai ; 
Elohim,  or  Jehovah  ;  for  the  Greek  and  Latin  inter- 
pretei*s  often  put  Kioto:,  and  Dominus,  for  all  these 
names.  (1.)  The  name  Lord  belongs  to  God  by  pre- 
eminence, and  in  this  sense  ought  never  to  be  given 
to  any  creature.  The  Messiah  as  Son  of  God,  equal 
to  the  Father,  is  also  often  called  Lord  in  the  Scrip- 
tures of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments.  (2.)  This 
name  is  sometimes  given  to  angels ;  whether  as  rep- 
resenting the  person  of  God,  or  as  sent  by  God. 
Daniel  (x.  16,  17.)  says  to  the  angel,  or,  as  he  calls 
him,  to  one  who  spoke  to  him  imder  a  human  form  ; 
"  O  my  Lord,  by  the  vision  my  sorrows  are  turned 
upon  me,  and  I  have  retained  no  strength.  For  how 
can  the  servant  of  this  my  Lord  talk  with  this  my 
Lord?"  (3.)  It  is  sometimes  given  to  princes,  and 
other  persons  to  whom  we  would  show  respect, 
though  the  appellation  Jehovah  never  is. — The  word 
Lord  in  the  English  version,  when  printed  in  small 


capitals,  stands  always  for  Jehovah  in  the  Hebrew. 
See  Jehovah. 

LO-RUHAMAH,  not  obtaining  mercy,  a  symbol- 
ical name  given  by  Hosea  to  his  daughter,  Hos.  i.  6. 

LOT,  the  son  of  Haraii,  and  nephew  of  Abraham, 
followed  his  uncle  from  Ur,  and  afterwards  from  Ha- 
ran,  to  settle  in  Canaan,  Gen.  xi.  31.  A.  M.  2082. 
Abraham  had  always  a  great  affection  for  him,  and 
when  they  could  not  continue  longer  together  in  Ca- 
naan, because  they  both  had  lai-ge  flocks,  and  their 
shepherds  sometimes  quarrelled,  (Gen.  xiii.  6,  7.)  he 
gave  Lot  the  choice  of  his  abode. 

About  eiglit  years  after  this  separation,  Chedor- 
laomer  and  his  allies  having  attacked  the  kings  of 
Sodom,  and  the  neigliboring  cities,  pillaged  Sodom, 
and  took  many  captives,  among  whom  was  Lot. 
Abraham,  therefore,  armed  his  servants,  pursued  the 
confederate  kings,  overtook  them  near  the  springs 
of  Jordan,  recovered  the  spoil  which  they  had  taken, 
and  brought  back  Lot  with  the  other  captives.  When 
the  sins  of  the  Sodomites  and  of  the  neighboring 
cities  had  called  down  the  vengeance  of  God  to  pun- 
ish and  destroy  them,  two  angels  were  sent  to  Sodom, 
to  forewarn  Lot  of  the  dreadful  catastrophe  that  was 
about  to  happen.  They  entered  Sodom  in  the  even- 
ing, and  in  the  morning,  before  day,  they  took  Lot, 
his  wife,  and  his  daughters,  by  the  hand,  and  drew 
them  forcibly,  as  it  were,  out  of  their  house  ;  saying, 
"  Save  yourselves  with  all  haste  :  look  not  behind  you  ; 
get  as  fast  as  j^ou  are  able  to  the  mountain,  lest  you 
be  involved  in  the  calamity  of  the  city."  Lot  en- 
treated the  angels,  who  consented  that  he  might  re- 
tire to  Zoar,  which  was  one  of  the  five  cities  doomed 
to  be  destroyed.  His  wife,  looking  behind  her,  was 
destroyed. 

Lot  left  Zoar,  and  retired  with  his  two  daughtei-s 
to  a  cave  in  an  adjacent  mountain. — Conceiving  that 
all  mankind  was  destroyed,  and  that  the  world  would 
end,  unless  tlicy  provided  new  inhabitants  for  it,  they 
made  their  father  drink,  and  the  eldest  lay  wtli  him 
without  his  perceiving  it ;  she  conceived  a  son  whom 
she  called  Moab.  The  second  daughter  did  the 
same,  and  had  Amnion. 

Several  questions  are  pro])osed  concerning  Lot's 
wife  being  changed  into  a  pillar  of  salt.  Some  are 
of  opinion,  that  being  surprised  and  suffocated  with 
fire  and  smoke,  she  continued  in  the  same  place,  as 
immovable  as  .a  rock  of  salt ;  others,  that  a  column 
or  monument  of  salt  stone  was  erected  on  her  grave  ; 
others,  that  she  Avas  stifled  in  the  flame,  and  became 
a  monument  of  salt  to  posterity  ;  that  is,  a  permanent 
and  durable  monument  of  her  imprudence.  The 
common  opinion  is,  that  she  was  suddenly  petrified 
and  changed  into  a  statue  of  rock  salt,  which  is  as 
hard  as  the  hardest  rocks. 

The  words  of  the  original,  however,  have  been 
much  too  strictly  taken  by  translators.  t>:,  rendered 
statue,  by  no  means  expresses  form,  but  fixation,  set- 
tledness  ;  hence  a  military  post ;  (1  Sam.  x.  5.)  that 
is,  a  fixed  station  *,  and  as  the  Hebrews  reckoned 
among  salts  both  nitre  and  bitumen,  so  the  term  salt 
here  used,  may  denote  the  bitimiinous  mass  which 
overwhelmed  this  woman,  fixed  her  to  the  place 
where  it  fell  upon  her,  raised  a  mound  over  her,  of  a 
height  proportionable  to  that  of  her  figure,  and  was 
long  afterwards  pointed  out  by  the  inhabitants  as  a 
memento  of  her  fate,  and  a  warning  against  loitering, 
when  divinely  exhorted,  Luke  xvii.  32. 

LOTS  are  mentioned  in  many  places  of  Scripture. 
God  commanded,  that  lots  should  be  cast  on  the  two 
goats,  to  ascertain  which  should  be  ■   crificed.     (See 


LOTS 


638  ] 


LOW 


Goat,  scape.)  He  required,  also,  that  the  land  of 
promise  should  be  divided  by  lot,  (Numb.  xxvi.  55, 
56;  xxxiii.  54;  xxxiv.  13,  &c.)  and  that  the  priests 
and  Levites  should  have  their  cities  given  to  them  by 
lot.  Josh.  xiv.  XV.  xvi.  In  the  time  of  David,  the 
twenty-four  classes  of  the  priests  and  Levites  were 
distributed  by  lot,  to  their  order  of  waiting  in  the 
temple,  (1  Chron.  vi.  54,  61.)  and  it  would  seem  from 
Luke  i.  9.  that  the  portions  of  daily  duty  were  ap- 
l^ointed  to  the  priests  by  lot ;  as  Zechariah's  lot  was  to 
burn  incense.  In  the  division  of  the  spoil  after  vic- 
tory, lots  were  cast  to  determine  the  portion  of  each, 
1  Chron.  xxiv.  xxv.  The  soldiers  cast  lots  for  our 
Saviour's  garments,  as  had  been  foretold  by  the 
prophet;  and  after  the  death  of  Judas,  lots  were 
cast  to  decide  who  should  succeed  in  his  place, 
Acts  j.  26. 

The  manner  of  casting  lots  is  not  described  in  the 
Scriptures  ;  but  several  methods  appear  to  have  been 
used.  Solomon  observes,  (Prov.  xvi.  33.)  that  "  the 
lot,"  pebble,  "  is  cast  into  the  lap,"  p>n2,  mto  the  bo- 
som, that  is,  probably,  of  an  urn,  or  vase  ;  which  leads 
to  a  very  different  idea  from  lap — the  lap  of  a  per- 
son :  yet,  had  our  translators  used  the  word  bosom, 
which  is  a  more  frequent  and  coiTect  import  of  the 
word,  they  would  have  equally  misled  the  reader, 
had  tliat  bosom  been  referred  to  a  person  ;  for  it  does 
not  appear  tliat  the  bosom  of  a  person,  that  is,  of  a 
garment  worn  by  a  person,  was  ever  used  to  receive 
lots.  But  probably  several  modes  of  drawing  lots, 
or  of  casting  lots,  were  practised.  In  support  of  this 
remark  it  should  be  observed,  that  the  same  word  is 
not  always  used  in  the  Hebrew  to  express  the  event 
of  a  lot.  In  Lev.  xvi.  8 — 10,  the  lot  is  said  to  ascend, 
nSy,  i.  e.  come  up  out  of  the  vase,  or  urn.  Our 
translation  says,  "Aaron  shall  bring  the  goat  on  which 
the  Lord's  lot  fell," — but  it  is,  "on  which  the  lot  as- 
cended," the  direct  contraiy  to  falling.  "  But  the 
goat  on  which  the  lot  ascended — to  be  the  scape- 
goat," &c.  This  compels  us  to  dissent  from  the  ex- 
planation of  the  action,  by  Parkhurst,  (Art.  SiJ,)  who 
says,  "  The  stone  or  mark  itself  which  was  cast  into 
the  um  or  vessel,  and  by  tlie  leaping  out  of  wliich 
(when  the  vessel  was  shaken)  Ijefore  another  of  a 
similar  kind,  tlie  affair  was  decided."  This  is  com- 
pl(  tcly  inconsistent  witli  the  action  attributed  (veiy 
<::iilil)ly)  to  Simon  the  Just,  of  drawing  oiU  these 
lot.;  ;  but  it  may  well  enough  describe  what  i)assed  in 
the  instance  of  llaman  ;  (Esth.  iii.  7.)  they  cast  Pur, 
that  is,  the  lot,  before  Haman,  from  day  to  day,  and 
from  montli  to  month."  They  "  cast " — rather  per- 
haps tliey  caused  to  be  cast,  (-iid  '^■'Dn,)  which  is  very 
different  from  drawing  out.  Also,  the  manner  of 
casting  lots  on  Jonah ;  (chap.  i.  7.)  iS'S%  ^^  they  cast 
lots,  and  the  lot  fell,  was  cast,  on  Jonah."  It  cannot 
^vell  be  sujiposed  that  these  mariners  had  on  board 
their  ship  the  proper  vase,  with  its  accompaniments, 
for  performing  this  action  with  suitable  dignity;  but, 
juore  probably,  something  of  the  nature  of  our  dice- 
box  was  sufficient  to  answer  their  purpose. 

We  are  now  brought  to  a  more  accurate  concep- 
tion of  the  passage  under  consideration,  in  Mhich 
neither  of  the  words  just  noticed  occurs,  (Prov.  xvi. 
33.)  but  a  very  different  one,  (S::r,)  the  root  of  which 
means  to  cast  out,  rather  than  to  cast  in.  It  is  taken 
sometimes,  however,  to  express  a  casting  in  all  direc- 
tions ;  and  hence  Mr.  Taylor  infers  that  the  intention 
of  the  royal  preacher  was  to  express  an  action  of  the 
persoji  who  holds  the  lot  vase  ;  that  i?,  strongly  shak- 
ing it,  for  the  purpose  of  commingling  the  Avhole  of 
its  contents  to  prevent  all  preference  for  one  lot  over 


another,  to  the  hand  of  him  who  is  to  draw : — Liter- 
ally, "  In  a  lot  vase  the  lots  are  shaken  in  all  direc- 
tions; nevertheless,  from  the  Lord  is  their  whole 
decision — judgment." 

The  wise  man  also  acknowledges  the  usefulness 
of  this  custom:  (Prov.  xviii.  18.)  " The  lot  causeth 
contentions  to  cease,  and  parteth  between  the  migh- 
ty." It  is  sometimes  forbidden,  however ;  as,  when 
it  is  practised  without  necessity  ;  or  wth  superstition  ; 
or  with  a  design  of  tempting  God;  or  in  things  in 
which  there  are  other  natural  means  of  discovering 
truth,  reason  and  religion  furnish  better  ways  to  guide 
us.  Haman  (Esth.  iii.  7,  &c.)  used  lots,  not  only  out 
of  superstition,  but  likewise  in  an  unjust  and  crim- 
inal matter,  when  he  undertook  to  destroy  the  Jews. 
Nebuchadnezzar  did  so  iu  a  superstitious  manner, 
when,  being  on  the  way  to  Jerusalem,  and  Rabbath 
of  the  Ammonites,  he  cast  lots  to  determine  which 
of  the  two  cities  he  should  first  attack,  Ezek.  xxi. 
18,  &c. 

LOTS    THE  FEAST  OF,  SCO  PuR  Or  PuRIM. 

LOVE  is  a  natural  passion  of  the  human  mind  ; 
given  to  man  for  the  most  important  purposes.  It  is 
denominated  from  its  object,  as,  (1.)  Divine  ?oj;e,  love 
to  God,  love  to  divine  things,  to  whatever  relates  to 
God,  or  is  appointed  or  approved  by  him.  Love  is 
generally  excited  in  the  mind  by  a  sense  of  some 
good,  some  excellence,  real  or  supposed,  in  the  object 
beloved  ;  wherefore,  as  all  good  is  supremely  excel- 
lent, absolutely  certain  and  infinite,  in  God,  he  is  en- 
titled to  our  supreme  affection.  (9.)  Brotherly  love, 
is  an  affection  arising  from  a  sense  of  participation 
in  certain  enjoyments,  benefits,  &c.  of  which  both 
parties  are  conscious.  In  a  family,  brothers  love  each 
othei",  because  they  are  conscious  of  their  mutual  re- 
lation, of  enjoying  the  same  family  advantages,  priv- 
ileges, (Sec.  (3.)  Christian  brotherly  love,  is  assimilated 
to  the  sentiments  and  feelings  of  the  former :  it  is  a 
sympathy  actuated  by  a  sense  of  communion  in  the 
same  hopes,  the  same  fears,  the  same  affections,  the 
same  aversions,  the  benevolence  of  the  same  parent, 
and  the  general  and  particular  sympathies  connected 
w\\.\\  the  principles  of  piety,  the  union  of  the  Chris- 
tian system,  and  the  reciprocal  kindnesses  of  tnily 
renewed  minds. 

It  is  the  excellence  of  the  Christian  system  that  it 
ennobles,  regulates,  and  directs  this  passion  to  jiroper 
objects,  and  moderates  it  within  due  bounds.  Find- 
ing this  principle  in  the  human  mind,  it  docs  not 
banish  but  encourage  it ;  does  not  depress  but  exalt 
it ;  does  not  abate  but  promote  it.  It  is  conducted 
by  piety  to  proper  olyects,  is  animated  with  the  no- 
blest expectations,  and  is  trained  up  for  perpetual 
exercise  in  a  world  where  it  shall  be  perfectly  puri- 
fied, perfectly  extended,  and  perfectly  rewarded. 

LOVE-FEAST,  see  Agap.e.  Eug.  trans.  Feasts 
of  charity,  Jude  12. 

LOW  is  taken  for  station  in  life,  for  disposition  of 
mind,  for  national  depression,  &c.  As  poverty  of 
station  is  not  poverty  of  spirit,  so  lowliness  of  condi- 
tion is  not  lowliness  of  luind  ;  neither  is  it  always 
connected  with  it.  Nevertheless,  it  is  a  great  bless- 
ing which  sometimes  attends  the  dispensations  of 
Providence,  that  they  abase  a  person  in  this  world, 
and  bring  him  into  a  more  suitable  disposition  of 
mind,  a  more  lowly  habit  of  thought  and  conduct 
than  when  his  prosperity  was  high.  So  that  if  he 
have  occasion  to  regret  the  loss  of  temporal  good», 
he  may  have  much  greater  reason  to  rejoice  in  the 
acquisition  of  mental  and  spiritual  advantages.     See 

HOMILITT. 


LUC 


[  639  ] 


LUD 


LOWER  PARTS  of  the  earth  are,  (1.)  Valleys, 
which  diversify  the  face  of  the  globe,  and  are  evi- 
dently lower  than  hills,  which  also  contribute  to  that 
diversity,  Isa.  xliv.  23. — (2.)  The  grave,  which,  being 
dug  into  the  earth,  or  into  rocks,  &c.  is  the  lower 
jjart  of  the  earth,  or  that  portion  of  it  which  is  usu- 
ally opened  to  men :  this  is  sometimes  called  tlie 
deep,  or  abyss  ;  and,  indeed,  it  is  secluded  from  our 
cognizance,  till  we  are  called  to  visit  "  that  bourn 
from  whence  no  traveller  returns,"  Ps.  Ixiii.  9 ;  Eph. 
iv.  9. — (3.)  As  to  the  phrase,  "loiver  parts  of  the 
earth,"  (Ps.  cxxxix.  15.)  in  reference  to  the  mother's 
womb,  it  is  obscure.  Perhaps  there  is  a  mark  of  as- 
similation (o)  dropped  ;  the  word  may  include  the 
idea  of  a  mere  particle,  an  atom  of  earth, — "  When  I 
was  made  in  secret,  when  I  was  compacted  into 
form,  i)ut  together  in  the  7nost  secret  of  places,  [the 
woml),)  and  endued  with  life,  though  a  minute  par- 
ticle of  clay,  an  atom  of  earth,"  as  the  fcrtus  in  the 
embryo,  the  chick  in  the  egg ;  quasi  animalcula  in 
semine.  Sec.  Or  the  passage  may  have  reference  to 
the  first  formation  of  man  from  the  dust  of  the  earth. 
Gen.  ii.  7.  It  docs  not  appear  necessary  to  take  the 
Hebrew  word,  rendered  "lower  parts," as  expressing 
the  extremely  deep,  or  central  parts,  in  reference  to 
the  general  globe  of  the  earth,  (see  Ps.  Ixiii ;  Ejih.  iv. 
9  ;  Isa.  xliv.  23.)  so  that  the  superficial  dust  of  the 
earth,  of  which  man  was  made,  being  taken  from  the 
moist  valley,  not  from  high  hills,  from  a  loamy  soil, 
not  from  granite  rock,  may  be  understood  by  the 
phrase.  If  this  be  accepted,  the  psalmist  may  intend 
to  say,  "  The  formation  of  my  body,  with  its  various 
members,  was  not  without  thy  knowledge,  when  I 
was  in  the  secret  womb,  completely  constituted, 
body,  soul  and  spirit,  (1  Thess.  v.  23.)  as  wonderfully 
now,  by  natural  generation,  as  man  was  at  first  com- 
pacted from  the  dust  of  the  earth  :"  or,  "  as  a  ivonder- 
ful  microcosm,  a  world — a  human  world,  Avith  its 
many  secret  combinations,  and  interior  constructions 
necessary  to  life  ;  as  wonderful  as  the  composition 
of  the  globe  itself!"  Those  acquainted  with  the 
.■^peculations  of  the  inquisitive  on  the  mode  of  im- 
jiregnation,  will  admit  the  truth  of  this  representa- 
tion, notwithstanding  the  unremitted  labors  of  our 
own  hunters,  the  experiments  of  the  curious  Spal- 
lanzani,  and  of  a  thousand  others,  which,  probably, 
would  have  been  thouglit  little,  if  any  thing,  short  of 
impiety  among  the  Hebrews.  "  Tlie  co7istruction  of 
my  solid  parts — my  bones,  &c.  was  not  hidden  from 
thee,  though  formed  in  the  inost  secret  place  ;  and  they 
became  connected,  compact,  firm,  under  thy  appoint- 
ment and  inspection,  though  originally  a  mere  mole- 
cule of  moist  matter."     (Comp.  Job  x.  9 — 12.) 

LUBIjM,  the  Libyans,  always  mentioned  in  con- 
nection with  the  Egj'ptians  and  Ethiopians,  2  Chr. 
xii ;  3,  xvi.  8  ;  Neh.  iii.  9.     See  Libya,  and  Leha- 

BIM.       R. 

LUCIFER.  ["  How  art  thou  fallen  from  heaven, 
O  Lucifer,  son  of  the  morning !  how  art  thou  cut 
down  to  the  gi-ound,  which  didst  weaken  the  na- 
tions!" Isa.  xiv.  12.  This  is  the  only  place  where 
the  word  Lucifer  occurs  in  the  English  Bible,  and  it 
is  here  evidently  a])])licd  to  the  king  of  Babylon. 
The  word  signifies  light-giver,  and  is  the  Latin  epi- 
thet of  the  planet  Venus,  or  the  morning  star, — a 
meaning  which  is  also  here  expressly  assigned  to  it 
by  the  phrase  "son  of  the  morning."  The  Hebrew 
word  is  ^S<n,  Mil,  which  may  either  have  the  mean- 
ing brilliant  star,  or  it  may  be  an  imperative,  signify- 
ing lament,  howl.  It  is  taken  in  this  latter  sense  by 
the   Syriac,   Aquila  and   Jerome  ;    but   the   general 


sense  of  the  passage  is  thereby  little  changed ;  it 
would  only  read,  "  Howl,  son  of  the  morning,"  &c. 
The  former  sense  is  preferred  by  the  Sept.  Vulg. 
Targums,  Rabbins,  Luther,  and  the  English  version. 
A  brilliant  star,  and  especially  the  morning  star,  is 
often  put  as  the  emblem  of  a  mighty  prince.  Num. 
xxiv.  17.  In  Rev.  ii.  28,  it  is  said  of  Christ,  "  I  will 
give  him  [cause  him  to  be]  the  morning  star  ;"  and 
in  Rev.  xxii.  16,  Christ  says  of  himself,  "  I  am  the 
bright  and  morning  star.''  The  Arabs,  also,  ac- 
cording to  the  Camoos,  call  a  prince,  the  star  of  a 
people. 

Tertullian  and  Gregory  the  Great  understood  this 
passage  in  Isaiah  of  the  fall  of  Satan  ;  and  from  (his 
circumstance  the  name  Lucifer  has  since  been  ap- 
plied to  Satan.  This  is  now  the  usual  acceptation  of 
the  word.     *R. 

The  Arabians  call  Lucifer  Eblis,  and  also  Azazel, 
which  is  the  name  of  the  scape-goat  that  was  sent 
into  the  wilderness,  laden  with  the  sins  of  the  Jews. 
They  relate,  that  the  angels,  having  God's  order  to 
fall  prostrate  before  Adam  immediately  after  his  crea- 
tion, all  complied,  excepting  Eblis,  who  obstinately 
refused,  alleging,  that  he  and  his  companions  having 
been  derived  from  the  element  fire,  which  is  much 
purer  and  more  excellent  than  that  of  earth,  of  Avhich 
Adam  was  formed,  it  was  not  just  that  they  should  be 
obliged  to  pay  submission  to  their  inferior.  Where- 
upon God  said  to  him,  "Be  gone  from  hence,  for 
thou  shalt  be  deprived  forever  of  my  peace,  and  shalt 
be  cursed  to  the  day  of  judgment."  Eblis  desired 
of  God  that  he  would  gi-ant  him  respite  till  the  time 
of  the  general  resurrection  ;  but  all  the  delay  he  could 
obtain  was  till  the  soimd  of  the  first  trumpet,  that  at 
which  all  men  shall  die,  in  order  to  rise  again  at  the 
second  sound  of  the  trumpet;  that  is,  forty  years 
after.  Eblis,  therefore,  died,  according  to  the  Ma- 
hometans, but  he  will  hereafter  rise  with  all  men,  in 
order  to  be  plunged  into  flames.  We  relate  these 
idle  traditions  for  no  other  reason  but  to  show,  that 
the  theology  of  the  easteni  people  is  but  a  corruption 
of  Christianity. 

LUCIUS  of  Cyrene,  mentioned  Acts  xiii.  1,  was 
one  of  the  prophets  of  the  Christian  church  at  Anti- 
och.  While  employed  in  his  ministry  with  the 
others,  the  Holy  Ghost  said,  "  Separate  me  Paul  and 
Barnabas,"  &c.  Some  think  that  Lucius  was  one  of 
the  seventy.  The  disciple  mentioned,  (Rom.  xvi.  21.) 
and  styled  Paul's  kinsman,  is,  probably,  the  same  as 
Lucius  the  Cyrenian.  [He  is  by  many  supposed  to  be 
the  same  with  the  evangelist  Luke.    See  Luke.    R. 

LUD,  the  fourth  son  of  Shem,  (Gen.  x.  22.)  who  is 
said  by  Joseplnis  to  have  peopled  Lydia,  a  province 
of  Asia  Minor.  Arias  Montanus  places  these  Lndim 
where  the  Tigris  and  Euphrates  meet,  and  31.  le 
Clerc,  between  the  rivers  Chaboras  and  Saocoras, 
or  Masca. 

LUDIM,  the  son  of  Mizraim,  (Gen.  x.  13.)  and  also 
the  name  of  a  people  frequently  mentioned  in  Scrip- 
ture, Isa.  Ixvi.  19  ;  Jer.  xlvi.  9  ;  Ezek.  xxvii.  10  ;  xxx.  5. 
We  must,  however,  distinguish  between  the  children 
of  Mizraim,  (Gen.  x.  13.)  or  rather,  a  people  or  colony 
which  had  migrated  from  Egypt,  and  Lud  the  son  of 
Shem,  in  verse  22,  noticed  above.  These  African 
Lydians  are  usually  mentioned  with  Phul,  Ethiopia 
and  Phut.  They  were  also  mercenary  auxiliaries  to 
Tyre ;  and  we  must  therefore  expect  to  meet  with 
them  in  a  country  which  admits  of  all  these  particu- 
lars. Bochart  inclines  to  Abyssinia;  but  t!iis  seems 
to  have  other  characters,  and  is  justly  rejected  by 
Michaehs.     In  Isaiah  Ixvi.  19,  Lud  is  associated  with 


LUK 


[  640  ] 


LUKE 


Pul,  or  Phul,  and  desci-ibed  as  a  nation  which  draws 
the  bow  ;  also  Jer.  xlvi.  19.  In  Ezekiel  xxx.  5,  it  is 
in  our  translation  taken  for  Lydia,  being,  however, 
mentioned  with  the  mingled  people,  or  Abyssinia  ;  it 
is  distinguished  from  that  country,  but  plainly  placed 
in  Africa.  We  may  therefore  admit  of  two  countries 
under  this  name.  (1.)  Lydia  in  Asia;  and  (2.)  Lyd- 
ia, or  Ludim,  in  Africa.  Josephus  affirms,  that  the 
descendants  of  Ludim  had  been  long  extinct,  having 
been  destroyed  in  the  Ethiopian  wars.  The  Jerusa- 
lem paraphrast  translates  Ludim,  the  inhabitants  of 
the  Mareotis,  a  part  of  Egypt.  The  truth  is,  that 
although  these  people  were  in  Egypt,  it  is  not  easy  to 
show  exactly  where  they  dwelt. 

LUHITH,  a  mountain,  in  the  opinion  of  Lyra,  and 
the  Hebrew  commentators  on  Isa.  xv.  5  :  but  Eusebius 
thinks  it  to  be  a  place  between  Areopolis  and  Joara  ; 
others  suppose  between  Petra  and  Sihor.  From 
Jer.  xlviii.  5,  it  is  evident  that  it  was  an  elevated  sta- 
tion, but  wliether  a  town  on  a  hill,  or  a  place  for 
prospect,  does  not  appear.  It  seems  to  be  associated 
with  other  places  which  we  know  to  be  towns.  The 
order  of  the  places  named  is  not  tJie  same  in  both 
prophets,  though  both  refer  to  the  calamities  of  Moab, 
to  which  dominion  Luhith  belonged. 

LUKE,  the  Evangelist,  is  the  author  of  the  Gospel 
bearing  his  name,  and  also  of  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles. 
As  Mr.  Taylor  has  bestowed  much  labor  on  an  histor- 
ical biography  of  this  evangelist,  with  a  view  to  the 
elucidation  and  authentication  of  several  of  the  Scrip- 
ture narratives,  we  shall  lay  before  our  readers  the 
most  material  parts  of  his  dissertations. 

It  may  be  thought  a  somewhat  singular  mode  of 
treating  the  biographical  history  of  an  individual  to 
begin  it  with  mention  of  his  death  ;  but,  in  the  present 
instance,  that  becomes  nothing  less  than  a  kind  of 
key  to  the  greater  incidents  of  his  life ;  for,  as  we 
have  no  regular  history  of  the  party,  but  are  obliged 
to  arrange  incidental  references  to  him,  not  recorded 
with  any  such  intention,  it  is  of  consequence  to  be 
able  to  annex  dates  to  those  incidents,  and  to  show 
tlie  propriety  of  certain  circumstances  connected 
with  them.  On  that  propriety  depends  the  cogency 
of  our  arguments. 

It  passes  uncontradicted,  that  the  "Acts  of  the 
Apostles"  Avere  completed  and  published  A.  D.  03,  or 
fi4 ;  that  Luke,  not  very  long  afterAvards,  went  over 
into  Acliaia,  where  he  lived,  perhaps,  a  year  or  two, 
and  died  aged  84.  He  was,  therefore,  more  than 
fifteen  years  (but  less  than  twenty)  older  than  the 
computed  era  of  A.  D.  and,  if  we  trace  this  calculation 
upwards,  we  shall  find  it  furnish  notable  coincidences. 
For  instance,  Paul  says,  "  At  my  first  hearing  all  for- 
sook me,  no  man  stood  with  me ;"  (2  Tim.  iv.  16.) 
yet  Luke  was  with  him  at  that  time ; — why  did  he 
not  support  the  apostle  ?  No  answer  can  be  given  to 
this  so  rational,  or  so  eflfectual,  as  the  recollection, 
that  Luke  was  then  eighty  years  old,  (more  or  less,) 
a  time  of  life  when  many  infirmities  may  become  in- 
nocent causes  of  absence  in  such  a  case,  when  the 
person  can  afford  but  little  assistance,  at  best ;  an  age 
whiclrcven  persecutors  may  feel  some  compunction, 
if  not  reluctance,  at  bringing  to  the  bar,  and  exposing 
to  danger  from  "the  mouth  of  the  lion."  We  may 
also  discover  tokens  of  elderly  weakness,  in  the  cir- 
cumstance, that  whereas  Paul  and  his  company  in- 
tended to  travel  on  foot  from  Troas  to  Assos,  a  short 
but  mountainous  tract,  (Acts  xx.  13.)  Luke  preferred 
proceeding  by  ship,  as  less  fatiguing.  He  might  be 
now  about  seventy-four  or  seventy-five  yean^  of  ao-e. 
The  same  consideration  manifests  the  discretion  of 


the  Christian  missionaries  in  leaving  Luke  at  Phihppi, 
Acts  xvi.  40.  A.  D.  51.  (This  appears  from  the  change 
of  persons  in  the  narrative  ;  compare  verses  10 — 16.) 
After  what  had  happened,  it  was  impossible  for  Paul 
and  Silas  to  remain  in  that  city  ;  of  the  other  brethren 
Timothy  was  too  young  a  man,  not  only  as  it  con- 
cerned the  care  and  superintendence  of  an  infant 
church,  but,  as  it  is  most  likely  that  the  family  of  Ly- 
dia (in  whose  house  they  abode)  consisted  principally 
of  daughters,  the  residence  of  that  young  man  in  her 
family,  however  pious  he  might  be,  was  unadvisable. 
No  such  objection  lay  against  Luke:  he  was  then 
much  beyond  sixty  years  old  ;  an  age  whicii  prevented 
censure,  while  it  bespoke  prudence  :  and,  accordinglj'^, 
we  find  that  under  the  charge  of  our  intelligent  as 
well  as  pious  evangelist,  this  church  speedily  became 
flourishing,  numerous,  and  composed  of  members 
who  had  something  to  spare  for  their  spiritual  father ; 
and  fi-om  whom  their  spiritual  father  would  conde- 
scend to  accept  what  he  declined  from  other  churches 
— an  incident  not  to  be  overlooked. 

Again,  we  read  (Actsxiii.  1.  A.  D.  45.)  that  "there 
were  in  the  church  that  was  at  Antioch,  certain  proph- 
ets and  teachers  : — as  (1.)  Barnabas,  (2.)  Simeon, 
called  Niger,  (3.)  Luciusof  Cyrene,  (4.)  Manaen,  who 
had  been  brought  up  with  Herod  the  tclrarch,  and 
(5.)  Saul.  It  is  inquired  whether  this  Lucius  were 
Luke  the  evangelist.  General  opinion  inclines  to 
the  affirmative ;  but  the  argument  has  never  been  so 
clearly  stated  as  it  might  be.  There  are  two  propo- 
sitions necessary  to  be  attended  to,  for  the  better  un- 
derstanding of  this  passage  :  the  first  is,  that  the  AATiter 
Latinizes ;  the  second  is,  that  the  names  are  ranked 
according  to  seniority.  There  needs  no  other  proof 
that  the  writer  Latinizes  here  than  the  appellation 
Niger,  given  to  Simeon.  The  import  of  this  Latin 
term  certainly  is — black,  dark,  deeply  swarthy ;  but, 
unless  Latin  were  the  current  language  at  Antioch, 
(which  we  know  it  Avas  not,)  this  is  a  translation  of 
the  Greek  term  Melas,  which  denotes  the  same  thing ; 
and,  therefore,  is  a  verbal  accommodation.  But  if 
the  writer  Latinizes  in  the  preceding  name,  it  can  oc- 
casion no  surprise  if  he  also  Latinizes  in  writing 
Lucius  instead  of  Luke  ;  and  perhaps  we  may  find, 
before  oin*  inquiry  terminates,  that  this  is  constantly 
observed  when  Latins  are  expected  to  be  the  readers. 
The  second  proposition  is,  that  the  names  are  ranked 
according  to  the  age  of  the  parties.  To  establish  this 
we  must  reflect  that  Barnabas  (though,  perhaps,  he 
may  be  placed  first  in  compliment  to  his  being  a  su- 
perintending visitor  sent  from  Jerusalem)  was  brother 
to  Mary,  who  was  herself  advanced  in  life,  being 
mother  of  a  son,  John  Mark,  already  old  enough  to 
accompany  his  uncle  on  various  journeys ;  and  to 
choose  firmly  for  himself  the  cause  of  his  own  con- 
duct. Barnabas  was  also  of  a  certain  dignified  and 
majestic  presence, proper  to  the  currently  understood 
character  of  Jupiter,  the  father  of  the  gods.  Acts  xiv. 
12.  This  is  inconsistent  with  the  notion  of  his  being 
a  young  man.  Moreover,  as  Mercury  was  son  of  Ju- 
piter, according  to  tlu;  heathen  theogony,  Barnabas 
must  have  had  the  appearance  of  sufficient  age,  and 
gravity,  the  natural  attendant  on  age,  to  pass  for  the 
father  of  Paul,  whom  the  Lycaonians  qualified  as 
Mercury  ;  for  we  cannot  suppose  that  the  mere  elo- 
quence of  these  missionaries  was  the  sole  cause  of 
these  people's  mistake :  there  must  have  been  a  suit- 
able deportment,  figure,  and  relative  time  of  life  also  ; 
and  these  conspicuous.  The  second  on  the  list  is 
Simeon,  surnamed  the  Black ;  an  epithet  that  well 
agrees  with  the  complexion  of  a  native  of  Cyrene  in 


LUKE 


[641  ] 


LUKE 


Africa ;  aiul,  therefore,  renders  it  extremely  probable, 
that  this  is  Simon  the  Cyrenian,  the  father  of  Alex- 
ander and  Rufus,  Mark  xv.  21.     It  appears  from  Acts 
xi.  19,  20,  that  among  the  believers  dispersed  at  tJie 
time  of  Stephen's  martyrdom,  were  men  of  Cyrene, 
who  ti-avelled  as  far  as  Antioch,  preaching  the  Lord 
Jesus.     Tlicre   is,   therefore,  nothing  to  hinder  onr 
reckoning  among  them,  Simon  the  Cyrenian,  other- 
wise Simeon  the  Black;  but  if  so,  and  if  the  Rufus 
whom  Paul  salutes,  (Rom.  xvi.  13.)  with  his  mother, 
were  son  of  this  Simeon,  then  he  was,  certainly,  an 
elderly  ;  nan  ;  since  both  his  sons  were  ennnently  dis- 
tinguished in  the  church,  when  Mark  composed  his 
Gos])el,  and  apparently  long  before.     It  is  probable, 
also,  that  Shneon  was  deceased,  when  Paul  wrote  to 
the  Romans,  say  A.  D.  58.     We  come  now  to  Lucius ; 
and  if  he  be  Luke  the  evangelist — placing  this  transac- 
tion in  the  year  of  Christ  45 — then  Lucius  exceeded 
the   age   of  sixty    years ;    consequently,    he   might 
probably  enough  take  precedence   of  Manaen,  and 
certainly  of  Saul,  who  at  this  time,  as  the  most  judi- 
cious  counnentators   suppose,  was   not   more   than 
aljout  thirty-five. 

Thus  we  have  reduced  to  its  true  value  one  of  Mi- 
chaelis's  two  formiilable  objections  ;  objections  wliich 
appeared  to  him  insurmountable,  against  the  identity 
of  Lucius  and  Luke.  "  Besides,"  says  ho,  "  the  name 
of  Lucius  stands  before  that  of  Paul,  an  arrangement 
wliich  is  incompatible  with  Luke's  modesty,  if  he 
himself  were  Lucius,  for  he  Avould  not  tlien  have 
placed  his  own  name  before  that  of  an  apostle."  Now, 
this  he  had  a  very  good  right  to  do,  without  any  im- 
|)eachment  of  his  modesty — in  fact  lie  was  obliged  to 
do  so,  if  this  were  the  arrangement  of  the  church  lists 
at  Aiuioch ;  and  if  the  order  were  determined  by 
seniorit}'. 

And  here  wc  ought  not  to  overlook  the  wisdom  of 
the  a[)pointment  made  by  the  Holy  Ghost  in  uniting' 
Barnabas  and  Saul  in  the  same  mission  ;  one  was  ch'' 
eldest,  the  other  the  youngest,  of  the  teachers  at  Anti- 
och :  the  sedateness  of  one  would  temjier  tlie  nre  of 
tlie  other  :  the  character  of  Barnabas  as  a  "  son  of 
consolation,"  as  a  "good  man,"  mild,  courteous,  a 
man  of  experience,  who  had  long  been  a  companion 
of  the  apostles,  and  was  familiar  with  their  views  of 
tilings,  admirably  combined  with  the  fervor  of  his 
younger  friend,  whose  greater  activity  and  prompti- 
tude would  induce  and  enable  him  to  improve  every 
opening  to  "  spend  and  be  spent"  in  all  directions,  to 
ilisccrn  possible  advantages,  and  to  acton  contingen- 
cies, in  cases  which  to  his  less  vigorous  partner  might 
appear  dubious,  if  not  imprudent ;  or  which  he  might 
lliink  himself,  at  least,  not  altogether  competent  to. 
If  liUke  were  about  sixty  years  of  age,  when  settled 
at  Antioch,  whither  he,  a  Cyrenian,  had  followed 
some  of  his  countrymen,  he  must  have  been  about 
forty-eight  or  fifty  at  the  period  of  the  crucifixion  ; — 
a  time  of  life  when  the  judgment  is  mature,  when  the 
reasoning  faculties  are  vigorous ;  when  the  character 
of  the  man  is  formed  ;  and  when  even  the  company 
and  associates  of  a  person  assimilate  to  the  same 
qualities  with  his  OAvn  ;  for  men  of  this  number  of 
years  seldom  choose  boys  or  youths  for  their  confiden- 
tial friends.  Nor  was  it  a  boy,  or  a  youth,  who  ac- 
companied the  disciple  whose  name  is  omitted  in  the 
histoiy  of  the  travellers  walking  to  Emniaus ;  it  was 
Cleophas,  or  Alpheus ;  and  Alpheus  was  the  fatiier 
of  several  of  the  apostles  ;  he  was,  therefore,  in  ad- 
vanced life.  If  his  sons  were  of  age  to  be  called  to 
that  eminent  station,  their  father  was  certainly  not 
under  the  age  attributed  by  our  calculation  to  Luke  : 
81 


and  forty-eight,  or  fifty,  is  likely  to  have  been  nearly 
the  corresponding  years  of  these  two  confidential 
intimates. 

We  are  now  arrived  at  that  point  of  time  when, 
according  to  our  intention  to  support  the  competency 
oi  Luke  as  an  eye-witness  to  some  of  tlie  facts  he  re- 
cords, it  is  of  importance  to  consider  what  evidence 
of  this  his  narrative  affords.     It  is  the  earliest  period 
at  which  he  can,  with  propriety,  be  mtroduced  ;  for 
though  some  have  placed  him  among  the  seventy, 
yet  every  probability  is  against  that  notion.     It  ap- 
pears that  he  was  a  native  of  Cyrene,  not  of  Galilee  ; 
and,  therefore,  not  likely  to  have  been  so  employed. 
To  understand  this  properly,  we  must  observe,  that  • 
there  assembled  on  the  morning  of  the  resurrection 
a  number  of  adherents  to  Jesus,  beside  the  apostles  : 
for  the  women  ran  and  told  their  wonderful  tale  "to 
the  eleven,  and  to  all  the  rest  (as  Luke,  and  Luke  only 
distmctly  observes) : — they  believed  them  not :— How- 
ever, Peter,  starting  up,  ran  to  the  monument,  and 
stooping  down,  he  saw  the  linen  clothes  laid  by  them- 
selves, and  went  away,  wondering  in  himself  at  what 
was  come  to  pass."     Nor  was  Peter  the  only  one  who 
ran  ;  for  we  learn  afterwards,  from  the  traveller's  re- 
cital, that  "certain  (tue;,  plural)  of  tJiose  who  were 
with  us  went  to  the  monument,  and  found  it  as  the 
women    had   rejiorted ; — but    hJm    they   saw   not." 
Among  this  "  rest,"  and  this  "  us,"  we  must  place  the 
speaker  ;    but  evidently,  ivhoever  the   speaker  was, 
this  was  not  the  first  time  of  his  associating  with  this 
company:  he  was,  like  his  fellow-traveller  Alpheus, 
a  well-known  fncnd.     These  travellers  quitted  their 
company  after  P<ter  and  John  had  returned  ;  in  the 
very    height  of  their   universal   amazement.      And, 
going  for  Enmiaus,  they  debated,  they  argued  with 
each  otJier,  concerning  these  events.  '  And  as  they 
discoursed  together  and  reasoned,  controverted  the  va- 
rious incidents,  Jesus  himself  approached  them,  (theii 
eyes  were  holden  that  they  should  not  know  him — 
which    implies   that,    otherwise,    they   would   have 
known  him  ;  they,  therefore,  had  a  previous  acquaint- 
ance with  him,)  and  said,  "What  are  these  subjects 
which  ye  are  bandying  backwards  and  forwards,  one 
to  the  other,  as  ye  walk  and  are  sad  ?  "     Alpheus  an- 
swering said,  "Art  thou  the  only  stranger  in  Jerusa- 
lem, who  hath  not   known  what   hath    t^aken   place 
there,  in  these  days  ?  "     He  inquired  what   things  ; 
and   they  said — No,  it  was  not  they  who  said  ;  for  Al- 
pheus had  spoken  already,  and  it  was  now  his  com- 
panion's  turn   to   speak.     The  writer  mentions  the 
name  of  AI])heus,  distinctly  enough,  but  the  name  of 
his  companion — the  present  speaker — he  suppresses. 
.  .  .  And,  further,  to  avoid  introducing  "  I  said,"  as 
the  fact  really  was,  the  writer  takes  a  liberty  with 
grammar,  anil  puts  that  in  the  plural,  which  certainly 
passed   in   the   singular.     This   license    betrays  the 
man ;  the  writer  and  the  speaker  are  the  same  per- 
son.    The  distinctness  and  accuracj'  of  the  speech 
mark  more  than  mere   second-hand   narrative.    The 
subsequent  oiiservation,   "Did  not  our  hearts   burn 
within  us  by  the  way  ?"  and  the  precision  with  which 
the  action  of  Jesus  is  described,  "he  made  as  though 
he  would  have  gone  farther,"  are  hints  of  participa- 
tion, not  of  information.     And  they  agree  well  with 
the  correctness  of  the  historian  who  has  told  us,  that 
the,  inscription  on  the  cross  was  "  written  in  letters  of 
Greek,   and   Latin,   and   Hebrew."     How  could   lie 
know  this  minute  particular  ?     He  must  have  been 
in  Jerusalem  at  the  time,  to  see  it.     If  he  were  in  Je- 
rusalem at  that  time,  then  we  infer,  at  once,  the  com- 
petency of  Luke  as  an  eye-wJtne.s9  to  some  of  the 


LUKE 


[642] 


LUKE 


facts  be  records ;  which  it  ia  the  purport  of  the  pres- 
ent discussion  to  support. 

Moreover,  it  is  remarkable,  that  all  appearances  of 
Jesus  after  his  resurrection  introduced  by  Luke  are 
in,  or  near,  Jerusalem.  He  says  nothing  of  what  hap- 
pened in  Galilee,  at  the  sea  of  Tiberias,  or  any  where 
else ;  he  confines  his  history  to  facts  which  came 
within  his  own  knowledge.  Nor  should  we  disre- 
gard remarks  that  might  be  made  on  the  early  chap- 
ters of  the  Acts,  such  as  the  ^vl-iter's  acquaintance 
with  the  number  of  the  names  recorded  on  the  fii'st 
Christian  list ;  "they  were  about  120;"  his  full  re- 
port of  Peter's  speeches;  of  the  conduct  of  Caiaphas 
and  the  Sadducees  towards  the  apostles,  and  towards 
the  deacons,  especially  Stephen,  whose  speech  he 
records  in  a  manner  that  proves  he  heard  it;  with 
the  action  of  the  Jewish  rulers,  "  they  gnashed  upon 
him  with  their  teeth,"  a  minor  circumstance,  of  no 
importance  whatever  to  the  storj'',  but,  evidently,  the 
remark  of  a  by-str.nder,  made  at  the  time.  Nov>',  if 
we  admit  the  residence  of  Luke  at  Jerusalem,  when 
Stephen  was  murdered,  and  v.  Ijen  the  Holy  Ghost 
desceufled,  &c.  avc  shall  find  it  impossible  to  deny 
his  residence  in  tliat  city  a  few  weeks  sooner,  when 
the  crucilixion  and  the  resurrection  took  place  ;  and 
if  he  were,  as  every  thing  leads  us  to  conclude,  of  the 
number  of  the  120,  ho  -was  certainly  a  believer  of  long 
standing,  and  one  of  those  who  formed  the  "rest," 
the  ''us,"  the  deeply  imercEted  and  argumentative 
associate  of  Alpheus,  and  ono  oftiie  company  met 
together  with  the  apostles.  U  \-.  too  much  to  say, 
that  the  medical  knowledge  of  Lyk-.',  contributed  to 
the  confidential  altercation  between  him  and  Alpiie- 
us?  that  he  knew  the  course  of  the  wovmrt  made  by 
the  spt'ar  under  giveii  circumstances,  and  iirgi\cd,  as 
he  well  might,  on  tjic  impossibilities  of  the  caso  ?  Is 
it  too  much  to  say,  that  as  Luke  is  the  only  Vvritor 
who  notices  (chap,  xxili.  49.)  that  "all  the  acquaint- 
ance of  Jesus  stood  whh  the  women,  afar  off,"  there- 
fore, he  himself  was  one  of  those  acquaintance? 

H' this  train  of  argument  be  credible,  we  have  as- 
certamed  two  facts ;  that  Luke  was  of  mature  age, 
at  the  time  of  the  manifestation  of  the  gospel ;  and, 
that  he  is  by  no  means  that  mere  reporter  of  what  he 
had  learned  from  others,  which  some  have  supposed. 
The  reader  will  perceive,  that  by  tracing  the  chro- 
nology of  Luke's  life  in  an  inverted  order,  we  have 
obtained  a  stronger  conviction  of  the  truth  of  the  facts 
stated,  than  others  have  allowed  themselves  to  in- 
dulge ;  nevertheless,  that  these  facts  have  already 
been  admitted,  may  appear  from  the  words  of  the 
equally  cautious  and  learned  Lardner:  "It  is  proba- 
ble, that  he  is  Lucius,  mentioned  Rom.  xvi.  21.  If 
so,  he  was  i-elated  to  St,  Pau.l  the  apostle.  And  it  is 
not  unlikely,  that  that  Lucius  is  the  same  as  Lucius 
of  Cyrene,  mentioned  by  name,  Acts  xiii.  1,  and  in 
general  with  others,  chap.  xi.  20.  It  appears  to  me 
very  probable,  that  St.  Luke  was  a  Jew  by  birth,  and 
an  early  Jewish  believer.  This  must  be  reckoned  to 
be  a  kind  of  requisite  qualification  for  writing  a 
history  of  Christ,  and  the  early  preaching  of  his  apos- 
tles, to  advantage  ;  which  certainly  St.  Ijuke  has  per- 
formed. He  may,  also,  have  been  one  of  the  two 
whom  our  Lord  met  in  the  way  to  Emmaus,  on  the 
day  of  his  resurrection,  as  related  Luke  xxiv.  13 — 35. 
He  is  expressly  styled  by  the  apostle  his  fellow-laborer, 
Philem.  ver.  24.  If  he  !);•  the  person  intended  Col. 
iv.  14,  (which  seems  very  probable,)  he  was  or  had 
been  by  profession  a  physician.  And  he  was  greatly 
valued  by  the  apostle,  who  callg  him  beloved.  He 
ucoompanied  Paul  when  he  first  went  into  Macedonia. 


And  we  know,  that  he  went  with  the  apostle  from 
Greece,  through  Macedonia  and  Asia,  to  Jerusalem, 
and  thence  to  Rome,  where  he  staid  with  him  two 
years  of  his  imprisonment.  We  do  not  exactly  know- 
when  Luke  formed  the  design  of  writing  his  two 
books ;  but,  probably,  they  are  the  labor  of  several 
years.  Nor  can  any  hesitate  to  allow  the  truth  of 
what  is  said  by  some  of  the  ancients,  that  Lidce,  who 
for  the  most  part  was  a  companion  of  Paul,  had  like- 
wise more  than  a  slight  acquaintance  with  the  rest  of 
the  apostles." 

It  is  proper,  however,  to  state  "  the  most  material 
objection"  of  Michaclis  to  the  identity  of  Lucius  and 
Luke,  in  his  own  words  :  "  St.  Paul  wiote  his  Epistle 
to  th(3  Romans  from  Corinth,  and  Lucius  was  with 
him  at  the  time  ;  for  St.  Paul  sends  a  Sululation  from 
Lucius,  Ron),  xvi.  21.  Couscqucully,  if  Lucas  and 
Lucius  be  one  and  the  same  person,  the  author  of  the 
Acts  of  the  Apostles  must  have  been  with  St.  Paul  at 
Corinth,  when  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans  was  writ- 
ten. But  it  we  attend  to  the  mode  of  writing  in  the 
Acts  of  the  Apostles,  we  shall  perceive  that  the  author 

of  this  book  was  not  at  this  time  in  Corinlh 

He  staid  behind  at  Philippi — he  remained  at  Philippi 
(probably  with  a  view  of  edifying  the  newly-founded 
community)  during  the  whole  of  St.  Paul's  travels, 
wh'ch  are  describefl  in  chapters  xvii.  xviii.  xix.  But 
in  this  interval  St.  Paul  wrote  his  Epistle  to  the  Ro- 
mans from  Corinth  ;  and,  therefore,  the  author  of  the 
Acts  was  not  with  St.  Paul  when  he  wrote  that  Epis- 
tle ;  consequently,  he  was  not  the  same  person  with 
Lucius." 

The  consequence  i-elied  on  by  Michaelis  in  this 
extract  does  not  seesn  to  be  strictly  legitimate.  Was 
it  absolutely  necessary  that  Lucius  should  be  present 
with  Paul  in  order  to  send  his  salutation  to  the  Ro- 
mans? We  think  not ;  and  the  following  arguments 
mivy  support  this  opinion.  First,  it  is  not  impossible 
thnt  Luke  might  be  with  Paul  at  any  given  time  or 
plact,  in  the  interval  of  Acts  xvii. — xx.  5,  though  not 
mentioned  in  these  chapters  ;  for  we  learn,  that  re- 
peated acts  of  intercourse  took  place  between  the 
Philippians  and  ihe  apostle ;  as  we  read,  Phil.  iv. 
10 — 18  :  "  Now  yo,  Pliilippians,  know  also  that  in  the 
beginning  of  the  Gospel,  when  I  dej)arted  from 
Macedonia,  no  church  communicated  with  me  as 
concerning  giving  and  receiving,  but  ye  only  ;  for 
even  in  Thessalonica  ye  sent  once  and  again  unto  my 
necessity :" — "  I  rejoiced  in  the  Lord  greatly,  that 
now,  at  the  last,  your  care  of  me  hath  flourished 
again  ;  wherein  ye  were  also  careful,  but  ye  lacked 
opportunity  ;" — for  "  Epaphroditus,  your  messenger, 
hath  ministered  to  my  wants,"  chap.  ii.  25 — 30.  That 
similar  communications  reached  the  apostle  at  Cor- 
inth is  clear,  from  2  Cor.  xi.  8,  9 :  "I  robbed  other 
chiu'ches,  tailing  wages  of  them  to  do  you  service  ; 
and  when  I  was  present  with  you  and  wanted,  I  was 
chargeable  to  no  man  ;  for  that  which  was  lacking  to 
me  the  brethren  which  came  from  INIacedonia  sup- 
plied." Philippi,  we  know,  was  a  chief  city  of  Mace- 
donia ;  and  if  we  allow  the  possibility  that  among 
the  brethren  which  came  from  IMacedonia,  Luke 
might,  on  some  occasion,  hr  one,  the  possibility  that 
he  might  be  present  witli  Paul,  when  he  sent  the 
salutation  of  Lucius  to  the  Romans,  follows  of  course. 
But,  sccondUj,  as  we  see  that  comnnmications  from 
Philippi  to  tlie  apostles  were  fre(|uent,  what  should 
hinder  Luke  from  desiring  Paul  to  insert  his  saluta- 
tion to  the  Romans,  though  the  evangelist  were  still 
at  Philippi  ?  He  certniidy  was  acquainted  with  Paul's 
intentions,  genernlly,  as  the  apostle  writes  to  the  Ro- 


lA'KE 


[  643  ] 


LUKE 


mans,  (chap,  i,  15.)  '•  Sow  I  m  oiild  uot  have  you  ig- 
norant, brethren,  that  oftentimes  I  purposed  to  come 
to  you." — This  often  purposing  was  no  secret ;  and 
admit  that  Luke  might  express  his  readiness  to  ac- 
company Paul,  and  the  reason  of  sending  his  sahita- 
tion  is  evident.  But  this  argument  may  be  drawn 
still  closer  ;  for  Luke  was  certainly  informed  of  Paul's 
intention  at  tiiis  very  time.  The  apostle  writes  to 
the  Romans,  (chap.  xv.  13.)  "  Whensoever  I  take 
my  journey  into  Spain,  I  will  come  to  you,  for  I  trust 
to  see  you  in  my  journey.  But  now  I  go  unto  Je- 
rusalem, to  minister  untu  the  saints  ;  for  it  hath 
])leascd  them  of  JMacedonia,  to  make  a  certain 
contribution  for  tlie  poor  saints  which  are  at  Je- 
rusalem. When,  therefore,  I  have  performed  this, 
I  will  come  by  you  into  Spain."  Now  this  is,  in 
other  words,  what  Luke  relates  in  Acts  xix.  21  : 
"  Paul  purposed  in  spirit,  when  he  had  passed  through 
Macedonia,  to  go  to  Jerusalem ;  saying.  After  I 
have  been  there,  I  nuist  also  see  Rome."  By  what- 
ever means  Luke  knew  of  Paul's  purpose  in  spirit  to 
see  Rome,  he  might  know  of  the  epistle  in  prepara- 
tion to  be  sent  to  the  Romans,  which  ^vas,  evidently, 
the  precursor  to  the  execution  of  that  intention  ;  and 
by  means  of  the  frequent  remittances  from  Philippi 
to  the  apostle,  he  might  easily  express  iiis  desire  to 
be  remembered  to  the  Romans.  Nor  is  there  any 
thing  unlikely  in  the  thought,  that  Paul  himself  com- 
municated to  Luke  what  he  purposed  in  spirit ;  and 
that  it  was  in  some  fiiendly  letter  to  hini  he  should  say, 

1  must  also  see  Rome. 

A  hint  on  the  Latinizing  of  the  evangelist's  name 
will  conclude  this  part  of  the  subject.  We  have 
already  seen  this  mutation  take  place  at  Antioch  ;  and 
we  ought  to  add,  that,  no  doubt,  much  Latin  was 
spoken  in  this  city  ;  it  being  the  residence  of  the  Ro- 
man president  of  Syria,  the  seal  of  tribunitial  power, 
the  metropolis  of  the  East,  and  also  the  station  of  con- 
siderable military  forces.  Nor  would  we  forget,  that 
though  Antioch  was  a  Greek  city,  yet  a  coin  of  Ves- 
pasian is  somewhat  distinguished  by  bearing  the  Latin 
name  Antiochia,  inscribed  aroimd  a  turreted  female 
head,  the  genius  of  the  city.  It  was  struck  under 
Mucianus,  who  lay  there  with  an  army,  while  Vespa- 
sian, lately  proclaimed  emperor,  was  yet  in  Asia.  It 
is,  therefore,  possible,  that  Simeon  was  really  called 
Niger  by  the  Roman  part  of  the  population  at  Antioch, 
and  by  the  Roman  members  of  the  church  there,  as 
Luke  might  be  called  Lucius  by  them.  These  Latin 
names  the  writer  of  the  Acts  retains,  in  conjpliment 
to  his  Latin  readers  in  Italy,  where  he  finished  his  his- 
torv  ;  and  Paul  adopts  the  name  Lucuis  when  writ- 
ing to  the  same  [jcrsons,  in  bis  Epistle  to  the  Romans  ; 
although,  when  writing  from  Rome  to  the  (creeks,  he 
inserts  this  appellation  in  its  Greek  form,  Lucas,  as 

2  Tim.  iv.  11,  et  aJ. 

We  have  presumed  that  Luke,  at  our  first  acquaint- 
ance with  him,  was  of  mature  age,  a  reasoning  and 
considerate  man  ;  and  we  fm-ther  presume,  a  physi- 
cian. Such  was  the  companion  of  Alpheus.  But 
there  is  another  personage  of  greater  importance  than 
Alphcus,  on  whose  account  the  character  of  Luke 
peculiarly  demands  notice.  For  if  we  reflect,  we 
shall  find  that  Mary,  the  mother  of  Jcsus,^  was  of 
much  about  the  age  of  Luke  ;  (say  nearly  fifty  years, 
at  the  time  of  the  crucifixion  ;)  that  she  was  no  less 
reasoning  and  no  less  considerate  than  he  was;  and 
that  his  profession  of  physician  admitted  access  to 
the  confidence  of  the  sex,  without  oflence.  The  in- 
ference we  wish  to  draw  is,  that  this  evangelist  re- 
ceived from  the  Holy  Mother  those  papers  which  he 


has  preserved  in  the  early  part  of  his  Gospel ;  with 
that  information  which  enabled  him  to  assert  his  "  per- 
fect understanding  (or  diligent  tracing)  of  all  things 
connected  with  this  history,  from  the  very  first."  It 
is  probable,  that  this  confidence  was  the  result  of 
prolonged  intercourse  ;  and,  therefore,  we  cannot 
possibly  say  at  what,  time  it  produced  the  effect  we 
have  attributed  to  it.  Leaving  this  uncertain,  yet 
placing  it,  as  most  convenient,  in  the  interval  from 
the  resurrection  to  the  dispersion  subsequent  to  the 
martyrdom  of  Stephen,  we  shall  lay  before  the  reader 
those  arguments  which  may  tend  to  establish  our 
general  position,  lelativc  to  Luke's  veracity  as  an 
historian,  and  his  characteristic  accuracy  as  a  writer. 

Nothing  so  fully  establishes  our  confidence  in  a 
writer,  as  a  knowledge  of  his  personal  character.  If 
he  be  loose,  inaccurate,  heedless,  we  hardly  know 
how  to  trust  him  wlien  he  declares  the  most  solemn 
truths  in  the  most  solemn  manner.  If  he  be  studious, 
pai'ticidar,  punctual,  we  pay  a  deference  even  to  his 
current  discourse;  and  if  he  affirm  a  thing,  we  rest 
satisfied  of  its  truth  and  reality.  But  persons  of 
strict  accuracy  seldom  trust  to  their  memory  entirely 
on  important  affairs  ;  they  make  memoranda,  or 
keep  some  kind  of  journal,  in  which  they  minute 
transactions  as  thej'  arise  ;  so  that,  at  after-periods, 
they  can  refer  to  events  thus  recorded,  and  refresh 
their  memories  bj'  consulting  their  former  observa- 
tions. This,  too,  is  customary,  chiefly,  if  not  wholl)'-, 
among  men  of  letters,  men  of  liberal  and  enlarged  ed- 
ucation, men  who  are  conversant  with  science,  and 
who  know  the  value  of  hints  made  on  the  spot, /7ro 
re  nata.  My  first  proposition  is,  that  Luke  the 
evangelist  was  a  person  of  learning,  of  accuracy  of 
character,  and  that  he  instanced  this  by  keeping  a 
journal  of  events,  of  which  we  have  traces  in  his  writ- 
ings. He  did  not  trust  to  his  recollection,  but  his 
custom  was,  to  make  memoranda  of  interesting  oc- 
currences. 

Let  us  try  a  few  passages  of  his  travels  by  this 
proposition.  We  meet  this  evangelist  in  Acts  xvi. 
17,  where  he  says,  "Loosing  from  Troas,  we  came 
toith  a  straight  course  to  Samothracia,  and  the  next 
(day)  to  Neapolis,  from  thence  to  Philippi,  a  city  of 
the"  first  part  of  Macedonia,  and  a  (Roman)  colony." 
These  particulars  are  precisely  such  as  a  traveller 
of  education  would  insert  in  his  pocket-book. 

Acts  xx.  Memorandum  of  the  company.  1.  Sopater 
of  Berea — 2.  Aristarchus — 3.  Secimdus  :  these  were 
of  Thessalonica — i.  Gains  ;  he  was  of  Derbe — and 
5.  Timothy,  whom  I  know  so  well  as  to  have  no 
need  of  marking  his  countiy — 6.  Tychicus — 7.  Tro- 
phinms  ;  these  were  of  Asia.  These,  going  before, 
tarried  for  us  at  Troas. — Memorandum  of  the  time  of 
year.  Vve  sailed  from  I^hilippi,  after  the  days  of 
unleavened  bread  ;  as  ^ye  might  say  in  modern  Eng- 
lish, directly  afler  Easter. — Memorandum  of  the  time 
occupied  in  the  journey.  We  came  imto  them  to  Troas 
in  five  days,  where  we  abode  seven  days,  &c. 

Acts  xxvii.  At  Ca-sarea  went  on  board  a  ship  be- 
longing to  Adraniyttiuni,  Aristarchus,  a  Macedo- 
nian, of  Thessalonica,  in  our  company,  made  sail 
same  day.  Next  day  touched  at  Sidon,  staid  there 
some  little  time,  made  sail  again,  wind  contrary, 
sailed  under  the  lee  of  Cyprus,  sailed  across  the  sea 
of  Cilicia  and  Pamphylia,  liore  up  for  IMyra,  in  Lycia : 
finding  an  Alexandrian  vessel  tliere,  went  on  board 
her ;  sailed  slowly  ;  after  many  days  had  hardly 
made  Cnidus,  the  wind  being  unfavorable  ;  sailed 
under  the  lee  of  Crete,  standing  towards  Salnione, 
which  we  weathered  with  difficulty,  and  brought  up 


LUKE 


644  ] 


LUKE 


in  a  roadstead  called  the  Fair  Havens,  near  Lasea. 
Not  advisable  to  remain  here ,  the  opinion  prevailed 
to  make  for  Phenice,  said  to  be  a  good  port  of  the 
same  island,  Crete,  over  against  Africa,  but  bearing 
west-south-west  of  us. — It  will  be  perceived,  that 
every  idea  of  these  extracts  is  in  the  original ;  we 
have  done  no  more  than  put  them  into  current 
language,  such  as  we  find  in  books  of  travels.  They 
are  mostly  particulars  of  no  consequence  to  the 
main  purport  of  the  history  ;  but  are  evidently  tran- 
scripts, not  from  memory,  but  from  memoranda. 
The  same  we  may  say  of  the  following. 

Acts  xxviii.  11. — After  three  mouths,  we  departed 
in  a  ship  of  Alexandria,  which  had  wintered  in  the 
isle  (Malta),  whose  sign  was  Castor  and  Pollux ; 
lauding  at  Syracuse,  we  tarried  tliere  three  days  ; 
from  thence,  standing  out  to  sea,  and  tacking  fre- 
quently, we  came  to  Rcggio  ;  and  after  one  day  the 
wind  blew  from  the  south,  we  came  the  next  day  to 
Puteoli,  tarried  there  seven  days,  went  on  to  Appii 
Forum,  and  the  Three  Taveins— arrived  in  Rome. 
This  repeated  mention  of  days'  journeys,  is  clearly  a 
continuation  of  the  journal,  and  shows  that  the  writer 
had  not  lost  it  in  the  shipwreck  at  Malta.  We  often 
find  travellers  preserving  their  papers  when  they  lose 
every  thing  else. 

There  are  many  other  notes  of  time,  &c.  which 
might  corroborate  our  assertion  ;  but  this  specimen 
we  think  sufficient,  and  is  all  we  offer  at  present. 
Hence  the  inference  is  undeniable,  that  the  writer  of 
the  "  Acts  of  the  Apostles  "  had,  in  composing  that 
work,  written  evidence,  of  the  most  accurate  de- 
scription, before  him. 

Let  us  see  whether  he  maiiUains  the  same  charac- 
ter for  precision  in  liis  Gospel  ;  which  he  thus  be- 
gins— "In  the  fifteenth  year  of  Tiberius  Caesar 
(the  emperor),  Pontius  Pilate  being  governor  of 
Judea,  Herod  tetrarch  of  Galilee,  his  brother  Philip 
tetrarch  of  Iturea  and  the  Trachouitis,  Lysanias  te- 
trarch of  Abilene,  Annas  and  Caiaphas  being  high- 
priests." — Could  any  man  take  greater  pains  to 
insure  precision,  or  to  fix  a  date  ?  He  does  not 
content  himself  with  mentioning  the  year  of  the 
emperor,  or  the  king  of  the  country,  in  which 
the  events  he  is  about  to  narrate  happened,  but  he 
calls  in,  by  way  of  corroboration,  as  it  were,  the  evi- 
dence of  three  sovereigns,  for  no  other  purpose  than 
that  of  marking  the  jieriod  he  intended  ;  they  being 
aflerwards  dropped  by  him. — This  shows  clearly  the 
particularity  of  a  writer  ;  of  a  man  conversant 
with  written  documents  of  the  most  correct  and  pre- 
cise description  ;  one  who  trusted  nothing  to  words, 
or  to  memory.  How  extra  precise  should  we  think 
the  author,  who  dated  a  volume  from  Jamaica,  "  In 
the  fifteenth  year  of  George  III.  such  an  one  "be- 
ing governor  of  Jamaica,  such  an  one  governor 
of  Barbadoes,  such  an  one  governor  of  Grenada,  and 
the  Rev.  M.  and  N.  archbishops  of  Canterbury  and 
York."  We  should  certainly  conclude  "  this  writer, 
whatever  else  he  is,  is  correctness  itself."  Moreover, 
this  method  of  notation  is  completely  Egyptian,  and 
therefore  answers,  to  us,  the  double  purpose  of  con- 
firming the  opinion  that  Luke  was  "Lucius  of  Cy- 
rene,"  and  of  the  genuineness  and  authenticity  of 
this  ])art  of  the  Gospel. 

We  turn  now  to  the  preface  of  Luke's  Gospel,  and 
we  find  it  completely  in  union  witli  this  strongly 
marked  exactness  and  precision  : — "  Whereas  many 
good  people,  and  not  to  be  blamed,  have  taken  in  hand, 
but  did  not  complete  their  intention,  to  |)ublish  an 
orderly  narration  of  certain  events,  as  they  have  been 


delivered  to  us  by  those  who,  from  the  beginning  of 
these  events,  were  (some  of  them)  eye-witnesses,  and 
(others)  parties  concerned  in  them,  promoters  of  them 
by  personal  participation  ;  it  has  seemed  good  to  me, 
having  accurately  examined  all  points  from  a  much 
earlier  period  than  they  had  done,  iiideed  from  the 
very  first  rise  of  the  matter,  to  write  an  orderly  his- 
tory of  these  things  ;  and  thereby  to  accomplish 
that  desirable  purpose  in  which  those  writers  have 
failed."  We  say,  this  profession  of  correctness  and 
order  is  perfectly  in  character  with  the  man  Avho 
tells  us  how  many  days  he  staid  in  such  a  place,  in 
what  point  the  wind  was,  what  was  the  name  of  the 
ship  he  sailed  in,  on  what  occasion  a  council  was 
held  in  the  vessel,  and  what  were  the  language  and 
observations  of  the  seamen,  as  to  the  bearing  of  the 
port  they  intended  to  make,  &c.  This  man  could 
not  bear"  the  imperfections  of  the  books  which  came 
under  his  notice  on  a  certain  subject ;  they  did  not 
begin  early  enough,  and  they  ended  too  soon.  He 
therefore  determined  to  begin  his  history  much 
earlier,  and  to  continue  it  nuich  later.  This  he  ac- 
complislied  in  a  manner  which  we  shall  see  here- 
after. 

There  is  an  instance  of  his  accuracy  and  spirit  of 
research  that  ought  not  to  pass  imnoticed,  (Acts 
xxiii.  26.)  where  he  gives  us  (translated,  probably, 
from  the  Latin)  a  copy  of  the  letter  which  Claudius 
Lysias  sent  to  his  excellency  Felix  the  governor. 
That  this  corresponds  exactly  with  Roman  letters 
of  the  like  kind,  we  know  ;  that  the  Greek  is  not  the 
original,  will,  we  think,  appear  to  any  one  who 
reads  it  with  this  idea  on  his  mind  ;  besides,  that  it 
should  seem  most  natural  for  Roman  officers  to 
write  to  each  other  in  their  native  language.  And 
what  (additional)  do  we  learn  from  this  letter  ? 
Nothing  at  all ;  had  it  been  omitted,  we  should  have 
known  the  same  facts  as  we  know  now  ;  but  it  was 
not  consistent  with  the  researching  spirit  of  this 
writer  to  let  it  escape  him ;  it  adds  a  written  docu- 
ment to  his  history ;  and,  very  characteristically,  he 
procures  a  copy,  and  preserves  it  years,  for  future 
service. 

This  argument  is  stated  on  two  suggestions.  If 
Luke  had  no  intention  at  this  time  of  composing  a 
history,  his  procuring  this  letter  was  the  effect  of  his 
general  character,  and  customary  inquisitiveness ; 
but  if  he  had  an  intention  at  this  time  of  composing 
a  history,  his  procuring  it  is  an  instance  of  his  col- 
lecting the  most  authentic  materials  possible  for  that 
purpose.  The  same  may  be  said  relative  to  the 
Songs  of  Mary  and  Zacharias,  which  he  has  pre- 
served. 

But  if  these  poems  be  genuine,  they  contribute  to 
establish  the  genuineness  of  tlio  history  with  wliich 
they  are  connected.  The  anecdotes  attaching  to 
them  are  such  as  could  only  have  been  known,  after 
the  crucifixion,  from  Mary  herself,  Joseph  being 
dead  ;  and  it  is  certain,  that  whoever  gave  Luke  the 
paj)ers  might  very  easily  give  him  further  informa- 
tion. The  preservation  of  them  supposed  to  he  by 
Mary,  adds  to  the  evidence  of  her  being  a  consider- 
ate person,  and  pondering  events  in  her  heart.  But 
the  establishment  of  the  early  chaptere  of  Luke 
becomes  an  argument  for  the  authenticity  of  the 
early  chapters  of  Matthew.  The  most  wonderful 
circumstance  alluded  to  l)y  Matthew  occupies  a  con- 
siderable space  in  the  narration  of  Luke;  and  if  it  be 
admitted  as  authentic  in  this  evangelist,  no  good 
reason  can  be  given  for  rejecting  it  from  that  evange- 
list ;  since  wc  sliould  willingly  receive  it  on  the  credit 


LUKE 


645  ] 


LUM 


of  any  one  of  the  four.  If,  then,  the  history  in  Mat- 
thew must  be  exploded,  let  those  who  attempt  it  set 
aside  these  events  from  Luke  ; — but  on  close  exam- 
ination, they  will  find  that  there  are  in  this  writer's 
history  such  natural  and  artless  characters  of  authen- 
ticity, such  internal  demonstrations  of  genuineness 
and  integrity,  that  if  those  who  peruse  them,  even 
with  suspicion,  or  aversion,  have  any  tolerable  por- 
tion of  mental  acumen,  or  critical  skill,  they  will 
abandon  the  undertaking.    See  Gospel. — Luke. 

It  imports  nothing  as  to  the  character  of  these 
papers,  whether  they  were  spoken  first,  and  after- 
wards reduced  to  writing,  or  first  composed  in  writ- 
ing, and  afterwards  published ;  in  either  case,  the 
care  and  industry  of  Lidce  in  procuring  them  is  the 
saiue.  They  were  composed,  certainly  not  in  Greek, 
as  we  now  have  them,  but  in  the  language  then 
spoken  in  the  country,  the  Syriac  Hebrew  ;  and  they 
follow  the  rules  of  Hebrew  poetry,  as  to  the  parallel- 
isms of  verbal  construction.  Luke,  then,  receiving 
them  in  Syriac,  translated  them  into  Greek  ;  and  thus 
justifies  the  assertion  in  his  preface,  that  he  derived 
his  materials  from  those  who  were  eye-witnesses  of 
the  matters,  as  Mary  was  of  Zacharias's  prophecy, 
and  the  facts  in  his  family ;  or  were  personal  par- 
ticipators in  them,  as  Mary  was  in  what  concerned 
herself.  Of  these  very  early  events  Luke,  by  his 
diligence,  obtained  perfect  understanding,  and  he  in- 
serts these  documents,  that  Tlieo])hihis  might  know 
the  certainty  of  those  things  in  which  he  had  already 
been  instructed.  That  they  are  very  hajjpily  adapted 
to  this  purpose,  and  have  undeniable  internal  marks 
of  authenticity,  nuist  be  evident  to  every  careful 
reader  of  them. 

We  have  no  design  of  enlarging  on  the  life  of 
Luke  ;  i)ut  would  point  out  a  few  incidental  allusions 
to  him,  in  their  regular  order.  For,  notwithstanding 
what  appears  so  conspicuously,  his  habitual  correct- 
ness and  diligence,  we,  by  placing  him  in  the  num- 
ber of  the  120,  on  whom  the  Holy  Ghost  fell,  in  a 
visible  form,  insist  on  his  unquestionable  inspiration  ; 
and  that  in  no  ordinary  degree.  He  was,  in  this  re- 
spect, though  no  apostle,  yet  equal  to  the  apostles  : 
and  there  can  be  no  doubt,  but  what  the  extraordi- 
nary gifts  of  the  Holy  Spirit  qualified  him  abundantly 
for  the  discharge  of  every  duty  to  which  he  might 
be  called,  whether  as  a  teacher  or  as  a  writer. 

We  suppose  him,  being  a  Cyrenian,  to  have  felt  a 
speciaHnterest  in  the  opposition  raised  by  "those  of 
the  synagogue  of  the  Libertiui,  of  the  ('yrenians, 
and  the  Alexandrians  (all  Africans)  against  Stephen  ; 
which  ended  in  the  death  of  that  proto-martyr.  Acts 
vi.  9.  And  here,  perhaps,  began  his  acquaintance 
with  the  "  young  man,  whose  name  was  Saul."  We 
suppose  him,  also,  to  have  sympathized  nuich  with 
those  who  were  scattered  abroad  on  th(>  ]iersecution 
that  followed  the  death  of  Stephen  ;  "some  of  whom 
were  men  of  Cyprus  and  Gyrene,  who  went  as  fin- 
as  Antioch,"  Acts  xi.  20.  But  whether  he  (piitted 
Jerusalem  at  this  time,  cannot  be  determined  with- 
out reserve.  If  he  did,  he  was  now  a  suflerer 
through  the  persecution  of  that  very  man,  Saul,  with 
whom  he  afterwards  contracted  the  most  confidential 
intimacy.  Little  did  either  of  them  see  the  events 
of  a  few  years. 

But  whatever  becomes  of  this  conjecture,  if  he  be 
the  same  with  Lucius,  we  nnist  direct  our  attention 
to  Antioch,  to  wliich  city  some  of  the  expelled  Cyre- 
nians  certainly  travelled.  And  here  it  may  be  prop- 
er to  notice  a  remarkable  variation  in  Beza's  ancient 
MS.  now  at  Cambridge,  (Acts  xi.  28.)  where,  instead 


of  There  stood  up  one  of  them,  (the  prophets  at  An* 
tioch,  i.  e.  Agabus,)  we  read  '■'■  And  when  we  were 
gathered  aboid  him,  he  said  ,•"  by  which  phraseology 
the  writer  evidently  expresses  his  own  presence, 
on  the  occasion,  A.  D.  4',].  It  is,  indeed,  hazardous, 
as  Michaelis  well  observes,  to  confide  in  the  reading 
of  a  single  MS.  unsupported  by  any  other  ;  yet  it  is 
difficult  to  account  for  this  insertion,  if  the  transcri- 
ber had  no  authority  for  it  from  the  original  before 
him.  Moreover,  if  Lucius  be  Luke,  we  certainly 
find  him  among  the  teachers  at  Antioch,  shortly 
after ;  i.  e.  in  the  following  year,  A.  D.  44,  as  we 
have  already  seen. 

We  conclude  this  article  by  remarking,  that  there 
are  no  indications  in  the  history  that  Luke  was 
merely  an  attendant  on  Paul  in  his  travels,  as  many 
writers  maintain.  His  language  is  not  consistent 
with  that  opinion.  He  says,  "  A  vision  appeared  to 
Paid — and  immediately  we  endeavored  to  go  into 
Macedonia,  assuredly  gathering,  ovuiiifiuiorTes,  col- 
lecting the  sentiments  of  the  company,  comparing 
and  uniting  them  in  order  to  obtain  a  just  inference, 
that  the  Lord  had  calletl  us  to  preach  the  gospel  in 
INIacedonia."  The  writer  does  not  say,  nor  does  he 
mean,  "  Paul  determined  and  we  obeyed:"  no;  he 
esteems  himself  equally  entitled  to  give  his  opinion, 
and  e(|ually  called  to  tliis  expedition.  Again  at  Phi- 
lippi:  "  On  the  Sabbath-day,  we  sat  down  and  spoke 
to  the  women."  And  when  Lydia  was  baptized 
with  her  family,  "she  besought  us,  saying,  If  ye 
hav(!  judged,  after  a  pro])er  examination  and  consul- 
tation together,  that  I  should  become  faithful  to  the 
Lord,  come  into  my  house,  and  abide  there  ;  and 
she  constrained  us."  Luke  means  to  inform  his 
readers,  that  he  sat  down  and  spoke  to  the  women, 
and  that  he  gave  an  opinion  on  the  conduct  proper 
to  be  observed  towards  Lydia.  The  voyage  from 
Philipi)i  to  Judca  is,  of  course,  expressed  in  the  plu- 
ral, ive  and  us.  And  when  the  company  was  arrived 
at  Jerusalem,  says  Luke,  "  Paul  went  in  with  us  to 
James  and  the  elders  :"  the  equality  is  perfect  ;  or  if 
any  thing.  Paid  follows  his  company.  In  addition 
to  this,  Paul's  respectful  mention  of  Luke  is  very  ob- 
servable. In  writing  to  their  common  friend  Phile- 
mon, he  calls  him  not  his  attendant,  but  his  fellow-la- 
borer, verse  24.  In  Col.  iv.  14,  he  describes  him  as 
Luke  the  beloved  physician  ;  beloved  generally,  both 
by  you  and  by  me.  In  writing  to  Timothy,  (2  Epist. 
iv.  11.)  he  mentions  the  various  places  to  which  he 
had  sent  his  attendants,  Cresccns  to  Galatia,  Titus  to 
Dalmatia,  Tychicus  to  Ephesus,  but  Luke  he  had 
jiot  sent  any'where.  He  was  still  in  his  company, 
and  only  he  ;  partly,  no  doubt,  from  respect  to  his 
great  age  ;  and  still  more  from  deference  to  his  char- 
acter. The  hypothesis  gathers  strength  as  we  pro- 
ceed. We  have  traced  the  evangelist,  under  the 
names  of  Lucius  and  Luke,  from  Jerusalem  to  An- 
tioch, from  Antioch  to  Troas  and  Philippi ;  again 
from  Philippi  to  Jerusalem,  and  from  Jerusalem  to 
Malta,  and  to  Rome.  AVe  have  found  him  a  learned, 
confidential  and  considerate  man,  advanced  in  years, 
endowed  Avith  the  Holy  Ghost  from  on  high,  an  in- 
spired teacher,  a  valuable  companion  and  counsellor 
of  the  apostle  Paul  ;  a  correct,  judicious  and  spirited 
writer,  a  man  of  research,  and  of  no  less  fortitude 
than  composure.  We  now  part  with  hiiu,  at  the 
conclusion  of  his  history,  on  his  last  remove  into 
Achaia;  where  he  soon  afler  died,  at  the  great  age 
of  eighty-four. 

LUMINARIES,  Metaphorical.     Among  other 
descriptions  of  the  Messiah,  he  is  called  "a  Light  to 


LUN 


[  646  ] 


LYD 


enlighten  the  Gentiles ;  and  the  GI017  of  the  people 
of  Israel."  Jesus  also  describes  John  the  Baptist  as 
"  a  burning  and  shining  hght ;"  and  addressing  liis 
disciples  as  "  the  light  of  the  world,"  he  bids  them 
not  conceal,  but  show  their  light,  and  be  of  use  to 
mankind,  by  their  lustre.  In  conformity  with  this 
idea,  Paid  says  to  the  Philippians,  "  Ye  shine  as  lights 
in  the  world,  holding  forth  the  word  of  life ;"  or,  as 
soins  prefer  to  read  it,  "s/iiJie  ye  as  lights."  It  has 
indeed  been  said,  that  when  the  apostle  directs  the 
Philippians  to  "  shine  as  lights,"  he  uses  the  word 
(jc-)OT/o,  which  alludes  to  the  light-Zioiwes  raised  on 
various  parts  of  a  coast,  where  navigation  required 
their  services,  to  direct  the  pilots  of  vessels  in  the 
course  they  ought  to  steer.  We  have  many  such 
along  our  coasts.  The  most  famous  in  antiquity 
was  that  of  the  Pharos  at  Alexandria.  Under  this 
allusion,  l»ie  sacred  writer  may  be  considered  as  say- 
ing, "  Shine  in  the  midst  of  bad  j)ersonri,  as  light- 
houses shine  in  a  dark  country  ;  Jioiding  forth  the 
word  of  life,  as  light-houses  hold  forth  their  nightly 
flames ;  that  I  may  stand  er(.'Ct  with  confidence  ; 
may  boast,  may  exult,  in  the  day  of  Christ."  But 
Mr.  Taylor  is  by  no  means  satisfied  thist  these  ac- 
tive verbs  are  adequately  understood,  or  that  we  do 
justice  to  their  full  import,  when  we  refer  them  to 
subjects  which  rather  suner  certain  things  to  be  done 
by  their  means,  than  are  active  in  doing  those  things. 
A  building  can  hardly  be  said  to  hold  Ibrtli,  or  to 
hold  fast ;  but  if  we  reflect  that  some  of  the  PJiaroses 
of  antiquity  were  constructed  in  form  of  human 
figures,  we  shall  advance,  he  thinks,  nearer  to  the 
apostle's  meaning.  All  the  world  has  heard  of  the 
Colossus  at  Rhodes  ;  that  immense  brazen  figiu^e, 
which  stood  across  the  entrance  of  the  (inner)  har- 
bor, and  under  whose  enormous  stride  vessels  might 
pass  in  full  sail.  This  figiu-e  held  forth  in  one  hand 
a  prodigious  flame,  which  enliglitened  the  whole 
port:  by  this  it  directed  the  distant  mariner  whose 
attention  it  attracted,  and  who  looked  up  to  this  light 
for  safety. 

On  the  whole,  then,  Mr.  Taylor  thinks  that  Paul's 
expression  refers  to  luminary  figures,  rather  than  to 
luminary  buildings  ;  in  which  case  his  words,  "shine 
as  luminaries,  holding  out  the  words  of  liA; ;"  that 
great  Light,  which,  coming  into  the  world,  has  iigbt 
enough  to  enlighten  every  man,  have  peculiar  S])irit 
and  propriety. — Nor  is  it  certain,  that  the  idea  of  a 
figure  has  totally  quitted  him  in  the  next  sentence  ; 
when  he  says,  "that  in  the  diiy  of  Christ,  J  may 
stand  up  with  a  stift'(npright)  neck,  and  exult  lliat  I 
have  not  labored  in  vain."  Is  not  this  the  very  atti- 
tude of  such  a  figure  ? — Some  propose  to  translate 
"  holdfast  the  word  of  life  ;"  but  this  loses  the  beauty 
of  t!ie  passage,  if  it  mcnj  be  supported  by  grammar, 
which  is  not  now  investigated. 

"The  word  Pharos  was  used  in  a  metaphorical 
sense,"  says  Montfaucjon  ;  "  any  thing  was  called  a 
Pharos,  which  could  enlighten  and  instruct ;  every 
man  of  letters,  who  could  guide  others.  In  this 
sense  the  poet  Ronsard  says  to  Charles  IX.  of  France, 
*'  Be  my  Pliaros,  guide  my  sails  through  rolling 
seas." — Might  not  this  inctai)horical  application  have 
been  current  in  the  first  times  of  the  gospel  ?  and  if 
80,  does  not  the  apostle  adopt  it  ? 

LUNATICS,  a  name  given  to  those  diseased  per- 
sons, whosuffiir  most  severely  on  the  cJianges  of  the 
moon  ;  for  example,  e])ileptical  persons,  or  those  who 
have  the  falling  sickness  ;  insane  i)ersons,  or  those 
tormented  with  fits  of  morbid  melancholy  ;  as  well  as 
persons  possessed  by  the  devil,  for  often  those  have 


been  believed  to  be  really  possessed  by  the  deTil, 
who  were  tormented  only  with  great  degrees  of  mel- 
ancholy or  fury.  Jerome  (in  Matt.  iv.  24.)  is  of  opiji- 
ion,  that  the  lunatics  in  the  gospel  were  possessed 
persons,  whom  the  people  through  mistake  called 
lunatics,  because  they  saw  them  most  tormented 
during  the  change  of  the  moon  ;  the  devil  affecting 
to  make  them  sufter  most  in  these  circumstances, 
that  simple  people  might  impute  the  cause  of  it  to 
the  moon,  and  from  thence  take  occasion  to  blas- 
pheme tlie  Creator.  Others  maintain,  that  ail  the 
difference  between  an  epileptic  and  a  lunatic  was, 
that  one  was  more  disordered  than  the  other. 
Persons  subject  to  epilepsies  are  not  all  equally  at- 
tacked. Some  fall  more  frequently,  others  more 
rarely ;  some  every  day.  Lunatics  are  affected 
chiefly  on  the  declension  of  the  moon.  (Comp.  Matt, 
xvii.  15.)     See  Demo>'s. 

LUST,  (1  John  ii.  6.)  the  irregular  love  of  pleas- 
ure, riches  or  honors.  Lust  is  not  a  sin  ;  but  is  tlio 
effect  and  cause  of  sin: — the  effect  of  original  sin  ; 
the  cause  of  actual  sin.  As  in  both  Testaments,  evil 
desires,  as  w^eil  as  evil  actions,  are  equally  prescribed, 
so  the  first  care  of  every  man  AAho  would  pleaso 
God  should  be  to  bridle  his  lust. 

LUST,  Graves  of,  (ni«rn-rn3,-i,  Kibroth-hattaavah,) 
an  encampment  of  the  Hebrews  in  the  wilderness,  at 
Avliich  they  arrived,  after  they  decamped  from  Sinai. 
It  v/as  called  the  graves  of  lust,  because  23,000  Is- 
raelites died  there,  who  w^ere  smitten  by  God,  be- 
cause of  eating  to  excess  of  quails,  v.hich  fell  about 
the  camp,  Numb.  xi.  34;  Deut.  ix.  20,  22. 

I.  LUZ,  a  city  of  the  Canaanites,  in  Benjamin,  af- 
terwards called  Bethel,  Gen.  xxviii.  19  ;  xxxv.  6; 
Josh,  xviii.  13;  Judg.  i.  23. 

II.  LUZ,  a  cit)'  attached  to  the  sons  of  Joseph, 
near  to  Sichem,  Josh.  xvi.  2.  It  is  principally  on  Josh, 
xvi.  2,  that  the  second  of  these  places  is  distinguished 
from  the  first.  There  might,  however,  be  a  small 
distance  between  the  place  where  Jacob  slept,  and 
the  ancient  town  of  Luz ;  and  indeed  the  text  in 
Joshua,  by  alluding  to  mount  Bethel,  seems  to  sup- 
pose, that  the  travelling  patriarch  slept  on  a  hill  apart. 

III.  LUZ,  a  city  built  by  a  man  of  Bethel,  Avho, 
while  the  tribe  of  Ephraim  besieged  his  native  town, 
showed  them  a  secret  entrance,  ^vhereby  they  took 
it.  For  this  service  they  spared  him  and  his  family  ; 
and  he  retired  into  the  land  of  the  Hittites,  and  built 
Luz,  Judg.  i.  26. 

LYCAONIA,  a  province  of  Asia  Rlinor,  having 
Galatia  north,  Pisidia  south,  Cappadocia  cast,  and 
Phrygia  west.  It  a]>pears  to  have  been  within  the 
limits  of  Phrygia  Mnjor,  but  was  erected  into  a  sep- 
arate province  by  Augustus.  Paul  preached  in  Ly- 
caonia,  in  the  cities  of  Iconium,  I>ystra  and  Derbe, 
(Acts  xiv.  6,  &c.)  and  having  cured  a  man  who  had 
been  lame  irom  his  mother's  womb,  and  had  never 
walked,  the  inhabitants  of  Lystra  said,  in  the  speech 
of  Lycaonia,  "The  gods  an;  come  down  to  us  in  the 
likeness  of  men.  And  they  called  Barnabas,  Juj>iter, 
and  Paul,  Mercuriits,  because  he  was  the  chief 
speaker."  This  speech  of  Lycaonia  is  gener.nlly  be- 
lieved to  have  been  a  corruin  Greek  ;  that  is,  Greek 
mingled  with  a  great  deal  oi'Syriac. 

LYCIA,  a  ]irovince  in  the  south-west  of  Asia  Mi- 
nor, having  Phrygia  and  Pisidia  on  ti7e  north,  the 
Mediterranean  on  the  south,  Pamphylia  on  the  east, 
and  Caria  on  the  west,  1  Mac.  xv.  23  ;  Acts  xxi.  1  ; 
xxvii.  5.  Paul  landed  at  the  ports  of  Patara  and 
Myra  in  this  province,  in  different  voyages. 

LYDDA,  in  Hebrew  nS,  Lud,  or  Lod,  by  the  Greeks 


LYI 


[  647 


LYS» 


and  Latins  called  Lydda,  or  Diospolis,  is  a  city  in 
the  way  from  Jerusalem  to  Csesarea  Philippi.  It  lay 
cast  of  Joppa  four  or  five  leagues,  and  belonged  to 
Ephraim.  It  seems  to  have  been  inhabited  by  the 
Benjamites,  after  the  Babylonish  captivity,  (Neh.  \i. 
35.)  and  was  one  of  the  three  toparchies  which  were 
dismembered  from  Samaria,  and  given  to  the  Jews, 
1  Mac.  xi.  34.  Peter,  coming  to  Lydda,  cured  yEneas, 
who  was  sick  of  the  palsy,  Acts  i.\.  33,  34.  The 
Jews  inform  us,  that  after  the  destruction  ct'  Jeru- 
salem, tliey  set  up  academies  in  different  parts  of 
Palestine,  of  which  Lydda  was  one,  where  the  fa- 
mous Akiba  was  a  professor,  for  some  time.  Ga- 
inaliel  succeeded  him,  and  was  obliged  to  retire  to 
Japlina.  Lydda,  says  D'Arvieu.x,  "  is  situated  on  a 
plain,  about  a  league  from  Rama.  It  is  so  entirely 
ruined  as  to  be  at  present  but  a  miserable  village, 
noticeable  only  on  account  of  the  market  which  is 
held  here,  once  a  week.  The  dealers  resort  to  it 
to  sell  the  cotton  and  other  commodities  which  they 
have  collected  during  the  week.  Hei"e  was  formerly 
a  handsome  church,  dedicated  to  St.  George,  a  saint 
who  is  equally  in  favor  with  Turks  and  Christians. 
Dr.  Wittman  says,  (Trav.  p.  203,  205,  January  12.) 
*'I  rode  across  the  plains  of  Jaffa  antl  Lydda.  We 
approached  the  town  of  Lydda,  or  Loudda,  and  saw 
the  Arab  inhabitants  busily  employed  in  sowing  bar- 
le}".  The  soil  of  these  fine  and  extensive  plains  is  a 
rich  black  mould,  which,  with  proper  care  and  indus- 
try, might  be  rendered  extremely  fertile.  Lydda  is 
denominated  by  the  Greeks  Diospolis,  the  city  or 
temple  of  Jupiter,  probably  because  a  temple  had 
been  dedicated  in  its  vicinity  to  that  deity.  Since 
the  crusades  it  has  received  from  the  Christians  the 
name  of  St.  George,  on  account  of  its  having  been 
the  scene  of  the  martyrdom  and  burial  of  that  saint. 
In  this  city  tradition  reports  that  the  emperor  Jus- 
tinian erected  a  church." 

I.  LYDIA,  a  woman  of  Thyatira,  a  seller  of  pur- 
ple, who  dwelt  in  the  city  of  Philippi  in  3Iacedonia, 
(Acts  xvi.  14,  40.)  and  w^as  converted  by  Paul's 
preaching.  After  she  and  her  family  had  been  bap- 
tized, she  offered  her  house  to  Paul  and  his  fellow- 
laborer  so  earnestly,  that  he  was  prevailed  on  bj'  her 
entreaties.  This  woman  was  not  by  birth  a  Jewess, 
but  a  [)roselyte. 

II.  LYDIA,  a  celebrated  kingdom  of  Asia  Minor, 
peopled  by  the  sons  of  Lud,  son  of  Shem,  Gen.  x. 
23.  We  have  very  little  notice  of  these  Lydians  in 
Scripture.  They  are  mentioned  in  Isa.  Ixvi.  19,  if 
these  be  not  rather  the  Lydians  in  Egjpt.  (Comp.  1 
Mac.  viii.  7.)     See  Lud,  and  Ludim. 

LYING  is  condemned  in  many  places  in  Scrip- 
ture, Exod.  xxiii.  I,  7  ;  Lev,  xix.  11 ;  Prov.  xii.  22  ; 
xiii.  5  ;  xix.  ^  ;  Wisd.  i.  11  ;  Eccl.  vii.  13  ;  xx.  10  ; 
XXV.  23  ;  Hos.  iv.  1  ;  Acts  v.  4  ;  Eph.  iv.  25 ;  James 
v.  12.  Our  Saviour  requires  his  disciples  to  be  so 
plain  and  sincere,  that  their  word  might  be  equivalent 
to  the  most  solemn  oath  ;  and  that  in  all  their  asser- 
tions, they  should  say  only,  "  It  is,"  or  "  It  is  not," 
Matt.  V.  37.   It  18  in  vain,  therefore,  to  attempt  to  jus- 


tify some  particular  persons  who  have  told  lies  ; 
which  persons  are  in  other  respects  commended  in 
Scripture.  It  never  praises  their  lying,  but  their 
good  actions.  That  which  is  in  itself  evil  never 
can  become  good.  When  Abraham  calls  Sarah  his 
sister,  not  his  wife  ;  and  Isaac  says  the  same  of  Re- 
bekah  ;  when  Jacob,  by  a  lie,  defrauds  Esau  of  his 
father's  blessing ;  and  when  the  Egjptian  midwives 
declare,  that  the  Hebrew  women  are  delivered  with- 
out their  assistance  ;  they  are  not,  any  of  them,  in 
these  particulars,  to  be  commended  ;  though  the  evil 
whicli  they  committed  might  be  mitigated  by  cir- 
cumstances not  known  to  us.  When  we  condemn 
lyi"o5  "^^'e  do  not  condemn  stratagems,  hyperi)oles 
or  certain  railleries  and  discourses  ;  or  fables  or 
parables  ;  which  custom  and  general  consent  do' not 
rank  among  lies. 

God  is  said  to  have  put  a  lying  spirit  into  the 
mouths  of  false  prophets  ;  that  is",  he  permitted  them 
to  follow  the  impressions  of  the  evil  spirit,  1  Kings 
xxii.  23;  Prov.  xxiii.  3.  "We  have  made  lies  our 
refuge,"  (Isa.  xxviii.  15.)  i.  e.  we  have  placed  our 
confidence  in  falsehood  ;  in  deceitful  allies,  or  in  the 
delusive  promises  of  false  prophets;  or,  lastly,  in  the 
assistance  of  idols,  whom  they  call  vanity  and  lyino-. 
"The  hail  shall  sweep  away  the  refuge  of  lies,"  (ver. 
17.)  i.  e.  the  vain  hopes,  previously  mentioned  by  the 
prophet.  "A  deceived  heart  hath  turned  him  aside, 
that  he  cannot  deliver  his  soul,  nor  say,  Is  there  not 
a  lie  in  my  right  hand  ?"  i.  e.  am  I  not  In  the  wron?, 
thus  to  adore  wood  ?  Isa.  xliv.  20  ;  also  Jer.  viii.  §. 
Waters  that  fail,  that  lie,  are  those  that  flow  part  of 
the  year  only  ;  they  may  be  said  to  be  false,  for  they 
should  flow  perpetually,  Jer.  xv.  IS.  "Lying  hills" 
(Jer.  iii.  24.)  are  those  which,  after  they  have  made  a 
fine  appearance  to  the  eye,  produce  nothing.  Hosea 
says,  (ix.  2.)  The  vine  shall  lie  to  them  ;  the  vintage 
shall  fail ;  and  Habakkuk,  (iii.  17.)  that  the  olive- 
trees  shall  lie ;  that  is,  fail.  The  Latins  have  the 
same  way  of  speaking. 

LYSANIAS,  or  Ltsias,  tetrarch  of  Abilene,  a 
small  province  in  Lebanon,  (Luke  iii.  1.)  was  prob- 
ably son  or  grandson  of  another  Lysanias  known  in 
history,  (Dio.  lib.  xhx.  p.  44.)  and  put  to  death  by 
Mark  Antony,  who  gave  part  of  his  kingdom  to  Cle- 
opatra.    See  Abilexe. 

I.  LYSIAS,  a  Roman  tribune,  see  Claudius 
Lysias. 

II.  LYSIAS,  a  friend  and  relation  of  king  Anti- 
ochus  Epiphanes,  to  whom  he  left  the  regencv  of 
Syria  when  he  passed  beyond  the  Euphrates.  See 
Antiochus  Epiphanes. 

LYSIMACHUS,  brother  of  Menelaus,  high-priest 
of  the  Jews,  who,  in  an  attempt  to  pillage  the  treas- 
ury of  the  temple,  was  killed,  2  Mac.  iv.  39,  40.  He 
is  sometimes  reckoned  among  the  high-priests,  be- 
cause he  was  vicegerent  to  his  brother  Menelaus  ;  hut 
he  never  himself  possessed  that  dignity. 

LYSTRA,  a  city  of  Lycaonia,  of  which  Timothy 
was  a  native.     It  is  now  called  Latik.   See  Lycaonia, 


[  648  J 


M 


MAC 


MACEDONIA 


MAACAH,  Maachah,  Maachath,  or  Beth-Maa- 
CHAH,  a  city  and  region  of  Syria,  east  and  north  of 
the  sources  of  Jordan,  not  far  from  Geshur,  at  the 
foot  of  mount  Hermon.  It  was  called  Abel-beth- 
maachah,  because  Abel  was  situated  in  it.  The  Is- 
raelites would  not  destroy  the  Maachathites,  but  per- 
mitted them  to  dwell  in  the  land,  (Josh.  xiii.  13.)  and 
their  king  assisted  the  Ammonites  against  David,  2 
Sam.  X.  8,  9.  The  lot  of  the  half-tribe  of  Manasseh 
beyond  Jordan  extended  to  this  country,  Deut.  iii. 
14;  Josh.  xii.  5.     See  Abel  II. 

I.  MAACHAH,  daughter  of  Abishalom,  wife  of 
Rehoboam,  king  of  Judah,  and  mother  of  Abijam, 
his  successor,  1  Kings  xv.  2.  In  2  Chron.  xiii.  2, 
she  is  called  Micaiah,  daughter  of  Uriel  of  Gibeah. 
See  King's  Mother. 

II.  MAx\CHAH,  the  daughter  of  Abishalom, 
wife  of  Abijam,  king  of  Judah,  and  mother  of  Asa, 
his  successor,  I  Kings  xv.  10,  13,  14.  Asa  de[)rived 
her  of  the  office  of  priestess  of  the  groves.  There 
are  several  other  persons  of  this  name,  mentioned 
in  the  Old  Testament. 

MAACHATH,  see  Maacah. 

MAALEH-ACRABBIM,  the  ascent  of  scorpions, 
a  mountain  so  called  from  the  multitude  of  scorpions 
that  infested  it,  at  the  southern  end  of  the  Salt  sea. 
Numb,  xxxiv.  4;  Josh.  xv.  3.    See  Acrabatene,  II. 

MACCABEES,  a  name  assumed  by  a  patriotic  He- 
brew and  his  descendants,  who  successfully  resisted 
the  tyranny  of  Antiochus  Epiphanes.  (See  Judas.) 
It  is  generally  supposed  that  their  name  was  derived 
from  the  inscription  on  their  ensigns,  or  bucklers — 
■<  2  2  12,  which  begin  these  words,  nin''  a^n'^N^  noc^  t, 
Mi  Camoca  Be-elohim  Yehovah;  ( >  a  o  c,  Maccabei ;) 
fVho  is  like  unto  thee,  O  Lord,  among  the  gods  'J  (Exod. 
XV.  11.)  after  the  manner  that  the  Romans  put  on 
their  ensigns,  S.  P.  Q.  R.  Senatus  Popidusque  Ro- 
maniis. 

The  Books  of  Maccabees  are  four  in  number; 
the  first  two  are  esteemed  to  be  canonical  by  the 
church  of  Rome.  The  frst  book  contains  the  his- 
tory of  forty  years ;  i.  e.  from  Antiochus  Epiph- 
anes to  the  time  of  Simon  the  high-priest ;  from 
A.  M.  3829  to  3869.  The  second  book  contains  a 
compilation  of  several  pieces,  but  is  far  inferior  in 
point  of  accuracy  to  the  first.  It  comprises  a  his- 
tory of  about  fifteen  years ;  from  the  execution  of 
Heliodorus's  commission,  who  was  sent  by  Seleucus 
to  fetch  away  the  treasures  of  the  temple,  to  the  vic- 
tory obtained  by  Judas  Maccabfcus  over  Nicanor ; 
from  A.  M.  3828  to  3843.  The  third  book  contains 
the  history  of  the  persecution  raised  by  Ptolemy  Phi- 
lopater  against  tiie  Jews  of  Egypt,  A.  INI.  3787,  and 
should  therefore  be  placed  before  the  first  book. 
The  fourth  book  is  very  little  known.  It  is  found  in 
the  collected  works  of  Josephus,  under  the  title  of 
the  Government  of  Reason,  though  it  is  rejected  as 
spurious  by  the  best  critics.  It  contains  an  embel- 
lished account  of  the  persecution  of  the  Maccabean 
family  as  related  in  2  Mac.  vi.  vii.  the  scene  of  which 
it  places  at  Jerusalem. 

MACEDONIA,  a  country  of  Greece,  having 
Thrace  north,  Thessaly  south,  Epirus  west,  and  the 


iEgean  sea  east.  It  is  believed  that  Macedonia  was 
peopled  by  Kittim,  son  of  Javan,  (Gen.  x.  4.)  and 
that  by  Kittim,  in  the  Hebrew  text,  Macedonia  is 
often  to  be  understood.  (See  Chittim.)  Alexander 
the  Great,  son  of  Philip,  king  of  Macedonia,  having 
conquered  Asia,  and  subverted  the  Persian  empire, 
the  name  of  the  Macedonians  became  famous 
throughout  the  East ;  and  is  often  given  to  the  Greeks, 
the  successors  of  Alexander  in  the  monarchj',  Esth. 
(Apoc.)  xvi.  10,  14.  and  2  Mac.  viii.  20.  So  also  the 
Greeks  are  often  put  for  the  JNIacedonians,  (2  Mac. 
iv.  36.)  Paul,  being  called  in  a  vision,  while  at  Troas, 
to  preach  the  gospel  at  Macedonia,  founded  the 
churches  of  Thessalonica  and  Philippi,  Acts  xvi.  9, 
&c.  A.  D.  55. 

The  prophet  Daniel  describes  JMacedonia  under 
the  emblem  of  a  goat  with  one  horn,  and  it  is  there- 
fore of  great  consequence  that  this  symbol  should  be 
proved  to  be  that  proper  to  Macedonia;  for  if  this 
country  had  no  such  emblem  belonging  to  it,  we  must 
look  to  another  kingdom  for  a  fulfilment  of  the 
prophecy,  which  Avould  be  contrary  to  the  truth  of 
history,  and  would  produce  inextricable  confusion. 
The  following  observations  on  an  ancient  symbol  of 
IMacedon,  by  Taylor  Combe,  Esq.  F.  A.  S.  will  be 
found  useful : 

"I  had  lately  an  opportunity  of  procuring  an 
ancient  bronze  figure  of  a 
goat  with  one  horn,  which 
was  the  old  symbol  of  Mace- 
don.  . .  It  was  dug  up  in  Asia 
Minor,  and  brought  into  this 
country  by  a  poor  Turk.  Not 
only  many  of  the  individ- 
ual towns  in  IMacedon  and 
Thrace  employed  this  type, 
but  tlie  kingdom  itself  of 
Macedon,  Avhich  is  the  oldest 
in  Euroi)e  of  which  we  have 
any  regular   and    connected 

iiistory,  was  represented  also  by  a  goat,  with  this 
particularit}',  that  it  had  but  one  horn.  Carnus,  the 
first  king  of  the  iMaccdonians,  commenced  his  reign 
814  years  before  the  Christian  era.  The  circum- 
stance of  his  being  led  l)y  goats  to  the  city  of  Edessa, 
the  name  of  which,  when  he  established  there  the 
seat  of  his  kingdom,  he  converted  into  yEgea,  is  well 
worthy  of  remai-k :  Urbem  Edessam,  oh  memoriavi 
muneris,  Acgas,  populem  JEgeadas.  (Justin,  lib.  vii. 
cap.  1.)  Hesychius  says,  that  the  Cretans  call  the  goat 
caranus.  Xenophon  informs  us  in  his  first  book  of  the 
Grecian  histor}',  that  the  word  caranus  signifies  lord. 
Now  in  the  latter  case  tiie  word  caranus  may  seem 
regularly  to  be  derived  from  xu'hi,  caput  ;  but  in  the 
former  example  it  must  be  deduced  from  A'ereji,  {]-\p,) 
the  Hebrew  word  for  a  horn,  or,  which  is  the  same 
thing,  from  the  Greek  word  xioac.  This  last  ety- 
mology will  not  aj)pear  improbable,  when  we  consid- 
er the  difference  of  pronunciation  among  the  early 
Macedonians,  who  were  esteemed  by  the  rest  of 
Greece  as  barbarians,  and  who,  we  are  expressly 
told,  used  a  language  diflferent  from  that  which  was 
spoken  in  the  southern  parts  of  Greece.  (Strabo,  lib. 


MACEDONIA 


[  649  ] 


MACEDONIA 


vu.  p.  327.)  If,  then,  the  above  root  be  admitted,— and 
for  this  the  change  of  a  single  letter  is  only  necessa- 
ry,— it  will  appear,  I  say,  that  Caranus  was  so  called 
in  conformity  with  an  idea  of  power,  wliich  was  an- 
nexed to  the  word  horn,  even  in  the  earliest  period 
of  Macedonian  history.  In  the  reign  of  Arnyntas 
the  First,  nearly  300  years  after  Caranus,  and  about 
547  years  before  Christ,  the  Macedonians,  on  being 
threatened  with  an  invasion,  became  tributary  to  the 
Persians.  In  one  of  the  pilasters  of  Persepolis  this 
very  event  scenis  to  be  recorded  in  a  manner  that 
throws  considerable  light  upon  the  present  subject. 
A  goat  is  represented  with  an  immense  horn  grow- 
ing out  of  the  middle  of  his  forehead,  and  a  man  in 
a  Pei-sian  dress  is  seen  by  his  side,  holding  the  horn 
with  his  left  hand,  by  which  is  signified  the  subjec- 
tion of  Macedon.  A  proverb  in  use  at  the  present  day 
is  grounded  upon  this  ancient  practice  of  signifying 
conquest  by  the  capture  of  the  horns.  "  To  take  a 
bull  by  the  horns"  is  an  equivalent  phrase  for  "to 
conquer."  When  Demetrius  Phalereus  was  endeav- 
oring to  persuade  Philip,  the  father  of  Perseus  king 
of  Macedon,  to  make  himself  master  of  the  cities  of 
Ithome  and  Acrocorinthus,  as  a  necessary  step  to  the 
conquest  of  Peloponnesus,  he  is  reported  to  have 
used  the  following  expression  ;  "  Having  caught  hold 
of  both  horns,  you  will  possess  the  ox  itself:"  there- 
by meaning,  that  if  those  cities  which  were  the  chief 
defence  of  Peloponnesus  were  once  taken,  it  could 
not  but  happen  that  the  conquest  of  Peloponnesus 
would  follow.     (Strabo,  lib.  vii.  p.  361.)  .... 

"  In  the  reign  of  Archelaus  of  Macedon,  (A.  A.  C. 
413.)  there  occurs  on  the  reverse  of  a  coin  of  that 
king,  the  head  of  a  goat  having  only  one  horn.  Of 
this  coin,  so  remarkable  for  the  single  horn,  there  are 
two  varieties  ;  one  is  engraved  by  Pellerin,  and  the 
other  is  preserved  in  the  cabinet  of  the  late  Dr.  W. 
Hunter. 

"But  the  custom  of  representing  the  type  and 
power  of  a  country  under  the  form  of  a  horned  animal 
is  not  peculiar  to  Macedonia.  Persia  was  repi-esented 
by  a  ram.  Ammianus  Marcellinus  acquaints  us,  that 
the  king  of  Persia,  when  at  the  head  of  his  army, 
wore  a  ram's  head  made  of  gold,  and  set  with  pre- 
cious stones,  instead  of  a  diadem.  (Lib.  xix.  cap.  1.) 
The  type  of  Persia,  the  ram,  is  observable  on  a  very 
ancient  coin,  undoubtedly  Persian,  in  Dr.  Hunter's 
collection. 

"The  relation  of  these  emblems  to  Macedon  and 
Persia  is  strongly  confirmed  by  the  vision  in  the 
prophet  Daniel,  (chap.  viii.  3 — 8.)  which,  while  it  ex- 
plains the  specimens  of  antiquity  before  us,  receives 
itself  in  return  no  inconsiderable  share  of  illustration. 
The  whole  of  this  vision  is  afterwards  ex})lained 
by  the  angel  Gabriel,  verses  21 — 23.  Nothing,  cer- 
tainly, is  more  directly  applicable  to  overthrow  the 
joint  empire  of  the  Medesand  Persians  by  Alexander 

the  Great,  than  are 
these  verses  in  the 
book  of  Daniel ; 
nor  at  the  same 
time  can  better 
authority  be  re- 
quired for  the 
true  meaning  of 
the  single-horned 
goat,  than  may 
be  derived  from 
the  same  source. 
There  is  a  gem  engraved  in  the  Florentine  collec- 
tion, (plate  51.)  which,  as  it  confirms  what  has  been 
83 


already  said,  and  has  not  hitherto  been  understood, 
I  think  worthy  of  mention.  It  will  be  seen  by  the 
drawing  I  have  made  of  this  gem,  that  nothing  more 
nor  less  is  meant  by  the  ram's  head  with  two  horns, 
and  the  goat's  head  with  one,  than  the  kingdoms  of 
Persia  and  Macedon,  represented  under  their  appro- 
priate symbols.  From  the  circumstance,  however, 
of  these  characteristic  types  being  united,  it  is  ex- 
tremely probable  that  the  gem  was  engraved  after 
the  conquest  of  Persia  by  Alexander  the  Great." 

This  testimony  is  of  great  value,  especially  to  those 
who  know  that  the  writer  had  the  best  means  of  in- 
struction in  numismatics,  under  his  father,  Dr.  Combe, 
who  edited  the  publication  of  Dr.  Hunter's  Medals, 
&LC.  Mr.  Taylor,  however,  has  endeavored  to  col- 
lect some  additional  circumstances. 

The  Macedonians  are  supposed  by  Dr.  Mede  to 
have  derived  their  origin  from  Media.  Without  de- 
termining on  the  conclusiveness  of  the  doctor's  ety- 
mologies, Mr.  Taylor  supposes  that  Media,  a  prov- 
ince adjoining  Persia,  is  much  more  likely  to  be  al- 
luded to,  on  the  walls  of  Persepolis,  a  Persian  pal- 
ace, than  Macedonia,  a  province  very  remote  from 
the  seat  of  empire.  The  triumph  of  Persia  over 
Media,  or  any  advantage  gained  over  that  country, 
was  of  importance,  and  worth  recording;  but  of 
what  importance  was  a  triumph  over  Macedonia? 
It  is  observable,  also,  that  in  the  general  jjrocession 
which  adorns  the  jialace  of  Persepolis,  and  which  is 
supposed  to  be  a  representation  of  the  various  prov- 
inces of  the  empire,  in  the  act  of  i)aying  their  an- 
nual presents  to  the  king,  each  of  them  being  denot- 
ed by  its  proper  symbol,  there  appears  the  emblem 
of  two  goats,  each  having  only  one  horn.  This 
would  be  extremely  embarrassing,  if  we  did  not 
know  that  there  were  two  Medias,  the  Upper  and  the 
Lower;  which  as  they  were  in  some  respects  but 
one  province,  though  divided,  so  they  are  rejjresent- 
ed  by  two  goats  walking  together,  but  each  directed 
by  his  proper  superintendent.  He  therefore  con- 
cludes that  Media  was  symbolized  by  the  single- 
horned  goat ;  and  that  the  iMacedonians,  being  de- 
rived from  thence,  retained  the  symbol  of  their  origi- 
nal country.  This  will  also  explain  the  reason  of 
Daniel's  perplexity  on  seeing  the  vision,  as  he  could 
not  tell  which  of  the  two  countiies,  that  in  the  East, 
or  that  in  the  West,  was  intended  as  the  conqueror 
of  Persia.  It  was  most  likely  that  he  should  think 
of  Media,  unless  informed  to  the  contrary. 

This  medal  is  given  in  proof  that  Macedonia  was 


divided 'into  several  .provinces,  four  at  least,  when 
under  the  Roman  government.  iNIany  medals  of  the 
first  province  are  extant,  mostly  in  silver,  and  they 
enable  us  to  assert,  that  the  evangelist  Luke  (Acts 
xvi.  12.)  means  not  to  describe  Philippi  as  the  first 
or  chief  city  of  Macedonia,  wliich  was  not  true  in 
any  sense ;'  but  as  a  city  of  the  first  Macedonia, 
which  is  the  correct  import  of  his  words.  See 
Philippi. 

Among  the  medals  of  Macedonia  is  one  with  a 
lion  devouring  a  bull ;  and  it  is  remarkabh;  that  the 
same  subject  is  sculptured  in  very  large  figures  on 


MAD 


[  650 


MAG 


the  palace  of  Persepolis.  What  could  induce  Mace- 
donia, a  country  where  there  are  no  lions,  to  adopt 
this  emblem?  But  if  it  were  derived  from  the 
East,  then  it  contributes  to  prove  the  derivation  of 
this  people  from  the  same  quarter;  and  wc  must 
look  to  the  East  for  its  explanation. 

MACEDONIAN  is  in  the  Apocryphal  books 
sometimes  used  as  an  appellative,  for  an  enemy  to 
the  Jews.  Thus,  in  the  additions  to  the  book  of 
Esther,  it  is  said  Haman  was  a  Macedonian  by  na- 
tion and  inclination,  or  party ;  that  he  was  desirous 
to  transfer  the  empire  of  the  Persians  to  the  Mace- 
donians ;  that  is,  to  the  greatest  enemies  of  the  state. 

MACH^RUS,  or  Macheroxte,  a  citj-  and  fort 
beyond  Jordan,  in  the  tribe  of  Reuben,  north  and 
east  of  the  lake  Asphaltites,  two  or  three  leagues 
from  Jordan,  and  not  far  from  where  that  river  dis- 
charges itself  into  the  Dead  sea.  This  castle  had 
been  fortified  by  the  Asmoneans ;  but  Gabinius  de- 
molished it,  and  Aristobulus  re-fortified  it.  Herod 
the  Great  made  it  much  stronger  than  before.  Here 
John  the  Baptist  was  im])risoued,  and  beheaded,  by 
order  of  Herod  Antipas.  (Joseph.  Ant.  xiv.  10,  11  ; 
xviii.  7.) 

MACHPELAH,  or  Machpbla,  the  name  of  the 
plain  in  which  the  cave  which  Abraham  bought  of 
Ephron  was  situated.  Gen.  xxiii.  9,  17. 

MAD,  MADNESS,  insanity,  or  dein-ivation  of 
reason ;  medically  defined  to  be  delirium  without 
fever.  Our  Lord  cured,  by  his  word,  several  who 
were  deprived  of  the  exercise  of  their  rational  pow- 
ers ;  and  the  circumstances  of  their  histories  prove, 
that  there  could  neither  be  mistake  nor  collusion 
respecting  them.  How  far  madness  may  be  allied 
to,  or  connected  with,  demoniacal  possession,  is  a 
very  intricate  inquiry ;  and  whether  in  the  present 
day  (as  perhaps  anciently)  evil  spirits  may  not  take 
advantage  from  distemperature  of  the  bodily  frame, 
to  augment  evils  endured  by  the  patient,  is  more 
than  may  be  affirmed,  though  the  idea  seems  to 
be  not  absolutely  repugnant  to  reason.  Nevertheless, 
what  may  be,  is  probably  different  on  most  inquiries 
from  what  we  can  prove  really  is. 

The  epithet  mad  is  applied  to  several  descriptions 
of  persons  in  Scripture;  as  (1.)  to  one  deprived  of 
reason,  Acts  xxvi.  24;  1  Cor.  xiv.  23. — (2.)  To  one 
whose  reason  is  depraved,  and  overruled  by  the  fury 
of  his  angry  passions.  Acts  xxvi.  11. — (3.)  To  one 
whose  mind  is  perplexed  and  bewildered,  so  dis- 
turlied  that  he  acts  in  an  uncertain,  extravagant,  ir- 
regular manner,  Deut.  xxviii.  34 ;  Eccl.  vii.  7. — (4.) 
To  one  who  is  infatuated  by  the  vehemence  of  his 
desires  after  idols  and  vanities,  Jer.  1.  .38. — or  (5.) 
After  folly,  deceit  and  falsehood,  Hosea  ix.  7. 

David's  madness  (1  Sam.  xxi.  1.3.)  is  by  many  sup- 
posed not  to  have  been  feigned,  but  a  real  epilepsy 
or  falling  sickness ;  and  the  LXX  use  words  which 
strongly  indicate  this  sense.  It  is  urged  in  support 
of  this  opinion,  that  the  troubles  which  David  un- 
derwent iniglit  very  naturally  weaken  his  constitu- 
tional strength ;  and  that  the  force  he  suflR'red  in 
being  obliged  to  seek  shelter  in  a  foreign  co>n-t,  would 
disturb  his  imagination  in  the  highest  degree. 

MADAI,  the  third  son  of  Japlieth,  (Gen.  x.  2.)  and 
father  of  the  Mcdes.  Others  suppose  that  Media  is 
too  distant  from  the  other  countries  peopled  bv  Ja- 
pheth,  and  cannot  be  con)prehendcd  under  the  name 
of  "The  Isles  of  the  Gentiles,"  which  were  allotted 
to  the  sonsof  Japheth.  For  these  rensojis  some  learn- 
ed men  have  been  led  to  suggest,  that  Madai  v.as 
father  of  the  Macedonians,  whose  country  v.ns  called 


jEmathia,  as  if  from  the  Hebrew  or  Greek  Ei,  an 
island,  and  Madai ;  q.  d.  the  isle  of  Madai,  (ii-  >t<) 
insula  Madai.  Near  this  country  is  mentioned  a 
people  called  Msedi,  or  Madi.  This  supposition,  how- 
ever, is  too  artificial,  and  is  unnecessary.    See  Media. 

MADMANNAH,  or  Medemene,  a  city  of  Simeon, 
(Josh.  XV.  31.)  first  given  to  Judah,  very  far  south, 
towards  Gaza,  Isa.  x.  31  :  1  Chron.  ii.  49. 

MAGDALA,  a  tower,  was  not  far  from  Tiberias; 
it  is  sometimes  called  by  the  Jews  "Magdala  of  Ga- 
dara."  From  hence,  probably,  Mary  of  Magdala,  or 
Mary  the  Magdalene,  was  named.  Matt,  xxviii.  1  ; 
Luke  viii.  2. 

I.  MAGI,  or  Magians,  is  a  name  given  to  an  an- 
cient sect  in  Persia  who  are  worshippers  of  fire. 
Their  later  name  is  Parsees,  or  Guebres.  They  have 
three  books,  which  contain  the  whole  of  their  reli- 
gion, Zend,  Pazend  and  Abesta,  which  they  ascribe 
to  Abraham.  Abesta  is  a  commentary  on  the  other 
two.  They  maintain  the  existence  of  two  principles ; 
one,which  they  call  Oromazd,  the  author  ofgood ;  and 
the  other,  Aherman,  the  author  of  evil.  They  worship 
fire  in  temples  called  Atesch-kana,  or  Atesch-kade ; 
that  is,  the  house  of  fire,  where  they  carefully  main- 
tain the  flame.  To  fire  they  give  the  name  of  bab, 
i.  e.  part,  because  they  acknowledge  this  element  as 
the  principle  of  all  things.  The  JMagi  observe  a 
mjsterious  and  religious  silence,  when  they  wash,  or 
eat,  having  first  said  certain  v/ords ;  and  to  every 
month  of  the  year,  to  every  day,  star,  mountain,  mine, 
collection  of  water,  and  tree,  they  ascribe  particular 
genii,  angels  created  before  man,  who  sinned  by  in- 
fidelity and  disobedience,  and  therefore  were  con- 
fined to  what  they  call  the  coiuitry  of  Genii,  not 
unlike  to  our  notions  of  Fairy-Land.  See  Zoro- 
aster, and  Media. 

They  represent  the  good  principle  by  light,  the  evil 
principle  by  darkness ;  tliey  acknowledge  both  as 
gods,  and  address  prayers  and  adorations  to  them ; 
yet  thejf  were  divided  in  opinion,  some  thinking  that 
both  had  existed  from  eternity ;  others,  that  only 
the  good  principle  was  eternal,  and  the  evil  one  cre- 
ated. These  two  principles  they  believe  to  be  in 
continual  opposition,  and  that  they  will  so  continue 
to  the  end  of  the  world,  when  the  good  principle 
will  prevail ;  after  which,  each  will  have  his  own 
distinct  world  ;  the  good  reigning  with  all  good  peo- 
ple, and  the  bad  with  all  the  wicked. 

The  principles  of  the  most  ancient  Magi,  though 
still  imperfectly  known,  have  been  lately  communi- 
cated to  Europe  in  several  translations  from  the 
works  of  their  sect,  obtained  from  its  adhei-ents  in 
India.  Among  these  the  most  considerable  is  the 
Zend-Avesta,  attributed  to  Zoroaster  ;  translated  into 
French  by  M.  Anquetil  Du  Perron,  4to,  3  vols.  Paris, 
1771.  That  this  is  really  the  work  of  the  most  an- 
cient Zoroaster,  and  therefore  of  the  Alagi,  it  would 
be  difficult  to  prove  ;  bin  it  contains  the  i)rayers,  cer- 
emonies and  maxims  of  those  who  now  call  them- 
selves his  disciples,  in  India.  It  has  some  traces  of 
ancient  simplicity  and  suj)erstition  ;  but  interpolated 
with  much  later  and  l)ur(lensoine  additions  and  am- 
plifications. More  recently  has  been  published  at 
Bombay,  (1818,)  by  Mulla  Firuz  bin  Kaus,  the  learn- 
ed cliief  j)riest  of  the  Parsee  religion  at  Bombay, 
"The  Desatir,  or  Sacred  Writings  of  the  ancient  Per- 
sian Prophets,  with  an  English  Translation."  It  is 
written  in  a  dialect  now  wholly  extinct ;  and  would 
have  been  unintelligible,  but  for  the  fortunate  cir- 
cumstance of  being  attended  with  a  Persian  trans- 
lation and  glossary.     Among  these  writings  is  one 


MAO 


[  651 


MAI 


attributed  to  Zoroaster,  who  stands  here  as  the  thir- 
teenth in  order.  The  last  is  the  fifth  Sasan,  who 
lived  in  the  time  of  Khosroo  Parvez,  who  was  con- 
temporary Avith  the  emperor  HeracUus;  and  died 
only  nine  years  before  the  destruction  of  the  an- 
cient Persian  monarchy.  No  account  is  given 
of  the  times  of  the  other  prophets,  whose  works 
precede. 

The  doctrines  inculcated  in  these  writings  are,  the 
eternity  and  self-existence  of  the  Supreme  Deity, 
who  created  another  intelligence,  who  made  the 
worlds,  who  made  several  heavens,  and  gave  to  each 
a  soul,  and  a  body,  also  the  stars  ;  (the  planets  and 
the  fixed  stars,  called  slow-moving  stars  ;)  that  the 
elements,  meteors,  &c.  have  each  its  guardian  angel ; 
that  in  a  former  state  ferocious  animals  have  been 
guilty  of  crimes,  for  which  they  now  suffer  punish- 
ment, in  being  hunted,  &c.  and  that  men  who  now 
commit  crimes,  will  be  punished  by  becoming  such, 
or  hke,  animals,  or  vegetables,  or  minerals.  The  in- 
effable attributes  of  Deity  are  emphatically  celebrat- 
ed in  these  works ;  which  contain  much  laudable 
theism,  but  little  or  nothing  of  rites  and  ceremonies. 
They  direct  that  prayer  be  made  to  light,  or  fire,  not 
as  being  themselves  deities,  but  as  conveying  the 
sacrifice  to  divine  intelligences. 

II.  MAGI,  or  Wise  Men,  who  came  to  adore  Je- 
sus at  Bethlehem,  (3Iatt.  ii.  1.)  are  commonly  thought 
to  have  been  philosophers,  whose  chief  study  was 
astronomy,  and  who  dwelt  in  Arabia  Deserta,  or 
Mesopotamia,  which  the  sacred  authors  express  by 
the  word  East.  (See  Numb,  xxiii.  7.  and  Kedem.) 
[This  name.  Magi,  is  properly  an  appellation  given, 
among  the  Persians,  to  priests,  wise  men,  philoso- 
phers, etc.  who  devoted  themselves  to  the  study  of  the 
moral  and  physical  sciences,  and  particularly  cultivat- 
ed astrology  and  medicine.  As  they  thus  acquired 
great  honor  and  influence,  they  were  introduced  in- 
to the  courts  of  kings  and  consulted  on  all  occasions. 
They  also  followed  them  in  warlike  expeditions ; 
and  so  much  importance  was  attached  to  their  advice 
and  opinions,  that  nothing  Avas  attempted  without 
their  approbation.  (See  Xen.  Cyr.  iv.  5.  51.  iv.  6. 11. 
vii.  5.  57.  Aelian.  Var.  Hist.  ii.  17.  iv.  10.  Por- 
phyr.  de  abstiu  Anim.  iv.  16.  Strabo  i.  43.  xv.  1045. 
Plin.  Hist.  Nat.  xxiv.  29.  xxix.  .3.)     R. 

Caltnet  is  of  opinion  that  the  star  seen  by  the 
Magi  was  an  inflamed  meteor,  in  the  middle  of  the 
air,  which,  having  been  observed  by  them  to  be 
attended  with  miraculous  and  extraordinary  circum- 
stances, was  taken  for  the  star  so  long  foretold  by 
Balaam  ;  and  that,  afterwards,  they  resolved  to  follow 
it,  and  to  seek  the  new-born  king,  whose  advent  it 
declared.  It  was,  therefore,  as  he  thinks,  a  light  that 
moved  in  the  air  before  them,  something  like  the 
pillar  of  cloud  in  the  desert. 

MAGIC,  that  is,  all  those  arts,  the  superstitious 
ceremonies  of  magicians,  sorcerers,  enchanters,  nec- 
romancers, exorcists,  astrologers,  soothsayers,  hiter- 
preters  of  dreams,  fortune-tellers,  casters  of  nativi- 
ties, &.C.  are  all  forbidden  by  the  law  of  God,  wheth- 
er practised  to  hurt  or  to  benefit  mankind.  It  was 
also  forbidden  to  consult  magicians  on  pain  of  death, 
Lev.  xix.  31 ;  xx.  6.  Daniel  speaks  of  magicians 
and  diviners  in  Chaldea,  under  Nebuchadnezzar, 
(Dan.  i.  20,  &c.)  of  whom  he  names  four  sorts: 
Chartumim,  Asaphim,  Mecasphim  and  Casditn,  (chap. 
ii.  2.)  but  their  distinctions  are  not  certainly  known. 

MAGOG,  son  of  Japheth,  (Gen.  x.  2.)  and  father, 
as  is  believed,  of  the  Scythians  and  Tartars ;  a  name 
which  comprehends  the  Getee,  the  Goths,  the  Sar- 


matiaiis,  the  Sacae,  the  Massagetae,  and  others.  The 
Tartai-s  and  3Iuscovites  possess  the  country  of  the 
ancient  Scythians,  and  retain  several  traces  of  the 
names  Gog  and  Magog.  They  were  formerly  called 
Mogli,  and  in  Tartary  are  the  provinces  Lug,  Mon- 
gug,  Cangigu  and  Gigui ;  Engui,  Corgangui,  Caigui, 
&c.  Gog  and  Magog  have  in  a  manner  passed  into 
a  proverb,  to  express  a  multitude  of  powerful,  cruel, 
barbarous  and  implacable  enemies  to  God  and  his 
worship.  (See  Gog.)  The  Arabians  and  other  orien- 
tal writers  speak  of  the  same  people  under  the  names 
of  Jagug  and  Magug. 

Suidas  says  Magog  is  the  Persians;  whence  we 
might  suppose,  that  Ezekiel,  who  describes  the  army 
of  Magog,  intended  the  army  of  Xerxes.  Josephus 
says,  the  people  named  Magoges  were  so  called  from 
their  leader,  Magog,  who,  by  the  Greeks,  is  called  a 
Scythian.  It  should  seem,  therefore,  that  Josephus 
speaks  of  a  name  and  a  people  well  known  in  his 
own  time.  And  Ebedjesu,  in  the  thirteenth  century, 
says,  that  Adeus  planted  Christianity  "throughout 
Persia,  the  regions  of  Assyria,  Armenia,  Media,  Bab- 
ylonia, the  land  of  Huz,  (in  th'e  south  of  Persia,  not 
far  from  the  Tigris,  whose  metropolis  is  marked 
Ahvaz  in  D'Anville,  about  lat.  40.)  to  the  confines  of 
India,  and  even  to  the  land  of  Gog  and  Magog ;" — 
the  country,  evidently,  which  we  now  call  Tartary. 
Gog  appears  to  describe  the  king,  and  Magog  the 
people. 

MAHALALEEL,  or  Malaleel,  son  of  Canaan, 
of  the  race  of  Seth,  Gen.  v.  15,  &c. 

MAHALATH  is  the  title  of  Psalms  liii.  and 
Lxxxviii.  "To  the  chief  musician  on  Mahalath;" 
which  signifies  a  musical  mstrument;  probably  a 
stringed  instrument  to  be  accompanied  by  song.  In 
Ethiopic  the  corresponding  word,  Mahlet,  signifies 
song,  psalm,  but  also  i;t9aiia,  a  harp,  guitar,  etc.     R. 

MAHANAIM,  the  two  camps  or  hosts,  a  city  of  the 
Levites  of  the  family  of  Merari,  in  Gad,  on  the 
brook  Jabbok,  Josh.  xxi.  38 ;  xiii.  29,  30  ;  1  Chron. 
vi.  80.  Jacob  gave  it  this  name,  because  here  he  had 
a  vision  of  angels.  Gen.  xxxii.  2.  It  was  the  seat  of 
the  kingdom  of  Ish-bosheth,  after  the  death  of  Saul, 
(2  Sam.  ii.  9 — 12.)  and  thither  David  retired,  during 
the  usurpation  of  Absalom,  2  Sam.  xvii.  xviii,  &c. 
In  the  Vulgate  it  is  sometimes  called  simply  Castra, 
or  the  camp.  Gen.  xxxii.  2;  2  Sam.  ii.  8, 12,  29;  xvii. 
24;  xix.  32.  xiSuoa,  a  harp,  guitar,  etc.     R. 

MAHER-SHALAL-HASH-BAZ,  he  hasteneth  to 
the  prey,  a  name  given  to  one  of  the  sons  of  the 
prophet  Isaiah,  by  way  of  prediction  ;  (Isa.  viii.  3.) 
The  prophet  observes  that  his  children  were  for  signs 
and  wonders,  and  this  name  is  evidence  of  the  fact. 
Of  the  same  nature  we  are  to  consider  Emmanuel, 
and  some  other  names.    See  Virgin. 

MAHLAH,  or  Mahala,  a  daughter  of  Zelophe- 
had,  who  with  her  sisters  received  their  allotment 
in  the  land  of  Canaan,  because  their  father  died 
without  male  issue.  Numb.  xxvi.  33 ;  xxvii.  1  ;  Josh, 
xvii.  3  ;  1  Chron.  vii.  15. 

MAHLON,  son  of  Elimelech  and  Naomi,  (Ruth 
i.  2,  &c.)  who  in  the  country  of  Moab  married  Ruth, 
a  3Ioabite  woman,  but  died  without  children  :  his 
widow  followed  her  mother-in-law  Naomi  to  Beth- 
lehem, where  she  married  Boaz. 

MAIMED  implies  the  loss  of  a  hmb  or  member; 
oflen  the  absolute  loss  of  it,  not  a  suspension  of  its 
use,  by  a  contraction,  or  diminution.  This  total  loss 
is  clearly  the  import  of  the  original  word,  "  If  thine 
hand  or  foot  offend  thee,  out  them  off,  and  cast  them 
from  thee — enter  into  life  maimed — rather  than  hav- 


MAL 


[652  ] 


MAL 


iug  two  hands,"  &c.  Matt,  xviii.  8.  And  this  should 
the  rather  be  observed,  to  distinguish  it  from  wither- 
ed, contracted,  &c.  and  because  it  may  be  asked, 
what  we  should  think  of  a  person  who  could  restore 
a  lost  limb,  or  member.  Perhaps  we  are  not  always 
sensible  of  the  full  import  of  this  word,  when  read- 
ing the  history  of  the  miraculous  cures  performed 
by  our  Lord. 

MAKAZ,  a  city  probably  of  Dan,  (1  Kings  iv.  9.) 
supposed  by  Calmet  to  be  the  Maktesh,  the  jaw-tooth, 
or  En-hakkore,  of  Judg.  xv.  19;  Zeph.  i.  IL 

MAKELOTH,  an  encampment  of  Israel  in  the 
desert,  Numb,  xxxiii.  25,  26. 

MAKKEDAH,  a  city  of  Judah,  (Josh.  xv.  4L) 
which  Eusebius  places  8  miles  from  Eleutheropolis, 
cast,  Josh.  X.  29.     Called  Maked,  1  Mac.  v.  26,  38. 

MAKTESH,  nwrter,  probably  the  name  of  a  quar- 
ter or  district  in  or  near  Jerusalem,  perhaps  one  of 
the  adjacent  valleys,  Zeph.  i.  IL     *R. 

MALACHI,  the  last  of  the  twelve  minor  prophets, 
and  so  little  known  that  it  is  doubted  whether  his 
name  be  a  proper  name,  or  only  a  generical  one,  sig- 
nifying the  angel  of  the  Lord,  a  messenger,  a  proph- 
et. It  appears  by  Hag.  i.  13.  and  Mai.  iii.  L  that  in 
these  times  the  name  of  Malach-Jehovah,  messenger 
of  the  Lord,  was  given  to  prophets.  The  IjXX  have 
rendered  Malachi,  his  angel,  instead  of  my  angel,  as 
the  original  expresses ;  and  several  of  the  fathers 
have  quoted  Malachi  under  the  name  of  "  the  angel 
of  the  Lord."  The  second  book  of  Esdras  and  Ter- 
tuUian  unite  the  name  Malachi  and  angel  of  the 
Lord.  Origen  thought  that  Malachi  was  an  angel 
incarnate,  rather  than  a  prophet;  but  this  opinion  is 
insupportable.  It  is  much  more  probable  that  Mal- 
achi was  Ezra  ;  and  this  is  the  opinion  of  the  ancient 
Hebrews,  of  the  Chaldee  paraplirast,  of  Jerome,  and 
of  abbot  Rupert.  The  author  of  the  Lives  of  the 
Prophets,  under  the  name  of  Epiphanius  Dorotheus, 
and  the  Chronicon  Alexandrinum,  say,  that  Malachi 
was  of  the  tribe  of  Zebulun,  and  native  of  Sapha ; 
that  the  name  Malachi  was  given  to  him  because  of 
his  angelical  mildness,  and  because  an  angel  used  to 
appear  visibly  to  the  people,  after  the  prophet  had 
spoken  to  them,  to  confirm  what  he  had  said.  He 
died  very  young,  as  they  say,  and  was  buried  near 
the  place  of  his  ancestors. 

It  appears  certain  that  Malachi  prophesied  under 
Nehemiah,  and  after  Haggai  and  Zechariah,  at  a  time 
of  great  disorder  among  the  priests  and  people  of 
Judah,  whom  he  reproves.  He  inveighs  against  the 
priests  ;  reproves  the  people  for  having  taken  strange 
wives,  for  inhmnanity  to  their  brethren,  for  too  fre- 
quently divorcing  their  wives,  and  for  neglect  of  pay- 
ing tithes  and  first-fruits.  He  seems  to  allude  to  the 
covenant  that  Nehemiah  renewed  with  the  Lord,  to- 
gether with  the  ])ricsts  and  the  chief  of  the  nation. 
Malachi  is  the  last  of  the  prophets  of  the  synagogue, 
and  lived  about  400  years  before  Christ.  He  i)roi)h- 
esied  of  the  coming  of  John  the  Baptist,  and  of  the 
two-fold  coming  of  our  Saviour,  very  clearly,  ch.  iii. 
He  speaks  of  the  abolition  of  sacrifices  under  the 
old  law,  and  of  the  sacrifice  of  the  new  law,  chap. 
i.  10,  13;   iv.  5,0. 

MALCHUS,  a  servant  of  the  high-priest  Caiaphas, 
who,  in  the  garden  of  olives,  among  those  sent  to  ap- 
prehend Jesus,  was  struck  by  Peter,  and  had  his  right 
ear  cut  ofl^,  Joliii  xviii.  10. 

MALICE  is  a  word  which  expresses  not  only  that 
evil  disposition  of  the  mind  and  heart,  which  we  so 
call,  but  also  punishment  and  correction,  1  Sam.  xx. 
7  ;  xx\.  17.     (See  also  Isa.  xl.  2.)     Paul  requires  that 


Christians  should  be  children  in  malice,  but  men  in 
prudence  and  wisdom,  1  Cor.  xiv.  20. 

MALTA,  or  Melita,  [Eng.  tr.]  a  famous  island 
in  the  Mediterranean  sea.  It  is  thought  to  have  been 
named  Melita,  from  the  great  quantity  of  honey  found 
there  formerly.  Its  length  is  from  east  to  west,  and 
its  breadth  from  north  to  south.  Its  circumference 
is  about  sixty  miles,  and  is  ascribed  to  Africa  by  ge- 
ographers, because,  if  a  line  be  draAvn  from  east  to 
west,  it  will  be  included  in  the  African  sea.  Paul 
suffered  shipwreck  on  this  island,  and,  with  his  com- 
panions, was  well  used  by  the  inhabitants.  Acts  xxviii. 
Paul  taking  up  a  fagot  of  twigs  to  throw  into  the 
fire,  a  viper  that  lurked  in  it,  feeling  the  heat,  seized 
him  by  the  hand  ;  but  he,  without  any  emotion,  shook 
it  into  the  fire.  The  people  expected  every  moment 
to  see  him  fall  down  dead  ;  and  as  this  did  not  hap- 
pen, they  changed  their  sentiments,  and  began  to 
look  upon  him  as  some  deity.  Publius,  the  govern- 
or of  the  island,  received  the  apostle  courteously  ; 
and  his  father  being  sick  of  a  fever  and  bloody  flux, 
Paul  healed  him,  and  also  restored  many  of  the 
islanders  to  health.  When  he  and  his  company 
sailed  thence,  the  people  abundantly  supplied  them 
with  necessaries  for  their  voyage.  Sevei-al  of  them 
were  converted  by  the  preaching  of  Paul ;  and  the 
house  of  Publius  was  changed  into  a  church. 

A  native  of  this  island  informed  Calmet  that  Mal- 
ta was  an  ancient  colony  of  the  Carthaginians,  and 
liad  always  spoken  the  language  of  Africa,  as  it 
continues  to  do.  Hence  those  of  Paul's  company, 
who  were  Greeks  or  Latins,  called  the  Maltese  bar- 
barians. 

We  ought  not  to  close  this  article,  without  hinting 
at  an  opinion  lately  started,  and  supported  by  men 
of  very  competent  learning,  that  the  Melita  of  the 
Acts  was  an  island  in  the  Adriatic  sea,  on  the  coast 
of  Illyricum,  now  called  Meleda.  To  prove  this,  the 
course  of  the  winds,  the  Euroclydon,  with  the  other 
circumstances  of  the  voyage,  have  been  closely  ex- 
amined. But  it  appears  from  the  history,  that  the 
same  winds,  the  S.  E.  the  E.  S.  E.  and  the  E.  were 
equally  likely  to  drive  the  ship  to  Malta,  in  a  direct 
course  from  Crete  ;  that  the  fears  of  the  seamen,  of 
falling  on  the  Syrtes  (quicksands)  the  greater  or  the 
lesser,  were  more  than  nugatory  in  that  case,  as  they 
were  going  farther  and  farther  from  them,  towards 
Meleda  ;  that  it  does  not  appear  that  ever  the  Ro- 
mans had  such  an  establishment  at  Meleda  as  war- 
ranted the  residence  of  a  protos  or  pro-pretor  there  ; 
and  that  it  was  to  the  last  degree  unlikely  that  "  a 
ship  of  Alexandria"  should  have  chosen  Meleda  for 
the  purpose  of  "  wintering  in  the  island,"  which  im- 
plies her  arrival  before  the  stormy  season  : — all  these 
objections  form  a  strong  argument  against  the  newly- 
proposed  opinion. 

[The  name  Melita  was  anciently  applied  to  two 
islands ;  one  in  the  Adriatic  sea  on  the  coast  of  Il- 
lyricum, now  called  Meleda;  the  other  in  the  Med- 
iterranean, between  Sicily  and  Africa,  now  called 
Malta.  That  the  latter  is  the  one  on  which  Paul 
suffered  shipwrrck  is  probable,  because  he  left  the 
island  in  a  ship  of  Alexandria  which  had  wintered 
tliere  on  her  voyage  to  Italy,  rnd  after  touching  at 
Syracuse  and  Rliegium,  landed  at  Piiteoli ;  thus  sail- 
ing on  a  direct  course.  The  other  Melita  would  be 
far  out  of  the  usual  track  from  Alexandria  to  Italy; 
and  in  sailing  from  it  to  Rhegium,  Syracuse  also 
would  be  out  of  the  direct  course.  The  fact  that 
the  vessel  was  tossed  all  night  belbre  the  shipwreck, 
in  the  Adriatic  sea,  does  not  militate  against  the  prob- 


M  A  N 


[653] 


MANASSEH 


ability  of  its  aftenvarcfe  being  driven  upon  Malta ; 
because  the  name  Adria  was  applied  to  the  whole 
Ionian  sea,  which  lay  between  Sicily  and  Greece. 
So  Strabo  ii.  p.  185.  C.  vii.  p.  488.  A.  (See  Wetstein 
on  Acts  xxvii.  27.  and  Adria.)      R. 

MAMMON,  a  Chaldee  word  signifying  riches. 
Our  Saviour  says,  we  cannot  at  the  same  time  serve 
God  and  manmion ;  (Matt.  vi.  24.)  that  we  ought  not 
to  make  ourselves  adherents  of  mammon,  or  of  the 
riches  of  unrighteousness,  that  is,  of  worldly  riches, 
which  are  commonly  the  instruments  of  sin,  and  are 
acquired  too  often  by  unrighteousness  and  iniquity. 

MAMRE,  the  name  of  an  Amorite  in  alliance  with 
Abraham,  Gen.  xiv.  13,  24.  Hence  the  oaks  of  Mam- 
re,  (Engl.  tr.  plain  of  Mamre,  Gen.  xiii.  18  ;  xviii.  1.) 
or  simply  Mamre,  (xxiii.  17, 19.  xxxv.  27.)  a  grove  near 
Hebron.     R. 

3IAN,  the  generic  name  of  the  human  race,  (Gen. 
i.  27.)  who  were  created  after  the  unage  and  likeness 
of  God.     See  Adam. 

"  A  man  of  God  "  generally  signifies  a  j)rophet ;  a 
man  devoted  to  God ;  to  his  service.  Moses  is  called 
[)eculiarly  "  the  man  of  God,"  Deut.  xxxiii.  1 ;  Josh, 
xiv.  6.  Our  Saviour  frequently  calls  himself  "the 
son  of  man,"  in  allusion,  jjrobably,  to  the  prophecy  of 
Daniel,  in  which  the  Messiah  is  spoken  of,  Dan.  vii.  13. 

MAN  OF  SIN,  see  Axtichrist. 

MANAEN,  a  Christian  prophet,  and  foster-brother 
of  Herod  Antipas,  (Acts  xiii.  1.)  was  at  Antioch  with 
other  prophets,  when  the  Holy  Ghost  said,  "Separate 
me  Barnabas  and  Saul  for  the  work  whercunto  I 
have  called  them."  It  is  conjectured  that  he  was 
one  of  the  seventy  disciples,  but  no  particulars  of  his 
life  are  known. 

iM  AN  AHEM,  tlie  sixteenth  king  of  Israel,  was 
originally  general  of  the  army  of  Zachariah.  He 
was  at  Tirzah  when  he  heard  of  his  master's  murder, 
and  immediately  marched  against  Shallum,  who  had 
shut  himself  up  in  Samaria,  whom  he  killed,  and 
then  ascended  the  throne.  He  reigned  in  Samaria 
ten  years,  and  did  evil  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord.  Pul, 
king  of  Assyria,  having  invaded  Israel  during  the 
reign  of  Manahem,  obliged  him  to  pay  a  tribute  of  a 
thousand  talents,  which  Manahem  raised  b}^  a  tax  on 
all  his  subjects  of  fifty  shekels  a  head.  Manahem 
slept  with  his  fathers,  and  his  son  Pekahiah  reigned 
in  his  stead,  2  Kings  xv.  13 — 32. 

I.  MANASSEH,  the  eldest  son  of  Joseph,  (Gen. 
xli.  50,  51.)  was  born  A.  M.  2290,  and  named  Manas- 
seh,  [caimng  to  forget,)  because  Joseph  said,  "  God 
has  made  me  forget  all  my  toil,  and  all  my  father's 
house."  When  Jacob  was  about  to  die,  Joseph 
brought  his  two  sons  to  receive  his  last  blessing. 
Gen.  xlviii.  1,  &c.  Jacob  adopted  them  ;  made  them 
come  to  his  bed-side,  and  kissed  them.  Joseph  hav- 
ing placed  Ephraim  at  Jacob's  left  hand,  and  Manas- 
seh  at  his  right,  Jacob  put  his  right  hand  on  Ephraim, 
and  his  left  on  Manasseh  ;  which  Joseph  observiiip, 
would  have  had  him  reverse.  Jacob,  however,  said, 
"  I  know  what  I  am  doing,  my  son  ;  the  eldest  shall 
be  father  of  a  great  people,  but  his  younger  brother 
shall  be  greater  than  he."  He  continued  to  bless 
them,  and  said, "  In  thee  shall  Israel  be  blessed,  and 
it  shall  be  said,  'God  make  thee  as  Ephraim  and  as 
Manasseh.'"  The  tribe  of  Manasseh  came  out  of 
Egypt,  in  number  32,200  men,  upwards  of  twen- 
ty years  old,  under  the  conduct  of  Gamaliel,  son  of 
Pedahzur,  Numb.  ii.  20,  21.  The  tribe  was  divided 
in  the  Land  of  Promise.  One  half  settled  east  of 
the  river  Jordan,  and  possessed  the  country  of  Ra- 
shan,  from  the  river  Jabbok  to  mount  Libniius:  and 


the  other  half  settled  west  of  Jordan,  and  possessed 
the  country  between  the  tribe  of  Ephraim^  south,  of 
the  tribe  of  Issachar,  north,  having  the  river  Jordan 
east,  and  the  Mediterranean  west,  Josh.  xvi.  xvii. 
See  Canaan,  pp.  232,  233. 

II.  MANASSEH,  fifteenth  king  of  Judah,  and 
son  and  successor  of  Hezekiah,  (2  Kings  xx.  21 ; 
xxi.  1,  2  ;  2  Chron.  xxxiii.  1,  &c.  A.  M.  3306.)  was 
twelve  years  old  when  he  began  to  reign,  and  reign- 
ed fifty-five  years.  He  did  evil  in  the  sight  of  the 
Lord  ;  worshippediihe  idols  of  Canaan  ;  rebuilt  the 
liigh  places  that  his  father  Hezekiah  had  destroyed  ; 
set  up  altars  to  Baal,  and  jjlanted  groves  to  false 
gods.  He  raised  altars  to  the  whole  host  of  heaven, 
in  the  courts  of  God's  house ;  made  bis  son  pass 
through  the  fire  in  honor  to  Moloch  ;  was  addicted 
to  magic,  divinations,  auguries,  and  other  supersti- 
tions ;  set  up  the  idol  Astarte  in  the  house  of  God ; 
and  finally  involved  his  people  in  all  the  abomina- 
tions of  idolatry  to  that  degree,  that  Israel  committed 
more  wickedness  than  the  Canaanites  which  the 
Lord  had  driven  out  before  them.  To  all  these 
crimes  Blanasseh  added  cruelty,  and  shed  rivers  of 
innocent  blood  in  Jerusalem. 

It  is  supposed  that  the  prophet  Isaiah  raised  his 
voice  loudly  against  those  enormities.  He  had  been 
in  great  credit  at  court,  in  the  reign  of  Hezekiah ; 
and  was  probably  of  high  birth.  He  is  by  many 
thought  to  have  been  put  to  death  by  this  wicked 
king.     See  Isaiah. 

The  calamities  which  God  had  threatened,  began 
towards  the  22d  year  of  Manasseh's  reign.  The 
king  of  Assyria  sent  his  army  against  him,  who, 
seizing  him  among  tlie  briers  and  brambles  where 
he  was  hid,  fettered  his  hands  and  feet,  and  carried 
him  to  Babylon,  2  Chron.  xxxiii.  11.  When  in 
bonds,  at  Babylon,  JManasseh  humbled  himself  before 
God  ;  who  heard  his  prayers,  and  brought  him  back 
to  Jerusalem.  Here  he  acknowledged  the  hand  of 
the  Lord  ;  and  we  have  a  prayer  which,  it  is  affirm- 
ed, he  made  in  prison.  The  church,  however,  does 
not  receive  it  as  canonical.  He  restored  the  wor- 
ship of  the  Lord ;  broke  down  the  altars  of  the 
false  gods ;  and  abolished  all  traces  of  their  idola- 
trous worship;  but  did  not  destroy  the  high  placi  s, 
which  is  the  only  thing  Scripture  reproaches  him 
with,  after  his  return  from  Babylon.  He  caused  Je- 
rusalem to  be  fortified  ;  enclosed  with  a  wall  anoth- 
er district,  which  in  his  time  was  built  west  of 
Jerusalem,  and  which  after  his  reign  Avas  called  the 
second  city,  2  Chron.  xxxiii.  14.  He  also  put  gar- 
risons into  all  the  strong  places  of  Judah.  31anas- 
seh  died  at  Jerusalem,  and  Avas  buried  in  the  garden 
of  his  house,  in  the  garden  of  Uzza,  2  Kings  xxi. 
18.     His  son  Anunon  succeeded  him,  A.  M.  3361. 

Many  believe  that  the  history  of  Holofernes  hap- 
pened luider  3Ianassoh.     Sec  Judith. 

III.  MANASSEH,  husband  of  Judith,  who  lived 
but  a  little  while  with  her.  He  had  been  dead  three 
years  when  Holofernes'  war  began.  Manasseh  was 
of  the  tribe  of  Simeon,  and  died  in  the  time  of  bar-  . 
ley  harvest,  of  a  stroke  of  the  sun,  which  had  affect- 
ed his  head,  Judith  viii.  2,  3. 

IV.  MANASSEH,  high-priest  of  the  Jews,  son 
of  John,  and  brother  of  Jaddus,  succeeded  Elcazar, 
his  great  uncle,  and  was  succeeded  by  Onias  II.  his 
nephew.  IManasseh  married  Nicaso,  daughter  of 
Sanballat,  governor  of  Samaria,  and  by  his  aid  built 
the  temple  on  mount  Gerizim,  in  which  he  became 
the  first  high-priest.  (Josephus  xi.  7,  8.  Compare 
Neh.  xiii.m)  '     :v 


MANDRAKE 


[  654 


M  A  N 


MANDRAKE,  a  plant  called  in  Hebrew  o'Nin, 
dudaim,  (plural,)  is  a  species  of  melon,  of  which  the 
ancients,  and  among  others  Josephus,  have  enter- 
tained many  strange  conceits.  There  are  two  sorts : 
the  female,  which  is  black,  having  leaves  not  unhke 
lettuce,  though  smaller  and  narrower,  which  spread 
on  the  ground,  and  have  a  disagreeable  smell.  It 
bears  berries  something  like  services,  pale,  of  a  strong 
smell,  and  having  kernels  within,  like  those  of  pears. 
It  has  two  or  three  very  large  roots,  t^^^sted  together, 
white  within,  black  without,  and  covered  with  a 
thick  rind.  The  other  kind,  or  male  mandrake,  is 
called  morion,  or  folly,  because  it  suspends  the  use  of 
the  senses.  It  produces  berries  twice  the  size  of 
those  of  the  female,  of  a  good  scent,  and  of  a  color 
approaching  towards  saffron.  Its  leaves  are  white, 
large,  broad  and  smooth,  like  the  leaves  of  the  beech 
tree.  Its  root  resembles  that  of  the  female,  but  is 
thicker  and  larger.  This  plant  stupefies  those  who 
use  it;  sometimes  depriving  them  of  understanding; 
and  often  causes  such  vertigoes  and  lethargies,  that  if 
those  who  have  taken  it  have  not  present  assistance, 
they  die  in  convulsions. 

Pjthagoras  was  the  first  who  conferred  on  the 
mandrake  the  name  of  anthropomorphos,  which  be- 
came ver\'  general.  On  what  account  this  name  was 
given  is  not  certainly  known  ;  Calmet  states  it  to 
have  been  because  most  of  the  roots  are  parted  from 
the  middle  downwards,  somewhat  resembling  thighs 
and  legs. 

From  Gen.  XXX.  14,  15, 16,  we  collect  that  the  fruit 
was  ripe  in  wheat  harvest.  And  thus  Hasselquist, 
speaking  of  Nazareth  in  Galilee,  says,  "  What  I  found 
most  remarkable  at  this  village,  was  the  great  num- 
ber of  mandrakes  which  grew  in  a  vale  below  it.  I 
had  not  the  pleasure  to  see  this  plant  in  blossom, 
the  fruit  now  (May  5th,  O.  S.)  hanging  ripe  on  the 
stem,  which  lay  withered  on  the  ground.  From  the 
season  in  which  the  mandrake  blossoms,  and  ripens 
fruit,  ono  might  form  a  conjecture  that  it  was  Ra- 
chel's dudaim.  These  were  brought  her  in  the  wheat 
harvest,  which  In  Galilee  is  in  the  month  of  May, 
about  this  time,  and  the  mandrake  was  now  in  fruit." 
(Travels,  p.  160.) 

From  Cant.  vii.  13,  it  appears  that  the  dudaim 
yielded  a  remarkable  smell,  at  the  same  time  as  the 
vines  and  pomegranates  flowered,  which  in  Judea  is 
about  the  end  of  April  or  beginning  of  IMay.  It  is 
probable,  therefore,  that  this  circumstance  of  their 
smell  is  to  be  referred  to  the  fruit  rather  than  to  the 
flower,  especially  as  Brookes,  who  has  given  a  par- 
ticular description  and  a  print  of  the  plant,  expressly 
observes  that  the  fruit  has  a  strong  nauseous  smell, 
though  he  says  nothing  about  the  scent  of  the  flower. 
And  this  circumstance  y\\\\  in  some  measure  account 
for  what  Hasselquist  remarks,  that  the  Arabs  at  Naz- 
areth call  it  by  a  name  which  signifies  in  their  lan- 
guage "the  devil's  victuals."  So  the  Samaritan 
chief-priest  told  Maundrcll,  that  the  mandrakes  were 
plants  of  a  large  leaf,  bearing  a  certain  sort  of  fruit, 
in  shape  resembling  an  apple,  growing  ripe  in  har- 
vest, but  of  an  ill  savor,  and  not  wholesome.  But 
then  he  added,  that  the  virtue  of  tliein  was  to  help 
conception,  being  laid  under  the  genial  bed;  and 
that  the  women  were  often  wont  so  to  apply  it  at  this 
day,  out  of  an  opinion  of  its  prolific  nature. 

From  these  accounts  of  the  mandrake,  it  Is  evident 
that  Rachel  could  not  Avant  them  either  for  food  or 
fragrancy ;  and  from  the  whole  tenor  of  the  narra- 
tion in  Gen.  xxx.  compared  with  chap.  xxix.  32— -34, 
it  appears  that  both   she  and  Leah  had  some  such 


notion  aa  the  Samaritan  chief-priest  entertained  of 
their  genial  virtue.  And  does  not  the  Jewish  queen's 
mention  of  them  in  Cant.  vii.  13,  intimate  something 
of  the  same  kind,  and  show  that  the  same  opinion 
prevailed  among  the  Jews  in  the  time  of  Solomon  ? 
Nor  was  this  opinion  confined  to  the  Jews;  the 
Greeks  and  the  Romans  had  the  same  notion  of 
mandrakes.  They  gave  to  the  fruit  the  name  of 
"Apple  of  Love,"  and  to  Venus  that  of  Mandrago- 
ritis.  The  emperor  Julian,  in  his  epistle  toCaUxenee, 
says,  that  he  drank  the  juice  of  mandrakes  to  excite 
amorous  inclinations.  And  before  him  Dioscorides 
had  observed  of  it,  "  The  root  is  supposed  to  be  used 
in  philters  or  love-potions."  On  the  whele,  there 
seems  little  doubt  but  this  plant  had  a  provocative 
quality,  and  therefore  its  Hebrew  name,  dudaim,  may 
be  properly  deduced,  says  Calmet,  from  dudim,  pleas- 
ures of  love. 

[The  mandrakes  of  the  Bible  have  given  rise  to 
much  dispute  and  diversity  of  opinion  among  inter- 
preters. It  seems  to  have  been  a  plant  to  which  was 
attributed  the  power  of  rendering  barren  women 
fruitful.  According  to  most  of  the  ancient  versions, 
it  was  the  ]\Iandragora,  mandrake,  [Atropa  Mandra- 
gora  of  Linn.)  a  plant  of  the  genus  Belladonna,  with 
a  root  like  a  beet,  white  and  reddish  blossoms,  and 
yellow  apples,  which  ripen  from  IMay  to  July.  To 
these  apples  the  orientals  to  this  day  attribute  the 
power  of  exciting  to  venery  ;  and  they  are  called 
poina  amatoria,  or  love-apples.  (See  Schulz  Leitun- 
gen,  &c.  p.  v.  197.  D'Herbelot's  Bibliotheque  Orien- 
tale,  p.  17.)     R. 

MANEH,see  Mina. 

MANNA,  a  substance  which  God  gave  to  the  chil- 
dren of  Israel  for  food,  in  the  deserts  of  Arabia.  It 
began  to  fall  on  Friday  morning,  the  sixteenth  day 
of  the  second  month,  which  from  thence  was  called 
Ijar,  and  continued  to  fall  daily  in  the  morning,  ex- 
cept on  the  sabbath,  till  after  the  passage  over  Jor- 
dan, and  to  the  passover  of  the  fortieth  year  from 
the  exodus,  that  is,  from  Friday,  June  5,  A.  M.  2513, 
to  the  second  day  of  the  passover,  Wednesday,  May 
5,  A.  M.  2553.  It  Avas  a  small  grain,  white,  like 
hoar-frost,  round,  and  the  size  of  coriander-seed, 
Exod.  xvi.  14;  Numb.  xi.  1.  It  fell  every  morning 
with  the  dew,  about  the  camp  of  the  Israelites,  and 
in  so  great  quantities  during  the  whole  forty  j'earsof 
their  journey  in  the  wilderness,  that  it  was  sufficient 
to  feed  the  entire  multitude,  of  above  a  million  of 
souls,  every  one  of  whom  gathered,  for  his  share 
every  day,  the  quantity  of  an  omer,  i.  c.  about  three 
quarts.  It  maintained  all  this  multitude,  and  yet 
none  of  them  found  any  inconvenience  from  the 
constant  eating  of  it.  Every  Friday  there  fell  a 
double  quantity,  (Exod.  xvi.  5.)  and  though  it  putre- 
fied and  bred  maggots  when  kept  on  auj^  other  day, 
yet  on  the  sabbath  it  suffered  no  such  alteration. 
And  the  same  manna  that  was  melted  by  the  heat 
of  the  sun,  when  left  in  the  field,  was  of  so  hard  a 
consistence  when  brought  into  the  house,  that  it  was 
beat  in  mortars,  and  would  even  endure  the  fire.  It 
was  baked  in  pans,  made  into  i)aste,  and  so  into 
cakes.  Numb.  xi.  5.  It  is  somewhat  extraordinary 
that  Calmet  should  think  the  "entire  multitude"  of 
Israel  subsisted  wholly  on  the  manna.  Certainly,  the 
daily  sacrifices  were  offered ;  and,  no  doubt,  other 
offerings,  nflbrding  animal  food,  on  which  tiie  priests 
and  Levites  subsisted,  according  to  their  ofiices. 
Tiiat  considerable  flocks  and  herds  accompanied  the 
camp  of  Israel  is  clear  from  various  passages,  and  it 
is  equally  clear  these  could  not  live  upon  manna. 


MANNA 


[  655  ] 


MAO 


Scripture  gives  to  inauna  the  name  of  "  bread  of 
heaven,"  and  "  food  of  angels ;"  perhaps,  as  intimat- 
ing its  superior  quality,  Ps.  Ixxviii.  25.  There  is  a 
vegetable  substance  called  manna  which  falls  in  Ara- 
bia, in  Poland,  in  Calabria,  in  mount  Libanus,  and 
elsewhere.  The  most  common  and  the  most  famous 
is  that  of  Arabia,  which  is  a  kind  of  condensed 
honey,  found  in  the  summer  time  on  the  leaves 
of  trees,  on  herbs,  on  the  rocks,  or  the  sand  of  Arabia 
Petrcea.  That  wliich  is  gathered  about  mount  Sinai 
has  a  very  strong  smell,  which  it  receives  from  the 
herbs  on  which  it  falls.  It  easily  evaporates,  inso- 
much that  if  thirty  pounds  of  it  were  kept  in  an  open 
vessel,  hardly  ten  would  remain  at  the  end  of  fifteen 
days.  Several  writers  think  that  the  manna  with 
which  the  Israelites  were  fed  was  like  that  now  found 
in  Arabia,  and  that  the  only  thing  that  was  miracu- 
lous in  the  occurrence  was  the  regularity  of  the  sup- 
ply, and  its  cessation  on  the  sabbath.  The  Jews, 
however,  with  the  majority  of  critics,  are  of  opinion 
that  it  was  a  totally  different  substance  from  the  vege- 
table manna,  and  was  specially  provided  by  the  Al- 
mighty for  his  people. 

Burckhardt  says,  that  in  the  valleys  around  Sinai 
the  manna  is  still  found,  dropping  from  the  sprigs  of 
soveral  trees,  but  principally  from  the  Gharrab.  It 
is  collected  by  the  Arabs,  who  make  cakes  of  it,  and 
call  it  "  Assal  Beyrouk,"  or  "  Honey  of  Beyrouk." 
(See  Exod.  xvi.  31.)  The  Arabs  who  collect  it  make 
cakes  of  it ;  so  did  Israel,  loc.  cit.  Could  a  similar 
manna  be  the  wild  honey  on  which  John  the  Baptist 
lived  ? 

[The  following  is  Burckhardt's  account  of  the 
manna  found  near  Sinai  at  the  present  day.  Since  his 
time  it  has  been  ascertained  by  Dr.  Ehrenberg  and 
M.  Riippell,  that  the  manna  is  occasioned  by  an  in- 
sect, which  the  former  has  particularly  described. 
That  this,  however,  could  not  have  been  the  manna 
of  the  Israelites,  is  sufficiently  obvious  ;  unless  we 
regard  it  as  having  been  miraculously  increased,  and 
its  qualities  miraculously  changed, — a  supposition 
which  involves  as  great  an  exertion  of  miraculous 
power,  as  the  direct  bestoAvmeut  of  a  different  sub- 
stance. (See  Burckhardt's  Travels  in  Syria,  &c. 
p.  599,  seq.) 

"  The  Wady  el  Sheikh,  the  great  valley  of  western 
Sinai,  is  in  many  parts  thickly  overgi-own  with  the 
tamarisk  ortarfa,(i/e(/?/5ar«ni^//iag-tof  Linn.)  It  is  the 
only  valley  in  the  peninsula  of  Sinai  where  this  tree 
gi-ows,  at  present,  in  any  great  quantity  ;  though  small 
bushes  of  it  are  here  and  there  met  with  in  other 
parts.  It  is  from  the  tarfa  that  the  manna  is  obtained. 
This  substance  is  called  by  the  Bedouins  maim,  and 
accurately  resembles  the  description  of  mamia  given 
in  the  Scriptures.  In  the  month  of  Juno,  it  drops 
from  the  thorns  of  the  tamarisk  upon  the  fallen  twigs, 
leaves  and  thorns,  which  always  cover  the  ground 
beneath  that  tree  in  the  natural  state ;  the  manna  is 
collected  before  sunrise,  when  it  is  coagulated  ;  but 
it  dissolves  as  soon  as  the  sun  shines  upon  it.  The 
Arabs  clean  away  the  leaves,  dirt,  etc.  which  adhere 
to  it,  boil  it,  strain  it  through  a  coarse  piece  of  cloth, 
and  put  it  in  leathern  skins:  in  this  way  they  pre- 
serve it  till  the  following  year,  and  use  it  as  they  do 
honey,  to  pour  over  unleavened  bread,  or  to  dip  their 
bread  into.  I  could  not  learn  that  they  ever  made  it 
into  cakes  or  loaves.  The  manna  is  found  only  in 
years  when  copious  rains  have  fallen  ;  sometimes  it 
is  not  produced  at  all.  I  saw  none  of  it  among  the 
Arabs,  but  I  obtained  a  small  piece  of  the  last  year's 
produce,  in  the  convent  (of  mount  Sinai),  where",  hav- 


ing been  kept  in  the  cool  shade  and  moderate  tem» 
perature  of  that  place,  it  had  become  quite  solid,  and 
formed  a  small  cake  ;  it  became  soft  when  kept 
some  time  in  the  hand  ;  if  placed  in  the  sun  for  five 
minutes,  it  dissolved  ;  but  when  restored  to  a  cool 
place,  it  became  solid  again  in  a  quarter  of  an  hour. 
In  the  season  at  which  the  Arabs  gather  it,  it  never 
acquires  that  state  of  hardness  which  will  allow  of 
its  being  pounded,  as  the  IsraeUtes  are  said  to  have 
done,  in  Num.  xi.  8.  Its  color  is  a  dirty  yellow,  and 
the  piece  which  I  saw  was  still  mixed  with  bits  of 
tamarisk  leaves ;  its  taste  is  agreeable,  somewhat  ar- 
omatic, and  as  sweet  as  honey.  If  eaten  in  any 
considerable  quantity,  it  is  said  to  be  slightly  pur- 
gative. 

"The  quantity  of  manna  collected  at  present,  even 
in  seasons  when  the  most  copious  rains  fall,  is  trifling, 
perhaps  not  amounting  to  more  than  five  or  six  hun- 
dred pounds.  It  is  entirely  consumed  among  the 
Bedouins,  who  consider  it  the  greatest  dainty  which 
their  country  affords.  The  harvest  is  usually  in 
June,  and  lasts  for  about  six  weeks.  In  Nubia  and 
in  every  part  of  Arabia,  the  tamarisk  is  one  of  the 
most  common  trees  ;  on  the  Euphrates,  on  the  Asta- 
boras,  in  all  the  valleys  of  the  Hedjaz  and  the  Bedja, 
it  grows  in  great  plenty. 

"  It  is  remarked  by  Niebuhr,  that  in  Mesopotamia 
manna  is  produced  by  several  trees  of  the  oak  spe- 
cies ;  a  similar  tact  was  confirmed  to  me  by  the  son 
of  a  Turkish  lady,  who  had  passed  the  gi-eater  part 
of  his  youth  at  Erzerum  in  Asia  jMinor  ;  he  told  me 
that  at  iMoush,  a  town  three  or  four  days  distant 
from  Erzerum,  a  substance  is  collected  from  the 
tree  which  produces  the  galls,  exactly  similar  to 
the  manna  of  the  peninsula  in  taste  and  consistence, 
and  that  it  is  used  by  the  inhabitants  instead  of  hon- 
ey." (Compare  Niebuhr's  Descript.  of  Arabia,  p.  145. 
Germ,  edition.)     *R. 

MANOAH,  father  of  Samson,  of  the  tribe  of  Dan, 
and  of  the  city  of  Zorah,  Judg.  xiii.  An  angel  of 
the  Lord  having  appeared  to  his  wife,  and  having 
promised  her  a  son,  Manoah  desired  of  the  Lord  that 
he  might  see  him  who  had  thus  appeared,  that  he 
might  know  from  him  how  to  treat  his  son  when 
born.  The  Lord  heard  his  prayer,  and  the  angel  ap- 
peared again  to  his  wife,  being  then  in  the  fields; 
who  ran  to  acquaint  her  husband.  Manoah  went  to 
him,  and  obtained  from  him  directions  respecting  his 
son.  Manoah  then  said,  "  My  Lord,  I  pray  you  be 
pleased  to  let  us  prepare  you  a  kid."  The  angel  re- 
plied, "  I  must  not  eat  any  food  ;  but  you  may  offer 
it  for  a  burnt-sacrifice  to  the  Lord."  Manoah  said 
to  him,  (not  knowing  him  to  be  an  angel,)  "What  is 
your  name  ?  that  we  may  pay  you  honor  and  ac- 
knowledgment, if  that  shall  hajipcn  which  you  have 
foretold."  He  answered,  "  Why  ask  you  my  name? 
which  is  a  secret ;"  or,  "  and  he  kept  it  secret."  Ma- 
noah therefore  took  the  kid  with  the  wine  for  the 
libations,  and  put  them  on  the  fire  which  he  had 
lighted  on  a  stone.  As  the  smoke  began  to  ascend, 
the  angel  also  ascended  in  the  midst  of  the  flame, 
towards  heaven.  Manoah  was  alarmed  upon  the 
discovery  of  the  angelic  nature  of  his  visitant,  but 
was  rallied  by  his  wife. 

MANSLAYER,  see  Refuge. 

MAON,  a  city  in  the  south  of  Judah,  (Josh.  xv. 
55;  1  Sam.  xxiii.  24,  25 ;  xxv.  2'.)  and  about  which 
Nabal  the  Carmelite  had  great  possessions.  It  was 
very  probably  the  Maan  mentioned  in  the  next  ar- 
ticle. 

MAONITES;   a  tribe   mentioned   (Judg.  x.  12.) 


MAR 


[  656 


MAR 


along  with  the  Anialekites,  Zidoniany,  Philistines, 
&c.  In  2  Chr.  xxvi.  7,  they  are  called  Mehunims, 
and  are  mentioned  along  with  the  Arabians.  There 
is  still  a  city  Maan  with  a  castle  in  x'Vrabia  Petraea, 
Bouth  of  the  Dead  sea  and  near  Wady  Mousa.  (See 
Burckhardt's  Travels  in  Syria,  &c.  p.  437.)     *R. 

MARAH,  bitterness.  When  the  Israelites,  coming 
out  of  Egypt,  arrived  at  the  desert  of  Etham,  they 
there  found  the  water  to  be  so  bitter,  that  neither 
themselves  nor  their  cattle  could  drink  it,  Exod.  xv. 
23.  They  therefore  began  to  murmur  against  Mo- 
ses, who,  praying  to  the  Lord,  was  shown  a  kind  of 
wood,  which,  being  thrown   into  the  water,  made  it 

Eotable.  This  wood  was  called  Alvali  by  the  Ma- 
ometans,  who  maintain  that  Moses  had  received  a 
Eiece  of  it,  by  succession,  from  the  patriarchs,  Noah 
aving  kept  it  in  the  ark,  and  delivered  it  to  his  pos- 
terity. (D'Herbelot,  Bibl.  Orient,  p.  105,  col.  1.  et  p. 
1022.  col.  1.)  The  word  alua  has  some  relation  to 
aloes,  which  is  a  very  bitter  wood  ;  and  some  inter- 
preters have  hinted,  that  3Ioses  took  a  very  bitter 
sort  of  wood,  on  purpose  that  the  power  of  God 
might  be  the  more  remarkable,  in  sweetening  these 
waters.  Josephus  says,  that  this  legislator  used  the 
wood  which  he  found  by  chance,  lying  at  his  feet. 
[See  more  on  this  subject  under  the  article  Exo- 
dus.   R. 

"El-vah,  says  Mr.  Bi'uce,  (Trav.  vol.  ii.  p.  470.)  is 
a  lai-ge  village,  or  town,  thickly  planted  with  palm- 
trees,  the  'Oasis  Parva'  of  the  ancients,  the  last  in- 
habited place  to  the  west  that  is  under  the  jurisdiction 
of  Egypt ;  it  yields  senna  and  coloqiiintida.  The 
Arabs  call  El-vah,  a  shrub  or  tree,  not  unlike  our 
hawthorn,  either  in  form  or  flower.  It  was  of  this 
wood,  they  say,  that  Moses'  rod  was  made,  when  he 
sweetened  the  waters  of  Marah.  With  a  rod  of  this 
wood  too,  say  they,  Kaleb  Ibn  el  Waalid,  the  great 
destroyer  of  Christians,  sweetened  these  waters  at 
El-vah,  once  bitter,  and  gave  it  the  name  from  this 
miracle.  A  number  of  very  fine  springs  burst  from 
the  earth  at  El-vah,  which  render  this  small  spot  ver- 
dant and  beautifid,  though  surrounded  with  dreary 
deserts  on  every  quarter  ;  it  is  situated  like  an  island 
in  tiie  midst  of  the  ocean." 

We  believe  that  our  colonists  who  first  peopled 
some  parts  of  America,  corrected  the  qnalitics  of  the 
water  they  fouiul  there,  by  infusing  in  it  branches  of 
sassafras;  and  it  is  understood  that  the  first  induce- 
ment of  the  Chinese  to  the  general  use  of  tea,  was 
to  correct  the  water  of  their  rivers  ;  it  follows,  there- 
fore, that  some  kinds  of  wood  possess  such  a  quality  ; 
and  it  may  be,  that  God  directed  Moses  to  the  very 
wood  |)roper  for  his  purpose.  But  then  it  must  be 
confessed  that  the  water  of  these  parts  continues 
bad  to  this  day,  and  is  so  greatly  in  want  of  some- 
thing to  improve  it,  that  had  such  a  discovery  been 
commimicated  by  Moses,  it  could  hardly  have  been 
lost.  Niebuhr,  when  upon  the  spot  where  this  mira- 
cle was  performed,  inquired  after  wood  capable  of 
this  effect ;  but  could  gain  no  information  of  any 
Buch.  It  will  not,  however,  from  hence  follow,  that 
Moses  used  a  bitter  wood,  or  even  any  ordinary 
wood  ;  but,  as  Providence  usually  works  by  the  proper 
and  fit  means  to  accomplish  its  ends,  probably  the 
wood  used  by  Moses  was,  in  some  degree  at  least 
corrective  of  that  quality  which  abounded  in  the' 
waters  ;  though,  perhaps,  it  might  itself  have  other 
qualities  equally  bad,  but  of  a  different  kind,  (where- 
fore it  has  been  lost,)  adapted,  perhaps,  to  neutralize 
the  water,  and  so  to  render  it  potable.  Sec  Exodus 
as  above.    . 


That  other  water  also  stands  in  need  of  coiTection, 
and  that  such  correction  is  applied  to  it,  appears  from 
a  custom  in  Egypt,  in  respect  to  the  water  of  the 
Nile  ;  a  custom  which,  being  of  great  antiquity,  might 
have  been  familiar  to  Moses.  "  The  water  of  the 
Nile  is  always  somewhat  muddy  ;  but  by  rubbing 
with  bitter  almonds,  prepared  in  a  particular  manner, 
the  earthen  jars  in  which  it  is  kept,  this  water  is  ren- 
dered clear,  hght  and  salutary."  (Niebuhr's  Travels, 
vol.  i.  p.  71.)  Did  these  bitter  almonds  suggest  the 
idea  of  bitter  wood  ? 

MARAN-ATHA,  the  Lord  comes,  a  form  of  threat- 
ening, cursing,  or  anathematizing  among  the  Jews. 
Paul  pronounces  Anathema  Maran-atha  against  all 
who  love  not  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  1  Cor.  xvi.  22. 
Commentators  inform  us,  that  Maran-atha  is  the 
greatest  anathema  among  the  Jews,  and  equivalent 
to  Sham-atha,  or  Shem-atha,  the  name  comes,  or  the 
Lord  comes :  q.  d.  "Mayest  thou  be  devoted  to  the 
greatest  of  evils,  and  to  the  utmost  sevei'ity  of  God's 
judgments ;  may  the  Lord  come  quickly  to  take 
vengeance  of  thy  crimes."  But  Selden  and  Light- 
foot  maintain,  that  Maran-atha  is  not  found  in  this 
sense  among  tlie  rabbins,  but  that  it  may  be  under- 
stood in  an  absolute  sense :  "Let  him  that  does  not 
love  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  be  anathema.  The  Lord 
is  come,  the  Messiah  has  appeared ;  evil  to  whoso- 
ever receives  him  not."  See  more  under  Anathema, 
p.  58.  col.  2. 

MARESHAH,  a  fortified  city  of  Judah;  called 
also  Moresheth.  The  prophet  Micah  was  a  native 
of  this  city.  It  was  two  miles  from  Eleutheropoiis ; 
and  near  to  it,  in  the  vale  of  Zephathah,  was  fought 
a  famous  battle  between  Asa,  king  of  Judah,  and 
Zerah,  king  of  Chus,  in  which  Asa  defeated  a  mil- 
lion of  men.  Josh.  xv.  44;  2  Chr.  xi.  8;  xiv.  9,  10  ; 
Micah  i.  1,  15.  In  the  latter  times  of  the  Jewish 
connnonwcaltli,  Mareshah  belonged  to  IdumiEa,  as 
did  several  other  southerly  cities  of  Judah.  It  was 
peopled  by  the  Jews,  and  their  allies,  in  the  time  of 
John  Ilyrcanus.  Alexander  Jannseus  took  it  from 
the  Arabians,  and  Pompey  restored  it  to  its  first  in- 
habitants. Gabinius  rebuilt  it,  and  the  Parthians 
destroyed  it  in  the  war  of  Antigonus  against  Herod. 
(Jos.  Ant.  xiii.  xiv.) 

I.  INIARIAMNE,  datighter  of  Alexander,  son  of 
Aristobulus,  and  of  Alexandra,  daughter  of  Hyrca- 
nus,  high-priest  of  the  Jews,  was  the  most  beautiful 
princess  of  her  age.  She  married  Herod  the  Great, 
by  whom  she  had  two  sons,  Alexander  and  Aristobu- 
lus, and  two  daughters,  Salampso  and  Cypros ;  also 
a  son  called  Herod,  who  died  young,  during  his  stud- 
ies at  Rome.  Herod  was  excessively  fond  of  Ma- 
riamne,  who  but  slightly  returned  his  ])assion  ;  and 
at  length  cherished  a  deadly  hatred  towards  him. 
Herod  had  her  ])ut  to  death  ;  but  afterwards  his  affec- 
tion for  her  became  stronger  than  ever.  Josephus 
mentions  a  tower  that  Herod  built  in  Jerusalem, 
which  he  named  Mariamne.     See  Herod. 

II.  MARIAMNE,  daughter  of  the  high-priest 
Simon,  and  wife  of  Herod  the  Great;  by  whom  she 
had  a  son  called  Philip,  who  married  first  the  famous 
Herodias,  who  afterwards  lived  with  Herod  Antipas, 
who  put  to  death  John  the  Baptist,  Mark  vi.  17 ; 
Matt.  xiv.  3. 

I.  MARK,  the  Evangelist,  according  to  Papias 
Irenteus  and  others,  was  the  disciple  and  interpreter 
of  Peter,  who  speaks  of  him,  as  is  thought,  (1  Epist. 
chap.  v.  13.)  as  his  son  in  the  s|)irit ;  probably  because 
he  had  converted  him.  The  place  and  time  at  which 
Mark  wrote  his  Gospel  are  uncertain.     Clemens  Al- 


MAR 


f  G57  ] 


MAR 


exandrinus  and  others  affirm  that  Peter  gohig  to 
Rome,  about  A.  D.  44,  Mark  accompanied  him,  and 
there  wrote  his  Gospel,  at  the  request  of  tlie  breth- 
ren, wiio  desired  that  lie  would  give  them  in  writing 
what  he  had  learned  from  Peter  by  word  of  mouth. 
And  they  add,  tiiat  when  the  apostle  wiis  informed 
what  his  disciple  had  done,  he  commended  his  under- 
taking, and  gave  his  Gospel  to  be  read  in  the  churches, 
as  an  authentic  work.     See  Gospel. — Mark. 

A  number  of  things  are  related  as  connected  with 
the  life  and  travels  of  Mark,  after  the  close  of  the  his- 
tory in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  ;  (see  John  Mark  ;) 
but  as  we  have  no  means  of  attesting  their  truth,  v/e 
omit  all  further  mention  of  them  here. 

Cahnet  is  of  opinion  that  the  Gospel  of  Mark  is  an 
abridgment  of  that  by  Matthew.  He  often  uses  the 
same  terms,  relates  the  same  facts,  and  notices  the 
same  circumstances.  He  sometimes  adds  particulars 
which  throw  great  light  on  Blatthew's  te^it ;  and 
there  are  two  or  three  miracles  in  Mark,  which  are 
not  in  Matthew.  (See  chap.  i.  v.  ix.  xvi.)  ButAvliat  is 
tlie  most  remarkable  is,  that  he  forsakes  IMatthew  in 
the  order  of  his  narration,  from  chap.  iv.  19,  to  chap, 
xiv.  13,  of  that  writer.  In  these  places  he  pursues 
ihe  order  of  time  as  noted  by  Luke  and  John  ;  and 
this  has  induced  chronologers  to  follow  Luke,  Mark 
and  John,  rather  than  Matthew.  He  opens  his  Gos- 
pel with  the  preaching  of  John  the  Baptist,  and  omits 
several  parables-relatcd  by  INIatthew,  (chap.  xx.  xxi.  and 
XXV.)  as  also  several  discourses  of  oiu-  Saviour  to  his 
disciples,  and  to  the  Pharisees,  chap.  v.  vi.  vii.  xvi.  xviii. 

The  origin  of  Mark's  Gospel  forms  an  interesting 
subject  of  inquiry.  We  have  seen  that  some  of  the 
ancients  were  of  opinion  that  it  v/as  v/rittcn  under 
the  dictation  of  Peter ;  but  the  grounds  of  this  opinion 
are  not  ascertained.  If  Blark  were  son  to  that  Blary 
(Acts  xii.  12.)  who  resided  at  Jerusalem,  and  whose 
house  Wits  the  resort  of  the  faithful,  he  must  have 
known  many  things  which  passed  at  Jerusalem,  as 
well  as  Peter  himself  He  must  also  have  been  suf- 
ficiently versed  in  the  Syriac  language,  and  able  to 
make  use  of  whatever  materials  for  true  history  were 
in  circulation,  which,  probably,  were  many,  though 
iiicomi)lcte,  while  he  would  receive  others  from 
I'eter.  It  appears  from  his  history  that  Mark  was 
much  engaged  in  journeying  ;  sometimes  with  or  for 
Barnabas,  at  other  times,  with  or  for  Paul,  and  Pe- 
ter also.  It  is  probable,  that  he  composed  his  Gospel 
at  intervals  of  such  journeys,  as  Luke  also  did  ;  and 
he  is  no  more  an  cpitomizer  of  Matthew  than  Luke 
is,  will)  whom  he  agrees  in  many  particulars. 

MARKET.  The  Marker,  or  Forum,  in  the  cities 
of  antiquity,  was  different  from  the  market  in  our 
English  towns,  where  flesh  meat,  &c.  is  usually  sold. 
When  Vv'e  read  (Acts  xvii.  17.)  of  the  apostle  Paul  dis- 
puting with  philosophers  in  the  "market"  at  Athens, 
we  are  aj)t  to  wonder  what  kind  of  pliiloso]ihers  these 
market-folks  could  be  ;  or  whj-  the  disputants  could 
not  engage  in  a  place  fitter  for  investigation  and  dis- 
cussion of  abstruse  and  dilficult  subjects.  So,  when 
we  read  that  Paul  and  Silas,  having  expelled  the  Py- 
thonic  spirit,  (Acts  xvi.  19.)  were  led  to  the  market- 
place, and  accused,  we  may  not  be  aware  of  the  fit- 
ness of  a  market  for  the  residence  of  a  tribinial  of 
justice.  But  the  fact  is,  that  the  forum  was  usually  a 
l)ublic  market  on  one  side  only,  the  other  sides  of  the 
area  being  occupied  by  temples,  theatres,  courts  of 
justice,  and  other  public  buildings.  In  short,  the  fo- 
rums were  sumptuous  squares,  surrounded  by  deco- 
rations &c.  of  various,  and  often  of  magnificent  kinds. 
Here  the  philosophers  met,  and  taught :  here  laws 
83 


were  p.romulgated ;  and  here  devotions,  js  well  as 
amusements,  occupied  the  populace.  The  nearest 
approach  to  the  composition  of  an  ancient  forum,  is, 
perhaps,  Covent-gardcn,  in  London  ;  where  there  is 
a  market  in  the  middle,  a  church  at  one  end,  a  theatre 
at  one  corner,  and  sitting  magistrates  close  adjacent ; 
under  the  piazzas,  too,  supjiosing  them  to  be  the  re- 
sort of  philosophers,  much  philosoidiic  discussion 
might  take  place,  and  many  an  intricate  subject  might 
be  examined.  In  our  climate,  such  a  shelter  from  the 
cold,  or  rain,  would  hardly  be  thought  Fulficient ;  but 
in  the  East,  it  would  be  sought  from  the  hcnt,  and 
the  cool  shade,  or  the  covered  settle,  would  be  the 
place  chosen,  no  less  than  the  sequestered  groves  of 
Academus,  at  Athens.  In  short,  if  we  add  such  a 
school,  or  any  other,  for  philosophical  instruction,  or 
divinity  lectures,  we  have  nearly  the  composition  of 
an  ancient  forum,  or  market-place.  This  removes 
entirely  llie  seeming  incongruity  between  discourses 
and  disj)utations  on  the  princijjles  of  theology  and 
Christianity,  and  those  commercial  avocations  which 
v.'e  usually  assign  to  a  market-place.  On  the  same 
principle,  v.iien  the  Pharisees  desired  salutations  in 
the  niarliet-places,  (Mark  xii.  38.)  it  was  not  merely 
from  the  coimtry  people  who  brought  their  pi-oduc- 
tions  for  sale,  but,  as  they  loved  to  be  admired  by 
religious  people  at  the  temple,  the  synagogues,  &c. 
so  they  desired  salutations  from  persons  of  conse- 
quence, judges,  magistrates,  dignitaries,  &c.  in  the 
forum,  in  order  to  display  their  importance  to  the 
peo])le,  to  maintain  their  influence,  &c. 

Marriage  is,  among  the  Hebrews,  a  matter  of 
strict  obligation.  They  understand  literally,  and  as 
a  prcce{)t,  the  v/ords  addressed  to  our  first  parents : 
(Gen.  i.  28.)  "Be  fruitful,  and  multiply,  and  replenish 
the  earth."  They  believe  that  he  who  does  not 
marry  his  children,  deprives  God  of  the  glory  due  to 
him,  becomes  in  some  sort  a  homicide,  desti-oys  the 
image  of  the  first  man,  and  is  a  reason  why  the  Holy 
Ghost  Vv'ithdrav>'s  liimself  from  Israel.  This  question 
is  mooted  in  the  Talmud  :  "Who  is  he  that  prosti- 
tutes his  daughter?"  It  is  answered,  "The  father 
that  keeps  her  too  long  in  his  house,  or  that  marries 
her  to  a!i  old  man."  (Conip.  1  Cor.  vii.  36.)  The  age 
at  vrhicii  v.ediock  becomes  an  obligation,  with  tiiem, 
is  twenty  years ;  though  generally  they  marry  their 
childi-cu  sooner.  But  if  a  father  marry  iiis  daughter 
before  the  age  of  puberty,  which  is  at  twelve  years  and 
a  half,  slie  may  be  separated  from  her  husband  for 
any  slight  disgust.  Still,  the  virgins  were  betrothed 
very  carlj' ;  thougli  not  married  till  after  twelve  years 
old;  whence  come  these  expressions,  "the  spou.se  of 
one's  youth,"  (Prov.  ii.  17.)  or  one  espoused  in  early 
life;  also  "the  guide  of  one's  youth,"  expressing  a 
hi'sband  married  j'oung. 

In  the  fijst  ages,  marriages  betvv"cen  brothers  and 
sisters  vrcrc  necessarj',  because  of  the  small  immber 
of  persons  then  in  the  world  ;  but  after  mankind  had 
become  numerous,  they  were  unlawful,  and  were 
prohibited  under  great  penalties.  (See  Incest.) 
Hov/evor,  the  patriarchs  long  coiitinucd  to  espouse 
their  near  relations,  intending  thereby  to  avoid  alli- 
ance with  families  corrupted  by  the  worship  of  false 
gods  ;  or  to  ])rcserve  in  their  own  families  the  wor- 
ship of  the  true  God,  and  the  maintenance  of  the  true 
religion,  of  which  they  were  the  de})ositarics.  For 
this  reason  Abraham  appears  to  have  married  his 
half-sister,  Sarah  ;  and  also  to  have  sent  his  steward 
Eliezer  to  fetch  a  wife  for  his  son  Isaac  from  among 
the  daughters  of  his  nephews.  Jacob  also  espoused 
the  daughters  of  his  uncle. 


MARRIAGE 


[  658  ] 


MARRIAGE 


From  what  has  been  said,  it  is  easy  to  perceive  why 
cehbacy  and  barrenness  was  a  reproach  in  Israel ; 
and  why  the  daughter  of  Jephthah  went  to  bewail 
her  virginity  ;  (Judg.  xi.  37.)  that  is,  being  compelled 
to  die  unmarried  and  childless. 

Young  women,  before  their  marriage,  were  called  al- 
MAH,  virgin,  i.  e.  perhaps,  shut  up,  because  they  seldom 
appeared  in  public.  The  manner  in  which  a  daughter 
was  demanded  in  marriage,  may  be  seen  in  the  in- 
stance of  Hamor  and  Sliechem,  when  they  demanded 
Dinah  of  Jacob:  (Gen.  xxxiv.  8,  &c.)  "The  soul  of 
my  son  Shechem  longeth  for  your  daughter  ;  I  pray 
you,  give  her  him  to  wife.  Let  me  find  grace  in  your 
eyes,  and  what  ye  shall  say  unto  me  I  will  give.  Ask 
me  never  so  much  dowry  and  gift,  and  I  will  give 
according  as  ye  shall  say  unto  me  •  but  give  me  the 
damsel  to  wife."  See  also  (Gen.  xxiv.  33.)  the  man- 
ner in  which  Eliezer  demands  Rebekah  for  Isaac  ; 
and  (Tobit  vii.  10,  11.)  the  demand  that  Tobias  made 
of  Sarah,  the  daughter  of  Raguel.  The  husband  gave 
a  dowry  to  his  wife,  as  a  kind  of  purchase-money. 
(See  Dowry.)  Before  the  conti-act,  they  agreed  on 
what  ])ortion  the  man  should  give  his  bride,  and  what 
presents  to  her  father  and  brethren.  Jacob  served 
seven  years  for  Leah,  and  seven  additional  years  for 
Rachel ;  (Gen.  xxix.)  and  the  sisters  complain,  some 
years  after,  that  their  father  Laban  had  applied  their 
portions  to  his  own  use.  Gen.  xxxi.  15.  (See  also  1 
Sam.  xviii.  25.) 

The  betrothing  was  performed  either  by  a  writing, 
or  by  a  piece  of  silver  given  to  the  bride,  or  by  cohabit- 
ation and  consummation.  This  is  the  form  of  the 
writing  :  "  On  such  a  day,  of  such  a  month,  in  such 
a  year,  N.  the  son  of  N.  has  said  to  N.  the  daughter  of 
N.  Be  thou  my  spouse  according  to  the  law  of  Moses 
and  the  Israelites,  and  I  will  give  thee  for  the  portion 
of  thy  virginity  the  sum  of  two  hundred  Zuzim,  as  is 
ordained  by  the  law.  And  the  said  N.  has  consented 
to  become  his  spouse  on  these  conditions,  which  the 
said  N.  has  promised  to  perform  on  the  day  of  mar- 
riage. To  this  the  said  N.  obliges  himself,  and  for 
this  he  engages  all  his  goods,  even  as  far  as  the  cloak 
that  he  wears  upon  his  shoulder.  Moreover,  he 
promises  to  perform  all  that  is  generally  intended  in 
contracts  of  marriage,  in  favor  of  the  Israelitish 
women.  Witnesses  N.  N.  N."  The  promise  by  a 
piece  of  silver,  and  without  writing,  was  made  before 
•witnesses,  when  the  young  man  said  to  his  mistress  : 
*'  Receive  this  piece  of  silver  as  a  pledge  that  you 
shall  become  my  spouse."  Lastly,  the  engagement 
by  cohabitation,  according  to  the  rabbins,  was  allow- 
ed by  the  law,  (Deut.  xxiv.  1.)  but  it  had  been  wisely 
forbidden,  because  of  the  abuses  that  might  happen, 
and  to  prevent  clandestine  marriages.  After  the 
marriage  was  contracted,  the  young  people  had  the 
liberty  of  seeing  each  other,  which  was  not  allowed 
to  thein  before  ;  and  if,  during  this  time,  the  bride 
should  trespass  against  that  fidelity  she  owed  to  her 
bridegroom,  she  was  treated  as  an  adulteress.  Thus 
the  holy  Virgin,  after  she  was  betrothed  to  Joseph, 
having  conceived  our  Saviour  Jesus  Christ,  might 
have  been  punished  as  an  adulteress,  if  the  angel  of 
the  Lord  had  not  satisfied  Joseph.  Between  the 
time  of  being  espoused  and  the  marriage,  there  fre- 
quently passed  a  considerable  interval ;  whether  be- 
cause of  the  under-age  of  the  pei-sons  espoused,  or  for 
other  reasons  of  necessity  or  decency.  When  the 
parties  were  agreed  on  tlic  terms  of  marriage,  and 
the  time  was  fit  for  completing  it,  they  drew  up  the 
contract. 

The  rabbins  inform  us,  that  before  the  temple  of 


Jerusalem  was  laid  in  ruins,  the  bridegroom  and  bride 
wore  crowns  at  their  marriage.  In  Scripture  we  find 
mention  of  the  crown  of  the  bridegroom,  but  not  of 
that  of  the  bride ;  and,  indeed,  the  head-dress  of  the 
women  was  by  no  means  convenient  for  wearing  a 
crown.  (Compare  Isa.  Ixi.  10;  Cant.  iii.  11.)  "Go 
forth,  O  ye  daughters  of  Zion,  and  behold  king 
Solomon  with  the  crown  wherewith  his  mother 
crowned  him  in  the  day  of  his  espousals,  and  in  the 
day  of  the  gladness  of  his  heart."  The  modern  Jews 
in  some  places  throw  haudfuls  of  wheat  on  the  newly- 
married  couple,  particularly  on  the  bride,  saying, 
"  Increase  and  multi})ly."  In  other  places  they 
mingle  pieces  of  money  with  the  wheat,  which  are 
gathered  up  by  the  poor. 

We  see  by  the  gospel,  that  the  bridegroom  had  a 
Paranymphus,  or  brideman,  called  by  our  Saviour 
"  the  friend  of  the  bridegroom,"  John  iii.  29.  A  num- 
ber of  young  people  kept  him  company  during  the 
days  of  the  wedding,  to  do  him  honor  ;  as  also  young 
women  kept  company  with  the  bride  all  this  time. 
The  companions  of  the  bridegroom  are  expressly 
mentioned  in  the  history  of  Samson,  (Judg.  xiv.  and 
Cant.  V.  1  ;  viii.  13.)  also  the  companions  of  the  bride, 
Cant.  i.  4  ;  ii.  7 ;  iii.  5  ;  viii.  4 ;  Ps.  xlv.  9,  14,  15.  The 
office  of  the  brideman  was  to  perform  the  ceremonies 
of  the  wedding,  instead  of  the  bridegroom,  and  to 
obey  his  orders.  Some  think  that  the  Architriclinus, 
or  governor  of  the  feast,  at  the  marriage  in  Cana,  was 
the  brideman,  Paranymphus,  or  friend  of  the  bride- 
gi'oom,  who  presided  at  the  feast,  and  had  the  care  of 
providing  for  the  guests,  John  ii.  9.  The  friends  and 
companions  of  the  bride  sang  the  Epithalamium,  or 
wedding  song,  at  the  door  of  the  bi-ide  the  evening 
before  the  wedding.  Ps.  xlv.  is  an  Epithalamium, 
entitled  "  A  song  of  rejoicing  of  the  well-beloved." 
The  ceremony  of  the  wedding  was  performed  with 
great  decorum,  the  young  people  of  each  sex  being 
kept  sepai-ate,  in  distinct  apartments,  and  at  diflferent 
tables.  The  reservedness  fo  the  eastern  people  to- 
wards their  women  required  this ;  and  we  see  proofs 
of  it  in  the  marriage  of  Samson,  in  that  of  Esther, 
and  in  the  Canticles.  The  young  men  diverted  them- 
selves sometimes  in  proposing  riddles,  and  the  bride- 
gi'oom  appointed  the  prize  to  those  who  could  ex- 
plain them,  Judg.  xiv.  14. 

The  wedding  ceremonies  commonly  lasted  seven 
days  for  a  maid,  and  three  days  for  a  widow.  So  La- 
ban  says  to  Jacob,  respecting  Leah — "fiilfil  her 
week,"  Gen.  xxix.  27.  The  ceremonies  of  Samson's 
wedding  continued  seven  whole  days,  (Judg.  xiv.  17, 
18.)  as  also  those  of  that  of  Tobias,  chap.  xi.  12. 
These  seven  days  of  rejoicing  were  commonly  spent 
in  the  house  of  the  woman's  father,  after  which  they 
conducted  the  bride  to  her  husband's  home. 

Marriage,  its  forms,  ami  the  ideas  connected  with 
it,  are  so  dissimilar  in  different  places,  that  it  is  ex- 
tremely difficult  to  form  an  adequate  conception  on 
the  subject.  As  a  partial  illustration  of  them,  we 
may  state,  on  the  authority  of  the  Gentoo  Code,  that, 
in  India,  there  are  eight  forms  of  contracting  matri- 
mony. Some  of  these  have  little  or  no  refin'ence  to 
customs  alluded  to  in  Scripture  ;  but  others  may  af- 
ford us  information.  We  find  among  them  the 
customary  dowry  given  by  the  proposed  husband  to 
the  bride's  father,  as  in  the  case  of  Shechem,  (Gen. 
xxxiv.  12.)  and  of  David,  1  Sam.  xviii.  24.  To  this 
may  be  referred  the  third  and  sixth  forms.  May  not 
the  fourth  form  contribute  at  least  to  throw  a  new 
light  on  the  story  of  Judah  andTamar?  Gen.  xxxviii. 
Did  Tamar  contract  a  kind  of  marriage,  by  receiving 


MARRIAGE 


[  659  ] 


MARRIAGE 


"  the  pledges  of— thy  signet  and  thy  bracelets,  and  the 
staff  that  is  in  thine  haud,"  as,  at  least,  equally  effica- 
cious, and  certainly  more  permanent  and  confidential 
tokens,  than  "  necklaces  or  strings  of  flowers  ?"  Did 
'J'aaiar  thus  marry  herself  to  Judah,  thougli  umvit- 
tinghj  in  him  ?  From  the  expression,  (ver.  26.)  "He 
knew  her  again  no  more,"  it  would  seem  as  if  he 
might  lawfully  have  known  her  again  had  he  pleased. 
Although  Tamar  had  been  contracted  to  Er  and  to 
Oiian,  whether  those  marriages  had  been  consummat- 
ed may  bear  a  question.  When  the  forms  of  mar- 
riage are  so  simple  as  tliose  of  the  fifth  class,  we 
need  not  be  surprised  at  the  ready  giving  of  daughters 
in  marriage  ;  as  occurs  frequently  in  Scripture.  Is 
something  hke  it  alluded  to,  Malachi  ii.  11?  The 
seventh  form  illustrates  Deut.  xxi.  11,  of  marrying  a 
captive  taken  in  war.  The  eighth  form  seems  to  re- 
semble the  provision  made  in  Exod.  xxii.  16.  From 
these  ditferent  kinds,  and,  as  it  were,  ranks  of  mar- 
riage, it  appears  that  many  ideas  were  attached 
to  the  connection  anciently,  and  in  the  East,  which 
diflor  groatly  from  those  attending  our  imiform  rites 
of  contract ;  but  they  are  necessary  to  be  well  under- 
stood, before  we  determine  on  certain  passages  of 
Scripture  history. 

"  Tho  third  form,  Aish,  is  so  called  w  hen  the  pa- 
rents of  a  girl  receive  one  bull  and  cow  from  the 
biidegroom,  on  his  marrying  their  daughter.  The 
fourth  form,  Kandehrub,  is  so  called,  when  a  man  and 
woman,  by  mutual  consent,  interchange  their  neck- 
laces or  strings  of  flowers,  and  both  make  agreement, 
in  some  secret  place  ;  as,  for  instance,  the  woman 
says,  ^  I  am  become  your  ivife,^  and  the  man  says,  '/ 
acknowledge  iV.'  The  ffth  form,  Perajaput,  so  called, 
when  the  parents  of  a  girl,  upon  her  marriage,  say 
to  the  bridegroom,  'Whatever  act  of  religion  you 
perform,  perform  it  with  our  daughter;'  and  the 
bridegroom  assents  to  this  speech.  The  sixth  form, 
Ashore,  so  called,  when  a  man  gives  money  to  a 
father  and  mother,  on  his  marrying  their  daughter, 
and  also  gives  something  to  the  daughter  herself.  The 
seventh  form,  Rakhus,  so  called,  when  a  man  marries 
a  daughter  of  another,  whom  lie  has  conquered  in 
war.  The  eighth  form,  Peishach,  so  called,  when, 
before  marriage,  a  man,  coming  in  the  dress  and  dis- 
guise of  a  woman,  debauches  a  girl,  and  afterwards 
tho  mother  and  father  of  the  girl  marry  her  to  the 
same  man. 

Mr.  Harmer  has  the  following  observation,  (No. 
Ixiii.  p.  513.  vol.  ii.)  on  the  contracts  for  temporary 
wives  :  "  Sir  J.  Chardin  observed  in  the  East,  that  in 
tlioir  contracts  for  temporary  wives,  (which  are  known 
to  be  frequent  there,)  which  contracts  are  made  be- 
f  )re  the  Kady,  there  is  always  the  formality  of  a 
measure  of  corn  mentioned  over  and  above  tlie  suzn 
of  money  that  is  stipulated."  It  can  scarcely  be 
thought,  that  tliis  formality  is  recent  in  the  East;  it 
may,  possibly,  be  very  ancient,  as,  apparently,  con- 
nections of  this  description  are:  if  it  could  be  traced 
to  patriarchal  times,  it  woidd,  perhaps,  account  for 
Hosea's  purchasing  a  woman  imder  this  character, 
"for  fifteen  pieces  of  silver,  and  a  certain  quantity  of 
barley,"  chap.  iii.  2. 

The  observations  of  baron  du  Tott  appear  to  illus- 
trate, in  some  degree,  the  origin  of  this  custom  ;  at 
least,  his  account  is  amusing,  and  may  serve  to  com- 
plete the  hints  of  Mr.  Harmer:  "I  observed  an  old 
man  standing,  singly,  before  his  door.  The  lot  [by 
which  was  determined  who  should  receive  the  newly- 
arrived  guest]  fell  upon  him.  The  ardor  of  my 
new  liost  expressed  his  satisfaction ;  and  no  sooner 


had  lie  shown  me  into  a  clean  lower  apartment,  than 
he  brought  liis  wife  and  daughter,  both  icith  their  faces 
UNCOVERKD  ;  the  first  carrying  a  basin  and  a  pitcher, 
and  the  second  carrying  a  napkin,  which  she  spread 
over  my  hands  after  I  had  washed  them."  The  bar- 
on adds  in  a  note,  "  We  may  observe,  that  the  law 
of  Namakrem,  of  which  I  have  spoken  in  my  prelim- 
inary discourse,  is  not  scrupulously  observed  by  the 
Tartar  women.  We  ought  also  to  remark,  that  these 
people  have  many  customs,  which  seem  to  indicate 
the  origin  of  those  that  are  analogous  to  them  among 
us.  3Iay  we  not  also  trace  the  motive  of  the  nup- 
tial crown,  and  the  comfits  which  are  used  at  the 
marriages  of  Europeans,  in  the  manner  in  which  the 
Tartars  portion  out  their  daughters?  They  cover 
them  with  millet.  In  the  origin  of  society,  seed  grain 
ought  necessarily  to  be  the  representing  token  of  all 
wealth.  A  dish,  of  about  a  foot  in  diameter,  was 
placed  on  the  head  of  the  bride  ;  over  this  a  veil  was 
thrown,  which  covered  the  face,  and  descended  to 
the  shoulders  ;  millet  was  then  poured  upon  the  dish, 
which,  falling,  and  spreading  all  around  her,  formed 
a  cone,  with  a  base  corresponding  to  the  height  of 
the  bride.  Nor  was  her  portion  complete  till  the 
millet  touched  the  dish,  while  the  veil  gave  her  the 
power  of  respiration.  This  custom  was  not  favora- 
ble to  small  people ;  and,  at  present,  they  estimate 
how  many  measures  of  millet  a  daughter  is  worth. 
The  Turks  and  Armenians,  who  make  their  calcula- 
tions in  money,  still  preserve  the  dish  and  the  veil, 
and  throw  coin  upon  the  bride,  which  they  call 
'spilling  the  millet.'  Have  not  the  crown  and  the 
comfits  the  same  origin  ?  "  (vol.  i.  p.  212.)  If  this  be 
accepted  as  a  ])robable  reference  to  the  origin  of  the 
custom  of  purchasing  wives  with  seed  corn,  it  may, 
undoubtedly,  be  very  ancient ;  but  it  might  have  somo 
relation  to  good  wishes  for  a  numerous  progeny.  So 
among  the  Greeks,  various  fruits,  as  figs,  or  luUs,  &c. 
were  thrown  by  the  youthful  attendants  upon  the 
head  of  the  bride,  as  an  omen  of  fruitfulness  ;  and  as 
good  wishes  of  tins  kind  were  usual,  (see  Rebekah's 
dismissal,  Gen.  xxiv.  60.)  could  any  thing  more  aptly 
allude  to  them  ?  Its  antiquity  may  be,  at  least,  as  re- 
mote under  this  idea  as  under  the  other. 

As  the  circumstances  of  Hosea's  behavior  appear 
sufficiently  strange  to  us,  it  may  be  worth  while  to 
add  the  baron's  accoimt  of  marriages  by  Capin; 
which  agrees  with  the  relations  of  other  travellers  into 
the  East :  "  There  is  another  kind  of  marriage,  which, 
stipulating  the  return  to  be  made,  fixes  likewise  the 
time  when  the  divorce  is  to  take  place.  This  contract 
is  called  Capin  ;  and,  properly  speaking,  is  only  an 
agreement  made  between  the  parties  to  live  together, 
for  such  a  price,  during  such  a  time."  (Preliminary 
Discourse,  p.  23.)  It  is  scarcely  possible  to  expect 
more  direct  illustration  of  the  prophet's  conduct  (Hos, 
iii.)  than  this  extract  from  the  baron  afibrds.  W^e 
learn  from  it  that  this  contract  is  a  regular  form  of 
marriage,  and  that  it  is  so  regarded,  generally,  in  the 
East.  Such  a  connection  and  agreement,  then,  could 
give  no  scandal,  in  the  days  of  Hosea,  though  it 
would  not  be  seemly  under  Christian  manners.  The 
prophet  says — "  So  I  bought  her  [my  wife]  to  me  for 
fifl;een  pieces  of  silver,  and  for  a  homer  of  barley,  and 
a  half  homer  of  barley.  And  I  said  unto  her.  Many 
days  shall  thou  abide  for  me.  Thou  shalt  not  play 
the  harlot,  and  thou  shalt  not  be  for  another  man  ;  so 
will  I  also  be  for  thee."  What  was  this  but  a  marriage 
by  Capin,  according  to  the  account  above  given? 
And  the  prophet  carefully  lets  us  know,  that  he 
honestly  paid  the  stipulated  price  ;  that  he  was  very 


MARRIAGE 


[  660  ] 


MARRIAGfi 


strict  in  his  agreement,  as  to  thobehavior  of  hiswife  ; 
and  that  lie  also  bound  himself  to  the  same  fidehtj-, 
during  tha  time  for  which  tliey  mutually  contracted. 
It  may  easily  be  imagined  that  this  kind  of  marriage 
Avas  liable  to  be  abused  ;  and  that  it  was  glanced  at, 
and  inchided,  in  our  Lord's  prohibition  of  hasty  di- 
vorces, need  not  be  doubted.  Had  a  certain  writer 
proceeded  no  further  than  to  consider  the  direction, 
"  Let  every  man  have  [rctat7i]  his  own  wife,  and  every 
Avoinan  have  [retain]  her  own  husband,"  (1  Cor.  vii. 
2.)  as  relating  to  marriages  of  such  imperfect  connec- 
tion, (for this  is  not  the  only  kind  contracted  v.ithout 
much  ceremony  or  delay,)  both  his  work  and  his 
piiiiciples  would  have  been  gainers  by  his  prudence. 
RIarriage  Processions. — The  procession  accom- 
panying the  bride  from  the  house  of  her  father  to 
that  of  the  bridegroom  was  generally  one  of  great 
pomji,  according  to  the  circumstances  of  the  married 
couple;  and  for  this  they  often  chose  the  night. 
Hence,  in  the  parable  of  the  ten  virgins  that  went  to 
meet  tlie  bi-ide  and  bridegroom  (Matt,  xxv.)  it  is  said 
the  virgins  were  asleep  ;  and  at  midnight,  being 
av.'aked  at  the  cry  of  the  bridegroom's  coming,  tJic 
foolish  virgins  found  they  had  no  oil  to  supply  their 
lamps  ;  which  while  they  v/cnt  to  buy,  the  bridegroom 
and  his  attendants  passed  by. 

Mr.  Taylor  has  collected  very  copiou.s  information 
relative  to  the  marriage  precessions  among  the  oricn- 
tr.l  people,  in  Fragments  49,  557,  and  G74.  Many  of 
the  circumstances  attending  these  v/ill  be  found  to 
contribute  aid  in  the  elucidation  of  two  or  three  pas- 
sages of  Scripture,  luit  their  value  v/ould  not  justify  us 
in  appropriating  to  them  tlic  space  they  v.'ould  occupy. 
"At  a  marriage,  the  procession  of  vvliich  I  saw  some 
years  ago,"  says  Sir.  Ward,  (Viev>'  of  !iis>.  of  Hindoos, 
vol.  iii.  p.  171,  172.)  "  the  bridegroom  came  from  a 
distance,  and  the  bride  lived  at  Scrampore,  to  which 
place  the  bridegroom  was  to  come  by  water.  After 
Avaiting  two  or  three  hours,  at  length,  near  midnight, 
it  was  announced,  as  if  in  the  very  words  of  Scripture, 
"  Behold  !  the  bridegroom  conieth  ;  go  ye  out  to  meet 
him."  All  the  persons  employed  now  lighted  their 
lamps,  and  ran  with  them  in  'their  hands,  to  fill  up 
their  stations  in  the  pi-ocession  ;  some  of  them  had 
lost  their  lights,  and  were  unprepared,  but  it  was 
then  too  late  to  seek  them,  and  the  cavalcade  moved 
forward  to  tlic  house  of  the  bride,  at  which  place  llie 
company  entered  a  largo  rtuI  splendidly  ilhiniinatcd 
area,  belbre  the  house,  covered  with  an  av.-ning,  v.Iicre 
a  great  multitude  of  friends,  dressed  in  their  best  ap- 
parel, were  seated  upon  mats.  The  bridegroom  was 
carried  in  the  arms  of  a  friend,  and  placed  in  a  superb 
scat  in  the  midst  of  the  coinpany,  where  he  sat  a  siiort 
time,  and  then  vt^ent  into  t'je  house,  the  door  of  which 
Avas  iimnediatel}'-  shut,  and  giiardi^d  by  Sepoys.  I 
and  others  expostulated  witli  the  door-keepers, 'but  in 
vain.  Never  was  I  so  struck  Avitli  our  Lord's  beauti- 
ful parable,  as  at  this  moment : — an-l  the  door  was 
shut:'' 

In  the  beautiful  para]»1c  of  our  Lord,  there  are  ten 
virgins,  Avho  took  their  lamps,  and  Avent  in  a  company 
to  me,  t  the  bridegroom.  Five  of  i!icm  Avere  loiss, 
endu:3d  Avith  i)rudcnce  and  discretion;  the  other  five 
Avcre  foolisli,  thoughtless  and  inconpiderate.  The 
thoughtless  took  their  lani])-;,  but  were  so  foolish  as  to 
take  only  a  little  oil  in  tlu  ni  to  serve  the  present  oc- 
casion. J?ut  tiie  prudi-nt,  mindful  of  futurity,  and 
knoAving  that  the  coming  of  the  bri(bgrooin  Avas  un- 
certain, as  well  as  filling  tlieir  lamns,  prudently  took 
a  quantity  of  oil  in  their  vessels  to  suj;]>Iy  theii),  that 
th-y  might  be  ready  to  go  forth  at  a  mohicni's  warn- 


ing. Having  VA'aited  long  for  the  bridegroom,  and  he 
not  appearing,  they  all,  tired  Avith  long  Avatching,  and 
fatigued  Avith  tedious  expectation,  Avere  overcome 
Avitli  sleep,  and  sunk  into  protbund  repose.  Bu.t  lo  ! 
at  midnight  they  Avere  suddenly  alarmed  Avith  a  cry, 
"  The  bridegroom,  the  bridegroom  cometh  !  Hasten 
to  meet  and  congratulate  him."  Roused  Avith  this 
unexpected  proclamation,  they  all  got  up  and  trim- 
med their  lamps.  But  the  oil,  in  those  that  belonged 
to  the  foolish  virgins,  being  consumed,  they  Avere  in 
the  utmost  confusion  AA-hcn  they  found  them  gone 
out ;  and  having  nothing  in  their  vessels  to  trim  them 
Avith,  they  began  to  sec  their  mistake.  In  this  ex- 
tremity tiiey  entreated  their  companions  to  impart  to 
them  some  of  their  oil,  telling  them  that  their  lamps 
Avere  gene  out.  To  these  entreaties  the  prudent  an- 
swered, that  they  liad  only  provided  a  sufficient 
quantity  for  tlieir  own  use,  and  therefore  advised 
them  to  go  and  purchase  oil  of  those  Avho  sold  it. 
They  departed  accordingly,  but  Avhile  absent  on  this 
c]Tand,  the  bridegroom  came,  and  the  prudent  vir- 
gins, being  prepared  for  his  reception,  Avent  along 
Avith  him  to  the  nuptial  entertainment,  and  the  doer 
was  shut.  After  some  time  the  others  returned,  and, 
knocking  loud,  supplicated  earnestly  for  admission. 
Bui  the  bridegi'oom  repulsed  them,  telling  them.  Ye 
pretended  to  be  my  friends,  and  to  do  me  honor  on  this 
occasion  ;  but  ye  have  not  acted  as  friends,  for  Avhich 
reason  I  knoiv  you  not :  I  do  not  acknowledge  you  as 
!ny  friends,  and  Avill  not  admit  strangers. 

From  another  parable,  in  which  a  great  king  is 
rejiresented  as  making  a  most  magnificent  entertain- 
ment at  the  maniage  of  his  son,  (Matt.  xxii.)Avc  learn 
that  all  the  guests,  Avho  Avere  honored  Avitli  an  invita- 
tion, Avere  expected  to  be  dressed  in  a  manner  suita- 
ble to  the  splendor  of  such  an  occasion,  and  as  a  to- 
ken of  just  respect  to  the  nevv^-married  couple  ;  and 
th.at  after  the  procession,  in  the  evening,  from  the 
bride's  house,  Avas  concluded,  the  guests,  before  they 
AA'erc  admitted  into  the  hall  Avhere  the  entertainment 
AA'as  served  up,  Averc  taken  into  an  apartment  and 
vicAvcd,  that  it  might  be  knoAvn  if  any  stranger  had 
intruded,  or  if  any  of  the  company  AAere  apparelled 
in  raiment  unsuitable  to  the  genial  solemnity  they 
Avere  going  to  celebrate  ;  and  such,  if  foimd,  Avere 
expelled  the  house  Avith  every  mark  of  ignominy  and 
disgrace.  From  the  knowledge  of  this  custom  the 
folioAviug  jiassage  i-eceives  great  light  and  lustre. 
When  the  king  came  in  to  see  the  guests,  he  discov- 
ered among  them  a  person  Avho  had  not  on  a  iced- 
ding  garment.  He  called  him  and  said.  Friend,  hoAV 
came  you  to  intrude  into  my  palace  in  a  dress  so  un- 
suitable to  this  occasion  ?  The  man  Avas  struck 
dun:b  ;  he  had  no  ajiology  to  offer  for  this  disrespect- 
ful neglect.  The  king  then  called  to  his  servants, 
and  bade  them  bind  him  hand  and  foot,  to  drag  him 
out  of  the  room,  and  thrust  him  out  into  the  midniglu 
dark'iess.     (Ilarv/cod.) 

Levirate  Marriages.  There  is  one  circumstance 
connected  Avith  this  subject  among  the  HebrcAvs,  that 
should  not  be  omitted  here.  The  hnv  of  Moses 
obliged  one  brother  to  marry  the  AvidoAV  of  another, 
Avho  died  Avithout  children,  that  he  might  raise  up 
seed  to  him.  This  is  called  Levirate.  The  custom 
seems  to  have  been  in  force,  among  the  HebrcAvs  and 
Canaanites,  belbre  the  time  of  Moses ;  since  Judah 
gives  Er  his  first-born,  and  Onan  his  second  son,  to 
Tamar,  and  obliges  himself  to  give  her  also  Shelah, 
his  third  son.  The  instance  of  Ruth,  who  married 
Boaz,  is  an  evidence  of  this  practice  under  the  judges. 
Boaz  was  neither  the  father  of,  nor  the  nearest  rela- 


IVIARRIAGE 


[661] 


MARRIAGE 


tion  to,  Elinielecli,  fjuher-in-law  of  Ruth,  the  widow 
ofMahlou;  yet  ho  marrietl  licr,  after  the  refusal  of 
the  utxt  of  kill.  Tlie  rahhins  suggest  many  excep- 
tions and  liiriitatious  to  this  law ;  as,  that  the  obliga- 
tion on  the  brother  of  marrying  his  sister-in-law,  re- 
panls  only  brothers  boru  of  the  same  lather  and 
moilier;  that  it  has  respect  only  to  the  eldest  I)rother 
of  the  deceased  ;  and  further,  supposes  that  he  was 
not  married  ;  for  if  he  were  married,  he  miglit  either 
ta!vc  or  leave  his  brother's  widow.  If  the  deceased 
l)rot!icr  had  left  a  natural  or  adoptive  son  or  daughter, 
a  grandson  or  granildaughter,  the  brother  was  imder 
no  oi)ligation  to  marry  his  widow.  If  the  dead  per- 
son left  many  wives,  the  brother  could  marry  but  one 
of  them;  if  tlie  deceased  had  many  brothers,  the  eld- 
est alone  had  a  right  to  all  his  estate,  and  enjoyed  the 
property  which  his  wife  had  brought  him.  They  add, 
that  the  marriage  of  the  widow  with  her  brother-in- 
hnv  was  performed  without  solemnity,  because  the 
widov/  of  the  brother  who  died  not  having  children, 
p:ussed  for  the  brother-in-law's  wife,  without  any  oc- 
casion for  further  ceremony.  Notv.'ithstanding,  cus- 
tom required  that  this  should  be  done  in  the  presence 
of  two  witnesses,  and  that  the  brother  should  give  a 
piece  of  money  to  the  widow.  The  nuptial  blessing 
was  added,  and  a  writing  to  secure  the  wife's  dower. 
Some  believe,  that  this  law  was  not  observed  after  the 
Babylonish  captivity,  because,  since  that  time,  there 
has  been  no  distinction  of  inheritances  among  the 
tribes. 

The  law  was  this,  in  case  of  a  refusal  by  the  broth- 
er to  marry  the  widow;  (Deut.  xxv.  7.)  "If  the  man 
like  not  to  take  his  brother's  wife,  then  let  his  broth- 
er's wife  go  up  to  the  gate  unto  the  elders,  and  say, 
'  My  husband's  brother  will  not  perform  the  duty  of 
a  husband's  brother ;'  then  shall  his  brother's  wife 
come  unto  him,  in  the  presence  of  the  elders,  and 
loose  his  shoe  from  off  his  foot,  and  spit  in  his  face, 
and  shall  say, '  So  shall  it  be  done  unto  that  man  that 
will  not  build  up  his  brother's  house.'  And  his  name 
shall  be  called  in  Israel,  'The  house  of  him  who  hath 
had  his  shoe  loosed.'"  Remark,  (1.)  the  word  ren- 
dered shoe  {'-'];:,  naal,)  usually  means  sandal,  i.  e.  a 
mere  sole  held  on  the  foot  in  a  very  simple  manner ; 
and  is  so  understood  by  the  Chaldee  Targums,  by 
the  LXX,  and  by  the  Vulgate.  (2.)  The  primary  and 
radical  meaning  of  the  word  rendered/ace  ('jc,  peni,) 
is  surface,  the  superficies  of  any  thing.  Mr.  Taylor 
suggests,  then,  that  the  directions  of  the  passage  may 
be  to  this  purpose  ;  the  hrolhcr^s  icife  shall  loose  the 
sandal  from  off  the  foot  of  her  husband's  brother,  and 
shall  spit  upon  its  face,  or  surface,  (i.  e.  that  of  the 
shoe,)  and  shall  sa;/,  &c. — in  which  case  the  ceremo- 
ny is  coincident  with  the  following  : 

Touriiefbrt  says,  (vol.  ii.  p.  816.)  "A  woman  may 
d.'niand  to  be  separated  from  her  husband  if  he"  de- 
cline her  intimacy  ;  "if  the  woman  turn  her  slipper 
upside  down  in  presence  of  the  judge  it  is  a  sign," 
and  is  taken  as  evidence  against  her  husband.  "  The 
judge  sends  to  look  for  the  husband,  bastinados  him, 
and  dissolves  the  marriage."  A  more  particular  ac- 
count of  this  ceremony  is  given  by  Aaron  Hill : 
(Travels,  p.  104.)  "The  third  divorce  practised  by 
the  Turks,  is,  when  a  man"  withholds  his  personal 
intimacy  from  his  wife,  "yet  refuses  to  dismiss  her. 
Being  summoned  by  her  friends  before  a  judge,  and 
forced  to  bring  her  with  him  to  the  same  appearance, 
when  the  charge  is  read  against  him,  she  is  asked  if 
she  will  then  affirm  the  truth  of  that  accusation  ? 
Hereupon  she  stoops,  and  takins^  off  her  slip- 
per, spits   upon  the  sole ;    and  strikes   on   her  hus- 


band's forchoatl.  Modesty  requires  no  further  con- 
Hrmation  from  the  female  plaintiff;  and  sentence  is 
inunediately  pronounced,  in  favor  of  the  lady,  who  is 
thenceforth  free  to  marry  as  she  pleases  ;  and  is  en- 
titled, notwithstanding,  to  a  large  allowance  from  her 
former  consort's  yearly  income." 

These  ceremonies  differ  in  some  things,  however ; 
for  in  the  case  of  complaint  against  her  own  husband, 
for  personal  abstinence,  the  wife  takes  off  her  own 
shoe  and  spits  upon  it;  but  in  the  case  of  complaint 
against  her  husband's  brother  for  refusing  to  be  his 
locum  tenens,  and  declining  her  intimacy,  she  takes 
otf  his  shoe  and  spits  upon  it.  Moreover,  the  text 
does  not  say  she  shall  turn  up  the  sole,  and  spit 
upon  it,  (such  inversion  signifying  a  very  different 
matter,  as  may  be  seen  in  Busbequius,  (Ep*.  169.)  and 
could  have  no  place  in  the  case  of  the  husband's 
brother,)  but  she  shall  spit  upon  <^e  ycrce  or  upper 
part  of  it,  as  an  oath,  affirmation,  and  evidence,  of 
his  refusal  "  to  build  up  his  brother's  house."  It  de- 
serves notice  that  the  appellative  phrase  which  brands 
the  character  of  the  refuser  is  not  "  the  house  of  him 
who  had  his  shoe  loosed,  and  ivas  spit  upon ;"  but 
the  reference  is  to  the  loosing  of  the  shoe  only,  the 
more  considerable  disgrace  being  omitted. 

This  custom  seems  to  be  alluded  to,  with  some  va- 
riation, in  the  case  of  Ruth's  kinsman,  (Ruth  iv.  7.) 
where  it  seems  clearly  to  include  the  force  of  an 
oath,  "for  to  confirm  all  things."  This  form  of  an 
oath,  then,  like  that  of  placing  the  hand  under  the 
thigh,  apjicars  sufficiently  strange  to  us,  yet,  being 
binding  on  those  who  took  it,  it  might  fully  answer 
its  purpose.  Why  the  sulijcct  to  which  it  alludes  was 
signified  by  the  shoe  in  particulai",  might  possibly  be 
ascertained  by  an  accurate  attention  to  some  of  the 
senses  in  which  the  word  foot,  or  feet,  is  used,  Jcr.  ii. 
25  ;  Ezek.  xvi.  25 ;  Isa.  vii.  20  ;  xxxvi.  12 ;  in  Heb.  S,-c. 

Is  there  a  gradation  observable  in  the  treatment  of 
more  distant  relatives,  though  the  nearest  of  kin  re- 
maining, as  in  the  case  of  Ruth?  The  man  himself 
plucked  off  his  oicn  shoe  ;  and  gave  it  to  his  neighbor  ; 
it  was  not  plucked  off  by  the  petitioner,  nor  was  it 
given  to  her ;  but  it  was  loosened,  perhaps  decent- 
ly, and  deliberately,  by  himself,  and  given  by  him  to 
his  neighbor  ;  implying,  probably,  a  smaller  portion 
of  indignity,  as  the  relation  was  more  remote,  and 
his  obligation  to  comply  with  the  custom  proportion- 
ately less  urgent.  This  affords  an  answer  to  Mi- 
chaelis's  question,  (No.  59,)  which  Niebidu-  has  not 
replied  to. 

Christ  has  restored  marriage  to  its  first  perfection, 
by  banishing  polygamy,  and  forbidding  divorce,  ex- 
cept in  the  case  of  adultery,  (Matt.  v.  32.)  nor  leaving 
to  the  parties  so  separated,  the  liberty  of  marrying 
again,  Luke  xvi.  18.  (See  Divorce.)  Our  Saviour 
blessed  and  sanctified  marriage  by  being  present 
himself  at  the  wedding  at  Cana,  (John  ii.  1,  2.)  and 
Paul  declares  the  excellence  of  Christian  marriage, 
when  he  says,  (Eph.  v.  32.)  "  Let  every  one  of  you  so 
love  his  wife,  even  as  himself,  and  the  wife  see  that 
she  reverence  her  husband."  "  So  ought  men  to 
love  their  wives  as  their  own  bodies  ;  he  that  loveth 
his  wife,  loveth  himself.  For  this  cause  shall  a  man 
leave  his  father  and  mother,  and  shall  be  joined  unto 
his  wife,  and  they  two  shall  be  one  flesh.  This  is  a 
great  mystery  ;  but  I  speak  concerning  Christ  and 
the  church."  The  union  of  husband  and  wife  rep- 
resents the  sacred  and  sjjiiitual  marriage  of  Christ 
with  his  church.  The  same  apostle  assures  us 
(Heb.  xiii.  4.)  that  "  marriage  is  honorable  in  all,  and 


MAR 


[  662  ] 


MARY 


the  bed  undefiled  ;  but  whoremongers  and  aclultercra 
God  will  judge."  The  New  Testament  prescribes 
no  particular  cei'emony  for  the  solemnizing  of  mat- 
rimony; but  in  the  church,  a  blessing  has  always 
been  given  to  the  married  couple. 

MARRIAGE  VEIL,  see  Veil. 

MARS'  HILL.  Our  translators  have  entirely 
spoiled  the  narrative  of  the  historian  in  Acts  xvii.  19, 
22,  by  rendering  "  they  took  Paul,  and  brought  him 
unto  Areopagus  ....  then  Paul  stood  in  the  midst 
of  Mars'  hill."  Now  as  Mars'  hill  is  Areopagus  trans- 
lated, and  as  both  Areopagus  and  Mars'  hill  signify 
the  same  place,  the  same  name  ought  to  have  been 
preserved  in  both  verses  ;  in  which  case  the  narra- 
tive would  have  stood  thus  : — "  They  took  Paul,  and 
brought  him  before  the  court  of  the  Areopagitcs,"  or 
the  court  which  sat  on  Areopagus.  .  .  .  "and  Paul 
stood  in  the  midst  before  the  court  of  the  Areopa- 
gitcs, and  said.  Ye  chief  men  of  Athens."  (See  Are- 
opagus.) The  propriety  of  the  apostle's  discourse  is 
greatly  illustrated  by  considering  the  important,  the 
senatorial,  and  even  the  learned,  character  of  his 
auditors. 

MARTHA,  sistei  of  Lazarus  anAMary.  Ui)on  one 
occasion,  when  our  Saviour  visited  them  at  Bethany, 
Rlartha  was  very  busy  in  preparing  supper,  while 
Mary  sat  at  our  Saviour's  feet,  hearing  his  doctrine 
with  great  attention,  Luke  x.  38 — 42.  Martha  com- 
plained, and  wished  Mary  to  rise  and  assist  her. 
But  Jesus  made  answer,  "  Martha,  Martha,  you  are 
very  busy  and  in  much  trouble  to  provide  indifferent 
and  unnecessary  things;  there  is  but  one  thing 
necessary,  and  Mary  has  chosen  the  better  part, 
which  sliall  not  be  taken  from  her."  Some  time 
after  this,  Lazarus  falling  sick,  the  sisters  sent  word 
to  Jesus,  who  was  then  beyond  Jordan  ;  but  he 
departed  not  thence  till  he  knew  Lazarus  to  be 
dead.  When  he  approached  Bethany,  Martha  went 
out  to  meet  him  ;  expostulated  with  him  on  his  de- 
lay ;  and  professed  her  faith  in  him.  Jesus  bade 
them  bring  him  to  Lazarus's  tomb,  and  there  raised 
liini  from  the  dead,  John  xi.  20,  &c.  (See  Lazarus.) 
Six  days  before  his  passion,  Jesus,  being  at  Bethany, 
on  his"  way  to  Jerusalem,  was  invited  to  eat  by  a 
Pharisee,  called  Simon  the  leper,  John  xii.  Martha 
attended  upon  the  guests,  of  wliom  Lazarus  was  one  ; 
and  Mary  poured  a  box  of  precious  j)erfunie  on  the 
head  and  feet  of  Jesus,  Matt.  xxvi.  G,  &c.  This  is 
all  we  know  of  Martha.  The  Latins  and  Greeks 
maintain,  that  she  died  at  Jerusalem,  as  also  Ma- 
ry and  Lazarus,  and  that  they  were  all  buried 
there. 

MARTYR,  properly,  denotes  a  witness  ;  in  eccle- 
siastical history,  a  witness,  by  the  shedding  of  his 
blood,  in  testifying  the  truth.  Thus  martyrs  are  dis- 
tinguished from  confessors,  properly  so  called,  who 
underwent  great  afflictions  for  their  confession  of  the 
truth,  but  without  suffering  death.  The  term  inartifr 
occurs  only  thrice  in  the  New  Testament,  Acts  xxii. 
20  ;  Rev.  ii.  13  ;  xvii,  G. 

I.  MARY,  the  wife  of  Joseph,  the  mother  of  Jesus, 
was,  it  is  said,  daughter  of  Joachim  and  Anna,  of  the 
tribe  of  Judah  ;  but  Scripture  mentions  nothing  of 
her  parents,  not  even  their  names,  unless  Ileli  (Luke 
iii.  23.)  be  the  same  as  Joachim.  She  was  of  the 
royal  race  of  David,  as  was  Joseph  her  husband  ;  and 
was  also  cousin  to  Elisabeth,  wife  of  Zechariah  the 
priest,  Luke  i.  .5,  3G.  The  Greek  text  (Matt.  i.  18.)  im- 
I)orts  that  Mary  was  espoused  to  Joseph,  who,  accord- 
ing to  the  usages  of  the  Hebrews,  hail  the  same  power 
over  her  as  if  she  were  his  wife.    (See  Marriage.) 


Some  time  after  the  espousals  the  angel  Gabriel  ap- 
peared to  Mary,  to   acquaint   hor,  that   she  should  be 

the  mother  of  the  Messiah,  Luke  i.  26, 27,  &c.  Mary 
asking  how  this  could  be,  since  she  knew  not  man, 
the  angel  replied,  that  "The  Holy  Ghost  should 
come  upon  her,  and  that  the  power  of  the  Highest 
should  overshadow  her."  To  confirm  his  message, 
and  show  that  nothing  was  impossible  to  God,  he 
added,  that  her  cousin  Elisabeth,  who  was  both  old 
and  barren,  was  then  in  the  sixth  month  of  her  preg- 
nancy. JMary  answered,  "Behold  the  handmaid  of 
the  Lord  ;  be  it  unto  me  according  to  thy  word."  She 
soon  afterwards  set  out  for  Hebron,  to  visit  her 
cousin  ;  and  as  soon  as  Elisabeth  heard  the  voice  of 
Mary,  her  child  (John  the  Baptist)  leaped  in  her 
woinb ;  she  was  filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  cried 
out,  "  Blessed  art  thou  among  women,"  &c.  Mary, 
filled  with  acknowledgment  and  supernatural  light, 
})raised  God,  .saying,  "  My  soul  doth  magnify  the 
Lord,  and  my  spirit  hath  rejoiced  in  God  my  Sa- 
viour," &c,  Mary  continued  with  Elisabeth  about 
three  months,  and  then  returned  to  her  own  house. 

When  Mary  was  ready  to  lie  in,  an  edict  of  Ccesar 
Augustus  decreed,  that  all  subjects  of  the  empire 
should  go  to  their  own  cities,  to  register  their  names, 
according  to  their  families.  Joseph  and  Mary,  who 
were  both  of  the  lineage  of  David,  went  to  Bethle- 
hem, whence  sprung  their  family.  But  while  they 
were  here,  the  time  being  fulfilled  in  which  Mary 
was  to  be  delivered,  she  brought  forth  her  first-born 
son,  whom  she  wrapped  in  swaddling-clothes,  and 
laid  in  the  manger  of  the  stable  whither  they  had 
been  compelled  to  take  up  their  residence,  as  they 
could  find  no  place  in  the  inn.  (See  Caravanserai.) 
Angels  made  the  event  known  to  shepherds,  who 
were  in  the  fields  near  Bethlehem,  and  who  came  in 
the  night  to  see  Mary  and  Joseph,  and  the  child  in 
the  manger,  and  to  pay  him  their  adoration,  Mary 
took  notice  of  all  these  things,  and  laid  them  up  in 
her  heart,  Luke  ii.  19.  A  few  days  afterwards,  the 
Magi  or  wise  men  came  from  the  East,  and  brought 
to  Jesus  the  presents  of  gold,  frankincense  and 
myrrh.  Matt.  ii.  8,  &o.  The  time  of  Mary's  purifica- 
tion being  come,  that  is,  forty  days  after  the  birth  of 
Jesus,  she  went  to  Jerusalem,  to  present  her  son  in 
the  temple,  and  there  to  ofi'er  the  sacrifice  appointed 
by  the  law,  for  the  pui-ification  of  women  after  child- 
birth, Luke  ii.  21.  When  Joseph  and  Mary  were 
about  to  return  to  their  own  country,  Nazareth,  the 
angel  of  the  Lord  appeared  to  Joseph  in  a  dream, 
bidding  him  retire  into  Egypt  with  ]\lary  and  the 
child,  because  Herod  designed  to  destroy  it,  ^latt.  ii, 
13,  14,  Joseph  obeyed  the  admonition,  and  contin- 
ued in  Egypt  till  after  the  death  of  Herod,  when  lie 
retin-ned  to  Nazareth  with  his  wife  and  the  child, 

Mary  is  only  mentioned  two  or  three  times  after- 
wards in  the  sacred  histoiy,  Luke  ii.  49;  John  ii.  1 ; 
xix.  25 — 27,  &c.  She  was  with  the  apostles,  no 
doubt,  at  the  ascension  of  our  Savioiu",  and  continued 
with  them  at  Jerusalem,  waiting  the  descent  of  the 
Holy  Ghost,  After  this  time  she  dwelt  with  John 
the  evangelist,  who  regarded  her  as  his  own  mother. 
Some  have  believed  that  Mary  finished  her  life  by 
martyrdom,  from  those  words  of  Simeon,  "A  sword 
shall  pierce  through  thy  own  soul  also,"  Luke  ii.  35, 
TheCatholic  church  has  understood  this  literally,  and 
the  Virgin  is  very  often  represented  with  a  sword 
thrust  through  her  vitals.  But  this  is  generally  and 
more  properly  referred  to  her  affliction,  at  beholding 
her  son's  crucifixion  :  no  history  mentions  her  mar- 
tyrdom. 


MARY 


[  663 


MARY 


[The  following  remarks  and  suggestions  are  from 
the  English  editors  of  Calinet,  and  may  pass  for  what 
they  are  worth.  On  similar  principles  it  would  not 
be  very  difficult  to  prove  or  disprove  any  historical 
fact.     R. 

Traditions  seldom  or  never  retain,  unadulterated, 
for  any  length  of  time,  the  original  truth  liom  which 
they  took  their  rise.  Yet  some  of  them  convey  in- 
formation, thougii  disguised,  wliich  more  regular 
history  does  not  afford.  Among  these  Mr.  Taylor 
classes  the  report,  that  Luke  was  a  painter,  and  had 
painted  the  portrait  of  the  mother  of  our  Lord  ;  con- 
ceiving that  wo  find  in  the  writings  of  this  sacred 
penman  sucli  a  description  of  the  Holy  Mother,  as 
may  justly  be  called  her  portrait;  that  is — the  por- 
trait of  her  character  and  mind,  not  of  her  person 
and  countenance.  We  are  scarcely  introduced  to 
tliis  interesting  personage,  (cliap.  i.  29.)  when  we  are 
told,  that  "  she  was  troubled,  and  cast  in  her  mind 
what  manner  of  salutation  this  siiould  be."  The  w-ord 
rendered  troubled,  does  not  import  any  deficiency  of 
natural  courage,  but  simply  tlie  agitation  of  her  mind, 
dashing,  as  it  were,  backwards  and  forwards  like 
water  ;  now  thinking  well,  now  suspecting  ill,of  tliis 
salutation.  And  to  this  sense  agrees  the  word 
SitXo'i'i^iiro,  reasoning  within  herself,  examining  both 
sides  of  the  question,  dialoguizing  pro  and  con,  as  to 
the  nature  of  the  present  occurrence.  A  very  natu- 
ral action,  surely,  for  a  person  of  understanding  and 
manners !  And  this  character  for  reflection  and 
thought  is  retained  by  ^lary,  where  we  next  find  her: 
(chap.  ii.  19.)  she  "  kept  all  these  things,  and  pondered 
them  in  her  heart." — She  collected  and  preserved 
these  events  in  the  storehouse  of  her  mind,  and  lay- 
ing them  beside  one  another,  compared  them  togeth- 
er ;  by  this  means  they  mutually  served  as  objects 
illustrative  of  each  other.  Again,  verse  51,  "  She 
kept  all  these  sayings  in  her  heart."  But  the  form  of 
the  verb  here  used  is  Snr/'ni,  (before,  it  was  nvrtTilnn,) 
she  closely  watched,  with  all  the  affection  of  her 
heart,  all  these  sentiments,  to  see  what  turn  they 
would  take. 

Now,  nothing  of  this  depicturing  of  the  character 
of  ]\Iary  appears  in  any  of  the  other  evangelists ; 
Luke  alone  has  thus  painted  her.  Moreover,  this 
character  is  perfectly  agreeable  to  the  warning  given 
her  by  Simeon,  that  a  sword  should  pierce  her  re- 
flective and  considerate  heart ;  or  rather,  that  a  jave- 
lin, thrown  by  a  fierce  hand,  after  having  pierced 
its  object,  should  wound  her  deeply,  in  its  further 
course.  It  is  ])crfectly  agreeable,  also,  to  the  solici- 
tude which,  many  years  afterwards,  induced  her  to 
think  her  son,  our  Lord,  overdid  himself;  that  is,  ex- 
ceeded his  strength,  in  labors,  &c.  We  have  seen  a 
])icture  of  the  mind  of  Holy  Mary  ;  the  evangelist 
draws  another  of  her  actions.  We  have  found  her 
thoMghtfid  and  reflective  ;  she  was,  also,  discreet  and 
active  ;  for  after  her  salutation,  she  determined  to 
put  to  the  test  the  information  she  had  received  ;  and 
to  judge  by  her  own  eyes  and  ears,  whether  her 
elder  friend  Elisabeth  had  really  "  conceived  a  son  in 
her  old  age ;"  and  whether  this  was  really  the  sixth 
mouth  of  her  pregnancy.  Elisabeth  had  concealed 
herself  during  five  months,  but  this  Mary  did  not 
know ;  Elisabeth's  pregnancy  might,  however,  be 
reported  in  her  neighborhood,  and  so  the  informant 
of  Mary  might  have  told  her  no  great  news  ;  nothing 
•  worthy  of  being  a  sign  in  confirmation  of  what  he 
had  predicted.  It  might  also  have  been  the  third 
month,  or  the  eighth,  in  which  case  the  imperfection 
of  the  information  would  have  been  apparent.   Mary 


staid  till  she  saw  a  son  bom.  Nothing,  then,  could 
be  so  discreet  as  placing  herself  under  the  protection 
of  a  person  of  the  age  and  cliaiacter  of  Elisabeth. 
Nor  is  this  all  ;  for  Rlary  went  in  haste  on  this,  to  her, 
extremely  important  business:  it  follows,  that  she 
must  have  been  in  circumstances  of  life  which  permit- 
ted this  instant  exertion.  No  person  extremely  poor, 
no  person  in  servitude,  no  person  under  any  author- 
itative control,  could  have  made  tliis  hastyjouruey. 
This,  then,  is  another  feature  in  the  picture  of  Mary, 
as  drawn  by  Luke.  But  the  infi'rence  from  Mary's 
situation  in  life  is  of  still  greater  consequence.  That 
education  contributes  essentially  to  form  a  thinking 
mind,  we  know  from  every  day's  experience ;  and 
we  have  seen  that  such  a  mind  was  Mary's.  It  is 
evident,  also,  from  what  is  called  her  Song,  that  she 
had  read  the  Scriptures  of  the  Old  Testament  with 
attention  ;  and  as  reading  was  not  (as  it  is  not,  at  this 
day)  a  common  acquisition  among  women  of  the  low- 
est class  in  the  East,  the  possession  of  it  removes  Mary 
from  that  class,  had  we  no  other  proof.  It  seems  to 
have  been  an  error  in  critics  to  take  Mary's  Song  for 
a  sudden  vocal  efl\ision,by  instantaneous  inspiration  ; 
there  are  so  many  allusions  in  it  to  passages  of  the 
then  extant  Scriptures,  that  this  appears  to  be  im- 
probable. It  is  not  likely  that  instantaneous  inspira- 
tion should  have  repeated  sentiments  already  record- 
ed, and  public  to  the  whole  nation.  Something  not  yet 
known,  something  looking  forward,  something  of  sufli- 
cient  consequence  to  justifj'  its  being  revealed,  is  what 
we  should  rather  expect  from  such  an  afflatus  of  the 
Holy  Spirit.  It  will  be  observed,  also,  that  the  sacred 
writer  does  not  assert  the  instant  insjiiration  of  3Iary  : 
his  words  are,  speaking  of  Elisabeth,  she  "was  filled 
with  the  Holy  Ghost ;"  and  speakingof  Zechariah,  he 
"  was  filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  prophesied  ;" 
whereas,concerning  Mary,hesays  nothing  of  thekind; 
but  simply,  "  Mary  said."  This  distinction  of  phrase  is 
not  favorable  to  the  notion  of  a  sudden  verbal  inspi- 
ration, in  which  the  party  speaking  is  the  mere  organ 
of  the  Sacred  Sj)irit.  We  know  not  whether  it  be 
necessary  to  remind  our  readers,  that  to  say,  is  often 
used,  when  writing,  not  speech,  is  the  subject.  Wo 
have  the  phrase  among  ourselves,  "  He  says  in  this 
letter" — "  He  tells  us  in  such  a  place" — "  Your  cor- 
respondent says  that" — and  that  the  same  idea  is  an- 
nexed to  the  verb  to  say,  in  Scripture,  appears, 
among  many  other  places,  from  John  i.  23.  Isaiah 
said,  {that  is,  wrote,)  vii.  38.  The  Scripture  hath 
said,  Rom.  vii.  7.  The  law  hath  said.  Gal  i.  9.  As 
we  said  (that  is,  wrote)  before,  so  say  (that  is,  write)  I 
again,  &c.  We  may  then  consider  the  Song  of  31a- 
ry  as  composed — written — under  the  illumination  of 
the  Sacred  Spirit;  and  being  committed  to  paper,  it 
comes  under  the  principle  w  hich  we  have  endeavored 
elsewhere  to  establish,  (see  Luke,)  that  Luke  sought 
out  and  procured  all  the  written  documents  which  he 
could  obtain  for  his  pur|)ose.  The  fact  may  be,  that 
during  the  residence  of  Mary  with  Elisabedi  (three 
inontlis  or  more)  she  penned  this  song  ;  and  copies 
of  it  were  extant,  one  of  which  Luke  employed  in 
his  history. 

Now,  the  acquisition  of  writing  by  a  young  Jewish 
woman,  adds  to  proofs  already  suggested,  that  Mary 
was  in  respectable  circumstances,  and  had  received 
a  liberal  education  ;  for  we  are  not  to  attribute  to 
those  times,  and  to  that  country,  the  same  diffusion 
of  knowledge  as  obtains  among  ourselves.  Writing 
and  reading  were  rare  among  the  men,  much  more 
rare  among  the  women  ;  and  the  possession  of  them 
seems  to  be  decisive  against  that  poverty  which  some 


MARY 


[  664  ] 


MAS 


have  unwittingly  attached  to  the  condition  of  our 
Lord  and  his  parents. 

We  remark,  further,  that  Luke  is  the  writer  who 
last  mentions  Mary  the  mother  of  Jesus  by  name, 
(Acts  i.  14.)  and  she  is  the  only  woman  whom  he  thus 
distinguishes.  On  the  whole,  the  inference  is  clear, 
that  we  ai'e  obliged  to  him  for  a  portrait  of  this  high- 
ly distinguished  person  ;  not  indeed  of  her  features, 
but  of  her  character  and  conduct:  and  thus  the  tra- 
dition, of  Avhich  no  critic  has  ever  been  a])le  to  make 
any  thing  probable,  may  be  explained  with  some  ap- 
pearance of  consistency. 

II.  MARY,  the  mother  of  Mark,  had  a  house  in 
Jerusalem,  to  which  it  is  thought  the  apostles  retired 
after  the  ascension  of  our  Lord,  and  where  they  re- 
ceived the  Holy  Ghost.  Tiiis  house  was  on  mount 
Sion,  and  Epiphanius  says,  it  escaped  the  destruction 
of  Jerusalem  by  Titus,  and  was  changed  into  a  very 
famous  church,  which  continued  several  ages.  After 
the  imjjrisonment  of  Peter,  the  faithfid  were  assem- 
bled in  this  house,  praying,  when  Peter,  delivered 
by  the  ministry  of  an  angel,  knocked  at  the  gate, 
Acts  xii.  5,  12. 

III.  MARY  Cleophas,  the  sister  of  Mary  the 
mother  of  our  Lord,  was  wife  of  Cleophas,  and 
mother  of  James  the  Less,  and  of  Simon,  brethren 
of  our  Lord,  John  xix.  25;  Luke  xxiv.  10;  Matt, 
xxvii.  56,  61.  She  believed  early  on  Jesus  Christ, 
and  at  length  accompanied  him  in  some  of  his  jour- 
neys, to  minister  to  him,  followed  him  to  Calvary, 
and  was  with  the  Virgin  at  the  foot  of  his  cross.  She 
was  also  present  at  his  burial,  and  prepared  perfumes 
to  embalm  him.  But  going  to  his  tomb  on  Sunday 
morning  very  early,  with  other  women,  they  learned 
from  an  angel  that  he  was  risen,  of  which  they  in- 
formed the  apostles.  By  the  way  Jesus  appeared  to 
them,  and  they  embraced  his  feet,  worshipping  him. 
The  year  of  her  death  is  not  known. 

IV.  MARY,  sister  of  Lazarus,  who  has  been  con- 
founded with  the  woman  mentioned  Luke  vii.  37, 
39.     See  IMartha. 

V.  MARY  Magdalen,  one  of  the  females  who  fol- 
lowed Jesus,  in  company  with  his  apostles,  when  he 
preached  the  gospel  from  city  to  city.  She  took  her 
surname  either  from  the  town  of  Magdala  in  Gali- 
lee, l)eyond  Jordan,  or  from  Magdolos,  a  tov/n  at  the 
foot  of  mount  Carmel,  perhaps  the  Megiddo  of  Josh- 
ua xvii.  11  ;  2  Kings  ix.  27;  xxiii.  29.  Luke(viii.2.) 
and  Mark  (xvi.  9.)  oliserve,  that  she  bad  been  deliv- 
ered by  Christ  from  seven  devils.  This  some  under- 
stand literally  ;  others  figuratively,  for  the  crimes  and 
wickednesses  of  her  past  life.  Others  maintain,  that 
she  had  always  lived  in  virginity,  and  consequently 
was  a  different  person  from  the  sinner  mentioned  by 
Luke,  (chap.  vii.  36.)  and  by  the  seven  devils,  they 
understand  a  real  jiossession,  which  is  not  inconsist- 
ent with  a  recluse  life.  She  followed  Christ  in  his 
last  journey  from  Galilee  to  Jerusalem,  and  was  at 
the  foot  of  the  cross  with  the  Holy  Virgin.  She 
continued  on  mount  Calvary  till  our  Saviour's  death, 
and  saw  him  placed  in  his  tomb ;  after  which  she 
returned  to  Jerusalem,  to  prepare  to  embalm  him 
after  the  sabbath  was  over,  John  xix.  25  ;  INIark  xv. 
47.  All  the  sabbath  day  she  remained  in  the  city, 
and  the  next  day,  early  in  the  morning,  she  went  to 
the  sepulchre,  with  Mary  the  mother  of  James  and 
Salome,  Mark  xvi.  1,  2;  Luke  xxiv.  1,  2.  Being 
come  to  his  tomb,  they  saw  two  angels,  who  informed 
them  that  Jesus  was  risen.  On  this,  Mary  Magdalen 
ran  to  Jerusalem,  to  acquaint  the  aj)ostles.  Return- 
ing to  the  sepulchre,  and  stooping  forward  to  exam- 


ine the  inside  of  the  tomb,  she  there  saw  two  angels 
sitting,  one  at  the  head  and  the  other  at  the  bottom 
of  the  tomb.  (See  Sepulchre.)  They  asked  her 
why  she  wept.  To  which  she  replied,  "  They  have 
taken  away  my  Lord,  and  I  know  not  where  they 
have  laid  him."  Immediately  turning  about,  she  saw 
Jesus,  who  asked  her  what  she  looked  for.  She  an- 
swered, "  Sir,  if  you  have  removed  my  Master,  let 
me  know  it,  that  I  may  take  him  away."  Jesus  said 
to  her,  Mary  !  Immediately  she  knew  him,  and  cast 
herself  at  his  feet,  to  kiss  them.  But  Jesus  said  to 
her,  "  Touch  me  not,  for  I  am  not  yet  ascended  to  my 
Father."  q.  d.  You  slrall  have  leisure  to  see  me  here- 
after ;  go  now  to  my  brethren,  my  apostles,  and  tell 
them,  I  shall  ascend  to  my  God  and  their  God ;  to 
my  Father  and  their  Father.  Thus  had  Mary  the 
happiness  of  first  seeing  our  Saviour  after  his  resur- 
rection. She  related  this  to  the  apostles,  but  they 
did  not  believe  her,  till  her  report  was  confirmed  by 
other  testimony. 

It  has  been  thought  by  Calmet  and  others,  that 
"the  sinner,"  mentioned  in  Luke  vii.  36,  was  Mary 
Magdalen  ;  but  this  is  hardly  credible,  Magdalen  be- 
ing always  named  in  company  with  women  of  the 
best  character  and  quality ;  as  (Luke  viii.)  with  Jo- 
anna, wife  of  Chuza,  Herod's  stewaid,  and  Susannah, 
and  many  others.  Generally  she  is  named  first  of 
her  company,  even  before  Mary  tlie  mother  of  Jesus, 
Mark  xv.  47.  She  was,  also,  a  woman  of  property  ; 
she  not  only  "  ministered  to  Jesus  of  her  substance," 
while  he  was  living,  but  she  was  one  of  those  who 
bought  spices  to  embalm  him  after  his  death.  Matt. 
xxviii.  55,  56  ;  Luke  xxiii.  36  ;  John  xx.  Probably 
she  was  not  young ;  and,  therefore,  the  story  of  her 
following  John  to  Ephesus  is  entitled  to  no  attention ; 
yet,  as  the  name  Mary  was  very  common  among  the 
Jews,  some  v/oman  bearing  it  might  accompany  the 
apostle,  and  give  occasion  to  the  mistake. 

MASCHIL,  which  is  a  term  found  as  a  title  to 
some  of  the  Psalms,  imports  7ie  that  instructs  or  makes 
to  understand.  Some  interpreters  think,  that  it  sig- 
nifies an  instrument  of  music;  but  it  is  much  more 
probable  that  it  signifies  an  instructive  song. 

MASH,  the  fourth  son  of  Aram,  (Gen.  x.  23.) 
called  3Ieshech  in  1  Chron.  i.  17.  Bochart  believes 
he  inhabited  mount  Masius  in  Slesopotamia,  and  gave 
his  name  to  the  river  Mazccha,  whose  source  is 
there. 

MASHAL,  a  city  of  Asher,  yielded  to  the  Levitcs 
of  the  family  of  (icrshom,  (1  Chron.  vi.  74.)  is  said  by 
Ensebius  to  ha%'e  been  in  the  vicinity  of  mount 
Carmel  near  the  sea.  In  Josh.  xix.  26,  it  is  called 
Misheal  ;  and  in  xxi.  30,  Mishal. 

MASORA,  see  Language,  p.  609. 

MASREKAH,  a  city  of  Idumca,  (Gen.  xxxvi.36; 
1  Chron.  i.  47.)  and  probably  a  plantalion  of  vines. 

MASSA,  a  name  given  to  the  c  ncampmcnt  of  the 
Hebrews  at  RephicHm,  when  the  people,  v.anting 
water,  began  to  murmur  against  Closes  and  the  Lord, 
as  if  they  had  doubted  of  his  presence  among  them, 
Exod.  xvii.  2,  &c. 

MASSADA,  a  castle  or  fortress  in  the  tribe  of  Ju- 
dah,  west  of  the  Dead  sea,  or  the  lake  As{)haltites, 
not  far  from  Engedi,  situated  on  a  steep  rock,  of  very 
difficult  access.  Jonathan  the  Asmonean,  brother 
of  Judas  Maccabfpus,  fortified  it  against  the  kings  of 
Syria,  and  Herod  the  Great  made  it  still  more  im- 
pregnable. 

It  is  mentioned  by  Josephus  in  his  accoimt  of  the 
last  war  of  the  Jews  against  the  Romans,  as  having 
been  taken  possession  of  by  Eleazar,  a  grandson  of 


M  A  T 


[  665  ] 


M  E  A 


the  famous  Judaa  Gaulonites,  at  the  head  of  the  Si- 
carii,  or  assassins.  Flavins  Sylva  besieged  the  castle 
with  sucli  vigor,  that  finding  escape  impossible,  Elea- 
zar  prevailed  upon  his  companions  to  kill  one  an- 
other. The  last  that  survived  set  fire  to  the  castle. 
This  happened  A.  D.  71.  (Joseph.  Bell.  Jud.  vii. 
28—33.) 

MATTAN,  son  of  Eleazar,  father  of  Jacob,  and 
grandfather  of  Joseph,  husband  to  the  Virgin  Mary. 
Luke  (iii.  23.)  makes  Heli,  son  of  3Iattan,  to  be  father 
of  Joseph  ;  but  it  is  thought  that  Heli  is  the  same  as 
Joachim,  father  of  Mary,  and  father-in-law  to  Joseph. 
So  that  Matthew  (i.  15,  16.)  gives  the  direct  geneal- 
ogy of  Joseph,  and  Luke  that  of  Mary. 

MATTANAH,  an  encampment  of  Israel,  (Numb. 
xxi.  18,  19.)  which  Eusebius  says  was  on  the  Aruou, 
twelve  miles  from  Medaba,  east. 

L  MATTATIHAS,  son  of  John,  of  the  family 
of  Joarib,  and  of  the  race  of  the  priests,  was  the 
first  who  opposed  the  persecution  by  Antiochus 
Epipiianes,  1  Mac.  ii.  A.  M.  3837.  He  had  five  sons, 
who  inherited  their  father's  imdaunted  sjjirit,  and 
made  a  determined  stand  against  the  oppressors  of 
their  coimtry  and  the  persecutors  of  their  religion. 
Mattathias  and  his  sons  being  joined  by  the  Asside- 
aus,  the  most  religious  as  well  as  valiant  men  of  Is- 
rael, they  marched  through  the  country,  destroyed 
the  altars  dedicated  to  false  gods,  circumcised  the 
children  that  had  not  received  circumcision,  hum- 
bled the  children  of  pride,  and  delivered  the  law 
from  its  subjection  to  strangers,  and  from  the  power 
of  the  king.  Being  near  his  death,  Mattathias  as- 
sembled his  sons,  and  exhorted  them  to  be  truly 
zealous  fur  the  law,  and  ready  to  sacrifice  their  lives 
for  the  covenant  of  their  ancestors.  He  was  buried 
at  Modin,  in  the  sepulchre  of  his  ancestors,  and  all 
Israel  made  a  ereat  mourning  for  him. 

II.  MATTATHIAS,  son  of  Simon  Maccabeus, 
and  grandson  of  Mattathias,  was  killed  treacherously, 
with  his  father  and  one  of  his  brethren,  by  Ptolemy, 
son-in-law  of  Simon,  in  the  castle  of  Docus,  1  r>Iac. 
xvi.  14—16. 

MATTHEW,  an  apostle  and  evangelist,  was  sou 
of  Alplicus,  a  Galilean  by  birth,  a  Jew  by  religion, 
and  a  publican  by  proiession,  Mark  ii.  14  ;  Luke  v. 
27.  The  other  evangelists  call  him  only  Levi,  which 
was  his  Hebrew  name;  but  ho  always  calls  himself 
Matthew,  which  was  probably  his  name  as  a  publi- 
can, or  ofticer  for  gathering  taxes.  He  does  not 
dissem!)le  his  former  profession,  thus  exalting  the 
grace  of  Christ,  which  raised  him  to  the  apostleship. 
His  ordinary  abode  was  at  Capernamn,  and  his  office 
out  of  the  town,  at  the  sea  of  Tiberias,  whence  he  was 
called  by  Jesus  to  follow  him.  Matt.  ix.  S) ;  Luke  ii. 
13,  J4.  It  is  probable  that  he  had  a  previous  knowl- 
edge of  the  miracles  and  doctrine  of  Christ,  whom 
he  might  have  heard  preach.  He  was  made  an 
apostle  the  same  year  he  \vas  converted,  and,  con- 
sequently, he  was  called  to  the  apostleship  in  the 
first  year  of  Christ's  ministry.  He  is  sometimes 
named  the  seventh  among  the  apostles,  and  some- 
times the  eighth.  The  most  general  opinion  of  both 
ancients  and  moderns  is,  that  he  preached  and  suffered 
martyrdom  in  Persia,  or  among  the  Parthians,  or 
in  Caramania,  which  then  was  subject  to  the  Par- 
thians. 

Matthew  wrote  his  Gospel  while  in  Judea,  but 
whether  in  the  Hebrew  or  Syriac  language,  then 
common  in  the  country,  or  in  Greek,  cannot  be  dc- 
ternnned.     See  Gospel. — Matthew. 

I.  MATTHIAS,  one  of  those  disciples  who  con- 
^4 


tinned  with  our  Saviour  from  his  baptism  to  his 
ascension,  (Acts  i.  21,  22.)  and  was  after  the  ascension 
associated  with  the  eleven  apostles.  We  know 
nothing  further  of  him. 

II.  MATTHIAS,  son  of  Theophilns,  high-priest 
of  the  Jews,  succeeded  Simon,  A.  M.  3999,  and  after 
one  year  was  deposed  by  Herod  the  Great,  because 
he  thought  him  engaged  in  the  confederacy  with 
Matthias,  son  of  Margaloth,  and  Judas,  son  of  Sari- 
pheus,  who  pulled  down  from  over  the  gate  of  the 
temple  the  golden  eagle  that  Herod  had  set  up.  (Jo- 
seph. Ant.  xvii.  8.) 

III.  MATTHIAS,  son  of  Ananus,  high-priest  of 
the  Jews,  succeeded  Simon  Cautharus,  A.  D.  41. 
(Jos.  Ant.  xix.  6.) 

IV.  MATTHIAS,  son  of  Theophilus,  and  another 
high-priest  of  the  Jews,  succeeded  Jesus,  son  of  Ga- 
maliel, A.  D.  65.     (Joseph.  Bel.  Jud.  v.  33.) 

V.  MATTHIAS,  a  Jew,  of  the  party  of  the  Mace- 
donians, or  Syrians,  sent  by  Xicanor  to  Judas  Mac- 
cabaBus,  with  jiroposals  of  peace,  2  Mac.  xiv.  19. 

MAZZAROTH,  Job  xxxviii.  32.  Our  margin 
properly  supposes  this  word  to  denote  the  twelve 
signs  of  the  zodiac,  a  broad  circle  in  the  heavens, 
comprehending  all  such  stars  as  lie  in  the  path  of  the 
sun  and  moon.  As  these  luminaries  api)ear  to  pi-o- 
ceed  throughout  this  circle  annually,  so  diflerent 
parts  of  it  progi-essively  receive  them  every  month  ; 
and  this  progression  seems  to  be  what  is  meant  by 
"  bringing  forth  mazzaroth  in  his  season,"  q.  c\. 
"  Canst  thou  by  thy  power  cause  the  revolutions  of 
the  heavenly  bodies  in  the  zodiac,  and  the  seasons 
of  summer  and  winter,  which  ensue  on  their  prog- 
ress into  the  regular  annual  or  monthlv  situations  ?'* 

MEASURE.  See  the  general  table  of  Weights, 
Pleasures,  and  Money,  of  the  Hebrews,  at  the  end  ol" 
the  Dictionary.  Also  the  particular  names  of  each, 
as  Shekel,  Talext,  Bath,  Ephah,  <S,:c. 

MEATS.  (See  Axijials.)  It  does  not  appear 
that  the  ancient  Hebrews  were  very  nice  about  the 
seasoning  and  dressing  of  their  food.  We  find 
among  them  roast  meat,  boiled  meat,  and  ragouts. 
Meats  that  vvere  offered  were  boiled  in  a  pot,  1  Sam. 
ii.  15.  Moses  (flxod.  xxiii.  19;  xxxiv.  26.)  forbids 
to  seethe  a  kid  in  its  mother's  milk  ;  which  may  be 
understood  as  forbidding  to  sacrifice  it  while  it 
sucked  ;  or  that  it  should  not  be  boiled  in  the  milk 
of  its  dam  ;  as  the  Hebrev.s  explain  it.  They  might 
not  kill  a  cow  and  its  calf  in  the  same  day  ;  nor  a 
sheep,  or  goat,  and  its  young  one  at  the  same  time. 
They  might  not  cut  olf  a  partof  alivingwinimal  to  cat 
it,  either  raw  or  dressed.  If  any  lawful  beast  or  bird 
should  die  of  itself,  or  be  strangled,  and  the  blood 
not  drain  av.ay,  they  were  net  allowed  to  taste  of  it  ; 
and  if  in  any  bird  was  found  a  thorn,  pin,  or  needle, 
that  had  gored  it ;  or  in  any  beast  an  impostluuiie, 
or  disease  of  tl:e  entrails  ;  or  if  ii  had  been  bitten  by 
any  beast,  they  were  not  to  cat  cf  it,  Exod.  xxii.  31  ; 
Lev.  V.  2 ;  vii.  24  ;  xvii.  15  ;  xxii.  8.  He  that  by  in- 
advertence should  eat  of  any  animal  that  died  of 
itself,  or  that  was  killed  by  any  beast,  was  to  be  un- 
clean till  the  evening,  and  was  not  purified  till  he 
had  washed  his  clothes.  They  ate  of  nothing  dressed 
by  any  other  than  a  Jew,  nor  did  they  ever  dress 
their  victuals  with  the  kiichtn  implements  of  any 
but  one  of  their  own  nation. 

The  prohibition  of  eating  blood,  or  animals  that 
are  strangled,  has  been  always  rigidly  observed  by 
the  Jews.  They  do  not  so  much  as  cat  an  vg^,  if 
there  appear  tii«;  least  streak  of  blood  in  it.  W'hen 
an  animal  is  to  be  killed,  it  must  be  performed  by  a 


MEATS 


[  me  ] 


MED 


ekilful  person,  because  of  the  circumstances  to  be 
observed.  For  the  time  inust  be  proper  for  the  ac- 
tion, and  the  knife  must  be  very  sharp,  and  without 
notches,  that  the  blood  may  run  without  interruption. 
They  let  it  spill  itself  upon  the  ground,  or  on  ashes, 
and  afterwards  take  it  up.  They  put  the  meat  into 
salt  for  an  hour  before  they  put  it  into  the  pot,  that 
the  blood  may  run  quite  out ;  otherwise  they  must 
not  eat  the  meat,  except  they  roast  it.  They  take 
great  care  to  cut  away  the  sinew  of  the  thigh  of 
such  animals  as  they  intend  to  eat,  according  to 
Gen.  xxxii.  22.  And  in  several  places  of  Germany 
and  Italy,  the  Jews  will  not  eat  any  of  the  hinder 
quarter,  because  great  nicety  is  required  in  taking 
away  this  sinew  as  it  should  be  done  ;  and  few 
know  how  to  do  it  exactly.  They  forbear  eating 
any  fat  of  oxen,  sheep,  goats,  or  animals  of  this  kind, 
according  to  Lev.  vii.  23,  &c.  but  other  kind  of  fat 
they  think  is  allowed  them.    See  Fat. 

In  the  Christian  church,  the  custom  of  refraining 
from  things  strangled,  and  from  blood,  continued 
for  a  long  time.  In  the  council  of  the  apostles,  held 
at  Jerusalem,  (Acts  xv.)  it  was  declared  that  converts 
from  paganism  should  not  be  subject  to  the  legal  cer- 
emonies, but  that  they  should  refrain  from  idolatry, 
from  fornication,  from  eating  blood,  and  from  such 
animals  as  were  strangled,  and  their  blood  thereby 
retained  in  their  bodies  ;  which  decree  was  observed 
for  many  ages  by  the  church.  Augustin  affirms, 
that  in  the  church  they  observed  the  distinction  of 
certain  meats,  so  long  as  tho  v/all  of  separation  was 
kept  up  between  the  Jews  and  the  converted  Gen- 
tiles, and  the  Christian  church,  composed  of  these  two 
sorts  of  people,  was  not  yet  entirely  formed  ;  but 
that  when  there  were  no  longer  any  Israelites  ac- 
cording to  the  flesh,  there  were  no  longer  any  persons 
who  made  this  distinction. 

Meats  offered  to  Idols,  1  Cor.  viii.  7,  10. — At 
the  first  settling  of  the  church  there  were  many  dis- 
putes concerning  the  use  of  meats  offered  to  idols. 
Some  newly  converted  Christians,  convinced  that  an 
idol  was  nothing,  and  that  the  distinction  of  clean 
and  unclean  creatures  was  abolished  by  our  Saviour, 
ate  indifferently  of -whatever  was  served  up  to  them, 
even  among  pagans,  without  inquiring  whether  the 
meats  had  been  offered  to  idols.  They  took  the 
same  liberty  in  buying  meat  sold  in  the  market,  not 
regarding  whether  it  were  pure  or  impure,  accord- 
ing to  the  Jews;  or  whether  it  had  been  offered  to 
idols.  For  among  the  heathen,  as  well  as  among 
the  Jews,  there  were  several  sacrifices,  in  which 
only  a  part  was  offered  on  the  altar ,^  the  rsst  belong- 
ing to  him  who  offered  it,  which  he  disposed  of  at 
liis  pleasure,  or  ate  with  his  friends.  But  other 
Ciiristians,  weaker,  or  less  instructed,  were  offended 
at  this  liberty,  and  thought  that  eating  of  meat  W'hich 
had  been  offered  to  idols,  was  a  kind  of  partaking  in 
that  wicked  and  sacrilegious  offering.  This  diver- 
sity of  opinion  produced  some  scandal,  to  which 
Paul  thouglit  it  behoved  him  to  provide  a  remedy, 
Rom.xiv.20 ;  Tit. i.  15.  He  determined,  therefore,  that 
all  things  were  clean  to  siich  as  were  clean,  and  that 
an  idol  was  nothing  at  all.  That  a  man  might  safely 
catof  whatever  was  sold  in  thf  shambles,  and  need  not 
scrupulously  inquire  from  whence  it  came  ;  and  that 
if  an  unbeliever  should  invite  a  behevor  to  cat  with 
him,  the  believer  might  eat  of  whatever  was  set  be- 
fore him,  &c.  1  Cor.  x.  25,  &c.  But  at  the  same 
time  he  enjoins,  that  the  laws  of  charity  and  pru- 
dence should  be  observed  ;  that  believers  should  be 
cautious  of  scandalizing  or  offending  weak  minds  ;  for 


though  all  things  might  be  lawful,  yet  all  things 
were  not  always  expedient.  That  no  one  ought  to 
seek  his  own  accommodation  or  satisfaction,  exclu- 
sively, but  that  each  should  have  regard  to  that  of 
his  neighbor.  That  if  any  one  should  warn  another, 
"  This  has  been  offered  to  idols,"  he  should  not  eat  of 
it,  for  the  sake  of  him  who  gave  the  warning  ;  not 
so  much  for  fear  of  wounding  his  own  conscience, 
as  his  brother's :  in  a  word,  that  he  who  is  weak, 
and  thinks  he  may  not  indifferently  use  all  sorts  of 
food,  should  forbear,  and  eat  herbs,  Rom.  xiv.  1,  2. 
It  is  certain,  however,  that  Christians  generally  ab- 
stained from  eating  meat  that  had  been  offered  to 
idols,  for  in  Rev.  ii.  20,  the  angel  of  Thyatira  is  re- 
proved for  suffering  a  Jezebel  in  his  church,  who 
called  herself  a  prophetess,  and  seduced  the  servants 
of  God  to  commit  impurity,  and  to  eat  meat  that  had 
been  consecrated  to  idols.  Tertullian  says,  that 
Paul  has  put  the  key  of  the  flesh-market  into  our 
hands,  by  allowing  us  the  use  of  all  sorts  of  meat, 
except  that  which  has  been  offered  to  idols ;  and  we  know 
that  in  the  persecutions  by  the  Roman  emperors, 
they  often  polluted  the  flesh  sold  in  the  sham- 
bles, by  consecrating  it  to  idols,  that  they  might  re- 
duce the  Christians  to  the  necessity  of  purchasing 
that,  or  of  totally  abstaining  from  flesh. 

MEDAD  and  ELDAD,  two  men  who  were  among 
those  whom  God  inspired  Avith  his  Holy  Spirit,  to 
assist  Moses  in  the  government,  Numb.  xi.  26 — 30. 
The  Jews  affirm,  that  they  were  brothers  by  the 
mother's  side  to  3Ioses,  and  sons  of  Jochebed  and 
Elizaphan. 

MEDAN,  or  Madan,  the  third  son  of  Abraham 
and  Keturah,  (Gen.  xxv.  2.)  is  thought,  with  Midian 
his  brother,  to  have  peopled  the  country  of  Midian 
or  Madian,  east  of  the  Dead  sea. 

MEDEBA,  a  city  east  of  Jordan,  in  the  southern 
part  of  Reuben,  (Josh.  xiii.  16.)  not  far  from  Hesh- 
bon.  Isaiah  (xv.  2.)  assigns  it  to  Moab,  because  the 
Moabites  took  it  from  the  Israelites  ;  whereas  Jose- 
phus  ascribes  it  to  the  Arabians,  because  they  made 
themselves  masters  of  it  towards  the  conclusion  of 
the  Jewish  monarchy.  The  inhabitants  of  Medeba 
having  killed  John  Gaddis,  brother  of  Judas  Macca- 
bseus,  as  he  was  passing  to  the  country  of  the  Naba- 
theans,  Simon  and  Jonathan,  his  brethren,  revenged 
his  death  on  the  children  of  Jambri,  as  they  were 
coiiducting  a  bride  to  her  husband.  Burckhardt 
describes  the  ruins  of  this  town,  which  still  retains 
its  ancient  name. 

MEDIA,  a  country  cast  of  Assyria,  which  is  sup- 
posed to  have  been  peopled  by  the  descendants  of 
Madai,  son  of  Japheth,  Gen.  x.  2.  Esther  (i.  .3,  14, 
18,  19  ;  X.  2.)  and  Daniel  (v.  28  ;  vi.  3,  12, 15  ;  viii.  20.) 
commonly  put  Madai  for  the  3Iedes,  and  so  most 
interpreters  underetand  it.  The  Greeks  maintain, 
that  this  country  takes  name  from  Medus,  son  of 
Jledea  ;  and  truly  if  what  has  been  said  under  the 
article  IMadai  may  be  relied  on,  or  if  this  son  of 
Japheth  peopled  Macedonia,  we  must  then  seek  an- 
other origin  for  the  people  of  Media. 

JModia  has  been  taken  in  sometimes  a  larger  and 
sometimes  a  narrower  extent.  Ptolemy  makes  its 
limits  to  the  north  to  be  a  part  of  the  Caspian  sea, 
and  thr  mountains  of  the  same  name,  and  the  Cadu- 
sians  ;  the  greater  Armenia  west :  the  countries  of 
the  Parthians  and  Hyrcania  east ;  Persia,  Susiana, 
and  a  part  of  Assyria,  south.  Its  capital  was  Ecba- 
tana,  Judith  i.  1.  This  city  is  also  mentioned  Ezra 
vi.  2,  under  the  iianse  of  Achmetu. 

[Ancient  Media,  called  by  the  Hebrews  Madai, 


MEDIA 


[  667  ] 


MED 


extended  itself  on  the  west  and  south  of  the  Caspian 
eea,  from  Aj-menia  on  the  north  to  Farsistan  or  Per- 
sia proper  on  tlie  south  ;  and  inchided  the  districts 
now  called  Shirvan,  Adserbijan,  Ghilan,  Masande- 
ran,  and  Irak  Adjenii.  It  covered  a  territory  larger 
than  that  of  Spain,  lying  between  30  and  40  degrees 
of  north  latitude;  and  was  one  of  the  most  fertile 
and  eai-liest  cultivated  among  the  kingdoms  of  Asia. 
It  had  two  grand  divisions  ;  of  which  the  north-west- 
ern was  called  Atropatene,  or  Lesser  Media,  and 
the  southern  Gi-eater  Media.  The  former  corre- 
sponds to  the  modern  Adserbijan,  now,  as  formerly, 
a  province  of  the  Persian  empu'e  on  the  west  of  the 
Caspian,  surrounded  by  high  mountains  of  the 
Tauritic  i-ange,  except  towards  the  east,  where  the 
river  Kur,  or  Cyrus,  discharges  its  waters  into  the 
Caspian.  The  greater  Media  corresponds  principally 
to  the  modern  Irak  Adjemi,  or  Persian  Irak. 

Media  is  one  of  the  most  ancient  independent 
kingdoms  of  which  history  makes  mention.  Ninus, 
the  founder  of  the  Assyrian  monarchy,  encountered 
in  his  wars  a  king  of  Media,  whom  he  subdued,  and 
whose  land  he  made  a  province  of  the  Assyrian  empire. 
For  five  hundred  and  twenty  years,  the  Medes  re- 
mained subject  to  the  Assyrian  yoke  ;  but  at  last, 
when  Tiglath-pileser  and  Shalmaneser  began  to  de- 
populate whole  districts  of  western  Asia,  and  trans- 
port their  inhabitants  into  the  cities  of  the  Medes 
and  other  regions  of  interior  Asia,  the  patience  of 
the  Medes  was  exhausted.  They  rebelled  ;  and  the 
overthrow  of  Sennacherib  before  Jerusalem,  his 
subsequent  flight  and  murder,  and  the  confusion  in 
the  Assyrian  royal  family,  completed  their  deliver- 
ance. Six  years  they  passed  in  a  sort  of  anarchy, 
arising  from  internal  dissensions  and  parties,  until  at 
length,  about  700  B.  C.  they  found  in  Dejoces  a 
wise  and  upright  statesman,  who  was  proclaimed 
king  by  universal  consent.  He  reigned  over  Media 
alone,  whose  six  tribes  he  united  into  a  single  nation. 
His  son  and  successor,  Phraortes,  brought  first  the 
Persians,  and  then  all  upper  Asia,  to  the  river  Halys, 
Cappadocia  included,  under  the  Median  dominion. 
He  ventured  afterwards  to  attack  Assyria,  and  laid 
siege  to  Nineveh  ;  but  his  army  was  defeated  and  he 
himself  killed.  His  successor,  CyaxaRes,  determined 
to  take  vengeance  on  the  Assyrians  for  his  father's 
death  ;  but  as  he  was  about  to  besiege  Nineveh,  he 
received  intelligence,  that  the  Scythians  had  made 
an  irruption  into  Media.  He  marched  against  them ; 
was  defeated  ;  and  it  was  not  till  after  eight  and  twenty 
years,  that  Media  could  free  itself  from  the  oppres- 
sion of  these  rude  and  unexpected  enemies.  Cyax- 
ares  now  appeared  again  before  Nineveh,  and  con- 
quered it,  with  the  help  of  his  ally,  Nabopolassar,  the 
fii-st  king  of  Babylon.  Assyria  now  became  a  Medi- 
an province.  This  widely  extended  Median  empire 
was  inherited,  after  the  death  of  Cyaxares,  by  his  son 
AsTYAGES  ;  who,  thirty-five  years  afterwards,  about 
550  B.  C.  delivered  it  over  to  his  grandson,  Cyrus, 
king  of  the  Persians.    (Herodot.  lib.  i.  c.  95 — 130.) 

In  this  way  arose  the  Medo-Persian  kingdom  ; 
and  the  laws  of  the  Medes  and  Persians  are  always 
mentioned  by  the  sacred  writers  together,  Esth.  i. 
9 ;  X.  2 ;  Dan.  vi.  8,  12,  et  al.  So  also  the  annals  of 
the  Medes  and  Persians  are  mentioned  together, 
Esth.  X.  2.  Indeed,  from  this  time  onward,  the  man- 
ners, customs,  religion  and  civilization  of  the  Modes 
and  Pei-sians  seem  ever  to  have  become  more  and  more 
amalgamated.  And  in  general  it  would  seem,  as 
we  may  gather  from  the  ancient  Zend  writings,  that 
the  Medes,  Persians  and  Bactrians  were  originally  the 


same  people,  having  in  common  one  language,  the 
Zend,  and  one  religion,  the  worship  of  Ornmzd,  the 
highest  being,  under  the  symbol  of  fire.  The  priests 
of  this  religion,  the  Magi,  were  a  Median  race,  to 
whom  were  intrusted  the  cultivation  of  the  sciences 
and  the  performance  of  the  sacred  rites.  Among 
these,  and,  as  is  supposed,  before  the  tiuic  of  Cyrus, 
appeared  Zerdusht,  or  Zoroaster,  as  a  reformer,  or 
rather  as  the  restorer  of  the  ancient  but  now  degen- 
erated religion  of  light ;  whose  disciples  have  main- 
tained themselves  even  to  the  present  day  in  Persia 
and  India,  under  the  name  of  Guebres.  (See  Rosen- 
miiller,  Bibl.  Geogr.  I.  i.  p.  289,  seq.)     *R. 

Isaiah  describes  the  Medes  as  instruments  and  ex- 
ecutioners of  God's  decrees  against  Babylon,  (chap, 
xiii.  17,  18 ;  xxi.  2,  3.)  and  Jeremiah  (xxv.  25.) 
speaks  of  the  misfortunes  which  were  to  happen  to 
the  Medes.  He  foretells,  that  they  also,  in  their  turn, 
were  to  drink  of  the  cup  of  God's  wrath  ;  and  it  is 
likely  that  Cyrus  made  them  sufter  the  evils  they 
were  here  threatened  with. 

MEDIATOR.  In  covenants  between  man  and 
man,  in  which  the  holy  name  of  God  is  used, 
he  is  witness  and  mediator  of  all  reciprocal  prom- 
ises and  engagements.  Thus  Laban  and  Jacob 
made  a  covenant  on  mount  Gilead  ;  (Gen.  xxxi.  49 — 
54.)  and  when  the  elders  of  this  place  made  a  cove- 
nant with  Jephthah,  they  called  on  the  name  of  the 
Lord,  Judg.  xi.  10.  When  God  gave  his  law  to  the 
Hebrews,  and  made  a  covenant  with  them  at  Sinai, 
a  mediator  was  necessary,  who  should  relate  the 
words  of  God  to  the  Hebrews,  and  their  answers  to 
him  ;  in  order  that  the  articles  of  the  covenant  be- 
ing agreed  to  by  each  party,  they  might  be  ratified 
and  confirmed  by  blood,  and  by  oath.  Moses  ou 
this  occasion  was  mediator  between  God  and  the 
people,  as  Paul  says,  (Gal.  iii.  19.)  "  The  law  was 
added  because  of  transgressions,  and  was  ordained 
by  angels  in  the  hand  of  a  mediator."  In  the  new 
covenant  which  God  has  been  pleased  to  make  with 
the  Christian  church,  Jesus  Christ  is  the  mediator 
of  redemption.  He  was  the  surety,  the  sacrifice, 
the  priest,  and  the  intercessor  of  this  covenant.  He 
has  sealed  it  with  his  blood,  has  proposed  the  terms 
and  conditions  of  it  in  his  gospel,  has  instituted  the 
form  of  it  in  baptism,  and  the  commemoration  of  it 
in  the  sacrament  of  his  body  and  blood.  Paul,  in 
the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  enlarges  on  this  office 
of  mediator  of  the  new  covenant,  exercised  by  Christ, 
Heb.  viii.  6  ;  ix.  25 ;  xii.  24.     (See  also  1  Tim.  ii.  5.) 

In  all  ages,  and  in  all  parts  of  the  world,  there  has 
constantly  prevailed  such  a  sense  of  the  infinite  ho- 
liness of  the  supreme  Divinit}^,  with  so  deep  a  con- 
viction of  the  imperfections  of  human  nature,  and 
the  guilt  of  man,  as  to  deter  worshippers  from  com- 
ing directly  into  the  presence  of  a  Being  so  awful : — 
recourse  has  therefore  been  had  to  mediators. 
Among  the  Sabians  the  celestial  intelligences  were 
constituted  mediatois ;  among  other  idolaters  their  va- 
rious idols ;  and  tiiis  notion  still  prevails  in  Hindostan 
and  elsewhere.  Sacrifices  were  thought  to  be  a  kind  of 
mediators;  and,  in  short,  there  has  been  a  universal 
feeling,  a  sentiment  never  forgotten,  of  the  necessity 
of  an  interpreter,  or  mediator,  between  God  and 
man.  As  Luther  said — "  I  will  have  nothing  to  do 
with  an  absolute  God." 

MEDICINE,  or  Physic,  is  an  invention,  by  Jesus 
son  of  Sirach,  ascribed  to  God  himself,  Ecclua. 
xxxviii.  1,  &c.  Scripture  makes  no  mention  of  physi- 
cians before  the  time  of  Joseph,  who  commanded  his 
servants,  the  physicians  of  Egypt,  to  embalm  the  body 


MEG 


[  666 


M  E  L 


of  Jacob,  Gen.  1.  2.  The  art  of  mediciue,  however, 
was  very  ancient  in  Egypt.  They  ascribed  the  in- 
vention of  it  to  Thaut,  or  to  Hermes,  or  to  Osiris,  or 
to  Isis  ;  and  some  of  the  learned  have  tliought  tliat 
Moses,  having  been  instructed  in  all  the  learning  of 
the  Egyptians,  must  also  have  known  the  chief  se- 
crets of  medicine.  They  also  argue  it  from  his  in- 
dications concerning  diseases,  the  leprosy,  infirmities 
of  women,  animals,  clean  and  unclean,  &c.  It  does 
not  appear  that  physicians  were  common  among  the 
Hebrews,  especially  for  internal  maladies,  but  for 
wounds,  fractures,  bruises,  and  external  injuries,  they 
had  physicians,  or  surgeons,  who  understood  the 
dressing  and  binding  up  of  woiuids,  with  the  appli- 
cation of  medicaments.  (Sec  Jer.  viii.  22  ;  xlvi.  11  ; 
Ezek.  xxx.  21.)  Asa,  being  diseased  in  his  feet,  and 
having  applied  to  physicians,  is  upbraided  with  it,  as 
contrary  to  that  confidence  which  lie  ought  to  have 
had  in  the  Lord,  1  Kings  xv.  23 ;  2  Chron.  xvi.  12. 
Hezekiali,  having  a  bile,  probably  a  pestilential  one, 
was  cure<l  by  Isaiah,  on  the  application  of  a  cataplasm 
of  figs,  2  Kings  xx.  7;  Isa.  xxxviii.  21.  But  there 
■was  no  remedy  known  for  the  leprosj',  or  for  dis- 
tempers which  were  the  consequences  of  inconti- 
nence. When  Job  was  afflicted  with  a  very  terrible  dis- 
temper, we  hear  no  mention  of  recourse  to  physic  or 
to  physicians ;  his  maladj'  was  looked  upon  as  an  im- 
mediate stroke  from  the  hand  of  God.  The  low 
state  of  the  art  of  niedicme,  with  the  persuasion  that 
distempers  were  effects  of  God's  augei-,  or  were  caused 
by  evil  spirits,  was  the  reason  that  in  extraordmary 
maladies  the  sufferers  applied  to  divmers,  magicians, 
enchanters,  or  false  gods.  Sometimes  they  applied  to 
the  prophets  of  the  Lord  for  cure  ;  or,  at  least,  to 
know  whether  they  should  recover  or  not.  When 
Ahaziah,  king  of  Israel,  by  a  fall  from  the  roof  of  his 
house,  was  gi-eatly  hurt,  he  sent  to  considt  the  false 
god  Baal-zebub  at  Ekron,  2  Kings  i.  2,  &c.  Jeremiah 
(viii.  17.)  speaks  of  enchantments  used  agauist  the 
biting  of  serpents,  and  other  venomous  animals.  Ha- 
zacl  was  sent  by  the  king  of  Syria  to  consult  Elisha 
the  prophet  as  to  the  issue  of  his  distemper,  2  Kings 
viii.  8.  Naaman  the  SjTian  came  into  the  land  of  Is- 
racl,  to  obtahi  from  Elisha  a  cure  for  liis  leprosy,  2 
Kings  V.  5,  G.  And  when  our  Saviour  a])i)eared  in 
Palestine,  although  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  there 
were  i)liysieians  in  the  country,  it  is  evident  that  the 
j)eoj)le  placed  but  little  confidence  in  them.  (Comp. 
Mai-k  V.  26 ;  Lyke  viii.  43.)  They  brought  to  om- 
Saviour  and  his  apostles  muhitudcs  of  dis'eased  peo- 
ple from  all  parts  of  the  land. 

iMEDlTATE,  to  think  closely  and  seriously  on 
any  thing.  The  chief  emplovment  of  the  just  is  to 
meditate  on  the  law  of  God  day  and  night.  Psalm  i.  2. 

MEEKNESS,  a  calm,  serene  temper  of  mind,  not 
easily  ruffled  or  provoked ;  a  disposition  that  suffers 
uijuries  without  desire  of  revenge,  and  quietly  acqui- 
esces in  the  dispensations  and  will  of  God,' Col.  iii. 
12.  This  temper  of  mind  is  admirably  fitted  to  dis- 
cover, to  consider,  and  to  entertain  truth,  (Jam.  i. 
21.)  and  is  ranked  among  the  fruits  of  the  Spirit.  Gal. 
V.  23. 

MEGIDDO,  a  city  of  Manasseh,  (Josh.  xvii.  11  ; 
Judg.  i.  27.)  famous  for  the  defeat  of  king  Josiah,  (2 
Kings  xxiii.  29,  30.)  who  was  overcomi;  and  mortally 
Avounded  there  by  Pharaoh-necho,  king  of  Egy|)t. 
Herodotus,  s])eaking  of  this  victory,  says  that  Neclio 
obtained  it  at  Magdolos.  The  watei-s  of  Megiddo  are 
mentioned  in  Judg.  v.  19. 

Megiddo  was  certauily  in,  or  near,  the  great  ])lain 
of  Esdraelon,  which  had  been  the  scene  of  manv  bat- 


tles ;  as  of  Gideon  with  the  Midianites,  of  Saul  with 
the  Philistmes,  of  Josiah  with  Pharaoh-necho,  of  Ju- 
das Maccabseus  with  Tryphon  ;  (1  Mac.  xii.  49,  &c.) 
as  in  later  ages  it  was  of  combats  between  the  Tar- 
tars and  Saracens.  It  is  alluded  to  under  this  char- 
acter. Rev.  xvi.  16.  For  a  I'uller  accoimt  of  the  to- 
pography of  Megiddo  and  its  vicinity,  see  the  Biblical 
Repository,  vol.  i.  j).  602. 

MELCHISEDEC,  king  of  justice,  king  of  Salem, 
and  priest  of  the  Most  High  God.  Scripture  tells  us 
nothing  of  his  father,  or  of  his  mother,  or  of  his  gene- 
alogy, or  of  his  birth,  or  of  his  death,  Heb.  vii.  1 — 3. 
AikI  in  this  sense  he  was,  as  Paul  says,  a  figure  of 
Jesus  Christ,  who  is  a  priest  for  ever,  according  to  the 
order  of  Melchisedec ;  and  not  according  to  the  order 
of  Aaron,  whose  origin,  consecration,  life  and  death 
are  luiown. 

When  Abraham  retmned  from  j)ursuuig  the  con- 
federate kings,  (Gen.  xiv.  17.)  Melchisedec  came  to 
meet  him  as  far  as  the  valley  of  Shaveh,  (afterwards 
named  the  King's  Valley,)  and  presented  him  refresh- 
ments of  bread  and  Avuie  ;  or  he  offered  bread  and 
wine  in  sacrifice  to  tiie  Loi-d,  for  he  was  priest  of  the 
Most  High  God.  And  he  blessed  Abraham,  saying, 
"  Blessed  !)e  Abraham  of  the  Most  High  God,  ]:(os- 
sessor  of  heaven  and  earth ;  and  blessed  be  the  Most 
High  God,  Avho  hath  delivered  thine  enemies  mto  thy 
hand."  Abraham,  desirous  to  acknowledge  in  him 
the  quality  of  priest  of  the  Lord,  offered  him  tithes  of 
all  he  had  taken  from  the  enemy.  After  this  there  is 
no  mention  of  the  person  of  Melchisedec  ;  only  the 
psahiiist,  (ex.  4.)  speaking  of  the  Messiah,  says,  "  Thou 
art  a  priest  for  ever,  after  the  order  of  Melchisedec." 
Paul  (Heb.  v.  6,  10.)  unfolds  themysleiy  of  Melchise- 
dec. .  Fu-st,  he  exalts  the  priesthood  of  Christ,  as  a 
priest  for  ever  after  the  order  of  Melchisedec — who 
in  this  quality,  "  in  the  days  of  his  flesh,  oftered  uj) 
prayers  and  supplications,  Avith  strong  crying  and 
tears,  imto  him  that  Avas  able  to  save  him  from  death  ; 
and  Avas  heard  in  that  he  feared,"  ver.  7.  He  also 
says,  that  our  Savioiu-  as  a  forerunner  is  entered  for 
us  into  heaven,  being  made  a  high-priest  for  ever  after 
the  order  of  Melchisedec.  "  For,"  he  adds,  "  to  this 
Melchisedec,  king  of  Salem,  and  priest  of  the  Most 
High  God,  Abraham  gave  tithe.  Now  Melchisedec  is 
according  to  the  mteiiiretation  of  his  name  ;  firet,  king 
of  (Tsec/e  A")  justice;  secondly,  king  of  {Salerii)  peace ; 
Avho  is  Avithout  father,  Avithout  mothei",  A\'itliout  gen- 
ealogy ;  Avho  has  neither  beginning  nor  end  of  life. 
Consider,  therefore,  how  gi-eat  this  Melchisedec  is,sincc 
Aln-aham  himself  gives  him  tithe,  and  receives  his 
blessing.  Moreover,  Levi,  Avho  (noAv)  receives  tithes 
from  others,  paid  them  himself,  as  one  may  say,  in 
the  person  of  Abraham,  since  he  Avas  in  the  loms  of 
Abraham  his  ancestor,  when  Mekhisedec  met  that 
patriarch." 

Jerome  thought  that  Salem,  of  Avhich  Melchisedec 
Avas  king,  Avas  not  Jerusaleui,  but  the  city  of  Salem, 
near  Scythopolis  ;  and  Avliere  he  thinks  Jacob  arrived 
after  his  passage  over  Jordan,  Avhcn  returning  from 
3Tesopotamia,  Gen.  xxxiii.  18.  But  the  majority  of 
interpreters  difter  fi-om  Jerome  in  this. 

The  j)erson  of  3Ielchisedee  presents  an  interesting 
subject  of  in(iuiry.  He  has  been  variously  sujjposed 
to  be  the  Holy  Spirit,  the  Son  of  God,  an  angel,  Enoch, 
and  Shem.  [But  the  safest  and  most  jirobable  opin- 
ion is  that,  which  considers  Melchisedec  as  a  right- 
eous and  iieacefn!  king,  a  AAorshipper  and  priest  of 
the  Most  High  God,  in  the  land  of  Canaan  ;  a  friend 
of  Abraham,  and  of  a  rank  elcAated  above  him.  This 
opinion,   indeed,  lies   uoon    the   face   of  the   sacred 


MEN 


[  669  ] 


MER 


record  m  Gen.  xiv.  and  Heb.  vii. ;  and  it  is  the  only 
one  which  ctin  be  defended  on  any  tolerable  groimds 
of  intei-i)retation.  What  can  be  more  improbable 
than  all  the  opinions  above  enumerated  ?  The  most 
popular  of  them  all,  viz.  that  Melchisedec  was  Christ, 
would  of  course  force  us  to  adopt  the  interj^retation 
in  Heb.  vii.  that  'Christ  was  like  himself;'  and  that 
a  comparison  is  there  formally  instituted  between 
Christ  and  himself!  the  mere  mention  of  which  is  its 
ijest  refutation.  That  Melchisedec  was  Shcni  has 
been  very  elaborately,  but  fancifully,  su])poi1ed  by 
jMr.  Taylor;  for  whose  remarks  those  who  may  wish 
to  peruse  them  are  referred  to  the  quarto  edition  of 
Calniet,  Fragm.  (360,  seq.  (See  Stuart's  Connn.  on 
the  Ep.  to  the  Hebrews,  vol.  ii.  Excurs.  iii.  j).  364.)  *R. 

31ELITA,  see  Malta. 

iMEMBER  properly  denotes  a  part  of  the  natural 
body,  1  Cor.  xii.  12 — 25.  Figuratively,  sensual  affec- 
tions, like  a  body  consisting  of  many  members ; 
(Roui.  vii.  23.)  also,  true  believers,  members  of 
Christ's  mystical  body,  as  forming  one  society  or 
body,  of  which  Christ  is  the  head,  Eph.  iv.  25. 

MEMPHIS,  see  NoPH. 

MENAHEM,  see  .Manaiiem. 

MENE,  a  Chaldean  word,  signifying  he  has  num- 
bered, or  he  has  counted.  At  a  least  wliich  Belsliazzar 
gave  to  his  courtiers  and  concubines,  where  he  pro- 
faned the  sacred  vessels  of  the  teinjjle  of  Jerusalem, 
which  Nebuchadnezzar  had  carried  to  Babylon, 
there  appeared  on  the  wail  a  form  like  a  hand,  writ- 
ing these  words,  Mene  mene,  tekel,  upharsin ;  (God) 
lias  numbered,  has  weighed  and  divided.  Daniel  ex- 
plained this  ill-boding  inscription  to  the  king,  Dan. 
V.  25,  seq.     See  Belshazzar. 

MENI,  an  idol,  worshipped  by  the  idolatrous  Jews 
ill  Babylon,  and  in  honor  of  which,  along  with  Gad, 
they  held  festivals  and  lectisternia,  Is.  Ixv.  11.  Meni, 
in  the  opinion  of  the  best  interpreters,  was  most 
probably  the  same  as  Astaitc  or  the  planet  Venus, 
which  occurs  in  the  astrological  mytholog}'  as  the 
second  star  of  fortune,  along  with  the  planet  Jupiter, 
(Gad,  or  Baal.)  (See  Astaroth  I.  and  Baal,  p.  121.) 
Jeremiah  (vii.  18  ;  xliv.  17,  18.)  speaks  of  her  as 
queen  of  lieavcn,  and,  with  Isaiah,  (Ixv.  11.  Heb.) 
shows  that  her  worsliip  was  popidar  in  Palestine, 
and  among  the  Hebrews.  She  was  worshipjjed  by 
the  Phenicians  and  Carthaginians,  froui  whom  Is- 
rael learned  her  worship.  Isaiah  reproaches  them 
with  setting  up  a  table  to  Cad — fortune,  good  for- 
tune, or  the  lord  of  fortune — and  with  making  liba- 
tions to  Meni.  Jeremiah  says,  that  in  honor  of  the 
(lueen  of  heaven,  the  fathers  light  the  fire,  the  moth- 
ers knead  the  cakes,  and  the  children  gather  the 
wood  to  bake  them.  Elsewhere,  the  Israelites  de- 
clared to  Jeremiah,  that  notwithstanding  his  remon- 
strances, they  would  continue  to  honor  the  queen  of 
heaven,  by  oblations,  as  their  fathers  had  done  before 
them  ;  and  that  ever  since  they  had  left  off  to  sacri- 
fice to  the  queen  of  heaven,  they  had  been  consumed 
by  the  sword  and  by  famine.  [But  it  must  not  be 
denied  that  many  interpreters  have  referred  both 
Meni  and  Astarte  to  the  moon  ;  of  which  the  follow- 
ing remarks  may  serve;  as  an  illustration.     R. 

We  see  by  Strabo,  (lib.  xii.)  that  men,  the  month, 
or  moon,  had  several  tem])lcs  in  Asia  Minor,  and  in 
Persia,  and  tliat  they  often  swore  by  the  nifn  of  the 
king,  that  is,  by  his'  fortune.  "As" the  worship  of 
Diana  Luna,  or  the  moon,  was  very  famous  among 
the  Greeks  and  Romans,  so  was  that  of  the  god  Lu- 
nus  in  the  East.  There  are  a  great  many  monu- 
ments of  him;  be  was  named  Men  (M>',i)  in  Greek, 


and  honored  by  this  name  in  Phrygia,  wh^re  was  ft 
place,  accoi-ding  to  Athenaeus,  (lib.  iii.  p.  47.)  called 
.'i/(,io^-  y.wfi;,  '  The  Street  of  Men  ;'  that  is,  of  the  god 
Lunus.  Men  also  signifies  a  month  in  Greek  ;  and 
there  was  a  temple  of  Men,  or  Lunus,  in  this  place. 
We  see  also  the  god  ]Men,  or  Lunus,  on  several  medals 
of  the  towns  of  Lydia,  Pisidia  and  Phngia.  On  a 
medal  of  Antiochus,  struck  in  Pisidia,  the  god  Lunus 
hath  a  spear  in  one  hand,  and  holds  a  Victory  in  the 
other,  and  hath  a  cock,  a  symbol  of  the  rising  sun,  at 
his  feet.  Spartian,  in  his  life  of  Caracalla,  says,  that 
prince  came  to  Carrhie  [Charran]  on  his  birth-day, 
in  honor  to  the  god  Lunus.  He  adds  furtlier,  that 
the  people  of  Carrhte  did  still  say,  what  bad  formerly 
been  written  by  learned  authors,  that  'they  who  call 
the  moon  by  a  feminine  word,  and  consider  her  as  a 
w-oman,  will  be  always  addicted  to  women  and  sub- 
ject to  their  command  ;  but  those  who  think  tlie 
moon  to  be  a  male  god,  will  have  the  dominion  over 
women,  and  suffer  nothing  by  their  intrigues  ;'  hence 
he  concludes,  that  it  conies  to  pass,  that  the  Greeks 
and  Egyptians,  though  they  name  the  njoon  by  a 
Avord  of  the  feminine  gender,  in  common  discourse, 
yet  in  their  mysteries  they  call  him  a  male  god." 
(JMontfaucon,  Antiq.  Expl.  Supp.  vol.  1.)  See  Idol- 
atry. 

MEPHAATH,  a  city  of  Reuben,  (Josh.  xiii.  18.) 
yielded  to  the  Levites  of  the  family  of  Merari,  Josh. 
XX  i.  37. 

I.  JMEPHIBOSHETH,  a  son  of  Saul,  and  his 
concubiue  Rizpah,  who  was  delivered  by  David  to 
the  Gibeonites,  to  be  hanged  before  the  Lord,  2  Sam. 
xxi.  8,  9. 

II.  MEPHIBOSHETH,  a  son  of  Jonathan,  also 
called  Merih-baal.  (See  Merib-eaal.)  Me])hibo- 
sheth  was  very  young  when  his  father  was  killed  in 
the  battle  of  Gilboa,  (2  Sam.  iv.  4.)  and  his  nurse  was 
in  such  consternation  at  the  new's,  that  she  let  the 
child  fall,  who  from  this  accident  was  lame  all  his 
life.  W^hen  David  found  himself  in  peaceable  pos- 
session of  the  kingdom,  he  sought  for  all  that  re- 
mained of  the  house  of  Saul,  that  he  might  show 
them  kindness,  in  consideration  of  the  friendship 
between  him  and  Jonathan.  He  told  IMephibosheth, 
that  for  the  sake  of  Jonathan  his  father,  he  should 
have  his  grandfather's  estate,  and  eat  always  at  the 
royal  table,  2  Sam.  ix.  1,  &c.  Some  years  after  this, 
wiien  Absaloua  drove  his  father  from  Jerusalem, 
Mephibosheth  ordered  his  servant  Ziba  to  saddle  him 
an  ass,  that  he  might  accompany  David  ;  for  being 
lame,  he  could  not  go  on  foot.  But  Ziba  himself 
Avcnt  after  David,  with  two  asses  laden  with  pro- 
visions, and  reported  that  Mephibosheth  staid  at  Je- 
rusalem, in  hoi)es  that  the  people  of  Israel  would 
restore  him  to  the  throne  of  his  ancestors.  David, 
thus  deceived,  said  to  Ziba,  I  give  to  you  all  that  be- 
longed to  Mepl.iboshtth.  When  David  returned  to 
Jerusalem  in  })eace,  Mephibosheth  api)eared  before 
him  in  deep  mom-ning,  having  neither  washed  his 
feet,  nor  shaved  his  beard,  since  the  king  went,  and 
David  then  discovered  the  truth.  Nevertheless  Ziba 
continued  to  possess  half  his  estate.  Mephibosheth 
left  a  son  named  Micha  ;  but  the  time  of  his  death  is 
not  known,  1  Chron.  viii.  34. 

3IERAB,  or  Merob,  the  eldest  daughter  of  king 
Said,  was  promised  to  David  in  marriage,  in  reward 
for  his  victory  over  Goliath  ;  but  was  given  to  Adriel, 
son  of  Barzlllai  the  Meholathite,  1  Sam.  xiv.  49; 
xviii.  17,  19.  INIerab  had  six  sons  by  him,  who  were 
delivered  to  the  Gibeonites  and  hanged  before  the 
Lord.     The  text  intimates,  that  die  six  men  delivered 


MER 


[  ero  ] 


MERCY-SEAT 


to  the  Gibeonites,  were  sons  of  Michal,  daughter  of 
Saul,  and  wife  of  Adriel ;  but  see  under  Adriel. 

MERAIOTH,  a  priest  of  the  race  of  Aaron,  son 
of  Zerahiah,  and  father  of  Amariah,  among  the  high- 
priests,  1  Chron.  vi.  6. 

ME  RAN,  or  Merrha,  a  people  of  Ai-abia,  Baruch 
iii.  23. 

MERCURY,  a  fabulous  god  of  the  ancient  hea- 
then, the  messenger  of  the  celestials,  and  the  deity 
that  presided  over  learning,  eloquence,  and  traffic. 
The  Greeks  named  him  Hermes,  an  interpreter,  be- 
cause they  considered  him  as  interpreter  of  the  will 
of  the  gods.    Probably,  it  was  for  this  reason  that  the 

Eeople  of  Lystra,  having  heard  Paul  preach,  and 
aving  seen  him  heal  a  lame  man,  would  have  offer- 
ed sacrifice  to  him,  as  to  then-  god  Mercury  ;  and  to 
Barnabas  as  Jupiter,  because  of  his  venerable  aspect, 
Acts  xiv.  11. 

MERCY,  a  virtue  which  inspires  us  with  com- 
passion for  others,  and  inclines  us  to  assist  them  in 
their  necessities.  That  works  of  mercy  may  be  ac- 
ceptable to  God,  as  Christ  has  promised,  (Matt.  v.  7.) 
it  is  not  enough  that  tliey  proceed  fi-om  a  natural 
sentiment  of  humanity,  but  they  must  be  performed 
for  the  sake  of  God,  and  from  trulj-  pious  motives. 
In  Scripture,  mercy  and  truth  are  commonly  joined 
together,  to  show  the  goodness  that  precedes,  and 
the  faithfulness  that  accompanies,  the  promises  ;  or, 
a  goodness,  a  clemency,  a  mercy  that  is  constant  and 
faithful,  and  that  does  not  deceive.  Mercy  is  also 
taken  for  favors  and  benefits  received  from  God  or 
man  ;  for  probity,  justice,  goodness.  Merciful  men, 
in  Hebrew  chasdim,  are  men  of  piety  and  goodness. 
Mercy  is  often  taken  for  giving  of  alms,  Prov.  xiv. 
34  ;  xvi.  6 ;  Zach.  vii.  9. 

Mercy,  as  derived  from  misericordia,  may  import 
that  sympathetic  sense  of  the  suffering  of  another  by 
which  the  heart  is  affected.  It  is  one  of  the  noblest 
attributes  of  Deity,  speaking  after  the  manner  of  men, 
and  explaining  what,  by  suj)position,  may  pass  in  the 
mind  of  God,  by  what  passes  in  the  human  mind. 
The  object  of  mercy  is  misery  :  so  God  pities  human 
misery,  and  forbears  to  chastise  severely :  so  man 
pities  the  miseiy  of  a  fellow  man,  and  assists  to  di- 
minish it :  so  public  officers  occasionally  moderate 
the  strictness  of  national  laws,  from  pity  to  the  cul- 
prit. But  only  those  can  hope  for  mercy,  who  ex- 
press penitence,  and  solicit  mercy:  the  impenitent, 
the  stul)born,  the  obdiu-ate,  rather  brave  the  avenging 
hand  of  justice,  than  beseech  the  relieving  hand  of 
mercy. 

MERCY-SEAT.  The  Hebrew  n-isD,  capporeth, 
comes  from  the  verb  caphar,  to  expiate,  to  pardon 
eins ;  to  cover,  to  harden  any  thing.  It  may  be  ren- 
dered, a  covering ;  and  indeed  it  was  the  cover  of 
the  ark  of  the  covenant,  or  of  the  sacred  chest  in 
which  tlie  laws  of  the  covenant  were  contained.  At 
each  end  of  this  cover  was  a  cherub  of  beaten  gold  ; 
which,  stretching  out  their  wings  towards  each  other, 
formed  a  kind  of  throne,  where  the  Lord  was  con- 
sidered as  sitting.  Hence  the  Hebrews  invoked  him 
sometimes  as,  he  "  who  sitteth  iipon  the  cheru- 
bim." And  perhaps,  by  translating  capporeth  by 
propitiator^/ or  tnercy-seat,  it  may  be  intimated,  that 
from  thence  the  Lord  hears  the  prayers  of  his  ])eo- 
ple,  and  pardons  their  sins;  while,  by  translating  it 
oracle,  as  Jerome  and  others  have  done,  they  would 
show,  that  from  hence  he  manifested  his  will  and 
pleasure,  and  gave  res])onses,  as  he  did  to  Moses. 

From  the  similitudes  connected  willi  this  term  in 
the  New  Testament,  it  is  scarcely  possible  to  attach 


too  much  consequence  to  it ;  nor  can  the  few  words 
of  Calmet  do  it  justice,  though  they  may  contribute 
to  explain  its  nature  and  import.  The  root  of  the 
term  u-uaxvi,  hilasko,  signifies  to  placate,  to  pacify,  to 
at-one,  to  reconcile  ;  or  that  intenening,  or  medi- 
ating power,  or  thing,  or  consideration,  by  which  two 
parties  at  variance  are  reconciled.  So  Heb.  ii.  17, 
"To  make  reconciliation,  (i/.uny.ia^ai,)  for  the  sins  of 
the  people  ;"  and  (Luke  xviii.  13.)  the  publican  prayed, 
"God  be  merciful,  i/.ao&i'jt.  be  reconciled  to,  be  at 
one  with  me,  a  sinner."  (Comp.  LXX.  Psalm  xxv.  11 ; 
Ixxviii.  38;  Dan.  ix.  19.)  l^he  propitiation  (^'/ufr^foc) 
is  properly  an  offering  from  one  party  to  another, 
which  possesses  the  power,  or  property,  or  influence 
of  reconciling,  or  re-uniting  those  who  have  been 
separated  by  oflences.  It  answers  to  nni'?D,  7emission, 
forgiveness,  (Psalm  cxxx.  4 ;  Dan.  ix.  9.)  and  to 
nnco,  Numb.  v.  8,  "  the  ram  of  atonement,  whereby  an 
atonement  shall  be  made  for  his  sins."  So  in  2  Mac. 
iii.  33,  certain  of  Heliodorus's  friends  prayed  Onias 
that  he  would  call  on  the  Most  High  to  grant  him  his 
life :  "  So  the  high-priest  offered  a  sacrifice  for  a 
man's  restoration  to  health.  Now,  as  the  high-priest 
was  making  an  atonement," — rather  the  atonement, 
[tov  ['AUPfi'oy.)  that  is,  by  means  of  the  sacrifice.  And 
this  term  is  expressly  applied  to  Christ,  by  the  evan- 
gelist John  (1  Epist.  ii.  2  ;  iv.  10.)  "He  is  a  propitia- 
tion, a  means  ofat-one-ment,  for  our  sins,  and  not  for 
ours  only,  nor  for  those  of  the  Jewish  nation  only, 
as  were  the  sacrifices  offered  on  the  day  of  expiation, 
but  for  the  whole  world." — "  God  sent  his  Son  to  be 
the  propitiation  for  our  sins,"  in  other  words  "that 
we  might  live  through  him,"  (verse  9.)  that  is,  through 
his  death,  as  the  propitiating,  the  mediating  sacrifice. 
By  the  way,  this  allusion  seems  to  suppose  the  rite  of 
expiation  to  be  in  a  course  of  performance,  at  the 
time  when  this  epistle  was  written. 

Upon  the  whole,  it  seems  that,  if  we  read  reconcil- 
iation-residence, seat,  or  lid  of  the  ark,  we  should 
come  the  nearest  to  tlie  true  idea  of  this  subject:  for 
it  was  not  a  seat  from  whence  was  dispensed  mercy 
only,  but  oracles  ;  and  those  were  occasionally  threat- 
enings,  i.  e.  until  reconciliation  was  made ;  but  it  was 
the  station  of  a  person  luiderstood  to  be  there  con- 
stantly present,  where  he  might  be  /•eco?2C77erf  to  those 
who  entreated  him  :  this  was  the  place  for  those  who 
wished  for  reconciliation  to  apply  for  it  ;  and  this 
reconciliation-seat  was  itself  occasionally  at-onc-ed 
with  the  people,  &:c.  as  when  the  blood  of  at-one- 
ment  was  sprinkled  upon  it,  on  the  great  day  of  ex- 
piation. The  a])ostle  declares,  (Rom.  iii.  25.)  that 
"  God  had  set  forth  Jesus  Christ  to  be  an  i'/.ar,T,]Q,ov, 
a  reconciliation-Ye»\<ie\ivc,  through  faith  in  his  blood," 
i.  e.  as  God  was  understood  to  be  constantly  on  the 
mercy-seat  of  old, /Acre  to  be  at-one-ed,  so  is  he  now 
in  Christ ;  who  is  his  residence  for  the  same  blessed 
purpose — that  of  at-one-ment. 

Hilasterion  is  certainly  taken  for  the  mercy-seat  in 
Heb.  ix.  5,  "  And  over  it  (the  ark  of  the  covenant) 
the  cherubim  of  glory  shadowing  the  mercy-seat, 
('/«ffr),'(Jio)."  Nevertheless,  it  may  be  doubted  whether 
Christ  is,  strictly  speaking,  assinnlated  to  the  mercy- 
scat  itself,  and  not  rather  to  the  sacrifice  by  which 
that  mercy-seat  was  understood  to  be  reconciled  to 
the  people  who  had  otVended.  For  it  seems  very 
harsh  to  say,  that  the  victim  which  eflectcd  reconcil- 
iation was  the  same  with  one  of  the  parties  to  be 
reconciled  ;  but  the  mercy-seat,  accepted  figuratively 
for  the  Supreme  Deity,  who  sat  on  it,  was  a  party  to 
be  reconciled.  Moreover,  the  apostle,  alluding  to 
the  rite  of  expiation  in  the  passage  above  quoted, 


MES 


[671  ] 


MESHA 


(Rom.  iii.  25.)  says,  "  whom  God  hath  set  forth  to  be 
a  propitiation  (''/anri.'oioi)  through  faith  in  his  blood," 
— the  victim  had  blood  ;  but  the  mercy-seat  had 
none ;  and  to  say  that  the  blood  sprinkled  on  the 
mercy-scat,  is  the  blood  of  the  mercy-seat,  is  to  force 
a  sense  on  the  passage.  Yet  the  term  has  been  so 
underetood  by  many;  among  whom,  Theodoret,  Le 
Cleic  and  Luther ;  for  the  other  explanation  are 
the  Vulgate  version,  Chrysostom,  Theophylact,  Eras- 
mus, Sec.  and  it  seems,  on  the  whole,  to  be  the 
easiest,  tlie  most  consistent,  and  the  best  supported 
sense. 

3IERIBAH,  stn/e  or  contention,  the  name  given 
to  the  station  at  or  near  Rephidim,  where  the  people 
murmured  for  water,  and  Moses  struck  the  rock, 
where  it  gushed  out,  Exod.  xvii.  1 — 7.  Dr.  Shaw 
feels  confident  that  he  has  discovered  this  extraordi- 
nary stone,  at  Rephidim,  and  has  furnished  a  partic- 
lar  account  of  it  in  his  Travels.  See  Exodus,  p.  405, 
410,  and  Rephidim. 

3IERI-BAAL,  or  Merib-baal,  son  of  Jonathan  ; 
(1  Ciiron.  viii.  34;  ix.  40.)  elsewhere  called  Mephi- 
bosheth.  This  difference  of  name  has  most  probably 
arisen  from  some  corrujJtion ;  though  many  suppose 
that  the  Hebrews  scrupled  pronouncing  the  name  of 
Baal ;  so  that  instead  of  Mephi-baal  or  Meri-baal, 
they  chose  to  say  Blephi-bosheth,  or  Meri-bosheth  ; 
Bosketh  in  Hebrew  signifying  shame,  confusion. 

MERODACH,  an  ancient  king  of  Babylon,  placed 
among  the  gods,  and  worshipped  by  the  Babyloni- 
ans ;  or  more  probably,  according  to  the  analogy 
of  the  other  Babylonian  divinities,  one  of  the  planets, 
e.g.  Mars.  Jeremiah  (1.  2.)  speaking  of  the  ruin  of 
Babylon,  says,  "  Babylon  is  taken,  Bel  is  confounded, 
Merodach  is  broken  in  pieces,  her  idols  are  con- 
founded, her  images  are  broken  in  pieces."  We  find 
certain  kings  of  Babylon,  whose  names  comprise  that 
of  Merodach  ;  as  Evil-Merodach,  and  Merodach- 
Baladan.     See  Berodach. 

MER03I,  the  waters  of  Merom,  (Josh.  xi.  5.)  or 
lake  of  Semechon,  is  the  most  northern  of  the  three 
lakes  supplied  by  the  river  Jordan.  It  is  situate  in  a 
valley,  called  the  Ard  Houle,  formed  by  the  two 
branches  of  mount  Hermon.  The  lake  is  now  called 
after  the  valley,  the  lake  of  Houle.  In  summer  this 
lake  is  for  the  most  part  dry,  and  covered  with  shrubs 
and  grass,  in  which  lions,  bears,  and  other  wild 
beasts  conceal  themselves.  See  Jordan,  and  Ca- 
naan, p.  232. 

M  EROZ,  ( Judg.  V.  23.)  a  place  in  the  neighborhood 
of  the  brook  Kishon,  whose  inhabitants,  refusing  to 
assist  their  brethren  when  they  fought  against  Sisera, 
were  put  under  anathema. 

MESECH,  see  Meshech. 

I.  MESHA,  (Gen.  x.  30.)  the  same,  probably,  as 
mount  Masius.  The  sons  of  Joktan  possessed  the 
whole  country  between  mount  Masius  and  the  moun- 
tains of  Sephar,  or  Sepharvaim.  [Among  all  the 
various  conjectures  as  to  the  j)lace  designated  by  tlie 
name  of  Mcsha,  that  of  Michaelis  (Spicileg.  pt.  ii. 
p.  214.)  is  still  the  most  probable,  viz.  that  Mesha  is 
the  region  around  Bassora,  which  the  later  Syrians 
called  Maishon,  and  the  Greeks  Mesene.  Under  these 
names  they  included  the  country  on  the  Euphrates 
and  Tigris  between  Seleucia  and  the  Persian  gulf 
Abulfeda  mentions  in  this  region  two  cities  not  far 
from  Bassora,  called  Maisan  and  Mushan.  Here,  then, 
was  probably  the  north-eastern  border  of  the  district 
inhabited  by  the  Joktanites.  The  name  of  the  oppo- 
site limit,  Sephar,  signifies  in  Chaldee  shoi-e,  coast, 
and  is  probably  the  western  part  of  Yemen,  along 


the  Arabian  gulf,  now  called  by  the  Arabs  Tehamah. 
The  range  of  high  and  mountainous  country  between 
these  two  borders  Moses  calls  'the  mount  of  the 
east,'  or  eastern  mountains, — in  reference  either  to 
Palestine  or  to  Yemen,  i.  e.  Sephar.  It  is  also  called 
bv  the  Arabs  Djebal,  i.  e.  mountains,  to  the  present 
day.     (See  Rosenm.  Bib.  Geogr.  III.  p.  163.)     R. 

il.  MESHA,  king  of  Moab,  (2  Kings  iii.  4.)  paid 
Ahab,  king  of  Israel,  a  tribute  of  a  hundred  thousand 
lambs,  and  as  many  rams,  with  their  fleeces.  After 
the  death  of  Ahab,  however,  he  revolted  against  Je- 
horam,  king  of  Israel,  who  declared  war  against  him, 
and  called  to  his  assistance  Jehoshaphat,  king  of  Ju- 
dah,  who,  with  the  king  of  Idumea,  then  in  subjec- 
tion to  him,  marched  against  Mesha,  and  forced  him 
to  retire  to  Areopolis,  his  capital.  Here  they  besieged 
him  so  closely  that,  not  being  able  to  escape  through 
the  camp  of  the  Idumseans,  which  he  attacked,  he 
took  his  own  son,  the  presumptive  heir  to  his  crown, 
brought  him  upon  the  wall  of  the  city,  and  was  going 
to  sacrifice  hun.  The  kbigs  of  Judah,  Israel  and 
Edom,  seeing  this,  retired  without  taking  the  town, 
but  making  a  great  spoil  in  the  land  of  Moab. 

In  a  conununication  from  sir  John  Shore,  now 
lord  Teigmnouth,  the  governor-general,  to  the  socie- 
ty at  Calcutta,  he  mentions  a  custom  of  the  Brahmins, 
of  sitting  at  a  person's  door,  with  some  implement  of 
sviicide  in  their  hands,  and  threatening  to  kill  them- 
selves, unless  that  which  they  demand  be  gi-anted  to 
them :  this,  when  their  demand  is  not  excessive,  is 
usually  complied  with,  through  fear  of  their  self-mur- 
der. After  w  hich  his  excellency  relates  the  following 
histoiy,  as  it  appeared  on  a  trial  before  the  English 
court  of  justice.  It  will  elucidate  the  otherwise  un- 
accomitable  conduct  of  JMesha: — 

"  Beccliuk  and  Adher  w  ere  two  Brahmins,  and  ze- 
mindars, or  proprietors  of  landed  estates,  the  extent  of 
which  did  not  exceed  eight  acres.  The  vLlage  in 
which  they  resided  was  the  property  of  many  other 
zemindars.  A  dispute  w  hich  originated  in  a  compe- 
tition for  the  general  superintendence  of  the  revenues 
of  the  village,  had  long  subsisted  between  the  two 
brothers,  and  a  person  named  Gowry.  The  oflScer 
of  government,  who  had  conferred  this  charge  upon 
the  latter,  -was  intimidated  into  a  revocation  of  it,  (by 
the  threats  of  the  mother  of  Beechuk  and  Adher  to 
swallow  poison,)  as  well  as  to  a  transfer  of  the  man- 
agement to  the  two  Brahmins.  By  the  same  means 
of  intimidation,  he  was  deterred  from  investigating  the 
comj)laint  of  Gowry,  which  had  been  referred  to  his 
uiquiiy  by  his  superior  authority.  But  the  immediate 
cause  'which  instigated  these  two  Brahmins  to  murder 
their  mother,  was  an  act  of  violence  said  to  have  been 
committed  by  the  emissaries  of  Gowry,  (with  or  with- 
out his  authority,  and  employed  by  him  for  a  difl^erent 
purpose,)  in  entVring  their  house  during  their  absence 
at  night,  and  carrying  off  forty  rupees,  the  property  of 
Beechuk  and  Adher,  from  the  apartments  of  their 
women.  Beechuk  first  returned  to  his  house  ;  Avhere 
his  mother,  his  wife  and  his  sister-in-law  related 
what  had  happened.  He  immediately  condiicted  his 
mother  to  an  adjacent  rivulet,  where  being  joined  in 
the  gray  of  the  morning  by  his  brother  Adher,  they 
called  out  aloud  to  the  people  of  the  village,  that  al- 
though they  would  overlook  the  assault,  as  an  act  that 
could  not  be  remedied,  yet  the  forty  rupees  must  be 
retinned.  To  this  exclamation  no  ans\yer  was  re- 
ceived ;  nor  is  there  any  certainty  that  it  was  even 
heard  bv  any  person  ;  nevertheless,  Beechuk,  without 
anv  further  hesitation,  drew  his  cimeter,  and  at  one 
stroke  severed  his  mother's  head  from  her  body ;  with 


MESHA 


[  c;2  ] 


MES 


the  professed  view,  as  entertained  and  avowed  both 
by  parent  and  son,  that  the  mother's  sphit,  excited  by 
tlie  beating  of  a  large  drum  durhig  forty  days,  might 
for  ever  haunt,  tcu-viient,  and  pursue  to  death,  Gowry 
and  the  others  concerned  with  him.  The  last  words 
which  the  mother  pronounced  were,  that  'she  Avouki 
blast  the  said  Gowry,  and  those  concerned  with  him.' 
The  violence  asserted  to  have  been  committed  by  jhc 
emissaries  of  Gowiy,  ui  forcibly  entering  the  female 
apartments  of  Beechuk  and  Adher,  might  be  deemed 
an  mdignity  of  high  provocation  ;  but  they  appear  to 
have  considered  this  outrage  as  of  less  importance 
thau  the  loss  of  the  money,  which  might,  and  would, 
have  been  recovered,  Avith  due  satisfaction,  by  appli- 
cation to  the  court  of  justice  at  Benares.  The  act 
which  they  perpetrated  had  no  other  sanction  thau 
what  was  derived  from  the  local  prejudices  of  the 
place  where  they  resided :  il  Avas  a  crime  against 
tlieir  religion  ;  and  the  two  brothers  themselves  quoted 
an  instance  of  a  Brahmin,  who,  six  or  seven  years  be- 
fore, had  lost  his  casto,  and  all  intercourse  with  the 
other  Brahmms,  for  an  act  of  the  same  nature.  But 
in  truth,  Beechuk  and  Adher,  although  Brahmins, 
had  no  knowledge  or  education  suitable  to  the  high 
distmctions  of  their  caste,  of  which  they  preserved  the 
pride  only  ;  bemg  as  grossly  ignorant  and  prejudiced 
as  the  meanest  peasants  in  any  part  of  the  Avorld. 
They  seemed  surprised  when  they  heard  the  doom 
of  forfeiture  of  caste  pronounced  against  them  by 
a  learned  Pundit,  and  they  openly  avowed  that  so 
far  froin  conceiving  they  had  committed  a  barba- 
I'ous  crime,  both  they  and  their  mother  considered 
this  act  as  a  vindication  of  their  honor,  not  liable 
to  any  religious  penalty."  (Asiatic  Researches, 
vol.  iv.) 

Sir  John  Shore  gives  two  other  instances  of  a  like 
nature  ;  one  of  which  is,  the  murder  of  a  daughter  by 
a  Brahmin  who  Avas  provoked  liy  an  adversar}^ 
These  instances  are  all  of  Brahmins ;  and  probably 
are  not  general  in  India  ;  but  the  idea  connected  Avit'h 
them  appears  to  be  of  ancieyit  date,  and  are  similar  to 
the  action  of  the  king  of  Moab,  failuig  in  his  attempt 
to  repulse  his  assailants  ;  "  he  took  his  eldest  son,  Avho 
should  have  reigned  in  his  stead,  and  offered  him  up, 
a  whole  burnt-offering  [ascension-offering]  upon  the 
Avail.  And  great  Avas  the  foaming  Avith  rage  upon 
Israel.  And  they  (the  kings  of  Edom  and  Judah) 
Avent  away  from  off  him,  and  returned  to  their  own 
land."  Does  our  extract  suggest  a  reason  why  the  king 
of  Moab  offered  his  son  on  the  wall — puljlicly  ?  i.  e. 
that  it  might  plainly  appear  to  the  attacking  armies  to 
Avhat  straits  they  had  reduced  him,  q.  d.  "  You  see  the 
whole  process :  the  child  l)rought  out,  the  Avood,  the 
fire,  the  bloody  knife ;  Avhy  will  you  force  me  to  the 
slaughter  ?  do  you  proceed  ?  let  iiis  imbittercd  spirit 
haunt  you,  terrify  you,  blast  you  even  to  death."  If 
these  Brahmins  thought  they  had  such  a  right  over 
the  life  of  th?ir  mother,  Avith  her  consent,  might  not 
the  kinn;  of  Moab  think  he  had  such  a  right  o\-er  the 
life  of  his  son  ?  avIio,  perhaps,  Avas  hero  enough  volun- 
tarily to  suffer  it,  like  the  son  of  Idomencus,  in  Fene- 
lon's  T(>lomaohus.  Also,  fi-om  Avlience  Avas  the 
"  foaming  rage  "  against  Israel  ?  no  doubt  from  Moab, 
thus  deprived  of  her  priuce;  l)ut,  probalily,  also  from 
Edom,  q.  d.  "  These  Israelites,  not  having  sucli  cus- 
toms among  themselves,  despise  our  institutions  ;  they 
push  this  king  to  extremities,  and  call  his  behavior 
superstitious,  ])rofanp,  iui])ious  ;  Avhereas  Ave,  l)eing 
aAvare  of  tliis  custom,  and  indeed  res|)ecting  it,  sym- 
pathize Avith  the  distressed  king,  and  bate  those  who 
abommate  what  he  is  doing."     Is  not  this  a  natural 


solution  of  the  difficui; y,  Whence  was  this  rage  ?  and 
Avhy,  and  Avherefore  Israel  returned  disgusted,  as  it 
should  seem,  into  their  own  land  ?  Did  Edom  also 
suppose  itself  to  be  liamited  by  the  spirit  of  this  sac- 
rifice, and,  feeling  this  terroi",  flee  to  avoid  it,  at  the 
same  time  cm-sing  Israel,  Avho  had  brought  it  upon 
them  ?  If  this  conjecture  be  applicable,  the  king  of 
Moab  did  not  merely  by  this  sacrifice  implore  assist- 
ance from  his  gods ;  but  he  took  this  method  of  terri- 
fying his  adversaries,  after  his  own  jjersonal  valor  had 
j)roved  meffectual  to  deliver  himself  and  his  coimtiy 
from  them. 

The  reader  Avill  notice  more  particularly  the  ideas 
of  the  Brahmins,  as  related  by  sir  John  Sbore,  on  the 
disposal  of  the  life  of  another  person  ;  especially  of 
a  parent's  ])ower  over  the  life  of  his  child,  (Avhicli,  in 
the  instance  given  by  sir  John,  A\'as  Avithout  the 
child's  consent,  the  daughter  being  an  infant,)  as  per- 
haps it  may  be  found  to  bear  pretty  strongly  on  some 
circumstances  noticed  ui  Scriptiu'e.  It  is  certain,  t'hat 
parental  poAver  extended  even  to  the  depriving  a 
child  of  life  among  the  Romans,  the  Gauls,  the  Per- 
sians, and  other  ancient  nations. 

I.  MESHECH,  or  Meseck,  the  sbcth  son  of  Japheth, 
(Gen.  x.  2.)  supposed  to  be  the  father  of  the  Moschi, 
a  people  bctAvecn  Iberia,  Armenia  and  Colchis ;  or, 
as  others  believe,  of  the  jMuscovites.  (See  Gen.  x.  2  ; 
Ezek.  xxvii.  1-3  ;  xxxii.  26 ;  xxxviii.  2,  3 :  xxxix.  1.) 

II.  MESHECH,  a  son  of  Aram,  Gen.  x.  23. 
MESOPOTAMIA,  the  Greek  name  of  Aram-na- 

iiARAiM,  a  countiy  betAveen  the  two  rivers ;  a  famous 
province,  situated  betAveen  the  rivers  Tigris  and  Eu- 
phrates, and  celebrated  m  Scripture  as  the  first  dAvell- 
ing  of  men  after  the  deluge.  It  gaA'c  birth  to  Phaleg, 
Heber,  Terah,  Abraham,  Nahor,  Sarah,  Rebekah, 
Rachel,  Leah,  and  the  sous  of  Jacob.  The  plains  of^ 
Shinar  were  in  this  country  ;  and  it  was  often  called 
JMesopotaniia  Syria),  because  it  Avas  inhabited  by  the 
Arameans,  or  SjTians  ;  and  sometimes  Padan-aram, 
(Gen.  xxviii.  2,  &c.)  the  plains  of  Aram ;  or  Sede- 
aram,  the  fields  of  Aram  ;  to  distinguish  the  fertile 
plains  from  the  uncu!ti\ated  mountains  of  the  country. 
Balaam,  son  of  Beoi-,  Avas  of  Mesopotamia,  (Deut. 
xxiii.  4.)  Avhose  king  Chushanrishathaim  subdued  the 
Hebrews  after  t!ic  death  of  Joshua,  Judg.  iii.  8.  Mes- 
opotamia Avas  afterwards  seized  by  the  AssjTians,  and 
continued  united  to  the  emjjire  till  its  dissolution.  It 
frequently  formed  part  of  the  Mcr^o-Pcrsian,  Macedo- 
nian and  Parthian  empires  ;  and  is  noAV  comprised  in 
modern  Persia. 

MESSIAH,  or  Messias,  anointed,  a  title  given 
principally,  or  by  Avay  of  eminence,  to  that  sovereign 
deliverer  fonnerly  and  still  expected  by  the  Jcavs. 
(See  Christ.)  They  used  to  anoint  their  kings,  high- 
priests,  and  sometimes  prophets,  Avhcn  they  Avere  set 
apart  to  their  oflice  ;  and  hence  the  ]ihrase,  to  anoint 
for  an  employment,  sometimes  .signifies  merely  a  par- 
ticular designation  or  rlioice  for  such  an  employment. 
Cyrus,  Avho  founded  the  empire  of  the  Persians,  and 
wlio  set  the  Jews  at  liberty,  is  called  (Isa.  xh'.  1.)  "  the 
anointed  of  the  Lord  ;"  and  in  Ezek.  xwiii.  14,  the 
name  of  i\Iessiah  is  given  to  the  king  of  Tyre. 

But  as  we  have  already  observed,  Messiah  is  tlie 
desisruation  giv<^n  by  tlie  Hebrews,  eminently,  to  that 
Saviour  and  Deliverer  whom  tliey  expected,  and  Avho 
Avas  promised  to  tliem  by  all  the  prophets.  As  the 
holy  unction  Avas  given  to  kings,  priests  and  proph- 
ets, l)y  describing  the  ]iromised  Saviour  of  the  world 
under  the  name  of  Christ,  Anointed,  or  Messiali,  it 
was  sufficiently  evidenced,  that  the  qualities  of  king, 
prophet  and  high-priest  would  eminently  centre  in 


31  EZ 


673  ] 


MIC 


hiin  ;  and  that  he  .should  exercise  them  not  only  over 
the  Jews,  but  over  all  mankind  ;  and  particularly  over 
those  who  should  receive  him  as  their  Saviour.  Peter 
and  the  other  believei-s,  being  assembled  together, 
(Acts  iv.  27.)  quote  from  Psalm  ii,  "  Why  did  the 
heathen  rage,  and  the  people  unagiue  vain  things  ? 
The  kuigs  of  the  earth  stood  up,  and  the  rulers  gath- 
ered together  against  the  Lord,  and  against  his  Christ. 
For  of  a  truth  against  thy  holy  child  Jesus,  whom 
thou  hast  anointed,  both  Herod  and  Pontius  Pilate, 
with  the  Gentiles,  and  the  peo])le  of  Israel,  were 
gathered  together."  Luke  says,  (iv.  18.)  that  our  Sa- 
viour, entering  a  spiagogue  at  Nazaretli,  opened  the 
book  of  the  prophet  Isaiah,  where  he  read,  "  The 
Spu'it  of  the  Lord  is  upon  me,  because  he  hath  an- 
ointed me  to  preach  the  gospel  to  the  poor."  After 
which  he  showed  them,  that  this  prophecy  was  ac- 
complished in  his  o«-u  person.  Such,  too,  was  the 
uniform  testimony  of  all  the  apostles. 

It  is  not  recorded  that  our  Saviour  Jesus  Christ 
ever  received  an  external  official  unction.  The  imc- 
tion  that  the  prophets  and  the  apostles  speak  of,  is  the 
spiritual  and  internal  unction  of  grace,  and  of  the 
Holy  Ghost,  of  which  the  outward  unction,  with  which 
kings,  ])riests  and  prophets  were  anciently  anohited, 
was  but  the  figure  or  symbol.  He  united  m  liis  own 
person  the  offices  of  king,  prophet  and  priest,  and 
eminently  included  in  himself  ^\  hatever  the  law  and 
the  prophets  had  promised  or  prefigmed,  that  was 
most  excellent  or  most  perfect.  Christians,  his  disci- 
j)lcs  and  his  children,  enjoy,  in  some  sense,  the  same 
prerogatives,  by  the  anointing  of  the  Holy  Spirit, 
1  Pet.  ii.  9. 

The  ancient  Hebrews,  being  instructed  by  the 
prophets,  had  clear  notions  of  the  Messiah  ;  but  these 
were  gradually  depra\ed,  so  that  \vhen  Jesus  appeared 
in  Judea,  the  Jews  entertained  a  false  conception  of 
the  Messiah,  expecting  a  temporal  monarch  and  con- 
queror, -who  shoidd  remove  the  Roman  yoke,  and 
subject  the  whole  world.  Hence  they  were  scandal- 
ized at  the  outward  appearance,  the  himiility,  and 
seeming  wealaaess  of  our  Saviour ;  and  the  modem 
Jews,  indulging  still  greater  mistakes,  form  to  them- 
selves chimerical  ideas  of  the  Messiah,  utterly  im- 
known  to  their  forefathers.     See  Christ. 

Our  Saviour  gave  warning  to  his  disciples,  that 
false  prophets  and  false  Messiahs  should  arise  ;  (3Iark 
xiii.  22.)  that  they  should  perform  signs  and  won- 
ders, by  which  even  the  elect  themselves  would  be  m 
danger.  The  event  has  verified  his  prediction.  Every 
age  among  the  Jews  has  produced  false  prophets,  and 
false  Christs,  who  have  succeeded  in  deceiving  many 
of  that  nation.  One  appeared  even  in  the  age  of 
Christ  himself;  Simon  Magus,  who  reported  at  Sa- 
maria that  he  was  the  great  power  of  God,  Acts  viii. 
9.  In  the  following  century  Barchocbebas,  by  his 
impostures,  drew  down  on  the  Jews  the  most  terrilile 
persecution  ;  and  shice  his  tune  several  others  have 
appeared,  and  succeeded  hi  im])osing  upon  the  credu- 
lity of  this  infatuated  people. 

METHUSAEL,  son  of  Mohujael,  of  the  race  of 
Cain,  Gen.  iv.  18. 

METHUSELAH,  son  of  Enoch,  (Gen.  v.  21,  22.) 
was  born  A.M.  687:  he  begat  Lamech  A.  ]\I.  874, 
and  died  A.  M.  165G,  aged  969  years ;  tlic  greatest 
age  attained  by  any  man.  The  year  of  liis  death  was 
that  of  the  deluge. 

MEZUZOTH  is  a  name  the  Jews  give  to  certain 

pieces  of  parchment,  which  they  fix  on  the  door-posts 

of  their  houses;  taking  literally  what   Moses  says, 

Deut.  vi.  9,  11,  13,  "Thou  shalt'never  forget  the  laws 

85 


of  thy  God,  but  thou  shall  ivrite  them  on 
the  posts  of  thy  house,  and  on  thy  gates." 
They  pretend,  that  to  avoid  making 
themselves  ridiculous,  by  writing  the 
commandments  of  God  without  their 
doors,  or  rather  to  avoid  exposmg  them 
to  pi-ofanation,  they  ought  to  write  them 
on  parchment,  and  to  enclose  it.  There- 
fore they  write  tlicse  words  on  a  square 
piece  of  prepared  parchment,  with  a  par- 
ticidar  ink,  and  a  square  kind  of  charac- 
ter, Deut.  vi.  4 — 9.  "  Hear,  O  Israel,  the 
Lord  our  God  is  one  Lord,"  &c.  Then 
they  leave  a  little  space,  and  afterwards 
go  on,  to  Deut.  xi.  13.  "  And  it  shall  come 
to  pass,  if  thou  shalt  hearken  diligently  to  my  com- 
mandments," &c.  as  far  as,  "thou  shalt  w.ite  them 
upon  the  door-posts  of  thy  house."  After  this  they 
roll  up  the  parchment,  put  it  into  a  case,  and  write 
on  it  Shaddai,  which  is  one  of  the  names  of  God,  and 
then  attach  it  to  the  doors  of  their  houses  and  cham- 
bers, and  to  the  knocker  of  the  door  on  the  right 
side.  As  often  as  they  pass,  they  touch  it  in  this 
place  with  their  finger,  which  they  afi;erwarGS  kiss. 
The  Hebrew  mezuza  properly  signifies  a  door-post 
of  a  house,  but  is  a  name  also  given  to  this  roll  of 
parchment. 

I.  MICAH,  the  Morasthite,  orof  Mareshah,(q.  v.)  a 
village  near  Eleutheropolis,  in  the  south  of  Judah,  is 
the  seventh  in  order  of  the  lesser  prophets.  He 
prophesied  under  Jotham,  Ahaz  and  Hezekiah, 
kings  of  Judah,  for  about  50  years ;  from  about 
A.  M.  3245,  or  the  beginning  of  the  reign  of  Jotham, 
to  A.  M.  3306,  or  the  last  year  of  Hezekiah.  He  was 
nearly  contemporary  with  Isaiah,  and  has  some  ex- 
pressions in  common  with  him.  (Compare  Isaiah  ii.  2, 
with  Micah  iv.  1,  and  Isaiah  xli.  15,  with  Micah  iv, 
13.)  The  extant  prophecy  of  Micah  contains  but 
seven  chapters.  He  first  foretells  the  calamities  of 
Samaria;  afterwards  he  prophesies  against  Judah 
and  Samaria;  and  then  foretells  the  captivity  of  the 
ten  tribes,  and  then*  return.  The  third  chapter  con- 
tains a  pathetic  invective  against  the  princes  of  the 
house  of  Jacob,  and  the  judges  of  the  house  of  Is- 
rael. We  are  infoniied  by  Jeremiah  (xxvi.  18,  19, 
&c.)  that  this  prophecy  was  pronounced  in  the  time 
of  Hezekiah,  and  that  in  the  days  of  Jehoiakim  it 
protected  Jeremiah  from  death,  who  ])i-ophesied 
mtich  the  same  things  against  Jerusalem  as  3Iieah 
had  done.  After  these  terrible  denunciations,  Micah 
speaks  of  the  reign  of  the  Messiah.  And  as  the 
peaceable  times  which  succeeded  the  return  from 
the  Babylonish  captivity,  and  which  prefigured  the 
reign  of  the  Messiah,  were  disturlied  by  a  tempest  of 
short  continuance,  Micah  foretold  it  in  a  manner 
which  agrees  closely  with  what  Ezekiel  says  of  the 
war  of  Gog  against  the  saints,  and  which  Cal:i;et 
thinks  had  relation  to  the  reign  of  Cambyses,  or  ihe 
war  of  llolofernes.  He  also  speaks  particularly  of 
the  birth  of  the  Messiah  (v.  2,  3,  &c.)  at  Bethlehem, 
whose  dominion  was  to  extend  over  the  earth.  Yhe 
two  last  chapters  contain  a  long  invective  agains.  the 
iniquities  of  Samaria,  the  fall  of  Babylon,  and  i  re- 
dictions  of  the  reestabhshment  of  Israel,  and  in  sr.ch 
lofty  tenns,  as  chiefly  agree  with  the  state  of  the 
Christian  church. 

We  know  nothing  authentic  of  Micah's  death.  He 
has  been,  by  some,  confounded  with  3Iicaiah  son  of 
Imlah,  who' lived  in  the  kmgdom  of  the  ten  tribes, 
under  the  reisn  of  Ahab, 

II.  P.IICAH,  of  Ephraim,  son  of  a  rich  widow, 


MID 


LG74  ] 


MIL 


who  became  an  occasion  of  falling  to  Israel,  (Judg. 
xvii.  xviii.,  by  making  an  ephod  (oi*  priestly  habit)  and 
images  of  metal,  for  a  domestic  chapel.  He  made 
one  of  his  own  sons  priest ;  and  afterwards  a  young 
Levite.  It  is  believed  this  happened  in  the  interval, 
after  the  death  of  Joshua,  and  the  elders  that  succeed- 
ed him,  till  Othniel  judged  Israel.  During  this  time 
the  tribe  of  Dan,  being  straitened  in  their  inheritance, 
sent  six  hundred  men  to  seek  a  more  convenient 
settlement.  They  passed  by  Micali's  house,  on  the 
mountains  of  Ephraim,  and  desired  the  Levite  who 
resided  there,  to  inquire  of  the  Lord  about  the  suc- 
cess of  then-  expedition.  He  answered  tliem,  that 
the  Lord  would  prosper  their  undertaking.  They 
came  a  second  time  to  the  house  of  Micah  ;  and  hav- 
ing persuaded  the  priest  to  join  their  party,  they  took 
away  the  ephod  and  tlie  graven  images.     See  Dan. 

MICAIAH,  son  of  Imlah,  of  Ephraim,  and  a  proph- 
et, who  lived  in  the  time  of  Ahab.  Having  fore- 
told the  issue  of  this  prince's  expedition  against  Ra- 
moth-Gilead,  he  was  delivei'ed  over  to  Anion,  the 
governor  of  Samaria,  with  orders  that  he  should  by 
fed  with  the  bread  of  gi-ief,  and  water  of  affliction,  till 
Ahab  returned  in  peace.  Micaiah  answered,  "  If  thou 
return  at  all  in  peace,  the  Lord  has  not  spoken  by 
me  ;"  and  the  event  justified  his  prediction,  1  Kings 
xxii.  7,  seq. 

MICHAEL,  the  name  given  to  the  archangel  who 
is  represented  as  presiding  over  the  Jewish  nation. 
(See  AxGEL,  p.  60.)  Jude  (9,  10.)  speaks  of  his  con- 
tending with  the  devil,  and  disputing  about  the  body 
of  Moses  ;  an  expression  which  has  given  rise  to 
many  opinions.  Without  detailing  these,  we  i-emai-k, 
that  the  opinion  of  Macknight  seems  to  be  the  most 
reasonable,  and  the  least  liable  to  exception. 

In  Dan.  x.  13 — 21,  and  xii.  1,  Michael,  he  remarks, 
is  spoken  of  as  one  of  the  chief  angels,  Avho  took  care 
of  the  Israelites  as  a  nation:  he  may,  therefore,  he 
thinks,  have  been  "  the  angel  of  the  Lord,"  I)efore 
whom  Joshua  the  high-priest  is  said  to  have  stood, 
"  Satan  being  at  his  right  hand  to  resist  him  ; "  (Zech. 
iii.  1.)  namely,  ui  his  design  of  restoring  the  Jewish 
church  and  state,  called  by  Jude,  'the  body  of  Moses,' 
just  as  the  Christian  church  is  called  by  Paul  '  the 
body  of  Christ.'  Zechariah  adds,  "  And  the  Lord," 
that  is,  the  angel  of  the  Lord,  as  is  plain  iVom  ver.  1 
"  said  unto  Satan,  The  Lord  rehuketh  thee,  O  Satan  ! 
even  the  Lord  who  hath  chosen  Jerusalem,  rebiiketh 
thee  !  "  Dr.  A.  Clarke  adopts  this  view  of  the  \ms- 
sage,  and  adds  to  the  remarks  of  Macknight  the  tol- 
lowing:  "Among  the  Hebrews,  g-ttp/i,  body,  is  often 
used  for  a  thi7ig  itself;  so  Rom.  vii.  24,  the  body  of 
sin,  signifies  sin  itself.  So  the  body  of  Moses  may 
signify  Moses  himself;  or  that  m  which  he  was  par- 
ticularly concerned ;  namely,  his  institutes,  reli- 
gion, &c. 

MICHAL,  daughter  of  Saul,  and  wife  of  David, 
1  Sam.  xviii.  20 ;  xix.  11.     See  David,  p.  335. 

MICHMAS,  a  city  of  Ephraim,  on  the  confines  of 
Benjainiii,  (E/ra  ii.  27;  Neh.  vii.  31.)  called  also 
MICHMASII,^  1  Sam.  xiii.  2  ;  Isa.  x.  28.  (Compare 
Neh.  xi.  31.)  Eusebius  says,  it  was,  ui  his  time,  a  con- 
siderable place,  about  nine  miles  from  Jerusalem,  to- 
wards Rama. 

MICIIMETHAH,or  MAcnMETUATu,  a  city  of  the 
half-tribe  of  Manasseh,  on  the;  frontiers  of  Ephraim 
and  Manasseh ;  over  against  Shechcin,  Josh.  xvi.  G  ; 
xvii.  7. 

MIDIAN,  fourth  son  of  Abraham  and  Keturah, 
(Gen.  XXV.  2.)  and  father  of  the  Midianitos,  mentioned 
Numb.   xxii.   4,   7 ;    xxv.    15 ;    xxxi.   2,   &(*•  whose 


daughters  seduced  Israel  to  the  worshipping  of  Baal- 
peor.  The  Midianites,  who  were  overcome  by  Ha- 
dad,  son  of  Bedad,  king  of  Edom,  (Gen.  xxxvi.  35.) 
and  those  who  oppressed  Israel,  and  were  defeated  by 
Gideon,  (Judg.  vi.  1,  &c. ;  vii.  1, 2.)  were  also  descend- 
ed from  him.  Then-  capital  city  was  called  Midian, 
and  its  remains  were  to  be  seen  m  the  tune  of  Jerome 
and  Eusebius.  It  Avas  situated  on  the  Anion,  south 
of  the  city  Ar,  or  Areopolis.  The  Lord,  intending  to 
punish  the  Midianites,  because  their  daughters  had 
seduced  Israel  to  the  worship  of  Peor,  directed  Moses 
to  take  a  thousand  men  out  of  each  tribe,  imd  send 
them  under  the  command  of  Phinehas,  son  of  the 
high-priest  Eleazar,  to  execute  vengeance  upon  them. 
Phinehas  marched,  therefore,  at  the  head  of  12,000 
men,  having  with  him  the  ark  of  the  covenant,  ac- 
cording to  some  commentators,  and  the  trumpets  of 
the  tabernacle.  He  defeated  the  Midianites,  and 
slew  five  of  their  kings,  Levi,  Rekem,  Zur,  Hur  and 
Rcba,  who  reigned  over  several  cities  of  the  countiy 
of  Midian,  east  of  the  Dead  sea.  The  wicked  prophet 
Balaam  was  also  involved  in  their  misfortune,  and  lost 
his  life.  The  Israelites  took  the  women,  the  children, 
the  flocks,  and  whatever  belonged  to  the  Midianites; 
and  bm-nt  their  cities,  villages  and  forts. 

[The  original  and  appropriate  district  of  the  Midi- 
anites seems  to  have  been  on  the  cast  side  of  the  Ela- 
nitic  branch  of  the  Red  sea  ;  where  the  Arabian  geog- 
raphers place  the  city  Madian.  But  they  appear  to 
have  spread  themselves  northward,  probably  along  the 
desert  cast  of  mount  Seir,  to  the  vicinity  of  the  Mo- 
abites ;  and  on  the  other  side  also,  they  covered  a 
territory  extending  to  the  neighborhood  of  mount 
Sinai,  (See  Exod.  iii.  1  ;  xviii.  5  ;  Numb,  xxxi ;  Judg. 
vi. — viii.)  In  Gen.  xxv.  2,  4,  compared  with  verses 
12—18,  they  are  distinguished  fi-om  the  descendants 
oflshmacl;  but  elsewhere,  the  names  Midianites  and 
Ishmaelites  seem  to  be  used  as  nearly  synonymous. 
(See  Gen.  xxxvii.  25,  compared  with  verse  3G ;  Judg. 
vii.  12,  compared  with  viii.  22,  24.)     R, 

MIGDOL,  a  tower.  When  the  Israelites  came  out 
of  Egyj)t,  the  Lord  commanded  them  to  encamp  over 
against  Pi-hahiroth,  between  Migdol  and  the  Red  sea, 
over  against  Baal-zephon,  Exod.  xiv.  2.  See  Exo- 
dus, 1).^  401,  403. 

MILCOM,  see  Moloch. 

MILE.  The  Greek  uihor,  mile,  (Matt.  v.  41,)  is 
spoken  of  the  Roman  milliare,  or  mile,  which  contain- 
ed 8  stacha  or  1000  paces,  i.e.  about  IGllf  yards; 
while  the  English  mile  contains  17G0  yards.  (See 
Adam's  Rom.  Ant,  p.  503.)     *R. 

MILETUS,  or  Miletum,  a  city  and  seaport,  and 
the  ancient  capital  of  all  Ionia.  Paul,  going  from 
Coruith  to  Jerusalem,  in  A.  D.  58,  passed  by  Miletus; 
and  as  he  went  by  sea,  and  so  could  not  take  Ephesus 
in  his  way,  lie  desired  the  bishops  of  the  church  of 
Ephrsus  to  meet  him  here.  Acts  xx.  18,  35. 

This  city  was  originally  a  colony  of  Cretans  ;  but 
at  length  became  so  poworfiil,  that  it  sent  out  settlers 
to  a  great  number  of  cities  on  the  Euxine  sea,  and 
many  others  on  the  continent.  What  most  contributed 
to  its  renown  was  a  magnificent  tcmjile  of  Apollo. 
Dr.  Chandler  has  an  interestiurr  account  of  the  cit}'. 
(Travels,  j..  14G— 141>.) 

MILK.  Moses  forbids  to  seethe  a  kid  in  its  moth- 
er's milk,  (Exod.  xxiii.  IP  ;  xxxiv.  IG  ;  Dent.  xiv.  21.) 
which  the  Hebrews,  generally,  understand  literally ; 
though  some  acce|)t  it  metaphorically,  as  forbiddiiig 
cruelty.  Dent.  xxii.  G. 

A  land  flowuig  with  milk  and  honey  is  a  countiy 
of  extraordinary  fertility.     In  the  prophets  the  king- 


MIN 


[  675  1 


MIR 


dom  of  the  Messiah  is  represented  as  a  time  of  great 
abundance,  "  when  the  mountains  should  flow  with 
milk  and  honey,"  Joel  iii.  18.  And  Isaiah  says,  (Ix.  16.) 
"  Thou  sliait  also  suck  the  milk  of  the  Gentiles,  and 
shalt  suck  the  breasts  of  kings."  Paul  compares  his 
converts  to  little  children,  to  be  fed  with  milk,  and  not 
with  solid  food,  (1  Cor.  iii.  2  ;  Ileb.  v.  12.)  and  Peter 
exhorts  the  faithful,  "  As  new-born  babes,  to  desire  the 
suicere  milk  of  the  word,  that  ye  may  grow  thereby," 
1  Pet.  ii.  2. 

MILL.  For  a  description  of  the  hand-mills  com- 
nionlj'  used  iu  the  East,  see  Corx. 

MILLENNIUM,  a  thousand  years,  the  name  ap- 
plied to  that  period  of  the  Christian  church  described 
in  Rev.  xx.  4,  during  which  many  sound  commenta- 
toi-s  have  supposed  that  Jesus  Christ  will  reign  per- 
sonally on  the  earth,  and  that  the  bodies  of  martyrs 
and  other  eminent  Christians  will  be  raised  from  the 
dead,  and  in  this  renewed  state  constitute  the  subjects 
of  his  glorious  kingdom.  Other  waiters,  however, 
understand  those  passages  which  refer  to  this  blessed 
era  in  a  figtu'ative  sense,  and  explam  them  of  a  period 
in  which  Christianity  shall  eminently  prevail,  m  its 
purity ;  annihilate  paganism,  idolatry,  Alohannnedan- 
ism,  and  all  other  false  religions;  and  triumphantly 
reign  throughout  all  the  earth. 

MILLET,  a  kind  of  gram,  of  which  there  are  several 
species  cultivated  in  Italy,  Syria  and  Egypt.  It  is 
used  partly  gi-een  as  fodder,  and  partly  in  the  ripe 
grain  tor  bread,  &c.  Ezekiel  (iv.9.)  received  an  order 
from  the  Lord,  to  make  himself  bread  with  a  mixture 
of  wheat,  barley,  beans,  lentil  and  millet.  '■'■  Durra" 
says  Niebidir,  "  is  a  kind  of  millet,  made  into  bread 
with  camel's  milk,  oil,  butter,  &c.  and  is  almost  the 
only  food  eaten  by  the  common  people  of  Arabia  Fe- 
lix. I  found  it  so  disagreeable,  that  I  Avould  willingly 
have  preferred  ])lain  barley  bread."  This  illustrates 
the  appointment  of  it  to  the  prophet  Ezekiel,  as  a  part 
of  his  hard  fare. 

I.  MILLO,  a  part  of  the  citadel  at  Jerusalem  ;  or 
more  probably  of  the  fortifications  themselves,  2 
Sam.  v.  9  ;  1  Kmgs  ix.  15,  24 ;  xi.  27,  al.  The  house 
of  Millo  (2  Kings  xii.  21.)  is  probably  the  same.     R. 

II.  IMILLO,  a  place  near  Shechem.  It  is  said,  (Judg. 
ix.  G.)  that  the  mhabitants  of  Shechem  and  those  of 
the  house  of  Millo,  made  Abimelech,  son  of  Gideon, 
king.     House  is  here  put  for  place  or  dwelling. 

MINA,  a  species  of  money,  called  in  Hebrtw^ 
maneh.  We  find  this  word  only  in  the  books  ot" 
Kings,  Chronicles,  Ezra,  and  hi  Ezekiel,  wiio  tells  us, 
(xlv.  12.)  that  it  was  valued  at  sixty  shekels,  which,  in 
gold,  made  about  240  dollars,  and  in  silver  about  30 
dollars.  This  is  the  Hebrew  mam^  :  but  the  Greek 
or  Attic  mina,  which  is  probably  that  mentioned  in  the 
books  of  the  Maccabees,  anW  in  the  New  Testament, 
is  valued  at  a  hundred  dmchm8e,or  about  13i  dollars. 
There  was  also  a  je-^^er  mina,  Aalued  at  seventy-five 
drachma?. 

]MINCHA,  a.  Hebrew  word,  signifying  an  offering 
of  meal,  cakes,  or  biscuits,  ))resented  in  the  tem|)le  of 
the  Lord.  The  LXX  sometimes  preserve  this  word  ; 
but  instead  ofmincha,  they  read  manna,  which  don])t- 
less  was  the  common  pronmiciation  in  their  time.  We 
find  manim  in  Banich  i.  10  :  "  Prepare  ye  manna,  and 
oft'er  upon  the  altar  of  the  Lord  our  God."  Scripture 
uses  the  word  mincha,  in  the  Hebrew,  to  express  the 
offerings  that  Cain  and  Abel  made  to  the  Lord  of 
their  first-fruits,  (Gen.  iv.  3,  4.)  for  the  presents  made 
by  Jacob  to  his  brother  Esau,  at  liis  return  from 
Mesopotamia  ;  (Gen.  xxxii.  13, 16, 18, 20, 2^  for  those 
carried  by  the  sons  of  Jacob  to  Joseph  in  Egypt,  be- 


fore he  discovered  hhnself  to  them ;  (Gen.  xliii.  11, 

14,  24.)  and  for  those  that  Ehud  presented  to  Eglon, 
kmg  of  Moab,  Judg.  iii.  15,  17,  18.  (See  also  Mai.  i. 
10,  11.) 

MIND,  the  understanding,  or  judgment ;  that  prin- 
ciple which  distinguishes  the  dift'erences  of  things, 
lawful  or  imlawful,  good  or  evil,  2  Cor.  iii.  14  ;  Tit.  i. 

15.  It  is  sometimes  supi)osed  to  be  seated,  or  rather, 
perhaps,  to  exercise  itselij  hi  the  heart,  (Gen,  xxvi.  35  ; 
Deut.  xviii.  6.)  or  in  the  memory,  (Ps.  xxxi.  12  ;  Isa. 
xlvi.  8.)  or  in  the  imaguiation,  or  will.  These  ramifi- 
cations are  all  referable  to  the  exercise  of  the  imder- 
standuig,  in  these  depaitments  of  the  intellectual  fac- 
ulties. 

MINISTER,  one  who  attends  or  waits  on  anoth- 
er ;  so  Elisha  was  the  minister  of  Elijah,  (2  Kings  iii. 
11.)  and  Joshua  the  servant  of  Moses,  Exod.  xxiv.  13  ; 
xxxiii.  11.  And  these  persons  did  not  feel  themselves 
degraded  by  their  stations,  but  in  due  tune  they  suc- 
ceeded to  the  offices  of  then*  masters.  In  like  man- 
ner, John  Mark  was  minister  to  Paul  and  Barnabas, 
Acts  xiii.  5.  Christ  is  called  a  Minister  of  the  true, 
that  is,  the  heavenly  sanctuary. 

The  minister  of  the  synagogue,  (Luke  iv.  20.)  was 
appointed  to  keep  the  book  of  the  law,  and  to  observe 
that  those  who  read  iu  it  read  correctly,  &c.  The 
rabbins  say,  he  was  the  same  as  the  angel  of  the 
church,  or  overseer.  Lightfoot  says,  Baal  Ai-uch  ex- 
pounds the  chazan,  or  minister  of  the  congregation, 
by  Sheliach  hafzibbor,  or  angel  of  the  congi-egation ', 
aiid  from  this  common  plattbnn  and  constitution  of 
the  synagogue,  we  may  observe  the  apostle's  expres- 
sion of  some  elders  ruling,  and  laboring  in  word  and 
doctrine  ;  others  in  the  general  affairs  of  the  sjTia- 
gogue.  Allusions  to  the  ofiicers  of  the  Jewish  syna- 
gogue are  often  introduced  by  the  WTiters  of  the  New 
Testament,  and  perhaps  are  hardly  intelUgible  to  us, 
who  are  not  intimately  acquainted  with  the  constitu- 
tions of  those  assemblies. 

Ministers  were  servants ;  not  menial,  but  honorable. 
Those  who  explain  the  word,  and  conduct  the  service 
of  God  ;  who  dispense  the  laws,  and  promote  the 
welfare  of  the  commimity.  The  holy  angels,  who,  in 
obedience  to  the  divine  commands,  protect,  preserve, 
succor  and  benefit  the  godly,  are  all  beneficial  min- 
isters to  those  who  are  under  their  charge,  Heb.  viii. 
2  :  Exod.  XXX.  10;  Lev.  xvi.  15;  1  Cor.  iv.  1 ;  Rom. 
xiii.  6 ;  Ps.  civ.  4.     See  Angel. 

MINNL  Jeremiah  (li.  27.)  invites  the  kings  of 
Minni,  Ararat  and  Aschenaz  to  war  against  Babylon. 
INIinni  is  thought  to  denote  Minuas,  a  province  of  Ar- 
menia. 

MINNITH,  a  city  beyond  Jordan,  four  miles  from 
Heshbon,  on  the  road  to  Philadelphia.  It  belonged 
to  the  Ammonites  when  Jephthah  made  war  against 
them,  Judg.  xi.  33.  Ezekiel  says,  that  Judali  carried 
wheat  of  Minnith  to  the  fairs  of  Tyre,  Ezek.xxvii.  17. 

IMINT,  a  garden  herb,  or  pot  herb,  sufficiently 
known.  The  Pharisees,  desiring  to  distinguish  them- 
selves by  a  most  scrupulous  and  literal  observation  of 
the  law,"  gave  tithes  of  mint,  anise,  and  cumin,  Matt, 
xxiii.  23. '  Om-  Saviour  does  not  censure  this  exact- 
ness, but  complains,  that  while  they  were  so  precise 
in  these  lesser  matters,  they  neglected  the  essential 
commandments  of  the  law. 

MIRACLE,  a  sign,  Avonder,  prodigy.  These  terms 
are  commonly  used  in  Scripture  to  (lenote  an  action, 
event,  or  effect,  superior  (or  contrary)  to  the  general 
and  established  laws  of  nature.  And  they  are  given, 
not  only  to  true  miracles,  wrought  by  saints  or  proph- 
ets sent  from  God,  by  good  angels,  by  the  finger  of 


MIRACLE 


[  676  ] 


MIZ 


God,  or  by  the  Son  of  God ;  but  also  to  the  false 
miracles  of  impostors,  and  to  Avonders  wrought  by 
the  wicked,  by  false  prophets,  or  by  devils.  Moses 
speaks  of  the  miracles  of  Pharaoh's  magicians,  in  the 
manner  he  speaks  of  those  wrought  by  himself,  in  the 
name  and  by  the  power  of  God ;  our  Saviour  foretold 
that  false  Christs  and  false  prophets  should  perform 
wonders  capable  of  deceiving,  were  it  possible,  the 
elect  themselves;  (Matt.  xxiv.  24.)  and  John,  in  the 
Revelation,  (xiii.  13,  14.)  speaks  of  a  beast  that  came 
out  of  the  earth,  which  performed  such  prodigies,  as 
even  to  make  fire  descend  from  heaven  on  the  earth, 
which  seduced  many  persons,  &c.  And  in  the  same 
book  he  speaks  of  demons,  which  shov/ed  wonders, 
to  stimidate  the  khigs  of  the  earth  to  make  war  on  the 
saints ;  and  also  of  a  false  prophet,  who  works  mu'a- 
cles,  to  seduce  those  who  have  received  the  mark  of 
the  beast.  Rev.  xvi.  14  ;  xix.  20. 

Miracles  and  prodigies,  therefore,  are  not  always 
sm-e  signs  of  the  sanctity  of  those  who  perform  them  ; 
nor  proofs  of  the  truth  of  the  doctrine  they  deliver ; 
nor  certain  testimonies  of  their  divine  mission.  The 
Son  of  God  not  only  permits  but  commands  us  to  ex- 
amine miracles,  and  those  who  perform  them,  (Matt. 
xxiv.  23,  24.)  and  Moses  (Deut.  xiii.  1.)  cautioned  the 
Israelites  against  listening  to  the  words  of  certain 
prophets,  or  dreamers  of  dreams ;  adding,  that  the 
Lord  permitted  them  to  prove  his  people,  to  kno>v 
whether  they  loved  the  Lord  their  God  with  all  their 
heart,  and  with  all  their  soul.  It  may,  therefore,  be 
aflirmed,  that  the  proof  of  miracles  is  not  always  un- 
questionable. To  the  mission  of  him  who  works 
miracles,  must  be  joined  the  truth  of  the  doctrine  he 
advances,  the  hoHness  of  his  life,  his  good  understand- 
ing, and  his  concurrence  with  those  whose  life,  mis- 
sion and  doctrine,  have  been  already  ascertained  and 
approved.  His  miracles  must  be  strictly  examined, 
to  see  if  they  be  true,  and  will  staiid  the  test ;  and  are 
not  juggling  tricks,  or  magical  operations  ;  whether 
they  lead  to  God,  to  peace,  to  righteousness,  to  salva- 
tion. If  these  marks  and  characters  be  found  in  him 
who  works  miracles,  we  must  allow  such  a  one  to  be 
a  messenger  from  God. 

Our  Saviour  complains  (John  iv.  48.)  of  the  Jews: 
"  Except  ye  see  signs  and  wonders,  ye  will  not  be- 
lieve." When  they  asked  a  sign  from  him,  (Matt. 
xii.  38.)  he  replied  that  they  should  see  no  other  sign 
but  that  of  the  prophet  Jonah.  He  says  (John  xv. 
24.)  that  if  he  had  not  performed  among  them  such 
miracles  as  were  never  before  ]ierformed  by  man, 
they  would  have  had  no  sin  ;  and  Nicodemus  acknowl- 
edged, (John  iii.  2.)  "  No  man  can  do  these  miracles 
that  thou  doest,  except  God  be  with  him."  Such  a 
train  of  miracles,  accompanied  with  so  much  innocence 
and  righteousness,  with  a  doctrine  so  ])ure  and  divine, 
could  not  be  operations  of  falsity  and  delusion.  When 
Christ  sent  his  apostles  to  preach  the  gospel  among 
the  Jews,  and  among  infidel  nations,  he  gave  them 
the  power  of  working  miracles  in  his  name,  (Matt.  x. 
6,  8,  Sec.)  than  which  nothing  so  much  contributed  to 
the  propagation  of  the  Christian  faith. 

The  prejudices,  obstinacy  and  incredulity  of  the 
Jews  must  have  been  very  extraordinary,  not  to  yield 
to  the  miracles  of  Christ  and  his  apostles.  The  doc- 
tors themselves  could  not  give  the  lie  to  their  own 
eyes,  or  oppose  what  was  so  public  and  notorious ; 
they  could  not  directly  deny  the  miracles,  but  chose 
rather  to  ascribe  them  to  Beelzebub.  Tiie  modern 
Jews  pretend,  that  Christ  had  stolen  the  name  Jeho- 
vah out  of  the  tem])le,  by  which  ho  |)erfbrmed  his 
miracles.     If  this  were  true,  could  it  be  conceivable. 


that  God  would  favor  an  impostor  with  the  gift  of 
working  miracles,  and  such  a  long  train  of  miracles, 
and  of  so  high  degree,  and  by  one  who  announced 
the  subvei-sion  of  the  law  and  the  Jewish  religion  ? 
And  would  he  permit  him  to  transfer  this  power  to  his 
disciples  and  apostles  ? 

MIRIAM,  sister  of  Moses  and  Aaron,  and  daughter 
of  Amram  and  Jochebed.  If  she  were  the  one  who 
was  watching  when  her  brother  Moses  was  exposed 
on  the  bank  of  the  Nile,  she  might  be  ten  or  twelve 
years  old  at  that  time.  When  Pharaoh's  daughter 
discovered  the  infant^  Miriam  proposed  to  fetch  a 
nurse  for  the  little  foundling ;  the  princess  accepted 
the  offer,  and  Miriam  brought  her  own  mother,  Exod. 
ii.  4,  &c.  It  is  thought  that  Miriam  married  llur,  of 
Judah  ;  but  it  does  not  appear  that  she  had  any  clii!- 
dren  by  him. 

Miriam  had  thegifl  of  prophecy,  as  she  insinuates 
in  Exod.  xvii.  10,  11 ;  Numb.  xii.  2.  After  the  {)as- 
sage  of  the  Red  sea,  she  led  the  choir  and  dances  of 
the  women,  and  repeated  with  them  the  canticle, 
"  Sing  ye  to  the  Lord,"  &c.  which  Moses  sung  in  the 
choir  of  men,  Exod.  xv.  21.  When  Zipporah,  the 
wife  of  Moses,  arrived  in  the  camp  of  Israel,  fliiriam 
and  Aaron  disparaged  her,  speaking  against  Moses  on 
her  account.  Numb.  xii.  The  Lord  punished  Miriam 
by  visiting  her  with  a  leprosy.  Her  death  happened 
in  the  first  month  of  the  fortieth  year  after  the  exo- 
dus, at  the  encampment  of  Kadesh,  in  the  wilderness 
of  Sin,  (Numb.  xx.  1.)  where  Eusebius  assures  us  that 
in  his  time  her  sepulchre  was  to  be  seen. 

MIRROR,  see  Looking-glass, 

MISHAEL,  one  of  the  three  companions  of  Daniel, 
to  whom  Nebuchadnezzar  gave  the  Chaldean  name 
of  Bleshach,  (Dan.  i.  7.)  and  cast  into  the  burning  fur- 
nace ;  from  which  he  was  miraculously  delivered. 

MISHAL,  and  MISHEAL,  see  Mashal. 

MISHPAT,  judgment,  a  fountain,  called  also  Ka- 
desh, (Gen.  xiv.  7.)  which  see. 

MISHNAH,  see  Talmud. 

MISR,  a  name  given  to  the  land  of  Egypt,  which 
see. 

MITE,  Gr.  Af.TTor,  a  small  piece  of  money,  two  of 
which  made  a  kodmntes,  or  the  fourth  part  of  the  Ro- 
man as.  The  as  was  equal  to  3  ^\y  farthings  sterling, 
or  about  1^  cents.  The  mite,  ?.f:iToy.  therefore,  would 
be  equal  to  about  two  mills,  Luke  xii.  59  ;  xxi.  2.     R. 

l**riTHCAH,  an  encampment  of  Israel  in  the  wil- 
derness, between  Tarah  and  Hashmonah,  Numb. 
xxxiii.  28,  29. 

MITYLENE,  the  celebrated  capital  of  the  island 
of  Lesbos,  through  which  Paul  passed  as  he  went 
from  Corinth  to  Jerusalem,  A.  D.  58,  Acts  xx.  14. 
Now  Castro. 

I.  MIZPAII,  or  Mr/.PEn,  elevation,  a  city  of  Ju- 
dah, (Josh.  XV.  38.)  south  of  Jerusalem,  and  north  of 
Hebron  ;  about  six  leagues  from  Jerusalem.  Cahnet 
thinks  it  is  the  Miz])ah  of  Eonjamin,  where  the  He- 
brews often  assembled  for  pm-poses  of  devotion.  (See 
1  Kings  XV.  22 ;  2  Chron.  xvi.  0,  &c.) 

II.  MIZPAH,  or  3I1ZPEH,  a  city  of  Gad,  in  the  moun- 
tains of  (jfilead,  where  Laban  and  Jacob  made  a  cov- 
enant, Gen.  xxxi.  49.  Jej)hthah  dwelt  here  when  he 
mafle  a  covenant  with  the  Isratilites  on  the-other  side 
Jordan,  who  chose  him  for  their  captain  ;  and  here  he 
assembled  his  troops,  Judg.  xi.  11,  29,  34.  It  is 
sometimes  ascribed  to  Moai>,  because  the  Moabites 
conquered  and  kept  it. 

III.  MIZPAII,  or  MizpEH.  Joshua  (xi.  3, 8.)  speaks  ot 
the  Hivites,  who  inhabited  the  country  of  Mizpeh,  at 
the  loot  of  mount  Hcrmon,  and  consequently  towards 


MO  A 


[  677  ] 


MOL 


the  head  of  the  Jordan.  He  adds,  that  the  army  of  Ja- 
bin  and  his  alhes  took  refuge  at  Mizpah,  to  the  east  of 
the  city  of  Sidon  ;  which  agrees  with  this  position. 

MIZRAIM,  son  of  Ham,  and  fatlier  of  Ludim, 
Ananiin,  Lehabim,  Naphtuhim,  Pathrusim  and  Cas- 
luhini,  Gen.  x.  6.  He  was  father  of  the  JMizraim,  or 
Egyptians.  Mizraim  is  also  put  for  the  country  of 
Egypt ;  thus  it  has  three  significations,  which  are 
perpetually  confounded  and  used  promiscuously  ; 
sometimes  denoting  the  land  of  Egypt,  sometimes  he 
who  first  peopled  Egypt,  and  sometimes  the  inhabit- 
ants themselves.     See  Egypt. 

3INAS0N,  of  Cyprus,  a  Jew,  converted  by  Christ 
himself;  and  one  of  the  seventy.  Acts  xxi.  16.  Paul 
lodged  at  his  house  at  Jerusalem,  A.  D.  58. 

MOAB,  son  of  Lot,  and  of  his  eldest  daughter ; 
(Gen.  xix.  31,  &c.)  born  about  the  time  of  the  birth 
oflsaac,  A.M.  2108. 

MOABITES,  the  descendants  of  Moab,  son  of  Lot, 
whose  habitation  was  east  of  Jordan,  and  adjacent  to 
the  Dead  sea,  on  both  sides  the  river  Arnon,  on  which 
their  capital  city  was  situated  ;  although  tiie  river  Ar- 
non was  strictly  and  properly  the  northern  boundary 
of  3Ioab.  This  country  was  originally  possessed  by  a 
race  of  giants  called  Euiim,  (Deut.ii.  11, 12.)  whom  the 
Moabites  conquered.  Afterwards,  tlie  Amorites  took 
a  part  from  the  Moabites,  (Judg.  xi.  13.)  but  INIoscs 
reconquered  it,  and  gave  it  to  the  tribe  of  Reuben. 
The  Moabites  were  spared  by  Moses,  as  God  had  re- 
stricted him ;  (Deut.  ii.  9.)  but  there  always  was  a 
great  antipathy  between  them  and  the  Israelites, 
which  occasioned  many  wars.  Balaam  seduced  the 
Hebrews  to  idolatry  and  uuclcanuess,  by  means  of 
the  daughters  of  Moab,  Numb.  xxv.  1,  2.  God  or- 
dained that  this  people  should  not  enter  into  the  con- 
gregation of  his  people,  or  be  capable  of  office,  &c. 
even  to  the  tenth  generation,  (Deut.  xxiii.  3.)  because 
they  had  the  inhumanity  to  refuse  the  Israelites  a 
passage  through  their  country,  nor  would  supply  them 
with  bread  and  water  in  their  necessitj'. 

Eglon,  king  of  the  Moabites,  was  one  of  the  first 
who  oppressedlsraelafter  the  deadi  of  Joshua.  Ehud 
killed  him,  and  Israel  expelled  the  Moabites,  Judg. 
iii.  12.  A.  M.  2679.  David  subdued  Moab  and  Am- 
mon  ;  under  which  subjection  they  continued  till  the 
separation  of  the  ten  tribes ;  when  they  were  attached 
to  the  kings  of  Israel  till  the  death  of  Ahab.  Soon 
after  the  death  of  this  king,  the  Moabites  began  to  re- 
volt, 2  Kings  iii.  4,  5.  Mesha  refused  the  tribute  of  a 
hundred  thousand  lambs,  and  as  many  rams,  which 
till  then  had  been  customarily  paid,  either  yearly  or 
at  the  beginning  of  every  reign.  The  reign  of  Aha- 
ziali  was  too  short  to  allow  of  his  invading  them  ;  but 
Jehoram,  son  of  Ahab,  and  brother  to  Ahaziah,  hav- 
ing ascended  the  throne,  intended  reducing  them  to 
obedience.  He  invited  Jehoshaphat,  king  of  Judah, 
to  join  him ;  who,  with  the  king  of  Edom,  then  his 
vassal,  entei'ed  Moab,  where  they  were  almost  on  the 
point  of  perishing  with  thirst,  but  were  miraculously 
relieved,  2  Kings  iii.  16,  Sec.  We  have  little  knowl- 
edge of  the  Moabites  after  this  time  ;  but  Isaiah,  at 
the  beginning  of  the  reign  of  Hezekiah,  threatens 
them  with  a  calamity  which  was  to  happen  three 
\  ears  after  his  prediction,  and  whicli  jjrobably  referred 
to  the  war  of  Shalmanescr,  king  of  Assyria,  against 
\\w  ten  tribes,  and  the  nations  beyond  the  Jordan. 
Amos  (i.  13,  &c.)  also  foretold  great  miseries  to  them, 
which  probably  they  suffered  under  Uzziah  and  Jo- 
tham,  kings  of  Judah;  if  not  under  Shalmaneser;  (2 
Chron.  xxvi.  7,  8  ;  xxvii.  5.)  or,  lastly,  the  war  of 
Nebuchadnezzar,  five  years  after  the  destruction  of 


Jerusalem.  Calmet  belie-i'es  that  this  prince  carried 
them  captive  beyond  the  Euphrates,  as  the  prophets 
had  threatened  ;  (Jer.  ix.  26  ;  xii.  14, 15 ;  xxv.  11, 12  ; 
xlvhi.  47  ;  xlix.  3,  6,  39;  1.  16.)  ajid  that  Cyrus  sent 
them  home  again,  as  he  did  other  captive  nations.  It 
is  probable  that  in  the  later  times  of  the  Jewish 
republic,  they  obeyed  the  Asmonean  kings,  and  after- 
wards Herod  the  Great. 

The  principal  deities  of  the  Moabites  were  Chemosh 
and  Baal-peor.  Scripture  speaks  of  Nebo,  of  Baal- 
meon,  and  of  Baal-dibon,  as  gods  of  the  Moabites  ; 
but  it  is  likely  these  are  rather  names  of  jjlaces  where 
Chemosh  and  Peor  were  worshipped  ;  and  that  Baal- 
dibon,  Baal-meon,  and  Nebo,  are  no  other  than  Che- 
mosh adored  at  Dibon,  or  at  Meon,  or  on  mount  Nebo. 

For  a  description  of  the  land  of  3Ioab,  see  Canaan, 
p.  237. 

MODIN,  a  celebrated  city  or  to^vu  in  the  tribe  of 
Dan,  whence  came  Mattathias  and  his  family,  the 
Maccabees,  (1  Mac.  ii.  1,  15;  ix.  19.)  and  which  is 
also  famous  for  a  battle  fought  there  by  a  handful  of 
men,  under  Judas  Maccabeeus,  against  Antiochus  Eu- 
pator,  2  Mac.  xiii.  9,  &c. 

MOL  ADAH,  (Josh.  xv.  26 ;  xix.  2.)  a  city  first  given 
to  Judah,  and  alterwards  to  Simeon.  It  was  in  the 
southerly  part  of  Judah. 

MOLE,  an  unclean  animal,  (Lev.  xi.  30.)  several 
times  referred  to  in  Scriptiu-e.  In  the  Vulgate  and 
in  the  English  Bible,  however,  the  word  tenshemeth, 
lizard  or  chameleon,  is  improperly  translated  mole, 
this  animal  being  called  in  Hebrew  hholed.  The  only 
passage  requiring  elucidation,  in  which  the  mole  is 
spoken  of,  is  Isa.  ii.  20,  and  this  the  reader  will  find 
examined  in  the  article  Idols,  p.  522. 

MOLOCH,  or  31ilcom,  a  god  of  the  Ammonites, 
to  whom  human  sacrifices  were  offered.  Moses  in 
several  places  forbids  the  Israelites,  under  the  penalty 
of  death,  to  dedicate  their  children  to  Moloch,  by 
making  tliem  pass  through  the  fire,  (Lev.  xviii.  21  ; 
XX.  2 — 5.)  and  God  himself  threatens  to  pour  out  his 
wrath  agauist  those  who  should  be  guilty  of  it.  There 
is  great  probability  that  the  Hebrews  were  addicted 
to  the  worship  of  this  deity,  even  befoi-e  their  coming 
out  of  Egypt,  since  Amos,  (v.  26.)  and  after  him  Ste- 
phen, (Acts  vii.  43.)  reproaches  them  with  having 
carried  in  the  wilderness  the  tabernacle  of  their  god 
Moloch.  (See  Chiun.)  Solomon  built  a  temple  to 
jMoloch  on  the  mount  of  Olives,  (1  Kings  xi.  7.)  and 
Manassch,  a  long  time  after,  imitated  his  impiety, 
making  his  son  pass  through  the  fire  in  honor  of  this 
idol,  2  Kings  xxi.  3,  4.  Such  idolatry  v.as  practised 
chiefly  in  the  valley  of  Tophet  and  Hinnom,  east  of 
Jerusalem,  Jer.  xix. 

Some  are  of  opinion,  that  the  devotees  contented 
themselves  with  making  their  children  leap  over  a  fire 
sacred  to  Moloch  ;  by  this  action  consecrating  them 
to  that  false  deity  ;  and  as  by  a  lustration  purifying 
them  ;  this  being  a  usual  ceremony  on  other  occasions 
among  the  heathen.  Others  believe  that  they  made 
them  i>ass  between  two  fires  opposite  each  other, 
with  the  same  intention  ;  but  it  is  generally  thought 
that  they  really  bmnt  their  children  as  sacrifices.  See 
Ps.  cvi.'37;  Isa.  Ivii.  5;  Ezek.  xvi.  20,  21  ;  xxiii.  37, 
39,  where  it  is  positively  asserted,  that  the  Hebrews 
sacrificed  their  children  to  devils,  to  Moloch,  and  to 
strange  gods.     See  Fire. 

The  rabbins  assure  us,  that  the  idol  Moloch  was  of 
brass,  sitting  on  a  throne  of  the  same  metal,  adorned 
with  a  royal  crowni,  having  die  head  of  a  calf,  and  liis 
arms  extended  as  if  to  embrace  any  one  ;  that  when 
they  offered  children  to  him,  they  heated  the  statue 


MON 


[678  ] 


MONEY 


from  within,  by  a  great  fire ;  and  when  it  was  burning 
hot,  put  the  miserable  victim  within  its  arms,  where 
it  was  soon  consumed  by  the  violence  of  the  heat ; 
mid  that  the  cries  of  the  children  might  not  be  heard, 
they  made  a  great  noise  with  drums  and  other  instru- 
ments about  the  idol.  Others  say,  that  liis  arms  were 
extended,  and  reaching  towai'd  the  groimd,  so  that 
wlien  they  put  a  child  within  his  arms,  it  immediately 
fell  into  a  great  fire  which  was  burning  at  the  foot  of 
the  statue. 

There  are  various  sentiments  about  Moloch  :  some 
believe  that  it  represented  Saturn,  to  whom  it  is  well 
known  that  human  sacrifices  were  offered.  So  Ge- 
senius  in  his  Comm.  z.  Jesa.  ii.  p.  343 ;  comp.  p. 
327.  (See  also  Chiu^j.)  Others  think  he  was  Mer- 
cury, others  say  Venus,  others  Mars,  or  Mithra.  Cal- 
met  has  endeavored  to  prove,  that  Moloch  signified 
the  sun,  or  the  king  of  heaven.  (See  also  Selden,  de 
Diis  Syris ;  Spencer,  de  Legibus  Hebrseorum  Ritualib. 
lib.  ii.  cap.  10.  And  Vossius,  de  Origine  et  Progrcssu 
Idolatrife,  lib.  ii.  cap.  5.) 

MONEY.  Scripture  often  speaks  of  gold,  silver, 
brass,  of  certain  sums  of  money,  of  purchases  made 
with  money,  of  current  money,  of  money  of  a  cer- 
tain weight ;  but  we  do  not  observe  coined  or  stamped 
money  till  a  late  period  ;  which  induces  a  belief  that 
the  ancient  Hebrews  took  gold  and  silver  only  Iiy 
weight ;  that  they  only  considered  the  purity  of 
the  metal,  and  not  the  stamp.  The  most  ancient 
commerce  was  conducted  by  barter,  or  exchanging 
one  sort  of  merchandise  for  another.  One  man 
gave  what  he  could  spare  to  another,  who  gave  him 
in  return  part  of  his  superabundance.  Afterwards 
the  more  precious  metals  were  used  in  traffic,  as  a 
value  more  generally  known  and  stated.  Lastly, 
they  gave  this  metal,  by  public  authority,  a  certain 
mark,  a  certain  weight,  and  a  certain  degree  of  al- 
loy, to  fix  its  value,  and  to  save  Ijuyers  and  sellers 
the  trouble  of  weighing  and  examining  the  coins. 

Abraham  weighed  out  four  hundred  shekels  of 
silver,  to  purchase  Sarah's  tomb  ;  (Gen.  xxiii.  15,  16.) 
and  Scripture  observes,  that  he  paid  this  in  current 
money  with  the  merchant.  Joseph  was  sold  by  his 
brethren  to  the  Midianites  for  twenty  pieces  of  silver, 
(Gen.  xxxvii.  28.)  Heb.  twenty  shekels  of  silver.  Tlie 
brethren  of  Joseph  brought  back  with  them  into 
Egypt  the  money  they  found  in  their  sacks,  in  the 
same  weight  as  before.  Gen.  xliii.  21.  Isaiah  de- 
scribes the  wicked  as  weighing  silver  in  a  balance,  to 
make  an  idol  thereof,  (chap.  xlvi.  6.)  and  Jeremiah 
(xxxii.  10.)  weighs  seventeen  pieces  of  silver  in  a 
pair  of  scales  to  pay  for  a  field  he  had  bought.  Isaiah 
says,  "Come,  buy  wine  and  milk  without  money, 
and  witiiout  price.  Wherefore  do  ye  weigh  money 
for  that  which  is  not  bread  ?"  Amos  (viii.  5.)  repre- 
sents the  mei'chants  encouraging  one  another  to 
make  tlie  cphah  small,  wherewitli  to  sell,  and  the 
shekel  great,  wherewith  to  buy,  and  to  falsify  the 
balances  by  deceit. 

In  these  passages,  three  tilings  only  are  mentioned  : 
(1.)  The  metal ;  that  is,  gold  or  silver,  and  never  coj)- 
per,  it  not  being  used  in  traffic  as  money.  (2.)  The 
weight,  a  talent,  a  shekel,  a  gerah  or  obolus  ;  the 
weight  of  the  sanctuary,  and  the  king's  weight.  (3.) 
The  standard  of  pure  or  fine  gold  and  silver,  and  of 
good  quality,  as  received  by  the  mercliant.  The  im- 
pression of  the  coinage  is  not  referred  to  ;  but  it  is 
said,  they  weighed  the  silver,  or  other  commodities, 
by  tlie  shekel  and  by  tlie  talent.  Tliis  shekel,  there- 
fore, and  this  talent,  were  not  fixed  and  determined 
pieces  of  money,  but  weights  applied  to  things  used 


in  commerce.  Hence  those  deceitfiil  balances  of 
the  merchants  who  would  increase  the  shekel ;  that 
is,  would  augment  the  weight  by  which  they  weighed 
the  gold  and  silver  they  were  to  receive,  that  they 
might  have  a  greater  quantity  than  was  their  due  ; 
hence  the  weight  of  the  sanctuary,  the  standard  of 
which  was  preserved  in  the  temple,  to  prevent  fraud  ; 
hence  those  prohibitions  in  the  law,  "  Thou  shalt  not 
have  in  thy  bag  divers  weights,  [Heb.  stones,]  a  great 
and  a  small,"  JDeut.  xxv.  13.  Hence  those  scales  that 
the  Hebrews  wore  at  their  girdles,  (Hos.  xii.  7.)  and 
the  Canaanites  carried  in  their  hands ;  to  weigh  the 
gold  and  silver  which  they  received  in  payment. 

And  it  is  to  be  observed,  that  in  the  original  text 
there  is  no  mention  of  coined  money,  or  of  any  thing 
hke  it.  The  gold  and  silver  offered  to  Moses  in  the 
desert,  for  the  use  of  the  tabernacle ;  that  which 
was  given  to  Aaron  to  make  a  golden  calf;  that  of 
which  Gideon  made  an  ephod  ;  that  which  tempted 
Achan  ;  that  which  David  left  to  Solomon  ;  and  that 
which  Gehazi  received  from  Naaman ;  was  only 
gold  or  silver  made  into  rings,  bracelets,  pendants, 
vessels,  or  ingots.  Not  a  word  of  coined  money,  of 
any  mark  or  impression ;  nothing  to  show  the  form 
of  the  money,  or  the  figure  represented  upon  it ;  for, 
generally,  coined  money  has  the  impress  of  some 
prince,  some  animal,  flower,  or  other  device.  But 
nothing  of  this  kind  occurs  among  the  Hebrews. 

It  is  true,  that  in  the  Hebrew  (Gen.  xxxiii.  19.)  we 
find  Jacob  bought  a  field  for  a  hundred  kesitahs ; 
and  that  the  friends  of  Job,  (chap.  xlii.  11.)  after  his 
recovery,  gave  to  that  model  of  patience  each  a  kesi- 
tah,  and  a  golden  ])endant  for  the  cars.  We  also  find 
there  Dorics,  (Heb.  Darcm-onim,  or  Adarcmonim)  and 
Mina,  StatertE,  Oboli :  but  this  last  kind  of  money  w"as 
foreign,  and  is  put  for  other  terms,  which  in  the  He- 
brew only  signify  the  weight  of  the  metal.  The 
kesitah  is  not  well  known  to  us ;  some  take  it  for  a 
sheep  or  a  lamb  ;  others  for  a  kind  of  money,  having 
the  impression  of  a  lamb  or  a  sheep.  BiU  Cahnet 
rather  thinks  it  to  be  a  purse  of  money. 

"The  practice  of  weighing  mone}'  is  general  in 
Syria,  Egypt,  and  all  Tmkey.  No  j)iece,  however 
effaced,  is  refused  there  :  the  merchant  draivs  out  his 
scales  and  ivei^hs  it,  as  in  the  days  of  Abraham,  when 
he  purchased  his  sepulchre.  In  considerable  pay- 
ments, an  agent  of  exchange  is  sent  for,  who  counts 
paras  by  thousands,  rejects  pieces  of  false  money,  and 
weighs  all  the  sequins,  either  separately  or  together." 
(Volney,  vol.  ii.  p.  425.)  Does  not  tliis  mention  of 
"  an  agent  of  exchange,"  give  a  new  idea  to  the  ex- 
pression in  Genesis,  above  referred  to,  "  current 
money  with  the  merchant ; "  i.  e.  such  as  was  approv- 
ed by  a  competent  judge,  whose  business  it  was  to  de- 
tect fraudulent  coin,  if  offered  in  payment?  On  this 
subject  we  may  remark  a  much  deeper  inference  than 
is  usually  discovered  in  the  question  of  our  Lord  to 
the  ill-designing  Pharisees : — "  Whose  image  and  su- 
perscription is  this  ?  "  For  wo  ought  to  observe,  that 
few,  or  none,  of  the  eai-ly  and  truly  Asiatic  coins,  had 
any  image,  or  representation,  of  the  king  on  them ; 
tiiat  those  of  the  original  Jewish  coinage,  have  the 
jint,  or  jug,  (of  manna,  say  some,)  or  the  vine,  or  sheaf 
of  corn,  and  the  date  when  coined  ;  but  no  image  of 
any  person,  or  power,  (wliich  the  Jews  Avould  haAC 
held  unlawful,)  as  the  Roman  coinage  universally  had, 
especially  under  the  Cccsars.  When,  therefore,  our 
Lord  commands,  "  Show  me  the  tribute-money,"  and 
asks,  "Whose  image  is  this?"  by  attributing  cuirency 
to  the  (Roman)  image  of  Caesar,  and  appropriating 
this  (Roman)  coin  to  the  payment  of  his  tribute,  they 


MON 


[  679  ] 


xMONTH 


acknowledged  Caesar's  authority  eind  power ;  thereby 
answering  their  own  question.  And  this  inference 
appears  still  more  forcibly,  when  we  i-ecoUect  the  utter 
aversion  of  the  Jewish  nation  from  images  at  this 
lime,  and  that  the  figures  on  the  standards  of  the  Ro- 
man legions  nearly  occasioned  an  msun-ection. — In 
this  view,  the  idea  of  image  is  stronger  than  that  of 
suPERScRiPTio.N  ;  tliough,  in  fact,  one  accompanied 
the  other,  tlie  superscription,  or  epigraphus,  being  the 
emperor's  titles,  usually  inserted  around  his  image,  or 
bust,  as  on  our  British  coins. 

"  They  [the  Turks]  stamp  nothing  on  their  money 
(which  IS  all  of  gold  and  silver,  and  consists  in  the 
sorts  aforesaid)  but  the  emperor^s  name,  and  the  year  in 
which  it  was  coined.  They  receive,  nevertheless,  for- 
eign coins,  with  figures  of  living  things,  which  seems 
contrary  to  their  law."  (De  la  Motraye's  Travels, 
vol.  i.  p.  154.)  Here  we  find  the  Turks  receiving, 
through  commercial  policy,  what  the  Jews  were  forced 
to  receive,  and  to  pass  current,  by  reason  of  their 
subjection  to  the  Roman  emperor.  It  is  also  com- 
mon, in  tiie  East,  for  coins  to  have  some  sentence  on 
them,  such  as,  "  God  is  great,"  &c.  The  Roman 
coins  had  no  such  uiscription,  but  were  purely  heathen, 
and  solely  presented  the  image  and  superscription 
of  Ciosar  ;  or  if  any  figiu'e  was  added  on  the  reverse, 
it  was  that  of  some  ideal  or  idolatrous  deity. 

It  deserves  notice,  tliat  the  three  evangelists  who 
record  this  story,  insert  the  word  image,  (and,  indeed, 
they  use  coincidentally  the  same  words,)  which  seems 
to  confirm  the  ideas  above  suggested.  (See  Matt. 
xxii.  20 ;  Mark  xii.  16  ;  Luke  xx.  24.) 

MONTH.  The  ancient  Hebrews  had  no  particu- 
lar names  for  their  months  ;  they  said,  the  first,  the 
second,  the  third,  &c.  In  Exod.  xiii.  4  ;  xxiii.  15  ; 
xxxiv.  18,  and  Deut.  xvi.  l,we  find  3o.s  cin,  Chodesh 
Abib,  or  tiie  month  of  the  young  ears  of  corn,  or  of 
the  new  fruits ;  which  is,  probablj^,  the  Egyptian 
name  of  that  month,  which  the  Hebrews  afterwards 
called  Nisan,  and  which  was  the  first  of  the  holy 
year.  Every  where  else  this  lawgiver  designates  the 
months  by  their  order  of  succession.  In  Joshua, 
Judges  and  Samuel  we  see  the  same  method.  Un- 
der Solomon  (1  Kings  vi.  1.)  we  read  of  the  month 
Zif,  which  is  the  second  month  of  the  holy  year,  and 
answers  to  that  afterwards  called  Jair.  In  the  same 
chapter  we  read  of  the  month  Bui,  which  is  the  eighth 
of  the  holy  year,  and  answers  to  JNIarchesvan,  or  Oc- 
tober. Lastly,  in  chap.  viii.  2,  we  read  of  the  month 
Ethanim,  or  the  month  of  the  valiant,  which  answers 
to  Tizri,  the  seventh  of  the  holy  year. 

Critics  are  not  agreed  about  the  origin  of  these 
names  of  the  months.  Scaliger  thought  Solomon 
borrowed  them  from  the  Phoenicians,  with  whom  he 
had  much  intercoui-se.  Grotius  believes  they  came 
from  the  Ciialdeaus  ;  and  Hardouin  deduces  them 
from  the  Egj-ptians.  However  this  may  be,  we  see 
nothing  of  them,  eitiier  before  or  after  Solomon.  But 
after  the  captivity  of  Babylon,  the  people  continued 
the  names  of  the  months  as  they  had  foiuid  them 
among  the  Chaldeans  and  Persians. 

J^amts  of  the  Hebrew  months,  according  to  the  order  of 
the  sacred  and  civil  years. 


Sacred.     Civil. 


9 
10 


1  ]03, 

2  I'N, 

3  ]^1p, 

4  ntr, 


Nisan,  answering  to  March,  O.  S. 
Ijar,  April. 

Siv&n,  May. 

Thanunuz,  June. 


1 

5 

JK, 

2 

6 

ViSn, 

1 

7 

nrn. 

2 

8 

p»',-n 

3 

9 

iSd3, 

4 

10 

r\2P, 

5 

11 

n2v, 

6 

12 

-nN, 

Ab, 

Elul, 

Tisri, 

31archesvan, 

Casleu, 

Thebet, 

Shebat, 

Adar, 


July. 

August. 

September. 

October. 

November. 

December. 

January. 

February. 


[Other  interpreters,  with  greater  propriety,  reckon 
the  beginning  of  Nisan  from  the  new  moon  of  April, 
and  not  of  March  ;  and  this  varies  the  beginning  of 
the  other  months.  (See  Jahn's  Archaeol.  §  103.  Wi- 
ner, Bibl.  Realworterb.  p.  454.)  R. 

Originally,  the  Hebrews  followed  the  same  distri- 
bution of  their  years  and  months  as  in  Egypt.  Their 
year  consisted  of  365  days,  and  of  twelve  months, 
each  of  thirty  days.  This  appears  by  the  enumera- 
tion of  the  days  of  the  year  of  the  deluge.  Gen.  vii. 
The  twelfth  month  was  to  have  thirty-five  days,  and 
they  had  no  intercalary  month,  but  at  the  end  of  one 
hundred  and  twenty  years,  when  the  beginning  of 
the  year  following  was  out  of  its  place  thirty  whole 
days.- 

After  the  exodus,  which  happened  in  the  month  of 
3Iarch,  God  ordained  that  the  holy  year,  that  is,  the 
calendar  of  religious  feasts  and  ceremonies,  should 
begin  at  Nisan,  the  seventh  month  of  the  civil  year, 
(the  civil  year  being  left  unchanged,)  which  the  He- 
brews continued  to  begin  at  the  month  Tisri  (Sep- 
tember). After  the  Babylonish  captivity,  the  Jews, 
being  but  a  handful  of  people  in  the  midst  of  others 
surrounding  them,  complied  with  such  customs  and 
manners  of  dividing  times  and  seasons,  as  were  used 
by  the  people  that  ruled  over  them ;  first,  of  the 
Chaldeans ;  afterwards,  of  the  Persians ;  and  lastly, 
of  the  Grecians.  They  took  the  names  of  the  months 
from  the  Chaldeans  and  Persians,  and  perhaps  their 
manner  of  dividing  the  year  and  the  months.  How- 
ever, we  cannot  be  sure  of  this,  not  exactly  knowing 
the  form  of  the  Chaldean  months.  But  we  see 
plainly  by  Ecciesiasticus,  (xliii.  6.)  by  the  Maccabees, 
by  Josephus,  (Antiq.  lib.  iii.  cap.  10,)  and  by  Philo, 
(Vit.  Mos.  lib.  iii.)  that  in  their  time  they  followed  the 
custom  of  the  Grecians  ;  that  is,  their  months  were 
lunar,  and  their  years  solar. 

These  lunar  months  were  each  of  twenty-nine 
days  and  a  half;  or,  rather,  one  was  of  thirty  days, 
the  following  of  twenty-nine,  and  so  on  alternately  : 
that  which  had  thirty  days  was  called  a  full  or  com- 
plete month  ;  that  which"  had  but  twenty-nine  days 
was  called  incomplete.  The  new  moon  was  always 
the  beginning  of  the  month,  and  this  day  they  called 
jYeomenia,  new-moon  day,  or  new  month.  They  did 
not  begin  it  from  that  point  of  time  when  the  moon 
was  in  conjunction  with  the  sun,  but  from  the  time 
at  which  she  first  became  visible,  after  that  conjunc- 
tion. And  to  determine  this,  it  is  said,  tiiey  had 
peo])le  posted  on  elevated  places,  to  inform  the  San- 
hedrim as  soon  as  possible.  Proclamation  was  then 
made,  "  The  feast  of  the  new  moon !  The  feast  of 
the  new  moon  !"  and  the  beginning  of  the  month 
was  proclaimed  by  sound  of  trumpet.  For  fear  of 
any  failing  in  the  observation  of  that  command, 
which  directed  certain  ceremonies  at  the  beginning 
of  each  montii,  they  continued  the  ,Yeomenia  two 
days  ;  the  first  was  called  "  the  day  of  the  moon's 
appearance,"  the  other  "  of  the  moon's  disappear- 
ance." So  say  the  rabbins  :  but  there  is  great  prob- 
ability, that  if  this  was  ever  practised,  it  was  only  in 
provinces  distant   from  Jerusalem.     In  the  temple, 


MOO 


[  680  ] 


MOR 


and  in  the  metropolis,  there  was  always  a  fixed  cal- 
endar, or  at  least  a  fixed  decision  fiar  festival  days, 
determined  by  the  House  of  Judgment. 

When  we  say  that  the  months  of  the  Jews  an- 
swered to  ours,  Nisan  to  March,  Jair  to  April,  &c. 
we  must  be  understood  with  some  latitude  ;  for  the 
lunar  months  cannot  be  reduced  exactly  to  solar 
ones.  The  vernal  equinox  falls  between  the  twen- 
tieth and  twenty-first  of  March,  according  to  the 
course  of  the  solar  year.  But  in  the  lunar  year,  the 
new  moon  will  fall  in  the  month  of  March,  and  the 
full  moon  in  the  month  of  April.  So  that  the  He- 
brew months  will  answer  partially  to  two  of  our 
months,  the  end  of  one,  and  the  beginning  of  the 
other. 

Twelve  lunar  months  making  but  thi-ee  hundred 
and  fifty-four  days  and  six  hours,  the  Jewish  year 
was  short  of  the  Roman  by  twelve  days.  To  recover 
the  equinoctial  points,  from  which  this  difference  of 
the  solar  and  lunar  year  would  separate  the  new 
moon  of  the  first  month,  the  Jews  every  three  years 
intercalated  a  thirteenth  month,  which  they  called 
Ve-adar ;  the  second  Adar.  By  this  means  their 
lunar  year  equalled  the  solar ;  because  in  thirty-six 
solar  months  there  would  be  thirty-seven  lunar 
months.  The  Sanhedrim  regulated  this  intercalation, 
and  the  thirteenth  month  was  placed  between  Adar 
and  Nisan  ;  so  that  the  passover  was  always  celebrat- 
ed the  fii-st  full  moon  after  the  equinox. 

MOON.  The  Lord  created  the  sun  and  the  moon 
on  the  fourth  day  of  the  world,  to  preside  over  day 
and  night,  and  to  distinguish  times  and  seasons,  Gen. 
i.  1.5,  16.  As  the  sun  presides  over  day,  so  the  moon 
presides  over  night  ;  the  sun  regulates  the  course  of 
a  year,  the  moon  the  course  of  a  month  ;  the  sun  is, 
as  it  were,  king  of  the  host  of  heaven,  the  moon  is 
queen.  The  moon  was  appointed  for  the  distinction 
of  seasons,  of  festival  days,  and  days  of  assembling. 
Gen.  i.  14  ;  Ps.  civ.  19.  For  the  days  of  the  New 
Moon,  see  Neomenia. 

We  do  not  know  whether  the  Hebrews  understood 
the  theory  of  lunar  eclipses  ;  but  they  always  speak  of 
them  in  terms  which  intimate  that  they  considered 
them  as  wonders,  and  as  eftects  of  the  power  and 
wrath  of  God.  When  the  prophets  speak  of  the 
destruction  of  empires,  they  often  say,  that  the  sun 
shall  be  covered  with  darkness ;  the  moon  withdraw 
her  light ;  and  the  stars  fall  from  heaven,  Isa.  xiii. 
10  ;  xxiv.  23  ;  Ezek.  xxxii.  7,  8  ;  Joel  ii.  10  ;  iii.  15. 
But  we  cannot  perceive  that  there  is  any  direct  men- 
tion of  an  eclipse. 

Among  the  orientals  in  general,  and  the  Hebrews 
in  particular,  the  worship  of  the  moon  was  more 
extensive,  and  more  famous  than  that  of  the  sun. 
In  Deut.  iv.  19  ;  xvii.  3,  Moses  bids  the  Israelites  take 
care,  when  they  see  the  sun,  the  moon,  the  stars,  and 
the  host  of  heaven,  not  to  pay  them  any  superstitious 
worship,  because  they  were  only  creatures  appointed 
for  the  service  of  all  nations  under  heaven.  Job 
(xxxi.  26,  27.)  also  speaks  of  the  same  worship :  "  If 
I  beheld  the  sun  when  it  shined,  or  the  moon  walk- 
ing in  brightness,  and  my  heart  hath  been  secretly 
enticed,  or  my  mouth  hath  kissed  my  hand,"  as  a 
token  of  adoration.  The  Hebrews  worshipped  the 
moon,  by  the  name  of  Meni,  of  Astartc,  of  the  god- 
dess of  the  groves,  of  the  queen  of  heaven,  &.c.  (But 
see  under  Astaroth  I.)  The  Syrians  adored  her  as 
Astarte,  Urania,  or  Coelestis  ;  the  Arabians  as  Alilat ; 
the  Egyptians  as  Isis  ;  the  Greeks  as  Diana,  Venus, 
Juno,  Hecate,  Bellona,  Minerva,  &c.  Macrobius  and 
Julius  Firmicus  acquaint  us,  that  men  dressed  like 


women,  and  women  dressed  like  men,  sacrificed  to 
the  moon.  Maimonides  thinks,  that  Moses  intended 
to  forbid  this,  when  he  prohibited  the  sexes  from  ex- 
change of  habits.  The  moon  was  worshipped  as  a 
god,  and  not  as  a  goddess,  in  Syria,  Mesopotamia 
and  Armenia.  The  Sepharvites  called  her  Aname- 
lech,  the  gracious  king.  Strabo  calls  her  Meen  ;  as 
does  Isaiah,  Ixv.  11.  She  was  represented  clothed 
like  a  man  ;  and  there  are  medals  extant,  on  which 
she  is  represented  in  the  habit  and  form  of  a  man 
armed,  having  a  cock  at  his  feet,  covered  with  a 
Phrygian  or  Ai-menian  bonnet.  Spartian,  in  Cara- 
calla,  assures  us,  that  the  people  of  Charrce  in  Meso- 
potamia believed,  that  such  as  held  the  moon  for  a 
goddess,  would  be  always  in  subjection  to  their 
wives.  He  adds,  that  though  the  Greeks  and  Egyp- 
tians sometimes  called  her  goddess,  yet  they  always 
call  her  god  in  their  mysteries.  Several  sorts  of  sac- 
rifices were  offered  to  the  moon.  We  see  in  Isaiali 
Ixv.  11,  and  Jeremiah  vii.  18,  that  they  offered  to  her 
in  the  liigh  ways,  and  upon  the  roofs  of  their  houses, 
sacrifices  of  cakes,  and  similar  offerings.  Thus  the 
Greeks  honored  Hecate,  or  Trivia,  which  is  the 
moon.  Elsewhere  they  offered  to  her  hiunan  sacri- 
fices. Strabo  relates,  that  in  the  countries  bordering 
on  the  Araxes,  they  especially  worshipped  the  moon, 
who  had  there  a  famous  temple.  The  goddess  had 
several  slaves,  and  every  year  they  offered  one  of 
them  in  sacrifice  to  her,  after  having  fed  him  daintily 
the  whole  year  before.  Lucian  speaks  of  like  sacri- 
fices, offered  to  the  Sj'rian  goddess,  the  Dea  Coeles- 
tis, that  is,  the  moon.  Fathers  earned  their  children, 
tied  up  in  sacks,  to  the  top  of  the  porch  of  the  tem- 
ple, whence  they  threw  tlicm  down  upon  the  pave- 
ment ;  and  when  the  unfortunate  victims  moaned, 
the  fathers  would  answer,  that  they  were  not  their 
children,  but  young  calves. 

The  Jews  ascribed  different  effects  -to  the  moon. 
Moses  speaks  of  the  fruits  of  the  sun  and  the  moon, 
(Deut.  xxxiii.  14.)  these  being  considered  as  the  two 
causes  which  produce  the  fruits  of  the  earth.  Some 
commentators  think,  that  the  fruits  of  the  sun  are 
those  that  come  yearly,  as  wheat,  grapes,  &c. ;  and 
the  fruits  of  the  moon  those  that  may  be  gathered  at 
different  months  of  the  year,  as  cucumbers,  figs,  &c. 

MORASTHI,  the  country  of  the  prophet  Micah, 
east  of  Eleutheropolis,  Micah  i.  1 ;  Jer.  xxvi.  18.  See 
Maresuah. 

MORDECAI,  son  of  Jair,  of  the  raceof  Saul,  and 
a  chief  of  the  tribe  of  Benjamin.  He  was  carried 
captive  to  Babylon  by  Nebuchadnezzar,  with  Jehoi- 
acliin,  or  Jeconiah,  king  of  Judah,  A.  M.  4305 ; 
Esth.  ii.  5,  6.  He  settled  at  Shushan.  and  there  lived 
to  the  first  year  of  Cyrus,  when  it  is  thought  he  vis- 
ited Jerusalem,  with  several  other  captives;  but  af- 
terwards he  returned  to  Shushan.  Mordccai  had  a 
niece  called  Edcssa,  or  Esther,  the  daughter  of  his 
brother,  whom  he  had  adopted  and  brought  up  as  his. 
own  daughter,  after  the  death  of  his  brother.  After 
Esther  became  the  wife  of  Ahasuerus,  (see  Esther,) 
Mordecai  was  constant  at  the  palace  gate  to  learn 
news  of  the  queen.  During  his  attendance  there  he 
discovered  a  conspiracy  of  two  eunuchs  to  kill  the 
king;  his  service,  however,  was  registered  only,  and 
not  rewarded.  Ahasuerus  raising  Hainan  to  ho  his 
favorite,  Mordecai  refused  to  honor  him  ;  and  Haman 
resented  the  indignity  by  endeavoring  to  exterminate 
the  whole  Jewish  people,  for  which  he  obtained  a 
decree  from  the  king,  but  was  defeated  in  his  pur- 
pose by  Mordecai  and  Esther. 

It  is  evident  that   the  anxiety  of  Mordecai  for 


MORDECAl 


[681] 


MOR 


Esther  was  extreme  ;  but  we  cannot  fully  enter  into 
the  circumstance  of  his  walking  day  afler  day,  (chap. 
ii.  11.)  for  a  long  period  of  time,  probably  upwards  of 
a  year,  without  recollecting  the  extreme  vigilance 
with  which  the  harems  of  the  East  are  guarded.  On 
this  subject  Chardin  says;  "The  place  where  the 
women  are  shut  uj)  is  sacred,  especially  among  per- 
sons of  condition  ;  and  it  is  a  crime  for  any  jjerson 
whatever  to  be  inquiring  what  passes  within  those 
walls.  The  husband  has  there  an  absolute  authori- 
ty, without  being  obliged  to  give  any  account  of  his 
actions.  And  'tis  said,  that  there  are  most  bloody 
doings  in  those  places  sometimes,  and  that  poison 
despatches  a  world  of  people,  which  are  thought  to 
die  a  natural  death."  (p.  332.)  "I  could  not  learn 
what  was  done  more  the  rest  of  the  night ;  for  I  have 
already  informed  you  how  difficult  it  is  to  be  in- 
formed of  the  transactions  in  those  habitations,  that 
seem  to  be  regions  of  another  world.  There  are  none 
but  women  that  can  approach  within  a  league  of  it, 
or  some  black  eunuchs,  with  whom  a  man  may  as 
well  converse  as  with  so  many  dragons,  that  can  dis- 
cover those  secrets ;  and  you  may  as  well  tear  out 
their  hearts  as  a  syllable  upon  that  text.  •  You  must 
use  a  great  deal  of  art  to  make  them  speak ;  just  as 
we  tame  serpents  in  the  Indies,  till  they  make  them 
hiss  and  dance  when  they  please."  (p.  54.  Cor.  Soly- 
nian.) 

"  And  here  we  must  observe,  that  Hahas  the  sec- 
ond left  behind  him  two  sons ;  or,  at  least,  I  never 
heard  that  he  left  any  more,  nor  is  it  known  whether 
he  left  any  daughters  or  no.  For  what  is  done  in 
the  women's  apartment  is  a  mystery  concealed  even 
from  the  grandees  and  prime  ministers.  Or,  if  they 
know  any  thing,  it  is  merely  upon  the  account  of 
some  particular  relation  or  dependence  which  the 
secret  has  to  some  peculiar  affair,  which,  of  necessi- 
ty, must  be  imparted  to  their  knowledge.  For  my 
part,  I  have  sjiared  neither  pains  nor  cost  to  sift  out 
the  truth,  but  I  could  never  discover  any  more  ;  only, 
tiiat  they  believed  he  never  left  any  daughter  behind 
him  that  lived.  A  man  may  walk  a  hundred  days, 
one  after  another,  by  the  house  where  the  women  are, 
and  yet  know  no  more  what  is  done  therein,  than  at 
the  further  end  of  Tartary."  (p.  G.) 

We  learn  from  these  extracts,  (1.)  That  to  inquire 
what  passes  in  the  harem  is  a  crime.  (2.)  That  it  is 
possible,  "by  a  great  deal  of  art,"  and  iveighty  rea- 
sons, no  doubt,  to  make  the  black  eunuchs  "speak," 
on  some  occasions.  (3.)  That  a  man  may  walk  a 
hundred  days,  one  after  another,  yet  o!>tain  no  intel- 
ligence from  tlience.  (4.)  That  "  bloody  doings  "  are 
occasionally  transacted  there. 

These  hints  may  account  for  the  conduct  of  I\Ior- 
dccai,  who  ivalked  every  day  before  the  court  of  the 
ivomcii's  house,  to  gather  any  intelligence  that  might 
chance  to  come  within  his  cognizance,  respecting  his 
uiece.  An  English  reader  is  apt  to  say,  "  Why  did 
not  he  visit  her  at  once  ?"  or,  "To  be  sure,  when  he 
walked  before  the  court,  he  inquired  of  the  servants, 
and  they  told  him  as  a  matter  of  course."  No  :  he 
walked,  day  afler  day,  if  perchance  he  might  make 
some  of  these  "  dragons  "  in  any  degree  tractable.  In 
like  manner,  the  English  reader  may  sufipose,  that 
(chap.  ii.  22.)  when  "  Mordecai  told  Esther  the 
queen  "of  the  treason  of  the  king's  chamberlains,  he 
spoke  to  her  personally.  This,  however,  is  not  prob- 
able :  he  sent  her  the  intelligence  by  intervening 
agents.  And  when  Mordecai,  in  the  utmost  distress, 
wished  to  connnnnicate  with  Esther,  (chap.  iv.  2.) 
"  he  cried  with  a  loud  and  bitter  cry,  even  before  the 
8G 


king's  gate,"  which  was  the  only  means  left  lilm  of 
gaining  attention  from  the  attendants  of  the  place ; 
some  of  whom,  coming  out  to  him,  returned  and 
told  Esther,  who  was  too  far  oft' to  hear  him.  Esther 
sent  her  own  chamberlain,  Hatach,  (a  confidential 
person,  no  doubt,)  to  inquire  from  ftlordecai  himself 
the  cause  of  his  lamentation;  and,  by  means  of  Ha- 
tach, messages  [)assed  between  them,  which  agrees 
with  what  Chardin  says,  that  it  is  possible  on  urgent 
occasions  to  make  these  officers  "s])eak."  We  learn, 
also,  that  there  are  "  bloody  doings  "  in  the  harem  ; 
this  agn!es  with  the  remark  of  Mordecai,  (chap.  iv. 
13.)  "Think  not  that  thou  shall  escape  mi  the  A'lJJg'* 
house,  more  than  all  the  Jews."  He  certainly  means 
that  llaman  would  procure  her  death,  even  in  the 
harem. 

MORIAH,  a  mountain  upon  which  the  tem])le  of 
Jerusalem  was  built  by  king  Solomon,  2  Chron.  iii. 
1.  It  is  thought  this  was  the  place  whei'e  Abraham 
intended  to  ofter  up  his  son  Isaac,  (Gen.  xxii.  2,  14.) 
though  this  supposition  is  attended  with  some  diffi- 
culties. Instead  of  Moriah,  the  Samaritan  reads 
Moreh,  in  Genesis,  as  if  God  sent  Abraham  near  to 
Sichem,  where  certainly  was  a  Moreh,  Gen.  xii.  6  ; 
Deut.  xi.  30. 

The  name  of  Moriah  is  thought  to  be  derived  from 
a  root  implying  height,  or  elevation  ;  and  it  is  certahi, 
from  the  descriptions  given  of  Jerusalem,  that  it 
stands  on  the  highest  hill  in  the  neighborhood,  and 
is  seen  from  a  great  distance.  It  is  probable,  there- 
fore, that  the  idea  of  being  seen  from  far,  as  if  it  lijled 
itself  tip,  is  included  in  the  name  Moriah,  which  we 
may  observe  is  in  the  feminine.  Probably  there  is  a 
reference  to  this  in  those  prophets,  who  say.  The 
mountain  of  the  Lord's  temple  shall  beexahed  above 
the  (surroimding)  hills,  and  all  nations  shall  flow  to 
it,  Isa.  ii.  2  ;  Mic.  iv.  1.     See  Jerusalem. 

MORROW.  The  word  morrow  denotes  the  next 
succeeding  period  of  light,  which  commences  a  little 
before  the  rising  of  tlie  sun,  and  is  opposed  to  the 
preceding  period  of  darkness,  as  day  is  to  night. 
The  Hebrew  term  J/d/i(/r,  rendered  J1/o?to«',  signifies 
the  exchange  of  one  thing  for  another.  Light  was 
given  instead  of  the  preceding  hours  of  darkness  ; 
during  which  the  Spirit  of  God  moved  upon  the  face 
of  the  waters.  Gen.  i.  2.  The  idea  of  the  Hebrews,  un- 
der the  word  Mdhdr,  may  be  further  understood  from 
the  two  following  passages: — "And  the  people  stood 
up  all  that  day,  and  all  night,  and  all  day  on  the  bior- 
Rov/  :"  which  phrase  our  translation  I'enders  cdl  the 
next  day,  (Numb.  xi.  32.)  as  opposed  to  night.  "Rut 
God  prepared  a  woini  {71  the  risiufr  of  the  dmvnforthe 
7norroiv,'"  or  against  the  morrow,  which  is,  in  our 
translation,  when  the  mcrroiv  rose  the  next  day,  Jonah 
iv.  7.  This  ]>lirase  shows  that  the  Hebrew  morroto 
did  not  commence  before  the  light.  The  Anglo- 
Saxon  moiroiv  is,  no  doubt,  derived  from  the  eastern 
Mdhdr  ;  and  as  it  is  evident  from  Tacitus  and  Julius 
C.Tsar,  that  both  the  Germans  and  the  Gauls  com- 
puted time  in  the  meuner  of  the  Hebrews,  and  other 
eastern  nations,  there  is  the  greater  reason  for  sup- 
posing that  our  ancestors  used  the  word  morroio  ac- 
cording to  the  idea  of  the  Hebrew  Mdhdr.  The 
Anglo-Saxon  to  morgen,  our  to-moiroio,  is  found  in 
the  following  passages:  Exod.  vii.  15  ;  viii.  23  ;  xvi. 
23 ;  xvii.  9  ;  xxxii.  5  ;  xxxiv.  2  ;  Numb.  xi.  18 ;  3Iatt. 
vi.  30  ;  Luke  xiii.  32,  33,  &c. 

MORTAR.  There  is  a  ren)arkab]e  passage  m 
Prov.  xxvii.  22,  "Though  thou  shouldest  bray  a  fool 
in  a  mortar  among  wheat,  with  a  ])estle,  yet  will  not 
his  foolishness  depart  from  him."     The  mode  of 


MOS 


[  68Q  ] 


MOSES 


puuishiiieiit  here  referred  to  may  be  proved  to  exist 
in  the  East,  by  positive  testimony. 

"Fanaticism  has  enacted,  in  Turkey,  in  favor  of 
the  Ulemas,  [or  body  of  lawyers,]  that  their  goods 
shall  never  be  confiscated,  nor  themselves  put  to 
death,  but  by  being  bruised  in  a  mortar.  The  honor 
of  being  treated  in  so  distinguished  a  manner,  may 
not,  perhaps,  be  sensibly  felt  by  every  one  ;  examples 
are  rare  ;  yet  the  insolence  of  the  Mufti  irritated  sul- 
tan Osman  to  such  a  degree,  that  he  ordered  the  mor- 
tars to  be  replaced,  which,  having  been  long  neglect- 
ed, had  been  thrown  down,  and  almost  covered  with 
earth.  This  order  alone  produced  a  surprising 
effect :  the  body  of  Ulemas,  justly  terrifietl,  submit- 
ted." (Baron  du  Tott,  vol.  i.  p.' 28.)  "As  for  the 
guards  of  the  Towers,  who  had  let  prince  Coreskie 
[a  prisoner]  escape,  some  of  them  were  empayled, 
and  some  were  pounded,  or  beaten  to  pieces,  in  great 
mortars  of  yron,  wherein  they  doe  vsually  pound  their 
rice,  to  reduce  it  to  meale.^'  (Knolles's  History  of  the 
Turks,  p.  1374.) 

This  last  quotation  is  the  very  case  in  point ;  ex- 
cept that  Solomon  seems  to  suppose  the  fool  was 
pounded  together  with  the  wheat ;  whereas,  in  this 
instance,  the  guards  were  beaten  to  death,  certainly, 
without  any  such  accompaniment. 

"  The  3Iahometans  consider  this  office  as  so  im- 
portant, and  entitled  to  such  reverence,  that  the  per- 
son of  a  pacha,  who  acquits  himself  well  in  it,  be- 
comes inviolable,  even  by  the  sultan  :  it  is  no  longer 
permitted  to  shed  his  blood.  But  the  divan  has  in- 
vented a  method  of  satisfying  its  vengeance  on  those 
who  are  protected  by  this  privilege,  without  depart- 
ing from  the  literal  expression  of  the  law,  by  ordering 
them  to  be  pounded  in  a  mortar,  ....  of  which  there 
have  been  various  instances."  (Volney,  vol.  ii.  p.  250.) 
MOSERAH,  or  3Io^eroth,  (Numb,  xxxii.  30.)  a 
station  of  tiie  Israelites,  near  mount  Hor.  Burck- 
hardt  mentions  a  valley  east  of  mount  Hor,  called 
Wady  Mousa,  which  is  perhaps  a  corruption  of  Mo- 
serah.     See  Exodus,  p.  418,  and  Aaron,  p.  2.  - 

MOSES,  son  of  Amram  and  Jochebed,  of  the 
tribe  of  Levi,  was  born  in  Egypt,  A.  M.  2433.  In 
consequence  of  the  decree  of  Pharaoh  for  putting  the 
male  children  of  the  Hebrews  to  death,  he  was  put 
into  a  kind  of  vessel  made  of  rushes,  and  laid  on  the 
banks  of  tlie  Nile.  Here  he  was  found  by  the  daugh- 
ter of  Pharaoh,  and  placed  unknowingly  with  his 
mother  to  be  nursed,  Exod.  ii.  1 — 9. 

The  princess  named  the  infant  Moses,  [saved  oat 
of  the  water,)  and  adopted  him  for  her  son.  Acts  vii. 
22.  His  own  parents,  however,  who  brought  him 
up,  instructed  him  in  the  religion  and  expectations 
of  his  forefathers;  so  that,  when  grown  up,  he  pre- 
ferred rather  to  partake  with  his  people  in  their 
afflictions,  than  to  share  in  the  pleasures  of  a  court, 
Heb.  xi.  24—26. 

Moses  relates  his  own  stoiy  with  great  simplicity, 
thus  :  (Exod.  ii.)  Being  gi-own  up  he  visited  his  breth- 
ren, and  seeing  an  Egjptian  oppressing  a  Hebrew, 
ho  vindicated  him,  slew  the  Egyptian,  and  hid  his 
body  in  the  sand.  The  transaction  becoming  known, 
Pharaoh  sought  for  iMoscs  to  put  him  to  death  ;  but 
he  fled  into  the  country  of  Midian,  in  Arabia  Petra;a, 
south  of  mount  Sinai  ;  where  he  married  Zipporah' 
a  daughter  of  Jethro,  priest  or  prince  of  Midian. 

Moses,  employed  in  feeding  the  sheep  of  Jethro, 
one  day  came  to  the  mountain  of  Horeb,  whore  the 
Lord  appeared  to  him  in  a  l)urning  busli,  and  com- 
missioned him,  notwithstanding  his  reluctance  and 
hesitation,  to  deliver  his  peopk;  Israel.     See  Aaron. 


Being  arrived  in  Egypt,  Moses  and  Aaron  carried 
their  message  to  Pharaoh,  and  demanded  permission 
for  the  Hebrews  to  go  three  days'  journey  into  the 
desert  of  Arabia,  to  offer  sacrifices  to  the  Lord.  Pha- 
raoh refused,  and  augmented  the  burdens  of  the  peo- 
ple, who  complained  to  Moses,  and  he  to  the  Lord. 
The  ten  plagues  followed  ;  and  at  midnight  on  the 
fourteenth  day  of  Abib,  or  Nisan,  Moses  led  his  peo- 
ple out  of  Egypt.     See  Exodus. 

Arrived  in  the  Avilderness  of  Sin,  or  Zin,  between 
Elim  and  Sinai,  the  multitude,  tii-ed  with  the  length 
of  their  journey,  began  to  murmur  against  Moses, 
saying,  "  Would  to  God  we  had  died  in  Egj'pt,  where 
we  sat  at  the  flesh-pots,  and  where  we  ate  bread  in 
abundance  !  "  The  Lord  promised  to  rain  food  from 
heaven  ;  of  which  Moses  informed  the  people,  and 
that  very  evening  the  camp  of  Israel  was  covered 
with  quails,  brought  thither  by  the  wind.  The  next 
(uorningthey  saw  all  round  the  camp  a  kind  of  hoar- 
frost, or  little  grains,  of  the  color  of  bdellium,  and  of 
the  shape  of  coriander-seeds ;  the  manna.  (See 
Manna.)  JMoses  bade  Aaron  to  fill  an  omer  with 
manna,  and  to  lay  it  up  before  the  Lord  ;  to  remain 
as  a  moninnent  to  future  generations. 

At  Rephidim,  the  people,  in  want  of  water,  mui-- 
mured  against  Moses;  but  the  Lord, by  his  ministry, 
drew  them  water  out  of  the  rock  of  Horeb.  The 
Amalekites  attacking  Israel,  Moses  sent  Joshua 
against  them  ;  he  himself,  at  the  same  time,  with 
Aaron  and  Hur,  being  on  an  eminence,  whence  they 
could  see  the  engagement.  While  Moses  held  up 
his  hands  toward  heaven,  Joshua  had  the  advantage 
over  the  enemy  ;  but  when  he  held  them  down,  the 
Amalekites  prevailed.  Aaron  and  Hur,  therefore,  put 
stones  under  him,  that  he  might  sit  down,  while  each 
of  them  supported  his  arms,  that  he  might  not  be 
tired.  So  the  Amalekites  were  entirely  defeated. 
The  Lord  desired  Moses  to  write  an  account  of  this 
action  in  a  book,  and  to  instruct  Joshua  concerning 
it,  he  having  determined  utterly  to  destroy  the 
memoiy  of  Amalek  from  under  heaven.  On  the 
third  day  of  the  third  month  from  their  coming  out 
of  Egypt,  they  arrived  at  the  foot  of  mount  Sinai, 
where  they  continued  a  year :  here  Moses  was  the 
mediator  of  a  covenant  between  God  and  his  people. 
See  Law. 

Coming  down  from  the  mountain,  Moses  declaied 
to  the  people  the  laws  he  had  received,  and  the  arti- 
cles of  the  covenant  that  the  Lord  would  make  with 
them.  The  people  answering,  that  they  would  per- 
form whatever  the  Lord  enjoined,  Moses  erected  an 
altar  of  unhewn  stones,  at  the  foot  of  the  mountain, 
and  twelve  monuments,  or  twelve  other  altars,  in  the 
name  of  the  twelve  tribes  of  Israel.  Having  offered 
sacrifices  and  peace-offerings,  he  took  the  blood  of 
the  victims,  poured  half  upon  the  altar,  and  the  other 
half  into  cups,  and  having  read  to  the  people  the  or- 
dinances he  had  received  from  the  Lord,  and  which 
he  had  written  in  a  book,  he  sprinkled  all  the  people 
with  the  blood  that  was  in  the  cups.  Thus  was 
concluded  the  solemn  and  celebrated  covenant  be- 
tween the  Lord  and  the  children  of  Israel. 

The  Lord  then  commanded  Moses  to  come  up 
again  into  the  mountain,  and  to  bring  with  hizn 
Joshua,  his  servant,  that  he  might  instruct  him  in  all 
which  he  would  have  observed  by  the  priests  or 
people,  in  the  public  exercise  of  religion  ;  all  the  parts 
of  which  he  distinctly  aj)pointed.  Descending  from 
the  mount,  Joshua  heard  the  shouts  and  rejoicings 
of  the  people,  as  if  of  an  engagement  with  an  enemy. 
But  Moses  observed  that  it  was  not  the  sound  of  an 


MOSES 


[  683  ] 


MOSES 


alarm,  but  cries  of  joy.  When  they  approached  the 
camp,  they  saw  the  golden  calf,  which  had  been 
made,  (see  Calf,)  and  the  people  singing  and  danc- 
ing about  it.  Moses  indignantly  threw  down  the 
tables  of  stone  he  held  in  his  hands,  and  broke  them  ; 
and  taking  the  calf,  he  reduced  it  to  powder,  and 
scattered  it  into  the  water,  which  he  made  all  the 
congregation  drink  of.  Moses  severely  rebuked 
Aaron  ;  and,  standing  at  the  entrance  of  the  camp, 
he  proclaimed,  "Whoever  is  for  the  Lord,  let  him 
join  himself  to  me."  AH  the  children  of  Levi  as- 
sembhng  about  him,  he  said,  "  Thus  salih  the  Lord, 
Let  every  one  of  you  take  his  sword,  and  let  him  go 
from  j^ate  to  gate,  across  the  camp,  and  slay  even  to 
his  brother,  his  friend,  or  his  kinsman."  They  did 
so,  and  that  day  there  were  slain  about  3000  people. 

The  next  day  Moses  remonstrated  to  the  people  on 
the  heinousness  of  their  shi ;  but  told  them  he  would 
again  ascend  the  mountain,  and  endeavor  to  obtain 
forgiveness  for  them.  He  went  up  and  entreated 
the  Lord  to  pardon  them ;  or  otherwise,  he  begged 
that  he  himself  might  be  blotted  out  of  the  book  of 
the  Lord.  (See  Book.)  He  also  desired  another 
favor,  wiiich  was,  that  he  might  see  his  glory.  The 
Lord  answered  him,  that  he  could  not  see  his  face, 
for  no  man  could  support  that  sight ;  but  that  he 
would  pass  before  the  opening  of  the  rock,  where  he 
might  hear  his  name,  and  see  his  train,  as  he  passed 
along. 

Allerwards,  Moses  went  up  into  the  mountain, 
and  carried  new  tables  of  stone.  There  God  re- 
newed the  decalogue,  and  gave  several  other  com- 
mandments. After  forty  days  and  forty  nights,  he 
came  down,  bringing  the  two  tables  of  testimony 
with  him,  and  caused  proclamation  to  be  made,  that 
whoever  had  any  valuable  metals,  or  precious  stones, 
thread,  wool,  furs,  or  fine  wood,  fit  for  the  taber- 
nacle, might  offer  them  to  the  Lord.  The  Lord 
commanded  also,  tiiat  each  Israelite  should  contrib- 
ute half  a  shekel ;  (about  25  cents ;)  and  that  this 
contribution  might  be  regularly  raised,  Moses  took 
an  account  of  the  people,  from  twenty  years  old  and 
upwards;  of  whom  there  were  found  603,550,  each 
of  which  paying  a  bekah  or  half  shekel,  the  sum 
amounted  to  100  talents  of  silver  and  1775  shekels, 
or  about  $*150,000.  Six  whole  months  they  worked 
at  the  tabernacle,  that  is,  from  the  sixth  month  of  the 
holy  year,  after  their  leaving  Egypt,  A.  M.  2513,  to 
the  first  day  of  the  first  month  of  the  following  year, 
2514.  On  the  first  day  of  Nisan,  (April  21,  according 
to  Usher,)  the  tabernacle  of  the  congregation  was  set 
up,  and  filled  with  the  glory  of  the  Lord,  and  on  the 
fourteenth,  the  Israelites  celebrated  the  second  pass- 
over  from  their  coming  out  of  Egypt.  About  this 
time,  31  OSes  published  the  laws  contained  in  the  first 
seven  chapters  of  Leviticus,  consecrated  Aaron  and 
his  sons,  and  dedicated  the  tabernacle  with  all  its 
vessels. 

The  first  day  of  the  second  month  of  this  year, 
Moses  took  a  second  account  of  the  people,  in  Avhich 
the  Levites  were  reckoned  apart,  and  appointed  to 
the  service  of  the  tabernacle.  The  princes  of  the 
tribes  made  their  offerings  to  the  tabernacle,  each  ac- 
cording to  his  rank,  and  on  his  day,  during  the  twelve 
days  of  the  dedication  and  consecration  of  this  holy 
place.  Lastly,  and  about  this  time,  Moses  made  sev- 
eral ordinances  relating  to  the  purity  to  be  observed 
in  holy  things,  and  the  manner  of  approaching  the 
tabernacle. 

About  the  end  of  the  year,  Jethro,  the  father-in- 
law  of  Moses,  brought  him  his  wife  Zipporah,  and 


his  two  sons,  Gershom  and  Eliezer.  Moses  received 
him  with  all  respect,  and  by  his  persuasion  commis- 
sioned judges  to  assist  in  accommodating  differences, 
and  minor  suits.  On  the  arrival  of  Zipporah  in  the 
camp,  Aaron,  and  Miriam  his  sister,  spoke  against 
Moses,  because  his  wife  was  an  Ethiopian  ;  but  the 
Lord  interposed  in  behalf  of  Moses,  who  was  the 
meekest  man  upon  earth.     See  Aarojj. 

It  is  not  easy  to  determine,  whether  the  sedition 
of  Korah,  Dathan  and  Abiram  happened  after  the 
arrival  of  the  Hebrews  at  Kadesh-barnca,  or  before. 
(See  Korah.)  At  Kadesh,  where  Miriam  died,  the 
people  murmured  for  water,  which  Moses  and  Aaron 
supplied,  by  causing  it  to  gush  out  of  a  rock.  But 
as  they  showed  some  distrust  in  the  Lord,  he  con- 
demned them  to  die  in  the  wilderness,  without  en- 
tering the  Land  of  promise.  Hence  they  called  this 
encampment  Meribah,  or  waters  of  contradiction. 
At  Zalmonah,  it  is  thought  Moses  erected  the  brazen 
serpent,  to  heal  those  who  had  been  bitten  by  fiery 
serpents.  Being  come  to  mount  Pisgah,  in  the  des- 
ert of  Kedemoth,  he  despatched  ambassadors  to 
Sihon,  king  of  the  Amorites,  to  solicit  a  passage 
through  his  country,  which  being  refused,  Moses 
gave  him  battle,  overcame  him,  and  took  all  his  ter- 
ritories. Some  time  afterwards,  Og,  king  of  Bashan, 
marched  against  Moses,  and  fought  with  him ;  but 
he  was  conquered  and  his  country  taken. 

While  encamped  in  the  plains  of  Moab,  at  Shittim, 
Balak,  king  of  Moab,  invited  Balaam  to  come  and 
curse  Israel.  But  the  sorcerer  having  rather  blessed 
than  cursed  them,  he  sent  the  daughters  of  Moab 
into  the  camp,  to  tempt  them  to  idolatry  and  forni- 
cation. This  wicked  counsel  had  the  desired  effect ; 
but  Moses  put  to  death  all  who  had  abandoned  them- 
selves to  the  worship  of  Baal-peor,  to  the  number  of 
23,000,  besides  1000  others  who  were  executed  by 
the  judges.  After  this,  the  Lord  commanded  JMoses 
to  make  war  against  the  Midianites,  who  had  sent 
their  daughters,  with  those  of  3Ioab,  to  debauch  Is- 
rael. Phinehas  was  appointed  chief  of  the  expedition, 
with  12,000  chosen  men,  who  routed  the  Midianites. 

On  the  first  day  of  the  eleventh  month  of  the  for- 
tieth year  after  the  coming  out  of  Egypt,  Moses,  be- 
ing in  the  fields  of  Moab,  and  knowing  that  he  was 
not  to  pass  over  Jordan,  made  a  long  discourse  to 
the  people,  recapitulating  all  he  had  done,  and  all 
that  had  happened  from  the  coming  out  of  Egypt. 
He  set  before  them  the  happiness  that  would  attend 
their  constancy  and  fidelity,  and  the  calamities  which 
would  punish  their  prevarication.  He  put  into  the 
hands  of  the  priests  and  elders  a  copy  of  the  law, 
with  an  injunction  to  have  it  read  solemnly  every 
seventh  year  in  a  general  assembly  of  the  nation. 
He  composed  an  excellent  canticle  or  poem,  in  which 
he  exclaimed  against  their  future  iufidelitj',  and 
threatened  them  with  all  the  evils  that  in  after-ages 
came  upon  them.  A  little  before  his  death,  he  an- 
nexed to  each  of  the  tribes  a  particular  blessing,  in 
which  he  mingled  several  prophecies  and  predic- 
tions. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  twelfth  month,  the  Lord 
commanded  him  to  ascend  mount  Nebo,  where  he 
obtained  a  view  of  the  country,  both  on  this  side 
and  beyond  Jordan.  "So  Moses,  the  servant  of 
the  Lord,  died  there  in  the  land  of  INIoab,  over  against 
Beth-peor  ;  but  no  man  knoweth  of  his  sepulchre  un- 
to this  day.  And  Moses  was  120  years  old  when  he 
died :  his  eye  was  not  dim  nor  his  natural  force  abat- 
ed. And  the  children  of  Israel  wept  for  Mosea  in 
the  plain  of  Moab  thirty  days."     It  is  added,  "There 


MOSES 


[  684  ] 


MOU 


arose  not  a  prophet  since  like  unto  Moses,  whom  the 
Lord  knew  face  to  face  :  in  all  the  signs  and  wonr 
ders  which  the  Lord  sent  him  to  do  in  the  land  of 
Eo-ypt,  to  Pharaoh,  and  to  all  his  servants,  and  to  his 
land:  and  in  all  that  mighty  hand,  and  in  all  the 
great  terror  which  Moses  showed  in  the  sight  of 
all  Israel." 

Moses  is  the  most  ancient  writer  of  whom  there 
remain  any  authentic  works.  He  has  left  us  the 
Pentateuch,  or  the  five  books— Genesis,  Exodus, 
Leviticus,  Numbers  and  Deuteronomy— which  were 
probably  not  originally  separate  works,  as  we  find 
them  now.  These  books  are  acknowledged  as  au- 
thentic and  inspired,  by  both  Jews  and  Christians. 
Some  difficulties  have  been  started  aboiU  their  author, 
because  a  few  later  passages  have  been  inserted.  But 
these  additions  make  no  alteration  in  the  sense :  they 
are  by  way  of  illustration  only.     Sec  Bibt.e. 

In  addition  to  the  Pentateuch,  tlie  Jews  ascribe  to 
Moses  eleven  Psalms,  from  ac.  to  c. ;  but  there  is  no 
sufficient  proof  that  these  were  all  written  by  him. 
The  greater  part  of  the  titles  of  the  Psalms  are  not 
original,  nor  indeed  very  ancient,  and  some  of  tliem 
are^vrongly  placed.  Besides,  in  these  Psalms  we  find 
the  names  of  persons,  and  other  marks,  tliat  by  no 
means  agree  with  Moses. 

Some  of  the  ancients  believe  that  Moses  was  the 
author  of  the  book  of  Job.  Origen  is  of  opinion, 
that  he  translated  it  out  of  Syriac,  or  Arabic,  into 
Hebrew ;  in  which  he  is  followed  by  many  of  the 
moderns. 

As  to  the  death  and  burial  of  Moses,  many  diffi- 
culties have  been  raised.  Scripture  tells  us  express- 
ly, that  IVIoses  died,  according  to  the  word  of  the 
Lord,  Deut.  ult.  5,  6.  But  as  the  Hebrew  (n^ni  ^o-h-;) 
literally  imports,  upon  the  mouth  of  the  Lord,  the 
rabbins  have  imagined  that  the  Lord  took  away  his 
soul  by  a  kiss.  Others  have  maintained  that  he  did 
not  die  ;  and  some  have  supposed  that  he  was  trans- 
lated into  heaven. 

The  rabbins  do  not  content  themselves  with  the 
miracles  that  Scripture  relates  of  Moses,  but  add 
many  particulars  of  a  spurious  description ;  as,  for 
example,  that  he  was  born  circumcised  ;  that  the 
daughter  of  Pharaoh,  who  found  him  on  the  banks 
of  the  Nile,  was  leprous,  and  that  as  soon  as  she 
touched  the  ark  in  which  the  infant  lay,  she  was  im- 
mediately cured  ;  that  when  it  was  known  to  Pha- 
raoh that  Moses  had  killed  an  Egyptian,  he  con- 
demned him  to  lose  his  head;  but  God  permitted 
that  his  neck  should  become  as  hard  as  a  pillar  of 
marble,  and  the  rebound  of  the  sword  killed  the  ex- 
ecutioner. 

The  history  of  Moses  was  so  famous,  for  many 
ages,  in  almost  all  countries,  that  it  is  no  wonder  writ- 
ers of  dift'erent  nations  have  each  represented  it 
after  his  own  manner.  The  orientals,  the  ancient  Gre- 
cians, ttie  Egyptians,  the  Chaldeans,  the  Romans, 
have  all  made  additions  to  his  history.  Some  of 
them  have  improvefl  on  the  miracles  that  the  Scrip- 
ture relates  concerning  his  life  ;  others  have  dis- 
guised his  story  by  adding  to  it  not  only  fiilse,  but 
mean  and  trifling,  circumstances,  of  which  we  have 
just  given  a  specimen.  Tlie  character  and  life  of 
this  legislator  is,  however,  one  of  tlie  fiiu'st  subjects 
for  the  pen  of  a  philosophical  historian,  who  is  at  the 
same  time  a  competent  aiiti(]uary. 

His  institutes  have  not  only  lieen  maintained  for 
several  thousands  of  years,  and  by  Jews,  however 
dispersed  in  all  parts  of  the  globe,  but  they  retain  a 
vigor  that  promises  a  perpetuity,  unless  disturbed  by 


some  omnipotent  interference.  They  have  with- 
stood the  fiiry  of  persecution,  and  the  more  danger- 
ous snares  of  seduction.  They  are  essentially  the 
same  in  China  and  in  India  as  in  Persia  and  in  Eu- 
rope. They  may  have  been  neglected,  they  may 
have  been  interpolated,  they  may  have  been  abused, 
yet  they  are  the  same.  Nor  is  the  nation  insensible 
to  its  relation  in  all  its  branches :  the  priucii)le  of 
consanguinity  is  allowed  and  felt  throughout.  It  is 
impossible  not  to  discern  the  hand  of  Providence  in 
the  fete  of  this  pooj)le.  To  assign  too  positively  the 
termination  of  the  Mosaic  institutions,  were  rash  ; 
for  even  supposing  the  general  conversion  of  the 
body  of  the  Jewish  nation  to  Christianity,  it  does  not 
follow  that  every  rite  established  under  the  Mosaic 
economy,  should  absolutely  cease  and  determine. 

MOTE,  see  Eye. 

MOTH,  an  insect  which  fiies  by  night,  and  of 
which  there  arc  many  kinds.  As  some  of  them  are 
particularly  attached  to  woollen  cloth,  which  they 
consume,  «&e.  they  are  alluded  to  in  Scripture  under 
that  description.  Job  xiii.  28;  Isa.  1.9;  Jam.  v.  9. 
The  moth  is,  as  it  were,  a  night  butterfly,  and  is  dis- 
tinguished from  the  day  butterfly  by  having  its  an- 
tennre,  or  horns,  sharp-pointed,  not  tufted.  In  Job 
iv.  19,  we  read,  "  How  much  less  in  them  v/ho  dwell 
in  houses  of  clay,  whose  foundation  is  in  the  dust ; 
which  are  crushed  before  the  moth."  The  Hebrew 
ry,  oslt,  is  employed  to  describe  the  moth  in  other 
passages  of  this  poem,  as  ch.  xiii.  28 ;  xxvii.  18.  and 
elsewhere.  This  creature  is  usually  taken  for  the 
moth  whicli  consumes  clothes  and  wool,  by  reducing 
them  to  a  dust  and  powder.  But,  perhaps,  it  is  more 
properly  a  moth-worm,  for  the  moth  itself  is  called 
CD,  ses,  and  is  joined  with  vy,  osh,  in  Isaiah  li.  8.  This 
inoth-worm  is  one  state  of  the  creature,  which  first  is 
enclosed  in  an  egg,  whence  it  issues  a  worm ;  after 
a  time  it  quits  this  worm  state,  to  assume  that  of  the 
complete  insect,  or  moth.  It  cannot  be,  then,  to  a 
moth  flying  against  a  house  and  oversetting  it,  (as 
Mr.  Harvey  conjectured,)  that  tliis  comparison  is  in- 
tended ;  but  to  the  gradual  consumption  of  the  dwell- 
ing of  the  worm  by  its  erosion;  q.  d.  "As  the 
habitation  of  a  worm  is  consumed  by  its  inhabitant, 
so  is  the  person  of  man :  it  is  no  more  capable  of 
resisting  disease  than  a  woollen  cloth  is  cajiable  of 
resisting  decay,  when  devoured  and  demolished  by 
the  worm  appointed  to  it ;"  otherwise,  "Crushed  as  a 
feeble  and  contemptible  insect  is  crushed  ;  as  wc 
crush  a  moth-worm,  without  reluctance  or  com- 
punction." 

MOTHER.  This  word  is  sometimes  used  for  a 
metropolis,  the  capital  city  of  a  country,  or  of  a 
tribe  ;  and  sometimes  for  a  whole  people,  2  Sam.  xx. 
19.  The  synagogue  is  the  mother  of  the  Jews,  as 
the  church  is  of  Christians.  Isaiah  asks,  (I.  L) 
"  Where  is  the  bill  of  your  mother's  divorcement, 
whom  I  have  yiiit  away?"  that  is,  of  the  synagogue  ; 
and  Paul,  (Gal.  iv.  20.)  says,  "Jerusalem  which  is 
above,  is  free,  which  is  the  mother  of  us  all."  The 
great  Babylon,  that  is^  Rome,  is  called  in  the  Rev- 
elation, "the  mother  of  harlots  and  abominations  of 
the  earth,"  that  is,  of  idolatry.  Rev.  xvii,  5. 

A  mother  in  Israel  signifies  a  brave  woman,  whom 
God  uses  to  deliver  his  peojile.  This  name  is  given 
to  Deborah,  Jtidg.  v.  7.  Wisdom  calls  herself  the 
mother  of  chaste  love.  The  earth,  to  which  at  our 
death  we  must  all  return,  is  called  the  mother  of  all 
men,  Ecclus.  xl.  1. 

MOUNTAINS.  Judea  is  a  mountainous  coun- 
try, but  the  mountains  are  generally  beautiful,  fruit- 


MOU 


I  685  ] 


MOU 


fill  and  cultivaterl.  Moses  says,  (Deut.  xxxii.  13.)  that 
the  rocks  of  its  mountains  produce  oil  and  honey, 
by  a  figure  of  speech,  which  elegantly  shows  their 
fertility.  He  says,  (Dcut.  viii.  7,  [).)  that  in  the  moun- 
tains of  Palestine  spring  excellent  fountains;  and 
that  their  bowels  yield  iron  and  l)rass.  He  desired 
earnestly  of  the  Lord,  that  he  might  see  the  fine 
nioiuitains  of  Judea  and  Libanus,  Deut.  iii.  25.  The 
most  famous  mountains  mentioned  in  Scripture  are, 
Seir  in  Idumea — Horeb,  near  Sinai,  in  Arabia  Pe- 
trrea — Sinai,  in  Arabia  Petrsea — Hor,  in  Idnmea — 
GiLBOA,  south  of  the  valley  of  Jezreel — Neko,  a 
mountain  of  Abarim — Tabor,  in  Lower  Galilee — 
E.v-GEDi,  near  the  Dead  sea — Libanus  and  Anti- 
i.iBANL's — Gerizim,  ill  Saiiiaria — Ebai,,  near  to  Ge- 
riziin — Gilead,  beyond  Jordan — Amalek,  in  Ephra- 
iui — MoRiAH,  where  the  temple  was  built — Paran, 
in  Arabia  Petra?a — Gahash,  in  Ephraiiii — Olivet 
— PisGAH,  beyond  Jordan — Hermon,  beyond  Jordan, 
near  Libanus — Carmel,  near  the  Mediterranean 
sea,  between  Dora  and  Ptolemais.  There  are  many 
other  mountains,  famous  for  having  cities  on  them  ; 
as  Hebron,  Samaria,  Nazareth,  Gibeon,  Shophim, 
Shilo,  &c. 

The  Hebrews  frequently  give  to  mountains  the 
epithet  eternal,  because  they  arc  as  old  as  the  world 
itself,  Gen.  xlix.  26 ;  Deut.  xxxiii.  15.  They  w  ere 
sonietiines  retired  to  as  places  of  securitj\ 

Mountains  and  their  pro])erties  are  frequently  ob- 
jects of  comparison  in  Scripture — their  elevation, 
their  stability,  the  breadth  of  their  bases,  &c.  Many 
extraordinary  events  narrated  in  sacred  history,  took 
place  on  mountains,  which  seem  to  form,  by  their 
very  structure  and  appearance,  proper  places  of 
seclusion. 

MOURNING.  The  Hebrews,  at  the  death  of 
their  friends  and  relations,  gave  all  possible  demon- 
strations of  grief  and  mourning.  They  wept,  tore 
their  clothes,  smote  their  breasts,  fasted,  and  lay  upon 
the  ground,  went  barefooted,  pulled  their  hair  and 
beards,  or  cut  them,  and  made  incisions  on  their 
breasts,  or  tore  them  v/ith  their  nails.  Lev.  xix.  28  ; 
xxi.  5 ;  Jer.  xvi.  6.  The  time  of  mourning  was 
commonly  seven  days ;  but  it  was  lengthened  or 
shortened  according  to  circumstances.  That  for 
Moses  and  Aaron  was  prolonged  to  thirty  days,  which 
Josephus  says,  ought  to  be  sufficient  for  any  wise 
man,  on  the  loss  of  his  nearest  relation,  or  his  dear- 
est friend. 

During  the  time  of  their  mourning,  the  near  rela- 
tions of  tlie  deceased  continued  sitting  in  their  houses, 
and  ate  on  the  ground.  The  food  they  took  was 
thought  unclean,  and  even  themselves  were  judged 
im|)ure:  "Their  sacrifices  shall  be  unto  them  as  the 
bread  of  mourners;  all  that  cat  thereof  shall  be  fiol- 
luted,"  Hos.  ix.  4.  Their  faces  were  covered,  and  in 
all  that  time  they  could  not  apply  themselves  to  any 
occupation,  nor  read  the  book  of  the  law,  nor  say 
their  usual  prayers.  They  did  not  dress  themselves, 
nor  make  their  beds,  nor  uncover  their  heads,  nor 
shave  themselves,  nor  cut  their  nails,  nor  go  into  the 
bath,  nor  salute  any  body.  Nobody  spoke  to  them 
unless  they  spoke  first.  Their  friends  commonly 
went  to  visit  and  comfort  them,  bringing  them  food, 
according  to  Prov.  xxxi.  G,  7:  "Give  strong  drink 
unto  him  that  is  ready  to  perish,  and  wine  to  those 
that  be  of  heavy  heart.  Let  him  drink  and  forget  his 
poverty,  (or  affliction,)  and  remember  his  misery  no 
more."  (Compare  Baptis:\i  for  the  dead.)  Ancient- 
ly, they  set  bread  and  meat  at  the  tombs  of  the  dead, 
that  the  poor  might  have  the  benefit  of  it,  Tob.  iv.  18  ; 


Ecclus.  XXX.  18 ;  Baruch  vi.  26, 31.  They  also  went 
up  to  the  roof,  or  iipon  the  platform  of  their  houses, 
to  bewail  their  mislbrtune:  "Through  all  the  cities 
of  Moab  (says  Isaiah)  they  shall  gird  themselves  with 
sackcloth  :  on  the  tops  of  their  houses,  and  in  their 
streets,  every  one  shall  howl,  weeping  abimdantiv," 
chap.  XV.  3.  And  (xxii.  1.)  speaking"  to  Jerusalem, 
he  says,  "  What  aileth  thee  now,  that  thou  art  wholly 
gone  u|)  to  the  house-tojjs  ?" 

They  hired  women  to  weep  and  mourn,  and  also 
persons  to  j)lay  on  instruments,  at  the  funerals  of  the 
Hebrews.  Persons  in  years  were  carri  d  to  their 
graves  by  sound  of  triinii)et,  as  Servius  says,  and 
younger  people  by  the  sound  of  flutes.  In  Malt.  ix. 
23,  we  observe  a  company  of  jjlayers  on  the  flute,  at 
the  funeral  of  a  girl  of  twelve  years  of  age.  All  that 
met  a  funeral  procession,  or  a  company  cf  mourners, 
out  of  civility  were  to  join  them,  and  to  mingle  their 
tears  with  those  who  wept.  Paul  seems  to  allude  to 
this  custom  when  he  says,  "  Rejoice  with  them  that 
do  rejoice,  and  weep  with  them  that  weep,"  Rom. 
xii.  15.  And  our  Saviour  in  the  gospel,  "The  men 
of  this  generation  are  like  unto  children  sitting  in  the 
market-place,  and  calling  one  to  another,  and  saying, 
We  have  piped  unto  you,  and  ye  have  not  danced ; 
we  have  mourned  to  you,  and  ye  have  not  wept," 
Luke  vii.  32;  Matt.  xi.  17. 

When  our  Saviour  was  led  away  to  his  crucifixion, 
the  women  of  Jerusalem  followed  him,  making  great 
lamentations,  (Luke  xxiii.  27.)  and  when  the  daughter 
of  Jephthah  was  devoted  by  her  father,  she  went 
with  her  companions  upon  the  mountains,  to  lament 
her  leaving  the  world  without  being  married,  Jiulg. 
xi.  38.  In  i'alestine  and  Syria,  the  women  go  out 
into  the  burying-places  at  certain  times,  there  to 
mourn  for  the  death  of  their  near  relations. 

The  mourning  habit  among  the  Hebrews  was  not 
fixed  either  by  law  or  custom.  AVe  only  find  in 
Scripture,  that  they  used  to  tear  their  garments — a 
custom  still  observed  ;  but  they  tear  a  small  part 
merely,  and  for  form's  sake.  Anciently,  in  times  of 
mourning,  they  alothed  themselves  in  sackcloth,  or 
hair  cloth,  that  is,  in  coarse  or  ill  made  clothes,  of 
brown  or  black  stufi\  At  this  day,  that  they  may  not 
appear  ridiculous,  they  wear  mourning  after  t!ie 
fashion  of  the  countries  where  they  live,  without  be- 
ing constrained  to  it  by  any  law. 

Mouse, or  Rat,  in  Hebrew  -\33;',  Jlkbar,  especially 
FiELD-MousE.  By  many  this 
word  is  thought  to  denote  the 
Jerboa,  an  animal  described  by 
Bruce,  and  which  is  classed  by 
the  Arabs  under  the  Fd  .'Ikbar, 
or  the  largest  of  the  Mus  monia- 
nus.  The  accompanying  en- 
graving will  alford  a  good  idea 
of  this  curious  creature,  which  is 
very  dilTercnt  from  the  common 
mouse.  But  the  Jerboa  is  more 
probably  the  animal  called  in  the 
English  translation  conej/.  (See 
Coney.)  The  word  rendered 
mouse  probably  includes  various  species  of  these  ani- 
mals, some  of  which  were  eaten.  Mosrs  (Lev.  xi. 
29.)  declared  it  to  be  unclean,  which  implies  that  it 
was  sometimes  eaten ;  avd  Isaiah  (Ixvi.  17.)  re- 
proaches the  Jews  with  this  practice.  3Iice  made 
great  havcc  in  the  fields  af  the  Philistines,  after  that 
people  had  taken  tlie  ark  of  the  Lord,  (1  Sam.  v.  6, 
&c.)  which  induced  them  to  send  it  back  with  mice 
and  cmerods  of  goiil,  as  an  atonement  for  the  irrev- 


MUL 


[  6S6  ] 


MUS 


erence  committed,  and  to  avert  the  vengeance  that 
pursued  them.  The  Assyrians,  who  besieged  Be- 
thulia,  when  they  saw  the  Hebrews  come  out  of  the 
ciry  in  order  of  battle,  compared  them  to  mice,  say- 
ing, "  See,  the  mice  are  coming  forth  out  of  their 
holes,"  Judith  xiv.  12.  Vulgate. 

310UTH.  It  has  been  observed,  on  the  article 
Adore,  that  to  kiss  one's  hand,  and  to  put  it  to  one's 
mouth,  was  a  sign  of  adoration.  The  Hebrews,  by 
Avay  of  pleonasm,  often  say,  He  opened  his  mouth, 
and  spoke,  sung,  cursed,  &c.  Also,  that  God  opens 
the  mouth  of  the  prophets,  puts  words  into  their 
mouth,  bids  them  speak  what  he  inspires  them  with. 
To  inquire  at  the  mouth  of  the  Lord,  is  to  consult 
him,  Josh.  ix.  14.  God  says,  that  he  will  be  a  mouth 
to  Moses  and  Aaron,  Exod.  iv.  15.  "We  will  call  the 
damsel,  and  inquire  at  her  mouth  ;"  let  us  know  Re- 
bekah's  sentiments  of  the  matter.  Gen.  xxiv.  57.  "  Let 
us  hear  what  is  in  the  mouth  of  Ahithophel,"  (2 
Sam.  xvii.)  let  us  consult  him  about  this  aiFair. 

To  open  the  mouth,  is  often  used  emphatically 
for  speaking  aloud,  boldly,  freely  :  (1  Sam.  ii.  1.)  "My 
mouth  is  enlarged — opened — over  my  enemies,"  says 
Hannah,  the  mother  of  Samuel.  (Comp.  Ezek.  xxiv. 
27  ;  Isa.  Ivii.  4.)  In  a  contrary  sense,  to  shut  the 
"mouth,  to  silence,  is  a  mark  of  humiliation  and  afflic- 
tion, Ps.  cvii.  42  ;  xxxviii.  14.  "To  set  their  mouth 
against  the  heavens,"  (Ps.  Ixxiii.  9.)  is  when  they 
speak  arrogantly,  insolently  and  blasphemouslv  of 
God. 

God  directs  that  his  law  should  be  always  in  the 
mouth  of  his  people ;  i.  e.  that  the  Israehtes  com- 
mune frequently  with  one  another  about  it.  He  for- 
bids them  so  much  as  to  pronounce  the  name  of 
strange  gods,  Exod.  xxiii.  1.3.  To  speak  mouth  to 
mouth,  is  a  Hebraism,  which  we  render  by  face  to 
face.  Numb.  xii.  8.  Heb.  "With  one  mouth,"  is  with 
common  consent,  Dan.  iii.  51.  To  observe  the  mouth 
of  the  king,  is  to  hear  his  words  with  attention, 
Eccles.  viii.  2.  To  walk  by  the  mouth  of  any  one,  is 
to  obey  his  orders.  To  transgi-ess  against  the  mouth 
of  the  Lord,  is  to  disobey  his  commands.  You  shall 
be  justified  by  your  own  mouth  ;  you  shall  be  con- 
demned out  of  your  own  mouth :  by  the  good  or  ill 
use  of  your  tongue. 

Hosea  says,  (vi.  5.)  the  Lord  has  put  the  people  to 
death  by  the  words  of  his  mouth  ;  i.  e.  he  foretold 
death  (or  captivity)  to  them  by  his  prophets.  Isaiah 
says  of  the  Messiah,  (xi.  4.)  "  He  shall  smite  the  earth 
with  the  rod  of  his  mouth,  and  with  the  breath  of  his 
lips  shall  lie  slay  the  wicked."  These  expressions 
denote  the  absolute  power  of  God,  and  that  it  re- 
quires only  one  breath  to  destroy  his  enemies — per- 
haps i)y  his  judicial  sentence.  The  same  prophet 
says,  (xlix.  2.)  "  He  hath  made  my  mouth  like  a  sharp 
sword."  Thtse  ways  of  speaking  energetically  ex- 
press the  sovereign  authority  of  God.  "  From  the 
abundance  of  the  heart  the  mouth  speaketh  ;  (Matt, 
xii.  34.)  i.  e.  ou-  discourses  are  the  echo  of  the 
sentiments  of  ouc  hearts.  It  is  not  what  enters 
into  the  mouth  tha,  defileth  the  man ;  it  is  neither 
meat  nor  dnnk  thai  makes  us  unclean  in  the  sio-ht 
of  God.  "^ 

MULBERRY-TREE.  The  word  translated  7nul- 
bernj-tree  signifies  hteially  weeping,  and  indicates, 
therefore,  some  tree  which  distils  balsam  or  gum. 
Tbe  particular  species  is  not  known,  2  Sam.  v.  23, 
24;  1  Chr.  xiv.  14,  15.  In  Ps.  Ixxviii.  7,  it  is  said 
tiiat  among  other  plagues  with  which  the  Lord  vis- 
ited Egypt,  he  destroyed  their  vines  with  hail,  and 
their  mulberry-trees  with  frost.     The  English  trans- 


lation reads  sycamore -trees  ;  which  are  common  in 
Egypt.  They  have  a  leaf  nearly  resembling  that  of 
a  mulberry-tree,  and  fruit  something  like  figs ;  hence 
the  word  sycamore,  from  sycos,  a  fig  or  fig-tree,  and 
morns,  a  mulberiy-tree.     See  Sycamore. 

MULE,  the  oftspring  of  two  animals  of  different 
species,  as  a  horse  and  an  ass. 

There  is  no  probability  that  the  Jews  bred  mules, 
because  it  was  forbidden  to  couple  creatures  of  dif- 
ferent species,  Lev.  xix.  19.  But  they  were  not  for- 
bidden to  use  them.  Thus  we  may  observe,  espe- 
cially after  David's  time,  that  mules,  male  and 
female,  were  common  among  the  Hebrews  :  formerly 
they  used  only  male  and  female  asses,  2  Sam.  xiii. 
29 ;  xviii.  9 ;  1  Kings  i.  33,  38,  44 ;  x.  25  ;  xviii. 
5,  &c. 

Some  have  thought  that  Anah,  son  of  Zibeon,  of 
the  posterity  of  Seir,  being  in  the  desert,  found  out 
the  manner  of  breeding  mules.  This  opinion  was 
much  espoused  by  the  ancients.  But  Jerome,  who 
notices  it  in  his  Hebraical  questions  on  Genesis, 
translates,  "  that  Anah  found  hot  waters."  The  Syri- 
ac  says,  a  fountain  ;  but  rather  it  signifies  a  people 
whom  Anah  surprised  and  defeated.     See  Anah. 

MURDER.  This  crime  among  the  Hebrews  was 
always  punished  by  death,  but  involuntary  homi- 
cide was  only  punished  by  banishment.  Cities  of 
refuge  were  appointed  for  involuntary  manslaughter, 
whither  the  slayer  might  retire,  and  continue  in  safety 
till  the  death  of  the  liigh-priest,  Numb.  xxxv.  28. 
Then  the  offender  was  at  liberty  to  return  to  his  own 
house, -if  he  pleased.  A  murderer  was  put  to  death 
without  remission  :  the  kinsman  of  the  mm-dered 
person  might  kill  him  with  impunity.  Money  could 
not  redeem  his  life  ;  he  was  dragged  away  even  from 
the  altar,  if  he  had  taken  refuge  there. 

When  a  dead  body  was  found  in  the  fields,  and 
the  murderer  was  unknown,  Moses  commanded  that 
the  elders  and  judges  of  the  neighboring  places 
should  resort  to  the  spot,  Dent.  xxi.  1 — 8.  The  ci- 
ders of  the  city  nearest  to  it  were  to  take  a  heifer, 
which  had  never  yet  borne  the  yoke,  and  were  to 
lead  it  into  some  rude  and  uncultivated  place,  which 
had  not  been  ploughed  or  sowed,  where  they  were 
to  cut  its  throat ;  the  priests  of  the  Lord,  with 
the  elders  and  magistrates  of  the  city,  were  to  come 
near  the  dead  body,  and  washing  their  hands  over 
the  heifer  that  had  been  slain,  they  were  to  say  : 
"  Our  hands  have  not  shed  this  blood,  nor  have  our 
eyes  seen  it  shed.  Lord,  be  favorable  to  thy  people 
Israel,  and  impute  not  unto  us  this  blood  wliich  has 
been  shed  in  the  midst  of  our  country."  This  cere- 
mony may  inform  us  what  idea  they  had  of  the 
heinousness  of  murder,  and  how  much  horror  they 
conceived  at  this  crime  ;  also  their  fear  that  God  might 
avenge  it  on  the  whole  country  ;  and  the  pollution 
that  the  country  was  supposed  to  contract,  by  the 
blood  spilt  in  it,  unless  it  were  exi)iated  or  avenged 
on  him  who  had  occasioned  it,  if  he  could  be  discov- 
ered. (Comp.  Psalm  Ixxiii.  13,  also  the  action  of 
Pilate,  Matt,  xxvii.  4.) 

MURMURING,  a  complaint  made  for  wrong  sup- 
posed to  have  been  received.  Paul  forbids  murmur- 
ing, (1  Cor.  X.  10.)  as  did  also  the  wise  man,  Wisd. 
i.  11.  God  severely  punished  the  Hebrews  who  mur- 
mured in  the  desert,  and  was  more  than  once  on  the 
point  of  forsaking  them,  and  even  of  destroying  them, 
had  not  Moses  appeased  his  anger  by  earnest  prayer, 
Numb.  xi.  33,  34  ;  xii.  xiv.  30,  31 ;  xvi.  3  ;  xxi.  4—6 ; 
Ps.  Ixxviii.  30. 

MUSIC     The  ancient  Hebrews  had  a  srreat  taste 


MUSIC 


[  687  ] 


MUSIC 


for  music,  which  they  used  in  their  religious  services, 
in  their  public  and  private  rejoicings,  at  their  feasts, 
and  even  in  their  mournings.  We  have  in  Scripture 
canticles  of  joy,  of  thanksgiving,  of  praise,  of  mourn- 
ing ;  epithalamiums,  or  songs  composed  on  occasion 
of  marriage  ;  as  the  Song  of  Songs,  and  Psalm  xlv. 
which  arc  thought  to  have  been  composed  to  cele- 
brate the  marriage  of  Solomon.  Also  mournful 
songs,  as  those  of  David  on  the  deaths  of  Saul  and 
Aljner,  and  the  Lamentations  of  Jeremiah  on  the 
destruction  of  Jerusalem.  Also  Psalms  to  celebrate 
the  accession  of  a  prince  to  his  crown,  as  Psalm  Ixii. 
Songs  of  victory,  triumph  and  gratulation,  as  that 
which  Moses  sung  after  passing  the  Red  sea,  that  of 
Deborah  and  Barak,  and  others.  The  book  of 
Psalms  is  an  ample  collection  of  different  pieces  for 
music,  composed  on  all  sorts  of  subjects  by  inspired 
authors. 

Music  is  very  ancient.  Moses  says  tlxit  Jubal,  who 
lived  before  the  deluge,  was  the  father  of  those  who 
played  on  the  kinnor,  and  the  uggctb,  Gen.  iv.  21. 
The  kinnor  manifestly  signifies  the  harp,  and  uggab 
the  ancient  organ  ;  answering  to  the  Pandean  pipes. 
Laban  complains  that  his  son-in-law  Jacob  had  left 
him,  without  bidding  him  farewell,  without  giving 
him  an  opportunity  of  sending  his  family  away 
"  with  mirth  and  with  songs,  with  tabret  and  with 
harp."  Moses,  having  passed  over  the  Red  sea,  com- 
posed a  song,  and  sung  it  with  the  Israelite  men, 
while  iVIiriam,  his  sister,  sung  it  with  dancing,  and 
playing  on  instruments,  at  the  head  of  the  women. 
He  caused  silver  trumpets  to  bemade,  to  be  soimded 
at  solemn  sacrifices,  and  on  religious  festivals.  Da- 
vid, who  had  a  great  taste  for  music,  seeing  that  the 
Levites  were  numerous,  and  not  employed,  as  for- 
inerly,  in  carrying  the  boards,  veils  an(l  vessels  of 
the  tabernacle,  its  abode  being  fixed  at  Jerusalem, 
ap[)ointed  a  great  part  of  them  to  sing  and  to  play 
on  instruments  in  the  temple. 

Asaph,  Heman  and  Jeduthun  were  chiefs  of  the 
music  of  the  tabernacle  under  David,  and  of  the 
temple  under  Solomon.  Asaph  had  four  sons,  Je- 
duthun six,  and  Heman  fourteen.  These  twenty -four 
Levites,  sons  of  the  three  great  masters  of  the  temple 
music,  were  at  the  head  of  twenty -four  bands  of  mu- 
sicians, which  served  in  the  temple  by  turns.  Their 
number  there  was  always  gi'eat,  but  especially  at  the 
chief  solemnities.  They  were  ranged  in  order 
about  the  altar  of  bunit-sacrifices.  Those  of  the 
family  of  Kohath  were  in  the  middle,  those  of  Me- 
rari  on  the  left,  and  those  of  Gershom  on  the 
right  hand.  As  the  whole  business  of  their  lives 
was  to  learn  and  to  practise  music,  it  must  be  sup- 
posed that  they  understood  it  well ;  whether  it  were 
vocal  or  instrumental. 

The  kings  also  had  their  particular  music.  Asaph 
was  chief  master  of  music  to  David.  In  the  temple, 
and  in  the  ceremonies  of  religion,  female  musicians 
were  admitted  as  well  as  male  ;  they  generally  were 
daughters  of  the  Levites.  Ezra,  in  his  enumeration 
of  those  whom  he  brought  back  with  him  from  the 
captivity,  reckons  200  singing  men  and  singing 
women.  In  1  Chron.  xv.  20,  the  Hebrew  says,  that 
Zechariah,  Aziel  and  Shemiramoth  presided  over 
the  seventh  band  of  music,  which  was  that  of  the 
young  women. 

As  to  the  nature  of  their  music,  we  can  judge  of  it 
only  by  conjecture,  because  it  has  been  long  lost. 
Probably,  it  was  a  mixture  of  several  voices,  of  which 
all  simg  together  in  the  same  tune,  each  according 
to  his  strength  and  skill ;  without  musical  counter- 


point, or  those  different  parts,  and  that  combination 
of  several  voices  and  tunes,  which  constitute  harmo- 
ny in  our  concerts,  or  compounded  music.  Proi)ably, 
also,  the  voices  were  generally  accompanied  by  in- 
strumental music.  liut  if  we  niay  draw  any  conclu- 
sions in  favor  of  their  music  Irom  its  effects,  its 
magnificence,  its  majesty,  and  the  lofty  sentiments 
contained  in  their  songs,  we  must  allow  it  great  ex- 
cellence. David,  by  his'  skill  on  the  harp,  dispelled 
the  melancholy  vapors  of  Saul.  Subsequently,  Saul 
having  sent  messengers  to  apprehend  David  atNaioth 
in  Ramah,  the  messengers  no  sooner  heard  the  sound 
of  the  instruments  of  the  prophets,  than  they  were 
transported  (as  it  were)  by  a  divine  enthusiasm,  to 
engage  in  the  service.  Saul  sent  a  second  and  a 
third  company  after  them,  who  did  the  same  ;  and 
at  last  came  thither  himself,  but  was  equally  seized 
by  the  divine  Spirit,  and  began  to  experience  pro- 
phetic sensations  even  before  he  came  to  the  place 
where  the  prophets  were  assembled.  The  prophet 
Elisha,  finding  himself  agitated,  caused  a  minstrel  to 
play  before  him,  to  calm  his  spirits  into  a  temper  fit 
to  receive  the  divine  Spirit. 

The  musical  instruments  of  the  Hebrews  are,  per- 
haps, what  has  been  hitheito  least  understood  of  any 
thmg  in  Scripture.  Calmet  considers  them  under 
three  classes  :  (1.)  stringed  instruments  ;  (2.)  wuid  in- 
struments, or  divers  kinds  of  flutes ;  (3.)  different 
kinds  of  drums. 

Of  struiged  instruments,  are  the  7iabel,  and  the 
psaltery,  or  psanneterim,  Dan.  iii.  5.  These  three 
names  apparently  signify  neai-ly,  or  altogether,  the 
same  thmg.  They  considerably  resembled  the  hai-p ; 
the  ancient  cythara,  or  the  ashur,  or  the  ten-stringed 
instrument ;  both  were  nearly  of  the  figiu-e  a  :  but  the 
nablum,  or  psaltery,  was  hollow  toward  the  top,  and 
played  on  toward  the  bottom ;  whereas  the  cythara, 
or  ten-stringed  instrument,  was  played  on  on  the  up- 
per part,  and  was  hollow  below :  both  were  touched 
with  a  small  bow,  or  fret,  or  by  the  fingers.  The  kin- 
nor, or  ancient  lyre,  had  sometimes  sLx,  sometimes  nine 
strings,  strung  from  top  to  bottom ;  and  sounded  by 
means  of  a  hollow  belly,  over  which  they  passed : 
they  were  touched  with  a  small  bow,  or  fret,  or  by 
the  finger.  The  ancient  symphony  was  nearly  the 
same  as  our  viol.  The  sambnc  was  a  strmged  instru- 
ment, which  was  nearly  the  same,  it  is  thought,  as 
the  modern  psalterj\ 

We  discover  in  Scripture  various  soils  of  trumpets 
and  flutes  ;  of  which  it  is  diflicult  to  ascertain  the 
forms.  The  most  remarkable  of  this  kind  is  the  an- 
cient organ,  in  Hebrew  vggab  ;  the  ancient  pipe  of 
Pan,  now  common  among  us. 

Drums  were  of  many  kinds.  The  Hebrew-  toph, 
whence  comes  tympanum,  is  taken  for  all  kinds  of 
drums  or  timbrels.  The  zahelim  is  commonly  trans- 
lated by  the  LXX  and  the  Vulgate,  cymbalo ;  uistrii- 
ments  of  brass,  of  a  very  clattering  sound,  made  in 
the  form  of  a  cap,  or  hat,  and  struck  one  against  the 
other,  while  held  one  in  each  hand.  Later  inteqireters 
by  zahelim  understand  the  sistrum ;  an  instrument 
anciently  verj'  common  in  Egvpt.  It  was  nearly  of 
an  oval  figure,  and  crossed  by  brass  wires,  which 
jingled  upon  being  shaken,  while  then-  ends  were  se- 
cured from  falling  out  of  the  frame,  by  their  beads 
being  larger  than  the  orifice  which  contained  the 
Avire. 

The  Hebrew  mentions  an  instrument  called  shali- 
shim,  which  the  LXX  translate  cymbala ;  but  Jerome 
sistra.  It  is  found  only  1  Sam.  xviii.  6.  The  term 
shcdishim  suggests  that  it  was  of  three  sides,  (trian- 


MUS 


[  688  ] 


MUSTARD 


gular,)  and  it  might  be  that  ancient  ti-iaugular  instru- 
ment, which  carrying  on  each  side  several  rings,  they 
were  jingled  by  a  stick,  and  gave  a  sharp,  rattling- 
sound.  The  original  also  mentions  mtzilothaiin,  which 
were  of  brass,  and  of  a  sharp  sound.  This  word  is 
usually  translated  cymbala  :  some,  however,  render  it 
tintinahula,  little  bells,  which  is  countenanced  by 
Zechariah  xiv.  20,  which  sa3's,  the  time  shall  come 
when  on  the  meziloth  of  the  horses  shall  be  written, 
"Holiness  to  the  Lord!"  We  know  that  bells  were 
anciently  worn  by  horses  trained  for  war,  to  accustom 
them  to  noise. 

MUSTARD-Tree.  The  description  which  our 
Lord  has  given  of  the  sinapi,  or  mustard-tree,  in  Matt, 
xiii.  31,  32,  and  the  parallel  passages,  has  given  rise 
to  much  conjecture.  His  words  are,  "A  grain  of 
mustard  seed,  which  a  man  took  and  sowed  in  his 
field  ;  which  indeed  is  the  least  of  all  seeds :  but 
when  it  is  grown,  it  is  the  greatest  among  herbs,  and 
becometh  a  tree,  so  that  the  birds  of  the  air  come  and 
lodge  in  the  branches  thereof."  In  order  to  account 
for  the  discrepancy  which  exists  between  this  repre- 
sentation and  the  character  of  the  siiiapis  nigra,  or 
common  mustard  plan  it  lias  been  supposed  that  iliis 
may,  in  the  more  favorable  climates  of  the  East,  ex- 
ceed by  far,  in  its  dimensions  and  strength,  that  which 
is  found  in  these  colder  countries.  Lighlfoot  cites  a 
passage  from  the  Talmud,  in  which  a  mustard-tree 
is  said  to  have  been  possessed  of  branches  sufficiently 
large  to  cover  a  tent ;  and  Scheuchzer  describes  and 
represents  a  species  of  the  plant  several  feet  high,  and 
possessing  a  tree-like  appearance. 

In  support  of  these  conjectures.  Dr.  A.  Clarke  re- 
marks, "  Some  soils,  being  more  luxuriant  than  others, 
and  the  climate  much  warmer,  raise  the  same  i)lant 
to  a  size  and  perfection  far  beyond  what  a  poorer 
soil,  or  a  colder  climate,  can  possilily  do."  Herodo- 
tus says,  he  has  seen  wheat  and  barley,  in  the  country 
of  Babylon,  which  carried  a  blade  full  four  fingers' 
breadth,  and  that  the  iTiillet  and  sesamum  grew  to  an 
incredible  size.  The  doctor  states,  that  he  has  him- 
self seen  a  field  of  common  cabbages  in  one  of  the 
Norman  isles,  each  of  which  was  from  seven  to  nine 
feet  in  height ;  and  one  in  the  garden  of  a  fiiend, 
which  grew  beside  an  apple-tree,  tliough  the  latitude 
of  the  place  was  only  about  48  deg.  18  min.  nortli, 
Wd^Jiftccn  feet  high.  These  facts,  and  several  others, 
which  might  be  adduced,  fully  confirm.  Dr.  Clarke 
thinks,  the  possibility  of  what  our  Lord  says  of  the 
mustard-tree,  however  incredible  such  a  thing  may 
appear  to  those  who  arc  acquainted  only  with  the 
productions  of  the  northern  regions  and  cold  climates. 

These  ar^^  striking  specimens  of  the  great  difference 
which  is  found  to  o!)tain  among  productions  of  the 
same  species  in  different  climates  and  countries;  but, 
then,  their  distinctive  char.acter  remains  the  same ; 
whereas  the  reference  in  our  Lord's  parable  implies 
so  essential  a  difference  as,  on  these  principles,  to 
convert  an  iT^'rbaceous  plant  into  a  tree,  which  de- 
stroys the  identity  of  its  characfer. 

For  thepurpos;;  of  removing  these  difficulties,  Mr. 
Frost  some  time  since  pul>lished  a  work,  in  which  he 
maintains  that  the  sinrtpi  of  the  New  Testament  docs 
not  signify  anysjjccies  of  the  genus  we  now  designate 
sinapis,  l)ut  a  species  of  the  phi/lolftcra.  We  shall 
transcribe  some  ]>assages  from  his  work,  and  leave 
the  reader  to  form  his  own  judgment  as  to  the  con- 
clusive nature  of  the  arguments. 

"  The  seed  of  an  herbaceous  plant,  for  such  is  the 
sinapis  nigra,  or  common  mustard,  cannot  possibly 
produce  a  tree  ;  and  however  great  a  degree  of  alti- 


tude and  circumference  the  stem  of  common  mustard 
might  attain,  yet  it  could  not  afford  support  for  'fowls 
of  the  air,'  even  allowing  it  to  grow  to  the  height  of 
eight  feet,  which  it  never  does. 

"  Mustard  seed  is  not  the  smallest  of  all  seeds,  as 
the  translation  implies,  because  those  of  foxglove  {di- 
gitalis purpurea)  and  tobacco  [nicotiana  tabacum) 
are  infinitely  smaller ;  these  are  herbaceous  as  well 
as  mustard,  [siiiapis  nigra,)  and  even  granting  for  a 
moment  that  the  common  mustard  seed  was  intended, 
the  above  evidence  would  annul  the  validity  of  the 
translation.  This  discordancy  has  been  endeavored 
to  be  reconciled  by  a  reference  to  sinapis  erucoides, 
or  shrubby  mustard  ;  but  even  this  has  not  the 
smallest  seed  :  and  allowing,  for  the  sake  of  argument, 
that  this  shrub  could,  by  luxuriance  of  soil  and  cli- 
mate, increase  in  height  and  circumference,  and 
throw  off  large  branches,  the  size  of  the  seed  would 
remain  the  same,  and  the  smallest  of  all  seeds  would 
not  apply." 

Among  other  statements  made,  as  to  the  size  to 
which  the  mustard  plant  will  sometimes  grow,  Mr. 
Frost  notices  one  writer,  who  observes  that  he  saw 
one  so  large  that  it  became  a  great  bush,  and  was 
higher  than  the  tallest  man  he  had  ever  seen,  and  that 
he  had  raised  it  from  seed.  This  our  author  readily 
conceives  to  be  true,  but  does  not  consider  it  as  at  all 
explanatory  of  the  subject,  because  an  annual  plant, 
such  as  sinapis  ?i?g'?-ais,  cannot  become  even  a  shrub, 
much  less  a  tree.  Having  thus  endeavored  to  prove 
that  the  mustard  seed  of  the  New"  Testament  is  not 
procured  from  sinapis  nigra,  or  any  species  of  that 
genus,  he  next  proceeds  to  show  the  identity  that 
exists  between  kokkon  sinapcos  and  phytolacca  dode- 
candra,  which  lie  believes  to  be  the  dendron  mega 
of  the  Sci'iptures  :  "  Phytolacca  dodecandra  grows 
abundantly  in  Palestine  ;  it  has  the  smallest  seed  of 
any  tree,  and  obtains  as  great,  or  even  greater,  alti- 
tude than  any  othei'  in  that  country,  of  which  it  is  a 
native. 

"Common  mustard  is  both  used  for  culinary  and 
medicinal  ])urposes  ;  so  are  several  species  of  phyto- 
lacca. It  is  rather  remarkable,  that  the  acridity  of 
the  latter  induced  Linnanis  to  })lace  that  genus  in  the 
natural  order  Piperitrp,  whilst  De  Jussieu  referred  it 
to  the  family  Atriplices,  which  certainly  bears  out  its 
edible  and  acrid  j)roperties.  The  North  Americans  call 
Phytolacca  dodecandra  (commonly  known  in  European 
gardens  by  the  name  of  American  pokeweed)  wild 
mustai-fl.  Muri-ay,  in  his  Jlpparcdvs  Medicaminum, 
enters  into  a  long  history  of  the  excellent  quality  of 
the  young  shoots  ;  but  remarks,  that  vvlien  mature, 
they  cannot  be  eaten  with  im])unity.  Linr.feus,  in  bis 
Materia  Medica,  refers  to  the  same  circumstances. 
Its  being  edible,  may  be  inferred  from  the  Greek  term 
lachanon,  which  occurs  Malt.  xiii.  32,  and  Mark  iv.  32. 

"Mustard  seed  is  api)lied  externally,  as  a  Ftimu- 
lant,  in  the  form  of  a  sinai)ism  ;  and  the  foliage  of 
Phytolacca  dodecandra  was  used  as  an  outward  appli- 
cation to  cancerous  tumors, 

"Of  the  acrid  qualities  of  phytolacca  dodecandra 
there  can  be  no  doubt;  so  that  there  appears  a  vei-y 
strong  analogy  between  the  effects  and  i)roperties  of 
the  general  siiiapis  and  phytolacca  ;  besides  which,  I 
have  ascertained  the  existence  of  a  fourth  ultimate 
chemical  element,  nitrogen,  in  the  seed  of  a  species 
of  Phytolacca.  Nitrogen  was  said  only  to  exist  in 
plants  belonging  to  the  natural  orders  Cruciatce  and 
Fungi,  in  the  former  of  which  the  common  mustard, 
sinapis  nigra,  is  jilaced." 

Rlr.  Frost  then  proceeds  to  sum  uj)  his  argument, 


MY« 


[  659  ] 


MYSTERY 


showing  that  the  phylolacca  dodecandra  is  the  tree 
mentioned  in  the  Gospels  from  the  following  circum- 
stances : — 

"Because  it  is  one  of  the  largest  trees  indigenous 
to  the  country  where  the  observation  was  made  ;  be- 
cause it  has  the  smallest  seed  of  anj^  tree  in  that 
counn-y ;  because  it  is  both  used  as  a  culinary  vege- 
table and  medicinal  stimulant,  which  counnon  nius- 
tard  is  also;  because  a  species  of  the  same  genus  is 
well  known  in  the  United  States,  by  tlie  term  wild 
mustard  ;  because  the  ultimate  chemical  elements  of 
the  seed  sinapis  nigra  and  phytolacca  dodecandra  are 
the  same." 

In  conclusion,  the  author  adds  the  generic  charac- 
ters of  the  two  vegetables,  by  which  they  arc  seen, 
botanically,  to  be  very  distinct  families. 

We  must  here  express  our  regret  that  Mr.  Frost 
should  have  thought  it  unnecessary  to  furnish  a  prop- 
er authentication,  from  the  writings  of  accredited 
eastern  travellers,  of  the  various  statements  he  has 
made  relative  to  the  phytolacca  dodecandra. 

MYNDUS,  a  maritime  city  of  Caria,  1  Mac.  xv.23. 

iMYRA,  a  to\vn  of  Lycia,  where  Paul  embarked 
for  Rome,  on  board  a  ship  of  Alexandria,  Acts 
xxvii.  5. 

MYKRH,  Myrrua,  a  gum  yielded  by  a  tree  com- 
mon in  Arabia :  which  is  about  five  cubits  high  ;  its 
wood  hard,  and  its  trunk  thorny.  Scripture  notices 
two  kinds,  one  which  runs  of  itself,  without  incision  ; 
the  other  a  kind  which  was  employed  in  ])erfumes, 
and  in  embalming,  to  preserve  the  body  from  cor- 
ruption. The  Magi,  who  came  from  the  East  to 
worship  Christ,  offered  to  him  myrrh.  Matt.  ii.  11. 

In  the  Gospel  (Mark  xv.  23.)  is  mentioned  myrrh 
and  wine,  or  wine  mingled  with  ni)  rrh,  which  was 
offered  to  Jesus  previous  to  ins  crucifixion,  and  in- 
tended to  deaden  in  him  the  anguish  of  his  sufier- 
ings.  It  was  a  custom  among  the  Hebrews  to  give 
such  kind  of  stupefying  liquors  to  persons  who  were 
about  to  be  caj)itally  punished,  Prov.  xxxi.  6.  Some 
have  thought  that  the  myrrhed  wine  of  Mark  is  the 
same  as  the  "  wine  mingled  with  gall "  of  Matthew ; 
but  others  distinguish  them.  They  suppose  tiie 
myrrhed  wine  was  given  to  our  Lord  from  a  senti- 
ment of  sympathy,  to  jjrevent  him  from  feeling  too 
sensibly  the  pain  of  his  sufferings;  while  the  pota- 
tion mingled  with  gall,  of  which  he  would  not  drink, 
was  given  from  cruelty.  Others,  however,  think 
tliat  Matthew,writing  in  Syriac,  used  the  word  marra, 
which  signifies  either  myrrh,  bitterness  or  gall  ; 
which  the  Greek  translator  took  in  the  sense  of  gall, 
and  Mark  in  the  sense  of  myrrh.  Wine  mizigled 
with  myrrh  was  highly  esteemed  by  the  ancients. 

JMVRTIil'^,  a  beautiful  evergreen  tree,  growing 
wild  throughout  the  southern  parts  of  Elurojie,  north 
of  Africa,  and  temperate  parts  of  Asia  ;  principally 
on  the  sea-coast.  The  leaves  are  of  a  rich  and  jjoI- 
ished  evergreen ;  the  flowers  white,  with  sometimes 
a  tinge  of  red  externally;  and  the  berries  are  of  the 
size  of  a  small  pea,  violet  or  whitish,  sweetish,  and 
with  the  aromatic  flavor  which  distinguishes  the 
whole  y)lant.  These  are  eaten  in  the  Levant,  Isa. 
xli.  19^  Iv.  13;  Zech.  i.  8;  x.  11.     *R. 

MYSIA,  a  ])rovince  of  Asia  Minor,  bounded  north 
by  the  Propontis;  west  by  the  Egean  sea  ;  south  by 
Lydia  ;  and  east  by  Bithyuia.  Paul  preached  in 
this  country,  Acts  xvi.  7,  8. 

MYSTERY,  a  secret.  All  false  religions  have 
their  mysteries ;  that  is,  certain  things  kept  jn-ivate, 
not  to  be  dividged,  or  exposed  indifferently  to  all ; 
but  known   only  to   the   initiated.     The  pagans  had 


their  mysteries,  but  they  were  mysteries  of  iniquity; 
shameful  mysteries,  concealed  because  their  ex- 
posure would  have  rendered  their  religion  contempti- 
ble, ridiculous  and  odious.  If  men  of  sense  and 
honor  had  known  what  was  practised  in  the  mys- 
teries of  certain  false  deities,  they  would  have  ab- 
horred them.  (SeeBibl.Repository,  ii.  p.261.)  Scrip- 
ture often  speaks  of  the  infamous  mysteries  of 
Astarte,  Adonis  and  Priapiis,  wherein  a  thousand 
infamous  actions  were  ])raetised,  and  called  religion. 
Baruch  speaks  of  the  prostitutions  practised  in  honor 
of  Venus  at  Babylon,  chap.  vi.  42,  43.  The  whole 
religion  of  the  Egyptians  was  mysterious;  but  these 
pretended  mysteries  were  invented  subsequently,  to 
conceal  the  folly  and  vanity  of  it.  They  could  not 
vindicate,  for  example,  the  adoration  paid  to  brutes, 
but  by  saying  that  their  gods  had  sometimes  assumed 
these  shapes.  In  the  Maccabees,  mention  is  made 
of  the  mysteries  of  Bacchus,  of  the  ivy  insprinted  on 
every  one  that  was  initiated  therein,  jmd  of  the  gar- 
lands of  iv}'  worn  by  those  who  assisted  at  these 
ceremonies,  1  Mac.  vi.  7  ;  2  Mac.  vi.  7.  Asa,  king 
of  Judah,  would  not  sufler  the  queen  his  mother  to 
continue  to  preside  over  the  mysteries  of  Priapus, 
1  Kings  XV.  13.  No  doubt  but  they  gave  mysterious 
and  secret  reasons  for  the  worship  of  Moloch,  and 
for  offering  hun::an  sacrifices  to  him.  It  was,  perhaps, 
a  perverse  imitation  of  Abraham's  intended  sacrifice 
of  Isaac.  The  Phcenieiaus  assigned  a  reason,  not 
unlike  this,  for  their  cruel  sacrifices  to  Hercules  and 
to  Saturn. 

Taking  the  term  mysteiy  in  another  sense  for  typ- 
ical, or  predictive,  we  may  say  that  the  religion  of 
the  Jews  was  full  of  mysteries  ;  the  whole  i  r''  n 
was  a  mystery,  according  to  Augustin.  Itrepres...^.,od 
the  people  of  Christ,  and  the  Christian  religion. 
Whatever  hajipened  to  them,  whatever  they  prac- 
tised, all  that  was  commanded,  or  forbidden  them, 
v.'as  figurative,  according  to  Paul.  Their  sacrifices, 
their  priesthood,  their  purifications,  their  abstinence 
from  certain  sorts  of  food,  included  mysteries  which 
have  been  explained  by  Christ  and  his  apostles. 
The  passage  over  the  Red  sea  symbolized  baptism. 
The  brazen  serpent  prefigured  the  cross  and  death 
of  Christ.  Sarah  and  Hagar,  Isaac  and  Ishmael,  de- 
noted the  two  covenants.  The  tabernacle  and  its 
vessels  hinted  at  the  worship  of  God  in  the  Christian 
church.  The  priesthood  of  Aaron  has  been  admi- 
rably explained  by  Paul  of  the  j)riesthood  of  Christ ; 
who  himself  discovered  the  mystery  of  Jonah's 
being  three  days  in  the  whale's  belly  ;  that  of  the 
manna  which  represented  his  body  and  blood  ;  and 
that  of  the  union  of  Adam  and  Eve.  The  reproba- 
tion of  the  Jews,  and  the  adoption  of  the  Gentiles, 
were  intimated  in  a  huiulred  passages  of  Scripture  ; 
by  Hagar  and  Sarah,  by  Ishmael  and  Isaac,  by 
Epbraim  and  Klanasseh,  by  Saul  and  David,  by  Ai)sa- 
lom  and  Solomon,  and  even  by  Moses  and  Aaron,  who 
were  not  jjermitted  to  enter  the  land  of  promise. 

The  pro])hecies  concerning  the  person,  the  com- 
ing, the  character,  the  death  and  jiassion  of  the  ]\Ies- 
siah,  appear  in  a  multitude  of  jdaces  in  the  Old 
Testament;  but  Hguratively  and  mysteriously.  TJie 
actions,  the  words,  the  lives  of  the  prophets,  were 
a  continual  and  general  ])rophecy,  concealed  from 
the  people,  and  sometimes  from  the  prophets  them- 
selves, and  not  explained  and  discovered  till  after 
the  birth  and  death  of  Christ.  These  mysteries,  too, 
were  dispensed  so  wisely,  that  the  first  served  as  a 
foundation  for  the  second,  and  the  succeeding  illus- 
trated those  that  ]>receded.     Daniel  is  much  more 


MYSTERY 


[  690 


MYSTERY 


explicit  than  the  earlier  prophets  ;  Haggai,  Zecha- 
riah  and  Malachi  speak  of  the  coming,  of  the  death, 
and  of  the  priesthood  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  of  the 
calling  of  the  Gentiles,  more  distinctly  than  the 
prophets  before  them. 

The  word  mystery  is  also  taken  for  secrets  of  a 
higher  order,  supernatural ;  for  those  the  knowledge 
of  which  God  has  reserved  to  himself,  or  has  some- 
times communicated  to  his  prophets  and  friends.  Dan- 
iel gives  to  God  the  name  of"  revealer  of  mysteries  ;" 
he  tells  Nebuchadnezzar,  that  only  God  who  reigns  in 
heaven  can  reveal  hidden  mysteries,  things  to  come. 

Our  Saviour  says  to  his  disciples,  (Matt.  vi.  7.) 
that  they  are  peculiarly  happy,  because  God  has  re- 
vealed to  them  the  mysteries  of  the  kingdom  of 
heaven.  Paul  often  speaks  of  the  mystery  of  the 
gospel,  of  the  mystery  of  the  cross  of  Christ,  of  the 
mystery  of  Christ  which  was  unknown  to  former 
ages,  of  the  mystery  of  the  resurrection,  &c.  Mys- 
tic Babylon,  the  great  harlot,  had  written  on  her 
forehead,  mystery,  to  show  that  she  represented 
not  any  particular  woman,  but  a  corrupted  and  idol- 
atrous people. 

The  mysteries  of  the  Christian  religion,  as  the  in- 
carnation of  the  Word,  his  hypostalical  union  with 
his  human  nature,  his  miraculous  birth,  death,  res- 
urrection, ascension,  his  grace,  and  the  manner  of  its 
operation  in  our  hearts,  the  resurrection  of  the  dead, 
&c.  are  objects  of  faith  to  all  true  Christians. 

These,  then,  were  called  mysteries,  the  doctrine 
of  the  gospel,  the  tenets  of  Christianity,  and  the 
Christian  sacraments;  not  only  because  they  includ- 
ed secrets  which  had  not  been  known,  if  the  Son 
of  God  and  liis  Holy  Spirit  had  not  revealed  them, 
but  also  because  they  were  not  opened  indifferently 
to  every  body,  according  to  the  advice  of  Christ  to 
his  aposdes,  "  Give  not  that  which  is  holy  unto  the 
dogs,  neither  cast  ye  your  pearls  before  swine." 
Preachers  in  their  sermons,  and  ecclesiastical  writ- 
ers in  their  books,  did  not  fully  express  themselves 
on  all  the  mysteries.  They  said  enough  to  be  un- 
derstood by  the  faithful ;  while  to  the  pagans  they 
were  secrets,  mysteries.  This  precaution  continued 
long  in  the  church. 

The  Greek  word  mystery  is  expressed  by  the 
Latin  word  sacramentum ;  denoting  the  sacraments 
and  mysteries  of  the  Christian  church.  "God  has 
made  known  unto  us  the  mystery  of  his  will  ;"  his 
incarnation,  his  coming,  his  gospel. 

So  far  Calmet:  but  the  word  mystery  has  been  so 
I'epeatedly  discussed,  and  the  import  of  it,  apparent- 
ly, so  often  perverted,  that  it  demands  a  few  addi- 
lional  remarks.     What  follows  is  from  Mr.  Taylor. 

We  never  hear  the  word  mystery,  v/ithout  thinking 
of  the  old  English  term  maisteries  ;  c.  g.  the  mais- 
terie  of  the  Merchant  Taylors,  the  maisterie  of  the 
Cordonniers,  (cordwainers,)  and  of  other  arts  and 
trades.  In  fact,  the  terra  is  still  currotitly  used  in 
the  city  of  London  :  "the  art  and  mystery  of,"  occurs 
in  the  indentures  of  apprenticeship,  used  in  most 
branches  of  business  ;  meaning,  that  which  may  be 
a  difficulty,  or  even  an  impossibility,  to  a  stranger, 
to  a  novice,  to  a  person  only  beginning  to  consider 
the  subject,  but  which  is  perfectly  easy  and  intelUgi- 
ble  to  a  master  of  the  business;  whose  j)ractice,  and 
whose  understanding,  have  l)een  long  cultivated  by 
habit  and  ajiplication.  Or  mystery  may  be  defined 
a  secret :  and  a  secret  will  always  remain  such  to 
those  who  use  no  endeavors  to  discovei'  it.  Wc  often 
hear  it  said,  such  a  person  holds  such  a  mode  of  ac- 
complishing such  a  business,  a  secret.   Now,  imagine 


one  who  wishes  to  knoAV  this  secret ;  he  labora, 
strives,  &c.  but  unless  he  proceed  in  the  right  mode, 
the  object  still  continues  concealed :  suppose  the 
possessor  of  this  secret  shows  him  the  process, 
teaches  him,  gives  him  information,  &c.  then  that 
secret  (mystery)  is  no  longer  mysterious  to  him  ;  but 
he  enjoys  the  discovery,  and  profits  accordingly  ; 
while  others,  not  so  favored,  are  as  much  in  the  dark 
respecting  this  peculiar  process,  as  he  was. 

Secrets  may  be  considered  as  various :  some  are 
known  to  a  few,  but  are  unknown  to  the  many ;  some 
are  kept  closely  a  long  time,  but  are  revealed  in 
proper  season  ;  some  are  kept  entirely,  totally,  and 
never  are  revealed  ;  some  are  of  a  nature  not  to  be 
investigated  by  us  ;  and  some  so  far  surpass  our  pow- 
ers, that  however  familiar  their  effects  may  be  to  our 
observation,  yet  their  principles,  causes,  progresses, 
and  distributions,  exceedingly  perplex  our  under- 
standing, and  confine  us  to  probabilities,  inference 
and  conjecture.  We  might  instance  this  in  electricity, 
galvanism,  magnetism,  attraction  or  gravitation,  &c. 

We  entreat  that  this  familiar  illustration  of  the 
Vt'ord  mystery  may  not  be  despised  because  of  its 
familiarity ;  as  we  incline  to  think,  that  it  is  not  far 
from  a  scriptural  acceptation  of  the  term.  Let  us 
see  its  effect  when  applied  to  Scripture  examples, 
1  Tim.  iii.  16.  "  Great  is  the  mystery,  secret,  of  god- 
liness;" that  is,  a  thing  not  to  be  comprehended  at 
first  sight ;  nor  until  after  many  reflections,  and  much 
consideration.  Rom.  xi.  25,  "  I  would  not  have  you 
ignorant  of  this  mystery,  secret,  that  blindness  in 
part  hath  happened  to  Israel;"  strange  indeed,  if 
mystery  denoted  something  utterly  incomprehensible 
and  inexplicable,  that  the  apostle  should  wish  them 
not  1o  be  ignorant  of  it !  that  lie  should  instantly 
open  to  them  this  mystery  !  To  the  Jews,  indeed,  it 
was  still  a  secret ;  and  they  did  not  believe  the  fact, 
that  they  labored  under  any  blindness  at  all ;  while 
to  the  apostle,  and  among  his  fellow  Christians,  the 
mystery  was  clear  and  well  understood.  1  Cor.  xv. 
16,  "Behold,  I  show  you  a  mystery — we  shall  not 
all  sleep  " — change  the  phraseology  ;  "  Behold,  I  tell 
you  a  secret,  we  shall  not  all  sleep ;"  could  the  apos- 
tle mean  to  show  them  a  thing  utterly  incompre- 
hensible ?  1  Cor.  xiii.  2,  the  apostle  speaks  of  a 
man's  understanding  all  mysteries  ;  that  is,  they  were 
easy  to  him,  though  not  so  to  others.  In  1  Cor.  xiv. 
2,  he  alludes  to  a  man  who,  discoursing  in  a  lan- 
guage foreign  to  his  auditors,  may  in  the  Spirit  speak 
mysteries  :  he  may  tell  all  manner  of  secrets  in  a  for- 
eign language ;  but  while  he  himself  understands 
perfecdy  well  his  own  meaning,  and  what  he  says, 
yet  his  subjects  of  discourse,  with  all  his  explanations 
of  those  subjects,  will  continue  secrets  to  such  as 
are  ignorant  of  the  language  he  uses.  "  We  speak 
the  wisdom  of  God  in  a  mystery,"  says  the  apostle  ; 
(1  Cor.  ii.  7.)  that  is,  the  wisdom  hitherto  kept 
secret ;  but  now  the  secret  is  explained,  is  opened,  is 
let  out;  not  indeed  to  the  princes  of  the  world  ;  to 
them  it  is  as  much  a  secret  as  ever  ;  but  God  by  his 
Spirit  hath  given  us  information  respecting  it,  and  by 
that  we  know  and  understand  it.  "  Stewards  of  the 
mysteries  of  God,"  that  is,  persons  intrusted  with 
some  of  the  secrets  of  God,  for  the  benefit  of  his 
church,  1  Cor.  iv.  1. 

So  the  calling  of  the  Gentiles  separately  from  the 
Jews,  was  a  mystery,  a  secret,  which  no  Jew  would 
have  thought  of,  or  would  have  believed,  had  not 
God  o])rncd,  and  cxj)lained,  and  enforced  it,  by  his 
Spirit,  &c. ;  (Eph.  iii.  3 — 6.)  nor  would  any  Gentile  : 
it  would  have  remained  unknown,  unsuspected. 


MYSTERY 


[691  ] 


MYS 


Mystery  signifies  also  an  allegory,  that  is,  a  mode 
of  information  under  which  partial  instruction  is 
given,  a  partial  discovery  is  made,  but  there  is  still  a 
cover  of  some  kind,  wliich  preserves  somewhat  of 
secrecy  :  tliis  the  person  who  desires  to  know  the 
secret  thoroughly  must  endeavor  to  remove.  So  the 
mystery  of  tlie  seven  stars,  (Rev.  i.  20.)  is  an  allegory 
representing  the  seven  Asiatic  churches  under  the 
figure,  or  symbol,  of  seven  burning  lamps.  So  the 
mystcr}',  "  Babylon  the  Great,  is  an  allegorical  rep- 
resentation of  the  spiritual  Babylon,  spiritual  idolatry, 
spiritual  fornication,  &c.  and  to  this  agrees  the  ex- 
pression afterwards,  "  I  will  tell  thee  the  mystery  of 
the  woman ;"  that  is,  I  will  explain  to  thee  the  allego- 
ry of  this  figure.  Rev.  xvii.  5,  7. 

We  appreliend  that,  originally,  the  fathers  under- 
stood the  word  in  this  sense  ;  so  the  mystery  of  the 
sacrament  of  the  Lord's  body  and  blood,  is  the  fig- 
urative representation  of  the  Lord's  body.  But  the 
mysteries  among  the  heathen  in  time  perverted  this, 
and  the  true  idea  of  the  word  mystery,  into  senti- 
ments not  merely  unscriptural,  but  unwarrantable  and 
unwise.  It  may  be  proper  here  to  state  that  the 
heathen  mysteries  continued  to  be  performed  with 
great  pomp,  during  the  second  and  third  centuries  of 
Christianity  ;  and  were  not  wholly  suppressed  till  the 
emperor  Theodosius  closed  the  temples,  more  than 
a  hundred  years  later. 

Nevertheless,  it  cannot  be  denied,  that  there  are 
mysteries,  in  the  highest  sense  of  the  word,  in  Nature, 
Providence  and  Grace.  The  union  of  the  human 
soul  and  body  is  a  profound  secret :  the  origin  of  life 
is  a  profound  secret :  the  cause,  manner,  &c.  of 
thought  is  a  deep  secret.  So  are  many  dispensations 
of  Providence :  why  goodness  should  suffer  and 
evil  prosper,  is  a  secret  :  and  why  one  is  called 
and  another  lefl^  is  a  secret  of  secrets,  a  mystery  of 
grace  ! 

If  the  ways  and  works  of  God  are  mysteries,  we 
may  justly  expect  to  find  his  attributes,  his  essence, 


his  perfections,  his  nature,  inscrutable  mysteries  to 
us,  poor  worms  of  mankind!  Could  we  suppose — 
pardon  the  supposition — tliat  God  were  inclined  to 
instruct  us  in  this,  it  would  be  (as  we  are  constituted 
at  present)  teaching  us  a  maisterie,  which  we  have 
no  faculties  capable  of  learning  ;  it  would  be  speak- 
ing to  us  in  a  language  of  which  we  could  never 
comprehend  a  word  ;  it  would  be  overwhelming  us 
with  too  mighty,  too  extensive,  too  profound,  too  ex- 
alted, discoveries,  unless  we  were  previously  endued 
with  the  attributes  and  qualities  of  the  divine  nature ; 
with  immensity,  infinity,  ubiquity,  omniscience,  eter- 
nity, in  short,  with  deity  ! 

Now,  since  none  denies  the  existence  of  God,  be- 
cause he  cannot  comprehend  his  nature  and  essence, 
which  is  a  mystery  ;  so  none  ought  to  deny  exertions 
of  his  power,  goodness,  wisdom,  &c.  because  they 
imply  the  exercise  of  what  is  secret  to  mankind  in 
general :  and  this  principle,  which  is  undeniable  in 
nature,  ought  to  be  equally  undeniable  in  religion. 
In  short,  what  relates  to  God  may,  rather  must,  al- 
ways include  much  of  mystery.  Even  the  most 
direct  and  profound  intercourse  between  the  human 
powers,  and  their  ineffable  Creator,  mental  emotions, 
prayer  and  praise,  may  be  secrets,  that  is,  mysterious 
services,  but  not,  therefore,  less  devout,  or  less  ac- 
ceptable. 

MYSTICAL.  The  mystical  sense  of  Scripture  is 
that  which  is  gathered  from  the  terms  or  letter  of  va- 
rious passages,  beyond  their  literal  signification.  For 
example,  Babylon  signifies  literally  a  city  of  Chaldea, 
the  habitation  of  kings  who  persecuted  the  He- 
brews, and  who  were  overwhelmed  in  idolatry  and 
wickedness.  But  John,  in  the  Revelation,  gives 
the  name  of  Babylon,  mystically,  to  the  city  of  Rome. 
So  Jerusalem  is  literally  a  city  of  Judea  ;  but  mys- 
tically, the  heavenly  Jerusalem;  the  habitation  of 
the  saints,  &c.  The  serpent  is,  literally,  naturally,  a 
venomous  reptile,  but  mystically  is  the  devil,  *he  old 
serpent,  &c. 


N 


NAA 


I.  NAAMAH,  daughter  of  Lamech  and  Zillah,  and 
sister  of  Tubal-cain,  (Gen.  iv.  22.)  who  is  believed  to 
have  found  out  the  art  of  spinning  wool,  and  of 
making  or  enriching  cloth  and  stuffs. 

II.  NAAMAH,  an  Ammonitess,  wife  of  Solomon, 
and  mother  of  Rehoboam,  1  Kings  xiv.  21. 

NAAMAN,  a  general  hi  the  army  ofBenhadad, 
king  of  Syria,  who,  being  afflicted  with  a  leprosy,  was 
cured  by  washing  seven  times  in  the  Joi-dan,  agreea- 
bly to  the  command  of  Ehsha  the  prophet,  2  Kings 
V.     (Comp.  Lev.  xiv.  7,  &c.) 

The  prophet  having  refused  to  receive  a  present 
offered  to  him  by  Naaman,  the  latter  begged  that  he 
might  be  permitted  to  carry  home  two  mules'  burden 
of  the  earth  of  Canaan,  assigning  as  a  reason,  that 
henceforth  he  w^ould  serve  no  God  but  Jehovah.  It 
seems  that  his  intention  was  to  build  an  altar  in  Syria 
formed  of  that  holy  ground,  as  he  conceived  it  to  be, 
to  which  God  had  assigned  the  blessing  of  his  pecu- 
liar presence,  that  he  might  daily  testify  his  gratitude 
for  the  great  mercy  which  he  had  received,  that  he 
might  declare  openly  his  renunciation  of  idolatry,  and 
that  he  might  keep  a  sort  of  communication,  by  simil- 


NAAMAN 


itude  of  worship,  with  the  people  who  inhabited  the 
land  where  Elisha  dwelt,  who  had  so  miraculously 
cured  him.  This  is  perfectly  consistent  with  the 
precept,  (Exod.  xx.  24.)  "An  altar  of  earth  shalt  thou 
make  unto  me;"  and  it  is  very  credible,  that  the 
temporary  altars  were  usually  of  earth  ;  especially  on 
the  high  places.  To  such  an  altar,  apparently,  Elijah, 
afler  repairing  it,  added  twelve  stones,  in  allusion  to 
the  twelve  tribes  of  Israel,  1  Kings  xviii.  31.  See, 
however,  another  suggestion  in  respect  to  this  pas- 
sage, under  Baptism,  p.  143. 

Elisha  having  consented  to  this  request,  Naaman 
again  addressed  the  prophet  thus :  "  In  this  thing  the 
Lord  pai-don  thy  servant,  that  when  my  master  goeth 
into  the  house  of  Rimmon  to  worship  there,  and  he 
leaneth  on  my  hand,  and  I  bow  myself  in  the  house 
of  Rimmon  ;  when  I  bow  down  myself  in  the  house 
of  Rimmon,  the  Lord  pardon  thy  servant  in  this 
thing."  And  Elisha  said  to  him,  "  Go  in  peace." 
This  passage  has  given  rise  to  many  scruples.  Many 
commentators  think,  that  Naaman  only  asks  leave  to 
continue  those  external  services  to  his  master  Ben- 
hadad,  which  he  had  been  used  to  render  him,  when 


X  A  H 


[  692 


X  A I 


he  entered  the  temple  of  Rimnion  ;  and  that  Elisha 
suffered  him  to  accompany  the  Idng  into  the  temple, 
provided  he  paid  no  worship  to  the  idol.  Others, 
translating  the  Hebrew  in  the  past  tense,  suppose  that 
Naaman  mentions  only  his  former  sin,  and  asks  par- 
don for  it. 

NAARATII,  a  city  of  Ephraim,  (Josh.  xvi.  7.) 
about  five  miles  distant  from  Jericho. 

NABAL,  a  rich  but  churlish  man,  of  the  tribe  of 
Judah,  and  race  of  Caleb,  who  dwelt  in  the  south  of 
Judah,  and  who  had  a  very  numerous  flock  on  Car- 
mcl,  but  refused  to  give  David  and  his  followers,  in 
their  distress,  any  ])rovisioiis,  though  modesdy  re- 
([uested  to  do  so.  David,  resenting  this  harsh  treat- 
ment, so  contrary  to  the  usages  of  eastern  hospitality, 
armed  400  of  his  people,  and  resolved  to  })ut  Nabal 
and  his  family  to  the  sword.  In  the  interim,  however, 
one  of  Nabal's  servants  acquainted  hir;  wife  Abigail 
with  what  had  passed,  and  she,  as  a  wise  and  pru- 
dent woman,  having  justified  David's  people,  pre- 
pared provisions  and  refreshments,  with  which  she 
appeased  David.  On  her  return  home,  Abigail  ajj- 
prized  Nabal  of  the  danger  he  had  brought  himself 
into,  and  her  account  had  such  effect  on  his  mind, 
that  he  became  as  immovable  as  a  stotio,  and  died  in 
ten  davs,  1  Sam.  xxv.  25,  &c. 

NAIJATHEANS,  or  Nabathemans,  Arabians 
descended  from  Nebajoth.  Their  country  is  called 
Nabathiiea,  and  extends  from  The  Euphrates  to  the 
Red  sea,  the  chief  cities  of  which  are  Petra,  the  capital 
of  Arabia  Deserta,  and  IMedaba. 

NABONASSAR,  the  first  king  of  Babylon.  See 
Babylon,  ]).  138. 

NABOPOLASSAR,  see  Nebuchadnezzar  I, 

NABOTII,  an  Israelite  of  Jezreel,  who  lived  under 
Ahab,  king  of  Israel,  and  had  a  vineyard  in  Jezreel, 
near  to  the  king's  palace,  which  he  refusing  to  trans- 
fer to  the  king,  was,  by  the  conunand  of  Jezebel, 
falsely  accused  of  blasphemy,  condenmed,and  stoned 
to  death,  1  Kings  xxi.  Jezebel  immediately  went  to 
the  king,  and  wished  him  joy  of  the  vineyard,  of 
which  Ahab  instantly  took  possession.  See  Ahab, 
Jezebel,  and  2  Kings  ix.  10. 

NACHON.  The  floor  of  Nachon  (2  Sam.  vi.  G.) 
was  either  so  called  from  the  name  of  its  proprietor; 
or,  which  is  more  probal)le,  the  Hebrew  denotes  the 
prepared  floor,  that  is,  die  floor  of  Obed-edom,  which 
was  near,  and  was  ])repared  to  receive  tlie  ark.  This 
place,  wherever  it  might  be,  was  either  in  Jerusalem, 
or  very  near  Jerusalem,  and  near  the  house  of  Obed- 
edom,  in  that  city. 

I.  NADAB,  son  of  Aaron,  and  brother  of  Abihu, 
who  offered  incense  to  the  Lord  with  strange,  that 
is,  common,  fire,  not  with  that  which  had  been  mi- 
raculously lighted  on  tlie  altar  of  burnt-offerings,  was 
slain  by  the  Lord  together  with  his  brother,  Lev.  x.  9. 

II.  NADAB,  son  of  Jeroboam  I.  king  of  Israel, 
succeeded  his  father  A.  M.  5050,  and  reigned  hut  two 
years,  being  assassinated  while  besieging  Gibbethon, 
by  Baasha,  son  of  Ahij;di,  of.  the  tribe  of  Issachar, 
who  usurped  his  kingdom.  Scripture  says  Nadab 
did  evil  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord,  1  Kings  xv.  25. 

NAHAL/\L,  and  Nahalol,  a  city  of  Zebulun, 
(Josh.  xix.  1-5.)  yielded  to  the  Levites,  and  given  to 
the  family  of  Merari,  Josli.  xxi.  35.  The  children  of 
Zebuhm  did  not  maki;  themselves  complete  masters 
of  it,  but  permitted  the  Canaanites  to  dwell  in  it, 
Judg.  i.  30. 

NAHALIIiL,  un  encampment  of  the  Israelites  in 
the  wilderness,  (Numb.  xxi.  19.)  wliich  Eusebius 
places  on  the  Arnon. 


I.  N  AH  ASH,  a  king  of  the  Ammonites,  who,  be- 
sieging Jabesh-Gilead,  was  defeated  and  killed  by 
Saul,  1  Sam.  xi.  The  piece  of  mutilating  barbarity 
proposed  to  the  inhabitants  of  Jabesh-Gilead,  by  Na- 
hash,  "  that  I  may  thrust  out  all  your  right  eyes,  and 
lay  it  for  a  reproach  upon  Israel,"  perhaps  by  alter- 
ing the  name  of  the  town  to  that  of  "  those  who  have 
lost  their  right  eyes,"  is  worthy  of  notice.  We  must, 
however,  recollect,  that  the  loss  of  the  eyes  is  a  pun- 
ishment regularly  inflicted  on  rebels  and  others  in  the 
East.  Mr.  Han  way,  in  his  "  Journey  in  Persia,"  gives 
very  striking  instances  of  this  practice;  the  cruelty 
of  wliich,  and  the  sight  of  the  streaming  blood,  were 
felt  by  that  gentleman  as  a  m.an  of  humanity  and  a 
Christian  must  feel  them.     See  Blind,  p.  195,  19G. 

II.  NAHASH,  a  king,  of  the  Ammonites,  and  a 
friend  to  David  ;  probably  son  to  the  above,  2  Sam. 
xvii.  27. 

III.  NAHASH,  father  of  Abigail  and  Zeruiah,  is 
thought  to  be  the  same  as  Jesse,  father  of  David. 
(Comp.  2  Sam.  xvii.  25,  and  1  Chron.  ii.  13,  15, 16.) 
Tiiis  perhaps  nnght  be  the  siu-name  of  Jesse,  the 
father  of  David.  Others  think  that  Naliash  is  the 
name  of  Jesse's  wife  ;  biu  the  first  explication  seems 
to  be  the  best. 

NAHASSON,  sou  of  Aminadab,  and  head  of  the 
tribe  of  Judah  at  the  exodus.  Numb.  vii.  12,  13. 

I.  NAHOR,  son  of  Serug,  and  father  of  Terah,  was 
born  A.  M.  1849,  and  died  aged  148  years,  Gen.  ix. 
22  24. 

il.  NAHOR,  son  of  Terah,  and  brother  of  Abra- 
ham, Gen.  xi.  26.  He  married  Wilcah,  daughter  of 
Haran,  by  whom  he  had  several  sons — Huz,  Buz, 
Kemuel,  Kesed,  Hazo,  Pildash,  Jidlaph  and  Bcthiiel. 
Nahor  fixed  his  habitation  at  Haran,  which  is,  there- 
fore, called  the  city  of  Nahor,  Gen.  xxiv.  10. 

NAHUM,  the  seventh  of  the  twelve  minor  proph- 
ets. The  circumstances  of  Nahum's  hfe  are  un- 
known. His  prophecy  consists  of  three  chapters, 
which  form  one  discourse,  in  which  he  foretells  the 
destruction  of  Nineveh,  in  so  powerful  and  vivid  a 
manner,  that  he  seems  to  have  been  on  the  very  spot. 

Opinions  are  divided  as  to  the  time  in  which  Na- 
hum  prophesied.  Josei)hus  says,  he  foretold  the  fall 
of  Nineveh  115  years  before  it  happened,  which 
makes  him  contemporary  with  Ahaz.  The  Jews  say, 
that  he  prophesied  under  Manasseh  ;  Clemens  Alex- 
andrinus  places  him  between  Daniel  and  Ezekiel,  and, 
consequently,  during  the  captivity.  The  best  inter- 
preters, as  Gesenius,  Rosen  mliller,  and  others, 
ado  t  Jerome's  ojiinion,  that  he  foretold  the  de- 
struction of  Nineveh  in  the  time  of  Hezekiah,  and 
after  the  war  of  Sennacherib  in  Egypt,  mentioned  by 
Berosus.  Nahum  speaks  of  the  taking  of  No-ammon, 
of  the  haughtiness  of  Rabshakeh,  and  of  the  defeat  of 
Scnnachc>ril>,  as  things  that  were  passed.  He  supposes 
that  the  tribe  of  Judah  were  still  in  their  own  country, 
and  that  they  there  celebrated  their  festivals.  He  no- 
tices also  the  cajnivity  and  dispersion  of  the  ten  trilies. 

NAIL.  Few  things  are  more  perjjlexing  to  dis- 
tant strangers  than  those  which  are  of  daily  o(^ciu'- 
rence  in  their  owii  coimtry  ;  their  very  familiarity 
renders  them  beneath  the  notice  of  persons  where 
they  are  practised,  svho,  therefore,  seldom  report  them, 
but  where  tl>ey  are  not  j)ractised,  simple  as  they  are 
in  themselves,  they  occasion  much  perplexity  to  those 
who  wjsh  to  understand  what  they  read.  Om-  ti-ans- 
lation  renders  by  one  word,  7iail,  what  the  Hebrew 
emi)loys  two  words  to  denote  ;  a  distinction  which 
seems  to  imjjort  a  difference. 

(1.)  The  nail  of  Jael's  tent,  or  rather  the  tent-pin, 


NAIL 


[  G93  ] 


NAM 


with  which  she  killed  Sisera,  is  called  nn^,  yathed ;  it 
was  formed  for  penetrating  earth,  or  other  liard  sub- 
stance, when  driven  by  sufficient  force,  as  with  a 
hammer  ;  it  includes  the  idea  of  strength.  So,  in 
Isa.  xxii.  23,  the  idea  is  that  of  strength  :  "  I  will  fasten 
him  as  a  nail  (ini)  in  a  siu-e  place,"  that  is,  he  shall  be 
strong  enough  to  support  whatever  is  suspended  on 
him.  This  illustrates  an  allusion  of  the  jn-ophet 
Zechariah,  X.  4,  "The  Lord  hath  made  (Judah)  his 
flock  of  sheep,  &c.  which  are  naturally  timid,  as 
martial  as  a  horse  trained  to  battle ;  yea,  out  of  Judah 
shall  come  the  chief  for  the  corner,  (a  hero,)  out  of 
Judah  shall  come  the  strong  nail,  or  pike-head,  (ir>,) 
which  shall  effect  whatever  is  requisite,  by  Ibrce  or 
strength ;  out  of  him  shall  come  the  battle-bow, 
with  powers  augmented  by  additional  vigor;  out  of 
him  shall  come  the  general  regulator,  (the  commander- 
in-chief,  perhaps,)  at  once  ;"  meaning,  most  probably, 
different  ranks  of  men,  (the  lower  class,  the  nail,  hum- 
ble but  strong ;  a  superior  class,  the  battle-bow,) 
which,  combined  in  their  proper  stations,  should  com- 
pose a  formidable  army.  Observe,  too,  these  shall 
come  at  once,  without  much  disciplining;  without 
that  exi)eriencc  in  former  wars,  which  is  usually 
necessary  to  form  the  complete  military  character. 

We  add  Chardin's  account  of  the  manner  of  fasten- 
ing nails  in  the  East:  "They  do  not  drive  whh  a 
hammer  the  nails  that  are  put  into  the  eastern  walls; 
the  walls  are  too  hard,  being  of  brick  ;  or  if  they  are 
of  clay,  they  are  too  mouldering  ;  but  they  fix  them  in 
the  brick- work  as  they  are  building.  They  are  large 
nails,  with  square  heads  like  dice,  well  made,  the  ends 
bent  so  as  to  make  them  cramp-irons.  They  com- 
monly place  them  at  the  windows  and  doors,  in  order 
to  hang  upon  them,  when  they  like,  veils  and  cur- 
tains."    (Harmer,  vol.  i.  p.  19L) 

(2.)  But  we  have  another  word  for  nails,  which 
seems  to  imply  ornament,  rather  than  strength  ;  or 
something  of  dignified  stability.  So  we  read,  2  Chron. 
iii.  9,  "The  weight  of  the  nails  (nnrac,  mismeroth) 
was  fifly  shekels  of  gold."  These  nails,  then,  being 
of  gold,  were  used  to  adorn  the  holy  place,  no  less 
than  to  strengthen  it.  We  have  the  same  word, 
though  varied,  in  1  Chron.  xxii.  3.  David  prepared 
iron  in  abundance  for  the  nails,  (Qn:ar,  viismerim,) 
designed  to  ornament,  no  doubt,  the  leaves  of  the 
doors  of  the  sanctuary  entrance  ;  for,  had  the  inten- 
tion been  only  to  fasten  these  doors,  what  need  of  so 
great  a  quantity  ? 

Observe  how  Ezra  employs  his  simile,  chap.  ix.  8 : 
"  The  Lord  leaves  us  a  remnant  to  escape,  to  give  us 
a  nail — not  an  ornamental  nail,  not  a  golden  stud,  but 
a  yathed,  a  nail  of  support  in  his  holy  place."  Can  any 
thing  be  less  arrogant,  than  assimilation  to  such  a 
nail  ? 

But  the  idea  of  Eccl.  xii.  11,  seems  to  be  the  reverse 
of  this:  "The  words  (sayings)  of  the  wise  are  as 
goads,"  sharp,  piercing,  penetrating,  stimulating, 
when  taken  each  one  by  itself;  but  wlicn  combined 
they  are  like  ornamental  nails  {mismeroth)  planted  in 
a  regular  order,  and  disposed  in  symmetrical  rows, 
or  patterns,  as  those  were  in  the  holy  place,  or  those 
in  the  doors  of  the  sanctuary. 

This  gives  also  the  true  import  of  the  expression, 
Isa.  xli.  7  :  "  The  image  is  ready  for  joining  together," 
thati9,thc  junctures  fit  accurately  to  each  other,  now 
Jix  them  to  each  other  ;  and  he  strengthens  it,  by 
driving  in  ornamental  nnils,  nails  of  the  best  kind, 
{mismerim,)  or,  at  least,  flat-headed  nails,  not  brads ; 
that  it  should  not  start,  be  separated,  fall  to  pieces." 
This  is  very  different  from  the  usual  notion  of  the 


passage,  but  is  supported  by  Jer.  x.  4 :  "  They  deck 
the  image  with  silver  and  with  gold  ;  with  ornamental 
nails,  {mismeroth,)  and  with  piercings  ;  they  bind  it 
tightly  together,  compact  it,  brace  it  up,  and  add 
to  the  whole  a  delicate  coat  of  paint,  for  complete 
decoration;"  as  we  know  was  customary  in  early 
antiquity. 

NAIN,  a  city  of  Palestine,  where  Jesus  restored  a 
widow's  son  to  life,  as  they  were  carrying  him  out  to 
be  binied.  Eusebius  says,  it  was  in  the  neighborhood 
of  Endor  and  Scythopolis  ;  and  elsewliere,  that  it  was 
two  miles  from  Tabor,  south.  The  brook  Kishon 
ran  between  Tabor  and  Nain. 

NAIOTII,  a  town  near  Ramah,  where  David 
withdrew  to  avoid  the  violence  of  Saul;  and  where 
Samuel,  with  the  sons  of  the  prophets,  dwelt,  1  Sam. 
xix.  23. 

NAKEDNESS.  This  term,  besides  its  ordinary 
and  literal  meaning,  sometimes  signifies,  void  of  suc- 
cor, disarmed.  So,  after  worshipping  the  golden 
calf,  the  Israelites  found  themselves  naked  in  the 
midst  of  their  enemies.  "Nakedness  of  the  feet  "was 
a  token  of  respect.  Moses  put  off  his  shoes  to  ap- 
proach the  burning  bush.  Most  commentators  are 
of  opinion,  that  the  priests  served  in  the  tabernacle 
and  temple  with  their  feet  naked  ;  which  idea  is 
countenanced  by  the  fact,  that  in  the  enumeration 
that  Moses  makes  of  the  habit  and  ornaments  of  the 
priests,  he  no  Avhere  mentions  any  dress  for  the  feet. 
Some  also  maintain,  that  the  Israelites  might  not 
enter  this  holy  place,  till  they  had  put  off  their  shoes, 
and  cleaned  their  feet.  (See  Eccles.  v.  1.)  "Naked- 
ness of  the  feet"  sometimes  expresses  what  delicacy 
would  conceal.  Lam.  i.  9. 

"Nakedness  "should  in  many  places  be  understood 
as  our  word  undressed  ; — not  fully,  or  proj>erly,  or 
becomingly  clothed.  A  king  having  on  only  his 
under-clothing,  is  undressed,  that  is,  naked,  for  a 
king  ;  though  his  garb  might  suit  a  laborer.  When 
the  apostle  says,  (1  Cor.  iv.  11.)  "  To  this  present  hour 
we  are  naked,"  he  does  not  mean  absolute  nakedness, 
in  the  same  sense  as  Job  says,  (i.  21.)  "Naked  came 
I  out  of  my  mother's  w^omb,  and  naked  shall  I  return  ;" 
but  he  means  unprovided  with  suitable  clothing.  To 
the  same  efiect,  a  nation,  or  people,  is  said  to  be  made 
naked  ;  (Exod.  xxxii.  25 ;  2  Chron.  xxviii.  19.)  "  Asa 
made  Judah  naked  ;  "  unprovided  with  means  of  re- 
sisting the  enemy.  So  the  walls  of  Babylon  are  said 
to  be  made  naked  ;  (Jer.  li.  58.)  that  is,  strijjped  of  their 
towers  and  other  defences  ;  and  a  tree  in  the  wilder- 
ness is  described  as  naked,  deprived  of  its  verdure,  its 
foliage,  Jer.  xlviii.  6.  In  warm  countries  slight  cloth- 
ing, or  even  nakedness,  is  more  endurable  than  with 
us;  but  when  nakedness  is  put  absolutely,  it  usually 
intends  a  shameful  discovery  of  the  person  ;  ruthless 
privation  of  necessaries,  degradation,  misery. 

"Naked"  is  put  for  discovered,  known,  manifest. 
So  Job  xxvi.  (j,  "  Hell  is  naked  before  him ; "  the 
sejudchro,  the  unseen  state,  is  open  to  the  eyes  of 
God.  Paid  says  in  the  same  sense,  "  Neither  is  there 
any  creature  that  is  not  manifest  in  his  sight ;  but  all 
things  are  naked  and  open  unto  the  eyes  of  him  with 
whom  we  have  to  do,"  Heb.  iv.  13. 

The  nakedness  of  Adam  and  Eve  was  unknown, 
that  is,  unfelt ;  they  were  unconscious  of  it,  before 
they  sinned.  They  were  not  ashamed  at  it,  because 
concupiscence  and  irregular  desires  had  not  yet  excit- 
ed the  flesh  against  the  spirit.  They  were  exempt 
from  whatever  indecency  might  now  happen  among 
their  descendants  on  occasion  of  nakedness. 

NAME.     "  The  name,"  without  any  addition,  sig- 


NAIVIE 


[  694  ] 


NAP 


nifies  the  name  of  the  Lord,  which,  out  of  respect, 
was  not  pronounced.  "  The  Israelitish  woman's  son 
blasphemed  the  name,"  Lev.  xxiv.  11.  "The  name 
of  God  "  often  stands  for  God  himself,  his  power,  or 
majesty.  Our  assistance,  or  strength,  and  hope,  is  in 
the  name  of  God,  in  his  goodness,  power,  &c.  To 
take  the  name  of  God  in  vain,  (Exod.  xx.  7.)  is  to 
Bwear  falsely,  or  without  occasion  ;  or  to  mingle  the 
name  of  God  in  our  discourses,  or  oaths,  either  falsely, 
rashly,  wantonly,  unnecessarily,  or  presumptuously. 
God  forbids  to  "make  mention  of  the  names  of  other 
gods,"  Exod.  xxiii.  13.  It  is  doing  them  too  much 
honor  to  swear  by  their  names,  to  take  them  as  wit- 
nesses of  what  we  affirm,  as  if  they  were  really  some- 
thing. The  Hebrews  hardly  ever  pronounced  the 
name  Baal ;  they  disfigured  it,  by  saying  Mephibo- 
sheth,  or  Meribosheth,'instead  of  INIephibaal,  or  Meri- 
baal ;  where  Bosheth  signifies  something  shameful  or 
contemptible  ;  instead  of  saying  Elohim,  they  said 
Elihm,  gods  of  filthiness. 

To  give  a  name  is  a  token  of  command  and  author- 
ity. A  father  gives  names  to  his  children,  a  master 
to  his  slaves,  to  his  animals.  It  is  said,  (Gen.  ii.  23.) 
that  Adam  gave  name  to  his  wife  and  to  all  the  animals, 
and  that  the  names  he  gave  them  became  their  true 
names.  God  changed  the  name  of  Abram,  Jacob  and 
Sarai,  as  a  token  of  honor,  an  addition,  expressing  his 
particular  regard  towards  those  whom  he  receives, 
more  especially,  into  the  number  of  his  own.  Hence 
he  gave  a  name,  even  before  their  birth,  to  some  per- 
sons whom  he  appointed,  and  who  belonged  to  him  in 
a  particulai*  manner:  e.  g.  to  Jedidiah,  or  Solomon, 
son  of  David,  to  the  Messiah,  to  John  the  Baptist,  &c. 

God,  speaking  to  Moses,  promises  to  send  his  angel 
before  him  ;  and  says,  "  My  name  is  in  him,"  Exod. 
xxiii.  21.  He  shall  act,  he  shall  speak,  he  shall  pun- 
ish in  my  name  ;  he  shall  bear  my  name,  he  shall  be 
my  ambassador,  he  shall  receive  the  same  honors  as 
belong  to  me.  And  in  effect,  the  angel  that  spake  to 
Moses,  that  appeared  to  him  in  the  bush,  that  gave 
him  the  law  on  mount  Sinai,  speaks  and  acts  always 
as  God  himself;  and  Moses  always  gives  him  the 
name  of  God  :  "  Thus  saith  the  Lord,"  and  "  The  Lord 
spake  to  Moses,"  &c. 

To  know  any  one  by  his  name,  (Exod.  xxxiii.  12.) 
expresses  a  distinction,  a  friendship,  a  particular  famil- 
iarity. The  kings  of  the  East  had  little  connnunica- 
tion  with  then*  subjects,  and  hai'dly  ever  appeared  in 
public  ;  so  that  when  they  knew  their  servants  by 
name,  vouchsafed  to  speak  to  them,  to  call  them,  and 
to  admit  them  into  their  presence,  it  was  a  gi*cat  mark 
of  favor.  In  many  eastern  countries  the  true  per- 
sonal name  of  the  king  is  unknown  to  his  subjects  ; 
in  Japan,  to  pronounce  the  emperor's  real  name  is 
punishable  ;  his  general  name,  as  emperor,  is  held  to 
be  sufficiently  sacred.  Titles  often  became  names, 
or  parts  of  names  ;  by  these  titles  many  sovereigns  are 
known  in  history  ;  and  varying  with  incidents  and 
occurrences,  they  occasion  great  confusion. 

Those  who  in  the  assemblies  were  called  by  their 
names,  (Numb.  xvi.  2.)  were  principals  of  the  people, 
the  heads  of  tril)es ;  or  those  who  had  some  great 
employment,  or  particular  dignity. 

God,  speaking  of  the  fixed  place  where  his  temple 
should  be  built,  calls  it  "  The  place  which  the  Lord 
shall  choose  to  place  his  name  there,"  Deut.  xiv.  23  ; 
xvi.  2.  There  his  name  should  be  solenmly  invoked  ; 
this  place  should  have  the  honor  of  bearing  the  name 
of  the  Lord,  of  being  consecrated  to  his  service  and 
worship.  These  expressions  show  the  veneration  of 
the  Hebrews  for  whatever  in  any  wise  belonged  to  God. 


"Name"  is  often  put  for  renown  or  reputation. 
The  name  of  Joshua  became  famous  over  all  the 
country  ;  (Josh.  vi.  27.)  and  God  said  to  David,  when 
he  reproached  him  with  the  crime  he  had  committed 
with  Bathsheba,  "  I  have  made  thee  a  great  name, 
like  unto  the  name  of  the  great  men  that  are  in  the 
earth ; "  (2  Sam.  vii.  9.)  I  have  given  you  honor  and 
reputation,  equal  to  that  of  the  gi-eatest  of  mon- 
archs. 

"  To  raise  up  the  name  of  the  dead,"  (Ruth  iv.  5, 
10,  &c.)  is  said  of  the  brother  of  a  man  who  died 
without  children,  when  his  brother  married  the 
widow  of  the  deceased,  and  revived  his  name  in  Israel, 
by  means  of  the  children  which  he  might  beget ;  and 
which  were  deemed  to  be  children  of  the  deceas- 
ed. In  a  contrary  sense  to  this,  to  blot  out  the  name 
of  any  one,  is  to  exterminate  his  memory  ;  to  extirpate 
his  race,  his  children,  works,  or  houses,  and  in  general 
whatever  may  continue  his  name  on  the  earth,  Ps,  ix. 
5  ;  Prov.  x.  7. 

Isaiah  (iv.  1.)  describes  a  time  of  calamity  and  dis- 
grace in  Israel,  in  which  men  should  be  veiy  scarce  : 
he  says,  "  In  that  day  seven  women  shall  take  hold  of 
one  man,  saying.  We  will  eat  our  own  bread,  and 
wear  our  own  apparel ;  only  let  us  be  called  by  thy 
name,  to  take  away  our  reproach."  Take  us  for 
wives,  and  let  us  be  called  your  spouses.  The  Lord 
complains  in  Ezekiel,  that  his  spouses  (Judah  and 
Israel)  are  become  prostitutes,  though  they  hole  his 
name  ;  they  defiled  his  holy  name  by  abominationa 
and  idolatry. 

God  often  complains  that  the  false  prophets  prophe- 
sied in  his  name  ;  (Jer.  xiv.  14,  15 ;  xxvii.  15,  &c.) 
and  Christ  says,  (Matt.  vii.  22.)  that  in  the  day  of  judg- 
ment many  shall  say,  "  Lord,  Loi'd,  have  we  not 
prophesied  in  thy  name,  and  in  thy  name  cast  out 
devils,  and  in  thy  name  done  many  wonderful  works  ?" 
He  also  says,  (Mark  ix.  41.)  whosoever  shall  give  a 
cup  of  cold  water  in  his  name,  shall  not  lose  his  re- 
ward ;  and  he  that  receives  a  prophet  or  a  just 
man,  in  the  name  of  a  prophet  or  a  just  man, 
shall  receive  a  recompense  in  proportion  to  his  good 
intention,  Matt.  x.  41.  In  all  these  instances  the 
"  name"  is  put  for  the  person,  for  his  service,  his  sake, 
his  authority.  So  names  of  men  are  sometimes  put 
for  persons.  Rev.  iii.  4,  "  Thou  hast  a  few  names 
even  in  Sardis,  which  have  not  defiled  their  garments." 
And  chap.  xi.  13,  seven  thousand  men  perished  in  the 
earthquake, — names  of  men,  Gr.  Perhaps  this  should 
be  considered  as  implying  men  of  name,  persons  of 
consequence,  nobles,  &c.  It  is  probable,  also,  that 
this  phrase  contains  some  allusion  to  a  list  or  cata- 
logue of  names ;  veiy  credibly,  of  eminent  persona, 
for  we  find  it  in  Acts  ii.  15,  expressing  the  apostles  and 
principals  of  the  Christian  church — "  The  number  of 
the  names  was  about  a  hundred  and  twenty."  There 
were  many  thousands  of  followers  of  Jesus  in  Jerusa- 
lem ;  but  the  apostles,  the  Seventy  and  some  others, 
enough  to  make  up  about  the  number  stated,  were 
the  principals. 

There  were  certain  mysterious  notions  connected 
with  the  names  of  individuals ;  hence,  in  calling  a 
muster-roll  of  soldiers,  the  sergeants  always  began 
with  names  of  good  oinen,  as  Felix,  Faustus,  &c. 
analogous  to  our  Good-luck,  Happy,  &c.  Also,  the 
number  comprised  in  the  letters  of  a  name  was  mys- 
terious, as  that  of  Antichrist.     See  that  article. 

NAOMI,  wife  of  Elimelech,  and  mother-in-law  of 
Ruth.     See  Ruth. 

NAPHTALI,  the  sixth  son  of  Jacob,  by  Bilhah, 
Rachel's  handmaid.  Gen.  xxx.  8.     We  know  but  few 


NAV 


[  695  ] 


NAE 


particulars  of  the  life  of  Naphtali.  His  sons  were 
Jahzeel,  Guni,  Jezer  and  Shillem,  Gen.  xlvi.  24. 
Tlie  patriarch  Jacob,  when  he  gave  his  blessing,  said, 
as  it  is  in  the  English  Bible,  "  Naphtali  is  a  hind  let 
loose ;  he  giveth  goodly  words,"  Gen.  xlix.  21. 
For  an  illustration  of  this  passage,  see  the  article 
Hind. 

NAPHTUHIM,  the  fourth  son  of  Mizraim,  Gen.  x. 
13.     He  dwelt  in  Egypt,  and  probably  peopled  that 

Sart  of  Ethiopia,  between  Syene  and  Meroe,  of  "which 
Tapata,  or  Napatea,  was  the  capital. 
NARCISSUS,  a  freedman  and  favorite  of  the  Ro- 
man emperor  Claudius,  who  possessed  great  influ- 
ence at  court,  Rom.  xvi.  11. 

NATHAN,  a  famous  prophet,  who  lived  under 
David,  and  had  much  of  the  confidence  of  that 
prince,  whom  he  served  in  a  number  of  ways.  (See 
2  Sam.  xi.  xii.  &c.)  The  time  and  manner  of  Na- 
than's death  are  not  known.  1  Chron.  xxix.  29,  no- 
tices that  he,  with  Gad,  wrote  the  history  of  David. 
There  are  several  other  persons  of  this  name  men- 
tioned in  Scripture ;  one  of  them  a  son  of  David, 
2  Sam.  V.  14. 

NATHANAEL,  a  disciple  of  Christ,  the  manner 
of  whose  convei-sion  is  related  John  i.  46,  &:c.  He 
is  probably  the  same  as  Bartholomew.  See  Bar- 
tholomew. 

NATION,  all  the  inhabitants  of  a  particular  coun- 
try, (Deut.  iv.  34.)  a  country  or  kingdom,  (Exod. 
xxxiv.  10 ;  Rev.  vii.  9.)  countrymen,  natives  of  the 
same  stock,  (Acts  xxvi.  4.)  the  father,  head,  and  ori- 
ginal of  a  people,  (Gen.  xxv.  23.)  the  heathen,  or 
Gentiles,  Isa.  Iv.  5.     See  Gentiles,  or  Heathen. 

NATURE,  in  Scripture,  expresses  the  course  of 
things  established  in  the  world.  So  a  crime  is  said 
to  be  against  nature,  because  it  is  contrarj'  to  what  is 
established  by  the  Creator,  Rom.  i.  26  ;  Judg.  xix. 
24.  Paul  says,  to  engraft  a  good  olive-tree  into  a  wild 
olive,  is  contrary  to  nature  ;  (Rom.  xi.  24.)  the  cus- 
tomary order  of  nature  is  thereby  in  some  measure 
inverted.  "  Nature  "  is  also  put  for  natural  descent ; 
(Gal.  ii.  15  ;  Eph.  ii.  3.)  and  for  common  sense,  nat- 
ural instinct,  1  Cor.  xi.  14.  The  nature  of  animals 
is  that  by  which  they  are  distinguished  from  other 
creatures,  and  from  one  another,  James  iii.  7. 

Peter  informs  us  that  our  Saviour  has  made  us 
partakers  of  a  divine  nature  ;  he  has  merited  for  us 
the  character  of  children  of  God,  and  grace  to  prac- 
tise godliness,  &c.  like  our  Father  who  is  in  heaven. 
(Comp.  1  John  iii.  1.) 

NAVIGATION  was  little  cuhivated  among  the 
Hebrews,  till  the  days  of  their  kings  :  Solomon  had 
a  fleet,  but  he  had  not  sailors  equal  to  the  manage- 
ment of  it;  no  doubt,  from  their  want  of  habit.  Mo- 
ses mentions  nothing  of  navigation,  and  David,  it 
should  seem,  rather  acquired  his  great  wealth  by  land 
commerce  than  by  sea  voyages.  It  is  not  easy  to 
say  what  assistance  the  wisdom  of  Solomon  contrib- 
uted to  his  fleet  and  officers  on  the  mighty  ocean. 
Perhaps  his  extensive  knowledge  of  natural  things 
first  suggested  the  plan  of  these  voyages.  We  know 
that  Judea  had  ports  on  the  Mediterranean,  as  Joppa, 
&c.  but  probably  the  coast,  during  the  days  of  the 
judges,  was  in  the  hands  of  the  Philistines,  to  the  ex- 
clusion of  Hebrew  mariners  ;  and  this  accounts  for 
the  means  by  which  the  Philistines,  on  so  narrow  a 
slip  of  land,  could  become  jwwerful,  and  could  occa- 
sionally furnish  immense  armies,  because  they  were 
free  to  receive  reinforcements  by  sea.  In  later  ages 
the  Greeks  and  Romans  invaded  Syria  by  sea,  and  the 
intercourse  between  Judea  and  Rome  was  direct  •  as 


we   learn   from   the   voyage  of  Paul,  &c.     Comp. 
Joppa. 

There  were  also  many  boats  and  lesser  vessels 
employed  in  navigating  the  lakes,  or  seas,  as  the 
Hebrews  called  them,  which  are  in  the  Holy  Land ; 
and  there  must  have  been  some  embarkations  on  the 
Jordan ;  but  the  whole  of  these  were  trifling  ;  and  it 
appears,  that  though  Providence  taught  navigation 
to  mankind,  yet  it  was  not  the  design  of  Providence 
that  the  chosen  people,  and  the  depositaries  of  the 
Messiah,  should  have  been  other  than  a  settled  or 
local  nation,  attached  to  one  countiy,  to  which  coun- 
try, and  even  to  certain  of  its  towns,  peculiar  privi- 
leges were  attributed  in  prophecy,  and  by  divine  ap- 
pointment. The  legal  observances,  distinction  of 
meats,  &c.  were  great  impediments  to  Jewish  sailors, 
and  prevented  their  attainment  of  any  great  skill  in 
navigation. 

NAZARENE,  see  Nazarite. 

NAZARETH,  a  little  town  of  Zebulun,  in  lower 
Galilee,  west  of  Tabor,  and  east  of  Ptolemais  ;  cele- 
brated for  having  been  the  residence  of  Christ  for 
the  first  thirty-three  years  of  his  hfe,  (Luke  ii.  51.) 
and  from  which  he  received  the  name  of  Nazarene. 
After  he  had  begun  his  mission,  he  sometimes 
preached  here  in  the  synagogue,  (Luke  iv.  16.)  but 
because  his  countrymen  had  no  faith  in  him,  and 
were  oflTended  at  the  meanness  of  his  origin,  he  did 
not  many  miracles  among  them,  (Matt.  xiii.  54,  58.) 
and  fixed  his  habitation  at  Capernaum  for  the  latter 
part  of  his  life,  Matt.  iv.  13.  Nazareth  is  situated  on 
high  gi-ound,  having  on  one  side  a  precipice,  from 
whence  the  Nazarenes  one  day  attempted  to  throw 
down  our  Saviour,  because  he  upbraided  them  with 
their  unbelief,  Luke  iv.  29. 

Nazareth  is  upon  the  side  of  a  barren,  rocky  eleva- 
tion, facing  the  east,  and  commanding  a  long  valley, 
of  a  round,  concave  form,  and  encompassed  with 
mountains.  The  place  is  shown  where  the  house  of 
the  Holy  Virgin  stood  ;  but  the  house  itself,  say  the 
Catholics,  was  transported  by  angels  to  Loretto  !  Dr. 
E.  D.  Clarke,  who  describes  Nazareth,  mentions  the 
village  of  Sephoury,  in  which  is  shown  the  house  of 
St.  Anna,  the  mother  of  the  Virgin  Maiy,  five  railea 
from  the  town  ;  the  fountain  near  Nazareth,  called 
the  "  Virgin  Mary's  fountain  ;"  the  gi-eat  church,  or 
convent,  at  that  time  the  refuge  of  wretches  afilicted 
with  the  plague,  hoping  for  recovery  from  the  sanc- 
tity of  the  place  ;  Joseph's  workshop,  converted  into 
a  chapel ;  the  synagogue  wherein  Jestis  is  said  to 
have  preached,  now  a  church  ;  the  precipice,  whence 
the  inhabitants  would  have  thrown  our  Lord,  con- 
cerning which  "  the  words  of  the  evangelist  are  re- 
markablv  explicit ;  and  it  is,  probably,  the  precise 
spot  alluded  to  in  the  text  of  Luke's  Gospel."— A 
stone,  that  is  said  to  have  served  as  a  table  to  Christ 
and  his  disciples,  is  an  object  of  woi-ship  to  the  super- 
stitious of  Galilee. 

[The  following  description  of  Nazareth,  and  the 
"brow  of  the  hill  "  on  which  it  stood,  is  given  by  Dr. 
Jowett,  (Chr.  Researches  in  Syria,  p.  128,  Amer.  ed.) 
"  Nazareth  is  situated  on  the  side,  and  extends  near- 
ly to  the  foot,  of  a  hill,  which,  though  not  very  high, 
is  rather  steep  and  overhanging.  The  eye  naturally 
wanders  over  its  summit,  in  quest  of  some  point  from 
which  it  might  probably  be  that  the  men  of  this  place 
endeavored  to  cast  ourSaviour  doAvn,  (Luke  iv.  29.) 
but  in  vain :  no  rock  adapted  to  such  an  object  ap- 
pears. At  the  foot  of  the  hill  is  a  modest,  simple 
plain,  surrounded  by  low  hills,  reaching  in  length 
nearly  a  mile ;  in  breadth,  near  the  city,  a  hundred 


NAZARETH 


f.96  ] 


NAZ 


and  fifty  yards  ;  but  farther  on,  about  four  hundred 
yards.  On  this  plain  there  are  a  few  oUve-trees,  and 
fig-trees,  sufficient,  or  rather  scarcely  sufficient,  to 
make  the  spot  pictui-esque.  Then  follows  a  ravine, 
which  gradually  grows  deeper  and  narrower ;  till, 
after  walking  about  another  mile,  you  find  yourself 
in  an  immense  chasm,  with  steep  rocks  on  either  side, 
from  whence  you  behold,  as  it  were  beneath  your 
feet,  and  before  you,  the  noble  plain  of  Esdraelon. 
Nothing  can  be  finer  than  the  apparently  inmieas- 
urable  prospect  of  this  plain,  bounded  to  the  south 
by  the  mountains  of  Sanjaria.  The  elevation  of  the 
hills  on  which  the  spectator  stands  in  this  ravine  is 
very  great ;  and  the  whole  scene,  when  we  saw  it, 
was  clothed  in  the  most  rich  mountain-blue  color 
that  can  be  conceived.  At  this  spot,  on  the  right 
hand  of  the  ravine,  is  shown  the  rock  to  which  the 
men  of  Nazareth  are  supposed  to  have  conducted 
our  Lord,  for  the  purpose  of  throwing  him  down. 
With  the  Testament  in  our  hands,  we  endeavored  to 
examine  the  probabilities  of  the  spot ;  and  I  confess 
there  is  nothing  in  it  which  excites  a  scruple  of  in- 
credulity in  my  mind.  The  rock  here  is  perpendicu- 
lar for  about  fifty  feet,  down  which  space  it  would  be 
easy  to  hurl  a  person  who  should  be  tuiawares  brought 
to  the  summit ;  and  his  perishing  would  be  a  very 
certain  consequence.  That  the  spot  might  be 
at  a  considerable  distance  from  the  city,  is  an  idea 
not  inconsistent  with  St.  Luke's  account";  for  the  ex- 
pression, thrusting  Jesus  out  of  the  city,  and  Icadins; 
him  to  the  broiv  of  the  hill  on  ivhich  their  city  ivas  bniti, 
gives  fair  scope  for  imagining,  that,  in  their  rage  and 
debate,  the  Nazarcnes  might,  without  originally  in- 
tending his  murder,  press  ujion  him  for  a  considera- 
ble distance  after  they  had  quitted  the  synagogue. 
The  distance,  as  already  noticed,  from  modern  Naz- 
areth to  this  spot  is  scarcely  two  miles — a  space, 
which,  in  the  fury  of  persecution,  might  soon  he 
passed  over.  Or  should  this  appear  too  considera- 
ble, it  is  by  no  means  certain  but  that  Nazai-cth  may 
at  that  time  have  extended  through  the  princi])al 
part  of  the  i)lain,  which  I  have  described  as  lying 
before  the  modern  town  :  in  this  case,  the  distance 
passed  over  might  not  exceed  a  mile.  It  remains 
only  to  note  the  expression — the  broiv  of  the  hill,  on 
ivhich  their  city  was  built:  this,  according  to  the  mod- 
ern aspect  of  the  sjjot,  would  seem  to  be  the  hill  north 
of  the  town,  on  the  lower  slope  of  which  the  town  is 
built ;  but  I  apprehend  the  word  hill  to  have  in  this, 
as  it  has  in  very  many  other  passages  of  Scripture,  a 
nnich  larger  sense  ;  denoting  sometimes  a  range  of 
mountains,  and  in  some  instances  a  whole  mountain- 
ous district.  In  all  these  cases  the  singular  word 
"/iz7/,"  "gebel,"  is  used,  according  to  the  idiom  of  the 
language  of  this  country.  Thus,  Gebcl  Carinyl,  or 
mount  Carmel,  is  a  range  of  mountains  :  Gebcl  Lib- 
nan,  or  motmt  Lebanon,  is  a  mountainous  district  of 
more  than  fifty  miles  in  length  ;  Gebcl  ez-Zcitun,  the 
mount  of  Olives,  is  certainly,  as  will  be  hereafter 
noted,  a  considerable  tract  of  mountainous  country. 
And  thus  any  jx'rson,  coming  from  Jerusalem  an'd 
entering  on  the  plain  of  Esdraelon,  would,  if  asking 
the  name  of  that  bold  line  of  mountains  v,liich  bounds 
the  north  side  of  the  plain,  be  informed  that  it  was 
Gebel  JSfasra,  the  hill  of  Nazareth  ;  though,  in  Eng- 
lish, we  should  rail  them  the  moimtains  of  Nazareth. 
Now  the  spot  shown  as  illustrating  Luke  iv.  29,  is 
in  fact,  on  the  very  brow  of  this  lofty  ridge  of  moun- 
tains ;  in  comparison  of  which,  the"  hill  upon  which 
the  modern  town  is  built  is  bin  a  gentle  eminence. 
I  can  see,  therefore,  no  reason  for  thinkinr  other- 


wise, than  that  this  may  be  the  real  scene  where  our 
divine  Prophet,  Jesus,  experienced  so  great  a  dis- 
honor from  the  men  of  his  own  country,  and  of  his 
own  kindred."     R. 

NAZARITE,  or  Nazarene,  may  sigifify,  (1.)  An 
inhabitant  of  Nazareth  ;  or  a  native  of  that  city.  (2.) 
A  sect  of  Christians.  (3.)  A  man  under  a  vow  to  ob- 
serve the  rules  of  Nazariteship ;  whether  for  Ins 
whole  life,  as  Samson,  and  John  the  Baptist ;  or  for 
a  time,  as  those  in  Numb.  vi.  18 — 20  ;  Amos  ii.  11, 12. 
(4.)  A  man  of  distinction  and  dignity  in  the  court  of 
a  prince.     (Compare  the  Bibl.  Repository,  ii.  p.  388.) 

(1.)  The  name  of  Nazarene  is  given  to  Christ,  not 
only  because  of  his  having  lived  the  greater  part  of 
his  life  at  Nazareth,  and  because  that  place  was  con- 
sidered as  his  country,  Init  also  because  the  prophets 
had  foretold  that  "he  should  be  called  a  Nazarene," 
Matt.  ii.  23.  We  find  no  particular  place  in  the 
prophets,  expressly  afiirming,  that  the  JMessiah  should 
be  called  a  Nazarene  ;  and  Alaithew  only  mentions 
the  proi)hets  in  general.  Perhaps  he  would  infei 
that  the  consecration  of  Nazarites,  and  their  great 
purity,  was  a  type  and  j^rophecy  referring  to  our 
Saviour;  (Numb.  vi.  18,  19.)  or,  that  the  name  Nazir, 
or  Nazarite,  [separated,]  given  to  tlie  ]}atriarch  Jo- 
seph, had  some  reference  to  Christ,  Gen.  xlix.  26; 
Dent,  xxxiii.  16.  Jerome  was  of  opinion,  that  jMat- 
thew  alludes  to  Isa.  xi.  1 ;  Ix.  21  :  "  There  shall  come 
forth  a  rod  oiU  of  the  stem  of  Jesse,  and  a  branch 
(Heb.  Mezer)  shall  grow  out  of  his  roots."  This  branch, 
or  Nezer,  and  this  rod,  are  certainly  intended  to  de- 
note the  Messiah,  by  the  general  consent  of  the  fa- 
thers and  inter})reters.  Or,  jjossibly,  in  a  more  general 
sense,  "He  shall  be  vilified,  despised,  neglected,"  as 
every  thing  was  that  came  from  Nazareth  ;  and  this 
might  be  a  kind  of  prophetic  proverb. 

(2.)  It  may  reasonably  be  doubted,  whether  the  Naz- 
arenes  or  Nazaraeans  spoken  of  in  early  ecclesiastical 
history  were  heretics :  it  is  more  probable,  that  they 
were  descendantsoftheoriginal  Jewish  Christians,and, 
as  Jews,  were  too  harshly  treated  by  those  who  should 
have  been  their  Gentile  brethren.  They  must  have 
been  well  known  to  Jerome,  who  lived  longin  Judea, 
and  who  thus  describes  them  in  several  places. 
Mentioning  Hebrews  believing  in  Christ,  he  says 
they  were  anathematized  for  their  rigid  adherence  to 
the  ceremonies  of  the  Jewish  law,  which  they  min- 
gled with  the  gospel  of  Christ:  "They  so  receive 
Christ,  that  they  discard  not  the  rites  of  the  ancient 
law."  He  also  describes  the  Nazarenes  as  persons 
"  viho  believed  in  Christ  the  Son  of  God,  born  of  the 
Virgin  Mary,"  in  whom  the  orthodox  believe  ;  but 
v,ho  wore  nevertheless  so  bigoted  to  the  Mosaic  law, 
that  they  were  rather  to  be  considered  as  a  Jewisli 
sect,  than  a  Christian. 

(3.)  A  Nazarite,  under  the  ancient  law,  was  a  man 
or  woman  engaged  by  a  vow  to  abstain  from  wine 
and  all  intoxicating  liquors,  to  let  the  hair  grow,  not 
to  enter  any  house  polluted  by  having  a  dead  body 
in  it,  nor  to  he  present  at  any  funeral.  If,  by  accident, 
any  one  should  have  died  in  their  jiresence,  they  re- 
commenced the  whole  of  their  consecration  and  Naz- 
ariteship. This  vow  generally  lasted  eight  days, 
sometimes  a  month,  and  sometimes  during  theil- 
whole  lives.  When  the  time  of  Nazariteship  was 
expired,  the  priest  brought  the  person  to  the  door  of 
the  tem|)le,  who  there  offered  to  the  Lord  a  he-lr-mb 
for  a  burnt-ofix-ring,  a  she-lamb  for  an  expiatory  sac- 
rifice, and  a  ram  for  a  ])eace-ofiering.  They  offered 
likewise  loaves  and  cakes,  with  wine  for  libations. 
After  all  was  sacrifired    and  offered,  the  priest,  or 


NEB 


[  697  ] 


NEB 


some  other  person,  shaved  the  head  of  the  Nazarite 
at  the  door  of  the  tabernacle,  and  burnt  his  hair  on 
the  fire  of  the  altar.  Then  the  priest  put  into  his 
hands  the  shoulder  of  the  ram  roasted,  with  a  loaf 
and  a  cake,  which  the  Nazarite  returning  into  the 
hands  of  the  priest,  he  offered  them  to  the  Lord,  lift- 
ing them  up  in  the  presence  of  the  Nazarite.  From 
this  time  the  offerer  might  drink  wine,  his  Naza- 
riteship  being  accomplished.  Perpetual  Nazarites, 
as  Samson  and  John  the  Baptist,  were  consecrated 
to  their  Nazaritesliip  by  their  parents,  and  continued 
all  their  lives  in  this  state,  without  drinking  wine,  or 
cutting  their  hair.  Those  who  made  a  vow  of  Naz- 
aritesliip out  of  Palestine,  and  could  not  come  to  the 
temple  when  their  vow  was  expired,  contented  them- 
selves with  observing  the  abstinence  required  by  the 
law,  and  cutting  off  their  hair  in  the  place  where 
they  were.  The  offerings  and  sacrifices  prescribed 
by  Moses,  to  be  offered  at  the  temple,  by  themselves, 
or  by  others  for  them,  they  deferred,  till  a  conve- 
nient opportunity.  Hence  Paul,  being  at  Corinth, 
having  made  the  vow  of  a  Nazarite,  he  had  his  hair  cut 
off  at  Cenchrea,  but  deferred  the  complete  fidfilment 
of  his  vow  till  he  came  to  Jerusalem,  Acts  xviii.  18. 

When  a  person  found  he  was  not  in  condition 
to  make  a  vow  of  Nazariteship,  or  had  not  leisure 
fully  to  perform  it,  he  contented  himself  by  contribut- 
ing to  the  expense  of  the  sacrifices  and  offerings  of 
those  who  had  made,  and  were  fulfilling,  this  vow  ; 
by  which  means  he  became  a  partaker  in  such  Naz- 
ariteshi]).  Josephus,  magnifying  the  zeal  and  devo- 
tion of  Herod  Agrippa,  says,  he  caused  several  Naz- 
arites to  be  shaven.  Maimonides  says,  that  he  who 
would  partake  in  the  Nazariteship  of  anothei-,  went 
to  the  temple,  and  said  to  the  priest,  "  In  such  a  time 
such  an  one  will  finish  his  Nazariteship ;  I  intend  to 
defray  the  charge  attendiiig  the  shaving  off  his  hair, 
either  in  part,  or  in  whole."  When  Paul  came  to 
Jerusalem,  (A.  D.  58,  Acts  xxi.  23,  24.)  James,  with 
other  brethren,  advised  that,  to  quiet  the  minds  of  the 
converted  Jews,  he  should  unite  with  four  persons, 
who  had  vows  of  Nazariteship,  and  contribute  to 
their  charges  and  ceremonies  ;  by  which  the  people 
would  perceive,  that  he  did  not  disregard  the  law,  as 
they  had  been  led  to  suppose. 

(4.)  Nazarite  expresses  a  man  of  great  dignity : 
hence  the  patriarch  Joseph  is  called  a  Nazai-ite,  a 
prince,  among  his  brethren  ;  (Gen.  xlix.  26.)  Engl.  tr. 
separated  from  his  hrethren.  Nazarite  in  this  sense  is 
variously  understood.  Some  think  it  signifies  one 
who  is  crowned,  chosen,  separated,  distinguished  ; 
iN'ezer  in  Hebrew  signifying  a  crown.  The  LXX 
translate,  a  chief,  or  him  that  is  honored.  Nazir  was 
a  name  of  dignity  in  the  courts  of  eastern  princes. 
In  the  court  of  Persia,  the  Nezir  is  superintcndejic- 
general  of  the  king's  household,  the  chief  officer  of 
the  crown;  the  high  steward  of  his  family,  treasures 
and  revenues.  (Chardiu,  Govcrnmenioftho  Persians, 
ch.  .5.)  In  this  sense  Joseph  was  Nezir  of  the  house 
of  Pharaoh.  Moses  also  gJves  to  Joseph  the  title  of 
Nazir,  speaking  of  the  tribes  of  his  two  sons,  Ephraim 
and  Manasseh,  Deut.  xxxiii.  16. 

NEAPOLIS,  now  called  Napoli,  (Acts  xvi.  11.)  a 
maritime  city  of  Macedonia,  near  the  borders  of 
Thrace,  whither  Paul  came  from  the  isle  of  Samo- 
thracia.     From  Neapolis  he  went  to  Philijipi. 

NEBAJOTH,  a  son  of  Ishmael,  (Gen.  xxv.  13 ; 
xxviii.  9.)  the  father  of  the  Nabatheans,  (q.  v.)  a  peo- 
ple of  Arabia  Petrsea,  who  lived  by  plunder  and  trade, 
Is.  Ix.  7.     R. 

NEBAT,  or  Nabath,  of  Ephraim,  of  the  race  of 


Joshua,  and  father  of  Jeroboam,  the  first  king  of  the 
ten  tribes,  1  Kings  xi.  26. 

I.  NEBO,  a  city  of  Reuben,  (Numb,  xxxii.  38.) 
taken  by  the  Moabites,  who  held  it  in  the  time  of 
Jeremiah,  Jer.  xlviii.  1. 

II.  NEBO,  a  city  of  Judah,  (Ezra  ii.  29 ;  x.  43 ; 
Neh.  vii.  33.)  probably  the  village  Nabau,  eight  miles 
south  of  Hebron,  which  was  forsaken  in  the  time  of 
Eusebius  and  Jerome. 

III.  NEBO,  a  high  mountain  east  of  the  Jordan, 
where  Moses  died,  and  forming  one  of  the  mountains 
of  Abarim,  Deut.  xxxii.  49;  xxxiv.  1. 

IV.  NEBO,  an  idol  of  the  Babylonians,  Isa.  xlvi.  1. 
[In  the  astrological  mythology  of  the  Babylonians, 
this  idol  probably  represented  the  planet  Mercury. 
He  is  regarded  as  the  scribe  of  the  heavens,  who  re- 
cords the  succession  of  celestial  and  terrestrial  events; 
and  is  related  to  the  Egyptian  Hermes  and  Anubis. 
He  was  also  worshipped  by  the  ancient  Arabians. 
The  extensive  prevalence  of  this  worship  among  the 
Chaldeans  and  Assyrians,  is  evident  from  the  many 
compound  proper  names  occurring  in  the  Scriptures, 
of  which  this  word  forms  part ;  as  Nebuchadnezzar, 
Nebuzaradan,  Nebushasban  ;  and  also  in  the  classics, 
as  Naboned,  Nabonassar,  Nabopolassar,  &c.  (See 
Geseuius,  Comm.  zu  Jesa.  ii.  p.  342.)     R. 

I.  NEBUCHADNEZZAR,  or  Nabopolassar, 
father  of  Nebuchadnezzar  the  Great,  was  a  Chal- 
dean, and  was  the  first  monarch  of  Babylonia  who 
made  himself  independent  of  Assyria.  See  Baby- 
LOiMA,  p.  138. 

II.  NEBUCHADNEZZAR,  son  and  successor  of 
Nabopolassar,  succeeded  to  the  kingdom  of  Chaldea, 
A.  M.  3399.  He  had  been  some  time  liefore  asso- 
ciated in  the  kingdom,  and  sent  to  recover  Carche- 
mish,  which  had  been  wrested  from  the  empire  by 
Necho,  king  of  Egypt.  Having  been  successful, 
he  marched  against  the  governor  of  Phopuicia,  and 
Jehoiachim,  king  of  Judali,  tributary  to  Necho,  king 
of  Egypt.  He  took  Jehoiachim,  and  put  him  in 
chains,  to  carry  him  captive  to  Babylon  ;  hut  after- 
wards he  left  him  in  Judea,  on  condition  of  his  pay- 
ing a  large  tribute.  He  took  away  several  persons 
from  Jerusalem ;  among  others,  Daniel,  Hananiah, 
Mishael,  and  Azariah,  all  of  the  royal  family,  whom 
the  king  of  Babylon  had  carefully  educated  in  the 
language  and  learning  of  the  Chaldeans,  that  they 
might  be  em!)lovcd  at  court. 

Nabopolassardying  about  the  end  of  A.  M.  3399, 
Nebuchadnezzar,  who  was  then  either  in  Egypt  or 
in  Judea,  h.T^teued  to  Babylon,  leaving  to  his  gene- 
rals tJio  care  of  bringing  to  Chaldea  the  captives 
taken  in  Syria,  Judea,  Phoenicia,  and  Egypt  ;  for, 
according  to  Berosus,  he  had  subdued  all  these 
comitries.  He  distributed  these  captives  into  several 
colonies,  and  in  the  temple  of  Belus  he  deposited  the 
sacred  vessels  of  the  temple  of  Jerusalem,  and  other 
rich  spoils, 

Jehoiachim,  king  of  Judah,  continued  three  years 
in  fealty  to  Nebuchadnezzar,  and  then  revolted  ;  but 
after  three  or  four  years,  he  was  besieged  and  taken 
in  Jerusalem,  put  to  death,  and  his  body  thrown  to 
the  birds  of  the  air,  according  to  the  predictions  of 
Jeremiah.     See  Jehoiachim. 

In  the  mean  time,  Nebuchadnezzar,  being  at  Baby- 
lon, in  the  second  year  of  his  reign,  had  a  mysterious 
dream,  in  which  he  saw  a  statue  composed  of  seve- 
ral metals;  the  interpretation  of  which  was  given  by 
Daniel,  and  procured  his  elevation  to  the  highest  post 
in  the  kingdom.  See  Damel,  and  Image  of  Nebu- 
chadnezzar. 


NEBUCHADNEZZAR 


698 


NEH 


Jehoiakin,  or  Jeconiah,  king  of  Judah,  having  re- 
volted against  Nebuchadnezzar,  was  besieged  in  Je- 
rusalem, forced  to  surrender,  and  taken,  with  his 
chief  officers,  captive  to  Babylon  ;  also  his  mother, 
his  wives,  and  the  best  workmen  of  Jerusalem,  to  the 
number  of  ten  thousand  men.  Among  the  captives 
were  Mordecai,  the  uncle  of  Esther,  and  Ezekiel  the 
prophet.  Nebuchadnezzar  also  took  all  the  vessels 
of  gold  which  Solomon  made  for  the  temple  and  the 
king's  treasui-y;  and  set  up  JMattaniah,  Jeconiah's 
uncle  by  the  father's  side,  whom  he  named  Zede- 
kiah.  Zedekiah  continued  faithful  to  Nebuchad- 
nezzar nine  years,  at  the  end  of  which  time  he  rebel- 
led, and  confederated  with  the  neighboring  princes. 
The  king  of  Babylon  came  into  Judea,  reduced  the 
chief  places  of  the  country,  and  besieged  Jerusalem; 
but  Pharaoh  Hophra  coming  out  of  Egy})t  to  assist 
Zedekiah,  Nebuchadnezzar  v»cnt  to  meet  him,  and 
forced  him  to  retire  to  his  own  country.  This  done, 
he  resumed  the  siege  of  Jerusalem,  and  was  390  days 
before  the  place.  In  the  eleventh  year  of  Zedekiali, 
(A.  M.  3419,)  the  city  was  taken,  and  Zedekiah,  being 
seized,  was  brought  to  Nebuchadnezzar,  who  was 
then  at  Riblali  in  Syria.  The  king  of  Babylon  con- 
flemned  him  to  die,  caused  his  children  to  be  put 
to  death  in  his  presence,  and  then  bored  out  his 
eyes,  loaded  him  with  chains,  and  sent  liim  to 
Babylon. 

Tiiree  years  after  the  Jewish  war,  Nebuchadnezzar 
besieged  Tyre,  which  siege  lasted  thirteen  years.  But 
during  this  interval  he  attacked  the  Sidouians,  Moab- 
ites,  Ammonites,  and  Idumeans,  wliom  he  treated 
much  as  he  had  done  the  Jews.  Tyre  was  taken 
A.  M.  2432.  Ithobaal,  the  king,  was  put  to  death,  aiul 
Baal  succeeded  him.  The  Lord,  to  reward  the  army 
of  Nebuchadnezzar,  which  had  been  so  long  before 
Tyre,  assigned  to  them  Egypt  and  its  spoils,  and  they 
returned  in  triumph  to  Babylon,  with  a  vast  number 
of  captives. 

Nebuchadnezzar,  being  at  peace,  applied  himself 
to  the  adorning,  aggrandizing,  and  enriching  of  Bab- 
ylon with  the  most  magnificent  buildings.  Al^out 
this  time  he  had  a  dream  of  a  great  tree,  loaded  with 
fruit,  which  an  angel,  suddenly  descending  from 
heaven,  commanded  should  be  cut  down,  and  the 
branches,  leaves  and  fruit  be  scattered.  The  trunk 
and  the  root  were  to  be  preserved  in  the  eartli,  and  it 
was  to  be  bound  with  chains  of  iron  and  brass,  among 
tiie  beasts  of  the  field,  for  seven  years.  The  kino- 
consulted  all  his  diviners,  but  nonc'c-ould  explain  his 
dream,  until  Daniel  informed  him,  that  it  respected 
himself.  "  You,"  says  Daniel,  "arc  represented  by 
the  great  tree  ;  you  are  to  be  brought  low,  to  be  re- 
duced to  the  condition  of  a  brute,  &c.  but  you  shall 
aftervvards  be  restored."  About  a  year  afterwards, 
as  Nebuchadnezzar  was  walking  on  his  palace  at 
Babylon,  he  began  to  say,  "  Is  not  this  Babylon  the 
Great,  which  I  have  built  in  the  greatness  of  my 
power,  and  in  the  brightness  of  my  glory  ?  "  But  ho 
had  hardly  pronounced  the  words,  when  he  was 
struck  by  a  distemper  or  distraction,  which  so  jier- 
verted  his  imagination,  that  he  thought  himself  to  be 
metamorphosed  into  an  ox  ;  and  assumed  the  man- 
ners of  that  animal.  After  having  been  seven  years 
in  this  state,  God  restored  his  understanding  to  him, 
and  he  recovered  his  royal  dignity. 

His  repentance,  however,  was  not  sincere;  for  in 
the  year  of  his  restoration,  he  erected  a  golden  statue, 
whoso  height  was  sixty  cubits,  in  the  plain  of  Dura, 
in  Babylon.  Having  appointed  a  day  for  the  dedica- 
tion of  this  statue,  he  assembled  the  principal  officers 


of  his  kingdom,  and  published  by  a  herald,  that  ail 
should  adore  it,  at  the  sound  of  music,  on  penalty  of 
being  cast  into  a  burning  fiery  furnace.  The  three 
Jews,  companions  of  Daniel,  would  not  bend  the  knee 
to  the  image.  Daniel  probably  was  absent.  Nebu- 
chadnezzar commanded  Shadrach,  Meshach  and 
Abednego  to  be  called,  and  he  asked  them  why  they 
presumed  to  disobey  his  orders.  They  replied, 
that  they  neither  feared  the  flames,  nor  any  other 
penalty ;  that  the  God  whom  only  they  would  wor- 
ship knew  how  to  preserve  them  ;  but  that  if  he 
should  not  think  fit  to  deliver  them  out  of  his  hands, 
they  would,  nevertheless,  obey  the  laws  of  God  rathei' 
than  men. 

Hearing  this,  the  king  caused  them  to  be  bound, 
and  to  be  thrown  into  the  furnace,  which  being  ve- 
hemently heated,  the  flame  consumed  the  men  who 
cast  them  in  ;  but  an  angel  of  the  Lord  abated  the 
flames,  so  that  the  fire  did  not  affect  them.  Nebu- 
chadnezzar was  much  astonished,  and  said  to  his  no- 
bles, "  Whence  is  it  that  I  see  four  men  walking  in 
the  midst  of  the  flames  ?  and  the  fourth  is  like  a  son 
of  God."  Then,  approaching  the  furnace,  he  called 
the  three  Hebrews,  who  came  out  of  the  furnace,  to 
the  great  astonishment  of  the  whole  court.  The 
king  now  gave  glory  to  the  God  of  Shadrach,  Me- 
shach and  Abednego  ;  and  he  exalted  the  three  He- 
brews to  great  dignity  in  the  province  of  Babylon, 
Dan.  iv.  1,  &c. 

Nebuchadnezzar  died  this  year,  A.  M.  3442,  after 
having  reigned  43  years. 

NEBUZAR-ADAN,  general  of  Nebuchadnezzar's 
armies,  and  chief  officer  of  his  household. 

NECHO,  king  of  Egypt,  carried  his  arms  to  the 
Euphrates,  where  he  conquered  the  city  of  Carche- 
mish.  He  is  known  not  only  in  Scripture,  but  in  He- 
rodotus, who  says  that  he  Avas  sou  of  Psammetichus, 
king  of  Egy[)t,  and  that  having  succeeded  him  in  the 
kingdom,  he  raised  great  armies,  and  sent  out  great 
fleets,  as  well  on  the  Mediterranean  as  the  Red  sea  ; 
that  lie  fought  the  Syrians  near  the  city  of  Mig- 
dol,  obtained  the  victory,  and  took  the  city  Cadytis, 
which  some  think  to  be  Jerusalem.  Josiah,  king  of 
Judah,  being  tributary  to  the  king  of  Babylon,  op- 
posed Necho,  and  gave  him  battle  at  Megiddo,  where 
he  received  the  wound  of  which  he  died;  and  Necho 
passed  forward,  widiout  making  any  long  stay  in 
Judea.  On  his  return,  he  halted  atRililah,  in  Syria  ; 
and  sending  for  Jehoahaz,  king  of  the  Jews,  he  de- 
posed him,  loaded  him  with  chains,  and  sent  him 
into  Egypt.  Then  coming  to  Jerusalem,  he  set  up 
Eliakim,  or  Jehoiakim,  in  liis  place,  and  exacted  the 
payment  of  one  hundred  talents  of  silver  and  one 
talent  of  gold.  Jeremiah  (xlvi.  2.)  acquaints  us,  that 
Carchciviish  was  retaken  by  Nabopolassar,  king  of 
Babylon,  in  the  fourth  year  of  Jehoiachiui,  king  of 
Judah;  so  that  Necho  did  not  retain  his  conquest 
above  four  yi-ars.  Josephus  adds,  that  the  king  of 
Babylon,  pursuing  bis  victory,  brought  under  his 
dominion  the  whole  country,  between  the  river  Eu- 
l)hratcs  and  Egypt,  exceptin«;  Judea.  Thus  Necho 
was  again  reduced  within  the  limits  of  his  own 
country. 

NEGINOTH,  a  term  which  is  read  before  some 
of  th(!  Psalms,  and  signifies  stringed  instriuucnts  of 
nuisic,  to  be  played  on  by  the  fingers.  The  titles  of 
these  Psalms  may  be  translated,  A  Psalm  of  David  to 
the  master  of  nmsic,  who  presides  over  the  stringed 
instruments. 

NEHEMIAH,  the  son  of  Hachaliah,  was  born  at 
Babylon  during  the  captivity.     He  was,  according  to 


NEHEMIAH 


[  699 


NEHEMIAH 


some,  of  the  race  of  the  priests  ;  according  to  others, 
of  the  tribe  of  Judah,and  of  the  royal  family.  Those 
who  maintain  the  former  opinion,  support  it  by  2 
l\lac.  i.  18,  21,  where  it  is  said,  Nehemiah  the  priest 
offered  sacrifices  ;  and  by  Esdras  x.  10,  where  he  is 
reckoned  in  the  number  of  the  priests.  Those  who 
believe  that  he  was  of  the  race  of  the  kings  of  Judah, 
say,  (1.)  That  Nehemiah  having  governed  the  repub- 
lic of  the  Jews  for  a  considerable  time,  there  is  great 
probability  he  was  of  that  tribe  of  which  the  kings 
always  were.  (2.)  Nehemiah  mentions  his  brethren 
Hanani,  and  other  Jews,  who,  coming  to  Babylon 
during  the  captivity,  acquainted  him  witli  the  sad 
condition  of  their  country.  (3.)  The  office  of  cup- 
bearer to  the  king  of  Persia,  to  which  Nehemiah  was 
promoted,  is  a  proof  that  he  was  of  an  illustrious 
family.  (4.)  He  excuses  himself  from  entering  into 
the  inner  part  of  the  temple,  probably  because  he  was 
not  of  the  sacerdotal  order.  This  last  argument, 
however,  appears  to  be  very  inconclusive.  As  to 
the  iMaccabecs,  where  he  is  mentioned  as  a  priest,  it 
is  answered,  that  the  Greek  text  does  not  affirm  liiui 
to  be  a  priest,  but  only  that  he  ordered  the  priests  to 
jjerform  their  functions.  As  to  his  singing  among 
the  priests,  this  he  might  do  in  quality  of  governor, 
wliich  gave  him  at  least  equal  rank  with  the  priests. 
Lastly,  the  name  of  Nehemiah  is  found  in  no  cata- 
logue or  genealogy  of  Hebrew  priests. 

Scripture  gives  him  the  name,  or  title,  of  Tirsha- 
tha,  that  is,  cup-bearer  ;  which  office  he  held  at  the 
court  of  Artaxerxes  Longimanus.  He  liad  a  great 
afiection  for  the  country  of  his  fathers,  though  he 
had  never  seen  it ;  and  one  day,  as  some  Jews  re- 
cently come  from  Jerusalem  acquainted  him  with 
the  miserable  state  of  that  city,  in  its  destruction,  he 
fasted,  prayed,  and  humbled  himself  before  the  Lord, 
entreating  that  he  would  be  favorable  to  the  design 
he  had  conceived  of  asking  the  king's  permission  to 
rebuild  Jerusalem.  The  coui-se  of  his  attendance  at 
court  having  arrived,  he  presented  the  cup  to  the 
king,  according  to  his  duty,  but  with  a  dejected 
countenance.  The  king  observed  it,  and  thought  he 
had  some  evil  design  ;  but  Nehemiah  discovering  the 
occasion  of  his  disquiet,  Artaxerxes  gave  him  leave 
to  go  to  Jerusalem,  and  to  repair  its  walls  and  gates ; 
but  appointed  him  a  time  to  return. 

Nehemiah  arrived  at  Jerusalem  with  letters  and 
full  powers,  but  was  there  three  days  before  he 
0[)ened  the  occasion  of  his  journey.  On  the  night 
of  the  third  day  he  went  round  the  city  and  viewed 
the  \valls.  After  this,  he  assembled  the  chief  of  the 
pcojile,  produced  his  commission  and  letters,  exhort- 
ed them  to  undertake  the  rei)airing  of  the  gates  and 
walls  of  the  city  ;  and  inuuediately  all  began  the  work. 
The  enemies  of  the  Jews  only  scoffed  at  them  at  fii-st, 
but  afterwards,  seeing  the  chief  breaches  repaired, 
they  used  stratagems  and  threats  to  deter  Nehemiah. 
He  therefore  ordered  part  of  his  people  to  stand  to 
their  arms  behind  the  walls,  while  others  worked, 
having  also  their  arms  near  them.  His  enemies  then 
liad  recourse  to  craft  and  stratagem,  endeavoring  to 
draw  him  into  an  ambuscade  in  the  fields,  v\here  they 
jiroposed  to  finish  their  dispute  at  an  amicable  con- 
ference. Nehemiah,  however,  defeated  all  their 
stratagems,  and  continuing  his  work,  completed  it  in 
fifty-two  days. 

The  walls,  towers  and  gates  of  Jerusalem  having 
been  dedicated  with  solemnity  and  magnificence, 
Nehemiah  separated  the  priests,  the  Levites,  and  the 
princes  of  the  people,  into  two  companies,  one  of 
which  walked  to  the  south,  and  the   other  to  the 


north,  on  the  top  of  the  walls.  These  two  compa- 
nies, which  were  to  meet  at  the  temple,  were  accom- 
panied with  music,  vocal  and  instrumental.  Having 
entered  the  temple,  they  there  read  the  law,  offered 
sacrifices,  and  made  great  rejoicings  ;  and  the  Feast 
of  Tabernacles  happening  at  the  time,  it  was  cele- 
brated with  great  solemnity.  Nehemiah,  observing 
that  the  city  was  too  large  for  its  present  inhabitants, 
ordered  that  the  chief  of  the  nation  should  there  fix 
their  dwelling  ;  and  caused  them  to  draw  lots,  by 
which  a  tenth  part  of  the  whole  people  of  Judali 
were  obliged  to  dwell  at  Jerusalem. 

Nehemiah  then  applied  himself  to  the  reforming 
of  such  corruptions  as  had  crept  into  public  affairs. 
He  embed  the  inhumanity  of  the  great,  wlio  held  in 
slavery  and  subjection  the  sons  and  daughters  of  the 
poor  or  unfortunate,  keeping  also  the  lands,  which 
the  poor  had  mortgaged  or  sold  to  them.  He  also 
imdertook  to  dissolve  the  marriages  with  strange  and 
idolatrous  women,  whom  he  sent  away ;  obliged  the 
people  punctually  to  pay  the  ministers  of  the  Lord 
their  due  ;  and  enjoined  the  priests  and  Levites  to 
strict  attendance  on  their  respective  duties  and  func- 
tions. He  enforced  the  observation  of  the  sabbath, 
and  would  not  permit  strangers  to  enter  the  city  to 
buy  and  sell,  but  kept  the  gates  shut  duruig  the  whole 
day.  To  perpetuate  as  much  as  possible  these  reg- 
ulations, he  engaged  the  chief  men  of  the  nation  sol- 
emnly to  renew  their  covenant  with  the  Lord  ;  and 
an  instrument  to  this  effect  was  drawn  up,  and 
signed  by  the  chief  of  the  priests  and  the  people. 

We  read  in  2  INIac.  i.  19,  &c.  that  Nehemiah  sent 
to  search  for  the  holy  fire,  which,  before  the  captivi- 
ty of  Babylon,  the  priests  had  hidden  in  a  dry  and 
deep  pit:  not  finding  any  fire  there,  but  only  a  thick 
and  muddy  water,  he  sprinkled  this  upon  the  altar ; 
and  presently  the  wood  which  had  been  so  sprinkled, 
took  fire  as  soon  as  the  sun  began  to  shine,  which 
miracle  coming  to  the  knowledge  of  the  king  of  Per- 
sia, he  caused  the  place  to  be  encompassed  with 
walls  where  the  fire  had  been  hidden,  and  granted 
great  favors  and  privileges  to  the  priests.  It  is  re- 
corded in  the  same  books,  that  Nehemiah  erected  a 
library,  in  which  he  placed  whatever  he  could  find, 
either  of  the  books  of  the  prophets,  of  David,  or  of 
such  princes  as  had  made  presents  to  the  temple. 
After  having  fulfilled  his  conunission,  he  returned  to 
Babylon,  according  to  his  promise  to  king  Arta- 
xerxes, about  the  thirty-second  year  of  that  prince  ; 
but  afterwards  he  revisited  Jerusalem,  where  he  died 
in  peace,  having  governed  the  people  of  Judah  about 
thirty  j-ears. 

The  second  book,  which  in  the  Latin  Bibles  bears 
the  name  of  Esdras,  bears,  in  the  Hebrew  and  English 
Bibles,  the  name  of  Nehemiah.  Its  author  speaks 
almost  always  in  the  first  person  ;  and  at  first  reading 
one  would  think  he  had  written  it  day  by  day  ;  but 
if  we  read  it  with  due  attention,  we  may  observe  sev- 
eral things  which  could  not  have  been  written  by 
Nehemiah.  For  example,  memorials  are  quoted,  in 
which  were  registered  the  names  of  the  priests  m  tho 
time  of  Jonathan,  sou  of  Ehashib,  and  even  to  tho 
times  of  Jaddus,  who  lived  under  Darius  Codoman- 
nus,  and  under  Alexander  the  Great.  It  is  therefore 
very  probable,  that  Nehemiah  wrote  memoii-s  of  his 
government,  which  are  cited  2  3Iac.  ii.  13,  and  that 
from  these  memoirs  this  book  has  been  compiled. 

Whiston  supposes  that  Nehcmiah's  library,  with 
augmentations,  continued  in  the  temple  till  the  de- 
struction of  Jerusalem  by  Titus;  from  which  prince 
Josephus  received  a  copy  of  the  Hebrew  Scriptures, 


NEO 


[700] 


NET 


fuller  iu  many  respects  than  our  common  copies. 
Tliis  may  be  true,  at  least,  so  far  as  concerns  the 
preservation  of  the  original  writings  of  Nehemiah 
himself. 

NEHILOTII,  a  word  found  at  the  beginning  of 
the  fifth  Psalm,  and  which  signifies  the  dances,  or 
more  probably  the  futes.  The  title  of  the  fifth  Psalm 
may  be  thus  translated,  "  A  Psalm  of  David,  address- 
ed to  the  master  of  music  presiding  over  the  dancers, 
or  over  the  flutes." 

NEHUSHTAN,  a  name  given  by  Hezekiah  king 
of  Judali  to  the  brazen  serpent  that  Moses  had  set  up 
in  the  wilderness,  (Numb.  xxi.  8.)  and  which  had 
been  preserved  by  the  Israehtes  to  that  time.  The 
superstitious  people  having  made  an  idol  of  this  ser- 
pent, Hezekiah  caused  it  to  be  burnt,  and  in  derision 
gave  it  the  name  of  JVehushtan,  q.  d.  this  little  brazen 
serpent,  2  Kings  xviii.  4. 

Neighbor  signifies  a  near  relation,  a  fellow 
countryman,  one  of  the  same  tribe  or  vicinage  ;  and 
generally,  any  man  connected  with  us  by  the  bonds 
of  humanity,  and  whom  charity  requires  that  we 
should  consider  as  a  friend  and  relation.  At  the  time 
of  our  Saviour,  the  Pharisees  had  restrained  the 
meaning  of  the  word  neighbor  to  those  of  their  own 
nation,  or  to  their  OAvn  friends  ;  holding,  that  to  hate 
their  enemy  was  not  forbidden  by  the  law,  Matt.  v. 
43 ;  Luke  x.  20.  But  our  Saviour  informed  them, 
tliat  the  whole  world  were  neighbors ;  that  they 
ought  not  to  do  to  another,  what  they  would  not  have 
done  to  themselves ;  and  that  this  charity  extended 
even  to  enemies.  See  the  beautiful  parable  of  the 
good  Samaritan,  the  real  neighbor  to  the  disti-essed, 
Luke  X.  29. 

God  is  a  neighbor  near  to  those  who  fear  him,  and 
cailuponhim,  Ps.  Ixxxv.  9;  cxlv.  18.  He  gives  them 
tokens  of  his  presence  and  protection  :  "Am  I  a  God 
at  hand,  and  not  a  God  afar  off?  "  am  1  one  of  those 
gods  that  men  have  made  not  above  two  days  ago  ? 
am  not  I  an  eternal  God  ?  Otherwise,  I  am  a  neigh- 
bor God,  that  sees  every  thing,  knows  every  thing, 
and  not  an  absent  or  a  distant  God,  Jer.  xxiii.  23. 
(Comp.  Elijah  and  Baal's  prophets.) 

NEOMENL\,  (Col.  ii.  IG.)  a  Greek  word,  signify- 
ing the  first  day  of  the  moon  or  month ;  in  the  Engl, 
tr.  new  7noon.  The  Hebrews  had  a  particular  vene- 
ration for  the  first  day  of  every  month,  for  which 
Closes  appointed  peculiar  sacrifices,  (Numb,  xxviii. 
11,  12.)  but  he  gave  no  orders  that  it  should  be  kept 
as  a  holy  day,  nor  can  it  be  proved  that  the  ancients 
observed  it  so  ;  it  was  a  festival  of  merely  voluntary 
devotion.  (See  Moxth.)  It  appears  that  even  from 
the  time  of  Saul  they  made,  on  this  day,  a  sort  of 
family  entertainment,  since  David  ought  then  to  have 
been  at  the  king's  table  ;  and  Saul  took  his  absence 
amiss,  1  Sam.  xx.  5,  18.  Moses  insinuates,  that  be- 
sides the  national  sacrifices  then  regularly  offered, 
every  private  person  had  his  particular  sacrifices  of 
/devotion.  Numb.  x.  10.  The  beginning  of  the  month 
/  was  proclaimed  by  sound  of  trumpet,  at  the  offering 
of  solemn  sacrifices,  ibid.  But  the  most  celebrated 
neomenia  was  that  at  the  beginning  of  the  civil  year, 
or  first  day  of  the  month  Tizri,  Lev.  xxiii.  24.  This 
was  a  sacred  festival,  on  which  no  servile  labor  was 
performed.  In  the  kingdom  of  the  ten  tribes,  the 
people  used  to  assemble  at  the  houses  of  the  proph- 
ets, to  hear  their  instructions,  2  Kings  iv.  23  ;  Isa.  i. 
13,  14.  Ezekiel  says  (xlv.  17  ;  see  also  1  Chron.  xxiii. 
81  ;  2Chron.  viii.  13.)  that  the  burnt-offerings  offered 
on  the  day  of  the  new  moon,  were  provided  at  the 
king's  expens?,  and  that  on  this  day  was  to  be  opened 


the  eastern  gate  of  the  court  of  the  priests,  ch.  xlvi. 
1,2. 

Spencer  has  a  long  dissertation  on  the  neomenia,  or 
new  moons,  in  which  he  shows  that  the  Gentiles  hon- 
ored the  first  day  of  the  month,  out  of  veneration  to  the 
moon.  Hewouldinfer,that  theHebrewsborrowedthis 
practice  from  strange  and  idolatrous  people.  But  he 
byno  means  proves  this;  and  it  is  muchmore  probable, 
that,  without  any  design  of  imitating  the  Hebrews,  the 
Gentiles  thought  fit  to  honor  the  moon  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  month,  that  is,  her  first  appearance. 

NERGAL.  Among  the  gods  of  the  transplanted 
heathen,  (2  Kings  xvii.  30.)  we  find  some,  the  etymol- 
ogy of  whose  names  would  never  lead  us  to  conjec- 
ture by  what  image,  or  figure,  they  might  be  repre- 
sented. The  rabbins,  indeed,  have  occasionally  told 
us  their  nature,  and  sometimes  their  symbols ;  but 
rabbinical  authority  is  not  always  satisfactory.  It  is 
hardly  to  be  supposed,  that  on  many  subjects  the 
present  Jewish  literati  have  really  any  tradition  ex- 
tant among  them ;  and,  in  many  instances,  we  may 
well  hesitate  in  admitting  the  accuracy  of  what  they 
report  as  traditionary  information  derived  from  their 
forefathers.  Nevertheless,  we  inay  consider  their 
description  of  Nergal  as  an  instance  either  of  their 
correctness  or  of  their  Judgment.  This  god,  they 
tell  us,  was  worshipped  under  the  figure  of  a  cock ; 
and,  to  make  a  pair  of  the  species,  Succoth  Be>oth, 
they  say,  was  worshipped  as  a  hen  and  chicken. 
For  this  latter  conjecture  we  find  no  authority  ;  but 
the  former  seems  to  be  more  plausible. 

[The  researches  of  Gesenius  on  the  subject  of  the 
astrological  mythology  of  the  Assyrians  and  Babylo- 
nians, go  to  show  that  the  idol  JVergal  represents  the 
planet  Mars,  Avhich  was  ever  the  emblem  of  blood- 
shed. Mars  is  named,  by  the  Zabians  and  Arabians, 
ill-luck,  misfortune.  He  was  represented  as  holding 
in  one  hand  a  drawn  sword,  and  in  the  other,  by  the 
hair,  a  human  head  just  cut  off;  his  garments  were 
blood  red  ;  as  the  light  of  the  planet  is  also  reddish. 
His  temple  among  the  Arabs  was  painted  red  ;  and 
they  offered  to  him  garments  sprinkled  with  blood, 
and  also  a  warrior,  (probably  a  prisoner,)  who  was 
cast  into  a  pool.  It  is  related  of  the  caliph  Hakem, 
that,  in  the  last  night  of  his  life,  as  he  observed  the 
stars,  and  saw  the  planet  Mars  rise  above  the  horizon, 
he  murmured  between  his  lips,  "Dost  thou  ascend, 
thou  accursed  shedder  of  blood?  then  is  my  hour 
come  !  "  and  at  the  moment  the  assassins  sprang  upon 
him  from  their  hiding  place.     (Barhebrseus,  p.  220.) 

The  name  Nergal  appears  also  in  the  proper  names 
Nergalsharezer,  Neriglassar.  The  assertion  of  the 
rabbins  above  mentioned,  that  this  idol  Avas  repre- 
sented under  the  form  of  a  cock,  may  have  arisen 
from  the  fact  that  in  the  Talmud  the  similar  word 
Sjjip,  terngdl,  signifies  cock ;  or  from  a  Persian  ety-. 
mology  proposed  by  some,  viz.  ner-gal,  i.  e.  male  bird, 
cock.  Gesenius  inclines  to  regard  it  as  a  mere  con- 
ceit.    (Coram,  zu  Jesa.  ii.  p.  344.)     *R. 

NERGAL-Sharezer,  an  officer  of  Nebuchad- 
nezzar, Jer.  xxxix.  3. 

NETHINIM,  given,  or  offered,  servants  dedicated 
to  the  sei-vice  of  Uie  tabernacle  and  temple,  to  per- 
form the  most  laborious  offices  ;  as  carrying  of  Avood 
and  water.  At  first  the  Gibeonites  were  destined  to 
this  station  ;  afterwards,  the  Canaanites  who  surren- 
dered themselves,  and  whose  lives  were  spared.  We 
read,  in  Ezra  viii.  20,  that  the  Nethinim  were  slaves 
devoted  by  David,  and  other  princes,  to  the  service 
of  the  temple;  and  in  Ezra  ii.  58,  that  they  were 
slaves  given  by  Solomon  :  the  children  of  Solomon's 


NIC 


[701  ] 


NIC 


servants.  From  1  Kings  ix.  20,  21,  we  see  that  he 
had  subdued  the  remains  of  the  Canaauites,  and  it  is 
very  jH-obable,  that  he  gave  a  good  number  of  them 
to  the  priests  and  Levites,  for  the  temple  service. 
The  Nethinim  were  carried  into  captivity  with  the 
tribe  of  Judaii,  and  great  numbei-s  were  placed  not 
far  from  the  Caspian  sea,  whence  Ezra  brought  220 
of  tlicni  into  Judea,  ch.  viii.  17.  Those  who  fol- 
lowed Zerubbabel,  made  up  392,  Neh.  iii.  26.  This 
number  was  but  small  in  regard  to  their  offices  ;  so 
that  we  find  afterwards  a  solemnity  called  Xylopho- 
ria,  in  which  the  people  carried  wood  to  the  temple, 
with  great  ceremony,  to  keep  up  the  fire  uf  the  altar 
of  burnt  sacrifices. 

NETOPHA,  a  city  and  district  between  Bethle- 
hem and  Anathoth,  Ezra  ii.  22  ;  Neh.  vii.  26 ;  Jer.  xi. 
8  ;  1  Chron.  ix.  16. 

NETTLE.  There  are  two  words  rendered  nettle 
in  the  English  Bible  :  cncp,  kimosh,  (Prov  .  xxiv.  31  ; 
Isa.  xxxiv.  13 ;  Hos.  ix.  6.)  about  which  there  is  no 
dispute  ;  and  Snn,  chdri'd,  (Job  xxx.  7;  Prov.  xxiv.  31  ; 
Zeph.  ii.  9.)  which  we  have  no  means  of  identifying, 
but  which  cannot  be  a  nettle.  Mr.  Good,  after  Dr. 
Stock,  translates  the  passage  in  Job : 

Among  the  bushes  did  they  bray  ; 
Under  the  briers  did  they  huddle  together, 

and  remarks,  "Why  Junius  and  Tremelhus,  and 
Piscatoi-,  should  render  Snn  by  urtica,  and  our  com- 
mon lection  after  them  by  nettle,  I  know  not.  In 
almost  everj'  other  place  in  which  the  word  occui-s, 
it  is  uniformly  rendered  as  it  ought  to  be,  thorns, 
brambles,  briers." 

NEW  is  used  for  extraordinary  or  unusual.  (See 
Judg.  V.  8  ;  Numb.  xvi.  30.)  God  promises  a  new 
heaven  and  a  new  earth,  at  the  time  of  the  Messiah, 
(Isa.  Ixv.  17 ;  Ixvi.  22.)  that  is,  a  universal  renovation 
of  manners,  sentiments  and  actions,  throughout  the 
world.  This  passage  is  also  referred  to  the  end  of 
the  world ;  when  will  commence  a  new  heaven  and 
a  new  earth  ;  not  that  the  present  heaven  and  earth 
will  be  annihilated  ;  but  the  air,  the  earth  and  the 
elements  will  be  more  perfect,  or  at  least,  together 
with  the  inhabitants,  shall  be  of  a  nature  superior  to 
those  vicissitudes  and  alterations  that  now  afiect  these 
elements.  God  also  promises  to  his  people  "  a  new 
covenant,  a  new  spirit,  a  new  heart ;"  and  this  prom- 
ise was  fulfilled  in  the  covenant  of  grace,  the  gos- 
pel, Ezck.  xi.  19  ;  xviii.  31  ;  xxxvi.  26. 

NEW  MOON,  see  Neomenia. 

NIBIIAZ,  a  god  of  the  Avim,  or  Hivites,  2  Kings 
xvii.  31.  The  Jewish  interpreters  say  the  name 
means  latrator,  barker,  (from  n3J,)  and  affirm  that  this 
idol  had  the  shape  of  a  dog.  Historical  traces  have 
also  been  found  of  the  ancient  worship  of  idols  in 
the  form  of  dogs  among  the  Syrians.  In  the  Zabian 
books  Nibhaz  occurs  as  the  Lord  of  darkness  ;  which, 
according  to  the  character  of  the  Assyrian-Chal- 
dean mythology,  would  point  to  an  evil  planetary 
demon.     R. 

I.  NICANOR,  a  general  in  the  armies  of  Anti- 
ochus  Epiphanes,  who  was  thrice  defeated,  and  at 
last  slain  by  Judas  Maccabeus.  See  Antiochus 
Epiphanes. 

II.  NICANOR,  one  of  the  first  seven  deacons, 
who  were  chosen  and  appointed  at  Jerusalem  soon 
after  the  descent  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  on  occasion  of 
a  division  among  the  believers,  into  those  who  spoke 
Greek,  and  those  who  spoke  Hebrew,  or  Syriac, 
Acts  vi.  5,  &c.     Nothing  particular  is  known  of  him. 


III.  NICANOR,  a  king  of  Syria,  who  ascended 
the  throne  A.  M.  3854.     See  Demetrius,  II. 

NICODEMUS,  a  disciple  of  Jesus  Christ,  a  Jew 
by  nation,  and  by  sect  a  Pharisee.  He  was  one  of 
the  senators  of  the  Sanhedrim,  (John  iii.)  and  at  first 
concealed  his  belief  in  the  divine  character  of  our 
Lord.  Afterwards,  however,  he  avowed  himself  a 
believer,  when  he  came  with  Joseph  of  Arimathea 
to  pay  the  last  duties  to  the  body  of  Christ,  which 
they  took  down  firom  the  cross,  embalmed,  and  laid 
in  the  sepulchre. 

NICOLAITANS,  see  below  in  Nicolas. 

NICOLAS,  a  proselyte  of  Antioch,  that  is,  con- 
verted from  paganism  to  the  religion  of  the  Jews. 
He  afterwards  embraced  Christianity,  and  was 
among  the  most  zealous  and  most  holy  of  the  first 
Christians;  so  that  he  was  chosen  for  one  of  the  first 
seven  deacons  of  the  church  at  Jerusalem,  Acts  vi.  5. 

His  memory  has  been  tarnished  in  the  church  by 
a  blemish,  from  which  it  has  not  been  possible  hith- 
erto to  clear  him.  Certain  heretics  were  called  Nic- 
olaitans,  from  his  name  ;  and  though  perhaps  he  had 
no  share  in  their  errors,  nor  their  irregularities,  yet 
he  is  suspected  to  have  given  some  occasion  to  them. 
The  early  writers  inform  us  that  he  had  a  wife  who 
was  very  handsome,  and  that,  in  imitation  of  those 
who  aimed  at  a  high  degree  of  perfection,  he  left 
her,  to  live  in  a  state  of  continence.  Epiphanius 
says  he  did  not  persevere  in  this  resolution,  but  took 
his  wife  again,  and,  in  order  to  justify  his  conduct, 
advanced  principles  contrary  to  truth  and  pmity. 
He  plunged  himself  into  irregularities,  and  gave  rise 
to  the  sect  of  the  Nicolaites,  to  that  of  the  Gnostics, 
and  to  several  others,  who  followed  the  bent  of  their 
natural  passions  to  crimes  and  wickednesses. 

In  this  statement  Epiphanius  is  supported  by  Ire- 
nseus,  Tertullian,  Hippolytus,  Hilary,  Gregory  of 
Nyssa,  Phylaster  of  Bressa,  Jerome,  Cassian,  Gregoiy 
the  Great,  Pacian,  pope  Gelasius,  Gildas,  and  several 
moderns,  who  say  that  Nicolas  the  deacon  was  the 
author  of  the  impious  and  infamous  sect  of  the  Nico- 
laitans.  Clemens  Alexandrinus,  however,  who  is 
more  ancient  than  Epiphanius,  expresses  much 
esteem  for  Nicolas ;  and  relates  the  affair  otherwise. 
The  apostles,  he  says,  having  reproached  Nicolas,  as 
being  too  jealous  of  his  wife,  he  introduced  her  be- 
fore them,  and  declared  that  any  one  might  espouse 
her  that  pleased.  This  declaration,  made  in  pure 
simplicity,  and  without  reflection,  was  only  designed 
as  a  proof  that  his  attachment  and  passion  for  his 
wife  did  not  overcome  him  ;  but  such  as  were  glad 
to  catch  at  the  pretence  of  his  authority,  screened 
themselves  under  what  he  had  done,  in  order  to  pal- 
liate and  vindicate  their  irregularities.  These  here- 
tics grounded  themselves,  says  Clement,  on  a  word 
that  Nicolas  let  fail,  that  "the  flesh  ought  to  be 
abused."  By  which  he  meant  nothing  else,  but  that 
we  ought  to  control  and  suppress  our  inclinations  to 
sensuality  and  concupiscence  ;  whereas,  these  disci- 
ples of  pleasure  explained  the  words  according  to 
their  own  sensuality,  and  not  according  to  the  mean- 
ing of  Nicolas.  Augustin,  Victorinus  Petaviensis,  Isi- 
dorus,  and  the  council  of  Tours,  also  acquit  him  ; 
and  the  Apostolical  Constitutions,  and  the  interpo- 
lated lettei-s  of  Ignatius  the  martyr,  affirm  that  the 
Nicolaitans  falsely  assumed  his  name.  Upon  the 
whole,  it  is  highly  probable  either  that  the  Nicolaitans 
falsely  assumed  the  name  of  Nicolas,  or  that  they  took 
their  rise  from  another  person  of  the  same  name. 

The  Lord  (Rev.  ii.  6,  15.)  condemns  the  actions 
and  doctrine  of  the  Nicolaitans.    He  says  he  hates 


NIL 


[70^ 


NILE 


them ;  commends  the  bishop  of  Ephesus  that  he 
abhors  them ;  and  reproaches  the  bishop  of  Perga- 
mus  that  soine  of  his  church  adopted  theii-  doctrine. 
[In  regard  to  the  Nicolaitans,  a  more  probable 
supposition  is,  that  the  appellation  is  not  here  de- 
rived from  a  proper  name,  but  is  symbolical ;  and 
that  it  refers  to  the  same  persons  who  are  said,  in 
Rev.  ii.  14,  to  hold  the  dodnne  of  Balaam ;  since  the 
Greek  name  NixUaos,  Nicolas,  corresponds  to  the 
Hebrew  zyhi,  Balaam,  and  signifies  to  overcome,  se- 
duce, a  people.  The  allusion,  then,  would  be  to  false 
and  seducing  teachers  like  Balaam  ;  and  refers  more 
particularly,  perhaps,  to  those  who  opposed  the  de- 
cree of  the  apostles  in  Acts  xv.  29.  (Compare  the  use 
of  Jezebel  in  Rev.  ii.  20.)     R. 

I.  NICOPOLIS,  a  city  of  Epirus,  on  the  gulf  of 
Ambracia ;  where  Paul  passed  his  winter,  A.  D.  64. 
He  wrote  to  Titus,  then  in  Crete,  to  come  to  him 
liitlier.  Tit.  iii.  12.  Some  are  of  opinion,  that  this 
Nicopolis,  however,  was  not  that  of  Epirus,  but  that 
of  Thi'ace,  on  the  borders  of  Macedonia,  near  the  river 
Nessus.     But  the  former  is  the  prevailing  opinion. 

II.  NICOPOLIS,  a  name  given  to  Emmaus,  a 
city  of  Palestine,  under  the  emperor  Alexander,  son 
of  Mammseus. 

NIDDUI,  the  lesser  sort  of  excommunication  used 
among  the  Hebrews.  He  who  had  incurred  this, 
was  to  withdraw  himself  from  his  relations,  at  least 
to  the  distance  of  four  cubits.  It  commonly  contin- 
ued thirty  days.  If  it  was  not  then  taken  oftj  it  might 
be  prolonged  for  sixty,  or  even  ninety,  days.  But 
if  within  this  term  the  excommunicated  person  did 
not  give  satisfaction,  he  fell  mto  the  cherem,  which 
was  the  second  sort  of  excommunication  ;  and  thence 
into  the  third  sort,  called  schammatha,  the  most  terri- 
ble of  all.     See  Excommunication,  and  Anathema. 

NIGER,  the  surname  of  Simon,  (Acts  xiii.  1.)  who 
was  a  prophet  and  teacher,  and  one  who  laid  his 
hands  on  Saul  and  Barnabas,  for  the  execution  of 
that  office  to  which  the  Holy  Ghost  had  appointed 
them.  Some  believe  he  is  that  Simeon  the  Cyre- 
iiian,  who  carried  the  cross  of  Christ  to  mount  Cal- 
I'ary ;  but  this  opinion  is  founded  only  on  a  simili- 
tude of  names.  Epiphanius  speaks  of  one  Niger 
among  the  seventy  disciples  of  our  Saviour. 

NIGHT.  The  ancient  Hebrews  beguu  their  artifi- 
cial day  in  the  evening,  and  ended  it  the  next  day 
evening  ;  so  that  the  night  preceded  the  day  ;  whence 
it  is  said,  (Gen.  i.  5.)  evening  and  morning  one  day. 
They  allowed  twelve  hours  to  the  night  and  twelve 
to  the  day  ;  but  these  hours  were  not  equal,  except  at 
the  equinox.  At  other  times,  when  the  hours  of  the 
nigiit  were  long,  those  of  the  day  were  short,  as  in 
•winter ;  and  contrariwise,  when  the  hours  of  night 
were  short,  as  at  midsunmier,  the  hours  of  the  day 
were  long  hi  proportion.     See  Hours. 

"Night"  is  put  for  a  time  of  afl3iction  and  ad- 
versity, (Ps.  xvii.  3  ;  Isa.  xxi.  12.)  as  also  for  tlie 
time  of  death,  (John  Lx.  4.)  for  the  end  of  the  world, 
1  Thess.  V.  2. 

Children  of  the  day,  and  children  of  the  night,  in 
a  moral  and  figurative  sense,  denote  good  men  and 
wicked  men,  Christians  and  Gentiles.  The  disciples 
of  the  Son  of  God  are  children  of  light;  they  belong 
to  the  light,  they  walk  in  tlie  light  of  gospel  truths ; 
whUe  children  of  the  night  walk  in  the  darlmess  of 
ignorance  and  infidelity,  and  perform  only  works  of 
darkness.  "  Ye  are  all  the  children  of  tiie  light,  and 
the  children  of  the  day  ;  we  are  not  of  the  night  nor 
of  darkness,"  1  Thess.  v.  5. 

NILE,  the  river  of  Egj'pt,  whose  fountains  are  in 


the  mountains  of  Abyssinia  towards  the  north, 
whence  it  proceeds,  and  afterwards  winds  about  to 
the  east,  passing  into  a  great  lake,  and  thence  run- 
ning towards  the  south.  It  waters  the  countiy  of 
Alata,  where  it  has  several  falls,  continues  its  course 
far  into  the  kingdom  of  Goiam,  then  winds  about 
again,  from  the  east  to  the  north  ;  and  at  length,  run- 
nuig  northward,  enters  Egypt  at  the  cataracts,  which 
are  waterfalls  made  by  meeting  with  rocks,  of  the 
length  of  two  hundred  feet. 

After  passing  these  rocks,  the  Nile  flows  directly 
through  the  valley  of  Egypt.  Its  channel,  according 
to  Villamout,  is  about  a  league  bi'oad.  Eight  miles 
below  Cairo,  it  is  divided  into  two  arms,  which  make 
a  triangle,  whose  base  is  at  the  Mediterranean  sea, 
and  which  the  Greeks  call  the  Delta,  because  of  its 
figure,  l\.  These  two  arms  are  divided  into  others, 
which  discharge  themselves  into  the  Mediterranean, 
whose  distance  from  the  top  of  the  Delta  is  about 
twenty  leagues.  These  branches  the  ancients  com- 
monly reckoned  to  be  seven  mouths,  Septemplicis 
ostia  JVili.  Ptolemy  makes  them  nine,  others  four, 
others  eleven,  others  foui-teen.  Others  maintain, 
that  there  are  no  more  than  the  mouths  of  Damietta, 
of  Rosetta,  and  of  the  two  canals,  one  of  which 
passes  by  Alexandria. 

Several  have  thought  that  the  Nile  was  the  Gihou, 
one  of  the  four  rivers  mentioned  by  Moses,  as  flow- 
ing from  the  terrestrial  paradise.  But  this  opinion 
is  not  to  be  supported,  since  the  other  rivers  are  too 
far  from  the  Nile.  Yet  the  inhabitants  of  the  king-  , 
dom  of  Goiam  call  this  river  Gihon.  The  Abyssini-  / 
ans  call  it  Ab  Euchi,  Abay,  or  the  father  of  rivers.  /, 
The  negroes  call  it  Tami.  Homer,  Diodorus  Sicn-  ' 
lus  and  Xenophon  testify,  that  its  ancient  name  was 
Egyptus,  and  Homer  mentions  it  by  no  other  name. 
Diodorus  says,  it  took  the  name  of  Nilus,  after  a  king 
of  Egypt,  called  by  that  name.  Pliny  relates  the 
opinion  of  king  Juba,  who  affirmed  that  the  Nile 
had  its  source  in  Mauritania  ;  that  it  appeared  and 
disappeared  in  different  places,  first  hiding  itself 
under  ground,  and  then  showing  itself  again  ;  that 
in  this  country  it  was  called  Niger,  and  in  Ethiopia 
it  had  tlie  name  Astapus ;  that  about  Meroe  it  was 
divided  into  two  arms,  of  which  the  right  was  called 
Astusapes,  and  the  left  Astaborus ;  and  lastly,  that 
it  obtained  the  name  of  Nile  only  below  Meroe. 
Pliny,  Plutarch,  Dionysius  the  geographer,  and  some 
others,  testify  that  it  was  also  named  Siris.  Dionys- 
ius says,  that  the  Ethiopians  call  it  Siris,  and  that 
after  it  passes  Syena,  it  has  the  name  of  Nilus.  In 
Scripture  the  Nile  has  seldom  any  other  name  but 
the  river  of  Egypt.  Joshua  and  Jeremiah  express  it 
by  the  name  Silior,  or  the  river  of  troubled  v/ater  : 
"  What  hast  thou  to  do  in  the  way  of  Egypt,  to  drink 
the  water  of  Sihor?"  says  Jeremiah.  (But  see 
SiHOR.)  The  Greeks  give  it  the  name  of  Melas, 
which  also  signifies  black,  or  troubled.  And  indeed 
travellers  inform  us  that  the  water  of  this  river  is 
generally  something  muddy,  but  it  is  easily  fined  by 
throwing  into  it  some  almonds  or  skinned  beans. 
Servius,  explaining  that  ve-:-se  of  Virgil,  where,  speak- 
ing of  the  Nile,  lie  says, 

Et  viridera  iEgyptum  nigra  fcECundat  arena, 

Georg.  iv.  291. 

observes,  that  the  ancients  called  the  Nile,  Melo. 
Melo  in  Hebrew  signifies/uZ/,  which  may  well  agree 
with  the  Nile,  because  of  its  great  floods,  which  con- 
tinue for  about  six  weeks  in  the  heat  of  summer,  and 
overflow  Egypt. 


I 


NILE 


[  703  ] 


NILE 


Diodorus  Siculus  observes,  that  the  most  ancient 
name  by  which  the  Grecians  knew  tlie  Nile,  is 
Oceanus.  It  had  also  the  name  of  A igle,  afterwards 
of  yEg\'ptus,  and  lastly  of  Niliis,  from  king  Nileus. 
The  Egj'ptians  paid  divine  honor  to  the  Nile,  and 
called  it  Jupiter  Nilus ;  for  which  reason,  perhaps, 
the  Lord  sometimes  threatens  to  smite  the  river  of 
Egypt,  to  dry  it  up,  and  kill  its  fishes  ;  as  it  were  to 
show  the  Egyptians  the  vanity  of  their  worship,  and 
the  impotence  of  their  pretended  deity,  Isa.  xi.  15 ; 
Ezek.  xxix.  3,  &c. 

Scripture,  marking  the  limits  of  the  Land  of 
Promise,  sometimes  puts  the  river  or  the  stream  of 
Egypt  for  its  southerly  limits :  "From  the  entering 
m  of  llamath,  inito  the  river  of  Egy])t,"  2  Chron.  vii. 
8.  Or  "  from  the  channel  of  the  river  (Euphrates) 
unto  the  stream  of  Egypt,"  Isa.  xxvii.  12.  Some  in- 
terpreters, however,  justly  doubting  whether  the 
dominion  of  the  Israelites  extended  to  the  Nile,  have 
properly  supposed  that  the  stream  of  Egyj)t  was  a 
stream  that  fell  into  the  Mediterranean  sea,  between 
Riiinocorura  and  Gaza,  which  is  called  in  Scripture 
the  river  of  the  wilderness,  Amos  vi.  14.  See  Egypt, 
River  of. 

The  Arabians  and  other  orientals  often  give  the 
Nile  the  name  of  a  sea,  and  the  surname  or  epithet 
of  Faidh,  which  is  common  also  to  the  Euphrates, 
because  these  two  rivers,  by  then-  overflowing,  in- 
crease the  fertihty  of  the  countries  they  pass  through. 
They  also  give  it  the  name  of  Mobarek,  blessed,  as 
well  because  of  the  fruitfulness  it  occasions  to  the 
land,  as  the  fecundity  it  is  thought  to  procui-e  to  the 
women. 

When  the  Nile  rises  only  to  the  perpendicular 
height  of  twelve  cubits,  a  famine  necessarily  follows 
in  Egj'pt ;  nor  is  the  famine  less  certain,  if  it  should 
exceed  sixteen  cubits ;  so  that  the  just  height  of  the 
inundation  is  between  twelve  and  sixteen  cubits. 

The  Nilometer  is  a  pillar  erected  in  the  middle  of 
the  Nile,  on  which  are  marked  degrees  measuring 
the  ascent  of  the  water.  There  were  several  of 
these  in  different  places.  At  this  day  there  is  one  in 
the  island  which  divides  the  Nile  into  two  arms,  one 
of  which  passes  to  Cairo,  and  the  other  to  Gizah. 
M.  d'Herbelot  notices  several  others,  built  or  repau-ed 
by  the  reigning  caliphs.  The  Nile  overflows  yearly 
in  the  month  of  August,  in  the  higher  and  middle 
Egypt,  where  it  hardly  ever  rains.  But  in  lower 
Egypt  the  flood  is  less  sensible  and  less  necessary, 
becau.se  it  frequently  rains  there,  and  the  country  is 
sufficiently  watered.  It  is  less  sensible,  because  they 
make  fewer  dikes,  or  receptacles  for  the  water  there, 
and  the  inundation  spreading  itself  equally  over  the 
country,  does  not  rise  higher  than  a  cubit  through  the 
whole  Delta.  Whereas  in  higher  and  middle  Egypt, 
they  have  deep  canals,  to  receive  the  waters  of  the 
river.  They  make  a  breach  in  these  dikes  by  au- 
thority of  the  pacha,  and  when  one  district  is  sufii- 
ciently  watered,  the  dike  is  stopped  up,  and  another 
opened.  The  Egyptians  have  often  contentions, 
village  against  village,  which  shall  have  the  first  dis- 
triliution  of  the  waters  ;  and  when  the  overflowing 
comes  as  they  desire,  they  celebrate  a  great  festival 
throughout  the  country. 

When  the  waters  are  subsided,  the  culture  of  the 
land  is  easy.  The  seed  is  cast  on  the  mud,  and  with 
little  tillage  produces  great  plenty.  The  mud  which 
the  Nile  brings  is  earth  washed  away  from  the  banks 
in  its  course  ;  which  same  mud,  covering  the  land- 
marks and  furrows  of  the  fields,  obliges  the  proprie- 
tors to  have  recourse  to  the  line  and  the  measuring 


rod.  to  measure  out  their  lands  and  inheritances 
every  year  anew.     See  Egypt,  p.  370,  371. 

"  Some  descriptions  of  Egj  pt  would  lead  us  to 
think  that  the  Nile,  when  it  swells,  lays  the  whole 
province  under  water.  The  lands  adjoining  imme- 
diately to  the  banks  of  the  river  are  indeed  laid  under 
water,  but  the  natural  inequality  of  the  ground  hin- 
ders it  from  overflowing  the  interior  country.  A 
great  part  of  the  lands  would  therefore  remain  bar- 
ren, were  not  canals  and  resenoirs  formed  to  receive 
water  from  the  river,  when  at  its  gi-eatest  height, 
which  is  thus  conveyed  every  where  dirough  the 
fields,  and  reserved  for  watering  them,  when  occa- 
sion i-equires."     (Niebuhr's  Travels,  vol.  i.  ]>.  87.) 

"  It  is  to  be  remarked,  that  though  this  water  be- 
comes thick,  by  washing  off  the  clayey  soil  over 
which  it  passes,  it  appears,  when  drank,  as  light  and 
limpid  as  the  clearest;  the  Egyptians  themselves 
believe  it  is  nourishing,  and  say,  whoever  drinks  of 
the  river  will  never  remove  to  any  great  distance 
from  its  banks.  The  divine  honors  which  the  an- 
cient Egyptians  paid  to  the  Nile,  and  for  which  the 
plenty  it  occasions  may  be  some  justification,  are,  in  a 
manner,  still  preserved  luider  the  Mahometans  ;  they 
give  this  river  the  title  of  Most  Holy,  they  likewise 
honor  its  increase  with  all  the  ceremonies  practised 
by  pagan  antiquity."  (Baron  du  Tott,  vol.  ii.  p.  24. 
part  4.) 

The  superior  veneration  paid  to  the  eastern  or 
Abyssinian  branch  of  this  celebrated  river  appears 
from  the  variety  of  names  given  to  it,  as  well  as  from 
the  import  of  these  names  ;  of  this  Mr.  Bruce  gives  a 
full  account,  from  whicli  we  shall  only  quote  a  part. 
By  the  Agows  it  is  named  Gzeir,  Geesa,  orSeir; 
the  first  of  which  terms  signifies  a  god.  It  is  like- 
wise called  Ab,  father  ;  and  has  many  other  names, 
all  implying  the  most  pi'ofound  veneration.  In  Go- 
jam  it  is  named  Abay,  which  signifies  overflowing. 
By  the  Gongas,  on  the  south  of  mounts  Dyre  and 
Tagla,  it  is  called  Dahli ;  by  those  on  the  north, 
Koass,  both  of  which  imply  dog-star.  Formerly  the 
Nile  had  the  name  of_SiriSj_boTlT~beTore  and  after  it 
enters  Beja,  which  the  Greeks  imagined  was  given 
to  it  on  account  of  its  black  color  during  the  inim- 
dation  ;  but  Mr.  Bruce  assures  us  tha.t  the  river  has 
no  such  color.  He  affirms,  with  great  probability, 
that  this  name  in  the  country  of  Beja  imports  the 
river  of  the  dog-star,  on  the  vertical  appearance  of 
which  this  river  overflows :  "  and  this  idolatrous 
worship  (says  he)  was  probably  part  of  the  reason  of 
the  question  the  projjhet  Jeremiah  asks:  '  What  hast 
thou  to  do  in  Egypt  to  drink  the  watei-s  of  Seir,  or 
the  water  profaned  by  idolatrous  rites?'"  The  in- 
habitants of  the  Barabra  call  it  Bahar  el  Nil,  the  sea 
of  the  Nile,  iu  contradistinction  to  the  Red  sea,  for 
Avhich  they  have  no  other  name  than  Bahar  el  Mo- 
loch, or  the  Salt  sea.  The  junction  of  the  three 
groat  rivers,  the  Nile,  flowing  on  the  west  side  of 
Meroe  ;  the  Tacazze,  which  washes  the  east  side,  and 
joins  the  Nile  at  Maggiran,  in  north  latitude  17  de- 
grees ;  and  the  Mareb,  which  falls  into  this  last 
somotliing  above  the  junction,  gives  the  name  of 
Triton  to  the  Nile.  The  ancient  name  Egyptus, 
given  it  in  Homer,  is  supposed  to  have  been  derived 
from  its  black  color;  but  Mr.  Bruce  derives  it  from 
Y  Gypt,  the  name  given  to  Egypt  in  Ethiopia,  that 
is,  the  country  of  canals. 

We  also  quote  from  Mr.  Bruce  Avhat  I"^  lias  said 
concerning  the  natural  operation  by  which  the  tropi- 
cal rains  are  produced  ;  which  are  now  universally 
allowed  to  be  the  cause  of  the  annual  overflowing 


NILE 


[  704  1 


NILE 


of  this  and  other  rivers.  "The  air  is  so  much  rari- 
fied  by  the  sun,  during  the  time  he  remains  almost 
stationary  over  the  tropic  of  Capricorn,  that  the  winds 
loaded  with  vapors  rush  in  upon  the  land  from  the 
Atlantic  ocean  on  the  west,  the  Indian  ocean  on  the 
east,  and  the  cold  Southern  ocean  beyond  the  Cape. 
Thus  a  great  quantity  of  vapor  is  gathered,  as  it 
were,  into  a  focus ;  and  as  the  same  causes  continue 
to  operate  during  the  progress  of  the  sun  northward, 
a  vast  train  of  clouds  proceeds  from  south  to  north, 
which  is  sometimes  extended  much  farther  than  at 
other  times. — In  April  all  the  rivers  in  the  south  of 
Abyssinia  begin  to  swell,  and  greatly  augment  the 
Nile,  which  is  further  enlarged  by  the  vast  quantity 
of  water  poured  into  the  lake  Tzana.  In  the  begin- 
ning of  June  the  rivers  are  all  full,  and  continue  so 
while  the  sun  remains  stationary  in  the  tropic  of 
Cancer.  This  excessive  rain,  which  woidd  sweep 
off  the  whole  soil  of  Egypt  into  the  sea,  were  it  to 
continue  without  intermission,  begins  to  abate  as  the 
sun  turns  southward  ;  and  on  his  arrival  at  the  ze- 
nith of  each  place,  on  his  passage  towards  that  quar- 
ter, they  cease  entii'ely.  Immediately  after  the  sun 
has  passed  the  line,  he  begins  the  rainy  season  to  the 
southward.  There  are  three  remarkable  appear- 
ances attending  the  inundation  of  the  Nile.  Every 
morning  m  Abyssinia  is  clear,  and  the  sun  shines. 
About  nine  a  small  cloud,  not  above  four  feet  broad, 
appears  in  the  east,  whirling  violently  round  as  if 
upon  an  axis ;  but,  aiTived  near  the  zenith,  it  first 
abates  its  motion,  then  loses  its  form,  and  extends 
itself  greatly,  and  seems  to  call  up  vapors  from  all 
the  opposite  quarters.  These  clouds,  having  attained 
nearly  the  same  height,  rush  against  each  other  with 
gi-eat  violence.  The  air,  impelled  before  the  heavi- 
est mass,  or  swiftest  mover,  makes  an  impression  of 
its  form  on  the  collection  of  clouds  opposite  ;  and 
the  moment  it  has  taken  possession  of  the  space 
made  to  receive  it,  the  most  violent  thunder  possible 
to  be  conceived  instantly  follows,  with  rain  :  after 
some  hours  the  sky  again  clears,  with  a  wind  at 
north,  and  is  always  disagreeably  cold  when  the  ther- 
mometer is  below  sixty-three  degrees.  The  second 
thing  remarkable  is  the  variation  of  the  thermome- 
ter. When  the  sun  is  in  the  southern  tropic,  thirty- 
six  degrees  distant  from  the  zenith  of  Gondar,  it  is 
seldom  lower  than  seventy-two  degrees  ;  but  it  falls 
to  sixty  degrees,  and  sixty-three  degrees,  wlien  the 
sun  is  immediately  vertical ;  so  happily  does  the  ap- 
proach of  rain  compensate  the  heat  of  a  too  scorch- 
ing sun.  The  third  is  that  remarkable  stop  in  the 
extent  of  the  rain  northward,  when  the  sun,  that  has 
conducted  the  vapors  from  the  line,  and  should 
seem  now  more  than  ever  to  be  in  possession  of 
them,  is  here  overruled  suddenly  ;  till,  on  his  return 
to  Gorri,  again  it  resumes  the  absolute  command 
over  the  rain,  and  reconducts  it  to  the  line,  to  fur- 
nish distant  deluges  to  the  southward.  The  river, 
passing  through  the  kingdom  of  Sennaar,  the  soil  of 
which  is  a  red  bole,  becomes  colored  with  that 
eartli ;  and  this  mixture,  along  with  the  moving 
sand  of  the  deserts,  of  which  it  receives  a  great 
quantity  when  raised  by  the  wind,  precipitates  all 
the  viscous  and  putrid  matters  which  float  in  the 
waters  ;  whence  Dr.  Pococke  judiciously  observes, 
that  the  Nile  is  not  wholesome  when  the  water  is 
clear  and  green,  but  when  so  red  and  tm-bid  that  it 
stains  the  water  of  the  Mediterranean." 

The  following  account  is  from  father  Vansleb, 
whose  remarks  were  made  at  Cairo : — 

"  This  is  remarkable  of  Nilus :  (1.)  That  it  begms 


to  increase  and  decrease  on  a  certain  day  precisely, 
(2.)  That  when  it  first  increaseth  it  grows  green. 
(3.)  That  afterwards  it  appears  red  ;  and  (4.)  That 
it  changeth  its  channel  sometimes.  The  day  in 
which  it  begins  to  increase  is  yearly  the  twelfth  day 
of  June,  on  which  day  they  observe  the  feast  of  St. 
Michael  the  archangel : — on  this  day  the  drops  fall. 
Now  these  drops  are  nothing  else,  according  to  the 
judgment  of  the  inhabitants,  but  the  mercies  and 
blessings  of  God.  As  soon  as  this  dew  is  fallen,  the 
water  begins  to  be  corrupt,  and  assumes  a  greenish 
color;  this  color  increases  more  and  more,  till  the 
river  appears  as  a  lake  covered  all  over  with  moss. 
This  color  is  to  be  seen  not  only  in  its  great  chan- 
nel, but  also  in  all  the  ponds  and  branches  that  come 
from  thence :  only  the  cisterns  keep  the  water  pure. 
Some  years  this  green  color  continues  about  twenty 
days,  and  sometimes  more,  but  never  above  forty. 
The  Egyptians  call  this  time,  when  the  river  is 
green,  it  chad  raviat,  for  they  suffer  much,  because 
the  water  is  corrupt,  without  taste,  and  unwhole- 
some ;  and  good  water  is  very  rare.  As  soon  as  the 
green  color  is  gone,  the  river  Nilus  begins  to  be- 
come red,  and  very  muddy:  it  is  then  no  doubt  but 
the  fermentation  is  passed,  and  that  the  waters  of 
Ethiopia  are  arrived  in  Egypt,  which  are  of  that 
color,  because  of  the  red  earth  which  the  furious 
torrents  from  the  mountains  can-y  into  the  river  ;  for 
it  is  not  possible  that  the  land  of  Egypt,  Avhich  is 
very  black,  should  give  it  that  color.  In  the  year 
1673,  in  the  beginning  of  July,  the  water  began  to 
be  red,  and  so  continued  till  the  end  of  December, 
the  time  when  the  river  returns  to  its  ordinary  di- 
mensions. The  Egyptians  believe  that  the  river 
Nilus  decreaseth  also  at  a  certain  day,  Sept.  24. 

"  The  waters  of  this  river  cause  an  itch  in  the  skin, 
which  troubles  such  as  drink  of  them  when  the  river 
increases.  This  itch  is  very  small,  and  appears  first 
about  the  arms,  next  upon  the  stomach,  and  spreads 
all  abotU  the  body,  Avhich  causeth  a  giievous  pain. 
This  itch  comes  not  only  upon  such  as  drink  of  the 
river  ;  but  such  as  drink  of  the  Avaters  of  the  cisterns 
filled  with  the  river  water.  It  lasts  about  six  weeks. 
When  the  river  runs  over,  it  makes  a  great  destruc- 
tion ;  it  carries  away  not  only  great  pieces  of  the 
bank,  but  destroys  sometimes  towns  and  villages 
near  to  it." 

The  prophet  Nahum  calls  this  river  by  the  name 
of  a  sea,  when  describing  the  rampart  of  populous 
No,  which,  hesays,  "was  the  sea,  and  her  wall  was 
from  the  sea."  This  may  appear  very  extraordinary 
to  British  readers  :  but  the  account  of  Ibn  Haukal, 
who  uses  the  same  phraseology,  will  justify  it.  He 
thus  writes:  (sir  W.  Ouseley's  trans,  p.  34.)  "In 
this  sea  there  are  islands,  to  which  one  may  pass  in 
boats  or  vessels.  Of  these  islands  are  Teneis  and 
Damiat.  In  each  of  these,  agriculture  is  practised, 
and  cattle  are  kept :  and  the  kind  of  clothes  called 
rekia  come  from  these  places.  "  The  waters  of  this 
sea  are  not  very  considerable,  and  vessels  move  on 
it  by  the  help  of  men.  .  .  .  From  the  borders  of  this 
sea,  to  those  of  the  sea  of  Syria,  it  is  all  sand." 

In  these  passages  the  mouths  of  the  Nile,  the  lakes 
adjacent  to  them,  the  marshes,  &c.  appear  to  be 
called  seas,  in  the  Arabic ;  as  such  collections  of 
water  also  are  in  the  Hebrew. 

"  The  Nile,"  says  Ibn  Haukal,  (sir  W.  Ouseley's 
trans,  p.  3L)  "  produces  crocodiles,  and  the  fish 
sekenkour  :  and  there  is  also  a  species  of  fish  called 
raadah,  which  if  any  person  take  in  his  hand  while  it 
is  alive,  that  person  will  be  affected  by  a  trembling 


NIM 


[705  ] 


NIN 


of  his  body  :  when  dead  this  fish  resembles  other 
fishes.  The  crocodile's  skin  is  so  hard,  that  it  resists 
the  blows  of  all  weapons  when  stricken  on  the  back : 
they  therefore  wound  him  under  the  arm-pits  and 
between  the  thighs.  The  sekenkour  is  a  species  of 
that  fish,  (the  crocodile,)  but  the  crocodile  has  hands 
and  feet :  and  they  use  the  sekenkour  in  medicinal 
and  culinary  preparations." 

It  deserves  notice  that  the  crocodile  is  liere  reck- 
oned a  fish,  though  it  is,  as  we  well  know,  a  lizard  ; 
and  the  sekenkour,  or  skinkore,  or  skink,  of  Euro- 
pean naturalists,  is  referred  to  the  same  genus,  that 
is,  of  fishes,  though  that  also  is  a  lizard,  is  amphibi- 
ous, and  is  found  in  various  countries  of  the  East. 
It  appears  that  the  ancient  Hebrews  also  included 
lizards  in  the  division  of  Tannim,  which  comprised 
not  only  fishes  but  amphibia;  creatures  using  the 
water,  generally  ;  and  even  serpents.  The  crocodile, 
therefore,  being  called  a  fish  by  this  Arab  writer,  we 
need  not  hesitate  to  admit  the  same  idea  among  the 
learned  Hebrews. 

NI3IRAH,  Beth-Nimrah,  house  of  limpid  ivaters, 
and  NiMRiM,  a  city  of  Gad,  or  rather  of  Reuben,  east 
of  the  Dead  sea,  Numb,  xxxii.  3.  Jeremiah  (xlviii. 
34.)  speaks  of  Nimrim  and  its  pleasant  waters;  Isa- 
iah (xv.  G.)  also  mentions  the  waters  of  Niuirim. 
[Burckhardt  mentions  the  niins  of  A  mn'n,  probably 
the  same  as  the  ancient  Nimrah,  or  Niim"im,  as 
being  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  Dead  sea,  towards 
its  northern  part.     (Trav.  in  Syria,  &c.  p.  391.)  *R. 

NIMROD,  son  of  Cusli,  "and  a  mighty  hunter 
before  the  Lord,"  Gen.  x.  8,  9.  He  was  the  first  who 
began  to  monopolize  power  on  the  earth,  and  gave 
occasion  to  the  proverb,  "Like  Nimrod,  the  great 
hunter  before  the  Lord."  His  hunting  was  not  only 
of  wild  beasts,  but  also  to  subdue  men,  to  reduce 
them  under  his  dominion.  Ezekiel  (xxxii.  30.  Vulg.) 
gives  the  name  of  hunters  to  all  tyrants.  The  foun- 
dation of  the  empire  of  Nimrod  was  at  Baliylon  ; 
and,  very  probably,  he  was  among  the  most  eager 
undertakers  of  the  tower  of  Babel.  He  built  Baby- 
lon at,  or  near,  that  famous  tower,  and  from  thence 
he  extended  his  dominion  over  the  neighboring 
countries,  and  Erech,  Accad  and  Calneh,  in  the  land 
of  Sliinar.  Moses  adds,  according  to  the  English 
version  :  "  Out  of  that  land  went  forth  Ashur,  and 
'^bnilded  Nineveh,  and  the  city  Rehoboth,  and  Calah, 
and  Resen,  between  Nineveh  and  Calah  ;  the  same 
is  a  great  city."  This  Bochart  and  others  under- 
stand still  of  Nimrod,  and  translate,  "From  this 
place  he  went  out  to  go  into  Assyria,  where  he  built 
Nineveh,  Rehoboth,  Calah,  and  Resen;"  that  is, 
when  Nimrod  had  established  the  beginning  of  his 
empire  at  Babylon,  and  in  the  land  of  Sliinar,  he 
advanced  towards  Assyria,  where  he  built  poworfid 
cities,  as  so  many  fortresses,  to  keep  the  people  in 
subjection.    Comp.  Assyria,  p.  113,  col.  2. 

INIany  interpreters  regard  Nimrod  as  the  same 
with  Helus,  founder  of  the  kingdom  of  Babylon,  and 
with  Ninus,  founder  of  that  of  Nineveh.  (See  As- 
syria, p.  113,  Babylonia,  p.  138.)  Profime  authors 
have  embellished  the  history  of  Bacchus  with  several 
circumstances  taken  from  that  of  Nimrod,  The 
name  Nebrodeus,  or  Nebrodus,  given  to  Bacchus, 
is  perhaps  derived  from  Nembrod,  or  Nimrod, 
though  the  Greeks  derive  it  from  a  goat-skin,  with 
which  they  pretend  Bacchus  was  clothed.  The 
name  Bacchus  may  also  be  derived  from  Bar-chus, 
"son  of  Cush  ;"  because  Nimrod  was  indeed  the 
son  of  Cush.  The  Greeks  gave  to  Bacchus  the  name 
of  hunter,  just  as  Moses  gives  it  to  Nimrod.  The 
89 


expeditions  of  Bacchus  into  the  Indies  are  formed 
on  the  wars  of  Nimrod  in  Babylonia  and  Assyria. 
To  Nimrod  is  imputed  the  invention  of  idolatrous 
worship  paid  to  men. 

NINEVEH,  the  capital  of  Assyria,  was  founded 
by  Ashur,  son  of  Shem  ;  or  more'probably  by  Nim- 
rod, son  of  Cush;  for  in  Gen.  x.  11,  Moses  seems 
to  refer  to  Nimrod,  mentioned  above.  However 
this  may  be,  Nineveh  was  one  of  the  most  ancitrit, 
famous,  potent  and  extensive  cities  of  the  world. 
It  is  very  difiicult  to  assign  the  time  of  its  founda- 
tion ;  but  it  cannot  have  been  long  after  the  building 
of  Babel.  It  stood  on  the  banks  of  the  Tigris;  and 
in  the  time  of  the  prophet  Jonah,  who  was  sent 
thither  under  Jeroboam  the  second,  king  of  Israel, 
and,  as  Calmet  judges,  under  the  reign  of  Pul,  father 
of  Sardanapalus,  king  of  Assyria;  its  circuit  was 
three  days'  jom-nej^  Diodorus  Siculus  says,  it  was 
150  stadia  in  length,  90  stadia  in  breadth,  and  480 
stadia  in  circuit ;  that  is,  about  seven  leagues  long, 
three  leagues  broad,  and  eighteen  leagues  round. 
Its  walls  were  a  himdred  feet  high,  and  so  broad, 
that  thnoe  chariots  could  drive  abreast  upon  them. 
Its  towers,  of  which  there  were  fifteen  hundred, 
were  each  two  hundred  feet  high. 

Some  place  it  on  the  west,  others  on  the  east,  bank 
of  the  Tigris.  At  the  time  of  Jonah's  mission,  (Jo- 
nah iv.  11.)  it  was  reckoned  to  contain  more  than 
120,000  persons,  "  v/ho  could  not  distinguish  their 
right  hand  from  their  left ;"  that  is,  young  children. 
By  this  computation,  there  ought  to  have  been  then 
in  Nineveh  more  than  000,000  persons. 

Nineveh,  which  had  long  been  mistress  of  the  East, 
was  first  taken  by  Arbaces  and  Belesis,  under  the 
reign  of  Sardanapalus,  in  the  time  of  Ahaz,  king  of 
Judah,  about  the  time  of  the  foundation  of  Rome, 
A.  M.  3257.  It  Avas  taken  a  second  time  by  Cyaxares 
and  Nabopolassar,  from  Chinaladin,  king  of  Assyria, 
A.  M.  3378,  after  which  it  no  more  recovered  its 
former  splendor.  It  was  entirely  mined  in  the 
time  of  Lucian  of  Samosata,  who  lived  under  the 
emperor  Adrian.  It  was  rebuilt  under  the  Persians, 
but  was  destroyed  by  the  Saracens  about  the  seventh 
century. 

Profime  histories  say,  that  Ninus  founded  Nine- 
veh. The  sacred  authors  make  frequent  mention  of 
Nineveh  and  its  kings,  Tiglath-pileser,  Sennacherib, 
Shalmanezar,  and  Esar-haddon.  Tobit  lived  in 
this  city.  Nahum  and  Ze{)haniah  foretold  its  ruin 
in  a  very  particular  and  pathetic  manner,  which 
Tobit  re[)eated.  The  behavior  of  Jonah  at  Nine- 
veh is  well  known  ;  with  the  signal  repentance  of 
the  Ninevites  ;  which  is  even  commended  in  the 
gospel.  Matt.  xi.  41  ;  Luke  xi.  32. 

Several  writers  are  of  o])inion  that  the  ruins  on 
the  eastern  bank  of  the  Tigris,  opposite  to  the  town 
of  Mosr.l,  point  out  the  site  of  the  ancient  Nineveh. 
IMr.  Rich,  who  was  resident  at  Bagdad,  describes  on 
this  s|)ot  an  enclosure  of  a  rectangular  form,  corre- 
s{)onding  with  the  cardinal  points  of  the  compass,  but 
the  area  of  which  is  too  small  to  have  contained  a 
larger  town  than  IMosul.  The  boundary  of  this  en- 
closure, which  he  supposes  to  answer  to  the  palace  of 
Nineveh,  may  be  perfectly  traced  all  aroimd,  and 
looks  like  an  embankment  of  earth  or  rubbish,  of 
small  elevation  ;  and  has  attached  to  it,  and  in  its 
line,  at  several  places,  mounds  of  gi-eater  size  and 
solidity.  The  first  of  these  forms  the  south-west 
angle ;'  and  on  it  is  built  the  village  of  Nebbi  Yunus, 
where  they  show  the  tomb  of  the  prophet  Jonas. 
The  next,"  and  largest  of  all,  is  the  one  which  Mr, 


N  O  A 


[  706  ] 


NOAH 


Rich  supposes  to  be  the  monuineut  of  Nimis,  and  is 
situated  near  the  centre  of  the  western  face  of  the 
enclosure,  being  joined  hke  the  otliers  l)y  the  boun- 
dary wall ;  the  natives  call  it  Koyunjuk  Tepe.  Its 
form  is  that  of  a  truncated  pyramid,  with  regulaf- 
steep  sides  and  a  flat  top  ;  and  is  composed  of  stones 
and  eartl),  the  latter  predominating  sufficiently  to  ad- 
mit of  the  summit  being  cultivated  by  the  inhabitants 
of  the  village  of  Koyunjuk,  which  is  built  on  it  at 
the  north-east  extremity.  The  measurements  of  this 
mound  were  178  feet  for  the  greatest  height,  1850 
feet  the  length  of  the  summit  east  and  west,  and  1147 
for  its  breadth  north  and  south.  Out  of  a  mound  in 
the  north  face  of  the  boundary  v.as  dug,  some  time 
since,  an  immense  block  of  stone,  on  which  were 
sculptured  the  figures  of  men  and  animals.  So  re- 
markable was  this  fragment  of  antiquity,  that  even 
Turkish  apathy  was  roused,  and  the  pacha  and  most 
of  the  principal  people  of  AIosul  came  oiit  to  see  it. 
One  of  the  spectators  particularly  recollected  among 
the  sculptures  of  this  stone,  the  figure  of  a  man  on 
horseback,  with  a  long  lance  in  his  hand,  followed  by 
a  great  many  others  on  foot.  These  ruins  seem  to 
attest  the  former  existence  of  some  extensive  build- 
ings on  the  spot,  but  whether  belonging  to  the  ancient 
Nineveh  will  admit  of  considerable  doubt. 

NISAN,  a  Hebrew  mouth,  partly  answering  to  our 
March  ;  and  which  sometimes  takes  from  February 
or  April,  according  to  the  course  of  the  moon.  It 
was  the  seventh  month  of  the  civil  year;  but  was 
made  the  first  month  of  the  sacred  year,  at  the  com- 
ing out  of  Egypt,  Exod.  xii.  2.  In  Moses  it  is  called 
Abib.  The  name  Nisan  is  oidy  since  the  time  of 
Ezra,  and  the  i-eturn  from  the  captivity  of  Babylon. 
See  the  Jewish  Calexdar,  and  Months. 

NISROCH,  or  Nesroch,  a  god  of  the  Assyrians, 
2  Kings  xix.  37.  The  LXX  call  him  Nesrach  ;  Jo- 
sephus,  Araskes;  and  the  Hebrew  of  Tobit,  publish- 
ed by  Munster,  Dagon.  [According  to  the  etymology, 
the  name  would  signify  eagle.  Among  tlie  ancient 
Arabs,  also,  the  eagle  occurs  as  an  idol.  (See  Gese- 
nius,  Heb.  Lex.)     R. 

NITRE,  a  sort  of  salt,  or  of  salt-petre,  a  mineral  al- 
kali, common  in  Palestine,  Arabia  and  Egypt.  The 
Hebrews  call  it  Nether,  and  use  this  word  to  express 
a  salt  proper  to  take  spots  out  of  cloth,  and  even  from 
the  face.  The  wise  man  says,  (Prov.  xxv.  20.)  "As 
he  that  taketh  away  a  garment  in  cold  weather,  and 
as  vinegar  upon  nitre  ;  so  is  he  that  singcth  songs  to 
a  heavy  heart."  That  is,  he  makes  bad  worse  who 
deprives  the  shivering  wretcii  of  a  garment  in  cold 
weather ;  so  doth  he  who  singeth  songs  to  a  heavy 
heart :  vinegar  poured  on  nitre  makes  a  great  ebul- 
lition ;  merriment,  jollity  and  song  are  equally  oiu 
of  time,  unsoothing,  unsuitable  to  a  mind  overwhelm- 
ed with  profound  grief.  Jeremiah,  speaking  to  his 
people  under  the  image  of  a  faithless  and  abandoned 
spouse,  says,  "  Though  thou  wash  thee  with  nitre, 
and  take  thee  much  soap,  yet  thine  iniquity  is  mark- 
ed before  me,  saitli  the  Lord  God."  Thou  art  too 
much  polluted  in  my  eyes  ever  to  be  made  clean. 
This  passage  proves  the  use  of  nitre,  to  purify  from 
outward  spots  and  bhMuislics.  The  nitre  conunou 
among  us,  from  which  gunpowder  is  made,  is  appa- 
rently not  the  nitre  of  the  Scriptures ;  it  is  nearer,  we 
believe,  to  sal-ammoniac. 

NO,  or  No-Ammon,  a  city  of  Egyj)t.    See  Ammox  I. 

NOACHID^,  a  name  given  to  the  children  of 
Noah,  and  in  general,  to  all  men  not  of  the  chosen 
race  of  Abraham. 

NOAH,  repose,  or  rest,  son  of  Lnmech,  was  born 


A.  M.  1056.  Amidst  the  general  corruption  of  man- 
kind, he  found  favor  in  the  eyes  of  the  Lord,  ami 
received  a  divine  command,  to  build  an  ark  for  the 
saving  of  his  house  from  the  general  deluge  which 
the  Lord  was  about  to  bring  upon  the  earth.  (See 
Arx,  and  Deluge.)  After  having  left  the  ark,  Noah 
oficred  as  a  burnt-sacrifice  to  the  Lord  one  of  all  the 
j)iu-e  animals  that  had  been  preserved.  His  sacrifice 
was  accepted,  and  the  Lord  promised  to  bi'ing  no 
more  a  deluge  over  the  earth ;  of  which  promise  the 
sign  lie  gave  to  Noah  was  the  rainbow. 

Noah,  being  a  husbandman,  cultivated  the  vine ; 
and  having  unwarily  intoxicated  himself  by  drinking 
of  wine,  he  fell  asleep  in  his  tent.  Ham,  the  father 
of  Canaan,  discoveruig  him  in  this  condition,  made 
sport  of  him,  and  jeered  with  his  two  brothers;  who 
going  backwards,  covered  their  father's  nakedness, 
by  throwing  a  mantle  over  him.  Noah  awaking,  and 
knowing  what  Ham  had  done,  foretold  the  doom  of 
slavery  to  Canaan  and  his  posterity ;  while  he  bless- 
ed his  other  sous. 

Noah  lived  after  the  deluge  350  years ;  his  whole 
life  being  950  years.  He  died  A.  M.  2006,  leaving 
three  sons,  Shem,  Ham  and  Japheth,  (sec  their  arti- 
cles,) among  whom,  according  to  the  conmion  opin- 
ion, he  divided  the  v/hole  world,  giving  to  Shem 
Asia,  to  Ham  Africa,  and  to  Japheth  Europe. 

Peter  calls  Noah  a  preacher  of  righteousness,  (2 
Pet.  ii.  5.)  because,  before  the  deluge,  he  was  inces- 
santly declaring,  not  only  by  his  discourses,  but  by 
his  unblamable  life,  and  by  building  the  ark,  in  which 
he  was  employed  120  years,  the  coming  of  the  wrath 
of  God,  Matt.  xxiv.  37.  The  passage  in  1  Pet.  iii.  18 
— 20,  has  been  the  theme  of  much  controversy. 
Several  of  the  ancient  fathers  took  the  words  literal- 
ly ;  as  if  Christ  after  his  death  had  really  preached 
to  those  men,  who  before  the  deluge  were  disobedi- 
ent to  the  preaching  of  Noali.  Others,  by  prison, 
understand  the  bod}',  which  is,  as  it  were,  the  prison 
of  the  soul.  Others,  that  Christ,  by  his  Spirit,  with 
whicli  Noah  was  replenished,  preached  by  the  mouth 
of  that  patriarch  to  the  unbelievers  before  the  deluge, 
whose  souls  Avere  then  in  the  prison  of  the  body  ; 
but  at  the  time  when  Peter  wrote,  Vi'ere  in  the  prison 
of  hell.  The  last  interpretation  seems  to  be  the  most 
natural.  It  is  certain,  that  the  term  "^e  went  and 
])reaclied,"  may  signify  only  "/(e  preached;"  as  in 
Eph.  ii.  15,  "he  came  and  preached  peace  to  you  who 
v.erc  afar  off, — not  in  person  ;  but  by  his  agents,  hia 
apostles.  In  this  sense  Noah,  in  his  day,  was  an 
agent  of  Christ,  being  actuated  by  his  Spirit.  It  is 
probable,  that  as  fallen  angels  arc  described  as  being 
held  in  chains  of  darkness,  imto  judgment,  so  diso- 
bedient hiunan  spirits  may  be  described  as  being  iu 
prison,  that  is,  reserved  to  future  judgment.  (Comp. 
Job  xxvi.  5.  as  usually  unilerstood.) 

Several  learned  men  have  observed,  that  the  pa- 
gans confounded  Saturn,  Deucalion,  Ogygcs,  the  god 
Ccelus  or  Uranus,  Janus,  Proteus,  Prometheus,  Ver- 
tinnnup,  Bacchus,  Osiris,  Vadimon,  and  Xisuthrus, 
with  Noah.     See  Ark,  p.  i>5. 

The  fable  of  Deucalion  and  his  wife  Pyrrlia,  is 
manifestly  derived  from  the  history  of  Noah.  Deu 
cation,  by  the  advice  of  his  fiither,  built  an  ark,  or 
vessel  of  wood,  in  which  he  stored  all  sorts  of  pro- 
visions necessary  for  life,  anrl  eiUci-ed  it  with  his  wife 
Pyrrha ;  to  secure  themselves  from  a  deluge,  that 
drowned  nearly  all  Greece.  All  the  people  ahnost 
of  this  country  were  destroyed,  none  cscaj)ed  I'Ut 
those  who  took  refuge  on  the  tops  of  the  higiiest 
mountains.     When  the  flood  was  over,  Deucalion 


NOP 


[  707 


X  O  T 


came  out  of  his  ark,  and  found  himself  on  mount 
Parnassus.  Tliei-e  he  offered  sacrifices  to  Jupiter, 
who  sent  Mercury  to  him  to  know  what  he  desired. 
He  requested  that  he  might  become  the  restorer  of 
mankind,  which  Jupiter  gi-anted  to  huu.  He  and 
Pyrrha  were  ordered  to  cast  stones  behind  them, 
which  immediately  became  so  many  men  and  wo- 
men. The  name  Nuraito,  given  to  the  wife  of  Noah 
by  tlic  Syro-Chaldee,  is  derived  from  the  Syriac,  xiij, 
which  signifies  fire ;  hence  PyiTha  (fire)  is,  by  the 
Greeks,  said  to  have  been  the  name  o  the  wife  of 
Deucalion;  and  so  far  the  Grecian  story  rests  on  au- 
thority more  oriental  than  itself.  E])iphanius  has  a 
i-eference  to  this  derivation:  he  calls  hiiv  "Noria, 
said  to  be  the  wife  of  Noah,  whose  name  is,  by  inter- 
pretation, Pyrrha."  There  is  also,  much  allegory 
couched  under  the  names  of  Deucalion's  father,  Pro- 
metheus, (foresight,)  by  whom  she  was  advised  to 
build  a  vessel,  and  Pyrrha's  father,  Epimethcus, 
whose  wife  was  Pandora,  accomplished  by  gifts  from 
all  the  gods,  with  her  box  of  evils,  in  which,  when 
opened,  remained  only  Hope,  &c. 

NOB,  a  sacerdotal  city  of  Benjamin  or  Ephrain), 
not  far  from  Diospolis.  When  David  was  driven 
awaj'  by  Saul,  he  came  to  Nob,  the  priests  of  which 
city  were  slain  by  Saul,  1  Sam.  xxii.  9,  &c. ;  xxi. 
0,  &c. 

NOBLEMAN,  John  iv.  46.  This  was  probably 
an  officer  of  Herod's  court,  and  of  considerable  dis- 
tinction ;  not  an  hereditary  nobleman.  The  word 
paaiXlxo;  signifies  a  servant  of  the  kinf; ;  as  the  Syriac 
and  Arabic  versions  render  it.  Many  have  conjec- 
tured that  this  nobleman,  or  royal  servant,  was  Cluiza, 
Herod's  steward,  whose  wife  is  thought  to  have  been 
converted  on  this  occasion,  and  afterv.ards  to  have 
become  an  attendant  on  Jesus,  Luke  viii.  3. 

NOD,  vagabond,  a  country  so  called,  whither  Cain 
withdrew  after  his  fratricide.  Gen.  iv.  IG.  Jerome 
and  the  Chaldee  have  taken  the  word  Nod  in  the 
sense  of  an  appellative,  a  vagabond,  or  fugitive. 

NOON,  the  middle  time  of  the  daj',  when  the  sun 
is  highest  in  his  daily  course  ;  in  modern  language, 
when  he  is  direct  south,  on  the  meridian  of  any  place, 
1  Kings  xviii.  27;  Ps.  Iv.  17.  This  time  of  the  day 
being  the  brightest,  is  made  a  subject  of  comparison 
in  several  places  of  Scripture,  Job  v.  14  ;  Ps.  xxxvii. 
6.  The  apostle  Paul  says,  the  brightness  in  which 
he  beheld  the  Lord  Jesus,  was  superior  to  that  of  the 
sun  at  noon.  Acts  xxvi.  13. 

NOPII,  a  city  of  Egypt,  (Isa.  xix.  13  ;  Jer.  ii.  IG  ; 
xliv.  1 ;  xlvi.  14 ;  Ezek.  xxx.  13,  IG.)  generally  be- 
lieved to  have  been  the  same  with  Moph,  the  ]\Ienouf 
of  the  Copts  and  vVrabs,  that  is,  Memphis.  Mem])hjs 
is  the  Greek  form  of  the  Egyptian  name,  which,  ac- 
cording to  Plutarch,  signifies  the  port  of  the  good;  it 
was  therefore  a  compound  word,  inen  being  an  aflix, 
and  nouf,  or  noph,  being  the  distinguishing  appellative. 
It  is  sometimes  found  with  the  article  prefixed,  in 
the  form  of  Panouph,  that  is,  Pi-,Vouf  JVoif,  as 
]\Ir.  Conder  remarks,  is  evidently  no  other  than  the 
god  XioLifig,  the  ^^Ya^odaluvif  of  the  Egyptian  Pan- 
theon. 

The  situation  of  Memphis,  formerly  the  capital  of 
Egypt,  has  been  a  subject  of  considerable  dispute, 
and  has  afforded  materials  for  long  and  laborious  in- 
vestigation by  the  learned.  Sicard  and  Shaw  fix  its 
site  at  Djezeh,  or  Gizeh,  directly  opposite  to  Old 
Cairo.  This  opinion,  however,  has  been  controvert- 
ed by  Pococke,  D'Auville,  Niebuhr,  and  other  writ- 
ers and  travellers,  who  place  Memj)his  more  in  the 
direction  of  Metrahen,',  about  15  miles  farther  south, 


on  the  bank  of  tiic  Nile,  at  the  entrance  of  liie  plain 
of  mummies,  at  the  north  of  which  the  pvramidsare 
l)laced.  (See  Brucc's  Travels;  the  Fragments  to 
Calmet,  No.  54G ;  and  the  Modern  Traveller,  Egypt, 
vol.  i.  p.  339—352,  Engl.  ed.  Rosenmuller,  Bib!. 
Geog.  iii.  290.) 

Memphis  was  the  residence  of  the  ancient  kings 
of  Egypt,  till  the  times  of  the  Ptolemies,  who  com- 
monly resided  at  Alexandria.  The  jirophcls,  in  the 
places  above  referred  to,  foretell  the  miseries  3Iem- 
phis  was  to  sufior  from  the  kings  of  Chaidca  and 
Persia,  and  they  tiirealen  the  Israelites  who  should 
retire  into  Egypt,  or  should  have  recourse  to  the 
Egyptians,  that  they  should  perish  in  that  countrv- 
In  this  city  they  {"cd  the  ox  Apis ;  and  Ezekiel  says, 
that  the  I.ord  will  destroy  tiie  idols  of  Memphis, 
chap.  xxx.  13,  IG.  ]\Iemphis  retained  its  splendor 
till  it  was  conquered  bv  tlie  Arabians  in  the  18th  or 
19th  year  of  the  llegira,  A.  D.  G4] .  Amrou-Ben-As, 
who  took  it,  built  another  near  it,  which  was  called 
Fusthath,  from  the  general's  tent,  which  had  long  oc- 
cu])ied  tliat  place.  The  Fatimite  cahphs,  becoming 
masters  of  Egypt,  added  another  city,  which  they 
named  Caherah,  "  the  victorious,"  the  "present  Grand 
Cairo,  which  is  built  on  the  eastern  shore  of  the 
Nile. 

NORTH.  As  it  was  customary  for  tlie  Hebrews 
to  consider  the  cardinal  points  of  the  heavens  in  ref- 
erence to  a  man  m  hose  face  was  turned  toward  the 
east,  the  north  was  consequently  to  his  left  hand. 
The  north  wind  dissipates  rain,  (Prov.  xxv.  23.)  but 
this  must  depend  on  the  situation  of  a  place  ;  as  in 
different  places  the  same  wind  has  different  effects. 
NOSE.  The  Hebrews  commonly  place  the  seat  of 
anger  in  the  nose  ;  since  the  efiect  of  anger  is  of\en 
hard  breathing,  and  in  aiu;nals,  snorting.  "  There 
went  up  a  smoke  out  of  his  nostrils,"  2  Sam.  xxii.  9 ; 
Ps.  xviii.  8.  "The  anger  of  the  Lord  and  his  jeal- 
ousy shall  smoke  against  that  man,"  Deut.  xxix.  20. 
"  Out  of  his  nostrils  goeth  smoke,"  Job  xli.  21.  The 
ancient  Greek  and  Latin  authors  speak  much  after 
the  same  manner. 

Solomon  alludes  to  the  custom  of  women  wearing 
golden  rings  in  their  nosti'ils,  when  he  says,  (Prov. 
xi.  22.)  "As  a  jewel  of  gold  in  a  swine's  snout,  so  is  a 
fair  woman  without  discretion."  And  Ezekiel,  (xvi. 
12.)  "  I  will  put  a  jewel  on  thy  forehead,  [Heb.  nose,] 
and  ear-rings  in  thine  ears,  and  a  beautiful  crown 
upon  thine  head."  They  also  put  rings  in  the  nos- 
trils of  oxen  and  camels,  to  guide  them  by:  "I  will 
put  my  hook  in  thy  nose,  and  my  bridle  in  thy  lips," 
2  Kings  xix.  28.    '(See  also  Job  xli.  2.) 

NOTHING  is  sometimes  put  in  opposition  to  body, 
solidity,  or  mass.  It  is  also  put  for  vacuity,  and  for 
what  is  not  sensible.  Job  says,  (xxvi.  7.)  "  he  stretch- 
eth  out  the  north  over  the  empty  place,  and  hangeth 
the  earth  upon  nothing,"  upon  the  vacuimi.  Isaiah 
says,  (xl.  22.  Vulg.)  "  God  spreads  out  the  heavens  as 
nothing;"  he  extends  them  in  the  air  in  invisible 
space.  The  wise  man  says,  (Wisd.  ii.  2.  Vulg.)  We 
are  born  of  nothing,  and  in  some  sense  shall  return 
to  nothing  again.  We  shall  disappear  from  the  face 
of  the  eai-th,  as  if  we  had  never  been  there.  And 
Isaiah  says,  (xli.  24.)  "Behold  ye  are  of  nothing,  and 
your  works  of  nought ;  an  abomination  is  he  that 
chooseth  you." 

Idols  are  often  called  nothings,  non-entities.  "Ye 
which  rejoice  in  a  thing  of  nought,"  Amos  vi.  13. 
And  Esther,  (Apoc.  xiv.  11.)  "O  Lord,  give  not  thy 
sceptre  unto  them  that  be  nothing;"  deliver  not  over 
thy  people  to  those  gods  that  are  nothing.     Paul  says. 


NUM 


[  708  ] 


NUN 


"  We  knov/  that  an  idol  is  nothing  in  tlie  world,"  1 
Cor.  viii.  4.  To  bring  to  nothing  is  to  exterminate, 
to  destroy  ;  utterly  to  root  out  any  thing. 

NOVICE,  or  Neophite,  newly  sown,  ov  planted,  a 
name  given  to  new  converts  to  Christianity,  or  to 
those  newly  baptized.  Paul  advises  (1  Tim.  iii.  G.) 
that  a  novice  should  not  be  made  a  bishop,  "lest,  be- 
ing lilted  u[)  with  ])ride,  he  fall  into  the  condemnation 
of  the  devil."  As  Luciter,  being  puffed  up  with 
those  eminent  qualities  he  possessed,  became  proud 
and  insolent,  and  was  therefore  precipitated  into  hell, 
so  a  man  who  finds  himself  suddenly  exalted  in  dig- 
nity, easily  flatters  himself,  and  conceits  that  he  has 
more  real  worth  than  others ;  that  tliere  is  great  oc- 
casion for  liis  services,  &c.  Hence  arise  presump- 
tion and  pride,  and  then  follows  the  judgment  of  God, 
v/ho  always  humbles  the  proud.  Tlie  term  Neo- 
phyte continued  to  be  used  among  the  primitive 
Christians  during  several  ages,  as  appears  from  the 
tombstones  of  children,  &c.  who  died  wlien  recent- 
Iv  ba|)tized. 

'  NUMBERS,  THE  BOOK  OF,  isthe  third  of  the  Pen- 
tateuch.  The  Hebrews  call  it  -lanM,  Vayedabber,  [and 


he  spoke,)  because  in  the  Hebrew  it  begins  with  these 
words.  Some  Jews  call  it  -\2-\v2,  Bemidhar,  [in  the 
desert,)  because  it  includes  the  history  of  the  Israel- 
ites' journeying  in  the  wilderness.  The-Greeks,  and 
after  them  the  Latins,  call  it  the  book  of  Numbers, 
because  the  first  three  chapters  contain  the  number- 
ing of  the  Hebrews  and  Levites,  which  was  perform- 
ed separately,  after  the  erection  and  consecration  of 
the  tabernacle. 

The  people,  having  departed  from  Sinai  on  the 
twentieth  day  of  the  second  month  of  the  second 
year  after  their  coming  out  of  Egyjjt,  went  to  the 
wilderness  of  Paran,  and  thence  to  Kadesh,  Avhence 
they  sent  spies  to  view  the  Land  of  Pi'omise.  At 
their  return  the  people  were  discouraged  ;  for  which 
God  condemned  them  to  die  in  the  desert.  And 
having  journeyed  thirty-nine  years  in  the  wilderness, 
they  arrived  at  last  at  the  plains  of  Moab,  beyond 
Jordan.  What  happened  during  this  interval,  is  re- 
corded in  the  book  of  Numbers. 

NUN,  son  of  Elishamah,  and  father  of  Joshua,  of 
the  tribe  of  Ephraim.  The  Greeks  give  him  the 
name  of  Nave  instead  of  Nun. 


O 


OAK 

OAK.  The  religious  veneration  paid  to  this  tree, 
by  the  original  natives  of  Britain,  in  the  time  of  the 
Druids,  is  well  known  to  every  reader  of  English 
history.  We  have  reason  to  think  that  this  ven- 
eration Avas  brought  from  the  East;  and  that  the 
Druids  did  no  more  tlian  transfer  the  sentiments  their 
progenitors  had  received  in  oriental  countries.  It 
Avovdd  appear  that  the  patriarch  Al)raham  resided 
under  an  oak,  or  a  grove  of  oaks,  which  our  transla- 
tors render  the  plain  of  Mamre  ;  and  that  he  ]ilanted 
a  grove  of  this  tree.  Gen.  xxi.  23.  In  tact,  since  in 
hot  countries  nothing  is  more  desirable,  or  more  re- 
freshing, than  tlie  shade  of  a  tree,  we  may  easily  sup- 
pose the  inhabitants  would  resort  for  such  enjoyment  to 

Whei-e'er  the  oak's  thick  branches  spread 
A  deeper,  darker  shade. 

Oaks,  and  groves  of  oaks,  were  esteemed  proper 
places  for  religious  services  ;  altai-s  were  set  up  under 
them,  (Josh.  xxiv.  2G.)  and  probably,  in  the  East,  as 
well  as  in  tlie  West,  appointments  to  meet  at  coii- 
ppicuous  oaks  were  made,  and  many  affairs  transact- 
ed, or  treated  of,  under  their  shade,  as  we  read  in 
Homer,  Theocritus,  and  otlier  j)oet3. 

It  was  common  among  the  Hebrews  to  sit  under 
oaks,  Judg.  vi.  11;  1  Kings  xiii.  14.  Jacob  buried 
idolatrous  images  under  an  oak,  (Gen.  xxxv.  4.)  and 
Deborah,  Rcbekah's  nurse,  was,buried  under  one  of 
these  trees,  chap.  xxxv.  8;  1  Chron.  x.  12.  Abime- 
lech  was  made  king  under  an  oak,  Judg.  ix.  6.  Idol- 
atry was  j)ractise(l  under  oaks,  Isa.  i.  29 ;  Ivii.  5 ; 
Hosea  iv.  13.     Idols  were  made  of  oaks,  Isa.  xliv.  14. 

There  are  several  kinds  of  oak  in  the  F.ast,  as  Tour- 
nefort  observes:  one  of  whicii  he  calls  "tlie  fairest 
si)ccies  of  oak  in  tlie  world  ;"  and  descrilies  it  as 
growing  in  tiie  isle  of  Zia.  He  says  also,  of  Anatolia, 
(vol.  iii.  p.  2!>8.)  "  Beside  the  common  oaks,  and  that 
which  bears  the  Vclanedc,  we  saw  several  other  kinds 
in  the  valleys."  It  is  very  reasonable  to  suppose  that 
more  than  one  kind  is  mentioned  in  Scripture. 


OAT 

]hi<,  AUn  is  tne  general  name  for  oak,  the  mention 
of  which  occurs  frequently ;  the  Chaldee  iS^N,  Men, 
seems  also  to  be  a  species  of  oak,  Dan.  iv.  7,  &c. 
[The  word  nSx,  rendered  oak  in  our  version,  is  proper- 
ly terebinth.  Gen.  xxxv.  4 ;  Judg.  vi.  11,  19.  See 
Terebinth.     R. 

The  famous  oracle  of  Dodona  stood  among  oaks ; 
whicli  tree  was  sacred  to  Jupiter,  who  often  on  med- 
als, &c.  wears  an  oaken  garland  :  sacra  Jovi  Qiieixits. 

OATH,  a  solemn  affirmation,  accompanied  by  an 
appeal  to  the  Supreme  Being.  God  has  prohibited 
ail  false  oaths,  and  all  useless  and  customary  swear- 
ing in  ordinary  discourse ;  but  when  the  necessity 
or  importance  of  a  matter  recjuires  an  oath,  he  allows 
to  swear  by  his  name. 

Among  the  Hebrews  an  oath  was  administered  by 
the  judge,  who  stood  up,  and  adjured  the  party,  who 
was  to  be  sworn.  To  this  mode  of  administering  an 
oath  Moses  alludes,  when  he  says,  (Lev.  v.  1.)  "If  a 
person  sin,  hearing  the  voice  of  swearing,  that  is,  of 
adjuration,  being  called  on  to  witness,  whether  he 
hath  seen  or  known  of  the  transaction  then  in  judg- 
ment," &c.  And  this  we  take  to  be  the  true  import 
of  Prov.  xxix.  24,  "  Whoso  is  partner,  accomplice, 
even  after  the  fact,  with  a  thief,  liateth  his  own  soul : 
he  heareth  the  voice  of  cursing,  that  is,  the  adjura- 
tion by  the  judge,  when  inquiry  is  making  after  the 
truth  of  a  fact,  but  docs  not  discover  his  knowledge 
of  the  matter  :"  consequently,  he  is  guilty  of  j)erjury. 
(See  1  Kings  viii.  31 ;  2  Chron.  vi.  22.)  In  this  man- 
ner our  Lord  was  adjured  by  Caiaphas,  Matt.  xxvi. 
63.  Jesus  had  remained  silent  under  long  examina- 
tion, when  the  high-priest  rising  up,  knowing  he  had 
a  sure  mode  of  obtaining  an  answer,  said,  "I  adjnre 
thee  by  the  living  God,  that  thou  tell  us  whether 
thou  be  the  Christ,"  &c.  To  this  oath,  thus  solemn- 
ly administered,  Jesus  confessed  a  good  confession. 
That  the  high-priests  had  this  power,  see  Exod.  xxii. 
11 ;  Lev.  V.  1  ;  Prov.  xxix.  24 ;  xxx.  9.  Probably, 
they  might  thus  interfere  only  on  occasions  of  some 


OATH 


[  709  ] 


OATH 


moment,  ami  wlien  the  most  solemn  kind  of  oath 
was  necessary. 

An  oatli  is  a  solemn  appeal  to  God,  as  to  an  all- 
seeing  witness,  and  an  almighty  avenger,  if  what  we 
say  be  false,  Heb.  vi.  16.  It  is  an  act  of  religious 
worship  ;  whence  God  requires  it  to  be  done  in  his 
name,  (Dcut.  x.  20.)  and  points  out  the  manner  in 
whicli  it  ouglit  to  be  administered,  and  the  duty  of  the 
j)erson  who  swears,  Ps.  xv.  4 ;  xxiv.  4 ;  Jer.  iv.  2. 
An  oath  in  itself  is  not  unlawful,  either  as  it  is  a  re- 
ligious act,  or  as  God  is  called  on  to  witness.     See 

C'OVE.VA.NT. 

God  himself  is  represented  as  confirming  his  prom- 
ise by  oath,  (Heb.  vi.  13.)  and  thus  conforming  him- 
self to  what  is  practised  among  men,  chap.  v.  16,  17. 
The  oaths  forbidden  (iMatt.  v.  34,  35;  Jam.  v.  12.) 
refer  only  to  the  unthinking,  hasty  and  vicious  prac- 
tices of  the  Jews;  otherwise,  Paul  would  have  acted 
against  the  command  of  Christ,  Rom.  i.  9  ;  2  Cor.  i. 
2.3.  Neither  atheists  nor  Epicureans,  who  deny,  the 
former  the  being,  the  latter  the  providence,  of  God, 
can  take  an  oath  administered,  and  be  bound  by  it, 
from  the  very  form  of  an  oath,  which  declares  the 
omniscience  and  primitive  justice  of  God.  That  per- 
in  is  obliged  to  take  an  oath,  whose  duty  requires 
im  to  profess  the  truth.  As  we  are  bound  to  mani- 
"st  every  possible  degree  of  reverence  towards  God, 
iie  greatest  care  is  to  be  taken  that  we  swear  neither 
/ashly  nor  negligently  in  making  promises.  To  neg- 
lect performance  is  perjury;  unless  the  promise  be 
contrary  to  the  law  of  nature  ;  in  which  case  no  oath 
is  binding.  A  person  is  guilty  of  perjury  who  takes 
an  oath  in  a  sense  tUfferent  from  that  in  which  it  is 
(lawfully)  tendered:  such  simulation  and  dissimula- 
tion, or  mental  reservation,  is  contrary  to  the  law  of 
nature,  because  a  violation  of  duty.  To  swear  by  a 
creature  is  simply  unlawful,  fi-om  the  nature  of  an 
oath,  which  implies  omniscience  and  omnipotence  in 
the  party  appealed  to,  and  sworn  by,  perfections  in- 
competent to  any  creature. 

^¥e  find  Joseph  using  an  extraordinary  kind  of 
oath,  as  it  appears  to  us;  (Gen.  xlii.  15.)  "As  Pharaoh 
liveth,"  or,  by  the  life  of  Pharaoh.  This  custom  of 
swearmg  by  the  king  still  continues  m  the  East.  The 
most  sacred  oath  among  the  Persians  is  "  by  the  king's 
head,"  says  Hanvvay,  (Trav.  vol.  i.  p.  313.)  and 
among  other  instnncps  of  it,  we  read  in  the  Travels 
of  the  Ambassadors,  (p.  204.)  "There  were  but  sixty 
horses  for  ninety-four  persons.  The  Mehemander 
(or  conductor)  swore  by  the  head  of  the  king  (which 
is  the  greatest  oath  among  the  Persians)  that  he  could 
not  possibly  find  any  more."  And  Thenevot  says, 
(Trav.  p.  97,  jiart  ii.)  "His  subjects  never  look  upon 
him  but  wiili  fear  and  trembling,  and  they  have  such 
respect  for  him,  and  pay  so  bliiul  an  obedience  to  all 
his  orders,  that  how  unjust  soever  his  commands 
might  be,  they  perform  them,  though  against  law 
both  of  God  and  nature.  Nay,  if  they  swear  by  the 
king's  head,  their  oath  is  more  authentic,  and  of 
greater  credit,  than  if  they  swore  by  all  that  is  most 
sacred  in  heaven  and  upon  earth."  These  instances 
seem  allied  to  that  very  common  oath  in  Scripture, 
"As  the  Lord  liveth:"  and  it  should  seem,  that  as 
this  oath  could  not  be  taken  without  naming  the 
name  of  God,  which  the  later  Jews  regarded  as  a 
profanation,  that  they  gradually  introduced  the  cus- 
tom of  swearing  (not  judicially)  by  sacred  things,  as 
heaven,  the  temple,  the  gold  of  the  temple,  the  altar, 
&rc.  all  which  om-  Lord  forbids,  and  refers  oaths  to 
the  gi-eat  object  of  swearing,  God;  or,  if  the  subject 
in  debate  be  too  trivial  to  call  upon  God  about,  then 


swear  not  at  all ;  use  no  subterfuge,  no  lesser  oatb, 
but  either  aftirm,  or  deny,  simply. 

Our  Lord  further  says^  thou  shalt  not  swear  by  thy 
head,  as  some  we  see  are  accustomed  to  do  by  the 
king's  head.  The  apostle  Paul  observes,  "  men  ver- 
ily swear  by  a  greater  than  themselves;"  as  those 
no  doubt  understood  they  did,  who  sware  by  the 
king. 

Grievous  curses  are  promulgated  against  false 
swearers,  and  false  oaths  are  among  the  greatest 
abominations  before  both  God  and  man.  (1.)  That 
a  person  swear  lawfully,  he  must  swear  by  the  Most 
High  God,  since  only  the  Most  High  God  can  judge 
of  the  sincerity  of  his  affirmation,  which  is  the  es- 
sence of  an  oath :  to  swear  by  any  person  or  thing 
not  omniscient  to  know,  and  omnipotent  to  remuner- 
ate, is  to  trifle  with  an  oath.  (2.)  The  veracity  of  an 
oath  is  its  essence :  to  preserve  this  veracity  we  should 
swear  only  on  due  deliberation,  only  on  actual  knowl- 
edge, only  agreeably  to  justice  and  equity:  openh', 
candidl)',  with  due  circumspection,  and  if  necessary, 
with  due  inquiry  and  explanation.  (3.)  The  end  of 
an  oath  is  to  glorify  God,  by  acknowledging  his  attri- 
butes of  holiness,  justice,  truth,  knowledge,  &c.  and 
to  appease  man,  by  determining  controversy,  clear- 
ing the  innocent,  satisfyuig  our  brethren,  or  discharg- 
ing our  own  consciences :  and  an  oath  should  be  "an 
end  of  all  strife  ! " — If  such  be  the  essence  and  nature 
of  oaths,  what  apology  shall  be  made  for  profane 
swearing.'  swearing  without  an  object,  and  to  no 
avail ;  for  who  credits  such  asseverations  beyond 
what  they  would  credit  simple  assertion  ? 

We  have  in  Gen.  xxi.  28.  a  curious  account  of  a 
ceremony  practised  by  Abraham,  in  respect  to  Abim- 
elech :  "Abraham  set  seven  ewe  lambs  of  the  flock 
by  themselves,  and  Abimelech  said  to  Abraham, 
What  mean  these  seven  ewe  lambs,  which  thou  hast 
set  by  themselves  ?  And  he  said.  For  these  seven  ewe 
lambs  shalt  thou  take  of  my  hand,  that  they  may  be 
a  witness  unto  me  [in  my  behalf]  that  I  have  digged 
this  well :  wherefore  he  called  that  place  Beersheba, 
because  they  there  sware  both  of  them.  Thus  they 
made  a  covenant  at  Beersheba." — Beersheba  may  sig- 
nify the  well  of  the  oath,  or  the  well  of  the  seven. 
IMr.  Taylor  inclines  to  the  latter  signification,  from 
having  read  the  following,  in  Bruce's  Travels : — 

"All  that  is  right,  Shekh,  said  I ;  but  suppose  your 
people  meet  us  in  the  desert,  in  going  to  Cosseir,  or 
otherwise,  how  should  we  fare  in  that  case  ?  Should 
we  fight .' — I  have  told  you,  Shekh,  already,  says  he, 
cursed  be  the  man  who  lifts  his  hand  against  you,  or 
even  does  not  defend  and  befriend  you  to  his  own 
loss,  even  were  it  Ibrahim,  my  own  son."  Then, 
after  some  conversation — "The  old  man  muttered 
something  to  his  sons,  in  a  dialect  I  did  not  then  un- 
derstand ;  it  was  that  of  the  shepherds  of  Suakem  ; 
and  a  little  after,  the  whole  hut  a^  as  filled  with  peo- 
ple. These  were  priests  and  monks  of  their  religion, 
and  the  heads  of  famihes  ;  so  that  the  house  could  not 
contain  half  of  them.  The  great  people  among  tliczn 
came,  and,  after  joi.xing  hands,  repeated  a  kind  of 
prayer  of  about  two  minutes  long;  [this  kind  of  oath 
was  in  use  among  the  Arabs,  or  shepherds,  as  early 
as  the  time  of  Abraham,  Gen.  xxi.  22,  23 ;  xxvi.  28.] 
by  which  they  declared  themselves  and  their  children 
accursed,  if  ever  they  lifted  their  hands  against  me, 
in  the  tell,  [or  field,]  in  the  desert,  or  on  the  river ; 
or,  in  case  that  I,  or  mine,  should  fly  to  them  for  ref- 
uge, if  they  did  not  protect  us,  at  the  risk  of  their 
lives,  their  families,  and  their  fortunes,  or,  as  they 
emphatically  expressed  it,  '  to  the  death  of  the  last 


OATH 


[  710 


OBS 


male  child  among  them.'  (See  1  Sam.  xxv.  22 ;  1 
Kings  xiv.  10;  xvi.  11;  xxi.  21;  2  Kings  ix.  8.) 
Medicines  and  advice  being  given  on  my  part,  faith 
and  protection  pledged  on  theirs,  two  bushels  of 
wheat  and  seve.v  sheep  were  carried  down  to  the 
boat ;  nor  could  we  decline  their  kindness  ;  as  refus- 
ing a  present  in  that  country  is  just  as  gi-eat  an  affront 
as  coming  into  the  presence  of  a  superior  without 
any  present  at  all,"  Gen.  xxxiii.  10,  11  ;  Mai.  i.  20 ; 
Matt.  viii.  11. 

There  is  a  remarkable  passage  in  Prov.  xi.  21,  thus 
rendered  by  our  translators,  "  Though  hand  join  in 
hand,  the  wicked  shall  not  be  unpunished  ;  but  the 
seed  of  the  righteous  shall  be  delivered  ; "  i.  e.  though 
they  make  many  associations,  and  oaths,  and  join 
hands  among  themselves,  (as  formed  part  of  the  cere- 
mony of  swearing  among  these  shepherds  of  Suakem,) 
yet  they  shall  be  punished.  But  Michaelis  proposes 
another  sense  of  these  words,  "  hand  in  hand  " — my 
hand  in  your  hand,  i.  e.  as  a  token  of  swearing,  "the 
wicked  shall  not  go  unpunished." — How  far  this 
sense  of  the  passage  is  illustrated  by  the  foregoing 
and  the  following  extract,  the  reader  will  judge  : 

"  I  cannot  here  help  accusing  myself  of  what, 
doubtless,  may  be  well  reputed  a  very  great  sin.  I 
was  so  enraged  at  the  traitorous  pai-t  which  Hassan 
had  acted,  that,  at  parting,  I  could  not  help  saying  to 
Ibrahim,  'Now,  Shekh,  I  have  done  every  thing  you 
have  desired,  without  ever  expecting  fee  or  reward ; 
the  only  thing  I  now  ask  you — and  it  is  probably  the 
last — is,  that  you  avenge  me  upon  this  Hassan,  who  is 
every  day  in  your  power.  Upon  this,  he  gave  me 
HIS  HAND,  saying,  He  shall  not  die  in  his  bed,  or  I 
shall  never  see  old  age."  (Bruce's  Travels,  vol.  i. 
p.  199.) 

We  may  remark  further  on  this  extract,  that  though 
Bruce's  reflections  do  not  applaud  his  conduct  in  this 
instance,  yet  it  seems,  in  some  sense,  similar  to  the 
behavior  of  David,  when  he  gave  charge  to  his  son, 
Solomon,  to  execute  that  justice  upon  Joab  and  Shi- 
mei,  which  he  himself  had  been  unable  to  do  by 
reason  of  the  vicissitudes  of  his  life  and  kingdom  ; 
and  of  tlic  influence  which  Joab,  the  general,  had  in 
the  army  ;  l)ut  of  which  the  pacific  reign  of  Solomon 
would  deprive  him,  1  Kings  ii.  6. 

Perhaps,  also,  this  joining  of  hands  may  add  a  spirit 
to  the  passage,  2  Kings  x.  15  :  "Is  thine  heart  right, 
as  my  heart  is  with  thy  heart  ?  "  says  Jehu  to  Jehona- 
dab  ;  "  if  it  be,  give  me  thine  hand  " — "  And  he  (Jeho- 
nadab)  gave  him  (Jehu)  his  hand;"  i.  e.  in  token  of 
affirmation  ;  "  and  he  (Jehu)  took  him  (Jehonadab)  up 
into  his  chariot."  So,  then,  it  was  not  as  an  assist- 
ance to  enable  Jehonadab  to  get  into  the  chariot,  that 
Jehu  gave  him  his  hand,  but,  on  the  contrary,  Jehona- 
dab gave  his  hand  to  Jehu.  This  seems  confirmed 
by  verse  16,  "  So  they  made  him  (Jehonadab)  ride 
in  his  (Jehu's)  chariot."  All  these  pronouns  embar- 
rass our  translation,  but  they  were  perfectly  under- 
stood by  those  who  knew  the  customs  of  their 
country. 

This  sense  of  the  passage  is  further  confirmed  by 
the  following  extracts  from  Ockley's  History  of  the 
Saracens : — 

"  Several  [of  the  Mahometan  chiefs]  came  to  Ali, 
and  desired  him  to  accept  the  government.  He  re- 
solved not  to  accept  of  their  allegiance  in  private  ;  for 
they  proffered  to  give  him  their  hands  (the  customary 
ceremony  then  in  use  among  them,  on  such  occasions) 
at  his  own  house;  but  he  would  have  it  performed  at 
the  mosque.  Telhaand  Zobein  came,  and  offered  him 
their  hands,  as  a  mark,  or  token,  of  then*  approbation. 


Ali  bade  them,  if  they  did  it,  to  be  in  good  earnest, 
otherwise  he  would  givehis  ownhand  to  either  of  them 
that  would  accept  of  the  government ;  which  they 
refused  ;  and  gave  him  theii-s."  (Vol.  i.  p.  4.)  Again 
(p.  36.) : — "  Telha,  being  wounded  in  the  leg,  ordered 
his  man  to  take  him  up  behind  him  ;  who  conveyed 
him  into  a  house  in  Bassora,  where  he  died.  But, 
just  before,  he  saw  one  of  All's  men,  and  asked  him 
if  he  belonged  to  the  emperor  of  the  faithful.  Being 
informed  that  he  did.  Give  me  then,  said  he,  your  hand, 
that  I  may  put  mine  in  it,  and  by  this  action  renew 
the  oath  of  fidelity,  which  I  have  already  made  to 
Ali."  (See  1  Sam.  xxii.  17 ;  1  Chron.  xxix.  24,  marg. 
or  orig. ;  Lam.  v.  6  ;  2  Kings  xiv.  5 ;  xv.  19.) 

Whoever  recollects  the  mode  of  swearing  allegi- 
ance, or  doing  homage  for  provinces,  anciently  used 
between  sovereigns  and  vassals,  (as  by  the  kings  of 
England  to  those  of  France,  while  England  held 
provinces  in  that  country,)  will  find  considerable  re- 
semblance in  it  to  this  eastern  usage.  The  vassal  put 
both  his  hands  into  the  hands  of  his  sovereign,  repeat- 
ing words  to  this  efl:ect :  "  Thus  I  do  thee  homage, 
for  such  or  such  a  province,"  &c.  After  which  he 
withdrew  his  hands.  This  was  repeated  according 
to  the  number  of  fiefs  or  provinces  held. 

OBADIAH.  There  are  several  persons  of  this 
name  mentioned  in  the  Old  Testament :  it  is  only 
necessary,  however,  that  we  should  notice  the  proph- 
et. It  is  not  certain  when  he  lived,  but  it  is  probable 
that  he  was  contemporary  with  Jeremiah  and  Eze- 
kiel,  who  denounced  the  same  dreadful  judgments  on 
the  Edomites,  as  the  punishment  of  their  pride,  vio- 
lence, and  cruel  insultings  over  the  Jews,  after  the 
destruction  of  their  city.  The  prophecy,  according 
to  Usher,  was  fulfilled  about  five  years  after  the  de- 
struction of  Jerusalem. 

OBED-EDOM,  son  of  Jeduthuu,  a  Levite,  1  Ohron. 
xvi.  38.  He  had  a  numerous  family,  (1  Chron.  xxvi. 
4.)  because  the  Lord  blessed  him.  After  the  death  of 
Uzzah,  David,  terrified  at  that  accident,  durst  not  re- 
move the  ark  into  the  apartment  he  had  provided  for 
it  in  his  palace,  but  left  it  in  the  house  of  Obed-Edom, 
near  the  place  where  Uzzah  was  struck.  The  presence 
of  the  ark  became  a  blessing  to  Obed-Edom,  which 
encouraged  David  some  months  afterwards  to  remove 
it  to  the  place  he  had  appointed  for  it.  Obed-Edom 
and  his  sons  were  assigned  to  thp  kppping  of  the  doors 
of  the  temple,  1  Chron.  xv.  18,  21.  In  2  Sam.  vi.  10, 
Obed-Edom  is  called  the  Gittite,  probably,  because 
he  was  of  Gath  Rimmon,  a  city  of  the  Levites  beyond 
Jordan,  Josh.  xxi.  24,  25. 

OBIL,  an  Ishmaelite,  and  master  of  the  camels 
under  David,  1  Chron.  xxvii.  30. 

OBLATION,  see  Sacrifice. 

OBOTH,  .in  encampment  of  the  Hebrews  in  the 
wilderness  of  Arabia  Petraea.     See  Exodus. 

OBSCURE  is  put  for  adversity.  (See  Night,  and 
Darkness.)  An  obscure,  dark,  or  sad  countenance  is 
opposed  to  a  serene  and  open  one.  Christ  u])braids 
the  Pharisees,  that  they  had  obscure  or  sad  aspects 
(Matt.  vi.  16,  (7zi'(5()w.TO()  when  they  fasted.  AndNa- 
hum,  (ii.  10.)  speaking  of  the  destruction  of  Nineveh, 
says,  their  faces  were  as  black  as  a  pot ;  (Ileb.)  as  if 
they  had  blacked  their  faces  with  soot.  Some  travel- 
lers affirm  that,  by  way  of  mourning,  the  orientals 
daub  their  faces  with  the  black  of  a  kettle.  Joel  al- 
ludes to  this  custom :  (chaj).  ii.  6.) "  All  faces  shall  gath- 
er blackness."  [In  these  passages,  however,  the  more 
appropriate  translation  is,  "  All  faces  shall  withdraw 
their  light,"  i.  e.  their  cheerfulness,  cheerful  expres- 
sion ;  all  countenances  shall  become  pale  with  fear ; 


OFF 


[711  ] 


OFFERINGS 


just  as  it  is  said  in  the  context  that  the  stars  shall 
withdraw  their  hght.     R. 

Obscure  places  denote  tlie  grave,  (Ps.  cxliii.  3.) 
"  The  enemy  hatii  made  me  to  dwell  in  darkness,  as 
those  who  have  been  long  dead."  In  Ps.  Ixxiv.  20, 
we  read,  "The  dark  places  of  the  earth  are  full  of  the 
habitations  of  cruelty,"  which  some  midcrstand  of  the 
obscure  places  of  prisons,  in  which  tyrants  often  keep 
the  weak  and  unfortunate  ;  liecause  the  obscure  of 
the  earth,  the  poor  Israelites,  are  reduced  to  captivity 
in  the  houses  of  the  Babylonians. 

In  great  calamities,  the  sun  is  said  to  be  obscured, 
and  the  moon  to  be  covered  with  darkness.  Matt.  xxiv. 
21) ;  Luke  xxiii.  45.  (See  also  Nah.  iii.  19  ;  Jer.  xiv.  2.) 

Obscurity  of  the  heart  and  mind,  is  put  for  the  wil- 
ful ignorance  and  hardness  of  the  Jews,  Rom.  i.  21 ; 
Eph.  iv.  18. 

ODED,  a  prophet  of  the  Lord,  (2  Chron.  xxviii.9.) 
who,  being  at  Samaria,  when  the  IsraeUtes  returned 
from  the  war  against  Judah,  with  their  king  Pekah, 
and  brought  200,000  captives,  went  to  meet  them,  and 
remonstrated  effectually  with  them ;  ho  ilmt  the 
princijjal  mun  in  Samaria  took  care  of  them,  gave 
them  clothes,  food,  and  other  assistances,  with  horses, 
because  the  greater  part  of  them  were  exhausted,  and 
ini.able  to  walk.  Thus  they  conducted  them  to  Jeri- 
cho, on  the  confines  of  Judah. 

OFFENCE  may  be  either  active  or  passive.  We 
may  give  offence  by  onr  conduct,  or  we  may  receive 
offence  from  the  conduct  of  others.  We  should  be 
veiy  careful  to  avoid  giving  just  cause  of  offence,  that 
we  may  not  prove  impediments  to  others  in  their  re- 
ception of  the  truth,  in  their  progress  m  sanctification, 
in  their  peace  of  mind,  or  in  their  general  course 
toward  heaven.  We  should  abridge  or  deny  our- 
selves in  some  things,  rather  than,  by  exercising  our 
liberty  to  the  utmost,  give  uneasiness  to  Christians 
weaker  in  mmd,  or  weaker  in  the  faith,  than  ourselves, 
1  Cor.  X.  32.  On  the  other  hand,  wc  should  not  take 
offence  witliout  ample  cause  ;  but  endeavor,  by  our 
exercise  of  charity,  and  perhaps  by  our  increase  of 
knowledge,  to  think  favorably  of  what  is  dubious,  as 
well  as  honorably  of  what  is  laudable. 

It  was  foretold  of  the  Messiah,  that  he  should  be 
"  a  stone  of  stumbling,  and  a  rock  of  offence."  Per- 
haps predictions  of  this  kind  are  among  the  most 
valuable  which  Providence  has  preserved  to  us ;  as 
we  see  by  them,  that  we  ought  not  to  be  discouraged 
because  the  Jews,  the  natural  people  of  the  Messiah, 
rejected  him,  and  still  reject  him  ;  since  the  very 
offence  they  take  at  his  humiliation,  death,  &c.  is  m 
perfect  conformity  to,  and  fulfilment  of,  those  proph- 
ecies which  foretold,  that  however  they  might  profess 
to  wish  for  the  gre.at  deliverer,  yet  when  he  came 
they  would  ov^erlook  him,  and  stumble  at  him. 

OFFERINGS.  The  Hebrews  had  several  kinds 
of  offerings,  which  they  presented  at  the  temple. 
Some  were  free-will  offerings  ;  others  were  of  oIjU- 
gation.  The  first-fruits,  the  tenths,  and  the  sin-offer- 
ings were  of  obligation :  the  peace-offerings,  vows, 
olieriugs  of  wine,  oil,  bread,  salt,  and  other  things, 
made  to  the  temple,  or  to  the  ministers  of  the  Lord, 
were  offerings  of  devotion.  The  Hebrews  called  of- 
ferings in  general  Corban  ;  but  the  offerings  of  bread, 
snlt,  fruits,  and  liquors,  as  wine  and  oil,  presented  to 
the  temple,  they  called  Mincha.  Sacrifices  are  not 
properly  offerings :  nor  are  they  generally  included 
under  this  name.  Offerings  of  grain,  meal,  bread, 
cakes,  Iruits,  wine,  salt,  oil,  were  common  in  the 
temple.  Sometimes  these  offerings  were  alone ; 
sometimes  they  accompanied  the  sacrifices.     Honey 


was  never  offered  with  sacrifices,  but  it  might  be 
presented  alone,  as  first-fruits.  Lev.  ii.  11,  12. 

There  were  five  sorts  of  offerings  called  Mincha,  or 
Korhan  Mincha,  Lev.  ii.  1.  (1.)  Fine  flour,  or  meal. 
(2.)  Cakes  of  several  sorts,  baked  in  the  oven.  (3.) 
Cakes  baked  on  a  plate.  (4.)  Another  sort  of  cakes 
baked  on  a  plate  with  holes  in  it.  (5.)  The  first-fruits 
of  the  new  corn,  which  were  offered  either  pure  and 
without  mixture,  or  roasted,  or  parched  in  the  ear,  or 
out  of  the  ear.  The  cakes  were  kneaded  with  oil- 
olive,  or  fried  in  a  pan,  or  only  dipped  in  oil  afi;er 
they  were  baked.  The  bread  offered  to  the  altar 
was  without  leaven  ;  for  leaven  was  never  oftered  on 
the  altar,  nor  with  die  sacrifices.  Lev.  ii.  11,  12.  Rut 
they  might  make  presents  of  common  bread  to  the 
priests  and  ministei's  of  the  temple.  These  offerings 
were  appointed  iu  favor  of  the  poor,  who  could  not 
afford  the  charge  of  sacrificing  animals.  Those  also 
who  offered  living  victims  were  not  excused  from 
giving  meal,  wine  and  salt,  which  were  to  accompany 
the  greater  sacrifices.  Those  wlio  offered  only  obla- 
tions of  bread,  or  of  niuid,  ottered  also  oil,  incense, 
salt  and  wine,  which  were  iu  a  manner  their  season- 
ing. The  priest  in  waiting  received  the  offerings 
from  the  hand  of  him  who  brought  them,  laid  a  part 
on  the  altar,  and  reserved  the  rest  for  his  own  sub- 
sistence, as  a  minister  of  the  Lord.  Nothing  was 
wholly  burnt  up  but  the  incense,  of  which  the  priest 
retained  none.     (See  Lev.  ii.  2,  13  ;  Numb.  xv.  4,  5.) 

When  an  Israelite  offered  a  loaf  to  the  priest,  or  a 
whole  cake,  the  priest  broke  it  into  two  parts,  setting 
aside  that  part  he  reserved  to  himself,  and  breaking 
the  other  into  crumbs,  poured  on  it  oil,  salt,  wine  and 
incense,  and  spread  the  whole  on  the  fire  of  the  altar. 
If  these  offerings  were  accompanied  by  an  animal 
for  a  sacrifice,  this  portion  was  all  thrown  on  the 
victim,  to  be  consumed  with  it. 

If  the  offerings  were  ears  of  new  corn,  (wheat  or 
barley,)  these  ears  were  parched  at  the  fire,  or  in  the 
flame,  and  rubbed  in  the  hand,  and  then  offered  to 
the  priest  in  a  vessel ;  over  the  grain  he  put  oil,  in- 
cense, wine  and  salt,  and  then  burnt  it  on  the  altar, 
first  having  taken  his  own  portion.  Lev.  ii.  14,  15. 

The  most  of  these  offerings  were  voluntary,  and 
of  pure  devotion.  But  when  an  animal  was  of- 
fered in  sacrifice,  they  were  not  at  liberty  to  omit 
them.  Every  thing  proper  was  to  accompany  the 
sacrifice,  and  what  served  as  seasoning  to  the  victim. 
In  some  cases  the  law  required  only  offerings  of  corn, 
or  bread  ;  as  when  they  offered  the  first-fruits  of  har- 
vest, whether  offered  solemnly  by  the  nation,  or  as 
the  devotion  of  private  pcisons. 

As  to  the  quantity  of  meal,  oil,  wine  or  salt  to  ac- 
company the  sacrifices,  we  cannot  see  that  the  law 
determines  it.  Generally,  the  priest  threw  a  handful 
of  meal,  or  crumbs,  on  the  fire  of  the  altar,  with  wine, 
oil  and  salt  in  proportion,  and  all  the  incense.  The 
rest  belonged  to  himself;  the  quantity  depended  on 
the  liberality  of  the  offerer.  We  observe,  that  Moses 
appoints  an  assaron,  or  the  tenth  part  of  an  ephah  of 
meal,  for  those  who  had  not  wherewith  to  offer  the 
appointed  sin-offerings.  Lev.  v.  11  ;  xiv.  21.  In  the 
solemn  offerings  of  the  first-fruits  for  the  whole  na- 
tion, they  offered  an  entire  sheaf  of  corn,  a  lamb  of  a 
year  old,  two  tenths  or  two  assarous  of  fine'  meal 
mixed  widi  oil,  and  a  quarter  of  a  bin  of  wine  for  the 
libation.  Lev.  xxiii.  10,  &c.  Numb.  v.  15. 

In  the  sacrifice  of  jealousy,  when  a  h;-.-band  ac- 
cused his  wife  of  infidelity,  the  husband  offered  the 
tenth  part  of  a  satum  of  barley  meal,  without  oil  or 
incense,  because  it  was  a  sacrifice  of  jealousv. 


OIN 


[  712 


OLI 


Offerings  of  fruits  of  the  earth,  of  bread,  wine,  oil 
and  salt,  are  the  most  ancient  of  any  that  are  known, 
Gen.  iv.  3,  4.  Cain  offered  to  the  Lord  fruits  of  the 
earth,  the  first-fruits  of  his  labor.  Abel  offered  first- 
lings of  his  flock,  and  of  their  fat. 

The  heathen  religion  has  nothing  more  ancient 
than  these  sorts  of  offerings  made  to  their  gods.  The 
difference  between  the  offerings  of  meal,  wine  and 
salt,  with  which  the  Greeks  and  Latins  accompanied 
their  bloody  sacrifices,  and  those  used  by  the  Hebrews 
in  their  temple,  consisted,  chiefly,  in  that  the  Hebrews 
cast  the  oblations  on  the  flesh  of  the  victim,  being 
already  offered  and  laid  on  the  fire,  whereas  the 
Greeks  put  them  on  the  head  of  the  victim  while 
alive,  and  when  just  going  to  be  sacrificed. 

OG,  king  of  Bashan,  was  a  giant  of  the  race  of  the 
Rephaim.  We  may  judge  of  his  stature  by  the  length 
of  liis  bed,  Avhich  was  long  preserved  in  Rabbath,  the 
capital  of  the  Ammonites,  Dent.  iii.  IL     See  Bed. 

Moses  says,  (Numb.  xxi.  33.)  thatafter  having  con- 
quered Sihon,  king  of  tlie  Amorites,  he  advanced  to- 
ward the  country  of  Bashan  ;  where  Og  reigned,  who 
marched  against  him  to  Edrei,  with  all  his  subjects. 
Og  was  conquered,  and  slain,  with  his  children,  and 
all  his  people.  Og  and  Sihon  were  the  only  kings 
that  withstood  Moses.  Their  country  was  given  to 
the  tribes  of  Gad,  Reuben,  and  half  the  tribe  of  Ma- 
nasseh. 

OIL.  The  Hebrews  commonly  anointed  them- 
selves with  oil ;  they  anointed  also  their  kings  and 
high-priests.     See  Anointing. 

Isaiah  calls  an  eminence,  or  vineyard,  that  was 
fruitful  and  fat,  a  horn,  the  son  of  oil,  chap.  v.  1.  In 
chap.  X.  27,  he  says,  that  God  would  destroy  the 
yoke  of  the  Israelites,  by  the  quantity  of  oil  that  he 
would  pour  thereon.  He  would  take  from  it  all  its 
roughness  and  hardness.  The  high-priest  Joshua, 
and  the  prince  Zerubbabel,  are  called  sons  of  oil ; 
(Zech.  iv.  14.)  that  is,  each  of  them  had  received  the 
sacred  unction.  Job,  speaking  of  the  condition  of 
his  first  prosperity,  says  that  the  rocks  were  then 
fountains  of  oil  to  him.  Job  xxix.  0. 

Tlie  oil  of  gladness  (Ps.  xlv.  7  ;  Isa.lxi.  3.)  was  the 
perfumed  oil  with  which  the  Hebrews  anointed  them- 
selves on  days  of  rejoicing  and  festivity.  Moses  says 
(Deut.  xxxii.'  13.)  that  God  made  his  people  to  suck 
oil  and  honey  out  of  the  rocks  ;  that  is,  that  in  the 
midst  of  dreary  deserts,  he  abundantly  provided  them 
with  all  things  not  only  necessary,  but  agreeable. 
The  olive-tree  shall  fail  to  bring  forth  fruit,  says  Hab. 
iii.  17.  James  directs  that  the  sick  should  be  anoint- 
ed with  oil  in  the  name  of  the  Lord,  by  the  elders  of 
the  church.  Jam.  v.  14. 

OINTMENT.  As  perfumes  are  seldom  made  up 
among  us  in  the  form  of  ointment,  but  mostly  in  that 
of  essence,  while  ointments  areratlier  medical,  we  do 
not  always  discern  the  beauty  of  those  comparisons 
in  Scripture,  in  which  ointments  are  mentioned. 
"Dead  flies,  though  but  small  insects,  cause  the  oint- 
ment of  the  apothecary  (it  shoidd  be,  the  fragrant 
unguent  of  the  perfumer)  to  emit  a  fetid  vapor  ;  so 
does  a  small  proportion  of  folly,  or  perverseness,  over- 
come, [jrevail  above,  overpower  by  its  fetor,  the  fra- 
grance of  wisdom  and  glory,"  Eccl.  x.  1. 

We  read  of  ointments  for  the  head  ;  (Eccl.  ix.  8.) 
our  own  pomatums,  some  of  which  are  pretty  strongly 
essenccd,  may  indicate  the  nature  of  these,  as  being 
their  representatives  in  this  country. 

Ointments  and  oils  were  used  in  warm  countries 
after  bathing ;  and  as  oil  was  the  first  recipient  of 
fragrance,  probably   from  herbs,  &c.  steeped  in  it, 


many  kinds  of  unguents  not  made  of  oil  (olive  oil) 
retained  that  appellation.  As  the  plants  imparted 
somewhat  of  their  color  as  well  as  of  their  fragrance, 
hence  the  expression  green  oil,  &c.  in  the  Hebrew. 
See  Anointing,  and  Alabaster. 

OLD,  ancient.  We  say  the  Old  Testament,  by  way 
of  contradistinction  from  the  New.  Moses  was  the 
minister  of  the  Old  Testament,  of  the  old  age  of  the 
letter ;  but  Christ  is  the  Mediator  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment, or  of  the  new  covenant ;  not  of  the  letter,  but 
of  the  spirit,  Heb.  ix.  15 — 20. 

The  old  man,  (Rom.  vi.  6.)  the  old  Adam,  iii  a 
moral  sense,  is  our  derived  corrupted  nature,  which 
we  ought  to  crucify  with  Jesus  Christ,  that  the  body 
of  sin  may  die  in  us.  In  Col.  iii.  9,  the  apostle  enjoins 
us  "  to  put  off"  the  old  man  with  his  deeds,  and  to  put 
on  the  new  man,  which  is  renewed  in  knowledge 
after  the  image  of  him  that  created  him."  And  in 
Eph.  iv.  22,  we  are  instructed  to  "  put  off  the  old  man 
which  is  corrupt  according  to  the  deceitful  lusts." 

The  old  leaven  is  concupiscence,  and  adherence  to 
the  literal  and  ceremonial  observances  of  the  law. 
Paul  advises  (1  Cor.  v.  8.)  "to  keep  the  feast,  not  with 
old  leaven,  neither  with  the  leaven  of  malice  and 
wickedness  ;  but  with  the  unleavened  bread  of  sin- 
cerity and  truth."  Our  Saviour  expresses  almost  the 
same  thing,  when  he  says  (Luke  v.  37.)  that  "  no  man 
putteth  new  wine  into  old  bottles,  else  the  new  wine 
will  burst  the  bottles,  and  be  spilled,  and  the  bottles 
shall  perish." 

The  old  fruits  and  the  new,  which  succeed  one 
another,  (Lev.  xxv.  22  ;  xxvi.  10  ;  Cant.  vii.  13.)  de- 
note great  abundance.  You  shall  have  so  much 
that,  to  make  room  for  the  new,  you  shall  be  obliged 
to  remove  the  old. 

Old  age  is  promised  as  a  blessing  by  God,  to  those 
who  maintain  obedience  to  his  commands ;  and  it  is 
probable  that  Providence  did,  and  still  does,  watch 
over  and  prolong  the  lives  of  eminently  pious  men. 
It  was  formerly  thought  a  great  blessing  to  come  to  J 
the  grave  in  a  good  old  age,  or  "  as  a  shock  of  corn 
fully  ripe  ;"  and  though  "they  are  not  to  bo  heard, 
which  feign  that  the  old  fathers  did  look  oidy  for 
transitory  promises,"  yet  we  think  we  may  venture  to 
say  they  did  on  various  occasions  exj)ect  peculiar 
mercies  from  God,  even  in  this  life  ;  and  that  their 
expectations  were  not  disappointed.  Old  age  was 
entitled  to  peculiar  honor,  and  no  doubt,  when  men  / 
lived  to  the  age  of  several  hundred  years,  the  wisdom 
they  must  needs  have  acquired,  the  influence  they 
must  needs  have  possessed  over  the  younger  part 
of  the  community,  must  have  been  much  greater 
than  they  are  among  ourselves.  Very  venerable  must 
have  been  the  personal  appearance  of  a  patriarch  of 
three  or  fovu'  hundred  years,  or  even  of  half  that  age,  in 
the  eyes  of  his  family,  and  of  his  descendants,  whether 
immediate  or  remote. 

There  is  nothing  more  decidedly  recorded  tlian  the 
respect  paid  among  the  ancients  to  old  age  ;  of  which 
Grecian  story  afibrds  higidy  pleasing  proofs  ;  and 
that  it  was  equal  among  the  orientals  we  learn  from 
varioiis  allusions  in  the  book  of  Job,  the  Proverbs,  &c. 

Old  is  spoken  of  what  is  decaying  ;  (Tsa.  1.  0 ;  Heb. 
viii.  13.)  of  what  has  been  destroyed  ;  (2  Pet.li.  5.)  of 
former  times,  Lam.  i.  7. 

OLIVE-TREE.  Paul,  in  his  Epistle  to  the  Ro- 
mans, (xi.  24.)  distinguishes  two  kinds  of  olive-trees ; 
(1.)  the  wild  and  natural;  and  (2.)  those  mider  care 
and  culture.  The  cultivated  olive-tree  is  of  a  moder-  ■ 
ate  height,  its  trunk  knotty,  its  bark  smooth,  and  ash- 
colored  ;  its  wood  is  soUd  and  yellowish  ;  the  leaves 


OLI 


[  713 


OMR 


are  obloug,  almost  like  those  of  the  willow,  of  a  green 
color,  dark  on  the  upper  side,  and  white  on  the  under 
side.  In  the  month  of  June  it  puts  out  white  flow- 
ers that  grow  in  bunches.  Each  flower  is  of  one 
piece,  widening  upwards,  and  dividing  into  four 
parts  ;  the  fruit  oblong  and  plump.  It  is  first  green, 
then  pale,  and  when  it  is  quite  ripe,  black.  In  the 
flesh  of  it  is  enclosed  a  hard  stone,  full  of  an  oblong 
seed.     The  wild  olive  is  smaller  in  all  its  parts. 

When  Noah  sent  forth  the  dove  out  of  the  ark,  it 
brought  back  to  him  a  small  olive-branch  with  its 
leaves,  (Gen.  viii.  11.)  wlfu^h  w^•ls  a  token  to  the  pa- 
triarch that  the  waters  of  the  deluge  were  sunk  away. 
In  the  tem])le  of  Jerusalem,  Solomon  made  of  olive- 
wood  the  cherubim,  and  the  portal  tliat  ijarted  the 
sanctum  from  the  sanctuary,  1  Kings  vi.  23,  33.  Eli- 
phaz  (Job  .\v.  33.)  compares  a  wicked  man  to  a  vine 
which  sheds  its  blossoms,  and  to  an  olive  whose 
flowei-s  fall  before  their  season,  and  consequently 
brings  no  fruit.  The  sacred  writers  often  use  similes 
taken  from  the  olive. 

OLIVES,  MouxT  OF,  is  situate  east  of  Jerusalem, 
and  separated  from  the  city  by  the  brook  Kidron,  and 
the  valley  of  Jehoshaphat.  On  this  mount  Solomon 
built  temples  to  the  gods  of  the  Ammonites  and  jMoab- 
ites,  out  of  complaisance  to  his  wives,  1  Kings  xi.  7, 
Hence  the  mount  of  Olives  is  called  the  mountain  of 
Conniption,  2  Kings  xxiii.  13.  Josephus  says,  it  is 
five  stadia  (or  furlongs)  from  Jerusalem.  Luke  says, 
a  sabbath-day's  journey  ;  i.  e.  about  eight  furlongs, 
Acts  i.  12.  The  mount  of  Olives  has  three  summits, 
ranging  from  north  to  south  ;  from  the  middle  sum- 
rait  our  Saviour  ascended  into  heaven ;  on  the  south 
summit  Solomon  built  temples  to  his  idols  ;  the  north 
summit  is  distant  two  furlongs  from  the  middlemost. 
This  is  the  highest,  and  is  commonly  called  Galilee, 
or  Viri  Galiltei,  from  the  expression  used  by  the  an- 
gels, Ye  men  of  Galilee. 

In  the  time  of  king  t^zziah,  the  mount  of  Olives 
was  so  shattered  by  an  earthquake,  that  half  the  earth 
or  the  western  side  fell,  and  rolled  four  fiwlongs,  or 
five  hundred  paces,  toward  the  opposite  mountain  on 
the  east ;  so  that  the  earth  blocked  up  the  highways, 
and  covered  the  king's  gardens.  (Joseph.  Antiq.  lib. 
ix.  cap.  11,  and  Zech.  xiv.  5.) 

Thougli  this  mount  was  named  from  its  olive-trees, 
yet  it  abounded  in  other  trees  also.  It  was  a  station 
for  signals,  which  were  communicated  from  hence 
by  lights  and  flames,  on  various  occasions.  They 
were  made  of  long  staves  of  cedar,  canes,  pine  wood, 
with  coarse  flax,  which,  while  on  fire,  were  shaken 
about  till  they  w'ere  answered  from  other  signals. 

What  is  said  in  Midras  Tellim,  by  Rab.  Janna,  is 
extremely  remarkable :  "The  Divine  Majesty  stood 
three  years  and  a  half  on  mount  Ohvet,  saying,  '  Seek 
ye  the  Lord,  while  he  may  be  found;  call  on 
him  while  he  is  near.' "  Is  this  the  language  of 
a  Jew  ? 

The  names  of  the  various  districts  of  this  mount 
deserve  attention,  as,  (1.)  Geth-semane,  the  place  of 
oil-presses ;  (2.)  Bethany,  the  house  of  dates  :  (3.) 
Bethphage,  the  house  of  green  figs,  and,  probably, 
other  names  in  diflferent  places.  The  Talmudists 
say,  that  on  mount  Olivet  were  shops,  kept  by  the 
children  of  Canaan,  of  which  shops  some  were  in 
Bethany  :  and  that  under  two  large  cedars  which 
stood  there,  were  four  shops,  where  things  necessary 
for  purification  were  constantly  on  sale,  such  as  doves 
or  pigeons  for  the  women,  &c.  Probably,  these 
shops  were  supplied  by  country  persons,  who  hereby 
avoided  paying  rent  for  their  sittings  in  the  temple. 
90 


The  mention  of  these   residences  implies  that  this 
mount  had  various  dwellings  upon  it. 

There  was  also  a  collectron  of  water  at  Bethany  on 
tliis  mount,  which  was  by  some  used  as  a  place  of 
purification. 

The  small  building,  erected  over  the  place  of  as- 
cension, is  contiguous  to  a  Turkish  mosque,  and  is  in 
possession  of  the  Turks,  who  show  it  for  profit;  and 
subject  the  Christians  to  an  amiual  contribution  for 
permission  to  oflSciate  within  it  on  Ascension  day. 
From  the  mosque  is  a  fine  and  commanding  view  of 
Jerusalem,  momit  Sion  and  the  Dead  sea. 

Dr.  Clarke  found  on  the  top  of  the  mount  of  Olives 
a  vast  and  very  ancient  crypt,  in  "  the  shape  of  a  cone, 
of  inmiense  size  ;  the  vertex  alone  appearing  level 
with  the  soil,  and  exhibiting  by  its  section  at  the  top 
a  small  circular  aperture  ;  the  sides  extending  l)elow 
to  a  great  depth,  lined  with  a  hard  red  stucco."  He 
thinks  it  to  have  been  an  idolatrous  construction,  per- 
haps as  old  as  Solomon,  and  profaned  by  Josiah,  2 
Kings  xxiii.  13.  The  number  of  ciypts  about  Jeru- 
salem is  well  deserving  attention.  If  Solomon  built 
this  crypt,  he  might,  as  the  Jews  say  he  did,  construct 
one  of  the  same  kind  for  the  reception  of  the  ark,  &c. 
in  case  of  danger;  but  this  must  continue  undecided 
till  the  "times  of  the  Gentiles  are  fulfilled." 

"  So  commanding  is  the  view  of  Jerusalem  afforded 
in  this  situation,  (says  Dr.  Clarke,)  that  the  eye  roams 
overall  the  streets,  and  around  the  walls,  as  if  in  the 
sun-ey  of  a  plan  or  model  of  the  city.  The  most  con- 
spicuous object  is  the  mosque,  erected  upon  the  site 
and  foundations  of  the  temple  of  Solomon."  Hence 
the  observation  of  the  evangelist,  (Luke  xix.  37.)  that 
Jesus  beheld  the  city,  and  wept  over  it,  acquires  ad- 
ditional force.  "Towards  the  south  appears  the  lake 
Asphaltites,  a  noble  expanse  of  water,  seeming  to  be 
within  a  short  ride  from  the  city;  but  the  real  dis- 
tance is  much  greater.  Lofty  mountains  enclose  it 
with  prodigious  grandeur.  To  the  north  are  seen  the 
verdant  and  fertile  pastures  of  the  plain  of  Jericho, 
watered  by  the  Jordan,  whose  coui-se  may  be  distinct- 
ly discerned."  (Travels,  vol.  ii.  p.  572.) 
'  03IEGA,  (<2,)the  last  letter  of  the  Greek  alphabet; 
Alpha,  J,  and  Ome^a,  Si,  therefore,  include  all ;  the 
fii'st  and  the  last.     See  Alpha. 

OMER,  or  GoMER,  a  measure  of  capacity  among 
the  Hebrews ;  the  tenth  part  of  an  ephah,  a  little 
more  than  five  jiints. 

OMRI,  or  Amri,  was  general  of  the  army  of  Elah, 
king  of  Israel ;  but  being  at  the  siege  of  Gibbethon, 
and  hearing  that  his  master  Elah  was  assassinated  by 
Zimri,  who  had  usurped  his  kingdom,  he  raised  the 
siege,  and,  being  elected  king  by  his  army,  marched 
against  Zinu'i,  attacked  him  at  Tirzah,  and  forced 
him  to  burn  himself  and  all  his  family,  in  the  palace 
in  which  he  had  shut  up  himself.  Zimri  reigned  but 
seven  days,  A.  IM.  3075,  1  Kings  xvi.  9.  After  his 
dealh,  half  of  Israel  acknowledged  Omri  for  king,  the 
other  half  adhered  to  Tibni,  son  of  Gineth  ;  which 
division  continued  four  years.  When  Tibni  was 
dead,  the  yteople  united  in  acknowledging  Omri  as 
king  of  all  Israel,  who  reigned  twelve  years ;  six 
years  at  Tirzah,  and  six  at  Samaria,  1  Kings  xvi. 

Tirzah  had  previously  been  the  chief  residence  of 
the  kings  of  Israel,  but  when  Omri  purchased  the 
hill  of  Shomeron,  (1  Kings  xvi.  24,  about  A.  M. 
3080,)  he  there  built  a  new  city,  which  he  called  Sa- 
maria, from  the  name  of  the  first  possessor  Shemer, 
or  Shomer,  and  there  fixed  his  royal  seat.  From 
this  time  Samaria  was  the  capital  of  the  kingdom  of 
the  ten  tribes. 


ONO 


[  '14  ] 


OPH 


Omri  did  evil  before  the  Lord,  and  his  cr'.aies  ex- 
ceeded those  of  his  predecessors.  He  walked  iu  ail 
the  ways  of  Jeroboam  son  of  Nebat,  and  died  at  Sa- 
maria, A.  M.  3086.     His  successor  Avas  Aliab. 

ON,  or  Heliopolis,  a  city  of  Egypt,  by  Ptolemj" 
called  Onion  ;  On,  Gen.  xli.  45  ;  xlvi.  20  ;  and  Beth 
Shemesh,  the  temple  of  the  sun,  Jer.  xliii.  13,  which 
agrees  with  the  Egyptian  idea  of  the  name.  Sec 
Heliopolis,  I. 

ONAN,  sou  of  Judah,  and  grandson  of  the  patri- 
arch Jacob,  was  given  in  marriage  to  Tamar,  after 
the  death  of  his  brother  Ur,   but  was  destroyed  by 
the  Lord,  for  refusing  to  comply  with  the  law  of  the 
Levirate,  Gen.  xxxviii.     See  Marriage. 
^^^^.fONESBIUS,  (Phiiem.  verse  10.)  a  Phrygian  by 
J   ^nation,  and  ^tms  to  Philemon.     Having  run  away 
^  S  fi'om  his  master,  and  also  having  robbed  him,  (Phiiem. 
^   i  verse  18 ;  Chrysost.  Prolog.)  he  went  to  Rome  about 
'^  ^  A.  D.  61,  while   Paul  was  there  in   prison  the  first 

f^;  A  time.  As  Onesimus  knev."  the  apostle  by  repute, 
^(his  master  Philemon  being  a  Christian,)  he  sought 
;  ^  him  out,  acquainted  him  with  his  transgression, 
«  ^v^pAvncd  his  flight,  and  did  him  all  the  service  Phile- 
Vinon  himself  could  have  done,  had  he  been  at  Rome. 
^  ^  Paul  brought  him  to  a  sense  of  the  greatness  of  his 
^  j  crime,  instructed,  converted  and  baptized  him,  and 
-  s'^'  s-tit  him  back  to  his  master  Philemon,  with  a  letter 
inserted  among  Paul's  epistles ;  which  is  univer- 
sally acknowiedged  as  liis. 

Philemon,  it  is  related,  not  only  received  Onesimus 
as  a  faithful  servant,  but  as  a  brother  and  a  friend  ; 
V  ,^^  and  after  a  little  lime,  he  sent  him  back  to  Rome, 
that  he  might  continue  his  services  to  Paul,  in  his 
prison.  From  this  time  Onesinius's  employment 
was  in  the  ministry  of  the  gospel.  The  x\postoli- 
eal  Constitutions  report  that  Paul  made  him  bishop 
of  Berea  iu  JMacedouia.  The  martyrologies  call  him 
apostle,  and  say  he  ended  his  life  by  martyrdom. 
The  Roman  martyrology  mentions  him  as  being  made 
bishop  of  Ephesus,  by  Paul,  after  Tmiothy.  Others 
add,  that  it  was  he  whom  Ignatius  tJie  3Iartyr  speaks  of, 
as  bishop  of  Ephesus,  A.  D.  107  ;  but  this  wants  proof. 

OXESIPHORUS,  (a  Tim.  i.  16.)  a  Christian  who 
acme  to  Rome  A.  D.  65,  while  the  apostle  Paul  w  as 
imprisoned  there  for  the  faith,  and  at  a  time  W'heu 
almost  every  one  had  forsaken  him,  2  Tim.  i.  16,  18. 
Having  found  Paul  in  i)onds,  after  long  seeking  him, 
he  assisted  him  to  the  utmost  of  his  power;  for 
which  the  apostle  wishes  all  sorts  of  benedictions  on 
himself  and  his  family. 

1.  Oi"VL\S,  son  of  Jaddus,  was  made  high-priest 
of  the  Jews  A.  3L  3682,  and  governed  the  Hebrew 
republic  twenty  years,  to  A.  31.  3702.  He  had  had 
two  sons,  Simon  ami  Eleazar.  Simon,  surnamed 
the  Just,  succeeded  him.     (Joseph.  Ant.  xi.ult.) 

H.  ONLAS,  a  son  of  Simon  the  Just,  succeeded 
TManasseh  in  the  high-priesthood,  A.  JL  3771.  and 
held  it  to  3785.     (Josejjh.  Ant.  xii.  3,  4.) 

in.  ONI  AS,  a  son  of  Simon  II.  high-priest  of  the 
Jews,  was  established  in  the  priesthood  A.  ?ir.  3805. 
(Joseph.  Ant.  xii.  4.) 

I V.  ONIAS,  or  Menelaus,  whom  Joscphus  (Antiq. 
lib.  xii.  cap.  4,  5.)  describes  as  son  to  Simon  the  Just, 
was  created  high-priest  A.  M.  3832,  and  put  to  death 
in  3842. 

ONO,  a  city  of  Benjamin  :  built  or  re-built  iiy  the 
family  of  Elpaal,  of  Benjamin,  1  Cinon.  viii.  12.  It 
was  five  miles  from  Lod,  or  Lydda,  also  built  by 
Benjamites.      In  Neh.  vi.  2,  we  have    meiuion    of 


"The  Plain  of  Ono,"  which 
from  the  citv. 


probably  was  not  far 


ONYCHA.  The  Hebrew  n^nc,  Shecheleth,  (Exod. 
XXX.  34.)  which  Jerome,  after  the  LXX,  translates 
onychuuis,  others  understand  of  labdanum,  or  of 
bdellium.  But  the  greater  part  of  commentators 
explain  it  by  the  onycha  or  odoriferous  shell,  a 
shell  like  that  of  the  shell-fish  purpura.  The  ony- 
cha is  fished  for  in  watery  places  of  the  Indies, 
where  the  spica  nardi  grows,  which  is  the  food  of 
this  fish,  and  what  makes  its  shell  so  aromatic.  The 
best  onycha  is  found  in  the  Red  sea,  and  is  white  and 
large.  The  Babylonian  is  black  and  smaller,  ac- 
cording to  Dioscorides.  [The  onycha  is  the  Blatta 
Byzantina  of  the  shops.  It  consists  of  the  cover  or 
lid  of  a  species  of  muscle,  which,  when  burnt,  emits 
a  musky  odor.     R. 

ONYX  was  the  eleventh  stone  in  the  high-priest's 
pectoral,  Exod.  xxviii.  20.  It  is  a  kind  of  flesh- 
colored  agate,  whence  it  has  obtained  the  name  of 
onyx,  or  the  nail.     See  SARDorJYX. 

OPHEL  was  a  clifl^,  or  acclivity,  a  part  of  mount 
Zion,  on  the  east,  not  far  from  mount  Moriah.  Jo- 
tham,  king  of  Judah,  made  several  buildings  on 
Ophel,  2  Chron.  xxvii.  3.  Manasseh,  king  of  Judah, 
built  a  wall  west  of  Jerusalem  and  the  fountain  Gi- 
hon,  beyond  the  city  of  DaA-id,  from  the  fish-gate  to 
Ophel,  2  Chron.  xxxiii.  14.  At  the  return  from  the 
captivity,  the  Nethinim  dwelt  at  Ophel,  Neh.  iii.  26  ; 
xi.  21;  Micah  (iv.  8.)  mentions  the  tower  of  Ophel: 
"  And  thou,  O  tower  of  the  flock,  the  strong  hold  of 
the  daughter  of  Zion:"  Heb.  "  And  thou  tower  of 
the  flock,  Ophel,  daughter  of  Zion."  There  was  at 
Jerusalem  a  sheep-gate,  and  a  tower  of  Ophel. 

I.  OPHIR,  a  son  of  Joktan,  whose  descendants 
peo[)led  the  district  between  Mesha  and  Sephar,  a 
mountain  of  the  East,  Gen.  x.  26,  30.     See  Mesha. 

II.  OPHIR,  a  country  to  which  the  vessels  of 
Solomon  traded,  and  as  to  the  situation  of  which 
there  lias  been  much  discussion.  All  the  passages 
in  which  it  is  mentioned  have  been  examined,  (1 
Kings  xxii.  48,  compared  with  2  Chron.  xx.  36;  also 
1  Kings  ix.  28  ;  x.  22.)  and  it  has  been  observed,  that 
the  so  called  ships  of  Tarshish  went  to  Ophir  ;  that 
these  ships  sailed  from  Ezion-geber,  a  port  of  the 
Red  sea;  (1  Kings  xxii.  48;  ix.  26;  x.  22.)  that 
three  years  were  required  for  the  voyage  ;  that  the 
fleet  returned  freighted  with  gold,  peacocks,  apes, 
spices,  ivory  and  ebony  ;  (1  Kings  ix.  28  ;  x.  11,  12; 
compare  2  Chron.  viii.  18;  ix.  10,  &:c.)  that  the  gold 
of  Ophir  was  in  the  highest  esteem  ;  and  that  the 
country  of  Ophir  more  abounded  widi  gold  than  any 
other  then  known.  Upon  these  data  inter])reters 
have  undertaken  to  determine  the  situation  of  Ophir, 
but  almost  all  have  arrived  at  different  conclusions. 

Josephus  places  it  in  the  Indies,  and  says  it  is 
called  the  gold  country,  by  which  he  is  thought  to 
mean  Chersoucsus  Aurea,  now  known  as  Malacca, 
a  peninsula  ojipositc  to  the  island  of  Sumatra.  Lu- 
cas Holsteuius  thinks  we  must  fix  on  India  generally, 
or  on  the  city  of  Supar  in  the  island  of'  Celebes. 
Others  place  it  in  the  kingdom  of  Malabar,  or  in 
Ceylon  ;  that  is,  tlie  island  of  Tapro!)ana,  so  famous 
among  the  ancients,  an  oj>inion  which  Bochart  has 
labored  to  support.  Lipcnius  places  it  beyond  the 
Ganges,  at  Malacca,  Java,  Sumatra,  Siam,  Bengal, 
Peru,  &c.  Others,  as  Huet  and  Bruce,  have  j)laced 
it  at  Sofala,  iu  South  Africa,  where  mines  of  gold 
and  silver  have  been  found,  which  apjiear  to  have 
been  anciently  and  extensively  worked,  and  to  this 
hypothesis  Gespuius  inclines.  Roscnmiiller  and 
others  suppose  it  to  be  southern  Arabia. 

From  these  statements  it  w  ill  be  seen,  that  there  is 


OR  A 


[715  ] 


ORACLE 


room  for  considerable  diversity  of  opinion  as  to  tlie 
geographical  situation  of  Ophir ;  and,  indeed,  the 
best  writers  are  of  opinion  that  it  must  ever  remain 
a  matter  of  mere  conjecture. 

OPHNI,  a  city  of  Benjamin,  (Josh,  xviii.  24.)  and 
thought  to  bo  the  samcasGophni,  or  Gophna,  which 
was  about  15  miles  from  Jei'usalem,  towards  Na- 
p louse,  or  Shechem. 

I.  OPHRAH,  a  city  of  Benjamin,  Josh,  xviii.  23 ;  1 
Sam.  xiii.  17.  Instead  of  this  Micah  Ijas  Aphrah,  i.  10. 

II.  OPHRAII,  a  cityof  lAIanasseh,  the  birth  place 
of  Gideon,  Judg.  vi.  11  ;  viii.  27  ;  ix.  5. 

OPPRESSION  is  the  spoiling  or  taking  away  of 
men's  ])roperty  by  constraint,  terror,  or  ibrce,  with- 
out having  any  right  thereto  ;  working  on  the  igno- 
rance, weakness,  or  fearfulness  of  the  oppressed. 
Men  are  guilty  of  opi)ression  when  they  ofter  violence 
to  the  bodies,  ))roperty,  or  consciences  of  others  ; 
when  they  crush  or  overburden  others,  as  the  Egyp- 
tians did  the  Hebrews,  Exod.  iii.  9.  There  may  be 
oppression  which  maligns  the  character,  or  studies 
to  vex  another,  yet  does  not  affect  his  life  :  as  there 
is  much  persecution,  for  conscience'  sake,  which  is 
not  fatal,  though  distressing. 

ORACLE,  a  name  sometimes  given  to  the  lid  or 
covering  of  the  ark,the  mercy-seat,  (see  Mercy-seat,) 
and  also  to  those  supernatural  communications  of 
which  such  frequent  mention  is  made  in  Scripture. 

Among  the  Jews  we  distinguish  several  sorts  of 
oracles.  (1.)  Those  delivered  viva  voce;  as  when 
God  s])ake  to  Moses  face  to  face,  and  as  one  friend 
speaks  to  another.  Numb.  xii.  8.  |  (2.)  Prophetical 
dreams ;  as  those  which  God  sent  to  Joseph,  fore- 
telling his  future  greatness,  Gen.  xxxvii.  5,  6.  (3.) 
Visions  ;  as  when  a  prophet  in  an  ecstasy  had  su- 
pernatural revelations.  Gen.  xv.  1  ;  xivi.  2.  (4.)  The 
response  of  IJrim  and  Thummini,  which  accom- 
panied the  ephod,  or  the  pectoral  worn  by  the  high- 
jn-iest,  Numb.  xii.  6  ;  Joel  ii.  28.  This  manner  of 
inquiring  of  the  Lord  was  often  used,  from  Joshua's 
time  to  the  erection  of  the  temple  at  Jerusalem,  (1 
Sam.  xxiii.  9 ;  xxx.  7.)  after  which  they  generally 
consulted  the  prophets. 

The  Jews  pretend  that  upon  the  ceasing  of  proph- 
ecy, God  gave  them  what  they  call  Bath-kol,  the 
daughter  of  the  voice,  which  was  a  supernatural 
manifestation  of  the  divine  will,  either  by  a  strong 
inspiration  or  internal  voice,  or  by  a  sensible  and  ex- 
ternal voice,  heard  by  a  number  of  persons  sufticient 
to  bear  testimony  to  it ;  such  as  the  voice  heard  at 
the  baptism  of  Christ. 

In  the  early  period  of  the  Christian  church  the 
gifts  of  ])rophecy  and  inspiration  were  frequent ;  after 
that  time  the  greater  part  of  the  heathen  oracles  fell 
into  contempt  and  silence. 

Some  have  ascribed  to  demons  all  the  oracles  of 
antiquity  ;  others  impute  them  to  the  knavery  of  the 
priests  and  false  prophets. 

The  most  famous  oracle  of  Palestine  was  that  of 
Baal-zebub,  king  of  Elo-on,  which  the  Jews  them- 
selves consulted,  2  Kings  i.  2,  3,  6,  16.  There  were 
also  oracular  Teraphim,  as  that  of  Micah  ;  (Judg. 
xvii.  1,  5.)  the  ephod  of  Gideon,  (viii.  27,  &c.)  and  the 
false  gods  adored  in  the  kingdom  of  Samaria,  which 
had  their  false  prophets,  and  consequently  their 
oracles.  Hosea  (chap  iv.  12.)  reproaches  Israel  with 
consulting  wooden  idols,  as  does  the  book  of  Wis- 
dom, (xiii.  16,  17.)  and  the  prophet  Habakkuk,  ii.  19. 

The  Hebrews,  living  in  the  midst  of  idolatrous 
people,  accustomed  to  receive  oracles,  to  have  re- 
course to  diviners,  [magicians    and  interpreters  of 


dream?,  ^^  ould  have  been  under  a  more  l»owerfuI 
temptation  to  imitate  these  impieties  and  supersti- 
tions, if  God  had  not  afforded  to  them  certain  means 
of  knowing  some  future  events  by  priests  and  proph- 
ets, in  their  most  urgent  necessities.  Thus,  when 
Moses  had  forbidden  the  Israelites  to  consult  magi- 
cians, witches,  enchanters  and  necromancers,  he 
j)romised  to  send  them  a  prophet  of  their  own  nation, 
who  should  instruct  them,  and  discover  to  them  the 
truth.  Dent,  xviii.  10,  11,15,  Sec.  These  orj\cles  of 
truth  had  no  necessary  connection  with  time  or 
place,  or  any  other  circumstance  ;  or  with  the  per- 
sonal merit  of  the  individual  by  whom  they  were 
uttered.  The  high-priest,  clothed  with  the  ephod 
and  })ectoral,  gave  a  true  answer,  whatever  may 
have  been  his  personal  character. 

The  fatliers  inform  us,  that  at  the  coming  of  the 
Messial],  the  oracles  of  the  heathen  were  struck 
dumb  ;  and  it  is  certain  that  since  the  preaching  of 
the  gospel,  the  empire  of  the  devil  is  much  contract- 
ed and  weakened,  and  the  most  famous  oracles  ai-e 
fallen  into  disuse.  This  silence  of  the  oracles,  how- 
ever, did  not  happen  all  at  once  ;  John,  (Rev.  xiii.  5, 
6,  13.)  describing  a  persecution  of  the  church,  speaks 
of  signs,  woudei-s  and  delusions,  which  the  deceiver 
and  his  accomplices  should  produce,  to  excite  men 
to  worship  the  image  of  the  beast,  and  to  entice  them 
to  idolatry. 

It  may,  however,  assist  us  in  forming  a  right  no- 
tion of  oracles,  to  separate  them  into  two  classes  ; 
those  which  are  proper  oracles,  and  those  which  are 
oracles  in  a  qualified  sense  only.  The  witch  of 
Endor  was  no  oracle,  though  iiregularly  applied 
to  by  Saul,  when  he  could  obtain  no  answer  from 
the  instituted  means  of  consulting  the  Lord.  The 
hag  Erichto,  in  Lucan's  Pharsalia,  was  no  ora- 
cle, as  no  temple,  &c.  was  extant  in  her  cave.  Nor 
is  that  properly  an  oracle,  which  consists  in  catching 
up  words  which  fall  from  certain  persons.  Most 
persons  will  recollect  that  Alexander  the  Great,  by 
the  false  pronunciation  of  a  Greek  word  by  the  priest 
of  Ammon,  {''  fi  .-rcu-Sioc:  instead  of  'Si  Tiai-S'ior,)  was 
made  to  pass  for  son  of  Jupiter,  Slog,  says  Plutarch. 
When,  too,  he  visited  the  Delphic  prophetess  on  a 
wrong  day,  and  urged  her,  she  at  length  complied, 
saying,  "  Thou  art  irresistible,  my  son  !  "  "  That  is 
all  I  want,"  answered  Alexander ;  "  to  be  irresistible  is 
enough."  These  are  not  oracles  ;  though  policy 
and  flattery  might  make  them  pass  for  such. 

The  most  ancient  oracle  on  record,  probably,  is 
that  given  to  Rebekah,  (Gen.  xxv.  22.)  but  the  most 
complete  instance  is  that  of  the  child  Samuel,  1  Sam. 
iii.  The  place  was  the  residence  of  the  ark,  the 
regular  station  of  worship.  The  manner  was  by  an 
audible  and  distinct  voice:  "The  Lord  called  Sam- 
uel ;  and  the  child  mistook  the  voice  for  that  of  Eli, 
(an(i  this  more  than  once,)  for  he  did  not  yet  know 
the  word  of  the  Lord:"  the  subject  was  of  high  na- 
tional injportance  ;  no  less  than  a  public  calamity, 
with  the  ruin  of  the  first  family  in  the  land.  Nor 
could  the  child  have  auy  inducement  to  deceive  Eli ; 
as  in  that  case,  he  would  have  rather  invented  some- 
thing flattering  to  his  venerable  superior.  This  com- 
municative voice,  issuing  from  the  interior  of  the 
sanctuary,  was  properly  an  oracle. 

The  highest  instances  of  oracles  are  those  voices 
which,  being  formed  in  the  ah-  by  a  power  superior 
to  nature,  bore  testimony  to  the  celestial  character 
of  the  divine  Messiah;  as  at  his  baptism,  (Matt.  iii. 
17  ;  Mark  i.  2  ;  Luke  iii.  22.)  and  again  at  his  trana- 
figuration  ;  (Matt.  xxii.  2  ;  Luke  ix.  29.)  "  And  this 


ORACLE 


[  716  ] 


ORD 


Toice  that  came  fi'oni  heaven,"  says  Peter,  "  we 
heard,"  2  Epist.  i.  18.  Nothhig  can  exceed  the 
grandeiu"  and  majesty  of  tliese  oracles  ;  and  they 
could  not  but  forcibly  impress  the  minds  of  all  who 
witnessed  them. 

Now,  it  should  be  observed,  that  these  communi- 
cations were  marked  by  simplicity  and  distinctness  : 
they  were  the  most  remote  possible  from  ambiguity 
ami  double  meaning :  they  spake  out  their  purport 
explicitly. 

Prophetic  impulses,  or  communications,  are  with 
less  propriety  called  oracles :  as  when  Samuel  went 
to  Bethlehem,  to  anoint  the  future  king  of  Israel, 
his  own  opinion  fixed  on  Eliab,  "  Surely,  the  Lord's 
anointed  is  before  him ;"  but  the  Lord  corrected 
his  judgment ;  not  by  an  audible  voice,  which  must 
have  been  heard  by  all  the  company,  but  by  some 
internal  monition,  1  Sam.  xvi.  6.  It  will  appear, 
also,  that  in  the  time  of  Saul  and  David,  when  appli- 
cation for  advice  was  made  to  the  oracle,  it  could 
only  be  given  in  a  regular  manner  to  one  pai-ty,  as 
there  were  not  two  tabernacles,  and  two  arks  of  the 
covenant,  with  which  sacred  objects  the  oracle  was 
connected.  Neither  were  there  two  high-priests' 
pectorals,  on  which  the  names  of  the  tribes  were 
written.  The  priest  who  did  not  wear  these  names 
on  his  breast,  could  not  inquire  as  representative  of 
the  tribes  of  the  whole  nation  ;  and  by  Avhat  means 
he  received  an  answer  is  uncertain.  It  coidd  not  be, 
as  some  have  supposed,  by  radiation  of  the  letters  on 
the  precious  stones ;  since  he  did  not  wear  them. 
We  read  very  little,  or  nothing,  of  oracles  given  by 
the  high-priest,  in  succeeding  ages.  When  Jehosha- 
phat  desired  Ahab  to  "  inquire  at  the  word  of  the 
Lord  to-day,"  there  is  no  mention  of  an  oracle,  as  con- 
nected with  the  established  worship  in  Israel,  (1 
Kings  xxii.)  nor  do  we  read  that  when  the  copy  of 
Moses'  law  was  found  in  the  temple  at  Jerusalem,  king 
Josiah  applied  to  the  oracle  for  advice.  Neither  did 
Zedekiah,  king  of  Judah,  though  the  very  exist- 
ence of  his  country  depended  on  the  policy  he 
adopted  ;  and  no  crisis  could  have  been  more  im- 
portant. 

Dreams,  visions,  the  bath-kol,  &c.  are  not  properly 
oracles  ;  nor  is  the  sentiment  uttered  by  Caiaphas, 
which  recommended  the  policy  of  cutting  off  one 
man,  even  though  no  malefactor,  rather  than  haz- 
arding the  fate  of  the  nation,  an  oracle.  It  was  a 
maxim  of  a  statesman,  applicable  to  the  designs  of 
Providence  ;  but  not  properly  an  oracle.  It  is  prob- 
able, that  oracles  are  extremely  ancient  among 
the  heathen  :  they  were  known  before  the  Trojan 
war,  as  appears  from  Homer  ;  and  Ovid  makes 
Deucalion  consult  an  oracle,  immediately  after  his 
dehige. 

The  reader  will  perceive  in  all  this  the  intention 
to  establish  a  strong  distinction  between  the  oracles 
of  the  Bible,  and  those  promulgated  by  the  heathen. 
When  Cru'sus  a|)plied  to  tliii  oracle  of  ApollcJ  at 
Delphi,  toknow  whether  he  s^iould  attack  Cyrus,  he 
received  for  answer, 

Croesus  transgi-essus  Halym  maxima  regna  perdct : 

or,  as  Cicero  quotes  it, 

Croesus  Halym  penetrans  magnam  pervertet  opum 
vim: 

"  If  Croesus  crosses  the  river  Halys  he  will  overthrow 
a  great  empire."  This  he  understood  of  the  empire 
of  Cyrus  ;  the  event   proved    his   own    overthrow. 


The  same  ambiguity  attends  the  famous  reply  of  the 
same  oracle  to  Pyrrhus  : 

Aio  te,  .^acida,  Romanos  vincere  posse  ; 

I  do  pronounce  that  Rome 
Pyrrhus  shall  overcome  ; 

which  maybe  interpreted  to  mean,  either  that  Rome 
should  overcome  Pyrrhus,  or  that  Pyrrhus  should 
overcome  Rome.  Whoever  reads  Herodotus  and 
Pausanias  carefully,  will  find  most  of  their  oracles — 
and  they  record  many — either  so  dark  as  to  be  unin- 
telligible, or  so  equivocal  as  to  bear  whatever  in- 
terpretation policy  might  be  pleased  to  impose  upon 
them. 

The  heathen  drew  auguries  from  almost  every 
thing  :  from  the  flight  of  birds  ;  from  the  manner  of 
certain  chickens  feeding ;  and  above  all  from  the 
entrails  of  victims,  offered  in  sacrifice.  This  most 
ridiculous  superstition  was  not  lawfully  practised 
among  the  Jews ;  their  sacrifices  were  simply  offered 
to  the  Deity.  It  was,  however,  customary  in  the 
East.  Thus,  the  king  of  Babylon  not  only  divined 
by  arrows,  and  consulted  images,  but  he  looked  in 
the  liver,  Ezek.  xxi.  21.  Nor  should  we  forget,  that 
it  is  equally  to  the  credit  of  Christianity,  that  sur- 
rounded, as  the  Christians  were,  by  the  most  invet- 
erate of  oracular  prejudices  and  impostures,  no  such 
mummery  profaned  their  assemblies.  The  reader  has 
only  to  compare  Lucan's  description  of  the  violences 
practised  on  the  priestess  at  Delphi,  the  furious  con- 
tortions of  her  person,  or  Virgil's  of  the  Sybil  at 
Cumoe,  with  the  calm  observation  of  the  apostle, 
"  The  spirits  of  the  prophets  are  subject  to  the  proph- 
ets," with  his  injunctions  of  order,  on  various  occa- 
sions, and  with  his  strict  prohibition  of  indecent 
forwardness  in  women,  while  at  worship,  indecorous 
exposure  of  their  persons,  disorderly  dress,  &c.  to 
evince  this. 

It  is  well  to  know,  that  in  the  remains  of  several 
heathen  temples,  though  in  ruins,  there  are  traces  of 
the  secret  ways  of  access,  which  the  priests  possessed, 
undiscovered  by  the  spectators.  Dr.  E.  D.  Clarke 
found  such  in  a  temple  at  Argos ;  also  a  secret 
chamber,  in  an  oracular  cave  at  Telmessus.  A  pri- 
vate staircase  still  exists,  leading  to  the  Adytum,  in 
the  temple  of  Isis,  at  Pompeii ;  imdoubtedly  for 
oracular  purposes.  To  do  this  subject  justice 
here,  is  impossible ;  some  able  pen,  well  acquainted 
with  the  charlatanerie  of  ancient  days,  might  render 
it  equally  amusing  and  instructive  to  not  a  few  among 
our  own  nation,  ^\ho  have  opportimities  of  knowing 
better — very  much  better — than  their  practice  im- 
plies. 

ORDINANCE,  an  institution  established  by  law- 
ful authority.  Religious  ordinances  must  be  insti- 
tuted by  the  great  institutor  of  religion,  or  they  are 
not  binding:  minor  regulations  are  not  properly 
ordinances.  Ordinances,  once  established,  are  not  to 
be  varied  by  human  caprice,  or  mutability.  Tlie 
original  ordinance  seems  to  have  been  sacrifice,  to 
which  praise  and  jirayer  were  naturally  appended. 
Circumcision  was  an  ordinance  appointed  to  Abra- 
ham and  his  family  :  baptism  and  the  cucharist  are 
ordinances  under  the  gospel. 

Human  ordinances,  established  by  national  laws, 
may  be  varied  by  other  laws,  because  tiie  inconve- 
niences arising  from  them  can  only  be  determined  by 
experience.  Yet  Christians  are  bound  to  submit  to 
these  institutions,  when  they  do  not  infringe  on  those 
established  by  divine  authority ;  not  only  from  the 


OSS 


r  717  J 


OST 


consideration,  that  if  every  individual  were  to  oppose 
national  institutions,  no  society  could  subsist,  but  by 
the  tenor  of  Scripture  itself  Nevertheless,  Chris- 
tianity does  not  interfere  with  political  rights,  but 
leaves  individuals,  as  well  as  nations,  in  full  enjoy- 
ment of  whatever  advantages  the  constitution  of  a 
country  secures  to  its  subjects, 

The'coui-se  of  nature  is  the  ordinance  of  God  ;  and 
every  planet  obeys  that  impulse  \\hich  the  divine 
Governor  has  impressed  on  it,  Jer.  x.xxi.  30. 

OREB,  a  prince  of  the  31idianites,  killed  with  Zeeb, 
anotlier  prince  of  the  same  people,  Judg.  vii.  25. 

ORIENTAL  LANGUAGES,  see  Language, 
p.  605. 

ORION,  one  of  the  brightest  constellations  of  the 
southern  hen)isphere.  The  Heb.  Si^;:,  Chesil,  signi- 
fies, according  to  the  best  interpreters  and  the  ancient 
versions,  the  constellation  Orion,  which,  on  account 
of  its  supposed  connection  with  storms  and  tempests, 
Virgil  calls  nimbosus  Orion.  In  Job  xxxviii.  31,  fet- 
ters are  ascribed  to  him  ;  and  tiiis  coincides  with  the 
Greek  fable  of  the  giant  Orion,  bound  in  the  heav- 
ens. R.]  It  also  marks  the  west.  Hence  the  LXX 
on  Job  IX.  9,  and  Theodotion  on  Amos  v.  8,  translate 
it  vesperum. 

ORPAH,  a  Moabitess,  wife  of  Chilion,  son  of 
Elimelech  and  Naomi.  Chilion,  the  husband  of  Or- 
pah,  being  dead,  she  lived  with  Naomi,  her  mother- 
in-law  ;  who  returning  into  her  own  country,  Orpah 
was  prevailed  on  to  stay  in  >Ioab,  but  Ruth  followed 
Naomi  to  Bethlehem,  Ruth  i.  9,  10,  «Scc.     See  Ruth. 

ORPHAN.  The  customary  acceptation  of  the 
word  orphans  is  well  known  to  be  that  of  "children 
deprived  of  their  parents  ;"  but  the  force  of  the  Greek 
word  (joifutu'':,  (rendered  comfortless  in  our  transla- 
tion, John  xiv.  18.)  implies  the  case  of  those  who 
have  lost  some  dear  protecting  friend  ;  some  patron, 
though  not  strictly  a  father :  and  in  this  sense  it  is 
used,  1  Thess.  ii.  17,  "We  also,  brethren,  being  taken 
away  from  our  care  over  you,"  a-jivufurtndiiTfg.  Cor- 
responding to  this  import  of  the  word,  it  might  be 
used  b}'  our  Lord,  in  the  passage  of  John's  Gospel 
referred  to  ;  and  a  very  lively  comment  on  it  may 
perhaps  be  inferred  from  the  following  remark ;  es- 
pecially if  there  were  in  the  court  of  Herod,  or  of  the 
kings  of  Syria,  or  other  western  Asiatic  monarchs,  an 
order  of  soldiery  of  the  same  description  ;  which  is 
by  no  means  impossible.  "The  soldiers  of  Nadir 
Shah  are  obliged  to  keep  Yetims  at  their  own  ex- 
pense. Yetim  signifies  an  orphan:  but  these  are 
considered  as  servants,  who,  wlien  their  masters  die, 
or  fall  in  battle,  are  ready  to  serve  as  soldiers."  (Han- 
way's  Travels  in  Persia,  vol.  i.  p.  172.)  May  we 
now  paraphrase  our  Lord's  sentiment  ? — "  Vou  are 
about  to  sec  your  master  die,  fall,  as  it  wer.'>,  in  bat- 
tle ;  and  might  imagine  that  it  would  be  your  duty 
to  succeed  into  my  place,  and  to  maintain  the  bloody 
conflict,  till  you  also  fell,  as  I  had  fallen  ;  but  I  will 
not  (long)  leave  you  in  that  anxious  situation :  I  will 
again  return  to  you,  and  lead  you  on  to  victory  under 
my  protection  and  patronage :  I  will  not  now  leave 
you  Yetims;  though  most  of  you  may,  at  distant  pe- 
riods, close  your  lives  as  gallant  soldiers  in  this  noble 
warfare,  after  your  master's  example."  There  seems 
notiiing  inconsistent  with  the  affection  of  Jesus  to 
his  followers,  in  this  explanation. 

OSPREY,  a  kind  of  eagle,  whose  flesh  is  forbid- 
den. Lev.  xi.  1-3.  It  is  thought  to  be  the  black  eagle  ; 
erhaps  the  JVisser  Too/coor  described  by  Bruce.  See 
"iRDS,  p.  186. 

OaSTFRAGE.  'a-\D.  peres,^  an  unclean  bird,  (Lev. 


S 


xi.  13 ;  Deut.  xiv.  12.)  but  as  to  its  identity  interpreters 
are  not  agi-eed.  Some  read  vnlture,  others  the  blcu:k 
eagle,  otliers  tha  falcon.  The  name  peres  denotes  to 
crush,  to  break  ;  and  this  name  agrees  with  our  ver- 
sion, which  implies  "the  bone-breaker;"  a  name 
given  to  a  kind  of  eagle,  from  its  habit  of  breaking 
the  bones  of  its  prey,  after  it  has  eaten  the  flesh. 
Onkelos  uses  a  word  which  signifies  naked,  and  leads; 
us  to  the  vulture  :  and,  indeed,  if  we  were  to  taket 
the  classes  of  birds  in  any  thing  like  a  natural  order, 
in  Lev.  xi.  the  vulture  should  follow  the  eagle  as  aa 
unclean  bird.  The  Sejnuagint  interpreter  also  ren- 
ders vulture  ;  and  so  do  Munster,  Schindler,  and  the 
Zurich  versions.     See  Birds,  p.  186. 

OSTRICH.  This  singular  bird  is  designated  by 
three  several  appellations  in  the  Hebrew  Scriptures, 
each  of  which  is,  as  usual,  taken  from  some  particu- 
lar quality  which  it  possesses,  or  habit  to  which  it  iy 
addicted. 

The  first  of  these,  ]y,  yden,  is  frequently  translated 
in  our  version,  most  improperly,  by  owl ;  a  rendering 
which  deprives  several  passages  in  which  it  occurs 
of  all  their  strength  and  propriety.  (See  Job  xxx.  29  ; 
Isa.  xiii.  21 ;  Mic.  i.  8.)  In  Lev.  xi.  16,  and  Deut, 
xiv.  12,  this  bird  is  called  — uj-^n  p3,  "the  daughter  of 
the  ostrich  ;"  in  both  these  ])assages  our  translation 
reads  "  owl."  In  Job  xxxix.  13,  &c.  where  the  ostrich 
is  particularly  described,  it  is  called  jj-i,  a  name  which 
seems  to  be  taken  from  its  cry,  or  from  the  whirring 
noise  made  by  its  wings  when  it  runs. 

The  ostrich  is  considered  to  be  the  largest  of  birds, 
and  the  connecting  link  between  quadrupeds  and 
fowls.  Its  head  and  bill  somewhat  resemble  those 
of  a  duck  ;  and  the  neck  may  be  compared  to  that 
of  a  swan,  but  that  it  is  much  longer  ;  the  legs  and 
thighs  resemble  those  of  a  ben  ;  but  are  very  fleshy 
and  large.  The  end  of  the  foot  is  cloven,  and  has 
two  very  large  toes,  w'hich,  like  the  leg,  are  covered 
with  scales.  These  toes  are  of  unequal  sizes  ;  the 
largest,  which  is  on  the  inside,  being  seven  inches 
long  including  the  claw,  which  is  near  three  fourths 
of  an  inch  in  length,  and  almost  as  broad  ;  the  other 
toe  is  but  four  inches  long,  and  is  without  a  claw. 
The  height  of  the  ostrich  is  usually  seven  feet,  from 
the  head  to  the  ground;  but  from  the  back  it  is  only 
four ;  so  that  the  bead  and  the  neck  are  above  three 
feet  long.  From  the  head  to  the  end  of  the  tail, 
wiien  the  neck  is  stretched  in  a  right  line,  it  is  seven 
feet  long.  One  of  the  wings,  with  the  feathers 
stretched  out,  is  three  feet  in  length.  The  plumage 
is  generally  white  and  black,  though  some  of  them 
are  said  to  be  gray.  There  are  no  feathere  on  the 
sides  of  the  thighs,  nor  under  the  wings.  The  lower 
half  of  the  neck  is  covered  with  smaller  feathers  than 
those  on  the  belly  and  back,  and  the  head  and  upper 
])art  of  the  neck  are  covered  with  hair :  at  the  end 
of  each  wing,  there  is  a  kind  of  spur,  resemblingthe 
quill  of  a  porcupine,  about  an  inch  long;  and  about  a 
foot  lower  down  the  wing  is  another  of  the  same  de- 
scription, but  something  smaller. 

The  ostrich  has  not,  like  most  other  birds,  feath- 
ers of  various  kinds ;  they  are  all  bearded  with  de- 
tached hairs  or  filaments,  without  consistence  and 
reciprocal  adherence.  The  consequence  is,  that  they 
cannot  oppose  to  the  air  a  suitable  resistance,  and 
therefore  arc  of  no  utility  in  flying,  or  in  directing 
the  flight.  Besides  the  peculiar  structure  of  her 
wings,  the  ostrich  is  rendered  incaj^able  of  flight  by 
her  enormous  size,  weighing  seventy-five  or  eighty 
poun'ds  ;  a  weight  which  would  require  an  immense 
power  of  wing  to  elevate  into  the  air. 


OSTRICH 


[718] 


OSTRICH 


The  ostrich  is  a  native  only  of  the  torrid  regions 
of  Africa  and  Arabia,  and  has  furnished  the  sacred 
wi'iters  with  some  of  their  most  beautiful  imagery. 

The  ostrich  was  aptly  called  by  the  ancients  a 
lover  of  the  deserts.  Shy  and  timorous  in  no  com- 
mon degree,  she  retires  from  the  cultivated  field, 
where  she  is  disturbed  by  the  Arabian  shepherds 
and  husbandmen,  into  the  deepest  recesses  of  the 
Sahara.  In  those  dreaiy  wastes,  she  is  reduced  to 
subsist  on  a  few  tufts  of  coarse  gi-ass,  which  hei-e  and 
there  languish  on  their  surface,  or  a  few  other  soli- 
tary plants  equally  destitute  of  nourishment,  and,  in 
the  psalmist's  phrase,  even  "  withered  before  they  are 
grown  up."  To  this  dry  and  parched  food  may  per- 
haps be  added,  the  great  variety  of  land  snails,  which 
occasionally  cover  the  leaves  and  stalks  of  these 
herbs,  and  which  may  afford  her  some  refreshment. 
Nor  is  it  improbable,  that  she  sometimes  regales  her- 
self on  lizards  and  serpents,  together  witli  insects 
and  reptiles  of  various  kinds.  Still,  however,  con- 
sidering the  voracity  and  size  of  this  came!  bird,  (as 
it  is  called  in  the  East,)  it  is  wonderful  how  the  little 
ones  should  be  nourished  and  brought  up,  and  espe- 
cially how  those  of  fuller  growth,  and  much  better 
qu^'ified  to  look  out  for  themselves,  are  able  to 
subsist. 

The  attachment  of  this  bird  to  the  barren  solitudes 
of  the  Sahara  is  frequently  alluded  to  in  the  Holy 
Scriptures  ;  particularly  in  the  propliecies  of  Isaiah, 
where  the  word  yden,  as  before  observed,  ought  to 
be  rendered  the  ostrich.  In  the  splendid  palaces  of 
Babylon,  so  long  the  scenes  of  joy  and  revelry,  the 
prophet  foretold,  that  the  sliy  and  timorous  ostrich 
should  fix  her  abode  ;  than  which  a  greater  and  more 
affecting  contrast  can  scarcely  be  presented  to  the 
mind. 

When  the  ostrich  is  provoked,  she  sometimes 
makes  a  fierce,  angry,  and  hissing  noise,  with  her 
throat  inflated,  and  her  mouth  open  ;  when  she  meets 
with  a  timorous  adversary  that  opposes  but  a  faint 
resistance  to  her  assault,- she  chuckles  or  cackles  like 
a  hen,  seeming  to  rejoice  in  the  prospect  of  an  easy 
conquest.  But  in  the  silent  hours  of  night,  she  as- 
sumes a  quite  different  tone,  and  makes  a  veiy  dole- 
ful and  hideous  noise,  which  sometimes  resembles 
the  roaring  of  a  lion  ;  at  other  times  that  of  the  bull 
and  the  ox.  She  frequently  groans,  as  if  she  Vv^ere 
in  the  greatest  agonies  ;  an  action  to  which  the 
prophet  l)cautifully  alludes:  "  I  Avill  make  a  mourn- 
ing like  the  ostrich,"  Mic.  i.  8.  The  Hebrew  term  is 
derived  from  a  verb  which  signifies  to  exclaim  with 
a  loud  voice :  and  may  therefore  be  attributed  with 
sufficient  propriety  to  the  ostrich,  whose  voice  is 
Joud  and  sonorous  ;  especially,  as  the  word  does  not 
seem  to  denote  any  certain,  determined  mode  of 
voice  or  sound  peculiar  to  any  one  particular  spe- 
cies of  animals,  but  one  that  mav  be  applicable  to 
them  all. 

Dr.  Brown  confirms  this  account  in  every  particu- 
lar :  he  says,  the  cry  of  the  ostrich  resembles  the  voice 
of  a  hoarse  child,  and  is  even  more  dismal.  It  can- 
not, then,  but  appear  mournful,  and  even  terrible,  to 
those  travellers  who  plunge  with  no  little  anxiety 
into  those  immense  deserts,  to  whom  every  living 
creature,  man  not  excepted,  is  an  object  of  fear,  and 
a  cause  of  danger. 

Not  more  disagreeable,  and  even  alarming,  is  the 
hoarse  moaning  voice  of  the  ostrich  to  the  lonely 
traveller  in  the  desert,  than  were  the  speeches  of 
Job's  friends  to  that  afflicted  man.  Of  their  harsh 
and  groundless  censures,  which    were   continually 


grating  his  ears,  he  feelingly  complains:  "I  am  a 
brother  to  dragons,  and  a  companion  to  [ostriches] 
owls."  Like  these  melancholy  creatures,  that  love 
the  solitary  place,  and  the  dark  retirement,  the  be- 
reaved and  mourning  patriarch  loved  to  dwell  alone, 
that  he  might  be  free  from  the  teazing  impertinence 
of  his  associates,  and  pour  out  his  sorrows  without 
restraint.  But  he  made  a  wailing  also  like  the  drag- 
ons, and  a  mourning  like  the  ostriches ;  his  condition 
was  as  destitute,  and  his  lamentations  as  loud  and  in- 
cessant, as  theirs.  Or  he  compares  to  those  birds 
his  unfeeling  friends,  who,  instead  of  pouring  the 
balm  of  consolation  into  his  smarting  wounds,  added 
to  the  poignancy  of  his  giief  by  their  inhuman  con- 
duct. The  ostrich,  even  in  a  domestic  state,  is  a  rude 
and  fierce  animal ;  and  is  said  to  point  her  hostility, 
with  particular  virulence,  against  the  poor  and  desti- 
tute stranger  that  happens  to  come  in  her  way.  Not 
satisfied  with  endeavoring  to  push  him  down  by  run- 
ning furiously  upon  him,  she  will  not  cease  to  j)eck 
at  him  violently  with  her  bill,  and  to  strike  at  him 
with  her  feet,  and  will  sometimes  inflict  a  very  seri- 
ous wound.  The  dispositions  and  behavior  of  Job's 
friends  and  domestics  were  equally  vexatious  and 
afflicting ;  and  how  nmch  reason  he  had  to  com]jlain, 
will  appear  from  the  following  statement:  "They 
that  dwell  in  mine  house,  and  my  maidens,  count  me 
lor  a  stranger  ;  I  am  an  alien  in  their  sight.  I  called 
my  servant,  and  he  gave  me  no  answer ;  my  breath 
is  strange  to  my  wife,  though  I  entreated  for  the 
children's  sake  of  mine  own  body;  yea,  young  chil- 
dren despised  me,  all  my  inward  friends  abhorred 
me.  Upon  my  right  hand  rise  the  youth  ;  they  push 
away  my  feet,  and  they  raise  up  against  me  the  ways 
of  their  destruction.  They  mar  my  path,  they  set 
forward  my  calamity,  they  have  no  helper.  They 
come  upon  me  as  a  Vv  ide  breaking  in  of  waters,  in  the 
desolation  they  roll  themselves  upon  me,"  ch.  xxx. 
12,  14. 

We  now  pass  on  to  the  very  correct  and  poetical 
description  of  the  ostrich  which  is  found  in  the  thir- 
ty-ninth chapter  of  the  book  of  Job.  The  version  of 
the  passage  is  from  the  pen  of  Dr.  Harris,  who  has 
also  furnished  some  of  the  illustrations :  for  the  re- 
maining part  we  ai'e  indebted  to  professor  Paxton 
and  Dr.  Shaw. 

The  wing  of  the  ostrich  tribe  is  for  flapping. 

The  word  which  our  English  Bible  renders  pea- 
cock, is  one  of  the  Hebrew  names  of  the  ostrich.  The 
peacock  was  not  known  in  Syria,  Palestine,  or  Ara- 
bia, before  the  reign  of  Solon)on,  who  first  in)ported 
it.  It  was  originally  from  India.  Besides,  tlie  os- 
trich, not  the  peacock,  is  allowed  on  all  hands  to  be 
the  subject  of  the  following  parts  of  the  description. 
And  while  the  w  hole  character,  says  Mr.  Good,  pre- 
cisely applies  to  the  ostrich,  it  should  be  observed, 
that  all  the  western  Arabs,  from  Wedinoon  to  Sen- 
naar,  still  denominate  it  ennim,  with  a  near  approach 
to  the  Hebrew  name  here  employed.  Neither  is  the 
peacock  remarkable  for  its  wing,  but  for  the  beauties 
of  its  tail:  whereas,  the  triumphantly  expanded,  or  as 
Dr.  Shaw  terms  it,  the  quiverins;  expanded  iving,  is 
one  of  the  characteristics  of  the  ostrich.  "When  I 
was  abroad,"  says  this  entertaining  writer,  "I  had 
several  opportunities  of  amusing  myself  Avith  the 
actions  and  behavior  of  the  ostrich.  It  was  very  di- 
verting to  observe  with  what  dexterity  and  equipoise 
of  bddy  it  would  play  and  frisk  about  on  all  occasions. 
In  the  heat  of  the  day,  particularly,  it  would  strut 
along  the  sunny  side  of  the  house  with  great  majesty. 


OSTRICH 


[  719  ] 


OSTRICH 


It  would  be  perpetually  fanning  and  priding  itself 
with  its  quivering  expanded  wings,  and  seem,  at  every 
turn,  to  admire  and  be  in  love  with  its  own  shadow." 

But  of  the  stork  and  falcon  for  flight. 

The  argument  drawn  from  natural  history  ad- 
vances from  quadrupeds  to  birds  ;  and  of  birds,  those 
only  are  selected  for  description  which  arc  most 
common  to  the  country  in  which  the  scene  lies,  and, 
at  the  same  time,  are  most  singular  in  their  proper- 
ties. Thus,  the  ostrich  is  admirably  contrasted  with 
the  stork  and  the  eagle,  as  aflbrding  an  instance  of  a 
winged  animal  totally  incapalile  of  flying,  but  endued 
with  an  unrivalled  rapidity  of  running,  compared 
with  birds  whose  flight  is  proverbially  swift,  power- 
ful and  persevering.  Let  man,  in  the  pride  of  his 
wisdom,  explain  or  arraign  this  difference  of  con- 
struction !  Again,  the  ostrich  is  peculiarly  opposed 
to  the  stork,  and  to  some  species  of  the  eagle,  in  an- 
other sense,  and  a  sense  adverted  to  in  the  verses 
immediately  ensuing  ;  for  the  ostrich  is  well  known 
to  take  little  care  of  its  eggs  or  its  young  ;  while,  not 
to  dwell  upon  the  species  of  the  eagle  just  glanced 
at,  the  stork  has  ever  been,  and  ever  deserves  to  be, 
held  in  proverbial  repute  for  its  jjarental  fondness. 

It  xxvAY  be  remarked,  that  "  the  eagle  spreading 
abroad  her  wings,  and  taking  her  young  upon  them," 
is  mentioned,  Deut.  xxxii.  11,  as  an  example  of  care 
and  kindness.  So  that  this  passage  maj'  implj^,  that 
the  wings  of  the  ostrich,  however  wonderful  for  their 
plumage,  arc  neither  adapted  for  the  flying  of  the 
possessor,  nor  for  the  shelter  of  her  young ;  and  so 
are  peculiarly  different  from  those  of  all  other  bu-ds, 
and  especially  those  most  remarkable  for  their  flight 
and  other  particulars. 

She  leaveth  her  eggs  on  the  ground, 

And  warmeth  them  in  the  dust ; 

And  is  heedless  that  the  foot  may  crush  them, 

Or  the  beast  of  the  field  trample  upon  them. 

As  for  the  stork,  "  the  lofty  fir-trees  are  her  house  ;" 
but  the  improvident  ostrich  depositeth  her  eggs  in 
the  earth.  She  buildeth  her  nest  on  some  sandy 
hillock,  in  the  most  barren  and  solitary  recesses  of 
the  desert,  exposed  to  the  view  of  every  traveller, 
and  the  foot  of  every  wild  beast. 

Our  translators  appear,  by  their  version,  which  is 
confused,  to  have  been  influenced  by  tlie  vulgar 
error,  that  the  ostrich  did  not  herself  hatch  her  eggs 
by  sitting  on  them,  but  left  them  to  the  heat  of  the 
sun  ;  probably  understanding  av»"i  as  of  a  total  dere- 
liction ;  whereas  the  original  word  ocnn  signifies 
actively  that  she  heatcth  them, — namely,  by  incuba- 
tion. And  Mr.  Good,  who  also  adopts  this  opinion, 
observes,  that  there  is  scarcely  an  Arabian  poet  who 
has  not  availed  himself  of  this  peculiar  character  of 
the  ostrich  in  some  simile  or  other.  Let  the  follo"\v- 
ing  suffice,  from  Nawabig,  quoted  by  Schultens  : 

There  are  who,  deaf  to  nature's  cries. 
On  stranger  tribes  bestow  their  fooxl : 

So  her  own  eggs  the  ostrich  flies. 
And,  senseless,  rears  another's  brood. 

This,  however,  does  not  prove  that  she  wholly 
neglects  incubation,  but  that  she  deserts  her  eggs, 
which  may  be  because  frighted  awaj'.  The  fact  is, 
she  usually  sits  upon  her  eggs  as  other  birds  do  ;  but 
then  she  so  often  wanders,  and  so  far  in  search  of 
food,  that  frequently  the  eggs  are  addle  by  means  of 


her  long  absence  from  them.  To  this  account  wc 
may  add,  when  she  has  left  her  nest,  whether  through 
fear  or  to  seek  food,  if  she  light  upon  the  eggs  of 
some  other  ostrich,  she  sits  upon  them,  and  is  un- 
mindful of  her  own.  Leo  Africanus  says,  they  lay 
about  ten  or  a  dozen  at  a  time  ;  but  Dr.  .Shaw  ob- 
serves,  that  by  the  repeated  accounts  which  he  had 
received  from  his  conductors,  as  well  as  from  Arabs 
of  difl'erent  places,  he  had  been  informed  that  they 
lay  from  thirty  to  fifty.  He  adds,  "  We  are  not  to 
coiisider  this  large  collection  of  eggs  as  if  they  were 
all  intended  for  a  brood.  They  are  the  greatest  part 
of  them  reserved  for  food,  which  the  dam  breaks, 
and  disposeth  of  according  to  the  number  and  crav- 
ings of  her  young  ones." 

Mr.  Barrow  denies  that  the  ostrich  lays  so  many 
eggs  as  is  here  stated  ;  and  remarks,  that,  being  a 
polygamous  bird,  and  several  females  laying  their 
eggs  in  one  nest,  to  the  number  of  ten  or  twelve  each, 
has  occasioned  this  mistake  as  to  the  number  of  eggs 
laid  by  the  female  ostrich. 

She  hardeneth  herself  for  that  which  is  not  hers; 
Her  labor  is  vain,  without  discrimination. 

Our  translation  renders  this  verse,  "  She  is  hard- 
ened against  her  young  ones,  as  though  they  were 
not  hers,"  &c. ;  whence  it  has  been  inferred,  that  she 
is  destitute  of  all  natural  affection  toward  her  young ; 
an  opinion  v.hicli  has  been  zealously  controverted  by 
Buffbn.  Mr.  Vansittart,  in  his  remarks  upon  this 
clause,  argues  that  the  text  is  not  intended  to  indi- 
cate any  want  of  care  for  her  young;  but,  as  the 
eggs  are  set  upon  by  several  female  ostriches  alter- 
nately, the  young  are  the  joint  care  of  the  parent 
birds,  without  disci  imination.  The  same  Hebrew 
word,  he  remarks,  occurs  but  once,  besides  in  this 
place,  throughout  the  Old  Testament,  and  that  is  Isa. 
Ixiii.  17,  where  the  prophet  refers  to  God's  casting 
ofl^  his  people,  and  taking  strangers  in  their  place, 
and  is  exactly  what  is  applicable  to  this  passage  in  Job. 

We  think,  however,  that  this  nice  criticism  upon 
the  text  is  altogether  uncalled  for,  since  the  very  facts 
cited  by  BuflTon,  from  Leo  Africanus  and  Kclbd,  are 
decisive  against  the  French  naturalist's  reasoning, 
and  corroborative  of  the  accuracy  of  the  English 
translators.  The  testimony  of  Dr.  Shaw  is  still  more 
to  the  purpose  : 

"  On  the  least  noise  or  trivial  occasion,"  says  the 
doctor,  "  she  forsakes  her  eggs,  or  her  young  ones ; 
to  which,  perhaps,  she  never  returns  ;  or  if  she  does, 
it  may  be  too  late  either  to  restore  life  to  the  one,  or 
to  preserve  the  lives  of  the  others.  Agreeable  to  this 
account,  the  Arabs  meet  sometimes  with  whole  nests 
of  these  eggs  undisturbed;  some  of  them  are  sweet 
and  good,  others  are  addle  and  corrupted  ;  others, 
again,  have  their  young  ones  of  different  growth,  ac- 
cording to  the  time  it  may  be  presumed,  they  may 
have  been  forsaken  of  the  dam.  They  often  meet 
with  a  few  of  the  little  ones  no  bigger  than  well- 
grown  pullets,  half  starved,  straggling  and  moaning 
about,  like  so  many  distressed  orphans,  for  their  mo- 
ther. In  this  manner  the  ostrich  may  be  said  to  be 
hardened  against  her  young  ones,  as  though  they  icere 
not  hers ;  her  labor,  in  hatching  and  attending  them 
so  far,  beijig  vain,  ivithout  fear,  or  the  least  concern 
of  what  becomes  of  them  afterwards.  This  want  of 
affection  is  also  recorded.  Lam.  iv.  3,  'The  daughter 
of  my  people  is  become  cruel,  like  the  ostriches  in  the 
wilderness  ;'  "  that  is,  by  apparently  deserting  their 
own,  and  receiving  others  in  return.  Hence,  one  of 
the  great  causes  of  lamentation  was,  the  coming  in 


OSTRICH 


[  720 


OZI 


of  strangers  and  enemies  intoZion,  and  possessing  it. 
Thus,  in  the  twelftli  verse  of  this  chapter,  it  is  said, 
"The  kings  of  the  earth,  and  all  the  inhal)itants  of 
the  world,  would  not  have  believed  that  the  adver- 
sary aiid  the  enemy  should  have  entered  into  the 
gates  of  Jerusalem  ;"  and  in  ch.  v.  2,  "  Our  inherit- 
ance is  tiu'ned  to  strangers,  our  houses  to  aliens." 

With  reference  to  the  phrase,  "  her  labor  is  vain," 
Mr.  Vansittart  remarks,  while  eggs  are  laid,  and 
young  ostriches  produced,  it  can  never  be  correct ; 
and  if  the  mother  did  even  drive  her  young  ones 
from  her,  still  it  could  not  be  said  that  her  labors  had 
not  been  successful;  because,  while  there  was  a 
young  brood  remaining,  it  would  be  evident  that  she 
had  been  prosperous.  Labor  in  vain,  he  further  re- 
marks, must  either  be  that  which  is  not  productive, 
or  else  what  profits  not  the  person  who  labors,  or 
otherwise,  what  profits  another  who  does  not  labor. 
This,  he  conceives,  is  the  case  with  the  ostrich  in  the 
interpretation  here  suggested  ;  and  is,  moreover,  the 
true  signification  of  the  Hebrew  phrase.  The  same 
phrase  occm-s.  Lev.  xxvi.  16,  "Ye  sow  your  seed  in 
vain,  for  another  shall  reaj)  it,"  not  yourselves.  Like- 
wise, Isa.  Ixv.  21 — 23,  "They  shall  build  houses  and 
inhabit  them  ;  and  they  shall  plant  vineyards,  and 
eat  the  fruit  of  them.  They  shall  not  build,  and  an- 
other inhabit;  they  shall  not  plant  and  another  eat ; 
they  shall  not  labor  in  vain  ;"  that  is,  profitless  for 
themselves,  and  for  the  good  of  others.  And  again, 
ch.  xlix.  4,  "  Then  I  said,  I  have  labored  iri  vain  ;  I 
have  spent  my  strength  for  nought  and  in  vain ;"  that 
is,  when  he  had  departed  from'the  worship  of  Jeho- 
vah, and  had  been  given  up  to  the  service  of  the 
gods  of  the  nation,  and  conspquently  to  their  advan- 
tage, and  not  his  own.  It  is  in  this  sense  that  Jlr. 
Vansittart  proposes  to  understand  the  Hebrew  woi-d. 
whichis  not  a  forced  signification,  and  is  moreover  the 
exact  peculiarity  and  property  of  the  ostrich  intended 
to  be  marked. 

Because  God  hath  made  her  feeble  of  instinct. 
And  not  imparted  to  her  understanding. 

Natural  affection  and  sagacious  instinct  are  the 
grand  instruujents  by  which  Providence  continueth 
the  race  of  other  animals ;  but  no  limits  can  be  set  to 
the  wisdom  and  power  of  God.  He  prescrveth  the 
jjreed  of  the  ostrich  without  those  means,  and  even 
in  a  penury  of  all  the  necessaries  of  life. 

In  her  private  capacity,  she  is  not  less  inconside- 
rate and  foolish,  particularly  in  the  choice  of  food, 
which  is  often  highly  detrimental  and  pernicious  to 
her ;  for  she  swallows  every  thing  greedily  and  in- 
discriminately, whether  it  be  pieces  of  rags,  leather, 
w^ood,  stone  or  iron.  They  are  particularly  fond  of 
their  own  ordure,  which  they  greedily  cat  up  as  soon 
as  it  is  voided  ;  no  less  fond  are  they  of  the  dung  of 
hens  and  other  ])oultry.  It  seems  as  if  their  ojnic,  as 
well  as  their  olfactory  nerves,  were  less  adetiuate  and 
conducive  to  their  safety  and  preservation,  than  in 
other  creatures.  The  divine  Providence  in  this,  no 
less  than  in  other  respects,  "  having  deprived  them  of 
wisdom,  neither  hath  it  imparted  to  them  understand- 
mg."  This  part  of  her  character  is  fidly  admitted 
by  BuiTon,  who  describes  it  in  nearly  the  same  terms. 

Yet  at  the  time  she  haughtily  assumes  coura"-e ; 
She  scorneth  the  horse  and  his  rider. 

Dr.  Durell  justifies  this  translation,  observing,  that 
the  ostrich  cannot  soar  as  other  birds  ;  and  therefore 
the  words  in  our  version,  "  when  she  liftelh  up  her- 
self," cannot  be  right ;  besides,  the  verl)  n-i^  occurs 


only  in  this  place  ;  and  in  Arabic  it  signifies  to  lake 
courage,  and  the  like. 

Notwithstanding  the  stupidity  of  this  animal,  says 
Dr.  Shaw,  its  Creator  hath  amply  provided  for  its 
safety,  by  endowing  it  with  extraordinary  swiftness, 
and  a  surprising  apparatus  for  escaping  from  its 
enemy.  They,  "  when  they  raise  themselves  up  for 
flight,  laugh  at  the  horse  arid  his  rider."  They  aft<)rd 
him  an  opportunity  only  of  admiring  at  a  distance  the 
extraordinary  agility,  and  the  stateliness,  likewise,  of 
their  motions,  the  richness  of  their  plumage,  and  the 
great  propriety  there  was  in  ascribing  totheniflnea;- 
pandcd  quivering  tving.  Nothing,  certainly,  can  be 
more  entertaining  than  such  a  sight ;  the  wings,  by 
their  rapid  but  unwearied  vibrations,  equally  serving 
them  for  sails  and  oars  ;  while  their  feet,  no  less  as- 
sisting in  conveying  them  out  of  sight,  are  no  less  in- 
sensible of  fatigue. 

The  surprising  swiftness  of  the  ostrich  is  expressly 
mentioned  by  Xenophon,  in  liis  Anabasis  ;  for,  speak- 
ing of  the  desert  of  Arabia,  he  states  that  the  ostrich 
is  frequently  seen  there  ;  that  none  could  take  them, 
the  horsemen  who  pursue  tliem  soon  giving  it  over  ; 
for  they  escaped  far  awaj',  making  use  both  of  their 
feet  to  run,  and  of  their  wings,  when  expanded,  as  a 
sail  to  waft  them  along."  This  representation  is  con- 
firmed by  the  wj-iter  of  a  voyage  to  Senegal,  who 
says,  "  She  sets  off"  at  a  hard  gallop  ;  but,  after  being 
excited  a  little,  she  expands  her  wings  as  if  to  catch 
the  wind,  and  abandons  herself  to  a  speed  so  great, 
that  she  seems  not  to  touch  the  ground."  "  I  am  per- 
suaded," continues  that  writer,  "she  would  leave  far 
behind  the  swiftest  English  courser."  Buflx)n,  also, 
admits  that  the  ostrich  runs  faster  than  the  horse. 
These  unexceptionable  testimonies  completely  vindi- 
cate the  assertion  of  the  inspired  writer. 

OTHNIEL,  son  of  Kenaz  of  Judah,  Josh.  xv.  17. 
Scripture  says,  Othniel  was  brother  to  Caleb,  (Judg. 
i.  1-3.)  meaning,  probably,  near  relations,  as  cousins  ; 
for  it  is  not  likely  they  were  literally  brothers, 
since  Othniel  married  the  daughter  of  Caleb.     See 

ACHSAH. 

After  the  death  of  Joshua,  the  Israelites  not  exter- 
minating the  Canaanites,  and  not  continuing  in  their 
fidelity  to  the  Lord,  he  delivered  them  to  Chushan- 
Rishathaini,  king  of  Mesopotamia,  to  whom  they 
continued  in  subjection  eight  years,  Judg.  iii.  Then 
they  cried  to  the  Lord,  who  raised  them  up  for  a  de- 
liverer Othniel,  who,  being  filled  with  the  Spirit  of 
God,  judged  Israel ;  and  the  country  had  rest  forty 
years.  That  is  to  say,  it  was  in  peace  the  fortieth 
year  after  the  peace  that  Joshua  had  jjrocured  for  it, 
A.  r>I.  2960,  ten  years  before  his  death.  The  year 
of  Othniel's  death  is  unknown. 

OVEN,  sec  Bread,  p.  208. 

OWL,  an  unclean  bird,  Lev.  xi.  17.  When  Isaiah 
speaks  of  Babylon  as  reduced  to  a  wilderness,  he  says 
that  the  owls  shall  answi'r  one  another  there,  (chap, 
xiii.  22.)  and  the  psalmist  says,  that  in  his  aflliction, 
he  was  as  the  owl  sitting  alone  on  the  house-top,  Ps. 
cii.  7.  Interpreters,  however,  are  not  agreed  on  the 
signification  of  the  Hebrew  words  translated  ow^l,  as 
may  be  seen  under  the  article  Ostrich.  The  owl 
was  consecrated  to  Minerva,  and  on  this  account  was 
honored  by  the  Athenians,  Avho  represented  it  on 
their  medals. 

OX,  see  Bull. 

OZEM,  sixth  son  of  Jesse,  and  brother  of  David, 
1  Chron.  ii.  15. 

OZIAS,  son  of  Micha,  of  Simeon,  chief  of  Bethu- 
lia,  when  it  was  besieged  by  Holofernes.   See  Judith. 


[721  ] 


PAL 

PADAN  ARAM,  the  plains  of  Aram,  or  Syria.  See 
Mesopotamia,  and  Syria. 

PALESTINE,  taken  in  a  limited  sense,  denotes 
the  country  of  the  Phihstines,  or  Palestines  ;  which 
was  that  part  of  the  Land  of  Promise  extending  along 
the  Mediterranean  sea,  from  Gaza  south  to  Lydda 
nortli.  The  LXX  were  ot  opinion  tliat  the  word 
Philistiim  ^v■hich  they  generally  translate  Allophyli, 
signified  strangers,  or  men  of  another  tribe.  Pales- 
tine, taken  in  a  more  general  sense,  signifies  the  whole 
country  of  Canaan,  as  well  beyond,  as  on  this  side, 
Jordan ;  though  frequently  it  is  restrained  to  the 
country  on  this  side  that  river:  so  that  in  later  times 
the  words  Judea  and  Palestine  were  synonymous. 
We  find  also  the  name  of  Syria- Palestina  given  to  the 
Land  of  Promise,  and  even  sometimes  this  province 
is  comprehended  in  Ccele-Syria,  or  the  Lower  Syria. 
Herodotus  is  the  most  ancient  writer  known  whrf 
speaks  of  Syria-Palestina.  He  places  it  between 
Phoenicia  and  Egypt.     See  Ca>-aa>-. 

PALM,  a  measure  of  a  hand's,  or  four  fingcis' 
breadth,  or  3.C48  inches,  Hebr.  nss,  Tephach ;  LXX, 
naXaiia,  Exod.  XXV.  25.  The  Heb.  Zereth,  pit,  (LXX, 
^,Ti5.iu/',  Exod.  xxviii.  16.)  is  often  translated  palm, 
tliough  it  signifies  a  span  or  lialf-cubit,  and  contains 
three  ordinary  palms  ;  which  ought  to  be  observed, 
that  two  measures  so  unequal  may  not  be  confound- 
ed. Jerome  sometimes  translates  Tephach  by  four 
fingers,  and  sometimes  by  a  palm  ;  but  he  always 
renders  Zereth  by  palmus ;  and  the  Septuagint  by 
Spithame.  Goliath  was  in  height  six  cubits  and  a 
Zereth  ;  that  is,  six  cubits  and  a  half,  making  eleven 
feet  ten  inches  and  something  more.  We  find  in 
Isa.  xl.  12,  an  expression  that  proves  the  Zereth,  or 
palm,  to  signify  the  extent  of  the  hand  from  the  end 
of  the  thumb  to  the  end  of  the  little  finger.  "Who 
hath  measured  the  waters  in  the  hollow  of  his  hand, 
and  meted  out  heaven  with  a  span?"  a  Zereth. 

PA[.MER-WORM.  Bochart  is  of  opinion  that 
the  Hebrew  au,  gdzdm,  is  a  kind  of  locust,  furnished 
witli  very  sharp  teeth,  with  which  it  gnaws  off  grass, 
corn,  leaves  of  trees,  and  even  their  bark.  The  Jews 
sup[)ort  this  idea,  by  deriving  the  word  from  gdzaz, 
to  cut,  to  shear,  to  mince ;  and  Pisidias  compares  a 
swarm  of  locusts  to  a  sword  with  ten  thousand  edges. 
Such  is  also  the  ojjinion  of  most  commentators.  But 
notwithstanding  this,  the  LXX  read  z^Ikt;;,  and  the 
Vulgate  eruca,  or  caterpillar,  which  rendering  is  sup- 
ported by  Ftdler.  Miciiaelis  also  agrees  witii  this 
notion,  and  thinks  the  sharp  and  cutting  teeth  of  the 
caterpillar,  which,  like  a  sickle,  clear  away  all  before 
them,  might  give  name  to  tiiis  insect.  Caterpillars 
also  begin  their  ravages  before  locusts,  which  seems 
to  coincide  with  the  nature  of  the  creature  here  in- 
tended :  "  That  which  the  palmer-worm  hath  left 
hath  the  locust  eaten  ;  and  that  which  the  locust 
hath  left  hath  the  cankerworm  eaten  ;  and  that  which 
the  cankerworm  hath  left  hath  the  caterpillar  eaten," 
Joel  i.  4. 

PALM-TREE.     This  tree  is  called  i-rn,  tdmdr, 

from  its  straight,  upright  growth,  for  which  it  seems 

more  remarkable  than  any  other  tree  :  it  sometimes 

rises  to  the  height  of  a  hundred  feet. 

The  palm  is  one  of  tlie  most  beautiful  trees  of  the 

91 


PALM-TREE 

vegetable  kingdom.  The  stalks  are  generally  full  of 
rugged  knots,  which  are  the  vestiges  of  the  decayed 
leaves  :  for  the  trunk  is  not  solid  like  other  trees,  but 
its  ^ntre  is  filled  with  pith,  round  which  is  a  tough 
bani^  fi-dl  of  strong  fibres  when  young,  which,  as  the 
tree  grows  old,  hardens  and  becomes  ligneous.  To 
this  bark  the  leaves  are  closely  joined,  which  in  the 
centre  rise  erect,  but  after  they  are  advanced  above 
the  vagina  that  surrounds  them,  they  expand  very 
wide  on  every  side  the  stem,  and,  as  the  older  leaves 
decay,  the  stalk  advances  in  height.  The  leaves, 
when  the  tree  has  grown  to  a  size  for  bearing  fruit, 
are  six  or  eight  feet  long ;  ai'e  very  broad  when 
spread  out,  and  are  used  for  covering  the  tops  of 
houses,  and  similar  purposes. 

The  fruit,  v/hich  is  called  "date,"  grows  below  the 
leaves  in  clusters  ;  and  is  of  a  sweet  and  agreeable 
taste.  The  learned  Kjempfer,  as  a  botanist,  an  anti- 
quary and  a  traveller,  has  exhausted  the  whole  sub- 
ject of  palm-trees.  The  diUgent  natives,  sajs  i\Ir. 
Gibbon,  celebrated,  either  in  verse  or  prose,  the  3G0 
uses  to  which  the  trunk,  the  branches,  the  leaves  and 
the  fruit  were  skilfully  applied.  The  extensive  im- 
portance of  the  date-tree,  says  Dr.  Clarke,  is  one  of 
the  most  curious  subjects  to  which  a  traveller  can 
direct  his  attention.  A  considerable  part  of  the  in- 
habitants of  Egypt,  of  Arabia  and  Persia,  subsist 
almost  entirely  on  its  fruit.  They  boast  also  of  its 
medicinal  virtues.  Their  camels  feed  upon  the  date 
stone.  From  the  leaves  they  make  couches,  baskets, 
bags,  mats  and  brushes ;  from  the  branches,  cages 
for  their  poukry,  and  fences  for  their  gardens  ;  from 
the  fi!)res  orthe  boughs,  thread,  ropes  and  rigging; 
from  the  sap  is  prepared  a  spirituous  liquor  ;  and  the 
body  of  the  tree  furnishes  fuel :  it  is  even  said,  that 
from  one  variety  of  the  palm-tree,  the  "phoenix  far- 
iaifera,"  meal  has  been  extracted,  which  is  found 
among  the  fibres  of  the  trunk,  and  has  been  used  for 
food. 

Several  parts  of  the  Holy  Land,  no  less  than  of 
Idumrea,  tliat  lay  contiguous  to  it,  are  described  by 
the  ancients  to  have  abounded  with  date-trees.  Ju- 
dea, particularly,  is  typified  in  several  coins  of  Ves- 
pasian, by  a  disconsolate  woman  sitting  under  a 
palm-tree.  Upon  the  Greek  coin,  likewise,  of  his 
son  Titus,  struck  upon  a  like  occasion,  we  see  a 
shield  suspended  upon  a  palm-tree,  with  a  victory 
writing  upon  it.  The  same  tree,  upon  a  medal  of 
Domhian,  is  made  an  emblem  of  Neapolis,  formerly 
Sichcm,  or  Naplosa,  as  it  is  now  called  ;  as  it  is  like- 
wise of  Sephoris,  or  Sepphoury,  according  to  the 
present  name,  the  metropolis  of  Galilee,  upon  one  of 
Trajan's.  It  may  be  presumed,  therefore,  that  the 
palm-tree  was  formerly  much  cultivated  in  the  Holy 
Land. 

In  Deut.  xxxiv.  3.  Jericho  is  called  "the  city  of 
palm-trees,  because,  as  Josephus,  Strabo  and  Pliny 
have  remarked,  it  anciently  abounded  with  them: 
and  so  Dr.  Shaw  states  that  there  are  several  of  them 
yet  at  Jericho,  where  there  is  the  convenience  they 
require  of  being  often  watered  ;  where  likewise  the 
climate  is  warm,  and  the  soil  sandj-,  or  such  as  they 
thrive  and  delight  in.  At  Jerusalem,  Sichem,  and 
other  places  to  the  northward,  however.  Dr.  Shaw 


PALM-TREE 


(  72a  ] 


PALM-TREE 


states  that  he  rarely  saw  above  two  or  three  of  them 
together  ;  and  even  these,  as  their  fruit  rarely  or  ever 
comes  to  maturity,  are  of  no  further  service,  than 
(like  the  palm-tree  of  Deborah)  to  shade  the  retreats 
or  sanctuaries  of  their  sheikhs,  as  they  might  for- 
merly have  been  sufficient  to  supply  the  solemn  pro- 
cessions with  branches.  (See  John  xii.  13.)  Fi'om 
the  present  condition  and  quality  of  the  palm-trees 
in  this  part  of  the  Holy  Land,  Dr.  Shaw  concludes  that 
they  never  were  either  numerous  or  fruitful  here,  and 
that,  therefore,  the  opinion  of  Reland  and  otherSg^hat 
Pha?uicia  is  the  same  with  "a  country  of  date-tflfes  " 
does  not  appear  probable ;  for  if  such  a  useful  and 
beneficial  plant  had  ever  been  cultivated  there  to  ad- 
vantage, it  would  have  still  continued  to  be  culti- 
vated, as  in  Egypt  and  Barbary. 

In  the  latter  country,  in  the  maritime,  as  well  as  in 
the  inland  parts,  there  are  several  large  plantations 
of  the  palm-tree  ;  though  such  only  as  grow  in  the 
Sahara  bring  their  fruit  to  perfection.  Dr.  Shaw,  to 
whom  we  are  so  greatly  indebted  for  our  acquaint- 
ance with  the  natural  history  of  the  East,  informs  us 
that  they  are  propagated  chiefly  from  the  roots  of 
full  grown  trees,which,  if  well  transplanted,  and  taken 
care  of,  will  yield  their  fruit  in  the  sixth  or  seventh 
year ;  whereas  those  which  are  raised  immediately 
from  the  kernels,  will  not  bear  till  about  the  sixteenth 
year.  This  method  of  raising  the  ipoini,  or  palm, 
and  particularly  the  fact  that  when  the  old  trunk 
dies,  there  is  never  wanting  one  or  other  of  these 
offsprings  to  succeed  it,  may  have  given  rise  to  the 
fable  of  the  phcenix  dying,  and  another  arising  from 
its  ashes. 

It  is  a  singular  fact  that  these  trees  are  male  and 
female,  and  that  the  fruit  which  is  produced  by  the 
latter  will  be  dry  and  insipid  without  a  previous 
communication  with  the  former.  In  the  month  of 
March  or  April,  therefore,  when  the  sheaths  that  re- 
spectively enclose  the  young  clusters  of  the  male 
flowers,  and  the  female  fruit,  begin  to  opeife  at  which 
time  the  latter  are  formed,  and  the  former  are  mealy, 
they  take  a  sprig  or  two  of  the  male  cluster,  and  in- 
sert it  into  the  sheath  of  the  female  ;  or  else  they  take 
a  whole  cluster  of  the  male  tree,  and  sprinkle  the 
meal  or  farina  of  it  over  several  clusters  of  the  female. 
The  latter  practice  is  common  in  Egypt,  where  they 
have  a  number  of  males;  but  the  trees  of  Barbary 
are  impregnated  by  the  former  method,  one  male  be- 
ing sufficient  for  four  or  five  hundred  females. 

The  palm-tree  arrives  at  its  greatest  vigor  about 
thirty  years  after  transplantation,  and  continues  so 
seventy  years  afterwards,  bearing  yearly  fifteen  or 
twenty  clusters  of  dates,  each  of  them  weighing  fif- 
teen or  twenty  pounds.  After  this  period,  it  begins 
gradually  to  decline,  and  usually  falls  about  the  latter 
end  of  its  second  century.  "  To  be  exalted,"  or  "  to 
flourish  like  the  palm-tree,"  are  as  just  and  proper  ex- 
pressions, suitable  to  the  nature  of  this  plant,  as  "to 
spread  about  like  a  cedar,"  Ps.  xcii.  11. 

The  root  of  the  palm-tree  produces  a  great  num- 
ber of  suckers,  which,  spreading  upward,  form  a 
kind  of  forest.  It  was  under  a  little  wood  of  this 
kind,  as  Calmet  tliinks,  that  the  prophetess  Deborah 
dwelt,  between  Ramah  and  Bethel,  Judg.  iv.  5.  And 
probably  to  this  multiplication  of  the  palm-tree,  as  he 
suggests,  the  prophet  alludes,  when  he  says,  "  The 
righteous  shall  flourish  like  a  palm-tree,"  (Ps.  xcii. 
12 ;  comp.  Ps.  i.  3.)  rather  than  to  its  towering  height, 
as  Dr.  Shaw  supposes. 

The  palm  is  much  fonder  of  water  than  many 
other  trees  of  the  forest,  and  this  will  account  for  its 


flourishing  so  nmch  better  in  some  places  than  others^. 
When  Moses  and  his  people  on  their  way  to  the 
promised  land  arrived  at  Elirn,  they  found  twelve 
wells  of  water  by  the  side  of  seventy  palm-trees, 
Exod.  XV.  27.  And  we  learn  from  sir  Robert  Wil- 
son, (History  of  the  Expedition  to  Egypt,  p.  18.)  that 
when  the  English  army  landed  in  Eg-ypt,  in  1801,  to 
expel  the  French  from  that  country,  sir  Sidney  Smith 
assured  the  troops  that  wherever  date-trees  grew, 
water  must  be  near ;  and  so  they  found  it  on  digging 
usually  within  such  a  distance  that  the  roots  of  the 
tree  could  obtain  moisture  from  the  fluid.  Burck- 
hardt  confirms  this  statement  in  several  places. 
(Travels  in  Syria,  &c.  p.  473,  523,  531,  562,  &c.) 

The  prophet  Jeremiah,  describing,  in  a  fine  strain 
of  irony,  the  idols  of  the  heathens,  says,  "They  are  up- 
right as  the  palm-tree,"  (chap.  ix.  5.)  which  Calmet 
takes  to  be  an  allusion  to  their  shape,  remarking, 
from  Diodorus  Siculus,  that  the  ancients,  before  the 
art  of  carving  was  carried  to  perfection,  made  their 
images  all  of  a  thickness,  straight,  having  their  hands 
hanging  down,  and  close  to  their  sides,  the  legs  join- 
ed together,  the  eyes  shut,  with  a  very  perpendicular 
attitude,  and  not  unlike  the  body  of  a  palm-tree, 
^uch  are  the  figures  of  those  ancient  Egyptian  statues 
that  still  remain.  The  famous  Greek  architect  and 
sculptor  Daedalus  set  their  legs  at  liberty,  opened  their 
eyes,  and  gave  them  a  more  free  and  easy  attitude. 

The  straight  and  lofty  growth  of  the  palm-tree,  its 
longevity  and  great  fecundity,  the  permanency  and 
perpetual  flourishing  of  its  leaves,  and  their  form, 
resembling  the  solar  rays,  makes  it  a  very  proper  em- 
blem of  the  natural,  and  thence  of  the  divine  light. 
Hence  in  the  holy  place  or  sanctuary  of  the  temple, 
(the  emblem  of  Christ's  body,)  palm-trees  were  engrav- 
ed on  the  walls  and  doors  between  the  coupled  cherubs, 
1  Kings  vi.  29,  32,  35 ;  Ezek.  xli.  18,  19,  20,  25,  26. 
Hence,  at  the  Feast  of  Tabernacles  branches  of  palm- 
trees  were  to  be  used,  among  others,  in  making  their 
booths.  (Comp.  Lev.  xxiii.30  ;  Neh.  viii.  15.)  Palm 
branches  were  also  used  as  emblems  of  victory,  both  by 
believers  and  idolaters.  The  reason  given  by  Plutarcli 
and  Aulus  Gellius,  why  they  were  so  among  the  latter, 
is  the  nature  of  the  wood,  which  so  powerfully  re- 
sists incumbent  pressure.  But,  doubtless,  believers, 
by  bearing  palm-branches  after  a  victory,  or  in 
triumph,  meant  to  acknowledge  the  supreme  Author 
of  their  success  and  prosperity,  and  to  carry  on  their 
thoughts  to  the  Divine  Light,  the  great  conqueror 
over  sin  and  death.  (Comp.  1  Mac.  xiii.  51 ;  2  Mac. 
x.  7;  John  xii.  13;  Rev.  vii.  9.)  And  the  idolaters, 
likewise,  probably  used  palms  on  such  occasions,  not 
without  respect  to  Apollo  or  the  sun,  to  whom, 
among  them,  they  were  consecrated.  Hence,  prob- 
ably, we  have  the  name  of  a  place,  "  Baal-Tamar," 
(Judg.  XX.  33.)  Tamar  being,  as  we  have  said,  the 
name  of  the  palm-tree  ;  it  being  so  called  in  honor  of 
Baal  or  the  sun,  whose  image,  it  may  be,  was  there 
accompanied  by  this  tree.  Herodotus  states  that 
there  were  many  palm-trees  at  Apollo's  temple,  at 
Brutus,  in  Egypt;  and  that  at  Sais,  in  the  temple  of 
Minerva,  or  Athena,  (a  name  for  die  solar  light,)  there 
were  artificial  colunms  in  imitation  of  palm-trees. 

In  Cant.  vii.  7,  the  statue  of  the  bride  is  compared 
to  a  palm-tree,  which  conveys  a  pleasing  idea  of  her 
gracefulness  and  beauty.  So  Theocritus  compares 
Helen  to  a  cypress-tree  in  a  garden  ;  but  Ulysses 
makes  almost  the  very  same  comparison  as  that  of 
Solomon,  by  likening  the  princess  Nausicaa  to  a 
young  palm-tree  growing  by  Apollo's  altar  in  Delos. 

It  is  probable  that  Tamar,  (Ezek.  xlvii.  19,  &c.)  or 


PAR 


[  723  ] 


PAR 


Tadniov,  (1  Kings  ix.  18.)  built  in  the  desert  by  Sol- 
omon, and  afterwards  called  Palniyni  l)y  the  Greeks, 
obtained  its  name  from  the  number  of  palm-trees 
which  grew  about  it. 

As  the  Greek  name  for  this  tree  signifies  also  the 
fabulous  bird,  called  the  phcEnix,  some  of  the  fathers 
have  supposed  that  the  psalmist  (xcii.  12.)  alludes  to 
the  latter,  and  on  his  authority  have  made  the  phoe- 
nix an  emblem  of  a  resurrection.  TertuUian  calls  it 
a  full  and  striking  emblem  of  this  hope.  But  the 
tree,  also,  seems  to  have  been  considered  as  emblem- 
atical of  the  revivification  of  the  human  body,  from 
its  being  found  in  some  burial  places  in  the  East. 
In  our  colder  climate,  we  have  substituted  the  yew- 
tree  in  its  place. 

PALSY,  a  disorder  which  deprives  the  limbs  of 
motion,  and  makes  them  useless  to  the  patient.  Our 
Saviour  cured  several  paralytics  by  his  word  alone. 
(See  Matt.  iv.  24  ;  viii.  G ;  ix.  2 ;  Mark  ii.  3,  4  ;  Luke 
V.  18.)  The  sick  man  who  was  lying  near  the  pool 
at  the  sheep-market,  for  thirty-eight  years,  was  a  par- 
alytic, John  v.  5. 

PAMPHYLIA,  a  province  of  Asia  Minor,  having 
Cilicia  east,  Lycia  west,  Pisidia  north,  and  the  Med- 
iterranean south.  It  is  opposite  to  Cyprus,  and  the 
sea  between  the  coast  and  the  island  is  called  the  sea 
of  Pamphylia.  The  chief  city  of  Pamphylia  was 
Perga,  where  Paul  and  Barnabas  preached,  Acts  xiii. 
13 ;  xiv.  24. 

PAPER,  PAPYRUS,  see  Book,  p.  200,  201. 

PAPHOS,  a  famous  city  of  the  isle  of  Cyprus, 
where  Paul  converted  the  proconsul  Sergius  Paulus, 
and  struck  with  blindness  a  Jewish  sorcerer,  called 
Bar-jesus,  who  would  have  hindered  his  couvereion. 
Paphos  was  at  the  western  extremity  of  the  island. 
Acts  xiii.  6,  A.  D.  44. 

PARABLE,  naoa^o::,:,  (Heb.  Q>'-rc,  Meshdlim,) 
from  the  verb  nnQu^'iu/J.iir,  which  signifies  to  compare 
things  together,  to  form  a  parallel  or  similitude  of 
them  with  other  things.  What  we  call  the  Proverbs 
of  Solomqji,  which  are  moral  maxims  and  sentences, 
the  Greeks  call  the  Parables  of  Solomon.  And  when 
Jerome  would  express  the  poetic  and  sententious 
style  of  Balaam,  (Numb,  xxiii.  7,  18,  &c.)  he  says,  he 
began  to  speak  in  a  parable.  In  like  manner,  when 
Job  answers  his  friends,  it  is  said,  he  began  to  take 
up  his  parable.  Job  xxvii.  1 ;  xxix.  1.  The  parabol- 
ical, enigmatical,  figurative  and  sententious  way  of 
speaking,  was  the  language  of  the  eastern  sages  and 
learned  men ;  and  nothing  was  more  insupportable 
than  to  hear  a  fool  utter  parables,  Prov.  xxvi.  7. 

The  prophets  employed  parables,  the  more  strong- 
ly to  impress  prince  and  people  with  their  threaten- 
ings  or  their  ])romises.  Nathan  reproved  David 
under  the  parable  of  a  rich  man  who  had  taken  away 
and  killed  the  lamb  of  a  ])oor  man,  2  Sam.  xii.  2,  3, 
&c.  The  woman  of  Tekoah,  who  was  hired  by 
Joab  to  reconcile  the  mind  of  David  to  Absalom, 
proposed  to  liim  the  parable  of  her  two  son&  who 
fought  together,  and  one  having  killed  the  other,  they 
were  going  to  put  the  murderer  to  death,  and  so  to 
deprive  her  of  both  her  sons,  2  Sam.  xv.  2,  3,  &c. 
Jotham,  son  of  Gideon,  addressed  to  the  Shcchemites 
the  parable  of  the  brai7ible  of  Liljanus,  whom  the 
trees  chose  for  king,  Judg.  ix.  7,  8,  &c.  Our  Saviour 
most  frequently  addressed  the  people  in  ]iarables ; 
thereby  verifying  the  prophecy  of  Isaiah,  (vi.  9.)  that 
the  people  should  see  without  knowing,  and  hear 
without  understanding,  in  the  midst  of  instruc- 
tions. Jerome  observes,  that  this  manner  of  instruct- 
ing and  sjjeaking  by  similitudes  and  parables,  was 


common  in  Syria,  and  especially  in  Palestine.  It  is 
certain  that  the  ancient  sages  employed  this  style 
almost  to  aflfectation. 

Some  parables  in  the  New  Testament  may  perhaps 
be  supposed  to  be  true  histories;  as  that  of  Lazarus 
and  the  wicked  rich  man  ;  that  of  the  good  Samari- 
tan ;  and  that  of  the  Prodigal  Son.  In  others,  our 
Saviour  seems  to  allude  to  souie  points  of  history  in 
those  times ;  as  that  describing  a  king  who  went  into 
a  far  countr}',  to  receive  a  kingdom;  which  may  hint 
at  the  history  of  Archelaus,  who,  after  the  death  of 
hisTather  Herod  the  Great,  went  to  Rome,  to  receive 
from  Augustus  the  confirmation  of  his  father's  will, 
by  which  he  had  bequeathed  the  kingdom  of  Judea 
to  hini. 

The  word  parable  is  sometimes  used  in  Scripture 
in  a  sense  of  reproach  and  contempt.  God  threatens 
his  people  to  scatter  them  among  the  nations,  and  to 
make  them  a  parable  (English  translation,  ?l  proverb) 
to  the  people,  2  Chron.  vii.  20.  So  that  when  any 
one  would  express  a  nation  hated  of  God,  and  which 
has  suflTered  his  fierce  anger,  he  shall  say.  May  you 
become  like  Israel !    , 

PARACLETUS,  a  title  given  to  the  Holy  Spirit 
by  our  Saviour,  John  xiv.  16.     See  Comforter. 

PARADISE.  This  word  signifies  a  garden  or 
forest  of  trees,  a  park,  in  which  sense  it  is  used,  Neh. 
ii.  8  ;  Eccles.  ii.  5  ;  Cant.  iv.  13. 

The  Septuagint  use  the  word  Paradisus,  (Gen.  ii. 
8.)  when  they  speak  of  the  garden  of  Eden,  in  which 
the  Lord  placed  Adam  and  Eve.  This  famous  gar- 
den is  indeed  commonly  known  by  the  name  of  "the 
terrestrial  paradise,"  and  there  is  hardly  any  part  of 
the  world  in  which  it  has  not  been  sought.  See  Edex. 

In  the  New  Testament,  paradise  is  put  for  a  place 
of  delight,  where  the  souls  of  the  blessed  enjoy  hap- 
])iness.  Thus  our  Saviour  tells  the  penitent  thief  oti 
the  cross,  (Luke  xxiii.  43.)  "  To-day  shalt  thou  be  with 
me  in  paradise;"  i.e.  in  the  state  of  the  blessed. 
Paul,  speaking  of  himself  in  the  third  person,  says, 
(2  Cor.  xii.  4.)  "  I  knew  a  man  that  was  caught  up 
into  paradise,  and  heard  unspeakable  words,  which 
it  is  not  lawful  for  a  man  to  utter."  And  again  our 
Lord  says,  (Rev.  ii.  7.)  "To  him  that  overcometh 
will  I  give  to  eat  of  the  tree  of  life,  which  is  in  the 
midst  of  the  paradise  of  God."  The  Jews  commonly 
call  paradise  "the  garden  of  Eden ;"  and  they  ima- 
gine that  at  the  coming  of  the  Messiah  they  shall  here 
enjoy  an  earthly  felicity,  in  the  midst  of  delights ; 
and  that,  till  the  resurrection,  and  the  coming  of  the 
INIessiah,  their  souls  shall  continue  here  in  a  state 
of  rest. 

PARALLELISM,  see  Poetry. 

PARAN,  El-parak,  or  Pharan,  a  desert  of  Ara- 
bia Peti-aea,  south  of  the  Land  of  Promise,  and  north- 
west of  the  gulf  Elanitis.  (See  the  situation  of  this 
desert  fully  discussed  under  Exodus,  ]).  418.)  Che- 
dorlaomer  and  his  allies  ravaged  the  country,  to  the 
plains  of  Paran,  (Gen,  xiv.  G.)  and  Hagar,  being  sent 
from  Abraham,  retired  into  the  wilderness  of  Paran, 
where  she  lived  with  her  son  Ishmael,  Gen  xxi.  21. 
The  Israelites,  having  decamped  from  Sinai,  came 
into  this  desert,  (Numb.  x.  12.)  and  thence  Moses  sent 
out  spies  to  inspect  the  Land  of  Promise,  ch.  xiii.  3. 
When  David  was  persecuted  by  Saul,  he  withdrew 
hito  the  wilderness  of  Paran,  near  Maon,  and  south 
of  Carmel,  1  Sam.  xxv.  1,  2.  The  greater  part  of 
the  habitations  of  this  countrv,  it  is  said,  were  dug  in 
the  rocks;  and  liere  Simon  of  Gerasa  gathered 
together  all  that  he  took  from  his  enemies. 

Paran  was  also  the  name  of  a  city  of  Arabia  Pe- 


PAR 


[  724  1 


PAR 


trsea,  three  days'  journey  from  Elah,  or  Ailat,  east, 
Dent.  i.  1 ;  1  Kings  xi.  18.     But  see  Exodus,  p.  418. 

PARCHMENT,  see  Book,  p.  201. 

PARDON,  entire  remission  of  punishment  due  to 
guilt.  God  extends  mercy  as  his  darling  attribute, 
and  mercy  delighteth  in  pardoning.  God  is  said  to 
multiply  pardons,  to  be  ready  to  pardon,  to  pardon 
for  his  name's  sake,  &c.  Various  similes  are  used 
to  denote  the  nature  of  pardon  ;  as,  to  take  away  in- 
iquity, to  cover  sin,  to  blot  out  sin,  to  cast  sins  behind 
the  back,  not  to  remember  them,  &c.  Man  is  Uable 
to  recollect  transgressions,  after  having  parddhed 
them,  but  God  pardons  effectively  and  completely. 
The  gospel  furnishes  the  noblest  motive  to  us  to 
pardon  others  ;  "  even  as  God  for  Christ's  sake  hath 
pardoned  us." 

PARENT,  a  name  properly  given  to  a  father  or  a 
mother,  but  extended  also  to  relations  by  blood,  espe- 
cially m  a  tlirect  line,  upAvard.  Scripture  commands 
children  to  honor  their  parents,  (Exod.  xx.  12.)  i.  e. 
to  obey  them,  to  succor  them,  to  respect  them,  to  give 
them  all  assistance  that  nature,  and  then*  and  our  cir- 
cumstances, require.  Christ  (Matt.  xv.  5,  6.)  con- 
demns that  corrupt  explication  which  the  doctors  of 
the  law  gave  of  this  precept ;  by  teaching  that  a  child 
was  disengaged  from  the  obligation  of  supporting  and 
assisting  his  parents,  when  he  said,  "  It  is  a  gift  by 
w^hatsoever  thou  mightcst  be  profited  by  me  ;  q.  d.  I 
am  no  longer  master  of  my  own  estate ;  it  is  cousscrat- 
ed  to  the  Lord."     gee  Corean. 

Marriages  among  parents  and  relations  were  for- 
bidden v;itliiu  certain  degrees.  Lev.  xviii. 

PARLOR,  that  room  m  a  house  where  the  master 
or  his  f-vmi'y  customarily  speak  Vv'ith  visitors ;  but 
whether  the  word  rendered  parlor  has  always  this 
import  in  the  Hebrew,  may  be  doubtful.  (Compare 
Judg.  iii.  20 ;  1  Sam.  L\.  22!) 

PARMASHTA,  the  seventh  son  of  Haman ;  slain 
by  the  Jews,  with  his  fatlier,  Esth.  ix.  9. 

PAR^iENAS,  one  of  the  first  seven  deacons,  Acts 
vi.  5,  6. 

PARSHANDATHA,  the  eldest  son  of  Haman,  put 
to  death  with  his  fathei-,  Esth.  ix.  7. 

PART,  PORTION.  "  The  Lord  is  the  portion  of 
mine  inheritance,"  Ps.  xvi.  5.  "  Thou  art  my  refuge, 
and  my  portion  in  the  land  of  the  living,"  Ps.  cxlii.  5. 
And  Israel  is  the  part,  or  portion  of  the  Lord,  his  pe- 
culiar people:  "The  Lord's  portion  is  his  people, 
Jacol)  is  the  lot  of  his  inheritance,"  Deut.  xxxii.  9. 
But  with  this  ciilTereuce ;  God  makes  and  constitutes 
the  happiness  of  his  people,  but  his  people  cannot 
augment  God's  happiness  or  glory.  Part  or  portion 
also  signifies  recompense  or  correction.  "  This  is  the 
portion  of  a  Avicked  man  from  God,  and  the  heriiage 
appointed  unto  him  by  Gocl,"  Job  xx.  29.  ''They 
shall  I^e  a  portion  for  foxes,"  Ps.  Ixiii.  10.  "  Upon 
the  Avicked  he  shall  rain  snares,  fire,  and  brimstone, 
and  an  horrible  tempest ;  this  shall  be  the  portion  of 
their  cup,"  Ps.  xi.  6.  This  is  their  part  or  portion, 
and  the  just  punishment  of  their  iniquity.  The  Lord 
shall  "appoint  him  his  portion  Avith  the  hypocrites," 
Malt.  xxiv.  51. 

PARTHIA  is  thought  to  have  been  originally  a 
province  of  ]\Iedia,  on  its  eastern  side,  Avhich  was 
raised  into  .a  distinct  kingdom  by  Arsaccs,  ante  A.  D. 
250.  It  soon  extended  itself  over  a  great  part  of  the 
ancient  Persian  empu-e,  and  is  frequently  put  for  that 
empire  in  Scripture,  and  other  ancient  Avritings.  Par- 
thia  maintained  itself  against  all  aggressors  for  nearly 
500  years,  but  in  A.  D.  226,  one  of  the  descendants 
of  the  ancient  Persian  kings  united  it  to  the  ancient 


empire,  and  Persia  resumed  its  ancient  name  and 
dynasty. 

The  Parthians  Avere  celebrated,  especially  by  the 
poets,  for  their  mode  of  fighting,  Avhich  consisted  in 
discharging  theii-  arroAvs  while  they  fled.  They 
Avould  seem  to  have  borne  no  A'ery  distant  resem- 
blance to  the  modem  Cossacks.  It  is  said  the  Par- 
thians were  either  refugees  or  exiles  from  the  Scythian 
nations.  Jews  fi-om  among  them  Avere  present  at 
Jerusalem  at  the  Pentecost,  Acts  ii.  9. 

PARTRIDGE.  The  HebrcAV  name  of  this  bird  is 
Nip,  kore,  the  caller.  Forskal  mentions  a  partridge 
Avhose  name,  in  Arabic,  is  hurr ;  and  Latham  says, 
tliat  in  the  province  of  Andalusia,  in  Spain,  its  name 
is  churr,  both  taken,  no  doubt,  from  the  Hebrew. 
The  German  hunters  also  say  of  the  partridge,  "  It 
calls."  As  this  bird  is  so  Avell  knoAA^l  in  every  part 
of  the  Avorld,  a  particular  description  is  unnecessary. 
There  are  only  tAvo  passages  of  Scripture  in  which 
the  partridge  is  mentioned  ;  but  these  Avill  repay  our 
attentive  examination.  The  first  occurs  in  the  his- 
tory of  DaAad,  Avhere  he  expostulates  Avith  Saul  con- 
cerning his  unjust  and  foolish  pureuit :  "  The  king  of 
Israel  is  come  out  to  seek  a  flea,  as  Avhen  one  doth 
hunt  a  partridge  on  the  momitains,"  1  Sam.  xxvi.  20. 
The  learned  Bochart  objects  to  the  partridge  in  this 
place,  and  contends  that  the  kore  is  more  likely  to 
be  the  Avoodcock,  since  the  partridge  is  not  a 
mountain  bird.  This,  hoAvever,  is  a  mistake ;  there 
is  a  species  of  the  partridge  AAhich  exactly  an- 
SAA^ers  to  the  description  of  David ;  and  those  of  Ba- 
rakonda,  in  particular,  are  said  to  choose  the  highest 
rocks  and  precipices  for  their  residence. 

"  The  Arabs  have  another  though  a  more  laborious 
method  of  catching  these  birds ;  for,  obserA'ing  that 
they  become  languid  and  fatigued  after  they  haA^e 
hastily  been  put  up  once  or  twice,  they  immediately 
run  in  upon  them,  and  knock  them  down  Avith  their 
zerwattys,  or  bludgeons."  It  Avas  precisely  in  this 
manner  Saul  hunted  David,  coming  hastily  upon  him, 
and  putting  him  up  from  time  to  time,  in  hopes  he 
should  at  length,  by  frequent  repetitions,  destroy  him. 
In  addition  to  this  method  of  taking  the  partridge, 
Dr.  ShaAv  states,  that  the  Arabs  are  Avell  acquainted 
AA^th  that  mode  of  catching  them  Avliich  is  called  tun- 
nelling ;  and  to  make  the  capture  of  them  the  greater, 
they  Avill  sometimes  place  behind  the  net  a  cage,  Avith 
some  tame  ones  Avithin  it,  Avhich,  by  their  perpetual 
chirping  and  calling,  quickly  bring  doAvn  the  coacvs 
that  are  Avithin  hearing,  and  thereby  decoy  gi-eat 
numbers  of  them.  This,  he  remarks,  may  lead  us 
into  the  right  interpretation  of  Ecclus.  xi.  30,  Avhich 
Ave  render  "  like  as  a  partridge  taken  [and  kept]  in  a 
cage,  so  is  the  heart  of  the  proud ;"  but  should  be, 
"  like  a  decoy  partridge  in  a  cage,  so  is,"  &:c. 

The  other  passage  in  Avhich  this  bird  is  mentioned, 
is  Jer.  XA'ii.  11 :  "As  the  partridge  sittcth  on  eggs,  and 
hatcheth  them  not;  so  he  that  getteth  riches,  and  not 
by  right,  shall  leave  them  in  the  midst  of  his  days,  and 
at  his  end  shall  be  a  fool."  It  seems  to  be  clear  hero 
that  this  bird  sitteth  on  eggs  not  its  oicn,  to  correspond 
to  the  getting  of  riches  not  by  right ;  from  these  eggs 
it  is  driven  aAA'ay,  leaving  them  in  the  midst  of  his  days, 
before  the  time  of  hatching  is  expired.  But  Avhy 
should  it  be  said  of  the  partridge,  rather  than  any 
other  bird,  that  it  sitteth  and  hatcheth  not  ?  The  rea- 
son is  plain,  when  it  is  knoAA-n  that  this  bird's  nest, 
being  made  on  the  ground,  the  eggs  are  frequently 
broken,  by  the  foot  of  man  or  other  animals,  and  she 
is  oflen  obliged  to  quit  them,  by  the  presence  of  in- 
truders, AA'hich  chills  the  eggs  and  renders  them  un- 


PAS 


[725] 


PASSOVER 


fruitful.  Rain  and  moisture  also  may  spoil  them. 
Observing  tiiat  Biiftbn  makes  a  separate  species  of 
the  bartavclla,  or  Greek  partridge,  3!r.  Taylor  pro- 
poses that  as  tlie  proper  bird  meant  in  these  passages. 
To  tiie  red  partridge,  and  principally  to  the  bartavella, 
must  be  referred  all  that  the  ancients  have  related  of 
the  partridge.  Aristotle  must  needs  know  the  Greek 
partridge  better  than  any  other,  since  this  is  the  only 
kind  in  Greece,  in  the  isles  of  the  Mediterranean ; 
and,  according  to  all  appearance,  in  that  part  of  Asia 
conquered  by  Alexander.  Belon  informs  lis,  that 
the  bartavclla  keeps  ordinarily  among  the  rocks;  but 
Las  ihe  instinct  to  descend  into  the  plain  to  make  its 
nest,  in  order  that  the  young  may  find  at  the  birth  a 
ready  subsistence.  It  has  another  analogj'  with  the 
common  hen  ;  this  is,  to  sit  upon  (or  hatch)  the  eggs 
of  strangers  for  want  of  its  oivn.  This  remark  is  of  a 
long  standing,  since  it  occurs  in  the  sacred  book. 
No\v  if,  in  the  absence  of  the  proper  owner,  this  bar- 
tavella partridge  sits  on  the  eggs  of  a  stranger,  when 
that  stranger  returns  to  her  nest,  and  drives  away  the 
intruder  before  she  can  hatch  them,  the  partridge 
60  expelled  resembles  a  man  in  low  circumstances, 
Avho  had  possessed  himself,  for  a  time,  of  the  prop- 
erty of  another,  but  is  forced  to  relinquish  his  acqui- 
sition, before  he  can  render  it  profitable ;  which  is 
the  simile  of  the  prophet,  and  agrees,  too,  with  this 
place. 

PARVAIM,  the  name  of  a  region,  (2  Chron.  iii.  6.) 
thought  to  be  the  same  as  Ophir. 

PASDAjNIMIM,  a  place  m  the  tribe  of  Judah,  (1 
Chron.  xi.  13.)  called  Ei)hes-daimnim,  1  Sam.  xvii.  1. 
PASSION.  This  word  has  several  vcrj"  different 
significations.  First,  it  signifies  the  passion  or  suf- 
fering of  Christ:  "  To  whom  also  he  showed  himself 
alive  after  his  passion,"  Acts  i.  3.  Secondly,  it  signi- 
fies shameful  passions,  (Rom.  i.  2G.)  to  which  those 
are  given  up,  whom  God  abandons  to  their  own  de- 
sh'es,  Rom.  vii.  5 ;  1  Thess.  iv.  5. 

PASSOVER,  (Pascha,  hdd,  a  passing  over,)  a  name 
given  to  the  festival  established  in  commemoration  of 
the  comuig  forth  out  of  Egypt,  (Exod.  xii.)  because, 
the  night  before  their  departure,  the  destroymg  angel, 
who  slew  the  first  born  of  the  Egyptians,  passed  over 
the  houses  of  the  Hebrews  without  entering  them, 
they  beuig  marked  with  the  blood  of  the  lamb,  which, 
for  this  reason,  was  called  the  Pasc^hal  lamb. 

The  month  of  the  exodus  from  Egj'pt  (called  Abib 
in  IMoses,  afterwards  called  Nisan)  was  ordained  to 
be  thereafter  the  first  month  of  the  sacred  or  ecclesi- 
astical year ;  and  the  fourteenth  day  of  this  mouth,  be- 
tween the  two  evenmgs,  that  is,  between  the  sun's 
decline  and  its  setting — according  to  our  reckoning, 
between  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  and  six  in  the 
evening,  at  the  equinox — they  were  to  kill  the  ])aschal 
lamb,  and  to  abstain  from  leavened  bread.  The  day 
following,  being  the  fifteenth,  reckoned  from  six 
o'clock  of  the  preceding  evening,  was  the  grand  feast 
of  the  passovcr,  which  continued  seven  days ;  but  only 
the  first  and  the  seventh  day  were  peculiarly  solemn. 
The  slain  lamb  ought  to  be  without  defect,  a  male, 
and  of  that  year.  If  no  lamb  could  be  found,  they 
might  take  a  kid.  They  killed  a  lamb  or  a  kid  in  each 
family ;  and  if  the  number  of  the  family  were  not 
sufficient  to  eat  the  lamb,  they  might  associate  two 
families  together. 

With  the  blood  of  the  lamb  they  sprinkled  the  door- 
posts and  lintel  of  every  house,  that  the  destroying 
angel,  beholding  tlie  blood,  might  pass  over  them. 
They  were  to  eat  the  lamb,  the  same  night,  roasted, 
with  unleavened  bread,  and  a  salad  of  wild  lettuces. 


or  bitter  herbs.  It  was  forbidden  to  eat  any  part  of  it 
ra^v  or  boiled  ;  nor  were  they  to  break  a  bone  ;  but  it 
\\as  to  be  eaten  entire,  even  with  the  head,  the  feet, 
and  the  bowels.  If  any  thing  remained  to  the  day 
following,  it  was  thrown  into  the  fire,  Exod.  xii.  46 ; 
Num.  ix.  12 ;  John  xix.  3().  They  who  ate  it  were 
to  be  in  the  posture  of  travellers,  having  their  loins 
girt,  shoes  on  then-  feet,  staves  in  their  hands,  and 
eating  in  a  hurry.  This  last  part  of  the  ceremony  was 
!jut  little  obseiTed  ;  at  least  it  was  of  no  obligation  after 
the  niglit  m  which  they  came  out  of  Egj'pt.  During 
the  whole  eight  days  of  the  passover,  no  leavened 
bread  was  to  be  used.  They  kept  the  first  and  last 
days  of  the  feast ;  but  it  was  allowed  to  dress  victuals, 
which  was  forbidden  on  the  sabbath  day. 

The  obligation  of  keeping  the  passover  was  very 
strict ;  so  much  so,  indeed,  that  Calmet  tliinks,  who- 
ever should  neglect  it  was  condemned  to  death,  Num. 
ix.  13.  Those  who  had  any  lawful  impediment,  as 
a  journey,  sickness,  or  luicleanness,  voluntary  or  in- 
voluntary, were  to  defer  the  celebration  of  the  pass- 
over  till  the  second  month  of  the  ecclesiastical  year, 
the  fourteenth  day  of  the  month  Jiar  (which  answers 
to  April  and  May.)  We  see  an  example  of  this 
postponed  passover  under  Hezekiah,  2  Chi'on.-xxx. 
2,  &c. 

We  may  add,  that  the  oriental  Christians,  and  es- 
pecially the  Syrians,  insist  that  on  the  year  that  Christ 
died,  the  feast  was  celebrated  on  the  thirteenth  of 
Adar,  being  Saturday,  that  it  began  at  the  conclusion 
of  the  Friday  before,  and  that  our  Saviour  anticipated 
it  by  a  day,  celebrating  it  on  the  Friday,  (beginning 
from  the  evening  of  the  Thursday  before,;  because 
he  was  to  suffer  on  the  Friday. 

The  ceremonies  with  which  the  modern  Jews  cel- 
ebrate their  passover  are  described  by  Leo  of  Modena. 
(Part  iii.  cap.  3.)  The  feast  continues  a  week,  but  the 
Jews  out  of  Palestine  extend  it  to  eight  days,  accord- 
ing  to  an  ancient  custom,  by  which  the  Sanhedrim 
sent  two  men  to  observe  the  first  appearance  of  the 
new  moon,  who  immediately  gave  notice  of  it  to  the 
chief  of  the  council.  For  fear  of  error,  they  kept  two 
days  of  the  festival.  One  was  called  dies  latentis  lu- 
ncB  ;  the  other,  dies  apparentis  luncE.  So  that  the  first 
two  days  of  the  passover,  and  the  last  two  also,  are 
sacred,  both  from  labor  and  business.  But  it  is  al- 
lowed to  prepare  victuals,  and  to  remove  from  place  to 
place  whatever  they  have  occasion  for.  For  the  four 
intervening  days  it  is  only  forbidden  to  work  ;  and  they 
are  distinguished  from  working-days  only  by  some 
particulars.  Will  not  these  two  days  reconcile  the 
day  on  which  our  Saviour  kept  the  passover,  ^ynh 
that  of  other  Jews? — It  cannot  be  thought  that  the 
priests  at  the  temple  would  loll  the  lamb  for  any  body 
before  the  proper  time. 

During  the  eight  days  of  the  feast,  the  Jews  eat 
only  unleavened  bread,  and  it  is  not  allowed  them  to 
have  m  their  custody  any  leaven,  or  bread  leavened. 
They  examine  all  the  house  with  a  very  scrupulous 
care,  to  reject  whatever  may  have  any  ferment  in  it. 
See  Leavex. 

AVhile  the  temple  Avas  in  being,  the  Jews  sacrificed 
a  lamb  in  the  tem])le,  between  the  two  evenmgs ;  (that 
is,  after  the  noon  of  the  .30th  of  Nisan,  from  about  two 
o'clock  to  six  in  the  evening;)  private  persons  brought 
them  to  the  temple,  and  there  slew  them ;  they  then 
oflered  the  blood  to  the  priests,  who  poured  it  out  at 
the  foot  of  the  altar.  The  person  himself,  or  a  Levite, 
on  this  occasion,  might  cut  the  throat  of  a  victun,  but 
the  effusion  of  the  blood  at  the  foot  of  the  altar  was 
appropriate  to  the  priest. 


PASSOVER 


[726] 


PAT 


As  to  the  Christian  passover,  the  Lord's  supper,  it 
was  instituted  by  Christ,  wlien,  at  the  last  passover 
supper  he  ate  with  his  apostles,  he  gave  them  a  sign 
of  his  body  to  eat,  and  a  sign  of  his  blood  to  drink, 
under  the  species  of  bread  and  wine  ;  prefiguring 
that  he  should  give  up  his  body  to  the  Jews  and  to 
death.  The  paschal  lamb  which  the  Jews  killed, 
tore  to  pieces,  and  ate,  and  whose  blood  preserved 
them  from  the  destroying  angel,  was  a  type  and  figure 
of  our  Saviour's  death  and  passion,  and  of  his  blood 
shed  for  the  salvation  of  the  world.  Thert;  has  been 
a  cUversity  of  sentiment,  and  of  practice,  about  the 
celebration  of  the  Christian  passover.  From  the  time 
of  Polycarp  the  churches  of  Asia  kept  Easter-day  on 
the  fourteenth  day  of  the  moon  of  March,  whatever 
day  that  might  happen  upon,  in  imitation  of  the 
Jews  ;  whereas  the  Latin  church  kept  it  on  the  Sun- 
day following  the  fourteenth  day  of  the  moon  of 
March.  Polycarp  came  to  Rome  and  confen-ed  with 
Anicetus  on  this  subject;  but  neither  of  them  being 
able  to  convince  the  other,  they  thought  they  ought 
not  to  flisturb  the  peace  of  the  church  about  a  matter 
of  mere  custom.  The  dispute,  however,  gi-ew  warm 
under  the  pontificate  of  Victor,  about  A.  D.  188,  and 
the  Asiatics  continuing  their  practice,  and  Polycrates, 
bishop  of  Ephesus,  w-ith  the  other  bishops  of  Asia, 
having  written  to  the  pope  a  long  letter  in  support  of 
their  opinion,  Victor  sent  letters  through  all  the 
churches,  by  which  he  declared  them  excommuni- 
cated !  The  other  chiu-ches  did  not  approve  of  this 
rigor,  and  notwithstanding  his  sentence,  they  contin- 
ued in  communion  with  those  who  still  kept  Easter 
on  the  fourteenth  day  of  the  moon  of  March.  At  the 
council  of  Nice,  A.  D.  325,  the  greater  part  of  the 
churches  of  Asia  were  found  to  have  insensibly  fallen 
into  the  practice  of  the  Romans.  The  council,  there- 
fore, ordained,  that  all  the  churches  shoidd  celebrate 
Easter-day  on  the  Sunday  following  the  fourteenth 
day  of  the  moon  of  March  ;  and  the  emperor  Con- 
stanline  caused  this  decree  to  be  published  through 
the  Roman  empire.  Those  who  continued  the  old 
practice  were  treated  as  schismatics,  and  had  the  name 
of  (^uarto-decimans,  or  partisans  of  the  14th  day, 
given  tlicm. 

It  lias  been  thought  a  famous  question,  whether 
oiu-  Saviour  kept  the  legal  and  Jewish  passover  the 
last  year  of  his  life.  Some  have  thought  that  the 
supper  he  ate  with  his  disciples  on  the  evening  when 
he  instituted  the  sacrament  of  his  body  and  blood, 
was  an  ordinary  meal,  without  a  paschal  lamb. 
Others,  that  he  anticipated  the  passover,  keeping  it 
on  the  Thursday  evening,  while  the  other  Jews  kept 
it  on  the  Friday.  Others  have  advanced  that  the 
Galileans  kept  "the  passover  on  Thursday,  as  Christ 
did  ;  but  that  the  other  Jews  kept  it  on  Friday.  It 
is,  however,  the  most  general  opinion  of  the  Clu'is- 
tian  churcii,  as  well  Greek  as  Latin,  that  our  Saviour 
kept  the  legal  passover  on  the  Thursday  evening,  as 
well  as  the  rest  of  the  Jews.  The  principal  diffi- 
culty in  tlie  way  of  this  opinion  is  found  in  the  Gos- 
pel of  John,  who  says  that  Jesus  being  at  the  table 
with  his  disciples,  "before  the  feast  of  the  passover, 
when  Jesus  knew  that  his  hour  was  come,"  &c. 
John  xiii.  1,  &c.  And  afterwards,  when  the  Jews 
had  led  Jesus  to  Pilate,  he  observes,  that  "  they 
themselves  went  not  into  the  jndgment-hall,  lest  they 
should  be  defiled,  but  that  tliey  might  eat  the  pass- 
over,"  John  xviii.  28.  And  again,  that  Friday  was 
"the  preparation  of  the  passover,"  and  that  the  Sat- 
lu-day  following  was  the  great  day  of  the  feast,  "  the 
eabbath  day;    for  that  sabbath  day  was  a  Iiigh  day," 


John  xix.  14,^. — Why  so,  if  not  because  it  was  the 
passover  ?  Hence  Calmet,  in  a  very  elaborate  disser- 
tation on  our  Saviour's  last  passover,  has  endeav- 
ored to  show,  that  our  Saviour  did  not  celebrate 
the  passover  the  last  year  of  his  life ;  or,  at  least, 
that  the  Jews  celebrated  it  on  Friday,  the  day  of 
Christ's  dead],  and  that  he  died  on  Calvary  at  the 
same  hour  that  the  Jews  offered  the  paschal  sacri- 
fice in  the  temple ;  so  that  the  substance  and  the 
shadow  coincided.  In  this  opinion  he  is  supported 
by  several  of  the  ancients. 

The  word  pascha,  or  passover,  is  taken,  (1.)  For 
the  passing  over  of  the  destroying  angel.  (2.)  For 
the  paschal  lamb.  (3.)  For  the  meal  at  which  it  was 
eaten.  (4.)  For  the  festival  instituted  in  memory  of 
the  coming  out  of  Egypt,  and  the  passage  of  the  de- 
stroying angel.  (5.)  For  all  the  victims  offered 
during  the  paschal  solemnity.  (6.)  For  the  unleav- 
ened bread  eaten  during  the  eight  days  of  the  pass- 
over.  (7.)  For  all  the  ceremonies  of  this  solemnity. 
PASTOR,  a  shepherd  who  watches,  defends,  feeds, 
heals,  &c.  a  flock,  whether  his  own  property,  or 
committed  to  his  charge.  The  office  of  shepherd  is 
applied  figuratively  to  God  and  to  Christ,  Gen.  xlix. 
21  ;  Ps.  xxiii.  1;  Ixxx.  1 ;  Isa.  xl.  11 ;  Zech.  xiii.  7; 
John  X.  14.  Christ  is  the  shepherd,  inspector,  or 
overseer  and  guardian  of  souls,  1  Pet.  ii.  25.  Min- 
isters of  God's  word  are  shepherds,  Jer.  xxiii.  4 ; 
Eph.  iv.  11 ;  1  Pet.  v.  1 — 4 ;  Ezek.  xxxiv.  1,  &c. 
Kings  are  in  Homer  called  "  shepherds  of  men,"  &c. 
and  governors  are  alluded  to  under  this  character, 
Jer.  X.  21  ;  xii.  10.  See  an  instance,  2  Sam.  vii.  8 ; 
"  I  took  thee  (David)  from  following  sheep,  to  be 
ruler — royal  shepherd — over  my  people  Israel,"  &c. 
PATARA,  a  maritime  city  of  Lycia,  where  Paul, 
going  from  Philippi  to  Jerusalem,  found  a  ship 
bomid  for  Phoenicia,  in  which  he  sailed,  Acts  xxi.  1, 
A.  D.  58. 

PATH,  the  general  course  of  any  moving  body. 
So  we  say,  the  path  of  the  sun  in  the  heavens ;  and 
to  this  the  wise  man  compares  the  path  of  the  just, 
which  is,  he  says,  like  day -break  ;  it  increases  in  light 
and  splendor  till  perfect  day.  It  may  be  obscure, 
feeble,  dim,  at  first,  but  afterwards  it  shines  in 
full  brilliancy,  Prov.  iv.  18.  The  course  of  a  man's 
conduct  and  general  behavior  is  called  the  path  in 
which  he  walks,  by  a  very  easy  metaphor :  and  as 
when  a  m^i  walks  from  place  to  place  in  the  dark, 
he  may  be  glad  of  a  light  to  assist  in  directing  his 
steps,  so  the  word  of  God  is  a  light  to  guide  those  in 
their  course  of  piety  and  duty,  who  otherwise  might 
wander,  or  be  at  a  loss  for  direction.  Wicked  men 
and  wicked  women  are  said  to  have  paths  full  of 
snares.  The  dispensations  of  God  are  his  paths, 
Ps.  XXV.  10.  Tlie  jn-ecepts  of  God  are  paths,  P.s. 
xvii.  5;  Ixv.  4.  The  phenomena  of  nature  arc  patlis 
of  God  ;  (Ps.  Ixxvii.  19  ;  Isa.  xliii.  IG.)  and  to  those 
depths  which  are  beyond  human  inspection,  the 
course  of  God  in  his  providence  is  likened.  If  his 
paths  are  obscure  in  natm-e,  so  they  may  be  in  provi 
deuce,  and  in  grace  too.  May  he  show  us,  with  increas- 
ing clearness,  "  the  path  of  life  !"    See  Causeway. 

PATHROS,  (Jer.  xliv.  1, 15 ;  Ezek.  xxix.  14;  xxx, 
14.)  one  of  the  tliree  ancient  divisions  of  Egypt,  viz 
Upper  Egypt,  which  Ezckiel  speaks  of  as  distinct 
from  Egypt  and  die  original  abode  of  the  Egyptians  ; 
as  indeed  Ethiopia  and  Upper  Egypt  really  were 
Ezckiel  threatens  the  Pathrusim  with  entire  ruin. 
The  Jews  retired  thither,  notwithstanding  the  re- 
monstrances of  Jeremiah  ;  and  tlie  Lord  says,  by 
Isaiah,  that  he  will  bring  them  back  fro)n  thence. 


PAU 


[  nr  ] 


PAUL 


PATIENCE,  endurance,  calmness  of  mind,  under 
lisappointment  or  suffering.  The  patriarch  Job  is 
commended,  because,  amid  the  misfortunes  which 
l.lod  i)ermitted  to  afflict  him,  he  did  not  behave  im- 
patiently, James  v.  11.  The  patience  of  God,  (1  Pet, 
iii.  20.)  which  invites  our  conversion,  and  delays  to 
punish  us,  is  the  effect  of  his  mercy,  and  of  his  infi- 
nite power.  The  patience  of  the  poor,  whicii  sliail 
not  be  lost  (Ps.  ix.  18.) — also,  thou  art  my  patience 
and  my  God  (Ps.  Ixxi.  5.) — is  another  thing ;  for 
patience  in  this  place  rather  signifies  hope  and  ex- 
pecliilion.  The  hope  which  the  poor  has  placed  in 
God,  sliall  not  be  in  vain.  Matt,  xviii.  26  ;  Luke  xviii. 
7.  They  bring  forth  fruit  with  patience  ;  (Luke  viii. 
15.)  i.  e.  amid  sufferings,  whicli  exercise  their  pa- 
tience, and  perfect  it;  with  perseverance.  Not 
unlike  this  is  the  expression,  "In  your  patience  pos- 
sess ye  your  souls," — keep  your  minds  quiet ;  and 
your  self-possession  shall  enable  you  to  save  your 
lives  out  of  pressing  dangers. 

PAT3I0S,  an  island  of  the  yEgean  sea,  to  which 
tlie  apostle  and  evangelist  John  was  banished,  A.  D. 
94,  Rev.  i.  9.  In  this  island  he  is  said  to  have  had 
his  revelation,  recorded  in  the  Apocalypse.  (But  see 
under  Apocalypse.)  The  island  is  between  the 
island  of  Icaria,  and  the  promontory  of  Miletus,  or 
between  Samos  and  Naxos,  and  is  now  called  Pati- 
nio,  or  Patmosa.  Its  circuit  may  be  five  and  twenty 
or  thirty  miles.  It  has  a  city  called  Patmos,  with  a 
harbor,  and  some  monasteries  of  Greek  monks,  who 
show  a  cave,  now  a  chapel,  where  they  pretend  that 
John  wrote  his  Revelations. 

PAVEiMENT,  see  Gabbatha. 

PAUL,  originally  named  Saul,  was  of  the  tribe  of 
Benjamin,  a  native  of  Tarsus  in  Cilicia,  and  a  Phari- 
see by  sect.  He  was  first  a  persecutor  of  the  church, 
but  afterwards  a  disciple  of  Christ,  and  the  apostle 
of  the  Gentiles.  He  was  a  Roman  citizen,  (Acts 
xxii.  27,  28.)  because  x\ugustus  had  given  the  free- 
dom of  Rome  to  the  freemen  of  Tarsus,  in  consider- 
ation of  their  firm  adherence  to  his  interests.  His 
parents  sent  him  to  Jerusalem,  where  he  studied  the 
law  at  the  feet  of  Gamaliel,  a  famous  doctor.  Acts 
xxii.  3.  He  made  very  great  progress  in  his  studies, 
and  his  life  was  blameless  before  men  ;  being  very 
zealous  for  the  full  observation  of  the  Mosaic  law. 
His  zeal  persecuted  Jesus  Christ  in  his  members,  (1 
Tim.  i.  13.)  and  when  the  proto-martyr  Stephen  was 
stoned,  Saul  was  not  only  consenting  to  his  death, 
but  he  even  stood  by,  and  took  care  of  the  clothes  of 
those  who  stoned  him.  Acts  vii.  58,59.  This  hap- 
pened A.  D.  .33,  some  time  after  our  Saviour's  death. 
At  the  time  of  the  persecution  against  the  cluu'ch, 
after  the  death  of  Stephen,  Saul  was  one  who  show- 
ed the  most  violence  in  distressing  believers.  Gal.  i. 
13;  Acts  xxvi.  11.  He  entered  their  houses,  and 
forcibly  seized  men  and  women,  and  sent  them  to 
prison.  Acts  viii.  3  ;  xxii.  4.  In  the  synagogues  he 
caused  those  to  be  beaten  who  believed  in  Jesus 
Christ,  compelling  them  to  blaspheme  the  name  of 
the  Lord.  Having  received  credentials  from  the 
high-priest  Caiaphas,  and  the  elders  of  the  Jews,  to 
the  chief  Jews  of  Damascus,  with  power  to  bring 
with  him  to  Jerusalem  all  the  Christians  he  should 
find  there,  he  departed,  ftdl  of  threats,  and  breathing 
out  slaughter.  But  on  the  road,  near  Damascus,  and 
about  noon,  himself  and  his  company  were  encom- 
l)assed  by  a  great  light  from  heaven,  the  splendor  of 
which  struck  them  to  the  gi-ound,  and  Saul  heard  a 
voice  saying  to  him,  "  Saul,  Saul,  why  persecutest  thou 
me  ?"  Saul  answered,  "  Who  art  thou.  Lord  ?"  The 


Lord  replied,  "  I  am  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  whom  thou 
persecutest ;  it  is  hard  for  thee  to  kick  against 
the  pricks."  Saul,  in  consternation,  asked,  "  Lord, 
what  is  it  that  thou  wouldest  have  me  to  do  .^"  Jesus 
bade  him  go  to  Damascus,  where  he  should  learn 
his  will. 

Saul  now,  though  his  eye-lids  were  open,  yet  had 
no  sight ;  his  companions,  therefore,  led  him  by  the 
hand  to  Damascus,  where  he  continued  three  days, 
unable  to  see,  or  to  take  nourishment.  On  the  third 
day,  the  Lord  commanded  Ananias,  a  disciple,  to 
find  him  out,  to  lay  his  hands  on  him,  and  to  cure  his 
blindness.  This  was  done,  and  Saul  was  baptized, 
and  filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost;  after  which  he  con- 
tinued some  time  with  the  disciples  at  Damascus, 
preaching  in  the  synagogues,  and  proving  that  Jesus 
was  the  Messiah. 

Saul  subsequently  went  into  Arabia,  (Gal.  r.  17.) 
probably  in  the  neighborhood  of  Damascus,  then 
under  the  government  of  Aretas,  king  of  Arabia. 
After  a  while,  he  returned  to  Damascus,  and  preach- 
ed the  gospel ;  but  the  Jews,  unable  to  bear  its 
growing  progress,  resolved  to  put  Saul  to  death. 
The  apostle,  however,  escaped,  by  being  let  down 
along  the  wall  in  a  basket,  (Acts  ix.  24.  A.  D.  37.) 
the  third  year  after  his  arrival  at  Damascus.  Vis- 
iting Jerusalem  to  see  Peter,  the  disciples  were  fear- 
ful of  intercourse  with  Saul,  not  believing  him  to  be 
a  real  convert.  Gal.  i.  18.  But  Barnabas  having  in- 
troduced him  to  the  ajwstles,  Saul  related  to  them 
the  manner  of  his  conversion,  &c.  From  Jerusalem 
he  went  to  Cfesarea  of  Palestine,  and  thence  to  his 
own  country.  Tarsus. 

Here  he  continued  for  five  or  six  years,  from  A.  D. 
37  to  43  ;  when  Barnabas  being  sent  to  Antioch  by 
the  apostles,  and  finding  many  Christians  there,  he 
went  to  Tarsus  to  seek  Saul,  and  brought  him  to  An- 
tioch, where  they  continued  a  year.  Acts  xi.  20, 25, 26. 
Diu'ing  this  time  there  happened  a  great  famine  in 
Judea,  and  the  Christians  of  Antioch  having  made 
collections  to  assist  their  brethren  at  Jerusalem,  they 
deputed  Paul  and  Barnabas  to  carry  their  offering 
thither,  A.  D.  44.  Having  returned  to  Antioch,  it 
was  intimated  to  them  by  the  prophets  in  this  church, 
that  God  had  appointed  them  to  carry  his  word  into 
other  places.  The  church,  therefore,  after  fasting 
and  pra)^er,  with  the  prophets  Simeon,  Lucius  and 
Manaen,  laid  their  hands  on  them,  and  sent  them  to 
preach  whither  tlie  Holy  Ghost-  should  conduct 
them.  It  is  thought  to  have  been  about  this  time, 
(A.  D.  44,)  that  Paul,  being  enraptured  into  the  third 
heaven,  saw  ineffai)le  things,  2  Cor.  xii.  2 — 4. 

Paul  and  Barnabas  went  first  to  Cyprus,  preaching 
in  the  synagogues  of  the  Jews.  At  Paphos  (A.  D. 
45.)  they  found  a  Jewish  magician  called  Bar-jesus, 
who  did  all  he  could  to  prejudice  the  proconsul, 
Sergius  Paulus,  against  the  Christian  faith.  As  a 
punishment,  Paul  deprived  him  of  sight  for  a  time, 
and  the  proconsul,  who  had  witnessed  the  miracle, 
became  a  convert.  From  Cyprus  Paul  and  his  com- 
pany went  to  Perga  in  Pamphylia,  where  John  Mark, 
Barnabas's  cousin,  left  them  to  return  to  Jerusalem. 
Making  no  stay  at  Perga,  they  came  to  Antioch  in 
Pisidia,  where,  being  desired  to  speak  in  the  syna- 
gogue, Paul,  in  a  long  discoiu'se,  showed  that  Jesus 
was  tlie  Messiah  foretold  by  the  prophets  ;  and  that 
he  rose  again  the  third  day.  He  was  desired  to 
speak  upon  the  same  subject  the  next  sabbath  day, 
when  .almost  all  the  city  came  together  to  hear.  The 
Jews,  seeing  this  concourse,  and  being  moved  with 
envy,  opposed  what  Paul  said,  upon  which  the  apos- 


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ties  turned  from  them  to  go  to  the  Gentiles.  From 
Antioch  they  went  to  Iconium,  preached  in  the  syn- 
agogue, and  converted  a  number  both  of  Jews  and 
Gentiles,  God  confirming  their  mission  by  many 
miracles.  In  the  mean  time  the  Jews  having  in- 
censed the  Gentiles  against  them,  and  threatening  to 
stone  them,  they  retired  to  Lystra  and  Derbe,  cities 
of  Lycaonia.  At  Lystra  they  restored  a  cripple 
called  jfEneas,  in  consequence  of  which  the  people 
declared,  that  "  the  gods  had  descended  in  human 
shape  ;"  and  were  with  much  difficulty  restrained 
fi'om  offering  sacrifice  to  them. 

Shortly  after,  however,  some  Jews  of  Antioch  in 
Pisidia  and  of  Iconium,  coming  to  Lystra,  animated 
the  people  against  the  apostles,  and  the  rabble  stoned 
Paul,  and  drew  him  out  of  the  city,  thinking  him  to 
be  dead.  But  the  disciples  gathering  about  him,  he 
rose  up,  and  the  next  day  went  for  Derbe.  Having 
here  also  preached  the  gospel,  they  returned  to  Lys- 
tra, to  Iconium,  and  to  Antioch  of  Pisidia;  to  Pam- 
phylia,  and  Perga,  thence  they  went  down  to  Attalia, 
and  sailed  for  Antioch  in  Syria,  whence  they  had 
departed  a  year  before.  Upon  their  arrival,  they  re- 
lated to  the  church  the  great  things  God  had  done 
by  their  means. 

Luke  omits  the  actions  of  Paul,  from  A.  D.  45  to 
the  time  of  the  council  at  Jerusalem,  A.  D.  50. 
There  is  great  probability  that,  during  this  interval, 
the  apostle  preached  from  Jerusalem  to  Illyricum,  as 
he  asserts,  (Rom.  xv.  19,  20.)  without  making  any 
stay  in  places  where  others  had  preached  before  him. 
He  says,  in  general,  that  he  had  endured  more  la- 
bors than  any  other  apostle,  and  had  suflTered  in  more 
prisons ;  was  often  very  near  to  death,  sometimes 
on  the  water,  sometimes  among  thieves  ;  sometimes 
from  the  Jews,  and  sometimes  from  false  brethren 
and  perverse  Christians.  He  was  exposed  to  great 
hazards,  as  well  in  cities  as  in  deserts.  He  suffered 
hunger,  thirst,  nakedness,  cold,  fastings,  watchings, 
and  the  fatigues  inseparable  from  long  journeys,  un- 
dertaken without  any  prospect  of  lumian  succor ; 
in  this  very  difl^erent  from  the  good  fortune  of  some 
who  lived  by  the  gospel,  and  who  received  subsist- 
ence from  those  to  Avliom  they  preached  it.  He 
made  it  a  point  of  honor  to  preach  gratis,  working 
with  his  hands,  that  he  might  not  be  chargeable  to 
any  ;  he  having  learned  a  trade,  (as  was  usual  among 
the  Jews,)  which  was,  to  make  tents  for  soldiers. 
During  this  course  of  preaching,  he  five  times  re- 
ceived from  the  Jews  thirty-nine  stripes  ;  was  twice 
beaten  with  rods  by  the  Romans ;  thrice  he  suffered 
shipwreck,  and  had  passed  a  night  and  a  day  in  the 
deep.  This  is  differently  interpreted.  Some  think 
he  was  actually  a  night  and  a  day  at  the  bottom  of 
the  sea,  God  having  there  miraculously  preserved 
him,  as  heretofore  Jonah.  Others  that  he  was  hid- 
den for  a  night  and  a  day  at  the  bottom  of  a  well, 
after  his  danger  at  Lystra,  where  he  had  been  stoned. 
Others,  that  at  Cyzicus  he  was  put  into  a  prison 
called  liythos,  or  the  deep — for  this  is  the  term  used 
by  Paul,  without  adding  sea  to  it,  as  in  the  Vulgate. 
But  the  greater  part  of  the  fathers,  and  several  mod- 
erns, suppose  that  after  a  shipwreck  the  apostle  was 
a  day  and  a  night  in  the  sea,  struggling  against  the 
waves;  which  seems  to  be  the  most  reasonable 
opinion.  Paul  had  suffered  all  this  before  A.  D.  .58, 
wlien  he  wrote  his  Second  Epistle  to  the  Corinthi- 
ans, 2  Cor.  xi.  25. 

Paul  and  Barnabas  were  at  Antioch,  when  some 
persons,  coming  from  Judca,  presumed  to  teach,  that 
it  was  essential  to  salvation  to  use  circumcision,  and 


other  legal  ceremonies.  Paul  and  Barnabas  with- 
stood these  new  doctors,  and  it  was  agreed  to  send  a 
deputation  to  Jerusalem,  about  this  question.  Paul 
and  Barnabas  were  deputed,  and  at  Jerusalem  they 
reported  to  the  apostles  the  subject  of  their  mission^ 
who  decreed,  that  the  Gentiles  should  only  avoid 
idolatry,  fornication,  the  eating  of  things  strangled, 
and  blood.  Being  returned  to  Antioch,  the  deputies 
assembled  the  disciples,  and  read  the  decree,  A.  D. 
51.  Some  time  afterwards,  Peter,  also  coming  to 
Antioch,  lived  with  the  converted  Gentiles,  witliout 
scruple ;  but  certain  brethi-en  coming  from  Jerusa- 
lem, he  separated  himself  from  the  Gentiles,  for 
which  Paul  publicly  censured  him.  Gal.  ii.  11 — 16. 

On  this  journey  to  Jerusalem,  Paul  declared  the 
doctrine  he  preached  among  the  Gentiles,  in  the 
presence  of  Barnabas  and  Titus,  with  Peter,  James 
and  John  ;  who  could  find  nothing  exceptionable  in 
it.  They  saw  with  joy  the  grace  that  God  had  given 
to  him,  and  recognized  his  appointment  as  apostle  of 
the  Gentiles.  After  he  and  Barnabas  had  continued 
some  time  at  Antioch,  Paul  proposed  to  his  com- 
panion to  visit  the  cities  where  they  had  planted  the 
gospel.  Barnabas  consented  ;  but  wished  to  take 
John  Mark  with  them.  This  was  opposed  by  Paul, 
and  caused  a  separation  between  them.  Barnabas 
and  John  Mai-k  went  together  to  Cyprus ;  and  Paul, 
taking  Silas,  crossed  Syria  and  Cilicia,  and  came  to 
Derbe,  and  afterwards  to  Lystra.  Here  they  found 
a  disciple  called  Timothy,  son  of  a  Jewish  mother, 
but  of  a  Gentile  father,  whom  Paul  circumcised,  that 
he  might  not  offend  the  Jews,  and  took  him  with 
him.  They  went  over  the  provinces  of  Lycaonia, 
Phrygia,  and  Galatia,  to  Mysia  ;  and  coming  to  Troas, 
the  apostle  had  here  a  vision  of  a  nian  habited  like 
a  Macedonian,  who  entreated  him  to  pass  over  into 
that  province.  Embarking,  therefore,  at  Troas,  they 
sailed  to  Neapolis,  a  city  of  Macedonia,  near  the 
frontiers  of  Thrace,  and  came  to  Philippi,  where  they 
found  some  religious  women,  among  v,fhom  was 
Lydia.  On  another  day,  meeting  with  a  maid-ser- 
vant, who  was  possessed  with  a  spirit  of  Python, 
Paul  commanded  this  spirit,  in  the  name  of  Jesus 
Christ,  to  come  out  of  her.  The  spirit  obeyed  ; 
but  her  masters,  who  made  a  great  profit  by  her 
enthusiastic  powers,  accused  Paul  and  Silas  before 
tbe  magistrates,  who  ordered  them  to  be  whi})ped 
with  rods,  and  sent  to  prison.  Towards  midnight, 
as  they  were  singing  hymns  to  God,  there  was  a 
great  earthquake,  the  fovmdations  of  the  prison  were 
shaken,  all  the  doors  flew  open,  and  the  fetters  of  the 
prisoners  were  burst  asunder.  The  jailer  awoke, 
and  seeing  all  this,  drew  his  sword  with  intention  to 
kill  himself,  but  was  prevented  by  Paul ;  and  upon 
a  profession  of  his  faith  in  Christ,  was  baptized,  with 
his  family.  In  the  morning  the  magistrates  sent 
orders  to  release  his  prisoners  :  but  Paul  refused  to 
depart,  unless  the  magistrates,  who  had  i)ublicly 
whipped  them,  being  Roman  citizens,  came  them- 
selves and  fetched  them  out.  This  having  been 
done,  Paul  and  Silas  went  first  to  Lydia,  and  com- 
forted the  brethren  at  her  house  ;  and  then  departed 
from  Philippi. 

Passing  through  Amphipolis  and  Apollouia,  they 
came  to  Thessalonica ;  where  Paul,  according  to  his 
custom,  preached  in  the  synagogue  on  three  sabbath 
days.  The  Jews  .having  raised  a  tunudt  in  the  city, 
the  brethren  conducted  Paul  and  Silas  towards  Be- 
rea,  where  a  great  number  were  converted.  The 
Jews  from  Thessalonica,  however,  having  followed 
them  tliither,  and  anuiiated  the  mob  against  then% 


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they  were  forced  to  withdraw ;  and  went  on  to 
Athens. 

Disputing  with  the  Athenian  philosophers,  they 
hroiiglit  Paul  before  the  Areopagus,  (see  Areopagus, 
and  Altar,)  where  he  made  liis  defence  ;  meaning 
to  instruct  tliein  respecting  the  "Unknown  God." 
While  here,  Timothy  came  fi-om  Berea  to  Athens, 
according  to  tlie  request  of  Paul,  and  informed  him 
of  tlie  persecution  whicli  afflicted  the  Cluistians  of 
Tliossalonica,  wliich  obliged  the  apostle  to  return 
liim  to  Macedonia,  that  he  miglit  comfort  tliem. 
After  tills,  he  went  to  Corinth,  where  he  lodged  with 
Aquila,  a  tent-maker  ;  and  l)eing  of  the  san)e  trade, 
the  apostle  worked  with  him.  Here  ho  made  sev- 
eral converts,  and  baptized  Stephanus  and  his  familj', 
with  Cris]>us  and  Gains,  1  Cor.  i.  14,  1(>,  17  ;  xvi.  15. 
Silas  and  Timothy  came  to  Corinth,  (Acts  xviii.  5 ; 
1  Thess.  iii.  6,  9,  A.  D.  52.)  and  brought  him  great 
comfort,  by  acquainting  him  with  the  prosperous 
state  of  the  disciples  of  Thessalonica.  Shortly  after 
this,  he  wrote  his  First  Epistle  to  the  Thcssalonians, 
A.  D.  52. 

The  Second  Episde  to  the  Thcssalonians  was 
wi-itten  not  long  after  the  first,  and  Paul,  encouraged 
by  the  presence  of  Silas  and  Timothy,  pi-osecnted 
tlie  work  of  his  ministry  with  new  ardor.  The  Jews, 
however,  opposing  him  with  blasphemous  and  op- 
jirobrious  words,  he  shook  his  clothes  at  them,  and 
said,  "Your  blood  be  upon  jour  own  head.  From 
henceforth  I  go  to  the  Gentiles."  He  then  quitted 
the  house  of  Aquila,  and  went  to  lodge  with  one 
Titus  Justus,  originally  a  Gentile,  but  one  that  feared 
God.  In  the  mean  time,  the  Lord  encouraged  him 
by  a  vision,  and  told  him,  that  he  had  much  people 
in  Corinth. 

Gallio,  proconsul  of  Achaia,  being  at  Corinth,  the 
Jews  brought  Paul  to  his  tribunal ;  but  Gallio  would 
not  meddle  widi  disputes  foreign  from  his  office. 
After  having  been  at  Corinth  eight  months,  Paul  sailed 
for  Jerusalem,  to  be  present  at  the  Feast  of  Pentecost. 
Before  he  went  on  board  the  vessel,  he  cut  off  his 
hair  at  Cenchrea,  a  port  of  Corinth  ;  because  he  had 
completed  a  vow  of  Nazariteship.  He  arrived  at 
Ephesus  with  Aquila  and  Priscilla,  whence  he  went 
to  Csesarea  of  Palestine,  and  thence  to  Jerusalem. 
Having  performed  his  devotions,  he  came  to  Antioch, 
and  made  a  progress  through  the  churches  of  Galatia 
and  Phrygia,  retm-ning  to  Ephesus,  where  he  abode 
three  years ;  from  A.  D.  54  to  57,  Acts  xix.  At 
Ephesus  he  found  some  disciples  who  had  been  ini- 
tiated into  the  baptism  of  John  the  Baptist.  Paul 
instructed  then),  baptized  them  with  the  l)a|)tism  of 
Jesus  Christ,  and  laying  his  hands  on  them,  they 
received  the  Holy  Ghost.  He  taught  daily  in  the 
school  of  one  Tyrannus,  and  omitted  no  opjjortunity, 
either  by  night  or  by  day,  to  visit  private  houses,  to 
confirm  believers,  and  convince  unbelievers ;  work- 
ing with  his  hands,  that  he  might  not  be  burthensome 
to  any.  During  liis  abode  here,  he  suffered  much,  so 
that,  as  he  informs  us,  he,  after  the  manner  of  men, 
"  fought  with  beasts."  Here  he  wrote  his  Epistle  to 
the  Galatians,  and  also  his  First  Epistle  to  the  Co- 
rinthians. 

Before  he  left  Ephesus,  the  Christians  were  disturb- 
ed by  a  sedition  raised  by  Demetrius,  a  silversmith, 
whose  chief  trade  consisted  in  making  little  models 
of  the  temple  of  Diana.  This  man,  fearing  that  the 
labors  of  the  apostle  would  destroy  his  craft,  tampered 
with  the  other  workmen  and  silversmiths ;  the  spirit 
of  mutiny  spread  among  the  people,  and  presently 
the  whole  city  was  in  an  uproar.  The  town-clerk  by 
92 


his  happy  address  appeased  the  tumult,  and  Paul, 
taking  leave  of  the  disciples,  departed  with  Timothy 
into  Macedonia.  Here  Titus  visaed  him,  and  inform- 
ed him  of  the  good  effects  of  his  letter  among  the 
Corinthians  ;  which  induced  him  to  write  a  second 
letter  to  that  church. 

Having  jiassed  through  Macedonia,  Paul  came  into 
Achaia,  visited  the  church  at  Corinth,  and  having 
received  their  alms,  as  he  was  on  the  point  of  retmii- 
ing  into  Macedonia,  he  wrote  his  Epistle  to  the  Ro- 
mans. At  last  he  came  into  Macedonia,  intending  to 
be  at  Jerusalem  at  the  Pentecost.  He  staid  some 
time  at  Philippi,  where  he  celebrated  the  passover; 
from  hence  he  embarked,  and  came  to  Troas,  where 
he  continued  a  week,  edifying  the  disciples.  At  Mi- 
letus, the  elders  of  the  church  of  Ejjhesus  came  to 
see  him,  to  whom  he  delivered  an  admirable  charge, 
and  then  embarked  for  Tyre,  whence  he  proceeded 
to  Cajsarea.  While  here,  the  prophet  Agabus  arrived 
from  Judea  ;  and  having  taken  the  apostle's  girdle,  he 
bound  his  own  hands  and  feet  with  it,  saying,  "Thus 
shall  the  Jews  of  Jerusalem  bind  the  man  who  owns 
this  girdle,  and  shall  deliver  him  up  to  the  Gentiles." 
The  brethren  upon  hearing  this  would  have  dissuaded 
the  apostle  from  going  iqi  to  Jerusalem,  but  he 
resisted  their  entreaties,  and  declared  his  readiness  to 
die  in  the  service  of  the  Lord  Jesus. 

At  Jerusalem  the  brethren  received  him  with  joy ; 
and  the  day  following  he  went  to  see  James,  at  whose 
house  he  gave  an  account  of  what  God  had  done 
among  the  Gentiles  by  his  ministry.  James  informed 
him,  that  the  converted  Jews  were  strongly  prejudiced 
against  him,  and  advised  that  he  should  join  himself 
to  four  men  in  Jerusalem,  who  had  a  vow  of  Naza- 
riteship, contribute  to  the  charges  of  their  purifica- 
tion, and  offer  with  them  the  offerings  and  sacrifices 
ordained  in  such  cases.     See  Nazarite. 

Paul,  following  this  advice,  went  the  next  day  into 
the  temple,  and  made  known  to  the  priests  his  inten- 
tion. The  Jews  of  Asia,  however,  observing  hhn  in 
the  temple,  inflamed  the  people  against  him,  and 
would  have  killed  him,  had  not  Lysias,  the  tribune  of 
the  Roman  garrison,  rescued  him.  Paul  desired  per- 
mission to  speak  to  the  people.  Having  obtained 
this,  the  apostle  related  the  manner  of  his  conversion, 
and  his  mission  from  God  to  preach  to  the  Gentiles. 
At  his  mentioning  the  Gentiles,  the  Jews  cried  out, 
"Away  with  this  wicked  fellow  out  of  the  world,  for 
he  is  n'ot  worthy  to  live  !  "  Perceivmg  the  people  to 
be  further  exasperated  by  the  apostle's  address,  the 
tribune  brought  him  into  the  castle,  and  ordered  that 
he  should  be  put  to  the  question  by  scourging; 
but  being  bound,  Paul  asked  the  trdwne  whether  it 
were  lawful  to  scourge  a  Roman  citizen  before  he 
had  been  heard.  This  aj)peal  produced  its  desired 
effect  •  the  apc-'tle  was  unboimd,  and  the  tribune, 
assembling  t^-c  priests  and  chiefs  of  the  Jews,  brought 
Paul  l)efo><-'  them,  that  he  might  know  the  occasion 
of  this  tcunult.  After  having  surveyed  the  assembly, 
the  ."jpostle  said,  "  Brethren,  I  have  lived  iji  all  good 
cfHiscience  before  God  until  this  day."  At  which 
words,  Ananias,  son  of  Neijedeus,  the  chief-priest, 
ordered  him  to  be  smitten  on  the  face.  Indignant  at 
this  unlawful  proceeding,  Paul  exclaimed,  "God  shall 
smite  thee,  thou  whited  wall ;  for  sittest  thou  to  judge 
me  after  the  law,  and  forgetting  the  duty  of  a  judge, 
commandest  me  to  be  smitten  contrai7  to  the  law  ?" 
Those  present  rebuked  him  for  reviling  God's  high- 
priest,  but  die  apostle  excused  himself  by  saying,  that 
he  did  not  know  he  was  the  high-priest.  Perceiving 
that  he  had  no  hooe  of  obtaining  an  impartial  judg- 


PAUL 


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PAUL 


ment,  the  apostle  availed  himself  of  a  circumstance 
to  break  up  the  sitting.  Knowing  that  part  of  the 
assembly  were  Sadducees,  and  part  Pharisees,  he 
cried  out,  "Brethren,  I  am  a  Pharisee,  the  son  of  a 
Pharisee ;  for  the  hope  and  resurrection  of  the  dead 
I  am  now  called  in  question."  This  increased  the 
clamor  to  such  a  degree  that  the  tribune  interfered, 
and  with  his  soldiers  brought  Paul  out  of  the  assem- 
bly into  the  castle  ;  and  the  following  night  the  Lord 
appeared  to  the  apostle  to  encourage  him.  Having 
learnt  that  more  than  forty  Jews  had  engaged  them- 
selves by  oath  not  to  eat  or  drink  till  they  had  killed 
him,  the  apostle  acquainted  the  tribune  with  it, 
who  gave  orders  that  the  night  following  he  should 
be  sent  to  Csesarea,  to  Felix  the  governor.  Five  days 
after  his  arrival,  Ananias  the  high-priest,  with  a  dep- 
utation of  the  council,  came  to  Caesarea,  bringing  with 
them  Tertullus,  an  advocate,  to  plead  against  Paul, 
who  easily  refuted  all  their  calumnies ;  and  Felix  put 
off  the  cause.  Some  days  afterwards  the  governor 
and  his  wife  Drusilla,  who  was  a  Jewess,  desired  to 
hear  Paul.  The  apostle  was  brought  before  them, 
and  spoke  of  justice,  charity,  and  of  the  last  judg- 
ment, so  earnestly,  that  Felix  vvas  terrified,  cut  short 
his  discourse,  and  referred  him  to  a  leisure  time.  In 
hopes  that  Paul  would  purchase  his  liberty,  he 
used  him  well ;  and  had  frequent  conversations 
with  him. 

Two  years  thus  passing  away,  Felix  transferred  the 
government  to  Portius  Festus  ;  and  being  willing  to 
oblige  the  Jews,  he  left  Paul  in  prison.  Festus,  being 
come  into  his  province,  after  three  days  went  up  to 
Jerusalem,  whither  the  chief  priests  desired  him  to 
Bend  for  Paul,  they  having  plotted  to  destroy  him  by 
the  way  ;  but  Festus  told  them  they  might  come  to 
him  at  Caesarea.  Here  the  Jews  accused  the  apostle 
of  several  crimes ;  but  he  so  well  defended  himself, 
that  Festus  could  find  nothing  that  deserved  punish- 
ment. He  proposed  to  him  to  go  to  Jerusalem,  and 
be  tried  there  ;  but  Paul  answered,  that  he  was  now 
at  the  emperor's  tribunal,  where  he  ought  to  be  tried  ; 
and  he  appealed  to  Csesar. 

King  Agrippa,  with  his  queen  Berenice,  having 
come  to  Caesarea  to  salute  Festus  the  governor,  men- 
tioned Paul's  case,  observing  that  he  did  not  know  in 
what  his  guilt  consisted,  nor  how  he  should  represent 
his  affair  to  the  emperor.  Agrippa  desiring  to  hear 
him,  Festus  sent  for  him  publicly,  on  the  morrow, 
and  Paul  related  to  Agrippa  the  manner  of  his  con- 
version ;  spoke  to  him  of  Jesus  Christ,  of  his  charac- 
ter, and  his  resurrection.  While  he  was  enlarging 
on  these  things,  Festus  exckimed,  "Paul,  you  are  be- 
side yourself;  overmuch  learning  distracts  you  !"  "  I 
am  not  distracted,  most  noble  Festus,"  replied  the 
apostle,  "  but  speak  the  words  of  cober  truth."  Paul 
continued  his  discourse,  and  such  was  the  i)ower 
with  wiiich  he  appealed  to  the  constjence  of  the 
king,  that  he  at  length  declared,  "AlmotJt  thou  per- 
suadest  me  to  become  a  Christian ! "  "I  .-ould  to 
God,"  said  Paul,  "that  you  and  all  were,  not  only 
almost,  but  altogether,  such  as  I  am,  except  tli^se 
bonds," 

As  it  was  resolved  to  send  Paul  into  Italy,  he  was 
taken  on  board  a  ship  of  Adramyttium,  for  Myra  in 
Lycia,  where  iiaving  found  a  ship  bound  for  Italy, 
they  sailed.  But  the  season  being  far  advanced,  (it 
was  at  least  the  latter  end  of  September,)  and  tlic  wind 
proving  contrary,  they  arrived  with  difficulty  at  the 
Fair-havens,  in  Crete.  Paul  advised  them  to  winter 
here  ;  but  the  master  resolved  to  steer  for  Phcnice 
another  harbor  of  the  same  island.  As  they  proceeded, 


the  wind  increased  to  a  violent  storm,  and  after  four- 
teen days,  the  vessel  was  wrecked  on  the  island  of 
Malta,  where  the  inhabitants  received  them  with  great 
humanity.  Acts  xxviii. 

Having  i-emained  on  the  island  three  months,  dur- 
ing which  time  the  apostle  wrought  several  miracles, 
they  again  embarked,  and  arrived  at  PuteoH,  where 
Paul  found  some  Christians,  who  detained  him  seven 
days.  The  Roman  Christians,  having  been  informed 
of  Paul's  approach  to  their  city,  came  to  meet  him  aa 
far  as  Appii-Forum,  and  the  Three-Taverns.  At 
Rome  he  was  allowed  to  dwell  where  he  pleased, 
having  a  soldier  to  guard  him,  joined  to  him  with  a 
chain.  Soon  after  his  arrival,  Paul  met  the  chief  of 
the  Jews,  to  whom  he  explained  the  kingdom  of  God, 
endeavoring  to  convince  them,  from  Moses  and  the 
prophets,  that  Jesus  was  the  Messiah. 

Paul  dwelt  two  years  at  Rome,  in  a  hired  lodging, 
where  he  received  all  who  would  visit  him,  preach- 
ing the  kingdom  of  God,  and  the  religion  of  Christ, 
without  interruption.  His  captivity  contributed  to 
the  advancement  of  religion,  and  he  converted  several 
persons  even  of  the  emperor's  court,  Phil.  i.  12,  14, 
18  ;  iv.  22.  It  has  been  said,  that  he  had  a  corre- 
spondence by  letter  with  Seneca,  the  philosopher  ;  but 
the  letters  now  extant  are  rejected  by  every  body,  as 
utterly  unworthy  either  of  the  writers.  The  Chris- 
tians of  Philippiin  Macedonia,  having  sent  Epaphro- 
ditus,  with  money  and  other  assistance,  in  their  name, 
(Phil.  ii.  25  ;  iv.  IS.)  the  apostle  returned  by  hiin  a 
letter  to  the  Philippians,  in  which  he  thanks  them  for 
their  seasonable  relief,  &c.  Onesimus,  a  slave  of 
Philemon,  at  Colosse,  in  Phrygia,  having  run  away 
from  his  master,  came  to  Rome,  found  out  Paul,  and 
was  very  serviceable  to  him.  Being  converted,  the 
apostle  sent  him  back  to  his  master  with  a  letter, 
(about  A.  D.  62.)  and  also  a  letter  to  the  believers  in 
the  city  of  Colosse. 

It  is  not  known  by  what  means  Paul  was  delivered 
from  prison,  though  there  is  great  probability  that  the 
Jews  durst  not  prosecute  him  before  the  emperor. 
It  is  certain,  however,  that  he  was  set  at  liberty  A.  D. 
63,  when  he  went  over  Italy,  and,  according  to  some 
of  the  Fathers,  passed  into  Spain.  He  also  went  into 
Judea  ;  to  Ephesus,  where  he  left  Timothy  ;  to  Crete, 
where  he  preached,  and  fixed  Titus.  Probably,  he 
also  visited  the  Philippians.  according  to  his  promise  ; 
(Phil.  ii.  24  ;  i.  25,  26.)  and  it  is  believed,  that  from 
Macedonia  he  wrote  his  First  Epistle  to  Timothy, 
about  A.  D.  64.  Some  time  afterwards,  he  wrote  to 
Titus,  in  Crete ;  desiring  him  to  come  to  him  at 
Nicopolis,  A.  D.  64.  The  year  following  he  went  into 
Asia,  and  at  Troas  he  left  a  cloak  and  some  books, 
with  Carpus  his  host.  Thence  he  visited  Timothy, 
at  Ephesus;  and  at  Miletum,  he  left  Trophimus  sick, 
2  Tim.  iv.  20.  He  again  went  to  Rome,  A.  D.  65. 
(See  the  additions  below.) 

Chrysostom  says,  it  was  reported  that  the  aj)ostle, 
going  to  see  a  cup-bearer  and  a  concubine  of  Nero, 
made  a  convert  of  the  concubine,  which  so  provoked 
the  emperor,  that  he  put  Paul  in  prison.  At  his  first 
appearance  the  apostle  was  forsaken  by  all,  (2  Tim. 
iv.  16.)  but  in  his  prison  lie  was  greatly  assisted  by 
Onesiphorus,  who  found  him  after  much  inquiry.  In 
this  prison  he  wrote  his  Second  Epistle  to  Timothy, 
which  Chrysostom  regards  as  the  apostle's  last  testa- 
ment. It  is,  perhaps,  the  most  sublime  and  most  diffi- 
cult of  all  his  writings. 

The  great  apostle  at  last  consunmiated  his  martyr- 
dom, about  A.  D.  66,  being  beheaded  at  a  place  called 
th^  Salviau  Waters.     He  was  buried  on  the  Ostian 


PAUL 


[731] 


PAUL 


way,   where  a  magnificent  church  was  afterwards 
built. 

It  is  well  known  that  commentators  have  diftered 
on  the  reason  of  the  change  of  name  of  the  apostle 
from  Saul  to  Paid,  Acts  xiii.  9.  Some  have  supposed 
that  lie  adopted  the  name  of  his  illustrious  convert 
Sergius  Paulus :  others,  as  Origen,  that  he  was  called 
Saul  among  the  Jews,  but  Paul,  his  Roman  name, 
among  the  Gentiles ;  may  it  not,  however,  be  an  ad- 
missiljle  conjecture,  that  he  cliose  the  name  oi'  Paul 
by  which  to  be  ba})tized  ;  and  thereby  showed  his 
entire  renunciation  of  his  former  Jewish  notions,  and 
his  renovation  into  Christian  life  under  a  new  appel- 
lation ?  This  new  name,  signifying  "little,"  was 
probably  taken  from  the  same  motives  as  induced  the 
apostle  afterwards  to  describe  himself  as  "  one  born 
out  of  due  time  ;  the  least  among  the  apostles  ; "  and 
"  less  than  the  least "  of  all  saints.  To  this  it  may  be 
answered,  that  long  after  his  baptism  we  find  him  still 
called  by  the  name  of  Saul,  so  that  under  this  idea, 
we  must  allow  that  he  went  by  either  name,  indiffer- 
ently ;  or  by  botli  names,  for  a  time.  Luke's  words 
seem  best  to  agree  with  this,  "  Saul,  who  also  is  Paul ;" 
the  custom  of  having,  and  using,  two  names,  was  not 
uncommon  at  the  time ;  so  Luke  was  Lucius,  John 
was  Mark,  Simon  was  Peter,  &c.  But  whether  the 
change  of  name  at  baptism  be  strictly  applicable  to 
the  instance  of  Paul  or  not,  it  should  seem  to  be  de- 
rived from  the  earliest  ages,  and  practised,  as  a  demon- 
strative proof  of  a  desire  to  manifest  that  "old  things 
were  passed  away,  and  all  things  were  become  new." 
The  party  who  received  new  life,  received  also  a  new 
name  ;  he  contracted  new  relations,  and  esteemed 
himself,  in  more  than  a  metaphorical  sense,  "  a  new 
man."  This  explains  how  easy  it  was  for  some  to 
err,  by  "saying  that  the  resurrection  was  past  al- 
ready." 

[The  foregoing  is  all  from  Calmet,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  the  last  paragraph,  which  is  from  his  English 
editor.  It  must,  however,  be  remembered,  that  in 
regard  to  the  events  of  Paul's  life  after  he  had  "  dwelt 
two  whole  years  in  his  own  hired  house"  at  Rome,  we 
have  no  certain  accounts  ;  and  that  the  stories  above 
alluded  to  of  his  subsequent  travels  in  Italy,  Spain, 
and  even  Britain,  all  rest  on  uncertain  traditions. 
Still,  it  was  a  veiy  generally  received  opinion,  in  the 
earlier  centuries,  that  the  apostle  was  acquitted  and 
discharged  from  his  imprisonment  at  the  end  of  two 
yeai-s  ;  and  that  he  afterwards  returned  to  Rome, 
where  he  was  again  imprisoned  and  put  to  death. 
(Euseb.  Hist.  Ecc.  ii.  22;  Jerome  de  Script.  Eccles. 
cap.  v.)  This  would  seem,  however,  to  be  not  so 
much  tradition,  as  an  exegetical  assumption  in  order 
to  explain  certain  passages  in  the  Second  Epistle  to 
Timothy  ;  e.  g.  2  Tim.  iv.  6,  compared  with  Phil.  ii. 
24.  In  respect  to  what  Paul  undertook  between  his 
first  and  supposed  second  imprisonment,  there  is  no 
certain  tradition.  That  sooner  or  later  he  died  as  a 
martyr  under  Nero's  reign,  seems  to  be  generally  ad- 
mitted. (Euseb.  Hist.  Ecc.  ii.  25  ;  Clemens,  Rom.  Ep. 
1  ad  Corinth,  c.  v.)  It  is  said  above  that  Paul  was 
set  at  liberty  A.  D.  63,  which  would  require  the  be- 
ginning of  his  imprisonment  to  be  placed  in  A.  D.  01  ; 
and  Lardner  adopts  the  same  chronology.  Other  in- 
terpreters, however,  as  Hug,  De  Wette,  etc.  fix  the 
commencement  of  his  imprisonment  at  Rome  in  A.  D. 
63,  and  his  acquittal  in  A.  D.  65. 

The  following  chronological  table  of  the  principal 
events  in  Paul's  life  may  be  of  use  in  directing  and 
assisting  inquiries  into  this  most  interesting  portion  of 
history.     The   different  chronologies   of  Hug,    De 


Wette,  Kuinoel  and  Lardner  are  here  presented  side 
by  side  ;  and  thus  the  table,  while  it  shows  the  general 
agreement  of  chronologers,  shows  also  that  it  is  im- 
possible to  arrive  at  entire  certainty  in  this  respect ; 
or,  indeed,  any  nearer  than  to  assign  the  principal 
dates  to  an  interval  of  two  or  three  years,  within  which 
the  events  may  be  regarded  as  having  certainly  taken 
place. 

Hug.  De  Wette.  Kuinoel.  Lardner 

Paul's  conversion,  Acts  ix. 
(21st  year  of  Tiberius, 
Hug.)  A.  D.  .36        38         40       36 

He  goes  into  Arabia,  (see 
Arabia,  p.  88,  col.  2.) 
and  returns  to  Damas- 
cus ;  (Gal.  i.  17.)  at  the 
end  of  three  yeai-s  in  all, 
he  escapes  from  Damas- 
cus and  goes  to  Jerusa- 
lem, Acts  ix.  23,  seq.        39  43       89 

From  Jerusalem  Paul  goes 
to  Cilicia  and  Syria,  Acts 
ix.  30;Gal.  i.21.  From 
Antioch  he  is  sent  with 
Barnabas  to  Jerusalem 
to  carry  alms.  Acts  xi.  30.   45  44       44 

The  fii-st  missionaiy  jour- 
ney of  Paul  and  Barna- 
bas from  Antioch,  con- 
tinued about  two  years, 
(Acts  xiii.  xiv.)  com- 
mencing 45  45 

After  spending  several 
years  in  Antioch,  (Acts 
xiv.  28.)  Paul  and  Bar- 
nabas aie  sent  a  second 
time  to  Jerusalem,  to 
consult  the  apostles  re- 
specting circumcision, 
etc.  Acts  XV.  2.  53        52         52       50 

The  Jews  expelled  from 
Rome  A.  D.  52—54; 
Paul,  on  his  second  mis- 
sionary journey,  (Acts 
XV.  40.)  after  passing 
through  Asia  Minor  to 
Europe,  finds  Aquila  and 
Priscilla  at  Corinth,  Acts 
xviii.  2.  54        54  51 

Paul  remains  eighteen 
months  in  Corinth,  Acts 
xviii.  11.  After  being 
brought  before  Galho, 
he  departs  for  Jerusalem 
the  fourth  time,  and  then 
goes  to  Antioch,  Acts 
xviii.  22.  (Kuinoel  sup- 
poses him  to  be  impris- 
oned at  Jerusalem.)  56        56         57 

The  apostle  winters  at 
Nicopolis,  (Tit.  iii.  12, 
Hug,)  and  then  goes  to 
Ephesus,  Acts  xix.  2.        57        58  53 

After  a  residence  of  two 
years  or  more  at  Ephe- 
sus, Paul  departs  for 
Macedonia.  59        50  56 

After  wintering  in  Achaia, 
Paul  goes  the  fifth  time 
to  Jerusalem,  where  bs 


PAUL 


[  732  ] 


PAUL 


Hug.  De  Wetle.  Kninoel.  Lanlncr. 


is  imprisoned,  Acts  xx. 
xxi.  CO 

The  apostle  remains  two 
years  in  prison  at  Cesa- 
rea,  and  is  then  sent  to 
Rome,  where  he  arrives 
in  the  spring,  after  win- 
tering in  Malta,  Acts 
xxiv,  27  ;  xxv. — xxviii.      63 

The  history  in  Acts  con- 
cludes, and  Paul  is  sup- 
posed to  have  been  set 
at  liberty.  65 

Probable  martyrdom  of 
Paul  and  Peter. 


60 


58 


63 


65 


60       61 


62       63 


65 


Epistles  of  Paul. — There  are  fourteen  Epistles  in 
the  New  Testament  usually  ascribed  to  Paul,  begin- 
ning with  that  to  the  Romans  and  ending  with  that 
to  the  Hebrews.  Of  these  the  first  thirteen  have 
never  been  contested ;  as  to  the  latter,  many  good 
men  have  doubted  v/helher  Paul  was  the  aiUhor ; 
although  the  current  of  criticism  seems  now  to  be 
turning  in  favor  of  this  opinion.  (Compare  Bibl.  Repos. 
vol.  ii.  p.  409.)  These  epistles  are  among  the  most 
important  of  the  primitive  documents  of  the  Christian 
religion,  even  apart  from  their  inspired  character  ;  and 
although  they  were  all  evidently  written  without  great 
premeditation,  and  have  reference  mostly  to  transient 
circumstances  and  temporary  relations  ;  yet  they  every 
where  bear  the  stamp  of  the  great  and  orighial  mind 
of  the  apostle,  as  purified,  elevated  and  sustained  by 
the  influences  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 

The  order  in  which  these  epistles  stand  in  our  Bi- 
ble, seems  to  have  arisen  from  a  sort  of  assumed  or 
supposed  rank  among  the  various  churches  to  which 
they  were  addressed. 

The  following  is  Lardner's  arrangement  of  the  epis- 
tles of  Paul,  with  the  places  where  they  were  written, 
and  the  date: — 


Epistles.  Places, 


J.D. 


1  Thessalonians, 

Corinth, 

52 

2  Thessalonians, 

do. 

52 

C      end  of  52 

Galatians, 

Corinth  orEphesus,  ^  orbegin- 

(  ning  of  53 

1  Corintliians, 

Ephesus, 

begmning  of  56 

1  Timothv, 

Macedonia, 

56 

Titus, 

do.  or  near  it, 

near  end  of  56 

2  Corinthians, 

do. 

about  Oct.  57 

Romans, 

Corinth, 

"      Feb.  58 

Ephesians, 

Rome, 

"    April,  61 

2  Timothy, 

do. 

"      May,  01 

Philij)j)ians, 

do. 

before  end  of  62 

Colossians, 

do. 

62 

Philemon, 

do. 

"             62 

Hebrews, 

do. 

spring,  63 

Hug  in  his  Introduction  presents  us  with  the  foUon-- 
ing  arrangement : — 


Epistles. 


Places. 


1  Thessalonians, 

Corinth, 

2  Thessalonians, 

do. 

Titus, 

Ei)hesus, 

Galatians, 

do. 

1  Corinthians, 

do. 

A.  D. 

54 
55 
50 
57 
59 


2  Corinthians, 

Macedonia, 

59 

1  Timothy, 

do. 

59 

Romans, 

Corinth, 

60 

Ephesians, 

Rome, 

61 

2  Timothy, 

do. 

61 

Colossians, 

do. 

61 

Philemon, 

do. 

61 

Philippians, 

^--      \    or 

end  of  61 
beginning  of  62 

Hebrews, 

do. 

beginning  of  62 

Character  of  Paul. — The  apostle  was  in  all  respects 
an  extraordinary  man.  Educated  in  the  straitest  sect 
of  the  .Jewish  religion,  and  trahied  in  all  the  dogmas 
and  severe  discipline  of  the  Pharisees,  his  ardent  mind 
could  rest  satisfied  with  no  ordinary  attainments; 
he  aspired  to  a  high  degree  of  learning  and  sanctity, 
and  was  accordingly,  as  he  informs  us,  (Phil.  iii.  6.) 
"  touching  the  righteousness  that  is  in  the  law,  blame- 
less." When,  therefore,  he  was  first  brought  in  con- 
tact with  the  teachersof  Christianity,  and  found  them 
disregarding  and  op})osing  that  morality  and  those 
dogmas  which  he  had  embraced  and  been  taught  to 
venerate,  he  "  verily  thought  in  himself  that  he  ought 
to  do  many  things  contrary  to  the  name  of  Jesus," 
Acts  xxvi.  9.  Nor  could  he,  now  or  afterwards,  ever 
rest  satisfied  with  a  mere  speculative  sense  of  duty  ; 
his  burning  zeal  burst  forth  in  en  M-getic  action  ;  and 
it  was  in  the  midst  of  tlie  "  havoc  "  which  he  made  of 
the  church,  that  the  Lord  .Tesus  met  him  on  the  way 
to  Damascus,  and  at  a  stroke  subdued  his  haughty 
spirit.  No  change  could  be  more  sudden  ;  yet  it  was 
total  and  permanent.  The  whole  current  of  his  ardent 
and  powerful  feelings  was  arrested  ;  and  henceforth 
rolled  onward  with  no  less  energy  and  power  in  the 
op})osite  direction.  The  persecutor  was  now  ready 
and  willing  to  suffer  persecution.  In  perils  on  the 
land  and  on  the  sea,  in  daily  exposure  to  death,  his 
bold,  undauiUed,  irrepressible  arrlor  knew  neither 
interru))tion  nor  decay.  It  bore  him  onward  un- 
wearied and  undismayed  ;  while  his  only  support 
and  hope  was  in  that  Lord  whom  once  he  persecuted  ; 
his  only  business,  to  spread  v/ide  abroad  the  knowl- 
edge of  that  Saviour's  love  ;  his  only  object,  the  sal- 
vation of  immortal  souls ;  and  the  only  prize  at 
which  he  aitned,  a  crown  of  glory  beyond  the  skies. 

Paul  appears  to  have  surpassed  most,  or  perhaps 
all,  of  the  other  apostles,  in  his  enlarged  views  of  the 
spiritual  nature  of  the  religion  of  Christ,  and  of  its 
pm-ifyingand  ennobling  influence  upon  the  heart  and 
character  of  those  who  sincerely  profess  it.  Most  of 
the  other  apostles  and  teachers  aj)pear  to  have  clung 
to  .Tudaism,  to  the  rites  and  ceremonies  and  dogmas 
of  the  religion  in  which  they  had  been  educated,  and 
to  have  regarded  Christianity  as  intended  to  be  en- 
grafted upon  the  ancient  stock,  which  was  yet  to  re- 
main as  the  trunk  to  su])port  the  new  branches.  Paul 
secius  to  have  I)een  among  the  first  to  rise  above  this 
narrow  view,  and  to  regart!  Cl'.ristianity  in  its  true 
light,  as  a  universal  religion.  While  others  were  for 
converting  all  those  who  embraced  the  new  religion 
into  Jews,  by  imposing  on  them  the  yoke  of  all  the 
Jewish  observances,  it  was  Paul's  endeavor  to  break 
down  tb(!  middle  wall  of  separation  between  Jcavs 
and  Gentilce,  and  sbo^  thorn  that  they  were  all  "one 
in  Christ."  To  this  end  all  his  lal)ors  tended  ;  and, 
ardent  in  the  pursuit  of  this  great  object,  he  did  not 
hesitate  to  censure  the  time-serving  Peter,  and  to  ex- 
pose hisownlife  to  the  prejudices  of  his  countrymen. 
Indeed,  his  five  years'  imprisonment  at  Jerusalem, 
Cesarea  and  Rome  arose  chiefly  from  this  cause.  *R 


PEA 


[  733  ] 


PEL 


PAVILION  is  a  word  which  usually  gives  the 
idea  of  an  edifice,  small  but  handsome  ;  it  is  therefore 
unhappily  used  in  1  Kings  xx.  12,  16,  "Benliadad 
and  others  were  drinking  in  pavilions"  where  the 
Heb.  is  booths.  The  suttling  booths  of  the  army  is 
much  more  likely  to  be  the  proper  descri|)tion  of 
those  places  of  intemperance.  This  Benliadad  must 
have  been  a  man  of  an  unworthy  spirit ;  a  braggado- 
cio, as  ajjpears  by  his  inconsiderate  orders  ;  a  drunk- 
ard, as  appears  from  his  history  ;  and  a  coward,  as 
appears  from  his  hiding  place. 

PEACE  is  a  word  used  in  Scripture  in  different 
senses.  Generally,  for  quiet  and  tranquillity,  public 
or  i)rivate  ;  but  often  for  prosperity  and  happiness  of 
life  ;  as  To  "  go  in  peace  ; "  To  "  die  in  peace  ;  "  "  God 
give  you  peace;"  "Peace  be  within  this  house;" 
"Pray  for  the  peace  of  Jerusalem."  Paul  in  the 
titles  of  his  Epistles  genei'ally  wishes  grace  and  peace 
to  the  faithful,  to  whom  he  writes.  Our  Saviour  rec- 
ommends to  his  disciples,  to  have  peace  with  all  men, 
and  with  each  other.  God  promises  his  pcojjle  to 
water  them  as  with  a  river  of  peace,  (Isa.  Ixvi.  12.) 
and  to  make  with  them  a  covenant  of  j)cace,  Ezek. 
xxxiv.  25.  [The  Hebrew  word  shalom,  usual!}'  trans- 
\atedpcace,  means,  properly,  health, prosperity,  loelfare. 
It  id  the  same  as  the  salam  of  the  modern  Arabs, 
and  is  in  like  manner  used  in  salutations.     R. 

PEACOCK.  The  fleet  of  Solomon  that  went  to 
Ophir  brought  a  great  number  of  peacocks,  (1  Kings 
X.  22.)  but  whetlier  from  Ophir  itself,  or  from  any 
other  place  on  their  return,  is  uncertain.  The  pea- 
cock is  a  tame  and  well-known  bird,  distinguished 
by  the  beauty  of  its  plumage.  It  has  a  very  long  tail, 
divei-sified  with  seveial  colors,  and  adorned  with 
marks  at  equal  distances,  in  the  form  of  eyes.  It  has 
a  little  tuft  or  crown  on  its  head  ;  and  its  wings  are 
mixed  with  azure  and  gold  color.  Its  cry  is  so  very 
harsh  and  disagreeable,  that  it  is  said  to  have  the 
head  of  a  serpent,  the  train  of  an  angel,  and  the  voice 
of  a  devil. 

PEARL.  The  Arabians,  Persians  and  Turks,  use 
the  word  Merovarid  to  signify  pearls,  from  which  the 
word  Margarites,  or  Margarita,  used  by  the  Greeks 
and  Latins,  seems  to  be  derived.  The  finest  pearls 
are  fished  up  in  the  Persian  gulf,  and  on  the  coast  of 
Bahrein,  so  called  from  the  city  of  that  name,  on  the 
borders  of  Arabia  ;  and,  Idumsea  and  Palestine  being 
not  far  distant,  it  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  that  pearls 
were  well  known  to  Job,  and  the  Hebrews.  They 
are  also  found  in  other  places ;  and  many  are  now 
brought  from  America.  They  are  sometimes  found 
in  common  oysters.  It  is  an  ancient  error,  that  |)earls 
arc  formed  of  the  dew,  and  that  they  are  soft  in  the  sea. 

Our  Saviour  forbids  his  apostles  to  cast  their  pearls 
before  swine,  (Matt.  vii.  6.)  i.  e.  Expose  not  the  sa- 
cred truths  and  mysteries  of  religion  to  the  raillery 
of  profane  libertines  and  hardened  atheists.  The 
author  of  Ecclesiasticus  means  the  same  thing,  where 
he  advises  us  not  to  speak  when  we  find  the  persons 
to  whom  we  speak  are  not  disposed  to  hear,  Ecchis. 
xxxii.  (5. 

Pearls  are  certainly  very  different  things  from  pre- 
cious stones ;  yet  the  Greek  term,  margarites,  seems 
to  be  used,  in  a  more  genei'al  sense  f'or  jewels,  or 
splendid  gems.  So,  above,  cast  not  your  pearls — 
jewels,  diamonds,  if  known  to  the  ancients,  would 
answer  the  import  of  the  passage  as  well  as  jiearls. 
So,  the  parts  of  a  building,  pearls  ;  but  pearls  are  un- 
fit things  for  walls  and  gates;  (Rev.  xxi.)  many  kinds 
of  precious  stones  are  more  suitable  ;  and  perhaps 
the  pai-able  of  the  merchant  seeking  goodly  pearls, 


(Matt,  xiii.)  might  be  understood  in  a  more  extensive 
sense,  as  importing  valuable  jewels  of  whatever  kind« 
Such  appears  to  be  the  application  of  the  Chaldee 
and  Arabic  words,  which  yet  properly  signify  pearls. 

PEKAH,  son  of  Remaliah,  and  general  of  the 
army  of  Pekahiah,  king  of  Israel,  He  conspired 
against  his  master,  (2  Kings  xv.  25.)  A.  M.  3245,  at- 
tacked him  in  the  tower  of  his  royal  palace  of  Sama- 
riii,  being  seconded  by  Argob  and  Arieli,  (perhaps 
the  cities  of  Argob  and  Areopolis,)  and  having  slain 
him,  he  reigned  in  his  place  twenty  years.  Under  the 
reign  of  this  wicked  king,  Tiglath-pileser^  king  of  As- 
syria, came  hito  the  country,  and  took  Ijon,  Abel- 
beth-maacah,  Janoah,  Kedesh,  Hazor,  Gilead,  antl  all 
the  country  of  Naphtali,  and  carried  the  inhabittuns 
into  Assyria.  Iloshea,  son  of  Elah,  at  length  con- 
spired against  Pekah,  slew  him,  and  reigned  in  his 
stead. 

PEKAHIAH,  son  and  successor  of  Menahem, 
king  of  Israel,  (2  Kings  xv.  22,  23.  A.  M.  3243,)  was 
a  wicked  prince,  and  reigned  but  two  years.  Pekah, 
son  of  Remaliah,  conspired  against  him,  and  killed 
him  in  his  own  palace. 

PELEG,  son  of  Eber,  was  born  A.  M.  1757.  His 
father  named  him  Peleg,  (division,)  because  in  his 
time  the  earth  was  divided,  Gen.  x.  25 ;  xi.  16. 
Whether  Noah  had  begun  to  distribute  the  earth 
among  his  descendants,  some  years  before  the  build- 
ing of  Babel ;  or  that  Peleg  was  born  the  year  that 
Babel  was  begun  ;  or  that  Eber,  by  a  spirit  of  proph- 
ecy, named  his  son  Peleg,  some  years-before  this  time  ; 
or  that  the  name  was  given  to  him  at  a  later  period 
of  his  life,  as  a  commemorative  appellation,  on  recol- 
lection, is  not  certainly  known  ;  though  it  seems  most 
likely  that  he  was  not  born  at  the  time  of  the  disper- 
sion. At  the  age  of  30  years  Peleg  begat  Reu ;  and 
died  at  the  a^e  of  239. 

PELETHITES.  The  Pelethites  and  the  Chere- 
thites  were  famous  under  the  reign  of  David,  as  the 
most  valiant  men  of  his  army,  and  the  guards  of  his 
person.  [The  name  comes  from  he  Hebrew  rSc,  to 
run,  to  go  swiftly  ;  and  they  seem,  therefore,  to  have 
been  the  royal  7nesse7rgers ;  just  as  the  Cherethites 
(from  n3,  to  cxd,  to  cut  off,  etc.)  were  the  king's  exe- 
cutioners. The  Pelethites  and  Cherethites  are  always 
mentioned  together,  and  appear  to  have  constituted 
the  king's  body-guard.     See  Cherethites.     R. 

PELICAN.  The  Hebrew  name  of  this  curious 
bird,  rap,  kaath,  avomiter,  is  evidently  taken  from  its 
manner  of  discharging  the  contents  of  its  bag  or 
pouch,  for  the  purj)ose  of  satisfying  its  own  hunger 
or  that  of  its  young.  The  pelican  is  a  bird  much 
larger  than  the  swan,  and  something  resembling  it  in 
shape  and  color.  The  principal  difference,  and  that 
which  distinguishes  it  from  all  others,  is  its  enormous 
bill  and  extraordinary  ijouch.  From  the  point  of  the 
bill  to  the  opening  of  the  mouth,  there  is  a  length  of 
fifteen  inches  ;  and  under  the  chap  is  a  bag  reaching 
the  entire  length  of  the  bill  to  the  neck,  and  capable, 
it  is  said,  of  liolding  fifteen  quarts  of  water.  When 
this  pouch  is  empty  it  is  not  seen ;  but  when  filled, 
its  great  bulk  an(i  singular  appearance  may  easily  be 
conceived.  The  i)elican,  says  Labat,  has  strong 
wings,  furnished  with  thick  plumage  of  an  ash  color, 
as  are  the  rest  of  the  feathers  over  the  whole  body. 
Its  eyes  are  very  small  when  compared  to  the  size  of 
its  head ;  there  "is  a  sadness  in  its  countenance,  and 
its  whole  air  is  melancholy:  it  is  as  dull  and  reluc- 
tant in  its  motions  as  the  flamingo  is  sprightly  and 
active.  It  is  slow  of  flight ;  and  when  it  rises  to  fly 
performs  it  with  difficultv  and  labor.     Nothing,  as  it 


PEL 


734  1 


PEN 


would  Seem,  but  the  spur  of  necessity  could  make 
these  birds  change  their  situation,  or  induce  them  to 
ascend  into  the  air ;  but  they  must  either  starve  or 
fly*  When  they  have  raised  themselves  about  thirty 
or  forty  feet  above  the  surface  of  the  sea,  they  turn 
their  head  with  their  eye  downwards,  and  continue 
to  fly  in  that  posture.  As  soon  as  they  perceive  a  iish 
sufficiently  near  the  surface,  they  dart  down  upon  it 
with  the  swiftness  of  an  arrow,  seize  it  with  unerring 
certainty,  and  store  it  up  in  their  pouch.  They  then 
rise  again,  though  not  without  great  labor,  and  con- 
tinue hovering  and  fishing,  with  their  head  on  one 
side  as  before.  In  feeding  its  young,  the  pelican 
squeezes  the  food  deposited  in  its  bag,  into  their 
mouths,  by  strongly  compressing  it  upon  its  breast 
with  the  bill  ;  an  action,  says  Shaw,  which  might 
well  give  occasion  to  the  received  tradition  and  report 
that  the  pelican,  in  feeding  her  young,  pierced  her 
own  breast,  and  nourished  them  with  her  blood.  See 
Birds,  p.  187. 

This  writer  is  of  opinion,  that  the  Hebrew  kaath 
cannot  mean  the  pelican,  because  that  bird  is  describ- 
ed in  Ps.  cii.  6  ;  Isa.  xxxiv.  11,  and  Zeph.  ii.  14,  as  a 
bird  of  the  wilderness,  where  this  fowl  must  inevitably 
fiteirve ;  because  its  large  webbed  feet,  and  capacious 
pouch,  with  the  manner  of  catching  its  food,  which 
can  only  be  in  the  water,  show  it  to  be  entirely  a 
water  tbwl.  But  this  objection,  as  Bochart  has 
shown,  proceeds  upon  a  supposition,  that  no  water 
was  to  be  met  with  in  the  deserts  ;  which  is  a  mis- 
take, since  Ptolemy  places  three  lakes  in  the  inner 
parts  of  Marrnorica,  which  was  extremely  desert. 
Besides,  it  is  well  known  that  the  ono-crotalus,  or 
pelican,  does  not  always  i-emain  by  the  water ;  but 
sometimes  retires  far  from  it,  as  Damir  affirms  ;  and 
in  a  passage  from  Isidore,  in  whicii  this  bird  is  said 
to  live  in  the  solitude  of  the  river  Nile,  an  inhospita- 
ble desert;  and,  indeed,  its  monstrous  pouch  seems 
to  be  given  it  for  this  very  reason,  that  it  might  not 
want  food  for  itself  or  its  young  ones,  when  at  a  dis- 
tance from  the  water. 

The  writer  of  the  hundred  and  second  psalm  alludes 
to  the  lonely  situation  of  the  ])elican  in  the  wilder- 
ness, as  illustrative  of  the  poignancy  of  his  grief  at 
witnessing  tiie  desolation  of  his  country,  and  the 
prostration  of  her  sacred  altars. 

BELLA,  a  city  beyond  Jordan,  placed  by  Pliny  in 
the  Decapolis,  and  by  Stephanus  in  Coele-Syria. 
There  is  nothing  inconsistent  in  this,  however,  nor 
in  what  others  afiiru),  that  Pella  was  in  Perea,  in 
Batanea,  or  in  the  country  of  Basan.  Perhaps,  also, 
when  Josophus  (Antiq.  lib.  xiii.  cap.  23.)  speaks  of 
Pella,  in  the  country  of  Moab,  he  means  tlie  city  of 
which  we  are  speaking,  which  was  situated  in  Perea, 
in  Batanea,  in  the  country  of  Basan,  which  profane 
authors  sometimes  call  Ccele-Syria,  and  in  the  coun- 
try which  belonged  to  the  Ammonites,  the  brethren 
and  allies  of  the  Moabitcs  ;  unless  he  confound  Pella 
with  Ahlla,  in  the  country  of  Moab,  called  by  Moses 
Abel-Shittim,  (Numb,  xxxiii.  49.)  and  by  Josephus, 
Abila.  Pella  was  situated  between  Jabesh  and  Ge- 
rasa,  six  miles  from  the  former.  It  was  also  one  of 
the  ten  cities  of  the  Decapolis,  Matt.  iv.  25  ;  Mark  v. 
20.  It  is  not  otherwise  mentioned  in  the  Scrip- 
tures. 

Josephus  relates,  that  under  the  reign  of  Alexander 
Jannaeus,  the  Jews  were  masters  of  Pella,  and  de- 
stroyed it  because  the  inhabitants  would  not  embrace 
Judaism.  The  first  Christians  having  been  fore- 
warned by  our  Saviour  that  Jerusalem  should  be  de- 
molished, took  refuge  at  Pella,  as  related  by  Eusebius, 


as  soon  as  they  saw  the  fire  of  war  against  the  Ro- 
mans kindled. 

PEN,  a  well  known  instrument  for  writing  with. 
Reeds  were  formerly  employed  for  this  purpose  in- 
stead of  quills.  The  third  book  of  the  Maccabees 
says,  that  the  writers  employed  in  making  a  list  of 
the  Jews  in  Egypt,  produced  their  reeds  quite  worn 
out.  Baruch  wrote  his  prophecies  with  ink ;  (Jer. 
xxxvi.  4.)  and,  in  3  John  13,  the  apostle  says,  he  did 
not  design  to  write  with  pen  (reed)  and  ink.  The 
Arabians,  Pei-sians,  Turks,  Greeks,  and  other  orien- 
tals, still  write  with  reeds. 

From  the  size  and  general  appearance  of  some  of 
the  ancient  reeds,  as  preserved  in  pictures  found  at 
Herculaneum,  we  may  perceive  how  easily  the  same 
word  (aor,  shebet)  might  denote  the  sceptre,  or  badge 
of  authority,  belonging  to  the  chief  of  a  tribe,  and 
also  a  pen  for  writing  with.  For,  although  the  two 
instruments  are  sufficiently  distinct  among  us ;  yet, 
where  a  long  rod  of  cane,  or  reed,  perhaps,  was  (like 
a  general's  truncheon,  or  baton,  in  modern  days)  the 
ensign  of  command,  and  a  lesser  rod  of  the  same  na- 
ture, was  formed  into  a  pen  and  used  as  such,  they 
had  considerable  resemblance.  This  may  account  for 
the  phraseology  and  parallelism,  in  Judg.  v.  14 : 

Out  of  Machir,  came  down  governors  (legislators): 
Out  of  Zebulun,  they  that  hold  the  shebet  of  writers. 

The  ancients  also  used  styles  to  write  on  tablets 
covered  with  wax.  The  psalmist  says,  (Ps.  xlv.  1.) 
"  My  tongue  is  the  pen  of  a  ready  writer."  The  He- 
brew signifies  rather  a  style,  which  was  a  kind  of 
bodkin,  made  of  iron,  brass,  or  bone,  sharp  at  one  end, 
the  other  formed  like  a  little  spoon,  or  spatula.  The 
sharp  end  was  used  for  writing  letters,  the  other  end 
expunged  them.  The  writer  could  put  out,  or  cor- 
rect what  he  disliked,  and  yet  no  erasure  appear,  and 
he  could  write  anew  as  often  as  he  pleased  on  the 
same  place.  On  this  is  founded  that  advice  of  Hor- 
ace, of  often  turning  the  style,  and  blotting  out, 
"Soepe  stylum  vertas  iteriun,  qua5  digna  legi  sint 
scripturus." 

Scripture  alludes  to  the  same  custom;  (2  Kings 
xxi.  13.)  "  I  will  blot  out  Jerusalem  as  men  blot  out 
writing  from  their  writing  tablets."  I  will  turn  the 
tablets,  and  draw  the  style  over  the  wax,  till  nothing 
ap|)ear  ;  not  the  least  trace.  Isaiah  (viii.  1.)  received 
orders  from  the  Lord,  to  write  in  a  great  roll  of 
parchment,  with  the  style  of  a  man,  what  should  be 
dictated  to  him.  It  is  asked.  What  is  meant  by  this 
style  of  a  man  ?  It  could  not  be  one  of  these  styles  of 
metal  ;  they  were  not  used  for  writing  on  parchment. 
It  is  probable,  that  the  style  of  a  man,  signifies  a 
manner  of  writing  which  is  easy,  simple,  natural  and 
intelligible.  For  generally  the  prophets  expressed 
themselves  in  a  parabolical,  enigmatical  and  obscure 
style.  Here  God  intended  that  Isaiah  should  not 
speak  as  the  prophets,  but  as  other  men  used  to  do. 
Jeremiah  says,  (viii.  8.)  the  style  of  the  doctors  of  the 
law  is  a  style  of  eiTor,  it  writes  nothing  but  lies. 
Literally,  "The  pen  of  the  scribes  is  in  vain."  They 
have  promised  you  peace,  but  behold  war.  He  says, 
"The  sin  of  Judah  is  written  with  a  pen  of  iron  and 
with  the  point  of  a  diamond.  It  is  graven  upon  the 
table  of  their  heart ;"  or,  engraven  on  their  heart,  as 
on  writing  tablets.  The  Hebrew  says,  a  graver  of 
shamir. 

PENIEL,  or  Penuel,  a  city  beyond  Jordan,  near 
the  ford  on  the  brook  Jabbok,  where  Jacob,  on  hii 
return  from  Mesopotamia,  rested,  and  wrestled  with 


fEN 


[735] 


fENTATEUCH 


an  angel,  Gen.  xxxii.  30.  Subsequently,  the  Is- 
raelites built  a  city  in  this  place,  which  was  given  to 
the  tribe  of  Gad.  Gideon,  returning  from  the  pur- 
suit of  the  Midianites,  overthrew  the  tower  of  Peniel, 
(Judg.  viii.  17.)  and  slew  the  inhabitants,  for  having 
refused  sustenance  to  him  and  his  people,  in  a  ver}' 
insulting  manner.  Jeroboam,  son  of  Nebat,  rebuilt 
the  town,  1  Kings  xii.  25,  A.  M.  3030. 

PENIiViVAH,  the  second  wife  of  Elkanah,  the 
father  of  Samuel,  1  Sam.  i.  2,  <Scc.     See  Han.nah. 

PENNY  is  usually  put  in  the  English  translation 
for  the  Greek  drachma  and  the  Roman  denarius,  both 
of  which  were  equal  in  value  to  seven-pence  three 
farthings,  sterling,  or  about  14  cents.  As  this  was  a 
single  coin,  perhaps  we  should  do  well,  in  translating, 
to  express  it  by  a  coin  of  our  own,  as  near  to  it  in 
value  as  possible  ;  say,  for  instance,  a  six-pence,  or  a 
shilling.  Read  in  this  way,  the  passages — "  When 
the  Lord  of  the  vineyard  had  agreed  with  the  labor- 
ers for  six-pence  (or  a  shilling)  a  day  ;" — "  Show  me 
the  tribute  money  ;  and  they  siiowed  him  a  six-pence 
(or  shilling) ;  " — "Two  hundred  shillings'  worth  of 
bread  is  not  enough  for  this  multitude  ; "  the  good 
Samaritan  took  out  two  shillings,  and  gave  them  to 
the  keeper  of  the  khan.  Something  like  this  is  abso- 
lutely necessary  in  Rev.  vi.  6,  "A  small  measure  (or 
pint)  of  wheat  for  a  shilling."  As  the  pEissage  now 
stands  it  indicates  great  plenty  to  an  English  reader ; 
whereas,  it  really  is  descriptive  of  a  most  distressing 
scarcity.  Let  this  article  stand  in  proof  of  the  pro- 
priety of  being  acquainted  with  the  minutiae  in  Scrip- 
ture ;  for  who  sees  any  hint  at  a  famine  in  "  a  meas- 
ure of  wheat  for  a  penny  ?  "  Former  times,  indeed, 
even  in  England,  have  given  a  laborer  his  choice  of  a 
measure  of  wheat,  or  a  penny,  for  his  wages  ;  but  the 
difference  in  the  value  of  money  rendei-s  this  recol- 
lection very  improper  in  our  days.  Nor  is  it  less  hn- 
proper,  at  the  present  time,  to  suppose  the  Lord  of  the 
vineyard  would  so  greatly  undervalue  the  hire  of  la- 
borers, as  to  pay  them  only  a  penny  for  the  day's 
work  ;  it  sounds  like  an  avaricious  advantage  taken 
of  the  necessities  of  the  poor;  when,  in  fact,  it  is  di- 
rectly the  reverse,  a  bounty,  a  liberality. 

PENTATEUCH,  thejive  books,  the  books  of  Moses ; 
that  is.  Genesis,  Exodus,  Leviticus,  Numbers,  Deute- 
ronomy. (See  their  proper  articles,  and  also  Moses.) 
Some  critics  have  disputed  that  Moses  was  the  author 
of  the  Pentateuch,  upon  the  following  grounds  : — 

There  are  in  it,  (1.)  several  things  that  agree  neither 
to  the  age  nor  the  character  of  this  legislator.  The 
author  speaks  of  Moses  much  to  his  advantage  ;  (see 
Numb.  xii.  3.)  and  he  speaks  always  in  the  third  per- 
son. (2.)  The  author  sometimes  abridges  his  narra- 
tion, like  a  writer  who  collected  from  ancient  me- 
moirs. Sometimes  he  inteiTupts  the  thread  of  his  dis- 
course ;  e.  g.  he  makes  Lamech  the  bigamist  say, 
(Gen.  iv.  23.)  "  Hear  my  voice,  ye  wives  of  Lamech, 
hearken  unto  my  speech  ;  for  I  have  slain  a  man  to 
my  wounding,  and  a  young  man  to  my  hurt  ; "  with- 
out informing  us  previously  to  whom  this  relates.  (3.) 
Such  observations  as  Gen.  xii.  6,  cannot  be  reconcil- 
ed to  the  age  of  Moses,  since  the  Canaan  ites  con- 
tinued masters  of  Palestine  during  all  the  time  of 
Moses.  So,  also,  the  passage  out  of  the  book  of  the 
Wars  of  the  Lord,  quoted  Numb.  xxi.  14,  seems  to 
have  been  inserted  afterwards,  as  also  the  fii-st  verses 
of  Deuteronomy.  (4.)  The  account  of  the  death  of 
Moses,  at  the  conclusion  of  the  same  book,  cannot 
have  proceeded  from  his  own  pen  ;  and  the  same  may 
be  obs«rv«d  of  other  passages,  in  which  it  i»  said,  that 


the  places  mentioned  lay  beyond  Jordan  ;  that  the  bed 
of  Og  was  at  Ramah  to  this  day  ;  that  the  Havoth,  or 
cities,  of  Jair,  were  known  to  the  author,  though  prob- 
ably they  had  not  that  name  till  after  the  time  of 
Moses,  Numb,  xxxii.  41  ;  Deut.  iii,  14.  (5.)  It  is  ob- 
served, also,  that  some  parts  are  defective.  Thus,  in 
Exod.  xii.  8,  we  find  Aloses  speaking  to  Pharaoh, 
where  the  author  omits  the  beginning  of  his  discourse, 
which  is  found  in  the  Samaritan  cojjy.  In  other 
places,  also,  the  Samaritan  adds  what  is  deficient  in  the 
Hebrew  text ;  and  its  additions  seem  to  be  so  well 
connected  with  the  rest  of  the  discoui-se,  that  it  is  dif- 
ficult to  separate  them.  (6.)  There  are,  it  is  said, 
certain  expressions  in  the  Pentateuch,  which  can 
hardly  agree  with  Moses,  who  was  born  and  educated 
in  Egypt ;  as,  what  he  says  of  the  earthly  paradise,  of 
the  rivers  that  watered  it ;  of  the  cities"  of  Babylon, 
Erech,  Resen  and  Calneh  ;  of  the  gold  of  Pison  ;  of 
the  bdellium,  and  of  the  stone  of  Sohem,  found  in 
that  country.  These  particulars,  it  is  thought,  prove 
that  the  author  of  the  Pentateuch  lived  east  of  the 
Euphrates. 

These  objections,  however,  are  easily  disposed  of. 
The  additions,  the  dislocations,  and  the  omissions,  re- 
ferred to,  will  not  determine  that  Moses  was  not  the 
author  of  the  books.  They  only  prove  that  some 
amendments  have  been  made,  either  by  addine,  or  by 
expunging.  God  has  suffered  that  the  sacrecl  books 
should  not  be  exempted  from  such  alterations  as  pro- 
ceed from  the  hands  of  copiers,  or  which  are  conse- 
quences of  great  length  of  time.  If  a  slight  addition, 
or  change,  in  the  text  of  an  author,  be  thought  suffi- 
cient to  deprive  him  of  his  labors,  what  writer  could 
remain  in  possession  of  his  work  even  a  single 
century  ?  Besides,  to  divest  Moses  of  a  possession  he 
has  maintained  for  so  many  ages,  as  author  of  the 
Pentateuch  ;  a  possession  supported  by  the  joint  tes- 
timony both  of  the  synagogue  and  the  church  ;  of  the 
sacred  writers  both  of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments; 
of  Jesus  Christ  and  his  apostles,  certainly  requires 
proofs  beyond  reply,  i.  e.  conclusive  demonstrations ; 
whereas  the  objections  are  even  below  convincing 
arguments. 

So  far  Calmet,  but  since  his  time,  the  question  of 
the  originals  of  the  Pentateuch  has  been  discussed, 
with  great  acumen,  and  much  critical  investigation. 
The  result  seems  to  be  not  that  those  documents 
were  composed,  or  arranged,  since  the  days  of  Moses, 
(except  so  far  as  concerns  Ezra's  revision  for  his  edi- 
tion,) but  that  they  existed  before  Moses,  and  were 
combined  and  regulated  by  him  ;  perhaps,  some  of 
them  were  translated  from  more  ancient  memoirs, 
presened  in  the  families  of  Shem,  Abraham,  and  the 
Hebrew  patriarchs.  As  these  came  far  east  of  the 
Euphrates,  the  objections  derived  from  that  incident 
are  completely  obviated  by  this  supposition  ;  and  the 
others  dwindle  into  insignificance,  by  our  better  ac- 
quaintance with  the  ancient  history  of  persons  and 
places. 

It  may  be  admitted,  for  instance,  (1.)  that  the  book 
of  Genesis  contains  various  rep)etitions,  or  double 
narratives  of  the  same  early  events;  (2.)  that  these 
duplicate  narratives,  when  closely  compared,  present 
characteristic  differences  of  style  ;  (3.)  that  these  dif- 
ferences are  too  considerable,  and  too  distinct,  to  ad- 
mit of  any  other  explanation,  than  that  of  different 
originals,  taken  into  association.  This  may  be  justi- 
fied by  a  short  extract  from  Eichhorn's  comparison  of 
the  two  supposed  original  documents  used  by  Mosea 
containing  histories  of  the  deluge. 


PEN  [  736  ]  PEO 

Record  in  which  the  tiame  Jehovah  occurs.  Record  in  which  the  name  for  God  is  Elohim. 


Gen.  vi.  5.  And  Jehovah  saw  tliat  the  wickedness 
of  man  was  great  on  the  earth,  and  that  every  imagi- 
nation of  the  thoughts  of  his  heart  was  only  evil  con- 
tinually. 

7.  And  Jehovah  said,  I  will  destroy  man  Vvhom  I 
have  created,  from  the  face  of  the  earth,  both  man 
and  beast,  and  the  creeping  thing,  and  the  fowls  of 
the  air  ;  for  it  repenteth  me  that  I  have  made  them. 

vii.  2.  Of  eveiy  clean  beast  thou  shalt  take  to  thee 
by  sevens,  the  male  and  his  female  ;  and  of  beasts 
unclean,  by  two,  the  male  and  his  female. 

3.  Of  fowls  also  of  the  air  by  sevens,  the  male  and 
the  female, 
to  keep  seed  alive  on  the  face  of  the  earth. 

5.  And  Noah  did  according  to  all  that  Jehovah  had 
commanded  him. 

1.  And  Jehovah  said  unto  Noah,  Come  thou,  and 
all  thy  house,  into  the  ark. 

S.  And  Noah  was  six  hundred  years  old,  when  the 
flood  of  waters  was  upon  the  earth. 


Gen.  vi.  12.  And  the  Elohim  saw  the  earth,  and 
behold  it  was  corrupt ;  for  all  flesh  had  con-upted  his 
way  on  the  eaith. 

15.  And  the  Elohim  said  to  Noah,  the  end  of  all 
flesh  is  come  before  me  ;  for  the  earth  is  filled  with 
violence  through  them  ;  and  behold,  I  will  destroy 
them  from  under  heaven. 

vi.  19.  And  of  every  living  thing,  of  all  flesh,  two 
of  every  sort  shall  then  bring  into  an  ark,  to  keep 
them  alive  with  thee  ;  they  shall  be  male  and  female. 

20.  Of  fowls  after  their  kuid,  and  of  cattle  after 
their  kuid,  of  every  creeping  thing  upon  the  earth 
after  his  kind  :  two  of  every  sort  shall  come  unto  thee, 
to  keep  them  alive. 

22.  Thus  did  Noah  ;  according  to  all  that  the  Elo- 
him had  commanded  him,  so  did  he. 

18.  And  thou  shalt  come  into  the  ai-k,  thou  and  thy 
sons,  and  thy  wife,  and  thy  sons'  wives  with  thee. 

vii.  11.  In  the  six  hundredth  year  of  Noah's  life,  in 
the  second  month,  the  seventeenth  day  of  the  month, 
the  same  day  v.ere  all  the  fountains  of  the  great  deep 
broken  up,  and  the  windows  of  heaven  were  opened. 


In  this  manner  the  ingenious  author  of  this  hypoth- 
esis proceeds  to  compare  other  passages.  The 
reader  will  remark,  that  the  most  particular  account 
is  contained  in  that  document  in  which  the  deity  is 
denoted  by  the  term  Elohim  ;  and  this  is  its  general 
character  throughout.  The  system,  however,  is  not 
without  its  difiiculties ;  but  for  a  discussion  of  these 
we  must  refer  to  those  writers  who  have  professedly 
treated  on  the  subject. 

PENTECOST',  {mvTtxooT,:,  the  fiftieth  ;  day\s  un- 
derstood,) a  feast  celebrated  the  fiftieth  day  after  tiie 
sixteenth  of  Nisan,  which  was  the  second  day  of  the 
feast  of  the  passover.  Lev.  xxiii.  15,  IG.  The  He- 
brews call  it  the  feast  of  weeks,  (Exod.  xxxiv.  22.) 
because  it  was  kept  seven  weeks  after  the  passover. 
They  then  offered  the  first-fruits  of  their  wheat  har- 
vest, whicli  at  tliat  time  was  completed.  Dent.  xvi.  9, 
10.  These  first-fruits  consisted  in  two  loaves  of  un- 
leavened bread,  of  two  assarons  of  meal,  or  of  three 
pints  of  meal  each.  Lev.  xxiii.  16,  17.  Some  inter- 
preters think,  that  each  family  was  obliged  to  give  two 
loaves  for  first-fi-uits  ;  but  others  maintain,  with  more 
reason,  that  they  offered  but  two  loaves  in  the  name 
of  tiie  whole  nation.  This  is  sufiiciently  marked  by 
Joseph  Lis,  who  puts  but  one  loaf  of  two  assarons.  In 
addition  to  these,  they  presented  at  the  temj)le  seven 
lambs  of  that  year,  one  calf,  and  two  rams,  for  a  burnt- 
oflTering,  two  lambs  for  a  peace-oflering,  aiul  a  goat 
for  a  sui-offering.  We  do  not  find  that  the  Pentecost 
had  an  octave,  though  it  was  one  of  the  three  great 
solemnities,  in  which  all  the  males  were  to  appear  be- 
fore the  Lord. 

The  Feast  of  Pentecost  was  instituted,  first,  to 
oblige  the  Israelites  to  repair  to  the  tem])le  of  the 
Lord,  and  there  to  acknowledge  his  dominion  over 
their  country,  and  their  labors,  by  offering  to  him 
the  first-fruits  of  all  their  harvests.  Secondly,  to 
commemorate,  and  to  rend(u-  thanks  to  God  for,  the 
law  given  from  mount  Sinai,  on  the  fiftieth  day  after 
their  coming  out  of  Egy|)t. 

The  Christian  church  also  celebrates  the  Feast  of 
Pentecost,  fifty  days,  or  seven  weeks,  after  the  pass- 
over,  or  the  resurrection  of  oiu-  Saviour.  After  the 
ascension  of  Christ,  the  apostles  having  retired  to  a 


house  at  Jerusalem,  (which,  it  is  said,  was  that  of 
Mary  the  mother  of  John,  on  m.ount  Sion,)  they 
there  waited  for  the  Holy  Ghcst,  whicli  our  Saviour 
had  promised.  On  the  day  of  Pentecost,  about  the 
third  hour  of  the  day,  (nine  o'clock  in  tlie  morning,) 
suddenly  they  heard  a  great  noise,  like  the  rushing  of  a 
mighty  wind,  from  heaven,  which  filled  the  whole 
house  where  the  apostles  were  assembled.  At  the 
same  time  there  ai>peared  among  them,  as  it  were, 
tongues  of  fire,  parted,  or  cloven,  and  resting  on  each 
of  them;  they  were  all  immediately  filled  with  the 
Holy  Ghost,  and  began  to  speak  different  tongues 
or  languages,  as  the  Spirit  gave  them  utterance.  Acts 
ii.  1 — 3.  There  were  then  at  Jerusalem  some  pious 
Jews  of  all  nations,  who  were  astonished  to  hear 
such  a  variety  of  languages;  but  others  (probably 
Jews  of  Jerusalem)  mocked,  saying,  "  These  people 
are  full  of  new  wine."  Peter,  therefore,  took  u}) 
their  defence,  and  said,  "These  persons  are  by  no 
means  drunk,  for  it  is  yet  but  the  third  hoiu*  of  the 
day  :  (on  festival  days  they  did  not  eat  before  noon, 
especially  they  tasted  nothing-  before  nine  in  the 
morning,  which  was  an  hoiu-  of  prayer :)  but  this 
is  the  accomplishment  of  what  vras  spoken  by  Joel," 
(ii.  28.)  "  I  will  pour  out  my  S])irit  upon  all  flesh," 
&c.  And  then,  "  whoever  shall  call  on  the  name 
of  the  Lord  shall  be  saved,"  &c.  Those  who  heard 
Peter  were  moved  with  compunction,  ami  said, 
"Brethren,  what  must  we  do?"  Peter  answered 
them,  "Repent,  and  be  baptized  in  the  name  of  Jesus 
Christ,  to  obtain  the  remission  of  sins,  and  you  shall 
also  receive  the  Holy  Ghost,"  &c.  They  submit- 
ted, and  that  day  were  baptized  about  3000  souls. 
A.  D.  33. 

PEOR,  or  Phogor,  a  famous  mountain  beyond 
Jordan,  which  Eusebiiis  places  between  Ileshbon 
and  Livias.  The  mountains  Nebo,  Pisgah  and  Peor, 
were  near  one  another,  and  probably  of  the  same 
chain  of  mountains  ;  and  Cocceius  thinks  it  imports  a 
naked  height,  or,  as  we  say,  an  open  prospect,  so 
a  mountain  free  from  impediments ;  what  stands 
unsheltered  ;  jilainly  to  be  seen  ;  the  vertex  of  a  high 
hill.  It  was  tiie  name  of  a  mountain,  standing  very 
favorably  for  a  distant  prospect ;  "  a  prospect  station 


PER 


[737  ] 


PER 


in  an  open  place,"  Numb,  xxiii.  28.  We  may  say 
the  same  of  Beth  Peor,  (Deut.  iii.  29.)  which  appears 
to  have  been  on  an  eminence  ;  as  the  valley  in  which 
Israel  abode  was  over  against  it,  chap.  iv.  46.  It  was 
a  temple,  we  may  suppose,  with  a  village  at  least 
around  it. 

PEREA,  from  Gr.  jiiour,  beyond,  signifies  the 
country  beyond  Jordan,  or  east  of  that  river,  espe- 
cially on  the  south.  Josephus  says  that  it  had  its 
limits,  at  Philadelphia  east,  the  Joi-dan  west,  Ma- 
cheron  south,  and  Pella  north.  Sometimes  the  word 
Perea  is  taken  in  a  more  extensive  signification,  for 
the  whole  country  beyond  Jordan.  It  was  enclosed 
on  the  east  by  mountains,  which  divided  it  from 
Arabia  Deserta.  The  name  does  not  occur  in  Scrip- 
ture. 

PEREZ-UZZA,  the  breach  of  Uzza,  the  name  of  a 
place,  2  Sam.  vi.  8.  Uzzah  is  spelt  diflferently, 
where  the  reason  of  the  appellation  is  assigned,  1 
Chron.  xiii.  11.     See  Uzza. 

PERFECTION.  The  Son  of  God  commands  his 
disciples  {3Iatt.  v.  48.)  to  be  perfect,  even  as  their 
Father  in  heaven  is  perfect.  Not  that  we  can  ever 
attain  his  perfection,  but  we  ought  constantly  to  be 
making  advances  towards  it:  we  ought  always  to 
propose  it  to  ourselves  as  oiu-  pattern,  in  the  exer- 
cise of  all  virtue,  and  especially  his  mercy  and  char- 
ity. Hence  Luke  s<nys,  in  the  parallel  passage,  "  Be 
ye,  therefore,  merciful,  as  your  Father  also  is  merci- 
ful," Luke  vi.  36.  In  Matt.  xix.  21,  our  Saviour 
saysj  that  he  who  would  be  perfect  must  forsake  all 
and  follow  him  ;  and  in  Luke  vi.  40,  that  the  disciple 
who  would  arrive  at  perfectiosi  must  become  like 
his  master.  Paul  often  exhorts  his  discij)les  to  be 
perfect ;  that  is,  to  acquire  the  perfection  of  Chris- 
tianity, to  be  convinced  of  the  excellenceof  it,  and  to 
practise  its  triuhs,  1  Cor.  i.  10 ;  xiv.  10,  &c. 

In  the  Old  Testament,  the  words  perfect  and  per- 
fection answer  to  the  Hebrew  words  Thum  and 
Thdmmim,  which  properly  signify  entire  and  com- 
plete ;  without  blemish  or  defect ;  irreprehensible, 
perfect.  Thus  it  is  said,  (Gen.  vi.  9.)  "Noah  was  a 
just  man,  and  perfect  in  his  generations."  And  God 
says  to  Abraham,  (Gen.  xvii.  1.)  "  I  am  the  Almighty 
God  ;  walk  before  me,  and  be  thou  perfect."  And 
speaking  to  his  people,  (Deut.  xviii.  13.)  "Thou  shall 
be  perfect  with  the  Lord  thy  God."  In  all  these 
places,  perfect  is  put  for  a  character  without  re- 
proach ;  imreprovable,  sincere.  So  to  serve  God 
with  a  perfect  heait,  is  to  serve  him  faithfully,  purely, 
not  admitting  a  rival.  Perfect  joined  with  knowl- 
edge, law,  charity,  work,  &c.  signifies  whatever  may 
make  those  things  coinplete,  finished,  entire,  with- 
out deficiency.  Paul  says,  (Heb.  vii.  19.)  "The  law 
made  nothing  perfect ;"  i.  e.  it  may  be  said  to  give 
only  sketches  of  things  ;  to  enjoin  things  of  less  per- 
fection than  what  the  gospel  requires. 

PERFUMES  ;  the  use  of  perfumes  was  common 
among  the  Hebrews,  and  the  orientals  generally,  be- 
fore it  was  known  to  the  Greeks  a/id  Romans. 
l\Ioscs  also  speaks  of  the  art  of  the  i)crlumor,  in 
Egypt,  and  gives  the  composition  of  two  perfumes, 
(Exod.  XXX.  25.)  of  which  one  was  to  be  ofl'cred  to 
the  Lord,  on  the  golden  altar  ;  and  the  other  (Exod. 
XXX.  34,  &c.)  to  be  used  for  anointing  the  high-priest 
and  his  sons,  the  tabernacle,  and  the  vessels  of  di- 
vine service,  l^xod.  xxx.  23.  The  former  of  these, 
called  incense,  was  composed  of  stacte,  the  onyx,  or 
odoriferous  shell-fish,  of  galbauuni,  and  incense",  each 
of  equal  weight.  It  was  sacred  and  inviolable,  and 
it  was  forbidden,  on  pain  of  death,  for  anv  man 
93 


whatever  to  use  it.  The  other  perfume  was  rather 
an  unction,  to  anoint  the  priests  and  sacred  vessels 
of  the  tabernacle.  It  was  composed  of  the  best 
myrrh  500  shekels,  of  cinnamon  250  shekels,  of  can- 
na  aromatica  a  like  quantity,  of  cassia  aromatica  500 
shekels ;  and  1  hin  of  oil-olive.  God  reserved  this 
ointment,  or  perfume,  for  his  own  service ;  and 
whoever  should  make  it,  either  for  himself  or  another, 
was  to  be  cut  off  from  his  peo])le. 

The  Hebrews  had  also  perfumes  for  embalming 
their  dead.  The  coniposition  is  not  exactly  known, 
but  they  used  myrrh,  aloes  and  other  strong  and  as- 
tringent drugs,  proper  to  prevent  infection  and  cor- 
ruption.    See  Embalmixg. 

In  addition  to  these  perfumes,  there  are  others 
noticed  in  Scripture.  Those,  for  example,  which 
king  Hezekiah  preserved  in  his  repositories.  "The 
spices  and  precious  ointment ;"  (2  Kings  xx.  13.)  and 
those  burned  with  the  body  of  king  Asa,  2  Chron.  xvi. 
14.  Judith  perfumed  her  face  when  she  was  to  ap- 
pear before  Holofernes  ;  and  they  prepared  the  vir- 
gins which  were  to  appear  before  the  kings  of  Persia, 
for  six  months  together,  by  the  use  of  oil  of  myrrh, 
and  for  six  other  months,  by  various  perfumes  and 
sweet-scented  oils,  Esth.  ii.  12.  The  spouse  in  the 
Canticles  commends  the  perfumes  of  her  lover  ;  who 
in  return  says,  that  the  perfumes  of  his  spouse  sur- 
pass the  most  excellent  odors.  He  names  particu- 
larly the  spikenard,  the  canna  aromatica,  cinnamon, 
myrrh  and  aloes,  as  composing  these  perfumes.  The 
voluptuous  woman  described  by  Solomon  (Prov.  vii. 
17.)  says,  that  she  had  perfumed  both  her  duan  and 
her  bed  with  myrrh,  aloes  and  cinnamon.  The 
book  of  Wisdom  (ii.  7.)  encourage  one  another  to 
the  use  of  the  most  luxurious  and  costly  perfumes. 
Isaiah  rejiroaches  Judea,  whom  he  describes  as  a 
faithless  spouse  to  God,  as  being  painted  and  per- 
fumed to  ])lease  strangers:  (Isa.  Ivii.  9.)  "Thou 
wentest  to  the  king  with  ointment,  and  didst  in- 
crease thy  perfumes;"  and  Ezekiel  (xxiii.  41.)  seems 
to  accuse  the  Jews  with  having  profaned  the  odors 
and  perfumes,  whose  use  was  reserved  to  sacred  things, 
by  applying  tliem  to  their  own  use:  "Thou  satest 
upon  a  stately  bed,  and  a  table  prepared  before  it, 
whereupon  thou  hast  set  mine  incense  and  mine 
oil."  Amos  (vi.  6.)  inveighs  against  the  rich  men  of 
Ephraim,  who  drank  costly  wines,  and  perfumed 
themselves  with  the  most  precious  oils.  The  wo- 
man-sinner (Luke  vii.  37.)  and  jMary  Magdalen  (John 
xii.  3.)  anointed  our  Saviour's  feet  with  costly  per- 
fume.    That  of  Mary  3Iagdalen  was  spikenard. 

These  instances  show  the  taste  of  the  ancient  He- 
brews, which  was,  and  still  is,  the  taste  of  the  orien- 
tals, who  made  much  use  of  scents  and  perfumes. 
They  prove,  also,  tliat  both  men  and  women  used 
them,  and  that  wise  and  serious  men  condemned  the 
too  fi-c(iuont  and  affected  use  of  them.  It  may  also 
be  observed,  that  to  abstain  from  perfumes,  scents 
and  unctions,  was  esteemed  a  part  of  mortification, 
(See  Ivsth.  xiv  ;  2  Dan.  x.  3.) 

Solomon  says,  "that  dead  flies  cause  the  ointment 
of  the  apothecary  to  send  forth  a  stinking  savor :" 
i.  e.  as  one  dead  fly  is  sufficient  to  spoil  the  scent  of 
a  whole  box  of  perfumes;  so  one  fault  is  enough  to 
destroy  a  man's  good  name. 

PERGA,  a  city  of  Pamphylia,  Acts  xiii.  14.  This 
is  not  a  maritime  city,  but  situated  on  the  river  Ces- 
tus,  at  some  distance"  from  its  mouth.  It  was  one  of 
the  most  considerable  cities  in  Pamjjhylia  ;  and 
when  that  province  was  divided  into  two  parts,  this 
citv  became  the  metropolis  of  one  part,  and  Sid6  of 


PER 


PER 


the  other.  There  was,  ou  a  neighboriug  niouutaiii, 
a  very  famous  temple  of  Diana,  surnamed  Pergsea. 
from  the  city. 

PERGAMOS,  (now  Bergamo,)  a  city  of  Mysia,  in 
Asia  Minor,  and  the  residence  of  the  Attalian  princes. 
Tliere  was  here  collected  by  the  kings  of  this 
race  a  noble  library  of  200,000  volumes,  \vhich  was 
afterwards  transported  to  Egypt  by  Cleopatra,  and 
added  to  the  library  at  Alexandria.  Hence  the  Latin 
name  ptrgamentum  for  parchment.  Our  Lord 
(Rev.  ii.  12.)  speaks  to  the  angel,  or  bishop,  of  l^ei- 
gamus  thus :  "  I  know  thy  works,  aiul  where  thou 
dwellest,  even  Avhere  Satan's  seat  is ;  and  thou  bold- 
est fast  my  name,"  &c. 

PERJURY.  The  law  of  God  severely  con- 
demned perjury,  false  oaths,  vows  and  promises 
made  without  an  intention  to  perform  them.  Lev. 
xix.  12  ;  Exod.  xxiii.  13.  Perjury  otlends  against 
the  veracity  and  justice  of  God  himself,  and  is  a 
groat  insult  on  his  majesty,  iiy  appealing  to  him  as  a 
witness  to  a  lie,  and  engaging  his  mighty  name  in 
commission  of  a  crime.  Moses  (I^ev.  v.  4,  5,  G ;  vi.  2, 
3.)  seems  to  appoint  sacrifices  to  atone  for  perjury  ; 
V,  liicli  is  contrary  to  Paul,  who  assures  us,  that  the 
sacrifices  and  ceremonies  of  the  law  did  not  really 
remit  sins,  but  only  purify  legal  faults,  Heb.  vii.  18 ; 
Gal.  ii.  16;  Rom.  viii.  3;  Heb.  ix.  9,  13.  It  must, 
ih.refore,  be  ))resumed,  that  the  sacrifices  ordaine(i 
by  31oscs,  regarded  only  theignoranceor  temerity  of 
liir.1  who  had  made  a  rash  promise,  or  a  secret  oath,  or 
](i-o;nis:'.  Or  he  supposes,  tliat  he  who  was  permitted 
1:1  Oiler  such  a  sacrifice,  had  already  expiated  his 
sin,  iiy  a  perfect  repentance  and  contrition  ;  of  which 
the  prescribed  external  sacrifice  is  only  the  public 
acknowledgment,  or  ratification,  as  we  may  say,  to 
satisiy  for  faults  committed,  by  approaching  holy 
things  in  a  state  of  defilement.  The  wilful  perjurer 
was  punished  by' the  sentence  of  the  judges,  when 
lie  wa3  found  a'niitv.  (See  Lev.  v.  1  ;  xix.  8 ;  xx.  17, 
19,  20;  xxiv.  1.5  ;  Numb.  ix.  13.) 

PERIZZITES,  or  Pheres^i,  ancient  inhabitants 
(if  Palestine,  who  had  mingled  w|th  the  Canaanites, 
or  were  themselves  descendants  of  Canaan.  They 
:ippear  to  have  had  no  fixed  habitations,  and  lived 
soinetimes  in  one  country  and  sometimes  in  another. 
Tliere  were  some  of  them  on  each  side  of  the  river 
Jordan,  in  the  mountains,  and  in  the  plains.  In  sev- 
eral places  of  Scripture  the  Canaanites  and  Perizzites 
are  mentioned  cd  the  chief  people  of  the  country ; 
as  in  the  time  of  Abraham  and  Lot,  Gen.  xiii.  7. 
The  tribe  oi'  Ephraim  complaining  to  Joshua,  that 
they  were  too  much  confined  in  their  }>ossession,  he 
bade  tliem  go,  if  tliey  pleased,  into  the  mountains  of 
the  Perizzites  and  Rcphaim,  and  there  clear  the  land, 
cultivate  and  inhabit  it,  Josh.  xvii.  15.  Solomon 
subdued  the  remains  of  these  people,  which  the  Is- 
raclit-'^s  had  not  rooted  out,  and  made  them  tribu- 
tary, 1  Kings  ix.  20,  21  ;  2  Chron.viii.  7.  The  Periz- 
zites arc  mentioned  by  Ezra,  after  the  return  from 
iJabyion;  and  several  Israelites  had  married  wives 
from  among  tlieni,  Ezra  ix.  1.  See  Canaanites, 
p.  244. 

PERSECUTION  has  in  all  ages  been  the  jjortion 
of  good  men.  Cain  persecuted  Abel ;  Joseph  was 
persecuted  iiy  his  brethren;  David  Iiy  Saul;  Elijah 
;uid  Elisha  by  Ahab  ;  the  i>rophets  by  the  kings  and 
people  of  their  time  ;  our  Saviour  by  llerod,  and  the 
chief  of  the  Jews;  John  tiie  Baptist  and  the  apostles 
by  the  enemies  of  piety,  truth  and  justice  of  every 
description.  It  is  a  maxim  laid  down  by  the  apostfc 
tint  all   tiuise  who  will  lead  a  ffodiv  life  shall  siiiler 


persecution  ;  (2  Tim.  iii.  12.)  but  our  Lord  pro- 
nounces them  happy,  Matt.  viii.  3 — 10. 

PERSIA,  (in  Heb.  did,  Phars,  Ezek.  xxvii.  10.)  a 
vast  region  in  Asia,  the  south-western  province  of 
which  appears  to  have  been  the  ancient  Persia,  and 
is  still  called  Pharsistan,  or  Fars.  The  Persians  who 
became  so  famous  after  Cyrus,  the  founder  of  their 
monarchy,  were  anciently  called  Elamites ;  and  in 
the  time  of  the  Roman  emperors,  Parthians.  See 
Parthians. 

The  Arabians  say,  that  Fars,  the  fadier  of  the  Per- 
sians, was  son  of  Azaz,  or  Arphaxad,  son  of  Shem. 
Others  derive  him  from  Japheth ;  but  the  Persians 
derive  their  origin  fi-om  Kaiumarath,  who  is  among 
them  what  Adam  is  with  us.  They  assure  us  that 
they  have  always  had  kings  of  their  own  nation, 
whose  succession  has  never  been  long  interrupted. 
The  Dilemites,  the  Curdes,  and  even  the  oriental 
Turks,  according  to  some  authors,  are  descended 
from  the  Persians.  The  Dilemites  inhabit  the  shores 
of  tiie  Caspian  sea,  called  also  the  sea  of  Dilem,  from 
that  nation  ;  the  Curdes  are  scattered  in  Assyria,  to 
wliich  they  give  the  name  of  Kurdistan  ;  and  the 
Turks  have  withdrawn  beyond  the  river  Oxus,  into 
Turkestan. 

Authors  speak  differently  of  the  religion  of  the  an- 
cient Persians.  Herodotus  says,  "They  liad  neither 
temples,  nor  statues,  nor  altars.  They  look  on  it  as 
folly  to  make  or  to  suffer  any,  because  they  did  not 
believe,  as  the  Greeks,  that  the  gods  were  of  human 
origin."  They  sacrificed  to  Jupiter  on  the  highest 
mountains,  and  gave  the  name  of  God  to  the  Avhole 
circuit  of  the  heavens.  They  sacrificed  also  to  the 
sun,  and  the  moon,  and  the  earth  ;  to  the  fire,  and 
the  water,  and  the  winds.  They  originally  knew  no 
other  gods  but  these,  but  subsequently  they  have 
learned  from  the  Assyrians  and  the  Arabians,  to  sac- 
rifice to  Urania,  or  celestial  Venus  ;  whom  the  As- 
syrians call  Militta,  the  Arabians,  Alitta,  and  the 
Persians,  Mithra. 

The  modern  Persians  I'efer  their  religion  to  Abra- 
ham, whom  some  confound  with  Zoroaster,  and 
others  will  have  to  i)e  the  master  of  Zoroaster. 
They  think  the  world  was  created  in  six  days  ;  that 
in  the  beginning  God  created  a  man  and  a  woman, 
from  whom  mankind  are  derived  :  that  there  are 
several  terrestrial  paradises,  one  universal  del- 
uge, one  Moses,  one  Solomon.  All  this,  without 
doubt,  is  taken  from  the  histoiy  of  the  Jews,  and 
from  the  traditions  of  the  Mahometans. 

They  hold,  says  D'Herbelot,  one  eternal  God, 
called  in  their  language  Jesdan,  or  Oromazdes,  who 
is  the  true  God,  called  by  the  Arabians  Allah,  the 
author  of  all  good  ;  also  another  god,  produced  by 
darkness,  whom  they  name  Aherman,  (properly  the 
Eblis  of  the  Arabians,  or  the  devil,)  the  author  of  all 
evil.  They  have  a  very  great  veneration  for  light, 
and  a  great  aversion  from  darkness.  God  the  C'rea- 
tor  of  all  things  has  produced  light  and  darkness,  and 
from  a  mixture  of  these  two,  of  good  and  evil,  of  gen- 
eration and  corruption,  the  composition  and  decom- 
position of  the  pans  of  the  workl  is  effected  and  will 
always  continue,  till  light  withdrawing  itself  on  one 
si(ie,"and  darkness  on  the  other,  shall  cause  a  destruc- 
tion and  dissolution.  This  is  the  substance  of  the 
doctrine  of  Zoroaster,  wliich  is  still  maintained  by  the 
Magians,  or  Giiebres,  who  worship  fire;  and  who 
always,  when  they  jiray,  turn  themselves  towards  tiie 
rising  sun. 

Tlie  early  history  of  the  Persians,  like  that  of  most 
of  the  oriental  nations,  is   uivolved  in  doubt  or  per' 


PERSIA 


ray  ] 


PET 


plexity.  Wo  have  already  suggested  their  descent 
from  Shein,  tiirrmgh  his  son  Elani,  after  whom  they 
were  originally  named.  It  is  probable  that  they  en- 
joyed their  independence  for  several  ages,  with  a  mo- 
narchical succession  of  their  o\;ii ;  until  they  were 
subduetl  by  the  Assyrians,  and  their  country  attached 
as  a  j)rovinco  to  that  empire.  This  event  is  adum- 
brated in  Pei-sian  history  by  the  invasion  of  a  Ibreign 
tyrant,  named  Zobruk.  From  this  period,  !)otli  sscicd 
iind  protane  writers  distinguish  the  kingdom  of  the 
Medes  from  that  of  the  Pei-sians.  It  is  not  improba- 
ble that,  during  this  j)eriod,  petty  revolutions  might 
have  occasioned  temporary  disjunctions  of  Persia 
Irom  its  sister  kingdom,  and  that  the  Persian  king 
was  quickly  again  made  sensible  of  his  true  allegiance. 
Such  an  event  appears  to  have  occurred  in  the  reign 
of  Pharaoh,  who  defeated  the  revolted  Persiant^,  and 
reduced  them  to  a  more  complete  subjection. 

Dejoces,  the  father  of  Phraoites,  is  said  to  have 
built  the  city  of  Ecbatana,  and  to  have  estal)lished  its 
government.  But  it  is  probable  that  it  was  ibunded 
before  this  alleged  period,  jmd  only  strengthened  and 
extended  by  Dejoces.  Dejoces  was  killed  in  an  ac- 
tion with  Nebuchadnezzar  king  of  Assyria,  as  related 
in  the  book  of  Judith,  and  was  succeeded  by  his  son 
Piuiiortes.  Phraortes  afterwards  subdued  the  Persians 
and  other  Asiatic  nations.  He  ultimately  was  killed 
before  the  walls  of  Nineveh. 

Cyaxares,  his  son,  succeeding  to  the  throne  of 
Media,  undertook  to  be  revenged  upon  the  Assyrians. 
He  defeated  them,  and  led  the  ]\Iedes  a  second  time 
to  the  walls  of  Nineveh.  His  success  was  impeded 
by  his  being  called  off  by  some  invading  Scythians ; 
but  he  afterwai'ds  renewed  his  attempts,  and  de- 
stroyed that  great  city,  612  B.  C.     See  Media, 

Media,  having  vanquished  her  gi-eat  rival,  enjoyed 
a  long  interval  of  peace,  during  the  reign  of  Astyages, 
son  of  Cyaxares.  But  his  successor,  Cyaxares  the 
second,  united  with  the  Persians  against  the  Bab- 
ylonians, and  gave  the  command  of  the  combined 
armies  to  Cyrus,  who  took  the  city  of  Babylon, 
killed  Belshazzar,  and  terminated  that  kingdom, 
538  B.  C. 

Cyiiis  succeeded  to  the  thrones  of  Media  and  Per-. 
sia,  and  completed  the  union  between  those  countries. 
He  extended  his  dominion  beyond  the  greatest  limits 
of  that  of  the  kings  of  Assyria.  It  may  be  worthy  of 
remark,  that,  previous  to  this  union,  Daniel  speaks  of 
the  law  of  the  Medes  and  Persians  beuig  the  same. 
The  union  was  effected  B.  C.  536.  The  principal 
events,  relating  to  Scripture,  which  occurred  during 
the  reign  of  Cyrus,  were  the  restoration  of  the  Jews, 
the  rebuilding  the  city  and  temple,  and  tlie  subduc- 
tion  of  Babylon.  Of  the  successors  of  Cyrus,  differ- 
ent accounts  are  given  by  different  histories.  The 
Persian  annals  give  four,  from  Cyrus  to  Artaxerxes  ; 
the  sacred  annals  ^i»e,  and  the  Grecian  six.  The 
order  of  princes  as  given  in  the  book  of  Ezra  is,  Cy- 
rus, Ahasuerus,  Artaxerxes,  Darius,  Artaxerxes; 
Xei-xes,  who  reigned  between  Darius  and  Artaxerxes, 
being  omitted  to  be  mentioned,  because  nothing  im- 
portant in  the  Jewish  history  occin-rcd  during  his 
reign.  Ahasuerus  was  Cambyses,  the  son  of  Cyrus. 
He  was  too  much  engrossed  with  Egyptian  affairs 
to  pay  much  regard  to  the  Jews  ;  and  during  his 
reign  the  progress  of  their  works  at  Jerusalem  was 
nearly  suspended.  His  successor,  Artaxerxes,  was  the 
usurper  Smerdis  the  Magian,  by  whose  decree  a  total 
stop  was  put  to  the  buildings  at  Jerusalem.  The  next, 
according  to  Scripture  succession,  is  Darius,  called, 
by   profane  historians,  Darius  Hystaspes.      He  em- 


powered the  Jews  to  resume  the  works  at  Jerusalem, 
and  likewis--  granted  them  other  piivileges;  by  virtue 
of  which,  the  temple,  which  had  been  twenty  veai's 
in  building,  wjts  completed. 

Xt2xcs,  the  successor  of  Darius,  is  briefly  men- 
tioned in  Scripture,  by  Daniel,  as  the  fourth  king 
from  Cyrus,  who,  "by  his  streneih,  and  through  his 
great  riches,  should  stir  up  all  against  the  realm  of 
Grccia."  That  he  invaded  Greece  with  an  immense 
army,  is  known  to  e\-ery  one  in  the  least  acquainted 
with  ancient  history.  He  contuiucd  the  privileges 
which  his  father  Darius  had  granted  to  the  Jews. 

Arlaxei-xes,  called  by  the  Greeks  Longimanus,  from 
the  length  of  liis  hands,  and  Ahasuerus  in  the  book 
of  Esther,  is  rendered  memorable  principally  on  the 
account  of  the  fnendship  he  evmced  to  the  Jews, 
whicli  it  is  thought  proceeded  from  the  intercession 
of  Esther,  his  queen. 

[Later  interpreters,  however,  have  come  to  different 
results  in  regard  to  several  of  these  kings.  These 
may  be  seen  under  the  articles  Artaxerxes  I.  and 
particularly  under  Ahasuerus  II.      R. 

With  Ariaxerxes  the  histoiy  of  Persia,  as  relating 
to  the  Scriptures,  termhiates.  Persia,  howe\  er,  is  still 
a  country  to  which  we  may  recur  for  an  illustration 
of  the  maimers  and  usages  described  in  the  Scriptures. 
The  chai-acter  of  the  Persian  government  is  absolute- 
ly despotic.  The  fiat  of  the  king,  which  in  reality  is 
the  law  of  the  Medes  and  Persians  which  altereth 
not,  is  as  positive  and  innnutable  as  at  the  period 
when  Daniel  wrote  ;  ;uid  has  exerted  a  coiTespond- 
ing  and  \ery  marked  influence  on  the  manners  and 
customs  of  the  people. 

PERSIS,  a  Roman  lady,  whom  Paul  salutes, 
(Rom.  xvi.  12.)  and  calls  his  beloved  sister. 

PESTILENCE,  or  Plague,  in  the  Hebrew 
tongue,  as  in  most  others,  expresses  all  sorts  of  dis- 
tempers and  calamities.  Tlie  Hebrew  not,  Deber, 
which  properly  signifies  the  plague,  is  extended  to  all 
epidemical  and  contagious  diseases.  The  prophets 
generally  connect  together  the  sword,  the  pestilence 
and  the  famine,  as  three  evils  which  generally  accom- 
pany each  other. 

The  pestilent  man  (Prov.  xv.  12.  Vulg.)  is  the 
scorner,  the  pretended  free-thinker,  who  diverts  himself 
with  the  simplicity  of  good  people,  and  with  the  timid- 
ity of  pious  souls.  The  seat  of  the  sconier,  mentioned 
in  the  first  Psalm,  is  the  seat  of  such  pernicious  people. 
Solomon  in  many  places  cautions  his  readers  against 
their  discomvses.  The  scorner  loves  not  hiiu  that  re- 
proves him,  Prov.  xix.  25.  The  correction  of  such 
scoffers  is  gi-eat  instruction  tor  the  weak,  the  low,  the 
foolish,  and,  generally,  those  that  want  liglit  and  un- 
derstanding. Tertullus,  thf?  advocate  of  the  Jews, 
says,  (Acts  xxiv.  5.)  that  Paul  was  a  pestilent  fellow, 
a  common  disturber  and  mover  of  sedition,  because 
he  maintained  that  Jesus  was  the  Christ.  Jeremiah 
gives  to  Babylon  the  name  of  the  contagious  moun- 
tain, because  it  spread  the  infection  of  idolatry  and 
superstition  through  the  whole  world.  The  ftlessiah 
says,  (Hosea  xiii.  14.) "  O  death,  I  will  be  thy  plagues ; 
O  grave,  I  will  be  thy  destruction."  Jerome  trans- 
lates it.  And  in  Psalm  xci.  3,  the  Hebrew  has,  "He 
shall  deliver  thee  from  the  snares  of  the  hunter,  and 
from  the  dangerous  pestilence." 

PETER,  the  apostle,  was  born  at  Bethsaida,  and 
was  son  of  John,  Jona,  or  Joanna,  and  brother  of  An- 
drew, John  i.  42,  43.  His  original  name  was  Simon 
or  Suneon,  but  when  our  Saviour  called  him  to  the 
aposdeship,  he  added  the  name  Cephas,  that  is,  (in 
Syriac,)  a  stone  or  rock  ;  in  Greek  and  Latin,  Petra, 


PETER 


[  '^0  ] 


PETER 


whence  Peter.  He  was  man-ied ;  and  dwelt  witii 
his  mother-m-law,  and  his  wife,  at  Capernaum,  on 
the  lake  of  Gemiesareth,  Mark  i.  29  ;  Matt.  viii.  14  ; 
Luke  iv.  38.  Andrew,  having  been  called  by  Christ, 
met  his  brother  Sinion,and  prevailed  upon  him  to  come 
to  Jesus,  John  i.  41.  (A.  D.  30.)  After  havmg  passed 
one  day  with  our  Saviour,  tliey  returned  to  their  or- 
dmary  occupation,  of  fishing,  though  it  is  thought 
they  were  present  with  hiiu  at  the  marriage  ofCana 
in  Galilee.  Towards  the  end  of  the  same  year,  Jesus, 
being  on  the  shore  of  the  lake  of  Gennesareth,  while 
Peter  and  Andrew  were  busy  washing  their  nets, 
(Luke  v.  1,  &c.)  entered  their  boat,  and  bade  Peter 
throw  out  his  nets  into  the  sea,  in  order  to  fish.  Pe- 
ter obeyed,  though  he  had  been  fishing  the  whole 
night  without  success.  The  fish  taken  at  this  draught 
were  so  many,  that  their  own  vessel,  and  that  of 
James  and  John,  the  sons  of  Zebedee,  were  filled. 
The  miracle  so  impressed  the  miiid  of  Peter,  that  he 
threw  himself  at  the  feet  of  Jesus,  and  said,  "Depart 
from  me.  Lord,  for  I  am  a  siiuier."  Jesus,  ho%vever, 
bade  them  follow  him,  and  promised  to  make  them 
fishers  of  jnen.  The  four  quitted  their  boats  and  fol- 
lowed him. 

Jesus,  coming  to  Capernaum  some  time  afler  this, 
(Luke  iv.  38 ;  Matt.  viii.  14.)  entered  the  house  of 
Peter,  where  his  mother-in-law  lay  sick  of  a  ferer. 
He  immediately  healed  her  ;  and  she  assisted  to  sen^e 
them.  A  little  while  before  the  feast  of  the  passover 
of  the  following  year,  (A.  D.  32.)  after  he  returned  into 
Galilee,  he  chose  twelve  apostles,  among  whom  Peter 
has  the  first  place. 

Upon  one  occasion,  as  our  Saviour  was  iieEir  Caesa- 
rea  Philippi,  he  asked  his  apostles,  whom  men  took 
him  to  be.  Matt,  xvi.  13,  14.  They  answered,  some 
took  him  for  John  the  Baptist,  others  Elias,  others 
Jeremiah,  or  one  of  the  old  prophets.  "  But  whom  do 
you  say  that  I  am  ?"  inquired  Jesus.  Simon  Peter 
answered,  "You  are  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  the  living 
God."  Jesus  said  to  him,  "  Happy  are  you,  Simon, 
son  of  Jona,  for  flesh  and  blood  has  not  revealed  this 
to  you,  but  my  Father  who  is  in  heaven.  Yoiu-  name 
is  Peter,  [rock,]  and  on  this  rock  I  will  build  my 
church,  and  the  gates  of  hell  shall  not  prevail  against 
it.  I  will  give  you  the  keys  of  the  kingdom  of  heav- 
en, and  whatsoever  you  shall  bind  on  earth,  shall  be 
also  bound  in  heaven,  and  whatsoever  you  shall  loose 
on  earth,  shall  be  loosed  in  heaven."  (See  Key.)  About 
eight  days  after  this,  he  was  transfigured  on  a  moun- 
tain, and  had  with  him  Peter,  James  and  John,  whom 
he  showed  a  glimpse  of  his  gloiy.  Peter,  being  in  an 
ecstasy,  and  seeing  Moses  and  Elias  with  Jesus,  ex- 
claimed, "  Lord,  it  is  good  for  us  to  be  here  ;  if  you 
please,  we  will  make  three  tents,  one  for  you,  one 
for  IMoscs,  and  one  for  Elias !"  Matt.  xvii.  Luke 
ix.  28. 

One  day,  as  Jesus  was  speaking  concerning  the  for- 
giveness of  injuries,  (Matt,  xviii.  21,  22.)  Peter  asked 
him  how  often  they  niust  forgive  ;  whether  seven 
times.  Jesus  answered.  Seventy  times  seven.  On 
another  occasion,  (Matt.  xix.  27.)^ as  he  was  speaking 
of  the  dangei-  of  riches,  Peter  said  to  him,  "  Lord,  we 
have  left  all  to  follow  thee  ;  what  reward  shall  we 
have  ?"  Jesus  answered,  "  An  hundred-fold,  even  in 
this  world,  and  in  the  other  world  eternal  life." 

On  the  Wednesday  liefore  his  passion,  as  they  sat 
on  the  mount  of  Olives,  he,  with  the  other  apostles, 
asked  Jesus,  when  the  tem|)le  was  to  be  destroyed. 
On  Thursday  he  was  sent  with  John  to  j)repare  for 
the  passover;  and  in  the  evening,  wiien  Jesus  was  at 
table,  and  began  to  speak  of  him  who  should  betray 


him,  Peter  made  signs  to  John,  to  ask  him  who  this 
could  be.  After  supper,  the  disciples  disputed  who 
should  be  the  greatest ;  upon  which  Jesus,  laying 
aside  his  garments,  waslied  their  feet,  to  give  them 
an  example  of  humility.  Peter  reluctantly  consent- 
ed, and  that  not  till  after  Jesus  had  told  him  that  if 
he  did  not  wash  his  feet,  he  could  have  no  part  in 
him,  John  xiii.  6 — 10.  Just  before  the  apprehension 
of  our  Lord,  he  cautioned  Peter  of  his  danger:  "Pe- 
ter, Satan  has  desired  to  sift  you  as  men  sift  wheat : 
— but  I  have  prayed  for  you,  that  your  faith  may  not 
fail ;  and  when  you  are  converted,  confirm  your 
brethren."  Peter  declared  he  was  ready  to  follow 
his  Master  every  where,  even  to  death  ;  but  Jesus 
foretold  to  him,  that  he  would  abjure  him  three  times 
that  very  night,  before  the  cock  should  crow.  When 
supper  was  ended,  our  Saviour  went  to  the  garden 
of  Olives,  taking  Peter,  James  and  John  apart,  as 
witnesses  of  his  agony.  Here  Peter,  though  he  had 
lately  shown  so  much  resolution,  fell  asleep  with  the 
rest ;  which  occasioned  Jesus'  affectionate  reproof: 
— "  Do  j'ou  sleep,  Simon  ?  Could  you  not  watch  with 
me  one  hour?"  Mark  xiv.  37  ;  Matt.  xxvi.  40,  &c. 

Judas  having  come  out  with  the  soldiers  to  seize 
Jesus,  Peter  drew  his  sword,  and  cut  oft'  the  right 
ear  of  Malchus,  servant  to  the  high-priest ;  which 
Jesus  perceiving,  bade  him  put  up  his  sword,  adding, 
those  who  fight  with  the  sword  perish  by  the  swoi-d  ; 
and  at  the  same  time  healing  Malchus's  ear,  John 
xviii.  10,  tS:c.  Jesus  being  led  to  the  house  of^Caia- 
phas,  Peter  followed  at  a  distance,  and  mingled  with 
the  soldiers  and  servants  in  the  hall.  While  warm- 
ing himself  at  the  fire,  a  maid-servant  said,  "  Surely 
this  man  was  with  Jesus  of  Nazareth  !"  But  Peter 
answered,  "I  know  not  what  you  say;  I  do  not 
so  much  as  know  the  man."  A  short  time  afterwards, 
another  maid  recognized  him.  But  Peter  denied  it 
with  an  oath  ;  as  he  did  a  third  time.  At  this  mo- 
ment the  cock  crowed  the  second  time,  and  Jesus, 
being  in  the  hall,  and  not  far  from  Peter,  turned  and 
looked  on  him,  which  bringing  to  his  remembrance 
that  Jesus  had  said  to  him,  before  the  cock  crowed 
twice  he  should  deny  him  thrice,  he  rushed  out  of 
the  house  and  wept  bitterlv,  Matt.  xxvi.  73,  75; 
Mark  xiv.  30,  72. 

It  is  said  that  his  compunction  was  so  acute  that 
he  remained  in  secret,  and  in  tears,  during  the  whole 
time  of  our  Saviour's  passion  (Friday  and  Saturday;) 
but  on  Sunday  morning  Jesus  being  risen,  and  Mary 
having  been  at  the  tomb,  and  not  finding  the  body  of 
Jesus,  she  ran  into  the  city,  to  tell  Peter  and  John 
that  tlieir  Master  was  taken  away.  The  two  disci- 
})les  ran  to  the  sepid(;hre,  and  Peter  saw  the  linen 
clothes  in  which  the  body  had  been  wrapped.  They 
returned  to  Jerusalem,  not  understanding  what  had 
come  to  pass ;  but  on  the  same  day  our  Saviour  ap- 
peared to  Peter,  John  xx. ;  Luke  xxiv.  12,  34,  &c. ; 
Mark  xvi.  7. 

Some  days  after  this,  while  Peter  with  some  oth- 
ers of  the  aposdes  were  fishing  on  the  lake  of  Gen- 
nesareth, Jesus  visited  and  dined  with  them  ;  and 
after  dinner  gave  to  Peter  the  memorable  and  im- 
pressive charge,  "  Feed  my  sheep  ;"  adding,  "  I  tell 
you  for  a  truth,  that  when  you  were  young,  you 
girded  yourself  and  went  where  you  pleased;  but 
now  you  are  old,  another  shall  gird  you,  and  lead 
you  where  you  would  not  go." 

From  this  time,  I'etcr's  zeal  in  his  Master's  service 
was  unabatinir,  and  his  boldness  not  to  be  subdued. 
On  the  day  of  Pentecost,  he  stood  forth  in  the  defence 
of  his  brethren,  who  were  charged  by  the  unthinking 


PETER 


[  ?41  ] 


PETER 


Jews  with  drunkenness,  and  so  powerfully  urged  the 
completion  of  the  prophecies  in  the  person  of  Jesus, 
that  a  great  number  were  converted,"  Acts  ii.  When 
taken  Lefbre  the  Sanhedrim,  with  his  companion 
John,  in  consequence  of  having  healed  the  cripple, 
at  the  Beautiful  gate  of  the  temple,  he  boldly  and  un- 
dauntedly charged  that  corrupt  body  vvitii  having 
crucified  the  Messiah,  and  refused,  at  the  risk  of  his 
lite,  to  refrain  from  preaching  the  truth  to  the  people. 
Acts  iv. 

Upon  several  other  occasions,  Peter  was  subjected 
to  imprisonment  and  scourging,  in  consefpience  of 
his  zeal  and  fervor  in  the  service  of  his  divine  Mas- 
ter ;  but  none  of  these  things  moved  him,  nor  retard- 
ed his  labors  in  publishing  the  gospel.  After  having 
visited  Samaria,  where  Philip  had  been  declaring  the 
word  of  life,  and  conferring  the  Holy  Spirit  upon 
many  of  those  who  had  believed,  Peter  visited  the 
disciples  from  city  to  city.  At  Lydda,  he  cured 
iEneas,  who  had  been  paralytic  for  eight  years.  At 
Joppa,  he  restored  Tabitha  to  liic.  And  at  Cpesarea 
of  Palestine,  he  opened  the  door  of  faitii  to  the  Gen- 
tiles, by  converting  and  baptizing  the  family  of  Cor- 
nelius, a  man  who  feared  God,  and  desired  to  be 
instructed  in  the  gospel.  Acts  ix.  10. 

Upon  his  return  to  Jerusalem,  his  iellow  a[)0stles, 
who  did  not  yet  fully  understand  the  economy  of 
God,  in  his  purposes  toward  the  Gentiles,  charged 
hinr  with  a  violation  of  the  law,  in  his  intercourse 
with  the  uncircumciscd  ;  Peter,  however,  related  the 
whole  affair  to  them  from  the  beginning,  which  led 
them  to  rejoice  and  glorify  God,  in  that  he  had  also 
granted  to  the  Gentiles  repentance  unto  life,  Acts  xi. 

It  is  thought  that  soon  after  this,  Peter  went  to  An- 
tioch,  where  he  founded  a  Christian  church,  A.  D. 
3G;  and  after  visiting  Asia  Minor,  Bithynia,  Cappa- 
docia,  Pontus,  and  perhaps  some  of  the  provinces 
further  north,  he  returned  to  Jerusalem,  where  he 
was,  A.  D.  44,  at  the  passover.  In  this  year,  Herod 
Agrippa  began  a  persecution  against  the  church,  in 
which  James  the  greater,  brother  of  John,  was  slain, 
and  Peter  apprehended  for  the  purpose  of  being  put 
to  death.  On  the  very  night  before  he  was  to  have 
been  executed,  however,  and  while  he  was  sleeping 
loaded  with  chains,  between  two  soldiers,  the  angel 
of  the  Lord  awoke  him,  opened  the  prison,  and 
brought  him  out  into  the  street.  At  the  house  of 
Mary  the  mother  of  John,  he  found  many  of  the 
faithful  assembled  at  prayer,  on  his  belialf,  and  they 
all  glorified  God  for  his  deliverance.  Acts  xii. 

He  soon  afterwards  left  Jerusalem,  and  we  lose 
sight  of  him,  till  the  council  at  Jerusalem,  A.  D.  51. 
At  Antioch,  Peter,  as  his  custom  had  l)een,  ate  and 
drank  with  the  Gentiles,  without  regarding  the  Mo- 
saic distinctions  of  meats.  But  when  some  convert- 
ed Jews  from  Jerusalem  arrived,  being  unwilling  to 
offend  them,  he  separated  himself  from  the  convert- 
ed Gentiles.  Paul,  however,  fearing  this  might  be 
interpreted  as  if  meant  to  revoke  and  annul  what  he 
had  determined  in  the  council  of  Jerusalem,  ex- 
postulated with  him  on  the  impropriety  of  such  a 
course,  and  Peter  submitted  to  his  judgment,  Gal. 
ii.  11. 

From  this  time,  little  is  known  of  Peter.  Eusebius 
informs  us  that  Origen,  in  the  third  tome  of  his  Ex- 
position on  Genesis,  wrote  to  this  puri)osc :  "  Peter 
is  supposed  to  have  preached  to  the  Jews  of  the  dis- 
persion in  Pontus,  Galatia,  Bithynia,  Ca|)padocia 
and  Asia.  And  at  length,  coming  to  Rome,  was  cru- 
cified with  his  head  downwards;  himself  having  de- 
sired that  it  might  be  in  that  manner."     Some  learned 


men  think,  that  Peter,  in  the  latter  part  of  his  life, 
went  into  Chaldea,  and  there  wrote  his  First  Epistle  ; 
because  the  salutation  of  the  church  at  Babylon  is 
sent  in  it.  But  their  opinion  is  not  supported  by  the 
testimony  of  ancient  writers.  Lai-dner  says,  "  It 
seems  to  me,  that  when  Peter  left  Judea,  he  went 
again  to  Antioch,  the  chief  city  of  Syria.  Thence 
he  might  go  into  other  parts  of  the  continent,  par- 
ticularly Pontus,  Galatia,  Cappadocia,  Asia  and 
Bithynia,  which  are  expressly  mentioned  at  the  be- 
ginning of  his  First  Epistle.  In  those  countries  he 
might  stay  a  good  while.  It  is  veiy  likely  that  he 
did  so ;  and  that  he  was  well  acquainted  with  the 
Christians  there,  to  whom  he  afterwards  wrote  two 
epistles.  When  he  left  those  parts,  I  think  he  went 
to  Rome  ;  but  not  till  after  Paul  had  been  in  that 
city,  and  was  gone  from  it." 

Many  ancient  writers  have  said,  that  Peter  waa 
crucified  at  Rome,  while  Nero  persecuted  the  Chris- 
tians. And  their  opinion  has  been  espoused  by 
learned  men,  both  Pajjists  and  Protestants.  Some, 
however,  part'T'ularly  Scaliger,  Salmasius,  Spanheim, 
and  others,  deny  that  Peter  ever  was  at  Rome.  If 
the  reader  wishes  to  see  the  evidence  from  antiquity, 
on  which  Peter's  having  been  at  Rome  rests,  he  will 
find  it  fiilly  set  forth  by  Lardner,  who  concludes  his 
inquiry  as  follows  :  "  This  is  the  general,  uncontra- 
dicted, disinterested  testimony  of  ancient  writers  in 
the  several  jiarts  of  the  world,  Greeks,  Latins,  Syri- 
ans. As  our  Lord's  prediction  concerning  the  death 
of  Peter  is  recorded  in  one  of  the  foiu*  Gospels,  it  is 
very  likely  that  Christians  would  observe  the  accom- 
plishment of  it,  which  must  have  been  in  some  place. 
And  about  this  place,  there  is  no  difference  among 
Christian  writers  of  ancient  times.  Never  any  other 
place  was  named,  besides  Rome  ;  nor  did  any  other 
city  ever  glory  in  the  martyrdom  of  Peter.  It  is  not 
for  our  honor,  nor  for  our  interest,  either  as  Chris- 
tians or  Protestants,  to  deny  the  truth  of  events  as- 
certained by  early  and  well-attested  tradition.  If  any 
make  an  ill  use  of  such  facts,  we  are  not  accountable 
for  it.  We  are  not,  from  a  dread  of  such  abuses,  to 
overthrow  the  credit  of  all  history,  the  consequences 
of  which  would  be  fatal."     (Macknight.) 

Epistles  of  Peter. — We  have  two  epistles  attrib- 
uted to  Peter,  by  the  common  consent  of  the  Chris- 
tian church.  The  genuineness  of  the  First  has  never 
been  disputed,  and  is  referred  to  as  his  accredited 
work,  by  several  of  the  apostolical  fathers.  Com- 
mentators have  been  divided  in  opinion,  as  to  the 
persons  to  whom  this  Epistle  was  primarily  address- 
ed ;  the  best  sustained  hypothesis  is,  that  it  was  in- 
tended for  the  Jewish  and  Gentile  believers,  indis- 
criminately, who  were  resident  in  the  provinces 
enumerated  in  the  introductory  verses.  It  was  writ- 
ten from  Babylon,  but  whether  the  Chaldean  or  the 
Egyptian  Babylon,  cannot  be  determined.  (See  Bab- 
ylon.) The  Second  Epistle  was  addressed  to  the 
same  |>crsons  as  the  former  one ;  its  general  design 
being  to  confirm  the  doctrines  which  had  been  de- 
livered in  that,  and  to  excite  the  Christian  converts 
to  a  course  of  conduct  becoiTiing  in  every  respect 
their  high  jHofession  of  attachment  to  Christ. 

Mr.  Taylor  conjectures  that  the  First  Epistle  of 
Peter  might  be  a  kind  of  response  to  the  Epistle  of 
Paul  to  the  Galatians.  It  is  remarkable,  he  observes, 
that  the  tenor  of  this  address  is  altogether  indepen- 
dent of  any  respect  to  the  Mosaic  economy  ;  that  is 
scarcely  alluded  to,  certainly,  it  is  not  recommended. 
Nevertheless,  it  is  evident  from  the  energy  of  the 
writer's  expressions,  (chap.  v.  12.)  "  I  have  written  to 


PHA 


I  742  ] 


PHARAOH 


you,  exhorting  you,  and  strongly  testifying  that  this 
IS  the  true  grace  of  God  in  which  ye  stand,"  that  he 
felt  a  constraining  necessity  for  clearly  stating,  as  it 
were,  under  his  hand,  those  principles  which  some, 
in  their  excess  of  zeal  for  legal  observances,  had 
confused,  not  to  say  impaired.  And  these  persons 
were  known  to  him:  he  does  not  mention  them,  but 
he  corrects  them :  neither  does  he  mention  Paul,  but 
he  supports  him.  In  his  Second  Epistle,  however, 
he  names  Paid  explicitly,  and  reminds  his  readers 
that  this  apostle  had  written  an  epistle  "  to  them,"  iii. 
15.  We  have  no  evidence,  however,  of  any  epistle 
written  by  Paul  to  Pontus,  Cappadocia,  Asia  or 
Bithynia :  he  wrote  to  the  Galatians,  and  to  them 
only.  [But  if  Paul  wrote  to  the  Hebrews,  they  were 
of  the  same  nation  as  those  to  v/hom  Peter  writes  in 
their  dispersion.  See  the  Bibl.  Repository,  vol.  ii. 
p.  412,  seq.  R.]  It  is  a  hazarded  o])inion  of  Mac- 
knight,  that  "  the  persons  to  whom  Peter's  Epistles 
were  sent  were,  for  the  most  part,  Paul's  con\erts." 
Surely  not.  Peter  says,  (i.  16.)  "  We  made  known  to 
you  the  power  and  coming  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ," 
and  then  he  alludes  to  the  transfiguration  ;  which 
he  repeats,  as  what  he  had  heretofore  related  to 
them.     Paul  could  not  do  this. 

There  is  no  mark  of  time  in  the  First  Epistle  by 
which  to  fix  its  date.  The  Second  fixes  itself  to  a 
period  not  long  before  the  decease  of  the  writer.  The 
interval  between  them  might  be  longer  or  shorter. 
If  we  assign  an  early  date  to  the  First,  we  must  con- 
sider well  where  Sylvanus,  if  he  were  Paul's  Silas, 
could  be  at  the  time  :  if  we  assign  a  later  date,  we 
must  find  circumstances  so  adjusted  as  to  allow  that 
Paul  should  receive,  from  the  Sylvanus  of  Peter,  the 
satisfaction  of  perusing  Peter's  Epistle,  and  of  seeing 
corrected  the  errors  of  those  who  were  misleading 
the  Galatians.  Each  of  these  propositions  has  its 
difficulty,  and  must  not  be  rashly  determined  on.  It 
is  clear,  that  Peter,  when  he  wrote  his  Second  Epis- 
tle, knew  that  Paul's  writings  were  numerous  ;  though 
it  seems  advisable  to  take  the  term  all  'his  Epistles,' 
rather  generally  than  absolutely,  rather  loosely  than 
strictly. 

PETRA,  the  capital  of  Idumea.     See  Sela. 

PHARAOH.  It  has  generally  been  supposed,  that 
the  term  "  Pharaoh"  is  not  employed  by  any  Greek 
authors,  prior  to  the  establishment  of  Christianity  ; 
but  only  occurs  in  Scripture,  and  in  the  works  of  the 
Jewish  historian,  Josephus.  Dr.  Willan,  however, 
has  shown,  from  some  passages  in  the  Euterpe  of 
Herodotus,  that  this  ancient  writer  intended  to  ex- 
press in  Grecian  characters  the  same  word,  which  is 
originally  Egyptian  ;  and  that  he  has  also  very  satis- 
factorily explained  its  meaning.  Josephus,  in  his 
Jewish  Antiquities,  (b.  viii.  ch.  vi.)  says,  "The  title 
of  Pharaoh  tvas  applied  to  the  kings  of  Egy])t,  from 
Menes  to  the  time  of  Solomon,  but  not  afterwards  ; 
the  word  signified  a  king,  in  the  Egyjitian  language." 
According  to  the  information  received  by  Herodotus 
and  Diodorus  Siculus,  from  the  Hierophants  of 
Egypt,  that  country  had  been  governed  during  a  pe- 
riod of]  8,000  years,  first  by  its  principal  divinities, 
and  afterwards  by  a  dynasty  of  heroes,  or  demi-gods, 
the  offspring  of  the  former ;  and  lastly,  by  a  series  of 
mortal  princes,  wiio  reigned  during  another  |)eriod 
of  more  than  14,000  years,  conunencing  with  Menes, 
and  terminating  with  Psanunenitus,  when  Egypt  be- 
came a  province  of  the  Persian  empire.  Herodotus 
Bays,  from  Menes,  the  first  mortal  king,  to  Sethos, 
priest  of  Vulcan,  (contemporary  with  the  Assyrian 
monarch    Sennacherib  and  with  Hezekiah,  prince 


of  Judah,)  the  Egyptian  priests  told  him,  "a  period 
of  11,340  years,  or  341  generations,  had  elapsed,  in 
which  there  had  been  as  many  high-priests,  and  the 
same  number  of  kings  ;  and,  during  that  time,  no  di- 
vinity had  appeared  under  a  human  form."  The  mor- 
tal i)rinces,  who  are  said  to  have  succeeded  the  goda, 
were  denominated  by  the  Egyptians,  Pharaohs,  or 
Pharaons  ;  or,  as  Herodotus  writes  it,  Pirums,  Heb. 
n>'-'3,  Paroh.  He  sav/  colossal  statues  of  them,  and 
their  contemporary  high-priests,  in  the  spacious 
temple  at  Thebes,  where  the  pi-iests  informed  him, 
"that  each  of  those  colossal  figures  was  a  Pirumis, 
descended  from  a  Piromis ;  and  further  asserted, 
that  this  had  imiformly  occurred  to  the  number  of 
341,  in  which  series  there  was  neither  a  god  nor  a 
hero."  He  further  remarks,  that  Piromis,  in  the 
Egyptian  language,  is  expressive  of  dignity  and 
excellence  {r(u/.oxitya,9lu):  it  seems,  therefore,  analo- 
gous to  the  title  of  Augustus,  conferred  bj'  the  Ro- 
man senate  on  Octavius  Csesar,  and  retained  by  his 
successors  in  the  empire. 

Mr.  Bryant,  in  his  "  x\nalysis  of  Ancient  Mytholo- 
gy," has  made  a  distinction  between  Pharaon,  as  the 
word  is  written  by  Josephus,  and  the  Pirum  of  He- 
rodotus. The  former  term,  he  thinks,  is  compounded 
of /'Aland  ourah,  implying  "the  voice  of  Orus  ;"  be- 
cause "it  was  no  unusual  thing,  among  the  ancients, 
to  call  the  words  of  their  prince,  the  voice  of  God." 
The  observations  of  Herodotus  and  Josephus,  so  far, 
however,  coincide,  as  to  make  it  evident  they  meant 
the  same  title,  or  denomination,  although  they  may 
have  both,  perhaps,  somewhat  altered  the  original 
word,  by  expressing  it  in  the  characters  of  their  re- 
spective languages.  The  Greek  writers,  in  general, 
disfigure  the  names  of  foreign  places  and  persons,  by 
adding  the  usual  terminations  of  their  own  nouns,  by 
transposing  consonants,  and  by  inserting  vowels,  in 
order  to  soften  words  of  a  hai'sh  sound  ;  thus,  the 
name  of  the  Persian  king,  Khosrou,  is  by  them  ex- 
pressed Koiiros ;  Ardshir  is  Artaxerxes ;  Baal  is 
Belus ;  Addir-Dag  is  Atergatis  ;  Zeratusht  is  Zoroas- 
ter ;  Phrat,  or  A])hrat,  is  Euphiates  ;  Ashur  is  Assyr- 
ia ;  Ashdod  is  Azotus ;  and  Ja])ha  is  expressed  Jopp^. 
An  instance  of  a  change  similar  to  that  of  Pharaoh 
and  Pirom,  occurs  in  the  name  of  the  Egyptian  king 
Hophra,  who  is  called  by  Herodotus  ajui  Diodorus, 
Apries.  In  a  treatise  "  On  Providence,"  written  by 
Synesius,  the  celebrated  bishop  of  Cyrenc,  there  is  a 
passage  which  coincides  with  and  illustrates  the  ob- 
servations of  Herodotus.  He  says,  "  The  father  of 
Osiris  and  Typhon  was,  at  the  same  time,  a  kuig,  a 
priest,  and  a  i)hilosopher.  The  Egyptian  histories, 
also,  rank  him  among  the  gods  ;  for  the  Egyptians 
are  disposed  to  believe,  that  many  divinities  reigned 
in  succession,  before  their  country  was  governed  by 
men,  and  before  their  kings  were  reckoned  in  a  gen- 
ealogical series  by  Peirom,  after  Peiroin." 

Hence  it  appears  that  Pharaoh  is  a  title  signifying 
dignity,  honor,  exaltation.  May  it  not  be  analogous 
to  the  title  of  highness  among  ourselves  ?  The  read- 
er will  notice  the  customaiy,  and  perhaps  inevitable, 
variations  made  by  the  Greeks,  in  writing,  and,  no 
doubt,  in  pronouncing,  oriental  names  ;  because  it 
may  tend  to  moderate  our  sur[)rise  at  those  variations 
of  certain  names  of  the  Old  Testament,  which  occur 
in  the  New  TestaunMit,  and  which  is  especially  no- 
ticeable in  the  genealogies  of  Matthew  and  Luke. 

[The  word  Pharaoh,  according  to  Josephus,  (Ant. 
viii.  6.  2.)  mid  in  the  Co|)tic,  (Jaljlonsky,  Opusc.  i.  p. 
374.)  signifies  king ;  and  comes  from  the  Coptic  word 
ouro  with  the  article  pi,  \\z.pi-ouro,pouro, phouro,  i.  e. 


PHARAOH 


743 


PHA 


THE  KKNG.  The  Hcbrcws,  in  adopting  this  word  into 
their  own  language,  (as  also  in  the  name  Moses,)  gave 
it  a  form  adapted  to  a  Hebrew  etymology,  and  pre- 
sening  at  the  same  time,  as  nearly  as  possible,  the 
original  signification  of  the  name.  Hence  theyAvrote 
it  rf\-;:,  as  if  from  y-\s,  leader,  prince.  (See  the  Bibl. 
Repository,  vol.  i.  p.  581.) 

Bochart  supposes  that  Pharaoh  signifies  a  crocodile  ; 
and  it  is  a  somewhat  strikmg  coincidence,  that  Cham- 
pollion  has  found,  that  the  word  ouro,  with  the  article 
pi-ouro,  is  the  Egj'ptian  name  of  the  sei-pent  or  dragon 
LFi-a?us,  which  is  pointed  out  on  all  the  monuments 
as  a  characteristic  sign  of  Egyptian  sovereigns.  This 
is  a  singular  congruity  ;  and  it  seems  to  explain  the 
true  signification  of  the  title  Pharaoh,  and  the  reason 
why  this  symbol  is  placed  upon  the  royal  head-dresses. 
(See  Greppo's  Essay  on  the  Hieroglyphic  System, 
&c.  p.  85.)  Does  not  this  afford  some  illustration  of 
the  passage  in  Ezek.  xxLx.  3  ?  "  Behold  I  am  against 
thee,  Pharaoh  king  of  Egypt,  the  great  dragon  that 
lieth  m  the  midst  of  his  rivei-s,"  &c. 

Of  the  kings  of  Egypt  there  are  not  less  than  eleven 
or  twelve  mentioned  in  Scripture,  all  of  whom  bore 
the  general  title  of  Pharaoh,  except  three.  Along 
with  this  title,  two  of  them  have  also  other  proper 
names,  Necho  and  Hophra.  The  following  is  their 
order:  some  of  them  have  been  identified,  by  the  la- 
bors of  ChampoUion,  with  kings  whose  proper  names 
we  know  from  other  som'ces ;  while  others  still  re- 
main in  obscurity. 

1.  Pharaoh,  (Gen.  xii.  15,  seq.)  in  the  time  of  Abra- 
ham. (Greppo,  p.  89.) 

2.  Pharaoh,  the  master  of  Joseph,  Gen.  xxxviii. 
36  ;  xli.  &c.  Some  suppose  that  the  Pharaoh  to 
whom  Joseph  became  prime  minister,  was  the 
son  of  the  one  mentioned  iii  Gen.  xxxviii.  36. 
(Greppo,  p.  91,  seq.) 

3.  Pharaoh,  who  knew  not  Joseph,  and  under 
whom  Moses  was  born ;  perhaps  Ramses  Mei- 
amoun,  Ex.  i.  8,  seq.     (Greppo,  p.  94.) 

4.  Pharaoh,  under  whom  the  Israelites  left  Egjpt, 
and  who  perished  in  the  Red  sea,  Ex.  v. — xiv. 
Probabty  Amenophis.     (Greppo,  p.  97,  seq.) 

5.  Pharaoh,  in  the  time  of  David,  1  Kings  xi. 
19 — 21.  Perhaps  Psonsenes.  (Greppo,  p.  112, 
seq.) 

6.  Pharaoh,  the  father-in-law  of  Solomon;  1  Kings 
iii.  1  ;  vii.  8  ;  ix.  16,  24.  Probably  Osochor. 
(Greppo,  p.  114.) 

7.  Shishak,  near  the  end  of  Solomon's  reign,  and 
under  Rehoboam,  1  Kings  xi.  40  ;  xiv.  25,  26  ; 
2  Chron.  xii.  3.  Sesonchosis.  (Greppo,  p.  117.) 
From  this  time  onward  the  proper  names  of  the 
Egyptian  kings  are  mentioned  m  Scripture. 

8.  Zerah,  the  Ethiopian,  2  Chron.  xiv.  9,  seq. 
Rosenmiiller,  with  good  reason,  supposes  him  to 
have  been  a  chief  of  the  Arabian  Ethio])ia,  hav- 
ing no  connection  with  Egvpt.  (See  Cush,  p. 
323.     Greppo,  p.  120.) 

9.  So,  or  Sevechus,  contemporary  with  Ahaz,  2 
Kings  xvii.  4.     (Greppo,  p.  124.) 

10.  TiRHAKA,  kuig  of  Ethiopia  and  Egypt,  in  the 
time  of  Hezekiah,  2  Kings  xix.9  ;  Isa.  xxxvii.  9. 
Probably  the  Tearcho  of  Strabo,  and  the  Taradcs 
of  Manctho.     (Greppo,  p.  125.) 

1 1.  Pharaoh  Nkcho,  in  the  time  of  Josiali,  2  Kings 
xxiii.  29,  30,  seq. ;  2  Chron.  xxxv.  20 — 24,  seq. 
.'Vec/)0,  the  son  of  Psannnetichus.  (Greppo,  p.  127.) 
See  Egypt,  p.  373. 

12.  Pharaoh  Hophra,  contemporary  with  Nebu- 
chadnezzar, Jer.  xliv.  30.     He  was  the  grandson 


of  Necho,  and  is  the  Apries  of  Herodotus.  See 
Apries.     (Greppo,  p.  129.) 

(See,  in  respect  to  all  these  kings,  the  article  Egypt, 
p.  373,  seq.  and  Rosenmiiller's  Bibl.  Geograph.  vol. 
iii.)     *R. 

PHARISEES.  This  was  the  most  celebrated  and 
influential  of  the  Jewish  sects  Ln  the  time  of  our  Sa- 
vioin-,  but  its  origin,  like  that  of  its  antagonist  and  rival 
body  the  Sadducees,  is  involved  m  obscurity.  The 
prophet  Isaiah,  indeed,  as  Brlicker  remarks,  found 
among  the  Jews  in  his  tune  several  appearances  of 
the  spirit  and  character  which  afterwards  distinguished 
this  sect ;  (Isa.  Iviii.  2,  3 ;  Ixv.  5.)  but,  as  he  adds,  we 
have  no  proof  tliat  they  existed  as  a  distinct  body  in 
the  prophetic  age ;  nor  do  we  find  any  traces  of  them 
prior  to  the  tune  of  the  fii'st  Ptolemies,  when  oral  tra- 
ditions, together  with  allegorical  interpretations  of  the 
written  law,  ^vere  mtroduced.  Although  we  meet 
with  no  satisfactory  evidence  of  the  existence  of  the 
sect  of  the  Hasidaei,  which  Scaliger  (Eleuch.  Trihse- 
res,  cap.  xxii.  p.  170.  Reland.  Antiq.  Sac.  p.  2.  cap. 
ix.  §  13.)  supposes  to  have  been  the  foundation  of  the 
Pharisaic  sect,  the  writer  just  cited  thinks  there  can 
be  little  reason  to  doubt  that  it  arose  soon  after  the 
return  from  the  Babylonish  captivity,  in  consequence 
of  the  uitroduction  of  traditionaiy  institutions  and  al- 
legorical mteqjretations.  That  it  was  established,  and 
had  acquired  great  authority,  in  the  time  of  Hyrcanus, 
and  of  his  sons,  Aristobulus  and  Alexander,  has  al- 
ready been  stated  in  the  article  Alexander,  III.  The 
Jewish  historian,  who  washimself  of  this  sect,  speaks 
of  it  as  flourishing  in  the  time  of  Jonathan  the  high- 
priest,  together  with  those  of  the  Sadducees  and  Es- 
senes,  which  invalidates  the  conjecture  of  Basnage, 
that  the  Pharisaic  sect  owed  its  rise  to  the  separation 
which  took  place  between  the  schools  of  Hillel  and 
Shammai;  for  the  Jewish  -smters  agree  that  these 
celebrated  doctors  did  not  flourish  earlier  than  a  hun- 
ch'ed  years  before  the  Christian  era. 

But  although  the  exact  time  of  the  first  appearance 
of  the  Pharisaic  sect  cannot  be  ascertamed,  its  origin 
may  easily  be  traced  back  to  the  same  period  when 
the  Sadducean  heresy  arose.  From  the  time  that  the 
notion  of  supernumeraiy  acts  of  self-denial,  devotion 
and  charity  was  mtroduced  under  the  sanction  of  the 
traditionary  law,  a  wide  door  was  open  for  supersti- 
tion, religious  pride  and  hypocrisy.  Whilst,  on  the 
other  hand,  some  would  despise  the  weakness,  or  the 
affectation,  of  professing  to  be  pious  and  holy  beyond 
the  prescription  of  the  written  law,  others,  through  a 
fanatical  disposition,  or  that  they  might  provide  them- 
selves with  a  convenient  cloak  for  their  vices,  would 
become  scrupulous  obsei-vers  of  the  traditional  insti- 
tutions. And  when  these  pretenders  to  extraordinaiy 
sanctity  saw  that  many  of  those  who  obsen-ed  only 
the  written  kn\ ,  not  only  disclaimed  all  works  of  su- 
pererogation, but  even  renounced  the  hope  of  future 
rewards,  they  would  think  it  necessarj-  to  separate 
themselves  into  a  distinct  body,  that  they  might  the 
more  successfully  display  their  sanctity  and  piety. 
These  conjectures  are  confinncd  by  the  name  of  the 
sect,  which  is  derived  from  tlie  word  on',  to  separate. 
Their  separation  consisted  chiefly  in  certain  distinc- 
tions respecting  food,  clothing,  and  religious  ceremo- 
nies. But  this  docs  not  seem  to  have  inten-upted  the 
uniformity  of  religious  worship,  in  which  the  Jewg 
of  everv  sect  appear  to  have  always  united. 

The"  peculiar  character  and  spirit  of  Pharisaism 
consisted  in  the  strict  obsenance  of  the  oral  law, 
which  they  believed  to  have  been  delivered  to  Moses 
by  an  archangel,  during  his  forty  days'  residence  in 


PHARISEES 


[  744  ] 


PHARISEES 


mount  Sinai,  and  to  have  been  by  him  committed  to 
seventy  elders,  who  transmitted  it  to  posterity.  Their 
superstitious  reverence  for  this  law,  and  tlie  apparent 
sanctity  of  manners  which  it  produced,  rendered  them 
exceedingly  popular.  The  multitude,  for  the  most 
pai't,  espoused  their  intei'est ;  and  the  gi-eat,  who 
feared  theia*  artifice,  were  frequently  obliged  to  court 
their  favor.  Hence  they  obtained  the  highest  offices 
both  in  the  state  and  the  priesthood,  and  had  great 
weight  both  in  public  and  private  affairs:  in  some  in- 
stances they  proved  so  ti'oublesome  to  the  reigning 
powers,  as  to  subject  themselves  to  severe  penalties. 
Hyrcanus  and  Alexander  restrained  then-  increasing 
influence,  and  treated  them  with  gi-eat  rigor.  Under 
Alexander,  they  regained  their  consequence  ;  the  dis- 
sensions between  the  schools  of  Hillel  and  Shammai, 
(see  Alexandra,)  a  little  before  the  Christian  era,  in- 
creased their  number  and  power  ;  and  they  continued, 
till  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  to  enjoy  the  cliief 
rooms  in  the  Sanhedrim  and  the  synagogue.  After 
that  period,  when  the  other  sects  were  dispersed,  the 
Pharisees  resumed  then-  authority  ;  and  though  the 
name  has  been  dropped,  then*  tenets  and  customs  have 
ever  since  prevailed  among  the  Jewish  rabbinites  ;  so 
that,  at  this  day,  except  the  Karaites,  scarcely  any 
Jews  are  to  be  found  who  are  not,  in  reality,  of  the 
Pharisaic  sect. 

The  principal  dogmas  of  the  sect  were  these : — The 
oral  law,  delivered  from  God  to  Moses,  on  mount 
Sinai,  by  the  angel  Metraton,  and  transmitted  to  pos- 
terity by  tradition,  is  of  equal  authority  whh  the 
written  law.  By  obsei-ving  both  of  these  laws,  a  man 
may  not  only  obtain  justification  with  God,  but  per- 
form meritorious  works  of  supererogation.  Fasting, 
alms-giving,  ablutions  and  confessions  are  sufficient 
atonements  for  sin.  Thoughts  and  desires  are  not 
sinful,  unless  can-ied  into  action.  God  is  the  Creator 
of  heaven  and  earth,  and  governs  all  things,  even  the 
actions  of  men,  by  his  providence.  Man  can  do  noth- 
ing without  divine  influence  ;  which  does  not,  liow- 
ever,  destroy  the  freedom  of  the  human  will.  The 
soul  of  man  is  spiritual  and  immortal.  In  the  invisi- 
ble world,  beneath  the  earth,  rewards  and  punishments 
will  be  dispensed  to  the  virtuous  and  vicious.  The 
wicked  shah  be  confined  m  an  eternal  prison,  but  the 
good  shall  obtain  an  easy  return  to  life.  Besides  the 
soul  of  man,  there  are  other  spirits,  or  angels,  both 
good  and  bad.  The  resurrection  of  the  body  is  to  be 
expected.  (Joseph.  Ant.  Jud.  1.  xiii.  c.  9  ;  I.  xviii.  c.  9. 
Bell.  J.  1.  ii.  c.  12.) 

It  appears,  from  many  passages  in  the  Jewish  rab- 
bins, that  they  held  the  doctrine  of  the  migration  of 
souls  from  one  body  to  another ;  and  it  is"  probable 
that  they  derived  it  from  the  ancient  Pharisees,  and 
tliese  from  the  oriental  philosophers.  This  metem- 
psychosis is,  however,  to  be  understood  in  the  Pvtha- 
goric,  and  not  in  the  Stoic,  sense.  The  Jews,  proba- 
bly, borrowed  this  error  from  the  Egyptians.  There 
is  no  reason,  as  some  writers  have  done,  to  consider 
the  sect  of  the  Pharisees  as  a  branch  of  the  Stoic 
school.  For  though  the  Pliarisees  resembled  the  Sto- 
ics in  their  affectation  of  peculiar  sanctitv,  their  notion 
of  Divine  Providence  was  essentially  different  from 
the  Stoical  doctrine  of  Fate;  and  their  cast  of  man- 
ners arose  from  a  diflTfront  source;  that  of  the  Stoics 
being  derived  from  their  idea  of  the  nature  of  the 
soul,  as  a  particle  of  the  di\ine  nature;  and  tiiat  of 
the  Pliarisees,  from  a  false  persuasion  that  tiie  law 
might  be  fulfilled,  and  justification  with  God  obtained, 
by  ceremonial  observances. 

The   peculiar   manners  of  this   sect  are  sti-on-dv 


marked  hi  the  writings  of  the  evangelists,  (Matt.  vi. 
ix.  XV.  xxiii. ;  Lulie  vii.  &c.)  particularly  their  exact- 
ness in  obsei-vmg  the  rites  and  ceremonies  of  the  law, 
both  written  and  traditionary  ;  the  rigor  of  their  dis- 
cipline in  watchings,  fastings  and  ablutions ;  their 
scrupulous  care  to  avoid  every  kind  of  ritual  impuri- 
ty ;  their  long  and  frequent  prayers,  made  not  only  in 
the  synagogues  and  temple,  but  in  the  public  streets ; 
their  broad  phylacteries  on  the  borders  of  then-  gar- 
ments, in  which  were  written  sentences  of  the  law  ; 
their  assiduity  in  making  proselytes ;  their  ostenta- 
tious charities  ;  and,  under  all  this  show  of  zeal  and 
piety,  their  vanity,  avarice,  licentiousness  and  impie- 
ty, which  called  forth  many  severe  rebukes  from  our 
Saviour.  These  representations  are  confirmed  by  the 
testimony  of  the  Jewish  writers  themselves.  The 
Talmudic  books  mention  several  distinct  classes  of 
Pharisees,  under  characters  which  show  them  to  have 
been  deeply  immersed  in  the  idlest  and  most  ridicu- 
lous superstitions.  Among  these  were  the  Truncated 
Pharisee,  who,  that  he  might  appear  in  profoimd 
meditation,  as  if  destitute  of  feet,  scarcely  lifted  them 
from  the  ground  ;  the  Mortar  Pharisee,  who,  that  his 
meditations  might  not  be  disturbed,  wore  a  deep  cap 
in  the  shape  of  a  mortar,  that  would  only  permit  hun 
to  look  upon  the  ground,  at  his  feet ;  and  the  Striking 
Pharisee,  who,  shutting  his  eyes  as  he  walked,  to 
avoid  the  sight  of  women,  often  struck  his  head 
against  the  wall.  Such  wretched  expedients  did 
sonje  of  these  hypocrites  make  use  of  to  captivate 
the  admiration  of  the  vulgar.  (Briicker's  Philoso- 
phy, by  Enfield.) 

The  sect  of  the  Pharisees,  as  already  hinted,  was 
not  extinguished  by  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  and 
the  dispersion  of  the  Jews ;  for  the  greater  part  of 
those  now  extant  are  of  this  sect,  and  equally  devoted 
to  their  traditions,  Avhich  they  call  the  oral  law. 
They  leave  ev^ry  thing  to  destiny,  except  what  de- 
pends on  human  liberty.  They  say  that  all  things 
are  in  the  hand  of  heaven,  except  the  fear  of  God ; 
that  is,  that  in  the  exercise  of  acts  of  piety  they  have 
free  will,  and  may  voluntarily  determine  themselves 
to  good  or  evil. 

Mr.  Taylor,  in  his  additions  to  Calmet,  (whose  ac- 
count of  this  sect  we  have  altogether  rejected,  be- 
cause of  its  prolix  and  unsatisfactory  nature,)  suggests, 
that  we  are  so  much  accustomed  to  consider  the 
Pharisees  as  public  and  leading  men  in  the  Jewish 
government,  that  we  usually  overlook  the  circum- 
stance, that  the  people  also,  the  mass  of  the  nation, 
were  Pharisees; — that  is,  of  that  party,  as  contradis- 
tinguished from  the  Sadducees,  the  Essenes,  &c. 
So  Paul  says,  "  I  am  a  Pharisee,  the  son  of  a  Phari- 
see ;"  (Acts  xxiii.  6.)  but  we  have  no  i-eason  to  sup- 
pose that  he,  or  his  fannly,  had  ever  had  any  share 
in  the  government.  He  appeals  to  one  of  their  dis- 
tinguishing tenets — "For  the  hope  and  resurrection 
of  the  dead,  I  am  now  called  in  question."  This 
was  felt  by  those  of  the  Pharisees  who  were  in  office  ; 
who  took  this  occasion  to  triumph  over  their  antago- 
nists the  Sadducees,  by  ariruing,  "  If  as])iritual  exist- 
ence, whether  a  pure  s|)irit,  or  a  departed  human 
spirit,  have  spoken  to  this  man — as  he  affirms — let 
us  not  fight  against  God."  This  was  not  the  first 
mortification  suffered  by  the  Sadducees,  on  account 
of  Christianity,  for  we  read  (Acts  iv.)  that  "the 
priests,  the  captains  of  the  temple,  and  the  Saddu- 
cees, [not  the  Pharisees,]  imprisoned  the  apostles, 
Ijeing  grieved  that  they  taught,  in  the  recent  instance 
of  Jesus,  to  which  they  appealed  in  proof  of  their 
doctrine,  the  resurrection  of  the  dead."     Hence  we 


PHI 


[745] 


PHI 


find  Gamaliel,  a  Pharisee,  speaking  in  behalf  of  the 
apostles ;  wlicreas,  we  never  find  a  Sadducec  uttering 
a  syllable  in  their  favor,  or  showing  them  any  mercy  ; 
it  was,  no  doubt  to  a  certain  degree,  favorable  to  the 
church  at  Jerusalem,  that  the  power  of  the  Sadducees 
was  counterbalanced  by  their  fear  of  the  Pharisees. 

It  will  naturally  be  imagined,  that  a  sect  which 
held  the  existence  of  spu-its  separate  from  the 
body,  would  be  best  disposed  towards  the  doctrine 
of  a  risen  Saviour,  and  accordingly  we  find,  that  the 
Jewish  Christian  church  was  greatly  composed  of 
Pharisees,  (Actsxv.  5.)  who  insisted  on  the  universal 
necessity  or  observing  the  Mosaic  institutions.  They 
would  iiave  imposed  on  the  Gentiles  those  rituals 
which  themselves  adhered  to,  being  Hebrews.  The 
same  spirit  animated  the  body  of  Jewish  believers 
long  after  ;  "  Thou  seest,  brother,  said  James  to  Paul, 
(Acts  xxi.  20.)  how  many  thousands  of  Jews  there 
are  who  believe,  and  they  are  all  zealous  of  the  law," 
that  is,  zealous  Pharisees,  though  Christian  believers. 
Nor  was  this  disposition  subdued,  till  after  the  de- 
struction of  Jerusalem  had  rendered  the  observance 
of  the  legal  ceremonies  impossible.  The  Pharisaic 
Christians  retained  the  national  rites  :  the  bishops  of 
their  church  were  circumcised ;  and  the  children 
were  both  circumcised  and  baptized ;  as  they  are  at 
this  day,  where  the  churches  are  descendants  of  an- 
cient Jewish  converts. 

It  would  seem,  from  the  Talmud,  that  there  were 
at  least  seven  distinctions,  or  sects,  among  the  Phari- 
sees. So  Paul  says,  "according  to  the  most  strict, 
the  straitest  sect  of  our  religion,  I  lived  a  Pharisee." 
Some  were,  probably,  less  severe  in  their  opinions 
than  othei-s. 

PHARPAR,a  river  of  Damascus.     See  in  Abana. 

PHASAEL,  eldest  son  of  Antipater  the  Idumcean, 
and  brother  of  Herod  the  Great.    See  Antipater,  I. 

PHEBE,  see  Phcebe. 

PHENICE,  or  Phenicia,  see  Ph(enicia. 

PHILADELPHIA,  a  city  of  Lydia,  in  Asia  Minor, 
where  was  one  of  the  seven  Asiatic  churches.  Rev. 
iii.  7.  Philadelphia  was  so  called  from  Attalus  Phil- 
adelphus,  king  of  Pergamus,  by  whom  it  was  found- 
ed. It  stood  on  a  branch  of  mount  Tmolus,  by  the 
river  Cogam us,  about  twenty-eight  miles  east  of  Sar- 
dis.  It  greatly  suffered  by  frequent  earthquakes, 
owing  to  its  vicinity  to  Catakekaumene  ;  and  it  was 
anciently  matter  of  surprise,  that  it  was  not  on  this 
account  abandoned.  It  is  now  a  mean  but  consid- 
erable town,  of  large  extent,  with  a  population  of 
about  1000  Greek  Christians,  who  have  a  resident 
bishop,  and  about  20  inferior  clergy.  (See  Mission- 
ary Herald,  1821,  p.  25.3,  seq.) 

PHILE3ION,  a  rich  citizen  of  Colosse,  in  Phrygia, 
who,  Calmet  thinks,  was  converted  to  the  Christian 
faith,  with  Apphia  his  wife,  by  Epaphras,  a  disciple 
of  Paul ;  but  it  would  appear  from  the  expression  in 
Philem.  verse  19,  "Thou  owestto  me  even  thy  own- 
self,  besides,"  that  Philemon  was  really  a  convert  of 
Paul ;  unless  we  could  admit  that  the  apostle  had 
formerly  been  the  means  of  saving  his  life  ;  for  which 
we  have  no  warrant.  Some  have  supposed  that 
Archippus  was  son  to  Philemon  ;  and  as  the  apostle 
terms  him,  "our  fellow  soldier,"  it  is  possible,  that 
the  connection  had  been  of  long  standing,  and  con- 
sequently, much  intercourse  might  have  taken  place 
between  Paul  and  Philemon,  distinct  from  any  refer- 
ence to  Philemon's  situation  at  Colosse.  Lightfoot 
has  this  thought;  and  Michaelis  adopts  it;  but  if 
Archippus  were  companion  of  Paul  the  aged,  he  was 
too  old  to  be  son  to  Philemon :  not  to  insist,  that  no 
94 


reason  can  be  assigned  why  this  son  is  distinguished 
from  the  rest  of  Philemon's  family.  He  might  be 
brother  to  Philemon,  (or  to  Apphia,)  and,  living  with 
him,  is  placed  after  Apphia;  but  before  the  young 
members  of  the  family,  to  whom  he  was  uncle.  This 
conjecture  seems  to  be  the  most  probable;  and  itagrees 
with  the  suj)posable  time  of  life  at  which  Archippus 
had  (lately)  been  chosen  to  an  office  of  deaconship. 

Though  it  is  usually  said  that  Paul  had  converted 
and  baptized  Onesimus,  the  run-away  slave  of  Phi- 
lemon, (see  Onesimus,)  at  Rome  ;  yet  from  the  phrase 
(Col.  iv.9.)  "  who  is  one  of  you,"  it  is  natural  to  infer, 
that  Onesinuis  had  professed  Christianity  before  his 
elopement ;  (so  Epaphras  is  called  one  of  themselves, 
chap.  i.  7.)  otherwise,  he  could  be  no  member  of  the 
church  at  Colosse :  and  very  likely,  this  transgression 
of  a  professor  had  not  only  rnortified  Philemon  ex- 
tremely, but  had  scandalized  the  church,  and  had 
become  publicly  notorious  among  the  heathen  also. 

Philemon  was  undoubtedly  a  man  of  property  ;  and 
like  Gains,  the  lady  Eclecta,  and  Phcebe,  he  exercised 
great  hospitality  towards  Christian  brethren,  espe- 
cially evangelists.  But  from  the  direction  of  the 
apostle  "to  prepare  him  a  lodging"  (comp.  P.Iac- 
knight,  et  al.  in  loc.)  in  a  hired  house,  in  the  city, 
wiiere  he  might  receive  all  visitors,  it  would  appear 
that  Philemon's  premises  were  not  very  extensive. 

Philemon  might  have  been  a  deacon  in  or  of  the 
churches  at  Cotosse,  but  the  term  "fellow  laborer" 
is  not  sufficient  to  prove  that  he  was  a  bishop  ;  though 
it  implies  a  previous  personal  knowledge,  and  per- 
haps much  confidential  communication,  between  the 
parties.  If  we  might  add  a  personal  knowledge  of 
Philemon,  by  those  also  who  salute  him  in  Paul's 
letter, — Timothy,  Epaphras,  Mark,  Aristarchus,  De- 
mas,  Luke, — it  'would  greatly  heighten  our  concep- 
tion of  this  good  man's  character,  and  suggest  a  vari- 
ety of  occasions  on  which  he  might  have  rendered 
the  brethren  services  equally  extensive  and  important. 

PHILETUS,  an  apostate  Christian,  mentioned  l)y 
Paul  in  connection  with  Hymeuseus,  2  Tim.  ii.  16. 

I.  PHILIP,  or  Herod-Philip,  (Mark  vi.  17  ;  Luke 
iii.  19 ;  Matt.  xiv.  3.)  son  of  Herod  the  Great.  See 
Herod-Philip. 

II.  PHILIP,  the  apostle,  was  a  native  of  Bethsaida, 
in  Galilee,  and  was  called  by  our  Saviour,  at  the  be- 
ginning of  his  ministry,  (Jo'lm  i.  43,  44.)  and  about  a 
year  afterwards  was  appointed  an  apostle.  He  is  sev- 
eral times  mentioned  in  the  Gospels,  but  the  incidents 
in  his  life  do  not  require  to  be  enlarged  upon. 

III.  PHILIP,  the  second  of  the  seven  deacons, 
(Acts  vi.  5.)  is  thought  to  have  been  of  Caesarea  in 
Palestine.  (See  Acts  xxi.  8,  9.)  After  the  death  of 
Stephen,  nearly  all  the  Christians,  except  the  apostles, 
having  left  Jeiusalem,  and  being  dispersed  in  several 
places,  Philii)  went  to  preach  at  Sebaste,  or  Samaria, 
where  he  ])erfbrmed  several  miracles,  and  converted 
many  j)crsons.  Acts  viii.  He  baptized  them  ;  and  sent 
to  the  apostles  at  Jerusalem,  that  they  might  come 
and  communicate  the  Holy  Ghost  to  them.  Some 
time  after  this,  Philip  was  by  an  angel  commanded  to 
travel  on  the  road  that  leads  from  Jerusalem  to  Old 
Gaza  in  the  way  to  Egypt.  Philip  obeyed,  and  there 
met  with  an  Ethiopian  eunuch,  belonging  to  Candace, 
queen  of  Ethiopia,  whom  he  converted  and  baptized. 
(See  Acts  viii.  26.)  Being  come  out  of  the  water,  the 
Spirit  of  the  Lord  took  him  away,  and  we  subse- 
quently find  him  at  Azotus.  He  preached  the  gospel 
in  all  the  cities  he  passed  through,  till  he  returned  to 
Ccesarea  of  Palestine,  where  he  probably  spent  the 
remainder  of  his  days. 


PHILIPPi 


[  746 


PHI 


PHILIPPI,  a  city  of  Macedonia,  so  called  from 
Philip,  king  of  Macedon,  who  repaired  and  beautified 
it ;  whence  it  lost  its  former  name  of  Dathos.  In  A  cts 
xvi.  12,  Luke  says,  "  We  came  to  Philippi,  which  (say 
our  translators)  is  the  chief  city  of  that  part  of  Macedo- 
nia, and  a  colony  :"  but  this  translation  requires  cor- 
rection, to  this  effect:  "Philippi,  a  city  of  the  frst 
part  of  Macedonia ;"  Macedonia  Prima.  The  prov- 
ince of  Macedonia  had  undergone  several  changes, 
and  had  been  divided  into  various  portions,  which 
had  received  various  names.  At  one  time  it  was  in 
SIX  divisions  ;  at  another,  it  was  united  with  Achaia, 
as  Sc,xtus  Rufus  observes;  and  on  its  conquest  by 
Paul  us  Emilius,  it  was  divided  into  four  provinces, 
as  appears  from  Li\^.  We  have  however  nothing  to 
do  with  any  other  than  the  first  division  of  it.  Luke 
says,  "  They  came  to  Philippi,  a  city  of  the  first  part 
of  Macedonia ;"  and  Mr.  Taylor  has  produced  a  medal 
which  reads,  MAKEJONS2N  ITP£2TH2,  "of  the 
first  part  of  Macedonia  ;"  which  is  a  complete  justifi- 
cation of  the  evangelist's  description  of  this  district. 
We  ought  further  to  observe,  says  Mr.  Taylor,  that 
though  our  present  copies  read  noojTij  r^g,  the  Syriac 
version  and  Chrysostom  read  nQwrr,?,  aud  as  this  is 
the  reading  of  the  medal,  as  it  agrees  with  matter  of 
fact,  and  delivers  us  from  some  ambiguities,  we  risk 
little  in  recommending  this  reading;  and  its  corre- 
spondent rendering  "Philippi,  a  city  of  the frst part 
of  Macedonia ;"  for,  in  fact,  Amphipolis  was  (or  had 
been]  the  chief  city  of  tlie  district  in  wliicli  Philippi 
stoocl.  (Livy,  lib.  xlv.  c.  29.)  Further,  the  sacred 
writer  says,  Philippi  was  "a  colony ;"  intending,  no 
doubt,  a  Roman  colony  ;  but  as  this  was  a  favor 
Philip])i  seems  to  have  had  little  reason  to  expect, 
having  formerly  opposed  the  interest  of  iheCcCsarean 
imperial  family,  the  learned  have  been  embarrassed 
by  the  title  here  given  it.     However,  after  long  per- 

f)lexities  among  the  critics,  Providence  brought  to 
ight  some  coins,  in  which  it  is  recorded  under  this 
character  :  and  one  of  which  makes  exj)ress  mention, 
that  Julius  Caesar  liimself  had  l)estowed  the  dignity 
and  advantages  of  a  colony  on  the  city  of  Philippi, 
which  Augustus  afterwards  confirmed  and  augment- 
ed. The  legend  is,  cohonia  xvoiista  JULia  PHiLip;;r. 
This  corroborates  the  character  given  to  Philippi  i)y 
Luke ;  and  proves  that  it  had  lieen  a  colony  for  many 
years,  though  no  author  but  liimself,  whose  writings 
have  reached  us,  has  mentioned  it  under  that  charac- 
ter; or  has  given  us  reason  to  infer  at  what  time  it 
might  be  thus  honorably  distinguished.  [It  is,  how- 
ever, more  probable  that  the  reading  of  the  Greek  is 
correct,  since  there  are  no  various  readings ;  and 
Philippi  is  called  the  ^frst  or  chief  city"  of  that  part 
of  Macedonia,  perhaps  from  some  peculiar  privileges 
bestowed  upon  it,  aufl  not  as  being  the  capital  of  that 
division  of  the  country  ;  since  this  honor  belonged  to 
Amphipolis  in  the  first  division,  and  to  Thessalonic^  in 
the  second.     (See  Kuinoel  on  Acts  xvi.  12.)     R. 

Paul  preached  hero  A.  D.  52,  and  converted  several 
inhabitants;  among  others,  Lydia,  a  seller  of  ))ur|)le. 
He  also  cast  out  a  Pythonic  spirit  from  a  servant  mr.id, 
in  consequence  of  which  her  masters  stirred  up  the 
whole  city  against  him,  and  the  magistrates  caused 
him  and  Silas  to  l>e  seized,  whipped,  and  put  into  the 
prison. 

This  ill  treatment  seems  to  have  been  recollected 
by  Paul,  with  a  resentment  not  common  to  him.  He 
says  to  the  Thessalonians,  "We  had  suffered  before, 
and  were  shamefully  entreated  at  Philippi."  It  should 
seem  that  the  military  officers  of  the  colony  had  as- 
sumed a  ")ower  that  did  not  belong  to  them  ;  and  Paul 


resented  their  proceedings  with  the  feelings  of  a  sol- 
dier, as  well  as  of  a  Roman  citizen  : — he  therefore 
humbled  them  in  a  public  manner ;  but  he  did  not 
forget  their  shameful  usage  of  him  and  his  compan- 
ion, Silas. 

The  converted  Philippians  were  always  full  of  grat- 
itude for  the  faith  they  had  received  from  God,  by 
the  ministry  of  Paul.  They  assisted  him  on  several 
occasions;  (Phil.  iv.  16.)  sent  him  money  while  in 
Achaia ;  and  being  informed  that  he  was  a  prisoner 
at  Rotne,  they  sent  a  deputation  to  him  bv  Epaphro- 
ditu^,  their  bishop,  (Phil.  iv.  12,  18.  A.  D.  6U  who 
went  a  second  time,  and  carried  with  him  the  Epistle 
which  is  still  remaining;  and  in  which  the  apostle 
conunends  their  liberality,  and  shows  great  acknowl- 
edgment for  their  readiness.  This  church  was  left 
by  Paul  and  Silas,  under  the  ministrations  and  direc- 
tion of  Luke,  whose  age  and  experience  qualified  him 
for  that  difficult  office.  He  continued  there  a  long 
while,  ])robably  several  years,  though  he  modestly 
omits  all  mention  of  his  services.  (Comp.  Acts  xvi. 
11,  et  seq.  with  chap.  xx.  6.) 

PHILISTINES,  a  people  that  came  from  the  isle 
of  Caphtor  (see  Caphtor)  into  Palestine,  (Amos  ix. 
7;  Jer.  xlvii.  4.)  being  descendants  from  the  Caph- 
torim,  who  were  derived  from  the  Casluhim,  children 
of  fllizraim,  (Gen.  x.  13,  14.)  father  of  the  Egyptians. 
Moses  says  (Deut.  ii.  23.)  that  the  Caphtorim,  being 
come  out  of  Caphtor,  drove  out  the  Avim,  which 
dwelt  from  Hazerim  to  Azzah,  (or  Gaza,)  and  dwelt 
in  their  stead.  It  is  therefore  only  since  the  time  of 
the  Avim,  (or  Avites,)  or  Canaanites,  that  the  Philis- 
tines came  into  Palestine,  and  possessed  that  country. 

The  name  of  these  people  is  not  Hebrew.  The 
Septuagint  generally  translate  it  by  'Akklupv/.oi,  stran- 
gers. The  LXX  sometimes  translate  Cherethivi  by 
Cretai,  Creies,  (ooid,  I{Q>;rai.)  See  Ezek.  xxv.  16; 
Zeph.  ii.  5,  6. 

The  Philistines  were  a  powerful  people  in  Pales- 
tine, even  in  Abraham's  time,  (A.  M.  2083.)  since  they 
had  then  kings,  and  considerable  cities.  They  are 
not  enumerated  among  the  nations  devoted  to  exter- 
mination, whose  temtory  the  Lord  assigned  to  the 
Hebrews,  proliably  because  they  were  not  of  the 
cursed  seed  of  Canaan.  Joshua,  however,  did  not 
hesitate  to  give  their  land  to  the  Hebrews,  and  to  at- 
tack them  by  command  from  the  Lord,  because  they 
possessed  various  districts  promised  to  Israel.  But 
these  conquests  must  have  been  ill-maintained,  since 
under  the  Judges,  at  the  time  of  Saul,  and  at  the  be- 
ginning of  the  reign  of  David,  the  Philistines  had 
their  kings  and  their  lords.  Their  state  was  divided 
into  five  little  kingdoms,  or  satrapies,  and  they  op- 
pressed Israel  during  the  government  of  the  high- 
priest  FA\,  that  of  Samuel,  and  during  the  reign  of 
Saul ;  for  about  120  years,  from  A.  M.  2848  to  2960. 
Sliamgar,  Samson,  Samuel  and  Said  opposed  them, 
and  were  victorious  over  them  with  great  slaughter, 
at  various  times,  but  did  not  reduce  their  power. 
They  maintained  their  indejiendence  till  David  sub- 
dued them,  (2  Sam.  v.  17  ;  viii.)  from  which  time  they 
continued  in  subjection  to  the  kings  of  Judah,  down 
to  the  reign  of  Jehoram,  son  of  Jehoshaphat,  (about 
246  years,)  from  A.  M.  2960  to  A.  M.  3116,  when 
they  revolted,  2  Chron.  xxi.  16.  Jehoram  made  war 
against  them,  and  probably  reduced  them  to  his  obe- 
dience ;  because  it  is  observed  that  they  revolted 
again  from  Uzziah,  who  kept  them  to  their  duty 
during  his  whole  reign,  2  Chron.  xxvi.6,  7.  During 
th<?  unfortunate  reign  of  Ahaz,  the  Philistines  made 
great  havoc  in  the  territory  of  Judah  ;  but  his  son  and 


PHI 


[747  ] 


PHCE 


successor  Hezekiah  again  subdued  thern,  2  Chron. 
xxviii.  18;  2  Kings  xviii.  8.  They  regained  their 
full  hberty,  however,  under  the  later  kings  of  Judah  ; 
and  we  see  by  tlie  menaces  uttered  against  tlieni  by 
tlie  prophets  Isaiah,  Amos,  Zephaniah,  Jcremiali  and 
Ezekiel,  that  they  brought  many  calamities  on  Israel, 
for  which  God  threatened  to  punish  them  with  great 
misfortunes.  They  were  partially  subdued  by  Esar- 
Haddon,  king  of  Assyria,  and  afterwards  by  Psam- 
meticus,  king  of  Egypt ;  and  there  is  great  probabil- 
ity that  they  were  reduced  by  Nebuchadnezzar,  as 
well  as  the  other  people  of  Syria,  Phoenicia  and  Pal- 
estine, during  the  siege  of  Tyre.  They  afterwards 
fell  under  the  dominion  of  the  Persians,  then  under 
that  of  Alexander  the  Great,  who  destroyed  Gaza, 
the  only  city  of  the  Phoenicians  that  dared  to  oppose 
him.  After  the  persecution  of  Antiochus  EjMphanes, 
the  Asmoneans  took  several  cities  from  tliem,  which 
they  subjected,  and  Tiyphon,  regent  of  the  kingdom 
of  Syria,  gave  to  Jonathan  the  government  of  the 
whole  coast  of  the  Mediterranean,  from  Tyre  to 
Egypt ;  consequently,  all  the  country  of  the  Phi- 
listines. The  name  Palestine  comes  from  Philistine, 
although  these  people  possessed  but  a  small  part  of 
this  country.     See  Palestine. 

PHILOSOPHY.  Paul  cautions  the  Colossians 
lest  any  man  spoil  them  through  philosophy,  Col.  ii. 
8.  In  Acts  xvii.  18,  it  is  related,  that  when  this 
apostle  came  to  Athens,  he  there  found  Epicurean 
and  Stoic  philosophers,  who  made  a  jest  of  his  dis- 
courses ;  and  in  many  places  of  his  Epistles,  he  op- 
l)oses  the  supposed  wise  men,  and  the  false  wisdom 
of  the  age — that  is,  the  pagan  philosophy — to  the 
wisdom  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  the  true  religion,  which 
to  the  philosophers  and  sophists  seemed  to  be  mere 
folly,  because  it  was  built  neither  on  the  eloquence 
nor  the  subtilty  of  those  who  preached  it,  but  on  the 
power  of  God,  and  on  the  operations  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  which  actuated  the  heai'ts  and  minds  of 
believers. 

About  the  time  that  the  several  sects  of  philosophei-s 
were  formed  among  the  Greeks,  as  the  Academics,  the 
Peripatetics,  and  the  Stoics,  there  arose  also  among 
the  Jews  several  sects,  as  the  Essenes,  the  Pharisees 
and  the  Sadducees.  The  Pharisees  had  some  resem- 
blance to  the  Stoics,  the  Sadducees  to  the  Epicureans, 
and  the  Essenes  to  the  Academics.  The  Pharisees 
were  proud,  vain  and  boasting,  like  the  Stoics:  the 
Sadducees,  who  denied  the  immortality  of  the  soul, 
and  the  existence  of  spirits,  freed  themselves  at  once, 
like  the  Epicureans,  from  all  solicitude  about  futurity: 
the  Essenes  were  more  moderate,  more  simple  and 
religious,  and  therefore  approached  nearer  to  the  Ac- 
ademics. 

The  philosophers,  against  whom  Paul  inveighs,  in 
his  Epistle  to  the  Romans,  boasted  the  extent  of  their 
knowledge,  the  purity  of  their  morality,  the  eloquence 
of  their  writings,  the  strength  of  their  reasonings,  and 
the  subtilty  of  their  arguments.  Their  weaknesses 
were  pride,  curiosity,  presumption,  hypocrisy,  anil)i- 
tion.  They  ascribed  every  thing  to  humati  reason, 
and  would  be  thought  superior  in  all  things.  Although 
their  lives  were  disorderly,  shameful,  and  even  inju- 
rious to  human  nature,  yet  they  would  pass  on  the 
world  for  good  men ;  and  while  boasting  of  their 
knowledge  of  God,  they  dishonored  him  by  their 
actions.  To  them  the  apostle  opposed  the  humility 
of  the  cross  of  Christ,  the  force  of  his  miracles,  the 
purity  of  his  moral  doctrines,  the  depth  of  his  mys- 
teries, and  the  evident  proofs  of  his  mission. 

Many  of  the  ancient  fathers  maintain,  that  the  an- 


cient heathen  philosophers  had  nothing  valuable  but 
what  they  borrowed  from  the  Hebrews : — that  they 
had  drawn  from  the  fountain  of  the  prophets ;  that  by 
the  subtile  artifice  of  the  devil,  some  principles  of 
truth  slipped  into  their  writings,  in  order  to  undermine 
the  truth  at  such  time  as  God  should  manifest  it  to 
the  world.  Eusebius  has  devoted  two  entire  books, 
(lib,  xi.  xii.)  of  his  gi-eat  work  of  the  Gospel-Prepara- 
tion, to  show  that  Plato  had  taken  the  principal  things 
of  his  j)hilosophy  and  theology  from  the  sacred  books 
of  the  Jews. 

I.  PHINEHAS,  son  of  Eleazar,  and  grandson  of 
Aaron,  was  the  third  high-priest  of  the  Jews,  (A.  M. 
2571,  to  about  A.  M.  2590,)  and  is  particularly  com- 
mended in  Scripture  for  zeal,  in  vindicating  the  glory 
of  God,  when  the  Midianites  had  sent  their  daughters 
into  the  camp  of  Israel,  to  tempt  the  Hebrews  to  for- 
nication and  idolatiy.  Numb.  xxv.  7.  For  his  con- 
duct upon  this  occasion,  the  Lord  promised  the  priest- 
hood to  Phinehas  by  a  perpetual  covenant ;  evidently 
including  this  tacit  condition,  that  his  children  should 
continue  faithful  and  obedient.  It  continued  in  the 
race  of  Phinehas,  down  to  the  liigh-priest  Eli,  for  about 
335  years,  when  it  j)assed  into  the  family  of  Ithamar ; 
and  again  reverted  to  the  family  of  Eleazar  under  the 
reign  of  Saul,  who,  having  put  to  death  Abimelech 
and  the  other  priests  of  Nob,  gave  the  high-priesthood 
to  Zadok,  of  the  race  of  Phinehas.  The  priesthood 
continued  in  his  family  until  after  the  captivity  of 
Babylon,  and  even  to  the  destruction  of  the  temple. 

We  read  also  of  another  memorable  and  zealous 
action  of  Phinehas,  (Josh.  xxii.  30,31.)  when  the  Isra- 
elites beyond  Jordan  had  raised  upon  the  banks  of 
the  river  a  vast  heap  tor  an  altar,  those  on  the  other 
side,  fearing  they  were  gouig  to  forsake  the  Lord,  and 
to  set  up  another  religion,  deputed  Phinehas  and  other 
chief  men,  to  inform  themselves  of  their  reason  for 
erecting  this  monument.  When  they  found  that  it 
was  only  in  commemoration  of  their  union  and  com- 
mon origin,  Phinehas  praised  the  Lord,  saying.  We 
now  know  that  the  Lord  is  with  us,  since  you  are 
not  guilty  of  that  prevarication  of  which  we  suspect- 
ed you. 

Under  the  pontificate  of  Phinehas  the  story  of  Mi- 
cah  happened,  ( Judg.  xvii.)  also  the  conquest  of  Laish 
by  the  tribe  of  Dan,  (Judg.  xviii.  27.)  and  the  enor- 
mity committed  on  the  wife  of  the  Levite  of  mount 
Ephraim,  Judg.  xix.  Phinehas's  successor  was  Abi- 
ezer,  or  Abisluiah,  Judg.  xx.  28. 

II.  PHINEHAS,  son  of  Eli,  the  high-priest,  and 
brother  of  Hophni.     See  Eli,  and  Hophni. 

PHQ^^BE,  a  deaconess  of  the  church  in  the  east- 
ern port  of  Corinth,  Cenchrea.  It  is  most  likely, 
from  what  the  apostle  says  of  Plwebe,  that  "she  had 
been  a  succorer  of  many,  and  of  myself  also,"  (Rom. 
xvi.  1,  2.)  that  she  was  a  woman  of  property,  not  to 
say,  of  distinction.  Cenchrea  was  a  port  of  consid- 
erable commerce  ;  and  as  it  is  clear  that  Phoebe  went 
to  Rome  on  important  business  in  which  the  faithful 
at  Rome  might  assist  her,  it  is  probable  also,  that 
she  was  engaged  in  trade  on  her  own  account ; 
something  like  Lydia  of  Philippi.  That  she  was  much 
in  the  confidence  of  the  apostle,  cannot  be  doubted ; 
and,  we  think,  from  the  import  of  the  term  rendered 
succorer,  (patroness,)  she  may  be  taken  for  the  coun- 
terpart of  the  hospitable  Gains,  "  mine  host,  (says 
Paul,)  and  the  host  of  the  whole  church."  (Compare 
the  second  and  third  Epistles  of  John.)  A  laudable 
emulation !  Gains  at  Corinth ;  and  Phoebe  at  its 
neighboring  port,  Cenchrea. 

PHGENICIA,  or  Phoenice,  a  province  of  Syria, 


PHY 


[  748  ] 


PIL 


which,  hi  its  more  ancient  and  extenaed  sense,  com- 
prehended a  narrow  strip  of  country  extending  near- 
ly the  whole  length  of  the  eastern  coast  of  the  Med- 
iterranean sea,  from  Antioch  to  the  borders  of  Egypt. 
But  Phoenicia  Proper  was  included  between  the  cities 
of  Laodicea  and  Tyre,  and  comprehended  only  the 
territories  of  Tyre  and  Sidon.  Before  Joshua  con- 
quered Palestine,  this  country  was  possessed  by  Ca- 
naanites,  sons  of  Ham,  divided  into  eleven  families, 
of  which  the  most  powerful  was  that  of  Canaan,  the 
founder  of  Sidon,  and  head  of  the  Canaanites,  prop- 
erly so  called,  whom  the  Greeks  named  PhcEnicians. 
Only  these  preserved  their  independence  under 
Joshua ;  also  under  David,  Solomon,  and  the  suc- 
ceeding kings:  but  they  were  subdued  by  the  kings 
of  Assyria  and  Chaldea.  Afterwards,  they  succes- 
sively obeyed  the  Persians,  Greeks  and  Romans.  At 
this  day,  Phoenicia  is  in  subjection  to  the  Otto- 
mans, not  having  had  any  national  or  native  kings, 
or  any  independent  form  of  government,  for  more 
than  two  thousand  years.  The  name  Phoenicia  is 
not  in  the  books  of  Hebrew  Scripture  ;  but  only  in  the 
Maccabees  and  the  New  Testament.  The  Hebrew 
always  reads  Canaan.  Matthew,  who  wrote  perhaps 
in  either  Hebrew  or  Syriac,  calls  the  same  person  a 
Canaanitish  woman,  (chap.  xv.  22.)  whom  3Iark, 
writing  in  Greek,  calls  a  Syro-phoenician,  or  a  Phoe- 
nician of  Syria;  because  Phoenicia  then  made  apart 
of  Syria;  also  to  distinguish  the  people  from  the 
Phoenicians  of  Africa,  or  the  Cai-thaginians,  which 
was  a  colony  from  the  original  country.  See  further 
under  Tyre. 

PHRYGIA  was  the  largest  kingdom  of  Asia  Mi- 
nor ;  it  had  Bithynia  north,  Pisidia  and  Lycia  south, 
Galatia  and  Cappadocia  east,  and  Lydia  and  Mysia 
west.  Christianity  was  planted  in  this  country  by 
Paul,  Acta  xvi.  6  ;  xviii.  23. 

PHUT,  the  third  son  of  Ham,  (Gen.  x.  6.)  is  thought 
to  have  peopled  either  the  canton  of  Phtemphu, 
Phtemphti,  or  Phtembuti,  of  Phny  and  Ptolemy ,whose 
capital  was  Thara  in  Lower  Egypt,  inclining  towards 
Libya  ;  or  the  canton  called  Phtenotes,  of  which  Bu- 
thas  was  the  capital.  The  propiiets  often  speak  of 
Phut.  In  the  time  of  Jeremiah,  (xlvi.  9.)  this  province 
was  subject  to  Necho  king  of  Egypt ;  and  Nahum 
(iii.  9.)  reckons  them  among  those  who  ought  to  come 
to  the  assistance  of  No-Ammon.  The  Arabic  ver- 
sions by  Phut  understand  a  peo|)lc  in  Southern 
Egypt,  if  not  ratlier  in  Nubia :  these  might  come 
down  the  Nile,  to  assist  No-Aumion.  Accoi'ding  to 
Josephus,  (Ant.  i.  6,  2.)  Phut  is  Mauritania,  where 
there  is  a  river  of  that  name. 

PHYGELLUS,  a  Christian  of  Asia,  who,  being  at 
Rome  while  Paul  was  there  in  prison,  (A.  D.  65.) 
forsook  him  with  Hermogenes,  in  his  necessity,  2  Tim. 
i.  15. 

PHYLACTERIES  were  little  rolls  of  parchment, 
in  which  were  written  certain  words  of  the  law,  and 
were  worn  upon  tlieir  foreheads,  (see  Frontlet,)  and 
upon  the  wrist  of  their  left  arm,  by  the  Jews.  Tiic 
custom  was  founded  on  a  mistaken  interpretation  of 
Exod.  xiii.  9:  "And  it  shall  be  for  a  sign  unto  thee 
upon  thine  hand,  and  for  a  memorial  between  thine 
eyes."  And  verse  1(5 :  "And  it  shall  be  for  a  token 
upon  thine  hand,  and  for  frontlets  between  thine 
eyes." 

Leo  of  Modena  informs  us  particularly  about  these 
rolls.  (Ceremonies  of  the  Jews,  p.  i.  cap.  11.  n.  4.) 
Those  that  were  to  be  fastened  to  the  arms  were  two 
rolls  of  parchment  written  in  square  lettei-s,  with  an 
ink  made  on  purpose,  and  with  much  care.     They 


were  rolled  up  to  a  point,  and  enclosed  in  a  sort 
of  case  of  black  calf-skin. 
They  then  were  put  upon  a 
square  bit  of  the  same 
leather,  but  something  stift- 
er,  whence  hung  a  thong 
of  the  same,  of  about  a 
finger's  breadth,  and  a  cu- 
bit and  a  half  long.  These 
rolls  were  placed  at  the 
bending  of  the  left  arm,  and 
after  the  thong  had  made 
a  little  knot  in  the  form 
of  the  letter  •>,  Yodh,  it  was 

wound  about  the  arm  in  a  spiral  line,  which  ended 
at  the  top  of  the  middle  finger.  It  was  called  Teffila 
shel-yad,  or  the  Tefiila  of  the  hand. 

PHYSIC,  PHYSICIAN,  see  Medicine. 

PIBESETH,  see  Bubastis,  and  Egypt,  p.  373. 

PIGEON,  see  Dove. 

PI-HAHIROTH,  the  mouth  or  pass  of  Hiroth,  one 
of  the  stations  of  the  Israehtes  in  the  wilderness.  See 
Exodus,  p.  401. 

PILATE  was  sent  to  govern  Judea  in  the  room  of 
Gratus,  (A.  D.  26  or  27,)  and  governed  this  province 
ten  years.  He  was  of  an  impetuous  and  obstinate 
temper,  and  gave  occasion  to  troubles  and  revolts 
among  the  Jews.  Luke  (xiii.  1.)  acquaints  us,  that  he 
had  mingled  the  blood  of  some  Galileans  with  their 
sacrifices,  but  the  occasion  on  which  this  was  done  is 
not  known. 

Pilate  repeatedly  endeavored  to  deliver  our  Sa- 
viour from  the  Jews,  knowing  that  they  accused  him 
capitally  only  from  malice  and  envy.  His  wife  also, 
who  had  been  disturbed  with  dreams,  sent  and  desir- 
ed him  not  to  participate  in  condemning  that  just 
person.  In  order  to  eflfect  his  purpose,  he  adopted 
several  expedients:  (1.)  He  required  legal  accusation, 
evidence,  and  conviction  ;  and  in  default  of  these,  he 
jjroposed  to  refer  his  condemnation  to  the  Jews  ;  who 
had  not,  as  he  well  knev/,  the  power  of  inflicting  a 
capital  punishment,  John  xviii.  29,  31.  (2.)  He  at- 
tempted to  appease  the  Jews,  and  to  give  them  some 
satisfaction,  by  whipping  our  Saviour.  (3.)  He  tried 
to  take  him  out  of  their  hands,  by  offering  to  deliver 
him,  or  Barabbas,  on  the  festival  day  of  the  passover. 
(4.)  He  wanted  to  discharge  himself  from  pro- 
nouncing judgment  against  him,  by  sending  him  to 
Herod  king  of  Galilee.  (5.)  When  he  saw  all  this  would 
not  satisfy  the  Jews,  and  that  they  even  threatened 
him,  saying  he  could  be  no  friend  to  the  emperor,  if 
ho  let  Jesus  go,  he  caused  Avater  to  be  brought, 
washed  his  hands  before  all  the  people,  and  publicly 
declared  himself  innocent  of  the  blood  of  that  just 
person.  Yet  at  the  same  time  he  delivered  him  up 
to  the  soldiers,  that  they  might  crucify  him.  This 
was  enough  to  justify  Christ,  and  to  show  that  Pilate 
held  him  to  be  innocent ;  but  it  was  not  enough  to 
vindicate  the  conscience  and  integi'ity  of  a  judge, 
whose  duty  it  was,  as  well  to  assert  the- cause  of  op- 
pressed innocence,  as  to  punish  the  guilty  criminal. 

He  ordered  to  be  put  over  our  Saviour's  cross,  as 
it  were,  an  abstract  of  his  sentence,  and  the  niotive  of 
his  condemnation,  "Jesus  of  Nazareth,  king  of  tlie 
Jews,"  written  in  Latin,  Greek  and  Hebrew.  Some 
of  the  Jews  remonstrated  to  Pilate,  that  he  ought  to 
have  Avritten  "Jesus  of  Nazareth,  pretended  king  of 
the  Jews."  But  Pilate  answered  ihem  peremptorily, 
"  What  I  have  written,  I  have  A\Titten."  Towards 
evening  he  gave  leave  to  take  ihe  bodies  down  from 
the  crosses,  that  they  might  not  continue  there  the 


PIL 


[749] 


PIS 


following  day,  being  the  passover,  and  a  sabbath  day. 
He  also  granted  the  body  of  Jesus  to  Joseph  of  Ari- 
mathea,  that  he  might  pay  the  last  duties  to  it.  When 
the  priests  came  to  desire  him  to  set  a  watch  about 
the  sepulciire,  lest  the  disciples  should  steal  Jesus 
away  by  night,  he  answered,  they  had  a  guard,  and 
might  place  it  there  themselves.  Tins  is  the  sub- 
stance of  what  the  Gospels  relate  concerning  Pilate. 

Justin  3Iartyr,  TetruUian,  Eusel)ius,  and  several 
others,  ancients  and  moderns,  assure  us,  that  it  w;is 
the  custom  for  Roman  magistrates  to  send  to  the  em- 
peror copies  of  all  verbal  proces^s  and  judicial  acts 
which  passed  in  their  several  provinces ;  and  that 
Pilate,  in  compliance  with  this  custom,  having  report- 
ed to  Tiberius  what  had  occurred  rekituig  to  Jesus, 
the  emperor  wrote  an  account  of  it  to  the  senate,  in  a 
nmnner  which  induced  a  suspicion  that  he  thought 
favorably  of  Jesus,  and  was  not  unwilling  tlicy  should 
decree  divine  honors  to  iiini.  But  the  senate  differed 
from  this  opinion,  and  the  matter  dropj)ed.  It  ap- 
l)ears  by  what  Justin  says  of  these  Acts,  that  they 
mentioned  the  miracles  of  Christ ;  and  even  that  the 
soldiers  had  divided  his  giu-mcnts  among  them.  Eu- 
sebius  intimates  that  they  spoke  of  his  resurrection 
and  ascension.  Tertullian  and  Justin  refer  to  these 
documents  with  so  much  confidence,  as  would  induce 
a  belief  that  they  had  copies  of  them  in  their  hands. 
Neither  Eusebiiis  nor  Jerome,  however,  who  were 
both  inquisitive  and  understanding  })ersons,  nor  any 
later  author,  seems  to  have  seen  them ;  at  least,  not 
the  true  and  original  Acts.  For  those  now  extant  are 
not  authentic,  being  neither  ancient  nor  uniform. 
(See  Fabricius,  Cod.  Apoc.  N.  T.  p.  214,  seq.) 

Pilate  became  odious  both  to  the  Jews  and  Samar- 
itans, for  the  severity  and  cruelty  of  his  administra- 
tion ;  and  being  accused  by  the  latter  before  Vitellius, 
the  governor  of  Syria,  he  was  removed  from  his 
office,  and  sent  to  Rome  to  answer  their  accusations 
before  the  emperor.  (Joseph.  Antiq.  xviii.  c.  3,  and  c. 
4, 1.)  Before  his  arrival,  Tiberius  was  dead ;  and  Pilate 
is  said  to  have  been  banished  by  Caligula  to  Vienna, 
in  Gaul,  and  there  to  have  died  by  his  own  hand. 
(Euseb.  Hist.  Ecc.  ii.  7,  8.)  He  is  described,  by  Philo 
the  Jew,  as  a  judge  accustomed  to  sell  justice;  and 
for  money  to  prouoimce  any  sentence  that  was  desir- 
ed. He  mentions  his  rapines,  his  injuries,  his  mur- 
ders, the  torments  he  inflicted  on  the  innocent,  and 
the  persons  he  put  to  death  without  form  or  process. 
In  shoii,  he  seems  to  have  been  a  man  that  exercised 
excessive  cruelty  diu*ing  all  the  time  of  his  govern- 
ment. 

PILGRIM  denotes,  properly,  one  who  is  going 
forward  to  visit  a  holy  place,  w  ith  design  to  pay  his 
solenm  devotions  there.  Whether  pilgrimages  arc  as 
ancient  as  the  days  of  Jacob,  we  know  not;  but  if 
they  were,  it  gives  a  very  expressive  sense  to  the 
words  of  that  good  old  man,  who  calls  the  years  of 
his  life  "the  days  of  his  pilgrimage  ;"  and  is  [lerfectly 
consistent  with  the  apostle's  observation,  that  the  an- 
cient patriarchs  " confessed  they  wire  strangers  and 
pilgrims  on  earth,"  Heb.  xi.  3. 

PILLAR,  a  column  or  supporter.  A  pillar  of  cloud, 
a  pillar  of  fire,  a  pillar  of  smok(>,  signify  a  cloud,  a 
lire,  a  smoke,  which,  rising  up  toward  heaven,  forms 
an  irregular  column.  The  pillars  of  heaven,  (Job 
xxvi.  11.)  and  the  pillars  of  the  earth,  (Job  ix.  G;  Ps. 
Ixxv.  3.)  are  metaphorical  expressions,  by  which  the 
heavens  and  the  earth  are  compared  to  an  edifice 
i-aised  by  tlie  hand  of  God,  and  founded  upon  its  basis 
or  foundation.  This  a|)peai-s  from  the  ])assage  in 
JuIj,  (xxxviii.  4 — G.)"  Where  wast  thou  when  1  laid 


the  foundations  of  the  earth  ?  Declare,  if  thou  hast 
understanding.  Who  hath  laid  the  measures  thereof, 
if  thou  knowest  ?  or  who  hath  stretched  the  Une  upon 
it?  Whereupon  are  the  foundations  thereof  fastened, 
or  who  laid  the  corner-stone  thereof?" 

James,  Cephas  and  John  "  seemed  to  be  pillars  of 
the  church,"  Gal.  ii.  [).  "  Huii  that  overcometh,  will  I 
make  a  pillar  in  the  tenqjle  of  my  God  ;"  (Rev.  iii.  12.) 
i.  e.  he  shall  be  the  sui)port,  strength  and  ornament 
of  the  house  of  God.  The  church  of  Jesus  Christ  is 
called  by  Paul  (1  Tim.  iii.  15.)  "thei)illai'  and  ground 
of  the  truth."  When  the  Lord  sent  Jeremiah  to 
preach  to  the  nations,  he  said  to  him,  (Jer.  i.  18.)  "  Be- 
hold, I  have  made  thee  this  day  a  defenced  city,  and 
an  iron  pillar,  and  brazen  walls,  against  the  whole 
land  ;  able  to  withstand  all  the  efibrts  of  thine  enemies, 
and  incapable  of  yielding  to  their  violence." 

PILLOW,  a  cushion  for  the  head  or  arm.  See 
Bed,  p.  155. 

PINE,  a  well-known  tree,  of  the  nature  of  the  fir. 
It  is  spoken  in  Scripture  of  a  tree  growing  on  mount 
Lebanon,  (Isa.  xU.  19 ;  Ix.  13.)  which  the  Vulgate  calls 
lUmus,  elm;  [)robably  a  species  of  platanus  or  plane- 
tree.  In  Isa.  xliv.  14,  the  Vulgate  reads  pinus,  but 
the  English  Bible  has  ash.     *R. 

PINNACLE  of  the  temple.  When  the  devil  had 
tempted  Jesus  in  the  desert,  (Matt.  iv.  5.)  "  he  took 
him  up  into  the  holy  city,  and  set  him  on  a  pinnacle 
of  the  temple  ;  and  said  to  him.  If  thou  be  the  Sou  of 
of  God,  cast  thyself  down,"  &c.  This  pinnacle  Cal- 
met  supi)oses  to  be  the  galleiy,  or  ]jarapet,  on  the  top 
of  the  buttresses,  which  surrounded  the  roof  of  the 
temple,  properly  so  called ;  and  he  remarks,  that  iu 
Palestine  the  roofs  of  all  houses  were  covered  with 
terraces,  or  platforms ;  around  which  was  a  low  wall, 
to  prevent  any  one  falling  dow  n,  Deut.  xxii.  8.  Jose- 
phus,  too,  says,  the  roof  of  the  temple  was  defended  by 
tall  golden  spikes,  to  hinder  birds  from  alighting  upon 
it,  that  they  might  not  defile  it  widi  their  dung.  It  is 
by  no  means  probable,  however,  that  the  temptation 
of  Jesus  to  throw  himself  down  among  the  people  at 
worship,  took  jdace  on  any  part  of  the  high  roof  of 
the  temple.  It  is  much  more  likely  that  the  place 
was  in  some  more  accessible  part,  to  which  there  w  as 
a  passage  by  stairs ;  for,  as  to  the  very  vague,  though 
common  notion,  of  the  person  of  Jesus  being  can-ied 
through  the  air  by  the  power  of  the  devil,  it  is  by  no 
means  credible.  'The  account  given  by  Hegisippus 
of  the  death  of  James  the  less,  may  illustrate  this  in- 
cident of  the  temptation.  He  went  U])  into  a  gallery, 
whence  he  could  be  heai'd  by  the  people,  and  from 
wiience  he  was  thrown  downi,  without  being  instantly 
killoil.  [The  summit  or  roof  of  the  ])rincipal  porch 
of  the  temple,  next  the  southern  wall  of  the  court  of 
the  Gentiles,  is  sjiid  by  Josephus  (Antiq.  xv.  11.  5.  B. 
J.  v.  5.  2.)  to  ha\  e  been  500  cubits  above  the  bottom 
of  the  valley  below,  and  may  well  be  considered  aS 
the  pinnnch  spoken  of.    R. 

PIRATHON,  a  city  of  Ephrahn  in  mount  Amalek, 
whence  cinie  Abdon,  judge  of  Israel,  Judg.  xii.  15. 
Bacchides  caused  it  to  be  fortified.  It  is  called  Pha- 
rathoin,  in  1  Mac.  ix.  .50. 

PISGAH,  a  mountain  beyond  Jordan,  in  Moab,  a 
sunuiiit,  or  peak,  rising  from,  or  among,  a  series  of 
lower  hills,  and  probably  Nebo,  Pisgah  and  Abarim 
make  but  one  chain,  over  against  Jericho,  on  the  road 
from  Livias  to  Heshbon.  (See  Abarim.)  In  the 
Hebrew  text,  (Deut.  xxxiv.  1 — 3.)  the  prospect  enjoy- 
ed by  Moses  from  Pisgah  reaches  from  Dan,  north, 
to  Zoar,  south ;  but  in  the  Samaritan  Pentateuch,  it 
is  much  more  extensive  :  "All  the  land  from  the  river 


PL  A 


[750] 


PLE 


of  Egypt,  to  the  river,  the  great  river  Euphrates,  to 
the  utmost  sea."  This  was  the  extent  of  Solomon's 
dommioDs ;  and  the  utmost  bounds  of  the  royal 
power  of  the  kings  of  Israel.  But  another  use  may 
be  made  of  this  passage,  not  without  its  importance. 
Could  this  whole  district  be  seen  from  any  other 
mountain  than  Pisgah  ?  Was  this  the  same  extent  as 
was  shown  by  the  tempter  to  our  Lord,  when  excit- 
ing his  ambition  ?  "All  this,  the  utmost  bounds  that 
ever  were  enjoyed  by  the  ancient  kings  of  thy  nation, 
from  whom  thou  art  descended ;  all  the  whole  king- 
dom and  dominion  of  thine  ancestors,  will  I  give 
thee,  if,"  &c.  This  may  account  for  the  term  used 
by  Luke,  (iv.  5.)  rendered  m  our  version,  "all  the 
world." 

PISIDIA,  a  province  of  Asia  Minor,  lying  mostly 
on  mount  Taurus,  and  having  Lycaonia  on  the  north, 
Pamphylia  south,  Cilicia  and  Cappadocia  east,  and 
the  province  of  Asia  west.  Paul  preached  at  Anti- 
och,  its  capital,  (Actsxiii.  14.)  and  throughout  Pisidia, 
xiv.  24. 

PISON,  or  Phison,  one  of  the  four  great  rivers  that 
watered  paradise,  (Gen.  ii.  11,  12.)  and  which  ran 
through  all  the  land  of  Havilah,  where  excellent  gold 
is  found.  It  has,  of  coiu'se,  been  placed  as  variously 
as  the  garden  of  Eden,  to  which  article  the  reader  is 
referred.  Eusebius  and  Jerome  call  it  the  Ganges ; 
Josephus  calls  it  Gotha  ;  and  Solomon,  the  commen- 
tator, calls  it  the  Nile. 

PITHOM,  one  of  the  cities  built  by  the  children  of 
Israel  for  Pharaoh  in  Egypt,  during  their  servitude, 
Exod.  i.  11.  This  is  probably  the  Pathumos  men- 
tioned by  Herodotus,  (lib.  ii.  158.)  which  he  places  on 
the  canal  made  by  the  kings  Necho  and  Darius,  to 
join  the  Red  sea  with  the  Nile.  We  find  also,  in  the 
ancient  geographers,  that  there  was  an  arm  of  the 
Nile  called  Pathmeticus,  Phatmicus,  Phatnicus,  or 
Phatniticus.  Bochart  says  that  Pithom  and  Ramcs- 
t<es  are  about  five  leagues  above  the  division  of  the 
Nile,  and  beyond  this  river;  but  this  assertion  has  no 
proof  from  antiquity.  Marsham  will  have  Pithom  to 
be  the  same  as  Pelusiimi,  or  Damietta.  (See  Rosen- 
miiller  Bibi.  Geogr.  iii.  j).  269.) 

PLAY,  To  PLAY.  The  Hebrews  use  this  word 
to  express  all  kinds  of  diversions,  as  dancing,  sportive 
exercise,  toying,  and  amusements  proper  for  recreat- 
ing and  diverting  the  mind.  The  Avord  pni',  tsahhak, 
which  signifies  to  play,  is  commonly  used  for  laugh- 
ing, mocking,  jeering,  insulting.  When  Sarah  saw 
Ishmael  play  with  her  son  Isaac,  she  was  offended  at 
it:  it  was  a  ])lay  of  mockery  and  insult,  or,  perhaps, 
of  squabbling,  ns  in  2  Sam.  ii.  14.  Let  the  young 
people  (or  soldiers)  get  up  and  play  before  us — show 
their  skill  at  their  weapons — let  them  fight,  as  it  were, 
by  way  of  play  ;  but  the  event  shows  that  they  fought 
in  good  earnest,  since  they  were  all  killed.  We  see 
another  kind  of  play  in  Exod.  xxxii.  6.  When  the 
Israelites  had  set  up  the  golden  calf,  they  began  to 
dance  about  it,  and  to  divert  themselves:  "The  peo- 
ple sat  down  to  eat  and  drink,  and  rose  up  to  play." 
When  Samson  was  delivered  by  Dalilah  into  the 
hands  of  the  Philistines,  they  bored  out  his  eyes, 
put  him  in  prison,  and  some  time  after  made  him 
play  before  them ;  that  is,  divert  them  by  the  tricks 
they  played  him,  and  by  the  motions  he  was  forced 
to  make,  to  avoid  them,  and  to  screen  himself  from 
their  insults,  Judg.  xvi.  25.  The  women  vviio  came 
out  to  meet  David  and  Saul,  when  they  returned 
victorious  from  the  slaughter  of  Goliath,  danced  and 
played  on  instruments,  and  showed  their  mirth  after 
a  thousand  manners,  1  Sam.  xviii.  6,  7.     In  the  pro- 


cession at  the  removal  of  the  ark  from  the  house  of 
Obed-Edom  to  the  palace  of  David,  he  danced  with 
great  alacrity,  played  on  instruments,  and  testified 
his  joy  before  the  Lord,  2  Sam.  vi.  5,  21.  And  when 
Michal  upbraided  him  for  not  observing  the  gravity 
suitable  to  his  rank,  he  answered,  "  I  will  play  before 
the  Lord,  and  will  be  still  more  vile  iia  my  own  eyes." 
Sarah,  the  daughter  of  Raguel,  opening  her  heart 
before  the  Lord,  says,  I  have  never  associated  my- 
self with  those  that  play,  Tob.  iii.  17.  And  Jere- 
miah, (xv.  17.)  "  I  have  never  haunted  the  assemblies 
of  those  that  are  given  to  play  and  diversion."  The 
same  prophet,  comforting  the  daughter  of  Sion,  tells 
her  the  time  shall  come  in  which  she  shall  be  rebuilt, 
and  again  shall  divert  herself  in  dancing  with  her 
equals,  ch.  xxxi.  4.  Solomon  represents  Wisdom  as 
playing  before  the  Lord,  and  taking  her  pleasure  in 
living  among  men,  Prov.  viii.  30,  31. 

There  is  no  mention  in  Scripture  of  any  particular 
sorts  of  plays  ;  neither  games  of  hazard,  nor  theatrical 
representations,  nor  races  either  of  horses  or  chariots, 
nor  combats  of  men  or  of  beasts.  The  Israelites 
were  a  laborious  people,  who  confined  almost  all 
their  diversions  to  the  pleasures  of  the  country,  and 
to  those  of  the  festivals  of  the  Lord,  their  religious 
journeys,  and  their  enjoyments  in  the  temple. 

This  observation,  however,  refers  to  the  time  when 
the  law  was  maintained  ;  the  ancient  periods  of  the 
Hebrew  republic.  For  when  they  grew  irregulai-, 
they  adopted  the  utmost  excesses  of  idolatrous  na- 
tions ;  their  wicked  and  shameful  sports  and  diver- 
sions. From  the  time  of  the  Grecians,  after  the  death 
of  Alexander  the  Great,  under  the  government  of  the 
kings  of  Syria  in  Judea,  they  began  to  study  the 
sports  and  exercises  of  the  Grecians.  There  were 
gymnasia,  or  schools  of  exercise,  in  Jerusalem,  and 
places  where  they  practised  the  exercises  of  the 
Greeks,  wrestling,  racing,  quoits,  &:c.  1  Mac.  v.  16 ; 
2  Mac.  iv.  1.3 — 15.  And  when  the  Romans  succeeded 
the  Greeks,  Herod  built  theatres  and  amj)hitheatres 
in  the  cities  of  Palestine,  and  instituted  all  sorts  of 
games.  « 

PLEDGE,  a  security  or  assurance  given  for  the 
performance  of  a  contract.  When  a  man  of  veracity 
pledges  his  word,  his  affirmation  becomes  an  assur- 
ance that  he  will  fulfil  what  he  has  j)romised.  But 
as  the  word  of  every  man  is  not  equally  valid,  in 
matters  of  importance,  it  becomes  necessary  that  a 
valuable  article  of  some  kind  should  be  deposited,  as 
a  bond  on  his  part.  So  Judah  gave  pledges  to  Tamar, 
Gen.  xxxviii.  17.  Under  the  law  the  taking  of  ])ledge3 
was  regulated :  the  mill-stone  was  not  to  be  taken  in 
pledge,  (Deut.  xxiv.  6.)  nor  was  the  person  taking  a 
pledge  to  enter  the  house  to  fetch  it,  (ver.  10.)  nor  to 
detain  necessajy  raiment  after  sunset;  (ver.  12.)  nor 
was  the  widow's  raiment  to  be  taken  in  pledge,  ver. 
17.  How  mild,  how  benevolent  are  these  directions ! 
and  we  find  some  reproached  that  they  take  their 
brother's  pledge,  (Job  xxii.  6.)  that  they  take  the  wid- 
ow's ox  in  pledge,  (xxiv.  3,9.)  that  they  do  not  restore 
the  pledge,  (as  the  law  directed,  Deut.  xxiv.  18.)  Ezek. 
xviii.  7,  12 ;  xxxiii.  15.  To  understand  Amos  ii.  8, 
"They  lay  themselves  down  on  clothes  laid  to  pledge, 
by  every  altar,"  observe,  how  galling  tliis  must  be  to 
the  owners,  to  see  carpets,  &c.  used  in  idolatry,  car- 
ried abroad,  laid  under  idolntrously  sacred  trees,  &c. 
What  insolence  in  the  lender  who  held  these  pledges ! 
what  mortification  to  the  borrower  who  had  delivered 
them  !  to  see  his  property  (1.)  published  and  (2.)  pro- 
faned.    (See  Hanner,  vol.  iv.  p.  377.) 

PLEIADES,  seven  stars,  anciently  in  the  Bull'i 


POE 


[751  ] 


POETRY 


tail ;  but  ou  modern  globes  in  the  shoulder,  and  which 
appear  at  the  beginning  of  spring.  Job  speaks  of  the 
Pleiades,  (chap.  xxxviii.31 ;  ix.  9.)  and  of  the  Hyades, 
which  are  seven  other  stars  in  the  Bull's  head,  and 
mark  out  the  east  point  and  the  spring  :  "  Canst  thou 
bind  the  sweet  influence  of  the  Pleiades .'  "  Hebrew 
nco,  Chimah ;  Can  you  hinder  the  Pleiades  from  rising 
in  their  season  ?  He  gives  them  the  name — the  sweet 
influences  of  Chimah,  because  of  the  agreeableness  of 
the  spring  season.  Jerome  has  translated  Chimah,  by 
flyades,  (Job  ix.  9.)  and  by  Pleiades,  (Job  xxxviii.  31.) 
and  by  Arcturus,  the  Bear's  tail,  Amos  v.  8.  Aquila 
sometimes  translates  it  in  the  same  manner.  The 
Bear  is  one  of  the  most  northern  constellations  ;  but 
Chimah  rather  signifies  the  Pleiades. 

POETRY  of  the  Hebrews.  No  point  of  criticism 
has  been  more  discussed  among  the  learned  than  that 
concerning  Hebrew  poetry  ;  and  yet  we  cannot  say 
the  matter  is  exhausted,  or  the  difficulty  cleared.  We 
cannot  pretend  to  know  the  true  pronunciation  of 
the  Hebrew  language  ;  and  consequently  we  cannot 
perceive  either  the  harmony  of  tiie  words,  or  the 
quantity  of  the  syllables,  which  constitute  the  beauty 
of  the  vei-ses.  Nor  have  we  in  Hebrew,  as  we  have 
in  Greek  and  Latin,  rules  for  ascertaining  the  quan- 
tity of  the  syllables,  the  number  of  feet,  or  the  cadence 
and  construction  of  verses ;  and  yet  it  is  plain  that 
the  Hebrews  observed  these  things,  at  least  in  some 
measure,  since  in  their  poems  we  observe  letters  added 
to,  or  cut  off  from,  tlie  ends  of  words;  which  evinces 
submission  to  the  rhythm,  the  number,  or  the  measure 
of  syllables. 

From  the  manner  in  which  Josephus,  Origen, 
Eusebius  and  Jerome  have  spoken  of  the  Hebrew 
poetry,  it  should  seem  that  in  their  time  the  beauty 
and  rules  of  it  were  well  known.  Josephus  affirms 
in  several  places,  that  the  songs  composed  by  Moses 
are  in  heroic  verse,  and  that  David  composed  several 
sorts  of  verses  and  songs,  odes  and  hymns,  in  honor 
of  God  ;  some  of  which  were  in  trimeters,  or  verses 
of  three  feet,  and  others  in  pentameters,  or  verses  of 
five  feet.  Origen  and  Eusebius  adopted  the  same 
sentiment ;  but  whether  out  of  deference  to  the 
opinion  of  Josephus,  or  whether  of  their  own  judg- 
ment, is  uncertain.  Origen  well  understood  the 
Hebrew,  and  Eusebius  was  one  of  the  most  learned 
men  of  his  time. 

Le  Clerc  composed  an  ingenious  dissertation,  to 
show,  that  the  Hebrew  poetry  was  in  rhyme  much 
like  the  French  or  English.  Others  maintain,  that  in 
the  old  Hebrew  verses  there  is  neither  measure  nor 
feet ;  and  Scaliger  affirms,  that  this  language,  as  well 
as  that  of  the  Syrians,  Arabians  and  Abyssinians,  is 
not  capable  of  the  restraint  of  feet  or  measures.  Much 
of  the  Arabic  poetry  bears  evidence  of  an  origin  cog- 
nate with  the  Hebrew;  nor  are  the  maxims  of  our 
British  Druids,  conveyed  ui  sententious  verses,  for  the 
greater  accuracy  of  memory — and  they  were  commit- 
ted to  memory,  not  to  writing — altogether  dissimilar. 
The  first  thing  remarkable,  in  Hebrew  poetry,  is  a 
duplication  of  phraseology,  so  constructed,  that  the 
memory,  by  recollecting  one  member  of  the  sentence, 
could  not  fail  of  recollecting  the  other.  The  earliest 
specimen  extant  exemplifies  this  throughout.  La- 
mech,  the  first  man  who  married  two  wives,  intent 
on  calming  their  apprehensions  for  his  safety,  does 
not  say,  in  plain  prose,  "No  one  will  be  so  unjust  as 
to  kill  me  for  this  trifling  transgression  ;"  but  he  puts 
his  argument  into  verse  ;  and  by  this  means  it  has 
been  preserved,  because  the  memory  retained  it  with 
ease  and  certainty  ;  the  names  of  the  parties,  once 


known,  recall  the  whole  when  repetition  is  conteni' 
plated. 

Adah  arid  Zillah,  hear  my  voice  ; 

Ye  iinves  of  Lamech,  hearken  to  my  speech  ; 

Have  I  slain  a  man  in  bloody  contest, 

A  young  man  in  violent  assault  ? 

If  Cain  shall  be  avenged  seven  times. 

Much  more  Lamech  seventy-seven  times. 

The  first  column,  if  read  separately,  opens  the  his- 
tory ;  but  the  second  column,  by  its  duplication  of 
phraseology,  perfects  the  series  of  thoughts,  and  con- 
verts the  whole  into  verses,  and  poetry.  ThisdupU- 
cation  is  so  proper  to  Hebrew  poetry,  that  a  Hebrew 
poet  would  not  be  content  to  say,  "  Yoiuhand  beauty 
shall  be  laid  in  the  dust ; "  but  he  would  singularize 
these  qualities ;  he  would  distinguish  and  repeat 
them  :  e.  g. 

Youth  shall  be  laid  in  the  dust ; 

And  beauty  shall  be  consumed  in  the  grave. 

This  is  more  explicit,  has  greater  strength,  as  well 
as  greater  correctness ;  for  beauty  is  not  mvariably 
conjoined  with  youth  ;  and  there  is  beauty  proper  to 
mature  life,  and  even  to  old  age.  The  ideas,  then, 
are  not  precisely  the  same  ;  yet  they  are  so  exquis- 
itely similar,  that  the  recollection  of  one  brings  the 
other  to  mind,  instantly.  Something  like  this  we 
have  in  Isa.  Iv.  10.  He  does  not  say,  "  As  the  rain 
and  the  snow  (plural)  descend  (plural)  from  heaven, 
and  thither  they  (plural)  do  not  return  ; "  but  he  keeps 
the  entire  passage  in  the  singular,  and  thereby  much 
increases  its  strength. 

Verily,  like  as  the  rain  descendeth  yroni  above., 
And  the  snow  descendeth  from  the  heavens  ; 
And  thither  it  doth  not  return  ; — 
So  shall  my  word  be. 

The  reader  will  observe  the  brevity,  the  compact- 
ness obtained  by  the  poet,  in  this  construction  of  his 
verse  ;  to  express  his  thoughts  completely  requires 
the  insertion  of  the  words  marked  in  italics  ;  yet  the 
omission  of  these  words  occasions  no  confusion,  no 
interruption,  because  the  property  of  descending 
from  the  atmosphere  is  common  both  to  rain  and 
snow.  To  the  original  readers,  in  the  Hebrew  lan- 
guage, this  was  still  clearer  ;  yet  in  translation,  simi- 
lar supplements  or  repetitions  are  often  necessary  to  a 
correct  view  of  the  poet's  intention.  So  Balaam  says, 
3Iicah  vi.  5  : 

Wherewith  shall  I  come  before  Jehovah  ? 
Wherewith  shall  I  bow  myself  unto  the  High  God  ? 
Shall  I  come  before  him  with  burnt-offerings  ? 
Shall  I  bow  myself  unto  him  with  calves  of  a  year 
old? 

This  supplementary  repetition  gives  the  sentiment 
at  full ;  and  in  very  many  places  of  Scriptiue  the 
critic  must  observe  these  elisions  of  words,  and  feel 
them  too;  though  the  ppet  may  disregard  them  ;  and 
even  deem  the  critic  fastidious.  This  may  be  further 
evinced  by  an  instance  in  which  the  supplement  is 
taken,  not  from  a  preceding,  but  from  a  following, 
sentence  :  Samson  says. 

With  the  jaw-bone  of  an  ass,  heaps  upon  heaps  have 

I  smitten  ; 
With  the  jaw-bone  of  an  ass,  a  thousand  men  have  I 

smitten. 

The  sense  of  the  first  verse  is  imperfect,  till  the 
close  of  the  second  verse  completes  it.     There  can 


POETRY 


[  752  ] 


POETRY 


be  no  doubt  but  what  this  parallelism  was  esteemed 
a  beauty  ;  we  find  it  practised  by  the  polite  and  saga- 
cious Solomon,  to  a  considerable  extent,  in  the  pref- 
ace to  his  Proverbs ;  the  intention  of  which  book  is, 
he  tells  us. 

To  know  wisdom  and  instruction  ; 

To  perceive  the  words  of  understanding; 

To  receive  the  instruction  of  wisdom, 

Justice,  and  judgment,  and  equity  : 

To  give  subtilty  to  the  simple  ; 

To  the  young  man  knowledge  and  discretion  : 

A  wise  man  will  hear,  and  will  increase  learning ; 

And  a  man  of  understanding  shall  attain  unto  wise 

counsels ; 
To  understand  a  proverb,  and  the  interpretation  ; 
The  words  of  the  wise  and  their  dark  sayings. 

The  ear  sufficiently  judges,  that  in  these  verses 
there  is  rhythm,  though  not  rhyme  ;  consequently 
there  must  be  in  the  original,  metrical  feet,  and  poet- 
ical cadence :  though  we  know  not  hoAv  to  demon- 
strate them,  having  no  adequate  information  to  guide 
us  in  the  correct  pronunciation  of  the  language.  If 
what  may  be  called  private,  simple,  or  personal  poetry, 
be  metrical,  undoubtedly  that  which  was  intended  for 
musical  accompaniment,  was  emphatically  so ;  and 
especially,  when  the  tune,  or  air,  existed  before  the 
poem,  the  poem  was  bound  to  conform  to  the  prog- 
ress, the  extent,  and  the  expression,  of  the  previous- 
ly fixed  notes,  or  intonations,  whether  vocal  or  instru- 
mental ;  by  these  it  was  absolutely  governed.  And 
if  such  composition  were  also  intended  for  public 
performance,  by  a  numerous  band,  by  various  instru- 
ments playing  in  concert,  the  connection  between  the 
poetry  and  the  music  must  needs  be  intimate  and 
entire.  This  appears  to  have  been  the  case,  in  the 
instances  of  several  of  the  psalms  ;  and  as  these  were 
performed  in  two  parts,  by  responsive  choirs,  and 
possibly  a  third  part  was  performed  by  a  still  fuller 
chorus,  the  necessity  of  metrical  arrangement  was 
imperative  ;  for,  if  this  were  neglected,  the  whole 
would  present  a  mass  of  inexpressibly  discordant 
confusion. 

Among  those  psalms  which  demonstrate  this  alter- 
nation of  song,  is  the  cxxxvi.  where  the  burden,  "for 
his  mercy  endureth  for  ever,"  certainly  was  not 
uttered  by  the  same  persons,  or  band,  as  uttered  the 
leading  theme.  So  we  read,  Ezraiii.  13,  the  Levites, 
&c.  sang  this  song,  together,  hy  course,  or  alternately ; 
and  the  people  shouted  with  a  great  shout  when  they 
})raised  the  Lord  ;  that  is.  Hallelujah !  Ps.  cxxxv. 
also,  evidently  was  performed  in  several  parts.  In 
short,  we  find  this  responsive  manner  in  the  time  of 
Moses,  who,  with  the  men,  sang  one  })art  of  his  ode, 
while  Miriam,  with  the  women,  sang  the  ajiswering 
strjiins  ;  and  this,  no  doubt,  continued  to  be  the  cus- 
tom, to  the  latest  period  of  the  Hebrew  polity. 

Of  the  longer  poems  of  Sacred  Writ,  Solomon's 
Song  is  a  beautiful  performance  ;  while  the  book  of 
Job,  the  longest  of  all  the  Hebrew  poems,  is  most 
sublime.  Late  writers  have  done  much  to  illustrates 
it ;  yet  nnich  remains  to  1)0  done.  We  must  here 
conclude  these  brief  and  imperfect  hints  on  the  sub- 
ject of  Hel)rew  poetry.  Those  wlio  desins  further  in- 
formation, may  cous\ilt  bisliop  Hare's  Metrical  Ver- 
sion of  the  Psalms,  supjiorti'd  l)y  Drs.  Grey,  Ed- 
wards, &ic.  and  op|)os<(l  by  bishop  Lowth,  whose 
Lectm-es  on  Hel)rew  Poetry  deservedly  enjoy  an  es- 
talilished  reputation  :  to  these  should  be  added  bishop 
Jebh's  Sacred  Literature,  sir  W.  Jones's  Dissertation 
on  the  Asiatic  Poetrv,  with  others. 


[The  subject  of  Hebrew  poetry  is  too  important  to 
the  biblical  student,  to  be  passed  over  with  the 
meagre  notice  above  given.  Indeed,  of  all  the  Jine 
arts,  poetry  alone  was  cultivated  among  the  Hebrews ; 
and  was  carried  to  a  high  degree  of  perfection.  The 
poetry  of  this  people  was  almost  wholly  lyric ; — 
whether  didactic,  sententious,  or  prophetic,  it  was 
still  LYRIC.  Now  the  essence  of  lyric  poetry  is  the 
vivid  expression  of  internal  emotions.  It  is,  thei-e- 
fore,  subjective  ;  in  opposition  to  epic  poetry,  which 
treats  of  external  objects,  and  is  therefore  objective. 
The  chief  subject  of  Hebrew  poetry  was  religion,  and 
then  patriotism  ;  which,  under  the  theocracy,  was 
very  nearly  allied  to  religion.  The  most  obvious  and 
striking  characteristic  of  the  poetry  of  the  Hebrews, 
is  sublimity.  Religious  poetry  was  in  ancient  times 
almost  peculiar  to  the  Jews;  the  little  that  is  found 
among  other  ancient  nations,  as  e.  g.  the  Orphic 
Hymns,  is  not  worthy  of  comparison  with  it.  So  also 
the  Koran,  which  is  an  attempted  imitation  of  the 
jioetical  parts  of  the  Old  Testament.  The  present 
prevailing  views  of  the  nature  of  Hebrew  poetry, 
of  its  rhythm,  &c.  were  first  proposed  by  bishop 
Lowth  in  his  Lectures  on  the  Poetry  of  the  Hebrews. 
(Lect.  xviii. — xx.)  He  was  followed  by  Herder,  in 
his  Spirit  of  Hebrew  Poetry  ;  sir  William  Jones,  on 
Asiatic  Poetry  ;  and  more  recently  by  Thomas  Camp- 
bell, in  the  first  volumes  of  the  New  Monthly  Maga- 
zine. Mr.  Campbell,  however,  has  drawn  chiefly 
fi-om  Herder.  (See  also  De  Wette's  Commentar 
Liber  die  Psalmen,  Einleitung.) 

Diction  and  Rhythm. — Hebrew  poetiy  diflTers  from 
Hebrew  pi-ose  in  three  respects.  (1.)  In  the  peculiar 
poetical  nature  of  the  contents  ;  of  which  the  char- 
acteristics are  sublimity,  boldness,  abruptness,  lofty 
metaphors,  &c.  (2.)  In  the  peculiarities  of  the  poetic 
dialect  or  diction,  which,  however,  are  not  so  striking 
as  among  the  Greeks  and  Romans.  They  consist  in 
the  use  of  different  words,  significations  of  words, 
granunatical  forms  ;  and  in  syntactical  peculiarities,  in 
which  latter  the  difference  is  greater  than  in  Latin,  or 
in  modern  languages.  For  the  most  part,  the  poetical 
idioms  of  the  Hebrew  are  the  common  ones  in  the 
kuidred  dialects,  the  Chaldee,  Syriac  and  Arabic. 
This  circumstance  goes  to  show  the  importance  of 
an  acquaintance  with  these  latter.  (3.)  In  rhythm, 
which  difters  from  metre  ;  the  latter  importing  a  meas- 
ure of  syllables  or  feet,  the  former  a  harmonious 
arrangement  of  words  and  members.  The  question 
lias  been  much  agitated  in  modern  times,  whether  the 
Hebrews  had  any  measure  of  syllables,  or  prosody, 
or  metre.  Josephus  and  Jerome  affirm  that  they 
had  ;  and  some  have  thought  they  had  discovered  it. 
(See  De  Wette,  Einl.  §  vii.)  The  best  theories  on  this 
side  are  tho;-^  of  Jones  and  Bellermann  ;  but  some- 
thing new  appears  on  this  general  topic,  in  Germany 
at  least,  almost  eveiy  year.  It  is,  however,  the  oj)in- 
ion  of  those  best  acquainted  with  the  subject,  that  the 
Hebrews  had  no  prosody,  i.  e.  no  measure  of  sylla- 
bles. Their  rhythm  consisted  only  in  the  synnnetry 
or  corresj)ondence  of  the  larger  members. 

Rhythm  may  be  of  three  species,  viz.  (1.)  It  may 
consist  merely  in  the  syllables,  or  in  a  succession  of 
poetical  feet,  as  dactyles,  &c.  without  any  larger 
pauses  or  members.  (2.)  It  may  also  exist,  where  the 
poetical  feet  or  measures  of  syllables  are  neglected,  but 
a  certain  measiu'e  of  the  larger  members  or  clauses  is 
found.  This  last  is  tlit!  rhythm  of  the  Hebrews  ;  as  also 
of  the  ol<l  (jJerman  Meistersingers.  (3.)  The  third  and 
most  j)erfect  form  of  rhythm  comprises  both  the  others, 
and  appears  in  Greek,  Roman  and  modern  poetry. 


POETRY 


[753] 


POE 


The  rhythm  of  Hebrew  poetry,  then,  consists  in  the 
PARALLELISM  of  thc  members,  (as  it  is  (•ailed  by 
Lowth,)  of  which  the  fundamental  princijjle  is,  tiiat 
evei'y  verse  must  consist  of  at  least  two  corresponding 
parts  or  members.  (See  Lowth,  Lect.  xix.  De  \Vette, 
Eini.  §.  vii.) 

Laws  of  Parallelism. — The  parallelism  of  Hebrew 
poetry  occurs  either  in  the  thought,  or  solely  in  the 
form.     Of  the  former  there  are  three  kinds,  viz. 

1.  Synonymous ;  where  the  two  members  express 
the  same  idea  ui  dificrent,  but  closely,  and  often 
literally,  corresponding  words  :  c.  g. 

Ps.  viii.  4.  What  is  man,  that  thou  art  mindful   of 
him  ? 
And  the  son  of  man,  that  thou  dost  visit 
him  ? 

ii.  1.  Why  do  the  heathen  rage  ? 

And  the  people  imagine  a  vain  thing  ? 
ii.  4.  He  that  sitteth  in  the  heavens  shall  laugh  ; 

The  Lord  shall  have  them  in  derision. 
Job  vi.  5.  Doth  the  wild  ass  bray  when  he  hath  grass  ? 

Or  loweth  the  ox  over  his  fodder  ? 

So  also  the  song  of  Latnech,  quoted  above,  Gen. 
iv.  23.  and  Job  vii.  1,  seq. 

2.  Antithetical ;  where  an  antithesis  of  thought  is 
ex})ressed  by  corresponding  members  :  e.  g. 

Prov.  xiv.  11.  The  house  of  the  wicked  shall  be  over- 
thrown ; 
But  the  tabernacle  of  the  upright  shall 
flourish. 
XV.   1.  A  soft  answer  turneth  away  wrath  ; 
But  grievous  words  stir  up  anger. 

(Compare  Virgil.  Ecl.iii.  8.) 

3.  Synthetic  ;  which  is  a  mere  juxtaposition  ;  or 
rather  the  thought  is  carried  forward  in  the  second 
member  with  some  addition  ;  the  correspondence  of 
words  and  construction  being  as  before  :  e.  g. 

Ps.  xix.  7.  The  law  of  the  Loi-d  is  perfect,  convert- 
ing the  soul : 
The  testimony  of  the  Lord  is  sure,  making 
wise  the  simple. 

8.  The  statutes  of  the  Lord  are  right,  re- 

joicing the  heart : 
The  commandment  of  the  Lord  is  pure, 
enlightening  the  eyes. 

9.  The  fear  of  the  Lord  is  clean,  enduring 

for  ever ; 
The  judgments  of  the  Lord  are  true  and 
righteous  altogether. 

Merc  rhythmical  parallelism  is  that  in  which  i^-* 
similarity  or  correspondence  of  thought  exists  :.'"'i't 
the  verse  is  divided  by  the  co'sura,  as  it  we-'S  'Jito 
corresponding  niembers.  This  is  tlie  most  -■ni]>ertect 
species  of  parallelism ;  and  may  be  coMP'ifed  witii 
the  hexameter,  divided  by  the  cpesnrn;  e.  g. 

Ps.  ii.  6.       Yet  have  I  set  my  king 

Upon  my  holy  liiU  of /ion. 
iii.  2.       Many  there  be  which  say  of  my  soul. 
There  is  no  help  for  him  in  God. 

This  is  most  common  in  the  book  of  Lamentations  ; 
where  there  is  hardly  any  other  species  of  paral- 
lelism. 

Thus  far  we  have  had  regard  to  the  simplest  and 

most  perfect  ])arallelisms  of  two  members ;  such  as 

are  more  usually  found  in  the  Psalms,  Job,  &c.     Jiut 

in  the  prophets  and  a  few  of  the  psalms,  we  find  a  less 

95 


regular,  and  sometimes  compound  parallelism.  Thus 
the  parallelism  is  irregulai-,  when  one  member  is 
shorter  than  the  other  ;  as  Hosea  iv.  17 : 

Ephraim  is  joined  to  idols: 
Let  him  alone. 

Of  compound  parallelisms  there  are  various  kinds  ; 
as  when  the  verse  has  three  members  ;  and  the  two 
first  correspond  to  the  third :  e.  g. 

Ps.  liii.  G.      O  that  the  salvation  of  Israel  were  come 

out  of  Zion ! 
When  God  bruigeth  back  the  captivity  of 

his  people, 
Jacob  shall  rejoice  and  Israel  shall  be 

glad. 

Or  when  the  verse  has  four  members ;  of  which  the 
first  and  third  correspond  to  the  second  and  fourth  : 
e.g. 

Ps.xxxi.  10.  For  my  life  is  spent  with  grief. 
And  my  years  with  sighing ; 
My    strength    faileth    because   of  muie 

iniquity, 
And  my  bones  are  consumed. 

Or  the  veree  may  have  four  parallel  members ;  as 

Ps.  i.  1.         Blessed  is  the  man 

Who  walketh  not  m  the  coimsel  of  the 

ungodly. 
Nor  standetli  in  the  way  of  sinners, 
Nor  sitteth  in  the  seat  of  scornei's. 

We  may  name  Psalms  ii.  and  xv.  as  affording  exain- 
ples  of  most  of  the  species  of  poetic  parallelism. 

In  the  common  manuscripts  and  editions  of  the 
Hebrew  Bible,  the  members  of  the  parallelisms  in  the 
poetical  parts  are  not  written  or  printed  separately ; 
but  the  accents  serve  to  divide  them.  In  the  editions 
of  Kennicott  and  Jahn,  however,  the  members  are 
printed  separately.  It  is  matter  of  regret,  that  this 
mode  was  not  adopted  in  our  English  version  ;  since 
the  common  reader  has  now  often  no  means  of  dis- 
tinguishing, whether  that  which  Jjo  reads  is  Hebrew 
poetry,  or  Hebrew  prose.  Jiideed,  a  good  translation 
ought  to  adhere  closelv'O  theybrm  of  the  original,  and 
not  give  it  a  foreign  ^-ostume.  Hence  the  mere  paral- 
lelism should  be  exliibited,  without  metre,  and  gene- 
rallv  withouf  ^eet. 

The  ^T<reccding  principles  refer  solely  to  the 
rhxithi^  of  Hebrew  poetry.  Besides  this,  there  are 
oth'i"  peculiarities ;  e.  g.  the  strophe,  as  in  Ps.  xlii. 
Aliii  j  where  verses  5,  11,  and  5,  are  a  burden  or  re- 
frain, repeated  at  the  end  of  each  strophe.  So  also 
the  alphabetic  psalms  and  jjoems  ;  (see  Letters  ;)  and 
the  psalms  of  degrees,  in  which  the  chief  words  of 
each  verse  are  taken  up  and  repeated  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  next  verse.  (See  Degrees,  and  Psalms.) 
Paronomasia,  or  the  correspondence  of  like  sounding 
words,  a  species  of  rhyme,  occurs  seldom  in  the 
Psalms ;  it  seems  too  feeble  and  trivial  for  lyric  poetiy. 
The  prophets  employ  it  more  frequently.    *Il. 

POETS.  The  Hebrew  poets  were  meir  inspired 
of  God;  and  among  them  we  find  kings,  lawgivers 
and  prophets.  Moses,  Barak,  David,  Solomon,  Hez- 
ekiah.  Job,  Isaiah,  Jeremiah,  and  most  of  the  proph- 
ets, composed  poems,  or  pieces  in  verse ;  the  most 
pompous,  the  most  majestic,  and  the  most  sublime. 
The  expression,  the  sentiments,  the  figures,  the 
variety,  the  action,  every  thing  is  surprising. 

Paiil  gives  a  pagan  poet  the  name  of  prophet ;  (Tit. 


P  OM 


[  754  ] 


POO 


i.  12, "  One  of  themselves,  even  a  prophet  of  their  own, 
said,"  &c.)  because,  among  the  heathen,  poets  were 
thought  to  be  inspired  by  Apollo.  They  spoke  by 
enthusiasm.  Oracles  were  originally  delivered  in 
verse.  Poets  were  interpreters  of  the  will  of  the 
gods.  The  poet  quoted  by  Paul,  is  Epimenides, 
whom  the  ancients  esteemed  to  be  inspired,  and  fa- 
vored by  the  gods. 

The  same  apostle  quotes  the  poet  Aratus,  a  native, 
as  well  as  himself,  of  Ciiicia  :  (Acts  xvii.  28.)  JVe  are 
the  children  [the  race)  of  God.  This  is  part  of  a  longer 
passage,  whose  import  is,  "  We  must  begin  from 
Jupiter,  whom  we  must  by  no  means  forget.  Every 
thing  is  replete  with  Jupiter.  He  fills  the  streets,  the 
public  places,  and  assemblies  of  men.  The  vvhule 
sea  and  its  harbors  are  full  of  this  god,  and  all  of  us 
in  all  places  have  need  of  Jupiter."  It  was  certainly 
not  to  prove  the  being  or  to  enhance  the  merit  of 
Jupiter,  that  Paul  quotes  this  passage.  But  he  has 
delivered  out  of  bondage,  as  we  may  say,  a  truth 
which  this  poet  had  uttered,  without  penetrating  its 
tiiie  meaning.  The  apostle  used  it  to  prove  the  ex- 
istence of  the  true  God,  to  a  people  not  convinced  of 
the  divuie  authority  of  the  Sci-iptures,and  who  would 
have  rejected  such  proofs  as  he  might  have  derived 
from  thence. 

The  son  of  Sirach,  intent  on  praising  eminent  men, 
enumerates  bards  or  poets ;  who  were,  he  says, "  Lead- 
ers of  the  people  by  their  counsels,  and  by  their 
knowledge  of  learning  meet  for  the  people  ;  wise  and 
eloquent  in  their  instructions:  such  as  found  out 
musical  tunes,  and  recited  verses  in  writing,"  Ecclus. 
xliv.  4.  It  is  evident  that  he  considered  them  as  of 
great  importance  to  the  community ;  and  we  know 
that  they  were  of  great  antiquity,  for  Moses,  himself  a 
poet,  refers  to  those  who  spoke  in  proverbs,  (Numb. 
xxi.  27.)  of  which  he  inserts  a  specimen.  Jacob  was 
a  poet,  as  appeara  fl-om  his  farewell  benediction  on 
his  song.  And  it  appears  to  be  extremely  probaljlo 
that  the  honorable  ajjpellation  Nebi,  equally  denoted 
a  propliet,  a  poet,  and  a  musician,  as  tlie  poets  princi- 
pally were. 

Poets,  like  oi\\fn-  men,  could  only  draw  comparisons 
from  objects  with  which  tl^ey  were  conversant ;  hence 
we  have  in  Scripture  many  aMiisions  to  the  phenomena 
of  nature,  as  extant  in  the  couni/.^^  where  the  writers 
resided — storms,  tempests,  earthquoij(3s  tlumder  and 
lightning,  &c.  The  shepherd  king  describes  tlie 
Lord  as  his  shepherd,  who  leads  him  ik  security  • 
not  as  his  steersman,  who  brings  him  safely  ii^^  poj.^ ! 
for  he  was  little  acquainted  with  nautical  aK,ji;.., 
Very  few  are  the  descriptions  of  the  sea,  or  its  iuhau. 
itants,  in  Job,  although  the  writer  ransacks  earth  and 
heaven,  with  wonderful  science.  Poets  who  dwelt 
in  tents  have  little  reference  to  extensive  architecture. 
But  to  xmdcrstand  their  language,  it  is  necessary  to 
ac([uire  as  intimate  a  knowledge  as  possible  of  the 
things  ihoy  knew  ;  and  even  when  they  treat  of  things 
spiritual  or  celestial ;  because  these  are  signified  by 
means  of  ten-estrial  objects  or  incidents  ;  and  the  just 
jinderstanding  of  one  n)ay  lead  to  a  just  understand- 
ing of  the  other.  Divine  inspiration  itself,  however 
superhuman  it  may  be,  must,  nevertheless,  speak  to 
men  in  the  language  of  men,  or  the  instruction  it 
means  to  convev  will  continue  a  perfect  blank. 

POLYGAMY,  see  Marriagk. 

POLYGLOTT,  sec  Bibi.f,  p.  177. 

POMEGRANATE,  thr,  punica  granatum  of 
Linnpeus ;  called  also  mrdum  granatum,  that  is, 
granate  apple,  (pomme  granate,)  whence  its  name. 
The  tree  grows  wild  in  Palestine  and  Syria,  as  gen- 


erally in  the  south  of  Europe,  and  north  of  Afii*'a. 
It  is  low,  with  a  straight  stem,  reddish  bark,  mriny 
and  spreading  branches,  lancet-formed  leaves,  hvnv- 
ing  large  and  beautiful  red  blossoms.  The  fruit  is  of 
the  size  of  an  orange,  of  a  tawny  brown,  with  a  tliick 
astringent  coat,  containing  abundance  of  seeds,  each 
enveloped  in  a  distinct,  very  juicy,  crimson  coat, 
whose  flavor  in  a  wild  state  is  a  pure  and  very  strong 
acid ;  but  in  the  cultivated  plant,  sweet  and  highly 
grateful.  (Compare  Cant.  iv.  13 ;  Numb.  xiii.  23 ; 
Deut.  viii.  8.)  Artificial  pomegranates  were  also  used 
as  ornaments  on  the  robe  of  the  high-priest,  (Ex. 
xxviii.  33,)  and  also  as  an  architectural  ornament,  1 
Kings  vii.   18.     *R. 

PONTUS,  a  province  in  Asia  Minor,  having  the 
Euxine  sea  north,  Cappadocia  south,  Paphlagonia 
and  Galatia  west,  and  the  Lesser  Armenia  and  Colchis 
east.  It  is  thought  that  Peter  preached  here,  because 
he  addresses  his  First  Epistle  to  the  faithful  of  this 
and  of  the  neighboring  provuices. 

POOR.  This  word  often  denotes  the  humble,  af- 
flicted, mean  in  their  own  eyes,  low  in  the  eyes  of 
God.  Not  so  much  a  man  desfitute  of  the  good 
things  of  the  earth,  as  a  man  sensible  of  his  spiritual 
misery  and  indigence,  who  applies  for  succor  to  the 
mercy  of  God.  In  this  sense  the  greatest  and  richest 
men  of  the  world  are  level  with  the  pooi'est,  in  the 
eyes  of  God. 

In  Exodus  xxiii.  3,  Moses  forbids  the  judges  "  to 
countenance  a  poor  man  in  his  cause ;"  or  as  in  Lev. 
xix.  15,  "  Thou  slialt  not  respect  the  person  of  the 
poor,  nor  honor  the  pereon  of  the  mighty ;  but  in 
righteousness  shalt  thou  judge  thy  neighbor."  In  a 
word,  judge  without  respect  of  ])ersons  ;  have  only 
truth  and  justice  before  your  eyes  ;  consider  that  you 
stand  in  the  place  of  God  on  the  earth. 

One  of  tlie  characters  of  the  Messiah  Avas,  to  judge 
the  poor,  (Ps.  Ixxii.  2,  4.)  and  to  preach  the  gospel  to 
them,  Isa.  xi.  4  ;  Matt.  xi.  5.  Hence,  Jesus  chose 
disciples  that  v/ere  poor,  and  the  greater  part  of  the 
first  believers  were  really  poor  men,  as  we  may  see 
in  their  history. 

Solomon  says,  (Prov.  xxii.  2.)  "  The  rich  and  poor 
meet  together ; "  they  are  like  each  other  in  one 
thing — God  created  them  both  ;  and  both  riches  and 
poverty  are  of  his  bestowing.  Hence  the  rich  should 
not  be  supercilious,  nor  the  poor  despondent ;  both 
are  equal  in  the  eyes  of  God,  Prov.  xxix.  13.  Amos 
(viii.  6.)  reproaches  the  Israelites  with  having  sold  the 
poor  for  a  contemptible  price ;  as  for  shoes  and  san- 
dals. Probably  tlie  rich  actually  thus  sold  their  poor 
debtors,  for  things  of  no  value,  James  (ii.  1.)  seems 
■^o  carry  the  obligation  of  not  respecting  persons  so  far 
^^  '■•o  allow  no  mark  of  distinction  to  persons  in  power, 
or  111  -.jvil  dignities,  in  the  public  assemblies  of  reli- 
gion, r^ it  this  ought  to  be  understood  of  an  inward 
pi•eferel^co,^^JKl  of  the  sentiments  of  the  heart,  rather 
than  of  extcniB.1  marks  of  respect.  It  is  never  allow- 
ed a  Christian  lo  prefin'  a  rich  man  l)efi)re  a  poor 
man,  only  because  he  is  rich,  and  to  think  better  of 
him,  to  judge  him  more  worthy  of  esteem  and  con- 
sideration, rather  than  he  who  has  not  the  same  ad- 
vantages of  the  goods  of  fortune. 

Poverty  was  considered  by  the  Jews  as  a  great  evil 
and  a  punishment  from  God".  Job  speaks  of  it  as  of 
a  prison,  and  a  state  of  l)oii(bge,  clia]).  xxxvi.  8.  And 
Isaiah  (xlviii,  10.)  compares  it  to  a  funiace  or  cruci- 
ble, wherein  metals  are  ))urified.  God  tried  Job  and 
Tobit  by  jioverty :  they  looked  lieyond  the  old  cove- 
nant ;  they  knew  the  value  of  suffering,  of  humilia- 
liou,  of  indigence ;  they  knew  how  to  make  a  right 


POT 


[755] 


P  R  A 


use  of  them,  and  to  convert  them  to  their  greatest 
advantage.  They  were  poor  in  spirit,  m  the  disposi- 
tion of  their  hearts,  before  God  made  them  sutfer 
actual  poverty.     Comp.  Humility. 

Nothing  is  more  earnestly  recommended  in  Scrip- 
ture than  aims  and  compassion  to  the  poor.  Moses 
would  have  them  admitted  to  the  religious  feasts 
celebrated  in  tiie  temple,  Deut.  xvi.  11,  12.  lie  or- 
dered, that  in  the  fields,  in  the  vineyards,  and  upon  the 
trees,  something  should  be  left  for  them  ;  (Lev.  xix. 
10;  xxiii.  22.)  that  in  the  sabbatical  years,  and  the 
years  of  jubilee,  all  should  be  left  for  the  poor,  the 
widow,  and  the  orphan,  Exod.  xxiii.  11.  Ho  com- 
manded to  lend  to  the  poor,  and  observeil,  that  they 
should  never  be  wanting  in  the  country,  but  that  the 
people  should  always  have  opportunity  to  bestow 
their  alms,  Deut.  xv.  8,  9.  That  if  any  j)ledge  were 
taken  from  the  poor,  the  lender  shall  not  enter  the 
house  to  take  it  by  force,  (Deut.  xxiv.  12,  14.)  and 
that  if  the  poor  be  forced  to  give  his  goods  or  his 
clothes,  they  shall  be  restored  to  him  at  night,  that  he 
may  have  wherewith  to  cover  himself  Our  Saviour 
has  carried  this  point  of  the  law,  concerning  alms- 
giving, to  its  perfection  ;  lie  practised  it  himself,  rec- 
ommended it  to  his  disciijles,  and  has  inspired  his 
servants  with  the  tenderest  charity  towards  the  poor. 
He  advised  those  who  would  m  earnest  become  his 
discijdes,  to  sell  all  they  had,  and  give  to  the  poor. 
Matt.  xix.  21.  He  gives  excellent  rules  for  practising 
charity  and  avoiding  \aiu-glory  and  ostentation,  which 
otherwise  may  occasion  our  losing  all  the  fruits  of 
our  charitv.  Matt.  vi.  1 — 4. 

POTIPHAR,  an  officer  of  the  court  of  Pharaoh, 
king  of  Egypt,  (Gen.  xxxvii.  36,)  general  of  his 
troops,  according  to  the  Vulgate ;  but  chief  of  his 
executioners  or  body-guards,  according  to  the  Hebrew. 
Potiphar  bought  Joseph  as  a  slave  from  the  Midian- 
ites,  who  had  taken  him  of  his  brethren  ;  and  seeing 
all  things  prosper  in  his  hands,  he  gave  him  the 
superintendence  of  his  whole  property.  His  wife, 
however,  taking  an  imlawful  liking  to  Joseph,  solicited 
Iiim  to  the  crime  of  adulteiy ;  and,  Joseph  repulsing 
Jier,  her  love  changed  into  hatred,  and  she  accused 
him  to  her  husband,  who  put  Joseph  into  prison  ; 
where  his  delegate,  who  had  charge  of  the  prisoners, 
transferred  this  care  to  Joseph.     See  Joseph. 

POTSHERD,  a  broken  fragment,  or  piece  of  an 
earthen  vessel ;  not  a  brittle  pot  only,  but  a  piece  of 
a  j)ot ;  a  ])ot  already  broken,  Isa.  xlv.  9. 

POTTER,  a  maker  of  earthen  vessels,  of  which 
there  is  frequent  mention  madein  Scripture.  Jeremiah 
(xviii.  3.)  represents  him  while  at  work  as  sitting  on 
two  stones  ;  and  Ecclesiasticus  (xxxviii.  29,  30.)  says, 
"  So  (loth  tlic  potter  sitting  at  his  work,  and  turning 
the  wheel  al)out  with  his  feet ;  who  is  always  carefully 
set  at  his  work,  and  makcth  all  his  work  by  number; 
he  fushioneth  the  clay  with  his  arm,  and  boweth  down 
his  strength  before  his  feet."  When  God  would 
show  his  dominion  over  men,  and  his  irresistible 
power  over  their  hearts,  he  has  recourse  to  the  simili- 
tude of  a  potter,  who  makes  what  he  pleases  of  his 
clay  ;  of  this  a  vessel  of  honor,  of  that  a  vessel  of  dis- 
honor :  now  forming  it,  then  breaking  it ;  now  pre- 
serving it,  and  then  rejecting  it.  (See  Ps.  ii.  9  ;  Eccliis. 
xxxiii.  1.3  ;  Rom.  ix.  21  ;  Jer.  xviii.  2,  3,  &c.) 

P0TT1<:R'S-FIELD,  a  piece  of  ground  tiiat  was 
bouglit  with  the  money  for  which  Judas  sold  our  Sa- 
viom-  Christ,  but  which  he  brought  back  again  to  the 
temple.  (See  Aceldama.)  It  is  south  of  mount 
Sion,  about  a  stone's  cast  from  the  pool  of  Siloam, 
and  i:5  surrounded  by  walls,  in  length  seventy  cubits,  j 


in  breadth  fifty  ;  ana  is  covered  with  a  vault,  with 
seven  openings  above,  to  let  do^vn  the  bodies  which 
are  to  be  there  buried. 

We  read  in  the  Mishna  (Tract,  de  Sanhedr.  cap.  vi. 
n.  14,  15.)  that  they  did  not  allow  malefactors,  or  such 
as  were  executed  for  crhnes,  to  be  buried  in  the 
tombs  of  their  fathers,  except  their  flesh  had  first 
been  consumed  in  other  places,  appointed  for  the  pun- 
ishment of  such  offenders.  For  this  reason,  perhaps, 
Joseph  of  Arimathea  begged  the  body  of  Jesus  from 
Pilate  that  he  might  deftosit  it  in  a  private  sepul- 
chre, l>efore  it  could  be  taken  to  this  public  burying- 
place  ;  where  he  might  have  been  undistinguished 
from  common  criminals. 

POVERTY  has  been  sanctified  by  Christ  in  his 
own  person,  and  in  that  of  his  parents  ;  in  that  of  his 
apostles,  and  of  the  most  perfect  of  his  disciples. 
Agur  besought  the  Lord  to  give  him  neither 
poverty  nor  riches,  (Prov.  xxx.  8.)  looking  on  each 
extreme  as  a  dangerous  rock  to  virtue.     See  Poor. 

POWER,  the  ability  of  performing  a  thing.  It  is 
in  a  sovereign  degree  an  attribute  of  Deity.  God  is 
all-powerful.  It  means  sometimes  a  right,  privilege, 
or  dignity  ;  (John  i.  12.)  sometimes  absolute  author- 
ity ;  (IMatt.  ix.  0.)  sometimes  the  exertion,  or  act  of 
power,  as  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  (Eph.  i.  19.)  of  angels,  or 
of  Inunan  governments,  magistrates,  &c.  (Rom.  xiii. 
1.)  and  perhaps  it  generally  includes  the  idea  of  dig- 
nitj',  superiority.  So  the  body  is  so^vn  in  weakness, 
but  raised  in  power,  dignity,  honor.  (For  the  word 
power  in  1  Cor.  xi.  10,  see  the  article  Veil.) 

PRAISE  is  one  of  the  noblest  acts  of  worship,  and 
one  which  seems  to  be  a  direct,  simple,  unsophisticat- 
ed dictate  of  nature  ;  insomuch  that  it  is  wonderful 
how  any  possessed  of  rational  powers  can  omit  tliis 
delightful  duty.  If  prayer,  to  which  praise  is  the 
counterpart,  can  be  neglected;  if  a  sense  of  wants, 
necessities,  transgressions  and  dangers,  may  not  be 
sufficiently  strong  to  excite  prayer,  yet  it  is  sui'ely  very 
ungrateful  not  to  notice  the  benefits  we  have  enjoyed 
or  are  enjoying.  What  we  are  in  the  actual  posses- 
sion of,  ought  at  least  so  far  to  affect  us,  as  to  render 
us  grateful  to  that  hand  wliich  bestows  them,  that 
hand  which  might  bestow  far  different  distributions 
to  us.  What  character  is  so  odious  among  men  as 
that  of  the  ungrateful  ?  What  so  common  in  respect 
to  God  ?  Those  who  deny  the  being  of  God  maj^,  to 
be  sure,  withhold  thanks  for  mercies  received  ;  but 
that  any  who  acknowledge  the  divine  attributes 
should  be  thus  insensible,  is  most  astonishing  ! 

PRAYER,  directed  to  God,  is  the  ordinary  convey- 
ance of  graces  received  from  him.  The  prayers  of 
a  just  man  arc  of  great  power,  Jam.  v.  IG,  17.  The 
saints  under  both  covenants  prayed ;  Jesus  Christ 
himself,  our  gi-eat  example,  taught  us  to  pray,  to  show 
that  thereby  we  honor  G<k1,  and  draw  on  ourselves 
!iis  favors  and  graces.  Paul,  in  most  of  his  Epistles, 
entreats  the  faithfid  to  pray  for  him  ;  or  offers  to  God 
his  ])raycrs  for  them. 

From  the  promulgation  of  the  law,  the  Hebrews 
did  not  uitermit  ])ublic  prayer  in  the  tabernacle,  or 
ii)  the  temple,  as  ojiportmiity  returned.  It  consisted 
in  offering  the  evening  and  morning  sacrifices,  every 
day,  accompanied  by  prayers  by  the  priests  and  Le- 
vites  in  that  holy  edifice.  Every  day  they  offered 
sacrifices,  incense,  offcruigs,  and  first-fruits  ;  they 
performed  ceremonies  for  the  redemption  of  the  first- 
born, or  the  purification  of  pollutions  ;  in  a  word,  the 
peoi)le  came  thither  from  all  iiarts  to  discharge 
their  vows,  and  to  satisfy  their  devotions,  not  only 
on  great  and  solemn  days,   but    also    on  ordinaiy 


PRE 


[756] 


PREDESTINATION 


dayg  ;  but  nothing  of  this  was  performed  without 
pi-ayer. 

The  psahnist  (cxix.)  says,  he  prayed  to  God,  or 
praised  him,  seven  times  a  day.  And,  (Fs.  Iv.) 
"  Evening,  and  morning,  and  at  noon,  will  I  pray  and 
cry  aloud,  and  he  shall  hear  my  voice."  Daniel  (vi. 
10.)  bent  his  knees  three  times  a  day,  and  wor- 
shipped the  Lord,  opening  his  windows,  and  turning 
himself  toward  Jerusalem.  The  Levites,  appointed 
to  guard  the  temple,  lifted  up  their  hands  in  the 
night-time,  and  eiicoui'agcd  one  another  to  adore  the 
Lord,  Ps.  cxxxiv.  2.  The  psalmist  says,  (Ps.  cxix. 
62.)  that  he  arose  in  the  middle  of  the  night,  to  praise 
the  Lord,  and  Nehemiah  (ix.  3.)  mentions  four  hours 
of  ])rayer  on  a  fast-day. 

During  the  captivity,  Ezra,  observing  that  several 
Jews  mingled  foreign  terms  with  their  prayers,  which 
were  not  suitable  to  the  sanctity  of  that  exercise, 
composed  eighteen  benedictions,  which  every  Israel- 
ite is  obliged  to  learn,  and  to  repeat  daily.  A  little  be- 
fore the  destruction  of  the  temple,  the  rabbi  Gama- 
liel added  a  nineteenth,  against  apostates  and  here- 
tics ;  under  these  names  meaning  the  Christians. 
Ezra  also  fixed  the  time  for  prayer,  according  to 
Maimonides. 

In  tiie  Jewish  prayers  we  observe,  in  general,  their 
length,  and  their  battology,  or  tedious  repetitions, 
which  Christ  reproves:  (Matt.  vi.  7.)  "When  ye 
pray,  use  not  vain  repetitions  as  the  heathen  do  ;  for 
they  think  they  sliall  be  heard  for  their  nnich  speak- 
ing." Secondly,  as  to  their  posture.  They  gen- 
erally pray  sitting,  or  stooping  with  their  faces  to- 
warrl  the  ground.  They  stretch  out  their  feet  and 
their  hands,  and  make  a  loud  cry.  Christ  prayed 
thus  in  the  garden  of  Olives:  "Who  in  the  days  of 
his  flesh,  when  he  had  offered  up  prayers  and  sup- 
plication:^,  Vv'ith  strong  crying  and  tears,"  Heb.  v.  7. 
Thirdly,  they  think  that  prayers  supply  the  place  of 
sacrifices,  which  ceased  at  the  destruction  of  the 
temple  and  its  altars  ;  they  give  them  the  same  name, 
and  impute  to  them  the  same  efficacj^ 

It  is  very  likely  that  the  prayers  of  the  first  Chris- 
tians were  formed  on  the  model  of  those  of  the  Jews. 
In  the  Lord's  prayer,  our  Saviour  princi})ally  in- 
tended to  oppose  its  brevity  to  theit  battologv.  Paul 
(Ephes.  vi.  18  ;  1  Tiiess.  v.  17  ;  1  Tim.  ii.  8^  directs 
that  believers  should  pray  in  all  places,  and  at  all 
times,  lifting  up  pure  hands  towards  heaven,  aiul 
blessing  God  for  all  things,  whether  in  eating,  drink- 
ing, or  any  other  action  ;  and  that  every  thing  be 
done  to  the  glory  of  God,  1  Cor.  x.  31.  "in  a  word, 
our  Saviour  has  recommended  to  us  to  pray  with- 
out ceasing,  Luke  xvlii.  1 ;  xxi.  .313 

PREDESTINATION,  To  PREDESTINATE,' 
sometimes  signifies  merely  a  designation,  or  appoint- 
ment of  a  particular  thing  to  a  particular  use  ;  "or  of 
a  certain  jierson  to  a  certain  office  or  employment. 
Rut,  in  theological  language,  predestination  expresses 
the  design  formed  by  God,  from  all  eternity,  of 
bringing  by  his  grace  certain  persons  to  fajth  and 
salvation,  while  he  leaves  others  to  their  infidelity. 
Divines  agree,  that  predestination  to  salvation  is  of 
mere. favor,  but  opinions  are  divided  concerning  it. 
Some  regard  it  as  merely  gratuitous;  others  believe 
thftt  God  ibrmed  his  jiredcstination  on  a  view  of 
future  merits  in  the  elect.^  Austin,  and  the  most 
celebrated  schools  of  the  Latin  church,  hold  predes- 
tination to  be  of  mere  favor.  Some  Greek  fathers,  and 
some  Latin  divines,  adlifre  to  predestination  fomuled 
on  foreknowledge.  Augusfin  says,  predestination  is  a 
foreknowledge  and  preparation  of  efficacious  mcar.v, 


in  virtue  of  which,  the  elect  are  most  certainly  saved ; 
and  he  was  fully  persuaded  of  the  gratuitousness  of 
predestination,  in  its  uttermost  extent. 

The  ancient  Hebrews  wei'e  persuaded,  as  well  as 
we  are,  that  God  had  foreknowledge  of  what  every 
person  should  be,  do  and  become.  This  is  included 
in  the  very  notion  of  God,  his  providence,  and  his 
infinite  knowledge.  God  says  to  Jeremiah,  (i.  5.) 
"  Before  I  formed  thee  in  the  belly,  I  knew  thee  ;  and 
before  thou  camest  forth  out  of  the  womb,  I  sancti- 
fied thee,  and  I  ordained  thee  a  prophet  unto  the 
nations."  But  when  we  endeavor  to  form  a  just 
idea  of  their  system  of  predestination,  and  how  they 
reconciled  grace  and  free-will,  the  attempt  is  not 
very  easy.  The  author  of  the  book  of  Wisdom, 
Avhom  several  have  thought  to  be  Philo,  make  Solo- 
mon thus  speak  :  (chap.  viii.  19,  20.)  "I  was  a  witty 
child,  and  had  a  good  spirit :  yea,  rather,  being  good, 
I  came  into  a  body  undefiled."  The  apostles  (John 
ix.  2.)  proposed  a  question  to  Christ,  when  they  saw 
a  man  born  blintl,  whether  his  condition  was  as  a 
punishment  for  his  own  sins,  or  for  those  of  his  pa- 
rents. They  therefore  had  a  notion,  that  his  soul 
had  a  previous  existence,  and  had  offended  God,  be- 
fore it  animated  the  present  body. 

Chrysostom,  who  may  be  considered  as  the  ora- 
cle and  the  mouth  of  the  Greek  church,  maintained, 
that  God  did  not  reject  nor  predestinate  men  on 
account  of  their  past  good  or  bad  actions,  but  on 
foreknowledge  of  their  future  merits  or  demerits : 
"  Whence  is  it  (says  he,  on  Rom.  ix.  13.)  that  Jacob 
is  beloved,  and  Esau  hated  ?  It  is  because  one  is 
good,  and  the  other  is  bad.  And  whence  is  it,  that, 
before  their  .birth,  God  determined  that  the  elder 
should  be  in  subjection  to  the  younger.^  It  is  be- 
cause God  has  no  need  to  stay  for  the  event  of  things, 
as  we  must  do,  to  judge  whether  a  man  shall  be 
good  or  bad  ;  he  sees  that  even  before  he  is  born. 
It  was  by  the  effect  of  his  prescience,  that  he  chose 
Jacob  and  rejected  Esau.  He  knew  before  their 
birth  what  they  would  one  day  prove.  When  he 
chose  l^Iatthew,  there  were  several  i)ersons  who  ap- 
peared better  than  he:  but  by  his  infinite  penetration, 
he  knew  how  to  discover  the  value  of  that  jewel, 
that  then  lay  upon  a  dunghill."  In  another  place 
(Ilomil.  Ixxx.  in  Matt,  xxv.)  he  says,  that  the  king- 
dom of  heaven  was  prepared  for  the  elect  from  the 
begimnng  of  the  world,  and  before  they  were  born, 
because  God  foreknew  what  they  would  be.  And 
writing  on  those  words  of  the  psalmist,  (cxxxix.  2.) 
"  Thou  understandest  my  thought  afar  off,"  he  thus 
I'easons  :  Some  people  are  absurd  enough  to  say,  such 
an  one  is  a  good  man,  because  God  has  chosen  him 
and  loved  him ;  and  such  another  is  wicked,  because 
God  hated  him.  But  the  prophet  here  tells  us,  on 
the  contrary,  that  God  ])rovesus  by  our  works.  Ho 
knows  whether  avc  will  be  virtuous  or  no,  even  be- 
fore our  birth  ;  and  by  that  he  gives  us  proofs  of  his 
prescience  :  he  confirms  it  by  our  works,  for  fear  it 
should  be  imagined,  that  his  prescience  was  the 
cause  of  our  virtue. 

The  Greek  fiuhcrs,  after  Chrysostom,  have  ex- 
pressed themselves  much  in  the  same  manner,  and 
the  modern  Greeks  have  followed  the  sentiments  of 
the  fathers  before  them. 

This,  however,  is  a  very  diflicult  subject.  We 
may  certainly  conclude,  that  when  God  proposes  au 
en(l,  lie  also  proposes  the  means;  when  he  appoints 
an  effect,  he  also  a|)])oints  the  causes.  Now  where 
is  the  essential  dift'ercnce,  if  we  say,  God  foresaw 
the  elect  would   be  holy,  therefore  chose  them ;  or 


PRE 


[  757  ] 


PRI 


God  chose  the  elect,  to  make  them  holy  ?  hoc.iiise 
since  their  holiness  is  not  from  themselves,  but  from 
him,  he  must  determine  to  bestow  on  them  that  which 
they  have  notoftiiemselves.  The  difference,  therefore, 
is  in  the  order  oidy,  that  is,  whether  God  determined 
to  elect  A.  B.,  pin-posing  his  holiness,  or  determined 
to  make  A.  B.  lioly,  purposing  his  election.  But  ol)- 
serve,  that  God's  determination  to  render  A.  B.  holy 
is,  in  fact,  an  election  of  hiuj  ;  an  election  which 
implies  salvation  ;  and  since  this  principle  places  an 
election  of  the  party  previous  to  its  effects,  it  seems 
to  be  much  more  reasonable  than  (contingency  in  any 
shape.  Especially,  considering  that  all  things  are 
known  to  God,  from  the  beginning  to  the  end,  so 
that  he  has  no  need  to  stay  till  a  certain  event  has 
taken  place  before  he  can  adjust  the  following  event, 
but  in  his  divine,  infinite  and  intimate  foreknowledge 
of  things,  that  which  is  to  follov/  is  equally  present 
with  liim,  as  that  which  is  to  precede.  And,  doubt- 
less, we  had  better  on  this  subject  not  only  think  and 
speak  with  the  most  profbimd  reverence,  feeling  our 
ignorance,  and  our  scanty  powers  ;  but  endeavor  to 
persuade  ourselves  thoroughly  of  the  iiifinite  good- 
ness, wisdom  and  love  of  God,  and  bind  om-selves  to 
submit  heartily  to  these  attributes,  and  their  opera- 
tion=:,  rather  than  to  perplex  ourselves,  and  to  render 
ourselves  unhappy,  about  appointments  whose  con- 
catenation and  universal  influence  arc  infinitely  be- 
j^ond  our  ken.  If  wei^ee  one  single  link  in  the  chain 
of  the  divine  government,  considered  as  compounded 
of  cause  and  effect,  what  proportion  does  this  bear 
to  that  infinitely  prolonged  combination  of  things, 
of  which  the  divine  mind  only  is  capable  of  survey- 
ing at  once  both  tlie  extremes,  and,  together  Avith  the 
extremes,  every  connecting  link,  every  acting  cause, 
and  every  produced  effect,  from  the  most  trivial,  as 
we  call  it,  to  the  most  considerable,  in  our  estimation  ! 
We  say,  in  oin*  estimation,  because  there  is  no  lesser 
and  greater  in  the  sight  of  God  ;  but  each,  being  ap- 
pointed by  him,  isof  cfpial  consequence  in  his  appoint- 
ment, and  is  equally  valued  by  his  infinite  wisdom. 

PRESS.  This  word  is  often  used  in  Scripture 
not  only  for  the  machine  by  which  grapes  are 
squeezed,  but  also  for  the  vessel,  or  vat,  into  which 
the  wine  runs  from  the  press ;  that  in  which  it  is  re- 
ceived and  preserved.  Whence  proceed  these  ex- 
pressions: he  digged  a  wine-press  in  his  vineyard  ; — 
four  presses  shall  run  over  with  ivine  ;  thy  presses  shall 
urst  out  with  new  ivine ;  to  draw  out  of  the  press  ; 
Zecb  they  slew  at  the  ivine-press  of  Zceb.  It  was  a 
kind  of  sid)terrancous  cistern,  in  which  the  wine 
was  received  and  kept,  till  it  was  put  into  jars  or 
vessels,  of  earth  or  wood. 

AVe  read  in  several  titles  of  the  Psalms,  as  viii. 
Ixxxi.  Ixxxiv.  "for  the  presses,"  [on  Gittith,  Eng. 
tr.)  which  is  difl'ei-ently  exj)lained.  Some  think  that 
these  Psalms  are  songs  of  rejoicuig  for  the  vintage, 
and  were  chiefly  sung  at  the  Feast  of  Tabernacles, 
after  the  harvest  and  the  vintage.  Others  suppose, 
that  gittith  signifies  an  instrument  of  music,  invented 
or  used,  perhaps,  at  Gath,  and  hence  called  Gittith. 
See  the  article  Gittith. 

PRETORIUM,  a  name  given  in  the  Gospels  to 
the  house  in  which  dwelt  the  Roman  governor  of 
Jerusalem,  Mark  xv.  16.  (Compare  Matt,  xxvii.  27 ; 
John  xviii.  28,  33.)  Here  he  sat  in  his  judicial  ca- 
pacity, and  here  Jesus  was  brought  befi)re  him. 
This  was  properly  the  palace  of  Herod  at  .Terusalem, 
near  the  tower  of  Antonia,  with  which  it  had  com- 
munication. Here  the  Roman  procurators  resided 
whenever  they  visited  Jerusalem  ;  then-  head-quar- 


ters being  properly  at  Cesarea.  The  pretorium  or 
palace  of  Herod  (Engl.tr.  judgment  hall)  at  Cesa- 
rea is  also  mentioned.  Acts  xxiii.  3.').  (See  Joseph 
Antiq.  xv.  !•.  3.)  Paul  speaks  also  of  the  pretorium 
(or  ])alace)  at  Rome,  in  which  he  gave  testimony  to 
Christ,  Phil.  i.  13.  Some  think,  that  by  this  he 
means  the  palace  of  the  emperor  Nero  ;  and  others, 
that  he  means  the  i)lace  where  the  Roman  praetor 
sat  to  administer  justice,  that  is,  his  tribunal.  It  is 
certain  that  the  emperor's  palace  did  not  bear  the 
name  of  tribunal ;  but  Paul,  being  accustomed  to 
call  by  this  name  the  governor's  palace  at  Jerusalem, 
might  give  it  to  the  enq)eror's  at  Rome.  Othei-s  have 
maintained,  with  greater  probability,  that  under  the 
name  of  the  pretorium  at  Rome,  Paul  would  express 
the  camp  of  the  pretoriau  soldiers,  whither  he  might 
have  been  carried  by  the  soldier  that  always  accom- 
panied him,  and  who  was  fastened  to  hmi  by  a  chain, 
as  the  manner  was  among  the  Romans. 

PRICKS.  The  Greek  word  xhTQor  signifies  prop- 
erly a  stimulus,  a  goad,  with  which  oxen  were  driven 
from  behind.  Hence  the  proverbial  expression, 
TTOi'i;  y.ivTnov  '/.axTtLiir,  to  kick  ogainst  the  goad,  ap- 
plied to  those  who  rashly  ofter  resistance  to  one  who 
is  more  powerful  than  themselves,  and  thus  expose 
themselves  to  severe  retribution,  Acts  ix.  5  ;  xxvi. 
14.  The  expression  is  common  to  the  Greeks,  Ro- 
mans and  Hebrews,  e,  g.  Pindar,  Pyth.  ii.  193. 
^schyl.  Again.  1633.  Eurip.  Bacch.  791.  Terent. 
Phormio  i.  2.  27.  Ammian.  Marcell.  xviii.  5.  (See 
Kuinoel  on  Acts  ix.  5.)     *R. 

PRIDE  is  a  sin  very  odious  to  God  and  man,  and 
Scripture  condemns  it  in  a  multitude  of  places. 
What,  hideed,  is  displayed  in  the  whole  sacred  his- 
tory but  the  pride,  presumption  and  vanity  of  men 
overthrown  ?  What  else,  but  the  humility,  the  meek- 
ness, the  acknowledgment  of  human  weakness,  exalt- 
ed, supported  and  recompensed.  "  God  resisteth  the 
proud,  and  giveth  grace  to  the  humble.  A  man's 
pride  shall  bring  him  low  ;  but  honor  shall  uphold 
the  humble  in  spirit.  Pride  goeth  before  destruction; 
and  a  haughty  spirit  before  a  fall.  Better  is  it  to  be 
of  a  humble  spirit  with  the  lowly,  than  to  divide  the 
spoil  with  the  proud." 

"  Pride  "  is  also  put  for  the  hardness  and  insolence 
of  a  sinner,  in  opposition  to  sins  of  infirmity  or  igno- 
rance :  "  But  the  soul  that  doeth  aught  presumptu- 
ously, the  same  reproacheth  the  Lord ;  and  that  soul 
shall  be  cut  off  from  among  his  people,"  Numb.  xv. 
30.  And  Deut.  xvii.  12,  ""  And  the  man  that  will 
do  presumptuously,  and  will  not  hearken  unto  the 
pnest,  or  unto  the  judge,  even  that  man  shall  die." 
The  Lord  treated  the  Egj'ptians  with  rigor,  because 
they  acted  with  ])ride  and  insolence  toward  the  He- 
brews, Exod.  xviii.  11.  Job  ami  the  psalmist  have 
distinguished  Pharaoh  by  the  name  of  the  proud,  (Job 
xxvi.  12  ;  Ps.  Ixxxix.  10.)  and  Isaiah  (li.  9.)  uses  the 
same  expression,  to  mark  his  destruction.  Ezekiel 
says  (xxxii.  12.)  the  Chaldeans  shall  destroy  the  ])ride, 
the  insolence,  the  cruelty  of  Egypt.  (SeeNeh.ix.16,29.) 

Scri])tiu'e  reproaches  the  Moabites  with  their  pride  ; 
and  points  them  out  under  the  name  of  children  of 
haughtiness,  or  pride  ;  for  so  we  translate  Numb, 
xxiv.  17,  "  He  shall  destroy  all  the  children  of  pride," 
(Eng.  Shcfh,)  or  haughtiness  ;  which  is  confirmed  by 
Jer.  xlviii.  29,  "We  have  heard  the  pride  of^  Moab, 
(he  is  exceeding  proud,)  his  loftiness  and  his  arro- 
gancy,  and  his  pride  and  the  haughtiness  of  his  heai-t." 
(Comp.  Numb.  xxi.  28,  with  Jer.  xlviii.  45.  Heb. 
Also  Isa.  xvi.  6.) 

The  pride  of  Jordan  expresses  the  inundations  of 


PRI 


[  758  ] 


PRIEST 


that  river,  Jer.  xii.  5  ;  xiii.  9 ;  xlix.  19  ;  Zech.  xi.  3. 
See  Jordan. 

Tlie  pride  and  the  proud  often  represent  Babylon 
and  the  Babylonians;  Isa.  xiii.  19,  "And  Babylon,  the 
glory  of  kingdoms,  the  beauty  of  the  Chaldees'  ex- 
cellency, shall  be  as  when  God  overthrew  Sodom 
and  Gomorrha."  Jeremiah,  (1.  31,  32.)  speaking  of 
the  king  of  Babylon,  says,  "Behold,  I  am  against 
thee,  O  thou  most  proud,  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts;  for 
the  day  is  come,  the  time  that  I  will  visit  thee.  And 
the  most  proud  shall  stumble  and  fall,  and  none  shall 
raise  him  up  :  and  I  will  kindle  a  fire  in  his  cities, 
and  it  shall  devour  all  round  about  him."  (See  Ps. 
cxix.  21,  51,  69,  78,  85,  122.) 

PRIEST,  liom  the  Greek,  Presbyter,  properly  sig- 
nifies an  elder,  or  old  man.  The  Hebrew  is  jno,  Cohen. 
In  the  Old  Testament,  the  priesthood  was  not  an- 
nexed to  a  certain  family,  till  after  the  promulgation 
of  the  law  by  3Ioscs.  Before  that  time,  the  first-born 
of  each  family,  the  fathers,  the  princes,  the  kings  were 
born  priests,  in  their  own  cities,  and  in  their  own 
houses.  Cain  and  Abel,  Noah,  Abraham  and  Job, 
Abhnelech  and  Laban,  Isaac  and  Jacob,  offered,  per- 
sonally, their  own  sacrifices.  In  the  solemnity  of  the 
covenant  made  by  the  Lord  with  his  people,  at  the 
foot  of  mount  Sinai,  Moses  performed  the  office  of 
mediator,  and  young  men  were  chosen  from  among 
Israel  to  perform  the  office  of  priests,  Exod.  xxiv. 
5,  6.  But  after  the  Lord  had  chosen  the  tribe  of 
Levi  to  serve  him  in  his  tabernacle,  and  the  priest- 
hood was  annexed  to  the  family  of  Aaron,  then  the 
right  of  offering  sacrifice  to  God  was  reserved  to  the 
priests  of  this  familj^.  Numb.  xvi.  40.  The  punish- 
ment of  Uzziah,  king  of  Judah,  (2  Chron.  xxvi.  19.) 
is  well  known,  who,  having  presumed  to  offer  incense 
to  the  Lord,  was  suddenly  smitten  with  a  leprosy. 
However,  it  seems  that  on  certain  occasions  the 
judges  and  kings  of  the  Hebrews  offered  sacrifice  to 
the  Lord,  especially  before  a  constant  place  of  wor- 
ship was  fixed  at  Jerusalem.  See  1  Sam.  vii.  9, 
where  Samuel,  who  was  no  priest,  offered  a  lamb  for 
a  bumt-sacrificc  to  the  Lord.  See  also  chap.  Lx.  13, 
where  it  is  said,  that  this  prophet  was  to  bless  the 
offering  of  the  people  ;  which  should  seem  to  be  a 
function  appropriate  to  a  priest.  Lastly,  1  Sam. 
xvi.  5,  he  goes  to  Bethleheui,  where  he  offers  a  sac- 
rifice at  the  anointing  of  David. 

Saul  himself  offered  a  burnt-offering  to  the  Lord, 
perhaps  as  being  king  of  Israel,  1  Sam.  xiii.  9,  10. 
Elijah  also  offered  a  burnt-offering  on  mount  Carmel, 
1  Kings  xviii.  33.  David  sacrificed  at  the  ceremony 
of  bringing  the  ark  to  Jerusalem,  (2  Sam.  vi.  13.)  and 
at  the  floor  of  Araunah,  2  Sam.  xxiv.  25.  And  Sol- 
omon went  up  to  the  brazen  altar  at  Gibeon,  and 
there  oftered  sacrifices,  2  Chron.  i.  6.  We  know 
that  such  passages  are  commonly  explained,  by  sup- 
posing that  these  princes  offered  their  sacrifices  by 
the  hands  of  the  priests  ;  but  the  text  by  no  means 
favors  such  cxi)lioation  ;  and  it  is  very  natural  to  im- 
agine, that  in  the  quality  of  kings  and  heads  of  the 
people,  they  had  the  privilege  of  performing  some 
sacerdotal  functions  on  certain  extraordinary  occa- 
sions. So  we  see  David  consulted  the  Lord,  by  the 
priestly  ephod  ;  and  on  another  occasion  he  gave  a 
solemn  benediction  to  the  people.  His  son  Solomon 
did  the  same,  1  Sam.  xxiii.  9;  xxx.  7  ;  2  Sam.  vi.  14, 
18  ;  1  Kings  viii.  .55,  5G. 

The  Lord  having  reserved  to  himself  the  first-born 
of  Israel,  because  he  had  preserved  them  from  the 
hand  of  the  destroying  ang(>l  in  KgV])!,  by  way  of 
exchange  and  compensation,  he  accepted  the  tribe  of 


Levi  for  the  service  of  his  tabernacle,  Numb.  iii.  41. 
Thus  the  whole  tribe  of  Levi  was  appointed  to  the 
sacred  ministry,  but  not  all  in  the  same  manner  ;  for 
of  the  three  sons  of  Levi,  Gershom,  Kohath  and 
Merari,  the  heads  of  the  three  great  families,  the 
Lord  chose  the  family  of  Kohath,  and  out  of  this 
family  the  house  of  Aaron,  to  exercise  the  functions 
of  the  priesthood.  All  the  rest  of  the  family  of 
Kohath,  even  the  children  of  Moses,  and  their  de- 
scendants, remained  among  the  liCvites. 

The  high-priest  was  at  the  head  of  all  religious 
affairs,  and  was  the  ordinary  judge  of  all  difficulties 
that  belonged  thereto,  and  even  of  the  general  justice 
and  judgment  of  the  Jewish  nation,  Deut.  xvii.  8 — 
12 ;  xix.  17  ;  xxi.  5 ;  xxxiii.  9,  10 ;  Ezek.  xliv.  24. 
He  only  had  the  pi'ivilege  of  entering  the  sanctuary 
once  a  year,  on  the  day  of  solemn  expiation,  to  make 
atonement  for  the  sins  of  the  whole  people.  Lev.  xvi. 
2,  &c.  He  was  to  be  born  of  one  of  his  own  tribe, 
whom  his  father  had  married  a  virgin  ;  and  was  to 
be  exempt  from  corporal  defect.  Lev.  xxi.  13.  In 
general,  no  priest  who  had  any  defect  of  this  kind 
could  offer  sacrifice,  or  enter  the  holy  place,  to  pi-e- 
sent  the  shew-bread.  But  he  was  to  be  maintained 
by  the  sacrifices  offered  at  the  tabernacle.  Lev.  xxi.  22. 

God  had  appropriated  to  the  person  of  the  high- 
priest  the  oracle  of  his  truth :  so  that  when  he  was 
habited  in  the  proper  ornaments  of  his  dignity,  and 
with  the  urim  and  thummim,  he  answered  questions 
proposed  to  him,  and  God  discovered  to  him  secret 
and  future  things.  He  was  forbidden  to  mourn  for 
the  death  of  any  of  his  relations,  even  for  his  father 
or  mother  ;  or  to  enter  into  any  place  where  a  dead 
body  lay,  that  he  might  not  contract,  or  hazard  the 
contraction  of  uncleanness.  He  could  not  marry  a 
widow,  nor  a  woman  who  had  been  divorced,  nor  a 
harlot ;  but  a  virgin  onl}^  of  his  own  race.  He  was 
to  observe  a  strict  continence  during  the  whole  time 
of  his  service. 

The  ordinary  priests  sei'ved  immediately  at  the 
altar,  killed,  skinned  and  offered  the  sacrifices. 
They  kept  up  a  perpetual  fire  on  the  altar  of  burnt- 
sacrifices,  and  in  the  lamps  of  the  golden  candle- 
stick in  the  sanctuary :  they  kneaded  the  loaves  of 
shew-bread,  baked  them,  offered  them  on  the  golden 
altar  in  the  sanctuary,  and  changed  them  every  sab- 
bath day.  Every  day,  night  and  morning,  a  priest, 
appointed  by  casting  of  lots  at  the  beginning  of  the 
week,  brought  into  the  sanctuary  a  smoking  censer 
of  incense,  and  set  it  on  the  golden  table,  otherwise 
called  the  altar  of  incense. 

The  priests  were  not  suffered  to  offer  incense  to 
the  Lord  with  strange  fire  ;  that  is,  with  any  fire  but 
what  was  taken  from  the  altar  of  burnt-sacrifices. 
Lev.  X.  1,  2.  God  chastised  Nadab  and  Abihu  with 
severity  for  having  failed  in  this.  The  priests  and 
Levites  waited  by  the  Aveck,  and  by  the  (juarter,  in 
the  temple.  They  began  their  week  on  the  sabbath, 
and  ended  it  on  the  next  sabbath,  2  Kings  xi.  5,  7. 
Moses  fixed  the  age  at  which  they  were  to  enter  on 
the  sacred  ministry  at  twenty-five  or  thirty  years, 
and  they  were  to  end  it  at  fifty,  Numb.  viii.  24  ;  iv. 
3 ;  1  Chron.  xxiii.  24  ;  2  Chron.  xxxi.  17 ;  Ezra  iii. 
8.  Those  who  dedicated  themselves  to  perpetual 
service  in  the  temph^  were  well  received,  and  main- 
tained by  the  daily  offerings,  Deut.  xviii.  6 — 8. 

The  Lord  had  given  no  lands  of  inheritance  to  the 
tribe  of  Levi,  in  the  Land  of  I'romise.  He  intended 
that  they  should  l)e  suj)i)orted  by  the  tithes,  the  first- 
fruits,  the  ofl'erings  made  in  the  temple,  and  by  their 
share  of  the  sin-off(!rings  and  thanksgiving-offerings, 


PRIEST 


[759] 


PRIEST 


sacrificed  in  the  temple ;  of  which  certain  parts  were 
appropriated  to  them.  Jn  the  peacc-otterinffs  they 
had  the  shoulder  and  the  breast ;  (Lev.  vii.  .33,  .'34.) 
in  tlie  sin-oft'erings  they  burnt  on  the  altar  the  fat 
that  covei-s  the  bowels,  the  liver  and  the  kidneys  ;  the 
rest  belonged  to  themselves,  Lev.  vii.  6,  10.  The 
skin  or  fleece  of  every  saci-ifice  also  belonged  to 
them  ;  and  this  alone  was  no  mean  allowance. 
When  an  Israelite  killed  any  animal  for  his  own  use, 
he  was  to  give  the  priest  the  shoulder,  the  stomach 
and  tlie  jaws.  Dent,  xviii.  3.  He  had  also  a  sliare 
of  the  wool  when  sheep  were  shorn,  Deut.  xviii.  4. 
All  the  first-born,  both  of  man  and  beast,  belonged  to 
the  Lord,  that  is,  to  his  priests.  The  men  were  re- 
deemed lor  five  shekels.  Numb,  xviii.  15,  16.  The 
first-born  of  impure  animals  were  redeemed  or  ex- 
changed. The  clean  animals  were  not  redeemed, 
but  were  sacrificed  to  the  Lord,  their  blood  being 
sprinkled  about  the  altar  ;  the  rest  belonged  to  the 
priest.  The  first-fruits  of  trees,  that  is,  those  of  the 
fourth  year,  belonged  also  to  the  priests^-  Numb,  i^vi 
13    Lev.  xix.  23,  24. 

The  people  offered  at  the  temple  the  first-fruits  of 
the  earth ;  the  quantity  being  fixed  by  custom  to  be- 
tween the  fortieth  and  sixtieth  part.  They  offered 
also  Avhatever  any  one  had  vowed  to  the  Lord. 
They  ga\  e  also  to  the  priests  and  Levitcs  an  allow- 
ance out  of  their  kneaded  dough.  They  also  had  the 
tithe  of  the  fruits  of  the  land,  and  of  all  animals 
which  passed  under  the  shepherd's  crook.  Lev.  xxvii. 
31,  32.  When  the  Levites  had  collected  all  the  tithes 
and  all  the  first-fruits,  they  set  apart  the  tithe  of  this 
for  the  priests,  Numb,  xviii.  2(j.  Thus,  though  the 
priests  had  no  lands  or  inheritances,  they  lived  in 
great  plenty.  God  also  provided  them  houses  and 
accommodations,  by  appointing  forty-eight  cities  for 
their  residence,  Numb.  xxxv.  1 — 3.  In  the  precincts 
of  these  cities  they  possessed  a  thousand  cubits  be- 
yond the  walls.  Of  these  forty-eight  cities,  six  were 
appointed  as  cities  of  refuge,  for  those  who  had  com- 
mitted casual  and  involuntary  manslaughter.  The 
priests  had  thirteen  of  these  cities  ;  the  others  belonged 
to  the  Levites,  Josh.  xxi.  10. 

A  principal  employment  of  the  priests,  next  to  at- 
tending on  the  sacrifice^  and  the  temple  service,  was 
the  instruction  of  the  people,  and  the  deciding  of 
controversies ;  distinguishing  the  several  sorts  of 
leprosy,  divorce  causes,  the  waters  of  jealousy,  vows, 
causes  relating  to  the  law  and  uncleannesses,  &c. 
"  For  the  priest's  lips  should  keep  knowledge,  and 
they  should  seek  the  law  at  his  mouth  :  for  he  is  the 
messenger  of  the  Lord  of  hosts,"  Mai.  ii.  7.  They 
publicly  blessed  the  peoj)le  in  tiie  name  of  the 
Lord.  In  time  of  war  their  duty  was  to  carry  the 
ark  of  the  covenant,  to  consult  the  Lord,  to  sound  the 
holy  trumpets,  and  to  encourage  the  army,  Numb.  x. 
8,  9  ;  Deut.  xx.  2. 

The  consecration  of  Aaron  and  of  his  sons  was  per- 
formed by  Moses  in  the  desert  with  great  solemnity, 
he  performing  the  office  of  consecrating  [)riest,  Exod. 
xl.  12  ;  Lev.  viii.  It  is  doubtful  whether  at  every 
new  consecration  of  a  high-priest  all  these  ceremo- 
nies were  repeated.  It  is  probable  they  contented 
themselves  with  clothing  the  new  high-priest  in  the 
liabit  of  his  predecessor,  as  at  the  death  of  Aaron, 
Numb.  XX.  25,  2G.  Yet  some  think  they  gave  him 
unction  also,  which  might  be  till  the  Babylonish  cap- 
tivity, though  there  is  no  proof  of  the  fact.  We 
know,  that  after  this,  Jonathan  the  Asmonean  con- 
tented himself  with  putting  on  the  high-priest's  habit 
at  the  Feast  of  Tabernacles,  iu  order  to  take  possession 


of  this  dignity,  1  Mac,  x.  21.  (Joseph.  Antiq.  Ub.  xiii. 
cap.  5.) 

As  to  the  ordinary  priests,  we  know  not  of  any  par- 
ticular cerenioiiy    used   at  their  connccration.      They 

were  admitted  to  the  exercise  of  their  function  by 
"  filling  their  hands,"  as  Scripture  speaks  ;  that  is,  by 
making  them  perform  the  offices  of  their  order.  Nor 
is  it  certain  whether  any  thing  was  required  more 
than  ordinary  sanctification,  that  is,  exemption  from 
legal  defilements  and  uncleanness.  But  when  the 
priests  had  fallen  away  from  the  Lord,  or  had  been 
long  without  jierforming  their  office,  (as  under  some 
of  the  later  kings  of  Judah,  as  Ahaz,  Anion  and 
Manasseh,)  they  thought  it  necessary  to  sanctify 
again  such  absentee  priests.  This  happened  under 
itezekiah  and  Josiah ;  when  the  number  of  them 
that  were  sanctified  not  being  sufficient  for  the  great 
number  of  sacrifices  offered,  they  were  forced  to 
em])loy  the  Levites  in  flaying  the  sacrifices ;  for  the 
Levites  were  much  sooner  sanctified  than  the  priests, 
2  Chron.  xxix.  34  ;  xxxv.  11.  The  Hebrew  reads, 
"  For  the  Levites  were  upright  of  heart,  to  sanctify 
themselves,  rather  than  the  priests ;"  that  is,  they 
showed  more  zeal  and  readiness. 

The  Hebrew  priesthood  passed  from  the  family  of 
Ithamar  into  that  of  Eleazar,  as  the  Lord  had  declared 
to  the  high-priest  Eli,  1  Sam.  ii.  30.  (See  Eli.)  But 
the  family  of  Eli  possessed  it  long.  This  high-priest 
was  succeeded  by  his  third  son  Ahitub,  or,  according 
to  others,  Ahijah,  to  whom  succeeded  Ahimelech, 
slain  by  Saul,  with  the  other  priests  at  Nob.  Saul 
then  gave  the  high-j)riesthood  to  Zadoc.  But  Abia- 
thar,  son  of  Ahimelech,  having  adhered  to  the  in- 
terests of  David,  was  continued  in  possession  of  the 
high-priesthood  in  the  kingdom  of  Judah.  So  that 
for  a  good  part  of  David's  reign,  the  high-priesthood 
was  exercised  by  two  high-priests,  Zadoc  and  Abia- 
thar  ;  Zadoc  of  the  family  of  Eleazar;  Abiathar  of 
the  family  of  Ithamar.  Towards  the  end  of  David's 
reign,  Abiathar  having  adhered  to  the  party  of  Ado- 
nijah  against  Solomon,  he  was  disgraced  and,  Zadoc 
alone  was  acknowledged  as  high-priest.  He  then  be- 
gan to  exercise  his  high-priesthood  at  Jerusalem,  hav- 
ing before  only  performed  the  functions  of  it  on  the 
altar  at  Gibeon,  1  Kings  ii.  26,  27 ;  1  Chron.  xvi.  39. 

The  Hebrew  word  cohen,  which  signifies  ;9nes<,  is 
sometimes  used  for  a  prince.  In  Exod.  ii.  16,  it  is 
said  that  Jethro,  the  father-in-law  of  Moses,  was 
priest  (p3,  cohen)  of  Midian  ;  that  is,  according  to 
some,  prince,  or  governor,  of  his  city.  In  2  Sam. 
viii.  18,  it  is  said,  the  sons  of  David  were  priests, 
[cohenim,)  that  is,  princes ;  and  considered  in  the 
country  as  priests.  The  Septuagint  say,  they  were 
jlx'}.uQX<.tt,  principal  courtiers  ;  chiefs  of  the  court. 
The  author  of  the  first  book  of  Chronicles  (xviii.  17.) 
explains  this,  by  saying,  they  were  the  nearest  at  the 
king's  hand.  They  had  the  chief  employments  at 
court. 

The  Christian  priesthood  is  the  substance  and 
truth,  of  which  that  of  the  Jews  was  but  a  shadow 
and  figure.  Christ,  the  everlasting  priest,  according 
to  the  order  of  Melchisedec,  abides  for  ever,  as  Paul 
observes  ;  whereas  the  priests,  according  to  the 
order  of  Aaron,  were  mortal,  and  therefore  could  not 
continue  long,  Ileb.  vii.  23,  &c.  The  Lord,  to  ex- 
press to  the  Hebrews  what  great  flivors  he  would 
confer  on  them,  says  he  woidd  make  them  kings  and 
priests,  Exod.  xix.  6.  And  Peter  repeats  t!  is  prom- 
ise to  Christians,  or  rather  he  tells  them,  that  they 
are  in  truth  what  Moses  promised  to  Israel,  1  Pet.  iL 
9.    '(See  also  Rev.  i.  6.) 


PRIEST 


t  760  ] 


PRIEST 


A  CHRONOLOGICAL  LIST  OF  THE  HIGH-PRIESTS  OF  THE  HEBREWS. 


1.  Succession  from  the  Holy  Scriptures. 

2.    Succession    from 
1  Chron.  vi.  3—15. 

3.     Succession    from 
Joseph.   Ant.  lib.  v. 
c.  15  ;  lib.  X.  c.  11. 

4.   Succession    from     the  Jewish 
Chronicle,  Seder  01am. 

1.  Aaron,  brother  of  Moses,  created  high- 

1.  Aaron. 

1.  Aaron. 

1. 

Aaron. 

priest,  A.  M.  2514,  died  2552,  ante  A.  D. 

1452. 

2.  Eleazar,  A.  M.  2552,  died  about  2571, 

2.  Eleazar. 

2.  Eleazar. 

2. 

Eleazar. 

ante  A.  D.  1433. 

3.  Phinehas,  about  A.  M.  2571,  died  about 

3.  Phinehas. 

3.  Phinehas. 

3. 

Phinehas. 

2590,  ante  A.  D.  1414. 

4.  Abiezer,  or  Abishua.   ^       ^^^^^^.  ^^^^ 

4.  Abishua. 

4.  Abiezer. 

4. 

Eli. 

5.  Bukki. 

5.  Bukki. 

5. 

Ahitub. 

6.  Uzzi. 

6.  Uzzi. 

6. 

Abiathar. 

7.  Eh,  of  the  race  of  Ithamar,  created  in 

7.  Zerahiah. 

7.  Eh. 

7. 

Zadok. 

A.  M.  2848,  died  in  2888,  a7ite  A.  D. 

1116. 

8.  Ahitub  I. 

8.  Meraioth 

8.  Ahitub. 

8. 

Ahimah,  under  Reho- 
boam. 

9.  Ahiah.    He  hved  in  A.  M.  2911,  or  2912. 

9.  Amariah. 

9.  Ahimelech. 

9. 

Azariah,  under  Abiah. 

10.  Abiinelech,  or  Abiathar,  slain  by  Saul 

10.  Ahitub  I. 

10.  Abiathar. 

10. 

Jehoachash,  under  Je- 

in A.  M.  2944,  ante  A.  D.  1060. 

hoshaphat. 

11.  Abiathar,  Ahimelech,  or  Abimelech,  un- 

11. Zadok  L 

11.  Zadok. 

11. 

Jehoiarib,  under  Jeho- 

der  David,  from  A.  M.  2944,  to  2989, 

ram. 

ante  A.  D.  1015. 

12.  Zadok  I.  under  Saul,  David  and  Solo- 

12. Ahnuaaz. 

]2.  Ahimaa. 

12. 

Jehoshaphat,        under 

mon,  from  A.  M.  2944,  till  about  3000, 

Ahaziah. 

ante  A.  D.  1004. 

13.  Ahimaaz,  under  Rehoboam,  about  A.  M. 

13.  Azariah. 

13.  Azariah. 

13.  Jehoiadah,  under  Joash. 

3030,  ante  A.  D.  974. 

14.  Azariah,  under  Jehoshaphat;  probably 

14.  Johanan, 

14.  Joram. 

14. 

PhadaiaJi,  under  Joash. 

the  Amariah  of  2  Chron.  xix.  11.  About 

1    Chron.    vi. 

A.  M.  3092,  ante  A.  D.  912. 

9,10. 

15.  Johanan,  perhaps  Jehoiada,  in  the  reign 

15.  Azariah. 

15.  Issus. 

15. 

Zedekiah,  under  Ama- 

of  Joash,   2  Chron.  xxiv.  15,  in  A.  M. 

ziah. 

3126.     Died  aged  130. 

16.  Azariah,  perhaps  the  Zechariah,  son  of 

16.  Amariah. 

16.  Axiora. 

16. 

Joel,  under  Uzziah. 

Jehoiada,  killed  A.  M.  3164,  ante  A.  D. 
840. 
17.  Amariah,  perhaps  Azariah,  under  Uzzi- 

17.  Ahitub  II. 

17.  Phideas. 

17. 

Jothan,  under  Joatham. 

ah,  in  A.  M.  3221,  ante  A.  D.  783. 

18.  Ahitub  II.    ?      under  Jotham,  king  of 

18.  Zadok  II. 

18.  Sudeas. 

18. 

Uriah,  under  Ahaz. 

19.  Zadok  II.     I          Judah. 

19.  Shallum. 

19.  Julus. 

19. 

Neriah,    under    Heze- 
kiah. 
Hosaiah,  luider  Manas- 

20, Uriah,  under  Ahaz  ;  he  lived  in  A.  M. 

20.  HUkiah. 

20.  Jotham. 

20. 

3265,  ante  A.  D.  739. 

seh. 

21.  Shallum,  father  of  Azariah,  and  grand- 

2L Azariah. 

21.  Uriah. 

21. 

Shallum,  under  Anion. 

father  of  Hilkiah. 

22.  Azariah,  in   the    time  of  Hezekiah,   2 

22.  Seraiah. 

22.  Neriah. 

22. 

Hilkiah,  under  Josiah. 

Chron.  xxxi.  10.  about  A.  M.  3278,  ante 

A.  D.  726. 

23.  Hilkiah,  under  Hezekiah. 

23.  Jehozadak. 

23.  Odeas. 

23. 

Azariah,  under  Jehoia- 
kim  and  Zedekiah. 

24.  Eliakim,  or  Joakim,  under  Manasseh, 

24.  Joshua. 

24.  Saldum. 

24. 

Jehozadak,    after     the 

and  at  the  time  of  the  siege  of  Bethulia, 

taking  of  Jerusalem. 

A.  M.  3348.     He  lived  under  Josiah  to 

3380,  and  longer.   Called  Hilkiah.    Vide 

Baruch  i.  7. 

25.  Azariah,  ])erhaps  Neriah,  father  of  Se- 

25.  Hilkiah. 

25.  Jesus,  son  of  Jehozadak, 

raiah  and  of  Baruch. 

after  the  captivity. 

26.  Seraiah,  the  last  high-priest  before  the 

26.  Seraiah. 

captivity  of  Babylon,  put  to  death  A.  M. 

3414,  ante  A.  T>.  .590. 

27.  Jehozadak,  during  the   captivity   from 

27.  Jehozadak. 

- 

A.  M.  3414  to  3469,  aiite  A.  I).  .535. 

28.  Joshua,  or  Jesus,  the  son  of  Jehozadak; 

28.  Jesus,  or 

returned  from  Babylon,  A.  M.  3468  ante  \ 

Joshua. 

A.  D.  536. 

I 

' 

PRI 


[761  ] 


PRI 


CONTINUATION,  COLLECTED  FROM  EZRA,  NEHEMIAH  AND  JOSEPHUS. 


29. 

30. 

31. 
32. 
33. 

34. 
35. 

36. 

37. 
38. 
39. 
40. 
41. 
42. 
43. 
44. 
45. 

46. 

47. 

48. 
49. 
50. 
51. 
52. 
53. 

54. 
55. 


Joachim,  under  the  reign  of  Xerxes,   Joseph. 

Antiq.  lib.  xi.  cap.  5. 

Eliasib,  Joasib,  or  Chasib,  under  Nehemiah,  in 

A.  M.  3550,  ante  A.  D.  454. 

Joiada,  or  Juda,  Neh.  xii.  10. 

Jonathan,  or  John. 

Jeddoa,  or  Jaddus,  who  received  Alexander  the 

Great  at  Jerusalem,  in  A.  M.  3673 ;  died  in  3682, 

ante  A.  D.  322. 

Onias  I.  made  high-priest  in  A.  M.  3681,  gov- 

eined  21  years  ;  died  in  3702,  ante  A.  D.  302. 

Simon  I.  called  the  Just,  in  A.  M.  3702,  or  3703  ; 

died  in  3711,  anle  A.  D.  293. 

Eleazar,  in  A.  i\L  3712.     Under  this  pontiff,  they 

tell  us,  the  translation  of  the  LXX  was  made, 

about  A.  M.  3727;   died  in  3744,  ante  A.  D. 

260. 

Manassch,  in  A.  M.  3745;    died  in  3771,  ante 

A.  D.  233. 

in  A.  M.  3771 ;  died  in  3785,  ante 


A.  I\I.  3785;   died  in  3805,  ante 


Onias  II. 
A.  D.  219 
Simon  II, 
A.  D.  199. 

Onias  III.  in  A.  M.  3805  ;  deposed  in  3829,  died 
in  3834,  ante  A.  D.  170. 

Jesus,  or  Jason,  in  A.  M.  3830 ;  deposed  in  3831, 
ante  A.  D.  173. 

Onias  IV.  otherwise  Menelaus,  in  A.  M.  3832 ; 
died  in  3842,  ante  A.  D.  162. 
Lvsimachus,  vicegerent  to  Menelaus,  killed  in 
a'.  M.  3834,  ante  A.  D.  170. 
Alcimus,  or  Jacimus,  or  Joachim,  A.  M.  3842 ; 
died  in  3844,  ante  A.  D.  160. 
Onias  V.     Not  at  Jerusalem  ;  but  he  retired  into 
Egypt,  where  he  built  the  temple  Onion,  in  A.  M. 
3854,  ante  A.  D.  150. 

Judas  Maccabeus,  restored  the  altar  and  the  sac- 
rifices, in  A.  M.  3840 ;  died  in  3843,  ante  A.  D. 
161. 

Jonathan  the  Asmonean,  brother  to  Judas  Mac- 
cabeus, created  high-priest  in  A.  M.  3843  ;  died 
in  3860,  ante  A.  D.  144. 

Simon  Maccabeus,  made  in  A.  M.  3860 ;  died 
in  3869,  ante  A.  D.  135. 

John  Hircanus,  made  in  A.  M.  3869 ;  died  in 
3898,  ante  A.  D.  106. 

Aristobulus,  king  and  pontiff  of  the  Jews;    died 
in  A.  M.  3899,  ante  A.  D.  105. 
Alexander  Janneus,  king  and  pontiff  27  years, 
from  A.  M.  3899  to  3926,  ante  A.  D.  78. 
Hircanus,  high-priest  32  years  in  all,  from  A.  M. 
392()  to  3958,  ante  A.  D.  46. 
Aristobulus,   brother  to  Hircanus,  usurped  the 
high-priesthood  ;  three  years  and  three  months, 
from  A.  M.  3935  to  3940,  ante  A.  D.  64. 
Antigonus,  his  son,  also  usurped  the  priesthood, 
in  prejudice  to  the  rights  of  Hircanus  ;  possessed 
it  ft)r  three  years  and  seven  months,  from  A.  M. 
3964  to  3967,  when  he  was  taken  by  Sosius, 
ante  A.  D.  37. 

Ananeel  of  Babylon,  made  high-priest  by  Herod 
in  3968,  till  3970,  ante  A.  D.  34. 


PRIESTHOOD.  We  may  distinguish  four  kinds 
of  priesthood.  (1.)  That  of  kings,  princes,  heads  of 
families,  and  the  first-born.  This  may  be  called  a 
natural  priesthood,  because  nature  and  reason  teach 
us,  that  the  honor  of  offering  sacrifices  to  God  should 
08 


Aristobulus,  the  last  of  the  Asmoneans  ;  did  aot 
enjoy  the  pontificate  a  whole  year.  Died  in 
A.  M.  3970,  ante  A.  D.  34. 
Ananeel  was  made  high-priest  a  gecond  time  in 
A.  M.  3971,  ante  A.  D.  33. 
Jesus,  son  of  Phabis ;  deposed  in  A.  M.  3981. 
ante  A.  D.  23. 

Simon,  son  of  Boethus  ;    made  in  A.  M.  3981 ; 
deposed  in  3999,  ante  A.  D.  5. 
Matthias,  son  of  Theophilus ;   made  in  A.  M. 
3999,  ante  A.  D.  5. 

Joazar,  son  of  Simon,  son  of  Boethtis ;  made  in 
A.  M.  4000,  the  year  of  the  birth  of  Jesus  Clirist, 
four  years  ante  A.  D. 

Eleazar,  brother  to  Joazar,  made  in  A.  M.  4004. 
A.  D.  1. 

Jesus,  son  of  Siali ;  made  in  A.  M.  4009. 
Joazar  made  a  second  time  in  A.  M.  4010,  de- 
prived in  4016,  A.  D.  13. 

Ananus,  son  of  Seth,  11  years,  from  A.  M, 
4016,  to  4027,  A.  D.  24. 

Ishmael,  son  of  Phabi ;  made  in  A.  M.  4027, 
A.  D.  24. 

Eleazar,  son  of  Ananus ;  made  in  A.  M.  4027, 
A.  D.  24. 

Simon,  son  of  Camithus ;  made  in  A.  M.  4028, 
A.  D.  25. 

Joseph,  surnamed  Caiaphas ;  made  in  A.  M. 
4029,  till  4038,  A.  D.  35. 

Jonathan,  son  of  Ananus ;  made  in  A.  M.  4038, 
till  4040,  A.  D.  37. 

Theophilus,  son  of  Jonathan ;    made  in  A.  M. 
4040,  deposed  in  4044,  A.  D.  41. 
Simon,  surnamed  Cantharus,  son  of  Sunon  Boe- 
thus ;  made  in  A.  M.  4044,  A.  D.  41. 
Matthias,  son  of  Ananus  ;   made  in  A.  M.  4045, 
A.  D.  42. 

Elioneus,  made  in  A.  M.  4047,  till  4048,  A.  D. 
45. 

Simon,  son  of  Cantharus ;  a  second  time  aiade 
high-priest,  A.  M.  4048 ;  deposed  the  same 
year. 

Joseph,  son  of  Caneus ;  made  in  A.  M.  4048, 
till  4050,  A.  D.  47. 

Ananias,  son  of  Nebedeus ;  made  in  A.  M.  4050, 
till  4066,  A.  D.  63. 

Ishmael,  son  of  Phabius ;  made  in  A.  M.  4066, 
A.  D.  63. 

Joseph,  surnamed  Cabei ;  the  same  year,  A  M. 
4066. 

Ananus,  son  of  Ananus  ;  the  same  year,  A.  M. 
4066. 

Jesus,  son  of  Ananus,  made  in  A.  M.  4067,  A.D. 
64. 

Jesus,  son  of  Gamaliel ;  the  same  year,  A.  M. 
4067. 

Matthias,  son  of  Theophilus;  made  in  A.  M. 
4068,  till  4073,  A.  D.  70. 

Phnnnias,  son  of  Samuel ;  made  in  A.  M.  4073, 
A.  D.  70 ;  which  is  the  year  of  the  destructica 
of  the  temple  of  Jerusalem  by  the  Romans,  and 
of  the  abolition  of  the  Jewish  priesthood. 


belong  to  the  most  mature  in  understanding,  and  the 
greatest  in  dignity.  (2.)  The  priesthood,  according 
to  the  order  of  Melchisedec,  which  does  not  diflTer 
from  that  now  mentioned,  but  in  its  dignity;  be- 
cause Melchisedec  was  raised  up  of  God  to  represent 


56. 

57. 

58. 
59. 
60. 

61. 
62. 

63. 
64. 
65. 
66. 
67. 
68. 
69. 
70. 
71. 
72. 

73. 
74. 
75. 

76. 
77. 
78. 
79. 
80. 
81. 


PRO 


[  762  ] 


PRO 


the  priesthood  of  Jesus  Christ.  Or  the  priesthood 
of  Melchisedec  combined  in  the  same  person  the  right 
of  the  kingly  and  of  the  priestly  offices,  with  that  of 
the  first-born,  to  exercise  the  priesthood  ;  or  he  was 
at  once  king,  priest  and  prophet,  that  is,  authorita- 
tive teacher,  in  every  sense  of  the  term.  (See  3Iel- 
CHisEDEC.)  (3.)  The  priesthood  of  Aaron  and  his 
family,  which  subsisted  as  long  as  the  religion  of  the 
Jews.  (4.)  The  priesthood  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  of 
the  new  law,  which  is  infinitely  superior  to  all  oth- 
ers, in  its  duration,  its  dignity,  its  prerogatives,  its 
object,  and  its  power.  The  priesthood  of  Aaron  was 
to  end,  but  that  of  Jesus  Christ  is  everlasting.  That 
of  Aaron  was  limited  to  his  own  family,  was  exer- 
cised only  in  the  temple,  and  among  only  one  peo- 
ple ;  its  object  was  bloody  sacrifices  and  purifications, 
which  were  only  external,  and  could  not  remit  sins  ; 
but  the  priesthood  of  Jesus  Christ  includes  the  entire 
Christian  church,  spread  over  the  face  of  the  whole 
earth,  and  among  all  nations  of  the  world.  The 
Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  should  be  considered  by 
those  who  would  comprehend  the  excellence  of  the 
priesthood  of  the  new  law  above  that  of  the  law  of 
Mrses,  Heb.  iv.  14,  &c.  also  chap.  v. — ix.  (See  1 
Pet.  ii.  5—9.) 

PRINCE  is  sometimes  taken  for  the  chief,  the 
principal ;  as  the  princes  of  the  families,  of  the 
tribes,  of  the  houses  of  Israel ;  the  prmces  of  the 
Levites,  of  the  people,  of  the  priests ;  the  princes  of 
the  synagogue,  or  assembly  ;  the  princes  of  the  chil- 
dren of  Reuben,  of  Judah,  &c.  Also,  for  the  king, 
the-  sovereign  of  a  country,  and  his  principal  officers : 
the  princes  of  the  army  of  Pharaoh  ;  Phichol,  prince 
of  the  army  of  Abimelech  :  Potiphar  was  prince  or 
chief  of  the  executioners  or  guards  of  the  king  of 
Eg\'pt ;  and  Joseph  was  in  prison  with  the  prince  of 
the*  bakers,  &c.  The  prince  of  the  priests  some- 
times denotes  the  high-priest  actually  in  office,  (2 
Mac.  iii.  4 ;  Matt.  xxvi.  57.)  or  he  who  had  formerly 
possessed  this  dignity.  Sometimes,  he  who  was  at 
the  head  of  the  priests,  waiting  in  the  temple  ;  (Jer. 
XX.  1 ;  xxix.  25 — 27 ;  2  Chron.  xxxv.  8.)  or  an  in- 
tendant  of  the  temple,  or  the  head  of  the  sacerdotal 
families.  The  prince  of  the  city  had  in  the  city  the 
same  authority  as  the  intendant  of  the  temple  had  in 
the  temple  :  he  took  care  of  the  preservation  of  the 
peace,  and  good  order,  2  Chron.  xviii.  25  ;  xxxiv.  8. 
'ihe  prince  of  this  world  is  the  devil,  who  boasts  of 
having  all  the  kingdoms  of  the  earth  at  his  disposal, 
John  xii.  31  ;  xiv.  30 ;  xvi.  11. 

PRISCA,  or  Priscilla,  (2  Tim.  iv.  19.)  a  Chris- 
tian woman,  well  known  in  the  Acts,  and  in  Paul's 
Epistles ;  sometimes  placed  before  her  husband 
Aquila.  Their  house  was  so  thoroughly  Christian- 
ized, that  Paul  calls  it  a  church.  From  Ephesus 
they  went  to  Rome,  where  they  were  when  this 
apostle  wrote  his  Epistle  to  the  Romans,  A.  D.  58. 
In  chap.  xvi.  5,  he  salutes  them  first,  with  great 
commendations.  They  returned  into  Asia  some 
time  afterwards,  and  Paul,  writing  to  Timothy,  de- 
sires him  to  salute  them  on  his  account,  2  Tim.  iv. 
19,  A.  D.  65.  It  is  thouglit  they  died  here.  See 
Aquila. 

PROCHORUS,  or  Procorus,  one  of  the  first 
seven  deacons.  Acts  vi.  5. 

PRODIGAL,  profuse,  wasteful,  extravagant.  The 
reader,  no  doubt,  has  always  discerned  tenderness 
and  affection  in  ihe  manner  in  which  the  father,  in 
the  parable  of  the  Prodigal  Son,  (Luke  xv.)  receives 
the  young  man,  his  son,  when  returning  home  ;  but 
the  honor  implied   in  some  circumstances  of  his  re- 


ception, acquires  additional  spirit,  from  an  occur- 
rence recorded  by  major  Rooke.  English  readei-s, 
observing  the  "  music  and  dancing,"  heard  by  the  elder 
son,  are  ready  to  imagine  that  the  family,  or  a  part  of 
it,  was  dancing  to  the  music,  because  such  would  be 
the  case  among  ourselves ;  whereas,  the  fact  is,  that  not 
only  a  band  of  music,  but  a  band  of  dancers  also,  ac- 
cording to  eastern  usage,  was  hhed,  whose  agility  was 
now  entertaining  the  numerous  company  of  friends, 
invited  by  the  father  on  this  joyful  occasion.  This, 
then,  is  an  additional  expression  of  honor  done  the 
prodigal ;  and  to  our  Lord's  auditory,  would  convey 
the  idea,  not  merely  of  the  delight  expressed  by  the 
father  on  his  son's  arrival,  but  also,  that  he  treated 
him  as  if  he  had  come  back  fi-om  some  honorable 
pilgrimage  ;  (as  from  Mecca,  in  the  subjoined  ex- 
tract;  for  so  we  find  Hadje  Cassim  acting  on  account 
of  his  son's  amval  from  thence ;)  that  he  forgot  his 
misbehavior  in  going  away,  and  felt  only  his  wisdom 
in  returning;  that  besides  treating  him  with  the  best 
in  the  house,  he  had  put  himself  to  further  expenses, 
and  had  introduced  him  honorably,  not  only  to  his 
familj"  again,  but  to  his  friends  around,  whom  he  had 
assembled  to  gi-ace  his  reception.  "Hadje  Cassim, 
who  is  a  Turk,  and  one  of  the  richest  merchants  in 
Cairo,  had  interceded  in  my  behalf  with  Ibrahim 
Bey,  jit  the  instance  of  his  son,  who  had  been  on  a 
pilgrimage  to  Mecca,  and  came  from  Juddah  in  the 
same  ship  with  me.  The  father,  in  celebration  of  his 
son^s  return^  gave  a  most  magnificent  fete  on  the  even- 
ing of  the  day  of  my  captivity,  and,  as  Soon  as  I  was 
released,  sent  to  invite  me  to  partake  of  it ;  and  I 
accordingly  went.  His  company  was  very  numer- 
ous, consisting  of  three  or  four  hundred  Turks,  who 
were  all  sitting  on  sofas  and  benches,  smoking  their 
long  pipes  ;  the  room  in  which  they  were  assembled 
was  a  spacious  and  lofty  hall,  in  the  centre  of  which 
was  a  band  of  nmsic,  composed  of  five  Turkish  in- 
struments, and  some  vocal  performers ;  as  there 
were  no  ladies  in  the  assembly,  you  may  suppose  it 
was  not  the  most  lively  party  in  the  world  ;  but  being 
new  to  me,  was  for  that  reason  entertaining."  (Trav- 
els in  Arabia  Felix,  page  104.)  This,  too,  adds  a 
spirit  to  the  elder  brother's  expression  :  "  Thou  never 
gavcst  me  a  kid,  that  I  might  make  merry  xvith  my 
friends :" — and  as  this  fHe  was  given  in  the  evening, 
it  agrees  with  the  circumstance  of  the  elder  brother's 
return  from  the  field  ;  implying,  no  doubt,  his  labors 
there,  which  certainly  are  not  forgotten  by  himself, 
when  he  says,  "  These  many  years  do  I  serve  thee." 
Now,  if  the  Jews  were  alluded  to  in  the  person  of 
the  eider  son,  we  may  see  how  characteristic  this 
language  is  of  that  nation  ;  and  if  the  Gentiles  were 
meant  by  the  prodigal,  it  cannot  be  unpleasing  to  us, 
who  arc  Gentiles  by  nature,  to  form  a  higher  esti- 
mate than  heretofore  of  the  honors  bestowed  on  that 
disobedient  wanderer  bv  his  father. 

PROFANE.  (See  Defile,  and  Holy.)  When 
Jerusalem  is  compared  fo  th';  temple,  the  soil  of  tlie 
city  is  called  profane;  (Ezek.  xlviii.  1.5.)  that  is,  ap- 
pointed to  common  uses,  and  for  a  habitation  of 
laics.  In  2  Mac.  xii.  2.3,  the  heathen  that  composed 
the  army  of  Timotheus,  are  called  profane  ;  and  Paul 
marks  as  profane  such  novel  words  and  expressions 
.•Ls  are  needlessly  introduced  into  religion,  1  Tim.  vi. 
20.  To  profane  the  temple,  to  profane  the  sabbath, 
to  profane  the  altar,  are  common  expressions,  to  de- 
note the  violation  of  the  repose  of  the  sabbath  ;  the 
entering  of  foreigners  into  the  temple  ;  irreverences 
committed  there;  impious  sacrifices  offered  on  the 
altar  of  the  Lord,  &c.     To  profane  the  statutes,  or 


PRO 


[  roo  ] 


?  RO 


the  commandments  of  God,  is  to  transgress  and  vio- 
late them,  Ps.  Ixxxix.  31.  To  profane  the  covenant, 
or  promises  sworn  to  by  an  oath,  is  to  frustrate  them, 
or  not  perform  them,  Ps.  Ixxxix.  34. 

PROMISE,  a  declaration,  or  assurance  of  some 
future  good.  The  word  is,  in  the  New  Testament, 
usually  taken  for  the  promises  mafle  by  God  to 
Abraham  and  the  patriarchs,  to  send  them  the  Mes- 
siah. In  this  sense  Paul  commonly  uses  it.  Gal.  iii. 
16;  Rom.  iv.  13.  et  passim.  In  Acts  vii.  17,  the  time 
of  the  promise,  is  the  time  of  the  coming  of  the  Mes- 
siah. The  children  of  the  promise  are,  first,  the 
Israelites  descended  from  Isaac,  in  opposition  to  the 
Isiimaelites  descended  from  Ishmael  and  Hagar ; 
(Rom.  ix.  8;  Gal.  iv.  28.)  secondly,  the  Jews  con- 
verted to  Christianity,  in  opposition  to  the  unbeliev- 
ing Jews.  Christians  enjoy  the  promises  made  to 
the  patriarchs,  from  which  the  unbelieving  Jews 
have  fallen.  The  Holy  Spirit  of  promise,  which 
Ciiristians  have  received,  (Eph.  i.  13.)  is  that  which 
God  has  promised  to  those  who  believe,  and  which 
is  the  pledge  of  their  everlasting  happiness.  The 
first  commandment  with  promise,  (Eph.  vi.  2.)  is, 
"Honor  thy  father  and  thy  mother;"  to  which  God 
has  subjoined  this  promise,  "Their  days  shall  be 
multiplied  on  the  earth."  The  promises,  in  general, 
denote  eternal  life,  which  is  the  object  of  a  Chris- 
tian's hope,  Heb.  xi.  13.  The  ancient  patriarchs 
were  heirs  of  the  promises  by  their  faith  and  their 
patience,  Heb.  vi.  12.  All  the  promises  of  God  are 
accomplished  and  fulfilled  in  Jesus  Christ,  2  Cor.  i.20. 

The  word  promise  is  sometimes  taken  in  our  Eng- 
lish version  for  the  thing  promised,  as  well  as  for  the 
terms  in  which  the  engagement  to  confer  a  favor  is 
made.  So  we  read,  (Heb.  xi.  13.)  that  the  patriarchs 
died  in  faith,  "not  having  received  the  promises;" 
whereas  they  certainly  had  received  the  promises,  but 
not  the  things  promised  ;  and  this  is  the  more  unfortu- 
nate, in  this  place,  as  we  read  immediately  afterwards, 
that  "  Abraham  had  received  the  promises,"  that  is, 
the  birth  of  his  son  and  heir,  Isaac. 

Promises  always  refer  to  future  good ;  and  in  this 
they  difier  from  threatenings,  which  always  refer  to 
evil :  they  differ  also,  inasmuch  as  threatenings  may 
be  alleviated ;  but  promises  must  be  fulfilled.  No 
man  would  claim  the  execution  of  threatenings ;  but 
a  promise  gives  a  right  of  claim  to  the  party  to  be 
benefited.  The  fulfilment  of  promises  may  be  de- 
layed, as  that  which  assured  Abraham  of  posterity  : 
they  may  be  executed  by  means  not  apparent  at  the 
time.  Man  should  be  extremely  cautious  in  making 
promises,  lest  he  may  fail  in  power  to  accomplish 
them ;  not  so  God,  who  has  all  power,  at  all  times, 
and  cannot  be  taken  unprepared. 

PROOF,  trial,  temptation.  God  proved  the  Is- 
raelites to  see  if  they  would  walk  in  his  ways,  Exod. 


XX.  20.  After  he  had  proved  them  and  afflicted  them> 
he  had  pity  on  them,  Deut.  viii.  16.  As  gold  and 
silver  are  tried  in  the  furnace,  so  God  proves  the 
heart,  Prov.  xvii.  3. 

PROPHECY,  the  foretelling  of  such  events  as 
could  be  known  only  to  God.  It  is  beyond  dispute 
that  there  is  a  Power  which  governs  the  world  ; 
which  raises  one  fatnily  to  the  throne,  and  one  na- 
tion to  the  supremacy ;  and  then,  when  this  has 
answered  the  purposes  for  which  it  was  exalted, 
transfers  the  sceptre  of  rule  to  a  stranger,  and  pro- 
duces, from  obscurity  into  reputation  and  splendor, 
another  person,  or  another  people  ;  maintains  this 
also,  during  its  appointed  time,  and  when  that  time 
is  expired,  suffers  it  gradually  to  decay  ;  or  directs  a 
new  ambition  to  wrest  from  its  enfeebled  hand,  and 
its  j)alsied  head,  the  ensigns  of  royalty,  and  the  to- 
kens of  dignity. 

It  is  said,  "  Kingdoms  rise  and  fall  by  accident ; " 
and  it  is  asked,  "  If  no  superior  power  interfered, 
would  not  their  changes  be  just  the  same  ? "  It  is 
sufficient  for  us,  without  adverting  to  what  might  be, 
to  answer,  by  what  is  ;  and  this  subject  deserves  at- 
tention. We  have  seen  infidel  writers  criticise  books 
they  had  not  read,  (or  had  read  years  ago,  and  so 
criticise  by  memory ;  or  had  read  them  so  superfi- 
cially, as  scarcely  amounts  to  a  reading,)  and  then 
retail  unfounded  observations  and  dogmatical  re- 
marks on  what  they  should  (by  way  of  answer)  be 
entreated  first  to  understand. 

We  maintain,  that  if  we  find  certain  events  pre- 
dicted, long  before  they  happened ;  if  they  be  so 
clearly  described,  that  when  completed,  the  descrip- 
tion determinately  applies  to  the  subject ;  if  they  be 
related  by  persons  entirely  unconcerned  in  the 
events,  and  expecting  to  be  removed  from  the  stage 
of  life  long  before  they  take  place  ;  then  we  demon- 
strate that  some  power  superior  to  humanity  has 
been  pleased  to  impart  so  much  of  its  designs,  and 
counsels,  as  are  referred  to  hi  such  predictions. 
And  where  is  the  unfitness  of  this?  May  not  a  king, 
if  he  please,  acquaint  a  person  with  his  intention, 
that  aft;er  such  an  one  has  been  governor  of  a  prov- 
ince for  so  many  years,  he  designs  to  send  such 
another  to  be  governor  after  him  ?  or  that  after  A 
has  held  such  an  office  during  his  appointed  time, 
B  shall  succeed  him  ?  If  this  be  nothing  startling,  or 
uncommon,  in  human  concerns,  let  us  see  how  this 
simple  idea  applies  to  the  divine  government  of  the 
world.  One  clear  instance  may  justify  this  state- 
ment ;  and  this  instance  we  select  from  the  prophet 
Daniel,  because  its  coincidence  with  history  is  un- 
questionable ;  but  other  subjects  are  capable  of  the 
same  enumerative  demonstration  :  we  say  demonstra- 
tio7i ;  for  who,  by  the  power  of  mere  human  facul- 
ties, could  foresee  such  contingencies  ? 


INSTANCE  OF  PROPHECY  COMPARED  WITH  HISTORY  : 


THE  CHIEF  INCIDENTS  ONLY  BEING  SELECTED,  AND  NUMBERED. 


Prophecy  of  Four  Kingdoms,  represented  by  Four 
Beasts. 

THE  FIRST  BEAST. 

1.  A  lion, 

2.  having  eagle's  wings ; 

3.  the  wings  were  plucked. 


Corresponding  Events,  in  their  Historical  Order. 


a'Ssyrian  empire. 

1.  The  Babylonian  empire  ; 

2.  Nineveh,  &c.  added  to  it — but 

3.  Nineveh  was  almost  destroyed  at  the  fall  of 

Sardanapalus ; 


PRO 


[  764 


PRO 


4.  it  was  raised  from  the  ground, 

5.  and  made  to  stand  on  the  feet  eis  a  man, 

6.  and  a  man's  heart  [intellect]  was  given  to  it. 

Dan.  chap.  iv. 

THE    SECOND    BEAST. 

1.  A  ram, 

2.  which  had  two  horns, 

3.  both  high, 

4.  but  one  higher  than  the  other, 

5.  the  highest  came  up  last ; 

6.  the  ram  pushed  north,  west,  south, 

7.  did  as  he  pleased,  and  became  great. 

THE  THIRD  BEAST. 

1.  A  he  goat 

2.  came  from  the  west, 

3.  gliding  swiftly  over  the  earth  ; 

4.  ran  unto  the  ram  in  the  fury  of  his  power, 

5.  smote  him, 

6.  brake  his  two  horns, 

7.  cast  him  on  the  ground, 

8.  stamped  on  him,  and 

9.  waxed  very  great. 

10.  When  he  was  strong,  his  gi-eat  horn  was  bro- 

ken, and 

11.  instead  of  it  came  up  four  notable  ones, 


12.  towards  the  four  winds  of  heaven  ; 

13.  out  of  one  of  them  a  little  horn  waxed  great 

14.  toward  the  south  and  east; 

15.  which  took  away  the  daily  sacrifice,  and   cast 

down  the  sanctuary,  &c.' 
Dan.  chap.  \'iii.  3 — 12. 

Tliese  events  are  jirefigured  by  different  emblems, 
though  to  the  same  pui7)ose,  in  other  parts  of  this 
prophet ;  and  it  is  probable  they  refer  to  the  heraldic 
insignia  of  the  nations  they  concern.  (Comp.  Mace- 
donia.) 

PROPHET.  Scripture  often  gives  to  prophets 
the  name  of  men  of  God,  or  of  angels  (that  is,  mes- 
sengers) of  the  Lord.  The  verb  nibba,  which  we 
translate  to  prophesy,  is  of  very  great  extent.  Some- 
times it  signifies  to  foretell  what  is  to  come  ;  at  other 
times  to  be  inspired,  to  speak  from  God.  God  says 
to  Moses,  (Exod.  vii.  1.)  "Aaron  thy  brother  shall  be 
thy  prophet ;"  he  shall  explain  thy  sentiments  to  the 
people.  Paul,  (Tit.  i.  12.)  quoting  a  heathen  poet, 
calls  him  a  prophet.  Scripture  does  not  withhold 
the  name  of  prophet  from  impostors,  although  they 
falsely  boasted  of  inspiration.  As  true  prophets, 
when  filled  by  the  energy  of  God's  Spirit,  were 
sometimes  agitated  violently,  similar  motions  were 
called  j)rophesying  when  exhibited  by  persons  who 
were  filled  with  a  good  or  evil  spirit,  1  Sam.  xviii. 
10.  Saul,  being  moved  by  an  evil  spirit,  prophesied 
in  his  house.  Dancing,  oV  playing  on  instruments, 
is  also  sometimes  called  prophesying:  "Thou  shalt 
meet  a  company  of  prophets  (says  Samuel  to  Saul) 
coming  down  from  the  high  i)lace,  uitli  a  psaltery, 
and  a  tabret,  and  a  pipe,  and  a  harp  before  then), 


4.  yet  this  empire  vras  again  elevated  to  power, 

5.  and  seemed  to  acquire  stability  under  Nebu- 

chadnezzar, 

6.  who  laid  the  foundation  of  its  subsequent  policy 

and  authority, 

PERSIAN  EMPIRE. 

1.  Darius  ;  or  the  Persian  power, 

2.  composed  of  Media  and  Persia, 

3.  both  considerable  provinces, 

4.  Media  the  more  powerful :  yet  this  most  powerful 

5.  Median  empire,  under  Dejoces,  rose  after  the 

other ; 

6.  and  extended   its  conquests  under  Cjnnis  over 

Lydia,  &c.  west ;  over  Asia  north  ;  over  Baby- 
lon, &c.  south  ;  and 

7.  ruling  over  such  extent  of  country,  was  a  great 

empire. 

GRECIAN  EMPIP.E. 

1.  Alexander,  or  the  Greek  power, 
i.  came  from  Europe  (west  of  Asia); 

3.  with  unexampled  rapidity  of  success 

4.  attacked  Darius  furiously,  and 

5.  beat  him — at  the  Granicus,  Issus,  &c. 

6.  conquered  Persia  and  Media,  &c. 

7.  mined  the  power  of  Darius, 

8.  insomuch  that  Darius  was  murdered,  &c. 

9.  Alexander  oven-an  Bactriana,  to  India ; 

10.  but  died  at  Babylon,  in  the   zenith  of  his  fame 

and  power ; 

11.  his  dominions  were  parcelled  among  Seleucus, 

Antigonus,    Ptolemy,    Cassander  (who   had 
been  his  officers) : 

12.  in  Babylon,  Asia  Minor,  Egypt,  Greece. 

13.  Antiochus  the  Great  succeeded  by  Antiochus 

Epiphanes, 

14.  conquered  Egypt,  &c. 

15.  and  endeavored  utterly  (o  subvert  the  Jewish 

polity :   polluting  their  temple,  worship  and 
sacrifices,  to  the  utmost  of  his  power. 

and  they  shall  prophesy.  And  the  Spirit  of  the 
Lord  shall  come  upon  thee,  and  thou  shalt  prophesy 
with  them,  and  sbalt  be  turned  into  another  man," 
1  Sam.  X,  5,  6.  So  we  read,  1  Chron.  xxv.  1,  that 
the  sons  of  Asaph  were  appointed  to  prophesy  upon 
harps. 

The  term  prophesy  is  also  used  (1  Cor.  xi.  4,  5  • 
xiv.  i,  &c.)  for  "explaining  Scripture,  speaking  to 
the  church  in  public ;  probably  because  they  who 
exercised  these  functions  were  regarded  as  under 
the  direction  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  So  it  is  said  in 
Acts  xiii.  1,  that  .ludas  and  Silas  were  prophets;  that 
there  were  in  the  church  at  Antioch  certain  prophets 
and  teachers ;  that  is,  official  instructers.  God  has 
set  in  the  church,  first,  apostles,  then  prophets,  1 
Cor.  xii.  28.  (See  also  Eph.  ii.  20 ;  Rev.  xviii,  20 ; 
Acts  xxi.  9.) 

The  usual  way  by  wliich  God  communicated  his 
will  to  the  prophets  was  by  inspiration,  which  con- 
sisted in  illuminating  the  mind,  and  exciting  them  to 
proclaim  what  the  Lord  had  dictated.  In  this  sense 
we  acknowledge  as  prophets  all  the  authors  of  the 
canonical  books  of  Scripture,  both  of  the  Old  and 
New  Testaments.  God  also  communicated  infor- 
mation to  the  prophets  by  dreams  and  visions.  Joel 
(ii.  28.)  promises  to  the  people  of  the  Lord  that  their 
young  men  should  sec  visions,  and   their  old  men 


PROPHET 


[  765  ] 


PROPHET 


have  prophetic  dreams.  Peter  (Acts  x.  11,  12.)  fell 
into  an  ecstasy  at  noon-day,  and  had  a  revelation 
importing  the  "call  of  the  Gentiles.  The  Lord  ap- 
peared to  Abraham,  to  Job,  and  to  Moses  in  a  cloud, 
and  discovered  his  will  to  them.  His  voice  was 
eomelimes  heard  articulately.  Thus,  he  spoke  to 
Moses  in  the  burning  bush,  and  on  mount  Sinai,  and 
to  Samuel  in  the  night. 

We  have  in  the  Old  Testament  the  writings  of 
sixteen  prophets  ;  that  is,  of  four  greater  ami  twelve 
lesser  pro[)hets.  The  four  greater  prophets  are 
Isaiah,  Jeremiah,  Ezekiel  and  Daniel.  The  Jews 
do  not  properly  place  Daniel  among  the  prophets, 
because  (they  say)  he  lived  in  the  splendor  of  tem- 
poral dignities,  and  led  a  kind  of  life  different  from 
other  prophets.  The  twelve  lesser  prophets  are, 
Hosca,  Joel,  Amos,  Obadiah,  Micah,  Jonah,  Nahum, 
Habakkuk,  Zephaniah,  Haggai,  Zechariah  and 
Malachi. 

Chronological  order  of  the  prophets,  according  to 
Calmet. 

1.  HosEA,  under  Uzziah,  king  of  Judah,  who  began 

to  reign  A.  M.  3194  ;  and  under  Jotham,  Ahaz 
and  Hezekiah,  kings  of  Judali,  and  under  Jero- 
boam II.  king  of  Israel,  and  his  successors,  to 
the  destruction  of  Samaria,  A.  M.  3283. 

2.  Amos,  imder  Uzziah,  A.  M.  3219,  and  about  six 

years  before  the  death  of  Jeroboam  II.  king  of 
Israel,  A.  M.  3220. 

3.  Isaiah,  at  the  death  of  Uzziah,  and  at  the  begin- 

ning of  the  reign  of  Jotham,  king  of  Judah, 
A.  M.  3246 ;  to  the  reigu  of  IManasseh,  A.  M. 
330G. 

4.  Jo>AH,  under  the  kings  Joash  and  Jeroboam  II. 

in  the  kingdom  of  Israel  ;  about  the  same  time 
as  Hosea,  Isaiah  and  Amos.  Jeroboam  II. 
died  A.  31.  3220. 

5.  MiCAH,   under   Jotham,   Ahaz    and    Hezekiah, 

kings  of  Judah.  Jotham  began  to  reign  A.  M. 
3235,  and  Hezekiah  died  A.  M.  3306.  Micah 
was  contemporaiy  with  Isaiah,  but  began  later 
to  prophesy. 

6.  Nahum,  under  Hezekiah,  and  after  the  expedi- 

tion of  Sennacherib,  that  is,  after  A.  M.  3201. 

7.  Jere:miah,  in  the  thirteenth  year  of  Josiah,  king 

of  Jiulah,  A.  M.  3375.  Jeremiah  continued  to 
propiiesy  under  Shallum,  Jchoiakim,  Jeconiah 
and  Zedekiah,  to  the  taking  of  Jerusalem  by  the 
Chaldeans,  A.  M.  3416.  It  is  thought  he  died 
two  years  afterwards  in  Egypt. 

8.  Zephaniah,  at  the  beginning  of  the  reign  of  Jo- 

siah, an  1  before  the  twenty-eighth  year  of  that 
prince,  \.  M.  3381  ;  and  even  before  the  taking 
of  Nine  eh,  A.  31.  3378. 

9.  Joel,   ui    er  Josiah,   about   the   same   time  as 

Jeremia/i  and  Zephaniah.  [But  see  under 
Joel.     R. 

10.  Daniel  was  taken  into  Chaldea,  A.  31.  3398,  the 

fourth  year  of  Jehoiakim,  king  of  Judah.  He 
prophesied  at  Babylon  to  the  end  of  the  cap- 
tivity, A.  31.  34G8,  and  perhaps  longer. 

11.  Ezekiel  was  carried  captive  to  Babylon  with 

Jeconiah,  king  of  Judah,  A.  31.  3405.  He  be- 
gan to  prophesy  in  A.  31.  3409.  He  continued 
till  toward  the  end  of  the  reign  of  Nebuchad- 
nezzar, who  died  A.  31.  3442. 

12.  Habakkuk,  in  Judea,  at  the  beginning  of  the 

reign  of  Jehoiakim,  about  A.  31.  3394,  and  be- 
fore the  coming  of  Nebuchadnezzar  in  3398. 


13.  Obadiah,  in  Judea,  after  the  taking  ot  Jerusa- 

lem, A.  31.  3414,  and  before  the  desolation  of 
Idumea,  (as  we  believe,)  in  3410. 

14.  Haggai  returned  from  the  captivity  A.  M.  3468, 

and  prophesied  the  second  year  of  Darius,  son 
of  Hystaspes,  A.  31.  3484. 

15.  Zechariah   prophesied  in  Judea   at   the  same 

time  as  Haggai,  and  seems  to  have  continued 
after  him. 

16.  3Ialachi  has  no  date  to  his  prophecies.     If  he 

Avere  the  same  as  Esdras,  which  is  very  proba- 
ble, he  may  have  prophesied  under  Nehemiab, 
who  returned  into  Judea,  A.  31.  3550.  Sec  the 
articles  of  these  prophets. 
Beside  these,  there  are  many  whose  names  appear 
in  Scripture,  but  of  whom  we  have  no  writings 
remaining. 

The  Prophetesses  are,  (1.)  Miriam,  sister  of  3Toses. 
(2.)  Deborah.  (3.)  Hannah,  the  mother  of  Sam- 
uel. (4.)  Abigail.  (.5.)  Huldah.  (6.)  Esther. 
(7.)  The  midwives  of  Egypt,  w^ho  preserved  the 
first-born  of  the  Hebrews. 

After  3Ialachi,  there  were  no  prophets  in  Israel,  ks 
before  ;  so  that  in  the  time  of  the  3Iaccabees,  (1  3Iac. 
iv.  46.  ante  A.  D.  164.)  when  the  altar  of  burnt-sacri- 
fices was  demolished,  which  had  been  profaned  by 
the  GentiiCS,  the  stones  thereof  were  set  aside,  till  a 
prophet  should  arise  to  declare  what  should  be  done 
with  them. 

The  pro)  Iiets  were  the  divines,  the  philosophers, 
the  instruct  'rs,  and  the  guides  of  the  Hebrews  in 
piety  and  virtue.  They  generally  lived  retired,  in 
some  country  retreat,  or  in  a  sort  of  community, 
where  they  and  their  disci])les  were  employed  in 
study,  prayer  and  labor.  Their  habitations  were 
plain  and  sinij)l  •.  They  exercised  no  trade  for  gain, 
nor  did  they  nn. 'ertake  any  work  that  was  too  labo- 
rious, or  inconsis^tent  with  the  repose  their  employ- 
ment required.  Elisha  quitted  his  plough,  when 
Elijah  called  him  to  the  j)iophetic  office,  1  Kmgs 
xix.  20.  Zechariah  (xiii.  5.)  speaks  of  one  who  is  no 
prophet,  but  a  husbandman.  Amos  says  (vu.  14.)  he 
is  no  prophet,  but  a  herdman,  and  a  gatherer  of 
sycamore  fruit. 

"  lOlijah  was  clothed  with  skins,  and  girded  with  a 
girdle  of  leather,  2  Kings  i.  8.  Isaiah  wore  sack- 
cloth, that  is,  a  coarse  rough  habit,  of  a  dark  brown 
color,  which  was  the  ordinary  clothing  of  the  proph- 
ets. Zechariah  says,  (xiii.  4.)  speaking  of  the  false 
prophets  who  im=*ated  externally  the  true  proi)het3 
of  the  Lord,  that  "  they  should"  not  wear  a  rough 
garment  to  deceive."  In  Rev.  xi.  3,  the  two  w  itnesses 
are  clothed  in  sackcloth.  Their  poveity  was  con- 
spicuous in  their  actions.  They  received  ])resents 
of  bread,  fruits  and  honey  ;  or  the  first-fruits  of  the 
eartii  ;  as  being  ])ersons  who  possessed  nothing 
themselves.  The  woman  of  Shunem,  who  enter- 
tained Elisha,  put  into  the  prophet's  chamber  no  fur- 
nitiu-e  but  what  was  plain  and  necessary,  2  Kings  iv. 
10.  The  sa?ne  prophet  refuses  the  rich  presents  of 
Naaman,  and  drives  away  from  his  presence  Gehazi, 
who  had  received  them,"  2  Kings  v.  26.  Their  fru- 
gality a})pears  throughout  their  history.  It  is  well 
known  what  is  related  of  the  wild  gourds,  that  one 
of  the  prophets  caused  to  be  boiled  for  the  refresh- 
ment of  his  brethren,  2  Kings  iv.  38, 40.  The  angel 
gave  to  Elijah  only  bread  and  water  for  a  long 
journev,  1  Kings  xix.  6.  Obadiah,  governor  of 
Ahab's   household,   gave  bread  and   water  to  the 


PROPHET 


[766] 


PRO 


prophets  whom  he  fed  in  the  caves,  1  Kings 
xviii.  4. 

The  prophets  were  not  observers  of  ceUbacy ; 
Samuel  had  children,  and  Isaiah  had  a  wife,  called 
the  prophetess,  chap.  viii.  3.  Hosea  (i.  2,  &c.)  re- 
ceived orders  to  marry.  (See  Hosea.)  But  there 
were  no  women,  or  wives,  in  the  societies  of  the 
prophets.  Neither  Elijah  nor  Ehsha  had  any  that 
we  hear  of;  and  we  see  with  what  reserve  the  wo- 
man who  entertained  Elisha  spoke  to  him  ;  and  that 
by  the  interposition  of  Gehazi,  2  Kings  iv.  27.  The 
prophets  were  exposed  to  the  railleries,  the  insults, 
the  persecutions,  and  the  ill  treatment  both  of  kings 
and_  people,  whose  vices  and  in-egularities  they  un- 
dertook to  reprove  ;  and  Paul  acquaints  us,  that  many 
of  them  died  violent  deaths,  Heb.  xi.  35,  &c. 

In  several  parts  of  the  Old  Testament  we  find 
mention  made  of '■'■  Books  of  the  Prophets,''^  which  are 
quoted  as  authorities  for  certain  histories  ;  which 
books,  thus  referred  to,  are  usually  lives  and  actions 
of  the  kings;  not  records  of  any  chronological  peri- 
od of  time.  The  very  same  custom  seems  to  be  re- 
1/  tained  in  Abyssinia,  where  a  pei-son  is  especially  ap- 
pointed to  the  office  of  Recorder  ;  and,  if  the  same 
consequence  were  anciently  attached  to  that  office 
among  the  Hebrews,  as  is  now  in  that  country,  we 
may  safely  rely  on  the  authenticity  of  the  narration, 
and  the  integrity  of  the  narrator.  Perhaps,  too,  we 
may  discern  reasons  why  Scripture  sometimes  re- 
frains from  condemning  certain  crimes ;  as  it  is  not 
the  duty  of  the  historiographer  to  comment  on  the 
king's  actions  ;  though  we  may  safely  add,  that  suc- 
ceeding providences,  recorded  in  such  histories,  are 
usually  comments  sufficiently  explicit,  independent 
of  their  connection  as  cause  and  effect.  The  follow- 
ing is  from  Bruce : — 

"The  king  has  near  his  person  an  officer  who  is 
meant  to  be  his  Historiographer.  He  is  also 
keeper  of  his  seal :  and  is  obliged  to  make  a  journal  of 
the  king's  actions, good  or  bad,  without  comment  of  his 
own  upon  th^m. — This,  when  the  king  dies,  or  at  least 
soon  after,  is  delivered  to  the  council,  who  read  it 
over,  and  erase  every  thing  false  in  it,  whilst  thev  sup- 
ply every  material  fact  that  may  have  been  ozriitted, 
whether  purposely  or  not."     (Travels,  vol.  ii.  p.  596.) 

It  is  remarkable  that  the  tide  Seer  occurs  princi- 
pally, if  not  altogether,  imder  tlie  regal  government 
of  Israel.  We  )neet  with  it  first  in  reference  to  the 
prophet  Samuel,  (1  Sam.  ix.  9.)  such  persons  having 
been  previously  called  prophets.  3Iay  it  be  ques- 
tioned whether  Samuel  was  not  the  first  acknowledged 
offi.cial  writer  of  annals  ?  i.  e.  on?  attached  to  the 
king's  person,  so  far  at  least  as  to  be  confessedly  en- 

t  gaged  as  such,  in  the  royal  service.  Indeed,  as  Saul 
was  the  first  king,  Samuel,  alone,  could  be  the  first 
recorder  imder  the  crown.  Hence  probably  his 
books  are  preserved,  as  the  first  of  their  kind,  the  ex- 
emplars of  all  others.  Gad, "  David's  seer,"  (1  Chron. 
xxi.  9.)  Heman,  "the  king's  seer,"  (1  Chron.  xxv.  5, 
perhaps  after  Gad's  demise,)  Iddo  "  the  seer,"  (2  Chron. 
ix.29;  xii.  15.)  and  Jeduthun,  "the  king's  seer,"  (2 
Chron.  xxxv.  15,  &c.)  all  seem  to  have  occupied  the 
post  of  regal  historiographer.  Whence  other  writers 
of  memoirs  might  also  be  called  seers.  This  idea 
is  corroborated  by  what  is  remarked  of  Manasseh  : 
(2  Chron.  xxxiii.  19.)  "  His  prayer,  and  his  pardon,  his 
sin,  his  trespass,  his  high  jjlaces,  gi-oves,  graven  im- 
ages, &c.  behold  they  are  written  among  the  remarks, 
words,  of  the  seers^  If  this  be  admitted,  then  we  see 
the  importance  of  these  officers,  as  "  keepers  of  the 
king's  seal ;"  and  the  reason  for  the  distinction  be- 


tween prophet  and  seer ;  why  a  person  might  be  a 
prophet  only,  i.  e.  from  God  ;  or  a  seer  only,  i  e.  a 
writer  of  memoirs,  or  both  together. 

[The  distinction  here  attempted  to  be  made  be- 
tween prophet  and  seer,  has  no  foundation  in  the  bib- 
lical representations.  For  the  character  of  the  proph- 
ets generally,  of  their  inspiration  and  of  their  proph- 
ecies, see  an  article  by  professor  Haystenburg,  in  the 
Biblical  Repository,  vol.  ii.  p.  138 ;  and  another  by 
professor  Stuart,  in  the  same  work,  vol.  ii.  p.  217.    R. 

PROSELYTE,  a  name  given  by  the  Jews  to  those 
who  come  to  dwell  in  their  countrj',  or  who  embrace 
their  religion,  not  being  Jews  by  birth. 

They  distinguish  two  kinds  of  proselytes.  The 
first,  proselytes  of  the  gate  ;  the  others,  proselytes  of 
justice.  The  first  dwelt  in  the  land  of  Israel,  or  even 
out  of  that  country,  and  without  obliging  themselves 
to  circumcision,  or  to  any  other  ceremony  of  the  law, 
feared  and  worshipped  the  true  God,  observing  the 
Noachical  rules,  or  what  the  rabbins  call  the  seven 
precepts  of  JVoah.  Of  this  number  was  Naaman  the 
Syrian,  Nebuzar-adan,  general  of  Nebuchadnezzar's 
army,  Cornelius  the  centurion,  the  eunuch  of  queen 
Candace,  and  some  others  mentioned  in  the  Acts. 

The  rabbins  teach,  that  a  proselyte  of  habitation, 
or  of  the  gate,  must  promise  under  an  oath,  in  the 
presence  of  three  witnesses,  to  keep  the  seven  pre- 
cepts of  the  Noachidse ;  that  is,  according  to  them, 
that  law  of  nature  to  which  all  the  nations  of  the 
world  are  obliged  ;  the  observation  of  which  might 
secure  them  salvation.  The  Jews  say,  that  proselytes 
of  the  gate  have  ceased  in  Israel,  ever  since  the  ob- 
servation of  the  jubilee  has  been  left  off,  and  the  tribes 
of  Gad,  of  Reuben,  and  of  Manasseh,  on  the  other 
side  Jordan,  were  led  captive  by  Tiglath-pileser.  But 
this  is  not  accurate  ;  since  we  see  many  proselytes  in 
the  time  of  Christ,  who  reproaches  the  Pharisees  with 
compassing  sea  and  land  to  make  a  proselj'te ;  and, 
after  this,  making  him  a  greater  sinner  than  he  was 
before.  Matt,  xxiii.  15.  Luke  (Acts  ii.  11.)  speaks  of 
a  great  number  of  proselytes,  and  of  those  who  feared 
God,  at  Jerusalem,  when  the  Holy  Ghost  descended 
upon  the  apostles. 

The  privileges  of  proselytes  of  the  gate  were,  first, 
that  by  the  observation  of  the  rules  of  natural  justice, 
and  by  avoiding  idolatiy,  blasphemy,  incest,  adultery 
and  murder,  they  might  through  grace  hope  for  eter- 
nal life.  Secondly,  they  might  dwell  in  the  land  of 
Israel,  and  share  in  the  outward  prosperities  of  it.  It 
is  said  they  did  not  dwell  in  the  cities,  but  only  in  the 
suburbs  and  villages.  But  it  is  certain,  that  the  Jews 
often  admitted  into  their  cities,  not  only  proselytes  of 
habitation,  but  also  Gentiles  and  idolaters,  as  ajipears 
by  the  reproaches,  on  this  accoimt,  throughout  the 
Scriptures.  In  the  time  of  Solomon  there  were  in 
Israel  153,600  of  these  proselytes,  whom  he  compelled 
to  hew  wood,  to  draw  water,  to  cut  stones,  and  to 
cariT  burdens  for  the  building  of  the  temple,  2  Chron. 
ii.  17,  18.  They  were  Canaanites,  who  had  contin- 
ued in  the  country  since  Joshua's  time. 

Proselytes  of  justice  were  those  converted  to  Ju- 
daism, who  had  engaged  to  receive  circumcision,  and 
to  obsene  the  whole  lawof  3Ioses.  Thus  they  were 
admitted  to  all  the  prerogatives  of  the  people  of  the 
Lord,  as  well  in  this  life  as  the  other.  The  rabbins 
inform  us,  that  before  circumcision  was  administered 
to  them,  and  they  were  admitted  into  the  religion  of 
the  Hebrews,  they  were  examined  about  the  motives 
of  their  conversion  ;  whether  the  change  were  volun- 
tary, or  whether  it  proceeded  from  interest,  fear,  am- 
bition, &c.     Maimonides  assures  us,  that  under  the 


PRO 


[  767  ] 


PRO 


happy  reigns  of  David  and  Solomon,  they  received 
no  proselytes  of  justice,  because  there  was  reason  to 
fear,  that  the  prosperity  of  these  princes,  rather  than 
any  love  to  reUgion,  made  them  converts  to  Judaism. 
The  Talmudists  say,  that  proselytes  are,  as  it  were, 
the  canker  and  rust  of  Israel,  and  that  very  great 
caution  must  be  taken  not  to  admit  them  too  readily. 

When  the  proselyte  had  been  well  instructed,  they 
gave  him  circumcision ;  and  when  the  wound  was 
healed,  they  gave  him  baptism,  by  plunging  his  whole 
body  into  a  cistern  of  water,  by  one  immersion.  This 
ceremony,  being  a  judicial  act,  was  to  be  performed 
in  tiie  presence  of  three  judges,  and  could  not  be 
done  on  a  festival  day.  The  proselyte  also  caused 
circumcision  and  baptism  to  be  administered  to  his 
slaves,  under  thirteen  years  of  age  :  those  of  that  age, 
or  older,  could  not  be  compelled  ;  but  he  must  sell 
them,  if  they  were  obstinate  in  not  embracing  Ju- 
daism. Female  slaves  were  only  baptized  if  they 
would  become  converts  ;  if  not,  they  were  to  be  sold. 
Baptism  was  never  repeated,  neither  in  the  person  of 
the  proselyte,  though  he  should  afterwards  apostatize, 
nor  in  that  of  his  children,  born  to  him  after  baptism, 
unless  they  were  born  from  a  pagan  woman ;  in 
which  case,  they  were  to  be  baptized  as  pagans,  be- 
cause they  followed  the  condition  of  their  mother. 
(See  Buxtorf,  Lex.  Rab.  Chald.  Talm.  col.  407,  seq. 
Lightfoot,  Hor.  Heb.  and  Kuinoel  on  Matt.  iii.  6. 
Selilen  de  Jure  Nat.  et  Gent.  ii.  2.) 

Boys  under  twelve  years  of  age,  and  girls  under 
thirteen,  could  not  become  proselytes,  till  they  had 
obtained  the  consent  of  their  parents,  or  in  case  of 
refusal,  the  concurrence  of  the  officers  of  justice. 
Baptisin  in  respect  of  girls,  had  the  same  effect  as 
circumcision  in  respect  of  boys.  Each  of  them  by 
means  of  this,  received  (as  it  were)  a  new  birth  ;  so 
that  those  who  were  their  parents  before,  were  no 
longer  regarded  as  such  after  this  ceremony  ;  and 
those  who  before  were  slaves,  now  became  free. 
Children  born  before  the  conversion  of  their  father, 
had  no  right  to  inherit.  If  a  proselyte  died  without 
having  had  children  after  his  conversion,  his  estate 
belonged  to  the  first  occupier,  and  not  to  the  public 
treasury.  When  proselytes  became  Jews,  the  rab- 
bins teach  that  they  received  from  heaven  a  new 
soul,  and  a  new  substantial  form. 

It  is  thought  that  our  Saviour  alluded  to  the  bap- 
tizing of  proselytes,  when  he  told  Nicodemus,  (John 
iii.  5 — 10.)  that  for  those  who  Avould  obey  his  law,  it 
was  necessary  they  should  be  born  again.  When 
Nicodemus  appeared  surprised  at  this,  our  Saviour 
replied,  "  Art  thou  a  master  of  Israel,  and  knowest 
not  those  things  ?  "  as  though  he  would  infer,  that  his 
language  had  nothing  extraordinary  in  it,  since  the 
baptism  of  proselytes  was  practised  every  day  in 
Israel. 

PROVERBS,  a  name  given  by  the  Hebrews,  in 
common  with  that  of  parables  or  similitudes,  to  moral 
sentences,  maxims,  comparisons  or  enigmas,  express- 
ed in  a  poetical,  figurative  and  sententious  style. 
Solomon  says,  that  in  his  time,  maxims  of  this  sort 
were  the  chief  study  of  the  learned :  "  A  wise  man 
win  endeavor  to  understand  a  proverb,  and  the  inter- 
pretation ;  the  words  of  the  wise,  and  their  dark  say- 
ings," Prov.  i  6.  Jesus,  son  of  Sirach,  says,(Ecclus. 
xxxix.  1 — .3.)  "He  will  keep  the  sayings  of  the  re- 
nowned men,  aiid  where  subtile  parables  are,  he  will 
be  there  also  :  he  will  seek  out  the  secrets  of  grave 
sentences,  and  be  conversant  in  dark  parables."  The 
queen  of  Sheba  came  to  see  Solomon,  to  prove  him, 
and  to  propose  dark  riddles  to  him,  1  Kings  x.  1. 


Hiram,  king  of  Tyre,  (they  say,)  kept  a  correspond- 
ence, by  letters,  with  Solomon,  and  also  proposed 
enigmatical  questions  to  him,  and  explained  those 
that  were  proposed  to  him  by  Solomon. 

The  Proverbs  of  Solomon  are,  without  doubt,  the 
most  valuable  part  of  his  works:  he  says  they  were 
fruits  of  his  most  profound  meditations,  and  of  his 
most  excellent  wisdojn,  Eccles.  xii.  9.  Here  we  find 
rules  for  the  conduct  of  persons  in  all  conditions  of 
life;  for  kings,  courtiers  and  men  of  the  world;  for 
masters,  servants,  fathers,  mothers  and  children. 
Some  have  doubted  whether  Solomon  alone  were 
the  author  of  the  Proverbs.  Grotius  thinks  he  had  a 
compilation  made  for  his  own  use,  of  whatever  was 
extant,  excellent  in  point  of  morality,  from  all  the 
ancient  writers  of  his  own  nation  ;  that  under  Heze- 
kiah  this  collection  was  enlai-ged,  by  adding  what 
had  been  written  since  Solomon ;  and  Eliakim, 
Shebna  and  Joah,  he  thinks,  completed  the  collec- 
tion, 2  Kings  xviii.  18.  But  these  conjectures  are 
not  supported  by  proof.  The  fathers  and  interpret- 
ers ascribe  the  whole  book  to  Solomon.  True  it  is, 
we  may  obsen'e  some  differences  of  style  and  method 
in  this  book.  The  first  nine  chapters,  entitled  "The 
Proverbs  of  Solomon,"  are  written  as  a  continued 
discourse,  and  may  be  considered  as  a  preface.  lu 
chap,  x.,  where  we  see  the  same  title  again,  the  style 
changes  to  short  sentences,  which  have  little  connec- 
tion with  each  other,  and  which,  generally,  contain  a 
kind  of  antithesis.  In  chap.  xxii.  ver.  17,  we  find  a 
new  style,  approaching  nearer  to  that  of  the  first  nine 
chapters  ;  to  chap.  xxiv.  ver.  23,  there  is  a  new  title  ; 
{To  the  wise;  or.  Further  sayings  of  the  ivise ;)  and 
their  style  is  short  and  sententious.  Chap.  x.\v.  we 
read,  "  These  are  also  proverbs  of  Solomon,  which 
the  men  of  Hezekiah,  king  of  Judah,  copied  out," 
And,  doubtless,  it  was  on  this  authority  that  Grotius 
advanced  this  collection  to  have  been  made  by  Elia- 
kim, Shebna  and  Joah,  famous  men  under  the  reign 
of  Hezekiah.  In  chap.  xxx.  1,  we  read, "  The  words 
of  Agur,  the  son  of  Jakeh  ;"  and  the  title  of  chap, 
xxxi.  is,  "The  words  of  king  Lemuel." 

From  all  this  it  seems  certain,  that  the  book  of 
Proverbs  is  a  collection  of  Solomon,  compiled  by  sev- 
eral hands:  but  we  cannot  conclude  hence,  that  it  is 
not  the  work  of  Solomon,  who,  being  inspired  by 
divine  Wisdom,  composed  no  less  than  three  thou- 
sand proverbs,  1  Kings  iv.  32.  Several  persons 
might  make  collections  of  them ;  Hezekiah  among 
others,  as  mentioned  chap,  xxv.,  and  Agur,  Isaiah 
and  Ezra  might  do  the  same.  From  these  collec- 
tions might  be  composed  the  work  which  we  now 
have  ;  and  nothing  is  more  reasonable  than  this  sup- 
position. It  is  no  where  said,  that  Solomon  himself 
had  made  a  collection  of  proverbs  and  sentences. 
The  title,  "  Solomon's  Proverbs,"  rather  shows  the 
author  than  the  compiler.  The  rabbins  generally 
maintain,  that  king  Hezekiah,  observing  the  abuse 
the  people  made  of  several  works  of  Solomon, 
chiefly  those  which  contained  the  virtues  of  plants, 
and  secrets  of  natural  philosophy,  he  suppressed  sev- 
eral of  these  works,  and  only  preserved  those  that 
are  handed  down  to  us. 

PROVIDENCE,  divine  superintendence.  It  is  a 
tenet  of  the  Christian  and  Jewish  religions,  that  God 
disposes  and  governs  all  things  by  his  providence ; 
that  this  providence  is  eternal  and  infinite;  that  it 
extends  over  every  thing,  to  the  hairs  of  our  heads, 
to  the  most  minute  animals,  to  herbs  of  the  field. 
The  atheists,  whose  sentiments  are  combated  by  Sol- 
omon, in  his  book  of  Ecclesiastes ;  and  the  Saddu- 


PSA 


768  ] 


PSALMS 


cees,  who  arose  afterwards,  denied  this  providence, 
and  maintained,  tliat  men  are  the  only  causes  of  their 
own  happiness  or  misfortune,  according  to  their  good 
or  ill  use  of  their  liberty. 

But  these  notions  are  rejected  by  the  generality  of 
the  Jews;  though  they  do  not  agree  among  theiii- 
selves  in  explaining  the  effects  of  providence.  Mai- 
monides  seems  to  think,  that  providence  does  not  act 
in  the  moving  of  a  ]eaf,  or  in  the  production  of  a 
worm  ;  but  that  whatever  relates  to  the  production 
of  animals,  or  things  of  minor  importance,  is  by 
chance.  Moreover,  the  generality  of  the  .Tews  hold, 
that  mankind  enjoy  a  perfect  liberty  as  to  good  or 
evil;  and  that  whatever  happens  to  a  man  is  in 
recompense  for  his  good  actions,  or  in  punishment 
for  his  bad  ones. 

"  Say  not  before  the  angel.  There  is  no  providence  ; 
lest  God  should  be  provoked  against  you,  and  destroy 
all  the  works  of  your  hands."  Thus  speaks  the  book 
of  Ecclesiastes,  v.  6.  Take  care  how  you  deny  in 
secret  a  providence  ;  your  angel  will  be  a  witness  of 
your  most  secret  thoughts,  and  God  will  punish  you. 
The  Hebrew  expresses  this :  "  Say  not  before  the  an- 
gel, It  is  a  fault  of  ignorance  ;"  why  should  you  expose 
yourself  to  the  anger  of  the  Lord  by  your  words,  and 
lose  all  the  lai)or  of  your  hands?     See  AriCEL. 

PSALMS,  THE  BOOK  of;  in  Hebrew,  Sepher  Te- 
hillim,  the  book  of  hymns.  In  the  Gospels  it  is  vari- 
ously named,  "The  Book  of  Psalms,"  "The  Prophet," 
or  "  David,"  from  the  name  of  its  principal  author. 
It  is  justly  esteemed  to  be  a  kind  of  abstract  of  the 
whole  Scripture  ;  a  general  library,  in  which  we 
may  meet  with  whatever  is  requisite  for  salvation. 
Tb«*  sacred  history  instructs  us,  says  Ambrose,  that 
the  prophecies  declare  future  events,  the  reproofs 
restrain  the  wicked,  and  the  precepts  persuade  them, 
but  the  Psalms  produce  all  these  effects.  Agreeable- 
nes^  and  usefulness  are  here  so  happily  blended,  that 
it  is  not  easy  to  decide  which  is  most  prevalent. 

The  Hebrews  commonly  divide  the  Psalter  into 
five  books;  at  the  end  of  each  of  which  we  read  the 
same  conclusion,  and  which  is  thought  to  have  been 
put  there  by  Ezra,  or  by  those  who  had  the  care  of 
collecting  the  sacred  books  after  the  captivity  of 
Babylon.  The  first  book  ends  at  our  fortieth  psalm  ; 
the  second  at  the  seventy-first ;  the  third  at  the 
eighty-eighth  ;  the  fourth  at  the  hundred  and  fifth  ; 
the  fifth  at  the  hundred  and  fiftieth.  The  first  four 
books  conclude  with  these  words,  "Amen,  Amen." 
The  fifth  with  "Hallelujah." 

The  number  of  canonical  Psalms  has  always  been 
fixed  at  150;  for  the  hundred  and  fifty-first  (in  the 
Greek)  has  never  been  received  as  canonical.  But 
though  the  number  of  the  whole  has  been  agreed 
upon,  there  is  a  variety  in  their  distribution.  The 
Jews  make  two  of  the  ninth,  (according  to  the  Vul- 
gate and  Sept.)  and  begin  their  tenth  at  ver.  22,  Ps. 
ix.  "  Why  standest  thou  afar  off,  O  Lord  ?  "  so  that 
from  this  place  to  Ps.  cxiii.  their  citations  and  num- 
bers are  different  from  the  Latin  and  Greek.  The 
Protestant  churches,  and  the  English  version,  follow- 
ing this  division  of  the  Hebrews,  quote  the  Psalms  in 
like  manner. 

It  is  a  tradition  among  the  Hebrews  and  Chris- 
tians, that  Ezra  is,  if  not  the  only,  yet  the  princij)al, 
collector  of  the  book  of  Psalms."  Eusebius,  Hilary, 
Theodoret,  the  author  of  the  Synopsis  printed  under 
the  name  of  Afhanasius,  venerable  Bede,  and  several 
others,  give  him  this  honor.  There  was,  before  the 
captiAity,  however,  a  collection  of  the  Psalms  of 
David,  since  Hezekiah,  when  he  restored  the  worship 


of  the  Lord  in  the  temple,  caused  the  Psalms  of  Da- 
vid to  be  sung  there,  2  Chron.  xxix.  25, 26,  &c.  la 
the  library  that  Nehemiah  erected  at  Jerusalem,  he 
deposited  the  Psalms  of  David,  2  Mac.  ii.  13. 

Speculative  men  have  given  themselves  much 
trouble  on  the  order  and  disposition  of  the  Psalms  ; 
but,  as  Jerome  observes,  it  is  impertinent  to  expect 
in  the  Psalter  a  chronological  series  of  canticles, 
which  have  relation  to  certain  events  of  history,  smce 
it  is  not  the  custom  of  authors  of  lyrics  to  observe 
such  order  ;  and  indeed,  a  very  little  examination  of 
the  text  and  spirit  of  tlie  Psalms  will  convince  us, 
that  those  who  made  the  collection  had  simply  in 
view  to  preserve  these  canticles  as  they  found  them, 
with  a  i-eligious  and  exact  scrupulosity,  without  either 
retrenching  what  had  been  already  repeated,  or  sup- 
plying what  might  seem  deficient,  or  connecting 
what  had  been  separated,  or  separating  what  had 
been  improperly  joined. 

The  authority  and  inspiration  of  the  book  of  Psalms 
have  always  been  acknowledged  by  both  Jews  cr.d 
Christians. 

One  thing,  however,  creates  a  difficulty  with  miaiy 
persons  of  piety  ;  namely,  that  in  the  Psalms  we 
sometimes  find  what  seem  to  be  imprecations  against 
the  wicked,  and  the  enemies  of  the  prophet.  The 
fathers  and  interpreters,  however,  commonly  explain 
these  passages  as  jiredictions  of  their  calamities  ;  as 
if  it  were  said,  that  they  should  certainly  perish,  if 
they  continued  in  their  disorderly  courses  ;  or  let 
them  perish,  if  they  will  not  be  converted.  Chrysos- 
tom  says,  in  these  passages  the  psalmist  does  not  so 
much  deliver  his  own  sentiments,  as  those  of  others. 

According  to  the  titles  of  the  Psalms — which,  how- 
ever, are  not  to  be  implicitly  relied  upon,  several  of 
them  having  been  added  by  transcribers  and  others 
— seventy-two  bear  the  name  of  David ;  fifty  are 
without  the  name  of  their  aulhoi*. 

Psalms  inscribed  to  the  sons  of  Korah,  are  from 
xlii.  to  xlix.  also  Ixxxiv.  to  Ixxxviii. 

Inscribed  to  Solomon,  Ixxii.  and  cxxvil. 

Imputed  to  Ethan,  Ixxxix. 

To  Jeduthun,  Ixxvii. 

To  Moses,  xc. 

To  Asaph,  I.  and  Ixxiii.  to  Ixxxiii. 

Ascribed  in  the  Septuagint  and  Vulgate  to 
Adam,  xci. 

To  Melchizedec,  cix. 

To  Jeremiah  and  Ezekiel,  Ixiv. 

To  Jeremiah,  cxxxvi.  which  is  also  ascribed  to 
David. 

To  Haggai  and  Zechariah,  cxi.  and  cxlv. 

[The  book  of  Psalms  is  the  poetical  antholo^  of 
the  Hebrew  nation,  containing  productions  of  differ- 
ent authors  in  different  ages.  The  Hebrew  name  is 
">SnP,  fe/ii'/Z/m,  praises;  which  is  not  altogether  ap- 
propriate, because  many  of  the  psalms  arc  rather 
elegiac  ;  but  this  name  was  probably  given,  because 
hymns  in  praise  of  God  constitute  the  greater  part 
of  the  book.  Most  of  the  psalms  have  the  superscrip- 
tion -ncir,  mizmor,  a  poem,  song.  This  word  is  rendered 
in  the  Septuagint  by  t^a^- I'o?,  psalmus,  i.e.  a  song 
sung  to  music,  a  Jyric  poem.  The  Greek  y.'ce::T,'(iior, 
psallcrion,  means  a  strinfred  instrument ;  hence  by  a 
metaphor  the  book  of  Psalms  is  called  Psalter.  (For 
the  poetical  characteristics  of  the  Psalms,  see  the  ar- 
ticle Poetry,  p.  75L)  Our  attention  will  here  be 
principally  directed  to  their  arrangement  and  classi- 
fication, and  to  the  inscriptions,  the  authors,  and  th» 
'eneral  characteristics  of  the  Psalms. 


PSALMS 


[  769  ] 


PSALMS 


Classification. — Some  writers,  as  Aiigusti,  have 
classified  the  Psahiis  according  to  their  {esthetic  or 
prosodic  cliaracter,  into  odes,  elegies,  etc.  The 
method  of  De  Wette  is  preferable,  who  divides  them 
according  to  their  contents.  In  this  way  we  may 
make  six  classes.  (Compare  De  Wette's  Commentar, 
Einl.§i.) 

L  Hymns  in  praise  of  Jehovah  ;  Tehillim  in  tlie 
proper  sense.  These  are  directed  to  Jeliovah  from 
various  motives  and  views  ;  c.  g.  as  the  God  of  all  na- 
ture, and  the  Creator  of  the  universe,  Ps.  viii.  civ. ; 
as  tlie  Protector  aird  Patron  of  Israel,  Ps.  xix.  xxix. 
xxxiii. ;  or  of  individuals,  witli  tlianksgiving  for  de- 
liverance from  evils,  Ps.  xviii.  xxx.  xlvi.  xlvii.  ;  while 
others  refer  to  the  more  special  attributes  of  .Jeliovaii, 
Ps.  xc.  cxxxix.  These  psalms  express  thouglits  of 
the  highest  sublimity  in  respect  to  God,  nature,  etc. 

II.  Temple  Hymns;  sung  at  the  consecration  of 
the  temple,  the  entrance  of  the  ark,  etc.  or  intended 
for  the  temple  service,  Ps,  xxiv.  cxxxii.  So  a\so pil- 
grim songs,  sung  by  those  who  came  up  to  worshij) 
in  the  temple,  etc.  e.  g.  the  so  called  Songs  of  Degrees, 
Ps.  cxxii.  si'q.     i^ec  Degrees. 

III.  Religious  and  moral  songs  of  a  general  char- 
acter ;  containing  the  poetical  expression  of  emotions 
and  feelings, and  therefore su&;'ec/ii;e  ;  e.g.  confidence 
in  God,  Ps.  xxiii.  Ixii.  cxxv. ;  devotedness  to  God, 
Ps.  xvi.  ;  longing  for  the  worship  of  the  temple,  Ps. 
xlii.  xliii. ;  prayers  for  the  forgiveness  of  sin',  Ps.  li. 
etc. — So  also  didactic  songs;  the  poetical  expression 
of  some  truth,  maxim,  etc.  Ps.  i.  xxxiv.  cxxviii. — xv. 
xx.xii.  1.  etc.     This  is  a  numerous  class. 

IV^.  Elegiac  Psalms,  i.e.  lamentations,  psalms  of 
complaint ;  generally  united  with  prayer  for  help. 
This  class  has  several  subdivisions,  viz. 

(1.)  The  lamentations  of  particular  individuals, 
Ps.  vii.  xvii.  xxii.  lii.  Iv.  Ivi.  &c. 

(2.)  National  lamentations ;  where  the  poet  la- 
ments over  the  circumstances  of  the  nation,  mostly 
in  a  religious  view.  Most  of  these  psalms  are  of  a 
late  date  ;  and  none  of  them  are  from  David  ;  Ps. 
xliv,  Lxxx,  cxxxvii,  etc.  Some  are  both  individual 
and  national,  Ps.  Ixxvii.  cii, 

(3.)  These  sufferings  of  the  nation  and  of  individ- 
uals inspire  a  melancholy  view  of  life  in  general ; 
hence  many  psalms  are  general  complaints  against  a 
wicked  world,  Ps.  xii.  xiv.  xxxvi. 

(4.)  Psalms,  the  authors  of  which  attempt  to  reply 
to  the  complaining  views  of  the  preceding  class,  and 
satisfy  them  of  the  goodness  of  God,  etc.  Ps,  Ixiii. 
Ixxiii,  So  the  Book  of  Job.  This  whole  class  com- 
prises aI)out  one  third  of  the  whole  number  of 
Psalms. 

V.  Odes  to  kings,  patriotic  hymns,  etc.  Ps.  xlv. 
Ixii. — xxi.  ex. — XX.  etc, 

V'l.  Historical  Psalms,  in  which  the  ancient  history 
of  the  Israelites  is  repeated  in  a  hortatory  manner, 
Ps.  Ixxviii.  ex.  cvi.  cxiv. 

The  pro|)hetic  psalms  are  here  distributed  among 
these  various  classes.  Perhaps  they  might  with  more 
propriety  constitute  another  ss^paratc  class. 

Inscriptions. — With  the  exception  of  twenty-five 
psalms, — hence  called  orphan  psalms, — all  the  rest 
have  inscri|)tions  of  various  kinds,  and  often  very 
difficult  of  interpretation.  They  refer  to  the  differ- 
ent kinds  of  song,  the  melody  or  rhythm,  the  instru- 
mental accompauiment,  the  choir  who  shall  ]jerform, 
etc.  These  are  mostly  very  obscure;  because  the 
music  and  musical  instruments  of  the  Hebrews  are 
almost  wholly  unknown  to  us.  Of  more  particular 
importance  are  those  inscriptions,  which  profess  to 
97 


designate  the  author  or  historical  occasion  of  many 
of  the  psalms.  The  genuineness  of  these  has  been 
much  contested  in  modern  times  ;  the  principal  ar- 
guments on  both  sides  are  the  following,  viz. 

For  the  genuineness  of  the  inscriptions  it  is  said : 
(1.)  That  it  is  the  custom  of  oriental  poets  to  prefix 
their  names  to  their  various  poems ;  so  the  Arabians. 
This  is  no  doubt  true  in  a  sense  ;  but  then,  the  man- 
ner of  doing  this  is  different  from  that  of  the  Psalms; 
Arabic  poems  commence  with  "The  poet  saitli,"  &c. 
— (2.)  The  inscriptions  are  found  in  the  Septuagint. 
But  this  merely  ])roves  that  they  are  as  old  as  the 
Sejjtuagint,  i.  e.  about  330  years  before  Christ.  (See 
(4.)  in  the  next  paragraph.) 

Jigainst  the  genuineness  of  the  inscriptions,  or  at 
least  of  many  of  them,  it  is  said  :  (1.)  That  many  of 
them  are  in  direct  contradiction  Avith  the  contents  of 
the  psalms  to  which  they  are  prefixed,  and  therefore 
cannot  have  proceeded  from  the  author  ;  as  e.  g. 
when  those  are  ascribed  to  David,  which  have  refer- 
ence to  the  exile  ;  as  Ps.  xiv.  7  ;  li.  18  ;  Ixix.  36  ;  or 
when  a  psalm  ascribed  to  David  exhibits  Chaldee 
words  and  forms,  as  Ps.  cxxxix.  David's  style  was 
pure. — (2.)  Others  do  not  well  accord  with  the  con- 
tents and  occasion  of  the  Psalms  ;  as  Ps.  1.  lii.  liv. 
Ivi.  Ivii.  lix. — (3.)  In  several  instances  it  can  be  shown 
how  the  error,  whi('h  lies  at  the  bottom,  arose.  Thus 
in  Ps.  cxxvii.  which  is  ascribed  to  Solomon,  the  first 
verse  speaks  of  a  building,  which  was  assumed  to  be 
the  tcmjile ;  hence  the  transition  was  easy  to  Solo- 
mon as  the  author.  Psalm  xxx.  is  said  to  be  for  the 
"dedication  of  the  house  of  David  ;"  which  has  arisen 
out  of  the  7th  verse. — (4.)  The  Septuagint  has  many 
more  inscriptions  than  the  Hebrew  text.  Hence  it 
follows,  that  as  the  collectors  or  translators  of  the 
Psalms  certainly  affixed  some  inscriptions  according 
to  their  own  conjectures,  so  they  may  probably  have 
prefixed  others,  if  not  all,  in  the  same  manner.  Thus 
the  Septuagint  and  Vulgate  ascribe  some  psalms  to 
Adam,  Melchisedek,  Jeremiah,  Ezekiel,  Haggai, 
Zechariab,  &c.     (See  the  list  given  above,  p.  768.) 

The  residt  of  the  whole  is,  that  many  of  the  inscrip- 
tions cannot  well  be  genuine  ;  and  therefore  the 
others  become  suspicious.  We  cannot  rt7_;/ upon  any 
one,  when  it  does  not  accord  with  the  contents  of  the 
psalm.  They  are  probably  conjectural  assumptions 
of  the  later  collectors,  possessors,  etc.  of  tlie  book  of 
Psalms;  perhaps  mostly  out  of  the  exile,  or  not  long 
after  it.  On  these  grounds,  our  English  translators 
have  very  properly  se]iarated  the  inscriptions  from 
the  body  of  the  Psalms ;  (in  the  Hebrew  they  are 
united  with  them  ;)  and  given  them  merely  as  inscrip- 
tions. 

Authors  and  Age  of  the  Psalms. — Most  of  those 
psalms  which  are  assigned  to  an  author,  are  ascribed 
to  David  and  to  his  contemporaries,  chiefly  Levites 
and  singers  out  of  David's  scliool.  Psalm  xc.  is  at- 
tributeci  to  Moses.  To  David  are  assigned  seventy- 
one  i)salms  in  the  Hebrew,  and  in  the  Se])tuagint 
eleven  more;  of  these  many  cannot  be  his.  The 
character  of  David's  ])salms  is  g-nerally  elegiac  and 
expressive  of  a  soft  and  pensive  melancholy  ;  but  he 
is  also,  on  various  occasions,  sublime  ;  as  in  Ps.  xviii. 
xxix.  &c. — Twelve  are  ascribed  to  Asaph  ;  eleven  to 
the  sons  of  Korah  ;  two  to  Solomon  ;  and  one  to  each 
of  the  singers  Ileman  and  Ethan.  (Ixxxviii.  Ixxxix.) 
Those  which  are  anonymous  or  pseudonyuKMis,  (e.  g. 
xiv,)  are  jirobably  all  later  than  David  ;  and  are  imi- 
tations of  his  style  and  manner.  The  rabbins  have 
the  custom  to  reckon  all  anonymous  psalms  to  that 
author  who  has  been  last  named  ;  thus  Ps,  xci, — c. 


PSALMS 


[  /70  ] 


PSALMS 


which  are  orphan  Psalms,  they  assign  to  Moses,  be- 
cause he  is  named  as  tlie  author  of  Ps.  xc.  whicli 
next  precedes  these.  Many  of  these  later  j)salnis  are 
probably  from  pious,  persecuted  prophets  and  others 
in  the  time  of  the  kings ;  some  from  the  exile,  and 
others  later  still,  containing  recollections  of  the  exile  ; 
(compare  Ps.  cxxiii.  cxxiv.  cxxvi.  cxxxvii.)  Later 
than  about  this  period,  none  would  seem  to  have  been 
written  ;  though  some  interpreters  have,  as  they 
thought,  found  traces  of  the  Maccabean  age  in  the 
book  of  Psalms. 

The  language  of  the  Psalms  in  the  Hebrew  is  very 
pure  ;  and  exhibits  the  characteristics  of  the  best  ages 
of  the  Hebrew  literature.  Still  there  is  a  perceptible 
difference  between  the  earlier  and  later  i)salms;  in 
the  former,  the  language  is  harsher  and  more  difficult ; 
as  is  the  case  also  in  the  older  Latin  writers,  Ennius 
and  Plautus  ; — in  the  latter,  the  language  is  more  easy 
and  flowing.  The  same  difference  is  perceptible  in 
the  earlier  and  later  prophets.  In  the  later  i)salms 
there  are  also,  here  and  there,  Chaldaisms.  They 
resemble  most,  in  this  respect,  the  books  of  Job, 
Proverbs,  Isaiah,  etc. 

Arrangemenl. — The  whole  collection  of  the  Psalms 
appears  to  have  first  existed  in  Jive  books  ;  after  the 
example,  perhaps,  of  the  Pentateuch.  Each  book 
closes  with  a  doxology. 

Book     I.     comprises     Psalms        i. — xli. 
'•      11.  "  "         xlii.— Ixxii. 

"    in.  "  "      Lxxiii.— Ixxxix. 

"     IV.  "  «  xc— cvi. 

"    .  V.  «  "         cvii.— cl. 

Theorigincd  collection  would  seem  to  havecompris- 
ed  Psalms  i. — Ixxii. (Seethe  subscription,  Ps.  Ixxii.  20.) 
As  to  arrangement,  there  seems,  in  jiart,  to  have  been 
a  plan  ;  and  in  part  it  is  accidental.  (L)  Psahns  of  the 
same  author  are  placed  together  ;  though  other  psalms 
of  the  same  autiiors  also  stand  separately.  So  also 
psahns  of  similar  contents  are  sometimes  together, 
and  sometimes  separate.  Thus  Ps.  iii. — xli.  are  all 
ascribed  to  David  ;  Ps.  xlii.— xlix.  are  songs  of  the 
Korahites ;  Ps.  lxxiii. — Ixxxiii.  all  belong  to  Asaph. 
But  there  are  other  psalms  of  all  these  authors. 
(2.)  One  psalm  occurs  twice,  Ps.  xiv.  comp.  Ps.  liii. 
Some  occur  as  })arts  of  other  psahm.,  o.  g.  Ps.  Ixx. 
forms  also  a  part  of  Ps.  xl.  So  also  some  jisalms  arc 
repeated  from  other  books  of  Scripture ;  thus  Ps. 
xviii.  is  th(!  same  with  2  Sam.  xxii.  A  few  psalms 
are  compiled  by  bringing  together  versus  out  of  other 
psalms  and  jwems, — a  sort  of  cento  ;  e.g.  Ps.  cxiiv. 
All  these  general  api>earances  are  best  explained  l)y 
the  hypothesis  of  a  gradual  origin  of  the  whole  book 
out  of  particular  collections,  each  smaller  collection 
preserving  its  own  arrangement.  Thus,  if  we  suppose 
Ps.  i. — Ixxii.  to  have  been  the  principal  collection, 
then  the  other  three  books  may  have  been  collected 
at  different  times,  and  appended  to  it.  The  time  of 
tlieso  collections  cannot  be  determined.  It  would 
seem,  however,  to  liave  been  not  before  the  exile ; 
since  the  first  book  contains  psalms  ai)parcntlv  of 
that  date. 

The  Septuagint  and  Vulgate  differ  from  the  He- 
brew ni  the  division  and  enumeration  of  the  Psalms. 
They  unite  Ps.  ix.  and  x.  of  the  Hebrew  into  one,  as 
Ps.  IX  ;  hence  tlio  numbering  of  the  Sei)tuairint  and 
Vulgate,  from  Ps.  ix.  onward,  is  one  behind  the  He- 
brew. In  like  manner  they  unite  Ps.  cxiv.  and  cxv. 
into  one,  as  Ps.  cxiii ;  but  also  divide  Ps.  cxvi.  into 
two,  as  Ps.  cxiv.  and  cxv.  Again  tlicy  divide  Ps. 
cxlvii.  into  two,  as  Ps.  cxlvi.and  cxivii.  ;  so  that  from 
Pti.  cxiviii.  inclusive,  their  enumeration  is  the  same 


with  that  of  the  Hebrew.  The  English,  and  most 
other  modern  versions  follow  the  Hebrew ;  and 
indeed  some  editions  of  the  Septuagint,  as  that  of 
Mill,  have  also  been  acconnnodated  to  the  Hebrew. 
The  above  difference  should  be  borne  in  mind  in  ex- 
amining references  to  the  Psalms,  made  by  Catholic 
writers. 

The  character  and  value  of  the  Psalms,  so  far  as 
they  contain  the  expression  of  religious  and  moral 
affections,  are,  perhaps,  higher  than  those  of  any  other 
book  of  the  Old  Testament.  They  exhibit  the 
sublimest  conceptions  of  God,  as  the  Creator,  Pre- 
server and  Governor  oftJie  imiverse;  to  say  nothing 
of  the  prophetical  character  of  many  of  them,  and  their 
relation  to  the  Messiah,  anil  the  great  plan  of  man's 
redemption.  They  present  us,  too,  with  the  most 
perfect  models  of  cijild-like  resignation  and  devoted- 
ness,  of  unwavering  faith,  and  confidence  in  God. 
Luther,  in  his  itreface  to  the  Psalter,  has  the  follow- 
ing beautiful  language :  "  Where  canst  thou  find 
nobler  words  of  joy,  than  in  the  Psalms  of  praise  and 
thanksgiving?  There  thou  mayst  look  into  the  hearts 
of  all  good  men,  as  into  beautiful  and  pleasant  gar- 
dens ;  yea,  as  into  heaven  itself.  How  do  grateful 
and  fine  and  charming  blossoms  spring  up  there, 
from  every  kind  of  pleasing  and  rejoicing  thoughts 
towards  God  and  his  goodness! — Again,  where  canst 
thou  find  more  deep  or  mournful  words  of  sorrow, 
than  m  the  Psalms  of  lamentation  and  wo  ?  There 
thou  mayst  look  again  into  the  hearts  of  all  good 
inen,  as  upon  death,  yea,  as  if  into  hell.  How  dark 
and  gloomy  is  it  there,  from  anxious  and  troubled 
views  of  the  wrath  of  God ! — 1  hold,  however,  that 
no  better  or  finer  book  of  models,  or  legends  of 
saints  and  martyrs,  has  existed,  or  can  exist  on  earth, 
than  the  Psalter.  For  we  find  here,  not  alone  what 
one  or  two  saints  have  done,  but  what  the  Head  of 
all  saints  has  done,  and  what  all  holy  men  still  do; 
in  what  attitude  they  stand  towards  God,  and  towards 
their  friends  and  enemies ;  and  how  they  conduct 
themselves  in  all  dangers  and  sufferings.  And  be- 
sides this,  all  sorts  of  divine  doctrines  and  precepts 
are  contained  in  it. — Hence  it  is,  that  tlie  Psalter  is 
THE  EOOK  of  all  good  men  ;  and  every  one,  whatever 
his  circumstances  may  be,  finds  in  it  psalms  and 
words  suited  to  his  circumstances,  and  which  are  to 
him  just  as  if  they  had  been  p>U  there  on  his 
very  account ;  and  in  such  a  way,  that  iie  him- 
self could  not  have  made  or  found  or  wished  for 
better."     *R. 

Psalms  of  Degrees  is  a  name  given  to  fifteen 
psalms,  from  cxx.  to  cxxxiv.  In  the  Hebrew,  it  is  A 
song  of  tflscents  ;  in  the  Chaldee,  A  song  that  ivas  sung 
upon  the  steps  of  the  abyss.  This  ex])lication  is 
founded  on  a  tradition  of  the  Hebrews,  which  relates 
that,  when  they  were  laying  the  foundations  of  the 
temple,  at  the  return  from  the  caj)tivity,  tlieie  came 
out  of  the  earth  a  yn'odigioiis  (piantity  of  water,  to  the 
height  of  fiflecn  cubits  ;  and  would  have  drowned  the 
whole  world,  if  Achitophel — the  famous  Achitophel 
who  hanged  himself  in  the  time  of  David,  about  five 
hundred  years  before — hail  not  stojipcd  its  progress, 
by  writing  the  ineffable  name  of  Jehovah  on  the  fifteen 
steps  of  the  temple!  To  the  same  event  they  refer 
Psalm  cxxx.  But  whence  have  these  Psalms  this 
denomination  ?  Sonieintrrpreters  think  it  is  because 
they  were  sung  on  the  steps  of  the  temi)le ;  others 
translate  the  Hebrew  by  Psalms  of  Elevation  ;  because 
(they  say)  they  were  sung  with  an  exalted  voice,  or 
because  at  every  ])salm  the  voice  was  raised.  Calmet 
however,  refers  tiieni  to  tho  asccut  of  Israel  from  the 


PUB 


[771  ] 


PUR 


captivity  of  Babylon  ;  remarking  that  Scripture  com- 
monly applies  the  phrase,  to  ascend,  to  express  this 
return.  Thus  Cyrus,  in  his  proclamation,  (Ezrai.  3, 
5;  ii.  2;  vii.  5, G.)  says,  "Who  is  among  you  of  all 
his  people  ?  His  God  be  with  him,  and  let  him  go  up 
to  Jerusalem."  And  a  good  number  of  persons  pre- 
sented themselves  to  go  up,  says  Ezra,  i.  11 ;  ii.  1. 
Sheshhazzar  iraM^/i<  up — with  them  of  the  captivity, 
that  were  brought  ujj  from  Babylon  to  Jerusalem. 
"Now  these  are  the  children  of  the  province,  that 
went  up  out  of  the  captivity,"  Ezra  vii.  6,  7, 9.  "  This 
Ezra  went  up  from  Babylon.  And  there  went  uj) 
BOJnc  of  the  children  of  Israel.  For  on  the  first  day 
of  the  first  month,  was  the  beginning  of  the  going  up 
from  Babylon."  In  Psalm  c.xxii.  which  is  one  of  the 
Psalms  of  Degrees,  it  is  said,  "wliither  the  tribes  go 
up  "  (to  Jerusalem).  And  Jeremiai),  (xxvii.  22.)  fore- 
telling the  return  from  the  captivity,  says,  "  Then  will 
I  bring  them  up,  and  restore  them  to  this  place." 
Ezekiel  (xxxix.  2.)  expresses  himself  in  the  same 
maimer.  These  expressions,  showing  that  the  He- 
brews used  the  term  to  go  np,  when  they  spoke  of 
their  journeying  from  Babylon  to  Jerusalem,  Calinet 
thinks  it  is  very  natural  to  call  those  Psalms  of  Ascent 
which  were  composed  on  occasion  of  liieir  deliver- 
ance from  the  captivity  of  Babylon ;  whether  to  ini- 
|)lore  this  deliverance  from  God,  or  to  return  thanks 
for  it  after  it  had  taken  place.  It  is  certain  that  they 
have  all  some  relation  to  this  great  event.  They  men- 
tion it  in  several  places ;  and  the  greater  part  of  them 
cannot  be  otherwise  explained. 

[The  above  is  the  opinion  of  Calmet.  Other  more 
probable  ones  see  under  the  article  Degrees.     R. 

PTOLE3IAiS,  see  Accho. 

PTOLEMY,  the  name  of  all  the  kings  of  Egypt, 
fi'om  Ptolemy,  son  of  Lagus,  to  the  conquest  of  Egypt 
by  the  Romans  ;  that  is,  from  A.  M.  3t)31  to  3974  ;  or 
fiom  the  death  of  Alexander  to  the  death  of  Cleopatra, 
spouse  of  Mark  Antony.     See  Egypt. 

PUBLICAN,  an  ofticer  of  the  revenue,  employed 
in  collecting  taxes.  Among  the  Romans  there  were 
two  sorts  of  tax  receivers:  some  were  general  re- 
ceivers, who  in  each  province  had  deputies,  who  col- 
lected the  revenues  of  the  empire,  and  accounted  to 
the  emperor.  These  were  men  of  great  consideration 
in  the  government;  and  Cicero  says,  that  among 
these  were  the  flower  of  the  Roman  knights,  the  or- 
nament of  the  city,  and  the  strength  of  the  common- 
wealth. But  the  deputies,  the  under-farmers,  the 
commissioners,  the  publicans  of  the  lower  order, 
were  looked  upon  as  so  many  thieves  and  pickpock- 
ets. Theocritus  being  asked.  Which  was  the  most 
cruel  of  all  beasts,  answered,  "Among  the  beasts  of 
the  wilderness,  the  bear  and  the  lion  ;  among  the 
beasts  of  the  city,  the  publican  and  tlie  parasite." 
Among  the  JeW'S,  also,  the  name  and  profession  of  a 
publican  was  excessively  odious.  They  could  not, 
without  the  utmost  reluctance,  see  publicans  exacting 
tributes  and  impositions  laid  on  them  l)y  foreigners — 
the  Romans.  The  Galileans,  or  Herodians,  the  dis- 
ciples of  Judas  the  G'aulonite,  especially  submitted 
to  this  with  the  greatest  impatience,  and  thought  it 
even  \mlawful.  Those  of  their  own  nation  who  lui- 
dertook  this  oflice,they  looked  upon  as  heathen.  (See 
Matt,  xviii.  17.)  It  is  even  said,  they  would  not  allow 
them  to  enter  the  temple,  or  the  synagogues  :  to  par- 
take of  the  i)ublic  prayers,  or  offices  of  judicature  ; 
'or  to  give  testimony  in  a  court  of  justice. 

There  were  many  publicans  in  Judea  in  the  time 
of  our  Saviour ;  Zacclieus,  probably,  was  one  of  the 
principal  receivers,  since  he  is  called  "  chief  among 


the  publicans;"  (Luke  xix.2.)  but  INIatthewwas  only 
an  inferior  publican,  Luke  v.  27.  The  Jew^  re- 
l)roached  Jesus  w  ith  being  a  "  friend  of  publicans  and 
sinners,  anfl  eating  with  them,"  Luke  vii.  34.  And 
our  Saviour  told  the  Jews,  (Matt.  xxi.  31.)  that  harlots 
and  publicans  should  be  preferred  before  them  in  the 
kingdom  of  heaven.  In  the  parable  of  the  publican  and 
Pharisee,  who  prayed  at  the  same  lime  in  the  temple, 
we  see  with  wliat  humility  his  condition  inspired  the 
publican,  Luke  xviii.  10."  He  keeps  alar  off,  and 
probably  dared  not  so  much  as  enter  the  court  of  the 
peoj)le.  Zacclieus  assured  our  Saviour,  who  had 
done  lam  the  honor  to  visit  his  house,  tliat  he  was 
ready  to  give  half  of  his  goods  to  the  poor,  and  to  re- 
turn fourfold  whatever  he  had  unjustly  acquired, 
(Luke  xix.  8.)  in  conformity  with  the  Roman  laws, 
which  required,  that  when  any  farmer  was  convicted 
of  extortion,  he  should  render  four  times  the  value  of 
what  he  had  extorted. 

PUBLIUS,  a  wealthy  inhabitant  of  Malta,  when 
Paul  was  shipwrecked  on  that  island,  A.  D.  60,  Acts 
xxviii.  7 — 9.  Piiblius  received  the  apostle  and  his 
company  into  his  house  very  kindly,  and  entertained 
them  three  days  with  great  humanity.  In  acknowl- 
edgment, Paul  restored  to  health  the  father  of  Pub- 
lius,  who  was  ill  of  a  fever  and  bloody  flux.  It  is 
said,  that  not  only  Publius  and  his  father,  but  the 
whole  island  also,  was  converted  to  the  Christian 
faith. 

PUDENS,  mentioned  by  Paul,  (2  Tim.  iv.  21.)  is 
thought  by  the  ancients  to  have  been  a  Roman  sena- 
tor, converted  by  Peter.  But  there  is  reason  to  think 
they  confound  liim  with  another  Pudens,  a  senator, 
said  to  be  father  of  Praxedus  and  Prudentiana,  in 
the  time  of  pope  Pius,  above  a  hundred  years  after- 
wards. The  Greeks  put  him  in  the  list  of  "the  seventy 
disciples,  and  say,  that  after  the  death  of  Paul,  he  was 
beheaded  by  Nero.  Some  think  that  Claudia,  men- 
tioned by  Paul  after  Pudens,  was  his  wife. 

I.  PUL,  king  of  Assyria,  (2  Kings  xv.  19.)  came 
into  the  laud  of  Israel  in  the  tune  of  Menahem,  to 
assist  him,  and  confirm  him  in  tiie  kingdom,  Hos.  v, 
13.  The  king  of  Israel  gave  him  a  thousand  talents 
of  silver,  and  Pul  continued  in  the  country  till  it  was 
paid.  He  is  the  fii-st  king  of  Assyria  mentioned  in 
Scripture.     See  Assyria,  p.  113. 

II.  PUL,  a  people  and  district  of  Africa,  supposed 
by  Bochart  to  be  the  island  Phila?,  in  the  Nile,  not 
far  from  Sycne,  (Isa.  Ixvi.  19.)  on  which  are  remains 
and  ruins  of  verj'  noble  and  extensive  temples,  built 
by  the  ancient  Egyptians.  Its  Egyptian  name  was 
Pilak;.  whence  the  Greek  name,  and  probably  the 
Hebrew,  is  derived. 

PULSE,  all  those  grains  or  seeds  which  grow  in 
pods,  as  beans,  jieas,  &c.  The  ancient  Hebrews 
used  parched  chick-peas  as  a  common  provision 
when  liiey  took  the  field,  2  Sam.  xvii.  28. 

PUNOiV,  or  Phlwon,  a  station  of  the  Hebrews  in 
the  wilderness,  (Numb,  xxxiii.  42,  43.)  called  Phaeno, 
Pliaino,  and  Metallo-phtenon,  because  of  its  mines  of 
metals.  Eusebius  says,  it  was  between  Petra  and 
Zoar.  Athanasius  says,  these  mines  of  Phanos  were 
so  dangerous,  that  murderers,  condemned  to  work 
there,  lived  bu*  a  few  days.  We  find  bishops  of 
Phenos  in  the  subscriptions  of  the  councils. 

PUR,  or  PuRi.M,  that  is,  lots,  is  a  solemn  feast  of 
the  Jews,  on  tRe  J4th  and  15th  of  the  month  Adar, 
instituted  in  memory  of  the  lots  cast  by  Hainan,  the 
enemy  of  the  Jews,  (Esth.  iii.  7.)  for  the  execution  of 
his  design  to  destroy  all  the  Jews  of  Persia,  but 
which  issued  in  causing  his  own  ruin,  and  the  pres- 


PUR 


[772] 


P  YT 


ervation  of  the  Jews,  who  had  time  to  avert  the 
blow,  by  means  of  Esther.  See  Esther,  Haman,  and 
3I0RDECA1. 

This  feast,  as  the  Jews  observe  it,  has  much  resem- 
blance to  the  ancient  Bacchanalia  of  the  pagans. 
Pleasures,  diversions  and  excess  make,  as  it  were, 
the  very  essence  of  it.  The  spirit  of  revenge  which 
animated  the  Jews  of  Shushan  against  their  enemies 
has  passed  undiminished  to  their  posterity,  who 
abandon  themselves  to  it  without  measure  and  without 
bounds.  They  allow  the  drinking  of  wine  to  excess, 
because  they  say  it  was  by  making  king  Ahasuerus 
drink  that  Esther  procured  the  deliverance  of  the 
Jews.  They  compel  all  to  be  present  at  the  syna- 
gogue, man,  woman,  child  and  servant,  because  all 
shared  in  the  deliverance,  as  all  were  exposed  to  the 
danger. 

PURIFICATIONS  were  of  many  kinds  among 
the  Hebrews,  according  to  the  several  kinds  of  im- 
purities contracted.  See  Baptism,  Leprosy,  Dead, 
Nazarites,  &c. 

PURITY,  see  Holy. 

PURPLE.  It  is  related  that  the  fine  purple  color 
was  discovered  by  Hercules  Tyrius,  whose  dog  having 
by  chance  eaten  a  shell-fish  called  murex,  or  purpura, 
and  returning  to  his  master  with  his  lips  tinged  with 
a  purple  color,  occasioned  the  discovery  of  this  ore- 


cious  dye.  Purple,  however,  is  much  more  ancient 
than  the  Tyrian  Hercules,  since  we  find  it  mentioned 
by  Moses  in  several  places.  It  comes  from  the  sea- 
muscle,  no^(fiQa purpura,  and  isof  reddish  orcriinson 
purple  hue,  Heb.  jcjin.  There  was  another  species 
of  bluish  purple,  or  purple  blue,  made  from  a  species 
of  snail,  conchylium,  helix  ianthina,  of  Linnseus,  Heb. 
-nS^n.  This  word  is  usually  rendered  in  the  English 
Bible  by  blue.  Moses  used  much  wool  of  this  crim- 
son purple  color  in  the  work  of  the  tabernacle,  and 
in  the  ornaments  of  the  high-priest.  It  was  the  color 
used  by  princes  and  great  men,  by  way  of  distinction, 
Judg.  viii.  26 ;  Luke  xvi.  19 ;  Dan.  v.  7.  We  see  by 
Jeremiah  and  Baruch,  that  the  Babylonians  clothed 
their  idols  in  habits  of  a  purple  and  azure  color,  Jer. 
X.  9  ;  Baruch  vi.  12,  71. 

PUTEOLI,  the  wells  ;  now  Pozzuoli,  a  city  in  the 
Campania  of  Naples,  on  the  northern  side  of  the  bay, 
eight  miles  north-west  from  that  city.  It  was  a  colony. 
Here  Paul  abode  seven  days,  Acts  xxviii.  13. 

PYGARG,  Sept.  77 (Vc)'"'-  ivhite-rump.  This  is 
properly  the  name  of  a  species  of  eagle,  (see  Rees' 
Cyclop.)  but  is  applied  in  Deut.  xiv.  5,  to  a  quadruped, 
apparently  a  species  of  gazelle  or  antelope,  Heb.  pi:>n. 
So  the  Syriac  version  and  Targums.  Both  the  Arabic 
versions  give  it  by  a  species  of  mountain  goat.  See 
Ajvtelope.     *R. 


a 


QUAIL 


auE 


QUAIL.  There  has  been  a  difference  of  opinion 
among  learned  men  with  respect  to  what  creature  is 
intended  by  the  Hebrew  selaiiim,  which  we  render 
quails,  Exod.  xvi.  13,  &c.  Our  English  translators 
are  supported  by  the  Septuagint,  Josephus,  Philo, 
ApoUinarius,  and  the  rabbins,  among  the  ancients ; 
and  by  Bochart,  Hasselquist,  Shaw,  Harmer,  Gese- 
nius,  Rosenmiiller,  and  the  majority  of  commentators 
among  the  moderns.  On  the  other  hand,  the  learn- 
ed Ludolph  insists  these  selavim  were  locusts,  in 
which  he  has  been  followed  by  Scheuchzer,  bishop 
Patrick,  Niebuhr  and  others.  To  institute  an  inquiry 
into  the  respective  claims  of  these  conflicting  opinions, 
would  occupy  more  space  than  we  can  approjjriate 
to  the  subject.  The  arguments  which  have  been  ad- 
duced in  favor  of  the  bird,  we  believe  to  have  a 
decided  advantage  over  those  on  the  other  side,  inde- 
pendent of  the  testimony  of  the  psalmist,  which  we 
think  should  be  regarded  as  conclusive.  Describing 
the  merciful  interposition  of  God  in  behalf  of  his 
chosen  people,  during  the  time  that  they  were  wander- 
ing in  the  great  desert,  this  sacred  writer  refers  in  un- 
equivocal language  to  the  miraculous  supply  of  the 
selavim,  which  he  denominates  feathered  fowls,  6ph 
canaph,  a  term  never  applied  to  insects.  "He  caused  an 
east  wind  to  l)low  in  the  heaven  ;  and  l)y  his  power  he 
brought  on  tlie  south  wind  ;  he  rained  flesh  also  upon 
them  as  dust,  and  feathered  fowls  like  tiie  sand  of 
the  sea;  and  let  fall  in  the  midst 'of  their  camp, 
and  round  about  their  habitations."  Ps.  Ixxviii. 
2G— 28. 

The  oriental  quail  is  a  bird  of  jiassagc,  and  about 
the  size  of  a  turtle-dove,  Hasselquist  states  that  it  is 
plentiful  near  the  shores  of  the  Dead  sea  and  the  Jor- 
dan, and  in  the  deserts  of  Arabia  ;  and  Diodorus 
affirms  that  it  is  caught  in  innnense  numbers  about 


Rhinocolura  ;  countries  through  which  the  Israelites 
passed  in  their  way  to  the  Promised  Land. 

On  two  occasions  the  demands  of  the  murmuring 
Hebrews  were  supplied  with  quails  ;  and,  on  each 
occasion,  the  event  is  distinctly  referred  to  the  mi- 
raculous interposition  of  God,  Exod.  xvi.  12,  13; 
Numb.  xi.  31.  On  the  former  occasion,  the  birds 
were  scattered  about  the  camp  only  for  a  single  day  ; 
but  on  the  latter,  they  came  up  from  the  sea  for  the 
space  of  an  entire  month.  The  great  numbers  of  the 
selamm  which  are  said  to  have  been  provided  for  the 
people,  has  been  regarded  as  almost  incredible  ;  but 
without  sufficient  reason,  as  may  be  shown,  without 
resorting  to  the  siqiposition  that  they  were  created 
for  this  express  occasion.  Varro  asserts  that  turtles 
and  quails  return  from  their  migrations  into  Italy  in 
immense  numbers;  and  Solinus adds, that  when  they 
come  within  sight  of  land,  they  rush  forward  in  large 
bodies,  and  with  so  great  imjjetuosity,  as  often  to  en- 
danger the  safety  of  navigators,  by  oversetting  the 
vessels.  Hence  it  appears  that  this  part  of  the  narra- 
tive is  perfectly  credible  ;  and  that  the  miracle  con- 
sisted in  these  immense  flocks  being  directed  to  a 
particular  spot,  in  the  extreme  emergency  of  the 
people,  by  means  of  "a  wind  from  the  Lord,"  Numb, 
xi.  .31.  % 

QUARREL,  a  brawl  or  contest.  Solomon  com- 
pares him  who  meddles  with  the  quarrels  of  people 
unknown,  to  one  who  takes  a  dog  by  the  ears,  and  so 
rashly  exj)Oses  himself  to  be  bitten.  This  is  gener- 
ally the  case  ;  but  it  should  not  be  concluded  from 
hence,  that  we  ought  never  to  try  to  reconcile  neigh- 
bors. It  nuist  be  attempted,  however,  with  much 
prudence,  caution  and  ciiarity,  for  fear  of  increasing 
the  evil  we  undertake  to  appease. 

QUEEN,  a  king's  wife.     This  is  the  general  ac- 


QUE 


[7^3] 


QUEEN 


ceptation  of  the  term  queen ;  but  it  seems  to  be  used 
by  the  orientals  in  another  sense,  and  corresponds  to 
the  official  title  of  "  king's  mother."  A  knowledge 
of  this  circumstance  will  remove  several  discrepancies 
in  the  historical  books  of  the  Old  Testament,  which 
have  greatly  perplexed  the  commentatoi-s.  See  the 
article  King's  Mother. 

QUEEN  OF  HEAVEN,  a  name  which  the  He- 
brew idolaters  gave  to  the  moon.  Jeremiah  (vii.  17. 
&c.)  says,  "  The  children  gather  wood,  and  the  fathers 
kindle  the  fire,  and  the  women  knead  their  dough,  to 
make  cakes  to  the  queen  of  heaven."  And  chap.  xliv. 
16 — 18,  the  disobedient  Israelites  say  to  the  same 
prophet,  "We  will  certainly  do  whatsoever  thing 
goeth  out  of  our  own  mouth,  to  burn  incense  unto  the 


queen  of  heaven.  For  since  we  left  off  to  bum  in- 
cense to  the  queen  of  heaven,  and  to  pour  out  drink- 
offerings  unto  her,  we  have  wanted  all  thinsrs,  and 
have  been  consumed  by  the  sword  and  by  famine." 
Calmet  thinks  it  to  be  the  Meni  of  Isa.  Ixv.  11,  who 
was  worshipped  as  the  moon,  Astarte,  Trivia,  Hecate. 
Diana,  the  heavenly  Venus,  and  Isis,  according  to 
different  superstitions.  They  placed  altars  to  her  on 
the  platforms  or  the  roofs  of  their  houses,  at  the  cor- 
ners of  the  streets,  near  their  doors,  and  in  groves. 
They  offered  her  cakes  kneaded  with  oil  or  honey, 
and  made  libations  to  her,  with  wine  and  other 
liquors.  The  rabbins  think  they  printed  on  these 
cakes  the  resemblance  of  a  star  or  half-moon.  See 
Idolatry. 


R 


RAB 


RA 


RAAMAH,  the  fourth  son  of  Cush,  who  peopled 
a  coimtry  of  Arabia,  whence  were  brought  to  Tyre 
spices,  precious  stones  and  gold.  Tliis  country  is 
thought  to  have  been  in  Arabia  Felix,  at  the  entrance 
of  the  Persian  gulf.  Gen.  x.  7  ;  Ezek.  xxvii.  22.  The 
Sept.  in  Genesis  have  Regina  ;  according  to  Ptolemy, 
a  city  on  the  Persian  gulf. 

RAAMSES,  or  Ramesses,  a  city  built  by  the  He- 
brews, during  their  servitude  in  Egypt,  and  which 
probably  took  its  name  from  a  king  of  Egypt,  Gen 
xlvii.  11 ;  Exod.  i.  11.  It  was  situated  in  the  land  of 
Goshen  ;  and  appeai-s  to  have  been  the  capital  of  that 
country.  It  was  most  probably  the  same  with  Hero- 
opohs,  situated  on  the  great  canal  between  the  Nile 
and  Suez,  where  are  now  the  loiins  of  Aboukeyshid. 
See  in  Exodus,  p.  400. 

RAB,  Rabbi,  Rabbin,  Rabban,  or  Rabbam  ;  a 
name  of  dignity  among  the  Hebrews,  given  to  mas- 
ters and  doctors,  to  chiefs  of  classes,  and  to  the  prin- 
cipal officers  in  the  court  of  a  prince  :  e.  g.  Nebuzar- 
adan,  general  of  the  army  of  king  Nebuchadnezzar, 
is  always  called  Rah  Tabachhn,  master  of  the  execu- 
tioners, or  guards,  2  Kings  xxv.  8,  20,  d  passim  ;  Jer. 
xxxix.  9,  10,  et  passim.  Esther  (i.  8.)  says,  that 
Ahasuerus  appointed  a  Rab  of  ftis  court  over  every 
table  of  his  guests,  to  take  care  that  nothing  should 
be  wanting.  Daniel  (i.  8.)  speaks  of  Ashpenaz,  the 
Rab  Sarisim,  that  is,  Rab  of  the  eunuchs  of  Nebu- 
chadnezzar, and  of  the  Rah  of  the  Saganim,  or  chief 
of  the  governors,  or  peers,  cliap.  ii.  48.  This  prophet 
was  himself  preferred  to  be  chief  interj)retcr  of 
dreams,  or  Rab  of  the  Chaiiumim,  Dan.  v.  11.  It 
appears  that  the  title  came  originally  from  the  Chal- 
dees  ;  for  before  the  captivity,  when  mention  is  made 
of  Judea,  we  find  it  used  only  in  reference  to  the 
officers  of  the  king  of  Babylon. 

Rab,  or  Rahban,  properly  signifies  master,  or  one 
who  excels  in  any  thing ;  Rabbi,  or  Rabbani,  is  my 
master.  Rabbin  is  the  plural.  Thus  Rab  is  of  greater 
dignity  than  Rabbi.  There  were  several  gradations 
among  the  Jews  before  the  dignity  of  Rabbi,  as 
among  us  before  the  degree  of  doctor.  The  head  of 
a  school  was  called  Hacham,  or  wise  ;  he  who  aspired 
to  the  doctorship  had  the  name  of  Barhur,  or  Elou; 
and  he  frequented  the  school  of  the  Hacham.  When 
further  advanced  he  had  the  title  of  Chabar  of  the 
Rab,  or  master's  companion,  and  when  perfectly 
skilled  m  the  knowledge  of  the  law  and  traditions. 


he  was  called  only  Rab,  or  Rabin,  and  Moreno,  our 
master.  There  seems  to  be  an  allusion  to  soipething 
of  this  sort  in  Matt.  x.  24  ;  Luke  vi.  40 :  "  The  disciple 
is  not  above  his  master ;  but  it  is  enough  for  the  fin- 
ished disciple  to  be  as  his  master,"  or  to  be  his  mas- 
ter's companion. 

The  Hacham  Rab,  or  master  Rabbi,  decided  differ- 
ences, determined  tilings  allowed  or  forbidden,  and 
judged  in  religious  and  even  in  civil  controversies. 
He  celebrated  marriages,  and  declared  divorces.  He 
preached,  if  he  had  a  talent  for  it ;  and  was  head  of 
the  academies.  He  had  the  first  seat  in  the  assem- 
blies, and  in  the  synagogues.  He  reprmianded  the 
disobedient,  and  could  even  excommunicate  them. 
In  the  schools  they  sat  on  raised  chairs,  and  their 
scholai-s  were  seated  at  their  feet.  Hence  (Acts  xxii. 
3.)  Paul  is  said  to  have  studied  at  the  feet  of  Rabbi 
Gamaliel.  Philo  affirms  that  among  the  Essenes,  the 
children  sat  in  the  schools  at  the  feet  of  their  masters. 
Ambrosiaster,  on  the  First  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians, 
observes,  that  in  their  schools  the  Rabbins  sat  in 
their  chairs,  the  most  advanced  of  their  scholars  sat 
by  them  on  benches,  and  the  juniors  sat  on  the 
ground  on  mats.  Hence  the  Jews  are  used  to  say  to 
riieir  children,  by  way  of  proverb,  "  Roll  yourselves 
in  tlie  dust  of  your  master's  feet ;"  instead  of  saying. 
Frequent  their  schools  diligently,  and  sit  down  at 
their  feet.  Our  Saviour  upbraids  the  Rabbins  and 
masters  of  Israel  with  vanity,  and  eagerness  to  occupy 
the  fii-st  places  at  feasts,  and  the  head  seats  in  the  syn- 
agogues ;  also,  with  their  being  saluted  in  the  streets, 
and  desiring  to  be  called  Rabbi,  my  master. 

The  studies  of  the  Rabbins  are  either  the  text  of 
the  law,  or  the  traditions,  or  the  Cabala  ;  these  three 
objects  form  so  many  different  sorts  of  Rabbins. 
Those  who  chiefly  npply  to  the  letter  of  Scripture, 
are  called  Caraites,  i.  e.  Literalists.  Those  who  chief- 
ly study  the  traditions  and  oral  laws  of  the  Talmud, 
are  called  Rabbinists.  Those  who  give  themselves  to 
their  secret  and  mysterious  divinity,  letters  and  num- 
bei-s,  arc  called  Cabalists,  i.  e.  Traditionaries. 

RABBATH,  or  Rabbat-Ammox,  or  Rabbath  of 
THE  children  OF  Ammon,  aflcrwai'ds  called  Phila- 
delphia, by  Ptolemy  Philadelphus,  the  capital  of  the 
Annnonitfs,  was  siniatie  in  the  mountains  of  Gilead, 
near  the  source  of  the  Anion,  beyond  Jordan.  It  was 
famous  even  in  the  time  of  Moses,  Dent.  iii.  11. 
When  David  declared  war  against  the  Ammonites, 


R  AC 


[  774 


RACE 


his  general,  Joab,  laid  siege  to  Rabbath-Ammon, 
whei*e  the  brave  Uriah  lost  his  life  by  a  secret  order 
of  his  prince ;  when  the  city  was  reduced  to  the  last 
extremity,  David  himself  went  thither,  that  he  might 
have  the  honor  of  taking  it.  From  this  time  it  be- 
came subject  to  the  kings  of  Judah  ;  but  the  kings 
of  Israel  subsequently  became  masters  of  it,  with  the 
tribes  beyond  Jordan.  Towards  the  conclusion  of 
the  kingdom  of  Israel,  Tiglath-i)ileser  having  taken 
away  a  great  part  of  the  Israelites,  the  Ammonites 
were  guilty  of  many  cruelties  against  those  who  re- 
mained ;  for  which  the  prophets  Jeremiah  and  Ezc- 
kiel  pronounced  very  severe  prophecies  against 
Rabbath,  their  capital,  and  against  the  rest  of  the 
country,  which  probably  had  their  completion  five 
years  after  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem.  Antiochus 
the  Great  took  the  city  about  A.  M.  3786.  It  is  now 
called  Amman,  and  is  about  15  miles  S.  E.  of  Szaet. 
Burckhardt  found  three  extensive  rums,  which  he  has 
described.     (Trav.  in  Sj^ria,  etc.  p.  357.) 

RABBATH-MOAB,  see  Ar. 

RABBI,  see  Rab,  and  Doctor. 

RABBITH,  a  city  of  Issachar,  Josh.  xix.  20. 

RABBONI,  a  diminutive  from  Rabbi,  (John  xx. 
16.)  or  mil  master.     See  Rab. 

RAB-MAG,  a  general  officer  of  Nebuchadnez- 
zar's ai-my,  at  the  taking  of  Jeixisalem,  Jer.  xxxix.  3. 
A.  M.  3416.  It  means  more  probably  chief  of  the 
jnagi,  a  dignitary  who  had  accompanied  the  king  of 
Babylon  in  his  campaign. 

RAB-SARIS,  or  Rab-sares,  an  officer  sent  with 
Rab-shakeh  and  Tartan,  to  summg^n  Hezekiah,  9 
Kings  xviii.  17 ;  Jer.  xxxix.  3.  It  signifies  the  chief 
of  the  eunuchs. 

RAB-SHAKEH,  or  Rae-saces,  that  is,  the  chief 
butler  or  cup-hearer,  was  an  officer  sent  by  Sennache- 
rib, king  of  Assyria,  to  summon  Hezekiah  to  surrender 
to  his  troops,  which  he  did,  in  a  very  haughty  and 
insolent  manner,  telling  him,  in  Hebrew,  that  he 
ought  not  to  put  confidence,  either  in  the  king  of 
Egypt,  or  in  the  Lord,  who  had  ordered  Senna- 
cherib to  march  against  Judea,  2  Kings  xviii.  17. 
After  this  Rab-shakeh  returned  to  his  master,  who 
had  quitted  the  siege  of  Lachish  to  meet  the  king  of 
Egypt,  then  coming  to  assist  Hezekiah.  But  in  this 
march  the  destroying  angel  slew  185,000  of  llie  anny 
of  Sennacherib ;  and  he  was  obliged  to  hasten  back 
to  Nineveh,  where  he  was  slain  by  his  own  sons, 
Isa.  xxxvii.  36,  &c. ;  2  Kings  xix.  35 — 37.  See  Sen- 
nacherib, 

RACA,  a  word  derived  from  the  root  pn,  rik,  vain, 
trlfing,  witless,  brainless ;  otherwise,  beggarly,  ivorth- 
less.  It  is  thus  translated  by  the  Vulgate,  in  Judg, 
XL  3.  in  the  English,  i'«i?i  vien.  The  word  includes 
a  strong  idea  of  contemj)!.  Christ  says,  (Matt.  v.  22.) 
whoever  shall  say  to  his  brother,  Raca,  shall  be  con- 
demned by  the  council,  or  Sanhedrim.  Lightfoot 
assures  us,  that  in  the  Jewish  books,  the  word  Raca 
is  a  term  of  the  utmost  contempt;  and  that  it  used  to 
be  pronounced  with  certain  gestures  of  indignation, 
as  spitting,  turning  away  the  head,  &c, 

RACE,  RUNNING,  The  numerous  allusions  in 
the  writings  of  Paul  to  the  races  and  games  estab- 
lished in  Greece,  re(|uire  some  acquaintance  with 
the  nature  and  laws  of  those  institutions,  to  render 
such  passages  intelligible.  It  may  therefore  be 
proper  to  adduce  a  few  remarks  concerning  them. 

The  apostle  says,  (1  Cor.  ix.  24.|  "Know  ye  not 
that  they  who  run  in  a  race,  mn  all,  but  one  (only) 
receiveth  the  prize  ?  so  run  that  ye  may  obtain. 
And   every   one   who   striveth    is   temperate,"   &c. 


Also  2  Tim,  ii,  5,  "If  a  man  strive  for  masteries,  yet 
is  he  not  crowned  except  he  strive  lawfully."  (See 
also  Heb,  xii,  1  ;  Gal,  v,  7,  &c,) 

"  Such  as  obtained  victories  in  any  of  these  games, 
especially  the  Olympic,  were  universally  honored, 
nay,  almost  adored.  At  their  return  home  they  rode 
in  a  triumphal  chariot  into  the  city,  the  walls  being 
broken  down  to  give  them  entrance  ;  which  was 
done  (as  Plutarch  is  of  opinion)  to  signify,  that  walls 
are  of  small  use  to  a  city  that  is  inhabited  by  men 
of  courage  and  ability  to  defend  it.  At  Sparta  they 
had  an  honorable  post  in  the  ai'my,  being  stationed 
near  the  king's  pei"sou.  At  some  towns  they  had 
presents  made  to  them  by  their  native  city,  were 
honored  with  the  first  place  at  shows  and  games, 
and  ever  after  maintained  at  the  public  charge. 
Cicero  reports,  that  a  victory  in  the  Olympic  games 
was  not  much  less  honorable  than  a  triumph  at 
Rome,  Happy  was  that  man  esteemed,  who  could 
but  obtain  a  single  victory  ;  if  any  person  merited 
repeated  rewards,  he  was  thought  to  have  attained 
the  utmost  felicity  of  which  human  nature  is  capa- 
ble ;  but  if  he  came  oft' conquei'or  in  all  the  exercises, 
he  was  elevated  above  the  condition  of  men,  and  his 
actions  styled  wonderful  victories!  Nor  did  their 
honors  terminate  in  themselves,  but  were  extended 
to  all  about  them ;  the  city  that  gave  them  birth  and 
education  Avas  esteemed  more  honorable  and  august : 
happy  were  their  relations,  and  thrice  happy  their 
parents.  It  is  a  remarkable  story  which  Plutarch 
relates  of  a  Spartan,  v/lio,  meeting  Diagoras,  that  had 
himself  been  crowned  in  the  Olympic  games,  and 
seen  his  sons  and  grand-children  victors,  embraced 
him,  and  said, 'Now  die,  Diagoras;  for  thou  canst 
not  be  a  god  ! '  By  the  laws  of  Solon,  a  hundred 
drachms  were  allowed  from  the  public  treasury  to 
every  Athenian  who  obtained  a  prize  in  the  Isthmian 
games  ;  and  five  hundred  drachms  to  such  as  were 
victors  in  the  Olympian,  Afterwards,  the  latter  of 
these  had  their  maintenance  in  the  Prytaneum,  or 
public  hall  of  Athens," 

The  niiTa&?.or,  Pentathlon,  or  Qidnquertium,  (five 
games,)  consisted  of  the  five  exercises  contained  in 
this  verse : 

^■i/.uu,  nuiu>Xit>ir,  diay.oi ,  uxoiTa,  7tu/.ijy, 

leaping,  runniyjg,  throtving,  darting,  wrestling. 

Instead  of  rfariiHg-,  some  mention  boxing;  others 
speak  of  exercises  different  from  those  mentioned. 
For  Pentathlon  seems  to  have  been  a  common  name 
for  any  five  sorts  of  exercise  performed  at  the  same 
time.  In  all  of  them  there  were  some  customs  that 
deserve  our  observation,  Dromos,  Jquiioc,  the  exer- 
cise of  rimjnng-,  was  in  great  esteem  among  the  an- 
cient Grecians,  insomuch,  that  such  as  prepared 
themselves  for  it,  thought  it  worth  their  while  to  use 
means  to  burn  or  ])arch  their  s})lecn,  because  it  was 
believed  to  be  a  hindcrance  to  them,  and  retard  them 
in  their  course.  Homer  tells  us,  that  swiftness  is 
one  of  the  most  excellent  endowments  a  man  can  be 
blessed  withal : — 

No  greater  honor  e'er  has  been  attained. 

Than  what  strong  hands,  or  nimble  feet,  have  gained. 

Indeed,  all  those  exercises  that  conduced  to  fit  men 
for  war,  were  more  especially  valued.  Swiftness 
was  looked  ui)on  as  an  excellent  qualification  in  a 
warrior,  both  because  it  serves  for  a  sudden  assault 
and  onset,  and  likewise  for  a  nimble  retreat  •    and 


RAC 


[  775  ] 


RACHEL 


therefore  it  is  not  to  be  wondered  at,  that  the  constant 
character  which  Homer  gives  of  Achilles  is,  that  he 
was  swift  of  foot ;  and  in  the  Holy  Scripture,  David, 
in  his  poetical  lamentation  over  those  two  great  cap- 
tains, Saul  and  Jonathan,  takes  particular  notice  of 
this  warlike  quality  of  theirs :  "They  were  swifter 
than  eagles,  stronger  than  lions,"  2  Sam.  i.  23. 

Those  persons  who  designed  to  contend  m  these 
games  were  obliged  to  repair  to  the  public  gymna- 
sium, at  Elis,  ten  months  before  the  solemnity,  where 
they  jirepared  themselves  by  continual  exercises.  No 
man  who  hatl  omitted  to  present  himself  in  this  man- 
ner was  allowed  to  contend  for  any  of  the  prizes; 
nor  were  the  accustomed  rewards  of  \  ictory  given  to 
such  persons,  if  by  any  means  they  inti-oduced  them- 
selves, and  overcame  their  antagonists.  No  person 
who  was  himself  a  notorious  criminal,  or  nearly 
related  to  any  such,  was  permitted  to  contend ;  and 
further,  if  any  person  were  convicted  of  bribing  his 
adversary,  a  severe  fine  was  laid  upon  him.  Nor 
were  these  precautions  alone  thought  a  sufficient 
guard  against  evil  an<l  dishonorable  contracts  and  un- 
just practices,  but  the  contenders  were  obliged  to 
swear,  that  they  had  spent  ten  \vhoIe  months  in  pre- 
paratory exercises  ;  and  both  they,  their  fathers  and 
brethren,  took  a  solemn  oath,  that  they  would  not,  by 
any  sinister  or  unlawful  means,  endeavor  to  stop  the 
fair  and  just  proceedings  of  the  games.  (Potter's  Antiq. 
Grsec.) 

The  rewards  given  in  these  games  have  been  thus 
rendered  into  English  by  Addison,  fi-om  the  Greek  : — ■ 

Greece,  in  four  games  thy  martial  youth  were  trained. 
For  heroes  two,  and  two  for  gods  ordained  ; 
Jove  bade  the  olive  round  his  victor  wave  ; 
Phoebus  to  his  an  apple-garland  gave  ; 
The  pine  Palsemon ;  nor  with  less  renown, 
Archemorus  conferred  the  parsley  crown. 

(Anc.  Med.  Dial.  2.) 

Compare  with  these  fafling  vegetable  cro^vns  that 
immortal  life  which  the  gospel  oflfers  as  a  prize  to 
the  victor ;  in  order  to  understand  the  apostle's  com- 
parison, 1  Cor.  ix.  25 ;  1  Pet.  v.  4. 

RACHAL,  a  city  of  Judah,  to  which  David  sent 
some  of  the  spoil  taken  from  those  enemies  wIjo  had 
plundered  Ziklag,  1  Sam.  xxx.  29. 

RACHEL,  a  daughter  of  Laban,  and  sister  of  Leah, 
was  married  to  Jacob,  by  whom  she  had  Joseph  and 
Benjamin.  She  died  in  childbirth  with  the  latter^^ 
whom  she  named  Ben-oni,  son  of  mj  pain  ;  but  Jacob 
named  him  Benjamin,  or  (he  son  of  nvj  right  hand. 
See  Jacob. 

The  prophet  Jeremiah,  (xxxi.  1.5.)  and  after  him. 
Matthew,  (ii.  IS.yiiave,  as  it  were,  revived  Rachel,  in 
the  tribes  of  Ephraim  and  Manasseh,  descended  from 
Joseph,  son  of  R.achel.  "In  Rama  (or,  on  the  liigh- 
places)  was  there  a  voice  heard,  lamentation  and 
weeping,  and  great  mourning,  Rachel  weeping  for 
her  children,  and  would  not  be  comforted,  because 
they  are  not."  This  was  fulfilled,  when  these  tribes 
were  carried  into  cajitivity  beyond  the  Euphrates  ; 
but  Matthew  has  accommodated  the  words  to  the 
lamentations  of  the  mothers  iifliethlehem,  when  Herod 
slew  their  children.  Then  Rachel,  who  was  buried 
there,  might  be  said  to  renew  her  cries  and  lamenta- 
tions for  the  death  of  so  many  infant  innocents,  sac- 
rificed to  his  jealousy  and  cruelty ! 

It  may  be  well  to  notice  the  objection  which  Mr, 
Levi  and  others  have  m-ged  against  this  application 
of  the  prophet's  language.     It  is  said  tiat  the  lamen- 


tation of  Rachel,  referring  only  to  the  carrying  away 
of  captives  to  Babylon,  and  being  connected  with  a 
promise  of  their  return,  is  not  of  that  description  to 
justify  such  an  application  of  it.  The  passage  stand* 
thus,  Jer.  xxxi.  15  : — 

Thus  saith  the  Lord  ; 
A  \oice  was  heard  m  Ramab, 
Lamentation  and  bitter  ^veeping  ; 
Rachel  weeping  for  her  children. 
Refused  to  be  comforted,  because  they  wor«  not. 

Thus  saith  the  Lord ; 
Refrain  thy  voice  from  weeping. 
And  thine  eyes  from  teai-s: 

For  thy  Avork  shall  be  rewarded,  saith  the  Lord : 
And  they  shall  come  again  from  tlie  land  of  the 

enemy. 
And  there  is  hope  in  thine  end,  saith  the  Lord, 
That  thy  children  shall  come  again  to  their  own 

border. 

This  passage  certainly  closes  with  hopeful  and 
grateful  ideas ;  so  far,  therefore,  as  the  prophet  apos- 
trophizes the  tender  mother  of  the  tribes  of  Joseph 
and  Benjamin,  he  addresses  consolation  to  her :  not 
so  the  evangelist ;  whose  metaphorical  Rachel  de- 
plores her  children  hopelessly  cut  oW,  and  departed 
for  ever.  To  remove  this  seeming  discrepancy, 
Mr.  Taylor  oflers  the  following  remarks,  on  the 
authority  of  Le  Brnyn — (1.)  that  it  is  customary 
for  mothers  in  the  East  to  seek  the  graves  of  their 
deceased  children,  in  order  to  weep  over  them; 
meaning  to  infer,  that  this  being  a  custom  in  the 
East  at  present,  it  was  the  same  anciently ;  so  that,  in 
point  of  lamentation,  any  mourning  mother  might 
have  answered  the  allusion  of  the  evangelist  as  Ra- 
chel :  (2.)  that  it  is  proljable  high  places  or  hills,  a 
little  way  out  of  the  towns,  were  usually  the  scenes 
of  such  lamentations,  anciently ;  as  we  find  by  sev- 
eral passages  in  the  Old  Testament ;  and  that  such 
weepings  are  now  maintained  in  the  same  places ; 
the  same  customs,  for  the  most  part,  prevailing  in 
modern  as  in  ancient  times :  (3.)  that  the  word  Ra- 
mah  signifies  high  places  in  general ;  and  that  any 
high  place,  the  usual  scene  of  such  maternal  lamen- 
tation, would  have  answered  the  evangelist's  purpose 
in  reference  to  mourning  mothers:  (4.)  that  Rachel 
was  buried  at,  or  near,  Ramah,  (Gen.  xxxv.  9  ;  xlvii. 
7;  1  Sam.  x.  2.)  where  the  Israelites  were  assembled 
to  be  carried  into  captivity;  (Jer.  xl.  1.)  (5.)  that  the 
same  custom  of  women's  weeping  for  their  children 
was  probably  m;untaiued  in  the  evangelist's  time  at 
Ramah  near  Bethlehem,  as  Le  Brnyn  found  at  Ra- 
mah near  Lydda  ;  and  that  Ramah  being  a  high 
place  fit  for  the  purpose,  and  such  high  places  being 
selected  as  scenes  of  maternal  lamentation. 

From  these  considerations  it  will  follow,  that  there 
is  nothing  forced  or  constrained  in  the  reference  of 
Mat4licw,  to  a  moiu-ning  of  mothers  over  their  chil- 
dren, and  refusing  to  be  comforted  ;  since  such  was, 
as  it  still  is,  the  custom  of  the  vicinity.  The  allusion 
to  this  custom  would  be  still  more  conspicuous,  if  it 
were,  as  no  doubt  it  was,  maintained  at  Rachel's  Ra- 
mah ;  and  the  apostrophe  to  Rachel  would  be  still 
more  impressive,  if  those  mournings  were  exhibited 
in  an  open  and  high  place,  or  spot  of  ground,  adja- 
cent to  her  tomb,  or  the  memorial  of  it.  To  call 
such  mournings,  mournings  of  Rachel,  (not  to  say 
that  this  name  might  actually  be  given  to  them,  by 
the  pco|)]e,  in  the  days  of  Matthew,  who,  as  he  wrote 
in  the  language  of'the  country,  certainly  was  ac- 
quainted with  the  customs  of  the  country,  as  well 


RAH 


776 


RAI 


local  as  general,)  from  the  place  in  which  they  were 
performed,  can  scarcely  be  called  a  poetical  license. 

These  remarks  set  in  a  very  easy  light  the  accom- 
modation employed  by  the  evangelist ;  who,  cer- 
tainly, selects  Rachel  as  a  mother  of  the  most  affec- 
tionate character ;  and  instances  in  her,  though  long 
since  dead,  that  grief  which  living  mothers  felt,  and 
under  which  living  mothers  lamented.  This  seems 
to  justify,  also,  the  expression  of  the  evangelist, 
"  Then  was  fulfilled  the  language  of  Jeremiah  the 
prophet ;"  for  if  Rachel  lamented,  according  to  the 
usage  of  the  vicinity,  on  account  of  the  departure  of 
her  children  into  captivity ;  if,  when  they  were  not 
slain,  but  only  deported,  she  ■was,  as  it  were,  raised 
by  the  impulse  of  poesy,  out  of  her  tomb,  to  grieve, 
to  lead  with  elevated  hands,  and  plaintive  voice,  the 
lamentations  of  the  weeping  mothers;  surely  when 
her  children  were  really  slain,  she  might  well  break 
the  bonds  of  silence,  by  loud  and  bitter  cries,  ex- 
pressing those  agonies  which  rent  her  sympathetic 
bosom :  she  might  preside  over  the  sorrows,  the  pub- 
lic sorrows,  which  such  occasion  demanded,  and 
which,  after  similar  privations,  were  expected,  ac- 
cording to  established  usage.  In  short,  if  the  prophet 
had  any  right  to  raise  the  dead,  on  account  of  a  cir- 
cumstance of  temporary,  but  not  hopeless,  distress, 
the  evangelist  had  at  least  equal,  not  to  say  greater, 
right  to  employ  the  same  metaphor,  on  occasion  of  a 
slaughter,  neither  alleviated  by  hope  of  return,  nor 
by  possibility  of  future  restoration  ;  but  in  every  sense 
fatal:  a  cruel  instance  of  tyrannical  jealousy,  and  of 
vindictive  anticipation.  This  was  a  fulfilment  of  the 
allusion  and  intent  of  Jeremiah,  much  beyond  that 
marked  by  the  prophet  himself;  it  was  a  deeper 
completion  of  his  words  ;  a  more  entire  termination 
of  his  sentiment,  founded,  like  his,  on  local  custom, 
and,  like  his,  supported  by  the  dailj^  occurrences  of 
time  and  place,  and  by  the  general  manners  of  the 
readers  for  whom  his  narration  was  intended. 

To  conclude,  we  are  justified  by  the  evidence  ad- 
duced, in  assuming  that  the  mothers  of  the  infants 
slaughtered  at  Bethlehem  did  subsequently,  and  cer- 
tainly, visit  their  tombs,  and  lament  with  loud  ex- 
clamations over  the  remains  of  their  tenderly  beloved 
offspring.  Admitting  this,  where  is  the  incongruity 
of  imagining,  that  the  mother  of  the  adjacent  tribe, 
though  interred  many  years  ago,  should  be  recalled 
from  that  interment,  by  the  poetical  imagination  of 
the  prophet,  to  officiate  in  the  distress  of  her  daugh- 
ters deprived  of  their  children  ?  And  if  this  be  ])er- 
mitted  to  the  prophet,  on  what  principle  shall  it  be 
refused  to  the  evangelist  ? 

It  is  impossible  to  place  any  dependence  on  the 
antiquity  of  the  tomb  now  shown  as  that  of  Rachel, 
near  Bethlehem.  It  stands  within  six  or  seven  paces 
of  the  field  of  Ephrata  ;  about  forty  paces  out  of  the 
high  road.  On  a  hill  a  little  farther  on,  to  the  right, 
are  ruins  of  a  tower  and  houses;  "They  tolcj  us," 
says  D'Arvieux,  "that  they  were  the  remains  of  the 
little  town  of  Ramah,  of  which  Jeremiah  speaks  in 
his  'Lamentations:'  and  where  Herod  caused  the 
innocent  babes  to  be  slain  ;  as  also  in  the  neighbor- 
hood." If  this  tradition  l)c  correct,  and  the  evan- 
gelist's words  incline  to  support  it,  then  the  poetical 
resuscitation  of  Rachel  has  a  closer  alliance  with  the 
facts  of  the  history  than  has  been  usually  imagined. 

RAGAU,  (Luke  iii.  35.)  the  same  with  Reu,  which 
see. 

RAGUEL,  see  Jethro.  ^i 

I.  RAHAB,  a  woman  of  Jericho,  who  receiverr 
and  concealed  the  spies  sent  by  Joshua,  Josh.  ii.  1 


She  is  called  a  harlot.  When  the  spies  had  entered 
her  house,  notice  was  given  to  the  king  of  Jericho, 
who  sent  to  her  to  produce  the  men ;  but  she  extend- 
ed to  them  the  protection  of  hospitality,  hid  them, 
and  told  the  messengers,  that  such  men  had  been  at 
her  house,  but  that  when  the  gates  of  the  city  were 
shutting,  they  went  out.  When  the  messengers  had 
returned,  Rahab  went  up  to  the  terrace,  or  roof  of 
her  house,  where  the  spies  were  concealed,  and  ob- 
tained from  them  an  oath,  that  when  the  Lord  had 
delivered  the  country  mto  their  hands,  they  would  save 
the  Uves  of  her  and  her  family.  She  then  let  them 
down  by  a  rope,  her  house  adjoining  the  walls  of  the 
city,  advising  them  to  return  by  the  mountains,  for 
fear  of  meeting  those  who  had  been  sent  in  quest  of 
them  ;  and  to  continue  on  the  mountains  three  days, 
in  which  time  the  messengers  would  return,  after 
which  they  might  proceed.  The  spies  followed  her 
counsel,  and  arrived  at  Joshua's  camp,  to  whom  they 
related  all  they  had  discovered  at  Jericho,  and  their 
promises  to  Rahab.  When  Joshua  took  the  city,  he 
sent  the  two  spies  to  the  house  of  Rahab,  to  bring  her 
and  her  family  out  safe.  Rahab  is  supposed  after- 
wards to  have  married  Salmon,  a  prince  of  Judah, 
by  whom  she  had  Boaz ;  from  whom  descended 
Obed,  Jesse  and  David.  Thus  Christ  condescended 
to  reckon  this  Canaanitish  woman  among  his  ances- 
tors.    Paul  magnifies  her  faith,  Heb.  xi.  31 . 

II.  RAHAB.  The  psalmist  speaks  of  another 
Rahab :  (Ps.  Ixxxvii.  4.)  "  I  will  make  mention  of 
Rahab  and  Babylon,  to  them  that  know  me."  Also, 
Ps.  Ixxxix.  10  :  "  Thou  hast  broken  Rahab  in  pieces." 
Isaiah  (li.  9 ;  and  xxx.  7.)  uses  the  same  word  to  de- 
note the  destruction  of  Pharaoh  and  his  army  in  the 
Red  sea.  And  Jobxxvi.  12:  "By  his  understanding 
he  smiteth  through  the  proud ;"  (Heb.  Rahab.)  It 
seems  thus  to  be  a  poetical  appellation  for  Egypt,  par- 
ticularly of  the  Delta,  which  is  still  called  Rib,  or  Rif. 
M.  D'Herbelot  says,  that  the  name  Rif  is  given  to  that 
part  of  Egjqit  which  begins  at  Cairo,  and  lies  to  the 
north,  that  is,  the  Delta.  Jerome  and  the  ancient  Greek 
interpreters  have  often  translated  Rahab  hy  pride,  or 
the  proud.  ,  But  many  have  misimderstood  the  origi- 
nal, as  referring  to  Rahab,  the  woman  of  Jericho. 

RAIN.  It  would  seem  by  several  expressions  in 
Scripture,  that  the  ancient  Hebrews  imagined  rain  to 
be  derived  from  certain  great  reservoirs  above  the 
heavens,  wliicli  Moses  calls  the  superior  waters,  in 
contradistinction  from  the  inferior  waters  of  the  sea. 
He  says,  that,  at  the  deluge,  "All  the  fountains  of  the 
great  deep  were  broken  up,  and  the  windows  of  heaven 
were  opened."  And  Hosea  affirms,  (ii.  21.)  that  in 
times  of  great  drought  the  clouds  cry  to  the  Lord, 
beseeching  him  to  permit  the  waters  which  he  keeps 
in  his  treasuries  and  repositories  to  fall  into  and  re- 
plenish them.  In  other  jilaccs  of  Scripture,  the 
clouds  are  described  as  great  bodies,  filled  with  wa- 
ters, supplied  to  them  from  the  firmament.  Even  the 
dews  are  represented  as  [)rocee(ling  from  the  supe- 
rior waters,  "  His  heavens  shall  drop  down  dew," 
Deut.  xxxiii.  28;  Job  xxxvii.  11;  xxxviii.  87  ;  Ps. 
xviii.  11  ;  2  Sam.  xxii.  12.  The  sacred  writers  often 
speak  of  the  former  rain,  and  the  latter  rain,  Deut.  xi. 
14.  (So  IIos.  vi.3.)  The  rabbins,  and  the  generality 
of  interpreters,  are  of  opinion,  that  the  former  rain, 
called  in  Hebrew  mr,  jorch,  signifies  the  rain  of  the 
autumn,  which  falls  from  the  middle  of  October  to 
the  first  of  December;  and  that  the  latter  rain,  called 
in  Hebrew  rip'^c,  malkasit,  signifies  the  rain  of  the 
spring,  which  falls  in  March  and  April.  The  Jews 
began  their  year  at  autumn,  wliich  gives  probability 


RAM 


[  777  ] 


RAV 


to  this  opinion  ;  but  Calmet  thinks  that  joreh  signifies 
the  rain  of  spring,  and  malkash  that  of  autumn.  In 
Judea  it  commonly  rained  'lut  in  two  seasons,  spring 
and  autumn.  Jore/i  is  a'  .ays  put  first,  and  malkash 
afterward.  Tlie  Scptuagint  have  taken  it  in  the 
sense  of  Calmet ;  and  Hesiod  has  expressed  the  rain 
of  the  spring  antl  autunm  in  words  of  the  same  im- 
port as  those  used  by  the  Septuagint.  He  calls 
annov  mi,iooy,  the  rahi  of  the  spring;  and  o-Tcinooi 
ou(iQof,  the  rain  of  autumn.     [Oyier.  et  Dies,  lib.  ii.) 

Moses,  describing  the  land  of  Canaan,  and  its  ad- 
vantages over  Egypt,  says,  (Deut.  xi.  10,  11.)  it  is  a 
country  of  hills  and  valleys,  watered  by  rain  from 
heaven.  Hence  it  is  that  God  promised  the  Israel- 
ites, to  send  them  rain  in  due  season,  Lev.  xxvi.  3. 
On  the  other  hand,  he  threatens  them,  if  they  depart 
from  their  fidelity  to  God,  that  he  will  send  them 
showers  of  sand  and  dust,  Deut.  xxviii.  24.  See 
Ddst. 

The  Hebrews  often  compare  wise  and  instructive 
discourse  to  rain,  Deut.  xxxii.  2  ;  Ecclus.  xxxix.  9 ; 
Job  xxix.  21. 

RA3I,  or  Battering  Ram,  a  well  known  engine 
of  war,  mentioned  in  Ezek.  iv.  2  ;  xxi.  22.  and  used 
by  Nebuchadnezzar  at  the  siege  of  Jerusalem. 

RAMAH.  This  Avord  signifies  an  eminence  ;  from 
hence  are  so  many  places  in  Palestine  named  Ramah, 
Ramath,  Ramatha,  Ramoth,  Ramathaim,  and  Rania- 
than.  Sometimes  the  same  place  is  called  by  one  or 
other  of  these  names  indiscriminately,  ail  signifying 
the  same.  Sometimes  Rama,  or  Ramoth,  is  joined  to 
another  name,  to  determine  the  place  of  such  city, 
or  eminence ;  and  it  is  sometimes  put  simply  for  a 
high  place,  and  signifies  neither  city  nor  village. 

I.  RAMAH,  a  city  of  Benjamin,  between  Gaba 
and  Bethel,  toward  the  mountains  of  Ephraim,  six 
miles  from  Jerusalem  north,  and  on  the  road  from 
Samaria  to  Jerusalem.  Baasha,  king  of  Israel,  caused 
it  to  be  fortified,  to  obstruct  the  passage  from  the 
land  of  Judah  into  that  of  Israel.  This  is  probably 
the  Ramatha,  or  Ramathaim-zophim,  of  the  prophet 
Samuel,  1  Sam.  i.  1,  19  ;  ii.  11,  &c.  (See  RaxMathaim.) 
It  was  on  tlie  frontiers  of  Ephraim  and  Benjamin  ; 
and  frontier  cities  were  often  inhabited  by  both  tribes. 
It  is  also  very  probable,  that  Jeremiah  speaks  of  this 
Ramah,  (chap,  xl.)  when  he  says,  Nebuzaradan,  who 
commanded  the  Chaldean  army,  having  found  him. 
among  the  captives  at  Ramah,  whither  they  had 
been  all  brought,  set  him  at  liberty.  Of  the  same 
place  he  explains  the  prophecy  (chap.  xxxi.  15 — 17.) 
in  which  the  Lord  comforts  Rachel,  on  account  of 
the  taking  her  children  of  Ephraim  and  Maiiasseh 
into  captivity.     See  Rachel. 

II.  RA^L\H,  a  city  in  mount  Ephraim,  the  birth- 
place of  Samuel;  probably  identical  with  the  Ramah 
of  Benjamin.  (See  Roseimiiiller's  Bibl.  Geogr.  II.  ii. 
p.  186,  and  also  the  preceding  article.) 

III.  RA]\IAH,  a  city  about  thirty  miles  north-west 
of  Jerusalem,  on  the  road  to  Joppa.  M.  le  Bruyn 
describes  the  fine  reservoirs  of  water  to  be  seen  here, 
and  many  otiior  marks  of  antiquity.  He  says  it  is 
but  four  leagues  from  Jaffa,  or  Joppa,  and  stands  in 
a  plain  and  even  country  :  he  also  says,  that  Lydda 
is  on  one  side,  and  about  three  miles  from  Rama. 
(See  Arimathea.)  Eusebius  and  some  others  seem 
to  have  thought  that  this  city  is  the  Ramath  of  Sam- 
uel, or  Ramathaim-zophim,  of  the  mountains  of 
Ephraim.     But  this  opinion  cannot  be  supj)ortcd. 

RAjMATHAIM,   the   two    Ramathas ;    probably, 
because  the  city  was  divided  into  two  parts.     It  was 
also  called  Zophim,  because  of  a  family  of  Levites 
98 


dwelling  there,  who  were  descended  fi^-om  Zoph.     It 
was  probably  the  same  with  Ramah  I.  and  II. 

RAMATH-LEHI,  or  Ramath-lechi,  the  height 
of  the  jaw-bone,  or  the  cast  of  the  jaw-bone,  the  name 
of  the  place  where  Samson  threw  the  jaw-bone  on 
the  ground,  with  which  he  had  beaten  the  Philistines. 
Probably  this  is  the  Lehi  of  Judg.  xv.  9.     See  Lehi. 

RAMESSES,  see  Raamses. 

RAMOTH,  a  famous  city  in  the  mountains  of 
Gilead  ;  often  called  Rainoth-Gilead  ;  and  sometimes 
Ramath-mizpeh,  or  the  Watch-tower,  Josh.  xiii.  26. 
The  Vulgate  makes  it  two  cities,  Ramoth  and  Mas- 
phe.  It  belonged  to  Gad,  was  assigned  to  thc  Le- 
vites, and  became  one  of  the  cities  of  refuge  beyond 
Jordan,  Deut.  iv.  43  ;  Josh.  xx.  8 ;  xxi.  38.  It  was 
famous  during  the  reigns  of  the  later  kings  of  Israel, 
and  was  the  occasion  of  several  wars  between  these 
princes  and  the  kings  of  Damascus,  who  had  con- 
quered it,  and  fi"om  whom  the  kings  of  Israel  en- 
deavored to  regain  it,  1  Kings  xxii ;  2  Kings  viii.  28, 
29 ;  2  Chron.  xxii.  5.  Jehoram,  king  of  Judah,  was 
dangerously  wounded  at  the  siege  of  this  jjlace  ; 
Jehu,  son  of  Nimshi,  was  here  anointed  king  of  Is- 
rael, by  a  prophet  sent  by  Elisha ;  (2  Kings  ix.)  and 
Ahab  was  killed  in  battle  with  the  Syrians  before  it, 
2  Chron.  xviii.  3.  Eusebius  says,  Ramoth  was  fif- 
teen miles  from  Philadelphia,  east ;  but  Jerome 
places  it  in  the  neighborhood  of  Jabbok,  and,  con- 
sequently, north  of  Philadelphia. 

RANSOM,  a  price  paid  to  recover  a  person  or 
thing,  from  one  who  detains  that  person  or  thing  in 
captivity.  Hence  prisoners  of  war,  or  slaves,  are 
said  to  be  ransomed,  when  they  are  liberated  in  ex- 
change for  a  valuable  consideration.  Whatever  is 
substituted  or  exchanged,  in  compensation  for  the 
party,  is  his  ransom  ;  but  the  word  ransom  is  more  ex- 
tensively taken  in  Scripture.  A  man  is  said  to  ran- 
som his  life,  (Exod.  xxi.  30.)  to  substitute  a  sum  of 
money  instead  of  his  life  ;  (chap.  xxx.  12  ;  Job  xxxvi. 
18 ;  Ps.  xlix.  7.)  and  some  kinds  of  sacrifices  might 
be  regarded  as  ransoms,  that  is,  as  substitutes  for  the 
offerer.  In  like  manner,  Christ  is  said  to  give  him- 
self a  ransom  for  all;  (1  Tim.  ii.  6;  Matt.  xx.  28; 
Mark  x.  45.)  a  substitute  for  them,  bearing  sufferings 
in  their  stead,  undergoing  that  penalty  which  would 
otherwise  attach  to  them.  (See  Rom.  iii.  24  ;  vii. 
23  ;  1  Cor.  i.  30  ;  Ephes.  i.  7  ;  iv.  30  ;  Heb.  ix.  15.) 
Comp.  Redeemer. 

RAPHAEL,  one  of  the  seven  archangels  which 
stand  continually  before  the  throne  of  God,  ready  to 
perform  his  commands,  Tobit  xii.  15. 

RAPHIA,  a  fiimous  city  on  the  Mediterranean,  be- 
tween Gaza  and  Rhinocorura,  famous  for  the  victorj' 
of  Philopator,  king  of  Egypt,  over  Antiochus  the 
Great,  king  of  Syria,  3  Mac.  i.  11. 

RAVEN,  a  well-known  bird  of  prey  ;  unclean  by 
the  law,  Lev.  xi.  15.  When  Noah  sent  the  raven 
out  of  the  ark,  to  see  if  the  waters  were  withdrawing 
from  covering  the  earth,  it  did  not  return  to  him, 
Gen.  viii.  (J,  7.  When  the  prophet  Elijah  retired 
near  the  brook  Cherith,  the  Lord  fed  him  for  some 
time  by  means  of  ravens,  who  brought  him  bread 
and  flesh,  morning  and  evening,  1  Kings  xvii.  5.  See 
Elijah. 

The  blackness  of  the  raven  is  proverbial :  "  His 
locks  are  bushy  and  black  as  a  raven,"  Cant.  v.  11. 

The  wise  man  says,  (Prov.  xxx.  17.)  "The  eye 
that  mocketh  at  his  father,  and  dcspiseth  to  obey  his 
mother,  the  ravens  of  the  valley  shall  pick  it  out,  and 
the  young  eagles  shall  eat  it." 

RAVISH,  the  taking  away  of  any  thing  from 


REA 


[778  ] 


REG 


any  one  by  violence,  Prov.  xi,  24 ;  Gen.  xxxiv.  2 ; 
xxi.  21. 

RAZOR,  an  instrument  for  shaving  the  hair  from 
the  face,  head,  &c.  The  psahnist  compares  the 
tongue  of  Doeg  (Ps.  Hi.  2.)  to  a  sharp  razor,  start- 
ing aside  from  what  should  be  its  true  operation,  to 
a  bloody  purpose  and  effect.  The  prophet  threatens 
to  shave,  that  is,  to  scrape  with  violence,  to  despoil 
very  closely,  to  leave  nothing  untouched,  with  a 
hired  razor,  that  is,  by  a  person  who  will  be  paid,  a 
power  who  fights  for  plunder,  the  cities  and  prov- 
uices  of  Judah,  &c.  every  part  of  them  ;  the  hair  of 
the  head,  the  hair  of  the  beard,  and  the  hair  of  the 
feet,  Isa.  vii.  20.  (Sec  Foot.)  Shaving  was  a  sign 
of  mourning  ;  (see  Shaving  ;)  but  shaving  by  a 
stranger,  a  foreigner,  an  enemy,  was  a  sign  of  cap- 
tivity ;  and  it  probably  alludes  to  a  custom  of  the 
Jieathen  priests,  who  (at  least  those  of  Egypt,  as 
Herodotus  testifies)  shaved  themselves  eveiy  day  or 
two,  all  over,  as  well  the  body,  as  the  head  and 
l)eard.  If  this  were  also  -a  custom  among  the  Baby- 
lonians, as  is  very  credible,  then  the  application  and 
force  of  this  metaphor  is  clear. 

In  reference  to  this  "  shaving  by  a  razor  that  is 
hired,"  Mr.  Taylor  thinks  it  likely  that  there  is  an 
implication  of  contempt  as  well  as  suffering  included 
in  it,  as  the  ofiice  of  a  barber  ambulant  has  seldom 
been  esteemed  of  any  dignity,  either  in  the  East  or 
in  the  West.  That  the  allusion  is  not  unknown  at 
present  in  Asia,  appears  from  a  song,  whose  versifi- 
cation, if  none  of  the  best,  yet  was  popular,  "  being 
bawled  about  the  streets  of  Aleppo,  after  the  retreat 
of  Nadir  Shah  from  Mosul,  in  the  year  1743." 

Tahmas,  where  is  he  ?  where  is  he  ? 
An  iron  mace  between  his  shoulders ; 
May  a  razor  shave  his  beard ! 
Jlnd  a  sivord  ait  off  his  head ! 
Tahmas,  where  is  he  ?  where  is  he  ? 

(Russell's  Aleppo,  note  5.  vol.  ii.  p.  393.) 

As  Nadir  had  failed  of  his  pm*pose,  contempt  was 
likely  to  be  vented  by  his  enemies  in  this  triumphant 
ballad. 

REAPING  is  such  a  natural  employment  in  agri- 
culture, that  it  almost  glides  of  itself  into  a  metaphor- 
ical action,  at  once  expressive,  and  easily  under- 
stood. To  cut  down  corn,  to  gather  fruits,  when 
come  to  maturity ;  to  receive  the  natural  effects,  or 
consequences,  or  rewards,  of  good  or  bad  actions, 
have  many  points  of  similitude,  which  are  readily 
comprehended  by  all,  and  furnish  frequent  allusions 
in  Scripture. 

REASON  is  that  intellectual  power  by  which  we 
apprehend  and  discover  truth,  whether  contained  in 
first  principles  of  belief,  or  in  the  arguments  and 
conclusions  from  those  principles,  by  which  truth 
not  intuitive  is  investigated.  Much  has  been  writ- 
ten by  some  theologians  against  the  use  of  reason  in 
matters  of  religion  ;  but  we  apprehend  that  their  rea- 
soning has,  in  many  cases,  proceeded  on  a  false  as- 
sumption, if^  tlieology  be  considered  as  a  science, 
just  like  any  other  series  of  truths  connected  as 
principles  and  conclusions,  it  must  evidently  be  the 
work  of  reason  to  apprehend  and  connect  them.  On 
religious  as  well  as  other  subjects,  faith  can  never  go 
beyond  the  principles  on  which  reason,  in  one  way 
or  other,  more  or  less  directly,  can  judge  of  truth. 
Any  otlier  o[)inion  would  involve  the  monstrous 
proposition,  tliat  we  may,  agreeably  to  a  rational 
nr.Turo,    believo   without   a   reason  ;    a  proposiiio}). 


which  does  not  offer  greater  violence  to  our  con- 
stitution than  to  the  spirit  of  that  religion  which 
is  not  of  fear,  but  of  power,  and  love,  and  a  sound 
mind. 

The  term  reason  has  a  diversified  application  in 
the  sacred  writings.  It  signifies  that  faculty  of  the 
soul  by  which  we  apprehend  and  judge  of  truths, 
(Dan.  iv.  36.)  a  proof,  ground,  or  argument,  (1  Pet. 
iii.  15.)  the  act  of  conferring,  disputing,  or  arguing, 
(Matt.  xvi.  8.)  and  the  fitness  of  things.  Acts  vi.  2 ; 
xviii.  14. 

REBA,  Rebe,  or  Reb,  a  prince  of  the  Midianites, 
killed  in  the  war  that  Moses,  by  order  fi'om  the  Lord, 
waged  against  them  by  the  hand  of  Phinehas,  son 
of  the  high-priest  Eleazar,  for  the  punishment  of 
their  crime  in  seducing  Israel,  Numb.  xxxi.  8  ;  Josh, 
xiii.  21. 

REBEKAH,  a  daughter  of  Bethuel,  and  wife  of 
Isaac,  Gen.  xxiv,  15,  &c.  She  lived  with  her  hus- 
band twenty  years  without  having  children ;  but,  in 
answer  to  his  prayers,  she  became  pregnant  with  two 
children.  These  struggling  together  in  her  womb, 
and  giving  her  great  uneasiness,  she  consulted  the 
Lord,  who  told  her  that  two  nations  were  in  her 
womb,  and  that  the  elder  should  be  subject  to  the 
younger.  At  the  birth  of  the  children,  the  first,  be- 
ing ruddy  and  hairy,  they  named  Esau ;  the  other 
holding  in  his  hand  the  heel  of  his  brother,  they 
called  him  Jacob,  the  Heeler.  Esau  delighted  in 
hunting ;  but  Jacob  was  a  plain,  homely  man.  See 
Jacob,  Esau,  and  Isaac. 

The  conduct  of  Rebekah  in  reference  to  her  sons 
was  highly  culpable.  The  year  of  her  death  is  un- 
certain ;  but  she  certainly  died  before  Isaac,  because 
it  is  said  that  he  was  put  into  the  tomb  with  Rebekah 
his  wife  ;  which  tomb  was  the  same  with  that  in 
which  Abraham  and  Sarah  were  buried,  and  after- 
wards Jacob  and  Leah,  Gen.  xlix.  31 ;  xxxv.  29. 

I.  RECHAB  and  BAANAH,  assassins  of  Ishbo- 
sheth,  son  of  Saul,  2  Sam.  iv.  2,  seq. 

II.  RECHAB,  the  father  of  Jouadab,  and  of  the 
Rechabites.  It  is  not  known  in  what  time  this  Re- 
chab  lived,  nor  what  was  his  origin.  We  read,  in 
1  Chron.  ii.  55,  that  the  Rechabites  were  originally 
Kenites,  and  that  they  were  singers  in  the  house  of 
God.  The  Hebrew  has,  "  porters  and  the  obedient, 
that  dwell  under  tents ;  these  are  those  that  are 
called  Kenites,  who  are  descended  from  Hemath, 
chief  of  the  house  of  Rechab."  The  Kenites  de- 
scended from  Midian,  son  of  Cush,  by  Hobab,  or 
Jethro,  father-in-law  of  Moses.  They  entered  the 
Pi-omised  Land  with  the  Hebrews,  and  dwelt  in  the 
tribe  of  Judah,  about  the  Dead  sea.  They  were  dis- 
tinguished from  the  Israelites  by  their  retired  life, 
and  by  their  dislike  of  cities  and  houses.  Some  have 
thought  that  Hobab,  or  Jethro,  was  the  founder  of 
the  Rechabites  ;  that  Rechab  was  one  of  his  names ; 
that  Jonadab,  in  the  time  of  Jehu,  was  one  of  his 
posterity;  and  that  Heber  the  Kenite  followed  the 
customs  of  the  Rechabites.  Serrarius  distinguishes 
the  ancient  Rechabites,  descended  from  and  insti- 
tuted by  Jethro,  from  the  new  Rechabites  of  Jonadab, 
son  of  Rechab,  in  the  time  of  Jehu.  However  this 
may  be,  Scripture  acquaints  us,  (Jer.  xxxv.  6,  7.)  that 
Jonadab,  son  of  Rechab,  in  the  time  of  Jehu,  king  of 
Israel,  laid  an  injunction  on  his  posterity  not  to  drink 
wine,  not  to  build  houses,  not  to  plant  vineyards,  to 
have  no  lands,  and  to  dwell  in  tents  all  their  lives. 
This  they  continued  to  observe  for  above  300  years  ; 
but  in  the  last  year  of  Jehoiakim,  king  of  Judah, 
Nebuchadnezzar  coming  to   besiege  Jerusalem,  the 


RED 


779  ] 


REF 


Rechabites  were  forced  to  take  refuge  in  the  cit}', 
still,  however,  lodging  in  tents.  During  tliis  siege, 
Jeremiah  received  orders  from  the  Lord,  to  invite 
them  into  the  temple,  and  to  offer  them  wine  to  drink. 
But  they  answered,  "  We  will  drink  no  wine ;  for  so 
Jonadab  the  son  of  Rechab,  our  father,  commanded 
us,"  &.C.  Then  came  the  word  of  the  Lord  unto 
Jeremiah,  reproving  Judah,  saying,  "  The  words  of 
Jonadab,  the  son  of  Rechab,  that  he  commanded  his 
sons  not  to  drink  wine,  are  performed ;  yet  I  have 
spoken  unto  you,  rising  early  and  speaking,  but  ye 
hearkened  not  unto  me."  And  then,  directing  his 
discourse  to  the  Rechabites,  he  says,  "Because 
ye  have  obeyed  the  commandment  of  Jonadab  your 
father,  Jonadab,  the  son  of  Rechab,  shall  not 
want  a  man  to  stand  before  me  for  ever,"  Jer.  xxxv. 
2,  seq. 

The  Rechabites  were,  probably,  led  captive,  after 
the  taking  of  Jerusalem  by  the  Chaldeans ;  since  we 
read  in  the  title  of  Ps.  Ixx.  that  it  was  sung  "  by  the 
sons  of  Jonadab,  and  by  tlie  principal  captives," 
which  were  Ezekiel  and  Mordecai,  carried  away  by 
the  Chaldeans  beyond  the  Euphrates,  after  the  taking 
of  Jerusalem  under  king  Jehoiakim.  They  returned 
from  their  captivity,  and  settled  in  the  city  of  Jabez, 
beyond  Jordan  ;  as  appears  by  1  Chron.  ii.  55.  No 
further  mention  is  made  of  the  Kenites  in  the  books 
written  after  the  captivity  of  Babylon. 

Some  have  suggested  that  the  Assideans  of  the 
Maccabees,  (1  Mac.  ii.  42 ;  vii.  13 ;  2  Mac.  xiv.  6.) 
were  successors  and  followers  of  the  Rechabites. 
Othei-s  have  confounded  them  with  the  Essenes. 
But  certain  it  is,  that  the  manner  of  life  of  the  Es- 
senes, which  is  well  known,  was  very  different  from 
that  of  the  Rechabites.  The  former  had  fields,  and 
dwelt  in  houses  ;  but  had  neither  wives  nor  children  ; 
and  performed  no  religious  ceremonies  with  the 
other  Jews  at  Jerusalem  :  all  which  was  contrary  to 
the  practice  of  the  Rechabites. 

RECONCILIATION,  see  Expiation,  and 
Atonement. 

REDEEMER,  a  name  given  by  way  of  eminence 
to  Jesus  Christ,  the  Saviour  of  the  world.  In  the 
law  of  Moses,  (Lev.  xxv.  25,  47, 48.)  it  is  given  to  him 
who  has  the  right  of  redemption  in  an  inheritance, 
or  even  to  a  near  kinsman,  who  may  redeem  it  from 
a  stranger,  or  any  Jew  who  had  bought  it.  Moses 
ordained,  that  neither  estates  in  land,  nor  the  per- 
sons of  the  Hebrews,  should  be  sold  forever;  but 
that  every  one  might  resume  the  possession  of  his 
estate,  or  his  personal  liberty,  in  the  sabbatical  year, 
and  at  the  jubilee.  But  without  waiting  for  these 
years,  when  any  relation  was  rich  enough,  and  had 
power  to  redeem  the  goods  or  liberty  of  his  brother, 
the  law  enabled  him  to  do  so.  And  this  it  calls  the 
right  of  redemption  ;  giving  also  the  name  of  re- 
deemer to  the  relation  who  claimed  this  right,  Lev, 
xxv.  xxvii. 

We  see  an  instance  of  the  practice  of  this  law  in 
the  history  of  Ruth,  Ruth  ii.  20  ;  iii.  9,  &c.  Boaz, 
being  one  of  the  nearest  relations  of  Elimelech,  mar- 
ried Ruth,  the  heiress  of  Elimelech,  and  thei-eby  re- 
entered into  the  possession  of  her  estate.  Jeremiah 
redeemed  the  field  of  his  nephew  Hanameel,  which 
was  on  the  point  of  being  sold  to  another,  Jer. 
xxxii.  7,  8. 

The  same  person  was  also  called  The  Redeemer  of 
Blood,  (Eng.  tr.  The  Revenger  of  Blood,)  who  had  a 
right  to  revenge  the  blood  of  his  murdered  kinsman. 
Numb.  xxxv.  12,  19,  21  ;  Deut.  xix.  6,  12.  To  curb 
the  resentment  of  these  avengers,  or  redeemers,  God 


appointed  cities  of  refuge  throughout  Israel.  See 
Refuge,  and  First-born. 

RED  HEIFER.  The  particulai-s  relative  to  this 
sacrifice,  which  was  an  eminent  type  of  our  Saviour, 
(Heb.  ix.  14.)  will  be  found  in  Numb.  xix.  Spencer 
thinks,  that  the  ceremony  was  designed  in  opposition 
to  the  Egyptian  superstitions.  But  Mr.  Taylor  re- 
marks, that  though  the  Apis  of  Egypt  was  black,  yet 
the  Apis  of  India  is  "  red-colored  ;"  and  consequently, 
the  Hebrew  red  heifer  could  not  be  in  opposition  to 
this ;  which  is  the  original  of  the  Egyptian  super- 
stition. (See  Apis.)  The  virtue  of  purifying  from 
defilement  by  contact  with  a  dead  body,  did  not  re- 
side in  the  abundance  of  water  with  which  the  per- 
son previously  washed  himself;  but  in  the  ashes  of 
the  heifer,  however  small  their  quantity,  with  which 
he  was  baptized  by  sprinkling,  Heb.  ix.  10,  13,  14. 
It  is  no  improbable  conjecture,  that  the  dispute  be- 
tween the  disciples  of  John  and  the  Jews  about 
purifying  (John  iii.  25.)  turned  on  this  point,  "How 
could  simple  water — water  having  no  ashes  in  it — 
purify  ?"  and  the  Baptist,  in  another  place,  pleads 
the  authority  of  "him  who  sent  me  to  baptize  with 
simple  water."  As  no  heifer  can  be  burnt  under  the 
present  condition  of  the  Jews,  it  follows,  that  they 
cannot,  on  their  own  legal  principles,  be  fully  puri- 
fied from  the  defilement  communicated  by  the  dead  ; 
they  wash  their  clothes,  the  furniture  of  their  apart- 
ments, then-  rooms,  &.c.  but  the  ashes  are  still  wanting, 
for  the  purification  of  their  persons.     See  Heifer. 

RED  SEA,  see  Sea. 

REED.  Ezekiel  (xl.  3.)  and  John  (Rev.  xi.  1.)  speak 
of  a  measuring-reed ;  the  former  saying,  it  was  in  length 
six  cubits  and  a  hand-breadth  ;  or  rather,  six  cubits 
and  six  hand-breadths ;  that  is,  six  Hebrew  cubits,  each 
larger  by  a  hand-breadth  than  the  Babylonish  cubit. 

REFUGE,  cities  of.  To  provide  security  for 
those  who  should  undesignedly  kill  a  man,  the  Lord 
commanded  Moses  to  appoint  six  cities  of  refuge,  or 
Asyla,  that  whoever  should  have  thus  spilt  blood, 
might  retire  thither,  and  have  time  to  prepare  his 
defence  before  the  judges  ;  and  that  the  kinsmen  of 
the  deceased  might  not  pursue  and  kill  him,  Exod. 
xxi.  13;  Numb.  xxxv.  11,  &c.  Of  such  cities  there 
were  three  on  each  side  Jordan.  On  the  west,  were 
Kedesh  of  Naphtali,  Hebron  and  Shechem  ;  on  the 
east,  Bezer,  Golan  and  Ramoth-Gilead,  Josh.  xx.  7, 
8.  These  cities  served  not  only  for  Hebrews,  but  for 
all  strangers  Avho  resided  in  the  country,  Deut.  xix. 
1 — 8.  The  Lord  also  commanded,  that  Avhen  thft 
Hebrews  should  multiply  and  enlarge  their  land, 
they  should  add  three  other  cities  of  refuge.  As 
tliis  command  was  never  fulfilled,  the  rabbins  say, 
that  the  Messiah  will  accomplish  it. 

Maimonides,  from  the  traditions  of  the  ancients, 
assures  us,  that  all  the  fortj'-eight  cities,  appointed 
for  habitations  of  the  priests  and  Levites,  were  also 
cities  of  refuge  ;  and  that  all  the  difference  betw-een 
them  was,  that  the  six  cities  appointed  by  the  law, 
were  obliged  to  receive  and  lodge  refligees  gratis ; 
whereas  the  other  cities  might  refuse  to  admit  such 
as  fled  to  them,  and  were  not  obliged  to  lodge  them 
gratuitously.  Besides  the  cities  of  refuge,  the  tem- 
ple, and  especially  the  altar  of  burnt-offerings,  en- 
joyed the  privilege  of  an  asylum.  Those  who  took 
sanctuary  in  the  tom])le,  were  immediately  examined 
by  the  judges ;  and,  if  found  guilty  of  murder,  they 
were  forced  away,  even  from  the  altar,  and  put  to 
death  without  the  temple.  But  if  found  innocent, 
they  had  a  guard  appointed,  to  conduct  them  safely 
to  some  city  of  refuge. 


REFUGE 


[  780  ] 


REFUGE 


The  cities  of  refuge  were  to  be  of  easy  access  ;  and 
every  year,  ou  the  fifteenth  of  Adar,  the  magistrates 
inspected  tlie  roads,  to  see  that  they  ^vere  in  good 
condition,  and  tliat  there  were  no  impediments.  At 
every  division  of  the  road  was  a  direction-post,  on 
which  was  written,  Refuge,  Refuge,  for  the  guidance 
of  him  wlio  was  fleeing  for  security.  They  were  to 
be  well  supplied  with  water  and  provisions.  It  was 
not  allowed  to  make  any  weapons  there,  that  the  re- 
lations of  the  deceased  might  not  procure  arms  to 
gratify  their  revenge.  It  was  necessary  that  whoever 
took  refuge  there  should  understand  a  trade,  that  he 
might  not  be  chargeable.  They  used  to  send  some 
prudent  and  moderate  persons,  to  meet  those  who 
were  pursuing  the  culprit,  in  order  to  dispose  them 
to  clemency  and  forgiveness,  and  to  await  the  decis- 
ion of  justice. 

At  tifie  death  of  the  high-priest,  the  refugee  might 
quit  the  city  in  which  he  was.  But  though  the  man- 
slayer  had  fled  to  the  city  of  refuge,  he  was  not  ex- 
empt from  the  power  of  justice.  Numb.  xxxv.  12. 
An  information  was  lodged  against  him  ;  and  he  was 
summoned  before  the  judges  and  the  people,  to 
prove  that  the  murder  was  truly  casual  and  involun- 
tary. If  found  innocent,  he  dwelt  safely  in  the  city 
to  which  he  had  retired  ;  if  otherwise,  he  was  put  to 
death,  according  to  the  law.  Scripture  is  not  very 
express,  whether  the  affiiir  came  under  the  cogni- 
zance of  the  judges  of  the  place  where  the  murder 
was  committed,  or  of  the  judges  of  the  city  of  refuge, 
to  which  the  murderer  had  fled.  (Comp.  Deut.  xix. 
II,  12;  Josh.  XX.  4,  .%  6  ;  Numb,  xxxv.  2.5.)  But  it 
appears  from  the  passage  of  Joshua,  that  the  fugitive 
underwent  two  trials:  first  in  the  city  of  refuge, 
where  the  judges  sun)marily  examined  the  affair; 
secondly  in  his  own  city,  where  the  magistrates  ex- 
amined the  cause  more  strictly.  If  the  latter  judges 
declared  him  innocent,  they  reconducted  him  under 
a  guard  to  the  city  of  refuge. 

In  Europe  we  do  not  discover  that  distinguished 
wisdom  in  the  institution  of  the  cities  of  refuge 
which  there  really  is.  With  us,  murder  or  man- 
slaughter is  prosecuted  so  regularly,  that  we  are  apt 
to  overlook  the  policy  of  this  national  appointment. 
It  deserves  notice,  too,  that  the  ajjpropriation  of  cer- 
tain cities  for  the  purposes  of  refuge,  seems  peculiar 
to  the  IMosaic  dispensation  :  we  read  nothing  of  it  in 
Egypt ;  and  there  is  at  this  time  no  trace  of  it  in  the 
East,  notwithstandiug  the  utility  of  such  appoint- 
ments might  deservedly  have  preserved  the  custom 
among  those  who  had  once  known  it.  Travellers 
inform  us,  that  such  is  the  irritable  and  vindictive 
spirit  of  the  Arabs  and  other  inhabitants  of  hot  cli- 
mates, that  if  one  sheikh  should  seriously  say  to  anoth- 
er, "  Thy  bonnet  is  dirty,"  or  "  The  wrong  side  of  thy 
turban  is  out,"  nothing  l)ut  blood  can  wash  away  the 
rej)roach  ;  and  not  merely  the  blood  of  the  offender, 
but  that  also  of  all  the  males  of  his  family  !  In  several 
districts  in  Arabia,  the  relations  of  a  person  who  has 
been  slain,  have  leave  either  to  accept  a  couiposi- 
tion  in  monei/,  or  to  require  the  murderer  to  surrender 
himself  to  justice,  or  even  to  wreak  their  vengeance 
upon  his  \vho\r  familij.  They  think  little  of  making 
an  assassin  be  punished,  or  even  }iut  to  death,  by  the 
hands  of  justice  ;  for  this  would  be  to  deliver  a  family 
of  an  unworthy  member,  who  deserved  no  such  fa- 
vor at  their  hands.  Hence  "  the  Arabs  rather  avenge 
themselves  as  the  law  allows,  upon  the  family  of 
the  murderer,  and  seek  an  opportunity  of  slaying  its 
hend,  or  most  consideral)le  person,  whom  tii(;y  regard 
as  being  properly  the  person  guilty  of  the  crime,  as  it 


must  have  been  committed  through  his  negligence, 
in  watching  over  the  conduct  of  those  under  his  in- 
spection. In  the  mean  time,  the  judges  seize  the 
murderer,  and  detain  him  till  he  has  paid  a  fine  of 
two  hundred  crowns.  Had  it  not  been  for  this  fiine, 
so  absurd  a  law  must  have  been  long  since  repealed. 
From  this  time,  the  two  families  are  in  continual  fears, 
till  some  one  or  other  of  the  murderer^s  family  be  slain. 
JVo  reconciliation  can  take  place  hetwtcn  them,  and  the 
quarrel  is  still  occasionally  reneived.  There  have  been 
instances  of  such  family  feuds  lasting  forty  years.  If, 
in  the  contest,  a  man  of  the  murdered  person's  family 
happens  to  fall,  there  can  be  no  peace  until  two 
others  of  the  murderer's  family  have  been  slain." 
(Niebuhr's  Travels  in  Arabia,  p.  197,  &c.) 

How  much  milder,  more  considerate,  more  politic, 
more  humane,  vvas  the  institution  of  cities  of  refuge  ! 
which  not  only  gave  opportunity  to  the  aggressor  to 
escape,  and  to  the  avenger  to  cool  ;  but  took  from 
either  the  determination  of  the  case,  and,  after  a 
proper  hearing,  adjudged  the  accidental  slayer  of  his 
neighbor  to  security,  yet  to  confinement,  till  the  high- 
priest  died  ;  at  which  period,  not  only  might  the  of- 
fence be  in  part  forgotten,  but  be  regularly  and  hon- 
orably passed  over;  especially,  among  the  general 
mourning  on  that  event,  and  the  general  interest  of 
the  nation  in  it.  We  see  that  the  spirit  of  revenge 
disquiets  both  parties  ;  but  on  such  a  solemn  occa- 
sion, both  parties  might  honorably  forego  their  ani- 
mosity, without  any  "  fear  of  fighting,  or  any  disturb- 
ance of  sleep  ;"  so  that  this  appointment  was,  per- 
haps, of  equal  advantage  to  both  culprit  and  avenger. 

[The  custom  of  blood-revenge  appears  to  have 
been  an  institution,  or  we  may  almost  say  a  principle, 
very  early  introduced  and  practised  among  the  no- 
madic oriental  tribes.  So  firmly  was  this  practice  es- 
tablished among  the  Israelites  before  their  entrance 
into  the  promised  land,  and  probably  also  even  before 
their  sojourning  in  Egypt,  that  Moses  was  directed 
by  Jehovah  not  to  attempt  to  eradicate  it  entirely  ; 
but  only  to  counteract  and  modify  it  by  the  institu- 
tion of  cities  of  refuge.  The  custom  of  avenging  the 
blood  of  a  member  of  a  family  or  tribe,  upon  some 
member  of  the  tribe  or  family  of  the  slayer,  still  ex- 
ists in  full  force  among  the  modern  Bedouins  ;  the 
representatives,  in  a  certain  sense,  of  the  ancient 
Isra(;lites  in  the  desert.  Tliis  indeed  is  stated  in  the 
extract  from  Niebuhr  above  quoted  ;  and  is  confirm- 
ed by  the  following  extract  from  Burckhardt.  During 
his  journey  in  the  penmsula  of  mount  Sinai,  Burck- 
hardt employed  two  Arab  guides  ;  Hamd,  a  young 
man  of  great  courage,  resolution  and  fidelity  ;  and 
his  uncle  Szaleh,  who  proved  to  be  dishonest  and  a 
coward.  On  the  northern  part  of  the  eastern  coast, 
towards  Akaba,  he  had  also  employed  an  old  fisher- 
man, Ayd,  jis  guide,  one  of  the  most  intelligent  and 
trustworthy  Arabs  he  had  met.  The  next  day,  after 
tm-ning  back,  without  reaching  Akaba,  this  little  party 
^^ as  attacked  by  four  Bedouins;  but  saved  through 
the  ])resence  of  mind  displayed  by  Ayd  and  Hamd  ; 
whilst  Szaleh  fled  as  fast  as  possible.  In  the  fray, 
one  of  the  robbers  was  stabbed  by  Hamd,  and  after- 
wards died.  (Travels  in  Syr.  &c.  p.  513,  seq.)  The 
following  was  the  result  of  the  affair:  (ibid.  p. 
539,  seq.) 

"  Hamd,  afraid  of  being  liable  to  pay  the  fine  of 
blood,  if  it  should  become  known  that  the  robber  had 
fallen  by  his  hand,  had  juadc  us  all  give  him  our  sol- 
enm  ])romise  not  to  mention  any  thing  of  the  affair. 
When  I  discharged  him  and  Ayd  at  the  convent,  [of 
mount    Sinai,]    I   made  them  both   some  presents, 


REG 


1781  ] 


REGENERATION 


which  they  had  well  deserved,  particularly  Hamd  ; 
this  he  was  so  imprudent  as  to  mention  to  his  uncle 
Szaleh,  who  was  so  vexed  at  not  receiving  a  present, 
that  he  immediately  di\iilged  all  the  circumstances  of 
our  rencounter.  Hamd,  in  consequence,  was  under 
the  greatest  apprehensions  from  the  relations  of  the 
robber ;  and  having  accompanied  me  on  my  return 
to  Cairo,  he  remained  with  me  some  time  there,  in 
anxious  expectation  of  hearing  whether  the  robber's 
blood  was  likely  to  be  revenged.  Not  hearing  any 
thing,  he  then  returned  to  his  mountain  ;  foin-  montlis 
after  which,  a  party  of  Omran,  to  which  ti-ibe  the 
robbers  had  belonged,  came  to  the  tent  of  the  sheikh 
of  the  Towara,  to  demand  the  fine  of  blood.  Tlie 
man  had  died  a  few  days  after  receiving  the  wound  ; 
and  although  he  was  a  robber,  and  the  first  aggressor, 
the  Bedouin  laws  entitled  his  relations  to  the  fine,  if 
they  waived  the  right  of  retaliation.  Hamd  was  there- 
fore glad  to  come  to  a  compromise,  and  paid  them 
two  camels  (which  the  two  principal  sheikhs  of  the 
Towara  gave  him  for  the  purpose)  and  twenty  dol- 
lars, which  I  tliought  myself  bound  to  reimburse  to 
him,  when  he  afterwards  called  on  me  at  Cairo.  This 
was  the  third  man  Hamd  had  killed  in  skirmish  ;  but 
he  had  paid  no  fine  for  the  others,  as  it  was  never 
known  who  they  were,  nor  to  what  tribe  they  be- 
longed. 

"  Had  Hamd,  whom  every  one  knew  to  be  the  per- 
son who  had  stabbed  the  robber,  refused  to  pay  the 
fine,  the  Omran  would,  sooner  or  later,  have  retaliated 
upon  himself  or  his  relations  ;  or  perhaps  upon  some 
other  individual  of  the  tribe  ;  according  to  the  custom 
of  these  Bedouins,  who  have  established  among  them- 
selves the  law  of '  striking  sideways.'  "  How  far  su- 
perior to  this  was  the  Mosaic  institution  of  cities  of 
refuge !     *R. 

REGENERATION  is  used  in  two  senses  by  the 
sacred  authors  of  the  New  Testament :  (1.)  for  that 
spiritual  birth  received  from  grace  ;  (2.)  for  that  new 
life  we  expect  at  the  resurrection.  Properly  speak- 
ing, there  are  only  two  places  where  the  term  regen- 
eration (.Ta;.(/)'fifO('u)  occurs;  Matt.  xix.  28.  and  Titus 
iii.  5  :  the  first  refers  to  a  change  of  state,  the  second 
to  a  change  of  profession.  It  will  be  of  advantage, 
therefore,  to  notice  the  import  of  this  term  in  other 
writei-s.  It  is  compounded  of  na/.n,  again,  and 
yivioic,  generation,  or  origin.  It  is  used  by  Greek 
writers  to  express  the  state  of  the  earth  in  the  spring, 
when  the  face  and  appearance  of  nature  is  renovated, 
and  the  crops  and  vegetables,  coi-n,  &c.  are  regener- 
ated in  the  successors  of  those  of  tlie  last  year.  Trees, 
however,  are  not  regenerated  ;  but  their  leaves  and 
fruits  are  ;  nature  having  formed  tlie  buds  and  germs 
previous  to  the  winter,  which,  after  the  winter,  put 
themselves  forth,  open,  and  spread  themselves. 
Cicero,  writing  to  Atticus,  expresses  the  state  and 
dignity  to  wliich  he  was  re-appointed  after  his  return 
from  exile,  by  the  term  regeneration.  Josephus, 
speaking  of  tlie  Jews  who  were  made  acquainted  by 
Zorobabel  with  the  edict  of  Darius,  permitting  their 
return  to  Jerusalem,  says, — "  They  gave  thanks  to 
God — and  for  seven  days  they  continued  feasting,  and 
kept  a  festival  for  the  rebuilding  and  restoration, 
regeneration,  of  their  country."  It  i§  this  last  passage, 
principally,  that  induces  Schleusner  to  interpret 
Matt.  xix.  28,  of  a  renovation  of  the  minds  and  charac- 
ters of  the  Jews  and  Gentiles  by  means  of  the  gospel. 
The  Syriac  translates,  in  the  new  age.  This  is  per- 
fectly agreeable  to  the  phrases,  the  age  to  come,  the 
world  to  come,  the  Father  of  the  future  age,  the  age  of 
the  Messiah,  &c.  which  were  familiar  and  customary 


among  the  Jews,  previous  to  and  at  the  time  of 
Chi-ist.  In  this  acceptation,  the  term  regeneration 
must  be  construed  with  the  preceding  words ;  and  it 
is  consistent  with  2  Pet.  iii.  13 ;  2  Cor.  v.  17.  But 
others  incline  to  construe  these  words  with  the  fol- 
lo\ving  part  of  the  sentence,  and  so  refer  them  to  the 
grand  renovation  of  all  things,  at  Christ's  second  com- 
ing ;  (comp.  Acts  iii.  21.)  and  particularly  to  God's 
children  being  born  again,  as  it  were,  from  their 
gi"aves :  that  is,  resurrection  is  regeneration.  (Comp. 
Acts  xiii.  33.)  Either  way  the  passage  is  metaphori- 
cal ;  but,  as  it  was  intended  to  be  understood  by  the 
hearers,  it  seems  most  proper  to  explain  it  in  that 
sense  which  was  most  likely  to  strike  those  hearers 
as  consonant  with  phrases  then  current.  This  seems 
to  establish  the  verbal  meaning  in  coincidence  with 
Schleusner.  A  more  exalted  meaning  might  be 
couched  under  the  term,  and  might  even  be  present 
to  the  mind  of  the  speaker ;  but  the  hearers  would 
be  most  likely  to  understand  its  import  according  to 
its  application  by  their  native  historian  Josephus. 

The  second  place  in  which  the  word  occin-s  (Titus 
iii.  5.)  alludes,  beyond  all  question,  to  the  rite  of  bap- 
tism. Our  translators  have  taken  the  term  connected 
with  it,  for  the  fluid  with  which  that  rite  is  adminis- 
tered ;  or  the  action  by  which  it  is  performed ;  but 
the  general  course  of  the  Greek  language  rather  leads 
to  the  vessel  containing  the  fluid.  But  in  whatever 
sense  that  term  might  be  taken,  it  is  clear  that  regen- 
eration, in  this  place,  means  a  professional  or  ritual 
changeof  life,  of  personal  habits,  of  objects,  purposes 
and  endeavors.  It  is  the  external  profession  of  those 
intentions  of  which  the  renewii^g  of  the  Holy  Spirit, 
mentioned  in  connection  with  it,  is  the  prime  mover 
and  promoter;  the  outward  and  visible  sign,  of  which 
the  actuating  principle  is  the  inward  and  spiritual 
grace.  The  fathers  have  uniformly  employed  the 
term  regeneration  to  signify  baptism  ;  and  this  is  so 
evident,  that  Phavorinus  says  expressly,  referring  to 
this  place,  the  holy  rite  of  baptism  is  called  regeneration. 
It  is  so  used  by  Justin  Martyr,  and  other  early  Chris- 
tians. Baptism  was  always  thought  to  denote  a  res- 
urrection, a  transplantation,  a  change  of  manners,  of 
society,  of  interests  and  of  cares,  as  those  who  are 
"risen  with  Christ,"  who  are  "alive  from  the  dead," 
with  whom  "old  things  are  passed  awaj^,  and  aU  things 
are  become  new,"  &c. 

Very  different  is  the  term  used,  (John  iii.  4,  5,  &c.) 
it  is  there  ysri'ti-Sij  uwydsr,  born  again,  or,  as  some 
prefer,  born  from  above.  But  this  latter  acceptation 
seems  inconsistent  with  the  following  conversation, 
and  the  objections  raised  by  Nicodemus,  "  How  can 
a  man  [yfiry^^r.tai)  be  born  again  when  he  is  old? 
Can  he  enter  a  second  time  into  his  mother's  womb, 
and  be  born  ? "  "  He  must,"  says  Jesus,  "  be 
born  of  water  and  Spirit."  Ritually,  i)rofcssionally, 
or  externally,  of  water  ;  internally,  or  actuatingly,  of 
the  Spirit ;  that  is,  renewed  in  the  spirit,  disposition 
or  habit  of  his  mind  ;  in  this  sense  he  is  "a  child  of 
God  ; "  "  born  of  God  ;  "  God  is  his  flither,  &c. 

Though  these  terms  are  currently  used  promiscu- 
ously and  indiscriminately,  yet  this  appears  to  be  an 
incorrectness;  which  probably  would  appear  inore 
striking,  if  proper  care  were  taken  to  distinguish  ac- 
curately between  the  terrestrial  and  the  celestial  king- 
dom of  God;  the  professional  or  temporal  kingdom 
of  grace,  and  the  ultimate  or  eternal  kingdom  of 
glory,  iScc. 

The  term  used  by  Peter,  (1  Epist.  i.  3.)  who  thanks 
God  for  his  abundant  mercy  by  which  he  regenerates 
us,  [utayiyyilaac)  in  a  lively  or  life-giving  hope,  by 


REH 


[  782  ] 


REM 


the  resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ  from  the  dead,  seems 
to  come  very  near  to  the  import  of  TraXiyY^y^oia.  It 
seems  to  imply,  that  mankind,  the  Jews  especially, 
had  once  possessed  the  hope  of  a  glorious  immortality, 
but  had  lost  it ;  this  is  revived,  re-animated,  re-begot- 
ten in  us,  by  the  resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ ;  nor 
should  it  be  forgot,  tliat  whoever  was  baptized,  pro- 
fessed conversion  to,  and  commemoration  of,  a  risen 
Saviour.  A  man  totally  dead  could  be  no  Saviour  ; 
the  resurrection  of  the  body,  and  the  life  everlasting, 
were,  in  that  case,  no  better  than  cunningly  devised 
fables,  and  the  "  hope  of  worms,"  as  the  Christians 
were  reproached  by  their  adversaries. 

REHABIAH,  eldest  son  of  Eliezer,  and  grandson 
of  Moses,  1  Chron.  xxiii.  17  ;  xxvi.  25.  He  and  his 
brethren  were  Levites,  and  treasurers  of  the  temple. 

I.  REHOB,  father  of  Hadadezer,  king  of  Syria,  of 
Zobah,  2  Sam.  viii.  3. 

II.  REHOB,  also  Beth-Rehob,  a  city  or  district 
of  Asher,  (Josh.  xix.  28.)  given  to  the  Levites  of  the 
family  of  Gershom,  1  Chron.  vi.  75  ;  Josh.  xxi.  31. 
It  was  m  Syria,  on  the  road  to  Hamath,  (Numb.  xiii. 
21 ;  2  Sam.  x.  6,  8.)  and,  probably,  between  Libanus 
and  Anti-libanus,  or  at  the  foot  of  Anti-libanus.  The 
city  of  Laish,  or  Dan  was  situate  in  the  canton  of 
Rehob,  or,  as  the  Hebrews  call  it,  Rechob,  Judg. 
xviii.  28. 

REHOBOAM,  the  son  and  successor  of  Solomon, 
by  Naamah,  an  Ammonitess,  1  Kings  xii.  xiv.  20,  21  ; 
1  Chron.  xi.  xii.  He  was  forty-one  years  old  when 
he  began  to  reign  ;  and  was  therefore  born  in  the 
first  year  of  his  father's  reign.  He  ascended  the 
throne  A.  M.  3029,  and  reigned  seventeen  years  at 
Jerusalem.     He  died  A.  M.  3046. 

The  indiscretion  of  this  prince  caused  ten  of  the 
tribes  to  revolt,  and  thus  occasioned  the  founding  of 
the  kingdom  of  Israel.  (See  Jeroboam.)  Rehoboam, 
finding  the  reunion  of  the  tribes  hopeless,  applied 
himself  to  the  strengthening  his  kingdom  against 
Jeroboam.  He  fortified  and  stored  several  cities ;  as 
Bethlehem,  Etam,  Tekoa,  Beth-zur,  Shoco,  Adul- 
1am,  Gath,  Mareshah,  Ziph,  Adoraim,  Lachish,  Aze- 
kah,  Zorah,  Aijalon  and  Hebron.  The  number  of 
his  subjects  was  considerably  increased  by  the  priests 
and  Levites,  from  the  cities  and  territories  of  Jerobo- 
am, who,  seeing  that  this  new  king  abolished  the  estab- 
lished worship  of  the  Lord,  and  made  priests  for  his 
golden  calves,  withdrew  into  the  land  of  Judah  and 
Benjamin,  that  they  might  attend  in  the  temple  at 
Jerusalem.  Rehoboam  and  his  people,  however,  did 
not  continue  faithful  to  the  Lord  above  three  years. 
They  did  evil,  and  provoked  him  by  their  wickedness, 
more  than  their  fathers  had  done ;  committing  all 
the  wickedness  and  abominations  of  the  Canaanites, 
whom  the  Lord  had  driven  out. 

Rehoboam  married  18  wives,  and  had  60  concu- 
bines ;  Iiy  whom  he  had  28  sons,  and  60  daughters. 
In  the  fifth  year  of  his  reign,  God  sent  against  Judah 
Shishak,  (or  Sesac,)  king  of  Egypt,  who  cairied  oflT 
all  the  treasure  of  the  house  of  the  Lord,  the  king's 
treasures,  and  the  golden  bucklers  made  by  Solomon, 
laying  waste  also  the  whole  country,  2  Chron.  xii ; 
1  Kings  xiv.  25.  The  ])rophet  Shemaiah  went  to 
attend  Rehoboam,  and  the  princes  of  Judah  who 
were  with  him  in  Jerusalem,  and  said  to  them  from 
the  Lord,  "  You  have  forsaken  me,  and  I,  in  my  tiun, 
have  forsaken  you,  and  delivered  you  into  the  hands 
of  Shishak."  The  princes  being  convinced  of  the 
justice  of  these  reproaches,  humbled  themselves; 
and  God  promised  to  Shemaiah,  that  he  would  not 
utterly  abandon  them,  but  only  make  them  sensible 


of  the  difference  between  serving  the  Lord,  and  be- 
ing subject  to  a  foreign  power. 

After  the  departure  of  Shishak,  Rehoboam  made 
brazen  bucklers,  instead  of  those  of  gold,  which  the 
king  of  Egypt  had  taken  away  ;  and  when  he  went 
to  the  temple,  his  guards  carried  them  before  him. 
The  history  of  Rehoboam  was  written  at  length,  by 
the  prophets  Shemaiah  and  Iddo  ;  but  their  accounts 
are  not  come  to  our  hands  ;  nor  any  particulars  of 
those  constant  wars  which  were  between  him  and 
Jeroboam.  Rehoboam  was  buried  in  the  city  of 
David,  and  was  succeeded  by  his  son  Abijah,  who, 
speaking  of  his  father,  says,  he  was  an  ignorant 
prince,  unskilled  in  the  art  of  government,  a  weak 
man,  and  without  courage,  2  Chron.  xiii.  7.  Solo- 
mon seems  to  have  had  this  son,  his  successor,  be- 
fore his  eyes,  when  he  said,  (Eccl.  ii.  18,  19.)  "  Yea, 
I  hated  all  my  labor  which  I  had  taken  under  the 
sun,  because  I  should  leave  it  unto  the  man  that 
should  be  after  me  ;  and  who  knoweth  whether  he 
shall  be  a  wise  man  or  a  fool  ?  Yet  shall  he  have  rule 
over  all  my  labor  wherein  I  have  labored,  and 
wherein  I  have  showed  myself  wise  under  the  sun. 
This  is  also  vanity." 

REHOBOTH,  one  of  the  cities  of  Assyria,  Gen. 
X.  11. 

REHUM,  a  chief  officer  of  the  king  of  Persia  at 
Samaria.  His  title  of  dignity  in  Hebrew  is  Beil 
Team,  Lord  of  the  decree,  probably  chancellor,  or  chief 
secretary,  &c.  He  was  the  chief  officer  of  the  king 
of  Persia,  who  commanded  in  Samaria  and  Palestine. 
He  wrote  to  Artaxerxes,  (Smerdis,)  the  successor  of 
Cambyses,  to  oppose  the  re-building  of  the  temple 
of  Jerusalem,  Ezra  iv.  9. 

REINS,  or  KiDNETS.  The  Hebrews  often  make 
the  reins  the  seat  of  the  aflfections,  and  ascribe  to 
them  knowledge,  joy,  pain,  pleasure  ;  hence  in  Scrip- 
ture it  is  so  often  said,  that  God  searches  the  heart 
and  the  reins.  Elsewhere,  the  Scripture  unputes  to  ^ 
the  reins,  love  and  the  fountain  of  generation,  1 
Kings  viii.  19.  God  upbraids  the  Jews  with  having 
him  enough  in  their  mouths,  but  not  in  their  reins 
and  hearts,  Jer.  xii.  2.  In  trouble  and  in  fear  the 
reins  are  disturbed  and  tremble.  They  faint  away, 
(Nah.  ii.  10.)  and  are  relaxed,  Dan.  v.  6  ;  Ezek.  xxix.  7. 
The  psalmist  says,  that  his  reins  have  encouraged  and 
excited  him  to  praise  the  Lord,  (Ps.  xvi.  7.)  and  Jer- 
emiah, (Lam.  iii.  13.)  that  the  Lord  had  sent  the 
daughters  of  his  quiver  into  his  reins;  that  is,  he  has 
pierced  me  with  his  arrows ;  he  hath  exhausted  his 
whole  quiver  upon  me  :  the  daughters  of  the  quiver 
is  a  poetical  expression  for  arrows.  Metaphorically 
it  is  said,  (Dent,  xxxii.  14.)  the  fat  of  the  reins  of 
wheat,  to  signify  the  finest  flour :  Vulgate,  marrow 
of  wheat. 

REKEM,  a  king  of  the  Midianitcs  in  Arabia,  who 
gave  his  name  to  the  city  afterwards  called  by  the 
Greeks  Petra.  He  was  slain  by  Phinehas,  for  the 
abomination  of  Baal-peor,  Numl).  xxxi.  8. 

RELIGION  is  taken  in  three  senses  in  Scripture: 
(1.)  For  the  external  and  ceremonial  worshij)  of  the 
Jewish  religion,  Exod.  xii.  43.  (2.)  For  the  true  re- 
ligion ;  the  best  manner  of  serving  and  honoring  God, 
Jam.  i.  27.     (3.)  For  superstition,  which  see. 

REMALIAH,  father  of  Pekah,  king  of  Israel,  2 
Kings  XV.  25. 

REMEMBRANCE,  or  Memory.  God  requires 
that  we  should  keep  his  conimandments  in  remem- 
brance. He  tells  Moses  (Exod.  xvii.  14.)  that  he 
"  will  utterly  put  out  the  remembrance  oi  Amalek 
from  under  heaven  ;"  that  is,  he  will  destroy  him  so 


R  E  M 


[  783  ] 


RKj> 


entirely,  that  no  further  mention  shall  be  made  of 
him,  as  a  people.  He  says,(Ps.  xxxiv.  16.)  that  "  the 
face  of  the  Lord  is  against  them  that  do  evil,  to  cut 
off  the  remembrance  of  them  from  the  earth."  And 
Ps.  ix.  6.  "  Thou  hast  destroyed  cities,  their  memo- 
rial is  perished  with  tliem."  On  the  contrary,  God 
has  promised  to  the  righteous  and  just,  that  their 
memory  shall  be  blessed,  and  shall  never  perish. 

RExMISSION  is  sometimes  taken  for  the  year  of 
jubilee,  or  the  sabbatical  year,  in  which  the  slaves 
were  set  at  liberty,  and  in  which  every  one  returned 
into  his  own  inheritance.  (So  in  the  Vulgate,  Lev. 
XXV.  10;  Numb,  xxxvi.  4;  Deut.  xv.  1.)  It  is  also 
used  for  pardon  of  sin.  The  gospel  says,  that  "John 
did  baptize  in  tlie  wilderness,  and  preach  the  bap- 
tism of  repentance,  for  the  remission  of  sins,  Mark 
i.  4  ;  Luke  iii.  3.  And  that  the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ 
was  shed,  to  procure  remission  of  our  sins,  Eph.  i.  7  ; 
Col.  i.  14  ;  Matt.  xxvi.  28. 

It  is  somewhat  remarkable,  says  Mr.  Taylor,  that 
the  term  pardon  of  sin,  does  not  occur  in  the  New 
Testament ;  but  we  read  of  re)nission  avK]  forgiveness. 
Certainly  these  words,  with  the  ideas  they  represent, 
are  allied  ;  yet  there  seems  to  be  some  distinction 
preserved  between  them.  When  the  observation  is 
made,  "  Tliis  man  who  takes  upon  him  to  forgive  sins, 
blasphemeth:  who  can  forgive  sins  but  God?"  it 
should  seem  as  if  our  Lord  had  said,  "Thy  sins  are 
remitted  ;"  but  that  term  would  not  have  justified  the 
inference  made.  When  John  preached  the  baptism 
of  repentance  for  the  remission  of  sins,  and  when 
our  Lord  gave  power  to  his  apostles,  "Whose  soever 
sins  ye  remit,  they  are  remitted  ;"  we  cannot  sup- 
pose that  either  of  these  parties  invaded  an  ac- 
knowledged prerogative  of  God.  If  the  remission 
of  sins  by  the  apostles  was  declaratory,  if  John  the 
Baptist  was  the  prophet  of  the  Highest,  to  give  the 
knowledge  of  salvation  to  his  people,  by  the  remis- 
sion of  their  sins;  if,  in  consequence  of  the  confession 
of  sins  made  previous  to  baptism  by  John,  that  projihet 
remitted  sins  by  baptism,  that  is,  declared  them  to 
be  remitted ;  if  Peter  advised  the  Jews  to  be  baptized 
in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ  for  the  remission  of  sins; 
then  we  must  admit  that  the  exercise  of  this  jiower 
by  men,  was  by  no  means  identical  with  the  for- 
giveness of  sins,  which  appertains  to  God  only. 
Under  the  law  there  was  no  remission  of  sins  with- 
out shedding  of  blood  ;  that  is,  until  the  proper  sac- 
rifices were  offered,  tiie  priest  could  not  pronounce 
the  transgi'essor  free  from  the  consequences  of  his 
transgressions :  under  the  gospel  no  blood  was  shed 
by  John,  or  by  the  apostles  ;  but  the  blood  of  Jesus 
Christ  was  shed  for  many,  for  the  remission  of  sins ; 
and  remission  of  sins  was  preached  in  his  name. 

The  term  li<ffni:,  rendered  remission,  signifies  to 
announce  liberty  to  the  captive,  (Luke  iv.  18.)  to  re- 
lease the  obligation  of  a  debt,  as  in  the  sabbatical 
year,  Deut.  xv.  3.  The  term  ctip'n.ut,  rendered ybrg-ire, 
is,  with  the  greatest  propriety,  addressed  to  God ; 
"Forgive  us  our  debts,  as  we  forgive  our  debtors" — 
"  Father,  forgive  them,  for  they  know  noi  what  they 
do:"  and  the  power  of  forgivmg,  "Son,  be  of  good 
■cheer,  thy  sins  be  forgiven  thee,  assumed  by  our  Lord, 
was  greatly  superior  to  that  of  announcing  remission, 
conf^n-ed  on  the  apostles ;  and  could  be  becoming 
only  in  a  personage  infinitely  above  them  in  dignity 
and  power. 

REMPHAN.  Amos  (v.  26.)  upbraids  the  Hebrews 
with  having  carried,  during  their  wanderings  in  the 
wilderness,  "  the  tabernacle  of  their  Moloch,  the  im- 
age of  their  idol,  and  the  star  of  their  god."    Stephen, 


(Acts  vii.  43.)  quoting  this  passage,  says,  "  Ye  took  up 
the  tabernacle  of  Moloch,  and  the  star  of  your  god 
Remphan."     See  Chiun,  and  Moloch. 

REPENTANCE  is  generally  taken  for  that  con- 
trition, compunction,  regret,  or  sonow  which  rises  in 
us,  after  having  done  something  contrary  to  our 
duty  ;  joined  to  a  sincere  resolution  of  avoiding  the 
like  m  future.  It  is  also  taken  for  the  works  of  peni- 
tence ;  fasting,  weeping,  alms,  and  works  of  satisfac- 
tion ;  that  is,  retribution.  There  is  a  false  repentance, 
as  that  of  Antiochus  Epiphanes,  of  Judas  Iscariot,  of 
Pharaoh,  of  Saul,  of  Ahab.  Judas  wanted  confi- 
dence in  the  mercy  of  God,  and  therefore  fell  into 
despair.  Antiochus  had  no  sincere  contrition.  Pha- 
raoh and  Saul  were  teirified,  but  not  moved  by  a  true 
repentance  ;  they  conthiued  hardened,  and  changed 
neither  their  minds  nor  their  manners.  Ahab  was 
indeed  touched,  but  he  wanted  perseverance  in  rec- 
titude. 

Samuel  says  to  Saul,  (1  Sam.  xv.  29.) "  The  strength 
of  Israel  will  not  lie,  nor  repent,  for  he  is  not  a  man, 
that  he  should  repent."  That  is,  he  will  not  change 
his  resolution,  as  men  make  resolutions,  and  then  re- 
pent of  them,  and  perform  them  not.  He  has  passed 
his  sentence  against  you,  and  will  not  annul  it.  Paul 
says,  in  the  same  sense,  the  gifts  and  calling  of  God 
are  without  repentance.  That  is,  God  does  not  re- 
voke his  favors;  he  never  forsakes  us  first;  never 
changes  his  mind. 

The  Book  of  Wisdom  (v.  3.)  represents  the  wicked 
in  another  life,  as  repenting  and  bewailing ;  seized 
with  compunction  and  despair,  at  seeing  good  men  in 
honor,  while  they  themselves  are  in  trouble.  We 
know  that  in  another  life,  repentance  and  remorse 
are  useless.  See  the  parable  of  the  rich  man  and 
Lazarus,  Luke  xvi.  24. 

The  sacred  wTiters  often  represent  God  as  a  king, 
moved  w'ith  regret  or  repentance,  or  relenting  for 
having  suffered,  or  having  resolved  on  certain  things. 
So  Moses  says,  (Gen.  vi.  6,  7.)  God  repented  that  he 
had  made  man,  seeing  the  wickedness  of  his  actions 
had  proceeded  to  such  extremity.  So  (1  Sam.  xv. 
11.)  he  repented  of  having  made  Saul  king;  not  as  if 
he  had  conceived  any  regret  at  what  he  had  done,  or 
that  he  repents  of  having  taken  a  false  step,  as  a  man 
does  when  he  perceives  he  has  committed  an  eiTor. 
God  is  not  capable  of  repentance  in  this  sense.  But 
sometimes  he  changes  his  conduct  towards  those  who 
are  unfaithful  to  him,  and,  after  having  treated  them 
with  disregarded  mercy,  he  corrects  them  with  de- 
served severity. 

God  is  said  to  repent  of  evil  he  was  about  to  inflict, 
when,  moved  with  compassion  toward  the  miserable, 
or  entreated  by  their  prayers,  or  affected  by  their  re- 
pentance, he  remits  the  punishment  of  their  sins,  and 
does  not  execute  his  threatenings  against  them. 
Thus  it  is  said,  (Ps.  cvi.)  45,  that  he  repented  accord- 
ing to  the  multitude  of  his  mercies,  and  that  he 
caused  his  people  to  find  favor  in  the  eyes  of  those 
to  whom  he  had  given  them  up  into  bondage.  And 
in  Jeremiah  xviii.  8,  the  Lord  declares,  that  if  his 
people  repent  of  their  evil  doings,  he  Avill  also  repent 
of  the  evil  which  he  designed  to  inflict  on  them; 
that  is,  he  would  treat  them  favorably  ;  but,  on  the 
contrary,  if  his  people  would  not  obey  his  com- 
mands, he  would  repent  of  the  good  he  intended 
them. 

These  expressions  are  used  after  the  manner  of 
men,  and  in  accommodation  to  human  language,  be- 
cause in  no  other  way  can  we  conceive  of  the  actions 
of  Deitv.      When  human  passions  are  ascribed   to 


REP 


[  784 


RES 


God,  there  is  no  intention  of  representing  him  as  af- 
fected by  such  weaknesses ;  but  those  ascriptions  are 
intelligible  to  us,  and  are  understood  as  metaphors, 
and  figures  of  speech ;  always  remembering  that 
thi-eatenings  are  conditional,  and  may  be  either  re- 
voked or  abated.  Not  so  promises,  unless  expressed  ; 
they  may  be  depended  upon  for  full  realization. 

The  baptism  of  repentance  is  that  wiiich  John 
the  Baptist  preached  to  the  Jews,  when  he  baptized 
them  m  Jordan,  and  exhorted  them  to  "  bring  forth 
fruits  worthy  of  repentance,"  Matt.  iii.  11 ;  Mark  i.  4  ; 
Luke  iii.  3. 

REPHAIM,  ancient  giants  of  Canaan,  of  whom 
there  were  several  families.  It  is  commonly  sup- 
posed they  descended  from  an  ancestor  called  Re- 
phah,  or  Rapha ;  but  others  miagine  that  the  Avord 
properly  signified  giants,  in  the  ancient  language  of 
this  people.  There  were  Rephaim  beyond  Jordan, 
at  Ashtaroth  Karuaim,in  the  time  of  Abraham,  Gen. 
xiv.  5.  Also  some  in  the  time  of  Moses.  Og,  khag 
of  Bashan,  was  of  the  Rephaim.  In  the  time  of 
Joshua,  some  of  then*  descendants  dwelt  in  the  land 
of  Canaan,  (Josh.  xii.  4  ;  xvii.  15.)  and  we  hear  of 
them  in  David's  time,  in  the  city  of  Gath,  1  Chron. 
XX.  4 — 6.  The  giants  Goliath,  Sippai,  Lahmi  and 
others,  were  remains  of  the  Rephaim.  Their  magni- 
tude and  strength  are  well  known  in  Scripture. 

The  valley  of  the  Rephaim,  or  giants,  was  fa- 
mous in  Joshua's  time,  and  also  in  David's,  Josh.  xv. 
8  ;  xviii.  16 ;  2  Sam.  v.  18,  22  ;  1  Chron.  xi.  15 ;  xiv. 
9.  It  is  placed  as  one  limit  of  the  portion  of  Judah. 
It  was  near  Jerusalem,  and  it  may  be  doubted  wheth- 
er it  belonged  to  Judah  or  to  Benjamin,  because  of 
the  contiguity  of  these  two  tribes.  Eusebius  places 
it  in  Benjamin  ;  but  Josh.  xviu.  16,  and  those  pas- 
sages of  the  books  of  Samuel  where  it  is  mentioned, 
hint  that  it  belonged  to  Judah,  and  was  south  or 
west  of  Jerusalem,  towards  Bethlehem  and  the 
Philistines. 

REPHIDIM,  a  station  or  encampment  of  Israel  in 
the  desert,  Exod.  xvii.  1.  Here  the  people  wanting 
water,  began  to  murmur  against  Moses,  saying, 
"  Why  have  you  brought  us  out  of  Egj^pt,  to  kill  us 
with  thirst  in  this  desert?"  3Ioses  then  cried  to  the 
Lord,  who  said,  "  Take  the  people  to  the  rock  of 
Horeb,  with  the  elders :  I  shall  be  there  on  the  rock 
before  you  ;  you  shall  strike  it  with  your  rod,  and 
water  shall  gush  out,  that  the  people  may  drink." 
This  ]Moses  did,  and  the  place  was  called  Tempta- 
tion, because  of  the  complaints  of  Israel,  who  there 
tempted  the  Lord,  saving.  Is  the  Lord  among  us  or 
not  ? 

Rephidim  could  not  be  far  from  Horeb,  because 
God  ordered  Moses  to  go  from  thence  to  the  rock  of 
Horeb,  to  give  the  people  water.  And  this  same 
water  seems  to  have  served  the  Israelites,  not  only  in 
the  encampment  of  Rephidim,  and  in  that  of  mount 
Sinai,  but  also  in  other  encampments.  Paul  says, 
(1  Cor.  X.  4.)  that  this  rock  followed  them  in  their 
journey ;  and  that  it  was  a  figure,  or  type  of  Christ. 
"For  they  drank  of  that  spiritual  rock  that  followed 
them,  and  that  rock  was  Christ."  This  miracle  at 
Rephidim  hajjpoied  A.  M.  2513,  in  the  second 
month  after  the  tleparture  from  Egypt.  And  here 
Joshua  obtained  a  famous  victory  over  the  Amalek- 
ites,  while  Moses  lifted  up  his  hands  toward  heaven 
Exod.  xvii.  8 — 10.     See  Exodus,  p.  400. 

REPROACH  is  used  in  two  senses;  (1.)  for  the 
disgrace  or  confusion  that  any  one  suffers  in  himself; 
(2.)  for  that  which  he  causes  in  another.  Amono- 
the  Hebrews,  to  be  uncircumcised  was  Pt  reproach  : 


and  when  Joshua  circumcised  those  born  in  the 
wilderness,  he  tells  them,  "  I  have  rolled  away  the 
reproach  of  Egypt  from  off  you,"  Josh.  v.  9.  Bar- 
renness was  a  reproach ;  and  hence  Rachel,  on  the 
birth  of  a  second  son,  says,  "  The  Lord  has  taken 
away  my  reproach,"  Gen.  xxx.  23.  Isaiah  says,  (iv. 
1.)  that  the  time  shall  come  when  men  shall  be  so 
scarce  in  Israel,  that  seven  women  shall  lay  hold  of 
one  man,  and  shall  say  to  him,  "  We  ask  you  noth- 
ing for  our  maintenance,  only  deliver  us  fi-om  the 
reproach  of  sterility  and  a  single  life  :  take  us  as 
wives,"  &c.  The  Lord  struck  the  Philistines  with  a 
shameful  malady  in  ano,  and  thereby  loaded  them 
with  reproach,  Ps.  Ixxyiii.  66. 

Servitude,  slavery,  poverty,  subjection  to  enemies, 
extraordinary  diseases,  as  the  leprosy,  &.c.  were  reck- 
oned reproaches,  because  they  were  supposed  to  be 
the  effect  of  cowardice,  or  idleness,  or  bad  manage- 
ment ;  or  to  be  inflictions  sent  from  God,  to  punish 
injustice  and  impiety.  The  Lord,  in  many  places, 
threatens  his  people  to  make  them  a  reproach  and  a 
proverb,  which  has  been  fulfilled  in  numerous  in- 
stances, by  the  servitudes  with  which  the  Jews  have 
been  overwhelmed,  and  by  the  misfortunes  which 
have  happened  to  them.  The  psalmist  often  com- 
plains, that  God  had  made  him  a  reproach  to 
those  about  him  ;  who  insulted  over  his  misfortunes 
and  disgrace. 

"  Not  to  take  up  a  reproach  against  our  neighbor," 
(Ps.  XV.  3.)  is  not  to  listen  to  slanders  and  calumnies 
brought  against  him.  David  took  away  the  reproach 
from  Israel,  by  slaying  Goliath,  1  Sam.  xvii.  26 ; 
Ecclus.  xlvii.  4.  Jeremiah  says,  "  I  was  ashamed, 
yea,  even  confounded,  because  I  did  bear  the  re- 
proach of  my  youth,"  chap,  xxxi.  19.  "Thou  hast 
brought  the  shame  of  my  youthful  faults  upon  me ; 
thou  hast  showed  me  the  horror  of  them,  and  hast 
made  me  bear  the  pain  and  confusion  arising  from 
them."  And  Isaiah,  (liv.  4.)  "  Thou  shalt  forget  the 
shame  of  thy  youth,  and  shalt  not  remember  the  re- 
proach of  thy  widowhood  any  more."  He  speaks 
to  the  tribe  of  Judah,  after  the  return  from  the  cap- 
tivity. Thou  shalt  no  longer  remember  the  reproach 
thou  hast  suffered  among  foreign  nations. 

REPROBATION  is  equivalent  to  rejection,  which 
always  implies  a  cause — "  Reprobate  silver  shall 
men  call  them  ;"  (Jer.  vi.  30.)  that  is,  they  are  baso 
metal,  counterfeit  coin.  Where  all  are  equally  un- 
worthy, if  5ome  be  preferred  to  lienor,  the  rest  ma^f 
be  said,  in  a  sense,  to  be  reprobated,  that  is,  left 
where  they  were  ;  their  condition  is  not  worse,  but 
it  is  not  improved;  nevertheless,  those  only  can  be 
said  to  be  rejected,  who  liave  been  offered,  either  by 
themselves,  or  by  other*; ;  God  never  rejects  any  who 
offer  themselves,  but  those  who,  by  continuing  in 
sin,  reject  the  offej-ed  mercy  of  God,  reprobate  them- 
selves ;  they  say  unto  God,  "  Depart  from  us,  for  we 
desire  not  the  knowledge  of  thy  ways." 

REPTILES,  animals  that  have  no  feet,  or  such 
short  ones,  that  they  seem  to  creep,  or  crawl,  on  the 
ground.  Serpents,  worms,  locusts  and  catei-pillars 
arc  taken  for  reptiles.  The  Hebrews  piU  fishes  also 
among  reptiles,  (they  having  no  feet,)  whatever  be 
their  nature,  or  shajie.  Gen.  i.  21  ;  Lev.  xi.  46 ;  Ps. 
Ixix.  34,  «fcc.  This  name  is  sometimes  also  extended 
to  such  land  animals,  as  are  not  of  the  same  nature 
with  the  great  beasts  for  sei-vice,  nor  of  the  larger 
wild  beasts.  In  a  word,  "to  creep  upon  the  earth" 
is  sometimes  used  for  moving,  or  going  to  and  fro,  as 
all  four-footed  creatures  do.  * 

RESEN,  a  city  of  Assyria,  between  Nineveh  and 


RES 


[785] 


RES 


Calah,  (Geu.  x.  12.)  on  the  river  Chaboras  iu  Meso- 
potamia. 

RESEPH,  a  city  taken  by  the  king  of  Assyria, 
2  Kings  xix.  12  ;  Isa.  xxxvii.  12. 

RE;;PECT  of  perso.ns.  God  appointed  that  the 
judo-es  should  pronounce  sentence  without  respect  of 
persons,  Lev.  xLv.  15 ;  Deut.  xvi.  17,  19.  Tiiat  they 
should  consider  neitlier  the  poor  nor  the  rich,  the 
weak  nor  tlie  powerful  ;  but  should  attend  only  to 
truth  and  justice.  God  has  no  respect  of  persons. 
And  the  Jews  complimented  our  Saviour,  that  he 
told  the  truth,  without  respect  of  persons,  without 
fear,  3Iatt.  xxii.  lu.  (See  Isa.  xxxii.  1 — 16.)  Jude, 
(ver.  16.)  instead  of  the  phrase,  "to  have  respect  of 
persons,"  has  "  to  admire  persons." 

Our  English  term  respect  seems  to  imply  some 
kind  of  deference  or  submission  to  a  party  :  but  this 
is  not  always  the  proper  meaning  to  be  annexed  to  it 
in  Scripture.  When  we  read,  (Exod.  ii.  2.5.)  "  God 
had  respect  to  the  children  of  Israel,"  it  can  only  ex- 
press his  compassion  and  sympathy  for  them  :  when 
God  had  respect  to  the  offering  of  Abel,  (Gen.  iv.  4.) 
it  imports  to  accept  favorably,  to  notice  with  satisfac- 
tion.    (Comj).  1  Kings  viii.  28 ;  Numb.  xvi.  15.) 

REST,  or  Repose,  was  enjoined  upon  the  Israelites 
on  tlie  sabbath-day,  for  the  glory  of  God ;  in  that  he 
rested  after  the  six  days  of  creation.     See  Sabbath. 

Rest  also  signifies  a  fixed  and  secure  habitation. 
You  shall  go  before  j'^our  brethren,  "  until  the  Lord 
shall  give  rest  to  your  brethren,  as  well  as  to  you,  in 
the  land  which  they  are  going  to  make  a  conquest 
of,"  Deut.  iii.  20.  And  Deut.  xii.  9,  "  For  ye  are  not 
as  yet  come  to  the  rest  and  to  the  inheritance  which 
the  Lord  your  God  giveth  you."  You  are  not  as  yet 
settled  in  that  land  which  j'ou  are  to  possess.  Naomi 
says  to  Ruth,  "  JMy  daughter,  shall  I  not  seek  rest  for 
thee,  that  it  may  be  well  with  thee  ?  "  (Ruth  iii.  1.)  i.  e. 
I  shall  endeavor  to  procure  you  a  settlement.  David, 
speaking  of  the  ark  of  the  covenant,  which  till  his 
time  had  no  fixed  place  of  settlement,  says,  "  Arise,  O 
Lord,  into  thy  rest,  thou  and  the  ark  of  thy  strength," 
Ps.  cxxxii.  8.  And  Ecclus.  xxxvi.  1.5,  "  O  be  mer- 
ciful unto  Jerusalem,  thy  holy  city,  the  place  of  thy 
rest." 

In  a  moral  and  spiritual  sense,  rest  denotes  the 
fixed  and  permanent  state  of  repose  enjoyed  by  the 
blessed  in  heaven  ;  and  to  this  Paul  makes  an  appli- 
cation of  what  is  said  of  the  settlement  of  the  Is- 
raelites in  tiio  Land  of  Promise  ;  "  I  ssvare  to  them 
in  my  wrath,  that  they  should  not  enter  into  my 
rest,"  that  is,  into  the  land  of  Canaan,  Ps.  xcv.  11. 
Therefore,  says  Paul,  (Ileb.  iii.  17—19;  iv.  1—3.)  as 
they  could  not  enter  therein  by  reason  of  their  unbe- 
lief, let  us  be  afraid  of  imitating  their  example :  for 
we  cannot  enter  but  bv  faith,"  «fec. 

RESTITUTION.  '  Natural  justice  requires  that 
we  should  repair  whatever  injuries  we  have  done  to 
our  neighbor,  whether  in  his  person,  property,  or 
reputation.  The  law  of  Moses  prescribed,  (Exod. 
xxi. 23 — 25;  Lev.  xxiv.  20  ;  Deut.  xix.  21.)  "life  for 
life,  eye  for  eye,  tooth  for  tooth,  hand  for  liand,  foot 
for  foot,  burning  for  burning,  wound  for  wound, 
stripe  for  stripe."  Also,  that  they  should  render  five 
oxen  for  one  ox,  and  four  sheep  for  one  sheep  ; 
(Exod.  xxii.)  or  that  the  thief  should  be  sold,  to  make 
restitution  for  his  theft :  that  if  he  had  taken  away 
any  beast  of  service,  as  an  ox,  an  ass,  or  even  a 
sheep,  he  should  restore  it  two-fold  ;  that  whoever 
should  damage  the  field  of  another,  should  rejiair  the 
damage,  according  to  an  estimate.  He  who,  by  ig- 
norance, should  omit  to  give  to  the  temple  what  was 
99 


appouited  by  the  law,  for  example,  in  the  tithes  or 
first-fruits,  was  obliged  to  restore  it  to  the  priests, 
and  to  add  a  fifth  part  beside  ;  over  and  above  , 
which,  he  was  bound  to  ofler  a  ram,  for  his  expia- 
tion. Nehemiah  prevailed  with  all  those  Israelites 
to  make  restitution,  who  had  taken  interest  of  their 
brethren,  (Neh.  v.  10, 11.)  and  Zacclicus  (Luke  xix.  8.) 
promises  a  four-fold  restitution  to  all  from  whom  he 
had  extorted,  in  his  oflice  as  a  publican.  The  Ro- 
man laws  condemned  to  a  four-fold  restitution  all 
who  were  convicted  of  extortion  or  fraud.  Zaccheus 
here  imposes  that  penalty  on  himself,  to  which  he 
adds  the  half  of  his  goods  ;  which  was  what  the  law 
did  not  require. 

He  who  had  killed  a  beast,  as  an  ox,  was  to  render 
another  for  it,  or  the  value  of  it,  Lev.  xxiv.  18,  21. 

The  Jews  expected  Elias  in  the  day  of  the  Messi- 
ah, who  was  to  restore  all  things.  Matt.  xvii.  11 ;  Mai. 
iv.  5,  6.  And  Peter  (Acts  iii.  21.)  calls  the  last  day 
the  day  of  restitution  of  all  things.  At  the  end  of  the 
world  Christ  will  unite  the  church  with  the  syna- 
gogue, the  Jew  Avith  the  Christian,  tlie  Christian 
with  the  Gentile  :  then  all  things  will  be  restored  to 
a  perfect  union,  and  there  will  be  but  one  shepherd 
and  one  flock. 

RESURRECTION,  revival  from  the  dead.  The 
belief  of  a  resurrection  is  an  article  of  religion  com- 
mon to  Jew  and  Christian  ;  and  is  expressly  taught 
in  both  Testaments.  We  speak  not  here  of  that  mi- 
racidous  resurrection,  which  consists  in  reviving  for  a 
time,  to  die  again  afterwards ;  as  Elijah,  Elisha, 
Christ,  and  his  apostles,  raised  some  from  the  dead  ; 
but  of  a  general  resurrection  of  the  dead,  which  will 
take  i)lacc  attho  end  of  the  world,  and  which  will  be 
followed  by  an  immortality  either  of  happiness  or  of 
misery.  So  the  psalmist  says,  (xvi.  10.)  "  For  thou 
wilt  not  leave  my  soul  in  hell,  [the  grave,]  neither 
wilt  thou  suffer  "thine  holy  one  to  see  corruption." 
Job  xix.  25—27,  "  For  I  know  that  my  Redeemer 
liveth,  and  that  he  shall  stand  in  the  latter  day  upon 
the  earth.  And  though  after  my  skin,  worms  destroy 
this  body,  yet  in  my  flesh  I  shall  see  God  :  whom  I 
shall  see  for  myself,  and  mine  eyes  shall  behold,  and 
not  another  :  though  my  reins  be  consumed  within 
me."  Ezekiel,  also,  in  his  vision  of  a  gi-eat  quantity 
of  bones  in  a  large  field,  which,  at  tlie  breath  of  the 
Spirit  of  the  Lord,  began  to  unite,  to  be  covered  with 
flesh,  nerves  and  skin,  and  at  last  to  revive,  has  left 
us  a  proof  and  an  assurance  of  a  general  resurrec- 
tion, Ezek.  xxxvii.  (See  also  Isa.  xxvi.  19.)  The 
Book  of  Wisdom  (chap.  iii.  iv.  15.)  speaks  of  it  in  a 
veiy  lively  manner ;  and  in  the  INIaccabecs,  we  see 
the'saine  truth  maintained  still  more  expresslv,  2  Mac. 
vii.  9,  14,  23,  29  ;  Heb.  xi.  35. 

Wlien  our  Saviour  appeared  in  Judea,  the  resur- 
rection from  the  dead  was  received  as  a  principal 
article  of  religion  by  the  whole  Jewish  nation,  except 
the  Sadducees,  whos?  error  our  Saviour  has  effectu- 
ally confuted.  lie  has  jiromised  his  faithful  servants 
a  complete  state  of  ha]>piness  after  the  general  resur- 
rection ;  and  he  arose  himself  from  the  dead,  to  give, 
among  other  things,  a  jiroof  in  his  oV(n  person,  a 
pledge,  a  pattern  of  the  future  resurrection.  Paul,  in 
almost  all  his  Ejiistles,  speaks  of  a  general  resurrec- 
tion ;  refutes  those  who  denied  or  opposed  it ;  proves 
it  to  those  who  had  difficulties  about  it ;  in  some  de- 
gree explains  the  mystery,  the  manner,  and  several 
circumstances  of  it;"says",  that  to  doiy  it,  is  the  same 
as  to  deny  our  Saviour's  resurrection ;  and  that,  if 
we  were  not  to  rise  again  from  the  dead,  we  should 
be  of  all  men  the  most  miserable,  1  Cor.  xv. 


RESURRECTION 


[  786 


REIT 


Some  of  the  aucient  fathers  acknowledged  a  two- 
fold resun-ection :  (1.)  that  which  is  to  precede  the 
Messiah's  reign  of  a  thousand  years  upon  earth  ;  (2.) 
that  which  is  to  follow  the  reign  of  a  thousand  years, 
and  to  begin  the  reign  of  the  saints  in  a  state  of  ever- 
lasting happiness.  This  sentiment  they  borrowed 
from  the  Jews  ;  it  is  found  clearly  enough  in  the 
second  book  of  Esdras,  iv.  35 ;  vi.  18,  &c.  in  the 
Testament  of  the  twelve  patriarchs,  and  in  several  of 
the  rabbins. 

It  is  inquired,  what  will  be  the  nature  of  bodies 
when  raised,  what  their  stature,  their  age,  their  sex  ? 
Christ  tells  us,  (Matt.  xxii.  30.)  that  affer  the  resur- 
rection men  shall  be  as  the  angels  of  God ;  that  is, 
according  to  the  fathers,  they  shall  be  immortal,  in- 
corruptible, and  in  some  sort  spiritual ;  yet  without 
losing  the  qualities  of  bodies,  as  we  find  our  Saviour's 
body,  after  his  resurrection,  was  tangible,  and  had 
flesh  on  his  bones,  Luke  xxiv.  39. 

The  schoolmen  have  discussed  the  doctrine  of  the 
resurrection  with  great  subtilty  and  minuteness;  but 
there  are  several  questions  connected  with  it,  as  it 
appears  in  Scripture,  which  comprise  much  greater 
importance  than  those  so  assiduously  treated  by 
them.  That  some  notion  of  a  resurrection  was  in 
circulation  among  the  Jews,  appears  from  the  per- 
plexity of  Herod  the  tetrarch.  Matt.  xiv.  When  he 
heard  of  the  fame  of  Jesus,  he  said,  "  This  is  John 
the  Baptist ;  he  is  risen  from  the  dead,  and  therefore 
mighty  works  do  show  forth  themselves  in  him." 
How  could  he  conceive  of  a  resurrection  of  John, 
when  he  knew  that  he  had  been  decollated,  that  his 
head  was  in  the  keej^ing  of  Herodias,  and  that  his 
body  had  been  buried  by  his  disciples?  verse  12.  It 
could  not  be  a  corporeal  resurrection  ;  the  body  with- 
out tjie  head  was  undoubtedly  imperfect,  and  inca- 
pable of  life.  And  if  Herod  supposed  (as  some  say) 
that  the  soiU  of  John  animated  the  body  of  Jesus, 
how  v,-as  that  a  resurrection  ;  and  what  could  be  his 
reasons  for  imagining  that,  in  such  a  case,  "  mighty 
works"  would  be  wrought  by  a  soul  returned  to 
earth  from  the  abode,  or  the  state,  of  separate  spirits  ? 

Very  confused,  undoiditedly,  were  the  notions  of 
the  best  instructed  of  the  disciples  of  Jesus  on  this 
subject.  When  PeKn-,  James  and  John,  as  they 
came  down  from  the  mount  of  Transfiguration,  were 
charged  to  preserve  secrecy  as  to  what  they  had  wit- 
nessed, "  till  the  Son  of  man  should  bo  risen  from 
the  dead,"  tliey  cross-examined  each  otlier  as  to  the 
import  of  this  phrase.  They  could  not  think  them- 
selves enjoined  to  silence  till  the  general  resurrection  ; 
undoubtedly  they  should  all  be  dead  long  enough 
befci-3  that :  and  as  to  the  particular  resurrection  of 
the  Son  of  man,  they  were  completely  at  a  loss,  since 
they,  in  common  witli  other  Jews,  had  heard  out  of 
the  law,  that  the  Messiah  abideth  for  ever.  This 
was  explained  to  John  (first,  apparently)  and  to  Pe- 
ter, (John  XX.  8.)  and  this  "  questioning  among  them- 
selves," might  be  no  bad  preparative  lor  that  convic- 
tion. In  the  parable  of  the  rich  man  and  Lazarus, 
(Luke  xvi.)  the  passage  of  a  separate  spirit  from  a 
state  of  felicity  to  tliis  world,  is  plainly  supposed  to 
be  possible  ;  and  the  phrase  "rising  from  the  dead," 
is  used  in  a  manner  to  show  that  it  was  common  and 
current  at  that  time  among  that  people. 

The  doctrine  of  a  general  resurrection  as  an  article 
of  faith,  is  expressly  acknowledged  by  Martha,  at  the 
grave  of  Lazarus,  (John  xi.  24.)  and"  it  is  clear,  that 
no  individual  can  receive  according  to  the  deeds 
done  in  the  body,  unless  the  l)ody  be  party  to  ihe 
sent'  nee  as  well  ns  to  the  deeds. 


But  the  conceptions  of  both  Jews  and  Gentiles 
were  exceedingly  gross  and  obscure  on  a  doctrine  so 
contrary  to  universal  experience.  They  inclined  too 
much  to  the  notion  of  a  corporeal  resurrection,  to  a 
renovated  term  of  sensual  enjoyment,  to  terrestrial 
pleasures,  a  freedom  from  the  evils  of  life,  but  a  par- 
ticipation in  its  joys  and  advantages  ;  a  pi-olongation 
of  being,  in  its  favorable  sense,  on  earth  ;  but  again 
to  close  and  terminate.  Of  a  resurrection  of  the 
body  to  eternal  life,  properly  speaking,  and  in  a  state 
of  perfect  holiness  and  glory,  superior  to  the  delights 
of  sense,  they  appear  to  have  had  no  idea :  hence  the 
Gentiles,  especially,  both  ridiculed  and  hated  the 
doctrines  held  and  enforced  by  the  disciples  of 
Jesus. 

It  was  the  opinion  of  Chrysostom,  that  the  philos- 
ophers addressed  by  Paul  at  Athens,  (Acts  xvii.  18.^ 
took  Jesus  and  the  resurrection,  'Ayaoraair,  for  a  god 
or  deified  man,  and  a  goddess  or  deified  principle. 
Dr.  Hammond  adopts  this  idea,  and  is  followed  by 
later  writers.  It  is  countenanced  by  their  expression 
— "  he  seems  to  be  a  setter  forth  of  foreign  demons," 
that  is,  of  departed  spirits  existing  in  a  separate  and 
more  exalted  state,  but  exercising  great  power  in  this 
lower  world. 

Undoubtedly,  Paul  was  the  best  qualified  of  all 
men  to  describe  the  glories  of  the  resurrection-body 
of  Christ ;  for,  during  his  abode  on  earth,  Christ  sus- 
pended, or  suppressed,  those  glories  ;  and  the  ap- 
pearances of  Christ,  seen  by  the  writers  of  the  Apoc- 
alypse, being  in  vision,  and  that  vision  emblematical 
and  mysterious,  they  will  not  bear  arguments  so  co- 
gent as  the  manifestation  in  the  way  to  Damascus. 
Paul  repeatedly  asserts  that  "  he  had  seen  the  Lord," 
— that  he  had  been  commissioned  by  him  ;  he  reports 
a  long  communication  that  took  place,  (Actsxxvi.  13 
— 18.)  and  he  aflirms  the  excessive  refulgence  of  the 
splendor  from  the  body  of  Jesus,  its  effects  on  his 
companions,  and  more  especially  on  himself,  in  whom 
it  produced  blindness ;  that  is,  perhaps,  the  cornea 
of  the  eye  was  so  greatly  indurated,  that  its  transpa- 
rency was  lost ;  nor  was  the  power  of  seeing  restored 
to  the  eye,  till  after  the  original  cornea  had  peeled 
oflf,  in  the  form  of  scales. 

It  may  well  be  supposed  that  preeminence  in  point 
of  splendor  is  conferred  on  the  resurrection-body  of 
Christ ;  nor  should  we  press  too  closely  the  words  of 
John,  "  We  shall  be  like  him,  when  we  shall  see  him 
as  he  is."  Nevertheless,  we  may  modestly  conjec- 
ture, that  a  glory  somewhat  similar  will  be  attached 
even  to  the  bodies  of  saints  ;  though  it  becomes  us  to 
confess  that  our  ignorance  on  all  celestial  subjects  is 
rendered  the  more  sensible,  by  the  very  communica- 
tions with  which  we  have  been  favored  by  divine 
revelation  itself.  We  are  more  conscious  of  our 
ignorance,  incompetency  and  weakness,  than  the 
uninstructed  heathen,  or  the  partially  instructed  He- 
brews, could  possibly  be.  We  repose  our  confi- 
dence on  the  infinite  power  of  our  3Iaker,  we  receive 
the  doctrine  simply  as  an  article  of  divine  revela- 
tion ;  and,  notwithstanding  the  difllcultics  of  the 
subject,  and  the  ))ower  of  opposing  appearances, 
we  rejoice  in  hope  ofthcs;loni  of  God. 

REU,  or  Ragau,  (Luke  iii.  35.)  son  of  Peleg,  Gen. 
xi.  18,  19.  His  fatlicr  was  then  thirty  years  old.  He 
begat  Serug,  being  thirty-two  years  old,  A.  M.  1819, 
and  died  at  the  age  of  two  hundred  and  thirty-nine 
yeai-s,  A.  M.  2026.  It  is  not  impossible,  that  the  city 
of  Rages,  and  the  plain  of  Ragau,  might  take  their 
names  from  Reu,  or  Ragau  ;  for  these  are  the  same 
in  the  Hebrew.     The  difference  depends  on  the  pro- 


REV 


[787  ] 


REV 


nlinciation  of  the  letter  y  ain,  or  gnain,  Gen.  xi.  18 ; 
1  Chron.  i.  25. 

REUBEN,  {behold!  a  son;)  so  called  in  reference 
to  the  sentiment  of  his  mother,  "  The  Lord  hath 
looked  on  my  affliction  ;"  the  eldest  son  of  Jacob  and 
Leah  ;  born  A.  M.  2246,  Gen.  xxix.  32.  Reuben, 
having  defiled  bis  father's  concubine  Bilhah,  lost  his 
birth-right,  and  all  the  privileges  of  primogeniture. 
Gen.  XXXV.  22.  When  Joseph's  brethren  had  taken 
a  resolution  to  destroy  him,  Reuben  endeavored  by 
ail  means  to  dehver  him.  He  proposed  to  them,  to 
let  him  down  into  an  old  water-pit,  which  had  then 
no  water;  that  afterwards  lie  might  take  liim  up 
again,  and  restore  him  to  his  father  Jacob.  His 
brethren  took  the  advice  ;  but  while  Reuben  was  at 
some  distance,  they  sold  Joseph  to  a  party  of  Ish- 
maelites.  Reuben  going  to  tlie  pit,  and  not  finding 
him  there,  tore  his  clothes,  and  bewailed  his  broth- 
er's loss. 

Jacob,  wlien  dying,  warmly  reproached  Reuben 
with  his  crime  committed  with  Bilhah  ;  saying, 
"  Reuben,  thou  art  my  first-l)orn,  my  might,  but  un- 
stable as  water,  thou  slialt  not  excel,  because  tliou 
vventest  up  to  thy  father's  bed  ;  then  defiledst  thou 
it."  Moses,  before  his  death,  said  of  Reuben,  (Deut. 
xxxiii.  6.)  "  Let  Reuben  live  and  not  die,  yet  let  his 
number  be  but  small."  His  tribe  was  never  very 
numerous,  nor  very  considerable  in  Israel.  They 
had  their  inheritance  beyond  Jordan,  between  the 
brooks  Anion  south,  and  Jazer  north,  having  the 
mountains  of  Gilead  east,  and  Jordan  west.  (See  Ca- 
naan.)    The  time  of  Reuben's  death  is  unknown. 

REUEL,  son  of  Esau  and  Bashemath,  daughter  of 
Ishmael,  was  father  of  Nabath,Zerah,  Shammah  and 
Mizzah,  Gen.  xxxvi.  4,  17. 

REUMAH,  concubine  to  Nahor,  the  brother  of 
Abraham  ;  was  mother  of  Tebah,  Gaham,  Thahash 
and  Maachah,  Gen.  xxii.  24. 

REVELATION,  an  extraordinary  and  supernatu- 
ral discovery  made  to  the  mind  of  man  ;  whether  by 
dream,  vision,  ecstacy,  or  otherwise.  Paul,  alluding 
to  his  visions  and  revelations,  (2  Cor.  xii.  1,  7.)  speaks 
of  them  in  the  third  person,  out  of  modesty  ;  and  de- 
clares, that  he  could  not  tell  whether  he  were  in  the 
body  or  out  of  tlie  body.  Elsewhere  he  says,  that 
he  had  received  his  gospel  by  a  particular  revelation  : 
(Gal.  i.  12.)  again,  that  he  did  not  go  to  Jerusalem 
after  his  conversion  by  the  mere  motion  of  his  own 
mmd,  but  in  consequence  of  a  revelation,  Gal.  ii.  2. 

"  Revelation  "  is  used  to  express  the  manifestation 
of  Jesus  Christ  to  Jews  and  Gentiles;  (Luke  ii.  32.) 
the  manifestation  of  the  glory  with  whicii  God  will 
glorify  his  elect  and  faithful  servants  at  the  last 
judgment ;  (Rom.  viii.  10.)  and  the  declaration  of  his 
just  judgments,  in  his  conduct  both  towards  the  elect, 
and  towards  the  reprobate,  Rom.  ii.  5 — 1().  There  is  a 
verj'  noble  application  of  the  word  revelation  to  the 
consummation  of  all  things,  or  the  revelation  of  Jesus 
Christ  in  his  future  glory,  1  Cor.  i.  7  ;  1  Pet.  i.  13. 

Revelation,  book  of,  see  Apocalypse. 

REVENGE,  the  return  of  an  injury,  from  a  desire 
of  hurting  the  object.  Hence  it  is  generally  said,  tiiat 
when  Scripture  says  that  God  revenges  himself,  it 
speaks  after  a  popular  manner  :  the  meaning  is,  he 
vindicates  the  injuries  done  to  his  justice  and  his 
majesty,  and  tf)  the  order  established  by  him  in  the 
world  ;  yet  without  any  emotion  of  displeasure.  He 
revenges  the  injuries  done  to  his  servants,  because 
he  is  just,  and  because  order  and  justice  must  be  pre- 
served. It  may,  however,  be  remarked,  that  our  lan- 
guage maintains   a   distinction   between   the  terms 


revenge  and  avenge,  although  it  is  too  often  over- 
looked. That  God  may  avenge,  that  is,  punish  in 
proportion  to  sins  committed,  is  the  indefeasible  con- 
sequence of  his  infinite  justice,  of  his  moral  govern- 
ment, holiness,  &c.  but  to  revenge  seems  rather  the  act 
of  a  man  when  he  inflicts  an  injury  on  another,  com- 
mensurate, in  his  estimation,  to  the  injury  he  has  re- 
ceived from  that  other,  and  in  this  he  is  likely  to  be 
guilty  of  excess.  It  is,  therefore,  not  without  pain 
that  we  read  of  God's  revenging,  since  a  disposition 
to  revenge,  or  a  spirit  of  revenge,  is  very  improperly 
imputed  to  Deity,  and  we  cannot  be  too  cautious  on 
this  subject.  To  avenge  a  broken  law,  to  avenge  the 
injuries  sustained  by  tlie  widow  and  fatherless,  that 
is,  to  punish  those  who  oppress  them  in  proportion 
to  demerit,  is  no  more  than  justice,  and  may  be  ac- 
complished in  various  ways;  possibly,  even  without 
inflicting  evil  on  the  culprit — but  by  bringing  him  to 
a  penitent  ssnse  of  his  misconduct,  inducing  him  to 
make  restitution,  to  make  amends,  to  compensate  for 
damages,  and  to  resolve  on  better  conduct  for  the 
future,  &c.  In  short,  it  should  seem  that  determina- 
tion to  avenge,  is  a  pure  and  simple  wish  to  do  justice 
or  to  see  justice  done;  while  the  desire  to  revenge 
springs  from  pride,  or  self-love,  and  is  a  human  in- 
firmity actuated  by  passion,  vehemently  assuming 
the  character  of  retaliation,  vexing,  or  injuring  the 
object  of  it. 

In  the  Old  Testament,  God  appears  to  have  tole- 
rated revenge  in  certain  cases,  to  avoid  greater  evils : 
"  An  eye  for  an  eye,  a  tooth  for  a  tooth,  &c.  Exod. 
xxi.  24.  The  relations  of  a  man  who  had  been  killed 
might  take  revenge  on  the  murderer.  Numb.  xxxv. 
16 — 18,  &:c.  (See  Refuge.)  However,  God  has  suf- 
ficiently declared,  that  vengeance  belongs  only  to 
him,  Deut.  xxxii.  35.  He  forbids  malice  and  revenge 
in  express  terms ;  he  will  not  allow  us  to  keep  any 
resentment  in  our  hearts  against  our  brethren.  Lev. 
xix.  17,  18.  And  when  God  seems  to  have  estab- 
lished the  lex  talionis,  he  does  not  thereby  allow  of 
revenge,  but  sets  limits  to  it.  He  does  not,  as  Au- 
gustin  remarks,  intend  to  provoke  to  anger,  but  to 
stop  the  progress  and  consequences  of  it. 

"  The  day  of  vengeance  "  sometimes  expresses  the 
day  of  judgment,  in  which  God  will  take  vengeance 
on  all  his  enemies  ;  sometimes  the  day  of  vengeance 
stands  for  the  punishment  God  exercises  on  his  ene- 
mies, when  their  iniquities  have  attained  their  full 
measure,  Exod.  xxxii.  34  ;  Isa.  xxxiv.  8  ;  Ixi.  2  ;  Ixiii. 
4  ;  Luke  xxi.  22. 

REVENGER,  or  Revenger  of  Blood,  is  a  name 
given  in  Scripture  to  the  man  who  had  the  right,  ac- 
cording to  the  Jewish  jiolity,  of  taking  revenge  on 
him  who  had  killed  one  of  his  relations.  If  a  man 
had  been  guilty  of  manslaughter,  involuntarily  and 
without  design,  he  fled  to  a  city  of  refuge.  See  the 
subj<>ct  fully  treated  under  Refuge. 

Reverence,  a  respectful,  submissive  disposi- 
tion of  mind,  arising  from  affection  and  esteem,  from 
a  sense  of  superiority  in  the  person  reverenced. 
Hence  children  reverence  their  fathers,  even  when 
their  fathers  correct  them  by  stripes ;  (Heb.  xii.  9.) 
hence  subjects  reverence  their  sovereign  ;  (2  Sam.  ix. 
6.)  hence  wives  reverence  their  husbands;  (Eph.  v. 
33.)  and  hence  all  ought  to  reverence  God.  We 
reverence  the  name  of  God,  the  house  of  God,  the 
worship  of  God,  &c. ;  we  reverence  the  attributes  of 
God,  the  commands,  dispensations,  &c.  of  God  ;  and 
we  ought  to  demonstrate  our  reverence  by  overt  acts, 
auch  as  are  suitable  and  becoming  to  time,  place  and 
circumstances ;   for  though  a  man    may   reverence 


REZ 


[  788  ] 


RIG 


God  in  his  heart,  yet  unless  he  behave  reverentially, 
and  give  proofs  of  his  revei-ence  by  demeanor,  con- 
duct and  obedience,  he  will  not  easily  persuade  his 
fellow  mortals,  that  his  bosom  is  the  residence  of  this 
divine  and  heavenly  disposition  ;  for,  in  fact,  a  rev- 
erence for  God  is  not  one  of  those  lights  which  burn 
under  a  bushel,  but  one  of  those  whose  sprightly  lus- 
tre illuminates  wherever  it  is  admitted. — Reverence 
is,  strictly  speaking,  perhaps,  the  internal  disposition 
of  the  mind,  (pu.'Joc;  (Rom.  xiii.  7.)  and  honor,  t/io;, 
the  external  expression  of  that  disposition. 

REWARD,  a  recompense,  requital,  retribution  for 
some  service  done  ;  the  fruit  and  benefit  of  labor.  It 
is  of  several  kinds  :  as  mental, — the  reward  of  a  good 
action  is  enjoyed  in  reflection,  satisfaction,  a  sense  of 
having  been  useful,  &c. — pecuniary,  or  profitable, 
such  as  is  due  to  laborers  for  their  work  ;  (1  Tim.  v. 
18  ;  Job  vii.  2.)  a  gift,  or  acquisition  to  counterbalance 
an  injury,  Prov.  xxi.  14  ;  xxii.  4.  Rewards  are  not 
always  conferred  by  Providence  on  good  men  in  this 
life,  but  their  reward  is  in  heaven.  Matt.  v.  12 ;  Luke 
vi.  23.  The  essence  of  reward  being  satisfaction,  a 
reward  given  freely,  a  reward  pronqited  by  grace 
and  favor,  is  a  donation  not  claimaljle  by  the  party 
who  receives  it,  on  account  of  his  own  merit,  but  is 
bestowed  in  kindness  by  the  giver ;  and  therefore, 
though  in  strictness  it  is  not  reward  for  work  done, 
yet  it  is  no  less  a  remuneration,  and  is  at  once  a  gift 
and  a  satisfaction.  "Raphelius  has  shown,  (says  Dr. 
Doddridge,)  that  ulaSog  not  only  signifies  a  reward  of 
debt,  but  also  a  gift  of  favor ;  and  that  the  phrase 
uiadov  doQf:yi[v  occurs  in  Herodotus:  so  that  a  reward 
of  grace,  or  favor,  is  a  classical  as  well  as  a  theologi- 
cal expression."     (Note  on  Rom.  iv.  4.) 

I.  REZIN,  a  king  of  Syria,  who  combined  with 
Pekah,  king  of  Isi-ael,  to  invade  Judah,  2  Kings  xv. 
37,  38  ;  xvi.  5,  6.  A.  M.  3262.  (See  also  2  Chron. 
xxviii.  5 — 7.)  The  first  year  of  Ahaz  they  besieged 
Jerusalem  ;  but  not  being  able  to  take  it,  they  wasted 
the  countiy  around,  and  withdrew.  The  yt  ar  fol- 
lowing they  returned,  and  the  Lord  delivered  up  to 
them  the  army  and  the  country  of  Ahaz.  Alter  this, 
they  separated  their  troops  ;  and  Rezin  carried  away 
much  plunder  and  many  captives  to  Damascus. 
About  the  same  time,  he  took  Elath,  on  the  Red  sea ; 
whence  he  drove  out  the  Jews,  and  settled  Idumeans 
in  their  room,  who,  probably,  had  engaged  him  to 
undertake  the  war.  The  Hebrew  and  the  Vulgate 
(2  Kings  xvi.  G.)  seem  to  Intimate,  that  he  conquered 
Elath  for  the  Syrians.  But  the  tenor  of  the  discourse 
sufticicntly  shows,  that  we  ought  to  read,  "  for  the 
Idumeans:"  and  that  the  Hebrew  should  be  read 
Edom,  not  Aram.  The  difference  between  these  two 
words  in  the  original,  is  hardly  perceivable :  cnx'^, 
Leedoin,  instead  of  d-in-<,  Learam.  Ahaz,  finding 
himself  not  strong  enough  to  withstand  Rezin  and 
Pekah,  applied  to'  Tiglath-pileser,  king  of  Assyria, 
and  with  a  very  large  sum  of  money  bought  his"  as- 
sistance. Tiglath-pileser  marched  against  Damascus, 
took  the  city,  and  slew  Rezin  :  he  also  carried  away 
his  people  to  Kir;  probably  the  river  Cyrus  in  Ibe- 
ria, 2  Kings  xvi.  1). 

II.  REZIN,  a  Jew,  who  retm-ned  from  Babylon, 
Ezra  ii.  48;  Neh.  vii.  .W. 

REZON,  son  of  I^liadah,  revoltcfl  from  his  master 
Hadadezer,  king  of  ZoI»ali,  while  David  made  war 
against  him;  and,  heading  a  band  of  robbers,  made 
inroads  into  the  coiuitiy  about  Damascus,  T  Kings  xi. 
23.  He  at  last  became  master  of  that  city,  and  was 
acknowledged  king.  Whether  this  was  (luring  the 
reigns  of  David  and  Solomon,  Rezon  being  tributary 


to  them ;  or  whether  it  was  not  till  near  the  end  of 
Solomon's  reign,  we  have  no  means  of  determining. 

RHEGIUM,  a  city  of  Italy,  in  the  kingdom  of  Na- 
ples, on  the  coast  near  the  south-west  extremity  of 
Italy,  opposite  to  Messina  in  Sicily.  It  is  now  called 
Reggio.  The  ship  in  which  Paul  was  on  his  way 
to  Rome,  touched  here,  Acts  xxviii.  13,  14. 

RHODA,  a  young  maid  of  the  household  of  Mary, 
the  mother  of  John  Mark,  Acts  xii.  13,  14. 

RHODES,  an  island  and  famous  city  of  the  Le- 
vant, the  ancient  name  of  which  was  Asteria,  Ophi- 
usa  and  Etheria.  Its  modern  name  alludes  to  the 
great  quantity  and  beauty  of  the  roses  that  grew 
there.  It  is  chiefly  famous  for  its  brazen  Colossus, 
which  was  105  feet  high,  made  by  Chares  of  Lyndus : 
it  stood  across  the  mouth  of  the  harbor  of  the  city 
Rhodes,  and  continued  perfect  only  fifty-six  years, 
being  thrown  down  by  an  earthquake,  under  the 
reign  of  Ptolemy  Energetes,  king  of  Egypt,  who  be- 
gan to  reign  ante  A.  D.  244.  When  Paul  went  to 
Jerusalem,  A.  D.  58,  he  visited  Rhodes,  Acts  xxi.  1. 

RIBLAH,  a  city  of  Syria,  in  the  country  of  Ha- 
math,  the  situation  of  which,  however,  is  unknown. 
Jerome  has  taken  it  for  Antioch  of  Syria,  or  for  the 
countiy  of  Hamath,  or  Emmas,  which  was  sfill  in  his 
time  the  first  stage  of  those  who  travelled  from  Syria 
into  Mesopotamia.  However,  this  lies  under  great 
difficulties.  Antioch  was  at  a  distance  from  Emesa  ; 
nor  was  it  on  the  road  from  Judea  to  Mesopotamia. 
When  Moses  describes  the  eastern  limits  of  the  Land 
of  Promise,  (Numb,  xxxiv.  10.)  he  says,  "  Ye  shall 
point  out  j^our  east  border  from  Hazar-enan  to  She- 
pham.  And  the  coast  shall  go  down  froiri  Shepham 
to  Riblah,  on  the  east  side  of  (the  founiain)  Ain  ;  and 
the  border  shall  descend,  and  shall  reach  unto  the 
side  of  the  sea  of  Cinnereth  (Tiberias)  eastward. 
And  the  border  shall  go  down  to  Jordan  ;  and  the 
goings  out  of  it  shall  be  at  the  Salt  sea  (or  the  Dead 
sea)."  The  name  of  Daphne  is  not  in  the  Hebrew : 
but  the  Chaldee  paraphrasts  and  Jerome  explain  the 
fountain  of  Riblah  by  that  of  Daphne,  near  Antioch. 
Ezekiel  draws  the  northern  bounds  of  the  Land  of 
Pronnse  from  the  Mediterranean  sea  to  Hazar-enan, 
or  Atrium  Enan.  He  says,  the  city  of  Hamath  limits 
the  Holy  Land  toward  the  north  ;  and  its  southern 
limits  go  through  the  middle  of  Hauran,  Damascus, 
and  the  mountains  of  Gilead.  He  does  not  mention 
Riblah,  but  Hamath  ;  in  theterritory  of  which  Riblah 
was  situate,  Ezek.  xlvii.  1(5,  seq. 

[The  Babylonians,  in  their  incursions  into  Pales- 
tine, were  accustomed  to  take  their  way  over  Ha- 
math and  Ribla.  Mr.  Buckingham  mentions  a  place 
Bebla,  about  30  miles  south  of  Hamath,  on  the  Oron- 
tes,  in  Avliich  the  ancient  Riblah  is  doubtless  to  be 
recognized.  (Travels  among  the  Arab  tribes,  Lond. 
1825,  p.  481.)    R. 

Riblah,  as  a  residence,  was  one  of  the  most  agree- 
able of  Syria;  whence  it  was  selected  by  the  kings  of 
Babylon.  Pharaoh  Necho,  king  of  Egypt,  stayed 
here,  on  his  return  from  his  expedition  against  Car- 
chemish  ;  (2  Kings  xxiii.  33.)  and  having  sent  for  Je- 
hoahaz,  king  of  jud.ih,  he  here  deprived  him  of  the 
royal  dignity,  and  jiromoted  Jehoiakim.  Nebuchad- 
nezzar, khig  of  Babylon,  continued  at  Riblah,  while 
his  general  Nebuzaradan  besieged  Jerusalem;  and 
after  the  reduction  of  that  city,  Zedekiah,  with  the 
other  prisoners,  was  brought  to  Riblah,  where  his 
eyes  were  put  out,  2  Kings  xxv.  6, 20  ;  Jer.  xxxix.  5; 
lii.  9. 

RIGHT-HAND  flenotes  power,  or  strength; 
whence  Scripture  generally  imputes  to  God's  right- 


RIGHT-HAND 


[  789  ] 


RIG 


hand,  the  effects  of  his  omnipotence,  Exoa.  xv.6.  Ps. 
xxi.  8  ;  xliv.  3,  &c. ;  Matt.  xxvi.  64  ;  Col.  iii.  1 ;  Heb. 
i.  3;  X.  12. 

The  right-hand  commonly  denotes  the  south,  as 
the  left-hand  denotes  the  north.  For  the  Hebrews 
speak  of  the  quarters  of  the  world  in  respect  of  a 
person,  whose  face  is  turned  to  the  east,  his  back  to 
the  west,  his  right-hand  to  the  south,  and  his  left- 
hand  to  the  north.  Thus  Kedem,  which  signifies 
before,  denotes  also  the  east ;  and  Achor,  which  sig- 
nifies behind,  marks  the  west ;  Yamin,  the  right- 
hand,  is  the  south ;  and  Shemol,  the  left-hand,  the 
north.  For  example;  "Doth  not  David  hide  him- 
self with  us  in  strong  holds  in  tiie  wood,  in  the  hill 
of  Hachilah,  which  is  on  the  south  of  .Teshimon  ?" 
Heb.  on  the  right-hand  of  Jeshimou,  1  Sam.  xxiii. 
19,  24. 

The  accuser  was  commonly  at  the  right-hand  of 
the  accused,  (Ps.  cix.  6.)  and  hence,  Satan  stands  at 
the  right-hand  of  the  high-priest  Joshua,  to  accuse 
him,  Zech.  iii.  1.  But,  often,  in  a  quite  contrary 
sense,  to  be  at  any  one's  right-liand,  signifies  to  defend, 
to  protect,  to  support  him,  Ps.  xvi.  8  ;  cix.  31 ;  cviii.  6. 

"To  depart  from  the  law  of  God,  neither  to  the 
right-hand  nor  to  tlie  left,"  is  a  frequent  Scripture 
expression,  meaning  a  sti-ict  adherence  to  it:  neither 
attempting  to  go  beyond  it,  and  doing  more  than  it 
requires  ;  nor  doing  less:  we  must  observe  it  closely, 
constantly,  invarial'iy  :  as  a  traveller,  who  does  not 
quit  his  way,  cither  to  the  right  or  the  left,  lest  he 
should  lose  it  entirely. 

Our  Savioiu*,  to  show  with  what  privacy  we 
should  do  good  works,  says,  (Matt.  vi.  3.)  "  That  our 
left-hand  should  not  know  what  our  right-hand 
does."  Above  all  things  we  should  avoid  vanity  and 
ostentation  in  alms  and  beneficence. 

To  give  the  right-hand  is  a  mark  of  friendship. 
Paul  says,  that  James,  Cephas  and  John  gave  him 
the  right-hand  of  fellowship.  Gal.  ii.  9.  And  in  the 
Books  of  the  Maccabees  this  expression  occiu-s  very 
often.     See  Hand. 

In  taking  an  oath,  the  Hebrews  Ijfted  up  their 
right-hand,  Isa.  Ixii.  8 ;  Gen.  xiv.  22 ;  Deut.  xxxii. 
40.     See  Oath. 

This  article  might  be  extended  to  an  inconvenient 
length :  it  is,  however,  worth  while  to  become  ac- 
quainted with  some  of  the  distinctions  allotted  by 
Scripture  to  the  right-hand.  AVhen  Jacob  called 
Benjamin  the  son  of  my  right-hand,  as  the  margin 
reads,  it  certainly  denoted  a  special  degree  of  affec- 
tion for  that  child  of  his  beloved  Rachel ;  and  when 
he  purposely  crossed  his  hands,  so  as  to  lay  his  right- 
hand  on  the  head  of  Ephraim,  (Gen.  xlviii.  14.)  this 
token,  indicating  greater  prosperity,  was  readily  un- 
derstood by  Joseph,  as  it  was  intended  by  his  father. 
When  we  read  (1  Cliron.  xxix.  24.)  on  occasion  of 
the  inauguration  of  Solomon,  that  "all  the  sons  of 
David  gave  the  hand  unto  Solomon  as  king ;"  we 
shouldunderstand  the  right-hand,  given  in  token  of 
allegiance  and  submission.  In  like  manner  of  Baby- 
lon, (Jer.  1.  15.)  "  She  has  given  her  hand,"  that 
is,  her  right-hand,  has  pledged  her  fidelity  ;  and  the 
same  in  Lam.  v.  G,  "  We  have  given  the  hand,  the 
right-hand,  protesting  thereby  our  submission,  to  the 
Egyptians,  and  to  the  Assyrians,  to  be  satisfied  with 
bread."  When  Abraham  says,  (Gen.  xiv.  22.)  "  1 
have  lifted  up  my  hand  to  the  Lord,  and  I  cannot 
retract,"  he  certainly  means  that  he  had  sworn  to 
the  Lord,  by  lifting  up  his  right-hand.  What,  then, 
can  we  think  of  those  of  whom  it  is  alleged,  (Ps. 
cxliv.  8.)  their  right-hand  is  a  right-hand  of  false- 


hood ;  their  oath  is  not  to  be  taken  ;  or  of  those  who 
are  so  besotted  as  to  worship  gods  of  their  own 
rnaking,  and  never  to  question  whether  there  be  no 
lie  in  their  right-  hand ;  where  truth,  fidelity,  and 
even  scrupulous  accuracy,  should  be  maintained 
without  intermission,  Isa.  xliv.  20. 

The  right-hand  was  stretched  forth  as  an  action 
of  address,  whether  of  entreaty,  (as  Prov.  i.  24  ;  Isa. 
Ixv.  2.)  or  of  oratory,  (as  Acts  xxvi.  1.)  or  of  protec- 
tion, direction,  &c. 

The  right-hand,  especially,  was  lifted  up  in  prayer  ; 
and  it  deserves  notice  that  every  figure  delineated  by 
the  early  Christians,  remaining  in  their  sepulchres, 
or  elsewhere,  intended  to  represent  the  action  of 
prayer,  has  the  hands — but  especially  the  right-hand 
— lifted  up,  solemnly  and  steadily. 

As  much  of  the  labor  of  life  is  performed  with  the 
right-hand,  and  as  most  of  our  Lord's  hearers  were 
laboring  men,  we  ought  not  to  pass  without  notice 
the  emphatic  nature  of  his  advice — "  If  thy  right- 
hand  cause  thee  to  offend,  cut  it  off,"  Matt.  v.  30. 
The  inducement  could  not  be  slight,  nor  the  con- 
viction trivial,  that  could  effect  a  loss  and  a  suffering 
exyn-essed  by  this  figurative  language. 

To  seat  a  person  at  the  right-hand  is  a  token  of 
peculiar  honor ;  so  Bathsheba,  as  the  king's  mother, 
was  placed  at  the  right-hand  of  Solomon:  (1  Kings 
ii.  19  ;  comp.  Ps.  xiv.  9.)  and  when  Christ  is  said  to 
be  seated  on  the  right-hand  of  God,  (Acts  vii.  55; 
Rom.  viii.  34  ;  Col.  iii.  1.)  it  imports  unequalled  dig- 
nity and  exaltation. 

it  is  evident,  that  when  a  hand,  or  the  right-hand,  is 
attributed  to  Deity,  the  expression  should  be  taken 
only  after  the  manner  of  men.  Deity  has  neither 
right-hand  nor  left-hand  ;  but  the  strength,  the  skill, 
the  power  of  man  lying  much,  and  principally,  in  his 
right-hand,  the  idea  is  U-ansf erred  to  God,  by  an  in- 
evitable, and  therefore  a  justifiable,  liberty  of  speech. 

RIGHTEOUS,  and  RIGHTEOUSNESS,  are 
terms  taken  in  several  senses  in  Scripture.  As 
for  (1.)  absolute  perfecfion  of  rectitude  and  holi- 
ness ;  in  which  sense  they  are  applied  to  God,  who 
always  observes  the  very  strictness  of  equity,  as  well 
from  the  justice  of  his  own  nature,  as  in  regard  to 
his  creatures,  Job  xxxvi.  2 ;  John  xvii.  25.  (2.) 
The  truth  and  faithfulness  of  God,  in  performing  his 
promises,  the  rectitude  by  which  he  is  governed  in 
making  and  in  fulfilling  his  promises.  (3.)  The 
righteousness  of  Christ,  the  righteousness  acceptable 
to  God,  the  manner  of  becoming  righteous  in  the 
sight  of  God,  are  other  acceptations  of  the  words. 
(4.)  Righteous  is  spoken  comparativelij  of  men.  No 
man  is  absoliucly  righteous  ;  but  he  who  pracfises 
justice,  cquitj',  integrity,  in  his  conduct,  behavior, 
dealings.  Sec.  is  comparatively  righteous.  Whoever 
in  his  course  of  life  "walks  in  all  the  ordinances  and 
commandments  of  the  Lord,  blameless,"  is  so  far 
righteous.  Hence  some  persons  in  Scripture  are 
called  righteous,  as  Noah  ;  (Gen.  vii.  1 — 9.)  that  is,  a 
man  of  integrity  and  holy  maimers.  So  Abraham 
supposes  (Gen.  xviii.  23.)  there  might  be  fifty  right- 
eous in  Sodom,  men  who  were  not  profligates  like 
the  Sodomites  in  general ;  and  this  sense  is  frequent 
in  the  Psalms,  &c.  Alms  are  called  righteousness. 
Matt.  vi.  1.  (5.)  Righteousness  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment is  a])plied  to  God  ;  to  Christ  the  righteous,  (1 
John  ii.  1.)  and  to  men  ;  but  as  men  have,  at  best, 
but  a  broken,  damaged,  and  imperfect  righteousness, 
this  word  is  applied  to  men  in  a  very  limited  and 
qualified  sense;  and  also  with  respect  to  a  better 
righteousness  than  merely  human ;  that  obtained  by 


RIN 


[  790 


RIZ 


faith  ;  that  fi'eely  bestowed  by  God,  and  as  bestowed, 
eo  received,  through  Christ.  (6.)  Righteousness  de- 
notes tlie  ordinances  of  God,  Matt.  iii.  15 ;  xxi.  32. 
(7.)  Righteousness  is  sometimes  much  the  same  as 
holiness.  Acts  X.  35  ;  Eph.  v.  9.  The  rigiiteousness 
of  the  Pharisees,  which  was  in  their  own  eyes  excel- 
lent, was  precise  to  superstition,  yet  was  imperfect 
and  worthless  before  God,  Luke  xviii.  9 ;  Matt.  ix. 
13.  To  acknowledge  as  righteous,  to  pronounce 
righteous,  that  is,  to  acquit.     See  Justification. 

I.  RIMMON,  a  city  of  Zebulun,  1  Chron.  vi.  77. 
The  same  with  Rimmon-Methoar,  Josh.  xix.  13. 

II.  RIMMON,  a  rock  to  which  the  children  of 
Benjamin  retreated,  Judg.  xx.45  ;  xxi.l3 ;  1  Sam.  xiv.  2. 

III.  RIMMON,  an  idol  of  Damascus,  wliere  he 
had  a  temple,  2  Kings  v.  18.  It  is  thought  this  god 
was  the  sun,  named  Rimmon,  or  high,  because  of 
his  elevation.  Grotius  takes  it  for  Saturn,  because 
that  planet  is  the  most  elevated. 

IV.  RIMMON,  a  city  in  the  tribes  of  Judah  and 
Simeon,  Josh.  xv.  32 ;  xix.  7  ;  1  Chron.  iv.  32  ;  Neh. 
xi.  29  ;  Zecli.  xiv.  10. 

V.  RIMMON,  the  father  of  Baanali  and  Rechab, 
the  murderers  of  Ishbosheth,  2  Sam.  iv.  5,  9. 

RIMMON-METHOAR,  a  city  of  Zebulun,  Josh, 
xix.  13.     The  same  with  Rimmon  I.  above. 

RIMMON-PAREZ,  an  encampment  of  Israel  in 
the  wilderness ;  from  Rithmah  they  came  to  Rim- 
mon-parez,  and  from  hence  went  to  Libnah,  Numb. 
xxxiii.  19.     See  Exodus. 

RINGS,  ornaments  for  the  ears,  nose,  legs,  or  fin- 
gers. The  antiquity  of  rings  appears  from  Scripture 
and  from  profane  authors.  Judah  left  his  ring  with 
Tamar,  Gen.  xxxviii.  18.  When  Pharaoh  commit- 
ted the  government  of  Egypt  to  Joseph,  he  gave  him 
his  ring  from  his  finger.  Gen.  xli.  42.  After  the' vic- 
tory of  the  Israelites  over  the  Midianites,  they  offer- 
ed to  the  Lord  the  rings,  the  bracelets,  and  the  golden 
necklaces,  taken  from  the  enemy.  Numb.  xxxi.  50. 
The  Israelitish  women  wore  rings,  not  only  on  their 
fingers,  but  also  in  their  nostrils  and  their  ears.  (See 
Bracelets.)  James  distinguishes  a  man  of  wealth 
and  dignity  by  the  ring  of  gold  on  his  finger,  Jam. 
ii.  2.  At  the  return  of  the  prodigal  son,  his  father 
ordered  a  handsome  apparel  for  his  dress,  and  that  a 
ring  should  be  put  on  his  finger,  Luke  xvi.  22.  And 
when  the  Lord  threatened  king  Jeconiah  with  the 
utmost  etfects  of  his  anger,  he  tells  him,  that  though 
he  wore  the  signet  or  ring  upon  his  finger,  yet  he 
should  be  torn  off,  Jer.  xxii.  24.     See  Seal. 

The  ring  was  used  chiefly  to  seal  with,  and  Scrip- 
ture generally  assigns  it  to  princes  and  great  i)er- 
sons ;  as  the  king  of  Egypt,  Josejjh,  Ahaz,  Jezebel ; 
king  Ahasuerus,  his  favorite  Haman,  Mordecai,  king 
Darius,  &c.  1  Kings  xxi.  8 ;  Estli.  iii.  10,  &c.  ;  Dan. 
vj.  17.  The  patents  and  orders  of  these  princes 
were  sealed  with  their  rings  or  signets,  an  impression 
from  which  was  their  confirmation. 

The  ring  was  one  mark  of  sovereign  authority. 
Pharaoh  gave  his  ring  to  Joseph,  as  a  token  of  au- 
thority. When  Alexander  the  Great  gave  his  ring 
to  Perdiccas,  it  was  understood  as  nominating  hiiii 
his  successor.  Wlien  Antiochus  Epiphanes  was  at 
the  point  of  death,  he  committed  to  Philip,  one  of 
his  friends,  his  diadem,  his  royal  cloak  and  his  ring, 
that  he  might  give  them  to  his  successor,  young  An- 
tiochus, 1  Mac.  vi.  15.  Augustus,  being  very  ill  of  a 
distemper  which  he  thought  mortal,  gave  his  ring  to 
Agrippa,  as  to  a  friend  of  the  greatest  integrity. 

We  read  of  magical  rings,  to  which  several  extraor- 
dinary effects  were  ascribed,  either  as  preservatives 


against  certain  evils,  or  for  procuring  certain  advan- 
tages and  good  fortune. 

The  rings  and  pendants  for  the  ears,  so  frequent 
in  Palestine  and  Africa,  were  probably  superstitious 
rings,  or  talismans.  When  Jacob  arrived  at  Canaan, 
on  his  return  from  Mesopotamia,  he  ordered  his 
people  to  deliver  to  him  "  all  the  strange  gods  which 
were  in  their  hand,  and  all  their  ear-rings  which 
were  in  their  ears,"  (Gen.  xxxv.  4.)  which  seems  to 
insinuate,  that  those  strange  gods  were  superstitious 
and  magical  figures,  engraven  on  their  rings,  their 
bracelets,  and  the  pendants  in  their  ears.  Some 
commentators,  however,  think  that  these  rings  and 
pendants  were  upon  the  hands  and  in  the  ears  of 
their  false  gods.     See  Ear-rings,  and  Ajmulets. 

RIPHATH,  second  son  of  Gomer,  and  grandson 
of  Japhet,  Gen.  x.  3 ;  1  Chron.  i.  6.  The  learned 
are  not  agreed  what  countiy  was  peopled  by  the  de- 
scendants of  Riphath. 

RISSAH,  an  encampment  of  Israel  in  the  wilder- 
ness. They  came  from  Libnah  to  Rissah,  and  from 
Rissah  they  went  to  Kehelathah,  Nimib.  xxxiii.  22. 
See  Exodus. 

RITHMAH,  another  encampment  of  Israel. 
From  Hazeroth  they  arrived  at  Rithmah,  whence 
they  went  to  Rimmon-parez,  Numb,  xxxiii.  18.  See 
Exodus. 

RIVER,  a  running  stream  of  water.  The  He- 
brews give  the  name  of  the  river,  without  addition, 
sometimes  to  the  Nile,  sometimes  to  the  Euphrates, 
and  sometimes  to  the  Jordan.  The  tenor  of  the  dis- 
course must  determine  the  sense  of  this  uncertain 
and  indeterminate  way  of  sjieaking.  They  give  also 
the  name  of  river  to  brooks  and  rivulets  that  are  not 
very  considerable. 

The  principal  rivers  and  brooks  of  Palestine  were 
the  Jordan,  the  Anion,  the  Jabbok,  the  Cherith,  the 
Sorek,  the  Besor,  the  Kishon,  the  brook  of  Jezreel, 
the  brook  of  Reeds  or  of  Kanah,  the  Barrady,  or  Aba- 
nah  and  Pharpar,  rivers  of  Damascus.  See  their 
proper  articles. 

The  name  of  river  is  sometimes  given  to  the  sea ; 
hence  Jonah  says  (ii.  5.)  he  was  surrounded  by  the 
rivers  ;  that  is,  the  waters  of  the  sea,  currents.  Ha- 
bakkuk,  (iii.  8,  9.)  speaking  of  the  passage  through 
the  Reel  sea,  says,  "  The  Lord  divided  the  waters  of 
the  rivers."  So  the  psalmist,  (Ixxiv.  15.)  "The  Lord 
dried  up  the  rapid  rivers,"  or  the  rivers  of  strength. 
And  Psalm  xxiv.  2,  "  The  Lord  hath  founded  the 
earth  upon  the  sea,  and  established  it  ujion  the  riv- 
ers :"  which  signifies  the  same  in  both  places.  He- 
rodotus relates,  that  when  Xerxes  cast  bonds  into  the 
Hellespont,  and  ordered  it  to  be  whipped,  he  said  to  it, 
"  It  is  with  good  reason  that  nobody  offers  sacrifices  to 
thee,  O  thou  deceitful  and  turbulent  river."    See  Sea. 

RIZPAH,  the  daughter  of  Aiah,  concubine  to 
Saul ;  soon  after  whose  death,  Abncr,  the  general 
of  his  army,  fell  in  love  with  Rizpah,  and  took  her. 
Ishbosheth,  the  son  of  Saul,  who  reigned  at  Maha- 
naiin,  and  was  sui)j)orted  in  liis  regal  state,  only  by 
the  credit  of  Abner's  valor,  resented  this  act,  and 
upbraided  him  with  it.  Abner  was  so  irritated  at 
his  reproaches,  that  he  vowed  to  ruin  Ishbosheth, 
and  join  David,  2  Sam.  iii.  7,  11. 

Saul  having  put  to  death,  upon  some  occasion,  a 
great  number  of  the  Gibeonites,  God,  to  punish  their 
massacre,  sent  a  famine  into  Israel,  which  lasted 
three  years,  2  Sam.  xxi.  1,  3,  &ic.  from  A.  M.  2983 
to  2986.  To  expiate  this  guilt,  David  delivered  to 
the  Gibeonites  Arnioni  and  Mephibosheth,  two  sons 
of  Saul  by  Rizpah,  and  five  sons  of  Michal,  daughter 


ROC 


[791] 


ROG 


of  Saul,  by  Adriel,  son  of  Barzillai ;  or  rather  by 
Phalticl ;  (1  Sam.  xxv.  44.)  all  of  whom  were 
hanged  on  the  mountain  near  Gibeah,  at  the  begin- 
ning of  barley-harvest.  Rizpah,  upon  receiving  the 
intelligence,  took  a  sackcloth  and  spread  it  upon  the 
rock,  where  she  continued  from  the  beginning  of 
harvest,  till  water  from  heaven  fell  on  them  ;  or  till 
the  Lord  sent  his  rain  on  the  earth,  and  restored  its 
former  fertility.  She  hindered  the  birds  froin  tearing 
the  bodies  by  day,  and  the  ravenous  beasts  from  de- 
vouring them  by  night.  When  this  was  related  to 
David,  he  was  moved  with  compassion,  and  sent  for 
the  bones  of  Saul  and  Jonathan,  which  were  at  Ja- 
besh-gilead,  and  deposited  them  in  the  tomb  of  Kish, 
the  father  of  Saul,  at  Gibeah ;  together  with  the 
bones  of  the  seven  men  who  had  been  executed  by 
the  Gibeonites. 

ROCK,  a  large  and  natural  mass  of  stone.  Pales- 
tine, being  a  mountainous  country,  had  many  rocks, 
which  were  part  of  the  strength  of  the  country;  for 
in  times  of  danger  the  people  retired  to  them,  and 
found  refuge  against  sudden  irruptions  of  their  ene- 
mies. When  the  Bcnjamites  were  overcome  and 
almost  exterminated  by  the  other  tribes,  they  secured 
themselves  in  the  rock  Rimmon  :  (Judg.  xx.  47.)  and, 
during  the  oppression  of  Israel  by  the  Midianites, 
they  were  forced  to  hide  themselves  in  cavities  of  the 
rocks,  Judg.  vi.  2. 

Samson,  we  are  told,  (Judg.  xv.  8.)  took  his  station 
in  the  rock  Etam,  whence  he  sufTered  himself  to  be 
dislodged  by  the  persuasion  of  his  bretliren,  not  by 
the  force  of  his  enemies  ;  and  David,  it  is  said,  re- 
peatedly hid  himself  in  the  caves  of  rocks.  It  ap- 
pears that  rocks  are  still  resorted  to,  in  the  East,  as 
places  of  security,  and  some  of  them  are  even  capa- 
ble of  sustaining  a  siege,  at  least  equal  to  any  the 
Philistine  army  could  have  laid  to  the  residence  of 
Samson.  So  we  read  in  De  la  Roque  :  (p.  205.) 
"  The  grand  seignior,  wishing  to  seize  the  person 
of  the  emir,  gave  orders  to  the  pacha  to  take  him 
prisoner :  he  accordingly  came  in  search  of  him, 
with  a  new  army,  in  the  district  of  Choui ;  which  is 
a  part  of  mount  Lebanon,  wherein  is  the  village  of 
Gesin,  and  close  to  it  the  rock  which  served  for  re- 
treat to  the  emir.  It  is  named  in  Arabic  Magara 
Gesiji,  i.  e.  'the  cavern  of  Gcsin,'  by  which  name  it 
is  famous.  The  pacha  pressed  the  emir  so  closelv, 
that  this  unfortunate  prince  was  obliged  to  shut 
himself  up  t;i  the  clejl  of  a  great  rock,  with  a  small 
number  of  his  officers.  The  pacha  besieged  him 
here  several  months ;  and  was  going  to  blow  up  the 
rock  by  a  mine,  when  the  emir  capitulated."  Thus 
David  might  wander  from  place  to  place,  yet  find 
many  fastnesses  in  rocks,  or  caverns,  in  which  to 
hide  himself  from  Saul.  Obsen-e,  too,  that  this  cleft 
in  the  rock  is  called  a  cavern ;  so  that  we  arc  not 
obliged  always  to  suppose  that  what  the  Scripture 
calls  caves  or  caverns  were  under  ground  ;  though 
such  is  the  idea  conveyed  by  our  English  word.  \V'e 
may  remark  also,  that  before  the  invention  of  gun- 
powder, fastnesses  of  this  kind  were,  in  a  manner, 
absolutely  impregnable  ;  and,  indeed,  we  have  in 
Bruce  accounts  of  very  long  sieges  sustained  by  in- 
dividuals and  their  famihes,  or  adherents,  upon 
rocks  ;  and  which  at  last  terminated  by  capitulation. 
The  idea  of  retiring  to  rocks  for  security  ;  of  con- 
sidering the  protection  of  God  as  a  rock,  &:c.  which 
often  occurs  in  Scripture,  will  now  appear  extremely 
natural. 

The  number  of  caves,  and  dwelling  places  in 
rocks,  which  late  travellers  have  discovered,  as  well 


in  parts  of  Judea  as  in  Eg\'pt,  greatly  exceeds  what 
had  formerly  been  supposed.  Many  of  these  are 
still  occupied  as  retreats  by  the  inhabitants  ;  and 
Deuon  gives  an  account  of  skirmishes  and  combats, 
fought  in  the  grottoes  or  caverns  of  Egypt,  by  the 
Ai-ab  residents,  against  their  invaders  under  Buona- 
parte. On  the  east  of  the  Jordan,  as  Seetzen  re- 
ports, entire  families,  with  their  cattle  and  flocks, 
take  possession  of  caves  and  caverns  in  rocks  and 
secluded  places,  where  they  arc  not  easily  discov- 
ered, and  whence  they  could  not  easily  be  dislodged. 
The  people  inhabiting  on  the  Persian  gulf  lived  in 
the  same  manner.  For  this  reason  they  were  called 
in  Greek  TocyAoc^t rai.  Troglodytes,  that  is,  people 
who  dwell  in  caves  and  mountain  grottoes.  Those 
that  inhabited  the  desert  about  Tekoah,  lodged  in 
caverns  dug  in  the  earth,  says  Jerome.  The  Idu- 
means  liad  their  abodes  in  clefts  of  the  rocks.  Jer. 
xlviii.  28,  "O  ye  that  dwell  in  Moab,  leave  the  cities 
and  dwell  in  the  rock,  and  be  like  the  dove  that 
maketh  her  nests  in  the  sides  of  the  hole's  mouth." 
Hither  the  Moabites  used  to  retreat,  in  times  of 
calamity.  The  Kcnites,  who  dwelt  south  of  the  Dead 
sea,  had  similar  dweUings:  "And  he  looked  on  the 
Kenites,  and  said.  Strong  is  thy  dwelling  place,  and 
thou  puttest  thy  nest  in  a  rock,"  Numb.  xxiv.  2L 

In  Isa.  li.  1,  God  says  to  the  Jews,  "Look  unto 
the  rock  whence  ye  are  hewn,  and  to  the  hole  of  the 
pit  whence  ye  are"  digged  ;"  that  is,  to  Abraham  and 
the  patriarchs,  your  ancestors. 

Moses  says,  that  God  would  give  the  Hebrews  a 
country,  whose  rocks  and  stones  should  supply  them 
with  plenty  of  honey  and  oil,  Dcut.  xxxii.  13.  "  He 
made  him  to  suck  honey  out  of  the  rock,  and  oil  out 
of  the  flinty  rock."  The  psalmist  says,  (Ixxxi.  16.) 
speaking  of  the  miracle  by  which  Moses  drew  water 
out  of  the  rock,  "  With  honey  out  of  the  rock  should 
I  have  satisfied  thee."  In  Palestine  the  bees  often 
store  up  their  honey  in  holes  of  the  rocks ;  and  it  is 
to  this  that  the  Scripture  alludes.  Job  says,  (xxix. 
6.)  in  the  same  sense,  that  in  his  prosperity,  "the 
rock  poured  out  rivers  of  oil,"  because  olive-trees 
generally  grew  on  stony  mountains. 

For  a  description  of  the  most  eminent  rocks  men- 
tioned in  Scripture  the  reader  is  referred  to  their  re- 
spective articles.     See  also  Skpclchre,  and  Tomb. 

ROD.  This  word  is  variously  used  in  Scripture. 
(1.)  For  the  branches  of  a  tree;  (Gen.  xxx.  37.) 
(2.)  For  a  staft'  or  wand  ;  (Exod.  iv.  17,  20.)  (3.) 
For  a  shepherd's  crook  ;  (Lev.  xxvii.  32.)  (4.)  For 
a  rod,  properly  so  called,  which  God  uses  to  correct 
men  ;  (2  Sam."  vii.  14  :  Job  ix.  34.)  (5.)  For  a  roval 
sceptre,  Eslh.  iv.  11;  Ps.  xlv.  G ;  Heb.  i.  8.  The 
empire  of  tlie  Messiah  is  represented  by  a  rod  of 
iron,  to  express  its  power  and  might,  Ps.  ii.  9  ;  Rev. 
ii.  27 ;  xii.  5  ;  xix.  15.  (6.)  For  a  young  sprout,  or 
branch,  to  distinguish  the  miraculous  birth  of  the 
Messiah  from  a  virgin  mother,  (Numb.  xxiv.  17.) 
"  There  shall  come  a  star  out  of  Jacob,  and  a  scejitre 
(or  rod)  shall  rise  out  of  Israel."  And  Isaiah  saj-s, 
(xi.)  "  There  shall  come  forth  a  rod  out  of  the  stem 
of  Jesse,  and  a  branch  shall  grow  out  of  his  roots." 
In  Jer.  i.  11,  the  watchful  rod,  according  to  the  He- 
brew, is  a  branch  or  rod  of  an  almond-tree.  This 
tree  flourishes  the  earliest  of  any  ;  and  the  Lord  in- 
tended to  denote  by  it  Nebuchadnezzar,  who  was 
just  then  ready  to  pour  his  forces  upon  Judea.  (7.) 
For  a  tribe  or" people,  Ps.  Ixxiv.  2;  Jer.  x.  IG. 

ROE.  It  is  probable  that  the  Hebrew  ^ax,  tzebi, 
which  is  translated  roe,  in  the  English  Bible,  ia  the 
gazelle,  or  antelope.     See  ^V>vtelope, 


ROM 


[  792  ] 


ROME 


ROGEL,  a  fountain  near  Jerusalem,  in  Judah, 
Josh.  XV.  7  ;  xviii.  16  ;  2  Sam,  xvii.  7  ;  1  Kings  i.  9. 
It  was  the  fullers'  fountain,  in  which,  probably,  the 
articles  were  washed,  by  treading  with  the  feet.  It 
seems  to  have  been  not  far  from  the  fountain  Silo- 
am.  (See  Rosenmiiller's  Bibl.  Geogr.  II.  ii.  p.  253.) 

ROGELIM,   a  place  in  Gilead,  beyond  Jordan, 
where  Barzillai,  the  friend  of  David,  lived,  2  Sam. 
xvii.  27  ;  xix.  32. 
ROLL,  see  Book. 

ROME,  ROMANS.  Jerome  seems  to  have 
thought  that  Chittim  was  put  for  Italy  in  Numb, 
xxiv.  24,  where  Balaam  says,  "  And  ships  shall  come 
from  the  coasts  of  Chittim,  and  shall  afflict  Ashur 
and  Eber."  He  translates,  "  Ships  shall  come  from 
Italy."  But  this  ought  rather  to  be  referred  to  the 
Greeks,  who,  under  Alexander  the  Great,  invaded 
the  Hebrews,  at  that  time  under  the  Persians.  The 
Greeks  overthrew  the  Persian  empire,  but  were 
themselves  overthrown  by  the  Romans.  Jerome 
says,  (on  Ezek.  xxvii.  6.)  that  the  workmen  of  Tyre 
used  what  came  from  the  isles  of  Italy,  to  make 
cabins  for  the  captains  of  Tyrian  ships.  But  what 
rarities  could  there  be  in  these  islands  of  Italy,  that 
were  not  in  Phoenicia  and  the  neighboring  prov- 
inces? (See  Chittim.)  Bochart  has  displayed  all  his 
learning  to  support  the  opinion  of  the  rabbins,  who  by 
Chittim  understand  Rome  and  Italy  ;  and  he  shows, 
that  in  this  country  are  found  cities  named  Cethim 
and  Echetia,  as  also  a  river  called  Cethus ;  but  he  also 
brings  good  proofs  that  Chittim  imports  Macedonia. 
The  Jews,  according  to  the  rabbins,  generally 
called  the  Romans  Idumeans  ;  and  the  Roman  em- 
pire, the  cruel  empire  of  Edoni.  It  is  difficult  to 
conceive  their  reason,  since  Italy  and  Rome  are  far 
from  Idumea,  and  have  never  had  any  affinity  with 
the  Idumeans.  When  the  more  learned  rabbins 
are  asked  for  a  reason,  they  maintain,  with  great  as- 
surance and  obstinacy,  that  the  Idumeans  embraced 
Christianity,  settled  themselves  in  Italy,  and  there 
extended  their  dominions. 

The  Roman  empire  is  generally  thought  to  be  de- 
noted in  Dan.  ii.  40,  by  the  kingdom  of  iron,  which 
bruises  and  breaks  in  pieces  all  other  kingdoms  ;  but 
Calmet  thinks  it  is  rather  the  empire  of  the  Lagidfe 
in  Egypt,  and  of  the  Seleucidse  in  Syria. 

In  the  books  of  the  Old  Testament  written  in  He- 
brew, we  find  no  mention  of  Rome,  Romans,  or 
Italy.  But  in  the  IMaccabees,  and  in  the  New  Tes- 
tament, they  are  often  mentioned.  1  Mac.  viii.  1,  2, 
"Judas  had  heard  of  the  fame  of  the  Romans,  that 
they  were  mighty  and  valiant  men,  and  such  as 
would  lovingly  accept  all  that  joined  themselves 
unto  them,  and  make  a  league  of  amity  with  all  that 
came  unto  them  ;  and  that  they  were  men  of  great 
valor.  It  was  told  him  also  of  their  wars  and  noble 
acts,  which  they  had  done  among  the  Galatians,  and 
how  they  had  conquered  them,  and  brought  thorn 
under  tribute."  Judas  had  also  been  informed  of 
their  conquests  in  Spain,  &c.  that  they  had  subdued 
Philip  and  Perseus,  kings  of  Macedonia,  or  Chittim, 
and  Antiochus  the  Great,  king  of  Syria ;  that  they 
had  deprived  him  of  various  provinces  ;  and  had 
also  reduced  the  Greeks,  who  attempted  to  resist 
them  ;  in  a  word,  that  they  confirmed  in  their  king- 
doms all  whom  they  desired  should  reign,  or  de- 
prived those  of  their  crowns  whom  they  intended  to 
punish.  Nevertheless,  that  none  of  them  wore  the 
diadem  or  the  purple,  but  that  they  had  a  senate, 
consisting  of  three  hundred  and  twenty  senators, 
who  consulted  every  day  aboiU  the  affairs  of  the  re- 


public ;  and  that  they  committed  every  year  tlie  sove- 
reign magistracy  to  one  person,  who  commanded 
through  all  their  territories,  and  thus  all  were  obedi- 
ent to  one,  without  envy  or  jealousy. 

The  first  alliance  between  the  Jews  and  the  Ro- 
mans was  made  ante  A.  D.  162. — Some  years  after 
this,  {ante  A.  D.  144.)  Jonathan,  brother  of  Judas 
Maccabeus,  finding  the  ojjportunity  favorable,  sent  a 
deputation  to  Rome,  to  renew  this  alliance.  Simon 
Maccabeus,  also,  sent  to  Rome  an  ambassador  called 
Numenius,  Avhh  a  present  of  a  great  golden  buckler, 
1  Mac.  xiv.  24,  ante  A.  D.  149.  Before  this,  [ante 
A.  D.  163,  2  Mac.  xi.  34—36.)  Quintus  Memmius 
and  Titus  Manilius,  the  Roman  legates,  being  sent 
into  Syria  to  settle  some  affairs  with  Antiochus  Eu 
pator,  interested  themselves  in  promoting  the  tran 
quiUity  of  the  Jews. 

The  Romans  took  the  city  of  Jerusalem  three 
times  :  first  by  the  arms  of  Pompey,  ante  A.  D.  63 ; 
by  Sosius,  ante  A.  D.  37;  by  Titus,  A,  D.  70, 
when  both  the  city  and  the  temple  were  destroyed. 
They  reduced  Judea  into  a  province  ;  that  is,  they 
took  from  it  the  privilege  of  being  a  kingdom,  and 
of  having  kingly  government.  First,  after  the  ban- 
ishment of  king  Archelaus,  son  of  Herod  the  Great, 
A.  D.  16,  and  this  continued  to  A.  D.  37.  It  was 
again  reduced  to  a  province  after  the  death  of  king 
Agrippa,  A.  D.  43  ;  and  it  remained  in  this  condition 
till  it  was  entirely  overthrown. 

The  term  Roman  is  used  (1.)  as  denoting  a  person 
native  or  inhabitant  of  the  city  of  Rome  ;  or  at  least, 
of  the  country  around  that  metropolis  ;  as  in  the 
Epistle  to  the  Romans.  (2.)  For  the  power  of  the 
Roman  government:  (John  xi.  48.)  "The  Romans 
shall  come  and  take  away  both  our  place  and  nation." 
Acts  xxv.  16,  "  It  is  not  the  manner  of  the  Romans 
to  deliver  any  man  to  die,  till  we  have  heard  his  de- 
fence," chap,  xxviii.  17,  &c.  (3.)  For  a  person  who 
possessed  the  privileges  attached  to  the  citizenship  of 
Rome:  (Acts  xxii.  25.)  "Is  it  lawful  for  you  to 
scourge  a  man  who  is  a  Roman,  he  being  as  yet  un- 
condemned?"  Paul,  who  pleads  this  privilege,  was 
not  actually  a  Roman,  by  having  been  born  at  Rome, 
or  in  Italy.  Some  think,  that  bemg  born  in  a  city 
favored  with  the  conununication  of  the  privileges  of 
the  imperial  city,  he  was  competent  to  claim  Roman 
exemptions  by  his  birth-right;  being  a  native  of  a 
municipium — a  city  thus  favored,  and  born  of  pai'ents 
thus  entitled.  Others  think  that  Paul's  father  had 
been  rewartled  with  this  privilege,  for  services  ren- 
dered to  the  Romans,  whether  of  a  militaiy  or  other 
nature ;  which  would  render  it  so  much  the  more 
disgraceful  to  degrade,  by  the  treatment  of  a  slave,  a 
man  entitled  to  especial  marks  of  honor.  This  might 
he  the  fact,  as  such  a  reward  was  received  by  many 
Jews,  about  this  time. 

The  Valerian  law  forliade  that  a  Roman  citizen 
should  be  bound  :  the  Sempronian  law  forbade  that 
he  should  be  scourged,  or  beaten  with  rods.  If  any 
man  falsely  claimed  the  privileges  of  a  Roman  citi- 
zen, he  was  severely  punished ;  by  the  emperor 
Claudius  with  death. 

Romans,  Epistle  to  the. — This  is  placed  before 
the  other  Epistles  of  Paul,  not  because  it  was  first 
composed  in  order  of  time,  but  because  of  the  dignity 
of  the  imperial  city,  to  which  it  is  directed,  or  of  the 
excellence  of  its  contents ;  or  of  the  magnificence 
and  sublimity  of  the  mysteries  of  which  it  treats.  It 
passes  for  the  most  exalted  and  the  most  difficult  of 
all  Paul's  Epistles.  Jerome  (Epist.  151.  cap.  8.)  was 
of  opinion,  that  not  one  book  only,  but  many  volumes 


ROMANS 


[793  ] 


110  s 


were  necessary,  for  a  full  explanation  of  it.  And 
some  have  thought,  that  Peter  had  chiefly  this  Epis- 
tle in  his  eye,  when  he  said,  (2  Pet.  iii.  15,  16.)  "As 
our  beloved  brother  Paul  also,  accordmg  to  the  wis- 
dom given  unto  him,  hath  written  unto  you.  As  also 
in  all  his  ej)istlcs,  speaking  in  them  of  these  things  ; 
in  which  ai-e  some  things  hard  to  be  understood, 
which  they  that  are  unlearned  and  unstable  wrest,  as 
they  do  also  the  other  Scriptures,  unto  their  own  de- 
struction." But  others,  with  good  reason,  think 
Peter  rather  refers  to  Paul's  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews. 
(See  Bibl.  Repositorj',  vol.  ii.  p.  412,  seq.)  Or,  per- 
haps, to  what  were  earlier  written,  and  to  countries 
nearer  to  those  addressed  by  Peter.  The  dates  of 
the  Epistles  must  be  considered  in  this  reference, 

Paul's  design,  in  his  Ejjistle  to  the  Romans,  is  to 
terminate  certain  domestic  disputes,  which  then  pre- 
vailed among  tlie  believers  at  Rome,  and  divided  the 
converted  Jews  and  Gentiles  into  two  parties.  The 
Jews  insisted  on  their  bu'thright,  and  the  promises 
made  to  their  fiithers  ;  on  account  of  which  they  as- 
sumed a  certaiii  prioritj'  or  preference  over  the  con- 
verted Gentiles,  whom  they  regarded  as  foreigners 
and  interlopers,  out  of  pure  favor  admitted  into  the 
society  of  believei-s,  and  to  the  participation  of  Chris- 
tian privileges.  The  Gentiles,  on  the  other  hand, 
maintained  the  merit  of  their  sages  and  philosophers, 
the  prudence  of  their  legislators,  the  purity  of  their 
moralit}',  and  their  exactness  in  following  the  law  of 
nature.  They  accused  the  Jews  of  infidelity  toward 
God,  and  violation  of  his  laws.  They  aggravated  their 
faults,  and  those  of  their  fathers,  which  had  excluded 
the  greater  part  of  them  from  the  inheritance  of  the 
.saints,  from  the  faith,  &c.  as  witnessed  by  their  own 
Scriptures,  &c. 

To  terminate  these  contentions,  Paul  applies  him- 
self to  restrain  the  presumption  of  both  parties.  lie 
shows  that  neither  could  pretend  to  merit,  or  had  rea- 
son to  glory,or  boast  of  their  calling ;  which  proceeded 
from  the  mere  grace  and  mercy  of  God.  He  proves 
that  even  if  the  Jews  had  observed  the  law  of  Moses, 
and  the  Gentiles  the  law  of  nature,  this  could  not  have 
merited  for  either  tlie  gi-ace  they  had  received.  That 
nothing  but  faith  in  Jesus  Christ,  enlivened  by  chai-ity 
and  good  works,  can  justify  us.  He  answers  objec- 
tions by  arguments  taken  from  these  principles,  e.  g. 
the  gratuitous  vocation,  or  the  non-vocation,  of  Jew 
anfl  Gentile  ;  the  insufficiency  of  the  works  of  the  law 
v/ithout  faith;  the  superiority  of  the  Jews  above  the 
Gentiles;  and  the  infallibility  of  the  promises  of  God. 
This  introduces  a  discussion  of  predestination  and 
reprobation,  which  makes  a  principal  part  of  this 
Episile,  and  contains  some  of  the  greatest  difficulties 
in  it. 

In  chapters  xii. — xv.  the  apostle  gives  excellent 
rules  of  morality,  concerning  mutual  harmony,  mutual 
forbearance,  and  reciprocal  condescension  to  infirmi- 
ties, for  fear  of  scandalizing  or  offending  one  another 
by  indiscreet  liberties.  He  describes  the  false  apostles, 
and  exhorts  believers  to  avoid  them.  Chap,  xvi,  con- 
tains salutations  and  commendations,  addressed  to 
particular  y)ersons. 

This  Epistle  was  ^VTitten  A.  D.  58,  in  Corinth, 
whenc:;  Paul  was  immediately  to  depart,  to  carry  to 
Jerusalem  some  collections  made  for  the  saints, 
Phccbe,  a  deaconess  of  the  church  of  Cenchrea,  near 
Corinth,  wtus  the  bearer  of  it.  No  doubt  has  ever 
been  made  of  its  authenticity;  and  though  it  was 
addressed  to  the  Romans,  yet  it  was  written  in  Greek. 
Tertius  was  Paul's  secretary  on  this  occasion. 

The  Marcioniics  made  great  defalcations  in  the 
100 


Epistles  of  Paul,  especially  in  this  to  the  Romans,  of 
winch  they  suppressed  the  last  two  chapters.  There 
is  much  probability  that  Paul  designed  to  finish  this 
Epistle  at  the  end  of  the  fourteenth;  but  afterwards 
added  the  concluding  chapters.  At  the  end  of  the 
fifteenth  chapter,  we  find  tliis  conclusion  :  "  Now  the 
God  of  peace  be  with  you  all.  Amen  ;"  which  seems 
to  show  that  the  letter  was  then  finished.  We  see  the 
same  conclusion  no  less  than  three  times  in  the  six- 
teenth chapter,  (verses  20,  24,  27.)  which  leads  us  to 
imagine  that  these  additions  were  composed  at  inter- 
vals. Probably,  while  waiting  for  an  opportunity  of 
sending  it  off,  whether  by  Phoebe,  or  by  any  other 
safe  hand. 

Paul  is  supposed  to  have  visited  Rome  twice. 
First,  A,  D,  61  or  63,  when  he  appealed  to  Caesar; 
and  then  A,  D,  65,  a  year  before  his  martyrdom, 
which  happened  in  A,  D,  66.     See  Paul, 

ROOF,  see  House,  p,  506,  seq, 

ROOT,  Covetousness  is  the  root  of  all  evil,  1  Tim, 
vi,  10,  That  is,  the  origin,  the  cause,  the  occasion. 
Lest  any  root  of  bitterness  trouble  you,  Heb,  xii,  15, 

The  root  may  also  denote  the  race,  the  posterity, 
Prov,  xii,  3,  The  root  of  the  just  shall  not  be  dis- 
tm"bed,  shall  not  fail.  And  Jeremiah,  (xii.  2.) 
"  Whence  do  the  wicked  prosper  in  all  things  ?  Thou 
hast  planted  them,  and  they  have  taken  root."  In 
Daniel,  and  in  the  Maccabees,  Antiochus  Epiphanes, 
the  persecutor  of  the  Jews,  is  represented  as  a  yoimg 
sprout  or  sucker,  or  root  of  iniquity,  proceeding  from 
the  kings,  the  successors  of  Alexander  the  Great, 
And  Jesus  Christ,  in  his  humiliation,  is  described  as 
a  root  ill  nourished,  growing  in  a  dry  and  barren  soil, 
Isa,  hii,  2.  Chap,  xi.  1,  10,  he  is  called  the  root  of 
Jesse.     (See  Rom.  xv.  2.) 

In  the  contrary  sense,  Paul  says,  (Rom.  xi.  16 — 18.) 
that  the  Jews  are,  as  it  were,  the  root  that  bears  the 
tree  into  which  the  Gentiles  are  grafted.  And  that 
the  patriarchs  are  tb.e  pin"e  and  holy  root  of  which 
the  Jews  are,  as  it  were,  the  branches.  Jesus  Christ 
is  the  root  on  which  Christians  depend,  and  from 
which  they  derive  life  and  subsistence,  Col.  ii,  7. 

ROSE,  a  well-known  shrub.  It  is  evident  from 
Ecclus.  xxiv.  14,  that  the  rose  was  a  favorite  with 
the  Jewish  people,  and  also,  that  "  the  rose  of  Jeri- 
cho" was  a  very  different  plant  from  that  now  bear- 
ing the  same  name.  In  Cant.  ii.  1,  Solomon  has 
chosen  the  rose  to  represent  the  matchless  excellences 
of  the  bride :  "  I  am  the  rose  of  Sharon  ;"  but  the 
Septuagint  and  Jerome,  instead  of  rose,  render,  "the 
flower  of  the  fields."  The  Chaldee,  however,  which 
has  been  folIo^^■e(l  by  most  western  interpreters,  calls 
it  (in  Canticles)  the  rose;  and  circimistanccs  seem  to 
determine  it  to  be  the  wild  rose,  the  uncultivated 
flower,  which  thereby  corresponds  to  the  lily  in  the 
next  verse.  But  beside  this  rose,  Scheuchzer  refers 
to  Hillorus,  who  rather  seeks  this  flower  among  the 
bulbous-rooted  plants,  and  declares  for  the  asphodel, 
whose  flowers  resemble  those  of  the  lily.  It  is  very 
fragrant,  and  Homer  and  Hesiod  praise  it.  Ilesiod 
says  it  grows  commonly  in  woods  ;  and  Homer  calls 
the  Elysian  fields,  "  meads  filled  with  asphodel  ;" 
words  which  agree  with  the  sentiment  of  Solomon 
here,  if  we  take  Sharon  (as  seems  projjcr  enough)  for 
the  common  fields :  "  I  am  the  aspiiodel  of  the 
meadows  (or  woods) ;  the  lily  of  the  valleys,"  or  places 
not  cultivated  as  a  garden  is.  [Gesenius  pronounces 
for  the  derivation  from  Ssj,  a  bulb,  with  n  prefixed,  as 
is  often  the  case.  The  ancient  versions,  as  the  Sep- 
tuagint, Vulgate,  and  also  the  Targum  on  Isaiah, 
render  it  hy  Libj,  or  Xarcissm  ;  of  which  the  latter 


RUF 


794  ] 


RUN 


is  to  be  preferred.  The  Syriac,  however,  renders  it 
by  a  word  signifying  the  Colchichum  autumnaU,  a 
bulbous,  crocus-like  plant,  with  flowers  of  white  and 
violet.  We  may,  therefore,  assume  it  to  be  either  the 
Narcissus  or  the  Colchicum.     R. 

RUE,  a  well-known  garden  herb.  Our  Savioiu- 
reproaclies  the  Pharisees  with  their  superstitious 
affectation  of  paying  the  tithe  of  rue,  which  was  not 
in  reality  subject  to  the  law  of  tithe,  while  they 
neglected  the  more  essential  parts  of  the  law,  Luke 
xi.  42. 

RUFUS,  son  of  Simon  the  Cyrenian,  who  assisted 
our  Saviour  in  earning  his  cross,  Mark  xv.  21.  Ru- 
fus  probably  was  famous  among  the  tirst  Christians, 
since  IMark  names  him  with  distinction.  Is  this  the 
Rufus  whom  Paul  salutes  with  his  mother?  Rom. 
xvi.  13.  Polycarp,  in  his  letter  to  the  Philippians, 
Avritten  A.  D.  107,  proposes  Ignatius  and  Rufus  as 
models  and  patterns  of  jmtience. 

There  is  more  attached  to  the  character  of  the  Rufus 
mentioned  in  Rom.  xvi.  than  appears  at  fii'st  sight ; 
inasmuch  as  Paul  calls  the  mother  of  Rufus  "  his 
mother."  Now,  she  could  not  be  the  natural  mother 
of  Paul,  unless  Paul  and  Rufus  were  brothers;  nor 
could  she  be  the  motljer-iii-iav/  of  Paul  by  natural 
relation  to  his  v/ife,  unless  Rufus  were  brother-in-law 
to  Paul;  but  of  such  connection  we  have  no  account, 
nor  even  surmise.  It  should  seem  to  folloAV,  that  the 
term  mother,  in  this  place,  imports  that  a  great  degi'ee 
of  intimacy  had  existed  between  Paul  and  the  mother 
of  Rufus,  and  that  she  had  favored  him  with  those 
attentions  and  services,  truly  maternal,  which  a 
mother  might  have  done  ;  and  therefore  the  apostle 
salutes  her  son  Rufus  and  herself  under  this  affec- 
tionate recollection. 

This  leads  again  to  an  inquiry  where  this  intimacy 
could  have  taken  place.  To  answer  which,  we  must 
recollect,  that  if  Rufus  were  son  of  Simon  the  Cyre- 
nian, as  Mr.  Taylor  maintains,  and  if  Simeon  the 
teacher  at  Antioch  were  that  Simon,  then,  as  we  know 
that  Paul  was  long  at  Antioch,  where  the  wife  of  Sim- 
eon was  with  her  husband,  we  see  the  time,  place  and 
occasion  of  the  services  rendered  by  the  mother  of 
Rufus  to  Paul ;  and  of  the  mutual  kindness  and  inti- 
macy between  tliem.  We  know  that  Simon  must 
liave  been  at  Antioch,  an  old  man,  the  oldest  of  all  the 
teachers  settled  there  ;  for  Avhich  reason  he  is  placed 
first  on  the  list ;  doid)tless,  bis  wife  also  was  well 
stricken  in  years ;  and  very  probably,  her  son  Rufus 
and  Paul  were  about  the  same  age  ;  so  that,  relatively, 
they  might  both  by  familiarity  be  called  by  her,  her 
sous ;  and  both  might  pay  her  that  respect,  which  in 
one  was  duty,  and  in  tb.e  other  deference  and  regard. 

As  to  the  residence  of  this  pious  woman  at  Rome 
with  her  son  Rufus,  we  may  v/ell  suppose  that  her 
jnisband  Simon  was  dead  at  Ar.tioch  ;  and  that  she 
accompanied  her  son  to  the  capital  of  the  empire, 
where  many  Jews  had  settled.  In  what  capacity 
Rufus  (hvelt  at  Rome,  we  have  no  means  of  deter- 
mining. If  lie  were  a  Cln-istian  teacher,  as  his  father 
was,  it  should  appear  that  he  visited  Philipj)!  in  his 
journeyings,  where  he  suffered  many  adversities  ;  for 
Polycarp  speaks  of—"  patience,  wiiich  yc  have  seen 
.set  forth  brforc  your  eyes,  in  the  blessed  Ignatius,  and 
Zozimus,  and  Rufus,  and  in  Paul  himself."  This 
association  of  persons  contri!)utes  to  confirm  to  Rufus 
the  (character  of  teacher ;  and  to  mark  him  as  the 
same  Rufus,  elect  in  the  Lord,  ^^■ith  whom  Paid  was 
familiar; — his  brother,  not  only  by  profession  and 
grace,  but  also  by  intimacy,  and,  perhaps,  by  constant 
rf-sidencp  in  the  same  family. 


RULE,  RULERS.  These  words  are  applied  to 
different  stations  of  authority.  God  ruleth  over  all, 
and  the  proud  Nebuchadnezzar  was  degi-aded  from 
his  throne  till  he  acknowledged  this  truth,  Dan.  iv. 
26.  The  Messiah  rules  among  the  sons  of  men,  and 
even  rules,  in  power,  over  his  enemies,  (Ps.  ex.  2.) 
but  in  goodness  over  liis  people.  Adam  ruled  over 
the  creatures  in  paradise,  as  their  superior  ;  over  his 
wife,  after  the  fall,  as  the  guardian  sex,  and  the  reg- 
ulator of  propriety  and  restraint.  lie  reigned  also 
over  his  posterity,  as  their  king  and  judge,  governing 
their  social  conduct  as  their  common  lather.  Hus- 
bands rule  their  wives  and  their  own  families.  Pas- 
tors rule  the  churches  which  they  teach.  Princes 
and  nobles  rule  to  wherever  their  power  extends  ; 
and  sovereign  rule  is  over  all  for  the  benefit  and  ad- 
vantage of  its  subjects.  In  proportion  as  the  s}3here 
of  regulating  aiuhority  is  enlarged,  it  requires  greater 
energy  of  mind,  greater  capability  of  apprehension, 
greater  fortitude,  and  greater  i-ectitude,  to  discharge 
the  duties  attached  to  its  importance,  its  dignity  and 
its  influence. 

Nothing  can  describe  greater  unhappiness  than  to 
be  subject  to  the  rule  and  caprice  of  babes,  (Isa.  iii. 
4.)  of  servants,  (Lam.  v.  8.)  of  women,  (Isa.  iii.  12.)  of 
the  wicked,  Prov.  xxviii.  15 ;  xxix.  2. 

The  ruler  of  Joseph's  house  (Gen.  xliii.  16.)  is  his 
house  steward  ;  his  domestic  inspector  and  regulator : 
the  ruler  of  the  people  is  the  civil  or  judiciary  magis- 
trate :  (Exod.  xxii.  28.)  thou  shalt  not  revile  the  ruler 
of  thy  people,  especially  in  the  discharge  of  his 
oftlce. 

RUMA,  a  city  spoken  of  l)y  Josephus,  as  a  village 
of  Galilee,  2  Kings  xxiii.  36.  Probably  the  same 
with  Arumah,  Judg.  ix.  41. 

RUMP  of  the  sacrifices.  Moses  ordained  that  the 
rump  and  fat  of  the  sheep  offered  for  peace-ofterings 
should  be  given  to  the  fire  of  the  altar,  Exod.  xxix. 
22;  Lev.  iii.  9  ;  vii.  3  ;  viii.  25  ;  ix.  19.  The  rump 
was  esteemed  the  most  delicate  part  of  the  animal, 
being  the  fattest.  Travellers,  ancient  and  modern, 
speak  of  the  rumps  or  tails  of  certain  breeds  of  sheep 
in  Syria  and  Arabia,  as  weighing  twenty  or  thirty 
pounds.  Herodotus  says  that  some  may  be  seen  three 
cubits,  or  four  feet  and  a  half  long;  they  drag  upon 
the  gi-ound  ;  and  for  fear  they  should  be  hurt,  or  the 
skin  torn,  the  shepherds  put  under  the  tails  of  these 
sheep  little  carriages,  which  the  animals  draw  after 
them.  The  pagans  had  also  such  regard  for  the 
rumps  or  tails,  that  they  always  made  them  a  part  of 
their  sacrifices.  In  the  Description  de  I'Egypte,  (large 
folio,  Paris,  1820,)  is  inserted  a  plate  of  an  Egyjjtian 
ram,  remarkable  for  the  enormous  size  of  the  tail ; 
the  weight  of  which  exceeds  forty-four  pounds,  Fr. 

To  R  UN  is  used  metaphorically  not  only  for  rapid- 
ity, but  for  perseverance :  "  So  run  that  ye  may  ob- 
tain "the  crown,  the  reward.  "  I  therefore  so  run, 
as  not  incorrectly,"  not  passing  over  the  boundaries, 
the  limits  of  the  course.  Ileb.  xii.  1,  "  Let  us  run 
with  patience,  perseveringly,  steadily,  the  race  set 
before  us."  To  run  to  excess  of  riot,  (1  Pet.  iv.  4.)  is 
to  pursue  with  avidity,  to  follow,  with  prolonged  atten- 
tion, sensual  gratifications,  indulgences,  &c.  As  men 
when  running,  especially  when  running  for  a  prize, 
labor  with  great  diligence,  earnestness  and  intensity, 
the  apostle  uses  this  Avord  to  run,  to  express  the 
course  of  his  conduct  among  his  Christian  converts; 
his  continued  behavior  towards  them,  (Gal.  ii.  2.) 
"lest  by  any  means  I  liad  run,  or  should  hereafter 
run,  in  vain" — lest  my  ministerial  labors  should  suf- 
fer under  the  imputation  of  improper  motives,  con- 


RUT 


f  795 


RUTH 


duct  or  management.  The  same  apostle  also  says  to 
his  Galatian  roiiverts,  (chap.  v.  7.)  "  Ye  did  run  well, 
who  did  hinder  yon  ?"  Ye  did  run  with  speed  and 
vigor ;  who  cainu  across  your  course,  and  so  drove 
you  back  in  your  CIn-istian  race,  your  profession  of 
godliness?  See  Race. 
RUSH,  see  Flag. 

RUTH,  a  Moabitess,  who,  liaving  married  Chilion, 
eon  of  ElinicJech  and  Naomi,  who  had  settled  in 
Moab,  was  left  a  widow,  without  children.  Naomi, 
having  lost  her  luishand  and  two  sons,  was  desirous 
to  return  to  Bethlehem,  her  own  coiuitry.  Her  two 
daughtei'S-in-law  oft'ered  to  attend  her.  Orpah,  h'ow- 
evcr,  was  persuaded  to  continue  in  Moab,  but  Ruth 
accompanied  Naomi  to  Bethleliem.  This  happened, 
according  to  Usher,  under  Shaingar,  about  120  years 
after  Joshua.  At  Bethlehem,  Ruth  went  out  to  glean, 
and  providenlially  entered  the  field  of  a  rich  citizen 
of  Bethlehem,  named  Boaz,  related  to  Elimelech, 
her  father-in-law.  When  Boaz  came  to  see  his  har- 
vesters, he  found  Ruth,  and  bestowed  favors  upon 
her.  In  the  evening  she  told  Naomi  of  his  civilities, 
who  blessed  God  that  he  had  put  such  sentiments  in 
JJoaz's  heart,  and  acquainted  Ruth  that  this  was  their 
kinsman.  At  the  end  of  harvest  she  desired  Ruth  to 
go  and  lie  at  the  feet  of  Boaz,  who  winnowed  his 
corn  ;  and  to  do  what  he  should  advise.  She  went 
accordingly,  and  Boaz,  awaking  in  the  night,  became 
alarmed.  His  kinswoman,  however,  said,  "I  am 
Ruth,  thine  handmaid ;  spread,  thei-efore,  thy  skirt 
over  thine  handmaid,  for  thou  art  a  near  kinsman." 
Boaz  acknowledged  her  right,  but  suggested  that 
there  was  a  nearer  than  himself,  adding,  that  if  he 
should  refuse  to  marry  her,  he  woidd  himself  take 
her  to  wife.  The  next  day  Boaz  went  to  the  gate  of 
Bethlehem,  and  cited  before  the  elders  of  the  city  the 
nearest  kinsman  to  Elimelech ;  on  whom  the  duty 
devolved  of  marrying  Ruth,  the  widow  of  Chilion. 
This  person  declining  it,  Boaz  insisted  that  he  should 
renounce  his  right,  which  he  willingly  did,  and  then 
Boaz  declared  his  resolution  to  marry  her  himself. 


Thus  Ruth  became  the  wife  of  Boaz,  by  whom  she 
had  a  son  called  Obed,  who  was  father  to  Jesse,  and 
grandfather  to  king  David. 

The  Book  of  Ruth,  which  contains  this  history, 
is  placed  in  our  Bibles  between  the  book  of  Judges 
and  the  books  of  Samuel,  as  being  the  sequel  of  the 
former,  and  an  introduction  to  the  latter.  Jerome 
informs  us  that  the  Jews  added  it  to  the  book  of 
Judges,  because  the  transactions  it  relates  happened 
hi  the  time  of  the  Judges  of  Israel,  Judg.  i.  1.  And 
several  of  the  ancient  fathers  make  but  one  book  of  the 
Judges  and  Ruth.  But  the  modern  Jews  conmionly- 
place  in  their  Bibles,  after  the  Pentateuch,  the  five 
Megilloth;  (1.)  The  Song  of  Solomon  ;  (2.)  Ruth  ; 
(3.)  The  Lamentations  of  Jeremiah  ;  (4.)  Ecclesiastes; 
(5.)  Esther.  Sometimes  Ruth  is  placed  the  first  of 
the  five,  sometimes  the  second,  and  sometimes  the 
fifth. 

The  scope  of  the  author  of  this  book,  is  to  trace  the 
genealogy  of  David  ;  and  in  all  probability,  he  was 
the  same  author  as  composed  the  first  book  of  Sam- 
uel ;  in  which,  because  he  could  not  conveniently 
place  this  genealogy  of  David,  he  chose  rather  to  give 
it  separately.  The  writer  observes,  at  the  beginning 
of  his  work,  that  the  history  he  was  about  to  relate 
happened  when  the  Judges  governed  Israel ;  there- 
fore, they  ceased  to  govern  it  when  he  wrote.  He 
also  speaks  of  David  at  the  end  of  his  book  ;  which 
shows,  that,  at  the  earliest,  it  must  have  been  Avritten 
in  the  time  of  David.  Besides,  we  have  observed 
two  ways  of  speaking  in  it,  or  particular  phrases, 
which  are  only  found  in  the  books  of  Samuel  and  of 
the  Kings:  the  first  is,  "The  Lord  do  so  to  me,  and 
more  also,"  Ruth  i.  l7.  (Comp.  1  Sam.  iii.  17  ;  xiv. 
44  ;  XX.  23 ;  2  Sam.  iii.  9,  35 ;  xix.  13 ;  1  Kings  ii. 
23 ;  xix.  2  ;  xx.  10  ;  2  Kings  vi.  31.)  The  second, 
"  I  have  discovered  to  your  ear  ;"  for  1  have  told  you, 
Ruth  iv.  4.     (Comp.  1  Sam.  xx.  2 ;  2  Sam.  vii.  27.) 

The  canonicalness  of  this  book  was  never  disputed  ; 
and  Ruth  the  Moabitess  is  in  the  genealogy  of  our 
Saviour,  Matt.  i.  5. 


S 


SAB 


SABAOTll,  or  rather  Tsabaoth,  a  Hebrew  word, 
signifying  hosts  or  armies ;  Jehovah  Sabaoth,  is  The 
Lord  of  Hosts;  whether  we  understand  the  host  of 
heaven,  or  the  angels  and  ministers  of  the  Lord,  or 
the  stars  and  planets,  which,  as  an  army  ranged  in 
battle  array,  })erform  the  will  of  God  ;  or,  lastly,  the 
people  of  the  Lord,  both  of  the  old  and  new  covenants, 
which  is  tridy  a  great  army,  of  which  God  is  the 
general  and  commander. 

The  Hebrew  Tsai!»a  is  often  used,  also,  to  signify  the 
service  his  ministers  perform  to  God  in  the  tem{)le ; 
because  they  are  there,  as  it  ,were,  soldiers  or  guards, 
attending  the  coiut  of  their  prince.  Numb.  iv.  3,  93, 
30,  &c.  This  word  is  also  used  to  express  the  duty 
of  the  women  who  watched  at  the  floor  of  the  taber- 
nacle, and  kept  guard  there  during  the  night-time, 
Exod.  xxxviii.  8. 

SABBATH,  rest;  God,  having  created  the  world  in 
six  days,  rested  on  the  seventh  ;"(Gen.  ii.  2,  3.)  that  is, 
he  ceased  IVom  producing  new  beings  in  this  creatioc  ; 
and  because  he  had  rested  on  it,  he  blessed  or  sa-'Cti- 
fied  it,  and  appointed  it  in  a  peculiai*  mannc'-  tor  his 


SABBATH 


worshi]).  The  Hebrews,  afterwards,  m  consequence 
of  this  designation,  and  to  preserve  the  memory  of  the 
creation,  sanctified,  by  his  order,  the  sabbath  day,  or 
the  seventh  day  of  the  week,  abstaining  from  all  work, 
labor  and  servile  employment,  and  applying  them- 
selves to  the  service  of  the  Lord,  to  the  study  of  his 
law,  and  to  prayer. 

The  days  of  "sabbath  are  taken  sometimes  for  all 
the  Jewish  festivals.  "Keep  my  sabbaths,"  (Lev. 
xix.  3,  30.)  that  is,  my  feasts;  as  the  Passover,  Pente- 
cost, Feast  of  Tabernacles,  &c. 

It  is  disjjuted,  wliCther,  frotn  tlie  beginning  of  the 
world,  God  gaveihe  law  of  the  sabbath  ;  and  wbether 
this  dav  was  also  observed,  at  least  among  the  more 
pious  of  tf-o  first  men,  as  the  patriarchs,  before  the 
promulgation  of  the  law  ; — whether  this  be  the  sense 
of  t'-ose  words,  (Gen.  ii.  2.)  "And  God  blessed  the 
St  v-enth  day,  and  sanctified  it "  ? — Some  fathers,  and 
some  Jewish  doctors,  have  asserted  the  affirmative  ; 
and  Manasseh  Ben-Israel  assures  us  that,  according 
to  the  tradition  of  the  ancients,  Abraham  and  his  pos- 
terity, having  preserved  the  memory  of  the  creation, 


SABBATH 


[  796 


SABBATH 


observed  the  sabbath  also,  in  consequence  of  the  nat- 
ural law  to  that  purpose.  It  is  also  believed  that  the 
religiou  of  the  seventh  day  is  preserved  among  the 
pagans,  and  that  the  observation  of  this  day  is  as  old 
as  the  world  itself.  Philo  says  that  the  sabbath  is  not 
a  festival  peculiar  to  any  one  peojile  or  country,  but  is 
common  to  the  whole  world ;  and  that  it  may  be 
named  the  general  and  public  festival,  and  that  of  the 
nativity  of  the  world  ;  and  Josephus  advances,  that 
there  is  no  city,  Greek  or  barbarian,  nor  any  nation, 
where  the  religion  of  the  sabbath  was  not  known. 
Aristobulus  quotes  Homer  and  Hesiod,  who  speak  of 
the  seventh  day  as  sacred  and  venerable.  Clemens 
Alexandrinus  speaks  of  the  sabbath  in  the  same  terms 
as  Aristobulus,  and  he  adds  some  passages  fi-om  the 
ancients,  who  celebrate  the  seventh  day.  Some  be- 
lieve that  Job  observed  the  sabbath  day  ;  because  at 
the  end  of  seven  days  he  offered  a  sacrifice  to  the 
Lord  on  account  of  his  children.  Job  i.  2,  5.  Some 
rabbins  inform  us  that  Joseph  also  observed  the  sab- 
batli  in  Egypt. 

But  the  contrary  opinion  is  not  without  its  sup- 
porters. The  greater  part  of  the  fathers  and  com- 
mentators hold,  that  the  sanctification  of  the  sabbath, 
mentioned  by  Moses  in  the  beginning  of  Genesis, 
signifies  only  that  appointment  then  made  of  the 
seventh  day,  to  be  afterwards  solemnized  and  sancti- 
fied by  the  .Tews  ;  nor  docs  it  appear  from  any  pas- 
sages of  Scripture,  that  the  ancient  patriarchs  observ- 
ed the  sabbath  ;  or  that  God  designed  to  oblige  them 
thereto,  before  the  law.  Philo  says  that  the  Hebrews, 
having  forgotten  the  day  of  the  creation  of  the  world, 
were  again  reminded  of  it,  when  God,  having  caused 
it  to  rain  manna  all  the  other  days  of  the  week,  with- 
held it  on  the  sabbath  day.  As  to  the  seventh  day, 
which  was  honored  by  some  pagans,  and  of  which 
they  have  spoken,  as  of  a  holy  day,  it  was  either  ded- 
icated to  Apollo,  or  it  Avas  an  imitation  of  the  Jewish 
sabbath,  which  some  pagans  held  in  honor,  either  out 
of  superstition  or  devotion. 

Ezekiel  (xx.  12,  20.)  says  expressly,  that  the  sab- 
bath, and  the  other  feasts  of  the  Jews,  are  signs  given 
by  God  to  his  people,  to  distinguish  them  from  other 
nations ;  "I  gave  them  my  sabbaths,  to  be  a  sign  be- 
tween me  and  them,  that  they  might  know  that  I  am 
the  Lord  tiiat  sanctify  them."  And  again,  "Hallow 
my  sabbaths,  and  they  shall  be  a  sign  between  me 
and  you,  that  ye  mav  know  that  I  am  the  Lord  your 
God."  And  Moses, "(Dent.  v.  15.)  "The  Lord  hath 
brought  thee  out  of  Egypt,  therefore  the  Lord  thy 
God  connnaiidcd  thee  to  keep  the  sabbath  day." 
Justin  Martyr,  Tertullian,  Eusebius  and  Bernard 
advance,  as  a  matter  not  to  be  doubted,  that  neither 
the  patriarchs  before  the  deluge,  nor  those  after,  ob- 
served the  sabl)ath.  L'enseiis  says  exjjressly,  that 
Abraham  had  faith,  and  was  called  the  friend  of  God, 
yet  neither  was  circumcised,  nor  observed  the  sabbath. 
"(See  Selden,  de  Jure  Nat.  et  Gent.  lib.  iii.  cap.  18 — 
15 ;  and  Spencer,  de  LegibwsHeb.  lib.  i.  cap.  iv.  sec.  7.) 

God  gave  the  precejit  of  the  ?abbath  to  tiie  Hebrews 
at  INIarnh,  one  month  after  their  CtMjiing  out  of  Egypt, 
Abib  15,  A.  M.  251.').  Manna  bega^  to  fall,  accord- 
ing to  several  of  tlie  fathers,  on  the  Suh<Iay,  six  days 
before  the  pal)l)ath  ;  but  according  to  othivs,  on  the 
very  eve  of  the  sabbath.  However  this  niRy  be,  it 
was  probably  on  occasion  of  the  mamia,  that  God 
commanded  the  Hebrews  to  observe  the  seventh  daj  ; 
aud  not  to  go  out  to  gather  any  on  that  day,  for  that 
none  would  fall.  The  same  command  of  celebrating 
the  sabbath  occurs  several  times  in  the  law,  Exod. 
xx.  8 — 11 ;  Lev.  xxiii.  3;  Deut.  v.  12. 


In  Exod.  xxxi.  13  ;  xxxv.  2,  it  is  said,  that  God 
established  his  sabbath  among  the  children  of  Israel, 
as  a  sign  to  make  them  remember  that  he  is  the  Lord 
who  sanctifies  them.  Adding  that  whosoever  shall 
pi-ofane  the  sabbath  shall  be  punished  with  death. 
We  see  the  execution  of  this  law  on  the  man  who, 
having  gathered  wood  on  tlie  sabbath  day,  and  was 
stoned,  Numb.  xv.  32,  35.  On  other  holy  days  it  was 
allowed  to  light  a  fire,  and  to  dress  victuals  ;  but  this 
was  expressly  forbidden  on  the  sabbath  day,  Exod. 
xxxv.  2,  3.  The  rabbins  confine  this  jirohibition  to 
servile  works  only  ;  as  to  bake  bread,  to  dress  meat, 
to  Ibrge  metals,  &c.  They  suppose  that  for  such  sort 
of  works,  it  is  forbidden  to  light  a  fire,  but  not  tor  one 
to  warm  himself. 

On  the  sabbath  d.ay  the  ministers  of  the  temple 
entered  on  their  week  ;  and  those  a\  ho  had  attended 
the  foregoing  week,  went  out.  They  placed  on  the 
golden  table  new  loaves  of  shew^-bread,  and  took  away 
tiie  old  ones.  Lev.  xxiv.  8.  Also,  on  this  day  were 
oftered  particular  sacrifices  of  two  lambs  for  a  burnt- 
oftering,  with  the  wine  and  the  meal.  The  sabbath 
was  celebrated,  as  the  other  festivals,  from  evening  to 
evening. 

The  first  obligation  of  the  sabbath  expressed  in  the 
law,  is  to  sanctify  it ;  (Numb,  xxviii.9,  10 ;  Exod.  xx. 
8.)  "  Remember  to  sanctify  the  sabbath  day."  It  is 
sanctified  bj'  doing  good  works  in  it ;  by  prayers, 
praises  and  thanksgivings,  by  public  and  private 
worship  of  God,  by  the  study  of  his  law,  by  justice 
and  innocence,  and  tranquillity  of  mind.  The  secon(i 
.obligation  is  that  of  rest :  "  Thou  slialt  do  no  work  on 
the  sabbath."  Meaning  any  servile  or  laborious  woi-k, 
that  might  fix  the  mind,  and  interrupt  that  attention 
which  is  due  to  God,  and  which  is  necessary  when 
we  pay  acceptable  worship  to  him.  The  Jews  have 
varied  about  the  manner  in  which  they  ought  to  ob- 
serve the  rest  of  the  sabbath.  In  the  time  of  the 
Maccabees  they  durst  not  so  much  as  defend  them- 
selves from  an  enemy  on  this  day,  even  in  the  most 
pressing  necessity,  1  Mac.  ii.  32,  33,  &c.  Since  that 
time  they  have  not  scruj)led  to  take  arms,  and  stand 
on  their  necessary  defence.  But  it  may  be  seen  by 
Josephus,  that  they  would  not  attack  their  enemies, 
nor  hinder  them  from  advancing  their  works  ;  nor 
would  they  march  with  their  armies,  even  in  time  of 
war,  or  i)i  the  enemy's  country,  on  the  sabliath  day. 
(Antiq.  lib.  xii.  cap.  3 ;  xiii.  cap.  1. 16.)  In  the  time  of 
oui'  Saviour,  they  would  water  their  cattle,  or  take  out 
of  a  ditch  a  beast  that  had  happened  to  fall  in  on  the 
sabbath  day;  but  by  a  false  delicacy  they  could  not 
bear  with  our  Saviour's  healing  the  sick  on  that  day, 
Matt.  xii.  11,  12.  Since  that  time  they  have  deter- 
mined, that  a  man  might  give  food  to  a  beast  that  had 
fallen  into  a  pit,  but  must  not  take  him  out  on  that 
day.  The  Jews  complained  of  our  Saviour's  disciples, 
who,  passing  through  the  corn-fields  on  the  sabbath 
day,  gathered  some  ears  of  corn,  and  ndjbed  them 
between  their  hands,  in  order  to  eat  the  grain.  This 
action,  however,  our  Saviour  excused,  from  the  neces- 
sity of  the  thing,  and  because  they  had  need  of  nour- 
ishment; adding,  that  the  priests  themselves  in  the 
temple  do  work,  which,  every  where  else,  and  in  every 
one  else,  would  be  esteemed  a  violation  of  the  sab- 
bath ;  that  the  Son  of  man  was  Lord  of  the  sabbath  ; 
and  that  the  sabbath  was  niatle  for  man,  not  man  for 
the  sabbath. 

The  rabbins  reckon  thirty-nine  primary  ])rohibi- 
tions,  which  ought  to  be  observed  on  the  sabbath,  and 
seveifil  other  secondary  ones  dependent  on  tliem. 
Their  humber  is,  in  fact,  so  great,  that  it  is  almost  im- 


SABBATH 


[  797  ] 


SABBATH 


possible  to  keep  tliein  ail ;  and  the  rabbins  affirm,  that 
if  the  pc;ople  of  Israel  could  keep  but  two  sabbaths 
as  they  ought  to  be  kept,  they  should  soon  see  them- 
selves delivered  from  the  evils  under  which  they  groan. 
Their  scrupulosity  even  forbids  to  peel  or  to  roast  an 
ni)i)l(- ;  to  kill  a  flea,  a  fly,  or  other  insect,  if  it  is  so 
big  that  the  sex  may  be  distinguished  ;  to  sing,  or  to 
j)lay  on  an  instrument,  so  loud  as  to  awaken  a  child. 
Yet,  notwithstanding  all  this,  the  Samaritans  jiretend, 
that  the  Jews  arc  not  religious  enough  in  their  obser- 
vation of  the  sabbath.  As  for  them,  they  will  not 
light  a  fire  on  this  day  :  they  abstain  from  the  use  of 
marriage :  they  do  not  stir  from  their  places,  save  only 
to  go  to  the  house  of  the  Lord  :  they  employ  them- 
selves wholly  in  reading  the  law,  in  prayers  and 
thanksgivings.  (Letter  of  the  Samaritans  to  JMr. 
Huntington.) 

Of  all  the  festivals  God  has  enjoined,  there  are 
none  of  which  the  Jews  are  so  jealous,  or  of  which 
they  speak  so  magnificently,  as  of  the  sabbath.  They 
call  it  their  spouse,  because  God  lias  given  it  to 
them,  specially,  exclusive  of  all  other  nations.  Leo 
of  Modeua,  who  alone  is  equivalent  to  all  the  modern 
Jews,  says,  the  rabbins  have  reduced  all  that  is  for- 
bidden on  the  sabbath  day,  to  thirty-nine  heads,  each 
of  which  have  their  circumstances  and  dependences. 
But  they  are  of  little  importance,  and  their  enumera- 
tion would  occupy  much  space. 

Such  profane  authors  as  have  venturt  d  to  speak  of 
the  origin  of  the  sabbath,  have  shown  their  ignorance 
of  Jewish  afl'airs.  Tacitus  thought  they  observed 
the  sabbath  in  honor  of  Saturn,  to  whom  Saturday 
Avas  consecrated  by  the  pagans.  But  Plutarch  as- 
serts that  it  was  kept  in  honor  of  Bacchus,  who  is 
called  Sabbos  ;  and  because  in  the  festivals  of  this 
false  deity  they  used  to  cry  Sahoi.  Apion,  the  gram- 
marian, mair.tained  that  the  Jews  celebrated  the 
sabbath  in  memory  of  their  being  cured  of  a  shame- 
ful disease,  which  in  the  Egyptian  language  was 
called  Sabbosis.  Pagan  authors  speak  pretty  fre- 
quently of  the  fast  of  the  sabbath  ;  as  if  the  Jews 
had  ordinarily  fasted  on  this  day  ;  whereas  fasting 
was  utterly  forbidden  on  the  sabbath. 

The  obligation  of  devoting  a  portion  of  our  time 
to  God,  to  be  employed  in  his  worsliip  and  service,  is 
founded  on  natural  right  and  reason.  The  law  had 
fixed  this  to  the  seventh  day,  that  is,  the  sabbath,  for 
the  nation  of  the  Jews.  It  is  beheved  by  some  that 
the  apostles,  to  honor  the  day  of  our  Saviour's  resur- 
rection, determined  it  to  every  seventh  da}%  and  fixed 
it  on  the  Sunday,  that  is,  the  first  day  of  the  week 
among  the  Hebrews ;  and  the  day  dedicated  to  the 
sun  among  the  pagans.  The  change  of  the  day, 
however,  is  rather  to  be  gathered  from  the  [)ractice  of 
the  Christian  church,  than  as  clearly  enjoined  in  the 
New  Testament.  It  appears  that  believers  came  to- 
giHlier  on  this  day  to  break  bread,  that  collections 
for  the  poor  were  then  made,  and  put  into  the  gen- 
eral treasury  of  the  church  ;  (as  we  understand  1  Cor. 
xvi.  2.)  tliat  on  this  day  exhortations  and  discourses 
were  made  to  the  people  ;  and  in  short,  we  have  the 
various  parts  of  public  worship  noted,  as  being  per- 
formed on  this  day.  It  will  follow,  that  we  may 
safely  imitate  those  examples  which  the  apostles  and 
primitive  Christians  have  left  us;  and  whatever  ob- 
ligations the  Jews  might  lie  under  to  the  observance 
of  the  Saturday  sabbath,  they  do  not  bind  Christians ; 
because  those  obligations  were  natural,  not  general ; 
and  were  commemorative,  in  some  degree,  of  Israel- 
itish  events,  in  which  others  have  no  interest ;  where- 
as, the  resurrection  sabbath  commemorates  au  event 


in  which  all  Christians  throughout  the  world  are  in» 
terested,  and  for  which  no  equal  mode  of  commem- 
oration can  be  devised.  We  have  then  good  exam- 
ple and  strong  propriety  in  behalf  of  our  observation 
of  the  Lord's  day,  as  a  religious  festival,  though  not 
as  a  Jewish  sabbath  ;  and  the  same  principles  in- 
fluenced the  Christians  of  early  ages. 

We  are  informed  by  Eusebius,  that  from  the  be- 
ginning the  Christians  assembled  on  the  first  day  of 
the  week,  called  by  them  the  "  Lord's  day,"  for 
the  [)urposes  of  religious  worship,  "to  read  the 
Scriptures,  to  preach,  and  to  celebrate  the  Lord's 
supper  ;"  and  Justin  Martyr  observes,  "that,  on  the 
Lord's  day,  .ill  Christians  in  the  city,  or  country, 
meet  together,  because  that  is  the  day  of  our  Lord's 
resurrection,  and  then  we  read  the  writings  of  the 
apostles  and  prophets  ;  this  being  done,  the  president 
makes  an  oration  to  the  assembly,  to  exhort  them  to 
imitate  and  to  practise  the  things  they  have  heard  ; 
then  we  all  join  in  prayer,  and  alter  that  we  celebrate 
the  sacrament.  Then  they  who  are  able  and  willing 
give  what  they  think  proper,  and  what  is  collected  is 
laid  up  in  the  hands  of  the  president,  who  distributes 
it  to  orphans  and  widows,  and  other  necessitous 
Christians,  as  their  wants  require."  (See  1  Cor.  xvi. 
20.)  A  very  honorable  conduct  and  worship  !  would 
to  God  it  were  more  prevalent  among  us ;  with  the 
spirit  and  \nety  of  primitive  Christianity! 

John  says,  (Rev.  i.  10.)  "  I  was  in  the  spirit  on  the 
Lord's  day  ;"  so  called,  doubtless,  to  preserve  the 
remembrance  of  his  resiuTcction,  which  was  the 
completion  of  oin*  redemption.  Barnabas,  in  liis 
Epistle,  says,  that  we  joyfully  celebrate  the  eighth 
day,  in  memory  of  the  resurrection  of  our  Saviour, 
because  it  was  on  this  day  he  rose  again,  and  as- 
cended into  heaven  ;  and  Ignatius  the  martyr,  in  his 
letter  to  the  Magnesians,  would  have  us  honor  this  day 
of  the  Lord,  this  day  of  the  resurrection,  as  the  first 
and  most  excellent  of  days. 

A  Sabbath  Day's  Journey. — "  Pray  ye  that  your 
flight  be  not  in  the  winter,  neither  on  the  sabbath 
day,"  says  our  Saviour  to  his  disciples,  when  dis- 
coursing to  them  of  the  approaching  destruction  of 
Jerusalem,  Matt.  xxiv.  20.  And  Luke  informs  us, 
(Acts  i.  12.)  that  the  mount  of  Olives  was  distant 
from  Jerusalem  about  a  sabbath  day's  journey.  The 
rabbins  generally  fix  tliis  distance  at  two  thousand 
cubits.  Josephus  says,  that  the  moimt  of  Olives  was 
five  stadia  from  Jerusalem,  which  makes  six  hun- 
dred and  twenty-five  paces.  Thus  the  journey  that 
was  allowable  on  a  sabbath  day  was  about  six  or 
seven  hundred  paces,  or  something  more.  Origcn 
says  that  the  journey  of  a  sabbath  day  is  one  mile 
or  two  thousand  cubits.  The  Jews  also  used  to 
make  a  mile  consist  of  two  thousand  cubits  ;  so  that 
their  cubit  nuist  be  two  feet  and  a  half,  since  their 
mile  contains  a  thousand  paces,  or  five  thousand  feet, 
taking  their  paces  at  five  feet  each.  Maimonides 
will  have  it,  that  he  who  does  not  know  exactly  the 
distance  of  a  ])lace,  may  walk  on  the  sabbath  day 
two  thousand  moderate  jjaces,  which  makes  a  thou- 
sand geometrical  paces  of  five  feet  each.  Epipha- 
nitis  says,  (Hseres.  Ixvi.)  that  the  Jews  believe  they 
are  forbidden  from  walking  on  the  sabbath  day 
above  six  stadia,  or  seven  hundred  and  fifty  paces. 
The  Syriac  translator  of  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles 
puts  about  seven  stadia  for  a  sabbath  day's  journey  ; 
which  is  according  to  what  some  rabbins  say,  that  a 
mile  is  seven  stadia  and  a  half. 

The  Second  Sabbath  after  the  First  (LuKe 
vi.  1.)  is  au  expression  which  has  much  divided  com- 


SAB 


[  798  ] 


SAB 


mentators.  Some  have  taken  it  for  the  second,  others 
for  the  last,  clay  of  unleavened  bread  ;  and  some,  for 
the  day  of  Pentecost.  The  Passover  was  the  first 
sabbath,  according  to  them,  and  Pentecost  the  sec- 
ond. Others  have  thought,  that  the  first  grand  sab- 
bath was  the  first  sabbath  of  the  civil  year,  in  the 
month  Tizri ;  and  that  the  second  grand  sabbath 
was  the  first  of  the  holy  year,  or  of  the  month  Nisan. 
But  Joseph  Scaliger,  who  is  followed  by  most  com- 
mentators, supposes  it  to  have  been  the  first  sabbath 
which  followed  the  second  day  of  unleavened  bread. 
Indeed,  the  Greek  word  (^fUTfou.rocuroc  properly  means 
thejirst  after  the  second.  This  second  day  of  the  Pass- 
over was  a  festival,  in  which  the  fruits  of  the  harvest 
w^ere  offered  to  God,  Lev.  xxiii.  5,  9.  From  this 
second  day,  the  Jews  thus  reckoned  their  sabbaths 
from  the  Passover  to  Pentecost ;  the  first  was  called 
the  first  [sabbath]  after  the  second  [day  of  unleavened 
bread.]  Tlie  second  was  called  the  second  [sabbath] 
after  the  second  [day  of  unleavened  bread.]  The 
third  was  called  the  third  [sabbath]  after  the  second 
[day  of  unleavened  bread.]  And  so  of  the  rest, 
as  far  as  the  seventh  [sabbath]  after  the  second 
[day  of  unleavened  bread.]  This  seventh  sabbath 
immediately  preceded  Pentecost,  which  was  cele- 
brated the  fiftieth  day  after  the  second  day  of  un- 
leavened bread. 

The  Preparatio.v  for  the  Sabbath  is  the  Fri- 
day before  ;  for  as  it  was  forbidden  to  make  a  fire,  to 
bake  bread,  or  to  dress  victuals,  on  the  sabbath  day, 
they  provided  on  the  Friday  every  thing  needful  for 
their  sustenance  on  the  sabbath. 

SABBATICAL  YEAR  was  to  be  celebrated 
among  the  Jews  from  seven  years  to  seven  years, 
when  the  land  was  to  rest,  and  be  left  without  cul- 
ture, Exod.  xxiii.  10 ;  Lev.  xxv.  2,  3,  &c.  They 
were  then  to  set  slaves  at  liberty,  and  each  was  to 
re-enter  on  his  inheritance  that  had  been  alienated. 
God  appointed  the  observation  of  the  sabbatical  year, 
to  preserve  the  remembrance  of  the  creation  of  tlie 
world  ;  to  enforce  the  acknowledgment  of  his  sove- 
reign authority  over  all  things,  particularly  over  the 
land  of  Canaan,  which  he  had  given  to  the  Hebrews, 
by  delivering  up  the  fruits  of  their  fields  to  the  poor 
and  the  stranger.  It  was  a  kind  of  tribute  wliich 
tlicy  paid  for  it  to  the  Lord.  Besides,  he  intended 
to  ineuicate  humanity  on  his  people,  by  commanding 
that  they  should  resign  to  the  slaves,  to  tlie  poor,  to 
strangers  and  to  brutes,  the  produce  of  their  fields, 
of  their  vineyards,  and  of  their  gardens,  Lev.  xxv. 
2,  &c. 

It  has  been  much  disputed,  at  what  season  of  the 
year  the  sabbatical  year  began.  Some  have  been  of 
<.i)inion,  that  it  began  on  the  first  month  of  the  sa- 
cred year,  that  is,  Nisan,  or  in  the  spring.  Others 
think  it  i)ogan  at  the  first  montli  of  the  civil  year,  or 
Tizri  (Sei)tembor).  Moses  does  not  explain  himself 
on  this  matter  very  clearly.  He  says  only,  that  the 
land  shall  not  be  cidtivated,  and  that  there  shall  be 
n'  harvest  that  year.  In  Palestine,  the  time  of  sow- 
ing wheat  and  i)arley  was  in  autunni ;  barley-harvest 
began  at  the  Passover,  and  wheat-harvest  at  Pente- 
cost. Therefore,  to  enter  into  the  spirit  of  the  law 
for  observing  the  rest  of  the  sabbatical  year,  that  the 
land  may  not  remain  two  years  without  cultivation, 
we  must  necessarily  begin  it  at  autumn,  after  the 
crops  were  gathered :  they  did  not  till  the  land  in 
aiUutnn,  and  they  had  no  liarvest  after  the  winter ; 
butlhe  autumn  following  they  began  again  to  cultivate 
the  land,  that  they  might  reap  their  harvests  in  the 
spring  and  summer  following. 


In  the  sabbatical  year  all  debts  were  remitted,  and 
slaves  were  set  at  liberty,  Dent.  xv.  12;  Exod.  xxi.  2. 
But  were  debts  absolutely  forgiven,  or  was  the  pay- 
ment of  them  only  sus])ended  ?  Several  think,  that 
this  remission  was  absolute,  and  that  all  debts  were 
totally  extinguished  in  the  sabbatical  year.  The 
caution  of  rich  men,  noticed  by  Moses,  (IDeut.  xv.  9.) 
who  would  not  lend  to  their  brethren  at  the  approach 
of  the  sabbatical  year,  seems  to  prove,  that  after  this 
year  nothing  w'as  to  be  hoped  for  from  their  debtors.  ^ 
For  if  the  payment  of  debts  were  only  suspended  till 
this  year  was  over  and  past,  it  would  not  have  been 
a  sufficient  motive  to  hinder  them  from  lending.  As 
there  was  no  lending  for  interest  in  the  case,  which 
was  forbidden  to  the  Hebrews  toward  their  brethren, 
as  it  could  only  be  a  simple  loan,  the  creditor  might 
require  it  again  either  before  or  after  the  sabbatical 
year,  on  the  supposition  of  those  who  think  that  the 
remission  was  not  absolute.  Others,  as  the  rabbins 
and  Grotius,  distinguish  between  debts  mortgaged  on 
security  (the  contracts  of  which  included  a  clause  of 
perpetual  debt)  and  simple  contracts  ;  the  last  being 
for  ever  acquitted  on  the  sabbatical  J'ear,  but  not  the 
others.  Menochius  also  thinks,  that  the  remission  of 
debts  was  general  and  absolute,  but  not  of  loans  or 
deposits.  This  regarded  only  the  natural  Hebrews, 
or  proselytes  to  Judaism,  and  not  strangers. 

I.  SABEANS,  the  inhabitants  of  the  country 
called  Seba,  Heb,  n^d.  This  appears  to  have  been 
the  great  island  or  rather  peninsula  of  Meroc,  in 
northern  Ethiopia,  or  Nubia,  formed  between  the 
Nile  and  the  Astaboras,  now  Atbara.  Upon  this  pe- 
ninsula lay  a  citj^  of  the  like  name  ;  the  ruins  of 
which  are  still  visible  a  few  miles  north  of  the  mod- 
ern Shendy.  (Rlippel's  Reiscn,  p.  85.)  Meroe  was  a  i 
city  of  priests,  whose  origin  is  lost  in  the  highest  an- 
tiquity. (See  Egypt,  p.  373.)  The  monarch  was. 
chosen  by  the  priests  from  among  themselves;  and 
the  government  was  entirely  theocratic,  being  man-; 
aged  by  the  priests  according  to  the  oracle  of  Jupiter 
Ammon.  This  was  the  Seba  of  the  Hebrews,  accord- 
ing to  Josephus,  (Antiq.  ii.  10.2.)  who  mentions,  at 
the  same  tune,  that  it  was  conquered  by  Cambyses, 
and  received  from  him  the  name  Meroe,  after  his  sis- 
ter. With  this  representation  accord  the  notices  of 
Seba  and  its  inhabitants,  in  Scriptiu-e.  In  Gen.  x.  7, 
their  ancestor  is  said  to  be  a  son  of  Cush,  the  progen- 
itor of  the  Ethiopians.  In  Isa.  xliii.  3,  and  Ps.  Ixxii. 
10,  Seba  is  mentioned  as  a  distant  and  wealthy  couu-  '^j 
try  ;  in  the  foniier  passage  it  is  connected  with  Egypt  [ 
and  Ethiopia  ;  and  Meroe  was  one  of  the  most  im-  ' 
portant  commercial  cities  of  interior  Africa,  (Heeren's 
Ideen,  II.  i.  p.  397.)  Finally,  in  Isa.  xlv.  14,  the  Sa 
beans  are  said  to  be  tall  of  stature.  In  like  manner, 
Herodotus  (iii.  20.)  says  of  the  Ethiopians,  among 
whom  the  Sabeans  arc  to  be  reckoned,  that  they  v.cro 
"the  tallest  of  men;"  and  Solinus  affh-n::s,  (Poly- 
hist.  c.  30.)  tliat  "  the  Ethiojiians  are  twelve  feet  high"." 
This  shows  at  least  a  coincidence  between  the  ac- 
counts of  Scripture  and  of  profane  writers  ;  and  goes 
to  confirm  the  testimony  of  Josei)hns  above  given, 
that  Seba  was  the  same  with  Meroe.     *R. 

II.  SABEANS,  the  inhabitants  of  the  country 
called  Sheba,  Heb.  .s3L".  There  are  no  less  than 
three  persons  of  the  name  of  Sheba  mentioned  in 
Scripture  as  the  ancestors  of  tribes.  (1.)  A  grandson 
of  Cush,  Gen.  x.  7. — (2.)  A  son  of  Joktan,  Gen.  x. 
28. — (3.)  A  son  of  Jokshan,  the  son  of  Abraham  by 
Keturah.  The  similarity  of  the  names  Joktan  and 
Jokshan,  in  the  two  last  cases,  would  almost  lead  to 
the  supposition,  that   these  two   Shebas  were  the 


SAC 


[  799 


SAC 


same  pei-son.  At  any  rate,  tliey  all  seem  to  have  set- 
tled in  Arabia  Felix,  probably  in  the  southern  part 
of  it ;  and  even  if  they  were  originally  ditt'ereut  jier- 
sons,  yet  they  would  appear  to  have  been  at  a  later 
period  confounded  ;  and  the  name  Sabeans  to  have 
lieen  aj)plied  indiscriminately  to  the  descendants  of 
all.  Indeed,  in  Job  i.  15,  where  the  Sabeans  are  said 
to  have  j»limdered  Job,  the  name  seems  to  stand  for 
Arabians,  or  Arab  robbers,  generally. 

The  Sheba  of  Scripture  appears  to  be  the  Saba  of 
Strabo,  (xvi.  4.  2.)  situated  towards  the  southern  part  of 
Arabia,  at  a  distance  Ironi  the  coast  of  the  Red  sea, 
tJie  capital  of  which  was  Mariaba,  or  Mareb ;  whence 
A bulfeda  affirms  that  Mareb  and  Saba  were  synony- 
mous names.  (See  Bibl.  Repos.  No.  8.  Art.  2.  fourth 
note.)  The  queen  of  Sheba,  who  visited  Solomon,  (1 
Kings  X.  1,  seq ;  2  Chron.  L\.  1,  seq.)  and  made  him 
picsents  of  gold,  ivory  and  costly  spices,  was  most 
probably  the  mistress  of  this  region  ;  indeed,  the 
Sal)eans  were  celebrated,  on  account  of  their  impor- 
ttuit  commerce,  in  these  veiy  products,  among  the 
Greeks  also,  (Strabo,  ibid.)  Isa.  Ix.  G ;  Jer.  vi.  20  ; 
Ezek.  xxvii.  22  ;  Ps.  Ixxii.  10,  15  ;  Joel  iv.  8  ;  Job  vi. 
19.  The  tradition  of  this  visit  of  the  queen  of  Sheba 
to  Solomon,  has  maintained  itself  among  the  Arabs; 
Wiio  ca'l  her  Baikis,  and  affirm  that  slic  became  the 
wife  of  Solomon.  The  27th  Sura  of  the  Koran  has 
taken  up  this  tradition  and  probably  exaggerated  it. 
She  is  also  registered  in  the  series  of  the  sovereigns  of 
Yemen.     (Pococke's  Specim.  Hist.  Arab.  p.  277.) 

It  woidd  seem  that  the  two  names  Seba  and  Sheba, 
Hcb.  N3D  and  n33,  have  often  been  confounded  ;  and 
hence,  Sheba  has  often  been  referred  to  Ethiopia,  the 
proper  location  of  Seba.  In  this  way  the  queen  of 
Sheba  is  also  often  regarded  as  queen  of  Ethiopia, 
even  by  the  Ethiopituis  themselves,  ^^■ho  also  have 
traditions  respecting  her.  See  more  on  this  subject 
under  Sheba  ;  and  also  the  article  Ethiopia.  *R. 
SABTAH,  the  third  son  of  Cush,  (Gen.  x.  7.)  peo- 
pled part  of  Arabia  Fcelix,  where  is  a  city  called 
Sal>ta,  and  a  people  called  Sabatheans. 

SABTECMA,  Mh  son  of  Cush,  who  also  peopled, 
as  is  thought,  part  of  Arabia,  or  some  country  toward 
Assyria,  or  Armenia,  or  Caramania ;  for  in  all  these  re- 
gions are  found  traces  of  the  name  Sabtccha,  Gen.  x.  7. 
SACK,  SACK-CLOTH.  These  are  pure  He- 
brev/  vvor:!:-,  and  have  spread  into  almost  all  lan- 
guages. Sack-cloth  is  a  very  coarse  stuff*,  often  of 
iiair.  In  great  calamities,  in  penitence,  in  trouble,  they 
wore  sack-cloth  about  their  bodies,  2  Sam.  iii.  31. 
"Gird  yourselves  with  sack-cloth,  and  mourn  for 
Abner." — "Lot  us  gird  ourselves  with  sack-cloth  ; 
and  let  U3  go,  and  implore  the  clemency  of  the  king 
of  Israel,"  1  Kings  xx.  31.  Ahab  rent  his  clothes, 
put  on  a  shirt  of  hair  cloth  next  to  his  skin,  fasted, 
and  lay  upon  sack-cloth,  1  Kings  xxi.  27.  When 
Mordecai  was  informed  of  the  destruction  threatened 
to  his  nation,  he  put  on  sack-cloth,  and  coveied  his 
head  with  ashes,  Esth.  iv.  Job  says,  that  he  sewed  a 
sack  over  his  flesh,  chap.  xvi.  15.  The  prophets 
were  often  clothed  in  sack-cloth  ;  and  generally  in 
coai-se  clothing.  The  Lord  bids  Isaiah  j)ut  oft"  the 
sack-cloth  from  about  his  body,  and  to  go  naked, 
Isa.  XX.  2.  Zechariah  says,  (xiii.  4.)  that  false  proph- 
ets should  no  longer  ])rophesy  in  sack-cloth,  to  de- 
ceive the  simple.  John  (Rev.  xi.  3.)  says,  that  the 
two  prophets  of  God  sliould  prophesy  1200 years, 
clothed  in  sack-cloth.  Baruch  intimates,  that  this 
habit  of  sack-cloth  was  that  in  which  good  people 
clothed  themselves  when  they  went  to  prayers,  Ba- 
ruch iv.  20.     But  sack-cloih  was  mouniing,  as  ap-  J 


j)ears  from  numerous  passages  of  Scripture  ;  and  it 
is  very  credible,  also,  that  it  was  used  for  enwrapping 
the  dead,  when  about  to  be  buried,  fe'b  that  its  be- 
ing worn  by  survivors  was  a  kind  oi asshnilation  to 
the  shroud,  or  dress,  of  the  departed ;  as  its  being 
worn  by  penitents  was  an  implied  confession  of  what 
their  guilt  exposed  them  to,  that  is,  death.  This  we 
gather  from  an  expression  of  Chardin,  who,  in  his 
description  of  Ispahan,  says — Kel  Anayet,  the  Shah's 
buflbon,  made  a  shop  in  the  seraglio,  "which  he 
filled  with  piecesofthat  coarse  kindofstuft'of  which 
winding-sheets  for  the  dead  are  made."  x\nd  again 
—"the  sufferers  die  by  hundieds  ; — mortuary  urap- 
ping-cloth  is  doubled  in  price."  So  that,  however,  in 
later  ages,  some  eastern  nations  might  bmy  in  linen, 
yet  others  still  retained  the  use  of  a  coarser  material, 
that  is,  sack-cloth. 

In  times  of  joy,  or  on  hearing  good  news,  those 
who  were  clad  in  sack-cloth  tore  it  from  their  bodies, 
and  cast  it  from  them,  Ps.  xxx.  11. 

SACKBUT,  a  wind  musical  instrument,  like  a 
trumpet,  which  may  be  lengthened  or  shortened. 
Italian  trombone.     R. 

SACRIFICE  was  an  offering  made  to  God  on 
his  altar,  by  the  hand  of  a  lawful  minister.  Sacrifice 
differed  from  oblation  :  in  a  sacrifice  there  was  a  real 
change  or  destruction  of  the  thing  offered  ;  w  hereas 
an  oblation  was  but  a  simple  offering  or  gift.  As 
men  have  always  been  bound  to  acknowledge  the 
supreme  dominion  of  God  over  them,  and  over  w  hat- 
ever  belongs  to  them,  and  as  there  have  always  been 
persons  who  have  conscientiously  acquitted  them- 
selves of  this  duty  ;  we  may  affirm,  that  there  have 
always  been  sacrifices  in  the  world.  Adam  and  his 
sons,  Noah  and  his  descendants,  Abraham  and  his 
posterity.  Job  and  Melchisedec,  before  the  Mosaic 
law,  offered  to  God  real  sacrifices.  That  law  did 
but  settle  the  quality,  the  number,  and  other  cir- 
cumstances of  sacrifices.  Before  that,  they  offered 
fruits  of  the  earth,  the  fat  or  the  milk  of  animals  ; 
the  fleeces  of  sheep  ;  or  the  blood  and  the  flesh  of  vic- 
tims. Every  one  pursued  his  own  mode  of  acknowl- 
edgment, his  zeal,  or  his  devotion  :  but  among  the 
Jews,  the  law  appointed  wdsat  they  were  to  offer, 
and  in  what  quantities.  Before  the  law,  every  one 
was  priest  and  minister  of  his  own  sacrifice  ;  at  least 
he  was  at  liberty  to  choose  w  hat  priest  he  pleased, 
in  offering  his  victim.  Generally,  this  honor  be- 
longed to  the  most  ancient,  or  the  head  of  a  family, 
to  princes,  or  to  men  of  the  greatest  virtue  and  in- 
tegi-ity.  But  after  3Ioses,  this  was,  among  the  Jews, 
confined  to  the  fainilj-  of  Aaron. 

It  is  disputed,  whether,  at  first,  there  were  any 
other  sacrifices  than  burnt-oflTerings:  no  other  ap- 
pear in  Scripture.  The  Talmudists  assure  us,  that 
Abel  offered  only  holocausts,  consuming  the  flesh  of 
the  victim  by  fire  ;  because  it  was  not  allowed  to  eat 
it.  Grotius  is  of  opinion,  that  this  patriarch  did  not 
off"er  a  bloody  sacrifice.  The  text  of  Moses  informs 
us,  (Gen.  iv.  4.)  that  he  offered  "  of  the  firstlings  of 
his  flocks,  and  of  the  fat  thereof." 

We  are  told  by  Servius,  that  the  ancients  put  no 
fire  to  sacrifices,  but  obtained  it  by  their  prayei-s  ;  and 
most  of  the  fathers  think  it  was  thus  that  God  ac- 
cepted the  sacrifice  of  Abel  :  he  consumed  it,  say 
they,  by  fire  from  heaven  ;  which  favor  was  not 
vouchsafed  to  Cain's  sacrifice.  In  the  same  manner 
he  consumed  the  sacrifices  offered  at  .Vaiun's  conse- 
cration, those  offered  by  Gideon,  those  offered  by 
Solomon,  at  the  dedication  of  his  temple,  those  of 
Elijah  on  mount  Carmel,  and  those  offered  by  the 


SACRIFICE 


[  800  ] 


SACRIFICE 


Maccabees,  at  restoring  the  worship  of  the  temple, 
after  the  profanation  by  Antiochus  Epiphanes. 

The  Hebrews  had  properly  but  three  sorts  of  sac- 
rifices ;  (1.)  the  burnt-offering  or  holocaust ;  (2.)  the 
sacrifice  for  sin,  or  sacrifice  of  expiation  ;  (3.)  the 
pacific  sacrifice,  or  sacrifice  of  thanksgiving.  Be- 
side these,  were  several  kinds  of  oflerings,  of  corn, 
of  meal,  of  cakes,  of  wine,  of  fruits  ;  and  one  manner 
of  sacrificing,  which  has  no  relation  to  any  now 
mentioned,  that  is,  the  setting  at  liberty  one  of  the 
two  sparrows  offered  for  the  purification  of  leprous 
persons  ;  (Lev.  xiv.  4,  5,  &c.)  also  the  scape-goat, 
which  was  taken  to  a  distant  and  steep  place,  whence 
it  was  thrown,  Lev.  xvi.  10,  26.  These  animals, 
thus  left  to  themselves,  were  esteemed  victims  of 
expiation,  loaded  with  the  sins  of  those  who  offered 
them. 

The  holocaust  was  offered  and  burnt  up,  on  the 
altar  of  burnt-offerings,  without  any  i-eserve  to  the 
person  who  gave  the  victim,  or  to  the  priest  Avho 
killed  and  sacrificed  it ;  only  the  priest  had  the  skin  ; 
for  before  the  sacrifices  were  offered  to  the  Lord, 
their  skins  were  flayed  off,  and  their  feet  and  entrails 
were  washed.     (See  Lev.  vii.  8.) 

The  sacrifice  for  sin,  or  for  expiation,  or  the  puri- 
ficafion  of  a  man  wIk)  had  fiillen  into  any  offence 
against  the  law,  was  not  entirely  consimied  on  the 
fire  of  the  altar.  No  part  of  it  returned  to  him  who 
had  given  it,  but  the  sacrificuig  priest  had  a  share  of 
it.  If  it  were  the  high-priest  who  had  offended 
through  ignorance,  he  offered  a  calf  without  blem- 
ish ;  he  brought  it  to  the  door  of  the  tabernacle,  put 
his  hand  on  the  head  of  the  sacrifice,  confessed  his 
sin,  asked  pardon  for  it,  killed  the  calf,  &c.  (See 
Lev.  iv.  V.)  If  it  were  the  whole  people  which  had 
offended,  they  were  to  offer  a  calf,  in  like  manner. 
The  elders  shall  bring  it  to  the  altar  of  the  tabernacle, 
shall  put  their  hands  upon  its  head,  confess  tlieir 
offence,  &c.  If  it  be  a  prince  of  the  people  who  had 
offended,  he  shall  offer  a  goat,  shall  bring  it  to  the 
door  of  the  tabernacle,  shall  put  liis  hands  upon  its 
head,  shall  confess  his  sin,  &.c,  Calniet  remarks, 
that  though  Moses  orders  a  goat,  it  is  understood, 
that  they  might  offer  a  ram.  (See  Lev.  vii.  1 — 4,  and 
compare  Lev.  v.  6,  7.)  If  it  be  a  private  jierson  who 
has  committed  an  offence,  he  shall  make  an  offering 
of  a  sheep,  or  ashe-goat  without  blemish,  shall  present 
it  to  the  pri(>st  at  the  door  of  the  tabernacle,  sball  put 
his  hands  upon  the  head  of  the  sacrifice.  The  priest 
shall  sacrifice  it,  &c.  (See  Lev.  iv.  v.)  But  if  he  be  not 
of  ability  to  offer  a  sheep,  or  a  she-goat,  he  sliall  offer 
two  turtles,  or  two  young  pigeons ;  one  for  his  sin, 
the  other  for  a  burnt-offering.  That  which  is  for  the 
burnt-offering,  shall  be  entirely  consumed  on  the  fire 
of  the  altar.  That  which  is  to  be  offered  for  his  sin, 
shall  be  presented  to  the  priest,  who  shall  kill  it,  6cc. 
If  the  person  was  extremely  poor,  he  might  offer  the 
tenth  part  of  an  ephah  of  meal,  that  is,  a  little  more 
than  a  gallon  of  meal,  without  oil  or  spice.  He  ])re- 
sented  it  to  the  priest,  who  took  a  handful  of  it,  and 
threw  it  on  the  fire  :  the  rest  was  for  iiimself.  (For 
other  circumstances  belonging  to  this  subject,  see 
Lev.  v.  1.5, 16  ;  vi.  1 — 3.)  When  a  ram  was  offered, 
his  rump,  or  tail,  wjis  burnt  along  with  the  rest  of  the 
fat.  But  if  it  were  a  goat,  the  fat  only  was  burnt. 
Lev.  vii.  2,  3.     See  Rump. 

The  peace-offering  was  offered  to  return  thanks  to 
God  for  benefits;  or  to  solicit  favors  from  him  ;  or  to 
satisfy  private  devotion  ;  or  simply,  for  the  honor  of 
God.  The  Israelites  offered  this  when  they  pleased; 
no  law  obliged  them  to  it.    They  were  free  to  choose 


what  animal  they  would,  among  such  as  were  al- 
lowed to  be  sacrificed.  No  distinction  was  observed 
of  age,  or  sex,  of  the  victim,  as  in  the  burnt  sacrifices, 
and  the  sacrifices  for  sin.  Lev.  iii.  The  law  only  re- 
quired that  the  victim  should  be  without  blemish. 
He  who  presented  it  came  to  the  door  of  the  taberna- 
cle, put  his  hand  on  the  head  of  the  victim,  and  killed 
it.  The  priest  poured  out  the  blood  about  the  altar 
of  burnt  sacrifices  :  he  burnt  on  the  fire  of  the  altar 
the  fat  of  the  lower  belly,  that  which  covers  the  kid- 
neys, the  liver  and  the  bowels.  And  if  it  were  a 
lamb,  or  a  ram,  he  added  to  it  the  rump  of  the  animal, 
which,  in  that  country,  is  veiy  fat.  Before  these 
things  were  committed  to  the  fire  of  the  altar,  the 
priest  put  them  into  the  hands  of  the  offerer,  then 
made  him  lifi;  them  up  on  high,  and  wave  them 
toward  the  four  quarters  of  the  world,  the  priest  sup- 
porting and  directing  his  hands.  The  breast  and  the 
right  shoulder  of  the  sacrifice  belonged  to  the  priest 
that  performed  the  service  ;  and  it  appears,  that  each 
of  them  were  put  into  the  hands  of  him  who  offered 
them  ;  though  Moses  mentions  only  the  breast  of  the 
animal.  After  this,  all  the  rest  of  the  sacrifice  be- 
longed to  him  who  presented  it,  and  he  might  eat  it 
with  his  family  and  friends,  at  his  pleasure,  Lev.  viii. 
30,  <kc. 

The  sacrifices  or  offerings  of  meal,  or  liquors, 
Avhich  were  offered  for  sin,  were  in  favor  of  the  poorer 
sort,  who  could  not  afford  to  sacrifice  an  ox,  or  goat, 
or  sheep.  Lev.  vi.  14,  &c.  They  contented  them- 
selves with  offering  meal  or  flour,  sprinkled  with 
oil,  with  spice  (or  frankincense)  over  it.  And  the 
priest,  taking  a  handful  of  this  flour,  with  all  the 
frankincense,  sprinkled  them  on  the  fire  of  the  altar; 
and  all  the  rest  of  the  flour  was  his  own :  he  was  to 
eat  it  withotit  leaven  in  the  tabernacle,  and  none  but 
priests  were  to  partake  of  it.  As  to  other  offerings, 
fruits,  wine,  meal,  wafei-s,  or  any  thing  else,  the  priest 
always  cast  a  part  on  the  altar,  the  rest  belonged  to 
him  and  the  other  priests.  These  offerings  were 
always  accompanied  with  salt  and  wine,  but  were 
without  leaven.  Lev.  ii. 

Sacrifices,  in  which  they  set  at  liberty  a  bird,  or  a 
goat,  were  not  properly  such  ;  because  there  was  no 
shedding  of  blood,  and  the  victim  remained  alive ; 
e.  g.  the  s])arrow  offered  for  the  purification  of  a  leper, 
or  of  a  house  spotted  with  leprosy.  Lev.  xiv.  A 
couj)le  of  sparrows  were  presented  to  the  priest,  or 
two  clean  birds,  with  a  bundle  of  hyssop,  tied  Avith  a 
scarlet  string.  The  priest  killed  one  of  the  birds 
over  ninning  water,  which  was  in  a  clean  and  new 
earthen  vessel  ;  afterwards,  tying  the  living  sj)aiTOw 
to  the  bundle  of  cedar  and  hyssop,  with  the  tail  turn- 
ed towards  the  handle  of  the  vessel,  he  plunged  it  in 
the  water  mingled  with  the  blood  of  the  first  spar- 
row ;  sprinkled  the  leper,  or  the  house,  with  it,  and 
then  set  the  living  sparrow  at  liberty,  to  go  where  it 
pleased. 

T'he  other  animal  set  at  libeHy  was  a  goat  ;  on  the 
day  of  solemn  expiation.     See  Goat,  Scape. 

Sacrifices  of  birds  were  offered  on  three  occasions. 
(1.)  For  sin,  when  the  person  offering  was  not  rich 
enough  to  provide  an  animal  for  a  victim.  Lev.  v.  7, 
8.  (2.)  For  purification  of  a  woman  after  her  lying-in, 
Lev.  xii.  6,  7.  When  slie  could  offer  a  lamb  and  a 
young  pigeon,  she  gave  both  ;  the  lamb  for  a  burnt- 
offering,  the  pigeon  for  a  sin-oflliring.  But  if  she 
were  not  able  to  offer  a  lamb,  she  gave  a  pair  of 
turtles,  or  a  pair  of  young  j)igeons  ;  one  for  a  burnt- 
offrring,  the  other  for  a  sin-offering.  (3.)  Tiiey 
offered  two  spaiTows  for  those  who  were  purified 


SACRIFICE 


[  801 


SAC 


from  the  leprosy  ;  one  was  a  burnt-offering,  the  other 
was  a  scape-sparrow,  as  above.  Lev.  xiv.  4,  &c. 
49—51. 

For  the  sacrifice  of  the  paschal  lamb,  see  Pass- 
over. 

The  perpetual  sacrifice  (Exod,  xxix.  38 — 40 ; 
Numb,  xxviii.  3.)  was  a  daily  offering  of  two  lambs  on 
the  altar  of  burnt-offerings  ;  one  in  the  morning,  the 
other  in  tlic  evening.  Tliey  were  burnt  as  holocausts, 
but  by  a  small  fire,  that  thoy  might  continue  binning 
the  longer.  The  lamb  of  the  moniing  was  offered 
about  sunrise,  after  the  incense  was  burnt  on  the 
golden  altar,  and  before  any  other  sacrifice.  That 
in  the  evening  was  oftei-ed  between  tiie  two  cven- 
iu.<TS,  that  is,  at  the  decline  of  day,  and  before  night. 
With  each  of  these  victims  was  offered  half  a  pint 
of  wino,  half  a  pint  of  the  purest  oil,  and  an  assaron, 
or  about  three  pints,  of  the  finest  flour. 

Such  were  the  sacrifiros  of  the  Hebrews  ;  sacrifices, 
indeed,  veiy  imperfect,  and  altogether  incapable,  in 
themselves,  to  jxn-ify  the  soul  !  Paul  has  described 
these  and  other  ceremonies  of  the  law,  "  as  weak  and 
beggarly  elements,"  Gal.  iv.  9.  They  represented 
grace  and  purity,  but  they  did  not  communicate  it. 
They  convinced  the  sinner  of  the  necessity  to  purify 
himself,  and  make  satisfaction  to  God  ;  but  they  did 
not  impart  hoUness  to  him.  Sacrifices  were  only 
prophecies  and  figures  of  the  true  sacrifice,  which 
eminently  includes  all  their  virtues  and  qualities  ;  be- 
ing at  the  same  time  holocaust,  a  sacrifice  for  sin,  and 
a  sacrifice  of  thanksgiving ;  containing  tiie  whole 
substance  and  efificacy,  of  which  the  ancient  sacrifices 
were  only  representations.  The  paschal  lamb,  the 
daily  burnt-offerings,  the  offerings  of  flour  and  wine, 
and  all  other  oiilations,  of  whatever  nature,  promised 
and  represented  the  death  of  Jesus  Christ.  See 
further  on  Covenant. 

The  sacrifice  of  a  humble  and  contrite  heart  is 
that  Vvdiich,  on  our  i)art,  constitutes  the  whole  merit 
of  what  we  can  offer  to  God,  Ps.  li.  17.  "  The  sacri- 
fices of  God  are  a  broken  spirit ;  a  broken  and  a  con- 
trite heart,  O  God,  thou  wilt  not  despise."  The  Jews, 
without  thes3  dispositions,  could  not  present  any 
offering  agreeable  to  God  ;  and  he  often  explains 
himself  on  this  matter  in  the  prophets,  Ps.  xl.  6  :  Jsa. 
i.  11—14  ;  Jer.  xxxv.  15  ;  Amos  v.  21,  22 ;  Hos.  xiv. 
2—4  ;  Jool  ii.  12,  13,  &c. ;  Ps.  li.  16. 

The  A'cry  natural  notion  common  to  mankind,  that 
whatever  wo  most  value  must  be  offered  to  God,  has 
prevailed  in  several  nations,  so  far  as  to  induce  them 
to  offer  human  sacrifices.  But  it  is  not  agreed  who 
first  intro:'.uced  this  custom.  Some  ascribe  it  to  Ilus, 
or  Saturn,  who,  they  say,  practised  it  among  the 
Pha-nicians,  offering  up  to  the  gods  his  own  son 
Jfihoud,  whom  he  had  by  the  nymph  Anabrcth. 
Philo  insinuates  that  the  custom  of  offering  such 
sacrifices  v/as  known  in  Canaan  before  Abraham ; 
and  some  learned  men  think,  that  the  example  of 
theso  people  abated  much  of  that  horror  Aliraham 
would  otherwise  have  had,  at  the  intention  of  sacri- 
ficing his  own  son.  But  it  is  much  more  probable, 
that  Al)raham's  example,  misunderstood  and  ill  ap- 
plied, gave  rise  to  this  custom.  Some  learned  men 
have  thought,  that  among  the  Canaanitcs  and  Mo- 
abites,  they  contented  themselves  with  making  their 
chilflren  pass  through  the  flames,  or  between  two 
fires,  which  they  called  histrarc per  ignem.  No  doubt 
they  often  did  so  ;  but  often  they  really  consumed 
them  in  the  flames.  Moses  (Lev.  xviii.  21.)  forbids 
this  practice,  though  we  afterwards  read  of  a  son  of 
king  Ahaz.  who  had  been  offered  to  Moloch,  and  vet 
101 


reigned  after  his  father,  2  Kings  xvi.  3,  compared  with 
ch.  xviii.  1. 

In  Lev.  XX.  1 — 3,  it  is  said,  "  Whosoever  he  be  of 
the  children  of  Israel,  or  of  the  strangers  that  sojourn 
in  Israel,  that  giveth  any  of  his  seed  to  Moloch,  he 
shall  surely  be  put  to  death,  the  people  of  the  land 
shall  stone  him  with  stones.  And  I  will  set  my  face 
against  that  man,  and  will  cut  him  off  from  among  his 
people;  because  he  hath  given  of  his  seed  unto  Mo- 
loch, to  defile  my  sanctuary,  and  to  profane  my  holy 
name.  And  if  the  people  of  the  land  do  any  ways 
hide  their  eyes  from  the  man,  when  he  giveth  of  his 
seed  unto  Moloch,  and  kill  him  not,  then  I  will  set  my 
face  against  that  man,  and  against  his  family,  and  will 
cut  him  oft',  and  all  that  go  a  whoring  after  him,  to 
commit  whoredom  with  Aloloch,  from  among  their 
people."  Moses  repeats  these  prohibitions,  Deut. 
xviii.  10.  It  appears,  however,  from  Amos  v.  26, 
that  the  people  did  not  forbear,  even  in  the  desert,  to 
carry  with  them  a  tent  consecrated  to  Moloch. 

It  is  beyond  all  doubt  that  the  Canaanites  put  their 
children  to  death  in  honor  of  their^ods,  Ps.  cvi.  37. 
Jeremiah  (xix.  5.)  says,  "  They  have  built  also  the  high 
places  of  Baal,  to  burn  their  sons  with  fire,  for  burnt- 
offermgs  unto  Baal."  (See  also  chap,  xxxii.  35.)  For 
these  crimes  God  drove  out  the  Canaanitcs.  (See  Deut. 
xviii.  10,  12;  Wisd.  xii.  5.) 

The  Pha'uicians,  arenmantof  the  Canaanites,  con 
tinuctl  this  barbarous  custom,  which  they  justified  by 
the  example  of  Ilus,  or  Saturn,  as  above  ;  and  carried 
it  with  their  colonies  into  Africa,  where  it  long  con- 
tinued. When  Gelo,  king  of  Sicily,  conquered  the 
Carthaginians,  by  the  treaty  he  made  with  them,  he 
obliged  them  to  renounce  the  custom  of  sacrificing 
their  children  to  Saturn  ;  and  Justin  assures  us,  that 
Darius  imposed  the  same  commands  on  them  by  an 
embassy,  to  leave  off  human  sacrifices.  But  notwith- 
standing this,  they  continued  them  till  the  procon- 
sulate of  Tiberius,  v»ho  caused  the  priests  of  Saturn 
to  be  hanged  on  trees  around  their  temples.  Diodorus 
Siculus  gives  a  description  of  Saturn,  as  adored  by 
the  Carthaginians :  the  figure  was  of  brass  ;  the  hands 
of  which  were  turned  backward,  and  bending  toward 
the  ground  ;  so  that  when  they  put  upon  his  arms  a 
child,  to  be  consecrated  to  him,  he  immediately  fell 
into  a  pan  of  burning  coals  beneath,  and  died  mise- 
rably at  the  foot  of  the  statue. 

It  would  be  to  little  purpose  to  accumulate  exam- 
ples ol'  human  victims.  Porphyry  assures  us,  that 
the  book  of  Sanchouiathon  was  full  of  them.  They 
v/ere  frequent,  not  only  in  Phoenicia,  in  Palestine,  in 
the  countries  of  Annnon  and  Moab,  in  Idumea,  in 
Arabia,  and  in  Egypt;  but  also  in  Gaul,  among  the 
Scythians,  the  Thracians,  in  the  islands  of  Rhodes, 
Chios  and  Cyprus;  even  among  the  Athenians;  and 
also  in  India,  the  South  sras,  and  America.  In  fact, 
they  have  been  practised  in  all  parts  of  the  world, 
with  very  few  exceptions. 

As  to  v.'hat  is  affirmed,  that  Ahaz  had  the  same 
son  for  his  successor,  whom  he  had  caused  to  pass 
through  the  fire  in  honor  to  ?iloloch,  no  pi'oof  can  bo 
given  of  this.  It  is  true,  his  successor  was  Hezekiah  ; 
but  he  might  have  had  several  other  sons.  We  know 
another  of  his  sons,  vvhose  name  was  Maaseiah,  who 
was  ])ut  to  death  at  the  command  of  the  king  of 
Israel,  2  Chron.  xxviii.  7. 

SACRILEGE,  the  action  of  profaning  holy  things, 
or  of  committing  outi-age  against  holy  tilings,  or  holy 
persons.  Theft,  or  abuse,  or  profanation  of  sacred 
tilings,  is  sacrilege.  Scripture  gives  the  name  of  sac- 
rilege to  idolatry,  and  to  other  crimes  which  more 


SAD 


[  802  ] 


SAI 


directly  insult  the  Deity.  He  is  called  sacrilegious, 
who  commits  an  impiety,  a  profanation  of  holy 
things ;  who  usurps  sacred  offices  ;  who  approaches 
the  sacraments  unwortliily  ;  who  plunders  or  pillages 
things  dedicated  to  God,  &c. 

SADDUCEES,  one  of  the  four  principal  sects  of 
the  Jews,  and  chiefly  distinguished  by  their  opinion 
concerning  angels  and  spirits.  They  did  not  deny 
that  man  had  a  reasonalile  soul ;  but  they  maintained 
that  this  soul  was  mortal ;  and,  by  a  necessary  conse- 
quence, they  denied  the  rewards  and  punishments  of 
another  life.  They  affirmed,  also,  that  the  existence 
of  angels,  and  a  bodily  resurrection,  were  illusions, 
Acts  xxiii.  8  ;  Matt.  xxii.  23 ;  Mark  xii.  18  ;  Luke 
XX.  27.  Epiphanius,  and  after  him  Augustin,  ad- 
vance, that  they  denied  the  Holy  Spirit ;  but  neither 
Josspiius,  nor  the  evangelists,  accuse  them  of  this 
error.  It  has  been  also  imputed  to  them,  that  they 
thouglit  God  to  be  corporeal,  and  that  they  did  not 
receive  the  prophets. 

It  is  difficult  to  conceive  how  they  could  deny  the 
existence  of  angels,  jet  receive  the  books  of  Moses, 
where  frequent  mention  is  made  of  angels,  and  of 
their  appearance.  The  ancients  do  not  acquaint  us 
how  they  solved  this  difficidty.  It  may  be  they  con- 
sidered angels,  not  as  individual  beings,  and  subsist- 
ing of  themselves,  but  as  powers,  emanations,  or 
qualities  inseparable  from  the  Deity,  much  as  the 
Kim- beams  are  inseparable  from  the  sun.  Or  they 
may  have  held  angels  to  be  mortal,  as  they  thought 
human  spirits  to  be. 

But  it  is  more  likely,  as  Mr.  Taylor  remarks,  that 
w'hen  the  Sadducees  are  charged  with  denying  the 
existence  of  angels,  we  misajiply  the  term  ;  intending 
by  it  celestial  angels,  whereas  they  meant  it  of  dis- 
embodied human  spirits.  This  accounts  easily,  he 
thinks,  for  their  reception  of  the  Pentateuch,  in  which 
appearances  of  celestial  angels  are  recorded,  and  for 
oiu'  Lord's  reference  to  the  continued  existence  of 
the  human  spirits  of  Abraham,  &c.  His  argument 
is — "the  Deity  declares  himself  God  of  Abraham — 
therefore,  Abraham  continues  to  exist — that  is,  in  a 
state  of  spiritual,  separate  existence;  for,  if  he  were 
entirely  dead,  the  Deity  would  be  God  of  a  non-ex- 
istence, which  is  absurd."  The  Sadducees  were 
constantly  in  opposition  to  the  Pharisees,  though  they 
could  agree  when  measures  important  to  both  were 
to  be  taken. 

As  the  Sadducees  acknowledged  neither  punish- 
nient  nor  recompense  in  another  life,  they  were  in- 
exorable in  chastising  the  wicked.  They  observed 
the  law  themselves,  and  caused  it  to  be  observed  by 
others,  with  the  utmost  rigor.  They  admitted  none 
of  the  traditions,  explications,  or  modifications  of  the 
Pharisees :  they  kept  only  to  the  text  of  the  law  ; 
and  maintained,  that  only  what  was  written  was  to  be 
observed. 

The  Sadducees  are  accused  of  rejecting  all  the 
books  of  Scripture,  exce])t  those  of  Moses ;  and  to 
siqiport  this,  it  is  observed,  that  oin-  Saviour  uses  no 
Scripture  against  them,  but  passages  out  of  the  Pen- 
tateuch. ]Jut  Scaliger  produces  good  proofs  to  vin- 
dicate them  from  this.  lie  observes,  that  they  did 
not  appear  in  Israel  till  after  the  number  of  the  holy 
books  was  fix(;d,  and  that  if  they  had  been  to  choose 
out  of  tlie  canon,  the  Pentateuch  was  less  favorable 
to  them  than  any  other  book,  since  it  often  mentions 
angels  and  tlieir  ap])earauce.  Besides,  the  Saddu- 
cees were  present  in  the  temple,  and  at  other  reli- 
gious assemblies,  where  the  books  of  the  prophets 
wore  read,  as  well  as  those  of  Moses.     They  held 


the  chief  offices  in  the  nation  ;  and  many  of  the 
priests  were  Sadducees.  Would  the  Jews  have  suf- 
fered these  employments  to  be  filled  by  persons  who 
rejected  the  greater  part  of  their  Scriptures  ?  Besides, 
Manasseh-ben-Israel  says  expressly,  that  indeed  they 
did  not  reject  the  prophets,  but  that  they  explained 
them  in  a  sense  vei-y  different  from  that  of  the  other 
Jews. 

Josephus  assures  us  that  they  denied  destiny,  or 
fate  ;  alleging,  that  these  were  only  sounds  void  of 
sense,  and  that  all  the  good  or  evil  we  experience,  is 
in  consequence  of  the  good  or  evil  side  we  have 
taken,  by  our  free  choice ;  that  God  was  far  from 
doing  or  from  knowing  evil ;  and  that  man  was  ab- 
solute master  of  his  own  actions.  This  was  really  to 
deny  a  Providence,  and,  on  this  foundation,  we  know 
not  what  could  be  the  religion  of  the  Sadducees;  or 
what  influence  over  terrestrial  things  they  could  as- 
cribe to  God.  However,  as  it  is  certain  they  were 
not  only  tolerated,  but  admitted  to  the  high-priest- 
hood itself,  we  have  strong  proof  of  the  low  state  of 
rehgion  among  the  Jews. 

John  Hircanus,  high-priest  of  the  nation,  separated 
himself  in  a  signal  manner  from  the  sect  of  the  Phar- 
isees, and  went  over  to  that  of  the  Sadducees.  It  is 
said,  also,  he  stricdy  commanded  all  Jews,  on  pain  of 
death,  to  receive  the  maxims  of  this  sect.  Aristobu- 
lus  and  Alexander  Jannseus,  son  of  Hircanus,  con- 
tinued to  favor  the  Sadducees ;  and  Abraham-ben- 
dior,  Cabbala  and  Maimonides  assure  us,  that  under 
these  princes  they  possessed  all  the  offices  of  the 
Sanhedrim,  and  that  there  remained,  on  the  part 
of  the  Pharisees,  only  Simon,  son  of  Secra.  Caia- 
phas,  who  condemned  our  Saviour,  was  a  Sadducee, 
(Acts  iv.  1 ;  V.  17.)  as  was  Ananus  the  younger,  who 
put  to  death  James,  brother  of  our  Lord.  At  this 
day,  the  Jews  hold  as  heretics  that  small  number  of 
Sadducees  which  are  found  among  them. 

SADOC,  son  of  Azor,  father  of  Achim,  and  one  of 
the  ancestoi-s  of  Jesus  Christ,  Matt.  i.  14. 

SAFFRON,  a  well-known  flower,  of  a  bluish  color, 
in  the  midst  of  which  are  small  yellow  threads,  of  a 
veiy  agreeable  smell.  Solomon  (Cant.  iv.  14.)  joins 
it  with  other  aromatics  ;  and  Jeremiah  is  made  to 
speak  of  cloths  of  a  safiron  color,  Lam.  iv.  5.  The 
passage,  however,  rather  signifies  purple  or  crimson. 

SAINT  is  a  term  sometimes  put  for  the  people  of 
Israel,  sometimes  for  Christian  believers.  The  fac- 
tion of  Korah,  Dathan  and  Abiram  said  to  Moses  and 
Aaron,  (Numb.  xvi.  3.)  "Ye  take  too  much  upon  you, 
seeing  all  the  congregation  are  holy  (or  saints)  every 
one  of  them,  and  the  Lord  is  among  them."  And  in 
several  places  of  Scripture,  the  Hebrews  are  called  a 
holy  nation  :  "  Ye  shall  be  unto  me  a  kingdom  of 
priests,  and  a  holy  nation,"  Exod.  xix.  6 ;  1  Pet.  ii.  9  ; 
Deut.  vii.  6;  xiv.  2,  21.  Nothing  is  more  frequent 
in  Paul  than  the  name  of  saints  given  to  Christians, 
Rom.  i.  7 ;  viii.  27,  28  ;  xii.  13 ;  xv.  25,  32 ;  xvi.  2, 
&c.  But  it  is,  probably,  never  given  to  any,  after 
the  promidgation  of  the  gospel,  who  had  not  been 
baptized.  In  this  acceptation  it  continued,  during 
the  early  ages  of  Christianity  ;  nor  was  it  applied  to 
individuals  declared  to  be  saints  by  any  other  act  of 
the  church,  till  various  corruptions  had  depraved  the 
primitive  principles.  The  church  of  Rome  assumes 
the  power  of  making  saints,  or  of  beatification  ;  that 
is,  of  announcing  certain  departed  s|)irits  as  objects 
of  worship,  and  from  which  the  faithful  may  solicit 
favors.  A  notion  worthy  of  the  dark  ages  in  which 
it  originated.  Saints  signifies,  in  particular,  good 
men,  and  the  servants  of  God.     Prov.  ix.  10    "The 


SAL 


[  803 


SALOME 


knowledge  of  the  holy  (or  saints)  is  understanding." 
Prov.  XXX.  3,  "  I  neitiier  learned  wisdom,  nor  have  the 
knowledge  of  the  holy,  or  saints."  Ps.  xxxiv.  9,  "  O 
fear  the  Lord,  ye  his  saints  ;  for  there  is  no  want  to 
them  that  fear  him."  Ps.  xvi.  2,  3,  "  My  goodness 
extendeth  not  to  thee,  but  to  the  saints  that  are  in  the 
earth,  and  to  tlie  excellent,  in  whom  is  all  my  de- 
light." Saints  is  often  put  for  angels:  (Job  v.  L) 
"To  which  of  the  saints  wilt  thou  turn?" — "And, 
behold,  he  putteth  no  trust  in  his  saints  ;  yea,  the 
heavens  are  not  clean  in  his  sight,"  chaj)!  xv.  15." 
Daniel  says,  (iv.  13,  23.)  "  An  holy  one  (or  saint)  came 
down  from  heaven."  And  Moses,  (Deut.  xxxiii.  2,  3.) 
"The  Lord  shined  forth  from  mount  Paran,  and 
came  with  ten  thousands  of  saints."     See  Holy. 

SALAH,  or  Saleh,  son  of  Arphaxad,  born  in  the 
thirty-fifth  year  of  his  father,  A.  M.  1693.  He  begat 
Eber  at  thirty  years  old,  and  died,  aged  433  years, 
A.  M.  2126,  Gen.  xi.  12,  &c. 

SALAMIS,  the  chief  city  of  the  isle  of  Cyprus, 
visited  by  Paul  and  Barnabas,  A.  D.  44,  when  they 
converted  Sergius  Paulus,  Acts  xiii.  5.  It  was  situ- 
ated on  the  south-east  side  of  the  island,  and  was 
afterwards  called  Constantia. 

SALATHIEL,  son  of  Jeconiah,  and  father  of  Ze- 
rubbabel,  (1  Chron.  iii.  17.)  died  at  Babylon  during 
the  captivity.  He  was  also  son  of  Neri,  according  to 
Luke  iii.  27,  who  makes  him  to  have  descended  from 
Solomon  by  Nathan  ;  whereas  Matthew  (i.  12.)  de- 
rives him  from  Solomon  by  Rehoboam.  In  Sala- 
thiel  were  united  the  two  branches  of  this  illustrious 
genealogy  ;  so  that  Salathiel  was,  according  to  Calmet, 
son  to  Jeconiah,  according  to  the  flesh,  as  appears 
ff-om  the  Chronicles,  which  say,  that  Jeconiah  had 
two  sons,  Assir  and  Salathiel,  at  Babylon  ;  and  son  of 
Neri  by  adoption,  or  by  having  married  the  heiress 
of  Neri's  family ;  or  as  issue  of  the  widow  of  Neri, 
he  being  dead  without  children.  In  either  of  these 
cases  he  would  be  son  of  Neri  accoi-ding  to  the  law. 
Luke  does  not  say  in  what  sense  he  was  son  to  Neri. 
See  Genealogy,  and  Adoption. 

SALCHAH,  a  city  of  the  kingdom  of  Og,  in  the 
country  of  Bashan,  beyond  Jordan,  toward  the  north- 
ern extremity  of  the  portion  of  Manasseh,  Deut.  iii. 
10;  1  Chron.  v.  11 ;  Josh.  xii.  5;  xiii.  11. 

I.  SALEM,  peace,  a  name  given  to  Jerusalem, 
which  see. 

XL  SALEM,  a  city  of  the  Shechemites,  where  Ja- 
cob arrived  at  his  return  from  Mesopotamia,  Gen. 
xxxiii.  18.  Eusebius  and  Jerome  notice  this  city  ; 
but  some  commentators  translate  the  Hebrew,  "  Ja- 
cob came  safe  and  sound  to  a  city  of  Shechem." 
Shalom  may  signify,  safe,  in  health,  in  peace,  &c. 

III.  SALE3i,  or  Salim,  a  place  where  John  the 
Baptist  baptized  on  the  Jordan,  (John  iii.  23.)  the 
situation  of  which,  however,  is  unknown. 
SALMANESER,  see  Shalmaneser. 
SAL3ION,  son  of  Nahshon,  married  Rahab,  by 
whom  he  had  Boaz,  A.  M.  2.553,  1  Chron.  ii.  11,  51, 
54 ;  Ruth  iv.  20,  21  ;  Matt.  i.  4.  He  is  named  "  the 
father  of  Bethlehem ;"  that  is,  his  descendants 
peopled  Bethlehem ;  or  he  greatly  improved  and 
adorned  it :  he  was,  as  we  say,  "the  making  of  that 
town :"  or  he  was  the  chief  man,  l)y  office ;  the 
Abyssinian  shum  of  a  town. 

SALMONE,  or  Salmona,  the  name  of  a  promon- 
tory which  forms  the  eastern  extremity  of  the  isle  of 
Crete,  Acts  xxvii.  7. 

I.  SALOME,  daughter  of  x\ntipater,  and  sister  of 
Herod  the  Great,  one  of  the  most  wicked  of  w^omen. 
She  first  married  Josei)h,  whom  she  accused  of  fa- 


miliarities with  Mariamne,  wife  of  Herod,  and  thus 
procured  his  death.  She  afterward  married  Costo- 
barus ;  but  being  disgusted  with  him,  she  put  him 
away,  a  license  till  then  unheard  of  among  the 
Jews,  whose  law  (says  Josephus)  allows  men  to  put 
away  their  wives,  but  does  not  allow  women  equal 
liberty.  After  this,  she  accused  him  of  treason 
against  Herod,  who  })ut  him  to  death.  She  caused 
much  division  and  trouble  in  Herod's  family,  by  her 
calumnies  and  mischievous  informations  ;  and  she 
may  be  considered  as  the  chief  author  of  the  death 
of  the  princes  Alexander  and  Aristobulus,  and  of 
their  mother  Mariamne.  She  afterwards  conceived 
a  violent  passion  for  an  Arabian  prince,  called  Sil- 
Iseus,  whom  she  would  have  married  against  her 
brother  Herod's  consent ;  and  even  after  she  had 
married  Alexas,  her  inclination  for  Sillseus  was  no- 
torious. Salome  survived  Herod,  who  left  her  by 
will,  the  cities  of  Jamnia,  Azoth  and  Phasaelis,  with 
50,000  pieces  of  money.  She  favored  Antipas  against 
Archelaus,  and  died  A.  D.  9,  a  little  after  Archelaus 
had  been  banished  to  Vienne  in  Dauphiny.  Salome 
had  five  children  by  Alexas — Berenice,  Antipater, 
Calleas,  and  a  son  and  a  daughter,  whose  names  are 
not  mentioned.  (Joseph.  Antiq.  lib.  xv.  4 — xvii. 
cap.  8.) 

II.  SALOME,  a  daughter  of  Herod  the  Great  and 
Elpide,  who  married  one  of  the  sons  of  Pheroras. 
(Joseph.  Antiq.  xvii.  1.) 

III.  SALOME,  the  dancer,  daughter  of  Herodias, 
and  of  Herod-Philip,  first  married  Philip,  her  uncle, 
and  afterwards  Aristobulus,  son  of  Herod,  king  of 
Chalcis,  by  w-hom  she  had  three  sons,  Herod,  Agrip- 
pa  and  Aristobulus.  (Jos.  Ant.  xviii.  7.)  When  He- 
rodias left  Pliilip,  her  daughter  Salome  accompanied 
her,  and  by  her  cunning  prociu'ed  the  death  of  John 
the  Baptist.     See  Antipas  I,  and  Herodias. 

Nicephorus  and  Jletaphrastes  state  that  Salome 
accompanied  her  mother  Herodias,  and  her  father- 
in-law  Herod,  in  their  banishment  to  Yienne  in 
Dauphiny ;  and  that  tiie  emperor  having  obliged 
them  to  go  into  Spain,  as  she  passed  over  a  river  that 
was  frozen,  the  ice  broke  under  her  feet,  and  she 
sunk  in  up  to  her  neck;  when  the  ice  uniting  again, 
she  remained  thus  suspended  by  it,  and  suffered  the 
same  punishment  she  had  made  John  the  Baptist  un- 
dergo. But  none  of  the  ancients  mention  this  ;  and 
it  is  contrary  to  Josephus,  who  tells  us,  she  first 
married  Philip  the  tetrarch,  son  of  Herod  the  Great 
and  Cleopatra,  who  died  about  A.  D.  33  or  34,  and 
afterwards  Aristobulus,  son  of  Herod,  king  of 
Chalcis,  her  cousui-german,  by  whom  she  had  sev- 
eral children.  Thus  she  lived  above  thirty  years 
after  the  exile  of  her  father-in-law. 

IV.  SALO^IE,  wife  of  Zebedee,  mother  of  James 
Major  and  John  the  Evangelist,  one  of  those  holy 
women  who  attended  our  Saviour  in  his  journeys, 
and  ministered  to  him,  Matt. xxvii.  56.  She  request- 
ed of  Jesus,  that  her  two  sons,  James  and  John, 
might  sit  one  on  his  right  hand,  and  the  other  on  his 
left  hand,  when  he  sliould  possess  his  kingdom  ; 
(comp.  Matt,  xxvii.  56,  with  Mark  xv.  40.)  but  the 
Son  of  God  answered,  "  Ye  know  not  what  ye  ask  ; 
to  sit  on  my  right  hand,  and  on  my  left,  is  not  mine  to 
give,  but  it  shall  be  given  to  them  for  whom  it  is 
prepared  by  my  Father." 

Salome  gave  a  strong  jjroof  of  her  faith,  when  she 
followed  Christ  to  Calvary,  and  did  not  forsake  him 
even  at  the  cross,  Mark  xV.  40  ;  Matt,  xxvii.  55,  56. 
She  was  also  one  of  those  women  who  brought  per- 
fumes to  embalm  him,  and  who  came  for  this  pur- 


SAL 


[  804  ] 


SAL 


pose  to  the  sepulchre  on  Sunday  morn.ng  early, 
Mark  xvi.  1,  2.  Entering  into  the  tomb,  they  saw  an 
aiigel,  who  informed  them,  that  the  Saviour  was 
risen ;  and  on  their  way  back  to  Jerusalem,  Jesus 
appeared  to  them,  and  said,  "  Be  not  afraid  ;  go  tell 
my  brethren,  that  they  go  in'to  Galilee,  and  there 
shall  they  see  me." 

Some  give  to  Salome  the  name  of  Maiy ;  butthere 
is  no  proof  of  her  being  so  called  :  and  what  some 
frivolous  histories  relate  of  the  three  Marys,  Mary, 
the  mother  of  Jesus,  Mary,  the  mother  of  James,  and 
Mary  Salome,  deserves  no  consideration. 

SALT  was  appointed  to  season  all  sacrifices  that 
were  offered  to  God,  Lev.  ii.  1.3.  Christ  alludes  to 
this,  when,  speaking  of  the  sufferings  of  the  dan;ined, 
he  says,  "E\ery  one  shall  be  salted  with  fire,  and 
every  sacrifice  shall  be  salted  with  salt,"  Mark  ix.  49. 
But  though  this  may  be  the  allusion,  there  is  consid- 
erable difficulty  in  ascertaining  its  precise  import. 
The  phrase  "  salted  with  fire,"  is  (to  us,  at  least)  un- 
usual, especially  as  it  stands  in  our  version.  Mr. 
Taylor  suggests  that  the  mu  should  be  taken  com- 
paratively "as  every  sacrifice  should  be  salted  with 
salt :'"  or  adv^ersatively,  as  it  often  is,  "  but  every  sac- 
rifice shall  be  salted  \vith  salt,"  to  render  it  accepta- 
ble, according  to  the  divine  law.  Possibly,  a  phrase 
used  by  Ignatius,  in  his  Epistle  to  the  J.iagnesians, 
may  afford  some  light  on  the  passage.  "Lay  aside 
therefore  the  old,  and  sour,  and  evil  leaven,  and  be 
ye  changed  into  the  new  leaven,  which  is  Jesus 
Christ.  Be  ye  salted  in  him,  lest  any  one  among  you 
:=hould  be  corrupted ;  for  by  your  savor  ye  shall  be 
judged."  It  is  evident  that  the  correct  doctrines  of 
the  gospel  are  spoken  of,  as  giving  an  agreeable  sa- 
vor to  the  "  living  sacrifices  "  of  believers,  whose  good 
conduct,  in  consequence,  evinces  their  entire  preser- 
vation from  coriTiption.  In  Syria,  where  there  are 
salt  lakes,  it  is  most  likely  that  comparisons,  and 
even  proverbs,  were  taken  from  the  properties  of  the 
article  they  furnished.  So  we  read,  "  Salt,"  that  is 
in  its  genuine  state,  "is  good;  but,  if  it  have  lost  its 
saltness,  wherewith  will  ye  season  it?"  l)ow  restore 
it  to  any  relish  ?  The  surface  of  the  salt  lakes,  also, 
the  thinner  crust  of  salt,  next  the  edges  of  the  lakes, 
afi:er  rains,  and  especially  after  long-continued  rains, 
loses  the  saline  particles,  which  are  washed  away  and 
dried  off,  yet  it  retains  the  form  and  appearance  of 
salt,  like  the  most  perfect.  For  this  reason,  those 
who  go  to  gather  salt  fi-om  the  lakes,  drive  their 
horses  and  carts  over  this  worthless  matter,  (and 
consequently  trample  it  ir.to  mere  mud  and  dirt,)  in 
order  to  get  some  distance  into  the  lake,  where  the 
salt  is  better  ;  and  often  they  are  obliged  to  dig  away 
the  surface  from  thence,  to  obtam  the  salt  pure  and 
jjungent. 

We  sec  from  Ezek.  xvi.  4,  ll;at  anciently  they 
rubbed  new-born  children  %yith  salt,  which  Jerome 
thought  was  to  dry  up  the  humidity,  and  to  close  the 
pores  of  the  skin.  Galen  says,  that  salt  hardens  the 
skin  of  children,  and  makes  them  more  firm. — Avi- 
csnna  acquaints  us,  that  they  bathed  children  with 
Avater  in  which  salt  had  been  dissolved,  to  close  up 
the  navel,  and  to  ha'rden  the  skin.  Others  think,  it 
was  to  hind^!-  any  corruption  that  might  proceed 
from  cutting  off  the  navel-string. 

The  propliet  Elislia,  being  desired  to  sweeten  the 
Vv'atera  of  the  fountain  of  Jericho,  required  a  new 
vessel  to  be  brouglit  to  him,  and  salt  therein,  2  Kings 
ii.  2L  Ho  threw  this  salt  into  the  spring,  and  said, 
"T!i;^s  saitii  the  Lord,  I  have  healed  these  waters  ; 
and  in  future  they  shall  net  occasion  either  death  or 


barrenness."  And  in  reality,  the  v/aters  became  good 
for  drinking.  Naturally  the  salt  must  have  increased 
the  brackishness  of  the  fountain  ;  but  the  prophet 
purposely  selected  a  remedy  that  seemed  contrary  to 
the  effect  he  would  produce,  that  the  mhacle  might 
become  the  more  evident. 

The  wise  man  reckons  salt  in  the  number  of  things 
the  most  necessary  for  life  ;  (Ecclus.  xxxix.  31.)  and 
Job  asks  if  any  one  could  eat  that  which  is  not  rel- 
ished with  salt  ?  metaphorically,  vigor  of  sentiment, 
understanding. 

Salt  is  the  symbol  of  wisdom:  "Let  your  speech 
be  always  with  grace,  seasoned  wilh  salt,"  Col.  iv.  6. 
And  our  Saviour  says,  "Have  salt  in  yourselves, and 
have  peace  one  with  another."  Hence  we  read  of 
attic  salt,  that  is,  attic  wit,  or  sharpness,  mental  intel- 
ligence, (Sec. 

Salt  is  also  the  symbol  of  peiiietuity  and  incorrup- 
tion.  Thus  they  said  of  a  covenant,  "  It  is  a  cove- 
nant of  salt  for  ever,  before  the  Lord,"  Numb,  xviii. 
19.  And  elsewhere,  "The  Lord  God  of  Israel  gave 
the  kingdom  over  Israel  to  David  for  ever,  even  to 
him  and  to  his  sons,  by  a  covenant  of  salt,"  2  Chrcn. 
xiii.  5.     See  Covenant  of  Salt. 

Salt  is  the  symbol  also  of  ban-enuess  and  sterility. 
When  Abiinelech  took  the  city  of  Shechem,  he  de- 
stroyed it,  and  sowed  the  place  with  salt,  that  it  might 
always  remain  desert,  Judg.  ix.  45.  Zephaniah  (ii. 
9.)  threatens  the  Ammonites  and  Moabitcs,  from  the 
Lord ;  "  i\Ioab  shall  be  as  Sodom,  and  the  children 
of  Ammon  as  Gomorrha,  even  the  breeding  of  net- 
tles, salt-pits,  and  a  perpetual  desolation."  (See  Ps. 
cvii.  34  ;  Jer.  xvii.  6.) 

Lastly,  salt  is  the  symbol  of  hospitality  ;  also  of 
that  fidelity  due  from  servants,  friends,  guests  and 
officers,  to  those  who  maintain  them,  or  who  receive 
them  at  their  tables.  The  governors  of  the  prov- 
inces beyond  the  Euphrates,  writing  to  king  Arta- 
xerxes,  tell  him,  "  Because  we  have  maintenance 
from  the  king's  palace,"  &c.  which,  in  the  Chaldee, 
is,  "  Because  we  are  salted  with  the  salt  of  the  pal- 
ace," Ezra  iv.  14. 

SALT  SEA,  or  Dead  Sea,  see  Sea. 

SALT,  Valley  of.  Interpreters  generally  place 
this  valley  south  of  the  Dead  sea,  towards  Idumea ; 
because  it  is  said  (2  Sam.  viii.  13.)  that  Abishai  there 
killed  18,000  Idumeans,  and  Joab  12,000 ;  (1  Chron. 
xviii.  12 ;  Ps.  Ix.  title  ;)  and  long  after  that,  Amaziah, 
king  of  Judah,  killed  10,000, 2  Kings  xiv.  7  ;  2  Chron. 
XXV.  11.  David  beat  the  Idumeans  in  the  Valley  of 
Salt,  as  he  returned  from  Syria  of  Zobah.  [This 
valley  Avould  seem  to  be  either  the  northern  ])art 
of  the  great  valley  El  Ghor,  leading  south  from  the 
Dead  sea ;  (see  Exodus,  p.  414 ;)  or  perhaps  some 
smaller  valley  or  ravine  opening  into  it  near  the 
Dead  sea.  The  whole  of  this  region  is  strongly  im- 
pregnated with  salt,  as  appears  from  the  reports  of 
all  travellers.  According  to  captains  Irby  and  Man- 
gles, "  a  gravelly  ravine,  studded  with  bushes  of 
acacia  and  other  shrubs,  conducts  [from  the  west]  to 
the  great  sandy  plain  at  the  southern  end  of  the  Dead 
sea.  On  entering  this  plain,  the  traveller  has  on  his 
right  a  continued  hill,  composed  jjartlj'  of  salt  and 
partly  of  hardened  sand,  running  south-east  and 
north-west,  till,  after  proceeding  a  few  miles,  the 
plain  opens  to  the  south,  bounded,  at  the  distance  of 
about  eight  miles,  by  a  sandy  cliff  from  sixty  to 
eighty  feet  high,  which  traverses  the  valley  El  Ghor 
like  a  wall,  forminga  barrier  to  the  waters  of  the  lake 
when  nt  their  gi-catest  height."  On  this  plain,  be- 
sides the  saline  appearance  left  by  the  retiring  of  the 


SAL 


[  805  ] 


SAL 


waters  of  the  lake,  the  travellei-s  noticed,  lying  on  the 
ground,  several  large  fragments  of  rock-salt,  which 
led  ihciii  to  examine  the  hill,  on  the  rigiit  of  the 
ravine  by  whicii  they  had  descended  to  the  plain,  de- 
scril)cd  above,  as  composed  partly  of  salt  and  partly 
of  hardened  sand.  They  found  the  salt,  in  many  in- 
stances, hanging  from  the  clift's,  in  clear  perpendicu- 
lar [)oints,  resembling  icicles.  They  obsen'ed  also 
strata  of  salt  of  considerable  thickness,  having  very 
little  sand  mi.xed  with  it,  genei'ally  in  perpendicular 
linos.  During  the  rainy  season,  the  torrents  appar- 
ently bring  down  immense  masses  of  this  mineral. 
Was,  then,  this  "  gravelly  ravine,"  perhaps,  ilie  par- 
ticular "Valley  of  Salt?"  or  was  this  term  applied 
more  generally  to  this  whole  plain,  which  exhibits 
similar  characteristics  ? 

Strabo  mentions,  that  to  the  southward  of  the  Dead 
sea  there  are  towns  and  cities  built  entirely  of  salt ; 
and  "although,"  add  the  travellers,  "such  an  account 
seems  strange,  yet  when  we  contemplated  the  scene 
before  us,  it  did  not  seem  incredible."  The  sea  had 
thrown  up  at  high-water  mark  a  quantity  of  wood, 
with  which  the  travellers  attempted  to  make  a  fire, 
in  order  to  bake  some  bread  ;  but  it  was  so  impreg- 
nated with  salt,  that  all  their  efforts  were  unavailing. 
The  track,  after  leaving  the  salt-hill,  led  across  the 
barren  flats  of  the  back-water  of  the  lake,  then  left 
partially  dry  by  the  effects  of  evaporation.  They 
passed  six  drains  running  into  the  sea ;  some  were 
w'et,  and  still  draining  the  di-eaiy  level  which  they 
intei-sected  ;  othei-s  were  drj'.  These  had  a  strong 
marshy  smell,  similar  to  what  is  perceivable  on  most 
of  the  muddy  flats  in  salt-water  harbors,  but  by  no 
means  more  unpleasant.  On  the  southern  extremity 
of  the  eastern  shore,  salt  is  also  deposited  by  the 
evaporation  of  the  water  of  the  lake.  The  travellers 
found  several  of  the  natives  peeling  off  a  solid  layer 
of  salt,  several  inches  thick,  with  which  they  loaded 
their  asses.  At  another  point,  also,  where  the  water, 
being  shallow,  retires  or  evaporates  rapidly,  a  con- 
siderable level  is  left,  encrusted  with  a  salt  that  is  but 
half  dried  and  consolidated,  appearing  like  ice  in  the 
commencement  of  a  thaw,  and  giving  way  nearly 
ankle  deep.  All  these  appearances  are  surely  sufii- 
cient  to  justify  the  appellation  of  Plain  or  Valley  of 
Salt.  (See  the  Mod.  Traveller,  Palestine,  p.  188,  199, 
eeq.  Amer.  ed.)     *R. 

SALVATION.  This  w'ord  is  taken  in  several 
senses  in  Scripture.  (1.)  For  etenial  happiness  and 
salvation,  the  object  of  our  hopes  and  desires.  Thus 
it  is  said,  "  To  give  knowledge  of  salvation  to  his 
people,"  Luke  i.  77.  "  The  gospel  of  your  salvation," 
Eph.  i.  13.  "  Godly  sorrow  worketh  repentance  to 
salvation,"  (2  Cor.  vii.  10.)  that  is,  leans  to  eternal  life. 
(2.)  For  deliverance,  or  victoiy :  "  Shall  Jonathan  die, 
who  hath  wrought  this  great  salvation  in  Lsrael  ?  " 
1  Sam.  xiv.  45.  (3.)  For  praise  and  benediction  given 
to  God :  "  Alleluiah,  salvation,  and  gloiy,  and  honor, 
and  power  unto  the  Lord  our  God.  .  .  .  Salvation  to 
our  God  which  sitteth  on  the  throne,  and  unto  the 
Lamb,"  Rev.  vii.  10;  xix.  1. 

The  Hebrews  rarely  use  concrete  terms,  as  they 
are  called,  but  often  abstract  terms.  Thus,  instead 
of  saying,  God  saves  them,  and  protects  them  ;  they 
say,  God  is  their  salvation.  So,  a  voice  of  salvation, 
tidings  of  salvation,  the  rock  of  salvation,  the  shield 
of  salvation,  a  horn  of  salvation,  a  word  of  salvation, 
&c.  is  equivalent  to  a  voice  declaring  deliverance  ; 
the  joy  tiiat  attends  escape  fi-oni  a  great  danger;  a 
rock  where  any  one  takes  refuge,  and  is  in  safety  ;  a 
buckler  that  secures  from  the  attack  of  an  enemy  ;  a 


horn  or  ray  of  glory,  of  happiness  and  salvation,  &c. 
Tbus,  to  work  great  salvation  in  Israel  signifies  to 
deliver  Israel  from  some  imminent  danger,  to  obtain 
a  great  victory  over  enemies. 

There  is  some  difiiculty,  as  Mr.  Taylor  remarks, 
in  restraining  the  terms  save  and  salvation,  to  their 
primitive  import,  in  certain  passages  of  Scripture. 
When  Peter  exhorts  the  Jews,  (Acts  ii.  40.)"  Save 
yourselves  from  this  untoward  generation,"  he  means, 
fron)  the  calamities  with  which  their  nation  would 
soon  be  vieited  ;  and  this  expectation  he  authorizes 
by  the  declaration  of  the  projjhet  Joel,  of  the  won- 
ders in  heaven,  &c.  who  adds,  "  Whosoever  sliall 
call  on  the  name  of  the  Lord,  shall  be  saved  ;"  as,  in 
fact,  all  Christians  were,  l)y  withdrawing  from  Jeru- 
salem, at  the  time  of  its  siege.  (Compare  3Iatt:  x.22  ; 
xxiv.  13  ;  Mark  xiii.  13.)  Yet  Paul  quotes  this  pas- 
sage in  a  different  sense,  (Rom.  x.  13.)  implying  that 
tvhoever,  whether  Jew  or  Greek,  "  shall  call  on  the 
name  of  the  Lord,  shall  be  saved ;"  certainly  not 
from  the  miseries  of  Jerusalem,  but  from  the  conse- 
quences of  sin. 

Nor  is  it  less  diflicult  to  say,  he  adds,  in  what  sen.=e 
all  Israel  shall  be  saved,  Rom.  xi.  26.  It  cannot  mean 
all  the  nation  that  ever  existed  ;  since  thousands  of 
them  were  marked  by  misery,  within  a  few  years 
from  the  date  of  this  Epistle  ;  neither  can  it  mean 
eternal  salvation,  since  not  all  Israel  was  worthy  of 
that  felicity.  It  may  refer,  he  thinks,  to  that  happy 
time,  when  the  Jews,  as  a  nation,  shall  acknowledge 
the  gracious  Deliverer  come  out  of  Sion  ;  and  shall 
be  brought  into  a  state  of  gi'ace,  leading  to  salvation, 
unless  frustrated  by  personal  transgression,  &c. 
(Comp.  chap.  ix.  27,  "  a  remnant  shall  be  saved,"  &c.) 

When  we  read  (1  Tim.  ii.  15.)  that  "women  shall 
be  saved  in  child-bearing,"  w'e  must  take  the  term  in 
a  qualified  sense,  since  all  women  are  not  so  saved. 
And  when  we  are  told  (1  Cor.  iii.  15.)  that  "if  any 
man's  work  be  burned,  he  himself  shall  be  saved  ;" 
it  is  necessary  to  avoid  the  sense  of  certainty  in  the 
English  term  shall,  and  to  consider  the  expression  as 
importing  may  be  saved  rather  than  must  be  saved. 
It  becomes,  therefore,  all  students  of  the  Bible,  to 
examine  carefully  the  intention  of  the  writer,  in  pas- 
sages where  this  term  (or  its  cognates)  occurs ;  and 
not  to  quote  at  random,  as  if  to  be  saved  ahvays  in- 
tended eternal  salvation,  since  it  may  intend  only 
temporal  salvation,  or  a  state  of  offered  salvation,  or  a 
state  of  grace  leading  to  salvation,  or  salvation  begun 
but  not  yet  completed.  It  may  refer  to  personal 
safety,  to  spiritual  deliverance,  or  to  natural  prosper- 
ity. Some  may  believe  to  the  saving  of  the  soul, 
(Heb.  X.  39.)  others,  as  Noah  in  his  ark,  may  effect 
the  saving,  i.  e.  the  presei-vation,  of  their  families, 
chap.  xi.  7. 

The  Garments  of  Sai.vatio.n  (Isa.  Ixi.  10.)  refer 
to  the  habits  of  joy  and  festivity,  woni  on  festival 
days,  and  after  receiving  a  signal  favor  fi-om  God,  as 
after  deliverance  from  great  danger. 

SALUTATION,  greeting,  hailing.  The  antiquity 
of  the  salutation,  "  Peace  be  with  you,"  and  the  un- 
derstood conclusion,  that  if  a  pereon  enjoy  peace,  all 
is  well  with  him,  appears  from  the  earliest  accounts 
we  have  of  patriarchal  behavior ;  as  Gen.  xxix.  6, 
"Is  there  peace  (health)  to  him  ?  "  (Laban) — they  an- 
swer, "  Peace."  So,  Jacob  directs  Joseph,  "  Go,  see 
the  peace  (welfare]  of  thy  brethren,"  xxxvii.  14.  So, 
the  spies  of  Dan  (Judg.  xviii.  15.)  "came  and  asked 
the  Levite  of  peace  ;"  i.  e.  saluted  him ;  and  even  in 
the  camp,  David  "  asked  his  brethren  of  peace  ;"  i.  e. 
saluted  them,  1  Sam.  xvii.  22.    The  reader  may  rec- 


SAM 


[  806  ] 


SAMARIA 


ollect  niauy  instances  of  this  pnraseology,  but  none 
more  memorable  than  our  Lord's  departing  salutation, 
as  recorded  by  the  evangelists  : — "  Peace  I  leave  with 
you ;  not  as  the  world  giveth,"  in  their  ordinary  salu- 
tations, "  give  I  unto  you,"  but  in  a  more  direct,  per- 
manent, appropriate  manner  ;  on  principles,  and  with 
authority,  infinitely  superior,  I  bless  you  with  this 
heavenly  gift,  John  xiv.  27. 

"  The  Arabs  of  Yemen,"  says  Niebuhr,  "  and  es- 
pecially the  highland  ers,  often  stop  strangers,  to  ask 
tvhence  they  come,  and  luhitlier  they  are  going. 
These  questions  are  suggested  merely  by  curiosity  ; 
and  it  would  be  indiscreet,  therefore,  to  refuse  to 
answer."  (Travels,  vol.  i.  p.  302.)  Does  not  this  ex- 
tract suggest  the  true  import  of  that  expression  of  our 
Lord,  which  has  seemed,  to  some,  to  favor  a  rude- 
ness of  behavior ;  which,  surely,  so  far  from  being 
congenial  to  the  precepts  and  mannere  of  the  gospel, 
is  inconsistent  with  them  ?  We  mean  the  passage, 
Luke  X.  4  :  "  Salute  no  man  by  the  way." — Now  the 
power  of  the  word  {aon:aor,n3a)  rendered  ^^  salute,"  im- 
pli'^.s,  "  to  draw  to  one's  self,  to  throw  one's  arms  over 
another,  and  embrace  him  closely." — Less  strictly 
taken,  it  signifies  to  salute,  as  rendered  in  our  ver- 
sion ;  but  may  not  the  prohibition,  in  our  Lord's  di- 
rections to  the  seventy,  have  some  reference  to  such 
a  custom  as  we  find  among  the  Arabs  of  Yemen  ? 
q.  d.  "Do  not  stop  any  man,  to  ask  him  whence  he 
comes,  and  wliither  he  is  going ;  do  not  loiter  and 
gossip  with  any  whom  you  may  accidentally  meet 
on  your  journey  ;  do  not  stop  strangers  to  receive 
information,  of  no  value  when  you  have  received  it; 
but  rather  make  all  proper  speed  to  the  towns 
whither  I  have  sent  you,  and  there  deliver  your  good 
tidings  ?  "  Seen  in  this  light,  there  is  no  breach  of 
decorum,  of  friendship,  or  of  good  manners,  implied 
in  this  command ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  merely  a 
very  proper  prohibition  of  what,  at  best,  is  imperti- 
nence, and  what,  under  the  then  circumstances, 
would  have  been  injurious  to  matters  of  real  impor- 
tance. 

Is  tlsere  any  allusion  to  such  intrusive  inquisitive- 
ness  in  John  xvi.  5,  "  None  of  you  asketh  me.  Whither 
goest  thou  ?" 

SAMARIA,  the  capital  city  of  the  kingdom  of  Is- 
rael, that  is,  of  the  ten  tribes.  It  was  built  by  Omri 
king  of  Israel,  who  began  to  reign,  A.  M.  3079,  and 
died  308G,  1  Kings  xvi.  24.  He  bought  the  hill  Sa- 
maria of  Shemer,  or  Shomeron,  for  two  talents  of 
silver,  about  $3,000.  Before  Omri,  ^he  kings  of  Is- 
rael dwelt  at  Shechem,  or  at  Tirzah. 

Samaria  was  built  on  an  agreeable  and  fruitful  hill, 
in  an  advantageous  situation,  twelve  miles  from  Do- 
thaim,  twelve  from  Merrom,  and  four  from  Atharoth. 
Joscphus  says,  it  was  a  day's  journey  from  Jerusalem. 
Tliough  built  on  an  eminence,  it  must  have  had 
^^•ater  in  abundance  ;  since  we  find  medals  struck 
tlicre,  on  which  is  represented  the  goddess  Astarte,  at 
whose  feet  is  a  river. 

The  kings  of  Israel  omitted  nothing  to  render  this 
city  the  strongest,  the  finest,  and  the  richest  possible. 
Ahab  here  built  a  palace  of  ivory,  (1  Kings  xxii.  39.) 
and  Amos  (iii.  15;  iv.  1,  2.)  describes  it  inider  Jero- 
boam II.  as  a  city  sunk  in  excess  of  luxiu-y  and  effem- 
inacy. Ben-hadad,  kingof  Syria, built  public  places 
or  streets,  probably  for  traffic,  where  his  pc^ople  dwelt, 
to  promote  commerce,  1  Kings  xx.  34.  His  son  Ben- 
hadad  besieged  it,  under  the  reign  of  Aliab,  but  was 
defeated  by  a  handful  of  young  men.  What  is  very 
remarkable,  and  yet  very  common,  is,  that  the  king 
of  Syria's  flatterers  would  ascribe  the  shame  of  their 


defeat,  not  to  the  pi'ide  and  drunkenness  of  their 
king,  but  to  the  interposition  of  the  gods  of  the  Jews : 
"  Their  gods  are  gods  of  the  hills,  (say  they,)  there- 
fore they  were  sti'onger  than  we ;  but  let  us  fight 
against  them  in  the  plain,  and  surely  we  shall  be 
stronger  than  they."  The  following  year  Ben-hadad 
brought  an  army  into  the  field,  probably  with  a  de- 
sign to  march  against  Samaria;  but  his  army  was 
again  destroyed,  1  Kings  xx.  26,  27.  Some  years 
after  this,  (2  Kings  vi.  24  ;  vii.  1—4.  A.  M.  3119,)  he 
came  again  before  Samaria,  and  reduced  it  to  such 
extremities  by  famine,  that  a  mother  was  forced  to 
eat  her  own  child  ;  but  the  city  was  relieved  by  a 
striking  interposition  of  Divine  Providence.  It  was 
besieged  by  Shalmaneser,  king  of  Assyria,  in  the 
ninth  year  of  Hoshea,  king  of  Israel,  which  was  the 
fourth  of  Hezekiah,  king  of  Judah ;  (A.  M.  3280 ;) 
and  it  was  taken  three  years  after,  2  Kings  xvii.  6,  7, 
&c.  The  prophet  Hosea  (x.  4,  8,  9 :  xiv.  1.)  speaks 
of  the  cruelties  exercised  by  Shalmaneser  ;  and  Mi- 
cah  says,  (i.  6.)  the  city  was  reduced  to  a  heap  of 
stones.  The  Cuthites  sent  byEsarhaddon  to  inhabit 
the  country  of  Samaria  did  not  think  it  Avorth  their 
while  to  repair  the  ruins  of  this  city,  but  dwelt  at 
Shechem,  which  they  made  their  capital. 

However,  the  Cuthites  rebuilt  some  part  of  Sama- 
ria, since  Ezra  speaks  of  its  inhabitants,  Ezra  iv.  17  ; 
Nell.  iv.  2.  The  Samaritans,  being  jealous  of  the  fa- 
vors Alexander  the  Great  conferred  on  the  Jews,  re- 
volted from  him,  while  he  was  in  Egypt,  and  burnt 
alive  Andromachus,  whom  he  had  left  governor. 
Alexander  took  Samaria,  and  sent  Macedonians  to 
inhabit  it ;  giving  the  country  around  it  to  the  Jews  ; 
and,  to  encourage  them  to  cultivate  it,  he  granted 
them  exemptions  from  tribute.  But  the  kings  of 
Egypt  and  Syria, who  succeeded  Alexander,  deprived 
them  of  this  country. 

Alexander  Balas,  king  of  Syria,  restored  to  Jona- 
than Maccabaeus  the  cities  of  Lydda,  Ephrem  and 
Ramatha,  which  he  separated  from  the  country  of 
Samaria.  And  the  Jews  i-esumed  the  full  possession 
of  it  under  John  Hircanus,  who  took  Samaria,  and 
ruined  it,  according  to  Josephus,  sothat  the  river  ran 
through  its  ruins,  A.  M.  3995.  It  so  continued  to 
A.  M.  3947,  Avhen  Aulus  Gabinius,  proconsul  of 
Syria,  rebuilt  it,  and  named  it  Gabiniana.  But  it  was 
very  inconsiderable,  till  Herod  the  Great  restored  it 
to  its  ancient  lustre,  and  gave  it  the  Greek  name  of 
Sebaste,  (m  Latin  Augusta,)  in  honor  of  the  emperor 
Augustus,  who  had  given  him  the  proprietory  of  it. 

The  New  Testament  speaks  but  little  of  Samaria  ; 
and  when  it  does  mention  it,  it  is  rather  in  respect  of 
the  countiy  than  of  the  city.  When  it  is  said  (Luke 
xvii.  11 ;  John  iv.  4.)  our  Lord  passed  through  the 
midst  of  Samaria;  the  meaning  is,  through  the  midst 
of  the  country  of  Samaria.  And  again,  "Then 
Cometh  he  to  a  city  of  Samaria  called  Sychar."  Hei-e 
Jesus  had  a  conversation  with  a  woman  of  Samaria, 
that  is,  with  a  Samaritan  woman  of  the  city  of  Sj'- 
char.  After  the  death  of  Stephen,  when  the  disci- 
ples were  dispersed  through  the  towns  of  Judca  and 
Samaria,  Philip  the  deacon  withdrew  into  the  city  of 
Samaria,  where  he  made  converts,  (Acts  viii.  ]— -3.) 
and  when  the  apostles  heard  that  this  city  had  re- 
ceived the  word  of  God,  they  sent  Peter  and  John 
thither,  to  communicate  tiie  Holy  Ghost.  Samaria 
is  never  called  Sebaste  in  the  New  Testament,  though 
strangers  hardly  knew  it  l)y  any  other  name.  Jerome 
says  it  was  thought  Obadiah  was  buried  at  Samaria. 
They  also  showed  there  the  tombs  of  Elisha  and  of 
John  the  Baptist. 


«  A  M 


[807] 


SAMARITANS 


The  country  of  Samaria  lies  between  Judea  and 
Galilee.  It  begins,  according  to  Josephus,  at  a  town 
called  Ginea,  in  the  great  plain,  and  ends  at  the  to- 
parchy  of  Acrabateue.  Samaria,  under  the  first 
temple,  was  the  name  of  a  city  ;  under  the  second, 
of  a  country.  Rabbi  Benjamin,  of  Tudela,  says,  "  Se- 
haste  is  Samaria,  where  the  palace  of  Ahab,  king  of 
Israel,  is  still  known.  Now  that  city  was  on  a 
mountain,  and  well  fortified,  had  springs,  well  wa- 
tered land,  gardens,  paradises,  vineyards  and  olive- 
yards.  Distant  eiglit  miles  is  Neapolis,  that  is,  Sy- 
chem,  in  mount  Ephraim.  It  is  seated  in  a  valley 
between  the  mountains  Gerizim  and  Ebal ;  in  it  are 
about  a  hundred  Cutheans,  observing  the  law  of 
Moses  only ;  they  are  called  Samaritans  ;  and  have 
priests  of  the  seed  of  Aaron.  They  sacrifice  in  the 
temple  on  mount  Gci-izim  on  the  day  of  the  passo- 
ver,  and  on  feast  days  on  the  altar  built  there  of  the 
stones  set  up  by  the  children  of  Israel,  when  they 
passed  over  Jordan." 

The  following  is  the  account  of  the  modern  city,  as 
given  by  Richardson  :  "  Its  situation  is  extremely 
beautiful, and  strong  l)y  nature  ;  more  so,  I  think,  than 
Jerusalem.  It  stands  on  a  fine  large,  insulated  hill, 
compassed  all  round  by  a  broad,  deep  valley ;  and, 
when  fortified,  as  it  is  stated  to  have  been  by  Herod, 
one  would  have  imagined,  that  in  the  ancient  system 
of  warfare,  nothing  but  famine  would  have  reduced 
such  a  place.  The  valley  is  surrounded  by  four 
hills,  one  on  each  side,  which  are  cultivated  in  ter- 
races to  the  top,  sown  with  grain  and  planted  with 
fig  and  olive-trees,  as  is  also  the  valley.  The  hill  of 
Samaria,  likewise,  rises  in  terraces  to  a  height  equal 
to  any  of  the  adjoining  mountains. 

"The  present  village  is  small  and  poor,  and,  after 
passing  the  valley,  the  ascent  to  it  is  very  steep  ;  but, 
viewed  from  the  station  of  our  tents,  is  extremely  in- 
teresting, both  from  its  natural  situation,  and  from 
the  picturesque  remains  of  a  ruined  convent  of  good 
Gothic  architecture. 

"Having  passed  the  village,  towards  the  middle  of 
the  first  terrace,  there  is  a  number  of  columns  still 
standing.  I  counted  twelve  in  one  row,  besides 
several  that  stood  apart,  the  brotherless  remains  of 
other  rows.  The  situation  is  extremely  delightful, 
and  my  guide  informed  me  that  they  belonged  to  the 
serai  or  palace.  On  tlie  next  terrace  there  are  no  re- 
mains of  solid  building,  but  heaps  of  stone  and  lime, 
and  rubbish  mixed  with  the  soil  in  great  profusion. 
Ascending  to  the  third,  or  highest  terrace,  the  traces 
of  former  buildings  were  not  so  numerous,  but  we 
enjoyed  a  delightful  view  of  the  surrounding  country. 
Tlic  eye  passed  over  the  deep  valley  that  comi)asses 
the  hill  of  Sebaste,  and  rested  on  the  mountains  be- 
yond, that  retreated  as  they  rose  with  a  gentle  slope, 
and  met  the  view  in  every  direction,  like  a  book  laid 
out  for  perusal  on  a  writing  desk. 

"From  this  lofty  eminence  we  descended  to  the 
south  side  the  hill,  where  we  saw  the  remains  of  a 
stately  colonnade,  that  stretches  along  this  beautiful 
exposure  from  east  to  west.  Sixty  columns  are  still 
standing  in  one  I'ow ;  the  shafts  are  plain,  and  frag- 
ments of  Ionic  volutes,  that  lie  scattered  about,  testify 
the  order  to  which  they  belong.  These  are  probably 
the  relics  of  some  of  the  magnificent  structures  with 
which  Herod  the  Great  adorned  Samaria.  None  of 
the  walls  remain." 

SAMARITANS.  The  account  given  of  these 
people  by  Calmet  is  extremely  j)rolix,  and  by  no 
Jiieans  satisfactory.  We  shall,  therefore,  omit  it  en- 
lirely,  and  supply  its  place  by  a  narrative  deduced 


from  sources,  many  of  which  were  not  Known  at  the 
time  when  Calmet  wrote. 

The  Samaritans  were  descended  from  the  remnant 
of  the  Israelites  not  carried  away  into  captivity,  and 
afterwards  intermixed  with  Gentiles  from  the  neigh- 
boring parts  of  Assyria,  especially  the  Cuthi,  who  J 
had  come  to  colonize  and  occupy  the  vacant  situa- 
tions  of  the  former  inhabitants.  In  this  new  colony 
idolatry  was  introduced  and  permitted  from  the  very 
first ;  yet  so  as  to  worship  Jehovah  in  conjunction 
with  the  false  gods,  2  Kings  xvii.  29.  When,  after- 
wards, Cyrus  permitted  the  Jews  to  return  from  cap- 
tivity and  rebuild  their  temple,  the  Samaritans,  who 
wished  to  form  a  union  in  religious  matters  with  the 
Jews,  requested  that  the  temple  might  be  erected  at 
the  common  labor  and  expense  of  both  nations.  But 
Zerubbabel,  and  the  other  Jemsh  rulers,  rejected 
their  request,  urging  that  Cyrus  had  committed  the 
work  to  thtm  only,  and  had  charged  the  governors 
of  Samaria  to  keep  away  from  the  place,  and  only 
assist  the  Jews  out  of  the  public  revenues  of  the 
province.  The  Samaritans,  however,  said  they  were  ' 
at  liberty  to  ivorship  there,  since  the  temple  had  been 
erected  for  the  worship  of  the  Supi-eme  Being  by  all 
the  human  race.  When  the  Samaritans  had  received 
this  repulse  fi-om  the  Jews,  they  felt  much  mortified, 
and  laid  wait  for  revenge  ;  they  endeavored  to  ob- 
struct the  restoration  of  the  temple,  and  the  increase 
and  prosperity  of  the  Jewish  state  by  various  meth- 
ods. Hence  originated  a  mutual  hatred  between  the 
nations,  which  was  afterwards  kept  up  and  increased 
by  the  revolt  of  Manasseh,  and  the  erection  of  the 
temple  on  mount  Gerizim.  For  Manasseh,  a  brother 
of  Jaddus,  the  high-priest,  had,  contrary  to  the  laws 
and  customs  of  the  nation,  taken  in  marriage  the 
daughter  of  Sanballat,  the  ruler  of  Samaria,  (Neh. 
xiii.  23,  seq.)  and  when  the  Jews,  indignant  at  this, 
had  ordered  that  he  should  divorce  her  as  an  alien, 
or  no  longer  approach  to  the  altar  and  the  sacreel 
institutions,  he  fled  to  his  father-in-law,  a  high-priest, 
who  alienated  many  from  the  religious  worship  of 
the  Jews,  and  by  gifts  and  promises  drew  over  great 
numbers,  and  even  some  of  the  priests,  to  the  Samar- 
itan part)'.  But  now  that  the  temple  was  erected  on 
mount  Gerizim,  still  greater  contentions  arose  be- 
tween the  Jews  and  Samaritans  concerning  the  jo/crce 
of  divine  ivorship.  For  the  Samaritans  denied  that 
the  sacred  rites  at  Jerusalem  were  pure  and  of  divine 
ordination  :  but  of  the  temple  on  ii\punt  Gerizim  they 
afiirmed  that  it  was  holy,  legitin:iate,  and  sanctioned 
by  the  presence  of  the  Deity.  The  Samaritans,  more- 
over, only  received  the  books  of  Closes.  The  rest  of 
the  sacred  books  (since  they  vindicated  the  divine 
worship  at  Jerusalem)  they  rejected,  as  also  the  whole 
body  of  the  traditions,  keeping  solely  to  the  letter. 
From  these  causes  the  Jews  were  inflamed  to  the 
most  rancorous  hatred  towards  this  rival  nation;  in- 
somuch that  to  many  of  them  the  Samaritans  were 
objects  of  greater  detestation  than  even  the  Gentiles. 
(See  Luke  x.  33.)  It  is  no  wonder,  then,  that  there 
should  have  been  such  a  constant  reciprocation  of 
injuries  and  calumnies  as  had  served  to  keep  up  a 
perj)etual  exasperafion  between  the  tsvo  nations. 
The  fault,  however,  was  not  all  on  the  side  of  the 
Jews  ;  for  (as  we  learn  from  Bartenora  ad  Roscha- 
scliana,  ii.  2,  cited  by  Schoettgen)  the  Samaritans  in- 
flamed this  enmity  by  taking  every  opprtunity  of 
injuring,  or  at  least  offering  provocations  to  the  Jews. 
The  following  anecdote  may  serve  as  an  example : — 
"  When  the  time  of  the  new  moon  was  just  at  hand,  y^ 
the  Jews  had  a  fire  kindled  on  the  highest  mountainSj 


SAMARITANS 


[  808] 


SAMARITANS 


to  warn  those  who  were  afar  off  of  the  exact  time  of 
the  novilunium.  What  did  the  Samaritans  do  ?  Why, 
in  order  that  they  might  lead  the  Jews  into  an  error, 
they  themselves,  during  the  night-time,  kindled  fires 
on  the  mountains.  Therefore,  the  Jews  were  obliged 
to  send  out  trusty  and  creditable  persons,  who  should 
give  out  the  time  of  the  new  moon,  as  observed  by 
the  Jerusalemitish  Sanhedrim,  or  defined  by  other 
persons  to  Avhom  that  office  was  committed."  The 
Samaritans,  however,  did  not  entei-tain  so  much 
hati'ed  towards  the  Jews,  as  the  latter  did  towards 
the  former;  nor  did  they  deny  towards  them  the 
offices  of  humanity.  (See  Luke  ix.  53 ;  x.  32.)  Jesus, 
however,  disregarded,  nay  discountenanced,  this  ha- 
tred, and  as  he  did  not  hesitate  to  eat  with  tax-gath- 
erers, so  neither  did  he  avoid  intercourse  with  Samar- 
itans. 

Dr.  Wait  has  a  paper,  in  his  Repertorium  Theo- 
logicum,  on  the  notions  entertained  by  the  Samari- 
tans of  a  Messiah,  which  contributes  some  valuable 
information,  derived  from  a  coirespondence  which 
took  place,  some  years  since,  between  two  Samaritan 
priests  and  two  of  oiu*  own  countrymen,  who,  under 
a.  pious  fraud,  as  it  is  termed,  but  which  was  wholly 
indefensible,  elicited  the  religious  opinions  of  the  res- 
idents at  Napolose,  or  Samaria,  and  also  obtained 
copies  of  the  Pentateuch  and  the  Book  of  Joshua. 
From  this  correspondence.  Dr.  Wait  remarks,  it  is 
evident  that  many  of  the  opinions  we  have  been  ac- 
customed to  cherish  respecting  the  Samaritans  are 
decidedly  false,  having  proceeded  directly  from  the 
enmity  of  the  Jews,  and  the  fictions  of  the  rabbinical 
pages ;  being  utterly  unauthorized  by  Josephus  and 
his  contemporaries,  and  absolutely  repugnant  to  those 
conclusions,  which  the  Scriptures  would  induce  us 
to  di-aw  fi-om  the  little  which  they  have  recorded  of 
them. 

That  the  Samaritans  had  a  clear  notion  of  the 
coming  of  a  Messiah,  is  quite  manifest  from  the  con- 
versation which  occuiTed  between  our  Saviour  and 
a  woman  of  this  nation,  as  recorded  in  John  iv. 
But  the  source  whence  they  derived  that  knowledge 
it  is  somewhat  difficult  to  determine.  They  could 
not,  as  Dr.  Wait  observes,  have  been  indebted  to  the 
Pentateuch  alone  for  it ;  they  must  have  exti'acted 
this  information  from  other  sources,  and  forced  iso- 
lated passages  of  the  Pentateuch  in  subsequent  times 
to  have  become  its  authorities.  W^e  vainly  scrutinize 
the  Pentateuch  for  a  single  prophecy  of  Christ's  death 
and  resurrection  ;  and  yet  it  appears  from  some  of 
their  MSS.,  that  the  Samaiitans  believed,  that  their 
Messiah  should  die  and  rise  from  the  dead.  If  the 
Samaritans  contemporary  with  our  Saviour  deduced 
these  opinions  at  all  from  Scripture,  they  must  have 
deduced  them  from  prophecy ;  and  if  no  such  prophecy 
exists  in  the  Mosaic  books,  it  will  follow,  that  they 
could  not  have  been  ignorant  of  the  prophecies  which 
were  uttered  after  the  institution  of  the  monarchy, 
although  the  present  race  rejects  these  writings  from 
the  canon. 

From  all  that  Dr.  Wait  has  been  enabled  to  collect 
of  their  modern  religious  ceremonies,  we  find  them 
strictly  observant  of  the  law;  on  the  sabbath,  they 
only  go  to  the  "house  of  Jehovah  to  pray,  to  give 
thanks,  and  to  read  the  law."  They  still  solemnize 
the  passover  with  ihe  most  scrupulous  attention  ;  they 
eat  unleavened  bread  for  the  s|)ace  of  seven  days,  and 
on  the  seventh  re])air  to  Gerizim.  From  the  day 
succeeding  the  sabbath  of  the  ordinance  of  un- 
leavened bread,  they  count  fifty  days  to  that  suc- 
ceeding the  seventh  sabbath  ;  they  also  celebrate  the 


feast  of  first-fruits,  on  which  they  also  go  to  the  "  Ev- 
erlasting Mount."  They  observe  the  feast  of  the 
seventh  month,  the  tenth  day  of  which  is  the  day 
of  expiation,  on  which  all,  from  man  to  child,  afflict 
themselves  and  read  the  law.  On  the  fifteenth  day 
of  the  seventh  month,  they  carry  fruits  and  boughs 
of  palms  and  other  trees  and  thus  proceed  to  Geri- 
zim ; — they  likewise  keep  the  feast  of  the  eighth  day, 
and  purify  themselves  from  occasional  uncleanness. 
Every  morning  and  evening  they  pray  towards  then* 
sacred  mountain,  throwing  then*  faces  to  the  ground  ; 
and  in  whatever  part  of  the  globe  they  may  be, 
thither  they  direct  themselves  at  their  prayers.  In 
fact,  they  rigorously  adhere  to  the  letter  of  the  law ; 
but  they  are  not  Karaites,  for  their  epistles  mention 
this  sect  with  contempt.  Illience,  then,  did  they 
receive  the  notion  of  a  Messiah"?  We  have  seen,  that 
they  could  scarcely  have  received  it  from  the  Penta- 
teuch ;  for  even  the  most  determinate  passages, 
which  they  cite  as  their  authorities,  would,  if  consid- 
ered exclusively  of  others,  hardly  have  suggested  to 
a  people  denying  the  other  canonical  books,  those 
minute  ideas  of  the  promised  Prophet  which  they 
undeniably  entertained.  But  these  ideas  are  so 
approximated  to  the  language  of  the  Jewish  prophets, 
that  one  of  three  hypotheses,  says  the  doctor,  must 
be  correct :  either  that,  at  some  unrecorded  period, 
they  were  borrowed  from  thence,  or,  which  is  neaily 
equivalent,  that  these  prophecies,  by  means  of  indi- 
viduals travelling  from  the  one  kingdom  to  the  other, 
were  made  known  to  the  servants  of  the  true  God 
in  Israel,  or  that  the  prophets  of  Israel  themselves 
delivered  oracles  respecting  the  Slessiah,  which, 
though  now  lost,  were  nevertheless  the  sources  of 
this  Samaritan  knowledge. 

These  three  causes,  he  remarks,  may  have,  indeed, 
produced  conjointly  the  effect: — the  two  latter  may 
be  supported  by  the  following  argimients.  The 
worship  of  Jehovah  was  never  totally  extinct  in 
Israel ;— in  Elijah's  days,  many  still  adhered  to  the 
Avorship  of  their  forefathers;  and  in  the  most  degen- 
erate times  of  Israelitish  apostasy,  the  accredited 
prophets  of  Jehovah  were  even  summoned,  on  emer- 
gencies, to  give  counsel  to  those  monarchs  who  had 
proscribed  the  faith  to  which  they  were  devoted. 
Some,  therefore,  among  the  severed  tribes,  remained 
true  to  the  religion  of  Moses,  even  in  the  worst  eras 
of  defection  ;  yet,  however  observant  they  may  have 
been  of  the  law,  we  can  scarcely  presume,  that  the 
political  dissension  between  the  kingdoms  of  Judali 
and  Israel,  would  allow  them  to  frequent  the  temple 
in  Jerusalem  at  the  divinely  instituted  festivals.  For 
the  erection  of  the  golden  calves  at  Dan  and  Bethel 
was  expressly  designed  to  prevent  this  national  inter- 
course ;  nor  is  it  any  where  recorded,  that  Elijah,  or 
EHsha,  or  one  of  the  sons  of  the  Israelitish  prophets, 
became  an  attendant  on  the  worship  of  Jehovah 
within  the  h.oly  city.  Independently,  however,  of 
these  particulrtrs,  we  may  argue,  that  the  law  was 
always  rigidly  observed  by  some  members  of  the  ten 
tribes.  Hence  Friedrich  forcibly  argues,  that  this 
})rcservation  of  the  true  religion,  in  Vthatever  degree 
it  may  have  been,  affords  a  strongly  jiresumptive  evi- 
dence, that  the  [Samaritan]  Pentateuch  nnist  have 
been  edited  before  the  days  of  Jerol)oam  ;  without 
this  assumption,  it  would  be  difficult  to  imagine  how 
the  observance  of  the  law  could  have  survived  the 
persecutions  and  turmoils  of  those  ages,  how  other- 
wise it  was  not  OAcrwhelmed  by  the  superstitions 
of  the  neighboring  nations,  and  did  not  sink  beneath 
the  weight  of  ever-galling  oppressions.      Moreover, 


SAMARITANS 


[  809  ] 


SAMARITANS 


the  same  reason,  which  induced  them  to  reject  the 
other  Scriptural  books,  (from  which  we  should,  ;jer- 
haps,  except  that  of  Joshua,)  would  also  have  induced 
them  to   reject  the  Pentateuch  itself,  had  they  not 
been  antecedently  in  possession  of  it,  and  therefore 
been  most  fully  assured,  that  it  was  not  a  production 
of  late  date:   since,  therefore,  their  defection  from 
Judali  and  Benjamin  occurred  in  the  reign  of  Jero- 
boam, wc  must,  on  this  account,   conclude  it  to  have 
been  edited  long  before,  and  to  have  been  in  circula- 
tion before  the  separation  of  the  tribes.     If  then  they 
thus  had  the  books  of  Moses,  we  may  argue  them  to 
Jiave  been  acquainted  with  those  Psalms  of  David, 
which  had  been  sung  in  the  tabernacle  and  the  tem- 
ple, and  these  Psalms  were  replete  with  the  expecta- 
tions  of  the   Messiah.      Consequently,    after   their 
abscission  from  Judah,  they  could  not  have  failed  to 
have  carried  away  with  tb.em  these  vivid  hopes  and 
ardent  expectations,  and  to  have  transmitted  them  to 
their  descendants.     What,  then,  is  more  natural,  than 
to  suppose,  that  when  they  rejected  the  other  canon- 
ical   books,   they   ingrafted   these   ideas,   elsewhere 
received,  on  their  interpretations  of  them? — for,  in 
fact,   they   must   have   seen  the   promises   partially 
accomplished  in  the  extent  of  dominion  which  David 
and  Solomon  acquired.     That  passover,  wliich  was 
celebrated  in  the  daj^s  of  Josiah,  which  Israel  at- 
tended at  Jerusalem,  (2  Kings  xxiii;  2  Chron.xxxv.) 
manifestly  proves  to  us,  how  deeply  the  true  religion 
was  rooted  in  those  who  had  not  deflected  from  it, 
and  likewise  oflfers  to  us  an  epoch,  to  which  we  may 
refer  the  first  of  the  three  hypotheses.     To  this  we 
may  also  a(M  that  period,  when  the  second  temple 
was  erected,  during  which  there  was  an  intercourse 
between  the  Jews  and  the  Samaritans,  (Jos.  Ant.  xiii. 
17.)  who,   doubtless,   imparted    to    the   Samaritans 
those  opinions,  in  which  they  had  been  educated. 
These  periods,  therefore,  either  separately  or  con- 
jointl}',  are  adequate  to  the  solution  of  the  difficulty ; 
nor  can  we  err  in  maintaining,  that  at  one,  or  another, 
or  all  of  these,  the  doctrines  and  expectations  of 
Judah   respectmg  the  Messiah  were   circulated  in 
Samaria. 

Wc  have  no  reason  to  believe,  that  tiicse  who 
selected  Gerizim  as  their  place  of  religious  worship, 
in  the  time  of  Ezra  and  Nehemiah,  were  infected 
with  idolatry :  the  sacred  page  authorizes  us  not  in 
such  a  conclusion,  nor  can  we  retrace  the  allegation 
to  a  legitimate  and  historical  source.  We  are  no 
where  informed  to  what  deity  Sanballat  dedicated 
his  temple  ;  we  nowhere  read  of  its  appropriation  to 
idols.  Josephus  says  nothing  of  IManasseh's  apostasy  ; 
therefore,  wc  presume  the  Samaritan  temple  to  have 
b^en  dcdicatetl  to  the  true  God.  Had  it  been  dedi- 
cated to  an  Assyrian  idol,  or  to  the  Baal-Berith,  who 
once  had  a  temple  at  Sichein,  and,  like  the  Zfi;  ony.,oi 
of  the  Greeks,  and  Deus  Fidius  of  the  Romans,  was 
accounted  the  God  of  oaths  and  covenants,  can  we 
suppose,  that  so  many  Jews,  just  emigrated  from 
Babylonian  of)pression,  would  have  flocked  to  it,  or 
hnve  followecl  the  priesthood  and  fortunes  of  Manas- 
S3h  ?  P.iore  than  one  hundred  and  sixty  years  after 
its  erection,  the  Jewish  historian  called  it  «r<.'j)i  noi  ; 
could  lie  liave  so  called  it,  if  it  had  been  dedicated  to  an 
idol  7 

Our  more  immediate  inquiry,  however,  respects 
the  Samaritans  after  the  erection  of  Sanballat's  tem- 
ple;  between  whom  and  the  Jews  the  chief  points 
of  dispute  lay,  in  their  rejection  of  all  the  canonical 
books,  except  the  Pentateuch,  and  their  affirmation, 
102 


that  Gerizim  was  the  only  place  where  God  could 
be  acceptably  worshipped.  Cellarius,  Hottinger,  and 
even  Reland,  seem,  in  some  degree,  as  Dr.  Wait 
remarks,  to  have  been  lefl  astray  on  tliis  point ;  the 
fable  of  the  brazen  bird,  which  the  Romans  erected 
on  Gerizim,  on  the  authority  of  the  Samaritan  chron- 
icle, if  it  were  not  the  Roman  eagle,  was  evidently  a 
tradition  compounded  of  the  nti^'N  of  the  men  of 
Hamath,  and  the  inij  of  those  of  Ava.  Some  of  their 
statements,  indeed,  refer  their  first  copy  of  the  law  to 
the  thirteenth  year  after  the  settlement  of  the  Israel- 
ites in  Canaan,  which  they  aver  to  have  been  made 
by  Abishua  the  son  of  Phinehas ;  but  this  can  only 
be  regarded  as  an  idle  pretension,  which  is  not  even 
accredited  by  all  the  Samaritans.  Of  the  antiquity 
of  their  copies  there  can  be  no  doubt,  any  more  than 
of  the  frauds,  of  which  they  were  guilty  in  certain 
passages.  Yet,  although  they  have  corrupted  the 
Pentateuch  by  occasional  interpolations,  the  value 
of  their  copy  is  evinced  by  some  readings,  which 
appear  to  supply  lacuna?  in  the  Hebrew,  and  by  the 
great  accordance  between  its  chronology  and  that  of 
the  Septuagint.  The  Jews  admit,  that  Ezra  aban- 
doned the  old  Samaritan  characters,  and  introduced 
the  Assyrian,  or  Chaldee,  wherefore  the  Samaritans 
still  call  theirs  the  Hebrew,  or  the  characters  of  the 
Sacred  language,  and  say,  that  "  the  Jewish  Books 
were  written  by  Ezra."  So  violent  has  the  ani- 
mosity respecting  the  Pentateuch  ever  been  be- 
tween these  two  claimants  of  if,  that  when  Saa- 
diah's  Arabic  version  appeared,  (whom  they  desig- 
nate as  the  doctor  of  Faium,)  Abu  Said  was  deputed 
to  commence  a  Samaritano-Arabic  version  in  oppo- 
sition to  it,  a  copy  of  which  is  in  the  Bibliotheque 
du  Roi,  at  Paris. 

IMaimonides  himself,  v/ho,  perhaps,  was  the  most 
unbiased  ^niter  among  the  Jews,  admits  their  rigid 
practice  of  the  law,  and,  even  whilst  he  is  relating  the 
tale  of  the  dove,  evidently  seema  disinclined  to  be- 
lieve it.  Josephus,  also,  (Ant.  ix.  14.)  bore  the  same 
testimony  to  them. 

So  scrupulous  are  they  still  respecting  the  insti- 
tutes of  the  lawgiver,  that  on  the  sabbaths  they  kin- 
dle no  fires,  nor  even  on  their  festivals ;  they  affinn 
their  priests  to  be  Levites,  but  regret  that  they  have 
no  liigh-priest  of  the  race  of  Phinehas,  offeritig,  in 
their  epistles,  should  such  an  individual  be  found,  to 
install  him  in  his  office. 

The  separation,  indeed,  at  the  time  of  the  erection 
of  the  second  temple,  was  merely  occasioned  by  tlie 
intermarriages  with  foreigners,  which  Ezra  and 
Nehemiah  forbade  ;  those  who  were  willing  to  repu- 
diate their  foreign  wives  remaining  at  Jerusalem — 
those  who  were  resolved  to  retain  them  emigrating 
to  Samaria.  But  however  requisite  this  allowance 
may  have  been  to  the  formation  of  a  new  state,  it  is 
no  where  recorded,  that  the  Samaritans  persevered 
in  the  practice ;  yet,  from  hence,  they  received  in 
the  Jewish  writings  the  appellation  of  cJ^o  Culhites,  - 
and  had  the  stigma  indelibly  fixed  upon  them  by 
their  rivals. 

Had  such  been  their  practice  in  our  Saviour's 
time,  he  assuredly  would  have  alleged  it  ag^ainst  their 
i^.ational  pretensions  in  his  discourses  witJi  the  Samar- 
itan woman.  His  words  are  simply,  "Ye  \vorship 
ye  know  not  what :  we  know  Avh-ic  we  worship  ;  for 
salvation  is  of  the  Jews,"  John  iv.  22.  These,  view- 
ed in  their  connection,  musc  have  had  a  reference  to 
their  notions  of  a  Messiah,— probably  also  to  their 
ai.plication  of  biblical  passages  to  his  ad%-ent,— and 


SAMARITANS 


[810] 


SAMARITANS 


accordingly,  the  woman  (v.  25.)  so  understood  them. 
They  also  partially  related  to  the  question,  whether 
Gerizim  or  Jerusalem  were  the  proper  place  of  wor- 
ship, and  appear  to  have  alluded  to  the  indistinct 
conceptions  of  the  legal  types  and  ceremonies,  wliich 
the  Samaritans,  unaided  by  the  other  books  of  Scrip- 
ture, must  have  had.  The  Samaritans  worshipped 
"  they  knew  not  what ;"  for,  believing  the  advent  of 
the  Messiah,  they  rejected  the  prophetic  books,  which 
illustrated  and  determined  it ;  they  assented  to  the 
FACT,  without  knowmg  either  its  nature  or  object, 
whereas  the  Jews,  to  whose  line  he  was  restricted, 
had  opportunities  of  ascertaining  from  the  prophets 
criteria,  which  would  have  designated  him  at  his 
appearance  to  every  unprejudiced  reasoner.  (Repert. 
Theol.  p.  1—10.) 

[(For  the  Samaritan  language,  see  Languages, 
ORIENTAL,  p.  606;  and  Letters,  p.  618.)  There 
exists  a  copy  of  the  Hebrew  Pentateuch  preserved 
by  the  Samaritans  in  their  own  character ;  and  also 
a  Samaritan  translation  of  the  Pentateuch.  The 
value  of  these  has  been  critically  discussed  by  Gese- 
riius,  in  his  work  entitled  de  Pentateuchi  Samar. 
origine,  indole,  et  auctoritate,  Hal.  1815  ;  the  results  of 
which  have  also  been  given  to  the  public  by  professor 
Stuart,  in  an  article  in  the  N.  A.  Review,  April,  1826. 
Biul.  Repos.  vol.  ii.  No.  8.  (See  also  Winer,  de  Ver- 
sionis  Pent.  Samar.  indole,  Leips.  1817  ;  and  the  arti- 
cle Versions  below.) 

It  is  well  known  that  a  small  remnant  of  the  Sa- 
maritans still  exists  at  Naplous,  the  ancient  Shechem. 
Great  interest  has  been  taken  in  them  by  the  learned 
of  Europe  ;  and  a  correspondence  has  several  times 
been  instituted  with  them,  which,  however,  has 
never  led  to  results  of  any  great  importance.  It  was 
commenced  by  Joseph  Scaliger  in  1559  ;  and  again, 
after  a  century,  by  several  learned  men  in  England, 
in  1675  ;  and  by  the  celebrated  Ludolf  in  1685.  Of 
late  years,  the  orientalist  De  Sacy,  of  Paris,  has  again 
held  correspondence  with  them ;  and  has  recently 
published  all  that  is  known  respecting  them,  and  all 
their  letters,  in  a  work  entitled  Correspondence  des 
Samaritaines,  &c.  Paris,  1829.  They  have  often 
been  visited,  of  late  years,  by  travellers  ;  and  the  best 
account  we  have  of  them  and  of  their  present  cir- 
cumstanceS;  is  from  the  pen  of  the  late  American 
Missionary,  the  Rev.  P.  Fisk,  under  date  of  Nov.  19, 
1823.  (See  Missionary  Herald,  1824,  p.  310.) 

"  After  taking  some  refreshment,  we  went  to  visit 
the  Samaritans,  having  first  sent  to  the  kohen,  or 
•priest,  to  know  if  a  visit  would  be  agreeable.  His 
name  is  Shalmar  ben  Tabiah.  His  first  name  he 
sometimes  pronounces  Salomei-.  I  believe  it  is  the 
same  as  Solomon,  which  the  Jews  in  Jerusalem  now 
pronounce  Shloma.  He  received  us  in  a  neat  apart- 
ment, and  we  immediately  entered  into  conversa- 
tion. Ten  or  twelve  other  members  of  the  sect  soon 
came  in.  Our  conversation  was  in  Arabic.  They 
represent  the  number  of  their  houses  to  be  20  or  30, 
— about  60  pay  the  capitation  tax.  They  say  there 
are  no  other  Samaritans  in  this  country,  but  they  are 
quite  disposed  to  think  they  are  numerous  in  other 
parts  of  tiic  world.  In  Paris  they  suppose  they 
were  very  numerous,  until,  in  a  time  of  war  between 
the  French  atid  some  other  nation,  the  Samaritans 
were  dispersed.  They  say  that  there  are,  however, 
four  still  livmg  in  V-.uis.  They  inquired  whether 
there  are  any  SamaritUMs  in  England,  and  seemed 
not  at  all  gratified  when  we  told  them  no.  On 
learning  that  I  was  from  Aiherica,  they  uiquired  if 
there  arc  Samaiitans  there.     1  told  them  no ;   but 


they  confidently  asserted  the  contrary,  and  that  there  , 
are  also  many  in  India.  They  maintain  that  they 
are  the  lineal  descendants  of  Jacob :  the  kohen  and 
his  sons,  only,  of  the  tribe  of  Levi ;  one  family  from 
the  tribe  of  Benjamin ;  four  or  five  fi-om  Manasseh, 
and  the  rest  from  Ephraim.  We  asked  what  they 
would  do  for  a  priest,  if  the  kohen  and  his  sons 
should  die,  and  thus  the  tribe  of  Levi  become  extinct. 
They  replied,  (bazah  ma  beseer,)  "  This  does  not  hap- 
pen." They  all  speak  Arabic,  but  their  books  and 
public  prayers  are  in  Samaritan.  They  call  theii" 
language  Hebrew,  and  that  which  we  call  Hebre\y, 
they  call  Jewish;  for  they  say  their  language  is 
the  true  Hebrew  in  which  the  law  was  given.  The 
difference  consists  in  the  use  of  a  different  al- 
phabet and  diflTerent  pronunciation.  They  go  three 
times  a  year  to  moimt  Gerizim  to  worship,  but 
do  not  offer  sacrifices  there  now,  as  they  did  for- 
merly, lest  they  should  be  molested  by  the  Turks. 
But  they  offer  their  sacrifices  in  a  more  private  way, 
in  the  city.  We  understood  them  to  say,  that  they 
have  no  daily  sacrifice.  We  visited  their  synagogue. 
It  is  a  small,  dark,  but  neat  room,  with  an  altar,  but 
without  seats.  We  were  obliged,  before  entering,  to 
pull  off  not  only  our  over-shoes,  but  also  our  slip- 
pers, which  are  not  prohibited  even  in  mosques ; 
and  Mr.  Jowett  was  obliged  to  take  off  an  outer  gar- 
ment, which  he  wears,  that  is  lined  with  fur.  No 
person  can  approach  the  altar,  except  the  kohen 
and  his  sous.  They  expect  a  Messiah,  who  is  to  be 
a  Prophet  and  King,  but  a  mere  man,  to  live  120 
years,  as  Moses  did,  and  to  reign  at  Naplous  over  all 
the  world.  Those  who  do  not  receive  him,  are  to 
be  destroyed  with  the  sword.  The  promise  con- 
cerning the  woman's  seed  does  not,  they  believe, 
refer  to  the  Messiah  ;  but  that,  concerning  a  prophet 
like  unto  Moses,  does  refer  to  him,  as  does  also  that 
concerning  Shiloh,  Gen.  xlix.  10.  They  admit  the 
sense  of  this  passage  as  given  in  our  translation,  and 
try  to  show  that  there  is  still  a  sceptre  somewhere  in 
the  hands  of  Judah.  The  Messiah  will  come  when 
Israel  repent.  They  say  the  story  of  the  separation 
between  Israel  and  Judah,  under  Jeroboam  and  Re- 
hoboam,  is  a  lie  of  the  Jews.  The  city  of  Luz,  or 
Bethel,  they  say,  was  on  mount  Gerizim,  Gen.  xxviii. 
19.  Jebus,  they  say,  was  also  on  this  mount,  and 
that  Judges  xix.  10,  as  it  stands  in  our  copies,  is  not 
true. 

"  The  next  day  we  renewed  our  visit  to  the  Samar- 
itans. We  had  yesterday  requested  to  see  their  an- 
cient copy  of  the  law.  The  kohen  objected,  but  after 
much  persuading,  and  indirectly  presenting  the  mo- 
tive which  generally  prevails  m  this  country,  i.  e.  the 
offer  of  money,  he  at  last  consented  to  show  it  to  us 
this  moming.  In  order  to  do  it,  he  said  he  must 
first  bathe,  and  then  put  on  a  particular  dress  for  the 
occasion.  On  our  arrival  at  the  synagogue,  we 
waited  a  short  time,  and  he  appeared,  entered  the 
synagogue,  approached  the  altar,  kneeled  and  put  his 
face  to  the  floor,  then  opened  the  little  closet  which 
contained  the  holy  book,  kneeled  and  put  his  face  to 
the  floor  again,  then  brought  out  the  brass  case, 
which  contained  the  roll,  and  opened  it  so  as  to  show 
us  the  manuscript,  but  we  were  not  allowed  to  touch 
it.  It  is  in  the  Samaritan  character,  and  the  kohen  i 
says  it  was  written  by  Abishua,  the  grandson  of 
Aaron,  thirteen  years  after  the  death  of  Moses,  and 
3260  years  ago.  (See  1  Chron.  vi.  4.)  Another  brass 
case  stood  near  this,  containing  an  exact  copy  of  the 
original  manuscript,  said  to  have  been  made  800 
years  ago.     On  a  shelf,  in  the  synagogue,  were  a 


SAM 


[  811 


SAMSON 


considerable  number  of  copies  of  the  Samaritan  Pen- 
tateuch. We  saw  also  the  relic  of  the  Polyglott 
Bible  mentioned  by  Maundrell.  The  Bible  of  the 
Samaritans  contains  only  the  five  books  of  Moses. 
They  have,  however,  Joshua  and  Judges,  but  in  sep- 
arate books.  They  say  that  since  Joshua  there  has 
been  no  prophet.  He  was  the  disciple  of  Moses,  and 
inferior  to  him.  David  was  king  in  Jerusalem,  but 
not  a  projjhet.  We  inquired  whether  the  Samari- 
tans held  it  lawful  to  read  the  books  of  Christians. 
They  said  there  was  no  law  against  it,  and  we  left 
with  them  one  Testament  in  Arabic,  and  another  in 
Hebrew."     *R. 

SAMGAR-NEBO,  a  general  officer  in  Nebuchad- 
nezzar's army,  Jerem.  xxxix.  3. 

SAMLAH,  king  of  Masrekah,  in  Idumea,  Gen. 
xxxvi.  36. 

SAMOS,  an  island  of  the  Archipelago,  on  the 
coast  of  Asia  Minor,  opposite  Lydia,  from  which  it 
is  separated  by  a  narrow  strait.  The  island  was 
devoted  to  the  worship  of  Juno,  who  had  there  a 
magnificent  temple.  It  was  also  celebrated  for  its 
valuable  potteries,  and  as  the  birth-place  of  Pythag- 
oras. The  Romans  wrote  to  the  governor  in  favor 
of  the  Jews,  in  the  time  of  Simon  Maccabaeus,  1 
Mac.  XV.  23.  Paul  landed  here  when  going  to  Jeru- 
salem, A.  D.  58,  Acts  XX.  15. 

SAMOTHRACIA,  an  island  in  the  Egean  sea; 
so  called  because  it  was  peopled  by  Samians  and 
Thracians.  It  was  an  asylum  for  fugitives  and 
criminals.  Paul,  departing  from  Troas,  for  Mace- 
donia, arrived  first  at  Samothracia,  Acts  xvi.  11. 

SAMSON,  son  of  Manoah,  of  the  tribe  of  Dan, 
Judg.  xiii.  2,  &c.  A.  M.  2848.  His  mother  had  been 
long  barren,  when  an  angel  of  the  Lord  appeared  to 
her,  telling  her  she  should  have  a  son  ;  but  she  must 
take  care  not  to  drink  intoxicating  liquor,  or  to  eat 
any  impiu-e  food ;  that  she  must  use  the  same  care 
witli  regard  to  her  son  ;  and  must  consecrate  him  to 
God  from  his  infancy,  as  a  Nazaritc,  and  not  let  a 
razor  come  upon  his  head:  adding,  "For  he  shall 
begin  to  deliver  Israel  from  the  hands  of  the  Philis- 
tines." Samson  was  born  in  the  following  year, 
and  the  Spirit  of  God  gave  him  extraordinary 
strength  of  body.  One  day,  as  he  went  to  Timnath, 
a  Philistine  city,  he  saw  a  young  woman,  whom  he 
desired  his  father  and  mother  to  obtain  for  him  as  a 
wife.  They  remonstrated  that  she  was  not  of  their 
own  natioiii ;  but  he  persevered,  and  the  young 
woman  was  contracted  to  him.  Upon  a  subsequent 
journey  to  Timnath,  he  saw  a  young  lion,  which  he 
seized  and  tore  in  pieces,  as  if  he  had  been  a  young 
kid  ;  and  some  time  after,  returning  thither,  to  cele- 
brate his  marriage,  he  stepped  aside  to  see  the  car- 
cass of  the  lion.  He  found  it  dried  up,  and  a  swarm 
of  bees  lodged  in  it,  which  had  there  formed  a  honey- 
comb, of  which  he  took  a  part.  At  his  wedding-feast 
he  proposed  a  riddle  to  this  effect : 

"  The  gi-eedy  cater  yields  to  others  meat. 

And  savage  strength  now  offers  luscious  sweet." 

His  companions  continued  to  the  seventh  day,  lost 
in  conjecturing  its  meaning ;  wliQn,  partly  by  threats, 
and  partly  by  entreaties,  they  urged  the  bride  to  get 
the  secret  from  her  husband.  Before  sunset  on  this 
day  they  came  to  Samson  saying, 

"  What  sweeter  flows  than  honey  o'er  the  tongue  ? 
Whose  strength  exceeds  a  lion's,  wild  and  young  ?  " 

His  reply  was,  that  if  they  had  not  ploughed  with 
his  heifer  they  coidd  never  have  expounded  his  rid- 


dle; meaning  that  they  had  abused  him  by  too  inti- 
mate fiuniliarity  with  his  wife,  and  that  she  had  been 
unfaithful  to  him. 

He  paid  the  fine  expected  on  accoimt  of  the  riddle, 
but  left  his  wife,  and  returned  to  his  father.  Some 
time  after,  the  woman  married  the  principal  bride- 
man  at  her  former  wedding,  and  Samson's  anger  be- 
ing subsided,  he  returned  to  see  her,  bringing  a  kid 
with  him  as  a  present.  But  her  father  refiising  to 
admit  him,  he  went  and  caught  three  hundred  foxes 
or  jackals,  (see  Fox,)  which  he  tied  tail  to  tail,  putting 
between  each  pair  a  fire-brand,  which  he  fired,  and 
turned  them  into  the  corn-fields  of  the  Philistines; 
where  the  flames  made  a  great  havoc,  not  sparing 
even  the  vines  and  the  olive-trees.  When  the  Phi- 
listines knew  it  was  Samson  who  had  done  this,  to 
revenge  the  afi'ront  received  from  his  father-in-law 
at  Timnatli,  they  burned  the  man  and  his  daughter. 

In  a  combat,  Samson  slew  a  great  number  of  Phi- 
listines. The  narrative  of  tliis  exploit  (Judg.  xv.  8.) 
cannot  but  appear  obscure  to  the  English  reader,  as, 
indeed,  it  has  been  thought  by  translators  in  general. 
Samson  smote  the  Philistines  "  hip  and  thigh,  with  a 
great  slaughter."  Hip  under  thigh,  say  some ;  leg 
under  thigh,  say  others;  or  leg  against  thigh,  or  leg 
over,  or  upon,  thigh  ;  as  tlie  words  literally  express. 
These  are  not  all  the  varieties  of  interpretation  which 
this  passage  has  experienced.  Mr.  Taylor  proposes 
to  illustrate  the  expression  by  the  following  extracts: 

"  It  appears  probable,  from  the  following  circum- 
stances, that  the  exercise  of  wrestling,  as  it  is  now 
performed  by  the  Turks,  is  the  very  same  that  was 
anciently  used  in  the  Olympic  games.  For,  besides 
the  previous  covering  of  the  paltestrse  with  sand, 
that  the  combatants  might  fall  with  more  safety,  they 
have  their  pellowan  bashee,  or  master  wrestler,  who 
like  the  'AywioGcViK  of  old,  is  to  observe  and  superin- 
tend over  the  jura  palaestros,  and  to  be  the  umpire  in 
all  disputes.  The  combatants,  after  they  are  anoint- 
ed all  over  with  oil,  to  render  their  naked  bodies  the 
more  slippery,  and  less  easily  to  be  taken  hold  of, 
first  of  all  look  one  another  steadfastly  in  the  face,  as 
Diomede  or  Ulysses  does  the  palladium  upon  antique 
gems ;  then  they  run  up  to,  and  retire  from,  each 
other  several  times,  using  all  the  while  a  variety  of 
antic  and  other  postures,  such  as  are  commonly  used 
in  the  course  of  the  ensuing  conflict.  After  this  pre- 
lude, they  draw  nearer  together,  and  challenge  each 
other,  by  clapping  the  palms  of  their  hands  Jirst  upon 
their  oivn  knees  or  thighs,  then  npon  each  other,  and 
ajlenvards  upon  the  palms  of  their  respective  antag- 
onists. The  challenge  being  thus  given,  they  imme- 
diately close  in  and  struggle  with  each  other,  striving 
with  all  their  strength,  art  and  dexteritj',  (which  are 
often  very  extraordinary,)  who  shall  give  his  antago- 
nist a  fall,  and  become  the  conqueror.  During  these 
contests  I  have  often  seen  their  arms,  and  legs,  and 
thighs,  so  twisted  and  linked  together,  {catenatce  pa- 
l(£strfE,  as  Propcrtius  calls  it,)  that  they  have  both  fallen 
together,  and  left  the  victory  dubious  ;  too  difficult 
sometimes  for  the  pellowan  bashee  to  decide.  TTu- 
/.aiaT[c-itJirt))TOi  [a  tcrestler  not  to  be  throivn)  occurs 
in  ancient  inscriptions,  (Murat.  torn.  ii.  page  627.) 
The  7iai.li,  therefore,  being  thus  acted  in  all  the  parts 
of  it  with  open  hands,  might  very  properly,  in  contra- 
distinction to  the  cfBstus,  or  boxing,  receive  its  name 
ui'nTov  TTuXaiarov,  from  struggling  U'ith  open  hands. 
VV' d  have  a  most  lively  picture  of  tliis  ancient  gym- 
nastic exercise  upon  an  antique  urn,  in  Patin's  Imp. 
Roman.  Numismata,  page  122  ;  and  likewise  upon  a 
coin  of  Treboniauus  Gallus,  the  figure  of  which  is 


SAMSON 


[612] 


SAM 


exhibited  in  Vaillant,  Numism.  Imper.  Gi-sec." 
(Shaw's  Travels,  page  217.)  In  like  manner,  Pitts 
informs  us—"  They  have  [at  Algiers]  a  comical  sort 
of  wrestling.  .  .  .  There  comes  one  boldly  into  the 
ring  of  people,  and  strips  all  to  his  drawers:  he  turns 
his  back  to  the  ring,  and  his  face  towards  his  clothes 
on  the  gi-ound.  He  then  stretcheth  on  his  i-igktknee, 
and  then  throws  abroad  his  arms  three  times,  clap- 
ping his  hands  together  as  often,  just  above  the 
ground  :  .  .  .  .  then  makes  two  or  three  good  springs 
into  the  middle  of  the  ring,  and  there  he  stands  with 
his  left  hand  to  his  left  ear,  and  his  right  hand  to  his 
left  elbow.  This  is  his  challenge  ;  his  antagonists  do 
the  same.  After  which  the  pUewans  face  each  other, 
and  then  both  at  once  slap  their  htmCts  on  their  thighs, 
and  then  clap  together,  and  then  lift  them  up  as  high 
as  their  shoulders,  and  cause  the  palms  of  their  hands 
to  meet,  and  with  the  same  dash  their  heads  one 
against  anotiier  three  times,  so  hard,  that  many  times 

the  blood  runs    down They'll   come   as   often 

within  five  or  six  yards  one  of  another,  and  clap  their 
hands  to  eacii  other,  and  then  put  forward  the  left  leg, 
bowing  their  body,  and  leaning  witli  the  left  elbow  on 
the  left  knee,  for  a  little  while  looking  one  at  the  other 

like  two  fighting  cocks,  then  at  it  they  go At 

their  byrams,  or  festivals,  those  which  are  their  most 
famous  pilewans,  come  in  to  show  their  parts,  before 
the  Dey,  eight  or  ten  together.  They  are  the  choice 
of  all  the  stout  wrestlers."  (Account  of  Algiers, 
page  168.) 

Do  not  these  challengers  well  deserve  the  descrip- 
tion of  leg-and-thigh-men,  or  shoulder-and-thigh- 
men  ?  Their  very  attitudes  seem  to  have  furnished 
their  name,  which  seems,  indeed,  correctly  expressive 
of  them.  Now,  as  we  learn,  that  occasionally  the 
most  famous  of  these  are  selected  and  engaged,  is 
there  any  thing  unlikely  in  the  supposition,  that  the 
Philistines  assembled  their  best  wi-estlers,  and  most 
notorious  combatants,  to  engage  the  famous  Samson  ? 
that  these,  fighting  in  the  manner  desci-ibed  by  Pitts 
and  Dr.  Shaw,  are  denoted  by  the  expression,  "  hip- 
and-thigh-men  ?  "  i.  e.  those  who  made  a  profession 
of  wrestling,  and  who  Avere  esteemed  eminent  in  that 
exercise. 

[After  all,  the  expression  he  smote  them  hip  and 
thigh,  which  occurs  no  where  else  in  Scrijjture,  seems 
here  to  be  merely  proverbial,  implying  that  he  smote 
them  wholly,  entirely.     So  Gesenius.     R. 

After  this,  Samson  retired  into  the  rock  Etam,  in 
Judah  ;  but  was  taken  by  tlie  people  of  Judah  and 
led  bound  to  the  Philistines.  The  Spirit  of  the  Lord, 
however,  animating  Samson,  he  snapped  his  cords, 
and  happening  to  find  the  jaw-bone  of  an  ass,  he,  with 
this  weapon,  slew  a  thousand  Philistines;  and,  throw- 
ing away  the  jaw-bone,  he  gave  t'.uit  ))lace  the  name 
of  Ramath-lehi,  that  is,  the  lifting  up  of  the  jaw-bone. 
Being  overcome  with  extreme  thirst,  and  crying  to 
the  Lord,  tlic  Lord  opened  a  rock  called  ]\iaktcsh, 
that  is,  the  jaw-tooth,  wlience  water  gushed  out  to 
assuage  his  tliirst.     See  Lehi. 

After  tliis,  Samson  went  to  Gaza,  a  city  of  the  Phi- 
listines, where  he  took  up  his  lodgings  with  a  harlot, 
or  movi'.  prol)ably  a  woman  who  kept  a  public  house. 
The  PliilistiiK.'S,  knowing  of  his  arrival,  sot  a  guard 
about  the  house,  and  anotlirr  at  the  gates  of  the  city, 
to  kill  him  as  lie  went  out  in  tlie  morning.  But  Sani- 
.';on,  rising  at  midnight,  wont  off,  and  took  away  the 
two  gc.tos  of  the  city,  and  tlie  gate-posts,  bar  and 
chain,  and  carried  them  up  tlie  hill  which  is  towards 
Hebron. 

Some  time  aflcr\vards,  he  became  attached  to  a 


woman  called  Delilah,  who  dwelt  in  the  valley  of 
Sorek.  Many  have  thought,  that  Samson  took  her 
as  his  wife,  but  this  does  not  appear  to  have  been 
the  fact.  The  Philistines  bribed  this  woman,  to  dis- 
cover in  what  his  extraordinary  strength  consisted. 
He  amused  her  for  a  considerable  time,  pretending 
that  it  lay  sometimes  in  one  thing,  and  sometimes  in 
another;  and  when  the  Philistines  were  ready  to 
seize  him,  he  burst  his  bonds  asunder.  At  last  she 
obtained  the  secret,  that  his  strength  lay  in  his  haii-, 
which  had  never  been  shorn.  This  she  cut  off,  as 
he  lay  sleeping  in  her  lap,  after  the  common  oriental 
fashion ;  and  the  Phihstines  instantly  seizing  him, 
bound  him,  and  put  out  his  eyes.  They  took  him  to 
Gaza,  shut  him  up  in  prison,  and  made  him  grind  at 
the  mill,  as  a  base  and  contemptible  slave. 

In  this  usage  we  discover  a  degree  of  vindictive 
contempt,  which  perhaps  was  the  ?ic  plus  idira  of 
contumely  on  the  part  of  the  Philistines.  Samson 
being  blind,  yet  of  great  strength,  they  made  him 
grinder  for  the  prison.  Grinding  was  women's  v.ork, 
therefore  severely  degradhig;  it  was  simple  work, 
requiring  no  art ;  it  was  laborious  work,  in  which 
his  strength  was  of  service  ;  and  thus,  by  drudging 
for  them,  in  this  menial  employment,  he  earned  a 
mortifying  livelihood  for  himself  In  this  view,  Sam- 
son was  worse  used  tlian  Jol)  (xxxi.  10.)  sujjposes 
his  wife  might  be  ;  "Lc/  mytvifehe  so  degraded  that, 
instead  of  having  her  corn  ground  for  her,  she  shall 
perform  that  servile  office  herself ;  not  for  herself,  or 
for  me,  the  lawful  object  of  her  affectionate  care,  but 
let  her  g-?-i7u/ /or  another."  Samson,  the  hero,  em- 
ployed on  woman's  work !  a  vilely  fit  employment 
for  Delilah's  deluded  lover  !  he  ground  too  for  others, 
for  those  in  prison  with  himself;  Samson,  the  hero, 
labors,  as  Isaiah  predicts  the  virgin  daughter  of  Bab- 
ylon should  labor :  "  Come  doiim,  sit  in  the  dust ;  sit 
on  the  ground ;  there  is  no  chair  for  thee  :  take  the 
mill-stones,  and  grind  meal:  nay  more,  whereas  wo- 
men who  grind  usually  sing  while  grinding,  sit  thou 
silent,  and  get  into  darkness ;  retire  into  some  dark 
hole  and  corner,  endeavoring  to  obtain  a  partial  con- 
cealment of  thy  vexation  and  disgrace,"  chap,  xlvii.  1. 

Samson  continued  in  prison  at  Gaza  about  a  year, 
and,  his  hair  growing  again,  (Judg.  xvi.  22.)  God 
restored  to  him  his  strength.  Shortly  afterwards  the 
pi-inces  of  the  Pliilistines  met  in  a  general  assembly, 
in  the  temple  of  their  god  Dagon,  to  return  him 
thanks  for  having  delivered  to  them  this  their  fornii- 
dable  enemy ;  and  after  they  had  ended  their  feast, 
the}'  ordered  Samson  to  be  brought  in  that  he  might 
contribute  to  their  sport.  When  they  had  insulted 
him  as  long  as  they  thought  fit,  he  desired  his  guide 
to  let  him  rest  himself  against  the  ])i!!ars  that  sup- 
ported the  tem|)le,  which  was  then  liill  of  people, 
both  above  and  below  the  galleries.  (See  House.) 
Calling  on  the  name  <'f  the  Lord,  and  laying  hold  of 
the  two  ])illars,  by  which  the  temple  was  supported, 
one  in  his  right  hand  and  the  other  in  liis  left,  he 
said,  "Let  me  also  die  with  the  Philistines;"  and 
violently  shaking  the  pillars,  the  temple  fell,  and  kill- 
ed about  three  thousand  persons.  Samson  lived  in 
the  whole  about  thirty -eiaht  years  ;  and  was  judge  of 
Israel  about  twenty,  Judg.  xvi.  20.  A.  M.  2867  to 
2887. 

SAMUEL,  son  of  Elkanah  and  of  IJannali,  of  the 
tribe  of  Levi,  and  of  the  family  of  Kohath,  was  a 
})rophct  and  judge  of  Israel  for  uiany  years,  1  Sam. 
i.  1,  &c.  1  Cbron.  vi.  23.  His  father, 'Elkan.-di,dv,'.  It 
at  Ramatliaim-Znphim,  or  the  city  of  Ratnath-'., 
inhabited  by  Levilcs  of  the  family  of  Zophai,  or  Ziiph, 


SAMUEL 


[813  ] 


SAMUEL 


a  descendant  of  Kohatli,  and  Samuel  himself  dwelt 
there  the  greater  part  of  his  time. 

The  circunistauces  connected  with  the  birth  and 
early  life  of  Samuel  are  of  a  peculiarly  interesting 
nature.  It  was  at  the  time  when  Eli  was  presiding 
us  high-priest  at  Shiloh,  that  Hannah,  the  wife  of 
Elkanah,  having  gone  to  the  usual  sacrificial  feast  at 
Shiloh,  availedherseif  of  an  opportunity  to  "pour  out 
her  soul"  before  God,  at  the  tabernacle;  requesting 
the  removal  of  the  reproach  she  daily  suffered  from 
Peninnah,  her  copartner  in  the  embraces,  though  far 
her  inferior  in  the  affections,  of  Elkanah,  by  the  be- 
stowal of  a  son.  The  fervent,  yet  silent  manner  of 
her  appeal  induced  Eli  to  mistake  her  emotions  for 
intoxication,  with  which  he  precipitately  accused  her  ; 
but  upon  the  circumstance  being  explained,  he  as  read- 
ily retracted,  and  changed  the  language  of  unchari- 
tableness  into  that  of  benediction.  The  acceptance  of 
Hannah's  prayer  was  at  length  corroborated  by  the 
birth  of  a  son,  whom  her  piety  and  her  gratitude  con- 
curred to  name  Sauuiel,  that  is,  "asked  of  God." 
Having  been  devoted  as  a  Nazarite  from  his  infancy, 
in  compliance  with  his  mother's  vow  when  she  asked 
him  of  the  Lord,  he  was,  while  in  his  infancy,  ])re- 
sented  to  Eli,  for  the  service  of  the  tabernacle,  by 
whom  he  was  invested  with  the  distinguishing  ephod, 
ch.  ii. 

The  extraordinary  character  of  Samuel  soon  began 
to  be  developed,  in  a  commission  Avhich  he  received 
immediately  from  heaven,  to  denounce  his  displeas- 
ure against  Eli,  for  his  criminal  remissness  with  re- 
gard to  his  two  sons,  Hophni  and  Phinehas,  whose 
libertine  baseness  was  scarcely  reproved,  and  not  at 
all  restrained,  by  parental  authority.  The  spirit  of 
the  aged  priest  upon  the  occasion  demands  notice, 
and  deserves  imitation :  "  It  is  the  Lord,"  he  exclaim- 
ed, "  let  him  do  what  seemeth  him  good."  The  ap- 
pearance of  a  ])rophet  like  Samuel  in  this  period  of 
suspended  revelations,  awakening  in  the  bosoms  of 
the  almost  desponding  Israelites  the  liveliest  antici- 
pations, they  immediately  adopted  measures  to  dis- 
enthral themselves  from  Philistine  subjugation  ;  but 
they  were  defeated  with  the  loss  of  four  thousand 
men.  x\s  they  imputed  this  disaster  to  the  absence 
of  the  ark,  it  was  fetched  into  the  camp  amidst  great 
exultations,  but  a  second  overthrow  involved  the  loss 
of  thirty  thousand  foot,  (among  whom  were  Hophni 
and  Pliinehas,)  and  above  all  of  the  ark,  which  the 
enemy  captured ;  intelfigencc  of  which  latter  calamity 
being  suddenly  comnnmicated  to  Eli,  he  fell  back- 
wardh!,  "and  his  neck  brake,  and  he  died."  The 
Philistines  had  but  little  cause  to  triumph  in  the  cap- 
tivity of  the  ark.  This  sacred  possession  was  carried 
into  the  temple  of  Dagon,  to  whom  they  ascribed  their 
victory  ;  and  the  ])riests,  upon  entering  the  national 
shrine,  the  next  morning,  found  their  god  fallen  to  the 
ground  before  the  ark.  ImpiUing  this  circumstance 
to  accident,  they  again  set  up  the  statue.  The  fol- 
lowing day  the  image  was  discovered  again  fallen, 
and  the  head  and  hands  broken  upon  the  threshold  of 
his  own  temple,  so  as  to  leave  the  trunk  only  remain- 
ing. The  ])eople  themselves  were  smitten  with  griev- 
ous bodily  diseases,  which  pursued  them  from  city  to 
city,  wherever  they  transported  the  ark,  until  tiiey 
restored  it,  with  conunemorative  offerings,  to  the 
Israelites,  (see  Dago.n,)  chap.  iv. — vi. 

The  cajjtivity  of  the  ark,  and  the  consequent  sus- 
pension of  the  public  services  at  Shiloh,  tended  to  the 
increasing  debasement  and  degeneration  of  the  peo|)le, 
which  only  stimulated  our  eminent  jn-ophet  and  ruler 
to  exert  his  energies  to  accomiilish  a  general  refor- 


mation, by  whose  means  an  assembly  was  at  length 
convened  at  Mizpeh,  for  the  purpose  of  publicly  re- 
nouncing their  sins,  and  returning  to  God  by  fasting, 
humiliation,  sacrifice  and  prayer.  This  solenmity 
excited  the  apprehensions  of  their  enemies,  who 
accordingly  determined  upon  frustrating  their  plans, 
by  coming  suddenly  upon  them  ;  but  as  their  repent- 
ance was  sincere,  and  their  consequent  reconciliation 
to  offended  goodness  immediate,  the  Supreme  Being 
declared  himself  in  their  favor  after  Samuel's  sacri- 
fice and  intercession :  the  Philistines  were  panic- 
struck  by  a  tremendous  thunder-storm,  and  by  their 
flight  and  dispersion  enabled  the  pursuing  Israelites 
ultimately  to  dictate  terms  of  peace  ;  m  connnemora- 
tion  of  which  deliverance,  Samuel  erected  a  monu- 
mental memorial,  which  he  called  Ebenezer,  or  "  the 
stone  of  help." 

While  victory  had  now  rendered  the  Israehteg 
secure  from  external  attacks,  the  proper  administration 
of  justice,  by  their  illustrious  governor,  conferred 
u})on  them  internal  prosperity  and  happiness.  Sam- 
uel exercised  his  judicial  authority  with  evident 
advantage  to  all  classes  of  the  community,  and  by 
annual  circuits  took  upon  himself  the  inspection  and 
regulation  of  civil  affairs.  He  moreover  erected  a 
public  altar  of  worship,  as  the  best  substitution  for 
the  deserted  ordinances  of  Shiloh  ;  and  to  him  have 
been  ascribed  those  institutions  which  were  called 
the  schools  of  the  prophets,  of  which  we  cannot  at  this 
distance  of  time  collect  any  very  exact  information. 
They  appear  to  have  been  originally  established  in 
the  cities  of  the  Levites,  which  were  diffused  through 
the  different  tribes,  for  the  sake  of  facilitating  the  plan 
of  general  instrucfion.  In  these  seminaries  the 
prophets  devoted  themselves  to  the  study  of  the  law, 
were  taught  the  art  of  psalmody,  and  awaited  the  call 
into  public  life  under  the  superintendence  of  one  of 
the  same  class,  venerable  for  wisdom  or  years.  Age, 
however,  relaxed  the  vigor  of  his  administration  ;  and 
Samuel,  in  consequence  of  appointing  his  two  sons, 
Joel  and  Abiah,  to  execute  his  office,  soon  found,  by 
the  complaints  of  die  elders,  that  he  had  devolved  it 
into  unworthy  hands.  He  was  in  consequence  solicit- 
ed to  appoint  a  king  over  them,  that  they  might  enjoy 
a  similar  form  of  government  to  that  of  other  nations. 
This  was  no  doubt  as  offensive  a  i-equest  to  Samuel, 
as  it  was  an  impious  and  ungrateful  one  toward  their 
supreme  Lord  and  Benefactor.  He  at  once,  there- 
fore, applied  to  God,  in  the  exigency,  who  directed 
him  to  comply  with  their  desires,  after  a  solemn  pro- 
test against  their  proceedings,  chap.  vii.  viii.  ' 

The  introduction  of  Saul,  the  son  of  Kish,  to  Sam- 
uel, and  the  several  circumstances  which  attended 
his  election  to  royalty,  furnish  remarkable  illustrations 
of  the  ever  active  agency  of  Providence  ;  controlling 
eveiy  seeming  casualty,  and  subordinating  to  its 
plans  the  most  trifling  coincidences.  Saul  and  his 
servant  were  despatched  in  ])ursuit  of  his  father's 
asses,  which  had  strayed  from  home  ;  and  having 
arrived  at  Kamah,  at  llie  instigation  of  the  latter, 
Samuel  was  inquired  after,  for  information  respecting 
them.  The  prophet  had  been  already  jirepared  for 
the  visit,  and  instructed  how  to  act  by  a  divine  inti- 
mation. Treating  him,  accordingly,  with  marked 
distinction  and  respect,  he  first  held  a  conference  with 
Saul  in  the  evening,  probably  to  explain  the  secret 
designs  of  Providence,  and  in  the  ensuing  morning, 
after  sending  the  servant  to  a  ])roper  distance,  pro 
ceeded  to  anoint  him  the  future  king  of  Israel,  giving 
him  prophetic  information  of  some  other  events  in 
which  he  would  be  personally  interested.    This  ap- 


SAMUEL 


I  814 


SAMUEL 


pointment,  it  must  be  remarked,  was  now  only  a 
private  transaction,  but  calculated  to  satisfy  him  with 
regard  to  the  divine  decision  of  the  lot  by  which  he 
was  subsequently  chosen  at  Mizpeh.  To  that  place, 
whither  the  ark  was  conducted,  Samuel  convened 
the  people  ;  and  when  the  lot  was  cast,  which  suc- 
cessively pointed  to  the  tribe  of  Benjamin,  the  family 
of  Matri,  and  the  person  of  Saul,  his  majestic  appear- 
ance so  well  seconded  the  recommendatoiy  speech  of 
Samuel,  that  he  at  once  gained,  with  few  exceptions, 
the  univei-sal  attachment.  He  very  soon  signalized 
himself  by  rendei'ing  prompt  and  effectual  succor  to 
the  mhabitants  of  Jabesh-Gilead,  who  were  besieged 
by  the  Ammonites,  and  on  the  very  point  of  a  sur- 
render ;  a  victory  which,  by  enhancing  his  fame,  gave 
him  a  triumph  over  his  secret  enemies.  A  general 
meeting  was  accordingly  called  by  Samuel,  at  Gilgal, 
where  the  election  of  Saul  was  confirmed,  with  the 
accompaniment  of  public  sacrifices  and  rejoicings. 
Having  now  wholly  to  resign  the  government  into 
the  hands  of  the  person  he  had  himself  anointed  for 
the  oflice,  Samuel  concluded  his  more  public  life  by 
an  oration,  truly  characteristic  of  his  integrity  of  prin- 
ciple and  his  piety  of  mind.  He  challenged  the  peo- 
ple to  produce  any  instances  of  peculation  or  inequity 
fluring  his  administration  ;  i-ecapitulated  some  of  the 
facts  of  their  past  history,  which  were  illustrative  of 
the  consequences  of  cUsobedience,  and  intimated  the 
impropriety  of  their  conduct  in  desiring  a  king  ; 
appealing  to  a  miraculous  attestation  of  the  displeas- 
ure of  God,  by  calling  for  a  thunder-storm  in  that 
season  of  wheat  harvest,  when  it  was  so  unusual ; 
suggesting,  at  the  same  time,  the  goodness  of  God  in 
determining  not  to  forsake  them  if  they  did  not  finally 
renounce  his  authority,  chap.  ix. — xii. 

In  the  second  year  of  Saul's  reign,  hostilities  were 
renewed  against  the  Philistines.  The  king,  having 
repaired  to  Gilgal,  waited  with  impatience  for  Samuel 
to  assist  in  presenting  burnt-offerings,  till  at  length,  on 
the  seventh  day,  the  services  were  ordered  to  proceed 
before  his  arrival ;  which  occasioned  a  severe  rebuke 
from  the  prophet,  and  an  assurance  that  his  precipi- 
tation would  ultimately  prove  subversive  of  his 
dominion.  Shortly  after  this,  another  instance  of 
Saul's  disobedience  occurred  ;  he  was  commanded 
by  God,  through  Samuel,  to  destroy  utterly  the  nation 
of  the  AjTialekites,  but  under  the  pretence  of  offering 
sacrifice,  he  spared  the  most  valuable  portion  of  the 
spoil,  together  with  Agag,  their  king.  This  produced 
a  severe  remonstrance  from  Samuel,  who  turned  ab- 
ruptly away  from  his  excuses  ;  and  when  Saul  seized 
his  garment,  which  rent  in  his  hands,  Sanmel  took 
occasion  to  declare,  that  the  Lord  had  rent  the  king- 
dom of  Israel  from  him,  and  had  bestowed  it  upon 
another.  The  king's  urgent  solicitations,  however, 
induced  at  length  a  compliance  with  his  wish  that 
Samuel  would  join  him  in  a  public  act  of  worship  ; 
after  which  the  prophet  slew  Agag,  and  departed  to 
Ramah,  never  more  to  hold  any  personal  communi- 
cation with  Saul.  Still,  however,  he  retained  an 
affection  for  the  king,  and  long  and  deeply  lamented 
his  misconduct ;  till  he  was  roused  from  unavailing 
grief  by  a  message  from  heaven,  desiring  him  to  goto 
Bethlehem,  and  bestow  the  royal  unction  upon  David, 
his  distinguished  successor,  to  whom  we  devote  a 
subsequent  article,  ch.  xiii. — xv. 

After  the  lapse  of  a  few  years  from  this  period,  in 
which  David  was  encountering  the  relentless  malig- 
nity of  Saul,  we  find  Samuel  still  at  Ramah,  and 
accompanying  David  to  Naioth,  a  school  of  the 
prophets,  as  a  temporary  a.sylum,  where  the  Scripture 


nan'ative  of  his  life  closes.  He  died  about  four  years 
before  Saul,  upwards  of  ninety  years  of  age,  A.  M. 
2944,  deeply  lamented  by  the  whole  nation.  His  re- 
mains were  interred  at  Ramah,  the  place  of  his  usual 
residence,  ch.  xix.  23,  24  ;  xxv.  1. 

Samuel  was  a  character  unquestionably  of  the  very 
first  class ;  of  irreproachable  integrity,  undaunted 
foi-titude,  unabating  zeal,  unaffected  and  unblemished 
piety  ;  sincere  as  a  friend,  gentle  as  a  man,  virtuous 
as  a  judge,  and  holy  as  a  prophet.  In  the  Chronicles 
he  is  stated  to  have  assisted  in  distributing  the  Levites 
appointed  by  David  for  the  temple  sei-vice,  and  as 
having  enriched  the  tabernacle  by  spoils  taken  from 
the  enemies  of  Israel.  He  is  said  also  to  have  written 
the  history  of  David,  in  conjunction  with  the  prophets 
Nathan  and  Gad,  which,  of  course,  can  be  understood 
only  of  his  early  transactions.  The  first  twenty 
chapters  of  the  first  book  that  appears  under  his  name, 
are  with  the  utmost  probability  ascribed  to  him  by  the 
Talmudists ;  and  he  was  the  first  in  the  unbroken 
chain  of  prophets,  that  extended  to  the  days  ofMala- 
chi,  and  that  "  foretold,"  according  to  the  testimony 
of  St.  Peter,  (Acts  iii.  24.)  "of"  the  final  establish- 
ment and  triumphs  of  Christianity.  (Ency.  Met.  art. 
Samuel.) 

About  two  years  after  the  death  of  Samuel,  the 
Philistines  having  invaded  the  territories  of  Israel 
with  a  powerful  army,  Saul  with  his  troops  took  a 
position  on  the  eminences  of  Gilboa  ;  but  being  over- 
come by  consternation  at  the  multitude  of  his  enemies, 
he  resolved  to  consult  some  witch  or  sorceress,  to 
foreknow  the  event  of  the  war.  His  servants  were 
therefoi-e  sent  in  quest  of  a  woman  possessed  of  a 
familiar  spirit,  the  Lord  having  refused  to  answer  him 
by  dreams,  or  by  urim,  or  by  prophets.  Having  dis- 
covered an  enchantress  at  En-dor,  about  two  or  three 
leagues  from  Gilboa,  Saul  disguised  himself,  and  vis- 
ited her,  with  a  small  attendance,  and  desired  her  to 
raise  the  ghost  of  Samuel.  She  had  recourse  to  her 
charms,  and  when  the  ghost  appeared,  she  screamed 
violently,  and  said,  "  Why  have  you  deceived  me,  for 
you  are  Saul  ?  "  Saul,  however,  encouraged  her  to 
declare  what  she  saw.  "  I  see  (said  she)  gods  [elohim, 
in  the  sense  of  magistrate,  chief,  or  prince,  &c.] 
coming  out  of  the  earth  ;"  adding,  that  he  had  the 
appearance  of  "  an  old  man  covered  with  a  mantle." 
By  this  description  Saul  recognized  Samuel,  and 
bowed  himself  to  the  earth.  Samuel  inquired  why 
he  had  been  distm-bed.  To  which  Saul  answered, 
that,  being  in  great  difficulties,  and  not  knowing  whom 
to  address,  because  God  gave  him  no  answer,  he  had 
resorted  to  the  present  undertaking.  Sam\iel  con- 
firmed all  his  fears,  declaring  that  the  kingdom  should 
be  taken  from  him,  and  given  to  David,  his  son-in- 
law  ;  that  Israel  should  be  delivered  into  the  hands 
of  their  enemies  the  Philistines;  and  that  Saul  and 
his  sons  should  die  on  the  morrow,  1  Sam.  xxviii. 

On  this  narrative  there  has  been  much  controversy, 
first,  as  to  whether  the  ghost  of  Sanuiel  did  really  ap- 
pear to  Saul,  and  next,  if  the  appearaiice  were  real, 
whether  it  was  effected  by  the  power  of  the  devil,  or 
the  art  of  magic  ?  Our  limits,  however,  will  not  per- 
mit of  even  a  mei*e  outline  of  the  arguments  on  either 
side.  Calmet  says  the  most  probable  opinion  is,  tiiat 
Samuel  really  appeared  to  Saul ;  not  by  the  magical 
charms  of  the  sorceress,  or  by  the  power  of  the  devil, 
but  by  the  almighty  power  of  God,  who,  to  punish 
Saul,  might  permit  Samuel  to  appear,  and  discover 
to  him  his  last  and  greatest  calamity.  Mr.  Taylor 
takes  a  different  view  of  the  subject,  and  in  the  article 
Witch,  has  labored  to  Drove  that  the  supposed  ap- 


SAN 


[815] 


SAN 


pearance  was  a  mere  juggling  trick  upon  tne  part  of 
the  woman.  The  text,  however,  gives  no  counte- 
nance to  tills  notion  ;  but,  on  the  coutraiy,  it  is  said, 
in  verse  14,  that  "  Saul  perceived  that  it  was  Samuel 
himself." 

To  Samuel  are  ascribed  the  Book  of  Judges,  that 
of  Ruth,  and  the  First  Book  of  Samuel.  There  is, 
indeed,  great  probabiUty  that  he  was  the  author  of 
the  first  twenty-four  chapters  of  the  first  of  Samuel, 
since  they  contain  nothing  but  what  he  might  have 
written,  and  in  which  he  was  not  a  principal  agent. 
IIo\vever,  in  these  chapter,  there  is  some  trifling  ad- 
ditions, probably  inserted  after  his  death.  We  read, 
(1  Chron.  ix.  22.)  that  he  assisted  m  regulating  the 
distribution  of  the  Levites  made  by  David  for  the  ser- 
vice of  the  temple,  which  Cahnet  suggests  may  be 
explained  by  saying,  that  David  pursued  the  order 
settled  by  Samuel,  during  his  administration,  after  the 
death  of  the  high-priest  Eli ;  or,  as  Mr.  Taylor  thinks, 
he  may  have  left  in  MS.  some  plan  for  such  a  purpose. 
We  read  also,  (1  Chron.  xxvi.  28.)  that  Samuel  en- 
riched tiie  tabernacle  of  the  Lord,  by  magnificent 
presents,  and  by  valuable  spoils,  taken  from  the  ene- 
mies of  Israel.  Also,  (1  Chron.  xxLx.  29.)  that  he 
wrote  the  history  of  David,  in  conjunction  with  the 
prophets  Nathan  and  Gad.  Probably  he  might  write 
the  beginning  of  his  history,  which  the  other  prophets 
continued  and  concluded ;  for  Samuel  was  dead 
before  David  came  to  the  throne.  The  first  two 
Books  of  Kings  bear  the  name  of  Books  of  Samuel ; 
but,  it  must  be  evident  that  he  could  not  be  the 
author  of  the  second  of  these  Books,  which  contains 
transacfions  after  his  death.  Neither  could  he  write 
the  latter  end  of  the  first,  since  his  death  is  mentioned 
in  chap.  xxv.  It  is  said  (chap.  x.  25.)  of  the'  First 
Book  of  Samuel,  that  this  prophet  wrote  in  a  book, 
"the  manner  of  the  kingdom,"  describing  the  rights, 
prerogatives,  and  revenues  of  the  king,  and  the  extent 
ol'his  power  and  authority;  a  repetition  of  what  he 
had  proposed,  viva  voce,  a  little  before  to  the  people. 
See  further  under  Kings,  Books  of. 

Samuel  began  the  chain  of  the  prophets  which  was 
never  broken  from  his  time  to  that  of  Zechariah  and 
Malachi,  Acts  iii.  24. 

SANBALLAT,  chief,  or  governor,  of  the  Cuthites, 
or  Samaritans,  and  a  great  enemy  to  the  Jews. 
When  Nehcmiah  came  fi'om  Shushan  to  Jerusalem, 
(Neb.  ii.  10,  19.  aiite  A.  D.  454.)  and  began  to  rebuild 
the  walls  of  Jerusalem,  Sanballat,  Tobiah  and  Geshem 
taunted  him,  and  sent  to  inquire  on  what  authority  he 
undertook  this  euter{)rise  ;  and  whether  it  were  not  a 
revolt  against  tiie  king.  Nehemiah,  however,  pro- 
ceeded with  vigor  in  his  undertaking,  and  completed 
the  wails  of  the  city. 

Finding  that  they  could  not  succeed  against  the 
Jews  by  the  course  they  had  pursued,  Sanballat,  To- 
biah and  Geshem  sent  to  Nehemiah,  to  desire  him  to 
meet  them  in  the  field,  that  they  might  make  an  alli- 
ance, and  swear  inviolable  friendship.  But  Nehemi- 
ah perceived  this  was  only  a  stratagem,  as  he  did  also 
a  subsequent  attempt  to  ensnare  him,  and  escaped  in 
both  cases. 

Nehemiah  being  obliged  to  return  to  king  Arta- 
xerxes  at  Shushan,  (Neh.  xiii.  G,  28.  A.  M.  3563,  ante 
A.  D.  441,)  in  his  absence,  the  high-priest  Eliashib 
married  his  grandson  Manasseh,  son  of  Joiada,  to  a 
daughter  of  Sanballat,  and  allowed  Tobiah,  a  kinsman 
of  Sanballat,  an  apartment  in  the  temple.  Nehemiah, 
at  Ills  return  to  Jerusalem,  (the  exact  year  of  which  is 
not  known,)  drove  Tobiah  out  of  the  temple,  and 
would  not  sufter  IManasseh,  the  high-priest's  grand- 


sou,  to  continue  in  the  city,  nor  to  perform  the  func- 
tions of  the  priesthood.  Manasseh,being  thus  expelled, 
retired  to  his  father-in-law,  Sanballat,  who  provided 
him  the  means  of  exercising  his  priestly  office  on 
mount  Gerizim,  on  the  following  occasion.  See 
Gerizim. 

When  Alexander  the  Great  came  into  Phoenicia, 
and  invested  Tyre,  Sanballat  abandoned  the  interests 
of  Darius,  and  went,  at  the  head  of  8000  men,  to  offer 
his  service  to  Alexander,  who  readily  received  him, 
and  gave  liim  leave  to  erect  a  temple  on  mount  Ge- 
rizim, where  he  constituted  his  son-in-law  Manasseh 
the  high-priest.  Sanballat  must  have  been  at  this 
time  very  old,  for  120  years  before  (A.  M.  3550)  he 
was  governor  of  the  Samaritans.  Indeed,  some  have 
been  of  opinion  that  the  Sanballat  who  lived  in  the 
time  of  Alexander  was  different  from  he  who  so 
eagerly  opposed  Nehemiah ;  but  Calmet  sees  no 
necessity  for  admitting  this.  Howevci-,  Josephus 
makes  Sanballat  a  Cuthite  originally,  and  does  not 
mention  him  who  withstood  Nehemiah.  The  wife 
of  Manasseh  he  calls  by  the  nameof  Nicaso,  and  says 
that  Sanballat  died  nine  months  after  he  had  submitted 
to  Alexander. 

Dr.  Prideaux,  however,  rejects  the  solution  of  this 
difficulty,  by  two  Sanballats,  and  endeavors  to  recon- 
cile the  history  to  truth  and  probability,  by  showing 
a  mistake  in  Josephus.  This  author  makes  Sanballat 
to  flourish  in  the  time  of  Darius  Codomannus,  and  to 
build  his  temple  upon  mount  Gerizim  by  license  from 
Alexander  the  Great ;  whereas  it  was  performed  by 
leave  from  Darius  Nothus,  in  the  fifteenth  year  of 
his  reign.  This  removes  the  difficulty  arising  from 
the  great  age  of  Sanballat,  and  allows  him  to  be  con- 
temporary with  Nehemiah,  as  the  Scriptui-e  history 
requires. 

SANCTIFY  of\en  signifies  to  prepare.  Thus 
Joshua  says  to  the  people,  (chap.  iii.  5.)  "  Sanctify 
yourselves,  for  to-morrow  the  Lord  will  do  wonders 
among  you."  Prepare  yourselves  to  pass  over  Jordan. 
In  Isa.  xiii.  3,  the  Lord  calls  the  Medes  his  sanctified. 
I  have  appointed,  and,  as  it  were,  consecrated  them 
to  be  the  executioners  of  my  vengeance  against  Bab- 
ylon. (See  also  Numb.  xi.  18;  Josh.  vii.  13;  Jer.  vi. 
4 ;  xii.  3 ;  li.  27,  28 ;  Joel  i.  14 ;  Mic.  iii.  5 ;  Zeph.  i.  7.) 
Comp.  Holy. 

We  desire  of  God,  that  his  name  may  be  sanctified, 
or  hallowed  ;  that  is,  honored,  praised  and  glorified 
throughout  the  world  ;  especially  by  those  who  have 
the  happiness  of  knowing  him.  Let  them  sanctify  it 
by  their  good  lives,  their  fidelity,  their  submission  to 
his  orders ;  and  they  who  know  him  not,  that  they 
may  obtain  the  knowledge  of  him,  may  hear  his  word, 
may  become  obedient  to  his  instructions.  Sec.  We 
may  apprehend  yet  better  what  is  meant  by  sanctify- 
ing the  name  of  God,  by  the  opposite  to  it ;  that  is, 
profaning  the  name  of  God,  by  vain  swearing,  blas- 
pheming, ascribing  his  name  to  idols  ;  by  furnishing 
wicked  men  and  infidels  with  occasion  of  blasphem- 
ing it  by  our  bad  lives,  and  scandalous  conversa- 
tion, &c. 

It  is  said,  "  I  will  be  sanctified  in  them  that  come 
nigh  me  ; "  (Lev.  x.  3.)  in  his  priests,  when,  by  the  ter- 
rible and  exemplary  punishment  of  Nadab  and  Abihu, 
the  Lord  showed  what  purity  he  required  in  his  ser- 
vants, and  what  pimctual  exactness  he  expected  in  his 
service.  The  Lord  complains,  in  another  filace,  that 
Moses  and  Aaron  did  not  sanctify  him  bclurc  Israel : 
"Because  ye  believed  me  not,  to  sanctify  me  in  the 
eyes  of  the  children  of  Israel,  therefore  ye  shall  not 
bring  this  congregation  into  the  land  which  I  have 


SAN 


t  816 


SAN 


given  them,"  Numo.  xx.  12.  And  how  did  they  not 
sanctify  him  ?  By  showing  some  distrust  in  his  woi-ds : 
"  Because  ye  believed  me  not."  God  sanctified  the 
seventh  day,  that  is,  consecrated  it  to  his  sei-vice,  Gen. 
ii.  3.  He  sanctified  all  the  first-born  ;  (Exod.  xiii.  3.) 
he  commands  that  they  should  be  offered  to  him  ;  as 
it  were,  consecrated  to  his  service.  Moses  sanctifies 
the  Israelites,  and  by  bathing,  by  abstinence  from  the 
use  of  the  marriage  bed,  by  the  [)urity  of  their  clothes, 
he  prepares  them  for  appearing  before  the  Lord,  for 
entering  into  a  covenant  with  him,  Exod.  xix.  10  ; 
xiv.  12. 

Those  who  approach  to  holy  things  are  sanctified  ; 
for  example,  it  is  allowed  to  the  priest  only  to  ofter 
sacrifices  at  the  altar,  Exod.  xxix.  37  ;  xxx.  29  ;  Lev. 
vi.  18,  27.  Compare  Lev.  xxii.  15,  16,  whei-e  God 
expressly  forbids  that  the  people  should  eat  of  the 
sanctified  things. 

We  have  in  Haggai  (ii.  12.)  a  remarkable  instance 
of  the  contrariety  between  the  communication  of 
holiness  or  sanctification,  and  that  of  pollution.  The 
prophet  is  directed  to  ask  the  priests  concerning  the 
law — "If  one  bear  holy  flesh  in  the  skirt  of  his  gar- 
ment, and  with  his  skirt  do  touch  bread,  or  pottage, 
or  wine,  or  oil,  or  any  meat,  shall  it  be  holy  ?  "  And 
the  priests  answered,  "  No."  "  But,"  said  Haggai,  "  if 
any  one  who  is  unclean  by  a  dead  body,  touch  any  of 
these,  shall  it  be  unclean.^"  They  said,  "  It  shall  be 
unclean."  So  that  the  principle  of  pollution  was 
much  more  readily  communicated  than  that  of  sanc- 
tification ; — for  instance,  to  persons  and  to  things 
which  were  in  the  same  apartment,  or  house  with  a 
dead  body,  though  they  had  not  touched  it:  but 
iioly  flesh  did  not  communicate  sanctification,  beyond 
that  which  it  touched:  it  might  sanctify  the  skirt  of 
tiie  garment  that  carried  it,  but  it  communicated  no 
virtue  to  any  thing  beyond  it. 

SANCTUARY.  By  this  name  that  part  of  the 
temple  of  Jerusalem  was  called,  which  was  the  most 
secret  and  most  retired;  in  which  was  the  ark  of  the 
covenant;  and  where  none  but  the  high-priest  might 
enter,  and  he  only  once  a  year,  on  the  day  of  solemn 
expiation.  The  same  name  was  also  given  to  the 
most  sacred  part  of  the  tabernacle  set  up  in  the  wil- 
derness, which  remained  till  some  time  after  the 
building  of  the  temple.  Sec  Taberxaclk,  and 
Temple. 

Sometimes  the  word  sanctuary  is  used  generally  for 
the  temple,  or  the  holy  place,  the  strurtvn-e  appointed 
for  the  public  worship  of  the  Lord.  It  should  seem 
also,  that  Moses  uses  it  instead  of  the  Holy  Land. 
Exod.  XV.  17,  "Thou  shalt  bring  them  in,  and  plant 
them  in  the  mountain  of  thy  inheritance,  in  the  place, 
O  liOrd,  which  thou  hast  made  for  thee  to  dwell  in  ; 
in  the  sanctuary,  O  Lorfl,  which  thy  hands  have  estab- 
lished." And  in  Lev.  xx.  3,  of  those  who  offer  their 
children  to  Moloch,  he  says,  they  "defile  my  sanctu- 
ary, and  profane  my  holy  name."  He  forbids  the 
high-priest  to  go  out  of  the  temple,  to  mourn  for  his 
relations,  Lev.  xxi.  12  :  "  Neither  shall  he  go  out  of 
the  sanctuary,  nor  profane  the  sanctuary  of  his  God." 
The  temple  is  liere  denoted  by  its  princii)al  part.  It 
is  believed  that  sanctuary  is  put  for  heaven,  in  Deut. 
xxvi.15:  "liook  from  the  dwelling  of  thy  sanctuary," 
from  the  high  heaven. 

SAND.  A  similitude  taken  from  the  aggregate 
sand  of  the  sea,  is  often  used,  to  express  a  very  great 
multitude,  or  a  very  great  weight ;  or  from  a  single 
sand,  something  very  mean  and  trifling.  God  prom- 
ises Abraham  and  Jacob  to  multiply  their  posterity  as 
the  stars  of  heaven,  and  as  the  sand  of  the  sea,  Gen. 


xxii.  17 ;  xxxii.  12.  Job  (vi.  3.)  compares  the  weight 
of  his  misfortunes  to  that  of  the  sand  of  the  sea.  Sol- 
omon says,  (Prov.  xxvii.  3.)  that  though  sand  and 
gravel  are  very  heavy  things,  yet  the  anger  of  a  fool 
is  much  heavier.  And  Ecclesiasticus  says  that  a  fool 
is  more  insupportable  than  the  weight  of  sand,  lead 
or  iron,  Ecclus.  xxii.  15. 

The  prophets  magnify  the  omnipotence  of  God,  who 
has  fixed  the  sand  of  the  shore  for  the  boundaries  of 
the  sea,  and  has  said  to  it,  "  Hitherto  shalt  thou  come ; 
but  here  thou  shalt  break  thy  foaming  waves,  and 
shalt  pass  no  farther,"  Jer.  v.  22. 

Om-  Saviour  tells  us,  (Matt.  vii.  26.)  that  a  fool  lays 
the  foundation  of  his  house  on  the  sand  ;  whereas  a 
wise  man  founds  his  house  on  a  rock.  Ecclesiasti- 
cus says,  (xviii.  8.)  that  the  years  of  the  longest  life  of 
man  are  but  as  a  drop  of  water,  or  as  a  grain  of  sand. 
And  Wisdom  says,  (vii.  9.)  that  all  the  gold  in  the 
world,  compared  to  wisdom,  is  but  as  the  smallest 
grain  of  sand.     See  Rain,  and  Pillars. 

SANDALS,  [Heb.  D>Sp  ;  Gi:  moS/j^aTa,  aavduX.a. 
The  sandals  or  shoes  of  the  orientals  were  in  ancient 
times,  and  are  still  at  the  present  day,  merely  soles  of 
hide,  leather,  or  wood,  fastened  to  the  bottom  of  the 
foot  by  two  straps,  one  of  which  passes  around  the 
great  toe,  on  the  fore  part  of  the  foot,  and  the  other 
around  the  ankle.  Niebuhr  says,  (Descr.  of  Arabia, 
p.  63,  Germ,  ed.)  "  The  shoes  of  the  Arabs,  of  the 
middling  and  lower  classes,  consist  only  of  a  sole, 
with  one  or  two  straps  over  the  foot,  and  one  around 
the  ankle.  These  straps  are  by  no  means  so  long  as 
those  which  painters  are  accustomed  to  assign  to  the 
oriental  costume.  The  Arabs  sometimes  wear  in  their 
houses  Avooden  sandals  or  slippers  with  high  heels,  i/ 
which  are  common  throughout  the  East.  These  are 
worn  also  by  ladies  of  rank  in  Egypt  and  Turkey." 
These  were  probably  also  not  unknown  among  the  He- 
brews. It  is  easy  to  see  now,  why  the  Hebrew  prophets 
could  speak  so  contemptuously  of  the  value  of  a  ^aj'r 
of  shoes,  i.  e.  sandals,  Amos  ii.  6 ;  viii.  6. 

The  sandals  of  females  were  often  ornamented ; 
and  it  is  not  impossible  that  these  may  have  resem- 
bled the  slippeis  or  shoes  of  modern  orientals,  which 
cover  also  the  upper  part  of  the  foot,  and  are  usually 
made  of  morocco  leather,  Judith  x.  6  ;  xvi.  9  ;  Ezck. 
xvi.  10.     (Compare  the  article  Badgers'  Skins.) 

It  is  not  customary  in  the  East  to  wear  slices  or 
sandals  in  the  houses  ;  hence  they  are  always  taken 
off  on  entering  a  house,  and  especially  temples  and 
all  consecrated  places.  Hence  the  phrase  to  loose 
one^s  shoes  or  sandals  from  off  one^s  feet,  Ex.  iii.  5  ; 
Deut.  XXV.  9,  etc.  To  loose  and  bind  on  the  sandals 
was  the  business  of  the  lowest  servants  ;  and  a  slave, 
newly  bought,  commenced  his  service  by  loosing  the 
sandals  of  his  new  master,  and  carrying  them  a  certain 
distance.  (Talmud  Kiddush,22.  2.)  Disciples,  how- 
ever, performed  this  office  for  their  master,  and  ac- 
counted it  an  honor  ;  but  the  rabbins  advise,  not  to  do 
it  before  strangers,  lest  they  should  be  mistaken  for 
servants.  Hence  the  expressions  of  John  the  Baptist, 
that  he  was  "  not  worthy  to  loose  or  to  bear  the  san- 
dals of  Jesus,"  Matt.  iii. 11  ;  IMark  i.  7.  As  stockings 
are  not  worn  in  the  East,  the  feet  in  sandals  become 
dusty  and  soiled  ;  accordingly,  on  entering  a  house 
and  "putting  off  the  sandals,  it  was  customary  to  wash 
the  feet.  This  was  also  the  business  of  the  lowest 
servants.  On  visits,  slaves  presented  the  water ;  but 
to  guests  of  distinction,  the  master  of  the  house  per- 
formed this  office,  Gen.  xviii.  4,  5;  Luke  vii.  44. 
(Comp.  John  xiii.  4.)  The  poor,  of  course,  often  went 
barefoot ;  but  this  was  not  customary  among  the  rich, 


AN 


[  817 


SAR 


except  as  a  sign  of  mourning.     See  further  under 
Foot,  the  section  Washing  of  the  Feet. 

In  contracts,  the  seller  drew  off  his  sandals  and 
gave  them  to  the  buyer,  in  confirmation  of  the  bar- 
gain, Ruth  iv.  7.  The  loosing  of  the  sandals  was 
also  a  ceremony  when  a  man  refused  to  marry  the 
widow  of  his  deceased  brother,  Deut.  xxv.  9.     *R. 

Writers  say,  that  when  Hercules  became  slave  to 
Omphaie,  she  used  to  give  him  concction  with  her 
sandal,  which  was  the  most  degrading  and  effemi- 
nate kind  of  correction.  So  Lucian  makes  Venus  say 
of  Cupid,  "Already  I  have  given  him  some  correc- 
tion ;  and  taking  him  on  my  knee,  have  chastised 
him  with  my  sandal."  But  JMr.  Hlorier,  in  his  Second 
Journey  to  Persia,  (p.  8.)  mentions  a  servant  of  the 
ambassador  who  was  "abundantly  beaten  on  the 
back  with  a  stick,  and  on  the  mouth  with  a  shoe 
heel,"  which  he  further  explains,  p.  95.  The  king 
of  Persia  examined  some  of  his  officers,  who  not  an° 
swering  as  he  desired,  he  exclaimed,  "Call  the 
Ferashes,  and  beat  these  rogues  till  they  die.  The 
Ferashes  came  and  beat  them  violently  ;  and  when 
they  attempted  to  say  any  thing  in  their  own  defence, 
they  smote  them  on  the  mouth  with  a  shoe,  the  heel 
of  which  was  shod  with  iron."  He  adds  in  a  note, 
"  This  use  of  the  shoe  is  quite  characteristic  of  the 
eastern  manners  described  in  Scripture.  The  shoe 
was  always  considered  as  vile,  and  never  was  allowed 
to  enter  sacred  or  respected  places  ;  and  to  be  smit- 
ten with  it,  is  to  be  subjected  to  the  last  ignominy. 
Paul  was  smitten  on  the  mouth  by  the  orders  of 
Ananias  :  "  (Acts  xxiii.  2.)— whether  this  were  with 
a  shoe,  may  deserve  consideration  ;  such  i";nominy, 
if  lliat  were  the  case,  might  well  excite  Paul's  auger, 
and  excuse  his  threat. 

SANHEDRIM,  or  Beth-dix,  house  of  judgment, 
was  a  council  of  seventj'-one  or  seventy-two  senators, 
among  the  Jews,  who  determined  the  most  important 
affairs  of  the  nation.  The  room  in  which  they  met, 
according  to  tJie  rabbins,  was  a  rotunda,  half  of  which 
Avas  built  without  the  temple,  and  half  v/ithin  ;  the 
latter  part  being  that  in  which  the  judges  sat.  The 
JVasi  or  president,  who  Avas  generally  the  high-priest, 
sat  on  a  throne  at  the  end  of  the  hall,  his  deputy,  or 
vice-president,  called  M-betk-din,  at  his  right-hand, 
and  the  sub-deputy,  or  Hakam,  at  his  left;  the  other 
senators  being  ranged  in  order  on  each  side.  Most 
of  the  members  of  this  council  were  priests  or  Le- 
vites,  though  men  in  private  stations  of  life  were  not 
excluded. 

The  authority  of  the  Sanhedrim  was  verj'  extensive. 
It  decided  causes  brought  before  it  by  appeal  from 
inferior  courts ;  and  even  the  king,  the  high-priest, 
the  prophets,  were  imder  its  jurisdiction.  The 
general  affaii-s  of  the  nation  were  also  brouglit  before 
this  assembly.  The  right  of  judging  in  capital  cases 
belonged  to  it ;  and  this  sentence  could  not  be  pro- 
nounced in  any  other  place,  but  in  the  hall  called 
Lishcath-haggazith  ;  from  whence  it  came  to  pass, 
that  the  Jews  were  forced  to  quit  this  hall,  when  the 
power  of  life  and  death  was  taken  out  of  their  hands, 
forty  yeai-s  before  the  destruction  of  their  temple, 
and  three  yeara  before  the  death  of  Jesus  Christ. 

The  raV)bins  insist  that  the  Sanhedrim  subsisted  in 
their  nation,  constantly,  from  the  time  of  Moses, 
(Numb.  xi.  16.)  to  the  destruction  of  the  temple  by  the 
Romans.  But  this  is  strongly  contested.  Petau 
fixes  its  origm  at  the  time  when  Gabinius,  governor 
of  Judea,  erected  tribunals  in  the  five  principal  cities, 
of  Jerusalem,  Gadara,  Amathus,  Jericho,  and  Sepho- 
ra,  or  Seohoris.  (Joseph.  Antiq.  lib.  xix.  cap.  1(\ ;  ' 
103 


de  Bello,  lib.  i.  cap.  6.)  Basnage  fixes  its  origin  to 
the  time  of  Judas  Maccabseus,  or  tliat  of  his  brother 
Jonathan.  This  question,  however,  cannot  be  de- 
termined. We  have  no  proof  of  its  very  early 
existence. 

Our  Saviour  (Matt.  v.  22.)  distinguishes  two  tribu- 
nals :  "  Whosoever  is  angry  with  his  brother  without 
a  cause,  shall  be  in  danger  of  the  judgment ;"  that  is, 
the  tribunal  of  the  twenty-three  judges.  "And  who- 
soever shall  say  to  his  brother,  Raca,  shall  be  in  dan- 
ger of  the  council ; "  that  is,  of  the  great  Sanhedrim, 
which  had  the  right  of  life  and  death,  at  least 
generally,  and  before  this  right  was  taken  away  by 
the  Romans.  Some  think  that  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
council  of  twenty-three  extended  to  life  and  death 
also  ;  but  it  is  certain  that  the  Sanhedrim  was  supe- 
rior to  that  council.  (See  also  Mark  xiii.  9 ;  xiv.  55  ; 
XV.  1 ;  Luke  xxii.  52,  66;  John  xi.  47;  Acts  iv.  1.5, 
21,  wliere  mention  is  made  of  the  S.ynedrion.) 

[The  Tahnudists  do,  indeed,  speak  of  a  tribunal  or  ^ 

Sanhedrim  of  twentj^-three  judges  ;  but  no  such  tri-  ^4 
bunal  is  mentioned  by  Josephus.  He,  howev^ 
speaks  of  a  tribunal  of^ seven  judges,  which  existed  m 
each  town,  and  took  cognizance  of  smaller  oflfences, 
which  is  called  i  yniou,  judgment  or  court  of  justice 
in  Matt.  v.  21,  22 ;  and  which  also  seems  intended 
by  aviidoioi,  council,  in  Matt.  x.  17;  Mark  xiii.  9. 
(See  Joseph.  Antiq.  iv.  8,  14  ;  Jahn's  Bib.  Archseol. 
§  245.)     R. 

SAPPHIKA,  a  Christian  woman,  and  wife  of  An- 
anias- They  having  conjointly  sold  a  field,  which 
^^•as  tlieir  property,  brought  a  part  of  the  price,  and 
laid  it  at  the  feet  of  the  apostles,  as  if  it  had  been  the 
whole,  resenting  the  rest.  For  this  prevarication 
they  were  both  struck  with  sudden  death,  Acts  v. 
See  Anamas.  v 

SAPPHIRE,  a  precious  stone  often  mentioned  in 
Scripture,  Exod.  xx^aii.  18 ;  xxxix.  11.  Job  says 
(xxviii.  6.)  there  are  places  whose  stones  are  sap- 
phires ;  that  is,  sapphires  are  veiy  common  there. 
Pliny  says  that  the  best  come  out  of  Media  :  perhaps 
out  of  the  countiy  of  the  Sapires,  or  from  the  mount 
of  Sepliar  mentioned  by  Moses,  Gen.  x.  30 ;  Ezek.  i. 
26;  X.  1.-  Tiie  oriental  sapphire  is  of  a  skj^  blue 
color,  or  a  fine  azure  ;  hence,  the  prophets  describe 
the  thrpne  of  God,  as  the  color  of  a  sapphire  ;  that  is, 
of  a  celestial  blue  or  azure,  Exod.  xxiv.  10.  It  is 
next  in  hardness  and  value  to  the  diamond. 

I.  SARAH,  or  Sarai,  wife  of  Abraham,  and 
daughter  of  Terah  his  father,  but  by  another  mother ; 
since  Abraham  afsseiis,  (Gen.  xii.  13  ;  xx.  12^  that 
she  was  really  his  sister,  the  daughter  of  his  father, 
but  not  the  daughter  of  his  mother.  Terali  might 
have  had  several  wives  at  once,  according  to  the 
custom  of  the  country  ;  or  he  might  have  married 
again,  after  the  death  of  Abraham's  mother,  by  which 
latter  wife  he  might  have  had  Sarai.  This  opinion 
Calmct  prefers  to  that  which  makes  Sarah  the  same 
as  Iscali,  daughter  of  Haran,  niece  of  Abraham,  and 
gi-anddaughtcr  of  Terah,  (Gen.  xi.  29.)  which  is  the 
opinion  of  Josephus,  and  many  commentators. 

Sarai  was  bom  A.  31.  2018,  and  married  Abraham 
before  he  left  Ur :  ujjon  quitting  which  he  agreed 
with  Sarah,  that  she  should  call  herself  his  sister, 
being  afraid  she  should  be  taken  away  from  him,  and 
that  he  might  be  put  to  death  on  her  account,  if  she 
were  known  to  be  his  wife. 

The  principal  incidents  in  Sarah's  life  having  been 
detailed  in  the  article  Abraham,  it  is  unnecessary  to 
repeat  them  here. 

When  God  made  a  covenant  with  Abraham,  and 


SAT 


[  818 


SATAN 


instituted  circumcision,  he  changed  the  name  of 
Sarai,  or  My  Princess,  into  that  of  Sarah,  or  Princess  ; 
and  promised  Abraham  a  son  by  her,  which  was 
fulfilled  in  due  time.  Sarah  lived  to  the  age  of  127 
years.  She  died  in  the  valley  of  Hebron,  and  Abra- 
ham came  to  Beer-sheba  to  mourn  for  her,  after 
which  he  bought  a  field  of  Ephron  the  Hittite, 
wherein  was  a  cave  hewn  in  the  rock,  which  the 
Hebrew  calls  Machpelah,  where  Sarah  was  buried. 

II.  SARAH,  daughter  of  Raguel  and  Anna,  of  the 
tribe  of  Naphtali,  and  wife  of  Tobit,  Tob.  iii. 

SARDIS,  now  called  Sort,  a  city  of  Asia  Minor, 
formerly  the  capital  of  Croesus,  king  of  the  Lydians, 
is  situated  at  the  foot  of  the  famous  mount  Tmolus, 
on  the  north,  having  a  spacious  and  delightful  plain 
before  it,  watered  with  several  streams  that  flow 
from  the  neighboring  hill  to  the  south-east,  and  with 
the  Pactolus,  i-ising  from  the  same,  on  the  east,  and 
increasing  with  its  waters  the  stream  of  Hermus,  into 
which  it  runs.  It  is  now  a  pitiful  village  ;  but,  for 
the  accommodation  of  travellers,  it  being  the  road 
for  the  caravans  that  come  out  of  Persia  to  Smyrna 
with  silk,  there  is  a  large  khan  built  in  it,  as  is  usual 
in  most  of  these  towns.  The  inhabitants  are  for  the 
most  part  shepherds,  who  look  to  those  numerous 
flocks  and  herds  which  feed  in  the  plains. 

To  the  southward  of  the  town  are  very  considera- 
ble ruins  still  remaining,  which  reminds  us  of  what 
Sardis  was,  before  earthquake  and  tli«  sword  had 
caused  those  desolations  which  have  visited  it.  ' 

The  Turks  have  a  mosque  here,  which  was  fornierly 
a  Christian  church  ;  at  the  entrance  of  which  are 
several  curious  pillars  of  polished  marble.  Some 
few  Christians  live  among  them,  working  in  gardens, 
or  otherwise  employed  in  such  like  drudgery.  The 
church  in  Sardis  was  reproached  by  our  Saviour  for 
its  declension  in  vital  religion.  It  had  a  name  to 
live,  but  was  really  dead,  Rev.  iii. 

Mr.  Taylor  has  collected  several  medals  of  Sardis, 
which  show  that  this  city  was  the  seat  of  various 
games,  and  other  exercises  of  a  popular  nature. 

SARDIUS,  or  Ruby,  the  Hebrew  cmN,  Odem,  red- 
ness. Tlie  Sardius  is  reddish,  approaching  to  white, 
as  a  man's  nail,  Exod.  xxviii.  17  ;  xxxix.  10  ;  Ezek. 
xxviii.  13;  Rev.  xxi.  20.  It  is  more  commonly 
known  by  the  name  of  camelian. 

SARDONYX  ;  as  if  a  sardius  united  to  an  onyx ; 
a  species  of  gem  exhibiting  the  reddish  color  of  the 
carnelian  (sardian)  and  the  white  of  the  chalcedony, 
intermingled,  either  in  shades,  or  in  alternate  stripes. 
Rev.  xxi.  20.     (See  Rees'  Cyclop,  art.  Gems.)     R. 

SARGON,  a  king  of  Assyi-ia,  successor  of  Shal- 
maneser,  Isa.  xx.  1.     See  Assyria,  p.  114,  col.  1. 

SARID,  a  boundary  city  of  Zebulun,  Josh.  xix. 
10,  12. 

SATAN.  This  Hebrew  word  is  used  in  the 
general  sense  of  an  adversary,  an  enemy,  an  accuser. 
(See  1  Sam.  xxix.  4  ;  1  Kings  xi.  14,  23,  24 ;  v.  4.) 
At  other  times  Satan  is  put  for  the  devil.  Job  i.  6,  7, 
11  ;  Ps.  cix.  6  ;  Zech.  iii. 

Mr.  Taylor  has  some  remarks  as  to  the  probability 
of  loyal  angels  being,  occasionally,  agents  of  punish- 
ment ;  and  also  makes  a  distinction  between  loyal 
and  rebellious  angels — hinting  that  loyal  angels  may 
punish  for  crimes  committed,  though  they  may  not 
tempt  to  their  Commission.  (Compare  Angel.)  This 
suggests  the  idea  that  j)imishmcnt,  in  itself,  may  be 
perfectly  free  from  malice  toward  the  party  sufferiii"' 
under  it;  and  may  even  consist  with  nuich  sorrow 
on  account  of  the  necessity  for  its  infliction,  and  much 
sympathy  with  the  sufferer.     Whereas,  to  propose 


temptations,  to  provoke  and  stimulate  to  the  commis- 
sion of  evil,  by  delusive  representations  of  its  pleas- 
ures or  its  profits  ; — or  by  taking  advantage  of  natural 
passions,  propensities,  &c.  or  of  accidental  circum- 
stances, of  time,  place,  situation,  character,  opportu- 
nity, &LC.  is  utterly  abhorrent  from  the  character, 
station,  duty,  nature  and  disposition  of  a  holy  and 
loyal  angel.  Mr.  Taylor  applies  these  ideas  also  in 
reference  to  Satan,  and  thence  endeavors  to  ascertain 
the  precise  import  of  several  passages  of  Scripture, 
where  the  agent  of  punishment,  simply  taken,  seems 
to  be  the  person  referred  to,  by  the  term  Satan.  The 
following  are  some  of  his  remarks  : — 

The  Prologue  to  the  Book  of  Job  certainly  sup- 
poses that  the  angel  of  punishment  by  office,  appeared 
in  the  court  of  heaven  ;  and  if  Satan  be  simply  con- 
sidered as  the  minister  of  punishment,  under  divine 
direction,  and  sometunes  (as  in  the  case  of  Job)  the 
minister  of  probation  only,  rather  than  of  punishment 
(though  even  Job  deserved  some  punishment,  as  he 
acknowledges) — there  is  no  reason  why  he  should  be 
ashamed  of  his  oftice,  any  more  than  judges  are, 
who,  though  frequently  ministers  of  punishment,  are 
not,  therefore,  excluded  from  the  royal  presence  ;  but, 
on  the  contrary,  their  office  is  considered  as  dignified 
and  honorable  :  i.  e.  punishment  without  malevolence 
does  not  pollute  the  inflicter.  Consider  also  the  de- 
struction of  Sodom,  Gen.  xix. — of  Egypt,  Exod.  xii. — 
of  Sennacherib,  2  Kings  xix.  35,  also.  Josh.  v.  13  ; 
Job  xxxiii.  22  ;  Ps.  vii.  13. 

The  following  passages  are  from  the  New  Testa- 
ment. Will  this  distinction  explain  1  Cor.  v.  5,  q.  d. 
"  As  the  design  of  punishment  is  reformation  of  the 
sufferer,  I  command  you — not,  yourselves,  to  molest 
the  party,  but— <o  deliver  such  a  transgi-essor  unto  Sa- 
tan, the  proper  angel  of  punishment ;  that  he,  by  his 
castigations  and  afflictions,  may  bring  the  criminal  to 
a  sense  of  his  duty  ;  even  chould  those  afflictions  ter- 
minate in  the  destruction  (of  liis  person ;  perhaps, 
rather,  of  his  fleshly  powers,  or  appetite)  of  the  flesh, 
in  order  that  the  more  important  part  of  the  man,  the 
spirit,  may  be  saved  in  the  day  of  the  appearance  of  our 
Lord  Jesus."  This  passage  seems  to  include  an  allu- 
sion to  the  same  principles  as  those  above  suggested, 
because,  (1.)  The  criminal  is  he  who  had  conmiitted 
fornication  ;  and  such  fornication  as  the  Gentiles 
abominated  ;  (2.)  the  sense  ofoXedQor,  rendered  desti~uc- 
tion,  is  loss,  injury,  exitium  sirages  ;  whatever  is  per- 
nicious ;  and  ultimately  deadly  ;  death  : — so  that  it 
seems  closely  to  con-espond  to  the  consumption,  and 
toasting  debility  of  person,  of  the  former  article, 
(though  indeed  there,  we  conceive,  the  allusion  is 
both  to  person  and  property,)  as  it  arises  from  the 
same  cause,  and  (without  repentance)  would  have 
the  same  fatal  issue.  (3.)  That  nu^c,  flesh,  has  the 
meaning  here  intended  needs  no  proof;  and  this 
aflTords  a  glimpse  of  the  punishment  inflicted  on  the 
Corinthian;  he  suffered  defeat,  imjiotence,  in  that 
very  article  by  which  he  had  transgressed. — Is  this 
the  import  of  1  Tim.  i.  20  ?  Hymeneus  and  Alex- 
ander, I  have  delivered,  put  into  the  hands  of  Satan, 
the  angel  of  punishment,  that  they  may  learn  the  les- 
son (as  we  teach  children  at  school,  by  the  terror  of 
the  rod,  7iai8ivdu)Ot)  not  to  bla.tpheme. — Is  this  what 
the  apostle  had  in  view  in  his  own  case  ?  2  Cor. 
xii.  7,  Lest  I  should  be  exalted  above  measure,  there  ivas 
given,  favorably,  kindly,  to  7ne  a  thoryi  in  the  flesh,  a 
bodily  infirmity,  an  agent  of  Satan,  {<jyYf>-o?  2'«Tni,)of 
punishment,  or  rather  of  probation,  and  exercise  of 
patience,  faith,  &c.  to  produce  humility.  Upon  this 
infirmity,  i.  e.  for  its  removal,  or  at  least  its  modera- 


SATAN 


[  819 


SATAN 


tion,  that  it  might  not  appear  to  be,  nor  be  prolonged 
as  a  punishment,  nor  operate  as  an  impediment  to 
the  usefulness  of  my  ministry,  /  besought  the  Lord 
rcpeateilly.  If  so,  this  case  is  analogous  to  the  pro- 
bation of  Job,  under  tlie  agency  of  Satan.  Hence 
we  see,  as  the  pious  Mr.  Henry  might  say,  that  afflic- 
tions, i.  e.  sufferings,  are  not  always  injlictions,  i.  e. 
punishments. 

Having  concluded,  from  these  instances,  that  we 
risk  notliing  in  supposing  that  loyal  angels  may  some- 
times he  em|)loyed  in  offices  of  jjunishment — punish- 
ment included  in  the  kind  purpose  of  reformation — 
Mr.  Taylor  proceeds  to  inquire  whether  some  things 
are  not  said  of  a  Satan  of  a  different  kmd  ;  or,  at  least, 
whether  Scri{)ture  does  not  allude  to  circumstances 
utterly  in-econcilable  with  the  character  of  holy  and 
happy  spirits,  under  any  official  capacity  or  employ- 
ment whatever. 

Matt.  iv.  ],  3,  &c.  "  Jesus  was  teinpted  of  the  dev'i]" 
i.  e.  to  sin  ;  to  despair,  to  pride,  &c.  Matt.  v.  37, 
"  Let  your  discourse  be  simple  and  direct:  for  oaths 
and  swearing,  &c.  come  from  the  evil  one."  So  the 
words  may  signify  as  they  stand  ;  but  some  copies 
read  explicitly, /rom  the  devil.  Matt.  xii.  26,  "If  Sa- 
tan cast  out  Satan  ; "  this  cannot  signify  two  messen- 
gers of  punishment  sent  from  the  same  beneticent 
Deity  ;  as  it  implies  a  contradiction,  an  opposition,  in 
the  purposes  of  these  Satans.  Matt.  xiii.  39,  "The 
enemy  that  sowed  the  tares,  which  shall  be  bin-ned, 
is  the  devil."  Mark  iv.  15,  "  Satan  cometh  and 
taketh  away  the  word  sown  in  their  hearts,"  &c. 
John  viii.  44,  "  The  devil  was  a  murderer  from  the 
beginning ;  he  is  a  liar,  and  the  father  of  it,"  verse  41. 
"Ye  do  the  deeds  of  your  father  ;  who  pi-ompts  you 
to  murder  me,"  verse  40.  ■  Acts  v.  3,  "  Why  has  Sa- 
tan filled  thine  heart, — io  lie  to  the  Holy  Ghost  ?  " 
Rom.  xvi.  20,  "The  God  of  peace  shall  shortly  bruise 
Satan  under  your  feet." — Not  the  holy  angel  of  pun- 
ishment, but  an  adversary  of  the  soul,  &a.  1  Cor. 
vi.  3,  "  We — human  persons — shall  judge — condemn 
— angels:" — surely  not  holy  angels; — but,  "though 
we  are  but  men,  yet  our  piety  shall  condemn  the  im- 
piety of  our  sujieriors  by  nature,"  2  Cor.  xi,  14, 
"  False  apostles  transforming  themselves  into  apos- 
tles of  Christ,  and  no  marvel ;  for  Satan  himself  is 
transformed  into  an  angel  of  light" — consequently  he 
is  no  holy  angel ;  for  a  holy  angel  can  neither  need, 
nor  suffer,  such  transformation  ;  which  is,  evidently, 
spoken  of  as  contrary  to  nature.  2  Thes.  ii.  9,  "The 
working  of  Satan  with  all  lying  wonders,  and  deceiv- 
ableness  of  unrighteousness."  Jam.  iv.  7,  "  Resist  the 
devil,  and  he  will  flee  from  you."  2  Pet.  ii.  4,  "  God 
spared  not  the  angels  that  sinned,  but  cast  them  down 
to  hell ;  and  delivered  them  into  chains  of  darkness, 
until  the  judgment."  Jude  6,  "  The  angels  which 
kejn  not  their  first  estate,  he  hath  resei-ved  in  ever- 
lasting chains,  under  darkness,  unto  the  judgment  of 
the  great  day."  The  passage,  Rev.  xx.  2.  [liiSQuy-oiTa 
r'ov  tupii'  Till'  uo^aiOT,  iig  ion  dtufioXog  y.al  ^uruiuc  o  nXa  ■ 
r<3i)  as  Mr.  Taylor  somewhat  quaintly  remaiks, 
might  almost  pass  for  a  modern  indictment,  in  ivhich 
special  care  is  taken  to  identify  the  culprit,  by  a  suffi- 
cient number  of  aliases.  An  angel  frem  heaven 
having  the  key  of  the  prison  of  the  abyas,  and  a  great 
chain,  to  secure-  his  prisoner,  "  apprehended  the 
dragon,  alias,  the  serpent,  the  old  one  ;  alias,  the 
devil ;  alias  the  Satan  ;  alim  the  seducer  of  the 
world" — who  was  sentenced  to  a  thousand  years' 
imprisonment.  Can  this  passage  possibly  be  descrip- 
tive of  a  loyal  and  honest  character  ?  Throughout 
the  book  the  same  idea  may  be  observed. 


Now  it  is  demonstrable  that  no  holy  angel  would 
tempt  the  Son  of  God,  nor  promote  lies,  murders,  de- 
ceivableness,  unrighteousness,  cursing  and  swearing, 
hypocrisy,  &c.  all  which  are  attributed  to  a  Satan, 
i.  e.  the  devil.  Perhaps,  after  we  have  well  consid- 
ered this  double  usage  of  the  word  Satan,  we  shall 
more  readily  attend  to  its  probable  histoiy.  Much 
has  been  said  respecting  the  word  Satan  ;  and  that 
the  ideas  connected  with  it  are  subsequent  to  the 
Babylonish  captivity;  in  proof  of  the  contrary,  the 
late  bishop  of  Llandaff  has  referred  to  Ps.  cix.  6, 
"  Let  Satan  stand  at  his  right  hand  ;  "  as  well  as  to 
the  "  Satans  the  sons  of  Zeruiah,"  2  Sam.  xix.  22. 
Mr.  Taylor  adds,  that  it  appeai-s,  by  the  story  of 
Balaam,  above  quoted,  that  the  word  was  used  long 
before  ;  and  that  it  answers  perfectly  well  to  the  sense 
of  adversary.  Nor  is  it  clear  on  what  principles,  in 
the  case  of  Baalam,  it  can  be  rendered  accuser,  unless 
it  might  be  understood  thus — "the  angel  of  the  Lord 
stood  in  the  way,  to  remonstrate  against  his  proceed- 
ing ;  "  i.  e.  to  accuse  him  of  his  criminal  intention  ; 
for  so  we  find  he  does  :  and,  indeed,  he  rather  re- 
monstrates and  accuses,  than  punishes It  may 

be  queried,  therefore,  (1.)  Whether  in  early  ages, e.g. 
under  the  Hebrew  republic,  the  word  Satan  signified 
much,  if  any  thing,  more,  than  simply  an  adversary, 
an  accuser,  a  remonstrant ;  one  who  "  takes  to  task," 
as  our  familiar  expression  is ;  but,  (2.)  After  the  in- 
stitution of  monarchy,  such  an  agent  of  punishment 
being  a  constant  attendant  on  a  court,  the  capigi, 
hacha,  mezuwar,  or  chief  executioner  ;  (see  1  Sam. 
xxii.  17  ;  2  Kings  xxv.  8  ;  Jer.  xxxix.  11,  12  ;  lii.  12 ; 
Dan.  ii.  14.)  often  also  the  accuser,  was  an  idea  which 
became  involved  in  the  word  Satan  :  then,  (3.)  Be- 
cause this  accuser  received  a  proft  from  the  spoils 
of  criminals  condemned,  the  sense  of  rejoicing  in  the 
condemnation  of  those  accused  became  gradually 
connected  with  the  word  :  and,  (4.)  It  being  notori- 
ous that  such  an  one  who  had  exercised  this  office  of 
punisher,  had  beheld  with  pleasure  the  commission 
of  crimes,  and  had  laid  temptations  in  the  way  of 
culprits,  whom  he  hoped  afterwards  to  punish,  and 
to  turn  their  spoils  to  his  profit ;  all  these  ideas  at 
length  united  in  the  word  Satan  ;  an  adversary,  who 
accuses,  and  who  takes  such  delight  in  accusation, 
that  he  tempts  unwary  souls  to  ti-ansgi-ess,  for  the 
sake  of  enjoying  the  gi-atification  attending  their  pun- 
ishment. 

If  this  history  of  the  word  be  admissible,  we  may 
perceive  much  stronger  ideas  attached  to  it  in  later 
ages  than  anciently  ;  or,  perhaps,  a  milder  and  a 
stronger  sense,  according  to  circumstances  ;  and  this 
statement  not  only  refutes  those  who  affirm  that  it 
was  altogether  a  Babylonish  term,  and  of  Babylonish 
import  ;  but  it  shows,  (1.)  How  an  adversary,  a 
Satan,  might  "  rise  up  against  Israel,  and  prompt 
David  to  number  the  people  ;"  how  David  might  be 
•'a  Satan  to  the  Philistines  ;"  (1  Sam.  xxix.  4.)  how 
"  Hadad  and  Rezon  might  be  Satans  against  Solo- 
mon ; "  (1  Kings  xi.  23.)  and  in  this  simple  original 
sense  of  the  word,  how  Peter  might  be  "a  Satan"  to 
Christ  (Matt.  xvi.  23.) — he  might  take  him  to  task, 
remonstrate,  &c.  unseasonably.  (2.)  It  sliows  how  a 
loyal  angel  might  perform  the  office  of  a  minister  of 
punishment;  and  be  honored  whJle  so  doing,  and 
this  supposition  cannot  be  relinquished : — and,  (3.) 
Since  these  are  human  ideas  transferred  to  celestial 
and  spiritual  existences,  and  since  we  have  found  so 
gi-eat  depravity  among  mankimd  as  rejoicing  in  the 
sufferings  of  others,  what  forbids  our  transferring  this 
idea  also  to  a  spiritual  being .'     We  should  reroem- 


SATAN 


[  820  ] 


SAU 


ber,  that  even  in  treating  celestial  subjects,  we  must 
conform  to  human  ideas,  as  we  must  adopt  human 
language ;  notwithstanding  we  are  aware  that  what- 
ever is  human  is  absolutely  incompetent  to  the  sub- 
ject under  discussion.  This  sense  of  an  accuser, 
seeking  for  materials  and  occasions  of  accusation, 
illusti-ates  2  Cor.  ii.  11,  "To  whom  ye  forgive,  I  for- 
give ;  lest  Satan  should  circumvent  us  ; "  should  ex- 
plore, and  discovei',  a  somewhat  which  he  may  form 
into  an  accusation,  (should  libel  us,  as  the  Scotch 
law-term  is,)  and  should  find  it  in  our  want  of  har- 
mony, and  concord  :  "  for  we  are  not  ignorant  of  his 
devices,''''  his  meditations  and  plots,  which  are  always 
directed  to  the  discovery  of  imperfections  and  faults 
among  brethren,  and  to  derivii'g  advantage  from 
them  in  the  way  of  accusation.  The  apostle  seems 
to  reason  on  the  same  principle  :  (1  Coi*.  vii.  5.)  "  If 
married  persons  separate  by  consent  for  a  time,  yet 
let  it  not  be  for  too  long  ;  lest  before  the  expiration 
of  that  time,  Satan  should,  in  some  unguarded  mo- 
ment, take  advantage  of  natural  passions,  and  tempt 
by  soliciting  to  incontinency — either,  (1.)  of  the  par- 
ties with  each  other ;  who  thereby  might  break  the 
vow  or  engagement,  by  which  they  were  separated, 
and  so  their  consciences  be  wounded,  as  for  a  crime; 
or,  (2.)  either  of  the  parties  with  another  person." 
But,  perhaps,  this  passage  should  be  read  thus: 
"  Defraud  not  one  the  other,  [except  ivith  consent,  fyc.) 
lest  Satan  tempt  you,  and  the  issue  of  liis  temptation 
be  incontinency ;  to  the  commission  of  which,  over- 
prolonged  or  enforced  continency  might  furnish  him 
an  advantage  ;  though  designed  to  the  very  contrary 
by  the  parties." 

Satan  is  also  said  "  to  go  about  seeking  whom  he 
may  spoil,  as  a  lion  prowls  around  a  habitation  or  a 
fold,  seeking  whom  he  may  devour."  These  ideas, 
with  some  others,  the  reader  may  perhaps  discover 
in  the  following  quotation,  Avhich  seems  to  be  strongly 
descriptive  of  some  parts,  at  least,  of  the  character  of 
Satan  :  "  The  Bostandgi  Bachi,  who,  of  all  the  ex- 
terior officers  of  the  seraglio,  is  most  frequently  in  the 
presence  of  his  master,  and  whose  duty  it  is  to  give 
him  an  account  of  all  irregularities  and  disorders  ; 
and  who  frequently  goes  his  roimds  to  discover  them, 
in  one  of  his  maritime  excursions  liappened  to  come 
as  far  as  Buyukdera.  (Compare  the  Prologue  to  the 
Book  of  Job.)  The  moon  began  to  apjjear,  and  a 
dead  calm  invited  us  to  go  upon  the  Avater  ;  Avhen 
the  confused  cries  at  a  distance,  of  persons  beaten, 
and  others  beating  thtm,  proclaimed  the  arrival  of  the 
Bostandgi  Bachi.  Mice  are  not  more  in  haste  to  run 
away  at  the  approach  of  a  cat,  than  all  the  women 
now  were  to  hide  themselves.  The  dragoman's  lad}', 
and  Madame  du  Tott,  who  had  nothing  to  fear,  alone 
dared  to  abide  the  coming  of  this  great  officer,  who 
quickly  made  his  appearance  m  a  barge  manned  with 
four-and-twenty  rowers.  He  had  been  to  chastise 
the  irregularities  of  some  drunken  persons,  and  lay 
liold  of  some  women,  a  little  too  gay,  Avho  had  fallen 
under  his  notice.  ...  A  fisherman,  being  inten-ogated 
which  Avay  the  Bostandgi  Bachi  had  taken,  spread  a 
still  greater  alarm,  by  informing  us,  tliat  after  having 
landed,  without  noise,  at  the  kiosk  of  a  Grecian  lady, 
and  listened  for  some  minutes  to  the  conversation 
which  passed  in  it,  that  officer,  accompanied  by 
several  of  his  attendants,  had  scaled  the  windows.  .  .  . 
Further  intelligence  relieved  the  comj)any  from  the 
anxiety  of  impatient  curiosity — '  Lay  aside  your  fears,' 
said  the  bringer  of  it,  to  one  of  tiie  strangei-s  of  our 
party  ;  '  your  cousui  and  her  friend  have  been  let  off 
for  all  the  diamonds,  trinkets  and  money  they  had  about 


them  ;  there  was  no  room  for  hesitation  ;  the  Bos- 
tandgi Bachi  sui-prised  them  ;  ordered  them  to  be 
taken  on  board  his  barge,  and  conveyed  to  prison  ; 
his  avarice  at  length  rendered  him  tractable,  but  he 
has  left  them  much  less  pleased  with  their  evening's 
entertainment  than  they  expected  to  have  been.'  As 
we  passed  by  the  houses  on  the  shore,  we  amused 
ourselves  by  making  remarks  on  their  possessors, 
who,  fi-om  their  kiosks,  made  the  like  remarks  on  us  ; 
and  I  collected,  as  we  went  along,  a  gi-eat  deal  of  in- 
formation, which  had  it  been  known  to  the  Bostandgi 
Bachi,  he  would  have  derived  from  it  a  considerable 
advantage."     (Du  Tott,  part  i.  43,  101.) 

If  we  knew  precisely  how  closely  the  assemblies 
of  the  first  Christians  were  watched  by  the  heathen, 
probablv  we  might  better  understand  the  term  angels 
in  1  Gov.  xi.  10.  Pliny's  letter  to  Trajan,  (A.  D.  106,) 
seems  to  hint  at  spies  of  more  than  one  description  ; 
he  mentions  libellus  sine  auctore,  an  information  with- 
out a  name  annexed  :  alii  ab  indice  nominaii.  Chris- 
tians were  not  acctised  by  name  by  a  regidar  informer, 
and  Trajan's  answer  apparently  alludes  to  secret 
agents  sent  oid.  Conquirendi  non  sunt,  they  arc  not 
to  be  sought  for.  Were  not  these  spies,  whose  object 
was  cruel  ]>rofit,  derived  from  detected  improprieties, 
Satans  ?  The  vile  rejjorts  afterwards  raised  of 
Cbristian  worship  possibly  originated  in  neglect  of 
the  apostle's  caution. 

The  Synagogue  of  Satan  (Rev.  li.  9,  13.)  proba- 
bly denotes  the  unbelievuig  Jews,  the  false  zealots  for 
the  law  of  Moses,  who  at  the  beginning  were  the 
most  eager  persecutors  of  the  Christians.  They  Avere 
very  numerous  at  Smyrna,  Avhere  Polycaq)  Avas 
bishop,  to  Avhom  John  Avrites. 

The  Depths  of  Satan  (Rev.  ii.  24.)  were  the 
mysteries  of  the  Nicolaitans,  and  of  the  Simonians, 
who  concealed  their  errors  under  deep  abstruseness  ; 
they  spoke  of  certain  intelligences  Avhich  created  the 
Avorld,  but  Avere  in  opposition  to  the  Creator.  They 
taught  a  profound  knowledge  of  the  natiu'e  of  angels, 
and  their  diffi^rent  degi-ees.  They  had  secret  books 
Avritten  m  an  abstruse  and  mysterious  manner  ;  and 
these  it  is  thought  John  calls  "  depths  of  Satan." 

SATYRS,  Avild  men,  or  imaginary  animals,  half 
man  and  half  goat,  poetically  introduced  by  Isaiah, 
(xiii.  21  ;  xxxiv.  14.)  as  dancing  among  the  ruins  of 
Babylon.  It  is  remarkable,  that  the  present  inhabit- 
ants of  that  country  still  lielieve  in  the  existence  there 
of  Satyrs.     (See  under  Babylon,  p.  134,  col.  1.)    R. 

I.  SAUL,  king  of  Idumea,  (Gen.  xxxvi.  37.)  Aves 
of  Rehoboth,  and  succeeded  Samlah  of  Masrekah. 

II.  SAUL,  son  of  Kish,  of  the  tribe  of  Benjamin, 
Avas  the  first  king  of  the  Israelites.  His  history  being 
so  intimately  connected  Avith  that  of  Samuel  and 
David,  has  lieen,  in  many  respects,  very  fully  given 
under  those  articles  ;  but  there  are  a  fcAV  ad(Htional 
particulars  Avhich  call  for  notice. 

When  Saul  had  strengthened  himself  in  the  king- 
c^om,  he  carried  his  arms  abroad,  against  the  enemies 
of  \iis  nation,  among  Avhom  AA-ere  Moah,  Aniinon, 
Edoiii,  Philistia,  and  the  kings  of  Zobah  in  Syria. 
In  all  hia  expeditions  he  AAas  victorious ;  but  having 
at  length  dkobeyed  the  orders  of  God,  relative  to  the 
Amalekites,  Samuel  declared  his  rejection,  and  the 
appointment  of  another  teethe  throne  of  Israel. 

In  Saul's  last  battle  Avith  the  Philistines,  his  sons 
Jonathan,  Abinadab  und  Malchishua  were  slain. 
He  was  himself  dangerously  AAounded  ;  and  believing 
his  state  to  be  desperate,  he  desired  his  armor-beareV 
to  kill  him.  This  being  refused,  he  fell  upon  his 
own  sword,  and  died,  after  a  reign  of  forty  years. 


SAUL 


[821  ] 


SCA 


His  armor  was  carried  by  the  Pliilistines  to  the  tem- 
ple of  Ashtaroth  ;  and  tlicy  hung  his  l)ody  against 
the  walls  of  Beth-shan,  probably  opposite  to  the  chief 
street;  because  it  is  said  ui  2  Sam.  x.\i.  12,  that  his 
body  was  hung  up  in  the  street  of  this  city;  and  in  1 
Chron.  x.  10,  that  his  head  was  fastened  in  the  tem- 
ple of  Dagon.  Wlien  the  inhabitants  of  Jabesh-gile- 
ad  were  informed  of  these  indignities,  they  went  by 
night  and  took  down  tiie  bodies,  and  brought  them 
into  their  city  beyond  Jordan,  where  they  burnt  the 
remains  of  the  flesh,  and  buried  the  bones,  which 
were,  several  years  afterwards,  removed  by  David 
into  the  sepulchre  of  Kisli,  at  Gibeali,  2  Sam.  xxi. 
12 — 14.  Ish-boshetli,  tiie  fourth  son  of  Saul,  suc- 
ceeded him  ill  the  kingdom,  and  reigned  beyond 
Jordan,  over  eleven  tribes ;  David  reigning  over  the 
tribe  of  Jndah. 

The  character  of  Saul  is  that  of  a  gloonij',  appre- 
hensive, melancholy  man ;  and  after  taking,  without 
success,  what  remedies  were  customary,  liie  servants, 
or  physicians,  (see  Gen.  1.  2.)  finding  his  case  beyond 
the  reach  of  their  art,  thought  proper  to  represent  it 
as  a  visitation  from  on  high  ;  yet  to  recommend  the 
use  of  music,  as  a  recipe  whose  eflcicts  might  be 
favorable.  The  event  justified  their  expectations; 
and  the  amusementj  the  sympathy,  and  the  enjoy- 
ment of  Saul,  while  his  attention  was  engaged,  i)ro- 
duced  an  interval  of  disease,  which  gradually  im- 
jnoved  to  convalescence.  Calmet  does  not  consider 
Saul  as  a  maniac,  but  as  an  hypochondriac,  whose 
low  spirits  were  relieved  by  the  cheerful  and  animat- 
ing vibrations  of  the  young  shepherd's  careless  harp : 
the  sprightly  effusions 

Of  linked  sweetness  long  drawn  out, 
With  wanton  heed,  and  giddy  cunning, 
The  melting  voice  through  mazes  running, 
Untwisting  all  the  chains  that  tie 
The  hidden  soul  of  harmony. 

How  well  adapted  the  unstudied  strains  of  a  shep- 
herd swain,  whose  harp,  at  the  same  time,  was  bold 
^through  the  courage  of  its  master,  free  through  his 
"native  wood-notes  wild,"  and  sedate  through  his 
piety  ;  how  well  such  a  remedy  was  adapted  to 
the  cure  of  Saul,  may  be  estimated  by  a  moment's 
reflection.  See  2  Kings  iii.  15,  for  the  tranquillizing 
effects  of  the  harp  in  the  instance  of  the  prophet 
Elislia. 

It  is  a  singular  fact,  that  there  is  preserved  in  the 
second  volume  of  the  Asiatic  Researches,  in  a  trans- 
lation from  the  Persian,  an  abridgment  of  the  history 
of  the  Afghans,  a  people  of  India,  generally  admitted 
to  be  of  Israelitish  origin,  in  which  tliey  are  repre- 
sented to  be  the  descendants  of  Saul,  the  first  king 
of  Israel.  The  extract  is  too  long  to  be  introduced 
here  ;  it  must  suffice  to  say,  that  it  comprises  a  tol- 
erable abridgment  of  the  history,  as  recorded  in 
Samuel ;  resembling  it  in  many  particulars,  yet  vaiy- 
ing  from  it  in  others.  We  have  clearly  mentioned, 
among  other  incidents,  the  loss  of  the  ark,  the  pre- 
sumption of  the  Philistines,  the  fall  of  Dagon,  the 
catUe  which  brought  the  ark  to  Bethshemcsh,  the 
application  of  the  people  to  Samuel  for  a  king,  the 
description  of  the  person  of  Saul,  the  loss  of  the  asses, 
(or  cow,  as  it  is  here,)  Saul  seeking  them,  the  behav- 
ior of  the  sons  of  Belial  to  him,  the  valor  of  David, 
the  death  of  Saul,  and  the  appointment  of  David  to 
the  kingdom  of  Israel. 

It  is  said,  (1  Sam.  xv.  12.)  that  Saul,  after  the  de- 
feat of  the  Amalekites,  "  set  him  up  a  place,"  i.  e.  a 


monument  on  Carmel.  This  was,  probably,  some 
heap  of  stones,  or  a  column,  to  preserve  the  memoiy 
of  his  victory.  The  author  of  the  Hebrew  traditions 
on  the  Books  of  Kings  says,  that  Saul's  triumphal 
arch  was  composed  of  branches  of  myrtle,  palm 
and  olive-trees. 

SAUL,  the  Hebrew  name  of  Paul.     See  Paul. 

SAVIOUR  is  a  name  eminently  appropriated  to 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  was  prefigured  by  those 
to  whom  the  Old  Testament  gives  the  appellation,  as 
Joshua,  the  judges  of  Israel,  the  kings  David,  Solo- 
mon and  Josiah,  and  tlie  other  great  men  raised  up 
to  deliver  the  people  of  God,  as  Mattathias,  Judas 
]\Iaccaba?us,  and  the  rest.  The  pro[)hets  have  de- 
scribed Jesus  under  the  name  of  Saviour  in  many 
places  :  as  Isa.  xii.  3,  "  With  joy  shall  ye  draw  water 
out  of  the  wells  of  salvation,"  or  of  the  Saviour. 
"  The  Lord  shall  send  them  a  Saviour,  even  a  great 
one,  and  he  shall  deliver  them,"  chap.  xix.  20.  "  I, 
even  I,  am  the  Lord,  and  beside  me  there  is  no 
Saviour,"  chap,  xliii.  11.  And  the  apostles  and  sa- 
cred writers  of  the  New  Testament  generally  give  to 
him  the  name  of  "  the  Saviour,"  by  way  of  eminence. 
When  the  angel  foretold  his  birth,  he  said  he  should 
be  called  Jesus,  that  is,  a  Saviour,  assigning,  as  the 
reason,  that  he  should  "save  his  people  from  their 
sins,"  Matt.  i.  21.  (See  also  John  iv.  42  ;  Acts  xiii. 
23  ;  Philip,  iii.  20,  &c.  See  Salvation.)  The  ex- 
pression of  the  Samaritans,  (John  iv.  42.)  with  regard 
to  our  Saviour,  is  particularly  strong.  "  We  know^ 
that  this  is  indeed  the  Christ,  the  Saviour  of  the 
world,"  where  the  articles  prefixed  to  the  nouns  have 
a  special  force  in  them,  together  with  a  general  im- 
port. It  is  somewhat  unhappy  that  the  term  prince 
has  been  adopted  in  connection  with  Saviour,  in  Acta 
v.  3],  since  it  suggests  the  notion  of  temporal  priority', 
not  to  say  of  temporal  authority.  It  is  rendered  in 
the  margin  author,  and  seems  to  denote  properly  a 
leader,  the  first  of  a  company,  or  body  of  followers. 
"  Him  (Jesus)  hath  God  exalted  to  be  leader — pre- 
cursor of  his  followers  into  heaven — also  Saviour,  by 
giving  repentance  to  Israel,  and  remission  of  sins." 
Christ  is  called  the  "  Saviour  of  the  body,"  in  Eph. 
v.  23,  where  the  comparison  is  to  the  head,  which  is 
the  protector,  the  guardian  of  the  whole  person  ;  that 
which  completes,  governs  and  superintends  the 
entire  man.  The  Saviour  is  said  to  be  expected  from 
heaven,  (Phil.  iii.  20  ;  Titus  ii.  13.)  and  in  short,  the 
title  of  Saviour  is  so  connected  with  Deity,  that  it 
seems  to  be  impossible  to  separate  them,  and  to  draw 
the  line  of  distinction  between  them,  (Titus  i.  3  ;  ii. 
10;  iii.  4  ;  2  Pet.  i.  1  ;  Jude  35,  et  al.)  and  this,  inde- 
pendent of  the  rule  of  Greek  syntax,  developed  and 
applied  by  the  late  Mr.  Granville  Sharpe,  and  subse- 
quently by  other  writers,  though  strongly  coiTobo- 
rated  by  it. 

God  often  takes  to  himself  the  name  of  Saviour  of 
Israel,  (1  Sam.  xiv.  39.)  and  David  calls  him,  his 
strength  and  his  Saviour,  2  Sam.  xxii.  3.  "There  ia 
no  Saviour  beside  me,"  says  the  Lord,  in  the  prophet 
Hosea,  xiii.  4.  And  Isa.  xvii.  10, "Thou  hast  forgot- 
ten the  God  of  thy  salvation,"  or  thy  Saviour.  And 
in  truth,  God  is  the  Saviour  of  saviours,  the  God  of 
gods  ;  without  him  there  is  neither  salvation  nor  de- 
liverance, nor  succor.  He  raised  up  savioui-s  to  his 
people,  in  the  persons  of  Otimiel  ;  (Judg.  iii.  9.) 
Ehud,  (iii.  15.)  &c.  Obadiah  (21.)  promises  that 
the  Lord  will  send  saviours  on  the  mountain  of  Sion, 
to  judge  the  mountain  of  Esau  ;  meaning,  probably, 
the  Maccabees,  who  subdued  the  Idumeans. 

SCANDAL,  a  snare,  an  incumbrance.     In  Scrip- 


SCA 


[  822 


SCH 


lure,  and  in  ecclesiastical  authors,  it  is  put  for  any 
thijig  that  a  man  finds  in  his  way,  which  may  occa- 
sion him  to  trip.  Thus  Moses  (Lev.  xix.  14,  apud 
LXX)  "forbids  to  put  a  stumbling-block  (or  scandal) 
before  the  blind  ;  that  is,  neither  wood,  stone,  nor 
any  thing  else,  that  may  make  him  stumble  or  fall. 
In  Exod.  xxiii.  33,  he  forbids  the  Israelites  to  make 
a  covenant  with  the  Canaanites,  for  fear  they  should 
be  perverted  to  idolati-y,  which  would  be  a  great 
snare,  or  scandal  to  them.  Calmet  remarks  that  the 
Greek  word  ^x^vSu/.or,  or  UQunaouua,  or  SxchXar,  an- 
swers to  the  Hebrew  Spdc,  Micshol,  which  signifies 
fall,  ruin,  sin,  what  hinders  from  walking,  and  makes 
one  fall ;  wliich  comes  from  the  root  S^d,  cdshal,  to 
fall,  to  tumble  ;  and  in  the  conjugation  Hiphil,  signi- 
fies to  cause  to  fall,  to  overthrow,  to  lay  snares,  &c. 
In  a  moral  sense  there  is  active  and  passive  scandal. 
The  first  is  that  which  our  words  or  actions  may  oc- 
casion to  others  ;  from  their  evil  tendency,  or  their 
pernicious  influence.  Christ  affirms,  "  It  must  needs 
be  that  offences  come;"  or  scandals  must  of  neces- 
sity ai-ise.  But  he  adds,  "  Wo  to  that  man  by  whom 
the  offence  cometh.  If  your  hand  or  foot  is  a  cause 
of  scandal  to  you,  cut  it  off,  and  cast  it  from  you  ; 
you  had  much  better  enter  the  kingdom  of  God 
without  hand  or  foot,- than  be  cast  into  outer  dark- 
ness with  all  your  limbs  entire,"  Mark  ix.  43.  He 
says,  "Moreover,  have  a  care  of  offending  (scandal- 
izing) one  of  these  little  ones  that  believe  in  me  ;  it 
were  better  for  him  who  occasions  a  scandal  to  such, 
that  a  mill-stone  were  hung  about  his  neck,  and  he 
were  cast  into  the  sea."  Jesus  Christ  was  to  the 
Jews  a  scandal,  and  a  rock  of  offence,  against  which 
they  struck ;  on  which  they  have  fallen,  against 
which  they  are  broken.  John  says,  (1  Epist.  ii.  10.) 
"  He  who  loveth  his  brother  abideth  in  the  light," 
and  no  scandal,  no  impediment,  or  obstacle,  against 
which  he  might  strike  his  foot,  occurs  to  him,  be- 
cause he  sees  and  avoids  such  things ;  whereas, 
he  who  walketh  in  darkness  may  strike  himself 
against  an  impediment,  a  tree,  or  a  post,  or  may  fall 
into  a  ditch,  or,  at  least,  may  kick  his  foot  against  a 
log  of  wood,  or  against  a  stone,  because  he  does 
not  discern  those  causes  of  injury  which  lie  in  his 
way. 

Mr.  Taylor  suggests  that  an  erroneous  self-persua- 
sion of  safety,  a  delusive  contempt  of  danger,  seems 
to  belong  to  the  term  scandal.  So  Ps.  Ixix.  22  ;  Rom. 
xi.  9,  "  Let  their  table — a  good  thing  in  their  esteem 
— be  made  a  snare,  and  a  trap,  and  a  scandal  to 
them."  So  Deut.  vii.  16,  "Thou  shalt  not  serve 
their  gods — however  beneficial  such  service  might 
seem  to  thee — lest  it  become  a  snare  (scandal,  LXX) 
to  thee."  When  we  read,  that  the  Jews  were  scan- 
dalized at  the  mean  family  of  Christ,  (Matt.  xiii.  57  ; 
Luke  vii.  2.3.)  it  implies  mistake,  since  his  family  was 
truly  royal;  at  the  doctrine  of  the  cross,  (Gal.  v.  11.) 
it  implies  mistake,  since  the  resurrection  had  re- 
moved that  cause  of  scandal ;  and  also  at  the  perse- 
cutions suffered  by  Christians,  since  that  was  really 
their  glory,  &c. 

Christ  hss  promised  to  remove  out  of  his  kingdom 
every  thing  that  causeth  scandal,  Matt.  xiii.  41. 

SCAPE-GOAT,  see  Goat. 

SCARLET,  a  color  much  prized  by  the  ancients ; 
Exod.  XXV.  4;  xxvi.  1,31,  3fi.  It  is  assigned  as  a 
merit  of  Saul,  that  he  clothed  the  daughters  of  Israel 
in  scarlet,  2  Sam.  i.  24.  So  the  diligent  and  virtuous 
woman  is  said  to  clothe  her  household  in  scarlet,  Prov. 
xxxi.  21.  This  color  was  obtained  from  the  xuxxog, 
i.  e.  coccus  Uicis  of  Linnaeus,  a  small  insect  found 


on  the  leaves  of  the  quercus  cocciferus  in  Spain 
and  the  countries  on  the  eastern  part  of  the  Mediter- 
ranean, which  was  used  by  the  ancients  for  dyeing  a 
beautiful  crimson  or  deep  scarlet  color,  and  was 
supposed  by  them  to  be  the  berry  of  a  plant  or  tree. 
It  is  the  kermcs  of  the  Materia  Medica.  As  a  dye  it 
has  been  superseded  in  modern  times  by  the  cochi- 
neal insect,  coccus  cactus,  which  gives  a  more  brilliant 
but  less  durable  color.  (See  Jalin,  §  119.  Rees'  Cy- 
clop, art.  Coccus,  and  Kermes.)     *R. 

SCEPTRE,  (-jor,  Shebet.)  This  word  properly 
signifies,  (1.)  A  rod  of  any  kind,  as  in  No.  4.  below. 
Thus  a  rod  of  command,  a  staff  of  authority,  a  scep- 
tre ;  it  is  placed  in  the  hand  of  kings,  of  governors 
of  a  province,  or  of  the  chief  of  a  people.  Jacob 
foretold  that  "the  sceptre  should  not  depart  from 
Judah,  nor  a  lawgiver  from  between  his  feet,  until 
Shiloh  come,  and  unto  him  shall  the  gathering  of 
the  people  be;"  (Gen.  xlix.  10.)  and  Balaam,  fore- 
telling the  coming  of  the  Messiah,  says,  "A  sceptre 
shall  rise  out  of  Israel,  Numb.  xxiv.  17.  (See  Shi- 
loh.) Baruch  speaks  of  the  sceptre  put  by  the 
Bal)ylonians  in  the  hands  of  their  gods,  chap.  vi.  13. 
It  is  given  also  to  scribes,  and  to  commissaries, 
who  keep  a  list  of  troops,  Judg.  v.  14.  The  proph- 
ets often  speak  of  the  sceptre  of  dominion  ;  (Isa.  xiv. 
5  ;  xix.  11,  14.)  and  Amos  represents  sovereign  power 
by  him  that  liolds  the  sceptre,  Amos  i.  5,  8. 

(2.)  The  sceptre  is  put  for  the  rod  of  correction,  for 
the  sovereign  authority  that  punishes  and  humbles. 
Ps.  ii.  9,  "Thou  shalt  break  them  with  a  rod  of  iron," 
that  is,  an  iron  sceptre.  The  wise  man  often  uses 
the  Hebrew  word  Shebst,  to  express  the  rod  with 
which  the  disobedient  son  and  the  intractable  ser- 
vant are  disciplined,  Prov.  xxii.  15. 

(3.)  The  word  Shebet  is  very  often  taken  for  a 
tribe ;  probably,  because  the  princes  of  each  tribe 
carried  a  sceptre,  or  a  wand  of  command,  to  mark 
their  dignity.  The  LXX  and  Vulgate  generally 
translate  tribe ;  but  they  sometimes  preserve  the 
word  sceptre.  (LXX,  1  Sam.  ix.  21 ;  x.  ]9 — 21  ;  xv. 
17 ;  1  Kings  viii.  16  ;  xi.  13,  32,  35 ;  xii.  20,  21.  Vul- 
gate, see  Numb,  xviii.  2 ;  Jer.  Ii.  19.  See  also  the 
English  Bible.) 

(4.)  The  Hebrew  Shebet  signifies  a  shepherd's 
wand,  (Lev.  xxvii.  32.)  the  truncheon  of  a  wan-ior, 
or  any  common  staff,  (2  Sam.  xxviii.  21.)  the  dart, 
javelin,  or  lance  of  a  soldier,  (2  Sam.  xxviii.  14.)  the  rod 
or  staff  with  which  they  thi-ash  the  smaller  grain,  Isa. 
xxviii.  27. 

SCEVA,  chief  of  the  priests,  (Acts  xix.  14.)  or  of 
the  synagogue,  at  Ephesus. 

SCHISM,  from  S^toiia,  which  Signifies  rupture, 
or  division.  When  Jeroboam  revolted  against  Rc- 
hoboam,  and  was  acknowledged  king  by  the  ton 
tribes,  he  made  a  schism,  separated  from  the  religion 
of  the  Lord,  forsook  the  communion  of  Judah,  and 
no  longer  frequented  the  temple,  which  was  the 
chosen  and  appointed  place,  to  offer  worship  to  the 
Lord.  The  .Tews  at  this  day  look  on  the  Caraites  as 
schismatics,  because  they  do  not  receive  their  tra* 
ditions. 

The  only  passages  in  the  New  Testament  where 
the  word  schism  occurs,  are,  1  Cor.  i.  10  ;  xi.  18,  and 
xii.  25,  and  in  each  one  of  them  it  denotes  aliena- 
tion of  affection  among  the  members  of  the  same 
body,  or  divisions  in  a  church,  and  not  separation 
from  it.  .  > 

SCHOOLMASTER.  The  Greek  word  peda- 
gogue now  carries  with  it  an  idea  approaching  to  con- 
tempt: with  no  other  word  to  qualify  it,  it  excites  the 


CO 


[823  ] 


SCO 


idea  of  a  pedant,  wno  assumes  an  air  of  authority  over 
others,  wliich  does  not  belong  to  him.  But  among 
tlie  ancients  a  pedagogue  was  a  person  to  whom 
thi!y  committed  the  care  of  their  children,  to  lead 
theni,  to  observe  them,  and  to  instruct  them  in  their 
lirsc  rudiments.  Thus  the  office  of  a  pedagogue 
nearly  answered  to  that  of  a  governor  or  tutor,  who 
constantly  attends  his  pupil,  teaches  him,  and  forms 
liis  manners.  Paul  (1  Cor.  iv.  15.)  says  ;  "  For 
though  yon  have  ten  thousand  instructers  (peda- 
gogues) in  Christ,  yet  have  ye  not  many  fathers." 
Representing  himself  as  their  father  in  the  faith, 
since  he  had  begotten  them  in  the  gospel.  The  ped- 
agogue, indeed,  may  have  some  power  and  interest  of 
his  pupil,  but  he  can  never  have  the  natural  tenderness 
of  a  father  for  him.  To  the  Galatians,  the  apostle 
says,  (iii,  24,  25.)  "The  law  was  our  schoolmaster 
(pedagogue)  to  bring  us  to  Christ."  It  pointed  out 
Christ  in  the  Scriptures,  the  figures,  the  prophecies, 
of  the  Old  Testament:  but  since  we  are  advanced 
to  superior  learning,  and  are  committed  to  the  tuition 
of  the  faith  wliich  we  have  em!)raced,  we  have  no 
longer  need  of  a  schoolmaster,  or  })edagoguc  ;  as 
such  are  of  no  further  use  toyoungpersons  when  ad- 
vanced to  years  of  maturity.  "  But  after  that  faith  is 
come,  we  are  no  longer  under  a  schoolmaster — ped- 
agogue." Mr.  Taylor  remarks,  that  the  term  school- 
master by  no  means  expresses  a  person  cmi)loye(l  to 
accompany  youth  to  school  from  home,  and  from 
school  to  home  again  ;  and  adds,  that  the  Greek 
word  dii^^inxuAuc,  or  teacher,  approaches  much  nearer 
to  the  notion  of  a  schoolmaster,  and  is  distinguished 
accordingly  by  Plutarch,  dc  Puerorum  Educatione, 
X.  9.  Among  the  great  number  of  slaves  jjossessed 
by  certain  families,  it  was  customary  to  intrust  the 
care  of  the  children  of  the  family  to  some  confiden- 
tial slave,  who  superintended  their  conduct,  and  di- 
rected their  proceedings.  A  domestic  usher,  then, . 
may  be  thought  to  resemble  the  ancient  pedagogue  : 
an(l,  for  females,  the  duenna  of  foreign  countries. 
That  such  an  attendant  is  more  proper  to  early  youth 
than  to  matiu-e  manhood,  is  obvious.  Another  class 
of  instructers  were  called  by  the  Greeks  paidomatheis, 
teachers  of  children.     (Quint,  lib.  i.  cap.  11.) 

SCORPION.  It  is  generally  admitted  that  the 
Hebrew  word  D-yy;,  akrdb,  denotes  the  scorpion,  which 
is  the  largest  and  most  malignant  of  all  the  insect 
tribes.  It  somewhat  resembles  the  lobster  in  its 
general  apjjearance,  but  is  much  more  hideous. 
Those  found  in  Euro])e  seldom  exceed  four  inches 
in  length,  but  in  the  tropical  climates  it  is  no  uncom- 
mon thing  to  meet  with  them  twelve  inches  long. 
There  are  few  animals  more  formidable,  and  none 
more  irascible,  than  the  scorpion  ;  but  happily  for 
mankind,  they  are  equally  destructive  to  their  own 
species,  as  to  other  animals.  Goldsmith  states,  that 
Maupertuis  put  about  a  hundred  of  them  together  in 
the  same  glass;  and  they  scarcely  came  into  con- 
tact, when  they  began  to  exert  all  their  rage  in  mu- 
tual destruction  ;  so  that  in  a  few  days  there  re- 
mained but  fourteen,  wliich  had  killed  and  devoured 
all  the  rest.  But  their  malignity  is  still  more  appar- 
ent in  their  cruelty  to  their  offspring.  He  enclosed 
a  female  scorpion,  big  with  young,  in  a  glass  vessel, 
and  she  was  seen  to  devour  them  as  fast  as  they 
were  excluded.  There  was  only  one  of  the  number 
that  escaped  the  general  destruction,  by  taking 
refuge  on  the  back  of  its  parent  ;  and  this  soon  after 
revenged  the  cause  of  its  i)rethren,  by  killing  the  old 
one  in  its  turn.  Such  is  the  terrible  nature  of  this 
insect ;  and  it  is  even  asserted,  that  when  placed  in 


circumstances  of  danger,  from  which  it  perceives  no 
way  of  escape,  it  will  sting  itself  to  death.  Surely 
3Ioses,  says  Mr.  Taylor,  very  properly  mentions 
scorpions  among  the  dangers  of  the  wilderness,  Deut. 
viii.  15.  And  what  shall  we  think  of  the  hazardous 
situation  of  Ezekiel,  who  is  said  to  dwell  among 
scor|)ions,  (chap.  ii.  6.) — people  as  irascible  as  this 
terrible  insect;  nor  could  our  Lord  select  a  fitter 
contrast;  "If  a  son  shall  ask  of  bis  father  an  eg': 
will  he  give  a  scorpion.'"  Luke  xi.  11,12.  But 
the  passage  most  descriptive  of  the  scorpion,  is  Rev. 
ix.  'S — 10,  in  which  it  is  to  be  observed,  that  the  sting 
of  these  creatures  was  not  to  produce  death,  but  pain 
so  intense  that  the  wretched  sufferers  should  seek 
death,  (ver.  G.)  rather  than  submit  to  its  endurance. 
Dr.  Shaw  states,  that  the  sting  of  scorpions  is  not 
always  fatal ;  the  malignity  of  their  venom  being  in 
proportion  to  their  size  and  complexion.  The  tor- 
ment of  a  scorpion  when  he  striketh  a  man  is  thus 
described  by  Dioscorides,  as  cited  by  Mr.  Taylor  : 
"When  the  scorpion  has  stung,  the  place  becomes 
inflamed  and  hardened  ;  it  reddens  by  tension,  and 
is  ])ainful  by  intervals,  being  now  chilly,  now  burn- 
ing. The  pain  soon  rises  high,  and  rages  some- 
times more,  sometimes  less.  A  sweating  succeeds, 
attended  by  a  shivering  and  trembling:  the  extremi- 
ties of  the  body  become  cold;  the  groin  swells;  the 
bowels  expel  their  wind  ;  the  hair  stands  on  end  ;  the 
members  become  j)ale,  and  the  skin  feels  throughout 
it  the  sensation  of  a  perpetual  prickling,  as  if  by 
needles."  Our  Saviour  gave  his  disciples  power  to 
tread  on  these  terrible  creatures,  and  to  disarm  them 
of  their  power  of  hurting,  Luke  x'.  19. 

It  may  be  necessary  to  remark  on  the  contrast 
which  our  Lord  draws  between  a  scorjiion  and  an 
egg,  that  the  body  of  this  insect  is  much  like  an  egg  ; 
especially  those  of  the  white  kind,  which  is  the  first 
species  mentioned  by  iElian,  Avicenna,  and  others ; 
and  Bochart  has  shown  that  the  scorpions  of  Judea 
were  about  the  size  of  an  egg. 

The  Jews  used  whips  on  some  occasions,  which 
were  called,  from  the  suffering  they  occasioned, 
scorpions.  To  these  it  is  probable  the  haughty  Re- 
lioboam  alluded,  when  he  menaced  the  house  of 
Israel  with  increasing  their  oppressions,  1  Kings 
xii.  11. 

SCOURGE,  or  Whip.  The  jjuuishmcnt  of 
scourging  was  very  common  among  the  Jews.  jMo- 
ses  ordains,  (Deut.  xxv.  1 — 3.)  that  "if  there  be  a  con- 
trc.vei-sy  between  men,  and  they  come  to  judgment, 
then  the  judges  may  judge  them.  And  if  the  wicked 
man  were  found  worthy  to  be  beaten,  the  judge  A\as 
to  cause  him  to  lie  down,  and  to  be  beaten  before  his 
face,  according  to- his  fault,  by  a  certain  number,  but 
not  exceeding  forty  stripes.  There  were  two  ways 
of  giving  the  lash  ;  one  with  thongs  or  whips,  made 
of  rope-ends,  or  straps  of  leather  ;  the  other  with 
rods  or  twigs.  The  offender  was  stripped  from  his 
shoulders  to  his  middle,  and  tied  by  his  arms  to  a  low 
pillar,  that  he  might  lean  forward,  and  the  execu- 
tioner the  more  easily  strike  his  back.  Some  main- 
tain that  they  never  gave  more  nor  less  than  thirty- 
nine  strokes,  but  that  in  greater  faults  they  struck  with 
proportionate  violence.  Others  think,  that  when  the 
fault  and  circumstances  required  it,  they  might 
increase  the  number  of  blows.  Paul  informs  us  (2 
Cor.  xi.  24.)  that  at  five  different  times  1  e  received 
thirty-nine  stripes  from  the  Jews;  which  seems  to 
imply  that  this  was  a  fixed  number,  not  to  be  exceed- 
ed. The  apostle  also  clearly  shows,  that  correclion 
with  rods  was  different  from  that  w  ith  a  w  hip  ;  for 


SCR 


[  824  ] 


SCR 


he  says,  "Thrice  was  I  beaten  with  rods."  And  when 
he  was  seized  by  the  Jews  in  the  temple,  the  tribune 
of  the  Roman  soldiers  ran  and  toolv  him  out  of  their 
bands ;  and,  desiring  to  know  the  reason  of  the  tumult, 
he  ordered  him  to  be  tied  and  stretched  on  the  ground, 
to  put  him  to  the  question,  by  beating  him  with  rods, 
(Acts  xxii.  24,  25.)  for  thus  the  Romans  commonly 
put  prisoners  to  the  question.  The  bastinado  was 
sometimes  given  on  the  back,  at  others  on  the  soles 
of  the  feet. 

The  rabbins  affirm  that  punishment  by  the  scourge 
was  not  ignominious  ;  and  that  it  could  not  be  ob- 
jected as  a  disgi-ace  to  those  who  had  suffered  it. 
They  maintain,  too,  that  no  Israelite,  not  even  tlie 
king,  or  the  high-j)riest,  was  exempt  from  tliis  law. 
This  must  be  understood,  however,  of  the  v/hipping 
inflicted  in  their  synagogues,  which  was  rather  a 
legal  and  particular  penalty,  than  a  public  and  shame- 
ful correction.  Philo,  speaking  of  the  manner  in 
which  Flaccus  treated  the  Jews  of  Alexandria,  says, 
he  made  them  suffer  the  punishment  of  the  whip, 
which  (he  remarks)  is  not  less  insupportable  to  a  free 
man,  than  death  itself.  Our  Saviour,  speaking  of  the 
pains  and  ignominy  of  his  passion,  commonly  puts 
his  scourging  in  the  second  place,  Matt.  xx.  19  ;  Mark 
X.  34  ;  Luke  xviii.  32. 

SCRIBE,  {-\SD,  Sopher ;  'LXX,  rQauuaTH'c,  Gram- 
mateiis,)  a  word  very  common  in  Scripture,  and  hav- 
ing several  significations.  (1.)  A  clerk,  v.Titer  or  sec- 
retary, which  constituted  an  important  employment 
in  the  court  of  the  kings  of  Judali,  in  which  Scrip- 
ture mentions  the  secretaries  as  officers  of  the  crown. 
Seraiah  was  scribe  or  secretary  to  David  ;  (2  Sam. 
viii.  17.)  Shemaiah  exercised  the  same  office  under 
the  same  prince;  (1  Chron.  xxiv.  G.)  Elihoreph 
and  Ahiah  were  secretaries  to  Solomon  ;  (1  Kings 
iv.  3.)  Shebna  filled  the  same  office  vmder  Hezekiah, 
(2  Kings  xix.  2.)  and  Shaphan  under  Josiah,  2  Kings 
xxii.  8—10. 

(2.)  A  scribe  is  put  for  a  commissary  or  muster- 
master  of  an  army,  who  reviews  the  troops,  keeps  the 
list  or  roll,  and  calls  them  over.  It  is  said,  (Jj^idg.  v. 
14.)  that  in  the  war  of  Barak  against  Sisera,  "  Out  of 
Machir  came  down  governors,  and  out  of  Zebulun 
they  that  bear  the  staff"  of  a  leader."  In  the  reign  of 
Uzziah,  king  of  Judah,  is  found  Jeil  the  scribe,  who 
had  imder  his  hand  the  king's  armies,  2  Chron.  xxvi. 
11.  Jeremiah  speaks  of  a  scribe  as  prince  or  chief  of 
the  soldiers,  who  superintended  the  military  exercises 
of  the  newly  raised  troops,  chap.  lii.  25  ;  2  Kings  xxv. 
19.  (Heb.)  the  scribe,  prince  of  the  army,  who  made 
the  people  of  the  country  go  to  war.  Judas  directed 
the  scribes  to  stand  on  the  banks  of  the  brook  that 
the  army  was  to  cross ;  to  let  no  one  remain  beyond 
the  water,  but  to  cause  all  to  pass  over,  to  the  war,  1 
Mac.  V.  42. 

(3.)  Scribe  is  put  for  an  able  and  skilful  man,  a 
doctor  of  the  law,  a  man  of  learning,  or  one  who  uu- 
dei-stands  affixirs.  Jonathan,  David's  uncle  by  the 
father's  side,  Wiis  "a  counsellor,  a  wise  man,  and  a 
scribe,"  1  Chron.  xxvii.  32.  Baruch,  the  disciple  and 
secretary  of  Jeremiah,  is  called  ascribe  ;  so  is  Gema- 
riah,  son  of  Shaphan  ;  and  Elisliama,  who  lived  under 
the  reign  of  Josiah,  Jer.  xxxvi.  10, 12,  20,  2G.  Jesus, 
son  of  Sirach,  says,  (Ecclus.  x.  .5.)  "  In  tlie  hand  of 
God  is  the  prosperity  of  man,  and  upon  the  person  of 
the  scribe  shall  he  lay  his  honor."  Great  commenda- 
tion is  given  in  Scriptme  to  Ezra,  who  is  celebrated 
as  a  skilful  scribe,  "a  ready  scribe  in  the  law  of  IMo- 
ses,"  Ezra  vii.  6.  The  scribes  of  the  peo])le,  fre- 
quently mentioned  in  the  Gospels,  were  jiuljlic  writers, 


and  professed  doctors  of  the  law,  which  tney  read 
and  explained  to  the  people. 

Some  place  the  origin  of  scribes  under  Moses  ;  but 
the  name  does  not  appear  till  imder  the  judges,  J  udg. 
V.  14.  Others  think  that  David  instituted  them,  when  / 
he  established  the  several  classes  of  the  priests  and 
Levites,  (1  Chron.  xxiv.  6.)  though  Epiphanius  places 
their  origin  at  the  same  time  with  the  sect  of  the  Sad- 
ducees.  Mention  is  made  in  Acts  xxiii.  9,  of  scribes 
that  were  of  the  party  of  the  Pharisees,  which  has 
induced  some  to  believe,  that  all  scribes  were  Phari- 
sees. This  is  a  mistake  ;  they  did  not  compose  any  - 
particular  sect. 

He  who  is  called  a  doctor  of  the  law  in  Matt.  xxii. 
35,  is  called  a  scribe,  or  one  of  the  scribes,  in  IMark 
xii.  28.  As  the  knowledge  of  the  Jews,  at  that  time, 
chiefly  consisted  in  Pharisaical  traditions,  and  in  ap- 
plying them  to  explain  Scripture,  the  greater  number 
of  doctors  of  the  law,  or  scribes,  were  Pharisees*, 
and  we  almost  always  find  them  united  in  Scripture. 
They  all  valued  themselves  on  their  knowledge  of  the 
law,  and  on  their  studying  and  teaching  it ;  they  had 
the  key  of  knowledge,  and  sat  in  Moses's  chair,  Luke 
xi.  52  ;  Matt,  xxiii.  2. 

SCRIPTURE,  or  Writing,  is  a  term  generally 
used  to  denote  the  sacred  books  of  the  Old  and  New 
Testaments.  "  Did  ye  never  read  in  the  Scriptures  ?  " 
Matt.  xxi.  42.  "  How  then  shall  the  Scriptures  be 
fulfilled  ?  "  Matt.  xxvi.  54.  "  All  Scripture  is  given 
by  inspiration  of  God,  and  is  profitable  for  doctrine, 
for  reproof,  for  correction,  for  instruction  in  right- 
eousness," 2  Tim.  iii.  16.     See  Bible. 

The  reception  of  the  books  of  the  New  Testament 
into  the  canon  of  Scripture,  is  of  much  importance 
to  us,  and  it  should  be  well  understood,  that  in  this 
the  primitive  Christians  were  extremely  scrupidous. 
As  the  pieces  which  compose  the  New  Testament 
were  published  at  divers  times,  and  were  written  in 
places  very  distant  from  one  another,  in  languages, 
also,  not  mutually  intelligible  to  the  inhabitants  of 
these  distant  countries,  we  cannot  wonder  that  some 
should  be  slow  in  making  their  way  to  general  recep- 
tion ;  or  that  some  were  never  generally  received. 
Those  published  in  the  West  were,  for  a  time,  little 
known  in  the  East,  and  vice  versa.  In  like  manner, 
those  wi-itten  in  the  Syriac  language,  could  be  imder- 
stood  by  the  Greeks,  only  by  means  of  an  accurate 
ti'anslation  ;  nor  could  the  Syrians  understand  those 
written  in  Greek  without  similar  assistance.  It  will 
follow,  that  the  non-acquaintance  of  either  party,  or 
even  the  non-admission  by  either  party,  is  not,  in 
itself,  a  sufficient  reason  for  rejecting  a  tract,  that 
was  generally  acknowledged,  where  it  was  belter 
kno\yn. 

But  by  the  early  fathers,  and  by  men  the  most  com- 
petent to  investigate  the  subject,  and  the  most  worthy 
of  our  confidence,  the  books  of  the  present  canon 
were  not  all  esteemed  to  be  equally  authentic.  By 
Eusebius  of  Cresarea,  before  any  canon  was  estab- 
lished by  authority,  they  were  divided  into  three 
classes.  (1.)  Those  universally  received,  as  the  four 
Gospels,  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  thirteen  Epistles 
of  Paul,  one  Epistle  of  Peter,  one  of  John.  (2.)  Those 
doubted  of  by  some,  as  the  Epistle  to  the  IlebreAvs, 
and  the  Revelation.  (3.)  Those  doubted  of  by  many, 
or  contradicted  by  most;  as  the  Epistle  of  Jatnes, 
the  Second  Epistle  of  Peter,  that  of  Jude,  and  the  | 
Second  and  Third  of  John.  To  this  third  class  Eu- 
sebius seems,  in  another  })assage,  to  refer  the  Revela- 
tions. It  was  certainly  doubted  of  by  many;  it  has 
conliiiucd  to  be  doubted  of:  and  I  uthcr,  in  the  pref- 


SEA 


[  825  ] 


SEA 


ace  to  his  translation,  strongly  questions  its  canonical 
autliority.  The  rule  of  the  church  seems  to  have 
been,  lo'admit  no  book  into  the  New  Testament  that 
was  not  tiie  work  of  an  apostle,  or  derived  from  an 
apostle ;  hence  the  GosjjcIs  of  Mark  and  Luke  were 
said  to  be  derived  from  the  apostles  Peter  and  Paul, 
(though  some  suppose,  that  being  historical  only,  and 
not  dogmatical,  they  formed  an  excej)tioii  to  the 
rule.)  TJie  Epistleof  James  was  doubted  of,  because 
some  questioned  whether  it  were  written  hy  James 
the  apostle,  or  by  another  James.  That  of  Jude  was 
long  excluded;  and  even  lately,  Michaelis  rather 
negatives  its  canonical  authority,  proof  of  its  compo- 
sition by  an  apostle  being  very  delicient.  The  Sec- 
ond and  Third  Epistles  of  John,  being  v.rittcn  to  pri- 
vate j)crsons,  were  but  little  known  in  early  ages; 
and  we  cannot  wonder  that  they  long  continued 
not  generally  acknowledged.  On  the  whole,  the 
scrupulous  diligence  and  judgment  of  the  early 
Christians  in  selecting  that  series  of  books  v.'hich 
afterwards  formed  the  canon  of  the  New  Testament, 
must  give  us  equal  satisfaction  and  pleasure.  Suc- 
ceeding ag-es  have  gradually  received  what  formerly 
was  deemed  questionable ;  and  our  present  canon 
is  certainly  more  com|)Iete  than  that  of  the  first 
Christians,  not  only  because  of  their  hesitation,  but 
because  the  difficulty  of  procuring  copies  of  the  New 
Testament  entire  was  very  gi-eat  v/hile  they  existed 
in  manuscript  only.     See  Bible. 

SCYTHOPOLIS,  a  name  of  Betushea.x,  which 
see. 

SEA.  The  Hebrews  give  the  name  of  sea  (=', 
yam)  to  any  great  collection  of  water;  as,  (1.)  to  a 
lake  or  a  pool.  Thus  we  have  the  sea  of  Galilee  or 
of  Tiberias,  the  Dead  sea,  &c.  (2.)  To  great  rivers, 
as  the  Nile,  the  Euphrates,  the  Tigris,  &c.  which,  by 
their  magnitude,  or  by  the  extent  of  their  overflow- 
ings, seem  little  seas,  or  great  lakes.  (See  Isa.  xi.  15  ; 
xviii.  1,  2 ;  xxi.  1 ;  Jer.  U.  36,  42,  &c.)  Tlie  following 
are  the  principal  seas  mentioned  in  Scripture. 

1.  The  great  sea,  the  western  sea,  or  the  sea 
of  the  Philistines,  generally  denotes  the  Mediterra- 
nean, wliich  lay  west  of  the  Land  of  Promise.  The 
sea  is  often  put  for  the  west,  as  the  right  is  put  for 
the  south.  Gen.  xii.  8;  xiii.  14,  et  passim.  On  the 
Mediterranean  they  floated  the  timber  cut  dov»n  from 
mount  Libanus,  which  was  brought  to  Joppa,  for 
building  the  temple,  &c. 

2.  The  sea  of  Suph,  or  the  Red  sea,  lies  between 
Araltia  on  the  east,  and  Egypt  and  Abyssinia  on  the 
west,  and  is  in  length  about  1400  miles.  It  is  by 
some  thought  to  have  been  called  the  sea  of  Suph,  or 
the  weedy  sea,  because  of  the  great  quantity  of  reeds 
or  sea-wrack  found  at  its  bottom,  and  on  its  slicres. 
Others,  however,  and  among  them  is  Bruce,  think  it 
derived  its  name  from  the  great  quantity  of  coral 
found  in  it.  Pliny  says,  it  obtained  the  name  of  the 
Red  sea,  in  Greei;  Erythrea,  from  a  king  called  Ery- 
thros,  v.'lio  reigned  in  Arabia,  and  whose  tomb 
was  seen  in  the  island  Tyrine,  or  Agyris.  Several 
learned  men  believe,  that  this  king  Erythros  is  Esau, 
or  Edom  ;  Edom,  in  Hebrew,  signifying  red  or  rud- 
dy, as  I'^rythros  (loes  in  Greek.  But  the  dwelling 
of  Edom  was  east  of  Canaan,  towards  Bozra ;  and 
Calmet  is  therefore  of  opinion,  that  this  name  was 
not  given  it  till  after  the  Idumeans,  the  descendants 
of  Edom,  had  spread  themselves  westward  as  far  as 
the  Red  sea.  It  might  then  receive  the  name  of  the 
sea  of  Edom,  which  the  Greeks  rendered  Thalassa 
Erythrea,  or  the  Red  sea.  That  part  of  the  sea 
where  the  Israehtes  passed,  is  thought  to  have  been 

104 


near  Kolsum,  tlie  sea  about  which  bears  the  name  of 
Bahr  al  Kolsum,  or  the  sea  of  destruction,  and  is  in 
width  about  three  leagues,  and  in  depth  varies  from 
9  to  14  fathoms. 

The  term  Bed  sea  appeal's  to  be  improperly 
adopted  in  Numb.  xxi.  14.  (See  in  Bible,  p.  170,  col, 
2.)  So  also  in  Dent,  i.  1,  where  it  should  be  in  the 
plain  "over  against  Suph."  Here  our  translators 
confess,  by  their  italics,  that  they  have  inserted  the 
word  sea  between  Paran,  Toy)heI,  &:c.  and  by  this  in- 
sertion the  geograpliy  is  sadly  confused.  It  is  evi- 
dent, that  a  station  which  was  in  any  tolerable  sense 
over  against  tiie  Red  sea,  could  not  possibly  be  near 
to  Paran,  nor  to  Hazeroth  ;  neither  could  it  be 
"  eleven  days'  journey  from  Horeb,  by  the  way  of 
mount  Seir ; "  that  is,  at  Kadesh  Barnea. 

3.  The  Dead  sea.  Salt  sea.  Eastern  sea,  sea  of 
Sodom,  or  sea  of  the  wilderness,  or  plain,  is  the  lake 
Asphaltites,  which  is  situated  in  the  southern  part  of 
Judea,  and  which  occupies  the  site  of  the  cities  of 
Sodoin,  Gomorrha,  Admah  and  Zeboim.  Its  real 
size,  we  believe,  is  not  yet  ascertained,  for  we  are 
not  aware  that  any  modern  traveller  has  measured 
it;  and  the  measurements  of  Josephus,  who  found  it 
seventy-two  miles  long,  and  eighteen  broad,  arc  still 
refen'ed  to.  Diodorus  aflirms  that  it  is  sixty-two 
miles  long,  and  seven  and  a  half  bread  ;  but  the  calcu- 
lation of  Pliny  is  much  greater,  for  he  says,  it  is  one 
hundred  long,  and  twenty-five  wide,  in  the  broadest 
part.  Maundrell  considers  it  seventy-t^vo  miles  long, 
and  eighteen  or  twenty  in  breadth.  Pococke  agrees 
with  Diodorus,  and  Dr.  Clarke  with  Joseyjhus  ;  and 
the  abbe  Maritti,  \vho  seems  to  have  paid  much 
attention  to  its  peculiarities,  maintains  that  it  is  one 
hundred  and  eighty  miles  in  circuit.  We  cannot  but 
consider  it  singular  that  its  dimensions  should  not 
have  been  more  perfectly  ascertained. 

The  waters  of  the  Dead  sea  are  clear  and  limpid, 
but  uncommonly  salt,  and  even  bitter.  Their  specific 
gravitj'  exceeds  that  of  all  other  v/aters  known.  Jose- 
phus and  Tacitus  say  that  no  fish  can  live  in  it ;  and 
according  to  the  concurring  testimony  of  several  trav- 
ellers, those  can-ied  thither  by  the  Jordan  instantly 
die.  Maundrell,  nevertheless,  states,  that  he  found 
some  shell-fish  resembling  oysters  en  the  shore,  and 
bishop  Pococke  was  informed  that  a  monk  had  seen 
fish  caught  in  the  water  :  these  arc  assertions,  how- 
ever, that  require  further  corroboration.  The  mud  is 
black,  thick  and  fetid,  and  no  plant  vegetates  in  the 
v.atei-,  whicli  is  reputed  to  have  a  petrifying  quality. 
Branches  of  trees,  accidentally  immersed  in  it,  are 
speedily  converted  into  stone,  and  the  curious  in 
Jerusalem  then  collect  them.  Neiiher  do  plants  grow 
in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  lake,  where  every 
thing  is  dull,  cheerless  and  inanimate  ;  whence  it  is 
supposed  to  have  derived  the  name  of  the  Dead  sea. 
But  the  real  cause  of  the  absence  of  animals  and 
vegetables,  Volney  aflirins,  is  owing  to  the  saltness 
and  acridity  of  the  water,  infinitely  surpassing  what 
exists  in  other  seas.  The  earth  surrounding  it  is 
deeply  impregnated  with  the  same  saline  qualities, 
too  predominant  to  admit  of  vegetable  life,  and  even 
the  air  is  saturated  with  them.  The  waters  are  clear 
and  incorruptible,  as  if  holding  salt  in  solution,  nor  is 
the  presence  of  this  substance  equivocal,  lor  Dr. 
Pococke  found  a  thin  crust  of  salt  upon  his  face  after 
bathing  in  the  sea,  and  the  shores  where  it  occasion- 
ally overflows,  are  covered  with  a  similar  crast. 
Galen  considered  it  completely  saturated  with 
salt,  for  it  would  dissolve  no  more,  when  thrown 
into  it. 


SEA 


[  826  ] 


SEA 


There  are  mines  of  fossil  salt  in  the  south-west 
bank,  from  which  specimens  have  been  brought  to 
Europe  ;  some  also  exist  in  the  declivities  of  the 
mountains,  and  have  provided,  from  time  immemo- 
rial, for  the  consumption  of  the  Arabs  and  the  city  of 
Jerusalem.  Great  quantities  of  asplialtum  appear 
floating  on  the  surface  of  the  sea,  and  are  rlriven  by 
the  winds  to  the  east  and  west  bank,  where  it  remains 
fixed.  Ancient  authors  inform  us,  that  the  neighbor- 
ing inhabitants  were  careful  to  collect  it,  and  went 
out  in  boats,  or  used  other  expedients  for  that  pur- 
pose. On  the  south-east  bank  are  hot  springs  and 
deep  gullies,  dangerous  to  the  traveller,  were  not 
then-  position  indicated  by  small  pyramidic  edifices 
on  the  side?.  Sulphur  is  likewise  found  on  the  edges 
of  the  Dead  sea,  and  a  kind  of  stone,  or  coal,  called 
7nusca,  by  the  Arabs,  which,  on  attrition,  exhales  an 
ijitolerable  odor,  and  burns  like  bitumen.  This 
stone,  whicli  also  comes  fi-om  the  neighboring  moun- 
tains, is  black,  and  takes  a  fine  polish.  Mr.  Maun- 
drell  saw  pieces  of  it  two  feet  square,  in  the  convent 
of  St.  John  in  the  wilderness,  carved  in  has  relief,  and 
polished  to  as  great  a  lustie  as  black  marble  is  capa- 
ble of  The  inhabitants  of  the  country  employ  it  in 
paving  churches,  mosques,  courts,  and  other  places 
of  public  resort.  In  the  polishing  its  disagreeable 
odor  is  lost.  The  citizens  of  Bethlehem  consider 
it  as  endued  with  antiseptic  virtues,  and  bracelets  of 
it  are  worn  by  attendants  on  the  sick,  as  an  antidote 
against  disease.  As  the  lake  is  at  certain  seasons 
covered  with  a  thick  dark  mist,  confined  within  its 
own  limits,  which  is  dissipated  by  the  rays  of  the 
sun,  spectators  have  been  induced  to  allege  that  black 
and  sulphureous  exhalations  are  constantly  issuing 
from  the  water.  They  have  been  no  less  mistaken 
in  supposing,  that  birds  attempting  to  fly  across  are 
struck  with  pestiferous  fumes.  Late  and  reputable 
travellers  declare,  that  numerous  swallows  skim 
along  the  surface,  and  from  thence  take  up  water 
necessary  to  build  their  nests ;  and  on  this  head 
Heyman  and  Van  Egmont  made  a  decisive  experi- 
ment. They  carried  two  sparrows  to  the  shore,  and 
having  deprived  them  of  some  of  the  wing  feathers, 
after  a  short  flight  both  fell  in,  or  rather  on,  the  sea ; 
but  so  far  from  expiring  there,  they  got  out  in  safety. 
An  unconnnon  love  of  exaggeration  is  testified  in  all 
the  older  narratives,  and  in  some  of  modern  date,  of 
the  nature  and  properties  of  the  lake.  Chateau- 
briand speaks  of  a  "dismal  sound  proceeding  from 
this  lake  of  death,  like  the  stifled  clamors  of  the 
people  engulfed  in  its  waters  !  " — that  its  shores  pro- 
duced fruit  beautiful,  but  containing  nothing  but 
ashes  ;  that  it  bears  upon  its  surface  the  heavier  metals. 
These  and  a  thousand  other  stories  of  a  like  charac- 
ter, have  been  perpetually  repeated  with  barely  any 
foundation  of  truth.  Among  other  facts  apparently 
unaccountable,  has  been  ranked  that  of  this  lake 
constantly  receiving  the  waters  of  the  Jordan  with- 
out overflowing  its  banks,  seeing  thjit  there  is  no 
visible  outlet.  Some  have  therefore  conjectured  the 
possibility  of  a  subterraneous  communication  with 
the  Red  sea  ;  others,  more  ingenious,  are  of  opinion, 
that  the  daily  evaporation  is  sufficient  to  carry  oft' all 
the  waters  discharged  into  it,  which  is  a  simple  solu- 
tion of  the  apparent  paradox.  See  Jordan,  p.  577, 
and  Ei.ATH,  p.  380. 

A  small  quantity  of  the  water  of  the  Dead  sea, 
brought  to  Britain  by  Mr.  Gordon  of  Clunie,  at  the 
request  of  the  late  sir  Joseph  Banks,  was  analyzed 
by  Dr.  Marcet,  It  was  perfectly  transparent,  and 
deposited  no  crystals  on  standing  in  close  vessel.  Its 


taste  was  peculiar,  bitter,  saline  and  pungent.  Solu- 
tions of  silver  produced  from  it  a  very  copious  pre- 
cipitate, showing  the  presence  of  marine  acid. 
Oxalic  acid  instantly  discovered  lime  in  the  water. 
Solutions  of  barytes  produced  a  cloud,  showing  the 
existence  of  suipluu-ic  acid. 

The  specific  gravity  was  ascertained  to  be  1.211, 
which  is  somewhat  less  than  what  had  been  found 
by  Lavoisier,  being  1.240,  in  a  portion  submitted  to 
his  examination.  From  different  experiments  in  the 
analyses  which  we  refer  to,  the  result  proved  the 
contents  of  100  grains  of  water  to  be 

Muriate  of  lime     ....     3.920 


Muriate  of  magnesia 
Muriate  of  soda  .  . 
Sulphate  of  hme  .  .  , 


10.246 

10.360 

0.054 

24.580 


Whence  it  appears  that  this  water  contains  about 
one  fourth  of  its  weight  of  salts  in  a  state  of  perfect 
desiccation  ;  but  if  these  salts  be  desiccated  only  at 
the  temperature  of  180°  they  will  amount  to  41  per 
cent,  of  the  water.     (Edin.  Cyclop,  vol.  ii.  p.  559.) 

The  Dead  sea  is  said,  in  sacred  writ,  to  have  arisen 
from  the  exercise  of  divine  wrath  against  the  cities 
of  Sodom  and  Gomorrha,  for  their  unexampled 
iniquity.  Five  cities,  all  governed  by  kings,  were 
involved  in  the  general  destruction,  then  overwhelm 
ing  the  fertile  vale  of  Siddim  where  they  stood. 
Some  writers,  among  whom  is  Mr.  Home,  (Introd. 
vol.  iii.  p.  71,  2d  edit.)  are  of  opinion  that  these  cities 
were  destroyed  by  lightning  having  set  fire  to  the 
bituminous  substances  with  which  they  suppose  the 
place  to  have  abounded  ;  or  else  to  have  been  effected 
by  a  volcanic  eruption  in  the  neighborhood.  This 
notion,  however,  seems  to  have  been  taken  up  with- 
out sufficiently  considering  that  the  existence  of 
these  materials  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  vale  of 
Siddim  is  incompatible  with  the  description  which 
the  inspired  writer  gives  of  the  nature  of  the  soil 
aboiU  these  parts.  Nothing  can  be  more  certain, 
than  that  those  places  where  brimstone  and  salt  are 
found,  are  naturally  most  barren  and  unfruitful. 
Hence  the  sacred  writers,  to  represent  unfruitful  and 
desolate  places,  describe  them  as  abounding  with 
these  materials.  (See  Dent.  xxix.  22 — 24  ;  Judg.  ix. 
45  ;  Jer.  xvii.  5,  6  ;  Zeph.  ii.  9.)  On  the  contrary, 
the  vale  of  Siddim  is  represented  as  a  fruitful  vale, 
well  watered  every  where,  and  hence  highly  adapted 
to  the  pasturage  of  cattle ;  (Gen.  xiii.  10,  11.)  for 
which  reason  it  was  chosen  by  Lot  in  preference  to 
any  other  part  of  the  land.  Gen.  xiii.  9.  From 
which  it  appears  that  the  sulphur  or  brimstone,  and 
the  salt  and  saline  matter,  as  well  as  the  indications 
of  subterraneous  fires,  which  are  to  be  found  about 
the  Dead  sea  now,  are  rather  the  effects  of  the  de- 
struction poured  upon  the  spot,  than  the  natural  pro- 
ductions of  the  place  before  that  event.  (Wells's 
Geog.  vol.  i.  p.  154,  8vo.) 

[The  general  features  of  the  Dead  sea,  and  its 
shores,  especially  at  the  southern  extremity,  have 
been  described  in  different  articles.  See,  especially, 
Canaan,  p.  233  ;  Exodus,  p.  414  ;  Salt,  valley  of, 
p.  804.     R. 

The  Tongue  of  the  Sea,  is  that  which  runs  into 
the  land  ;  as  we  call  tliat  a  tongue,  or  neck  of  land, 
which  advances  into  the  sea.  Josh.  xv.  5;  xviii.  19; 
Isa.  xi.  15. 


SEA 


[  827 


SEA 


The  brazen  or  molten  Sea,  made  by  Solomon 


for  the  temple,  was  a  vessel  which  stood  in  the  tem- 
ple, and  contained  three  thousand  baths,  according 
to  2  CInon.  iv.  5,  or  two  thousand  badis,  according 
to  1  King?^  vii.  2G.  Calmet  thinks  this  may  be  recon- 
ciled, by  saying  that  the  cup  or  bowl  contained  two 
tliDUsand  baths,  and  tiie  foot,  which  was  hollow,  a 
thousand  more.  It  stood  on  its  foot  now  mentioned, 
besides  which  it  was  supported  by  twelve  oxen  of 
brass. 

Mr.  Taylor  expresses  his  dissatisfaction  with  the 
solution  of  the  difficulty,  relative  to  the  capacity  of 
this  vessel,  as  just  given  from  Calmet,  and  devotes  a 
very  considerable  article  (Fragm.  254)  to  its  investi- 
gation; of  which  we  shall  give  the  substance. 

Calmet,  as  we  have  seen,  supposes  that  the  bowl, 
or  cavity,  held  2000  baths,  and  the  foot  or  hollow, 
1000  more, — but  what  could  be  the  use  of  this  hol- 
low ?  Not,  surely,  to  contairi  so  much  water ;  it 
must  have  been  for  the  purposeof  furnishing  it  when 
it  wanted  ;  but  in  this  case,  the  cocks  si)ouId  be 
placed  at  the  bottom  of  it,  which  they  are  not  in  Cal- 
met's  engraving. 

In  proposing  his  solution,  Mr.  Taylor  offers  the 
following  reniaiks: 

(1.)  No  figure  of  this  sea  yet  published  has  pre- 
served a  proper  inlet  and  outlet  for  the  necessary 
body  of  water,  which  was  not  stagnant,  but  flowing, 
as  is  evident  from  two  considerations:  (1.)  that  most, 
if  not  all,  of  the  Jewish  purifications,  were  ])erform- 
cd  over  i-nnning  water  ;  (2.)  the  Jerusalem  Talmud 
and  Maimonides  agree,  that  a  pipe  of  water  came 
into  the  Brazen  sea  out  of  the  well  or  fountain  Etarn, 
and  constantly  flowed  from  it,  for  the  use  of  the 
priests  who  ministered  at  the  altar. 

(2.)  The  construction  of  a  fountain  implies  pipes, 
&c.  for  forcing  the  water  upwards,  and  correspond- 
ing |)ipes  for  passing  the  water  through  (or  at  least 
among)  the  oxen,  &c.  around  the  basin.  It  seems 
piansible,  therefore,  he  suggests,  that  the  writer  of 
the  Chronicles  does  not  merely  state  the  quantity  of 
water  which  the  basin  held,  but  that  also  which  was 
necessary  to  work  it,  to  keep  it  flowing  as  a  foun- 
tain ;  that  which  was  necessary  to  fill  it  and  its  ac- 
companiments. This  opinion  he  supports  by  point- 
ing out  the  different  phraseology  used  in  the  two 
passages.  In  1  Kings  vii.  26,  it  contained,  compre- 
hended, held  2000  baths  ;  but  in  2  Chron.  iv.  .5,  two 
words  are  used,  one  as  before,  "  it  held "  tho  olher, 
"  it  received."  Now  the  writer,  as  he  remarks,  would 
not  have  used  two  words,  adding  a  second  word, 
merely  to  signify  the  same  thing  ;  there  was,  then,  a 
difference  l)etween  this  receiving:;  and  this  holding. 
When  playing  as  a  fountain,  and  when  all  its  parts 
were  filled  for  that  purpose,  they,  together  with  the 
sea  itself  received  3000  baths  ;  whereas  the  sea  exclu- 


sively held  only  2000  baths  when  its  contents  were 
restricted  to  those  of  the  circular  basin  :  "  It  received, 
and  held,  three  thousand  baths." 

But  being  unwilling  to  rest  upon  mere  assumption, 
3Ir.  Taylor  refers  to  the  "  Fountain  of  the  Lions," 
now  extant  in  the  Moorish  palace  at  Granada,  usually 
called  by  its  Arabic  name,  Alhamhra,  and  which 
bears  a  curious  resemblance  to  the  brazen  sea. 

This  fountain  is  composed  of  twelve  lions,  hold 
ing  the  niace  of  Solomon's  twelve  oxen,  "  their  liinder 
parts  turned  inward  ;  "  and  three  toward  eacli  corner 
of  the  heavens,  of  course.  Solomon's  l)asin  stood 
upon  the  oxen,  and  this  basin  is  supported  by  pillars, 
which  pillars  enter  the  hinder  parts  of  the  animals, 
and  through  the  pillars  the  water  j)asses  into  the 
animals.  Whether  Solomon's  basin  had  these  j)il- 
lars  we  know  not ;  but  as  it  stood  upon  the  oxen,  (no 
doubt,  at  their  hinder  parts,  which  were  turned 
inward,)  the  opportunity  for  communication  by  pipes 
is  obvious.  In  the  centre  of  this  basin  rises  a 
smaller  one,  or  cup,  which  is  indeed  the  fountain, 
and  supplies  water  to  the  larger.  It  is  imj)ossible  to 
determine  whether  Solomon's  had  any  cup  like  this  ; 
but,  if  it  had,  the  diflference  between  2000  baths  and 
3000  baths  is  accounted  for  at  once,  and  with  at  least 
as  much  propriety  as  the  "  hollow  foot "  of  Calmet 
accounts  for  it.  Such  a  cup,  adding  nothing  to  the 
external  measure  of  the  basin,  might  be  omitted  in 
the  account.  However,  not  to  insist  on  this,  it  must 
be  recollected,  says  our  author,  that  to  supply  the 
rising  column  of  water,  of  considerable  diameter, 
and,  no  doubt,  of  a  majestic  elevation  ;  to  supply  also 
the  discharge  of  twelve  lesser  fountains  from  the 
mouths  of  the  oxen — as  in  tliis  instance  from  the 
mouths  of  the  lions — together  with  what  was  con- 
tained in  the  various  pipes,  may  well  be  thought  to 
require  half  as  much  water  as  was  held  by  the  basin 
itself;  so  that  the  water  necessary  to  supply  the 
whole,  or  what  was  received  by  the  entire  fountain 
when  at  work,  was  3000  baths  ;  v.'hile  the  basin 
alone  held  only  2000  baths. 

Without  affecting  to  determine  whether  Solomon's 
basin  had  a  cup,  Mr.  Taylor  inquires,  whether  it  is 
absolutely  certain,  from  the  arrangement  of  the  pas- 
sages in  the  original,  that  the  same  brim  which  had 
knobs  compassing  it,  "  ten  in  eighteen  inches,"  is  the 
same  as  that  which  was  "  wrought  like  the  brim  of 
a  cup,  with  flowers  of  lilies  ?  "  The  ornaments  of 
the  cup  of  M-hambra  are  like  those  of  flowers  ;  those 
of  the  basin  are  different ;  might  it  not  be  so  in  Solo- 
mon's brazen  sea  ? 

This  solution  seems  greatly  preferable  to  the  suppo- 
sition, that  one  writer  iiieans  dry-measure  baths,  and 
the  other  liquid-measure  baths  ;  or  that  the  bath  had 
varied  in  its  quantity  after  the  time  of  Solomon  ; 
since  the  foundation  of  this  explanation  is  matter  of 
fact,  and  since  the  coincidence  of  ideas  between 
Solmnon'sand  the  Moorish  fountain  is  striking.  (See 
Swinburne's  Travels  in  Spain,  p.  178.) 

The  fountain  inay  serve  to  answer  another  ques- 
tion, which  has  been  raised  on  the  manner  of  cast- 
ing Solomon's  brazen  sea — How  such  an  immense 
body  could  be  cast  at  once'}  This  difficulty  has 
arisen  from  taking  as  certain  that  the  sea  was  strictly 
a  circle ;  whereas  the  Arabian  fountain,  though 
circular,  is  divided  into  twelve  faces,  each  face  being 
itself  a  plane,  and  forming  an  angle  with  the  next. 
If  this  were  the  fact  also  with  respect  to  Solomon's 
sea,  then  we  perceive  how  easily  each  face  might  be 
cast  separately,  and  aflerwards  the  whole  be  united  ; 
notwithstanding  which  few  persons,  if  any,  would 


S  E  A^i,. 


[  828  ] 


SEAL 


hesitate  in  describing  it  as  a  round  basin.  This 
•would  determine,  too,  that  Solomon's  oxen  stood, 
like  the  Moorish  lions,  one  to  each  face,  with  equal 
intervals  between  them,  all  round  the  circumference, 
and  not,  as  might  be  gathered  from  the  description, 
three  together,  each  three  facing  a  cardinal  point  of 
the  heavens,  which  has  been  the  sentiment  of  the 
rabbins,  and  is  adopted  by  Calmet  and  others. 

Is  there  an  allusion  to  the  brazen  sea  as  a  founjuin, 
in  Zecli.xiii.  1,  "/?i  that  day  there  shall  be  a  fountain 
opened,  not  merely  to  the  priests  in  divine  service  in 
the  temple,  but  it  shall  be  free  to  the  house  of  David, 
and  to  the  inhabitants  of  Jerusaltm  in  general,  to  the 
whole  nation.  Sec.  for  cleansing  of  sin  and  unclean- 
ness,"  &c.  ? 

SEAH,  a  Hebrew  measure,  containing  about  two 
gallons  and  a  half,  liquid  measure  ;  or  about  a  peck 
and  one  pint,  dry  measure. 

SEAL,  SEALING.  The  allusions  and  references 
to  seals  and  sealing  are  very  frequent  in  the  sacred 
writings.  Seals  or  signets  were  in  use  at  a  very 
early  period  ;  and  they  were  evidently  of  various 
kinds,  so  tiiat  the  same  expression,  as  it  might  at 
iirst  sight  be  thought,  has  a  diversity  of  meaning, 
determinable  by  its  connection  on  application. 

The  principal  use  of  seals  was  for  authentication, 
and  they  appear  to  have  been  worn  by  the  parties  to 
whom  they  respectively  belonged.  The  seal  of  a 
private  person  was  usually  worn  on  his  finger,  or  on 
his  v/rist,  or  in  a  bracelet,  being  small  in  size.  The 
seal  of  a  governor  was  worn  by  him,  or  carried  about 
his  person,  in  the  most  secure  manner  possible.  The 
royal  seal  was,  (1.)  personal,  to  the  king  ;  (2.)  public, 
to  tlie  state  ;  in  other  words,  the  seal  of  the  king,  and 
the  seal  of  the  crown  :  tlie  fu-st  the  king  retained  ; 
the  latter  he  delivered  to  the  proper  officer  of  state. 
So  tar  our  own  usages  enable  us  to  comprehend 
clearly  the  nature  of  this  important  instrument. 

The  art  of  writing  is  so  generally  diffused  among 
us,  that  we  think  meanly  of  an  individual  who  has 
not  acquired  that  noble  qualification  ;  and  we  can 
scarcely  conceive  or  a  governor,  or  a  king,  who  is 
destitute  of  the  accomplishment,  being  fit  for  dis- 
charging the  duties  of  his  office.  We  must,  therefore, 
recollect,  that  in  the  East  the  art  of  writing  is  prac- 
tised by  a  body  of  men  whose  skill  is  the  mean  of 
their  livelihood,  and  who  engross  almost  the  whole  of 
its  practice.  The  civil  governor  may  be  considered 
as  never  authenticating  by  signature  ;  but  to  give 
validity  to  an  order,  he  stamps  it  with  an  impression 
of  the  seal  which  he  wears,  and  this  sufficiently  de- 
notes, to  all  who  inspect  it,  that  he  has  been  informed 
of  tlie  contents,  and  has  confirmed  them  by  his  stamp 
manufd.  This  shows  the  vast  consequence  of  this 
implement ;  for,  should  an  order,  under  the  govern- 
or's seal,  command  the  death  of  A.  B.  that  person 
would  be  treated  as  a  criminal,  and  executed  on  the 
warrant  thus  authenticated.  Or,  should  an  order, 
llius  authenticated,  conmiand  the  disbursement  of  a 
considerable  s:nn  of  monev,  the  treasurer  would  dis- 
burse it.  and  Justify  himself  by  this  authority.  So 
that,  in  fact,  whoever  possesses'this  seal  possesses  all 
the  power  of  the  real  ownr-r,  all  the  resources  of  the 
countiy,  Sec.  Hence  we  may  in  some  degree  esti- 
niate  the  incautious  confidence  of  Judah,  who  gave 
liis  seal  to  Tamar,  by  which  act  he,  witii  his  property, 
was  placed  entirely  in  her  power;  and  we  may  also 
perceive  the  fidelity  of  Tamar,  who  made  no  ill  use 
of  this  authority. 

Seals  were  usually  made  of  silver,  but  others  were 
of  inferior  metals;  and  some  of  precious  stones.  The 


form  of  their  cutting  must  also  oe  properly  under- 
stood, because  such  seals  as  are  in  use  among  our- 
selves would  very  ill  answer  the  purpose  of  stamp- 
ing or  marking.  Were  they  dipped  in  a  thick  kind 
of  ink,  (printer's  ink,  for  example,)  they  would  im- 
pruit  on  paper  the  mark  of  their  flat  superficies, 
leaving  blanks  corresponding  to  the  hollows  which 
formed  the  letters.  It  is  necessary,  therefore,  that 
seals  which  are  to  be  thus  dipped  should  have  the 
inscriptions  upon  them  raised,  so  that  these  inscrip- 
tions iTiay  hold  the  ink,  and  imprint  on  the  paper  the 
forms  of  the  letters  which  compose  them.  In  this 
manner  the  excise  stamps  on  a  variety  of  articles 
which  pay  duty  in  Britain  are  cut  and  conducted  ; 
also  post-marks  on  letters,  letters  for  marking  linen, 
and,  universally,  types  used  for  printing. 

The  nature  of  the  inscription  is  another  thing  re- 
quiring notice.  It  is  not  enough  that  they  consist  of 
the  initials  of  the  owner's  name  ;  they  contain,  espe- 
cially when  they  belong  to  a  person  of  consequence, 
a  description  of  his  office,  residence,  &c.  and,  as  a 
long  line  of  ancestry  is  reckoned  to  increase  the 
honor  of  an  individual,  this  in  the  East  is  displayed 
on  some  of  their  seals  with  a  parade  (as  we  should 
call  it)  verging  on  affectation  and  ostentation.  Some 
of  them  have  additions  which  seldom  occupy  our 
cipher  seals,  such  as  inscriptions,  mottoes,  sentences, 
apophthegms  of  moral  wisdom,  and  sentiments, 
pious  or  political ;  which  answer  in  some  measure  to 
the  mottoes  of  our  coats  of  arms,  luit  extended  to 
lengths  which  custom  among  us  forbids. 

Mr.  Taylor,  from  whom  these  remarks  are  a:bridged, 
has  selected  the  following  Scri[)ture  references  to 
seals  and  sealing. 

We  read  in  Est,  viii.  8,  "  W^rite  in  the  king's  name, 
and  seal  it  with  the  king's  [seal]  ring;  for  the  writ- 
ing ^^hich  is  written  in  the  king's  name,  and  sealed 
with  the  king's  ring,  no  man  may  revei-se."  (See 
also  ver.  10.)  It  clearly  appears  that  the  king's  ring 
[called  n;'3'J  tabaath]  had  a  seal  in  it;  this  also  is  the 
name  of  Pharaoh's  ring;  and  we  read  (chap.  iii.  10.) 
that  the  king  took  off  his  ring  from  his  hand,  and 
gave  it  to  Hainan,  empowering  him  thereby,  at  his 
pleasure,  to  authenticate  his  ccnunancls  with  the 
stamp  of  royal  authority. 

Precisely  the  same  action  is  that  of  Pharaoh  with 
respect  to  Joseph :  (Gen.  xli.  42.)  "  And  Pharaoli 
took  off  his  ring  {tabaath)  from  his  hand,  and  gave 
it,  and  placed  it  on  the  hand  of  Joseph;"  from 
which  moment  th.e  power  of  life  and  death,  and  of 
civil  government,  althougli  vested  in  the  king,  was 
transferred  to  Joseph  ;  and  since  this  ring  is  called  iiy 
tiie  same  name  as  the  former,  we  may  justly  conclude 
that  it  was  of  the  same  i;ature.  But  here  arises  a 
query.  It  is  said  these  rings  were  worn  on  the  hand 
— were  they  woni  on  the  wrist?  or,  being  worn  on 
the  finger,  are  they  said  to  have  been  worn  on  the 
hand  ?' 

We  have,  however,  an  earlier  instance  of  a  seal — 
and  it  should  seem  to  be  a  seal-ring,  as  being  the 
property  of  the  wearer,  knouni  by  an  appropriate  in- 
scription— in  the  instance  of  Judah,  (Gen.  xxxviii. 
18.)  who  left  with  Tamar  his  seal  or  signet,  called 
':^nr\)  hofhdm.  That  this  was  a  ring  ap|)ears  likely 
from  the  consideration  of  Judah's  wearing  it  about 
his  person.  The  word  is  used,  too,  in  Jcr.  xxii.  24, 
"Though  Coniah,  son  of  Jehoiakim,  were  a  {hothdm, 
cnin)  ring  on  my  right  hand  ;  "  and  we  have  in  Dau.  vi. 
17,(18,  Heb.)  the  act  of  sealing  described  by  it,  "  And 
a  stone  was  brought  and  placed  on  the  mouth  of  the 
den,  and  the  khig  sealed  it  {n-z-r^)  with  his  ring  (-pi;-) 


SEAL 


[  899  ] 


SEA 


and  the  princes  also  sealed  with  their  rings."  Hence 
it  a|)|)ears  that  wc  liavc  tliree  words  to  denote  a  seal, 
or  rutlier  three  different  kinds  of  seals,  denoted  by 
three  very  distinct  and  different  words.  (1.)  Hothdm, 
which  is  used  the  earliest,  we  believe,  in  the  instance 
of  Jiidah  ;  it  denotes  a  seal  of  such  a  kind  as  a  pri- 
vate pei-son  nii^dit  carry  about  him.  (•^.)  Tabaaih,  a 
seal  which  we  rind  worn  by  kings,  as  by  Pharaoh 
and  Aha.stierus,  (3.)  Izkd,  a  seal  employed  both  by 
the  king  and  his  princes  ;  and  thcrelbrc  not  appro- 
priate restrictively  to  royalty.  It  is  not  said  that  this 
article  was  worn  about  the  person. 

Hothdm,  31  r.  Taylor  takes  to  be  a  general  word 
for  seal ;  and  he  thinks  it  means  a  precious  stone, 
cut  in  the  n)anner  of  seals.  So  we  read,  Exod. 
xxviii.  11  :  "Two  onyx  stones,  the  work  of  ail"  engra- 
ver in  stone,  (seal-cutter,)  engraved,  or  cut  in,  with 
the  engravings,  incisions,  of  a  hothd)n."  The  same, 
(ver.  ^l.)  "The  names  of  the  children  of  Israel 
(twelve)  were  to  be  upon  the  twelve  stones  of  the 
pectoral,  like  the  engravings  of  a  hothdm  ;  each  stone 
containing  one  name  : "  also  ver.  JiU,  "  And  thou  slialt 
make  a  plate  (flower)  of  pure  gold,  and  shalt  make 
incisions — openings  ;  that  is,  shalt  engrave  upon  it 
like  the  engraving  of  a  hothdm,  "  Holiness  to  the 
Lord."  The  same  phrase  (chap,  xxxix.  6.)  expresses 
that  the  onyx  stones  were  engraven  with  the  engrav- 
ings of  a  hothdm;  (also  ver.  14.)  and  it  deserves  i-e- 
niark,  how  carefully  these  articles  are  descrilicd  as 
being  wrought  with  a  peculiar,  or  at  least  with  a  dis- 
tinct, species  of  engraving.  Now,  certainly,  there 
coidd  have  been  no  room  for  this  distinction,  if  no 
more  than  one  manner  of  engraving  letters  had  been 
known  at  that  time.  This,  we  see,  was  cut  into  the 
uietal,  or  jewel,  or  seal ;  it  was  used  in  engraving  the 
name  of  the  proprietor  on  the  seal  belonging  to  him  ; 
it  was  used  by  j)rivate  persons ;  and  it  was  com- 
irionly  known  and  understood.  This  remark  has  its 
influence  on  the  rjucstion  of  the  origin  of  writing. 
But  we  read  in  Exod.  xxxii.  16,  that  the  tables  of 
the  law  contained  writing  engraved  {c\-\-)  upon  them. 
What  kind  oi^ engraving  was  this  ?  It  happens  that 
the  word  occurs  only  in  this  place;  the  LXX render 
it  i!i>:ij>.::viiii:ii)],  which,  if  it  be  from  the  vcrb>^oAu,-7Te), 
may  signify  cut  out,  or  rather  c/n'sd/e;/,  that  is,  hollow 
lines,  wrought  in  stone  by  a  chisel,  (or  something 
answering  the  purpose  of  that  instrument,)  and  driven 
by  a  mallet,  as  zo/..;.Trijo  is  understood  to  signify  ;  in- 
strumentum  lapicidarum  malleo  simile,  a  hammer. 
This,  |)ossibly,  was  the  idea  intended  to  be  conveyed 
by  those  interpreters ;  at  least  it  is  the  idea  which 
arises  from  their  rendering.  But  the  apostle  seems 
to  have  been  diss<itisfied  with  the  term,  for  he  says, 
(2  Cor.  iii.  7.)  "If  the  ministration  of  death  written 
with  letters engTfli'C7i  on  stones  (nTfrL-.fo'Kf'ii;  iv/.idoic) 
was  glorious,"  he  has  ])refen'ed  a  word  of  more 
general  signirication  ;  formed,  imaged,  typified,  in  any 
manner.  Under  this  uncrertainty  the  English  word 
chiselled  may  express  this  maimer  till  a  better  is  sug- 
gested. The  residt  of  these  inquiries  is,  that  the  de- 
vices, or  marks,  of  certain  seals,  were  incuse  cut  into 
the  metal ;  while  those  of  others  were  raised  for  the 
purpose  of  stam[)ing. 

Among  the  representations  of  seals  collected  by 
Mr.  Taylor,  is  one  from  Tavernier,  being  that  of  the 
iirst  minister  of  state  of  some  oriental  prince.  The 
seal,  in  the  original,  is  set  on  the  back  of  the  patent, 
no  man  daring  to  affix  his  seal  on  the  same  side  as 
the  king's;  and  this  Mr.  Taylor  thinks  may  give  the 
true  bearing  of  the  apostle's  expression  :  (2  Tim.ii.  19.) 
The  foundation  of  God  slandeth  sure,  having  this  motto 


around  the  seal— ih'is  inscription,  "  The  Lord  knoweth 
them  ivho  are  his."  And  this  inscription  is  on  the  en- 
closed, the  folded,  side  of  the  patent,  not  visible  to  us ; 
whereas,  on  the  open  side,  the  exposed  pai-t  of  the 
patent,  is  the  counter  inscription,  "  Let  all  ivho  name 
the  name  of  Christ  depart  from  iniquity ;" — this  char- 
acter is  conspicuous  to  all,  and,  as  it  were,  a  continu- 
ation of  the  former,  its  counteii)art,  and  in  perfect 
coincidence  with  it.  The  notion  of  a  writing  fully, 
amply  confirmed,  (that  is,  a  royal  patent,)  suits  this 
passage,  he  remarks,  extremely  well,  even  lietter  than 
that  of  a  foundation  stone  ;  for  how  can  the  inscrip- 
tion on  sucli  a  stone  be  open  for  inspection  ?  or  why 
two  mottoes  ?  and,  as  appears,  one  on  one  side  of  it, 
the  other  on  the  other  side  ?  The  serurilif  of  God — 
h'lsbond  abideth  sure,  absolutely  inmiovable  ;  its  seal- 
motto  is,  "The  Lord  knows,  approves,  them  who  are 
his."  This  idea  of  a  seal  on  the  back  of  a  writing, 
seems  to  be  that  of  the  apostle  John,  also  :  (iii.  33.) 
"He  who  hath  received  his  (the  Messiah's) testimony 
has  set  to,  added,  his  seal,  vouching — not  j)roperly 
confirmirig — the  veracity  of  God." 

Cncumcision  was  a  seal,  or  a  token  in  confirmation 
of  a  previous  engagement.  The  Corinthians  were 
seals  of  the  apostle's  ministiy,  conclusive  evidences, 
like  seals  to  a  deed.  In  general  the  gifts  of  God,  the 
Holy  Spirit,  &c.  were  tokens  of  validity,  given  for 
confirmation  of  a  delegated  power  to  parties  possess- 
ing them. 

Sealing. — It  is  necessary  to  observe,  that  the  meth- 
od of  sealing,  mentioned  in  the  sacred  writings,  does 
not  restrictively  imply  a  waxen  seal,  or  a  seal  for  evi- 
dence only,  but  to  close  iip,  to  secure,  by  some  solid,  or 
glutinous  matter.  So  Dent,  xxxii.  34,  "Is  not  this 
laid  up  in  store  with  me,  and  sealed  u])  [closed  up,  se- 
cured, for  preservation]  among  my  treasures?"  In 
Job  xxxviii.  14,  a  seal  is  mentioned  as  being  made  of 
claif ;  which,  indeed,  is  customary  in  the  East ;  and 
in  Jer.  xxxii.  14,  a  similar  practice  seems  referred  to, 
with  regard  to  a  certain  deed  which  was  enclosed  in 
a  roll  of  some  strong  substance,  pitched  over,  to  pro- 
tect it  from  water,  or  surrounded  with  a  coat  of  firm 
clay,  to  the  same  purpose,  and  placed  at  the  bottom  of 
an  earthen  vessel ;  Avhile  a  writing  not  thus  enclosed, 
or  coated  over,  was  laid  among  a  quantity  of  dry  mat- 
ters, "stones,  bricks,  or  sea-sand,"  above  the  vessel. 

That  the  word  translated  sealing  may  propeily  be 
understood  of  closing,  or  cementing,  which  is  allied  to 
sealing  in  the  East,  ap])ears  in  part  from  the  following 
extract  from  Niebuhr:  (vol.  ii.  p.  261.) — "  They  sign 
their  letters  with  a  sort  of  cipher,  to  prevent  the  pos- 
sibility of  counterfeiting  their  sieiiatures:  at  least  the 
great  and  the  learned  do  so.  .  .  Their  letters  folded  are 
an  inch  in  breadth,  and  the  leaves  are  pasted  together 
at  one  end.  They  cannot  seal  them,  for  wax  is  so 
soft  in  hot  countries,  that  it  cannot  retain  an  imjfrcs- 
sion.     See  further  under  Clay,  and  Book,  p.  202. 

SEAT.  The  seat  of  Moses,  on  whicti  the  scribes 
and  Pharisees  sat,  expresses  the  authority  of  the  doc- 
tors of  the  law,  and  their  office  of  teaching.  Our  Lord 
conunanded  that  they  should  be  heard,  and  rcs])ect- 
ed  ;  but  he  forl)ade  that  their  actions  should  be  made 
precedents,  or  themselves  taken  for  examples.  The 
seat  of  the  scorncr,  mentioned  in  the  first  Psahn,  al- 
ludes to  the  abominable  discourse,  and  the  licentious 
manners,  of  libertines,  who  coiTupt  equally  Iw  their 
scandalous  example  and  conduct,  as  by  their  loose 
principles.  The  Hebrew  says  scorners,  revilers, 
those  ])retended  free-thinkers,  who  deride  the  sim- 
plicity of  plain  and  honest  minds.  Solomon  often 
speaks  of  them  in  his  Proverbs,  and  carefully  guards 


SEE 


[  830  ] 


SEI 


his  ])upil  against  theu-  dangerous  tongues,  Prov.  i.  22 ; 
iii.  34  ;  ix.  7,  8,  12  ;  xiii.  1 ;  xiv.  6  ;  xv.  12 ;  xix.  25 ;  xx. 
1,  &c.  Tlie  seat  of  honors,  (Ecckis.  vii.  4.)  is  the 
chief  places  in  the  synagogues,  which  the  Pharisees 
assumed  ;  (Matt,  xxiii.  6.)  the  seat  prepared  for  Joh  in 
tlie  assemblies ;  (Job  xxix.  7.)  the  seat  or  throne  of  the 
king,  and  that  of  God,  are  clear  enough.  The  throne 
belongs  to  God,  and  to  the  king  ;  the  seat  of  honor  to 
tlie  friends  of  the  king,  and  to  great  men.  (Compare 
Bed.) 

SEBA,  or  Saba,  son  of  Cush,  Gen.  x.  7.  See  un- 
der Sabeans,  I. 

SEBASTE,  see  Samaria. 

SEBAT,  the  fifth  month  of  the  Jewish  civil  year; 
and  the  eleventh  of  the  ecclesiastical  year  ;  from  the 
new  moon  of  February  to  that  of  March  ;  or,  accord- 
ing to  others,  corresponding  to  our  January,  O.  S. 
(See  Month.)  They  begin  in  this  month  to  number 
the  years  of  the  trees  they  planted,  the  fruits  of  which 
were  esteemed  impure  till  the  fourth  year,  Zech  i.  7. 
See  Jewish  Calendar,  at  the  end  of  the  volume. 

SECACAH,  a  southern  city  of  Judah,  (Josh.  xv. 
61.)  in  the  desert. 

SECRET,  see  Mystery. 

SECT,  a  Latin  word  which  has  the  same  signifi- 
cation as  the  Greek  word  Hceresis,  though  the  sound 
is  not  so  offensive  to  us.  Among  the  Jews  there 
were  four  sects,  distinguished  by  their  practices  and 
opinions,  yet  united  in  communion  with  each  other, 
and  with  the  body  of  their  nation,  viz.  the  Pharisees, 
the  Sadducees,  the  Essenians,  and  the  Herodians. 
(See  the  respective  articles.)  Christianity  was  origi- 
nally considered  as  a  new  sect  of  Judaism  ;  hence 
Tertullus,  accusing  Paul  before  Felix,  says,  that  he 
was  chief  of  the  seditious  sect  of  the  Nazarenes ; 
(Acts  xxiv.  5.)  and  the  Jews  of  Rome  said  to  the 
apostle,  when  he  arrived  in  this  city,  that  "as  to  this 
sect,  it  was  every  where  spoken  against,"  Actsxxviii. 
22.  Peter  (2  Epist.  ii.  1—10.)  foretells  that  fiilse 
teachers  should  arise  among  them,  "  who  privily 
shall  bring  in  damnable  heresies,  (or  sects,)  even  de- 
nying the  Lnrfl  that  bought  them,  and  bring  upon 
themselves  swift  destruction."  He  adds,  that  these 
people,  being  great  lovers  of  themselves,  are  not  afraid 
to  introduce  new  sects  ;  where  the  word  sect  is  taken 
in  the  same  sense  as  heresy. 

Among  the  Greeks,  the  philosophers  were  divided 
into  different  sects  ;  as  the  Academics,  the  Stoics,  the 
Peripatetics,  the  Cynics,  the  Epicureans,  &c.  The 
Jews,  in  imitafion  of  the  Greeks,  began  to  divide 
themselves  into  sects,  about  the  time  of  the  Macca- 
bees; and  it  seems  as  if  the  Corinthians  had  a  mind 
to  introduce  something  like  this  into  Christianity, 
when  they  boasted,  I  am  a  disciple  of  Peter,  I  of 
Paul,  I  of  Apollos,  1  Cor.  i.  12  ;  iii.  22,  &c. 

SECUNDUS,  a  disciple  of  Paul,  (Acts  xx.  4.)  but 
we  know  nothing  of  his  life,  further  than  that  he  was 
of  Thessalonica,  and  followed  the  apostle  from 
Greece  into  Asia,  A.  D.  58. 

SEED,  the  prolific  principle  of  future  life,  is  taken 
in  Scri|)ture  for  posterity,  whether  of  man,  beasts, 
trees,  &c.  all  of  which  are  said  to  be  sown  and  to 
fructify,  as  the  means  of  producing  a  succeeding 
generation,  Jer.  xxxi.  27.  Hence  seed  denotes  an  in- 
dividual, as  Seth,  in  the  stead  of  Abel,  (Gen.  iv.  25. 
et  al.frcq.)  and  the  whole  line  of  descent ;  as  the  seed 
of  Abraham,  of  Jacob,  &c.  the  seed-royal,  &c.  much 
in  the  same  acceptation  as  children.  Tlie  seed  of 
Abraham  denotes  not  only  those  who  descend  from 
him,  by  natural  issue,  but  those  who  imitate  his 
character,  (Rom.  iv.  16.)  for,  if  he  be  "  the  father  of 


the  faithful,"  then  the  faithful  are  his  seed,  by  char- 
acter, independent  of  natural  descent ;  and  hence  the 
Messiah  is  said  to  see  his  seed,  though  in  fact,  Jesus 
lefl  no  children  by  descent,  but  by  grace  or  conver- 
sion only,  Isa.  liii.  10.  This  is  occasionally  restricted 
to  one  chief,  or  principal,  seed,  one  who  by  excel- 
lence is  the  seed  ;  as  the  seed  of  the  woman,  (Gen. 
iii.  15;  Gal.  iii.  16.)  the  seed  of  Abraham,  the  seed  of 
David,  meaning  the  most  excellent  descendant  of  the 
woman,  of  Abraham,  of  David,  Or,  understand  by 
the  "seed  of  the  woman,"  the  offspring  of  the  female 
sex  only  ;  as  verified  in  the  supernatural  conception 
of  Jesus,  (Matt.  i.  18,  &c.  ;  Luke  i.  26,  (S:c.)  and  of 
which  the  birth  of  Abraham's  seed  (Isaac)  was  a 
figure. 

Seed  is  taken  figuratively  for  the  word  of  God  ; 
(Luke  viii.  5  ;  1  Pet.  i.  23.)  for  a  disposition  becoming 
a  divine  origin,  (1  John  iii.  9.)  and  for  truly  pious 
persons,  Matt.  xiii.  38. 

SEEING,  To  SEE.  This  is  said,  not  only  of  the 
sense  of  vision,  by  which  we  perceive  external  ob- 
jects, but  also  of  inward  perception,  of  the  knoM'ledge 
of  spiritual  things,  and  even  of  the  supernatural  sight 
of  hidden  things ;  of  prophecy,  visions,  ecstacies. 
Whence  it  is  that  those  persons  were  formerly  called 
seers,  who  afterwards  were  called  Nabi,  or  prophets  ; 
and  that  prophecies  were  called  visions.  See 
Prophet. 

The  verb  to  see,  is  used  to  express  all  kinds  of 
sensations.  It  is  said  (Exod.  xx.  18.)  that  the  Israel- 
ites saw  voices,  thunder,  lightnings,  the  sound  of  the 
trumpet,  and  the  whole  mountain  of  Sinai  covered 
with  clouds  or  smoke.  To  see  good,  or  goods,  is  to 
enjoy  them  ;  "  I  believed  to  see  the  goodness  of  the 
Lord  in  the  land  of  the  living,"  Ps.  xxvii.  13,  i.  e.  I 
hope  that  God  will  bring  me  back  into  my  own  coun- 
try, into  the  land  of  Judea,  where  I  shall  live  in  peace 
and  prosperity.  Job  says,  (vii.  7.1  "  I  shall  die,  and 
see  no  more  ;  I  shall  no  longer  enjoy  the  good  things 
of  this  world."  And  the  psalmist  says,  (Ps.  iv.  6.) 
"  There  be  many  that  say,  who  will  show  us  any 
good  ?"  that  is,  to  enjoy  any  happiness  in  this  life. 

To  see  the  face  of  the  king,  is  to  be  of  his  council, 
his  household,  or  to  ap])roach  him.  The  kings  of 
Persia,  to  maintain  their  respect,  and  majesty,  seldom 
permitted  their  subjects  to  see  tliem,and  hardly  ever 
showed  themselves  in  jndjlic  ;  none  but  their  most 
intimate  friends,  or  their  familiar  domestics,  had  the 
honor  of  beholding  their  faces,  Esth.  i.  10,  14.  Fre- 
quent allusion  is  made  to  this  custom  in  Scripture, 
which  mentions  the  seven  principal  angels  that  see 
the  face  of  the  Lord,  and  appear  in  his  presence. 
See  Rev.  i.  4,  and  Angel. 

SEER,  see  Prophet. 

I.  SEGUB,  son  of  Ilezron,  father  of  Jair,  1  Chron. 
ii.  21,  22. 

II.  SEGUB,  ason  of  Hiel  of  Bethel,  who,  having 
undertaken  to  rebuild  Jericho,  was  punished  by  the 
death  of  Abiram,  his  first-born  son,  who  died  as  be 
was  laying  the  foundation  ;  and  by  the  death  of  Se- 
gub  his  younger  son,  when  he  hung  up  the  gates  of 
the  city,  1  Kings  xvi.  34.     See  Hiel,  and  Jericho. 

I.  SEIR,  the  Horite,  whose  dwelling  was  east  and 
south  of  the  Dead  sea,  in  the  mountains  of  Seir, 
where  at  first  reigned  his  descendants.  Gen.  xxxvi. 
21—30  ;  1  Chron.  i.  38,  &c.  The  posterity  of  Esau 
afterwards  possessed  the  mountains  of  Seir,  and  Esau 
himself  dwelt  there  when  Jacob  returned  from  Mes- 
opotamia, Gen.  xxxii.  3;  xxxiii.  14;  xxxvi.  8,  9. 
Moses  informs  us,  (Deut.  ii.  12.)  that  Esau  made  war 
with  the  Horites,  and  destroyed  them.     Seir  must 


SEL 


[831  ] 


SEN 


have  lived  very  early,  since  his  children  were  already 
a  powerful  and  numerous  people  in  the  time  of  Abra- 
ham, before  the  birth  of  Isaac,  when  Chedorlaomer 
and  iiis  confederates  came  to  make  war  against  the 
kings  of  Pentapolis,  Gen.  xiv.  G. 

II.  SEIR,  a  mountainous  tract,  stretching  from  the 
soutiiern  extremity  of  the  Dead  sea,  to  the  gulf  of 
Ezion-Geber.  Mount  Hor  formed  part  of  Scir,  and 
the  only  part  that  retained  its  original  name.  Mouut 
Seir  is  more  particularly  described  under  the  article 
Exodus,  p.  415. 

There  would  seem  to  have  been  a  mountain  on  the 
frontiers  of  Judah  and  Dan,  bearing  the  name  of 
Seir,  Josh.  xv.  10. 

SELA,  the  name  of  a  place  mentioned  in  2  Kings 
xiv.  7,  where  it  is  said  that  Amaziah,  king  of  Judah, 
slew  ten  thousand  men  of  Edom,  in  the  valley  of 
Salt,  and  took  Sela  by  war,  and  called  the  name  of 
it  Joktheel.  Sela,  in  Hebrew,  signifies  a  rock,  and 
answers  to  the  Greek  word  Petra ;  whence  it  has 
been  reasonably  inferred  that  the  city  bearing  this 
name,  and  which  was  the  celebrated  capital  of  Ara- 
bia Petrea,  is  the  place  mentioned  by  the  sacred  his- 
torian. There  are  two  places,  however,  which  con- 
tend for  the  honor  of  having  been  the  capital  of  the 
Nabatheans,  or  Agarenians — Kerek,  and  Wady 
Mousa  ;  but  the  extensive  ruins  which  have  been  dis- 
covered in  the  latter  place,  has  induced  most  writers 
to  consider  this  as  the  site  of  the  ancient  Petra,  though 
in  opposition  to  the  traditions  of  the  people  who  in- 
habit the  country.  Mr.  Mansford  hasfollowde  those 
writers  who  think  that  both  Kerek  and  Wady  Mousa 
appear  to  have  been  called  Petra  by  the  Greeks,  and 
each  to  have  been  the  capital  of  the  country,  though 
in  different  ages.  In  proof  that  the  former  was  so 
called,  he  remarks,  that  when  the  expedition  of  the 
MacedonianGreeks,  which  Antigonus  sent  against  the 
Nabathrei,  under  the  command  of  his  son  Demetrius, 
first  penetrated  into  this  country,  we  are  informed  by 
Diodorus  that  this  people  placed  their  old  irien, 
women  jmd  cliildren,  upon  a  steeji  rock,  having  only 
one  access  to  the  summit,  and  situated  three  hundred 
stadia  beyond  the  lake  Asphaltites.  Now,  both  the 
description  and  position  of  this  place  agree  with 
Kerek,  as  described  by  Burckhardt ;  while  the  city 
of  Wady  Mousa  is  twice  the  above-mentioned  dis- 
tance from  the  lake,  Jind  stood  in  a  deep  glen,  instead 
of  on  a  precipitous  rock.  He  conceives,  however, 
that  in  process  of  time,  and  probably  from  increase 
of  commerce,  or  for  Iietter  security,  or  as  lying  in  a 
more  direct  route  from  iIk;  Red  sea  to  the  Mediter- 
ranean, the  new  city  was  built  in  Wady  Mousa,  the 
nrobal)le  site  of  a  former  city  of  the  Edomites,  to 
which  the  name  of  the  old  capital  was  transferred, 
and  with  equal  propriety,  for  here,  too,  all  was  rock  ; 
while  the  old  city  was  distinguished  by  its  indigenous 
name  of  Kerek,  moulded  by  the  Greeks  into  Charax. 
The  remains  in  the  valley  of  Wady  IVIousa,  which 
are  described  by  Burckhardt  and  Legh,  and  by  cap- 
tains Irby  and  Mangles,  attest  the  splendor  of  the 
former  city.  At  the  western  end  of  the  valley,  the 
road  ascends  to  the  high  platform  on  %\hicli  mount 
Hor  and  the  toni!)  of  Aaron  stand  ;  in  the  vicinity  of 
which  Josephus  and  Eusebius  agree  in  pl;icing  the 
ancient  Petra.  See  a  full  description  of  Wady  ."Nlousa 
under  Canaa.v,  p.  2-38,  2.39. 

SEL  AH,  a  musical  term,  which  occurs  frequently 
in  the  Psalms,  and  is  found  also  in  Hab.  iii.3, 9,  13.  It 
usually  occiu's  at  the  end  of  a  period  or  strophe  ;  but 
sometimes  at  the  end  only  of  a  clause.  According  to 
Gesenius,  this  difficult  word  may  be  explained   in 


three  different  ways  ;  either  directly,  as  symphony,  (so 
the  Sept.  diuH'uyuu.)  or  as  pause  of  the  song,  when  the 
instruments  strike  up,  i.  e.  symphony,  as  before  ;  or 
again,  some  supjiose  the  word  to  consist  of  ihe  initial 
letters  of  three  words,  signifying  da  capo,repeat,  etc. 
This  last  mode  Gesenius  rejects,  but  does  not  decide 
in  respect  to  the  others.     (See  his  Lexicon.)     R. 

I.  SELELCTA,  a  name  given  by  king  Seleucus  to 
the  city  of  Gadara,  which  see. 

II.  SELEUCIA,  a  city  cf  Syria,  on  the  Mediter- 
ranean, near  where  the  river  brontes  falls  into  it- 
Paul  and  P.arnabas  embarked  at  Scleiicia,  for  Cy- 
prus, Acts  xiii.  4.  The  coins  of  this  citv  are  remark- 
able for  exhibiting  lour  different  eras :"  first,  that  of 
the  Seleucida?,  in  the  year  of  Rome,  442  ;  that  of  its 
own  laws,  645  of  Rome,  under  the  reign  of  Antio- 
chns  VIII.;  that  of  Pcmpey,in  the  year  of  Rome,  C90; 
and  that  of  Augnstus,  in  the  year  "of  Rome,  72.3. 

SELLING.  The  Hebrews  might  sell  their  own 
liberty ;  and  lathers  might  sell  that  of  their  children, 
Lev.  XXV.  .39.  If  your  brother  sells  himself  to  you 
because  of  his  poverty,  yon  shall  not  o])press  him, 
nor  sell  him  again  as  a  slave  :  he  shall  abide  with  you 
only  as  a  workman  for  hire.  Maimonides  says,  that 
a  Hebrew  could  not  sell  his  liberty,  but  in  extreme 
necessity.  Exod.  xxi.  7,  "If  a  man  sell  his  daughter 
to  be  a  maid-servant,  she  shall  not  go  out  as  the  man- 
servants do."  Her  master  shall  not  dismiss  her,  as  a 
man-slave  is  dismissed  at  the  sabbatical  year.  He 
shall  take  her  as  his  wife,  or  shall  marry  her  to  his 
son.  If  he  care  to  do  neither  of  these,  he  shall  set 
her  at  liberty."  The  Hebrews  sold  also  insolvent 
debtors,  and  their  children.  Matt,  xviii.  25;  2  Kings 
iv.  1.  To  sell  freemen  for  slaves,  was  a  crime 
which  the  law  punished  with  death,  P'xod.  xxi.  16 ; 
Dent.  xxiv.  7.  Esau  sold  his  birthright ;  and  for 
this,  it  appears,  Paul  calls  him  profane.  Heb.  xii.  16. 
"Thou  hast  sold  thyself  to  work  evil  in  the  sight  of 
the  Lord,"  said  the  prophet  Elijah  to  Ahal),  (]  Kings 
xxi.  20,  25.)  and  the  wicked  Israelites  mentioned  in 
1  Mac.  i.  16,  sold  themselves  as  slaves  to  sin,  being 
subject  to  their  evil  inclinations,  as  slaves  are  to  their 
masters.  These  expressions  were  familiar  to  the  He- 
brews, and  hence  Paul,  speaking  of  himself,  or  rather 
of  mankind  in  his  own  person,  says,  (Rom.  vii.  14.) 
"  I  am  carnal,  sold  under  sin  ;  the  slave  of  concupis- 
cence and  of  sin  by  nature,  but  set  at  liberty  by  the 
grace  of  Jesus  Christ."  The  difference  is,  that  Ahab 
sold  himself;  that  is,  freely,  voluntarily  ;  whereas 
Paul  was  sold  ;  that  is^  against  his  will,  by  force,  by 
constraint  of  circumstances,  not  of  choice. 

SEM,  see  Shem. 

SEMOOM,  see  Wind 

SENIR,  mount  Hermon  w^as  so  called  by  the 
Amorites,  Deut.  iii.  8, 9  ;  1  Chron.  v.  23. 

SENNACHERIB,  king  of  Assyria,  son  and  suc- 
cessor of  Shalmaneser,  began  to  reign,  A.  I\I.  3290; 
and  reigned  but  four  years,  3294.  Hezekiah,  king 
of  Judah,  having  shaken  off  the  joke  of  the  Assyri- 
ans, by  which  Ahaz,  his  father,  had  suffered  under 
Tiglath-pileser,  Sennacherib  marched  an  aimyagainst 
him,  and  took  all  the  strong  cities  of  Judah.  Heze- 
kiah, seeing  he  had  nothing  left  but  Jerusalem,  which 
he,  perhaps,  found  it  difficult  to  preserve,  sent  am- 
bassadors to  Sennacherib,  then  at  the  siege  of  La- 
chish,  saying,  "  I  have  committed  a  fault ;  but  with- 
draw your  army  out  of  my  territories,  and  I  will  bear 
whatever  you  shall  impose  upon  me."  St  unacherib 
demanded  three  hundred  talents  of  silver,  and  thirty 
talents  of  gold,  which  Hezekiah  remitted  to  him. 
Sennacherib  received  the  tribute,  but  refused  to  leave 


SEP 


[  832  ] 


SEPULCHRE 


Judea.  He  sent  from  Lachish  to  Jerusalem  three  of 
his  chief  officers,  Tartan,  Rab-saris  and  Rab-shakeh, 
to  summon  Hezekiah  to  surrender ;  in  doing  winch 
they  uttered  many  blasphemies  against  God.  In  the 
mean  time  Sennaciierib  quitted  tlie  siege  of  Lachish, 
and  went  in  person  to  that  of  Libnah,  whence  he 
wrote  to  Hezekiah,  urging  him  to  return  to  liis  duty, 
and  to  follow  the  example  of  so  many  other  nations 
that  had  submitted.  Hezekiah  entreated  tlie  Lord, 
who  sent  a  destroying  angel  against  the  Assyrian 
artny,  and  slew  in  one  nigiit  185,000  men,  2  Kings 
xix.  35.  Sennacherib  retuined  with  all  speed  to 
Nineveh,  where,  while  he  was  paying  adorations  to 
his  god  Nisroch,  in  the  temple,  his  two  sons  Adram- 
melech  and  Sharezer  slew  him,  and  fled  into  Arme- 
nia. Esar-haddon  his  son  reigned  in  his  stead,  A.M. 
3294,  2  Kings  xix  ;  2  Chron.  xxxii.  2L 

]\Iost  commentators  are  of  opinion,  that  the  army 
of  Sennacherib  was  destroyed  before  Jerusalem,  pre- 
paring for  the  siege  of  this  city.  But  Calmet  seems 
to  think,  from  Isa.  x.  24 — 26,  that  he  did  not  form 
the  siei'e  of  Jerusalem  ;  but  that  this  calamity  befell 
him  in  his  marcn  against  Tirhakah. 

The  Babylonian  Tahnud  attirms,  that  lightning 
was  the  agent  employed  upon  this  occasion  ;  and  the 
Targums,  or  Chaldee  paraj)hras8s,  are  quoted,  as  as- 
serting the  same  thing.  Other  writers  beheve,  that 
the  Assyrians  perished  by  means  of  a  hot  wind, 
which  God  caused  to  blow  against  them  ;  a  wind 
verj^  common  in  those  parts,  (Thevenot,  Voyage, 
part  i.  lib.  ii.  20  ;  part  ii.  lib.  i.  20;  ii.  16.)  and  which 
makes  great  ravages,  stifling  thousands  of  persons  in 
a  moment,  as  often  happens  to  those  great  caravans 
of  Waliometans,  which  go  pilgrimages  to  Mecca. 
Jeremiah  (Ii.  1.)  calls  it  a  destroying  wind  ;  and  the 
threatening  by  Isaiah,  (xxxvii.  7.)  to  Sennacherib, 
"Behold,  I  will  send  a  blast  upon  him,  and  he  shall 
hear  a  rumor,"  seems  also  to  allude  to  it.  [Many  in- 
terpreter have  thus  reierred  the  catastrophe  of 
Sennacherib  to  the  simoom,  whose  destructive  rav- 
ages have  been  long  celebrated  by  oriental  travellers. 
More  recent  and  accm-ate  accounts,  however,  have 
shown  the  fallacy  of  these  stories  respecting  the 
simoom ;  and  this  hypothesis,  therefore,  falls  to  the 
gi'ound.     See  Winds.     R, 

SEPHER,  probably  the  coast  of  Southern  Arabia, 
Yemen,  (See  under  Mesha.)  The  sons  of  Joktan  had 
their  dAveliing  "from  Mesha,  as  thou  goest  unto  Se- 
phar,  a  mount  of  the  east,"  Gen.  x.  30. 

SEPHARVAIM.  When  ^halmaneser,  king  of 
Assyria,  carried  away  Israel  from  Samaria  to  beyond 
the  Euphrates,  he  sent  people  in  their  stead  into  Pal- 
estine, among  whom  were  the  Sepharvaim,  2  Kings 
xvii.  24,  31.  [That  Sepharvaim  was  a  small  district 
under  its  own  king,  is  apparent  from  2  Kings  xix. 
13;  Isa.  xxxvii.  13.  It  may  with  most  probability  be 
assigned  to  Mesopotamia  ;  because  it  is  named  along 
with  other  places  in  that  region  ;  and  because  Ptole- 
my (v.  18.)  mentions  a  city  of  a  similar  nan^ip,  Sip- 
phara,as  the  most  southern  of  Mesopotamia.  Below 
this  city,  he  adds,  the  Euphrates  divides  itself  into 
two  branches,  of  which  the  eastern  goes  to  Selencia, 
and  the  western  to  Babylon.  Probibly  the  Sipphara 
of  Ptolemy  is  the  citif  of  the  Sippareiies  mentioned  by 
Abydemes,  for  whom  he  says  Nebuchadnezzar 
caused  a  lake  to  be  dug,  and  the  water  of  the  Eu- 
l)l)rates  turned  into  it.  (Euseb.  Pnep.  Evan",  ix 
14.)     R.  ' 

SEPTUAGINT,  the  most  ancient  Greek  version 
of  the  Scriptures.  For  a  particular  account  of  this, 
see  the  article  Versions. 


SEPULCHRE,  a  place  of  burial.  The  Hebrews 
were  always  very  carefid  about  the  burial  of  their 
dead.  Many  of  their  sepulchres  were  hewn  in  rocks ; 
as  that  bought  by  Abraham  for  the  burying  of  Sarah  ; 
(Gen.  xxiii.  4,  6.)  those  of  the  kings  of  Judah  and  Is- 
rael ;  and  that  in  which  our  Saviour  was  laid  on 
mount  Calvary.  Sometimes  their  graves  were  (lug 
in  the  ground  ;  and  commonly  without  their  towns. 
Our  Saviour  (Matt,  xxiii.  27.)  says,  that  the  Pharisees 
were  like  whited  sepulchres,  which  appeared  fine 
without,  but  inwardly  were  full  of  rottenness  and  cor- 
ruption ;  and  Lightfoot  has  shown,  that  every  year, 
on  the  fifteenth  of  February,  the  Hebrews  whitened 
them  anew.  In  Luke  (xi.  44.)  Christ  coni|)ares  the 
Pharisees  to  "graves  which  a))pear  not,  so  that  men 
w^'ilk  over  them  without  being  aware  of  it ;"  not 
knowing  that  these  places  are  unclean  ;  so  that  they 
contract  an  involuntary  impurity.     See  Buri*l. 

?ilr.  Taylor  has  devoted  several  Fragnieiits  to  a 
consideration  of  the  ancient  sepidchres  of  various 
nations,  and  especially  to  the  sepulchre  of  our  Saviour 
on  mount  Calvaiy.  He  has  collected  much  curious, 
and,  to  the  antiquarian  and  historian,  much  useful 
information  ;  but  a  great  deal  of  it  is  useless  for  the 
elucidation  of  Scripture.  We  shall  make  such  selec- 
tions as  the  nature  of  this  work  requires. 

If  is  more  than  possible,  that  if  we  could  discrimi- 
nate accurately  the  meaning  of  Avords  employed  l-y 
the  sacred  writers,  we  should  find  them  adai)ted  with 
a  surprising  precision  to  the  subjects  on  which  they 
treat.  Of  this  the  various  constructions  of  sepulchres 
might,  probably,  aflbrd  convincing  evidence;  and, 
perhaps,  it  is  a  leading  idea  in  ]iassages  v.here  it  has 
not  hitherto  been  observed.  The  numerous  refer- 
ences in  Scripture  to  sej)ulchres  sup{)osed  to  be  well 
))eo])led,  would  be  misapplied  to  nations  which 
burned  tlieir  dead,  as  the  Greeks  and  Romans  did  ; 
or  to  those  who  committed  them  to  rivers,  as  the 
Hindoos  ;  or  to  those  who  ex})osed  them  to  birds  of 
prey,  as  the  Parsees :  nor  would  the  phrase  "  to  go 
down  to  the  sides  of  the  ])it  "  be  strictly  applicable  to, 
or  be,  properly,  descri])tive  of,  that  mode  of  limial 
which  prevails  among  ourselves.  Single  graves,  ad- 
mitting one  body  only,  in  width,  or  in  length,  have 
no  openings  on  the  sides  to  which  other  bodies  may 
be  said  to  go  down  :  nor  are  such  excavated  ajiart- 
ments  customary  in  this  country,  as  arc  foimd  in 
the  East. 

Nor  is  it  unlikely  that  the  mode  of  burial  is  used  as 
the  means  of  distinction  among  certain  nations  or 
countries,  by  the  sacred  writers;  as  might  be  in- 
stanced in  an  almost  slngulai"  passage  of  the  prophet 
Ezekiel,  chap,  xxxii. 

Son  of  man,  lament  over  the  multitude  of  Egypt, 

And  describe  them  as  cast  down,  even  herself, 

And  the  daughters  of  the  famous  nations. 

Unto  the  land  of  the  regions  below, 

Vv'ith  them  that  go  down  to  the  pit. 

Why  wast  thou  so  sprightly.'  in  hopes  of  escaping, 

Down  ;  and  lie  with  the  iu)cncumcised  : 

In  the  midst  of  those  slain  by  the  sword,  fall  thou  ; 

To  the  sword  she  is  given  ; 

Drag  her  down  ;  ancl  all  her  multitude  shall  follow. 

The  gods-heroes  from  the  midst  of  the  shades  address 

him,  with  his  coadjutors. 
(They  have  (long  since)  gone  down  : 
They  lie  uncircumcised,  slain  with  the  sword.) 

Ashur  is  there,  and  all  her  assembly  : 
Encucling  her  in  her  sepulchral  cavern ; 


SEPULCHRE 


[  833  ] 


SEPULCHRE 


All  of  them  slain ;  having  fallen  by  the  sword : 

To  wliom  are  assigned  each  his  grave,  in  the  sides  of 
the  pit ; 

So  was  her  assembly  around  her  sepulchre 

(All  of  them  slain,  having  fallen  by  the  sword,) 

Who  communicated  terror  in  the  land  of  the  living. 

There  is  Elam  and  all  her  crowd,  encircling  her  sep- 
ulchre ; 

(All  of  them  slain,  having  fallen  by  the  sword  ;) 

Who  have  gone  down  uncircumcised  into  the  regions 
below : 

They  communicated  their  terror  in  the  land  of  the 
living. 

Yet  have  they  borne  their  shame  with  them  that  go 
down  to  the  pit. 

In  the  midst  of  the  slain  they  have  set  her  place  of 
repose. 

In  the  midst  of  her  crowd,  encircling  her  in  her  se- 
pulchral cavern  ; 

All  of  them  uncircumcised,  slain  by  the  sword  ; 

Although  they  caused  terror  in  the  land  of  the  living, 

Yet  have  they  borne  their  shame  with  them  that  go 
do\\Ti  to  the  pit. 

In  the  midst  of  the  slain  his  place  is  appointed. 

There  is  Meshech,  Tubal,  and  all  her  multitude. 

Her  surrounding  graves,  her  sepulchres  ; 

(All  of  them  uncircumcised,  slain  by  the  sword  ;) 

Though  they  communicated  their  terror  in  the  land 
of  the  living. 

Yet  they  shall  not  lie  with  the  heroes,  the  fallen  of 
the  uncircumcised. 

Who  [3Ieshech,  Tubal]  are  gone  down  to  the  shades, 
each  with  his  weapons  of  war, 

And  they  have  given  to  their  swords  places  under 
their  heads ; 

But  their  iniquities  shall  lie  heavy  upon  their  bones  : 

Though  tlie  terror  of  the  mighty  in  the  land  of  the 
living. 

Yea,  thou  shalt  be  broken  in  the  midst  of  the  uncir- 
cumcised. 

And  shalt  lie  with  those  who  are  slain  by  the  sword. 

There  is  Edom,  her  kings,  and  all  her  princes. 
Which  with  their  heroisms  are  given  places  beside 

those  slain  with  the  sword  : 
They  shall  lie  down  with  the  uncircumcised, 
Even  with  them  that  go  down  to  the  pit. 

There  arc  the  princes  of  the  North  [Zephon]  all  of 

them. 
And  all  the  Zidonians  ; 

Which  are  gone  down  with  the  slain,  in  their  terrors, 
Notwithstanding  their  heroisms  they  are  ashamed  ; 
And  they  lie  uncircumcised,  among  those  slain  by  the 

sword. 
And  bear  their  confusion  with  those  that  go  down  to 

the  pit. 

These  shall  Pharaoh  see, 

And  shall  be  comforted  over  all  his  multitude,  slain 
by  the  sword, 

Pharaoh  and  all  his  army, 

Saith  the  Lord  God  : 

Because  I  have  communicated  my  terror  in  the  land 
of  the  living  ; 

And  have  caused  him  to  lie  in  the  midst  of  the  uncir- 
cumcised. 

Among  them  who  are  slain  by  the  swore, 

Pharaoh,  and  all  his  multitude, 

Saith  the  Lord  God. 

105 


The  changes  of  persons,  and  genders,  and  phrases 
in  these  verses  are  extremely  perplexing,  and  equally 
unaccountable ;  and  a  strict  representation  of  the 
passage,  verbatim,  would  be  less  intelligible  than  this 
looser  version.  Here  we  have  Ashur  or  Assyria, 
Elam  or  Persia,  Meshech  and  Tubal,  the  present 
Muscovy  and  Siberia,  also  Edom,  the  Zidonians  and 
the  countries  adjacent,  north  of  Sidon,  perhaps  as  far 
as  Antioch,  &c.  (certainly,  not  intending  the  north 
of  Europe,) — and  though  the  condition  of  these  is 
described,  generally,  in  nearly  the  same  terms,  yet 
there  are  remarkable  variations  introduced  by  the 
prophet.  From  the  sepulchres  of  the  kings,  yet  ex- 
tant in  Egypt,  we  know  that  the  sovereigns  were,  as 
we  may  say,  buried  in  society,  many  sepulchres 
encircling  the  area,  and  several  chambers  in  one 
sepulchre.  Of  the  Assyrian  sepulchres  we  know 
but  little,  that  country  being  almost  new  to  our  re- 
searches ;  yet  we  have  every  reason  to  confide  in  the 
correctness  of  the  prophet,  who  speaks  of  the  sides 
of  the  pit  (that  is,  the  cells  in  those  sides)  as  being 
inhabited.  Persia,  we  know,  cut  sepulchres  in  rocks, 
of  which  evidences  are  yet  remaining.  Not  so 
(probably)  Meshech  and  Tubal;  they  threw  up  vast 
barrows  over  their  valiant  leaders  ;  tlieir  followers 
who  fell  with  them  shared  in  the  saice  highly  raised 
mound  :  they  made  a  point  of  honor  of  burying  their 
weapons  and  military  ornaments  with  the  dead  ;  and 
their  swords  are  found  under  the  headsof  their  skel- 
etons to  this  day : — Suaque  arrna  viro,  as  Virgil 
speaks.  Dr.  Clarke's  notices  (and  views)  of  the  nu- 
merous barrows  in  the  steppes  of  Russia,  are  suffi- 
cient evidence  on  this  subject ;  and  the  phrase  "  In- 
iquities (ravages,  perhaps)  shall  lie  heavy  on  their 
bones,"  is  an  allusion  to  the  weight  of  earth  under 
which  they  are  deposited.  It  is  the  very  contrary  of 
the  ancient  wish  ;  "  Light  lie  the  earth  upon  thee." 
The  sepulchres  of  Edom  are  illustrated  by  what  our 
countrymen  have  found  in  the  ancient  Petra.  The 
princes  of  the  north  of  Syria  and  of  Asia  Minor  have 
left  wonderful  proofs  of  their  powers  in  excavating 
rocks,  of  which  every  day  affords  new  discoveries. 
(See  the  publications  of  the  Dilettanti  Society  of 
modern  Travellers — Dr.  Claike,  Burckhardt,  Legh, 
Irby  and  Mangles,  Beaumont,  Walpole,  &c.)  Those 
of  the  Zidonians  have  been  described  by  Maundrell, 
Shaw,  and  others.  Dr.  Shaw  describes  the  cryptos 
at  Latikea,  or  Laodicea,  in  the  northern  part  of  Syria, 
as  being  sepulchral  chambers,  hollowed  in  the  rocky 
ground,  some  of  which  are  ten,  others  twenty  or 
thirty,  feet  square,  but  not  proportionate  in  height. 
The  descent  into  them  is  artfully  contrived.  A  range 
of  narrow  cells,  wide  enough  to  receive  a  sarcophagi, 
and  long  enough  for  two  or  three,  runs  along  the 
sides  of  most  of  them,  and  appear  to  be  the  only  pro- 
vision that  has  been  made  for  the  reception  of  the 
dead.  .  .  .  The  sepulchral  chambers  near  Jebilee, 
Tortosa,  and  the  Serpent  n.oimtain,  together  with 
those  that  are  commonly  called  the  Royal  sepulchres 
at  Jerusalem,  are  all  of  them  exactly  of  the  same 
workmanship  and  contrivance  with  the  cryptse  of 
Latikea, 

It  is  somewhat  remarkable  that  the  prophet  omits 
the  sovereign  of  Babylon.  Was  this  because  Baby- 
lon, being  built  on  marshy  ground,  afforded  no  op- 
portunity for  excavating  sepulchres  in  rocks?  It  does 
not  appear  that  such  sepulchres  could  he  formed  in 
that  city.  What  places  of  interment  have  hitherto 
been  discovered,  are  in  erections  above  ground.  Mr. 
Rich  mentions  them  ;  but  he  found  them  in  masses 
of  brick  work.     Still,  it  is  impossible  to  overlook  the 


SEPULCHRE 


834  ] 


SEPULCHRE 


sublime  ode  of  the  prophet  Isaiah,  addressed  to  this 
poteiuate,  an  ode  which  has  been  often  admired  for 
its  sublimity,  chap.  xiv.  Tlie  prophet  speaks  of  the 
king  of  Babylon  as  brought  down  to  hell  [the  shades 
below]  and  to  the  sides  of  the  pit.  Tiiis,  however, 
may  be  principally  a  poetical  antithesis  to  the  pre- 
ceding verse,  which  records  his  desire  of  ascending 
above  die  heights  of  the  clouds,  and  emulating  the 
Most  High.  And,  unless  we  take  the  passage  in  this 
qualified  sense,  we  shall  find  it  scarcely  possible  to 
reconcile  it  with  the  enlarged  particulars  in  the  fol- 
lowing verses : — 

All  the  kings  of  the  nations — all  of  them 

Lie  in  glory  ;  every  one  in  his  own  house — sepul- 
chre. 

But  thou  art  cast  out  of  thy  grave,  like  an  abomi- 
nable branch ; 

Like  the  raiment  of  the  slain,  thrust  through  with 
a  sword. 

That  go  down  to  the  stones  of  the  pit; 

As  a  carcass  that  is  trodden  under  feet, 

Thou  shall  not  be  joined  with  them  in  burial. 

The  strongest  possible  opposition  is  here  intended 
by  this  elevated  writer.  Taking  the  sepulchre  of 
Pharaoh  Necho,  as  described  by  Belzoni,  for  an  in- 
stance of  the  posthumous  glory  of  the  kings  of  the 
nations,  of  the  house  appertaining  to  each,  respect 
ively,  we  feel  more  sensibly  the  degradation  of  the 
monarch  whose  preponderance  had  been  terrific  to 
all  his  neighbors,  and  whose  ambition  urged  him  to 
aspire  at  divinity.  The  personification  of  Sheol,  the 
region  of  the  dead,  appears  to  be  more  than  ever 
striking  ;  with  the  company  roused  to  meet  this  dead 
monarch.  The  diflerence  of  personages  imagined 
by  these  prophets  as  addressing  the  descending 
kings,  would  justify  the  investigation  of  critics,  but 
demands  a  discussion  too  extensive  for  this  place. 

Dr.  Clarke  discovered,  and  has  fully  described,  a 
number  of  sepulchres  similar  to  those  spoken  of  by 
Maundrell,  which  extend  along  the  side  of  the  ravine 
to  the  south-west  and  west  of  inount  Sion.  He  de- 
scribes them  as  a  series  of  subterranean  chambers, 
hewn  with  considerable  art,  each  containing  one  or 
many  repositoi-ies  for  the  dead,  like  cisterns  carv^ed 
in  the  rock,  upon  the  sides  of  the  chambers.  The 
doors  are  so  low,  that  to  look  into  any  one  of  them, 
it  is  necessary  to  stoop,  and  in  some  instances  to 
creep  on  hands  and  knees.     (See  Luke  xxiv.  12.) 

Mr.  Maundrell's  description  of  the  se[)nlchre  called 
that  of  the  kings  of  Judah,  may  be  useful  for  illus- 
trating some  passages  of  Scripture: — 

"The  next  place  we  came  to  was  those  famous 
grots  called  the  sepulchres  of  the  kings  ;  but  for  what 
reason  they  go  by  that  name  is  hard  to  resolve  ;  for  it 
is  certain  none  of  the  kings,  either  of  Israel  or  Jiidah, 
were  buried  here,  the  Holy  Scripture  assigning  otjier 
places  for  their  sepulchres  :  unless  it  may  bo  thought 
perhai)3  that  llezekiah  was  hero  interred,  and  that 
these  were  the  sepulchres  of  the  sons  of  David,  men- 
tioned 2  Chron.  xxxii.  .33.  Whoever  was  buried 
here,  this  is  certain,  that  the  place  itself  discovers  so 
great  an  expense,  both  of  labor  and  treasure,  that  we 
may  well  sii|)pose  it  to  have  been  the  work  of  kings. 
You  approach  to  it  at  the  east  side  through  an  entranctc 
cut  out  of  the  natural  rock,  which  admits  you  into  an 
open  coiu't  of  about  forty  i)ace3  square,  cut  down  into 
the  rock  with  which  it  is  encompassed  instead  of 
walls.  On  the  south  side  of  the  court  is  a  portico 
nine  paces  long  and  four  broad,  hewn  lilicwiiio  out 


of  the  natural  rock.  This  has  a  kind  of  architrave 
running  along  its  front,  adorned  with  sculpture,  of 
fruits  and  flowers,  still  discernible,  but  by  time  much 
defaced.  At  the  end  of  the  portico,  on  the  left  hand, 
you  descend  to  the  passage  into  the  sepidchres.  The 
door  is  now  so  obstructed  with  stones  and  rubbish, 
that  it  is  a  thing  of  some  difficulty  to  creep  through 
it.  But  within  you  arrive  in  a  large,  lair  i-oom,  about 
seven  or  eight  yards  square,  cut  out  of  the  natural 
rock.  Its  sides  and  ceiling  are  so  exactly  square,  and 
its  angles  so  just,  that  no  architect,  with  levels  and 
plummets,  could  build  a  room  more  regular.  And 
the  whole  is  so  firm  and  entire,  that  it  may  be  called 
a  chamber  hollowed  out  of  one  piece  of  marble. 
From  this  room,  you  pass  into,  I  think,  six  more,  one 
within  another,  all  of  the  same  fabric  with  the  first. 
Of  these  the  two  innermost  are  deeper  than  the  rest, 
having  a  second  descent  of  about  six  or  seven  stepa 
into  them.  In  every  one  of  these  rooms,  except  the 
first,  were  coffins  of  stone  placed  in  niches  in  the 


sides  of  the  chambers.  They  had  been  at  first  cov- 
ered with  handsome  lids,  and  carved  with  garlands  ; 
but  now  most  of  them  were  broke  to  pieces,  by  sac- 
rilegious hands."     (Travels,  p.  76.) 

The  cave  of  Machpelah,  which  Abraham  l)onght, 
(Gen.  xxiii.  9.)  Was  probably  a  double  cave,  an  exte- 
rior chamber  opening  into  another  interior;  not  un- 
like those  first  described  by  Maimdrell.  If  so,  it 
might  easily  afterwards  receive  others  of  Abraham's 
family. 

We  have  seen  that  these  sepulchres  are  occasion- 
ally divided  into  chambers  ;  and  to  such  a  chamber 
of  death  the  wise  man  compares  the  chamber  of  the 
adidteress  ;  (Prov.  vii.  27.)  "  .S7ie  causes  to/all,  like  as, 
as  surely  as,  inany  and  great  tvounds  cause  him  to  fall 
who  has  received  them  :  and  even  strong  men  arc  ab- 
solutely slain  by  her.  The  way  to  the  sepidchre  is  her 
house,  her  first,  or  outer,  clianiber  is  like  the  open 
coiut  that  leads  to  the  tomb  ;  descending  to  the  cham- 
bers of  death"  is  the  further  entrance  into  her  apart- 
ment :  her  private  chamber,  penetralia,  is  like  a  sepa- 
rate recess  in  a  sepulchre.  The  wiiler  varies  this 
representation  in  chap.  ix.  18,  "  And  he  (the  thought- 
less youth)  is  not  aware  that  the  Rephaim,  giants,  the 
most  terrible  of  men,  are  there  [in  the  house  of  the 
adulteress]  inviting,  calling  him,  soliciting  him,  to  en- 
ter the  tomb."  Tliis  is  a  bold  prosopopeia,  raising, 
as  it  were,  the  dead,  which  had  been  slain  by  means 
of  prostitution,  Aviiose  de])arted  spirits  entice  the 
thoughtless  youth  to  make  one  among  them. 

Some  of 'the  tombs  in  Egypt  which  Norden  has 
copied,  much  resemble  our  country  graves  in  Eng- 
land ;  some  of  them  seem  to  be  clusters  of  graves. 


SEPULCHRE 


[  835  ] 


SEPULCHRE 


occupied,  it  may  bo  siipi-osed,  by  individuals  of  the 
saniL-  family  ;  othei-s  are  buildings  of  at  least  one  story 
in  height,  and,  by  their  doors  and  windows,  or  open- 
ings, seem  as  if  they  might,  on  occasion,  accommo- 
date the  living ;  as  indeed  we  find  by  several  travel- 
lers who  have  taken  refnge  in  them  that  they  do. 
TJiis  will  elucidate  the  circumstances  of  the  demo- 
niacs, who  dwelt  among  the  tombs,  (Matt.  viii.  28, 
d  al.)  and  we  see  how  readily  they  might  serve 
as  luibitations  to  those  nidiappy  sufterers.  They 
show,  also,  the  propriety  of  our  Lord's  comparison 
of  tiie  Pharisees  to  whited,  embellished,  beautified, 
sepulchres  ;  handsome  without,  but  })olliUcd  with- 
in :  and  the  opportunities  which  persons  professing 
extraordinary  zeal  for  God,  or  regard  for  his  servants, 
might  have,  of  "  garnishing  the  sepulchres  of  the 
righteous,"  as  well  as  of  rejiairing,  or  "building,  the 
tomhs  of  the  prophets  ;"  (Matt,  xxiii.  27.)  while  at  the 
same  time  as  they  j)ai(l  imsolicited,  and  even  extrav- 
agant honors  to  the  dead,  they  detracted,  desi)ised,  or 
persecuted  the  living ;  who  addressed  them  with 
messages  of  the  divine  will,  with  authority  superior 
to  that  of  those  whom  they  professed,  by  such  soli- 
citous attentions,  to  admire  and  to  venerate. 

Some  erection  certainly,  though  probably  of  much 
smaller  dimensions  than  many  of  these,  did  Jacob 
construct  over  the  gi\ive  of  Rachel ;  perhaps  a  simjjle 
pillar  within  an  enclosure,  Gen.  xxxv.  20.  Tliat 
called  the  tomb  of  Rachel,  near  Bethlehem,  has  no 
just  pretensions  to  such  remote  antiquity. 

The  reader  will  recollect  the  descri|)tive  epithet  of 
Job,  (chap.  XXX.  23.)  which,  perhaps,  may  be  thus  un- 
derstood :  "in  like  innwier  (that  is,  as  the  pillar  of 
sand  is  dissolved)  thou  will  turn  my  face,  or  direct  my 
passage  toward  death  ;  and  toivard  the  house  ivhich  has 
long  been,  and  ever  is  in  continual  preparation  to  re- 
ceive all  the  livinsc"  Exactly  conformable  is  the 
psalmist's  idea  :  (v.  9.)  "The  throat  of  the  wicked  is 
an  open  sepulchre,"  ever  ready  to  devour  ;  constantly 
gaping  to  receive  all  comers:  and  to  this  Jeremiah 
very  forcibly  likens  the  quiver  of  the  Chaldeans:  "It 
is  an  open  sepulchre" — certain  death  ;  insatiable  ; 
Bwallovving  up  all.  Hell,  the  grave,  and  destruction, 
are  never  full,  (Pro  v.  xxvii.  20.)  but  keep  continually 
crying.  Give,  give,  ch.  xxx.  15,  16. 

The  representations  which  Le  Bruyn  has  given  of 
some  sepulchres,  cut  at  considerable  heights  into  the 
rock,  at  Naxi  Rustam,  near  Persepolis,  in  Persia, 
shows  that  they  must  have  been  works  of  great  labor 
and  expense,  beyond  the  powei"s  of  ordinary  persons, 
and  must  have  employed  many  lal)orers,  anil  for  a 
long  time.  Vain  desire  of  somewhat  permanent! 
Vain  solicitude  for  a  kind  of  terrestrial,  posthumous 
immortality  !  This  gives  a  spirit  to  the  expostulation 
of  the  prophet  Isaiah  (chap.  xxii.  1(5.)  with  Shebna 
the  treasurer: — "What  hast  thou  here?  what  lasting 
settlement  dost  thou  expect?  that  thou  hast  hewn 
thee  out  a  sepulchre,  here,  like  as  one  heweth  out  at 
a  great  height  his  sepulchre  ;  that  ciUteth  out  at  a 
great  expense  a  habitation,  for  himself,  after  death,  a 
dwelling,  a  residence,  iu  the  solid  rock:  it  shall  be 
fruitless;  for  the  Lord  shall  toss  thee,  as  a  ball,  into  a 
large  country,  where  thou  shalt  die,"  &c.  It  may  be 
thought,  that  Shebna  had  actually  constructed  a 
magnificent  monument,  sibi  et  svis,  as  the  Latins 
speak  :  the  contrast  of  such  stability,  with  the  roll- 
ings of  a  ball  into  a  far  country,  is  very  strong.  That 
Shebna  meant  to  settle  where  he  built  his  sepulchre; 
that  he  connected  the  idea  of  security  with  it,  is  very 
credible.  Will  this  apply  to  the  phraseology  of  Ba- 
laam :  (Numb.  xxiv.  21.)  "He  said  of  the  Kenites, 


Strong  is  thy  dwelling-place,  where  tliou  passfst  thy 
liti; :  and  thou  placest  in  a  rock  thy  nest,  wherein 
thou  dost  projjose  to  abide  after  thy  decease,  thcit  is, 
thy  sepulchre:  notwithstanding  this  thou  shalt  be 
tcasted,"  &c.  It  is  by  no  means  certain  that  this  is 
the  true  sense ;  because,  we  often  read  ui  Scripture 
of  inhabitants  of  rocks — nevertheless,  this  sense  may 
be  included;  especially  when  we  consider  the  strong 
affection  of  the  orientals  toward  the  places  of  sepul- 
ture appropriated  to  their  families.  (See  2  Sam.  xix. 
33 ;  Neh.  ii.  3.) 

From  the  general  constructions  of  these  sepulchres, 
we  see  the  propriety  of  Scripture  allusions  to  their 
various  paits  ;  as  to  the  gates  of  hell — of  hades,  the 
unseen  world  ;  the  lotvest  hell — hades,  &c.  We  see 
also  the  attention  bestowed  on  his  sepulchre  bj'  the 
party  himself,  while  living.  It  is  very  probable  that 
sepulchres  in  gardens  were  generally  cut  into  rocks ; 
not  dug  (like  graves)  in  the  earth,  but  into  the  heart 
of  a  rock;  hence  Samuel  was  buried 'in  his  own 
house,  that  is,  garden,  probably,  at  Ramah,  1  Sam. 
XXV.  1.  Manasseh  was  buried  in  the  garden  of  his 
house,  (2  Kings  xxi.  18.)  and  (ver.  26.)  Anion  was 
buried  in  the  sepulchre  in  the  garden  of  Uzzah. 
Hence  the  sepulchre  of  Lazarus  (John  xi.  38.)  is  ex- 
plained— distinguished — as  being  a  cave  ;  a  chamber 
somewhat  sunk  into  the  ground  ;  and  hence,  we  find, 
Joseph  of  Arimathea  had  jirepared  his  se])u]chre  iu 
his  garden,  and  had  cut  it  into  a  rock ;  chamber 
within  chaml)er,  according  to  custom.     See  Bcrial. 

It  is  customary,  when  a  sepulchre  is  not  in  a  garden, 
to  surround  it  witli  fragrant  herbs,  flowers,  &c. ;  hence 
the  allusions  to  favorable  situations  for  sepulchres, 
"The  clods  of  the  valley  shall  be  sweet  unto  him." 

If  the  reader  will  bear  in  mind  these  distinct  kinds 
of  sepulchres,  he  will  find  many  places  in  Scripture 
become  more  intelligible  by  means  of  such  discrimi- 
nation, since  what  is  descriptive  of  one  kind,  is  inap- 
plicable to  others. 

We  find  in  Scripture  various  appellations  given  to 
the  sepulchre ;  among  others,  that  of  the  house  ap- 
pointed for  all  living — the  long  home  of  man — and  the 
everlasting  habitation.  These  are  capal)le  of  much 
illustration  from  antiquity.  The  following  are  from 
Montfaucon :  "  We  observed,  in  the  fifth  volume  of 
our  antiquity,  a  tomb,  styled  there,  as  here,  Qitietori- 
lun,  a  resting-place.  There  it  is  styled  Clymenis 
(^uietorium.  (^uiescere,  to  rest,  is  often  said  of  the 
dead,  in  epitaphs.  Thus  we  find,  in  an  ancient 
writer,  a  man  speaking  of  his  master,  who  had  been 
long  dead  and  buried :  Cujus  ossa  bene  quicscant ! 
May  his  bones  rest  iu  peace  !  We  have  an  instance 
of  the  like  kind  in  an  inscription  in  Gruter,  (p.  G96.) 
and  in  another,  (p.  954.)  Fecit  sibi  reqxiietorium  ;  He 
made  himself  a  resting-place."  (See  Job  iii,  13, 
17,  18;  xvii.  16.)  "  This  resting-place  is  called  fre- 
quently, too,  AN  ETERNAL  HOUSE.  '  III  Ms  life-time 
he  built  himself  an  eternal  house,'  says  one  epi- 
taph, 'He  made  himself  an  eternal  house  with  his 
l)atrimony,'  says  another.  '  He  thought  it  better 
(says  another  epita])h)  to  build  himself  an  eternal 
HOUSE,  than  to  ilesire  his  heirs  to  do  it ;'  and  another, 
'He  ])ut  an  inscri|)tion  upon  his  eternal  house,' 
And  another,  '  He  made  a  perpetual  house  for  his 
good  and  amiable  companion.'  They  thought  it  a 
misfortune,  when  the  bones  and  ashes  of  the  dead 
were  removed  from  their  place,  as  imagining  the 
dead  suffered  something  by  the  removal  of  their 
bones.  This  notion  occasioned  all  those  precautious 
used  for  the  safety  of  their  tombs,  and  the  curses 
they  laid  on  those  who  removed  them." 


SER 


836  ] 


SERPENT 


This  may  be  further  illustrated  by  reference  to 
those  inscriptions  on  the  tombs  at  Palmyra,  which 
have  been  explained  by  Mr.  Swinton  ;  (Phil.  Ti-ans. 
vol.  liii.  p.  276,  &c.)  and  it  is  important  to  remark, 
that  the  Palmyrenians  w^ere  so  strongly  assimilated 
to  the  Jewish  nation,  as  to  be  all  but  Jews  in  many 
of  their  peculiarities,  as  they  really  were  Jews  in 
some  of  them. 

Solomon  (Eccl.  xii.  5.)  calls  the  tomb  {ch^'  r  o,  beth 
olam)  the  house  of  ages,  or  of  long  duration  ;  and  Mr. 
Swinton  reads  the  beginning  of  a  Punic  inscription, 
found  in  the  island  of  Malta,  thus:  {—hy  nD  mn,  heder 
heth  olam)  the  chamber  of  long  home.  [This]  "  cham- 
ber of  the  house  of  ages  [or  the  long  home]  is  the  sepul- 
chre of  an  upright  man  deposited  [here]  in  a  most  sound 
sleep. — The  people,  having  a  great  affection  for  him, 
were  vastly  concerned  ivhen  Hannibal,  the  son  of  Bar- 
melec,  was  interred.''^  This  is  the  very  expression  of 
Solomon,  and  justifies  the  sense  of  the  words,  as  used 
in  our  version.  It  is  worthy  of  observation,  too,  that 
the  figure  to  denote  death  is — a  deep  sleep  ;  a  sound 
sleep.  In  this  sense  our  Lord  spake,  "  Our  friend 
Lazarus  sleepeth ;  I  go  to  awake  him  out  of  sleep  (and 
this  gives  the  spirit  of  the  disciples'  answer,  "  Lord, 
if  he  sleep,  he  shall  do  well ;"  sound  sleep  being  a  fa- 
vorable symptom  in  sick  persons.)  "The  maid  is 
not  dead,  but  sleepeth,"  &c.  The  word  sleep,  we 
snp[)ose,  was  capable  of  so  much  ambiguity,  as  not 
instantly,  or  infallibly,  to  strike  our  Lord's  hearers  in 
the  sense  he  intended  by  it. 

The  sepulchre,  or  tomb,  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
was  on  mount  Calvary,  north-^yest  of  Jerusalem,  and 
was,  as  already  observed,  hewn  out  of  a  rock,  John 
xix.  41.  What  is  now  shown  for  it,  is  a  kind  of 
small  chamber,  the  interior  of  which  is  almost  square ; 
its  height  from  bottom  to  top  is  eight  feet  one  inch, 
its  length  six  feet  one  inch,  and  its  breadth  fifteen 
feet  ten  inches.  The  entrance,  which  looks  towards 
the  east,  is  but  four  feet  high,  and  two  feet  four 
inches  wide.  The  place  where  the  body  of  our 
Saviour  is  said  to  have  been  laid,  takes  up  one  side 
of  this  cave  ;  it  is  raised  from  the  ground  to  the 
height  of  two  feet  four  inches  ;  its  length  is  five  feet 
eleven  inches,  and  its  breadth  two  feet  eight  inches, 
placed  lengthwise  fi-om  east  to  west,  and  is  incrusted 
with  white  marble.  Dr.  Clarke  has  contested  the 
location  of  our  Lord's  sepulchre  in  this  place,  but  his 
objections  have  been  replied  to  in  the  ai-ticle  Cal- 
vary. 

I.  SERAIAH,  a  scribe,  i.  e.  secretary  of  state,  or 
register,  to  David,  2  Sam.  viii.  17. 

II.  SERAIAH,  father  of  Ezra,  Ezra  vii.  1.  Several 
other  persons  of  this  name  occur. 

SERAPHIM  denotes  a  kind  of  angels,  which  en- 
circle the  throne  of  the  Lord.  Those  described  by 
Isaiah  (ch.  vi.  2.)  had  each  six  wings ;  with  two  of 
which  he  covered  his  face,  with  two  his  feet,  and 
with  the  two  others  flew.  They  cried  to  one  another, 
and  said,  " Holy,  holy,  holy,  is  the  Lord  of  Hosts! 
the  whole  earth  is  full  of  his  glory  !  " 

SERGEANTS,  (Acts  xvi.  35  )  properly  Roman 
lictors,  public  servants  wlio  bore  a  bmidle  of  rods 
before  the  magistrates  of  cities  and  colonies  as  insig- 
nia of  their  office,  and  who  executed  the  sentences 
which  they  pronounced.  (See  Adam's  Rom.  Antiq. 
p.  178.)     R. 

SERGIUS  PAULUS,  proconsul  or  governor  of 
the  isle  of  Cyprus,  was  converted  by  the  ministry  of 
Paul,  A,  D.  44,  or  45,  Acts  xiii.  7. 

SERPENT.  The  craft  and  subtlety  of  this  reptile 
are  frequently  dwelt  on  in  tlu-  sacred  writings,  ns 


qualities  by  which  it  is  eminently  distinguished. 
Moses  says  it  was  more  subtle  than  any  beast  of  the 
field  which  the  Lord  God  had  made  ;  (Gen.  iii.  1.) 
and  our  Saviour  points  to  its  wisdom  as  furnishing  a 
model  for  imitation  to  his  disciples.  Matt.  x.  16.  We 
may  enumerate  seven  kinds  of  serpents  as  known  to 
the  Hebrews,  as  follow :  (1.)  Epheh,  ryyoti,  the  viper, 
Isa.  lix.  5.  (2.)  AcsHUB,  31C3}',  the  adder,  Ps.  cxl.  3. 
(3.)  Pethen,  pd,  the  adder,  Ps.  Iviii.  4.  (4.)  Tzepha, 
}'DX,  or  ijjiijx,  TzEPHONi,  not  the  fabulous  cockatrice, 
but  a  common  serpent,  Isa.  xi.  8.  (5.)  Kippos,  nsp, 
according  to  Bochart,  tho  Acontias,  or  dart-snake, 
Isa.  xxxiv.  15.  (6.)  Shephiphon,  )ui;c',  the  Ce- 
rastes, Gen.  xlix.  17.  (7.)  The  Saraph,  t^nr,  a  flying 
serpent.  Numb.  xxi.  8. 

Som.e  of  these  Mr.  Taylor  has  illustrated ;  the 
others  continue  obscure. 

(1.)  The  Epheh,  of  the  Hebrews,  he  takes  to  be  the 
El  Effah  of  the  Arabs  ;  of  which  Mr.  Jackson  ob- 
serves, in  his  account  of  Marocco,  "  It  is  the  name  of 
a  serpent  remarkable  for  its  quick  and  penetrating 
poison  ;  it  is  about  two  feet  long,  and  as  thick  as  a 
man's  arm,  beautifully  spotted  with  yellow  and 
brown,  and  sprinkled  over  with  blackish  s{)ecks, 
similar  to  the  horn-nosed  snake.  They  have  a  wide 
mouth,  by  which  they  inhale  a  great  quantity  of  air, 
and  when  inflated  therewith,  they  eject  it  with  such 
force  as  to  be  heard  at  a  considerable  distance. 
These  mortal  enemies  to  mankind  are  collected  by 
the  Aisawie  [serpent- conjurers]  in  a  desert  of  Suse, 
where  their  holes  ai-e  so  numerous,  that  it  is  difficult 
for  a  horse  to  pass  over  it  without  stumbling." 

(2.)  The  Pethen  is  in  all  probability  the  Bagtasn  of 
the  Arabs :  it  is  described  by  M.  Forskal  as  being 
"wholly  spotted  (in  blotches)  black  and  white.  A 
foot  in  length  ;  nearly  two  inches  thick  ;  oviparous. 
Its  bite  is  instant  death  ;  the  body  of  the  wounded 
person  swells  greatly."     See  Asp. 

Having  suggested  the  idea  that  this  Beetcen  is  the 
Peten  of  the  Hebrew  Scriptures,  3Tr.  Taylor  sug- 
gests that  it  may  be  strongly  related  to,  if  not  a 
variety  of,  the  Coluber  Lebttinus  of  Linnaeus  ;  and 
under  that  persuasion,  he  extracts  first  M.  Forskal's 
description  of  this  serpent,  and  then  adds  something 
from  Hasselquist.  Linnaeus  was  the  first  naturalist 
who  mentioned  it.  The  length  of  its  body  less  than 
a  cubit ;  its  tail  four  inches  ;  toward  the  neck  thinner, 
an  inch  and  a  half  thick.  Head  broad,  depressed, 
subcordated.  Scales  of  the  back  obtuse-oval,  flat,  a 
ridge  rising  in  the  middle,  carinated.  Back  rising  in 
dos  d''ane  [not  round.]  Color,  upper  part  gray,  or 
dinarily  four  transverse  bands,  alternately  crossing. 
The  middle  of  them  verging  to  yellow,  but  the  sides 
to  deep  brown,  or  black.  Underneath  whitish,  and 
closely  spotted  with  black  dots.  Scida  abdom.  152. 
Squamae  caud.  43.'"  "Obs.  Its  bite  produces  lethar- 
gy, is  fatal  and  incurable.  Two  of  these  serpents 
were  sent  me  from  Cyprus,  by  my  friend  Petr.  Sjelvi, 
interpreter  to  the  French  embassy  at  Cairo.  The 
species  is  not  [but]  small :  is  it  therefore  the  Jlspic  of 
the  ancients  ?  so  it  is  now  called  by  the  literati  of 
Cyprus  ;  but  the  common  people  call  it  Kii/i,  {yov(p};,) 
deaf"  (Forskal.)  Hasselquist  says,  "I  saw  two 
kinds  of  \ipers  at  Cyprus,  one  called  ^spic,  of  which 
it  is  said,  (1.)  that  it  contains  a  venom  so  penetrating 
as  to  produce  a  universal  gangrene,  of  which  a  man 
djes  in  a  few  hours ;  (2.)  that  the  better  to  catch  his 
])rev,  it  tal<es  the  color  of  the  ground  on  wliich  it 
lies!  They  said  of  the  other,  (1.)  that  it  has  a  great 
antipathy  to  the  former,  and  destroys  it ;  (2.)  that 
they  eat  one  another;  (3.)  that  they  feed   on  larks, 


SERPENT 


[  837 


?ERPENT 


sparrows,  &c.  of  which  I  myself  am  wiuiess."  These 
serpents,  Mr.  Taylor  thinks,  are  not  unlike  in  size  to 
the  Beeteen  ;  one  is  a  foot  in  length,  the  other  is  under 
eighteen  inches  ;  one  is  nearly  two  inches  thick,  the 
other,  where  narrow,  one  and  a  half.  One  is  spotted, 
black  and  white,  the  other  is  gray,  black  and  white 
in  bands.  Both  are  fatal.  The  gangrene  follows 
their  venom,  as  in  other  serpents.  The  epithet  deaf  is 
observable  ;  for  in  Ps.  Iviii.  4,  deafness  is  ascribed  to 
the  Peten.     It  is  also  mentioned  in  Job  xx.  14. 

(3.)  The  Sdraph,  or  flying  ser|)enl,  derives  its  name 
from  a  root  which  signifies  to  bum,  either  on  account 
of  its  vivid  fiery  color,  or  from  the  heat  and  burning 
pain  occasioned  by  its  bite.  In  Numb.  xxi.  6,  &c. 
we  read  that  these  venomous  creatures  were  employ- 
ed by  God  to  chastise  the  unbelieving  and  rebellious 
Israelites,  in  consequence  of  which  many  of  them 
died,  the  rest  being  saved  from  the  eftects  of  the 
calamitous  visitation,  through  the  appointed  medium 
of  the  brazen  serpent,  which  Moses  was  enjoined  to 
raise  upon  a  pole  in  the  midst  of  the  camp,  and  which 
was  a  striking  type  of  the  promised  Saviour,  John 
iii.  14,  15.  In  Isa.  xiv.  29,  and  ciiap.  xxx.  6,  the 
same  word,  with  an  additional  epithet,  is  used,  and 
is  translated  in  our  Bible  "  fiery  flying  serpents ; " 
and  if  we  may  rely  on  the  testimony  of  the  ancients 
a  cloud  of  witnesses  may  be  produced,  who  speak 
of  these  flying  or  winged  ser()ents,  altlaough  we  do 
not  find  that  any  of  them  affirm  they  actually  saw 
such  alive  and  flying.  Miciiaelis,  however,  was  so 
far  influenced  by  these  testimonies,  that  in  his  eighty- 
third  question,  he  recommends  it  to  travellers  to  in- 
quire after  the  existence  and  nature  of  flying  ser- 
pents. In  conformity  with  these  instructions,  Nie- 
buhr  communicated  the  following  information  :  (Pe- 
scription  de  I'Arabie,  p.  186.)  "There  is  at  Bakra  a 
sort  of  serpents  which  they  call  Heic  sursiirie,  or 
Heie  thidre.  They  commonly  keep  upon  the  date- 
trees  ;  and,  as  it  would  be  laborious  for  them  to  come 
down  from  a  very  high  tree  in  order  to  ascend 
another,  they  twist  themselves  by  the  tail  to  a  branch 
of  the  former,  which,  making  a  spring  by  the  motion 
they  give  it,  throw  themselves  to  the  second.  Hcn(ie 
it  is  that  the  modern  Arabs  call  them  flying  serpents, 
Heie  thidre.  I  know  not  whether  the  ancient  Arabs 
of  whom  Michaelis  speaks  in  his  eighty-third  ques- 
tion, saw  any  other  flying  serpents."  Niebuhr  refers 
also  to  lord  Anson's  report  of  flying  serpents  in  the 
island  of  Quibo.  The  passage  is  as  follows:  "The 
Spaniards,  too,  informed  us,  that  there  was  often 
•foimd  in  the  woods  a  most  mischievous  serpent,  called 
the  flying  snake,  which,  they  said,  darted  itself  from 
the  boughs  of  trees  on  either  man  or  beast  that  came 
within  its  reach,  and  whose  sting  they  took  to  be  in- 
evitable death."  (Voyage,  by  Walter,  p.  308.  Bvo. 
1748.)  After  citing  these  passages,  we  may  conclude 
that  the  sdraph  meopheph  mentioned  in  the  passages 
we  have  referred  to,  was  of  that  species  of  serpent, 
which,  from  their  swift  darting  motion,  the  Greeks 
called  Acontias,  and  the  Romans  Jacidus ;  and  to 
these  the  term  meopheph  seems  as  properly  applica- 
ble in  Hebrew,  as  Volucer,  which  Lucan  applies  to 
them  in  Latin,  Jaculique  volucres. 

(4.)  The  Cerastes,  or  Horned  Viper,  is  among  the 
most  deadly  of  the  serpent  tribe,  and  is  tlistinguished 
by  the  peculiarity  of  its  horns.  It  is  numerous  in 
Egypt  and  Syria,  so  that  it  could  not  escape  the 
notice  and  allusions  of  the  sacred  writei-s.  Mr.  Bruce 
has  published  a  figure  of  this  serpent,  with  a  consid- 
erable account  of  its  manners,  part  of  which  we  shall 
fxtract.     He  savs    "There  is  no  article  of  natural 


history  the  ancients  have  dwelt  on  more  than  that 
of  the  viper,  whether  poets,  physicians,  or  historians. 
All  have  enlarged  on  the  particular  sizes,  colors,  and 
qualities,  yet  the  knowledge  of  their  manners  is  but 
little  extended. 

"  I  have  travelled  across  the  Cyrenaicum  in  all  di- 
rections, and  never  saw  but  one  species  of  viper, 
which  was  the  Cerastes,  or  Horned  Viper  ;  neither 
did  I  ever  see  any  of  the  snake  kind  that  could  be 

mistaken  for  the  viper One  name  under  which  the 

Cerastes  goes,  is  equivocal,  and  has  been  misunder- 
stood in  Scripture  ;  that  is,  tseboa,  which  name  is 
given  it  in  Hebrew  from  its  different  colors  and  spots. 
And  hence  the  Greeks  have  called  it  by  the  name  of 
hytena,  because  it  is  of  the  same  reddish  color,  mark- 
ed with  black  spots,  as  that  quadruped  is.  And  the 
same  fable  is  applied  to  the  serpent  and  the  quadru- 
ped, that  they  change  their  sex  yearly The 

Cerastes  hides  itself  all  day  m  holes  in  the  sand, 
where  it  lives  in  contiguous  and  similar  houses  to 
those  of  the  jerboa  ;  and  I  have  already  said,  that  I 
never  but  once  found  any  animal  in  this  viper's  belly 
but  one  jerboa  in  a  gravid  female  Cerastes. 

"  The  Cerastes  moves  with  great  rapidity,  and  in 
all  directions,  fbrwai'ds,  backwards  and  sideways. 
When  he  inclines  to  surprise  any  one  who  is  too  far 
from  him,  he  creeps  with  his  side  towards  the  per- 
son, and  his  head  averted,  till,  judging  his  distance, 
ho  turns  roiuid,  springs  upon  him,  and  fastens  upon 
the  part  next  to  him  ;  for  it  is  not  true  what  is  said, 
that  the  Cerastes  does  not  leap  or  spring.  I  saw  one 
of  them  at  Cairo,  in  the  house  of  Julian  and  Rosa, 
crawl  up  the  side  of  a  box,  in  which  there  were 
many,  and  there  lie  still  as  if  hiding  himself,  till  one 
of  the  people  who  brought  them  to  us  came  near 
him,  and,  though  in  a  very  disadvantageous  posture, 
sticking,  as  it  were,  perpendicular  to  the  side  of 
the  box,  he  leaped  near  the  distance  of  three  feet,  and 
fastened  between  the  man's  fore  finger  and  thumb, 
so  as  to  bring  the  blood. 

"Of  the  incantation  of  serpents,  there  is  no  doubt 
of  its  reality.  The  Scriptures  are  full  of  it.  All  that 
have  been  in  Egypt  have  seen  as  many  different  in- 
stances as  they  chose.  Some  have  doubted  that  it 
was  a  trick,  and  that  the  animals  so  handled  had 
been  trained,  and  then  disarmed  of  their  power  of 
hurting  ;  and,  fond  of  the  discovery,  they  have  rested 
themselves  upon  it,  without  experiment,  in  the  face 
of  all  antiquity.  But  I  will  not  hesitate  to  aver,  that 
I  have  seen  at  Cairo  (and  this  may  be  seen  daily 
without  trouble  or  expense)  a  man  who  came  from 
above  the  catacombs,  wiiere  the  pits  of  the  mummy- 
birds  are  kept,  who  has  taken  a  Cerastes  with  his 
naked  hand  from  a  number  of  others  lying  at  the 
bottom  of  the  tub,  has  i)ut  it  upon  his  bare  head, 
covered  it  with  the  common  red  cap  he  wears,  then 
taking  it  out,  put  it  in  his  breast,  and  tied  it  about  his 
neck  like  a  necklace  ;  after  which  it  has  been  applied 
to  a  hen,  and  bit  it,  which  has  died  in  a  few  minutes  ; 
and,  to  complete  the  experiment,  the  man  has  taken 
it  by  the  neck,  and  beginning  at  its  tail,  has  ate  it  as 
one  would  do  a  carrot  or  a  stock  of  celery,  without 

any  seeming  repugnance lean  myself  vouch, 

that  all  the  black  people  in  the  kingdom  of  Sennaar, 
whether  Funge  or  Nuba,  are  perfectly  armed  against 
the  bite  of  either  scoqiion  or  viper.  They  take  the 
Cerastes  in  their  hand  at  all  times,  put  them  in  their 
bosoms,  and  throw  them  to  one  another,  as  childreo 
do  apples  or  balls,  without  having  irritated  them  by 
this  ustige  so  much  as  to  bite."     See  Inchantments. 

The  Cerastes  is  well  known  under  the  name  of 


SERPENT 


[  838  ] 


SERPENT 


*'  Horned  Viper,"  and  is  distinguished  by  two  small 
honis,  one  over  each  eye.  It  was  adopted  as  a  hiero- 
glyphic among  the  Egyptians,  and  appears  not  only 
on  obelisks,  columns  ot"  temples,  statues,  and  walls 
of  palaces,  hut  on  mummies  also. 

The  Cerastes  have  always  been  considered  as  ex- 
tremely cunning,  both  in  escaping  their  enemies,  and 
in  seizing  their  prey  ;  they  have  been  named  insidious; 
and  it  is  reported  of  them  that  they  hide  themselves 
in  holds  adjacent  to  the  highways,  and  in  the  ruts  of 
wheels,  in  order  more  suddenly  to  spring  upon  pas- 
sengers. 

Calmet,  as  we  have  seen,  thinks  the  Shephiph6n,to 
which  the  tribe  of  Dan  is  compared,  (Gen.  \l'\x.  17.) 
might  be  the  Cerastes ;  and  it  is  so  rendered  by  the 
Vulgate.  Michaelis  observes,  that  this  serpent  is 
called  by  the  orientals,  "  the  lier  m  ambush.'''  Pliny 
says,  that  "the  Cerastes  hides  its  whole  body  in  the 
sand,  leaving  only  its  horns  exposed  ;  which  attract 
birds,  who  su[)pose  them  to  be  grains  of  barley,  till 
they  are  undeceived,  too  late,  by  the  darling  of  the 
serpent  upon  them." 

Michaelis,  however,  finds  a  difficulty  in  the  mode 
of  attack  used  by  the  Hebrew  Shephiphun  on  "  the 
heels  of  a  horse,  so  as  to  make  his  rider  fall  back- 
ward." He  supposes  that  the  phrase  restrictively 
means,  that  the  horse  throws  the  rider  off  behind  him  ; 
and  says,  "I  should  be  curious  to  know  how  that  is 
accomplished.  Connnentators  commonlv  say,  be- 
cause the  horse  rears  up  when  wounded  in  the  heel. 
Perhaps  they  are  bad  horsemen.  In  such  circum- 
stances, a  horse  would  kick  rather  than  rear  up  on 
his  hind  legs ;  and  the  rider  would  be  thrown  over 
his  neck,  rather  than  over  the  crupper."  Mr.  Taylor 
admits  the  force  of  this  observation,  and  therefoi-e 
doubts  whether  the  word  rendered  backward  should 
be  restrictively  so  taken.  He  proposes  to  explain  the 
phrase  by  supposing,  that  when  the  Cerastes  bites 
the  horse  in  one  of  his  legs,  the  horse  kicking  out 
that  leg,  and  his  rider  perceiving  the  cause,  would,  to 
avoid  the  serpent,  throw  himself  off  on  the  further 
side  of  the  horse  from  where  the  serpent  was  ;  and 
this,  he  thinks,  sufficiently  meets  the  meaning  of  the 
Hebrew  word. 

There  is  another  circumstance  in  which  Dan 
probably  resembled  the  Cerastes — that  of  feeding  full, 
and  then  sinking  into  torpidity.  The  inducements 
held  out  by  the  spies  of  the  Danites,  (Judg.  xviii.  9, 
10.)  are  precisely  adapted  to  a  tribe  ofthis  character ; 
and  the  end  of  this  chapter  informs  us,  that  they  set 
up  the  graven  image,  had  their  priests,  and  here  they 
remained,  "till  the  day  of  the  captivity  of  llie  land," 
that  is,  distant  from  interference  with  the  general 
affairs  of  Israel,  and  determinately  settled,  aj)art 
from  their  brethren.     (Sec  vei-ses  7,  28.) 

For  an  account  of  the  other  serpents  enume- 
rated above,  the  reader  is  referred  to  the  respective 
articles. 

Interpreters  have  largely  speculated  concerning 
the  nature  of  that  serpent  which  tem])ted  Eve.  Some 
have  thought,  that  serpents  originally  had  feet  and 
speech  ;  but  there  is  no  probability  that  this  creature 
was  ever  otherwise  than  it  now  is.  Besides,  it  can- 
not be  doubted,  but  that  l)y  the  serpi-nt,  (ATachash,) 
we  are  to  understand  tlie  devil,  who  merely  employed 
the  serpent  as  a  vehicle  to  seduce  the  first  woman. 
Gen.  iii.  1.3.  (See  Balaam.)  In  the  curse  of  God 
on  the  serpent,  he  told  him  that  the  seed  of  the 
woman  should  bruise  his  head  ;  {Rosh  ;)  because,  the 
serpent  having  his  heart  und^r  his  throat,  the  readi- 
est way  to  kill  hira  is  m  crush  or  cut  off  his  head. 


Another  part  of  the  curse  was,  that  it  should  feed  on 
dust.  Gen.  iii.  14.  Isaiah  also  says,  (Ixv.  15.)  "Dust 
shall  be  the  serpent's  meat."  And  Micah,  (vii.  37.) 
"  They  shall  hck  the  dust  like  a  serpent."  It  is  true, 
that  se'rpents  eat  flesh,  birds,  frogs,  fish,  fruits,  grass, 
&.C.  But  as  they  continually  creep  on  the  earth,  it 
is  impossible  butthat  their  food  must  often  bedefilcd 
with  dust  and  dirt.  Some  may  really  eat  earth,  out 
of  necessity  ;  or  earth-worms,  which  they  cannot 
swallow-  without  much  dirt. 

The  worship  of  the  serpent  is  observable  through 
all  pagan  antiquity.  The  Babylonians,  in  Daniel's 
time,  worshipped  a  dragon,  which  was  demolished 
by  this  prophet.  It  is  Avell  known  that  worship  was 
paid  to  the  serpent  at  Epidaurus;  also  the  manner 
in  which  they  pretended  he  was  brought  to  Rome. 
The  Egyptians  sometimes  represented  their  gods 
with  the  bodies  of  serpents;  and  they  i)aid  an  idola- 
trous worship  to  those  odious  and  dangerous  crea- 
tures, which  they  called  their  good  geniuses.  They 
regarded  them  as  symbols  of  medicine,  of  the  sun,  of 
x\pollo.  They  were  committed  to  the  charge  of 
Ceres  and  Proserpine  ;  and  Herodotus  says  that  in 
his  time,  near  Thebes,  were  to  be  seen  tame  ser- 
pents, consecrated  to  Jupiter, 

One  would  have  supposed,  says  Mr.  Taylor,  re- 
marking uj)on  this  custom,  that  the  entire  brood  of 
the  serpent  would  have  been  execrated,  and  abhorred 
by  all  mankind  ;  and  that  the  mere  proposal  to  wor- 
ship this  re])tile  would  have  raised  the  detestation  of 
the  whole  human  race  ;  but  fact  justifies  us  in  saying, 
that  no  kind  of  worship  has  been  more  popular. 
How  can  this  be  accounted  for  ?  This  he  proceeds 
to  investigate,  by  considering,  (1.)  The  serpent  as 
denoting  or  producing  evil :  (2.)  The  serpent  as  de- 
noting or  producing  good  ;  which,  contradictory  as 
it  may  appear,  yet  is  founded  on  fact.  (3.)  The  ser- 
pent as  denoting  a  faujily  or  nation  ;  and,  (4.)  The 
serpent  as  denoting  a  behig  of  supernatural  powers. 

That  the  serpent  tribe,  from  possessing  the  most 
active  powers  of  destruction,  has  been  considered  as 
a  source  of  evil,  or  as  producing  calamitj',  is  well 
known.  In  India  the  destroying  power,  or  death,  is 
signified  by  the  serpent.  In  classic  antiquity,  the 
giants  who  attemjited  to  scale  heaven  are  figured  as 
half  serpents;  and  in  the  northern  mytholog}-,  Lolc, 
the  genius  of  evil,  is  styled  "  the  father  of  the  great 
serpent:  the  father  of  death  ;  the  adversary,  the  ac- 
cuser ;  the  deceiver  of  the  gods,"  &c.  (Northern 
Antiq.  vol.  ii.  p.  190.)  The  coincidence  of  these 
titles  with  those  of  the  Satan  of  Scripture  is  very 
striking.  Scripture  descriptions  of  the  serpent  are 
notoriously  applicable  to  a  j^roducer  of  evil. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  serpent  has  always  been 
admired  for  its  motion  ;  jjossessing  neither  hands 
nor  feet,  nor  other  exterior  members  adapted  for 
making  progress,  its  action  is  nevertheless  agile, 
speedy,  and  even  ra|)id  ;  it  springs,  leaps,  and  bounds, 
or  climbs  and  glides,  not  merely  with  ease,  but  with 
alacrity.  Solomon  observes  this,  in  Prov.  xxx.  19, 
and  others  have  equally  remarked  it  as  exciting  sur- 
prise and  wonder.  The  ser})ent,  also,  sheds  its  skin 
yearly,  and  after  this  mutation  seems,  by  the  splen- 
dor of  its  colors,  and  the  vivacity  of  its  motions,  to 
have  acquired  new  life. 

The  serpent  is  still  domesticated  in  many  of  the 
dwellings  of  the  natives  of  Eastern  India  ;  and  the 
ladies  of  Western  Africa  carry  him  in  their  bosoms. 
It  is  true,  the  serpent  tribe  divides  into  those  which 
are  haiTnless,  and  those  Avhich  are  malignant;  but 
the  malignant  in  India,  at  least,  enjoy  eaual  orivi 


SER 


[  839  ] 


»HA 


leges  \vith  the  harmless,  Pausanias  says,  "All  the 
dragons,  [large  serpents,]  and  particularly  that  spe- 
cies vviiich  is  of  the  clearest  yellow,  are  esteemed 
sacred  to  Esciilapins,  and  are  familiar  with  mankind." 
(Lib.  ii.  cap.  23.)  Pliny  also  speaks  of  the  Esculapian 
snake,  which  is  commonly  fed,  and  resident  in 
houses,  (S:c.  (Lib.  x.xix.  ca[).  4.)  Escnlapiiis  was 
adored  in  Epid'iurus  under  the  form  of  a  serpent ; 
under  which  form  he  is  said  to  have  been  brought  to 
Rome,  A.  U.  4()3.  Tiie  Egy|)tians,  as  ^ve  have  said, 
had  a  small  serpent  which  they  called  Agathodemon, 
that  is,  "good  genius;"  and  Eusebius  says  the  same 
of  the  Phoenicians. 

From  these  and  many  other  instances  which  might 
be  referred  to,  it  is  evident  that  the  serpent  has  been 
acknowledged  under  the  contradictory  cliaracters  of 
a  promoter  of  good,  and  a  promoter  of  evil ;  and  has 
also  been  regarded  as  belonging  to  a  rank  of  beings 
superior  to  man. 

That  Scriptiue  usually  presents  the  serpent  under 
au  evil  designation  is  admitted ;  but  possibly  those 
embarrassments  which  have  arisen  from  the  history 
of  the  brazen  serpent  in  the  wilderness,  might  be 
removed,  by  accepting  the  benevolent  character  of 
the  serpent.  Why  must  his  malignatit  powers  be 
presented  to  us,  wlien  considering  this  instance  of 
sanative  virtue  ?  Why  slioukl  Israel  be  {trohibited 
from  considering  him  (symbolically)  in  the  same  light 
as  other  nations  then  and  afterwards  did?  Why 
should  he  not  be  saviour  to  them,  on  this  occasion, 
(symbolically,)  as  well  as  to  Gentiles?  Why  may 
not  Moses  adopt  the  favorable  notion  of  this  rejjtile, 
as  well  as  the  unfavorable  ?  Difl  not  all  antiquity  do 
the  same  ?  And  if  all  antiquity  did  so,  why  should 
we  be  startled  at  it  here  ?  We  know  well,  that  when 
pressed,  by  enemies  to  revelation,  to  explain  how  the 
serpent,  the  very  essence  of  evil,  coidd,  on  this  occa- 
sion, be  connected  with  the  idea  of  restoration, 
Christian  divines  have  given  various  answers,  on 
other  principles ;  all  of  which  may  be  proper ;  nor 
are  they  superseded  by  this  favorable  reference  of 
the  symbol.  If  this  be  admitted,  then  we  may  dis- 
cern, as  Mr.  Taylor  observes,  greater  propriety  in 
our  Lord's  allusion  to  this  histoiy  than  we  have  pre- 
viously been  aware  of.  "  As  Moses  lifted  up  the  ser- 
pent in  the  wilderness,  even  so  must  the  Son  of  man 
be  lifted  up,"— add,  "And  I,  if  I  be  lifted  up,  will 
drav/  ALL  men  to  me  " — meaning,  "  They  shall  look 
unto  ME,  and  be  saved,  even  all  the  ends  of  the  earth." 
Not  merely  the  Jewish  nation,  to  whom,  in  one  in- 
stance, a  symbolic  serpent  proved  salutary,  but  the 
Gentiles  also  ;  all  men  ;  those  who  have  been  used 
to  consider  the  serpent  as  a  good  genius,  who  have 
adopted  it  as  their  ensign  and  distinction,  they  shall 
in  future  "  look  to  jie  and  be  saved." 

SERUG,  the  son  of  Reu,  and  father  of  Nahor, 
Gen.  xi.  20—2:3. 

SERVANT.  This  word,  in  Scripture,  generally 
signifies  a  slave  ;  because,  among  the  Hebrews,  and 
the  neighboring  nations,  the  greater  part  of  the  ser- 
vants were  such,  belonging  absolutely  to  their  mas- 
ters, who  had  a  right  to  dispose  of  their  persons, 
goods,  and,  in  some  cases,  even  of  tht;ir  lives.  See 
Slave. 

Sometimes,  however,  the  word  merely  denotes  a 
man  who  voluntarily  dedicates  himself  to  the  service 
of  another.  Thus,  Joshua  was  the  servant  of  Moses, 
Elisha  of  Elijah,  Geliazi  of  Elisha,  and  Peter, 
Andrew,  Philip,  &c.  were  servants  of  Jesus  Ciu-ist. 
Tlie  servants  of  Pharaoh,  of  Saul,  and  of  David,  were 
their  subjects  in  general ;  and  theii"  domestics  in  par- 


ticular. So  the  Philistines,  Syrians,  and  other  nations 
were  servants  of  David  ;  i.  e.  they  obeyed  and  paid 
him  tribute. 

The  servants  of  God  are  those  who  are  devoted  to 
his  service,  and  obey  his  written  word. 

SETH,  a  son  of  Adam  and  Eve,  was  born  A.  M. 
130,  (Gen.  v.  3,  6,  10,  11.)  and  at  the  age  of  125  begat 
Enos.  He  died  A.  M.  1042,  and  was  the  chief  of 
"  the  children  of  God,"  (Gen.  vi.  2.)  who  preserved 
the  true  religion  and  piety,  which  the  descendants  of 
Cain  had  abandoned. 

SEVEN.  As  from  the  beginning  this  was  the 
number  of  days  in  the  week,  so  it  has  ever  in  Scrip- 
ture a  sort  of  emphasis  attached  to  it,  and  is  very 
often  and  generally  used  as  a  round  number,  or,  as 
some  would  say,  a  perfect  number.  Clean  beasts  were 
taken  into  the  ark  by  sevens,  Gen.  vii.  The  years  of 
plenty  and  famine  in  Egypt  were  marked  by  sevens, 
Gen.  xli.  With  the  Jews,  not  only  was  there  a  seventh 
day  sabbath,  but  every  seventh  year  was  a  sabbath,  and 
every  seven  times  seventh  year  was  a  jubilee.  Their 
great  feasts  of  unleavened  bread  and  of  tabernacles, 
were  observed  for  sere?!  days  ;  the  number  of  animals 
in  many  of  their  sacrifices  was  limited  to  serejj.  Tlie 
golden  candlestick  had  sere?i  branches.  Seven  priests 
with  seven  trumpets  went  aronnd  the  walls  of  Jericho 
seven  days  ;  and  sei'e?i  times  seven  on  the  seventh  day. 
In  the  Apocalypse  we  find  seven  churches  addressed  ; 
seveti  candlesticks,  seven  spirits,  sei'e?i  stars,  seven 
seals,  seven  trumpets,  sei;e«  thunders,  seven  vials, 
seven  plagues,  and  seven  angels  to  jjour  them  out. 

Seven  is  often  put  for  any  round  or  whole  number, 
just  as  we  use  ten,  or  a  dozeri.  (So  in  3Iatt.  xii.  45  ; 
1  Sam.  ii.  5;  Job  v.  19;  Prov.  xxvi.  Ki,  25;  Isa.  iv. 
1  ;  Jer.  xv.  9.)  In  like  manner  seven  times  or  sei'cn 
fold  means  q/7e?7,  abundantly,  completely,  Gen.  iv.  15, 
24  ;  Lev.  xxvi.  24  ;  Ps.  xii.  (J  ;  Ixxix.  12  ;  Matt,  xviii. 
21.  And  seventy  times  seven  is  still  a  higher  super- 
lative, Matt,  xviii.  22.     *R. 

SHAALABBIN,  or  Shaalbim,  a  city  of  Dan, 
(Josh.  xix.  42.)  adjoining  to  Ajalon  and  Heres,  (Judg. 
i.35.)  and  near  the  cities  of  Makas  and  Bethshemesh. 

SHAARAIM,  a  city  of  Simeon,  (1  Chron.  iv.  31.) 
apparently  the  Sharaim  of  Judah,  (Jcsh.  xv.  36.) 
which  was  transferred  to  Simeon. 

SHADDAI,  one  of  the  Hebrew  names  of  God, 
which  the  LXX  and  Jerome  generally  translate 
Almighty.  Job  more  frequendy  uses  it  than  any 
other  of"  the  sacred  writers.  It  is  sometimes  joined 
with  El,  which  is  another  name  of  God,  El-Shaddai, 
God-Almighty,  Gen.  xvii.  1. 

Shaddai  has  been  derived  from  the  Arabic  n-ic,  to 
ascend,  or  sit  in  the  highest  place ;  and  in  this  view  it 
is  synonymous  with  (ir'^y)  Most  High,  h  has  also 
been  derived  fi-om  nr,  to  be  strong,  to  prevail ;  which 
sense  the  Vulgate  and  our  translators  give.  Gen. 
xvii.  1.  Others  derive  it  from  '-xl-,  he  that  is  siiffi- 
cient,  all-bountiful,  or  all-siifficient.  These  derivations 
are  far  more  suitable  than  that  from  i-c,  to  desd'oy, 
which  Calmet  adoi)ts.  But  it  seems  the  most  natural 
to  take  the  word  ^-lu•  as  the /)/i'?-a/is  excellentice,  of  the 
singular  form -;•,  mighty;  cognate  with  the  Arabic 
shadid,  •^^-<z;  mighty,  violent. 

SHADOW,  the  privation  of  light  by  an  object  in- 
terjiosed  between  a  limiinary  and  the  surface  on 
which  the  shadow  appears.  But  it  is  credible  that 
what  we  call  spots  in  the  sun  arc  alluded  to  in  1 
John  i.  5,  under  the  term  shadows,  or  darkness  ;such 
defects,  says  the  apostle,  may  be  in  the  sun,  but  there 
are  none  in  God.  A  shadow,  falling  on  a  plane,  fol- 
lows the  course  of  the  body  which  causes  it  •  hence 


3HA 


[  840  ] 


3HA 


it  is  often  extremely  swift,  as  that  of  a  bird  flying, 
which  very  rapidly,  indeed  instantly,  appears,  and 
disappears  from  observation  ;  human  life  is  compared 
to  this,  1  Cor.  xxix.  15. 

As  the  shadow  of  a  man,  &c.  when  it  falls  on  the 
ground,  is  of  different  lengths  at  different  times  of 
the  day,  and  as  the  time  of  the  day  was  originally 
estimated  by  this,  the  first  sun-dial,  so  it  is  very  natu- 
ral that  the  hireling,  who  wished  his  day  of  labor 
ended,  should  desire  the  shadow,  (Job  vii.  2.)  mean- 
ing the  long  shadow  falling  on  the  ground,  and  issu- 
ing in  the  shadow  of  night  itself.  Indeed,  it  seems 
to  have  been  customaiy  in  later  ages,  to  estimate  the 
time  of  the  day  by  the  length  of  the  shadow;  so  we 
have  in  Aristophanes,  Concion  :  "  When  the  letter 
of  the  alphabet  denoted  the  shadow  to  be  ten  feet 
long,  it  was  time  to  think  of  dressing  and  going  to 
supper,"  that  is,  the  sun  began  to  grow  low ;  for 
twelve  feet  was  the  full  length  of  the  shadow.  (Conip. 
Ps.  cii.  11;  Jer.  vi.  4.) 

An  Arab,  when  relating  the  history  of  his  day's 
march,  says,  "  We  started  at  day-break,  we  rested  at 
noon  near  the  water,  we  set  out  again,  when  a  man's 
shadow  was  equal  to  his  length,  and  after  sunset  we 
alighted  and  slept,  in  such  or  such  a  place."  This  is 
still  the  eastern  phraseolgy,  as  remarked  by  Burck- 
hardt,  Trav.  vol.  i.  p.  480. 

Shadow  is  also  taken  for  unsubstantial  ;  so  Job 
says,  "  My  members  are  a  shadow  ; "  (xvii.  7.)  that  is, 
they  are  diminished  to  a  total,  or  comparative,  priva- 
tion of  substance.  Hence,  tbe  Mosaic  economy  is 
called  a  shadow,  a  very  obscure  representation  of 
things,  which  in  the  gospel  are  clearly  revealed.  But 
it  is  thought  that  this  word  (Heb.  x.  1.)  alludes  to 
the  sketch  of  an  artist  or  painter,  who  first  forms 
(with  chalk)  on  his  canvass,  the  rude  outlines  of  his 
subject,  a  just  visible,  rough,  merely  indicative  repre- 
sentation of  what  is  to  be  afterwards  finished  correct- 
ly and  carefully.  To  this  is  strongly  opposed  the 
complete  image,  the  beautiful  statue  exhibited  in  the 
gospel ;  yet  this  statue,  be  it  remembered,  is  not  liv- 
ing, not  animated;  the  full  perfection  of  life,  morion, 
sensibility  and  happiness  is  reserved  for  the  world 
of  bliss  and  glory,  the  celestial  state. 

Shadow  is  taken  for  the  obscurity  of  night,  for  the 
total  absence  of  light  in  a  night  of  clouds;  and  hence 
"the  shadow  of  death,"  intense  darkness  ;  to  which 
add,  the  horror  which  naturally  attends  the  tomb, 
and  the  unexplored  regions  of  death  ;  the  valley  of 
the  shadow  of  death  ;  gloom  and  dismal  terrors,  ter- 
rors fatal  and  perpetual. 

Shadow  is  also  taken  in  a  sense  directly  contrary 
to  this,  because  in  countries  near  the  tropics,  every 
spot  exposed  to  the  burning  heat  of  the  sun  is  dan- 
gerous to  health,  therefore  nothing  is  more  accepta- 
ble than  shade,  nothing  more  refreshing,  or  more 
salutary  ;  hence  the  shadow  of  a  great  rock  is  desira- 
ble in  a  land  of  weariness ;  (Isa.  xxxii.  2.)  hence 
shadow  signifies  protection;  (Isa.  xxx.  2;  Dan.  iv. 
12 ;  Hos.  iv.  13.)  hence  the  shadow  of  wings  in  a 
bird  is  protection  also,  and  hence  the  shadow,  that  is, 
protection  of  God,  Ps.  xvii.  8 ;  Ixiii.  7  ;  xci.  1  ;  Isa. 
xlix.  2.  Perhaps  the  word  shade,  however,  might  in 
these  places  be  preferable  to  shadow,  and  would  pre- 
serve a  distinction. 

SHADRACII,  the  Chaldean  name  given  to  Ana- 
nias, a  companion  of  Daniel,  at  the  court  of  Nebu- 
chadnezzar, Dan.  i.  7.     See  Ananias. 

SHALISHA,  or  Baal-Shalisa,  is  mentioned  in 
1  Sam.  ix.  4,  and  Baal-shalisha,  2  Kings  iv.  42.  It 
was  fifteen    miles   from   Diospolis,   in   the    canton 


Thamnitica,   north  of  Jerusalem.     See  Baax-Sha- 

LISHA. 

I.  SHALLUM  of  Naphtali,  chief  of  the  family, 
Numb.  xxvi.  49. 

II.  SHALLUM,  son  of  Jabesh,  or  a  native  of  Ja- 
besh,  who  treacherously  killed  Zechariah,  king  of 
Israel,  and  usurped  his  kingdom.  He  held  it  only 
one  month,  when  Menahem,  son  of  Gadi,  killed  him 
in  Samaria.  Scripture  says,  that  Shallum  was  the 
executioner  of  the  threatenings  of  the  Lord,  against 
the  house  of  Jehu,  2  Kings  xv.  10.  A.  M.  3232. 

III.  SHALLUM,  son  of  Tikvah,  or  Tickvath,  or 
native  of  Tickvah,  husband  of  the  prophetess  Hul- 
dah,  who  lived  under  Josiah,  king  of  Judah,  2  Kings 
xxii.  14. 

IV.  SHALLUM,  fourth  son  of  Josiah,  king  of 
Judah,  (1  Chron.  iii.  15  ;  Jer.  xxii.  11.)  and  the  same 
as  Jehoahaz,  was  made  king  after  the  death  of  Josiah. 
The  kiiig  of  Egypt  carried  him  prisoner  into  Egypt, 
2  Kings  xxiii.  30,  31,  34.     See  Jehoahaz. 

V.  SHALLUM,  son  of  the  high-priest  Zadok,  and 
uncle  of  Hilkiah  the  high-priest,  1  Chron.  vi.  12,  13. 
He  is  called  Meshallum  in  1  Chron.  ix.  11.  He  lived 
in  the  time  of  Hezekiah  or  of  Ahaz.  He  seems  to 
be  the  Salom  of  Baruch  i.  7. 

VI.  SHALLUM,  son  of  Korah,  1  Chron.  ix.  19, 
31.  He  was  spared  in  the  desert,  when  the  earth 
opened  and  swallowed  up  his  father,  Numb.  xvi.  31. 
His  descendants  had  an  office  in  the  temple,  to  take 
care  of  the  cakes  that  were  fried  there. — There  are 
several  other  persons  of  the  same  name  mentioned  in 
the  Old  Testament ;  but  nothing  is  known  of  them. 

SHALMANESER,  king  of  Assyria,  succeeded 
Tiglath-pileser,  and  had  Sennacherib  for  his  successor. 
He  ascended  the  throne  A.M.  3276,  reigned  14  vears, 
and  died  A.  M.  3290,  2  Kings  xvii.  3.  It  is  probable 
that  he  is  called  Enemessar,  in  the  Greek  of  Tobit, 
(i.  2.)  and  Shalman,  in  Hosea  x.  14.  Scripture  re- 
ports that  he  came  into  Palestine,  subdued  Samaria, 
and  obliged  Hoshea,  son  of  Elah,  to  pay  him  tribute ; 
but  in  the  tliird  year,  being  weary  of  this  exaction, 
Hoshea  combined  secretly  with  So,  king  of  Egypt, 
to  remove  the  subjection.  Shalmaneser  brought  an 
army  against  him,  ravaged  Samaria,  besieged  Hoshea 
in  his  captital;  and  notwithstanding  his  long  resist- 
ance three  years,  (2  Kings  xvii.  xviii.  9,  10.)  he  took 
the  citj',  put  Hoshea  into  bonds,  and  carried  away 
the  people  beyond  the  Euphrates.  He  thus  ruined 
the  city  and  kingdom  of  Samaria,  which  had  subsist- 
ed 254  years,  from  A.  M.  3030,  to  3283. 

Profane  authors  say,  that  this  prince  made  war 
against  the  Tyrians.  That  Eleleus,  king  of  Tyre 
seeing  the  Philistines  were  much  weakened  by  their 
war  with  Hezekiah,  king  of  Judah,  took  this  oppor- 
tunity of  recovering  to  his  obedience  the  city  of  Gath, 
which  had  revolted  from  him.  The  Gittites,  fearing 
the  power  of  the  king  of  Tyre,  had  recourse  to  Shal- 
maneser, who  marched  with  all  his  forrcs  against  the 
Tyrians.  At  his  approach,  the  city  of  Sidon,  Akko, 
afterwards  Ptolemais,  (now  Acre,)  and  the  other  mar- 
itime cities  of  Phcnicia,  submitted  to  him.  The 
Tyrians,  however,  witli  only  twelve  ships,  having  in 
a  sea-fight  defeated  the  united  fleet  of  tlie  Assyrians 
and  Phenicians,  acquired  so  great  a  rej)utation  at  sea, 
and  became  so  formidable,  that  Shalmaneser  durst  no 
more  engage  them  by  sea.  He  withdrew,  therefore, 
into  his  own  dominions,  but  left  a  great  part  of  his 
army  to  besiege  Tyre.  The  besiegers  made  but  a 
slow  progress,  in  consequence  of  the  brave  resistance 
of  the  besieged.  The  troops  of  Shalmaneser  stopped 
up  the  aqueducts,  and  cut  the  pipes  that  brought  the 


SHA 


[  841  ] 


SHE 


water  into  the  city,  which  i-educed  the  Tyrians  to 
the  last  extremity,  but  they  dug  wells,  juul  by  this 
means  held  out  five  years  longer.  In  the  mean  time, 
Shalmane.ser  dying,  they  were  delivered  from  the 
siege.  Usher  places  this  siege  A.  M.  3287.  See  As- 
syria, p.  114. 

SHAME,  a  bashfulness  arising  from  a  self-convic- 
tion of  guilt;  an  affliction  of  mind,  occasioned  by  a 
sense  of  impropriety,  whether  of  conduct  or  of  ap- 
pearance. This  is  the  natural  conscfpience  of  proper 
reflection  on  j)ast  misconduct,  behavior,  or  turpitude 
of  any  kind.  Shame  in  this  sense  is  an  expression 
of  uneasiness.  Shame  is  also  an  expression  of  con- 
temi)t  from  others,  a  charge  of  misconduct,  of  im- 
propriety, trom  some  who  endeavor  to  bring  to  shame, 
to  render  ashamed,  the  subject  of  their  charge, 
whether  such  a  charge  be  true  or  false. 

Shame  denotes  an  idol ;  a  thing  which  will  make 
ashamed  those  who  trust  in  it ;  and  of  which  they 
ought  to  be  ashamed,  even  while  they  worship  it. 
For  the  import  of  that  shame,  see  Baal-peor. 

To  uncover  the  shame,  ignominy,  or  nakedness  of 
a  person,  are  synonymous  terms,  Lev.  xviii.  15,  17, 
Sec.  Isaiah  (xx.  4.)  threatens  the  Egyptians,  that 
they  should  be  led  away  captive,  without  any  thing 
to  cover  their  shame  or  nakedness.  The  golden 
calf  worshipped  by  the  Israelites  in  the  wilderness, 
is  called  by  Moses,  (Exod.  xxxii.  25.)  a  filthy  shame, 
an  idol  of  dross  and  filth.  Paul  (Rom.  i.  2C.)  calls 
shameful  or  vile  affections,  those  ignominious  and 
bruitsh  passions,  which  were  indulged  by  the  carnal 
pagans.  Prov.  iii.  35,  "  Shame  shall  be  the  promo- 
tion of  fools  ;"  that  is,  their  promotion  shall  be  their 
own  shame,  and  the  disgrace  of  those  who  jiromote 
them.  Prov.  ix.  7,  "  He  that  reproveth  a  scorner, 
getteth  to  himself  shame  ;"  he  loses  his  labor,  and 
shall  only  get  discredit  or  calumny,  abuse  and  dis- 
grace, a  retort  neither  courteous  nor  considerate. 
Ps.  Ixxxiii.  1(5,  "  Fill  their  faces  with  shame  ;"  re- 
prove tiiem,  O  Lord,  and  then  let  them  fall  into  dis- 
grace. When  the  Syrians  took  king  Joash  captive,  they 
executed  shameful  judgments  against  him ;  they 
treated  him  shamefully,  made  him  suffer  corrections 
that  were  shameful,  not  befitting  the  dignity  of  a 
king,  2  Ciiron.  xxiv.  24. 

SHAIMGAR,  son  of  Anath,  the  third  judge  of  Is- 
rael ;  after  Ehud,  and  before  Barak,  Judg.  iii.  31. 
Scripture  only  says  that  he  defended  Israel,  and 
killed  six  hundred  Philistines  with  an  ox  goad. 
From  the  peace  obtained  by  Ehud,  (A.  IM.  2679,) 
Vv'liom  Shamgar  succeeded,  till  the  servitude  under 
the  (^anaanites,  A.  M.  2(399,  are  twenty  vears. 

SHA:\niUTIl  of  Israh,  a  general  of  David  and 
Solomon,  who  commanded  24,000  men,  1  Chron. 
xxvii.  8. 

I.  SHAMIR,  a  city  of  Judah,  Josh.  xv.  48.  Some 
copies  of  the  LXX  read  Saphir  instead  of  Shamir. 

II.  SHAMIR,  a  city  of  Ejjhraim,  in  the  mountains 
of  tiiis  tribe,  where  dwelt  Tola,  judge  of  Israel, 
Judg.  X.  1. 

S'lIAIMMAI,  son  of  Rekem,  and  father  of  Maon, 
(1  Cin-on.  ii.  44.)  a  city  of  Araijia  Petrea,  near  Beth- 
shur,  on  the  south  of  Judah.  ' 

SHAPHAN,  son  of  Azaliah,  secretary  of  the  tem- 
ple in  the  time  of  Josiah,  2  Kings  xxii.  12  ;  2  Chron. 
xxxiv.  20;  Jer.  xxix.  3;  xxxvi.  1;  Ezck.  viii.  11. 
Shaphau  informed  Josiah  of  the  discovery  of  the 
book  of  the  law  of  the  Lord  in  the  temple.  We  find 
several  sons  of  Shaphan,  viz.  Ahikim,  Elasa,  Gama- 
riah  and  Jezoniah  ;  but  we  cannot  say  they  are  all 
Bons  of  the  same  Shaphan. 
106 


I.  SHAPHAT,  of  Abel-meholah  ;  father  of  the 
prophet  Elisha,  1  Kings  xix.  IG;  2  Kings  iii.  11. 

II.  SHAPHAT,  son  of  Shemaiah,  (1  Chron.  iii. 
22.)  of  the  roval  family  of  David,  bv  Jechoniah. 

III.  SHAPHAT,  son  of  Adlai,  who  had  the  chief 
care  of  David's  cattle  in  Basan,  1  Chron.  xxvii.  29. 

SHAPHER,  a  mountain  in  the  desert  of  Paran, 
an  encam])ment  of  Israel  in  the  desert,  between 
Kehalathah  and  Haradah,  Numb,  xxxiii.  23. 

SHARAI3I,  a  city  of  Judah,  afterwards  given  to 
Simeon,  Josh.  xv.  36;  1  Sam.  xvii.  52;  1  Chron. 
ii.  54. 

I.  SHAREZER,  second  son  of  Sennacherib,  2 
Kings  xix.  37. 

IL  SHAREZER,  see  Nergal-Sharezer. 

SHARON.  This  name  was  almost  proverbial  to 
express  a  place  of  extraordinary  beauty  and  fruitful- 
ness,  Isa.  xxxiii.  9  ;  xxxv.  2.  It  was  properly  the 
name  of  a  district  south  of  mount  Carmel,  along  the 
coast  of  the  Mediterranean,  extending  to  Caesarea  and 
Joppa.  It  was  extremely  fat  and  fertile,  Josh.  xii. 
18 ;  Cant.  ii.  1  ;  1  Chron.  xxvii.  29 ;  Isa.  xxxiii.  9 ; 
xxxv.  2  ;  Ixv.  10  ;  Acts  ix.  35.  Some  have  unneces- 
sarily assumed  a  Sharon  beyond  Jordan,  in  the  coun- 
try of  Basan,  and  in  the  tribe  of  Gad,  1  Chron.  v. 
16.  But  Reland  maintains,  that  there  was  no  Sharon 
beyond  Jordan,  and  that  the  tribe  of  Gad  may 
have  come  to  feed  their  flocks  as  far  as  Joppa,  Cfe- 
sarea  and  Lydda  ;  which,  as  Calmet  remarks,  seems 
incredible,  because  of  the  distance  of  the  jilaces, 
and  because  the  country  of  Basan  was  itself  very  fine 
and  fruitful. 

IModern  travellers  give  the  name  of  Sharon  to  the 
plain  between  Ecdippe  and  Ptolemais. 

SHAVEH,  THE  Valley  of,  or  "  valley  of  the  king," 
(Gen.  xiv.  17.)  was  probably  near  Jerusalem,  because 
Melchisedec,  with  the  king  of  Gomorrha,  came  to 
meet  Abraham,  at  his  return  from  the  defeat  of  the 
five  kings,  as  far  as  this  valley. 

SHAVING.  The  practice  of  shaving  the  beard 
and  hair,  and  sometimes  the  whole  body,  was  very 
common  among  the  Hebrews,  Numb.  viii.  7  ;  Lev.  xiv. 
8,  9.  The  Levites  on  the  day  of  their  conseci-ation, 
and  the  lepers  at  their  purification,  shaved  all  the 
hair  off  their  bodies.  A  woman  taken  prisoner  in 
wai",  when  she  married  a  Jew,  shaved  the  hair  off 
her  head,  (Dent.  xxi.  12.)  and  the  Hebrews  generally, 
and  also  the  nations  bordering  on  Palestine,  shaved 
themselves  when  they  mourned,  and  in  times  of 
great  calamitv,  whether  public  or  private,  Isa.  vii. 
20  ;  XV.  2  ;  Jer.  xli.  5  ;  xlviii.  37  ;  Baruch  vi.  30. 
God  commanded  the  priests  not  to  cut  their  hair  or 
beards,  in  their  mournings.  Lev.  xxi.  5.  It  may  be 
proper  to  observe,  that  among  the  most  degrading  of 
punishments  for  women,  is  the  loss  of  their  hair ; 
and  the  aposde  hints  at  this:  (1  Cor.  xi.  6.)  "If  it  be 
a  shame  for  a  woman  to  be  sliorn,  or  shaven,"  &c. 
See  Hair,  and  Beard. 

SHEAF,  Lev,  xxiii.  10—12.  The  day  after  the 
feast  of  the  Passover,  the  Hebrews  brought  into  the 
temple  a  sheaf  of  corn,  as  the  first-fruits  of  the  bar- 
ley-harvest, with  accompanying  ceremonies.  On 
the  fifteenth  of  Nisan,  in  the  evening,  when  the  feast 
of  the  first  day  of  the  Passover  was  ended,  and  the 
second  day  begun,  the  house  of  judgment  deputed 
three  men  to  go  in  solenmity,  and  gather  the  sheaf  of 
barley.  The  inhabitants  of  the  neighboring  cities 
assembled  to  witness  the  ceremony,  and  the  barley 
was  gathered  into  the  territory  of  Jerusalem.  The 
deputies  demanded  three  times,  if  the  sun  were  set  ; 
and  they  were  as  often  answered,  It  is.     They  after- 


SHE 


[  842  1 


SHEBA 


wards  demanded  as  many  times,  if  they  might  have 
leave  to  cut  the  sheaf;  and  leave  was  as  often  granted. 
They  reaped  it  out  of  three  different  fields,  with  three 
different  sickles,  and  put  the  eai-s  into  three  boxes, 
to  carry  them  to  the  temple. 

The  sheaf,  or  rather  the  three  sheaves,  being 
brought  into  tlie  temple,  were  thrashed  in  the  court. 
From  this  they  took  a  full  omer,  that  is,  about  three 
pints  of  the  grain  ;  and  after  it  had  been  well  win- 
nowed, parched  and  bruised,  they  sprinkled  over  it  a 
log  of  oil,  to  which  they  added  a  handful  of  incense; 
and  the  priest  who  received  this  offering  waved  it 
before  the  Lord,  toward  the  four  quarters  of  the 
world,  and  cast  part  of  it  on  the  altar.  After  this 
every  one  might  begin  his  harvest. 

SHEAR-JASHUB,  the  remnant  shall  return,  an 
allegorical  name  given  by  the  prophet  Isaiah  to  one 
of  his  sons,  Isa.  vii.  3. 

I.  SHEBA,  son  of  Raamah,  (Gen.  x.  7.)  who,  it  is 
thought,  inhabited  Arabia  Felix,  whei'e  his  father 
Raamah  dwelt.     See  Sabeans  II. 

II.  SHEBA,  son  of  Joktan,  (Gen.  x.  28.)  whom 
Bochart  places  in  Araliia  Felix.    See  Sabeans  II. 

III.  SHEBA,  son  of  Jokshan,  (Gen.  xx v.  3.)  prob- 
ably dwelt  in  Arabia  Deserta,  or  thereabouts.  Cal- 
met  thinks,  with  Bochart,  that  they  were  the  descend- 
ants of  this  Sheba,  which  took  away  Job's  cattle. 
See  Sabea.ns  II. 

IV.  SHEBA,  Queen  of,  (1  Kings  x.  2  Chron.  ix.) 
called  queen  of  the  South,  (Matt.  xii.  42  ;  Luke  xi. 
3L)  was,  according  to  some,  a  queen  of  Arabia;  but 
according  to  others,  a  queen  of  Ethiopia.  (See  Sa- 
beans II.)  Josephus  says,  that  Saba  was  the  an- 
cient name  of  the  city  of  Meroe,  and  that  the  queen, 
of  \vhom  we  are  speaking,  came  thence  ;  which 
opinion  has  much  prevailed.  The  Ethiopians  still 
claim  this  princess,  as  their  sovereign,  and  say,  that 
her  posterity  reigned  there  for  a  long  time.  The 
eunuch  of  queen  Candace,  who  was  converted  and 
baptized  by  Philip,  (Acts  viii.  27.)  was  an  officer 
belonging  to  a  princess  of  the  same  country — Etlii- 
opia. 

Mr.  Bruce  has  given  the  history  of  the  queen  of 
Shoba,  and  her  descendants,  from  the  Abyssinian  his- 
torians; but  he  thinks  the  eunuch  of  Candace  (Chan- 
dake)  was  an  officer  of  the  queen  Hendaqui,  whose 
territories  lie  beyond  the  great  desert,  south  of  Syene, 
in  upper  Eg}'pt. 

The  visit  of  this  queen  to  Solomon  is  one  of  the 
most  remarkable  events  of  his  reign ;  and  as  it  ap- 
pears to  have  had  important  consequences  in  her  own 
country,  we  insert  Mr.  Bruce's  account,  as  related  in 
the  annals  of  Abyssinia: — 

"It  is  now  that  I  am  to  fulfil  my  promise  to  the 
reader,  of  giving  him  some  account  of  the  visit  made 
by  the  queen  of  Sheba,  (it  should  properly  be  Saba, 
Azab,  or  Azaha,  all  signifying  South,)  as  we  errone- 
ously call  her,  and  the  consequences  of  that  visit — 
the  foundation  of  an  Ethiopian  monarchy,  and  the 
continuation  of  the  sceptre  in  the  tribe  of  Judah, 
down  to  tliis  day.  We  are  not  to  wonder,  if  the  pro- 
digious Jiurry  and  flow  of  business,  and  the  immense- 
ly valuable  transactions  they  had  with  each  other, 
had  greatly  familiarized  the  Tyrians  and  Jews,  with 
tlieir  correspondents  the  Cushites  and  Shepherds,  on 
the  coast  of  Africa.  This  had  gone  so  far,  as  very 
naturally  to  have  created  a  desire  in  the  queen  of 
Azab,  the  sovereign  of  that  country,  to  go  herself  and 
see  the  application  of  such  immense  treasures  that 
had  been  exported  from  her  country  for  a  series  of 
years,  and  the  prince  who  so  magnificently  employed 


them.  There  can  be  no  doubt  of  this  expedition, 
as  Pagan,  Arab,  Moor,  Abyssinian,  and  all  the  coun- 
tries round,  vouch  it  pretty  much  in  the  terms  of 
Scripture. 

"Many  (such  as  Justin,  Cyprian,  Epiphanius  and 
Cyril)  have  thought  this  queen  was  an  Arab.  But 
Saba  was  a  separate  state,  and  the  Sabeans  a  distinct 
people  from  the  Ethiopians  and  the  Arabs,  and  have 
continued  so  till  very  lately.  We  know,  from  history, 
that  it  was  a  custom  among  the  Sabeans,  to  have 
women  for  their  sovereigns  in  preference  to  men,  a 
custom  which  still  subsists  among  their  descendants. 
Her  name,  the  Arabs  say,  was  Belkis  ;  the  Abyssini- 
ans,  Macqueda.  Our  Saviour  calls  her  queen  of  the 
South,  without  mentioning  any  other  name,  but  gives 
his  sanction  to  the  truth  of  the  voyage.  '  The  queen 
of  the  South  (or  Saba,  or  Azab)  shall  rise  up  in  the 
judgment  with  this  generation,  and  shall  condemn  it ; 
for  she  came  from  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth  to 
hear  the  wisdom  of  Solomon  ;  and,  behold,  a  greater 
than  Solomon  is  here,'  Matt.  xii.  42  ;  Luke  xi.  31. 
No  other  particulars,  however,  are  mentioned  about 
her  in  Scripture  ;  and  it  is  not  probable  our  Saviour 
would  say  she  came  from  the  uttermost  parts  of  the 
earth,  if  she  had  been  an  Arab,  and  had  near  50  deg. 
of  the  continent  behind  her.  The  gold,  tiie  myrrh, 
cassia  and  frankincense  were  all  the  produce  of  her 
own  country. 

"  Whether  she  were  a  Jewess  or  a  pagan  is  uncer- 
tain ;  Sabaism  was  the  religion  of  all  the  East.  It 
was  the  constant  attendant  and  stumbling-block  of 
the  Jews ;  but  considering  the  multitude  of  that  peo- 
ple then  trading  from  Jerusalem,  and  the  long  time 
it  continued,  it  is  not  improbable  she  was  a  Jewess. 
'  And  when  the  queen  of  Sheba  heard  of  the  fame 
of  Solomon  concerning  the  name  of  the  Lord,  she 
came  to  prove  him  with  hard  questions,'  1  Kings  x. 
1,  and  2  Chron.  ix.  1.  Our  Saviour,  moreover, 
speaks  of  her  with  praise,  pointing  her  out  as  an  ex- 
ample to  the  Jews,  Matt.  xii.  42  ;  Luke  xi.  31.  And, 
in  her  thanksgiving  before  Solomon,  she  alludes  to 
God's  blessing  on  the  seed  of  Israel  for  ever,  (1  Kings 
X.  9  ;  2  Chron.  ix.  8.)  which  is  by  no  means  the  lan- 
guage of  a  pagan,  but  of  a  person  skilled  in  the  ancient 
history  of  the  Jews.  She  likewise  appears  to  have 
been  a  person  of  learning,  and  that  sort  of  learning 
which  was  then  almost  peculiar  to  Palestine,  not  to 
Ethiopia.  For  we  see  that  one  of  the  reasons  of  her 
coming  was  to  examine  whether  Solomon  was  really 
the  learned  man  he  was  said  to  be.  She  came  to 
try  him  in  allegories,  or  parables,  in  which  Nathan 
had  instructed  Solomon. 

"The  annals  of  Abyssinia,  being  very  full  upon 
this  point,  have  taken  a  middle  opinion,  and  by  no 
means  an  improbable  one.  They  say  she  was  a  pa- 
gan when  she  left  Azab,  but  being  full  of  admiration 
at  the  sight  of  Solomon's  works,  she  was  converted 
to  Judaism  in  Jerusalem,  and  bore  him  a  son,  whom 
she  called  IMenilek,  and  who  was  their  first  king. 
However  strongly  they  assert  this,  however  dangerous 
it  would  be  to  doubt  it  in  Abyssinia,  I  will  not  here 
aver  it  for  truth,  nor  mucii  less  still  will  I  positively 
contradict  it,  as  Scripture  has  said  nothing  about  it. 
The  Abyssinians,  both  Jews  and  Christians,  believe 
the  forty-fifth  Psalm  to  be  a  prophecy  of  this  queen's 
voyage  to  Jerusalem  ;  that  she  was  attended  by  a 
daughter  of  Hirarn's  from  Tyre  to  Jerusalem,  and 
that  the  last  part  contains  a  declaration  of  her  having 
a  son  by  Solomon,  who  was  to  be  king  over  a  nation 
of  Gentiles. 

"  To  Saba,  or  Azab,  then,  she  returned  with  her 


SHEBA 


[843] 


SHEBA 


son  Menilek,  whom,  after  keeping  him  some  years, 
she  sent  back  to  his  father  to  be  instructed.  Solo- 
mon did  not  neglect  his  charge,  and  he  was  anoint- 
ed and  crowned  king  of  Ethiopia,  in  the  temple  of 
J  Jerusalem,  and  at  his  inauguration  took  the  name  of 
David.  After  this,  he  returned  to  Azab,  and  brought 
with  him  a  colony  of  Jews,  among  whom  were  many 
doctors  of  the  law  of  iMoses,  particularly  one  of  each 
tribe,  to  make  judges  in  his  kingdom,  from  whom 
the  present  Umbares  (or  supreme  judges,  three  of 
whom  always  attend  the  king)  are  said  and  believed 
to  be  descended.  With  these  came  also  Azarias, 
the  son  of  Zadok  the  priest,  and  brought  with  him  a 
Hei)rew  transcrij)!  of  the  law,  which  was  delivered 
into  his  custody,  as  he  bore  the  title  of  Nobrit,  or  high- 
priest  ;  and  this  charge,  though  the  book  itself  was 
burnt  with  the  church  of  Axum  in  the  Moorish  war 
of  Adel,  is  still  continued,  as  it  is  said,  in  the  lineage 
of  Azarias,  who  are  Nebrits,  or  keepers  of  the  church 
of  Axum,  at  this  daj'.  All  Abyssinia  was  thereupon 
converted,  and  the  government  of  the  church  and 
state  modelled  according  to  what  was  then  in  use  at 
Jerusalem. 

"  Hy  the  last  act  of  the  queen  of  Sheba's  reign  she 
settled  the  mode  of  succession  in  her  country  for  the 
future.  First,  she  enacted,  that  the  crown  should  be 
hereditary  in  the  family  of  Solomon  for  ever.  Sec- 
ondly, That  alter  her,  no  woman  should  be  capable  of 
wearing  that  crown  or  beingqueen,  but  that  it  should 
/  descend  to  the  heir  male,  however  distant,  in  ex- 
clusion of  all  heirs  female  whatever,  however  near  ; 
and  that  these  two  articles  should  be  considered  as 
tlie  fundamental  laws  of  the  kingdom,  never  to  be 
altered  or  abolished.  And,  lastly.  That  the  heirs 
male  of  the  royal  house  shoidd  always  be  sent  pris- 
oners to  a  high  mountain,  where  they  were  to  con- 
tinue till  their  death,  or  till  the  succession  should  open 
to  them. 

"  The  reason  of  this  last  regulation  is  not  known, 
it  being  peculiar  to  Abyssinia  ;  but  the  custom  of 
having  women  for  sovereigns,  which  was  a  veiy  old 
one,  prevailed  among  the  neighboring  shepherds  in 
the  last  century,  and  for  what  we  know  prevails  to 
this  day.  It  obtained  in  Nubia  till  Augustus's  time, 
when  Pctreius,  his  lieutenant  in  Egypt,  subdued  her 
country  and  took  the  queen  Candace  prisoner. 
It  endured  also  after  Tiberius,  as  we  learn  from  St. 
Philip's  baptizing  the  eunuch,  (Acts  viii.  27,  38.) 
servant  of  queen  Candace,  who  must  have  been  suc- 
cessor to  the  former ;  for  she,  when  taken  prisoner 
by  Petreius,  is  represented  as  an  infirm  woman,  hav- 
ing but  one  eye.  (This  shows  the  falsehood  of  the 
roniark  Strabo  makes,  that  it  was  a  custom  in  Meroe, 
if  their  sovereign  was  any  way  mutilated,  for  the 
subjects  to  imitate  the  imperfection.  In  this  case 
Candace's  subjects  would  have  all  lost  an  ej'e,  Strabo, 
lib.  xvii.  p.  777,  778.)  Candace,  indeed,  was  the 
name  of  all  the  sovereigns,  in  the  same  manner  as 
Caesar  was  of  the  Roman  emperors.  As  for  the  last 
severe  part,  the  punishment  of  the  princes,  it  was 
jjrobahly  intended  to  prevent  some  disorders  among 
the  princes  of  her  house,  that  she  had  observed  fre- 
quently to  happen  in  the  house  of  Dovid,  (2  Sam. 
xvi.  22  ;  1  Kings  ii.  13.)  at  Jerusalem. 

"The  queen  of  Saba  having  made  these  laws 
irrevocable  to  all  her  posterity,  died,  after  a  long 
reign  of  foity  years,  in  986  before  Christ,  placing  her 
son  IMeniIek  lipon  the  throne,  whose  posterity,  the 
annals  of  Abyssinia  would  teach  us  to  believe,  have 
ever  since  reigned.  So  far  we  must  indeed  bear 
witness  to  them,  that  this  is  no  new  doctrine,  but  has 


been  steadfastly  and  unifomily  maintained  from  their 
earliest  account  of  time  ;  first  when  Jews,  then  in 
later  days,  after  they  had  embraced  Christianity. 
We  may  further  add,  that  the  testimony  of  all  the 
neighboring  nations  is  with  them  upon  this  sultjcct, 
wiiether  they  be  friends  or  enemies.  They  only  dif- 
fer in  name  of  the  queen,  or  in  giving  her  two  names. 
As  for  her  being  an  Arab,  the  objection  is  still  easier 
got  over.  For  all  the  inhabitants  of  Arabia  Felix, 
esjiecially  those  of  the  coast  opposite  to  Saba,  were 
reputed  Abyssinians,  and  their  country  part  of  Abys- 
sinia, fi-om  the  earliest  ages  to  the  Mahometan  con- 
quest and  after.  They  were  her  subjects  ;  first  Sa- 
bean  pagans  like  herself,  then  convened  (as  the  tra- 
dition says)  to  Judaism,  during  the  time  of  the  build- 
ing of  the  temple  and  continuing  Jews  from  that 
time  to  the  year  622  after  Christ,  when  they  became 
Mahometans. 

"  Of  their  kings  of  the  race  of  Solomon  descended 
from  the  queen  of  Saba,  the  device  is  a  lion  passant, 
proper  upon  a  field  gules,  and  their  motto.  Mo  Anha- 
sa  am  J\"{zilet  Solomoti  JVeg-orf^  Jude ;  which  signifies, 
'The  Lion  of  the  Race  of  Solomon  and  Tribe  of  Ju- 
dah  hath  overcome.'  "  (So  far  Mr.  Bruce,  vol.  i.  p. 
471,  &c.) 

On  the  motto  of  the  Abyssinian  kings,  Mr.  Taylor 
remarks,  that  we  find  allusions  to  it  in  Scripture.  It 
appears  to  have  originated  from  the  simile  in  Gen. 
xlix.  9,  and  to  this  motto,  or  title,  a  reference  he 
thinks  may  be  found  in  Ps.  1.  22,  "  Consider  this,  ye 
that  forget  God,  lest  I  tear  you  in  pieces,  and  thei'S 
be  none  to  deliver  :" — where  the  phrase  differs  from 
Ps.  vii.  2,  ii\  which  place,  the  psalmist  speaks  of  be- 
ing himself  toni  in  pieces.  (See  Micali  v.  8.)  He 
also  thinks  there  is  a  direct  quotation  of  this  motto 
in  Rev.  v.  8,  "Tlielion  of  the  tribe  of  Jndah  hath  pre- 
vailed," or  overcome  ;  so  that  the  comparison  of  a 
chief  of  the  tribe  of  Judah  to  a  lion,  is  not  only  sanc- 
tioned by  the  original  comparison  in  Genesis,  but  ap- 
pears to  have  been  constantly  kept  in  memory,  and 
preserved  by  a  public  and  authoritative  memoi'ial ; 
in  fact,  by  national  and  royal  insignia. 

Mr.  Bruce  adds  the  following  information,  which 
shows  the  practicability  of  the  queen  of  Sheba's  jour- 
ney. Indeed  journeys  of  a  much  greater  length  are 
now  annually  made,  in  order  to  visit  Mecca  ;  and  it 
is  very  credible,  that  the  antiquity  of  similar  journeys 
is  very  gi'eat. 

"In  the  g^tle  reigns  of  the  Mamalnkes,  before  the 
conquest  of  Egv^pt  and  Arabia  by  Selim,  a  caravan 
constantly  set  out  from  Abyssinia  directly  for  Jerusa- 
lem. Tliey  had  then  a  treaty  with  the  Arabs.  This 
caravan  rendezvoused  at  Hamayen,  a  small  territory 
abounding  in  provisions,  about  two  days'  journey 
from  Dobarwa,  and  nearly  the  same  from  Masuah  :  it 
amounted  sometimes  in  number  to  a  thousand  pil- 
grims, ecclesiastics  as  well  as  laymen.  They  travel- 
led by  very  easy  journeys,  not  above  six  miles  a  day, 
halting  to  perform  divine  service,  and  setting  up  their 
tents  early,  and  never  beginning  to  travel  till  towards 
nine  in  the  morning.  They  had  hitherto  passed  in 
perfect  safety,  with  drums  beatuig,  and  colors  flying, 
and  in  this  way  traversed  the  desert  by  the  road  of 
Suakem."     (Travels,  vol.  ii.  p.  158.) 

V.  SHEBA,  a  city  of  Simeon,  Josh.  xix.  2. 

VI.  SHEBA,  son  of  Bichri,  of  Benjamin,  a  turbu- 
lent fellow,  who,  after  the  defeat  of  Absalom,  when  the 
tribe  of  Judah  came  to  David,  and  brought  him  over 
the  river  Jordan,  on  his  way  to  Jeiiisalem,  sounded  a 
trumpet,  and  proclaimed,"  "We  have  no  share  in 
David."     Israel,  in  consequence,  forsook  David,  and 


SHE 


[  844  ] 


SHECHEM 


followed  Sheba,  2  Sam.  xx.  1,  &c.  When  the  king 
arrived  at  Jerusalem,  he  sent  Abishai  in  pursuit  of  the 
traitor.  Joab  also  took  soldiers,  and,  crossing  the 
country  north  of  Jerusalem,  he  arrived  at  Abel-beth- 
maacah,  a  city  at  the  entrance  of  the  pass  between 
Libauus  and  Anti-libanus,  to  which  Sheba  had  re- 
tired. Joab  besieged  the  place  ;  but  a  discreet  woman 
inhabiting  the  city,  having  persuaded  the  people  to 
cut  off  Sheba's  head,  and  to  throw  it  over  the  wall, 
Joab  and  his  army  retired. 

SHEBARIM,  a  place  near  Ai  and  Bethel,  Josh, 
vii.  .5. 

SHEBAT,  see  Sebat. 

SHEBNA,  a  secretary  to  king  Hezekiah,  who  was 
sent  with  Joah  and  Asaph,  to  hear  the  proposals  of 
Rabshakeh,  2  Kings  xviii.  18,  26. 

SHEBUEL,  the  eldest  son  of  Gershom,  son  of 
Moses,  had  the  care  of  the  treasures  of  the  temple, 
1  Chron.  xxiii.  16  ;  xxvi.  24. 

I.  SHECHEM,  son  of  Hamor,  prince  of  the 
Shechemites,  seduced  Dinah,  the  daughter  of  Jacob, 
as  she  went  to  see  a  festival  of  the  Shechemites,  Gen. 
xxxiv.  A.  M.  2265.  He  afterwards  obtaineil  her  in 
marriage,  on  condition  that  he,  and  all  the  men  of 
Shechem,  should  be  circumcised.  This  was  agreed 
to  ;  but  on  the  third  day,  when  the  wounds  of  the 
cu-cumcision  were  at  the  worst,  Simeon  and  Levi, 
the  two  brotliers  of  Dinah,  entered  Shechem,  and 
slew  all  the  males,  and  afterwards,  with  their  breth- 
ren and  domestics,  plundered  the  city.  It  is  proba- 
ble that  this  prince  gave  name  to  the  city  of  She- 
chem. 

II.  SHECHEM,  SicHAR,  or  Sychem,  (Acts  vii.  16.) 
a  city  of  Benjamin,  Josh.  xvii.  7.  Jacob  bought  a 
field  in  its  neighborhood,  which,  by  way  of  overjilus, 
he  gave  to  his  sou  Joseph,  who  was  buried  here,  Gen. 
xlviii.  22.  In  its  vicuiity  was  Jacob's  well  or  foun- 
tain, at  which  Christ  discoursed  with  the  woman  of 
Samaria,  John  iv.  .5.  After  the  ruin  of  Samaria  by 
Shalniaueser,  Shechem  became  the  capital  of  the 
Samaritans  ;  and  Josephus  says,  it  was  so  in  the  time 
of  Alexander  the  Great.  At  the  present  day,  it  is 
also  the  seat  of  the  small  remnant  of  the  Samaritans. 
(See  Samaritans.)  It  is  10  miles  from  Shiloh, 
and  40  from  Jerusalem,  towards  the  north.  The 
following  is  Dr.  Clarke's  description  of  this  city  and 
its  neighborliood  : — 

"  The  view  of  the  ancient  Sichem,  now  called  Na- 
polosc,  otherwise  Neapolis,  and  Napol^s,  surprised 
lis,  as  we  had  not  expected  to  find  a  city  of  such 
magnitude  in  the  road  to  Jerusalem.  It  seems  to  be 
the  metropolis  of  a  very  rich  and  extensive  country, 
abounding  Avith  provisioiis,  and  all  the  necessary  ar- 
ticles of  iifo,  in  much  greater  profusion  tiian  the  town 
of  Acre.  Wliite  bread  was  expcs.d  for  sale  in  the 
streets  of  a  quality  superior  to  any  that  is  to  be  found 
elsewhere  throughout  the  Levant.  The  govei-nor  of 
Napolose  received  and  regaled  us  with  ail  the  mag- 
nificence of  an  eastern  sovereign.  Refreshments,  of 
every  kind  known  in  the  country,  were  set  before  us  ; 
and  when  we  supposed  the  list  to  be  exhausted,  to 
our  very  great  astonishnicnt  a  most  sumptuous  din- 
ner was  brought  in.  Nothing  seemed  to  gi'atify  our 
host  more,  tlian  that  any  of  his  guests  sliould  eat 
heartily  ;  and,  to  do  him  justice,  every  individual  of 
the  party  ought  to  have  possessed  the  apjiotite  often 
hungry  pilgrims,  to  satisfy  his  Avishes  in  this  respect. 
There  is  nothing  in  the  Holy  Land  finer  than  a  view 
of  Napolose,  from  the  heights  arotuid  it.  As  the 
traveller  descends  towards  it  from  the  hills,  it  a])pears 
luxuriantly  embosomed  in  the  most  delightful  and 


fragi-ant  bowers,  half  concealed  by  rich  gardens,  and 
by  "stately  trees  collected  into  groves,  all  around  the 
bold  and  beautiful  valley  in  which  it  stands.  Ti-ade 
seems  to  flourish  among  its  inhabitants.  Their 
principal  employment  is  in  making  soap  ;  but  the  man- 
ufactures of  the  town  supply  a  very  widely  extended 
neighborhood,  and  they  are  exported  to  a  great  dis- 
tance, upon  camels.  In  the  morning  after  our  arrival, 
we  met  caravans  coming  from  Grand  Cairo,  and 
noticed  others  reposing  in  the  large  olive  plantations 
near  the  gates. 

"The  history  of  Sichem,  referring  to  events  long 
prior  to  the  Christian  dispensation,  directs  us  to  an- 
tiquities, which  owe  nothing  of  their  celebrity  to  any 
traditional  aid.  The  traveller,  directing  his  footsteps 
towards  its  ancient  sepulchres,  as  everlasting  as  the 
rocks  wherein  they  are  hewn,  is  jjermitted,  on  the 
authority  of  sacred  and  indelible  record,  to  contem- 
plate tlie  spot  where  the  remains  of  Joseph,  of  Elea- 
zar  and  of  Joshua  were  severally  deposited.  If  any 
thing  connected  with  the  memory  of  past  ages  be 
calculated  to  awaken  local  enthusiasm,  the  land 
around  this  city  is  preeminently  entitled  to  consid- 
eration. The  sacred  story  of  events  transacted  in  the 
fields  of  Sichem,  from  our  earliest  years,  is  remem- 
bered with  delight ;  but  with  the  territory  before  our 
eyes  where  those  events  took  place,  and  in  the  view 
of  objects  existing  as  they  were  described  above 
three  thousand  years  ago,  the  grateful  impression 
kindles  into  ecstasy.  Along  the  valley  we  beheld 
"a  company  of  Ishmaelites,  coming  from  Gilead," 
(Gen.  xxxvii.  25.)  as  in  the  days  of  Reuben  and  Ju- 
dah,  "  with  their  camels  bearing  spicery,  and  balm, 
and  myrrh,"  who  would  gladly  have  purchased  an- 
other Joseph  of  his  brethren,  and  conveyed  him,  as 
a  slave,  to  some  Potiphar  in  Egypt.  Upon  the  hills 
around,  flocks  and  herds  were  feeding,  as  of  old  ;  nor 
in  the  simple  garb  of  the  shepherds  of  Samaria  was 
there  any  thing  repugnant  to  the  notions  we  n\ay  en- 
tertain of  the  appearance  presented  by  the  sons  of 
Jacob.  It  was  indeed  a  scene  to  abstract  and  to  ele- 
vate the  mind  ;  and,  under  emotions  so  called  fortli 
by  every  circumstance  of  powerful  coincidence,  a 
single  moment  seemed  to  concentrate  whole  agrs  of 
existence.  The  Jews  of  the  twelfih  century  ac- 
knowledged that  the  tomb  of  Joseph  then  existed  in 
Sichem,  although  both  the  city  and  the  tomb  were 
the  possession  and  boast  of  a  peoj^le  they  detested 
'  The  town,'  says  rabbi  Benjamin,  '  lies  in  a  vale,  be- 
tween mount  Gerizim  and  mount  Ebal,  where  there 
are  above  a  hundred  Cutlia:ans,  who  observe  only 
the  lawof  Moses,  whom  men  call  Samaritans.  They 
have  priests  of  the  lineage  of  Aaron,  who  rests  in 
peace,  and  those  they  call  Aaronitcs  ;  who  never 
marry  but  vt^ith  persons  of  the  sacerdotal  family,  that 
thcipncn/  not  be  confounded  with  the  people.  Yet  these 
priests  of  their  law  offer  sacrifices  and  Iiurnt-ofler- 
ings  in  tlicir  congregations,  as  it  is  written  in  the  law, 
(Dent.  xi.  29.)  '  Thou  shalt  put  the  blessing  on  mount 
Gerizim.'  They  therefore  jiftirm,  that  this  is  tlie 
liouse  of  the  Sanctuary  ;  and  they  ofler  burnt-offer- 
ings both  on  the  Passover,  and  on  oilier  fVstivals,  on 
the  altar  which  was  built  on  mount  Gerizim,  of  those 
stones  which  the  children  of  Israel  set  up  after  they 
had  passed  over  Jordan.  They  pretend  that  they  are 
descended  from  the  triiie  of"  Ei)In-aim,  and  'have 
anions;  them  the  sepulchre  of  Joseph  the  Just,  tlir  son  of 
our  father  Jacob,  who  rests  in  peace,  according  to 
that  saying,  the  bones  also  of  Joseph,  tvhich  the  children 
of  Israel  broitf^ht  vp  with  them  ont  of  E^ypt,  buried 
they  in  Shechem.''    3Iaundre!l  notices  "the  tomb  of  Jo- 


SHECHEM 


[  845] 


SHE 


seph,  still  bearing  its  name,  unaltered,  and  venerated 
even  by  the  31oslcms,  who  have  built  a  small  tem- 
ple over  it.  Its  authenticity  is  not  liable  to  contro- 
vei-sv ;  since  tradition  is,  in  this  respect,  maintained 
on  tiie  authority  of  sacred  Scripture;  and  the  vene- 
lation  paid  to  it  by  Jews,  by  Christians,  and  by  JMa- 
bometans,  has  preserved,  in  all  ages,  the  remem- 
brance of  its  situation.  Ilavinjr  shown,  on  a  former 
occasion,  that  tombs  were  the  origin  of  temples,  it  is 
not  necessary  to  dwell  on  the  utter  improbability  of 
their  being  Ibrgotten  among  men  who  approached 
them  as  places  of  worship.  The  tomb  of  Joshua 
was  also  visited  by  Jewish  pilgrims  in  the  twelfth 
centiuy.  This  is  proved  by  the  Hebrew  Itinerary 
of  I'etachias,  who  was  contemporary  with  Benjamin 
of  Tudela  ;  and  its  situation,  mai-ked  by  him  with  the 
utmost  precision,  is  still  as  familiar  to  the  Jews  of 
Palestine,  as  the  place  where  the  temple  of  Solomon 
originally  stood.  It  was,  in  fact,  in  the  midst  of  a 
renowned  cemetery,  containing  also  the  sepulchres 
of  other  patriarchs;  particularly  of  one,  whose  syna- 
gogue is  mentioned  by  Benjamin  of  Tudela,  as  being 
in  the  neighborhood  of  the  warm  baths  of  Tiberias. 
These  tombs  are  hewn  in  the  solid  rock,  like  those 
of  Telmessus  in  the  gulf  of  Glaucus,  and  are  calcu- 
lated for  duration,  equal  to  that  of  the  hills  wherein 
they  have  been  excavated."  (p.  513.) 

"  The  i)riucipal  object  of  veneration  is  Jacob's 
well,  over  which  a  church  was  formerly  erected. 
This  is  situated  at  a  small  distance  fi-om  the  town,  in 
the  road  to  Jerusalem,  and  has  been  visited  by  pil- 
grims of  all  ages  ;  but  particularly  since  the  Christian 
era,  as  the  place  where  our  Saviour  revealed  himself 
to  the  woman  of"Samaria.  The  spot  is  so  distinctly 
marked  by  the  evangelist,  and  so  little  liable  to  un- 
certainty, from  the  circumstance  of  the  well  itself, 
and  the  features  of  the  country,  thtat,  if  no  tradition 
existed  for  its  identity,  the  site  of  it  could  hardly  be 
mistaken.  Perhaps  no  Christian  scholar  ever  atten- 
tively read  the  fourth  chapter  of  John,  without  being 
struck  with  the  numerous  internal  evidences  of  truth 
which  crowd  upon  the  mind  in  its  perusal.  \V'^ithin 
so  small  a  compass  it  is  impossible  to  find  in  other 
writings  so  many  sources  of  reflection  and  of  inter- 
est. Independently  of  its  importance  as  a  theolo- 
gical document,  it  concentrates  so  much  information, 
that  a  volume  might  be  filled  with  the  illustration  it 
reflects  on  the  history  of  the  Jews,  and  on  the  geog- 
raphy of  their  country.  AU  that  can  be  gathered  on 
these  subjects  from  Josephns  seems  but  as  a  comment 
to  illustrate  this  chapter.  The  journey  of  our  Lord 
from  Judea  into  Galilee,  the  cause  of  it,  his  passage 
through  the  territory  of  Samaria,  his  approach  to  tlie 
metropolis  of  this  country,  its  name,  his  arrival  at  the 
Amorite  field  which  terminates  the  narrow  vallej' of 
Sichem,  the  ancient  custom  of  halting  at  a  well,  the 
female  employment  of  drawing  water,  the  discijjles 
sent  into  the  city  for  food,  by  which  its  situation  out 
of  the  town  is  obviously  implied  ;  the  question  of  the 
woman  referring  to  existing  prejudices  which  sepa- 
rated the  Jews  from  the  Samaritans ;  the  depth  of  the 
well,  the  oriental  allusion  contained  in  the  expression, 
Hiving  ivater  ;'  the  history  of  the  well,  and  the  cus- 
toms thereby  illustrated,  the  worship  upon  mount 
Gerizim  ;  all  these  occur  within  the  space  of  twenty 
verses :  and  if  to  these  be  added,  what  has  already 
been  referred  to  in  the  remainder  of  the  same  chaj)- 
ter,  we  shall  perhaps  consider  it  as  a  record,  which, 
in  the  words  of  him  who  sent  it,  ^  we  may  lift  up  our 
eyes,  and  look  upon,  for  it  is  white  already  to  harvest.^  " 
(I'ravels.  p.  517.) 


[The  situation  of  the  city  is  vei7  romantic.  The 
following  is  Dr.  Jowett's  notice  of  it  in  1823;  and  is 
coupled  with  a  scene  illustrative  of  Scripture  man- 
ners :  (Chr.  Researches  in  Syr.  p.  147.  Amer.  ed.) 
"It  was  about  an  hour  after  mid-day  that  we  had  our 
first  view  of  the  city  of  Naiilous,  romantically  situated 
in  a  deep  valley,  between  the  mountains  of  Ebal  on 
our  left  and  Gerizim  on  the  right.  There  is  a  kind 
of  sublime  horror  in  the  lofty,  craggy  and  barren  as- 
pect of  these  two  mountains,  which  seem  to  face  each 
other  with  an  air  of  defiance,  especially  as  they  stand 
contrasted  with  the  rich  valley  beneath,  where  the 
city  appears  to  be  embedded  on  either  side  in  green 
gardens  and  extensive  olive-grounds,  rendered  more 
verdant,  by  the  lengthened  periods  of  shade  which 
they  enjoy  from  the  mountains  on  each  side. 
Of  the  two,  Gerizim  is  not  wholly  without  culti- 
vation. 

"  We  had  always  been  informed,  that  the  facility  of 
passing  by  way  of  Nablous  depended  very  much  on 
the  character  of  the  governor  of  the  city.  Our  case 
was  singular  ;  for  we  had  to  learn  Avhat  kind  of  re- 
ception a  city  without  a  governor  would  give  us,  the 
governor  having  died  this  very  inorning.  On  com- 
ing w  ithin  siglit  of  the  gate,  we  perceived  a  numerous 
company  of  females,  who  were  singing  in  a  kind  of 
recitative,  far  from  melancholy,  and  beating  time  with 
their  hands.  If  this  be  mourning,  I  thought,  it  is  of 
a  strange  kind.  It  had  indeed,  sometimes,  more  the 
air  of  angry  defiance.  But  on  our  reaching  the  gate, 
it  was  suddenly  exchanged  for  most  hideous  plaints 
and  shrieks,  which,  with  the  feeling  that  we  were  en- 
tering a  city  at  no  time  celebrated  for  its  hospitality, 
struck  a  very  dismal  impression  upon  my  mind. 
They  accompanied  us  a  few  paces ;  but  it  soon  ap- 
peared that  the  gate  was  their  station  ;  to  which, 
having  received  nothing  from  us,  thej'  returned.  We 
learnt,  in  the  course  of  the  evening,  that  these  were 
only  a  small  detachment  of  a  very  numerous  body  of 
cunning  women,  who  were  filling  the  whole  c\i\  \\\x\\ 
their  cries — taking  up  a  wailing,  with  the  design,  as 
of  old,  to  make  the  eyes  of  all  the  inhabitants  run 
down  with  tears,  and  their  eyelids  gush  out  luith  icalers, 
Jer.  ix.  17,  18.  For  this  good  service,  they  would, 
the  next  morning,  wait  upon  the  government 
and  principal  persons,  to  receive  some  trifling 
fee."     *R. 

SHEEP.  [The  Hebrew  name  of  this  animal  is 
T\v,  seh,  a  word  which  is  merely  a  noun  of  unity,  and 
has  no  plural.  The  noun  of  plurality  or  multitude 
is  jNi-,  tson,  which  includes  all  small  cattle,  as  sheep, 
goats,  (SiTc.  like  the  English  word^ocA-5.     R. 

In  its  present  domestic  state,  the  sheep  is  of  all  an- 
imals the  most  defenceless  and  inoflensive.  With 
its  liberty  it  seems  to  have  been  deprived  of  its  swift- 
ness and  cunning  ;  and  what  in  the  ass  might  rather 
be  called  jjaticnce,  in  the  sheep  appears  to  be  stupid- 
ity. With  no  one  quality  to  fit  it  for  self-preserva- 
tion, it  makes  vain  efforts  at  all.  Without  swiftness 
it  endeavors  to  fly  ;  and  without  strength  sometimes 
ofters  to  oppose.  But  it  is  by  human  art  alone  that 
the  sheep  is  become  the  tardy,  defenceless  creature 
that  we  find  it.  In  its  wild  state  it  is  a  noble  and  act- 
ive animal,  and  is  every  way  fitted  to  defend  itself 
against  the  numerous  dangers  by  which  it  is  sur- 
rounded. 

Of  the  Syrian  sheep  there  are  two  varieties:  the 
one  called  Bedouin  sheep,  which  differ  in  no  respect 
from  the  larger  kinds  of  sheep  among  us,  except  that 
their  tails  are  something  longer  and  thicker ;  the  oth- 
ers are  those  often  mentioned  by  travellers  on  ac- 


BHERP 


[  846  ] 


SHEEP 


count  of  their  extraordinary  taiis ;  and  this  species 
is  by  far  the  most  numerous.  The  tail  of  one  of 
these  animals  is  very  broad  and  large,  terminating  in 
a  small  appendage  that  turns  back  upon  it.  It  is  of 
a  substance  between  fat  and  marrow,  and  is  not  eaten 
separately,  but  mixed  with  the  lean  meat  in  many  of 
theii- dishes,  and  also  often  used  instead  of  butter.  A 
common  sheep  of  this  sort,  without  the  head,  feet, 
skin  and  entrails,  weighs  from  sixty  to  eighty  pounds, 
of  which  the  tail  itself  is  usually  fifteen  pounds  or 
upwards ;  but  such  as  are  of  the  largest  breed,  and 
have  been  fattened,  will  sometimes  weigh  above  one 
hundred  and  fifty  pounds,  and  the  tail,  alone,  fifty  ;  a 
thing  to  some  scarcely  credible.  To  preserve  the 
tails  from  being  torn  by  the  bushes,  &c.  they  fix  a 
piece  of  thin  board  to  the  under  ])art,  wliere  it  is  not 
covered  with  thick  wool,  and  some  have  small  wheels 
to  faciUtate  the  dragging  of  this  board  after  them  ; 
whence,  with  a  little  exaggeration,  the  story  of  hav- 
ing carts  to  carry  their  tails.  (Russell's  Aleppo, 
p.  51.) 

The  sheep  or  lamb  was  the  common  sacrifice  un- 
der tlie  Mosaic  law ;  and  it  is  to  be  remarked,  that 
when  the  divine  legislator  speaks  of  this  victim,  he 
never  omits  to  appoint,  that  the  rump  or  tail  be  laid 
whole  on  the  fire  of  the  altar.  The  reason  for  this  is 
seen  in  the  extract  just  given  from  Dr.  Russell,  from 
which  it  appears  that  tliis  was  the  most  delicate  part 
of  the  animal,  and  therefore  the  most  ])roper  to  be 
presented  m  sacrifice  to  Jehovah.  JMr.  Street,  how- 
ever, wlio  is  cited  by  Dr.  Harris,  considers  this  pre- 
cept to  have  had  respect  to  the  health  of  the  Israel- 
ites ;  observing,  that  "  bilious  disordei-s  are  very  fre- 
quent in  hot  countries ;  the  eating  of  fat  meat  is  a 
gveiit  encouragement  and  excitement  to  them  ;  and 
though  the  fat  of  the  tail  is  now  considered  as  a  deli- 
cacy, it  is  really  unwholesome." 

In  a  domesticated  state,  the  sheep,  as  already  no- 
ticed, is  a  weak  and  defenceless  animal,  and  is,  there- 
fore, altogether  dependent  upon  its  keeper  for  pro- 
tection as  well  as  support.  To  this  trait  in  their 
character,  there  are  several  beautiful  allusions  in  the 
sacred  writings.  Thus,  Micaiali  describes  the  desti- 
tute condition  of  the  Jews  as  a  flock  "scattered  upon 
the  hills,  as  sheep  tliat  have  not  a  shepherd  ;"  (1  Kings 
xxii.  17  ;  see  also  Matt,  ix.36.)  and  Zechariah  pro])h- 
esied,  that  when  the  good  she|)herd  should  be  smit- 
ten and  removed  from  his  flock,  the  sheep  should  be 
scattered,  Zech.  xiii.  7.  To  the  disposition  of  these 
animals  to  wander  from  the  fold,  and  thus  abandon 
themselves  to  danger  and  destruction,  there  are  also 
several  allusions  made  by  the  inspired  writers.  Da- 
vid confesses  that  he  had  imitated  tbeir  foolish  con- 
duct: "I  have  gone  astray  like  a  lost  sheep ;"  and 
conscious  that,  like  them,  he  was  only  disposed  to 
wander  still  further  from  the  fold,  he  adds,  "seek  thy 
servant,"  Ps.  cxix.  176.  Nor  was  this  disi)osition  to 
abandon  the  paternal  care  of  God  peculiar  to  David, 
for  the  prophet  adopts  similar  language  to  depict  the 
dangerous  and  awful  condition  of  the  entire  species: 
"  All  we  like  sheep  have  gone  astray  :  we  have  turned 
every  one  to  his  own  way,"  Isa.'liii.  0.  It  was  to 
seek  these  "lost  sheep,"  scattered  abroad,  and  having 
no  sheftherd,  that  the  blessed  Redeemer  came  into 
the  world.  He  is  "the  good  shei)herd,  who  gave  bis 
life  for  the  sheep,"  (John  x.  11.)  and  his  ])Pople, 
though  formerly  "as  sheej)  going  astray,"  have  now 
"  retin-ned  to  the  shepherd  and  bishop  of  their  souls," 
1  Pet.  ii.  25.  His  care  over  them,  and  their  security 
under  his  protection,  is  most  beautifiilly  and  affect- 
ingly  described  ill  the  chapter  which  we  just  now 


cited.  "He  calleth  his  own  sheep  by  name,  and 
leadeth  them  out.  And  when  he  putteih  forth  his 
own  sheep,  he  goeth  before  tliem,  and  the  sheep  fol- 
low him  :  for  they  know  his  voi(;e.  And  a  stranger 
will  they  not  follow,  but  will  flee  from  him:  for  they 
know  not  the  voice  of  strangers.  1  am  the  door  of 
the  sheep.  All  that  ever  came  before  me  are  thieves 
and  robbers  ;  but  the  sheep  did  not  hear  them.  I 
am  the  door:  by  me  if  any  man  enter  in,  he  shall  be 
saved,  and  shall  go  in  and  out,  and  find  jiasture.  The 
thief  Cometh  not,  but  for  to  steal,  and  to  kill,  and  to 
destroy:  I  am  come  that  they  might  have  life,  and 
that  they  might  have  it  more  abundantly.  I  am  the 
good  shepherd  ;  the  good  shepherd  giveth  his  life  for 
the  sheep.  But  he  that  is  an  hireling,  and  not  the 
shepherd,  whose  own  the  rheep  are  not,  seeth  the 
wolf  coming,  and  leavctli  the  sheep,  and  fleeth  ;  and 
the  wolf  catcheth  them,  and  scattereth  the  sheep. 
The  hireling  fleeth,  because  he  is  an  liireling,  and 
careth  not  for  the  sheep.  I  am  the  good  shej)herd, 
and  know  my  sheep,  and  am  known  of  mine.  As 
the  Father  knoweth  me, even  so  know  I  the  Father; 
and  I  lay  down  my  life  for  the  sheep.  And  other 
sheep  I  have,  which  are  not  of  this  fold  :  them  also  I 
must  bring,  and  they  shall  hear  my  voice  ;  and  there 
shall  be  one  fold,  and  one  shepherd,"  John  x.  3 — 16. 

The  sprightly  and  plajful  inclination  of  the  lamb 
lias  passed  into  a  proverb.  To  their  gambols  in  the 
pasture,  there  is  an  allusion  in  a  bold  buta))propriate 
figure,  in  the  cxiv.  Psalm  :  "The  mountains  skipped 
like  rams,  and  the  little  hills  like  lambs.  What  ailed 
thee — ye  inoimtains,  that  ye  skipped  like  rams  ;  and 
ye  little  hills  like  lambs  ?"  The  meek  and  harmless 
disposition  of  this  animal  has  occasioned  it  to  be  se- 
lected by  the  Holy  Spirit,  as  a  fit  type  of  the  Son  of 
God  and  Saviour  of  the  world.  The  lamb  in  the 
))aschal  feast,  which  was  roasted  whole,  and  feasted 
upon  by  each  family  of  redeemed  Israelites,  and 
whose  blood  sprinkled  upon  the  door  posts  of  their 
houses,  preserved  them  from  the  sword  of  the  de- 
stroying angel,  was  a  lively  representation  of  him 
"who  gave  himself  for  our  sins,  according  to  the  will 
of  God  and  our  Father;"  whose  blood  has  been  shed 
for  the  expiation  of  human  guilt;  and  upon  whom 
every  redeemed  Israelite  feeds  and  lives  by  faith, 
John  vi.  51 — 55.  He  is  "the  Lamb  of  God,  who 
taketh  away  the  sin  of  the  world,"  (John  i.  29.)  the 
necessity  and  efficacy  of  whose  atonement  was  strik- 
ingly prefigured  bj'  the  daily  sacrifices  of  the  Mosaic 
ritual. 

There  is  a  remarkable  passage  in  the  history  of 
Jacob,  as  recorded  in  Gen.  xxx.  31,  &c.  relative  to 
the  gestation  and  birth  of  these  animals,  which  would 
perhaps,  be  deemed  an  un))ardonable  omission  to  pass 
by;  and  yet,  we  far  we  shall  be  able  to  collect  little 
that  will  satisfy  the  mind  of  the  inquisitive  on  the 
subject.  The  reader  is  i-eciucstcd  to  have  the  passage 
before  him,  while  })erusing  the  following  observa- 
tions upon  it,  chiefly  taken  from  Calmet  and  Dr.  A. 
Clarke. 

It  is  extremely  difficult  to  find  out,  from  tlie  32d 
and  35th  verses,  in  ii'hat  the  bargain  of  Jacob  with 
his  father-in-law  i)ro|)("Hy  consisted.  It  appears 
from  ver.  32,  that  Jacob  was  to  have  for  his  wages 
all  the  spccklerl,  spotted  tu](\  bi-own,  nmovg  the  sheep 
and  the  goats;  and  of  course,  that  all  those  which 
were  not  parti-colored,  should  be  considered  as  the 
property  of  l.aban.  But  in  ver.  35,  it  appears  that 
Laban  separated  all  the  parti-colored  cattle,  and  de- 
livered them  into  tli«>  hands  of  his  own  sons ;  which 
seems  as  if  he  had  taken  these  fur  his  own  property, 


f 


SHEEP 


[  ^-17  ] 


SHE 


and  left  the  othei-s  to  Jacob.  It  has  oeen  conjectured 
that  l.abnn,  ibr  the  greater  security,  wlicn  lie  luid 
separated  the  parti-colored,  whicli  by  the  agreement 
belonged  to  Jacob,  (see  ver.  32.)  pnt  them  under  the 
,  care  of  his  own  sons,  while  Jacob  fed  the  flock  of 
Laban,  (ver.  SG.)  three  days'  journey  being  between 
the  two  flocks.  If,  therefore,  the  flocks  under  the 
care  of  Laban's  sous  brought  Ibrth  young  that  were 
all  ol' one  color,  these  were  pnt  to  the  flocks  of  Laban, 
under  the  care  of  Jacob;  and  if  any  of  the  flocks  un- 
der Jacob's  care  brought  forth  ;;«/-/i-co/ortrf  young, 
they  were  put  to  the  flocks  belonging  to  Jacob,  under 
tlie  care  of  Laban's  sons.  This  coujectiu'e  is  not 
satisfactory,  and  the  true  meaning  appears  to  be  this: 
Jacob  had  agreed  to  take  all  the  |)arti-colored  for  his 
wages.  As  he  was  now  only  tefi-wj?n'?jof  to  act  u[)on 
this  agreement,  consequently  none  of  the  cattle  as 
yet  belonged  to  him  :  therefore  Lal)an  separated  from 
the  flock  (ver.  35.)  all  such  cattle  as  Jacob  might 
afterwards  claim  in  consequence  of  his  bargain  ;  for 
as  yet  he  had  no  right :  therefore  .1  u'ob  commenced 
his  service  to  Laban  with  a  flock  that  did  not  contain 
a  .single  animal  of  the  description  of  those  to  which 
he  might  be  entitled  ;  and  the  others  were  sent  away 
imder  the  care  of  Laban's  sons,  three  clays'  journey 
from  those  of  which  Jacob  had  the  care.  The  bar- 
gain, therefore,  seemed  to  be  wholly  in  favor  of  La- 
ban ;  and  to  turn  it  to  his  own  advantage,  Jacob 
made  use  of  the  stratagems  afterwards  mentioned. 
This  mode  of  interpretation  removes  all  the  apparent 
contradiction  between  the  32d  and  35th  verses,  with 
which  commentators  in  general  have  been  grievous- 
ly jierplexed.  From  the  Avhole  account  we  learn, 
that  Laban  acted  with  great  prudence  and  caution, 
and  Jacob  with  gvaai  judgment.  Jacob  had  already 
served  fourteen  years,  and  had  got  no  patrimony 
whatever,  though  ho  had  now  a  family  of  twelve 
children,  eleven  sons  and  one  daug;hter,  besides  his 
two  wives  and  their  two  maids.  It  was  high  time 
that  he  should  get  some  projjerty  for  these  ;  and  as 
his  father-in-law  was  excessively  parsimonious,  and 
would  scarcely  allow  him  to  live,  he  was  in  some  sort 
obliged  to  make  use  of  stratagem  to  get  an  equiva- 
lent for  his  services  ;  but  this  he  pushed  so  far,  as  to 
ruin  his  father-in-law's  flocks,  leaving  him  nothing 
but  the  refuse.     (See  ver.  42.) 

So  far  Dr.  Adam  Clarke :  but  from  ch.  xxxi.  12, 
&c.  it  seems  clear  that  the  stratagem  which  was  re- 
sorted to  by  Jacob,  and  which  we  are  about  to  con- 
sider, was  ado[)ted  by  him  under  divine  direction, 
the  reason  for  which  is  there  distinctly  assigned. 

The  cxjiedient  was  this :  "  He  took  him  rods  of 
green  poplar,  and  of  the  hazel  and  chestnut-tree,  and 
pilled  white  streaks  iu   them,  and  made  the  white 
appear  which  wns  in  the  rods.     And  he  set  the  rods 
which  he  had  pilled  before  the  flocks  in  the  gutters  in 
the  watering-troughs,  when  the  flocks  came  to  drink, 
that  they  sho.uld  conceive  when  they  came  to  drink." 
The  consequence  of  this  is  stated  to  be,  that  "the 
flocks  conceived  before  the  rods,  and  brought  forth 
cattle  ring-straked,  speckled  and  spotted,"  ch.  xxx.  37 
— 39.     Now,  in  this  process  there  does  not  a|)|)ear  to 
have  been  any  thing  miraculous,  or  out  of  the  ordi- 
nary course  of  nature.     It  is  a  fact  attested  by  both 
ancient  and  modern  philosophers,  as  well  as  our  con- 
stant experience,  that  whatever  makes  a  strong  im- 
pression on  the  mind  of  a  female  iu  the  time  of  con- 
j     ception    and   gestation,  will    have   a  corresponding 
I     hifluence  on  the  mind  or  body  of  the  foetus.     Nor  is 
(     it  any  objection  to  this  fact,  that  we  know  not  how  to 
j    account  for  the  effect,  on  i-ational  principles. 


There  is  an  art,  which,  in  their  piedness,  shares 

With  great  creating  nature. — 

Yet  natuie  is  made  better  by  no  mean, 

But  nature  makes  that  mean : 

The  art  itself  is  nature.  Winter's  Tale. 

By  the  name  of  sheep,  Scripture  often  understands 
the  people.  Ps.  Ixxix.  13,  "  We  are  thy  people,  and 
the  sheep  of  thy  pasture  ;"  also,  "  O  shepherd  of  Israel, 
thou  that  leddest  Joseph  like  a  flock."  Our  Saviour 
says,  that  he  was  sent  only  to  the  lost  shee])  of  Israel, 
Matt.  XV.  24.  The  righteous  are  often  com|);ired  to 
sheep  exposed  to  the  violence  of  the  wicked,  to  the 
fury  of  the  wolves;  to  slaughter,  Ps.  xliv.  22.  At  the 
last  judgment,  the  just  (represented  by  sheep)  shall 
be  at  the  right  hand  of  the  sovereign  Judge,  and  put 
in  possession  of  heaven.  Our  Saviour  describes  de- 
ceivers as  wolves  in  sheep's  clothing,  Matt.  vii.  15. 

The  sheep-folds,  among  the  Israelites,  apjiear  to 
have  been  generally  houses,  or  enclosures,  walled 
roimd,  to  guard  the  sheep  from  beasts  of  prey  by 
night,  and  the  scorching  heat  of  noon.  John  x.  1 — 5 
is  a  curious  passage,  in  reference  to  the  subject  of 
this  article,  and  deserves  attention. 

SHEKEL,  to  iveigh,  a  Hebrew  weight  and  money, 
Exod.  xxx.  23,  24 ;  2  Sam.  xiv.  26.  The  word  "is 
used  to  denote  the  weight  of  any  thing,  as  iron,  hair, 
spices,  &c.  Among  the  different  opinions,  concern- 
ing its  weight  and  value,  Caln.et  adheres  to  that  of 
M.  le  Pellener,  who  says  it  weighs  half  an  ounce,  or 
four  Roman  drachmae  ;  that  is,  nine  pennyweights, 
three  grains  ;  and  that  the  shekel  of  silver  was  worth 
two  shillings  three-pence  farthing  and  a  half,  sterling, 
or  about  50  cents  ;  perhaps  nearest  52A  cents.  Moses 
and  Ezekiel  say,  it  Avas  worth  twenty  oboli,  or  twen- 
ty gerah,  Numl).  xviii.  16;  Ezek.  xlv.  12. 
'  The  shekel  of  gold  was  half  the  weight  of  die 
shekel  of  silver ;  and  was  worth  eighteen  shillings 
and  three-pence,  sterling,  or  about  $4.  "  The  shekel 
of  the  sanctuary"  has  been  thought  to  have  been 
doid)le  the  connnon  shekel,  but  this  wants  proof. 
Calmetdiinks  it  was  the  same  as  the  conuiion  shekel, 
the  words  "of  the  sanctuary"  being  added  to  express 
a  just  and  exact  weight,  according  to  the  standard  kept 
in  the  temple  or  tabernacle. 

[The  shekel  was  properly  and  only  a  weight,  which 
it  has  been  attempted  to  fix  at  96  Paris  grains,  or  also, 
as  above  stated,  at  9  pwt.  3  gr.  Troy.  It  was  used 
especially  in  weighing  uncoined  gold  and  silver,  Gen. 
xxiii.  15,  16.  In  such  cases  the  word  shekel  is  often 
omitted  in  the  Hebrew,  as  in  Gen.  xx.  16 ;  xxxvii. 
28,  where  our  translators  have  supplied  the  word 
pieces,  but  improperly,  because  coined  money  was 
not  then  known,  (See  Money.)  Between  the  sacred 
shekel,  (Ex.  xxx.  1.5.)  and  the  shekel  after  the  king^s 
tceight,  (2  Sam.  xiv.  26.)  there  woidd  seem  to  have 
been  a  diflt>reuce  ;  (see  Absalom  ;)  but  this  difference 
cannot  now  be  determined.  The  first  coin  which 
bore  the  name  of  shekel  was  struck  after  the  exile  in 
the  time  of  the  Maccabees,  (1  IMac.  xv.  6.)  and  bore 
the  inscription  shekel  of  Israel.  The  value  was  aliout 
50  cents ;  and  it  is  the  coin  mentioned  in  the  New 
Testament  by  the  name  of  a«>''C'""-  (Matt.  xxvi.  15, 
etc.)  where  our  translators  have  rendered  it  by  pieces 
of  silver.     R. 

SHEKINAH,  a  word  siaiufymit  the  dwelling,  the 
abiding.  It  does  not  occur  in  tlie  Bible  ;  but  nothing 
is  more  frequently  mentioned  in  the  Avn:!;;gs  of  the 
Jews,  than  the  Shekinah,  bv  which  they  understand 
the  presence  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  In  the  Targums,  and 
Chaldee  paraphrases, \ve  find  the  names  Jehovah,  or 


SHE 


[  848  ] 


SHE 


God ;  Memra,  or  the  Word ;  and  Shekinah,  or  the 
Holy  Spirit.  They  suppose  the  Holy  Spirit  speak- 
ing and  communicating  itself  to  men  by  revelation  ; 
(1.)  in  the  prophets  ;  (2.)  in  the  Urim  and  Thummim 
of  the  high-priest's  breast-plate  ;  (3.)  in  what  tiie 
Hebrews  call  Bath-col,  or  the  daughter  of  the 
voice.  The  Shekinah  is  the  presence  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  which  resided  in  the  temple  of  Jerusa- 
lem ;  and  which,  the  rabbins  say,  drove  thence  the 
princes  of  the  air,  and  communicated  a  particular 
sanctity. 

Tlie  Shekinah  was  the  most  sensible  symbol  of  the 
presence  of  God  among  the  Hebrews.  It  rested  over 
the  propitiatory,  or  over  the  golden  cherubim,  which 
were  attached  to  the  propitiatory,  the  covering  of  the 
ai-k.  Here  it  assumed  the  appearance  of  a  cloud  ;  and 
from  hence  God  gave  his  oracles,  as  some  think, 
when  consulted  by  the  high-priest  on  account  of  his 
people.  Hence  Scripture  often  says,  God  sits  on  the 
cherubim,  or  between  the  cherubim  ;  that  is,  he  gives 
the  most  evident  tokens  of  his  divine  presence,  by 
answering  from  hence  the  inquiries  of  Israel.  The 
rabbins  affirm,  that  the  Shekinah  first  resided  in  the 
tabernacle  prepared  by  Moses  in  the  wilderness,  into 
which  it  descended  on  the  day  of  its  consecration,  in 
the  figure  of  a  cloud.  It  passed  from  thence  into  the 
sanctuary  of  Solomon's  temple,  on  the  day  of  its  ded- 
ication by  this  prince,  wliere  it  continued  till  the 
destruction  of  Jerusalem,  and  the  temple,  by  the 
Chaldeans,  and  was  not  afterwards  seen  there. 

The  presence  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  by  the  appearance 
of  the  Shekinah,  is  frequently  referred  to  in  the  New 
Testament.  It  appeared  at  the  baptism  and  transfig- 
uration of  Jesus,  and  is  called  the  excellent  glory  by 
Peter,  2  Epist.  ii.  10.  The  idea  of  a  radiance,  or 
glory,  a  mild  effulgence,  seems  to  be  always  annexed 
to  it.  The  Shekinah  may  be  "  the  glory  of  the  Lord," 
spoken  of  2  Cor.  iii.  18,  under  the  allusion  of  being 
distributed  to  believers,  as  it  really  was  at  the  time  of  the 
descent  of  the  "cloven  tongues  like  as  of  fire,"  which 
sat  on  each  of  the  hundred  and  twenty,  (Acts  ii.)  and 
on  the  assembly  at  Cornelius's,  Acts  x.  44  ;  xi.  15.  It 
might  also  be  "the  glory  of  the  Lord,"  (Luke  ii.  9.) 
and  "  the  tabernacle  of  God  with  men,"  Rev.  xxi.  3. 
In  short,  we  find  it  frequently ;  but  always  gentle, 
and,  as  it  were,  lambent;  not  fierce  or  vindictive,  as 
exemplified  at  the  burning  bush,  (Exod.  iii.)  where 
the  whole  was  enveloped,  but  nothing  consumed. 

SHELOMITH,  daughter  of  Dibri,  of  the  tribe  of 
Dan,  was  mother  of  that  blasphemer  who  was  con- 
demned to  be  stoned.  Lev.  xxiv.  10,  11. 

SHELUMIEL,  son  of  Zurishaddai,  the  prince  of 
Simeon,  came  out  of  Egypt  at  the  head  of  50,000  men 
who. carried  arms.  Numb.  i.  6;  vii.  3G  ;  x.  19. 

SHEM,  son  of  Noah,  (Gen.  vi.  10.)  was  born  A.  31. 
1558,  93  years  before  the  deluge,  and  was,  probably, 
younger  than  Japheth,  and  older  than  Ham.  (See 
Japhetu.)  In  consequence  of  his  condn.ct  upon  the 
occasion  of  Ham's  discovering  his  father's  nakedness, 
Noah  predicted  blessings  on  Sheni,  saying,  "  The  Lord 
God  of  Shem  i)c  blessed,  and  let  Canaan  be  the  slave 
of  Shem."  His  great  prerogatives  were,  that  from  his 
race  was  to  proceed  the  Messiah,  and  that  the  wor- 
ship of  the  true  God  was  to  be  preserved  among  his 
posterity.  At  100  years  of  age  he  begat  Arphaxad, 
and  died  aged  600  years. 

Shem  had  five  sons,  Elam,  Asher,  Arphaxad,  Lud 
and  Aram,  who  peopled  the  finest  provinces  of  the 
East.  (See  their  articles.)  The  principal  design  of 
Moses  being  to  give  the  history  and  laws  of  the  Jews, 
he  has  carried  the  genealogy  of  Shem  further  than  the 


genealogies  of  the  other  sons  of  Noah,  who  were  not 
his  immediate  object. 

I.  SHEMAIAH,  a  prophet  who  was  sent  toReho- 
boam,  king  of  Judah,  with  a  message  from  God,  to 
forbid  his  war  against  Israel,  2  Chron.  xi.  2.  Some 
years  after  this,  Shishak,  king  of  Egypt,  came  in  hos- 
tile array  into  Judea,  against  Rehoboam,  and  took  the 
best  places  of  his  kingdom.  The  prophet  Shcmaiah 
told  Rehoboam,  and  the  princes  of  Judah,  who  had 
retired  into  Jerusalem,  that  they  liad  forsaken  the  Lord, 
and  now  he  in  his  tiu'n  would  forsake  them,  and  deliver 
them  into  the  hands  of  Shishak.  The  king  and  the 
princes,  being  in  a  consternation,  answered,"  The  Lord 
is  just ;"  but,  they  humbling  themselves,  God  moder- 
ated his  anger  and  their  sufferings.  Shemaiah  wrote 
the  history  of  Rehoboam,  2  Chron.  xii.  15. 

II.  SHEMAIAH,  son  of  Nathaniel,  secretary  of  the 
temple,  (1  Chron.  xxiv.  6.)  probably  the  same  as 
Shemaiah,  descendant  of  Elizaphan,  1  Chron.  xv.8, 11. 

III.  SHEMAIAH,  son  of  Delaiah,  a  false  prophet  in 
the  time  of  Nehemiah,who,  being  corrupted  by  Sanbal- 
lat,  and  the  other  enemies  of  Nehemiah,  would  have 
persuaded  him  to  retire  into  the  temple,  Neh.  vi.  10. 

IV.  SHEMAIAH,  a  false  prophet  who  lived  at  Bab- 
ylon, Jer.  xxix.  24,  31,  32.  Jeremiah  having  sent 
prophecies  to  the  captive  Jews  at  Babylon,  Shemaiah 
wrote  back  to  the  people  of  Jerusalem  to  decry  the 
prophet;  and  to  Zephaniah,  prince  of  the  priests,  and 
to  the  rest  of  the  priests,  to  reproach  them  for  not  seiz- 
ing and  imprisoning  Jeremiah  as  an  impostor.  Jere- 
miah in  his  turn  wrote  back  to  the  Jews  in  captivity : 
"The  Lord  says,  against  Shemaiah  the  Nehelamite, 
and  against  his  posterity  ; — non<3  of  his  race  sliall  ever 
sit  in  the  midst  of  the  people,  and  he  shall  not  share  in 
the  hap]>iness  of  my  peo{)le."  There  are  several  other 
unimportant  persons  of  the  same  name  mentioned  in 
the  Old  Testament. 

SHEMEBER,  king  of  Zeboiim,  and  one  of  the 
five  confederates  defeated  by  Chedorlaomer  and  his 
allies,  Gen.  xiv.  2. 

SHEMER  was  the  name  of  the  person  who  sold 
the  mount  of  Somer  to  Omri,  king  of  Israel,  uj;on 
which  he  built  the  city  of  Samaria,  1  Kings  xvi.  24. 
The  name  of  Semcr,  or  Somer,  is  also  given  to  the 
mountain  itself.     See  Samaria. 

SHEMIDA,  son  of  Gilead,  of  Manasseh,  and  head 
of  a  family.  Numb.  xxvi.  32;  1  Chron.  vii.  19. 

SHEMINITH,  in  the  titles  of  Ps.  vi.  xii.  and  in 
1  Chron.  xv.  21.  It  means  properly  octave,  and  seems 
to  have  been  not  an  instrument,  but  a  part  in  music ; 
perhaps  the  lowest.     *R. 

SHEMITISH  LANGUAGES,  see  Languages, 
p.  605. 

I.  SHEMUEL,  son  of  Ammihud,  prince  of  Simeon, 
Numb,  xxxiv.  20. 

II.  SHEMUEL,  a  son  of  Thola,  1  Chron.  vii.  2. 
SHENIR,  or   Senir,   the  name   given  to   mount 

Hermon  by  the  Amorites,  Dent.  iii.  9 ;  1  Chron.  v.  23 ; 
Ezek.  xxvii.  5. 

SHEOL,  see  Hell. 

SHEPHAM,  apparently  a  city  of  Syria,  and  the 
pastern  limit  of  the  Land  of  Promise,  Numb,  xxxiv. 
10,  11. 

SHEPHERDS,  or  Pastors.     When  the  patriarch 
Joseph  invited  his  father  and  brethren  to  settle  in 
Egypt,  he  bade  them  tell  Pharaoh  tlH>y  were  shepherds 
or  breeders  of  sheep,  that  they  might  have  the  land  of   : 
Goshen  assigned   for  thtjir   habitation ;    because,  he    i 
added,  the  Egyptians  hold  shepherds  in  abomination,    i 
See  Egypt. 

Abel  was  a  keeper  of  sheep,  (Gen.  iv.  2.)  as  were 


SHI 


[849] 


SHI 


the  cheater  number  of  the  ancient  patriarchs.  When 
men  hegan  to  iiiuUiply,  and  to  follow  different  em- 
l)!oyiiii'nts,  Jabel,  son  of  Lameeh  and  his  wife  Adah, 
was  acknowledged  as  father,  that  is,  founder,  of  shep- 
herds and  noniades.  Gen.  iv.  20.  God  sometimes 
takes  the  name  of  Shepherd  of  Israel,  (Isa.  xi.  11.)  and 
kings,  both  in  Sej-ij)ture,  and  ancient  writers,  are  dis- 
tinguished by  the  title  of  shepherds  of  the  people. 
Tin;  j)rophet3  olten  inveigh  against  the  shepherds  of 
Israel,  against  the  kings  who  feed  themselves  and 
neglect  their  flocks;  who  distress,  ill-lreat,  seduce 
and  lead  ihem  astray.  (See  Ezek.  .xxxiv.  10,  sq. ;  Num. 
xxvii.  17;  1  Kings  xxii.  17;  Isa.  xl.  11;  xliv.  28; 
Judith  xi.  15.) 

The  Lord  says,  (Isa.  Ixiii.  11.)  that  he  brought  his 
people  through  the  Red  sea,  with  their  shepherds; 
that  is,  Moses,  Aaron  and  the  chief  of  the  people  at 
their  head.  Micah  says,  (v.  5.)  that  the  Lord  shall 
raise  saven  shepherds  over  his  people,  and  an  eighth 
over  the  land  of  Assyria,  to  bring  from  thence  the 
people  of  Israel.  These  seven  or  eight  shepherds  are 
taken  to  be  the  seven  princes  confederate  with  Darius, 
son  of  Hystaspes,  who  killetl  Smerdis  the  Magian, 
who  had  seized  the  empire  of  Persia,  after  the  death 
of  Cambyscs. 

The  Messiah  is  often  called  a  shepherd.  "  I  will 
set  up  shepherds  over  them,  w^hich  shall  feed  them," 
Jer.  .xxiii.  4,  5.  Isaiah  (xl.  11.)  speaks  in  the  same 
manner:  "He  shall  feed  his  flock  like  a  shepherd, 
he  shall  gather  the  lambs  with  his  arms,  and  gently- 
lead  those  that  are  \vith  young."  And  Zechariah 
(xiii.  7.)  says,  "Awjke,  O  sword,  against  my  shep- 
herd, against  the  man  that  is  my  fellow,  saith  tiie 
Lord  of  hosts.  Smite  the  shepherd,  and  the  sheep 
shall  be  scattered,  and  I  will  tuni  my  hand  upon  the 
little  ones."  Christ  refers  this  passage  to  his  passion, 
(Matt.  xxvi.  31.)  and  elsewhere  takes  en  himself  the 
title  of  thf;  good  shepherd,  who  gives  his  life  for  his 
sheep,  John  X.  11,  14,  15.  Paul  calls  him  the  great 
shepherd  of  the  sheep,  (Hcb.  xiii.  20.)  and  Peter 
gives  him  the  appellation  of  prince  of  shej)herds,  1 
Epis.  v.  4. 

In  the  passage  just  referred  to,  our  Saviour  says, 
l!ic  good  shepherd  lays  down  his  life  for  his  sheep; 
that  he  knows  them,  and  they  know  him  ;  that  they 
hear  his  voice,  and  follow  him ;  that  he  goes  before 
thr^n  ;  that  no  one  shall  force  them  out  of  his  hands, 
au:l  that  he  calls  them  by  their  name.  These,  how- 
ever, being  all  incidents  taken  from  the  custom  of  the 
country,  are  by  no  means  so  striking  to  us  as  they 
must  have  been  to  those  who  heai'd  our  Lord,  and 
wlio  every  day  witnessed  such  methods  of  conducting 
this  domesticated  animal.  The  hireling,  or  bad  shep- 
herd, forsakes  the  sheep,  and  the  thief  entei-s  not  by 
the  door  of  the  sheep-fold,  but  climbs  in  another  wav. 

SHEREZER,  a  Jew  of  Babylon,  who,  with  Regem- 
melec!),  consulted  tlie  priests  of  the  temple  concern- 
ing the  fast  of  the  fifth  month,  Zech.  vii.  2. 

SHESHACH,  see  Babylon,  p.  129. 

SHESHAf,  a  giant,  a  son  or  descendant  of  Anak, 
driven  from  Hebron,  with  his  brethren  Ahiman  and 
Talmni,  by  Caleb,  son  of  Jephunneh,  Josh.  xv.  14. 

SHESHBAZZAR,  a  prince  of  Jiidah,  to  whom 
Cyrus  restored  the  sacred  vessels  of  the  temple  which 
had  been  carried  to  Ba!)vlon  by  Nebuchadnezzar, 
Ezra  i.  8. 

SHEW  BREAD,  see  Bread. 

SHIBBOLETH.     Aftpr  Jephthah  had  beaten  the 

Ammouitrs,  the  iTien  of  Ephraim  were  jealous  of  the 

advantage  obtained  by  the  tribes  beyond  Jordan,  and 

complained  loudly  that  thev  had  not  been  called  to 

107' 


that  expedition.  Jephthah  answered  with  much 
moderation  ;  but  that  did  not  prevent  the  E|)hraimite3 
from  using  contem|>tucus  language  toward  the  men 
of  Gilead.  They  taunted  them  with  being  only  fugi- 
tives liom  Ephraim  and  ]\Ianasseh,  a  kind  of  bastards, 
that  belonged  to  neither  of  the  two  tribes.  A  war 
ensued,  and  the  men  of  Gilead  killed  a  gi-eat  number 
of  Ephraim;  after  which  they  set  guards  at  all  the 
jjassLS  of  Jordan,  and  when  an  Ephraimite  who  had 
escaped,  came  to  the  river  side,  and  desired  to  pass 
over,  they  asked  him  if  he  were  not  an  Ephraimite? 
If  he  said  No,  they  bade  him  pronounce  Sfiihlohth  ; 
but  he  pronouncing  it  SibboUtk,  according  to  the  dic- 
tion of  the  Ep,hraimires,  they  killed  him.  In  this  way 
there  fell  42,000  Ephraimites,  Judg.  xii.  This  inci- 
dent shoidd  not  be  ])assed  over  widicut  observing, 
that  it  affords  proof  of  dialectical  variations  among 
the  tribes  of  the  same  nation,  and  speaking  the  same 
language,  iu  those  early  days.  Tiiere  can  be  no  won- 
der, therefore,  if  we  find  in  later  ages  the  same  word 
written  different  ways,  according  to  the  pronunciation 
of  diflferent  tribes,  or  of  different  colonics  or  residents 
of  the  Hebrew  ])eople  :  whence  various  pointings,  Szc. 
That  this  continued,  is  evident  from  the  peculiarities 
of  the  Galilean  dialect,  by  which  Peter  was  discover- 
ed to  be  of  that  district. 

The  term  Shibboleth  signifies  an  ear  of  corn,  and 
also  stream.  Iu  this  case  it  is  probably  to  be  taken  in 
the  latter  sense,  as  the  Ephraimites  would  thus  be 
understood  to  ask  permission  to  pass  over  the  stream. 
(Comp.  Ps.  Ixix.  15;  Isa.  xxvii.  12.  Heb.) 

SHIBMAH,  or  Sibmah,  a  city  of  Reuben,  Numb, 
xxxii.  38  ;  Josh.  xiii.  19.  Isaiah" (xvi.  8,  9.)  speaks  of 
the  vines  of  Sibmah,  v.hich  were  cut  down  by  the 
enemies  of  the  Moabites  ;  for  that  i)eople  had  taken 
the  city  of  Sibmah,  (Jer.  xlviii.  32.)  and  others  of 
Reuben,  after  this  tribe  was  carried  into  captivity 
by  Tiglath-pileser,  1  Chron.  v.  26;  2  Kings  xv.  29. 
Jerome  says  that  between  Heshbon  and  Sibmah  there 
was  hardly  the  distance  of  five  hundred  paces. 

SHICRON,  a  city  of  Jiidah,  (Josh.  xv.  11.)  thcught 
to  have  been  yielded  to  Simeon. 

SHIELD,  a  ])iece  of  defensive  annor.  (See  Ar- 
mor.) God  is  often  called  the  shield  of  his  peof)le, 
(Gen.  XV.  1 ;  Ps.  v.  12.)  as  are  also  j)rinces  and  great 
men,  2  Sam.  i.  21. 

SHIGGAION,  (Ps.  vii.  title,)  and  SniGio>-oTH, 
(Hab.  iii.  1 ;)  probably  50J?.g,  or  song  of  praise  ;  per- 
lians  some  paiticular  species  cf  ode.     R. 

SHIHOR-LIBNATH,  see  LiE.xAxn. 

SHILOAH,  see  Siloam. 

L  SHILOH.  This  term  is  used  (Gen.  xlix.  10.)  to 
denote  the  PJessiah,  the  coming  of  whom  Jacob  fore- 
tells in  these  words:  "The  sceptre  shall  not  depart 
from  Junah,  nor  a  lawgiver  from  between  his  feet, 
until  Shiloh  come,  and  unto  him  shall  the  gathering 
of  the  people  be."  It  nuist  be  admitted,  however, 
that  the  signification  of  the  word  is  not  well  ascertain- 
ed. Sonie  translate,  "The  sceptre  shall  not  depart 
from  Judali  till  he  comes  to  whom  it  belongs." 
Others,  till  the  coming  of  the  peace-maker,  or  the 
pacific,  or  of  prosperity,  {shalah  signifying  to  be  in 
peace,  or  ]irospcrity.)  Some  of  the  rabbins  ha^e  taken 
the  name  Shiloh  for  a  city  of  this  name  iu  Palestine, 
and  render,  "the  sceptre  shall  not  he  taken  from 
Judah,  till  it  comes  to  Shiloh."  "  It  has  ceased,  it  has 
finished,"  says  Le  Clerc,  "till  it  be  taken  from  him, 
to  be  given  to  Saul,  at  Shiloh."  But,  as  Cahnet  asks, 
where  is  it  said,  that  Saul  was  acknowh  dged  king, 
or  consecrated  at  Shiloh  ?  And  if  it  be  imderstood 
of  Jeroboam,  son  of  Ncbat,  the  matter  is  equally  un- 


SHILOII 


[  S50  ] 


sni 


certain.     Scripture  mentions  no  assembly  at  Shiloli 
that  admitted  him  king. 

The  Septuagint  read  y'^z;  shcllu,  that  is,  (iS  irs)  He 
whose  it  is,  he  to  whom  it  belongs,  meaning  the  scep- 
tre before  mentioned,  as  Capelliis  observes  ;  ibr  iu  tlie 
original  and  best  edition  of  their  version,  as  Justin 
Martyr  affirmed,  this  iSm  was  rendered,  He  for  whom 
it  is  reserved,  as  it  now  stands  in  the  Alexandrian 
manuscript.  The  Samaritan  copy  has  r\'--y,  wiiich  is 
the  same  in  the  Chaldee  dialect  as  i'?;;-.  Onkelos,  the 
Jerusalem  Targum,tiie  Syriac,  the  Arabic  and  Aquila, 
si)eak  the  same  sense.  According  to  this  reading, 
then,  the  sense  is  this :  The  sceptre  shall  not  depart 
from  Judah,  nor  a  governor  from  between  his  feet,  imtil 
He  shall  have  come,  ivhose  right  the  sceptre  is,  and  until 
the  nations  shall  obey  him,  that  is,  have  been  governed 
by  him.  A  prediction  wliich,  as  Mede  well  observes, 
was  afterwards  applied  and  explained  by  our  Saviour 
liimself,  in  those  words,  "And  this  gospel  of  the 
kingdom  [of  Christ]  sliall  be  preached  in  all  the 
world,  for  a  witness  unto  all  nations,  and  then  shall 
the  end  come  ; "  (Matt.  xxiv.  14.)  that  is,  the  end  of 
the  Jewish  state. 

But  how  did  the  sceptre  depart  from  Judah  when 
Shiloh  came  ?  First,  it  actually  had  departed  in  the 
transference  of  the  public  government  to  the  Herod 
family,  and  by  the  intrusion  of  the  Romans.  This  is 
usually  held  to  be  an  adequate  answer  to  the  prophecy ; 
but  Mr.  Taylor  thinks  there  is  a  better: — Our  Lord 
was  the  o>'ly  branch  of  David's  family  entitled  to  rule, 
and  he  dying  without  issue,  the  ruling  branch  of  Da- 
vid's family  became  extinct ;  so  that,  after  his  death, 
there  was  no  longer  any  possibility  of  the  contiim- 
ance  of  the  kingly  office,  in  the  direct  proper  line  of 
David.  The  person  who  should  have  held  the  sceptre 
was  dead:  the  direct  descent  of  the  family  expired 
with  him  ;  and,  consequently,  the  sceptre  was  boiia 
fide  departed:  since,  (1.)  it  was  actually  swayed  by  a 
stranger,  and  strangers,  ( Herod  and  the  Romans,)  and, 
(2.)  no  one  who  could  possibly  claim  it,  though  he 
might  have  been  of  a  collateral  branch  of  David's 
liouse,  coidd  have  been  the  direct  legal  claimant  by 
birthright. 

This  statement  appears  to  be  supported  by  the 
manner  in  which  the  sons  of  David  by  Bathsheba  are 
recorded:  (2  Sam.  v.  14.)  "These  sons  were  born  to 
David,  after  he  was  king  in  Jerusalem,  Shammuah, 
Shobab,  Nathan,  Solomon:"  which,  in  1  Chron.  iii. 
5.  are  thus  reckoned,  "Shimra,  Shobab,  Nathan,  Sol- 
omon, four,  ofBathshua  [Rathsheba]  the  daughter  of 
Auimicl."  Now  we  know  that  David  had  ])roniised 
Bathsheba  that  one  of  her  sons  should  succeed  him: 
Shimea  died  in  his  infancy  ;  (2  Sam.  xii.  15,  &c.) 
nothing  is  recorded  of  Shobab;  perhaps  he  also  died 
young.  This  reduces  the  sons  of  Bathsheba  to  two- 
Nathan  and  Solomon.  For  what  reason  Solomon  (the 
younger)  was  ))refi;rred  before  Nathan  (the  elder)  we 
know  not,  imless  on  account  of  the  promise  of  God 
referred  to  below  ;  but  we  ought  to  coni;ider,  (1.)  that 
none  of  the  sons  of  David,  born  before  he  reigned  in 
Jerusalem  could  claim  succession  to  his  ivhole  king- 
dom, on  the  princi|)les  adopted  in  the  East.  (See 
Genealogy.)  (2.)  That  the  first  sons  born  to  liim  in 
Jerusalem,  appear  to  be  by  his  connection  with  Bath- 
sheba: so  that  in  one  of  them,  as  first  born  after  he 
was  there  established  king  over  all  Israel,  the  natural 
right  to  the  crown  vested,  by  usage.  But,  (3.)  we 
find  (2  Sam.  vii.  12.)  that  the  son  who  should  proceed 
out  of  the  bowels  of  David,  was  to  be  his  successor. 
The  question  is,  whether  Solomon  was  born  at  this 
time,  or  whether,  as  this  promise  respected  a  future 


event,  Solomon  was  not  begotten  after  it  and  in  ful- 
filment of  it?  However  that  might  be,  it  is  very 
credible  that  the  sons  of  David,  by  Bathsheba,  were 
reduced  to  two,  Nathan  and  Solomon  ;  and  that,  what- 
ever right  Nathan  might  have  to  the  crown,  descend- 
ing in  his  line,  centred  in  Heli,  the  father  of  Mary  ; 
as  Solomon  having  actually  reigued,  transmitted  the 
crown  in  his  posterity,  in  which  line  it  centred  in 
Joseph.  The  union  of  these  two  lines  (and  we  know 
of  no  third  line  to  o])pose  them)  was  com])leted  in  the 
person  of  Jesus;  and  when  lie  expired,  the  claims  of 
both  lines  of  descent  expired  with  him. 

This  agrees  perfectly  with  the  ancient  rendering, 
"  he  whose  right  it  is ;"  for,  (1.)  the  right  and  title  had 
long  lain  dormant,  and  involved  in  obscurity,  till  the 
enrolment  at  Bethlehem  brought  it  forth,  though,  no 
doubt,  very  cautiously,  to  light :  (2.)  though  it  vested 
in  the  ancestors  of  Josejih,  after  the  return  from  the 
captivity,  yet  another  branch  also  had  its  claims:  so 
that  (.3.)  Jesus  was  \he  first  person  who,  by  uniting  in 
himself  the  claim  of  both  lines  of  descent  from  Da- 
vid, could  be  especially  denoted  and  described,  as  he 
whose  indisputable  and  unequivocal  right  it  was  to 
occupy  the  throne  of  the  whole  Hebrew  nation.  See 
Gexealogy. 

II.  SHILOH,  or  Silo,  a  famous  city  of  Ephraim, 
(Josh,  xviii.  xix.  xxi.)  12  miles  from  Shechem,  acco)-(J- 
ing  to  Eusebius,  or  10,  according  to  Jerome.  Here 
Joshua  assembled  the  people  to  make  the  second  dis- 
tribution of  the  Land  of  Promise,  (Josh,  xviii.)  and 
here  the  tabernacle  of  the  Lord  was  set  up,  when  they 
were  settled  in  the  country,  ch.  xix.  5L  The  ark  and 
the  tabernacle  continued  at  Shilfth,  from  A.  M.  25G0, 
to  A.  M.  2888,  when  it  was  taken  by  the  Philistines, 
under  the  adiriinistralion  of  the  high-priest  Eli.  At 
Shiloh  Samuel  began  to  prophesy,  (1  Sam.iv.  l.)and 
here  the  prophet  Ahijah  dwelt,  1  Kings  xiv.  2.  J(  r- 
eniiah  foretold  that  the  tem])le  of  Jerusalem  should  be 
reduced  to  the  same  condition  as  Shiloh  was,  Jcr.  vii. 
13,  ]4;  xxvi.  6. 

SHIMEAH,  brother  of  David,  and  fiulier  of  Jona- 
than and  Jonadab,  2  Sam.  xiii.  3;  xxi.  21. — There 
were  others  of  this  name,  of  whom  nothing  particular 
is  known. 

SHIMEI,  son  of  Gera,  a  kinsman  of  Said,  who, 
when  David  was  obliged  to  retire  from  Jerusalem, 
began  to  curse  him,  and  to  throw  stones,  2  Snm.  xvi. 
5.  When  he  retmned  to  Jerusalem,  however,  after 
the  defeat  and  death  of  .Al  salom,  Shimci  hastened 
with  the  men  of  Judah,  and  with  a  thoiisar.d  men  of 
Benjamin,  and  threw  himself  at  his  feet,  iuii)lcring 
him  to  forgive  his  fault.  Abishai,  son  of  Zeruiah,  ex- 
])ostulated  in  an  angry  manner,  but  David  disapproved 
Abishai's  zeal,  and  jircinisrd  Shimoi,  with  an  oath, 
that  he  would  not  put  liim  to  death.  He  kept  his 
promise,  but  before  his  death  he  reconunruded  to  Sol- 
omon not  to  let  Shimei  go  entirely  im|iunislied,  but  to 
exercise  his  discretion  upon  him.  Solomon  confined 
Shimei  to  Jerusalem,  where  he  dwelt  for  three  years, 
when  some  of  his  slaves  ran  away,  aiul  took  sanctuary 
with  Acliish  in  Gath.  Shimei  followed,  and  brought 
them  to  Jerusalem  ;  but  the  king,  being  inlbrmed  of 
it,  had  him  ])ut  to  death. 

The  conduct  of  both  David  and  Solomon,  in  rela- 
tion to  Shimei,  having  been  frequently  carped  at,  the 
folloAving  remarks  upon  their  conduct  by  Mr.  Taylor 
are  worthy  attention  : — 

David's  charge  to  Solomon  refers  to  three  persons 
of  three  diflTerent  descriptions;  (1.)  to  Jcab  ;  who  is 
clearly  consigned  to  punishment;  (2.)  to  the  sens  of 
Barziilai,  who  aie  cleaily  recommended  to  favor; 


SHI 


fssn 


SHIP 


and  (3.)  to  Shimei,  who  is  neither  sentenced  to  pun- 
ishirietit,  absolutely,  nor  to  safety,  absolutely ;  but  is 
recoiiiniended  to  be  treated  according  to  his  eventual 
demerits.  Thus  understood,  the  passage  reads  to  this 
effect: — "Shiinei  did  not  slied  blood, as  Juab  did  ;  he 
only  curssd  uie  with  a  grievous  curse  ;  and  tiiat  I  for- 
gave him,  swearing  to  him  by  the  Lord.  Now  1  would 
advise  thae  not  to  let  him  go  at  large  with  im|)unity. 
nor(^)  to  bring  down  his  hoary  head  to  the  grave  by 
bloo.iy  execution  ;  but  do  as  thy  wisdom  shall  direct 
th;!c," — i.  e.  steer  a  middle  course.  Solomon's  sulise- 
quent  conduct  proves  the  accuracy  of  this  view  of  the 
|)assag;;:  he  conlin'.>d  Shimei  to  Jerusalem,  where  he 
was  under  strict  insj)eclion  and  vigilance  ;  and  when 
he  had  violated  the  conditions  of  his  safety,  he  was 
l)unislied  for  his  ])resumption  ;  which  illustrates  the 
observation  of  David,  "  for  thou  art  a  wise  sovereign, 
and  knowest  in  what  manner  to  treat  a  man  who  is  a 
rebel  in  his  heart,  therefore  dangerous  to  thy  crown  ; 
yet  on'.'  who  l)as  been  solemnly  pardoned  by  me  for 
his  tbrmer  misconduct;  and  who  has  not  miscon- 
ducted himself  towards  thee."  There  are  several 
oth?r  persons  of  the  same  name,  but  of  no  imi)ortancc. 

SHIMSHAI,  a  secretary  who,  with  Rehum,  the 
chancellor,  wrote  to  Artaxerxes  against  the  Jews,  re- 
CHUtly  returned  from  captivity,  Ezra  iv.  8.  A.  M. 
3470. 

SHINAR,  a  province  of  Babylonia,  and  thought 
!ty  some  writers  to  be  the  plain  between  the  rivers 
Eu})hrates  and  Tigris,  Gen.  x.  10;  Is.  .\i.  11 ;  Zech.  v. 
11.     S^e  Mesopotamia. 

SHIP.  Among  the  perplexities  which  occur  in 
reading  the  sacred  Scriptures,  none  are  greater  than 
those  which  arise  from  the  use  of  technical  words  and 
phrases,  terms  peculiar  to  c-^itain  professions,  and  em- 
ployed in  their  own  restricted  and  appropriate  sense. 
Few  persons  of  one  business  understand  the  direc- 
tions, or  the  descriptive  aj)pellations,  of  another  ;  few 
are  the  land-men  who  understand  properly  the  terms 
used  by  seamen  even  in  oin*  own  nautical  country  ; 
and  should  a  voyager  insert  verbatim  tlie  orders  given 
by  the  captain  or  otficers,  on  board  the  ship  in  which 
he  sailed,  what  projjortion  of  his  readers,  who  were 
not  maritime  men,  would  com])rehend  their  mean- 
ing? These  remarks  will  suggest  an  apology  for  er- 
roi-s  committed  by  men  of  learning  in  translation; 
and  they  may  restrain  those  sneers,  which  um"eflect- 
ing  persons  sometimes  throw  out  against  such  de- 
scriptions of  nautical  affairs,  in  our  version  of  the 
sacred  writings,  which  involve  obscurities  or  other 
difficulties.  Among  the  most  i)rominent  of  tliese 
instances  is  the  history  of  Paul's  voyage,  in  Acts 
xxvii.  and  which  has  been  thought  so  utterly  irrecon- 
cilable with  the  nature  of  things,  that  some  writers, 
in  exposing  the  ignorance  of  the  author  of  this  book 
on  sea  affairs,  have  exposed  themselves  to  the  impu- 
tation of,  at  least,  equal  ignorance  in  learning;  and 
of  more  than  equal  inconsiderateness,  if  not  perverse- 
ness  of  mind. 

The  sacred  jiistorian  says,  (verse 29.)  "Fearing  lest 
they  should  have  fallen  upon  rocks,  they  cast  four 
anchors  out  of  the  stern."  This  has  been  thought  to 
be  an  insurmountable  objection.  Four  anchors! 
when  our  largest  men-of-war  would  have  but  two ; 
and,  certainly,  would  not  cast  four  anchors,  and  all 
four  from  the  stern  !  But,  if  we  inquire  into  the  form 
and  construction  of  these  anchors,  and  if  it  should 
appear,  that  they  were  not  Uke  oin-  own,  the  subject 
will  assume  a  different  asjjcct.  And  such  is  the  mat- 
ter of  fact.  Instead  of  translating  «;;<",'«;  rinnanu:. 
" four  anchorr-,"  it  should  have  been  rendered  "the 


four-fluked  anchor,'"  the  anchor  •\\hich  had  four  points, 
flukes,  for  holding  the  ground.  We  have  such  an- 
chors represented  in  books  of  antiquities,  and  we 
know  further,  that  such  are  used  in  the  East,  to  tliis 
day,  from  representations  furnished  by  Bruce  and 
Norden.  Understand  Luke,  therefore,  as  saying, 
"  We  threw  out  the  best  anchor  we  had  ;  that  "most 
likely  to  hold  the  ground,  and  to  kerj)  us  from  driving ; 
even  the  four-fluked  anchor,  that  it  might  hold  us 
back  fiom  striking  against  the  rocks,"  and  the  sup- 
posed absurdity  disa|)pears  at  once.  If  the  sailors 
let  go  but  one  anchor,  from  the  stern,  they  might 
faiily  enough,  as  verse  80  informs  us,  ju-etend  to  carry 
out  other  anchors  (whether  fbur-fluked,  or  not)  from 
the  prow  of  the  ship  :  i.  e.  affecting  to  moor  the  ves- 
sel head  and  stern. 

The  next  difficulty  is  well  stated  in  Doddridge's 
note  on  the  passage:  (verse  40.)  "'JF/fen  they  had 
iveighed  the  anchors,  they  committed  the  ship  to  the  sea.^ 
Some  rather  choose  to  render  this,  that  having  cut 
[away]  the  anchors,  they  left  them  iri  the  sea  :  and  the 
original  indeed  is  dubious,  and  will  admit  of  either 

sense:    r/ty/fAci  rt;   Tu:  uyxi'iju;,    livif   ii:    rlr   ^u/.uonat. 

(See  De  Dieu,  in  loc.)  Loosing  the  rudder-hands ; 
iai\ri;  zug  i(vxT)niui  Twr  ni fV.- I'oii .  Dr.  Beuson  ob- 
serves, agreeably  to  the  judgment  of  Grotius,  that 
their  ships  in  those  days  had  commonly  two  rudders, 
one  on  each  side,  which  were  fastened  to  the  ship  by 
bands  or  chains  ;  and  on  loosing  these  bands,  the 
rudders  sunk  deeper  into  the  sea,  and  by  their  weight 
rendered  tlie  ship  less  subject  to  be  overset  by  the 
winds.  (Hist.  vol.  ii.  page  256.)  But  it  seems  rather, 
that  the  rudders  had  been  fastened  before,  when  they 
luid  let  the  vessel  drive;  and  were  now  loosened, 
when  they  had  need  of  them  to  steer  her  into  the 
creek  :  and  after  they  had  just  been  throwing  out 
their  corn  to  lighten  the  ship,  it  is  not  easy  to  suppose 
they  shoidd  immediately  contrive  a  method  to  in- 
crease the  weight  of  it.  That  they  had  frequently  two 
rudders  to  their  ships,  Bochart  and  Eisner  have  con- 
firmed by  several  authorities.  (See  Bochart.  Hieroz. 
Part.  ii.  lib.  4.  cap.  1.  page  453.  and  Elsu.  Observ. 
vol.  i.  page  488,  489.") 

The  rudder-bands  were,  as  ]Mr.  Taylor  has  shown 
from  the  representations  still  extant  of  ancient  ships, 
a  kind  of  brace  for  the  purpose  of  keejfing  the  rud- 
der steady,  and  preventing  its  action  against  the  side 
of  the  vessel ;  in  fact,  without  some  such  confine- 
ment a  current  of  water  rushing  from  imder  the  ship, 
against  the  broad  part  of  the  rudder,  woidd  cari'y  it 
away,  in  spite  of  the  strongest  arm  that  might  endeav- 
or to  retain  it.  At  the  same  time,  the  bands  ];re- 
vented  that  entire  play,  or  freedom  of  the  instrument, 
which  was  occasionally  necessary.  These,  then, 
were  knocked  off,  says  Luke;  so  that  the  steersman 
had  greater  scope  for  the  exertions  of  his  arms,  as 
circimistances  required,  tlian  he  could  possibly  have 
while  they  remained  in  their  places. 

There  are  two  words  used  to  describe  vessels  in 
Isa.  xxxiii.  21.  "Therein  shall  go  no  galley  [^ni, 
ship]  with  oai-s  ;  nor  gallant  ship"  [T^i  addir] ;  where 
tzi  seems  to  be  the  name  of  a  capacious  vessel,  a  ves- 
sel of  considerable  tonnage,  (See  also  Numb.  xxjv,24; 
Ezek,  xxx.  9;  Dan.  xi.  30.)  In  Jonah  i.  5,  we  have 
another  word,  sephineh,  for  a  ship  :  "Jonah  had  de- 
scended into  the  sides  of  sephineh  ;  "  but  this  seems 
to  be  a  Chaldee  word.  Here  are,  then,  several  kinds 
of  ships,  whicli  were  known  to  the  Hebrews. 

The  most  complete  description  of  an  ancient  ship, 
however,  is  that  finnished  by  the  jirophet  Ezckrcl, 
(ch.  xxvii.)  wJieu  couii)aring  the  commercial  city  of 


6H0 


[  859  ] 


SHU 


Tyre  to  one  of  those  magnificent  constructions,  by 
means  ot'wliich  she  carried  on  her  commerce. 

For  tlie  Ships  of  Tarshish,  see  Tarshish. 

SHIPHRAH,  one  of  the  midwivcs  of  Egypt,  who 
preserved  the  Hebrew  children,  Exod.  i.  15. 

SHISHAK,  a  king  of  Egypt,  who  declared  war 
against  Rehoboam  king  of  Judah,  in  the  fifth  year  of 
Lis  reign.  He  entered  Jiidea  with  an  innumerable 
multitude  of  i)eople,  out  of  Egypt,  the  countries  of 
Lubim,  of  Suchim,  and  of  Cush,  captured  the  strong- 
est places  in  the  country,  and  carried  away  from  Je- 
rusalem the  treasures  of  the  Lord's  house,  and  of  the 
king's  palace,  as  well  as  the  golden  bucklers  of  Sol- 
omon. Jeroboam  having  secured  the  friendship  of 
Shishak,  his  territories  were  not  invaded,  2  Cliron. 
xii. ;  1  Kings  xiv.  25,  2G.  See  Euypt,  p.  373,  and 
Pharaoh. 

SHITTIM,  a  valuable  kind  of  wood,  of  which 
Moses  made  the  greater  part  of  the  tables,  altars  and 
planks  belonging  to  the  tabernacle.  Jerome  says, 
"  The  shittim  wood  grows  in  the  deserts  of  Arabia, 
that  it  is  like  white  thorn  in  its  color  and  leaves,  but 
not  in  its  size,  for  the  tree  is  so  large,  that  it  affords 
very  long  planks.  The  wood  is  hard,  tough,  smooth, 
without  knots,  and  extremely  beautil'ul ;  so  that  tlie 
rich  and  curious  make  screws  of  it  for  their  presses. 
It  does  not  grow  in  cultivated  places,  nor  in  any 
other  places  of  the  Roman  empire,  but  only  in  the 
deserts  of  Arabia."  He  also  says,  that  shittun  wood 
resembles  white  thorn,  and  is  of  admirable  beautj', 
solidity,  strength  and  smoothness.  From  this  de- 
scription, it  is  thought  he  means  the  black  Acacia, 
which  is  found  in  the  deserts  of  Arabia,  and  ihe 
wood  of  wiiich  is  very  common  about  mount  Sinai, 
on  the  mountains  which  border  on  the  Red  sea,  and 
is  so  hard  and  solid  as  to  be  almost  incorruptible.  It 
is  by  no  means  certain,  however,  that  the  Acacia  is 
the  word  described  by  the  Hebrew  shittim.  The 
LXX,  unable  to  identify  it,  have  rendered  the  word, 
"incoiTU])til)le  wood." 

SHOBACH,  general  of  the  army  of  Hadadezer, 
king  of  Syria,  was  defeated  by  David  at  Helam,  2 
Sau).  X.  1(>,  tScc. 

SHORT,  son  of  Nahash,  of  the  city  of  Kabbah, 
came  with  Barzillai  to  meet  David  when  he  fled  from 
Absalom,  and  brought  him  rcfresluuents,  2  Sam. 
xvii.  27. 

SHOCOH,  see  Socoh. 

SHOES,  ^mong  the  Hebrews,  women  of  fashion 
and  property  wore  very  valuable  shoes,  of  which  the 
instance  of  Judith  affords  proof,  chap.  xvi.  9.  The 
military  shoe,  as  we  see  from  Moses,  was  sometimes 
of  metal,  (l)eut.  xxxiii.  25.)  and  from  the  description 
of  the  armor  of  Goliali,  we  find  he  had  boots  of  brass, 
1  Sam.  xvii.  6.  Homer  gives  to  his  heroes  boots  of 
brass,  others  of  copper.  In  the  army  of  Antiochus  the 
Great,  luxury  was  so  great,  that  most  of  the  soldiers 
had  golden  nails  under  their  shoes.     See  Saxdal. 

SHOULDER.  To  give  or  lend  the  shoulder,  for 
bearing  a  bm-den,  signifies  to  submit  to  servitude; 
Gen.  xlix.  15.  The  |)reacher  advises  his  j)upil  to 
submit  his  shoulder  to  the  yoke  of  wisdom,  Ecclus. 
vi.  2().  Baruch  (ii.  21.)  advises  the  captive  Jews  at 
liabylon  to  submit  tli!  ir  shoulders  to  king  Nebuchad- 
nezzar, that  tb  y  might  live  more  comfortably  under 
his  government.  In  a  contrary  sense,  Scri|)ture  calls 
that  a  rebellious  shoulder,  (Neh.  ix.  29.)  which  will 
not  submit  to  the  joke.     (See  Zeph.  iii.  9.) 

.Marks  of  honor  and  command  were  worn  on  the 
shoulder;  and  Job,  (xxxi.  36.)  when  he  desires  of 
God  to  decide  his  cause:    "Surely  I  would  take  it 


upon  my  snoulder,  and  bind  it  as  a  crown  to  me." 
Isaiah  (ix.  6.)  says,  that  the  Messiah  shall  bear  tlie 
insignia  of  his  government  on  his  shoulder;  and 
God  promises  Eliakim,  son  of  Hilkiah,  to  give  him 
"the  key  of  the  house  of  David,  and  to  lay  it  ujion  his 
shoulder." 

The  respect  paid  by  oflfering  the  shoulder  of  ani- 
mals to  God,  and  to  men  of  distincticn,  as  the  most 
delicate  jiart,  should  not  be  overlooked.  So  the 
shoulder  of  the  heave-oftering,  at  the  consecration  of 
priests  v,as  to  be  sanctified,  (Excd.  xxix.  27.)  aiullhc 
shoulder  of  the  Nazarite's  offering  was  to  be  waved, 
Numb.  xvi.  19.  So  Samuel  showed  a  mark  of  the 
greatest  respect  to  Saul,  by  reserving  the  shcidder 
tor  his  eating,  (1  Sam.  ix.  24.)  i.  e.  he  treated  him  as 
king  elect.  It  is  probable  that  the  right  shoulder  l.ad 
the  preeminence  ;  and  this  became  the  projierty  ef 
the  priest  who  officiated.  (Compare  Lev.  vii.  32,  34  ; 
viii.  25  ;  Lx.  21  ;  x.  14.) 

I.  SHUAH.  of  Ashcr,  daughter  to  Heber,  1  Chrcn. 
vii.  32. 

II.  SHUAH,  daughter  of  Hirah  the  Adullamite,  and 
wife  of  the  patriarch  Judah.  She  was  mother  cf  Er, 
Onan,  and  Shelah,  Gen.  xxxviii.  2. 

SHUAL,  a  country  in  Israel,  which  the  Philistines 
invaded  in  the  time  of  Saul,  (1  Sam.  xiii.  17.)  but  the 
situation  of  it  is  no:  known. 

SHUBAEL,  son  cf  Amram,  and  father  of  Jehdei- 
ah,  (1  Chron.  xxiv.  20.)  was  head  of  the  thirteenth 
order  among  the  twenty-four  famihes  of  the  Levitcs, 
1  Chron.  xxv.  20. 

SHUHAM,  son  of  Dan  ;  head  of  a  family.  Numb. 
xxvi.  42.     In  the  parallel  passage,  Gen.  xlvi.  23,  it  is 

HCSHIM. 

SHULAMITE,  or  Sulamith,  the  name  cf  the 
bride  in  Canticles,  vi.  13.     See  Caxticles,  p.  249. 

SHUMATHITES  were  the  iidiabitantsof  Sliema, 
(Josh.  XV.  26.)  or  sons  of  Shobal,  1  Chron.  ii.  53. 

SHUNEM,  a  city  of  Issachar,  Jcsh.  xix.  18.  The 
Philistines  encamped  at  Shunem,  in  the  great  field 
or  plain  of  Esdraelcn  ;  (1  Sam.  xxviii.  4.)  ir.d  Saul 
encamjjed  at  Gilbna.  Eusebius  places  Shiinem  five 
miles  south  of  Tabor.  He  also  mcnticns  a  place 
called  Sanim,  in  Acrabatene,  in  the  neigliborhcod  cf 
Sebaste,  or  Samaria. 

SHUR,  a  city  in  Arabia  Pctrara,  which  cave  ramc 
to  the  desert  of  Shur,  Gen.  xvi.  7  ;  Exod.  xv.  S2 ;  1 
Sam.  XV.  7  ;  xxvii.  8.     See  Exodus,  p.  4C4. 

L  SHUSHAN,  (Ps.  Ix.)  or  Shoshaxnim,  (Ps.  xlv. 
Ixix.)  the  name  of  a  musical  instrument.  Tlie  word 
signifies  a  lily,  or  lilies ;  and  if  the  instrument  were  so 
named  from  its  similarity  to  this  flower,  we  might 
understand  the  cymbal. 

II.  SHUSHAN,  or  Susan,  the  capital  city  cfElam, 
or  Persia,  (Dan.  viii.  2.)  on  the  river  Ulai.  It  was  the 
winter  residence  of  the  Persian  kings,  after  Cyrus?. 
Here  Daniel  had  the  vision  of  the  ram  and  he-goat  in 
the  third  year  of  Belsliazzar,  Dan.  viii.  Neiiemiah 
was  also  at  Shushan,  when  lie  obtained  from  Arla- 
xerxes  permission  to  return  into  Judea,  and  to  rej  air 
the  walls  of  Jerusalem,  Neh.  i.  1. 

The  ])resent  Shouster,  the  capital  of  Chuzistan,  is 
generally  believed  to  be  the  ancient  Susa  ;  but  Mr. 
Kinneir  rather  thinks  the  ruins  about  thirty-five  miles 
west  of  Shouster  are  those  cf  that  ancient  residence 
of  royalty,  "stretching  not  less,  perliaj)S,  than  twelve 
miles  from  one  extremity  to  the  other.  They  occufiy 
an  inmicnse  space  between  the  rivers  Kerali  and 
.^bzal  ;  and,  like  the  ruins  of  Ctesi|)hon,  Paliylon 
and  Kufu,  consist  of  hillocks  of  earth  and  ndibish 
covered  with  broken  pieces  of  brick  and  colored  tile. 


SIO 


[853] 


SIL 


The  largest  is  a  mile  in  circumference,  and  nearly 
one  iuuKlreil  feet  in  height;  anoiher,  not  quite  so 
high,  is  (loii!)le  tiie  circuit.  Tiiey  are  formed  of  clay 
and  pieces  of  tile,  with  irreguhu'  layers  of  brick  and 
mortar,  rive  or  six  feet  in  ildekness,  to  serve,  as  it 
should  seem,  as  a  kind  of  prop  to  tiie  mass.  Large 
blocks  of  marble,  covered  with  hieroglyjdiics,  are  not 
mjfrequently  here  discovered  by  the  Arabs,  when 
digging  in  s;.'arcli  of  hidden  treasure;  and  at  the  foot 
of  llie  most  elevated  of  the  pyramids  (ruins)  stands 
the  tomb  of  Daniel,  a  smnll  and  apparently  a  modern 
building,  erected  on  the  spot  where  the  relics  of  that 
pro()het  are  believed  to  rest."  3Iajor  Rennel  coin- 
cides in  the  opinion  that  these  ruins  represent  the 
aticient  Shnsa ;  but  Dr.  Vincent  determines  for 
Shouster.  The  site  of  Shusa  is  now  a  gloomy  wil- 
derness, infested  by  lions,  hyaenas,  and  other  beasts 
of  |)rey,  the  dread  of  whom  compelled  Mr.  Monteith 
and  31r.  Kimieir  to  take  slielter  for  the  night  within 
the  walls  that  encompass  Daniel's  tomb,  a  small  mod- 
ern building,  which  is  supposed  to  mark  the  site  of 
the  prophet's  place  of  se|niltme. 

SIBHECHAI,  a  hero  in  David's  army,  who  killed 
ill  e  giant  Saph,  in  the  battle  of  Gob,  or  Gazer,  2  Sani. 
xxi.  18. 

SIBAIATT,  see  Shibmah. 

SIKRAIM,  or  Sabarim,  the  northern  boundary  of 
the  Land  of  Promise.  Exekiel  s.iys,  (cliaj).  xlvii.  IG.) 
it  lay  between  the  confines  of  Hamath  and  Damascus. 

SICIL\K,  see  Shechem. 

SIDOX,  or  ZiDO.v,  now  called  Saide,  is  a  celebrat- 
ed city  of  PhcEuicia,  on  the  Mediterranean  sea,  north 
of  Tyre  and  S.-n-ejita.  It  is  one  of  the  most  ancient 
cities  in  the  world,  (Gen.  xlix.  L'3.)  and  is  believed  to 
have  been  foundeil  by  Sidon,  the  eldest  son  of  Ca- 
narni.  In  the  time  of  Homer,  the  Sidonians  were 
enfment  for  their  trade  and  conmierce,  their  wealth 
and  prosperity.  Upon  the  division  of  Canaan  among 
the  triites  ijy  Joshua,  Sidon  fell  to  the  lot  of  Asher ; 
(Josh.  xix.  28.)  but  that  tribe  never  succeeded  in  ob- 
taining possession,  Jitdg.  i.  31.  The  Sidoifians  con- 
tinn;;il  long  under  their  own  govermnent  and  kings, 
though  sometimes  tributary  to  the  kings  of  Tyre. 
They  were  subdued,  successively,  by  the  Babylonians, 
Egyptians,  Seleucidse  and  Romans,  the  latter  of 
whom  deprived  them  of  their  freedom.  Many  of  the 
inlialtitan.ts  of  Sidon  became  followers  of  our  Saviour, 
(Mark  iii.  8.)  and  there  was  a  Christian  church  there, 
when  Paul  visited  it  on  his  voyage  to  Rome,  Acts 
xxvii.  3.  It  is  at  jiresent,  like  most  of  the  other 
Turkish  towns  in  Syria,  dirty  and  fidl  of  ruins, 
though  there  is  a  considerable  trade  carried  on  there. 
Its  present  population  is  estimated  at  from  8000  to 
10,000. 

Among  the  incdals  of  Sidon  collected  by  Mr.  Tay- 
lor, are  some  with  a  Greek  inscri|)tion,  "to  the  Sido- 
iiian  goddess,"  which  agrees  exactly  with  the  appel- 
lation in  1  Kings  xi.  5,  33  :  "  Ashtoreth,  goddess  of 
the  Sidonians."  They  have  also  Phoenician  inscrip- 
tions on  them,  and  the  date  is  supposed  to  be  155 — 
183,  from  the  era  of  the  Seleucidne. 

SIGN,  a  token,  or  whatever  serves  to  express,  or 
represent,  another  thing.  Thus  the  Lord  gave  to 
Noah  the  rainbow,  as  a  sign  of  his  covenant,  (Gen.  ix. 
12,  13.)  and  for  the  same  pm-pose  he  appointed  cir- 
cumcision to  Abraham,  Gen.  xvii.  11.  (See  also 
Exod.  iii.  12  ;  Juilg.  vi.  17.)  In  Isa.  vii.  18,  the  word 
is  used  for  a  prophetic  siiriilitnde,  ''Behold,  land  the 
children  whom  the  Lord  hath  given  me,  are  for  signs 
and  for  wonders  in  Israel."  (See  also  Ezek.  iv.  3, 
and  Eve,  adjin.) 


SIHON,  king  of  the  Aniorites,  on  refusing  passnge 
to  the  Hebrews,  and  coming  to  attack  them,  was  him- 
self slain,  his  army  routed,  (Ninnb.  xxi.  21 — 24; 
Dent.  i.  4;  ii.  24,  2(j,  30;  Ps.  cxxxv.  11  ;  cxxxvi.  19.) 
and  his  dominions  distributed  among  Israel. 

SIHOR,  a  river,  by  some  thought  to  be  the  Nile; 
but  more  probably  the  little  river  in  the  south  of  Ju- 
dah.  (See  Josh.  xiii.  3,  and  Egvpt,  River  of.)  [In 
Is.  xxiii.  3,  and  Jer.  ii.  18,  this  name  must  necessarily 
be  understood  of  the  Nile.     R. 

SILAS,  (Acts  XV.  22.)  and  Silva.nus,  (2  Cor.i.  19.) 
the  former  naine  being  a  contraction  of  the  latter ; 
one  of  the  chief  men  among  the  first  disciples,  and 
thought  by  some  to  have  been  of  the  number  of  the 
seventy.  On  occasion  of  a  dis()ntcat  Antioch,  on  the 
observance  of  the  legal  ceremonies,  Paul  and  Barna- 
bas were  chosen  to  go  to  Jerusalem,  to  advise  with 
the  apostles  ;  and  they  retmiied  with  Judas  and  Silas. 
Silas  joined  himself  to  Paul  ;  and  after  Patd  and 
Barnabas  bad  separated,  (Acts  xv.  37 — 41.  A.  I).  51,) 
he  accom|)anied  Paul  to  visit  the  churches  of  Syria 
and  Cilicia,  and  the  towns  and  provinces  of  Lycaonia, 
Phrygia,  Galatia  and  Macedoina,  &:c.     See  Paul. 

Silas  was  very  iisefid  in  jneaching  the  gospel,  (2 
Cor.  i.  19.)  and  some  refer  to  him  what  Paul  says  to 
the  Corinthians:  (2  Cor.  viii.  18,  19.)  "  .^nd  we  have 
sent  with  him  the  brother,  whose  |)raise  is  in  the  gos- 
pel, throughout  all  the  churches  ;  and  not  that  only, 
but  who  was  also  chosen  of  the  churches  to  travi  I 
with  us,  with  this  grace  which  is  administered  by  us 
to  the  glory  of  the  same  Lord,"  &c.  Peter  convey- 
ed bis  First  Epistle  to  the  persons  to  whom  he  ad- 
dressed it  by  ilie  hand  of  Silas,  whom  he  calls  "a 
faith  fid  brother." 

SILK.  The  question  whether  silk  were  known  to 
the  ancients  may  seem,  at  first  sight,  to  have  little  re- 
lation to  biblical  inquiry  ;  but  it  leads  to  matters  of 
some  inq)ortance.  For  when  we  read  in  the  Acts,  of 
Lydia.  a  seller  of  ])urple,  we  are  naturally  led  to  in- 
quire what  was  the  subject  of  that  color ;  wr.s  it 
woollen,  or  linen,  or  cotton  ?  To  answer  these  ques- 
tions properly,  demands  some  ])revioi!s  inquiry.  It  is 
certain  that  silk  was  nnported  into  Europe,  ages  be- 
fore the  silk-worm  that  produces  it;  and  it  much 
resembled  the  hanks,  known  at  present,  inform,coIcr 
and  substance.  In  this  state  it  was  called  holoscrica,  J 
or  whole  silk  ;  and  a  method  was  discovered  of  sep- 
arating tiie  threads,  and  working  them  up  again,  in  a 
thinner  state,  so  that  when  woven  the  web  resembled 
the  modern  gauze.  It  appears  that  Pam|)hila,  a 
woman  of  Coa,  first  j)ractispd  this  art ;  and  that  the 
Coan  vests,  which  were  so  transparent  as  to  be  called 
by  a  poet  "woven  air,"  were  of  this  niamifacture  ; 
though  it  is  possible  that  they  might  originally  be  of  ,. 
cotton,  or  fine  nnislin.  Silk  was  manufactured  at  Tyre  "* 
and  Berytus,  as  well  sin!J:ly,  as  intermixed  with  other 
materials.  If  so,  it  might  easily  form  dresses  for  the 
use  of  the  rich  man  in  the  parable,  who  wore  pm-ple. 
But  this  leads  to  iiKpiiry,  whether  ])ur|de  were  silk. 

It  is  well  known  that  the  dress  of  the  Roman  no- 
bility was  purjde ;  but  Aimnianus  Marcellinus  com- 
plains that  "the  celebrated  silk  of  the  Seres  ancieinly 
composed  the  dress  of  the  Roman  nobility,  but  was, 
ill  his  dajs,  the  extravagant  and  indiscriminate  cloth- 
ing of  the  lower  ranks."  Here  the  silk  is  syiicny- 
mous  with  ])urple ;  or  it  is  stained  with  jjurple  ;  as 
in  the  Hippolytusof  Seneca,  .Act  ii.  sc.  1. 

Juvenal  says,  that  "  formerly  the  provinces  were 
not  jjlundered  of  their  |)ropeity,  of  conchiflia  Coa,  tlio 
|)m-ple  dyed  at  Coa  ;  vestes  Coat  conchyliatct,  that  is, 
purpura  in/ccte,  says  a  commentator.     These,  as  we 


SILK 


[854] 


SIM 


have  seen,  might  be  of  silk.  It  may  well  be  thought, 
lliat  silk,  in  different  states,  would  receive  different 
appellations;  in  its  entire  state /io/ose?-!'c!tm,  in  another 
state  bijssus,  in  its  thiiniest  and  dyed  state  hysginum, 
or  homb\jcinum,  wliich  certainly  was  a  state  of  ex- 
treme tliinness  ;  whence  we  hud  Martial  alluding  to 
its  transparency  :  (viii.  68.)  "Feniineuni  hicet  sic  ])er 
bonibycina  cori)us."  And  Apnleius  (3Ietam.  x.)  no- 
tices the  same.  Isidorus,  in  his  Glossary,  explains 
boiiibjjcijiare,  by  "to  make  purple;"  bombycinatores, 
by  "those  who  dye  purple."  Suidas  also  says,  '■'•bys- 
sus  is  dyed  purple ;  "  and  Hesychius  explains  byssinon 
by  porjihynon,  purple.  It  is  true  that  these  authorities 
are  mostly  later  than  Luke ;  yet,  if  we  may  rely  on 
them,  they  prove  sufficiently  that  the  "purple"  of  that 
sacred  writer  might  be  silk. 

If  these  notions  be  correct,  they  illustrate  the  ex- 
treme effeminacy  of  the  rich  man  in  the  parable  ; 
they  add  to  our  acquaintance  with  the  history  of 
Lydia  ;  they  show  the  prodi^jality  of  the  mother  of 
harlots,  (Kev.  xvii.  4.)  who  was  clad  in  purple  and 
scarlet ;  silk  of  the  most  costly  and  gaudy  colors,  the 
favorite  dress  of  public  prostitutes;  nor  less  the  cause 
of  the  lamentations  of  the  merchants,  who  had  lost 
her  custom  for  "  purple,  and  silk,  and  scarlet ;"  (chap, 
xviii.  12.)  that  is  to  say,  for  silk  in  hs  thimier  and  dyed 
state,  the  bombycina  already  described  ;  also  silk  in 
its  more  solid  texture,  and  |)erhaps  tissued  or  bro- 
caded ;  or  rather  enriched  with  gold,  silver,  and  pearls, 
as  Mr.  Morier  describes  the  dress  of  the  queen  of 
Pereia:  "rendered  so  cumbersome  by  the  quantity 
of  jewels  embroidered  on  it,  that  she  could  scarcely 
move  under  its  weight.  Her  trowsers,  in  paiticidar, 
were  so  engrafted  with  pearl,  that  they  looked  more 
like  a  piece  of  mosaic  than  wearing  apparel."  (Trav. 
vol.  ii.  p.  01.) 

That  silk  is  expressly  mentioned  in  this  passage  of 
the  Revelation,  under  the  term  sericum,  is  clear;  also, 
that  the  royal  dress  of  Herod  Agrippa,  which  reflect- 
ed the  rays  of  light  in  such  a  manner  as  to  give  him 
the  apj)earauce  of  a  deity,  though  covered  with  gold, 
was  of  silk,  is  not  improbable.  Further  evidence  that 
silk  was  known,  and  in  fact,  was  common,  though 
costly,  among  the  ancients,  miglif  be  deduced  from 
the  Hcrculaueiun  |)ictures  ;  the  changing  and  inter- 
woven colors  of  certain  dresses — transparent  dresses, 
worn  by  thn  women  dancers,  exceed  what  may  be 
thought  possible  in  cotton. 

Further,  otu'  translators  render  Prov.  xxxi.  22, 
*'She  luaketh  herself  coverings  of  ta])eslry,  [brocaded, 
suppose,]  her  clothing  is  silk  and  jjurple."  Not  ])ur- 
]>le  iu  th3  sent-e  of  bombj'cina  or  gauze,  ])erhaps,  (un- 
less any  HU|)pnse  this  gauze  was  a  traiispai'ency  ov(  )• 
the  silk  petticoat,  as  the  term  rendered  "clothing" 
denotes,)  but,  referring  to  the  Tyrian  dye,  the  color. 
It  s^ems  difficult  to  deny  that  if  Solomon's  ships 
sailed  to  India,  they  might  import  specimens  of  silk; 
l)ut  how  lar  the  article  could  be  used  by  "virtuous 
women"  generally,  may  be  questioned;  however 
closely  such  good  housewives  might  resemble  "  mrr- 
cliant  ships  which  bring  their  ladinjr  fiom  afar."  Yet, 
if  silk  were  known  in  Judea,  intiie  days  of  Solomon, 
it  might  with  much  certainty  be  su|)|)0scd  to  be 
known  to  Ezekiel,  (chap.  xvi.  10,  13.)  or  it  might  be 
known  to  him  in  Persia,  although  of  great  rarity  in 
Judea  ;  for  Aristotle  describes  silk  as  an  Assyrian 
manufacture.  OiU'  translators  have  with  great  judg- 
niPiit  restricted  to  the  margin  of  Gen.  xli.  42,  "  Pha- 
raoh arrayed  Joseph  in  vestures  of  silk."  It  is  more 
probuble  that  "fine  linen,  as  in  the  text,  (or  the  calico 
muslui  of  moderu  days,)  is  the  article  there  intended. 


Perhaps,  in  those  early  days  the  production  of  silk 
was  restricted  to  China. 

SILOAM,  SiLOE,  or  Siloa,  s  fountain  under  the 
walls  of  Jerusalem,  on  the  east,  between  the  city  and 
the  brook  Kidrou.  It  is,  no  doubt,  the  same  as  En- 
rogel,  or  the  fuller's  fountain,  Josh.  xv.  7  ;  xviii.  16; 
2  Sam.  xvii.  17  ;  1  Kings  i.9.  Josephus  often  speaks 
of  the  waters  of  Siloam,  and  says,  that  when  Nebu- 
chadnezzar besieged  Jerusalem,  thry  increased  ;  and 
that  the  same  hajipened  when  Titus  besieged  the 
city.  Isaiah  (viii.  6.)  intimates,  that  the  waters  of 
Siloam  flowed  gently  and  without  noise:  "Foras- 
much as  this  people  refiiseth  the  waters  of  Siloah, 
that  go  softly." 

Reland  says  (Antiq.  Heb.  j)art  iv.  cap.  6.)  that  there 
was  a  custom  of  drawing  water  out  of  the  fomitain 
of  Siloam,  and  pouring  it  out  before  the  Lord,  in  the 
temjjle,  at  the  time  of  evening  sacrifice  ;  and  to  this 
there  seems  to  be  some  alkision  in  John  vii.  37.  That 
Siloam  was  the  nearest  fountain,  and  not  far  from  the 
temple,  appears  by  our  map  of  Jerusalem,  which  also 
contributes  to  the  better  understanding  of  the  narra- 
tive of  the  man  blind  from  his  birth,  who  was  direct- 
ed by  our  Lord  to  "  wash  in  the  pool  of  Siloam." 
Whiston  connected  the  last  verse  of  John  viii.  with 
the  first  of  chap.  ix.  thus — "  Jesus  concealed  himself, 
and  withdrew  from  the  Jews,  who  woidd  have  stoned 
him,  and  went  out  of  the  temple,  ]iassing  thrciigh  the 
midst  of  them,  and  passed  on — in  that  manner — and  as 
he  passed  on,  he  saw  a  man  blind  from  his  birth  .  .  . 
to  whom  he  said,  'Go  wash  in  the  pool  of  Siloam.'  " 
— Now,  if  otu'  Lord  went  out  of  the  temple  by  one  of 
the  west  gates  into  tl'e  city,  then  he  might  meet  with 
this  blind  man  pretty  -lose  to  the  temple  ;  aixl  mcst 
likely  he  sent  him  to  Siloam,  as  the  nearest  fciirtain 
in  wliich  he  might  wash :  so  that  there  was  no  affecta- 
tion in  our  Lord's  conduct,  (such  as  directing  him 
through  the  most  public  streets  of  the  city,  in  order 
to  give  this  cure  the  greater  notoriety,)  biu  a  simpli- 
city, readiness  and  neatness,  very  agreeable  to  his 
general  character ;  whilt^,  at  the  same  time,  it  con- 
tinued that  allusion  to  the  benefits  derivable  from  the 
pool  of  Siloam,  (which  is,  by  interpretation  sent,) 
which  our  Lord  had  made  in  the  former  chapter. 

[The  following  description  of  the  fountain  of  Silo- 
am is  from  the  jourral  of  Messrs.  Fisk  and  King, 
under  date  of  April  28,  1823:  "Near  the  south-east 
corner  of  the  city,  [Jerusalem,]  at  the  feet  of  Zion 
and  Moriah,  is  the  pool  of  Siicah,  (See  Nch.  iii.  ]^.) 
whose  waters  flow  with  gentle  murmur  frem  i;rd(r 
the  Holy  mountain  of  Zicn,  or  rather  from  under 
0|)hel,  havii^g  Zion  on  the  west,  and  Mcriah  on  the 
noith.  The  very  fountain  issues  frcm  a  rock,  twer.ty 
or  thirty  feet  below  the  surface  of  the  grcurd,  to 
which  we  descci^ded  by  two  fliglits  of  steps.  Here 
it  flows  out  without  a  single  tnurn.ur,  ar.el  n|prr.rs 
clear  as  crystal.  From  this  ])lace  it  wir.ds  its  way 
several  rods  under  the  mountain,  then  makes  its 
ap|)carance  with  gentle  gurgling,  ai.d,  fcrniing  a 
beautiful  rill,  takes  its  way  down  into  the  valley, 
towards  the  scuth-east.  We  drank  of  the  water, 
both  at  the  fountain,  and  from  the  stream,  ai:d 
found  it  soft,  of  a  sweetish  taste,  and  plef:sant.  The 
fountain  is  caffed  in  Scri|)ture  the  "Pool  of  Siloam." 
It  was  to  this,  that  the  blind  man  went,  and  washed, 
and  came  seeinff,  John  ix.  7 — 11."  (ftlissiotary 
Herald,  1824,  p.  66.)     R. 

SILVANUS,  see  Silas. 

SILVER,  one  of  the  precious  metals.  See  Mo.nkt 
and  Shekel. 

I.  SIMEON,  son  of  Jacob  and  Leah;  born  A.  M. 


SIM 


[  855  ] 


SIM 


2247,  Gen.  xxix.  33.  lis  was  brother  to  Dinali,  and 
with  Levi  reveng d  the  afl'ront  Shechein  ofiered  to 
har.  (S-:3  SHi:ciiEM.)  It  is  thought  tliat  Simeon 
showed  most  iiiluimauity  to  his  brother  Jossph,  and 
advisxl  liis  brothers  to  kill  him,  Gau.  xxxvii.  20. 
This  coiij  JCtiir.;  is  founded  on  Joseph's  keeping  him 
j»rison:r  in  Egypt,  (Geti.  xhi.  24.)  and  tr,:aling  him 
with  morj  rigor  than  ih^  rest  ofiiis  brethren. 

Tin  tribes  of  Sim  on  .-uid  Levi  were  scattered,  and 
disj).'r.sed  in  Israel,  in  conformity  with  tiie  prediction 
of  Jaco!),  Gin.  xlix.  5.  Levi  had  no  compact  lot,  or 
|)ortiou  ;  and  Sinuon  received  for  ids  portion  only  a 
dis;rict  dismembered  from  the  tribe  of  Judah,  (.Josh, 
xix.)  widi  some  other  lands  they  overran  in  the 
moiintuns  of  Seir,  and  in  the  desert  of  Gedor,  1 
Chron.  iv.  24,  39,  42.  The  Targum  of  Jerusalem, 
and  tlie  rabbins,  followed  by  some  ancient  fathers, 
believe,  that  the  greater  i)art  of  the  scribes,  and  men 
learned  in  the  law,  were  of  ihis  tribe  ;  and  as  these 
were  dispersed  throughout  Israel,  we  see  another 
accouii)lishment  of  Jacob's  prophecy;  for  although 
Jacob  meant  the  disptnsion  of  Simeon  and  Levi  as 
an  evil,  a  degradation,  yet  Providence  might  over- 
rule it  to  be  an  honor.  So  Levi  had  the  |)ricsthood, 
and  Simeon  the  learning,  or  writing  authorily,  of 
Israel,  whereby  both  these  tribes  were  honorably  dis- 
persed among  the  nation. 

The  SDHs  of  Simeon  were  Jemucl,  Jamin,  Ohnd, 
Jachin,  Zoliar,  and  Shaul,  (Exod.  vi.  15.)  whose  de- 
scendants amoinited  to  5i),300  men  at  the  exodus; 
(Xuml).  i.  22.)  but  only  22,200  entered  the  Land  of 
Promise,  the  rest  dying  in  the  desert,  because  of 
Uieir  nniruiurings  and  impiety,  Numb.  xxvi.  14.  Tlie 
])Ortion  of  Simeon  was  west  and  south  of  that  of  Ju- 
dah ;  having  the  tribe  of  Dan  and  the  Philistines 
north,  the  Mediterranean  west,  and  Arabia  Petrea 
south,  Josh.  xix.  1 — 9. 

II.  SIMEON,  uncls  of  Mattathias,  father  of  the 
Maccabees,  of  the  race  of  the  priests,  and  of  the  pos- 
terity of  Phinehas,  1  Mac.  ii.  1. 

in.  SLMEON,  a  i)ious  old  man  at  Jerusalem,  fidl 
of  iha  Holy  S|)irit,  who  was  expecting  the  redemp- 
tion of  [srael,  Luke  ii.  2.5,  &c.  It  had  been  revealed 
to  him,  that  he  should  not  die,  before  he  had  seen 
the  Christ  of  the  Lord  ;  and  he  therefore  came  into 
the  temple,  ])ronipted  by  iiisjjiration,  just  at  the  time 
when  Joseph  and  l^Iary  presented  our  Saviour  there, 
in  ol)odience  to  the  law.  Simeon  took  the  child  in 
his  arms,  gave  thanks  to  God,  and  blessed  Joseph 
and  Marv.  We  know  nothing  further  concerning  him. 

IV.  SLMEON,  or  Si.mo.n,  son  of  Cleophas  and 
M:iry,  and  probably  the  same  whom  Mark  names 
Simon,  ch.  vi.  3.  It  is  prob;(l)le  that  he  was  among 
the  first  disciples  of  Christ.  .After  the  death  of  James 
(A.  D.  G2.)  the  apostles,  the  disciples,  and  the  kindred 
ofCln'ist  assemble;!,  to  nominate  a  successor  in  the 
church  of  Jerusalem,  and  unanimously  elected  Sim- 
eon. (Euseb.  Hist.  Ecc!.  lib.  iii.  cap.  32.)  He  ])roba- 
bly  withdrew  with  the  rest  of  the  faithfid  to  Pella, 
beyond  Jordan,  during  the  war  of  the  Jews  against 
the  Romans.  Eusebius  says  that  when  the  emperor 
Trajan  made  strict  inquiry  for  all  who  were  of  the 
race  of  David,  Simeon  was  accused  before  Atticiis 
the  governor  of  Palestine.  He  adds,  that  he  endiu'ed 
many  tortures,  and  at  last  was  crucified,  about  A.  D. 
107,  after  he  had  governed  the  church  of  Jerusalem 
about  43  years. 

I.  SLNION  TME  Just,  higli-priest  of  the  Jews,  was 
promoted  to  this  dignity,  A.  M.  3702,  or  370.3,  and 
died  A.  M.  3711.  He  was  son  and  successor  of 
Onias  1.    (Joseph.  Ant.  xii.  2.) 


II.  SIMON,  another  high-priest  of  the  Jews,  son 
of  Onias  II.  was  advanced  to  the  high-priesthood, 
A.  M.  378.5,  and  died  A.  M.  3805,  Eccks.  1.  1,2,  3. 
There  are  several  other  high-priests  of  the  Jews 
bearuig  this  name,  mentioned  by  Josephus. 

III.  SIMON  MACCABEUS,  son  of  Mattathias, 
and  brother  of  Judas  and  Jonathan,  was  chief,  prince 
and  i)ontiffof  the  Jews,  frou)  A.M.  38G0  to  38{:9, 
and  was  succeeded  by  John  Hircanus,  his  son.  Si- 
mon contributed  greatly  by  his  valor  and  wisdom  to 
advance  the  happiness  of  liis  nation,  and  to  rendtr  it 
])rosperous  and  secure.  He  took  Joppa,  and  made 
a  harbor  of  it  to  improve  the  tr.tde  of  the  Jews  ;  and 
everyway  extended  the  limits  of  his  country.  He  was 
at  length  treacherously  killed  by  his  son-in-laW 
Ptolemy,  son  of  Ambubus,  1  Mac.  ii.  G5,  et  passim. 

IV.  SIMON,  of  the  tribe  of  Benjamin,  and  sujjir- 
intendent  of  the  temi)le,  2  Mac.  iii.  4,  5. 

V.  SIMON  THE  Cyre.man,  father  of  Alexander 
and  Rufus,  was  compelled  by  the  Jews  to  carry  tho 
cross  after  Jesus,  Matt,  xxvii.32;  Mark  xv.  21.  But 
nothing  is  known  of  him  further. 

VI.  SIMON  TiiE  Ca.naamte,  or  Simon  Zelotes, 
an  apostle  of  Jesus  Christ.  Luke  gives  him  the  sur- 
name of  Zelotes,  the  zealot,  (Luke  vi.  15  ;  Acts  i.  13.) 
which  is  supposed  by  some  to  be  a  translation  of  the 
surname  Canaanite,  given  him  by  the  other  evange- 
lists, IMatt.  x.  4  ;  Mark  iii.  18.  The  particulars  of  his 
life  are  unknown  ;  nor  does  it  appear  where  lie 
preached,  or  where  he  died.     See  Zelotes. 

VII.  SI3ION  the  Pharisee,  with  whom  Jesus 
dined,  after  he  had  raised  the  child  of  the  widow  of 
Nain,  Luke  vii.  36,  A.  D.  31.  While  they  were  at 
table,  a  woman,  noted  lor  her  ill  life,  entered  the 
room,  y)oured  perfume  on  the  feet  of  Jfsus,  wiped 
them  with  her  hair,  and  washed  them  with  her  tears. 
Simon  was  disjdeased  with  her  conduct,  but  was 
reproved  by  Jesus  ;  who  forgave  the  sinner,  and 
condeunied  the  unforgiving  Pharisee  by  a  similitude. 

VIII.  SIMON  the  Leper  dwelt  at  Bethany,  near 
Jerusalem,  (Matt.  xxvi.  6;  Mark  xiv.  3;  John  xi.  12.) 
and  Jesus,  condng  thither  a  few  days  before  his  pas- 
sion, was  invited  to  eat  with  him.  Lazarus,  who 
had  been  raised  from  the  dead  sometime  before,  was 
at  table  with  them,  and  Martha,  his  sister,  wts  very 
busy  in  atteiidance.  31ary,  the  other  sister  of  Laza- 
rus, to  show  her  love  and  respect  for  our  Saviour, 
brought  a  box  of  perfumes,  which  she  poured  on  his 
feet. 

IX.  SIMON  NIGER,  or  the  Black,  (Acts  xiii.  1.) 
was  among  the  [)rophets  and  teachers  of  the  Chris- 
tian church  at  Antioch.  Some  think  he  was  Simon 
the  Cyrenian  ;  but  there  is  no  other  proof  of  this, 
than  the  similitude  of  names,  which  Calmct  thinks 
is  not  a  good  one,  since  Luke  always  calls  Simon  the 
Cyrenian  by  the  name  of  Simon  ;  but  Simon  Niger, 
by  the  name  of  Simeon.  Mr.  Taylor  remarks,  how- 
ever, that  if  Calmet  could  think,  as  he  did,  Simeon, 
bishop  of  Jerusalem,  to  be  the  same  as  Simon  our 
Lord's  cousin,  it  could  require  no  great  exertion  to 
infer  the  identity  of  Simon  the  Cyrenian  with  Simon 
Niger.  Besides,  it  is  certain  that  Luke,  who  calls 
Simon  Peter  by  the  name  of  Simon,  also  calls  him 
Simeon,  in  reporting  the  speech  of  James,  Acts  xv. 
14.  If,  then,  Simon  and  Simeon  denote  the  same 
person  in  this  instance,  why  may  they  not  in  the  in- 
stance of  Simon  the  Cyrenian  and  Sir.ion  >,iger? 

X.  SIMON  the  Ta.nner,  a  person  at  Jopi)a,  in 
whose  house  Peter  lodged,  when  the  messengers 
from  Cornelius  the  centurion  came  to  him.  Acts  x. 

XI.  SIMON  MAGUS,  or  the  Sorcerer.     Philip 


SIMON  MAGUS 


[  856  ] 


SIN 


the  deacon,  coming  to  preach  at  Samaria,  (Acts  viii. 
5 — 13.)  couverred  many,  and  among  otiiers  this 
Simon  also  believed,  and  was  baptized.  The  apos- 
tles Peter  and  John  subseqnently  communicated  the 
Holy  Spirit  to  those  baptized  by  Piiilip;  at  which 
Simon  offered  money  to  tliem,  saying,  "Give  me 
also  this  power."  Peter  rei)lied  with  great  indigna- 
tion, "Thy  money  perish  with  thee,  ....  thou  art 
in  the  gall  of  l)itternpss,  and  in  the  bond  of  iniquity." 
Luke  adds,  (Acts  viii.  9 — 11.)  that  Simon  had  ad- 
dict>;d  himself  to  magic  before  Pliiiip  came  to  Sama- 
ria, anil  by  his  im|)ostures  and  enchantments  had 
seduced  the  people,  who  said,  "  This  man  is  the  great 
power  of  God." 

Irsnaeus  says,  that  after  Peter  had  rejected,  with 
horror,  iiis  proposal  of  selling  the  power  of  imparting 
the  Holy  Sj)irit,  Simon  fell  into  much  greater  errors 
and  abominations  ;  applying  himself  to  magic  more 
than  ever,  t  iking  pride  in  withstanding  the  apostles, 
and  infecting  a  great  number  of  ])ersons  with  hisim- 
j)ious  errors.  For  this  purpose,  it  is  said,  Ife  left 
Simariu,  and  travelled  through  several  provinces; 
seeking  |)!ac  s  where  the  gospel  had  not  yet  reached, 
that  liJi  might  prejudice  tiie  minds  of  men  against  it. 

At  Tyre,  Theodoret  says,  he  l)ought  a  public  pros- 
titute, called  Selene,  or  Helene,  and  carried  her  with 
him,  committing  crimes  in  secret  with  her.  Having 
run  through  several  pravinces,  and  made  himself  ad- 
mired by  vast  numbers  of  persons,  for  his  false  mira- 
cles and  impostures,  he  came  to  Rome  in  the  time 
ofthe  emperor  Claudius,  about  A.  D.  41,  where  it  is 
said  by  Justin  that  he  was  honored  r.s  a  deity  by  the 
Rom;uis,  and  by  the  senate  itself,  who  decreed  a 
statue  to  him,  in  the  isle  of  Tiber,  with  this  inscrij)- 
tion — To  Simon,  the  holy  God.  Siviorii  Deo  sancto. 
This  fact,  however,  is  disputed  by  able  critics,  who 
think  Justin  mistook  a  statue  dedicated  to  Scmo 
Sa.n:us,  a  pagan  deity,  for  one  erected  Simoni  sancto. 

As  to  the  heresies  of  Simon  ;  in  addition  to  those 
imputed  to  him,  Acts  viii.  10,  the  fathers  accuse  him 
of  |)retending  to  be  the  great  power  of  God  ;  of 
affirming  that  he  came  down  as  the  Father  in  re- 
spect of  the  Samaritans,  as  the  Son  in  respect  ofthe 
Jews,  and  as  the  Holy  Spirit  in  res|)rct  of  the  Gen- 
tiles; but  that  it  is  indifferent  wiiich  of  these  names 
he  went  by.  Jerome  quotes  these  l)las])hcmons  ex- 
pressions out  of  one  of  his  books:  "I  am  the  word 
of  God  ;  I  am  the  beauty  of  (jod  ;  I  am  the  comfort- 
er; J  am  the  Almighty  ;  I  am  the  whole  Essence  of 
God."  Ho  was  tlie  inventor  of  the  iEons,  which 
were  so  many  persons  of  whom  they  composed  tlioir 
deity.  His  Helene  he  called  the  first  intelligence,  the 
mother  of  all  things,  and  sonietimes,  the  Holy  Ghost, 
Prunica,  or  Minerva.  He  said,  that  by  this  first  in- 
telligence he  had  originally  a  design  of  creating  the 
angels  ;  but  that  slie,  knowing  this  will  of  her  father, 
had  descended  lower,  and  had  produced  the  angels, 
and  the  other  spiritual  powers,  to  whom  she  had 
given  no  knowledge  of  her  father  ;  that  these  angels 
and  powers  had  afterwards  iliade  angels  and  men  ; 
tliat  HelcMi  had  jjassed  successively  into  the  bodies 
of  various  women  ;  among  others  into  that  of  Helen, 
wife  of  Mcnelaus,  who  occasioned  the  war  of  Troy  ; 
and  at  last  into  the  body  of  this  Helen  of  Tyre. 

He  did  not  acknowledge  Christ  to  b(>  tlie  Son  of 
God,  but  considered  him  as  a  rival,  and  pretended 
himself  to  be  the  Christ.  He  believed  not  the  resur- 
rection of  the  body,  but  barely  a  resurrection  ofthe 
soul.  He  taught  that  men  need  not  trouble  them- 
selves about  good  works,  all  actions  being  indiffer- 
ent, and  that  the  distinction  of  actions  into  good  and 


evil  was  only  introduced  by  the  angel?,  to  render 
men  subject  to  them.  He  rejected  the  law  of  Moses, 
and  said  he  had  come  to  abolish  it.  He  ascribed  the 
Old  Testament  to  the  angels  ;  and  tho\igh  he  every 
where  declared  himself  an  enemy  to  angels,  yet  he 
paid  them  an  idolatrous  worship,  pretending,  that 
men  could  not  be  saved,  without  offering  to  the  su- 
preme Father  abominable  sacrifices,  by  means  ofthe 
principalities  that  he  placed  in  each  heaven.  He 
offered  them  his  sacrifices  ;  not  to  obtain  assistance 
from  them,  but  to  prevail  Avith  them  that  they  might 
not  oppose  men.  The  sect  of  heretics  which  were 
called  Simonians  were  descended  from  him.  (De 
Tillemont,  Hist.  Eccl.  torn.  ii.  §  5.) 

SIMOOM,  see  Wi-VDS. 

SIMPLE  is  sometimes  taken  in  an  ill  sense,  in 
Scripture.  Paul  (Rom.  xvi.  19.)  would  hav^  the 
Romans  "wise  vmto  good,  and  simple  concerning 
evil  ;  that  is,  discerning  in  their  choice  of  good  :  but 
avoiding  whatever  has  the  appearance  of  evil,  as 
children  who,  without  much  reasoning,  fly  from 
every  thing  that  does  but  seem  hurtful  to  them.  We 
read,  (Prov.  xxiii.  3.)  "  A  wise  man  foreseeth  the  evil ; 
but  the  sim])le  [the  unthinking,  the  heedless]  pass  en 
and  are  [)unished,"  Simi)le  is  sometimes  ojjposed 
to  dece|)tion  ;  to  an  unjust,  or  a  wicked  jierson.  It 
stands  for  sincerity,  fidelity,  innocence,  candor.  In 
this  sense  Jacob  is  called  a  plain,  or  simple,  man, 
Gen.  XXV.  27.  Wisdom  is  given  to  the  simple,  Prov. 
i.  4  ;  xxi.  11. 

Simple  is  capable  of  a  good,  a  bad,  or  an  indiffer- 
ent meaning.  Simidicity  of  mind  is  integrity,  inno- 
cence of  intention,  &c.  (Rom.  xvi.  19.)  honesty,  can- 
dor, xii.  8.  Weak  sim|)licity,  on  the  contrary,  is 
credulous,  easily  in)pcsed  on,  easily  deluded.  Prov. 
xix.  15 ;  XX.  3,  The  simple  believe  every  word,  re- 
port, rumor  ;  the  siinple  pass  on  and  are  punished  : 
they  do  not  look  before  them,  or  take  ])roper  steps  to 
avoid  evil.  Wisdom  invites  the  simple,  tlie  nnin- 
ibrmed,  the  unstudied,  to  learn  of  her,  to  ))artake  of 
her  refreshments,  and  to  be  revived  by  her  delica- 
cies, Prov.  ix.  4.  (See  also  Ps.  xix.  7  ;  cxvi.  G  ;  Ezek. 
xlv.  20;  2  Cor.  i.  ]2;  xi.  3.) 

I.  SIN,  or  ZiN,  a  desert  south  ofthe  Holy  Land, 
in  Arabia  Petrea,  the  wilderness  of  Sin.  Scripture 
distinguishes  two  deserts  of  Sin,  one  being  writtt  ii  p:, 
sin,  with  samech  ;  the  other,  ;<y,  ta'??,  with  tzade.  The 
former  was  near  Egypt,  on  the  const  ofthe  Reii  sea, 
Exod.  xvi.  1  ;  xvii.  1.  The  latter  is  also  south  of 
Palestine,  but  toward  the  Dead  si  a,  Dent,  xxxii.  ."^i  ; 
Numb.  xiii.  21;  xxvii.  14;  xxxiv.  3;  Josh.  xv.  3. 
See  Exodus,  p.  419. 

II.  SIN,  (Fzek.  XXX.  15,  Ifi.)  the  city  Pelusium,  in 
Egypt,  the  easternmost  city  of  that  kingdom,  situated 
among  marshes,  and  now  inundated  by  the  Mediter- 
ranean.    (See  Rosenm.  Bib.  Geogr.  iii.  244.)     R. 

IlL  SIN,  or  SixiM,  (Isa.  xlix.  12.)  is  thought  by 
]\Ir.  Taylor,  Dr.  Morrison,  and  other  writers,  to  be 
China,  which  Dr.  Hagar,  in  two  very  learned  tracts, 
has  attempted  to  prove  was  well  known  to  the 
Greeks,  in  early  ages;  and  that  the  trade  in  silk  was 
the  life  and  soul  of  their  intercourse  with  it.  So  also 
Gesenius. 

SIN  is  any  thought,  word,  desire,  action,  or  omis- 
sion of  action,  contrary  to  the  law  of  (Jod,  or  defec- 
tive when  compared  with  it.  The  Hebrews  have 
several  words  for  expressing  sin.  They  think,  for 
example,  that  (1.)  tnc-,  Chataath,  signifies  a  sin  com- 
mit ed  against,  a  t)osi(ive  precept;  (2.)  rr,-c'y,  ^sha- 
math,  n.  sin  connnitted  against  a  negative  |  recejit ; 
and  (3.)  hjj;',  Shegagah,  a  sin  of  ignorance,  forget- 


SIN 


[857  ] 


SIV 


fulness,  omission,  or  inadvertency.  But  it  is  certain 
that  tliese  terms  are  often  used  interchangeably,  and 
that  Scripture  seldom  observes  such  a  distinction.  It 
often  calls  very  great  sins  by  the  name  of  ignorance, 
or  folly  ;  and  at  other  times  gives  the  name  of  sin  to 
faults  of  inadvertency. 

Sin  often  denotQS  the  sacrifice  of  expiation,  or  the 
sacrifice  for  sin — the  sin-ofiering.  Lev.  iv.  3,  25,  29 ; 
V.  (') ;  vii.  2 ;  Ps.  xl.  G  ;  Rom.  viii.  3.  Paul  says,  for 
example,  that  God  was  pleased  that  Jesus,  who  knew 
no  sin,  should  be  our  victim  of  expiation  :  "  for  he 
hath  made  him  to  be  sin  [a  sin-oficring:  sin,  by 
analogy  of  ideas]  for  us,  who  knew  no  sin  ;  that  we 
might  be  made  the  righteousness  of  God  in  him,"  2 
Cor.  V.  21.  In  conformity  with  this  idea,  some,  for 
sin  lieth  at  the  door,  (Gen.  iv.  7.)  read,  thou  shouldest 
lay  a  sin-oflering. 

God  was  not  the  author  of  sin,  or  of  death,  the 
consequence  of  sin ;  but  sin  and  death  entered  the 
world  by  "the  malice  of  the  devil,  Wisd.  i.  13,  14  ;  ii. 
24.  Adam,  by  his  disobedience,  rendered  all  his  pos- 
terity depraved,  guiltj'  before  God  :  his  sin  involved 
them  all  in  death  ;  through  him  we  are  born  children 
of  iniquity,  and  are  inclined  to  evil  from  the  womb, 
1  Cor.  XV.  31,  22  ;  Rom.  v.  12  ;  vi.  23  ;  Ps.  Ii.  5  ;  Rom. 
iii.  23;  Gen.  viii.  21.  Our  Saviour,  by  his  death,  has 
recovered  life  for  us ;  his  obedience  has  reconciled 
us  to  God  ;  and  he  has  merited  for  us  the  character 
of  children  of  God. 

TuE  SIX  AGAINST  THE  HoLT  Ghost  is  differently 
explained  by  the  fathers  and  interpreters.  We  be- 
lieve Athanasiustohave  been  the  nearest  to  the  truth. 
He  thinks  tliis  sin  was  chargeable  on  the  Pharisees, 
because  ihcy  nuiUciously  inifjuted  the  ^vorks  of  Christ 
to  the  power  of  the  devil,  though  they  could  not  but 
be  convinced  in  their  own  minds,  that  tliey  were 
effected  Iw  a  good  spirit.  This  also  involved  a  denial 
of  the  divinity  of  the  Son,  which  was  clearly  proved 
by  his  works,  works  performed  by  the  divine  power 
of  the  Holy  Spirit. 

SINAI,  a  mountain  in  Arabia  Petrea,  in  tlie  penin- 
sula formed  by  the  two  northern  arms  of  the  Red 
sea,  and  rendered  memorable  as  the  spot  where  the 
law  was  given  to  Israel  by  the  hand  of  Moses,  Exod. 
xix.  (fcc.  There  is  considerable  difliculty  in  determin- 
ing the  particular  sj)ot  honored  by  the  Deity  for  the 
promulgation  of  his  will  to  his  chosen  people,  and 
distinguished  in  the  sacred  writings  as  mount  Sinai. 
According  to  Burckhardt,  Sinai  is  a  prodigious  pile  of 
mountains,  com})rehending  many  separate  peaks,  and 
extending  thirty  or  forty  miles  in  diameter.  A  peak 
in  this  mountain  group,  called  Djebcl  Mousa,  tlio 
mount  of  Moses,  is  pointed  cut  by  tradition  as  the 
scene  of  the  wonderful  occurrences  recorded  in 
Exod.  XX.  and  a  higher  elevation,  separated  from  it 
by  a  deep  cleft,  and  called  mount  St.  Catherine,  from 
a  ridicidous  legend  relative  to  the  miraculous  inter- 
ment, on  its  summit,  of  tli ;  saint  bearing  this  name, 
is  considered  to  be  the  mo'.nitain  called  lloreb,  and 
which  is  frequently  spoken  oCas  belonging  to  the  same 
aggregation  of  mountains  as  Sinai.  (Comp.  Deut.  v. ; 
Exod.  XX.)  ]Mr.  Conder  (Mod.  Trav.  Arabia,  p.  144, 
seq.  Amer.  ed.)  has  carefully  examined  and  com- 
pared the  accounts  of  Burckhardt  and  other  writers 
with  the  Scripture  referenoes  to  Sinai  ami  lloreb, 
but  without  arriving  at  any  satisiiictory  result.  (For 
a  full  account  of  Sinai,  see  Exodus,  p.  412,  seq.) 

SINCERITY,  truth  and  uprightness;  an  agree- 
ment of  the  heart  and  tongue.  Sincerity  is  opposed 
to  double  mindedness,  or  deceit,  when  tlie  senti- 
ments of  the  heart  are  contrary  to  the  language  of  the 
108 


hps.  The  Latin  word  sincenis  is  derived  from  sine 
anil  sera,  without  wax  ;  honey  separated  from  the 
wax  ;  that  is,  perfectly  pure  honey.  In  Scripture 
sincere  signifies  pure,  Avithout  mixture.  Paid  (Phil, 
i.  10.)  would  have  the  Philippians  to  be  pure,  their 
behavior  innocent,  free  from  offence,  "  That  ye  may 
be  sincere  and  without  offence  till  the  day  of  Christ." 
And*Peter  (2  Epist.  iii.  1.)  exhorts  the  pure,  sincere 
mind  of  the  faidiful.  Paid  sjjcaks  (1  Cor,  v.  8.)  of 
sincerity  and  truth,  or  of  purity  and  truth,  in  opposi- 
tion to  the  leavened  bread  of  iniquity.  He  reproaches 
the  false  apostles  with  not  jireaching  Jesus  Christ 
sincerely,  purely,  with  upright  and  disinterested 
sentiments,  Phil.  i.  15. 

SINITE,  the  descendants  of  the  eighth  son  of  Ca- 
naan, who  dwelt  in  the  region  of  mount  Lebanon, 
Gen.  X.  17. 

I.  SION,  a  name  given  (Deut.  iv.  48.)  to  one  of  the 
elevations  of  the  mountain-ridge  called  Hermon, 
which  see. 

II.  SION,  the  name  of  one  of  the  mountains  on 
which  the  city  of  Jerusalem  was  built,  and  on  which 
the  citadel  of  the  Jebusites  stood  when  David  took 
possession  of  it,  and  transferred  his  court  thither 
from  Hebron,  wlience  it  is  frequently  called  the  city 
of  David ;  and  from  his  having  deposited  the  ark 
here,  it  is  also  frequently  called  "  the  holy  hill."  (See 
Jerusalem.)  When  Dr.  Richardson  visited  this 
spot,  one  part  of  it  supported  a  crop  of  barley,  and 
another  was  undergoing  the  labor  of  the  i)lougli,  in 
which  circumstance  we  have  another  remarkable  in- 
stance of  the  fulfilment  of  propliecj' — "Therefore 
shall  Zion  for  your  sakes  be  ploughed  as  a  field,  and 
Jerusalem  shall  become  heaps,"  Mic.  iii.  12. 

SIRION,  see  Hermon. 

SISERA,  a  general  in  the  army  of  Jabin,  king  of 
Ilazor,  (Judg,  iv.  2.)  was  sent  by  his  master  against 
Barak  and  Deborah,  who  occupied  mount  Tabor 
with  an  amiy.  He  marched  with  900  chariots 
armed  with  scythes,  and  a  gi-eat  number  of  infantry  ; 
but,  entangling  himself  among  broken  ground,  was 
attacked  by  Barak,  at  the  head  of  10,000  men,  and 
entirely  routed.  Sisera  himself  fled  on  foot  towards 
Ilarosheth  of  the  Gentiles.  Approaching  the  tent  of 
Heber,  the  Kenite,  Jael,  wife  of  Hrber,  desired  him 
to  entei-,  and  hide  himself;  but  while  he  was  asleep, 
she  drove  a  tent  nail  through  his  temples  with  a  ham- 
mer, and  fastened  him  to  the  ground.     See  Jafl. 

SISTER.  In  the  style  of  the  Hebrews,  sister  has 
equal  latitude  with  brother.  It  is  used,  not  only  for 
a  sister  by  natural  relation,  from  the  same  father  and 
mother,  but  also  for  a  sister  by  the  same  father  only, 
or  by  the  same  mother  cnlj^,  or  a  near  relation  only. 
Matt.  xiii.  5G;  Mark  vi.  3."  S;u-al)  is  called  sister  to 
Abraham,  (Gen.  xii.  13;  xx.  12.)  tliougli  only  his 
niece,  according  to  some,  or  sister  by  the  father's 
side,  according  to  others.  In  Leviticus,  (chap,  xviii. 
18.)  it  is  forbidden  to  wed  the  sister  of  a  wife  ;  i.  e.  to 
marry  two  sisters  ;  or,  according  to  some  inter]n'eters, 
to  marry  a  second  wife,  having  one  already.  Literally, 
"Thou  shalt  not  take  a  wife  over  her  sister  to  afilict 
her  ;  "  as  if  to  forbid  polygamy.  Sometimes  the  word 
sister  ex|)repses  a  resemblance  of  conditions  and  of 
inclinations*  Thus  the  projihets  call  Jerusalem  the 
sister  of  Sodom,  and  of  Samaria,  because  that  city  de- 
lighted in  the  imitation  of  their  idolatry  and  iniquity, 
Jer.  iii.  8,  10 ;  Ezek.  xvi.  45.  So  Christ  describes 
those  who  keep  his  commandments  as  his  brothers 
and  his  sisters.  Matt.  xii.  50. 

SITTING,  see  Bed,  and  Eating. 

SIVAN,  the  na.ne  of  a  Hebrew  month  ;  the  third 


SLA 


[  858 


SLI 


of  the  holy  year  ;  the  nhith  of  the  civil  year,  Bai-ucli 
i.  8.     See  Jewish  Calendar,  infra. 

SLANDER,  an  evil  report  not  justly  founded  ;  or 
a  rumor  without  authority,  to  the  disadvantage  of 
another.  This  is  a  much  gi-eater  sin,  and  more  op- 
posed to  the  true  charities  of  Christianity,  than  many, 
to  judge  by  their  unregulated  discourses,  seem  to  be 
awai'e  of.     (Compare  Scandal.) 

SLAVERY,  compulsory  servitude.  To  punish 
he  indignity  i-eceived  from  his  son  Ham,  Noah  fore- 
told the  slavery  of  his  descendants.  Gen.  ix.  25.  The 
descendants  of  Abraham  always  valued  themselves 
on  then-  liberty.  "  We  have  never  been  servants  to 
any,"  said  the  Jews,  John  viii.  33.  And  Paul  magni- 
fies the  liberty  of  the  true  children  of  Abraham,  as 
being  really  free,  born  of  a  free  mother,  in  opposition 
to  the  race  of  Ishmael,  born  of  a  mother  who  was  a 
slave.  Gal.  iv.  31.  The  Hebrews  have,  however, 
been  sulyect  to  several  princes  ;  to  the  Egj'ptians,  the 
Philistines,  the  Chaldeans,  the  Grecians,  and  the 
Romans.  But  tiiis  is  not  slavery,  in  the  strict  sense 
of  the  word. 

Moses  notices  two  or  three  sorts  of  slaves  among 
the  Hebrews  ;  who  had  foreign  slaves,  obtained  by 
captui-e,  by  purchase,  or  boi-n  in  the  house.  Over 
these,  masters  had  an  entire  authority  ;  thoy  might 
sell  them,  exchange  them,  punisli  them,  judge  them, 
and  even  put  them  to  death,  without  public  pi'ocess. 
In  which  the  Hebrews  followed  the  rules  common 
to  other  nations. 

In  Exodus  xxi.  Moses  -enacts  regulations  concei-n- 
ing  Hebrew  slaves:  "  If  thou  buy  a  Hebrew  servant, 
six  years  he  shall  serve,  and  in  the  seventh  he  shall 
go  out  free  for  nothing."  He  adds,  "  He  shall  have 
at  going  out  the  same  clothes  he  had  at  coming  in, 
and  his  wife  shall  go  out  with  him."  The  Hebrew 
has  it,  "  If  he  come  in  by  himself  [with  his  body]  he 
shall  go  out  by  himself;  if  he  were  married,  then  his 
wife  shall  go  out  with  him.  If  his  master  have  given 
him  a  wife,  and  she  hath  borne  him  sons  or  daugh- 
ters, the  wife  and  her  children  shall  be  her  master's, 
and  he  shall  go  out  by  himself"  [with  his  Ijody.] 
"  If  the  servant  shall  plainly  say,  I  love  my  master, 
my  wife,  and  my  children,  I  will  not  go  out  ^ree  ; 
then  his  master  shall  bring  him  unto  the  judges  [Heb. 
gods] ;  he  shall  also  bring  him  to  the  door,  or  unto 
the  door-post,  [of  his  master's  house,]  and  his  master 
shall  bore  his  ear  througli  with  an  awl,  and  he  sliall 
serve  him  for  ev'er  ;  "  (Deut.  xv.  17.)  according  to  the 
commentators,  till  tlie  j^ear  of  jubilee  ;  for  then  all 
slaves,  without  exception,  recovered  their  liberty. 
The  rabbins  add,  that  slaves  were  set  free  also  at  the 
death  of  their  masters,  and  did  not  descend  to  their 
heirs. 

"If  a  man  sell  his  daughter  to  be  a  maid-servant, 
[or  a  slave,]  she  shall  not  go  out  as  the  men-servants 
do,"  Exod.  xxi.  7.  The  laws  just  mentioned  do  not 
concern  her.  There  is  another  kind  of  jurisprudence 
for  Hebrew  girls,  than  for  men  or  boys.  A  father 
could  not  sell  his  daughter  for  a  slave,  according  to 
the  ral)bins,  till  she  was  at  the  age  of  puberty,  and 
unless  he  were  reduced  to  the  utuiost  indigence. 
Bt'sides,  when  a  mnstor  liouglit  an  Israelite  girl,  it 
»  was  always  svith  pr('Suuii)tion  that  he,  or  his  son, 
would  take  her  to  wife.  Hence  Moses  adds,  "  If  she 
plcaso  not  her  master,"  and  he  does  not  think  fit  to 
marry  her,  he  shall  set  her  at  liberty  ;  or,  according 
to  the  Hebrew,  "Ho  shall  let  her  be  redeemed.  To 
sell  her  into  a  strange  nation  he  sliall  have  no  power, 
i^seeiug  he  hath  dealt  deceitfully  with  her,"  as  to  the 
',  Spngagcmcnt  iiii])ricd,  at  Hast,  of  taking  In  r  to  wife. 


"  If  he  hath  betrothed  her  unto  his  sou,  he  shall  deal 
with  her  after  the  manner  of  daughters,"  Exod.  xxi. 
9,  10.  He  shall  take  care  that  his  son  uses  her  as 
his  wife,  that  he  does  not  despise  or  maltreat  her.  If 
he  make  his  son  marry  another  wife,  he  shall  give 
her  her  dowry,  her  clothes,  and  compensation  for 
her  virginity  ;  or,  accoi'ding  to  the  Hebrew,  "  If  he 
make  his  son  marry  another  wife,  he  shall  not  dimin- 
ish the  clothes,  the  maintenance,  or  the  habitation  of 
the  former;"  intending,  it  is  thought,  that  the  master 
who  bought  her,  and  made  his  son  marry  her,  if  his 
son  njarries  a  second  wife,  he  shall  take  care  that  he 
treats  this  first  woman  as  his  wife  ;  that  he  allow  her 
food  and  raiment,  and  perform  the  duties  of  mar- 
riage to  her  as  to  his  true  wife  ;  if  he  do  not,  "then 
shall  she  go  out  free  without  money."  If  the  father 
of  a  family  who  had  bought  an  Israelite  maid  did  not 
marry  her,  nor  make  his  son  marry  her  ;  or  if  he 
would  dismiss  her  after  he  had  kept  her  for  some 
time,  he  was  bound  to  find  her  a  husband,  or  to  sell 
her  to  another  Hebrew  master,  on  the  same  condi- 
tions that  he  had  taken  her  himself;  giving  her  a 
portion,  her  clothes,  and  the  price  of  her  virginity, 
agreeable  to  custom,  or  as  regulated  by  the  judges. 

A  Hebrew  might  fall  into  slavery  several  waj'S : 
(1.)  If  reduced  to  extreme  poverty,  he  might  sell  him- 
self, Lev.  XXV.  39.  (2.)  A  father  might  sell  his  chil- 
dren as  slaves,  Exod.  xxi.  7.  (3.)  Insolvent  debtors 
might  be  delivered  to  their  creditors  as  slaves,  2 
Kiugs  iv.  1.  (4.)  Thieves  not  able  to  make  restitu- 
tion for  their  thefts,  or  the  value,  were  sold  for  the 
benefit  of  the  sufterers,  Exod.  xxii.  3.  (5.)  They 
might  be  taken  prisoners  in  war.  (G.)  They  might 
be  stolen,  and  afterwards  sold  for  slaves,  as  Joseph 
was  sold  by  his  brethren.  (7.)  A  Hebrew  slave 
redeemed  from  a  Gentile  by  one  of  his  bi'ethren, 
might  be  sold  by  him  to  another  Israelite. 

VVhen  Samuel  declares  to  the  Hebrews  the  rights 
and  prerogatives  of  a  king,  (1  Sam.  viii.  16,  17.)  he 
says,  "  He  shall  take  your  slaves,  and  your  maids, 
anti  you  yourselves  shall  be  subject  to  him  as  slaves." 
And  Goliatli  says  to  the  Israelites,  (1  Sam.  xvii.  8,  9.) 
"Am  not  I  a  Philistine,  and  you  servants  to  Saul? 
Choose  you  a  man  for  you,  and  let  hiu)  come  down 
to  me.  And  if  he  be  able  to  fight  with  me,  and  kill 
me,  then  \\\\\  we  be  jour  servants.  But  if  I  prevail 
against  him,  and  kill  him,  then  shall  ye  be  our  ser- 
vants, and  serve  us."     See  Servant. 

SLEEP,  SLEEPING,  SLUMBERING,  is  taken 
(1.)  for  the  natural  sleep  or  repose  of  the  body  ;  (2.) 
for  the  moral  sleep  of  the  soul ;  supineness,  indo- 
lence, stupidity  ;  (3.)  for  the  sleep  of  death.  (See 
Jer.  li.  .39  ;  Dan.  xii.  2  ;  John  xi.  11  ;  Ephes.  v.  14; 
2  Pet.  ii.3:  Prov.  xxiii.  21. 

SLIME,  (Gen.  xi.  3.)  a  bituminous  production, 
procured  from  pits  in  the  earth,  out  of  which  it 
issues,  oftrn  in  considerable  quantities.  (See  Bitu- 
men.)   Slime  pits  were  jjits  yielding  bitumen. 

SLING,  an  instrument  of  cords,  used  to  throw 
stoiu's  by  the  arm,  with  violence  ;  the  invention  of 
which  is  ascribed  to  the  Phenicians,  or  to  the  inhab- 
itants of  the  islands  Baleares,  now  called  IMajorca  and 
Minorca.  The  Hebrews  made  great  use  of  the  sling, 
Judg.  XX.  16 ;  1  Sam.  xvii.  49 ;  1  Chron.  xii.  2 ;  2 
Chron.  xxvi.  14. 

There  is  a  remarkable  simile  employed  by  the 
roj^al  sage,  in  Prov.  xxvi.  8,  "As  he  who  bindeth  a 
stone  in  a  sHug,  so  is  he  who  giveth  honor  to  a  fool ;" 
i.  e.  he  counteracts  his  own  intention.  But  tlie  mar- 
gin reads,  perha|)s,  more  correctly,  "  As  he  who  put- 
teth  a  precious  stone  among  a  heap  of  atones,"  that 


so 


[  c'Sl)  ] 


SOD 


is,  pebl)le*  ;  §o  is  honor  completely  overwhelmed  by 
base  coiupaiiions,  if"  given  to  a  fool. 

SMELL.  Jacob  said  to  his  sons,  after  the  slaughter 
of  tiie  Sheeheniites,  (Gen.  xxxiv.  30.)  "Ye  have 
troubled  me,  to  make  me  to  stink  among  the  inhabit- 
ants of  tlie  land  " — Ye  ha^e  given  me  an  ill  scent, or 
snieil,  among  this  peo])le.  The  Israelites  in  a  simi- 
lar manner  complained  to  Moses  and  Aaron,  (Exod. 
v.  2L)  "  The  Lord  look  upon  yon,  and  judge,  be- 
cause you  liave  made  our  savor  to  be  abhorred  in 
the  eyes  of  Pharaoli,  and  in  the  eyes  of  his  servants." 
This  manner  of  speaking  occurs  frequently  in  the 
Hebrew.  In  a  contrary  sense,  Paul  says,  (2  Cor.  ii. 
15,  IG.)  "  \Yc  are  inito  God  a  sweet  savor  of  Christ, 
in  them  that  are  saved,  and  in  them  that  ])erish  ;  to 
the  one  we  are  the  savor  of  death  unto  death,  and 
to  the  other  the  savor  of  life  unto  life." 

In  the  sacrifices  of  the  old  law,  the  smell  of  the 
burnt-oft'erings  is  represented  in  Scripture  as  agreea- 
ble to  God :  (Gen.  viii.  21.)  "  And  thou  slialt  burn 
the  whole  ram  upon  the  altar  ;  it  is  a  burnt-offering 
unto  the  Lord  ;  it  is  a  sweet  savor,  an  ofleringjnade 
by  tire  unto  the  Lord."  The  same  thing,  by  analogy, 
is  said  of  prayer:  (I's.  cxli.  2.)  "  Let  my  prayer  ha 
set  forth  before  thee  as  incense  ;  and  the  lifting  up  of 
my  bunds,  as  the  evening  sacrifice."  And  John,  in 
allusion  to  this  service  of  the  Old  Testament,  repre- 
sents the  twenty-four  elders  with  "  golden  vials  full 
of  odors,  which  are  the  prayers  of  tlie  saints," 
Rev.  v.  8. 

SMITE,  to  strike.  The  word  is  often  used  for  to 
kill.  Thus,  David  smote  the  Philistine  ;  i.  e.  he  killed 
Goliatii.  The  Lord  smote  Nabal  and  LJzziah  ;  he  put 
tliem  to  death.  To  smite  an  army,  is  to  conquer  it, 
to  rout  it  entirely.  To  smite  witii  the  tongue,  is  to 
load  with  injuries  and  reproaches,  with  scandalous 
reflections.  To  smite  the  thigh,  denotes  indignation, 
trouble,  astonishment,  Jer.  xxxi.  19. 

SMY'RNA,  a  city  of  Ionia,  in  Asia  Minor,  situated 
on  tlie  Archipelago,  and  having  a  fine  harbor.  Our 
Lord,  by  the  mouth  of  John,  addresses  the  angel  or 
bishop  of  Smyrna,  (Rev.  ii.  8 — 10.)  who  is  thought  to 
have  been  Polycarp,  the  martyr,  who  was  put  to 
death,  A.  D.  166.  Smyrna  is  still  a  place  of  great 
consideration,  having  a  great  foreign  trade,  and  a 
population  of  about  140,000. 

SNOW,  being  extremely  white,  forms  a  frequent 
object  of  comparison  in  Scriptm-e,  Exod.  iv.  6  ; 
Numb.  xii.  10 ;  2  Kings  v.  27.  Snow  is  enume- 
rated among  the  stores  in  the  treasury  of  God, 
his  atmospherical  meteors,  &c.  The  expression  in 
Prov.  XXV.  15,  "  As  the  cold  of  snow  in  the  time  of 
harvest,  so  is  a  faithful  messenger  to  them  who  send 
him  ;  for  he  rcfresheth  the  soul  of  his  masters,"  seems 
to  refer  to  tlie  cooling  effect  of  snoAV  on  the  wines 
drank  in  the  East ;  or  to  what  in  Italy  is  termed 
alfresco,  that  is,  snow  put  into  \vatcr  to  cool  it,  pre- 
vious to  its  l)eing  drank,  whicii  is  esteemed  ex- 
tremely rcfreshmg.  This  removes  the  apparent 
contradiction  of  this  passage  with  chap.  xxvi.  1. 
As  snow,  that  is,  a  fall  of  snow,  in  summer,  is 
nnnatural,  and  ill-timed,  so  honor  is  not  seemly 
for  a  fool ;  but  it  is  quite  out  of  character,  out  of 
season. 

SO,  king  of  Egypt,  made  an  alliance  with  Hoshea, 
king  of  Israel,  and  promised  him  assistance,  yet  gave 
none,  nor  prevented  Slialmaneser  king  of  Assyria 
from  taking  .Samaria,  and  subverting  the  kingdom, 
2  Kings  xvii.  4. 

Usher  and  Mai-sham  think  So  to  be  Sabacon,king 
of  Ethiooia.  who  is  taken  for  the  first  king  of  the  dy- 


nasty of  Ethiopians  in  Egjpt,  and  who,  according  to 
Usher,  began  to  reign  A.  M,  3277,  having  taken  and 
burnt  alive  Bocchoris  king  of  this  country.  He  reigned 
eiglit  years, and  had  for  his  successor  Sevechus,  whom 
Usher  thinks  to  be  the  Sethon  of  Herodotus,  lib.  ii. 
cap.  141.  [But  see  the  article  Egypt,  p.  373;  and 
also  under  Pharaoh.     R. 

SOAP,  or  Fuller's  Soap,  named  in  Hebrew 
borith,  signifying  the  cleanser,  is  by  some  supposed  to 
be  a  salt,  extracted  from  the  earth,  called  by  the  Arabs 
bora.  But  others  prefer  a  vegetable,  in  accordance 
with  the  LXX,  who  render  .roia^  or  tow,  an  herb. 
The  ancients  certainly  emjdoyed  vegetables,  and  the 
salt  extracted  from  them,  lor  the  purpose  of  washing 
linen.  Dioscorides  and  Pliny  mention  the  struthion 
as  so  employed,  and  the  Persians  use  this  plant  as 
soap.  The  kali,  soda,  salsola  kali,  or  barilla,  is  called 
in  the  London  Pharmacopoeia,  natron ;  and  there 
seems  to  be  sufKcient  reason  to  consider  it  as  the 
borith-p\ant  of  Jeremiah,  (ii.  22.)  at  least  it  is  the  best 
known  to  us  of  those  plants  which  possess  the  prop- 
erty of  cleansing,  either  by  themselves  or  their  salts. 
In  its  wild  state  it  rises  about  a  foot  in  height ;  the 
leaves  are  long,  nairow  and  prickly,  the  flowers 
whitish  or  rose-color.  It  is  found  on  the  sea-shore, 
and  is  considered  as  a  sea-weed.  The  best,  burned 
into  a  hard  mass  of  salt,  comes  fi-om  Alicant  in  Spain. 
Combined  with  fat,  it  forms  soap,  the  cleansing  vir- 
tues of  which  are  well  known  in  everv  familv,  Jer.  ii. 
22  ;  Mai.  iii.  2. 

SOBRIETY  is  commonly  taken  tor  the  opposite 
to  intemperance ;  sometimes  also  for  moderation, 
modesty,  and  that  virtue  which  chooses  the  golden 
mean,  Rom.  xii.  3.  Paul  (1  Tim.  ii.  9.)  would  have 
women  dress  themselves  "in  modest  apparel,  v^ith 
shame-facedness  and  sobriety,"  as  decency  requu-es. 
The  word  sobriety  is  also  taken  for  vigilance  in  1  Tim. 
iii.  2,  "  A  bishop  must  be  vigilant,  sober,"  prudent, 
moderate.  We  have,  however,  no  English  w^ord  that 
pro])erly  exjiresses  the  whole  meaning  of  the  tenn 
rendered  sober.  It  imports  steadiness  of  mind,  prr- 
dence,  the  poAver  of  forming  a  just  estimate  of  things: 
a  sense  of  what  is  becoming  ;  which  dificrs,  accord- 
ing to  time,  place  and  circumstances  ;  together  with 
a  suitable  behavior  and  conduct. 

SOCOH,  or  SH0C0H,a  city  of  Judah,  (Josh.  xv.  35  ; 
1  Sam.  xvii.  1.)  which  Rehoboam  afterwards  forti- 
fied, 2  Chron.  xi.  7.  Eusebius  says,  there  were  two 
cities  of  this  name,  the  higher  and  the  lower,  nine 
miles  from  Eleutheropolis  toward  Jerusalem.  It  is 
also  the  name  of  a  man,  1  Chron.  iv.  18. 

SODOM,  the  capital  city  of  the  Pentapolis ;  and 
for  some  time  the  dwelling-place  of  Lot,  Gen.  xiii. 
12,  13.  Its  crim-^s,  however,  were  so  enormous,  that 
God  destroyed  it  by  fire  from  heaven,  with  three 
neidiboring  cities,  Gomorrha,  Zeboim  and  Admah ; 
which  were  as  wicked  as  itself.  Gen.  xix.  A.  31. 2107. 
The  plain  in  which  they  stood  was  pleasant  and 
fruitful,  like  an  earthly  paradise,  but  it  was  first 
burned,  and  afterwards  "ovei-flowed  by  the  waters  of 
the  Jordan,  which  formed  the  present  Dead  sea,  or 
lake  of  Sodom.  The  jjrophets  mention  the  destruc- 
tion of  Sodom  and  Gomorrha,  or  allude  to  it,  and  in- 
timate, that  these  places  shall  be  desert,  and  dried  up, 
and  uninhabited  ;( Jer.  xlix.  18  ;  1.  38.)  that  they  shall 
be  covered  with  briei-s  and  brambles,  a  land  of  salt 
and  sulphur,  where  can  be  neither  planting  nor  sow- 
inir.  Dent.  xxix.  22;  Wisd.  ii.  9;  Amos  ^v-  U- 
Throughout  Scripture  the  ruin  of  Sodom  and  Go- 
morrha is  represented  as  one  of  the  most  signal 
effects  of  God's  anger.     See  Sea,  Dead. 


SOLOMON 


[  8G0 


SOLOMON 


SOLOMON,  sou  of  David  and  Bathsheba,  was 
born  A.  M.  2971,  ante  A.  D.  1033.  The  Lord  loved 
him,  and  sent  the  prophet  Nathan  to  give  him  the 
name  of  Jedidiah,  that  is,  Beloved  of  the  Lord,  2  Sam. 
xii.  24,  25.  David  gave  him  an  education  propor- 
tionate to  the  gi'eat  designs  for  which  God  had  or- 
dained him  ;  and  on  Adonijah's  assumption  of  power 
(see  Adonijah)  he  was  anointed  king,  inaugurated 
amid  the  acclamations  of  the  people,  and  placed  on 
the  throne.  David's  death  being  at  hand,  he  earnest- 
ly i-ecommended  to  Solomon  a  strict  fidelity  and  piety 
towards  God  ;  the  punishment  of  Joab  and  Shimei ; 
but  a  favorable  regard  to  Barzillai,  who  had  succored 
him  in  his  distress.  He  put  into  his  hands  plans  for 
building  the  temple  with  many  regulations  civil  and 
sacred  ;  and  in  a  general  assembly  of  the  people,  and 
of  the  great  men,  he  delivered  to  him  his  gold,  silver 
and  valuable  materials,  collected  for  building  the 
temple,  and  exhorted  all  present  to  make  each  an 
offering  to  the  Lord,  according  to  his  abilities. 

From  this  time  Solomon  entered  on  full  possession 
of  tlie  kingdom.  His  first  act  of  importance  was  to 
put  his  brother  Adonijah  to  death,  on  account  of  his 
having  intrigued  to  obtain  the  throne.  He  also  ban- 
ished the  high-priest  Abiathar  to  his  country-house, 
because  he  had  been  of  Adonijah's  party,  and  put 
Joab  to  death. 

Being  confirmed  in  his  kingdom,  Solomon  con- 
tracted an  alliance  with  Pharaoh  king  of  Egypt,  and 
married  his  daughter,  whom  he  brought  to  Jerusalem. 
He  appointed  her  apartments  in  the  city  of  David, 
till  he  should  build  her  a  palace,  which  he  did  some 
years  afterwards,  when  he  had  finished  the  temple. 
It  is  thought,  that  on  occasion  of  this  marriage,  Solo- 
mon composed  the  Canticles,  which  are  a  kind  of 
epithalamium,  and  also  Psalm  xlv.  Scripture  speaks 
of  the  daughter  of  Pharaoh,  as  contributing  to  per- 
vert Solomon  to  idolatry,  1  Kings  xi.  1,  2 ;  Neh.  xiii. 
26.  Having  presented  a  thousand  burnt-offerings  to 
the  Lord,  at  Gibeon,  God  appeared  to  him  in  a  dream, 
and  said,  "  Ask  of  me  what  you  desire."  Solomon 
besought  to  have  a  wise  and  understanding  heart,  and 
such  qualities  as  were  necessary  for  the  government 
of  the  people  committed  to  him.  This  request  was 
agreealile  to  the  Lord,  and  was  fully  granted.  He 
enjoyed  a  profound  peace  throughout  his  dominions; 
Judah  and  Israel  lived  in  security  ;  and  his  neighbors 
either  paid  him  tribute,  or  were  his  allies.  He  ruled 
over  all  the  countries  and  kingdoms,  from  the  Eu- 
phrates to  the  Nile,  and  his  dominions  extended  even 
beyond  the  Euphrates.  He  had  abundance  of  horses 
and  chariots  of  war.  He  exceeded  the  orientals  and 
the  Egyptians  in  wisdom  and  prudence  ;  he  was  the 
wisest  of  mankind,  and  his  reputation  spread  through 
all  nations.  He  composed,  or  collected,  three  thou- 
sand proverbs,  and  one  thousand  and  five  canticles. 
He  was  acquainted  with  the  nature  of  plants  and 
trees,  from  the  cedar  on  Lebanon  to  the  hyssop  on 
the  wall ;  also  of  beasts,  of  birds,  of  reptiles,  of  fishes. 
There  was  a  concourse  of  strangers  from  all  coun- 
tries to  hear  his  wisdom,  and  ambassadors  from  the 
most  remote  princes.  He  made  gold  and  silver  as 
common  in  Jerusalem  as  stones  in  tjie  street,  and 
cedars  as  plentifid  as  the  sycamores  in  the  valley. 

Hiram,  king  of  Tyre,  sent  ambassadors  to  congrat- 
ulate his  accession  to  the  crown,  and  subsequently 
assisted  him  in  building  a  temple  to  the  Lord,  which 
was  comj)leted  in  seven  years.  There  were  em- 
ployed in  this  great  work,  70,000  proselytes,  de- 
scendants of  the  ancient  Canaanites,  in  carrying  bur- 
dens ;  ^'0,000  in  cutting  stones  out  of  the  quarries; 


and  3600  overseers  of  the  works  ;  besides  30,000  Is- 
raehtes  in  the  quarries  of  Libanus.  It  was  dedicated 
A.  M.  3001,  and  to  render  the  ceremony  the  more  au- 
gust, Solomon  appointed  the  eighth  day  of  the  seventh 
month  of  the  holy  year,  and  the  first  of  the  civil  year. 
The  ceremony  continued  for  seven  days,  at  the  end 
of  which  the  Feast  of  Tabernacles  commenced,  and 
continued  seven  days  longer  ;  so  that  the  i)eople  con- 
tinued at  Jerusalem  fourteen  or  fifteen  days,  from  the 
eighth  to  the  twenty-second  of  the  seventh  month. 

When  the  ark  was  placed  in  the  sanctuary,  while 
the  priests  and  Levites  were  celebrating  the  j)raises 
of  the  Lord,  the  temple  was  filled  with  a  miraculous 
cloud;  so  that  the  priests  could  no  longer  continue 
there,  nor  jierform  the  functions  of  their  ministry. 
Solomon  prostrated  himself  on  liis  throne  with  his 
face  to  the  ground ;  and  then,  rising  up,  and  turning 
toward  the  sanctuary,  he  addressed  his  prayer  to  God, 
and  besought  him,  that  the  house  which  he  had  built 
might  be  acceptable  to  him  ;  that  he  would  bless  and 
sanctify  it,  and  liear  the  prayers  of  those  who  should 
entreat  him  from  this  holy  place.  He  besought  him 
also  to  fulfil  the  promises  he  had  made  to  David  his 
servant,  in  tavor  of  his  family,  and  of  the  kings  his 
successors,  and  then  turning  himself  to  the  people,  he 
blessed  them.  Fire  coming  down  from  heaven,  con- 
sumed the  victims  and  burnt-sacrifices  on  the  altar, 
and  the  glory  of  the  Lord  filled  the  whole  temple. 
On  this  occasion  there  were  sacrificed  22,000  oxen 
and  120,000  sheep  for  peace-offerings;  and  the  altar 
of  burnt-offerings  not  being  suflicient  for  all  these 
victims,  the  court  of  the  people  was  consecrated  for 
the  purpose.  The  Lord  -appeared  a  second  time  to 
Solomon  in  a  dream;  probably  in  the  night  that  fol- 
lowed the  first  day  of  the  dedication,  assured  him  that 
he  had  lieard  his  prayer,  and  chosen  the  temple  to 
be  his  house  of  sacrifice.  He  also  promised  to  bless 
him  and  his  posterity,  if  they  were  constant  in  his 
worship ;  if  not,  to  piuiish  them,  and  destroy  the 
sacred  edifice. 

Solomon  afterwards  built  a  sumptuous  palace  for 
himself,  and  another  for  his  queen.  He  also  built 
the  walls  of  Jerusalem,  and  the  place  called  Millo,  in 
the  city ;  repaired  and  fortifi.ed  Huzcr,  Megiddo, 
Gezer,  the  two  Beth-horons,  upper  and  lower,  and 
Baalath,  and  Palmyra,  in  the  desert  of  Syria.  He 
also  fortified  the  cities  where  he  had  magazines  of 
corn,  wine  and  oil,  and  those  where  his  chariots 
and  horses  were  kept.  He  brought  under  his  gov- 
ernment the  Hittites,  the  Hivites,  the  Amorites  and 
the  Perizzites,  which  remaiiied  in  the  land  of  Israel, 
and  made  tlieni  tributaries  and  laborers  on  the  pub- 
lic works. 

Solomon  also  extended  the  commerce  of  the  coun- 
try, and  imported  largely  of  foreign  produce.  He 
fitted  out  a  fleet  at  Ezion-gebcr,  and  at  Elath,  on  the 
Red  sen,  and  in  conjunction  with  Hiram,  king  of 
Tyre,  who  furnished  him  mariners,  traded  to  Ophir 
for  ivory,  ebony,  precious  wood,  peacocks,  apes,  and 
other  cmiosities.  His  annual  revenues  were  &jQ 
talents  of  gold,  without  reckoning  the  tributes  from 
kings  and  nations,  or  those  paid  l)y  Israelites. 
The  bucklers  of  his  guards,  and  the  throne  ho  sat  on, 
were  overlaid  with  gold  ;  and  all  the  vessels  of  his 
table,  and  the  utensils  of  his  palaces,  were  of  the  same 
material.  From  all  parts  he  received  presents,  ves- 
sels of  gold  and  silver,  precious  stuffs,  spices,  arms, 
horses  and  nndes ;  the  whole  earth  clesiring  to  sec 
his  face,  and  to  hear  the  wisdom  which  Godhad  put 
into  his  heart. 

The  later  actions  of  his  life,  however,  inflicted  a 


SON 


[861  ] 


SOU 


deep  disgrace  on  his  cnaiacter.  He  took  wives  and 
conciibinos,  to  tlie  iiiunber  of  1000,  from  among  the 
Moabites,  Ammonites,  Idnmeans,  Sidonians  and  liit- 
tites,  who  j)erverted  liis  heart,  so  that  ho  worshipped 
Ashtoreth  of  the  Sidonians,  Moloch  of  tlie  Anunon- 
itcs,  and  Chemo.sh  of  the  Moabites,  to  whom  he  biiih 
temples  on  the  mount  of  Olives.  These  sins  i^roiiglit 
on  him  the  judgments  of  the  Lord,  who  said  to  him 
in  a  dream,  "  Since  yon  have  not  ke{)t  my  covenant, 
nor  obeyed  my  commandments,  J  will  rend  and  di- 
vide your  kingdom,  and  will  give  it  to  one  of  your 
servants."  IJeibre  his  death,  he  saw  the  commence- 
ment of  revolt,  in  the  troubles  raised  by  Jeroboam, 
and  lladad  the  Idmnean.  He  died,  after  he  had 
reigned  tbrty  years,  (A.  M.  3029,  ante  A.  D.  975,)  at 
about  58  years  of  age.  His  history  was  written  by 
the  prophets  Nathan,  Ahijah  and  Iddo ;  and  he  was 
buried  in  the  city  of  David.  Rehoboam  his  son 
reigned  in  his  stead,  but  not  over  all  Israel.  See 
Rehoboam. 

Of  all  the  worlvs  composed  by  Solomon,  we  liave 
noUiing  remaining  but  his  Proverbs,  Ecclesiastcs,  and 
the  Canticles.  Some  have  ascribed  to  him  the  book 
of  Wisdom,  and  Ecclesiasticus.  (See  the  articles.) 
The  Jews  think  he  was  the  author  of  Psalm  Ixxii. 
"  (live  the  king  tiiy  judgments,  O  God,  and  thy 
righteousness  unto  the  king's  son,"  &c.  And  Psahn 
c.wvii.  "  Except  the  Lord  buiid  the  house,"  &c. 

S0L03I0N'S  SONG,  see  Canticles. 

SUN,  a  word  used  in  several  senses,  both  in  the 
Old  and  New  Testaments.  It  denotes  (1.)  the  imme- 
diate ()fF8i)rh!g.  (2.)  Grandson :  so  Labau  is  called 
son  of  Nahor,  (Gen.  xxix.  5.)  whereas  he  was  his 
grandson,  being  the  son  of  Betluiel :  (Gen.  xxiv.  29.) 
Mephiboshetli  is  called  son  of  Saul,  though  he  was 
the  son  of  Jonathan,  son  of  Saul,  2  Sam.  xix.  24. 
(3.)  Remote  descendants:  so  we  have  the  sons  of  Is- 
rael, many  ages  after  the  primitive  ancestor.  (4.)  Son- 
in-law  : — There  is  a  son  born  to  Naomi,  Ruth  iv.  17. 
(5.)  Son  by  adoption,  as  Ephraim  and  Manasseh,  to 
Jacob,  Gen.  xlviii.  (See  Adoption.)  (6.)  Son  by  na- 
tion ;  sons  of  the  East,  1  Kings  iv.  30  ;  Job  i.  3.  (7.) 
Son  by  education  ;  that  is,  a  disciple  ;  Eli  calls  Sam- 
uel his  son,  1  Sam.  iii.  G.  Solomon  calls  his  disciple 
his  son,  in  the  Provcriis,  often  ;  and  v»'e  read  of  the 
sons  of  the  prophets,  (1  Kings  xx.  35,  et  al.)  that  is, 
those  under  a  course  of  instruction  for  ministerial 
service.  In  nearlv  tlie  same  sense  a  convert  is  called 
son,  1  Tun.  i.  2  ;  Titus  i.  4  ;  Philem.  10;  1  Cor.  iv. 
15 ;  1  Pet.  V.  13.  (8.)  Son  by  disposition  and  con- 
duct, as  sons  of  Belial,  (Judg.  xix.  22 ;  1  Sam.  ii.  12.) 
unrestrainable  persons ;  sons  of  the  niighty,  (Ps. 
xxix.  1.)  heroes;  sons  of  the  band,  (2  Chron.  xxv.  13.) 
soldiers  rank  and  file  ;  sons  of  the  sorceress,  who 
stuiiy  or  practise  sorcery,  Isa.  Ivii.  3.  (9.)  Son  in 
reference  to  age  ;  son  of  one  year,  (Exod.  xii.  5.)  that 
is,  one  year  old  ;  son  of  sixty  years,  &c.  The  sami; 
in  rafcrence  to  a  beast,  Micaii  vi.  (!.  (10.)  A  produc- 
tion, or  offspring,  as  it  were,  from  an}^  |)arent ;  sons 
of  the  burniug  coal,  that  is,  s|)arks,  which  issue  from 
burning  wood.  Job  v.  7.  Son  of  the  bow,  that  is,  an 
arrow,  (Job  iv.  19.)  because  an  ari*ow  issues  from  a 
bow  ;  but  an  arrow  may  also  issue  from  a  quiver, 
therefore  son  of  the  quiver.  Lam.  iii.  13.  Son  of  the 
floor,  thrashed  corn,  Isa.  xxi.  10.  Sons  of  oil,  (Zech. 
iii.  14.)  the  branches  of  the  olive-tree.  (11.)  Son  of 
beating,  that  is,  deserving  beating.  Dent.  xxv.  3.  Son 
of  death  ;  that  is,  desei-ving  death,  2  Sam.  xii.  3.  Son 
of  perdition  :  th.at  is,  deserving  perdition,  John  xvii. 
12.  (12.)  Son  of  God,  by  excellence  above  all  :  Je- 
sus the  Son  of  God.  Mark  i.  1  ;  Luke  i.  15  ;  John  i. 


34  ;  Rom.  i.  4 ;  Heb.  iv.  14  ;  Rev.  ii.  18.  The  only- 
begotten  ;  and  in  this  he  differs  from  Adam,  who  was 
son  of  God,  by  immediate  creation,  Luke  iii.  18. 
(13.)  Sous  of  God,  the  angels,  (Job  i.  G  ;  xxxviii.  7.) 
perhaps  so  called  in  respect  to  their  possessing  |)ower 
deli'gated  from  God  ;  his  deputies,  his  vicegerents, 
and  in  that  sense  among  others  his  offspring.  (14.) 
Genuine  Christians,  truly  pious  persons  ;  perhajjs 
also  so  called  in  reference  to  their  possession  of  ])rin- 
ciples  comnuH)icated  from  God  by  the  Holy  Sphit, 
which,  correcting  every  evil  bias,  and  subduing  every 
perverse  propensity,  gi-adually  assimilates  the  party 
to  the  tenqjer,  disposition  and  conduct,  called  the 
imago,  likeness  or  resemblance  of  God.  Believers 
are  sons  of  God.  (See  John  i.  12 ;  Phil.  ii.  15 ; 
Rom.  viii.  14  ;  1  John  iii.  1.)  (15.)  Sous  of  this 
world  (Luke  xvi.  8.)  are  those  who  by  their  over- 
weening attention  to  the  things  of  this  world,  demon- 
strate their  jn-inciples  to  be  derived  from  the  world  ; 
that  is,  worldly-minded  persons.  Sons  of  disobedi- 
ence (Eph.  ii.  2  ;  v.  G.)  are  persons  whose  conduct 
proves  that  they  are  sons  of  Belial,  of  unrestrainable- 
ness,  sons  of  libertinism.  Sons  of  hell.  Matt,  xxiii.  5. 
Sons  of  the  devil.  Acts  xiii.  10. 

In  addition  to  these  senses  in  which  the  word  sou 
is  used  in  Scripture,  there  are  others,  which  show 
the  extreme  looseness  of  its  application.  So,  when 
we  read  of  sons  of  the  bride-chamber,  (Matt.  ix.  15  ; 
Mark  ii.  19.)  it  merely  indicates  the  youthful  compan- 
ions of  the  bridegroom,  as  in  the  instance  of  Samson. 
And  when  the  Holy  Mother  was  committed  to  the 
care  of  the  apostle  John,  (John  xix.  3G.)  the  term  soa 
is  evideutlv  used  w  ith  ereat  latitude. 

SONG  OF  SOLOMON,  see  Canticles. 

SOOTHSAYER,  see  Divination,  and  Magic. 

SORCERER,  see  Divination,  and  Magic. 

I.  SOREK,  a  place  where  Delilah  dwelt,  not  far 
from  Zorah  and  Eshtaol,  Samson's  usual  abode, 
Judg.  xvi.  4. 

II.  SOREK,  Vine  of,  a  finer  and  nobler  species 
of  vine,  yielding,  according  to  the  rabbins,  the  small 
sweet  grapes  which  seem  to  have  no  seeds  or  kernels, 
and  which  are  still  called  in  Marocco  Scrki.  The 
word,  however,  may  signify  red  grapes.  (See  Niebuhr 
Descr.  Arab.  p.  147.  Germ,  edit.)  The  English  ver- 
sion gives  the  word  by  choice,  noble,  &c.  Gen.  xlix. 
11;  Isa.  V.  2;  Jer.ii.  21.     R. 

SORROW.  This  jiassion  contracts  the  heart, 
sinks  the  spirits,  and  injures  the  healtli.  Scripture 
cautions  against  it,  (Prov.  xxv.  20 ;  Eccles.  xiv.  1 — 
3  ;  XXX.  24,  25  ;  1  Tlicss.  iv.  13,  &c.)  but  Paul  dis- 
tinguishes two-sorts  of  sorrow  ;  one  a-godly  the  other 
a  worldly  sorrow.  2  Cor.  vii.  10,  "  Godly  sorrow 
worketh  repentance  to  salvation,  not  to  be  repented 
of;  but  the  sorrow  of  the  world  wo;kcth  death."  So, 
the  wis<!man  (Eccles.  vii.  3.)says  that  the  grave  and 
serious  air  of  a  master  who  rejjrovcs,  is  more  profita- 
ble than  tlie  laughter  and  caresses  of  those  \\ho  flat- 
ter. Our  Lord  upbraid;'*!  that  comiterfeit  air  of  sor- 
row and  mortification,  whidi  the  Pharisees  affected 
when  they  fasted  ;  and  cautioned  his  disciples  against 
all  such  affectation,  which  proposes  to  gain  the  ap- 
probation of  men,  M.att.  vi.  IG. 

SOSIPATER,  a  disciple  of  Berea,  mentioned  by 
Paul,  (Rom.  xvi.  21.)  and  who  was  his  kinsman,  as 
some  think. 

SOSTHENES,  the  chief  of  the  synagogue  of 
Corinth,  who  was  beaten  by  the  Gentiles,  when  the 
Jews  carried  Paul  before  Gallic,  the  pro-consul, 
Acts  xviii.  17. 

SOUL.    This  Avord  is  very  equivocal,  in  the  style 


SPA 


[  862 


SPI 


cf  the  Hebrews.  It  is  taken,  (1.)  For  the  soul  which 
animates  mankind  ;  for  tliat  wliich  animates  beasts  ; 
or  for  a  living  person  ;  (2.)  For  the  life,  Gen.  xxxii. 
30.     (3)  For  desire,  love,  inclination,  Numb.  xi.  6. 

When  God  had  formed  the  body  of  man  out  of  the 
dust,  {Gen.  ii.  7.)  he  "  breathed  into  his  nostrils  the 
breath  of  life,  and  man  became  a  living  soul,"  a  liv- 
ing being.  This  breath  of  life  has  been  considered 
by  some,  as  the  principle  of  animal  life  in  man, 
which,  they  say,  is  nothing  different  from  that  of 
beasts.  God  gives  to  men  and  to  brutes  a  breath  of 
life,  or  a  vivifying  spirit ;  "All  flesh  in  which  is  the 
l)reatli  of  life  died  ;"  (Gen.  vi.  17.)  all  living  animals, 
sentenced  to  die  by  the  waters  of  the  deluge.  This 
spirit  of  life  God  withdraws  at  his  pleasure,  and 
brings  all  flesh  to  corruption,  says  Job,  xxxiv.  14, 15. 
The  psalmist,  (civ.  29.)  speaking  of  animals,  to  which 
God  gives  existence,  says,  "  Thou  takest  away  their 
breath,  they  die  and  return  to  their  chist."  So  Solo- 
mon :  (Eccles.  xii.  7.)  "  Then  shall  the  dust  return  to 
the  earth  as  it  was,  and  the  spirit  shall  return  unto 
God  vv'lio  gave  it."  And  Paul,  spealving  to  the  phi- 
losophers of  Athens,  says,  God  "  giveth  to  all  life,  and 
!)rcatl!,  and  all  things,"  Acts  xvii.  25. 

But,  beside  this  spirit,  which  is  the  principle  of  an- 
imal life,  common  to  men  and  brutes,  which  is  dis- 
persed after  death,  there  is  in  man  a  spiritual,  reason- 
able and  immortal  soul,  the  origin  of  our  tlioughts, 
dcsu-es  and  reasonings,  which  distinguishes  us  from 
the  brute  creation,  and  in  wliich  chieflj^  consists.our 
resemblance  to  God,  Gen.  i.  26.  This  must  be  spir- 
itual, because  it  thinks  ;  it  must  be  immortal,  because 
it  is  spiritual.  And  though  Scripture  ascribes  both 
to  man  and  beast  a  soul,  spirit,  or  life,  it  allows  to 
man  alone  the  privilege  of  understanding,  the  luiowl- 
cdge  of  God,  wisdom,  immortality,  hope  of  future 
happiness,  and  of  eternal  life.  It  threatens  men, 
only,  with  punishment  in  another  life,  and  with  the 
pains  of  hell . 

The  immortality  of  the  soul  is  a  fundamental  doc- 
trine of  revealed  religion.  The  ancient  patriarchs 
lived  and  died  persuaded  of  this  truth  ;  and  it  was  in 
the  hope  of  another  life  that  they  received  the  prom- 
ises. When  Balaam  desired  that  his  death  might  be 
like  that  of  the  just,  (Numb,  xxiii.  10.)  he  must  have 
meant  in  the  hope  and  expectation  of  a  hap])y  resur- 
rection. Another  decisive  proof,  that  the  Israelites 
believed  in  the  immortality  of  the  soul,  is  found  in 
their  persuasion,  tliat  the  souls  of  the  dead  sometimes 
api)eared  after  their  decease  ;  as  Samuel  to  Saul,  (1 
Sam.  xxviii.  13 — 15.)  and  Jeremiah  to  Judas  Macca- 
beus, 2  Mac.  XV.  14.  When  the  apostles  saw  Christ 
walking  on  the  sea,  they  took  liim  for  an  a[)paritiou ; 
(Matt.  xiv.  2G.)  and  after  his  resurrection  he  referred 
to  this  current  belief,  Luke  xxiv.  39. 

The  Sadducees,  who  denied  tliis  immortality  and 
resurrection,  were  regarded  by  their  nation  as  a  kind 
of  licretics  and  innovators.  Those  of  wlicin  Solomon 
expresses  the  sentiments,  (Eccles,  iii.  If),  20.)  were 
confuted  by  Solomon  himself,  who  says,  (Eccl.  xii. 
7.)  "Tlien  shall  the  dust  return  to  the  earth  as  it  was, 
and  the  spirit  shall  return  unto  God  who  gave  it." 

SPAIN  comprehended  in  ancient  usage  the  mod- 
ern kingdoms  of  Spain  and  Portugal,  i.  e.  the  whole 
Spanish  peninsula.  In  the  time  of  Paul  it  was  sub- 
ject to  the  Romans,  and  was  frequented  by  many 
Jews.  In  Rom.  xv.  24,  28,  Paul  expresses  his  inten- 
tion of  visiting  Spain  •,  but  there  is  no  good  evidence 
that  he  was  ever  permitted  to  fullil  bis  purpose.  R. 
SPARROW.  The  Hebrew  word  tzippor  is  used 
not  only  for  a  sparrow,  but  for  all  sorts  of  clean  birds. 


or  such  whose  use  was  not  forbidden  by  the  law,  and 
especially  for  the  smaller  birds  ;  and  in  most  of  the 
passages  where  sparrow  is  read,  we  may  understand 
a  bird  of  any  kind. 

SPIDER,  a  well-known  insect,  remarkable  for  the 
thread  which  it  spins,  and  with  which  it  forms  a  web 
of  curious  texture,  but  so  frail  that  it  is  exposed  to  be 
broken  and  destroyed  by  the  slightest  accident.  To 
the  slenderncss  of  this  filmy  workmanshiji  Job  com- 
pares the  hope  of  the  wicked,  chap.  viii.  14.  This, 
says  Mr.  Good,  was  doubtless  a  proverbial  allusion  ; 
and  so  exquisite,  that  it  is  impossible  to  conceive  any 
figure  that  can  more  fully  describe  the  utter  vanity  of 
the  hopes  and  prosperity  of  the  wicked. 

"  Deceiving  bliss!  in  bitter  shame  it  ends; 
His  prop  a  cobweb,  which  an  insect  rends." 

So  Isaiah  says,  "  They  weave  the  web  of  a  spider  ; 
of  their  webs  no  garment  shall  be  made ;  neither 
shall  they  cover  themselves  with  their  works,"  chap, 
lix.  5. 

The  greater  part  of  modern  interpreters,  among 
whom  are  our  own  translators,  suppose  this  insect  to 
be  intended  by  Solomon  in  these  words,  "  Tlie  spider 
taketh  hold  with  her  hands,  and  is  in  kings'  palaces," 
Prov.  XXX.  28.  But  the  wise  man  uses  a  different 
word  from  the  common  name  of  this  creature,  (se?na- 
7nith,  and  not  accahish,)  and  subjoins  a  description, 
which,  in  one  particular,  is  by  no  means  applicable 
to  it ;  for,  although  several  ancient  writers  have  given 
fingers  to  the  spider,  not  one  has  honored  her  with 
hands.  An  ancient  poet  has  accordingly  taught  hei 
to  say, 

Nulla  mihi  mauus  est,  pedibus  tameu  onmia  fiunt. 

Had  Solomon  intended  to  describe  the  spider,  i;e 
would  not  have  merely  said,  "  She  taketh  hold  Avith 
her  hands,"  but,  she  spins  her  thread,  and  weaves  her 
toils  ;  circumstances  assuredly  much  more  worthy  of 
notice ;  nor  would  he  have  said  that  she  takes  up  her 
abode  in  kings'  palaces,  when  she  moi'c  frequently 
constructs  her  dwelling  in  the  cabins  of  the  poor 
where  she  resides  in  greater  security  and  freedom. 
The  opinion  of  the  celebrated  Bochart,  that  the  newt, 
a  species  of  small  lizard,  is  meant,  seems,  in  every 
respect,  entitled  to  the  preference.  (Hieroz.  vol.  ii 
p.  510.)  This  reptile  answers  to  the  description 
which  the  royal  preacher  gives  of  her  form  and  hab- 
its, and  is,  according  to  the  testimony  of  ancient  and 
modern  writers,  found  to  take  up  its  abode  in  the 
dwelling-houses,  in  the  East. 

SPIKENARD.  Mr.  Taylor  has  given  a  very  fidl 
account  of  this  plant,  in  his  Fragments,  (Nat.  Hist. 
No.  33.)  derived  from  the  Dissertations  of  sir  William 
Jones,  and  Drs.  Blane  and  Roxburgh. 

The  spikenard  (Heb.  -nj,  nerd,  or  nard,)  js  a  i)lant 
belonging  to  the  order  of  gramina,  and  is  of  different 
species.  In  India,  whence  the  best  sort  comes,  it 
grows  as  common  grass,  in  large  tufts  close  to  each 
other,  in  general  from  three  to  four  feet  in  length. 
So  strong  is  its  aroma,  which  resides  principally  in 
the  husky  roots,  that  wiien  trodden  upon,  or  other- 
wise liruised,  the  air  is  filled  with  its  fragrance.  Dr. 
Blane,  who  jjlanted  some  of  the  roots  in  his  garden, 
at  liUcknow,  states,  tliat  in  tlie  rainy  season  it  bhot 
up  spikes  about  six  feet  high. 

Tlie  description  of  the  JVardiciis  Indica  which  is 
given  by  Pliny,  not  exactly  corresponding  witli  the 
specimen  procured  by  Dr.  Blane,  this  gentleman  very 


SPIKENARD 


[  863 


SPI 


reasonaDiy  supposes  that  other  plants  of  an  inferior 
description,  and  more  easily  procurable,  used  to  be 
substituted  for  it,  and  that  it  is  of  one  of  these  spuri- 
ous nards  that  the  Roman  naturalist  speaks.  Horace 
mentions  a  JVardiis  Assyria,  and  Dioscorides  speaks 
of  a  JWtrdus  Synaca,  as  a  species  ditterent  from  the 
Indica,  which  certainly  was  brought  from  .some  of 
tlie  remote  parts  of  India  ;  for  both  Dioscorides  and 
Galen,  by  way  of  fixing  moi-e  precisely  the  country 
whence  it  couies,  call  it  also  J^''ardits  Gaiigites. 

Tliis  plant  was  iiighly  valued  among  the  ancients, 
both  as  an  article  of  luxury,  and  as  a  medicine.  The 
Unguentum  .Yardinum,  or  ointment  manufactured 
from  the  nard,  was  the  favorite  perfume  used  at  the 
ancient  baths  and  feasts  ;  and  it  appoai-s  from  a  pas- 
sage in  Horace,  that  it  was  so  valuable,  mat  so  much 
of  it  as  could  be  contained  in  a  small  box  of  precious 
stone  was  considered  a  sort  of  equivalent  for  a  large 
vessol  of  wine  ;  and  a  handsome  cpiota  fdr  a  guest  to 
contribute  to  an  entertainment,  according  to  the  cus- 
tom of  antiquity. 

This  leads  us  to  notice  the  narrative  of  the  evan- 
gelist, of  "a  woman,  having  an  alabaster  box  of  oint- 
ment of  spikenard,  very  precious  ;  and  she  brake  the 
box  and  poured  it  on  liis  [Christ's]  head,"  Mark  xiv. 
3.  In  verse  5,  this  is  said  to  have  been  worth  moi-e 
than  three  hundred  pence  (denarii);  and  John  (ch. 
xii.  3.)  mentions  ^^  a.  pound  of  ointment  of  spikenard, 
very  costly  ;" — the  houso  was  filled  with  the  odor  of 
the  ointment; — it  was  worth  three  hundred  pence 
(denarii.)  As  this  evangelist  has  determined  the 
quantity,  a  pound, — and  the  lowest  value  (for  Mark 
says  more)  was  nearly  forty  dollars,  we  may  safely 
suppose  that  this  was  not  a  Syrian  production,  or 
made  from  any  fragi-ant  grass  growing  in  the  neigh- 
boring districts ;  but  was  of  the  ti-uc  Indian  spike- 
nard, "  very  costly."  In  the  answer  of  our  Lord  on 
this  occasion,  there  seems  also  to  be  some  allusion  to 
the  remoteness  of  the  country  whence  this  unguent 
was  brought,  "  Wheresoever  this  gospel  shall  be 
preached  throughout  the  whole  world,  this  also  that 
she  hath  done,  shall  be  spoken  of  for  a  memorial  of 
her,"  Mark  xiv.  9.  As  much  as  to  say,  "  This  unguent 
came  fiom  a  distant  country,  to  be  sure,  but  the  gos- 
pel sliall  spread  to  a  niucli  greater  distance,  yea,  all 
over  the  world  ;  so  that  in  India  itself,  whence  this 
composition  came,  shall  the  memorial  of  its  ajsplica- 
tion  to  my  sacred  person  be  mentioned  with  honor." 
Tlie  idea  of  a  far  comitry,  connected  with  the  oint- 
ment, seems  to  have  sucgested  that  of  "  all  the 
world." 

In  Cant.  iv.  13,  14,  the  spikenard  is  twice  men- 
tioned in  a  pectdiar  manner  :  "Cam)ihire  with  spike- 
nard, spikenard  with  saflion."  Why  should  this 
plant  be  twice  named .'  a  question  to  which  no  satis- 
factory answer  can  be  given,  unless  we  suppose,  with 
the  writer  just  named,  that  the  fi.rst  ?;ar^/ means  the 
Syrian  and  Arabian  jdant,  wjiich  no  doubt  was  fa- 
miliar to  Solomon,  and  the  second,  the  Indian  nard, 
true  spikenard.  If  this  be  adniitted,  tlie  passage  is 
clear,  and  it  is  probable  that  the  latter  word  merely 
wants  some  discriminating  epithet,  answering  to  spike, 
which  transcribers,uot  understanding,  have  dro|)ped  ; 
or  that  a  difterent  mode  of  pronunciation  distin- 
guished the  names  of  these  two  plants  when  men- 
tioned in  discoin-se.  In  the  printed  copies  the  words 
are  differently  l)ointed,and  what  is  still  more  deserv- 
inir  attention  is,  that  the  first  word  is  nardim,  plural; 
whereas  the  second  seems  to  be  put  absolutely,  nard, 
or  the  nard,  singular. 

From  a  si?))ilar  use  ef  this  word  in  the  sin<!:ular 


form,  in  Cant.  i.  12,  "While  the  king  sittetn  at  his 
table,  my  sjiikenard  senrieth  forth  the  smell  thereof," 
Mr.  Taylor  inchnes  tothiidvthat  this  nard  was  in  the 
form  of  an  essence,  in  a  small  bag,  or  a  number  of 
sprigs  of  the  fragrant  grass,  worn  like  a  nosegay  iu 
the  iiosom  of  the  bride.  What  seems  to  strengthen 
the  idea  is,  that  the  different  perfumes  mentioned  in 
connection  with  it  are  all  flowers  in  their  natural 
state. 

SPIRIT  (Heb.  r,n,  ruach ;  Greek,  JTicviiu)  is  a 
word  employed  in  various  senses  in  Scripture.  (1.) 
For  tlie  Holy  Spirit,  the  third  person  of  the  Holy 
Trinity,  who  inspired  the  prophets,  who  animates 
good  men,  jiours  his  unction  into  our  hearts,  imparts 
to  us  life  and  comfort ;  and  in  whose  name  we  are 
baptized,  as  well  as  in  that  of  the  Father  and  the  Son. 
When  the  adjective  holy  is  applied  to  tlie  term  spirit, 
we  may  safely  take  it  as  here  explained  ;  but  there 
are  many  jilaces  where  it  must  betaken  in  this  sense, 
although  the  term  holy  is  omitted.  (2.)  Breath,  res- 
piration, animal  life,  common  to  men  and  animals: 
this  God  has  given,  and  this  he  recalls  when  he 
takes  anay  life.  Gen.  vii.  15  ;  Numb.  xvi.  22 ;  Job  xii. 
10.  (3.)  The  rational  soul  which  animates  us,  and 
preserves  its  being,  after  the  death  of  the  body. 
That  spiritual  reasoning  and  choosing  substance, 
which  is  capable  of  eternal  happiness.  (See  Socl.) 
(4.)  An  angel,  a  demon,  a  soul  separate  from  the  body. 
It  is  said,  (Acts  xxiii.  8.)  that  the  Sadducees  denied 
the  existence  of  angels  and  sphits.  Christ,  appearing 
to  his  disciples,  said  to  them,  (Luke  xxiv.  30.)  "  Han- 
dlenie,  and  see  ;  for  a  spirit  laath  not  flesh  and  bones, 
as  je  see  me  have."  Heb.  i.  14,  good  angels  are 
called  ministering  spirits.  It  is  said  (1  Sam.  xvi.  14  ; 
xviii.  10  ;  xix.  9.)  that  "  the  evil  spirit  from  God  came 
upon  Saul."  And  in  the  gospel  the  devils  are  often 
called  "unclean  spirits,  evil  spirits,  spirits  of  dark- 
ness," &CC.  (5.)  Spirit  is  sometimes  taken  for  the  dis- 
position of  the  mind  or  intellect ;  because  it  was 
presumed,  that  the  good  or  evil  inclinations  of  these 
jiroceeded  from  good  or  bad  spirits.  So,  a  spirit  of 
jealousj',  a  spirit  of  fornication,  a  spirit  of  prayer,  a 
spirit  of  infirmity,  a  spirit  cf  wisdom  and  understand- 
ing, a  spirit  of  fear  of  the  Lord,  &c.  Numb.  v.  14; 
Hos.  iv.  12;  Zech.  xii.  10;  Luke  xiii.  11  ;  Eccles. 
XV.  5  ;  Isa.  xi.  2. 

DISTI^'GUISHI^'G,  or  Discernkvg,  of  spirits,  was 
a  gift  of  God,  which  consisted  in  discerning  whether 
a  man  were  really  inspired  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  or 
was  a  false  jn-ophet,  an  impostor,  who  only  followed 
the  inqiulse  of  his  own  spirit,  or  of  Satan.  Paul 
si)eaks  (1  Cor.  xii.  10.)  of  the  discerning  of  spirits,  as 
being  among  the  miraculous  gifts  granted  by  God  to 
the  faithful,  at  the  first  settlement  of  Christianity. 
And  John  exhorts  lielievers  not  to  believe  every 
s|)irit,  but  to  try  the  spirits,  whether  they  wei-e  of 
God  ;  brcausc  many  false  ])rophets  had  gone  out  into 
the  world,  1  Kpist.  iv.  1. 

To  QiENCH  THE  SpiRiT  (1  Thcss. V.  19.)  is  a  met- 
aphorical expression  easily  understood.  The  Si)irit 
may  be  quench(-d,  (1.)  by  forcing,  as  it  were,  that  di- 
vine agent  to  withdraw  from  us,  by  sin,  irregularity 
of  maimers,  vanity,  avarice,  negligence,  or  other 
crimes  contrary  to  charity,  truth,  peace,  and  his  other 
gifts  and  qualifications.  (2.)  The  Spirit  might  have 
been  quenched  by  such  actions  as  caused  God  to  take 
away  his  supernatural  gifts  and  lavors,  such  as 
prophecy,  the  gift  of  tongues,  the  gifi  of  healing,  &:c. 
For  though  these  gifts  were  of  mere  grace,  and  God 
might  communicate  them  sometimes  to  doubtful 
I  characters,  yet   he   has  offen  granted  them  to  the 


SPIRIT 


[  864  ] 


STA 


prayers  of  the  faithful ;  and  has  taken  them  away,  to 
punish  their  misuse  or  contempt  of  them. 

To  GRIEVE  THE  SpiRiT,  (Eph.  iv.  30.)  may  also  be 
taken  to  refer  either  to  an  internal  grace,  habitual  or 
actual,  or  to  the  miraculous  gifts,  with  which  God 
favored  the  primitive  Christians.  \Ve  grieve  the 
Spirit  of  God,  by  withstanding  his  holy  inspirations, 
the  motions  of  his  grace  ;  or  by  hviug  in  a  lukewarm 
and  incautious  manner;  by  despising  his  gifts,  or 
neglecting  them  ;  by  abusing  his  favors,  either  out 
of  vanity,  curiosity  or  indifference.  In  .1  contrary 
sense,  (2  Tim.  i.  6.)  we  stir  up  the  Spirit  of  God 
which  is  in  us,  by  the  practice  of  virtue,  by  our  com- 
pliance with  his  inspirations,  by  fervor  in  his  service, 
by  renewing  our  gratitude,  &c. 

The  spirit,  as  o])posed  to  the  flesh,  is  put  for  the 
sold  by  which  we  are  animated  :  (Gen.  vi.  3.)  "My 
Spirit  shall  no  longer  abide  in  man,  because  he  is  but 
flesh  :"  i.  e.  I  will  destroy  mankind,  I  will  take  from 
them  uiy  breath  which  I  gave  them,  the  soul  that  I 
infused  into  them  ;  because  they  are  all  carnal,  de- 
based by  vile  inclinations,  by  brutish  passions  ;  be- 
cause, in  a  word,  "  all  flesh  have  corrupted  their  way 
upon  the  earth  ;"  they  have  in  a  great  measure  for- 
gotten that  they  are  reasonable  creatures,  and  have 
plunged  themselves  into  the  state  and  condition  of 
beasts.  Or  it  ma}^  mean.  My  Spirit  shall  not  strive 
with  man — to  correct  him,  to  repel  his  w^ickedness  : 
no  ;  but  I  will  chastise  liim  severely  :  his  violent  in- 
clinations shall  feel  no  check  from  the  gentle  admo- 
nitions of  my  benevolent  Spirit,  but  shall  have  their 
own  way — his  flesh  shall  not  be  thwarted,  br.t  shall 
prove  his  ruin — at  least,  after  such  a  respite  as  I  have 
appointed. 

Spirit,  in  the  moral  sense,  is  opposed  to  the  flesli : 
(Rom.  vii.  25.)  "  With  the  mind,  or  spirit,  I  myself 
serve  die  law  of  God ;  but  with  the  flesh  the  law  of 
sin."  And  chap.  viii.  1.3,  "  If  ye  Vive  after  the  flesh, 
ye  shall  die  ;  but  if  ye  through  the  spirit  do  mortify 
the  deeds  of  the  ijody,  ye  shall  live."  Also,  Gal.  v. 
19,  22,  "  Now  the  works  of  tlie  flesh  are  manifest, 
which  are  these  ;  adulter},  fornication,  uncleanness, 
lasciviousness,"  &c.  "  But  the  fruit  of  the  spirit  is 
love,  joy,  peace,  long-suftering,  gentleness,  goodness, 
faith,  meekness,  temperance." 

The  Spirit  of  Christ,  which  animates  true  Chris- 
tians, the  children  of  God,  and  distinguishes  them 
from  the  children  of  darkness,  who  are  animated  by 
tlie  sj)irit  of  tb.e  world,  is  the  gift  of  grace,  of  adop- 
tion, the  Holy  Spirit  poured  into  om-  hearts,  which 
emboldens  us  to  call  God,  "  My  Fatlier,  my  Father," 
Rom.  viii.  5.  Those  who  are  influenced  by  this 
Spirit  "  have  crucified  the  flesh,  with  its  afiections 
and  lusts.  If  we  live  in  the  Spirit,  let  us  also  walk  in 
the  Spirit,"  Gal.  v.  2.") ;  Rom.  viii.  9.  "  Ye  are  not  in 
the  flesh,  l)ut  in  the  Spirit,  if  so  be  that  tlie  Spirit  of 
God  dwell  in  you.  Now  if  any  man  have  not  the 
Spirit  of  Christ,  he  is  none  of  his."  The  Spirit  of 
Christ  animated  the  prophets,  and  inclined  them  in- 
dustriously to  inquire  at  what  time  those  events 
should  happen,  which  they  foretold  concerning  his 
passion  and  glory,  1  Pet.  i.  11. 

After  referring  to  the  article  Soul,  it  maybe  proper 
to  suggest,  that  whatever  language  describes  spiritual 
existence  is  particularly  obscure ;  and  so  must  con- 
tinue to  mortals.  Nothing  can  be  less  olnious  than 
in  what  consisted  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Si)irit  us  im- 
parted by  the  hands  of  the  apostles.  That  this  power 
was  restricted  to  them,  only,  is  remarkable,  since  it 
might  be  thought  the  120  were  no  less  ciualified  to 
bestov/  it.     That  it  was  given  to  many,  pcrhai)s  to 


most  new  converts,  insomuch  that  many  hundreds, 
not  to  say  thousands,  must  have  participated  in  it,  is 
equally  remarkable  :  but  this  general  reception  of  it 
rendei-s  many  things  applicable  to  the  primitive 
churches,andChristians,  and  justlysaid  ofthem,  which 
it  would  be  presumptuous  to  apply  to  any  since  their 
day.  And  although  some  of  the  powers  enjoyed  by 
the  primitive  Christians  are  enumerated  in  certain 
places  of  the  Epistles,  yet  we  are  not  much  enlight- 
ened on  the  subject,  though  it  was  so  clear  and  con- 
sjMcuous  anciently.  Were  any,  or  all,  of  these  pow- 
ers in  any  case  imparted  to  females  ? 

There  is  a  passage  in  1  Pet.  iii.  19,  referring  to  the 
spirits  in  prison,  the  'difficulties  of  which  no  hypoth- 
esis has  yet  completelj"^  solved.  In  the  first  place,  it 
should  be  remarked,  that  the  apostle  distinguishes 
between  spirits  (.TiE?'i(«ff/)  f-jKl  gouls  {^ir/ai):  the  souls 
w  ere  saved  by  the  ark ;  the  spirits  were  shut  up  in 
prison.  He  seems  to  refer  to  the  same  thing  as  Job, 
(?:xvi.  5.)  "The  giants  (Rephaim)  groan  under  the 
watei-s ;"  that  is,  says  Scott,  the  mightj'  men  of  re- 
nown in  the  old  world,  who  filled  the  earth  with  vi- 
olence, and  perished  by  the  deluge.  Admitting  this 
reference,  the  apostle  points  at  "  the  spirits  in  prison 
ever  since  the  flood."  The  difficulty  remains,  that 
Christ  is  said  to  go,  "he  went  and  preached,"  to  those 
who  were  afterwards  destroyed,  because  of  their  un- 
belief and  disobedience.  But  whether  this  of  neces- 
sity means  a  personal  action  may  be  doubited  ;  for  it 
is  said  of  Christ,  (Eph.  ii.  17.)  "He  came  and 
preached  to  you  who  were  afar  off" — which  is  not 
true  of  Christ,  personally  ;  he  preached  by  his  agents. 
Admit  that  he  also  preached  by  his  agents  in  the 
days  of  Noah,  by  that  patriarch,  himself,  with  others, 
and  the  passage  loses  much  of  its  eui.])arrassment. 
Christ,  by  his  Spirit  imparted  to  Noah,  endeavored 
to  reclaim  the  antediluvians  ;  but  they,  persisting  in 
their  iniquities,  lost  their  lives  in  the  deluge  ;  their 
spirits,  meanwhile,  being  confined  in  piison,  await  the 
great  day  of  judgment.  Noah,  believing,  and  acting 
on  his  belief,  was  saved  from  the  general  destruction. 
Those  criminals  abused  the  icng-suiTering  of  God  ; 
Noah  took  advantage  of  it  to  his  salvation. 

STACHYS,  a  disciple  of  Paul,  by  whom  he  is 
honorably  mentioned,  (Rom.  xvi.  19.)  but  v.'c  know 
no  particulars  of  his  life  th.at  can  be  relied  upon. 

STACTE,  a  drug,  which  was  one  of  tlie  four  iii- 
gredients  composing  the  sacred  perfume,  Exod.  xxx. 
34,  35.  It  is  understood  to  be  the  prime  kii:d  of 
myn-h  ;  and  as  the  Heb.  properlj^  signifies  a  drop, 
some  think  it  to  be  myn-h  distilling,  dropping,  from 
the  tree,  of  its  own  accord,  without  incision.  So 
Pliny,  speaking  of  the  trees  v/hence  myrrh  is  pro- 
duced, says,  "  Before  any  incision  is  made,  they 
exude  of  their  own  accord  what  is  called  stacte,  to 
which  no  kind  of  myrrh  is  preferable."  (Nat.  Ilist, 
lib.  xii.  cap.  15.)  The  rabbins  suppose  it  to  be  the 
opohalsam  ;  others,  storax. 

STADIUM,  a  measure  of  length,  a  furlong,  which 
consisted  of  one  hundred  and  tweiuy-five  geometri- 
cal paces.  Eight  furlongs  make  a  mile.  See  the 
Table  of  3Ieasurcs  at  the  end  of  the  volume.  [The 
Roman  stadium  was  nearly  equal  to  the  English  fur- 
long, and  contained  201.45  yards.  This  is  the  sta- 
dium probably  meant  in  the  New  Testament,  since 
the  Jews  were  then  sul)ject  to  the  Romans,  and  had 
constant  intercourse  with  them.     R. 

Stadium  is  also  taken  for  the  place  in  which  were 
performed  jjiiblic  exercises  of  running.  St.  Paul 
alludes  to  these,  1  Cor.  ix.24  :  "They  which  run  in  a 
race  [in  stadio)  run  all,  but  one  receiveth  the  prize." 


STE 


[  865  ] 


STE 


These  places  were  called  stadia,  because  they  were 
distinguished  into  courses,  or  distances,  by  certain 
resting  places  ;  so  that  some  of  the  racers  run  but  one 
distance,  some  two  or  more,  each  according  to  his 
strength. 

STAR.  Under  the  name  of  stars,  the  Hebrews 
comprehended  all  constellations,  planets  and  heav- 
enly bodies ;  all  luminaries,  except  the  sun  and  moon. 
The  psalmist,  to  exalt  the  power  and  omniscience  of 
God, says,  "He  numbers  the  stars,  and  calls  them  by 
their  names."  He  is  described  as  a  king  taking  a  re- 
view of  his  army,  and  knowing  the  name  of  every 
one  of  his  soldiers.  To  express  a  very  extraordinary 
increase  and  n)ultiplication,  Scripture  uses  the  simil- 
itude of  the  stars  of  heaven,  or  of  the  sands  of  the 
sea,  Gen.  xv.  5 ;  xxii.  17 ;  xxvi.  4  ;  Exod.  xxxii.  13, 
&c.  In  times  of  disgrace  and  public  calamity,  it  is 
said,  the  stars  withhold  their  light ;  that  they  are  cov- 
ered with  darkness ;  that  they  fall  from  heaven,  and 
disappear.  These  figurative  and  emphatic  expres- 
sions, which  refer  to  the  governing  powers  of  nations, 
are  only  weakened  and  enervated  by  being  ex- 
plained. 

To  caution  the  Hebrews  against  the  idolatry  that 
prevailed  over  almost  all  the  East,  of  worshipping  the 
sun,  moon  and  stars,  IMoses  informs  them  (Gen.  i.  14 
— 16.)  that  God  gave  the  stars  their  being,  and  se])a- 
rated  them  from  that  mass  of  matter  which  he  cre- 
ated ;  and  Job  (xxxviii.  7.)  describes  them  as  praising 
the  Creator  at  the  beginning  of  the  world. 

The  beaut}  and  splendor  that  men  observed  in  the 
stai-s  ;  the  great  advantages  they  derived  from  them  ; 
the  wonderful  order  apparent  in  their  courses ;  the 
influence  ascribed  to  their  returns,  in  the  production 
and  preservation  of  animals,  fruits,  plants  and  mine- 
rals, have  induced  almost  all  people  to  impute  to  them 
life,  knowledge,  power,  and  to  pay  them  a  sovereign 
worship  and  adoration.     See  Idolatry. 

The  sacred  books  seem  to  ascribe  knowledge  to 
the  stars ;  hence  wc  are  told  that  they  ])raised  the 
Lord,  (Job  xxxviii.  7.)  and  elsewhere  they  are  excited 
to  this.  These  expressions,  however,  are  popular,  or 
poetical,  and  are  not  to  be  understood  literally  ;  for 
then  we  must  admit,  that  the  earth,  the  trees,  the 
waters,  are  animated  and  intelligent,  since  we  find  in 
Scriptiu-e  expressions  that  import  as  much.  All  the 
creatures  glorify  God,  bless  the  Lord,  and  obey  him, 
each  in  its  way. 

The  star  foretold  by  Balaam,  (Numb.  xxiv.  17.) 
was,  according  to  the  modern  Jews,  king  David,  who 
conquered  the  Moabites,  and  reduced  them  under  his 
obedience.  But  the  paraphrasts  Onkelos  and  Jona- 
than explain  it  of  the  Messiah,  as  the  natural  sense 
of  the  passage.  The  Jews  were  so  well  convinced 
of  this,  at  the  time  of  Christ,  and  afterwards,  that  the 
famous  impostor  Bar-chaliba  caused  himself  to  be 
called  Bar-cocheba,  "  son  of  the  star,"  pretending  to 
be  the  Messiah ;  which  involverl  the  Jews  of  Pales- 
tine in  a  revolt,  that  completed  the  ruin  of  their  un- 
fortunate nation. 

STATER,  a  Greek  coin  of  the  value  of  one  shekel. 
Matt.  xvii.  37,  in  the  Greek.  It  was  worth  about  50 
cents. 

STEPHANAS,  a  Christian  of  Corinth,  whose  fam- 
ily Paul  baptized  ;  probably  about  A.  D.  52,  1  Cor.  i. 
16.  He  was  forward  to  the  service  of  the  church, 
and  came  to  Paul  at  Ephesus,  1  Cor.  xvi.  15,  17. 

STEPHEN,  the  first  Christian  martyr,  was  prob- 
ably a  Hellenistic  Jew,  and  Epiphanius  thinks  he 
was  among  the  72  disciples  ;  but  this  is  not  probable. 
He  is  always  put  first  among  the  deacons  in  the 
109 


church  at  Jerusalem  ;  and  it  is  believed  he  had 
studied  at  the  feet  of  Gamaliel.  He  was  full  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  and  of  zeal,  and  performed  many  mira- 
cles, Acts  vi.  5.  Some  of  the  synagogue  of  the  freed- 
mcn,  of  the  Cyrenians,  Alexandrians,  and  others,  dis- 
puting with  him,  and  being  unable  to  withstand  his 
wisdom  and  spirit,  suborned  false  witnesses,  to  tes- 
tify, that  they  had  heard  him  blaspheme  against 
Moses  and  against  God,  and  drew  him  before  the 
Sanhedrim.  Stephen  appeared  in  the  midst  of  this 
assembly,  with  a  countenance  like  that  of  an  angel ; 
and  upon  the  high-priest  asking  him  what  he  had  to 
answer,  he  denied  that  he  had  said  any  thing  against 
Moses  or  the  temple — but  he  showed  that  the  Jews 
had  always  opposed  God  and  his  prophets ;  upbraid- 
ed them  with  the  hardness  of  their  hearts,  with  their 
putting  the  prophets  to  death,  and  with  slaying  the 
3Iessiah  himself.  His  boldness  enraged  the  unbe- 
lieving Jews ;  but  Stephen,  lifting  up  his  eyes  to 
heaven,  said,  "I  see  the  heavens  open,  and  the  Son 
of  man  standing  at  the  right  hand  of  God."  Unable 
to  endure  any  more,  his  enemies  cried  out,  stopped 
their  cars,  and  falling  upon  him,  drew  him  out  of  the 
city,  and  stoned  him  ;  the  witnesses  laying  down  their 
clotlies  at  the  feet  of  a  yoimg  man  called  Saul,  then 
one  of  the  most  eager  persecutors  of  the  Christians, 
but  afterwards  one  of  the  most  zealous  preachers  of 
Christianity.  Stephen  called  upon  the  Lord,  and 
said,  "  Lord,  impute  not  this  sin  to  them  ;"  after  which 
he  fell  asleep  in  the  Lord,  and  some  pious  persons 
took  care  to  bury  him,  and  accompanied  his  funeral 
with  great  mourning.  Acts  viii.  2. 

STEWARD,  one  who  manages  the  affairs,  or  su- 
perintends the  affairs  of  another.  Thus  Eliezer  was 
the  steward  of  Abraham's  house  ;  (Gen.xv.2.)  Chris- 
tian ministers  are  the  stewards  of  God  over  his  church 
or  family,  (Tit.  i.  7  ;  1  Cor.  iv.  1,2.)  and  believers  are 
stcw'anls  of  his  gifts  and  graces,  to  dispense  the  bene- 
fits of  them  to  tlie  world,  1  Pet.  iv.  10. 

On  reading  the  parable  of  the  unjust  steward,  who 
defrauds  his  principal  by  collusion  with  his  debtors, 
(Luke  xvi.)  we  find  it  concluded  by  what  seems  to  be 
a  strange  expression  :  (ver.  12.)  "  If  ye  have  not  been 
faithful  in  that  which  is  another  man's,  w/io  shall  give 
you  that  ivhich  is  your  own  ?"  Certainly  that  which  is 
a  man\^  oivn  he  may  naturally  expect  should  be  given 
him;  for  who  has  a  right  to  withhold  it?  The  pro- 
priety of  the  j)hrase,  therefore,  and  the  inferential  con- 
nection of  the  sentiment  w  ith  the  parable,  is  not  clear 
to  a  general  reader  ;  but  the  following  custom  of  the 
Turks  (as  related  by  Aaron  Hill,  Travels,  p.  77.)  may 
contribute  to  its  better  understanding  :  "  It  is  a  com- 
mon custom  with  the  merchants  of  this  country  when 
they  hire  a  broker,  book-keeper,  or  other  [confiden- 
tial] servant,  to  agree,  that  he  sliall  claim  no  wages; 
but,  to  make  amends  for  that  unprofitable  disadvan- 
tage, they  give  them  free  and  uncontrolled  authority 
to  cheat  them  every  way  they  can,  in  managing  their 
business  ;  but  with  this  proviso,  that  they  must  never 
exceed  the  ])rivileged  advantage  of  ten  per  cent.  All 
under  that,  which  they  can  fairly  gain  in  settling  of 
accounts  with  their  respective  masters,  is  properly 
THKiR  OWN  ;  and  by  their  masters'  will  is  confirmed 
to  their  i)ossession."  He  proceeds  to  say,  "  The  ser- 
vant knowing  he  has  nothing  to  depend  on  but  these 
profits puts  himself  upon  a  wily  method  of  over- 
reaching others,  in  the  goods  he  buys  by  order  of  his 
master.  His  master,  on  the  other  hand,  well  knows 
that  unless  he  watches  carefidly  his  servant's  man- 
agement, he  will  probably  go  beyond  the  tolerated 
limits  o^  ten  per  cent.'" 


STEWARD 


[  86G 


8T0 


This  kind  of  allowance,  though  appearing  extreme- 
ly singular  to  us,  is  both  ancient  and  general  in  the 
East.  It  is  found  in  the  Gentoo  Laws :  (chap,  ix.)  "  If 
a  man  has  hired  any  person  to  conduct  a  trade  for 
him,  and  no  agreement  is  made  in  regard  to  wages, 
in  that  case,  the  person  hired  shall  receive  one  tenth 
of  the  profit."  "  If  the  person  be  hired  to  attend  cattle, 
he  shall  receive  one  tenth  of  the  milk.  If  the  person 
be  hired  for  agricultiu'e,  one  tenth  of  the  crop.  If  he 
plough  the  ground,  receiving  victuals,  one  fifth  of  the 
crop  :  if  he  receive  no  victuals,  one  third."  (Halhed's 
Code  of  Gentoo  Laws,  p.  140.) 

We  see,  then,  that  Mr.  Hill  has  been  too  severe  in 
describing  the  taking  of  such  an  allowance  as  a 
"cheating"  of  the  principal;  since  he  admits,  it  has 
that  principal's  permission,  and  is  "  a  privileged  ad- 
vantage." We  see,  too,  that  the  Gentoo  laws  admit 
a  detention  of  one  third  part,  in  certain  cases,  as  pay- 
ment for  a  servant's  labor  and  attention. 

The  phrase  which  appears  so  offensive  to  us,  now 
assumes  its  true  import: — "If  you  have  not  been 
found  faithful  in  the  administration  of  your  principal's 
property,  how  can  you  expect  to  receive  your  oivn 
share  (as  the  word  may  signify)  of  that  advantage 
Avhich  should  reward  your  labors  ?  If  you  liave  not 
been  just  toward  him,  why,  or  how,  do  you  expect  he 
should  be  just  toward  you  ?"  May  not  this  i)rincip]e 
set  the  conduct  of  the  unjust  steward  in  a  different 
light  from  what  it  has  hitherto  appeared  in  ?  (1.)  W^e 
see  that  this  steward  had  a  right  to  expect  from  his 
master  the  value  of  a  share  of  this  oil  and  wheat,  as 
his  due : — But  if  his  master  had  once  got  possession 
of  this  value,  he  might  have  seized  it  in  compensation 
for  former  deficiencies :  the  steward  prevents  this,  by 
negotiating  with  the  debtors  themselves,  before  their 
accounts  are  inspected  by  his  master.  (2.)  The  stew- 
ard had  a  right  to  a  portion  of  the  value,  but  he  takes 
abundantly  more  than  his  due;  and  then  carries  in 
the  mutilated  account  to  his  master,  as  if  it  ^vcre  the 
produce  of  the  whole,  not  accountingfor  the  quantity 
reserved  by  him  for  his  future  dependence  in  the 
hands  of  those  who,  having  had  their  share  of  the 
fraud,  might  return  the  advantage  by  receiving  this 
unjust  agent  into  their  habitations.  (3.)  The  steward's 
master  conunends  him  as  having  adoj)ted  an  expedi- 
ent not  easily  to  be  detected,  but,  in  fact,  a  cunning 
contrivance  ;  being  evidently  founded  in  custom  and 
equity  ;  readily  enough  to  be  represented  as  merely 
doing  himself  that  justice  which,  as  he  might  say,  his 
master  denied  him  ;  and,  as  to  the  quantity  he  with- 
holds, he  might  plead  somewhat  analogous  to  what  is 
provided  for  in  the  Gentoo  laws,  wliich,  we  see,  in 
some  cases  allow  of  one  third  as  a  compensation  for 
extraordinary  care  and  trouble. 

May  our  Lord's  inference  be  thus  understood  ? 
"This  steward  could  only  expect  that  his  friends 
would  receive  and  maintain  him,  so  long  as  what  he 
could  claim  of  this  value,  or  stock,  of  oil  or  of  wheat, 
lasted  :  when  that  was  exhausted,  they  would  desire 
Ins  absence;  but,  contrary  to  this,  I  advise  you,  by 
your  management  of  worldly  riches,  to  makefriend's 
— friends  who  may  receive  you  into,  not  temporary, 
but  lasting  residence  ;  who  may  welcome  yoiirairival, 
not  into  a  mere  transitory  shelter,  but  into  an  ever- 
abiding  felicity.  I  |)ress  this  upon  you,  because  riches 
arc  so  slippery,  so  jjcrverting,  so  delusive,  that  they 
may  well  be  calhid  deceitful  :  and  they  I)ut  too  often 
are  allurements  to  unrighteousness — to  unrighteous 
modes  of  actiuiring  them,  and  to  unrighteous  modes 
of  disposing  of  them;  but  if  they  be  used  with  a  dis- 
position of  mind  contrary  to  that  of  this  unjust  steward, 


if,  instead  of  being  wickedly  withheld,  they  be  justly 
and  liberally  circulated,  and,  as  it  were,  brought  to 
account,  the  benevolence  of  true  piety  will  direct  them 
to  such  salutary  purposes,  as  may  lay  many  worthy 
but  necessitous  persons  under  great  obligations:  and 
these,  should  you  be  involved  in  distress  here  below, 
will  do  their  utmost  to  soothe  and  relieve  you  ;  or  they 
will  hereafter  congratulate  your  happy  reception  into 
never-ending  beatitude  and  glory." 

[This  passage  (Luke  xvi.9.)  is  more  properly  taken 
impersonally ;  the  phrase  "that they  may  receive  you  " 
being  equivalent  to  "/Aa<  ye  may  he  received  into  ever- 
lasting habitations"  &c.  Impersonal  verbs  of  this  form 
are  frequent  in  Greek  ;  e.  g.  Luke  xii.  20,  "This  night 
SHALL  THEY  REQUIRE  thy  soul  of  tlice,"  in  the  Greek, 
for  "thy  soul  shall  be  required  of  thee,"  &c.     R. 

STOICS,  a  sect  of  heathen  philosophers,  so  named 
from  the  Greek  otou,  a  porch,  or  portico,  because 
Zeno,  its  founder,  held  his  school  in  a  porch  of  the 
city  of  Athens.  They  placed  the  supreme  happiness 
of  man  in  living  agreeably  to  nature  and  reason  ; 
affecting  the  same  stiffness,  patience,  apathy,  austerity 
and  insensibility,  as  the  Pharisees,  whom,  according  to 
Joseiilius,  they  much  resembled.  They  were  consid- 
erable at  Athens  when  Paul  visited  that  city.  Acts 
xvii.  18. 

STONES.  For  the  names  of  the  precious  stones 
which  were  in  the  high-priest's  breastplate,  (Exod. 
xxviii.  17,  &c.)  the  reader  may  see  their  articles,  and 
Breastplate. 

Corker  Stone,  or  head  stoiie  of  the  corner,  is  that 
put  at  the  angle  of  a  building,  whether  at  the  founda- 
tion or  on  the  top  of  the  wall.  (See  Corner  Stone.) 
Our  Saviour,  though  rejected  by  the  Jews,  was  the 
corner  stone  of  the  church,  (Ps.  cxviii.  22.)  and  the 
stone  that  binds  and  unites  the  synagogue  and  Gen- 
tiles in  the  union  of  one  faith,  Acts  iv.  11  ;  Isa.  xxviii. 
IG  ;  Eph.  ii.  20  ;  1  Pet.  ii.  6  ;  Matt.  xxi.  42 ;  Mark  xii. 
10;  Luke  XX.  17.  The  Hebrews  sometimes  gave  the 
name  of  stone,  or  rock,  to  kings  or  princes,  and  also 
to  God  himself. 

Moses  forbids  the  HebreW'S  to  set  up  in  their  coun- 
try any  stone  that  is  exalted,  or  remarkable.  Lev. 
xxvi.  1.  The  text  may  be  translated  by  "a  stone  for 
sight ;"  a  land-mark  that  stands  on  an  eminence,  or 
in  some  great  road,  to  be  seen  from  a  distance.  Strabo 
(lib.  xvii.)  mentions  such  stones  on  the  highways  in 
Egypt ;  and  he  says  also,  there  are  several  remarkable 
and  eminent  stones  iijion  Libanus.  The  Syrians  and 
Egyptians  had  such  respect  for  them  that  they  almost 
adored  them.  They  anointed  them  with  oil,  as  may 
be  seen  in  Apuleius,  kissed  and  saluted  them.  It  is 
probable  that  this  worship  is  what  Moses  intended  to 
prohibit ;  for  heaps  of  stones,  raised  in  witness  of 
memorable  events,  and  to  preserve  the  remenjbrance 
of  matters  of  great  importance,  are  the  most  ancient 
monumeius  among  the  Hebrews.  In  early  ages, 
these  were  used  instead  of  inscriptions,  pyramids, 
medals  or  histories.  Jacob  and  Laban  raised  such  a 
moniunent  on  mount  Gilead,in  memory  of  their  cov- 
enant. Gen.  xxxi.  4G.  Joshua  erected  one  at  Gilgal, 
of  stones  taken  out  of  the  Jordan,  to  preserve  the 
memorial  of  his  miraculous  passage;  (Josh.  iv.  5 — 7.) 
and  the  Israelites  beyond  Jordan  raised  one  on  the 
banks  of  that  river,  as  a  testimony  that  they  constituted 
but  one  nation  with  their  brethren  on  the  other  side, 
Josh.  xxii.  10. 

Ill  illustration  of  this  practice,  Mr.  Taylor  quotes 
from  Chardiu  the  following  passage: — "Upon  the  left 
hand  of  the  road  are  to  be  seen  large  circles  of 
hewn  stone ;  which  the  Persians  affirm  to  be  a  great 


STONES 


[  867  ] 


sue 


eign  that  the  Caous,  making  war  in  Media,  held  a 
council  in  that  place  ;  it  being  the  custom  of  those 
people,  tliat  every  officer  that  came  to  tlie  council, 
brought  with  him  a  stone  to  serve  him  instead  of  a 
chair:  these  Caous  were  a  sort  of  giants.  What  is 
most  to  be  admired,  after  observation  of  tliese  stones, 
is  this,  that  they  are  so  big  that  eight  men  can  hardly 
move  one  ;  and  yet  tliere  is  no  place  from  whence 
they  can  be  imagined  to  have  been  fetched,  but  from 
the  next  mountains,  which  are  six  Icasrues  oft'." 
(p.  371.) 

This  extract  deserves  notice  on  two  accounts :  (1.) 
The  Persian  notion  of  stones  being  used  instead  of 
chairs,  at  a  council,  nmst  have  had  some  origin;  and 
must  also  have  been  customaiy  at  some  time  in  that 
country : — the  sitting  upon  stones,  tiien,  could  not  have 
been  always  totally  unknown  in  Mesopotamia,  where 
Laban  resided,  and  Jacob  with  him ;  and  what  was 
customary  at  a  council,  might  be  practised  at  a  cove- 
nant agreement,  as  in  the  case  of  Laban  and  Jacob. 
(1.)  The  rescml)lance  of  those  circt.f.s  of  Inrge 
stones  to  the  Druidical  monuments  of  Great  Britain 
(Stonehenge,  Abury,  &c.)  is  striking  ;  and  tiie  finding 
structures  so  similar  in  regions  so  distant,  diMuonstrates 
the  extensive  sj)read  and  influence  (if  not  the  identity) 
of  that  religion,  the  exercise  of  which  had  occasioned 
their  erection.     (Fragments  166,  734 — 73G.) 

In  the  Fragments  just  referred  to,  Mr.  Taylor  has 
collected  much  information  relative  to  heaps  and  cir- 
cles of  stones,  Avholly  or  partly  remaining,  in  differ- 
ent parts  of  Great  Britain,  and  elsewhere,  for  the 
pur|)ose  of  throwing  light  on  a  practice  so  often  al- 
luded or  referred  to  in  the  Old  Testament,  and  espe- 
cially in  connection  with  Gilgal,  a  religious  station,  in 
the  early  period  of  the  Israelitish  history.  The  prac- 
tice of  raising  and  consecrating  stones  in  commemo- 
ration of  memorable  events  connected  with  religion, 
which  lias  so  extensively  prevailed  in  various  parts  of 
the  world,  and  among  people  altogether  dissimilar  in 
their  general  character  and  habits,  he  considers  as 
affording  a  striking  proof  that  the  religion  of  mankind 
was  originally  the  same,  in  its  objects,  its  principles 
and  its  rites  :  and  that,  to  wherever  the  original  tribes 
of  men  migrated,  with  their  natural  fathers  at  their 
head,  or  wherever  they  settled,  they  retained  those 
religious  customs,  notions  and  references,  which  they 
jiad  received  as  part  of  their  patrimony,  in  the  land 
of  their  primary  residence. 

Rough  and  unformed  stones  were  considered  to  be 
more  pure  and  fit  for  sacred  uses  than  those  that  were 
hewn.  Moses  directed  (Exod.  xx.  25.)  an  altar  to  be 
raised  to  the  Lord,  of  rough  stones  ;  not  of  hewn  ones, 
which  he  declared  to  be  polluted.  (See  also  Deut. 
xxvii.  5 ;  Josh.  viii.  31,  32  ;  Ezra  v.  8  ;  1  Mac.  iv. 
46,47.) 

"A  heart  of  stone  "  may  be  understood  several 
ways.  Job,  (xli.  24.)  speaking  of  the  behemoth,  says, 
his  heart  is  as  hard  as  stone,. as  impenetrable  as  an 
anvil ;  q.  d.  he  is  of  a  very  extraordinary  strength, 
boldness  and  courage.  The  heart  of  Nabal  became 
as  a  stone,  when  he  comprehended  the  danger  he  had 
incurred  by  his  imprudence,  (1  Sam.  xxv.  37.)  i.  e. 
his  heart  became  inunovable  like  a  stone  ;  it  was 
contracted  or  convulsed,  and  this  convulsion  occa- 
sioned his  death.  Ezekiel  says,  (xi.  19 ;  xxxvi.  26.) 
the  Lord  will  take  away  from  his  people  the  heart  of 
stone,  and  give  them  a  heart  of  flesh  ;  i.  e.  he  will 
convert  them,  and  inspire  them  with  milder  and  more 
gi-acious  feelings.  Nearly  in  the  same  sense,  John 
the  Baptist  said,  (Matt.  iii.  9.)  God  was  able  to  raise 
up  to  Abraham  children  from  the  stones  of  the  desert. 


Daniel,  speaking  of  the  kingdom  of  the  Messiah, 
compares  it  to  a  small  stone  loosened  from  the  moun- 
tain, by  no  mortal  power,  that  struck  upon  the  feet 
of  the  colossus  which  Nebuchadnezzar  saw  in  his 
dream,  and  afterwards  filled  the  whole  earth,  Dan. 
ii.  34. 

STONING  was  a  punishment  much  in  use  among 
the  Hebrews,  and  the  rabbins  reckon  all  criznes  as 
being  subject  to  it,  whicii  the  law  condemns  to  death, 
without  expressing  the  particular  mode.  They  say, 
that  when  a  man  was  condenuied  to  death,  he  was 
led  out  of  the  city  to  the  place  of  execution,  and  there 
exhorted  to  acknowledge  and  confess  his  fault.  He 
was  then  stoned  in  one  of  two  ways,  either  stones 
were  thrown  upon  him  till  he  died,  or  he  was  thrown 
headlong  down  a  steep  place,  and  a  large  stone  rolled 
upon  his  body.  To  the  latter  mode  it  is  supposed 
there  is  a  reference  in  Matt.  xxi.  44. 

STORK,  ciconin,  Heb.  m'on,  from  ion,  kind,  good; 
probably  so  called  because  of  tlie  tenderness  which  it 
is  said  to  manifest  towards  its  parents ;  never,  as  is 
reported,  forsaking  them,  but  feeding  and  defending 
them  in  their  decrepitude.  The  stork  is  a  bird  of  pas- 
sage :  (Jer.  viii.  7.)  "The  stork  in  the  heavens  know- 
eth  her  appointed  times ;  and  the  turtle,  and  the  crane, 
and  the  swallow,  observe  the  time  of  their  coming." 
Jerome  and  the  LXX  sometimes  render  the  Hebrew 
word  by  herodius,  the  heron ;  sometimes  by  pelican 
or  kite ;  but  there  can  be  very  little  doubt  that  it  des- 
ignates properly  the  stork.  ]\ioses  places  it  among  un- 
clean birds.  Lev.  xi.  19  ;  Deut.  xiv.  18.  The  psalmist 
says  (civ.  17.)  "  As  for  the  stork,  the  fir-trees  are  her 
house."  In  the  climate  of  Europe,  she  commonly 
builds  her  nest  on  some  liigh  tower,  or  on  the  top  of 
a  house  ;  but  in  Palestine,  where  the  coverings  of  the 
houses  are  flat,  she  builds  in  high  trees.  Profane 
authors  speak  much  of  the  piety  of  the  stork,  and  its 
gratitude  to  its  parents.  Ambrose  says,  that  for  this 
reason  the  Romans  called  it  avis  pia  ;  (Hexremer.  lib. 
v.  c.  16.)  and  Publius  calls  it  pietatis  cidtrix.  (Apud. 
Petron.  Vide  Bochart  de  Animal  Sacr.  torn.  ii. 
lib.  ii.  c.  29.) 

Ciconia  enim  grata,  peregrLna,  hospita, 
Pietatis  cultrix,  gracili-pes,  crotalistria. 

The  stork  has  the  beak  and  legs  long  and  red  ;  it 
feeds  on  serpents,  frogs  and  insects.  Its  plumage 
would  be  wholly  white,  but  that  the  extremities  of  its 
wings,  and  some  small  part  of  its  head  and  thighs,  are 
black.  It  sits  for  the  s])ace  of  thirty  days,  and  lays 
but  four  eggs.  They  migrate  to  southern  countries 
in  August,  and  return  in  the  spring.  They  ai"e  still 
the  objects  of  much  veneration  among  the  common 
people  in  some  parts  of  Europe.     *R. 

I.  SUCCOTH,  tents,  tabernacles,  the  first  encamp- 
ment of  the  Israelites,  after  they  left  Egypt,  Exod. 
xii.  37.     See  Exodus,  p.  401. 

II.  SUCCOTH,  a  city  east  of  the  Jordan,  between 
the  brook  Jabok  and  that  river,  and  where  Jacob 
set  up  his  tents  on  his  return  from  Mesopotamia, 
Gen.  xxxiii.  17.  Joshua  assigned  the  city  sul>sc- 
qucntly  built  here  to  the  tribe  of  Gad,  Josh.  xiii.  27. 
Gideon  tore  the  flesh  of  the  principal  men  of  Suc- 
coth  with  thorns  and  briers,  because  they  returned 
him  a  haughty  answer  when  pursuing  the  Midianites, 
Judg.  viii.  5. 

SUCCOTH  BENOTH.  Calmet  speaks  of  Suc- 
coth  Benoth  as  an  idol  set  up  in  Samaria,  by  the  men 
brought  from  Assyria,  (2  Kings  xvii.  30.)  but  Mr. 
Taylor  and  other  writers  have  shown  it  more  proba- 


SUP 


[  868  ] 


SWA 


bly  to  denote  tabernacles  or  booths  consecrated  to 
one  of  the  forms  of  Venus.  In  such  places  young 
maidens  were  devoted  to  the  licentious  worship  of 
Venus. 

SUN,  the  gi-eat  luminary  which  God  created,  at  the 
beginning,  to  govern  the  day.  Cahnet  thinks  it  was 
the  sun  which  the  Phoenicians  worshipped  under  the 
name  of  Baal,  the  Moabites  under  that  of  Chemosh, 
the  Ammonites  under  that  of  Moloch,  the  Israelites 
under  that  of  Baal,  and  king  of  the  host  of  heaven. 
Moses  cautioned  the  Israelites  against  this  species  of 
idolatry,  (Deut.  iv.  19.)  "Take  ye,  therefore,  good 
heed  unto  yourselves — lest  thou  lift  up  thine  eyes  unto 
heaven,  and  when  thou  seest  the  sun,  the  moon  and 
the  stars,  even  all  the  host  of  heaven,  thou  shouldst  be 
driven  to  worship  and  serve  them."  In  Deut.  xvii.  3, 
he  condemns  to  death  those  perverted  to  worship 
strange  gods,  the  sun,  the  moon,  &c. ;  and  Josiah 
took  from  the  temple  of  the  Lord  the  horses,  and 
burned  the  chariots,  which  the  kings  his  predecessors 
had  consecrated  to  the  sun,  2  Kings  xxiii.  11.  Job 
says,  (xxxi.  26 — 28.)  he  looked  on  it  as  a  great  crime, 
and  as  renouncing  the  God  that  is  above,  to  kiss  his 
hand  in  token  of  adoration,  when  he  beheld  the  sun 
in  its  beauty  and  splendor.  Ezekiel  (viii.  16.)  saw  in 
the  Spirit,  in  the  temple  of  the  Lord,  five  and  twenty 
men  of  Judah,  who  turned  their  backs  on  the  sanctu- 
ary, and  had  their  faces  towards  the  east,  worshipping 
the  rising  sun. 

The  sun  furnishes  the  greater  part  of  the  noble 
similitudes  used  by  the  sacred  authors,  who,  to  repre- 
sent gi-eat  public  calamity,  speak  of  the  sun  as  being 
obscured,  &c.  (See  Isa.  xiii.  10  ;  xxiv.  23  ;  Jer.  xv.  9 ; 
Ezek.  xxxii.  7 ;  Joel  ii,  31 ;  Amos  viii.  9.)  To  express 
a  long  continuance  of  any  thing  glorious  and  illvistri- 
ous,  it  is  said,  it  shall  continue  as  long  as  the  sun. 
So  the  reign  of  the  Messiah,  (Ps.  Ixxii.  17;  Ixxxix. 
36.)  under  whose  happy  dominion  the  light  of  the 
moon  shall  equal  that  of  the  sun,  and  that  of  the 
sun  be  seven  times  more  than  ordinary,  Isa.  xxx. 
26.  Christ  is  called  the  Sun  of  righteousness, 
Mai.  iv.  2. 

TJie  compass  of  the  whole  earth  is  described  by  the 
exju-ession,  from  the  rising  of  tlie  sun  to  the  going 
down  of  the  same  ;  or  ratlier  from  east  to  west,  Ps.  1. 
1 :  cvii.  3;  cxiii.  3,  &c. 

SUPERSTITION,  and  SUPERSTITIOUS,  are 
words  which  occur  ouly  in  the  New  Testament. 
Festus,  governor  of  Judea,  informed  Agrippa,  that 
Paul  had  disputed  with  the  other  Jews  concerning 
matters  of  their  own  superstition,  (Acts  xxv.  19.)  in 
which  he  spoke  like  a  true  pagan,  equally  ignorant  of 
the  Christian  religion,  and  of  the  Jewish.  Paul,  writ- 
ing to  the  Colossians,  (chap.  ii.  23.)  recommends  to 
tliem,  not  to  regard  false  teachers,  who  would  per- 
suade tliem  to  a  compliance  with  human  wisdom,  in 
an  affected  humility  and  superstition  ;  and  speaking 
to  the  Athenians,  he  says,  "I  perceive  tliat  in  all 
tilings  ye  are  too  superstitious,"  &c.  Acts  xvii.  22. 

The  Greeks  call  superstition  JftaiHaiuorla,  demon- 
terror.  A  superstitious  man  looks  on  God  as  a  severe 
and  rigid  master,  and  obeys  with  fear  and  trembling. 
Varro  says,  the  pious  man  honors  and  loves  God  ;  the 
superstitious  man  dreads  him,  even  to  terror;  and 
Maxirnus  Tyrius  observes,  tiiat  a  man  truly  pious  looks 
on  God  as  a  friend  full  of  goodness,  Avhereas  the 
fiupci-stitious  serves  him  with  base  and  mean  flattery. 
Such  are  Calmet's  remarks  on  this  sul)ject.  Mr. 
Taylor  observes,  that  the  Greek  word  JfimSanioria 
is  probably  of  less  offensive  import  than  has  been 
stated.      Festus,   a  governor  newly  arrived  in  his 


provmce,  would  hardly  have  paid  so  ill  a  comphmeni 
to  Agrippa,  a  king  of  the  Jewish  religion,  as  to  cal 
his  religion  superstitious  ;  and  when   Paul  at  Atheu* 
tells  the  Areopagites  that  they  are  too  superstitious 
he  uses  a  word  no  doubt  susceptible  of  a  good  af 
well  as  of  a  bad  sense  ;  as  it  would  have  been  highlj 
indecorous,  nor  less  unnecessary,  to  calumniate  the 
religious  disposition  of  his  judges,  whom  he  was  ad- 
dressing.   If  we  take  the  word  in  the  sense  of  worship, 
or  reverence,  Festus  may  say,  "Paul  and  the  Jews 
differ  in  respect  of  certain  objects  of  spiritual  rever- 
ence,"— and  Paul  may  say,  "  I  perceive  ye  are  greatly 
attached  to  objects  of  spiritual  reverence,"  not  only 
without  offence,  but  as  a  very  gi-aceful  introduction 
to  a  discourse,  which  proposed  to  describe  the  only 
proper  object  of  such  reverence. 

SUPHA.  Suph  is  certainly  the-Red  sea;  but  the 
notion  of  Suph  being  an  appellation  belonging  to  the 
Red  sea  only,  has  misled  our  translators  into  gross 
errors  of  geography.  We  i-ead  in  Numb.  xxi.  14,  of 
the  "book  of  the  wai-sof  the  Lord,  what  he  did  in  the 
Red  sea — Supha — and  in  the  brooks  of  Arnon."  But 
the  brooks  of  Arnon  were  not  near  the  Red  sea,  nor 
was  any  transaction  there  comparable  to  the  passage 
of  the  Red  sea  by  the  Israelites.  It  is  more  probable 
that  this  Supha  is  the  same  as  Suph,  (Deut.  i.  1.) 
where  Moses  repeated  his  laws  ;  which  was  eleven 
days'  journey  from  Horeb,  and  between  Paran,  To- 
phel,  &c.  on  this  side  Jordan  ;  certainly,  to  say  the 
least,  in  the  neighborhood  of  that  river,  and  by  the 
banks  of  it,  very  distant  from  the  Red  sea. 

SUSANNA,  a  holy  woman  who  attended  on  our 
Saviour,  and  with  others  ministered  to  his  wants, 
Luke  viii.  2,  3. 

SWALLOW.  There  is  considerable  diversity  of 
opinion  among  critics  on  the  Hebrew  designation  of 
this  well  known  bird.  Our  translators  have  taken 
both  ^^-n  and  -lujj  to  signify  the  swallow,  in  different 
passages  of  Scripture  ;  but  in  each  they  seem  to  have 
been  wrong.  The  former  of  the  words  is  better  un-  J 
derstood  by  Bochart,  and  other  able  critics,  to  be  ap-  " 
plied  to  a  species  of  dove  ;  and  there  is  little  doubt  that 
the  latter  word  imports  tlie  crane,  which  is  so  called 
from  its  remarkable  cry.  The  real  designation  of  the 
swallow  appears  to  be  cd,  sis,  eitlier  from  its  sjrrigM- 
liness  or  swijl  motion,  or,  as  Bochart  thinks,  fi-om  its 
note.  It  is  worthy  of  remark,  that  thefbddesslsis  is 
said  to  have  been  changed  into  this  bird  ;  which  cir- 
cumstance, from  the  resemblance  of  the  name,  fur- 
nishes an  additional  confirmation  of  the  interi)retation 
here  adopted.  The  only  mention  of  the  swallow  in 
Scripture  is  in  Isa.  xxxviii.  14,  and  Jer.  viii.  7.  In  tlie 
former  passage,  Ilezekiah,  referring  to  the  severity  of 
his  recent  affliction,  says,  "  Like  a  swallow,  or  a  crane, 
so  did  I  chatter."  The  note  of  the  swallow  being 
quick  and  mournful,  the  allusion  of  the  king  has  been 
supposed  to  be  to  his  prayers,  whic^h  were  so  inter- 
ru|)ted  i)y  groans,  as  to  be  like  the  quick  twitterings 
of  the  swallow.  This  seems  to  have  occasioned  the 
pious  monarch  to  regard  with  suspicion  the  sincerity 
and  fervor  of  his  supplications,  thus  delivered,  but  in 
broken  accents ;  and  in  bitterness  of  spirit  he  casts 
himself  upon  the  unbounded  mercy  of  his  God,  ex- 
claiming, "  O  Lord,  I  am  oppressed,  undertake  for  me." 
The  passage  in  Jeremiah  refers  to  the  well  known 
migrfition  of  this  bird,  a  circumstance  from  which 
the  faithful  prophet  takes  occasion  to  reprove  the  in- 
gratitude and  infidelity  of  the  favored  trilics  :  "Tiie 
turtle,  and  the  crane,  and  the  swallow  observe  the 
time  of  their  coming ;  l)ut  my  people  know  not  the 
judgment  of  the  Lord." 


SWI 


[  869 


SWINE 


SWAN.  This  bird  is  only  mentioned  in  Lev.  xi. 
18,  and  Dent.  xiv.  16,  and  it  is  extremely  doubtful 
whether  it  be  really  denoted  by  the  Hebrew  ncc:n. 
The  LXX  render  Porphyrion,  or  pnrplt  hen,  which  is 
a  water  bird,  not  unlike  in  form  to  those  which  pre- 
cede it  in  the  text.  Geddes  observes,  that  "the  root 
signifies  to  breathe  out,  to  respire  ;  and  adds,  if  ety- 
nioloirv  were  our  guide,  I  would  say  it  points  to  a 
well  known  quality  in  the  swan,  that  of  being  able  to 
resj)ire  a  long  time  with  its  bill  and  neck  under  water, 
and  even  plunged  in  the  mud."  Some  think  the  con- 
jecture of  Michaelis  not  improbable,  "that  it  is  the 
goose,  which  every  one  knows  is  remarkable  for  its 
manner  of  breathing  out,  or  hissing,  when  provoked." 
"  What  makes  me  conjecture  this," says  Michaelis,  "is 
that  the  same  Chaldee  interpreters,  who  in  Leviticus 
render  Obija,  do  not  employ  this  word  in  Deuteron- 
omy, but  substitute  '  the  white  Kak,'  which,  according 
to  BuxJorf,  denotes  the  goose."  Perhaps  Egypt  has 
birds  of  the  wild  goose  kind,  one  of  which  is  here 
alluded  to.  Norden  (vol.  ii.  p.  36.)  mentions  a  "  goose 
of  the  Nile,  whose  plumage  was  extremely  beautiful. 
It  was  of  an  ex(|uisite  aromatic  taste,  smelled  of  gin- 
ger, and  had  a  great  deal  of  flavor."  Can  a  bird  of 
this  kind  be  the  Hebrew  Tinshemeth  i 

SWEARING,  see  Oath. 

SWINE,  a  well  known  animal,  forbidden  as  food 
to  the  Hebrews,  (Lev.  xi.  7  ;  Deut.  xiv.  8.)  who  held 
its  flesh  in  such  detestation,  that  they  would  not  so 
njucli  as  pronounce  its  name. 

Among  the  gross  abominations  and  idolatrous 
practices  of  which  the  Israelites  were  guilty  in  the 
time  of  Isaiah,  how  ever,  the  eating  of  swine's  flesh  is 
mentioned,  ch.  Ixv.  4  :  "  A  people  that  provoketh  me 
to  anger  continually  to  my  face  ;  that  sacrificeth  in 
gardens,  and  burnetii  incense  upon  altars  of  brick  ; 
which  remain  among  the  graves,  and  lodge  in  the 
monuments  ;  which  eat  swine's  flesh  ;  and  broth  of 
abominable  things  is  in  their  vessels,"  &:c.  Their 
punishment  is  denounced  in  the  next  chapter :  "  They 
that  sanctify  themselves  and  purify  themselves  in  the 
gardens  behind  one  tree  in  the  midst,  eating  swine's 
flesh,  and  the  abomination,  and  the  mouse,  shall  be 
consumed  together,  saith  the  Lord,"  ch.  Ixvi.  17. 

It  was  an  established  custom,  among  the  Greeks 
and  Romans,  to  offer  a  hog  in  sacrifice  to  Ceres  at 
the  beginning  of  harvest,  and  another  to  Bacchus,  be- 
fore the  beginning  of  vintage  ;  because  that  animal  is 
equally  hostile  to  the  growing  corn  and  the  loaded 
vineyard.  To  this  practice  there  is  probably  an  allu- 
sion in  Isa.  Ixvi.  3:  "He  that  killeth  an  ox  is  as  if 
he  slew  a  man ;  he  that  sacrificeth  a  lamb,  as  if  he 
cut  oflfa  dog's  neck  ;  he  that  offereth  an  oblation,  as 
if  he  offered  swine's  blood  ;  he  that  burnetii  incense, 
as  if  he  blessed  an  idol ;  yea,  they  have  chosen  their 
own  ways,  and  their  soul  delighteth  in  their  abom- 
ination." 

There  is  an  injunction  in  Matt.  vii.  6,  which  de- 
mands notice  here  :  "  Give  not  that  which  is  holy  unto 
the  dogs,  neither  cast  ye  your  pearls  before  swine,  lest 
they  trample  them  under  their  feet,  and  turn  again 
and  rend  you."  This  passage,  as  it  stands,  is  some- 
what obscure,  since  it  refers  both  the  malignant  acts 
specified  to  the  last-mentioned  animal.  Dr.  A.  Clarke, 
however,  has  restored  it  to  its  true  meaning,  by  trans- 
posing the  hnes  ;  and  bishop  Jebb,  availing  himself 
of  the  hint,  has  shown  it  to  be  one  of  those  introvert- 
ed parallelisms  which  so  frequently  present  themselves 
in  the  sacred  writings,  and  which  he  has  generally  so 
beautifully  illustrated.  Placed  in  this  form,  it  will 
stand  as  follows : — 


Give  not  that  which  is  holy  to  the  dogs ; 

Neither  cast  your  pearls  before  the  swine  ; 

Lest  they  trample  them  under  their  feet, 
And  turn  about  and  rend  you. 

Here  the  first  line  is  related  to  the  fourth,  and  the 
second  to  the  third.  The  sense  of  the  passage  becomes 
perfectly  clear,  on  thus  adjusting  the  parallelism : — 

Give  not  that  which  is  holy  to  the  dogs  ; 
Lest  they  turn  about  and  rend  you : 
Neither  cast  your  pearls  before  the  swine  ; 
Lest  they  trample  them  under  their  feet. 

The  more  dangerous  act  of  imprudence,  with  its 
fatal  result,  is  placed  first  and  last,  so  as  to  make, 
and  to  leave,  the  deepest  practical  impression.  To 
cast  pearls  before  swine,  is  to  place  the  pure  and 
elevated  morality  of  the  gospel  before  sensual  and 
besotted  wretches,  who  have 

.  .  .  Nor  ear,  nor  soul,  to  comprehend 
The  sublime  notion,  and  high  mystery  ; 

but  will  assuredly  trample  them  in  the  mire.  To 
give  that  which  is  holy  [the  sacrifice,  as  some  translate 
it)  to  tlie  dogs,  is  to  produce  the  deep  truths  of  Chris- 
tianity before  the  malignant  and  profane,  who  will  not 
fail  to  add  injury  to  neglect;  who  will  not  only  hate 
the  doctrine,  but  persecute  the  teacher.  In  either 
case,  an  indiscreet  and  over-profluent  zeal  may  do 
serious  mischief  to  the  cause  of  goodness;  but  in  the 
latter  case,  the  injury  will  fall  with  heightened  sever- 
ity, both  on  religion,  and  on  religious  injudicious 
friends.  The  warning,  therefore,  against  the  dogs,  is 
emphatically  placed  at  the  commencement  and  the 
close.  (Jebb's  Sacred  Literature,  p.  338,  &c.)  This 
certainly  places  the  allusion  in  a  striking  and  beauti- 
ful light,  but  we  doubt  whether  the  bishop  has  caught 
the  true  sense  of  the  passage.  In  this  part  of  his  dis- 
course our  Lord  is  warning  his  hearei-s  not  to  be  un- 
merciful and  severe  in  censuring  others,  in  marking 
and  aggravating  their  faults ;  not  to  correct  their  vices 
or  mistakes,  while  they  are  chargeable  themselves 
with  much  more  heinous  crimes.  They  were  not  to 
suffer  sin  in  their  brother,  but  were  bound  to  reprove 
his  faults,  and  endeavor  his  reformation  ;  their  coun- 
sels and  reproofs,  however,  were  to  be  managed  with 
wisdom  and  prudence,  and  were  not  to  be  iniseason- 
ably  lavished  on  hardened  and  profligate  sinners, 
who,  instead  of  receiving  them  in  a  becoming  man- 
ner, would  be  exasperated  by  them,  and  turn  with  fury 
upon  their  indiscreet  advisers.  "  Give  not  wisdom," 
says  the  Hebrew  adage,  "  to  him  who  knows  not  its 
value,  for  it  is  more  precious  than  ])carls,  and  he  who 
seeks  it  not  is  worse  than  a  swine  that  defiles  and 
rolls  himself  in  the  mud  ;  so  he  who  knows  not  the 
value  of  wisdom,  profanes  its  glory." 

The  hog  delights  more  in  the  fetid  mire  than  in 
the  clear  and  running  stream.  The  mud  is  the  cho- 
sen place  of  his  repose,  and  to  wallow  in  it  seems  to 
constitute  one  of  his  greatest  pleasures.  To  wash 
him  is  vain;  for  he  is  no  sooner  at  liberty,  than  he 
hastens  to  the  ])uddle,  and  besmears  himself  anew. 
Such  is  the  temper  of  corrupt  and  wicked  men,  who 
had  escaped  the  pollutions  of  the  world,  through  the 
knowledge  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ, 
but  are  again  entangled  and  overcome.  It  is  hap- 
pened unto  them  according  to  th«!  true  proverb, 
"The  dog  is  turned  to  his  vomit  again  ;  and  the  sow 
that  was  washed  to  her  wallowing  in  the  mire,"  2 


SYC 


[  870  ] 


SYCAMORE 


Pet.  ii.  22.  Allured  by  the  promises  of  the  Gospel, 
or  alarmed  by  the  teiTors  of  the  law,  they  abandoned 
some  of  their  evil  courses,  and  performed  many 
laudable  actions  ;  but  their  nature  and  inclinations 
remaining  unrenewed  by  divine  grace,  they  quickly 
shook  oft'  the  feeble  restraints  of  external  reforma- 
tion, and  returned  with  greater  eagerness  than  ever 
to  their  former  courses.  (Paxton's  Illustrations,  vol. 
i.  p.  500,  &c.) 

The  beautiful  and  affecting  parable  of  the  prodigal 
son,  designed  to  represent  the  degraded  and  destitute 
condition  of  the  Gentile  nations,  before  they  were 
called  to  a  participation  in  the  blessings  of  the  cove- 
nant, by  the  incarnation  and  ministry  of  the  Saviour, 
shows  that  the  swine-herd  was  considered  to  be  an 
employment  of  the  most  despicable  character.  It 
wus  the  last  resource  of  I^Jiat  depraved  and  unhappy 
being  who  had  squandered  away  his  patrimony  in 
riotous  living ;  and  may,  perhaps,  help  to  account 
for  the  otherwise  unnatural  conduct  of  his  brother, 
while  it  sets  the  strong  and  unconquerable  paternal 
feelings  of  his  affectionate  father  in  a  more  con- 
vincing and  interesting  light. 

SWORD,  in  the  style  of  the  Hebrews,  is  often 
used  for  war.  The  Lord  shall  send  the  sword  into 
the  land  ;  that  is,  war.  The  "  mouth  of  the  sword  " 
is  the  edge  of  the  sword.  "  A  man  that  draws  the 
sv/ord  "  is  a  soldier  by  profession.  The  sword  of 
the  mouth  (Job  v.  15.)  is  pernicious  discoui"se,  accu- 
sations, slander,  calumny.  "  Their  tongue  is  a  two- 
edged  swoi'd  ;"  (Ps.  Ivii.  4.)  i.  e.  the  tongue  of  the 
wicked  is  extremely  dangerous.  "  If  he  turn  not,  he 
will  whet  his  sword  ; "  i.  e.  he  will  prepare  to  send 
war.  To  lift  the  sword  upon  stones,  (Exod.  xx.  25.) 
is  to  cut  them  with  a  chisel,  or  other  sharp  iron  in- 
strument. "By  thy  sword  shah  thou  live  ; "  (Gen. 
xxvii.  40.)  i.  e.  thou  shalt  support  thyself  by  war  and 
rapine.  "  They  that  take  the  sword  shall  perish  with 
the  sword;"  (Matt,  xxvi.  52.)  they  that  employ  the 
sword  by  their  own  authority,  and  would  do  them- 
selves justice,  deserve  to  be  put  to  death  by  the  sword 
of  authority.  Or  this  is  a  kind  of  proverb  :  those 
■who  take  the  sword  to  smite  another,  generally  suffer 
by  it  themselves.  "  The  word  of  God  is  quick  and 
l)Owcrful,  and  sharper  than  any  two-edged  sword," 
(Ileb.  iv.  12.)  it  penetrates  even  to  the  bottom  of  the 
soul,  into  the  lieart  and  mind.  Paul  exhorts  the 
Epliesiaus  (vi.  17.)  to  arm  themselves  witii  the  word 
of  God,  as  with  a  spiritual  sword  ;  to  defend  them- 
selves against  spiritual  enemies. 

SYCAMORE.  This  curious  tree,  which  seems 
to  ])artake  of  the  nature  of  two  distinct  species,  the 
mulberry  and  the  fig,  the  former  in  its  leaf,  and  the 
latter  in  its  fruit,  is  called  in  Hebrew  a>cptt'  and  nicpi:', 
(occurring  only  in  the  plural  form,)  the  derivation  of 
wliich  is  uncertain ;  but  in  the  Greek  its  name, 
jLuy.i.uc^no;,  is  plainly  descriptive  of  its  character, 
being  compounded  of  avxog,  a  Jig  tree,  and  uwooc,  a 
mulberry  tree.  The  sycamore  is  thus  described  by 
Norden  :  "  I  shall  remark,  that  they  have  in  Egypt 
divers  sorts  of  figs;  but  if  there  is  any  difference  be- 
tween them,  a  particular  kind  differs  still  more.  I 
mean  that  which  the  sycamore  bears,  that  they  name 
in  Arabic  giomez.  It  was  upon  a  tree  of  this  sort 
that  Zaccheus  got  up,  to  sec  oup  Saviour  pass  through 
Jericho.  This  sycamore  is  of  the  height  of  a  beecli, 
and  bears  its  fruit  in  a  manner  quite  different  from 
other  trees.  It  has  them  on  the  trunk  itself,  which 
shriots  out  little  sprigs,  in  form  of  agraj)e-stalk,  at  the 
end  of  which  grows  the  fiiiit,  close  to  one  another, 
most  like  bunches  of  grapes.     The  tree  is  always 


green,  and  bears  fruit  several  times  in  the  year,  with- 
out observing  any  certain  seasons,  for  I  have  seen 
some  sycamores  which  had  fruit  two  months  after 
others.  The  fruit  has  the  figure  and  smell  of  real 
figs ;  but  is  inferior  to  them  in  the  taste,  having  a 
disgustful  sweetness.  Its  color  is  a  yellow,  inclining 
to  an  ochre,  shadowed  by  a  flesh  color ;  in  the  inside 
it  resembles  the  common  fig,  excepting  that  it  has  a 
blackish  coloring,  with  yellow  spots.  This  sort  of 
tree  is  pretty  common  in  Egypt.  The  people,  for  the 
greater  part,  live  on  its  fruit."     (Travels,  vol.  i.  p.  79.) 

From  1  Kings  x.  27,  1  Chron.  xxvii.  28,  and  2 
Chron.  i.  15,  it  is  evident  that  this  tree  was  pretty 
common  ui  Palestine,  as  well  as  in  Egypt ;  and  from 
its  being  joined  with  the  vines  in  Ps.  Ixxviii.  47,  as 
well  as  from  the  circumstance  of  David's  appointing 
a  particular  officer  to  superintend  their  plantations,  it 
seems  to  have  been  as  much  valued  in  ancient  as  in 
modern  times.  From  Isa.  Lx.  10,  we  find  that  the 
timber  of  the  sycamore  was  used  in  the  construction 
of  buildings ;  and,  notwithstanding  its  porous  and 
spongy  appearance,  it  was,  as  we  learn  from  Dr. 
Shaw,  of  extreme  durability.  Describing  the  cata- 
combs and  mummies  of  Egypt,  this  intelligent  writer 
states  that  he  found  the  mummy  chests,  and  the  lit- 
tle square  boxes,  containing  various  figures,  which 
are  placed  at  the  feet  of  each  mummy,  to  be  both 
made  of  sycamore  wood,  and  thus  preserved  entire 
and  uncorrupted  for  at  least  three  thousand  years. 

In  Amos  vii.  14,  there  is  a  reference,  no  doubt,  to 
the  manner  in  which  these  trees  are  cultivated,  by 
scraping  or  making  incisions  in  the  fruit.  So  the 
LXX  seem  to  have  understood  it,  and  so  it  would 
seem,  from  the  united  testimonies  of  natural  histori- 
ans, that  the  original  term  imports.  Pliny,  Dioscor- 
ides,  Theophrastus,  Hasselquist,  and  other  writers, 
state,  that  the  fruit  of  the  sycamore  must  be  cut  or 
scratched,  either  with  the  nail  or  iron,  before  it  will 
ripen  ;  and  it  was  in  this  employment,  most  probably, 
that  the  prophet  was  engaged  before  he  was  called  to 
sustain  the  prophetic  character.  If  the  words  were 
rendered  "  a  sycamore  tree  dresser,"  instead  of  a 
"  gatherer  of  sycamore  fruit,"  it  would  include,  as 
Mr.  Harmer  suggested,  both  the  scarification  and  the 
gathering  of  the  fruit. 

In  the  passage  cited  from  Norden,  that  traveller 
adverted  to  the  circumstance  of  Zaccheus  climbing 
up  into  the  sycamore  for  the  purpose  of  witnessing 
our  Lord  pass  through  Jericho,  Luke  xix.  4  ;  and 
Mr.  Blomfield  remarks,  that  this  mode  of  viewing 
an  object  seems  to  have  been  not  unfrequent,  inso- 
much that  it  appears  to  have  given  rise  to  a  proverb- 
ial expression,  which  he  cites  from  Libanius. 

The  sycamore  strikes  its  large  diyerging  roots  deep 
into  the  soil ;  and  on  this  account,  says  Paxton,  our 
Lord  alludes  to  it  as  the  most  difficult  to  be  rooted 
up,  and  transferred  to  another  situation  :  "  If  ye  had 
faith  as  a  grain  of  mustard  seed,  ye  might  say  unto 
this  sycamore  tree.  Be  thou  j)lucked  up  by  the  root, 
and  be  thou  planted  in  the  sea,  and  it  should  obey 
you,"  Luke  xvii.  5.  The  stronger  and  more  diverging 
the  root  of  a  tree,  the  more  difficult  it  must  be  to 
pluck  it  up,  and  insert  it  again  so  as  to  make  it  strike 
root  and  grow  ;  but  far  more  difficult  still  to  plant  it 
in  the  sea,  where  the  soil  is  so  far  below  the  surface, 
and  where  the  restless  billows  are  continually  tossing 
it  from  one  side  to  the  other  ;  yet,  says  our  Lord,  a 
task  no  less  difficult  than  this  to  be  accomplished, 
can  the  man  of  genuine  faith  perform  with  a  word, 
for  with  God  nothing  is  impossible,  nothing  difficult, 
or  laborious.     In  the  parallel  passage  (Matt,  xvii,  20^ 


SYN 


[871  ] 


SYR 


the  hyperbole  is  varied,  a  mountain  being  substituted 
for  the  sycamore  tree.  The  passage  is  thus  para- 
phrased by  Rosenmiiller:  "So  long  as  you  trust  in 
God  and  me,  and  are  not  sufficient  in  self-rehance, 
you  may  accompUsh  the  most  arduous  labors  under- 
taken tor  the  furthering  my  religion." 

SYCHAR,  see  Sichem. 

SYENE,  a  city  on  the  southern  frontiers  of  Egypt 
towards  Eihiopia,  between  Thebes  and  the  cataracts 
of  the  Nile,  (Ezek.  xxix.  10  ;  xxx.  6.)  and  now  called 
Assouan.  Pliny  says  it  stands  in  a  peninsula  on  the 
eastern  shore  of  the  Nile  ;  that  it  is  a  mile  in  circum- 
ference, and  has  a  Roman  garrison. 

SYNAGOGUE,  a  word  which  primarily  signifies 
an  assemlily  ;  but,  like  the  word  church,  came  at 
length  to  be  applied  to  places  in  which  any  assem- 
bhes,  especially  those  for  the  woi-ship  of  God,  met, 
or  were  convened.  From  the  silence  of  the  Old 
Testament  with  reference  to  these  places  of  worship, 
most  commentators  and  writers  on  biblical  antiqui- 
ties are  of  oi)inion  that  they  were  not  in  use  till  after 
the  Babylonish  captivity.  Prior  to  that  time,  the 
Jews  seem  to  have  held  their  social  meetings  for 
religious  worship  eitlier  in  the  open  air,  or  in  the 
houses  of  the  prophets.  (See  2  Kings  iv.  2.3.)  Syna- 
gogues could  only  be  erected  in  those  places  where 
ten  men  of  age,  learning,  piety,  and  easy  circum- 
stances could  be  found  to  attend  to  the  service  which 
was  enjoined  in  them.  Large  towns  had  several 
synagogues,  and  soon  after  the  captivity,  their  utility 
became  so  obvious,  that  they  were  scattered  over  the 
land,  and  became  the  parish  churches  of  the  Jewish 
nation.  Their  number  appears  to  have  been  very 
considerable,  and  when  the  erection  of  a  synagogue 
was  considered  as  a  mark  of  piety,  (Luke  vii.  5.)  or 
passport  to  heaven,  we  need  not  be  surprised  to  hear 
that  they  were  multiplied  beyond  all  necessity,  so 
that  in  Jerusalem  alone  there  were  not  fewer  than 
460  or  480.  They  were  generally  built  on  the  most 
elevated  ground,  and  consisted  of  two  parts.  The 
one  on  the  most  westerly  part  of  the  building  con- 
tained the  ark,  or  chest,  iu  which  the  book  of  the 
law  and  the  sections  of  the  prophets  were  deposited, 
and  was  called  the  temple  by  way  of  eminence.  The 
other,  in  which  the  congregation  assembled,  was 
termed  the  body  of  the  church.  The  people  sat 
with  their  faces  towards  the  temple,  and  the  elders 
in  the  contrary  direction,  and  opposite  to  the  people  ; 
tlie  space  between  them  being  occupied  by  the  pul- 
pit, or  reading  desk.  The  seats  of  the  elders  were 
considered  as  more  holy  than  the  othei-s,  and  are 
si)oken  of  as  "  the  chief  seats  in  the  synagogues," 
?.Iait.  xxiii.  6. 

The  stated  office-bearers  iu  every  synagogue  were 
ten,  thongh  in  rank  they  \vere  but  six.  Their  names 
and  duties  are  given  by  Lightfoot,  to  whom  the 
reader  is  referred.  But  we  must  notice  the  Archis^f- 
nagogos,  or  ruler  of  the  synagogue  ;  who  regulated 
all  its  concerns,  and  gianled  permission  to  preach. 
Of  these  there  were  three  in  each  synagogue.  Dr. 
Lightfoot  believes  them  to  have  possessed  a  civil 
power,  and  to  have  constituted  the  lowest  civil  tribu- 
nal, comjtionly  known  as  "the  council  of  three  ; " 
whose  office  it  was  to  decide  the  differences  that 
arose  between  atiy  members  of  the  synagogue,  and  to 
judge  of  money  matters  thefts,  losses.  Sec.  Tothese 
officers  there  is  probably  an  allusion  in  1  Cor.  vi.  5. 
The  second  office-bearer  was  "the  angel  of  the 
church,"  or  minister  of  the  congregation,  who  prayed 
and  preached.  In  allusion  to  these  the  pastors  of 
the  Asiatic  churches  are  called  angels,  Rev.  ii.  iii. 


The  service  of  the  synagogue  was  as  follows  ; — • 
The  people  being  seated,  the  minister,  or  angel  of 
the  church,  ascended  the  pulpit  and  offered  up  the 
public  prayers  ;  the  people  rising  from  their  seats, 
and  standing  in  a  posture  of  deep  devotion,  Matt.  vi. 
5;  Mark  xi.  25;  Luke  xviii.  11,  13.  The  prayers 
were  nineteen  in  number,  and  were  closed  by  read- 
ing the  execration.  The  next  thing  was  the  repeti- 
tion of  their  phylacteries ;  after  which  came  the 
reading  of  the  law  and  the  prophets.  The  former 
was  divided  into  54  sections,  with  which  were  united 
corresponding  portions  from  the  prophets ;  (see  Acts 
XV.  21  ;  xiii.  27.)  and  these  were  read  through  once 
in  the  coui-se  of  the  year.  After  the  return  from  the 
captivity  an  interpreter  was  employed  in  reading  the 
law  and  the  prophets,  (see  Neh.  viii.  2 — 10.)  v/ho  in- 
terpreted them  into  the  Syro-Chaldaic  dialect,  which 
was  then  spoken  by  the  people.  The  last  part  of 
the  service  was  the  expounding  of  the  Scriptures, 
and  preaching  from  them  to  the  people.  This  was 
done  either  by  one  of  the  officers,  or  by  some  dis- 
tinguished person  who  happened  to  be  present.  The 
reader  will  recollect  one  memorable  occasion,  on 
which  our  Saviour  availed  himself  of  the  opportunity 
thus  afforded  to  address  his  countrjmen,  (Luke  iv. 
20.)  and  there  are  several  other  instances  recorded 
of  himself  and  his  disciples  teaching  iu  the  syna- 
gogues. (See  Matt.  xiii.  54  ;  Mark  vi.  2  ;  John  xviii. 
20  ;  Acts  xiii.  5,  15,  44  ;  xiv.  1 ;  xvii.  2—4,  10—12, 
17  ;  xviii.  4,  25  ;  xix.  8.)  The  whole  service  was 
conclufied  with  a  short  prayer,  t»r  benediction. 

The  Jewish  synagogues  were  not  only  used  for  the 
purposes  of  divine  worship,  but  also  for  courts  of 
judicature,  in  such  matters  as  fell  under  the  cogni- 
zance of  the  council  of  three,  of  which  we  have  already 
spoken.  On  such  occasions  the  sentence  given 
against  the  offender  was  sometimes  carried  into  efiect 
in  the  [)lace  where  the  council  was  assembled. 
Hence  we  read  of  persons  being  beaten  in  the  syna- 
gogue, and  scourged  in  the  synagogue.  Matt.  x.  17 ; 
Mark  xiii.  9. 

SYNTYCHE,  (Phil.  iv.  2.)  a  woman  illustrious 
for  virtue  and  good  works  in  the  church  at  Philippi. 

SYRACUSE,  the  capital  of  Sicily,  on  the  eastern 
coast,  (Acts  xxviii.  12.)  where  Paul  spent  three  days, 
on  his  voyage  to  Rome. 

SYRIA,  called  Aram,  from  the  patriarch  who 
peopled  its  chief  provinces,  comprehended  the  coun- 
try lying  between  the  Euphrates  east,  the  Mediter- 
ranean west,  Cilicia  north,  and  Phenicia,  Judea  and 
Arabia  Deserta  south.  Syria  of  the  two  rivers  is 
Mesopotamia  of  Syria,  which  see. 

Syria  of  Damascus  extended  eastward  along  mount 
Libanus;  but  its  limits  varied  according  to  the  power 
of  the  princes  that  reigned  at  Damascus.  Syria  of 
Zobah,  or  Sobal,  was  jnobalily  Ccele-Syria,  or  hollow 
Syria.  Syria  of  Maacah,  or  Beth-maachah,  or  Ma- 
chati,  was  also  towards  Libanus,  (2  Sam.  x.  G,  8 ; 
2  Kings  XV.  29.)  extending  beyontl  Jordan,  and  was 
given  to  Manasseh,  Dent.  iii.  14  ;  Josh.  xiii.  13.  (See 
Abel  II.)  Syria  of  Rohob,  or  Reliob,  was  that 
l)art  of  Syria  of  which  Rehob  was  the  caj)ital,  near 
the  northern  frontier  of  the  Land  of  Promise,  (Numb. 
xiii.  21.)  on  the  pass  that  leads  to  Emath,  or  Haniath. 
It  was  given  to  Asher,  and  lav  contiguous  to  A])hek, 
in  Libanus,  Josh.  xix.  28,  30';  xxi.  31.  Laish,  situ- 
ate at  the  fountains  of  Jordan,  was  in  t'  :  ^  countrj'-, 
Judg.  i.  31.  Svria  of  Tob,  or  of  Ish-tob,  or  of  the 
land  of  Tob,  or  of  the  Tubieni,  as  they  are  called  m 
the  INIaccabees,  was  in  the  neighborhood  of  Libanus, 
the  northern  extrcmitv  of  Palestine,  Judg.  xi.   J,  5  ; 


SYRIA 


[  872  ] 


SYR 


1  Mac.  V.  13 ;  2  Mac.  xii.  17.  Syria  of  Emath,  or 
Hamath,  near  the  province  of  which  Hamath,  on  the 
Orontes,  was  the  capital. 

Syria,  however,  without  any  other  appellation,  de- 
notes the  kingdom  of  Syria,  of  which  Antioch  be- 
came the  capital,  after  the  reign  of  the  Seleucidse. 
This  country  was  originally  governed  by  its  own 
kings,  each  in  his  own  city  and  territories.  David 
subdued  them  about  ante  A.  D.  1044,  (2  Sam.  viii. 
12;  X.  6,  8.)  but  after  the  reign  of  Solomon  they 
shook  off  the  yoke,  and  were  not  reduced  again,  till 
the  time  of  Jeroboam  II.  A.  M.  3179.  Reziu,  king 
of  Syria,  and  Pekah,  king  of  Israel,  having  declared 
war  against  Ahab,  king  of  Judah,  he  found  himself 
under  the  necessity  of  soliciting  aid  from  Tiglath- 
pileser,  king  of  Assyria,  who  put  Rezin  to  death,  took 
Damascus,  and  transported  the  Syrians  beyond  the 
Euphrates.  Syria  allervvards  came  under  the  Chal- 
deans, then  under  the  Persians,  and  was  ultimately 
reduced  by  Alexander  the  Great.  After  his  death 
(A.  M.  3681)  the  empire  was  divided  between  his 
principal  officers,  Seleucus  Nicanor,  head  of  the 
family  of  kings  called  Seleucida*,  taking  the  diadem, 
and  naine  of  king  of  Syria.  He  reigned  forty-two 
years,  and  was  succeeded  by  Antioch  us  Soter ;  Anti- 
ochus  Theos ;  Seleucus  Callinicus ;  Seleucus  Ke- 
raunus  ;  Antioch  us  Magnus  ;  Seleucus  Philopator  ; 
Antiochus  Epiphanes  ;  Antiochus  Eupator ;  Deme- 


trius Soter;  Demetrius  Nicator;  Antiochus  Theos ; 
Tryphon  ;  Antiochus  Soter,  or  Sidetes ;  3878,  Seleu- 
cus V.  son  of  Demetrius  Nicanor ;  Antiochus  Gry- 
phus,  or  Philometer,  and  Antiochus  Cyzicenus,  his 
brother,  (3892,)  divided  the  kingdom  ;  Seleucus  VI. 
son  of  Gryphus ;  and  Antiochus  Eusebes. 

In  the  year  3912,  Syria  was  divided  between 
Philip  and  Demetrius  Eucasrus.  The  Syrians  find- 
ing their  country  almost  ruined  by  the  civil  wars 
which  ensued,  they  called  in  Tigranes,  king  of  Ar- 
menia, A.  M.  3921.  The  two  sons  of  Antiochus 
Eusebes,  however,  still  held  possession  of  a  part  of 
Syria,  till  Pompey  reduced  it  into  a  Roman  prov- 
ince, A.  M.  3939,  after  it  had  subsisted  257  years. 
(See  further  under  the  respective  articles  relative  to 
the  persons  mentioned  in  this  historical  sketch.) 

SYRIAC  VERSION,  see  Versions. 

SYRO-PHffiNICIA  is  Pbenicia  properly  so 
called,  but  which,  having  by  conquest  been  united  to 
the  kingdom  of  Syria,  added  its  old  name,  Phenicia, 
to  that  of  Syria.  The  Canaanitish  woman  is  called 
a  Syro-pheniciau,  (Mark  vii.  26.)  because  she  was  of 
Phenicia,  then  considered  as  part  of  Syria.  Mat- 
thew, who  is  by  some  supposed  to  have  written  in 
Hebrew  or  Syriac,  calls  her  a  Canaanitish  woman, 
(Matt.  XV.  22.)  because  that  country  was  really 
peopled  by  Canaanites,  Sidon  being  the  eldest  son 
of  Canaan,  Gen.  x.  15.     See  Ph(enicia. 


T 


TAB 

TAANACH  is  always  mentioned  in  connection 
with  Megiddo,  except  in  Josh.  xxi.  25.  The  infer- 
ence is,  that  they  lay  near  each  other.  (See  Me- 
giddo, and  see  a  full  description  of  the  topography  of 
the  region,  in  the  Bibl.  Repository,  vol.  i.  p.  598, 
603.)     *R. 

TABERAH,  or  Tabeera,  burning,  an  encamp- 
ment of  Israel  in  the  desert,  (Numb.  xi.  3  ;  Dcut.  ix. 
22  )  and  so  called,  because  here  a  fire  from  the  tab- 
ernach;  of  the  Lord  burned  a  great  part  of  the  camp. 

TABERNACLE.  We  have  an  account  of  three 
pulilic  tabernacles  among  the  Jews,  previous  to  the 
building  of  Solomon's  temple.  The  Jirst,  which 
Moses  erected  for  himself,  is  called  "the  tabernacle 
of  the  congregation."  In  this  he  gave  audience, 
heard  causes,  and  inquired  of  God.  Perhaps  the 
public  offices  of  I'cligious  worship  were  also  per- 
formed in  it  for  some  time,  and  hence  its  designation. 
The  second  tabernacle  was  that  which  Moses  built 
for  God,  by  his  express  command,  partly  to  be  the 
])lace  of  his  residence  asking  of  Israel,  (Exod.  xl.  .34, 
35.)  and  pars'y  to  be  the  medium  of  that  solemn  wor- 
sliij)  which  tiiC  peo])le  wore  to  render  to  him,  ver.  17, 
26 — 29.  'Vhv  third  public  tabernacle  was  that  which 
David  erected  in  his  own  city,  for  the  reception  of 
the  ark,  when  he  received  it  from  tlie  house  of 
Obed-edom,  2  Sam.  vi.  17  ;  1  Chron.  xvi.  1.  But 
it  is  the  sccnud  of  these,  called  <Ae  tabernacle,  by  way 
of  distinction,  that  we  have  more  particularly  to 
notice. 

Moses  having  been  instructed  by  God  to  rear  the 
tabernacle,  according  to  the  pattern  which  had  been 
shown  to  him  in  the  mount,  called  the  people  to- 
gether and  informed  them  of  his  proceedings,  fijrtho 


TABERNACLE 

purpose  of  affording  them  an  opportunity  of  con- 
tributing towards  so  noble  and  iionorable  a  work, 
Exod.  XXV.  2 ;  xxxv.  5.  And  so  liberally  did  the 
people  bring  their  offerings,  that  he  was  obliged  to 
restrain  them  in  so  doing,  ver.  21 — xxxvi.  6.  The 
structure  which  we  are  now  about  to  describe,  was 
built  with  extraordinary  magnificence,  and  at  a  pro- 
digious expense,  that  it  might  be  in  some  measure 
suitable  to  the  dignity  of  the  Great  King,  for  whose 
palace  it  was  designed,  and  to  the  vahie  of  those 
spiritual  and  eternal  blessings,  of  which  it  was  also 
designed  as  a  type  or  emblem. 

The  value  of  the  gold  and  silver,  only,  used  for  the 
work,  and  of  which  we  have  an  account  in  Exod. 
xxxviii.  24,  25,  amounted,  according  to  bishop 
Cumberland's  reduction  of  the  Jewish  talent  and 
shekel  to  English  coin,  to  upwards  of  182,568/.  or 
more  than  810,600  dollars.  If  we  add  to  this  the 
vast  quantity  of  brass  or  copper,  that  was  also  used  ; 
the  shittim  wood,  of  which  the  boards  of  the  taberna- 
cle, as  well  as  the  pillars  which  surrounded  the  court 
and  sacred  utensils,  were  made ;  as  also  the  rich 
embroidered  curtains  and  canopies  that  covered  the 
tabernacle,  divided  the  parts  of  it,  and  surrounded 
the  court; — and  if  we  further  add,  the  jewels  that 
were  set  in  the  high-priest's  ephod  and  breastplate, 
which  are  to  be  considered  as  part  of  the  furniture 
of  the  tabernacle,  the  value  of  the  whole  materials, 
exclusive  of  workmanship,  must  amount  to  an  im- 
mense sum.  This  sum  was  raised,  partly  by  volun- 
tary contributions  and  presents,  and  partly  by  a  poll 
tax  of  half  a  shekel  a  head  for  every  male  Israelite 
above  twenty  years  old,  (chap.  xxx.  11 — 16.)  which 
amounted  to  a  hundred   talents  and   1775  shekels, 


■TABERNACLE 


[873  J 


TABERNACLE 


that  is,  35,359/.  7s.  Gd.  stei-ling,   or  nearly   157,000 
dollars,  cliap.  xx.wiii.  25. 

The  iLuriiod  Spencer  imagined  that  Moses  bor- 
rowed i]i.s  design  of  this  tabernuc-le  IVoiii  E'_'V|)t.  But 
this  notion,  as  Jennings  has  shown,  is  dinctiy  at 
variance  with  matter  of  tact ;  the  struciure  ofiAloses 
ditiering  from  those  used  in  the  hiathen  worship 
most  essentially,  hotli  in  situation  and  lijrni,  and  also 
with  its  ty|)icai  design  and  use,  as  i)oijiied  out  by  the 
apostle  iu  the  ninth  chapter  of  the  Hebrews. 

The  tabernacle  was  of  an  oitlong  rectangular  form, 
thirty  cubits  long,  ten  broad,  and  ten  in  height; 
(Exod.  xxvi.  18—29  ;  xxxvi.  23—34.)  whicl),  accord- 
ing to  bishop  Cumberland,  was  lifiy-five  feet  long, 
eighteen  broad,  and  eighteen  liigh.  Tiio  two  sides, 
and  the  western  end,  were  formed  of  boards  of  shit- 
tjin  wood,  overlaid  with  thin  plates  of  gold,  and 
fixed  iu  soKd  sockets,  or  vases  of  silver.  Above, 
they  were  secured  by  bars  of  the  same  wood,  over- 
laid with  gold,  passing  through  rings  of  gold,  which 
were  fixed  to  the  boards.  On  the  east  <iid,  which 
was  the  entrance,  there  were  no  boards,  but  only  five 
pillars  of  shiltim  wood,  whose  chapiteis  and  fillets 
were  overlaid  with  gold,  and  their  hooks  of  gold, 
standing  on  five  sockets  of  brass.  The  lal-ernacle, 
tlius  erected,  was  covered  with  four  difiirent  kinds 
of  curtains.  The  first  and  inner  ciutain  was  com- 
posed of  fine  linen,  magnificently  embroidered  with 
figures  of  cherubim,  in  shades  of  blue,  purple  and 
scarlet ;  this  formed  the  beautiful  ceiling.  The  next 
covering  was  made  of  goats'  hair;  the  third  of  rams' 
skins,  died  red;  and  the  fourth  and  outwiu'd  cover- 
ing was  made  of  badgers'  skins,  as  our  translators 
have  it,  but  which  is  not  quite  certain,  as  it  is  gener- 
ally thought  that  the  original  intends  only  skins  of 
some  description,  dyed  of  a  particular  color.  We 
have  already  said,  that  the  east  end  of  the  tabernacle 
had  no  boards,  but  only  five  pillars  of  shittim  wood ; 
it  w;\s,  therefore,  enclosed  with  a  richly  embroidered 
curtain,  suspended  from  these  pillars,  Exod.  xxvii.  16. 

Such  was  the  external  appearance  of  the  sacred 
tent,  which  was  divided  into  two  apartments,  liy 
means  of  four  pillars  of  shittim  wood,  overlaid  with 
gold,  like  the  pillars  before  described,  two  cubits  and 
a  half  distant  from  each  other;  only  they  stood  on 
sockets  of  silver,  instead  of  sockets  of  brass;  (Exod. 
xxvi.  32;  xxxvi.  36.)  and  on  these  pillars  was  hung 
a  veil,  formed  of  the  same  materials  as  the  one 
|)Iaced  at  the  east  end,  Exod.  xxvi.  31 — 3.3 ;  xxxvi.  35. 
We  are  not  informed  in  what  proportions  the  interior 
of  the  tabernacle  was  thus  divided  ;  but  it  is  generally 
conceived  that  it  was  divided  in  the  same  ])roportion 
as  the  temple  afterwards  built  according  to  its  model ; 
that  is,  two  thirds  of  the  whole  length  being  allotted 
to  the  first  room,  or  the  holy  place,  and  one  third  to 
the  second,  or  most  holy  place.  Thus  the  former 
would  be  twenty  cubits  long,  ten  wide,  and  ten  high, 
and  the  latter  ten  cubits  every  way.  It  is  observa- 
ble, that  neither  the  holy  nor  most  holy  places  had 
any  window.  Hence  the  need  of  the  candlestick  in 
the  one,  for  the  service  that  was  performed  therein  ; 
the  darkness  of  the  other  would  create  reverence, 
and  might,  perhaps,  have  suggested  the  similar  con- 
trivance of  ilie  Adyta  iu  the  heathen  temples. 

The  tabi'rnacle  thus  described  stood  in  an  open 
space,  of  an  oblong  form,  one  hundred  cul)its  in 
length,  and  fifty  in  breadth,  situated  due  east  and 
west,  Exod.  xxvii.  18.  This  court  was  surrounded 
with  pillars  of  brass,  filleted  with  silver,  and  placed 
at  the  distance  of  five  cubits  from  each  other.  Their 
sockets  were  of  brass  and  were  fastened  to  the  earth 
110 


with  |)ins  of  the  same  metal,  Exod.  xxx\nii.  10,  17, 
20.  Their  height  is  not  stated,  but  it  was  probably 
five  cubits,  that  being  the  length  of  the  curtains  that 
were  suspended  on  them,  Exod.  xxxviii.  18.  These 
curtains,  which  ibrmed  an  enclosure  round  the  court, 
were  of  fine  twined  wliite  linen  yarn,  (Exod.  xxvii. 
9 ;  xxxviii.  9,  16.)  except  that  at  the  entrance  on  the 
east  end,  which  was  of  l)lue,  and  purple,  and  scarlet, 
and  fine  white  twined  linen,  with  cords  to  draw  it 
either  up,  or  aside,  when  the  priests  entered  the 
court,  Exod.  xxxviii.  18;  xxxix.  40.  Within  this  area 
stood  the  altar  of  burnt-ofterings,  and  the  laver  and  its 
foot.  The  former  was  placed  in  a  line  between  the 
door  of  the  court  and  the  door  of  the  tabernacle,  but 
nearer  the  former;  (Exod.  xl.  6,  29.)  the  latter  stood 
between  the  altar  of  burnt-oflTeriug  and  tlie  door  of 
the  tabernacle,  Exod.  xxxviii.  8. 

But  although  the  tabernacle  was  surrounded  by 
the  court,  there  is  no  reason  to  think  that  it  stood  in 
the  centre  of  it ;  for  there  was  no  occasion  for  so 
large  an  area  at  the  west  end  as  at  the  east,  where 
the  aitar  and  other  utensils  of  the  sacred  service  were 
placed.  It  is  more  probable  that  the  area  at  this  end 
was  filty  cubits  square  ;  and  indeed  a  less  space  than 
that  could  hardly  suffice  for  the  work  that  was  to  be 
done  there,  and  for  the  persons  who  were  intmedi- 
ately  to  attend  the  service.  We  now  proceed  to  no- 
tice the  furniture  which  the  tabernacle  contained. 

In  the  holy  place  were  three  objects  wortliy  of  no- 
tice, VIZ.  the  altar  of  incense,  the  table  for  the  shew- 
bread,  and  the  candlestick  for  the  lights,  each  of 
wliich  have  been  described  in  their  respective  places. 
The  altar  of  incense  was  placed  in  the  middle  of  the 
sanctuary,  before  the  veil,  (Exod.  xxx.  6 — 10  ;  xl. 
26,  27.)  and  on  it  the  incense  was  burnt  morning  and 
evening,  Exod.  xxx.  7, 8, 34 — 38.  On  the  north  side  of 
the  altar  of  incense,  that  is,  on  the  right  hand  of  the 
priest  as  he  entered,  stood  the  table  for  the  sheW' 
bread,  (Exod.  xxvi.  35  ;  xl.  22,  23.)  and  on  the  south 
side  of  the  holy  ])lace,  the  golden  candlestick,  Exod. 
xxv.  31 — 39.  In  the  most  holy  place  were  the  ark,  the 
mercy-seat,  and  the  cherubim,  for  a  description  of 
which  their  articles  may  be  consulted. 

The  remarkable  and  costly  structure  thus  de- 
scribed was  erected  in  the  wilderness  of  Sinai,  on  the 
first  day  of  the  first  month  of  the  second  year,  after 
the  Israelites  left  Egypt;  (Exod.  xl.  17.)  and  when 
erected  was  anointed,  together  with  its  furniture,  with 
holy  oil,  (ver.  9 — 11.)  and  sanctified  by  blood,  Exod. 
xxiv.  6 — 8;  Heb.  ix.  21.  The  altar  of  burnt-oftering, 
esjjecially,  was  sanctified  by  sacrifices  during  seven 
days,  (Exod.  xxix.  37.)  while  rich  donations  were 
given  by  the  princes  of  the  tribes,  for  the  service  of 
the  sanctuary,  Numb.  vii. 

We  should  not  omit  to  obsen-e,  that  the  tabernacle 
was  so  constructed  as  to  be  taken  to  pieces  and  put 
together  again,  as  occasion  required.  This  was  in- 
dispensal)le ;  it  being  designed  to  accompany  the 
Israelites  during  their  travels  in  the  wilderness.  As 
often  as  they  removed,  the  tabernacle  was  taken  to 
[)ieces,  and  borne  in  regular  order  by  the  Levites, 
Numl).  iv.  Wherever  they  encamped  it  was  pitched 
in  the  midst  of  their  tent.s,  which  were  set  up  in  a 
quadrangular  form,  under  their  respective  standards, 
at  a  distance  from  the  tabernacle  of  2000  cubits; 
while  Moses  and  Aaron,  with  the  priests  and  Levitea 
occiq)ied  a  place  between  them. 

"Tabernacle"  is  sometimes  put  for  heaven,  for  the 
dwelling-place  of  the  blessed,  Ps.  xv.  1 ;  Ixi.  4.  "  I 
will  abide  in  thy  tabernacle  for  ever."  Ps.  Ixxxiv.  1, 
"  How  amiable  are  thy  tabernacles,  O  Lord  of  hosts  1  ** 


TABERNACLE 


[874] 


TAB 


Paul  says  to  the  Hebrews,  (chap.  viii.  2.)  that  "  Jesus 
Christ  was  a  muiister  of  the  sanctuary  and  of  the 
true  tabernacle,  which  the  Lord  pitched,  and  not 
man  ;"  and  that,  "being  come  a  high-priest  of  good 
things  to  come,  by  a  greater  and  more  perfect  taber- 
nacle, not  made  with  hands,  that  is  to  say,  not  of  this 
building,"  &c.  ch.  ix.  IL  (See  also  Rev.  xiii.  6  ;  xxi. 
3.)  The  tabernacle  of  David  that  God  was  to  raise 
(Amos  ix.  11 ;  Acts  xv.  16.)  is  the  church  of  Christ, 
the  ofFspringof  David,  and  heir  of  the  promises  made 
to  that  patriarch. 

Tabernacles,  Feast  of  ;  called  ^xijioTTJyyia,  that 
is,  the  feast  in  which  they  set  up  tents  or  tabernacles, 
John  vii.  2.  In  Hebrew  it  is  called  the  feast  of  tents, 
(Lev.  xxiii.  42 — 44.)  because  it  was  kept  under  green 
tents,  or  arbors,  in  memory  of  the  dwelling  in  tents 
by  the  Israelites  during  their  passage  through  the 
wilderness.  It  was  one  of  their  thi-ee  great  solemni- 
ties, in  which  all  the  males  were  obliged  to  appear 
before  the  Lord.  It  was  celebrated  after  harvest,  on 
the  fifteenth  of  Tizri,  the  first  month  of  the  civil 
year,  and  was  designed  to  return  thanks  to  God  for 
the  Iruits  of  the  earth,  then  gathered  in,  Exod.  xxiii. 
16.  The  feast  continued  eight  days,  during  which 
no  labor  was  permitted,  and  certain  sacrifices  were 
offered.  On  the  first  day  they  cut  down  branches 
of  the  handsomest  trees,  with  their  fruit,  which  they 
carried  in  ceremony  to  the  syntigogue,  wiiere  they 
pei-formed  what  they  called  Liilab.  Holding  in  their 
right  hand  a  branch  of  a  palm-tree,  three  branches  of 
myrtle,  and  two  of  willow,  tied  together,  and  having 
in  their  left  hand  a  citron  with  its  fruit,  they  brought 
them  together,  waving  them  towards  the  four  quar- 
ters of  the  world,  and  singing  certain  songs.  These 
branches  were  also  called  Hosanna,  because  on  that 
occasion  they  cried  Hosanna!  not  unlike  what  was 
done  at  our  Saviour's  enny  into  Jerusalem,  Matt. 
xxi.  8,  9.  On  the  eighth  day  they  performed  this 
ceremony  more  frequently,  and  with  greater  solem- 
nity than  on  the  other  days  of  the  feast  ;  whence 
they  called  this  day  Hosanna  Rabbah,  or  the  grejit 
Hosanna.  On  this  occasion  Psalm  cxviii.  "  O 
give  thanks  unto  the  Lord,  for  he  is  good — Let  Israel 
now  say,"  &.c.  seems  to  have  been  sung.  Tiie 
psalmist  makes  a  plain  allusion  to  it  in  ver.  25,  &c. 
"Save  now,  I  beseech  thee,  O  Lord  :  O  Lord,  I  be- 
seech thee,  send  now  prosi)erity.  Blessed  be  he  that 
cometh  in  the  name  of  the  Lord,"  &.c.  The  Hebrew 
says,  "Hosanna  Jehovah,"  &c.  and  these  words  the 
Jews  sing  at  this  day,  when  they  make  a  procession 
about  their  desk,  at  the  Feast  of  Tabernacles.  They 
are  the  same  as  were  sung  at  our  Saviour's  triumphal 
entry  into  Jerusalem. 

On  the  first  day  of  the  feast,  besides  the  ordinary 
sacrifices,  they  offered  as  a  burnt  offering  thirteen 
calves,  two  rams  and  fourteen  lambs,  with  offerings 
of  flour  and  lilmtions  of  wine  ;  and  also  a  goat  for  a 
sin-offering,  Numb.  xxix.  12.  On  the  second  day 
they  offered  twelve  calves,  two  rams  and  fourteen 
lambs,  for  a  burnt-offering,  with  their  offerings  of 
flour,  oil  and  wine ;  as  also  a  goat  for  a  sin-offering ; 
and  this  beside  the  ordinary  morning  and  evening 
sacrifices,  which  were  never  interrupted  ;  nor  those 
offered  by  the  Israelites  from  private  devotion,  or  for 
expiation  of  sin.  On  the  third,  fourth,  fifth,  sixth 
and  seventh  days  of  the  feast  were  offered  the  same 
Bacrifices  as  on  the  second  day,  with  this  difference, 
that  every  day  they  diminished  from  the  former  by 
one  calf;  so  that  on  the  third  day  they  offered  eleven, 
on  the  fourth  ten,  on  the  fifth  nine,  on  the  sixth 
eight,  and  on  the  seventh  but  seven.    But  the  eighth 


day,  which  was  kept  with  the  greatest  solemnity, 
they  offered  but  one  calf,  one  ram  and  seven  lambs 
for  a  burnt-offering,  and  one  goat  for  a  sin-offering  ; 
with  the  other  accustomed  offerings  and  libations. 
On  this  day,  too,  the  Jews  presented  at  the  temple 
the  first-fruits  of  their  later  crop,  that  is,  of  such 
things  as  were  the  latest  in  coming  to  maturity. 
They  also  drew  water  out  of  the  fountain  of  Siloam, 
which  was  brought  into  the  temple,  and,  being  first 
mingled  with  wine,  was  poured  out  by  the  priests  at 
the  foot  of  the  altar  of  burnt-offerings ;  the  people  in 
the  mean  time  singing  those  words  of  the  pro]ihet 
Isaiah,  (chap.  xii.  3.)  "Therefore  with  joy  shall  ye 
draw  water  out  of  the  wells  of  salvation."  It  is  said 
this  ceremony  was  instituted  by  Haggai  and  Zecha- 
riah,  at  the  return  from  the  captivity;  and  it  is 
thought  that  our  Lord  alluded  to  it,  (John  vii.  37, 38.) 
when  he  cried  in  the  temple,  on  the  last  day  of  the 
Feast  of  Tabernacles,  "If  any  thirst,  let  him  come 
unto  me  and  drink.  He  that  believeth  on  me,  as  the 
Scripture  hath  said,  out  of  his  belly  shall  flow  rivers 
of  living  water;" — meaning,  according  to  John's 
observation,  the  Holy  Ghost,  which  should  be  given 
to  those  who  believed  on  him.  Some  commentators 
thhik,  that  at  this  feast  were  rehearsed  Psalms  viii. 
Ixxxi.  and  Ixxxviii.  entitled  "  for  the  presses  ; "  but 
Leo  of  Modena  says,  they  rehearsed  those  Psalms 
whose  titles  are  Hallelujah,  or,  "  praise  God," — cxi. 
cxii.  cxiii.  cxvi.  cxvii.  cxviii. 

TABLE  OF  Shew-Bread,  see  Bread,  p.  209,  seq. 

TABITHA,  a  Christian  widow,who  lived  at  Joppa, 
and  who,  having  fallen  sick  and  died,  was  restored  to 
life  through  the  intercession  of  the  apostle  Peter, 
Acts  iv.  36.  The  name  Tabitha,  Heb.  ■•ax,  Syr.  Nniaa, 
signifies  gazelle ;  as  does  also  the  corresponding 
Greek  name,  Dorcas.    See  Antelope,  p.  70. 

TABOR,  an  isolated  mountain  which  rises  on  the 
north-eastern  side  of  the  plain  of  Esdraelon,  in  Gal- 
ilee. Its  shape  is  that  of  a  truncated  cone,  and 
Burckhardt  states  its  composition  to  be  entirely  cal- 
careous. Travellers  vary  in  their  estimate  of  its 
height,  which  is  probably  about  2500  to  3000  feet. 
Tabor  is  extremely  fertile,  and  is  covered  by  trees 
and  odoriferous  plants.  On  its  summit  is  a  plain 
about  a  mile  in  circumference,  where  are  the  remains 
of  a  citadel  of  some  considerable  extent,  but  for 
what  j)urpose  it  was  erected  is  not  known.  Mr. 
Buckingham,  who  ascended  this  mountain,  describes 
the  view  from  its  summit  as  being  the  finest  in  the 
country  :  "We  had  on  the  north-west  a  view  of  the 
Mediterranean  sea,  whose  blue  surface  filled  up  an 
open  space  left;  by  a  downward  bend  in  the  outline 
of  the  western  hills  ;  to  the  west-north-west  a  small- 
er portion  of  its  waters  were  seen  ;  and  on  the  west 
again,  the  slender  line  of  its  distant  horizon  was  just 
perceptible  over  the  range  of  land  near  the  sea  coast. 
From  the  west  to  the  south,  the  plain  of  Esdraelon 
extended  over  a  vast  space,  being  bounded  on  the 
south  by  the  range  of  hills  generally  considered  to 
be  Hermon,  whose  dews  are  poetically  celel)rated, 
(Ps.  cxxxiii.  3.)  and  having  in  the  same  direction, 
nearer  the  foot  of  Tabor,  the  springs  of  Ain-el-Sher- 
rar,  which  send  a  jierceptible  stream  through  ita 
centre,  and  form  the  brook  Kishon  of  antiquity,  Ps. 
Ixxxiii.  9.  From  the  south-east  to  the  east  is  the 
plain  nf  Galilee,  being  almost  a  continuation  of  Es- 
draelon, and  like  it,  apy)earingto  be  highly  cultivated, 
being  now  ploughed  for  seed  thoughout.  Beneath 
the  range  of  this  supposed  Hermon  is  seated  Endor, 
famed  for  the  witch  who  raised  the  ghost  of  Samuel ; 
(1  Sam.  xxviii.)  and  Nain,  equally  celebrated,  as  the 


TAD 


[875  1 


TAL 


place  at  wliicli  Jesus  raised  the  only  son  of  a  widow 
from  death  to  hfe,  and  restored  liim  to  Iiis  afflicted 
|)-dreiit,  Luke  vii.  11 — 15.  The  range  which  hounds 
the  eastern  view  is  thought  to  he  the  mountains  of 
Giiboa,  where  Saul,  setting  an  example  of  self-de- 
struction to  his  armor-bearer  and  his  three  sons,  fell 
on  his  own  sword,  rather  than  fall  into  the  hands  of 
the  uncircumcised  Philistines,  by  whom  he  was  de- 
feated, 1  Sam.  xxxi.  The  sea  of  Tiberias,  or  the 
lake  of  Gennesaret,  famed  as  the  seat  of  many  mira- 
cles, is  seen  on  the  north-east,  filling  the  hollow  of  a 
deep  valley,  and  contrasdng  its  ligiit  blue  waters 
with  the  dark  brown  shades  of  the  barren  hills  by 
which  it  is  hemmed  around.  Here,  too,  the  steep  is 
pointed  out,  down  which  the  herd  of  swine,  who 
were  possessed  by  the  legion  of  devils,  ran  headlong 
into  the  sea,  Luke  viii.  33.  In  the  same  direction, 
below,  and  on  the  |)laiu  of  GaUlee,  and  about  an 
hour's  distance  from  the  foot  of  mount  Tabor,  there 
is  a  cluster  of  buildings,  used  as  a  bazaar  for  cattle ; 
somewhat  further  on  is  a  rising  ground,  from  which, 
it  is  said,  that  Christ  delivered  the  long  and  excellent 
discourse,  called  the  '  Sermon  on  the  njount,'  and  the 
whole  view  in  this  quarter  is  bounded  by  the  high 
range  of  Gebel-el-Telj,  or  the  mountain  of  Snow. 
The  city  of  Saphet,  supposed  to  be  the  ancient  Be- 
th uliah,  a  city  said  to  be  seen  far  and  near,  and 
thought  to  be  alluded  to  in  the  apophthegm  which 
says,  'a  city  set  on  a  hill  cannot  be  hid,'  (Matt.  v. 
14.)  is  also  pointed  out  in  this  direction.  To  the 
north  were  the  stony  hills  over  which  we  had  jour- 
neyed hither  ;  and  these  completed  this  truly  grand 
and  interesting  panoramic  view."  (Travels,  p.  107 
—109.) 

Deborah  and  Barak  assembled  their  army  on  Ta- 
bor, from  which  they  marched  to  give  battle  to  Sisera ; 
(Judg.  iv.  6.)  and  subsequently,  Hosea  (chap.  v.  1.) 
reproaches  the  princes  of  Israel,  and  the  priests  of 
the  golden  calves,  with  liaviug  been  a  snare  on 
Mizpah,  and  a  net  spread  upon  Tabor;  referritig,  no 
doubt,  to  the  idols,  or  superstitious  altars,  which  they 
here  set  up.  When  Josephus  was  eovernor  of  Gali- 
lee, he  strongly  fortified  the  top  of  Tabor  ;  but  Ves- 
l)asian  by  stratagem  dx-ew  down  the  Jews  into  the 
open  country,  and  there  cut  them  to  pieces, 

TABRET,  or  Tabouret,  a  small  species  of  drum, 
e.  g.  TiMEREx,,  which  see. 

TADMOR,  subsequently  called  Palnnfra  by  the 
Greeks,  was  a  city  founded  by  Solomon  in  the  desert 
of  Syria,  on  the  borders  of  Arabia  Deserta,  near  the 
Euphrates.  Its  situation  was  remote  from  human 
habitations,  in  the  midst  of  a  dreary  wilderness;  and 
it  is  probable  that  Solomon  built  it  to  facilitate  his 
commerce  with  the  East,  as  it  aftbrded  a  su])ply  of 
water,  a  thing  of  the  utmost  importance  in  an  Ara- 
bian desert.  It  is  one  day's  journey  from  the  Euphra- 
tes, two  from  Upper  Syria,  and  six  from  Babylon. 
The  original  name  was  preserved  till  the  time  of 
Alexander,  who  extended  his  conquests  to  this  city, 
which  then  exchanged  Tadmor  for  the  title  of  Pal- 
myra. It  submitted  to  the  Romans  about  the  year 
130,  and  continued  in  alliance  with  them  during  a 
period  of  150  years.  When  the  Saracens  triumphed 
in  the  East,  they  acquired  possession  of  this  city,  and 
restored  its  ancient  name  of  Tadmor.  Of  the  time 
of  its  ruin  there  is  no  authentic  record  ;  but  it  is 
thought,  with  some  probability,  that  its  clestruction 
occurred  during  the  period  in  which  it  was  occupied 
by  the  Saracens.  Of  its  present  appearance  Messrs. 
Wood  and  Dawkins,  who  visited  it  in  1751,  thus 
epeak:  "It  is  scarcely  possible  to  imagine  any  thing 


more  striking  than  this  view.  So  great  a  number  of 
Corinthian  pillars,  mixed  with  so  little  wall  orsolid 
building,  aftbrded  a  most  romantic  variety  of  pros- 
l)ect."  Captain  Mangles,  who  travelled  more  recent- 
ly, observes,  "  On  o|)ening  upon  the  ruins  of  Palmyra, 
as  seen  from  the  valley  of  the  Tombs,  we  were  much 
struck  with  the  picturesque  effect  of  the  whole,  pre- 
senting the  most  imposing  sight  of  the  kind  we  had 
ever  seen."  But  on  a  minuter  inspection,  tlie  ruins 
of  tins  once  nnghty  city  do  not  appear  so  ioteresting 
as  at  a  distance.  Volney  observes,  "In  tfce  space 
covered  by  these  ruins,  we  sometimes  find  a  palace 
of  which  nothing  remains  but  the  court  and  walls  ; 
sometimes  a  temple,  whose  peristile  is  half  thrown 
down ;  and  now  a  portico,  a  galleiy,  a  triumphal 
arch.  If  from  this  striking  scene  we  cast  our 
eyes  upon  the  ground,  another  almost  as  varied  pre- 
sents itself.  On  which  side  soever  we  look,  the 
earth  is  strewed  with  vast  stones  half  buried,  wth 
broken  entablatures,  niutilated  friezes,  disfigured  re- 
liefs, effaced  sculptures,  violated  tombs,  and  altars 
defiled  by  the  dust."  It  is  situated  under  a  ridge  of 
barren  hills  to  the  west,  and  its  other  sides  are  open 
to  the  desert.  The  city  was  originally  about  ten 
miles  in  circumference  ;  but,  such  have  been  the 
destructions  effected  by  time,  that  the  boundaries 
are  with  difficulty  traced  and  determined.  In  the 
Modern  Traveller  there  is  a  very  excellent  description 
of  the  present  aspect  of  this  ruined  city,  by  Mr.  Josiah 
Conder.     (Vol.  iii.  p.  1.  Amer.  edit.) 

TAHAPANES,  (Jer.  ii.  16.)  or  Tahpanhes, 
(Jer.  xliii.  7,  9.)  or  Tehaphnehes,  (Ezek.  xxx.  18.) 
the  name  of  an  Egyptian  city,  for  which  the  Seventy 
put  Taphne,  (Ta(/r?;,  Tuiprui.)  and  this  is  probably  the 
same  name  which  the  Greeks  write  Daphne.  This 
city  lay  in  the  vicinity  of  Pelusium,  (see  Sin  II.)  to- 
wards the  south-west,  on  the  western  bank  of  the  Pe- 
lusiac  branch  of  the  Nile  ;  and  is  therefore  called  by 
Herodotus  the  Pelusiac  Daphne.  To  this  city  many 
of  the  Jews  retired,  after  the  destruction  of  Jerusa- 
lem by  the  Chaldeans,  taking  vAxh  them  the  proph- 
et Jeremiah,  Jer.  xliii.  7—9 ;  xliv.  1.  That  Taha- 
panes  was  a  large  and  important  city,  is  apparent 
from  the  threats  uttered  against  it  by  Ezekiel,  c.  xxx. 
18.     *R. 

TALENT.  Several  authors  have  supposed  that 
among  the  Hebrews  there  were  two  sorts  of  talents, 
a  larger  and  a  smaller  ;  the  talent  of  the  sanctuary, 
and  the  common  talent ;  the  former  being  double  the 
weight  or  value  of  the  other.  But  we  cannot  find 
this  distinction  in  Scripture. 

The  weight  of  the  Jewish  talent,  according  to  Dr. 
Arlmthnot  was  113  poimds,  10  ounces,  1  pennyweight 
and  10  2-7ths  grains  troy  weight.  Its  value  in  (Eng- 
lish) money  was  342/.  3s.  9d.  or  about  $1520.  The 
talent  of  gold  was  of  the  same  weight ;  its  value, 
54,7.52/.  or  8243,100. 

The  following  thought  of  Mr.  Bruce  is  perhaps 
worth  inquiring  into  ;  that  is,  that  the  talents  appro- 
priated to  different  commodities  might  be  of  different 
weights ;  and  adds,  that  if  a  talent  could  be  dis- 
covered, which,  at  the  mine,  was  of  less  weight  than 
the  talent  of  Judea,  we  might,  perhaps,  be  justified 
in  estimating  the  riches  in  gold  of  David,  or  of  Solo- 
mon, by  the  weight  of  that  talent.  "  David  took 
possession  of  two  ports,  Eloth  and  Ezion-gaber ;  (1 
Kings  is.  26;  2  Chron.  viii.  17.)  from  which  he 
carried  on  trade  to  Ophir  and  Tarshish,  to  a  very 
great  extent,  to  the  day  of  his  death.  We  are  struck 
with  astonishment,  when  we  reflect  on  the  sum  that 
prince  received  in  so  short  a  time  from  these  mines 


TAL 


[  876  ] 


TAM 


of  Ophir.  For  what  is  said  to  be  given  by  David  (1 
Chron.  xxii.  14,  15,  19  ;  xxLx.  3—7,  three  thousand 
Hebrew  talents  of  gold,  reduced  to  our  money,  is 
21,600,000^.  sterling)  and  his  princes,  for -the  build- 
ing of  the  temple"  of  Jerusalem,  exceeds  in  value 
800,000,000^.  of  our  money,  if  the  talent  there  spoken 
of  be  a  Hebrew  talent,  (the  value  of  a  Hebrew  talent 
appeai-s  from  Exod.  xxxviii.  25,  26.  For  603,550 
persons  being  taxed  at  half  a  shekel  each,  they 
must  have  paid  in  the  whole  301,774  ;  now  that  sum 
is  said  to  amount  to  100  talents,  775  shekels  only ; 
deduct  the  two  latter  sums,  and  there  will  remain 
300,000,  which,  divided  by  100,  will  leave  3000 
shekels  for  each  of  these  talents,)  and  not  a  weight 
of  the  same  denomination,  the  value  of  which  was 
less,  and  peculiarly  reserved  for,  and  used  in  the 
traffic  of,  these  precious  metals,  gold  and  silver.  It 
was  probably  an  African  or  Indian  weight,  proper  to 
the  same  mine  whence  was  gotten  the  gold,  appro- 
priated to  fine  commodities  only,  as  is  the  case  with 
our  ounce  trov  different  from  the  avoirdupois." 

TALISMAN,  see  Amulet. 

TAL3IUD  is  the  name  of  a  Jewish  work  contain- 
ing the  body  of  the  doctrines,  rehgion  and  morality 
of  the  Jews  ;  and  having  among  them  an  authority 
equal  to,  if  not  greater  than  that  of  the  Hebrew 
Scriptures.  The  name  conies  from  the  Hebrew 
Idmad,  to  teach,  and  signifies  therefore  teaching,  or 
rather  traditional  doctrine.  Tliere  are  strictly  two 
works  under  tiiis  name,  viz.  the  Talmud  of  Jerusa- 
lem, and  the  Talmud  of  Babylon.  See  under  Lan- 
guage, p.  609. 

The  Talmud  of  Jerusalem  was  compiled  by 
Rabbi  Jochanan,  who  presided  in  the  school  of  Pal- 
estine fourscore  years,  and  who  is  said  to  have  fin- 
ished it  230  years  after  the  ruin  of  the  temple,  or 
about  A.  D.  300,  for  the  use  of  the  Jews  in  Judea. 
This  Talmud  is  shorter  and  more  obscure  than  that 
of  Babylon,  but  is  doubtless  more  ancient.  It  is 
composed  of  two  parts,  the  Mishna  and  the  Gemara. 
The  Mishna  (which  is  also  common  to  the  Babylo- 
nian Talmud)  is  the  work  of  Rabbi  Judah  Hakko- 
desh,  or  "  tlie  Holy,"  who  compiled  it  about  A.  D. 
190  or  220,  at  Tiberias.  The  name  Mishna  signifies 
the  second  law  ;  and  the  work  is  a  collection  of  the 
traditions  of  the  Jewish  doctors,  which  Hakkodesh 
gathered  into  one  ijody,  for  fear  they  should  be  lost 
and  forgotten  because  of  the  dispersion  of  the  Jews 
and  the  interruption  of  their  schools.  About  a  century 
later,  Rabbi  Jochanan,  as  is  said  above,  composed 
the  Gemara,  i.  e.  completion,  perfection,  in  order  to 
perfect  and  finish  the  Mishna  of  Rabbi  Judah.  It 
consists  of  illustrations  of  the  ftlishna,  and  things 
supplementarj'  to  it,  and  is  in  the  nature  of  a  com- 
mentary upon  it.  The  two  constitute  the  Talmud 
of  Jerusalem. 

The  Talmud  of  Babylon  is  composed  of  the 
same  Mishna  of  Judah  the  Holy,  and  of  a  Gemara, 
composed,  as  is  said  by  some,  by  Rabbi  Asa,  who 
lived  at  Babylon  about  A.  D.  400 ;  or,  as  is  affirmed 
by  others,  by  Rabbi  Jose,  in  the  beginning  of  the 
sixth  century.  It  is  called  the  Talmud  of  Babylon, 
because  it  was  compiled  in  that  city,  and  was  chiefly 
prevalent  among  the  Jews  beyond  the  Euphrates. 
The  Jews  prefer  this  to  the  Talmud  of  Jerusalem, 
because  it  is  clearer  and  more  extensive.  It  aboiuids 
with  a  multitude  of  fables  and  ridiculous  stories,  of 
the  truth  of  which,  however,  they  must  entertain  no 
doubt,  unless  they  would  pass  for  heretics. 

The  Jews  even  prefer  the  authority  of  the  Talmud 
to  that  of  Scripture.     They  compare  the  Bible  to 


water,  the  Mishna  to  wine,  and  the  Gemara  to  hypo- 
eras.  It  is  a  part  of  their  belief,  that  the  traditions 
and  explications  contained  in  the  Talmud  are  derived 
from  God  himself;  tliat  Moses  revealed  them  to 
Aaron  and  his  sons,  and  to  the  elders  of  Israel;  that 
these  communicated  them  to  the  jirophets,  and  the 
prophets  to  the  members  of  the  great  synagogue,  who 
transmitted  them  down  till  they  came  to  the  doctors 
or  rabbis,  and  these  reduced  them  to  the  form  of 
the  Mishna  and  Gemara. 

The  Mishna  is  written  in  Hebrew,  in  a  very 
close  and  obscure  style.  See  Language,  p.  609. 
A  noble  edition  of  it  was  given  by  Sureiihusius,  in 
six  parts,  folio,  Amst.  1698,  &c.  The  Talmud  of 
Jerusalem  was  printed  by  Bomberg,  at  Venice,  in 
one  volume  folio :  that  of  Babylon  at  Amsterdam, 
in  twelve  volumes  folio.  Other  editions  are  also 
extant.     *R. 

I.  TAMAR,  daughter-in-law  of  the  patriarch  Ju- 
dah, wife  of  Er  and  Onan,  and  mother  of  Pliarez  and 
Zarah.  The  book  of  the  Testament  of  the  twelve 
Patriarchs  says,  that  Tamar  was  of  Mesopotamia, 
and  daughter  of  Aram,  that  is,  by  descent  a  Syrian  ; 
that  Bathshuah,  the  wife  of  Judah,  could  not  endure 
her,  because  she  was  of  a  nation  different  from  her 
own,  and  inspired  the  same  hatred  of  her  into  her 
son  Er,  who,  refusing  to  treat  Tamar  as  his  wife, 
was  slain  by  an  angel  of  the  Lord,  on  the  third  day 
after  his  marriage.  Scrifiture  says  that  he  was  very 
wicked  before  the  Lord,  for  which  the  Lord  slew 
him,  (Gen.  xxxviii.  7.)  which  may  mean,  either  that 
he  was  suddenly  slain,  or  smitten  by  a  disease  which 
ultimately  produced  his  death.  Judah  then  said  to 
Onan,  his  second  son,  "  Go  in  unto  thy  brother's  wife, 
and  marry  her,  and  raise  up  seed  unto  thy  brother." 
Onan  took  her,  as  commanded  by  his  father;  but 
knowing  that  the  children  born  from  this  intercourse 
would  not  belong  to  him,  but  to  his  brother,  he  with- 
held from  Tamar  the  means  of  becoming  a  mother  ; 
wherefore  the  Lord  slew  him  also.  Judah  then 
said  to  Tamar,  "  Continue  a  widow  in  thy  father's 
house,  till  my  son  Shelah  shall  be  of  age  to  marry  ;" 
being  afraid  that  Shelah  also  might  die,  as  his  broth- 
ers did.  Tamar  therefore  lived  with  her  father  a 
considerable  time,  but  did  not  receive  Shelah  as  her 
husband.  Some  years  afterwards,  therefore,  when 
Judah  went  to  a  sheep-shearing  feast  of  his  friend 
Hirah,  the  Adullammite,  Tamar  disguised  herself  as 
a  foreign  harlot,  and  sat  in  a  y)lace  where  he  would 
pass.  Judah  had  intercourse  with  her,  and  gave  her 
as  pledges,  his  ring,  his  bracelets  and  his  staff.  After 
some  months  the  pregnancy  of  Tamar  became  ap- 
parent, and  Judah  woidd  have  had  her  burned  alive  ; 
but  when  she  produced  the  ring,  the  bracelets  and 
the  staff',  and  attributed  her  condition  to  tlie  owner 
of  those  pledges,  Judah  acknowledged  that  she  was 
more  just  than  he  had  been.  She  bore  twins,  of 
which  one  was  called  Pharez,  the  other  Zarah. 

Much  has  been  said  and  written  upon  the  transac- 
tion between  Tamar  and  Judah,  and  certainly,  there 
are  ample  groimds  to  doubt  whether  Tamar  were  so 
culpable  as  she  at  first  sight  appears  to  have  been. 
It  seems  that  her  marriage  with  one  branch  of  tl^e 
family,  gave  her  a  right  to  expect  a  coniinuauce  of 
conjugahty  with  some  of  its  other  bianclics.  Tlie 
custom  of  the  surviving  brother  marrying  his  de- 
ceased brother's  A^idow,  with  the  indignity  attcnflant 
upon  his  refusal,  are  well  known  ;  (see  Marriage  ;) 
and  its  general  prevalence  shows  it  was  of  great  an- 
tiquity. The  probability  is,  that  Tamar,  who  was  a 
Caiiaanitess,  might  satisfy  her  mind  with  some  foi-m 


TA3IAR 


[877] 


TAR 


of  inarriage,  at  that  time  customary  in  her  country, 
art  siieiiis  iiiiplied  in  the  declaration  of  Judah — "She 
iiris  Iji'cn  jiiDre  riir/deous  tlian  I."  Tlie  plirase  is  not 
— >iUc  is  less  to  blame — but — "she  is  more  righteous." 
Ainoii;^  the  ciglit  forms  of  marriage  specilied  in  the 
(iiUtoo  coilr,  is  oue  by  a  mutual  intercliange,  between 
tiic  |)artics,  of  necklaces  or  strings  of  flowers,  which 
biais  a  very  striking  resemi)lance  to  the  case  of  Ju- 
d.di  and  Tamar,  the  latter  receiving  from  the  for- 
nicr  his  signet  and  bracelets.  Migiit  not  Tamar  thus 
marry  herself  to  Judah,  though  unwittingly  in  him  ? 
From  the  expression,  (ver.  2().)  "He  knew  her  again 
no  more,"  it  seems  as  if  he  might  lawfully  ha\e  done 
so,  had  he  jileased.  It  is  important  to  remark,  that 
although  Tamar  had  been  contracted  to  Er  and 
(Jnan,  it  is  very  doubtful  whether  those  marriages 
had  ifeen  consummated. 

In  the  Asiatic  Researches  (vol.  iii.  p.  35.)  there  is  a 
liassago,  which  affords  a  similarity  to  the  nan-ativc 
under  consideration,  that  is  extremely  remarkable  : 
"  I  discovered  these  circumstances  of  the  marriage 
ceremony  of  the  Garrows,  from  being  present  at  the 
marriage  of  Lungrce,  youngest  daughter  of  the  chief 
Oodassy,  seven  years  of  age,  and  Buglun,  twenty- 
three  years  old,  the  son  of  a  common  Garrow ;  and 
I  may  here  observe,  that  this  marriage,  dispropor- 
tionate as  to  age  and  rank,  is  a  very  happy  one  for 
Buglun,  as  he  will  succeed  to  the  Booneaship  and 
estate :  for  among  the  Garrows,  the  You:yGEST 
DAUGHTER  IS  ALWAYS  HEIRESS,  aud  if  there  were 
any  other  children  born  before  her,  they  would 
get  nothing  on  the  death  of  the  Booneah  :  what 
is  more  strange,    if  Buglun   were  to  die,  Lungree 

would     MARRY    ONE     OF     HIS     BROTHERS  ;     atul    if   all 

his  brothers  luere  dead,  she  woulu  then  marry  the 
FATHER  ;  and  if  the  father  afterwards  should  prove  too 
old,  she  would  put  him  aside,  and  take  any  one  else 
whom  she  might  choose." 

Upon  this  extract  IMr.  Taylor  has  the  following  re- 
marks. It  is  clear,  that  Lungree  would  have  acted 
exactly  like  Tamar ;  who,  because  Shelah  was  not 
given  to  her,  considered  him  "as  dead,"  and  there- 
fore she  "married  the  father  ;"  in  doing  which,  Ju- 
dah not  only  acquits  her  of  any  transgression,  but 
confesses  she  had  more  closely  adliered  to  the  law 
than  himself  ("  is  more  righteous  than  I").  It  appears 
also,  that  the  children  of  Judah  by  Tamar  did  actu- 
ally inherit  as  his  sons,  lawfully,  as  well  as  naturally  ; 
hence  they  are  reckoned  to  him  in  1  Chron.  ii.  4. 
"  And  Tamar  his  daughter-in-law  bare  him  Pharez 
and  Zerah."  In  Numb.  xxvi.  20,  we  read,  "The  sons 
of  Judah  were — of  Shelah — of  Pharez — of  Zerah," 
without  any  jiarticular  mark  of  abasement  on  Pharez ; 
and  in  Ruth  iv.  18,  the  pedigree  of  David  is  express- 
ly derived  from  this  same  sou  of  Judah  by  Tamar. 
If  the  pedigree  of  David  be  so  derived,  that  of  the 
Messiah  must  follow  it ;  artd  it  needs  little  considera- 
tion to  determine  which  has  most  propriety,  to  allow 
the  Ugality  of  Tamar's  marriage,  with  the  legal  ac- 
knowledgment of  her  children,  or  to  bastardize  not 
merely  Pharez  but  his  posterity,  Boaz,  David,  Solo- 
mon ;  a  long  line  of  Hebrew  heroes,  and  all  tlie  kings 
of  Judah. 

II.  TAMAR,  the  daughter  of  Maachah,  wife  of 
David,  and  by  courtesy  reckoned  among  the  king's 
children,  1  Chron.  iii.  K.  Her  great  beauty  was  the 
occasion  of  great  trouble  in  the  family  of  David.  See 
Amno.v. 

III.  TAMAR.  Absalom  had  a  daughter  whose 
name  was  Tamar,  2  Sam.  xiv.  27. 

IV.  TAMAR,  a  city  of  Judea,  (Ezek.  xlvii.  19 ; 


xlviii.  28.)  somewhere  about  the  southern  extremity 
of  tiie  Dead  sea. 

TA.AIMUS,  the  tenth  month  of  the  Hebrew  civil 
year,  and  the  fourth  of  the  sacred  year.  (See  the 
Jewish  Calendar  at  the  end  of  the  vokune.) 

TAMMUZ,  a  |)agan  idol,  mentioned  in  Ezek.  viii. 
14,  where  the  women  are  represented  as  weeping  for 
it.  It  is  generally  thought  that  Tammuz  was  the 
same  deity  as  Adonis,  to  which  article  the  reader 
is  referred,  as  also  to  the  article  Idolatry. 

TA.XACH,  or  Taanach,  a  city  of  the  half-tribe 
of  Manasseh,  east  of  the  Jordan,  (Josh.  xii.  21 ;  xx. 
25  ;  Judg.  i.  27.)  yielded  to  the  Levites.  Eusebius, 
Jerome  and  Procopius  of  Gaza  say,  that  in  their 
time  it  was  a  considerable  i)lace,  three  miles  from 
Legio. 

TANNIM,  or  Thannim,  see  Dragon. 

I.  TAPPUAH,  a  city  of  Manasseh,  but  belonging 
to  Ephraim,  (Josh.  xvii.  8.)  probably  the  En-tappuah 
of  the  former  verse. 

II.  TAPPrAH,  a  city  of  Judah,  (Josh.  xv.  34.) 
])erhaps  the  Beth-tappuah  of  verse  53,  which  is  also 
attributed  to  Judah,  and  which  Eusebius  places  be- 
yond Rajjhia,  14  miles  toward  Egypt. 

TARAH,  an  encampment  of  Israel  in  the  desert, 
to  which  they  came  from  Tahath,  aud  went  hence  to 
Mithcah,  Numb,  xxxiii.  27. 

TARES.  It  is  not  easy  to  decide,  whether  by  the 
term  titumt,  in  Matt.  xiii.  25,  seq.the  Saviour  intends 
indifterently  all  plants  which  grow  among  gram,  or 
some  particular  s])ecies.  All  we  are  certain  of  from 
the  circumstances  of  the  parable  is,  that  it  is  a  plant 
which  rises  to  the  height  of  the  corn.  Mintert  says, 
"  It  is  a  plant  in  ai)pearance  not  unlike  corn  or  Avheat, 
having  at  fii-st  the  same  kind  of  stalk,  and  the  same 
viridity,  but  bringing  forth  no  fruit,  at  least  none 
good."  John  Melchior  also  says,  that  Zi'ianor  does 
not  signify  every  weed,  in  general,  which  grows 
among  corn,  but  a  particular  species  of  weed  known 
in  Canaan,  which  is  not  unlike  wheat,  but,  being  put 
into  the  ground,  degenerated  and  assumed  another 
nature  and  form.  The  Talmudists  name  it  zonim. 
"  Among  the  hurtful  weeds,"  says  Johnson,  "  darnell 
(Lolium  album)  is  the  first.  It  bringeth  forth  leaves 
like  those  of  wheat  or  barley,  yet  rougher,  with  a 
long  ear,  made  up  of  many  little  ones,  every  particu- 
lar whereof  containeth  two  or  three  grains  lesser 
than  those  of  wheat ;  scarcely  any  chaffy  husk  to 
cover  them  with  ;  by  reason  whereof  they  are 
easily  shaken  about,  and  scattered  abroad.  They 
grow  in  fields  among  wheat  and  barley.  They  spring 
and  flourish  with  the  corn  ;  and  in  August  the  seed 
is  ripe.  Darnell  is  called,  in  the  Arabian  tongue, 
zizania." 

Forskal  sajs,  the  darnell  is  well  kno^vn  to  the  i)eo- 
ple  of  Aleppo.  It  grows  among  corn.  If  the  seeds 
remain  mixed  with  the  meal,  they  render  a  man 
drunk  by  eating  the  bread.  The  reapers  do  not  sep- 
arate the  plant;  but,  after  the  thrashing,  they  reject 
the  seeds  by  means  of  a  fan  or  sieve.  Notliing,  sjiys 
Mr.  Taylor,  can  more  clearly  elucidate  the  plant  in- 
tended by  our  Lord,  than  this  extract.  It  grows 
among  corn — so  in  the  parable.  The  reapers  do  not 
separate  the  plants — so  in  the  parable  :  both  grow 
together  till  hai-vest.  After  the  thrashing  they  sep- 
arate them — in  the  parable  they  are  gathered  from 
among  the  wheat,  and  separated  by  the  hand,  then 
gathered  into  bundles.  Their  seeds,  if  any  remain 
by  accident,  are  finally  separated  by  winnowing ; 
which  is,  of  course,  a  process  preparatory  to  being 
gathered — the  corn  into  the  garner,  or  storehouae ; 


TAR 


[  878  ] 


TEM 


the  injurious  plant  into  heaps,  for  consumption  by 
fire,  as  weeds  are  consumed. 

TARGUMS,  or  Chaldee  versions  of  the  Hebrew 
Scriptures,  see  Versions. 

I.  TARSHISH,  the  second  son  of  Javan,  Gen.  x. 
4.  He  is  supposed  to  have  been  the  founder  of  Tar- 
sus in  Cihcia. 

n.  TARSHISH,  the  proper  name  of  a  city  and 
country  (Tartessus)  in  Spain,  the  most  celebrated 
emporium  in  the  west  to  which  the  Hebrews  and 
Phoenicians  traded.  That  it  was  situated  in  the  west 
is  evident  from  Gen.  x.  4,  where  it  is  joined  with 
Elishah,  Kittim  and  Dodanim.  See  also  Ps.  Ixxii. 
10.  According  to  Ezek.  xxxviii.  13,  it  was  an  im- 
portant place  of  trade  ;  according  to  Jer.  x.  9,  it  ex- 
ported silver ;  and  according  to  Ezek.  xxvii.  12,  25, 
silver,  iron,  tin  and  lead  to  the  Tyrian  markets. 
They  embarked  for  this  place  from  Joppa,  Jon.  i.  3, 
4.  In  Isa.  xxiii.  1,  6,  10,  it  is  evidently  represented 
as  an  imj)ortant  Phoenician  colony.  It  is  named 
among  otiier  distant  states,  in  Isa.  Ixvi.  19.  That 
these  notices  agree  with  Tartessus  has  been  shown 
by  Bochart,  Michaelis  and  Bredovv.  The  Greek 
jiame  Tartessus  is  derived  from  a  harder  Aramean 
pronunciation  of  the  word  c-'tt'i-i ;  but  another  or- 
thography with  a,  was  also  known  to  the  Greeks ;  for 
in  Polybius  and  Stephanus  Byzantinus  occurs 
Taoaiiiov,  as  syuonymous  with  Taiin^aaog. 

In  the  interval  between  the  composition  of  the 
Books  of  Kings  and  Chronicles,  this  name  seems  to 
have  been  transferred  to  denote  any  distant  country ; 
hence  the  Tarshish  ships  that  went  to  Ophir  (1 
Kings  xxii.  49.)  are  said  expressly  by  the  writer  of 
Chronicles  to  have  gone  to  Tarshish,  2  Chron.  ix ; 
xxi.  20  ;  xxxvi.  37.  There  is  no  necessity,  then,  for 
the  adoption  of  a  second  Tarshish  (perhaps  in  India 
or  Ethiopia).     (Gesenius,  Heb.  Lex.  suh.  vocem.) 

Tarshish  ships  is  employed  in  Isa.  xxiii.  1,  4  ;  Ix. 
9,  &c.  to  denote  large  merchant  ships  bound  on  long 
voyages,  (perhaps distinguished  by  their  construction 
from  the  common  Phenician  ships,)  even  though 
they  were  sent  to  other  countries  instead  of  Tar- 
shish.— The  English  phrase  an  Indiaman  is  very  sim- 
ilar. The  phrase  is  also  used  of  the  ships  that  went 
to  Ophir,  1  Kings  xxii.  49 ;  x.  22. 

TARSUS,  the  name  of  a  celebrated  city,  the  me- 
tropolis of  Cilicia,  situated  on  the  banks  of  the  river 
Cydnus,  which  flowed  through  and  divided  it  into 
two  parts.  Hence  in  the  Greek  writers  the  city  is 
sometimes  called  Tuoaoi,  as  Xen.  Anab.  i.  2.  23. 
Tarsus  was  distinguished  for  the  culture  of  Greek  lit- 
erature and  philosophy,  so  that  at  one  time,  in  its 
schools  and  in  the  number  of  its  learned  men,  it  was 
the  rival  of  Athens  and  Alexandria.  (Strabo  xiv.  p. 
463.  ed.  Casaub.)  In  reward  for  its  exertions  and 
sacrifices  during  the  civil  wars  of  Rome,  Tarsus  was 
made  a  free  city  by  Augustus.     (Appian.  Bell.  Civ. 

v.  p.  1077.  JauStxiac:    di    y.ul    Taoata?   iXev&ioovi;   u(plti. 

Dio.  Chrysost.  in  Tarsic.  post.)  It  was  the  privi- 
lege of  such  cities,  that  they  were  governed  by  their 
own  laws  and  magistrates,  and  were  not  subjected  to 
the  jurisdiction  of  a  Roman  governor,  nor  to  the 
power  of  a  Roman  garrison  ;  although  they  acknowl- 
edged the  supremacy  of  the  Roman  j)eople,  and  were 
bound  to  aid  them  against  their  enemies.  That  the 
freedom  of  Tarsus,  however,  was  not  equivalent  to 
being  a  Roman  citizen,  appears  from  this,  that  the 
tribune,  although  he  knew  Paul  to  be  a  citizen  of 
Tarsus,  (Acts  xxi.  39.)  yet  ordered  him  to  be 
scourged,  (Acts  xxii.  24.)  but  desisted  from  his  pur- 
pose when  he  learned  that  Paul  was  a  Roman  citizen 


(Acts  xxii.  27.)  It  is  therefore  probable,  that  the  an- 
cestors of  Paul  had  obtained  the  privilege  of  Roman 
citizenship  m  some  other  way.  Acts  ix.  30  ;  xi.  25 ; 
xxii.  3.   (See  Kuinoel  on  Acts  xvi.  37.)     *R. 

TARTAN,  an  officer  of  king  Sennacherib,  sent 
with  Rabshakeh  on  a  message  to  Hezekiah,  2  Kings 
xviii.  17. 

TATNAI,  an  officer  of  the  king  of  Persia,  and 
governor  of  Samaria,  and  of  the  provinces  on  this  side 
Jordan,  opposed  the  rebuilding  of  the  temple  and  the 
walls  of  Jerusalem,  Ezra  v.  6. 

TAVERNS,  Three,  see  Apph  Forum. 

TAXING,  see  Cyrenius. 

TEARS,  Vale  of,  see  Baca. 

TEBETH,  the  Babylonish  name  of  the  tenth 
ecclesiastical  month  of  the  Hebrews,  Esth.  ii.  16. 
See  Jewish  Calendar,  irj/ra. 

TEHAPHNEHES,  see  Tahapanes. 

TEIL-TREE,  see  Terebinth. 

TEKEL,  he  was  iveighed,  one  of  the  words  that 
appeared  written  on  the  wall  at  the  sacrilegious  feast 
of  Belshazzar,  indicating  that  this  wretched  prince 
had  been  weighed  in  the  balance,  and  was  found 
wanting,  Dan.  v.  25.  See  Belshazzar,  and  Daniel. 

TEKOA,  a  city  of  Judah,  (2  Chron.  xi.  6.)  Avhich 
Eusebius  and  Jerome  place  twelve  miles  from  Jeru- 
salem, south.  The  wilderness  of  Tekoa,  mentioned 
2  Chron.  xx.  20,  is  not  far  from  the  Red  sea. 

TEL-ABIB,  the  name  of  a  place  to  which  some 
of  Israel  were  carried  captive,  (Ezek.  iii.  15.)  and 
probably  the  same  place  as  is  now  called  Thelabba, 
in  Mesopotamia,  on  the  river  Chebar.  In  D'Anville's 
Chart  of  the  Euphrates  and  Tigris,  it  is  placed  be- 
tween 36°  and  37°  north  latitude,  and  53°  and  54° 
east  longitude. 

TELASSER,  or  Thalassar,  aprovince  of  Assyria, 
(Isa.  xxxvii.  12  ;  2  Kings  xix.  12.)  the  exact  situation 
of  which  is  unknown.  It  is  thought  to  be  towards 
Armenia  and  Mesopotamia,  and  about  the  sources  of 
the  Euphrates  and  Tigris,  because  of  the  children 
of  Eden,  who  inhabited  that  country. 

TELEM,  a  city  of  Judah,  originally  seized  as  a 
prey,  (Josh.  xv.  24.)  as  Kimclii,  Le  Clerc,  Miller,  and 
others  suppose  ;  elsewhere  called  also  Telaim  ;  "  prey 
violently  taken  away,"  as  the  Arabic  root  imports, 
1  Sam.  XV.  4. 

TEL-HARSA,  perhaps  the  same  as  Telasser. 
Those  who  returned  with  Zerubbabel  out  of  this  coun- 
try, could  not  prove  their  genealogies,  or  show  that 
they  were  of  the  race  of  Israel,  Ezra  ii.59;  Neh.vii.61. 

TEMA,  or  Thema,  son  of  Ishmael,  (Gen.  xxv.  15.) 
is  thought  to  have  peopled  the  city  of  Thema,  in 
Arabia  Deserta.  Job  speaks  of  the  caravans  of  Tenia 
and  Sheba,  (chap.  vi.  19.)  and  Ptolemy  plates  a  city 
called  Themma,  or  Thamma,  in  Arabia  Deserta,  to- 
wards the  mountains  of  the  Chaldeans. 

TEMAN,  or  Theman,  son  of  Eliphaz,  and  gi-and- 
son  of  Esau,  Gen.  xxxvi.  15.  In  the  ver.  34,  we  find 
a  king  of  Idumea,  called  Itusham,  of  the  country  of 
the  Temani.  Jeremiah,  (xHx.  7 — 20.)  Ezekiel  (xxv. 
13.)  and  Amos  (i.  12.)  speak  of  Teman.  Eusebius 
places  Theeman  in  Arabia  Petroea,  five  miles  from  Pc- 
tra,  and  says  there  was  a  Roman  garrison  there. 
This  was  doubtless  the  country  of  the  Temanites. 
It  is  also  sometimes  used  for  the  whole  south. 

TEMPLE,  the  house  of  God,  the  sanctuary,  the 
tabernacle  of  the  Lord,  the  palace  of  the  Most  High, 
are  terms  often  used  synonymously  in  Scripture, 
though,  strictly  speaking,  they  import  very  distinct 
things.  The  sanctuary  was  but  one  part  of  the  taber- 
nacle or  temple ;  neither  does  the  word  temple  de- 


\ 


■m. 


TEMPLE 


[  879  ] 


TEMPLE 


scribe  the  tabernacie,  nor  tabernacle  the  temple. 
Tlie  Hebrews,  before  Solomon,  could  not  properly  be 
said  to  have  had  a  temple,  yet  they  did  not  scruple 
by  the  word  temple  to  describe  the  tabernacle ;  as, 
on  tiie  contrary,  they  sometimes  by  tlie  tabernacle  of 
the  Lord,  expressed  the  temple  built  by  Solomon. 
Afler  the  Lord  had  instructed  David  that  Jerusalem 
was  the  place  he  had  chosen,  in  which  to  fix  his 
dwelling,  that  pious  prince  began  to  realize  his  design 
of  |)rcparing  a  temple  for  the  Lord,  that  might  be 
something  worthy  of  his  divine  majesty.  He  opened 
his  mind  on  this  subject  to  the  prophet  Natlian,  but 
the  Lord  did  not  think  fit  that  he  should  execute  his 
purpose,  however  laudable.  The  honor  was  reserved 
for  Solomon,  his  son  and  successor,  who  was  to  be  a 
peaceable  prince,  and  not  like  David,  who  had  shed 
much  blood  in  war.  David,  however,  applied 
himself  to  collect  great  quantities  of  gold,  silver, 
brass,  iron,  and  other  materials  for  this  undertaking. 

The  place  chosen  for  erecting  this  magnificent 
structure  was  mount  Moriah,  the  summit  of  which, 
originally,  was  unequal  and  its  sides  irregular  ;  but  it 
was  an  object  of  ambition  with  the  Jews  to  level  and 
extend  it.  This  they  effected,  and  during  the  second 
temple,  it  formed  a  square  of  500  cubits,  or  304  yards 
on  each  side,  allowing,  as  is  connnonly  done,  21,888 
inches  to  the  cubit.  Almost  the  whole  of  this  space 
was  arched  under  ground,  to  prevent  the  possibility 
of  pollution  from  secret  graves ;  and  it  was  surround- 
ed by  a  wall  of  excellent  stone,  25  cubits,  or  47  feet 
7  inches  high ;  without  which  lay  a  considerable 
extent  of  flat  and  gently -sloping  ground,  which  was 
occupied  by  the  buildings  of  the  tower  of  Antonia, 
gardens  and  public  walks. 

The  plan  and  the  wliole  model  of  this  structure  was 
laid  by  the  same  divine  architect  as  that  of  the  taber- 
nacle, viz.  God  himself;  and  it  was  built  much  in  the 
same  form  as  the  tabernacle,  but  was  of  much  larger 
dimensions.  The  utensils  for  the  sacred  service 
were  also  the  same  as  those  used  in  the  tabernacle, 
only  several  of  them  were  larger,  in  proportion  to  the 
more  s[)acious  edifice  to  which  they  belonged.  The 
foundations  of  this  magnificent  edifice  were  laid  by 
Solomon,  in  the  year  of  the  world  2992,  and  it  was 
finished  A.  M.  3000,  having  occupied  seven  years  and 
six  months  in  the  building.  It  was  dedicated  A.  M. 
3001,  with  peculiar  solemnity,  to  the  worship  of  Je- 
hovaii,  who  condescended  to  make  it  the  place  for 
the  special  manifestation  of  his  glory,  2  Chron.  v.  vi. 
vii.  The  front  or  entrance  to  the  temple  was  on  the 
eastern  side,  and  consequently  facing  the  mount  of 
Olives,  which  commanded  a  noble  prospect  of  the 
building:  tiie  holy  of  holies,  therefore,  stood  towards 
the  west.  The  temple  itself,  strictly  so  called,  which 
comprised  the  j)ortico,  the  sanctuary,  and  the  holy 
of  holies,  formed  only  a  sn)ail  part  of  the  sacred  edi- 
fice, these  being  surrounded  by  spacious  courts,  cham- 
bers, iuid  other  iq)artments,  which  were  much  more 
extensive  than  the  temple  itself. 

Frotn  the  descriptions  which  are  handed  down  to 
us  of  the  temple  of  Solomon,  it  is  utterly  impossible 
to  obtain  so  accurate  an  idea  of  its  relative  parts  and 
their  respective  proportions,  as  to  furnish  such  an  ac- 
count as  may  be  deemed  satisfactory  to  the  reader. 
Hence  we  find  no  two  writers  agreeing  in  their  de- 
scriptions. The  following  account  may  be  sufficient 
to  give  us  a  general  idea  of  the  building: — 

"The  temple  itself  was  70  cubits  long ;  the  porch 
being  10  cubits,  (1  Kings  vi.  3.)  the  holy  place,  40 
cubits,  (ver.  17.)  and  the  most  holy  place,  20  cubits,  2 
Chron.  iii.  8.    The  width  of  the  porch,  holy,  and 


most  holy  places,  were  20  cubits  ;  (2  Chron.  iii.  3.) 
and  the  height  over  the  holy  and  most  holy  places, 
was  .30  cubits;  (1  Kings  vi.  2.)  but  the  height  of  the 
porch  was  much  greater,  being  no  less  than  120  cu- 
bits, (2  Chron.  iii.  4.)  or  four  times  the  height  of  the 
rest  of  the  building.  To  the  north  and  south  t^idc^s, 
and  the  west  end  of  the  holy  and  most  holy  places,  or 
all  around  the  edifice,  from  the  back  of  the  j)orcli  on 
the  one  side,  to  the  back  of  the  porch  on  the  other 
side,  certain  buildings  were  attached.  These  were 
called  side  chambers,  and  consisted  of  three  stories, 
each  5  cid/its  high,  (1  Kings  vi.  10.)  and  joined  to  the 
wall  of  the  temjjle  without.  But  what  may  seem 
singular  is,  that  the  lowest  of  these  stories  was  5  cubits 
broad  on  the  floor,  the  second  0  cubits,  and  tiie  third  7 
cubits,  and  yet  the  outer  wail  of  them  all  was  upright, 
ver.  G.  The  reason  of  this  was,  that  the  wail  of  the 
temple,  against  which  they  leaned,  had  always  a 
scarcement  of  a  cubit  at  the  height  of  every  5  cubits, 
to  prevent  the  joists  of  these  side  chambers  from  be- 
ing fixed  in  it.  Thus  the  three  stories  of  side  cham- 
bers, when  taken  together,  were  15  cubits  iiigh,  and 
consequently  reached  exactly  to  half  the  height  of  the 
side  walls,  and  end  of  the  temple  ;  so  that  there  was 
abundance  of  s])ace,  above  these,  for  the  windows 
which  gave  light  to  the  temple,  ver.  4.  Josepiius  dif- 
fers very  materially  from  this  in  his  description,  for 
which  we  know  not  how  to  account,  but  by  supposing 
that  he  has  confounded  the  Scripture  account  of  Sol- 
omon's temple  with  that  of  the  temple  after  the  cap- 
tivity and  of  Ilerod. 

In  noticing  the  several  courts  of  the  temple,  we 
naturally  begin  with  the  outer  one,  which  was  called 
the  court  of  the  Gentiles,  and  into  which  persons  of  all 
nations  were  permitted  to  enter.  The  most  natural 
approach  to  this  was  by  the  east  gate,  which  was  the 
principal  gate  of  the  temple.  It  was  by  far  the  largest 
of  all  the  courts  pertaining  to  the  sacred  building, 
and  comprised  a  space  of  188,991  superficial  cubits, 
or  fourteen  English  acres,  one  rood,  twenty-nine 
poles,  and  thirteen  yards,  of  which  above  two  thirds 
lay  to  the  south  of  the  temple.  It  was  separated  from 
the  court  of  the  women  by  a  wall  of  3  cubits  high, 
of  lattice  work,  so  that  persons  walking  here  might 
see  through  it,  as  well  as  over  it.  This  wall,  how- 
ever, was  not  on  a  level  with  the  court  of  which  we 
are  speaking,  but  was  cut  out  of  the  rock  6  cubits 
above  it,  the  ascent  to  wiiich  was  by  12  steps.  On 
pillars  placed  at  equal  distances  in  this  wall  were  in- 
scriptions in  Greek  and  Latin,  to  warn  strangers,  and 
such  as  were  unclean,  not  to  proceed  further,  on  pain 
of  death.  It  was  from  this  court  that  our  Saviour 
drove  the  persons  who  had  established  a  cattle-mar- 
ket, for  the  pm-pose  of  supplying  those  with  sacrifices 
who  came  from  a  distance.  Matt.  xxi.  12,  13.  We 
must  not  overlook  the  beautiful  pavement  of  varie- 
gated marble,  and  the  piazzas,  or  covered  walks, 
with  which  this  court  was  surrounded.  Those  on 
the  east,  west,  and  north  sides  were  of  the  same  di- 
mensions;  but  that  on  the  south  was  much  larger. 
The  porch  called  Solomon^s  (John  x.  23;  Acts  iii. 
11.)  was  on  the  east  side  or  front  of  the  temple,  and 
was  so  called  because  it  was  built  by  this  prince, 
tqion  a  high  wall  of  400  cubits  from  the  valley  of 
Kedron. 

The  court  of  the  women,  called  in  Scrij)ture  the  new 
court,  (2  Chron.  xx.  5.)  and  the  outer  court,  (Ezek.  xlvi. 
21.)  was  so  designated  by  the  Jews,  not  because  none 
but  women  were  permitted  to  enter  it,  but  because  it 
was  their  appointed  place  of  worship,  beyond  which 
they  might  not  go,  unless  when  they  brought  a  sac- 


TE3IPLE 


[  880  ] 


TEMPLE 


rifice,  in  wliicli  case  they  went  forward  to  the  court 
of  Israel.  The  gate  which  led  into  this  court,  from 
that  of  the  Gentiles,  was  the  beautiful  gate  of  the  tem- 
ple, mentioned  Acts  iii.  2,  so  called,  because  the  fold- 
ing doors,  lintel  and  side-posts,  were  all  overlaid 
with  Corinthian  brass.  The  court  itself  was  135 
cubits  square,  having  four  gates,  one  on  each  side  ; 
and  on  three  of  its  sides  were  piazzas,  with  galleries 
above  them,  whence  could  be  seen  what  was  passing 
in  the  great  court.  At  the  four  corners  of  tl)is  court, 
were  four  rooms,  ap[)ro))riated  to  difl'ereut  purposes, 
Ezek.  xlvi.  21 — 24.  In  the  first,  the  lepers  purified 
themselves  after  they  were  healed  ;  in  the  second,  the 
wood  for  the  sacrifices  was  laid  up ;  the  Nazarites 
prepared  their  oblations,  and  shaved  their  heads,  in 
tlie  third ;  and  in  the  fourth,  the  wine  and  oil  for  the 
sacrifices  were  kejjt.  There  were  also  two  rooms 
more,  where  the  Levites'  musical  instruments  were 
laid  up;  and  also  thirteen  treasure  chests,  two  of 
which  were  for  tlie  half  shekel,  which  was  })aid  yearly 
by  every  Israelite  ;  and  the  rest  for  the  money  lor  the 
purchase  of  sacrifices  and  other  oblations.  It  was  in 
tills  court  of  the  women,  called  the  treasury,  that  our 
Saviour  delivered  his  striking  discourse  to  the  Jews, 
related  in  John  viii.  1 — 20.  It  was  into  this  court 
also,  that  the  Pliarisee  and  pidjlican  went  to  pray, 
(Luke  xviii.  10 — 13.)  and  into  which  the  lame  man 
followed  Peter  and  John,  after  he  was  cured  ;  the 
court  of  the  women  being  the  ordinary  place  of  wor- 
ship for  those  wlio  brought  no  sacrifice.  Acts  iii.  8. 
From  thence,  after  prayers,  he  went  back  with  them, 
through  the  beautiful  gate  of  the  temple,  where  he 
had  been  lying,  and  through  the  sacred  fence,  into 
the  court  of  the  Gentiles,  where,  under  the  eastern 
piazza,  or  Soloinon^s  porch,  Peter  delivered  that  ser- 
mon which  converted  five  thousand.  It  was  in  the 
same  court  of  the  women  that  the  Jews  laid  hold  of 
Paul,  when  they  judged  him  a  violator  of  the  temple, 
ly  taking  Gentiles  witliin  the  sacred  fence.  Acts  xxi. 
2(5,  &c.  In  this  court  the  high-priest,  at  the  fast  of 
Expiation,  read  a  portion  of  the  law.  Here  also  the 
king,  on  the  sabbatical  year,  did  the  same  at  the  Feast 
of  Tabernacles. 

The  court  of  Israel  was  separated  from  the  court  of 
the  women  by  a  wall  32^  cubits  high,  on  that  side, 
but  on  the  other  only  25.  The  reason  of  which  dif- 
ference was,  that  as  the  rock  on  which  the  temple 
stood  always  became  Ijigheron  advancing  westward, 
the  several  courts  naturally  became  elevated  in  pro- 
portion. The  ascent  into  the  court  was  by  a  flight 
of  15  steps,  of  a  semicircular  form,  on  which  it  is  by 
some  thought  that  the  Levites  stood  and  simg  the 
"Psalms  of  degrees"  (cxx — cxxxiv.)at  the  Feast  of 
Tabernacles.  This  gate  is  spoken  of  under  several 
appellations  in  the  Old  Testament ;  but  in  the  time 
of  our  Saviour  it  was  known  as  the  gate  Nicanor.  It 
was  here  the  leper  stood,  to  have  his  atonement  made, 
and  his  cleansing  completed.  It  was  here  they  tried 
the  suspected  wife,  by  making  her  drink  of  the  bitter 
water  ;  and  it  was  here  likewise  that  women  appear- 
ed after  childbirth,  for  purification.  The  whole 
length  of  the  court  from  cast  to  west  was  187  cubits, 
and  the  breadth  from  north  to  south,  135  cubits. 
This  was  divided  into  two  parts,  one  of  which  was 
the  court  of  the  Israelites,  and  the  other,  the  court  of 
the  priests.  The  former  was  a  kind  of  piazza  sur- 
rounding the  latter,  under  which  tlie  Israelites  stood 
while  their  sacrifices  were  burning  in  the  court  of 
the  priests.  It  had  13  gates,  with  chambers  above 
them,  each  of  which  had  its  particular  name  and  use. 
The  space  which  was  comprised  in  the  court  of  the 


priests  was  165  cubits  long,  and  119  cubits  wide,  and 
was  raised  2^  cubits  above  the  suiTOunding  court, 
from  which  it  was  separated  by  the  jjillars  which  sup- 
ported the  piazza,  and  the  railing  which  was  placed 
between  them,  2  Kings  xi.  8,  10.  Within  this  court 
stood  the  brazen  altar,  on  which  the  sacrifices  were 
consumed,  the  molten  sea,  in  which  the  priests  wash- 
ed, and  the  ten  brazen  lavers,  for  washing  the  sacri- 
fices ;  also  the  various  utensils  and  instruments  for 
sacrificing,  which  are  enumerated  in  2  Chreii.  iv. 

It  is  necessai-y  to  observe  here,  that  although  the 
court  of  the  priests  was  not  accessible  to  all  Israelites, 
as  that  of  Israel  was  to  all  the  ])ricsts,  yet  they  might 
enter  it  on  three  several  occasions  ;  viz.  to  lay  their 
hands  on  the  animals  which  they  offered,  or  to  kill 
them,  or  to  waive  some  part  of  them.  And  then  their 
entrance  was  not  by  the  east  gate,  and  through  the 
place  where  the  priests  stood,  but  ordinarily  by  the 
north  or  south  side  of  the  court,  according  as  the  sac- 
rifices were  to  be  slain  on  the  north  or  south  sides  of 
the  altar.  In  general,  it  was  a  rule  that  tliey  never 
returned  from  this  court  by  the  same  door  that  they 
entered,  Exod.  xlvi.  9.  From  the  court  of  the  priests 
the  ascent  to  the  temple  was  by  a  flight  of  twelve 
steps,  each  half  a  cubit  in  height,  which  led  into  the 
sacred  porch.  Of  the  dimensions  of  this,  as  also  of 
the  sanctuary  and  holy  of  holies,  we  have  already 
spoken.  We  shall  therefore  only  observe  here,  that 
it  was  within  the  door  of  the  porch,  and  in  the  sight  of 
those  who  stood  in  the  courts  immediately  before  it, 
that  the  two  pillars,  Jachui  and  Boaz,  were  placed, 
2  Chron.  iii.  17  ;  Ezek.  xl.  49. 

The  temple  thus  described,  retained  its  pristine 
splendor  but  33  years,  when  it  was  plundered  by 
Shishak,  king  of  Egypt,  1  Kings  xiv.  25,  26 ;  2  Chron. 
xii.  9.  After  this  [)eriod  it  underwent  sundry  profana- 
tions and  pillages,  and  was  at  length  utterly  destroyed 
by  Nebuchadnezzar,  king  of  Babylon,  A.  M.341t),  B, 
C.  588,  afler  having  stood,  according  to  Usher,  424 
years,  three  months  and  eight  days. 

After  lying  in  ruins  for  52  years,  the  foundations 
of  the  second  temple  were  laid  by  Zeruhhabel,  and 
the  Jews  who  had  availed  themselves  of  the  j)rivi- 
lege  granted  by  Cyrus,  and  returned  to  Jerusalem, 
Ezra  i.  1 — 4;  ii.  1;  iii.  8 — 10.  They  had  not  pro- 
ceeded far,  however,  before  they  were  obliged  to  de- 
sist, on  account  of  an  order  from  Artaxerxes,  king  of 
Persia,  which  had  been  procured  through  the  mis- 
representations of  the  Samaritans  and  others,  chap, 
iv.  1.  During  fifteen  years  the  work  stood  still,  (ver. 
24.)  but  in  the  second  yefir  of  Darius  they  recom- 
menced their  labors  ;  and  on  the  third  day  of  the 
month  Adar,  in  the  sixth  year  of  Darius,  it  was  finish-" 
ed  and  dedicated,  (Ezra  vi.  15,  IC.)  21  years  after  it 
was  begun,  B.  C.  515.  The  dimensions  of  this  teirw 
pie  in  breadth  and  height  Averc  double  those  of  Solo- 
mon's. The  weeping  of  the  people  at  the  laying  of 
the  foundation,  therefore,  (Ezra  iii.  12, 13.)  and  the  di- 
minutive manner  in  which  they  s]Joke  of  it,  when  com- 
pared with  the  first  one,  (Hag.  ii.  3.)  were  not  occasion- 
ed by  its  inferiority  in  size,  but  in  glory.  It  wanted  the 
five  principal  things  which  invested  it  a\  itli  this  ;  viz. 
the  ark  and  mercy-seat ;  tlie  divine  presence,  or  vis- 
ible glory  of  the  Shechinah  ;  the  holy  fire  on  the  altar; 
the  urim  and  thunimim  ;  and  the  sj)irit  of  j)rophecy. 

In  the  year  A.  M.  3837,  this  temjile  was  jilundcred 
and  profaned  by  Antiochus  Epiphanes,  who  ordered 
the  discontinuance  of  the  daily  sacrifice,  offered 
swine's  flesh  upon  the  altar,  and  completely  suspend- 
ed the  worship  of  Jehovah,  1  Mac.  i.  62.  Thus  it 
continued  for  three  years,  when  it  was  repaired  and 


TEMPLE 


[  881 


TEMPLE 


purified  by  Judas  Maccabeus,  who  restored  the  di- 
vine worship,  and  dedicated  it  anew. 

Herod,  having  slain  all  the  Sanhedrim,  except  two, 
in  the  first  year  of  his  reign,  B.  C.  37,  resolved  to 
atone  for  it,  by  rebuilding  and  beautifying  the  tern|)le. 
This  he  was  the  more  inclined  to  do,  both  from  the 
peace  which  he  enjoyed,  and  tlie  decayed  state  of  the 
edifice.  For,  besides  the  common  ravages  of  time, 
it  had  suffered  considerably  by  the  hands  of  enemies, 
since  that  part  of  Jerusalem  was  the  strongest,  and 
consequently  the  last  resort  of  the  inhabitants  in  times 
of  extremity.  After  employing  two  \ears  in  prepar- 
ing the  materials  for  the  work,  in  which  1000  wag- 
ons and  10,000  artificei-s  were  employed,  besides 
1000  priests  to  direct  the  works,  the  temple  of  Ze- 
rubhabel  was  pulled  down,  B.  C.  17,  and  46  years 
before  the  first  Passover  of  his  ministry.  Although 
this  temple  was  fit  for  divine  sei-vice  in  nine  years 
and  a  half,  yet  a  great  number  of  laborers  and  artifi- 
cers were  still  employed  in  carrying  on  the  out-build- 
ings, all  the  time  of  our  Saviour's  abode  on  earth,  and 
even  till  the  coining  of  Gessius  Florus  to  be  governor 
of  Judea. 

The  temple  of  Herod  was  considerably  larger  than 
that  of  Zerubbabel,  as  that  of  Zerubbabel  was  larger 
than  Solomon's.  For,  whereas  the  second  temple 
was  70  cubits  long,  60  broad,  and  60  high,  this  was 
100  cubits  long,  70  broad,  and  100  high.  The  porch 
was  raised  to  the  height  of  100  cubits,  and  was  ex- 
tended 15  cubits  beyond  each  side  of  the  rest  of  the 
building.  All  the  Jewish  writers  praise  this  temple 
exceedingly  for  its  beauty,  and  the  costliness  of  its 
workmanship  ;  for  it  was  built  of  white  marble,  ex- 
quisitely wrought,  and  with  stones  of  large  dimen- 
sions, some  of  them  25  cubits  long,  8  cubits  high,  and 
12  cubits  thick.  To  these  there  is  no  doubt  a  refer- 
ence in  Mark  xii.  1  ;  Luke  xxi.  5 :  "And  as  he  went 
out  of  the  teujple,  one  of  his  disciples  saith  unto  him. 
Master,  see  what  manner  (Luke,  goodly)  of  stones, 
and  what  buildings  are  here  !  " 

The  several  courts  have  been  already  described, 
with  some  little  variation,  in  our  observations  on  the 
temple  of  Solomon.  We  may  add,  however,  that  the 
vast  sums  which  Herod  laid  out  in  adorning  this 
structure,  gave  it  the  most  magnificent  and  imposing 
appearance.  "  Its  appeai-ance,"  says  Josephus,  "  had 
every  tiling  that  could  strike  the  mind,  and  astonish 
the  sight.  For  it  was  on  every  side  covered  with 
solid  plates  of  gold,  so  that  when  the  sun  rose  upon 
it,  it  reflected  such  a  strong  and  dazzling  effulgence 
that  the  eye  of  the  beholder  was  obliged  to  turn  away 
from  it,  being  no  more  able  to  sustain  its  radiance 
than  the  splendor  of  the  sun."  To  strangers  who 
a])proached  the  capital,  it  appeared,  at  a  distance, 
like  a  huge  mountain  covered  with  snow.  For  where 
it  was  not  decorated  with  plates  of  gold,  it  was  ex- 
tremely white  and  glistening.  The  historian,  indeed, 
says,  that  the  temple  of  Herod  was  the  most  astonish- 
ing structure  he  had  ever  seen  or  heard  of,  as  well 
on  account  of  its  architecture  as  its  magnitude,  and 
likewise  the  richness  and  magnificence  of  its  various 
parts,  and  the  fame  and  reputation  of  its  sacred  ap- 
purtenances. And  Tacitus  calls  it,  imvienscE  opuhntia. 
templum — a  temple  of  immense  opulence.  Its  exter- 
nal glory,  indeed,  consisted  not  only  in  the  opulence 
and  magnificence  of  the  building,  but  also  in  the  rich 
gifts  with  which  it  was  adorned,  and  which  excited  the 
admiration  of  tliose  who  beheld  them,  Luke  xxi.  5. 

This  splendid  building,  however,  which  was  once 
the  admiration  and  envy^f  the  world,  has  for  ever 
passed  away.  Accordmg  to  our  blessed  Lord's  pre- 
111 


diction,  tnat  "t4iere  should  not  be  left  one  stone  upon 
another  that  should  not  be  throAvn  down,"  (Mark  xiii. 
2.)  it  was  completely  demolished  by  the  Roman  sol- 
diers, under  Titus,  A.  D.  70,  on  the  same  month,  and 
on  the  same  day  of  the  month,  on  which  Solomon's 
temple  was  destroyed  by  the  Babylonians. 

Concerning  the  high  veneration  which  the  Jews 
cherished  for  their  temple.  Dr.  Harwood  has  collect- 
ed some  interesting  particulars  from  Philo,  Josephus, 
and  the  writings  of  Luke.  Their  reverence  for  the 
sacred  edifice  was  such,  that  rather  than  witness  its 
defilement,  they  would  cheerfidly  submit  to  death. 
They  could  not  bear  the  least  disrespectful  or  dishon- 
orable thing  to  be  said  of  it.  The  least  injurious 
slight  of  it,  real  or  apprehended,  instantly  awakened 
all  the  choler  of  a  Jew,  and  was  an  affront  never  to 
be  forgiven.  Our  Saviour,  in  the  course  of  his  pub- 
lic instructions,  ha[)pening  to  say,  "  Destroy  this  tem- 
ple, and  in  three  days  I  will  raise  it  up  again,"  (John 
ii.  19.) — it  was  construed  into  a  contemptuous  disre- 
spect, designedly  thrown  out  against  the  temple — his 
words  in^ranily  descended  into  the  heart  of  a  Jew, 
and  kept  rankling  there  for  several  years  ;  for  upon 
his  trial,  this  declaration,  which  it  was  impossible  for 
a  Jew  ever  to  forget  or  to  forgive,  was  alleged  against 
him,  as  big  with  the  most  atrocious  guilt  and  impiety, 
jMatt.  xxvi.  61.  Nor  was  the  rancor  and  virulence 
which  this  expression  had  occasioned  at  all  softened 
by  all  the  affecting  circumstances  of  that  excruciating 
and  wretched  death  they  saw  him  die — even  as  he 
hung  upon  the  cross,  with  infinite  triumph,  scorn, 
and  exultation,  they  upbraided  him  with  it,  contempt- 
uously shaking  their  heads,  and  saying,  "  O  Thou, 
who  couldcst  demolish  our  Temple,  and  rear  it  up 
again  in  all  its  splendor,  in  the  space  of  three  days,  do 
now  save  thyself,  and  descend  from  the  cross  !  "  Matt, 
xxvii.  40.  Their  superstitio\is  veneration  for  the 
temple  further  appears  from  the  account  of  Stephen. 
When  his  adversaries  were  bafiied  and  confounded 
by  that  superior  wisdom,  and  those  distinguished 
gifts  he  possessed,  they  were  so  exasperated  at  the 
victory  he  had  gained  over  them,  that  tliey  went  and 
suborned  persons  to  swear,  that  they  had  heard  him 
speak  blasphemy  against  Moses  and  against  God. 
Tliese  inflaming  the  populace,  the  magistrates,  and 
the  Jewish  clergy,  he  was  seized,  dragged  away,  and 
brought  before  the  Sanhedrim.  Here  the  false  wit- 
nesses, whom  they  had  procured,  stood  up  and  said, 
"  This  person,  before  you,  is  continually  uttering  the 
most  repioachful  expressions  against  this  sacred 
PLACE,"  (Acts  vi.  13.)  meaning  the  temple.  This  was 
blasphemy  not  to  be  pardoned.  A  judicatm-e  com- 
posed of  high-priests  and  scribes  would  never  forgive 
such  impiety.  We  witness  the  same  thing  in  the 
case  of  Paul,  when  they  imagined  that  he  had  taken 
Trophimus,  an  Ephcsiim,  with  him  into  the  temple, 
and  for  which  insult  they  had  determined  to  imbrue 
their  hands  in  his  blood.  Acts  xxi.  28,  &c. 

We  have  only  to  add,  that  from  several  passages  of 
Scripture  it  appears  that  the  Jews  had  a  body  of  sol- 
diers who  guarded  the  temple,  to  prevent  any  dis- 
turbance dining  the  ministration  of  such  an  immense 
mmiher  of  the  priests  and  Levitcs.  To  this  body  of 
men,  whose  office  it  was  to  guard  the  temple,  Pilate 
probably  leferred,  when  he  said  to  the  chief  priests 
and  Pharisees  who  vNaited  on  him  to  desire  he 
would  make  the  sepulchre  secure,  "You  have  a 
watch  :  go  yoiu-  way  and  make  it  as  secure  as  you 
can,"  Matt,  xxvii.  65.  Over  these  guards  one  person 
had  the  supreme  conmiand,  who  in  several  places  is 
called  captain  of  the  temple,  or  oflicer  of  the  temple 


TEMPLE 


[  882 


TEMPLE 


guards,  Acts  iv.  1  ;  v.  25,  26 ;  xviii.  12.  Josephus 
mentions  such  an  officer,  Antiq.  b.  xx.  2.  Wai-s,  c.  17. 2. 

A  few  remarks  on  the  daily  service  of  the  temple 
will  close  this  article. 

The  first  thing  we  notice  is  the  inorni-ng  service. 
After  having  enjoyed  their  repose,  the  priests  bathed 
themselves  in  the  rooms  provided  for  that  purpose, 
and  waited  the  arrival  of  the  president  of  the  lots. 
This  officer  having  arrived,  they  divided  themselves 
into  two  companies,  each  of  which  was  provided  with 
lamps  or  torches,  and  made  a  circuit  of  the  temple, 
going  in  different  directions,  and  meeting  at  the  pas- 
tryman's  chamber,  on  the  south  side  of  the  gate  Ni- 
canor.  Having  summoned  him  to  prepare  the  cakes 
for  the  high-priest's  meat-offering,  they  retired  with 
the  president  to  the  south-east  corner  of  the  court, 
and  cast  lots  for  the  duties  connected  with  the  altar. 
The  priest  being  chosen  to  remove  the  ashes  from 
the  altar,  he  again  washed  liis  feet  at  the  laver,  and 
then  with  the  silver  shovel  proceeded  to  his  work. 
As  soon  as  he  had  removed  one  shovel-full  of  the 
ashes,  the  other  priests  retired  to  wash  their  hands 
and  feet,  and  then  joined  him  m  cleansing  the  altar  and 
renewing  the  fires.  The  next  duty  was  to  cast  lots  for 
the  thirteen  particular  duties  connected  with  offering 
the  sacrifice,  which  being  settled,  the  president 
ordered  one  of  them  to  fetch  the  lamb  for  the  morn- 
ing sacrifice.  While  the  priests  on  this  duty  were 
engaged  in  fetching  and  examining  the  victim,  those 
who  carried  the  keys  were  opening  the  seven  gates 
o  the  court  of  Israel,  and  the  two  doors  that  sepa- 
rated between  the  poi-ch  and  the  holy  place.  When 
the  last  of  the  seven  gates  was  opened,  the  silver 
trumpets  gave  a  flourish,  to  call  the  Levites  to  their 
desks  for  the  music,  and  the  stationary  men  to  their 
places,  as  the  representatives  of  the  people.  The 
opening  of  the  folding  doors  of  the  temple  was  the 
established  signal  for  killing  the  sacrifice,  which  was 
cut  in  pieces  and  carried  to  the  top  of  the  altar,  where 
it  was  salted,  and  left  while  the  priests  once  more 
retired  to  the  room  Gazith  to  join  in  prayer.  While 
the  sacrifice  was  being  slain  in  the  court  of  the  priests, 
the  two  priests  appointed  to  trim  the  lamps  and 
cleanse  the  altar  of  incense  were  attending  to  their 
duties  in  the  holy  place.  After  the  conclusion  of 
then-  prayer,  and  a  rehearsal  of  the  ten  command- 
ments and  their  phylacteries,  the  priests  again  cast 
lots,  to  choose  two  to  offer  incense  on  the  golden 
altar,  and  another  to  lay  the  pieces  of  the  sacrifice  on 
the  fire  of  the  brazen  altar.  The  lot  being  deter- 
mined, the  two  who  were  to  offer  tlie  incense  pro- 
ceeded to  discharge  their  duty,  the  time  for  which 
was,  between  the  sprinkling  of  the  blood  and  the  lay- 
ing the  pieces  upon  the  altar,  in  the  morning ;  and 
in  the  evening  between  the  laying  the  pieces  upon 
the  altar  and  the  drink-offering.  As  they  proceeded 
to  the  temple  they  rang  the  megemphita,  or  great  bell, 
to  warn  the  absent  priests  to  come  to  worship  ;  the 
absent  Levites  to  come  to  sing ;  and  the  stationary 
men  to  bring  to  the  gate  Nicanor  those  whose  purifica- 
tion was  not  perfected.  The  priest  who  carried  the 
censer  of  coals,  which  had  been  taken  from  one  of 
the  three  fires  on  the  great  altar,  after  kindling  the 
fire  on  the  incense  altar,  worshipped  and  came  out 
into  the  porch,  leaving  the  priest  who  had  the  incense 
alone  in  the  holy  place.  As  soon  as  the  signal  was 
given  by  the  president,  the  incense  was  kindled,  the 
holy  place  was  filled  with  perfume,  and  the  congrega- 
tion without  joined  in  the  prayei-s,  Luke  i.  9.  These 
being  ended,  the  priest,  whose  lot  it  was  to  lay  the 
pieces  of  the  sacrifice  upon  the  altar,  threw  them  into 


the  fire,  and  then,  taking  the  tongs,  disposed  them  in 
somewhat  of  their  natural  order.  The  four  priests 
who  had  been  in  the  holy  place  now  appeared  upon 
the  steps  that  led  to  the  porch,  and,  extending  their 
arms,  so  as  to  raise  their  hands  higher  than  their 
heads,  one  of  them  pronounced  the  solemn  blessing, 
Numb.  vi.  24 — 26.  After  this  benediction,  the  daily 
meat-offering  was  offered ;  then  the  meat-offering  of 
the  high-priest ;  and  last  of  all  the  drink-offering  ;  at 
the  conclusion  of  which  the  Levites  began  the  song 
of  praise  ;  and,  at  every  pause  in  the  music,  the 
trumpets  sounded  and  the  people  worshipped.  This 
was  the  termination  of  the  morning  service.  It 
should  be  stated  that  the  morning  service  of  the  priests 
began  with  the  dawn  of  day,  except  in  the  great  fes- 
tivals, when  it  began  much  earlier;  the  sacrifice  was 
offered  immediately  after  sunrise. 

During  the  middle  of  the  day  the  priests  held  them- 
selves in  readiness  to  offer  the  sacrifices  which  might 
be  presented  by  any  of  the  Israelites,  either  of  a  vol- 
untary or  an  expiatory  nature.  Their  duties  would 
therefore  vary  accordhig  to  the  number  and  nature  of 
the  offerings  they  might  have  to  present. 

The  evening  service  varied  in  a  very  trifling  measure 
from  that  of  the  morning ;  and  the  same  ])riests  minis- 
tered, except  when  there  was  one  in  the  house  of 
their  Father  who  had  never  burned  incense,  in  which 
case  that  office  was  assigned  to  him  •,  or  if  there 
were  more  than  one,  they  cast  lots  who  should  be  em- 
ployed. 

The  holiness  of  the  place,'  and  the  injunction  of 
Lev.  xix.  3,  "  Ye  shall  reverence  my  sanctuary,"  laid 
the  people  under  an  obligation  to  maintain  a  solemn 
and  holy  behavior  when  they  came  to  worship  in 
the  temple.  We  have  already  seen,  that  such  as  were 
ceremonially  unclean  were  forbidden  to  enter  the 
sacred  court  on  pain  of  death  ;  but  in  the  course  of 
time  there  were  several  prohibitions  enforced  by  the 
Sanhedrim  which  the  law  had  not  named.  The  fol- 
lowing have  been  collected  by  Lightfoot  out  of  the 
rabbinical  writings  : — (1.)  "No  man  might  enter  the 
mountain  of  the  house  with  his  staft'." — (2.)  "None 
might  enter  in  thither  with  his  shoes  on  his  feet," 
though  he  might  with  his  sandals. — (3.)  "Nor  might 
any  man  enter  the  mountain  of  the  house  with  his 
scrip  on." — (4.)  "Nor  might  he  come  in  with  the 
dust  on  his  feet,"  but  he  must  wash  or  wipe  them, 
"and  look  to  his  feet  when  he  entered  into  the  house 
of  God,"  to  remind  him,  perhaps,  that  he  should 
then  shake  off  all  worldly  thoughts  and  affections. — (5.) 
"Nor  with  money  in  his  purse."  He  might  bring  it 
in  his  hand  however ;  and  in  this  way  it  was  brought 
in  for  various  purposes.  If  this  had  not  been  the  case, 
it  would  seem  strange  that  the  cripple  should  have 
been  placed  at  the  gate  of  the  temple,  to  ask  alms  of 
those  who  entered  therein.  (See  Acts  iii.  2.) — (6.) 
"None  might  spit  in  the  temple  :  if  he  were  necessi- 
tated to  spit,  it  must  be  done  in  some  corner  of  his 
garment." — (7.)  "  He  might  not  use  any  irreverent 
gesture,  especially  before  the  gate  of  Nicanor,"  that  be- 
ing exactly  in  front  of  the  temple. — (8.)  "He  might  not 
make  the  mountain  of  the  house  a  thoroughfare,"  for 
the  purpose  of  reaching  the  place  by  a  nearer  way : 
for  it  was  devoted  to  the  purposes  of  religion. — (9.) 
"He  that  went  into  the  court  must  go  leisurely  and 
gravely  into  his  place  ;  and  there  he  must  demean 
himself  as  in  the  presence  of  the  Lord  God,  in  all 
reverence  and  fear." — (10.)  "  He  must  woi-ship  stand- 
ing, with  bis  feet  close  to  each  other,  his  eyes  directed 
to  the  ground,  his  hands  upon  his  breast,  with  the  right 
one  above  the  left."     (See  Luke  xviii.  13.) — (11.)  "No 


TEM 


[  883  ] 


TEN 


one,  however  weary,  might  sit  down  in  the  court." 
The  only  exception  was  in  favor  of  the  kings  of  the 
liouse  of  David.— (12.)  "None  might  pray  with  his 
head  uncovered.  And  the  wise  men  and  their  schol- 
ars never  prayed  without  a  veil."  This  custom  is 
alluded  to  in  1  Cor.  xi.  4,  where  the  apostle  directs 
the  men  to  reverse  the  practice  adopted  in  the  Jew- 
ish temple. — (13.)  Their  bodily  gesture,  in  bowing 
before  the  Lord,  was  either  "bending  of  the  knees," 
"  bowing  the  head,"  or  "  falling  prostrate  on  the 
ground." — (14.)  Having  performed  the  service,  and 
being  about  to  retire,  "they  might  not  turn  their 
backs  upon  the  altar."  They  therefore  went  back- 
ward till  they  were  out  of  the  court.  (Temple  Ser- 
vice, chap.  X.) 

The  word  temple  denotes,  sometimes,  the  church 
of  Christ:  (Rev.  iii.  12.)  "Him  that  overcometh  will 

1  make  a  pillar  in  the  temple  of  my  God."  And  Paul 
says,  (2  Thess.  ii.  4.)  that  Antichrist  "  as  God  sitteth 
in  the  temple  of  God,  showing  himself  that  he  is 
God."  Sometimes  it  imports  heaven  :  (Ps.  xi.  4.) 
"The  Lord  is  in  his  holy  temple  :  the  Lord's  throne 
is  in  heaven."  The  martyrs  in  heaven  are  said  to  be 
"before  the  throne  of  God,  and  to  serve  him  day  and 
night  in  his  temple,"  Rev.  vii.  15.  The  soul  of  a 
righteous  man  is  the  temple  of  God,  because  it  is  in- 
habited by  the  Holy  Spirit,  1  Cor.  iii.  16,  17 ;  vi.  19 ; 

2  Cor.  vi.  16. 

TEiMPT,  TE.AIPTATION,  to  try,  to  prove.  God 
tempted  Abraham,  by  commanding  him  to  offer  up 
his  son  Isaac  ;  (Gen.  xxii.  1.)  intending  to  prove  his 
obedience  and  faith,  to  confirm  and  strengthen  him 
by  this  trial,  and  to  furnish  in  his  person  an  example 
and  pattern  of  perfect  obedience,  to  all  succeeding 
ages.  God  does  not  tempt  or  tiy  men,  in  order  to 
ascertain  their  tempers  and  dispositions,  as  if  he  were 
ignorant  of  them ;  but  to  exercise  their  virtve,  to 
purify  it,  to  render  it  conspicuous  to  others,  to  give 
them  an  opportunity  of  receiving  favors  from  his 
hands.  When  we  read  in  Scripture  that  God  proved 
his  people,  whether  they  would  walk  in  his  law,  or 
no  ;  (Exod.  xvi.  4.)  and  that  he  permitted  false  proph- 
ets to  arise  among  them,  who  prophesied  vain  things 
to  try  them,  whether  they  would  seek  the  Lord  with 
their  whole  hearts,  we  should  interpret  these  ex- 
pressions by  that  of  James,  (i.  13.)  "  Let  no  man  say 
when  he  is  tempted,  '  I  am  tempted  of  God,'  for  God 
cannot  be  tempted  with  evil,  neither  tempteth  he  any 
man.  But  every  man  is  tempted  when  he  is  drawn 
away  by  his  own  lust,  and  enticed." 

The  devil  tempts  us  to  evil,  of  every  kind,  and  lays 
snares  for  us,  even  in  our  best  actions.  He  tempted 
our  Saviour  in  the  wilderness,  and  endeavored  to  in- 
fuse into  him  sentiments  of  jnude,  ambition  and  dis- 
trust, Matt.  iv.  1  ;  Mark  i.  13  ;  Luke  iv.2.  He  tempt- 
ed Ananias  and  Sapphira  to  lie  to  the  Holy  Ghost, 
Acts  V.  3.  In  the  prayer  that  Christ  himself  has 
taught  us,  we  pray  God  "  not  to  lead  us  into  tempta- 
tion ;"  (Matt.  vi.  13.)  and  a  little  before  his  death,  our 
Saviour  exhorted  his  disciples  to  "  watch  and  pray, 
that  they  might  not  enter  into  temptation,"  Matt.xxvi. 
41.  Paul  says,  "  God  will  not  suffer  us  to  be  tempted 
above  what  we  are  able  to  bear,"  1  Cor.  x.  13. 

Men  are  said  to  tempt  the  Lord,  when  they  un- 
seasonably require  proofs  of  the  divine  presence, 
power  or  goodness.  Without  doubt,  we  are  allowed 
to  seek  the  Lord  for  his  assistance,  and  to  pray  him 
to  give  us  what  we  need  ;  but  it  is  not  allowed  us  to 
tempt  him,  nor  to  expose  ourselves  to  dangers  from 
which  we  cannot  escape,  unless  by  miraculous  inter- 
position of  his  omnipotence.     God  is  not  obliged  to 


work  miracles  in  our  favor ;  he  requires  of  us  only 
the  performance  of  such  actions  as  are  within  the 
ordinary  measures  of  our  strength.  The  Israelites  in 
the  desert  repeatedly  tempted  the  Lord,  as  if  they  had 
reason  to  doubt  of  his  presence  among  them,  or  of 
his  goodness,  or  of  his  power,  after  all  his  appear- 
ances in  their  favor,  Exod.  xvi.  2,  7,  17  ;  Numb.  xx. 
12  ;  Ps.  Ixxviii.  18,  41,  &c. 

Men  tempt  or  try  one  another,  when  they  would 
know  whether  things  are  really  what  they  seem  to 
be ;  whether  men  are  such  as  they  are  thought  or 
desired  to  be.  The  queen  of  Sheba  came  to  prove 
the  wisdom  of  Solomon,  by  proposing  riddles  for 
him  to  explain,  1  Kings  xi.  1 ;  2  Chron  ix.  1.  Dan- 
iel desired  of  him  who  had  the  care  of  feeding  him 
and  his  companions,  to  prove  them  for  some  days, 
whether  abstinence  from  food  of  certain  kinds  would 
make  them  leaner,  Dan.  i.  12, 14.  The  scribes  and 
Pharisees  often  tempted  our  Saviour,  and  endeavored 
to  decoy  him  into  their  snares.  Matt.  xvi.  1 ;  xix.  3 ; 
xxii.  18. 

TENT.      Among  the  artificial  conveniences  for 


the  habitations  of  men,  tents  were  of  very  early  in- 
vention. Jabal,  before  the  flood,  is  called  the  father 
of  all  such  as  dwell  in  tents.  Noah,  after  the  flood, 
slept  in  his  tent,  and  prophesying  of  the  future  desti- 
ny of  his  family,  he  said,  "  Japheth  shall  dwell  in  the 
tents  of  Shem."  The  patriarchal  ages  are  described 
as  of  shepherds  dwelling  in  tents.  Abraham  dwelt 
in  tents  with  Isaac  and  Jacob  ;  Lot  had  flocks,  and 
herds,  and  tents  ;  Jacob  was  a  plain  man,  dwelling 
in  tents,  and  his  descendants  succeeded  a  people  de- 
signated Shepherd  Kings,  in  the  land  of  Goshen,  un- 
der the  Pharaohs  of  Egypt.  On  the  exodus  of  the 
Israelites  from  Egypt,  throughout  their  peregrina- 
tions, until  they  obtained  the  promised  land,  they 
adopted  the  same  kind  of  habitation.  Tents  were 
very  generally  used  in  ancient  times  among  the  na- 
tions :  their  way  of  life  being  in  general  pastoral, 
locomotion  became  necessary  for  pasturage,  and 
dwellings  adapted  for  such  a  life  became  indispensa- 
ble. The  Egyptians  already  mentioned,  the  Midian- 
ites,  the  Philistines,  the  Syrians,  the  descendants  of 
Ham,  the  Hagarites  and  Cushanitcs  are  mentioned 
in  Scripture  as  living  in  tents.  But  the  people  most 
remarkable  for  this  unsettled  and  wandering  mode 
of  life  are  the  Arabs,  w  ho,  from  the  time  of  Ishmael 
to  the  present  day,  have  continued  the  custom  of 
dwelling  in  tents.  Aniidst  the  revolutions  which 
have  transferred  kingdoms  from  one  possessor  to 
another,  these  wandering  tribes  still  dwell,  unsub- 
dued and  wild  as  was  their  progenitor.  This  kind  of 
dwelling  is  not,  however,  confined  to  the  Arabs,  but 
is  used  throughout  the  continent  of  Asia.  The  word 
tent  is  fonned  from  the  Latin,  "to  stretch;"  tents 
being  usually  made  of  canvass  stretched  out,  and  sus- 
tained by  poles  with  cords  and  pegs.  The  same  may 
be  understood  of  a  tabernacle,  a  pavilion,  or  a  porta- 
ble lodge,  under  which  to  shelter  in  the  open  air, 
from  the  injuries  of  the  weather. 


TENT 


[  884 


TENT 


Mr.  Taylor  remarks,  that  erections  answering  the 
purpose  of  tents,  however  sHght  they  may  be,  must 
have  (1.)  a  supporting  pole  or  poles,  placed  towards 
the  centre  ;  (2.)  hangings  and  curtains  of  some  kind  ; 
(3.)  cords  attached  to  (4.)  pins,  which  are  driven 
into  the  ground,  in  order  to  take  sure  hold  of  it. 

Of  the  various  kinds  of  tents,  some  were  made  of 
slight  materials,  and  others  were  erected  for  greater 
permanency  ;  others,  again,  were  mere  shades  or 
hovels,  and  not  made  of  canvass.  Tents  were  also 
appropriated  to  different  sexes  ;  Sarah  had  her  tent ; 
Laban  went  into  Jacob's  tent ;  Leah's  tent,  Rachel's 
tent,  and  the  maid  servant's  tent,  are  also  particular- 
ized. Sisera  fled  to  Jael's  tent.  The  custom  of  set- 
ting apart  tents  for  the  use  of  the  women,  is  still  in 
use,  perhaps,  however,  a  little  varied  ;  and  the  com- 
mon Arabs  have  a  separate  apartment  in  their  tents 
for  their  wives,  made  by  letting  down  a  curtain  or 
carpet  from  one  of  the  pillars.  The  part  of  the  tent 
thus  appropriated  is  called  harem;  and  no  stranger  is 
permitted  to  enterit,  unless  introduced.  Hence,  per- 
haps, Sisera's  hope  of  greater  secui-ity  in  the  harem 
ofHeber,  Jael's  husband.  There  were  also  tents  for 
cattle.  From  the  slighter  kind  of  tents,  the  town,  or 
whatever  else  it  might  be,  of  Succoth  was  named  ; 
(Gen.  xxiii.  17.)  and  an  allusion  to  the  frailty  of  this 
description  of  shelter  is  made  by  Job,  in  chap,  xxvii. 
18,  which  very  aptly  describes  the  prosperity  of  the 
wicked: — 

"  He  buildeth  his  house  like  the  moth. 

Or  like  a  shed  which  the  watchman  contriveth. 

His  support  shall  rot  away." 

The  watchman  is  here  supposed  to  be  the  keeper  of 
a  vineyard,  and  the  shed  of  the  simplest  kind,  and 
merely  intended  to  defend  him,  while  on  guard,  from 
the  intense  heat  of  the  sun.  The  Vulgate  translates 
the  term  lunbrella,  a  little  insignificant  shade,  proba- 
bly similar  to  those  reared  by  the  watch-negro  on 
plantations  in  the  West  Indies,  and  which  generally 
consists  of  four  upright  stakes  joined  together  at  right 
angles,  to  others  which  support  a  covering  of  plan- 
tain or  banana  leaves. 

Besides  Succoth,  two  other  terms  are  used  in  the 
sacred  Scriptures  to  denote  tents;  namely,  sheken, 
wiiich  may  perhaps  be  taken  for  an  inferior  kind  of 
tent  or  tabernacle  ;  similar  to  the  huts  of  the  natives" 
of  New  Holland,  which  are  formed  of  a  few  branches 
crossing  each  other,  covered  with  brush-wood  and 
clay,  six  feet  in  depth,  and  four  or  five  in  breadth  : 
the  other,  called  abel,  may  denote  a  tent  whose  ac- 
commodation may  be  varied  so  as  to  suit  a  few  per- 
sons, a  family  ;  or  great  men,  as  generals  and  kings, 
enriched  and  ornamented.  Of  this  kind  of  tent,  a 
description  is  given  by  sir  John  Chardin,  in  his 
Travels,  who  relates  that  the  deceased  king  of  Persia 
caused  a  tent  to  be  made  that  cost  £150,000.  It  was 
called  the  house  of  gold,  because  there  was  nothing 
but  gold  that  glistened  in  every  part  of  it.  Its  cor- 
njce  was  embellished  with  verses,  which  concluded 
in  this  manner :  "  If  thou  still  demandest  at  what 
time  the  throne  of  this  second  Solomon  was  built,  I 
will  tell  thee — Behold  the  throne  of  the  second  Sol- 
omon :"  here  the  last  words  being  taken  for  numerals, 
make  1057,  the  date  of  the  year. 

The  Tui-ks  spare  for  nothing  in  rendering  their 
tents  convenient  and  magnificent ;  those  of  the  gran- 
dees are  said  to  be  exceedingly  splendid,  and  entirely 
covered  with  silk,  besides  being  lined  with  a  stuff  of 
the  same  material.     Van  Egmont  and  Heyman  men- 


tion one  which  cost  25,000  piastres,  and  was  not  fin- 
ished in  less  than  three  years :  it  was  lined  with  a 
single  piece  made  of  camels'  hair,  and  beautifully 
decorated  with  festoons,  and  sentences  in  the  Turk- 
ish language.  Nadir  Shah  had  a  very  superb  tent, 
covered  on  the  outside  with  scarlet  broadcloth,  and 
lined  wthiji  with  violet  colored  satin,  ornamented 
with  a  great  variety  of  animals,  flowers,  &c.  formed 
entirely  of  pearls  and  precious  stones. 

The  tents  of  princes  are  frequently  illuminated  as  a 
mark  of  honor  and  dignity.  Norden  tells  us,  that  the 
tent  of  the  bey  of  Girge  was  distinguished  from  those 
of  others  by  forty  lamps  suspended  before  it,  in  the 
form  of  chequer  work ;  and  the  general  appearance 
of  the  camp  of  Darius,  as  related  in  Quintus  Curtius, 
is  very  characteristic  of  a  modern  Persian  camp. 
Whoever  has  seen  at  night,  at  a  distance,  a  Persian 
camp,  or  indeed  a  camp  of  any  Asiatics,  where  im- 
mense fires  are  lighted  in  all  parts  of  it,  will  be  struck 
with  the  correctness  of  the  similitude  to  a  general 
conflagration. 

Tents  are  also  of  various  colors  ;  black,  as  the 
tents  of  Kedar ;  red,  as  of  scarlet  cloth  ;  yellow,  as 
of  gold  shining  brilliantly;  white,  as  of  canvass. 
They  are  also  of  various  shapes  ;  some  circular,  oth- 
ers of  an  oblong  figure,  not  unlike  the  bottom  of  a 
ship  turned  upside  down.  In  Syria,  the  tents  are 
generally  made  of  cloth  of  goats'  hair,  woven  by  wo- 
men. Those  of  the  Arabs  are  of  black  goats'  hair. 
Some  other  nations  adopt  the  same  kind,  but  it  is  not 
common.  Thevenot  says,  the  Curds  of  Mesopotamia 
do.  The  modern  royal  tents  of  the  Arabs  have  gen- 
erally no  other  covei-ing  than  black  hair-cloth.  The 
Turcomans,  who  are  a  nation  living  in  the  Holy 
Land,  dwell  in  tents  of  white  linen  cloth  :  they  arc 
very  neat  in  their  camps,  and  lie  in  good  beds.  Tho 
Egyptian  and  Moorish  inhabitants  of  Askalon  are 
said  to  use  white  tents  ;  and  D'Arvieux  mentions  that 
the  tent  of  an  Arab  emir  he  visited,  was  distinguished 
from  the  rest  by  its  being  of  white  cloth. 

The  Roman  emperors  had  an  ancient  custom  of 
spreading  a  scarlet  cloak  over  their  tents,  to  distin- 
guish those  of  officers  of  rank.  Among  the  Mame- 
lukes, the  tents  are  often  of  cloth,  and  highly  orna- 
mented. Lieutenant  Brown,  of  the  Royal  Navy, 
brought  an  entire  tent  from  the  late  Egyptian  expe- 
dition. It  was  of  strong  sail-cloth,  of  a  leaden  hue, 
but  ornamented  with  painting.  ]Mr.  Jackson,  in  his 
over-land  journey  from  India,  on  his  entering  the 
Tigris,  in  tlie  place  where  the  river  Hil  joins  with  it, 
near  a  small  town  called  Coote,  fell  in  with  a  Turk- 
ish encampment,  which  appeared  to  him  beautiful, 
some  of  the  tents  being  red,  some  green,  and  some 
white.  (Harmer's  Observations,  1816.)  Olearius, 
attending  the  ambassadors  of  Holstcin  Gottorp,  v.ho 
were  invited  by  a  late  Persian  monarch  to  accompany 
him  on  a  party  of  ])!easure  for  hunting,  hawking, 
&c.  foimd  in  a  village  many  t(>nts  prepared  for  the 
reception  of  the  company,  which,  by  the  variety  of 
their  coloi-s,  and  the  pecidiar  manner  in  which  they 
were  pitched,  made  a  most  pleasing  appearance. 

Tents  are  still  used  for  religious  solemnities,  as  will 
appear  from  the  following  extracts : — When  De  Perry 
arrived  at  Siiit,  a  large  town  near  the  Nile,  about  70 
leagues  above  Cairo,  it  was  "  the  first  day  of  Biram  ; 
and,  going  to  the  town,  we  found  many  tents  pitched, 
and  an  innumerable  concourse  of  people  without  the 
town,  to  the  southward  of  it.  These  people  were 
partly  of  Siiit,  and  partly  from  the  circumjacent  vil- 
lages, who  came  thither  to  celebrate  the  happy  day. ' 
The  Rev.  Cornelius  Rahum,  a   missionary,  visiting 


TER 


[  885  ] 


THA 


Dorbat  Horde,  by  whom  the  Calmuc  superstitions  are 
held  in  veneration,  describes  it  thus  : — "  We  went  out 
to  the  'Churull,'  this  is  the  name  of  that  part  of  the 
encampment  where  the  temple  Kibitjes,  (or  sacred 
tents,)  and  tiiose  belonging  to  the  lama  aucl  gallongs, 
or  priests,  are  pitched.  The  word  is  derived  from  a 
verb  which  signifies  '  to  gather,'  and  in  this  place  all 
ordinary  assembhes  for  worship  are  held.  In  the 
church  were  six  temple  Kibitjes." 

A  custom  prevails  in  the  East,  of  persons  in  all  sta- 
tions of  life  living  in  certain  seasons  of  the  year  in 
tents,  whilst  in  other  seasons  they  dwell  in  houses. 
Dr.  Pococke  mentions  a  pleasant  place  near  Aleppo, 
where  he  met  an  aga,  who  had  a  great  entertain- 
ment, accompanied  with  music,  under  tents.  The 
custom  of  taking  air  in  the  neighborhood  of  Cairo  in 
tents,  is  noticed  by  Muillet  as  a  matter  of  course. 

It  was  customary  to  pitch  tents  near  water-springs 
or  fountains.  The  army  of  Ishbosheth  sat  down  by 
the  pool  of  Gibeon,  2  Sam.  xx.  12,  13.  Chardin  in- 
forms us  that  Tahmusp,  the  Persian  monarch,  used 
to  retire,  in  the  summer,  three  or  four  leagues  into 
the  country,  where  he  lived  in  tents,  at  the  foot  of 
mount  Olouvent,  in  a  place  abounding  in  cool  springs 
and  pleasant  shrubs.  The  following  stanza  from  the 
Bedavi,  a  Persian  poet,  translated  by  Fox,  will  fur- 
ther illustrate  this.  Speaking  of  the  shepherd,  he 
says, 

"  Or  haply  when  the  summer  sun-beam  pours 
Intensely  o'er  th'  unshaded  wide  extent, 

He  leads  instinctive  where  the  grove  embowers. 
And  rears  beside  the  brook  his  shelt'ring  tent." 

The  words  succoth  and  masac  are  variously  ren- 
dered in  our  translation,  curtain,  tabernacle,  covert, 
pavilion,  college,  booth,  tent,  a  hanging,  and  a 
covering. 

TEPHTLIM,  i.q.  Frontlets,  which  see. 

TERAH,  son  of  Nahor,  and  father  of  Nahor,  Ha- 
ran  and  Abraham,  (Gen.  xi.  24.)  was  born  A.  M.  1878. 
He  begat  Abraham  at  the  age  of  72  years,  and  left 
Ur,  of  the  Chaldeans,  to  settle  at  Haran,  in  Mesopo- 
tamia, A.  31.  2082,  Gen.  xi.  31,  32.  He  died  there 
the  same  year,  aged  275  years.  Scripture  intimates 
plainly,  that  Terah  had  fallen  into  idolatry,  (Josh, 
xxiv.  2 — 14.)  and  some  think  that  Abraham  himself 
at  first,  worshipped  idols  ;  but  that  afterwards,  God 
being  gracious  to  him,  convinced  him  of  the  vanity 
of  this  worship,  and  that  he  undeceived  his  father 
Terah.     See  Abraham. 

TERAPHIM,  idols,  or  superstitious  figures,  to 
which  extraordinary  efl^ects  were  ascribed.  The 
eastern  jieople  are  still  much  addicted  to  this  super- 
stition of  talismans.  The  Persians  call  them  telefm, 
a  name  nearly  approaching  to  tcraphini.  Those  of 
Rachel  must  have  been  images,  made  of  some  pre- 
cious metal.  See  Gon.  xxxi.  19 ;  1  Sam.  xv.  23 ; 
Judg.  xvii.  5 ;  Ezek.  xxi.  21  ;  Zecli.  x.  2,  where  the 
word  teraphim  is  used  for  an  idol,  or  superstitious 
figure.     See  Ear-rings,  and  Amulets. 

The  prophet  Hosca,  (iii.  4,  5.)  threatening  Israel, 
says,  "The  children  of  Israel  shall  abide  many  days 
without  a  king,  and  without  a  prince,  and  without  a 
sacrifice,  and  without  an  image,  and  without  an 
ephod,  and  without  teraphim  :"  that  is,  during  their 
captivity  they  shall  be  deprived  of  the  public  exercise 
of  their  religion,  and  even  weaned  from  their  private 
superstition.  The  passage  is  highly  descriptive  of 
the  depth  of  their  suffering.     (See  Fragment,  738.) 

TEREBINTH.     The  Heb.  nSx  is  sometimes  ren- 


dered by  tne  ancient  versions  oak,  and  sometimes 
terebinth.  The  latter  is  the  Pistacia  Terebinthus  of 
Linnaeus,  or  the  common  turpentine  tree,  whose  resia 
or  juice  is  the  Chian  or  Cyprus  turpentine,  used  in 
medicine,  and  finer  than  that  produced  by  the  fir 
tribe.  The  tree  grows  to  a  large  size  and  gi-eat  age, 
and  is  common  in  Palestine.  According  to  Plinv,  it 
is  an  evergreen  ;  although  this  dors  not  coincide  with 
the  experience  of  modern  botanists.  The  Hebrew 
word  would  seem  rather  to  be  used,  in  a  broader 
sense,  of  any  large  tree  in  general  ;  like  the  Greek 
(5oO--.  In  Is.  vi.  13,  it  is  improperly  translated  teil- 
tree,  which  is  the  same  as  the  lime  or  linden.     *R. 

TERTIUS,  Paid's  amanuensis  in  writing  his  epis- 
tle to  the  Romans,  Rom.  xvi.  22.  Lightfoot  conjec- 
tures that  he  was  the  same  as  Silas,  this  Hebrew  name 
signifying  the  same  as  the  Latin  Tertius. 

TERTULLUS,  an  advocate  who  pleaded  against 
Paul  before  Felix,  governor  of  Judea,  A.  D.  58,  Acts 
xxiv.  1—9. 

TESTAMENT  is  commonly  taken  in  Scripture 
for  the  covenant,  the  law,  the  promises.  See  Cove- 
nant. 

TESTIMONY,  a  proof,  testimony  or  witness. 
(See  Exod.  xx.  16  ;  xxiii.  1 ;  Gen.  xxxi.  47,  48,  52  ; 
.Josh.  xxii.  27  ;  John  i.  8  ;  v.  31,  &c.) 

The  law  is  called  a  testimony,  Ps.  cxix.  passim, 
because  when  the  Lord  gave  it  to  the  Israelites,  he 
gave  testimony  of  his  presence  by  prodigies  performed 
before  them,  and  he  required  an  oath  of  them,  that 
they  should  continue  faithful  to  him.  The  ark  is 
called  the  ark  of  testimony,  because  it  contained  the 
tables  of  the  law  ;  so  the  tabernacle  of  testimony,  be- 
cause in  diat  tent  the  tables  of  the  law  were  kept. 

TETRARCH,  a  sovereign  of  a  fourth  part  of  a 
state,  province  or  kingdom.  Matt.  xiv.  1  ;  Luke  iii.  1, 
19  ;  ix.  7  ;  Acts  xiii.  1.  It  was  a  title  frequeiu  among 
the  descendants  of  Herod  the  Great,  to  A\liom  the 
Roman  emperors  distributed  his  dominions  at  their 
pleasure.  But  the  word  tetrarch  ought  not  to  be  un- 
derstood rigorously,  as  it  was  occasionally  given  to  a 
prince  who  possessed,  perhaps,  a  half,  or  a  third  part, 
of  a  state. 

I.  THADDEUS,  a  surname  of  Jude  the  apostle, 
Mark  iii.  18. 

II.  THADDEUS,  one  of  the  seventy  disciples, 
who  is  related  to  have  been  sent  to  king  Abgarus  ut 
Edessa.     (Euseb.  Hist.  Eccles.  lib.  i.  cap.  13.) 

THANKSGIVING,  the  act  of  acknowledging  the 
mercies  of  God.  (See  Praise.)  There  are  various 
modes,  under  the  Old  Testament,  of  oft'ering  thanks- 
giving; sometuncs  it  was  public,  sometimes  in  the 
family.  It  was  frequently  accompanied  by  sacri- 
fices (2  Chron,  xxix.  31.)  and  peace-offerings,  or 
oflferings  of  pure  devotion,  arising  from  the  sentiments 
of  gratitude  in  the  offerer's  own  mind.  Lev.  vii.  12, 
15  ;  Ps.  cvii.  23  ;  cxvi.  7.  It  is  usually  connected 
with  praise,  joy,  gladness,  and  the  voice  of  melody, 
(Isa.  li.  3.)  or  (as  Neh.  xi.  17.)  with  singing  and  with 
honor  ;  (Rev.  vii.  12.)  but  occasionally,  if  not  gener- 
ally, witli  sup])lication  (Phil,  iv.6.)  and  prayer,  1  Tim. 
u.  3;  Neh.  xi.  17.  For  thanksgiving,  we  have  ex- 
amples in  the  best  men  in  all  ages,  and  also  in  Christ 
oiu-  Lortl.  Whoever  possesses  any  good  without 
giving  thanks  for  it,  deprives  him  who  bestows  that 
good  of  his  gloiy,  sets  a  bad  example  before  othei-s, 
and  prepares  a  recollection  severely  painful  for  him- 
self, when  he  comes  in  his  turn  to  experience  ingrati- 
tude. Let  only  that  man  withhold  thanksgiving,  who 
has  no  enjoyments  for  which  to  give  thanks. 

THARSHISH,  see  Tarshish  II. 


THE 


[  886 


THE 


THEBET,  see  Tebeth. 

THEBEZ,  a  city  of  Ephraim,  at  the  siege  of  which 
Abiraelech,  son  of  Gideon,  was  killed,  Judg.  ix.  50, 
&c.  Eusebius  says,  there  was  a  village  called 
Thebes,  13  miles  from  Shechem,  towards  Scy- 
thopolis. 

THEFT,  among  the  Hebrews,  was  not  punished 
with  death  :  (Prov.  vi.  30,  31.)  "Men  do  not  despise 
[overlook?]  a  thief,  if  he  steal  to  satisfy  his  soul 
when  he  is  hungry.  But  if  he  be  found,  he  shall 
restore  seven-fold  ;  he  shall  give  all  the  substance  of 
his  house."  The  Mosaic  law  condemned  a  common 
thief  to  make  double  restitution,  Exod.  xxii.  4.  If  he 
stole  an  ox,  he  was  to  restore  five-fold  ;  if  a  sheep, 
only  four-fold,  Exod.  xxii.  1.  But  if  the  animal 
stolen  were  found  alive  in  his  house,  he  only  rendered 
the  double  of  it.  If  he  did  not  make  restitution,  they 
seized  and  sold  his  property,  his  house,  and  even 
himself,  if  he  had  not  wherewith  to  make  satisfaction, 
Exod.  xxii.  23.  In  the  passage  of  Proverbs,  the  wise 
man  seems  to  say,  thatthe  thief  should  restore  seven- 
fold the  value  stolen  ;  but  seven-fold  is  here  put  for 
many-fold.  Zaccheus  declared  he  would  restore  four- 
fold whatever  he  had  fraudulently  acquired  in  his 
office  of  publican,  (Luke  xix.  8.)  because  the  civil  law 
condemned  receivers  of  the  public  money  to  a  four- 
fold restitution  of  their  unjust  gains. 

If  a  thief  were  taken,  and  earned  before  a  magis- 
trate, he  was  interrogated  judicially,  and  adjured  in 
the  name  of  the  Lord  to  confess  the  fact.  If  he  per- 
sisted in  denying  it,  and  was  afterwards  convicted  of 
perjury,  he  was  condemned  to  death  ;  not  for  the 
theft,  but  for  the  perjury.  An  accomplice,  or  receiver 
of  stolen  goods,  was  subject  to  the  same  penalty,  if 
he  did  not  discover  the  truth  to  the  judges,  when  he 
was  examined,  and  adjured  in  the  name  of  the  Lord, 
Lev.  v.  1 ;  Prov.  xxix.  24.  To  steal  a  freeman,  or 
a  Hebrew,  and  to  reduce  him  to  sen'itude,  was  pun- 
ished with  death,  Exod.  xxi.  16.  If  a  stranger  were 
stolen,  the  thief  was  only  condemned  to  restitution. 

The  night-robber  might  be  killed  with  impunity  in 
the  fact ;  but  not  a  thief  taken  stealing  in  the  day- 
time, Exod.  xxii.  2.  It  was  presumed,  that  he  who 
attempted  to  break  open  a  house,  and  steal  by  night, 
had  a  design  on  the  life  of  the  person  molested  ;  and 
under  this  presumption  he  might  be  prevented  and 
killed.  But  it  was  not  so  with  him  who  stole  by 
day  ;  there  was  then  opportunity  of  defence  against 
such  an  attack  ;  and  the  thief  might  be  prosecuted 
before  the  judges,  and  compelled  to  make  resti- 
tution. 

THEOPHILUS,  an  honorable  person,  to  whom 
the  evangelist  Luke  addressed  his  Gospel,  and  the 
Acts  of  the  Apostles,  Luke  i.  3 ;  Acts  i.  3.  He  was 
probably  a  Christian  of  quality,  and  most  likely  gov- 
ernor or  intendant  of  some  province ;  such  having 
generally  the  title  oi'most  excellent.  It  is  right  to  ob- 
serve, however,  that  it  does  not  of  necessity  imply  a 
Roman  appellation  of  honor  ;  nor  does  the  name 
Theophilus  occur  in  Roman  history,  as  a  governor. 
It  is  found  among  the  Jewish  high-priests,  in  a  son 
of  Annas,  who  was  high-priest  in  the  year  when  our 
Saviour  was  crucified.  Theophilus  was  nominated 
to  that  office  instead  of  his  brother  Jonathan,  who 
had  been  deposed  by  Vitellius,  (Joseph.  Ant.  xviii. 
xix.  XX.)  and  Michaelis  countenances  the  notion 
that  this  was  Luke's  Theophilus.  [We  can  only  say 
of  Luke's  friend,  in  general,  that  most  probably  he 
was  a  man  of  some  note,  who  lived  out  of  Palestine, 
and  had  abjured  paganism  in  order  to  embrace 
Christianity.    R, 


THESSALONICA,  a  city  and  seaport  of  the 
second  part  of  Macedonia.  [It  is  situated  at  the  head 
of  the  Sinus  Thermaicus.  When  ^milius  Paulus, 
aft;er  his  conquest  of  Macedonia,  divided  the  country 
into  four  districts,  this  city  was  made  the  capital  of 
the  second  division,  and  was  the  station  of  a  Roman 
governor  and  questor.  (Liv.  xlv.  29.)  It  was  an- 
ciently called  Therma,  but  afterwards  received  the 
name  of  Thessalonica,  either  from  Cassander,  in 
honor  of  his  wife  Thessalonica,  the  daughter  of 
Philip  ;  or  from  Philip  himself,  in  memoi7  of  a  vic- 
tory obtained  over  the  armies  of  Thessaly.  (Diod. 
Sic.  xix.  35  et  52.  coll.  Strab.  vii.  p.  509.)  _  It  was  in- 
habited by  Greeks,  Romans  and  Jews,  from  among 
whom  the  a})ostle  Paul  gathered  a  numerous 
church.  R.]  There  was  a  large  number  of  Jews 
i-esident  in  this  city,  where  they  had  a  synagogue,  in 
which  Paul  (A.  D.  52)  preached  to  them  on  three 
successive  sabbaths.  Some  of  the  Jews,  and  many 
of  the  Gentiles,  embraced  the  gospel,  but  the  rest  of 
the  Jews  determined  to  maltreat  the  apostle,  and 
surrounded  the  house  in  which  they  believed  he  was 
lodging.  The  brethren,  however,  secretly  led  Paul 
and  Silas  out  of  the  city,  towards  Berea,  and  they 
escaped  from  their  enemies.  Acts  xvii.  Thessalonica, 
now  called  Saloniki,  is  at  present  a  wretched  town, 
but  having  a  population  of  about  60,000  persons. 

When  Paul  left  Macedonia  for  Athens  and  Cor- 
inth, he  left  behind  him  Timothy  and  Silas,  that  they 
might  confirm  those  in  the  faith  who  had  been  con- 
verted under  his  ministry.  Being  subsequently  in- 
formed by  them  of  the  state  of  the  church  in  Thes- 
salonica, he  addressed  to  them  the  first  of  the  two 
Epistles,  so  directed,  in  our  present  canon,  A.  D.  52, 
or  53. 

In  this  letter,  the  apostle  instructs  them  concerning 
the  last  judgment,  and  of  the  manner  and  measure 
with  which  Christians  should  be  afflicted  for  tlie 
death  of  their  relations.  He  expresses  much  affec-  J 
tion  and  tenderness  for  them,  with  an  earnest  desire  M 
of  coming  to  see  them.  He  reproves  them  with  much  " 
mildness  and  prudence,  intermingling  expressions  of 
praise,  and  marks  of  tenderness,  with  his  reprehen- 
sions. The  Second  Epistle  was  written  from  Corinth, 
a  short  time  after  the  First ;  and  in  it  the  apostle  cau- 
tions the  Thessalonians  against  misapprehensions 
occasioned  by  a  false  interpretation  of  a  passage  in 
his  former  Epistle,  as  if  he  had  said,  that  the  day  of 
the  Lord  was  at  hand.  He  exhorts  them  to  continue 
steadfast  in  the  doctrine  and  traditions  he  had  taught 
them,  and  to  suflJer  with  constancy  under  persecu- 
tion. He  reproves,  more  vehemently  than  before, 
those  who  lived  in  idleness  and  vain  curiosity  ;  and 
directs  his  converts  to  separate  from  them,  that  at 
least  they  might  be  ashamed  of  their  trifling,  and  re- 
form it.  He  signs  the  letter  with  his  own  hand,  and 
desires  them  to  mark  it  well,  that  they  might  not  be 
imposed  on  by  supposititious  letters,  written  in  his 
name,  by  which,  perhaps,  they  had  formerly  been 
deceived.     (See  chap.  ii.  2.) 

THEUDAS,  the  name  of  a  seditious  person,  who 
excited  popular  tumults,  probably  during  the  interreg- 
num which  followed  the  death  of  Herod  the  Great, 
while  Archelaus  was  absent  at  Rome  ;  at  which  time 
Judea  was  agitated  with  frequent  seditions.  Acts  v. 
36.  The  person  spoken  of  by  Gamaliel  cannot  be 
the  Theudas  mentioned  by  Josephus,  (Ant.  xx.  5.  1.) 
since  the  latter  appeared  during  the  reign  of  Clau- 
dius, after  the  death  of  Herod  Agrippa  I.  and  was 
destroyed  by  Cuspius  Fadus,  then  procurator  of 
Syria  and  Judea,  about  14  or  15  years  after  the  time 


i 


THO 


[  887  1 


THO 


when  the  advice  of  Gamahel  was  given.  (See 
Kiiinoel.)     *R. 

THIMNATHAH,  (Josh.  xix.  43.)  the  same  as 
TiMNATH,  which  see. 

THIRST  is  a  painful,  natural  sensation,  occasioned 
by  the  absence  of  moistening  liquors  from  the  stom- 
ach. As  this  sensation  is  accompanied  by  vehement 
desire,  the  term  is  sometimes  used  in  Scripture  in  a 
moral  sense,  for  a  mental  desire  ;  as  Jer.  ii.  25  :  "  With- 
hold thy  throat  from  thirst ;  but  thou  saidst,  I  loved 
strangers,  and  after  them  will  I  go."  In  other  words, 
"  I  desire  the  commission  of  sin — I  thirst  for  criminal 
indulgence."  And  Matt.  v.  6,  "  Blessed  are  they  who 
hunger  and  thirst  after  righteousness."  Ps.  xliii.  2, 
"My  soul  thirsteth  for  God."  The  same  figure  is 
employed  in  the  discourse  of  our  Lord  with  the 
woman  of  Samaria  :  "  Whosoever  drinketh  of  the 
water  which  I  shall  give  him  shall  never  thirst ;"  an 
allusion  which  the  woman  mistook  as  if  intended  of 
natural  water,  drawn  from  some  spring  possessing 
peculiar  properties. 

THOMAS,  the  ajiostle,  (Matt.  x.  3.)  called  in 
Greek  Didymus,  (John  xx.  24.)  was  probably  a  Gali- 
lean, as  well  as  the  other  apostles ;  but  the  place  of 
his  birth,  and  the  circumstances  of  his  calling,  are 
unknown.  He  was  appointed  an  apostle  A.  D.  31, 
(Luke  vi.  1.3 — 15.)  and  continued  to  follow  our  Sa- 
viour during  the  three  years  of  his  preaching.  We 
know  no  particulars  of  his  life,  till  A.  D,  33,  a  little 
before  the  passion  of  Christ ;  when  Jesus  intending 
to  go  to  Judea  to  raise  Lazarus,  Thomas  said  to  the 
rest,  "  Let  us  also  go,  that  we  may  die  with  him," 
(John  xi.  16.)  meaning  that  by  going  to  Judea  they 
should  be  exposed  to  certain  death  from  the  hatred 
and  malice  of  the  Jews  against  his  Master.  At  the 
last  supper  (John  xiv.  5,  G.)  Thomas  asked  Christ 
whither  he  was  going,  and  what  way.  Our  Saviour 
answered,  "  I  am  the  way,  and  the  truth,  and  the 
life."  After  the  resun-ection,  when  Christ  appeared 
to  his  apostles,  in  the  absence  of  Thomas,  he  so  far 
expressed  his  disbelief  in  what  they  assured  him  of, 
as  to  say,  "  Except  I  shall  see  in  his  hands  the  print 
of  the  nails,  and  put  my  finger  into  the  print  of  the 
nails,  and  thrust  my  hand  into  his  side,  I  will  not  be- 
lieve," John  XX.  19 — 29.  Eight  days  after,  Jesus 
appeared  to  the  apostles,  Thomas  being  with  them, 
who,  having  both  seen  and  touched  him,  no  longer 
doubted,  but  cried  out,  "  My  Lord,  and  my  God !  " 
Jesus  said  to  him,  "  Thomas,  because  thou  hast  seen, 
thou  hast  believed  :  blessed  are  they  that  have  not 
seen,  and  yet  have  believed."  A  few  days  after,  while 
Thomas  and  some  other  disciples  were  fishing,  on  the 
sea  of  Galilee,  Jesus  appeared  to  them,  caused  them 
to  take  a  very  great  draught  of  fishes,  and  dined  with 
them. 

Tradition  says,  that  in  the  distribution  of  the  apos- 
tles to  the  several  parts  of  the  world,  to  preach  the 
gospel,  the  country  of  the  Parthians  was  allotted  to 
Thomas,  who  preached  to  the  Medes,  the  Persians, 
the  Caramanians,  the  Hircanians,  the  Bactrians,  and 
the  Magians,  people  which  then  composed  the  emf)ire 
of  the  Parthians.  The  author  of  the  Imperfect  Work 
on  Matthew  says,  that  being  arrived  at  the  country  in 
which  the  Magi  were  still  living,  who  came  to  worship 
Christ  at  Bethlehem,  he  baptized  them,  and  employed 
them  in  preaching  the  gospel.  Several  of  the  Fa- 
thers inform  us,  that  he  preached  in  the  Indies  ;  and 
others  say,  that  he  preached  in  Ethiopia,  near  the 
Caspian  sea. 

There  are  Christians  in  the  East  Indies,  which 
bear  the  name  of  St.  Thomas,  because  they  report 


that  this  apostle  preached  the  gospel  there.  They 
dwell  in  a  peninsula  of  the  Indus,  on  this  side  the 
gulf  There  are  also  many  in  the  kingdom  of  Cran- 
ganor,  and  in  neighboring  places  ;  as  also  at  Negapa- 
tam,  Meliapur,  Engamar,  beyond  Cochin,  where  their 
archbishop  resides,  who  acknowledges  the  jurisdic- 
tion of  the  patriarch  of  Babylon.  It  is  said  that  the 
first  Christians  of  the  Indies,  converted  by  Thomas, 
relapsed  into  their  former  infidelity,  and  so  far  forgot 
the  iiistructions  they  had  received  from  the  apostle, 
that  they  did  not  remember  there  had  ever  been  any 
Christians  in  their  coimtry.  They  believe  that  a 
certain  holy  man,  called  Mar-Thome,  a  Syrian, 
brought  them  the  light  of  the  gospel,  and  converted 
a  great  number  of  the  people,  with  the  assistance  of 
some  priests  from  Sj'ria  and  Egypt,  whom  he  invited 
thither.  Calmet  inclines  to  believe,  that  they  derived 
the  name  of  Christians  of  St.  Thomas  only  from 
Mar-Thome;  but  Mr.  Taylor  remarks,  that  the  uni- 
form tradition  and  testimony  of  their  writers,  as  col- 
lected by  Asseman,  forms  a  body  of  evidence  on  this 
subject  which  it  is  very  difficult  to  resist.  Thomas 
travelled  very  far  east ;  and  it  can  hardly  be  suppos- 
ed that  the  Syrians  would  introduce  into  their  pub- 
lic worship,  commemorations  of  him,  with  thanks- 
givings to  God  for  his  zeal  and  example,  unless  their 
ecclesiastics,  who  composed  such  ancient  ritual, 
thought  themselves  warranted  by  facts.  There  re- 
mains, however,  the  question,  what  countries  the 
Syrian  writers  intended  by  the  terms  they  use. 
When  they  speak  of  China,  it  does  not  necessarily 
follow  that  they  mean  the  country  we  now  call 
China  ;  and  certainly  not  in  its  whole  extent.  It 
appears  to  be  prudent  to  restrict  the  evangelical 
labors  of  Thomas  to  the  peninsula  of  India;  yet  with- 
out denying  that  he  might  in  some  excursion,  by  sea 
or  land,  touch  on  some  part  of  the  Chinese  em[)ire. 
Here  he  might  first  plant  the  gospel ;  but  he  returned 
to  his  residence  in  India.  The  confusion  occasioned 
by  the  revival,  under  a  second  Thomas,  should  not 
be  allowed  to  invalidate  the  evidence  that  fixes  so 
firmly  on  the  first. 

THORNS.  There  are  several  species  of  thorns 
or  briers,  and  not  less  than  eight  different  words  are 
employed  by  the  sacred  writers  to  denote  one  or  other 
of  them.  The  first  time  they  are  mentioned  is  in 
Gen.  iii.  18,  (-n-\n  }'i-)  "  thorns  and  thistles."  The 
word  ^y-  is  put  for  thorns  in  other  places,  (Exod. 
xxii.  6  ;  Jiulg.  viii.  6  ;  xxviii.  24.)  but  it  is  not  certain 
whether  it  means  a  specific  kind  of  thorn,  or  is  a 
generic  name  for  all  kinds  of  thorny  plants.  In  the 
passage  first  cited,_it  seems  to  be  used  generally,  for 
all  those  noxious  plants,  shrubs,  &c.  by  which  the 
labors  of  tlie  husbandman  are  impeded,  and  which 
are  only  fit  for  burning.  The  radical  import  of  the 
word  is  to  fret,  to  ivound,  or  to  tear. 

In  Judges  viii.  IG,  we  read  of  Gideon  taking 
"  thorns,"  (ri^)  and  "  briers  "  (=>r^3.)  The  former 
word  we  have  noticed  ;  the  latter  now  claims  our  at- 
tention. There  can  be  no  doubt  that  it  means  a 
sharp,  jagged  kind  of  plant  ;  the  difficulty  is  to  fix  on 
one,  where  so  many  offer  themselves.  The  LXX 
preserve  the  original  word.  We  should  hardly  think, 
says  Mr.  Taylor,  that  Gideon  went  far  to  seek  these 
plants;  the  "thorns"  are  expressly  said  to  be  from 
the  "  wildeniess,"  or  common,  hard  by  ;  probably  the 
barkdnim  were  from  the  same  place.  In  our  country 
this  would  lead  us  to  the  black-berry  bushes  on  our 
conunons  ;  but  it  might  not  be  so  around  Succoth. 
There  is  a  plant  mentioned  by  Hasselquist,  whose 
name  and  properties  somewhat  resemble  those  which 


TH0RN3 


[  888  ] 


THORNS 


are  required  in  the  barkdnim  of  this  passage  :  "  JVabca 
paliurus  Athenei,  the  nabka  of  the  Arabs.  There  is 
every  appearance  of  this  being  the  tree  wliich  fur- 
nished the  crown  of  thorns  put  on  tlie  head  of  our 
Lord.  It  is  common  in  the  East ;  a  plant  more 
proper  for  this  purpose  could  not  be  selected  ;  for  it 
is  armed  with  thorns  ;  its  branches  are  supple  and 
pliant,  and  its  leaf  of  a  deep  green,  like  that  of  the 
ivy.  Perhaps  the  enemies  of  Christ  chose  this  plant, 
in  order  to  add  insult  to  punishment,  by  employing  a 
plant  approaching  in  appearance  that  which  was  used 
to  crown  emjjerors  and  generals."  I  am  not  sure, 
continues  Mr.  Taylor,  whether  something  of  the  same 
ideas  did  not  influence  Gideon  :  at  least,  it  is  remark- 
able, that  though  in  ver.  7,  he  threatens  to  thrash  the 
flesh  of  the  men  of  Succoth  with  thorns,  that  is,  to 
beat  them  severely,  yet,  in  ver.  16,  it  is  said,  he  taught, 
made  to  know,  perhaps  7nade  to  be  known  by  wear- 
ing them,  as  at  once  insult  and  punishment.  The 
change  of  words  deserves  notice  ;  and  so  does  the  ob- 
servation, that  "he  slew  the  men  of  Penucl,"  which 
IS  not  said  of  the  men  of  Succoth.  If  the  nabka 
[nabaka]  of  the  Arabs  might  be  the  na-barkan  of  this 
passage,  the  idea  of  its  employment  is  remarkably 
coincident  in  the  two  instances.  [The  harkanim  of 
Gideon  are  understood  by  Gesenius  to  be  the  sharp 
stones  (sometimes,  perhaps,  thorns)  underneath  the 
thrashing  machines  of  the  Hebrews ;  and  these 
Gideon  used  as  instruments  of  punishment  and  tor- 
lure.     See  Thrashing.     R. 

Another  word  used  to  denote  a  plant  of  this  de- 
scription, is  c:-<yi,  tzenim,  A'umb.  xxxiii.  55;  Josh, 
xxiii.  13,  and  Job  v.  5.  From  its  application,  it 
seems  to  describe  a  bad  kind  of  thorn:  "But  if  ye 
will  not  drive  out  the  inhabitants  of  the  land  fvom 
before  you,  then  it  shall  come  to  pass,  that  those 
which  ye  let  remain  of  them  shall  be  pricks  in  30m- 
eyes,  and  thorns  in  your  sides,  and  shall  vex  you  in 
the  land  wherein  ye  dwell"  Numb,  xxxiii.  55.  So  in 
the  second  passage  referred  to.  The  passage  in  Job 
IS  thus  rendei-ed  by  Good — 

Their  harvest  the  wild  starveling  devoureth ; 
He  seizeth  it  to  the  very  thorns  ; 

which  supports  the  interpretation  of  the  word  above 
proposed,  as  far  as  the  idea  is  concerned,  although 
Dr.  Good  seems  inclined  to  think,  with  Symmachus 
and  Jerome,  that  the  allusion  is  liere  ratiier  to  "  hos- 
tile arms "  than  to  vegetable  prickles,  Perhaps 
Eliphaz  may  refer  to  a  hedge  of  thorns,  wjiich  sur- 
roimds  for  security  a  thrashing-floor,  granary,  or 
some  such  place  ;  and  Dr.  Harris  proposes,  as  the 
particular  kind,  the  rhamnus  paliurus,  a  deciduous 
plant  or  tree,  a  native  of  Palestine,  Spain  and  Italy. 
It  will  grow  nearly  to  the  height  of  fouiteen  feet,  and 
is  armed  with  sharp  thorns,  two  of  which  are  at  the 
insertion  of  each  branch,  one  of  them  straight  and 
upright,  the  other  bent  backward. 

In  Prov.  XV.  19,  there  is  a  beautiful  apophthegm, 
which  involves  a  reference  to  some  kind  of  thorny 
shrub : — 

The  way  of  the  slothful  is  as  a  hedge  of  thorns  . 
But  the  way  of  the  righteous  is  plain. 

The  Avord  here  used  is  pin,  chedek,  but  the  particular 
kind  of  thorn  which,  is  intcndrd,  it  seems  hardly  pos- 
sible to  determine.  Celsius  and  Ray  make  it  the 
solanum  pomiferum  fructu  spinoso  ;  but  Dr.  Harris 
thinks  it  is  the  eolutea  spinosa  of  Forskal,  which  is 


called  in  the  Arabic  keddad,  and  of  which  there  is  an 
engraving  in  Russell.  In  Mic.  vii.  4,  the  same  word 
is  translated  "brier,"  and  perhaps  here  the  same 
word  may  be  retained  without  injury  to  the  passage. 
Perhaps,  too,  this  chedek  may  be  a  plant  of  some 
verdure,  like  our  brier,  and  of  which  we  call  a  scented 
kind  "sweet-brier  ;  "  so  a  judge — the  comparison  in 
Micah — may  be  a  well-looking  (q.  verdant)  character, 
but  if  he  lake  bribes  he  becomes  a  brier,  liolding 
every  thing  that  comes  within  his  reach,  hooking  all 
he  can  catch  ;  not  a  sweet-brier,  but  a  rank  w^eed : 

Sauciat  atque  rapit  spinus  paliurus  acutis  : 
Hoc  etiam  judex  semper  avarus  agit. 

With  regard  to  the  passage  in  the  Proverbs,  there  is 
a  beautiful  opposition,  which  is  lost  in  our  render- 
ing: — "The  narrow  ivay  of  the  slothful  is  like  per- 
plexed palhivays  among  sharp  tliorns:  whereas,  the 
oroad  road  of  the  righteous  is  a  high  bank ;"  (as  ren- 
dered elsewhere,  a  causeway  ;)  that  is,  straight  for- 
ward ;  free  from  obstructions  ;  the  direct,  conspicu- 
ous, open  path.  (1.)  The  conunon  course  of  life  of 
these  two  characters  answers  to  this  comj)arison.  (2.) 
Their  manner  of  going  about  business,  or  of  trans- 
acting it,  answers  to  this:  an  idle  man  always  prefers 
the  most  intricate,  the  most  oblique,  and  eventually 
the  most  thorny  measures,  to  accomplish  his  purpose  ; 
the  honest  man  prefers  the  most  liberal  and  straight- 
forward. 

We  have  no  means  of  determining  the  kind  of 
plant  meant  by  cin^n,  sirim,  rendered  "  thorns,"  in 
Exod.  vii.  6  ;  Nah.  i.  10,  and  lies.  ii.  6.  In  Exod. 
and  Nah.  tliey  are  spoken  of  as  a  kind  of  fuel  which 
quickly  burns  up,  and  in  Hos.  as  obstructions  or 
hedges.  The  like  uncertainty  attends  our  inquii-y  as 
to  the  £=Min,  "  thorns,  "  of  2  Chron.  xxxiii.  11  ;  Prov. 
xxvi.  9 ;  Cant.  ii.  2 ;  Hos.  ix.  6.  Its  etymology 
would  lead  us  to  look  for  a  kind  of  thorn  with  incur- 
vated  spines,  like  fish-hooks.  In  2  Kings  xiv.  9  ;  2 
Chron.  xxv.  18  ;  Job  xxxi.  18,  the  word  nin  is  ren- 
dered "  thistle ;  "  in  Job  xli.  2,  "  hook  ; "  in  1  Sam.  xiii. 
6,  "  thicket ;  "  and  in  Isa.  xxxiv.  14,  "  bramble." 

The  n->i-ii-;':,  natzutzim  of  Isa.  vii.  19,  is  taken  for 
"  thorns  "  by  the  Chaldee  interpreters,  and  also  by 
our  translators  ;  but  bishop  Lowth  renders  it  "  thick- 
ets," refeiTing  it,  probably,  to  the  root  y;,  a  tree.  Mr. 
Taylor,  however,  thiidvs  that  it  refers  rather  to  places 
than  to  [)lants — mcadoics,  or  Jlowery  meads.  Bate 
thinks  that  the  — ^s^,-ij,  nehellim,  with  which  it  is  asso- 
ciated, and  which  we  render  "  bushes,"  should  rather 
be  undei-stood  of"  pasture  groiuids,  where  flocks  are 
tended;"  and  os  tiiis  makes  three  out  of  the  four 
subjects  mentioned  places,  the  fourth  also,  by  parity, 
should  be  a  place,  not  a  plant.  This  would  lead  to 
the  following  distribution  of  the  passage  : — 

In  that  daj', 

The  Lord  shall  hiss  for  the  fly 

Wliich  is  in  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  rivers  of  Egypt, 
Which  shall  come  and  setUe  on  all  flowery  meads, 
And  on  all  fruitful  pastures. 
And  for  the  bee. 
Which  is  in  the  land  of  Assyria, 
Which  shall  come  and  settle  on  all  abandoned  val- 
leys. 
And  in  the  crevices  (or  clefts)  of  the  reck. 

The  pSa,  sillon,  of  Gen.  iii.  18;  Josh,  xxiii.  13; 
Ezek.  ii.  G,  and  chap,  xxviii.  24,  is  thought  by  some 
to  be  a  kind  of  thorn,  oversoreading  a  large  surface 


THORNS 


[  889  ] 


THR 


of  ground,  as  the  dew-brier.  Mr.  Taylor,  fioiu  its 
association  in  the  two  last  ])assages,  inclines  to  think 
that  some  kind  of  animal  is  intended,  rather  than  a 
vegetable  substance.  His  reasons,  however,  seem  to 
possess  little  weight,  and  the  passage  in  Gen.  iii.  18, 
appears  decisive  for  a  thorny  plant  of  some  descrip- 
tion, though  the  particular  kind  cannot  be  ascertained. 
From  the  vexatious  characters  ascribed  to  it,  Harris 
thinks  it  to  be  the  hantuffa  as  described  by  Bruce. 

The  1013,  sii-pad,  of  Isa.  Iv.  13,  means,  apparently, 
some  kind  of  wide-spreading  thorn.  Hiiler  calls  it 
the  ruscus. 

In  addition  to  the  words  already  enumerated,  we 
find  Snn,  cherul,  used  in  Job  xxx.  7  ;  Prov.  xxiv.  31, 
and  Zeph.  ii.  9.  It  is  only  in  the  second  passage, 
however,  that  it  is  rendered  thorn,  and  the  particular 
kind  it  is  impossible  to  determine.  Indeed,  it  is  no 
wonder,  that  among  so  many  kintls  of  thorns  as  arc  to 
be  found  in  the  East,  we  should  be  embarrassed  in 
idcntifyijig  them.  [The  difficulty  in  all  the  preceding 
remarks  is,  that  the  writers  have  felt  no  embarrass- 
ment, but  have  decided  with  self-complacency,  where 
real  scholars  are  at  a  loss.     R. 

The  word  employed  in  the  New  Testament  for 
"  thorns  "  is  '  Axuidu.  Wetstein  has  quoted  a  pas- 
sage from  Galen,  very  similar  to  Matt.  vii.  U! :  "  Tiie 
husbandman  would  never  be  able  to  make  the  thorn 
produce  grapes."  On  Matt,  xxvii.  29,  Harris  cites, 
with  apparent  approbation,  Dr.  Pearce's  note  on  the 
passage,  which  is  as  follows :  "  The  word  azui  ,9^wi 
may  as  well  be  the  plural  genitive  case  of  the  word 
axarSog,  as  of  uxaiOii;  if  of  the  latter,  it  is  rightly 
translated  '  of  thorns,'  but  the  former  would  signifv 
what  we  call  '  bear's  foot ; '  and  the  French  '  branchc 
ursine.'  This  is  not  of  the  thorny  kind  of  ])lants, 
but  is  soft  and  smooth.  Virgil  calls  it  '  mollis  acan- 
thus,'so  does  Pliny  secundus ;  and  Pliny  the  elder  says 
that  it  is  '  liEvis,'  smooth,  and  that  it  is  one  of  those 
plants  that  are  cultivated  in  gardens.  I  have  some- 
where read,  but  cannot  at  present  tell  where,  that  tiiis 
soft  and  smooth  herb  was  very  conunon  in  and  about 
Jerusalem.  I  find  nothing  in  the  New  Testament 
concerning  the  crown  which  Pilate's  soldiers  j)ut  on 
the  head  of  Jesus  to  incline  one  to  think  that  it  was 
of  thorns,  and  intended,  as  is  usually  sup})oscd,  to  put 
him  to  pain.  The  reed  put  into  his  hand,  and  the 
scarlet  robe  on  his  back,  were  meant  only  as  marks 
of  mockery  and  contempt.  One  may  also  i-easonably 
judge  by  the  soldiers  being  said  lo  plait  this  crown, 
that  it  was  not  composed  of  such  twigs  and  leaves  as 
were  of  a  tliorny  nature.  I  do  not  find  that  it  is 
mentioned  by  any  of  the  primitive  Christian  writers 
as  an  instance  of  the  cruelty  used  towards  our  Sa- 
viour before  he  was  led  to  crucifixion,  till  the  time 
of  Tertullian,  who  lived  after  Jesus'  death  at  tlie  dis- 
tance of  above  one  hundred  and  sixty  years.  He, 
indeed,  seems  to  have  understood  axurftun  in  the 
sense  of  thorns,  and  says,  "  Quale  oro  to,  Jesus 
Christus  sertum  pro  utroque  sexu  subiit  ?  Ex  spinis, 
opinor,  et  tribulis."  The  total  silence  of  Polycarj), 
Barnabas,  CI.  Romanus,  and  all  the  oilier  Christia-' 
writers  whose  works  are  now  extant,  and  who  W;Otc 
before  Tertullian,  in  particular,  will  give  some  weight 
to  incline  one  to  think  that  this  crown  "as  iJ<)t  i)laite(l 
with  thorns. 

This  conjecture  of  Pearce,  which  lias  been  em- 
braced by  Michaelis,  is  solidly  refuted  by  Campbell. 
Not  a  single  version  favors  it ;  and,  as  Bloomfield  re- 
marks, the  word  proposed  occurs  no  where  in  the 
New  Testament  or  the  Septuagint.  The  Italian  and 
Syriac  render  thorns;  and  the  ancient  Greek  and 
112 


Latin  fathers  so  took  it.  There  is,  therefore,  the 
highest  probability  opposed  to  mere  conjecture. 
Bod;eus  and  Theoi)liylact  think  that  our  Lord's 
crown  was  of  acacia ;  othei's  coujectun;  difierently. 
It  was,  doubtless,  of  some  kind  of  prickly  shrub, 
though  what  that  was  cannot  now  be  ascertained. 
Certainly  it  was  not  of  mere  thorns,  nor  pressed  upon 
liis  head  with  an  intent  to  torture  him  ;  every  thing 
in  this  occurrence  seems  to  have  been  done  with  a 
view  to  mockery  and  derision,  not  pain  ;  and,  aa 
Whitby  remarks,  not  to  deride  Christ's  pretensions 
to  the  Messiahship,  biu  to  his  title  to  be  king  of  the 
Jews.  Doddridge  thinks,  that  had  ridicule  alone 
been  intended,  a  crown  of  straws  might  have  done  as 
well.  But  croivns  were  usually  made  of  such  shrubs 
as  admitted  of  being  ivoveii,  and  such  are  usually 
more  or  less  prickly.  That  they  meant  cruelty,  he 
argues  from  their  striking  him  ;  but  with  what  ? — a 
reed,  not  a  cane  ;  or,  as  Doddridge  thinks,  a  walking- 
BtaW,  as  Wetstein  has  satisfactorily  shown. 

THOUGHT,  THINKING,  are  words  not  always 
used  in  Scripture  for  the  simple  operation  of  the 
mind ;  but  as  including  a  formed  design  of  doing 
something.     (Sec  Jer.  xi.  19  ;  Gen.  xi.  G,  &:c.) 

When  our  tianslation  was  made,  the  word  thought 
included  the  sense  of  anxiety,  solicitude,  apprehen- 
sion ;  so  that  when  we  are  directed  to  "  take  no 
thought  for  the  morrow,"  the  meaning  was,  no  anxi- 
ety, no  carking  carefulness  ;  the  same  when  we  are 
told  to  take  no  thought  for  our  life,  or  living,  (Matt, 
vi.  8.)  or  for  raiment,  Luke  xii.  2(5.  Which  of  you, 
by  taking  thought,  by  anxiety,  by  solicitude,  can  add 
one  cul)it  to  his  stature,  or  to  his  age  ?  verse  25.  It 
cannot  be  supposed  that  our  Lord  forbids  a  proper 
care,  foresight,  or  provision  for  future  time  :  he  only 
meant  to  restrain  immoderate  desire,  anguish  of  mind, 
corroding  cares,  avarice. 

THRASHING,  the  separating  of  corn  from  the 
shell  or  husk  in  which  it  is  enclosed.  In  England 
this  operation  was,  till  lately,  usually  performed  by  the 
staff  or  fiail  ;  but  it  wiis  not  so  among  the  Hebrews. 

In  Isaiah  xli.  15,  we  read,  "  Behold,  I  will  make 
thee  a  new  sharp  thrashing  instrument,  having  teeth  ; 
thou  shalt  thrash  the  mountains,  and  beat  them  small, 
and  shalt  make  the  hills  as  chafi';  thou  shalt  fan 
them,  and  the  wind  shall  carry  them  away,  and  the 
whirlwind  shall  scatter  them"."  Here  every  idea, 
every  allusion,  every  sentence,  was  familiar  to  an 
eastern  agriculturist;  but  what  can  an  Englishman 
understand  by  "  a  new  sharp  thrashing  instrument 
havinfi;  teeth9"  He  who  naturally  thinks  of  the  flail, 
as  his  thrashing  instnunent,  may  well  be  permitted 
to  wonder  in  what  part  of  this  instrument  its  teeth 
can  be  placed,  a'ld  how  it  was  to  be  used,  when  in- 
creased by  this  addition.  As  to  our  modern  thrash- 
in"'  niaelii'iios,  they  are  out  of  the  question.  In  the 
same  |voj)het  we  have  another  passage,  (chap.  xxv. 
10,1  ivhicii  has  not  been  understood:  "  Moab  shall 
he  trodden  down  under  him,  even  as  straw  is  trodden 
down  FOR  the  dun,::hiil." — The  margin  reads,  "Moab 
shall  be  thrashed,  as  straw  is  thrashed  in  Madmeuah." 
Now,  to  tread  straw  by  labor  purposely  and  specifi- 
cally/or  the  dunghill,  is  an  occupation  of  persons  un- 
known to  our  rural  economy  ;  but  our  translators 
were  aware,  that  to  allude  to  "the  thrashing  of  straw 
in  iNIadmenah,  was  to  delude  the  rustic  reader  by  a 
seeming  translation  of  no  information  to  him;  and 
tliey,  tiiercfore,  preferred  that  which,  though  it  had 
no  "foundation  in  fact,  yet  seems  less  uncouth  to 
English  ears.  Translators,  in  general,  have  referred 
the  passages  to   thrashing,  as  appears  by  consulting 


THRASHING 


[  890  ] 


THRASHING 


them ;  Coverdale  has  "  thrashed  upon  the  ground  ; " 
the  Doway  translation,  "broken  with  the  wain;" 
and  bishop  Lowth,  "  thrashed  under  the  wheels  of 
the  car ;"  each  something  right,  and  something  wrong ; 
but  bishop  Lowth  is  the  nearest  to  accuracy. 

Very  little  of  the  real  imjjorl,  the  haste,  or  the  value, 
of  the  proposed  present  of  Ornau  to  David  (1  Chron. 
xvi.  23.)  can  be  understood  in  this  country :  "  I  give 
the  thrashing  instruments  for  v/ood ; "  i.  e.  to  burn 
tlie  sacrifice  of  the  oxen,  &z.c.  How  many  flails  [our 
thrashing  instruments)  must  Oman  have  possessed, 
to  accomplish  this  purpose  ?  Could  nothing  better 
be  found,  nothing  be  fetched  from  the  adjacent  city, 
but  must  all  the  flails  of  this  Jebusite  be  consumed 
for  this  service  ?  Surely  Oman  did  not  hold  such  a 
quantity  of  land,  as  required  so  great  a  number  of 
flails  for  the  purpose  of  thrashing  the  produce  of  it, 
that  they  might  serve  to  consume  the  sacrifice  of  two 
oxen !  But  why  not  conclude,  that  this  offer  was 
made  for  instant  use,  Oman  hereby  iioping  to  ter- 


minate tnc  pestilence,  as  it  were,  on  the  instant, 
without  a  moment's  delay  ?  Thus  considered,  it  ac- 
quires additional  pj-opriety,  and  we  shall  see  that  it 
had  no  trifling  value. 

When  the  prophet  Isaiah  speaks  of  the  customary 
practice  of  rural  economy  in  Judea,  as  exemplifying 
the  talents  imparted  l)y  Heaven  to  the  sons  of  men, 
he  says,  "  H  is  God  doth  instruct  him  to  discretion, 
and  doth  teach  him  ;  for  the  fitches  are  not  thrashed 
with  a  thiashing  instrument ;  neither  is  a  cart  ivheel 
turned  about  upon  the  cumin  ;  but  the  fitches  are 
beaten  cut  with  a  staff,  and  the  cumin  with  a  rod. 
Bread  corn  is  bruised,  because  he  will  not  be  ever 
thrashing  it,  nor  break  it  luilh  the  icheel  of  his  cart,  nor 
bruise  it  with  his  horsemen.  This  also  cometh  irom 
the  Lord  of  hosts,  wlio  is  wonderful  in  counsel,  and 
excellent  in  working,"  ch.  xxviii.  27.  To  turn  cart 
wheels  upon  bread  corn  seems  strange  enough ; 
but  the  following  information  will  remove  tho 
difficulty : 


"  The  second  remark  is  concerning  the  manner 
they  thrash,  or  rather  tread,  rice  in  Egypt,  by  means 
of  a  sledge  drawn  by  two  oxen;  and  in  which  the 
man  who  drives  them  is  on  his  kuees,  whilst  another 
man  has  the  care  of  drawing  back  i\xc  straw,  and  of 
separating  it  from  the  grain,  tliat  remairie  underneath. 
In  order  to  tread  the  rice,  they  lay  it  on  ihe  ground 
in  a  ring,  so  as  to  leave  a  little  void  circle  in  tW  mid- 
dle." (Norden's  Travels  in  Egypt  and  Nubia,  -jiage 
80.)  "In  thrashing  their  corn,  the  Arabians  lay  tV^> 
sheaves  down  in  a  certain  order,  and  then  lead  over 
them  two  oxen,  dragging  a  large  stone.  This  mode 
of  separating  the  ears  Irom  the  straw,  is  not  unlike 
that  of  Egypt."  (Niel)ubr's  Travels,  page  299.)  "  They 
iisri  oxen,  as  the  ancients  did,  to  beat  out  tlitir  corn, 
by  trampling  upon  the  shc^aves,  and  dragging  after 
them  a  clumsy  machine.  This  machine  is  not,  as  in 
Arabia,  a  stone  cylinder;  nor  a  jjlank  with  sharj) 
stones,  as  in  Syria;  but  a  sort  of  sledge  consisling  of 
three  rollers,  fitted  with  irons,  which  turn  uj)on  axles. 
A  farmer  chooses  out  a  level  spot  in  his  fields,  and 
ha.s  his  corn  carried  thither  in  sheaves,  upon  asses. 


or  dromedaries.  Two  oxen  are  then  yoked  in  a 
sledge  ;  a  di-iver  gets  upon  it,  and  drives  them  back- 
wards and  forwards  [or  in  a  circle]  upon  the  sheaves; 
and  fresh  oxen  succeed  in  the  yoke,  from  time  to 
time.  By  this  operation,  the  chaft'is  veiy  much  cut 
down  ;  the  whole  is  then  winnowed,  and  the  pure 
grain  thus  separated.  This  mode  of  thrashing  out 
tlie  corn  is  tedious  and  inconvenient ;  it  destroys  the 
chafi^,  and  injures  the  qualitv  of  the  grain."  (lb.  vol. 
i.  p.  89.) 

"This  machii^.e  [Niebuhr  adds]  is  called  Nauridj. 
i*  has  three  rollers,  which  turn  on  their  axles  ;  and 
eacV  ofiliem  is  furnished  with  some  irons,  round  and 
flat.  At  the  beginning  of  June,  ]Mr.  Forskal  and  I 
sevei-al  tiaios  saw,  in  the  environs  of  Dsjise,  [Gize,] 
how  corn  was  thrashed  in  Egypt.  Every  peasant 
chose  for  himself,  in  the  open  field,  a  smooth  plat 
of  ground,  from  80  to  100  i>aces  in  circumference. 
Hither  was  brought,  on  camels  or  asses,  the  corn  in 
sheaves,  of  which  was  formed  a  ring  of  six  or  eight 
feet  wi(ie,  and  two  high.  Two  oxen  were  made  to 
draw  over  it  again  and  again  the  sledge  (traineau) 


THR 


[  891 


T  II  U 


above  mentioned,  and  this  wais  done  with  the  great- 
est convenience  to  the  driver  ;  for  he  was  seated  in  a 
chair  fixed  on  the  sledge.  Two  such  parcels  or 
layers  of  corn  are  thrashed  out  in  a  day,  and  they 
move  each  of  them  as  many  as  eight  times,  with  a 
wooden  fork  of  five  prongs,  which  they  call  Meddre. 
Afterwards  they  throw  the  straw  into  the  middle  of 
the  ring,  where  it  forms  a  heap,  which  gi-ows  bigger 
and  Itiggcr.  AVhen  the  first  layer  is  thraslied,  they 
replaces  the  stra\v  in  the  ring,  and  thrash  it  as  before. 
Tlius  the  straw  becomes  every  time  smaller,  till  at 
last  it  resembles  chopped  straw.  Afler  this,  with  tlie 
fork  just  described,  tliey  cast  the  wliole  some  jards 
from  thence,  and  against  the  tvind ;  which  driving 
back  the  straw,  the  corn  and  the  ears  not  thrashed 
out  full  aj)art  from  it,  and  make  another  heap.  A 
man  collects  the  clods  of  dirt  and  other  impurities, 
to  which  any  corn  adheres,  and  throws  them  into  a 
sieve.  They  afterwards  place  in  a  ring  the  heaps,  in 
which  a  good  many  entire  eai-s  are  still  found,  and 
drive  over  them,  lor  four  or  five  hours  together,  a 
dozen  couj)le  of  oxen  joined  two  and  two,  till,  by 
absolute  trampling,  they  have  separated  the  grains, 
which  they  throw  into  the  air  with  a  shovel  (Luhh) 
to  cleanse  them." 

The  ancient  Arabs,  Syrians,  Egyptians  and  Ro- 
mans thrashed  their  corn  in  the  same  manner,  by  the 
feet  of  cattle,  as  may  be  seen  m  Bochart,  vol.  ii.  p. 
302,  310.  "  The  iAIoors  and  Arabs,"  says  Dr.  Shaw, 
"continue  to  tread  out  their  corn  after  the  primitive 
custom  of  the  East.  Instead  of  beeves,  they  fre- 
quently make  use  of  mules  and  horses,  by  tjing  in 
the  like  manner,  by  the  neck,  three  or  four  of  them 
together,  and  whipping  them  afterwards  round  about 
the  neddai-s,  (as  they  call  the  thrashing-floors  ;  the 
Lybic£e  Arae  of  Horace,)  where  the  sheaves  lie  open 
and  expanded,  in  the  same  manner  as  they  are 
placed  and  prepared,  with  us,  for  thrashing.  This, 
indeed,  is  a  much  quicker  way  than  ours,  but  less 
cleanly:  for,  as  it  is  performed  in  the  open  air  (Hos. 
xiii.  3.)  upon  any  round  level  plat  of  ground,  daubed 
over  with  cow's  dung,  to  prevent,  as  much  as  possi- 
ble, the  earth,  sand,  or  gi-avel,  from  rising ;  a  gi'eat 
quantity  of  them  all,  notwithstanding  this  precaution, 
must  unavoidably  be  taken  up  with  the  grain  ;  at  the 
same  time  the  straw,  which  is  their  only  fodder,  is 
hereby  shattered  to  pieces  ;  a  circumstance  very  per- 
tinently alluded  to  in  2  Kings  xiii.  7,  where  the  king 
of  Syria  is  said  to  have  made  the  Israelites  like  the 
dust,  by  thrashing."     (Travels,  p.  221,  folio.) 

THRONE,  that  magnificent  seat  on  which  princes 
usually  sit  to  receive  the  homage  of  their  subjects,  or 
to  give  audience  to  ambassadors  ;  where  they  appear 
in  pomj)  and  ceremony  ;  whence  they  dispense  jus- 
tice, &c.  The  throne,  the  sceptre,  the  crown,  are 
ordinary  symbols  of  royalty  and  royal  authority. 
Scripture  often  represents  the  Lord  as  sitting  on  a 
throne.  The  psalmist  says,  that  God  had  confirmed 
his  throne  in  heaven  from  all  eternity,  Ps.  ciii.  19  ; 
xciii.  2  ;  xlv.  6.  This  throne  was  supported  by  jus- 
tice and  equity,  xcvii.  2.  The  throne  of  the  Lord 
which  was  shown  to  Ezekiel,  (chap,  i.j  was  at  the 
same  time  the  most  terrible,  and  yet  the  most  mag- 
nificent, object  that  can  be  imagined.  It  was  an 
animated  chariot,  borne  by  four  cherubim  of  an  ex- 
traordinary figure.  The  wheels  were  of  inexplicable 
beauty  and  magnitude,  also  animated  and  conducted 
by  a  spirit.  The  throne  of  the  Lord,  which  was 
over  the  wheels  and  the  cherubim,  was  like  glittering 
crystal,  with  a  seat  of  sapphire.  He  who  sat  on  the 
throne  was  surrounded  with  splendor  like  that  of 


fire,  or  of  metal  in  fusion  ;  and  round  him  glowed  the 
colors  of  the  rainbow.     (See  also  Isa.  vi.  2 — 4.) 

The  cherubim  on  the  ark  of  the  covenant  were 
also  considered  as  a  kind  of  throne  of  the  Deity : 
whence  it  is  said  in  many  places  that  God  sits  be- 
tween the  cherubim  ;  (1  Sam.  iv.  4  ;  2  Sam.  vi.  2  ;  2 
Kings  xix.  15  ;  Ps.  xviii.  10  ;  Ixxx.  1  ;  xcix.  1  ;  Isa. 
XXX  vii.  IG.)  whether  we  consider  ihechei-ubim  of  the 
ark,  or  the  cherubim  which  Isaiah  and  Ezekiel  de- 
scribe as  being  under,  and  about,  the  throne  of  the 
Ahnighty  ;  and  probaljly  to  the  same  cherubim  Paul 
refers  by  the  term  throins.  Col.  i.  K!. 

The  throne  of  Solomon  is  described  in  Scripture 
as  the  finest  and  richest  in  tlie  world,  1  Kings  x.  20. 
It  was  of  ivory,  inlaid  witii  gold.  The  ascent  was  by 
seven  steps  ;  the  back  was  round,  and  two  arms  sup- 
ported the  seat ;  twelve  golden  lions,  one  at  each  end 
of  every  step,  made  a  principal  part  of  its  ornaments. 

The  Jews  sometimes  swore  by  the  throne  of  God, 
or  by  heaven  ;  but  our  Saviour  forbids  such  oaths ; 
(Matt.  v.  34;  xxiii.  22.)  for  "Whoever  swears  by 
heaven,  swears  by  the  throne  of  God,  and  by  hiia 
who  sitteth  upon  it."  There  is  a  passage  (Exod.  xvii. 
16.)  that  might  be  understood  in  the  sense  of  an  oath, 
sworn  by  the  throne  of  God:  "The  Lord  has  lifted 
up  his  hand  from  his  throne  (he  has  swurn  by  his 
throne)  that  he  would  make  war  against  Amakk." 
(See  Oath.)  Thus  in  Judith,  (i.  2.)  Nebuchadnezzar 
swears  bj'  his  throne,  that  he  would  make  war 
against  all  who  had  rejected  his  ambassadors. 

In  Scripture,  the  Son  of  God  is  rej)resented  as  fit- 
ting on  a  throne  at  the  right  hand  of  his  Father,  Ps. 
ex.  1  ;  Ileb.  i.  8  ;  Rev.  iii.  21.  And  he  himself  as- 
sures his  apostles,  that  they  should  sit  on  twelve 
thrones,  judging  the  twelve  tribes  of  Israel,  Luke 
xxii.  30.  In  the  Revelation,  we  find  the  twenty -four 
elders  seen  in  vision,  sitting  on  thrones  before  the 
Lord,  Rev.  iv.  4.  And  (Dan.  vii.  9.)  when  God  is 
about  to  enter  into  judgment  with  men,  thrones  are 
prepared  for  judges.  The  Ancient  of  Days  is  seated  ; 
his  throne  is  as  a  flame  of  fire  ;  his  wheels  are  as  con- 
suming fire ;  streams  of  fire  radiate  from  his  face ; 
millions  of  millions  of  angels  attend  upon  him,  and 
thousands  of  thousands  are  round  about  him. 

Thrones,  in  the  sense  of  an  order  of  the  celestial 
hierarchy,  (Col.  i.  16.)  n^ay  signify,  as  above  hinted, 
the  cherubim,  which  were  considered  as  the  throne 
of  God.  Paul  does  not  mention  thrones  among  the 
celestial  spirits  that  compose  the  angelic  hierarchy, 
(Eph.  iii.  10;  vi.  12.)  and  hence  some  suppose  that 
by  thrones,  principalities,  powers  and  dominions,  the 
apostle  means  no  more  than  temporal  powers,  sub- 
ordinate one  to  another.  Thus,  thrones  denote  king- 
ly po\ver  ;  princijtaiities,  governors  or  princes  ;  and 
powers,  judges,  magistrates  of  cities,  &:c. 

THUMMIM,  see  Urim. 

THUNDER  is  a  re-percussion  of  the  air  violently 
agitated,  among  dense  clouds,  by  the  lightning  or 
electric  flash  ;  and  as  this  is  the  loudest  natural  noise 
with  which  mankind  are  acquainted,  it  was,  like 
many  other  surprising  things,  expressed  by  an  ad- 
dition of  the  name  of  God.  So  we  have,  in  Scrip- 
ture, the  terms  "  fair  to  God,"  extremely  beautiful ; 
"  great  cities  of  God,"  extremely  great  cities  ;  "  trees 
of  God,"  extremely  tall  trees ;  and  hence  thunder  is 
called  "  the  voice'  of  God,"  that  is,  the  prodigious 
sound,  noise,  or  report;  "voices  of  God,"  (Heb. 
Exod.  ix.  28.)  are  mighty  thunderings;  (Ps.  xxix.  3, 
4,5.)  the  voice  of  the  Lord  breaketh  the  cedars,  di- 
videth  the  flames  of  fire,  &:c. :  the  psalmist  tells  us, 
verse  3,  he  means  thunder. 


TIB 


[  m  ] 


TIB 


THYATIRA,  a  city  of  Lydia,  in  Asia  Minor,  an- 
ciently called  Pelopia  and  Euhipj^ia,  now  Ak-hisar. 
It  was  situated  on  the  confines  of  Lydia  and  Mysia, 
near  the  river  Lycus,  between  Sardis  and  Perganius, 
Acts  xvi.  14  ;  Rev.  i.  11  ;  ii.  18,  24.  The  art  of  dyemg 
purple  was  particularly  cultivated  at  Thyatira,  as  ap- 
pears from  an  inscription  found  there,  for  which  see 
Kuinoel  on  Acts  i.  (See  Wells,  Sac.  Geogr.  No. 
537.     Miss.  Her.  for  1821,  j).  251.)     *R. 

THYINE-WOOD,  (Rev.  xviii.  12.)  the  wood  of 
I  he  thyia  v.  thuja  articulata  of  LinnEeus,  an  aromatic 
evergreen  tree,  resembling  tiie  cedar,  and  foinid  in 
Libva.     The  ^\-ood  was  used  in  bnrning  incense.    R. 

I.'  TIBERIAS,  a  city  of  Galilee,  on  the  western 
shore  of  the  lake  of  Gennesareth,  the  original  name 
of  which  is  thought  to  have  been  Cimiereth,  or  Ham- 
math,  or  Emath,  or  Rakkath,  or  Recchatli.  Reland, 
however,  shows  that  this  is  very  doubtful,  and  only 
founded  on  the  sea  of  Cinnereth  being  afterwards 
called  the  sea  of  Tiberias  ;  which  by  no  means  proves 
tliat  Cinnereth  and  Tiberias  were  the  same  town. 
Besides,  as  he  observes,  the  portion  of  Naphtali  did 
not  begin  towards  the  south,  but  at  Capernaum, 
(Matt.  iv.  1-3.)  which  is  more  to  the  north  than  Tibe- 
rias ;  and  yet  Cinnereth,  Ilaminath,  Rakkath,  belong 
to  the  portion  of  Naphtali,  Josh.  xix.  35. 

Josephus  states  (Ant.  lib.  xviii.  cap.  3  ;  De  Bel.  lib. 
ii.  cap.  8.)  that  Tiberias  was  built  in  honor  of  Tibe- 
rias by  Herod  Antipas,  and  that  it  was  30  furlongs 
from  Hiijpos,  60  from  Gadara,  120  from  Scythopolis, 
and  30  from  Tarichea.  (De  Vita  sua,  p.  1025, 1010.) 
Herod  endowed  it  with  great  advantages ;  which, 
with  its  convenient  situation,  soon  made  it  the  me- 
tropolis of  Galilee.  When  he  was  obliged  to  leave 
Rome,  he  retired  hither  with  his  uncle  Herod  ;  and 
the  emperor  Claudius  afterwards  bestov/ing  it  upon 
him,  it  had  the  name  of  Claudia  Tiberias.  Josephus 
took  possession  of  it  at  the  time  of  the  wars  with  the 
Jews,  and  gave  the  bastinado  to  the  officer  who 
came  to  propose  terms  of  peace  to  it  from  the  Ro- 
mans. Vespasian  intended  to  put  all  the  inhabitants 
to  the  edge  of  the  sword  ;  but  Agi-ippa  prevailed  on 
him  to  be  satisfied  with  Ijeating  down  part  of  its 
walls.  Tiberias  was  famous  for  its  baths  of  hot 
waters,  from  which  diseased  peojile  received  great 
benefit. 

In  this  city,  some  of  the  most  learned  of  the  Jews, 
after  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  by  the  Romans, 
assembled,  and  laid  the  foundation  of  an  academy, 
which  became  famous  by  the  INIishna  that  was  com- 
posed in  it;  by  the  celebrated  labors  of  the  Maso- 
ritcs,  the  authors  of  the  vowel  points  ;  and  by  the 
reputation  of  the  doctors  who  there  kept  their  schools. 
Here  the  patriarch  of  the  nation  also  I'esided. 

Dr.  E.  D.  Clarke  says,  (Trav.  vol.  ii.  p.  4G7.)  "  The 
town  of  Tiberias  is  situated  close  to  the  edge  of  the 
lake.  It  is  fortified  by  walls,  but  has  no  artillery  ;  and, 
like  all  Turkish  citadels,  makes  a  great  figure  from 
without,  exhibiting,  at  the  same  time,  the  utmost 
wretchedness  within.  Its  castle  stands  ujion  a  rising 
ground  in  the  north  part  of  it.  No  antiquities  now 
remain,  except  a  very  ancient  church,  of  an  oblong 
square  form,  to  which  Ave  descended  by  steps. 
There  is  reason  to  believe  tliis  the  first  place  of 
Christian  worship  erected  in  Tiberias,  and  that  it  was 
constructed  as  long  ago  as  the  fourth  century.  Tlie 
roof  is  of  stone,  and  it  is  vaulted.  It  is  called  the 
house  of  Peter.  About  a  mile  south  of  the  town  are 
the  celebrated  hot  baths  of  Emmaus." 

II.  TIBERIAS,  Sea  of.  This  lake,  which  is 
almost  equal  in  the  grandeur  of  its  appearance  to  the 


lake  of  Geneva,  is  called  indifferently  the  lake  of 
Gennesareth,  the  lake  of  Tiberias,  the  sea  of  Galilee, 
and  the  sea  ofCinneroth,  from  the  adjacent  countrj-, 
or  the  principal  towns  upon  its  shores.  Josephus 
and  Phny  agree  in  stating  it  to  be  about  16  miles 
m  length,  and  about  6  in  breadth.  Mr.  Buckingham 
thus  describes  it :  "  The  waters  of  this  lake  lie  in  a 
deep  basin,  surrounded  on  all  sides  with  lofty  hills, 
excepting  only  the  narrow  entrance  and  outlet  of  the 
Jordan  at  each  extreme  ;  for  which  reason,  long  con- 
tinued tempests  from  any  one  quarter  are  here  un- 
known ;  and  this  lake,  like  the  Dead  sea,  with  which 
it  communicates,  is,  for  the  same  reason,  never 
violently  agitated  for  any  great  length  of  time.  The 
same  local  i'eatures,  however,  render  it  occasionally 
subject  to  whirlwinds,  squalls  and  sudden  gusts 
from  the  hollow  of  the  mountains,  which,  as  ui  any 
other  similar  basin,  are  of  short  duration  ;  and  the 
most  furious  gust  is  succeeded  by  a  perfect  calm.  A 
strong  current  marks  the  passage  of  the  Jordan 
through  the  middle  of  the  lake,  in  its  way  to  the  Dead 
sea,  wliere  it  empties  itself.  The  appearance  of  this 
sea  from  the  town  of  Capeniaum,  which  is  situated 
near  the  upper  end  of  the  bank  on  the  western  side, 
is  extremely  grand  ;  its  greatest  length  runs  nearly 
north  and  south.  The  barren  aspect  of  the  moun- 
tains on  each  side,  and  the  total  absence  of  wood, 
give,  however,  a  cast  of  dulness  to  the  picture;  and 
this  is  increased  to  melancholy  by  the  dead  calm  of 
its  waters,  and  the  silence  which  reigns  throughout 
its  whole  extent,  where  not  a  boat  or  vessel  of  any 
kind  is  to  be  found." 

Dr.  E.  D.  Clarke,  describing  its  appearance,  says, 
"  The  wind  rendered  its  surface  rough,  and  called  to 
mind  the  situation  of  our  Saviour's  disciples,  when,  in 
one  of  thesiuall  vessels  which  travci-se  these  waters, 
they  were  tossed  in  a  storm,  and  saw  Jesus,  in  the 
fourth  v.'atch  of  the  night,  walking  to  them  upon  the 
waves.  Matt.  xiv.  24,  25,26.  Often  as  this  subject 
has  been  painted,  combining  a  number  of  circum- 
stances adapted  for  the  representation  of  sublimity,  no 
artist  has  been  aware  of  the  imcommon  grandeur  of 
the  sceneiy,  memorable  on  account  of  the  transaction. 
The  lake  of  Gennesareth  is  surrounded  by  objects 
well  calculated  to  heighten  the  solemn  impression 
made  by  such  a  picture;  and,  independent  of  the 
local  feelings  likely  to  be  excited  in  its  contemplation, 
aftbrds  one  of  the  luost  striking  prospects  in  the  Holy 
Land.  It  is  Ijy  comparison  alone  that  any  due  con- 
cei)tiou  of  the  appearance  it  presents  can  be  conveyed 
to  the  minds  of  those  who  have  not  seen  it ;  and, 
speaking  of  it  comparativel}^  it  may  be  described  as 
longer  and  finer  than  any  of  our  Cumberland  and 
Westmoreland  lakes,  although,  perhaps,  it  yields  in 
majesty  to  the  stupendous  features  of  Loch  Lomond 
in  Scotland.  It  does  not  possess  the  vastncss  of  the 
lake  of  Geneva,  although  it  much  resembles  it  in 
particular  points  of  view.  The  lake  of  Locarno  in 
Italy  comes  nearest  to  it  in  point  of  picturesque  beau- 
ty, although  it  is  destitute  of  any  thing  similar  to  the 
islands  by  which  that  majestic  piece  of  water  is 
adorned.  It  is  inferior  in  magnitude,  and,  perhaps, 
in  the  height  of  its  surrounding  mountains,  to  the 
lake  Asphaltites  ;  but  its  broad  and  extended  surface, 
covering  the  bottom  of  a  profound  valley,  environed 
by  lofty  and  precipitous  eminences,  added  to  the 
impression  of  a  certain  reverential  awe  imder  which 
every  Christian  pilgrim  approaches  it,  give  it  a  char- 
acter of  dignitv  unparalleled  by  any  similar  scenerv." 
(Travels,  p.  402.) 

TIBERIUS  C^SAR,  second  emperor  of  Rome, 


TIM 


[  893  ] 


TIMOTHY 


i.  e.  Tiberius  Claudius  Drusus  Nero.  He  was  the 
son  of  Livia,  and  step-son  of  Augustus  ;  and,  being 
adopted  by  that  emperor,  he  succeeded  to  his  throne 
A.  U.  14.  He  died  A.  D.  37,  after  a  cruel  reign  of 
22i  years.  It  was  in  the  J  4th  year  of  his  reign  that 
John  the  Baptist  firet  appeared;  and  the  crucifixion 
of  Jesus  took  place  in  the  3d  or  4th  yeeu*  after,  Luke 
iii.  1.     R. 

TIBHATH,  a  city  of  Syria-Zoba,  taken  and  plun- 
dcrotl  by  David,  1  Chron.  xviii.  8. 

TIBNI,  a  son  of  Ginath,  and  competitor  with  Omri 
for  tiie  kingdom  of  Israel,  1  Kings  xvi.  21. 

TIDAL,  king  of  nations,  or  of  Gentiles,  (goiyn,) 
Gen.  xiv.  1.  Some  think  he  was  king  of  Galilee  of 
the  Gentiles  beyond  Jordan ;  (Matt.  iv.  15.)  and 
Joshua  speaks  of  a  king  of  the  nations  of  Gilgal,  or  of 
Galilee,  according  to  the  Septuagint,  Josh.  xii.  23. 

TIGLATH-PILESER,  king  of  Assyria,  reigned 
at  Nineveh.  Ahaz,  king  of  Judah,  finding  himself 
pressed  by  Rezin,  king  of  Syria,  and  Pekah,  king  of 
Israel,  and  unable  to  oppose  them,  sent  ambassadors 
to  Tiglath-pileser,  to  desire  his  assistance  against 
those  kings,  2  Kings  xvi.  7,  &c.  At  the  same  time  he 
sent  him  all  the  gold  and  silver  found  in  the  treasu- 
ries of  the  temple  and  of  the  palace.  Tiglath-pileser 
marched  against  Rezin,  killed  him,  plundered  Da- 
mascus, and  transported  the  inhabitants  to  places  on 
the  river  Cyrus.  Ahaz  went  to  meet  him  at  Damas- 
cus, (2  Chron.  xxviii.  20,  21.)  but  Tiglath-pileser,  not 
being  satisfied  with  the  presents  of  Ahaz,  entered 
Judea,  and  ravaged  the  whole  country.  He  did  the 
same  in  Samaria,  carried  away  the  tribes  of  Reuben 
and  Gad,  and  the  half  tribe  of  Manasseh,  and  trans- 
planted them  to  Halah,  Habor  and  Ilara,  on  the  river 
Gozan,  1  Chron.  v.  26.  He  took  also  the  cities  Ijon, 
Abel-beth-maachah,  Janoah,  Kedesh,  Hazor,  Galilee, 
and  the  countries  of  Gilead  and  Naphtali,  and  carried 
away  the  inhabitants  into  Assyria,  2  Kings  xv.  29. 
He  reigned  nineteen  years  at  Nineveh.  His  successor 
was  his  son  Shalmaneser.     See  more  in  Assyria. 

TIMBREL,  an  instrument  of  music,  often  men- 
tioned in  Scripture.  The  Hebrews  called  it  f)in,  toph, 
under  which  name  they  comprehended  all  kinds  of 
drums,  tabors  and  timbrels.  We  do  not  find  that  the 
Hebrews  used  it  in  their  wars,  but  only  at  their  pub- 
lic rejoicings ;  and  it  was  commonly  employed  by  the 
women.  It  consisted  and  still  consists  of  a  small 
rim,  over  which  a  skin  is  drawn.  The  rim  is  also 
hung  with  small  bells.  The  timbrel  is  used  as  an 
accompaniment  to  lively  music,  being  shaken  and 
'beaten  with  the  knuckles  in  time.  After  the  passage 
of  the  Red  sea,  Miriam,  sister  of  Moses,  took  a  tim- 
brel, and  began  to  play  and  dance  with  the  women, 
Exod.  XV.  20.  The  daughter  of  Jephthah  came  to 
meet  her  father  with  timbrels  and  other  musical  in- 
struments, Judg.  xi.  34. 

TIMNAH,  or  Timnath,  an  ancient  Canaanitish 
city,  to  which  Judah  was  going  when  he  met  with 
Tamar,  Gen.  xxxviii.  12.  It  was  at  fii-st  assigned  to 
Judah,  on  whose  northern  borders  it  lay,  (Josh.  xv. 
10,  .57.)  but  afterwards  to  the  tribe  of  Dan,  (Josh.xix. 
43.)  where  it  is  written  Thimxathah.  It  remained 
mostly,  however,  in  the  possession  of  the  Canaanites. 
Judg."  xiv.  1;  2  Chron.  xxviii.  18.  (Compare  Joseph. 
Antiq.  v.  8.5.)     *R. 

TIMNATH-SERAH,  a  city  of  Ephraim,  which 
Joshua  chose  for  his  dwelling  and  buiying-place, 
Josii.  xix.  50  ;  xxiv.  30. 

TIMOTHY,  a  disciple  of  Paul.  He  was  of  Derive 
or  Lystra,  both  cities  of  Lycaonia,  Acts  xvi.  1  ;  xiv.  (5. 
His  father  was  a  Gentile,  but  his  mother  a  Jewess,  2 


Tim.  i.  5 ;  iii.  15.  When  Paul  came  to  Derbe  and 
Lystra,  about  A.  D.  51,  or  52,  tlie  brethren  spoke 
highly  of  the  merit  and  good  disposition  of  Timothy ; 
and  the  apostle  determined  to  take  him  along  with 
him,  for  which  purpose  he  circumcised  him  at  Lystra, 
Acts  xvi.  3.  Timothy  applied  himself  to  labor  in  the 
gospel,  and  did  Paul  very  important  services,  through 
the  whole  course  of  his  preaching.  It  is  not  known 
when  he  was  made  bishop  ;  init  it  is  believed  that  he 
received  veiy  early  the  imposition  of  the  apostle's 
hands,  and  this  in  consequence  of  a  particular  revela- 
tion, or  intimation  from  the  Holy  Spirit,  1  Tim.  iv. 
14  ;  2  Tim.  i.  G.  Paul  calls  him,  not  only  his  dearly 
beloved  son,  but  also  his  brother,  the  companion  of 
his  labors,  and  a  man  of  God  ;  observing  that  none 
was  more  united  with  him  in  heart  and  mind  than 
Timothy. 

He  accompanied  Paul  to  Macedonia,  to  Philippi,  to 
Tliessalonica,  and  to  Berea,  where  he  left  him  and 
Silas  to  confirm  the  converts,  Acts  xvii.  14,  &c. 
When  at  Athens,  he  directed  Timothy  to  come  to 
him,  (A.  D.  52,)  and  thence  sent  him  back  to  Thes- 
salonica,  from  whence  he  afterwards  returned  with 
Silas,  to  Paul  at  Corinth,  (Acts  xviii.  5.)  where  he 
continued  with  the  apostle,  and  is  named  with  Silas 
at  the  beginning  of  the  two  epistles  to  the  Thcs- 
saloniaiis. 

About  A.  D.  56,  Paul  sent  Timothy  with  Erastus 
into  Macedonia,  (Acts  xix.  22.)  and  directed  him 
to  call  at  Corinth,  to  refresh  the  minds  of  the  Corin- 
thians in  the  truth.  Some  time  after,  writing  to  this 
church,  (1  Cor.  iv.  17.)  he  recommends  to  them  the 
care  of  Timothy,  and  directs  them  to  send  him  back 
in  peace. 

Timothy  returned  to  Paul  in  Asia,  who  there  stayed 
for  him,  whence  they  went  together  into  Macedonia, 
and  the  apostle  joins  Timothy's  name  with  his  own, 
in  the  Second  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians,  which  he 
wrote  from  this  province,  about  the  middle  of  A.  D. 
57.  He  also  sends  his  commendations  to  the  Ro- 
mans, in  the  letter  which  he  wrote  to  them  from 
Corinth,  the  same  year,  or  about  A.  D.  58,  Rom.  xvi.  21. 
Though  it  does  not  appear,  by  the  Acts,  that  Tim- 
othy was  with  Paul  the  two  years  in  which  he  was 
prisoner  at  Cesarea,  nor  during  his  voyage  to  Rome  ; 
yet  he  had  accompanied  him  in  his  journey  to  Jeioi- 
salem,  (Acts  xx.  4.)  and  it  is  certain  he  was  in  Rome 
when  the  apostle  wrote  to  the  Phili])pians,  to  the 
Colossians,  and  to  Philemon,  because  he  is  named  in 
the  titles  of  these  epistles,  which  were  written  A.  D. 
60,  61,  62.  The  year  following,  when  Paul  wrote  to 
the  Hebrews,  (Heb.  xiii.  23.  A.  D.  64,)  he  tells  them, 
that  Timothy  was  come  out  of  prison  ;  but  he  men- 
tions no  circumstances,  either  of  his  imprisonment 
or  delivery. 

When  the  apostle  returned  from  Rome,  A.  D.  64, 
he  left  Timothy  at  Ephesus,  (1  Tim.  i.  3.)  as  the 
overseer  of  that  church.  The  first  of  the  two 
letters  addressed  to  him  was  written  from  Mace- 
donia, about  A.  D.  64  or  65,  1  Tim.  v.  23.  (But  see 
luider  Paul.)  The  apostle  recommends  him  to 
be  more  moderate  in  his  austerities,  and  to  drink 
a  little  wine,  because  of  the  weakness  of  his 
stomach,  and  his  frequent  infirmities.  After  Paul 
came  to  Rome,  (A.  I).  65,)  he  wrote  to  him  his 
second  letter,  which  is  full  of  kindness  and  tender- 
ness for  this  his  dear  disciple,  and  which  is  justly  con- 
sidered as  tlie  last  will  of  the  apostle.  He  desires 
him  to  come  to  Rome  to  him  before  winter,  and  to 
bring  with  him  several  things  that  had  been  left  at 
Troas,  2  Tim.  iv.  9—13.     If  Timothy  went  to  Rome, 


TIT 


[  894  j 


TOB 


as  is  probable,  he  must  have  been  a  witness  there  of 
the  martyrdom  of  Paul,  A.  D.  66.  Calmet  and  some 
other  commentators  incline  to  think  that  Timothy 
must  be  the  angel  of  the  church  of  Ephesus,  to  whom 
John  writes,  (Rev.  ii.)  though  they  are  of  opinion  that 
the  reproaches  contained  in  the  address  do  not  so 
much  concern  Timothy  personally,  as  some  members 
of  his  church  whose  zeal  had  become  cool.  We 
have  notiiing  that  can  be  depended  upon,  concerning 
the  latter  part  of  his  life. 

TIN  is  the  word  commonly  employed  in  the 
Scriptures  to  designate  the  metal  tin,  as  in  Num.  xxxi. 
22.  But  in  Isa.  i.  25,  the  Hebrew  word  is  put  for 
dross,  or  that  lohich  is  separated  by  smelting ;  and  here 
our  translators  have  also  improperly  retained  the 
word  tin.     R. 

TIPHSAH,  the  ancient  Thapsacus,  an  important 
city  on  the  Avestern  bank  of  the  Euphrates,  which  con- 
stituted the  north-eastern  extremity  of  Solomon's 
dominions.  There  was  here  a  celebrated  ford  or 
ferry  over  the  Euphrates,  1  Kings  iv.  24.  Perhaps 
the  same  city  is  meant,  2  Kings  xv.  16 ;  though  others 
understand  here  a  city  of  the  same  name  near  Sama- 
ria.    (Xen.  Anab.  i.  4.  Arrian.  Exped.  Alex.  iii.  7.)   R. 

TIRHAKAH,  king  of  Ethiopia,  or  Cush,  border- 
ing on  Palestine  and  Egj^pt.  (See  Cush,  p.  ,  and 
Egypt,  p.  373.)  This  prince,  at  the  head  of  a  power- 
ful army,  attempted  to  relieve  Hezekiah,  when 
attacked  by  Sennacherib,  (2  Kings  xix.  9.)  but  the 
Assyrian  army  was  routed  before  he  came  up.  See 
Sennacherib. 

TIRZAH,  pleasant,  a  city  of  Ephraim,  and  the 
royal  seat  of  the  kings  of  Israel,  from  the  time  of 
Jeroboam  to  the  reign  of  Omri,  who  built  the  city  of 
Samaria,  which  then  became  the  capital  of  this  king- 
dom. Joshua  killed  the  king  of  Tirzah,  Josh.  xii.  24. 
Menahem,  the  son  of  Gadi,  of  Tirzah,  slew  Shallum, 
tlic  usurper  of  the  kingdom  of  Israel,  who  reigned  at 
Samaria,  and  assumed  tl.e  government  himself.  But 
the  city  of  Tirzah  shutting  is  gates  against  him,  he 
made  it  sufter  the  most  terrible  effects  of  his  indigna- 
tion, 2  Kings  XV.  14,  16. 

TISIIBE,  a  city  of  Gilcad,  east  of  the  Jordan,  and 
the  country  of  the  prophet  Elijah,  who  from  hence 
Avas  called  the  Tishbite,  1  Kings  xvii.  1. 

TISllI,  the  first  Hebrew  month  of  the  civil  year, 
and  the  seventh  of  the  ecclesiastical  year.  (See  the 
Jewish  Cale::dar,  at  the  end  of  the  volume.) 

TITHES,  see  Tythes. 

TITUS,  a  Gentile  (Gal.  ii.  3.)  converted  by  the 
apostle  Paul,  who  calls  him  his  son.  Tit.  i.  4.  Paul 
took  him  with  him  to  Jerusalem,  (Gal.  ii.  1.)  about 
the  time  of  the  question  whether  the  converted 
Gentiles  should  become  subject  to  the  ceremonies  of 
the  law.  Some  would  then  have  obliged  him  to  cir- 
cumcise. Titus  ;  but  neither  he  nor  Titus  would  con- 
sent. Titus  was  afterwards  sent  by  the  apostle  to 
Corinth,  (2  Cor.  xii.  18.)  on  occasion  of  some  disputes 
in  that  church.  He  was  well  received  by  the  Corin- 
thians, and  much  satisfied  by  their  ready  compliance, 
but  woukl  receive  nothing  from  them  ;  thereby  im- 
itating the  disinterestedness  of  his  master.  From 
Corinth  he  went  to  Paul  in  Macedonia,  and  gave  him 
an  account  ofthe  state  of  the  Corinthian  church,  2  Cor. 
vii.  6,  15.  A  short  while  afterwards,  the  apostle  de- 
sired him  to  return  to  Corinth,  to  regulate  things 
against  his  own  arrival  there.  Titus  readily  under- 
took this  journey,  and  departed  immediately,  (2  Cor. 
viii.  5,  16,  17.)  carrying  witii  him  Paul's  second  letter 
to  the  Corinthians.  Titus  was  made  bishop  of  Crete 
about  A.  D.  63,  when  Paul  was  obliged  to  leave  that 


island,  to  take  care  of  other  churches.  Tit.  i.  5.  The 
following  year  he  wrote  to  him  to  desire  that  as  soon 
as  he  should  have  sent  Tychicus,  or  Artemas,  to  sup- 
ply his  place  in  Crete,  Titus  would  come  to  him  to 
Nicopolis  hi  Macedonia,  (or  to  Nicopolis  in  Epirus, 
on  the  gulf  of  Ambracia,)  where  the  apostle  intended 
to  pass  his  winter.  Tit.  iii.  12. 

Titus  was  deputed  to  preach  the  gospel  in  Dalma- 
tia ;  and  he  was  there  A.  D.  65,  when  the  apostle 
wrote  his  Second  Epistle  to  Timothy,  2  Tim.  iv.  10. 
He  afterwards  returned  to  Crete,  whence,  it  is  said, 
he  propagated  the  gospel  in  the  neighboring  islands, 
and  died,  aged  94. 

The  subject  of  the  Epistle  to  Titus,  is  to  represent 
the  qualities  that  should  characterize  church-ofRcers. 
As  a  principal  function  of  Titus  in  the  isle  of  Crete 
was  to  ordain  bishops  and  deacons,  it  was  highly  in- 
cumbent on  him  to  make  a  discreet  choice.  The  apos- 
tle also  suggests  the  advice  and  instructions  he  should 
give  to  all  sorts  of  persons ;  to  the  aged,  both  men  and 
women  ;  to  young  people  of  either  sex ;  to  slaves  and 
servants.  He  exliorts  him  to  exercise  a  strict  author- 
ity over  the  Cretans,  and  to  reprove  them  with  sever- 
ity, on  account  of  their  lying,  idleness  and  gluttony. 
And  as  there  were  many  converted  Jews  in  Crete,  he 
exhorts  him  to  oppose  their  vain  traditions  and  fables  ; 
also  to  decline  the  observation  of  the  legal  ceremo- 
nies, as  no  longer  necessary  ;  to  show  that  the  dis- 
tinction of  meats  is  abolished,  and  that  every  thuig  is 
pure  and  clean  to  those  who  are  pure.  He  puts  him 
in  mind  of  exhortmg  the  faithful  to  be  obedient  to 
temporal  powers,  to  avoid  disputes,  quarrels  and  slan- 
der ;  to  engage  in  honest  cahings;  and  to  shun  the 
company  of  heretics,  after  the  first  and  second  admo- 
nition. It  is  supposed  by  many,  from  the  similai-ity 
of  then-  contents,  that  the  Epistle  to  Titus,  and  the 
first  to  Timothy,  were  written  at  no  great  interval  of 
time.     See  under  Paul. 

TOB,  a  country  beyond  Jordan,  in  the  most  north- 
ern part  ofthe  portion  of  Manasseh.  The  first  men- 
tion of  it  api)ears  to  be  in  Judg.  xi.  3,  where  we  read 
that  Jephthah  fled  into  the  land  of  Tol) ;  and  was 
fetched  from  thence,  verse  5.  This  is  tliought  by 
many  to  be  the  same  as  Ish-Tob,  2  Sam.  x.  6,  8.  We 
also  read  of  this  country  apparently  in  1  RIac.  v.  13, 
where  the  Jews  send  letters  to  Judas  IMaccabajus, 
complaining  of  the  heathen  in  the  land  of  Gilead,  v/ho 
had  slain  "all  our  brethren  that  were  in  the  places  of 
Tobi,  or  Tubin,"  (where  the  Avord  places  deserves 
notice,  as  being  rather  an  addition  by  way  of  exi)la- 
nation,  than  strictly  in  the  original,)  and  we  read  also 
of  Jews  called  Tubieni,2Mac.xii.  17.  Ptolemy  men- 
tions this  city  under  the  name  of  Thauba  ;  it  should 
probably  have  been  written  Thiiba.  .  Rabbi  Joshua 
ben  Levi  says,  the  Tob  into  which  Jephtliah  withdrew 
was  afterwards  called  Susitha;  in  Greek,  Hipi)ene, 
(cavalry-town.)  In  the  city  Hippo,  were  mingled  both 
Jews  and  Gentiles. 

TOBIAH,  an  Ammonite,  and  an  enemy  to  the 
Jews,  who  strenuously  opposed  the  rebui.!ding  of  the 
temple,  after  the  return  from  Babylon,  Neh.  ii.  10; 
iv.  3 ;  vi.  1,  12,  14.  He  is  called  in  some  places  the 
servant  or  slave  of  Nehemiah  ;  probably  because  he 
was  originally  of  servile  condition.  However,  he  be- 
came of  great  consideration  among  the  Samaritans, 
over  whom  he  was  governor,  with  Sanballat.  Tobi- 
ali  married  the  daughter  of  Shechaniah,  a  principid 
Jew  of  Jerusalem,  and  had  a  powcrfid  party  in  the 
city  itself,  Neh.  vi.  18.  Nriieiniah  being  obliged  to 
return  to  Babylon,  after  he  had  repaired  the  walls  of 
Jerusalem,  Tobiah  took  this  opportunity  to  come  and 


TON 


[  895  ] 


TRA 


dwell  at  Jerusalem ;  and  even  obtained  of  Eliashib, 
who  had  the  care  of  the  house  of  the  Lord,  an  apart- 
ment in  the  temple.  But  Nehemiah  returning  from 
Babylon,  some  yeai-s  after,  drove  Tobiah  away,  and 
threw  his  goods  out  of  the  holy  place,  Neh.  xiii.  4 — 8. 
Scripture  makes  no  further  mention  of  Tobiah :  he 
probably  retired  to  Sanballat  at  Samaria. 

I.  TOBIJAII,  a  Levite  and  doctor  of  the  law,  sent 
by  king  Jehoshaphat  through  the  cities  of  Judah,  to 
instruct  the  people,  2  Chron.  xvii.  8. 

II.  TOBIJAH.  The  Lord  commanded  the  prophet 
Zechariah  (vi.  10,  14.)  to^  ask  of  Tobijah,  Heldai, 
Jedaiah  and  Josiah,  son  of  Zephauiah,  lately  return- 
ed from  Babylon,  a  certain  quantity  of  gold  and 
silver,  which  they  intended  for  an  offering  to  the 
temple,  to  make  crowns  thereof,  to  place  on  the 
head  of  Joshua,  son  of  Josedech,  high-priest  of  the 
Jews.  The  rabbins  are  of  opinion,  that  these  four 
persons  were  the  same  as  Daniel,  Ananias,  Azariah 
and  Mishael. 

TOG  AR3L\H,  the  third  son  of  Gomer,  (Gen.  x.  3.) 
is  liiought  by  Josephus  and  Jerome  to  have  been  the 
father  of  tlie  Phrygians  ;  but  the  majority  of  learned 
men  are  for  Cappadocia  or  Armenia.  I'zekiel  says, 
(xxvii.  14.)  "They  of  the  house  of  Togarmah  traded 
in  thy  fail's  (at  Tyre)  with  horses  and  horsemen  and 
mules;"  which  agrees  very  well  with  Cappadocia. 

TOl,  king  of  Hamath,  in  S3^ria,  who,  when  he 
heard  that  David  conquered  king  Hadadezer,  sent  his 
son  Joram  to  congratulate  him,  and  to  offer  him  ves- 
sels of  gold,  silver  and  brass,  2  Sam.  viii.  9 — 11. 

I.  TOLA,  the  tenth  judge  of  Israel,  succeeded 
Abimelech,  and  judged  Israel  23  yeai-s ;  from  A.  M. 
2772  to  2795.  Scripture  says.  Tola  was  the  son  of 
Puah,  uncle  to  Abimelech  by  the  father's  side,  and 
consequently  brother  to  Gideon;  yet  Tola  was  of  the 
tribe  of  Issachar,  and  Gideon  of  Manasseh.  (See 
Adoption.)  He  was  buried  at  Shamir,  a  city  in  the 
mountain  of  Ephraim,  where  he  dwelt,  and  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Jair  of  Gilead. 

II.  TOLA,  the  eldest  son  of  Issachar,  and  chief  of 
a  familv.  Gen.  xlvi.  13  ;  Numb.  xxvi.  23. 

TOLAD,  a  city  of  Judah,  (1  Chron.  iv.  29.)  yielded 
to  Simeon.  Probably  the  Eltolad  of  Josh.  xv.  30  ; 
xix.  4. 

TOMB,  see  Sepulchre. 

TONGUE  is  taken  in  different  senses :  (1.)  For  the 
organ  of  speech. — (2.)  For  the  language  spoken  in 
any  country. — (3.)  For  discourse  :  thus  we  say,  a  bad 
tongue,  a  slanderous  tongue,  &c. 

To  gnaw  one's  tongue  is  a  sign  of  fury,  despair 
and  tormi^iit.  The  worsliippors  of  the  beast  "  gnaw^efl 
their  tongues  for  pain  ;  and  blasphemed  the  God  of 
heaven,  because  of  their  pains  and  their  sores,  and  re- 
pented not  of  their  deeds,"  Rev.  xvi.  10. 

Tongue  of  the  sea — tongue  of  land — are  t«rms  used 
i;i  Scripture  for  an  extremity  or  point  of  a  sea.  Or  a 
peninsula,  a  cape,  a  promontory  of  land,  having  the 
sea  on  both  sides. 

The  wise  man  says,  (Ecclus.  xxvi.  6.)  that  a  jealous 
v/oman  is  a  scourge  of  the  tongue.  In  families  where 
polygamj'  was  frequent,  jealousy  among  women  was 
the  foundation  of  a  gi"eat  number  of  evil  discourses 
and  backbitings.  The  same  autlior  says,  (Ecclus. 
xxviii.  17, 18.)  "  The  stroke  of  the  whip  maketh  marks 
in  the  flesli,  but  the  stroke  of  the  tongue  breaketh  the 
bone.  Many  have  fallen  by  the  edge  of  the  sword, 
but  not  so  many  as  have  fallen  by  the  tongue."  And 
Job  says,  (v.  21.)  God  shall  defend  you  from  the  hush 
of  the  tongue  ;  you  shall  not  be  exposed  to  its  strokes. 

The  gift  of  tongues  with  which  God  endowed  the 


apostles  and  disciples  assembled  at  Jerusalem,  on  the 
day  of  Pentecost,  (Acts  ii.)  was  communicated  to  tho 
faithful,  as  appears  by  the  Epistles  of  Paul,  which 
regidate  the  manner  in  which  this  great  privilege  was 
to  be  used  in  their  assemblies  ;  (1  Cor.  xii.  10  ;  xiv.  2.) 
and  it  continued  in  the  church  so  long  as  God  thought 
necessary,  for  the  convei-sion  of  heathen,  and  the  cou- 
fiiTnation  of  believers.  Irenaeus  testifies,  (lib.  v.  cap. 
6.)  that  it  subsisted  in  the  church  in  liis  time. 

When  Paul  says,  that  though  he  should  speak  with 
the  tongue  of  men  and  of  angels,  it  would  be  nothing 
without  charity,  he  uses  a  supposed  hyperbole  ;  as 
when  we  say,  angelical  beauty,  angelical  voice,  &c.  e. 
g.  "  I  would  have  every  one  set  a  due  value  on  the  gift 
of  tongues  ;  but  though  a  man  possessed  the  most  ex- 
quisite eloquence,  this  inestimable  gift  would  be  of 
little  use  to  him,  as  to  salvation,  if  he  be  without 
charitv." 
^TOPAZ.  The  Heb.  mac,  Pitdah,  (Exod.  xxviii. 
17;  xxxix.  10;  Job  xxvHi.  19;  Ezek.  xxviii.  13.)  is 
translated  in  most  of  the  ancient  versions,  topaz,  which, 
in  modern  times,  is  supposed  to  be  the  same  as  the 
chrysolite. 

TOPHET,  a  place  near  Jerusalem,  in  the  valley  of 
the  children  of  Ilinnom.  It  is  said  that  a  constant 
fire  was  kept  here,  for  burning  the  offal,  and  other 
filth  brought  from  the  city.  Isaiah  (xxx.  33.)  seems 
to  allude  to  the  custom  of  burning  dead  carcasses  in 
Tophet :  when  speaking  of  the  defeat  of  the  army  of 
Sennacherib,  he  says,  "  For  Tophet  is  ordained  of  old  ; 
yea,  for  the  king  [or  3Ioloch]  it  is  prepared  ;  he  hath 
made  it  deep  and  large.  The  pile  thereof  is  fire  and 
much  wood  :  the  breath  of  the  Lord,  like  a  stream  f 
brimstone,  doth  kindle  it."  Hence  some  think  the 
name  of  Tophet  was  given  to  the  valley  of  Hinnoni, 
because  of  the  sacrifices  offered  there  to  the  god  5Io- 
loch,  by  beat  of  drum,  to  drown  the  cries  of  the  con- 
suming children.  In  Hebrew  a  drum  is  called  topJi. 
See  Gehexxa. 

Jeremiah  (vii,  31.)  upbraids  the  Israelites  with 
having  built  temples  to  Moloch  :  "  The  high  places 
of  Tophet,  which  is  in  the  valley  of  the  sons  of  Hin- 
nom,  to  burn  their  sons  and  their  daughters  in  the 
fire."  We  learn  from  the  same  prophet  that  Tophet 
was  a  polluted  and  unclean  place,  where  they  used  to 
throw  the  carcasses  to  which  they  refused  burial, 
chap.  vii.  32;  xix.  11 — 13.  King  Josiah  defiled  the 
place  of  Tophet,  where  the  temple  of  3Ioloch  s*ood, 
that  nobody  might  go  thither  any  more,  to  sacrifice 
their  children  to  that  cruel  deitv,  2  Kings  xxiii.  10. 

TORTOISE,  (Lev.  xi.  290  »  c'ass  of  animals 
strongly  allied  to  the  reptile  kinds.  The  Hebrew 
word,  however,  does  not  signify  a  tortoise,  but  a  liz- 
ard, called  in  Arabic  izab. 

TRACHONITIS,  rorh/,  or  nisrged,  a  province  be- 
tween Palestine  and  Syria,  having  Arabia  Deserta 
east,  Batanea  west,  Iturea  south,  and  the  country  of 
Damascus  north.  Josei)hus  (Antiq.  lib.  i.  cap.  7.) 
says,  it  is  situate  between  Palestine  and  Ccelo-Syria, 
and  was  peopled  by  Hush,  or  Cush,  a  son  of  Aram. 
Of  this  province  Herod  Philip  was  tetrarch,  Luke 
iii.  1. 

TRADITION,  a  sentiment  or  custom  not  written, 
but  delivered  down  by  succession.  The  Jews  had 
numerous  traditions,  which  they  did  not  commit  to 
writing,  before  their  wars  against  the  Romans,  imder 
Adrian  and  Severus.  Then  ral)i)i  Judah,  the  Holy, 
composed  the  Mishna,  that  is,  the  second  h\y  ;  which 
is  the  most  ancient  collection  of  Jewish  traditions. 
To  tliis  were  added  the  Gcmara  of  Jerusalem,  and  that 
of  Babylon,  which,  together  with  the  ftlishna,  form 


TRE 


[  896  ] 


TRE 


the  Talmud  of  Jerusalem,  and  that  of  Babylon.  ^See 
Talmud.)  Our  Saviour  often  censured  the  false  tra- 
ditions of  the  Pharisees;  and  reproached  them  with 
preferring  these  to  the  law  itself,  Mark  vii.  7,  &:c. 
Matt.  XV.  2,  3,  seq.  He  gives  several  instances  of  their 
superstitious  adherence  to  vain  observances,  while 
they  neglected  essential  things. 

The  Christians  also  had  traditions,  which  they  re- 
ceived from  Christ,  or  his  apostles.  Paul  (2  Thess.  ii. 
15.)  says,  "Therefore,  brethren,  stand  fast,  and  hold 
the  traditions  which  ye  have  been  taught,  whether  by 
word  or  by  our  epistle."  The  ancient  fathers  acknowl- 
edged the  truth  and  authority  of  the  apostolical  tradi- 
tions, but  they  have  not  pretended  that  we  must  blhidly 
receive  as  apostolical  traditions  all  that  may  be  put 
upon  us  as  such. 

TRANSFIGURATION.  After  our  Saviour  had 
inquired  of  his  disciples  what  men  thought  of  him, 
and  what  they  themselves  thought,  Peter  answered, 
that  he  was  the  son  of  the  living  God.  Jesus  then 
began  to  speak  of  his  passion,  as  at  hand,  (Matt.  xvi. 
28.)  adding,  "Verily  I  say  unto  you,  there  be  some 
standing  here,  which  shall  not  taste  of  death,  till  they 
see  the  Son  of  Man  coming  in  his  kingdom."  Six 
days  after  this  promise,  [Matt.  xvii.  I,  says  six  days, 
but  Luke  ix.  28,  mentions  eight  days  ;  probably  be- 
cause he  counted  inclusively,  reckoning  the  day  of  the 
promise,  and  the  day  of  the  execution  of  that  promise  ; 
whereas  the  other  evangelist  regarded  only  the  six  in- 
tennediate  days.  One  evangelist  also  says,  about 
eight  days,  the  other,  after  six  days,]  Jesus  took  Peter, 
James  and  John  his  brother,  and  brought  them  up 
into  a  high  mountain  apart,  and  was  transfigured  be- 
fore them  ;  and  his  face  did  shine  as  the  sun,  and  his 
raiment  was  white  as  the  light :  and  behold  there 
appeared  unto  them  Moses  and  Elias  talking  with 
him" — on  the  subject  of  his  expected  suffisring  and 
death  at  Jerusalem.  The  chief  design  of  the  Son  of 
God  in  this  transfiguration  was,  according  to  the 
fathers,  to  fulfil  his  })romise  made  a  few  days  before, 
that  he  would  let  some  of  his  disciples  see  a  glimjjse 
of  his  glory  before  his  death,  and  to  fortify  them 
against  the  scandal  of  the  cross,  by  giving  them  this 
convincing  proof  that  he  was  the  IMessiah.  It  is  ob- 
served, with  great  reason,  that  the  condition  iu  which 
Christ  appeared  among  men,  humble,  weak,  poor  and 
despised,  was  a  true  and  continual  transfiguration  ; 
whereas,  the  transfiguration  itself,  in  which  he  showed 
himself  in  the  real  splendor  of  his  glory,  was  his  true 
and  natural  condition. 

It  is  probable,  too,  that  being  well  aware  of  the 
sufferings  which  awaited  him  at  Jerusalem,  Jesus 
himself  was  refreshed  by  this  manifestation,  and  by 
the  encouragement  resulting  from  a  view  of  the  glory 
that  should  follow  his  crucifixion.  Hence  his  decease 
is  not  expressed  by  the  usual  term  for  death,  but  by 
the  term  implying  a  deliveraiice  from  suffering,  with 
an  admission  into  a  state  of  happiness ;  as  the  Israel- 
ites were  released,  by  their  exodus,  from  the  bondage 
of  Egypt,  and  conducted  uito  Canaan,  the  land  of  rest 
from  their  labors  and  wanderings.  It  is  the  opinion 
of  many  interpreters,  that  this  transfiguration  occurred 
upon  mount  Tabor  ;  but  this  opinion  is  attended  with 
difficidties. 

The  fathers  observe  in  this  manifestation,  that  the 
law,  represented  by  Moses,  and  the  prophets,  repre- 
sented by  Elias,  gave  testimony  to  our  Saviour. 

TREASURE,  any  thing  collected  together,  in 
stores.  So  a  treasure  of  com,  of  wine,  of  oil ;  treas- 
ures of  gold,  silver,  brass  ;  treasures  of  coined  money. 
Snow,  winds,  hail,  rain,  waters,  are  in  the  treasuries 


of  God,  Ps.  cxxxv.  7 ;  Jer.  h.  16.  We  say  also,  a 
treasure  of  good  works,  treasures  of  iniquity,  to  lay 
up  treasures  in  heaven,  to  bring  forth  good  or  evil 
out  of  the  treasures  of  the  heart.  Joseph  told  his 
brethren,  when  they  found  their  money  returned  in 
their  sacks,  that  God  had  given  them  treasures.  Gen. 
xliii.  23.  The  kings  of  Judah  had  keepers  of  their 
treasures,  both  in  city  and  country,  (1  Chron.  xxvii. 
25;  2  Chron.  xxxii.  27,  &c.)  and  the  places  where 
these  magazines  were  laid  up  were  called  treasure- 
cities.  Pharaoh  compelled  the  Hebrews  to  build  him 
treasure-cities,  or  magazines,  Exod.  i.  11.  The  word 
treasures  is  often  used  to  express  any  thing  in  great 
abundance  :  (Col.  ii.  3.)  "  In  Jesus  Christ  are  hidden 
all  the  treasures  of  wisdom  and  knowledge."  The 
wise  man  says,  that  wisdom  contains  in  its  treasuries 
understanding,  the  knowledge  of  religion,  &:c.  Paul 
(Rom.  ii.  5.)  speaks  of  heaping  up  a  treasure  of  wrath 
against  the  day  of  wrath  ;  and  the  prophet  Amos  says 
(iii.  10.)  they  treasure  up  iniquity,  they  lay  up  iniquity 
as  it  were  in  a  store-house,  which  will  bring  them  a 
thousand  calamines.  The  treasures  of  impiety  or  in- 
iquity, (Prov.  X.  2.)  express  ill-gotten  riches.  The 
treasures  of  iniquity,  says  the  wise  man,  will  eventu- 
ally bring  no  profit ;  and,  in  the  same  sense,  Christ 
calls  the  riches  of  iniquity,  manunon  of  unrighteous- 
ness, an  estate  wickedly  acquired,  Luke  xvi.  9. 

Gospel  faith  is  the  treasure  of  the  just :  but  Paul 
says,  (2  Cor.  iv.  7.)  "  We  have  this  treasure  in  earthen 
vessels."  Isaiah  says  of  a  good  man,  (xxxiii.  6.)  "  The 
fear  of  the  Lord  is  his  treasure." 

TRENCH,  a  kind  of  ditch  cut  into  the  earth,  for 
the  purpose  of  receiving  and  drainijigthe  water  from 
adjacent  parts.  Something  of  this  kind  was  the 
trench  cut  by  the  prophet  Elijah,  to  contain  the  water 
which  he  ordered  to  be  poiu-ed  on  his  sacrifice,  (1 
Kings  xviii.  32.)  and  which,  when  filled  to  the  brim 
with  water,  was  entirely  exhausted,  evaporated,  by 
the  fire  of  the  Lord,  which  consumed  the  sacrifice. 

TRENCHES  is  also  a  military  term,  and  denotes 
one  description  of  the  approaches  to  a  fortified  town. 
They  were  anciently  used  to  surround  a  town,  to  en- 
close the  besieged,  and  to  secure  the  besiegers  against 
attacks  from  them.  Trenches  could  not  be  cut  in  a 
rock  ;  and  it  is  probable,  that  when  our  Lord  says  of 
Jerusalem,  (Luke  xix.  43.)  "Thy  enemies  shall  casta 
trench  about  tb.^e,"  meaning,  "they  shall  raise  a  wall 
of  enclosure,"  he  foretold  what  the  Jews  Avould 
barely  credit,  from  the  nature  of  the  case  ;  perhaps 
what  they  considered  as  impossible :  yet  the  provi- 
dence of  God  has  so  ordered  it,  that  we  have  evidence 
to  this  fact,  in  Josephus,  who  says,  that  Titus  exhort- 
ing his  soldiers,  they  surrounded  Jerusalem  with  a 
wall  in  the  space  of  three  days,  although  the  genera! 
opinion  had  pronounced  it  impossible.  This  circum- 
vallation,  prevented  any  escape  from  the  city,  and 
deterred  from  all  attempts  at  relief  by  succors  going 
into  it. 

Such  being  the  nature  of  trenches,  it  seems  tl:at 
our  translators  have  used  this  word  incorrectly  iu  1 
Sam.  xxvi.  5  :  "  Saul  was  sleeping  within  the  trench." 
A  trench  demanded  too  much  labor,  and  was  too  te- 
dious an  operation,  to  be  cut  round  every  place  where 
a  camp  lodged  for  a  night.  The  margin,  therefore, 
hints  at  a  circle,  or  ring,  of  carriages;  and  so  Buxtorf 
interprets  the  word.  It  seems,  however,  more  likely 
that  it  means  a  circular  encampment,  in  the  midst  of 
which  stood  the  tent  of  Saul ;  or  a  circular  guard, 
which  surroimded  the  royal  tent,  as  Mr.  Ilarmer  sup- 
poses. Mr.  Taylor  thinks,  however,  from  the  de- 
scription given  of  the  tent  of  Nadir  Shah,  that  it  may 


TRI 


[  897 


TRO 


mean  a  circular  screen,  with  passages,  which,  sur- 
rounding the  royal  tent,  kept  off  all  persons  but  those 
to  whom  the  guards  gave  regular  admission.  This 
screen  might  lie  of  canvass,  or  of  any  other  substance, 
like  tiie  tent  itself. 

TRESPASS  is  an  offence  committed,  a  hurt,  or 
\vrong  done  to  a  neighbor  ;  and  partakes  of  the  na- 
ture of  an  error,  or  slip,  rather  than  of  deliberate  or 
gross  sin.  Under  the  law,  the  delinquent  who  had 
trespassed  was  of  coarse  bound  to  make  satisfac- 
tion ;  but  an  offering  or  oblation  was  allowed  him,  to 
reconcile  himself  to  the  Divine  Governor,  Lev.  v.  (J, 
15.  It  deserves  notice,  that  whoever  does  not  for- 
give the  trespasses  of  a  fellow  man  against  himself,  is 
not  to  expect  that  his  Father  in  heaven  will  forgive 
his  trespasses ;  if  he  will  not  forgive  smaller,  inad- 
vertent, non-intentional  offences,  but  harbors  a  bitter, 
revengeful  disposition,  how  should  he  propitiate  God 
when  God  withholds  forgiveness  for  his  lesser  crimes  ; 
and  moreover,  charges  him  with  accumulated  guilt  by 
gi'eat  transgressions?  May  this  thought  promote  a 
forgiving  spirit,  a  spirit  of  reconciliation  and  mutual 
charity  between  neighl)ors  and  friends  ! 

TRIBE.  Jacob  iiaving  twelve  sons,  who  were 
heads  of  so  many  families,  which  together  formed  a 
great  nation,  each  of  these  families  was  called  a  tribe. 
But  this  patriarch  on  his  death-bed  adopted  Ephraim 
and  Manasseh,  the  two  sons  of  Joseph,  and  would 
have  them  also  to  constitute  two  tribes  in  Israel,  Gen. 
xlviii.  5.  Instead  of  twelve  tribes,  there  were  now 
thirteen,  that  of  Joseph  being  two.  However,  in  the 
distribution  of  lands  by  Joshua,  under  the  order  of 
God,  they  reckoned  but  twelve  tribes,  and  made  but 
twelve  lots.  For  the  tribe  of  Levi,  being  appointed 
to  the  sacred  service,  had  no  share  in  the  distribu- 
tion of  the  land  ;  but  received  certain  cities  to  dwell 
in,  with  the  first  fruits,  tithes  and  oblations  of  the 
people. 

The  twelve  tribes,  while  in  the  desert,  encamped 
round  the  tabernacle  of  the  covenant  each  in  due 
order.  To  the  east  were  Judah,  Zebulun  and  Issa- 
char  :  to  the  west  Ephraim,  Manasseh  and  Benjamin  : 
to  the  south  Reuben,  Simeon  and  Gad  :  and  to  the 
north  Dan,  Asher  and  Naphtali.  The  Levites  were 
<iistributed  round  about  the  tabernacle,  nearer  to  tlic 
holy  place  than  tiie  other  tribes  ;  so  that  Moses  and 
Aaron,  with  their  families,  were  to  the  east,  Gershom 
to  the  west,  Kohath  to  tiie  south,  and  Merari  to  the 
north. 

In  the  marches  of  Israel,  the  twelve  tril)cs  were 
divided  into  four  great  bodies.  The  first  body,  in 
front  of  the  army,  included  Judah,  Issachar  and  Zeb- 
ulun :  the  second  was  composed  of  Reuben,  Simeon 
and  Gad.  Between  the  second  and  third  body  of 
troops  came  the  Levites  and  ])riests,  with  the  ark  of 
the  Lord,  and  the  furniture  of  the  tabernacle.  The 
third  body  was  composed  of  Ephraim,  Manasseh  and 
Benjamin  ;  and  the  fourth,  which  brought  uj)  tlie 
rear,  was  Dan,  Asher  and  Naphtali. 

In  the  division  made  by  Joshua  of  the  land  of  Ca- 
na;ui,  Reuben,  Gad  and  half  of  Manasseh,  had  their 
lot  beyond  Jordan,  east ;  all  t!ie  other  tribes,  and  the 
rcmainiughalf  of  Manasseh,  had  their  distribution  ou 
this  side  the  river,  west.     Sec  Canaan. 

The  twelve  tribes  continued  miited  as  one  slate, 
one  people  and  one  monarchy,  till  after  the  death  of 
Solomon,  when  ten  of  the  tribes  revolted  from  the 
house  of  David,  and  formed  the  kingdom  of  Israel. 
See  Hebrews. 

TRIBULATION  expresses  in  our  version  much 
the  same  as  trouble,  or  trial ;  importing  afflictive  dis- 
113 


pensations,  to  which  a  person  is  subjected,  either  by 
way  of  punishment,  or  by  way  of  experiment.  For 
tribulation,  by  way  of  punishment,  see  Judg.  x.  14  ; 
Mau.  xxiv.  21,  29 ;  Rom.  ii.  9  ;  2  Thess.  i.  G.  For 
tribulation  by  way  of  trial,  see  John  xvi.  33  ;  Rom. 
v.  3  ;  2  Thess.  i.  4. 

TRIBUNAL,  the  place  where  judicial  proceedings 
are  administered.  Closes  appointed  (Dent.  xvi.  18  ; 
xvii.  8,  9;  Ezek.  xliv.  24.)  that  in  every  city  there 
should  be  judges  and  magistrates,  who  should  hear 
and  determhic  differences;  and  thatif  any  thing  very 
difficult  occiuTcd,  it  should  be  refoired  to  the  place 
which  the  Lord  should  choose,  and  be  laid  before  the 
high-priest,  or  priests,  of  the  race  of  Aaron,  and  be- 
fore the  judge,  whom  the  Lord  should  raise  up  there 
for  the  time  being.     See  Judge,  and  Sanhedrin. 

TRIBUTP:.  The  Hebrews  acknowledged  the 
sovereign  dominion  of  God  by  a  tribute,  or  capitation 
of  half  a  shekel  a  head,  which  was  paid  yearly,  Exod. 
XXX.  13.  Our  Saviour  (3Iatt.  xvii.  25.)  thus  reasons 
with  Peter :  "  Of  whom  do  the  kings  of  the  earth 
take  custom  or  tribute?  of  their  own  children,  or  of 
strangers  ?  "  iMeaning,  that  he,  as  Son  of  God,  ouglit 
to  be  exempt  from  this  capitation.  We  do  not  find 
that  either  the  kings  or  the  judges  of  the  Hebrews, 
when  they  were  of  that  nation,  demanded  tribute. 
Solomon,  at  the  beginning  of  his  reign,  (1  Kings  ix. 
21 — 33  ;  2  Chron.  viii.  9.)  compelled  the  Canaanites, 
left  in  the  country,  to  pay  tribute,  and  to  perfoim  the 
drudgeiy  of  the  jniblic  works  he  had  undertaken. 
Toward  the  end  of  his  reign,  he  also  imposed  a  trib- 
ute on  his  own  people,  and  made  them  work  on  the 
public  buildings,  (1  Kings  v.  13,  14  ;  ix.  15  ;  xi.  27.) 
which  alienated  their  minds,  and  sowed  the  seeds  of^ 
that  discontent  which  afterwards  rijioued  into  open 
revolt,  by  the  rebellion  of  Jeroboam. 

The  Israelites  were  frequently  subdued  by  foreign 
j)rinces,  who  laid  taxes  and  tribute  on  them,  to  which 
necessity  compelled  them  to  submit.  Sec  in  IMatt. 
xxii.  17,' the  answer  of  Christ  to  the  Pharisees,  who 
came  \vith  insidious  designs  of  tempting  him,  and 
asked  him,  whether  or  no  it  was  lawful  to  pay  trilnite 
to  Cfesar.  Also  John  viii.  33,  where  the  Jews  boast 
of  having  never  been  slaves  to  any,  of  being  a  free 
nation,  acknowledging  God  only  for  sovereign.  And 
note  that  at  that  time  many  Jews  had  imbibed  the 
principles  of  Judas  Gauloniies,  and  infused  into  tlie 
people  their  noiionsof  independence,  and  a  vain  show 
of  liberty.  On  the  contrary,  the  apostles  Peter  and 
Paul,  in" their  ei)istles,  always  endeavored  to  recom- 
mend and  inculcate  on  Christians  submission  and 
obedience  to  jirinces,  with  a  conscientious  discharge 
of  their  dutv,  in  pavuig  tribute,  Rom.  xiii.  1— 8  ;  1 
Pet.  ii.  13. 

TROAS,  a  citv  of  Phiygia,  or  of  Mysia,  on  the 
Hcllesi)ont,  between  Troy  north,  and  Assos  sotuh. 
Sometimes  the  nanicof  Troas  (or  the  Troad)  signifies 
the  whole  coimtry  of  the  Trojans,  the  j)rovince  where 
the  ancient  citv  of  Troy  had  stood.  But  m  the  Ne\v 
Testament  the  word  Troas  signifies  a  city  of  this  name, 
sometimes  called  Antigonia,  jmd  Alexandria.  Some- 
times both  names  are  united,  Alexandria-Troas. 

Paul  was  at  Troas,  A.  D.  52,  (Acts  xvi.  8,  &c.)  and 
had  a  vision  in  the  night  of  a  man  of  Macedonia, 
who  requested  gospel  assistance.  He  embarked, 
therefore,  at  Troas,  and  passed  over  into  Macedonia, 
The  apostle  was  several  other  times  at  Troas.  (See 
Acts  XX.  5,  6 ;  2  Cor.  ii.  12.)  He  left  here,  in  the 
custoily  of  Carpus,  some  clothes  and  book.-,  which 
he  desired  Timothy  to  bring  with  him  to  Rome,  2 
Tim.  iv.  13. 


TRU 


[  898  ] 


TUR 


TROGYLLIUM,  the  name  of  a  town  and  prom- 
ontory of  Ionia,  in  Asia  Minor,  between  Ephesus  and 
the  mouth  of  the  river  Meander,  opposite  to  Samos. 
The  promontory  is  a  spur  of  mount  Mjxale,  Acts  xx. 
15.     R. 

TROPHIMUS,  a  disciple  of  Paul,  a  Gentile  by  re- 
ligion, and  an  Ephesian  by  liirtli,  came  to  Corinth 
Avith  the  apostle,  and  accompanied  him  in  his  whole 
journey  to  Jerusalem,  A.  D.  58,  Acts  xx.  4.  When 
the  apostle  was  in  the  temple  there,  the  Jews  laid 
hold  of  him,  crying  out,  "He  hath  brought  Greeks 
into  the  temple,  and  hath  polluted  this  holy  place," 
because  having  seen  him  in  the  city,  accompanied  by 
Trophimus,  they  imagined  that  he  had  introduced 
him  into  the  temple.  It  is  probable  that  Trophimus 
followed  Paul  to  Rome,  and  attended  him  while  in 
bonds  ;  and  it  is  also  related,  tliat  after  the  apostle 
had  obtained  his  liberty,  he  went  into  Spain,  and 
passing  througli  Gaul,  left  Trophimus  at  Aries,  as 
bishop.  This,  however,  as  Calmet  remarks,  is  veiy 
difficult  to  reconcile  with  wliat  Paul  writes  to  Timo- 
thy, (2  Tim.  iv.  20.)  that  he  left  him  sick  at  Miletus. 
Trophimus  must  then  necessarily  have  returned  to 
Asia,  about  a  year  after  Paul  had  thus  left  him  at 
Aries. 

TRUMPET.  The  Lortl  commanded  Moses  to 
make  two  trumpets  of  beaten  silver,  for  the  purpose 
of  calling  the  people  together  when  they  were  to  de- 
camp. Numb.  X.  They  chiefly  used  these  trumpets, 
however,  to  proclaim  the  beginning  of  the  civil  year, 
tlic  beginning  of  the  sabbatical  year,  (Lev.  xxiii.  24 ; 
Numb.  xxix.  1.)  and  the  Ijeginning  of  the  jubilee. 
Lev.  XXV.  9,  10.  Joseph  us  says,  that  they  were  near 
a  cubit  long,  and  that  their  tube  or  pipe  Avas  of  the 
thickness  of  a  counnon  flute.  Their  mouths  Avere 
no  wider  than  just  admitted  to  blow  into  them,  and 
their  ends  Avere  like  those  of  a  modern  trumpet. 
There  Avore  originally  but  two  in  the  camp,  though 
afterwards  they  made  a  great  number.  In  the  time 
of  Joshua  diere  Avere  seven,  (Josh.  iii.  4.)  and  at  the 
dedication  of  the  temple  of  Solomon  there  were  120 
priests  that  sounded  trumpets,  2  Chron.  v.  12. 

In  addition  to  the  sacred  trumpets  of  the  temple, 
Avhosc  use  was  restricted  to  the  priests,  even  in  Avar 
and  in  battle,  there  Avere  others  used  by  the  Hebrew 
generals,  Judg.  iii.  27.  Ehud  sounded  the  trumpet 
to  assemble  Israel  against  the  Moabites,  Avhose  king, 
Eglon,  he  had  lately  slain.  Gideon  took  a  trumpet  in 
his  hand,  and  gave  each  of  his  people  one,  Avhen  he 
assaulted  the  Midianites,  Judg.  A'ii.  2,  16.  Joab 
sounded  the  trumpet  as  a  signal  of  retreat  to  his  sol- 
diers, in  the  battle  against  Abner,  (2  Sam.  ii.  28.)  in 
that  against  Absalom,  (2  Sam.  xviii.  16.)  and  in  the 
pursuit  of  Sheba,  son  of  Bichri,  2  Sam.  xx.  22. 

TRUMPETS,  THE  Feast  of,  Avas  kept  on  the 
first  day  of  the  seventh  month  of  the  sacred  year, 
Avliich  Avas  the  first  of  the  civil  year,  called  Tizri. 
The  beginning  of  the  year  Avas  proclaimed  by  sound 
of  trumpet,  (Lev.  xxiii.  2  ;  Numb,  xxix.)  and  the  day 
Avas  kept  solemn  ;  all  servile  business  being  forbidden. 
A  solemn  holocaust  Avas  oflfered  in  the  name  of  the 
Avhole  nation,  of  a  calf,  two  rams,  and  seven  lambs 
of  the  same  year,  Avith  oflerings  of  flour  and  Avine,  as 
usual  Avith  these  sacrifices.  Scriinure  does  not  men- 
tion the  occasion  of  appointing  this  feast.  The  rab- 
bins say,  it  Avas  in  reuiembrance  of  the  deliverance 
of  Isaac  by  the  substitution  of  a  ram. 

TRUTH  is  that  accurate  corrcs])ondence  of  Avhat 
is  related  of  a  subject,  or  of  what  is  expected  from  it, 
whicii  fully  justifies  the  relation  ;  or,  it  is  the  precise 
conformity  of  a  description,  an  assertion,  a  proposi- 


tion, &c.  to  its  subject.  In  Scripture  language,  em- 
inently, God  is  truth  ;  that  is,  in  him  is  no  fallacy, 
deception,  perverseness,  &c.  Jesus  Christ  is  the 
truth,  the  true  way  to  God,  the  true  representative, 
image,  character  of  the  Father;  the  Holy  Spirit  is 
the  Spirit  of  truth,  Avho  communicates  truth,  who 
maintains  the  truth  in  believers,  guides  them  in 
the  truth  ;  and  Avho  hates  and  punishes  falsehood,  or 
lies,  even  to  the  death  of  the  transgressor,  Ps.  xxxi. 
5 ;  John  xiv.  6,  17  ;  Acts  v.  3,  &c.  Good  men  main- 
tain truth,  speak  the  truth,  practise  truth  ;  that  is,  they 
are  careful  that  their  Avords,  actions  and  sentiments 
correspond  Avith  Avhat  is  correct,  accurate  and  up- 
right. 

Truth,  as  a  substance,  is  opposed  to  typical  repre- 
sentations, as  shadoAVs ;  the  laAV  Avas  given  by  Moses, 
but  the  grace  and  the  truth — the  reality  of  the  prom- 
ised blessings — came  by  Jesus  Christ. 

Every  man  should  speak  truth  to  his  neighbor ; 
that  is,  honestly,  sincerely,  Avith  integrity.  Truth, 
on  the  part  of  God,  is  often  united  with  kindness, 
mercy,  goodness,  &c.  because  fidehty  to  promises 
being  one  great  branch  of  truth,  and  goodness,  mercy, 
&c.  being  implied  in  the  divine  promises,  Avhen  God 
realized  any  special  good,  he  did  but  show  himself 
faithful,  true,  fulfilling  the  desires,  or  acting  for  the 
adA'antage,  of  those  Avho  confided  in  him  and  in  his 
Avord.  But  sometimes  the  severity  of  God  is  his 
truth,  Ps.  xl.  10  ;  Rom.  iii.  21.  Truth  is  judicial,  in 
reference  to  a  verdict  given,  (Prov.  xx.  28.)  judicious, 
(Rom.  i.  25.)  constant,  (Rom.  iii.  7.)  upright,  1  Cor.  v. 
8.  The  loA^e  of  the  truth  is  among  the  noblest  char- 
acters of  the  Christian;  and  as  genuine  pietj',  Avher- 
ever  it  prevails,  will  banish  falsehood,  so  Ave  find  a 
real  love  of  truth,  the  comparison  of  a  man's  conduct 
Avith  the  regulations  of  truth,  and  a  conformity  to 
those  regulations  are  ahvays  among  the  most  desira- 
ble, the  most  faA^orable,  and  the  most  decisive  proofs 
of  genuine  religion  ;  Avhich  being  itself  a  system  of 
truti),  delights  in  nothing  more  than  in  truth,  Avhcth- 
er  of  heart,  discourse,  or  conduct.  Of  this  tiie  ajms- 
tle  John  is  an  instance,  Avho  expresses  to  the  lady 
Eclccta  his  delight  at  seeing  her  children  walk  in 
the  truth. 

TRYPHENA,  and  TRYPHOSA,  Christian  avo- 
men,  whom  Paul  mentions  in  Rom.  xvi.  12,  and  of 
Avhom  mtich  mention  is  made  in  the  history  of  St. 
Thecla. 

TRYPHON,  a  king  of  Syria,  Avho  had  been  a  caj)- 
tain  in  the  troops  of  Alexander  Balas.  He  deposed 
Nicanor,  and  placed  Antiochus  on  the  throne  of 
Syria,  Avhose  death  he  afterAvards  procured,  and  then 
seized  the  throne  himself     See  Axtiochus. 

TUBAL,  fifth  son  of  Japhet,  Avho  is  commonly 
united  Avith  Meshech,  Avhence  it  is  thought  that  they 
peopled  countries  bordering  on  each  other.  Bo- 
chart  is  very  co])ious  to  prove,  that  by  Meshech  and 
Tubal  are  intended  the  3Iuscovites  and  the  Tiha- 
renians. 

TUBAL-CAIN,  son  of  Lamech  the  bigamist,  and 
of  Zillah,  Gen.  iv.  22.  Scrijiture  calls  him  the  father, 
that  is,  inventor  or  master  of  the  art  of  forging  and 
managing  iron,  and  of  making  all  kinds  of  iron  work. 
It  has  been  thought  that  he  gave  occasion  to  the 
Vulcan  of  the  heathen. 

TURTLE-DOVE,  or  TURTLE,  a  clean  bird 
oft(^n  mentioned  in  Scripture,  and  which  th^  Jews 
might  offi^r  in  sacrifice.  It  was  a])])oint('d  in  favor 
of  the  poor,  Avho  could  not  afibrd  more  substantial 
sacrifices,  (Lev.  xii.  6 — 8  ;  xiv.  22  ;  Luke  ii.  24.) 
Before  the  law,  (Gen.  xv.  9.)  Abraham  offered  birds 


TYP 


[  899  1 


TYPE 


wliicli  were  a  turtle  and  a  j)igcon  ;  ami  when  lie 
divided  the  other  victims  he  leil  the  birds  entire.  See 
Dove. 

Jeremiah  (viii.  7.)  speaks  of  the  turtle  as  a  bird  of 
passage  :  "  Tlie  stork  in  the  heaven  knoweth  her  ap- 
pointed times,  and  the  turtle,  and  the  erane,  and  the 
swallow,  observe  the  time  of  their  coming." 

TYCIIICUS,  a  disciple  employed  b\^  the  apostle 
Paul  to  carry  his  letters  to  several  churches.  He  was 
of  the  province  of  Asia,  and  accompanied  Paul  in  his 
jom-ney  from  Corinth  to  Jerusalem,  Acts  xx.  4.  He 
carried  the  Epistle  to  the  Coiossians,  that  to  the 
Ephesians,  and  the  fii"st  to  Timothy.  The  apostle 
calls  him  his  dear  brother,  a  faithful  minister  of  the 
Lord,  and  his  companion  in  the  service  of  God,  (Eph. 
vi.  21,  22  ;  Col.  iv.  7,  8.)  and  had  intentions  of  send- 
ing him  into  Crete,  to  preside  there  in  the  absence 
of  Titus,  Tit.  iii.  12.  It  is  thought  also,  that  he  wiis 
scut  to  Ej)hesus,  while  Timothy  was  at  Rome,  when 
he  carried  a  letter  to  the  Ephesians  from  this  apostle. 
The  Greeks  make  him  one  of  the  seventy,  and  bishop 
of  Colophon,  in  the  province  of  Asia. 

TYPE  is  a  Greek  word  which  generally  siginifies 
a  resemblance,  however  it  may  be  produced.  Thus, 
(Acts  vii.  44.)  3Ioses  was  to  make  the  tabernacle  ac- 
cording to  tlie  type,  model,  exemplar,  he  had  seen. 
The  same  word  is  used  in  reference  to  the  copy  of 
the  letter  sent  from  Claudius  Lysias  to  Felix,  (Acts 
xxiii.  25.)  and  also  concerning  the  form  of  doctrine 
into  which  believers  were  inducted,  and,  as  it  were, 
pressed  as  clay  is  pressed  into  the  mould,  the  im- 
pression, form,  or  resemblance  of  which  it  exactly 
takes.     (Comp.  1  Cor.  x.  6  ;  Phil.  iii.  17,  et  al.) 

A  type  is  however  more  usually  considered  as  an 
example,  pattern,  or  general  similitude  to  a  person, 
event,  or  thing  which  is  to  come  ;  and  in  this  it  dif- 
fers frorn  a  representation,  memorial,  or  commemo- 
ration of  an  event  which  is  past.  For  mstance,  the 
ceremony  of  the  passover  among  tlie  Jews,  with  its 
bitter  Jierbs,  its  lamb  slain,  &c.  was  a  commemora- 
tion, or  memorial  re]ietition  of  what  their  fathers  had 
originally  transacted  at  their  exodus  from  Egypt. 
The  same  may  be  said  of  their  dwelling  in  booths, 
and  the  opinion  may  be  justLfied,  which  considers 
sacrifices  themselves  as  commemorative.  Being 
originally  instituted  after  the  first  transgression,  they 
perpetually  revived  in  Adam,  and  in  his  posterity, 
the  recollection  of  his  fii-st  guilt,  and  of  the  victim 
which  died  instead  of  himself,  on  that  occasion. 

In  the  nature  of  commemorative  ordinances,  Jews 
and  Christians  are  agreed  :  but  the  latter  say  furtlier 
that  many,  or  most,  if  not  all,  the  sacred  institutions 
among  the  Jews  were  prefigurative  hints,  or  notices 
of  what  was  to  happen  under  a  more  perfect  dispen- 
sation. Hence  a  sacrifice,  the  blood  of  which  was 
shed  before  the  ark,  or  other  symbolical  presence  of 
God,  prefigured  a  more  noble,  more  dignified  blood, 
which  should  be  shed  before  God  at  some  futin-e 
time  ;  that  as  such  blood  was  shed  to  reconcile  man 
and  God,  to  mediate  between  those  otherwise  distant 
parties,  so  the  nobler  blood  sliould  mediate,  with  un- 
limited success,  in  restoring  amity  between  God  and 
man.  They  say  also,  that  the  dwelling  in  taberna- 
cles, or  booths,  prefigured  the  a|)])earance  of  a  great 
personage,  whose  residence  in  human  nature  was  to 
liiiii  but  a  mere  temporary  humble  dwelling  ;  as 
much  below  his  true  dignity  as  a  slight  booth  or  hut 
is  below  the  dignity  of  a  palace.  In  like  manner  the 
passover  lamb  was  a  victim  which  cxem|)ted  from 
evil,  while  it  also  jirefigured  a  nobler  deliverer  (and 
deliverance''  from  divine  wrath  and  anger,  than  could 


possibly  be  accomplished  in  the  exemption  of  Israel 
ironi  the  stroke  of  the  destroying  angel  wiiicli  smote 
the  first-born  of  the  Egvfitians;  a  nobler  deliverance 
from  the  moral  tyranny  of  sin  than  that  of  the  Israel- 
itt.'s  was  from  the  oppressive  dominion  of  Pharaoh, 
■which  deliverance  is  accomplished  by  the  blood  of 
"  the  Lamb  of  God  which  taketli  away  the  sins  of  the 
world." 

Types  did'er  from  signs,  in  that  signs  Avere  occa- 
sional, and  usuallj'  jiointed  to  a  time,  but  little  distant, 
in  the  first  place  ;  though  ultimately  to  a  much  more 
distant  event,  of  whose  accomplishment  the  accom- 
plishment of  the  sign  was  a  token,  an  earnest,  and  in 
some  sense  a  proof;  as  it  manifested  a  divine  iiiter- 
jiosition  on  the  subject  to  which  the  sign  related,  i^o 
when  Ezekiel,  at  a  great  distance  from  Jerusalem, 
brought  out  his  troops,  and  digged  through  his  house, 
he  signified  the  fate  of  Jerusalem :  so,  when  Isaiah 
was  ordered  to  beget  a  son  by  a  young  wonian,  then 
a  virgin,  this  being  accomplished,  was  a  sign  of  a 
much  greater  birth  to  be  expected  in  the  pereon  of 
Emmanuel,  to  whom  the  prophet  expressly  directs 
the  idtimate  reference. 

If  this  be  correct,  what  should  prevent  types  also 
from  looking  forward  ?  If  it  pleased  God  to  en- 
courage the  liopc  and  faith  of  his  people  by  occa- 
sional signs,  why  not  also  by  lasting  and  permanent 
types  ?  Why  might  not  the  same  ideas  be  conveyed 
every  day,  every  year,  on  public  occasions,  as  inci- 
dentallj-,  only,  ui  a  less  conspicuous  manner  ?  Never- 
theless, that  may  be  true  of  public  services  under  a 
general  idea,  which  it  would  be  imjiriident  and  un- 
advisable  to  apply  to  every  minute  circumstance 
attending  them.  E.  gr.  The  holy  of  holies  in  the 
Jewish  temple  might  be  emblematic  of  heaven,  the 
residence  of  God;  but  it  certainly  is  not  prudent  to 
consider  whatever  may,  at  any  rate,  and  by  any  con- 
struction, bear  a  reference  to  the  holy  of  holies,  as 
therefore  assimilated  to  a  correspondent  antityi)e  in 
heaven.  The  wit  and  ingenuity  of  many  of  those 
references,  which  occur  in  some  systems  of  divinitj', 
may  be  admirable,  but  admiration  differs  from  ap- 
probation. Though  we  read  that  the  bellies  of  the 
pillai'S  in  Solomon's  temple  were  decorated  with  lily 
work,  it  is  by  no  means  certain  that  "  tlie  typical 
meaning  was,  to  denote  that  ministers  being  the  pil- 
lars of  the  gospel  church,  and  lilies  being  emblems 
of  the  care  of  Providence,  therefore  gospel  ministers 
should  leave  to  Providence  the  care  of  their  bellies." 
Whatever  may  be  thought  of  the  doctrine,  it  is  far 
enough  from  certain,  that  this  was  the  intention  of  the 
sacred  writer,  or  of  the  Holy  Si)irit,  in  recording  this 
passage ;  to  which  intention  too  much  cautious  def- 
erence cannot  be  paid. 

Whether  certain  histories  which  happened  in  an- 
cient times  were  designed  as  types  of  future  events, 
it  is  not  easy  to  determine:  but  it  is  likely  (1.)  that 
such  histories  are  rcconlcd  (being  selected  from 
among  many  occurrences)  as  might  be  useful  lessons 
to  succeeding  ages :  (2.)  that  there  being  a  general 
conformity  in  tlie  dispensations  of  providence  and 
grace,  to  different  ])ersons,  and  in  difierent  ages,  in- 
stances of  former  dispensations  may  usefully  be  held 
up  to  the  view  of  later  times,  and  may  encourage, 
check,  direct,  or  control,  those  placed  in  circumstan- 
ces similar  to  what  is  recorded,  though  their  times  and 
their  places  may  be  widely  separated.  We  have  New 
Testament  authority  for  this. 

Types  may  be  considered  as  possessing  difl^ereiit 
degrees  of  that  clearness  which  determines  their  ref- 
erence to  their  antitype.     Some  may  be  evident,  and 


YR 


[  900 


TYRE 


palpable  ;  others  more  obscure  :  some  may  oe  refer- 
able in  a  general  or  leading  sense,  or  under  some 
jjai'ticular  view  ;  but,  if  onl_y  that  general  (or  that  par- 
ticular) view  were  originally  designed,  it  is  not  for  us 
to  particularize  every  division,  every  ramification 
seen  under  every  aspect,  and  tinged  with  every  hue 
which  the  multiplication  glass  of  a  fertile  imagination 
may  offer,  or  may  induce  us  to  admire. 

The  Jewish  literati  delighted  in  the  studies  and 
the  application  of  learning  derived  from  the  types  : 
they  even  thought  certain  letters,  and  tlaeir  positions, 
to  be  of  the  nature  of  types  ;  and  hence  arose  their 
Cabala.  But  the  fliUacy  of  this  mode  of  instruction 
as  to  any  reliance  to  be  placed  on  it,  appears  from 
considering  that  scarcely  any  two  commentators 
agree  in  their  explanations  and  inferences,  when  such 
principles  are  the  basis  of  their  remarks. 

Types  should  be  referred  from  a  lesser  to  a 
greater,  as  from  tlie  death  of  a  beast  to  the  death  of 
a  man  ;  from  a  lower  to  a  higher,  as  from  earth  to 
heaven  ;  from  time  present  to  futurity,  as  from  this 
world  to  the  eternal  state  ;  from  leaser  degrees  of 
perfection  to  more  absolute,  as  from  man  to  God. 
If  the  sacrifice  of  a  Jamb  availed  ofRcially  to  restore 
peace,  or  to  conciliate  favor,  that  of  a  person  in 
whom  dwelt  the  fidness.  of  Divinity,  must  be  infi- 
nitely more  available  to  mediate  reconciliation:  if 
pardon  and  exemption  from  punishment  in  this  W'Orld 
be  desirable,  justification  and  deliverance  from  eter- 
nal misery  is  infinitely  more  desirable  :  if  the  tender 
feelings  of  a  father  in  this  unequal  state,  and  amidst 
all  the  imperfections  of  the  social  principle,  be  pow- 
erful, how  much  more  those  of  the  great  Father  of 
all,  the  Father  of  om*  spirits!  Whatever  is  divine  is 
infinite  ;  whatever  is  mfinite  eludes  our  comprehen- 
sion, however  urged  by  the  most  vehement  imagina- 
tion ;  under  this  reflection,  types  may  be  useful  by 
offering  similitudes  adapted  to  our  powers  ;  but  when 
that  which  is  perfect  is  come,  that  which  is  imperfect 
and  partial,  that  which  is  feeble  and  unsatisfactory, 
shall  be  done  away.  (On  the  general  subject  of  tijpcs, 
see  the  Bibl.  Repos.  vol.  i.  p.  135.) 

TYRANNUS.  We  read.  Acts  xix.  9,  that  Paul, 
at  Ephesus,  withdrew  from  the  synagogue,  but  taught 
every  day  in  the  school  of  one  Tyrannus,  who  is  gen- 
erally thought  to  have  been  a  converted  Gentile. 

TYRE,  a  famous  city  of  Phoenicia,  allotted  to  the 
tribe  of  Asher,  with  other  maritime  cities  of  the  same 
coast ;  (Josh.  xix.  29.)  but  it  does  not  appear  that  the 
Asherites  ever  drove  out  the  Canaanites.  Yet  very 
learned  men  maintain,  that  in  Joshua's  time  Tyre 
was  not  built;  and  that  Strong  Tyre — well-fortified 
Tyre — Tyre  the  Great,  is  not  the  city  of  Tyre.  Isaiah, 
it  is  said,  (xxiii.  12.)  calls  Sidon  the  daughter  of  Tyre, 
that  is,  a  colony  from  it. .  Ilomrr  never  speaks  of 
Tyre,  but  only  of  Sidon."  Josephus  says.  Tyre  was 
built  not  above  240  years  before  the  temple  of  Solo- 
mon ;  which  woiddbe  200  years  after  Joshua.  That 
there  was  such  a  city  as  Tyre,  however,  in  the  days 
of  Homer,  is  quite  certain,  seeing,  that  in  the  reign  of 
Solomon,  thtn-e  was  a  king  of  Tyre  ;  and  we  appre- 
hend that  the  Scripture  text  will  be  h.eld  a  sufficient 
proof  of  its  having  had  an  existence  before  the  land 
of  Canaan  was  conquered  by  the  Israelites.  Nor  is 
Joscphus's  chronology  so  accurate  as  to  render  his 
fuithority  on  such  a  point  very  important.  There 
^v.'is  Insular  Tyre,  and  Tyrus  on  the  continent, 
or  Palre  Tyrus  ;  and  it  is  supposed  by  some  learned 
writers,  that  the  island  was  not  inhal/itcd  till  after 
the  reign  of  Nebuchadnezzar.  But  this  supposition 
is  not  merely  at  variance  with  tlic  doubtful  authority 


of  Josephus,  but  is  scarcely  reconcilable  with  the 
language  of  the  prophets  Isaiah  and  Ezekiel,  who 
both  seem  to  speak  of  Tyi-e  as  an  isle.  (See  Isa. 
xxiii.  2,  0;  Ezek.  xxvi.  17;  xxvii.  3;  xxviii.  2.) 
Nor  is  it  probable  that  the  advantageous  position  of 
the  island  would  be  altogether  neglected  by  a  mari- 
time people.  The  coast  woidd,  indeed,  first  be  occu- 
pied, and  the  fortified  city  mentioned  in  the  book  of 
Joshua  was  in  all  probability  on  the  continent :  but 
as  the  comiuercial  importance  and  wealth  of  the  port 
increased,  the  island  would  naturally  be  inhabited, 
and  it  must  have  been  considered  as  the  place  of  the 
greatest  security.  Volney  supposes  that  the  Tyrians 
retired  to  their  isle  when  compelled  to  abandon  the 
ancient  city  of  Nebuchadnezzar,  and  that  till  that 
time  the  dearth  of  water  had  prevented  it  from  being 
nuieh  built  upon.  Certain  it  is,  that  when,  at  length, 
Nebuchadnezzar  took  the  city,  lie  found  it  so  impov- 
erished as  to  afford  liim  no  compensation  for  his 
labor.  (See  Ezek.  xxix.  18,  19.)  The  chief  edifices 
were,  at  all  events,  on  the  main  land,  and  to  these  the 
denunciations  of  total  ruin  strictly  ajjply.  Palse  Ty- 
rus never  rose  from  its  overthrow  by  the  Chaldean 
conqueror,  and  the  Macedonian  completed  its  de- 
struction ;  at  the  same  time,  the  wealth  and  com- 
merce of  Insidar  Tyre  were  for  the  time  destroyed, 
though  it  afterwards  recovered  from  the  effects  of 
this  invasion. 

Ancient  Tyre,  then,  probably  consisted  of  the  forti- 
fied city,  which  commanded  a  considerable  territory 
on  the  coast,  and  of  the  port  which  was  "  strong  in 
the  sea."  On  that  side,  it  had  little  to  fear  from  in- 
vaders, as  the  Tyrians  were  lords  of  the  sea,  and  ac- 
cordingly it  does  not  appear  that  the  Chaldean  con- 
queror ventured  upon  a  maritime  assault.  Josephus, 
indeed,  states,  that  Salmaneser,  king  of  Assyria,  made 
war  against  the  Tyrians,  with  a  fleet  of  sixty  shi])s, 
manned  by  800  rowers.  The  Tyrians  had  but  twelve 
shi])s,  j'et  they  obtained  the  victory,  dispersing  the 
Assyrian  fleet,  and  taking  500  prisoners.  Salmaneser 
then  returned  to  Nineveh,  leaving  his  land  forces  be- 
fore Tyre,  where  they  remained  for  five  years,  but 
were  unable  to  take  the  city.  (See  Joseph.  Antiq.) 
This  expedition  is  supposed  to  have  taken  place  in 
the  reign  of  Hezekiah,  king  of  Judah,  about  A.  M. 
3287,  or  717  B.  C.  It  must  have  been  about  this 
period,  or  a  few'  years  earlier,  that  Isaiah  delivered 
his  oracle  against  Tyre,  in  which  he  specifically  de- 
clared, that  it  should  be  destroyed,  not  by  the  power 
which  then  threatened,  but  by  the  Chaldeans,  a  peo- 
ple "  formerly  of  no  account,"  Isa.  xxiii.  13.  The 
more  detailed  predictions  of  the  prophet  Ezekiel 
were  delivered  a  hundred  and  twenty  years  after, 
B.  C.  588.  Almost  inmiediately  before  the  Chaldean 
invasion,  the  army  of  Nebuchadnezzar  is  said  to  have 
lain  before  Tyre  thirteen  years,  and  it  was  not  taken 
till  the  fifteenth  year  after  the  captivitj-,  B.  C.  573, 
more  than  1700  years,  according  to  Joscjihus,  after 
its  foundation.  Its  destruction  then  nuist  have  been 
entire  ;  all  the  inhabitants  Avcre  })ut  to  the  sword,  or 
led  into  captivity,  the  walls  w'ere  razed  to  the  ground, 
and  it  was  made  a  "terror"  and  a  desolation.  It  is 
remarkable,  that  one  reason  assigned  by  Ezekiel  for 
the  destruction  of  this  jjroud  city,  is  its  exultation  at 
the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  :  "  I  shall  be  replenished 
now  she  is  laid  waste,"  Ezek.  xvi.  2.  This  clearly 
indicates  that  its  overthrow  was  jiosterior  to  that 
event ;  and  if  we  take  the  seventy  years  during  wliich 
it  was  predicted  by  Isaiah  (xxiii.  15.)  that  Tyre  should 
be  forgotten,  to  denote  a  definite  term,  (which  seems 
the  most  natural  sense  ^  \ve  may  conclude  that  it  was 


TYRE 


[901  ] 


TYT 


not  rebuilt  till  the  same  number  of  years  after  the  re- 
turn of  the  Jews  from  Babylon.  Old  Tyre,  the  con- 
tinental city,  remained,  however,  in  ruins  up  to  the 
jjcriod  of  the  Macedonian  invasion.  Insular  Tyre 
iiad  then  risen  to  be  a  city  of  very  considerable 
wealth  and  political  importance,  and  by  sea  her  fleets 
were  triumphant.  It  was  the  rubbish  (Ezek.  xxv. 
12,  1!J.)  of  old  Tyre,  thirty  furlongs  off,  that  supplied 
materials  for  the  gigantic  mole  constructed  by  Alex- 
ander, of  200  feet  in  breadth,  extending  all  the 
way  i'l-om  the  continent  to  the  island,  a  distance  of 
three  quarters  of  a  mile.  Tlie  sea  that  formerly  sep- 
arated them,  was  shallow  near  the  shore,  but  towards 
the  island,  it  is  said  to  have  been  three  fathoms  hi 
depth.  The  causeway  has  probably  been  enlarged  by 
the  sand  thrown  up  by  the  sea,  which  now  covers  the 
surface  of  the  isthmus.  Tyre  was  taken  by  the  Mace- 
donian conqueror,  after  a  siege  of  eight  months,  B.  C. 
332,  two  hundred  and  forty-one  years  after  its  de- 
struction i)y  Nebuchadnezzar,  and  consequently  about 
one  hundred  and  seventy  after  it  had  been  rebuilt. 

Though  now  subjugated,  it  was  not,  however,  to- 
tally destroyed,  since  only  thirty  years  afterwards  it 
was  an  object  of  contention  to  Alexander's  succes- 
sors. The  fleet  of  Antigonus  invested  and  blockaded 
it  for  thirteen  months,  at  the  expiration  of  which  it 
was  compelled  to  surrender,  and  received  a  garrison 
of  his  troops  for  its  defence.  About  three  years  after 
it  was  invested  by  Ptolemy,  in  person,  and  owing  to 
a  mutiny  in  the  garrison,  fell  into  his  hands.  Its 
history  is  now  identified  with  that  of  Syria.  In  the 
apostolic  age  it  seems  to  have  regained  some  measure 
of  its  ancient  character  as  a  trading  town  ;  and  Paul, 
in  touching  here,  on  one  occasion,  in  his  way  back 
from  3Iacedonia,  found  a  number  of  Christian  be- 
lievers, with  whom  he  spent  a  week  ;  so  that  the 
gospel  must  have  been  early  preached  to  the  Tyrians. 
(Acts  xxi.  3,  4.)  Josephus,  in  speaking  of  the  city 
of  Zabulon  as  of  admirable  beauty,  says  that  its 
houses  were  built  like  those  in  Tyre,  and  Sidon,  and 
Berytus.  Strabo  also  speaks  of  the  loftiness  and 
beauty  of  the  buildings.  In  ecclesiastical  history,  it 
is  distinguished  as  the  first  archbishopric  under  the 
patriarchate  of  Jerusalem.  It  shared  the  fate  of 
the  country  in  the  Saracen  invasion,  in  the  begin- 
ning of  the  seventh  century.  It  was  reconquered  by 
the  crusaders  in  the  twelfth,  and  formed  a  royal  do- 
main of  the  kingdom  of  Jerusalem,  as  well  as  an 
ai'chiepiscopal  see.  William  of  Tyre,  the  well-known 
historian,  an  Englishman,  was  the  first  archbishop. 
In  1289,  it  w^as  retaken  by  the  Saracens,  the  Chris- 
tians being  permitted  to  remove  with  their  effects. 
AVhcn  the  sultan  Selim  divided  Syria  into  pashalics, 
Tyre,  which  had  probably  gone  into  decay,  with  the 
depression  of  commerce,  was  merged  in  the  territory 
of  Sidon.  In  1766,  it  was  taken  possession  of  by  the 
Motoualies,  who  repaired  the  port,  and  enclosed  it, 
on  the  land  side,  with  a  wall  twenty  feet  high.  The 
wall  was  standing,  but  the  repairs  had  gone  to  ruin, 
at  the  time  of  Volney's  visit  (1784).  He  noticed, 
hoAvever,  the  choir  of  the  ancient  church,  also  men- 
tioned by  Maundrell,  together  with  some  columns  of 
red  granite,  of  a  species  unknown  in  Syria,  which 
Djezzar  Pasha  wanted  to  remove  to  Acre,  but  could 
find  no  engineers  fit  to  accomplish  it.  It  was  at  that 
time  a  miserable  village :  its  exports  consisted  of  a 
few  sacks  of  corn  and  cotton,  and  the  only  merchant 
of  which  it  could  boast  was  a  solitary  Greek,  in  the 
service  of  the  French  factory  at  Sidon,  who  could 
hardly  gain  a  livelihood.  It  is  only  within  the  last 
five-and-twenty  years  that  it  has  once  more  begun  to 


lifl  its  head  from  the  dust.     [Modern  Traveller,  Syria, 
vol.  i.  p.  37,  seq.  Amer.  ed.) 

TYTHES.  We  have  nothing  more  ancient  con- 
cerning tytlies,  than  what  is  read  Gen.  xiv.  20,  that 
Abraham  gave  tythes  to  Melchizedec,  king  of  Salem, 
of  all  the  booty  he  had  taken  from  the  enemy.  Jacob 
imitated  this  piety  of  his  grandfather,  when  he  vowed 
to  the  Lord  the  tythe  of  all  the  substance  he  njight 
acquire  in  Mesopotamia,  Gen.  xxviii.  22.  Under  the 
law,  Moses  ordained,  "All  the  tythe  of  the  land, 
whether  of  the  seed  of  the  land,  or  of  the  fruit  of  the 
tree,  is  the  Lord's  ;  it  is  holy  unto  the  Lord.  And  if 
a  man  will  at  all  redeem  aught  of  his  tythes,  he  shall 
add  thereto  the  fifth  part  thereof.  And  concerning 
the  tythe  of  the  herd,  or  of  the  flock,  even  of  whatso- 
ever passeth  under  the  rod,  the  tenth  shall  be  holy 
unto  the  Lord,"  Lev.  xxvii.  30^32. 

The  Pharisees  in,  the  time  of  Christ,  to  distinguish 
themselves  by  a  more  scrupulous  observance  of  the 
law,  not  content  with  tything  the  grjun  and  fruits 
growing  in  the  fields,  also  paid  tythes  of  pulse  and 
herbs  growing  in  their  gardens,  which  was  more  than 
the  law  required.  Our  Saviour  did  not  censure  this 
exactness  ;  but  he  blamed  their  hypocrisy  and  pride 
in  it.  Matt,  xxiii.  23 ;  Luke  xi.  42. 

Tythes  were  taken  from  what  remained  after  the 
offerings  and  first-fruits  were  paid.  They  brought 
the  tythes  to  the  Levites  in  the  city  of  Jerusalem,  as 
appears  by  Josephus,  Antiq.  lib.  iv.  cap.  8.  The  Le- 
vites set  apart  the  tenth  part  of  their  tythes  for  the 
priests,  (for  the  priests  did  not  i-eceive  them  immedi- 
ately from  the  people,)  and  the  Levites  were  not  to 
enjoy  the  tythes  they  had  i-eceived,  before  they  had 
given  to  the  jnuests  such  a  part  as  the  law  assigned 
to  them.  Of  the  nine  parts  that  remained  to  the  pro- 
prietors, after  the  tythe%as  paid  to  the  Levites,  they 
took  another  tenth  part,  which  was  either  sent  to 
Jerusalem  in  kind,  or,  if  that  were  too  far,  they  sent 
the  value  in  money,  adding  thereto,  as  the  rabbins 
inform  us,  a  fifth  from  the  whole.  This  tenth  part 
was  applied  towards  celebrating  the  festivals  in  the 
temple  ;  and  was  nearly  resembled  by  the  Agapse,  or 
love  feasts,  of  the  first  Christians.  Thus  Dent.  xiv. 
22,  23,  is  understood  by  the  rabbins  :  "  Thou  shah 
truly  tythe  all  the  increase  of  thy  seed,  that  the  field 
bringeth  forth  year  by  year.  And  thou  shalt  eat  be- 
ford  the  Lord  thy  God,  in  the  place  which  he  shall 
choose  to  place  his  name  there,  the  tythe  of  thy  corn, 
of  thy  wine  and  of  thy  oil,  and  the  firstlings  of  thy 
herds  and  of  thy  flocks  ;  that  thou  mayest  learn  to 
fear  the  Lord  thy  God  always."  Josephus  also 
speaks  of  these  feasts,  which  were  made  in  the  tem- 
ple, and  in  the  holy  city,  Antiq.  lib.  iv.  cap.  8. 

Tobit  says  (i.  6.)  that  every  three  years  he  paid 
punctually  his  tythe  to  strangers  and  proselytes.  This 
was  probably  because  there  were  neither  priests  nor 
Levites  in  the  city  where  he  dwelt.  Moses  speaks 
of  this  last  kind  of  tythe.  Dent.  xiv.  28  ;  xxvi.  12.  "At 
the  end  of  three  years  thou  shalt  bring  forth  all  the 
tythe  of  thine  increase  the  same  year,  and  shall  lay  it 
up  within  thy  gates.  And  the  Levite,  (because  he 
hath  no  part  nor  iiflieritance  w-ith  thee,)  and  the 
stranger,  and  the  fatherless,  and  the  widow,  which 
are  within  thy  gates,  shall  come,  and  shall  eat  and  be 
satisfied  :  that  the  Lord  thy  God  maj^  bless  thee  in 
all  the  work  of  thine  hand  which  thou  dost."  Cal- 
met  thinks  this  third  tythe  not  to  be  diflerent  from 
the  s'-cond  kind  already  noticed,  except  that  in  the 
third  year  it  was  not  brought  into  the  temple,  but 
was  used  on  the  spot,  by  every  one  in  the  city  of  his 
habitation.    Therefore,  properly  speaking,  there  were 


TYTHES 


[  909  ] 


TYTHES 


only  two  sorts  of  tythes  ;  (1.)  that  whicii  was  given 
to  the  Levites  and  priests ;  (2.)  that  which  was  ap- 
pHed  to  feasts  of  charity,  either  in  the  temple  at  Je- 
rusalem, or  in  other  cities. 

Samuel  tells  the  children  of  Israel,  that  their  king 
would  "  take  the  tenth  part  of  their  seed,  and  of  their 
vineyards,  and  give  to  his  officere  and  his  servants. 
He  will  take  the  tenth  of  your  sheep,  and  ye  shall  be 
his  servants,"  1  Sam.  viii.  15,  16.  Yet  it  does  not 
clearly  appear  from  the  history  of  the  Jews,  that  they 
regularly  paid  tythe  to  their  princes.  But  the  man- 
ner in  which  Samuel  expresses  himself  seems  to  in- 
sinuate, that  it  was  looked  upon  as  a  common  right 
among  the  kings  of  the  East. 

Tythes  are  not  enforced  by  the  New  Testament. 
Our  Saviour  has  commanded  nothing  as  to  the  sup- 
port of  ministers ;  only,  when  he  sent  his  apostles  to 
preach  in  the  cities  of  Israel,  he  forl)ade  them  to 
carry  either  purse,  or  provisions,  and  commanded 
them  to  enter  the  houses  of  those  who  were  willing 
to  receive  them,  and  to  eat  what  should  be  set  before 
them  ;  for,  as  he  adds,  the  laborer  is  worthy  of  his 
liire,  that  is,  of  his  maintenance,  Matt.  x.  10 ;  Luke 
X.  7,  8.     Paul  also  determines,  that  he  who  receives 


instruction,  should  administer  some  of  his  good 
things  to  him  who  gives  it,  Gal.  vi.  6.  It  is  agree- 
able to  nature  and  reason,  that  they  who  wait  at  the 
altar  should  live  by  the  altar  ;  and  whoever  under- 
took a  warfare  at  his  own  expense  ?  1  Cor.  ix.  13. 
In  the  infancy  of  the  church,  the  ministers  lived  on 
the  alms  and  oblations  of  believers.  Afterwards, 
lands  and  fixed  revenues  were  settled  on  churches 
and  their  ministers,  and  people  began  to  give  them  a 
certain  portion  of  their  substance,  which  was  called 
tytlie,  in  imitation  of  that  paid  to  the  priests  of  the 
old  covenant,  though  every  one  gave  only  as  his  de- 
votion inclined  him.  At  last,  the  bishops,  in  concur- 
rence with  secular  princes,  made  laws  obliging  Chris- 
tians to  give  to  ecclesiastics  the  tythe  of  their  revenues, 
and  of  the  fruits  of  the  earth.  As  these  regulations 
were  not  all  made  at  the  same  time,  nor  in  a  uniform 
manner,  we  cannot  precisely  fix  the  period  of  the 
establishment  of  tythes.  But  they  were  paid  as  far 
back  as  the  sixth  century  ;  though  not  evei-y  where, 
nor  under  the  same  obligations.  F.  Paul,  in  his 
Treatise  of  Benefices,  observes,  that  till  the  eighth  or 
the  ninth  century,  tythes  were  not  paid  in  the  East, 
nor  in  Africa. 


U 


UNICORN 


UNICORN 


ULAI,  a  river  which  runs  by  the  city  Shushan 
in  Persia,  on  the  bank  of  which  Daniel  had  a  famous 
vision,  Dan.  viii.  2,  16.  [It  was  the  Choaspes  of  the 
Greeks,  and  is  now  called^Le/rrtA.  It  empties  its 
waters  into  the  united  stream  of  the  Euphrates  and 
Tigris,  Dan.  viii.  2.  (See  R.  K.  Porter's  Travels, 
vol.  ii.  p.  412.)     R. 

UNICORN.  (Heb.  oxi,  reem.)  It  is  hardly  neces- 
sary to  remark,  that  the  unicorn,  as  represented  by 
poets  and  painters,  has  never  been  found  in  nature, 
and  never,  perhaps,  had  an  existence  but  in  the  im- 
agination of  the  one,  and  on  the  canvass  of  the  other. 
[See,  however,  the  additions  at  the  end  of  this  article. 
Indeed  the  whole  of  the  article  which  follows  might, 
perhaps,  be  more  properly  omitted ;  as  it  proceeds  on 
the  erroneous  supposition  that  the  animal  denoted  by 
the  Hebrew  word  reem  is  the  rhinoceros  ;  and  because 
one  of  the  main  arguments  for  this  supposition  is  based 
upon  a  word  not  found  in  the  Hebrew,  but  inserted 
by  the  English  translators,  as  will  be  shown  below. 
Still,  as  the  general  information  here  exhibited  is  not 
uninteresting,  the  whole  may  be  permitted  to  remain  ; 
referring  the  reader,  however,  for  a  probably  more 
correct  view  to  the  additions  below.     R. 

Before  we  inquire  what  creature  is  denoted  by  the 
Hebrew  reem,  it  will  be  well  to  ascertain  its  precise 
character  from  a  careful  examination  of  the  several 
passages  in  which  it  is  mentioned.  The  first  allusion 
to  it  is  in  the  reply  of  Balaam  to  Balak,  when  impor- 
tuned by  the  ten-ified  king  to  curse  the  invading  armies 
of  Israel :  "  Gofl  l^rought  them  out  of  Egypt ;  he  hath 
as  it  were  the  strength  of  an  unicorn,"  Niunb.  xxiii. 
22  ;  xxiv.  8.  From  tins  it  is  evident,  that  the  ixem 
was  conceived  to  possess  very  considerable  jiower. 
With  this  idea  corresponds  the  passage  in  Isaiah, 
where  the  ])rophet  associates  with  him  other  power- 
ful animals,  to  symbolize  the  leadtMS  and  princes  of 
tlie  hostile  nations  that  were  destined  to  desolate  his 
country :    "  And  the  unicorns  shall  come  down  with 


them,  and  the  bullocks  with  the  bulls ;  and  their  land 
shall  be  soaked  with  blood,  and  their  dust  be  made 
fat  with  fatness,"  chap,  xxxiv.  7.  From  the  book  of 
Job  we  leani,  that  he  was  not  only  an  animal  of  con- 
siderable strength,  but  also  of  a  very  intractable  dis- 
position :  "  Will  the  unicorn  be  willing  to  serve  thee, 
or  abide  by  thy  crib  ?  Canst  thou  bind  the  unicorn 
with  his  band  in  the  furrow,  or  will  he  harrow  the 
valleys  after  thee  ?  Wilt  thou  trust  him  because  his 
strength  is  great,  or  wilt  thou  leave  thy  labor  to  him  ? 
Wilt  thou  believe  him,  that  he  will  bring  home  thy 
seed,  and  gather  it  into  thy  barn  ?  "  chap,  xxxix.  9 — 12. 
Another  particular  we  collect  from  Ps.  xcii.  10. 
namely,  that  this  animal  possesses  a  single  horn, 
and  that  in  an  erect  posture,  unlike  other  horned  ani- 
mals :  "  My  horn  shalt  thou  exalt  like  the  horn  of  an 
unicorn  ;"  while  it  is  evident  from  the  following  pas- 
sage, that  it  was  sometimes  found  with  more  horns 
than  one.  "His  [Joseph's]  horns  are  like  the  horns 
of  an  unicorn,"  Deut.  xxxiii.  17.  There  are  only  two 
more  passages,  in  which  the  reem  is  mentioned  in 
Scripture :  these  are  Ps.  xxii.  21.  and  xxix.  6. 
From  the  former  we  are  unable  to  gather  any  addi- 
tional information,  and  the  latter  will  add  luit  httle  to 
our  stock:  "He  maketh  them  also  to  skip  like  a  calf; 
Lebanon  and  Sirion  like  a  yoimg  uniconi." 

We  are  now  better  prejjared  to  examine  into  the 
validity  of  the  claims  that  have  been  advanced  in  fa- 
vor of  those  animals  which  are  supposed  to  be  the 
reem  of  the  Hebrew  Scriptures.  Let  us  first  hear 
Mr.  Bruce. 

It  is  very  remarkable,  says  this  distinguished  travel- 
ler, tflat  two  such  animals  as  the  elephant  and  rhi- 
noceros should  iiavc  wholly  escaped  the  desrrijnion  of 
the  sacred  writers.  Moses  and  the  children  of  Israel 
were  long  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  countries  which 
produced  them  both,  whilt!  in  Egy|)f  and  in  Arabia. 
The  classing  of  the  animals  into  clean  and  unclean 
seem?  to  have  led  the  legislator  into  a  kind  of  ueces- 


UNICORN 


[  903  ] 


UNICORN 


sity  of  <]cscril>ing,  in  one  of  the  classes,  an  animal 
whicii  made  tiie  food  of  the  principal  pagan  nations 
in  the  neighhorhood.  Considering  the  long  and  inti- 
mate connection  Solomon  liad  with  the  sonth  coast 
of  tiie  Red  sea,  it  is  next  to  impossil)le  tiiat  he  was 
not  acquainted  with  them,  as  itoth  David  his  father, 
and  he  himself,  made  ])ientiful  nse  of  ivory,  as 
they  fi-e(piently  mention  in  their  writings,  which, 
along  with  gold,  came  from  the  same  pans.  Solo- 
mon, hesides,  wrote  expressly  on  zoology,  and  we 
can  scarce  suppose  was  ignorant  of  two  of  the  princi- 
pal articles  of  that  part  of  the  creation,  iidialutants  of 
the  great  continent  of  Asia  east  from  him,  and  that 
of  Africa  on  the  south,  with  both  which  territories  he 
was  in  constant  correspondence. 

There  are  two  animals  nained  frequently  in  Scrip- 
tin-e,  without  naturalists  being  agreed  what  they  are. 
The  one  is  the  behemotk,  the  other  the  reem ;  both 
mentioned  as  types  of  strength,  courage  and  inde- 
pendence on  man  ;  and,  as  sucii,  exemi)ted  from  the 
ordinary  lot  of  beasts,  to  be  subdued  by  him,  or  re- 
«hiced  under  his  dominion.  Though  this  is  not  to  be 
taken  in  a  literal  sense, — for  there  is  no  animal  witii- 
out  the  fear  or  beyond  tlie  reach  ol"  the  jjower  of 
man, — we  are  to  understand  it  of  animals  possessed 
of  strength  and  size  so  superlative,  as  that  in  these 
quahties  other  beasts  bear  no  pro])ortion  to  them. 

The  behemoth  Mr.  Bruce  takes  to  be  the  elephant, 
in  wliich  we  differ  from  him  :  the  reem  he  argues  to 
be  the  rhinoceros,  from  tlie  following  considerations : 

The  derivation  of  the  word,  both  in  Hebrew  and 
Ethio|)ic,  seems  to  be  from  crectness,  or  standing:; 
straight.  This  is  certainly  no  particular  ciuality  in 
the  animal  itself,  who  is  not  more,  nor  even  so  much, 
erect  as  many  other  qnaih-upeds,  for  its  knees  are 
ratlier  crooked  ;  but  it  is  from  the  circumstance  and 
manner  in  which  his  horn  is  placed.  The  horns  of 
all  other  animals  are  inclined  to  some  degree  of  par- 
allelism with  the  nose,  or  osfrontis.  The  horn  of  the 
rhinoceros  alone  is  erect  or  ])erpendicular  to  this 
bone,  on  which  it  stands  at  right  angles ;  thereby  pos- 
sessing a  gi'cater  piu'chase  or  power,  as  a  lever,  than 
any  horn  could  possibly  have  in  any  other  ])osition. 
This  situation  of  the  horn  is  very  hajopily  alluded  to 
in  the  sacred  writings:  "My  horn  shalt  thou  exalt 
like  the  horn  of  a  reem,"  Ps.  xcii.  10.  And  the  horn 
hei-e  alluded  to  is  not  wholly  figurative,  but  was  really 
an  ornament  worn  by  great  men  in  the  days  of  vic- 
torv,  ])refermcnt,  or  rejoicing,  wdien  they  were  anoint- 
ed with  new,  sweet,  or  liesh  oil  ;  a  circumstance 
wiiii-li  David  joins  with  tliat  of  erecting  the  horn. 

Tlie  reasons  which  have  induced  some  writers  to 
consider  the  unicorn  as  being  of  the  deer  or  antelope 
kind,  it  is  ditlicidt  to  conceive  of,  since  this  is  of  a 
genus,  whose  very  character  is  li^ar  and  weakness, 
very  opposite,  as  Mr.  Bruce  contimies,  to  the  (pialities 
bv  which  the  reem  is  dc^scribed  in  Scripture.  Be- 
sides, it  is  plain  the  reem  is  not  of  the  chuss  of  clean 
(|uadrnpe(ls  ;  and  a  late  traveller  very  whimsically 
takes  him  for  the  leviathan,  which  certainly  was 
a  fish.  Balaam,  a  priest  of  Midian,  and  so  in  tlie 
ncigliborhooil  of  the  liauiits  of  tlie  rhinoceros,  and 
intimately  connected  with  l''-tliiopra,  (liir  they  tli<'rn- 
s;'lves  were  slieplierds  of  tliat  country,)  in  a  ti"iiis|)()rl, 
iVtiin  contemplating  tin;  strength  of  Israel  wliom  he 
was  hiougiit  to  curs(^,  says,  they  li.ad  as  it  were  "the 
strength  of  the  reem,"  Numb,  xxiii.  22.  Job  makes 
frequent  allusion  to  bis  great  strength,  ferocity  and 
iudocility,  chaj).  xxxix.  9,  10.  He  asks,  "  Will  the 
rrrm  be  willing  to  serve  thee,  or  to  abide  at  thy  crib?" 
That  is,  Will  he  willingly  come  into  thy  stable,  and 


eat  at  thy  manger?  and  again,  "Canst  thou  bind  the 
reem  with  a  band  in  tlie  furrow,  and  will  he  harrow 
the  valleys  after  thee  ?  "  In  other  words.  Canst  thou 
make  him  to  go  in  the  plough  or  harrows  ? 

Isaiah,  (chaj).  xxxiv.  7.)  who,  of  all  the  pro|)hets, 
seems  to  have  known  Egypt  and  Ethiopia  the  best, 
when  ])rophesying  about  the  destruction  of  Jdumea, 
says,  that  "  the  reem  shall  come  down  with  the  fat 
cattle:"  a  proof  that  he  knew  his  hal)itation  was  in 
the  neighborhood.  In  the  same  manner  as  when 
foretelling  the  desolation  of  Egypt,  he  mentions  as 
one  m.amier  of  eftecting  it,  the  bringing  down  the  fly 
Irom  Ethio])ia,  to  meet  the  cattle  in  the  desert,  and 
among  the  bushes,  and  destroy  them  there,  where 
that  insect  did  not  ordinarily  come  but  on  command, 
(eomp.  Isa.  vii.  18,  19,  and  Exod.  viii.  22.)  and  where 
the  cattle  feed  every  year,  to  save  themselves  from 
that  insect. 

The  rhinoceros  in  Geez  is  called  arive  harish,  and 
in  the  Aniharic,  auraris,  both  of  which  names  signify 
th(^  large  wild  beast  with  the  horn.  This  w  ould  seem 
as  if  apjilied  to  the  species  that  had  but  one  horn. 
On  the  other  hand,  in  the  country  of  the  Shangalla,  and 
in  Nubia  adjoining,  he  is  called  gimatngini,  or  horn 
upon  horn,  and  this  would  seem  to  denote  that  he 
had  t\vo.  The  Ethiopic  text  renders  the  word  reem, 
arwi  harish,  and  this  the  Septnagint  translates  i<oiozt- 
Qog,  or  nnicorn. 

If  the  Abyssinian  rhinoceros  had  invariably  two 
horns,  it  seems  impro!)able  that  the  Septnagint  would 
have  called  him  monoceros,  especially  as  they  must 
have  seen  an  animal  of  this  kind  exposed  at  Alexan- 
dria in  their  time,  when  lirst  mentioned  in  history, 
at  an  exhibition  given  to  Ptolemy  Philadelphus,  at  his 
accession  to  the  crown,  before  the  ileath  of  his  father. 

The  jjrincipal  reason  for  translating  the  word  reem, 
nnicorn,  and  not  rhinoceros,  is  from  a  prejudice  that 
he  must  have  but  one  horn.  But  this  is  by  no  means 
so  well  founded,  as  to  be  admitted  as  the  only  argu- 
ment for  establishing  the  existence  of  an  animal, 
which  never  has  appeared  after  the  search  of  so 
many  ages.  Scripture,  as  we  have  seen,  speaks  of 
the  horns  of  the  nnicorn  ;  so  that,  even  from  this  cir- 
cumstance, the  reem  may  be  the  rhinoceros,  as  the 
Asiatic  and  part  of  the  African  rhinoceros  may  be 
the  unicorn. 

In  addition  to  these  particulars,  Mr.  Bruce  informs 
us,  that  the  rhinoceros  does  not  eat  hay  or  grass,  but 
lives  entirely  upon  trees  ;  he  does  not  spare  the  most 
thorny  ones,  but  rather  seems  to  be  fond  of  them  ; 
and  it  is  not  a  small  branch  that  can  escape  his  hun- 
ger, iVir  he  has  the  strongest  ja\\s  of  any  creature 
known  to  him,  and  best  adapted  to  grinding  or  bruis- 
ing any  thing  that  makes  resistance.  But,  besides  the 
trees  callable  of  most  resistance,  there  are  in  tlie  vast 
forests  which  hi;  inhabits  trees  of  asofter  consistence, 
and  of  a  very  succulent  (piality,  which  seem  to  be 
destined  for  his  jirincipal  iood.  I'or  the  purpose  of 
gaining  the  highest  branches  of  these,  his  upper  lip  is 
capaiile  of  being  lengthened  out,  so  as  to  increase  his 
power  of  laying  holil  with  this,  in  the  same  manner 
as  the  elephant  does  with  his  trunk.  \\'itli  this  lij), 
and  the  assistance  of  his  tongue,  he  pulls  down  the 
ujiiicr  branches,  which  have  most  leaves,  and  these  he 
devours  lirst:  having  strijiped  the  tree  of  its  branches, 
he  does  not  therefore  abandon  it,  but  placing  his 
snout  as  low  in  the  trunk  as  he  finds  his  liorn  will 
enter,  he  rips  up  the  body  of  the  tree,  and  reduces 
it  to  thin  pieces,  like  so  many  laths ;  and  when  he 
has  thus  prepared  it,  he  embraces  as  much  of  it  as  ho 
can  in  his  monstrous  jaws,  and  twists  it  with  as  much 


UNICORN 


[  904  ] 


UNICORN 


ease  as  an  ox  would  do  a  root  of  celery.  (Bruce's 
Travels,  vol.  v.  p.  89—95.) 

Such  is  the  description  which  this  intelligent 
writer  gives  of  the  animal  which  he  supposes  to  be 
the  reem  of  the  sacred  writers  ;  but  it  is  necessary  that 
we  should  notice  the  objections  urged  against  this 
opinion. 

Mr.  Scott,  who  considers  the  reem  to  be  a  species 
of  the  wild  bull,  an  animal  bred  in  the  Arabian  and 
Syrian  deserts,  objects,  that  the  rhinoceros  cannot  be 
the  animal  uitended,  because  the  reem  is  represented 
as  having  high  and  terrible  horns  ;  whereas,  this 
creature  possesses  but  one,  and  that  a  very  short  one, 
placed  just  over  the  nose.  That  the  former  part  of 
this  objection  is  founded  in  misapprehension,  we 
have  already  seen  ;  since  the  reem  is,  in  one  passage 
of  Scripture  at  least  represented  as  having  only  one 
horn  ;  and  that  honi,  as  is  evident  from  the  allusion, 
placed  in  a  position  exactly  answering  to  the  descrip- 
tion of  this  weapon  of  the  rhinoceros,  which  is  fur- 
nished by  Mr.  Bruce.  Nor  is  the  remaining  part  of 
the  objection  of  greater  weight,  since  the  horn  of  the 
rhinoceros  is  by  no  means  of  so  contemptible  a  size  as 
it  represents.  In  the  forty-second  and  fifty-sixth  vol- 
umes of  the  Philosophical  Transactions,  Dr.  Parsons 
has  given  drawings  of  the  horns  of  the  rhinoceros, 
from  Dr.  Mead's,  and  also  from  sir  Hans  Sloane's, 
collections.  Fi'om  those  delineations  we  ascertain, 
that  the  straight  horn  on  a  double-horned  animal  was 
twenty-five  inches  in  length  ;  the  curved  one  being 
something  shorter;  and  the  two  diameters  of  the 
bases  thirteen  inches.  Nor  were  these  the  largest  of 
the  kind,  for  the  doctor  mentions  a  horn  in  the  col- 
lection of  sir  H.  Sloane,  which  was  thirty-seven 
inches  long,  and  another  thirty-ttvo  inches  ;  and  Buf- 
fon  mentions  one  whose  length  was  three  feet  eight 
inches, — an  altitude  sufficient,  surely,  to  justify  the 
allusions  of  the  sacred  writers. 

But  in  addition  to  this,  we  must  remark,  that  the 
wild  bull,  which  in  all  its  varieties  is  possessed  of 
two  horns,  can  never  be  identified  with  aji  animal 
represented  as  varying  in  these  jiarticulars ;  pos- 
sessing sometimes  one  and  sometimes  two.  The 
LXX,  as  we  have  shown,  imiformly  translate  the 
Heb.  =:ni  by  uoyijy.cnog,  i.  e.  ONE-/iornerf ;  and  the  con- 
tradiction is  equally  great,  whether  they  designed  to 
describe  a  bull  having  two  horns,  or  whether  they 
designed  the  double-horned  rhinoceros.  But  when 
we  consider  that  a  wild  bull,  having  only  one  horn, 
would  be  contrary  to  the  nature  of  the  beeve  kind, 
and,  indeed,  would  be  a  monster ;  whereas  a  unicorn, 
or  single-horned  rhinoceros,  would  suit  some  ])as- 
sages  of  Scriptiu-e,  and  be  perfectly  well  known  to 
til eir  readers;  while  another  species  of  rhinoceros, 
having  two  horns,  Avonld  suit  other  passages  of  Scrip- 
ture, where  a  similar  animal  is  meant,  and  this  also 
was  known  to  their  readers  ; — we  camiot  but  approve 
of  the  choice  they  made  in  preferring  the  rhinoceros 
to  the  urus,  as  the  animal  intended  by  the  Hebrew 
reem.  We  consider  this  choice  and  this  opinion  of 
the  Eg}'ptian  translators,  who  certainly  knew  full  as 
well  as  modern  writers  can  know,  tlie  animal  most 
likely  to  be  described  by  the  sacred  poet,  as  no  despi- 
cable authority  on  this  side  of  the  question. 

We  now  leave  the  reader  to  determine  for  him- 
self respecting  the  identity  of  this  flispiUed  animal. 
To  us  it  appears,  that  tlie  arguments  in  ftvor  of  the 
rhinoceros  preponderate,  and  that  we  shall  not  be 
very  far  from  the  truth,  if  we  conclude  this  to  be  the 
reem  of  the  sacred  volume. 

From  what  has  been  already  said,  some  idea  may 


be  formed  of  tne  external  appearance,  as  well  as  the 
dispositions  of  the  rhinoceros.  A  few  additional  re- 
marks, however,  may  not  be  unacceptable. 

Next  to  the  elephant,  the  rhinoceros  is  said  to  be 
the  most  powerful  of  animals.  It  is  usually  found 
twelve  feet  long,  from  the  tip  of  the  nose  to  the  inser- 
tion of  the  tail ;  from  six  to  seven  feet  high  ;  and  the 
circumference  of  its  body  is  nearlj'  equal  to  its  length. 
It  is,  therefore,  equal  to  the  elephant  in  bulk  ;  and 
the  reason  of  its  appearing  so  much  smaller  to  the 
eye  than  that  animal  is,  that  its  legs  are  so  much 
shorter.  Words,  says  Goldsmith,  can  convey  but  a 
very  confused  idea  of  this  animal's  shape  ;  and  yet 
there  are  few  so  remarkably  formed.  But  for  its 
horn,  which  we  have  already  described,  its  head 
would  have  the  appearance  of  that  part  of  a  hog.  The 
skin  of  the  i-hinoceros  is  naked,  rough,  knotty,  and 
lying  upon  the  l)ody  in  folds,  in  a  very  peculiar  man- 
ner :  the  skin,  which  is  of  a  dirty  brown  color,  is  so 
thick  as  to  turn  the  edge  of  a  cimetar,  and  to  resist  a 
musket-ball. 

Such  is  the  general  outline  of  an  animal  that  ap- 
pears chiefly  formidable  from  the  horn  growing  from 
its  snout ;  and  formed  rather  for  war,  than  with  a 
propensity  to  engage.  The  elephant,  the  boar,  and 
the  buffalo,  are  obliged  to  strike  transversely  with 
their  weapons ;  but  the  rhinoceros,  from  the  situation 
of  his  horn,  employs  all  his  force  with  every  blow  ; 
so  that  the  tiger  Avill  more  willingly  attack  any  other 
animal  of  the  forest  than  one  whose  strength  is  so 
justly  employed.  Indeed,  there  is  no  force  which 
this  terrible  animal  has  to  apprehend ;  defended  on 
every  side  by  a  thick,  horny  hide,  which  the  claws  of 
the  lion  or  the  tiger  arc  unable  to  pierce,  and  armed 
before  with  a  weapon  that  even  the  elephant  does  not 
choose  to  oppose.  Travellers  have  assured  us,  that 
the  elephant  is  often  found  dead  in  the  forests,  pierced 
with  the  horn  of  a  rhinoceros. 

[The  preceding  arguments  ai-e  the  strongest,  and 
indeed  the  only  ones,  which  can  be  urged  in  favor  of 
the  rhinoceros,  as  being  the  reon  of  the  Hebrew  Vv'rit- 
ers.  They  are  however  rebutted  by  the  fact,  that 
the  reem  was  obviously  an  animal  well  known  to 
the  Hebrews,  being  every  where  mentioned  wiiii 
other  animals  common  to  the  countiy  ;  while  the  rhi- 
noceros was  never  an  inhabitant  of  the  country,  is  no 
where  else  spoken  of  by  the  sacred  writers,  ricr,  ac- 
cording to  Bochart,  either  by  Aristotle  in  his  treatise 
of  animals,  nor  by  Arabian  writers.  Nor  do  the  qual- 
ities and  habits  of  the  rhinoceros  at  all  coincide  with 
those  ascribed  to  the  reem.  The  prominent  features 
of  the  latter  are  its  horns,  in  i-cspect  to  which  it  is 
classed  with  animals  tliat  push,  Avhich  is  never  the 
case  with  the  rhinoceros.  Besides,  the  chief  argu- 
ment adduced  above  for  the  rhinocercs,  viz.  that  the 
reem  is  sometimes  described  ^vith  one  horn  and  some- 
times with  more,  is  false.  The  truth  is,  the  word  reem 
has  in  itself  no  reference  to  horns  at  all,  and  wherever 
the  animal  is  spoken  of  with  any  allusion  to  this 
member,  the  expression  is  in  tlie  jjlural,  horns;  c.  g 
Deut.  xxxiii.  17,  "His  [Joseph's]  horns  are  like  the 
horns  of  an  unicorn  ; "  Ps.  xxii.  21,  "  Thou  hast  heard 
[and  delivered]  me  from  the  horns  of  the  unicorn." 
In  Ps.  xcii.  10,  which  is  referred  to  above  as  proving 
that  the  reem  is  sometimes  represented  as  liaving  but 
one  horn,  the  Hebrew  reads  simply,  "  My  horn  shall 
thou  exalt  like  an  unicorn  ;"  where  the  word  horn,  as  it 
stands  in  the  English  version,  is  no  where  expressed  ; 
although  there  is  undoubtedly  an  ellipsis,  which,  to 
compare  with  other  parallel  passages,  ought  to  be  filled 
out  with  horns,  in  the  plural,  rather  than  with  the  sin- 


Unicorn 


[  DOo  i 


UNICORN 


giilar.  (See  Stuart's  Heb.  Gram.  §  550.  lib  edit.) 
Tbtjs  tbe  wbole  argument  in  question  rests  not  on 
tbe  Hebrew  original,  but  on  an  interpolation  of  tbe 
English  translatoi"s. — Inrleed  the  supposition  oC  tbe 
rhinoceros  has  been  long  since  refuted  by  Bochart, 
to  whose  learned  work  the  reader  is  referred.  (Hieroz. 
Tom.  i.  930.  edit.  1719.) 

But  on  the  other  hand,  Bochart,  and  after  him  Ro- 
Beniniiller  and  others,  regard  the  recm  of  the  Hebrews 
ns  a  species  of  antelope,  the  rim  of  the  Arabs,  and  the 
oryx  or  Itncori/x  of  the  Greeks.  The  argument  of 
most  weight  in  Bocbait's  mind,  seems  to  be  the  fact, 
that  rim  in  Arabic,  which  is  equivalent  to  reem  in 
Hebrew,  is  thus  used  of  a  species  of  white  gazelle  or 
antelope,  (Niebuhr,  Dcscr.  of  Arab.  p.  xxxviii.  Germ, 
ed.)  which  would  seem  to  be  very  probably  the 
leucoryx.  But  then,  the  other  characteristics  of 
these  animals  by  no  means  correspond  to  those  of 
the  recm,  wliicb  is  every  where  described  as  a  fierce, 
intractable  animal,  acting  on  tbe  offensive  and  attack- 
ing even  men  of  its  own  accord.  Now,  liowever 
wild  and  untameable  many  species  of  antelopes  may 
be,  they  are  universally  described  as  a  shy  and 
retiring  animal,  always  flying  from  pursuit,  and 
avoiding  even  the  approach  of  man.  In  opposition 
to  this,  Bochart  and  Rosenmliller  produce  a  j)assage 
of  Martial,  where  he  gives  to  the  oryx  the  ejjitliet 
fierce,  (saevus  oryx,  Epigr.  xiii.  95.)  and  another  from 
Oppian,  whore  he  says,  "There  is  a  beast,  vvilli 
])ointed  horns,  familiar  to  the  woods,  tbe  savage  oiyx, 
most  terrrible  to  other  beasts."  (Cyneget.  ii.  445.) 
Now  all  these  epithets  and  descriptions,  even  allow- 
ing nothing  for  poetical  ampiification,  arc  perfectly 
applicable  to  the  stagof  our  forests  and  of  Asia  ;  they 
iinplj'  no  more  than  that  the  oryx,  when  hard  push- 
ed, will  turn  upon  its  pnrsuei-s,  and  defend  himself 
with  fury.  Yet  no  one  would  hence  draw  the  con- 
clusion, that  it  was  characteristic  of  the  stag  to  act  on 
the  offensive  ;  nor  can  such  a  conclusion  be  drawn 
with  better  reason  in  regard  to  the  oryx. — The  oi-ijx 
of  Pliny  and  other  ancient  Avriters  is  understood  to  be 
the  antelope  onjx  of  zoologists  ;  the  ga.zdla  Indica  of 
Kay,  th.e  capra  gazella  of  the  Syst.  Nat.,  the  Egijptian 
antelope  of  Pennant,  and  tlie  pasan  of  Buffon.  It  is 
about  the  size  of  a  fallow  deer,  having  straight, 
slender,  annulated  horns  Avhicli  taper  to  a  point;  the 
liorns  are  about  three  feet  long,  the  j)oints  sharp,  and 
-about  fourteen  iitches  asunder;  the  body  and  sides 
j'.re  of  a  reddish  ash  color;  the  face  is  w!)ite,  with  a 
black  spot  at  the  bass  of  the  bonis,  and  another  on  the 
middle  of  the  face.  It  is  a  native  of  Asia  and  Africa. 
— The  leucoryx,  which  some  suppose  to  be  the  oryx 
of  Oppian,  is  in  general  similar  to  the  animal  above 
described,  except  that  the  body  is  of  a  milk  white 
color.  It  iulia])its  the  neighborhood  of  Bassora,  on 
the  Persian  gulf. — Most  obviotisly  neither  of  these 
animals  answer  the  description  of  the  Hebrew  reem. 
The  fact  that  the  Arabs  aj)ply  the  word  rim  to  this 
class  of  animals,  has  probably  its  origin  in  the  same 
cause,  which  also  leads  them  to  ap!)ly  to  the  races  of 
deer  and  antelopes,  in  general,  the  epithet  loild  oxen. 
(See  Sehultens,  Comm.  in  Job  xxxix.  9.) 

Other  v.riters  have  supposed  the  reem,  of  the  He- 
brews to  be  the  urus,  bison,  or  wild  ox,  described  by  Cre- 
snr,  which  is  understood  to  be  the  same  animal  as  the 
American  buffalo.  The  characteristics  of  this  animal 
accord  well  with  those  attributed  to  the  reem ;  but 
there  is  no  evidence  that  the  bison  existed  in  Pales- 
tine, or  was  known  to  the  Hebrews.  A  more  obvious 
supposition,  therefore,  is  that  of  Sehultens,  De  Wette, 
Gesenius,  and  others,  that  under  the  recm  we  are  to 
114 


understand  the  buffalo  of  the  eastern  continent,  the 
bos  bnbahis  of  Linnaeus,  which  differs  from  the  bison 
or  American  buffalo  chiefly  in  the  shaj)e  of  the  horns 
and  the  absence  of  the  dewlap.  This  animal  is  indi- 
genous, originally,  in  the  hotter  parts  of  Asia  and  Af- 
rica, but  also  in  Persia,  Abyssinia  and  Eg^pt :  and  is 
now  also  naturalized  in  Italy  and  southern  liluropc. 
As,  therefore,  it  existed  in  the  countries  all  aroimd 
Palestine,  there  is  every  reason  to  suppose  that  it  was 
also  found  in  that  country,  or  at  least  in  the  regions 
east  of  the  Jordan  and  south  of  the  Dead  sea,  as 
Bashan  and  Idumea. 

The  oriental  buflalo  appears  to  be  so  closely  allied 
to  our  common  ox,  that  without  an  attentive  exam- 
ination it  might  be  easily  mistaken  for  a  variety  of 
that  animal.  In  point  of  size  it  is  rather  superior  to 
the  ox  ;  and  upon  an  accurate  inspection,  it  is  observed 
to  differ  in  the  shape  and  magnitude  of  the  bead,  the 
latter  being  larger  than  in  the  ox.  But  it  is  chiefly 
by  the  structure  of  the  horns  that  the  buffalo  is  dis- 
tinguished, these  being  of  a  shape  and  curvature  al- 
together different  from  those  of  the  ox.  They  are  of 
gigantic  size  in  proportion  to  the  bulk  of  the  animal, 
and  of  a  compressed  form,  with  a  sharp  exterior 
edge  ;  for  a  considerable  length  from  their  base  these 
horns  are  straight,  and  then  bend  slightly  upwards  ; 
the  prevailing  color  of  them  is  dusky,  or  nearly  black. 
The  buf!alo  lias  no  dewlap  ;  his  tail  is  small  and  des- 
titute of  vertebra;  near  the  extremity;  his  cars  are 
long  and  pointed.  This  animal  has  the  appearance 
of  uncommon  strength.  The  bulk  of  his  body,  and 
prodigious  muscular  limbs,  denote  his  force  at  the  first 
view.  His  aspect  is  ferocious  and  malignant ;  at  the 
same  time  that  his  physiognomy  is  stronglj-  marked 
with  features  of  stupidity.  His  head  is  of  a  ponder- 
ous size;  his  eyes  diminutive;  and  what  serves  to 
render  his  visage  still  more  savage,  are  the  tufts  of 
frizzled  hair  whicli  hang  down  front  his  cheeks  and 
the  lower  part  of  his  muzzle. 

This  animal,  although  originally  a  native  of  the 
hotter  parts  of  India  and  Africa,  is  now  completely 
naturalized  to  the  climate  of  the  south  of  Europe.  Mr. 
Pennant  supposes  the  ivild  bidls  of  Aristotle  to  have 
been  bufialoes,  and  Gmelin  and  other  distinguished 
naturalists  are  of  the  same  opinion.  Gmelin  also 
supposes  the  Bos  Indicits  of  Pliny  to  have  beeji  the 
same  animal.  Butfon,  liowever,  endeavors  to  show, 
that  the  buffalo  of  modern  times  was  unknown  to  the 
(ji-eeks  and  Romans,  and  that  it  was  first  transported 
from  its  native  countries,  the  warmer  regions  of  Af- 
rica and  the  Indies,  to  be  naturalized  in  Italy,  not 
earlier  than  the  seventh  century. 

The  buffalo  grows  in  some  coimtries  to  an  ex- 
tremely large  size.  The  buffaloes  of  Abyssinia  grow 
to  twice  the  size  of  our  largest  oxen,  and  are  called 
elephant  bulls.  Mr.  Pennant  mentions  a  pair  of  horns 
in  the  British  Museum,  which  are  six  feet  and  a  half 
long,  and  the  hollow  of  which  will  hold  five  quarts. 
Father  Lobo  aftlrms  that  some  of  the  horns  of  the 
buffaloes  in  Abyssinia  will  hold  ten  quarts;  and 
Dillon  saw  some  in  India  that  were  ten  feet  long. 
They  are  sometimes  wrinkled,  but  generally  smooth. 
The  distance  betv/een  the  points  of  the  two  horns  is 
usually  about  five  feet. 

Wild  buffaloes  occur  in  many  parts  of  Africa  and 
India,  where  they  live  in  great  troops  in  the  forests, 
and  are  regarded  as  excessively  fierce  and  dangerous 
animals.  In  all  these  particulars  they  coincide  with 
the  buffaloes  of  America.  The  hunting  of  them  is  a 
favorite  but  veiy  dangerous  ])ursuit ;  the  huntera 
never  venture  in  any  numbers  to  oppose  these  fero- 


UNICORN 


[  906  ] 


UNICORN 


cioiis  animals  face  to  face  ;  but  conceal  themselves 
in  the  thickets,  or  in  the  branches  of  the  trees ; 
whence  they  attack  the  bufTaloes  as  they  pass  along. 

In  Egypt,  as  also  in  southern  Europe,  the  buffalo 
has  been  partially  domesticated.  In  Egypt  especially, 
it  is  much  cultivated,  where,  according  to  Sounini,  it 
yields  plenty  of  excellent  milk,  from  which  butter 
and  various  kinds  of  cheese  are  made. 

"The  buffalo,"  says  Sonniui,  "is  an  acquisition 
of  the  modern  Egyptians,  with  which  their  ancestors 
were  unacquainted.  It  was  brought  over  from  Per- 
sia [  ?  ]  into  their  country,  where  the  species  is  at 
present  universally  sj)read,  and  is  very  much  propa- 
gated. It  is  even  more  numerous  than  the  common 
o.v,  and  is  there  equally  domestic,  though  but  recent- 
ly domesticated  ;  as  is  easily  distinguishable  by  the 
constantly  uniform  color  of  the  hair,  and  still  more 
by  a  remnant  of  ferocity  and  intractability  of  dispo- 
sition, and  a  wild  and  lowering  aspect,  the  characters 
;  of  all  half-tamed  annuals.  The  bufTaloes  of  Egypt, 
-'  however,  are  not  near  so  wild  nor  so  much  to  be  feared 
as  those  of  other  countries.  They  there  partake  of 
the  gentleness  of  other  domestic  animals,  and  only  re- 
tain a  few  sudden  and  occasional  caprices. — They 
are  so  fond  of  water,  that  I  have  seen  them  continue 
in  it  a  whole  day.  It  often  happens  that  the  water 
which  is  fetched  from  the  Nile,  neai-  its  banks,  has 
contracted  their  musky  smell." 

These  animals  nujltiply  more  readily  than  the 
common  ox;  they  breed  in  the  fouith  year,  pro- 
ducing young  for  two  years  together,  and  remaining 
sterile  the  third  ;  and  they  commonly  cease  breeding 
after  their  twelfth  year.  Their  term  of  life  is  much 
the  same  as  that  of  the  common  ox.  They  are  more 
robust  than  the  common  ox,  bettei'  capable  of  bear- 
.  ,'  ing  fatigue,  and,  generally  speaking,  less  liable  to  dis- 
tempers. They  are  therefore  employed  to  advantage 
in  difierent  kinds  of  labor.  Buffaloes  are  made  to 
draw  heavy  loads,  and  are  commonly  guided  by 
means  of  a  ring  passed  through  the  nose.  In  its  hab- 
its the  bufTiilo  is  much  less  cleanly  than  the  ox,  and 
delights  to  waliow  in  the  mud.  His  voice  is  deeper, 
more  uncouth  and  hideous  than  that  of  the  bull. 
The  milk  is  said  by  soiue  authors  to  be  not  so  good 
as  that  of  the  cow,  but  more  plentiful ;  Buffbn,  on  the 
contrary,  asserts  that  it  is  far  superior  to  cows'  milk. 
The  skin  and  horns  are  of  more  value  than  all  the 
rest  of  the  animal ;  the  latter  are  of  a  fine  grain, 
strong,  and  bear  a  good  polish,  and  are  therefore  in 
much  esteem  with  cutlers  and  other  artisans. 

Italy  is  the  country  where  buffaloes  are,  at  present, 
moat  common  perhaps  in  a  domesticated  state.  They 
are  used  more  particularly  in  the  Pontine  marshes 
and  those  in  the  district  of  Sienna,  W'here  the  fatal 
nature  of  the  climate  acts  \mfavorably  on  common 
cattle,  but  affects  the  buffaloes  less.  The  Spaniards 
also  have  paid  attention  to  them  ;  and  indeed  the 
cultivation  of  this  usefid  animal  seems  to  be  |)retty 
general  in  all  the  countries  .bordering  on  the  Medi- 
terranean sea,  both  in  Europ^-^id  Africa.  Niebuhr 
remarks,  that  he  saw  buffaloes  no>-<jnly  in  Egypt,  but 
also  at  Bombay,  Surat,  on  the  Eilplirates,  Tigi-is, 
Orontcs,  at  Scanderaon,  &c.  and  indeed  in  almost  all 
marshy  regions  and  near  large  rivers.  He  does  not 
reriKMuber  any  in  Arabia,  tliere  being  perhaps  in  that 
country  too  little  water  for  this  animal.  (Descr.  of 
Aral)ia,  p.  165,  Germ,  edit.) 

We  have  been  thus  particular  in  describing  the 
buffalo  of  Asia,  in  order  to  show  that  it  ])ossesses,  in 
its  wild  state,  all  the  characteristics  attributed  to  the 
Hebrew  rcem.     All  the  evidence  goes  to  show  that  it 


has  been  domesticated  only  at  a  comparatively  recent 
period  ;  and  that  the  Hebrews  therefore  were  proba- 
bly acquainted  with  it  only  as  a  wild,  savage,  fero- 
cious animal,  resembling  the  ox;  and  it  was  not  im- 
probably often  intended  by  them  under  the  epithet 
bulls  of  Bashan.  The  appropriateness  of  the  forego- 
ing description  to  the  Hebrew  reevi  will  be  apparent, 
on  a  closer  inspection  of  the  passages  whei-e  this  ani- 
mal is  mentioned. 

In  Deut.  xxxiii.  17,  and  Ps.  xcii.  10,  the  comparison 
is  with  his  horns  ;  which  requires  no  further  illustra- 
tion after  what  is  said  above.  In  Numb,  xxiii.  22  ; 
xxiv.  8,  it  is  said,  "  he  hath  as  it  Avere  the  strength  of 
a  reem  ; "  this  is  certainly  most  appropriate,  if  we 
adopt  here  the  word  strength,  as  the  proper  transla- 
tion. But  the  Hebrew  word  here  rendered  strength, 
means  strictly,  rapidity  of  motion,  speed,  combined,  if 
you  please,  with  force.  In  this  sense  also,  it  is  not 
less  descriptive  of  the  buffalo,  which  runs  with  great 
speed  and  violence  when  excited  ;  as  is  often  the  case 
in  regard  to  whole  herds,  which  then  rush  blindly 
forwards  with  tremendous  power.  (See  the  Account 
of  major  Long's  expedition  to  the  Rocky  mountains.) 
In  three  other  passages,  the  reem  is  closely  coupled 
with  the  common  ox,  or  with  the  employment  of  the 
latter.  In  Ps.  xxix.  6,  it  is  said,  "  He  maketh  them 
also  to  skip  like  a  calf;  Lebanon  and  Sirion  like  a 
young  reem ;  "  where  the  young  of  the  reem  stands  in 
parallelism  with  the  calf,  so  that  we  should  nat- 
urally expect  a  great  similarity  between  them.  Isa. 
xxxiv.  7,  "  And  the  reemim  shall  come  down  with 
them,  and  the  bullocks  with  the  bulls,  &e."  Here,  in 
verse  6,  it  is  said  that  the  Lord  has  a  great  sacrifice 
in  Bozrah  ;  and  the  idea  in  verse  7  is,  according  to 
the  LXX  and  Gesenius,  that  the  reemim  shall  come 
down,  i.  e.  shall  make  part  of,  this  sacrifice,  as  also 
the  bullocks,  old  and  young,  of  the  land  of  Edoiu,  so 
that  their  "land  shall  be  soaked  with  blood,"  &c. 
The  other  passage  is  Job  xxix.  9 — 12,  "  Will  the  reem 
be  willing  to  serve  thee,  or  abide  by  thy  crib  ?  Canst 
thou  bind  the  reem  with  his  band  in  the  furrow,  oi 
will  he  harrow  the  valleys  after  thee?  Wilt  thou 
trust  him  because  his  strength  is  great,  or  wilt  thou 
leave  thy  labor  to  him  ?  Wilt  thou  believe  him,  that 
he  will  bring  home  thy  seed,  and  gather  it  into  thy 
barn  ?"  Here  Job  is  asked,  whether  he  would  daro 
to  intrust  to  the  reem  such  and  such  lal^ors  as  were 
usually  performed  by  oxen.  Nothing  can  be  more 
appropriate  to  the  wild  buffalo  than  this  language ; 
and  we  have  seen  above  that  the  Hebrews  probably 
knew  it  only  in  a  wild  state.  The  only  other  passage 
where  the  reem  is  mentioned  is  Ps.  xxii.  21,  and  this 
requires  a  more  extended  notice.  The  psalmist  in 
deep  distress  says  in  verse  12, "  Many  bulls  (□>■!£)  have 
compassed  me,  strong  bulls  of  Bashan  have  beset  me 
round.  They  gaped  upon  me  with  their  mouths, 
as  a  ravening  and  roai-ing  lion.  For  dogs  have  com- 
passed me,"  &c.  Here  it  will  be  observed  that  three 
animals  are  mentioned  as  besetting  the  writer, 
bulls  of  Bashan,  lions,  dogs.  The  psahnist  pro 
ceeds  to  s])oak  of  his  deliverance;  verse  20,  "De- 
liver my  soul  [me]  from  the  sword,  luy  darling 
[me]  from  the  power  of  the  dog.  Save  me  from  the 
lion's  mouth ;  for  thou  hast  heard  [and  saved]  me 
from  tlie  horns  of  the  reemiwj."  Here  also  it  will  be 
SL-en  are  three  animals,  corrcs])onding  to  the  three 
before  ineiuioned  as  besetting  him,  but  ranged  in  an 
inverted  order,  viz.  the  dog,  tin;  lion,  and  the  reem, 
in  place  of  the  bulls  of  Bashan ;  that  is,  from  the 
whole  structure  of  the  poem,  and  the  fact  that  these 
animals  and  no  others  are  alhided  to,  the  inference  ia 


UNICORN 


907 


UNICORN 


almost  irresistible,  that  the  reemim  of  verse  21  are  tlje 
pdriiii.  oi'  verse  12,  the  bulls  of  Baslian,  as  has  been 
already  suggested  above.  At  least  ^ve  may  infer  that 
the  reeiii  was  an  animal  not  so  unlike  tliose  ijidls,  but 
tiiat  it  might  with  propriety  be  interchanged  with 
them  in  poetic  parallelism  ;  a  circumstance  most 
appropriately  true  of  the  wild  buflalo,  and  of  him 
only. 

From  all  these  considerations,  and  from  the  fact 
that  the  buffalo  must  have  been  far  better  known  in 
western  Asia  than  cither  the  rhinoceros  or  tlie  oryx, 
(even  if  the  description  of  the  reem  suited  these  ani- 
mals in  other  respects,)  we  feel  justified  in  assuming 
the  tauriis  bubalus,  or  wild  buflalo,  to  be  the  reem  of 
the  Hebrew  Scriptures  and  the  itnicorn  of  the  English 
version. 

The  principal  difficulty  in  the  way  of  this  assump- 
tion, is  the  fact  that  the  LXX  have  usually  translated 
the  Hebrew  reem  by  fioruyioios,  unicorn,  one-horn.  It 
must,  however,  be  bonie  in  mind,  that  these  transla- 
tors lived  many  centuries  after  the  Hebrew  Scriptures 
%\  ere  written,  and  not  long  indeed  before  the  birth  of 
Christ ;  they  lived,  too,  in  Eg7pt,  where  it  is  not  im- 
possible that  the  buflalo  had  in  their  age  begun  to  be 
domesticated.  In  such  circumstances,  and  being  un- 
acquainted with  the  animal  in  his  fierce  and  savage 
state,  they  may  have  thought  that  the  allusions  to  the 
reem  were  not  fully  answered  by  the  half-domesti- 
cated animal  before  them,  and  they  may,  therefore, 
have  felt  themselves  at  liberty  to  insert  the  name  of 
some  animal  which  seemed  to  them  more  appropri- 
ate. That  they  did  often  take  such  liberties,  is  well 
known.  An  instance  occurs  in  the  very  passage  of 
Isaiah  above  quoted,  ch.  xxxiv.  7,where  the  Hebrew  is 
Di-i'3N  oy  D''-i5'i,  "and  the  bullocks  witli  the  bulls," 
i.  e.  tiie  bulls  with  the  strong  ones,  or,  according  to 
Gesenius,  "the  bulls  both  j^oung  and  old : "  this  the 
LXX  translate,  y.ui  oi.  y.otol  y.al  oi  Tavooi,  "and  the 
rams  (or  wethers)  and  the  bulls," — certainly  a  quid 
pro  quo  not  less  striking  than  that  of  putting  unicorn 
for  buffalo. 

Tliat  the  LXX,  in  using  the  word  monoceros,  (uni- 
corn, one-horn,)  did  not  understand  by  it  the  rhinoce- 
ros, would  seem  obvious  ;  both  because  the  latter  al- 
ways had  its  appropriate  and  peculiar  name  in  Greek, 
(■Mrozfoc'i-%  rhinoceros,  nose-horn,)  taken  from  the  posi- 
tion of  its  horn  iqion  the  snout ;  and  also  from  the  cir- 
cumstance so  much  insisted  on  above  in  the  extracts 
from  Mr.  Bruce,  that  the  rhinoceros  of  that  i)art  of 
Africa  adjacent  to  Egypt  actually  has  iwo  horns. 
They  appear  rather  to  have  had  in  mind  the  half-fab- 
ulous unicorn,  described  by  Pliny,  but  lost  sight  of 
by  all  subsequent  naturalists;  although  inq)erfect 
hints  and  accounts  of  a  similar  animal  have  been 
given  by  travellers  in  Africa  and  India  in  different 
centuries,  and  entirely  independent  of  each  other. 
The  interesting  nature  of  the  subject,  renders  it 
proper  to  exhibit  here  all  the  evidence  which  exists  in 
respect  to  such  an  animal ;  especially  as  it  is  no 
where  brought  together  in  the  English  language,  or 
at  least  in  no  such  form  as  to  render  it  generally  ac- 
cessible. 

The  figure  of  the  unicorn,  in  various  attitudes,  is 
depicted,  according  to  Niebuhr,  on  almost  all  the 
stair-cases  found  among  the  ruins  of  Persepolis. 
One  of  these  figures  is  given  in  vol.  ii.  plate  xxiii. 
of  Niebuhr's  Travels;  and  also  in  vol.  i.  ]).  59-4, 
595,  of  the  Travels  of  Sir  R.  K.  Porter.  The  latter 
traveller  supposes  it  to  be  the  representation  of  a  bull 
with  a  single  horn.  Pliny,  in  speaking  of  the  wild 
beasts  of  India,  says  with  regard  to  the  animal  in 


(juestion  :  Asperrimam  autem  feram  monocerolevi,  re- 
liquo  corpore  cquo  simikm,  capite  cervo,  pedihus  cle- 
phanii,  cauda  apro,  mus^itu  gravi,  uno  cornu  nigro 
media  frontt  cubitorum  dinun  eminente.  Uanc  ferum 
vivam  nega7it  cupi.  (Hist.  Nat.  viii.  21.)  "The  uni- 
corn is  an  exceeding  fierce  animal,  resembling  a 
horse  as  to  the  rest  of  its  body,  but  having  the  Ik  ad 
like  a  stag,  the  feet  like  an  elephant,  ami  the  tail  like 
a  wild  boar:  its  roaring  is  loud  ;  and  it  has  a  black 
horn  of  about  two  cubits  projecting  from  the  middle 
of  its  forehead."  These  seem  to  be  the  chief  ancient 
notices  of  the  existence  of  the  animal  in  question. 

In  1530,  Ludovico  de  Bartema,  a  Roman  patrician, 
travelled  to  Egypt,  Arai)ia  and  India  ;  and  having  as- 
sumed the  character  of  a  JMussulman,  he  was  able  to 
visit  iVieccawith  the  Hadj,  or  great  caravan  of  i)ilgrims. 
In  his  account  of  the  curiositiesof  this  city,  in  Raniu- 
sio's  Collection  of  Travels,  (Racotta  di  Viaggi,  Venet. 
1 563,  p.  103.)  he  says :  "  On  the  other  side  of  the  Caaba 
is  a  walled  court,  in  which  we  saw  two  unicorns, 
which  were  pointed  out  to  us  as  a  rarity  ;  and  they  are 
indeed  truly  remarkable.  The  larger  of  the  t\\o  is 
built  like  a  three-year-old  colt,  and  has  a  liorn  ni)on 
the  forehead  about  three  ells  long.  The  other  uni- 
corn ^vas  smaller,  like  a  yearling  Ibal,  and  has  a  horn 
perhaps  four  spans  long. — This  animal  has  the  color 
of  a  yellowish-brown  horse,  a  head  like  a  stag,  a  neck 
not  very  long,  with  a  thin  mane ;  the  legs  are  small 
and  slender,  like  those  of  a  hind  or  roe  ;  the  hoofs  of 
the  forefeet  ai'e  divided,  and  resemble  the  hoofs  of  a 
goat.  These  two  animals  were  sent  to  the  sultan  of 
Mecca,  as  a  rarity  of  great  value,  and  very  scldoni 
found,  by  a  kuig  of  Ethio|)ia,  who  wished  to  secure, 
by  this  present,  the  good  will  of  the  sultan  of  I\lecca." 

Don  Juan  Gabriel,  a  Portuguese  colonel,  who  lived 
several  years  in  Abyssinia,  assures  us,  that  in  the  re- 
gion of  Agamos  in  the  Abyssinian  province  of  Damo- 
ta,  he  had  seen  an  animal  of  the  form  and  size  of  a 
middle-sized  horse,  of  a  dark  chestniu-brown  color, 
and  with  a  whitish  horn  about  five  spans  long  ujion 
the  forehead  ;  the  mane  and  tail  were  black,  and  the 
legs  short  and  slender.  Several  other  Portuguese, 
who  w^ere  placed  in  confinement  upon  a  high 
mountain  in  the  district  Namna,  by  the  Abyssinian 
king  Adamas  Saghedo,  related  that  they  had  seen,  at 
the  foot  of  the  mountain,  several  unicorns  feeding. 
(Ludolf 's  Hist,  ^thiop.  lib.  i.  c.  10.  n.  80,  seq.) 
These  accounts  are  confirmed  by  father  Lobo,  who 
lived  for  a  long  time  as  a  missionary  in  Abyssinia. 
He  adds,  that  the  unicorn  is  extremely  shy,  and  es- 
capes from  closer  obsf'rvation  by  a  speedy  flight  into 
the  forests  ;  for  which  reason  there  is  no  exact  de- 
scription of  him.  (Voyage  liistor.  d'Abyssinie,  Amst. 
1728,  vol.  i.  p.  83,  291.)  "All  these  accounts  are  cer- 
tainly not  apjilicableto  the  rhinoceros  ;  although  it  is 
singular  that  Mr.  Bruce  speaks  only  of  the  laUer  ani- 
mal as  not  uncommon  in  Abyssinia,  and  makes  ap- 
parently no  allusion  to  the  above  accounts. 

In  more  recent  times  we  find  further  traces  of  the 
animal  in  question  in  Southern  Africa.  Dr.  Sjiarr- 
mann,  the  Swedish  naturalist,  who  visited  the  cape 
of  Good  Hope  and  the  adjacent  regions,  in  the  years 
1772-1776,  gives,  in  his"  travels,  the  following  ac- 
count: Jacob  Kock,an  observing  peasant  on  Hippo- 
potamus river,  wlio  had  travelled  over  the  grcjiter  part 
of  Southern  Africa,  found  on  the  face  of  a  perpendicu- 
lar rock  a  drawing  made  by  the  Hottentots,  rejiresent- 
in-r  a  quadruped  with  one  horn.  The  Hottentots 
toid  him,  that  the  animal  there  represented  was  very 
like  the  horse  on  which  he  rode,  but  had  a  straight 
horn  upon  the  forehead.     They  added,  that  these  one- 


UNICORN 


[  908 


UNICORN 


horned  animals  wei-e  rare,  that  they  ran  with  great 
rapidity,  and  were  also  very  fierce.  They  also  de- 
scribed the  manner  of  hunting  them.  "  it  is  not 
probable,"  Dr.  Sparrmann  remarks,  "  that  the  savages 
wholly  invented  this  story,  and  that  too  so  very  cir- 
cuinstaniially :  still  less  can  we  suppose,  that  they 
should  have  received  and  retained,  merely  from  his- 
tory or  ti-aditiou,  the  remembrance  of  such  an  animal. 
These  regions  are  very  seldom  visited  ;  and  the  crea- 
ture might,  therefore,  long  remain  unknown.  That 
an  animal  so  rare  should  not  be  better  known  to  the 
modern  world,  proves  notliing  against  its  existence. 
The  greater  part  of  Africa  is  still  among  the  terrcE 
{ncogmt(s.  Even  the  giraffe  has  been  again  discover- 
ed only  within  comparatively  a  few  years.  So  also 
the  gnu,  which,  till  recently,  was  held  to  be  a  fable 
of  the  ancients." 

A  somewhat  more  definite  account  of  a  similar 
animal  is  contained  in  the  Transactions  of  the  Zea- 
land Academy  of  Sciences  at  Flusliing.  (Pt.  xv. 
JMiddelb.  1792.  Prsef.  p.  Ivi.)  The  account  Avas 
transiiiitted  to  the  society  in  1791,  from  the  cape  of 
Good  Hope,  by  Mr.  Henry  Cloete.  It  states  that  a 
Ijastard  Hottentot,  Gerrit  Slinger  by  name,  related, 
that  while  engaged  several  years  before  with  a  party, 
in  pursuit  of  tlie  savage  Bushmen,  they  had  got  sight 
of  nine  strange  animals,  which  they  followed  on 
horseback,  and  shot  one  of  them.  This  animal  re- 
sembled a  horse,  and  was  of  a  light-gi'ay  color,  Avith 
white  stripes  under  the  lower  jaw.  It  had  a  single 
horn,  directly  in  front,  as  long  as  one's  arm,  and  at 
the  base  about  as  thick.  Towards  the  middle  tS^e 
horn  was  somewhat  flattened,  but  had  a  sharp  point ; 
it  was  not  attached  to  the  bone  of  the  forehead,  but 
fixed  only  in  the  skin.  The  head  was  like  that  of 
the  horse,  and  the  size  also  about  the  same.  The 
hoofs  were  round,  like  those  of  a  horse,  but  divided 
below,  like  those  of  oxen.  This  remarkable  animal 
was  shot  between  the  so-called  Table  mountain  and 
Hippopotamus  river,  about  sixteen  days'  journey  on 
horseback  from  Cambedo,  which  would  be  about  a 
month's  journey  in  ox- wagons  from  Capetown.  Mr. 
Cloete  mentions,  that  several  different  natives  and 
Hottentots  testify  to  the  existence  of  a  similar  animal 
with  one  horn,  of  which  they  profess  to  have  seen 
drawings  by  hundreds,  made  by  the  Bushmen  on 
rocks  and  stones.  He  supposes  that  it  would  not  be 
difficult  to  obtain  one  of  these  animals,  if  desired. 
His  letter  is  dated  at  the  Cape,  April  8,  1791.  (See 
tinis  far  Rosenmiiller's  Altes  u.  neues  Morgenland, 
ii.  p.  269,  seq.  Leipz.  1818.) 

Such  appear  to  have  been  the  latest  accounts  of  the 
animal  in  question,  when  it  was  again  suddenly 
Ijrouglit  into  notice  as  existing  in  the  elevated  regions 
of  central  India.  The  Quarterly  Review  for  Oct. 
1820,  (vol.  xxiv.  p.  120.)  in  a  notice  of  Frazer's  tour 
through  the  Himlaya  mountains,  goes  on  to  remark 
iis  follows  :  "  We  have  no  doubt  that  a  little  time  will 
bring  to  light  many  objects  of  natural  history  j)eculiar 
to  t!ie  elevated  regions  of  central  Asia,  and  hitherto 
unknown  in  the  animal,  vegetable  and  mineral  king- 
floms,  ])articularly  in  the  two  former.  This  is  an 
opinion  which  we  have  long  entertained  ;  but  we  are 
bd  to  tiie  ex|)ression  of  it  on  the  present  occasion,  by 
having  been  favored  with  the  perusal  of  a  most  inter- 
esting communication  from  major  Latter,  command- 
ing in  the  rajah  of  Sikkim's  territories,  in  the  hilly 
country  cast  of  Nepaul,  addressed  to  acljtUant-gen- 
eral  Nicol,  and  transmitted  by  him  to  tiie  marquis  of 
Hastings.  This  important  paper  explicitly  states  that 
the  unicorn,  so  long  considered  as  a  fabulous  animal, 


actually  exists  at  this  moment  in  the  interior  of  Thi- 
bet, where  it  is  well  knawn  to  the  inhabitants.  '  This ' 
— we  copy  from  the  major's  letter — '  is  a  very  cu.rious 
fact,  and  it  may  be  necessary  to  mention  how  the  cir- 
cumstance became  knov\qi  to  me.  In  a  Thibetian 
manuscript,  containing  the  names  of  different  animals, 
which  I  procured  the  other  day  from  the  hills,  the  uni- 
corn is  classed  under  the  head  of  those  v/hose  hoofs  are 
divided :  it  is  called  the  one-horned  tso'po  :  Upon 
inquiring  what  kind  of  animal  it  was,  to  our  astonish- 
ment, the  person  who  brought  the  manuscript  de- 
scribed exactly  the  unicorn  of  the  ancients;  saying, 
that  it  was  a  native  of  the  interior  of  Thibet,  about 
the  size  of  a  tattoo,  [a  horse  from  twelve  to  thirteen 
hands  high,]  fierce  and  extremely  wild  ;  seldom,  if 
ever,  caught  alive,  but  frequently  shot ;  and  that  the 
flesh  was  used  for  food.' — 'The  person,'  major  Latter 
adds,  '  who  gave  me  this  information,  has  repeatedly 
seen  these  animals,  and  eaten  the  flesh  of  them. 
They  go  together  in  herds,  like  our  wild  buffaloes, 
and  are  very  frequently  to  be  met  with  on  the  borders 
of  the  great  desert,  about  a  month's  journey  from 
Lassa,  in  that  part  of  the  country  inhabited  by  the 
wandering  Tartars.' 

"This  communication  is  accompanied  by  a  draw- 
ing made  by  the  messenger  from  recollection.  It 
bears  some  resemblance  to  a  horse,  but  has  cloven 
hoofs,  a  long  cin-ved  horn  growing  out  of  the  fore- 
head, and  a  boar-shaped  tail,  like  that  of  the/eramo- 
noceros  described  by  Pliny.  From  its  herding  to- 
gether, as  the  unicorn  of  the  Scriptures  is  said  to  do, 
as  well  as  from  the  rest  of  the  description,  it  is  evi- 
dent that  it  cannot  be  the  rhinoceros,  which  is  a  soli- 
tary animal ;  besides  major  Latter  states  that,  in  the 
Thibetian  manuscript,  the  i-hinoceros  is  described 
under  the  name  of  servo,  and  classed  with  the  ele- 
phant ;  'neither,'  says  he,  '  is  it  the  wild  horse,  (well 
known  in  Thibet,)  for  that  has  also  a  diflferent  name, 
and  is  classed  in  the  manuscript  with  the  animals 
which  have  the  hoofs  undivided.' — 'I  have  written,' 
he  subjoins,  'to  the  Sachia  Lama,  requesting  him  to 
procure  me  a  perfect  skin  of  the  au'mal,  with  the 
head,  horn  and  hoofs  ;  but  it  will  be  a  long  time  be- 
fore I  can  get  it  down,  for  they  are  not  to  be  met 
with  nearer  than  a  month's  journey  from  Lassa.'" 

As  a  sequel  to  this  account,  we  find  the  following 
paragraph  in  the  Calcutta  Government  Gazette,  Au- 
gust, 1821  :  "Major  Latter  has  obtained  the  hori]  of 
a  young  unicorn  from  the  Sachia  Lama,  which  is 
now  before  us.  It  is  twenty  inches  in  length  ;  at  thb- 
root  it  is  four  inches  and  a  half  in  circumference,  and 
tapers  to  a  point ;  it  is  black,  rather  flat  at  the  sides, 
and  has  fifteen  rings,  but  they  are  only  prominent  on 
one  side  ;  it  is  nearly  straight.  Major  Latter  ex])ects 
to  obtain  the  head  of  the  animal,with  the  hoofsand  the 
skin,  very  shortly,  vdiich  wiTl  afford  positive  jiroof 
of  the  form  and  character  of  the  tso''po,  or  Thibet 
unicorn." 

Such  are  the  latest  accounts  which  have  reached  us 
of  this  animal;  and  although  their  credibility  cannot 
well  be  contested,  and  the  coincidence  of  the  de- 
scription with  that  of  Pliny  is  so  striking,  yet  it  is  sin- 
gular that  in  the  lapse  of  niore  than  ten  years,  (1832,) 
nothing  further  sliould  have  been  heard  on  a  suiiject 
so  interesting. — But  whatever  may  be  the  fact  as  to 
the  existence  of  this  animal,  the  adoption  of  it  by  the 
LXX,  as  being  the  Hebrew  recm,  cannot  well  be  cor- 
rect;  both  for  the  reasons  already  adduced  above, 
and  also  from  the  circumstance,  that  the  reem  \i'as 
evidently  an  animal  frequent  and  well  known  in  the 
countries  where  the  scenes  of  the  Bible  are  laid; 


USD 


[  909  ] 


uz 


wliile  the  unicorn,  at  all  events,  is  and  was  an  animal 
of  exceeding  rarity.     "R. 

UR,  the  conntry  of  Terah,  and  the  birth-place  of 
Abraliani,  (Gen.  xi.  ^8.)  but  its  precise  situation  is 
inikiiown.  [It  is  called  Ur  of  the  Chaldccs ;  and  by 
the  Seventy,  country,  or  region  of  the  Chaldecs. 
Traces  of  it  most  j)robably  remain  in  the  Persian 
fortress  Ur,  between  Nesibis  and  the  Tigris,  men- 
tioned by  Ammianus,  xxv.  8.  Alexander  Folyhistor 
calls  it  a  city  of  the  Chaldeans.  [Ap.  Euseb.  Pra?p. 
Evang.  ix.  17.)  The  word  Ur  in  Sanscrit  signifies 
city,  town,  place,  Sec.     R. 

URIAH,  u  Hittite,  and  husband  of  Bathsheba,  was 
killed  at  the  siege  of  Rabbali,  in  consetiuence  of  the 
orders  of  David,  2  Sam.  xi.  3.     See  Katiisheba. 

I.  URIJAII,  chief  priest  of  the  Jews  under  Ahaz, 
king  of  Judah,  introduced,  under  Ahaz's  direction,  a 
new  altar  into  die  temple  of  the  Lord,  2  Kings  xvi. 
10 — 12.  (See  Ahaz.)  Urijah  succeeded  Zadok  II. 
and  was  succeeded  liy  Shallum. 

II.  URIJAH,  a  pro])het  of  the  Lord,  son  of  Sliema- 
iah  of  Kirjatli-jcarini,  (Jer.  xxvi.  20,  21.)  propiiesied 
at  the  same  time  as  Jeremiah,  and  declared  the  same 
things  against  Jerusalem  and  Judah.  Jehoiakim 
resolved  to  secure  him,  and  put  him  to  death  ;  but 
Urijah  escaped  into  Egypt.  Jehoiakim  sent  mes- 
sengers, who  brought  himout  of  Egypt ;  and  he  was 
put  to  death  by  the  suoril,  and  ordered  to  bo  buried 
dishonorablv  in  the  graves  of  the  meanest  of  the  peo- 
ple.    A.  M.'3.'i95,  ante  A.  D.  609. 

URIM  AND  THUMMIM,  light  and  perfection,  or 
doctrine  and  judgment,  is  supposed  to  have  been  an 
ornament  in  the  high-priest's  habit,  which  was  con- 
sulted as  an  oracle  upon  particular  and  difficult  pub- 
lic questions.  Some  think  it  was  the  precious  stones 
in  his  breastplate,  which  made  known  the  divine 
will  by  casting  an  extraordinary  lustre.  Others  assert 
that  thoy  were  the  words  manifestation  and  truth, 
written  upon  two  precious  stones,  or  upon  a  plate  of 
gokl.  Various,  in  fact,  are  the  conjectures  upon  this 
subject,  and  P.Ioses  has  no  where  spoken  of  the  Urim 
and  Thummim  in  such  terms  as  to  remove  the  difti- 
cidry.  When  the  Urim  and  Thummim  was  to  be 
consulted,  the  high-j)rirst  put  on  h'ls  robes,  and,  going 
into  the  holy  place,  stood  before  the  curtain  that  sep- 
arated the  holy  place  from  the  most  holy  place,  and 
then,  turning  his  face  directly  toward  the  ark  and  the 
mercy-seat,  upon  which  tlic  divine  presence  rested, 
he  proposed  what  he  wanted  to  be  resolved  about ; 
and  directly  behind  him,  at  some  distance  without 
the  holy  [)Iacc,  stood  the  person  at  whose  command 
or  entreaty  God  was  consulted,  and  there,  with  all 
huniility  and  devotion,  expected  the  answer.  Accord- 
ing to  Josephus,  this  oracle  ceased  about  112  years 
before  Christ. 

USURY,  a  premium  received  for  the  loan  of  a  sum 
of  money,  over  and  above  the  principal.  It  is  said  in 
Exod.  xxii.  2.5,26,  "If  thou  lend  mone\to  anj'  of  my 
people  that  is  poor  by  thee,  thou  shalt  not  be  to  him 
as  an  usurer,  neither  shalt  thou  lay  ujmn  him  usury. 
If  thou  at  all  take  thy  neighbor's  raiment  lO  pledge, 
thou  shalt  deliver  it  unto  him  by  that  the  sun  goeth 
down."  And  in  Lev.  xxv.  35 — 'il :  "If  thy  brother 
be  waxen  poor,  and  fallen  into  decay  with  thee,  then 
thou  shalt  relieve  him  ;  yea,  though  he  be  a  stranger, 
or  a  sojourner,  that  he  may  live  with  thee.  Take 
thou  no  usmy  of  him,  or  increase,  but  fear  thy  God, 
that  thy  brother  may  live  with  thee.  Thou  shalt  not 
give  him  thy  money  upon  usury,  nor  lend  him  thy 
victuals  for  increase."  The  Hebrew  may  be  trans- 
lated :  "  When  your  brother  shall  fall  into  poverty 


and  miseiy,  you  shall  support  him  ;  and  as  to  the 
stranger  or  foreigner  that  shall  be  settled  among  you, 
you  shall  take  no  usury  of  him  ;  you  shall  not  lend 
him  your  money  (or  usury,"  &c.  So  that  this  passage 
would  contain  two  precepts:  first,  that  a  brother  was 
to  be  maintained  when  in  poverty  ;  secondly,  that 
even  a  stranger  was  to  be  relieved  without  paying 
usury.  In  Deut.  xxiii.  19,  20,  however,  we  have  the 
following :  "  Thou  shalt  not  lend  upon  usury  to  thy 
brother,  usury  of  money,  usury  of  victuals,  usuiy  of 
any  thing  that  is  lent  upon  usury.  Unto  a  stranger 
thou  mayest  lend  upon  usur}',  but  unto  thy  brother 
thou  shalt  not  lend  upon  usury  :  that  the  Lord  thy 
God  may  bless  thee  in  all  that  thou  settest  thine  hand 
to,  in  the  land  whither  thou  goest  to  ])ossess  it."  In 
this  place  the  Lord  seems  to  tolerate  usury  towards 
strangers ;  that  is,  the  Canaanites,  and  other  people 
devoted  to  subjection,  but  not  toward  such  strangers 
against  whom  the  Hebrews  had  no  quarrel,  and 
against  whom  the  Lord  had  not  denounced  his  judg- 
ments. To  exact  usury  is  here,  according  to  Am- 
brose, an  act  of  hostility  ;  it  was  a  kind  of  waging 
war  with  the  Canaanites,  and  of  ruining  them  by 
means  of  usury.  The  true  inference  seems  to  be, 
that  God  did  indeed  tolerate,  but  not  approve,  the 
usury  which  the  Hebrews  received  from  the  Canaaif- 
ites.  He  allowed  thua  much  to  the  hardness  of  their 
hearts,  because  it  could  not  be  entirely  prevented. 

Our  Saviour  has  revoked  all  such  tolerations,  which 
obtained  under  the  old  law,  Luke  vi.  30 — 33. 

I,  UZ,  the  eldest  son  of  Aram,  and  grandson  of 
Shem,  is  thought  to  have  peopled  Trachonitis,a  prov- 
ince beyond  Jordan,  having  Arabia  D<  sprta  east,  and 
Batanea  west.  The  ancients  say,  that  Uz  founded  the 
city  of  Damascus  ;  and  the  Arabians  aftinn,  that  Uz 
had  Ad  for  a  son,  who  was  father  of  a  people  called 
Adites,  in  Arabia  Felix. 

II.  UZ,  Land  of.  Euscbius  and  Jerome  assure  us, 
that,  according  to  the  tradition  of  the  people  of  Pales- 
tine, and  aroimd  it,  tlie  city  of  Astaroth-Carn-.im  was 
the  place  of  Job's  habitation;  but  Astaroth-Carnaim 
was  beyond  Jordan,  between  Mahanaim  and  Esdrai, 
on  the  Jabbok.  Others  suppose  he  lived  in  the  city  of 
Bozra,  the  capital  of  Idumea  ;  but  Calmet,  who  thinks 
that  Job  may  be  the  Jobab  mentioned  in  Gen.  xxxvi. 
33,  34,  and  i  Chron.  i.  43,  44,  believes  that  the  city 
of  Dinhabah,  in  Moab,  was  the  country  which  Scrip- 
ture assigns  lor  Job's  dv^elling-place. 

Dr.  Good,  in  one  of  the  dissertations  prefixed  to  his 
translation  of  the  Book  of  Job,  has  bestowed  much 
labor  on  this  question.  The  following  extract  cannot 
fail  to  be  acceptable  to  the  reader: — "The  innncdiate 
district  of  Arabia  to  which  the  ensuing  poem  directs 
our  attention,  is  the  land  of  Uz,  which  by  sonie  geog- 
raphers has  been  placed  in  Sandy,  and  by  others  in 
Stony,  Arabia.  Bochart  took  a  learl  in  the  fornser 
opinion,  and  has  been  powerfully  supported  by  Sjian- 
heim,  an.d  the  \vriters  of  that  very  excellent  work,  the 
Universal  History.  The  general  argmnent  is  as  fol- 
lows :  Ptolemy  has  described  a  region  which  he  calls 
/Esitee,  as  situated  in  this  very  province,  boimded  by 
the  Caiichabeni,  who  iidiabited  the  southern  banks 
of  the  Euphrates,  on  the  north,  and  by  the  moinitains 
of  ChaldaBa  on  the  cast ;  and  as  the  Septuagint,  and 
the  Greek  writers  generally,  translate  Uz  by  -Unin.-, 
^lusitis,  there  is  a  probability,  it  is  contended,  that  the 
Ausitis,  or  Ausitai,  of  the  poem  of  Job,  was  the  same 
as  the  j^sitse  of  Ptolemy  ;  a  probability  which  is  con- 
siderably strengthened  by  our  finding,  in  Ptolemy's 
delineation  of  this  same  province,  three  districts,  de- 
nominated  Sabe,  Thema,  and  Busitis,  veiy  closely 


uz 


[910] 


uzz 


corresponding  in  sound  with  the  Sabeea,  Teman,  and 
Buz  of  the  same  poem.  In  addition  to  which,  we 
are  expressly  told,  in  the  very  opening  of  the  poem, 
that  the  country  was  often  infested  by  hordes  of 
Chaldean  banditti,  whose  mountains  form  the  boun- 
dary line  between  the  Ptolemaic  ^Esitse  and  Chaldea. 
In  consequence  of  which  it  is  ingeniously  conjec- 
tured that  the  land  of  Uz  and  of  Buz,  the  jEsitse  and 
Busitis  of  Ptolemy,  were  respectively  ])eopled  and 
named  from  Uz  and  Buz,  two  of  the  sons  of  Nahor, 
and  consequently  nephews  of  Abraham,  the  resi- 
dence of  whose  father,  Terah,  was  at  Haran,  or 
Charraj,  on  the  opposite  bank  of  the  Euphrates,  and 
necessarily,  therefore,  in  the  neighborhood  of 
iEsitae. 

"  Yet,  this  hypothesis  can  by  no  means  be  recon- 
ciled with  the  geogi-aphy  of  the  Old  Testament,  which 
is  uniform  in  placing  the  land  of  Uz,  or  the  Ausitis 
of  the  Septuagint,  in  Stony  Arabia,  on  the  south- 
western coast  of  the  lake  Asphaltites,  or  the  Dead 
sea,  in  a  line  between  Egypt  and  Philistia,  suiTounded 
by  Kedar,  Teman  and  Midian,  all  of  them  districts 
of  Stony  Arabia  ;  and,  as  though  to  set  eveiy  remain- 
ing doifbt  completely  at  rest,  situated  in  idumea,  or 
the  land  of  Edom  or  Esau,  (of  whose  position  there 
can  be  no  question,)  and  comprisiHg  so  large  a  i)art 
of  it,  that  Idumea  and  Ausitis,  or  the  land  of  Uz,  and 
the  land  of  Edom,  were  convertible  terms,  and 
equally  employed  to  import  the  same  region.  Thus 
Jeremiah:  (Lam.  iv.  21.)  'Rejoice,  and  be  glad,  O 
davighter  of  Edom,  that  dwellest  in  the  land  of  Uz.' 
Whence  Eusebius  :  '  Idumea  is  the  region  of  Esau, 
siirnamed  Edom :  it  is  that  part  which  lies  about 
Petrasa,  (Stony  Arabia,)  now  called  Gabalene,  and 
with  some  writers  is  the  Ausitis,  or  country  of  Job ;  " 
an  opinion  advanced  with  great  modesty,  considering 
that  he  himself  appears  to  have  concurred  in  it. 

"In  effect,  nothing  is  clearer  than  that  all  the  per- 
sons introduced  into  the  ensuing  poem  were  Idumas- 
ans,  dwelling  in  Idumea  ;  or,  in  other  words,  Edomite 
Arabs.  These  characters  are.  Job  himself,  of  the 
land  of  Uz,  Eliphaz  of  Teman,  a  district  of  as  much 
repute  as  Uz  -,  and,  upon  the  joint  testimony  of  Jere- 
miah, (xlix.  7,  20.)  Ezekicl,  (xxv.  13.)  Amos  (i.  11, 
12.)  and  Obadiah,  (v.  8,  9.)  a  part,  and  principal  part, 
of  Idumea;  Bildad  of  Shuah,  always  mentioned  in 
conjunction  with  Sheba  and  Dedan,  the  first  of  which 
was  probably  named  after  one  of  the  brothers  of  Jok- 
Uin  or  Kahtau,  and  the  two  last  from  two  of  his  sons, 
all  of  them  being  uniformly  placed  in  the  vicinity  of 
Idumea;  Zophar  of  Naama,  a  city  importing  pleas- 
antness, which  is  also  stated  by  Joshua  (xv.  21,  41.) 
to  have  been  situated  in  Idumea,  and  to  have  lain  in 
a  southern  direction,  towards  its  coast,  or  the  shoi-es 
of  the  Red  sea ;  and  Elihu  of  Buz,  which,  as 
the  name  of  a  place,  occurs  only  once  in  Sacred 
Writ,  but  is  there  mentioned  in  conjunction  with 
Teman  and  Dedan,  (Jer.  xxv.  23.)  and  hence  neces- 
sarily, like  themselves,  a  border  city  upon  Ausitis, 
Uz,  or  Idumea. 

"  Nothing,  therefore,  appears  clearer,  than  that  the 
Uz,  or  Ausitis,  mentioned  in  the  ensuing  poem,  nuist 
have  been  situate  in  Stony,  and  not  in  Sandy,  Arabia ; 
and  that  the  j'Esitis  of  Ptolemy  could  not  have  been 
the  same  place.  In  reality,  to  make  it  so,  Bochart 
and  those  who  advocate  his  opinion  are  obliged  to 
gupposc,  first,  a  typographical  error  of  yEsitis  for 
Ausitis  in  the  text  of  Ptolemy ;  and  next,  that  the 
position  of  iEsitis  itself  is  not  correctly  laid  down  in 
Ptolemy's  delineation,  which  they  admit  ought  to  be 
placed  in  a  higher  northern  latitude,  by  nearly  two 


degrees.  Uz,  Buz,  Teman,  Dedan  and  Seba  arc 
names  not  unfrequent  in  the  earlier  ]5art  of  the  He- 
brew Scriptures ;  and  hence  it  is  by  no  means  diffi- 
cult to  suppose  that,  in  different  provinces  of  the 
same  country,  similar  names  may  hisve  been  given  to 
different  districts  or  cities.  And  it  is  highly  proba- 
ble that  the  Seba  of  Ptolemy  was  so  denominated, 
not  from  the  son  of  Abraham  of  this  name  by  Ketu- 
rah,  but  from  one  of  the  descendants  of  Cush,  who 
had  a  son  of  the  name  of  Seba,  and  two  grandsons 
named  Shebah  and  Dedan,  (Gen.  x.  7.)  and  who  in 
various  places  are  incidentally  stated  to  have  travel- 
led towards  the  eastern  parts  of  Happy  Arabia,  and 
consequently  in  the  very  track  in  wliich  the  Seba  of 
Ptolemy  is  situated  ;  a  probability  very  strongly  cor- 
roborated from  the  name  of  Raamah,  the  father  of 
Sheba  and  Dedan,  being  also  mentioned  by  Ezekiel, 
(xxvii.  22.)  as  that  of  a  celebrated  commercial  city 
lying  in  the  same  track,  by  the  Septuagint  written 
-riyiHi,  Bhegma ;  and  from  the  same  name,  with  the 
Septuagint  mode  of  spelling  it,  occiu-ringin  Ptolemy, 
at  no  great  distance  from  his  Seba. 

"It  only  remains  to  be  observed,  that  allowing  this 
chorography  to  be  correct,  there  is  no  difficulty  in 
conceiving  that  hordes  of  predatory  Chaldeans,  and 
even  of  the  Sabeans  of  Ptolemy,  should  occasionally 
have  infested  the  countiy  of  Idumea,  and  carried  off 
the  camels  of  Job,  unlimited  as  they  were  in  their 
rovings,  and  addicted  to  general  plunder,  perhaps,  as 
bishop  Lowth  conjectures,  over  the  whole  extent  of 
country  from  the  Euphrates  to  Egypt. 

"In  few  words,  the  country  which  forms  the 
scene  of  the  poem  before  us,  was  almost  as  richly  en- 
dowed with  names  as  ancient  Greece,  and,  in  many 
respects,  from  causes  not  dissimilar.  It  was  first 
called  Horitis,  or  the  land  of  the  Horim,  or  Horites, 
in  consequence,  as  is  generally  supposed,  of  its 
having  been  first  possessed  and  peopled  by  a  leader 
of  the  name  of  Hor,  and  his  tribe  or  family.  Among 
the  descendants  of  Hor,  one  of  the  most  distinguished 
characters  was  Seir ;  and  from  his  era  it  was  better 
known  by  the  name  of  the  land  of  Seir.  This  chief- 
tain had  a  numei-ous  family  of  sons  and  grandsons: 
among  the  most  signalized  of  the  latter  was  Uz,  or 
Utz  ;  and  from  him,  and  not  from  Uz  the  son  of  Na- 
hor, it  seems  to  have  been  called  Ausitis,  or  the  land 
of  Uz.  The  family  of  Hor,  Seir,  or  Uz,  were  at 
length,  however,  dispossessed  of  the  entire  region,  by 
Esau,  or  Edom ;  who,  already  powerful  on  his  en- 
tering Arabia,  rendered  himself  still  more  so  by  a 
marriage  with  one  of  the  daughters  of  Ismael ;  and 
the  conquered  territory  was  noAV  denominated 
Idumea,  or  the  land  of  Edom,  under  which  name  it 
has  been  generally  recognized  by  the  Greek  writers." 

UZAL,  the  sixth  son  of  Joktan,  (Gen.  x.  27  ;  1 
Chron.  i.  21.)  is  commonly  placed  in  Arabia  Felix. 

UZZAH,  son  of  Abinadab,  (2  Sam.  vi.)  a  Levite, 
who,  with  his  brother,  Ahio,  conducted  the  new  cart, 
on  which  the  ark  of  the  covenant  was  brought  from 
Kirjath-jearim  to  Jerusalem.  AVlien  they  arrived  at 
Nachon's  thrashing-floor,  Uzzah  stretched  out  his 
hand  to  sujiport  the  ark  of  God,  which  seemed  to  him 
to  be  in  danger  of  falling,  because  of  the  stumbling 
of  the  oxen.  In  consequence  of  this,  the  anger  of 
the  Lord  smote  him,  and  he  died  on  the  place. 

Critics  are  much  divided  about  the  occasion  of  the 
death  of  Uzzah  ;  and  as  the  history,  being  related 
very  succinctly,  is  liable  to  be  misunderstood,  it  may 
be  proper  to  notice, 

(1.)  That  the  law  (Exod  xxv.  14.)  ordered  the  arK 
to  be  carried  on  the  shoulders  of  Levites,  whereas, 


UZZAH 


[911  ] 


uzz 


in  this  instance,  it  was  drawn  by  oxen,  on  a  cart,  as 
if  tills  carriage  by  beasts  were  gooil  enough  fur  it:  it 
was  hereby  assimilated  to  the  processions  ofthe  hea- 
thin,  who  drew  their  gods  al)out  in  carriages. 

(2.)  The  ark  ought  to  have  been  enveloped,  wholly 
concealed,  by  the  priests,  before  the  Levites  ap- 
proached it :  wliereas,  no  priest  attended  this  proces- 
sion. ^V^as  it  carried  openly,  exposed  to  view  as  it 
was  by  the  Philistines?  1  Sam.  vi.  13 — 19.  Uzzah, 
being  a  Levite,  ought  to  have  known  these  rules, and 
being  the  principal  in  conducting  the  procession,  and, 
as  may  be  supposed,  the  elder  brotiier,  he  was  prin- 
cipally guilty  ;  Ahio  being  subordinate  to  him. 

(3.)  It  is  likely,  that  the  oxen  drew  it  safely  while 
in  a  straight  road,  but  when  they  came  to  the  thrash- 
ing-floor, one  or  both  of  them  became  restiff"  and 
stumbled,  which,  provoking  Uzzah,  put  him  ofl'  his 
guard. 

[This  solution  seems  to  be  most  in  accordance 
with  the  words  of  David  afterwards,  when  about  to 


bring  the  ark  from  the  house  of  Obed-edom  to  Zion, 
1  Chron.  xv.  After  saying  (verse  2)  that  "none 
ought  to  carry  the  ark  of  God  but  the  Levites,"  he 
sunmions  all  the  priests  and  Levites  to  assist  in  the 
removal  of  it,  and  then  says,  (verse  13,)  "Because  ye 
did  it  not  at  the  first,  the  Lord  our  God  made'  a 
breach  upon  us,  for  that  we  sought  him  not  after  the 
due  order."  This  is  said  in  evident  allusion  to  the 
breach  made  upon  Uzzah,  i.  e.  the  breaking  forth  of 
God's  anger  against  Uzzah,  2  Sam.  vi.  8,  and  1  Chron. 
xiii.  IL     R. 

UZZEN-SIIERAH,  a  city  of  Ephraim,  built  by 
Sherah,  daughter  of  Beriah,  and  granddaughter  of 
Ephraim,  1  Chron.  vii.  22 — 24. 

UZZI,  son  of  Bukki,  the  sixth  high-priest  of  the 
Jews,  of  the  race  of  Eleazar,  was  succeeded  by  Eli, 
A.  M.  2828. 

UZZLVH,  or  Azariau, king  of  Judah.     See  Aza.- 

RIAH  YIII. 


V 


VEX 


VEIL 


VANITY  is  jnit  (1.)  for  vain  glory,  or  pride, 
which  inflates  men  with  a  great  opinion  of  them- 
selves ;  boasting,  or  self-conceit,  Ps.  cxix.  37  ;  2  Pet. 
ji.  18  ;  (2.)  for  lying,  Ps.  iv.  2  ;  (3.)  for  mere  emptiness, 
Eccles.  i ;  Ps.  cxiiv.  4  ;  (4.)  for  idols,  Dent,  xxxii. 
21  ;  2  Kings  xvii.  15;  Jer.  ii.  5;  (5.)  for  wantonly, 
imnecessarily,  &c.  Exod.  xx.  7.  (6.)  V'ain  is  opposed 
to  true,  real,  substantial.  Ps.  v.  10,  "Their  heart  is 
vain,  or  fidl  of  vanity  and  lying."  Ps.  xii.  2,  They 
have  deceived  their  neighbors  by  vain  discoui-ses,  by 
words  of  deceit  and  lies.  To  lift  up  the  soul  to 
vanity,  (Ps.  xxiv.  4.)  is,  to  swear  vainly  and  falsely. 

VASllTI,  a  wife  of  Ahasuerus,  divorced  by  him, 
in  favor  of  Esther.     See  Esther,  and  Ahasl'erus. 

\'EIL,  a  kind  of  scarf  or  mantle,  with  which 
females  in  the  East  cover  the  face  and  head. 

In  the  history  of  Abimelech  and  Sarah,  (Gen.  xx. 
16.)  the  veil  is  by  some  supposed  to  be  described  by 
the  circumlocution  of  "  a  covering  to  the  eyes."  [But 
the  phrase  "  covering  to  the  eyes  "  refers  evidently 
to  the  moneif  given  by  Abimelech,  viz.  the  thousand 
pieces  of  silver,  which  were  to  bo  a  covering  to  the 
eyes  of  others,  i.  e.  an  atoning  present,  a  testimony 
of  her  innocence  in  the  eyes  of  all.  See  Abime- 
lech I.     R. 

It  is  related  of  Moses,  (Exod.  xxxiv.  33.)  that  after 
coming  down  from  the  mount,  "the  skin  of  his  face 
shone  ; "  so  that,  in  order  to  quiet  the  minils  of  the 
people,  "he  put  a  veil  over  his  face."  This  veil  is 
called  ny:^-:,  mnsveh,  and  seems  to  denote  not  a  close 
texture,  but  a  loosely  woven,  or  open  net-work  ma- 
terial. This  idea  shows  the  j)ropriety  of  the  appli- 
cation of  a  like  word  in  Isa.  xxv.  7,  "  The  Lord  shall 
take  away,  in  this  mountain,  the  superficial  icrapper, 
cornering  close  up,  which  is  upon  all  nations,  whereby 
they  are  iotally  |)recluded  from  correct  knowledge  of 
God  ;  as  well  as  the  veil  of  a  looser  texture,  [inasvch,) 
the  spreading  spread  overall  people  ;  which  ])ermits 
some  small  glimi)sc  (by  natural  conscience,  Rom.  ii. 
14,  17)  of  the  divine  excellences  to  pass  through  it; 
affording,  not  a  clear  view,  but  a  confused  perception, 
to  those  who  wish  to  examine  beyond  it.  This 
seems  to  be  the  very  idea  of  the  aposde,  2  Cor.  iii. 


12,  13  : — "  We  use  gi-eat  openness,  and  plainness  of 
speech,  in  discovering  the  gospel  to  you  ;  not  as 
Moses  did,  who  put  a  net- work  veil  over  his  face,  so 
that  Israel  couhl  not  look  steadfastly — to  the  end — 
fully — thoroughly,  entirely,  into  that  which  was  to  be 
abolished  :  they  could  see  a  part,  but  not  the  whole  ; 
they  saw  it  as  it  were  through  the  meshes  of  the  net- 
work, but  not  clearly,  distinctly :  they  discerned  ill- 
defintdhj,  not,  as  you  may  do,  punctually,  for  we  do 
not  use  the  slightest  prevention  of  sight ; — and  this 
veil,  which  admits  but  such  imperfect  views  of  things, 
continues  still  u])on  their  heart,  but  shall  be  removed  ; 
so  that  they  shall  see  all  things  clearly,  when  that 
heart  shall  turn  to  the  Lord."  [The  distinction  here 
made  exists  only  in  the  fancy  ofthe  writer.     R. 

There  is  a  kind  of  veil  or  garment  mentioned  in 
Ruth  iii.  15,  named  m^cc,  mitpahhath,  which,  by  the 
expression  of  Boaz,  it  should  seem,  Ruth  wore  upon 
her  person.  It  a])pears  also  not  to  have  been  very 
large,  as  Ruth  held  it  open,  to  receive  six  measures  of 
barley.  Besides,  as  she  carried  this  quantity,  it  could 
not  have  been  extremely  heavy,  and  yet  it  is  most 
likely  Boaz  nearly  or  altogether  filled  it.  A  word, 
very  closely  allied  to  this,  if  not  the  very  same,  with 
a  Chaldee  variation,  is  used,  Ezek.  xiii.  18,  to  denote 
a  veil,  (Eng.  trans.  ^^ kerchief"  from  the  French 
couvre-chef,)  which  is  expressly  said  to  be  worn  on 
the  head ;  consequently,  it  is  not  the  neck  couvre-chef 
of  our  females ;  as  otherwise  might  have  been 
thought. — "  Wo  to  the  women  who  adapt  cushions 
to  all  reclining  arms,  and  who  compose  veils  (-nsnr) 
to  be  worn  u]Jon  the  head  of  females  of  all  statures, 
in  order  to  render  them  more  alluring,  for  purposes 
of  volu|)tuousness,  to  hunt  souls — jiersons:  ....  I 
will  tear  away  the  pillows  from  your  lolling  arms ; 
your  kerchiefs  also  will  I  tear,  that  they  may  no  longer 
adorn  you  ;  and  will  let  go  the  (male)  souls — persons, 
whom  you  have  hunted,  and  caught  in  your  toils." 
q.  d.  "Some  of  my  people  you  worry  r'^  1  seduce 
by  voluptuous  attractions  and  solicitations;  othere 
you  chase  and  pursue,  till  they  are  terrified,  to  answer 
your  criminal  purposes:  but  from  both  these  methods 
of  attack  will  I  fleliver  them  :  and  I  will  punish  you." 


VEIL 


[912] 


VER 


From  this  use  of  this  kind  of  veil,  it  appears  that  it 
was  esteemed  a  very  ornamental  part  of  the  head- 
dress ;  and  herein  it  agrees  with  the  directions  of 
Naomi  to  Ruth,  to  dress  herself  to  advantage.  It  was, 
perhaps,  not,  therefore,  a  veil  to  be  taken  off  and  put 
on,  but  was  constantly  worn  on  the  head,  and  has, 
possibly,  its  representatives  in  the  modern  caps  or  tur- 
bans of  our  young  women. 

We  read,  Gen.  xxiv.  65,  that  Rebekah,  seeing  Isaac 
advancing  towards  her,  covered  herself  with  a  veil, 
or  rather  with  the  veil,  (ri^j'sn,  hats-fsdiph,)  either,  (1.) 
that  which  it  was  customary  for  brides  to  wear,  or, 
(2.)  that  which  had  been  provided  for  her  at  home: 
if  these  ideas  may  coalesce  into  one,  then  this  was 
provided  at  home,  for  Rebekah  to  wear  as  a  bridal 
veil.  That  it  was  used  for  that  purpose  in  her  inten- 
tion, is  certain  ;  but  was  it  adopted  on  account  of 
haste?  or  was  it  that  veil  which  due  formality 
required?  This  question  is  rendered  perplexing, by 
the  same  word  being  used  in  the  history  of  Tamar, 
who  "  put  away  the  garments  of  her  widowhood, 
and  covered  up  herself  in  a  tsdiph;^'  whence,  it 
seems,  this  was  not  a  widow-like  dress,  or  dress  of 
grief,  but  of  joy  ;  yet  it  could  hardly  be  the  regular 
bridal  veil,  (notwithstanding  Mr.  Harmer  thinks  it 
wa«,)  for  what  could  any  ol)server,  or  bystander,  think 
might  induce  a  bride  to  sit  as  Tamar  sat,  "  like  a 
harlot,  by  the  way  side?" — Besides,  could  Judah 
think  her  a  bride,  and  yet  make  such  projjosals  as  he 
did  to  her  ?  It  is,  therefore,  likely,  that  this  veil  was 
worn  by  Chaldean  women,  or  stranger  women — 
foreigners  to  the  country  of  Canaan  ;  hence  it  seems 
to  be  certain,  that  Rebekah  brought  with  her  that 
kind  of  veil  which  in  her.  own  country  would  have 
been  esteemed  honorable,  on  any  occasion  ;  and  Ta- 
mar, (a  Canaanitess,)  by  wearing  such  a  veil,  appeared 
to  Judah  to  be  a  foreigner — a  stranger- woman — who 
had  strayed  from  her  associates,  or  whose  living  de- 
pended on  tlie  disposal  of  her  j)erson. 

[Another  Hebrew  word  rendered  veil  in  the  Eng- 
lish version,  is  -im,  radul,  which,  however,  seems 
properly  to  denote  a  fine  upper  garment  or  mantle, 
which  females  were  accustomed  to  throw  over  their 
other  garments  when  they  went  out,  Cant.  v.  7  ;  Isa. 
iii.  23.  The  Greek  word  fzovnla, power,  which  is  also 
thus  translated  in  1  Cor.  xi.  10,  seems  there  more 
properly  to  be  put  for  emblem  of  power  or  of  honor 
and  dig^itrf,  i.  e.  a  veil.  This,  Paul  says,  should  be 
worn  by  females  in  the  churches,  on  account  of  the 
angels.  Who  are  these  ?  Some  say,  the  angels  of 
the  churches,  i.  e.  the  bishops.  Others,  better,  the 
messengers,  i.  e.  spies  of  the  heathen,  evil-minded  per- 
sons, who  frequent  the  assemblies  in  order  to  spy  out 
in-egularities.  Others,  still,  take  angels  in  the  usual 
sense,  and  consider  Paul  as  representing  the  angels 
of  heaven  as  beholding  with  deep  interest  the  devo- 
tions of  Christian  assemblies.     R. 

These  remarks  will  have  prepared  the  way  for 
noticing  some  of  the  eastern  ideas  attached  to  the 
veil. 

In  the  fn-st  place,  it  is  i)roper  to  notice  the  affront 
committed  against  a  femali^  in  the  East,  by  lifting  up 
her  veil.  We  nfiglit  quote-  from  Schultens,  who 
shows,  from  Arabian  writers,  that  the  image  of  tear- 
ing or  taking  away  the  nil  cxjiresses  the  unliappy 
state  of  eastern  virgin:*,  wiicii  affronted,  violated  and 
insulted.  So  Cabihaii,  tlie  mother  of  Khalife  I\Iotaz, 
complained  of  Saleh,  the  'f  lukisli  chief,  "  He  has  torn 
my  veil ;"  to  ex])ress  with  decency,  "  I  le  has  dishonor- 
ed mc  ; "  but  we  rather  appeal  to  the  story  of  Susanna, 
m  the  Apocrypha,  as  best  adapted  to  tiie  following 


illustration.  The  writer  notices  as  an  act  of  ill 
ti'eatment,  "  Now  Susanna  was  a  very  delicate  woman, 
and  beauteous  to  behold;  and  these  wicked  men 
commanded  to  uncover  her.  face,  (for  she  ivas 
covered,)  that  they  might  be  filed  unth  her  beauty. 
Therefore,  her  friends,  and  all  that  saw  her,  wept;" 
i.  e.  the  elders  unveiled  her  from  impure  motives. 

Many  have  been  the  inquiries  to  which  the  precept 
of  our  Lord  in  Matt.  v.  28,  has  given  occasion  :  "  Who- 
soever looketh  on  a  woman,  to  lust  after  her,  hath 
committed  adulter}'  with  her  already  in  his  heart." 
Great  stress  has  usually  been  laid  on  the  motive,  and 
veiy  justly ;  but  Lardner  and  others  insist,  that 
■/I'lurzu  muM  be  taken  for  a  married  woman,  as  is 
common  enough  ;  nevertheless,  the  true  import  of 
the  passage,  IMr.  Taylor  thinks,  can  only  be  under- 
stood, by  considering  the  closely  covered  state  of  the 
eastern  women,  under  their  veils,  in  which,  being 
totally  concealed,  they  offer  no  occasion  of  being 
LOOKED  UPON  ;  but  would  take  it  as  the  greatest  in- 
solence— as  nothing  shoi-t  of  the  gi-eatest  insolence 
could  dictate  the  offence — should  their  veils  be  drawn 
aside.  Understand,  therefore,  the  passage  thus: 
"You  have  heard  that  it  was  said  in  ancient  times, 
Thou  shalt  not  commit  adultery :  but  I  say  to  you, 
that  mj'  purer  ])rincipies  forbid  the  most  i-emote  ad- 
vance toward  that  crime,  any  commencement  of  what 
may  lead  to  it ;  whoever  removes  the  veil,  to  look  on 
any  woman,  (whether  married  or  unmairied,  whether 
of  rigid  or  of  easy  virtue,)  if  he  violate  modesty  by 
such  a  liberty  for  excitative  purposes,  he  has  sullied 
his  spiritual  purity,  and  is  guilty."  Is  not  this  the 
true  import  of  the  term  to  look  on,  on  which  the 
question  turns?  [But  does  not  this  7ninuteness  of 
meaning  detract  much  from  the  force  of  our  Lord's 
precept?  Cannot  a  man,  according  to  our  Lord's 
idea,  just  as  much  commit  adultery  or  fornication  in 
his  heart  by  casting  his  eyes  upon  a  woman  to  lust 
ajler  her,  or  even  in  thinking  of  her,  as  by  actually 
tearing  away  her  veil  to  look  upon  lier  ?  Away,  then, 
with  such  trifling  !     R. 

In  the  Fragments  from  which  these  remarlcs  are 
selected,  and  some  others  which  follow,  (Nos.  159 — 
165,)  are  collected  from  various  travellers  the  most 
ample  accounts  of  the  forms  of  eastern  veils,  and  of 
the  manner  in  which  they  are  worn.  From  these 
accounts  it  is  manifest  that  it  is  a  most  im})ortant  part 
of  female  dress,  and  is  Irequently  alluded  to,  where 
not  distinctly  or  apparently  sp,okcn  of  in  Scripture. 

VERSIONS  OF  THE  Scriptures.  Our  attention 
must  be  confined,  in  this  article,  to  those  which  are 
more  usually  denominated  the  Ancient  Versions. 
These  are  the  following :  The  Greek  versions,  of 
which  the  SEPTUACiNTor  Alexandrine  version  is  the 
chief;  the  Latin  versions,  viz.  the  Vulgate  and 
Itala;  the  C/i«Wee  versions,  or  Takgums  ;  the  Samar- 
itan version  ;  the  Pcshito  and  other  Syriac  versions ; 
and  the  .^Irabic  versions. 

Af\er  the  Hebrew  had  ceased  to  be  s])o]ccii,  and 
had  become  a  dead  language,  in  the  second  century 
before  Christ,  and  still  more  after  the  spread  of  Chris- 
tianity, translations  of  the  Hebrew  Scriptures  into 
the  prevailing  languages  of  the  age,  became  a  thing 
of  necessity,  both  to  Jews  and  Christians,  in  Palestine 
and  in  other  countries.  Accordingly,  almost  every 
language  then  current  received  at  least  one  vereion, 
which  became  of  ecclesiastical  authority,  and  was 
used  instead  of  the  original  Hebrew  text.  In  this 
way,there  arose,almost  contemporaneoush',  the  Alex- 
andrine version  for  the  Grecian  and  Eg}  ptian  Jews, 
and  the  earliest  Chaldee  versions  for  those  who  dwelt 


VERSIONS 


[  013 


VElfrilOKS 


l!l  Palestine  and  Babylonia,  After  the  introdi'.ction 
of  Clu'istianily,  tlie  (JJn-istians  adopted  at  first  the 
Septuagint ;  but  in  the  second  century  there  ap- 
peared three  or  four  otlUT  Greek  versions  from  the 
hands  of  Jewish  and  CJiristian  translators,  the  object 
of  which  was  to  supersede  the  Septuagint.  In  this, 
however,  they  did  not  succeed  ;  and  these  works  are 
now  lost.  About  the  same  time,  tlie  Syrian  Christians 
made  the  Syriac  version  ;  and  the  Latin  Christians 
procured  a  Latin  version  of  the  Septuagint,  whicli  at 
(he  close  of  the  fourth  century  gave  place  to  the  ver- 
sion of  Jerome,  the  present  Vulgate.  After  the  wide 
extension  of  the  Arabic  language  in  the  seventh 
century,  both  Jews  and  Christians  l)egan  to  translate 
the  Scriptures  into  Arabic  also  ;  the  Jews  out  of  the 
original  Hebrew,  and  the  Christians  from  the  Sep- 
tuagint. Indeed,  this  latter  is  the  case  with  all 
translations  of  the  Old  Testament,  made  by  the  Chris- 
tians, into  the  oriental  languages. 

The  versions  of  the  Scriptures  arc  usually  divided 
into  the  immediate,  or  those  made  directly  from  the 
original  text,  and  the  mediate,  or  those  made  from 
other  versions.  The  latter  arc  also  sometimes  called 
daughttis  of  the  former.  It  is  only  those  of  the  first 
species  which  have  any  hcrmencutical  value  ;  those 
of  the  latter  kind  can  only  serve  for  aid  in  the  verbal 
criticism  of  the  versions  from  which  they  have  flowed, 
and  are  indeed  of  no  special  importance,  even  here, 
except  in  the  case  of  the  Sej)tuagint,  the  text  of 
which  has  been  so  much  corrupted. 

The  ancient  translators  possessed  neither  grammati- 
cal nor  lexicographical  helps,  and  followed,  therefore, 
every  where,  exegetical  tradition.  As  their  object, 
too,  was  always  practical,  rather  than  a  learned  or 
scientific  one,  they  are  olten  apt  to  fail  in  the  requi- 
site degree  of  exactness ;  and  sometimes  also  they 
interweave  their  own  views  and  impressions  in  their 
versions.  This  last  circumstance  renders  these  ver- 
sions less  available  as  it  respects  exegesis  ;  but  makes 
them  so  much  the  more  important  as  historical  docu- 
ments, in  regard  to  the  views  of  the  age  and  of  the 
sect  to  which  they  belong. 

Septuagint,  or  Alexandrine  Version.  The  Septua- 
gint, or  the  version  of  the  LXX,  or  the  Alexandrine 
version,  is  undoubtedly  the  oldest  of  all  the  Greek,  or, 
indeed,  of  all  the  versions  whatever  of  the  Old  Tes- 
tament. There  was,  it  is  true,  a  legend  among  the 
Fathers,  tliat  there  had  existed  an  earlier  Greek  ver- 
sion, in  which  Plato  had  read  the  Bible  ;  but  this  is 
.■■.ssuredly  without  foundation,  and  was  suggested  by 
t!ie  Fathers,  in  order  to  aftbrd  ground  ibr  the  assump- 
tion, tli:'.t  Plato  and  the  Greek  philosophers  had  bor- 
rowed from  i\Ioses.  (Clem.  Alexandr.  Siromata,  i.  ]). 
52ti,  ed.  Potter.)  The  origin  of  this  version,  like  that 
of  the  canon,  in  some  degree,  is  veiled  in  Jewish 
legends;  according  to  which  Ptolemy  Philadelphns, 
king  (;f  Egypt,  from  284  to  946,  B.  C.  having  formed 
the  wisli,  throiigli  the  advice  of  his  librariiin,  Deme- 
trius Plialerius,  to  possess  a  Greek  translation  of  the 
.Mosaic  writings  for  the  Alexandrine  li!)rary,  sent  an 
embassy  to  Jerusalem  for  this  object,  and  obtained  a 
Hebrew  manuscript,  and  72  learned  Jews  to  translate 
it.  These  all  labored  together  in  the  translation, 
which,  after  mutual  consultation,  they  dictated  to 
Demetrius.  This  legend  is  given  in  an  epistle  said 
to  have  been  written  by  Arista'us  to  his  brother  in 
Alexandria,  but  which  is  s]jurious.  Jose|)hus  also  re- 
lates the  story,  lib.  xii.2.  2 — 14.  The  pretended  epis- 
tle of  Arlst;eus  is  found  in  Van  Dale's  Diss.  sup. 
Aristajum,  Ainst.  1705;  in  H.  Hod;/ de  Biblior.  Text, 
originalibus.  Ox.  1705 ;  in  Josephi  Opp.  ed.  Haver- 
115 


camp,  Amst.  172(3.  The  legend,  as  transmitted  to  U3 
by  the  Fathers,  is  far  more  romantic.  According  to 
Justin  ]Martyr,  the  72  interprcteis  were  distributed 
into  as  many  separate  cells,  hi  which  they  were  con- 
fined until  they  had  completed  each  his  separate 
translation,  or  72  in  all ;  and  UiesCj  when  afterwards 
compared,  were  found  to  agree  verbatim  throughout. 

Ifj  now,  we  leave  out  of  view  these  later  fabulous 
additions,  sti!),  even  the  earlier  narrative  of  the  Jews 
is  full  of  improbability;  An  Egyptian  monarch 
would  hardiy  have  thought  it  necessary  to  send  an 
embassy  to  Jerusalem  to  obtain  a  manuscript ;  and 
the  eii-cuinstauce  as  related  savors  strong.']'  '^f  Jov- 
ish  national  self-complacency  and  pride.  TliC  most 
probable  supposition  is,  that  after  the  Jews  had  in 
great  numbers  settled  down  permanently  in  Egypt, 
and  had,  by  degrees,  forgotten  in  a  great  measure  the 
Hebrew  language,  a  Greek  version  of  their  Scrip- 
tures, and  especially  of  the  Law,  or  Pentateuch,  be- 
came necessary  for  the  use  of  their  pubhe  worship 
in  their  synagogues  and  temple.  (See  Alexa.nduia, 
p.  43.)  This  would  be,  in  all  probability,  prej^ared 
under  the  authority  of  the  Sanhedrim,  which  con- 
sisted of  72  members.  Or  this  number,  moreover, 
is  a  sort  of  round  number,  and  might  be  used  merely 
to  denote  a  version  made  by  many  interpreters.  SucTt 
a  version  would  not  impiobably  be  received  by  De- 
metrius into  the  library  ;  for  we  know  that  he  set  on 
foot  a  collection  of  all  known  codes  of  law,  with 
reference  to  a  new  code  contemplated  by  Ptolemy 
Lagus.  The  translation  of  the  other  books,  besides 
the  Pentateuch,  seems  to  have  taken  place  gradually, 
between  this  time  and  the  birth  of  Christ.  Of  the 
book  of  Esther,  it  is  said,  in  a  note  at  the  end,  that  it 
was  translated  under  Ptolemy  Philoniator.  The 
book  of  Daniel  seems  to  have  been  translated  last  of 
all ;  on  which  account  it  is,  perhaps,  that  this  book  is 
not  contained  at  all  in  our  manuscripts  of  the  Sep- 
tuagint. The  translation  of  Daniel,  in  our  editions, 
is  that  of  Theodotion.  The  genuine  Alexr.ndrino 
version  of  Daniel  was  first  discovered  in  the  pre- 
ceding century,  and  published  at  Rome,  1772, 
rejirintcd  Gottingen,  1773. 

The  charactei'of  this  version  is  different,  according 
to  the  different  books.  It  is  easy  to  distinguish  five 
or  six  difierent  translators.  The  Pentateuch  is  best 
translated,  and  exhibits  a  clear  and  flowing  Greek 
style ;  though  it  seems  to  have  been  ni.ide  from  a 
differfnt  aiid  interpolated  original  text.  The  next 
in  rank  is  the  translator  of  Job  and  Proverbs  ;  he 
indeed  often  misses  the  true  sriise,  but  still  gives 
eveiT  where  a  good  idea,  and  his  style  is  like  that  of 
an  original  writer.  The  Psalms  and  the  projihets 
are  translated  worst  of  all ;  often,  ii:deed,  without 
anv  sense.  The  version  of  Ecclesiastes  is  dis- 
tinguished by  OH  anxious  literal  adherence  to  the 
original. — Indeed,  the  real  value  of  the  Septuagint,  as 
a  version,  stands  in  no  sort  of  relation  to  its  reputa- 
tion. Ail  the  translators  engaged  in  it  appear  to 
have  been  wanting  in  a  proper  knowledge  of  the 
two  languages,  and  in  a  due  attention  to  gram- 
nmr,  etymology  and  orthography.  Hence  they  often 
confound  proper  names,  and  appellations,  kindred 
verbs,  similar  words  and  letters,  etc.  and  this  in 
cases  where  wc  are  not  at  liberty  to  conjectum 
various  readings.  The  avIioIc  vereion  is  rather  free 
than  literal  ;  the  fiirures  and  metaphors  are  i-esolved, 
and  there  are  frequent  allusions  inserted  to  later 
times  and  later  Jev.ish  dogmas  :  e.  g.  Isa.  xiii.  21  ; 
ix.  12;  xix.  18,  25:  xxxiv.  14.  Not  unfrequently, 
too,  particular  references  and  allusions  to  Egypt,  and 


VERSIONS 


[914] 


VERSIONS 


Egj'ptian  antiquities,  are  inserted  ;  e.  g.  Isa.  xix.  The 
Greek  of  the  Septuagint  is  that  of  the  Jews  in 
Egypt,  a  branch  of  the  later  Greek  of  the  common 
people,  and  called  usually  ',  i^<"i/,',  the  common,  or  also 
the  Macedonic-Alexandrine  dialect.  This  common 
dialect,  or  vulgar  language,  spread  itself,  after  the 
time  of  Alexander,  over  all  the  nations  which  spoke 
Greek,  and  was  distinguished  from  the  Attic,  &.c.  by 
the  circumstance,  that  it  adopted  much  from  the 
ancient  Doric.  It  was  fii-st  used  as  the  language  of 
books,  in  the  version  of  the  LXX,  and  is,  hence, 
often  called  the  Alexandrine  dialect.  From  the 
tnixture  of  Hebraisms  which  it  received  in  the  mouths 
of  the  Jews,  who  spoke  Greek,  i.  e.  the  Hellenistic 
Jews,  it  is  also  named  the  Hellenistic  dialect.  The 
New  Testament  is  written  in  the  same  dialect,  but  in 
a  purer  form.  It  is  also  the  language  of  the  Apoc- 
ry{)ha  and  of  some  of  the  Fathers.  The  chief  phi- 
lological helps  for  the  study  of  the  Septuagint,  are 
the  concordance  of  Tromm,  and  the  lexicons  of  the 
Old  Testament  by  Biel  and  Schleusner. 

The  authority  of  this  new  version  soon  became  so 
great,  as  to  supersede  the  use  of  the  original  Hebrew 
among  all  those  Jews  who  spoke  Greek.  In  the 
Egyptian  synagogues,  indeed,  the  original  Hebrew 
was  still  read  along  with  the  Greek  version,  but  the 
common  people  no  longer  understood  it.  Even 
scholars,  like  Philo,  no  longer  understood  the 
national  mother  tongue,  and  held  entirely  to  the 
Greek  translation.  In  Palestine  also,  this  became  by 
degrees  current,  and  was  used  along  with  the  Chal- 
dee  vereions,  especially  by  the  more  learned,  who 
were  acquainted  with  Greek.  This  appears  even  in 
Josephus,  and  from  the  New  Testament.  lu  both, 
the  version  of  the  LXX  seems  to  lie  at  the  founda- 
tion ;  though  the  citations  do  not  always  accord  with 
it,  and  the  writers  sometimes  (e.  g.  Matthew)  seem  to 
have  had  the  original  before  them.  (On  the  citations 
from  the  O.  T.  see  Surenhusius,  i^/.'J.'-o;  xoTaA,u<)(;c, 
Amst.  713  ;  also  the  Tracts  of  Owen  and  Randolph, 
as  published  at  Andover,  1827.)  From  the  Jews  the 
reputation  and  authority  of  the  Septuagint  passed 
over  to  the  Christians,  who  employed  it  with  the  same 
degree  of  credence  as  the  original.  It  became  of 
course  the  point  of  appeal  in  the  controversies  be- 
tween Jews  and  Christians,  and  hence  began  to  lose 
its  consequence  in  the  eyes  of  the  former.  As  in 
those  controversies  the  Jews  often  found  themselves 
worsted,  they  declared  that  this  lay  solely  in  the 
Greek  translation,  and  carried  their  appeal  to  the  He- 
brew original,  and  also  to  other  versions,  which  they 
said  were  more  literal.  The  Talmudists,  among  whom 
the  ancient  hatred  against  the  Greek  again  awoke, 
proclaimed  a  curse  upon  tlie  Greek  law,  or  Penta- 
teuch, and  ajipointed  a  fast  upon  the  day  on  which 
they  supposed  the  translation  to  have  been  suggested. 

The  Text  of  the  Septuagint  has  suffered  greatlv. 
Through  the  multitude  of  copies,  which  the  verv 
general  usage  rendered  necessary,  and  by  means  of 
ignorant  critics,  the  text  of  this  version,  in  the  third 
century,  had  fallen  into  the  most  lamentable  state. 
In  order  to  remedy  this  evil,  Origen  set  himself  to 
obtain  a  corrected  text  by  means  of  a  comparison  of 
the  original  Hebrew  and  the  other  Greek  versions. 
The  plan  which  he  adopted  was,  to  place  the 
original  text  and  the  different  vei-sions  in  parallel 
columns ;  by  which  means,  also,  he  was  able  to  give 
to  the  Christians,  in  their  polemics  with  the  Jews,  the 
benefit  of  all  the  versions  of  the  Old  Testament  in 
one  view.  This  work  was  the  celebrated  Hexapla 
of  Origen,  Vja.T^a  sc.  pi^nia,  i.  e.  the  Bible  in  six  col- 


umns. It  contained,  besides  the  Hebrew  text  and  the 
LXX,  also  the  three  later  Greek  versions  of  Aquila, 
Symmachus  and  Theodotion,  described  below,  to- 
gether with  the  Hebrew  text,  written  in  Greek  letters. 
In  order  to  emend  the  LXX,  he  compared  the  Greek 
with  the  original,  in  which  he  used  the  assistance 
of  learned  Jews.  Where  there  was  an  omission  in 
the  Greek,  he  supplied  it  from  one  of  the  other  ver- 
sions, usually  that  of  Theodotion ;  marking  the 
additions  with  an  asterisk  at  the  beginnuig,  and  with 
the  name  of  the  translator  at  the  end.  Where  the 
LXX  had  any  thing  too  much,  he  let  it  stand,  indeed, 
but  marked  it  with  an  obelisk  or  dagger  at  the 
beginning,  to  denote  its  spuriousness.  The  whole 
work  consisted  of  fifty  rolls  or  volumes,  and  was 
afterwards  seen  and  used  by  Jerome  in  the  auto- 
graph ;  but  was,  not  long  after,  lost,  and  exists  now 
only  in  fragments. 

These  fragments  have  been  collected,  and  published 
by  Montfauijon,  Paris,  1714,  2  vols.  fol.  reprinted  in 
an  abridgment  by  Bahrdt,  Leipz.  1769 — 70.  But  the 
very  plan  adopted  by  Origen  became,  alas !  in  the 
sequel,  the  occasion  of  still  more  numerous,  and 
greater  corruptions  of  the  Greek  text  of  the  Scj)tua- 
gint.  The  transcribers  left  out  all  the  critical  marks 
and  signs  which  Origen  had  employed,  but  not  the 
w^ords  which  he  had  inserted  in  the  text;  so  that  the 
evil  was  worse  than  before. 

The  text  which  has  come  down  to  us  from  this 
source  is  called  the  Text  of  the  Hexapla,  or  of  Origen, 
in  distinction  from  the  earlier  text,  which  is  called 
the  zoo/,',  the  common,  or  the  Greek  Vulgate.  In 
the  manuscripts  which  exist  at  the  present  day,  as 
also  in  the  printed  editions,  these  two  different  texts 
lie  at  the  foundation,  according  as  they  follow  the 
two  principal  manuscripts,  viz.  the  Roman,  or  the 
Codex  Vaticanus,  the  basis  of  which  is  the  zom',  or 
earlier  common  text ;  and  the  Alexandrine,  from  the 
Codex  Mexandrinus,  in  the  British  museum  at  Lon- 
don, which  exhibits  more  of  the  readings  and  inter- 
polations of  the  Hexapla  of  Origen.  Hence  the 
editions  of  the  Septuagint  fall  also  into  two  classes, 
viz.  those  which  follow  the  Codex  Vaticanus,  as  the 
editions  of  L.  Bos.  1709,  and  Reineccius,  1730, 1757  ; 
and  those  which  follow  the  Codex  Alexandr.  as  the 
editions  of  Grabe,  Ox.  1707,  and  of  Breitingcr,  1730. 
A  critical  edition  of  the  Septuagint,  with  a  full  col- 
lection of  various  readings  from  all  the  manuscripts, 
and  also  out  of  the  versions  which  have  flowed  from 
it,  was  undertaken  in  England,  by  Dr.  Holmes, 
towards  the  close  of  the  last  century.  The  book  of 
Genesis  was  published  in  folio,  in  1798  ;  Exodus, 
1801;  Leviticus,  1802;  Numbers,  1803;  Deuter- 
onomy, 1804  ;  and  the  book  of  Daniel  in  1805,  just 
before  the  death  of  the  editor.  The  work  has  since 
been  continued  by  Dr.  Pai-sons  ;  Joshua  was  pub- 
lished in  1810  ;  Judges  and  Ruth  in  1812  ;  and  the 
six  remaining  historical  bonks,  in  the  five  years  fol- 
lowing ;  thus  completing  the  second  voliune.  The 
work  is  still  continued.  (See,  on  the  history  of  the 
Septuagint,  Hody  de  Biblior.  Textibus  orig.  Ox. 
1705  ;  and  Fabricii  Bibliotheca  Groeca,  edit.  Harles, 
vol.  ii.  iii.) 

The  principal  mediate  versions,  which  have  been 
made  from  the  Septuagint,  are  the  Ilala,  or  ancient 
Latin  version,  one  of  the  Syriac  versions,  the  Ethio- 
pic,  Egyptian,  Armenian,  Georgian  or  Grusinian, 
Sclavonian,  and  several  Arabic  versions. 

Other  Greek  Versions.  In  the  latter  half  of  the 
second  century  after  Christ,  there  appearc  1,  nearly 
contemporaneously,  three  now  Greek  versic  as  oftlio 


TTERSIOiNS 


[915] 


VERSIONS 


rvholc  Old  Testament.  The  author  of  the  first  was 
Aquila,  a  Jew  by  birth,  wliose  translation,  therefore, 
was  adopted  for  use  in  many  synagogues.  The  au- 
thors of  the  two  others,  Si:mmachus  and  Theodo- 
Tio-V,  were  Jewish  Christians.  All  those  are  more 
exact  and  literal  than  the  LXX ;  they  retain  the 
figures  and  metaphors  of  the  original  ;  and  none  of 
tliLMU  exliibit  the  arbitraiy  caprices  of  the  Alexan- 
drine translators.  Aquila,  especially,  is  in  the  high- 
est degree  anxious  ;  he  is  often  so  literal  as  to  destroy 
the  sense  ;  and  expresses  with  the  utmost  care  even 
the  etymologies  of  the  Hebrew.  Symmachus,  on 
the  contrary,  aims  at  a  better  Greek  style.  The- 
odotion  is  more  eclectic,  and  he  seems  to  have  been 
wanting  in  a  knowledge  of  Hebrew.  Fragments  of 
all  these  versions  are  found  in  the  Hexapla  of  Origen, 
as  published  by  3IontfauQon.  From  Theodotion 
alone  we  have  the  whole  book  of  Daniel  extant, 
which  stands  in  our  editions  of  the  Septuagint. 

Of  less  importance  are  some  anonymous  Greek 
versions,  which  Origen  denotes  as  the  5th,  Uth  and 
7th.  Of  rather  more  value  is  a  Grseco-Samaritan 
translation,  which  was  made  from  the  Samaritan 
version. 

In  the  latter  part  of  the  preceding  century,  a  new 
Greek  version  of  several  books  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment was  discovered  by  Villoison,  in  a  manuscript 
in  the  library  of  St.  .Mark's  cathedral,  Venice  ;  hence 
calletl  the  Versio  Veneta,  or  Graecus  Venetus.  It 
comi)rises  the  Pentateuch,  Proverbs,  Ecclesiastes, 
Canticles,  Ruth,  Lamentations  and  Daniel.  The 
Pentateuch  was  published  by  Ammon,  Erlangen, 
17D0 — 91  ;  the  other  books  by  Villoison  himself, 
Strasburg,  1784.  It  follows  slavishly  the  original, 
and  the  verbal  interpretation  of  the  Jews  ;  even  the 
Parasha  or  Jevv  ish  divisions  of  the  text  are  given, 
and  the  pages  of  the  manuscript  run  backwards,  like 
the  Hebrew  ;  the  Greek  diction  is  in  the  highest 
degree  affected.  The  translator  is  ever  straining 
after  a  poetic  and  Attic  style  ;  along  with  which 
occur,  nevertheless,  the  grossest  mistakes  in  lan- 
guage and  newly  former!  words.  Jehovah  he  trans- 
lates oiTciri;;.  The  translator  was,  most  probably, 
a  Byzantine  Jew,  of  the  middle  ages. 

Jlncient  Latin  Version,  or  Itala.  After  Christianity 
had  extended  itself  in  the  West,  a  Latin  version  of 
the  Bible  also  became  necessary.  In  the  time  of  Au- 
gustin,  there  were  several  of  these  ;  although  only  one 
of  them  was  adopted  by  the  church,  i.  e.  by  ecclesiasti- 
cal authority.  This  was  called  vulgata,  (common, 
})0|)ular,)  because  it  was  made  from  the  Greek  com- 
mon version,  ',  yum].  In  modern  times  this  ancient 
Latin  version  is  often  called  Itala,  in  consequence  of 
a  passage  in  Augustin  :  (de  Doctr.  Christ,  ii.  15.)  hut 
the  reading  is  there  false,  and  it  should  be  read 
itsilatn.  This  translation  was  made  literally  from 
the  Septuagint,  and  gives,  most  conscientiously,  even 
all  the  verbal  mistakes  of  the  Greek.  There  are  still 
extant  of  it  the  Psalms,  Job,  and  some  of  the  apociy- 
phal  books,  complete,  besides  fragments;  these  were 
all  collected  and  published  by  Sahatier,  Rheims,  1739 
— 49,  3  vols.  fol.  As  the  manuscripts  of  this  version 
had  become  by  degrees  very  nuicli  corrupted,  a  re- 
\  ision  of  the  Psalter  and  book  of  Job  was  under- 
taken, in  A.  D.  383,  by  Jerome,  in  pursuance  of  a 
commission  from  the  Roman  bishoj)  Damasus  ;  this 
is  still  extant,  and  called  Psallcrium  Romanum,  be- 
cause it  was  introduced  into  the  Roman  diocese. 

The  modem  Vulgate,  or  Jerome^s  Version.  While 
Jerome  was  still  employed  in  the  revision  of  the 
ancient  Vulgata,  or  Itala,  he  ventured  to  cominence, 


also,  a  new  version  of  liis  own,  out  of  the  original 
Hebrew  ;  being  induced  to  the  undertaking  partly  by 
the  counsel  of  his  friends,  and  partly  by  his  own 
feeling  of  the  necessity  of  such  a  work.  He  began 
with  the  Books  of  Kings,  and  completed  the  work 
A.  D.  405,  with  Jeremiah.  While  engaged  in  this 
work,  he  enjoyed  the  oral  instruction  of  learned  Jew- 
ish rabbins  in  Palestine,  (see  Language,  p.  (J09,)  and 
availed  himself  of  all  the  former  Greek  versions  and 
of  the  Hexapla  of  Origou.  His  new  version  surpasses 
all  the  preceding  in  usefulness.  The  knowledge  of 
Hebrew  which  Jerome  possessed  was,  for  the  age, 
very  respectable ;  and  he  also  made  himself  master 
of  the  Chaldee.  His  manner  of  explanation  connects 
itself  very  closely  with  that  of  the  Jews  ;  and  his 
choice  of  Latin  expressions  is,  for  the  most  part,  very 
happy.  Still,  this  production  did  not  meet  with  the 
anticipated  success  and  general  reception  ;  and  espe- 
cially Augustin  and  Rufinus  wrote  against  it  with 
violence,  as  if  a  new  Bible  were  about  to  be  intro- 
duced. Nevertheless,  the  new  version  maintained 
itself  along  with  the  ancient  one ;  and  at  length,  in 
the  seventh  century,  supplanted  it  almost  entirely. 

But  the  frequent  and  constant  use  of  the  new  ver- 
sion now  occasioned  again,  in  turn,  a  very  considera- 
ble coiTuption  of  the  text;  so  that  already  in  the  time 
of  Charlemagne,  no  copies  entirely  alike  were  any- 
longer  to  be  found.  In  order  to  remedy  this  evil, 
Charlemagne  commissioned  Alcuin  to  make  a  revis- 
ion of  the  manuscripts  of  the  new  Latin  version. 
Similar  revisions  of  this  version,  (the  Vulgate,)  were 
made  occasionally  during  the  wliole  of  the  middle 
ages,  under  the  name  of  Correctoria.  These  are  a 
kind  of  Latin  Masorah,  and  consist  of  various  read- 
ings, and  all  kinds  of  critical  remarks.  Only  one 
correctorium  has  ever  been  printed,  viz.  at  Cologne, 
1508,  4to. 

The  Vulgate  was  the  first  book  ever  printed.  The 
first  edition  is  without  date  or  place ;  the  first  with  a 
date  was  printed  at  3Iayence,  1462.  At  the  council 
of  Trent,  in  1545,  the  Vulgate  was  declared  to  be  the 
standard  version  of  the  Catholic  church,  and  to  be 
of  equal  aiuhority  with  the  original  Scripture.  Since 
this  time,  the  study  of  the  original  text  has  been  re- 
garded by  the  Catholics  as  a  verging  towards  heresy. 
(See  Language,  p.  G09.)  The  Vulgate  at  present 
consists  of  different  elements  ;  the  Psalms  and  most 
of  the  apocryphal  books  being  from  the  ancient  ver- 
sion, or  Itala,  and  the  rest  from  the  later  Vulgate. 
The  popes  have  taken  great  pains  to  obtain  as  cor- 
rect a  text  of  the  V'ulgate  as  possible  ;  thus,  in  1590, 
under  Sixtus  V,  appeared  the  editto  Sixtina,  which 
was  declared  to  be  the  standard  for  all  future  editions. 
But  many  errors  being  afterwards  discovered  in  it, 
the  popes  purchased  up  all  the  copies,  so  far  as  pos- 
sible, and  a  new  standard,  the  editio  Clementina,  was 
published  in  1592,  which  still  retains  its  authority. 

TVie  Targums,  or  Chaldee  Versions.  All  these  are 
the  works  of  Jews  living  in  Palestine  and  Babylon, 
from  a  century  before  Christ,  to  the  eighth  or  ninth 
century  after."  They  bear  the  name  Targum,  i.e. 
translation,  from  the  Chaldee  oj-in,  to  translate.  The 
name  paraphrase,  by  which  they  are  so?netimes  called, 
is  unsuitable,  since  they  are  not  all  paraphrastic. 
That  Chaldee  translations  were  already  in  use  in  the 
time  of  Christ  is  apparent  from  IMatt.  xxvii.  46, 
among  other  passages,  where  the  words  are  quoted 
according  to  the  Chaldee  version.  The  more  an- 
cient of  the  Targums  are  well  translated,  and  may  be 
reckoned  among  the  best  works  of  the  kind.  The 
later  ones  are  more  proli.x  and  paraplirastic,  and  full 


VERSIONS 


[  91G 


V  I  x\ 


of  ridiculous  iiiterpolatioiirj.  There  ai'c,  in  all,  eleven 
T:irgiims,  of  which  xiie  four  Ibllowing  are  the  most 
important. 

1.  Tlie  Targum  of  Onkelos,  containiug  the  Pen- 
tatc'Lich.  The  author  was,  most  jjrobably,  a  pupil  of 
llillel,  the  grandfather  of  Gamaliel,  Paul's  instructor. 
The  style  is  pure,  and  the  translation  very  exact  and 
literal.  (See  Winer,  dc  Onkelosso  Pcntat.  Interp. 
Lijjs.  1820.) 

2.  The  Targum  of  Jonathan  Bex  Uzzif.l,  com- 
jirising  the  historical  books  and  prophets.  He  lived 
a  sh.ort  time  before  the  birth  of  Christ,  !uU  his  woi-k 
is  far  uiforior  to  the  preceding.  It  exhibits  a  multi- 
tude of  arbitrary  explanations,  interpolations,  and  later 
views ;  especially  such  as  tend  to  the  honor  of  the 
Pharisees.  (Com'p.  Gesenius  Comm.  zu  Isa.  Einl.§  11. 

3.  The  version  of  the  Pentateuch,  prolessedly  by 
the  same  Jonathan,  but  which  is  spurious.  It  is 
hence  called  the  Targum  of  Pseudo-Jonathan. 

4.  Tlie  Targum  of  Jerusalem,  on  the  Pentaceucli. 
All  these  Targums  are  to  be  found  in  the  rab- 
binic Bibles  and  the  Polyglotts. 

There  are  smaller  separate  Targums  on  the  books 
of  Daniel,  Ezra  and  Nehemiah.  A  separate  Targum 
vA  the  Chronicles  was  first  discov^ered  at  a  later 
l)eriod  in  the  library  of  Erfiu-th,  and  published  bv 
JJeck,  1630—83,  4to. ;  and  by  Wilkins,  Amst.  1715, 
4to. 

Sa.::i'dntan  Version.  There  exists  a  copy  of  tlie 
I*entateuch  among  the  Samaritans,  in  the  Hebrew 
language,  but  written  with  Samaritan  letters.  (See 
SA:.iARrrANS,  p.  810.)  But  besides  this,  thei-o  exists 
also  a  version  of  the  Pentateuch  in  the  Samaritan 
language.  About  the  time  of  Christ's  appearance, 
they  had  forgotten  the  ancient  Hebrew,  as  much  as 
the  Jcv/s  of  that  age  ;  and  spoke  instead  of  it  a  pe- 
culiar dialect,  mixed  up  from  Hebrew  and  Chaldee, 
but  witii  many  peculiar  words.  In  this  dialect  the 
version  is  made,  following  their  copy  or  recension 
of  the  Penlateuch.  Nothing  is  certainly  knov.n 
respecting  the  age  of  this  version,  except  that  it  had 
existed  a  considerable  time  before  Origen's  day  ;  for 
this  fallier  cites  a  Greek  version,  which  had  already 
been  made  from  the  Samaritan.  The  Samaritan 
version  itself  is  difiicult  to  be  undei-stood,  since, 
besides  this,  and  some  few  poems,  we  have  nothing 
ill  tliis  dialect.  The  version  stands  in  the  Polyglotts ; 
and  Winer  has  written  an  essay  upon  \i—Devir- 
.'done  Sitmaritana,  Lips.  1817.  See  Bib!.  R^-pos.  Vol. 
II.  p.  720. 

Syriac  Versions.  There  arc  two  of  these,  both  of 
which  are  of  Christian  origin,  having  been  made  by 
Christians  of  the  Syrian  church,  who  dwelt  in  Mcs- 
o!!Otamia  and  Armenia.  T!ie  earliest  and  most 
celebrated  of  these  is  the  PcsJiitj,  i.  i\  plana,  simplex, 
or  the  clear,  the  literal.  It  is  the  regular  version  of 
the  Syrian  church,  atid  of  all  its  sects  and  j)arties, 
the  orthodox  and  also  the  heterodox.  The  Syrian 
church  regards  this  version  as  so  exceedingly  old,  as 
to  have  been  made,  by  command  of  king  Solomon, 
Ibr  the  church  in  Syria.  What  is  certain  is,  tiiat  in 
ilie  thi;\l  century  it  alread}'  ^vas  the  autitoritative 
version  of  the  church.  The  author  was,  possibly,  a 
Jewish  Cliri::tian,  and  has  avaihnl  himself  of  ilic 
Chaldee  vers  on.  The  Peshito  follous,  in  general, 
the  Hebrew  literally  ;  but  exhibits  also  traces  of  the 
occasional  us3  both  of  the  Septuagint  and  Chaldee. 
I !,  stands  in  the  Polyglotts ;  and  a  beautiful  edition 
lias  also  been  published  in  England,  under  the  super- 
intendence of  professor  Lee. 

Tlie  ot'.ier  Svriac  version  was  made  from  tlie  Sen- 


tuagint.  and  from  the  text  of  the  Ilexapla,  about 
A.  D.  G16,  for  the  use  of  the  3Ionophysites.  It  is  of 
importance  only  for  the  criticism  of  the  Septuagint. 
There  is  a  complete  manuscript  of  this  version  exist- 
ing in  the  Ambrosian  Iil)rary  at  Milan.  No  portion 
of  it  has  been  printed,  except  Jeremiah  and  Ezekiel, 
1787,  and  Daniel,  1788. 

Arabic  Versions.  After  the  era  of  Mohammed, 
the  Arabic  became  the  mother  tongue  of  most  of  the 
Jews,  and  of  very  numerous  bodies  of  Christians, 
especially  of  those  in  Egypt.  It  is,  tiierefore,  no 
wonder  that  Arabic  versions  of  the  Scriptures  \\cre 
very  soon  felt  to  be  necessary.  Of  these  there  are 
quite  a  number,  flowing  sometimes  from  the  Hebrew, 
but  chiefly  from  the  Septuagint,  and  also  from  the 
Peshito  and  Vulgate.  The  most  important  and  best 
known  are  the  following: — 

1.  The  Arabic  version  of  R.  Saadias  Gaon, 
director  of  the  Jewish  academy  at  Babylon,  in  the 
tenth  century.  It  probably  comprised,  originally,  all 
the  Okl  Testament ;  but  there  have  been  printed 
only  the  Pentateuch  and  Isaiah,  though  some  other 
books,  e.  g.  Job,  are  extant  ui  manuscrij)t.  This 
version  is  jiaraphrastical,  and  resolves  all  the  tropes 
and  anthropomorphisms  ;  in  other  respects  it  Ibl- 
lovvs  very  closely  our  unpointed  Hebrew  text.  The 
Pentateuch  stands  in  the  Polyglotts  ;  and  Isaiah  was 
published  by  Paulus,  in  1791. 

2.  The  Mauritanian  version  of  the  Pentateuch, 
made  in  the  thirteenth  century,  by  an  Arabian  Jew, 
and  published  by  Erpenius  in  1629;  hence  called 
Arabs  Erpeniana. 

3.  The  Arabic  \ersion  of  the  prophets,  foimd  in 
the  Polyglotts,  which  was  made  fi-om  the  LXX, 
apparently  by  a  Christian  of  Alexandria,  after  the 
time  of  Mohammed.  For  the  Polyglotts,  see 
Bible,  p.  177.     *R. 

VETCHES,  see  Pitches.  ' 

VIALS,  see  Cense.i,  p.  267. 

VINE.  Of  this  valuable  and  well-known  i)lant 
there  are  several  species,  and  there  are  man}'  refer- 
ences to  it  in  the  sacred  writings.  It  grew  plentifully 
in  Palestine,  and  \vas  jiarticularly  fine  in  some  of  the 
districts.  The  Scriptures  celebrate  the  vines  of 
Sorek,  Sibmah,  Jazer  and  Abel  ;  and  profane  authors 
mention  the  excellent  wines  of  Gaza,  Sarcpta,  Liba- 
nus,  Sharon,  Ascalon  and  Tyre.  The  grapes  of 
Egypt  being  particularly  small, we  may  easily  concei\o 
of  the  surprise  which  was  occasioned  to  the  Israelites 
by  witnessing  the  bunch  of  grapes  brought  by  the  Kpi^■:^ 
to  the  camp,  from  the  valley  of  Eshcol,  Numb.  xiJi. 
21.  The  account  of  Moses,  however,  is  confirmed 
by  the  testimony  of  several  travellers.  Doubdau 
assures  us,  that  in  the  valley  of  Eshcol  were  bunchf:; 
of  grapes  often  and  twelve  noirnds.  Forstcr  tell.-'  us, 
that  he  was  intbrmed  by  a  Religious,  -who  had  lived 
many  years  in  Palestine,  that  there  Avere  bunches  of 
grapes  in  the  valley  of  Hebron,  so  large  that  two 
men  could  scarcely  carry  one.  (Comp.  Numb.  xiii. 
94.)  And  Rosenmiiller  eays,  '-Though  the  Mahom- 
cdan  religion  docs  not  favor  the  culti\at:on  of  the 
vine,  there  is  no  want  of  vineyards  in  J'alestine. 
Besides  the  large  quantities  of  grapes  aud  raisins 
which  are  daily  sent  to  the  marketsof  Jerusalem  and 
other  neighboring  places,  Hebron  alone,  in  the  first 
half  of  the  eighteeiuh  century,  annually  sent  thrci! 
hundred  camel  loads,  that  is,  nearly  three  hundred 
thousand  weight  of  grape  juice,  or  honey  of  raisins, 
to  Egypt. 

Bochart  informs  us  that  a  triple  produce  from  the 
same  vino  is  ratliercd  every  year.     In  March,  after 


VINE 


[917  ] 


VINE 


the  vine  lias  produced  the  first  clusters,  they  cut 
away  from  the  fruit  that  wood  which  is  barren.  In 
April  a  new  shoot,  bearing  fruit,  sjjrings  from  the 
branch  that  was  lell  in  March,  which  is  also  lopped  ; 
this  shoots  forth  again  in  May,  loaded  with  the  latter 
grapes.  Those  clusters  which  blossomed  in  March 
come  to  maturity  and  are  fit  to  be  gathered  in 
August;  those  which  blossomed  in  April  are  gath- 
ered in  September  ;  and  those  which  blossomed  in 
May  must  be  gathered  in  October. 

In  the  East,  grapes  enter  very  largely  into  the 
provisions  at  an  entertainment.  Thus,  Norden  was 
treated  by  the  aga  of  Essuacn  with  coffee,  and  some 
bunches  of  grapes  of  an  excellent  taste.  To  show 
the  abundance  of  vines  which  should  fall  to  the  lot 
of  Judah  in  th(»  partition  of  the  promised  land,  Jacob, 
in  his  proi)hetic  benediction,  says  of  this  tribe,  he 
shall  be  found — 

Binding  his  colt  to  the  vine. 

And  to  the  choice  vine,  the  foal  of  his  ass. 

Washing  his  garments  in  wine, 

His  clothes  in  the  blood  of  the  grape. 

Geu.  xlix.  11. 

It  has  been  shown  by  Paxton,  that  in  some  parts  of 
Persiii,  it  was  formerly  the  custom  to  turn  their  cattle 
into  the  vineyards  after  the  vintage,  to  browse  on  the 
vines,  some  of  which  are  so  large,  that  a  man  can 
hardly  compass  their  trunks  in  his  arms.  These  facts 
clearly  show,  that  according  to  the  ])rediction  of  Ja- 
cob, the  ass  might  be  securely  bound  to  the  vine,  and 
"without  damaging  the  tree  by  browsing  on  its  leaves 
and  branches.  The  same  custom  appears,  by  the 
narratives  of  several  travellers,  to  have  genei'ally  pro- 
vailed  in  Lesser  Asia.  Chandler  observed,  that  in  the 
vineyards  around  Smyrna,  the  leaves  of  the  vines 
were  decayed  or  stripped  by  the  camels,  or  herds  of 
goats,  which  are  permitted  to  browse  upon  them, 
after  the  vintage.  When  he  left  Smyrna,  on  the  30th 
of  September,  the  vineyards  were  already  bare  ;  but 
Avhen  he  arrived  at  Phygella,  on  the  5th  or  6th  of  Oc- 
tober, he  found  its  territory  still  green  with  vines ; 
which  is  a  jjroof  that  the  vineyards  at  Smyrna  must 
have  been  stripped  by  the  cattle,  which  delight  to  feed 
upon  the  foliage. 

This  custom  furnishes  a  satisfactory  reason  for  a 
regulation  in  the  laws  of  Moses,  the  meaning  of  which 
has  been  verj''  impei-fectly  understood,  which  pro- 
hibits a  man  from  introducing  his  beast  into  the  vine- 
yard of  his  neigh!)or.  It  was  destructive  to  the  vine- 
yard before  the  fruit  was  gathered ;  and  after  tiie 
vintage  it  was  still  a  serious  injury,  because  it  deprived 
the  owner  of  the  fodder,  ^^hich  was  most  grateful  to 
his  flocks  and  herds,  and  perhajjs  absolutely  requisite 
for  their  subsistence  during  the  winter.  Tiiese  things 
considered,  wc  discern,  in  this  enactment,  the  justice, 
wisdom  and  kindness  of  the  great  Legislator :  and 
the  same  traits  of  excellence  migiit,  no  doubt,  be  dis- 
covered in  tlie  mo.st  obscure  and  minute  regulation, 
coidd  we  detect  the  reason  on  which  it  is  founded. 

But  if  the  vine  leaves  were  generally  eaten  by  cat- 
tle after  the  winter  was  over,  how,  says  Mr.  Harmer, 
"could  the  prophet  (Isa.  xxxiv\  4.)  rejjresent  the  drop- 
ping of  the  stars  from  heaven,  in  a  general  wreck  of 
nature,  by  the  falling  of  the  leaf  from  the  vine?  If 
they  were  devom-ed  by  the  cattle  they  could  not  fall." 
The  answer  is  easy :  the  prophet  refers  to  the  char- 
acter of  the  vine-leaf,  not  to  any  local  custom ;  nor 
is  it  reasonable  to  su])pose  that  the  leaves  of  every 
vineyard  were  so  regularly  and  completely  consumed, 


that  the  people  had  never  seen  them  showering  from 
the  branches  by  the  force  of  the  wind ;  or  the 
nipping  colds  in  the  close  of  the  year.  (Paxton,  vol. 
i.  J).  180.) 

Tlie  law  enjoined  that  he  who  planted  a  vine  should 
not  eat  of  the  produce  of  it  before  the  fifth  year,  Lev. 
xix.  24,  25.  Nor  did  they  gather  their  grapes  on  the 
seventh  year  :  the  fruit  was  then  left  for  the  poor,  the 
or[)han  and  the  stranger.  A  traveller  was  j)ermitted 
to  gather  and  eat  grapes  in  a  vineyard,  as  he  passed 
along,  but  was  not  permitted  to  carry  any  away,  Deut. 
xxiii.'  24. 

In  John  XV.  our  Lord  declares  himself  to  be  the 
"true  vine."  Doddridge,  after  Wetstein,  has  sup- 
posed that  the  idea  might  be  suggested  by  the  sight 
of  a  vine,  either  from  a  window  or  in  some  court  by 
the  side  of  the  house  ;  but  this  is  contro\  erted  by 
Harmer,  w  ho  remarks,  that  there  were  no  gardens  in 
Jerusalem,  and  that  it  is  not  likely  there  were  vines 
about  the  sides  of  the  houses.  Harmer's  assertion, 
however,  is  set  aside  by  Dr.  Russell,  who  states,  that 
it  is  very  common  to  covei-  the  stairs  leading  to  the 
upper  apartments  of  the  harem  with  vines.  This  fully 
explains  the  beautiful  metaphor  in  Ps.  cxxviii. — "  Thy 
wife  shall  be  as  a  fruitful  vine  by  the  sides  of  thine 
house," — with  which  Mr.  Harmer  is  so  much  embar- 
rassed :  but  whether  such  a  vine  gave  rise  to  our  Sa- 
viour's discourse,  is  a  malter  of  great  doubt.  The 
intention  of  the  similitude  is  that  which  it  is  most  im- 
portant for  us  to  attend  to  and  understand  ;  which  is, 
that  no  fruit  can  be  expected  from  professing  Chris- 
tians, either  in  their  personal  or  ofticial  character,  but 
by  perseverance  in  the  appointed  way,  and  in  com- 
munion, by  faith  and  love,  with  him  who  is  the  source 
of  all  that  is  good  in  man. 

Rosenmiiller  has  a  long  article  on  the  parable,  which 
Dr.  Wait  has  translated  in  his  "Repertoriuni  Theolo- 
gicum,"  and  of  which  the  following  is  the  substance. 
After  having  remarked  that  the  whole  of  the  dis- 
courses in  John  xiii. — xviii.  wei-e  not  delivered  in  one 
place,  and  in  an  unbroken  connection,  he  proceeds 
to  show  that  the  comparison  of  our  Lord  was  not  to  a 
real  or  natural  vine,  since  John  always  uses  tlie  adjec- 
tive a/.iidiruc,  true,  in  opposition  to  something  false, 
counterfeit,  and  not  genuine ;  c.  g.  iv.  23  ;  i.  47  ;  viii. 
31.  "But  what  is  the  opposition  in  this  passage, 
where  Christ  is  denominated  ',  lxii:ii).o?  >,  <i/.>;5n/,'?  It 
would  be,  according  to  the  preceding  expositions,  a 
natural  or  real  vine : — yet  it  will  be  urged,  that  this 
would  have  far  greater  claims  to  the  aimiXug  a/.hSiv>' 
than  (Christ,  who  only  compared  himself  to  such,  and 
merely  represents  himself  as  an  image  of  it.  Since 
then  he  calls  himself '  the  true  vike,'  he  must  neces- 
sarily have  had  a  certain  object  in  contrast,  which 
represented  a  vine  without  being  a  natural  or  real 
vine,  between  which  also  and  himself  a  most  signifi- 
cant analogy  existed."  What  this  probably  was,  he 
I)roceeds  to  show. 

In  the  temple  at  Jerusalon,  above  and  round  the 
gate,  seventy  cubits  high,  which  led  from  the  porch 
to  the  holy  place,  a  richly  carved  vine  was  extended 
as  a  border  and  decoration.  The  branches,  tendrils 
and  leaves  were  of  the  finest  gold  ;  the  stalks  of  the 
bunches  were  of  the  length  of  the  human  forni,  and 
the  bimches  hanging  upon  them  were  of  costly  jewels. 
Herod  first  placed  it  there  ;  rich  and  patriotic  Jews 
from  time  to  time  added  to  its  embellishment,  one 
contributing  a  new  grape,  another  a  leaf,  and  a  third 
even  a  bunch  of  the  same  precious  materials.  If  to 
compute  its  value  at  more  than  12,000,000  of  dollars 
be  au  exaggeration,  it  is  nevertheless  indisputable, 


VINE 


[918  1 


VINE 


that  this  vine  must  have  had  an  uncommon  impor- 
tance and  a  sacred  meaning  in  the  eyes  of  tlie  Jews. 
With  what  majestic  splendor  must  it  hiiewise  have 
appeared  in  tlie  evening,  when  it  was  illuminated 
by  tapers! 

If,  then,  Jesus,  in  the  evening,  after  having  cele- 
brated the  passover,  again  betook  himself  to  the  temple 
with  his  disciples,  what  is  more  natural,  than,  as  they 
wandered  in  it  to  and  fro,  that  above  every  thing  this 
vine  blazing  with  gold  and  jewels  should  have  attract- 
ed tlieir  attention?  that,  rivetted  by  the  gorgeous 
magnificence  of  the  sight,  they  were  absorbed  in 
wonder  and  contemplation  respecting  the  real  import 
of  this  work  of  art  ?  I^et  us  now  conceive  that  Jesus 
at  this  moment,  referring  to  this  vine,  said  to  his  dis- 
ciples, "  I  am  the  true  vine  " — how  correct  and  striking 
must  his  words  then  have  appeared ! — how  clearly 
and  determinately  must  then  the  import  of  them  have 
been  seen  ! 

The  Jews  accounted  the  vine  the  most  noble  of 
plants,  and  a  type  of  all  that  was  excellent,  powerful, 
fruitful  and  fortunate.  The  prophets,  therefore,  com- 
pared the  Jewish  nation  and  the  Jewish  church  to  a 
great  vine,  adorned  with  beaiuiful  fruit,  j)lanted,  tended 
and  guarded  by  God,  Jer.  ii.  21 ;  Ezek.  xLx.  10,  seq. ; 
Ps.  Ixxx.  9, 15,  seq.  God  was  the  dresser  of  the  vine- 
yard ;  Israel  was  the  vineyard  and  vine ;  (Isa.  v.  1,  seq. ; 
xxvii.  2,  seq. ;  Hos.  x.  1.)  every  true  Israelite,  especially 
the  heads  and  chiefs  of  the  people,  were  the  branches ; 
(Isa.  xvi.  8  ;  Ezek.  xix.  10.)  the  might  and  power  of  tlie 
nation  were  the  full  swelling  bunches.  The  basis  of 
the  metaphor  was  ever  the  idea,  that  "Israel  is  the  first, 
the  most  holy  nation  on  the  earth,  that  God  himself  is 
the  founder  and  protector  of  it." 

The  curiously-wrought  and  splendid  vine,  above 
described,  which  Herod  introduced  into  the  temple, 
was  a  symbol  of  this  peculiar,  proximate  and  joj  ful 
relation  in  which  God  stood  to  Israel.  The  patriotic 
Jews,  as  they  looked  at  it,  thought  with  joy  and  ])ride 
of  the  high  dignity  and  preeminence  of  their  people. 
To  go  out  and  to  enter  under  the  vine,  was  a  phrase, 
by  whicli  they  denoted  a  peaceful,  fortunate  and  con- 
tented life.  Hence  this  ornament,  extended  over  the 
entrance  to  the  holy  place,  was  as  striking  and  full  of 
meaning,  as  it  was  edifying  to  the  orthodox  Jews; 
hence,  each  contributed  his  own  to  increase  its  mag- 
nificence, and  thus  authenticate  himself,  as  a  worthy 
member  of  this  holy  and  glorious  nation. 

Jesus  having  thus  depicted  himself  as  the  individual 
who  was  prefigured  by  this  vine,  the  ideas  which  he 
would  cx])ress  by  this  parable,  could  not  have  been 
misunderstood. 

This  parable,  therefore,  more  immediately  concerns 
the  ai)ostles.  Jesus  does  not  merely  represent  him- 
self under  the  meta])hor  of  a  vine  in  the  more  con- 
fined sense  of  a  teaclier,  but  in  the  more  exalted  and 
comprehensive  one  of  tlie  Messiah  sent  from  heaven 
to  found  a  new  kingdom  of  God.  He  considers  his 
apostles  as  the  branches  in  him,  not  merely  as  disci- 
ples and  friends,  but  as  deputies  and  assistants  chosen 
and  called  by  him  to  found  and  extend  his  kingdom. 
The  connection  which  he  would  maintain  between 
liimsflf  and  them,  consists  not  irierely  in  love  and 
frien(lshi|),  i)iit  in  the  true  execution  of  bis  couniiands, 
grounded  on  a  faith  in  his  exalted  nature  and  dignity. 
The  fruits  which  he  expects  from  them  are  not  mere- 
ly faith  and  virtue,  which  are  the  concerns  of  all 
Christians,  but  im|)ortant  services  in  the  extension  of 
Christianity.  And  he  incites  them  to  perform  them 
by  a  promise  of  divine  gi-ace  and  assistance. 

The  expression  of  "  sitting  every  man  under  his 


own  vine,"  (1  Kings  iv.  25 ;  Mic.  iv.  4.)  probably 
alludes  to  the  delightful  eastern  arbors,  which  were 
partly  composed  of  vines.  Norden  speaks  of  vine- 
arbors  as  being  common  in  the  Egyptian  gardens : 
and  the  Prtenestine  pavement,  in  Shaw's  Travels,  gives 
us  the  figure  of  an  ancient  one.  The  expression  \a 
intended  to  refer  to  a  time  of  public  tranquillity  and 
of  profound  peace. 

In  the  passage  of  Isaiah  to  which  we  just  now  re- 
ferred, there  is  mention  made  of  a  wild  grape,  which 
requires  notice  :  "And  he  looked  that  it  should  bring 
forth  grapes,  and  it  brought  Ibrth  wild  grapes,"  Isa. 
v.  2.  Jeremiah  uses  the  same  image,  and  apjilies  it 
to  the  same  purpose,  in  an  elegant  paraphrase  of  this 
part  of  Isaiah's  paral)le,  in  his  flowing  and  plaintive 
manner — But  I  planted  thee  a  sorek,  a  scion  perfectly  ^ 
genuine  ;  how  then  art  thou  changed,  and  become  to 
me  the  degenerate  shoots  of  the  strange  vine  !  chap, 
ii.  21.  By  these  wild  gi-apes,  or  poisonous  berries, 
n:i::»it<3,  we  must  understand  not  merely  useless,  un- 
profitable grapes,  such  as  wild  grapes,  but  grapes 
offensive  to  the  smell,  noxious,  poisonous.  By  the 
force  and  intent  of  the  allegory,  to  good  grapes  ought 
to  be  opposed  fruit  of  a  dangerous  and  pernicious 
quality  ;  as,  in  the  explication  of  it,  to  judgment  is  op- 
posed tyranny,  and  to  righteousness  oppression.  Ge- 
phen,  the  vine,  is  a  common  name  or  genus,  including 
several  species  under  it ;  and  3Ioses,  to  distinguish 
the  true  vine,  or  that  from  which  wine  is  made,  from 
the  rest,  calls  it  gephtn  hayayin,  the  wine-vine.  Num. 
vi.  4.  Some  of  the  other  sorts  were  of  a  poisonous 
quality,  as  appears  from  the  story  related  among  the 
miraculous  acts  of  Elisha:  "And  one  went  out  into 
the  field  to  gather  jiot  herbs,  and  he  found  a  field-vine, 
and  he  gathered  from  it  wild  fruit,  his  lap  full ;  and  he 
went  and  shred  them  into  the  pot  of  pottage,  for  they 
knew  them  not.  And  they  pom-ed  it  out  for  the  men 
to  eat;  and  it  came  to  pass  as  they  were  eating  of  the 
pottage,  that  they  cried  out  and  said,  There  is  death 
in  the  pot,  O  man  of  God  !  and  they  could  not  cat  of 
it.  And  he  said,  Bring  meal ;  and  he  threw  it  into 
the  pot.  And  he  said,  Pour  out  for  the  people,  that 
thev  may  eat.  And  there  was  nothing  hurtflil  in  the 
pot","  2  Kings  iv.  39-^1. 

From  some  such  poisonous  sorts  of  the  grape  kind, 
Moses  has  taken  those  strong  and  highly  poetical  im- 
ages, with  which  he  has  set  forth  the  future  corrup- 
tion and  extreme  degeneracy  of  the  Israelites,  in  an 
allegory  which  has  a  near  relation,  both  in  its  subject 
and  imagery,  to  this  of  Isaiah,  Deut.  xxxii.  32,  33. — 

"Their  vine  is  from  the  vine  of  Sodom, 
And  from  the  fields  of  Gomorrha: 
Their  grapes  are  grapes  of  gall ; 
Their  clusters  are  bitter: 
Their  wine  is  the  poison  of  dragons, 
And  the  cruel  venom  of  asjiics." 

"I  am  inclined  to  believe,"  says  Hasselquist,  "that 
the  prophet  here  (Isa.  v.  2,4.)  means  the  hoary  night- 
shade, solayium  incanum  ;  because  it  is  common  in 
Egypt,  Palestine  and  the  East ;  and  the  Arabian  name 
agrees  well  with  it.  The  Arabs  call  it  aneb  el  dib,  that 
is,  wolf-grapes.  (The  c'c-inj,  says  Kab  Cliai,  is  a 
well-known  species  of  the  vine,  and  the  worst  of  all 
sorts.)  The  prophet  could  not  have  found  a  plant 
more  opposite  to  the  vine  than  this  ;  for  it  grows 
nuich  in  the  vineyards,  and  is  very  ])ernicious  to 
them,  wherefore  they  root  it  out :  it  likewise  resem- 
bles a  vine  by  its  shrubby  stalk."  /Travels,  p.  289.) 
But  see  Grapes,  Wild,  p.  471, 


VINE 


[919] 


VIR 


The  following  scriptural  account  of  the  cultivation 
of  the  vine,  the  vintage  and  the  wines  of  Palestine, 
which  will  doubtless  be  acceptable  to  the  reader,  is 
taken  from  the  "  Investigator." 

The  Jews  planted  their  vineyards  most  commonly 
on  the  south  side  of  a  hill  or  mountain,  the  stones 
being  gathered  out,  and  the  space  hedged  round  with 
thorns,  or  walled,  Isa.  v.  1 — 6;  Ps.  Ixxx.  and  Matt. 
xxi.  33.  A  good  vineyard  consisted  of  a  thousand 
vines,  and  produced  a  rent  of  a  thousand  silvcrlings, 
or  shekels  of  silver,  Isa.  vii.  23.  It  required  two  hun- 
dred moro  to  j)ay  the  dressers.  Cant.  viii.  11,  12.  In 
these,  the  keepers  and  vine-dressere  labored,  digging, 
planting,  pruning  and  propping  the  vines,  gathering 
the  grapes  and  making  wine.  This  was  at  once  a 
laborious  task,  and  often  reckoned  a  base  one,  2  Kings 
XXV.  12;  Cant.  i.  6;  Isa.  Ixi.  5.  The  vines  with 
the  tender  grapes  gave  a  good  smell  early  in  the 
spring,  (Cant.  ii.  13.)  as  we  learn  also  from  Isa.  xviii. 
5,  afore  the  harvest,  that  is,  the  barley-hanest,  when 
the  bud  is  perfect,  and  the  sour  gi'ape  is  ripening  in 
the  flower. 

The  Vintage  followed  the  wheat  harvest  and  the 
thrashing,  (Lev.  xxvi.  5;  Amos  ix.  13.)  about  June 
or  July,  when  the  clusters  of  the  grapes  were  gath- 
ered with  a  sickle,  and  put  into  baskets,  (Jer.  vi.  9.) 
carried  and  thrown  into  the  wine-vat,  or  wine-press, 
where  they  were  probably  first  trodden  by  men,  and 
then  pressed.  Rev.  xiv.  18 — 20.  It  is  mentioned  as 
a  mark  of  the  great  work  and  power  of  the  INIessiah, 
that  he  had  trodden  the  figurative  wine-press  alone  ; 
and  of  the  people  there  was  none  with  him,  Isa.  Ixiii. 
3  ;  Rev.  xix.  15.  The  vintage  was  a  season  of  great 
mirth.  Of  the  juice  of  the  squeezed  grapes  were 
formed  wine  and  vinegar. 

The  Wines  of  Canaan,  being  very  heady,  were 
generally  mixed  with  water  for  common  use,  as 
among  the  Italians;  and  they  sometimes  scented 
them  with  frankincense,  myrrh,  calamus  and  other 
spices;  (Prov.ix.2, 5  ;  Cant.  viii.  2.)  they  also  scented 
them  with  jjomegi'auates,  or  made  wine  of  their  juice 
as  we  do  of  the  juice  of  currants,  goosebeiTies,  &c. 
fermented  with  sugar.  Wine  is  best  when  old,  and 
on  the  lees,  the  dregs  having  sunk  to  the  bottom,  Isa. 
XXV.  6.  Sweet  wine  is  that  which  is  made  from  gi-apes 
fully  ripe,  Isa.  xlix.  26.  The  Israelites  had  two  kinds 
of  vinegar:  the  one  was  a  weak  wine,  which  was 
used  for  their  common  drink  in  the  harvest  field, 
(Ruth  ii.  14.)  as  the  Spaniards  and  Italians  still  do; 
and  it  was  probably  of  this  that  Solomon  was  to  fur- 
nish twenty  thousand  baths  to  Hiram  for  his  servants, 
the  hewers  that  cut  timber  in  Lebanon,  2  Chron. 
ii.  10.  The  other  had  a  sharp  acid  taste,  like  ours  ; 
and  hence  Solomon  hints,  that  a  sluggard  hurts  and 
vexes  such  as  employ  him  in  business,  as  vinegar  is 
disagreeable  to  the  teeth,  and  smoke  to  the  eyes; 
(Prov.  X.  26.)  and  as  vinegar  poiu"ed  upon  nitre  spoils 
its  virtue,  so  he  that  singeth  songs  to  a  heavy  heart, 
docs  but  add  to  his  grief,  chap.  xxv.  20.  The  poor 
were  allowed  to  glean  grapes,  as  well  as  corn,  and 
other  articles  ;  (Lev.  xix.  10  ;  Dent.  xxiv.  21  ;  Isa.  iii. 
14;  chap.  xvii.  C;  xxiv.  13;  Micah  vii.  1.)  and  we 
learn  that  the  gleaning  of  the  grapes  of  Ephraim  was 
better  than  the  vintage  of  Abiezcr,  Judg.  viii.  2. 

The  vessels  in  which  the  wine  was  kept  were  prob- 
ably, for  the  most  part,  bottles,  which  were  usually 
made  of  leather,  or  goat-skins,  firiidy  sewed  and 
pitched  together.  (See  Bottles.)  The  Arabs  pull 
the  skin  off  goats  in  the  same  manner  that  we  do 
from  rabbits,  and  sew  up  the  places  where  the  legs 
and  tail  were  cut  off,  leaving  one  for  the  neck  of  the 


bottle,  to  pour  from  ;  and  in  such  bags  they  put  up 
and  carry,  not  onlv  their  liquors,  but  dry  things  which 
are  not  apt  to  be  broken  ;  by  which  means  thry  are 
well  ])reserved  from  wet,  dust  or  insects.  These 
would  in  time  crack  and  wear  out.  Hence,  when  the 
Gibeonitescame  to  Joshua,  pretending  that  they  came 
from  a  far  country,  amongst  other  things  they  brought 
wine  bottles,  old  and  rent,  and  bound  up  where  they 
had  leaked.  Josh.  ix.  4,  13.  Thus,  too,  it  was  not 
expedient  to  put  new  wine  into  old  bottles,  because 
the  fermentation  of  it  would  break  or  crack  the  bot- 
tles. Matt.  ix.  17.  And  thus  David  complains,  that 
he  had  become  like  a  bottle  in  the  smoke  ;  that  is,  a 
bottle  dried  and  cracked,  and  worn  out,  and  unfit  lor 
service,  Ps.  cxix.  83.  These  bottles  were  jnobably 
of  various  sizes,  and  sometimes  very  large  ;  for  when 
Abigail  went  to  meet  David  and  his  400  men,  and  took 
a  present  to  pacify  and  supply  him,  200  loaves  and  five 
sheep,  ready  dressed,  &c.  she  took  only  iuo  bottles  of 
wine,  (1  Sam.  xxv.  18.)  a  very  disproportionate  quan- 
tity, unless  the  bottles  were  large.  But  the  Israelites 
had  bottles  likewise  made  by  the  jiotters.  (See  Isa. 
XXX.  14,  marg. ;  Jer.  xix.  1,10;  ch.  xlviii.  12.)  We  hear 
also  of  vessels  called  barrels.  That  of  the  widow,  in 
which  her  meal  was  held,  (1  Kings  xvii.  12,  14.)  was 
not,  probably,  very  large  ;  but  those  four  in  which 
the  water  was  brought  up  from  the  sea,  at  the  bottom 
of  mount  Carmel,  to  pom-  upon  Elijah's  sacrifice  and 
altar,  must  have  been  large,  1  Kings  xviii.  33.  We 
read  also  of  the  water-jugs,  or  jars  of  stone,  of  con- 
siderable size,  in  which  our  Lord  caused  the  water 
to  be  converted  into  wine,  John  ii.  6.     See  Bottles. 

Grapes  were  also  dried  into  raisins.  A  part  of 
Abigail's  present  to  David  was  100  clusters  of  raisins  ; 
(1  Sam.  xxv.  18.)  and  when  Ziha  met  David,  his  pres- 
ent contained  the  same  quantity,  2  Sam.  xvi.  1 ;  1  Sam. 
XXX.  12  ;  1  Chron.  xii.  40. 

VINEGAR,  see  Vine,  adfn. 

VIPER,  a  sort  of  serpent.     See  Serpent. 

VIRGIN,  ntS;-,  Jllmah,  mndiroc,  properly  signi- 
fies a  young  unmarried  woman,  and,  liy  im|)lication, 
one  who  has  preserved  the  purity  of  her  body. 

The  authors  of  the  books  of  the  Maccabees,  and 
Ecclesiasticus,  speaking  of  the  young  unmarried 
women,  give  them  the  epithets,  kept  in,  secluded,  hid- 
den, to  distinguish  them  from  married  women,  who 
occasionally  appear  in  public  ;  and  Jerome  preserves 
a  distinction  between  bethula,  a  virgin,  and  almah,  in 
that  the  latter  is  one  who  never  has  been  seen  by 
men.  This  is  its  proper  signification,  in  the  Punic  cr 
Phoenician  language,  which,  as  is  well  known,  is  the 
same  as  the  Hebrew.  It  occurs  in  the  famous  pas- 
sage of  Isaiah,  vii.  14  :  "  Behold  a  virgin  [almah]  shnll 
conceive,  and  bear  a  son."  The  Hebrew  [according 
to  some]  has  no  term  that  more  properly  signifies  a 
virgin,  than  almah;  but  it  must  be  admitted,  without 
lessening,  however,  the  certainty  or  apjdication  of 
Isaiah's  "prophecy,  that  sometimes,  by  mistake,  for 
instance,  a  yoimg  woman,  whether  truly  a  virgin  or 
not,  is  called  almah.  Jerome  remarks,  that  the 
prophet  declined  using  the  word  bethula,  which  sig- 
nifies a  young  woman,  or  young  person,  but  emj)loy- 
ed  the  term  almah,  which  denotes  a  virgin  never 
seen  by  man.  This  is  the  proper  ini|)ort  of  the 
word,  which  is  derived  from  a  root  that  signifies  to 
conceal.  It  is  well  known  that  young  women,  in  the 
East,  do  not  appear  in  public,  but  are  shut  up  in  their 
houses,  and  in  their  mothers'  apartmciits,  l.ke  nuns. 
The  Chaldee  paraphrast  and  the  Septuagint,  trans- 
late almah  by  >,  nunfiiyo;;  Akiba,  the  famous  rabbin, 
a  great  enemy  to  Christ  and  Christians,  who  lived  in 


VIRGIN 


[  920 


VIRGIN 


the  second  century,  understands  it  thus ;  the  apostles 
and  evangelists,  and  the  Jews  of  oiu*  Saviour's  time, 
explained  it  thus,  and  expected  a  Messiah  born  of  a 
virgin ;  and,  further,  Mahomet  and  his  followers 
acknowledge  the  virginity  of  the  mother  of  our 
Lord. 

[The  above  remarks  are  by  Calmet.  The  English 
editor  has  subjoined  a  long  discussion,  in  which  he 
advances  a  theory  (respecting  Isa.  vii.  14.)  apparently 
his  own,  or  at  least  unlike  what  any  other  pei^son 
would  be  apt  to  strike  upon.  It  is,  however,  so  com- 
plicated, and  rests  on  assumptions  so  obviously  un- 
foimded,  that  it  would  both  be  a  waste  of  time  to 
insert  it  here,  and  would  only  tend  to  mislead  the 
reader. 

Before  entering  on  the  consideration  of  the  passage 
in  question,  a  few  words  may  be  premised  on  the 
proper  meaning  of  the  Hebrew  word  ncS?,  almah,  ren- 
dered every  where  virgin.  The  earlier  interpreters 
all  derive  it  from  the  Hebrew  verb  :=S;',  dlam,  to  con- 
ceal, (so  Jerome,  as  cited  above,)  with  reference  to 
the  oriental  custom  of  keeping  young  females  shut 
up.  But  a  more  direct  and  far  better  etymology  is 
found  in  the  same  word  [dlam)  as  employed  by  the 
Arabs,  among  whom  it  signifies  to  grow  up ;  whence 
also  they  have  derivative  nouns,  signifying  adolescens 
and  adolescentula,  youth  and  young  maiden  [dldmath); 
so  also  the  Syriac  dlimethd,  from  the  same  verb  in 
Syriac.  Hence  derived,  the  idea  of  the  Hebrew 
almah  is  young  maiden,  damsel,  virgin,  i.  e.  a  young 
unmarried  woman ;  without  direct  reference  to  chas- 
tity of  person,  although  this  is  naturally  implied. 
That  this,  however,  is  not  necessarily  to  be  understood, 
is  obvious  from  Prov.  xxx.  19,  "  The  way  of  a  man 
with  a  maid,"  where  the  Hebrew  word  is  almah, 
wliich  is  properly  rendered  by  the  English  word 
viaid,  in  its  general  signification,  and  not  its  special 
one  of  virgo  intacta. 

The  passage  in  Isa.  vii.  14 — 16,  stands  thus :  Ahaz 
having  refused  to  ask  a  sign  by  which  he  may  be 
assured  of  deliverance  from  the  kings  of  Syria 
and  Israel,  the  prophet  exclaims:  "Therefore  the 
Ivcrd  himself  shall  give  you  a  sign  ;  behold  a  virgin 
Bhall  conceive,  and  bear  a  son,  and  shall  call  his  name 
Immanuel.  Butter  and  honey  shall  he  cat,  that 
[until]  he  may  know  to  refuse  the  evil  and  choose 
the  good.  For  before  the  child  shall  know  to  refuse 
the  evil  and  choose  the  good,  the  land  that  thou  ab- 
lioiTcst  shall  be  forsaken  of  both  her  kings."  This 
prophecy  3Iatthew  quotes  (i.  22.)  as  referring  to  the 
IMessiah  ;  and  introduces  his  citation  by  the  words, 
"Now  all  tljis  was  done,  that  it  might  be  ful- 
filled," etc. 

In  regard  to  this  passage  of  Isaiah,  we  may  say, 
that  it  must  obviously  either  be  understood  as  wholly 
j»rophetic  of  the  Messiah,  or  else  as  having  no  refer- 
ence to  him,  but  as  relating  merely  to  a  sign  to  be 
given  to  Ahaz,  viz.  the  birth  of  ason  from  the  pro])h- 
ctpss  within  a  certain  time,  within  the  period  of  whose 
cliililhood  the  promised  deliverance  should  take  place. 
B'twcen  these  two  there  would  seem  to  be  no  mid- 
dle way,  which  does  not  lead  to  inextricable  confu- 
."^ion  and  absurdity — whether  we  sujipose  a  change  of 
subject,  the  prophet  speaking  sometimes  of  Inunanuel 
ntul  sometimes  of  Shear-jashub,  which  is  mere  hy- 
jKnliesis;  or  wliethcr  avc  suppose  that  the  sign  was 
to  Ahaz  alone,  but  consisted  in  the  birth  of  a  child 
from  a  virgin  who  had  not  known  mdn — a  supposition 
for  which  tljcrc  is  no  hint  in  history,  nor  any  ground 
of  necessity  or  probabihty. 

The   Messianic   exposition  has  been   tliat  of  the 


church  at  large,  in  all  ages,  down  to  the  middle  of  the 
eighteenth  century ;  except  that  some  have  connected 
with  it  a  double  sense,  making  it  refer  both  to  the 
IMessiah  and  to  an  event  in  the  time  of  Ahaz,  for 
which  there  seems  no  rational  ground  extant.  Those 
who,  since  the  middle  of  the  last  century,  deny  that 
the  passage  is  prophetic  of  the  Messiah,  consider  the 
word  almah  as  signifying  a  young  woman  in  general, 
whether  married  or  uinnarried  ;  or  at  least  they  sup- 
pose that  it  might  be  employed  of  a  young  married 
woman,  without  a  violation  of  usage.  They  suppose 
the  wife  of  the  prophet  to  be  intended  ;  and  that  the 
sign  is,  her  conception  and  delivery  of  a  son  in  ac- 
cordance with  this  distinct  and  definite  prediction  ; — 
the  fulfilment  of  this  prediction  will  be  a  sign  to  the 
king,  that  the  promise  of  dehverance  connected  with 
it  will  also  be  fulfilled.  They  suppose  that  the  his- 
tory in  the  beginning  of  c.  viii.  is  the  narrative  of  this 
very  fulfilment,  where  the  prophet  takes  witnesses, 
and  goes  in  unto  the  prophetess,  and  she  conceives 
and  bears  a  son;  of  whom  it  is  said,  "Before  the 
child  shall  have  knowledge  to  cry  My  father  and  my 
mother,  the  riches  of  Damascus  and  the  spoil  of  Sa- 
maria shall  be  taken  away  before  the  king  of  Assyria," 
— the  same  event  which  is  predicted  in  c.  vii.  16,  as 
about  to  follow  the  birth  of  Immanuel.  That  in  c. 
viii.  3,  the  father  is  directed  to  call  the  child  Maher- 
shalal-hashbaz,  instead  of  Immanuel,  as  in  c.  vii.  14, 
creates  no  greater  difliculty,  it  is  said,  than  Matt.  i. 
21 ;  where,  although  this  passage  respecting  the  birth 
of  Immanuel  is  quoted,  yet  the  angel  directs  Joseph 
to  call  the  name  of  Mary's  son  Jesus,  and  not  Inunan- 
uel. It  is  asked,  moreover.  Of  what  value  could  a 
sign  be  to  Ahaz,  which  was  first  to  take  place  after 
700  yeai"s.'  or  what  connection  could  this  have  with 
his  deliverance  from  the  invasion  of  the  kings  of 
Israel  and  Syria?  Those  who  adopt  this  mode  of 
exposition  understand,  of  coin-sc,  the  citation  of 
Matthew  to  be  made  merely  by  way  of  illustration,  or 
as  an  allusion  to  a  factor  circumstance  of  former  his- 
tory ;  just  as  in  Matt.  ii.  15,  it  is  said  of  Jesus,  "  Out 
of  Egypt  have  I  called  my  son,"  quoted  from  Hos. 
xi.  1,  where  it  refers  simply  and  solely  to  the  nation 
of  Israel.  It  must  indeed  be  admitted,  that  were  the 
quotation  in  INIatthew  not  extant,  there  would  proba- 
bly be  nothing  to  suggest  that  this  passage  in  Isaiah 
could  have  any  reference  to  the  IMessiah. 

But,  on  the  other  hand,  it  is  very  diflicult  to  avoid 
the  conclusion,  that  the  evangelist  intended  here  to  cite 
this  passage  as  a  direct  prophecy.  In  c.  ii.  15,  ho 
merely  says,  "  that  it  might  be  fuliillcd  ; "  o)-,  as  it  may 
be  rendered,  so  that  there  teas  a  fulfilment,  sc.  in  a 
higher  sense,  i.  e.  as  God  formerly  called  Israel  his 
son  out  of  Egypt,  so  now  his  own  well-beloved  Son, 
the  Messiah.  But  here,  in  c.  i.  22,  the  writer  says 
expressly,  "  Now  oZZ  </i?5  !ca5  rfc?!f,  that  it  might  be 
fulfilled,"  &c.  intimating  that  all  the  rircumstances 
previous  to  the  birth  of  Christ  had  a  direct  reference 
to  this  passage  in  Isaiah,  and  that  this  passngc  was 
directly  i)roplietic  of  these  circumstances.  The  lan- 
guage is  as  strong  as  possible:  had  the  e\"angelist 
intended  to  express  this  idea  with  the  utmost  strength 
and  plainness,  he  could  not  probably  have  selected 
any  other  language,  or  at  least  none  stronger.  With 
this  view,  too,  coincide  the  other  prophecies  of  the 
Messiah  in  Isa.  ix.  6,  and  Mirah  v.  2,  3. 

In  respect  to  the  objection,  that  if  this  is  an  annun- 
ciation of  the  Messiah,  it  could  be  no  sign  to  Ahaz,  it 
may  be  replied,  that  the  j)rophet  directs  liis  discourse 
not  so  much  to  Ahaz,  as  to  the  pious  part  of  the  people  ; 
Ahaz  being,  indeed,  the  representative  of  the  whole 


VIS 


[921  J 


VOW 


nation.  He  had  cast  off  the  fear  of  God  ;  the  land  was 
invaded;  he  had  just  contemned  the  promise  of  the 
Lord  through  his  prophet.  The  people,  or  at  least  the 
pious  pait  of  them,  feared  the  total  destruction  of  the 
state.  In  these  circumstances,  the  prophet  reminds 
the  people  of  their  firm  belief  in  the  future  appearance 
of  a  Messiah,  and  shows  them  that  this  belief  is  in  con- 
tradiction with  their  present  fear  of  the  total  down- 
fill  of  the  state.  His  language  to  them  is :  "  Because 
the  king  has  contemned  the  miraculous  sign  which  I 
was  commissioned  to  offer  him,  therefore  God, through 
me,  recalls  to  your  minds  that  great  event  of  the  fu- 
ture, which  is  well  known  to  you,  although  you  now 
forget  it,  the  miraculous  birth  of  the  Messiah.  This 
may  serve  to  you  as  a  sign  of  present  deliverance  ; 
for  so  surely  as  that  event  will  take  place,  so  surely 
can  the  state  not  now  come  to  destruction." 

The  words  of  verse  16  have  occasioned  much  dif- 
ficulty:  "Before  the  child  shall  know  to  refuse  the 
evil  and  choose  the  good,  the  land  that  thon  abhor- 
rest  shall  be  forsaken  of  both  her  kings."  If  the  pas- 
sage be  taken  as  non-Messianic,  these  words  are  easy 
and  natural ;  and  they  constitute,  iudeed,  one  of  the 
greatest  dithculties  in  the  waj'  of  the  other  mode  of 
exposition.  The  idea  unquestionably  is,  that  in  the 
interval  between  the  birth  of  the  child  mentioned, 
and  the  time  when  it  will  begin  to  distinguish  between 
good  and  evil,  i.  e.  an  interval  of  3  or  4  years,  the 
kingdoms  of  Israel  and  Syria  will  be  overthrown. 
But  how  could  the  prophet  say  this,  if  that  child  was 
the  Messiah,  who  was  to  be  born  700  j^ears  later? 
The  best,  and  indeed  the  only  solution,  seems  to  be 
that  of  Vitringa,  Lowth,  Koppe,  Hengstenberg  and 
others,  which  is  as  follows:  The  prophet,  beholding 
the  future  in  vision,  sees  all  things  as  if  present ;  thus 
in  ('..  ix.  6,  he  says,  "Unto  us  a  child  is  bom,  unto  us 
a  son  IS  given  ;"  so  here  we  may  with  entire  ])ropri- 
ety  translate,  "  Lo !  the  virgin  conceives  and  brings 
forth  a  son,"  &c. — the  prophet  beholding,  in  vision, 
tiie  future  spread  but  before  him  as  if  pi*esent.  So  in 
announcing  to  Ahaz,  or  more  properly  to  the  pious 
part  of  the  people,  the  approaching  dehvcrance  from 
invading  enemies,  with  this  same  vision  of  the  future 
spread  out  before  his  mental  eye,  he  goes  on  to  say, 
thnt  in  an  intein'al  not  longer  than  that  in  which  this 
child,  Avhom  he  now  thus  beholds,  shall  learn  to  dis- 
tinguish good  and  evil,  this  deliverance  of  the  land 
shall  take  place ;  i.  e.  the  prophet  assumes  the  time 
between  the  birth  of  this  child  and  the  development 
of  his  faculties,  as  the  measure  of  the  time  before  the 
deliverance  of  the  country  from  its  enemies.  He 
means  to  say,  that  in  the  interval  of  3  or  4  years,  the 
fall  of  both  the  hostile  kingdoms  will  take  place. 
This  he  expresses  by  saying,  that  this  interval  will  be 
the  same  as  the  interval  from  the  birth  of  the  child 
whom  he  now  beholds  in  vision,  to  the  age  when  this 
child  will  be  able  to  choose  the  good  and  refuse  the 
evil."  (See  Hengstenberg's  Christologie,  Th.  ii.  p. 
68,  seq.)     *R. 

VISION,  a  supernatural  presentation  of  certain 
scenery  or  circumstances  to  the  mind  of  a  person, 
while  awake.  (See  Dream,  ad  Jin.)  When  Aaron 
and  Miriam  murmured  against  IVIoses,  (Numl>.  xii.  0 
— 8.)  the  Lord  said,  "  Hear  now  my  words  :  if  there  be 
a  prophet  among  you,  I,  the  Lord,  will  make  myself 
known  unto  him  in  a  vision,  and  will  speak  to  him  in  a 
dream.  My  servant  Moses  is  not  so,  who  is  faith- 
ful in  all  mine  house;  with  him  will  I  speak  mouth 
to  mouih,even  apparently,  and  not  in  dark  speeches; 
and  the  similitude  of  the  Lord  shall  he  behold."  The 
false  prophet  Balaam,  whose  heart  was  perverted  by 
116 


covetousness,  says  of  himself,  that  he  had  seen  tlie 
visions  of  the  Almighty,  Numb.  xxiv.  15,  16.  In  the 
time  of  the  high-priest  Eli,  it  is  said,  (1  Sam.  iii.  1.) 
"  The  word  of  the  Lord  was  precious  in  those  days  ; 
there  was  no  open  vision  ;"  literally,  "  the  vision  did 
not  break  forth."  Such  connnunications  were  not 
vouchsafed  to  any  propliet  then  existing. 

To  VISIT  ;  VISITATION.  These  words  are 
sometimes  taken  for  a  visit  of  mercy  from  God,  but 
oftencr  for  a  visit  of  rigor  and  vengeance^,  day  of  vis- 
itation, year  of  visitation,  or  time  of  visitation,  gener- 
ally signifies  the  time  of  affliction  and  vengeance  ;  or 
of  close  inspection. 

VITELLIUS,  the  censor,  father  of  the  emperor 
A.  Vitellius,  was  made  governor  of  Syria,  at  the  ex- 
piration of  his  consulate,  A.  D.  35,  and'the  same  year, 
or  the  year  following,  he  came  to  Jerusalem  at  the 
feast  of  the  passover,  and  was  very  magnificently  en- 
tertained. He  released  the  city  from  a  tax  on  fruits ; 
conmiitted  to  the  care  of  the  Jews  the  high-priest's 
habit,  with  the  pontifical  ornaments,  which  Herod 
and  the  Romans  had  kept,  till  then,  in  the  tower  An- 
tonia.  He  deposed  Joseph  Caiaphas  from  the  high- 
priesthood,  and  put  in  his  place  Jonathan,  son  of 
Ananus  ;  but  deprived  him  of  his  dignity  two  years 
afterwards,  and  conferred  it  on  Thcophilus,  his 
brother.     (Josephus,  Ant.  viii.  6.) 

VOLUME,  see  Book. 

VOW,  a  promise  made  to  Godof  doing  some  good 
thing  hereafter.  The  use  of  vows  is  observable 
throughout  Scripture.  Jacob,  going  into  Mesopota- 
mia, vowed  the  tenth  of  his  estate,  and  promised  to 
offer  it,  at  Bethel,  to  the  honor  of  God,  Gen.  xxviii. 
22.  Moses  enacts  several  laws  for  the  regulation  and 
execution  of  vows.  A  man  might  devote  himself  or 
his  children  to  the  Lord.  Jeplithah  devoted  his 
daughter,  (Judg.  xi.  30,  31.)  and  Sanniel  was  vowed 
and  consecrated  to  the  service  of  the  Lord,  1  Sam.  i. 
21,  Sec.  If  a  man  or  woman  vowed  themselves  to 
the  Lord,  they  were  obliged  to  adhere  strictly  to  his 
service,  according  to  the  conditions  of  the  vow  ;  but 
in  some  cases  they  might  be  redeemed.  A  man 
from  twenty  years  of  age  till  sixty,  gave  fifty  shekels 
of  silver,  and  a  woman  thirty.  From  the  age  of  five 
years  to  twenty,  a  man  gave  twenty  shekels,  and  a 
woman  ten :  from  a  month  old  to  five  ycai-s,  they 
gave  for  a  boy  five  shekels,  and  for  a  girl  three.  A 
man  of  sixty  years  old  or  upwards,  gave  fifteen  she- 
kels, and  a  woman  of  the  same  age  ten.  If  the  per- 
son were  poor,  and  could  not  procure  this  sum,  the 
priest  imposed  a  ransom  on  him,  according  to  his 
abilities,  Lev.  xxvii.  3. 

If  any  one  vowed  an  animal  that  was  clean,  he  had 
not  the' liberty  of  redeeming  it,  or  of  exchanging  h, 
but  must  sacrifice  it  to  the  Lord.  If  it  were  an  un- 
clean animal,  such  <'is  was  not  lawful  in  sacrifice,  ti;c 
priest  made  a  vaination  of  it,  and  the  proprietor,  if  he 
desired  to  red<^em  it,  added  a  fifih  part  to  the  Aahic, 
by  way  of  tine.  They  did  the  same,  in  ]iroportion, 
\vhen  the  thing  vowed  was  a  house  or  a  field.  They 
could  not  devote  the  first-born,  because,  in  their  own 
nature,  they  belonged  to  the  Lord.  Whatever  was 
devoted  by  anathema  could  not  be  redeemed,  of 
whatever  nature  or  quality  it  was;  if  an  animal,  it 
was  put  to  death  ;  and  other  things  were  devoted 
forever  to  the  Lord,  Lca".  xxvii.  28,  29.  The  conse- 
cration of  Nazarites  was  a  particular  kind  of  vow, 
and  had  special  rules.     See  Nazarites. 

The  vows  and  promises  of  children  were  void,  of 
course,  except  ratified  by  the  express  or  tacit  consent 
of  their  parents,  Numb.  xxx.  1—3,  &c.     Also  the  vow 


vow 


[  922  ] 


VUL 


of  a  married  woman  was  of  no  validity,  except  con- 
firmed by  the  express  or  tacit  consent  of  her  hus- 
band. But  widows,  or  hberated  wives,  were  bound 
by  their  vows,  of  whatever  nature.  Deut.  xxiii.  21, 
22,  "  When  thou  shalt  vow  a  vow  unto  the  Lord  thy 
God,  thou  shalt  not  be  slack  to  pay  it ;  for  the  Lord 
thy  God  will  surely  require  it  of  thee,  and  it  would 
be  sin  in  thee.  But  if  thou  shalt  forbear  to  vow,  it 
shall  be  no  sin  in  thee."  (See  Eccl.  v.  3,  4,  &c.) 
Paul  had  a  vow  of  Nazariteship,  when  he  left  Cen- 
chrea,  (Acts  xviii.  18.)  and  when  he  arrived  at  Jeru- 
salem, James,  the  apostle,  and  the  bi-ethren,  advised 
him  to  join  four  Judaizing  Christians,  who  had  avow 
of  Nazariteship,  and  to  contribute  to  the  charges  of 
their  purification  in  the  temple,  chap.  xxi.  18,  &c. 

The  vowa  of  the  Jews  always  implied  a  kind  of 
imprecation  against  themselves,  if  they  failed  in  the 
performance.  Such  vows  were  generally  expressed 
in  a  distinct  and  plain  manner,  but  the  penalty  was 
declared  conditionally  or  hypothetically.  For  ex- 
ample, Ps.  xcv.  11,  "I  have  sworn  in  my  wrath,  if 
they  shall  enter  into  my  rest."  I  have  sworn  they 
shall  not  enter,  and  I  have  said.  Let  me  be  a  liar — 
or  something  else,  not  expressed — if  they  do  enter. 
David  vows  to  the  Lord  to  build  him  a  temple,  say- 
ing, "  Surely  I  will  not  come  [or  if  I  come]  into  the 
tabernacle  of  my  house — until  I  find  out  a  place  for 


the  Lord,  a  habitation  for  the  mighty  God  of  Jacob." 
Where  we  observe,  that  he  does  not  mention  the 
penalty  to  which  he  becomes  liable,  should  he  fail 
of  performing  his  vow  :  as  if  he  had  said,  "  Let  God 
treat  me  with  the  utmost  rigor,  if  I  allow  myself 
the  least  respite,  till  I  have  accomplished  my  design." 

Sometimes  they  expressed  the  penalty,  or  impre- 
cation, but  directed  it  against  their  enemies,  or 
against  brute  beasts.  For  example,  "  So  and  more 
also  do  God  unto  the  enemies  of  David,  if  I  leave  a 
male,  of  all  that  pertain  to  him,  by  the  morning  light." 
He  does  not  say,  "May  God  treat  me  as  a  forsworn 
person,  if  I  leave  any  one  alive  of  the  family  of  Na- 
bal ;"  but.  May  God  do  so  to  the  enemies  of  David, 
if  I  leave  so  much  as  a  dog  alive.  Generally,  the 
Scripture  expresses  the  imprecation  by,  "  God  do  so 
to  me — and  more  also,"  &c.  without  specifying  any 
particular  penalty,  or  imprecation  ;  whether  it  be  that 
the  person  vowing  did  not  express  any,  or  that  out  of 
discretion  he  forbore  to  mention  any ;  or  that  the 
penalty  was  so  publicly  known,  being  customary, 
that  it  was  understood  without  bemg  expressed.  See 
Devoting,  and  Corban. 

VULGATE,  see  Versions. 

VULTURE,  a  bird  of  prey,  declared  unclean  by 
Moses,  Lev.  xi.  14 ;  Deut.  xiv.  13.  See  Bird,  and 
Eagle.  - 


W 


WAL 


WAR 


WAFER,  in  Scripture,  a  thin  cake  of  fine  flour, 
which  was  used  in  various  offerings,  anointed  with 
oil,  Ex.  xxix.  2, 23;  Lev.  ii.  4;  vii.  12;  Num.  vi.  15.  R. 

WAGES,  reward  for  service  performed.  The 
wages,  the  reward,  the  deserved  retribution,  of  sin  is 
death,  Rom.  vi.  23.     , 

WAGON,  see  Chariot. 

WALK,  WALKING.  This  word,  in  Hebrew, 
signifies,  not  merely  to  proceed  or  advance,  step  by 
step,  steadily,  but  to  proceed  with  increased  velocity  : 
it  signifies  to  swell  out  louder  a  musical  note  or  voice, 
a  crescendo,  as  musicians  term  it ;  and  so,  generally, 
to  augment  a  moderate  pace  till  it  acquires  rapidity. 
Under  this  idea,  examine  Isa.  xl.  31 :  "  The  youths 
shall  faint  and  grow  weary,  the  young  men  shall  ut- 
terly fail  of  their  power  ;  but  they  who  wait  on  the 
Lord  shall  renew  strength  ;  shall  mount  up  with 
wings  as  eagles.;  they  shall  run  and  not  be  weary, 
they  shall  walk,  shall  increase  their  swiftness,  aug- 
ment their  velocity,  and  not  faint."  The  passage  re- 
quires the  admission  of  some  idea  to  this  eflfect,  since 
walking  after  running  is  an  anti-climax,  and  there- 
fore could  not  be  the  poetical  prophtt's  meaning. 

To  walk  signifies  the  conduct  of  life,  the  general 
course  of  a  party,  his  deportment,  demeanor,  &c. 
To  worship  and  serve  God  truly,  is  to  walk  before 
him.  Enoch  walked  with  God,  maintained  and  in- 
creased in  piety  towards  him  ;  so  did  Noah.  God 
promises  to  walk  with  his  people,  and  his  people  de- 
sire his  influence,  that  they  may  walk  in  his  statutes. 
The  pestilence  is  said  to  walk  in  darkness,  spread- 
ing its  ravages  by  night  as  well  as  by  day.  God  is 
said  to  walk  on  the  wings  of  the  wind,  and  the 
heart  of  man  to  walk  after  detestable  things.  To 
walk  in  darkness,  (1  John  i.  6,  7.)  is  to  be  misled  by 
error ;  to  walk  in  the  light,  is  to  be  well  informed  ; 


to  walk  by  faith,  is  to  expect  the  things  promised  or 
threatened,  and  to  maintain  a  conduct  accordingly ; 
to  walk  after  the  flesh,  is  to  gratify  fleshly  appetites ; 
to  walk  after  the  spirit,  is  to  pursue  spiritual  objects, 
to  cultivate  spiritual  affections,  to  be  spiritually  mind- 
ed, which  is  life  and  peace. 

WALL,  an  enclosure  or  separation.  (See  Fence.) 
The  Lord  tells  the  prophet  Jeremiah,  (i.  18  ;  xv.  20.) 
that  he  will  make  him  as  a  wall  of  brass,  to  with- 
stand the  house  of  Israel.  Paul  says,  (Eph.  ii.  14.) 
that  Christ,  by  his  death,  broke  down  the  partition- 
wall  that  separated  us  from  God,  or  rather  the  wall 
that  separated  Jew  and  Gentile ;  so  that  these  two 
people,  when  converted,  may  make  but  one. 

WAR.  The  Hebrews  were  formerly  one  of  the 
most  warlike  nations  in  the  world.  The  books  that 
relate  their  wars  are  by  neither  flattering  authors, 
nor  ignorant,  but  inspired  by  the  spirit  of  truth  and 
wisdom.  Their  warriors  were  not  fabulous  heroes, 
but,  commonly,  wise  and  valiant  generals,  raised  up 
by  God,  to  fight  the  battles  of  the  Lord  ;  such  were 
Joshua,  Gideon,  Jephthah,  Samson,  David,  the 
Maccabees,  &c.  Their  wars  were  not  undertaken 
on  sligjit  occasions,  nor  performed  with  a  handful  of 
people.  Under  Joshua  the  affair  was  no  less  than 
the  conquest  of  a  country,  allotted,  by  God,  to  Israel, 
from  several  powerful  nations,  who  were  devoted  to 
an  anathema;  to  vindicate  an  offended  Deity,  and 
human  nature,  debased  by  wicked  and  corrupt 
people  of  different  nations,  which  had  filled  up  the 
measure  of  their  iniquities.  Under  the  Judges, 
the  purpose  was  to  assert  their  liberty,  by  shaking 
off  the  yoke  of  powerful  kings,  who  kept  them  in 
subjection.  Under  Saul  and  David,  to  these  motives 
were  added  that  of  subduing  such  provinces  as  God 
had  promised  to  his  people. 


WAR 


[923  ] 


WAR 


In  the  latter  times  of  the  kiugdonis  of  Israel  and 
Judah,  we  find  then*  kings  bearing  the  shock  of  the 
greatest  powers  of  Asia,  the  kings  of  Assyria  and 
Chaldea,  Sliainianesei*,  Sennacherib,  Esar-Haddon 
and  Nebuchadnezzar,  who  made  the  whole  East  to 
tremble.  Under  the  Maccabees,  the  business  was, 
with  a  handful  of  men,  to  oppose  the  whole  power 
of  the  kings  of  Syria,  to  uphold  the  religion  of  their 
fatiiers,  and  to  free  themselves  from  the  despotism 
which  designed  to  subvert  both  their  religion  and 
liberty.  In  the  last  times  of  their  nation,  with  what 
courage,  intrepidity  and  constancy  did  they  sustain 
the  war  against  the  Romans,  then  masters  of  the 
world  ! 

Under  Moses  and  Joshua,  the  Israelites  were  all 
soldiers,  and  men  bearing  arms.  They  came  out  of 
Egypt  in  number  600,000  fighting  men.  When 
Joshua  entered  Canaan,  he  fought  sometimes  with 
detachments,  and  sometimes  with  his  whole  army. 
To  signalize  his  omnipotence,  and  to  humble  the 
pride  of  man,  God  often  gave  victory  to  very  small 
armies.  For  example,  imder  Gideon,  when  he 
orilered  that  general  to  dismiss  the  greater  part  of 
his  attendants,  and  only  to  keep  with  him  three  hun- 
dred men,  with  which  he  .defeated  an  innumerable 
multitude  of  Midianites  and  Amalekites.  See  Ar- 
mies. 

We  may  distinguish  two  kinds  of  wars  among  the 
Hebrews.  Some  were  of  obligation,  being  expressly 
commanded  by  the  Lord  ;  others  were  free  and  volun- 
tary. The  first  were  such  as  those  against  the  Amale- 
kites, and  the  intrusive  and  wicked  Canaanites,  nations 
devoted  to  an  anathema.  The  others  were  to  avenge 
injuries,  insults,  or  offences  against  the  nation.  Such 
was  that  against  the  city  of  Gibeah,  and  against  the 
tribe  of  Benjamin ;  and  such  was  that  of  David 
against  the  Ammonites,  whose  king  had  insulted  his 
ambassadors.  Or  they  were  to  maintain  and  defend 
their  allies,  as  that  of  Joshua  against  the  kings  of 
the  Canaanites,  to  protect  Gibeon.  In  fact,  the  laws 
of  Moses  su})pose  that  Israel  might  make  war,  and 
ojjpose  enemies. 

The  first  law  of  war  is,  that  it  should  be  declared 
to  the  enemy,  and  that  reparation  should  be  demand- 
ed for  the  wrong  supposed  to  have  been  suffered, 
])efore  the  enemy  is  attacked,  Deut.  xx.  10,  11,  &c. 
In  the  sacred  writings,  we  have  several  examples  of 
defiance,  challenge,  or  declaration  of  war  ;  and  com- 
plaints of  those  who  were  attacked,  without  having 
had  war  formally  declared.  When  the  Ammonites  by 
sin-priso  attacked  the  Israelites  beyond  Jordan,  Jeph- 
thah  sent  to  inquire  of  them,  "  What  hast  thou  to 
do  with  me,  that  thou  art  come  against  me,  to  fight 
in  my  land  ?"  &c.  Judg.  xi.  12.  When  the  Philis- 
tines'cntered  the  territory  of  Judah,  to  avenge  them- 
selves for  the  fire  that  Samson  had  put  to  their  corn, 
the  men  of  Judah  came  out  to  inquire  of  them,  "Why 
are  ye  come  up  against  us?"  Judg.  xv.  10,  &c. 
They  answered,  they  had  no  quarrel  against  any  but 
Samson,  who  had  destroyed  theii-  fields.  The  men 
of  Judah  promised  to  deliver  up  the  guilty  person, 
and  the  Philistines  retired.  Amaziah,  king  of  Judah, 
puffed  up  with  some  advantages  he  had  obtained 
over  the  Edomites,  sent  a  challenge  to  Joash,  king  of 
Israel,  saying,  "Come,  let  us  look  one  another  in 
the  face,"  2  Kings  xiv.  8—10.  But  the  king  of  Is- 
rael, without  disquieting  himself  about  it,  sent  him 
a  parable  in  answer :  Amaziah  would  not  hearken  to 
his  advice,  and  Judah  was  beaten.  Benhadad,  king 
of  Syria,  came  with  his  army  before  Samaria,  and 
sent  to  declare  ^var  against  Ahab,  king  of  Israel,  say- 


ing, "  Thy  silver  and  thy  gold  is  mine ;  thy  wives, 
also,  and  thy  children,  even  the  goodliest  are  mine," 
1  Kings  XX.  1,  3.  Ahab  at  first  submitted,  but  Ben- 
hadad becoming  more  arrogant,  Ahab  determined  to 
resist  him,  and  the  Syrian  failed  of  his  purpose. 

When  a  war  was  resolved  upon,  all  the  people 
capable  of  bearing  arms  were  assembled,  or  only  pait 
of  them,  according  to  the  exigence  of  the  case,  and 
the  necessity  and  importance  of  the  enterprise  ;  for 
it  does  not  appear,  that  before  the  reign  of  David 
there  were  any  regular  troops  in  Israel.  A  general 
rendezvous  was  appointed,  and  a  review  made  of 
the  people  by  tribes,  and  by  families.  When  Saul, 
at  the  beginning  of  his  reign,  was  informed  of  the 
cruel  proposal  made  by  the  Ammonites  to  Jabesh- 
Gilead,  he  cut  in  pieces  the  oxen  belonging  unto  his 
plough-team,  and  sent  dissevered  members  through 
the  country,  saying,  "  Whosoever  cometh  not  forth 
after  Saul  and  Samuel,  to  the  relief  of  Jabesh-Gilead, 
so  shall  it  be  done  unto  his  oxen,"  1  Sam.  xi.  1.  (See 
Covenant.)  After  this  he  marched  to  meet  the  ene- 
my. When  the  children  of  Israel  had  heard  of  the 
crime  committed  by  the  inhabitants  of  Gibeah, 
against  the  wife  of  the  Levite  of  Bethlehem,  (Judg. 
XX.  8.)  they  resolved  not  to  retum  to  their  houses  till 
they  liad  adequately  punished  it.  They  consulted 
the  Lord,  who  appointed  the  tribe  of  Judah  to  lead 
the  enterprise.  They  chose  ten  men  out  of  every 
hundred,  to  bring  provisions  to  the  army,  after  which 
they  proceeded  to  action. 

In  ancient  times,  those  who  went  to  war  common- 
ly carried  their  own  provisions  with  them  ;  hence 
the  wars  were  generally  of  short  continuance.  When 
David,  Jesse's  younger  son,  staid  behind  to  look 
after  his  father's  flocks,  while  his  elder  brothers  ac- 
companied Saul  in  the  army,  he  was  sent  by  Jesse 
with  provisions  to  his  brothers,  1  Sam.  xvii.  13. 
Each  one  also  provided  his  own  arms ;  for  the  kings 
did  not  begin  to  form  magazines  of  warlike  imple- 
ments till  the  time  of  David. 

The  Officers  of  War  were,  (1.)  The  generalissimo 
of  the  armies,  or  the  military  prince,  such  as  Abner 
under  Saul,  Joab  under  David,  and  Benaiah  under 
Solomon.  (2.)  The  princes  of  the  tribes,  or  princes 
of  the  fathers,  or  of  the  families  of  Israel,  who  were 
at  the  head  of  their  tribes.  (3.)  Princes  of  a  thou- 
sand, or  tribunes,  captains  of  a  hundred,  heads  of 
fifty  men  ;  also  decurious,  or  chiefs  often  men.  (4.) 
Shopherim,  scribes  or  writers,  a  kind  of  commissa- 
ries, who  kept  the  muster-roll  of  the  troops  ;  and,  (5.) 
Shoterim,  or  inspectors,  who  had  authority  to  com- 
mand the  troops  under  their  inspection. 

Machines  of  War,  proper  for  besieging  cities  and 
fortresses,  are  of  comparatively  late  invention.  They 
are  not  mentioned  in  Homer  ;  and  Diodorus  Siculus 
observes,  (lib.  ii.  p.  80.)  that  Sardanapalus,  king  of 
Assjria,  sustained  a  siege  of  seven  years  in  Nineveh  ; 
because  at  that  time  machines  fit  for  demolishing 
and  taking  cities  were  not  invented.  But  about  the 
same  time  we  read,  that  Uzziah,  king  of  Judah,  had 
stored  up  in  his  magazines  "  shields,  and  speai-s,  and 
helmets,  habergeons,  and  bows,  and  slings  to  cast 
stones."  And  that  "  he  made  in  Jerusalem  engines 
invented  by  cunning  men,  to  be  on  the  towers,  and 
ui)on  the  bulwarks,  to  shoot  arrows  and  great  stones 
and  his  name  spread  far  abroad,  for  he  was  marvel- 
lously helped,  till  he  was  strong,"  2  Chron.  xxvi.  14, 
15.  Here  we  have,  perhaps,  the  first  instance  of 
machines  of  war,  or,  at  least,  of  a  collected  armoiy 
of  them.  About  seventy  years  after,  in  the  sieges  of 
Tyre  and  Jerusalem,  Nebuchadnezzar  used  batter- 


WAR 


924  ] 


WEE 


ing-rams  and  slings.  The  Hebrew  i3,  car,  (Ezek.  iv. 
1,  2  ;  xxl.  22.)  in  Greek  Kqiuc,  which  Scripture  uses 
to  express  this  machine,  signifies  a  real  ram;  by 
metaphor  a  machine,  with  which  they  battered  down 
gates  and  walls  of  cities.  Ezekiel,  (xxvi.  8,  9.) 
speaking  of  this  siege,  alludes  to  the  ancient  manner 
of  besieging  places:  "He  shall  slay  with  the  sword 
thy  daughters  in  the  field,  and  he  shall  make  a  fort 
ag-ainst  thee,  and  cast  a  mount  against  thee,  and  lifl; 
up  the  buckler  against  thee.  And  he  shall  set  en- 
signs of  war  against  thy  walls,  and  with  his  axes  he 
shall  break  down  thy  towers." 

When  the  ancients  besieged  a  place,  they  usually 
surrounded  it  with  mounds,  towers  and  trenches, 
that  the  besieged  might  neither  make  sallies,  nor  re- 
ceive succors  from  without.  To  lift  up  the  buckler 
may  intimate  what  the  Romans  called  facere  testudi- 
ncm,  to  make  a  tortoise  ;  when  they  caused  their  sol- 
diers to  close  each  other  to  join  their  bucklers,  in  the 
Ibnn  of  a  tortoise,  in  order  to  sap  the  walls,  to  beat 
down  gates,  or  to  burn  them.  The  engines  of  war 
hei-e  mentioned,  or  machines  of  cords,  were  the  Ba- 
iistse,  or  Catapultfe,  used  for  casting  stones  or  darts ; 
or  great  hooks  fastened  to  cords,  and  thrown  on  the 
tops  of  walls,  to  tear  them  down.  Of  these  iron 
hooks  or  fangs,  may  be  understood  2  Sam.  xvii.  13: 
"  If  he  be  got  into  a  city,  then  shall  all  Israel  bring 
ropes  to  that  city,  and  we  will  draw  it  into  the  river, 
until  there  be  not  one  smaM  stone  found  there." 

But  besides  open  and  violent  modes  of  attack,  the 
besiegers,  whenever  it  was  possible,  practised  the 
less  evident,  but  not  less  fatal,  method,  of  sapping 
and  undermining  the  walls  of  a  city  :  the  besieged, 
on  their  part,  also,  adopted  the  same  mode  for  pur- 
poses of  resistance,  with  design  of  ruining  the  works 
of  their  adversaries;  or  of  issuing  from  the  city, 
either  for  sudden  attack  on  their  enemies,  or  for 
escape  from  the  consequences  of  the  siege,  when 
they  considered  resistance  as  desperate.  We  have 
a  history  of  such  an  attempt  at  escaping  in  Zedekiah, 
(Jer.  xxxix.  4.)  "  who  fled  and  went  forth  out  of  the 
city  by  night,  by  the  way  of  the  king's  gardens,  by 
the  gate  between  the  two  walls :"  but  he  was  over- 
taken. In  2  Kings  xxv.  4,  it  is  said,  "  all  the  men  of 
war  fled  by  night,  Ijy  the  way  of  the  gate  between 
two  walls,  which  is  by  the  king's  gardens  (now  the 
Chaldees  were  against  the  city  round  about)." — 
Should  not  this  rather  be  understood,  "  by  the  rough, 
rugged  way,  or  track,  between  two  walls  ;"  that  is, 
one  wall  below  the  other,  around  a  part  of  the  king's 
gardens;  rather  "between  the  defences,"  that  is,  of 
the  city,  in  that  part  of  the  works  of  defence  which 
went  round  the  king's  gardens  ;  for,  as  the  Chaldeans 
surrounded  the  city,  they  would  certainly  watch 
every  gate  ;  and  Zedekiah  would  hardly  have  chosen 
to  issue  by  a  regular  and  customary  passage,  since 
he  wished  for  secrecy,  and  to  screen  himself  from 
observation  ;  in  which,  apparently,  he  in  some  degree 
succeeded. 

Thus  imderstood,  the  histoi-y  will  agree  with  the 
figurative  representation  of  it  by  Ezekiel :  (chap.  xii. 
7.)  "  I  brought  forth  my  stuff",  baggage,  by  day,  as 
baggage  for  going  into  captivity  ;  and  in  the  evening, 
at  twilight,  I  digged  through  the  wall  with  mine  own 
hand  :  I  bi-ought  it — my  baggage — forth,  in  the  twi- 
light :  I  bare  it  upon  my  shoulder,"  see  verse  12.  In 
like  manner,  Zedekiah  passed  over  the  precipices, 
or  steps,  and  digged  through  a  part  of  the  defences 
of  his  city  ;  and  endeavored  to  escape  at  this  breach 
made  by  his  own  hands,  or  ids  own  order  in  his  own 
forlifif  iition.     Probalfiy,  too,  Zedekiah  carried  about 


his  person  whatever  of  valuables  he  could  convey 
from  his  palace  ;  so  that  the  resemblance  to  Ezekiel, 
in  loading  himself  with  baggage,  was  nearly,  or  alto- 
gether, perfect.  It  might  be  more  complete  than  we 
are  aware  ot|  if  Zedekiah  digged  through  the  wall 
of  any  part  of  his  palace,  as  Ezekiel  did  of  his  house  ; 
in  which  we  see  no  improbability  ;  and  he  might 
also  have  a  subterraneous  passage  of  some  length, 
before  he  issued  from  the  wall  into  any  open  place. 

WASHING,  purification.    See  Baptism. 

WASHING  OF  Feet.  See  imder  Foot,  and 
Sandals. 

WASHING  of  Hands  was  very  frequent  among 
the  Hebrews.     See  Baptism. 

Children  were  washed  immediately  after  their 
birth.     See  Birth. 

WATCH,  a  period  of  time.     See  Hour. 

WATERS  denote,  metaphorically,  (1.)  posterity, 
Numb.  xxiv.  7  ;  Prov.  v.  15,  16  ;  Isa.  xlviii.  1. — (2.) 
indefinitely,  a  large  concourse  of  people.  Rev. 
xvii.  15. 

Stra7ige  waters,  stolen  iv^ters,  (Prov.  ix.  17.)  denote 
unlawful  pleasure  with  strange  women.  The  Israel- 
ites are  reproached  with  having  forsaken  the  fountain 
of  living  vvater,  to  quench  their  thirst  at  broken 
cisterns;  (Jer.  ii.  13.)  i.  e.  with  having  quitted  the 
worship  of  God  for  that  of  false  and  abominable 
deities. 

Waters  sometimes  denote  afflictions  and  misfor- 
tunes. Lam.  iii.  54  ;  Ps.  Ixix.  1  ;  cxxiv.  4,  5 ;  cxvii.  16. 

Living  waters,  spring  waters,  running  waters, 
streams  ;  in  opposition  to  waters  that  stagnate  in  a 
cistern,  or  in  a  lake,  which  are  dead  waters. 

As  in  Scripture,  bread  is  put  for  all  sorts  of  food, 
or  solid  nourishment,  so  water  is  used  for  all  sorts  of 
drink.  The  Moabitesand  Ammonites  are  reproach- 
ed for  not  meeting  the  Israelites  Avith  bread  and 
water,  that  is,  with  proper  refreshments,  Deut.  xxiii. 
4.  Nabal  says,  insulting  David's  messengers,  "Shall 
I  then  take  my  bread  and  my  water,  and  my  flesh 
that  I  have  killed  for  my  shearers,  and  give  it  unto 
men,  whom  I  know  not  whence  they  be .'"'  1  Sam. 
xxv.  11. 

In  Deut.  xi.  10,  it  is  said,  the  land  of  Canaan  is 
not  like  Egypt,  "  where  thou  sowest  thy  seed,  and 
waterest  it  with  thy  foot."  Palestine  is  a  country 
which  has  rains,  plentiful  dews,  springs,  rivulets  and 
brooks,  which  supply  the  earth  with  the  moisture 
necessary  to  its  fruitfulness  ;  whereas  Egypt  has  no 
river  but  the  Nile  ;  and  as  it  seldom  rains,  the  lands 
which  are  not  within  reach  of  the  inundation,  con- 
tinue parched  and  barren.  To  sup|)ly  this  want, 
ditches  are  dug,  and  water  is  distributed  throughout 
the  several  villages  and  cantons,  by  the  help  of  ma- 
chines ;  one  of  which  Philo  describes  as  a  wheel 
which  a  man  turns  with  the  motion  of  his  feet,  by 
ascending  successively  the  several  steps  that  are 
within  it.  But  as,  while  he  is  thus  continually  ttuii- 
ing,  he  cannot  keep  himself  up,  he  holds  a  stay  in 
his  hands,  which  is  not  movable,  and  this  supports 
him  ;  so  that  in  this  work,  the  hands  do  the  oflice  of 
the  feet,  and  the  feet  that  of  the  hands. 

WEDDING,  see  Marriage. 

WEEK.  Among  the  Hebrews  there  were  three 
kinds  of  weeks :  (1.)  Weeks  of  days,  reckoned  from 
one  sabbath  to  another.  [The  Jews  were  accustom- 
ed, instead  of  the  term  iceek,  to  make  use  of  the  ex- 
pression eight  days ;  just  as  the  Germans  do  at  the 
present  day  ;  and  just  as  we  also  say  foi-tiiight  (i.  e. 
fourteen  nights)  instead  of  two  toeeks.  This  remark 
serves  to  illustrate  John  xx.  26,  where  the  disciplct* 


WEL 


[  925 


WIC 


are  said  to  have  met  again  after  "  eight  days,"  i.  e.  evi- 
dently after  a  week,  on  the  eightli  day  after  our 
Lord's  resurrection.  R.]  (2.)  Weeivs  of  years,  reck- 
y  oned  fi-oni  one  sabbattical  year  to  another,  and  con- 
^  sisting  of  seven  years.  (3.)  Weeks  of  seven  times 
seven  years,  or  of  forty-nine  years,  reckoned  from 
one  jubilee  to  another. 

WEEPING,  see  Fu.veral. 

WEIGHTS,  The  Hebrews  weighed  all  the  gold 
and  silver  they  used  in  trade.  The  shekel,  the  half- 
sliekc'l,  the  talent,  are  not  only  denominations  of 
moneys,  of  certain  values,  in  gold  and  silver,  but  also 
of  certain  weights.  The  Weight  of  the  Sanctuary, 
or  Weight  of  the  Temple,  (Exod.  xxx.  13,  24  ;  Lev. 
V.  5 ;  Numb,  iii,  50 ;  vii.  19 ;  xviii.  IG,  &c.)  was 
probably  the  standard  weight,  preserved  in  some 
apartment  of  the  temple,  and  not  a  different  weiglit 
from  tbe  common  shekel ;  (1  Chron.  xxiii.  29.)  for 
though  Moses  appouits,  that  all  things  valued  by 
their  price  in  silver  should  be  rated  by  tl»e  weight 
of  the  sanctuary,  (Lev.  xxvii.  25.)  he  makes  no  dif- 
ference between  tliis  shekel  of  twenty  oboli,  or 
twenty  geralis,  and  tiie  common  shekel.  Ezekiel, 
(xlv,  12.)  speaking  of  the  ordinary  weights  and  meas- 
ures used  in  traffic  among  the  Jews,  says,  that  the 
sliekel  weighed  twenty  oboli,  or  gerahs : — it  was 
therefore  equal  to  the  weight  of  the  sanctuary. 
Neitiier  Josephus,  uor  Philo,  nor  Jerome,  nor 
any  ancient  author,  speaks  of  a  distinction  between 
tlie  weights  of  the  temple  and  those  in  common 
use. 

Besides,  the  custom  of  preserving  the  standards  of 
weights  and  measures  in  temples  is  not  peculiar  to 
the  Hebrews.  The  Egyptians,  as  Clemens  Alexan- 
drinus  informs  us,  had  an  officer  in  the  college  of 
})riests,  whose  business  it  was  to  examine  all  sorts  of 
measures,  and  to  take  care  of  the  originals ;  the  Ro- 
mans had  the  same  custom.  Faunius,  de  Ampliora  ; 
and  the  emperor  Justinian  decreed,  that  standards  of 
weights  and  measures  should  be  kept  in  Christian 
churches. 

The  following  are  the  Jewish  weights  reduced  to 
Troy  :— 

lb.     02.     dwt^.     ^■:. 

The  Gcrah,  the  20th  part  of  Q  shekel,    .    0  0    0  12. 

The  Bekah,  half  a  shekel, 0   0    5    0. 

The  Shekel, 0   0  10    0. 

The  Maneh,'GO  shekels, 2  G    0    0. 

The  Talent,  50  maneh,  or  3000  shekels,  125  0    0    0. 

A  xoeight  of  glory,  of  which  Paul  speaks,  (2  Cor. 
iv.  17.)  is  opposed  to  the  lightness  of  the  evils  of  this 
life.  The  troubles  we  endure  are  reallj'  of  no  more 
weight  than  a  feather,  or  of  no  weight  at  all,  if  com- 
j)arcd  to  the  weight  or  inteiisencss  of  that  glory, 
which  shall  be  hereafter  a  compensation  for  them. 
In  addition  to  this,  it  is  probable  the  apostle  had  in 
view  the  double  meaning  of  the  Hebrew  word  cabod, 
which  signifies  not  only  ivcight,  but  glory:  glory, 
that  is,  s|)lendor,  is  in  this  world  the  lightest  thing  in 
nature  ;  but  in  the  other  world  it  may  be  real,  at 
once  substantial  and  radiant. 

WELLS,  or  Springs,  are  frequently  mentioned 
in  Scripture.  The  Hebrews  call  a  well  beer;  whence 
this  word  is  often  compounded  with  proper  names,  as 
Beer-sheba,  Beeroth-bene-jaakan,  Beeroth,  Beerah,  &-c. 

How  little  do  the  people  of  this  country  under- 
stand feelingly  those  passages  i/f  Scripture  which 
speak  of  want  of  water,  of  paying  for  that  necessary 
fluid,  and  of  the  strife  for  such  a  valuable  article  as  a 


well !  So  we  read,  "  Abraham  reproved  Abim- 
elech,  because  of  a  well  of  water,  which  Abimelech's 
servants  had  violently  taken  away,"  Gen.  xxi.  25. 
So,  chap.  xxvi.  20,  "The  herdsmen  of  Gerar  did 
strive  with  Isaac's  herdsmen  ;  and  he  called  the  well 
Ezek,  contention.''^ — To  what  extremities  contention 
about  a  supply  of  water  may  proceed,  we  learn  from 
the  following  extracts: — "Our  course  lay  along 
shore,  betv/ixt  the  main  land  and  a  chain  of  little 
islands,  with  v/hich,  as  likewise  with  rocks  and 
shoals,  the  sea  abounds  in  this  part;  and  for  that 
reason,  it  is  the  practice  with  all  these  vessels  to 
anchor  every  evening :  we  generally  brought  up 
close  to  the  shore,  and  the  land-breeze  springing  up 
about  midnight,  wafted  to  us  tiie  perfumes  of  Arabia, 
with  which  it  was  strongly  impregnated,  and  very 
fragrant ;  the  latter  part  of  it  caiTied  us  off  in  the 
morning,  and  continued  till  eight,  when  it  generaly 
fell  calm  for  two  or  three  hours,  and  after  that  the 
northerly  wind  set  in,  after  obliging  us  to  anchor 
under  die  lee  of  the  land  by  noon.  It  happened  tliat 
one  morning,  when  we  liad  been  driven  by  stress  HiJL 
w»ather  into  a  small  bay,  called  Birk  bay,  the  coun- 
try around  it  being  inhabited  by  the  Budoes,  [Be- 
doweens,]  tlie  Noquedah  sent  his  people  on  shore  lo 
get  water,  for  which  it  is  always  customary  to  pay.  The 
Budoes  werp,  as  the  people  thought,  rather  too  exor- 
bitant in  their  cltmcmds,  and  not  choosing  to  comply 
with  them,  returned  to  make  their  report  :o  their 
master.  On  hearing  it,  rage  immediately  seijred  him, 
and,  determined  to  have  the  water  on  his  oivn  terms, 
or  perish  in  the  attempt,  he  buckled  on  Hs  armor, 
and  attended  by  his  myimidons,  carrying  thdr  match- 
lock guns  and  lances,  being  twenty  in  nunber,  they 
rowed  to  the  land.  My  Arabian  servant,  .vho  went 
on  shore  with  the  first  party,  and  saw  tha  the  Bu- 
does were  disposed  for  fighting,  told  me  tint  I  should 
certainly  see  a  battle.  I  accordingly  looktd  on  very 
anxiously,  hoping  that  the  fortune  of  the  lay  would 
be  on  the  side  of  my  friends ;  but  Heavei  ordained 
it  otherwise  ;  for,  after  a  parley  of  about  a  quarter  of 
an  hour,  with  wliicli  the  Budoes  amiisec  them  till 
near  a  hundred  were  assembled,  they  pjoceeded  to 
the  attack,  and  routed  the  sailors,  Avho  mide  a  pre- 
cipitate retreat,  the  Noquedah  and  two  others  having 
fallen  in  the  action,  and  several  being  wouided  ;  they 
contrived,  however,  to  bring  off  their  /lead,"  &c. 
(3Iajor  Rooke's  Travels  from  India  p  England, 
page  52.) 

This  extract  especially  illustrates  tbe  passage  in 
Nimib.  XX.  17,  J9  :— "  We  will  not  drink  jf  the  water 
of  the  wells:— If  I  and  mv  rattle  drink  'f  thy  water, 
then  will  I  pay  for  //."—This  is  alw>ys  expected; 
and  though  Eclom  might,  in  friendshp,  have  let  his 
brother  Israel  drink  gratis,  had  he  recollected  their 
consangninitv,  yet  Israel  did  not-lisist  on  such  ac- 
commodation. How  strange  wnild  it  sound  among 
us,  if  a  person  in  travelling  sN«'l<l  propose  to  pay 
for  drinking  water  from  the  'Vells  by  the  road-side! 
Nevertheless,  still  stronger  l-^  the  expression,  Lam.  v. 
4  :  "  We  have  drank  our  nvn  icaler  for  money  f  we 
bought  it  of  our  foieig-i  rulers,  although  we  were 
the  natural  proprietor*  of  the  wells  which  furnish- 
ed it.  ,     .  ,    1  •    , 

WHEAT  is  tbe  principal  and  most  valuable  kttid 
of  grain  for  the  service  of  man,  and  is  produced  in 
almost  any  part  of  the  world.  It  is  comprehended 
under  the*  general    name  of  grain  or  corn.      See 

COR.V.  „,  .    ,      I  „ 

WICKED,  vicious,  sinful.  "  The  wicke.l  one," 
taken  absolutely,  is  generally  put  for  the  devil :  "  De- 


WIL 


[  926  ] 


WIN 


liver  us  from  the  wicked  or  evil  one"  (Matt.  vi.  13.); 
"  Then  corneth  the  wicked  one,  and  catcheth  away 
that  which  was  sown  in  his  heart,"  Matt.  xiii.  19. 
The  evil  day  (Ephes.  vi.  13.)  is  the  day  of  temptation, 
or  trial ;  the  day  in  which  one  is  most  in  danger  of 
doing  evil.  The  evil  eye  signifies  jealousy,  envy,  or 
sordid  niggardliness,  being  opposed  to  liberality  and 
charity.  Or  it  may  denote  a  grudging  or  malign  as- 
pect. In  the  East,  they  believe  the  eye  to  have  great 
powers  of  striking  the  party  looked  on ;  and  jjcrhaps 
the  phrase  alludes  to  this:  a  mischievous,  mahgnant, 
injurious  direction  of  the  eye  ;  eye-shot,  as  our  poets 
speak,   "  darting  malignant  fires." 

WIDOW.  Widowhood,  as  well  as  barrenness, 
was  a  kind  of  shame  and  reproach  in  Israel.  Isaiah 
(Jiv.  4.)  says,  "Thou  shalt  forget  the  shame  of  thy 
Touth,  [passed  in  celibacy  and  barrenness,]  and  shalt 
not  remember  the  reproach  of  thy  widowhood  any 
more."  It  was  presumed,  that  a  woman  of  merit 
j,nd  reputation  might  have  found  a  husband,  either 
u  the  family  of  her  deceased  husband,  if  he  died 
childless,  (see  Marriage,)  or  in  some  other  family, 
i:'  he  had  left  children.  It  is  true,  indeed,  that  a 
vidow  was  commended,  who,  from  affection  to  her 
frst  husband,  declined  a  second  marriage,  and  con- 
tinued in  mourning  and  widowhood,  as  was  the  case 
of  Judith. 

It  was  thought  the  greatest  misfortune  that  could 
happer  to  a  man,  to  die,  and  not  be  bewailed  by  his 
widow ,  that  is,  witiiout  receiving  the  solemn  hon- 
ors of  sepulture,  of  which  the  tears  and  praises  of 
the  widov  made  a  chief  part.  The  wicked  and  his 
children  shall  die,  says  Job,  "  and  their  widows  shall 
not  mou;n  for  them,"  (chap,  xxvii.  15.)  and  the 
psalmist,  -.peaking  of  the  lamentable  death  of  Hophni 
and  Phin^lias,  observes,  as  a  great  disaster,  that  they 
were  not  kwailed  by   their  widows,  Ps.  Ixxviii.  64. 

God  frkjuently  recommends  to  his  people  to  be 
veiy  careful  in  relieving  the  widow  and  orphan, 
Exod.  xxK.  22  ;  Dent.  x.  18  ;  xiv.  29,  et  passim.  Paul 
would  hare  us  honor  widows  that  are  widows  in- 
deed, and  desolate ;  (1  Tim.  v.  3,  &c.)  that  is,  the 
bishop  slionUl  have  a  great  regard  for  them,  and  sup- 
ply them  in  their  necessity  ;  for  this  is  often  signified 
by  the  ve;b  to  honor.  God  forbids  his  high-priest  to 
marry  a  woman  who  is  either  a  widow,  or  divorced, 
Lev.  xxi.  11 

Formerly  there  were  widows  in  the  Christian 
church,  who,  because  of  their  poverty,  were  placed 
on  the  list  of  persons  to  be  provided  for  at  the  ex- 
pense of  tilt;  church.  There  were  others,  who  had 
certain  emj)hyments  in  the  church  ;  as,  to  visit  sick 
women,  to  asSfjt  women  at  baptism,  and  to  do  several 
things  which  dfcoency  would  not  permit  to  the  other 
sex.  Paul  did  lot  allow  any  woman  to  be  chosen 
into  this  number,  «nless  she  were  threescore  years 
old,  at  least,  1  Tim.  x,  9.  Such  must  have  been  mar- 
ried but  once  ;  must  i^ve  produced  suflicient  testi- 
mony of  their  good  wo-ks  ;  must  have  given  good 
education  to  their  children;  must  have  exercised 
hospitality,  washed  the  feel  of  the  saints,  and  bestow- 
ed succor  on  the  miserable  nnd  afflicted.  He  for- 
bids that  young  widows  shoui*  be  admitted  among 
these,  or,  at  least,  among  such  as  were  on  the  church 
list  for  maintenance. 

WILDERNESS,  see  Desert. 

WILL.  Besides  the  common  acceptation  of  this 
word,  to  signify  that  faculty  of  willing,  with  which 
we  are  endued  ;  that  is,  of  choosing,  desiring  and 
loving,  it  is  taken,  (1.)  For  the  absolute  and  immu- 
table Avill  of  God,   which   nothing  can  withstand, 


Rom.  ix.  19  ;  Gen.  1.  19,  20  ;  Isa.  xlvi.  10.  (2  )  For 
a  will  not  absolute  and  immutable  ;  as  when  Christ 
desired  that  the  cup  of  his  passion  might  pass  from 
him,  if  such  had  been  the  will  of  God,  Matt.  xxvi. 
39.  It  is  not  the  will  of  God,  that  the  wicked  should 
perish  :  (Ezek.  xviii.  23.)  "  Have  I  any  pleasure  at 
all  that  the  wicked  should  die,  saith  the  Lord  God, 
and  not  that  he  should  turn  fi-om  his  ways  and  live  ?" 
But  if  he  determine  to  perish,  and  refuse  to  be  con- 
verted, God  is  not  obliged  to  interpose,  and  to  hinder 
him  from  perishing  against  his  will.  (3.)  To  do  the 
will  of  God  is  put  for  keeping  his  law,  submitting  to 
his  authority,  Matt.  vii.  21  ;  xii.  50.  Paul  says,  (Heb. 
x.  26.)  "  If  we  sin  wilhngly,  there  remains  no  other 
sacrifice  for  sin."  In  the  old  law,  sacrifices  for  the 
expiation  of  offences  committed  against  the  ceremo- 
nies of  the  law,  were  repeated  as  oflen  as  those 
offences  were  acknowledged.  But,  under  the  new 
law,  those  who  fall  voluntarily  and  wilfullj^  into  great 
crimes,  are  not  to  expect  that  Christ  will  come  to  die 
for  them  again :  he  died  but  once,  and  is  not  to  die 
any  more  ;  neither  is  there  to  be  any  succeeduig  me- 
diator. Those  who  fall  into  great  crimes,  it  is  true, 
may  always  hope  for  pardon,  or  may  return  and  re- 
pent ;  but  this  remedy  and  this  return  are  not  easy. 
By  those  voluntary  crimes  mentioned  by  Paul,  many 
understand  final  impenitence,  hardness  of  heart,  de- 
spair, or  the  sin  against  the  Holy  Spirit. 

WILLOW,  a  veiy  common  tree,  which  grows  in 
marshy  places,  with  aleaf  much  like  that  of  the  olive. 
God  commanded  the  Hebrews  to  take  branches  of 
the  handsomest  trees,  particularly  of  the  willows  of 
the  brook,  and  to  bear  them  in  their  hands  before  the 
Lord,  as  a  token  of  rejoicing,  at  the  Feast  of  Taber- 
nacles, Lev.  xxiii.  40. 

WIMPLE,  a  veil  or  hood.  But  the  Hebrew 
nncao  signifies,  properly,  a  broad  and  large  mantle  or 
shawl.  So  in  Ruth  iii.  15,  Boaz  gives  Ruth  six  meas- 
ures of  barley,  which  she  carries  away  in  her  mit- 
pahhath  or  mantle,  not  veil  as  in  the  English  transla- 
tion.    So  in  Isa.  iii.  22.   R. 

WINDS.  [From  the  Calendar  of  Palestine,  by 
Buhle,  inserted  under  the  article  Canaa>',  (p.  240,)  it 
appears,  that  the  winds  which  most  conunonly  pre- 
vail in  Palestine  are  from  the  western  quarter,  more 
usually,  perhaps  from  the  south-west.  This  is  also 
supported  by  the  reports  of  intelligent  travellei-s. 
The  Rev.  E.  Smith,  American  missionary  in  the  East, 
now  (July  1832)  on  a  visit  to  his  native  country,  re- 
cently confirmed  this  statement  to  the  writer ;  remark-  ^ 
ing,  also,  that  a  north  wind  not  unfrcquently  arises,  -^J 
which,  as  in  ancient  days,  is  still  the  sure  harbinger  of 
fair  weather;  illustrating  the  truth  of  the  observation 
in  Prov.  xxv.  23,  "  The  north  wind  driveth  away  rain." 
(For  the  tempestuous  wind  called  Euroclydon,  see 
that  article.) 

But  the  principal  object  which  we  have  here  in 
view  is  the  Kddim  or  East  Wind  of  the  Scriptures, 
which  is  represented  as  blasting  and  drying  up  the 
fruits,  (Gen.  xli.  6;  Ezek.  xvii.  10;  xix.  12,  &c.)  and 
also  as  blowing  with  great  violence,  Ps.  xlviii.  7; 
Ezek.  xxvii.  26;  Jonah  iv.  8,  &c.  It  is  also  the 
"horrible  tempest,"  \)ro\>vr\y  glow-uind,  iT-ySs,  of  Ps. 
xi.  6.  This  is  a  sultry  and  oppressive  wind  blowing 
from  the  south-east,  and  prevailing  only  in  the  hot 
and  dry  months  of  summer.  Coming  thus  from  the 
vast  Arabian  desert,  it  seems  to  increase  the  heat  and 
drought  of  the  season,  and  produces  universal  lan- 
guor and  relaxation.  Mr.  Smith,  who  experienced 
its  effects  during  the  summer,  at  Beyrout,  describes  it 
as  possessing  the  same  qualities  and  characteristics, 


WINDS 


[  927  ] 


WINDS 


as  the  Sirocco  which  he  had  felt  at  Malta,  and  which 
also  prevails  in  Sicily  and  Italy ;  except  that  the  Si- 
rocco, in  passing  over  the  sea,  acquires  great  damp- 
ness. The  Sirocco  is  described  by  Brydone,  as  re- 
sembling a  blast  of  burning  steam  from  the  mouth  of 
an  oven  ;  in  a  few  minutes  those  exposed  to  it  find 
every  fii)re  relaxed  in  an  extraordinary  manner. 
This  wind  is  more  or  less  violent,  and  of  longer  or 
shorter  duration  at  different  times  ;  seldom  lasting 
more  than  36  or  40  hours  ;  and,  notwithstanding  its 
scorching  heat,  it  has  never  been  known  to  [)roduce 
epidemical  disorders,  or  to  do  any  injury  to  the  health 
of  the  people.  These  characteristics,  except  the 
dampness,  apply  entirely  to  the  east  wind  of  I'alcs 
tine,  which  is  dry  and  withering. 

Many  interpreters,  however,  have  chosen  to  refer 
the  kddim,  or  east  wind  of  the  Scriptnres,  to  the  oft 
described  wind  of  the  desert,  called  by  the  Arabs 
Simoom,  {Semoom,  Smtioom,  or  Smoum,)  by  the  Turks 
Samiel,  and  in  Egypt  Camsin  ;  which  has  long  re- 
tained the  character  of  a  pestilential  wind,  suddenly 
overtaking  travellers  and  caravans  in  the  deserts,  and 
almost  instantly  destroying  them  by  its  poisonous  and 
suffnrating  breath.  The  result,  however  of  the  re- 
searches of  more  modern  and  judicious  travellers, 
seems  to  show,  that  the  former  accounts  of  the  de- 
structive power  of  this  wind  have  been,  at  least,  much 
exaggerated  ;  and  that  the  autliors  of  these  accounts 
either  had  their  credulity  imposed  upon  by  the  Arabs, 
or  else  have  described  certain  facts  in  such  a  way,  as 
to  impart  to  them  a  coloring  and  cause  them  to  make 
an  impression,  which  the  naked  facts  themselves 
would  not  warrant. 

Among  writers  of  this  class,  we  may  probably  reck- 
on with  justice  Mr.  Bruce  and  sir  R.  K.  Porter.  The 
latter  has  eveiy  where  given  the  fii'st  accounts  which 
he  received  from  by-standei-s,  as  matters  of  fact ; 
without  ever  seeming  himself  to  have  any  question 
of  their  con-ectness,  and  usually  without  even  indi- 
cating that  they  are  not  matters  of  his  own  personal 
knowledge  or  experience.  In  1830  and  1831,  Messrs. 
Smith  and  Dwight,  American  missionaries,  travelled 
in  Armenia  over  much  of  the  same  ground  as  this 
writer ;  and  they  do  not  hesitate  to  affirm  that  his 
accounts  are,  in  general,  to  be  received  with  gi-eat  dis- 
trust, and  that  not  a  few  of  his  statements  are  in 
direct  variance  with  the  reality.  In  regard  to  Mr. 
Bruce,  it  is  well  known,  that  his  book  was  generally 
considered,  on  the  first  appearance  of  it,  as  a  mere  ro- 
mance ;  later  travellers,  however,  have  confirmed  the 
accuracy  of  his  general  accounts,  i.  e.  they  have  estab- 
lished the  fact,  that  his  work  has  a  broad  basis  of 
truth  at  the  bottom  ;  while  it  is  well  understood,  that 
in  filling  up  the  details  he  drew  largely  from  his  im- 
agination ; — not  perhaps  with  the  design  of  stating 
any  thing  which  he  did  not  suppose  to  be  true;  but 
partly  in  consequence  of  that  tendency  to  exaggera- 
tion and  high  coloring,  which  is  the  characteristic  of 
so  many  minds ;  and  partly,  no  doubt,  from  the  cir- 
cumstance, that  his  narrative  was  first  written  out, 
sixteen  years  after  the  events  therein  described,  when 
the  whole  had  become  to  him,  in  a  measure,  like  a 
dream.  Mr.  Salt,  in  his  Travels  in  Abyssinia,  has 
produced  some  strong  instances,  on  the  part  of  Bruce, 
of  aberration  from  strict  veracity  and  manly  frankness. 

After  these  prefatory  remarks,  we  proceed  to  give 
the  accounts  of  the  Siinoom  as  furnisl)ed  by  various 
travellers,  placing  that  of  sir  R.  K.  Porter  first,  as 
being,  although  oneof  the  latest,  yet,  probably,  one  of 
the  most  exaggerated. 

At  Bagdad,  October  9, 1818,  sir  R.  K.  Porter  informs 


us,  (Travels,  vol.  ii.  p.  229.)  the  master  of  the  khan 
"  told  me,  that  they  consider  October  the  first  month 
of  their  autumn,  and  feel  it  delightfully  cool  in  com- 
parison with  July,  August  and  September;  for  that 
during  forty  days  of  the  two  first-named  summer 
months,  the  hot  wind  blows  from  the  desert, 
and  its  effects  are  often  destructive.  Its  title 
is  very  appropriate,  being  called  the  Samiel,  or 
Baude  Semoom,  the  pestilential  wind.  It  does  not 
come  in  continued  long  currents,  but  in  gusts  at  dif- 
ferent intervals,  each  blast  lasting  several  minvites,  and 
passing  along  with  the  rajiidity  of  lightning.  No  one 
dare  stir  from  their  houses  while  this  invisible  flame 
is  sweeping  over  the  face  of  the  country.  Previous 
to  its  approach,  the  atmosphere  becomes  thick  and 
suffocating,  liiid  appearing  particularly  dense  near  the 
horizon,  gives  sufficient  warning  of  the  threatened 
mischief.  Though  hostile  to  human  life,  it  is  so  far 
from  bemg  prejudicial  to  the  vegetable  creation,  that 
a  continuance  of  the  Samiel  tends  to  ripen  the  fruits. 
I  inquired  what  became  of  the  cattle  during  such  a 
plague,  and  was  told  they  were  seldom  touched 
by  it.  It  seems  strange  that  their  lungs  should  be  so 
perfectly  insensible  to  what  seems  instant  destruction 
to  the  breath  of  man ;  but  so  it  is,  and  they  are  regu- 
larly driven  down  to  water  at  the  customary  times  of 
day,  even  when  the  blasts  are  at  the  severest.  The 
people  who  attend  them  are  obliged  to  plaster  their 
own  faces  and  other  parts  of  the  body  usually  ex- 
posed to  the  air,  with  a  sort  of  muddy  clay,  which  m 
general  protects  them  from  its  most  malignant  effects. 
The  periods  of  the  winds'  blowing  are  generally  from 
noon  till  sunset;  they  cease  almost  entirely  during 
the  night ;  and  the  direction  of  the  gust  is  always  from 
the  north-east.  When  it  has  passed  over,  a  sul- 
phuric, and  indeed  loathsome,  smell,  like  putridity, 
remains  for  a  long  time.  The  poison  which  occa- 
sions this  smell  must  be  deadly ;  for  if  any  unfortu- 
nate traveller,  too  far  from  shelter,  meet  the  blast,  he 
falls  immediately  ;  and,  in  a  few  minutes  his  flesh  be- 
comes almost  black,  while  both  it  and  his  bones  at 
once  arrive  at  so  extreme  a  state  of  corruption,  that 
the  smallest  movement  of  the  body  would  separate 
the  one  from  the  other." 

It  is  but  justice  to  sir  R.  K.  Porter  to  say,  that  his 
account  of  the  Sitnoom  tallies  entirely  with  that  given 
by  Chardin  in  his  Travels  in  Persia.  Both  travellers 
doubtless  drew  from  similar  sources — the  stories  of 
the  common  people.  Chardin  says,  (Travels,  vol.  iii. 
p.  286.  edit,  of  Langl^s,)  that  "this  wind  blows  with  a 
great  noise,  appears  red  and  inflamed,  and  kills  those 
persons  whom  it  overtakes  by  a  kind  of  suffocation. 
The  most  remarkable  effect  of  it  is,  not  so  much  that 
it  causes  death,  as  that  the  bodies  of  those  who  are 
destroyed  by  it  are  dissolved  or  corrupted,  without 
losing  either  their  form  or  color;  so  that  one  would 
suppose,  they  were  merely  asleep ;  but  if  he  takes 
hold  of  a  member,  it  separates  from  the  body  and 
remains  in  his  hand."  Chardin  then  relates  sev- 
eral instances  of  this  kind  which  he  had  heard  of 

The  following  extract  is  from  D'Obsonville's  "  Es- 
says, &-C.  on  the  East : "  "  Some  enlightened  travellers 
have  seriously  written,  that  every  individual  who  falls 
a  victim  to  this  infection,  is  immediately  reduced  to 
ashes,  though  apparently  only  asleep  ;  and  that  when 
taken  hold  of  to  be  awakened  by  passengers,  the 
limbs  part  from  the  body  and  remain  in  the  hand. 
Such  travellers  would  evidently  not  have  taken  these 
tales  on  hearsay,  if  they  had  paid  a  j)roper  attention 
to  other  facts,  which  they  either  did,  or  ought  to  have 
heard.     Experience  proves,  that  animals,  by  pressing 


WINDS 


[  928  1 


WINDS 


their  nostrils  to  the  earth,  and  men,  by  covering  their 
heads  in  their  niantles,  liave  nothing  to  fear  from 
these  meteore.  This  demonstrates  tlie  impossibility, 
that  a  poison,  wiiich  can  only  penetrate  the  most  del- 
icate parts  of  the  brain  or  lungs,  should  calcine  the 
skin,  flesh,  nerves  and  bones,  I  acknowledge  these 
accounts  are  had  from  the  Arabs  thenjselves  ;  but 
their  picturesque  and  extravagant  expressions  are  a 
kind  of  imaginary  coin,  to  know  the  true  value  of 
wiiich  requires  some  practice."  "  I  have  twice  had 
ail  opportunity  of  considering  the  effect  of  these 
siphons,  with  some  attention.  I  shall  relate  simply 
what  I  have  seen  in  the  case  of  a  merchant  and  two 
travellers,  who  were  struck  during  their  sleej),  and 
died  on  the  spot.  I  ran  to  see  if  it  was  possible  to 
afford  them  any  succor,  but  they  were  already  dead, 
tlie  victims  of  an  interior  suffocating  fire.  There 
were  apparent  signs  of  the  dissolution  of  their  fluids  ; 
a  kind  of  serous  matter  issued  from  the  nostrils, 
mouth  and  ears :  and  in  something  more  than 
an  hour,  the  whole  body  was  in  the  same  state. 
However,  as,  according  to  their  custom,  they  [the 
Arabs]  were  tliligent  to  pay  them  the  last  duties  of 
humanity,  I  cannot  aflirm  that  the  putrefaction  was 
more  or  less  rapid  than  usual  in  that  country.  As 
to  the  meteor  itself,  it  may  be  examined  with  impu- 
nity at  the  distance  of  three  or  four  fathoms  ;  and  the 
country  people  are  only  afraid  of  being  surprised  by  it 
when  they  are  asleep  ;  neither  are  such  accidents  verj' 
common,  for  these  siphons  are  only  seen  during  tv/o 
or  three  months  of  the  year;  and  as  their  approach 
is  felt,  the  camp-guards  and  the  people  awake,  are 
always  very  careful  to  rouse  those  that  sleep,  who 
also  have  a  general  habit  of  covering  thuir  faces  with 
their  mantles." 

All  these  accounts  bear,  upon  the  face  of  them, 
the  stamp  of  exaggeration.  But  this  is  not  all.  Of 
the  accounts  of  Chardin,  I\Ir.  Morier,  well  known  as 
a  judicious  observer,  remarks,  in  speaking  of  this 
very  passage,  (p.  63.)  "On  intpiirj-,  we  lem-ued  that 
the  present  inhabitants  of  these  countries  [around  the 
Persian  gulf]  knoiv  nothing  of  the  fatal  effects  of  this 
wind  upon  those  who  are  exposed  to  it,  and  of  which 
this  traveller  [Chardin]  adduces  examples.  The 
Sam-icind  occasions  great  devastation  in  this  region, 
as  I  was  informed,  and  is  especially  destructive  to  the 
vegetation.  About  six  years  before,  this  wind  blew 
during  all  the  summer  months,  and  scorched  all  the 
grain,  then  nearly  ripe,  in  such  a  manner,  that  no  ani- 
mal would  touch  a  loaf  or  a  kernel  of  it."  This  account 
is  far  more  probable  in  itself,  apart  from  the  well-knovvH 
character  of  the  writer ;  and  it  is  also  sustained  by 
the  following  extract  from  the  Journal  of  Mr.  Jackson, 
who  made  the  over-land  journey  from  India  to  Eng- 
land in  1797.  This  writer  gives  the  following  account 
of  this  wind,  which  is  probably  very  near  the  truth. 
When  on  the  Tigris,  about  five  days'  journey  from 
Bagdad,  (in  the  same  region  as  sir  R.  K.  Porter,)  he 
remarks :  "  I  had  liere  an  opportunity  of  observing 
th"  |)rogress  of  the  hot  wincls,  called  by  the  natives 
Samiel,  which  sometimes  proves  very  destructive,  par- 
ticularly at  this  season.  They  arc  most  dangerous 
between  twelve  and  three  o'clock,  when  the  atmos- 
phere is  at  its  greatest  degree  of  heat.  Their  force 
entirely  depends  on  the  surface  over  which  they 
pass.  If  it  be  over  a  desert,  where  there  is  no  vegeta- 
tion, they  extend  their  dimensions  with  amazing  ve- 
locity, and  then  their  progress  is  sometimes  to  wind- 
ward ;  if  over  grass,  or  any  other  vegetation,  they 
soon  diminish  and  lose  much  of  their  force ;  if  over 
water,    they    lose    all    their    electrical   force,     and 


ascend  ;  [see  the  extract  from  Riippell  below  ;]  yet  I 
have  sometimes  felt  their  effects  across  the  river 
where  it  was  at  least  a  mile  broad.  An  instance  hap- 
pened here.  Mr.  Ste|)hens,  a  fellow  traveller,  was 
bathing  in  the  river,  having  on  a  pair  of  Turkish 
drawers.  On  his  return  from  the  water,  there  came 
a  hot  mnd  across  the  river,  which  made  his  drawers 
and  himself  perfectly  dry  in  an  instant.  Had  such  a 
circumstance  been  related  to  him  by  another  person, 
he  declared  he  could  not  have  believed  it.  I  was 
present  and  felt  the  force  of  the  hot  wind,  but  should 
otherwise  have  been  as  incredulous  as  IMr.  Stephens." 
(p.  81.) 

We  subjoin  here  the  account  of  Niebuhr,  as  being 
one  of  the  most  full  and  trustworthy,  and  as  relating 
also  to  the  same  Asiatic  regions.  It  will  be  perceived, 
however,  that  this  is  the  result,  not  of  his  own  ob-. 
servations,  but  of  his  inquiries  among  the  Arabs  ;  and 
that  although  according  in  the  chief  points  witl)  the 
descriptions  of  Porter  and  Chardin,  the  language  is, 
nevertheless,  much  noore  moderate.  The  suggestions 
also  occasionally  thrown  in,  accord  well  with  the 
character  of  this  most  sober  and  judicious  of  all 
travellers.  He  is  speaking  of  the  region  around  the 
Persian  gulf,  Bagdad,  &c.  (Descr.  of  Arab.  p.  7.  Germ, 
edit.)  "The  hot  season  is  called  by  the  Arabs,  so  far 
as  I  can  learn,  Sryium,  [Simoom,]  just  as  we  call  ihe 
same  period,  dog-days,  and  as  the  Egyptians  also  call 
their  hot  season,  Ca77isin.  In  these  months  there 
are  occasional  instances  at  Bassora,  though  seldom, 
of  persons  in  the  street,  both  in  the  city  and  on  the 
way  to  Zobier,  falling  down  and  dying  from  the  heat ; 
indeed  mules  also  are  said  to  have  died  of  the  heat 
out  of  the  citj-. 

"Of  the  poisonous  wind  Sam,  Smi'tm,  Sainiel,  or 
5ame7j,  according  to  the  pronunciation  of  the  Arabs,  of 
whom  1  inquired  about  it,  one  hears  most  in  the  desert 
between  Bassora,  Bagdad,  Aleppo  and  Mecca.  It  is 
said  also  not  to  be  unknown  in  some  districts  of  Per- 
sia and  India,  and  also  in  Spain.  This  wind  is  also 
to  be  feared  only  in  the  hottest  summer  months.  It 
is  said  alwavs  to  come  from  the  gi-eat  desert ;  indeed 
they  saj'  that  the  Simoom,  (I  am  not  sure  whether 
the  poisonous  one  is  meant,)  at  Mecca,  comes  from 
the  east,  at  Bagdad,  from  the  west,  at  Bassorah,  from 
the  north-west,  and  at  Surat,  from  the  north.  At 
Cairo,  the  hottest  wind  comes  over  the  Libyan  desert, 
and  consequently"  from  the  south-west.  As  the  Arabs 
of  the  desert  arc  accustomed  to  a  pure  atmosphere,  it 
is  BJiid  that  some  among  them  are  so  keen-scented  as 
to  distinguish  the  fatal  Simoom  by  its  sulphuroussmell. 
Another  token  of  this  wind  is  said  to  be,  that  the 
whole  atmosphere,  in  the  quarter  whence  it  blows, 
becomes  of  a  reddish  hue.  Since,  however,  a  wind 
moving  regidarly  forwards  has  less  power  near  the 
sm-lace  of  the  earth,  being  somewhat  hindered  and 
i)roken  perhaps  by  hills,  and  rocks,  and  bushes,  and 
also  by  the  evaporation  from  the  ground,  it  is  there- 
fore usual  for  persons  to  throv/  themselves  upon  the 
earth  when  they  perceive  the  appicach  of  the  Si- 
moom. Nature' also  is  said  to  have  taught  the  beasts 
to  hold  their  heads  to  the  earth  in  like  circumstances. 
One  of  my  servants  was  overtaken  by  this  wind,  iu 
a  caravan  on  the  way  from  Bassorah  to  Aleppo. 
Some  of  the  Arabs  cried  out  in  time  for  them  all  to 
throw  themselves  on  the  ground,  and  none  of  those 
who  did  this  received  any  injury.  But  some  of  the 
caravan,  and  among  them  a  French  surgeon,  who 
wished  to  examine  this  phenomenon  more  closely, 
were  too  secure,  and  in  consequence  died.  Some- 
times years  are  said  to  elapse,  during  which  there 


WINDS 


[  929  ] 


WINDS 


appears  no  trace  of  the  poisonous  Sinioom  on  the 
way  between  Bassorah  and  Aleppo. 

"  According  to  the  Arabs,  both  men  and  beasts  are 
suffocated  by  this  wind,  in  the  same  manner  as  by 
the  ordinary  hot  wind,  of  which  I  have  spoken  above. 
When  the  heat  of  the  season  is  extraordinarily  great, 
there  comes  sometimes  a  slight  blast  vvhicli  is  still 
hotter;  and  when  men  or  beasts  have  already  be- 
come so  weak  as  almost  to  perish  from  the  heat,  it 
would  seem  that  this  additional  degi-ee  of  heat,  though 
small,  takes  away  their  breath  entirely.  In  tlie  case 
of  those  who  are  suffocated  by  this  wind,  or,  as  they 
say,  whose  heart  has  burst,  it  is  said  that  the  blood 
starts  from  the  nose  and  ears  sometimes  in  two  hours 
after  death.  Their  bodies  are  said  to  remain  a  long 
time  warm,  to  swell,  to  turn  blue  and  green,  and,  if 
the  attempt  is  made  to  raise  them  by  the  leg  or  arm, 
this  separates  itself  at  once.  Some  profess  to  hav'e 
observed,  that  those  who  are  not  previously  so  weak- 
ened, usually  suffer  less ;  and  hence,  in  a  large  cara- 
van, sometimes  not  more  than  four  or  five  have  died 
on  the  spot,  wlule  others  have  lived  several  hours, 
and  some  have  even  been  restored  by  refreshing  cor- 
dials. The  Arabs,  it  is  said,  take  with  them  leeks 
and  raisins  upon  their  journeys,  and  by  means  of 
these  have  often  relieved  persons  who  were  well  nigh 
suffocated. 

"After  this  description  of  the  Simoom,  it  will 
readily  be  supposed,  that  I  had  no  great  inclination 
to  make  the  experiment  proposed  in  the  24th  question 
of  professor  Michaelis.  And  even  if  I  had  kept  every 
thing  in  readiness  for  this  purpose,  my  trouble  would 
all  have  been  in  vain,  for  I  have  myself  never  met  with 
this  wind." 

The  preceding  extracts  relate  chiefly  to  the  interior 
of  Arabia  and  Asia;  those  which  follow  refer  more 
to  Africa,  and  the  southern  coast  of  Arabia.  The 
first  which  we  shall  give,  go  to  show  that  the  Simoom 
has  in  general  the  same  bad  name  in  these  regions  as 
in  other  places. 

Maillet,  in  speaking  of  the  great  Hadj,  or  annual 
caravan  of  pilgrims  from  Egypt  to  Mecca,  remarks : 
(Let.  xiv.  p.  232.)  "If  the  north  wind  happens  to 
fail,  and  that  from  the  south  comes  in  its  place, 
which,  however,  is  rather  uncommon,  then  the  whole 
caravan  is  so  sickly  and  exhausted,  that  three  or  four 
hundred  persons  are  wont  to  lose  their  lives ;  and 
even  greater  numbers,  as  fifteen  hundred  ;  of  whom 
the  greatest  ])art  are  stifled  on  the  spot,  by  the  fire  and 
dust  of  which  this  fatal  wind  seems  to  be  composed." 

The  same  writer,  in  giving  an  account  of  the  dan- 
gers attending  the  caravans  that  pass  between  Egypt 
and  Nubia,  further  remarks:  (Lett.  dern.  p.  218.) 
"The  danger  is  infinitely  greater  when  the  south 
wind  hap|)ens  to  blow  in  these  deserts.  The  least 
mischief  that  it  produces  is  the  making  dry  their 
leather  bottles,  or  goat  skins  filled  with  water,  which 
they  are  obliged  to  carry  with  them  in  these  journeys, 
and  by  this  means  depriving  both  man  and  beast  of 
the  only  relief  they  have  against  its  violent  heat^'. 
This  wind,  which  the  Arabs  call  poisonous,  stifl^^s  on 
the  spot  those  that  are  unfortunate  enough  fo  breathe 
in  it ;  so  that  to  guard  against  its  penucious  effects, 
they  are  obliged  to  tlirow  themselves  speedily  on  the 
ground,  with  their  face  close  to  these  burning  sands, 
with  which  they  are  surrounded,  and  to  cover  their 
heads  with  some  cloth  or  carpet,  lest,  in  respiration, 
they  should  suck  in  that  deadly  quality  which  every 
where  attends  it.  People  ought  even  to  think  them- 
selves very  happy  when  this  wuid,  which  is  always, 
besides,  very  violent,  does  not  I'aise  up  large  quanti- 
117 


ties  of  sand  with  a  whirling  motion,  which,  darkening 
the  air,  renders  their  guides  incapable  of  discerning 
their  way.  Sometimes  whole  caravans  have  been 
buried  by  this  means  under  the  sand,  with  which  this 
wind  is  frequently  charged." 

The  next  traveller  whom  we  quote  is  Mr.  Bruce, 
who  speaks  more  in  detail,  and  professes  to  give  the 
results  of  his  own  personal  experience.  On  the 
general  character  of  his  work,  and  the  degree  of  con- 
fidence to  be  placed  in  the  accuracy  of  his  narratives, 
we  have  made  some  remarks  above,  (p.  927.)  His 
account  is  as  follows : — 

"  On  the  16th,  at  half-past  ten,  we  lefl;  El  Mout. 
At  eleven  o'clock,  while  we  contemplated  with  great 
pleasure  the  rugged  top  of  Chiggre,  to  which  we 
were  fast  approaching,  and  where  we  were  to  solace 
ourselves  with  plenty  of  good  water,  Idris  cried  out, 
'Fall  upon  your  faces,  for  here  is  the  Simoom  !'  I 
saw  from  the  S.  E.  a  haze  come,  in  color  like  the 
purple  part  of  the  rainbow,  but  not  so  compressed  or 
thick.  It  did  not  occupy  twenty  j^ards  in  breadth, 
and  was  about  twelve  feet  high  from  the  giound.  It 
was  a  kind  of  blush  upon  the  air,  and  it  moved  very 
rapidly,  for  I  scarce  could  turn  to  fall  upon  the 
ground,  with  my  head  to  the  northward,  when  I  felt 
the  heat  of  its  current  plainly  upon  my  face.  We 
all  lay  flat  on  the  ground,  as  if  dead,  till  Idris  told  us 
it  was  blown  over.  The  meteor,  or  purple  haze, 
which  I  saw,  was  indeed  passed,  but  the  light  air  that 
still  blew  was  of  heat  to  threaten  suffocation.  For 
my  part,  I  found  distinctly  in  my  breast  that  I  had 
imbibed  a  part  of  it,  nor  was  I  free  of  an  asthmatic 
sensation,  till  I  had  been  some  months  in  Italy, 
at  the  baths  of  Poretta,  near  two  years  after- 
wards. A  universal  despondency  had  taken  pos- 
session of  our  people.  They  ceased  to  speak  to 
one  another,  and  when  they  did,  it  was  in  whispers, 
by  which  I  easily  guessed  that  they  were  increas- 
ing each  others'  fears,  by  vain  suggestions,  calcu- 
lated to  sink  each  other's  spirits  still  further.  .  .  .  This 
phenomenon  of  the  Simoom,  unexpected  by  us, 
though  foreseen  by  Idris,  caused  us  all  to  relapse  into 
our  former  despondency.  It  still  continued  to  blow, 
so  as  to  exhaust  us  entireh',  though  the  blast  was  so 
weak  as  scarcely  would  have  raised  a  leaf  from  the 
ground.  At  twenty  minutes  before  five,  the  Simoom 
ceased,  and  a  comfortable  and  cooling  breeze  came 
by  starts  from  the  north."     (Vol.  iv.  p.  558,  559.) 

"  We  had  no  sooner  got  into  the  plains  than  we 
felt  great  symptoms  of  the  Simoom,  and  about  a 
quarter  before  twelve,  our  prisoner  first,  and  then 
Idris,  cried  out.  The  Simoom!  the  Simoom!  My  cu- 
riosity would  not  suffer  me  to  fall  down  without  look- 
ing behind  me  :  about  due  south,  a  little  to  the  east, 
I  saw^  the  colored  haze  as  before.  It  seemed  now  to 
be  rather  less  compressed,  and  to  have  with  it  a  shade 
of  blue.  The  edges  of  it  were  not  defined  as  those 
of  the  ibniicr ;  but  like  a  very  thin  smoke,  with  about 
0  jard  in  the  middle  tinged  with  those  colors.  We 
all  fell  upon  our  faces,  and  the  Simoom  passed  with 
a  gentle  nifiling  wind.  It  continued  to  blow  in  this 
manner  till  near  three  o'clock ;  so  that  we  were  all 
taken  ill  at  night,  and  scarcely  strength  was  left  us  to 
load  the  camels."     (Vol.  iv.  p.  581.) 

"  The  Simoom  with  the  wind  at  S.  E.  immediately 
followed  the  wind  at  N.  and  the  usual  despondency 
that  always  accompanied  it.  The  blue  meteor,  with 
which  it  began  passing  over  us  about  twelve,  and  the 
ruffling  wind  that  followed  it,  continued  till  neartwo. 
Silence,  and  a  desperate  kind  of  indifference  about 
life,  were  the  immediate  effects  upon  us;  and  I  be- 


WINDS 


[  930  ] 


WINDS 


gan,  seeing  the  condition  of  my  camels,  to  fear  we  were 
all  doomed  to  a  sandy  grave,  and  to  contemplate  it 
with  some  degree  of  resignation. 

"  I  here  began  to  provide  for  the  worst.  I  saw  the 
fate  of  our  camels  fast  approaching,  and  that  our  men 
grew  weak  in  proportion :  our  bread,  too,  began  to 
fail  us,  although  we  had  plenty  of  camel's  jfleshinits 
stead  ;  our  water,  though  to  all  appearance  we  were 
to  find  it  more  frequently  than  in  the  beginning  of 
our  journey,  was  nevertheless  brackish,  and  scarce 
served  the  purpose  to  quench  our  thirst ;  and  above 
all,  the  dreadful  Simoom  had  perfectly  exhausted 
our  strength,  and  brought  upon  us  a  degi'ee  of  cow- 
ardice and  languor,  that  we  struggled  with  in  vain." 
(Vol.  V.  p.  583,  584.) 

Such  is  the  strongest  evidence  which  is  or  can  be 
brought  forward,  to  establish  the  poisonous  qualities 
of  the  Simoom,  or  wind  of  the  desert.  We  must 
now  reverse  the  picture,  and  produce  the  evidence  to 
show  that  all  these  stories  probably  rest  either  upon 
the  credulity  of  the  writers,  or  on  a  spirit  of  exag- 
geration. Our  first  witness  is  Burckhardt,  who  lived 
and  travelled,  from  1810  to  1817  inclusive,  in  Syria, 
Arabia,  and  the  countries  between  these,  in  Egypt, 
Nubia,  Soudan,  &c. — in  all  the  countries  indeed  in 
whicli,  according  to  the  foregoing  accounts,  the  Si- 
moom is  said  to  be  prevalent.  He  was,  moi'eover, 
thoroughly  acquainted  with  the  language,  and  travel- 
led every  where  as  a  native,  which  of  course  gave  him 
far  greater  facilities  of  obtaining  information  than 
fall  to  the  lot  of  other  Europeans.  His  good  judg- 
ment and  extreme  accuracy  are  every  where  appa- 
rent, and  are  also  vouched  for  by  all  subsequent 
travellers.  In  describing  his  journey  across  the 
great  Nubian  desert,  in  1814,  the  same  which  Mr. 
Bruce  crossed,  he  gives  the  results  of  all  his  obser- 
vations upon  the  Simoom,  in  the  following  manner : — 

"  March  22,  1814.— At  the  end  of  five  houre  we 
halted  in  a  Wady.  The  wind  was  still  southerly.  I 
again  inquired,  as  I  had  often  done  before,  whether 
my  companions  had  often  experienced  the  Semoum, 
which  we  translate  by  the  poisonous  blast  of  the 
desert,  but  which  is  nothing  more  than  a  violent 
south-east  wind.  They  answered  in  the  affirmative, 
but  none  had  ever  known  an  instance  of  its  having 
proved  fatal.  Its  worst  effect  is,  that  it  dries  up  the 
water  in  the  skins,  and  so  far  endangers  the  travel- 
ler's safety.  In  these  southern  countries,  however, 
[Nubia,]  water-skins  are  made  of  very  thick  cow- 
Icathcr,  which  are  almost  impenetrable  to  the  Se- 
inoum.  In  Arabia  and  Egypt,  on  the  contrary,  the 
skins  of  sheep  or  goats  are  used  for  this  purpose ;  and 
I  [afterwards]  witnessed  the  effect  of  a  Semoum 
upon  them,  in  going  from  Tor  to  Suez,  in  1815,  when 
in  one  morning  a  third  of  the  contents  of  a  full  water- 
skin  was  evaporated.  I  have  repeatedly  been  ex- 
posed to  the  hot  wind,  in  the  Syrian  and  Arabian 
deserts,  in  Upper  Egypt  and  Nubia.  The  hottest  and 
most  violent  I  ever  experienced  was  at  Suakin,  [on 
the  Nubian  coast  of  the  Red  sea,]  yet,  even  there,  1 
felt  no  particular  inconvenience  from  it,  although  ex- 
posed to  all  its  fury  in  the  open  plain.  For  my  own 
part,  I  am  peri-ectly  convinced,  that  all  the  stories 
which  travellers,  or  the  inhabitants  of  the  towns  of 
Egypt  and  Syria,  relate  of  the  Semoum  of  the  desert, 
arc  greatly  exaggerated ;  and  J  never  could  hear  of  a 

SINGLE  WELL  AUTHENTICATED  INSTANCE  ofits  havirio- 

proved  mortal,  either  to  inan  or  heaM.  The  fact  is,  that 
the  Bedouins,  when  questioned  on  the  subject,  often 
frighten  the  towns-people  with  tales  of  men,  and  even 
of  whole  caravans,  having  perished  by  the  effects  of 


the  wind ;  when,  upon  close  inquiry,  made  oy  sonic 
person  whom  they  find  not  ignorant  of  the  desert, 
they  will  state  the  plain  truth.  I  never  observed  tliat 
the  Semoum  blows  close  to  the  groimd,as  commonly 
supposed,  but  always  observed  the  whole  atmos- 
phere appear  as  if  in  a  state  of  combustion  ;  the  dust 
and  sand  are  carried  high  into  the  air,  which  assumes 
a  reddish,  or  bluish,  or  yellowish  tint,  according  to  the 
nature  and  color  of  the  ground,  from  which  the  dust 
arises.  The  yellow,  however,  always,  more  or  less, 
predominates.  In  looking  through  a  glass  of  a  light 
yellow  color,  one  may  form  a  pretty  con-ect  idea  of 
the  appearance  of  the  air,  as  I  observed  it  during  a 
stormy  Semoum  at  Esne,  in  Upper  Egypt,  in  May, 
1813.  The  Semoum  is  not  always  accompanied  by 
whirlwinds  ;  in  its  less  violent  degree,  it  will  blow  for 
hours  with  little  force,  although  with  oppressive  heat ; 
when  the  whirlwind  raises  the  dust,  it  then  increases 
several  degrees  in  heat.  In  the  Semoum  at  Esne, 
the  thermometer  mounted  to  121°  in  the  shade ;  but 
the  air  seldom  remains  longer  than  a  quarter  of  an 
hour  in  this  state,  or  longer  than  the  whirlwuid  lasts. 

"  The  most  disagreeable  effect  of  the  Semoum  on 
man  is,  that  it  stops  perspiration,  dries  up  the  palate, 
and  produces  great  restlessness.  I  never  saw  any  per- 
son lie  down  flat  upon  his  face,  to  escape  its  pernicious 
blast,  as  Bruce  describes  himself  to  have  done  in 
crossing  this  very  desert;  but  during  the  whirhvinds, 
the  Ai'abs  often  hide  their  faces  with  their  cloaks, 
and  kneel  down  near  their  camels,  to  prevent  the 
sand  or  dust  from  hurting  their  eyes.  Camels  are 
always  much  distressed,  not  by  the  heat,  but  by  the 
dust  blowing  into  their  lai-ge,  prominent  eyes.  They 
turn  round  and  endeavor  to  screen  themselves  by 
holding  down  their  heads  ;  but  this  I  never  saw 
them  do,  except  in  case  of  a  whirlwind,  however 
intense  the  heat  of  the  atmosphere  might  be.  In 
June,  1813,  gohig  from  Esne  to  Siout,  a  violent 
Semoum  overtook  me  upon  the  plain,  between  Far- 
shiout  and  Berdys.  I  was  quite  alone,  mounted  upon 
a  light-footed  Hedjin.  When  the  whirlwind  arose, 
neither  house  nor  tree  was  in  sight,  and  while  I  was 
endeavoring  to  cover  my  face  with  my  handkerchief, 
the  beast  was  made  unruly  by  the  quantity  of  dust 
thrown  into  its  eyes,  and  the  terrible  noise  of  the 
wind,  and  set  off  at  a  fui'ious  gallop.  I  lost  the  reins 
and  received  a  heavy  fall ;  and  not  being  able  to  see 
ten  yards  before  me,  I  remained  wrapped  up  in  my 
cloak  on  the  spot  where  I  fell,  until  the  wind  abated, 
when,  pursuing  my  dromedary,  I  found  it  at  a  great 
distance,  quietly  standing  near  a  low  shrub,  the 
branches  of  which  afforded  some  shelter  to  its 
eyes. 

"  Bruce  has  mentioned  the  moving  pillars  of  sand 
in  this  desert ;  but  although  none  such  occurred 
during  my  passage,  I  do  not  presume  to  question  his 
veracity  on  this  head.  The  Arabs  told  me  that  there 
are  often  whirlwinds  of  sand,  and  I  have  repeatedly 
passed  through  districts  of  moving  sands,  which  the 
slightest  wind  can  raise.  I  remember  to  have  seen 
columns  of  sands  moving  about  like  water-spouts,  in 
the  desert,  on  the  banks  of  the  Euphrates,  and  have 
seen,  at  Jaka,  terrible  effects  from  a  sudden  wind  ;  I 
therefore  very  easily  credit  their  occasional  appear- 
ance in  the  Nubian  desert,  although  I  doubt  of  their 
endangering  the  safety  of  travellei*s."  (Travels  in 
Nubia,  &c.  Lond.  1819,  p.  204—6.) 

A  later  and  not  less  respectable  traveller  is  M. 
Riippell,  of  Franckfort,  who  is  still  living,  (1832,)  and 
with  whom  the  writer  of  these  lines  had  the  pleasure 
of  a  personal  interview.     He  first  visited  Egypt,  and 


^x,  WINDS  [  931 

Arabia  Pe.  la,  in  the  yeai-s  1817  and  1818 ;  but  re- 
turned to  Europe  in  this  latter  year,  in  order  to  make 
the  necessary  preparations  in  order  to  examine  those 
and  the  adjacent  regions  inamore  scientific  manner. 
He  pursued  the  necessary  studies,  both  in  natural 
philosophy  and  natural  history,  at  the  university  of 
Pavia,  under  the  general  advice  and  direction  of  the 
celebrated  astronomer,  baron  Von  Zach  ;  and  pro- 
cured also  an  apparatus  of  astronomical  and  other 
instruments.  Thus  prepared,  he  arrived  in  Egypt 
in  the  beginning  of  1822,  and  continued  to  reside 
and  travel  in  that  country,  in  Nubia,  Kordofan,  and 
south-western  Arabia,  until  the  middle  of  1827.  His 
remarks  upon  the  wind  of  the  desert  are  contained  in 
the  following  extract,  and  are  those  of  a  scientific 
observer : — 

"During  the  march  from  Suez  to  Cairo,  I  had 
opportunity  to  make  a  meteorological  observation, 
wliich  surprised  me,  and  which  may  perhaps  lead  to 
interesting  results.  It  was  on  tlie  21st  of  May,  1822, 
at  the  distance  of  seven  hours  [about  22  miles]  from 
Cairo,  that  we  were  overtaken  by  the  violent  south 
wind,  of  which  former  travellers  have  given  the 
most  strange  and  incredible  accounts.  Not  long 
after  sunrise,  after  we  had  had  during  the  night  a 
light  wind  from  the  north-east,  there  sprung  up  a 
fresh  breeze  from  the  south-south-east,  which  by  de- 
grees increased  to  a  violent  gale.  Clouds  of  dust 
filled  the  whole  atmosphere  to  such  a  degree,  that 
one  could  recognize  nothing  fifty  paces  off;  not 
even  a  camel  was  to  be  distinguished  at  this  distance. 
Along  the  surface  of  the  earth  there  was  a  constant 
crackling,  which  I  suj)posed  to  arise  from  the  rolling 
sand,  which  the  wind  lashed  so  impetuously.  All 
those  parts  of  our  bodies  which  were  turned  towards 
the  wind,  were  uncommonly  heated  ;  and  we  expe- 
rienced an  unusual  feeling  of  pain,  somewhat  like 
the  pricking  of  needles,  accompanied  by  a  peculiar 
sound.  I  supposed,  at  first,  that  this  feeling  of  pain 
m  the  exposed  parts  of  the  body,  was  caused  by  the 
small  stones  which  were  borne  along  by  the  tempest 
and  hurled  against  us;  and  in  order  to  judge  of  the 
size  of  these  stones,  I  attempted  to  catch  some  of 
them  with  my  cap ;  but  how  great  was  my  surprise, 
when  I  found  I  could  not  succeed  in  obtaining  a 
single  one  of  these  supposed  stones.  1  now  remarked, 
for  the  first  time,  that  this  painful  feeling  in  the  skin 
was  not  caused  by  the  stroke  of  any  such  stones  or 
sand,  but  was  rather  the  eflTect  of  some  invisible 
physical  power,  which  I  could  compare  only  with 
the  passing  off  of  a  stream  of  electric  fluid.  After 
this  first  conjectfue,  I  began  to  observe  more  closely 
the  phenomena  around  me.  I  noticed,  that  our  hau* 
became  more  or  less  erect ;  and  that  the  pricking 
pain  in  the  skin  was  especially  perceptible  in  the 
joints  and  at  the  extremities,  just  as  if  I  had  been 
exposed  to  an  electric  shock  upon  an  isolated  stool. 
In  order  to  convince  myself  entirely,  that  this  feeling 
of  pain  did  not  arise  from  the  stroke  of  stones  or 
sand,  I  stretched  a  sheet  of  paper,  and  held  it  against 
the  wind.  The  smallest  stone  or  grain  of  sand,  and 
even  the  dust  itself,  would  have  been  distinctly  per- 
ceptible to  the  ear  or  eye  ;  but  nothing  of  this  took 
place.  The  surface  of  the  paper  remained  un- 
changed and  noiseless.  I  now  stretched  out  my  arm, 
and  the  pricking  pain  was  immediately  increased  at 
the  extremities  of  my  fingers.  These  observations 
led  me  very  strongly  to  conjecture,  that  the  violent 
wind  known  in  Egypt  by  the  name  of  Camsin,  is 
either  accompanied  by  a  large  quantity  of  the  electric 
fluid,  or  else  that  this  is  occasioned  by  the  motion  of 


WINDS 

the  dry  sand  in  the  desert.  Hence  the  thick  clouds 
of  dust  which  accompany  this  wind,  consisting  of 
isolated  atoms  of  sand,  which  for  days  darken  the 
sun  in  a  cloudless  sky.  In  this  way  one  could  per- 
haps explain  how  this  wind  might,  through  its 
electrical  properties,  sometimes  prove  fatal  to  cara- 
vans, as  has  been  related  by  some  travellers.  I  must, 
however,  here  remark,  that  in  the  countries  through 
which  I  have  travelled,  I  have  never  beard  the 
LEAST  HINT  OF  ANY  SUCH  ACCIDENT.  At  any  rate, 
the  supposition  that  such  a  calamity  might  be  occa- 
sioned by  the  caravan's  being  buried  under  the  sand, 
is  most  ridiculous. 

"  The  Camsin,  or  gale  from  the  south-east,  usually 
blows  in  Egypt  two  or  three  days  at  a  time,  with 
less  violence,  however,  during  the  night.  It  occurs 
only  in  the  inten'al  between  the  middle  of  April  and 
the  middle  of  June  ;  hence  its  Arabic  name,  which 
signifies  Ji/ty,  or  the  fifty  days^  ivind.  It  is  much  to 
be  wished,  that  scientific  travellers,  provided  with  the 
proper  instruments,  may  subject  the  electrical  quality 
of  this  wind  to  an  accurate  examination  ;  but  for  this 
purpose  it  would  be  necessary  to  select  some  other 
station  than  Cairo,  or  any  other  inhabited  place, 
where,  in  consequence  of  the  vicinity  of  trees,  or 
houses,  or  towers,  the  electricity  of  the  air  would 
be  already  weakened  or  lost.  The  observer  of  the 
Camshi  must  betake  himself  to  the  midst  of  the 
desert,  far  from  all  running  or  standing  water, 
where  the  wind  shows  itself  in  its  full  strength  ;  and 
there  may  he  with  certainty  expect,  that  his  investi- 
gations will  lead  to  interesting  and  important  results." 
(Reisen,  Franckf  1829,  p.  269—272.) 

In  a  note  appended  to  this  passage,  M.  Riippell 
further  remarks :  "  I  had  myself  opportunity,  a  year 
afterguards,  to  make  some  investigations  in  I)ongola, 
respecting  the  electricity  which  accompanies  violent 
gales  in  Africa.  It  was  during  a  gale  which  occuiTed 
in  that  province,  on  the  7th  of  April,  1823.  The 
instrument  employed  was  the  common  Voltaic  straw- 
electrometer.  On  the  first  experiment,  at  8  o'clock 
A.  M.  while  it  was  blowing  violently  from  N.  N.  W. 
[from  the  great  African  desert,]  and  the  thermometer 
stood  at  16°  of  Reaumur,  [68°  J'ahr.]  the  electrici- 
ty of  the  air  was  at  its  maxunum  ;  the  straw  instantly 
touched  the  sides  of  the  bottle.  The  electricity  was 
negative.  At  10  o'clock,  during  a  whirlwind,  with 
the  like  temperature,  the  electrometer  showed  ten 
degrees,  and  tliat  positive.  About  12  o'clock,  the 
wind  had  somewhat  abated  ;  the  thermometer  stood 
at  18°,  [72^°,]  and  the  electrometer  showed  only  four 
degrees,  negative.  Afterwards,  as  the  wind  abated 
more,  the  electricity  of  the  air  disappeared  entirely." 
To  these  statements  of  Burckhardt  and  Riippell,  it 
is  almost  unnecessary  to  add,  that  they  are  confirmed 
by  the  oral  testimony  of  the  American  missiona- 
ries, who  have  visited  those  regions.  The  Rev.  ]\Ir. 
Smith,  m  particular,  stated  expressly  to  the  editor, 
that  so  far  as  his  opportunities  of  experience  and 
inquiry,  in  Egypt  and  Palestine,  had  extended,  the 
views  given  by  Burckhardt  were  entirely  correct. 
We  must,  therefore,  it  would  seem,  abandon  the  long 
prevalent  idea  of  the  poisonous  nature  of  the  hot 
wind  of  the  desert ;  wliile  it  may  no  doubt  be  true, 
that  individuals,  previously  exhausted  by  the  heat  of 
the  season,  have  sunk  under  the  augmented  heat  of 
this  wind,  in  the  manner  described  above  by  Niebuhr ; 
and  as  is,  also,  ndt  very  seldom  the  case  in  the  more 
sidtry  days  even  of  our  own  clime.  In  the  caravans, 
too,  which  cross  these  arid  wastes,  there  are  always 
more  or  less  who  are  feeble  and  languid,  and  who 


WIN 


[  932  ] 


WIS 


thus  may  be  easily  overcome,  and  perish  by  a  greater 
degree  of  heat,  and  especially  by  a  suddeu  augmen- 
tation of  it  through  a  sultry  wind.  The  great  Hadj 
route,  across  the  desert  El  Tyh,  is  strewed  with  the 
bones  of  animals,  and  studded  with  the  graves  of 
pilgrims,  that  have  died  on  the  route,  from  fatigue, 
exhaustion,  disease,  &c.  but  not  in  general  from 
any  fatal  influence  of  the  wind,  or  atmosphere. 
(See  the  extracts  from  Burckhardt,  under  Exodus, 
p.  4ia)     *R. 

WINE.  (See  Vine,  adfn.)  Hardly  any  sacri- 
fices were  made  to  the  Lord,  without  being  accom- 
panied by  libations  of  wine,  Exod.  xxix.  40 ;  Numb. 
XV.  5,  7.  Its  use,  however,  was  forbidden  to  the 
priests  during  the  time  they  were  in  the  tabernacle, 
employed  in  the  service  of  the  altar,  (Lev.  x.  9.)  as  it 
was  also  to  the  Nazarites,  Numb.  vi.  3. 

Wine,  or  the  cup  in  which  it  is  contained,  often 
represents  the  anger  of  God  :  "  Thou  hast  made  us 
drink  the  wine  of  astonishment,"  Ps.  Ix.  3.  "In  the 
hand  of  the  Lord  there  is  a  cup,  and  the  wine  is  red  ; 
it  is  full  of  mixtui-e,  and  be  poureth  out  of  the  same. 
But  the  dregs  thereof  all  the  wicked  shall  wring  them 
out  and  drink  them,"  Ps.  Ixxv.  8.  The  Lord  says  to 
Jeremiah,  (chap,  xxv,  15.)  "  Take  the  wine-cup  of 
this  fury  at  my  hand,  and  cause  all  the  nations  to 
whom  I  send  thee  to  drink  it." 

Wine  was  administered  medically  to  such  as  were 
sinking  in  ti'ouble  and  sorrow :  (Prov.  xxxi.  4 — 6.) 
"  Give  strong  drink  unto  him  that  is  ready  to  perish, 
and  wine  to  those  that  be  of  heavy  hearts."  The 
rabbins  tell  us,  that  it  was  customary  to  give  wine 
and  strong  liquors  to  criminals  condemned  to  die,  at 
their  execution,  to  stupify  them,  to  abate  their  fear, 
and  lull  the  sense  of  their  pain.  There  were  certain 
charitable  women  at  Jerusalem,  they  say,  who  used 
to  mix  certain  drugs  with  wine,  to  make  it  stronger, 
and  more  eftectual  in  diminishing  the  sense  of  pain. 
It  is  thought  a  mixture  of  this  kind  was  offered  to 
our  Saviour  to  drink,  before  he  was  fastened  to  the 
cross:  (Markxv.  23.)  "And  they  gave  him  to  drink, 
wine  mingled  with  myrrh  ;  but  he  received  it  not." 

Wine  of  Helbon  (Ezek.  xxvii.  18.)  was  a  kind  of 
excellent  wine,  sold  at  the  fairs  of  Tyre.  It  was 
made  at  Damascus. 

Wine  of  Astonishment  (Ps.  Ix.  3.)  may  repre- 
sent the  cup  of  God's  anger,  with  which  he  inebri- 
ates the  wicked  ;  or  rather,  according  to  the  Hebrew, 
the  cu])  of  the  wine  of  affliction,  impregnated  with 
its  lees ;  it  might  also  be  translated,  wine  of  trem- 
bling, that  produces  death,  that  poisons,  that  stupifies, 
ps.  ixxv.  8.  The  LXX  translate  it,  wine  that  stings 
inward !}',  that  causes  aflliction,  or  compunction  ; 
Aquila,  wine  of  stupefaction  ;  Symmachus,  wine  of 
agitation,  or  disturliance. 

Wine  of  the  Palm-tkee  (Deut.  xiv.  26.)  is  made 
of  the  sap  of  the  palm-tree,  and  is  common  in  the 
East. 

Wine  of  Libation  (Deut.  xxxii.  38  ;  Esth.  xiv. 
17.)  was  the  most  excellent  wine,  poured  on  the  vic- 
tims in  the  temple  of  the  Lord.  Or  pure  wine, 
because  in  libations  they  used  no  mixture. 

Wine  of  Uprightness  (Cant.  i.  4  ;  vii.  9  ;  Prov. 
xxiii.  30.)  is  good  wine,  true  and  excellent  wine. 

WING,  Jlla.  By  this  word,  the  Hebrews  under- 
stood not  only  the  wings  of  birds,  but  also  the  lappet, 
Bkirt,  or  flap  of  a  garment,  the  extremity  of  a  coun- 
try, the  wings  of  an  army  ;  figuratively  and  meta- 
E>horically,  protection  or  defence.  God  says,  that  he 
las  borne  his  people  on  the  wings  of  eagles,  (Exod. 
xxi.  4  ;see  also  Deut.  xxxii.  ll.)that  is,  he  had  brought 


them  out  of  Egypt,  as  an  eagle  carries  its  young  ones 
under  its  wings.  The  prophet  begs  of  God  to  pro- 
tect them  under  his  wings,  (Ps.  xvii.  8.)  and  says  that 
the  children  of  men  put  their  trust  in  the  protection 
of  his  wings,  Ps.  xxxvi.  7.  Isaiah,  speaking  of  the 
army  of  the  kings  of  Israel  and  Syria,  who  were 
coming  against  Judah,  says,  "  The  stretching  out  of 
his  wings  shall  fill  the  breadth  of  thy  lanjl,  O  Im- 
manuel,"  chap.  viii.  8. 

WINTER,  in  Palestine,  see  under  Canaan,  p. 
240,  seq. 

WISDOM  is  a  word  used  with  great  latitude  in 
the  Scriptures,  and  its  precise  import  can  only  be 
ascertained  by  a  close  attention  to  the  context.  See 
Folly. 

1.  The  term  wisdom  is  used  to  express  the  under- 
standing or  knowledge  of  things,  both  human  and 
divine.  It  is  often  so  used  in  the  Psalms.  It  was 
this  wisdom  which  Solomon  entreated  and  received 
of  God. 

2.  It  is  put  for  ingenuity,  skill,  dexterity  ;  as  in  the 
case  of  the  artificers  Bezaleel  and  Aholiab,  Exod. 
xxviii.  3  ;  xxxi.  3. 

3.  Wisdom  is  used  for  subtlety,  craft,  stratagem, 
whether  good  or  evil.  Pharaoh  dealt  uisely  with 
the  Israelites,  Exod.  i.  10.  Jonadab  was  very  wise, 
i.  e.  subtle  and  crafty,  2  Sam.  xiii.  3.  In  Proverbs, 
(xiv.  8.)  it  is  said,  "The  wisdom  of  the  prudent  is  to 
understand  his  way," 

4.  For  doctrine,  learninsr,  experience,  sagacity, 
Job  xii.  2,  12  ;  xxxviii.  37  ;  Ps.  cv.  22. 

5.  It  is  put  sometimes  for  the  skill  or  arts  of  ma- 
gicians, wizards,  fortune-tellers,  &c. 

6.  Wisdom  is  also  the  Eternal  Wisdom,  the  Word, 
the  Son  of  God,  Prov.  iii.  9  ;  viii.  22,  23.  (Compare 
also  the  Book  of  Wisdom,  vii.  22,  2(3 ;  viii.  xvii.  12, 
26,  &c.     Also  Ecclus.  xxiv.  5,  &c.) 

7.  Wisdom  of  the  flesh,  of  this  world,  human 
wisdom,  are  opposed,  by  Paul,  to  true  wisdom,  the 
wisdom  of  Christ,  the  wisdom  of  the  Spirit,  1  Cor.  i. 
19,  &c,  James  also  (iii.  14,  &c.)  speaks  of  a  wisdom 
which  is  earthly,  sensual,  devilisli,  and  opposed  to  the 
wisdom  thai  is  from  above,  which  is  pure,  peaceable, 
gentle,  &c. 

W^ISDOM,  Book  of,  [or,  as  it  is  also  called,  the 
Wisdom  of  Solomon.  Just  as  the  books  of  Tobit  and 
Sirach  give  us  a  representation  of  the  Jewish  religious 
views  and  culture  in  Palestine,  in  the  centuries  next 
preceding  the  Christian  era,  so  also  the  book  of 
Wisdom  does  the  same  for  the  far  nobler  and  jiurer 
religious  culture  of  the  Alexandrine  Jews,  iu  the 
same  period.  We  see  from  this  book,  and  from 
Philo,  that  a  peculiar  religious  philosophy  bad  formed 
itself  in  Alexandria  among  the  Jews,  arising  out  of  a 
mixtiue  of  the  national  views,  Platonic  philosophy, 
and  the  oriental,  or  more  especially  Persian,  ideas  of 
dualism  and  emanation.  The  great  object  of  the 
book  is,  to  enforce  the  value  of  wisdom,  i.  e.  of 
religion  ;  and  this  is  done  by  showing  that  it  leads 
not  only  to  greater  honor  and  esteem  in  this  life,  but 
to  the  rewards  of  a  future  state  of  existence. 

Solomon  is  every  where  introduced  as  the  speaker, 
in  the  first  part;  and  it  would  seem  to  have  been  the 
plan  of  the  writer,  that  he  should  be  the  speaker 
throughout.  This,  however,  is  not  the  case  ;  for  in 
the  latter  part,  the  writer  often  speaks  of  Solomon  in 
the  third  person.  From  chap.  xv.  onward,  God  is 
every  where  addressed. 

The  book  was  originally  written  in  the  Alexandrine 
Greek  ;  the  style,  for  that  of  a  later  Jew,  is  uncom- 
monly good.     It  has  in  it  something  eloquent   and 


wo 


[  933  ] 


WOM 


rhetorical,  which  verges  sometimes  towards  the  arti- 
ficial and  pompous.  This  is  more  particularly  the 
case  with  the  latter  pai't.  There  is,  however,  along 
with  this,  such  a  variety  of  allusion,  as  to  betray  a 
very  extensive  knowledge,  and  especially  an  ac- 
quaintance with  heathen  learning. 

As  to  the  author  and  the  time  in  which  he  wrote, 
nothing  can  be  said  definitely,  except  that  he  must 
have  been  a  Jew  of  Alexandria,  in  the  centuries  next 
preceding  Christ.  In  consequence  of  the  similarity 
of  some  points  in  the  book  with  the  doctrines  of  the 
Essenes,  it  has  been  supposed  that  the  author  was  of 
this  sect ;  but  there  are  also,  in  other  places  and  re- 
spects, certain  resemblances  between  the  Essenes  and 
Alexandrians.  Others,  as  Grotius,  have  assumed 
certain  interpolations  from  some  Christian  hand,  viz. 
in  respect  to  the  doctrine  of  immortality  ;  but,  re- 
garded more  closely,  the  inmiortality  of  this  book  is 
not  that  of  Christianity,  inasmuch  as  it  speaks  only 
of  the  immortality  of  the  pious.  In  a  philological 
respect,  moreover,  interpolations  are  not  admissible. 
The  assertion  of  Jerome,  perhaps,  deserves  the  most 
attention,  viz.  that  Philo  was  tlie  author.  But  yet, 
after  all  the  points  of  close  resemblance  with  Philo's 
writings,  there  is  still  a  difference ;  nor  can  it  well 
be  explained,  if  Philo  were  the  author,  why  the  book 
should  not  stand  among  his  acknowledged  works. 

The  Latin  version  of  tliis  book,  which  is  found  in 
the  Vulgate,  is  not  by  Jerome,  but  is  of  an  earlier 
date.     See  V'ersions.     *R. 

WITCH  OF  Endor,  see  in  Samuel. 

WITNESS,  one  who  bears  testimony  to  any  thing : 
thus  it  is  said,  you  are  a  witness-^-a  faithful  witness 
— a  fiilse  witness — God  is  witness,  &c.  Clirist  is 
the  faithful  witness  ;  (Rev.  i.  5.)  the  martyr  of  truth 
and  justice.  God  promises  to  give  to  his  two  wit- 
nesses (which  some  think  to  be  Enoch  and  Elijah) 
the  spirit  of  prophecy,  (Rev.  xi.  3.)  after  which  (he 
says)  they  shall  be  put  to  death. 

The  law  appoints,  that  two  or  three  witnesses 
should  be  credited  in  matters  of  judicature  ;  but  not 
one  witness  only,  Deut.  xvii.  6,  7.  The  law  con- 
demned a  false  witness  to  the  same  punishment  as 
that  he  would  have  subjected  his  neighbor  to,  Deut. 
xix.  16—19. 

The  prophets  ai*e  the  witnesses  of  our  belief;  they 
witness  the  truth  of  our  religion,  Heb.  xii.  1.  The 
apostles  are  still  further  witnesses  of  the  coming,  the 
mission,  and  the  doctrine  of  Christ.  If  Christ  is  not 
risen,  says  Paul,  then  are  we  false  witnesses,  1  Cor. 
XV.  15.  We  are  witnesses,  says  Peter,  Acts  x.  39, 
41.)  of  all  that  Jesus  did  in  Judea  ;  and  when  the 
apostles  thought  fit  to  put  another  in  the  place  of 
Judas,  (Acts  i.  22.)  they  selected  one  who  had  been 
a  witness  of  the  resurrection  along  with  themselves. 

WIZARD,  see  Magic,  and  Inchantments. 

WO  is  used  in  our  translation  where  a  softer 
expression  would  be  at  least  equally  proper:  "Wo 
to  such  an  one!"  is  in  our  language,  a  threat,  or  im- 
precation, which  comprises  a  wish  for  some  calamity, 
natural  or  judicial,  to  befall  a  person  ;  but  this  is  not 
always  the  meaning  of  the  word  in  Scripture.  We 
have  the  expression  "  Wo  is  me,"  that  is,  Alas,  for 
my  sufferings !  and  "  Wo  to  the  women  with  child, 
and  those  who  give  suck,"  &c.  that  is,  Alas,  for  their 
redoubled  sufferings,  in  times  of  distress  !  It  is  also 
more  agreeable  to  the  gentle  character  of  the  com- 
passionate Jesus,  to  consider  him  as  lamenting  the 
Bufferings  of  any,  whether  person,  or  city,  than  as 
imprecating,  or  even  as  denouncing,  them  ;  since  his 
character  of  judge  formed  no  part  of  his  mission.    If, 


then,  we  should  read,  "Alas,  for  thee,  Chorazin !  Alas, 
for  thee,  Bethsaida  !  "  we  should  do  no  injustice  to  the 
general  sentiments  of  the  place,  or  to  the  character  of 
the  person  speaking.  This,  however,  is  not  the  sense 
in  which  wo  is  always  to  be  taken  ;  as  when  we  read, 
"  Wo  to  those  who  build  houses  by  unrighteousness, 
and  cities  by  blood :"  wo  to  those  who  are  "  rebellious 
against  God,"  &c.  in  numerous  passages,  especially 
of  the  Old  Testament.  The  import  of  this  word, 
then,  is  in  some  degree  qualified  by  the  application 
of  it ;  where  it  is  directed  against  transgression, 
crinie,  or  any  enormity,  it  may  be  taken  as  a  threat- 
ening, a  malediction  ;  but  in  the  words  of  our  Lord, 
and  where  the  subject  is  suffering  under  misfortunes, 
though  not  extremely  wicked,  a  kind  of  lamentatory 
application  of  it  should  seem  to  be  most  proper. 

WOLF,  a  wild  creature,  very  well  known.  The 
Scripture  notices  these  remarkable  things  respecting 
the  wolf:  (1.)  It  fives  upon  rapine.  (2.)  Is  violent, 
cruel  and  bloody.  (3.)  Voracious  and  greedy.  (4.) 
Seeks  its  prey  by  night.  (.5.)  Is  very  sharp-sighted. 
(6.)  Is  the  great  enemy  of  sheep.  That  Benjamin 
shall  raven  as  a  wolf,  Gen.  xlLx.  27.  False  teachers 
are  wolves  in  sheep's  clothing.  Persecutors  of  the 
church,  and  false  pastors,  are  also  ravenous  wolves. 
The  prophets  speak  of  evening  wolves.  Jer.  v.  6,  "  A 
wolf  of  the  evening  shall  spoil  them."  And  Hab.  i.  8, 
"  Their  horses  are  more  fierce  than  the  evening 
wolves."  And  Zeph.  iii.  3,  "Her  judges  are  evening 
wolves."  The  Chaldee  interpretei-s  explain — Benja- 
min shall  raven  as  a  wolf — of  the  altar  of  burnt-oflTer- 
ings  at  Jerusalem,  which  stood  in  the  tribe  of  Ben- 
jamin. Others  refer  it  to  that  violent  seizure,  by 
the  sons  of  Benjamin,  of  the  young  women  that  came 
to  the  tabernacle  at  Shiloh,  Judg.  xj.i.  21.  Others 
refer  it  to  Mordeeai,  or  to  Saul,  who  were  of  the  tribe 
of  Benjamin.  Otliers  explain  it  of  Paul,  who  was 
also  of  this  tribe  ;  and  this  interpretation  has  com- 
monly prevailed  among  Christian  interpreters. 

The  wolf  is  a  fierce  creature,  dwelling  in  forests, 
ravenous,  greedy,  crafty,  and  of  exquisite  quickness 
of  smell. 

Isaiah,  (xi.  6  ;  Ixv.  25.)  describing  the  tranquil  reign 
of  the  Messiah,  says,  "  The  wolf  shall  dwell  with  the 
lamb,  and  the  leopard  shall  lie  down  with  the  kid ; 
and  the  calf,  and  the  young  lion,  and  the  fatling 
together,  and  a  little  child  shall  lead  them."  Our 
Saviour,  (Matt.  x.  16.)  says,  that  he  sends  his  apostles 
as  sheep  among  wolves,  (Luke  x.  3.)  and  it  is  known, 
that  both  Jews  and  jiagans,  like  ravenous  and  vo- 
racious wolves,  persecuted  and  slew  almost  all  of 
them.  At  last,  however,  these  same  wolves  them- 
selves became  converts,  and  docile  as  lambs.  Paul, 
one  of  the  most  eager  persecutors  of  the  church,  was 
afterwards  one  of  its  most  zealous  defenders. 

WOMAN  was  created  as  a  companion  and  assist- 
ant to  man  ;  (see  Adam  ;)  equal  to  him  in  authority 
and  jurisdiction  over  the  animals ;  but  after  the  fall, 
God  subjected  her  to  the  government  of  man  :  (Gen. 
iii.  16.)  "  Thy  desire  shall  he  to  thy  husband,  and  he 
shall  rule  over  thee."  In  addition  to  the  duties  pre- 
scribed by  the  law,  common  to  men  and  women, 
certain  regulations  were  peculiar  to  this  sex ;  as 
those  respecting  legal  uncleanness  during  their 
ordinary  infirmities,  those  attending  child-bearing, 
&c.  The  law  did  not  allow  any  action  of  the  woman 
against  the  man  ;  but  it  permitted  the  husband  to 
divorce  his  wife,  and  to  cause  her  to  be  stoned,  ifshe 
violated  her  conjugal  vow,  &c. 

If  a  married  woman  made  a  vow,  of  whatever 
nature,  she  was  not  bound  by  it,  if  her  husband  for- 


WOR 


[  934 


WORD 


bade  it  the  same  day.  But  if  he  staid  till  the  next 
day,  before  he  contradicted  it,  or  knowing  the  thmg, 
if  he  held  his  peace,  he  was  then  supposed  to  consent 
to  it ;  and  the  woman  was  bound  by  her  vow.  Numb. 
XXX.  7,  &c.  (See  1  Cor.  vii.  2,  &c.  for  the  duties  of 
women  towards  their  husbands.)  The  apostle  would 
have  them  submissive,  as  to  Christ,  Eph.  v.  2.  He 
forbids  them  to  speak  or  teach  in  the  church  ;  or  to 
appear  there  with  their  heads  uncovered,  or  without 
veils,  1  Cor.  xi.  5 ;  xiv.  34.  He  does  not  allow  women 
to  teach,  or  to  domineer  over  their  husbands,  but 
would  have  them  continue  in  submission  and  silence. 
(See  Veil.)  He  adds,  that  the  woman  shall  be  saved 
in  bearing  and  educating  her  children,  if  she  bring 
them  up  in  faith,  charity,  sanctity,  and  a  sober  life. 
See  Titus  ii.  4,  5,  and  1  Pet.  iii.  1 — 3,  where  modesty 
is  recommended  to  them,  with  great  care  in  avoiding 
superfluous  ornaments  and  unnecessary  finery. 

WOMB.  The  fruit  of  the  womb  is  children,  (Gen. 
XXX.  2.)  whom  the  psalmist  (cxxvii.  3.)  describes  as 
the  blessing  of  marriage.  Ps.  xxii.  10,  "  Lord,  thou 
art  my  God  from  my  mother's  womb." 

WONDER  is  some  occurrence,  or  thing,  which 
so  strongly  engages  our  attention,  by  its  surprising 
greatness,  rarity,  or  other  properties,  that  our  minds 
are  struck  by  it  into  astonishment.  Wonder  is  also 
nearly  synonymous  with  sign :  "  If  a  prophet  give 
thee  a  sign,  or  a  wonder,"  says  Moses,  (Deut.  xiii.  1.) 
and  "if  the  sign  or  wonder  come  to  pass,"  &c. 
Isaiah  says,  he  and  "  his  children  are  for  signs  and 
wonders,"  (chap.  viii.  18.)  that  is,  they  were  for  signs, 
indications  of,  allusions  to,  prefigu rations  of,  things 
future,  that  should  certainly  take  place;  and  they 
were  to  excite  notice,  attention  and  consideration  in 
beholders ;  to  cause  wonder  in  them.  Wonder  also 
signifies  ihe  act  of  wondering,  as  resulting  from  the 
observation  of  something  extraordinary,  or  beyond 
wliat  we  are  accustomed  to  behold. 

WORD  is  in  Hebrew  often  put  for  thing  or  matter ; 
as  Exod.  ii.  14 :  "  Surely  this  thing  [Heb.  tvoTcl]  is 
known."  "To-morrow  the  Lord  shall  do  this  thing 
[Heb.  word]  in  the  land,"  Exod.  ix.  5.  "  I  will  do  a 
thing  [Heb.  tvord]  in  Israel,  at  which  both  the  eare  of 
every  one  that  hearcth  it  shall  tingle,"  1  Sam.  iii.  11. 
"And  the  rest  of  the  acts  [Heb.  word^]  of  Solomon," 
1  Kings  xi.  41. 

Sometimes  Scripture  ascribes  to  the  word  of  God 
supernatural  effects  ;  or  represents  it  as  animated 
and  active.  So,  "He  sent  his  word,  and  healed 
them."  The  Book  of  Wisdom  ascribes  to  the  word 
of  God,  the  death  of  the  first-born  of  Egypt ;  ( Wisd. 
xviii.  15 ;  xvi.  20 ;  ix.  1  ;  xvi.  12.)  the  miracidous 
effects  of  the  manna  ;  tl)e  creation  of  the  world  ;  the 
healing  of  those  who  looked  up  to  the  brazen  ser- 
pent. The  centurion  in  the  Gospel  says  to  our  Sa- 
viour, (Matt.  viii.  8.)  "  Speak  the  word  only,  and  my 
servant  shall  be  healed."  And  Christ  says  to  the 
devil  that  tempted  him,  (Matt.  iv.  4.)  "  Man  shall  not 
live  by  bread  alone,  but  by  every  word  that  proceed- 
eth  out  of  the  mouth  of  God."  Hence  we  see  that 
word  is  taken  either,  (1.)  for  that  eternal  word  heard 
by  the  prophets,  when  under  inspiration  from  God. 
Or,  (2.)  for  that  which  they  heard  externally,  when 
God  spoke  to  them ;  as  when  he  spoke  to  Moses, 
face  to  face,  or  as  one  friend  speaks  to  another,  Exod. 
xxxiii.  11.  Or,  (3.)  for  that  word  which  the  minis- 
ters of  God,  the  priests,  the  apostles,  the  servants  of 
God,  declare  in  his  name  to  the  people.  (4.)  For 
what  is  written  in  the  sacred  books  of  the  Old  and 
New  Testaments.  (5.)  For  the  only  Son  of  the 
Father,  the  uncreated  Wisdom  :  "  In  the  beginning 


was  the  Word,  and  the  Word  was  with  God,  and  the 
Word  was  God.  The  same  was  in  the  beginning 
with  God.  All  things  were  made  by  him,  and  with- 
out him  was  not  any  thing  made  that  was  made," 
John  i. 

The  Chaldee  paraphrasts,  the  most  ancient  Jewish 
writers  extant,  generally  use  the  name  Memra,  or 
Word,  where  Moses  puts  Jehovah ;  and  it  is  thought 
that  under  this  term  they  allude  to  the  Son  of  God. 
Now,  their  testimony  is  so  much  the  more  consider- 
able, as,  having  lived  before  or  at  the  time  of  Christ, 
they  are  irrefragable  witnesses  of  the  sentiments  of 
their  nation  on  this  article  ;  since  their  Targum,  or 
explication,  has  always  been,  and  still  is,  in  universal 
esteem  among  them.  In  the  greater  part  of  the 
passages  where  the  sacred  name  occurs,  these  para- 
phrasts substitute  Memra  JeAouaA, ("i  t<-\c^c)the  Word 
of  God ;  and  as  they  ascribe  to  Memra  all  the  attri- 
butes of  deity,  it  is  concluded  that  they  believed  the 
divinity  of  the  Word.  In  effect,  according  to  them, 
Memra  created  the  world  ;  appeared  to  Abraham  in 
the  plain  of  Mamre,  and  to  Jacob  at  Bethel.  It  was 
to  Memra  Jacob  appealed  to  witness  the  covenant 
between  him  and  Laban  :  "  Let  the  Word  see  be- 
tween thee  and  me."  The  same  Word  appeared  to 
Moses  at  Sinai  ;  gave  the  law  to  Israel ;  spoke  face  to 
face  with  that  lawgiver  ;  marched  at  the  head  of  that 
people  ;  enabled  them  to  conquer  nations  ;  and  was 
a  consuming  fire  to  all  who  violated  the  law  of  the 
Lord.  All  these  characters,  where  the  paraphrasts 
use  the  word  Memra,  clearly  denote  Almighty  God. 
This  Word,  therefore,  was  God  ;  and  the  Hebrews 
were  of  this  opinion  at  the  time  when  the  Targum 
was  composed. 

The  author  of  the  Book  of  Wisdom  expresses  him- 
self much  in  the  same  manner.  He  says  that  God 
created  all  things  by  his  Word,  (ch.  ix.  1.)  that  it  is 
not  what  the  earth  produces  that  feeds  man  ;  but  the 
Word  of  the  Almighty  that  supports  him,  ch.  xvi.  26. 
It  was  this  Word  that  fed  the  Israelites  in  the  desert ; 
healed  them  after  the  biting  of  the  serpents  ;  (ch.  xvi. 
12.)  and  who,  by  his  power,  destroyed  the  first-born 
of  the  Egyptians,  (ch.  xviii.  15  ;  Exod.  xii.  29,  30.) 
and  by  which  Aaron  stopped  the  fuiy  of  the  fire  that 
was  kindled  in  the  camp,  which  threatened  the  de- 
struction of  all  Israel,  Wisd.  xviii.  22.  (See  Numb, 
xvi.  4G.) 

But  the  most  full  and  distinct  testimony  is  borne  to 
the  personality  and  real  deity  of  the  Word,  by  the 
evangelist  John  in  his  Gospel,  in  his  First  Epistle 
and  in  the  Book  of  Revelation. 

The  following  remarks  on  the  different  appli- 
cations of  the  terms  Rhema  and  Logos,  in  the  New 
Testament,  are  from  Mr.  Taylor. 

We  do  not  find  that  Rhema  is  ever  personified,  or 
that  personal  actions  are  attributed  to  the  term,  but 
generally  speaking,  when  relating  to  events,  the  force 
of  our  English  word  facts,  unquestionable  facts,  is 
intended ;  in  other  cases,  authority,  influence,  or 
power. 

The  word  Logos  imports  simple  speech ;  that  by 
which  the  party  hearing  it  may  be  instructed ;  also 
written  information,  that  by  which  the  reader  may 
be  edified.  Acts  i.  1,  "The  former  treatise  {^-vyov)  I 
have  made."  Also  commandments,  John  viii.  55 : 
Rom.  xiii.  9 ;  1  Thess.  iv.  15,  et  al.  Prophecy,  prom- 
ises, disputes,  threatenings,  evil  speakings,  and,  in 
short,  whatever  is  the  subject  of  words,  whether  good 
or  bad.  Hence,  teaching  in  all  its  branches  ;  hence 
teacher,  instructer,  wisdom ;  hence  heavenly  wisdom, 
the  heavenly  teacher,  the  heavenly  instructer,  &c. 


WORD 


935  ] 


WRI 


And  this  word  Logos  is  personified,  and  personal 
actions  are  attributed  to  it. 

It  is  not  easy  to  suggest  English  terms  by  which  to 
fix  this  distinction  in  every  instance ;  but  it  is  very 
desirable  to  represent  tlic  original  as  accurately  as 
possible,  and  to  avoid  interchanging  terms  which, 
certainly,  were  not  adopted  by  the  sacred  writers, 
to  express  such  difterence,  without  valid  and  efficient 
reasons. 

In  addition  to  these  remarks  on  the  application  of 
the  word  Logos,  Mr.  Taylor  has  elsewhere  some  ob- 
servations on  the  probable  origin  of  its  personal  ref- 
erence. The  following  extracts  are  from  Bruce's 
Travels : — 

"An  officei",  named  Kal  Hatze,  who  stands  always 
upon  steps  at  the  side  of  the  lattice  window,  where 
there  is  a  hole  covered  in  the  inside  with  a  cintain  of 
green  tatieta ; — behind  this  curtain  the  king  sits." 
(Vol.  iv.  p.  76.)  "Hitherto,  while  there  were  stran- 
gers in  the  room,  he  [the  king]  had  spoken  to  us  by 
an  officer  called  Kal  Hatze,  the  voice  or  word  of  the 
king."  (Vol.  iii.  p.  231.)  " — But  there  is  no  such 
ceremony  in  use;  and  exhibitions  of  this  kind,  made 
by  the  king  in  public,  at  no  period  seem  to  have 
suited  the  genius  of  this  people.  Formerly,  his  face 
was  never  seen,  nor  any  part  of  him,  excepting  some- 
times his  foot.  He  sits  in  a  kind  of  balcony,  with 
lattice  windows  and  curtains  before  him.  Even  yet 
he  covers  his  face  on  audiences,  or  pubhc  occasions, 
and  when  in  judgment.  On  cases  of  treason,  he  sits 
within  his  balcony,  and  speaks  through  a  hole  in  the 
side  of  it,  to  an  officer  called  Kal  Hatze,  '  the  voice  or 
WORD  of  the  king,'  by  whom  he  sends  his  questions, 
or  any  thing  else  that  occurs,  to  the  judges,  who  are 
seated  at  the  council  table."     (Vol.  iii.  p.  265.) 

Of  the  use  of  this  officer,  Mr.  Bruce  gives  several 
striking  instances:  in  particular,  one  on  the  trial  of  a 
rebel,  when  the  king,  by  his  Kal  Hatze,  asked  a  ques- 
tion, by  which  his  guilt  was  effectually  demonstrated. 
It  appears,  then,  that  the  king  of  Abyssinia  makes  in- 
quiry, gives  his  opinion,  and  declares  his  will  by  a 
deputy,  a  go-between,  a  middle-man,  called  "his 
WORD."  Assuming  for  a  moment  that  this  was  a  Jew- 
ish custom,  we  see  to  what  the  ancient  Jewish  par- 
aphrases referred  by  their  term,  "  Word  of  Jehovah," 
instead  of  Jkhovah  himself;  and  the  idea  was  ya- 
miliar  to  thoir  recollection,  and  to  that  of  their  readers  ; 
a  no  less  necessary  consideration  than  that  of  their 
own  recollection. 

If  it  be  inquired.  What  traces  of  this  officer,  as  an 
attendant  on  official  dignity,  occur  in  Scripture?  we 
may  reply  that  to  trace  allusions  to  the  office  of  this 
deputy  in  Scripture  would  be  too  extensive  for  this 
place;  but  by  way  of  selection,  consult  the  history  of 
the  calling  of  Samuel,  1  Sam.  iii.  21.  "Jehovah  re- 
vealed himself  to  Samuel,  in  Shiloh,  by  the  word  of 
the  Lord  (Jehovah)  ;"  why  not  say  at  once,  simply, 
"  by  himself,"  without  this  interposing  "  word  ?  " 
What  shall  we  say  to  Job  xxxiii.  23?  and  does  not 
Elisha  (2  Kings  v.  10.)  assume  somewhat  of  the  same 
state  ?  And  is  it  not  probable,  that  Naaman  felt  him- 
self treated  like  an  inferior,  a  subject,  by  the  prophet's 
sending  a  messenger  (a  Kal  Hatzi)  to  him,  instead  of 
coming  out  to  him  ?  See  also  1  Kings  xiii.  9,  &c.  a 
prophet  directed  by  the  word  of  the  Lord.  There  is 
something  very  remarkable  in  the  terms  employed  by 
the  old  prophet :  (v.  18.)  An  angel  spake  to  me  by  the 
WORD  of  the  Lord:  what  a  circuitous  combination  of 
phraseology  !   Why  not  at  once,  "  The  Lord  spake  to 


me."     Why  not  at  most,  "The  word  of  the  Lord 
spake  to  me  ?  " 

The  author  of  the  Wisdom  of  Solomon  has  given 
an  activity  to  his  "  Word  of  God,"  which  exceeds  what 
appears  to  be  the  duty  of  Abyssinian  Kal  Hatzi. 
Thine  .Almighty  Word  leaped  doum  from  heaven,  from 
the  royal  throne,  [or,  according  to  the  representation 
of  Bruce,  down  the  steps  at  the  side  of  the  window 
next  the  throne,]  and  brought  thine  unfeigned  com- 
mandment, as  a  sharp  sword,  and  filled  all  with  death, 
&c.  chap.  XV iii.  15,  16. 

It  may  now  be  considered  as  hardly  bearing  a 
question,  whether  the  aucieni  Jewish  writers  (Philo 
included)  derived  this  idea,  or  mode  of  speech,  from 
the  heathen,  or  from  the  customs  and  manners  of 
the  kings  of  the  East,  and  those  of  their  own  country 
in  particular.  Shall  we  not,  hereafter,  acquit  the 
evangelists  from  adopting  the  mythological  concep- 
tions of  Plato  ?  Rather,  did  not  Plato  adopt  eastern 
language  ?  and  is  not  the  custom  still  retained  in  the 
East?  See  all  accounts  of  an  ambassador's  visit  to 
the  grand  seignior;  who  never  /nWe//" answers,  but 
directs  his  vizier  to  speak  for  him.  So  in  Europe, 
the  king  of  France  directs  his  keeper  of  the  seals  to 
speak  in  his  name  ;  and  so  the  lord  chancellor  in 
England  prorogues  the  parliament,  expressing  his 
majesty's  pleasure,  and  using  his  majesty's  name, 
though  in  his  majesty's  presence. 

WORLD,  hi  addition  to  its  natural  meaning,  as 
embracing  the  whole  of  created  nature,  and  more 
particularly  the  respective  parts  of  our  own  planet, 
is  used  in  Scripture  to  denote  its  inhabitants,  as  in 
John  viii.  12 ;  xvii.  25  ;  xv.  18,  &c.  In  several  pas- 
sages of  the  New  Testament,  the  Greek  word  y»;?, 
now  translated  world,  would  be  more  correctly  ren- 
dered land. 

WORMWOOD,  a  plant  which  grows  wild  about 
dunghills,  and  on  dry  waste  gi-ounds.  It  flowers  in 
summer ;  the  leaves  have  a  strong,  offensive  smell, 
and  a  very  bitter,  nauseous  taste  ;  the  flowers  are 
equally  bitter,  but  less  nauseous.  Its  bitter  qualities 
are  mentioned  in  several  comparisons  in  Scripture. 

WORSHIP  OF  GoD  is  an  act  of  religion,  which 
consists  in  paying  a  due  respect,  veneration  and  hom- 
age to  the  Deity,  from  a  sense  of  his  greatness,  of 
benefits  already  received,  and  under  a  certain  expec- 
tation of  reward.  This  internal  respect  is  to  be 
shown  and  testified  by  external  acts  ;  as  prayers, 
sacrifices,  (formerly,)  thanksgivings,  &c. 

Worship  may  be  taken  as  (1.)  internal,  or  (2.)  ex- 
ternal:  (1.)  private,  or  (2.)  public:  (1.)  personal,  or 
(2.)  social:  (1.)  active,  or  (2.)  passive  ;  for  there  is  a 
worship  of  God  in  sentiment,  in  submission  to  his 
will,  in  intentional  obedience,  &c.  which  is  not  exter- 
nal or  active,  but  which  becomes  a  habit  of  the  mind, 
and  indeed  forms  it  to  a  devout  disposition  for  active 
worship. 

That  it  is  the  duty  of  man  to  worship  his  Maker, 
no  one  can  deny  ;  it  is  not,  indeed,  easily  to  be  con- 
ceived how  any  one  who  hastolerably  just  notions  of 
the  attributes  and  providence  of  God,  car  possibly 
neglect  the  duty  of  private  worehip  ;  and  if  we  admit 
that  public  worship  docs  not  seem  to  be  expressly  en- 
joined in  that  system  which  is  called  the  religion  of 
nature,  yet  it  is  most  expressly  commanded  by  the 
religion  of  Christ,  and  will  be  regidarly  performed 
and  promoted  by  every  one  who  reflects  on  its  great 
utilitv,  or  who  enjoys  its  extensive  benefits. 

WRITING,  see  Book,  Bible,  Letters  I. 


[  936  ] 


YEAR 

YEAR.  The  Hebrews  had  always  years  of  twelve 
months.  But  at  the  beginning,  and  in  the  time  of 
Moses,  they  were  solar  years  of  twelve  months,  each 
month  having  thirty  days,  excepting  the  twelfth, 
Avhicii  had  thirty-five  days.  We  see,  by  the  enumer- 
ation of  the  days  of  the  deluge,  (Gen.  vii.)  that  the 
Hebrew  year  consisted  of  365  days.  It  is  supposed 
that  tliey  had  an  intercalary  month  at  the  end  of  120 
years  ;  at  which  time  the  beginning  of  their  year 
would  be  out  of  its  place  full  thirty  days.  It  must  be 
admitted,  however,  that  no  mention  is  made  in  Scrip- 
ture of  the  thirteenth  month,  or  of  any  intercalation  ; 
and  hence  some  think  that  Moses  retained  the  order 
of  the  Egyptian  year,  which  was  solar,  and  consisted 
of  twelve  months  of  thirty  days  each.  After  the  time 
of  Alexander  the  Great,  and  of  the  Grecians,  in  Asia, 
the  Jews  reckoned  by  lunar  months,  chiefly  in  what 
related  to  religion  and  to  the  festivals ;  (see  Ecclus. 
xliii.  6,  7.)  and  since  the  completing  of  the  Talmud, 
they  use  years  wholly  lunar  ;  having  alternately  a  full 
month  of  thirty  days,  and  a  defective  month  of  twenty- 
nine  days.  To  accommodate  this  lunar  year  to  the 
course  of  the  sun,  at  the  end  of  three  years  they  in- 
tercalate a  whole  month  after  Adar,  which  inter- 
calated month  they  call  Ve-adar,  that  is,  second  Adar. 

Their  civil  year  has  always  begun  in  autumn,  at 
the  month  Tizri ;  but  their  sacred  year,  by  which  the 
festivals,  assemblies  and  other  religious  acts  were 
regulated,  began  in  the  spring,  at  the  month  Nisan. 
See  Months,  and  Jewish  Calendar,  infra. 

Nothing  is  more  equivocal  among  the  ancients  than 
the  term  year ;  and  hence  it  has  always  been,  and 
still  is,  a  source  of  dispute  among  the  learned.  Some 
think,  that  from  the  beginning  of  the  world  to  the 
160th  year  of  Enoch,  mankind  reckoned  only  by 
weeks  ;  and  that  the  angel  Uriel  revealed  to  Enoch 
the  use  of  months,  years,  the  revolutions  of  the  stars, 
and  the  return  of  the  seasons.  Some  nations  formerly 
made  their  year  to  consist  of  one  month,  others  of 
four,  others  of  six,  others  of  ten,  others  of  twelve. 
Some  have  made  one  year  of  winter,  another  of  sum- 
mer. The  beginning  of  the  year  was  fixed  sometimes 
at  autumn  ;  sometimes  at  spring ;  sometimes  at  mid- 
winter. Some  used  lunar  months,  others  solar.  Even 
the  days  have  been  differently  divided  ;  some  begin- 
ning them  at  evening,  others  at  morning,  others  at 
noon,  othei-s  at  midnight.  With  some,  the  hours  were 
equal,  both  in  winter  and  summer  ;  with  others,  they 
were  unequal.  They  counted  twelve  hours  to  the 
day,  and  twelve  to  the  night.  In  summer  the  hours 
of  the  day  were  longer  than  those  of  the  night ;  on 
the  contrary,  in  winter  the  houi-s  of  the  night  were 
longest.     See  Hour. 

In  some  parts  of  the  East,  particularly  in  Japan, 
says  baron  Thunberg,)  the  year  ending  on  a  certain 
day,  any  portion  of  the  foregoing  year  is  taken  for  a 
whole  year ;  so  that,  supposing  a  child  to  be  bom  in 
the  last  week  of  our  December,  it  would  be  reckoned 
one  year  old  on  the  first  day  of  January.  This  sounds 
like  a  strange  solecism  to  us :  a  child  not  a  week  old, 


YEAR 

not  a  month  old,  is  yet  one  year  old  !  because  born  in 
the  old  year.  If  this  mode  of  computation  obtained 
amongthe  Hebrews,  the  principle  of  it  easily  accounts 
for  those  anachronisms  of  single  years,  or  parts  of 
years  taken  for  whole  ones,  which  occur  in  sacred 
wi'it ;  it  removes  the  difficulties  which  concern  the 
half  years  of  several  princes  of  Judah  and  Israel,  in 
which  the  latter  half  of  the  deceased  king's  last  year 
has  hitherto  been  supposed  to  be  added  to  the  former 
half  of  his  successor's  first  year. 

We  cannot  but  observe  how  this  mode  of  enumer- 
ation clears  the  phrase  "  three  days,"  &c.  where  it 
occurs,  reckoning  as  the  entire  first  day,  whatever 
small  portion  of  that  day  was  included,  even  if  only 
a  quarter  of  it ;  and  the  same  as  to  the  third  day  ;  so 
that  a  few  hours  pass  for  a  whole  day  in  this  case,  as 
a  few  months  or  a  few  weeks  pass  for  a  whole  year 
in  the  other  case. 

This  may  contribute  to  explain  a  passage  or  two 
which  are  not  commonly  seen  in  this  light.  1  Sam. 
xiii.  1,  "  A  son  of  one  year  was  Saul  in  his  kingdom  ; 
and  two  years  he  reigned  over  Israel,"  that  is,  say  he 
was  inaugurated  in  June  ;  he  was  consequently  one 
year  old  asking  on  the  first  day  of  January  following, 
though  he  had  only  reigned  six  months  ;  the  son  of 
a  year :  but  afi:er  [and  on]  this  first  of  January,  he 
was  in  the  second  year  of  his  reign,  although,  accord- 
ing to  our  computation,  the  fii-st  year  of  his  reign 
wanted  six  months  of  being  completed :  in  this,  his 
second  year,  he  chose  three  thousand  military,  &c. 
guards.  This  passage  has  been  noticed  as  a  difficulty  ; 
may  we  now  perceive  the  reason  of  this  remarkable 
phraseology  ? 

The  same  principle  may  account  for  the  phrase 
(«,t6  Siiri[g)  used  to  denote  the  age  of  the  infants 
slaughtered  at  Bethlehem,  (Matt.  ii.  16.)  "  from  two 
years  old  and  under."  If  these  words,  as  they  stand, 
do  not  form  an  absolute  contradiction,  they  come 
pretty  near  one.  This  difficulty  has  been  strongly 
felt  by  the  learned,  and  has  been  made  the  most  of  by 
the  antagonists  of  Christianity — "  What,"  say  they, 
"some  infants  two  weeks  old,  others  two  months, 
others  two  years,  equally  slain  !  Surely  those  born  so 
long  before  could  not  possibly  be  included  in  the  order, 
which  purposed  to  destroy  a  child  certainly  born 
within  a  few  months."  This  is  regulated  at  once,  by 
admitting  the  existence  of  this  maimer  of  calculating 
time,  or  rather  of  expressing  a  mode  of  calculating 
time ;  by  the  idea  that  they  w  ere  all  of  nearly  equal 
age,  being  all  recently  born  ;  some  not  long  before 
the  close  of  the  old  year,  others  not  long  since  the 
beginning  of  the  new  year.  Now,  those  born  before 
the  close  of  the  old  year,  though  only  a  few  months 
or  weeks,  would  be  in  their  second  year,  as  the  ex- 
pression implies  ;  and  those  born  since  the  beginning 
of  the  year  would  be  well  described  by  the  phrase 
"  and  imder  ;"  that  is,  under  one  year  old  ; — some 
two  years  old,  though  not  born  a  complete  twelve- 
month, (perhaps,  in  fact,  barely  six  months,)  others 
under  one  year  old,  yet  born  three,  or  four,  or  five 


YES 


[  937 


YOK 


months ;  and  therefore  a  few  days  younger  tlian  tliose 

Erevioiisly  described:  "according  to  the  time  wliich 
e  had  diligently  inquired  of  the  wise  men :" — in  their 
second  year  and  under. 

Tlic  influence  of  this  remark,  on  tlie  proper  placing 
of  the  birth  of  our  Lord,  before  the  death  of  Herod,  is 
considerable:  it  lessens,  too,  the  number  of  infants 
slain  by  his  order  ;  it  draws  a  stj-ong  distinction  be- 
tween those  appointed  to  death,  and  those  allowed  to 
escape  ;  while  it  shortens  the  interval  between  tlie 
appearance  of  the  star  to  the  Magi,  and  their  visit  to 
Jerusalem,  if  we  are  not  mistaken,  full  one  half  of 
what  some  have  allowed  for  it. 

YESTERDAY'  is  used  to  denote  all  time  past,  how- 
ever distant;  as  to-day  denotes  time  pi-esent,  but  of  a 
larger  extent  than  the  very  day  on  which  one  sjTcaks: 
Exod.  xxi.  29.  "  If  the  ox  was  wont  to  push  with 
his  horn  in  time  past ;  Heb.  yesterday.  And  it  came 
to  pass,  when  all  that  knew  him  before  time  ;  Heb. 
yesterday  ;  whereas  thou  camest  but  yesterday,"  2 
Sam.  XV.  20,  or  lately,  et  al.freq.  "Jesus  Christ,  the 
same  yesterday,  to-day  and  for  ever,"  Heb.  xiii.  8. 
His  doctrine,  like  his  person,  admits  of  no  change ; 


his  truths  are  invariable.  With  him  there  is  neither 
yesterday  nor  to-morrow,  but  one  continued  to-day. 
Job  says,  (viii.  9.)  "  We  are  but  of  yesterday,  and 
know  nothing ;  because  our  days  upon  earth  are  a 
shadow." 

YOKE.  It  appears  that  yokes  were  of  two  kinds, 
as  two  words  are  used  to  denote  them  in  the  Hebrew: 
one  refers  to  such  yokes  as  were  put  upon  the  necks 
of  cattle,  and  in  which  they  labored,  Numl).  xix.  2. 
Deut.  xxi.  3.  The  subjects  of  Solomon  comjijain  tliat 
hi'  Iiad  made  his  yoke  heavy  to  them,  (1  Kings  xii. 
10.)  and  tiicy  use  the  same  word;  but  Jeremiah 
(xxvii.  2.)  made  him  bonds  and  yokes  of  another  con- 
struction, and  fitted  to  the  human  neck  ;  which  he 
expresses  by  another  word  ;  most  ])robably  they  were 
such  as  slaves  used  to  wear  when  at  labor  ;  however, 
they  were  the  sign  of  bondage.  We  read  of  yokes  of 
iron,  Deut.  xxviii.  48 ;  Jer.  xxviii.  13.  The  ceremo- 
nies of  the  Mosaic  ritual  are  called  a  yoke,  (xVcts  xv. 
10 ;  Gal.  V.  1.)  as  also  tyrannical  authority  ;  but  Clnist 
says,  his  yoke  is  easy,  and  his  burden  is  light,  JMatt. 
xi.  29. 


ZAC 

ZAANANNIM,  a  city  of  Naphtali,  (Josh.  xix.  33  ; 
Micah  i.  11.)  contracted  into  Zenan,  Josh.  xv.  37. 

ZABADEANS,  Arabians  who  dwelt  east  of  the 
mountains  of  Gilead,  and  who  were  overcome  bj' 
Jonathan  Maccabeus,  1  Mac.  xii.  31.  Calmet  thinks 
that,  instead  of  Zabadeans,  which  is  a  name  entirely 
imknown,  we  should  read  Nabatheans,  as  Josephus 
does. 

I.  ZABDIEL,  father  of  Jashobean),  commanded 
the  24,000  men  who  served  in  the  firet  month,  as  the 
life-guard  of  David,  1  Chron.  xxvii.  2. 

II.  ZABDIEL,  a  king  of  Arabia,  who  killed  Alex- 
ander Balas,  king  of  Syria,  and  sent  his  head  to 
Ptolemy  Philometor,  king  of  Egypt,  1  Mac.  xi.  17. 

ZACCHEUS,  chief  of  the  publicans ;  that  is, 
farmer-general  of  the  revenue,  Luke  xix.  When 
Christ  |)assed  through  Jericho,  Zaccheus  greatly  de- 
sired to  see  him,  but  could  not,  because  of  the  mid- 
titude,  and  bi^cause  he  was  low  of  stature.  He 
therefore  ran  before,  and  climbed  up  into  a  sycamore 
tree.  Jesus,  observing  him,  called  him  down,  and 
]iroj)osed  to  become  his  guest.  The  result  was,  that 
the  heart  of  Zaccheus  was  opened,  and  he  declared 
he  would  make  four-fold  restitution  to  all  whom  he 
had  injured. 

I.  Zx\CHARIAH,  king  of  Israel,  succeeded  his 
father,  Jeroboam  II.  A.  M.  3220,  and  reigned  six 
months.  He  did  evil  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord,  (2 
Kings  xiv.  29.)  and  Shalium,  soil  of  Jabesh,  con- 
spired against  him,  killed  him  in  public,  and  reigned 
in  his  stead.  Thus  was  fulfilled  what  the  Lord  had 
foretold  to  Jehu,  that  his  children  should  sit  on  the 
throne  of  Israel  to  the  fourth  generation,  2  Kings  xv. 
8—11. 

II.  ZACHARIAH,  or  Zechariah,  a  Levitc,  who 
wassentbyJehoshaphatthroughout  Judah,  to  instruct 
the  people,  2  Chron.  xvii.  7. 

118 


ZACHARIAH 

III.  ZACHARIAH,  or  Zechariah,  son  of  Jehoi- 
ada,  high-priest  of  the  Jews,  and  jjrobably  the  Aza- 
riah  of!  Chron.  vi.  10, 11,  was  slain  by  order  of  Joash, 
A.  31.  3164,  2  Chron.  xxiv.  20—22. 

Jerome  (on  ]\Iatt.  xxiii.)  followed  by  a  gi-eat  num- 
ber of  commentators,  believed  that  this  Zachariah, 
son  of  Jehoiada,  was  he  of  whom  our  Saviour  speaks 
in  Matt,  xxiii.  34,  35.  But  to  this  opinion  three  things 
are  objected  :  (1.)  That  Zachariah,  son  of  Barachiah, 
according  to  the  intention  of  Christ,  seems  to  have 
been  the  last  of  the  prophets,  or  just,  slain  by  the  Jews, 
as  Abel  was  the  first  of  the  just  who  suffered  a  violent 
death.  (2.)  That  Zachariah,  son  of  Jehoiada,  was 
stoned  in  the  court  of  the  house  of  God ;  whereas 
Zachariah,  son  of  Barachiah,  was  killed  between  the 
temple  and  the  altar.  (3.)  That  though  it  be  true  that 
the  Hebrews  had  often  two  names,  it  is  hardly  to  be 
thought  that  Cln-ist  would  here  omit  the  name  of  Je- 
hoiada, which  was  so  well  known,  and  substitute  that 
of  Barachiah,  which  was  not  so  familiar.  Calmet, 
therefore,  thinks  that  our  Saviour  points  at  Zachariah, 
son  of  Baruch. 

IV.  ZACHARIAH,  or  Zf.chariah,  the  eleventh 
of  the  lesser  prophets,  was  son  of  Barachiah,  and 
gi-andson  of  Iddo.  He  returned  from  Babylon  with 
Zerubbabel,  and  began  to  prophesy  in  the  second 
year  of  Darius  son  of  Hystaspes,  A.  M.  3484,  ayite 
A.  D.  520,  in  tht  eighth  nionth  of  the  holy  year,  and 
two  months  after  Haggai.  These  two  prophets,  with 
luiited  zeal,  encouraged  the  people  to  resume  the 
work  of  the  tem])le,  which  had  been  discontinued  for 
some  years,  Ezra  v.  1. 

This  j)rophet  has  been  confounded  with  Zachariah, 
son  of  Barachiah,  contemporary  with  Isaiah,  (viii.  2.) 
and  with  Zachariah,  the  father  of  John  the  Baptist, 
which  opinion  is  plainly  incongruous.  He  has  been 
thoujrht  to  be  the  Zachariah,  son  of  Barachiah,  whom 


ZACHARIAH 


f  938  ] 


ZEA 


our  Saviour  mentions  as  killed  between  the  temple 
and  the  altar,  though  no  such  thing  is  any  where 
said  of  him. 

Zachariah  begins  his  prophecy  with  an  exhortation 
to  the  people,  to  return  to  the  Lord,  and  not  to  imi- 
tate the  stubbornness  of  their  fathers.  He  foretells 
very  distinctly  the  coming  of  Christ,  a  Saviour,  poor, 
and  sitting  on  an  ass,  and  a  colt,  the  foal  of  an  ass. 
In  the  eleventh  chapter  he  speaks  of  the  war  of  the 
Romans  against  the  Jews,  of  the  breach  of  the  cove- 
nant between  God  and  his  people;  of  thirty  pieces 
of  silver  given  for  a  recompense  to  the  shepherd  ;  of 
three  shepherds  put  to  death  in  one  month,  &c. 

Zachariah  is  the  longest  and  the  most  obscure  of 
the  twelve  minor  prophets.  His  style  is  broken  and 
unconnected ;  but  his  prophecies  concerning  the 
Messiah  are  more  particular  and  express  than  those 
of  some  other  prophets.  Several  modern  critics 
have  been  of  opinion,  that  chap.  ix. — xi.  of  this 
prophet  were  written  by  Jeremiah  ;  because  in  RIatt. 
xxvii.  9,  10,  under  the  name  of  Jeremiah,  we  tind 
quoted  Zach.  xi.  12 ;  and  as  the  chapters  make 
but  one  continued  discourse,  they  concluded,  that 
all  three  belonged  to  Jeremiah.  But  it  is  much 
more  natural  to  suppose,  that  the  name  of  Jere- 
miah, by  some  mistake,  has  slipped  into  the  text  of 
Matthew. 

V.  ZACHARIAH,  or  Zacharias,  a  priest  of  the 
family  of  Abia,  father  of  John  the  Baptist,  and  hus- 
band to  Elisabeth,  (Luke  i.  5,  12,  &c.)  with  whom 
he  was  righteous  before  God,  walking  in  all  the  com- 
mandments and  ordinances  of  the  Lord  blameless. 
They  had  no  child,  because  Elisabeth  was  barren, 
and  they  were  both  well  stricken  in  years  ;  but  about 
fifteen  months  before  the  birth  of  Christ,  as  Zacha- 
riah was  waiting  his  week,  and  performing  the  func- 
tions of  priest  in  the  temple,  "there  appeared  unto 
him  an  angel  of  the  Lord,  standing  on  the  right  side 
of  the  altar  of  incense.  And  when  Zachariah  saw 
him,  he  was  troubled,  and  fear  fell  upon  him.  But  the 
angel  said  unto  him.  Fear  not,  Zachariah  ;  for  thy 
prayer  is  heard  ;  and  tliy  wife  Elisabeth  shall  bear 
thee  a  son,  and  thou  shalt  call  his  name  John.  And 
Zachariah  said  vmto  the  angel.  Whereby  shall  I  know 
this  ?  For  I  am  an  old  man,  and  my  wife  well  strick- 
en in  years.  And  the  angel  anssvering  said  unto  him, 
I  am  Gabriel,  that  stand  in  the  presence  of  God;  and 
am  sent  to  speak  unto  thee,  and  to  sliow  thee  these 
glad  tidings.  And,  Ijehold,  thou  shalt  be  dumb,  and 
not  able  to  speak,  until  the  day  that  these  things  shall 
be  performed,  because  thou  bclievedst  not  my  words, 
which   yet  shall  be  fulfilled  in  their  season."     Sec 

AXNU>X'IATI0N. 

The  people  were  waiting  till  Zachariah  came  forth 
out  of  the  holy  place  ;  and  they  were  surprised  at 
his  long  delay.  But  when  he  came  out,  he  was  not 
able  to  speak  ;  and  by  his  making  signs  to  them,  they 
found  that  he  had  seen  a  vision,  and  had  become 
dumb.  When  the  days  of  his  ministry  were  com- 
pleted, that  is,  at  the  end  of  about  a  week,  he  return- 
ed to  his  own  house ;  and  his  wife  Elisabeth  con- 
ceived a  son,  of  whom  she  was  hapi)ily  delivered  in 
its  due  time.  Her  neighbors  and  relations  assemijled 
to  congratulate  her  on  this  occasion  ;  and  on  the 
eighth  (lay  tliey  c-ircumcised  the  ciiiid,  ctdling  his 
name  Zachariah,  after  the  name  of  his  father  ;  but 
Elisabeth  interposed,  and  directed  his  name  to  be 
called  "  John."  They  then  desired  a  tolicn  from  his 
father,  who,  making  signs  i'ox  a  tablet,  wrote  on  it, 
"  His  name  is  John."     At  this  instant  his  tongue  was 


loosed ;  he  praised  God ;  and,  being  filled  with  the 
Holy  Ghost,  he  prophesied,  by  a  canticle,  which 
Luke  has  preserved,  chap.  ii. 

ZADOK,  or  Sadoc,  son  of  Ahitub,  high-priest  of 
the  Jews,  of  the  race  of  Eleazar.  From  the  de- 
cease of  Eli,  the  high-priesthood  had  been  in  the 
family  of  Ithamar ;  but  it  was  restored  to  the  family 
of  Eleazar,  in  the  time  of  Saul,  in  the  person  of  Za- 
dok,  who  was  put  in'  the  place  of  Ahimelech,  slain 
by  Saul,  A.  M.  2944,  1  Sam.  xxii.  17, 18.  While  Za- 
dok  performed  the  functions  of  tlie  jjriesthood  with 
Saul,  Ahimelech  performed  them  with  David;  so 
that,  till  the  reign  of  Solomon,  there  were  two  high- 
priests  in  Israel,  Zadok,  of  the  race  of  Eleazar,  and 
Ahhiielech,  of  the  race  of  Ithamar,  2  Sam.  viii.  17. 
See  Eli,  and  Abiathar. 

When  David  was  forced  to  leave  Jerusalem  by  the 
rebellion  of  his  son  Absalom,  Zadok  and  Abiathar 
would  have  accompanied  him  with  the  ark  of  the 
Lord,  (2  Sam.  xv.  24.)  but  the  king  would  not  per- 
mit them.  To  Zadok  he  said,  O  seer,  return  into  the 
city  with  Ahimaash  your  son,  and  let  Abiathar  and 
his  son  Jonathan  return  also.  I  will  conceal  myself 
in  the  countiy,  till  you  send  ms  news  of  what  passes. 
Zadok  and  Abiathar  returned,  therefore,  to  Jerusalem ; 
but  their  tAvo  sons,  Ahimaash  and  Jonathan,  hid  them- 
selves near  the  foimtain  of  Rogel ;  and  when  Hushai, 
the  friend  of  David,  had  defeated  the  counsel  of 
Ahitophel,  they  communicated  this  event  to  David. 
Subsequently,  Zadok  counteracted  the  party  of  Ado- 
nijah,  who  aspired  at  the  kingdom,  to  the  exclusion 
of  Solomon,  (1  Kings  i.  5 — 10,  &c.)  and  David  sent 
Zadok  with  Nathan,  and  the  chief  officers  of  his 
court,  to  give  the  royal  unction  to  Solomon,  and  to 
proclaim  him  king  instead  of  his  father.  After  the 
death  of  David,  Solomon  excluded  Abiathar  from 
the  high-priesthood,  because  of  his  adherence  to  the 
party  of  Adonijah  ;  and  Zadok  was  high-priest  alone,  1 
Kings  ii.  35.  It  is  not  known  when  he  died  ;  but 
his  successor  was  his  son  Ahimaash,  who  enjoyed 
the  high-priesthood  under  Rehoboam. 

ZALMONAH,  an  encampment  of  Israel  in  the 
desert,  (Numb,  xxxiii.  41.)  where,  as  some  think, 
Moses  setup  the  brazen  scipenl. 

ZAMZUMMIIM,  ancient  giants  who  dwelt  beyond 
Jordan,  in  the  coimtry  afterwards  inhabited  by  the 
Anmionites,  Deut.  ii.  20.     See  Anakim. 

ZARAH,  son  of  Judah  and  Tamar,  Gen.  xxxviii 
28,  29.  He  had  five  sons,  Ethan,  Zimri,  Heman, 
Calcol  and  Dara. 

ZARED,  or  Zered,  a  brook  beyond  Jordan,  on 
the  frontier  of  IMoab,  which  falls  into  the  Dead  sea. 
See  Zerkd. 

ZAREPHATH,  a  city  of  the  Sidonians,  between 
Tyre  and  Sidon,  in  Pha?nicia,  on  the  coast  of  the 
IMediterranean  sea,  and  afterwards  called  Sarepta; 
It  is  between  Tyre  and  Sidon,  and  was  the  residence 
of  the  prophet  Elijah,  with  a  poor  woman,  during  a 
famine  in  the  land  of  Israel,  1  Kings  xvii.  9,  10. 

ZARETH-SHAHAR,  a  city  of  Reuben,  beyond 
Jordan,  Josh.  xiii.  19. 

ZARETAN,  a  town  in  the  land  of  Manassch,  on 
this  side  Jordan,  called  Zartanah,  in  1  Kings  iv. 
12.  It  is  said  to  be  near  Beth  Shen,  which  was  in 
the  northern  limits  of  IManasseh.  Fron)  Adam  to 
Zaretan,  the  waters  dried  uj),  (Josh.  iii.  16.)  from 
Zaretan  ui)wards,  they  stood  on  a  heap.  The  brazen 
vessels  for  the  temi)le  were  cast  in  the  clay  ground 
between  Zaretan  and  Succoth,  1  Kings  vii.  46. 

ZEAL   is    taken,    (1.)    For   the   eagerness   with 


ZEB 


[  931) 


ZED 


which  any  thing  is  pursued  :  "  I  have  hcen  very  jealous 
(or  zealous)  for  the  Lord  God  of  hosts,"  1  Kings  xix. 
10,  14.  I  burn  with  zeal  for  his  honor.  "  Phiuehas 
was  zealous  for  his  God,  and  made  an  atonement  for 
tiie  children  of  Israel,"  Numb.  xxv.  13.  Judith  says 
that  Simeon  and  his  brethren  were  filled  with  the 
zeal  of  tlie  Lord,  to  revenge  the  injury  done  to  their 
sister,  Jiulith  ix.  4. — (2.)  Zeal  is  put  for  anger :  (2 
Kings  xix.  31.)  "  the  zeal  of  the  Lord  of  hosts  shall 
do  this:"  tluit  is,  his  anger.  Ps.  Ixxix.  5,  "How 
long.  Lord  ?  wilt  thou  be  angry  for  ever  ?  shall  thy 
jealousy  (or  zeal)  burn  Hke  fire  ?"  The  whole  land 
shall  be  devoured  by  the  fire  of  his  jealousv,  or  zeal, 
Zeph.  i.  18;  iii.  8. 

Zeal,  Judgment  of,  see  Judgment,  ad  fin. 
The  Idol  of  Zeal  (Ezek.  viii.  3,  5.)  was  Adonis  ; 
called  the  idol  of  jealousy,  because  he  was  beloved 
by  Venus  ;  and  therefore  Mars,  stimulated  by  jeal- 
ousy, sent  a  wild  boar  against  him,  which  killed  him. 
In  pursuing  the  discourse  of  Ezekiel,  we  see  that 
the  same  idol,  which  at  the  fifth  verse  is  called  the 
idol  of  jealousy,  is  called  Thammuz  at  the  fourteenth 
verso.     See  Adonis. 

ZEBEDEE,  father  of  the  apostles  James,  and 
John  the  evangelist,  was  a  fisherman  by  profession. 
His  wife  was  called  Salome,  and  his  two  sons  left 
him  to  follow  our  Saviour,  Matt.  iv.  21. 

ZEBUL,  governor  of  the  city  of  Shechem  for 
Abimelecii,  son  of  Gideon,  Judg.  ix.  28. 

I.  ZEBULUN,  the  sixth  son  of  Jacob  and  Leah, 
(Gen.  XXX.  20.)  was  born  in  Mesopotamia,  about 
A.  M.  2256.  His  sons  were  Sered,  Elon  and  Jah- 
leel,  Gen.  xlvi.  14.  Moses  gives  us  no  particulars  of 
his  life  ;  but  Jacob  in  his  last  blessing  (Gen.  xlix.  13.) 
said,  "  Zcbulun  shall  dwell  at  the  haven  of  the  sea, 
and  he  shall  be  for  a  haven  of  ships,  and  his  border 
shall  be  unto  Zidon."  His  portion  extended  to  the 
coast  of  the  Mediterranean,  one  end  of  it  bordering 
on  this  sea,  and  the  other  on  the  sea  of  Tiberias,  Josh, 
xix.  10.  (See  Canaan.)  Moses  joins  Zebidun  and 
Issachar  together:  (Deut.  xxxiii.  18.)  "Rejoice, 
Zebulun,  in  thy  going  out ;  and,  Issachar,  in  thy  tents. 
They  shall  call  the  people  unto  the  mountain  ;  there 
they  shall  offer  sacrifices  of  righteousness  :  for  tliey 
shall  suck  of  the  abundance  of  the  seas,  and  of  treas- 
ures hid  in  the  sand."  Meaning,  that  these  two 
tribes,  being  at  the  greatest  distance  north,  should 
come  together  to  the  temple  at  Jerusalem,  to  the 
holy  mountain,  and  should  bring  with  them  such  of 
the  other  tribes  as  dwelt  in  their  way ;  and  that, 
occupying  part  of  the  coast  of  the  INIediterranean, 
they  should  apply  themselves  to  trade  and  navigation, 
and  to  the  melting  of  metals  and  glass,  denoted  by 
those  words,  Treasures  hid  in  the  sand.  The  river 
Bel  us,  whose  sand  was  very  fit  for  making  glass,  was 
in  this  tribe.     See  Glass. 

When  the  tribe  of  Zebulun  left  Egypt,  its  chief 
was  Eliab,  son  of  Elon,  and  it  comprehended  57,400 
men  able  to  bear  arms.  Numb.  i.  9,  30.  In  another 
review,  39  years  afterwards,  it  amounted  to  60,500 
men,  of  age  to  bear  arms,  Numb.  xxvi.  2(),  27. 
The  tribes  of  Zebulun  and  Naphtali  distinguished 
themselves  in  the  war  of  Barak  and  Deborah, 
against  Sisera,  the  general  of  the  armies  of  Jabin, 
Judg.  iv.  5,  6, 10 ;  v.  4, 18.  It  is  thought  they  were  the 
first  carried  into  captivity  beyond  the  Euphrates,  by 
Pul  and  Tiglath-Pileser,  kings  of  Assyria,  1  Chron.  v. 
26.  But  they  had  the  advantage  of  hearing  and  see- 
ing Christ  in  their  country  oftener  and  longer  than 
any  other  of  the  tribes,  Isa.  ix.  1 ;  Matt.  iv.  13,  15. 


II.  ZEBULUN,  a  city  of  Asher,  (Josh.  xix.  27.) 
but  probably  afterwards  yielded  to  Zebulun,  whence 
it  took  its  name.  It  was  not  far  from  Ptolemais,  since 
Josephus  makes  the  length  of  lower  Galilee  to  be 
from  Tiberias  to  Ptolemais.  It  received  the  name  of 
Zebulun  of  men,  probably  from  its  great  populous- 
ness.  Elon,  judge  of  Israel,  was  buried  in  this  city, 
Judg.  xii.  12. 

ZECHARIAH,  see  Zachariah. 
ZEDAD,  a  city  of  Syria,  in  the  most  northern 
part  of  the  Land  of  Promise,  Numb,  xxxiv.  8 ;  Ezek. 
xlvii.  15. 

I.  ZEDEKIAH,  or  Mattaniah,  the  last  king  of 
Judah,  before  the  captivity  of  Babylon,  was  son  of 
Josiah,  and  uncle  to  Jeconiah,  his  predecessor,  2 
Kings  xxiv.  17,  19.  When  Nebuchadnezzar  took 
Jerusalem,  he  carried  Jeconiah  to  Babylon,  with  his 
wives,  children,  officers,  and  the  best  artificers  in 
Judea,  and  put  in  liis  place  his  uncle  Mattaniah, 
whose  name  he  changed  to  Zedekiah,  and  made  him 
promise,  with  an  oath,  that  he  would  maintain  fidel- 
ity to  him,  2  Chron.  xxxvi.  13 ;  Ezek.  xvii.  12, 14,  18. 
He  was  21  years  old  when  he  began  to  reign  at  Jeru- 
salem, and  he  reigned  there  eleven  years.  He  did 
evil  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord,  committing  the  same 
crimes  as  Jehoiakim,  2  Kings  xxiv.  18 — 20;  2  Chron. 
xxxvi.  11 — 13.  The  princes  of  the  people,  and  the 
inhabitants  of  Jerusalem,  imitated  his  impiety,  and 
abandoned  themselves  to  all  the  abominations  of  the 
Gentiles. 

In  the  first  year  of  his  reign,  Zedekiah  sent  to 
Babylon,   Elasali,  son  of  Shaphan,  and   Gemariali, 
son  of  Hilkiah,  probably  to  carry  his  tribute  to  Nebu- 
chadnezzar ;  and  by  these  messengers  Jeremiah  sent 
a  letter  to  the  captives  of  Babylon,  Jer.  xxix.  1, 2 — 23. 
Four  years  afterwards,  either  Zedekiah  went  thither 
himself,  or  sent  thither,  (Jer.  xxxii.  12 ;  li.  59 ;  Baruch 
i.  1.)  his  chief  design  being  to  entreat  Nebuchadnez 
zar  to  return  the  sacred  vessels  of  the  temple,  Baruch 
i.  8.     In   the   ninth   year   of  his  reign,  he  revolted 
against  Nebuchadnezzar,  (2  Kings  xxv.)   in  conse- 
quence of  which  the  Assyrian  marched  his  army  into 
Judea,  and  took  all  the  fortified  places,  except  La- 
chish,  Azekah  and  Jerusalem.     During  the  siege  of 
the   holy  city,  Zedeldah  often  consulted  Jeremiah, 
who  advised  him  to  surrender,  and  denounced  the 
greatest  woes  against  him  if  he  should  persist  in  his 
rebellion,  Jer.  xxxvii.  3 — 10  ;   xxi.     But  the  unfortu- 
nate prince  had  neither  patience  to  hear,  nor  resolu- 
tion to  follow,  good  counsel.     In  the  eleventh  year 
of  his  reign,  on  the  ninth  day  of  the  foiu-th  month, 
(July,)  Jerusalem  was  taken,  2  Kings  xxv.  Jer.  xxxix. 
Iii.     The  king  and  his  people  endeavored  to  escape 
by  favor  of  the  night ;  but  the  Chaldean  troops  pursu- 
mg  them,  they  were  overtaken  in  the  plain  of  Jericho. 
Zedekiah  was  taken  and  carried  to  Nebuchadnez- 
zar, then  at  Riblah,  in   Syria,  who  reproached  him 
with  his  perfidy,  caused  all  his  children  to  be  alain 
before  his  face,  and  his  own  eyes  to  be  put  out ;  and 
then,  loading  him  with  chains  of  brass,  he  ordered 
him  to  be  sent  to  Babylon,  2  Kings  xxv,  Jer.  xxxii. 
Iii.     Thus  wTcrc  accomplished  two  prophecies,  which 
seemed  contradictory  ;  one  of  Jeremiah,  who  said 
that  Zedekiah  should  see,  and  yet  not  see,  Nebuchad- 
nezzar with   his  eyes;  (chap,  xxxii.  4,  5;  xxxiv.  3.) 
the  other  of  Ezekiel,  (xii.  13.)  which  intimated  that 
ho  should  not  see   Babylon,   though  he  shoiUd  die 
there.     The  year  of  his  death  is  not  known.     Jere- 
miah   had   assured   him  (chap,  xxxiv.  4,  5.)  that  he 
should  die  in  peace ;  that  his  body  should  be  burned, 


ZEP 


[  940 


Z  ER 


as  those  of  the  kings  of  Judah  usually  were ;  and 
that  they  should  niouni  for  him,  saying,  Alas,  my 
lord !  He  reigned  eleven  years  at  Jerusalem ;  and 
after  him  the  kingdom  of  Judah  was  entirely  sup 
pressed. 

II.  ZEDEKIAH,  son  of  Chenaanah,  a  false 
prophet  of  Samaria,  (1  Kings  xxii.  11.)  who  put  iron 
horns  on  his  head,  and  sent  to  Ahab,  king  of  Israel, 
saying,  "This  saith  the  Lord,  You  shall  beat  Syria, 
and  toss  it  up  into  the  air  with  these  horns."  The 
prophet  Micaiah,  son  of  Imlah,  being  sent  for,  and 
denouncing  the  direct  contrary,  Zedekiah  came  near 
him,  and  giving  him  a  blow  on  the  face,  said  to  him, 
"  Wliich  way  went  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  from  me, 
to  do  thus  to  you ?"  Micaiah  answered,  "You  will 
see  that,  when  you  shall  be  obliged  to  hide  yourself 
in  an  inward  chamber."  It  is  not  said  what  became 
of  Zedekiah ;  but  all  the  prophecies  of  Micaiah 
proved  true. 

III.  ZEDEKIAH,  son  of  Maaseiah,a  false  proph- 
et, who  always  opposed  Jeremiah.  Against  him, 
and  Ahab,  son  of  Kolaiah,  the  prophet  jn-onouncecl 
a  terrible  cui-se:  (chap.  xxix.  21,22.)  "Of  them  shall 
be  taken  up  a  curse  by  all  the  captivity  of  Judah 
which  are  in  Babylon,  saying,  The  Lord  make  thee 
like  Zedekiah,  and  like  Ahab,  whom  the  king  of 
Babylon  roasted  in  the  fire,"  &c. 

ZEEB,  a  prince  of  Midian,  was  found  at  a  wine- 
press, and  slain  by  the  Ephraimites,  who  sent  his 
head  to  Gideon  beyond  Jordan,  whither  they  pursued 
their  enemies,  Judg.  vii.  25. 

ZELAH,  a  city  of  Benjamin,  (Josh,  xviii.  28.) 
where  Saul  was  buried  in  the  tomb  of  his  fatiier 
Kish,2Sam.xxi.  14. 

ZELOTES,  a  surname  given  to  Simon  the  Ca- 
naanite,  one  of  the  ajiostles.  It  signifies,  properly, 
one  passionately  ardent  in  any  cause,  a  zealot,  as  in 
Titus  ii.  14,  in  the  Greek.  Thus,  among  the  ancient 
Hebrews,  those  who,  from  zeal  for  the  institutions  of 
their  religion,  reproved  or  punished  such  as  commit- 
ted offences  against  them,  were  said  to  be  itiXwTai, 
zealots.  (Comp.  Numb,  xxv.  6 — 13  ;  1  Mace.  ii.  40.) 
In  the  age  of  Christ  and  the  apostles,  tliis  name  was 
applied  particularly  to  an  extensive  association  of 
private  individuals,  who  imdertook  to  maintain  the 
purity  of  the  national  ^vorship,  by  inflicting  pun- 
ishment without  the  form  of  trial  on  all  who  should 
violate  any  of  the  institutions,  &c.  which  they  held 
sacred.  They  were  impelled,  as  they  said,  by  a 
more  than  human  zeal ;  and  were  certainly  guilty 
of  the  greatest  excesses  and  crimes.  (See  Jos.  B.  J. 
iv.  6.  3.  vii.  8.  1.     Jahn,  §32L) 

The  name  Zelotes  was,  therefore,  probably  given 
to  Simon  from  the  circumstance  of  his  having 
been  one  of  the  ZelottE.  The  name  Canaanite,  or 
more  properly  Cananite,  is  also  most  probably  here 
of  the  same  signification,  being  derived  from  the 
Heb.  Nj-',  ChalcL  jxj^,  which  is  entirely  equivalent 
in  meaning  to  Zdotes.     *R. 

ZENAS,  a  doctor  of  the  law,  and  disciple  of 
Paul,  Tit.  iii.  13. 

I.  ZEPIIANIAH,  son  of  Maaseiah  ;  called  (2 
Kings  xxv.  18.)  tiie  second  priest,  while  the  high- 
priest  Seraiah  performed  the  fimctions  of  the  high- 
priesthood,  and  was  the  first  priest.  It  is  thought 
Zephaniah  was  his  deputy,  to  discharge  the  duty  when 
the  high-priest  was  sink,  or  when  any  other  accident 
hindered  him  from  performing  his  office.  After  the 
taking  of  Jerusalem  by  the  Chaldeans,  Seraiah  and 
Zcphaniali  were  taken   and  sent  to  Neljurliadnezznr 


at  Riblah,  who  caused  them  to  be  put  to  death. 
Zephaniah  was  sent  more  than  once  by  Zedekiah  to 
consult  Jeremiah.     (See  chap.  xxi.  1 ;  xxxvii.  3.) 

II.  ZEPHANIAH,  son  of  Cushi,  and  grandson  of 
Gedaliah,  was  of  the  tribe  of  Simeon,  according  to 
Epiphauius,  and  of  mount  Sarabata,  a  place  not  men- 
tioned in  Scripture.  The  Jews  are  of  opinion,  that 
the  ancestors  of  Zephaniah,  recited  at  the  beginning 
of  his  prophecy,  were  prophets.  Some  have  sup- 
posed, without  foundation,  that  he  was  of  an  illus- 
trious family.  We  have  no  exact  knowledge,  either 
of  his  actions,  or  the  time  of  his  death.  He  hvcd 
under  Josiah,  who  began  to  reign  A.  M.  33G3.  The 
description  that  Zephaniah  gives  of  the  disorders  of 
Judah,  leads  Calmet  to  judge,  that  he  prophesied  be- 
fore the  eighteenth  year  of  Josiah  ;  that  is,  before 
this  prince  had  reformed  the  abuses  and  corruptions 
of  his  dominions,  2  Kings  xxii.  Besides,  he  foretells 
the  destruction  of  Nineveh,  (chap.  ii.  13.)  which 
could  not  fall  out  before  the  sixteenth  year  of  Josiah, 
by  allowing,  with  Berosus,  21  years  to  the  reign  of 
Nabopolassar  over  the  Chaldeans.  Therefore  we 
must  necessarily  place  the  beginning  of  Zephaniah's 
prophecy  early  in  the  reign  of  Josiah.  His  first 
chapter  is  a  general  threatening  against  all  the  people 
whom  the  Lord  had  appointed  to  slaughter  ;  against 
Judah  ;  against  those  who  leap  over  the  threshold, 
i.  e.  the  Philistines,  1  Sam.  v.  5.  In  the  second  chap- 
ter he  inveighs  against  Moab,  Ammon,  Cush,  the 
Phoenicians,  and  the  Assyrians,  and  foretells  the  fall 
of  Nineveh,  which  happened  A.  M.  3378.  The  third 
chapter  contains  invectives  and  threatenings  against 
Jerusalem,  but  afterwards  gives  comfortable  assur- 
ance of  a  return  from  the  captivity,  and  of  a  flour- 
ishing condition. 

ZEPHATH,  a  city  of  Simeon,  (Judg.  i.  17.)  prob- 
ably the  same  as  Zephathah,  near  Mareshah,  in  the 
south  of  Judah,  2  Chron.  xiv.  10.  It  was  called  Hor- 
mah,  or  Anathema,  after  the  victory  obtained  by  Is- 
rael over  the  king  of  Arad,  Numb.  xxi.  3 ;  Judg.  i.  17. 

ZEPHATHAH,  tuk  Valley  of,  near  Mareshah, 
is  mentioned  2  Chron.  xiv.  10.  It  was,  perhaps, 
near  Zephath,  or  Hormah  ;  or,  perhaps,  it  should  be 
read  Shephalah,  instead  of  Zepliathah. 

ZERAH,  king  of  Ethiopia,  or  Cush,  in  Arabia  Pe- 
trcea,  on  the  Red  sea,  and  bordering  oft  Egj^pt,  (2 
Chron.  xiv.  9.)  came  to  attack  Asa,  king  of  Judah,  with 
an  army  of  a  million  of  foot,  (see  Armies,)  and  three 
hundred  chariots  of  war.  Asa  went  out  to  meet 
him,  and  set  his  army  in  battle  array  in  the  valley  of 
Zephathah,  near  INIareshah.  He  called  on  the  Lord, 
who  cast  terror  and  consternation  into  the  hearts  of 
the  Ethiopians,  so  that  they  ran  away.  Asa  and  his 
army  pursued  tiiem  to  Gerai-,  and  obtained  a  great 
booty.     See,  however,  in  Pharaoh,  p.  742. 

ZERED,  or  Zared,  a  brook  or  torrent  which 
takes  its  rise  in  tlie  mountains  of  jMoab,  and,  running 
from  cast  to  west,  falls  into  the  Dead  sea.  It  seems 
to  be  the  stream  which  Burckhardt  calls  JFady  Beni 
Hammad,  south  of  the  Arnon,  and  aboiU  five  hours 
north  of  Kerek,  the  ancient  Charak  Moab,  Numb.  xxi. 
12;  Deut.  ii.  13,  14. 

ZEREDA,  a  city  of  Ephraim,  the  native  place  of 
Jeroboam,  son  ofNebat,  1  Kings  xi.  26.  Perhaps 
Zcredatha,  or  Zarthan. 

ZERERATH,  a  city  in  Manasseh,  not  far  from 
Bethshan,  Judg.  vii.  22.  Also  called  Zereda,  1  Kings 
xi.  26,  and  Zeredetha,  2  Chron.  iv.  17  ;  perhaps  also 
Zaretan,  the  narrow  dwellings.  Josh.  iii.  16,  1  Kings 
vii.  46,  and  Zaretanali,  1  Kings  iv.  12. 


ZIL 


[  941 


ZOP 


ZEIII,  son  of  Jeduthun,  the  foiirtii  among  the 
twenty-four  famihes  of  tlie  Levites,  which  attended 
in  the  temple,  1  Chron.  xxv.  3,  11. 

ZERUBBABEL,  or  Zorobabel,  son  of  Salathiel, 
of  the  royal  race  of  David.  Matthew  (i.  12.)  and  the 
Chronicles  (1  Chron.  iii.  17,  19.)  make  Jcconiah,  king 
of  Jiidali,  to  be  father  of  Salathiel,  but  they  do  not 
agree  as  to  the  fatlier  of  Zerubbabel.  Tlie  Chron- 
if'lcs  say  Pedaiah  was  father  of  Zerubbabel ;  but 
Matthew,  Luke,  Esdras  and  Haggai  constantly  make 
Salathiel  his  father.  We  must,  therefore,  take  the 
name  of  son  in  the  sense  of  grandson,  and  say  that 
Salathiel  having  educated  Zerubbabel,  he  was  always 
afterwards  considered  as  his  father.  Some  think 
that  Zerubbabel  had  also  the  name  of  Sheshbazzar, 
and  that  he  is  so  called,  Ezra  i.  8.  Josephus  and 
the  first  book  of  Esdras  describe  him  as  one  of  the 
three  famous  body-guards  of  Darius,  son  of  Hystas- 
])es  ;  but  this  must  be  a  mistake,  for  he  returned  to 
Jerusalem  long  before  the  reign  of  Darius,  son  of 
Hystaspes. 

Cyrus  committed  to  his  care  the  sacred  vessels  of 
the  temple,  with  which  he  returned  to  Jerusalem, 
Ezra  i.  11.  He  is  always  named  first,  as  being  chief 
of  the  Jews  that  returned  to  their  own  country,  Ezra 
ii.  2 ;  iii.  8 ;  v.  2.  He  laid  the  fotmdations  of  the 
temple,  (Ezra  iii.  8,  9 ;  Zech.  iv.  9,  &c.)  and  restored 
the  worship  of  the  Lord,  and  the  usual  sacrifices. 
When  the  Samaritans  offered  to  assist  in  rebuilding 
the  temple,  Zerubbabel  and  the  principal  men  of 
Judah  refused  them  this  honor,  since  Cyrus  had 
granted  his  commission  to  the  Jews  only,  Ezra  iv.  2, 
3.  When  the  Lord  showed  the  prophet  Zachariah 
two  olive-trees,  near  the  golden  candlestick  with 
seven  branches,  the  angel  sent  to  explain  this  vision 
informed  the  prophet,  that  these  two  olive-trees, 
which  supplied  oil  to  the  great  candlestick,  were  Ze- 
rubbabel, the  prince,  and  Joshua,  the  high-priest,  son 
of  Josedech.  Scripture  says  nothing  of  the  death 
of  Zerubbabel,  but  it  informs  us,  (1  Chron.  iii.  19.) 
that  he  left  seven  sons  and  one  daughter.  These 
were  Meshullam,  Hananiah  and  Shelomith,  their 
sister;  Hashuba,  Ohel,  Berechiah,  Hasadiah  and 
Jushabhesed.  JNIatthew  (i.  13.)  makes  the  name  of 
one  of  his  sons  to  be  Abiud,  and  Luke  (iii.  27.) 
makes  it  Rhesa.  Consequently,  one  of  the  sons  of 
Zerubbabel,  above  enumerated,  must  have  had  more 
than  one  name.     See  Adoption". 

ZIBA,  a  servant  to  Saul,  2  Sam.  ix.  When  David 
was  expelled  from  Jerusalem,  by  his  son  Absalom, 
Ziba  went  to  meet  him,  with  two  asses  loaded  with 
provisions,  3  Sam.  xvi.  The  king  gave  him  all  that 
belonged  to  Mepliibosheth. 

ZICHRI,  of  Ephraim,  a  very  stout  and  valiant  man. 
He  killed  Maaseiah,  son  of  king  Ahaz,  Azrikam,  the 
governor  of  the  palace,  and  Elkanah,  who  was  sec- 
ond after  thc'king,  2  Chron.  xxviii.  7. 

ZIDON,  see  Sidox. 

ZIP,  the  second  month  of  the  holy  year  of  the 
Hebrews  ;  afterwards  called  Jiar  ;  it  answers  nearly 
to  April,  1  Kings  vi.  1.     See  the  Jewish  Calendar. 

ZIKLAG,  a  city  that  Achish,  king  of  Gath,  gave 
to  David,  when  he  took  shelter  among  the  Philistines, 
(1  Sam.  xxvii.  6.)  and  which,  after  that  time,  ahvays 
belonged  to  the  kings  of  Judah.  The  Amalekites 
took  it,  and  plundered  it,  in  the  absence  of  David. 
Josluia  had  allotted  it  to  the  tribe  of  Simeon,  Josh, 
xix.  5.  Euscbius  saya  it  lay  in  the  south  of  Ca- 
naan. 

ZILLAH,  a  wife  of  Lamech,  the  bigamist.     She 


was  mntlier    of  Tubal -cain  and  Naamah,  Gen.  iv. 
21,  22. 

I.  ZIMRI,  son  of  Zerah,  and  grandson  of  Judah 
and  Tamar,  1  Chron.  ii.  6. 

n.  ZIMRI,  son  of  Salu,  prince  of  the  tribe  of 
Simeon,  who  went  publicly  into  the  tent  of  Cozbi,  a 
Midianite  Avoman,  and  was  followed  by  Phinehas,  son 
of  Elcazar  the  high-priest,  who  slew  him  with  Cozbi, 
Numb.  xxv.  14. 

III.  ZIMRI,  a  general  of  half  the  cavalry  of  Elali, 
king  of  Israel,  when  he  rebelled  against  his  master,  (1 
Kings  xvi.  9, 10.)  killed  him,  and  usuri)ed  his  kingdom. 
He  cut  off  the  whole  family,  not  sparing  any  of  his  re- 
lations or  friends  ;  whereby  was  fulfilled  the  word  of 
the  Lord,  denounced  to  Baasha,  the  father  of  Elah,  by 
the  prophet  Jehu.  Zimri  reigned  ])ut  seven  days  ;  for 
the  army  of  Israel,  then  besieging  Gibbethon,  a  city  of 
the  Philistines,  made  their  general,  Omri,  king,  and 
came  and  besieged  Zimri  in  the  city  of  Tirzah. 
Zimri,  seeing  the  city  on  the  point  of  being  taken, 
burnt  himself  in  the  palace  with  all  its  riches. 

ZIN,  a  desert  south  of  the  Land  of  Promise.  See 
in  Exodus,  p.  419. 

ZION,  or  Si  on,  a  mountain  of  Jerusalem.     See 

SlON. 

I.  ZIPH,  the  second  Hebrew  month,  1  Kings 
vi.  1. 

II.  ZIPH,  son  of  Jehalaleel,  of  Judah,  and  of  the 
family  of  Caleb  ;  (1  Chron.  iv.  16.)  he  probably  gave 
his  name  to  the  city  of  Ziph,  in  Judah. 

III.  ZIPH,  a  city  of  Judah,  (Josh.  xv.  24.)  near 
Hebron,  eastward,  and  in  the  wilderness  of  which 
David  kept  himself  concealed  for  some  time,  1  Sam. 
xxiii.  14,  15. 

IV.  ZIPH,  another  city  near  Maon  and  Carmel  of 
Judah,  Josh.  xv.  55. 

ZIPPORAH,  or  Sephora,  daughter  of  Jethro, 
wife  of  Moses,  and  mother  of  Eliezer  and  Gershom. 
When  Moses  fled  from  Egjpt,  (Exod.  ii.  16,  &c.)  he 
withdrew  into  Midian,  where,  having  stood  up  m 
defence  of  the  daughters  of  Jethro,  priest,  or  prince, 
of  Midian,  against  shepherds  who  would  have 
hindered  them  from  watering  their  flocks,  Jethro 
took  him  into  his  house,  and  gave  him  his  daughter 
Zi|iporah  in  marriage,  by  whom  he  had  two  sons, 
Eliezer  and  Gershom.     See  Moses. 

ZOAN,  a  royal  city  of  Egypt,  and  extremely  an- 
cient. Called  in  Greek  Tanis,  (Judith  i.  10.)  and 
built,  no  doubt,  by  emigrants.  Numb.  xiii.  22 ;  Ps. 
Ixxviii.  12, 43  ;  Isa.  xix.  11,  13 ;  xxx.  4 ;  Ezek.  xxx.  14. 

ZOAR,  a  city  of  the  Pentapolis,  on  the  southern 
extremity  of  the  Dead  sea,  was  destined,  with  the 
other  five  cities,  to  be  consumed  by  fire  from  heaven  ; 
but  at  the  intercession  of  Lot,  it  was  preserved.  Gen. 
xiv.  2.  It  was  originally  called  Bela  ;  but  after  Lot 
entreated  the  angel's  permission  to  take  refuge  in  it, 
and  insisted  on  tlie  smallness  of  this  city,  it  had  the 
name  Zoar,  which  signifies  small  or  little. 

ZOBAH,  a  kingdom  or  country  of  Syria,  whose 
king  carried  on  war  with  Saul  and  David,  1  Sam. 
xiv.  47  ;  2  Sam.  viii.  3  ;  x.  6.  It  seems  to  have  lain 
near  Damascus,  and  to  have  included  the  city  Ila- 
math,  (2  Chron.  viii.  8.)  but  also  to  have  extended  to- 
wards the  Euphrates,  2  Sam.  viii.  3.     *R. 

ZOHELETH,  a  stone  near  the  fountain  of  Rogel, 
or  En-rogel,  just  under  tlie  walls  of  Jerusalem,  1 
Kings  i.  9.  The  rabbins  tell  us,  that  it  served  as  an 
exercise  to  the  young  men,  who  tried  their  strength 
by  throwing  it,  or  rather  rolling  it,  or  lifting  it.  Oth- 
ei-s  think  it  was  useful  to  the  fiillers,  or  whitsters. 


ZUP 


[942  ] 


zuz 


to  beat  their  clothes  upon,  after  they  had  washed 
them. 

ZOPHAR,  the  Naamathite,  a  friend  of  Job,  chap, 
ii.  11.  The  LXX  call  him  Sophar,  king  of  the  Mine- 
ans ;  the  interpreter  of  Origen  make^  him  king  of 
the  Nomades. 

I.  ZORAH,  a  city  of  Judah,  (Josh.  xv.  33.)  built, 
or  rebuilt  and  fortified,  by  Rehoboam,  2  Chron.  xi.  10. 

II.  ZORAH,  a  city  of  Dan,  and  the  birth-place  of 
Samson,  (Judg.  xvi.  31.)  on  the  frontier  of  Dan,  and  of 
Judah,  not  far  from  Eshtaol.  Eusebius  places  it  ten 
miles  from  Eleutheropolis,  towards  Nicopolis,  not  far 
from  Kaphar-Sorek.  Calmet  thinks  the  Zorites,  (1 
Chron.  ii.  .54.)  and  the  Zorathites,  (1  Chron.  iv.  2.) 
were  inhabitants  of  Zorah. 

ZUPH,  a  Levite,  great-grandfather  of  Elkanah, 
the  father  of  Samuel,  and  head  of  the  family  of  the 
Zuphim,  who  dwelt  at  Ramah ;  whence  it  had  its 
name  of  Ramathaim  Zophim,  (1  Sam.  i.  1 ;  1  Chron. 
vi.  35.)   and  the  land  of  Zuph,    1  Sam.  ix.  5. 


ZUR,  a  city  of  Judah,  Josh.  xv.  58  ;  Neh.  iii.  16  ; 
1  Chron.  ii.  45 ;  2  Chron.  xi.  7.  Called  Bethsura, 
and  described  as  a  strong  town  in  2  Mac.  xi.  5, 

I.  ZUR,  a  prince  of  Midian,  father  of  Cozbi,  who, 
with  Zimri,  was  killed  by  Phinehas,  Numb.  xxv.  15  ; 
xxxi.  8. 

II.  ZUR,  son  of  Jehiel  and  Maachah,  of  Ben- 
jamin, inhabitants  of  Gibeon,  1  Chron.  xi.  36 ; 
viii.  30. 

ZURIEL,  son  of  Abihail,  chief  of  the  families  of 
the  Mahlites  and  the  Mushites,  Numb.  iii.  33,  35. 

ZURISHADDAI,  father  of  Shelumiel,  who  was 
chief  of  the  tribe  of  Simeon  at  the  exodus,  Num- 
bers i.  6. 

ZUZIM,  certain  giants  who  dwelt  beyond  Jordan, 
and  were  conquered  by  Chedorlaomer  and  his  allies, 
Gen.  xiv.  5.  The  Chaldee  and  the  LXX  have  taken 
Ziizim  in  the  sense  of  an  appellative,  for  stout  and 
valiant  men.  Calmet  conjectures  the  Zuzim  to  be 
the  Zamzummim  of  Deut.  ii.  20.     See  Anakim. 


THE 


CALENDAR   OF   THE   JEWS. 


The  year  of  the  Hebrews  is  composed  of  twelve  lunar  months,  of  which  the  first  has  thirty  days,  and  tno 
second  twenty-nine  ;  and  so  the  rest  successively,  and  alternately.  The  year  begins  in  autumn,  as  to  the 
civil  year ;  and  in  the  spring,  as  to  the  sacred  year.  The  Jews  had  calendars,  anciently,  wherein  were  noted 
all  the  feasts — all  the  fiists — and  all  tlie  days  on  which  they  celebrated  the  memoiy  of  any  great  event  that 
liad  happened  to  the  nation,  Zech.  viii.  10  ;  Esth.  viii.  6,  in  Grreco.  These  ancient  calendars  are  sometimes 
quoted  in  Talmud,  (Misna  Tract.  Taanith,  n.  8.)  but  the  rabbins  acknowledge  that  they  are  not  now  in 
being.  ( Vide  Maimonides  et  Bartenora,  in  eum  locum.)  Those  tliat  we  have  now,  whether  printed  or  in 
manuscript,  are  not  very  ancient.  ( Vide  Genebrar.  Bibliot.  Rabinic.  p.  319  ;  IJuxtorf.  Levit.  Talmud,  p.  1046 ; 
Bartolocci.  Bibl.  Rabbinic,  tom.  ii.  p.  550  ;  Lamy's  Introduction  to  the  Scripture  ;  and  Plantav.  Isago". 
Rabbin.  a(//?iem.)  That  which  passes  for  the  oldest,  is  Megillath  Thaanith,  "the  volume  of  affliction;" 
which  contains  the  days  of  feasting  and  fasting  heretofore  in  use  among  the  Jews ;  which  are  not  now 
oliserved  ;  nor  are  they  in  the  common  calendars.  We  shall  insert  the  chief  historical  events,  taken  as  well 
from  this  volume,  Thaanith,  as  from  other  calendar. 


TISRI. 

The  first  month  of  the  civil  year;  the  seve7ith  month 
of  the  sacred  year.  It  has  thirty  days,  and  answers 
to  the  moon  of  September. 

Day  1.     New  moon.     Beginning  of  the  civil  year. 

The  feast  of  trumpets,  Lev.  xxin.  24;  Numb, 
xxix.  1,  2. 

3.  Fast  for  the  death  of  Gedaliah,  2  Kmgs  xxv. 
25  ;  Jer.  xli.  2. 

The  same  day,  the  abolition  of  written  contracts. 
Tha  wicked  kings  having  forbidden  the  Israelites  to 
pronounce  tlic  name  of  God,  when  they  were  re- 
stored to  lil)erty,  the  Asmoneans,  or  Maccabees,  or- 
dained, that  the  name  of  God  should  he  written  in 
contracts  after  this  manner  :  "  In  such  a  year  of  the 
liigh-priest  N,  who  is  minister  of  the  most  high 
God,"  &c.  The  judges  to  wiiom  these  writings 
were  ])resented,  decreed  they  shotdd  be  satisfied  ; 
saying,  for  example,  "  On  such  a  day,  such  a  debtor 
shall  pay  such  a  sum,  according  to  his  promise,  after 
which  tiie  schedule  shall  be  torn."  But  it  was  found 
that  the  name  of  God  was  taken  away  out  of  the 
writing  ;  and  thus  the  whole  became  useless  and 
inctli'ctual.  For  which  reason  they  abolished  all 
tliese  written  contracts,  and  a|)i)oirited  a  festival  day 
in  memory  of  it.     (Megil.  Taanith,  c.  7.) 

5.  Tiie  death  of  twenty  Israelites.  Rabbi  Akiba, 
son  of  Joseph,  dies  in  prison. 

7.  A  fast,  on  account  of  the  worshipping  th''  golden 
calf,  and  of  the  sentence  God  pronounced  against 
Israel,  in  consequence  of  that  crime,  Exod.  xxxii. 
(i— 8,  :34. 

10.  A  fast  of  expiation,  Lev.  xxiii.  19,  Sec. 

15.  The  feast  of  tabernacles,  with  its  octave,  Lev. 
xxiii.  34. 


21.  Hosanna-Rabba.  The  seventh  day  of  the 
feast  of  tabernacles,  or  the  feast  of  branches. 

22.  The  octave  of  the  feast  of  tabernacles. 

23.  The  rejoicing  for  the  law,  a  solemnity  in 
memory  of  the  covenant  that  the  Lord  made  with 
the  Hebrews,  in  giving  them  the  law  by  the  media- 
tion of  Moses. 

On  this  same  day,  the  dedication  of  Solomon's 
temple,  1  Kings  viii.  65,  66. 

30.  The  first  new-moon  of  the  month  Marchesvan. 

MARCHESVAN. 

The  second  month  of  the  civil  year  ;  the  eighth  month 
of  the  sacred  year.  It  has  but  twenty-nine  days,  and 
answers  to  the  tnoon  of  October. 

Day  1.  The  second  new-moon,  or  first  day  of 
the  month. 

6,  7.  A  fast,  because  Nebuchadnezzar  put  out  the 
eyes  of  Zedekiah,  after  he  had  slain  his  children 
before  his  face,  2  Kings  xxv.  7;  Jer.  Hi.  10. 

19.  A  fast  on  Monday  and  Tuesday,  [Thursday  ?] 
and  the  Monday  following,  to  expiate' faults  cominit- 
ted  on  occasion  of  the  feast  of  tabernacles.  {Vide 
Calendar,  a  Bartoloccio  editum.) 

2:3.  A  feast,  or  memorial  of  the  stones  of  the  altar, 
])rofane(l  by  the  Greeks  ;  which  were  laid  aside,  in  ex- 
pectation of  a  proiihct,  who  could  declare  to  what  use 
they  might  be  applied,  1  Mac.  iv.  4().  (iAlegillath,  c.  8.) 

26.  A  feast  in  memory  of  son)e  places  jjossessed 
by  the  Cuthites  ;  which  "the  Israelites  recovered  at 
their  return  from  the  captivity. 

A  dispute  of  Rabbin  Joclianan,  sen  cf  Zachai, 
against  the  Sadducees,  who  pretended  that  the  loaves 
of  the  first-fruits  (Lev.  xxiii.  17,  18.)  were  not  to  be 
offered  on  the  altar,but  to  be  eaten  hot.      (Megil. c.9.) 


944 


THE  JEWISH  CALENDAR. 


KISLEU. 

The  third  month  of  the  civil  year ;  the  ninth  month  of 
the  sacred  year.  It  has  thirty  days,  and  answers  to 
our  moon  of  JVovember. 

Day  1.     New-moon,  or  tlie  first  day  of  the  month. 

3.  A  feast  in  memory  of  the  idols  which  the  As- 
TTioueans  threw  out  of  the  coiu-ts,  where  the  Gentiles 
had  placed  them.    (Megil.  Taanith.) 

6.  A  fast  in  memory  of  the  book  of  Jeremiah,  torn 
and  burnt  by  Jehoiakim,  Jer.  xxxvi.  23. 

7.  A  feast  in  memory  of  the  death  of  Herod  the 
Great,  son  of  Antipater  ;  who  was  always  an  enemy 
to  the  sages.    (Megillath,  c.  11.) 

21.  The  feast  of  mount  Gerizim.  The  Jews  re- 
late that  when  their  high-priest  Simon,  with  his 
priests,  went  out  to  meet  Alexander  tfle  Great,  the 
Cutheans  or  Samaritans  went  also,  and  desired  this 
prince  to  give  them  the  temple  of  Jerusalem,  and  to 
sell  them  a  part  of  mount  Moriah,  which  request 
Alexander  granted.  But  the  high-priest  of  the  Jews 
afterwards  presenting  himself,  and  Alexander  asking 
him  what  he  desired,  Simon  entreated  him  not  to 
suffer  the  Samaritans  to  destroy  the  temple.  The 
king  replied  to  him,  that  he  delivered  that  people 
into  his  hands,  and  he  might  do  what  he  pleased 
with  them.  Then  the  high-priest  and  inhabitants 
of  Jerusalem  took  the  Samaritans,  bored  a  hole 
through  their  heels,  and  tying  them  to  their  horses' 
tails,  dragged  them  along  to  mount  Gerizim,  which 
they  ploughed  and  sowed  with  tares,  just  as  the 
Samaritans  had  intended  to  do  to  the  temple  of 
Jerusalem.  In  memory  of  this  event,  they  instituted 
this  festival.     [Comp.  Sivan  25.1 

24.  Prayers  for  rain.     (Calendar  Bartolocci.) 

25.  The  dedication,  or  renewing  of  the  temple, 
profaned  by  order  of  Antiochus  Epiphanes,  and  pu- 
rified by  Judas  Maccabaeus,  1  Mac.  iv.  52;  2  Mac.  ii. 
IG  ;  John  x.  22.  This  feast  is  kept  with  its  octave. 
Josephus  says,  that  in  his  time  it  was  called  the  feast 
of  lights ;  perhaps,  he  says,  because  this  good  fortune, 
of  restoring  the  temple  to  its  ancient  use,  appeared 
to  the  Jews  as  a  new  day.  (Antiq.  lib.  xii.  cap.  11.) 
But  the  Jewish  authors  give  another  reason  for  the 
name  of  lights.  They  report,  that  when  they  were 
employed  in  cleansing  the  temple,  after  it  had  been 
j)rofaiied  by  the  Greeks,  they  found  there  only  one 
small  phial  of  oil,  sealed  up  by  the  high-priest,  which 
v,ould  hardly  suffice  to  keep  in  the  lamps  so  much 
as  one  night ;  but  (Jod  permitted  that  it  should  last 
several  days,  till  they  had  time  to  make  more ;  in 
memoi-y  of  which,  the  Jews  lighted  up  several  lamps 
in  their  synagogues,  and  at  the  doors  of  their  houses. 
[Vide  Seldcn,  de  Syiied.  lib.  iii.  cap,  13.)  Others 
affirm  (as  the  Scholastical  History,  Thomas  Aquinas, 
cardinal  Ilughgo,  on  1  Mac.  iv.  52.)  that  the  appella- 
tion of  the  feast  of  lights  was  a  memorial  of  that- fire 
from  heaven  which  inflamed  the  wood  on  the  altar 
of  burnt-offerings,  as  related  2  3Iac.  i.  22. 

Some  think  tliis  feast  of  the  dedication  was  insti- 
tuted in  memory  of  Judith.  ( Vide  Sigon,  lib.  iii.  cap. 
18.  de  Republ.  Ilebr.)  But  it  is  doubted  whether 
this  ought  to  be  understood  of  Judith,  daughter  of 
Morari,  who  killed  Ilolofurnes  ;  or  of  another  Judith, 
daughter  of  Mattathias,  and  sister  of  Judas  Macca- 
ba3us,  who  slew  Nicanor,  as  they  tell  us.  [p'ide  Ganz, 
Zcinach  David  ;  Millenar.  4.  an.  G22.  et  apud  Selden! 
tie  Synedriis,  lib.  iii.  cap.  13.  n.  II.)  This  last  Judith 
is  known  only  in  the  writings  of  the  rabbins,  and  is 
Jiot  mentioned  either  in  the  Maccabees,  or  in  Jose- 
phus.    But  there  is  great  likelihood  that  the  Jews 


have  altered  the  Greek  history  of  Judith,  to  place  it 
in  the  time  of  Judas  Maccabaeus. 

A  prayer  for  rain.   Time  of  sowing  begins  in  Judea. 

30.  First  new-moon  of  the  month  Tebeth. 

TEBETH. 

The  fourth  month  of  the  civil  year ;  the  tenth  month  of 
the  ecclesiastical  year.  It  has  tweniy-nine  days,  and 
ansjvers  to  the  moon  of  December. 

Day  1.     New-moon. 

8.  A  fast,  because  of  the  translation  of  the  law  out 
of  Hebrew  into  Greek.  This  day,  and  the  three 
following  days,  were  overcast  by  thick  darkness. 

The  fast  of  the  tenth  month.   (Calend.  Bartolocci,) 

9.  A  fast  for  which  the  rabbins  assign  no  reason. 

10.  A  fast  in  memoiy  of  the  siege  of  Jerusalem 
by  Nebuchadnezzar,  2  Kings  xxv,  1. 

28,  A  feast  in  memory  of  the  exclusion  of  the 
Sadducees  out  of  the  Sanhedrim,  where  they  had  all 
the  power  in  the  time  of  kmg  Alexander  Jannseus. 
Rabbi  Simeon,  son  of  Shatach,  found  means  of  ex- 
cluding them  one  after  another,  and  of  substituting 
Pharisees.     (Megillat.  Taanith.)     [Comp,  Jiar  23,] 

SHEBET, 

The  fifth  month  of  the  civil  year  ;  the  eleventh  month 
of  the  sacred  year.  It  has  thirty  days,  and  answers 
to  the  moon  of  January. 

Day  1,     New-moon,  or  the  first  day  of  the  month. 

2,  A  rejoicing  for  the  death  of  king  Alexander 
Jannseus,  a  great  enemy  to  the  Pharisees,      (Megill.) 

4  or  5,  A  fast  in  memory  of  the  death  of  the  elders, 
who  succeeded  Joshua,  Judg.  ii.  10. 

15,  The  beginning  of  the  year  of  trees,  that  is, 
from  hence  tliey  begin  to  count  the  four  years, 
during  which  trees  were  judged  unclean,  from  the 
time  of  their  being  planted.  Lev.  xix.  23 — 25.  Some 
place  the  beginning  of  these  four  years  on  the  first 
day  of  the  month. 

22.  A  feast  in  memory  of  the  death  of  one  called 
Niskalenus,  who  had  ordered  the  placing  images  or 
figures  in  the  temple,  which  was  forbidden  by  the 
law  :  but  he  died,  and  his  orders  were  not  executed. 
The  Jews  place  this  under  the  high-priest  Simon 
the  Just.  It  is  not  known  who  this  Niskalenus  was. 
(Megill.  c,  11,] 

23,  A  fast  for  the  war  of  the  ten  tribes  against  that 
of  Benjamin,  Judg,  xx. 

They  also  call  to  remembrance  the  idol  of  Micah, 
Judg,  xviii, 

29,  A  memorial  of  the  death  of  Antiochus  Epiph- 
anes ;  an  enemy  of  the  Jews,  1  JMac,  vi,  1,  [Me- 
gillath,)  0 

30,  First  new-moon  of  the  month  Adar, 

ADAR, 

The  sixth  month  of  the  civil  year ;  the  twelfth  month 
of  the  sacred  year.  It  has  but  twenty-nine  days,  and 
answers  to  the  moon  of  February. 

Day  1,     New-moon, 

7.  A  fast,  because  of  the  death  of  3Ioses,  Deut. 
xxxiv.  5. 

8.  9.  The  trumpet  sounded,  by  way  of  thanksgiv- 
ing for  the  rain  that  fell  in  this  month,  and  to  pray 
for  it  in  future.    (Megillath  Taanith.) 

9.  A  fast  in  memory  of  the  schism  between  the 
schools  of  Shammai  and  llillel  [called  Taanith 
Tzadehiml. 


THE  JEWISH  CALENDAR. 


043 


12.  A  feast  in  memory  of  the  death  of  two  prose- 
lytes, Holliaiius  and  Pipiis  his  brotlicr,  whom  cue 
Tyriiuis  or  Tiiriamis  woidd  liave  compelled  to  break 
tiie  hiw,  in  the  city  of  Laodicea  ;  hut  tiiey  ciiose 
rather  to  (he,  tiian  to  act  contrary  to  the  law.  (Selden, 
de  Syncdr.  lih.  iii.  cap.  l:}.  ex  Megill.  Taanith.) 

Vi.  Esther's  last ;  probably  in  memory  of  that, 
Eslii.  iv.  16.     (Geneb.  Hartolocci.) 

A  feast  in  memory  of  the  death  of  Nicanor,  an 
enj.ny  of  tlie  Jews,  1  iMac.  vii.  44 ;  2  Mac.  x v.  30, 
&c,  Some  of  the  Hebrews  insist,  that  Nicanor  was 
killed  by  Jndith,  sister  of  Jndas  Maccahsens. 

14.  The  first  pnrim,  or  lesser  feast  of  lots,  Esth. 
ix.  21.  The  Jews  in  the  province  s  ceased  from  the 
slaughter  of  tlieir  enemies  on  Nisan  14,  and  on  that 
day  made  great  rejoicing.  But  the  Jews  of  Shnshan 
continued  the  slaughter  till  the  15th.  Tlurelbre 
Mordecai  settled  the  feast  of  lots  on  the  14th  and 
15th  of  this  month. 

15.  The  great  feast  of  puiim,  or  lots ;  the  second 
])nrim.  These  three  lUiys,  the  l-"5th,  14th  and  15th, 
arc  commonly  called  the  days  of  Mordecai  ;  though 
the  feast  for  the  death  of  Nicanor  has  no  relation 
either  to  Esther  or  to  Mordecai. 

Tiie  collectors  of  the  half-shekel,  paid  by  every 
Israelite,  (Exod.  xxx.  1.3.)  received  it  on  Adar  15,  in 
the  cities,  and  on  the  25th  in  the  temjjle.  (Tahnud. 
Tract.  Shekalim.) 

17.  The  deliverance  of  the  sages  of  Israel,  who, 
flying  from  the  persecution  of  Alexander  Jaunjrus, 
king  of  the  Jews,  retired  into  the  city  of  Koslik  in 
/\Jrabia ;  but  finding  themselves  in  danger  of  being 
sacrificed  by  the  Gentiles,  the  inhabitants  of  the  place, 
they  escaped  by  night.   (Megill.  Taanith.) 

20.  A  feast  in  memory  of  the  rain  obtained  from 
God,  by  one  called  Onias  Hainrnagel,  during  a  great 
drought  in  the  time  of  Alexander  Jannseus.  (Megill. 
Taanith.) 

2.3.  The  dedication  of  the  temple  of  Zerubbabcl, 
Ezra  vi.  IG.  The  day  is  not  known.  Some  put  it 
on  the  IGth,  the  calendar  of  Sigonius  puts  it  on  the 
2;3d. 

28.  A  feast  in  commemoration  of  the  repeal  of  the 
decree  by  which  the  kings  of  Greece  had  forbidden 
the  Jews  to  circumcise  their  children,  to  observe  the 
s.ibiiath,  and  to  decline  foreign  worship.  (Megill. 
Taanith.  et  Gcmar.  ut  Tit.  Thainith.  c.  2.) 

\Vhen  the  year  consists  of  thirteen  lunar  months, 
t'lcy  place  here,  by  way  of  intercalation,  the  second 
monili  of  Adar,  or  Ve-adar. 

NISAN,  or  ABIB.     Exod.  xiii.  4. 

The  seventh  month  of  the  civil  i/car  ;  the  first  month  of 
ti'ie  sacred  year.  It  has  thirty  days,  and  ansiveis  to 
the  moon  of  March. 

Day  1.  New-moon.  A  fast,  because  of  the  death 
of  the  children  of  Aaron,  Lev.  x.  1,  2. 

10.  A  fast  for  tlie  death  of  Miriam,  the  sister  of 
Moses,  Numb.  xx.  1.  Also  in  memory  of  the  scarcity 
of  w-ater  that  happened,  after  her  death,  to  the  chil- 
dren of  Israel  in  the  desert  of  Kadesh,  Numb.  xx.  2. 

On  this  day  every  one  provided  himself  a  lamb  or 
kid,  i)r'-paratory  to  the  following  })assover. 

14.  On  th;;  evening  of  the  14tli  they  killed  the 
])aschal  lamb  ;  they  began  to  use  unleavened  bread, 
and  ceased  from  all  servile  laljor. 

1.5.  The  solemnity  of  the  passover,  with  its  octave. 
The  first  day  of  uideavcned  bread,  a  day  of  rest. 
Tbeyate  none  but  unleavened  bread  duringeight  days. 
119 


After  sunset  they  gathered  a  sheaf  of  barlej', 
which  they  brought  into  the  temple.    (Cod.  Mcnachut. 

vi.;3.) 

Supplication  for  the  reign  of  the  spring.     (Geneb.) 

1(J.  On  the  second  day  of  the  fiast,  they  cficrrd 
the  barley  which  tb<  y  luid  provided  the  evi  ning 
before,  as  the  first-fn.its  of  the  harvest.  After  that 
time,  it  was  allowed  to  ])ut  the  sickle  to  the  corii. 

The  beginning  of  harvest. 

From  this  day  they  began  to  count  fifty  days  to 
penteeost. 

21,  The  octave  of  the  feast  of  the  passover.  The 
end  of  imleavened  bread.  This  day  is  held  more 
solemn  than  the  other  days  of  the  octave  ;  yet  they 
did  not  refiain  from  manual  hdjor  on  if. 

2t).  A  fast  lor  the  death  ofJcsl.ua,  Josh.  xxiv.  29. 

oO.  The  first  new-moon  of  the  month  Jiar. 

The  book  called  Megillath  Taanith  docs  not  no- 
tice any  particular  festival  for  the  month  Nisan. 

JIAR,  or  lYAR. 

The  eighth  month  of  the  civil  year ;  the  second  month 
of  the  ecclesiastical  year.  It  has  but  twenty-nine 
days,  and  answers  to  the  moon  cf^Ij^ril. 

Day  1.  New-moon, 

G.  A  fast  of  three  days  for  excesses  ccminitted 
during  the  feast  of  the  passover,  that  is,  r.ji  the  Mon- 
day-, Thursday,  and  the  Jlonday  following.  (Calendar. 
Bartolocci.) 

7.  The  dedication  of  the  temjde,  when  the  Asmo- 
neans  consecrated  it  anew,  after  the  persecutions  of 
the  Greeks.    (Megill.  Taanith,  c.  2.) 

10.  A  fast  for  the  death  of  the  high-priest  Eii,  and 
for  the  capture  of  the  ark  by  the  Philistines. 

14.  The  second  passover,  in  favor  of  those  who 
could  not  celebrate  the  first,  on  Nisan  1.5. 

23.  A  feast  for  the  taking  of  the  city  of  Gaza,  by  Si- 
mon Maccabseus.  (Calend.  Scalig.  1  Mac.  xiii.  43,  44.) 

Or  for  the  taking  and  purification  of  the  citadel 
of  Jerusalem,  by  the  IMaccabees  ;  according  to  the 
calendar  of  Sigonius,  1  Mac.  xiii.  49,  53  ;  xvi.  7,  3G. 

A  feast  for  the  expulsion  of  the  Caraites  out  of 
Jerusalem,  by  the  Asmoneans  or  !\Iaccabees.  (Meg, 
Taanith.)  [Comp.  Tebeth  28.] 

27.  A  feast  for  the  expulsion  of  the  Galileans,  or 
those  who  attempted  to  set  up  crowns  over  the  gates 
of  their  tempks,  and  of  their  houses  ;  and  even  on 
the  heads  of  their  cxen  and  assrs;  and  to  sing  hymns 
in  honor  of  false  gods.  The  IVIaccabecs  drove  them 
out  of  Judea  and  Jerusalem,  and  appointed  this  feast 
to  |)erpetuate  the  memory  of  their  expulsion.  (Megill, 
Taanith.) 

2d.  A  fast  for  t!ic  death  of  the  prcj.het  Samuel,  1 
Sam.  XXV.  1. 

SIVAN. 

77ic  ninth  month  of  the  civil  year  ;  the  third  month  of 
the  ecclesiastical  year.  It  has  thirty  days,  end  an- 
swers to  the  moon  of  May. 

Day  1.  Ncw-nioon. 

G.  Pentecost,  the  fiftieth  day  after  the  passover. 
Called  also  the  Feast  of  Weeks,  hecausc  it  happened 
seven  weeks  aftei  the  passover.  Wc  do  not  find  that 
it  had  any  octave. 

15,  1 '."a  feast  to  celebrate  the  victory  of  the  Mac- 
cabees over  the  people  of  Bethsan,  1  Mac.  v.  52;  xii. 
40,  41.     (.Alegill.  Taanith.) 

17.  A  feast  for  the  taking  of  CjFsarca  by  the  As- 
moneans ;  who  drove  the  i)agans  from  thence,  and 
settled  the  Jews  there.    (^Megill.  Taanith.) 


946 


THE  JEWISH  CALENDAR. 


22.  A  fast  in  memory  of  the  prohibition  by  Jero- 
boam, so  1  of  Neb.1t,  to  his  siil)jects,  forbidding  them 
to  carry  their  first-fruits  to  Jerusalem,  1  Kings  xii.  27. 

25.  A  fast  in  connnemoration  of  the  death  of  the 
rabbins,  Simeon,  son  of  Gamaliel,  Isbmael,  son  of 
Elisha,  and  Chanina,  the  high-priest's  deputy. 

A  feast  in  memory  of  the  solemn  judgment  pro- 
nounced in  favor  of  the  Jews  by  Alexander  the 
Great,  against  the  Ishmaelites,  who,  by  virtue  of 
their  birthright,  maintain  a  possession  of  the  land 
of  Canaan,  against  the  Canaanites,  who  claimed  the 
same,  as  being  the  original  j)ossessors,  and  against 
the  Egyptians,  who  demanded  restitution  of  the  ves- 
sels and  other  things,  borrowed  by  the  Hebrews, 
when  they  left  Egypt.  (Ftc/e  Megillath  Taanith.)  But 
the  Gemara  of  Babylon  (Tit.  Sanhedrim,  c.  11.)  puts 
the  day  of  this  sentence  on  Nisan  14.  [Comp.  Cis- 
leu  21.] 

27.  A  fast,  because  rabbi  Chanina,  the  son  of 
Thardion,  was  burnt  with  the  book  of  the  law. 

30.  Tiie  first  new-moon  of  the  month  Thammuz. 

THAMMUZ,  or  TAMUZ. 

The  tenth  month  of  the  civil  year ;  the  fourth  month  of 
the  holy  year.  It  has  but  twenty-nine  days,  and  an- 
swers to  the  moon  of  June. 

Day  1.  New-moon. 

14.  A  feast  for  the  abolition  of  a  pernicious  book 
of  the  Sadducees  and  Bethusians,  by  which  they 
endeavored  to  subvert  the  oral  law,  and  all  the  tra- 
ditions.    (Megill.  Taanith.) 

17.  A  fast  in  memory  of  the  tables  of  the  law, 
broken  by  Closes,  Exod.  xxxii.  19. 

On  this  day  the  city  of  Jerusalem  was  taken.  The 
perpetual  evening  and  morning  sacrifice  was  sus- 
])ended  during  the  siege  of  Jerusalem  by  Titus. 
E|)istemon  tore  the  book  of  the  law,  and  set  up  an 
idol  in  tiie  temple.  It  is  not  said  whether  this  hap- 
pened under  Nebuchadnezzar,  Antiochus  Epiphaues, 
or  the  Romans. 

AB. 

TTie  eleventh  month  of  the  civil  year ;  the  fflh  month 
of  the  sacred  year.  It  has  thirty  days,  and  answeis 
to  the  moon  of  July. 

1.  New-moon.  A  fast  for  the  death  of  Aaron  the 
high-priest. 

5.  A  conmiemoration  of  the  children  of  Jcthutl,  of 
the  race  of  Judah,  who,  after  the  return  from  the  cap- 
tivity, furnished  wood  to  the  temple.  (Megill.  Taanith.) 

9.  A  fast  of  the  fifth  month,  in  memory  of  God's 
declaration  to  Moses  on  this  day,  that  none  of  the 
murmuring  Israelites  should  enter  the  land  of  prom- 
ise, Numb.  xiv.  29,  31. 

SACRED  YEAR. 

.Wames  and  Order  of  the  Ilebreiv  Months. 

1.  Nisan,  answering  to March,  O.  S. 

2.  Jiar April. 

3.  Sivan May. 

4.  Thammuz June. 

5.  Ab July. 

6.  EIul August. 

7.  Tizri September. 

8.  Marchesvan October. 

9.  Cisleu Novetnber. 

10.  Thebet December. 

1 1.  Sebat January. 

12.  Adar February. 


On  the  same  day  the  temple  was  taken  and  burnt ; 
Solomon's  temple  first  by  the  Chaldeans  ;  Herod's 
temple  afterwards  by  the  Ronjans. 

18.  A  fast,  because  in  the  time  of  Ahaz  the  evening 
■  lamj)  went  out. 

21.  Xylophoria ;  a  feast  on  which  they  stored  up 
the  necessary  wood  in  the  temi)le.  (Selden.  fu/e 
Joscphus,  de  Bello,  lib.  ii.  cap.  17.)  Scaliger  places 
this  festival  on  the  22d  of  the  next  month. 

24.  A  feast  in  memory  of  the  abolition  of  a  law  by 
the  Asmoneans,  or  Maccabees,  which  had  bet-n  in- 
troduced by  the  Sadducees,  enacting,  that  both  sons 
and  daughters  should  alike  inherit  the  estates  of  their 
parents.     (Megill.  Taanith.) 

30.  The  first  new-moon  of  the  month  Elu!. 

ELUL. 

The  twelfth  month  of  the  civil  year ;  and  the  sevc7itk 
month  of  the  ccclesiaslical  year.  It  has  but  twenty- 
nine  days,  and  answers  to  the  moon  of  Av gust. 

Day  1.  New-moon. 

7.  Dedication  of  the  walls  of  Jerusalem  by  Nehe- 
miah,  Ezra  xii.  27.  We  read  in  Neh.  vi.  15,  that 
these  walls  were  finished  Elul  25.  But  as  there  still 
remained  many  things  to  be  done,  to  complete  this 
work,  the  dedication  might  have  been  deferred  to  the 
7th  of  Elul  of  the  year  ibllowing.     (Megill.  Seld.) 

17.  A  fast  for  the  death  of  the  spies,  who  brought 
an  ill  report  of  the  laud  of  promise.  Numb.  xiv.  36. 

A  feast  in  remeuibrance  of  the  expulsion  of  tjie 
Romans,  [rather  the  Greeks,]  who  Avould  have  pre- 
vented tlie  Hebrews  from  marrying,  and  who  dishon- 
ored the  daughters  of  Israel.  When  they  intended 
to  use  violence  towards  Judith,  the  only  daughter  of 
Mattathias,  he,  with  the  assistance  of  his  sons,  over- 
came them,  and  delivered  his  country  from  their 
yoke.  In  commemoration  of  which  deliverance,  this 
festival  v/as  appointed. 

21.  Xyloj)horia  ;  a  feast  in  which  they  brought  to 
the  temjjle  the  necessary  provision  of  wood  for  keep- 
ing in  the  fire  of  the  altar  of  burnt-sacrifices.  The 
calendar  of  Scaliger  i)laces  this  feast  on  the  S2d. 
[Vide  the  21st  of  the  foregoing  month.) 

22.  A  feast  in  mcmoi-y  of  the  punishment  inflicted 
on  the  wicked  Israelites,  whose  insolence  could  not 
be  otherwise  restrained  than  by  putting  them  to 
death  ;  for  then  Judca  was  in  the  possession  of  the 
Gentiles.  They  allowed  these  wicked  Israelites 
three  days  to  reform  ;  but  as  they  showed  no  signs 
cf  repentance,  they  were  condemned  to  death.  (Me- 
gill. Taanitli.) 

[From  the  beginning  to  the  end  of  this  month,  the 
cornet  is  sounded  to  warn  of  the  a])proacliing  new 
year.] 

CIVIL  YEAR. 

J^tames  and  Order  of  the  Hebrew  Months. 

7  1.  Tizri September,  O.  S. 

8  2.  Marchesvan October. 

9  3.  Cisleu November. 

10  4.  Thebet December. 

1 1  5.  Sebat January. 

12  6.  Adar Februaiy. 

1  7.  Nisan March. 

2  8.  Jiar April. 

3  9.  Sivan May. 

4  10.  Thammuz June. 

5  n.  Ab July. 

6  12.  Elul August. 


A  GENERAL 


CHRONOLOGICAL    TABLE 


HOLY    BIBLE. 


The  Author  places  the  true  date  of  the  birth  of  Christ  four  years  before  the  common  Era,  or  A.  D. 

A.  IM.  1  corresponds  to  the  710th  year  of  the  Julian  Period. 

We  have  added  the  Chronology  adopted  by  Dr.  Hales  ;  and  also  a  reference  to  the  sources  of  infonnation, 

both  sacred  and  profane.     [It  must,  however,  be  borne  in  mind,  that  the  particularity 

of  the  dates  iiere  assigned  rests  chiefly  on  mere  conjecture.     R. 


Caluiet.        Hales. 


2 

3 

129 

130 

235 

325 

395 

4(50 

G22 

687 

874 

930 

987 

1042 

10.56 

1140 

1235 

1290 

1422 


100 

101 

201 

230 

435 

625 

795 

980 

1122 

1287 

1474 

930 

1487 

1142 

1656 

1.340 

1534 

1690 

1922 


4000 


3999 
3998 
3871 
3870 
3765 
3675 
3605 
3540 
3378 
3313 
3126 
3070 
3013 
2958 
2944 
2860 
2765 
2710 
2578 


5411 


5311 
.5310 
5210 
5181 
4976 
4786 
4616 
4451 
4289 
4124 
3937 
4481 
3914 
42()9 
3755 
4071 
3877 
3721 
3489 


FROM  THE  CREATION  TO  THE  BIRTH  OF  CHRIST. 


The  Creation. 

First  day. — Creation  of  Light 

Second  day. the  Firmament 

Third  day. — Sea,  Water,  Plants,  Trees 

Fourth  day. — Sun,  Rloon,  and  Stars 

Fifth  day. — Fishes,  and  Birds 

Sixth  day. — Land  Animals,  and  Man 

God  causes  the  animals  to  appear  before  Adam,  who 
gives  them  names.  God  creates  the  woman  by 
taking  her  out  of  the  side  of  the  man,  and  gives 
her  to  him  for  a  wife.  He  brings  them  into  Para- 
dise   •  •  - 

Seventh  day. — God  rests  from  the  work  oi  Creation, 
and  sanctifies  the  repose  of  the  Sabbath 

Eve,  tempted  fatally,  by  means  of  the  serpent,  diso- 
beys God,  and  persuades  her  husband,  Adam,  to 
disobedience  also,  God  expels  them  from  Paradise. 

Cain  born,  son  of  Adam  and  Eve 

Abel  born,  son  of  Adam  and  Eve 

Cain  kills  his  brother  Abel 

Seth  born,  son  of  Adam  and  Eve 

Enos  born,  son  of  Seth 

Cainan  born,  son  of  Enos 

Mahalaleel  born,  son  of  Cainan 

Jared  born,  son  of  Mahalaleel 

Enoch  born,  son  of  Jared 

Methuselah  born,  son  of  Enoch 

Lamech  born,  son  of  Methuselah 

Adam  dies,  aged  930  years 

Enoch  translated,  had  lived  365  years • . 

Seth  dies,  aged  912  years 

Noah  born,  son  of  Lamerh 

Enos  dies,  aged  905  years 

Cainan  dies,  aged  910  years 

Mahalaleel  dies,  aged  895  years 

Jared  dies,  aged  962  years 


ii.  18—25. 
-2,3. 


A  CHRONOLOGICAL  TABLE  OF  THE  HOLY  BIBLE, 


Calniei.  |   Hale;.    I    Calmel. 


1536  I  2136 


1556 
1558 
1651 
1656 


1C5; 


2256 
2256 


2257 


165S 
1663 


16)3 
1723 
1757 
1770 


1771 


2258 
2263 


2293 
2523 
2657 
2857 


2857 


1787 

1819 

]84!) 
187H 
1918 
200() 
20G8 
2018 
2033 


205:3 


2784 
2794 
2^)19 
3049 
3389 
319S 
2606 
3258 
3268 
::318 


2460 


2444 
2442 
2349 
2344 


2343 


2342 
2337 


2307 
2277 
2243 
2230 


2229 


3275 

3155 
3155 


3154 


2213 

2181 
,i  2151 
J  2122 
i|2052 
'1994 
il  lf«)2 
1982 
1917 


3333 


1917 


3153 

3148 


3018 
2888 
2754 
2554 


2554 


rsCM  THE  CREATION  TO  THE  BIRTH  OF  CHRIST. 


2624 
2614 
24S2 
2362 

22c3 
2213 
2805 
2153. 
2143 
2093 


2078 


God  infonijs  Noah  of  the  future  deluge,  and  com-  J) 
iiiissioiis  hiui  to  preacli  repentance,  120  years  > 

before  the  dehige ) 

Japhet  born,  eldest  son  of  Noah 

Shcui  born,  the  second  son  of  Noah 

Lamech  dies,  the  lather  of  Noah,  aged  777  years.  . . . 
Methuselah  dies,  tlie  oldest  of  men,  aged  969  years, 

in  the  year  of  the  deluge 

The  tenth  day  of  the  second  month  (November)  God 

commands  Noah  to  prepare  to  enter  the  ark 

Seventeenth  day  of  the  same  month,  Noah  enters  the 

ark  with  his  wife,  his  sons,  and  their  wives 

Rain  on  the  earth,  forty  days.     The  waters  continue 

on  the  earth  150  days 

Seventeentli  day  of  tile  seventh  month,  the  ark  rests 

on  tlie  moiuitain  of  Ararat 

First  day  of  the  tenth  month,  the  tojis  of  the  moun- 
tains begin  to  appear 

Forty  days  afterwards,  Noah  sends  fortii  a  raven .... 
Seven  days  afterwards,  Noah  sends  cut  the  dove  ;  it 

returns  

Seven  days  afterwards,he  sends  it  out  again  ;  it  returns 
in  the  evening,  bringing  an  olive-branch  in  its  bill. 
Seven  days  afterwards,  he  sends  it  forth  again  ;  it  re- 
turns no  more  ^. 

Noah  being  now  601  years  old,  the  first  day  of  tlie 

first  month  he  takes  ofi^'the  roof  of  the  ark 

Twenty-seventh  day  of  the  second  month  Noah  quits 
the  ark.  He  offers  sacrifices  of  thanksgiving.  God 
permits  to  man  the  use  of  flesh  as  food  ;  and  ap- 
points the  rainbow,  as  a  pledge  that  he  would  send 

no  more  a  universal  deluge 

Arphaxad  born,  son  of  Shem 

About  seven  years  after  the  deluge,  Noah,  having 
planted  a  vineyard,  drank  of  the  wine  lo  e.vcess  ; 
falling  a.sleep,  he  was  uncovered  in  his  tent.     His 

son  Ham,  mocking  at  him,  is  cursed  for  it 

Sal.'Ji  born,  son  of  Arphaxad 

Heber  born,  son  of  Salah 

Piialeg  born,  son  cf  Heber 

About  this  ihne  the  building  of  the  tower  of  Babel  is 
undertj;ken  ;  God  confounds  the  language  of  men, 

and  disperses  them 

About  this  time  the  beginning  of  the  Assyrian  mon- 
archy, by  Nimrod.  From  this  year  to  tlu;  taking 
of  Babylon  by  Alexander  the  Great,  are  19G3  years  ; 
the  ])eriod  to  which  Callisthenes  traced  the  astro- 
nomical calculations  of  the  Chaldeans 

The  Egyptian  empire  begins  about  the  same  time,  by 
Ham,  tlie  father  of  Mizraim  :  this  empire  contiinied 
lii33  years,  till  the  conquest  of  Egy])t  by  Cam- 

byses 

Reu  born,  son  of  Plialcg 

Divisicn  of  tlie  Earth 

Serug  bnrn,  son  of  Reu 

Xahor  born,  son  of  Serug 

Tvrali  born,  son  of  Nahor , 

Ilaran  born,  son  of  Terali 

Noah  dies,  aged  950  years 

Abrani  born,  sen  of  Terali 

Sarai  born,  afterwards  wife  of  Abram 

Abrani  call;'(l,  in  Vr  of  the  Cbaldees.  He  travr-ls  to 
Charre,    or  Haran,  of  Mesojiotamia.     His  father, 

Terali,  di^^s  there,  aged  205  years 

Second  calling  of  Abrum  from  Haran.     He  comes 


Gen.  vi.  13—22;  Heb. 

xi.  7  i  1  Pet.  iii.  20  ; 

2  Pet.  ii.  5. 

V.  32  ;  X.  21. 

32. 

31. 


ix.  1—17. 
xi.  10,  11. 


]— 9. 

—  X.  e— 13. 


Porplivr.  ap.  Sim])lic. 
lil).  ii.  de  Ccelo. 

Ps.  cvi.  22  ;  I^.  xix.  11. 
Coiistaiitin.  Manass.  in 

Annalib. 
Gen.  xi.  18. 

X.  25. 

xi.  20. 

22. 

24. 

i\.  99. 

xi.27;Josh.xxiv.2. 

29,30;  xvii.  17. 

Acts  vii.  2,  3. 

Gen.  xi.  31,32 


A  CHROlVOLOGICAL  TABLE  OF  THE  HOLY  BIBLE. 


049 


Vear  of  the 
Wo.l'. 

Ye.ir  before 
Christ. 

I  ROM  THE  CREATION  TO  THE  BIRTH  OF  CHRIST. 

Gen.  xii.  1 — 6  ;  Actsvii. 
4,5;  Heb.  xi.  8. 

xii.  9 — xiii.  11. 

xiv.  1-^. 

xiv.  5 — 16. 

18—20 ;   Heb. 

vii.  1—11. 

XV. ;  Acts  vii.  6 ; 

Gal.  iii.  17. 

XV  i.  1—3. 

15,  16. 

xvii.  1—22. 

10—14,  23—27. 

xviii.  1 — 15  ; 

Heb.  xiii.  2. 

xviii.  16— xix.38; 

2  Pet.  ii.  6—8. 

XX.  1. 

xxi.  1—21. 

22—34. 

xxii.2— 19. 

xxiii. 

XX  iv. 

XXV.  1-^. 
xi.  10,  11. 

XXV.  21     23. 
24     26. 
7     11. 

xi.   17. 

xxvi.  1—31. 
34,  35. 

X.XV.  17,  18. 
xxvii. — xxix.    28. 

C.iln.el. 

Hales. 

Calmet 

Hales. 

into   Canar.n    witli    Sarai  liis   wife,   and   Lot  his 
lu'pliew  ;  and  dwoils  at  Siclieni 

2084 

2091 
2092 

2093 
2094 

2107 

2108 
2115 

2133 

9145 
2148 

2150 
2158 
2167 

2168 
2184 
2187 
2200 

2208 

2231 
2245 

3334 
3341 

3342 
3343 
3344 

3357 

3358 

3357 

3!^83 
3395 
3398 

3399 

3418 
3433 

3G15 
3481 
3495 

191G 

1909 
1908 

1907 
1906 
1893 

1892 

1885 

1867 

1855 
1852 

1850 
1842 
1833 

1832 
1817 
1813 
1800 

1792 

1769 
1755 

2077 
2070 

2069 

20G8 
2067 

2054 

2053 

2054 

2028 
201() 
2013 

2012 

1993 

1978 

1796 
1930 
1916 

Abriiiii  goes  iuto  Egypt;  Pliaraoli  takes  liis  wile,  l)iit 
soon  restores  iier  again.     Abrani  (luits  Egypt;  he 
and  Lot  separate   

The   kings  of  Sodom  and   Goinorrha   revolt   from 

Chedorlaomer  and    liis  allies    uivadc  tlie  kings  of 
Sodom   and  Goinorrha,  &e.     Sodom  is  ])iilag('d  ; 
Lot  is  taken  captive;  Abrain  pnrsiies  them,  dis- 
pei-ses  them,  retakes  the  booty,  and  rescnes  Lot. . . 

Melchizedec  blesses  Abrain 

The  Lord  makes   a  covenant   with   Abram,  and  ? 
])romises  him  a  nnmeroiis  j)Osterity ( 

Sarai  gives  her  maid  Hagar,  lor  a  wife,  to  her  hns- 
band  Aiiram 

Ishmael  born,  the  son  of  Abrani  and  Hagar.    Abram 
was  86  years  old 

The  new  covenant  of  the  Lord  witli  Abram;  God 
promises  him  a  numerous  posterity;  changes  his 
name  from  Abram  to  Abraham,  and  that  of  his 

wife  Sarai  to  Sarah 

In  connection  ivith  this  covenant, 

Circumcision  is  instituted 

Abraham  entertains  tlirec  angels,  under  the  appear- 
ance of  travellers;  they  predict  to  Sarah  the  birtii 
of  a  son  (I.<aac ) 

Sodom,   Gomorrha,  Admaii  and  Zeboiim  burnt  by 
fire  ii-om    heaven.     Lot   is   jjreserved;   retires  to 
Zoar  ;  commits  incest  with  his  daiigliters 

Abraham  de[)arts  from  the  plain  of  Mainre,  to  Beer- 
slieba 

Isaac  born,  the  son  ol"  Abraham  and  Sarah.     Sarah 
makes  Abraliam  turn  away  Hagar  and  her  son  Ish- 
mael.    Hagar  causes  Ishmael  to  lake  an  Egyptian 
woman  to  wife,  by  whom  he  has  several  children. 

Covenant  between  Abraham  and  Abimeleeh,  khig  of 

Sarah  dies,  a<''ed  127  years 

Abraham  sends  Eliezer  into  Mesopotamia  to  precure 
a  wife  for  his  son  Isaac,  who  was  40  years  of  age. 
Eliezer  brink's  Rebckah 

Abraham  marries  Keturah,  by  whom  he  has  several 
children 

Shem  dirp,  the  son  of  Noah,  500  years  after  the  birth 
of  Arphaxad 

Rebekah  continuing  barren  nineteen  years,  Isaac  in- 
tercedes for  her,  and  she  obtains  the  favor  of  con- 

.lacob  and  Esau  born.  Isaac  being  60  years  old 

Abraham  dies,  vjivd  175  years 

Isaac  goes  lo  Gerar.    God  renews  with  him  his  |)rom- 
ises   made   to   Abraham.      Isaac  covenants   with 

The  deluge  of  Ogyges  in  Attica,  2020  years  before 

the  lirst  Olymi)iad. 
Ishmael  dies,  the  eldest  son  of  Abraham,  aged  137 

Isaac  blesses  Jacob  instead  of  Esau.  Jacob  withdraws 
into  Mesoi)otamia,  to  his  uncle  Laban.     Here  he 

950 


A  CHRONOLOGICAL  TABLE  OF  THE  HOLY  BIBLE. 


Year  of  lie 
Woria. 

1    Year  b(..ore 
Chrisl. 

Calniet. 

Hales. 

Calmet. 

Hales. 

2246 
2247 
2248 
2249 
2259 

3496 
3498 
3500 
3501 
3502 

1754 
1753 
1752 
1751 
1741 

1915 
1913 
1911 
1910 
1902 

2265 

1735 

2273 

1727 

2276 

3522 
3526 

1724 

1889 
1885 

2286 

1714 

3511 

1899 

2287 

1713 

2288 
2289 

3539 

1712 
1711 

1872 

2290 
2291 
2296 

1710 
1709 
1704 

2297 

1703 

2298 

1702 

2300 

1700 

2301 
2302 

1669 
1698 

2302 

1698 

2315 

3565 

1695 

1846 

2369 

3619 

1631 

1792 

2385 
2427 

3683 

1615 
1573 

1728 

3074 

2337 

2430 
2433 

3686 
3689 

1570 
1567 

1725 
1722 

FROM  THE  CREATION  TO  THE  BIRTH  OF  CHRIST. 


Reuben  born,  son  of  Jacob  and  Leah 

Simeon  born,  son  of  Leah 

Levi  born,  son  of  Leah 

Judah  born,  son  of  Leah 

Josei)h  born,  son  of  Jacob  and  Rachel,  Jacob  being 
90  years  old 

Jacob  resolves  to  return  to  his  parents  in  Canaan. 
Laban  pursues  hiin,  and  overtakes  him  on  mount 
Gilead.  Esau  comes  to  meet  him,  and  receives  him 
with  much  affection.     Jacob  arrives  at  Shechem. . 

Dinah,  Jacob's  daughter,  ravished  by  Shechem,  son 
of  Hamor.  Dinah's  brothers  revenge  this  affront 
by  the  death  of  the  Shechemites 

Benjamin  born,  son  of  Rachel 

Joseph,  being  seventeen  years  old,  tells  his  father, 
Jacob,  of  his  brothers'  faults;  they  hate  him,  and 
sell  him  to  strangers,  who  take  him  into  Egypt. 
Joseph  sold  there  as  a  slave  to  Potiphar 

About  this  time  Judah  marries  the  daughter  of 
Shuah,  a  Canaanite,  iiy  whom  he  has  Er,  Onan 
and  Shelah 

Joseph,  tempted  by  the  wife  of  his  master  Potiphar, 
refuses  her ;  is  put  in  prison 

The  shepherds,  expelled  from  Egypt,  settle  in  Pales- 
tine. 

Joseph  explains  the  dreams  of  the  two  officers  of 
Pharaoh 

Isaac  dies,  aged  180  years 

Pharaoh's  dreams  explained  by  Joseph  ;  Joseph  is  } 
made  governor  of  Egypt ^ 

The  beginning  of  the  seven  years  of  plenty  foretold 
by  Joseph 

Manasseh  born,  son  of  Joseph 

Ephraim  born,  second  son  of  Joseph 

The  beginning  of  the  seven  years  of  scarcity,  fore- 
told by  Joseph 

Jose[)h's  ten  brethren  resort  to  Egypt  to  buy  corn. 
Joseph  imprisons  Simeon 

Jo3epli's  brethren  return  into  Egypt,  with  their 
brother  Benjamin.  Joseph  discovers  himself,  and 
engages  them  to  settle  in  Egypt. with  their  father, 
Jacob,  then  130  years  old 

Joseph  gets  all  the  money  of  Egypt  into  the  king's 
treasury 

Josei)li  gels  all  the  cattle  of  Egypt  for  the  king 

The  Egyptians  sell  their  lands  and  liberties  to  Pha- 
raoh   

The  end  of  the  seven  years  of  scarcity.  Joseph  re- 
turns the  Egyj)tians  their  cattle  and  their  lands,  on 
condition  that  they  })ay  the  king  the  fifth  part  of 
the  ])roflucc 

Jacob's  last  sickness;  he  adopts  Ephraim  and  Ma- 
nasseh; foretells  the  character  of  all  his  sons  ;  de- 
sires to  be  buried  with  his  fathers.  Dies,  aged  147 
years 

Joseph  dies,  aged  1 1 0  years.  He  foretells  the  depart- 
ure of  the  Israelites  from  Egypt,  and  desires  his 
bones  maybe  taken  with  them  into  Canaan 

Levi  dies,  aged  137  years 

A  new  king  in  Egypt,  who  knew  nciiher  Joseph  nor 
his  services.     He  op])rr'ssps  the  Israelites 

About  this  time  lived  Job,  famous  for  his  wisdom, 
virtue  and  patience 

Aaron  born,  son  of  Ann-am  and  Jochebed 

Moses  born,  brother  to  Aaron  ;  is  exposed  on  the  banks 


Gen.  xxix.  32. 

33. 

34. 

35. 


XXX.  22—24. 


XXX.  25 — xxxiij.  20. 


xxxiv. 
XXXV.  16—18. 


xxxvii.  3 — 36. 


xl. 

XXXV.  28,  29. 
xli.  1—46  ; 
Psalm  cv.  17—21. 

xli.  47—49. 

—  50,  51. 

—  52. 

—  53—57. 
xlii. 


xliii. — xlv. 

Psalm  cv.  17 — 23. 

Gen.  xlvii.  14. 
15—17. 


18—22. 


23—26. 


28— xlix.  33. 

1.  24—26 ;  Ileb.  xi. 

22. 
Test,  of  12  patriarchs. 

Exod.  i.  8—22. 

Book  of  Job. 
Exod.  vi.  20. 


A  CHRONOLOGICAL  TABLE  OF  THE  HOLY  BIBLE. 


951 


2473 


2513 


3723 


3763 


1527 


1487 


1G88 


JG48 


37G4 


1G47 


FROM  THE  CREATION  TO  THE  BIRTH  OF  CHRIST. 


of  the  Nile  ;  is  found  by  Pharaoh's  daughter,  who 
adopts  liiin 

3I0SPS  goes  to  visit  liis  brethren  ;  kills  an  Kgy|)tian  ; 
being  informed  tiiat  Pharaoh  knows  of  it,  he  retires 
into  3Iidian  ;  marries  Zipijorah,  daujrhter  of  Je- 
thro;  has  two  sons  liy  her,  Gcrsliom  and  F.liezer. 

The  Lord  appears  to  Moses  in  a  burning  Imsh,  while 
feiMling  his  father-in-law's  flock;  sends  him  to 
Egypt  to  deliver  Israel 

Moses  returns  into  Egypt.  His  brother  Aaron  conies 
to  meet  him,  to  mount  Ilorcb.  The  two  brothers 
announce  to  Pharaoh  the  commands  of  the  Lord; 
Pharaoh  refuses  to  set  Israel  at  liberty  ;  but  loads 
them  with  new  burdens.  Moses  performs  several 
niiraejc's  in  his  presence  ;  these  failing  to  convince 
the  king,  his  people  suft'er  several  plagues 

1.  Plague.  Water  changed  into  blood ;  about  the 
18th  of  Oth  month 

2.  Plague.     Frogs  ;  2.")th  of  (nh  month 

3.  Plague.     Gnats  or  hcc  ;  27tli  of  Gth  month 

4.  Flies  of  all  sorts;  about  the  28th  and  29th  of  Gth 
month 

5.  Murrain  on  the  cattle;  about  the  1st  of  7th  month. 

6.  Boils  ;  about  the  3(1  of  7th  month 

7.  Hail,  thunder  and  tire  from  heaven;  4th  of  7th  month 

8.  Locusts  ;  7th  of  7th  month 

9.  Darkness ;  10th  of  7th  month 

On  this  day  Aloses  appoints  that  this  month  in  future 

should  be  the  1st  month, according  to  the  sacredstyle. 
Orders  the  passover,and  sets  apart  the  jiaschal  lamb, 
which  was  to  be  sacrificed  four  days  afterwards. . 

10.  Death  of  the  fh-st-born  of  the  Egyjnians,  in  the 
night  of  the  14th  or  15th  of  A!)ib.  .  ." 

This  same  night,  the  Israelites   celebrate   the  first 

passover  ;  and  Pharaoh  ex])els  them  from  Egypt. 

Israel  departs  from  Ramescs  to  Succoth 


From  Succoth  to  Etham. 


From  Etham  they  turned  south,  and  encamped  at  Pi- 
hahiroth  ;  between  Migdol  and  the  sea,  over  against 
Baal-zephon 

Pharaoh  jjiu'sues  Israel  with  his  army,  and  overtakes 
them  at  Pi-hahiroth  :  God  gives  the  Ilelrews  a 
pillar  of  cloud  to  guide  and  protect  them.  The 
waters  divideil.  Israel  goes  through  on  dry  ground. 
The  Egyptians  are  drowned;  21st  of  the  first  month. 

Moses,  having  passed  the  sea,  is  now  in  the  wilderness 
of  Etham  ;  after  marching  three  days  in  the  desert, 
Israel  arrives  at  I\Iarah,  where  Moses  sweetens  the 
water.  From  Marah  they  come  to  Elim.  From 
Elini  to  the  Red  sea;  then  into  the  desert  of  Sin, 
where  God  sends  manna  ;  from  thence  to  Dophcah, 
Alush  and  Itephidim,  where  Moses  obtains  water 
from  a  rock  ;  2d  month 

About  this  place  the  Amalekites  slay  those  who  could 
not  keep  up  with  the  body  of  Israel.  Moses  sends 
Joshua  against  them,  while  he  himself  goes  to  a 
mountain,  and  lifts  uj)  his  hands  in  prayer 

On  the  third  day  of  the  third  month,  after  their  de- 
parture from  Egypt,  Israel  comes  to  the  foot  of 
mount  Sinai,  where  they  encamp  above  a  year. . . 

Moses  goes  up  the  mountain  ;  God  offers  a  covenant 
to   Israel 

Moses  comes  down  from  the  mountain,  and  reports  to 


Exod.  ii.  1—10; 
lleb.  xi.  23. 

11—22, 

Ex.  xviii.  3,  4. 
Heb.  ,\i.  24—26. 


iii.— iv.  19. 


iv.  20— xii.  29. 

vii.  17 — 25. 
viii.  1—14. 

—  15—19. 

—  20— ;^2. 
ix.    1—7. 

—  8—12. 

—  18—35. 
X.    3—19. 

—  21—23. 


xn. 

—  xi.  4-6  ;  xii.  29- 
33. 

—  xii.  21—33 ; 
Heb.  xi.  27,  28. 

37—39  ; 

Numb,  xxxiii.  1 — 6. 

—  xiii.  17—22 ; 
Numb,  xxxiii.  6. 

—  xiv.  1—19;^ 
Numb,  xxxiii.  7. 


xiv.  19—31 ; 

Heb.  xi.  29. 

x^-.  22—26. 

27; 

Numb,  xxxiii.  9,  10. 

xvi.  1 — xvii.  7  ; 

Numb,  xxxiii.  10,  11. 

Numb,  xxxiii.  12 — 14. 


Exod.  xvii.  8 — 16. 

xix.  1,2; 

Numb,  xxxiii.  15. 

Exod.  xix.  3 — 6. 


952 


A  CHRONOLOGICAL  TABLE  OF  THE  HOLY  BIBLE. 


Calmet.       Ha  e;. 


2513 


3764 


1487 


1647 


•2514 


1486 


FROM  THE  CREATION  TO  THE  BIRTH  OF  CHRIST. 


the  people  what  the  Lord  had  proposed.  The  people 
declare  their  readiness  to  enter  into  this  covtnant. 

Mt)scs again  ascends  the  mountain  ;  God  orders  Iiini  to 
bid  the  j)eople  prepare  theinstlvesto  receive  his  law. 

On  the  third  day  after  that  notice,  the  glory  of  God 
ap|)ears  on  jhe  moimtain,  accoinj;anicd  liy  sound  of 
trumpet  and  thunder.  IMoses  stations  the  people  at 
tlie  foot  of  mount  Sinai ;  he  alone  goes  up  liie  moun- 
tain. God  directs  him  to  Ibrhid  the  people  to  ascend, 
lest  thry  should  suffer  death.  Moses  goes  down 
and  declares  tiiess  orders  to  the  peoj)le.  He  then 
a.scends  again,  and  receives  the  decalogue 

He  returns,  and  proposes  to  the  people  what  he  had 
rcceiveel  from  the  Lord.  The  peoj)le  consent, and 
covenant  on  the  terms  j)roposed 

Mosfcs  goes  again  up  the  mountain  ;  God  gives  Jnm 
S2vei-al  judiciary  precepts  of  civil  polity.  At  his 
return,  he  erects  twelve  altars  at  the  foot  of  the 
mountain,  causes  victims  to  he  sacrificed  to  ratify 
the  covenant,  and  sj)rinkles  with  the  blood  of  the- 
sacrifices  the  book  that  contained  the  conditions  of 
the  covenant.  He  also  s|)rinkles  the  peo|)le,  who 
jH'omise  obedience  and  fidelity  to  the  Lord 

Moses,  Aaron,  Nadah,  Abihu,  and  seventy  elders  of 
Israel,  go  u])  the  mountain,  and  see  the  glory  of 
the  Lord.  They  come  down  the  same  day  ;  but 
RIoscS,  and  his  servant  Joshua,  str.y  there  six  days 
long:n\  The  seventh  day  the  Lord  calls  Moses, and 
during  forty  days  shows  him  all  that  concerned  his 
tabernaclt^,  the  ceremonies  of  sacrifice,  and  other 
things 

x\fter  these  forty  days,  God  gives  IMoses  the  deca- 
logue, written  on  two  tables  of  stone,  and  bids 
him  hasten  down,  because  Israel  had  made  a  golden 
calf,  and  was  worshipping  it 

Moses  comes  down,  and  finding  the  peo])le  dancing 
about  their  golden  calf,  lie  throws  the  tables  of 
stone  on  the  ground,  antl  breaks  them.  Coming 
into  the  camp,  he  destroys  the  calf;  slays  by  the 
sword  of  the  Levites,  three  thousand  Israel- 
ites, who  bad  worshipped  this  idol 

The  elay  following,  Mcses  again  goes  up  the  moun- 
tain, and,  liy  his  entreaties,  obtains  from  God  the 
j)ardon  of  his  people.  God  orders  him  to  j)repare 
new  tables  for  the  laAV  ;  and  promises  not  to  for- 
sake Israel 

Moses  comes  down  and  prepares  new  tables ;  goes 
up  again  the  day  following;  God  shows  him  liis 
glory.  He  continues  again  forty  days  and  forty 
nights  on  the  mountain,  and  God  writes  a  second 
time  his  law  on  the  tables  of  stone 

Afler  forty  days,  IMoses  comes  down,  not  knowing 
that  his  face  sliincs  with  glory.  He  puts  a  veil 
over  his  face^,  discourses  to  the  people,  and  proposes 
to  erect  a  tabernacle  to  the  Lord  ;  to  nceomplisli 
this,  he  taxes  each  Israelite  at  half  a  shekel.  This 
occasions  a  numbering  of  the  ])eo|)le,  who  amount 
to  603,550  men.  He  appoints  13e/.al(>el  and  Aho- 
liab  to  oversee  the  work  of  the  tabernacle 

Construction  of  the  tab(>rnacle,  on  the  first  day  of  the 
first  month  of  the  second  year,  after  the  exodus.  .  . 

A  second  numbering  of  the  peojjlc,  the  first  day  of 
the  second  month 

Consecration  of  the  tabpniaclc,  the  altars  and  the 
priests,  the  fifth  day  of  the  second  month 


Exod.  xix.  7,8. 
o ]5_ 


16- 


XX.  18—21. 


17. 


21— xxiv.  8. 


xxiv.  9 — XXX  i.  18. 


XXX  ii.  1 — 14. 


15—30 


31— xxxiv.  3. 


xxxiv.  4—28. 


2f>— XXXV.  35. 

XXX vi.  1— xl.  33. 

Nuinb.  i.  1 — 46. 
Lev.  viii.  1 — ix.  24, 


A  CHRONOLOGICAL  TABLE  OF  THE  HOLY  BIBLE. 


953 


Calmel.       Hilci 


2514 


3/64 


1486 


1647 


2515 


1485 


FROM  THE  ChEATION  TO  THE  BIKTH  OF  CHRIST. 


The  Levites  numbered  by  tbemselves  ;  they  are  con- 
secrated to  the  service  oftlie  tabernacle,  instead  of 
the  first-born  of  Israel 

On  the  eighth  day  after  the  consecration  of  the  taber- 
nacle, the  princes  of  the  tribes,  each  on  his  day, 
offer  their  |)resenls  to  the  tabernacle 

Jethro  comes  to  the  camp,  a  few  days  before  the  de- 
parture of  Israel  from  Sinai 

On  the  twentietli  day  of  the  second  month,  (iMay,) 
the  Israelites  decamp  from  Sinai,  and  come  to 
Taberah,  or  Burning ;  from  thence  to  Kibroth- 
hattaavah,  or  the  Graves  of  Lust,  three  days' jour- 
ney from  mount  Sinai 

Eldad  and  3Iedad  prophesy  in  the  camp 

Quails  sent 


Israel  arrives  at  Hazeroth  ;  Aaron  and  Miriam  mur- 
mur against  Moses,  because  of  his  wife.  Miriam 
continues  seven  dajs  without  the  camp 

Israel  comes  to  Rithmah,  in  the  wilderness  of  Paran  ; 
thence  to  Kadesh-barnea;  from  v.hence  they  send 
twelve  chosen  men,  one  out  of  each  tribe,  to  ex- 
amine the  land  of  Canaan 

After  forty  days  these  men  return  to  Kadesh-barnea, 
and  exasperate  the  people,  saying  that  this  country 
devoured  its  inhabitants,  and  that  they  were  not 
able  to  conquer  it.  Caleb  and  Joshua  ^Nithstand 
them ;  the  people  mutiny :  God  swears  tliat  none 
of  the  munniu-ers  should  enter  the  land,  but  be 
consumed  in  the  desert.  The  people  resolve  on 
entering  Canaan,  but  are  repelled  by  the  Amalek- 
ites  and  the  Canaanites 

Continue  a  long  while  at  Kadesh-barnea.  From  ? 
hence  they  journey  to  the  Red  sea ^ 

Aa/ncs  of  the  several  Stations. 

1.  Rameses. 

2.  Succoth. 

3.  Etham. 


4.  Baal-zephon. 

5.  Desert  of  Etham. 

6.  Marah. 

7.  Elim. 

8.  Coast  of  Red  sea. 

9.  Desert  of  Sin. 

10.  Dopiicah. 

11.  Alush. 

12.  Repbidim. 

13.  Sinai. 

14.  Taberah. 

15.  Kibrotli-hattaavah. 

16.  Hazeroth. 

17.  Rithmah. 

18.  Rimmon-Parez. 

19.  Libnah. 

20.  Rissah, 

21.  Kehelathah. 

22.  Mount  Shapher. 

23.  Ilaradah. 

24.  .^lakheloth. 

25.  Tahath. 


27.  Mithcah. 

28.  Hathmonah. 

29.  Moseroth. 

30.  Bene-jaakan. 

31.  Hor-Hagidgad. 

32.  Jotbathah. 

33.  Ehronab. 

34.  Ezion-gaber. 

35.  Moseroth. 

36.  Kadesh. 

37.  Mount  Ilor. 

38.  Zahnonah. 

39.  Punon. 

40.  Oboth. 

41.  Jje-abarim. 

42.  Valley  of  Zared. 

43.  Bamoth  Arnou. 

44.  Beer. 

45.  ?uuttanah. 

46.  Nahaliel. 

47.  Dibon-gad. 

48.  Almon-diblathaim. 

49.  Mount  Pisgah. 

50.  Kedemoth. 

51.  Abel-shittim. 


Tarah.      (But  see  ur.ucr  the  article  Exodus,  p.  420.) 


Numb.  i.  47—53 ;  iii.  5 — 
iv.  49  :  viii. 


Vil. 

Exod.  xviii. 


Numb.  X.  11— xi.  34; 
xxxiii.  16. 

xi.  26,  27. 

31, 32 ;  Ex.  xvi. 

13 ;  Ps.  Ixxviii. 

26—29;  cv.40. 

.35 — xii.  15 ; 

xxxiii.  17. 


xii.  16 — xiii.  20  ; 
xxxiii.  18. 


xiii.  21 — xiv.  45. 
XV. — xix. 

Dent.  i.  46  ;  ii.  1. 


Probably  at  the    encampment   of   Kadesli-bra-nea,  | 


120 


954 


A  CHRONOLOGICAL  TABLE  OF  THE  HOLY  BIBLE. 


Calnie*.      Halej. 


Calmet.       Hale?. 


2552 


3802 


1448 !  1609 


2553 


1447 


3803 


1608 


2554 
2559 

2560 


3804 
3809 


3815 


1446 
1141 

1440 


1607 
1602 


1596 


FROM  THE  CREATION  TO  THE  BIRTH  OF  CHRIST. 


happened  the  sedition    of   Korah,  Dathan    and 
Abu-am 

After  wandering  in  the  deserts  of  Arabia-Petraea  and 
Iduiiiea  thjity-seven  years,  they  return  to  IMose- 
roth,  near  Kadesli-barnea,  in  the  thirty-ninth  year 
after  the  exodus 

Moses  sends  ambassadors  to  the  king  of  Edom,  to 
desire  passage  through  his  territories;  he  refuses. 

Tlie  Israelites  arrive  at  Kadesh.  Muiam  dies,  aged 
130  years 

The  Israelites  murmur  for  want  of  water.  ]\Ioses 
brings  it  from  the  rock  ;  but  he,  as  well  as  Aaron, 
having  shown  some  distrust,  God  forbids  their  en- 
trance into  the  Land  of  Promise 

From  Kadesh  they  proceeded  to  mount  Hor,  where 
Aaron  dies,  aged  123  years ;  the  first  day  of  the 
fifth  month 

King  Arad  attacks  Israel,  and  takes  several  ) 
captives ^ 

From  nioimt  Hor  they  come  to  Zahnonah,  where 
Moses  raises  the  brazen  serpent.  Others  think 
this  hapjjened  at  Punon 

Sihon,  king  of  the  Amorites,  refuses  the  Israelites  a 
passage  through  his  dominions.  Moses  attacks  him, 
and  conquers  his  country 

Og,  king  of  Bashan,  attacks  Israel,  but  is  de-  } 
feated ^ 

Israel  encamps  in  the  plains  of  Moab 

Balak,  king  of  Moab,  sends  for  Balaam 

Israel  seduced  to  fornication,  and  to  the  idolatry  ? 

of  Baal-Peor ^ 

The  people  punished  for  their  sin 

War  against  the  Midianites 

Distribution  of  the  countries  of  Sihon  and  Og,  to  the 
tribes  of  Reuben  and  Gad,  and  the  half-tribe  of 
jManasseh 

Moses  renews  the  covenant  of  Israel  with  the  } 
Lord \ 

Moses  dies,  being  120  years  old,  in  the  twelfth  month 
of  the  holy  year 

Joshua  succeeds  him  ;  sends  spies  to  Jericho  in  the 
first  month  (March) 

The  people  pass  ilie  Jordan,  the  10th  of  the  first  month 

The  day  following  Joshua  restores  circumcision 

The  first  passovcr,  after  passing  the  Jordan  ;  the  15th 
of  the  first  month 

Manna  ceases 

Jericho  taken 

Israel  comes  to  mount  Ebal  to  erect  an  altar,  pur-  ? 
suant  to  the  order  of  Moses \ 

The  Gibeonites  make  a  league  with  Joshua 

War  of  the  five  kings  against  Gibcon.  Joshua  de- 
feats them ;  the  sun  and  moon  stayed 

War  of  Joshua  against  the  kings  of  Canaan.  These 
wars  occupy  six  years 

Joshua  divides  the  conquered  country  among  Ju-  ) 
dab,  Ephraim,  and  the  half-tribe  of  JManasseh. .  ) 

He  gives  Caleb  the  portion  that  the  Lord  had  prom- 
ised him,  and  assists  him  in  conquering  it 

The  ark  and  the  tabernacle  fixed  at  Shiloh,  in  the 
tribe  of  Ephraim 

Joshua  distributes  the  country  to  Benjamin,  Simeon, 


Numb.  XV. — xix. 

xxxiii.  19—30. 

XX.  14—21. 

1 ;  xxxiii.  36. 


—  2—13. 

—  22—29 ;  xxxiii. 
37— ,39. 

xxi.  1 — 3 ;     xxxiii. 

40. 


—  4 — 9;  xxxiii.  41. 

—  23— 31;Deut.ii. 
26—37. 

—  33—35  ;    Dent, 
iii.  1—11. 

xxii.  1 — 4  ;    xxxiii. 
48. 

—  5 — xxiv.   25  ; 
Dent,  xxiii.  4, 5. 

XXV.  1 — 3  ;  Ps.  cvi. 
28,29;lCor.x.8. 

—  4—15  ;    Deut. 
iv.  3. 

—  16—18 ;  xxxi. 

xxxii.  Deut.  iii.  ]2 

—22. 
xxxiii.  50 — XXXV  ; 
Deut.  i. — xxxiii. 


V.  10,  11. 

—  12. 

—  vi.  20—27. 
viii.30— .35;  Deut. 

xxvii. 
ix.  6 — 15. 

x.  1—27. 

—  28— xi.  23. 

XV.  1—1.3,  20  ;  xvi. 
xvii. 

XV.  7—15. 

xviii.  1. 
—    11— xix.  49. 


A  CHRONOLOGICAL  TABLE  OF  THE  HOLY  BIBLE. 


955 


2560 


2561 


3815 


1440 


1439 


159G 


2591 
2599 
2361 
2679 


2699 

to 
2719 
2752 
2759 

2768 

2771 
2772 

2795 

2799 

2817 

2820 

2823 

2830 
2840 

2848 


2349 

2861 

2867 
2808 
2S67 

to 
2887 

2888 


3839 

2847 
3887 
3905 

3985 

4006 
4045 
4052 

4092 

4095 
4118 
4140 
4158 


4164 
4171 
4181 
4229 

4189 
4209 

42c9 


4269 


1409 
1401 
1339 
1321 

1281 

1248 
1241 

1232 

1229 
1228 

1205 

1201 

1183 
1180 

1177 
1170 
1160 
1152 

1151 

1139 
1133 
1132 
1113 


1112 


1572 
1564 
1524 

1506 

1426 

1406 
1366 
1359 

1319 

1316 
1293 
1271 
1255 


1247 
1240 
1230 
1182 

1222 

1202 

1152 


FROM  THE  CREATION  TO  THE  BIRTH  OF  CHRIST. 


1142 


Zebulun,  Issachar,  Asher,  Naphtali  and  Dan.     Re- 
ceives liis  own  portion  at  Tininatli-serah,  on  the 

mountain  of  Gahash 

Reuben,  (iad,  and  the  half  tribe  of  Manassch,  return 

beyond  Jordan 

Josiiua  renews  the  covenant  between  the  Lord  and 

the  Israelites 

Joshua  dies,  aged  110  years 

After  his  deatli,  the  elders  govern  about  eighteen  or 

twenty  years  ;  during  which  time  happen  the  wars 

of  Jiidah  with  Adoni-bezek 

Anarchy;  during  wliich  some  of  the  tribe  of  Dan 

conquer  the  city  of  Laish. 
In  this  interval  happened  the  story  of  Micah,and  the 

idolatry  occasioned  by  his  e])ho"d. 
Also,  the  war  of  the  twelve  tribes  against  Benjamin, 

to  revenge  the  outrage  committed  on  the  wife  of  a 

Levite. 
The  Lord  sends  prophets,  in  vain,  to  reclaim  the  He- 

bre\vs.     He  jierinits,  therefore,  that  tbey  should  fall 

into  slavery 

Servitude   of  the   Israelites,   under   Cushan-Risha- 

thaim,  king  of  Mesopotamia,  eight  years. 
Othniel  delivers  them  ;  defeats  Cushan-Rishathaim  ; 

judges  the  people  forty  years 

Second  servitude,  under  Eglon,  king  of  Moab,  about 

sixty-two  years  after  the  peace  of  Othniel 

Ehud  delivers  them,  after  about  twenty  years 

Third  servitude  of  the  Israelites,  under  the  Philistines. 

Shamgar  delivers  them  ;  year  uncertain 

Fourth    servitude,    under    Jabin,    king    of   Hazor. 

Deborah   and  Barak   deliver  them,  after   twenty 

years '. 

Fifth  servitude  under  the  3Iidianites 

Gideon  delivers  Israel.     He  governs  them  nine  years, 

from  2759  to  2768 

Abimelech,  son  of  Gideon,  procures  himself  to  be 

made  king  of  Shechem 

Abimelech  killed,  after  three  years 

Tola,  judge   of   Israel,   after  Abimelech  ;    governs 

twenty-three  years 

Jair  judges  Israel,  chiefly  beyond  Jordan  ;  governs 

twenty-two  years 

Sixth  servitude  under  the  Philistines  and  the  Am- 
monites   

Jephthah  delivers  the  Isi-aelites  beyond  Jordan 

The  city  of  Troy  taken,  408  years  before  the  first 

Olympiad. 

Jephthah  dies,  Ibzan  succeeds  him 

Ibzan  dies,  Elon  succeeds  him 

Eiou  dies,  Abdon  succeeds  him 

Abdon  dies.    The  high-priest  Eli  succeeds  as  judge 

of  Israel 

Seventh  servitude  under  the  Philistines,  forty  years 

Samuel  born 

Under  his  judicature  God  raises  Samson,  born  2849. 

God  begins  to  manifest  himself  to  Samuel 

Samson  marries  at  Timnath 

Samson  burns  the  ri[)e  corn  of  the  Philistines 

Samson  delivered  to  the  Philistines  by  Delilah  ;  kills 

himself  under  the  ruins  of  the  temple  of  Dagon, 

witli  a  great  multitude  of  Philistines.    He  defended 

Israel  twenty  years 

War  between  the  Philistines  and  Israel.     The  ark 

of  the    Lord    taken   by   the    Philistines.      Death 


Josh,  xviii.    1 — 51. 

xxii.  1—9. 

xxiii. — xxiv.  28. 

xxiv.  29, 30. 

Judg.  i. — iii.  1 — 5 ;  xvii. 
— xxi. 


iii.  1—9. 


—  10,  11. 

—  12—14. 

—  15—30. 

—  31. 


IV. — V. 

vi.  1—6. 

—  7 — viii.  32. 

ix.  1—52. 

—  53,  54. 

X.  1,  2. 

—  3—5. 

—  6—9. 

—  10— xii.  6. 


xii.  7 — 9. 

10,  11. 

12,  13. 

15. 

1  Sam.  iv.  1—18. 
Judff.  xiii.  1. 
1  Sa^m.  i.  20. 
Judg.  xiii.  2,  &c. 
1  Sam.  iii. 
Judg.  xiv. 
XV.  1 — 5. 


A  CHRONOLOGICAL  TABLE  OF  THE  HOLY  BIBLE. 


4289 


4301 


4303 


4305 
4311 


4337 


4340 


4341 


4348 
4350 
4351 

435G 


Calniel. 

Hale-. 

1122 

1092 
1091 

1110 

1089 

1108 

1081 
1070 
1059 
1058 

1106 
1100 

1057 
1056 

1074 

1055 

1054 

1053 

1071 

1051 

1070 

1010 
1044 

1043 

1063 

FROM  TIE  CREATION  TO  THE  BIRTH  OF  CHRIST. 


ia42 

1041 
1040 


1061 
lOGO 

1055 


of  the  high-priest  Eli.     He  governed  Israel  foity 
years •  • 

The  Philistines  send  back  the  ark  with  presents.  It 
is  deposited  at  Kirjath-jearim.  Samue!  acknowl- 
edged chief  and  jndge  oflsrael,  39  or  40  years. . . 

Victory  of  the  Israelites  over  tiie  Philistines 

The  Israelites  ask  a  king  of  Samue! 

Saul  is  apyiointed  king,  and  consecrated  in  an  assem- 
bly of  the  people  at  Slizpeh      He  reigned   forty 


y< 


Said  delivers  Jabesh-gilead 

War  of  the  Philistines  against  Saul 

Saul,  not  havinij  obeyed  Samuel's  orders,  is  rejected 
of  God .^ • 

Victory  obtained  by  Jonathan  over  the  Philistines. . 

Birth  of  David,  son  of  Jesse. 

War  of  Saul  against  the  Amalckitcs 

Samuel  sent  by  God  to  Bethlehem  to  anoint  David. 

War  of  the  Philistines  against  the  Israelites.  David 
kills  Goliath • 

Saul,  urged  by  jealousy,  endeavors  to  slay  David. . . . 

David  retires'  to  Achish,  king  of  Gath  ;  withdrav/s 
into  the  land  of  Moab 

Saul  slays  Abimelech,  and  other  priests.  Abiathar 
escajjes  to  Dasid 

David  delivers  Keilah,  besieged  by  the  Philistines.  . 

David  flies  into  the  wilderness  of  Zlph.  Saul  (jursnes 
him,  l)at  is  obliged  to  return  suddenly,  on  the  news 
of  an  irruption  of  tlie  Philistines 

David  withdraws  to  about  En-gedi.  He  spares  Saul, 
who  had  entered  alone  the  cave  where  David  and 
his  men  were  concealed 

Samuel  dies,  aged  98  years.  lie  had  judged  Israel 
twenty-one  years  before  the  reign  of  Saul.  He 
lived  thirty-eiglit  years  afterwards 

David  retires  into  the  wilderness  of  Paran.  The  his- 
tory of  Nabal.  David  marri;  s  Abigail.  Comes  into 
the  desert  of  Zij)!!  ,  enters  by  night  the  tent  of  Saul, 
and  takes  away  his  lance  and  cruse  of  water. 
Withdraws  to  Achish,  king  of  Gath,  who  assigns 
him  Ziklag.   Here  he  abides  a  year  and  four  months 

War  of  the  Philisrines  a-rainst  Saul.  Saul  consults 
the  witch  of  Endor.  He  loses  the  battle,  and  kills 
himself. 

The  A'lialekitf^s  pillage  Ziklag;  David  recovers  the 
plunder  and  captives 

Ishbosh'^th,  son  of  Saul,  acknowledged  king  ;  reigns 
at  Mahanaiin  beyond  Jordan 

David  acknowledged  king  by  Jndah,  is  consecrated 
a  s:-rond  time.     Reigns  at  Hebron 

War  !)etwccn  Ishbosheth  and  David,  four  or  five  years 

Abner  quits  Islibos!)eth  ;  resorts  to  David  ;  is  treach- 
erously slain  l)y  Joab 

Ishbosheth  assassinated 

David  acknowledged  king  over  all  Israel  ;  conse-  ? 
crated  a  third  time  at  Hebron s 

Jerus:ilem  taken  from  the  Je!)usites  by  David,  who  ? 
make?  it  the  royal  city S 

War  of  thn  Pbilistinrs  against  David.  He  heats  ? 
them  at  Raal-perazim ^ 

David  brings  the  ark  from  Kirjalh-iearim  to  Jerusa- 
lem ;  conuiiits  it  to  Abinadab.  After  three  months, 
David  brin.'.':.-'  it  to  his  own  palace 

David  d'^r^vgiis  to  build  a  temple  to  the  Lord  ;  is  di- 
vr^rtod  from  it  by  the  prophet  Nathan 


1  Sam.  iv.  1—18. 


v.—vii.  1—6,  15 
—17. 
vii.  7 — 14. 
viii.  5 — 22. 
ix. 


Acts  xiii.  21. 
1  Sauj.  xi. 
xiii.  5- 


9—14. 


XV. 

xvi.  1—13. 

xvii. 

xviii.  8 — xix.  17. 

xix.  18 — xxii.  4. 

xxii.  9—23. 
xxiii.  1 — 6. 


14—28. 

29— xxiv.  1 
—22. 


XXV.  1. 

1— xxvii.l2. 


1  Chron.  xii.  1—22. 

1  Sam.  xxviii.  xxxi. 
1  Chron.  x. 

1  Sam.  XXX. 

2  Sam.  ii.  S— 11. 


1—7. 
13— iii.  1. 


iii.  12—39. 
iv. 

v.  1—5;]  Clnon. 
xi.  1—3. 

—  6—10;  IChr. 
xi.  4—9. 

—  17— 20;lChr. 
xiv.  11. 

vi.   1  Chron.  xiii. 
5— 14;  XV. xvi. 

vii.  IChroji.x-  H. 


A  CHRONOLOGICAL  TABLE  OF  THE  HOLY  BIBLE. 


957 


29  JO 


29fi7 

2:)()S 
2939 


2970 


2971 
2972 
2974 
9;>.  7 
2979 
29.-1 


2:)33 
2987 

23S8 

2989 

2oro 


2991 


2912 


.<000 
8001 


3G12 

:]:2o 
:JC29 


435G 


4359 


1040 


1033 

1032 
1031 


4361 


4375 


4379 


43SI 


1030 


1029 
1028 
1020 
,1023 
1021 
1019 


1017 
1013 
1012 

1011 
1010 


1055 


1052 


10-0 


1036 


1032 


1030 


43S4 
4301 


4420 
4421 


1009 


1008 


1000 
999 


988 

974 
971 


1027 
1020 


991 
990 


FROM  I  HE  CREATION  TO  THE  BIRTH  OF  CHRIST. 


David's  wai-s  against  tlie  Philistines,  against  Hadade- 
zcr,  against  Damascus,  and  against  Idiiiuea  ;  cou- 

tiiHK  d  al)oiit  six  years 

David's  war  against  tlie  king  of  the  Ammonites,  who 
had    insuhed   his   ambassadors ;   and   against  the 

Syrians,  who  liad  assisted  the  Ammonites 

Joab  besieges  Ralibaii,  the  capital  of  the  Ammonites. 
David    commits    adiilti'iy    with    Bathshcba,   and 

causes  Uriah  to  be  killed.     Rabbah  taken 

After  the  birth  of  the  son  conceived  i)y  the  adultery 
of  David  with  IJathsheba,  Nathan  reproves  David  : 

his  deep  repentance 

Solomon  born 

Amnon,  David's  son,  ravishes  Tamar 

Absalom  kills  Amnon 

Joab  procures  Alisalom's  return 

Absalom  received  at  court,  and  appears  before  David. 

Absalom's  rebellion  against  David 

Absalom  killed  by  Joab 

Sedition  of  Sheba,the  son  of  Bichri,  appeased  by  Joab. 
Beginning  of  the  famine  sent  to  avenge  the  death  of 
the  Gibeonites,  unjustly  slain  by  Saul :  ended  2986. 
David  numbors  the  people.  God  gives  him  the  } 
choice  of  three  ])lagues,  by  which  to  be  punished.  ( 
David  prepares  for  building  the  temple  on  mount  ( 

Zion,  in  the  threshing  floor  of  Araunah ^ 

Rehoboam  reigns,  sou  of  Solomon 

Abishag,  the  Shunamite,  given  to  David 

Adonijah  aspires  to  the  kingdom.  David  causes  his 
son  Solomon  to  be  crowned.    Solomon  proclaimed 

king  by  all  Israel 

David  dies,  aged  70  years ;  having  reigned  seven 
years  and  a  half  over  Judah  at  Hebron,  and  thirty- 
three  years  over  all  Israel,  at  Jerusalem 

Solomon  reigns  alone,  having  reigned  about  six 
months  in  the  life-time  of  his  father  David.     He 

reigned  forty  years 

Adonijah  slain 

Abiathar  deprived  of  the  office  of  high-priest.   Zadok 

in  future  enjoys  it  alone 

Joab  slain  in  the  teni])le 

Solomon  marries  a  daughter  of  the  king  of  Egypt. . 

Solomon goestoGibenntoofrprsacrifices,and  to]>ray  ) 

to  God  thf  re.     God  grants  him  singular  wisdom.  \ 

Solomon  givesaremarkable  sentence  between  2  women 

Hiram,  king  of  Tyre,  congratulates  Solomon  on  his 

accession  to  the  crown;  Solomon  requires  of  him 

timber  and  workmen  to  assist  in  building  the  temple 

Solomon  lays  the  foundation  of  the  temple,  2d  day  ) 

of  the  2d"i!ioiith  (May) ^ 

Teni|)le  of  Solomon  finished  ;  being  seven  j'oars  and  a 
half  in  building,  and  dedicated  the  year  following, 
pro!)ably,  because  of  the  soltmnity  of  the  year  of 

Jubilee  that  then  happened 

Solomon  finishes  the  building  of  his  palace,  and  that 

of  his  queen,  the  daughter  of  Pharaoh 

Visit  of  the  queen  of  Sheba 

Jeroboam,  son  of  Nebat,  rebels   against   Solomon. 

He  flies  into  Egypt 

Solomon  dies 

Rehoboam  succeeds  him  ;  alienates  the  Israelites,  and 
occasions  the  revolt  of  the  ten  ti'ibes.  Jeroboam,  the 
sou  of  Nebat,  acknowledged  king  of  the  ten  tribes 


2  Sam.  viii.  1  Chron. 
xviij. 

X.  1  Chron.  xix. 


xi.   xii.  26—31 ; 
1  Chr.  XX.  1—3. 


xii.  1—25  ;  Ps.  li. 

24,  25. 

xiii.  1—20. 

22—39. 

xiv.l— 27. 

28—33. 

XV.  1 — xviii.  8. 

xviii.  9—33. 

XX. 

xxi.  1—14. 

xxiv.  1—16; 

1  Chr.  xxi.  1—17. 

xxiv.  18—25 ; 

1  Chr.  xxi.  18 — xxvii. 
1  Kings  xiv.  21. 
i.  1—14. 


i.  5 — 53. 

ii.  1— 11;  IChr. 
xxix.  26—30. 


xi.  42. 
ii.  12—25. 


—  26,  27. 

—  28—34. 
iii.  1. 

—  3— 15;  2  Chr. 
i.  3—12. 

—  16—28. 


vi.  vii.  2  Chron. 
ii. — iv. 


viii.  2  Chron.  v. 
— vii. 

ix.  1—10. 
X.  1—10;  2  Chr. 
ix.  1—9. 

xi.  26—40. 
—  41-43;  2  Chr. 
ix.  29—31. 


xii.  1—20  ; 
2  Chron.  x. 


958 


A  CHRONOLOGICAL  TABLE 


[Kingdoms  or 


Catmet.      Hales. 


3029 
S030 

3032 
3033 

3046 

3047 

3049 

3053 


3055 
3063 
3064 


4421 


4424 
4426 

4438 


4441 


971 

970 

968 
967 

954 

953 

951 

947 


945 

937 
936 


990 


987 
985 

973 


970 


3G80 

3087 
3090 

3097 

3106 
3107 

3108 


4482 


920 

913 
910 

903 

894 
893 

892 


929 


3112 


FROM  THE  CREATION  TO  THE  BIRTH  OF  CHRIST. 


KINGS  OF  JUDAH.— 388  Years. 

Rehoboam  intends  to  subdue   the  ten  tribes,  but  ? 

forbears  ;  reigned  seventeen  years ^ 

The  priests  and  Israelites  that  fear  the  Lord  witiidraw 

in  great  numbers  from  the  kingdom  of  Israel,  into 

that  of  Judah 

Rehoboam  becomes  impious 

Shishak,  king  of  Egypt,  comes  to  Jerusalem,  plun-  ) 

ders  the  temi)le  and  the  king ( 

Rehoboam  dies.     Abijam   succeeds   liim  ;    reigns  / 

three  years ^ 

Abijam's   victoiy  over  Jeroboam,  who   loses  many 

thousands  of  his  troojjs 

Abijam  dies.     Asa  succeeds  him 

Asa  suppresses  idolatry  in  Judah 

Jehoshaphat  born,  son  of  Asa 

Asa's  victory  over  Zerah,  king  of  Ethiopia,  or  Cush. 

Asa  engages  Benhadad,  king  of  Syria,  to  make  an  ir- 
ruption into  the  territories  of  the  kingdom  of  Ii«rael, 
to  force  Baasha  to  quit  his  undertakhig  at  Raniah. 


Jehoram  born,  son  of  Jehoshaphat. 
Hesiod,  the  Greek  poet,  flourishes. 

Asa,  troubled  with  a  lameness  in  his  feet,  (probably 

the  gout,)  places  his  confidence  in  physicians. . . 

Asa  dies,  having  reigned  41  years 


Jehoshaphat  succeeds  Asa ;   expels   sui)erstitious  ) 
worship ^ 

Ahaziah  bom,   son  of  Jehoram   and  Athaliah,  and 
grandson  of  Jehoshaphat. 


Jehoshaphat  nominates  his  son  Jehoram  king;  makes 
him  his  viceroy. 

Jehoshaphat  accompanies  Ahab  in  his  expedition 
against  Ramoth-gilead,  where  he  narrowly  escapes 
a  great  danger 

Jehoshaphat  equips  a  fleet  for  Ophir;  Ahaziah,  king 
of  Israel,  participating  in  his  design,  the  fleet  is  de- 
stroyed by  tem})cst 

About  this  time  jehoshaphat  is  invaded  by  the  Ani- 
nionites  and  Moabites,  over  whom  he  obtains  a 
miraouicnis  victory 

Elijah  the  prophet  removed  from  this  world  in  a  fiery 
chariot 

Jehoshaphat  invests  his  son  Jehoram  with  the  royal 
dignity , 


1  Kinirs  xii.  21 — 24  ;  xiv. 
21 ;  2  Chr.  xi.  1—4. 


2  Chr.  xi.  12—17. 

xii.  1. 

2—9. 


1  Kings  xiv.  25,   26. 

29—31 ;  2Chr. 

xii.  15,  16. 

2Chr.  xiii.3— 20. 

XV.  7—9  ;  2  Chr. 

xiii.  22 ;  xiv.  1. 

11— 15;2Chr. 

xiv.  2 — 5 ;  XV. 

xxii.  42. 


2  Chrou.  xiv.  8 — 15. 

1  Kings  XV.  18—20 ; 

2  Chr.  xvi.  2—4. 


—  23  ;  2  Chron. 
xvi.  12. 

—  24;  2  Chron. 
xvi.  13,  14. 

—  24  ;  2  Chron. 
xvii.  1—19  ; 
XX.  31—33. 


—  xxii.  1—33 ; 
2Chr.  xviii.  1— 32. 


48;  2  Chr.  XX. 
35-^7. 


2  Chron.  xx.  1—30. 
2  Kings  ii. 

viii.  16,  17. 


Israel  a>'d  Judaii.] 


OF  THE  HOLY  BIBLE. 


959 


3029 
3030 


4421 


971 

970 


3047 

3050 
3054 

3064 

3074 
3075 

3079 
3080 
3086 


3096 


3103 

3104 
3105 
310G 

3107 


3108 


3109 


4439 

4443 
4445 


4468 

to 
4469 


4473 


4503 


4504 


4520 


953 

950 
946 

936 

926 
925 

921 
920 
914 


904 


897 

896 
895 
894 

893 


892 


891 


990 


FROM  THE  CREATION  TO  THE  BIRTH  OF  CHRIST. 


972 

968 
966 


943 
942 


938 
931 


908 


897 


907 


891 


KINGS  OF  ISRAEL.— 254  Years. 

Jeroboam,  son  of  Nebat,  the  firet  king  of  Israel ;  that 
is,  the  revolted  ten  tril)cs 

Jeroboam,  son  of  Nebat,  king  of  Israel,  abolishes  the 
■wor.sliipof  the  Lord,  and  sets  up  the  golden  calves; 
reigned  nineteen  years 

Jeroboam  overcome  by  Abijah,  who  kills  500,000 
men 

Jeroboam  dies,  Nadab  his  son  succeeds  ;  reigns  two 
yeai-s 

Nadab  dies,  Baasha  succeeds  him  ;  reigns  twenty 
years ^, , 

Baasha  builds  Ramah,  to  hinder  Israel  from  going  ) 

to  Jerusalem I 

Ben-hadad,  king  of  Damascus,  invades  the  countiy  ? 

of  Baasha ^ 

Bajisha  dies,  Elah  his  son  succeeds  him  ;  reigns  two 

years 

Elah  killed  by  Zimri,  who  usurps  the  kingdom  seve  i 

days 

Omri  besieges  Zimri  in  Tirzah  ;  he  burns  himself 

in  the  palace 

Omri  prevails  over  Tibni ;  reigns  alone  in  the  31st 

year  of  Asa 

Omri  builds  Samaria ;  makes  it  the  seat  of  his  kingdom 

Omri  dies 

Ahab  his  sou  succeeds  ;  reigns  22  jears 

Tlie  prophet  Elijah  iu  the  kingdom  of  Israel. 

He  presents  himself  before  Ahab,  and  slays  the  false 
prophets  of  Baal 

Ben-hadad,  king  of  Syria,  besieges  Samaria  ;  is  forced 

to  quit  it 

Returns  next  year;  is  beaten  at  Aphek 

Ahab  seizes  Nabotli's  vineyard 

Ahab  invests  his  son  Ahaziah  with  royal  power  ) 

and  dignity ^ 

Ahab   wars  against  Ramoth-gilead ;    is  killed  in  ) 

disguise ^ 

Ahaziah  succeeds ;  reigns  two  years 

Ahaziah  falls   from  the   platform  of  his  house ;    is 

dangerously  wounded 

Ahaziah  dies  ;  Jehoram  his  brother  succeeds  him. . 
He  makes  war  against  JMoab 

Elisha  foretells  victory  to  the  army  of  Israel,  and 
procures  water  in  abundance 


1  Kings  xii.  20. 


-    —  26—33; 
2  Chron.  xi.  14, 15. 


2  Chron.  xiii.  .3—20. 

1  Kings  xiv.  20  ;  xv.  25. 
XV.  27,  28. 


—  17;  2  Chron. 
xvi.  1. 

—  20 ;  2  Chron. 
xvi.  4,  5. 

xvi.  1—8. 

—  9—15. 

—  16—20. 

—  21—23. 

—  23—27. 

—  28. 

—  29. 


XX.  1—21. 

—  22—34. 
XX  i. 

xxii.40;  2  Kings 

i.  1—18. 
— 1—40 ;  2  Chr. 
xviii. 

—  40. 


2  Kings  i.  2. 

1(3-18 ;  iii.  1-3. 

iii.  4—10. 


11—20. 


960 


A  CHRONOLOGICAL  TABLE 


[KI^-CDO?.IS  OF 


Calnut.       Hale--. 


3115 

3116 
3117 
3118 

3119 

3120 


4507 


4515 
4516! 


3126 


3140 
3147 


3164 
3165 

3177 
3178 


4522 


4562 


4591 


3191 


4602 


3221 


885 

884 
883 
882 

881 

880 


874 


860 
853 


836 
835 

823 
822 


806 


779 


904 


896 
895 


889 


849 


820 


809 


FROM  THE  CREATION  TO  THE  BIRTH  OF  CHRIST. 


KINGS  OF  JUDAH.— 388  Years. 

Jehosliaphat    dies,     liaving    reigned    twenty-five  ? 

years  ;  Jehorain  succeeds ) 

The  Idumeaus  revolt,  and  assert  their  Ubeity 

Jehoram,  at  the  importunity  of  his  wife,  Athaliah,  ? 

introiluces  into  Juduh  the  worship  of  Baal ^ 

Jehoram  smitten  of  God,  with  an  incurable  distemper 

in  his  bowels 

Jehoram  makes  his  son  Ahaziah  viceroy,  or  associate 

in  his  kingdom. 

Jeiionim  dies  ;  he  reigned  four  years } 

Ahaziah  reigns  but  one  year ^ 

Joash,  or  Jehoash,  born. 

Homer,  the  Greek  j)oet,  flourishes. 

Ahaziah  accompanies  Jehoram,  king  of  Israel,  to  the 

siege  of  Ramoth-gilead 

Ahaziah  slain  by  Jehu 

Athaliah  kills  all  the  royal  family  ;  she  usurps  the 
kingdom.  Joash  is  preserved,  and  kept  secretly 
in  the  temple  six  years 

Jehoiada,  the  high-priest,  sets  Joash  on  the  throne 
of  Judah,  and  slays  Atlialiah.  Joash  reigns  forty 
years 

Amaziah  boi'n,  son  of  Joash. 

Joash  repairs  the  temple 

Zechariab,  the  high-priest,  son  of  Jehoiada,  killed  in 
the  temple  by  order  of  Joash 

Hazael,  king  of  Syria,  wars  against  Joash 

Hazael  returns  against  Joash  ;  forces  large  sums  from 
him 

Joash  dies,  Amaziah  succeeds  him  ;  reigns  twenty-  ) 
nine  years ^ 

Amaziah  wars  against  Idumea 

Amaziah  wars  against  Joash,  king  of  Israel ;  is  de-  ) 

feated  by  him ^ 

Uzziali,  or  Azariah,  born,  son  of  Amaziali. 

Amaziah  dies 

Uzziah,  or  Azariah,  succeeds  him ;  reigns  fifty-  ) 
two  years \ 

In  Judah,  the  ])roj)hets  Isaiah  and  Amos,  under  this 
reign 

Jotham  born,  son  of  Uzziah. 


1  Kings  xxii.  50;  2Chr. 

xxi.  1. 
2Kingsvhi.20;2Chron. 

xxi.  8—10. 
—  18;2Chrcn. 

xxi.  6,  11. 

2  Chron.  xxi.  18,  19. 


2Kings  viii.24— 29; 

2  Chr.  xxii.  1,  2. 


2  Chron.  xxii.  5. 
2  Kings  ix.  16—28  ; 

2  Chr.  xxii.  8, 9. 


xi.  1—3 ;  2  Chr, 
xxii.  10—12. 


—  4— 21;  2  Chr, 
xxiii. 

xii.l— 16;2Chr, 
xxiv.  1 — 14. 


2  Chron.  xxiv.  17—22. 
2  Kings  xii.  17. 

2  Chron.  xxiv.  23,  24. 
2  Kings  xii.  19—21 ;  xiv. 

1,2. 
xiv.  7  ;  2  Chron. 

XXV.  11,  12. 

8— 15;  2  Chr. 

XXV.  17—24. 


17—20; 


2  Chr.  XXV.  27,  28. 


XV.  1,2;  2  Chron. 
xxvi.  1—21. 


Isaiah  i.  1 ;  Amos  i.  1. 


JcDAH  AND  Israel.] 


OF  THE  HOLY  BIBLE. 


961 


Calmet.       Hal. 


3119 
3120 


3148 

3165 
3168 

3178 
3181 


3222 


4526 


4561 
4579 


4618 


881 
880 


852 

835 
832 

822 
819 


FROM  THE  CREATION  TO  THE  BIRTH  OF  CHRIST. 


885 


867 

850 
832 

834 


778 


793 

An  in- 
terre^- 

.,f   22 


KINGS  OF  ISRAEL.— 254  Years. 


Samaria  besieged  by  Ben-hadad,  king  of  Syria.  Ben- 
hadad  and  his  army,  seized  witli  a  panic  fear,  flee 
in  the  night 

EHsha,  going  to  Damascus,  foretells  the  death  of 
Ben-hadad,  and  the  reign  of  Hazael 

Jehorain  marches  with  Ahaziah  against  Ramolh- 
gilead  ;  is  dangerously  wounded,  and  carried  to 
Jezreel 

Jehu  rebels  against  Jehoram  ;  kills  him.  Jehu  reigns 
twenty-eight  years 


Jehu  dies ;  his  son,  Jehoahaz,  succeeds  him  ;  reigns  ? 
seventeen  years ) 

Jehoahaz  dies;  Joash,  or  Jehoash,  succeeds  him.. .  . 

Elisha  dies  about  this  time 

Hazael,  king  of  Syria,  dies ;  Ben-hadad  succeeds  hiin. 
Joash  wars  against  Ben-hadad 

Joash  obtains  a  great  victory  over  Amaziah,  king  of 
Judah 

Joash  dies ;  Jeroboam  II.  succeeds  him  ;  reigns  forty- 
one  years 

The  prophets  Jonah,  Hosca  and  Amos,  in  Israel, 
under  this  reign 


2  Kings  vi.  24. — vii.  7. 
viii.  7—13. 


Jeroboam  II.  dies ;  Zachariah  his  son  succeeds  him  ; 
reigns  six  months  ;  or  perhaps  ten  j'ears 

The  chronologA'  of  tiiis  reign  is  perplexed.  2  Kings 
XV.  8, 12,  |)hicesthc  death  of  Zachariah  in  the  38th 
year  of  Uzziah,  allowing  him  a  reign  of  but  six 
months.  Yet,  reckoning  wiiat  time  remains  to  the 
end  of  tlic  kingdom  of  Israel,  we  must  either  admit 
an  interregnum  of  nine  or  eleven  years,  between 
Jeroboam  II.  and  Zachariah,  as  Usher  docs ;   or 


—  28,  29. 
ix.  14.— X.  36. 


X.  35,  36  ;    xiii. 

1—8. 


xiii.  9,  10. 

—  14—21. 

—  24. 

—  25. 


xiv.  8—14. 

—  15,16,23,24, 
27. 

—  25  ;  Hoa.  i.  1  ; 
Amosi.  1. 


28,  29;    XV. 
8,9. 


121 


962 


A  CHRONOLOGICAL  TABLE 


[KlI»GDOMS    Ok 


Calmel.       Hales. 


Calniel.       Hales, 


3246 


3252 


4654 


754 


748 


3261 

3262 


3263 
3264 


4670 


739 

738 


737 

736 


3277 
3278 


4686 


757 


741 


723  725 
722 


FROM  THE  CREATION  TO  THE  BIRTH  OF  CHRIST. 


KINGS  OF  JUDAH.— 388  Years. 


Uzziah  dies;  Jotham,   his  son,  succeeds;  reigns 

sixteen  years 

Isaiah  sees  tlie  glory  of  the  Lord 

Isaiah  and  Hosea  continue  to  jJiophesy. 
Hezekiah  born,  sou  of  Jotham. 


Rezin,  king  of  Syria,  and  Pekah,  king  of  Israel,  in- 
vade Judah 

Jotham  dies ;  Ahaz  succeeds  him ;  reigns  sixteen 
years 

Rezin,  king  of  Syria,  and  Pekah,  king  of  Israel, 
continue  hostilities  against  Judah 

Isaiah  foretells  to  Ahaz  the  birth  of  the  Messiah,  and 
a  speedy  deliverance  from  the  two  kings  his  ene- 
mies. Nevertheless,  the  year  following,  they  re- 
tuiTi  and  spoil  his  country 

The  Idumeans  and  Philistines  also  uivade  Judah. . . 

Ahaz  invites  to  his  assistance  Tiglath-pileser,  king 
of  Assyria,  and  submits  to  pay  him  tribute 


2  Kings  XV.  6,  7  ;  2Chr. 

xxvi.  22, 23. 

Is,  vi.   John  xii.  39—41. 


2  Kings  XV.  37. 


—  38  ;  xvi.  1,  2. 

xvi.  5 ;  2  Chron. 

xxviii. 


Isaiah  vii. — ix. 

2  Chron.  xxviii.  16—18. 

2Kingsxvi.7,8;2Chr. 
xxviii.  16. 


Ahaz  remits  the  royal  authority  to  his  son  Hezekiah . 
Ahaz,  king  of  Judah,  dies 


19,  20;2Chr. 
xxviii.  27. 


JuDAH  AND  Israel.] 


OF  THE  HOLY  BIBLE. 


963 


3232 
3233 


3243 
3245 


3254 
3257 


3264 

3265 
3274 
3276 


4640 


4641 


4651 
4653 


4701 
4704 

4664 


4673 
4675 

4683 
4687 


768 
767 


757 
755 


746 
743 


736 

735 
726 
724 


Ihr  DC 

771 


770 


760 

758 


710 
707 

747 


738 
736 

728 
724 


FROM  THB  CREATION  TO  THE  BIRTH  OF  CHRIST. 


KINGS  OF  ISRAEL.— 254  Years. 

we  must  suppose  Jeroboam  II.  reigned  five  years  ; 
or  tliat  his  reign  did  not  begin  till  3191,  and  ended 
in  3232,  whici)  is  tlie  year  of  the  death  of  Zacha- 
riah. 

Zachariah  killed  by  Shallum,  after  reigning  six 
months 

Shallum  reigns  one  month  ;  is  killed  by  Menahem, 
who  reigns  ten  yeai"s 

Pul,  king  of  Assyria,  invades  Israel ;  Menahem  be- 
comes tributary  to  him 

Menahem  dies  ;  Pekaiah,  his  son,  succeeds 

Pekaiah  assassinated  by  Pekah,  son  of  Remaliah, 
who  reigns  twenty-eight  years.  The  text  allo^■v« 
20  years  only  ;  but  we  must  read  28  years.  Syn- 
cellus  says  (p.  202.)  it  was  28  years,  in  a  copy 
quoted  by  Basil.  And  indeed,  his  reign  began  in 
the  52(1  of  Azariah,  (2  Kings  xv.  27.)  and  ended  in 
the  12th  of  Ahaz,  (2  Kings  xvii.  1.)  which  includes 
28  years 


Arbaces,  governor  of  Media,  and  Belesus,  governor  ^ 
of  Babylonia,  besiege  Sardanapalus,  king  of  As-  > 
Syria,  in  Nineveh ) 

After  a  siege  of  three  years,  Sardanapalus  burns  him- 
self in  his  palace,  with  all  his  riches.  Arbaces  is 
acknowledged  king  of  Media,  and  Belesus  king  of 
Babylonia 

Belesus,  otherwise  Baladan,  or  Nabonassar,  founds 
the  Babylonian  empire.  This  famous  epoch  of 
Nabonassar,  falls  743  years  before  Christ;  747 
befoie  A.  D 

Ninus  junior,  called  in  Scripture  Tiglalh-pileser,  suc- 
cessor of  Sardanapalus,  continues  the  Assyrian  em- 
pire, but  reduced  into  very  narrow  limits.  Reigned 
nineteen  years;  according  to  othei-s,  thirty  years. 


Tislath-pileser  defeats  and  slays  Rezin,  king  of? 
Damascus ^ 

Entei-s  the  land  of  Israel,  takes  many  cities  and  cap- 
tives ;  chiefly  from  Reuben,  Gad,  and  the  half-tribe 
of  Manasseh.     The  fii-st  captivity  of  Israel 

Iloshea,  son  of  Elah,  slays  Pekah,  and  usurps  the 
kingdom 

Reigns  peaceably  the  12th  year  of  Ahaz  ;  reigns  nine 
years 

Shalmanrser   succeeds    Tiglath-pileser,  king    of 
Nineveh 


2Kingsxv.  10— 12. 
13—17. 


19—21. 
22—26. 


XV.  25—28. 


Diod.  Sic.  lib.  ii. 
Athenaeus,  lib.  xii. 
Herod,  lib.  i. 


Justin,  lib.  i.  c.  3. 


Nic.  Dam.  in  Eclog. 
Vales,  p.  426,  &c. 


2  Kings  XV.  29  ;  xvi.  7. 
Euseb.  Chron.  p.  46. 


xvi.  5 — 9  ;  Amos 
i.  5. 

XV.  29  ;  1  Chron. 
V.  26. 

—  30,  31. 


xvii.  1. 


Castor,  ap.  Euseb. 
Chron.  p.  46. 


964 


A  CHRONOLOGICAL  TABLE 


[Kingdoms  of 


Calmet,       Hales. 


Calmel.       Hales. 


3278 
3279 


4686 


722 
721 


725 


3290 
3291 


4700 


4701 


710 
709 


711 


710 


FROM  THE  CREATION  TO  THE  BIRTH  OF  CHRIST. 


KINGS  OF  JUDAH.— 388  Years. 

Hezekiah  restores  the  worship  of  the  Lord  in  Judah, ) 
which  Ahaz  had  subverted ^ 

Fi)'St-fruits  and  tythes  again  gatliered  into  the  temple, 
for  maintenance  of  the  priests  and  ministers 


Hezekiah  revolts  from  the  Assyrians ;  makes  a  league 
witli  Egypt  and  Gush,  against  Sennacherib 

Sennacherib  invades  Hezekiah ;  takes  several  cities  ) 
of  Judah 5 

Hezekiah's  sickness.  Isaiah  foretells  his  cure  ;  ^ 
gives  him  as  a  sign,  the  shadow's  return  on  the  > 
dial  of  Ahaz ) 

Sennacherib  besieges  Lachish 

Hezekiah  gives  money  to  Sennacherib,  who  yet  con- 
tinues his  war  against  him,  and  sends  Rabshakeh 
to  Jerusalem  ;  marches  himself  against  Tirhakah, 
king  of  Cush,  or  Arabia.  Returning  into  Judaii, 
the  angel  of  the  Lord  destroys  many  thousands  of 
his  army  ;  he  retires  to  Nineveh,  where  he  is  slain 
by  his  sons 


2  Kings  xviii.  1 — 6 ; 

2  Chr.  xxix. — xxxi. 

2  Chron.  xxxi.  4,  5. 


2  Kings  xviii.  7. 

13  ;  2  Chr. 

xxxii.  1;  Is. 
xxxvi. 

xx.l— ll;2Chr. 

xxxii.  24 ;  Is. 
xxxviii. 
2  Chron.  xxxii.  9. 


2  Kings  xviii.  14 — xix.37; 
Is.  xxxvi. 
xxxvii. 
Herod,  lib.  ii. 


Israel  and  Judah.] 


OF  THE  HOLY  BIBLE. 


965 


Calmcl.        Hale- 


FROM  THE  CREATION  TO  THE  BIRTH  OF  CHRIST. 


3279 


3280 
3283 


4692 


4090 
4692 


721 


720 
717 


719 


721 

to 

719 


KINGS  OF  ISRAEL.— 254  Years. 


Hoshea  makes  an  alliance  with  So,  king  of  Egj-pr, 
and  endeavors  to  shake  off"  the  yoke  of  Shalnia- 
neser 

Shahnaneser  besieges  Samaria ;  takes  it  after  three 
years'  siege.  Carries  beyond  the  Eupiu-ates  the 
tribes  that  Tiglath-pileser  had  not  already  carried 
into  captivity  ;  the  ninth  year  of  Hoshea  ;  of  Heze- 
kiali  the  sixtli  year ." 

Among  the  captives  carried  away  by  Shahnaneser  to 
Nineveh,  is  Tobit,  of  the  tribe  of  Naphtah 


2  Kings  xvii.  4. 


—  3—18 ;  Hos. 
xiii.    16 ; 
1  Chr.  V.  26. 


Tobit 


End  of  the  kingdom  of  Israel ;  after  it  had  subsisted 
two  hundred  and ffly  four  years. 


966 


A  CHRONOLOGICAL  TABLE  OF  THE  HOLY  BIBLE. 


Calmet.  j     Hales 


3292 


4703 


3233 
3294 
33G6 

3323 
3329 
3347 
3331 

3363 

3370 
3376 

3380 


4715 

4731 
4737 
4771 

4770 

4772 
4783 


3331 
3394 


3395 
3398 


3399 
.3402 

3404 


4803 


4825 


708 


707 
706 
694 

677 
661 
653 
639 

637 

630 
624 
020 


619 
606 


605 
602 


601 
598 

596 


708 


696 

680 
674 
640 
641 

639 
628 


608 


586 


4806 


605 


FROM  THE  CREATION  TO  THE  BIRTH  OF  CHRIST. 


JUDAH  alone. 
AssaradoD,  or  Esar-Haddon,  succeeds  Sennacherib. . 

Probably  about  this  time  Baladan,  or  Merodach- 
Baladan,  king  of  Babylon,  sends  to  congratulate 
Hezekiah  on  the  recovery  of  his  health,  and  to  in- 
quire about  the  prodigy  on  that  occasion 

The  prophets  Micah,  the  Morasthite,  and  Nahuin, 
prophesy  

Tai'tan  sent  by  Assaradon  against  the  Philistines,  } 
the  Idunieans,  and  the  Egyptians ^ 

Assaradon  sends  an  Israelitish  priest  to  the  Cushites 
settled  at  Shechem 

Hezekiah  dies ;  Mauasseh  succeeds  him ;  reigns  } 
fifty-five  years ^ 

Assaradon  becomes  master  of  Babylon  ;  reunites  the 

empires  of  Assyria  and  Chaldea 

Manasseh  taken  by  the  Chaldeans,  aud  earned  to  ) 

Babylon ^ 

The  war  of  Holofernes,  who  is  slain  in  Judea  by 

Judith 

Manasseh  dies.     He  returned  into  Judea  a  good  ) 

while  before, but  the  time  is  not  exactly  known.  ^ 
Amon  succeeds  him  ;    reigns  two  years 

Amon   dies  ;    Josiah  succeeds  him 

Zephaniah  prophesies  at  the  beginning  of  his  reign.. 
Josiah  endeavors  to  reform  abuses.     He  restores  ) 

the  worship  of  the  Lord I 

Jeremiah  begins  to  prophesy,  in  the  thirteenth  year 

of  the  reign  of  Josiali 

The  high-priest  Hilkiah  finds  the  book  of  the  law  in 

the  treasury  of  the  temple,  in  the  eighteenth  year 

of  Josiah 

Money  collected  for  repairing  the  temple 

The  prophetess  Huldah  foretells  the  calamities  that  7 

threaten  Judah ^ 

A  solemn  passover,  by  Josiah  and  all  the  people 


Joel  prophesies  under  Josiah. 

Josiah  opposes  tlie  expedition  of  Necho,  king  of 
Egypt,  against  Carcheinish  ;  is  mortally  wound- 
ed, and  dies  at  Jerusalem.  Jeremiah  composes 
lamentations  on  his  death 

Jehoahaz  is  set  on  the  throne  by  the  j)eople  ;  but 
Necho,  returning  from  Carchemish,  deposes  him, 
and  installs  Eliakim,or  Jehoiakim,  his  brother,  son 
of  Josiah,  who  reigns  eleven  yeai-s 

Habakkuk  prophesies  under  his  reign. 

Nebuchadnezzar  besieges  and  takes  Cai-cliemish ; 
comes  into  Palestine ;  besieges  and  takes  Jerusa- 
lem ;  leaves  Jehoiakim  there,  on  condition  of  pay- 
ing him  a  large  tribute 

Daniel  and  his  companions  led  captive  to  Babylon.  • 

Jeremiah  begins  to  commit  his  prophecies  to  writing. 
Nebuchadnezzar's  dream  of  a  gi-eat  statue  explained 

by  Daniel 

The  history  of  Susannah  at  Babylon 

Jehoiakim  revolts  against  Nebuchadnezzar 

Nebuchadnezzar  sends  an  army  from  Chaldea,  Syria, 


2  Kings  xix.  37  ;   Isaiah 
xxxvii.  38. 


XX.  12—19 ;  Isa. 
xxxix. 


Mic.  i.  1. 

2  Kings  xviii.  17  ;  Is.  xx ; 
Joseph.Ant.lib, 
X.  cap.  1,  2. 

xvii.  27—33. 

XX.  20, 21  ;  xxi.  1 

— 18  ;  2  Chr.  xxxii. 
32,33;  xxxiii.  1—10. 

Canon.  Ptolemfei, 
2  Chr.  xxxiii.  J 1—19; 
Jos.  Ant.  lib.  x.  c.  4. 

Judith,  Apoc. 

2  Kings  xxi.  17,  18  ; 

2  Chr.  xxxiii.  20. 
18— 22;2Chr. 

xxxiii. 20— 23. 
23— 26;  2  Chr. 

xxxiii.  24,  25. 
Zeph.  i.  1. 

2  Kings  xxii.  1 — 7;2Chr. 
xxxiv.  1 — 13. 

Jer.  i.  2. 

2  Kings  xxii.  8  ;  2  Chr. 
xxxiv.  14. 

4—7  ;  2  Chr. 

xxxiv.  9— 14. 

14— 20;2Chr. 

xxxiv.  22—28. 

xxih.l-24;2Chr. 

xxxiv.  29— 
XXXV.  19. 


-— 29,30;2Clir. 

XXXV.  20—27. 
Herod,  lib.  2;  Jos. 
Ant.  lib.  X.  c.  6. 


■30— 36;  2  Chr. 
xxxvi.  1 — 5. 


2  Kings  xxiv.  1 ;  2  Chr. 
xxxvi.  6,  7. 
Jer.  XX.  4  ;    xlvi.  2  ; 

Dan.  i.  1—7. 
xxxvi.  1 — 4. 

Dan.  ii. 

Susannah,  Apoc. 
2  Kings  xxiv.  1. 


A  CHRONOLOGICAL  TABLE  OF  THE  HOLY  BIBLE. 


967 


Yeir  nf  ibe 

World. 

Ycxr  beo-e 
Chrisl. 

FROM  THE  CREATION  TO  THE  BIRTH  OF  CHRIST. 

Calm..-. 

lUles. 

Ciluiel. 

H»lej. 

JUDAH  alone, 
and  IMoab,  whicli  ravages  Jiidea,  and  brings  away 

3023  Jews  to  Babylon,  in  the  seventli  year  of  Je- 

2  Kings  xxiv.  2 — 4  ;  Jer. 

3405 

4812 

595 

599 

hoiakiin 

Iii.8. 
Diod.  Sic.  lib.  i.  Herod. 

lib.  i. 
2Kingsxxiv.5,0;2Chr. 

Cyrus  born,  son  of  Cambyses  and  Maudane 

Jehoiakim  revolts  a  second  time  against  Nebticliad-  ^ 

nezzar.     Is  taken,  put  to  deatli,  and  cast  to  the  > 

xxxvi.8;Jcr. 

fowls  of  the  air.     Reigned  eleven  years ) 

xxii.    18,   19; 
XXX vi.  30. 

3406 

594 

Jehoiakin,  or  Coniah,  or  Jeconiah,  succeeds 

t;  .    o  r^t... — 

XXX vi.  f,  9. 

Nebuchadnezzar  besieges  him   in   Jcrtsalem,  and 

takes  him  after  he  iiafl  reigned  three  iiontlis  and 

ten  days.     He  is  carried  to  Babylon,  witii  part  of 

8—16 ; 

the  people.     Mordecai  is  among  the  captives 

2Clir.  xxxvi.  10. 

4814 

597 

Zed.  kiah,   his  luicle,  is  left  at  Jerusalem  in   his  f 

place,  and  reigns  eleven  years ^ 

Zedekiah  sends  ani!)a.ssadors  to  Babylon. 
Jeremiah  writes  to  tiie  captive  Jews  there 

17, 18;2Clir. 

xxxvi.  10, 11. 

Jer.  XX ix. 

3409 

591 

Seraiah  and  Banich  sent  by  Zedekiah  to  Bal)ylon. 

3110 

4821 

590 

590 

F^zekiel  begins  to  |)rophesy  in  Chaldea 

Ezek.  i.  1,2. 

3411 

5:9 

Ha  foretells  the  taking  of  Jerusalem,  and  the  disper- 
sion of  the  Jews 

iv.  v.  viii. — \ii. 

2  Kings  xxiv.  20 ;  2  Chr. 

Zedekiah  takes  secret  measures  with  the  king  of  ) 

Earvpt,  to  revolt  against  the  Chaldeans S 

xxxvi.   13  ; 

o* 1      ?                                          O                                                                                                               J 

Jer.  lii.  3. 

3414 

4823 

586 

588 

Zedekiah  revolts. 

Nebuchadnezzar  marches  against  Jerusalem,  besieges 
it;  quits  the  siege  to  repel  the  king  of  Egvjtf,  who 
comes  to  assist  Zedekiah.     Returns  to  the  siege. . 

Jeremiah  continues  prophesying  during  the  whole  ? 
siege  ;  which  continued  almost  three  years ^ 

Ezekiel  also  describes  the  same  siege  in  Chaldea.  . . 

XXV.   1 ,   2  ;    Jer. 

xxxvii.  5. 
Jer.  xxxvii.  6 — 11  ;  xlvii. 

xxi. 
Ezek.  xxiv. 

3416 

584 

Jerusalem  taken  on  the  ninth  day  of  the  fourth  month, 
(July,)  the  eleventh  year  of  Zedekiah 

2  Kings   XXV.  3,  4,  8 ; 
2  Chr.  xxxvi.  17, 

18;  Jer.  lii.  5— 7. 

Zedekiah,  endeavoring  to  fly  by  night,  is  taken,  and 

brought  to  Riblah,  to  Nebuchadnezzar.     His  eyes 

are  put  out,  and  he  is  carried  to  Babylon 

7—11. 

4825 

580 

Jerusalem  and  the  temple  burnt;  seventh  day  of  the 

ft  in  •  ^  riir 

—'^■'^—^    t7  J     JW^      /^Vylll. 

fourth  month 

xxxvi.    19 ;    Jer. 
xxxix.    8 ;     Jer. 

lii.  12,  13;   Jos. 

Bel.  lib.vii.  c.lO. 

The  Jews  of  Jerusalem  and  Judah  carried  captive 

11, 12;  2  Chr. 

beyond  the  Euphrates.  The  poorer  classes  only  left 

xxxvi.  20;  Jer. 

in  the  land 

xxxix.  9,    10; 
lii.  15,  16. 

Thus  ends  the  k{ns;dom  of  Judah,  after  it  had  subsisted 

four  hundred  and  sixly-eis;ht  years,  from  the  begin- 

ning; of  the  reign  of  David;  and  three  hundred  and 

eighli/-eight  years  from  the  separatioii  of  Judah  and 

the  ten  tribes. 

The  beginning  of  the  seventy  years'  captivity,  fore- 

told by  Jeremiah 

Jer.  XXV. 

Gedaliah  made  governor  of  the  remains  of  the  peo-  ? 

2    Kings  XXV.    22—25; 

pie.     He  is  slain ^ 

Jer.  xl.  1— xli.  1,  2. 

3417 

583 

Jeremiah  carried  into  Egypt  by  the  Jews,  after  the 
death  of  Gr-daliah.     He  ))rophesics  in  Egypt 

Ezekiel  in  Chaldea  prophesies  against  the  captives 
of  Judah 

Jer.  xliii.  5 — 13. 
Ezek.  xxxil;. 

3419 

4827 

581 

584 

The  siege  of  Tyre  by  Nebuchadnezzar;  lasted  thir- 
teen years.     During  this  interval,  Nebuchadnezzar 

Jer.  xxvii. — xxix. 

968 


A  CHRONOLOGICAL  TABLE  OF  THE  HOLY  BIBLE. 


Calmet   Hale 


3419 


3432 


3433 
3431 
343) 
344  3 
3444 


4827 

4840 
4341 


4842 


3445 

3446 

3448 
3449 

3450 


4350 


4853 
4860 

4858 


:455 


3456 
3457 


3458 
3475 


3478 
3480 
3483 


4863 

4875 


4382 

48S6 
4948 


3484 
ai85 


581 

568 


567 
566 
5(5 
557 
556 


555 

554 

552 
551 

550 


545 


544 
543 


542 
525 


522 

520 
517 


516 
515 


584 

571 
570 


569 


561 


558 
551 
553 


548 

536 


529 

525 

463 


FROM  THE  CREATION  TO  THE  BIRTH  OF  CHRIST. 


wars  against  the  Idumeans,  the  Ammonites,  and 
the  Moabites 

Obadiah  prophesies  against  Idumea. 

Tyre  taken  by  Nebucliadnezzar 

Nebuchadnezzar  wars  against  Egypt 

He  returns  to  Babylon. 

Nebuchadnezzar's  dream  of  a  great  ti'ee 

His  metamoi-phosis  into  an  ox 

His  return  to  his  former  condition 

He  sets  up  a  golden  statue  for  worship 

Daniel's  threo  companions  cast  into  the  fiery  furnace. 

Nebuchadn  .:zzar's  death,  after  reigning  forty-three 
years,  from  the  death  of  Nabouassar,  his  father, 
who  died  in  3,399 

Evilmerodachjhis  son,  succeeds  him  ;  reigns  but  one 
year 


Belshazzar,  his  son,  succeeds  him. 

Daniel's  vision  of  the  four  animals 

Cyrus  begins  to  appear ;  he  liberates  the  Persians, 
and  takes  the  title  of  king. 

Belshazzar's  impious  feast.     His  death 

Darius  the  Mede  succeeds  Belshazzar 

Daniel's  prophecy  of  seventy  weeks 

Darius  decrees  that  supplication  should  be  made  to 
no  other  god  but  himself 

Daniel  cast  into  the  lion's  den 

Cyrus  meditates  the  destruction  of  the  empire  of  the 
Medes  and  Chaldeans;  begins  with  the  Medes; 
having  overcome  Astyages,  king  of  the  Medes,  his 
uncle  by  the  mother's  side,  he  gives  him  the  gov- 
ernment of  Hyrcania. 

Cyrus  marches  against  Darius  the  Mede,  his  uncle  ; 
but  first  wars  against  the  allies  of  his  uncle  Darius  ; 
particularly  against  Crcesus,  king  of  Lydia 

He  attempts  Bal)ylon,  and  takes  it 

He  sets  the  Jews  at  lii)erty,  and  permits  their  re-  ^ 
tui-n  into  Judea.  The  first  year  of  his  reign  > 
over  all  the  East ) 

The  history  of  Bel  and  the  Dragon 

The  Jews,  returning  from  captivity,  renew  the  sacri- 
fices in  the  temple ' 

Cyrus  dies,  aged  seventy  years 

Cambyses  succeeds  him.  The  Cushites,  or  .Samari- 
tans, obtain  a  prohibition,  forbidding  the  Jews  to 
continue  the  building  of  their  temple 

Cambyses  wars  in  Egypt,  five  years 

Cambyses  kills  his  brother  Smerdis. 

He  dies 

The  seven  Magi  usurp  the  empire.  Artaxata,  one  of 
them,  forbids  the  building  of  the  tem|)le 

Seven  chiefs  of  the  Persians  slay  tlip  Magi 

Darius,  son  of  Hystaspes,  otherwise  Ahasuerus,  ac- 
knowledged king  of  the  Persians.  Marries  Atossa, 
the  daughter  of  Cyrus 

Haggai  begins  to  prophesy  ;  reproaches  the  Jews  for 
not  building  the  house  of  the  Lord 

The  Jews  re-commence  building  the  temple 

About  tills  time  Zcchariah  begins  to  proi)hesy 

Htre,  proprrh/,  end  the  sevej^t)/  years  of  cnptivitrj, 
fordold  by  Jeremiah,  which  be^an  A.  M.  3146. 


Ezek.  XXV. 

Jos.  Ant.  lib.  x.  c.  11. 

Ezek.  xxix.  18 ;  Jos.  Ant. 

lib.  X.  c.  11. 
19 — xxxii. 

32. 

Dan.  iv.  1—27. 

28—33. 

34—37. 

ili.  1—7. 

8—30. 

Berosus,  ap.   Jos.   cont. 

Ap.  lib.  i. 
2  Kings  XXV.  27-30  ;  Jer. 

lii.  31 — 34.    Berosus, 

ap.  Jos.  cont.  Ap.  lib. 

i.   et    Euseb.    Praep. 

lib.  ix. 

Dan.  vii. 


vi.  1—9. 
—  10—24. 


Herod,  lib.  i.  Cyrop.  vi. 
vii. 


2Chr.xxxvi.22,23;Ez- 
ra  i.  Xen.  Cyrop. 
lib.  viii. 

Apocrypha. 

Ezra  ii.  1 — iii.  7. 
Cyropedia,  lib.  viii. 

Ezra  iv.  6—24. 

Ptol.  Can. 
Her.  ii.  iii.  Just.  i.  c.9. 

Herod.  lib.  iii. 

1  Esdras  v.  73. 
Herod,  iii.  Just.  i.  c.  10. 


Haggai. 

Ezra  vi.  6 — 14. 

Zcch.  i.  1. 


A  CHRONOLOGICAL  TABLE  OF  THE  HOLY  BIBLE. 


969 


3487 
3488 
3489 

3495 


349G 

3519 
3531 
3537 
353H 
3550 

3551 


4948 
4951 
4895 


4926 
4947 
4954 

4967 


35()3 
3565 


3580 


49791 


fi 


4987 


4991 

4998 
5038 

5070 


3654 
3671 
3672 


3(573 


3674 
3681 


3684 


Calmet. 

Hales. 

513 
512 
511 

463 
460 
516 

505 

504 

481 

485 

469 

464 

463 

457 

462 

450 

444 

449 

437 
435 

432 
424 

420 

420 
413 
373 

341 

346 

329 

328 

327 

326 
319 

316 

FROM  THE  CREATION  TO  THE  BIRTH  OF  CHRIST. 


The  feast  of  Darius,or  Ahasuerus  ;  he  divorces  Vashti. 

He  espouses  Esther 

The  dedication  of  the  temple  of  Jerusalem,  rebuilt  hy 

Zeruhhahel 

The  beginninjf  of  the  fortune  of  Hanian 

He  vo\vs  the  destruction  of  the  Jews,  and  procinxs 

from  Ahasuerus  an  order  for  their  e.\tennination. 
Esther  obtains  a  revocation  of  this  decree.     Hainan 

hung  on   the  gallous  he  had  prepared  for  Mor- 

decai  

The  Jews  punish  their  enemies  at  Shushan,  and  ^ 

throughout  the  Persian  empire (j 

Darius,  or  Ahasuerus,  dies  ;  Xerxes  succeeds  him.. . 

Xei-xes  dies  ;  Artaxerxcs  succeeds  him 

He  sends  Ezra  to  Jerusalem,  with  several  priests 
and  Lcvites,  the  seventh  year  of  Artaxerxcs 

Ezra  reforms  abuses  among  the  Jews,  especially  as 
to  their  strange  wives 

Nehemiah  obtains  leave  of  Artaxerxcs  to  visit  Jeru- 
salem, and  to  rebuild  its  gates  and  walls 

The  walls  rebuilt 

Dedication  of  the  walls  of  Jerusalem 

Nehemiah  prevails  with  several  families  in  the  coun- 
try to  dwell  in  Jerusalem 

The  Israelites  put  awaj'  their  strange  wives 

Nehemiah  renews  the  covenant  of  Israel  with  the 
Lord 

Nehemiah  retm-ns  to  king  Artaxerxcs 

Nehemiah  comes  a  second  time  into  Judea,  and  re- 
forms abuses 

Zcchariah  prophesies  under  his  government ;  also 
Malachi,  whom  several  have  confounded  with  Ezra. 

Nehemiah  dies. 

Eliashib,  the  high-priest,  who  lived  under  Nehemiah, 
is  succeeded  by  Joiada,  who  is  succeeded  by  Jon- 
athan, who  is  killed  in  the  temple  by  Jesus  his 
brotlier:  the  successor  of  Jonathan  is  Jaddus,  or 
Jaddua.  The  exact  j^ears  of  the  death  of  these 
high-priests  are  not  known 

Artaxerxcs  Ochus  sends  several  Jews  into  Hyrca-  ) 
nia,  whom  he  had  taken  captive  in  Egypt ^ 

Alexander  the  Great  enters  Asia 

He  besieges  Tj^re  ;  demands  of  tiie  high-priest  Jad- 
dus the  succors  usually  sent  to  the  king  of  Persia ; 
Jad(Uis  refuses 

Alexander  ajiproarhes  Jerusalem,  sIjows  respect  to 
the  high-priest,  is  favorable  to  the  Jews;  grants 
them  an  exemption  fioni  tribute  every  sabbatical 
year 

The  Samaritans  obtain  Alexander's  permission  to 
build  a  tcm|)le  on  mount  Gcrizim. 

Alexander  conquoi's  Egypt ;  retm-ns  into  Pha?nicia  ;  ^ 
chastises  the  Samaritans,  u'ho  had  killed  An-  ( 
dromachus,  his  governor;  gives  the  Jews  j)art  C 
of  their  country / 

Darius  Codomannus  dies,  the  last  king  of  the  Persians. 

Alexander  the  Great  dies,  first  monarch  of  the  Gre- 
cians in  the  East 

Judea  in  the  division  of  the  kings  of  Syria. 
Ptolemy,  son  of  Lagus,  conquers  it ;  carries  many  ? 
Jews  into  Egypt $ 


Esth.  i. 

ij.  1—18. 

Ezra  vi.  15 — 22. 
Esth.  iii.  1,  2. 

3—15. 


IV. VII. 

ix,  1 — 16 ;  Jos.  Ant. 

lib.  xi.  c.  6. 
Ptol.  in  Canone  ;  Africa- 

nus ;  Euseb.  &:c. 
Diod.  Sic.  lib.  xi.  Justin, 

lib.  iii.  c.  1. 

Ezravii.  1,  7,  8. 

ix.  X. 

Neh.  i.— ii.  12. 

ii.  13— vi.  19. 

xii.  27-^3. 

xi. 

ix.  2. 

viii. — X. 

vii.  1—4  ;  Prid. 

xiii.  10. 


Jos.  Ant.  lib.  xi.  c.  7 ; 

Chron.  Alexand. 
Diod.  Sic.  Ill),  xvi.  Jos. 

cont.  Ap.  lib.  i. 
Pint,  in  Alex.  Arrian,  i. 

Diod.  Sic.  lib.  xxii. 


Jos.  Ant.  lib.  xi.  c.  8. 


Q.  Curt.  lib.  iv.  c.  8; 
Euseb.  Chron.  p.  177. 
Cedronus ;  Jos.  cont. 
Ap.  lib.  ii. 

Pint,  in  Alexand.  Q.Cnrt. 
lib.  X.  c.  5  ;  Diod.  Sic. 
lib.  xvii. 

Jos.  Ant.  lib.  xii.  c.  7. 
Arist.  Diod.  lib.  xviii. 


128 


970 


A  CHRONOLOGICAL  TABLE  OF  THE  HOLY  BIBLE. 


Calmet.       Hales. 


3690 
3692 


5070 


310 
30g 


241 


3727 
3743 

3758 


273 
257 

242 


3771 


5090 

5111 
5120 


5135 
5161 


3783 


3785 

3786 

3787 


5194 


229 


217 


215 
214 

213 


321 

300 
291 


276 
250 


217 


FROM  THE  CREATION  TO  THE  BIRTH  OF  CHRIST. 


3788 
3800 

3802 
3805 

3806 

3807 


3812 


3815 


5216 


212 

200 

198 
195 

194 

193 


188 


18c 


195 


Antigonus  retakes  Judea  from  Ptolemy 

Ptolemy,  son  of  Lagus,  conquers  Demetrius,  son  of 
Antigonus,  near  Gaza ;  becomes  again  master  of 
Judea 

Judea  returns  to  the  jurisdiction  of  the  kings  of 
Syria;  the  Jews  pay  them  tribute  some  time. 
Judea  is  in  subjection  to  the  kings  of  Egypt  under 
the  reign  of  Ptolemy  Philadelphus,  if  what  we  read 
concerning  the  version  of  the  Septuagint  be  true. 

The  Septuagint  version  supposed  to  be  i-eally  nmde 
about  this  time. 

Antiochus  Theos,  king  of  Syria,  begins  to  reign  ; 
grants  to  the  Jews  the  privileges  of  free  denizens 
throughout  his  dominions. 

Ptolemy  Euergetes  makes  himself  master  of  Syria 
and  Judea. 

The  high-priest  Jaddus  dying  in  8682,  Oriias  I.  suc- 
ceeds him,  whose  successor  is  Simon  the  Just,  in 
3702.  He,  dying  in  3711,  leaves  his  son  Onias  II. 
a  child  ;  his  father's  brother,  Eleazar,  discharges  the 
office  of  high-priest  about  thirty  years.  Under  the 
priesthood  of  Eleazar  the  version  of  the  Septuagint 
is  said  to  be  made.  After  the  death  of  Eleazar  in 
3744,  Manasseh,  great  uncle  of  Onias,  and  brother 
of  Jaddus,  is  invested  with  the  priesthood 

Manasseh  dying  this  year,  Onias  II.  possesses  the 
high-priesihood.  Incurs  the  indignation  of  the 
king  of  Egypt,  for  not  paying  his  tribute  of  twenty 
talents  ;  his  nephew  Joseph  gains  the  king's  favor, 
and  farms  the  tributes  of  Coelo-Syria,  Plioenicia, 
Samaria  and  Judea 

Ptolemy  Euergetes,  king  of  Egypt,  dies;  Ptolemy 
Philopator  succeeds  him 

Onias  II.  high-priest,  dies  ;  Simon  II.  succeeds  him. 

Antiochus  the  Great  wars  against  Ptolemy  Philo-  ) 
pator ^ 

Ptolemy  Philopator  defeats  Antiochus  at  Raphia  in 
Syria 

Ptolemy  attempts  to  enter  the  temple  of  Jenisalem  ; 
is  hindered  by  the  priests.  He  returns  into  Egypt ; 
condemns  the  Jews  ui  his  dominions  to  be  trod  to 
death  by  elephants.  God  gives  his  people  a  mi- 
raculous deliverance 

The  Egyptians  rebel  against  their  king  Ptolemy 
Philopator ;  the  Jews  take  his  part 

Ptolemy  Philopator  dies;  Ptolemy  Epiphanes,  an 
infant,  succeeds  him 

Antiochus  the  Great  conquers  Phoenicia  and  Judea. 

Simon  II.  high-priest,  dies;  Onias  III.  succeeds 
him. 

Scopas,  a  general  of  Ptolemy  Epiphanes,  retakes 
Judea  from  Antiochus 

Antiochus  defeats  Scopas ;  is  received  by  the  Jews 
into  Jerusalem 

Arius,  king  of  Lacedemon,  writes  to  Onias  III.  and 
acknowledges  the  kindred  of  the  Jews  and  Lace- 
demonians. The  year  uncertain.  Perhaps  it  was 
rather  Onias  I. 

Antiochus  the  Great  gives  his  daughter  Cleopatra  in 
marriage  to  Ptolemy  Epi])hanes,  king  of  Egypt ; 
and  as  a  dowry,  Coelo-Syria,  Phoenicia,  Judea  and 
Samaria 

Antiochus,   declaring   war   against  the   Romans,  is 


Plut.  in  Demet. 

Diod.  Sic.  lib.  xix.  App. 
in  Syriacis. 


Jos.   Ant.  hb.  xii.  c.  2; 
Euseb.  in  Chron. 


Jos.  Ant.  lib.  xii.  c.  3. 
Polyb.    lib.    ii.   p.   155; 

Justin,  lib.  xxix.  e.  1 ; 

Euseb.  in  Chron. 

Polyb.  lib.  V.  Justin,  lib. 
XXX.  c.  1. 

Polyb.  lib.  V. 

3Mac.  i.ii. 

Jos.  Ant.  lib.  xii.  c.  4. 
Euseb.  in  Chron. 
Chron.  Alexand. 

Polyb.  lib.  V. 

Justin,  lib.  xx.  c.  1,  2. 

Ptol.  in  Canone; 

Euseb.  &c. 
Polyb.  lib.  V. 


Jos.  Ant.  lib.  xii.  c.  3. 
Polyb.  lib.  xvi. 
Jos.  Ant.  lib.  xii.  c.  3. 


Jos.  Ant.  lib.  xii.  c.  3. 


A  CHRONOLOGICAL  TABLE  OF  THE  HOLY  BIBLE. 


971 


3817 

3828 


3829 

3831 
3834 


5216 


5236 


5239 


3836 


3837 


183 
172 


171 

169 
166 


195 


175 


172 


3838 


164 


163 


FROM  THE  CREATION  TO  THE  BIRTH  OF  CHRIST. 


5248 


162 


163 


overcome,  nnd  loses  great  part  of  his  dominions. 
He  presen'es  Syria  and  Judea 

Antiochus  dies;  leaves  Seleucus  Pliilopator  his  ^ 
successor.  Antiochus,  his  other  son,  surnamed  > 
afterwards  Epiphanes,  at  Rome  as  a  hostage ...  5 

Heliodorus,  by  order  of  Seleucus,  attempts  to  rifle 
the  treasury  of  the  temple  at  Jerusalem.  Is  pre- 
vented by  an  angel. 

Onias  III,  goes  to  Antioch,  to  vindicate  himself 
against  calumnies. 

Seleucus  sends  his  son  Demetrius  to  Rome,  to  re- 
place his  brother  Antiochus,  who  had  been  a  host- 
age there  fourteen  years. 

Antiochus  journeying  to  return  into  S3'ria,  Seleucus 
is  put  to  death  by  the  machinations  of  Heliodorus, 
who  intends  to  usui-p  the  kingdom. 

Antiochus,  at  his  arrival,  is  received  by  the  Syrians 
as  a  tutelai-  deity,  and  receives  the  name  of  Epiph- 
anes. 

Jason,  son  of  Simon  II.,  high-priest,  and  brother  of 
Onias  III.,  now  high-priest,  buys  the  high-priest- 
hood of  Antiochus  Epiphanes 

Several  Jews  renounce  Judaism,  for  the  religion  and 
ceremonies  of  the  Greeks. 

Antiochus  Epiphanes  intends  war  against  Ptolemy 
Philometor,  king  of  Egypt  Is  received  with  great 
honor  in  Jerusalem. 

Menelaus  offers  three  hundred  talents  of  silver  for  the 
high-priesthood  more  than  what  Jason  had  given 
for  it ;  he  obtains  a  gi-ant  of  it  from  Antiochus.. . . 

Menelaus,  not  paying  his  purchase-money,  is  deprived 
of  the  high-priesthood :  Lysimachus,  his  brother, 
is  ordered  to  perform  the  functions  of  it. 

Menelaus,  gaining  Andronicus,  governor  of  Antioch, 
in  the  absence  of  Antiochus  Epiphanes,  causes 
Onias  III.  the  high-priest,  to  be  killed 

Lysimachus,  thinking  to  plunder  the  treasury  of  the 
temple  at  Jerusalem,  is  put  to  death  in  the  temple. 

Antiochus  preparing  to  make  war  in  Egypt.  Prodi- 
gies seen  in  the  air  over  Jerusalem 

A  report  that  Antiochus  Epiphanes  was  dead,  in 
Egypt ;  Jason  attempts  Jerusalem,  but  is  repulsed. 

Antiochus,  being  informed  that  some  Jews  had  re- 
joiced at  the  false  news  of  his  death,  plunders  Je- 
rusalem, and  slays  80,000  men 

ApoUonius  sent  into  Judea  by  Antiochus  Epiphanes. 
He  demolishes  the  walls  of  Jerusalem,  and  op- 
presses the  people.  He  builds  a  citadel  on  the 
mountain  near  the  temple,  where  formerly  stood 
the  city  of  David 

Judas  3Iaccabaeus,  with  nine  others,  retires  into  the 

wilderness. 
Antiochus  Epiphanes  publishes  an  edict,  to  constrain 
all  the  people  of  his  dominions  to  uniformity  with 
the  religion  of  the  Grecians. 
The  sacrifices  of  the  temple  interrupted  ;  the  statue 
of  Jupiter  Olympius  set  up  on  the  altar  of  burnt- 

sacriiices 

The  martyrdom  of  old  Eleazar  at  Antioch  ;  of  the  ? 

seven  brethren  Maccabees,  and  their  mother. . .  \ 

Mattathias  and  his  seven  sons  retire  into  the  moun-  ? 

tains ;  the  Assideans  join  them ^ 

About  tliis  time  flourishes  Jesus,  sou  of  Sirach,  author 

of  the  book  of  Ecclesiastic  us. 
Mattathias  dies 


Justin,  lib.  xxxi.  c.  6 — 8. 
xxxii.  c.  2  ; 


Strabo,  lib.  xvi. 
Ai)p.  in  Syriacis. 


2  Mac.  iv.  7 ;  Jos,  de  Mac. 
c.  4, 


23—28. 


34. 

40—42. 


1—3. 

5, 6 ;  Jos.  Ant. 
1.  xii.  c.  8. 

ll;Diod.Sic. 
lib.  xxxiv. 


24—26 ; 

1  Mac.  i.  30—40  ; 
Jos.  Ant.  1.  xxii.  c.  7. 


Jos.  Ant.  1.  xxii.  c.  7. 
2  Mac.  vi.  vii. 

Jos.  de  Maccab. 
1  Mac.  ii.  29,  30 ;  Jos. 
Ant.  lib.  xii.  c.  8. 


70. 


972 


A  CHRONOLOGICAL  TABLE  OF  THE  HOLY  BIBLE. 


Calmet.       Hales. 


3838 


3839 


5248 


162 


161 


163 


3840 


160 


3841 


159 


:812 


158 


FROM  THE  CREATION  TO  THE  BIRTH  OF  CHRIST. 


Is  succeeded  by  Judas  Maccabajus.  Judas  defeats 
Apollonius,  and  afterwards  Seron 

Antiocluis  Epiphanes,  wanting  money  to  pay  the 
Romans,  goes  to  Persia.  Nicanor  and  Gorgias, 
and  Ptolemy,  son  of  Dorymenes,  enter  Judeaat  the 
head  of  their  armies 

Judas  Maccabseus  defeats  Nicanor.  Gorgias  de- 
clines a  battle  against  Judas. 

Lysias,  coming  into  Judea  with  an  army,  is  beaten, 
and  forced  to  return  to  Antioch. 

Judas  purifies  the  temple,  after  three  years'  defile- 
ment by  the  Gentiles.     This  is  called  Encoenia.. . 

Timotheus  and  Bacchides,  generals  of  the  Syrian 
army,  are  beaten  by  Judas. 

Antiocluis  Epiphanes  dies  in  Persia.  His  son,  Anti- 
ocluis Eupator,  aged  nine  years,  succeeds  him ; 
under  the  regency  of  Lysias 

Judas  wars  against  the  enemies  of  his  nation  in 
Idumea,  and  beyond  Jordan 

Timotheus,  a  second  time,  overcome  by  Judas.  . . 

The  jjeople  beyond  Jordan  and  in  Galilee  consj)ire 
against  the  Jews.  Are  supported  by  Judas  and  his 
brethren. 

Lysias,  coming  into  Judea,  forced  to  make  peace  with 
Judas  ;  returns  to  Antioch 

A  letter  of  king  Antiochus  Eupator,  in  favor  of  the 
Jews. 

The  Roman  legates  Avrite  to  the  Jews,  and  promise 
to  support  their  interests  with  the  king  of  Syria. 

The  treachery  of  Joppa  and  Samaria  chastised  by 
Judas. 

Judas  wars  beyond  Jordan.  Defeats  a  general  of  the 
Syrian  troojis,  called  Timotheus,  different  from  the 
former  Timotheus 

Judas  attacks  Gorgias  in  Idumea ;  having  defeated 
him,  finds  Jews,  killed  in  the  fight,  had  concealed 
gold  under  their  clothes,  which  they  had  taken 
from  an  idol's  temple  at  Jamnia 

Antiochus  Eu|)ator  invades  Judea  in  person  ;  be- 
sieges Bethshur,  and  takes  it;  besieges  Jerusa- 
lem   

Philip,  who  had  been  appointed  regent  by  Antiochus 
E|)iphanes,  coming  to  Antioch,  Lysias  prevails 
with  the  king  to  make  peace  v/ith  the  Jews,  and  to 
return  to  Antioch.  But  before  he  returns,  he  enters 
Jerusalem,  and  causes  the  wall  to  be  demolished 
that  Judas  had  built  to  secure  the  tempje  from  the 
insults  of  the  citadel 

Menelaus,  the  high-priest,  dies;  is  succeeded  by 
Alcimus,  an  intruder 

Onias  IV.  son  of  Onias  III.  lawfid  heir  to  the  dig- 
nity of  high-priest,  retires  into  Egypt,  where,  some 
time  after,  he  builds  the  temple  Onion.  See 
3854. 

Demetrius,  son  of  Seleucus,  sent  to  Rome  as  a 
hostage  ;  escapes  from  thence,  comes  into  Syria, 
where  he  slays  his  nephew  Eupator,  also  Ly- 
sias, regent  of  the  kingdom,  and  is  acknowl- 
edged king  of  Syria 


1  Mac.  iii.  1,  13,  24  ; 

2  Mac.  viii.  1 ;  Jos. 
Ant.  hb.  xii.  c.  9. 


42,&c.2aiac. 


viii.  34,  &c.  Jos. 
Ant.  lib.  xii.  c.  11. 


-  iv.36,&c.2Mac. 
X.  1,  &c.  Jos.  Ant. 
lib.  xii.  c.  11. 


Appian,   in    Syriacis  ; 
Euseb.  in  Chron,  Jos. 
Ant.  lib.  xii.  c.  14  ; 
]  Mac.  vi.  17  ;  2  Mac. 
ix.  29;  X.  10,  II. 

1  Mac.  v.  1,  &c.  2  Mac. 

X.  14,  15,  &c. 

2  Mac.  X.  24—38. 


xi.  1—15. 


1  Mac.  xii.  10,  &c. 

v.  65,  &c. 

vi.  48—54. 


55-62 ;  2  Mac. 

xiii.  23. 
2  Mac.  xiv.  3  ;  Jos.  Ant. 

lib.  xii.  c.  15. 

lib.  XX.  c.  8. 


IMac.  vii.  1— 4;2Mac. 
xiv.  1,2;  Jos.  Ant. 
lib.  xii.  c.  16;  Ap- 
pian in  Syriacis ; 
Just.lib.xxxiv.c.3. 


A  CHRONOLOGICAL  TABLE  OF  THE  HOLY  BIBLE. 


973 


3842  5248 
3843 


158 


157 


163 


5251 


160 


3SJ4 
3846 


156 
154 


3851 
3852 


149 

148 


5258 


153 


3854 


146 


FROM  THE  CREATION  TO  THE  BIRTH  OF  CHRIST. 


Alcimus  intercedes  with  Demetrius  for  the  confirma- 
tion of  the  dignity  of  liigh-priest,  which  he  had 
received  from  Eupator 

Alcimus  returns  into  Judea  with  Bacchides,  and  en- 
ters Jerusalem 

Is  driven  from  thence,  and  returns  to  Demetrius,  who 
appoints  Nicanor,  with  troojjs,  to  take  him  back  to 
Judea.  Nicanor  makes  an  accommodation  with 
Judas,  and  lives  for  some  time  on  good  terms  with 
him 

Alchnus  accuses  Nicanor  of  betraying  the  king's  ^ 
interests.  Demetrius  oi'ders  Nicanor  to  bring  > 
Judas  to  him ) 

Judas  attacks  Nicanor,  and  kills  about  5000  men. . . . 

Death  of  Rhazis.  a  famous  old  man,  who  chooses 
rather  to  die  by  his  own  hand,  than  to  fall  alive 
into  the  ])ower  of  Nicanor 

Judas  obtains  a  complete  victory,  in  which  Nicanor 
is  killed 

Bacchides  and  Alcimus  again  sent  into  Judea 

Judas  gives  them  battle ;  dies  like  a  hero,  on  a  heap  } 
of  enemies  slain  by  him ^ 

Jonathan  Maccabseus  chosen  chief  of  his  nation,  and  ? 
high-priest,  in  the  place  of  Judas \ 

The  envoys  return,  which  Judas  had  sent  to  Rome, 
to  make  an  alliance  with  the  Romans. 

Bacchides  pursues  Jonathan  ;  he,  after  a  slight  com-  ? 
bat,  swims  over  the  Jordan  in  sight  of  the  enemy.  ) 

Alcimus  dies 

Jonathan  and  Simon  Maccabseus  are  besieged  in 
Bethbessen,  or  Beth-agla.  Jonathan  goes  out  of 
the  place,  raises  soldiers,  and  defeats  several  bodies 
of  the  enemy 

Simon,  his  brother,  makes  several  sallies,  and  opposes 
Bacchides. 

Jonathan  makes  proposals  of  peace  to  Bacchides,  } 
which  are  accepted ^ 

Jonathan  fixes  his  abode  atMikmash,  where  he  judges 
the  people 

Alexander  Balas,  natural  son  of  Antiochus  Epiph-  ) 
anes,  comes  into  Syria  to  be  acknow  ledged  king.  ^ 

Demetrius  Soter,  king  of  Syria,  writes  to  Jonathan, 
asks  soldiers  against  Alexander  Balas.  Balas  also 
writes  to  Jonathan,  with  offers  of  fi'iendship,  and 
the  dignity  of  high-priest 

Jonathan  assists  Balas,  puts  on  the  purple,  and  per- 
forms the  functions  of  high-priest,  for  the  first  time 
at  Jerusalem,  which  he  makes  his  ordinary  resi- 
dence.    In  the  year  of  the  Greeks  160 

Demetrius's  second  letter  to  Jonathan 

Demetrius  Soter  dies;  Alexander  Balas  is  acknowl- 
edged king  of  Syria 

Onias  IV.  son  of  Onias  III.  builds  the  temple  of 
Onion  in  Egypt 

A  dispute  between  the  Jews  and  Samaritans  of  Al- 
exandria, concerning  their  temples.  The  Samari- 
tans condenuied  by  the  king  of  Egj'pt,  and  the 
temple  of  Jerusalem  preferred  to  that  of  Gerizim. 

Aristobuhis,  a  peripatetic  Jew,  flourishes  in  Egypt, 
under  Ptolemy  Philopator. 


1  Mac.  vii.  5 — 9. 
10,  &c. 


26—29. 
27—32; 


2  Mac.  xiv.  26—29 ; 
Jos.  Ant.  1.  xii. c.  17. 
2  Mac.  XV.  27. 


xiv.  37—46. 


XV.  27,  &c. 

1  Mac.  ix.   1,  &c.   Jos. 

Ant.  lib.  xii.  c.  19. 
5—21 ;   Jos. 

Ant.  lib.  xii.  c.  19. 

. 28,  &c.  Jos. 

Ant.  lib.  xiii.  c.  1. 


43,  &c.   Jos. 


Ant.  lib.  xiii.  a.  1. 
-  —  54. 


62,  &c.  Jos. 

Ant.  lib.  xiii.  c.  1. 


—  70  ;  Jos.  Ant. 
lib.  xiii.  c.  2. 


—  73. 

X.  1 ;    Jos.  Ant. 
lib.  xiii.  c.  3. 


3—9,15—20; 


Jos.  Ant.  1.  xiii.  c.  5. 


21,  &c. 

24—45. 

—  50  ;    Justin, 

lib.  XXXV.  c.  1  ; 

Polyb.  lib.  iii.p, 

161 ;  Jos.  Ant. 

lib.  xiii.  c.  5. 
Jos.  Ant.  lib.  xii.  c.  6  ;  lib. 

XX.  c.  8 ;  Bell. 

lib.  vii.  c.  30. 


974 


A  CHRONOLOGICAL  TABLE  OF  THE  HOLY  BIBLE. 


Calmet.       Hales. 


3854 


5258 


146 


153 


3858 
3859 


142 
141 


3860 


140 


3861 


3362 


5268 


139 


138 


143 


3364 

3835 
3836 

38£9 

3870 


5275 


136 

135 
134 

131 

130 


136 


FROM  THE  CREATION  TO  THE  BIRTH  OF  CHRIST. 


Demetrius  Nicanor,  eldest  son  of  Demetrius  Soter,  ^ 
cotnes  into  Cilicia  to  recover  the  kingdom  of  his  > 
father ^ 

Apollonius,  to  whom  Alexander  Balas  had  trusted  his 
affairs,  revolts  to  Demetrius  Nicanor 

He  marches  against  Jonathan  Maccabseus,  who  con- 
tinues in  the  intei-est  of  Alexander  Balas.  Apollo- 
nius is  put  to  flight 

Ptolemy  Philometor,  king  of  Egypt,  comes  into  Syria, 
pretending  to  assist  Alexander  Balas,  but  he  really 
designs  to  dethrone  him 

Alexander  Balas  gives  battle  to  Philometor  and  De-  j) 
metrius  Nicanor.  He  loses  it,  and  flies  to  Zab-  > 
diel,  king  of  Arabia,  and  cuts  ofl'his  head 3 

Ptolemy  Philometor  dies  in  Syria.  Cleopatra,  his  i 
queen,  gives  the  command  of  her  army  to  Onias,  > 
a  Jew,  son  of  Onias  III ) 

Onias  restrains  Ptolemy  Physcon,  son  of  Philo-  } 
metor y 

Jonathan  besieges  the  fortress  of  the  Syrians  at  Je-  ? 
rusalem ^ 

Demetrius  comes  into  Palestine ;  Jonathan  finds 
means  to  gain  him  by  presents 

Demetrius  Nicanor  attacked  by  the  inhabitants  of 
Antioch,  who  had  revolted.  Jonathan  sends  him 
soldiers,  who  deliver  him 

Tryphon  brings  young  Antiochus,  son  of  Alexander 
Balas,  out  of  Arabia,  and  has  him  acknowledged 
king  of  Syria.  Jonathan  espouses  his  interests 
against  Demetrius  Nicanor 

Jonathan  renews  the  alliance  with  the  Romans  and  ) 
Lacedemonians y 

He  is  treacherously  taken  by  Tryphon  in  Ptolemais, 
who  some  time  afterwards  puts  him  to  death 

Simon  Maccabteus  succeeds  Jonathan 

Tryphon  slays  the  young  king  Antiochus  Theos,  and 
usurps  the  kingdom  of  Syria 

Simon  acknowledges  Demetrius  Nicanor,  who  had  ^ 
been  dispossessed  of  the  kingdom  of  Syria,  and  > 
obtains  from  him  the  entire  freedom  of  the  Jews.  ) 

The  Syrian  troops,  that  held  the  citadel  of  Jerusalem, 
capitulate 

Demetrius  Nicator,  or  Nicanor,  goes  into  Persia  with 
an  army  ;  is  taken  by  the  king  of  Persia 

Simon  acknowledged  high-priest,  and  chief  of  the 
Jews,  in  a  great  assembly  at  Jerusalem 

Antiochus  Sidetes,  brother  of  Demetrius  Nicanor, 
becomes  king  of  Syria;  allows  Simon  to  coin 
money,  and  confirms  all  the  privileges  the  Syrian 
kings  had  granted  to  the  Jews 

Return  of  the  ambassadors  Simon  had  sent  to  Rome, 
to  renew  his  alliance  with  the  Romans 

Antiochus  Sidetes  quarrels  with  Simon,  and  sends 
Cendebeus  into  Palestine,  to  ravage  the  country. . 

Cendebeus  is  beaten  by  John  and  Judas,  Simon's  sons. 

Simon  killed  by  treachery,  with  two  of  his  sons, 
by  Ptolemy,  his  son-in-law,  in  the  castle  of  Do- 

cus 

Hyrcanus,  or  John  Hyrcanus,  succeeds  his  father, 

Simon. 
Antiochus  Sidetes  besieges  Hyrcanus  in  Jerusalem . 

Hyrcanus  obtains  a  truce  of  eight  days  to  celebrate 


1  Mac,  X.  67  ;  Jos.  Ant. 
1.  xiii.  c.  8  ;  Jus- 
tin, 1.  XXXV.  c.  2. 

Jos.  Ant.  1.  xiii.  c.  8. 

1  Mac.  X.  69—87 ;  Jos. 
Ant.  1.  xiii.  c.  8. 


xi.   1 — 5  ;     Jos. 

Ant.  1.  xiii.  c.  8. 

xi.  15—17 ;  Diod. 

Sic.     in     Excer. 
Phot.  cod.  244. 

xi.  18 ;  Polyb.  in 

Excer.  Val.  p.  194. 

Strab.  1.  xvi.  p.  751. 

Justin,  lib.  xxxviii.  c.  8  ; 

Jos.  cont.  Ap.  1.  ii. 
1  Mac.  xi.  20 ;  Jos.  Ant. 
1.  xiii.  c.  8. 

21—29. 


43, 44. 


—  54—60;  Jos. 
Ant.  1.  xiii.  c.  9. 

xii.  1 — 13  ;    Jos. 
Ant.  1.  xiii.  c.  9. 

—  39—53. 
xiii.  1—9. 


Diod.  Sic.  Legat.  31. 
1  Mac.  xii.  34— 42;  xiv. 

38—41 ;  Jos.  Ant. 

I.  xiii.  c.  11. 


xiii.  49—52. 
xiv.  1 — 3;  Justin, 


1.  xxxvi.  c.  1 ;  Jos. 
Ant.  xiii.  c.  9,  12; 
Orosiu.s,  lib.  y.  c.  4. 

26-49. 


XV.  1,  &c. 
—  15. 


—  26—36. 

—  38—40. 

xvi.  14 — 18  ;  Jos. 
Ant.  1.  xiii.  c.  14. 


—  20—24 ;   Jos. 
Ant.  1.  xiii.  c.  14. 


A  CHRONOLOGICAL  TABLE  OF  THE  HOLY  BIBLE. 


97o 


Caloiel.      Hales. 


3870 

3S73 

3874 

3875 
3877 


3:^^4 

3S98 


5275 


130 

127 

126 

125 
123 


lOf) 
105 

102 


136 


5305 


106 


3899 

3900 
3901 

3902 


3906 
3907 


5306 


101 

100 
99 

98 


105 


3919 


81 


FROM  THE  CREATION  TO  THE  BIRTH  OF  CHRIST. 


the  feast  of  Tabernacles.    Makes  peace  with  An- 
tiochus 

Hyrcaniis  finds  money  in  David's  tomb;  or  rather 
tlie  hidden  treasures  of  the  kings  of  Jiidaii 

Antiochiis  Sidetcs  goes  to  war  against  the  Persians  ; 
Hyrcanus  accompanies  him.  Antiochus  is  con- 
quered and  shiin 

Hyrcanus  shakes  off  the  yoke  of  the  kings  of  Syria, 
sets  himself  at  perfect  liberty,  and  takes  several 
cities  from  Syria 

He  attacks  the  Idumeans,  and  obliges  them  to  re 
ceive  circumcision 

He  sends  ambassadors  to  Rome,  to  renew  hisaUiance 
with  the  Roman  power 

While  the  two  kings  of  Syria,  both  of  them  called 
Antiochus,  war  against  each  other,  Hyrcanus 
strengthens  himself  in  his  new  monarchy 

He  besieges  Samaria ;  takes  it  after  a  year's  siege. . . 

Hyrcanus  dies,  after  a  reign  of  twenty-nine  years. . . 


Under  his  government  is  placed  the  beginning  of  the 
three  principal  Jewish  sects,  the  Pharisees,  the 
Sadducees  and  the  Esseniaus,  but  their  exact 
epochas  are  not  kno\vn. 

Judas,  otherwise  called  Aristobulus,  or  Philellen, 
succeeds  John  Hyrcanus,  associates  his  brother 
Antigonus  with  him  in  the  government,  leaves  his 
other  brethren  and  his  mother  in  bonds.  Lets  his 
mother  starve  in  j  '.ison  ;  takes  the  diadem  and  title 
of  king.     Reigns  one  year 

He  declares  war  against  the  Itureans.  Antigonus, 
his  brother,  beats  them,  and  obliges  them  to  be 
circumcised 

Antigonus  slain  at  his  return  from  this  expedition,  by 
onier  of  his  brother  Aristobulus 

Aristobulus  dies,  after  reigning  one  year.  Alexander 
Jannseus,  his  brother,  succeeds  him  ;  reigns  twen- 
ty-si.x  years.  He  attempts  Ptolemais,  but  hearing 
that  Ptolemy  Lathurus  was  coming  to  relieve  the 
city,  he  raises  the  siege,  and  wastes  the  coun- 
try   

Ptolemy  Lathurus  obtains  a  great  victory  over  Alex- 
ander, king  of  the  Jews 

Cleopatra,  queen  of  Egypt,  fearing  that  Lathurus 
should  give  her  disturbance  in  Egypt,  sends  the 
Jews  Helcias  and  Ananias,  against  him,  with  a 
])owerful  army.     She  takes  Ptolemais 

Alexander  Jannjeus,  king  of  the  Jews,  makes  an 
alliance  with  Cleopatra,  and  takes  some  places  in 
Palestine 

Attacks  Gaza,  takes  it,  and  demolishes  it. 

The  Jews  revolt  against  him,  but  he  subdues  them. 

He  wages  several  Avars  abroad  with  success. 

His  subjects  war  against  him  during  six  years,  and 
invite  to  their  assistance  Demetrius  Eucenis,  king 
of  Syria 

Alexander  loses  the  battle,  but  the  consideration  of 
his  misfortunes  reconciles  his  subjects  to  him. 

Demetrius  Eucerus  obliged  to  retire  into  Syria.  The 
years  of  these  events  are  not  well  known. 

Antiochus  Dionysius,  king  of  Syria,  invades  Judea  ; 
attacks  the  Arabians,  but  is  beaten  and  slain. 
Aretas,  king  of  the  Arabiajis,  attacks  Alexander; 
having  overcome  him,  treats  with  him,  and  re- 
tires. 


Jos.  Ant.  lib.  xiii.  c.  16  ; 
Diod.  Sic.  xxxiv.  p.  901. 

Jo3.  Ant.  lib.  xiii.  c.  16. 


Justin,  I.  xxxviii,  c.  10. 

Jos.  Ant.  lib.  xiii.  c.  17  ; 
Strabo,  lib.  xvi.  p.  76. 
XV.  c.  11 ; 


Strabo,  1.  xvi.  p.  7G0. 
xiii.  c.  17. 


c.  18. 


Euseb.  in  Chron. 


Jos.  Ant.  lib.  xiii.  c.  19  ; 
de  Bell. lib.  i.e. 3. 


Jos.  ubi  sup. 


c.  20. 
c.  20,  21. 

C.21. 


C.22. 


^7Q 


A  CHRONOLOGICAL  TABLE  OF  THE  HOLY  BIBLE. 


3920 
3926 

3933 

3934 
3935 

3935 


5306 
5333 


5342 


80 
74 

67 

66 
65 


3938 


62 


5342 


3939 


6] 


3940 


3941 


5348 


60 


59 


3947 


53 


105 

78 


69 


69 


63 


FROM  THE  CREATION  TO  THE  BIRTH  OF  CHRIST. 


Alexander  Jannseus  takes  the  cities  of  Diou,  Gerasa, 
Gaulon,  Seleuci,  &c. 

Alexander  Jannseus  dies,  aged  forty-nine  years 

Alexandra,  otherwise  Salome,  or  Salina,  his  queen, 
succeeds  him ;  gains  the  Pharisees  to  her  party,  by 
giving  them  great  power.     Reigns  nine  years. 

Aristobulus  II.  son  of  Alexander  Jannseus,  heads  the 
old  soldiers  of  his  father  ;  is  discontented  with  the 
government  of  his  mother  and  the  Pharisees 

Takes  possession  of  the  chief  places  of  Judea,  during 
his  mother's  sickness 

Alexandra  dies.  Hyrcanus,  her  eldest  son,  and 
brother  of  Aristobulus,  is  acknowledged  king. 
Reigns  peaceably  two  years. 

Battle  between  Hyrcanus  and  Aristobulus  ;  Hyrcanus 
is  overcome  at  Jericho.  Hyrcanus  had  lieen  high- 
priest  under  the  reign  of  his  mother  nine  years; 
then  is  king  and  pontiff  two  years ;  is  afterwards 
only  priest  nineteen  years  ;  after  wliich  he  is  eth- 
narch  four  years.  At  last,  he  is  Herod's  captive 
and  sport  eight  years.  So  that  he  survived  his 
fatner,  Alexander  Jannajus,  forty-eight  years 

Peace  concluded  between  the  brothers,  on  condition 
that  Hyrcanus  should  liv'e  private,  in  the  enjoy- 
ment of  his  estate,  and  Aristobulus  be  acknowl- 
edged high-priest  and  king.  Thus  Hyrcanus, 
having  reigned  three  years  and  three  montJis,  re- 
signs the  kingdom  to  Aristobulus  II.  who  reigns 
three  years  and  three  months 

Hyrcanus,  at  the  instigation  of  Antipater,  seeks  pro- 
tection from  Aretas,  king  of  the  Arabians. 

Aretas,  king  of  the  Arabians,  undei-takes  to  replace 
Hyrcanus  on  the  throne '. 

Aristobulus  is  worsted,  and  forced  to  shut  himself  up 
in  the  temple  at  Jerusalem. 

He  sends  deputations,  first  to  Galiinius,  and  then  to 
Scaurus,  who  were  sent  by  Pompey  into  Syria ; 
offers  them  great  sums  of  money  to  engage  on  his 
sid'!,  and  to  oi)lige  Aretas  to  raise  the  siege  of  the 
temj)le 

Scaurus  writes  to  Ai'ctas,  and  threatens  to  declare 
him  an  enemy  to  the  Roman  people,  if  he  does  not 
retire. 

Aretas  withdraws  his  forces ;  Aristobulus  pursues  him, 
gives  him  battle,  and  olitains  a  victory  over  him. 

Pompey  comes  to  Damascus,  and  orders  Aristobulus 
and  Hyrcanus  to  appear  before  liim.  Hears  the 
cause  of  the  two  brothers,  and  advises  them  to  live 
in  good  understanding  witii  each  other 

Aristobulus  withdraws  into  Jerusalem,  and  maintains 
the  city  against  Pompey,  who  besieges  it.  The 
city  and  temple  taken.  Aristobulus  taken  prison- 
er. Hyrcanus  made  high-jiriest  and  prince  of  the 
Jews,  but  not  allowed  to  wear  the  diadem.  Judea 
reduceil  to  its  ancient  limits,  and  obliged  to  pay 
tribute  to  the  Romans 

Alexander,  son  of  Aristobulus,  having  escaped  from 
the  custody  of  those  who  were  carrying  him  to 
Rome,  comes  into  Judea,  and  raises  soldiers 

End  of  the  kingdom  of  Syria. 

Augustus,  afterwards  emperor,  is  born. 

Gabinius,  a  Roman  commander,  beats  Alexander,  and 
besieges  him  in  the  castle  of  Alexandrion.  Alex- 
ander sun-enders,  with  all  his  strong  places. 


Jos.  Ant,  lib.  xiii.  c.  23. 


24. 


lib.    xiv.    c.    1 ; 
Bel.  lib.  i.  c.  4. 


Jos.  ubi  sup. 


c.  3:Behlib.i.5. 


c.  4. 


c.  5. 


c.  5—7. 


Strab.  lib.  xvi.  p.  762. 

Jos.  Ant.  lib.  xiii.  c.  10; 
Bel.  hb.  i  c.  6. 


A  CHRONOLOGICAL  TABLE  OF  THE  HOLY  BIBLE. 


977 


3948 


5348 


3949 


51 


3950 
3951 

3[I52 


5358 


50 
49 

48 


3955 


45 


3957 


43 


53G4 


3958 


42 


G3 


53 


47 


FROM  THE  CREATION  TO  THE  BIRTH  OF  CHRIST. 


3959 


41 


Aristobulu?!,  escaping  from  Rome,  returns  into  Jiulea, 
ami  endeavors  to  repair  the  castle  of  Alexandrion. 
Is  hindered  Ity  tlie  Romans,  wlio  disperse  his  httle 
army.  lie  flees  to  Machoeron,  determining  to  for- 
tify it,  but  is  presently  besieged  in  it.  After  some 
resistance,  is  taken,  and  sent  a  second  time  pris- 
oner to  Rome 

Ptolemy  Auletes,  king  of  Egypt,  by  money,  induces 
Gabinius  to  come  into  Egypt,  to  restore  him  to  the 
throne.  Joiin  Hyrcanus  furnishes  Gabinius  Avith 
provisions  for  his  army,  and  writes  to  the  Jews,  in 
Pelusium,  to  favor  the  passage  of  the  Romans. . . . 

While  Gabinius  is  busy  in  Egypt,  Alexander,  son  of 
Aristobulus,  wastes  Jiulea.  Gabinius  defeats  hmi 
at  the  foot  of  mount  Tabor 

Crassus  succeeds  Gabinius  in  the  government  of 
Syria 

Crassus,  passing  into  Syria,  and  finding  the  province 
quiet,  makes  war  against  the  Parthians. 

lie  comes  to  Jerusalem,  and  takes  gi-eat  riches  out 
of  the  temple 

He  marches  against  the  Parthians :  is  beaten  and 
killed  by  Orodes 

Cassius  brings  the  remains  of  the  Roman  army  over 
the  Euphrates,  takes  Tirhakah,  and  brings  from 
thence  above  30,000  Jewish  captives. 

He  restrains  Alexander,  son  of  king  Aristobulus. 

Civil  war  between  Ctesar  and  Pompey 


Julius  Caesar,  making  himself  master  of  Rome,  sets 
Aristobulus  at  liberty,  and  sends  him  with  two  le- 
gions into  Syria. 

Those  of  Pompey's  party  poison  Aristobulus. 

Scipio  slays  young  Alexander,  son  of  Aristobulus. 

The  battle  of  Pharsalia.  Antipater  governor  of 
Judea. 

The  libraiy  of  Alexandria  burnt. 

Antipater,  by  order  of  Hyrcanus,  joins  Mithridates, 
who  was  going  into  Egjpt  with  succors  for  Cassar, 
and  assists  him  in  reducing  the  Egyptians. 

Cajsar,  having  finished  the  war  in  Egypt,  comes  into 
Syria  ;  confirms  Hyrcanus  in  the  high-priesthood. 

Vitruvhis,  the  architect,  flourishes. 

Antigonus,  son  of  Aristobulus,  remonstrates  to 
Ciesar ;  but  Cresar  is  pn^judiced  against  hun  by 
Antip'ater 

Antipater  takes  advantage  of  the  indolence  of  Hyr- 
canus ;  makes  his  eldest  son,  Phazael,  governor  of 
Jerusalem,  and  Herod,  another  of  his  sons,  gov- 
ernor of  Galilee 

Herod  is  sunmioncd  to  Jerusalem  to  give  an  account 
of  his  conduct,  but,  finding  himself  in  danger  of 
being  condemned,  retires  to  his  government. 

Hillel  and  Sameas,  two  famous  rabbins,  live  about 
this  time.  Sameas  was  master  to  Hillel.  Jona- 
than, son  of  Uziel,  author  of  the  Chaldee  para- 
l)hrase,  was  a  disciple  of  Hillel.  Josephus  says, 
that  Pollio  wr.s  master  of  Sameas.  Jerome  says, 
that  Akiba  succeeded  Sameas  and  Hillel  in  the 
school  of  the  Hebrews. 

CfBsar  passes  into  Africa.    Cato  kills  himself  at  Utica. 

Reform  of  the  Roman  Calendar,  in  the  year  of  Rome 

708.     This  year  consisted  of  445  days 

Hyrcanus  sends  ambassadoi-s  to  Julius  Caesar,  to  re- 


Jos.  Ant.  lib.  xiv.  c.  11  ; 
Bel.  lib.  i.  c.  6. 


Dion.  Cas.  lib.  xxxix ; 
Plutarch  in  Anton. 
Jos.  Ant.  1.  xiv.  c.  11. 


Jos.  ubi  sup. 

Dion.  Cas.  lib.  xxxix. 

Jos.  Ant.  lib.  xiv.  c.  12. 
Dion.  Cas.  lib.  xl. 


Pint,  in  Caes.  etc. 
Dion.  Cas.  lib.  xli. 
App.  Bel.  civ.  lib.  ii. 


Jos.  Ant.  lib.  xiv.  c.  15 ; 
Bel.  lib.  i.  c.  8. 


c.  17. 


Censorin.  c.  20. 


12.3 


978 


A  CHRONOLOGICAL  TABLE  OF  THE  HOLY  BIBLE. 


3960 


3961 


3962 


3963 


5364 


40 


39 


38 


37 


47 


3964 


36 


5371 
5374 


3965 


35 


3966 
3967 


34 
33 


FROM  THE  CREATION  TO  THE  BIRTH  OF  CHRIST. 


new  alliance.  The  alliance  renewed  in  a  manner 
very  advantageous  to  the  Jews. 

After  the  death  of  Julius  Caesar,  the  ambassadors  of 
the  Jews  are  introduced  into  the  senate,  and  obtain 
their  whole  request. 

The  Jews  of  Asia  confirmed  in  their  privilege  of  not 
being  compelled  to  sei"ve  in  the  wars. 

Cassius  demands  700  talents  from  Judea.  Malichus 
causes  Antipater  to  be  poisoned 

Herod  causes  Malichus  to  be  killed,  to  revenge  the 
death  of  his  father  Antipater. 

Felix,  having  attacked  Phazael,  is  shut  up  bj'  him  in 
a  tower,  whence  Phazael  would  not  release  him 
but  on  composition. 

The  era  of  Spain,  Spain  being  now  subdued  to  Au- 
gustus by  Domitius  Calvinus. 

Herod  and  Phazael  tetrarchs  of  Judea 

Antigonus  11.  son  of  Ai'istobulus,  gathers  an  army, 
and  enters  Judea. 

Herod  gives-him  battle,  and  routs  him. 

Mark  Antony  coming  into  Bithynia,  some  Jews 
resort  to  him,  and  accuse  Herod  and  Phazael  be- 
fore him  ;  but  Herod,  coming  thither,  wins  the 
affections  of  Antony 

Mark  Antony,  being  at  Ephesus,  grants  the  liberty 
of  their  nation  to  such  Jews  as  had  been  brought 
captive  by  Cassius,  and  causes  the  lands  to  be  re- 
stored that  had  been  unjustly  taken  away  from  the 
Jevvs. 

Mark  Antony  coming  to  Autioch,  some  principal 
Jews  accuse  Herod  and  Phazael,  but,  instead  of 
hearing  them,  he  establishes  the  two  brothers  te- 
trarchs of  the  Jews 

The  Jews  afterwards  send  a  deputation  of  a  thou- 
sand of  their  most  considerable  men  to  Antony, 
then  at  Tyre  ;  but  in  vain 

Antigonus,  sou  of  Aristobulus,  prevails  with  the 
Parthians  to  place  him  on  the  throne  of  Judea. 
The  Parthians  seize  Hyi'canus  and  Phazael,  and 
deliver  them  up  to  Antigonus 

Phazael  beats  out  his  own  brains  ;  the  Parthians 
carry  Hyrcanus  beyond  the  Euphrates,  after  Antig- 
onus had  cut  oft' his  ears. 

Herod  forced  to  flee  to  Jerusalem,  and  thence  to 
Rome,  to  implore  assistance  from  Antony.  He 
obtains  the  kingdom  of  Judea  from  the  senate,  and 
returns  with  letters  from  Antony,  who  orders  the 
governors  of  Syria  to  assist  in  obtaining  the  king- 
dom.    He  reigns  thirty-seven  years 

He  first  takes  Joppa,  then  goes  to  Massada,  where 
his  brother  Joseph  was  besieged  by  Antigonus. . . 

He  raises  that  siege,  and  marches  against  Jerusalem  ; 
but,  the  season  being  too  far  advauced,  he  coidd  not 
then  besiege  it 

He  takes  the  robbers  that  hid  themselves  in  the  caves 
of  Galilee,  and  slays  them. 

3Iachcra,  a  Roman  captain,  and  Josej)h,  Herod's 
brother,  carry  on  the  war  against  Antigonus,  while 
Herod  goes  with  troops  to  Antony,  then  besieging 
Samosata 

After  the  taking  of  Samosata,  Antony  sends  Sosius, 
with  Herod,  into  Judea,  to  reduce  it 

After  several  battles,  Herod  marches  against  Jerusa- 
lem ;  the  city  is  taken  ;  Antigonus  surrenders  him- 
self to  Sosius,  who  insults  him. 


Jos.  Ant.  lib.  xiv.  c.  18. 
19. 


C.23. 


C.22. 


c.23. 


•c.24,25. 


c.26. 
C.27. 


A  CHRONOLOGICAL  TABLE  OF  THE  HOLY  BIBLE. 


979 


Calmet.       Hales. 


3967  5374   33 


39G8 

39C9 
3970 


3973 


3974 


3975 
3976 
3978 

3979 

3982 

3983 

3984 
3985 

3988 

3989 
3990 

3991 

3993 
3994 


27 


26 


25 
24 
22 

21 

18 

17 

16 
15 

12 

11 

10 


37 


KROM  THE  CREATION  TO  THE  BIRTH  OF  CHRIST. 


Antigomis  carr.ed  prisoner  to  Antony,  at  Antiocli, 
who  orders  him  to  be  beheaded 

End  of  the  rei^i  of  the  Asmoneans,  which  had  lasted 
126  years. 

Ananel  higli-priest  the  first  time 

Hyrcanus  is  treated  kindly  by  the  king  of  the  Par- 
tliians.     Obtains  leave  to  return  into  Judea. 

Because  Hi'rcanus  could  no  longer  exercise  the 
functions  of  the  high-priesthood,  Herod  bestows 
that  dignity  on  Ananel 

Alexandra,  mother  of  Mariamne  and  Aristobulus,  ob- 
tains of  Herod,  that  Aristobulus  might  be  made 
high-priest. 

Herod  causes  Aristobulus  to  be  drowned,  after  he 
had  been  high-priest  one  year. 

Ananel  high-priest  the  second  time 

Herod  is  sent  for  by  Antony  to  justify  himself  con- 
cerning the  murder  of  Aristobulus 

War  between  Augustus  and  Mark  Antony.  Herod 
sides  with  Antony. 

Herod's  wars  with  the  Arabians. 

A  great  earthquake  in  Judea 

The  battle  of  Actium  ;  Augustus  obtains  the  vie-  ) 
tory  over  Antony s 

Herod  seizes  Hyrcanus,  who  attempted  to  take  shel- 
ter with  the  king  of  the  Arabians,  and  puts  him  to 
death. 

He  goes  to  Rome  to  pay  his  court  to  Augustus ; 
obtains  the  confirmation  of  the  kingdom  of  Ju- 
dea. , 

Antony  and  Cleopatra  kill  themselves. 

E7ul  of  the  ki7igs  of  Alexandria^  294  years  from  the 
death  of  Alexander  the  Great. 

Augustus  comes  into  Syria ;  passes  through  Pales- 
tine ;  is  magnificently  entertained  by  Herod. 

Herod  puts  to  death  his  wife  Mariamne,  daughter  of 
Alexandra. 

Salome,  Herod's  sister,  divorces  herself  from  Costo- 
barus. 

Plague  and  famine  rage  in  Judea. 

Herod  undertakes  several  buildings,  contrary  to  the 
religion  of  the  Jews 

He  builds  Caisarea  of  Palestine. 

Agrippa,  Augustus's  favorite,  comes  into  Asia.  Herod 
visits  him 

Augustus  gives  Trachonitis  to  Herod. 

Herod  undertakes  to  rebuild  the  temple  of  Jeru- 
salem   

Herod  makes  a  journey  to  Rome,  to  reconmiend  him- 
self to  Augustus 

He  marries  his  two  sons,  Alexander  and  Aristobulus. 

Herod  comes  to  meet  Agrippa,  and  engages  him  to 
visit  Jerusalem. 

Domestic  divisions  in  Herod's  family.  Salome,  Phe- 
roras  and  Antipater  at  variance  with  Alexander 
and  Aristobulus 

Herod  goes  to  Rome,  and  accuses  his  two  sons, 
Alexander  and  Aristobulus,  to  Augustus. 

The  solemn  dedication  of  the  city  of  Caesarea,  built 
by  Herod,  in  honor  of  Augustus. 


Jos.  Ant.  lib.  xiv.  c.  27. 


XV.  c.  2. 


—  c.  2,  3. 


Jos.  ubi  sup. 

Jos.  Ant.  lib.  xv.  c.  4. 

c.7; 


Bel.  lib.  i.  c.  14. 
Dion.  Cas.  lib.  li. 
Plut.  in  Ant.  etc. 


Jos.  Ant.  lib.  xv.  c.  11. 


c.  13. 


c.  14. 


xvi.  c.  1. 


-C.6— 12. 


980 


A  CHRONOLOGICAL  TABLE  OF  THE  HOLY  BIBLE. 


FROM  THE  CREATION  TO  THE  BIRTH  OF  CHRIST. 


Calmet.       Hales. 


3995 


3996 


3997 

3998 


3999 


5374 


37 


5406 


Augustus  continues  the  Jews  of  Alexajidria  in  their 
ancient  rights  and  privileges. 

Herod,  it  is  said,  causes  David's  tomb  to  be  opened, 
to  take  out  treasure. 

New  disturbances  in  Herod's  family. 

Archelaus,  king  of  Cappadocia,  reconciles  his  son-in- 
law,  Alexander,  to  his  father,  Herod. 

Archelaus  goes  to  Rome  with  Herod. 

Herod  makes  war  in  Arabia. 

Herod  is  accused  to  Augustus  of  killing  several  Arabs. 

An  angel  appears  to  the  priest  Zacharias.  The  con- 
ception of  John  the  Baptist.     September  24th. . . . 

iVnnunciation  of  the  Incarnation  of  the  Son  of  God, 
to  the  Virgin  Mary.     March  25th 

Herod  condemns  and  slays  his  two  sons  Alexander 
and  Aristobul  us 

Antipater,  son  of  Herod,  aims  at  the  kingdom 

Herod  sends  Antipater  to  Rome. 

The  artifices  and  tricks  of  Antipater  are  discovered. 

Birth  of  John  the  Baptist,  six  months  before  the  birth 
of  Jesus,  June  24th 


Jos.  Ant.  lib.  xvi.  c.  15 

Luke  i.  9—20. 

26—38. 

Jos.  Ant.  1.  xvi.  c.  17. 
1.  xvii.  c.  ] . 


Luke  i.  57—80. 


A  CHRONOLOGICAL  TABLE  OF  THE  HOLY  BIBLE. 


981 


Vcir  ct 
World. 

Before 

Clirist. 

B.-f.,re 
A.D. 

Ye.ir  of 
Chrisl. 

FRO.M  THE  BIRTH  OF  CHRIST  TO  THE  DESTRUCTION  OF  JERUSALEM. 

Caliaet. 

Hiles. 

Calmcl. 

The  l)iitli   of  our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ, 

4000 

5 

4 

1 

4001 

3 

December  25th 

Luke  ii.  7. 
21. 

Circumcision  of  Jesus,  January  1 

Antipater   retmnis   from   Rome.     Is  accused  and  ) 

Jos.  Ant.  1.  xvii.  c.  7,  9  ; 

convicted  of  a  design  to  i)oison  Herod ^ 

Bel.  lib.  i.  c.  20,  21. 

Wise  men  come  to  worship  Jesus 

Matt.  ii.  1—12. 

Purification  of  the  \'irgin  Mary  ;  Jesus  presented  in 

the  temi)ie,  forty  days  after  his  birth,  Feb.  2d 

Luke  ii.  22—38. 

Fhght  into  Egy|)t 

Matt.  ii.  13—15. 

iMa.-^sacre  of  the  innocents  at  Bethleiiem 

10,  17. 

Antipater  put  to  death  by  order  of  Herod. 

Herod  dies,  five  days  after  Antipater 

Jos.  Ant.  1.  xvii.  c.  8  ; 

Euseb.  Hist.  Ec.  i.  8. 

Archelaus  appointed  king  of  Judea  by  the  will  of  ) 
Herod ^ 

Jos.  Ant.  1.  xvii.  c.  13  ; 

Matt.  ii.  22. 

Return  of  Jesus  Christ  out  of  Egypt.     He  goes  to 

dwell  at  Nazareth 

Matt.  ii.  19—23. 

Archelaus  goes  to  Rome,  to  procure  from  Augustus 

the  confirmation  of  Herod's  will  in  his  favor. 

The  Jews  revolt ;  Varus  keeps  them  in  their  duty. 

Archelaus  obtains  a  part  of  his  father's  dominions. 

with  the  title  of  tetrarch,  and  returns  to  Judea. 

An  impostor  assumes  the  character  of  Alexander,  son 

of  Herod  and  Mariamne. 

4002 

1 

2 

Archelaus  takes  the  high-priesthood  from  Joazar, 

and  gives  it  to  Eleazar. 
The  Vulgar  ^ra,  or  Anno  Domini ;  the  fourth  year 

of  Jesus  Christ,  the  first  of  which  has  but  eight 

A.   D. 

A.    D. 

days. 

4009 

7 

6 

9 

Archelaus  banished  to  Vienne  in  Gaul 

Jos.  Ant.  1.  xvii.  c.  15. 

4010 

7 

10 

Enrolment,  or  taxation,  by  Cyrenius  in  Syria. 

This  was  his  second  enrolment. 
Revolt  of  Judas  the  Gaulonite,  chief  of  the  Ilero- 

dians. 

4012 

10 

9 

12 

Jesus  Christ,  at  twelve  years  of  age,  visits  the  temple 
at  Jerusalem  ;  continues  there  three  days,  unknown 
to  his  parents 

Luke  ii.  46—48. 

4013 

10 

13 

Marcus  Ambivius  governor  of  Judea 

Jos.  Ant.  1.  xvii.  c.  15. 

4017 

14 

17 

Death  of  the  emperor  Augustus  ;  reigned  fifty-seven 
years,  five  months,  and  four  days r 

Vel.  Pat.  lib.  ii.  c.  123 ; 
Suet,  in  Oct.  c.  100  ; 

Tacitus,  1.  i.  c.  5,  7. 

Tiberius  succeeds  him  ;  reigns  tw^enty-two  years,  six 

Jos.  Ant.  lib.  xviii.  c.  3, 

months,  and  twenty-eight  days 

&c. 

4023 

20 

23 

Tiberius  expels  from  Italy  all  who  profess  the  Jewish 
religion,  or  practise  Egyptian  superstitions. 

4031 

25 

28 

31 

Pilate  sent  *''overnor  into  Judea 

He  attempts  to  bring  the  Roman  colors  and  ensigns 

into  Jerusalem,  but  is  opposed  by  the  Jew  s. 

4032 

26 

29 

32 

John  the  Baptist  begins  to  preach 

Matt.  iii.  1  ; 

Luke  iii.  2, 3  ; 
John  i.  18. 

4033 

27 

30 

33 

Jesus  Christ  baptized  by  John 

13     17  • 

INIark  i.  9 ; 

Luke  iii.  21. 

Jesus  goes  into  the  desert 

-     iv  1     11  • 

Mark  i.  12  ; 
Luke  iv.  1. 

28 

After  forty  days,  Jesus  returns  to  John.     He  calls 
Andrew,  Simon,  Philip  and  Nathanael 

The  marriage  in  Cana,  where  Jesus  changes  water 
into  wine 

Jesus  comes  to  Capernaum;  thence  to  Jerusalem, 
where  he  celebrates   the  first  passover  after  his 
baptism,  April  15th,  this  year 

12,  &c. 

John  ii.  1. 

Matt,  ix.— xii. 
John  ii.  12 — 25. 

Nicodemus  comes  to  Jesus  by  night 

John  iii.  1—21. 

982 


A  CHRONOLOGICAL  TABLE  OF  THE  HOLY  BIBLE. 


4033 


28 


30 


33 


4034 


4035 


31 


32 


34 


35 


30 


1036 


31 


33 


36 


FROM  THE  BIRTH  OF  CHRIST  TO  THE  DESTRUCTION  OF  JERUSALEM. 


Jesus  goes  to  the  banks  of  Jordan,  where  he  baptizes. 
Herod  Antipas  marries  Herodias,  his  brother  Philip's 

wife,  Philip  being  yet  living. 
John  the  Baptist  declares  vehemently  against  this  ) 

marriage  ;  he  is  put  in  prison ^ 

Jesus  withdraws  into  Galilee  ;  converts  the  Samari- 
tan woman,  and  several  Samaritans 

Preaclies  at  Nazareth,  and  leaves  this  city  to  dwell 
in  Capernaum 

Calling  of  Simon,  Andrew,  James  and  John,  by  Je- 
sus Christ 


Jesus  Chi-ist  works  sevei-al  miracles. 


Matthew  called. 


The  second  passover  of  our  Saviour's  public  ministry. 
Our  Savioui"'s  sermon  on  the  mount 

John  the  Baptist,  in  prison,  sends  a  deputation  to  ) 

Jesus,  to  inquire  if  he  were  the  Messiah ^ 

Mission  of  the  apostles  into  several  parts  of  Judea. . 

John  the  Baptist  slain,  by  order  of  Herod,  at  the  ^ 
instigation  of  Herodias,  in  the  seventeenth  year  > 
of  Tiberius ) 

Jesus  Christ  feeds  5000  men,  with  five  loaves  and 
two  fishes 

Jesus  Christ's  third  passover,  after  his  baptism. 

He  passes  through  Judea  and   Galilee,  teaching  ) 

and  doing  miracles I 

Transfiguration  of  Jesus  Christ 


Mission  of  the  seventj^-two  disciples 

Jesus  goes  to  Jerusalem  at  the  feast  of  Pentecost. . . 

His  relations  would  have  him  go  to  the  feast  of  Tab- 
ernacles ;  he  tells  them  his  hour  is  not  yet  come  ; 
however,  he  goes  thither  about  the  middle  of  the 
feast 

At  the  beginning  of  the  thirty-sixth  year  of  Jesus 
Christ,  Lazarus  falls  sick,  and  dies  ;  Jesus  comes 
from  beyond  Jordan,  and  restores  him  to  life 

Jesus  retires  to  Ephraim  on  Jordan,  to  avoid  the 
snares  and  malice  of  the  Jews  of  Jerusalem 

He  comes  to  Jerusalem,  to  be  present  at  his  last 
passover 


On  Sunday,  March  29,  of  Nisan  9,  he  arrives  at 
Bethany  ;  sups  with  Simon  tlie  leper 

Monday,  March  30,  his  triumphant  entry  into  Je-  ? 
rusalem ^ 

Tuesday,  March  31,  he  comes  again  to  Jerusalem  ;  ? 
on  his  way  curses  the  barren  fig-tree '. .  ( 

Wednesday,  April  1,  the  priests  and  scribes  con-  / 
suit  on  means  to  apprehend  him ^ 

Thursday,  April  2  ;  he  passeth  this  day  on  the  mount 
of  Olives;  sends  Peter  and  John  into  the  city,  to 
prepare  for  the  passover 

Thiu-sday  evening,  he  goes  into  the  city,  and  eats 
his  last  supper  with  his  apostles  ;  institutes  the 
Eucharist.      After  supper,  lie   retires   with  them 


John  iii.  22. 


Matt.  xiv.  3—5;  Mark 
vi.  17—20 ;  Luke 
iii.  19. 

John  i^ .  1—42. 

Luke  iv.  16—32. 

Matt.  iv.  18—22 ;  Mark  i. 

17—20  ;  Luke  v.  1 

—11. 
Mark  i.  23—27  ;  ii.  12 ; 

Matt.  viii.  14—17  ; 

Luke  iv.  35 ;  v.  25. 
Matt.  ix.  9  ;  Mark  ii.  14  ; 

Luke  V.  27. 

V.  1 — vii.  29 ;  Luke 

vi.  20—49. 
xi.  2 — 6  ;  Luke  vii. 

18—23. 
X.  Mark  vi.  7—13 ; 

Luke  ix.  1 — 6. 

xiv.  1 ;  IVIark  vi.  14 ; 

Luke  ix.  7. 
15 ;  Mark  vi.  35 ; 

Luke  ix.  12  ;  John 

vi.  a 


ix.  35  ;  JMark  vi.  6. 

xvii.   1  ;   Mark   Lx. 

2  ;  Luke  ix.  28. 
Luke  X.  1 — 16. 
John  V.  1. 


vii.  1—39. 


xi.  17—46. 

54. 

Matt.  xxi.  1 ;  Mark  xi.  1  ; 

Luke  xix.29 ;  John 

xii.  12. 

John  xii.  1 — 8. 

Matt.  xxi.  8  ;    Mark  xi. 

8;  Luke  xix.  36; 

John  xii.  1.3. 
xxi.  18,  19 ;   Mai-k 

xi.  12—14. 
Mark  xi.  18  ;  Luke  xix. 

47,  48. 

Matt.  xxvi.  17  ;  Mark  xiv. 

12  ;  Luke  xxii.  7. 
20;  3Iark    xiv. 

17  ;  Luke  xxii.  14  ; 

John  xiii.  1  ;   Matt. 


A  CHRONOLOGICAL  TABLE  OF  THE  HOLY  BIBLE. 


983 


4036       31 


as 


36 


4037 


31 


34 
35 


34 


37 


4038 
4039 
4040 


35 
C6 
37 


38 
39 
40 


4041 


38 


41 


FROM  THE  BIRTH  OF  CHRIST  TO  THE  DESTRUCTION  OF  JERUSALEM. 


into  the  garden  of  Gethsemane,  where  Judas,  ac- 
companied by  the  soldiers,  seizes  him 

In  the  night-time,  Jesus  is  conducted  to  Annas,  ? 
father-in-law  of  the  high-priest  Caiaphas ^ 

Friday,  April  3,  Nisan  14,  he  is  caiTied  to  Pilate,  ^ 
accused,  condemned,  and  crucified  on  Calvary..  > 

Towards  evening,  before  the  repose  of  the  sabbath  b 
begins,  he  is  taken  down  from  the  cross,  em-  > 
balmed,  and  laid  in  a  tomb ) 

The  priests  set  guards  about  it,  and  seal  up  the  entry 
of  the  sepulchre 

He  continues  in  the  tomb  all  Friday  night,  all  Satur- 
day, (that  is,  the  sabbath,)  and  Saturday  night,  till 
Sunday  morning. 

He  rises  on  Sunday  morning 

Angels  declare  his  resurrection  to  the  holy  women 
who  visit  his  tomb 

Jesus  himself  appears  ;  1.  to  Mary  Magdalen,  who 
mistakes  him  for  the  gardener ;  2.  to  the  holy 
women,  returning  from  the  sepulchre  ;  3.  to  Peter ; 
4.  to  the  two  disciples  going  to  Emmaus  ;  5.  to  the 
apostles  assembled  in  an  apartment  at  Jerusalem, 
excepting  Thomas,  who  was  absent :  all  this  on  the 
day  of  his  resurrection 

Eight  days  after,  in  the  same  place,  he  again  visits  his 
disciples,  and  convinces  Thomas,  now  present.. . . 

The  apostles  return  into  Galilee.  Jesus  shows  ) 
himself  to  them  on  several  occasions ^ 

The  apostles,  having  passed  about  twenty-eight  days 
in  Galilee,  return  to  Jerusalem. 

Jesus  appears  to  them  while  at  table,  in  Jerusalem, 
Maj'  14.  Having  taken  them  out  of  the  city,  to 
the  mount  of  Olives,  he  ascends  into  heaven  before 
them  all,  on  the  fortieth  day  after  his  resurrection. 

Ten  days  after,  being  the  feast  of  Pentecost,  the  Holy 
Ghost  descends  upon  them  in  the  form  of  tongues 
of  fire 

Seven  deacons  chosen 

St.  Stephen  martyred 

Saul  persecutes  the  church;  his  conversion 

Pilate  writes  to  Tiberius  respecting  the  death  of  Je- 
sus Christ. 

James  the  lesser  made  bishop  of  Jerusalem. 

Philip  the  deacon  baptizes  the  eunuch  of  queen 
Candacc 

Dispersion  of  believei-s  from  Jerusalem 

Agrippa  the  younger,  being  much  involved  in  debt 
in  Judea,  resolves  on  going  to  Rome. 

He  arrives  at  Rome,  and  devotes  himself  to  Caius, 
afterwards  emperor. 

He  falls  under  the  displeasure  of  Tiberius,  and  is  put 
in  prison. 

Pilate  ordered  into  Italy. 

Tiberius  dies  ;  Caius  Calisula  succeed^ 

Agrippa  sot  at  liberty,  and  promoted  to  honor. 

Apollonius  Tyanicus  becomes  famous  about  the  end 
of  Tiberius's  reign. 

It  is  thought  that  about  this  time  St.  Peter  comes  to 
Anlioch. 

St.  Paul  escapes  from  Damascus,  by  being  let  down 
in  a  basket 


xxvi.  30 ;  INIark  x'lv. 

26 ;  Luke  xxii.  39  ; 

John  xviii.  ],  3. 
Matt.  xxvi.  57  ;  INIark  xiv. 

53  ;  Luke  xxii.  54  ; 

John  xviii.  13. 
xxvii.   2,   11—14; 

Markxv.l;Lu.xxiii. 

1  ;  John  xviii.  28. 
57  ;  Mark  xv. 

42  ;  Luke  xxiii.  50 ; 

John  xix.  38. 

66. 


xxviii.  2. 

John  XX.  11. 
14. 

Matt,  xxviii.  9  ;  John  xx. 

18. 
Luke  xxiv.  36. 


John  XX.  19—23. 
Mark  xvi.  14  ;  John  xx. 

26. 
Matt,  xviii.  16—18  ; 

John  xxi.  1. 


Luke  xxiv.  30, 31 ;  Acts 
i.  9. 


Acts  ii. 

vi.  1—6. 

8— vii.  60. 

viii.  1— ix.  1—19. 


26—40. 
1. 


Sueton.  in  Calig. 


Acts  ix.  23—25. 


984 


A  CHRONOLOGICAL  TABLE  OF  THE  HOLY  BIBLE. 


4041 


35 


38 


41 


4042 


4043 


39 


40 


42 


43 


4044 


41 


44 


4045 
404G 
4047 


44 


42 
43 
44 


FROM  THE  BIKTH  OF  CHRIST  TO  THE  DESTRUCTION  OF  JERUSALEM. 


4048 


4049 


45 


40 


48 


49 


He  comes  to  Jerusalem ;  Baraabas  introduces  him 
to  the  apostles  and  disciples 

He  goes  to  Tarsus  in  Cilicia,  his  native  country 

Caligula  gives  Agrippa  the  tetrarchy  of  his  uncle 
Philip ;  he  retm-ns  into  Judea ;  passing  through 
Alexandria,  he  is  ridiculed  by  the  inhabitants. 

The  citizens  of  Alexandria  make  an  uproar  against 
tlie  Jews,  at  the  instigation  of  Flaccus. 

Pilate  kills  himself. 

Flaccus  apprehended,  and  carried  to  Rome  ;  is  ban- 
ished by  order  of  Caligula. 

Ilerod  the  tetrarch  goes  to  Rome,  in  hopes  of  ob- 
taining some  favor  from  the  emperor.  But  Calig- 
ula, being  prepossessed  by  Agrippa,  banishes  him 
to  Lyons. 

Caligula  orders  Petronius  to  place  his  statue  in  the 
temple  of  Jerusalem.  The  Jews  obtain  some  de- 
lay from  Petronius. 

Agrippa  endeavors  to  divert  the  emperor  from  this 
thought,  at  last,  as  a  great  favor,  that  this  statue 
should  not  be  set  up. 

Philo,  the  Jew,  goes  with  a  deputation  from  the 
Jews  at  Alexandria  to  Caligula, 

Philo  obtains  an  audience  of  the  emperor,  and  runs 
the  hazard  of  his  life. 

Tumults  in  Chaldea  ;  the  Jews  quit  Babylon,  and  re- 
tire to  Seleucia. 

About  this  time,  Helena,  queen  of  the  Adiabenians, 
and  Izates,  her  son,  embrace  Judaism. 

Cains  Caligula  dies;  Claudius  succeeds  him.  Agrip- 
pa persuades  him  to  accept  the  empire  oflered  by 
the  army.  Claudius  adds  Judea  and  Samaria  to 
Agrippa's  dominions 

Agri])]>a  returns  to  Judea ;  takes  the  high-priesthood 
from  Theophilus,  sou  of  Ananus  ;  gives  it  to  Simon 
Cantharus. 

Soon  after,  takes  this  dignity  from  Cantharus,  and 
gives  it  to  Matthias. 

Peter  comes  to  Rome  in  the  reign  of  Claudius.  The 
year  not  certain. 

Agrippa  deprives  the  high-priest  Matthias  of  the 
priesthood  ;  bestows  it  on  Elioneus,  son  of  Cithcus. 

Causes  the  apostle  James  the  greater  to  be  seized,  ) 
and  beheads  him ^ 

Peter  also  put  into  prison  by  his  order,  but  is  liberated 
by  an  angel 

Some  time  afterwards,  Agrippa,  at  Csesarea,  receives 
a  sudden  stroke  from  heaven,  and  dies  in  great 
misery 

Paul  and  Barnabas  go  to  Jerusalem  with  the  contri- 
butions of  the  believers  of  Antioch 

At  their  return  to  Antioch,  the  church  sends  them 
forth  to  preach  to  the  Gentiles,  wherever  the  Holy 
Ghost  should  lead  them 

Cuspius  Fadus  sent  into  Judea,  as  governor. 

A  great  famine  in  Judea 

Paul  and  Barnabas  go  to  Cy|)rus,  thence  to  Pamphy- 
lia,  Pisidia  and  Lycaonia.    (But  see  under  Pauj..). 

At  Lystra,  the  people  prepare  sacrifices  to  them  as 
gods 

They  return  to  Antioch 

The  First  Epistle  of  Peter 

About  this  time  INIark  writes  his  Gospel 

Cuspius  Fadus  recalled  ;  the  government  of  Judea 
given  to  Til)erius  Alexander 


Acts  ix.  26—29. 
30. 


Sueton.  in  Claud. 


Acts  xii.  1,  2; 

Jos.  Ant.  lib.  xix.  c.  8. 

3—17. 


21—23. 

xi.  2G— 30 ;  xii.  25. 

xiii.  1—3. 

Jos.  Ant.  lib.  xx.  c.  2. 

Acts  xiii.  4 — xiv.  10. 

xiv.  11—18. 

19—23. 

1st  Peter. 
Gospel  of  Mark. 

Jos.  Ant.  lib.  xx.  c.  5. 


A  chr(5nological  table  of  the  holy  bible. 


985 


4051 


4052 
4054 


44 


48 


49 
51 


49 


4055 
4056 


52 
53 


4057 


54 


4058 
4059 
4060 


4061 
4062 

4063 

4064 

40(.;.1 


55 
56 
57 


58 
59 

60 

61 

62 


51 


52 
54 


57 


58 
59 
60 


61 
62 

G3 

64 

65 


FROM  THE  BIRTH  Of  CHRIST  TO  THE  DESTRUCTION  OF  JERUSALEM.    > 


Herod,  king  of  Chalcis,  takes  the  pontificate  from 
Joseph,  son  of  Caniides  ;  gives  it  to  Ananias,  son 
of  Nebedeus. 

Herod,  king  of  Chalcis,  dies. 

Ventidius  Curnanus  made  governor  of  Judea,  in  place 
of  Tiberius  Alexander. 

Troubles  in  Judea  under  the  government  of  Curna- 
nus. 

Judaizing  Cliristians  enforce  the  law  on  converted 
Gentiles 

The  council  of  Jerusalem  determines  that  converted 
Gentiles  should  not  be  bound  to  an  observance  of 
the  legal  ceremonies 

Peter  comes  to  Autioch,  and  is  reproved  by  Paul. . . 

Paul  and  Barnabas  separate,  on  account  of  John 
Mark 

Timothy  adheres  to  Paul,  and  receives  circumcision . 

Luke,  at  this  time,  with  Paul. 

Paul  passes  out  of  Asia  into  Macedonia 

Paul  comes  to  Athens 

From  Athens  he  goes  to  Corinth 

The  Jews  expelled  Rome  under  the  reign  of  Clau- 
dius   

Felix  sent  governor  into  Judea  instead  of  Cumanus. 

First  Epistle  of  Paul  to  the  Thessalonians 

His  Second  Epistle  to  the  Thessalonians,  some  mouths 
after  the  First 

Paul  leaves  Corinth,  after  a  stay  of  eighteen  months ; 
takes  ship  to  go  to  Jerusalem  ;  visits  Ephesus  in 
his  way 

A  polios  arrives  at  Ephesus ;  preaches  Christ 

St.  Paul,  having  finished  his  devotions  at  Jerusalem, 
goes  to  Antioch 

Passes  into  Galatia  and  Phrygia,  and  returns  to 
Ephesus,  where  he  continues  three  years 

Claudius,  the  emperor,  dies,  being  poisoned  by  Agrip- 
pina.     Nero  succeeds  him 

Epistle  of  Paul  to  the  Galatians 

The  Fii-st  Epistle  of  Paul  to  the  Corinthians 

Paul  forced  to  leave  Ephesus  on  account  of  the  up- 
roar raised  against  him  by  Demetrius  the  silver- 
smith   

He  goes  into  Macedonia 

Second  Episde  to  the  Corinthians 

Epistle  to  the  Romans 

Paul  goes  into  Judea  to  carry  contributions 

Is  seized  in  the  temple  at  Jerusalem 

Is  sent  prisoner  to  Cajsarea 

Ishmael,  son  of  Tabei,  made  high-priest  instead  of 
Ananias. 

Disturbance  between  the  Jews  of  Caesarea,  and  the 
other  inhabitants. 

Porcius  Fostus  made  governor  of  Judea  in  the  room 
of  Felix 

Paul  appeals  to  the  emperor.  He  is  put  on  ship- 
board, and  sent  to  Rome 

Paul  shipwrecked  at  Malta 

He  arrives  at  Rome,  and  continues  there  a  prisoner 
two  years 

The  Jews  build  a  wall,  which  hinders  Agrippa  from 
looking  within  the  temple. 

Ishmael,  the  high-priest,  deposed.  Joseph,  surnamed 
Cabei,  is  put  in  his  place. 

Epistle  of  Paul  to  the  Philippians 

Epistle  to  the  Colossians 


Acts  XV.  1 — 5. 

6—29. 

Gal.  ii.  11. 

Acts  XV.  36—39. 
xvi.  1—3. 

9—12. 

xvii.  15 — 34. 

xviii.  1. 

xviii.  2. 

1st  Thessalonians. 

2d  

Acts  xviii.  18,  19,  20. 
24—26. 

22. 

23;  xix.  1. 

Sueton.  in  Nero. 

Galatians. 

1st  Corinthians. 


Acts  xix.  23 — 11. 

XX.  1. 

2d  Corinthians. 

Romans. 

Acts  xxi.  1 — 15. 

xxi.  27 — xxiii.  10. 

xxiii.  31—35. 


xxiv.  27. 

XXV.  11, 12 — xxvii. 
xxvii. 

16— ;3i. 


Philippians. 
Colossians. 


124 


986 


A  CHRONOLOGICAL  TABLE  OF  THE  HOLY  BIBLE. 


Calmet.       Hales. 


4065 
4066 


49 


62 
63 


4067 


64 


1068 


65 


4069 


65 


66 


4070 


67 


68 


69 


70 


FROM  THE  BIRTH  OF  CHRIST  TO  THE  DESTRUCTION  OF  JERUSALEM. 


Martyrdom  of  the  apostle  James  the  lesser,  bishop  of 
Jerusalem. 

Epistle  of  Paul  to  the  Hebrews,  written  from  Italy, 
soon  after  he  was  set  at  liberty 

Albinus,  successor  of  Festus,  arrives  in  Judea 

A  division  among  the  priests  of  Jerusalem  on  the 
subject  of  tithes. 

The  singing  Levites  obtain  leave  to  wear  linen  gar- 
ments in  the  temple,  as  well  as  the  priests. 

Jesus,  son  of  Ananus,  begins  to  cry  in  Jerusalem, 
"Wo  to  the  city,"  &c.  and  continues  so  to  cry  till 
the  siege,  by  the  Romans 

Paul  comes  out  of  Italy  into  Judea  ;  passes  by  Crete, 
Ephesus  and  Macedonia. 

It  is  thought  that  from  Macedonia  he  writes  his  First 
Epistle  to  Timothy 

Paul's  Epistle  to  Titus 

Agrippa  takes  the  high-priesthood  from  Jesus,  son 
of  Gamaliel ;  gives  it  to  Matthias,  son  of  Theoph- 
ilus 

Gessius  Florus  made  governor  of  Judea  in  place  of 
Albinus. 

Nero  sets  fire  to  the  city  of  Rome  ;  throws  the  blame 
on  the  Christians,  several  of  whom  are  cruelly  put 
to  death 

Peter  writes  his  Second  Epistle,  probably  fi-om  Rome. 

Several  prodigies  at  Jerusalem  this  year,  during  the 
passover. 

Paul  goes  to  Rome  the  last  time ;  is  there  put  into 
prison  ;  also  Peter. 

Epistle  of  Paul  to  the  Ephesians 

Second  Epistle  of  Paul  to  Timothy 

ApoUonius  Tyanaeus  comes  to  Rome. 

The  martyrdom  of  Peter  and  Paul  at  Rome 

Clement  succeeds  St.  Peter,  but  does  not  take  upon 
him  the  government  of  the  church  till  after  the 
death  of  Linus. 

Mark  comes  again  to  Alexandria,  and  there  suffers 
martyrdom. 

Cestius,  governor  of  Syria,  comes  to  Jerusalem  ; 
enumerates  the  Jews  at  the  passover 

Disturbances  at  Caesarea,  and  at  Jerusalem. 

Florus  puts  several  Jews  to  death. 

The  Jews  revolt,  and  kill  the  Roman  garrison  at  Je- 
rusalem. 

A  massacre  of  the  Jews  of  Caesarea  in  Palestine. 

All  the  Jews  of  Scythopolis  slain  in  one  night. 

Cestius,  governor  of  Syria,  comes  into  Judea. 

He  besieges  the  temple  at  Jemsalem  ;  retires ;  is  de- 
feated by  the  Jews. 

The  Cliristians  of  Jerusalem,  seeing  a  war  about  to 
break  out,  retire  to  Pella,  in  the  kingdom  of  Agi'ip- 
pa,  beyond  Jordan 

Vespasian  appointed  by  Nero  for  the  Jewish  war. 

Josephu.s  made  governor  of  Galilee. 

Vespasian  sends  his  son  Titus  to  Alexandria ;  comes 
himself  to  Antioch,  and  forms  a  numerous  army. 

Vespasian  enters  Judea  ;  subdues  Galilee 

Josephus  besieged  in  Jotapata. 

Jotapata  taken  ;  Josephus  surrenders  to  Vespasian.. . 

Tiberias  and  Tarichoa,  which  had  revolted  against 
Agrippa,  riMluoed  by  Vespasian. 

Divisions  in  .!."rusalem 

The  Zealots  seize  the  temple,  and  commit  violence 
in  JerusaU;nj. 


Hebrews. 

Jos.  Ant.  lib.  xx.  c.  9. 


Jos.  Bel.  lib.  vi.  c.  5. 


1st  Timothy. 
Titus. 


Jos.  Ant.  lib.  xx.  c.  9. 


Tacit.  Hist.  lib.  v. 
2d  Peter. 


Ephesians. 
2d  Timothy. 

Euseb.  Hist.  1.  iii.  c.  1. 


Jos.  Bel.  lib.  ii,  c.  13. 


c.  25. 


—  lib.  iii.  c.  1. 
c.  8. 


lib.  iv.  c.  5, 6. 


A  CHRONOLOGICAL  TABLE  OF  THE  HOLY  BIBLE. 


987 


4070 


65 


67 


4071 


4072 


68 


69 


4073 


70 


4074 


4075 


70 


71 


72 


70 


71 


72 


73 


74 


75 


FROM  THE  BIRTH  OF  CHRIST  TO  THE  DESTRUCTION  OF  JERUSALEM. 


They  depose  Theophilus  from  being  high-priest,  and 
put  Phaunias  in  his  place. 

The  Zealots  send  for  the  Idunieans  to  succor  Jeru- 
salem. 

They  slay  Ananus,  Jesus,  son  of  Gamala,  and  Zach- 
arias,  son  of  Baruch. 

The  Idumeans  retire  from  Jerusalem. 

Nero,  the  emperor,  dies.     Galba  succeeds  him 

Vespasian  takes  all  the  places  of  strength  in  Judea, 
about  Jerusalem. 

Simon,  son  of  Gioras,  ravages  Judea,  and  the  south 
of  Iduinea. 

Galba  dies  ;  Otho  declared  emperor 

Otho  dies  ;  Viteliius  proclaimed  emperor. 

Vespasian  declared  emperor  by  his  army  ;  is  acknowl- 
edged all  over  the  East 

Josephus  set  at  liberty. 

John  of  Gischala  heads  the  Zealots. 

Eleazar,  son  of  Simon,  forms  a  third  party  ;  makes 
himself  master  of  the  inner  temple,  or  the  court  of 
the  priests 

Titus  marches  against  Jerusalem,  to  besiege  it 

Comes  down  before  Jerusalem,  some  days  before  the 
passover. 

The  factions  unite  at  firet  against  the  Romans,  but 
afterwards  divide  again 

The  Romans  take  the  first  enclosure  of  Jerusalem, 
then  the  second  ;  they  make  a  wall  all  round  the 
city,  which  is  reduced  to  distress  by  famine. 

July  17,  the  perpetual  sacrifice  ceases. 

The  Romans  become  masters  of  the  court  of  the 
people,  in  the  temple ;  they  set  fire  to  the  galleries. 

A  Roman  soldier  sets  the  temple  on  fire,  notwith- 
standing Titus  commands  the  contrary 

The  Romans,  being  now  masters  of  the  city  and  tem- 
ple, offer  sacrifices  to  their  gods. 

The  last  enclosure  of  the  city  taken 

John  of  Gischala,  and  Simon,  son  of  Gioras,  conceal 
themselves  in  the  common  sewers. 

Titus  demolishes  the  temple  to  its  foundations. 

He  also  demolishes  the  city,  reserving  the  towers  of 
Hippicos,  Phazael  and  Mariamne 

Titus  returns  to  Rome,  to  his  father  Vespasian ;  they 
triumph  over  Judea. 

Bassus  sent  into  Judea  as  lieutenant. 

After  the  death  of  Bassus,  Fulvius  Sylva  succeeds ; 
takes  some  fortresses  that  still  held  out  in  Judea. 

The  temple  Onion,  in  Egypt,  shut  up  by  the  Ro- 
mans. 

An  assassin  of  Judea  seduces  the  Jews  of  Cyrene, 
and  causes  their  destruction 

Vespasian  causes  a  strict  search  to  be  made  for  all 
who  are  of  the  race  of  David. 


Plut.  et  Suet,  in  Galb. 

Tacit,  hb.  ii.  c.  50. 
Jos.  Bel.  lib.  iv,  c.  10. 


~  lib.  V.  c.  1. 
e.  3. 


~c.7. 


lib.  Ti.  c.  4. 
C.8. 


lib.  yii.  c.  1. 


ell 


TABLES 


WEIGHTS      MEASURES,    AND    MONEY,    MENTIONED    IN    THE    BIBLE 


EXTRACTED  CHIEFLY  FROM  DR.  ARBUTHNOT'S  TABLES. 


1.  Jetcish  Weights,  reduced  to  English  Troi^  Weight. 

lbs.  oz.  pen.  gr. 

The  gerah,  one  twentieth  of  a  shekel 0  0  0  12 

Bekah,  half  a  shekel 0  0  5  0 

The  shekel >. 0  0  10  0 

The  maueh,  60  shekels 2  6  0  0 

The  talent,  50  raanehs,  or  3000  shekels 125  0  0  0 


2.  Scripture  Measures  of  Length,  reduced  to  English  Measure. 


A  digit. 


12 


24 


144 


A  palm 

A  span . 


96       24 


36 


192       48 


1920     480 


6 


12 


16 


160 


A  cubit 

2  I  A  fathom , 

Ezekiel's  reed , 

An  Arabian  pole 14 

A  schanus  or  measuring  line 145 


6      1.5 


1.3 


80      20      13.3      10 


Eng.    feet 

inches. 

0 

0.912 

0 

3.648 

0 

10.944 

1 

9.888 

7 

3.552 

10 

11.328 

14 

7.104 

145 

11.04 

3.  The  long  Scripture  Measures. 

Eng.  miles,   paces,     feet. 

A  cubit 0        0     1.824 

400  1  A  stadium  or  furlong 0  ^145 


I   2000  \       5  I  A  sabbath  day's  journey 0  729 

I    4000  I     10  I     2  I  An  eastern  mile 1  403 

;  12000  I     30  I     6  I     3  I  A  parasang 4  153 

I  96000  I  240  I  48  I  24  I  8  I  A  day's  journey ^3  173 


4.6 
3. 
1. 
3. 

4. 


,*> 


TABLES  OF  WEIGHTS,  MEASURES  AND  MONEY. 


989 


4    Scripture  Measures  of  Capacity  for  Liquids,  reduced  to  English  Wine  Measure. 


A  caph 


1.3  I  A  log 


5.3 


16 


32 


96 


12 


24 


72 


960       720 


A  cab 


3     AWn 


6  I     2  I  Aseali. 


18 


3  I  A  bath  or  ephah 7 


180  I  60  I  20  I  10  I  A  kor  or  choros,  chomer  or  homer 75 


Gal. 

|iints. 

0 

0.625 

0 

0.833 

0 

3.333 

1 

2. 

2 

4. 

7 

4. 

75 

5. 

5.  Scripture  Measures  of  Capacity  for  Things  dry,  reduced  to  English  Com  Measure. 


20 


36 


1. 


A  gachal 0 

A  cab 0 

An  omer  or  gomer 0 

A  seah 1 

3  I  An  ephah 3 

I  A  letech 16 


Pecks,   gal.      pints. 

0    0.141G 


120 


360 


1800 


3600 


6 


3.3 


18 


10 


90 


50 


15 


180     !  100     I  30  I  10  I  2  I  A  chomer,  homer  or  kor 32 


A  gerah 


10 


20 


A  bekah  

2  I  A  shekel. 


1200  I    120  I       50  !  Amaneh,  orminaHebr. 


6.  Jewish  Money,  reduced  to  the  English  Standard. 

£ 

0 

0 

0 

5 


60000  I  6000  I  3000  |  60  |  A  talent 342 

A  solidus  aureus,  or  sextula,  was  worth 0 

A  siclus  aureus,  or  gold  shekel,  was  worth 1 


0 

1 

2 

14 

3 

12 

16 

0 


d. 

1.3687 

1.6875 

3.375 

0.75 

9. 

0.5 

6. 

0. 


A  talent  of  gold  was  worth 5475 

In  the  precedmg  table,  silver  is  valued  at  5*.  and  gold  at  £4  per  ounce 


s 

0 
0 
0 

25 

1505 

2 

8 

24309 


2.8333 

5.1 

1. 

3. 

0. 

1. 


cts. 

02.5 

25.09 

50.187 

09.35 

62.5 

64.09 

03. 


7.  Roman  Money,  mentioned  in  the  JVeio  Testament,  reduced  to  the  English  Standard. 

£     s.     d.    far.         $  cts. 

Amite,  (Jf^r6v  or 'AooaQiov) 0     0     0    0|       0  00.34375 

A  farthing  (A'o(5(.avT^e)  about 0     0     0     li       0  00.6875 

A  penny  or  denarius  (^ijtueiov) 0    0    7    2        0  13.75 

A  pound  or  nuna 3    2    6    0      13  75. 


SCRIPTURE  PROPER  NAMES. 


Aaron 

a'ron 

Abaddon 

a-had'don 

Abagtha 
Abal 

a-hag'thah 
a'bal 

Abana 

ab'a-nah 

Abarim 

ab'a-rim 

Abba 

ab'bah 

Abda 

ab'dah 

Abdiel 

ab'de-el 

Abednego 
Abel 

a-bed'ne-go 
a'bel 

Abesan 

ab'be-san 

Abez 

a'bez 

Abiah 

ab-i'ah 

Abialbon 

ab-e-al'bon 

Abiasaph 

ab-i'a-saf 

Abiathar 

ab-i'a-thar 

Abib 

a'bib 

Abidah 

ab-i'dah 

Abiel 

ab'e-el 

Abiezer 

ab-e-e'zer 

Abiezrite 

ab-e-ez'rite 

Abigail 

ab'e-gale 

Abihail 

ab'e-hale 

Abijah 
Abilene 

ab-i'jah 
ab-be-le'ne 

Abimael 

ab-be-may'el 

Abiinelech 

ab-im'me-lek 

Abinadab 

ab-in'na-dab 

Abinoam 

ab-in'no-am 

Abiram 

ab-i'ram 

Ai)isliag 

ab'be-shag 

Abishai 

ab-be-shay'i 

Abishahar 

ab-be-shay' har 

Aliislialom 

ab-be-shay'lom 

Abishua 

ab-be-shu'ah 

Abishiir 

ab'e-shur 

Abital 

ab'e-tal 

Abiud 

ah'e-ud 

Acaron 

ak'a-ron 

Accad 

ak'kad 

Aceldama 

a-sel'da-mah 

Achaia 
Achaichus 

a-kay'ynh 
a-kay'e-kus 

Ac  ban 

a'kan 

Acliiin 

a'kim 

Achiinelech 

n-kim'e-lek 

Achioi- 

a'ke-or 

Acliish 

u'kish 

Acliitophel 

a-kit'o-fal 

Achmetha 

Achor 

Achsah 

Achshaph 

Achzib 

Acipha 

Acitho 

Adadah 

Adadezer 

Adadrimmon 

Adaiah 

Adam 

Adamah 

Adbeel 

Addi 

Ader 

Adiel 

Adina 

Adithaim 

Adlai 

Admah 

Adonai 

Adonibesek 

Adonijah 

Adonikam 

Adoniram 

Adonis 

Adonizedei< 

Adoraim 

Adranimelech 

Adramyttium 

Adria 

Adriel 

Adnllam 

Adiimmini 

i^Siieas 

Ethiopia 

Agabiis 

A  gag 

Agate 

A  gee 

Agrippa 

Agur 

Ahab 

Aharah 

Ahasai 

Ahasbai 

Ahasuerus 

Ahava 

Ahaz 


ak-me'thah 

a'kor 

ak'sah 

ak'shaf 

ak'zib 

as'e-fah 

as'e-tho 

ad'a-dah 

ad-ad-e'zer 

ad-ad-rim'mon 

ad-a-i'ah 

ad'am 

ad'a-mah 

ad-be'el 

ad'dy 

a'der 

ad'e-el 

ad-dy'nah 

ad-e-tha'im 

ad-lay'i 

ad'mah 

ad'o-nay 

ad-on'e-be'zek 

ad-o-ny'jah 

ad-o-ny'kam 

ad-o-ny'ram 

a-do'ms 

ad-on'e-ze'dek 

ad-o-ray'im 

ad-rain'mc-hk 

ad-ra-mit'te-um 

a'dre-ah 

a'dre-el 

ad-ul'avi 

ad-um'mim 

e-ne'as 

e-the-o'pe-a 

ag'a-bus 

Jgag 

ag'ate 

ag'e-e 

a-grip'pah 

a'gw 

a'hab 

a-har'ah 

a-has'a-i 

a-has'ba-i 

a-has-u-e'rus 

a-hay'vah 

a'haz 


Ahazai 

Ahaziah 

Ahban 

Ahi 

Ahiah 

Ahiezer 

Ahihud 

Ahijah 

Ahikam 

Ahimaaz 

Ahiman 

Ahimelech 

Ahimoth 

Abinadab 

Abinoam 

Ahio 

Ahira 

Ahisaraach 

Ahishahur 

Ahisham 

Ahishar 

Ahitophel 

Ahitub 

A  blab 

Ahiai 

Ahoah 

Ahohite 

Aholah 

Aholbah 

Aholiab 

Aholibah 

Aholibainah 

Almmai 

Ahuzam 

Ahuzzah 

Ai 

Aiali 

Aiath 

Aijah 

Aijaleth  shahur 

Ain 

Ajah 

Ajalon 

Akkub 

Akrabbiin 

Aiammelech 

Aiamoth 

Alcmeth 

Alexandria 

Aliah 


a-haz'a-i 

a-haz-i'ah 

ah'ban 

a'hy 

a-hy'ah 

a-hy-e'zer 

a-hy'ud 

a-hy'jah 

a-hy'kam 

a-him'a-az 

a-hy'man 

a-him' me-lek 

a'he-moth 

a-hin'na-dab 

a-hin' no-am 

a-hy'o 

a-hy'rah 

a-his'a-mak 

a-hy-shay'hur 

a-hy'sham 

a-hy'shar 

a-hit'o-fel 

n-hy'tiib 

ah'lab 

ah'lay 

a-ho'ah 

a-ho'httt 

a-ho'lah 

a-hol'bah 

a-ho'le-ab 

a-ho'le-bah 

a-ho-le-bay'mah 

a-hew'ma-i 

a-hew'zam 

a-huz'zah 

a'i 

a-i'ah 

a-i'ath 

a-i'jah 

ad'ja-Icfh-.iha'htif 

a'in 

a'jah 

ad'ja-lon 

ak-kub 

uk-rab'bim 

a-lam'me-lek 

al'a-moth 

al'e-meth 

al-ex-an'  dre-n 

a-ly'ah 


992 


SCRIPTURE  PROPER  NAMES. 


Alian 

AUelujah 

Alloubachuth 

Almodad 

Almondiblatha- 

ini 
Almug 
Aloth 
Alpha 
Alpheus 
Altaschith 
Alvah 
Aliish 
Amadathus 
Amal 
Amalda 
Amalek 
Arnanah 
Amariah 
Aiiiasa 
Amasai 
Amashai 
Amaziah 
Amen 
Amethyst 
Ami 

Amhiadab 
Ammishaddai 
Amittai 
Ammiel 
Ainmali 
Ammi 
Ammihud 
Ammizabad 
Ammonitess 
Amorites 
Amos 

Amphipolis 
Amok 
AmpHas 
Amraphel 
Amzy 
Anal) 
Anah 
Analiarath 
Anaiali 
Anak 
Anakims 
Anammelech 
Anani 
Ananiah 
Anath 
Anathema 
Anathoth 
Andronicus 
An  em 
Aneth 
Anothothite 
Aniam 
Antiiibanus 
Antioch 
Antiochis 
Antipas 
Antipater 
Antipatris 
Anti|)ha 
Antothijah 
Aiitothite 
Anub 
Apelles 
Apharaim 


al'e-an 

al-le-lu'yah 

aVlon-hak'uth 

al-mo'dad 

al'mon-dib-la-tha' 

im 
al'mug 
a'loth 
al'fah 
al-fe'us 
cd-tas'kith 
al'vah 
a'lush 

a-mad'a-thus 
a'mcd 
a-mal'dah 
am'a-lek 
am-a'nah 
am-a-ry'ah 
a-may'sali 
am-a-say'i 
am-a-shay'i 
am-a-zS'ah 
a'men 
am'me-thist 
a'my 

a-min'a-dab 
am-me-shad'da-i 
a-mit'tay 
am'me-el 
ain'mah 
am' my 
am'me-hud 
am-miz' a-had 
am-mon-i'tess 
am'o-rites 
a'moz 
am-Jip'o-lis 
a'mok 
am'ple-as 
am'ra-fel 
am'zy 
a'nab 
a'nah 

an-a-hay'rath 
an-a-i'ah 
a'nak 
an'a-kims 
a-nam'me-lek 
an-a'ny 
an-a-ny'ah 
a'nath 

a-nalh'e-mah 
an'n-thoth 
an-dro-ny'kus 
a'nem 
a'neth 

a-neth' o-thile 
a-ny'am 
an-te-lib' a-nus 
nn'tt-ok 
an-ty'o-kis 
an'te-pas 
an-te-pay'tcr 
an-te-pay'tris 
an'tc-fah 
an-to-thi'jak 
an'tofh-ite 
a'nub 
a-pel'les 
af-a-ray'wi 


Apharsathchites 

Apharsites 

Aphek 

Aphekah 

Aphiah 

Aphra 

Aphses 

Apocalypse 

Apocrypha 

Apollonia 

Apollos 

ApoUyon 

Apostle 

Appaim 

Apphia 

Appii  forum 

Aquila 

Ara 

Arab 

Arabah 

Arabattine 

Arabia 

Arad 

Arab 

Aram 

Aramitess 

Ararat 

Araunah 

Arbah 

Arbathite 

Archelaus 

Archestratus 

Archevites 

Archi 

Archiataroth 

Archippus 

Archites 

Arcturus 

Areli 

Arelites 

Areopagite 

Areopagus 

Ares 

Aretas 

Argob 

Aridai 

Aridatha 

Arieh 

Arimathea 

Arioch 

A  risai 

Aristarchus 

Aristobidus 

Armageddon 

Armenia 

Armoni 

Arnejjher 

Arodi 

Arocr 

Arpiiaxad 

Artaxerxes 

Artcmas 

Arnl)otli 

Arimiaii 

Asa 

Asadias 

Asiihel 

AsMJaii 

Asaph 

Asareel 

Asarelah 


a-far' sath-kites 

a-far'sites 

a'fek 

a-fe'kah 

a-fy'ah 

af'rah 

af'sez 

a-pok'a-lips 

a-pok're-fah 

ap-pol-lo'ne-a 

a-pol'los 

a-pol'yon 

a-pos'sel 

ap-pay'im 

af'e-ah 

ap'pe-ifo'rum 

ak'quil-ah 

a'rah 

a'rab 

ar'ra-bah 

ar-ra-bat' e-ne 

a-ray'be-a 

a'rad 

a'rah 

a'ram 

a-ram-i'tes 

ar'ra-rat 

a-raw'nah 

ar'bah 

ar'bath-ite 

ar-ke-lay'us 

ar-kes'tra-tus 

ar'ke-vites 

ar'ky 

ar-ke-at' a-roth 

ar-kip'pus 

ark'ites 

ark-too'rus 

ar-e'ly 

ar-e'lites 

ar-e-op' a-gite 

ar-e-op' a-gus 

a'rcz 

a-re'tas 

ar'gob 

a-rid'a-i 

a-rid'a-thah 

a-ry'eh 

ar-e-7na-the' all 

a're-ok 

a-ris'a-i 

ar-is-tar'kiis 

ar-is-to-bew'lus 

ar-ma-ged' don 

ar-mt'ne-a 

ar-mo'ny 

ar-nc'/er 

a-ro'dy 

a-ro'er 

ar-fax'ad 

ar-tax-crx'es 

ai-'lc-mas 

ar'ru-bolh 

a-ru'mah 

a'sah 

as-a-dy'as 

as'a-el 

as-a-i'ah 

a'saf 

as-a-re'el 

as-a-re'lah 


Asl>azareth 

as-baz'a^reth 

Asenath 

as'e-nath 

Ashan 

a'shan 

Ashbea 

ash'be-ah 

Ashchenaz 

ash'ke-naz 

Ashean 

a'she-an 

Asher 

ash'er 

Ashima 

ash't-mah 

Ashon 

a'shon 

Ashpenaz 

ash'pe-naz 

Ashriel 

ash're-el 

Ashtaroth 

ash'ta-roth 

Ashterathites 

ash-ter'ra-thites 

Ashuath 

a-shu'ath 

Ashur 

ash'ur 

Ashurim 

a-shu'rim 

Aslm  rites 

ash'ur-ites 

Askelon 

as'ke-lon 

Asmaveth 

as'ma-veth 

Asnapper 

as-nap'per 

Asochis 

a-so'kis 

Aspatha 

as'pa-thah 

Asriel 

as're-el 

Assir 

as'ser 

Assos 

as'sos 

Assyria 

as-sir'e-a 

Astarte 

as-tar'te 

Asuppim 

a-sup'phn 

Asyncritus 

a-sin'kre-tus 

Atad 

a'tad 

Ataroth 

at'ta-roth 

Athack 

a'thak 

Athaiah 

ath-a-i'ah 

Athaliah 

ath-a-ly'ah 

Athens 

ath'ens 

Athlai 

ath'lay 

Altai 

at'tay 

Attaliah 

at-ta-ly'ah 

Attharates 

at-thar' a-tes 

Augustus 

aiv-gus'tvs 

Ava 

a'vah 

Aven 

a'ven 

Avims 

a' vims 

Avith 

a'vith 

Azaelus 

az-a-e'lus 

x\zaliah 

a:^a-ly'ah 

Azaz 

a'zaz 

xAzareel 

az-a-re'el 

Azarial> 

az-a-ry'ah 

Azazel 

az-az'el 

Azaziah 

az-a-zy'ah 

Azbazareth 

az-baz'a-reth 

Azekah 

a-ze'kah 

Azem 

a'zem 

Azcphurith 

az-ze-feiv'rith 

Azgad 

az'gad 

Aziel 

a'ze-el 

Aziza 

a-zy'zah 

Azmaveth 

az'ma-veth 

Azor 

a'zor 

Azotus 

a-zo'tus 

Azriel 

az're-el 

Azrikam 

az-ry'kam 

Azubah 

v.z-yeie'bnh 

Azur 

a'zur 

Azzur 

az'zi  T 

B 

Baa  I, 

hay'al 

Baalah 

bay'al-ah 

Baall 

bay'al-e 

SCRIPTURE  PROPER  NAMES. 


993 


Baalim 

Baanah 

Baanath 

Baara 

Baaseiah 

Baashah 

Babel 

Babylon 

Babylonians 

Baca 

Bachrites 

Bachuth-allon 

Baharumite 

Bahurim 

Bajith 

Bakbakker 

Bakbuk 

Bakbiikiah 

Balaam 

Baladan 

Balak 

Bamoth 

Bani 

Barabbas 

Barachel 

Barachiah 

Barak 

Barhumites 

Barjesiis 

Baijonah 

Barsabas 

Bartholomew 

Bartimeus 

Baruch 

Barzillai 

Bashan 

Bashemath 

Basmath 

Bathaloth 

Bathrabbini 

Bathshebah 

Bavai 

Bdellium 

Bealoth 

Bebai 

Bee her 

Bechorath 

Bedaiah 

Bcdad 

Bedan 

Beeliada 

Beelzebub 

Beera 

Beerelim 

Beeri 

Beerlahairoi 

Beeroth 

Beersheba 

Becshterah 

Behemoth 

Bekah 

Bela 

Belgai 

Belial 

Belshazzar 

Belteshazzar 

Benjainin 

Benaiah 

Beuammi 

Beneberak 

Benejaakan 


hay'al-im 
bay-a'nah 
ba-a'nath 
ba-a'rah 
ba-a-sy'ah 
ba-a'shah 
bay'bel 
bah'e-lon 
bab-e-lo'ne-ans 
bay'kah 
bak'rites 
bak'uth-al'lon 
ba-har-iun'ite 
ba-heiv'rim 
bad'jith 
bak-bak'ker 
bak'buk 
bak-buk-i'ah 
bay'lam 
bal-a'dan 
hay'lak 
bay'moth 
bay'ny 
ba-rab'bas 
bar'a-kel 
bar-a-ky'ah 
bay'rak 
bar-hew' mites 
bar-je'sus 
bar-jo'nah 
har'sa-bas 
bar-thol'o-meiv 
bar-te-me'us 
bay'ruk 
bar-zil'la-i 
bay'shan 
bash'e-math 
bas'math 
bath'a-loth 
bath-rab'bim 
bath-she'bah 
bav'a-i 
del' yum 
be-a'loth 
beb'a-i 
be'ker 
bek-o'rath 
bed-a-i'ah 
be'dad 
be' dan 
be-el-i'a-dah 
be-el'ze-bub 
be-e'rah 
be-er'e-lhn 
be-e'nj 

be'er-la-hay'roy 
be-e'roth 
be'er-she'bah 
be-esh'te-rah 
be'he-moth 
be'kah 
be'lah 
bel'ga-i 
be-h'al 
bel-shaz'ar 
bel-te-shaz'ar 
ben'ja-min 
ben-a'yah 
ben-am'my 
ben-eb'e-rak 
ben-e-jay'a-kaii 
125       "^^ 


Benhadad 

Benhail 

Bcnhanaii 

Ben  in  u 

Beno 

Benoni 

Benui 

Benzoheth 

Bera 

Berachah 

Berachiah 

Beraiah 

Berea 

Bered 

Beri 

Beriah 

Berith 

Bernice 

Berodach 

Berothai 

Berothath 

Beryl 

Besai 

Besodeiah 

Betah 

Beten 

Bethabai-a 

Bethanath 

Bethany 

Betharabah 

Betharbel 

Bethaven 

Bethazmaveth 

Bethbaalmeon 

Bethbarah 

Bethbirei 

Bethdiblathaim 

Bethel 

Bethemek 

Bethesda 

Bethezel 

Bethgamul 

Bethhaccerim 

Bethharan 

Bethhoglah 

Bethjesimoth 

Bethlehem 

Bethlebaoth 

Bethmaaeah 

Bethmeon 

Bethnimrah 

Bethoran 

Bethpalet 

Bcthpazzez 

Bethpeor 

Bethphagc 

Bethj)helet 

Bethraliah 

Bethrehob 

Bethsaida 

Bethshean 

Bethshemesh 

Bethshomite 

Bethshittah 

Bethsimos 

I$ethtappua 

Bethuel 

Bethul 

Betonim 

Beulah 

Bezai 


ben-hay'dad 

Bezaleel 

ben-hay'il 

Bezek 

ben-hay'nan 

Bichri 

ben-i'nu 

Bigvai 

be'no 

Bileam 

ben-o'ne 

Bilgai 

ben-u'i 

Binea 

ben-zo'heth 

Binnui 

be'rah 

Birzavith 

ber-a'kah 

Bithiah 

ber-a-ky'ah 

Bithron 

ber-a-i'ah 

Bithynia 

be-re'a 

Bizjothiah 

be'red 

Bizjothjah 

be'ry 

Boanerges 

be-ry'ah 

Boaz 

be'nth 

Bocheru 

ber-ny'se 

Bochim 

be-ro'dak 

Bosor 

be-ro'thay 

Bozrah 

be-ro'thath 

Bozez 

ber'rU 

Brigandine 

be'say 

Bukki 

bes-o-dy'ah 

Bui 

be'tah 

Bunah 

be'ten 

Bunni 

beth-ab'a-rah 

Buzi 

beth'a-nalh 

Buzite 

beth'a-ne 

beth-ai-' a-bah 

< 

beth-aj-'bel 

Cabul 

beth-a'ven 

Cades 

beth-az'ma-veth 

Caesar 

beth-ba'al-me'on 

Caiaphas 

beth-bai-'ah 

Cain 

beth-bii-'e-i 

Cainan 

beth-dib-la-tha'im 

Calah 

beth'el 

Calamus 

beth-e'mek 

Calcol 

beth-es'dah 

Caldees 

beth-e'zel 

Caleb 

beth-gay'mul 

Calneh 

beth-hak!  se-rim 

Calvary 

beth-hay'ran 

Camon 

beth-kog'lah 

Cambyses 

beth-jes'se-moth 

Cana 

beih'le-hem 

Canaan 

beth-leb'a-oth 

Canaanites 

beth-may'a-kah 
beth-me'on 

Canaanitish 

Candace 

beth-nim'rah 

Canneh 

beih-o'ran 

Canticles 

beth-pay'let 

Capernaum 

beth-paz'zez 

Capharsalania 

beth-pe'or 

Caphira 

beth-fai/je 

Caphtor 

beth-fe'let 

Caplitorim 

beth-ray'bali 

C  ark  as 

beih-re'hob 

Ca])padocia 

beth-say'dah 

Carabasion 

beth-she'an 

Carbuncle 

bclli-she'rncsh 

Carchamis 

beth!  she-mite 

Carchemisli 

beth-shit'tah 

Careah 

bdh-sy'mos 

Carmel 

beth-tap' pcw-ah 
belh-yetvel 

Carini 

Casiphia 

be'ihid 

Casluhim 

bet'o-nim 

Cassia 

bew'lah 

Cedron 

be'zav 

Ceilan 

hez-a-le'el 

be'zek 

bik'ry 

big-vay'i 

bil'e-am 

bil-gay'i 

bin'e-a 

hin'u-{ 

bir-zay'vith  ■ 

bith-i'ah 

bith'ron 

be-thin'e-a 

biz-jo-thi'ah 

biz-joth'jaJi 

bo-a-ner'jez 

bo'az 

bok'er-rii 

bo'kim 

bo'sor 

boz'rah 

bo'zez 

brig' an-dine 

biik'ky 

bul  (as  dull) 

beu/nah 

bun'ny 

bew'zy 

buz'ite 


kay'bvl 

kay'des 

seizor 

kaxfa-fas 

kain 

kay'nan 

kay'lah 

kal'a-mus 

kal'kol 

kal-deez' 

kay'leb 

kal'neh 

kal'va-re 

kay'mon 

kam-by'ses 

kay'nah 

kay'nan 

kay'nan-ites 

kay-nan-i'tish 

kan-day'se 

kan'neh 

kan'te-kels 

ka-pcr'na-wn 

kaj'-ar-sal'  a-mah 

ka-J'y'rah 

kaf'tor 

kaf'io-rim 

kar'kas 

kap-pa-do'she-a 

kar-a-bay'ze-on 

kar'bun-kel 

kar'ka-mis 

kar'ke-niish 

ka-re'ah 

kar'mel 

kar'my 

kas-se-fy'ah 

kas-lew'him 

kash'e-a 

se'dron 

se'lan 


994 


SCRIPTURE  PROPER  NAMES. 


Cenchrea 

sen-kre'ah 

Cornelius 

kor-nc'le-us 

Doeg 

do'eg 

Cephas 

se'fas 

Cosain 

ko'zain 

Dophkah 

dofkah 

Cesarea 

ses-a-re'ah 

Cozbi 

ko'zbe 

Dorcas 

dor'kas 

Chalcedony 

kal'se-do-ny 

Crescens 

ki-es'sens 

Dositheus 

do-se-the'us 

Chaleol 

kal'kol 

Crete 

kreet 

Dothan 

do' than 

Chaldea 

kal-de'ah 

Cretians 

kree'she-ans 

Dotliaim 

do-tha'im 

Chamelion 

ka-me'le-on 

Crispus 

kris'pus 

Draclniia 

drak'mah 

Charashim 

kar'a-shim 

Cubit 

keiv'bit 

Drusilla 

dreiv-sil'lah 

Chanau 

kar'ran 

Cush 

kush 

Dumah 

deiv'mah 

Chebar 

ke'bar 

Cushan  rishatha 

-  kush' an  rish-a-tha' 

Dura 

dev/rah 

Chederlaomer 

ked-er-lay-o'mer 

im 

im 

E 

Chelal 

ke'lal 

Cushi 

kushU 

Chelcias 

kel'she-as 

Cyprus 

sy'prus 

Ebal 

e'bal 

Chelhih 

kel'leh 

Cyrene 

sy-re'ne 

Ebed  melech 

e'bed  me'lek 

Cheliibai 

ke-lev/hay 

Cyrenius 

sy-re'ne-us 

Ebenezer 

eb-en-e'zer 

Chemariras 

kem'a-rims 

Cyrus 

sy'rus 

Eber 

e'ber 

Cheinosh 

ke'mosh 

Ebiasaph 

e-by'a-saf 

Chenaanah 

ke-nay'a-nak 

D 

Ebronah 

eb-ro'nah 

Chenaniuh 

ken-a-ny'ah 

Dabareh 

dab'a-reh 

Ecclesiastes 

ek-kle-ze-as'tes 

Cliepharlia- 

ke'far-ha- 

Dabbasheth 

dab'bn-sheth 

Ecclesiasticus 

ek-kle-ze-as'ti-kus 

amiuouai 

am'o-nay 

Dagon 

day'gon 

Edar 

e'dar 

Chephirah 

kcf-i'rah 

Dalaiah 

dal-a-i'ah 

Eden 

e'den 

Clieraii 

ke'ran 

Dalilah 

da'le-lah 

Edom 

e'dom 

Cherethites 

ker'eth-ites 

Dahnanutha 

dal-ma-nu'thah 

Edrei 

ed're-i 

Cherith 

ke'rith 

Dal  mat  ia 

dal-may' she-a 

Eglah 

eg'lah 

Cherub  (a  city) 

ke'rub 

Dalphon 

dal'fon 

Eglaim 

eg-lay'im 

Cherub  (a  spu-it' 

chtr'uh 

Damaris 

dam'a-ris 

Ehi 

e'hi 

Cherubhn 

cher'u-bim 

Damascenes 

dam-a-seens' 

Ekron 

e'kron 

Chesalon 

kes'n-lon 

Damascus 

da-inas'kus 

Eladah 

el-a'dah 

Chased 

ke'scd 

Dauites 

dan'ites 

Elah 

e'lah 

Chesulloth 

ke-sul'loth 

Danjaan 

dan-jay'an 

Elamites 

e'lam-ites 

Chezib 

ke/zib 

Dara 

day'rah 

Elasah 

el-a'sah 

Chidon 

ky'don 

Darda 

dar'dah 

Eldaah 

el-day'ah 

Cliileab 

kil'e-ah 

Darian 

day're-an 

Elead 

e'le-ad 

Chihon 

kil't-on 

Darius 

da-ry'us 

Elealeh 

el-e-a'leh 

Chilrnad 

Ml' mad 

Darkon 

darkon 

Eleasah 

el-e-a'sah 

Chiinham 

kim'ham 

Dathan 

day'lhan 

Eleazar 

el-e-a'zar 

Chinnereth 

kin'er-eth 

Debir 

de'ber 

Elelohe 

el-el'o-he 

Chios 

ky'os 

Deborah 

de'bo-rah 

Elei)h 

e'lef 

Chisleu 

kis'lu 

Decapolis 

de-kap'po-lis 

Elhaynan 

el-hay'nan 

Chislon 

kis'lon 

Dedan 

de'dan 

Eli 

e'ly 

Cliisloth 

kis'loth 

Dedanim 

ded-a'nim 

Eliab 

e-ly'ab 

Chittim 

chit'tim 

Dehavites 

de'ha-vites 

Elias 

e-ly'as 

Chiun 

ky'un 

Dekar 

de'knr 

Eliahba 

e-ly'ah-bah 

Chloe 

klo'e 

Delaiah 

de-la-i'ah 

Eliada 

e-ly'a-dah 

Cliorashan 

ko-ray'shan 

Delilah 

del'e-lah 

Eliaka 

e-ly'a-kah 

Cliorazin 

ko-ray'zin 

Demas 

dt'mas 

Eliakim 

e-ly'a-kim 

Chozeba 

ko-ze'bah 

Demetrius 

de-me'tri-iis 

Eliam 

e-ly'am 

Chronicles 

kron't-kds 

Derbe 

dcr'be 

Eliasaph 

e-ly'a-saf 

Chrysolite 

kris'o-iite 

Deuel 

de-yew' el 

Eliathah 

e-ly'a-thah 

Ciu-v-soprasus 

kris-op'ra-sus 

Deuteronom 

deu-tcr-on'o-me 

Elidad 

e-ly'dad 

Ciiu'b 

kub 

Diana 

dy-a'nah 

Elihoreph 

el-e-ho'ref 

Chusa 

kew'sah 

Dil)laim 

dib-lay'im 

Elihu 

e-ly'heio 

Chushan  risha 

kitsh'an     lish-a- 

Diblath 

dib'la'th 

Elijah 

c-ly'jah 

thaini 

thn'im 

Dibon 

dy'bon 

Elika 

c-ly'kah 

Cihcia 

sil-ish'e-a 

Dibri 

dib'nj 

Elimelech 

e-lim'e-lek 

Cisai 

sii'say 

Dibzahab 

dib'za-hab 

Elia?nai 

el-e-e'na-i 

Ckuula 

klaiv'dah 

Didrachm 

dy'dram 

Elii)hal 

el'i-fal 

Claudia 

klaw'de-a 

Didymus 

did'e-mus 

Eliphaleh 

e-lif'e-leh 

Claudius 

klnw'dt-us 

Dil.'an 

dy'le-an 

Eliphalet 

e-l'ife-let 

Clement 

kic'ment 

Diiiion 

dy'mon 

Eliphaz 

eVle-fuz 

Cli'ophaa 

kle'o-fas 

Dinionah 

dy-mo'nah 

]'>lisanis 

el-f-say'iis 

Cni.his 

ny'dus 

Dinbal)ah 

din-hay'hah 

Elislia 

e-ly'shah 

Colliozeh 

kol-ho'zeh 

Diouysius 

dy-o-nish'c-us 

Elishania 

e-lish'a-mah 

Coiosse 

ko-los'se 

Diotrephes 

di -of  re-fcz 

Elishaphat 

e-lish'a-fat 

Colossians 

ko-losh'e-ans 

Disban 

liy'.than 

Elishcba 

e-lish'e-bah 

Conaniah 

ko-na-ny'ah 

Di/.aliab 

diz'zd-hab 

Elisbua 

el-e-shu'ah 

Cor(! 

ko're 

Dodai 

do-day'i 

Eliud 

e-ly'ud 

Coos 

ko'os 

Dodanim 

do-day'nim 

Elizaplian 

e-iiz'a-fan 

Corinth 

ko'rinth 

Dodiivah 

do-day'vah 

Eliznr 

e-ly'zur 

Corinthians 

ko-rinlh'e-ans 

Dodo 

do' do  (as  so  lo) 

Elkanah 

el-kay'nah 

SCRIPTURE  PROPER  NAMES. 


995 


Elkoshite 

Ellasar 

Eliiiodam 

Elnathan 

Elon 

Eloth 

Eloi 

Elpaal 

Elpalet 

Elparan 

Eltckeh 

Eltolad 

Ehil 

Eluzai 

Elyinas 

Elzaplian 

Eiiialciiel 

Emanuel 

Eniims 

Emmaus 

Enimor 

Enain 

Eneas 

Eneglaim 

Enganniin 

Engedi 

Enhakkore 

Enliaddah 

Enhazor 

Enmislipat 

Enoch 

Enriinmon 

Enrogel 

Ensheniesh 

Entappuah 

Epapliras 

Epaphroditus 

Epenetus 

Ephah 

Ephai 

Ephes  damniim 

Ephesians 

Ephcsus 

Ephlal 

Ephod 

Ephphatlia 

Ephrahn 

Ephratah 

Eplirath 

E|)hron 

Epicureans 

Eran 

Erastus 

Erech 

Esaias 

Esar  haddon 

Esau 

Esek 

Esdrelon 

Eshbaal 

Eshcol 

Eshean 

Eshkalon 

Eshtaol 

Eshtaulites 

Eshtemoa 

Eshteinoth 

Esli 

Esmachiah 

Esrom 

Essenes 


el'ko-shite 

Esther 

es'ter 

el-lay'sar 

Etam 

e'tam 

el-mo' dam 

Ethanim 

e-than'im 

el-iiay'than 

Ethlmal 

elh-hay'al 

e'lon 

Ether 

e'thcr 

e'loth 

Ethiopia 

e-the-o'pe-a 

el'o-hjj 

Ethnan 

eth'nan 

el-paij'al 

Euasihus 

yeiv-as'e-bu-s 

el-pay'ld 

Eubuhis 

yeiv-bew'lus 

el-pay'ran 

Eve 

eve 

el-te'keh 

Evi 

e'vy 

el-to'lad 

Evil  nicrodac 

1     e'vil  me-ro'dak 

e'lul 

Eunice 

yeic-ny'se 

e-lu'za-i 

Euodias 

ycw-o'dc-as 

el'e-mas 

Euphrates 

yeiv-fray'les 

el-zay'fan 

Euroclydon 

yew-rok'le-don 

e-mal-ketv'el 

Eutychus 

yew'te-kus 

e-man'u-d 

Ezar 

e'zar 

e'mims 

Ezbai 

ez'ba-i 

em-may' us 

Ezekiel 

e-ze'ke-el 

em'mor 

Ezel 

dzel 

e'nam 

Ezion  geber 

e'ze-07i  ge'ber 

e-ne'as 

F 

en-eg-lay'im 

en-gan'nim 

Felix 

fe'lix 

en-ge'dy 

Festus 

fes'tus 

en-hak'ko-re 

Fortunatus 

for-tu-nay'tus 

en-had'dah 

en-hay'zor 

G 

en-mish'pat 

Gaal 

gay'al 

e'nok 

Gaash 

gay'ash 

en-rim'mon 

Galxi 

gdy'bah 

en-ro'gel 

Gabbai 

gah'bay 

en-she' jnesh 

Gabbatha 

gab'ba-thah 

en-tap' pew-ah 

Gabriel 

gay'bre-el 

ep'a-fras 

Gadarenes 

gad-a-reens' 

e-paf-ro-dy'tus 

Gadi 

gay'dy 

e-pe-ne'tus 

Gaddi 

gad'dy 

e'fah 

Gaddiel 

gad'de-el 

^'fay 

Gains 

gay'yus 

e'fes  dam'mim 

Galal 

gay'lal 

ef-fe'she-ans 

Galatia 

ga-lay'she-a 

effe-sus 

Galbanum 

gal'ba-num 

eflal 

Galeed 

gal'e-ed 

e'fod 

Galilee 

gal'le-lee 

effa-thah 

Galileans 

gal-le-lee'ans 

efra-im 

Gallio 

gal'le-o 

efra-tah 

Gamaliel 

ga-may'le-el 

efrath 

Gaminadims 

gam'ma-ditns 

e'fron 

Gamul 

gay'mul 

ep-e-kew-re'ans 

Gareb 

gay'nb 

e'ran 

Garizim 

gar'e-zim 

e-ras'tus 

Gashmu 

gash' mew 

e'rek 

Gatam 

gay' tarn 

ez-zay'yas 

Gathhopher 

gath-he'fer 

e'sar  had' don 

Gathrimmon 

gath-rim'mon 

e'saw 

Gaza 

gay'zah 

e'sek 

Gazatliites 

gay'zath-ites 

es-dre'lon 

Gazez 

gay'zez 

esh-hay'al 

Gazzam 

gaz'zam 

esh'kol 

Gebal 

ge'bal 

esh'e-an 

Geber 

ge'ber 

esh'ka-lon 

Gebim 

ge'bim 

esh'ta-ol 

Gedaliah 

ged-a-ly'ah 

esh'taw-lites 

Geder 

ge'der 

esh-tem'o-ah 

Gederah 

ge-de'rah 

esh'te-molh 

Gederathite 

ge-de'rath-ife 

es'ly 

Gederoth 

ge-de'roth 

es-ma-ky'ah. 

Gederothaim 

ge-der-oth-a'in 

es'rom 

Gehazi 

ge-hay'zy 

es-seens' 

Geliloth 

geVe-lolh 

Gemalli 

Gemariah 

Genesaretb 

Genesis 

Gentiles 

Genubath 

Gera 

Gerasa 

Gergashi 

Gergasenes 

Gerizim 

Gei-siiom 

Goslicm 

Gcshuri 

Gether 

Getholias 

Getbsetnane 

Geuel 

Gezer 

Giah 

Gibbah 

Gibbetbon 

Gibea 

Gibeon 

Gibiites 

Giddalti 

Giddel 

Gideon 

Gideoni 

Gidom 

Gier 

Gihou 

Gilalai 

Gilboa 

Gilead 

Gilgal 

Giloh 

Gilonite 

Gimzo 

Ginath 

Ginnetho 

Girgasite 

Gittayim 

Gittites 

Gizonite 

Gnidus 

Goath 

Golan 

Golgotha 

Goliah 

Gomer 

(Jomorrah 

Gopher 

Goshen 

Gozan 

Greece 

Grecia 

Gudgodah 

(iuni 

Gurbaal 


ge-mal'ly 

gem-a-ry'ah 

ge-nes'a-reth 

jeii'e-sis 

jen'lyles 

gen'u-bath 

ge'rah 

ger'a-sah 

ger'ga-shy 

ger-ga-seens' 

ger're-zim 

ger'shom 

ge'shem 

gesh'u-ry 

ge'ther 

geth-o-ly'ns 

gclh-scm'a-ne 

ge-yew'el 

ge'zer 

gy'ah 

gib'bah 

gib'be-thon 

gib'e-ah 

gib'e-on 

gib'lites 

gid-dal'ty 

gid'del 

gid'e-on 

gid-e-o'ny 

gy'dom 

gy'hon 

gH-a-lay't 

gil-bo'ah 

gil'e-ad 

gil'gal 

gy'lo-nite 

gim'zo 

gy'nath 

giii'ne-tho 

gir'ga-site 

git-tay'im 

git'titcs 

gy'zo-nite 

7}y'dus 

go'ath 

go'lan 

gol'goth-ah 

go-ly'ah 

go'mer 

go-moi-'rah 

go'fer 

go'shen 

go'zan 

greece 

gree'she-a 

gud'go-dah 

gtw'ny 

gur-bay'al 


H 


TIaahashtari 

Habaiah 

Habakkuk 

Hahaziniah 

Habergeon 

Habor 

Hachaliah 

llachelah 

Ilachmoni 


hay-a-hash'ta-ry 

hay-bay'yah 

hab'a-kuk 

hab-a-ze-ny'ah 

ha-ber'je-on 

hay'bor 

hak-a-ly'ah 

hak'e-lah 

hak-mo'ny 


996 


SCRIPTURE  PROPER  NAMES. 


Hadad 

hay'dad 

Harum 

hay'rum 

Hierapolis 

hy-er-rap'o-lis 

Hadadezer 

had-ad-e'zer 

Harumaph 

ha-rew'maf 

Hiereel 

hy-er'e-el 

Hadad  rimnion 

hay'dad  rim'mon 

Haruphite 

ha-reiv'Jite 

Hieremoth 

hy-er'e-moth 

Hadar 

hay'dar 

Haruz 

hay'ruz 

Hierielus 

hy-er-rt-e'lus 

Hadai-ezer 

had-a-re'zer 

Hasadiah 

has-a-dy'ah 

Higgaion 

hig-gay'yon 

Hadashah 

had-a'shah 

Hasenuah 

has-e-neii/ ah 

Hilen 

hy'len 

Hadassali 

ha-das'sah 

Hashabiah 

Jiash-a-by'ah 

Hilkiah 

hil-ky'ah 

Hadattah 

ha-dat'tah 

Hashabnah 

hash-ab'nah 

Hirah 

hy'rah 

Hadid 

hay'did 

Hashabniah 

hash-ab-ny'ah 

Hiram 

hy'ram 

Hadlai 

had'la-i 

Hashbadana 

hash-bad' a-nah 

Hizkijah 

hiz-ky'jah 

Hadoram 

ha-do'ram 

Hashem 

hay'shem 

Hivites 

hy'vites 

Hadrach 

hay'drak 

Hashmonah 

hash-mo'nah 

Hobab 

ho'bab 

Hagab 

hay'gab 

Hashiib 

hash'uh 

Hodaiah 

hod-a-i'ah 

Hagabah 

hag'a^bah 

Hashubah 

hash-yeiv'bah 

Hodaviah 

hod-a-vy'ah 

Hagai 

hag'a-i 

Hashum 

hash'um 

Hodevah 

ho-de'vah 

Hagar 

hay'gar 

Hassenaah 

has-se-nay' ah 

Hodiah 

ho-dy'ah 

Hagarenes 

hag-a-reens' 

Hasupha 

has-yeit/fah 

Hoglah 

hog'lah 
h</lon 

Haggai 

hag'ga-i 

Hatach 

hay'tak 

Holon 

Haggeri 

hag'ge-ni 

Hathath 

hay'thatJi 

Homam 

ho'mam 

Haggi 

hag'gy 

Hatita 

hat'e-tah 

Hophni 

hofny 

Haggiah 

hag-gy'ah 

Hattaavah 

hat-tay' a-vah 

Hophra 

hof'rah 

Haggith 

hag'gith 

Hattipha 

hat'tc-fah 

Horam 

ho'ram 

Hai 

hay'i 

Havilah 

hav'e-lah 

Horhagidgad 

hor-ra-gid' gaa 

Hakkatan 

hak'ka-tan 

Havoth  jau- 

hay'vothjay'ir 

Hori 

ho'ry 

Hakkoz 

hak'koz 

Hauran 

haiv'ran 

Horims 

ho'rims 

Hakupha 

hak-yew'fah 

Hazael 

haz'a-el 

Horonaim 

hor-o-nay'im 

Halac 

hay'lak 

Hazaiah 

ha-zay'yah 

Horonites 

hor' ro-nitts 

Hali 

hay'ly 

Hazai-  hatticon 

hay'zar  hat'te-kon 

Hosah 

ho'sah 

Hallelujah 

hal-le-lu'yah 

Hazel  elponi 

hay'zel  el-po'nc 

Hosannah 

ho-zan'nah 

Hallocsh 

hal-lo'esh 

Hazerim 

haz-e'rim 

Hosea 

ho-ze'ah 

Haman 

hay'man 

Hazeroth 

haz-e'roth 

Hoshaiah 

hosh-a-i'ah 

Hamath 

hay'math 

Hazezon 

haz'e-zon 

Hoshama 

hosh'a-mah 

Hamath  zobah 

hay'math  zo'bah 

Hazor 

hay'zor 

Hotham 

ho'tham 

Hamath  ite 

ham'ath-ite 

Heber 

he'ber 

Hothir 

ho'thir 

Hammedatha 

ham-med'a-thah 

Hebron 

he'bron 

Hupham 

hew' Jam 

Hammelech 

ham'me-lek 

Hegai 

he-gay'i 

Hurai 

heiv'ray 

Hainmoleketh 

ham-mo' le-keth 

Hege 

he'ge 

Hushah 

hew'shah 

Hainonah 

ham-o'nah 

Helah 

he'lah 

Hiishai 

heiv'shay 

Hamongog 

hay'mon-gog 

Helchiah 

hel-ky'ah 

Hiisham 

hew'sham 

Hamuel 

hay-mtw'd 

Heldai 

hel'da-i 

Hushathite 

heu/shath-ite 

Hamothdor 

hay'moth-dor 

Heleb 

he'leb 

Hushiibah 

heiv-shu'bah 

Hainul 

hay' mid 

Heleph 

he'lef  _ 

Huzoth 

hew'zoth 

Hamutal 

hay-meio'tal 

Hclkai 

hel'ka-i 

Hydaspes 

hy-das'pes 

Hanaiiieel 

hay-jiam'e-el 

Helkath  hazzu 

■  hel'kathhaz'u-rim 

Hyena 

hy-e'nah 

Hanan 

hay'nan 

run 

Hymeneus 

hy-men-e'us 

Haiianeel 

han-nan'e-el 

Helon 

he'lon 

I 

Hanani 

ha-nay'ny 

Hemaii 

he'man 

Hananiah 

han-a-ny'ah 

Hena 

he'nah 

Ibleam 

ib'le-am 

Hanes 

hay'nez 

Henadad 

hen'a-dad 

Ibneiah 

ib-ny'ah 

Haniel 

hay'ne-el 

Henoch 

he'nok 

Ichabod 

ik'a-bod 

Hannathon 

han'na-thon 

Hepher 

he'fer 

IconJum 

i-ko'ne-um 

Hanniol 

han'ne-el 

Hephzibali 

hef'ze-bah 

Idalah 

i-day'lah 

Hanorh 

hay'nok 

Heres 

he' res 

Iddo 

id'do 

Hamin 

hay'nun 

Hernias 

her'mas 

Idumsea 

id-u-me'ah 

Hapharaim 

haf-a-ray'im 

Hermes 

her'mes 

Idumeans 

id-ti-mc'ans 

Hara 

hay'rah 

Hermogene 

her-mog'e-ne 

Igal 

i^gal 

Haradali 

har'a-dah 

Herod 

her'rod 

Igdaliah 

ig-da-ly'ah 

Haraiah 

har-a-i'ah 

Ilerodians 

he-ro'de-uns 

Igeabarini 

ig-e-ab'a-rim 

Hararite 

hay'ra-rite 

Herodias 

he-ro'dc-as 

Igeal 

ig-e'al 

Harl)onah 

har-bo'nah 

Herodion 

he-ro'de-on 

lim 

i'im 

Hareph 

hay'ref 

Hesed 

he'sed 

Ijon 

i'jon 

Hareth 

hay'relh 

Hcshbon 

heshfbon 

Hai 

i'lay 

Harhaiah 

har-ha-i'uh 

Hezeki 

hez'e-ky 

Illyricum 

il-lyi-'e-kum 

Harhiita 

har-hny'lah 

Hczekiah 

hez-e-ky'ah 

Immanuel 

im-man'u-tl 

Hariiii 

hay'rim 

Hezir 

he'zer 

Iphedeiah 

if-e-dy'ah 

Haniophor 

har-ne'fer 

Hezion 

he'ze-on 

Ira 

%'rah 

Harod 

hay'rod 

Hczrai 

hez'ra-i 

Irani 

i'rnm 

Haroch 

har'o-eh 

Hezron 

hez'ron 

Iry 

i'ry 

Harorito 

hay'ro-ritc 

Hiddai 

hid'day-i 

Irijah 

i-i-i/jah 

Harosheth 

hai-' o-sheth 

Hiddekcl 

hid'de-kel 

Irnahash 

ir-nay'hash 
ir-pe'el 

Harsha 

har'shah 

Kiel 

hy'el 

Irpcel 

SCRIPTURE  PROPER  NAMES. 


997 


Irshemesh 

ir-she'tnesh 

Iru 

i'reiv 

Isaac 

i'zak. 

Isaiah 

i-zay'yah 

Iscariot 

is-kaPre-ot 

Ishbi  benob 

ish'be  be'noh 

Ishbosheth 

ish-bo'sheth 

Ishi 

i^hy 

Ishiah 

i-shy'ah 

Ishjjah 

i-sh/jah 

Ishmael 

ish'ma-el 

Ishmaiah 

ish-may'yah 

Ishmerai 

ish'me-ray 

Ishod 

('shod 

Ishuah 

ish'u-ah 

Ishuai 

ish'u-a 

Ismachiah 

is-ma-ky'ah 

Israel 

is'ra-el 

Issachar 

is'sa-kar 

Isui 

is'u-i 

Ithai 

ith'a-i 

Ithamar 

ith'a-mar 

tthiel 

ith'e-el 

Ittai 

it'ta-i 

Ittah  kazin 

it'tah  kay'zin 

Iturea 

it-u-re'ah 

Ivah 

i'vah 

Izhar 

iz'har 

Izehar 

iz'e-har 

Izrahiah 

iz-ra-hy'ah 

Izreel 

iz're-el 

J 

jay'a-kan 

Jaakan 

Jaakobah 

jay-ak'o-bah 

Jaala 

jay-a'lah 

JaaDai 

jay-a'nay 

Jaareoragim 

ja-ar-e-or'a-gim 

Jaasaii 

jay-a'saw 

Jaasiel 

ja-a'se-el 

Jaazah 

jay-a'zah 

Jaazaniah 

jay-az-za-ny'ah 

Jaaziah 

ja-a-zy'ah 

Jaaziei 

ja-a'ze-el 

Jabal 

jay'bal 

Jabesh 

jay'besh 

Jabez 

jay'bez 

Jabin 

jay'bin 

Jabneel 

jab'ne-el 

Jachan 

jay'kan 

Jacbin 

jmjkin 

Jacinth 

jay'sinth 

Jada 

jdy'dah 

Jadau 

ja-day'u 

Jaddua 

jad-du'ah 

Jadoii 

jay' don 

Jael 

ja'y'el 

Jagur 

jaxj'gur 

Jahaleel 

ja-hay'le-el 

Jahaleleel 

ja-hal'e-hcl 

Jahaz 

jay'haz 

Jahazael 

ja-haz-a'el 

Jahaziah 

ja-ha-zy'ah 

Jahaziel 

ja-haz'e-el 

Jahdai 

jah-day'i 

Jahdiel 

jah'de-el 

Jahdo 

jah'do 

Jahliel 

jah'le-el 

Jahmai 

jah-may'i 

Jahzerah 

jah'ze-rah 

Jair 

jay'er 

Jairus 

Jakan 

Jakkim 

Jalon 

Jambres 

Jambri 

Jam  in 

Jamlech 

Janna 

Jannes 

Janoah 

Janum 

Japheth 

Japhiah 

Japhlet 

Japhleti 

Japho 

Jarah 

Jareb 

Jaresiah 

Jaroah 

Jasheni 

Jasher 

Jashobeam 

Jashiib 

Jashubi  lehem 

Jasiel 

Jason 

Jasper 

Jathniel 

Jattir 

Javan 

Jazer 

Jearim 

Jeaterai 

Jeberechiah 

Jebus 

Jebusi 

Jebusites 

Jecamiah 

Jecoliah 

Jeconiah 

Jedaiah 

Jedjael 

Jedidiah 

Jediel 

Jeduthun 

Jeezer - 

Jegar 

sahadutha 
Jehalelcel 
Jehalelel 
Jeliaziel 
Jelideiah 
Jeheiel 
Jehezekel 
Jeliiali 
Jehishai 
Johiskiah 
Jelioadah 
Jelioahaz 
Jehoaddan 
Jelioasli 
Jcliohanan 
Jehoiachin 
Jcljoiada 
Jehonadab 
Jehonathan 
Jehorain 
Jeliosliaphat 
Jehosheba 


jay'er-us 

jay'kan 

jak'kim 

jay'lon 

jam'brez 

jam'bre 

jay'min 

jam'lek 

jan'nah 

jan'nez 

ja-no'ah 

jay'num 

jay'feth 

ja-fy'ah 

jafiet 

jof-le'ty 

jay'fo 

jay'rah 

jay'reb 

jar-e-sy'ah 

ja-ro'ah 

jay'shen 

jay'sher 

ja-sho'be-am 

jay'shub 

ja'shu-bi  le'hem 

jay'se-el 

jay' son 

jas'per 

jath'ne-el 

jat'ter 

jay'van 

jay'zer 

je'a-rim 

je-at'e-ray 

jeb-er-re-ky'ah 

je'bus 

je-bew'si 

jeb'u-sites 

jek-a-my'ah 

jek-o-ly'ah 

jek-o-ny'ah 

je-day'yah 

jed-e-a'el 

jed-e-dy'ah 

jed'e-el 

jed-yeiv'thitn 

je-e'zer 

je'gar 

sa-ha-du'thah 
je-haV  e-leel 
je-hal'e-lel 
je-haz'e-el 
jeh-dy'ah 
je-hy'el 
je-hez'e-kel 
je-hj/ah 
je-hish'a-i 
je-his-kxfah 
je-ho'a-dah 
je-ho'a-haz 
je-ho-ad'dan 
je-ho'ash 
je-ho-hay'nan 
je-hoy'a-kin 
je-hoy'a-dah 
je-hon'a-dab 
je-hon' a-than 
je-ho'ram 
je-hosh' a-fat 
je-hosh'e-bah 


Jehoshua 

Jehovah 

Jehozabad 

Jehozadak 

Jehu 

Jehubbah 

JeliLical 

Jehudi 

Jehudijah 

Jehush 

Jeiel 

Jekabzeel 

Jekameam 

Jekaniiah 

Jekutliiel 

Jemima 

Jemuel 

Jephthah 

Jephunueh 

Jerah 

Jerahraeel 

Jered 

Jeremai 

Jeremiah 

Jeremoth 

Jeriah 

Jeribai 

Jericho 

Jeriel 

Jerijah 

Jerioth 

Jeroboam 

Jeroham 

Jerubbaal 

Jerubesheth 

Jeruel 

Jerusalem 

Jenisha 

Jesaiah 

Jeshanah 

Jesharelah 

Jeshebeab 

Jesher 

Jeshimon 

Jeshisliai 

Jeshohaiah 

Jeshua 

Jeshui 

Jeshurun 

Jesimiel 

Jesse 

Jcsns 

Jether 

Jethlah 

Jethro 

Jetur 

Jeuel 

Jeush 

Jouz 

Jezaniah 

Jezebel 

Jczer 

Jeziali 

Jeziel 

Jezliah 

Jezoar 

Jezrahiah 

Jezreel 

Jezreelitess 

Jidlaph 

Jiphtah 


je-hosh'u-ah 

Je-ho'vah 

je-hoz'a-bad 

je-hoz'a-dak 

je'hew 

je-hub'bah 

je-hew'kal 

je-hew'dy 

je-hu-dy'jah 

je'hush 

je-i'el 

je-kab'ze-el 

jek-a-me'am 

jek-a-my'ah 

je-kew'the-d 

je-my'mah 

jem'u-el 

jefthah 

je-fun'neh 

je'rah 

jer-ah-me'el 

je'red 

jer'e-may 

jer-e-my'ah 

jer'e-moth 

je-ry'ah 

jer'e-bay 

jer't-ko 

je-ry'el 

jer-ry'jah 

jer'e-oth 

jer-o-bo'am 

jer-o'ham 

je-rub-ba'al 

je-rub-esh'eth 

je-rwcl 

je-ru'sa-Iem 

je-ru'shah 

je-say'yah 

jesh-a'nah 

jesh-ar'e-lah 

jesh-eb'e-ab 

je'sher 

jesh'e-mon 

je-shish'a-i 

jesh-o-ha-i'ah 

jesh'ii-ah 

jesh'u-i 

jesh'ur-nin 

jes-im'int-el 

jes'se 

Je!sus 

je'ther 

jeth'lah 

je'thro 

je'tiir 

je'yeic-el 

je'ush 

je'uz 

jez^a-ny'ah 

jez'e-bel 

je'zer 

je-zy'ah 

je'ze-el 

jez-h/ah 

jez'o-ar 

jez-ra-hy'ah 

jez're-el 

jez're-d-i-tess 

jid'laf 

jiftah 


998 


SCRIPTURE   PROPER  NAMES. 


Jiphthahel 

Jireth 

Joab 

Joah 

Joahaz 

Joanna 

Joatham 

Job 

Jobab 

Jochebed 

Joelah 

Joezer 

Jogbeah 

Jogli 

Joha 

Johauan 

John 

Joiadah 

Joiakim 

Jokdeam 

Jokim 

Jokmeam 

Jokshan 

Joktheel 

Jonadab 

Jonah 

Jonan 

Jonathan 

Joppa 

Jorah 

Jorai 

J  Oram 

Jorkoam 

Josabad 

Josaphat 

Josaphias 

Jose 

Josedech 

Joses 

Joshah 

Josh.iviah 

Joslibekashah 

Joshua 

Josiah 

Josibiah 

Josiphiah 

Jotbatha 

Jotliam 

Jozabad 

Jozacliai 

Jozadak 

Jul)al 

Jucal 

Jiulah 

Jtidfim 

Judith 

Julia 

Juhus 

Junia 

Jupiter 

Jushabheshed 


jifthah-el 

jy'reth 

jo'ab 

jo'ah 

jo-a'haz 

jo-an'nah, 

jo-a'tham 

jobe 

jo'bab 

jok'e-bed 

jo-e'lah 

jo-e'zer 

jog-be'ah 

jog'ly 

jo'hah 

jo-hay'nan 

jon 

joy'a-dah 

joy'a-kim 

jok-de'am 

jo'kim 

jok-mt'am 

jok'shan 

jok'theel 

jon'a-dab 

jo'nah 

jo'nan 

jon'a-than 

jop'pah 

jo'rah 

jo'ra-i 

jo'ram 

jor-ko'am 

jos'a-bad 

jos'a-fat 

jos-a-fy'as 

jo'se 

jos'e-dek 

jo'sez 

jo'shah 

josh-a-vy'ah 

josh-bek'a-shah 

josh'u-a 

jo-sy'ah 

jos-e-by'ah 

jos-e-fy'ah 

jot'ba-fhah 

jo'tham 

joz'a-bad 

joz'a-kar 

joz'a-dak 

jeiv'bal 

jetv'kfd 

jeiv'dah 

jeiv-de'ah 

jew'dith 

jeiv'le-a 

jew'le-us 

jew'ne-a 

jeu/pit-ter 

jew-shab'he-shed 


K 


Kabzeel 

Kades 

Kadesh  bamea 

Kadmiel 

Kadnionites 

Kallai 

Kanah 

Kareah 


kab'ze-el 

kay'dez 

kay'desh  har'ne-a 

kad'me-el 

kad'mon-ites 

kal'la-i 

kay'nah 

ka-re'ah 


Karkaa 

Kamaim 

Karta 

Keder 

Kedemah 

Kedemoth 

Kehelathah 

Keilah 

Kelaiah 

Kelita 

Kemuel 

Kenah 

Kenaz 

Kenites 

Kennizzites 

Keren  happuch 

Kerioth 

Keros 

Keturah 

Kezia 

Keziz 

Kibroth 

hattaavah 
Kibzaim 
Kidron 
Kinah 
Kirharaseth 
Kirharesh 
Kiriathaim 
Kirioth 
Kirjath  aim 
Kirjath  arba 
Kirjath  arim 
Kirjath  baal 
Kirjath  huzoth 
Kirjath  jearim 
Kirjath  sannah 
Kirjath  sepher 
Kishi 
Kishion 
Kishon 
Kirron 
Koa 
Kohath 
Kolaiah 
Korah 
Korhite 
Kore 
Kushaiah 


Laadah 

Laadan 

Lal)an 

Labana 

Lachish 

Lael 

Lahad 

Lahairoi 

Lahman 

Lahmi 

Laish 

Lakum 

Lamech 

Laodicea 

Laodiceans 

Laj)idoth 

Las(%i 

Lashali 

Lasharon 

Lazarus 


kar-kay'ah 

kar-nay'im 

kar'tah 

ke'der 

ked'e-mah 

ked' de-moth 

ke-heU  a-thah 

ky'lah 

ke-lay'yah 

kel'e-tah 

kem'u-el 

kt'nah 

kt'naz 

ke'nites 

ken'niz-zites 

ker-en  hap'puk 

ker'e-oth 

ke'roz 

ke-tu'rah 

ke-zy'ah 

ke'ziz 

kib'roth 

hat-tay'a-vah 
kib-zay'im 
kid'ron 
ky'nah 

kir-har'a-seth 
kir-hay'resh 
kir-e-ath-a'im 
kir't-oth 
ker'jath  a'im 
ker'jath  ar'bah 
ker'jath  a'rim 
ker'jath  bay'al 
kerjath  hew'zoth 
ker'jath  je'a-rim 
ker'jath  san'nah 
ker'jath  st'fer 
kish'i 
kish'e-on 
ky' short 
kit'ron 
ko'ah 
ko'hath 
kol-a-i'ah 
ko'rah 
kor'hite 
ko're 
kush-ay'ah 


lay'a-dah 

lay-a'dan 

lay'ban 

la-bay' nah 

lay'kish 

lay'cl 

lay'had 

la-hay' roy 

lah'man 

lah'my 

lay'ish 

lay'kum 

lay'mek 

lay-o-de-se'ah 

lay-o-de-se'ans 

lap'e-doth 

la-se'ah 

lay'shah 

la-shay'ron 

laz'er-us 


Leah 

Lebanon 

Lebaoth 

Lebbeus 

Lebonah 

Lechah 

Lehabim 

Lehi 

Lemuel 

Leshem 

Letushmi 

Levi 

Levites 

Leviathan 

Leviticus 

Leunimim 

Libni 

Lign-aloes 

Ligure 

Likhi 

Linus 

Loammi 

Lodebar 

Lois 

Lo  ruhamah 

Lotan 

Lucas 

Lucifei 

Lucius 

Lubim 

Lybia 

Lycaonia 

Lycca . 

Lydda 

Lydia 

Lysanias 

Lysias 

Lystra 


le'ah 

leb'a-non 

le-bay'oth 

leb-he'us 

le-ho'nah 

le'kah 

le-hay'bim 

Why 

lem'u-el 

le'shem 

le-tew'shim 

le'vi 

le'vites 

le-vy'a-than 

le-vit'e-kus 

le-iim'mim 

lib'ny 

line-al'oes 

ly'gure 

lik'hy 

ly'mirS 

lo-am'my 

lo-de'bar 

lo'is 

lo  ru-hay'mah 

lo'tan 

letv'kas 

leiv'se-fer 

lew'she-us 

leu/bim 

lib'e-ah 

ly-ka-o'ne-a  ■ 

lik'kah 

lid'dah 

lid'e-a 

ly-say'ne-as 

lish'yas 

lis'tra 


M 


Ma  AC  HAH 

Maacathi 

Maadai 

Maadiah 

Maai 

Maaleh 

acrabbim 
Maanai 
Maarath 
Maaseiah 
Maasiai 
Maath 
IVfaaziah 
Maccabees 
Macedonia 
Machbana 
Maciibena 
Machi 
Machir 
Machnadebai 
Machpelah 
Machheloth 
Madai 
Madiabun 
Madiah 
Machan 
Madmcnah 
Madnianuah 
Madon 
Magdala 
Magdalen 


may-a'kah 

may-ak'a-thi 

may-ad'dy 

viay-a-dy'ah 

niay-a'i 

may-a'leh 

ak-rab'bim 
may'a-nay 
may-a'rath 
may-a-sy'ah 
may-a-sy'a 
may'ath 
may-a-zy'ah 
mak'ka-bees 
mas-se-do'ne-a 
mak-bay'nay 
mak-be'nah 
may'ky 
may'kir 
mak-na-de'bay 
mak-pe'lah 
mak-he'loth 
mad'a-i 
ma-dy'a-bun 
may-dy'ah 
may'de-an 
Tnad-me'naJi 
mad-man!  nah 
may'don 
mag'da-lah 
mag'da-len 


SCRIPTURE  PROPER  NAMES. 


999 


Magdalen  e 

Magdiel 

Magog 

Magor  inissabib 

Magpiash 

Mahalali 

Malialaleel 

Mahal  i 

Mahanaiin 

Mahaiiehdan 

Ma  h  an  em 

Maharai 

Mahatii 

Mahazioth 

Maher  shalal 

haslibaz 
Mahlah 
Mahli 
Mahion 
Mahol 
Makaz 
Makhcloth 
Makkedali 
Malai-lii 
Malcham 
Malchiah 
Malcliii'l 
Malchijali 
Malcliiram 
Malchisliuah 
Malchoin 
Malclius 
MalPleel 
Mallothi 
Malluch 
Mamre 
UlaiKieii 
3Ianaiiath 
Manaliethites 
Maiiasseli 
Manna 
Manoali 
Muoch 
Maon 
Ma  rah 
Maralah 
Maranatha 
Marcus 
Mardocheus 
Mareshah 
Marisa 
Marsena 
Maschil 
Mashal 
Masrekah 
Masa 
M  assail 
Matri 
Matred 
Mattanah 
IMattaniah 
Mattatha 
Mattathias 
Mattenai 
Matthat 
Matthew 
Matthias 
Mattithiah 
Mazzaroth 
Meah 
Mearah 


mag-da-le'ne 

maer-de'tl 

may'gog 

may'gor  tiiis'sa-bib 

mag'pe-ash 

may-hny'lah 

may-hul'a-leel 

may-hay'ly 

may-ha-nay'im 

mny-hay'neh-dan 

may-hay' nan 

may-har'a-i 

may'hath 

may-haz'e-oth 

may' her  shal'al 

hash'baz 
mah'lah 
mah'ly 
mah'lon 
may' hoi 
may'kaz 
mak-he'loth 
mak-ke'dah 
mal'a-ky 
mal'kam 
mal-ky'ah 
mal'ke-el 
mal-ky'jah 
mal-ky'ram 
mal-kc-shu'ah 
mal'kom 
mal'kus 
mal-le-le'cl 
mal'lo-thi 
mal'luk 
mam' re 
ma-nay'en 
man'a-hath 
man-ah' eth-ites 
ma-nas'seh 
man'nah 
ma-no'ah 
may'ok 
may'on 
may'rah 
ma/a-lah 
mar-ran-a'thah 
mar'kus 
mar-do-ke'us 
viar'e-shah 
ma-ry'sah 
mar-xe'nak 
mxis'kil 
may'shal 
mas'rc-kah 
may'sah 
mas'sah 
may'try 
may'tred 
mal'ta-nah 
mat-ta-ny'ah 
mat'ta-thah 
mat-tath-i' as 
mal-k-nay'i 
mnt'that 
math' yew 
math-i'as 
mat-tith-i'ah 
maz'za-roth 
me'ah 
me-a'rah 


Mebunnai 
Meclierath 
lAIedad 
Medalah 
Medebah 
Medes 
Media 
Median 
Megiddo 
Megiddon 
Mehotabel 
Mehida 
Mehir 
Meholathite 
Mehujael 
Mchuman 
31  ej  ark  on 
Mekonah 
Melatiah 
Melchi 
Mclciiiah 
Mel.-Iiiel 
Melcliisedek 
Melea 
Melech 
3Iellicu 
3Ielita 
3Iemphis 
3Ietnncan 
3Ienalieni 
3Ienan 
3Ieiie 
3Ieonothai 
Meonenem 
3Iephaath 
Mephibosheth 
3Ierab 
3Ieraiaii 
3Ieraioth 
3Ierari 
Merathaim 
Mercurius 
Mered 
3Ieremoth 
3teres 
3Ieribah 
3Ieribbaal 
3Iero(lach- 
baladan 
3Ieroiri 
31eronothitc 
3Icroz 
3Iesoch 
3Icsha 
31(>sheeh 
3Iesheleiiiiali 
3Ieshezabeel 
3I(  shilaniith 
3Iesiiiillaiii 
3Iesliobab 
3Icsobaite 
3Iesop()lainia 
31essiaii 
Metlieg  aiuniah 
31etliiisael 
31ethiisalah 
3Ienniin 
3Iezaliab 
3Iianini 
3Iil)har 
3Iica 


me-hun'nay 

3Iicaiah 

my-kay'yali 

mek'e-ralh 

3Iicha 

my'kah 

vie'dad 

3Iichael 

my'-ka-el 

mcd'a-lah 

3Iichniash 

mik'mash 

vied'e-bah 

3Iichinethali 

mik'me-ihah 

meeds 

Mifhri 

mik'ry 

me'de-a 

3Iichtam 

mik'tam 

me'de-an 

3Iidian 

mid'e-an 

me-gid'do 

3Iigdalel 

mig'da-lel 

me-gid'don 

3Iigron 

mig'ron 

me-het'a-bel 

31  ijamin 

viy'ja-min 

me-hy'dah 

31  ik loth 

mik'loth 

me'htr 

3Iikneiah 

mik-ny'aJi 

vie-hol'ath-ite 

31ilalai 

mil-a-lay'i 

me-yew'ja-el 
me-hew' man 

3Iilcah 

mil'kah 

3Iiletu9 

mi-le'tus 

me-jar'kon 

3Iiletiim 

mi-le'tum 

me-ko'nah 

3Iinian)in 

min-ny'a-min 

mel-a-ty'ah 

3Iinni 

min'ny 

mcl'ky 

3Iiphkad 

viifkad 

mel-ky'ah 

3Iinam 

mir'e-am 

mel'ke-el 

3Iirniah 

mtr'mah 

md-kiz'ze-dek 

3Iisgab 

mis'gab 

me-le'ah 

3Iishael 

my-shay'el 

me'lek 

3Iishal 

my'shal 

mel'le-keiv 

3Iisham 

7ny'sham 

me-le'tah 

3Iisheal 

my-she'al 

mem'fs 

3Iishnia 

inish'mah 

me-meiv'kan 

3Iishmannah 

mish-man'naJi 

men'a-hem 

3Iishraites 

mish'ra-ites 

me'nan 

3Iispereth 

mis-pe'reth 

me'ne 

3lisrcphoth 

mis're-foth 

me-on'o-thay 

maim 

viay'im 

me-on'e-nem 

3Iithredath 

mith're-dath 

me -fay' at  h 

3Iitylene 

mit-e-le'ne 

me-fib' o-sheth 

3Iizraim 

miz-ray'im 

me'rab 

3Iizar 

my'zar 

me-ra-i'ah 

3Inason 

nay'son 

me-ray'yoth 

3Ioadiah 

mo-a-dy'ah 

me-ray'ry 

3Ioladali 

mol'a-dah 

mer-ath-a'im 

3Iolecli 

mo'lek 

mer-kew' re-US 

3tolid 

mo'lid 

me'red 

3Ioloch 

mo'Iok 

mei-'rc-molh 

3Iorasthite 

mo-ras'thite 

me'rez 

31ordecai 

mor'de-kay 

mer'e-hah 

3Ioreh 

mo'reh 

mer-e-bay'al 

3Toresheth  gath    mo'resh-eth  gath 

me-ro'dak- 

3Ioriah 

mo-ry'ah 

bal'a-dan 

Moserah 

mo-ser'ah 

me'rom 

3Ioseroth 

mo-ser'oih 

me-ron' o-thite 

31 OSes 

mo'zez 

mefroz 

3Iozali 

mo'zah 

me'sek 

3Iiippini 

mup'pim 

me'shah 

3Tushi 

mew'shy 

mc'shi'k 

3Iiithlabben 

muth-lab'ben 

mcsh-el-c-my'ak 

3Iyra 

my'rah 

mesh-cz'a-heii 

3lysia 

mxsh'e-a 

mesh-il'la-mith 

me-shul'lain 

N 

mc-sho'bab 

Naam 

nay'am 

incs-o-bay'ite 

Naamah 

nay'a-mah 

mcs-o-po-tay'  ine-a 

Naamau 

nay'a-man 

mes-sy'ah 

Naarah 

nay'a-rah 

mc'theg  am'mah 

Naarai 

nay'a-ray 

mc-thew'  sa-el 

Naaran 

nay'a-ran 

mc-thiw'sit-lah 

Najishon 

na-ash'on      "j 

me-ycw'nim 

Nabal 

nai/bal 

mez'a-hab 

Naboth 

nay'both 

my-a'nim 

Nachon 

nay'kon 

mib'har 

Nachor 

nay'kor 

my'kah 

Nadab 

naj/dab 

1000 

Nagge 
Nahaliel 
Nahallal 
Nahaiii 
Nahamaiii 
Naharai 
Nahash 
Nahbi 
Nalior 
Nairn 
Nain 
Niiioth 
Naoini 
Naphish 
Naphthali 
Naphtuim 
Narcissus 
Nasor 
Nathan 
Nathanael 
Nathauias 
Nathan  melech 
Naiim 
Nazarene 
Nazareth 
Neah 
Neapohs 
Neariah 
Nebai 
Nehajoth 
Neballat 
Nobat 
Nebo 

Nebuchadnez- 
zar 
Nsbushasban 
Nebuzaradan 

Nechoh 

Nedabiah 

Neginoth 

Nehelamite 

Nehemiah 

Nehum 

Nehushtah 

Neiel 

Nekeb 

Nekoda 

Nemuel 

Nepheg 

Nepliishesim 

Nephthoah 

Nophusim 

Nercus 

Nergal  sharezer 

Ncri 

Nero 

Nethaneel 

Nethaniah 

Nethinims 

Netophathites 

Neziah 

Nezib 

Nicanor 

Nicodemus 

Nicolaitanes 

Nicolas 

Nicopohs 

Niger 

Nimrah 

Ninishi 


SCRIPTURE   PROPER  NAMES. 


nag'gee 

na-hay'le-el 

na-hal'lal 

nay'ham 

na-ham'a-ny 

na-har'a-i 

nay'hash 

nah'be 

nuy'hor 

nay'im 

nay'in 

nay'yoth 

na-o'me 

nay'Jish 

naf'tha-le 

naf'tu-him 

nar-sis'sus 

nay'sor 

nay'than 

na-than' e-el 

nath-a-ny'as 

nay'than  mt'lek 

nay'um 

naz-a-reen' 

naz'a-reth 

ne'ah 

ne-ap'po-Us 

ne-a-ry'ah 

ne-bay'i 

ne-bay'joth 

ne-ballat 

ne'bat 

ne'bo 

neb-yew-kad-nez'- 

zar 
neb-yew-shas'ban 
neb-yew-zar'  a- 

dan 
ne'ko 

ned-a-by'ah 
neg'e-noth 
ne-hel'a-mite 
ne-he-my'ah 
ne'hum 
ne-hush'tah 
ne'e-el 
ne'keb 
ne-ko'dah 
nem-yeiv'el 
nc'feg 

ne-Jish' e-sim 
nef-tho'ah 
ne-feiv'sim 
ne're-us 

ner'gal  sha-re'zer 
ne'ry 
ne'ro 

ne-than'e-el 
7ieth-a-ny' ah 
neth'in-inis 
ne-tof'a-thiies 
ne-zy'ah 
ne'zib 
ny-kay'nor 
mk-o-de'mus 
nik-o-lay'e-tanes 
nik'o-las 
ny-kop'o-lis 
ny'jer 
nim'rah 
nim'shy 


Nineveh 

Nisan 

Nisroch 

Noadiah 

Noah 

Nobah 

Nogah 

Noph 

Nophah 

Nyniphas 


Obadiah 

Obal 

Obed  edom 

Obil 

Oboth 

Ocran 

Oded 

Olyrapas 

Omar 


O 


nin'ne-veh 

ny'san 

nis'rok 

no-ah-dy'ah 

no'ah 

no'bah 

no'gah 

noff 

no'fah 

nim'fas 


o-ba-dy'ah 

o'bal 

o'bed  e'dom 

o'bil 

o'both 

ok'ran 

o'ded 

o-lim'pas 

o'mar 


Omega 

o'me-ga 

Oniri 

om'ry 

Onam 

o'nam 

Onesimus 

o-nes'se-mus 

Onesiphorus 

on-e-sif'o-rus 

One 

o'no 

Onycha 

o-ny'kah 

Onvx 

o'mx 

Ophel 

o'fel 

Ophir 

o'Jir 

Ophni 

off'ny 

Ophrah 

off'rah 

Oreb 

o'reb 

Orion 

o-ry'on 

Orphah 

or'fah 

Othni 

oth'ny 

Othniel 

oth'ne-el 

Ozem 

o'zem 

Ozias 

o-zy'as 

Ozni 

oz'ny 

P 

Paarai 

pay'a-ray 

Padan  aram 

pay'dan  a'ram 

Pad  on 

pay'don 

Pagiel 

pay'je-el 

Pahath  moab 

pay'hath  mo'ab 

Pai 

pay'i 

Palal 

pay'lal 

Palestina 

pal-es-ty'nah 

Palestine 

pal'es-tyne 

Pallu 

pal'leio 

Palti 

pal'ty 

Paltiel 

pal-te'el 

Pamphylia 

pam-fil'e-a 

Paphos 

pay'fos  _ 

Paradise 

par'a-dise 

Paran 

fay'ran 

Par  mash  ta 

par-mash'tah 

Parmenas 

par'me-nas 

Parnach 

pai-'nak 

Parosh 

pay'rosh 

Parshandatha 

par-shan'da-thah 

Parthians 

jiar' the-ans 

Paniah 

par'yew-ah 

Parvaim 

par-vay'im 

Pasach 

pay'su'k 

Pasdammim 

pas-dam'mim 

Paseah 

pa-se'ah 

Pashur 

pash'ur 

Passover 

Patara 

Pathros 

Pathrusim 

Patrobas 

Pau 

Pedahel 

Pedahzur 

Pedaiah 

Pekah 

Pekahiah 

Pekod 

Pelaiah 

Pelaliah 

Peleg 

Peleth 

Pelonite 

Peniel 

Peninnah 

Peutapolis 

Pentateuch 

Pentecost 

Penuel 

Peor 

Perazim 

Perez  uzzah 

Perga 

Pergamos 

Perida 

Perizzites 

Persia 

Perudah 

Pethahiah 

Pethor 

Pethuel 

Peulthai 

Phalec 

Phalti 

Phanuel 

Pharaoh 

Pharaoh  hophr 

Pharathoni 

Pharez 

Pharisees 

Pharphar 

Phaseah 

Phebe 

Phenice 

Phenicia 

Phibeseth 

Phicol 

Philadelphia 

Philemon 

Philetus 

Philip 

Philippi 

Philistia 

Philistim 

Philistines 

Philologus 

Philonieter 

Phinehas 

Phison 

Phlegon 

PJuTgia 

Phud 

Phiirah 

Phut 

Phubah 

Phygellus 

Phylacteries 


pass'o-ver 
pat'a-rah 
pay'thros 
path-rni/ sim 
pat-ro'bas 
pay' hew 
ped'a-hel 
ped-ah'zur 
ped-a'yah 
pe'kah 
pek-a-hi'ah 
pe'kod 
pel-a-i'ah 
pel-a-ly'ah 
pe'leg 
pe'leth 
pel'o-nite 
pe-ny'el 
pe-nin'nah 
pen-tap' o-lis 
pen'ta-tuke 
pent'e-coast 
pen-yew'el 
pe'or 
pei-'a-zim 
pe'rez  uz'zah 
per'gali 
per'ga-mos 
pe-ry'dah 
per'iz-zites 
per'she-a 
per-yew'dah 
peth-a-hy'ah 
pe'thor 
peth-yew'el 
pe-ul'thay 
fay'lek 
fal'ty 
fan-yeiv'el 
fa'ro 
•a  fa'ro  hof'rah 
far-a-tho'nt 
fa'rez 
far'e-sces 
far'far 
fa-se'ah 
fee'be 
fe-ny'se 
fe-nish'e-a 
Jib'e-seth 
fy'kol 

Jil-a-del'fe-a 
Ji-le'mon 
Ji-le'tus 
Jil'lip 
fl-Hp'py 
Jil-hs'te-a 
Jil-lis'li>n 
fd-lis'tins 
Jil-lol'o-gus 
Jil-o-me'ter 
Jin'ne-has 
fy'son 
Jleg'on 
fridj'ye-a 
fud 
feiv'rah 
fid  (as  nut) 
few'bah 
fy-jel'lus 
fy-lak'te-rees 


SCRIPTURE  PROPER  NAMES. 


1001 


Pihahiroth 

Pilate 

Pildash 

Piletha 

Piltai 

Piiion 

Pirarn 

Pirathon 

Pisgah 

Pisidia 

Pison 

Pithon 

Pleiades 

Pochereth 

Pollux 

Pontius 

Poratha 

Portius  Festus 

Potiphar 

Potiphera 

Prisca 

Priscilla 

Prochorus 

Ptolemeus 

Puah 

Publius 

Pudens 

Pul 

Punites 

Punon 

Put 

Puteoli 

Putiel 


py-ha- hy'roth 

py'lat 

pil'dash 

pil'e-thah 

pil'tay 

py'non 

py'ram 

pir'a-thon 

piz'gah 

pe-sid'e-a 

py'son 

py'thon 

ply'a-dez 

pok'e-reth 

pol'lux 

pon'she-us 

por'a-thah 

por'shns  /est' us 

pot'e-far 

pot-e-fe'rah 

pris'kah 

pris-sil'lah 

prok'o-rus 

tol-e-me'us 

peiv'ah 

puh'le-us 

peit/dens 

pid  (as  dull) 

peiv'nites 

pew'non 

put  (as  nut) 

peiv-te'o-li 

pei(/te-el 


a 


QOARTUS 

Quaternion 


R 


Raamah 

Raamiah 

Rabbah 

Rabbi 

Rabboni 

Rabsaris 

Rabshakeh 

Raca 

Rachal 

Rachel 

Raddai 

Ragau 

Ragua 

Raguel 

Rahab 

Rakem 

Rakkath 

Rakkon 

Ramah 

Ramathaini 

Ramathcm 

Raniatli  lehi 

Raiaath  mispeh 

Ramesis 

Ramoth 

Ramiah 

Raphah 

Raphael 

Raphu 

Reaiah 

Reba 

Rebekah 

126 


qiiar'tus 
qua-ter'ne-on 


ray'a-mah 

ra-a-my'ah 

rab'bah 

rab'by 

rab-bo'ny 

rab'sa-ns 

rab'sha-keh 

ray'kah 

ray'kal 

ray'chel 

rad'da-i 

ray'gmo 

rag'yew-ah 

rag-yetv'el 

ray'hab 

ray'kem 

rak'kath 

rak'kon 

ray'mah 

ra-math-alim 

ram'a-them 

ray'math  le'hy 

ray' math  mis'peh 

ram'e-sis 

ray'moth 

ray -my' ah 

ray'fah 

ray'fa-el 

ray'feio 

re-a'yah 

re'bah 

re-bek'ah 


Rechab 

Rechah 

Reelaiah 

Regem 

Regem  melek 

Rehabiah 

Rehob 

Rehoboani 

Rohoboth 

Rehum 

Rei 

Rekim 

Renialiah 

Remeth 

Remmon 

niethoar 
Remphan 
Raphael 
Rephaiah 
Rephaim 
Rephidim 
Resen 
Reu 
Reuben 
Reuel 
Reumah 
Rezeph 
Rezia 
Rezon 
Rhegium 
Rhesa 
Rhoda 
Rhodes 
Ribai 

Rimmon  parez 
Rip  hath 
Rogelim 
Rohgah 
Romamti  ezer 
Rome 
Rufus 
Rusticus 
Ruhamah 
Ruth 


re'kab 

re'kah 

re-el-a'yah 

re'jem 

re'jem  me'lek 

re-ha-by'ah 

re'hob 

re-ho-bo'am 

re'ho-both 

re'hum 

re'i 

re'kim 

rem-a-ly'ah 

re'meth 

rem'mon 

meth-o'ar 
rem'fan 
re'fa-el 
re-fay'yah 
re-fay'im 
re-Jid'im 
re'sen 
re'yeio 
ru'ben 
re-yew'tl 
ru'mah 
re'zef 
re-zy'ah 
re'zon 
re'je-um 
re'sah 
ro'dah 
roads 
ry'bay 

rim'mon  pay'rez 
n/fath 
ro-ge'lim 
ro'gah 

ro-viam!te  e!zer 
room 
rew'fus 
rus'te-kus 
ru-hay'mah 
rooth 


S 


Sabacthani 

Sabaoth 

Sabdi 

Sabeans 

Sabtechah 

Sacar 

Sackbut 

Sadducees 

Sadoc 

Salah 

Salainis 

Salathiel 

Saicah 

Salem 

Sailai 

Sahnoni 

Salome 

Samaria 

Samaritan 

Samgar  nebo 

Samiah 

Samos 

Samothracia 

Samuel 

Sanballat 


sa-bak-tha'ni 

sab-a'oth 

sab'dy 

sa-be'ans 

sab'te-kah 

say'kar 

sak'but 

sad'du-seez 

say'dok 

say'lah 

sal'a-mis 

sa-lay'the-el 

sal'kah 

say'lem 

sal'lay-i 

sal-mo'ne 

sa-lo'mc 

sa-tnay're-a 

sa-mar'e-tan 

sam'gar  ne'bo 

sam'lah 

say'mos 

sam-o-thray'she-a 

sam'u-el 

san-bal'lat     ,/^ 


Sanhedrim 

san-he'drim 

Sansannah 

san-san'ndh 

Saph 

saff 

Saphir 

saf'Jir 

Sapphira 

saf-fy'rah 
saf'Jire 

Sapphire 

Sarai 

say'rai 

Sarah 

say'rah 

Saraph 

say'raf 

Sard  is 

sar'dis 

Sardius 

sar'de-us 

Sardine 

sar'dyne 
sar-do'nix 

Sardonyx 

Sarepta 

sa-rep'tah 

Sarid 

say'nd 

Sargon 

sar'gon 

Sarsekim 

sar-se'kim 

Saruch 

say'ruk 

Satan 

say'tan 

Saul 

sawl 

Sceva 

se'vah 

Scythians 

sith'e-ans 

Seba 

se'bah 

Sebat 

se'bat 

Secacah 

se-kay'kah 

Sechu 

se'kew 

Secundus 

se-kun'dus 

Segub 

se'gub 

Seir 

se'ir 

Seirath 

se'ir-ath 

Sela  hanimah 

se'lah  ham'mah 

lekoth 

le'koth 

Selah 

se'lah 

Seled 

se'led 

Seleucia 

se-lu'she-a 

Semachiah 

sem-a-ky'ah 

Semaiali 

sem-a-i'ah 

Semei 

sem'e-i 

Senaah 

se-nay'ah 

Sennacherib 

sen-nak'e-rib 

Senir 

se'ner 

Senua 

sen'u-ah 

Seorim 

se-o'rim 

Sephar 

se'far 

Sepharad 

sejf'a-rad 

Sepharvaim 

sef-ar-vay'im 

Sephela 

sef'fe-lah 

Serah 

se'rah 

Seraiah 

ser-a-i'ah 

Seraphim 

ser'ra-fim 

Sercd 

se'red 

Sergius 

ser'je-us 

Serug 

se'rug 

Sether 

se'ther 

Shaalabbin 

shay-al-ab'bin 

Sliaalbim 

shay-al'bim 

Sliaalbonit 

shay-al'bon-it9 

Shaaph 

shay'af 

Shaaraim 

shay-a-ray'im 

Sliaasiigaz 
Shai)hcthai 

sh^s}}-ash"^Zl 
shah-beth'a-i 

Shachia 

shak-i'ah 

Siiaddai 

shad'da-i 

Shiidrach^ ' 

Slia::(« 

S'l-'il  .azimath 

shay'drak 
shay'ge 

sha-haz'e-math 

f^l'.alfm 

shay'lem 

ohalislia 

shal'e-shah 

Slialiecheth 

shal'le-keth 

Shallum 

shallum 

Shalmai 

shal'may 

1002 

Shalmanezer 

Shamariah 

Shamir 

Shamgar 

Shammai 

Shammua 

Shamsherai 

Shaphan 

Shaphat 

Shapher 

Sharai 

Sharaim 

Sharar 

Sharezer 

Sharon 

Sharuhen 

Shashai 

Shashak 

Shaveh 

Shaul 

Shealtiel 

Sheariah 

Shear  jashub 

Shebah 

Sheham 

Shebaniah 

Shebarim 

Sheber 

Shebnah 

Shebiiel 

Shecaniah 

Shechem 

Shedeur 

Shehariah 

Shelemiah 

Sheleph 

Shelesh 

Shelomi 

Shelomoth 

Shelumiel 

Sheinah 

Shemaiah 

Shemariah 

Shenieber 

Shemir 

Shemida 

Sheminith 

Shemirainoth 

Shemuel 

Shenazar 

Slienir 

Shephatiah 

S'.hephi 

Shc"'ohuphan 

S.'iei-a  H 
Shftrebj>h 

Shei-ftsh 

Sheshae.'i 

•^heshai 


Sheslian 
Sheshbazzar 

Sliclhar 

Shethar  boznai 

Shibboleth 

Shicron 

Sbiggiiio" 

Shihon 

Shilior  libnah 

Shilbi 

Shiloah 

Shiloh 


SCRIPTURE   PROPER  NAMES. 


shal-ma-ne'zer 
sham-a-ry' ah 
shay'mer 
sham'gar 
sham'ma-i 
sham-mew' ah 

sham-she-ray'i 

shay'fan 

shay'fat 

shay'fer 

sha-ray'i 

sha-ray'im 

shay'rar 

sha-re'zer 

shay'ron 

sha-ru'hen 

shash'a-i 

shay'shak 

shay'veh 

shay'ul 

she-al'te-el 

she-a-ry'ah 

she'ar  jay'shub 

she'bah 

she'bam 

shtb-a-ny'ah 

sheb'a-rim 

she'ber 

sheb'nah 

sheb'yetv-el 

shek-a-ny'ah 

she'kem 

shed'e-ur 

she-ha-ry'ah 

shel-e-my'ah 

she'lef 

she'lesh 

she-lo'my 

shel'o-moth 

she-lu'me-el 

she'mah 

shem-a-i'ah 

shem-a-ry'ah 

shem-e'ber 

she'mer 

she-my'dah 

shem'e-nith 

she-mir'a-moth 

she'meiv-el 

she-nay'zar 

she'ner 

shef-n-ty'ah 

she'fy 

she-few'fan 

she' rah 

sher-e-by'ah 

she'resh 

shc'shak 

she'shay 

she'shan 

ihesh-baz'zar 
"'thar 
5/,^        '^ar  boz'nay 
she'tu        ^eth 
shib'ho- 
shi'^ron 

shig-gay'V*'-" 
shy'hon 
shy'hor  hb'nah 
shil'hy 
shy-lo'ah 

shy'lo 


Shiloni 
Shilshah 
Shimea 
Shimeath 
Shimei 
Shimeon 
Shimi 
Shimon 
Shimrath 
Shimri 
Shimshai 
Shinab 
Shinar 
Shiphi 
Shiplirah 
Shiphtan 
Shisha 
Shishak 
Sliitrai 
Shiza 
Shoa 
Shobab 
Shobach 
Shobal 
Sliobai 
Slioco 
Shochob 
Sliophach 
Shophan 
Slioshannim 
Shiia 
Shual 
Shiibael 
Shulamite 
Sluimathites 
Shimainite 
Sliunem 
Shuni 
Sliiipham 
Shushan  eduth 
Shuthelah 
Sia 
Siaha 
Sibl)echai 
Sibboleth 
Sil)raim 
Sichem 
Sidon 
Siijionoth 
Sihon 
Silas 
Siloah 
Silvaniis 
Silla 
Simeon 
Simon 
Sinai 
Sinim 
Sinites 
Sion 

Si  ph  moth 
Sippai 
Sirach 
Sirion 
Sisamai 
Sisera 
Si  van 
Smyrna 
Sochoii 
,  ""odi 


she-lo'ny 

shil'shah 

shim-e'ah 

shim'e-ath 

shim'e-i 

shim'e-on 

shy'my 

shy'mon 

shim'rath 

shmi'ry 

shim'shay 

shy'nah 

shy'nar 

shy'fy 

shif'rah 

shif'tan 

shy'shah 

shy'shak 

shit'ray 

shy'zah 

sho'ah 

sho'bab 

sho'bak 

sho'bal 

sho-bay'i 

sho'ko 

sho'kob 

sho'fak 

sho'fan 

sho-shan'nim 

shu'ah 

shu'al 

shu'ba-el 

shu'lam-ite 

shu'math-ites 

shu'nam-ite 

shu'nem 

shu'ny 

shu'fam 

shu'shan  e'duih 

shu'the-lah 

sy'ah 

sy-a'hah 

sib'be-kay 

sib'bo-leth 

sib-ray'im 

sy'kem 

sy'don 

se-gy'o-noth 

sy'hon 

sy'las 

silo- ah 

sil-vay'nus 

sil'Iah 

sim'e-on 

sy'mon 

sy'nay 

sy'nim 

sin'ites 

sy'on 

si f  moth 

sip' pay 

sy'rak 

sv'e-on 

sis-am'a-i 

sis'p-rah 

sy'van 

smer'nah 

so'ko 

so'dy 

sod'om 


Solomon 

Sopater 

Sophereth 

Sorek 

Sosthenes 

Sotai 

Stachys 

Stacte 

Stephanas 

Stoicks 

Suah 

Siiccoth  benoth 

Suchathites 

Sukkiims 

Susa 

Susanchites 

Susannah 

Susi 

Sycamine 

Sychar 

Syene 

Synagogue 

Syntiche 

Syracuse 

Syria 

Syrion 

Syrophenicia 


Taanac  shiloh 

Tabeal 

Taberah 

Tabitha 

Tabor 

Tabrimon 

Tache 

Tachmonite 

Tahan 

Tahapanes 

Tahaphanes 

Tab penes 

Tahrea 

Tahtim  hodshi 

Talitha  cumi 

Tahnai 

Tamar 

Tammuz 

Tanach 

Tanhumeth 

Taphath 

Tappuah 

Tarah 

Taralah 

Tarea 

Tarpelites 

Tarshish 

Tatnai 

Tebali 

Tebaliah 

Tebetli 

Tehinnah 

Tekel 

Tekoah 

Telabib 

Telah 

Telahim 

Telassar 

Telem 

Telliar«a 

Telmelah 

Tema 


sol'o-mon 

sop'a-ter 

so-fe'reth 

so'rek 

sos'te-nes 

so'ta-i 

sta'kees 

stak'te 

stef'a-nas 

sto'iks 

su'ah 

suk'koth  be'notk 

suk'a-thites 

siik-ke'ims 

su'sah 

su'san-kites 

su-san'nah 

su'sy 

sik'a-mine 

sy'kar 

sy-e'ne 

sin'na-gog 

sin'te-ke 

syr'ak-use 

syr'e-a 

syr'e-on 

sy-ro-fe-nish'e-a 


tay-a'nak  shy'loh 

ta-be'al 

ta-be'rah 

tab'e-thah 

tay'bor 

tab're-mon 

tatch 

tak'mo-nite 

tay'han 

ta-hap'a-nes 

ta-haf'a-nes 

tah'pe-nes 

tah're-ah 

tah'tim  hod'shy 

tal'e-lhah  ktw'my 

tal'may 

tay'mar 

tarn' muz 

tay'nak 

tan-heiv'meth 

tay'fath 

tap'peiv-ah 

iay'rah 

tar'a-lah 

tay're-ah 

tar'pel-ites 

far'shish 

tat'nay 

te'bah 

teb-a-ly'ah 

te'beth 

te-hin'nah 

te'kel 

te-ko'ah 

tel-a'bib 

te'lah 

te-lay'im 

te-las'sar 

te'lem 

iel-har'sah 

tel-me'lah 

te'mah 


SCRIPTURE  PROPER  NAMES. 


1003 


Teinan 

Ternani 

Terah 

Teiaphim 

Teresli 

Tertius 

Tertullu3 

Tetrarch 

Thaddeus 

Thara 

Thelasser 

Theodotus 

Theopliilus 

Therineleth 

Thessalonica 

Theiidas 

Thimnathah 

Thyatira 

Tiberias 

Til)ni 

Tidal 

Tiglath  pilezer 

Tikvah 

Tilon 

Tinieus 

Timna 

Timnah 

Timnath  heres 

Timon 

Timotheus 

Tiplisah 

Tiras 

Tirathites 

Tirliakah 

Tirhanah 

Tiria 

Tirsliatha 

Tishbite 

Titus 

Tizite 

Toah 

Tobiah 

Tobijah 

Toclien 

Togarniah 

Tohew 

Toi 

Tola 

Tolad 

Tophel 

Tophet 

Trachonitis 

Trogyllium 

Trophimus 

Tryphena 

Tryphosah 

Tsidkenu 

Tubal  Cain 

Tychicus 

Tyrannua 

Tyre 

Tyru9 


teaman 

tem'a-ny 

te'rah 

ter'a-Jim 

te'resh 

ter'she-us 

ter-lul'lus 

tet'mrk 

thad-de'us 

tha'rah 

the-las'ser 

the-od' o-tus 

the-offe-lus 

ther' me-leth 

thes-a-lo-ny'kah 

thu'das 

thim-nay'thah 

thi-a-ty'rah 

ty-be're-as 

tib'ny 

ty'dal 

tig'lath  pe-le'zer 

tik'vah 

ty'lon 

te-me'us 

tim'nay 

iim'nah 

tim'nath  he'res 

ty'mon 

te-tno'the-213 

tif'sah 

ty'ras 

ty'rath-iies 

tir-hay'kah 

tir-hay'nah 

tyr'e-a 

tir'sha-thah 

tish'bite 

ty'tus 

ty'zile 

to'ah 

to-by'ah 

to-by'jah 

to'ken 

to-gar'mah 

to' hew 

to'i 

to'lah 

to'latl 

to'fel 

to'fet 

trak-o-ny'tis 

tro-jil'le-um 

trofe-mus 

try-fe'nah 

try-fo'sah 

sid'ke-nu 

tu'bal  knin 

tik'e-kus 

ty-ran'nus 

tyer 

ty'rus 


U 


UCAL 

Uel 

Ulai 
Ulam 


yeio'kal 

yew'el 

yew'la-i 

yew'lam 


Ulla 

Ummah 

Unni 

Upharsin 

Uphaz 

Urbane 

Uri 

Uriah 

Uriel 

Urini 

Uthai 

Uzai 

Uzal 

Uzzah 

Uzzen  she  rah 

Uzzi 

Uzziah 

Uzziel 


Vajesatha 

Vaniah 

Vashni 

Vashti 

Vophsi 


Zaanaim 

Zaanan 
Zaananniin 
Zaavan 
Zabad 
Zabbai 
Zabdi 
Zabdiel 
Zabina 
Zaccai 
Zaccu 
Zacharlah 
Zacher 
Zaccheus 
Zadok 
Zaham 
Zair 
Zalaph 
Zajiiionah 
Zalinunnah 
Zamzumniims 
Zaiioah 
Za|)hnath 
paaneah 
Zai)iion 
Zarah 
Zareah 
Zarod 
Zarephath 
Zaretaii 
Zar(>th  sliahar 
Zaitaiiah 
Zatihu 
Zaza 
Zebadiah 
Zel>ah 
Zol)aiin 
Zebedee 
Zebina 
Zeboim 


ul'lah 

um'mah 

%in'ny 

yexv-far'  sin 

yeu/faz 

ur'ba-ne 

yew'ry 

yew-ry'ah 

yew're-el 

yew'rim 

yei&tha-i 

yew'za-i 

yew'zal 

uz'zah 

uz'zen  she'rah 

uz'zy 

uz-zy'ah 

uz-zy'el 


va-jes'a-thah 

va-ny'ah 

vash'ny 

vash'ty 

vofsy 


zay-a-nay'im 

zay'a-nan 

zay-a-nan'nim 

zay'a-van 

zay'bad 

zah'bay 

zab'dy 

zab'de-el 

zab-by'nah 

zak'ka-i 

zak'ker 

zak-a-ry'ah 

zay'ker 

znk-ke'us 

zay'dok 

zay'ham 

zay'ir 

zdy'laf 

zal-mo'nah 

zal-mun'nah 

zam-zum'mims 

zan-o'ah 

zaf'natk 

pay-a-ne'ah 
zay'fon 
zay'rah 
za-re'ah 
zay'red 
znr'e-fath 
zar'e-tan 
zay'reth  sha'har 
znr-tay'nah 
zat'thew 
zm/zah 
zeb-a-dy'ah 
ze'bah 
ze-bay'iin 
zeb'be-dee 
ze-by'nah 
ze-bo'im 


Zebuda 

Zebul 

Zebulon 

Zedekiah 

Zedah 

Zeeb 

Zelah 

Zelek 

Zelophehad 

Zelotes 

Zelzah 

Zemaraim 

Zeniarite 

Zeniirah 

Zenan 

Zenas 

Zeorim 

Zephaniah 

Zephath 

Zephathah 

Zetlio 

Zephon 

Zerah 

Zerahiah 

Zeresh 

Zereda 

Zeredatha 

Zerereth 

Zeror 

Zeruah 

Zerubbabel 

Zeruiah 

Zetham 

Zia 

Ziba 

Zibeon 

Zibiah 

Zichri 

Zidkijah 

Zidon 

Zidonians 

Ziba 

Zikhai 

Zimri 

Zina 

Ziph 

Ziphah 

Ziphion 

Ziphites 

Zipbron 

Zijtporah 

Zitiiri 

Ziza 

Zoan 

Zobeba 

Zoheleth 

Zophah 

Zopbai 

Zopbini 

Zorah 

Zorathites 

Zoreah 

Zorobabel 

Zuar 

Zuriel 

Zuri  shaddai 

Zuzims 


ze-bew'dah 

ze'bid  (as  didl) 

ieb'u-lun 

zed-e-ky'ah 

ze'dah 

ze'eb 

ze'lah 

ze'lek 

ze-lo'fe-had 

zt-lo'tes 

zel'zah 

zem-a-ray'im 

zem'a-rite 

ze-my'rah 

ze'nan 

ze'nas 

ze-or'im 

zef-a-ny'ah 

ze'fath 

zepa-thah 

zt'tho 

ze'fon 

ze'rah 

zer-a-hy'ah 

ze'resh 

zer'e-dah 

ze-red'a-thah 

ze-re'reth 

ze'ror 

ze-ru'ah 

ze-rub'ba-bel 

zer-u-i'ah 

ze'tham 

zy'ah 

zy'bah 

zib'e-on 

zib-i'yah 

zik'ry 

zid-ky'jah 

zy'don 

zy-do'ne-ans 

zy'hah 

zil'thay 

zim'ry 

zy'nah 

ziff 

zy'fah 

zife-on 

zifites 

zifron 

zip-po'rah 

zith'ry 

zy'zah 

zo'an 

zo-be'bah 

zo'he-leth 

zo'fah 

zo'fay 

zo'Jim 

zo'rah 

zo'rath-ites 

zo-re'ah 

zo-rob'a-bel 

zu'ar 

zu're-el 

zti'ry  shad'a-i 

zu'zims 


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4u?; 


